OMG it's nearly 3am! I totally got distracted by FTWD ;) Anyway. Thankyou thankyou thankyou for your response to the last chapter :) really made me happy that you guys wanted this story back and so here we go with another chapter. Please keep your reviews and responses coming in - make sure you hit me up on twitter or tumblr if you'd like to chat! Just one mention first off:

SPOILER ALERT... Guest asking about s3 storylines cropping up in this fic: basically no, lol. No ALIE, no ALIE 2 and I don't care how much of a spoiler it is, neither Clarke or Lexa will die in this. I will definitely never bury my gays! You don't have to worry about that in Beneath the Betrayal :) They might get hurt, they might suffer a little (it's a dramatic story after all) but they won't die. Fear not.

As always thank you for all the faves and follows, I really appreciate the continued support :)

Here we go. Enjoy!

"Sha, Heda," Zeek responded as he took a further step back, as if his intention was to blend in with the far wall and then all of a sudden, half a dozen people were standing inside the room. A mixture of trepidation, unease and mild anger colouring each of their expressions.

Kane lead the group in, coming to a stop just before Lexa's bed. His hand not hovering far from the butt of his gun even with the peaceful air he was attempting to project. "You have visitors, Commander," he said when the footsteps stopped shuffling behind him. He then stepped to the head of the bed and stood just to its side.

Indra stepped forward, her eyes wide and her posture rigid. Her hand was clenched tightly around the hilt of her sword still somehow allowed to be strapped to her hip and just as Clarke wondered how that was possible, the general ran her eyes over Lexa's body and started to speak.

"Heda," she addressed in a gruff voice, clearly not pleased with what she was seeing. "Gada emo bash yu in?" She was practically drawing her sword before Lexa held up a hand to cease her movement.

"No, Indra," Lexa replied in a loud, even voice, keeping it in English for the sake of her hosts. She eyed her general carefully. "They have not."

Indra let out a breath that was full of agitation. Her shoulders remaining as rigid as they were when Dax first delivered her the news. She sheathed her sword and actually let go of it, deducing that for the moment her Heda wasn't in danger. "You should not have been brought here," she growled and then she looked at Clarke.

Clarke's eyes narrowed in a moment. "Dax knew it was the only option." Her voice was firm. "So did I."

"I know what Dax thought." Indra raised her voice as she took a step toward Clarke. "You were both mistaken."

The atmosphere thickened as Indra's anger rose to the surface, the four Trikru that were stood around her only amplifying the sentiment.

"Indra..." Lexa started, the name low and dangerous and a rumble in the Commander's throat.

Clarke took a step forward, too, and her eyes flashed at the general. "You'd rather she be dead?"

Indra clenched every muscle in her body at the words and her hand once more went to her sword. She pushed out a loud breath over her lips as her frame went rigid. "Skaikru branwada," she grumbled. "Being trapped in here makes Heda seem weak," she forced, much louder this time and a deathly glare fixed in her eyes. "And Heda is not weak."

"Indra..." Lexa tried again.

Clarke frowned but didn't give an inch. "She's not trapped-"

Indra ignored both of them and continued on regardless. "-You know nothing! You put Heda at risk every moment you keep her here."

"I'm not keepi-"

"-Em pleni!" Everyone stopped as Lexa's words echoed around the room with the force in which she spoke them. Clarke was certain she would've been heard all around the Ark. Everyone turned to Lexa but most averted their gaze, including Indra. "Enough of this," Lexa continued, her voice quieter but still with every inch of authority she commanded. She was annoyed, and everyone felt it. She fixed her eyes on her general. "Indra, I will leave here as soon as I am able."

Indra met Lexa's gaze as if she was about to protest but the Commander silenced her with a penetrating look. She paused a moment for emphasis. "What do my people think?"

Indra had to work to keep her anger in check. "That you are here, Heda, nothing more than that."

"Then why bring an entire army?" Abby asked as she entered the room and stood beside Marcus, her arms folding across her chest defiantly. "There must be two-hundred of you at our gates. Why so many if you don't think Lexa is in danger?"

Indra glared at Abby. "The Commander," she emphasised, a hint of disdain at her for not addressing Lexa correctly. "Would not enter a hostile environment without her army. Not bringing them, would not have been wise."

Abby's eyebrows shot up her forehead. "Hostile?"

"Abby..." Marcus muttered, trying to get her to shut up.

"Do not fear my army, Chancellor," Lexa started again, even though her head was swimming and her thigh was throbbing with pain. "You are not in any danger as long as I am not."

Abby squared her eyes at Lexa. "Is that a threat?"

Marcus instantly reached out for Abby's arm and turned her toward him. "What are you doing?" he whispered, not quite believing she would start something with armed Trikru within their walls. He was quickly regretting allowing it to happen but then he hadn't wanted to start a war when Indra demanded entry moments before. "Didn't you listen to Clarke?" he continued, his voice getting quieter and quieter. "If a war is coming then we need to know about it, and we need to make friends-"

"-With them?" Abby interjected.

"Yes," Marcus replied. "What other realistic choice do we have?"

Clarke walked over to them, then, as Indra and Lexa swapped some hurried sentences in Trigedasleng. "Mom," she began, annoyance thick in her tone but her voice quiet. "Stop fighting Lexa-"

"-I just don't trust her."

The two Griffin's glared at each other as Marcus took in a deep breath and scratched at his forehead with the side of this thumb. "We're right to be wary," he started, and Clarke turned her glare on him. "But," he quickly added, "perhaps it's better the devil we know." Abby looked at him, then. "I'm with Clarke on this one."

Clarke breathed a sigh of relief, quite aware of the volume of Trigedasleng behind her getting louder and louder. Her mind was also telling her that Kane being onside was only a small mercy. She knew her friends would be a different matter altogether. But, she supposed, at least Kane held influence over most of the Arkers.

Clarke regarded both of them. "The best thing we can do now is let Lexa recover. Until I go with her to Polis we won't know anything for sure."

Abby sighed, not happy but seeing the logic in what she was being told. She just hoped the Commander wouldn't betray them again, for everyone's sake. "And until then?" she asked, eying the scene behind Clarke and noting by the sheer power of Lexa's voice that it was clear she lead a lot by brute force, and perhaps even intimidation. It made her wonder what would happen if they fell behind Lexa completely. She told herself she'd never let that happen.

Clarke shook her head, a little. "Well, we are living on Trikru land. Lexa is still letting us." She looked over her shoulder at the Commander who was now watching Indra give orders to the few warriors she had brought inside medical with her. She looked back at her mother. "I say we be grateful and make peace as much as we can with our neighbours."

"I agree," Marcus said quickly, and Abby just rolled her eyes. "We don't need to make trouble for ourselves." Although he knew there were some within the Ark who didn't think the grounders could be anything but a threat. He looked at Clarke. "I'm going to need to do the rounds. There will be plenty of nervous people here if that army stays outside."

Abby raised a brow, still very uncomfortable with everything that was happening. "I can't see them leaving until she does." She afforded Lexa a loaded glance.

Clarke just nodded.

"I could use your help," Marcus continued, leaning in closer to Clarke. "I know you've been..." he trailed off, looking for an appropriate word. "...Absent, but you still have friends here. People who look up to you."

Clarke averted her gaze for a moment, feeling a little awkward all of a sudden.

"It'll help if you talk to people about this."

Clarke sucked in a breath and then chanced a look back at Kane. She licked her lips as she nodded. "I know," she sighed. "I will." She knew she needed to and it was clear Lexa would be safe enough now with her warriors around.

They all three turned to face the room.

"Chancellor," Lexa immediately addressed, now she had their full attention again. "I have ordered my army to set up camp outside your gates. Your people should not fear them. As I said you are not in danger."

Abby threw her a look that said, 'easier said than done', but Lexa took little notice.

"How long until I can walk?"

Abby pushed out a breath like it was an impossible question to answer. "That really depends."

Lexa held up a hand to silence the hushed murmurs in the room, especially the outburst she knew would come from Indra. The Commander remained calm. "It is important I continue on to Polis as soon as possible."

Abby scoffed, just a little. "Well I can't work miracles, Commander," she replied but was only met with a stern stare from Lexa.

"Just do everything you can," Lexa carried on. "I am sure you don't want me here longer than is necessary."

That much Abby agreed with. "I'll get Jackson and we can take another look at your leg." She paused, for a moment, the doctor in her not letting the Chancellor in her get rid of a patient before she was completely ready. "Providing you're feeling okay?"

"I am fine," the Commander lied and then hurried onto something else in case Clarke saw through it and said something. She raised her voice, a bit. "Two of my warriors will stay here with me, and another two will stand guard outside the door."

Abby just looked at her, knowing how much that would unnerve everyone. She just hoped no one particularly needed to be in medical before Lexa could leave.

"And it is best the knowledge of my injury is kept to those who already know." She waited for Abby to look at her properly. "I trust your people can respect that."

Abby straightened and crossed her arms, again. "So why are you here?"

Lexa squared her jaw. "A negotiation."

Abby paused. "In medical?"

Lexa sighed. "The specifics I leave to you," she said, a note of exasperation in her tone. "If your people demand them, tell them what you wish." She was beginning to understand why it was difficult for Clarke to control her people if they demanded the ins and outs of everything. She looked at Clarke. "Clarke and I came here on our way to Polis to warn you of the possible threat and to negotiate terms of our truce."

Abby was surprised. "Truce?"

"I have already extended you the courtesy of a truce, both before and during Clarke's stay at TonDC. It will remain that way unless you fire upon us."

"We won't," Kane interjected, wanting to assert himself on the conversation. He looked at the Commander. "You have my word."

Abby glared at him.

"Good," Lexa continued. She looked at her general. "Indra."

Indra nodded and then left the room, her orders to set up camp at the gates and patrol the surrounding woods for as long as it took Lexa to recover her most immediate task. Two of her warriors followed her and took up post outside the doors to medical and the remaining two stood with their backs to the wall at Lexa's right and left. Zeek continued to blend in with the far wall just inside the doors.

Indra paused a moment just outside of medical. "Taim veida beda zog raun frag emo fostaim op," she hissed at her warriors, careful to keep her voice low so no one would overhear. "Nami?" They simply nodded their understanding and then Indra carried on down the hall.

"We need to address our people," Kane said to Abby who nodded at him, both of them moving toward the door.

"I'll be back with Jackson to check on your leg," Abby said to Lexa, pausing at the door. Lexa nodded and then Abby looked at Clarke who was still loitering by the Commander's bedside. "Clarke. If you intend to talk to our people. Now's the time."

Clarke nodded. "In a minute," she replied quietly, and then Marcus pulled Abby from the room.

The warriors were far enough away from Lexa's bed to grant them a little privacy, so Clarke stepped as close as she could and lowered her voice considerably. "You're not fine."

Lexa exhaled, a little relieved to be left alone for a few moments. She afforded Clarke a small smile. "I am stronger than you give me credit for."

Clarke smiled, too. "Oh I know you're strong," she started, not intending to reference when Lexa lifted her up and carried her to the war table in her tent but funnily enough, that's exactly where her mind went. Lexa's too if the way her eyes darkened were anything to go by. Clarke quietly cleared her throat. "I watched you take down those Ice Nation warriors, remember?"

Lexa's smile widened, a little. "I remember," she all but whispered and then suddenly her disposition changed, as if it occurred to her just exactly where they were and what exactly was at stake. "If your mother can help me recover quicker then it must be done." Her eyes hardened then, the face of the Commander falling back into place. "I do not care about the pain."

Clarke sighed as she realised arguing would be redundant. If Lexa believed they had no time to waste then who was she to protest. She just nodded in response. "Okay. I'll be back later." She lingered for a moment, not sure of the correct way to part seeing as, well, seeing as nothing, she supposed. She just smiled tightly and dipped her head.

"Where are you going?" Lexa asked, before she realised that perhaps it didn't have anything to do with her.

Clarke raised her brow. "To talk to my people."

Lexa frowned. "Zeek will accompany you." She glanced at Zeek and raised her voice. "Shil em op."

"Lexa, I don't need a guard in here."

Lexa just stared at her as if she had no intention of taking no for an answer.

Clarke turned to Zeek. "Its fine," she said to him as he stepped forward. She turned back to Lexa. "Really," and then she left the room.

Lexa gave Zeek a curt nod and then he proceeded to follow Clarke into the hallway.

Clarke heard Zeek's footsteps behind her, the warrior not at all used to walking on metal and she would've made a joke about it, if she wasn't so apprehensive about seeing her friends and annoyed that he was following her in the first place. She spun to look at him and Zeek just carried on walking, stopping a few feet from her. Clarke opened her mouth to speak but Bellamy beat her to it.

"Clarke!" his voice bellowed down the corridor and she closed her eyes for a moment before she turned to face him.

"Bell."

He stopped just before her, not altogether sure if he should hug her or not. He was pleased to see her, of course, just not under these circumstances. He looked behind her at the sheer size of the Trikru warrior who stood there, not fazed at all about how out of place he seemed.

Bellamy nodded in the direction of medical. "So is it true? Is the Commander in there?"

Clarke glanced over her shoulder and saw Zeek regarding them both dangerously. Or more than likely, it was Bellamy his glare was fixed on. She sighed and started walking, grabbing Bellamy's arm to pull him with her. "What have you heard?" she asked blatantly stalling. Not sure at all about telling him the truth.

"That she's here, that there's trouble with another clan and we're working together again."

Clarke sucked in a breath. "Well that's about the size of it."

Bellamy abruptly stopped walking. He leaned in closer to her, right in at her shoulder. "Just like that? We're trusting her again?"

Clarke knew Zeek was following and there was little chance of being able to lose him. She also heard the warrior's unease at how Bellamy spoke of the Commander. "No, not just like that." She pulled on Bellamy's arm again and they carried on walking. She blinked a couple times as she wondered how best to phrase everything that had happened and how to make him believe this was the best thing to do. "It's," she started, a little uneasy. "More complicated than that."

Bellamy sighed, annoyed and frustrated at being kept in the dark. "Then tell me, Clarke," he said, his voice louder than before. He stopped as he turned to her once more, straightening his back and towering over her, somewhat. "You went to her, didn't you? That's where you've been."

Clarke was looking up at him, at the distance in his eyes and it only reiterated to her how much had changed in such a short space of time. She actually felt bad that her first instinct was to tell him what was going on purely so he would fall in line and support her. Not that he was her friend and that maybe she owed it to him. She looked at the floor, for a moment, feeling just as guilty as she felt justified in her initial thought.

She glanced back up again. "C'mon," she whispered, "I need to talk to all of you," and then she carried on walking down the hall.

Bellamy shook his head and followed reluctantly, Zeek hanging in the background but keeping both of them in sight.

Clarke took a deep breath and barged into Raven's workshop, not bothering to take a moment to steady herself beforehand. The walk there had been in silence and with each step her chest puffed out just that little bit more and she held her shoulders higher and broader with each passing moment. If she thought about it, Clarke would be surprised at how easy she was slipping back into this. Being on the Ark and with her people. About to rally her troops or as close to it as she could. It was like before. Sort of. There was a job to be done and she would do it. She would handle everything else later.

When she entered she was confronted with a whole load of, well no one. The workshop itself was heavily stocked, lots of added stuff since the last time she was there. New projects, old projects. Things that looked weird. It made Clarke smile, for a moment, before she heard the door open again with a bang and she turned to face it.

It was only Bellamy, though, and Clarke wasn't sure if she was relieved or not. She leaned her palm on Raven's work surface and rested her weight on it as Bellamy grabbed his radio and spoke into it.

"Raven?" he sent out into the cosmos, and they both waited.

Zeek entered the room as Bellamy's shadow and silently disappeared into the background, loitering at the rear of the workshop as his attention was stolen by the sheer amount of tech before him. Clarke did noticed him, however, and was impressed at how his footsteps no longer sounded when he walked and at how easily his hulking frame could blend into his surroundings.

"Raven?" Bellamy said again, and Clarke raised an eyebrow at him. All they got was static.

"Where is she?" Clarke asked, and Bellamy just shook his head.

"Bell?" Octavia's voice came over the radio.

Bellamy jumped onto it. "O, where are you?"

There was a moment's pause.

"At the gates." She responded. "Why is there a whole grounder army here?"

Bellamy glared at Clarke. "Just come to Raven's workshop. I'll explain when you get here."

Clarke was about to speak up but he knew exactly what she was about to say.

"Have you seen Raven?" he asked into the radio.

There was some crackling before Octavia responded. "No."

Bellamy sighed. "Fine. If you see her, bring her," and then he put the radio back on his belt.

Clarke pushed out a breath. "How about Jasper?" Clarke asked. "Monty?" She may as well do it all with one stone, she thought. At least it would be done with.

Bellamy leaned his back against the opposite work surface and folded his arms rather standoffishly over his chest. "You don't want to see Jasper right now," he responded. His expression quite indifferent.

Clarke frowned, but then of course, she understood. She swallowed at the prospect of Jasper still hating her, after all this time, and her not being there to work it out with him. She left out a bit of a deflated breath. "Well how about Monty?"

Bellamy just looked at her. "Jasper goes where Monty goes."

Clarke nodded, took a step away from the work surface and a few more steps away from Bellamy. She wasn't sure she could handle the distrust in his expression. She didn't get far before he spoke.

"So are you going to talk to me?"

Clarke closed her eyes as she contemplated. She supposed she should, and what would it matter if she repeated herself. Even if she didn't owe him anything, a part of her wanted him to understand.

He stood a little straighter against the bench and pushed out a breath. "What's going on with you and Lexa?"

Clarke turned perhaps a little too quickly. "What do you mean?" she asked, a deep furrow set in her brow. A nervous breath caught in her throat.

Bellamy shrugged. "You're here with her, aren't you? You've spent all this time with her, since the cave." He held Clarke's gaze and something seemed to give in her eyes. "What happened?"

The relief Clarke felt was heavenly. Even though she knew the only person who had any idea something had happened between her and Lexa was Dax, Bellamy's words still worried her. She had to swallow a few times to get the moisture back in her throat. Then she ran a hand through her hair. She had to be careful, Zeek was in the room after all.

"I went to confront her," Clarke admitted quietly, and then she shook her head. "I don't really know why. I can't answer that," she whispered. "But I had to sort through things, figure it out in my head."

Bellamy didn't seem impressed. He knew, after all, he'd experienced it too. Or at least he thought he knew. There was some bitterness in his tone at the fact she got to run away. "And now you've done that?"

Clarke smiled bitterly. "No," she answered quickly. "But something is happening, and I need to find out what."

Bellamy cleared his throat, a bit, and glanced around the room. He didn't know if he was more upset or angry, that she'd sought solace by all accounts, with the person who betrayed them rather than with her own people. With him. He was caught between wanting to have it out with her, and not. "With another clan?"

"Yes," Clarke responded, "the Ice Nation." This was good, she thought. This she could talk about freely, without guilt. "Their leader, Nia, wants to rule the coalition."

"What's that got to do with us?" he asked flatly.

Clarke sighed. "It'll mean war." Another one, she thought, and she knew he was thinking it too. "We won't be able to avoid it."

The door flung open and Octavia came in quickly, closely followed by Lincoln and Clarke was grateful for the break in tension. Or at least the break in this tension.

"Is it true?" Octavia demanded as she strode toward her brother, not noticing Clarke at all. "Is she here?"

Lincoln hung back as his eyes wandered over to Clarke, his attention then drifting into the darkness as he felt the presence of someone else there, in the shadows.

Bellamy remained silent so Clarke responded for him. "Yes," she said, and then Octavia turned to face her. "She's here."

Octavia set her shoulders back and scoffed a little at the person before her. Clarke looked good, she supposed, but then being looked after in TonDC would do that. Guest of the Commander and all.

"Clarke," Octavia said, a little surprised. A little conflicted. "You're back."

Clarke stood up a little straighter. "I am."

A few moments passed before Octavia shrugged her shoulders. She still hadn't forgiven Clarke for the missile. Nor had she forgiven her for leaving them after the mountain. She held her palms out at her sides. "Why now?"

Just because Clarke expected the cool reception, it didn't mean she found it easy to deal with. She shuffled just once from foot to foot and swallowed her apprehension.

"It's Azgeda, isn't it?" Lincoln asked in way of an answer. Clarke glanced at him and was grateful, and Lincoln just nodded at her. "They attacked you in the forest."

"Yes," Clarke replied. She took a step forward then, into the centre of the room. "Look," she said as she took on a more authoritative tone, doing her best to ignore the flutter in her chest. "I know a lot of people don't trust Lexa," or me, she thought, but quickly disregarded it. "But she told me about Azgeda. They're brutal, and their army is huge-"

"-You want us to fight with her, don't you?" It was Bellamy, his face full of contempt. "After what she did to us." He pushed himself off the work surface and stepped toward her. "She abandoned us. Why do you want to help her?"

Clarke sighed and resigned herself to the fact she'd probably be having this conversation over and over. Before she even walked through the gates she knew she'd have to do a lot of defending Lexa, she had been prepared for it but standing here, in front of her friends with whom she had been through so much, she found her resolve wavering. Her confidence in her plan perhaps deteriorating.

But she hardened herself. She knew it was necessary so she cut to the chase. "The war will come to us anyway. At the moment I have an opportunity to go to Polis with Lexa and see exactly what's going on." She looked hard at Bellamy, trying to peer through his steely gaze. "We need to make sure we're on the right side and right now Lexa is protecting us-"

"-Why is Lexa's side the right one?" Bellamy threw back.

"Azgeda is anything but the right side," Lincoln cut in, and Clarke thanked God he was in the room. They all turned to him. "Clarke's right. The Ice Queen is worse than brutal." He looked at Bellamy. "You think the Commander is ruthless," and then he shook his head. "The best thing to happen in generations was when every clan joined the Commander's coalition. It put an end to the Queen's mindless killing. To her scheming and manipulation." He didn't always agree with Lexa's methods but he couldn't deny the things she had achieved. "Trust me when I say a coalition lead by Azgeda is something you don't want to see."

His words hung in the air for a few moments, as if hearing Clarke's words reinforced by someone considered a traitor by Trikru was something that couldn't be ignored.

Finally Octavia sighed and turned to her brother. "Look, Bell, I don't trust her either but what they're saying is right." Bellamy met her gaze. "Indra told me some stories, and she told me some about Lexa, too." That caught Clarke's attention, her eyes quickly snapping to Octavia's as Octavia looked at her in return, something in her expression softening just a little. She may have her issues with the Commander, but she couldn't help but respect her. Indra did after all. "I say let Clarke see what happens in Polis but Azgeda..." she trailed off as she shook her head, and she couldn't deny that a large part of her wanted to work with the general again. "...If they start something then we side with Trikru."

Bellamy threw his eyes to the ceiling as he fidgeted where he stood. The irritation bubbling away inside of him. "How can you say that?" he forced and then he glared at his sister. "She betrayed us. Left me to die. You. All of us, and now you want to fall behind her?"

Lincoln was at Octavia's side in a second.

Bellamy carried on regardless. "What happened at that mountain," and then he swung his body round to face Clarke. "What we had to do, was because of her."

There was silence as they all knew it was the truth and as Bellamy stared at Clarke harder, Clarke felt his defiance rattle at her. She bit her tongue as she felt like arguing with him but she knew that wouldn't help things. She also knew his anger was justified. She was still angry, she knew, perhaps should even be angrier, he was making her feel angrier but she managed to reign it in.

"She was saving her people," Octavia stated simply, feeling the need to diffuse the situation. "Isn't that all any of us try to do?"

Bellamy let his sisters words sink in and he backed away a little, from Clarke. He looked at the floor as he sighed, his shoulders losing their rugged edge."And what makes you think she'll do anything differently next time, huh?" he asked no one in particular, a lot of the rage gone from his tone, though. "Sacrifice us to save her own people. Only this time to the Ice Nation."

Clarke saw an opportunity and she took it. "I know exactly how you feel," she started, because she did, after all. She knew exactly about the guilt and the rage and finding someone to blame. "Trust me. I've been there, I've lived it. I'm still living it."

Bellamy cut his eyes at her. "You seem to be over it just fine."

Clarke laughed, sourly and bitterly and as if it left a nasty aftertaste in her mouth. "I'm not," and now her voice was low. Full of dirt and gravel and the words felt like they cut at her throat. "I'm just doing what needs to be done. This war will come whether we're ready for it or not." She took a step closer to him. "And I'm going to make damn sure we're ready."

He stared down his nose at her. "Really?"

Clarke narrowed her eyes. "Yes."

"By being with Lexa?"

The comment made Clarke falter, just briefly, and she huffed out a breath getting quite frustrated. She frowned at him heavily as she pointed at the floor. "By being in the most advantageous position possible and that is with Lexa, whether you like it or not."

He didn't like it, not one bit. Just as he didn't like her abandoning them in the first place. Just as he didn't like her walking away from the cave the last time he saw her and never going back. He'd checked a good number of times. She'd never returned and instead she'd decided to live with the grounders and now when she finally did come home, it was with Lexa.

Clarke was just getting more and more exasperated. "Do you want us to survive or not?" she demanded of him.

He stepped right into her personal space. "I will always do what's best for our people."

"Then trust me," Clarke said quickly. "This, is."

He pushed out a breath and clenched his teeth, hard, infuriated that Clarke was probably right. He knew that her first priority was always to protect her people. Or at least it used to be. He couldn't help the bitterness though, the feeling of betrayal. Of being abandoned as easily as she had abandoned them.

He stared right at her. "Just remember who your people are, Clarke. Us, not them."

She felt guilt, then. Deep in her gut and thick in her veins. She had to physically stop herself from looking away. "I do know that," she said, and it came out of throaty whisper.

Bellamy took another step back. "We'll see." He turned then and left the room, striding out of Raven's workshop and letting the door slam heavily behind him.

Octavia sighed and stared at the closed door. After a moment she turned to Clarke. "He'll be okay."

Clarke just raised her eyebrows, a heavy weight feeling like it was pretty close to landing on her. She swallowed painfully and pushed out a breath. "I hope so," she replied, sinking her teeth into her bottom lip.

"Stay here," Octavia instructed, "I'll go after him."

She was out the door before Clarke could respond and Lincoln caught it before it had time to close again.

He paused as he held the door open for himself and regarded Clarke softly. "It's good to have you back, Clarke," he said with a smile and after a moment, Clarke returned it.

Lincoln then disappeared and Clarke was left alone. She blew out a long, hard breath through her lips and reached up with her hand to rub at the back of her neck. She felt exhausted, emotionally overwrought and she wondered if now had really been the best time to talk with her friends.

Her gaze fell once more on Raven's projects that were mostly lining the shelves opposite her and she closed her eyes, resting her weight back on her heels as she took in a few calming breaths. She needed to sleep, she considered, before she remembered that Zeek should still be somewhere in the room. She opened her eyes and tried to find him, not being able to pick out his form amongst the shadows.

Then she heard a movement from somewhere behind her and she turned carefully, squinting into the darkness. "Zeek?" she asked, straining to hear anything more. There was nothing though, not for several seconds until someone came into view.

"Is that your grounder bodyguard?"

It was Raven, stepping rather loudly from the back of the room. She didn't even look at Clarke as she came into view, choosing to drag herself over to her workbench and flop down onto the stool behind it.

"How long have you been back there?" Clarke asked, a distinct level of wariness in her tone at Raven's demeanour.

"Long enough," Raven replied, letting her weight relax into the stool as she winced at the pain in her leg. She rubbed her thigh briefly but that was all the attention she was prepared to give it.

Clarke's shoulders deflated. Raven wasn't even looking at her. She wasn't sure how she could handle Raven not liking her, it was something she worried about since the moment she left. "How's your leg?"

Raven scoffed. "Like you care."

That hurt her, and her eyes began to sting. "Of course I care," Clarke responded in a whisper.

Raven looked up at her, then. "How long's it been, Clarke?" There were many emotions creating a violent storm in her eyes; hurt, hostility, suspicion. Distrust and perhaps the one that hurt Clarke the most; disgust?

Clarke hoped that wasn't what she saw.

"Months," Raven carried on when Clarke said nothing. "It's been months, and then I find out you've been with them. The grounders, living with them, like they're good enough for you, but we're not."

Clarke vehemently shook her head. "It's not like that-"

"-Then what is it like, Clarke? Do you even know anything that's happened here since you left?"

Clarke pulled her lips through her teeth and swallowed awkwardly. She felt the sweat gather in her palms and at the back of her neck and she was certain she felt her hands shake. Raven was right, wasn't she? They were all right.

Raven scoffed, again, already knowing the answer to her own question. "Have you even asked?"

Clarke looked down at the ground then, at the way the cold grey of the metal blended in with the dirt and dust on her boots. She didn't know what to say, or even if there was anything to say.

Raven shook her head and glanced across her work top. She grabbed a radio she had been in the middle of repairing and started fiddling with it. "You've been too busy finding salvation with the enemy," she muttered.

"They're not the enemy," Clarke said like a reflex, immediately knowing it was the wrong thing to say.

Raven raised an eyebrow, unimpressed as she put far too much effort into unscrewing a dial. "You sure about that?"

Clarke paused as she looked at her friend, the regret and guilt filling up every empty void in her chest. It hurt that Raven couldn't look at her, and it hurt even more that when she did there was nothing but pain there, staring back at her. She took the opportunity to look her over; Raven didn't look well and Clarke made a mental note to bring it up with her mother next time she saw her.

"Yes," Clarke replied, her voice still quiet and uneasy.

Raven thumped the radio down onto the counter top. "Really? Because the last time I checked your friend had me tortured, demanded Finn's death, let a missile fall on TonDC and left us all for dead." Her gaze was unmoving and Clarke felt every word as intently as they were meant. "Sure sounds like the enemy to me."

A fleeting thought went to Zeek and him finding out about the missile but she couldn't spare any consideration for anyone who wasn't Raven. Not right then. "There were reasons for all of that," she countered, trying to make her believe it but she didn't hold out much hope. She knew Raven knew there were reasons, but Clarke was aware anger hardly let any of them matter.

"Yeah. Keep telling yourself that."

Clarke tried to think of something good to say. Something beneficial that would make Raven understand that she was only doing what was necessary. What would save them all in the end but nothing came other than words in defence of Lexa. "Look..."

"And then you bring her here," Raven cut in, a look of astonishment on her face. "To save her."

Clarke raised her brow. How did Raven know that? She shook her head. "We need her-"

"-Yeah, yeah," Raven muttered. "I heard you trying to convince the others. Seems like you did a good job, too. Well done you." Raven was pretty much done, in that moment. She knew she was letting her anger dictate her words but she didn't care. She was angry at Clarke, and she wasn't worried about letting her know it even if she was going a little over the top. Clarke deserved over the top. She had gone. Ran, when Raven had no option but to stay put. "So," she sighed, "if there's nothing else. I'm sure you have other people to see."

"Raven-"

"-No, Clarke. Just, no," and quickly she was angry again. She thumped her palm down onto her bench and would've been on her feet if her damn leg didn't hurt so much. "You might have been able to work through it, and you might be able to convince Octavia that what you want to do is the thing we all need to do. Hell, she's already half grounder and once you get one Blake the other one comes free but don't you even try to convince me." She did actually stand then but with most of her weight braced on her hands, her fingers digging into the counter top. She scowled at her too, for emphasis. "Don't you remember what she did? What she drove you to do?"

Clarke took a tentative step back. She knew Raven was talking about Finn and she felt the emotion pool behind her eyes at the thought of Raven's scream. At the knife in her hand and the life as it slipped out of his body. The lump in her throat almost choked her. "Of course I do," she whispered, her voice clogged full of regret. It was heavy and it hurt even now. Even forever, she presumed.

"Good," Raven hissed between clenched teeth. "Because Bellamy is right. She is to blame. Finn, the missile. The mountain. You want to get cosy with her, go to Polis with her," she shrugged. "Fine. But you can count, me, out."

Raven slumped back down on her stool and turned her attention back to the broken radio in front of her.

Clarke felt lost, again, and set adrift. The people she loved disliked her, hated her, even, and she wasn't sure how to remedy it. She didn't know if it could be remedied and that was the thing that hurt most of all. She had to try, though, and she turned her mind upside down trying to find the right words.

"You're still my friend, Raven. Still my people and even when I'm not here, it doesn't mean you don't matter to me and it doesn't mean I won't do everything I can to keep you safe." There was silence. "It's all I ever try to do."

Raven still didn't answer, she just glared even more intently at her worktop.

Clarke sighed and she felt heavy, that weight from before firmly crushing her, now. She opened the door quietly and left.

Clarke paused after walking a few steps along the hallway and then she reached out for the wall. Her fingertips barely touching it as she squeezed her eyes shut, her forehead furrowing with the way her insides clenched. She wanted to leave then, suddenly. Go to Polis. TonDC. Anything. She knew Zeek could pick Lexa up and carry her out of here but then, she thought, perhaps that was the problem.

Just because Lexa had helped her, just because she had kissed her, it didn't matter. Her people mattered more and that's how she had to think, again. Being confronted by them only served to drive that home.

"Your friends do not seem... friendly."

Zeek's voice made her jump and she spun around quickly to find the warrior standing only a few paces behind her.

She breathed out a sigh of relief, her mind still caught up in knots, however. "They're angry with me," was all she said.

Zeek couldn't get his head around that. "Why? They owe their lives to you."

Clarke really wished it was as easy as that. "It's not that simple."

Zeek stepped closer to her so she had to look up to meet his eyes. He was frowning, like he had absolutely no idea what she could possibly mean. "It is," he responded, searching her eyes and disliking these friends of hers even more with each passing second. "This is how they repay you?"

Clarke's head was starting to hurt and honestly all she wanted was a dark room to sit in. Alone. She shook her head and pushed out a breath, his question one far too difficult to answer. She turned away from him. "C'mon," she said quietly, and then she walked away from him.

Clarke wandered back into medical at some ridiculously early hour of the morning, her footsteps echoing around the room as she entered from the door that was held open for her by one of the guards standing outside.

She couldn't even spare a smile for him she felt that done in. Utterly exhausted and emotionally drained just didn't do how she felt justice. She stopped a few steps away from Lexa's bed, her eyes roaming over the Commander's slumbering form and then she looked at the guards inside the room, both of them with their attention fixed at the once again closed doors.

Clarke worried herself, not sure exactly how she felt about the ten or so conversations she'd had with various people since she was last here. She was happy she ran into Miller after her visit to Raven's workshop, him being ecstatically happy to see her and forcing her basically, to go and talk with everyone else. It seemed Monroe, Monty and Harper, as well as Miller had no problem with her time away and were just glad to see her again. Obviously it was just her closest friends whom she had hurt the most.

Clarke sighed. Even though she was glad for the last few hours, she'd even spoken with Sinclair and Jackson, Raven and Bellamy's words were still the most prominent ones on her mind. They weighed heavily on her and she couldn't help but take note of them. She looked at Lexa and sighed, again. Should the person who betrayed all of her people be the person Clarke was letting herself develop feelings for?

It made her frown and she felt so, so conflicted. She was just starting to work through all this and now, being back here, it was making her doubt everything all over again.

Especially Lexa.

Clarke tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. She wished she was outside right then. Wished she could see the stars and feel the cool night air as it breezed over her skin. She was certain it would help more than the dull metal surface that reflected back at her.

"Did you see your friends?" Lexa asked quietly, Clarke's eyes closing as the Commander's soft tones reached her ears.

Clarke didn't move for a good few moments. She didn't want to think right then. There were more important things anyway, like a probable war with a hostile clan.

"Yes," Clarke said eventually. Her head tipping forwards so she could look at the Commander once more.

Lexa took it all in in an instant. The way Clarke's shoulders drooped forwards. The dull expression in her eyes. The weariness and exhaustion in her frame. Lexa's eyes moved over her from her head to her knees and back again. "They do not like me being here."

Clarke smiled then, albeit sadly. Or at least she tried to smile. "I think both yours and my people have that in common."

Lexa smiled tightly in return. She hadn't expected anything less, she was just sorry all of this was causing Clarke pain.

Clarke stepped forward then, right up and against the side of the bed. She couldn't help herself and didn't afford it any thought. She simply reached down and played with the sheets by Lexa's hip, taking in a very heavy and uneven breath. It seemed with as tired as her brain was her body simply took over and Clarke simply didn't want to stop it.

Clarke looked down at her fingers as they grasped at the white material of the sheets before she saw Lexa's hand come into view, her breath catching for a moment and then the Commander's fingers covered her own and when they squeezed, Clarke bit down on her lip.

She closed her eyes for a moment and wished the Commander didn't make her feel this way. A pointless wish she knew, but she wished it nonetheless. It would be so much simpler, that way.

"What's wrong?" Lexa asked, her voice doing that soft, sincere thing again and Clarke didn't think she could handle it.

She looked up though, and smiled tightly at the Commander. "Nothing," she lied. "It's just been a long day."

Lexa knew there was something more. A lot more, even, but she knew better than to push. Instead she settled for squeezing Clarke's fingers a couple more times as she tilted her head to the side so she could regard her properly. Drink in her form as it had been entirely too long since Clarke was last there. "You're tired, you should sleep."

Clarke nodded. She was so tired she thought she could fall asleep quite easily where she stood. Lexa caressing her fingers like she was all the night through. "Yeah," she whispered. "I will." She sighed then, her shoulders doing an exaggerated shrug. "Raven knows you're injured."

Lexa blinked a few times and her thumb stalled against Clarke's knuckle before she carried on its movement. She let a moment or so pass. "Will she say anything?"

Clarke shrugged properly, then. "I don't know." There was a short pause as Clarke wondered if she should say anything more. Then she remembered something. "Zeek knows about the missile."

Lexa pushed out a breath and then she nodded minutely, just once. That she wasn't worried about because Zeek knew the way of things. He was once of her most promising warriors.

Clarke was pleased at least at Lexa's lack of response. At least it was something she didn't have to concern herself with so she looked at the chair that was just to the side of Lexa's bed and then she reluctantly pulled her hands out of the Commander's grip and sat on it, relieved to finally have the weight off her feet. "How's your leg?"

Lexa raised her brow, her fingers slowly running over the sheet where Clarke's hands had just been. Not being able to do anything about Raven, she left it to Clarke's better judgement and then she thought back to Abby and Jackson's impromptu therapy session. "Your mother is...thorough," she responded with a large amount of disdain.

It made Clarke smile and Lexa was instantly glad she had said it. She watched as Clarke attempted to curl up in the chair as she obviously tried to settle in for the night. Lexa let herself settle into her bed, too. "You do not have to stay," the Commander offered, glad beyond words that that was what Clarke wanted to do.

"I know," Clarke replied with a yawn, feeling the Commander's eyes on her after she had closed her own. She rested her head on the back of the chair and did her best to get comfortable, knowing sleep would come but unsure at how restful it would be.

Translations.

"Sha, Heda."

"Yes, Commander."

"Gada emo bash yu in?"

"Have they harmed you?"

"Skaikru branwada."

"Sky fool."

"-Em pleni!"

"-Enough!"

"Taim veida beda zog raun frag emo fostaim op. Nami?"

"If the enemy should attack, kill them first. Understand?"

"Shil em op."

"Protect her."

Trikru.

Woods clan.

Azgeda.

Ice Nation.