The room is still as soon as Bellamy falls to the floor with an unconscious Rory in his arms. His heart pounds so hard in his chest that it's the only thing he can hear as he watches the life slowly leave Rory. He shouts for someone, anyone, to go get the antidote, to go and get Clarke. After a few seconds of shock, Octavia springs to life and rushes towards the ladder. She throws herself down them as fast as she physically can and notifies Clarke, both of the girls climbing the ladders at an inhuman speed to get to their best friend. As soon as they step off the ladder they see Bellamy in the corner of the room, Rory's body still in his arms. Clarke rushes over to them and, when she falls to her knees next to Bellamy, she sees his shaking hands and the tears that have fallen down his face.
"She stopped breathing." He whispers. His voice shaking with every word. "I... I did CPR and I got her back. Clarke, help her. Please."
Clarke looks up at him and she can't believe that this is the same Bellamy Blake. He seems so vulnerable, like part of him isn't there right now. That's when Clarke realises, just like how Rory lost part of herself when Bellamy 'died', Bellamy loses part of himself when Rory isn't around. So much of him is tied to Rory. "She's going to be fine, I promise you." Clarke says, pouring some of the antidote into Rory's mouth. Rory swallows the liquid, much to everyone's relief. "Thank you, Bellamy."
"What?" Bellamy mutters, still focused entirely on Rory.
"Thank you, Bellamy, for saving my best friend's life."
- - - -
The hours pass by slowly as they all wait for Rory and Finn to wake up. Clarke takes over as sole leader because Bellamy refuses to leave Rory's side. They try to make both of them more comfortable, particularly Rory as she's lying on the ground, by making them pillows out of the blankets.
After a few hours Rory awakes. She opens her eyes and the first thing she sees is Bellamy. He's sat next to her, his eyes closed and head lolled back against the wall. She doesn't want to wake him but knows she has to. "Hey." Rory whispers, her throat dry and in desperate need of some water.
"Rory." Bellamy breathes out, eyes snapping open. He leans over to her and pulls her into his arms. "Thank god."
"God it's so bright in here." She mutters, reaching her hand up to cover her eyes. "How's Finn?"
Bellamy looks at her like she's crazy. "How's Finn? Rory you almost died."
"But I didn't."
"He's getting better, still unconscious but Clarke says he should wake up soon. The poison was in his system for longer than it was in yours." Bellamy tells her, letting go of her and helping her lean against the wall next to him. He lets out a sigh. "You should've told me, Rory. As soon as you knew what had happened you should've told me."
"And what good would that have done?"
"I would have gotten the information out of him quicker. I would've done something."
"You would've killed him, Bell. We both know you would've gotten too angry and lost control and you'd have killed him. We would have never found the antidote." Rory says, shaking her head. She looks away from the sleeping grounder and over to Bellamy. "Bellamy? I'm sorry."
"What for?"
"For losing my cool on the radio to Marcus. For telling him you're alive." Rory answers. She pulls her knees up to her chest and lets out a sigh.
Bellamy shakes his head. It wasn't her fault, not really. "He gave me your backpack, he knew I was alive."
"Yeah but not if you'd survived the crash." Rory says before dropping quiet. "I've never lost it like that before."
"I know who you are, Ro. The last year might've made me think I didn't but I know really I always have." Bellamy mutters. He reaches over and lifts her face up to look at him. "Clarke spoke to me, told me what you'd said. We're both really worried about you and I want you to know we're both here for you whenever you need us. When you need Clarke, she'll be there. When you need me, I'll be there."
They're both quiet for a few minutes before Rory nods her head and Bellamy lets go of her. "I don't want space, Bellamy." She says confidently. "It's not helping us, it's just making us both worse."
Bellamy nods his head, agreeing with her completely. Something had definitely changed between them over the past year but they still cared about each other. The only way to work out where they are, to work out what they are, is to actually talk and be with each other. "I'm sorry, for what I said the other day. I didn't mean any of it, if you died I'd go crazy. It was the heat of the moment, I was mad at you for calling me out and mad at the Ark for coming down. My life the last year without you in it was the worst year of my life, I never want to go through that again. I want you in my life."
"I'm sorry too. I'm really glad you're still here, Bell. I wouldn't wanna do this Earth thing with anyone else." She says with a small smile. She leans over and rests her head on his shoulder, letting out a small laugh. "We've gotta stop doing this."
"Doing what?"
"Fighting and then pretending like everything is fine once one of us is in danger."
Bellamy nods his head and then rests it against hers. "We need to start being honest with each other again. That's why everything worked up there, we didn't hide anything." He says quietly. He reaches down and takes hold of Rory's hand, interlocking it with his and rests them on his lap, just like he had done so many times before in front of that one particular window on the Ark. Slowly but surely, they're making their way back to who they used to be. They're making their way back to being Rory and Bellamy, the two best friends who should've never met.
"Can we start tomorrow?" Rory asks, lifting her head and glancing at Bellamy with a small smile. "I'm way too tired."
Bellamy nods his head, smiling back at her. "I'll go get Clarke, she said she wanted to check you over once you woke up." He tells her. He places a small kiss on her temple and starts to stand up. Rory holds onto his hand a little longer than necessary, making Bellamy laugh slightly when she reluctantly lets go when he starts to walk to the ladder.
Rory shifts to make herself more comfortable as Bellamy walks over to the ladder. He glances at her one last time before making his way down the levels to find Clarke. Once he has gone, Rory is alone with her thoughts. She thinks back over their time on the ground and she realise that, for probably the first time in a year, she's starting to feel content. She's starting to feel whole again. She smiles slightly to herself as she leans her head against the wall, closing her eyes.
"Thank you." A hoarse voice calls out making Rory's eyes dart open.
She looks over in the direction of the voice and realises it came from the grounder. Rory is silent for a moment as she looks at the man, the man that saved her life hours before and the man she willingly got electrocuted for.
She shakes her head. "Thank you." Now it's the man's turn to be shocked. "I'm Rory. You got a name? I'd really like to know the name of the man that stopped me getting impaled by a spear."
"Lincoln." He says without hesitation. He knows he probably shouldn't trust her but, he does. There's something about Rory that just makes her seem incredibly trustworthy. Lincoln knows how deadly she can be, she's one of the best fighters he's seen, but he doesn't feel any risk around her.
Down below Rory hears Clarke and Bellamy talking and making their way up to her. As much as she wants to keep talking with Lincoln she doesn't say anything more, not wanting to give away the fact that he can communicate with them. She just sends him a smile and a small wave of her hand before leaning back against the wall.
"Cinders! Just the girl I wanted to see." Rory calls out as soon as Clarke steps into the room. When Clarke hears her voice and sees Rory sat up, smiling over at her she can't stop herself. She runs over to Rory and throws herself into Rory's arms, squeezing the girl as tight as she possibly can. "Missed you too, Clarkey."
- - - -
Once Clarke checks Rory over and gives her the all clear, after reluctantly letting go of her best friend, she heads back downstairs to watch over Finn who still hadn't awoken. Before she leaves, she tells Bellamy what warning signs to look out for, knowing there was no way he was leaving Rory's side so soon after she had woken up. She wanted to stay with her best friend but Finn needed someone with medical knowledge to watch over him, just in case he took a turn for the worst, and she knows that nothing was going to happen to Rory with Bellamy there. He wouldn't let it.
Jasper and Monty both head upstairs to be with Rory as soon as Clarke leaves. The two boys join Rory and Bellamy on the floor, the four of them passing the time laughing and joking. They've never seen Bellamy or Rory look this relaxed before. When their guards are down and they're free from any responsibilities they think they have, they finally get to be themselves. Jasper can't remember the last time he saw Rory smile this much.
The storm that had been raging outside begins to slowly die down. The clouds eventually retreat, the rain stops pouring and the gale blowing outside becomes nothing more than a pleasant breeze. Clarke comes up to let Bellamy know of the developments and to start to clean Lincoln's wounds. Bellamy reluctantly gets up from his spot next to Rory and heads out of the drop ship. He'd love to stay, to put off his responsibilities for a little longer, but their priority is fixing the camp and making sure they're just as secure as they were before the storm started. Jasper and Monty say goodbye to Rory too and head downstairs, intending to lend a hand wherever they're needed.
Clarke walks over to Lincoln and removes the screw from his hand just as Octavia steps off the ladder. She leans down, rinsing one of the rags in water and stands back up, looking at him warily. She reaches out slowly, trying to clean his hand but he closes his fist, refusing to let her help.
She lets out a sigh. "Hey, look I need to clean this."
"Here, let me try." Octavia says as she walks over. Clarke hands her the cloth and Octavia gently holds his hand in hers. She brings the cloth up and starts to clean the wound, Lincoln no longer resisting.
Clarke steps back and watches the two of them. "I never wanted him to get hurt, Octavia. You have to know that. I just wanted to save Finn."
"For the record, you didn't save Finn," Octavia mutters, keeping her focus on Lincoln, "that was me but whatever you want to tell yourself to feel better."
Clarke doesn't want to argue with Octavia, she likes her and respects her and she can't deny that what they did to the grounder was wrong. She didn't want it to go down the way it did but, she just wants Octavia to know that she thought it was the only way. So Clarke backs away from the two of them, giving Octavia the space she needs. She starts to head towards the ladder, giving Rory a sad smile as she passes her, and heads down to the lower level to check on Finn.
"Cut her some slack, Octavia. She did what she thought had to be done." Rory says, slowly standing up and walking towards her friend. Octavia says nothing making Rory sigh in annoyance. "You can ignore me and act all high and mighty as long as you want but, if instead of Finn being hurt it was Bellamy... our Bellamy... the grounder wouldn't be breathing right now. If he was, he'd wish he wasn't. When you care about someone you will do anything to save them and to protect them. Even if that means sacrificing a part of yourself." Rory tells her, trying to get her best friend to understand. "We did what we all thought was the only option. He wasn't talking, he wasn't cooperating."
Octavia lets out a sigh and turns to face Rory. "No one ever listens to me. I'm not a little kid anymore that needs yours and Bellamy's protection."
"I know that, Octavia. We all know how strong you are. But sometimes, we have to do things that aren't... right, so that we survive." Rory mutters, stepping towards her and holding her arm. "You did good today, really. If it wasn't for your quick thinking... I'd be dead right now."
"Either we all go, or none of us go." Octavia sends Rory a small smile and shrugs her shoulders.
"I won't let them kill him, Octavia. I promise you. I should go help the others clear up, I'll see you later." Rory says before turning to Lincoln. "Let Octavia help you, we can't let your wound get infected."
Lincoln nods at Rory in response, much to Octavia's surprise. Rory lets go of Octavia and slowly walks to the ladder, stepping onto it and starting her descent.
"Love you, Ro." Octavia calls out.
Rory smiles to herself as she starts to make her way down. "Love you too, O."
Rory climbs down the ladder and steps off when she reaches the bottom. She sees Raven, asleep in the corner of the room, and Clarke hovering over Finn. Clarke looks up at her and sends her a small smile which Rory returns, tilting her head towards the door to let Clarke know where she'll be.
Once she gets outside she takes in a deep breath, inhaling the fresh air surrounding her. The books were right, she thinks, the smell after a rainstorm is next level. She starts walking again, getting deeper into the camp, smiling and acknowledging the other delinquents who call out to her. Upon hearing Rory's name being called, Bellamy turns towards the dropship and sees her slowly walking forwards. He shakes his head, he should've known she wouldn't stay in the dropship.
"You should be resting." Bellamy calls out to her, folding his arms and sending her a firm look.
"I'm fine, I want to help and I needed some fresh air." Rory tells him, walking over and standing next to him. Bellamy isn't content with her answer and keeps looking at her. She lets out a sigh and turns to face him. "I'll just supervise and, if anything changes I'll go back inside. You'll be the first to know if I'm not ok."
"I wasn't the first to know last time."
"Bellamy." Rory mutters, sending him a look.
He lets out a sigh. "Fine."
The two of them stand in the middle of the camp, watching the others get to work cleaning up the mess the storm made. They all work together removing the tree branches, salvaging any of the materials used for the tents, and fixing the wall surrounding them. Rory sends a small group of them to find some dry wood that they can use to light a fire, knowing that the damp wood that they suddenly have a surplus of would be futile.
Clarke comes out of the ship a few minutes later. Just like Rory did, she takes in the scene around her. Now that it's light, they can finally see the extent of the damage caused by the storm. She spots Rory's red hair up ahead and walks over to her and Bellamy.
"Is he awake?" Rory asks as soon as she sees Clarke.
"Yeah he just woke up. Raven's with him now." Clarke mutters, looking around worriedly.
Bellamy, recognising the look on Clarke's face, tries to reassure her. "We'll get this cleaned up."
Clarke lets out a sigh and starts to walk away from them both. "I wish this was our only mess." She mutters, glancing down at the screw that's still in her hand.
Bellamy reaches out and takes it from her hand. "Who we are and who we need to be to survive are two very different things." He says, glancing between Clarke and Rory.
"Deep." Rory mutters, nodding along to his words. "You're right though. What we had to do today was awful, I hate that we did that. But... that was the only option we could see. We need to work together though." She says, looking between Bellamy and Clarke. "The three of us, we make the tough calls together. We share that burden. That's the only way we won't lose ourselves down here."
Clarke nods her head and walks back over to the two of them. "What are we gonna do with him? We can't keep him locked up forever." She asks, nodding her head towards the ship.
"If we let him go, he'll be back and not alone next time." He says, smiling at Clarke sadly. "Not easy being in charge is it?"
"Let's decide tomorrow. Today, we focus on getting the camp sorted and making sure Finn is ok. We've already made enough life or death calls today." Rory mutters.
Clarke and Bellamy both nod their heads in agreement, thankful that Rory said that. Bellamy gives them both one last look before heading to help clean up. Rory moves over towards Clarke, and places her arm around her shoulders. Clarke lets out a sigh and rests her head on Rory as they both survey the camp. They have a lot of work to do.
- - - -
A few days pass, everyone working tirelessly to clean up the camp and secure themselves from any threats. Just over those few days all of the delinquents notice a drastic change in the weather. The nights start to become freezing cold and the mornings are just as bad, their breath making them look like they're smoking. Their focus then turns to trying to survive the inevitable winter that is approaching fast. Groups of hunters go out to collect as much meat as they can, others forage for nuts and berries. They all work together to count out rations and to cure the meat so it doesn't go off. But, they all know that it won't be starvation that kills them, it'll be the low temperatures. Rory, Bellamy and Clarke redistribute the blankets to make sure everyone has access to at least one, but they know it won't be enough.
After helping the group work out which berries won't kill them, Monty gets to work in setting up a screen so that they can video chat with the Ark. Himself and Raven spend a few days hooking up a spare screen and camera, and try to find a solid connection to the Ark. They spend every day working on it and eventually they succeed. The two of them bring the screen out from the dropship, intending to move it to a tent specifically designated to contact the Ark. They wanted to give people as much privacy as they could when speaking to their family, so Clarke had managed to reorganise everything to leave them a spare tent. Neither Bellamy or Rory wanted anything to do with the set up.
"You seriously don't believe me?" Rory asks, looking up at Bellamy in surprise. The two of them are stood near the fire, eating their breakfast rations. "Seriously, Bell?"
"No one can be that stupid." He says, folding his arms.
"Jasper Jordan can be that stupid." Rory tells him, turning to face Jasper who's currently talking to Octavia. "Hey, Jas! Bell doesn't believe that you broke your hand punching one of the reinforced windows after your own reflection scared the hell out of you."
"Yup. Well, in my defence, I was off my face." Jasper shouts back. Bellamy shakes his head and looks at Rory who has a smirk on her face. "I thought I was a vampire, ok? You can see why I'd be scared after seeing my reflection!"
"I... I honestly didn't believe you." Bellamy says, letting out a laugh with Rory. Just as she's about to tell him that you can't make a story like that up, a voice that she hasn't heard in a while calls out to her.
"Well, if it isn't my disappointment of a daughter. Still with that Blake I see?" Alexander's voice bursts through the speakers attracting the attention of everyone in camp. "I had such high hopes for you."
Rory whirls around, her eyes instantly glaring at her father's face on the screen. "You."
"I had to see it for my own eyes, you can imagine my joy when they told me you were dead." He drawls, letting out a laugh at the end.
She goes to step towards the screen but Bellamy grabs hold of her, wrapping his arms around her body just like he had done the first day they landed when Wells and Murphy fought. "Bold of you to assume I'm ever going to die."
"I thought I did a pretty good job at moving the process along when we killed off your beloved cadet." The other delinquents all look at Rory, wondering if they were understanding correctly what Alexander was saying. Bellamy frowns, his arms tightening around Rory as he tries to comprehend what he's hearing. "If only Marcus had been running late that day..."
Bellamy feels Rory's body sag in his arms. Instead of him holding her back from smashing up the screen Monty and Raven had worked tirelessly to hook up, he was holding her up. "Don't you dare." She mutters, trying to hold on to some of the confidence she had started with.
"You know, when word got around, everyone thought it was because of your mother. Everyone thought, oh no the poor little princess has lost her mother and just wanted to join her. They were so disgustingly sympathetic." He lets out another laugh, shaking his head as he remembers everyone's reactions. "I knew differently, I knew the truth. I mean, if all it took to get rid of you was to kill Genevieve I would've done it years ago. No, no, no, your heart always belonged elsewhere."
"Shut up!" She screams, pushing against Bellamy's arms once again. "You don't know anything about what happened!"
"But he was just too good. He always looked over his shoulder whenever he wasn't by your side, always wary that something was out to get him. I thanked my lucky stars the day of that party." Alexander says, ignoring Rory completely. "Your mother was easy to get, but him? He was too smart and you were too protective, the deal you made shows that. You'd do anything to save him."
"So it's true," Rory says, taking advantage of Alexander's pride overcoming him. She could get him to admit what he did with a hundred witnesses, "you killed Mom."
Alexander nods his head, a sick and twisted grin forming on his face as he looks at his daughter. "I killed your mother, I killed your sister, I killed your Bellamy."
"What?" Rory gasps, becoming still as Bellamy's arms fall away from her out of shock. "My... my sister?"
Octavia, who up until that moment had been standing off to the side with Jasper, walks over to her best friend. Alexander notices her instantly. "Ah Octavia Blake, second borns always have a knack of finding one another."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Rory shouts, eyes wild.
"I had your sister killed, she was almost as much of a disappointment as you are. Always talking back, always fighting against my authority. Hind sight is a brilliant thing, she was much more breakable than you are, much more compliant." He tells her, leaning back in his chair. "But one thing she didn't have was a weakness, not like you. I quickly learned that you would do anything for yours: Bellamy Blake."
The anger and rage fills Rory yet again. "You don't get to say his name. Not after what you did."
"I get to do and say whatever I want because I'm the King. I'm in charge."
"Not down here. Down here I'm in charge and that's not going to change when you start sending people down here." Rory says confidently, stepping closer to the screen. "These aren't your people, they were never your people."
Alexander lets out a sigh as he takes in his daughter. She looks formidable, the perfect image of a Queen. "You could've been incredible, you could have been legendary, you could have gone down in history and you threw it all away."
"That's where you're wrong. I am incredible." Rory says with a laugh. She shakes her head and walks closer to the screen. "Every single person you sent down to Earth to die, is incredible. We're all legendary, we're all going to be remembered and I'm going to make sure of it. You're not going to win anymore, we've broken your chain of power and you're never getting it back."
"We'll see."
"No, you'll see." She hisses, staring him down through the camera, no longer watching his face on the screen. "You have two options: you either stay on the Ark and die, or you come to Earth and I kill you myself. Both end with you dead, but one will be drastically more painful than the other. Your choice." She whispers with a grin on her face.
She sees her father's smile falter, clearly dropping from his face. She reaches down under the screen and pulls the cords out, being careful not to do any lasting damage and ruining Monty and Raven's hard work. Rory watches the screen fade to black and turns on her heels, storming towards the dropship and away from everyone's stares.
Instead of going inside, Rory changes course and slips behind the ship. She leans against the wall of the dropship and slowly slides down until she's sat on the floor. She lets out a shaky breath and unclenches her fists. Once she's calmed down a bit, she brings her knees to her chest, placing her head into her hands. For a few minutes she's finally alone, no prying eyes watching her every move, no responsibilities. She can hear the voices of the kids in camp but they seem far away even though they're only around the corner. For the first time in a while, Rory can be still and collect her thoughts with just the sound of the birds in the trees around her. The quiet doesn't last long.
"Go away, Bellamy." Rory mutters before she even sees its him. She lifts her head from her hands and glances over at him.
"I'm not going to do that." He whispers, walking closer and sitting down next to her.
"Look, I don't want to talk to anyone right now and I don't want to end up saying something I don't mean."
"You don't have to talk to me, I'm just going to sit here with you. When you're ready, I'm here."
Rory lets out a sigh and glances over at him. "Haven't you got better things to do?"
"You're more important."
Bellamy is true to his word. He doesn't say anything, he doesn't try to make her open up, he just sits quietly next to her taking in the surrounding trees and the sky up above them. After about half an hour Rory breaks the silence surrounding them.
"Am I a horrible person?" Rory asks, looking up at the sky. "Because I just found out I had a sister who was murdered by my father and... I don't feel sad about it. And I found out the same man killed my mother and... nothing, I feel nothing. I'm just so tired of everything and it doesn't even shock me anymore."
Bellamy turns to her. "Rory..."
"I should feel something right? I should be sad or angry or-" Rory cuts herself off, overcome with the realisation that she's slipped back into her old habits. That, after one short conversation with her father, he's managed to weasel his way into her head and filled it back up again with all the doubts and fears that were there that exact same day he hinted at in front of the entire camp. She's back on that cliff edge, just like Charlotte had been days earlier. "I just feel numb again."
"Again?" Bellamy asks, frowning in concern.
"You should go, Bellamy. Nate needs covering whilst he talks to the Ark." Rory tells him, turning her attention from him and back to the sky.
"I'm not-"
Rory cuts him off. "Bellamy. Go."
Bellamy lets out a sigh of frustration, annoyed that Rory is still keeping secrets from him and pushing him away when he's made himself available. He doesn't bother arguing with her, he just stands up and walks away, leaving her sat on the ground and alone with her thoughts.
Rory lets out a heavy sigh as she watches him walk away. She knows she shouldn't push him away like that but, she can't help it.
Every single person you've been close to, every single person you've cared about has ended up dead. They're dead because of you. She thinks, the little voice in her head becoming deafening. If you keep him close you're killing him. You're not going to be the one to kill him.
Rory retreats into her mind, trying to shut off those nagging thoughts. She tries desperately to block them out and to block out her feelings towards Bellamy. She can't let him die because of her.
Rory stands up, brushing the dirt off her trousers, her mind and heart numb to all the pain she's actually feeling. She takes a few deep breaths, trying to keep herself calm and ready herself for going back out into full view of everyone in camp. To keep him safe I keep him at arm's length, she thinks, don't let him back in and he'll survive this mess even if I don't.
- - - -
"Hey." Rory mutters as she steps off the ladder. "Miller still talking to the Ark?"
"Hey," Bellamy replies, not looking away from Lincoln, "I presume so. He said once he was done speaking to John and Roma's parent he was going to come straight back here. He should be back soon, I thought you were him."
"How's he doing?" Rory asks, nodding her head towards Lincoln.
"He's doing nothing. He hasn't fought back or anything." Bellamy shakes his head and rests it in his hands. "What the hell are we going to do with him, Ro?"
"I... I don't know." Rory mutters, looking Lincoln in the eyes. She looks away from him and walks closer to Bellamy, standing behind him and placing her hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure it out, together. You, me, Clarke. We'll figure this mess out and sort it."
The hatch suddenly opens, Miller coming out of it and stepping off the ladder. Rory jumps slightly, not expecting the loud noise after growing accustomed to the relative silence of the room. She takes her hand off Bellamy's shoulder and clears her throat.
"Did you talk to the Ark?" Bellamy asks as Miller walks over to him.
Miller places his hands on his hips and nods his head. "I told Digg's mom the news, John's dad. I'm supposed to talk to Roma's parents later."
"Thanks for doing that. I owe you." Bellamy mutters, Rory nodding her head in agreement.
Miller turns to look at Lincoln. "Telling all these parents that their kids were murdered by Grounders, I just wish I could say we were getting some justice."
"We're not killing him." Bellamy says without any trace of hesitation.
Miller bites his tongue and Rory can practically see the struggle he's going through. It's clear as day that he wants to say something, wants to argue with Bellamy. But he stays silent. Instead, he walks over to Lincoln and dips his hand into a dish on the table.
"You were a lot scarier when you had that face paint on." He mutters, reaching up and smearing what appears to be crushed berries onto Lincoln's face.
Just as Rory is about to say something to Miller, Lincoln retaliates, his patience breaking. Miller, being overly confident doesn't step back and so Lincoln quickly head-buts him. He falls to the floor due to the force of the hit, clutching his head and groaning in pain. Both Bellamy and Rory look at Lincoln, surprised that he did anything at all. Bellamy eyes him warily, trying to work out why he chose this point to fight back and not when he was being electrocuted. Rory looks over at him, surprised it took this long. A smug smile crosses her face. Even though she cared about Miller, he deserved it.
"Get out." Rory says, stepping forward.
"What?" Miller asks, getting to his feet and glancing towards her and Bellamy.
"You heard me, I said get out. You're no longer needed on grounder duty. Get out of here and go get Zoe. She's taking over." Rory tells him. "I'm sure there's something for you to assist with rebuilding outside."
Miller throws his arms out. "Come on, Rory!"
"If you want to be treated with respect and given authority around here then you need to treat others with respect. The grounder might not be your favourite person in the world but, you don't get to treat him like that. You don't have the authority. Bellamy says we aren't killing him. I say we aren't killing him. You have no control around him so you shouldn't be here. Go cool off, help out around camp. I don't want to see you up here again."
Miller shuts his mouth, not wanting to anger Rory any more than he already has. He lets out a frustrated sigh and storms towards the ladder, disappearing out of sight. A few minutes later the hatch opens again and Zoe Monroe's red hair appears, quickly followed by the rest of her.
"Miller said you wanted to see me?" Zoe asks, climbing off the ladder.
Once she's off the ladder, Bellamy takes her place and starts to make his way down to the lower level of the ship. Zoe sends him a small smile of acknowledgment which he returns as they pass each other, and she walks over to Rory. This is the first time Zoe has seen the grounder since he was captured. She takes him in, slightly overwhelmed at the size of him compared to her.
"Hey, yeah I did. You're being promoted." Rory says, unfolding her arms and walking away from Lincoln. "You up for Grounder duty?"
"Hell yeah." Zoe says making Rory laugh slightly. "Why me though?"
"I trust you. I trust you a hell of a lot and I believe in you. I think you're pretty incredible, Zoe." Rory says, reaching out and patting Zoe's arm.
Zoe looks away embarrassed. She's not used to having people talk to her like that. She clears her throat and looks back at Rory. "Like I said, you need anything I'm there."
"That means a lot, thank you Zoe. The feeling is mutual, by the way." Rory replies, a small smile on her face. "So, basically, we have no clue what we're going to do with him just that we aren't killing him. I need you to watch over him. Make sure no one other than the so-called 'inner circle', god that sounds so pretentious, sees him. Bellamy doesn't want his sister up here, though. Keep an eye on his wounds, if you think anything looks infected call down and get them to send Clarke up, and keep him hydrated. He won't give you any grief."
"I got it. Make sure he doesn't die and make sure no one murders him." Zoe says to which Rory nods her head.
Rory walks over to Lincoln. "I trust Zoe, she'll keep you safe so don't be difficult. She wants to help, we want to help, so let her because there's no way Octavia is getting back up here whilst Bellamy is around." Rory mutters to him, cleaning one of his wounds as cover. "You saved my life so let me save yours. Lincoln, I'm not going to let anyone touch you and I will get you out of here once I figure out how." Lincoln nods his head slightly and closes his hand around Rory's. Rory smiles at him and backs away, heading to the ladder. "You'll do great, Zoe. If anything changes I'll get someone to tell you." She calls out, making her way down the ladder.
As Rory continues descending she begins to hear Bellamy's voice coming from the bottom level. "I let him live. Isn't that enough?"
"He saved my life and yours." Rory hears Octavia say just as she reaches their level.
Bellamy steps away from the ladder so that Rory can make her way down safely. "I know you see it that way, but-"
Octavia looks over at him as Rory steps off the ladder and stands next to him leaning against it. "That's the way it is." She says, cutting him off and leaning forward in her seat. "Are you forgetting that he saved Rory's life too?"
"He's also the reason she stopped breathing and I had to watch the life drain out of her." Bellamy shouts, his anger getting the best of him. He turns away from his sister, taking in some deep breaths to try to calm himself down. "He's still dangerous, Octavia." He says, turning back to face her.
"Only because of what you did."
"Whatever twisted connection you think you have with that animal, forget it. You don't get to see him. End of conversation." Bellamy says, turning to leave.
"Why do you even care if I ruined your life?" Octavia calls out, making Bellamy stop and turn back around. "You should want me to go up there. Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll kill me, problem solved."
"O, don't say that." Rory mutters, pushing herself off the ladder and standing up straight.
Bellamy glances over at Rory then back to his sister. "Octavia, you know I didn't mean that."
"You two need to figure this out, seriously, you never know what's going to happen next down here and you'll never forgive yourselves if one of you gets hurt and you're still arguing like this." Rory tells them both, walking over towards the door. "We spoke about our fight and we worked through it, kind of." She says to Bellamy before turning to look between them both. "You two need to do the same. Try not to kill one another, I'll be outside helping if you need me."
Rory turns and keeps walking towards the door, both of the Blake's calling out to her for her to stay. They need to do this on their own, Rory thinks. She passes Clarke on her way down the slope, both of them smiling to one another.
Over to one of the sides of camp, Jasper and Monty are working on the nuts and berries allocation. They're slowly making their way through the collection, separating the relevant portions and putting together the rations for camp, and only sampling a few of the nuts and berries purely for quality control purposes.
"What do you think they're gonna do with the Grounder?" Jasper asks Monty, the two taking a short break from the work. Before Monty can reply, Jasper spots Rory at the bottom of the slope leading to the dropship and waves her over to them. "Hey, Ro!"
Rory waves back, a smile instantly gracing her face as she sees him and Monty grinning back at her. She quickly heads over to their table. "Hey. Sorry I've been super MIA these last few days."
Jasper throws his arm around her and pulls her into him. "You're in the big leagues now, we get it. Our best friend is kind of a big deal around here." He says jokingly, Monty nodding along with him. "We were just saying, what are you guys gonna do with big, buff, grounder dude?"
"Personally, I'd rather not think about it." Monty says, shuddering dramatically.
Rory lets out a loud laugh and catches one of the berries Jasper throws at her with her mouth. "Honestly? Same. You guys probably have a better idea than we do, all we know is we aren't killing him."
The three of them look over to the dropship just as Bellamy and then Clarke walk out of it. Rory watches Bellamy duck into his tent and disappear from sight, resisting the urge to go and speak to him. He'll find her when he wants to. Jasper and Monty refocus their attention onto their task and make up some more rations, and Rory watches them both in silence.
"I mean at least you have some kind of idea. A way to narrow down the options." Monty points out.
Rory gasps and covers her mouth with her hand. "Monty Green and positivity?"
Jasper copies her and looks at Monty with wide eyes. "Wow they weren't kidding when they said Earth is full of new experiences."
"Why am I friends with the two of you? Seriously? I ask myself every single day." Monty says, trying to keep a straight face. He breaks and starts to laugh along with them as soon as Rory and Jasper start pulling stupid faces at him.
"Well, it's been days since Bellamy captured him. How long till his friends come looking?" Jasper asks, just as Bellamy walks out of his tent carrying a backpack.
"Cheer up." Monty says, nudging Jasper's arm and smirking at him. "In that time, we'll all be dead from hypothermia."
"One can only hope. Look, I'll see you around. I need to go." She mutters, starting to walk towards Bellamy.
"Catch you on the flip side, Queenie." Jasper calls out though it falls on deaf ears.
"She's so going to Bellamy." Monty says, placing some berries into his mouth.
"Of course she is. If they go five minutes without being near each other they start to die."
- - - -
Rory weaves her way through the delinquents and quickly makes her way to Bellamy. "Hey!" She calls out to him making him stop in his tracks. "You going to tell me what's going on?"
"Nothing's going on." Bellamy mutters, shrugging his shoulders.
She raises her eyebrows and nods her head towards the backpack he's holding. "Then why do you have a backpack in your hand that looks very full?"
He lets out a sigh. "The Ark found a bunker not too far from here that they think should've survived and could help us make it through the winter. Clarke came into the dropship to ask me to go with her."
"That doesn't sound like Clarke."
"She only asked me because she said she doesn't want to be with someone she actually likes."
Rory smiles slightly. "Yeah that sounds a lot more like her... why didn't you want me to know?" She asks quietly, her smile faltering. Bellamy doesn't know how to answer that without giving away his plan to leave and never come back. Rory quickly recovers. "Anyways, I'm coming with you. When do we leave?"
"You're staying here, Rory."
"No I'm not. I'm coming with you. Look, I'm the only person here that's successfully killed a grounder so I should be the one to go."
The two of them stare at one another, neither backing down. After a few seconds Bellamy lets out an exasperated sigh. "Fine. You win. Just go sort it with Clarke." He says, placing the backpack onto his shoulder and walking away.
Rory smiles triumphantly, happy to have convinced him. She spins around, heading towards Finn's tent which she had seen Clarke enter earlier. Just as she reaches it, Clarke leaves the tent and starts walking towards Bellamy.
"Clarke wait." Rory calls out. Clarke stops in her tracks and turns to face Rory as she jogs over to her. "You're staying here, I'm going to go with him."
Clarke smiles at her, thinking she's saying all this just because she knows that the two aren't the best of friends. "Rory it's fine, honestly."
"Look, I'm completely recovered. Honestly the whole accidental poisoning thing did wonders for my sleeping schedule and I feel better and stronger than I have in weeks." Rory tells her. "They need you here more than they need me. They need you to survive more than they need me to. If Finn takes a turn for the worse, he will die if you're not in camp Clarke. They need a medic more than they need someone who is an expert at killing people. Plus, I'm the best fighter here. That means I have to go wherever people will be the most vulnerable and that's two people walking through the woods alone."
"Rory-"
"I need to get out of this camp, Clarke. I don't know how much longer I can stay cooped up in here. And I know why you agreed to go. You wanted to run away from your problems for just one day, not have to see Finn and Raven for one day. Trust me when I tell you, nothing good comes from running away from your problems. That's why I'm choosing to go on a day long mission alone with my problem."
Clarke lets out a sigh and nods her head. "You can take my backpack, it's already packed and is in my tent. I'll give Bellamy the map and explain it to him whilst you do that."
Rory pulls Clarke into a hug, placing a kiss on her forehead, before running to get the backpack. Once she's gone Clarke looks around to find Bellamy and spots him over by the rations. She walks over to him and see just how many he's put in his bag.
"That's a lot of rations. You realize this is a day trip?" She asks him.
Bellamy shuts the lid on the bins holding the rations. "A lot can happen in a day."
"Rory's coming with you instead. She was right, I'm needed more here in case something happens. I really hate having a best friend who's always right." Clarke mutters. She hands Bellamy the map and starts to quickly explain everything to him, telling him all the information the Ark gave her.
Once she's done Rory walks out of the tent near the dropship, backpack already firmly placed on her back. Octavia steps out of the dropship at the same time and sees Clarke and Bellamy stood at the edge of camp. She calls out to Rory who tells her what's happening, giving her a hug before quickly walking over to Clarke and Bellamy.
When Rory reaches them, her and Bellamy say their goodbyes to Clarke and begin to walk towards the gate leading out of camp. When they get to the threshold Rory walks straight through the gap but Bellamy hesitates. He pauses and looks back at the camp focusing in on Octavia. Rory glances over her shoulder at him and notices he doesn't start walking again until Octavia is back inside the dropship. She frowns to herself at his weird behaviour but shrugs it off.
As they make their way out of camp unbeknownst to both Bellamy and Rory, they're being watched by one of their own. One of the delinquents is crouched by the fire, watching them walk away. Once they are far enough in the distance he stands up and follows after them, pocketing his knife as he does so.
Dax follows after them with one thought in his mind: kill Bellamy Blake no matter the consequences.
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A.N
Hey guys! Sorry for the delay getting this chapter out but it's the end of term so classes have been hectic. It's the Christmas break now so hopefully I'll be able to write a bit more often! I gave yall another longer than normal chapter to try to make up for it.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, it was a bit more of a filler one for the explosion that's going to happen during the Day Trip episode in terms of Robell. The start with Robell sat on the floor made my heart warm honestly. But lots happened! Rory had a sister, her father is trash and he killed her mom. There are lots of hints in this chapter as to what went down in the past!
I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone that has been reading and voting. A few chapters ago I announced this book had got 1k reads and now we're on 2.7k! And it's officially got over 100 votes which is super special as this is a t100 fanfic. I really hope you're still enjoying it, please let me know in the comments what you think and leave a vote!