Chapter Text
'Remember, the queen is your most powerful piece, you don't want to lose her.' Bellamy brandished his own wooden queen, formed of white ash, as he spoke.
The set was one he'd whittled himself out of a pair of trees that had sat on opposing sides of the clearing near the farm. They'd had to topple them in order to expand and use the wood to build new cabins and furniture. Seeing the scraps Bellamy had decided a chess set would be the perfect present for Madi's tenth birthday.
August chewed his lip as he tentatively tapped the top of his red queen, whittled from dark cherry wood. 'This time I won't,' he warned, a challenge in his tone.
August moved his pieces with a little more skill than he had before. With each movement, he understood the game a little better. For half an hour Bellamy watched the furrow in his son's brow as he attempted to strategically move his pieces around the board.
Lips pursed in a thin, awkward smile, Bellamy moved his knight into position, 'checkmate.'
August's mouth fell open as he analysed the board, and then groaned as his hands flew up to cover his face. 'I don't like this game anymore.'
Bellamy laughed. 'Come on, don't be a sore loser.'
'It's not fair,' August huffed.
'I'm not gonna let you win, August. I tell you what though, look how close you got to taking my queen. That's not half bad. One more game?'
'...One,' August muttered, getting up to switch sides with Bellamy. They were knelt either side of a tree stump they were using as a table, and so August paused to brush the dirt off his knees. When he looked back up Astrea had arrived to pour over the board, picking up a pawn to fiddle with.
'We're about to use those, little one,' Bellamy told her.
Astrea ignored him, and reached out for the white piece with the crown, August's queen, and began to turn it over in her hands.
August sat down sharply, glaring at the little girl with his arms crossed.
'Astrea could you give that to me please,' Bellamy held out his hand.
Astrea clutched it tight, drawing it into her chest, 'No!'
'Astrea,' Bellamy warned.
Astrea whimpered and began to stomp her feet defiantly.
Bellamy raised his voice to be heard above Astrea's tantrum. 'Astrea, you can either have that taken off you and go to your room and have a tantum there, or you can sit with me nicely and hold onto any pieces I take off August?'
'Please, daddy, I want- want this…' Astrea still held the queen close.
'If August loses it you can hold it for a bit before I put the set away.'
Astrea sniffled, but seemed to concede.
'Hand it to your brother,' Bellamy told her.
Astrea somewhat reluctantly dropped the piece into August's waiting palm.
'Are you sorry?' Bellamy asked, reading the guilt on her little face.
Astrea nodded.
'Come here,' Bellamy rolled his eyes and beckoned the little girl into his lap to give her a cuddle, drying her eyes with his thumb. 'That wasn't worth getting upset about was it.'
Bellamy glanced across the board to see a dejected August picking at loose threads on his shirt.
After the girls were in bed, or at the very least in their bedroom, Bellamy ventured in to see how August was. Bellamy knocked and then opened the door slowly, not wanting to invade his space. ‘August?’
‘Yeah?’ The boy responded hurriedly as if caught off-guard.
‘You okay?’ Bellamy pushed fully into the room.
August looked guilty, sat cross-legged on his little bed, twisting his hands together. ‘Yeah.’
Bellamy narrowed his eyes. He’d been a father long enough to know what a lying child looked like, even if he’d only had August back for a few weeks. ‘What’s wrong? I won’t get angry, I promise.’
Biting his bottom lip, eyes wide, August reached under his blankets and drew out a small hunting knife, one primarily used to skin animals. It was one of many they had around camp, but they were kept on hooks out of Astrea and Jordan’s reach. Bellamy hadn’t thought for a second they needed to be out of August’s reach too, simply assuming August was old enough and worldly enough to know to leave them alone.
Bellamy remembered he’d promised not to be angry, and just came and sat silently on the end of August’s bed. After looking at the knife laid out on the sheets between them for a few seconds, Bellamy lifted his gaze to his son. ‘Why did you take it?’
August shrugged.
‘There must have been a reason,’ Bellamy coaxed.
‘Some-sometimes, in the dark, I hear noises and- and Aunty O, um…’ August trailed off, tearing up.
Bellamy gulped. ‘You’re afraid of the noises?’
‘I’m not scared!’ August became defensive, balling his fists.
‘Hey, it’s okay. I was afraid of the same thing. Did Aunty O ever tell you the story of how she grew up, on the Ark?’
August nodded, relaxing a little.
‘After Octavia was born, it was like every sound I heard outside those doors was a monster coming to take her away. Footsteps. A voice. The clang of the metal when the pipes cooled. All of it made me stop and listen, terrified I would hear the scuff of boots and the voice of the guards coming to take her, and our mom.’
August sat with lips parted as he listened intently.
‘I would have wanted a knife to keep us safe too but…’ Bellamy reached out and scooped up the knife, turning it over in one hand, ‘I would have only gotten myself in more trouble.’
August lowered his gaze to the indent on the blankets where the knife had been, saying nothing.
‘And there are no monsters here,’ Bellamy said, with finality.
‘For now,’ August added, looking back up to lock eyes with Bellamy.
‘Nothing’s going to happen to you. We are all going to take care of you.’
‘What if you leave again? What if…’ August’s fists were clenched as he spoke, ‘what if you die?’ He tried to make his tone matter-of-fact but failed to disguise the wobble in his voice.
Bellamy had already been made aware his son was well-versed in the horrors of life, but this conversation brought that fact into stark new clarity and Bellamy found it made him angry. It made his blood boil. The universe had already stolen years with his son from him, he wasn’t going to let it take any more. ‘Hey,’ Bellamy reached out to grasp August’s shoulders with both hands, ‘do you know how many times this world has tried to kill me, to kill all of us? I was in a war, August. I have survived blades, and guns, and more than one bomb. The world was on fire and I lived. I refuse to die. I refuse .’
August’s dark eyes glittered as a tiny, hesitant smile formed on his lips.
It was pitch black as Bellamy’s eyes fluttered open. The slight weight on the end of the bed was noticeable only in the dip by his legs. Bellamy squinted as he propped himself up on his elbows, expecting to find Astrea.
‘August?’ Bellamy said groggily.
‘I miss Aunty O,’ He whispered.
He looked small. The shortness of his hair, the wide nature of his eyes, and the blanket he had wrapped around him to keep him warm on the way from his bed to his parents all aided to make him look even younger than he was.
‘O let you sleep in the bed with her, didn’t she?’ Bellamy couldn’t help but be sympathetic. After sleeping in the same room, if not the same bed, as someone else for your entire life, trying to sleep in a strange room all alone must be difficult.
‘Yes,’ August whispered.
‘Come here, Buddy,’ Bellamy replied, just as quietly, beckoning the little boy in with one hand. He grasped for the blankets and pulled them up to let August under them. Bellamy kept himself propped up on one elbow as he tucked August in, gazing down at him.
‘You called me that all the time when I was a baby,’ August said, matter-of-fact. ‘Buddy.’
‘O told you that?’
‘Yeah.’
There was a beat of silence.
‘I think I miss Mom too,’ August continued, following it with a long outward breath like the sentence had taken a lot of energy.
Bellamy was taken aback. ‘You do?’ He missed Clarke, he missed her every second, but in many ways, August barely knew her yet. Bellamy wouldn’t blame him if his feelings weren’t as clear to him as simply ‘missing’ her.
‘I don’t know.’ August paused for so long Bellamy wasn’t sure he’d speak again, but he did, ‘I think maybe I always miss her so I don’t know if I miss her now, is… is that the same thing?’
‘I don’t know,’ Bellamy answered honestly, ‘but... you wish she was here?’
‘I think so,’ August said through a yawn.
‘Then I think that’s a good start.’ Bellamy reached out and chanced running his hand over August’s hair, just a centimetre or two in length and not yet to get its texture back. ‘It’s late, you should get some sleep.’
But August wasn’t listening. He was already asleep, curled up in a ball at Bellamy's side.
‘Sleep tight, Buddy,’ Bellamy said a little sadly, missing Clarke anew as he smoothed the blankets over August one more time, knowing she deserved to be here for this. In the almost three weeks since she had left, August had warmed to Bellamy. No doubt encouraged by Octavia’s stories, he’d dared to trust Bellamy. Clarke deserved to share in moments like these too.
He would make sure she got to.
Bellamy woke to an unmistakable sound. Feet stomping on soft earth, metal against metal, cloth against cloth, a hundred small noises that made up the murmur of a crowd. A sound Bellamy had all but forgotten existed.
Near shaking with anticipation, Bellamy slipped his arm out from under August, who was still asleep, drooling into the pillow. He was far more used to the constant hum and was no doubt sleeping more soundly than he had in a month with this familiar noise now in the background.
Dressed in nothing more than his cotton pants, Bellamy moved to peek out the window. Letting out a sigh, enjoying the view, he saw the village as it should be; full to bursting, within a dozen children chasing each other around the legs of adults. Skimming the crowd Bellamy saw a woman with her back to him, a good fifty meters away, barely visible but for the golden waves that fell down to brush her shoulders. She was speaking with authority to a group of a dozen or more.
Slipping out the bedroom, Bellamy grabbed his boots and tugged them on without doing up the laces. He moved through the crowd without looking at anyone, his gaze focused only on her. Reaching out he caught her by the waist, interrupting her mid-sentence, and lifted her into an embrace, turning slightly as he held her.
Initially tense, she relaxed as she recognised his scent and the feel of his skin, setting her hands to rest on his neck.
After a moment spent like that, Bellamy placed her back on the ground. ‘Sorry, I… I didn’t mean to interrupt.’
Clarke didn’t respond. She was too busy staring up at him in shock. ‘Bellamy… your hair.’
‘Oh,’ Bellamy’s hand shot to his hairline, ‘Yeah, I know, it’s at an awkward point.’
‘Clarke,’ One of the people she’d been addressing before Bellamy had arrived spoke up, asking for her attention once more.
‘Yeah, um, go find Jasper. He should be in the church. He’ll help you find Monty and I’m sure either of them will answer any questions you have.’ Clarke swallowed.
There were a few nods and mutters of understanding as the group moved off and left the couple alone.
‘They called you Clarke?’ Bellamy queried.
‘I’ll explain later,’ Clarke promised.
‘Okay.’
There was a beat of quiet as the pair examined each other, eventually finding home in each other’s eyes.
‘Hey,’ Bellamy said, resting his hands on Clarke’s hips.
‘Hi,’ Clarke responded in a whisper, a smile playing on her lips as she stepped into him.
Bellamy leant in, his hands slipping around Clarke’s back to support her as he dipped her just slightly. After a second of their lips touching, Bellamy started to grin so wide it broke the kiss.
‘Sorry,’ he said, still grinning as his nose brushed her cheek.
Clarke laughed, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of his gigantic smile, before wriggling out of his grasp, pushing at his shoulders.
‘You guys done?’ Raven called over as she approached them.
‘Don’t worry I didn’t forget about you, Raven,’ Bellamy’s smug grin only grew as he moved away from Clarke to sweep Raven up in his arms, spinning her around.
‘Alright, damnit, put me down,’ Raven half-heartedly shoved Bellamy as he placed her back on the ground. ‘Stress of three kids make your hair fall out or was that deliberate?’ She teased, reaching up to try and stroke his head.
Bellamy chuckled as he batted her hand away, ‘Piss off.’
‘Tragic.’ Raven raised an eyebrow and looked at Clarke, ‘You’re telling me you’re still attracted to this?’
‘Bell!’ Octavia’s voice interrupted
Clarke felt lucky she didn’t have a chance to respond to Raven. Octavia had already thrown herself at her brother.
‘Oof,’ Bellamy breathed out, stumbling back a step before he steadied himself and remembered to return the embrace. ‘Welcome home, O.’ Bellamy rubbed her back as his smile grew again.
Octavia regarded Bellamy’s haircut with a quizzical, slightly pained expression as she drew away from him.
‘Come on,’ Clarke said, ‘Everyone will want to see Bellamy. After that we can wake Astrea and August.’
‘You already saw Madi then?’ Bellamy said.
‘Please, she was gathering a bunch of kids up to go fishing not twenty minutes after we got back. She was so excited.’
Bellamy threw his arm around Clarke as Raven and Octavia took the lead, marching toward the church to find Miller, Jasper, Lincoln, Kane, Abby and everyone else Bellamy had missed. ‘This is gonna be good.’
Clarke gripped Bellamy’s waist, pulling him into her side. ‘Another new beginning. No enemies or wars this time. No more fighting.’
‘Our last beginning,’ Bellamy whispered into Clarke’s hair. ‘We can make this world what we want it to be now.’
Deep down, both of them knew it couldn’t be that easy. But for a moment they let themselves believe, just for once, that it would be.
‘Hey,’ Clarke said softly, smoothing her hand over August’s head where it was still laid on her pillow. ‘Wakey wakey, baby boy.’
‘Mom,’ August said, so hoarse from sleep he was barely audible. His dark lashes fluttered as he turned on his back to stretch and yawn, bringing his arms up and over his head like he used to as a baby.
‘Yeah, it’s me,’ Clarke looked on in wonder, leaning over August to gaze lovingly down at him.
‘You’re late,’ August’s little voice was slightly gruff.
Clarke laughed, taken by surprise at his admonishment. ‘I’m sorry. I promise I went as fast as I could.’
August propped himself up on his elbows, blinking the weariness from his eyes slowly as they adjusted to the light of the morning. Suddenly, his expression grew pensive, ‘Lincoln- he… Is everyone…’
‘Everyone’s just fine, August,’ Clarke promised earnestly, placing her hand on August’s knee where it sat under the blankets.
August’s eyes widened with a realisation, ‘Aunty O-’
‘Is very excited to see you, and I’ll take you to her just as soon as I give you your present.’
‘Present?’ August asked, cocking his head.
With that, Clarke reached down to grab a satchel from down the side of the bed and lifted it onto the sheets. Flipping it open, she tugged something from it’s depths.
‘My storybook!’ August almost choked with emotion as he reached out to tug it from Clarke’s hands, bringing it into his chest so he could curl himself protectively around it. ‘Thank you,’ he managed, choking up as his eyes welled with tears.
‘You don’t need to thank me, August,’ Clarke reminded him softly. ‘It’s your story, it belongs with you.’
August looked from her to the book as he settled it in his lap, tracing the wooden cover with his right index finger. A painted image of a woman sat astride a white horse in the distance, atop a hill, gazing at the stars as they glistened in the night sky, a single shooting star falling to earth. ‘It’s your story too,’ August said sincerely. ‘...right?’
Clarke’s heart thumped hard in her chest, ‘I suppose it is, yeah.’ She ran her finger over the white painted horse. ‘Her name was Selene. First horse you ever rode, you know.’
‘Selene?’ August’s wet eyes were wide with wonder. ‘Like the moon goddess.’
Clarke blinked, ‘Yeah… I guess Octavia read you a lot of mythology, huh? It’s kind of a Blake family tradition.’
He nodded slowly, a little absentmindedly, the cogs in his small head clearly whirring away as he continued to stare at the book.
‘August, there’s something else I want you to have.’ Clarke dug into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out the gift. The moon and a single star, attached by a thin silver ring; A halter charm.
August began to frown even more deeply. ‘Aunty O had a horse called, um, Hel- Helios.’
His pronunciation was uncertain, but that didn’t make what he said any less true. Clarke vaguely remembered Lincoln gifting the horse to Octavia many many years ago.
She watched in confusion as August caught a string around his neck, one Clarke had never even noticed before as it was hidden fully beneath his collar. He tugged the necklace out from under the fabric and slid his hand down to capture the pendant at the end, then opened his palm so Clarke could see.
In his hand sat a golden sun.
Bellamy and Clarke looked out across the valley as twilight fell. In Clarke’s arms, Astrea slept soundly with her rosebud mouth set in a small ‘o’, her freckled cheeks flushed. She was wrapped up in a blanket, cradled in Clarke’s arms the same way she had held her as a tiny baby. As Bellamy watched the lights of the village down below, Clarke gazed upon her daughter’s face, drinking it in after being apart from her for over two weeks.
There was no question Astrea took after her mom in all but her colouring. Beneath her freckles and behind her green eyes she was a Griffin through and through, which very much included Clarke’s less attractive attributes. Astrea could often be too serious and judgmental, especially for a toddler. And yet there was a somewhat contradictory wildness to her Clarke didn’t recognise in herself nearly at all.
‘I missed you all so much,’ Clarke whispered as a breeze rustled the trees around them.
Bellamy looked over silently. Reaching out to take Clarke’s hand, he lifted it to his mouth so he could kiss the back and get her attention. ‘Just think, there’s no reason any of us ever have to leave here again, Clarke.’
‘But we will,’ Clarke sighed, shaking her head lightly, ‘You know we will.’
A scuffle came from just down the hill a bit. The sound of soles on loose dirt. A moment later a familiar face appeared over the crest of a grassy mound a few meters down the bank. ‘Oh, hi Mom, hi Dad, I was just gonna show August the view.’ Madi stepped aside slightly to show them August, just a step or two behind her.
He waved. Cheerful, if a little awkward. His movements robotic.
‘August come sit with me, I’ll point out all the good stuff,’ Bellamy suggested.
Madi naturally gravitated over to sidle up to Clarke, who responded by pulling Madi in tightly with the arm that wasn’t holding Astrea and placing a kiss in her dark hair.
August dropped down into the cradle of Bellamy’s crossed legs so Bellamy could level his head with his son’s. Capturing August’s hand, Bellamy used it to point toward the valley, unfurling one small finger to trace the rivers and canyons as he told August all their stories. Everything he’d missed whilst he was in the bunker.
Clarke watched closely as August went from bone rigid to more relaxed, sinking back into Bellamy as he listened. She wanted to reassure him, ‘you belong’ , but she knew saying wasn’t enough. He had to feel it.
‘We’re not getting anywhere here,’ Monty complained as he leant, aggrieved, over the map he and Clarke had created of the valley, detailing villages, bodies of water, food sources, to name just a few features. They were gathered around where it was pinned to a table in the very middle of the central room of Clarke and Bellamy’s cabin.
‘I concede your knowledge of this place is greater than mine, but this does not change the fact I am commander,’ Lexa spoke firmly, her hand clenching and unclenching, at a loss to where it should sit without a sword hilt to rest on.
‘Good leaders delegate,’ Kane said.
Lexa sent him a glare, saying nothing.
Kane sighed. ‘We just need more time to figure out how this is all going to work. Who’s going where. What jobs they do. For example, do we give the different clans their own areas of land again, or do we encourage settlement based on skills or-’
‘The clans aren’t just factions, Kane, they’re families, you know that,’ Octavia hissed, interrupting Kane mid-sentence. ‘You split them up they’re gonna rebel. Azgeda were the warring clan, the rest were mostly peaceful before the bunker and their actions the past few weeks show they’re willing to throw down their weapons, for good.’
‘Not to be a downer, but we know they can kill each other plenty good without swords,’ Murphy quipped. He was even more sour than usual today.
Kane tiredly took a seat back from the map. ‘We just need to figure out the right plan.’
Clarke, silent so far, leant against the wall beside an equally mute Bellamy, peeled herself off of it. Immediately, all eyes turned to her. ‘No, we don’t.’
She was met by various expressions of confusion and intrigue.
‘We have a chance here. To give people ...freedom. Finally, we have that choice. How hollow is that promise of freedom if… if we don’t even let people decide where to live.’
Her words sat in the air a moment, filling the room with palpable clarity. Clarke found Monty and Murphy smiling at her before shifting their gazes to smile past her. Turning to look over her shoulder, Clarke saw Bellamy smiling too, his eyes shining with evident pride.
Lexa pursed her lips, nodding slightly. ‘Where do you suggest we go from here?’
‘Elections,’ Bellamy said simply, tearing his eyes from Clarke to direct his answer at Lexa. ‘The clans need elected leaders.’
After they had discussed more menial matters such as how best to feed everyone for now and what sanctions to put on people who break the current rules, the council disbanded.
Clarke jogged to catch up with Monty and Murphy, ‘Hey, where did Emori and Harper get to?’ Raven had already warned Clarke she’d rather fix a blocked sewage pipe again than attend an event in which Kane and Lexa are trying to decide the fate of humanity together. So Clarke had expected her absence, but Emori and Harper had both said they’d be there.
Murphy grimaced at the question.
‘What’s the face? What did you do?’ Clarke reached out to grip his arm and tug him to face her.
‘Wha- Why do you- I was being attentive,’ Murphy shrugged her off.
Monty snorted. ‘He was being overbearing. Emori’s just a bit sick, she’s getting dizzy and stuff. Harper’s busy holding her hair back. She must have caught something off one of the new arrivals. I figure they probably have some viruses we haven’t seen since the bunker shut.’
‘Hence why we sent Astrea and Madi off to Abby this morning to get their jabs. Neither of them had infant ones like August,’ Bellamy explained.
‘Harper’s taking Jordan over later. He’s getting the final doses of some of them.’ Monty added guiltily. When it came to his son, Monty wasn’t afraid of having priorities, but that didn’t mean he never felt bad about it. The other kids from the bunker probably didn’t need the viral vaccines anyway, any viruses among the remaining grounders had been stamped out by the limited population’s collective immunity. The final usable dose of the tetanus vaccine though… a few of them could probably do with that.
‘Another thing we need to think about… taking back Mount Weather. The lab there is far superior, and closer, than the one on the island,’ Clarke mused aloud. ‘We have the numbers and resources to get back in now. If there are any survivors at all… they won’t be a threat now.’
‘We’ll put it on the small council agenda for tomorrow,’ Monty said with a shrug. ‘Can’t see an expedition going out for another month or so though.’
‘What’s another month after five years,’ Bellamy pointed out.
A yell and a screech met them moments before an Emori-shaped projectile barreled into Murphy and took him to the ground so quickly he appeared to miss the tradtional ‘falling’ part out all together. The wind knocked out of him, he gasped in shock, coughing.
Emori, on her knees straddling him at his waist, swung a stick, a wiry bit of kindling, with both hands, hitting Murphy across his outstretched hands and crossed forearms as he attempted to protect his face from the attack. ‘I told you this would happen!’
At least that’s what Clarke thought she heard. Emori was barely coherent as she beat Murphy wildly with the pathetic branch she’d obviously swiped off the firewood on her way over from her and Murphy’s cabin.
At this point, Jasper and Harper arrived. They came from the same direction as Emori, at speed, so Clarke assumed they’d chased her all the way here knowing exactly what she planned to do. Grabbing her arms, they held them back to stop her assault on Murphy whilst hefting her back onto her feet.
‘Emori, what the fuck?’ Murphy clambered up, roughly dusting himself off.
Clarke heard Monty snidely whisper that whatever it was Murphy ‘probably deserved it’, to Bellamy.
‘This is your fault. I thought you’d read enough stupid medical textbooks to know, but no. Apparently, you didn’t have a clue either,' Emori's tirade continued verbally.
‘What are you on about?’ Murphy’s hands flew about as he grew even more perplexed and indignant.
‘I’m pregnant, John. Very pregnant actually. I’m guessing my birthday,’ Emori hissed.
‘You… you can get knocked up from that?’ Murphy gaped at her, his eyes glazing over slightly.
Everyone present made some kind of noise of alarm or shock or, in Jasper’s case, a loud snort of laughter.
‘Woah,’ Bellamy said, clearing his throat. ‘I can’t believe Raven’s missing this right now,’ he whispered aside to Clarke.
Clarke shook her head clear, trying to figure out how to regain control of whatever was happening here, and stepped forward to put a hand on Emori’s shoulder, ‘Okay, right, let’s… you know what, Emori, I have to go get Astrea and Madi from my mom now. You can have a chat with her, get checked over, get some solid answers, alright?’
Emori relaxed back into Jasper and Harper a little.
Clarke slid an arm around Emori’s shoulders to guide her as Jasper and Harper slowly released their collective grasp on her, deciding she probably wasn’t going to try and kill Murphy again.
Clarke and Emori got a few metres before Murph broke out of his daze and called after them, ‘Wait! Can… can I come?’
Emori grumbled an, ‘I guess.’ Then smiled a little reluctantly at Murphy.
He jogged over nervously to catch up, clearly still afraid of Emori’s wrath.
The trio entered Abby’s office.
It was part of one of the more impressive and newer buildings in the village. They’d essentially built a med bay from scratch. It was just a larger wooden cabin with three consecutive rooms. A doctor’s office at the front, a med-bay in the middle with no more than six beds, and a surgery room at the far end. It was one of the few buildings that had its own generator, just to make sure a lack of light would never cost anyone their life, and the fridges that kept precious vaccines and medicines chilled wouldn't lose power. It was well equipped. Shenandoahkru had moved absolutely everything salvageable from the med bay of the ruined Arkadia to this building, so it would be ready and waiting if anyone were to be injured in the journey from the bunker. Fortunately, the most they’d had to deal with was mild dehydration and a few superficial cuts and bruises.
‘Everything okay in here?’ Clarke inquired.
‘Just getting to know my granddaughters,’ Abby responded.
Both girls were sitting on the table as Abby leant back in her chair, hands folded. Astrea’s neck strained to peer around Madi when she heard her mother’s voice, ‘We’re showing grandma our scars!’ she announced with pride.
‘Madi has enough to rival August,’ Abby said, sharing a small smile with her eldest granddaughter.
‘I’m aware,’ Clarke sighed, giving Madi the obligatory I wish you’d be more careful sometimes, mom look. ‘Hey, Mom, a word.’ Clarke beckoned Abby over.
‘What’s wrong?’ Were the first words out of Abby’s mouth, said quietly so as to not alert the girls to anything.
‘Nothing’s wrong, but… Emori thinks she’s pregnant,’ Clarke explained, keeping her voice low too.
Abby’s eyebrows shot up as her gaze moved from Clarke, to Emori, to Murphy and back again. ‘Oh… okay.’
‘I know I am,’ Emori insisted tiredly.
‘Okay well… how far along do you think you are?’ Abby asked.
‘Over 3 months,’ Emori said, sending Murphy a general accusatory look.
‘Specific. I like specific. That it means we’ll probably hear a clear heartbeat.’ Abby gestured Emori over to the exam table Madi and Astrea were perched on.
‘Is ‘mori gonna have a baby?’ Astrea said in a whisper that somehow also managed to be deafeningly loud.
‘God, you’ve got bat ears,’ Clarke exclaimed, reaching out to swing Astrea up off the table into her arms.
‘Are you?’ Madi asked excitedly.
‘Yes.’ Emori managed a small smile even though she was looking increasingly nauseated by this experience.
‘You ready to listen to that heartbeat?’ Abby held a stainless steel Pinard at the ready. It was a small, trump-looking object, that was much more accurate than a stethoscope when it came to hearing a heartbeat through a human stomach. Before Abby had got here, Monty had been using it to listen through the ground for burrowing animals that might ruin his amaranth grain crop.
Emori got herself comfortable leant back on her elbows as Murphy gingerly approached the side of the table, just in case she did need him at any point.
Abby didn’t take more than a moment of listening to give Murphy and Emori an answer, ‘Well, your instincts are good, Emori.’
Murphy bent over to rest his hands on his knees, as Emori laid down fully. Both of them seemed to be struggling not to either throw up or faint.
‘Hey,’ Clarke placed a hand on Murphy’s back, trying to reassure him.
‘Um, I feel I should mention it now, so you don’t have any more surprises. We should… just get those out the way now, I think,’ Abby said.
Neither Emori nor Murphy looked at her, too busy trying not to hyperventilate with the news that something that had been theoretical not ten seconds ago now had a heartbeat.
Abby continued, ‘I can hear two heartbeats.’
‘Two?’ Emori squeaked, shooting back up to a sitting position.
‘Two?’ Murphy echoed in muttered disbelief as he stood straight again, stumbling back, clearly a little dizzy.
‘Whoa, you alright?’ Clarke grabbed Murphy to steady him.
‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ He brushed her off. Only to immediately have his knees buckle out from under him as he appeared to briefly pass out.
‘Oh, shit!’ Clarke hissed, throwing her arms out to catch him around the upper body just before his head hit the hard, wooden floor. ‘Murphy?’
He came back to not a split-second after fainting, groaning, ‘Just… just lay me down. I’m gonna just lie here till I stop needing to puke.’
‘Alright,’
‘Thanks, Clarke,’
Clarke rose slowly and immediately turned to check on her children. The two girls were watching from the sidelines, shocked and amused. She strode over to the pair and began to herd them toward the door, ‘I think it’s time we went and found Raven. Let’s leave Murphy and Emori in private.’
‘Hey, you were gone a while.’ Clarke jogged up to Octavia and Lincoln as they reentered camp. ‘You missed some big news.’
It was a few days after Emori’s public beat-down, but Clarke hadn’t seen either Lincoln and Octavia since the day before that when she’d taken August to reunite with them.
‘Just being thorough,’ Octavia said with a small shrug. ‘Lexa noticed Monty’s maps recorded the water but hadn’t investigated possible sources.’
‘I heard it was something like that.’ Clarke nodded. ‘You think there could be evidence of regrowth along underwater rivers?’
‘Life needs water,’ Lincoln said simply. 'Perhaps we can help life along.'
Clarke wanted to tell them August had missed them, but something stopped her. It felt awkward to talk about August with them now. She felt like she was offering a piece of him up to them, and even though she hated herself for being so possessive, she couldn’t help but hold back.
‘What big news did we miss?’ Octavia asked, finally processing what Clarke had said a few moments earlier.
‘Emori and Murphy are having twins,’ Clarke said, her matter-of-fact tone containing just a hint of badly concealed amusement.
‘Twins?' Octavia exclaimed, cracking a grin. ‘I’ve never even seen twins.’
‘Never?’ Lincoln frowned as the group paused close to the centre of camp, gathering at the back of the crowd that took up most of the central area of the village.
‘No siblings on the Ark,’ Clarke explained sadly. ‘On the rare occasion twins did happen one or the other was… chosen to live, early in the pregnancy.’
Lincoln looked thrown by this, but shook it off fairly quickly. ‘I suppose all societies make sacrifices for what they believe is the greater good.’ He gestured to the crowd, deftly changing the subject, ‘What’s this?’
‘That’s the other bit of news,’ Clarke gazed proudly out over the orderly crowd as people weaved in and out of each other in lines, ‘the elections.’
‘Elections?’ Lincoln looked to Clarke for clarification.
‘Choosing a new leader for each of the clans,’ Clarke explained, ‘but with votes, so everyone gets a say.’
‘Clarke Griffin and the Rebirth of Democracy, I can see the history books now,’ Murphy appeared out of nowhere, swinging his arm around Clarke’s shoulders to lean dramatically on her.
‘Hey, Murphy. Heard the news. Congrats.’ Octavia punched him hard on the shoulder in an aggressive show of solidarity.
‘Two babies at once. That’s... both a challenge and a blessing,’ Lincoln offered, raising his eyebrows at Murphy, silently wishing him luck.
‘That’s what people keep telling me,’ Murphy said through a theatrical grimace. It was all a performance though. In truth, everyone knew he couldn’t be happier now he’d adjusted to the idea.
Clarke looked across from where Murphy stood beside her, his arm still hanging off of her, to Lincoln and Octavia. Drinking in the ease in their stances. It would be hard for an onlooker to believe the events of the dropship, and everything that had followed. How often the four of them had been at odds with one another. Torturing, maiming, warring with each other. If they could become this; stand in a circle as friends, and find some peace with each other, then so could the clans. This whole haunted society could heal too.
‘You with us, Clarke?’ Octavia asked.
‘Hm?’ Clarke rose her gaze, coming back to the present. ‘Oh. Yeah, I’m with you.’
‘People need to celebrate. Last week at council you agreed to this,’ Bellamy followed Clarke through the busy church. He was momentarily held back in his pursuit as a group of men carried a table between them.
‘I agreed to a feast day, I didn’t agree to…’ Clarke gestured at the teeming chaos around them.
‘You know what,’ Bellamy took her by the arm and drew her around to face him, cupping her cheeks to force her to focus on him, ‘you need to stop trying to control this. What’s a good party without a few broken chairs and a big bonfire, anyway?’
Giving in, she tipped her forehead into his chest, her shoulders dropping.
Bellamy took this as an opportunity to press a quick kiss to her hair. ‘You know what you should do? Get the kids out of here for a bit. Take Castor and Pollux and go on a ride. I’ll hold down the fort.’
‘Really?’ Clarke’s eyes narrowed at him.
‘Yes. I swear, I will not let them build the bonfire any higher than it already is.’
‘I love you,’ Clarke said, stretching to place a kiss on Bellamy’s cheek before jogging off to gather up their children.
‘Astrea don’t tug on Castor’s ears like that you’ll startle him and he’ll headbutt you again,’ Clarke warned her daughter as she hefted a tandem saddle onto Pollux’s back.
Madi was introducing August personally to every horse in the stable, and they’d just come full-circle to the dappled grey one on Clarke’s left. ‘This one’s called Trimani, he’s Emori’s but now that she’s having babies she might not want to ride him much so maybe you could take him out.’
‘I could?’ August looked between Madi and Clarke.
‘Well, when you’re a stronger rider, I don’t see why not,’ Clarke replied. ‘No riding alone though. You’ll need to take someone out with you.’
‘Why?’ August frowned, becoming defensive.
Clarke quirked a brow, slightly amused by his defensiveness. ‘Case you fall off, so someone can go get help. Even I always tell someone where I’m going and how long I’m gonna be.’
‘Oh… okay.’
‘Come on, we want to be back in time for the bonfire.’
Once Clarke had made sure everyone was carefully situated they headed up the ridge behind the village to take a trail along the edge of the valley.
They were fifteen minutes along it, the breeze rustling the leaves, with the sun hitting the very peak of it’s pilgrimage across the clear sky, when Clarke suddenly begun to feel very at peace. Even Astrea was unusually relaxed, leant back against Clarke’s stomach. In front of them, Clarke watched the sunlight hit Castor’s golden hide as he carried her two eldest children. August’s mouth was wide open in awe as he took in the view, gripping tight to the hold in between his and Madi’s seats.
Clarke began to hum to herself, and soon Astrea perked up slightly, recognising the tune. A brief moment later the two were singing it slightly off-key to one another. Astrea gazed up at her mother as she went between mumbling and belting out the lyrics with all of her might. Not a second or two later Madi decided to join in, and so they committed to singing, or at least yelling, in Astrea’s case, the entire song.
‘ Country roads, take me home,’ Madi sang fairly well as she spun her head to share a grin with Clarke, ‘to the place... I belong!’
August’s expression was one of quizzical admiration, but the way he didn’t recognise the song tugged at Clarke’s heart. They’d played it for him, through the radio on his birthday once, back when they’d still let themselves hope their messages were reaching the bunker.
Clarke pushed the hurt aside to finish singing with her daughters,
‘West Virginia, mountain momma.
Take me home, country roads.’
Astrea finished with a flourish, throwing her arms up in the air and whooping, before descending into giggles.
‘We’ll have to play that at the festival, huh?’ Clarke suggested.
August nodded excitedly.
Clarke faintly heard Madi tell August eagerly, ‘It’s about here, you know. That's Shenandoah River,’ she pointed at the glittering thread that ran through the deepest points of the valley.
When they returned home, the village was still in chaos, but it was beginning to look like organised chaos. The group of kids that had been causing the most havoc earlier in the day had now been tasked with stuffing dry grass into the gaps at the base of the bonfire, supposedly to make it easier to light when the time came. Mostly they just wanted to give the more unruly kids a job.
Raven beckoned for Clarke to approach from where she was standing at her workbench across the newly-established village square, lined as it was now with tables and headed by a dais in front of the old church. Clarke held Astrea into her chest and swung her leg over to slide down Castor’s flank. Shifting Astrea onto her hip, she grasped Castor’s rein and handed it to Madi. ‘Can you take Castor in for me? Show August how to do everything.’
Madi nodded. ‘Then we go find Dad?’
‘Perfect,’ Clarke said, squeezing Madi’s hand and then August’s knee reassuringly.
‘Mommy, can I, um… see the big fire?’ Astrea asked as Madi and August rode away.
‘Alright but just this side where I can see you,’ Clarke said as she placed Astrea on the ground. She grimaced as she watched Astrea patter off to annoy the older kids. It had been so easy to keep her safe when their village had been tiny and predictable, but there were so many people around now. Clarke didn’t know them, she didn’t know what dangerous things they might leave within reach.
‘Hi,’ Clarke said as she approached Raven, and pulled her into a hug.
Raven scoffed, ‘You okay? What’s this for?’
‘Hardly seen you since we got back,’ Clarke explained, ‘it’s been a hell of a week.’
‘It has,’ Raven agreed, huffing. She held up an identifiable piece of junk, ‘You see this, it’s the third hydraulic pump I’ve had to fix so far. Even with Sinclair’s help I’m drowning, Clarke.’
‘You know… I’m sure there’s some mechanic talent amongst this lot. Why don’t you find yourself some help?’ Clarke suggested. ‘Just make it someone who’s sticking around here. An Arker or something.’
‘I’ll have to see-’ Raven was cut off by a loud wail.
Clarke knew that wail. She spun around to see Astrea red-faced and sobbing at the base of the bonfire. An older child, no more than eight or nine stood over her, holding a bucket of straw, with a perplexed look on her face.
‘Ai jos don as oder kom step of,’ the girl explained as Clarke reached them. ‘I just asked her to move.’
‘Em's nou yu sich,’ Clarke reassured her. ‘It’s not your fault.’
Clarke had been realising of late she hadn’t given enough thought to how strange Astrea would find all of this. How overwhelmed she might get with all these new people around. Both Clarke and Bellamy had noticed she’d been particularly timid and reactive lately, relaxing only when they were safely inside their cabin.
Deciding the best thing to do now was to try and get her more used to meeting new people, Clarke engaged the young girl who’d upset Astrea in the first place.
‘Du yu gonasleng chich?’ She asked. ‘Do you speak english?’
‘Yes,’ the girl confirmed.
‘What’s your name?’ Clarke continued, running a soothing hand up and down Astrea’s back.
‘Wren,’ the girl answered, wringing her hands nervously. Clearly she felt a bit interrogated.
‘This is Astrea. She’s just not very used to people, so she got a bit upset.’ Clarke bent her neck to reassure Astrea. ‘It’s okay, Astrea. This is just Wren. She’s not so scary. Can you say Hi?’
Astrea kept her gaze averted, wiping her eyes, and whimpered an obligatory, ‘Hi.’
Clarke sighed. Not quite what she’d been hoping for. Hauling a still whimpering Astrea into her arms, Clarke said goodbye to the girl and made her way back over to Raven.
‘You know that kid?’ Raven peered around Clarke, watching carefully as the girl called Wren continued to stuff straw in between the logs.
‘No, why?’ Clarke turned, Astrea still in arms, to watch Wren just as Raven was.
‘She blew up my car and threw dirt in my face,’ Raven said, the tone of her voice something Clarke couldn’t quite pin down. Somewhere between amused and accusatory.
…
‘Congratulations, Senator,’ Clarke drew Cullan into a tight hug. ‘A better choice couldn’t have been made.’
‘I still cannot believe Yujleda would choose me. I was so sure Uzac was to be chosen.’
‘Uzac was part of the old order. Yujleda knows you will bring them into a new, better age,’ Roan said from where he stood at Cullan’s side.
Cullan reached out to take his hand in response. At that, Clarke had to temper her smile. It was good, if jarring, to see these two people she cared for so happy together. She’d missed so much not being in the bunker. ‘It’s so good to see you up and about again, Roan.’
‘My first feast day in five years?’ Roan gestured to the festivities going on around them. ‘Couldn’t miss it.’
‘Clarke!’ Jasper swooped in to join their group. His right hand held a closed flask of moonshine aloft, whilst his left was preoccupied with holding baby Jordan firmly on his almost non-existent hip. ‘I need you to take this off of me.’ He passed the flask to her. ‘Raven’s not getting me drunk, I’m babysitting today, I have responsibilities. Isn’t that right, little man?’ Jasper directed this last at Jordan and held out his palm for a high-five, grinning.
Jordan chuckled and brought his hand down to hit Jasper’s outstretched palm with all his might.
It was then Jasper seemed to realise he knew who Clarke was standing with, ‘Oh, Roan, Cullan, it’s good to see you!’
Clarke gestured between all three of her companions, ‘You guys should catch up. I’m going to go find Bellamy. Thanks for the moonshine, Jasp.’
‘My pleasure,’ he called after her, making Jordan’s tiny hand wave her goodbye as she walked away.
Not a minute later, whilst wandering through the village, someone grabbed her from behind. Familiar arms curling around her middle to pull her in close and lips that rested against her shoulder. ‘Just say hi like a normal person,’ Clarke told him.
‘Madi and August are playing with a bunch of other kids and Astrea’s hanging out with Raven so…’ Bellamy trailed off, but Clarke felt his lips curl into a grin.
‘Your point being?’ She inquired.
‘No one will miss us,’ he whispered conspiratorially.
Clarke pushed away to turn around and face him, fingers curling around his right forearm, tugging him in the direction of their cabin. ‘Twenty minutes. You have twenty minutes.’
Bellamy stifled a laugh. ‘Your belief in my stamina is so sexy.’
Clarke shushed him, looking about them for anyone they knew, ‘Not so loud. My mom lives here now.’
‘Well then, you’re gonna have to learn to be quieter,’ Bellamy teased, shoving her playfully through their front door.
Half an hour later Clarke was hopping around at the end of their bed, pulling her pants and boots back on. Watching Bellamy as he tugged his shirt back over his head, she decided to ask a question she’d been pondering a while now, ‘Bellamy, do you want more kids?’
His head shot up. ‘Uhh, why do you ask? You’re… we’re not…’
Clarke snorted. ‘No, of course not. I figured this would be a good conversation to have before that happens. If it happens.’
‘If? We can stop it from happening again?’ Bellamy tugged nervously at his shirt collar as if it were sitting uncomfortably.
‘Well… my mom is a surgeon.’ Clarke shrugged.
Bellamy shot up out of bed, his hands going to cover his crotch protectively, the look of abject horror on his face completely visceral.
Clarke threw her head back in laughter, then bent over on her knees, struggling to breathe. When she regained her composure a moment later he was still frozen in the same position. ‘Calm down, Bell, I’m not hiding her in our clothes chest with her scalpel at the ready.’
Bellamy cleared his throat, and reached for his pants, clearly feeling very exposed in just his boxers. ‘I mean, first of all, do you want more kids? You’re the one who’s got to do the tough bit.’
Clarke rubbed the back of her neck, thinking deeply. ‘Well, not right now. For now, we need to focus on... August. But, maybe in a year or two. I think it would be nice to have one that’s actually, you know… planned for once.’
They both laughed a little at that, recalling the series of accidents that had led to their three children.
Clarke cocked her head at Bellamy. ‘Is that… okay?’
‘Of course.’ Bellamy smiled, meandering toward her.
‘Yeah?’ Clarke reached out to hold him by his elbows, just a little away from her so she could check his expression to search for any sign he was only saying ‘yes’ because he wanted to make her happy. She didn’t find it. He didn’t waiver once.
‘Clarke Griffin, I promise you now, on this day, that we will have as many kids as you want, be that four or fourteen, and… when the time comes I will happily let your mom finally do what she wanted to do when she first found out about August,’ Bellamy paused for dramatic effect, ‘and that is, cut my balls off.’
Clarke rolled her eyes. ‘Definitely not fourteen.’
‘No?’
‘No.’
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