word count: 1,866
Sleeping Giants (5x03)
Pandora's Box (5x04)
° • . ♚ . • °
The world will end someday. Maybe not today. Maybe not for another century. But eventually, the world will cease to be, as will everything on it. That scares people. It scares people down to their very core. It terrifies them so greatly, that no one talks about it. No one thinks about it.
But you do.
When you were sent to the ground, you thought that you were going to die. You thought that your world would end.
It didn't.
When the Grounders attacked camp, you thought your world would end.
It didn't.
When the Mountain Men started harvesting your bone marrow, you thought for sure that this was it. This was the end.
It wasn't.
And then the world caught fire yet again. You stayed behind with Clarke to make sure that your family could make it safely to space. You watched the spaceship leave the atmosphere, and you knew they would be okay.
He would be okay.
Soon after, you lay dying from radiation, Clarke beside me. And you were okay. You were ready to die. As your eyes closed, you remember whispering one thing:
"May we meet again."
° • . ♚ . • °
"It's been six years, (Y/N)," Clarke whispers. You lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
"I know, Clarke. You don't have to tell me," you reply quietly so you don't wake Madi or Benjamin. "But I know they'll come back. They have to." Clarke sighs and rolls over to face you. You roll over as well, carefully shifting Ben in your arms.
"I have no doubt they'll make it back down. I just don't know when. What if it's another six years?"
"Then it's another six years." Clarke's lips quirk into a tiny smile.
"Ever the realist," she teases. You roll your eyes but end up smiling as well. Clarke looks as if she's about to speak again but a gunshot echoes through the woods. You sit up quickly, immediately on high alert. Clarke does the same, your actions waking the kids. Ben rubs his eyes, looking around drowsily. Madi looks wide eyed at Clarke.
"What's going on?" Clarke holds a finger to her lips, signaling them to be quiet. You hold Ben close to you as Clarke slides out of bed.
"Stay here," Clarke orders you. You open your mouth to protest, but she glares at you. She grabs her gun and turns toward the door.
"Clarke," you whisper. She turns. "Be careful." She nods before heading out of the cabin. Madi waits a minute before getting up as well and heading toward the door. "Madi, what the hell are you doing?"
"Going after Clarke," she replies in a 'what do you think I'm doing' tone.
"She's going to kill me if I let you go alone," you mumble, standing up and holding Ben on your hip.
"No, stay with Benny. I got this," she assures. You give her your best parental look but sigh when you can tell she won't budge.
"Fine," you relent. She starts out the door. "Madi, wait a second." She turns around, annoyance clear on her face. You pick up your gun and hand it to her. "Be careful, please." You kiss her forehead and she leans in to give you a side hug.
"I will." With that, she leaves the cabin to go after Clarke.
"I'm such a bad parent," you mumble to myself.
"I think you're great, Mommy," Ben whispers loudly. You smile and kiss his forehead.
"I think you're great, too, Benny." He gives you a toothy grin. You look around for the spare gun you and Clarke keep before spotting it behind the curtain you use as a doodle board. You set Ben down on your bed.
"Don't move," you order. He salutes you like he's seen you sarcastically do to Clarke over the years. You smile to myself and move the bed with Ben on it to reveal the trapdoor underneath. You unlatch it and pick Ben off the bed. You climb down the ladder before looking up at Ben's peering figure. "C'mon, Benny." You urge. He turns and starts to climb carefully down the ladder. You stand at the bottom, prepared to catch him if he slips.
Once he's almost right above you, he lets himself fall backwards. You catch him and set him on the makeshift cot. You hand him the flashlight and kiss his forehead.
"Stay down here and color. Don't leave the hidey hold unless Auntie Clarke, Madi, or Mommy gets you, okay baby?" Ben nods, looking up at you with wide eyes.
"Where are you going?" He asks quietly. The vulnerability in his voice breaks your heart and not for the first time, you wish he weren't born in this vulgar time. You ruffle his hair and he scowls, his adorable nose scrunching up.
"I'm gonna go make sure Auntie Clarke and Madi get back with all the berries," you lie. He nods, happy with your answer and starts to color. "I love you, buddy." You kiss the top of his head and start to climb back up the ladder.
"Love you, too, Mommy." You smile, tears pricking your eyes.
You lock the hatch behind you and move the bed back in place. You grab the gun from behind the doodle board and perch on the bed, staring at the door. A group of footsteps soon makes their way toward the door. Your heart pounds out of your chest as you wait for Clarke or Madi's signature knock, letting you know it's them and not someone else.
How could someone else be down here? Why now? Did the others get out of the bunker?
You may have been okay with dying six years ago, but you're not now. Not when you have Ben and Madi to take care of. The door pushes open and you cock my gun, aiming it at the figure walking through the door. The figure looks at you and you freeze. Your mouth falls open and you drop the gun on the bed. You pinch yourself to make sure you're not dreaming.
"Ouch, fuck," you hiss.
"Nice." You launch off the bed and catapult yourself into John's arms.
"Holy shit, you're actually here," you whisper. John hugs you tight, his chin resting on your head as you sway.
"I'm here," he assures. You pull away and wipe your eyes free of tears, surprised to see him doing the same.
"Are you crying?" You ask, astounded. He scoffs.
"No," he lies. You smile and pull him down for another hug.
"I missed you, John," you whisper.
"I missed you, too, sis," he replies just as softly. A thought pops into your head and you pull away.
"Is- is he here?" You ask, afraid he didn't make it down. Understanding flickers in John's eyes and he nods.
"Yeah, Bellamy is here. We all are. C'mon," he says, taking your hand.
"Wait." You take your hand from his and rush over to the bed. You move it over and unlock the trapdoor. You can almost feel John's utter confusion pierce your back. You look down and see Ben coloring away. "Hey, baby, it's all good. You can come up." Ben looks up and smiles.
"Auntie Clarke and Madi are back with berries?" He asks, tossing his coloring page aside and starting his climb up the ladder. You smile and shake your head.
"No, there's no more berries. But there's some people I want you to meet," you tell him as he finishes climbing. You lift him up and kick the door close, not bothering to move the bed back. You turn around and face a shocked and confused John.
"Who's this?" He asks.
"John, this is my son, Benjamin. Benny, this is your Uncle John." You walk over to John and watch in amusement as he puts the pieces together.
"Yours and Bellamy's?" He asks. You nod, rolling your eyes.
"Who else? A tree?" You laugh. John's too shocked to laugh or even roll his eyes as he stares at his nephew. "Say hi, Ben," you urge.
"Hi," Ben says quietly before turning away and burying his face in your neck shyly. Tears prick at John's eyes and you smile softly.
"Yeah, a bit of a surprise, isn't it?"
"A bit," he replies. He shakes his head and pokes Ben's side. Ben squeals and squirms. "What? Does that tickle?" John teases. He starts to tickle Ben's sides. Ben squeals and howls with laughter, trying to wiggle away. You laugh, happy to see two out of three of your boys have met.
"Where's Bell?" You ask John. He stops tickling Ben and nods out the door. You set Ben down and take his hand as you follow John out of the cabin and toward the firepit. Your hands shake and your heart pounds as you see his head of curls, matching Ben's.
"Bellamy," John calls out. Bellamy turns around and stops dead when his eyes land on you. His mouth opens and closes, his eyes wide and teary. Before you can react, he rushes towards you and gathers you in his arms. You wrap your arms around his neck and let out the tears you've been keeping hidden for six years.
"You're alive," he cries. You nod, burying your face in his neck.
"I'm alive." He squeezes you, making it hard to breathe, bur you don't care. He could squeeze you to death and you'd die happy. You reluctantly pull away and look down at Ben, who's standing there looking increasingly confused. "Bell, there's someone I think you should meet." His eyes leave yours and travel down to land on Ben. His eyes widen and he looks from you to Ben.
"Is that...?" You nod.
"Bellamy, this is Ben. Ben, this is your dad." Ben's eyes widen.
"Mommy told me a lot of funny stories about you," he blurts. Bellamy laughs through his tears, squatting down in front of Ben.
"Did she now?" He asks once he can speak. Ben nods, beaming.
"Yeah, like the time you fell down the ship stairs with no pants on," Ben laughs. Bellamy chuckles and looks up at you, his eyes filled with love and adoration.
"Can you give Daddy a hug?" You ask Ben hopefully. Without a second thought, Ben reaches forward and wraps his little arms around Bellamy's neck. Bellamy doesn't hesitate to pull Ben close and you can tell he's trying not to cry again. He looks up at you and smiles.
"I love you," he whispers.
"I love you," you reply, drinking in the sight of two of the most important people in your life. Tears continue to spill from your eyes as happiness threatens to drown you.
Finally, after six years, your family is back.
You met again.
° • . ♚ . • °
Hiding out in our dreams
Catching fire like kerosene
And you know I'd never let you down
Til the sun comes up
We can own this town
— Long Way Home by 5 Seconds of Summer —