Archive of our own:
By:iamsnowwhite
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Clarke's school is close enough that she often comes home on the weekends even though she has her own apartment. She likes their food better apparently. So it's not unusual for Marcus to come home after work on a Saturday to see her hanging out in the living room. What is unusual, however, is to see her buried under several blankets, clutching a bowl of popcorn life it's her lifeline, and crying as she watches Chopped.
He slowly and carefully crosses into the living room. He's learned after four years of having a step daughter to tread lightly in these situations. "Everything okay?" he asks, sitting beside her on the couch.
She looks down to the popcorn bowl, "No, not really."
"What is it?"
"Mom's gonna kill me."
"I'd really hate to arrest my own wife, so I'll try to talk her out of it," he says, getting a small laugh out of her. "Clarke, what's wrong?"
She finally looks up at him and he sees reluctance in her expression. She looks scared and he hates seeing her that way. If there is one thing Marcus knows about Clarke, it's that she is fire wrapped in skin and bones. She is as strong as steel. From the day he walked into her life, he saw that fire. She yelled and hated him and was never one to favor tact in his presence. And her sitting before him now, timid and small, is unnerving to him.
"You can't tell her," Clarke says quietly.
"I won't, I promise."
She sniffles and wipes tears from her cheeks, "I'm pregnant."
Well, he was certainly not expecting that.
"I can't tell mom because she'd get mad and demand I get rid of it," she continues. "And I can't tell Bellamy because he has enough to worry about with school and work and Octavia. He'd do whatever I ask him to because that's who he is, but I can't let him take a year off school so he can work more to help me support the baby and he's too proud to let me take care of the costs and-" she takes a deep breath. "And I don't know what to do..."
Clarke starts to cry again and Marcus wraps his arms around her, pulling her close and cradling her head with one hand while the other runs up and down her back.
He can't help but feel good about the fact that she's decided to open up to him. They've never had the best relationship and he understands why. It means a lot that she trusts him with this.
"We'll figure this out," he tells her.
She looks up at him, vulnerable, "Yeah?"
"Yeah. First things first, how far along are you?"
"Five or six weeks, I think," she answers.
"So that means the baby will be due in September. Bellamy will be finished with school by then, right? This is his last semester?" She nods. "Alright, so that takes care of one problem." He hopes he's doing what's right here. He knows that Clarke is rational, likes to break things down and have a plan. "Maybe we can work something out with him about the money, splitting the cost of everything. Because you don't want to get married, right?"
"No, I don't."
"I think that's a smart choice. And I can always stand behind you while you talk to him. I'll be his boss soon and I'm fairly intimidating."
She smiles at that and it feels like a victory to him. Albeit a small one.
"Octavia's almost 18. I know he won't like it but she could always stay in a dorm when she starts school. I could move in with him, help pay rent. That would help take some stress off him," Clarke suggests.
She looks down at the bowl again, moving the kernels around with her finger, "But what about mom?"
"Honestly, it will take some time for her to come around. But I will talk to her and tell her that this is what you want to do, " Marcus says.
"I'll have to take time off school, there's no avoiding that. She'll be pissed. She's already mad that I'm not in premed anymore..."
He sighs, taking a moment to think about this. Abby had been furious when Clarke switched her major. There was tension between the two of them for a long time, and they still don't talk about Clarke's schooling much.
"It's normal for people to take more than four years to graduate college. Your mother only wants what's best for you and I think you should talk to her about your intent to finish school once you're ready." Marcus places his hand on her knee and offers a small smile. "I know she can be a little uptight about these things, but at the end of the day she just wants you to be happy and successful. And I think she'll be more than happy to babysit."
Clarke takes a deep breath and rests her head on his shoulder. "Thanks, Marcus. I know this is probably putting you in a weird position, but. Thanks."
"You're family, Clarke. Any way I can help, I will."
It's silent for a minute and he can tells she is thinking, he can practically hear the cogs turning in her mind.
"Will you be there when I talk to her?" she finally asks.
"Of course."
He feels a little awkward when Abby comes home later that night. Clarke has asked him to wait to say anything until she has a chance to tell Bellamy first and he will honor her wishes. It feels strange to be keeping something from his wife. He has always been honest with her. It's an important part of their relationship. But he also knows that Abby has always wanted he and Clarke to get along, even if she won't tell him this. Clarke is as important to her as is he. She wants the two people she cares about most to be close. He hopes that Abby will understand once this is all said and done.
But there will be a fair amount of yelling first.
Clarke's not the only woman around here with fire in her.
*********
Clarke tells Bellamy that she can't come over tonight, that she has an important quiz on Monday that she has to study for.
"Are you sure you don't wanna come over?" he asks and Clarke knows he's smirking on the other end of the phone. "I'm a great study buddy and I can think of some pretty good ways to reward you for right answers..."
"I actually want to do well on this quiz, Bel. Your studying techniques won't exactly help with that," she tells him, amazed that she can sound so calm right now.
"Alright, but I'm still going to sext you tonight and there's nothing you can do to stop me."
"You're such a child," she says fondly. He'll be great playing with the baby... "And I can always put my phone on do not disturb."
He laughs, "Fine then, go study, my smart Princess. Call me if you need a break."
"I will. And, Bellamy?"
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
"I love you too, Princess."
She hangs up and flops back onto her bed with a sigh. She wants to cry, but then she'd probably have to get out of bed to get a drink of water because she'll get dehydrated from all the crying she's been doing today. Today sucks. The only good thing that happened today was talking with Marcus. Before he came home, Clarke was completely lost. She had no idea what she was going to do, she felt so alone. She really needed someone to talk her through this and he managed to make her smile. It's still gonna suck, telling her mom and everything, but it's good to know that someone is on her side.
Raven will probably be getting home soon and Clarke has no desire to tell her what's going on, so she decides to grab a bag of chips and sit on the couch watching tv like nothing is wrong. Plus, she really wants some chips.
"Wow, look who's home," Raven says when she walks into their apartment. She'll have to get another roommate when Clarke moves out... That is, if Bellamy even wants her to move in... God, this day is literally the worst. "You're not going to Bellamy's tonight?"
"Nah," Clarke says with a shrug. "I figured I stay here and watch Blade Runner with my best friend."
"Well I'll never say no to Blade Runner. Papa Murphy's?"
"I had pizza for lunch. Call for Happy Panda, Chinese sounds bomb right now."
"Ugh fine, but you're killing my dreams," Raven says, relaxing into the couch and pulling out her cell phone.
"You're so dramatic..." Clarke rolls her eyes and laughs.
"Pizza is no laughing matter, Griffin."
"Oh just dial the number and get the chopsticks." They have to use their own chopsticks since the restaurant only gives them forks and Raven loves to watch Clarke eat with the training chopsticks she got her as a gag gift last Christmas. Raven just likes making fun of her in general.
As she eats takeout and watches Harrison Ford be a badass, Clarke somehow manages to forget that her mom might kill her and that she's probably ruining Bellamy's life. Raven's commentary pulls her out of her terrible mood and she thankfully doesn't bring out the beers they have in the fridge. Clarke has no idea what she'd tell her if she did... Raven would see right through any excuse she made.
They watch Indiana Jones after Blade Runner comes to an end because apparently Raven can't get enough Harrison Ford tonight. But Raven is weird as hell and picks the Temple of Doom. The thought of eating monkey brains along with the smell of Raven's after dinner snack of pickles has Clarke excusing herself to the restroom and trying not to run and make Raven suspicious. Great. Morning sickness. Just when she thought her day was starting to look up...
She sits back against the wall once her stomach is done rejecting the dinner she just ate and runs a hand through her hair. She doesn't stop herself from crying this time. She's not sure she could even if she tried. This is all so overwhelming and the stress just seems to keep adding up.
After a minute, she splashes some water on her face and heads back into the living room.
"I think I'm gonna go to bed," she tells Raven.
"What? It's not even eleven yet."
"I know, I'm just exhausted, Rae."
"Well goodnight then," Raven says.
"Night."
*********
Marcus is sitting in his office when his phone start to ring.
"Marcus Kane," he answers.
"Hey, Marcus, it's Clarke."
"Oh hi, is everything alright?" He's a little worried, she's never really called him at work before. And now with everything that's going on...
"Yeah... I have my first appointment today and I- I needed to talk to someone," she sounds so lost and his heart breaks a little at the sound of her voice.
"I'm all ears," he offers.
"I'm scared..." she admits. "This is all just going to make it feel so... Real, I guess."
"Would you like me to come with you?"
She sighs, "No, I think I can do this on my own. At least I hope I can..."
"I know you can. You and your mother are the two strongest women I know."
"No we're both just too angry to let anything stop us," she says.
"Well that's true too. You can call me if you need anything, okay?"
"Okay. I should probably leave for the doctor's office, so. I'll talk to you later."
"Good luck," he tells her.
"Thank you."
He barely has ten minutes to go back to work before Abby calls him.
"Hello there, my wonderful wife, " he says.
"I'm getting off early tonight, so do you want to do something for dinner?" she asks.
"Yeah, I'll make us something when I get home."
"Sounds good."
---
Abby is already home when Marcus gets there. She's got a mountain of paperwork in front of her and that concentrated look on her face, the one where her eyebrows are drawn together and she's frowning. He can't help but laugh as he walks past her into the kitchen, placing a kiss to her forehead.
"It's strange to see you home this early on a weekday," he jokes.
"You're a regular laugh riot. You should try stand up," she deadpans, not looking up from her work.
"I think I'm pretty funny."
"You think that, don't you?" she says.
He laughs, "After a hard day's work is nice to come home to a supportive wife."
"I do try."
"Pasta?"
"Sounds good."
Marcus starts on dinner while Abby remains at the dining room table. It's a nice change for her to be able to join him for dinner. She gets every third day off work and they spend those evenings together. And if she wasn't home tonight, he would probably have eaten the leftover food from their New Year's Eve party for dinner.
"You should probably move your papers," he says, walking into the dining room with two plates. "I don't think the hospital would appreciate their filing cabinets smelling like tomato sauce."
"You never know," she replies.
He sits across from her and asks her about her day.
She sighs, "My usual scrub nurse is on her honeymoon and it's difficult to set a routine with a new nurse. That's why I'm home so early. I rescheduled a surgery because I was so frustrated."
"Well I think that deserves some of Clarke's brownies for dessert."
"I don't know where she learned to bake so well... I certainly didn't teach her that," Abby says with a laugh.
"Oh believe me, I know," he says, knowing she'll roll her eyes at him and laugh. That will always be his favorite sound.
She looks like she is going to say something, but the ringing off his cell phone interrupts her. Marcus look at the screen and sees that it's Clarke calling. He feels his chest tighten as he excuses himself to answer the call.
"How did the appointment go?" he asks, unable to hide the worry from his voice.
"It went well..." she says. "I'm farther along than I thought, about seven weeks." She pauses and he hears her take a deep breath, one that sounds shaky even over the phone. "I heard the heartbeat and was able to see it on an ultrasound," she sniffles and chokes out a sob. "I got pictures and- and there's a baby. I'm actually having a baby..."
"You heard the heartbeat?" he asks, amazed and slightly in awe.
"Yeah," she breathes. "It was amazing. I recorded on my phone."
"You sound happy."
"I am. I'm nervous about telling Bellamy, though..."
"He's a great guy, Clarke. And he really loves you. I don't think this will change that. Even if you guys are young I have faith in you two."
She takes a deep breath, "I think I'm going to tell him tonight when I go over there for dinner."
"You haven't eaten dinner yet?" he asks, sounding shocked.
"Of course not. You and mom eat with the early bird specials, I eat when young people do."
"Is that you calling me old?" he asks.
"You're going to be a grandpa, I think that classifies you as old."
Of course he would be the baby's grandfather, but it's shocking to hear her say it, for some reason. It feels great.
"Well thanks, but I have to go. There are some kids on the lawn that I need to yell at."
"Who was that?" Abby asks when he sits down at the table again.
"Clarke," he says. He doesn't see a reason to lie to her about that. He just won't tell her about Clarke's appointment.
Abby raises her eyebrows, "And what did she want?"
"To make fun of how old I am," he answers and she doesn't push any further.
*********
Clarke takes a deep breath as she climbs the stairs to Bellamy's apartment. She has the sonograms in her back pocket in case Bellamy wants to see them. Her palms sweat and she wipes them off on her jeans before knocking on the door.
"Oh the princess finally decided to grace me with her presence," he says as he steps aside to let her in.
Clarke grabs his hand and pulls him over to the couch. He smiles at her as he sits down beside her, his gaze soft and sweet. This moment feels so perfect. He's looking at her with all the love in the world. Like she makes his world better just by sitting with him on his couch. She doesn't want to risk ruining this moment.
She throws herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. He hugs her back immediately, no questions asked.
"Where's Octavia?" she asks, pulling away to look at him.
"She's at a friend's house working on a project," he replies. "Is everything okay? You seem frazzled."
"There's something we need to talk about." She takes a deep breath. She'll have to just rip off the bandaid. She'll definitely start crying if she doesn't. Why does she cry at everything now? It's so unlike her. "So um... I'm pregnant."
"You are?" he asks quietly.
"Yeah, I am."
He lets out a watery laugh and pulls her to her feet so he can wrap his arms around her waist and spin her around.
"You're happy," she says, loving his bright smile.
"I'm so happy. Did you think I wouldn't be?"
"I was scared. This is going to change everything and I'm only 21, this is scary."
"We can do this, Clarke. You can move in here and- and we can do this," he says.
"There's a lot we have to talk about, but can we just be happy now? Cause as soon as I tell my mom, it won't be happy."
"Of course," he says, taking her hand. "Now come on."
He leads her into his bedroom and they lay together on his bed.
"I have something to show you," Clarke says, pulling out one of the sonograms and handing it to Bellamy.
He looks at it and she thinks he's on the verge of tears. "This is our baby..." he whispers.
"I heard the heartbeat too, hold on," she pulls her phone out of her hoodie pocket and pulls up the audio recording she took during her appointment.
It was a steady thump that echoed throughout the exam room. Clarke felt a few tears roll down her cheeks when she first heard it and now she sees Bellamy doing the same. He places his hand on her stomach and smiles, "There's a little baby with a little heart in there."
"There is," she says, placing her hand over his much larger one. "I'm seven weeks along, Bel."
"How long have you known?"
"A few days. I told Marcus, by the way..."
"You told Marcus?"
"When I first took the test, I was terrified. My mom is gonna be pissed and I didn't want you to stress out over this and think you had to do something crazy like take a semester off. And he came in, he helped me figure it all out," she says, resting her head on his shoulder.
"I'm glad he was able to be there for you."
"I was thinking about setting up a dinner with him and my mom and tell her then."
"Do you want me to be there?" he asks.
She nods and kisses his shoulder, "I need you there. But the dinner won't be for another month at least. I'm not going to tell her until after the first trimester is over."
"Well I'll do whatever you need me to do."
Clarke wraps her arms around his waist and he kisses her temple. The fact that telling Bellamy went so well makes Clarke even more scared about telling her mother. That could be a huge explosion and she's not quite ready to deal with that yet.
*********
When Clarke called asking Marcus to get lunch with her after her classes, he gladly agreed. He's hoping to talk to her about when she plans to tell Abby about her pregnancy. It's getting harder and harder to keep this from his wife. Things between them have been good and he finally got her to agree to accompany him to the batting cages. It's safe to say that was the best day he's had in awhile.
It feels like the longer she's kept in the dark, the angrier she'll be with him. But in the end, this isn't about him. This is about Clarke and the baby. He'll do whatever needs to be done to make her comfortable. He knows how stressed out she is.
Clarke is already there when he arrives at the restaurant so he makes his way over to the table.
"Soda?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.
"Relax, it's root beer," she smiles. "No caffeine."
"Is there something you wanted to talk about?"
"Yeah, actually. So the first trimester will be over in a couple weeks, and I was thinking about having dinner at the house so I can tell mom. Do you think that would be a good idea?" she asks.
"I think that's a great idea."
"Good. And Bellamy is gonna come too. I'll need all the help I can get..." she sighs. "I'm really sorry that I'm making you keep this from her."
"Don't worry about it, Clarke. It's not a problem. You're the one making this choice and I'm glad that you trust me to be on your side." He gives her a reassuring smile, hoping she understands.
---
The next few weeks go very quickly. Work is crazy and Marcus is constantly busy. He barely has time to worry about the dinner with Abby and Clarke until the actual day. He tells everyone at work to take care of everything because he is leaving at five o'clock sharp.
Abby won't be home until a little after six, so Clarke and Bellamy come over earlier to help with dinner.
"Are you two planning to help? Or are you just going to stand there and look pretty?" he asks. They're all in the kitchen, Marcus is standing in front of the stove, the only one actually cooking.
"You're not helping yourself with the whole old thing by complaining here," Clarke jokes. She's standing by the island while Bellamy stands behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist and his chin on her shoulder. It takes Marcus a moment to realize Bellamy has his hands resting on Clarke's stomach and he smiles at the sight. He was right to think that Bellamy is a good man.
"Besides," Clarke adds. "I'm only good at baking. I'd probably burn everything."
"You're ridiculous," Marcus says fondly.
"I brought dessert so I think I'm off the hook."
"That'll soften your mom up," Marcus says.
"That's what I was hoping for. But I had to keep them away from Bellamy in the car."
"They smelled so good," Bellamy whines. "I just wanted one cookie."
"But then you would have wanted just one more and then one more after that and there wouldn't be any to eat here," Clarke tells him.
"But you ate one!" Bellamy says.
"I get to eat whatever I want," she says.
Marcus laughs, "I wouldn't argue with this one, Bellamy."
"They're just extremely good cookies," he says.
Marcus turns when he hears the garage door open. He sees Bellamy move away from Clarke at the speed of light. There's a moment where Clarke looks like she's freaking out, but then Abby wraps her up in a hug and she relaxes a little.
Abby helps finish cooking dinner and Marcus throws a pointed look at Clarke and Bellamy which sends the both of them into a fit of laughter.
They all sit around the dining room table once the food is ready and Clarke's nervousness is back. He supposes that if you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't notice. But her leg is bouncing and shaking the whole table.
"So, mom, I actually have something I wanted to tell you," she finally says. She waited until they brought out the cookies. Marcus thinks that's probably smart.
Abby looks at her expectantly and Clarke takes a deep breath.
"I'm uh, I'm pregnant."
"You're what?" Abby asks, her voice raising slightly.
"Bellamy and I, we're gonna have a baby."
"You cannot be serious, Clarke," Abby snaps. "You are 21 years old."
"I know, but I'll probably only take a year off school. And then I'd go back and get my degree-"
"This is unacceptable. You're throwing your life away, Clarke. You're too young."
Clarke pushes her chair back and the sound of it scraping across the wood floor is deafening in the room. "This isn't your choice, mom. I don't need your approval to do this and I'm not going to sit here and listen to you tell me how stupid I'm being."
She stands, grabbing Bellamy's hand and pulling him towards the front door.
"You can't just stomp out of here, Clarke!"
"I told you, I'm done listening!" Clarke shouts. They hear the front door slam and Abby sinks down into her chair.
After a moment, she looks up, anger on her face and eyebrows drawn together. "Why don't you seem surprised by this? Did you know about this, Marcus?" she demands.
"I did know," he replies.
"And you didn't tell me?! You didn't tell me that Clarke is pregnant ?"
"I found her bawling on the sofa because she was scared you would react exactly how you did just now. What did you want me to do when she came to me, terrified and asking to keep it a secret?"
"You're supposed to tell me, that's what I would have wanted you to do! I could have helped her make the right decision here!" Abby slams her palms onto the table, fire in her eyes as she looks at him like she wants to murder him right there in the dining room.
"There is no right decision here, Abby! Clarke gets an abortion and regrets it for the rest of her life because it will always be a giant what if. She has this baby and, yes things will be difficult at first but she has people to help her. She's not alone and you just made her feel that way!" He's yelling now and he's mad at himself for not expecting this. He thought she'd be mad, that they would talk this through and she would see why he did what he did.
"I'm her mother, Marcus! I should know these kind of things!"
"Well you just made sure that Clarke will not include you in any of this. This is something you have to fix now."
She shakes her head and laughs the kind of laugh that says 'your unbelievable', and not in a good way when it's coming from Abby Griffin.
"I can't deal with this right now," she says, almost sounding calm, as she turns away from him to walk up the stairs.
Marcus runs a hand down his face and sighs. There's nothing he can do here. Abby is too upset to hear him out right now and he knows that calling Clarke is a bad idea.
He knew this dinner wouldn't end well, but somehow he wasn't prepared for what he got instead.
*********
Clarke walks quickly back to the car, throwing the door open and slamming it closed once she gets in.
She never expected her mother to take the news this badly, never expected that look of disappointment. Anger burns inside of her. She wants to hit something, hard.
"I want to go back to my apartment," she says when Bellamy gets into the driver's seat.
"Princess, I'm not going to leave you alone right now."
"Take me home, Bellamy."
He sighs and starts the car. She remains silent as he drives to her apartment, knowing that as soon as she opens her mouth the anger will erupt with screaming and shouting.
She gets out of the car as soon as Bellamy pulls into a parking spot, not even waiting for him to turn off the car. He jogs to catch up to her as she takes the steps two at a time to get to the apartment faster. She unlocks the door with shaking hands and Bellamy grabs her hand as soon as he gets inside.
"Clarke it's gonna be okay," he says, pulling her into his chest.
"Get away from me!" she exclaims, struggling against his grip. She smacks at his chest when he doesn't let her go, in fact, he holds her tighter.
She realizes her efforts are useless and collapses against him. She would fall to the ground if he wasn't holding her up.
"Clarke, breath," he says when she starts sobbing into his chest.
"I can't," she gasps.
"You can. It's going to be okay, Princess," he says quietly. He hooks his arm under her knees and carries her over to the couch, letting her curl up in his lap as he rubs her back. "It's going to be okay," he repeats. "I love you, Princess and we're going to be okay."
After a while, her sobs quiet down but she doesn't stop crying. Her tears soak through Bellamy's shirt and they have no plans to move anytime soon.
They hear the door being unlocked and Raven enters the apartment. She looks confused at the scene in front of her. "What..."
Bellamy shakes his head and Clarke doesn't move her head from his chest.
He picks her back up and carries her to her room. They get under the covers, still in their clothes.
"I hate her," Clarke says quietly. "She doesn't know anything. She's just- I hate her."
"Let's go to sleep," he says.
She places her head on his chest, letting the sound of his heartbeat lull her to sleep.
---
"We should tell Raven today," Clarke says while Bellamy makes them some breakfast. All Clarke ever wants to eat now is scrambled eggs and toast with raspberry jam. "And Octavia too."
"Are you sure? We could always wait a bit," he suggests.
"I'll be moving out soon and that will affect the both of them so we should tell them first, I think."
"As long as you're comfortable with that I'm in," he says, leaning over to where she sits on the counter to give her a kiss.
As soon as Bellamy starts on the bacon, Raven emerges from her room looking for food.
"You good?" she asks Clarke, sitting beside her on the counter.
Clarke leans her head on Raven's shoulder, "I will be."
"Okay," Raven says, grabbing Clarke's hand and lacing their fingers together.
"Can I tell you something?" Clarke asks.
"Sure, Griffin."
Clarke moves to whisper in Raven's ear, "I'm pregnant."
"What?!" Raven exclaims. She looks down to Clarke stomach and she laughs.
"I'm having a baby."
"You're going to be the best mom, I already know it," Raven tells her, smiling.
"Thanks, Rae."
*********
The atmosphere in the house is tense and showed no signs of changing. They sleep with their backs to each other when Abby comes home from the hospital. Marcus suspects she is staying in on call rooms rather than coming home.
She has the day off about a week and a half after the dinner with Clarke and he decides this has to end.
He finds her in the living room watching Love It Or List It and he sits down beside her before she even notices that he was in the room.
"Abby what do you need from me?" he asks.
"I need to know why?" she says after a long moment of silence.
His answer comes easily. "She was vulnerable and Clarke is never that way. She's funny and sarcastic and loud. But she was scared and small when I came home. She had no idea what to do and I helped her make a plan. It meant a lot that she trusted me with this secret that could possibly be the biggest and greatest thing to ever happen to her. There was no hesitation and she opened up to me."
He grabs her hands and gives her a look that is so sincere it melts her heart just a little bit.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. I just wanted to help Clarke."
Abby puts her hand on his cheeks and kisses him. He wastes no time kissing her back. Relief floods his chest and he finds himself smiling against her lips.
"So you forgive me?" he asks after she pulls away.
"I do. This is just hard for me. I feel like I've failed her because I can't protect her anymore. She's my little girl. It feels like yesterday that she was taking her first steps and crying when she fell. My baby is having a baby of her own now..."
"She needs you right now, maybe more than ever. You need to find a way to apologize."
"I know I do, I just don't know how." She leans into him, placing her head on his chest while he wraps his arms around her shoulders.
"We'll figure it out."
*********
"Bellamy!" Clarke shouts from the bathroom. A laugh passes her lips as she stands in front of the mirror.
She hears his footsteps coming towards her, fast. It makes her giggle that he's running to her. "What? What is it?" be asks, worry obvious in his voice.
"Look," she says.
She looks down to her stomach and he follows her gaze.
"There's a bump. I have a bump!"
He kneels in front of her and places his hands on the small swell of her stomach.
"That's amazing," he says breathlessly.
"That's our baby, Bel."
"That's our baby."
"I want to tell everyone. I want to show all our friends."
Bellamy starts a group chat with all their friends, inviting them all to Bellamy's apartment that night for a movie night. He gets out snacks and laughs when he sees Clarke eating all the pretzels he set on the coffee table.
"You ready?" he asks when he joins her on the couch.
"Definitely," she tells him with a smile.
Clarke's wearing a hoodie that covers up her bump, but her tank top underneath does not. It's tight and stretches over her belly.
Raven is the first to arrive. They asked her to keep quiet so everyone else would be surprised tonight and she gladly agreed, saying that she couldn't wait to see the shocked look on Miller's face. They told Octavia a few days ago and she was overjoyed. She was beaming and going on about how awesome it will be to be an aunt.
When everyone else arrives, they all sit in the living room and try to pick out a movie to watch. Eventually they settle on the Avengers.
"Okay guys," Clarke says, getting everyone's attention. "We have something to discuss before we start the movie."
Everyone looks at her expectantly before she stands, unzipping her hoodie and placing her hands on her stomach. "I'm pregnant," she says.
"Whoa you've got a belly and everything!" Jasper says, eyes wide.
"This kid is going to be the most beautiful thing to ever walk the planet, " Monty says. "How many months?"
"About four," Clarke answers. She sits back down beside Bellamy and he wraps his arm around her shoulders.
*********
Marcus can see it every time he looks at his wife. She's still trying to find a way to make things right with Clarke. Neither of the two women are very good at apologizing. When they have a problem with each other, they just go on as usual and wait for the awkwardness and tension between them to go away. This won't be the case here, however. Clarke hasn't called or even texted them. Marcus sees Abby looking at Clarke's Instagram page one day with a look on her face that shows that she realizes how bad this all is.
The picture she's looking at is of Clarke turned sideways, holding her shirt up to show off her baby bump.
Bump Update: Week 19
ravenraisin : dude you like exploded!
octaviablakers : YOU'RE SO HUGE!!!
princessgriffin : @ravenraisin @octaviablakers wow thanks guys...
jasperthegreat : look at my godchild in there
montypython : @jasperthegreat no way man! it's my godchild
ravenraisin : you wish nerds I am definitely the godmother
tacobellamy : you guys have to battle it out to see who gets to be the godparents.
jasperthegreat : THIS CALLS FOR MARIO KART
"What do I do, Marcus?" she asks, not looking away from the picture.
"Call her."
"She won't answer..."
"You have to try. That's all you can do."
She nods and pulls out her phone again to call Clarke.
Abby was right, Clarke doesn't answer. So she leaves a message saying that she wants to work this out. She also says that she doesn't want them to leave things this way.
"Now we wait," she says.
"Now we wait."
*********
Clarke hands her phone to Bellamy, sitting with him on the couch. "Look who just called me," she says.
"Your mom..."
"She said she wants to talk..." Clarke lays on the couch with her head on Bellamy's lap.
"Do you want to talk to her?" he asks, carding his fingers through her hair.
"I want to hear her apology. And I want to stop fighting with her... She the baby's grandmother. "
"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, Princess. You can tell to fuck off if you want."
"Wow, Bellamy, that's such a great idea," Clarke deadpans.
Bellamy laughs and bend down to kiss her, "So you want to do this?"
"I should, right? She's my mom, I should hear her out."
"Tell her she had to buy us dinner. That way, if this doesn't go well, we'll still get a good meal out of it," he suggests.
"We're eating good tonight, babe," she says, giving him a high five.
She sends her mother a text saying she's willing to meet her for dinner that night and Abby responds almost immediately. Clarke decides to wear a shirt that shows off her belly which seemed to double in size overnight. She went shopping with Octavia a few days ago to buy more maternity clothes and Octavia forced her to get the shirt because she thinks Clarke is the most adorable pregnant woman ever.
She gets increasingly nervous as Bellamy drives them to the restaurant. While Abby said she wants to fix this, she's still expecting the worst. Bellamy always tells her to stop being so pessimistic, and she's pretty sure that's one of the many reasons they're perfect for each other. Bellamy always sees the good in any situation and helps Clarke do the same. He holds her hand as he drives, offering silent reassurance.
"We can do this, can't we?" she asks when they get to the restaurant.
"You're Clarke Griffin, you're a total badass. You can do anything."
"Well if I'm a badass, what are you?"
"The guy who stands behind you with his arms crossed as you kick someone's ass, obviously."
She laughs, "You think I'm gonna kick my mom's ass while I'm five months pregnant?"
"You are pretty unpredictable..."
"Oh my god," she laughs and shakes her head. "You're ridiculous."
"That's very true," he says as he gets out of the car. He walks around to the passenger side to help Clarke get out as well and takes her hand as they walk into the restaurant.
Clarke takes a deep breath as Bellamy tells the hostess that they're meeting someone here. She leads them to the table where her mother and Marcus sit. She knows it's ridiculous of her to be nervous, she's the one with the power in this situation, but she can't help it. This is her mom and she wants her to have a good relationship with her grandchild.
It's a little comforting to see that her mother looks just as nervous as Clarke feels.
Abby's eyes dart to Clarke's stomach before she meets her gaze and offers a small smile.
"Thanks for agreeing to this, Clarke," Abby says as they sit down. "I know this is something you probably didn't want to do."
"I do want to do this. I don't like how we left things and I want to change it," Clarke tells her.
"You look great," Abby says.
"Thanks. My stomach just kind of popped out of nowhere."
"Is something you want to do, Clarke?"
She nods and places a hand on her stomach, "It is. I really want to do this."
"Then you have my support."
"Just like that?"
Abby shrugs, "You have to make your own choices, Clarke. It's just hard for me to remember that you're an adult now. I swear I was sending you off to kindergarten last week."
"I'll always be your little girl, mom. You say that so much that so I have to believe it."
"You'll understand how I feel when your kid is off on their own," Abby says.
"Oh god... I'll be like 40..."
"Again with the old thing?" Marcus says and Clarke and Bellamy laugh.
*********
Dinner went surprisingly well like Marcus hoped it would. He doesn't think he'll never understand Abby and Clarke's relationship. One minute they are at each other's throats and the next they're talking like nothing happened. The way they seem to forgive each other so quickly will always astonish him.
Abby's happier than she's been for the last two weeks and Clarke seems to be as well. He has hope for her and Bellamy and knows that they'll be great parents.
"Are you really okay with this now?" be asks when he and Abby drive home after dinner.
"It's not what I would have done, but it seems that Clarke never does things by the book. I think I am okay with it actually. She's happy."
"I think it will be good when Bellamy starts working at the station."
"You just want to keep tabs on him," Abby says.
"If you're a good cop, you're a good man."
"Is that so?" she asks, amused.
"It's why I was such a great cop."
"I think you and I remember your rookie years in a very different way."
"And by that you mean?"
"You never listened to anyone, Marcus. You thought you were all that back then," she says.
"We all did. You went into medical school with all the confidence in the world and Jake was the same way as he went on to get his doctorate."
She considers this for a moment, "We were pretty cocky... Organic chemistry really gave me a reality check, however. I don't think you changed for a while after that."
"There is nothing wrong with confidence."
She grabs his hand as he pulls into the garage, "Your confidence sure did give us a lot of laughs back then."
"You have a point."
She gives him a radiant smile and the only thing he can do is return it.
When they get into the house, Marcus wraps his arms around Abby's waist and pulls her close.
"What are you doing?" she asks.
"Can't I hug my beautiful wife?"
"No."
"No?"
"No," she says with a mischievous smile. "But you can kiss her."
"No." He takes a step away from her, closer to the stairs.
"You think you're funny, don't you?" she asks with a laugh, so. Marcus has clearly won here.
"Just trying to keep the romance alive, Abby."
He takes another step back before making a run for it. He dashes up the stairs and hears her laughter as she follows him.
When he gets to the top of the stairs, he steps into the bedroom and hides behind the door. She runs into the room and he grabs her from behind, wrapping his arms around her as she tries to escape his grip.
"I'm going to kill you," she laughs.
"You might do that, but you'd never get away with it."
*********
"Girl," Clarke says.
"Violet," Bellamy replies.
"No."
"Hazel."
"Stop picking nouns," she says with a laugh, blindly swinging her hand back and hitting him in the shoulder.
"Sadie," he suggests.
"That's cute."
"Boy," Bellamy says.
"Mason."
"Next."
"Aiden."
"I like that, Aiden Blake," he replies, thoughtful.
"Aiden James?" she suggests.
"That's definitely a contender."
Clarke turns her head to look at Bellamy. He sits behind her in their bed, his arms wrapped around her so he can rests his hands on her belly. He can't seem to stop touching it these days. If he's around her, he's touching or rubbing or talking to the bump.
"What about Sadie May?"
" That is adorable," Bellamy says, smacking a kiss to her cheek.
"I'm nervous," she admits.
"Why? Because we're finding out the gender?"
"Yeah... This day will determine everything. Whether we get pink everything or blue. Whether we decorate its room with flowers or sailboats. This is huge."
"You overthink everything, Princess," he tells her, looking at her with a smile. "This is a happy day. Be happy."
"I am happy. I'm happy and excited, but anxious too."
"Well whatever the baby is, it will be adorable," he says.
"It will. Now come on, we gotta leave for the doctor's office."
---
"Would you like to find out the sex?" the doctor asks, looking at them expectantly.
"Yes, definitely," Clarke respond eagerly.
"Well it looks like you're going to have a baby girl, Ms. Griffin."
Clarke grabs Bellamy's hand and looks up at him with a bright smile.
"That's Sadie May," he says, resting his forehead against hers.
---
When they get back in the car after the appointment, Clarke calls her mother to ask if they can come over for dinner.
"That sound great," Abby says. "Marcus is done with work at six tonight so come over around then."
"Okay. And mom?"
"Yes, Clarke?"
"We found out the gender."
"What? Oh you're going to make wait until you come over to tell me aren't you..."
Clarke laughs, "Where's the fun in telling you now? I'll bring cupcakes with pink or blue frosting. Would that make you forgive me?" Bellamy quickly looks over to her with wide eyes.
Cupcakes? he mouths.
"Bellamy is certainly excited for cupcakes," she says.
"I'm excited too. I can't wait."
---
"Bellamy get out of the kitchen!" Clarke snaps when he tries to sneak some frosting for the third time.
"I have a sweet tooth," he protests.
Clarke grabs a hand towel off the counter and throws it at him, laughing when it hits him in the face.
"That hurt me, Clarke," he jokes.
"You're a liar."
He points to his chest, "It hurt me right here."
"Will a kiss make it better?"
"A little bit," he says. He walks over to her and cups the back of her neck to pull her closer, kissing her until the timer on the stove goes off. "I love you, baby momma."
"I love you too, baby daddy. I love you so much that I'm letting you eat one cupcake after they cool down enough for me to put frosting on."
"Oh my god, I am overwhelmed by this much love," he says. He gets out an oven mit and pulls the cupcakes out of the oven.
"Should we tell Octavia?" Clarke asks.
"About the baby being a girl?" she nods. "Let's do it. Octavia! Get out here!"
"Why are you yelling? I'm like ten feet away in my room, calm down big brother," Octavia says. "What do you want?"
"Do you want to know what the baby is?" he asks.
Her eyes go wide as she smiles, "You guys found out? Oh my god I wanna know!"
"It's a girl," Clarke tells her.
"We're going to call her Sadie May, " Bellamy says.
"Don't tell her that," Clarke says. "Now she's going to tell everyone else."
"No way. I want to use it against everyone. Make them beg for it."
"She's too powerful," Bellamy whispers so they can all hear.
"You can buy my silence with a cupcake," Octavia adds.
Clarke rolls her eyes, "Fine. But I better not catch the two of you eating all the frosting."
"Damn she already sounds like a mom," Octavia observes.
Clarke and Bellamy laugh and Bellamy turns to her with a smile, "You're gonna be the best mom."
"You're gonna be the best dad. You already got the dad jokes down."
"What's wrong with my jokes?" he asks.
Octavia pats him on the back, "They're terrible, bro. By the way, when are you moving in Clarke?"
"As soon as we get all our lazy friend to agree to help us," Bellamy answers.
"Probably next week," Clarke adds.
"Nice, can't wait to have more girls in this place," Octavia says, giving Clarke a high five.
*********
"Sorry we're late," Clarke says when Abby opens the door to let them in. "I had to finish frosting the cupcakes."
Abby tries to look in the container the cupcakes are in and Clarke moves it away from her.
"You have to wait until after dinner," Clarke says.
"We can sneak a peek when she sets them down in the kitchen," Marcus jokes. "She'll never know."
Clarke rolls her eyes and Bellamy laughs behind her, causing her to turn around to glare at him which only makes him laugh more.
"You better watch it, mister. I don't have to give you another cupcake. I'll eat it myself," Clarke warns.
"I'm sorry, I'll be good," he says, kissing her cheek.
"What's for dinner? I'm starving," Clarke says as they all walk to the dining room.
"You'll be very proud of my culinary skills," Marcus says. "We ordered pizza."
Clarke looks at him with a grin, "I didn't know old people still ordered pizza. Seems like a strictly college thing."
Marcus shakes his head and chuckles before walking to the kitchen to grab some plates. They all sit at the table and Clarke piles three slices of pizza onto her plate. Bellamy isn't phased by this but Abby laughs quietly from the other side of the table. Marcus knows better than to say anything but he offers a smile to his wife.
"Are you going to tell us now? The suspense is going to kill me," Abby says once they finish their meal.
"I don't know I'm getting pretty tired... We might just go home," Clarke says sarcastically.
Abby doesn't look impressed and the rest of them laugh.
"Alright alright, we'll tell you. Bel, can you go get the cupcakes?"
He nods and goes to the kitchen, coming out moment later with the container in his hands. When he sets it on the table, Abby practically jumps at the thing, throwing open the lid and smiling when she sees bright pink frosting. "It's a girl?" she asks.
Clarke nods, "Yeah. And we already have a name but we're keeping it a secret for now so don't ask what it is."
"I'm happy for you guys," Marcus says. "I'm sure she'll be a cute baby."
They all make their way into the living room after everyone gets a cupcake. Abby brings out a bottle of wine and Marcus is not surprised at all. Abby loves wine, if she could drink it instead of water she would be the happiest woman on earth.
Bellamy reaches for a glass as he sits down on the couch near Clarke but she grabs his wrist to stop him. "You cannot drink, Bellamy. I don't have my wallet, I can't drive us home," Clarke says.
"It's a ten minute drive, you'll be fine to drive us home," Bellamy says.
"My dad's a cop, Bel, do you really want to say that?" she laughs and Bellamy buries his face in her neck to hide his own laughter.
Marcus and Abby look to each other with shocked expressions. Clarke has never referred to him as her dad. Stepdad sure, but not dad. Their shock quickly vanishes when Clarke gasps and the worried look on Bellamy's face would probably be funny if they all weren't as worried as he is.
But then Clarke smiles and grabs Bellamy's hand, pulling him closer to her and putting his hand on her belly.
"She's kicking?" he asks quietly, looking up at Clarke with eyes not unlike a puppy dog.
She nods and blinks back tears. "Get over here guys, come feel this."
Marcus and Abby stand and quickly walk over to where Clarke is sitting. She grabs Abby's hand, moving it around to where the baby is kicking. "Oh my gosh," Abby's says breathlessly.
She grabs Marcus's hand next, placing it where Abby's had just been.
"That's incredible," he says with the biggest smile.
"It feels so weird," Clarke laughs. "I mean, she's moved around before but that was just this small little flutter. Now she's actually kicking."
*********
"Octavia!" Bellamy shouts when they get back to the apartment.
"What is it with you and the yelling?"
"The baby kicked," he says, that same goofy grin on his face that he had at her mother's house.
Octavia's eyes widen and now she's smiling too. "She did? Is she still kicking?"
"She stopped in the car but as we were walking up here she did it again. Come here," Clarke says. She reaches for Octavia's hand and watches her smile when she feels it.
"Holy shit!" she exclaims.
"Don't cuss in front of the baby," Bellamy says. "Wait, she can hear us right, Clarke?"
"It's not like she knows what a bad word is. She's not even born yet, you're fine," Clarke says. She pats him on the shoulder, heading into the kitchen and getting a glass of water. "Octavia. Blake. Are you serious right now?"
"Yeah I was hoping it would take you longer to notice that..." Octavia says.
"What did she do?"
Clarke holds up the container she had used to store the leftover frosting. It's empty.
"Nice," Bellamy says, giving his sister a high five.
"You two are going to drive me crazy..." Clarke walks past them to sit in the living room to watch some tv.
---
A few days later, Bellamy bribes all their friends to help Clarke move her stuff into his apartment. Clarke and Raven spend the better part of the morning going through Clarke's things rather than packing them.
"Oh my gosh, do you remember this?" Clarke asks, holding up a bikini for Raven to see.
"That's the one you wore to make Bellamy jealous and then you ended up having sex with him in the bathroom at the pool. Good times."
"Yeah back when I was skinny," Clarke sighs, throwing some more clothes into a box. She figures she worry about them when she and Bellamy are unpacking later.
"You could still rock that, Clarke," Raven says.
Clarke laughs, "Yeah I really don't want to test your theory. My boobs would probably either fall out of this top, or stretch the thing beyond belief."
Bellamy pokes his head into the room, "Did sometime say boobs?"
Raven groans and Clarke throws a pair of jeans at him. He crosses the room to stand with Clarke, kissing her temple.
"How much longer do you two need? Everyone else should be here in about an hour to take stuff over," Bellamy says.
"Well Clarke is just throwing shit into boxes while I am trying to be organized," Raven says, throwing a pointed look at Clarke.
"This box is clothes. That one is the shit from my desk. The one over there is my things from the bathroom. It's organized chaos, Rae."
"Then you can't complain when your clothes are wrinkled."
"That's why they invented the dryer."
"As much as I like watching you two argue," Bellamy says. "We gotta finish packing. What can I do to help?"
"You can start bringing boxes to the living room since I can't lift anything," Clarke tells him.
"Yeah I can't lift anything either," Raven adds.
"You're lazy, not pregnant. Get that skinny ass up, Reyes," Clarke orders.
"She's bossy," Raven whispers to Bellamy.
"I know," he wiggles his eyebrows. "Comes in handy."
"I did not need to know that!"
*********
Marcus flips up another couch cushion and sighs.
"Any reason you're destroying the living room?" Abby asks, standing behind the couch.
"I'm looking for my keys. I told Clarke I'd go over with the truck and help move boxes."
Abby just looks at him, an amused smile tugging at her lips.
"What?"
She shakes her head and keeps smiling, "I'll let you figure that out yourself."
"You've seen my keys?" she shrugs. "I am going to help our pregnant daughter move, and you're going to keep my keys from me?"
Abby takes a few steps back to lean against the island in the kitchen. She crosses her arms, looking as casual as ever. Meanwhile, Marcus is freaking out.
"I'm going to be late," he says.
"No you're not."
"I told them I would be there in twenty minutes."
"Marcus?"
"Yes?"
She looks down to the counter at her side and he follows her gaze. She laughs as he walks over to her, dropping his head to her shoulder while she tangles her fingers in his hair. He grabs the keys off the counter and kisses her cheek.
"What would I do without you?" he asks with a smile.
"It truly scares me to imagine that," she jokes.
"Do you want to come with me?"
"Let's go then. Goodness Marcus, your going to make us late."
---
When they get to Clarke's apartment building, they see Bellamy and Raven trying to fit more boxes into the trunk of his car.
"It's not gonna fit, baby daddy!" Raven exclaims as she tries to take the box from Bellamy's hands.
"Then I'll make it fit, non godmother!"
"Take that back!"
Marcus bites back a smile and sees Abby doing the same.
"You two need some help?" he says.
Bellamy rips the box from Raven's hands and starts walking towards the truck. "We would love some help."
"Aren't more of your friends coming?" Abby asks.
"They stopped to get us all lunch first," Raven explains. "Clarke's inside by the way, she's still trying to shove things into boxes."
They walk up to the apartment and hear a sound that Marcus is sadly becoming used to. Abby dashes to Clarke's bedroom and he follows behind her. They see Clarke's sitting on the floor, holding a teddy bear in one hand and wiping tears off her cheeks with the other.
"Clarke, what's wrong?" Abby asks as she sits down beside her.
"The arm's ripped," she sniffles, showing Abby a small tear in the fabric.
"I'm sure Bellamy could sew it back together," Marcus suggests.
"No," Clarke refuses.
Abby gives him the smallest of nods and he leans against the doorway, letting her handle this.
"I had to sew the ear back on, remember?" Abby tries.
"It's not the same! This is the first thing anyone ever got for me and now I can't give it to her cause it's ruined."
"But it is the same, Clarke," Abby says calmly.
Clarke looks up at her mother as she tries to take deep breaths, "How?"
"If Bellamy fixes it, it's the same, right? Your dad got it for you, and now Bellamy can fix it for her," she nods to Clarke's stomach and Clarke hugs the bear to her chest just as Bellamy walks back into the apartment.
Marcus gestures for Bellamy to come to the bedroom and he walks quickly down the hallway. He takes three big steps into the room to sit beside Clarke. "Princess, are you okay?"
She shakes her head before resting it on his shoulder.
Abby gets up and walks to Marcus, "He's got this now." They make their way back out to the living room, telling all of Clarke and Bellamy's friends to start grabbing boxes.
Honestly, Marcus is amazed. Abby- who has been trying to protect her daughter from the big, bad and scary world- just let someone else take over. He knows that she never thought that was possible, that taking away Clarke's pain would always be her job. It's like she passing on the torch in a way. Every parent is wary of their child's boyfriends or girlfriends, he definitely gave Bellamy the glare that says I'm a cop and if you hurt my daughter I have many ways to make your life hell . But Bellamy is there for Clarke when he and Abby can't be. It's a big deal that Abby has accepted that.
*********
"This is so stupid. It's just a bear," Clarke sighs.
"It's not stupid, Princess. O still has that red ribbon that mom gave her," Bellamy says.
"You got her that ribbon," she says, the smallest smile on her lips. "You stole it from Hobby Lobby when you were ten and she was six."
"What she doesn't know won't hurt her. I'm just kidding. She knows it's from me, but mom tied her hair up with it every day because before she died I couldn't do hair for shit. The bear reminds you of your dad. It's not stupid to miss him."
She sighs, "But now I've made Marcus feel bad..."
"He knows this isn't the same. He still cares about you and he knows that you have room to care about him and your dad."
She picks her head up to look at him and he gives her a small smile. "So you'll fix it?" she asks.
"Of course I will."
"Okay," she says, wiping at her cheeks. "Okay. How much longer do you think it will take to get all my stuff moved?"
"Less than an hour probably. All the boxes should fit into my car and Marcus's truck. Why?"
"I want to go home and lay in bed with you."
"Well, for now we can stay in here. Let everyone else do all the work," he smiles and watches her do the same.
Clarke has known this for a long time, Bellamy is a good man. Even when she hated him all those years ago, she knew. He may have been an ass to her back then, but he still did whatever he could to take care of his friends. And now he's doing that for her.
There is still some worry, though. Not about them being parents or how they'll adjust to any of that, no part of her doubts that. But some part of her will always worry about how this is changing Bellamy's life. He still graduated and he's still going to the academy soon, but now he'll be a rookie cop with a three month old at home. The life he planned for himself won't get to happen because her body decided to give them a big fuck you!
She is excited for Sadie to come and ready for the baby shower Raven and her mother are planning (how those two manage to work together is beyond her), it's just a change she didn't see coming.
"The struggle is real right now, Princess," Bellamy says next to her.
"Why?" she asks. She can't help the smile on her face as she watches him sigh the most dramatic sigh possible.
"Because I want Sadie to be here. I want to hold her and love her and kiss her tiny little baby nose. But she still has three more months in the incubator. I don't know if I can wait that long..."
Okay, Clarke has no reason to worry.
"Did you just call me an incubator?" she asks.
"Well it's true..." he shrugs.
She giggles and kisses his cheek, "I guess it is."
---
"Clarke we need to go," Bellamy says, poking his head into the bathroom where Clarke is getting ready. "Why are you curling your hair? You're gonna be late."
"You know my mom is going to take a billion pictures. I am not about to show up looking like a mess."
"Yeah well we were supposed to leave fifteen minutes ago," he reminds her.
"It's my babyshower. What are they gonna do? Start it without me?"
Bellamy smiles as he leans against the doorframe, watching her.
"What?" she says, looking at him in the mirror. He just shakes his head and she watches his smile grow.
"I just love you, that's what."
"I love you too. I'm sorry you're not invited today..."
She sets the curling iron down on the counter and unplugs it from the outlet. Bellamy steps closer to her and places a kiss to her neck. "It's okay. It's just the girls today. And Octavia seemed pretty excited for it."
"Well Raven and my mom planned it so... I'm not sure what to expect."
"The only thing I know is what Octavia got for Sadie," Bellamy says as he takes her hand and leads her into the living room. He eases her down onto the couch and grabs her sandals from the giant pile of shoes by the front door. "And I know you'll love it."
"My mom said Marcus got her something too, she seemed excited about it," Clarke says as Bellamy helps her to her feet after he slips on her shoes.
"Sadie is going to be spoiled rotten."
*********
If there is one thing Marcus has learned over the last seven months, it is to expect anything when he comes home from work. That being said, he still managed to be surprised today.
Abby had told him about the baby shower, but. There is a lot of pink in the living room. A lot of pink. There is also a fair amount of tissue and wrapping paper covering the floor.
He decides to go on like he saw nothing, that has proven to be a good tactic. Someone will notify him if there is something he needs to do about the mess.
As he climbs the stairs he hears voices coming from the bedroom, Clarke's and Abby's. He knocks on the door before going in and they both smile at him from their places on the bed.
"Baby shower went well?" he asks.
"Yeah, look," Clarke says, holding something out for him to see.
He takes a step closer to the bed and sees that she's holding a blanket. It's navy with yellow and grey flowers stitched onto it. When she tells him to feel it, he was not expecting it to be as soft as it is. "It's beautiful," he says.
"Octavia made it," she tells him.
His eyebrows raise as he takes a closer look at the blanket, "She made this?"
Clarke nods, a brilliant smile on her face. "I loved your gift too."
"You did? Well I'm glad."
"I sent a picture of it to Bellamy and he loves it too."
Marcus got a stuffed griffin for the baby. He had shown the stuffed animal to Abby because he thought it was cute, and she convinced him to get it for the baby shower. He's glad Clarke and Bellamy like it. It's not a handmade blanket like the one Octavia gave as a gift, but it's clever and he definitely put some thought into it.
"Raven got the baby a tool set," Abby says, looking amused.
"It's a toy one," Clarke adds. "She didn't get my daughter an actual hammer and screwdriver."
"I think that's probably best," Marcus says and they all laugh.
Clarke's phone makes a weird growling noise and he and Abby both look to her in confusion. "It's Chewbacca... Did you guys seriously not know that? That's my text tone for Bellamy."
"Do I want to know why?" Abby asks.
"It's because when he wakes up his hair is always so fluffy and I always make fun of him for it," Clarke says like this is something obvious. "He's here by the way."
"What ever happened to coming to the door and knocking?" Marcus asks with a smirk on his face. Clarke just rolls her eyes, this has become a thing now and they both love/hate it. Mostly love, though. This whole joking about him being old will probably go on forever.
"He is coming to the door, he has to load the presents into his car. He texted because it is gonna take me forever to get out of this bed and I should probably start now," Clarke says.
Abby places her hand on Clarke's knee and starts to gather the few presents they have on the bed with them, "Just wait here, we will get all the presents taken care of and then come get you."
"Oh good," Clarke says, letting out a relieved sigh as she rests back against the pillows. "Because I really didn't want to get up right now."
Marcus gives her an approving look as he and Abby leave the room. With Bellamy's help, they get all of the presents into the backseat and trunk of his car before going back upstairs to the bedroom to get Clarke. She smiles when she sees them walk in. "Bel," she says, reaching for him as he walks over to the bed.
"Hey, Princess, you ready to go home?" She nods and he puts his hands under her arms to help her off the bed.
"Why do you guys have such a high bed?" Clarke asks. "I'm pretty sure I'd have a hard time getting off it even if I wasn't pregnant..."
"We got it so that if Marcus ever falls out of bed I get to laugh at him," Abby responds, looking to Marcus with a smug expression.
"Your logic is flawless, mom," Clarke says, laughing when she notices the expression on Marcus's face as he looks at his wife. "We better get out of here, Bel. There is about to be an Abby vs. Marcus showdown," she jokes.
Once Clarke and Bellamy leave, Marcus and Abby go into the kitchen where he snacks on the leftover food from the party. "She seemed happy," he says.
"I think so too. The shower was fun."
"The living room would agree with that," he chuckles and looks past her at the mess that's still there.
Abby follows his gaze and laughs, "Yeah, we did get a little carried away... We should probably clean that up."
"We can leave that for tomorrow."
"Can we?" she raises her eyebrows. "And what shall we do instead?"
"I can think of a few things to do that are more fun than cleaning up wrapping paper."
Abby takes a step closer to him so she can wrap her arms around his waist, "I think I'll like these things."
*********
"Are you excited to start work next week?" Clarke asks Bellamy as puts their pizza in the oven.
"No," he replies.
"You're not?" she raises her eyebrows, knowing this isn't true.
He pouts as he sits down next to her on the couch, "I'll have to leave you."
"But now you'll be a cop," she reminds him.
"Not yet. I'll just be in," he pauses and stares of into the distance. He does this whenever he talks about work. " The academy. "
"You are too old to still be making Phineas and Ferb references.
"You can never be too old for Phineas and Ferb, Princess," he drapes his arm across her shoulders and places a kiss to her cheek. "I still don't want to leave you. Or Sadie."
"It's only for a few hours a day. And you'll be with Marcus, he'll be understanding if you need to call me because you miss me too much," she says with a teasing grin.
"I will miss you. And you'll be eight months pregnant in two weeks. I don't want to leave you alone."
"Octavia will be here. For three more weeks anyways..."
Bellamy groans, "Don't remind me... My baby sister is starting college in three weeks..."
"You're going to have a very stressful month," she giggles.
"I'm glad you can find joy in my pain."
"These are all good things, Bel. You're starting your new job, your career, Octavia is finally going to school, our daughter is going to be born soon. Hell, we even have Sadie's room all set up. We're getting our lives together!" She's smiling and can't bring herself to stop.
Everything is falling into place. Octavia is beyond excited to be starting school, always teasing her brother about finally being able to live on her own. Bellamy is excited too, he just won't tell anyone about it. He's proud of his sister, and Clarke is too.
"We are, aren't we?" he's smiling too.
*********
"Mom! Why is Chopped Junior not on the DVR anymore?! I set it as a series recording!" Clarke groans from her seat on the couch. Well, she not really sitting. She's laying down, almost taking up the whole couch which Abby didn't even know was possible. Clarke is relatively small and she somehow manages to leave little room for anyone else to sit.
"This is not your house, Clarke. We don't have to keep space on the DVR for you," Abby replies from the kitchen. Clarke requested popcorn and has a hard time getting up by herself, so Abby volunteered to get it for her.
"But... Chopped..." Clarke whines.
"I'm sure you can find something else to watch," she says, biting back a smile. Clarke is very dramatic when she's hungry and it's quite amusing.
Abby returns to the living room and Clarke grabs for the bowl in her hands.
"I wanna go back home," Clarke mumbles around a mouthful of popcorn. "We have Chopped Junior there."
"You have to stay here, Clarke," Abby reminds her.
"Ugh I know, I can't be alone and Bellamy is at work and you selflessly agreed to be my babysitter. Wait what time is it? He's supposed to call at lunch," she goes to sit up but Abby hands her her phone before she can get too far. "How is it only ten?!"
Abby doesn't hide her smile this time.
"I'm gonna go into labor right now just to spite you," she says with a glare.
Abby pats Clarke's leg and gets the remote from her hands, picking a show so Clarke will stop complaining.
Clarke is nine months along now and everyone takes turns being on Clarke Watch. Since Bellamy went back to work, she would be spending most of the day alone. Bellamy wants someone with her in case she goes into labor and Abby definitely agreed with him on this one.
But Clarke hates it. She thinks she can take care of herself. Abby tried to explain that being all by herself when she went into labor would be scary, but Clarke is stubborn. They're very similar in that way.
Bellamy calls around noon, while Abby is making herself and Clarke some lunch. She can tell by the way Clarke is talking to him that he is pestering her with questions. The baby's fine... She's still kicking like crazy... I'm feeling fine, tired like always...
It's cute, Abby thinks absently. She remembers being pregnant with Clarke, everyone was worried about her all the time. Especially during the last month. Abby grew tired of the question 'how are you feeling?' by the time Clarke was born. She knew it was out of love, that people kept asking, and Bellamy does love Clarke. They're going to be great parents. And Abby can't wait to be a grandmother.
"Chicken nuggets, as requested," Abby says. She hands Clarke the plate and she smiles. "You still eat the same as you did when you were seven."
"Seven... 21... What's the difference..." Clarke shrugs.
"How's Bellamy doing?" Abby asks after a moment.
Clarke smile, the goofy kind that says she's in love. "He's good. He loves it, he just- He hates not being with me. With us." Her hand is rubbing small circle on the swell of her stomach.
Abby directs her attention back to the tv, eating her lunch. She hears Clarke's phone go off a few times, she must be texting someone. It's silent for a while before Abby hears Clarke gasp. She immediately looks to her daughter, suspicions being confirmed when she sees Clarke squeezing her eyes shut. She exhales deeply, keeping her eyes closed.
"Are you okay?" Abby asks, alarm evident in her voice.
"Mom..." Clarke whispers.
"It's okay, it'll be a while."
"Bellamy, we have to-"
"We don't want to call him yet. It'll only worry him."
Clarke nods, taking a deep breath.
It is a while before her next contraction and by the third and eventually the fourth, she's not as scared. No, now she's just annoyed. Abby wants to do something, but she knows it will be a while before they go to the hospital. It's hard watching Clarke in so much pain.
"Can we call Bellamy now ?" Clarke asks.
"We can call Bellamy now," Abby nods.
*********
Bellamy answers after the first ring and Clarke expected nothing less from him.
"Clarke what is it? Is everything okay?" he asks, speaking fast.
"I'm in labor, Bel."
"Oh, oh okay I'm on my way you're still at your mom's?"
"Yeah, she's here with me."
"I'll be there in twenty minutes," he laughs. "Sadie's coming, Princess."
Clarke smile, "She is."
He tells her he's on his way and she tells to hurry.
"Does he sound like he's freaking out?" Abby asks. She's trying not to smile but after Clarke laughs and stops trying to hide it.
"A little," Clarke answers. "He sounds happy to. It's a good thing he's gonna be a cop."
"Why's that?"
"Cause he's probably speeding right now and they're not gonna ticket one of their own."
---
Once Bellamy gets to the house, they all pile into the car and drive to the hospital. When Clarke was on the phone with him, he didn't sound too freaked out. But the look on his face as he drives... You'd think he was about to have a heart attack or something. Clarke would laugh if her contractions weren't such a bitch.
After they arrive at the hospital, get her admitted, and get her to her room, Clarke does laugh.
"Bel, it's fine. You need to calm down," she places her hand on his cheek.
He covers her hand with his own, leaning into her touch. "Okay."
---
Bellamy looks a little startled by the epidural, but he tries to hide it. He said he'd be calm.
Clarke knew that giving birth was terrible, but no one told her that contractions suck this much too. She's tired as hell, but Sadie will be here soon. It's worth it. But still, Sadie better be real cute.
When it's time for her to push, she just wants this all to be over.
Bellamy is more than calm now, which is definitely what she needs right now. He's brushing hair from her forehead and kissing her temple. He's telling her how amazing she is and looking at her like she's the only thing in the world that matters. She's not sure she's ever cared about anyone the way she cares about Bellamy. She loves him and she doesn't know what her life would be without him. He's the father of her daughter. He's hers.
Sadie May takes her first breath at 4:36 pm on September 22nd and her piercing cry has both her parents crying themselves. When she's placed on her mother's chest, Clarke thinks she's probably looking at Sadie the way Bellamy was looking at her. Bellamy and Sadie, they're what matters. They're her world.
Her mother and Marcus are the first to come and meet the baby. The smile on Abby's face could probably power the whole hospital. And Marcus's isn't much different.
Bellamy is holding Sadie so Abby goes over to him for her chance to hold her too.
Clarke grabs onto Marcus's wrist and pulls him over. He looks at her, waiting for her say something. She smiles.
"Thank you, Marcus. I wouldn't have been able to do this if it wasn't for you."
"Clarke..." he says, clearly about to say otherwise.
"No, this is because of you. Anything for family. You meant that when I told you I was pregnant and I mean it now. Thanks."
He smiles, soft and shy, he's speechless. She just smiles at him again before looking over at Bellamy and her mother.
Bellamy comes closer to sit with Clarke on the bed while Abby sits down in the chair where Bellamy had been sitting, still holding Sadie. "She's precious," Abby says quietly.
"She's perfect," Bellamy mumbles into Clarke's hair.
Raven, Jasper, and Octavia are next, the three of them quietly walking into the room with the biggest smiles.
Octavia looks positively in love with her niece and Raven is eager to hold to her after Octavia.
"Do you want to hold her, Jasper?" Clarke asks and he looks at her with wide eyes.
"I'd love to," he replies happily. Raven gently places Sadie into his arms and he grins down at her. "You are just the cutest little thing," he says. "And you have the best godfather on the planet."
Bellamy chuckles and Raven sends Jasper a deadly glare.
"What if we picked Miller and Monty?" Clarke says, eyebrows raised.
"Just tell us who you picked. I'm dying over here," Jasper says, not looking away from Sadie.
"We decided she can have four godparents. More people to love her," Clarke tells them.
"I'm cool with that," Raven says, making a silly face at the baby.
Monty and Miller come a little bit later, apologizing for being late. Bellamy tells them about the godparents situation and they both seem pleased with it.
The way all their friends look at Sadie, it's heartwarming. They all look so happy, so in love with the newest addition to their group. She's pretty in love with her too.
Once it's Clarke and Bellamy again, holding Sadie in comfortable silence, Clarke looks up at Bellamy with a smile on her face that shines in her eyes.
"Marry me," she says.
His eyes snap up to meet hers, "What?"
"Marry me, Bellamy," she repeats. "I love you and you love me and now we both love Sadie too. I don't want to live one day of my life without you. And I'm not saying this because we have a baby, or because I'm emotional having just had a baby. I want to be yours. I want to be your wife."
Bellamy leans forward a bit so he can rests his forehead against hers. He looks at her and she forgets that she just gave birth, that she's sweaty and disgusting and tired. It's just she and Bellamy in this whole entire universe with a tiny baby sleeping between them. He smirks as he says, "I would love to be your husband, Clarke."
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And this is the end of the second book. I'm working on rewriting Destined at the moment, let me know if you would like a third book. I know I don't respond to your comments, but I do enjoy reading them. Hope your all doing well and staying safe. Sending love to each and everyone of you. 💕
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The End.