Cause this is what dreams should always be

Aria’s gaze went over to Bellamy and she watched him for a few moments, surprised with his quiet tone, curious as to what exactly was going on in his mind. She didn’t question it, though, worried about making him overthink. Shaking her head, she turned her attention back ahead. “Uh, no, I didn’t get to,” she murmured in return, shrugging gently, “I figured the sooner we get this done, the longer I’d get to talk to them. Plus… Well, I know they’d ask about Evie and I don’t know what to tell them. I don’t want to lie to them, but I don’t want to tell them the truth and have them worry or freak out about it all. They’re up there and there’s nothing they can do about what’s happening down here, so I don’t want to stress them out.” That didn’t mean she’d been all that happy about not being able to talk to her parents, but she was trying to be careful with her decisions, and trying to make sure her parents knew as little as possible so they didn’t panic.

“Uh, he just knows that it was a supply expo,” she told him, looking over at him for a moment, examining him. “He thinks there might be food there. There should definitely be blankets and other things to tide us over until they can come down. But, the only way that’s completely possible is if nobody made it into the expo before the bombs dropped - otherwise, they’ve been driving through the century and it could all be gone by now.” Or it wouldn’t have even lasted them all that long. They wouldn’t really know which was true until they got to the expo and saw what was inside themselves - and, hopefully, the results would be promising and they wouldn’t have to worry too much about the upcoming winter anymore.

---

Finn listened to her quietly, his expression softening with concern for a moment. He wondered how guilty she felt about the situation, especially with all of her words about her not wanting what had happened. “None of that is your fault, Evie,” he told her quietly as he watched her, “Bellamy and the others made their own decision in bringing him here. None of that was on you.” He watched her for a few moments, though he shook his head slightly. “I don’t think the group hating him would really change, either… But, that’s not on you, either - that’s just because of everything that’s happened to us since we arrived here.” But, he wished there was a way to fix all of that. They didn’t know why the Grounders were acting violently against them, after all. Maybe if they did, they could fix whatever was going on and they could all live in peace, without anybody being killed anymore. But, he wasn’t quite sure how they could manage that - especially when he knew how the others felt about the Grounders.

He blinked, though, to her question, and quickly shook her head. “No, of course not,” he assured her gently, “I think you did the right thing. Keeping him prisoner wouldn’t help anybody. He wasn’t going to tell us anything, and if the rest of the Grounders found out we were holding one of their own captive, who knows what hell would break loose?” He was going to speak more, but he found himself surprised when she reached out to him and pressed against him. His arms wrapped around her and he held her close to himself, being careful to try to avoid hurting her, and he rubbed her back gently. It was nice to just have her in his arms again, and he was surprised that she was willing to be this close to him again, but it brought a huge sense of relief to him. Gently, he kissed the top of her head. “You did the right thing, Evie.”

Bellamy still wished that Aria had been able to speak with her parents over the radio, because she deserved to hear their voices again. But she was right, he knew his mom could always tell when he wasn’t being honest with her. “But even if they were here, we did everything we could for Evie with what we had. They could only do that too,” Of course The Ark would have way more supplies then what they currently did, perhaps they could have stopped Evie from leaving the camp which would have stopped her from being in that cave with the Grounder. So much would have be different and things would have been gone differently if The Ark were all there, but they weren’t yet, so everyone had to survive in some way. “They also have to know that you two would do anything for each other, that could give them some reassure.” Bellamy guessed knowing their daughters would make them realise how far one would go to protect the other.

Nodding his head, Bellamy pushed on as he followed Aria in the direction she was heading. He hoped Jaha was right and the supplies where there waiting for them, anything that would help the camp get through the coming winter or help them in building a more secure camp for themselves. Bellamy would take whatever he could, if he could carry enough, then he would bring more people out, so they could collect what they could. “Lets just hope there’s still stuff left over for us,” He wasn’t sure what he would do if nothing was left, food was extremely low, and no one had warm clothes or blankets that they could use for the colder nights to come.

---

“It is my fault, he wouldn’t have been brought here if it wasn’t for me.” Evie lifted her head, so she could look at Finn, nothing he could say would make her feel any better. Part of her knew it had been a choice that Bellamy made, but he wouldn’t have needed to make that choice if she had just stayed away from the Grounder. She was worried that the Grounder would tell his people what happened to him and how to find them, it was something she tried pushing to the back of her mind. Resting her head back against his shoulder, she suddenly felt drained from climbing the ladder twice when she should be resting. Relief washed over her when Finn assured her that she did the right thing, she thought he would agree with her, but she needed to hear the words come from his mouth before she could relax.

All Evie needed right now was to be in Finn’s arms, to know he was there for her and to have his comfort. They would deal with the Raven situation in time, but for the moment all of that seemed insufficient. She knew a lot had been said in anger, all coming from her in that moment. And a lot more would need to be said between them, but it would come in time once the stab wound wasn’t so fresh and painful. “Did you even get much sleep last night?” She asked now wanting to change the topic, in hopes she wouldn’t stress herself out with thoughts of what may occur once the Grounder goes back to his people. Stress and worry would only slow down the healing process, and Evie needed to heal and get herself back to be healthy if she wanted to continue helping the camp and surviving.

Aria nodded, because Bellamy was right. There wasn’t much else that anybody could have done for Evie. She was alive and safe now, and that was all that mattered. She still knew that it would be best not to let her parents know about what happened, not any time soon, at least. She didn’t want to worry them or do anything that would cause them stress. They were probably worrying enough about her and Evie with how far away they were from each other; adding onto that wouldn’t do anybody any real good. Even with their parents knowing how much she and Evie would look out for each other, it still couldn’t be easy for her parents, knowing that there was nothing they could do for their daughters while they were on the Ark and their daughters were on Earth. It wasn’t even easy for Evie and her, knowing that there wasn’t anything they could do for their parents, either, with the distance between them.

“I hope so, too,” she admitted with a small nod, “Because, if not… I’m not sure how we’ll handle the winter.” She frowned slightly with the thought. They’d never actually experienced a winter, since they’d been up on the Ark, but she’d read plenty about them and they sounded difficult. She wasn’t sure how many of them would survive it if they had to face it without blankets or food. Shaking the thought away, she looked ahead, focusing, though she looked down to the map, seeing where they were, and paused. “Wait, it should be… Somewhere around here.” She looked around a bit, trying to spot anything, and headed down the hill to get a look. Spotting vines, she made her way over to hem, her brows furrowing as she got closer, spotting the bunker door. “Bellamy! I think I found it!”

---

“That’s not true, Evie,” Finn told her gently as he watched her, frowning slightly as he rubbed her back, shaking his head. “He would have been brought here either way. Bellamy chose to bring him here to interrogate him, not because he hurt you. And it’s mostly a good thing he brought him here, or else we wouldn’t have been able to save you. There wouldn’t have been anything we could have done for you. I don’t agree with what happened to the Grounder at all, but him being here… It saved you in the end. It was better that way.” He nodded once. “At least that part was. Not what… Happened to him. But that probably would have happened, anyways, for the information, since the Grounder did take Octavia and had clearly been watching us, according to whatever journal he’d been carrying with him when we found him.”

But, overall, she was okay and she was safe, and that’s what mattered to him. At least the Grounder hadn’t lashed out at her when she set him free. That gave him some peace of mind. He offered an amused look to her question, though, and shook his head slightly. “No, not really,” he admitted quietly but rubbed her back gently and shrugged. “But, it’s okay. I wanted to make sure you were okay. And I wanted to make sure your injury didn’t get infected or anything or that you didn’t end up getting a fever because of it.” He watched her, taking her in, admittedly still concerned about her. But, she was here in his arms, alive and safe, and that was all he really cared about. “Did you get enough rest, though?” After all, he wasn’t really sure if she’d slept the whole time, if she’d waken up in the moments he’d allowed himself a little sleep. He wanted her to be okay.

Bellamy knew most of them wouldn’t survive a winter if they didn’t find any decent supplies, blankets and tents would go a long way in shielding them from what was to come. He searched around when Aria mentioned that the bunker should be close by them now, he couldn’t find anything that looked to be an entrance until he heard Aria. Spotting her at the bottom of the hill, he followed her down and over to the door she had found. Moving over he grabbed the metal handle and pulled, he grunted when the door remained sealed shut. “Stand back,” He looked to Aria before he grabbed the axe from his backpack, he swung the blade against the door a few times to loosen the seal. “Let’s try again,” He pulled on the handles with Aria’s help and managed to open the door this time, he allowed Aria to walk down the steps first knowing there wouldn’t be any danger waiting inside the bunker. If anyone had been in the bunker, they wouldn’t have survived to tell the tale.

It was dark, causing Bellamy to reach into his backpack again and pull out a light. “There’s a light in your bag too,” He told Aria as he switched his light on to give them a way to actually see what was inside the bunker, as they moved further inside Bellamy’s eyes scanned what he could. “Looks like this place was raided before the last bomb went off, besides if there are any supplies down here. I’m not sure how much we can use,” He didn’t want to be negative as they still found the bunker, but water was leaking in through the roof and would have been for years. He knew Jaha had the idea of them using the bunker as a camp, but seeing the condition the bunker was in, there was no way he’d be bringing everyone down there. Especially not with the Grounders around, it would be way too easy for the Grounders to trap them down in the bunker, if they wanted to get rid of them.

---

Evie knew that if the Grounder hadn’t been brought back, she probably would have died from the poison. She knew that, but she still didn’t approve of Bellamy or anyone holding a person here against their will. Not even if it meant she would survive. Looking at Finn, she sighed softly. She knew he would be worried about her, but she hated knowing he lost sleep because he was so concerned about her. “No, I think I got a few hours of sleep. But I kept waking up, the cave… it wouldn’t leave my mind. I just kept dreaming about it, over and over again.” She admitted to him, every time she would wake up, her heart was pounding in her chest as she relived being stabbed. “Could you come lay down with me?” She asked him as right now she wanted him close, she hoped having contact with him would ease the nightmares and give them both a chance to just relax.

Considering she wouldn’t be able to do anything else, and Finn didn’t seem to be that willing to leave her side. It was pretty much the only thing they could do, to pass the time until Aria and Bellamy returned. Maybe then if supplies were found, Evie could in some way help with that. It was wishful thinking, but she would at least try to help out as much as she could. “I also think climbing the ladder wasn’t my greatest idea,” She felt exhausted, she couldn’t remember a time when her body felt this exhausted. It was a feeling that Evie didn’t like, having her body work so hard on healing the wound she received, it was taking all of her energy.

Aria waited patiently, watching Bellamy as he worked on opening the bunker, though she was relieved when it looked like the rust had loosened, and she moved to help as much as she could - which, admittedly, wasn’t much, but at least it was better than not helping at all. By what she could see with the light from the fading sun, it didn’t look like much of a place to live at all. It looked cold and dark and lonely. Shaking the thoughts away, she looked over when he mentioned the light. “Somebody thought ahead,” she joked lightly but, admittedly, was relieved to hear it. Sliding her bag around to get a look inside, she reached around until she found the light and turned it on, shining it around the area before she made her way further into the bunker, thankful for the new illumination.

A small frown formed on her features as they moved deeper into the bunker, though. She’d stepped on a puddle or two, cringing with the noise it made, even though she knew there shouldn’t be anybody down here - clearly, nobody had taken shelter here. “Which means, this was probably a complete waste of time,” she murmured quietly in defeat, disappointed, because they could have spent the day foraging or trying to find more ways to survive. Spotting a rack, she made her way over and found relief with the sight of blankets. “There are at least blankets here,” she mentioned, looking over to Bellamy, “That should help a little with the cold weather coming in.” She hoped so, anyways. She shined her light around a bit more, spotting barrels nearby, but focused her attention on mentally tallying the blankets.

---

Finn’s expression softened with concern when he heard her explanation, and he watched her, unsure of what to do to help her. It didn’t surprise him at all that she’d been having constant nightmares about the cave, but she didn’t deserve that - and she definitely didn’t deserve to have to deal with that alone. “I’ll help you get through all of that,” he promised her quietly, rubbing her back gently in hopes of comforting her in some way. “We’ll get through it together, I promise. I won’t let you deal with all of that… Pain alone.” And, he wouldn’t. He’d do whatever it took to help her, so long as she let him actually be there for her. To her request, though, he smiled and nodded. “Of course I can,” he assured her before he led the way back over to the cots, making sure to hold her up so that she wouldn’t have to strain too much.

When she talked about the ladder, though, he couldn’t help but to chuckle gently in response and he nodded his agreement. “Probably not,” he agreed as he watched her, offering a small smile, “You could have just asked me. I would have helped.” If it was Evie asking, he wasn’t sure there was any way he could say no to anything she may request. All he wanted was to make her happy and ease her pain. Shifting, he sat down on the cot and opened his arms to help her lay down, figuring that they could rest a bit. Even if they didn’t sleep, just letting their bodies rest was important - especially with everything Evie’s body had been put through, and the fact that she had to heal. He tried not to worry too much about all of that, but he couldn’t help but to worry, anyways - she was too important to him for him to not worry.

“I only thought ahead because you insisted on coming with me,” Bellamy glanced over to Aria, if it had only been himself on this task then he may not have thought so far ahead. But he wanted Aria safe, he needed to keep her safe, so he made sure to pack whatever he thought they could need while they were away from the camp. He didn’t care that much about himself, he would deal with hunger and thirst or having no light. Still searching for any supplies that they could take with them, Bellamy was still coming up empty handed. Shining his touch in Aria’s direction, he saw she had found a decent amount of blankets. “There should be more than just blankets down here,” He was frustrated, they had been told this bunker could be a safe place for them and would have the supplies they needed. He knew that Jaha couldn’t have known what the bunker would hold, but Bellamy was annoyed either way.

Moving over to a barrel, he lifted the metal lid and shone his touch on the liquid. Dipping his finger into the liquid, all he found was oil which was no use to them. “We came all this way for nothing,” He raised his voice as this had been a waste of their time, they could have been out hunting or gathering food and water. Instead there had searched for this bunker and could only take some blankets back to camp, it was a failure and Bellamy was pissed off. Lifting his leg, he kicked the barrel over with his boot. The barrel crash to the floor, slipping the oil everywhere. But a strange noise caused him to frown, moving closer to the barrel he picked something up and again used his touch to light it all. “Aria…” Shock ran through him as his eyes stared at a gun that he was holding, looking over at her he wasn’t sure what to do or say. He never expected to find guns in the bunker, but this meant they had a way to protect themselves now.

---

Evie looked at Finn when he offered to help her through the pain of the nightmares that she had the previous night, she wanted to reject his offer because she didn’t want to put the terrors into his mind. But she knew that if she didn’t except his offer, she would suffer in silence and she’d bottle everything up until one day she exploded. That wouldn’t help her in anyway, it would slow her healing process and would slowly drive her crazy. “Thank you, that means a lot to me.” She hoped he knew what he was getting himself into, her nightmares weren’t pretty but if he was willing to be there and to listen to her after having one, then she would allow him in closer to her. Maybe it could even aid in repairing the trust between them, that had been shattered when Raven arrived from The Ark.

“You would have done the exact same thing, if you were in my position.” She reminded him as she moved back over to the cot, she took her time as Finn supported her. She knew he wouldn’t have allowed the Grounder to be chained up and tortured, but he was still right. She should have asked for his help, because the Grounder could have easily attacked her again and no one would have known. At the cot she used Finn as he helped her lay back down, in doing so her face scrunched up from the pain. Right now, nothing she did wouldn’t cause her pain, the wound was still fresh and hadn’t yet started to heal. Breathing out she laid on her back and looked at him, “Have you seen Raven today?” She asked quietly as she did want to know if Finn had spoken to her, while another part of her didn’t want to know. She mostly wanted to know how Raven took it all, if Finn had spoken to her.

Aria made a joking face at Bellamy, watching him for a moment. “It was safer that you didn’t go alone,” she reminded him easily, shrugging, because she didn’t want him to get hurt or for something worse to happen to him. They’d already seen some of the horrors the Earth hid; who knew what else was out there? And, even if there was nothing new, just what they knew of was terrifying enough for her to worry about him, about her sister, about the group. Her attention went back to the blankets and she ran her fingers over them, feeling that they didn’t feel like the most comfortable blankets, but they would definitely be better than nothing, especially with the winter coming up soon. While it wasn’t all that she was hoping for, she tried to think about the possibilities that maybe everything would be okay, maybe they’d find something else if they kept looking. She tried to be hopeful, optimistic.

Then, though, she heard Bellamy’s outburst and she blinked, looking over at him, startled almost with the way his voice raised. It didn’t surprise her that he was frustrated; they were running out of options when it came to what they could forage, and they didn’t have anything really useful for hunting, so they would probably run out of food before the winter ended. How many of them would starve? She swallowed thickly, trying not to think of it, but promising herself that she’d do whatever it took to make sure that her sister survived the winter at the very least. But, then, she heard the clang coming from the barrel when Bellamy had knocked it down. Hearing Bellamy, her brows furrowed and she raised her flashlight towards the sight and approached carefully, curiously. When the light landed on the guns, though, she stared with surprise before she looked to Bellamy. “There are guns,” she murmured with surprise, shock even, “Guns. We could definitely use guns.” There were so many opportunities that came with guns - protection, sure, but guns also provided a better means to hunting.

---

Finn smiled slightly to her words, relieved that she’d let him be there for her. He knew he needed to make up for everything he’d done that had hurt her, and he hoped this would at least open up the possibility for him to make up to her, even a little. He knew there was a lot that he had to make up for, but he would do his best to do whatever he needed to do to make sure that he could work towards making things easier for Evie. While his goal was to earn her forgiveness, everything between them meant more to him than just her forgiveness. He wanted them to be able to be happy together. Above everything else, though, he wanted to be the one to make Evie happy - and he knew he wouldn’t be able to do that if he didn’t earn her forgiveness, so he was prepared to do whatever it took to earn that. “You don’t have to thank me,” he assured her quietly, shaking his head slightly, “Really, I just want to help.”

While he listened to her talk, he helped her onto the cot gently, shifting to sit on the edge of the cot to watch her, lifting his hand to run his fingers through her hair, despite himself. “That much, I can probably admit to,” he told her with amusement, though he nodded, because he knew that he probably would have let the Grounder go himself, if it had come to that. While the Grounder had hurt Evie and had nearly killed her, Finn was pretty sure that the Grounder had only acted out of defense, that he probably hadn’t really meant to harm Evie at all. He was sure that, if it had been any of them in the same position, they probably would have reacted the same. Hell, some of the group had even gone after the twins themselves - it wasn’t something that anybody held over them. They just mostly tried to work through it at this point. Hearing her question, though, he shook his head. “I talked to her last night about everything, while you slept. She… Saw how much you meant to me, and we agreed to break up. She understands and she just wants me to be happy,” he told her gently as he watched her, wondering how she would take the information.

Bellamy couldn’t think straight as his eyes still focused on what he had found, several thoughts flashed through his mind as he came to realise what he had found. Guns would give them a better means at protecting themselves, but having a gun while hunting for animals meant that maybe he didn’t have to worry about the group starving through winter. The sooner the guns were taken back to camp, the sooner a hunting group could set out as they did need to hunt now before the animals went into hiding for the winter. “I was wrong, coming here wasn’t a waste of our time.” His eyes flickered over to where Aria stood, maybe they had a chance of surviving whatever Earth decided to throw at them now. Turning around he shone his flash light onto the other barrels, if the barrels all held guns and ammunition then so many of them could have one. They could have guards to protect the camp from all sides, a hunting team could use the guns and there would probably still be guns left over for people he and Aria selected to have one.

Removing his backpack from his shoulders, he unzipped the bag and pulled out a packet of jobi nuts that had been given to him by Monty for the trip. Ripping the packet open, he grabbed a few nuts and chewed them as he got carried away with the idea of the guns. “Do you know what this means?” He asked Aria as he looked at her, “We don’t have to be afraid anymore. We can use these for hunting and we can survive this winter, we can finally protect ourselves from Grounders and anything else that threatens us.” He took a few steps closer to her as he spoke, his eyes focused on her and only her. “You can protect yourself, I won’t need to worry about you if I’m not there.” His voice dropped, and it took him a few moments before he realised what he had said, he didn’t want to give Aria time to reply back to him or ask him what he meant. “I’ll teach you how to shoot, you need to know.” He encouraged her even if she didn’t want to or like the idea of having a gun herself, he wasn’t going to let her go back to camp without being assured that she knew how to use a gun.

---

Feeling Finn’s fingers move through her hair caused a dull ache in Evie’s chest, despite what had happened between him and Raven, none of that changed the feelings she held in her heart for Finn. She did love him and she wanted nothing more than to be with him, she knew they could get back to how they were before Raven arrived, it would just take some more time but Evie knew they would be fine. Which is why she moved her hand to his arm, he wasn’t wearing a jacket and the sleeves of his shirt had been pulled up. Her thumb automatically begun to rub his arm as she laid in the cot, looking at him she wasn’t sure how she felt knowing that he had already spoken to Raven. Listening to him and what he was telling her, should have made her pleased as it sounded like Raven could see the way Finn felt for her. “Are you sure that she isn’t just telling you that because that’s what you want to hear?” Evie couldn’t help but ask, she knew that she had the tendency to do just that with people she cared about.

But Evie also didn’t know Raven while Finn did, he may be able to tell when Raven wasn’t being honest with him or if she was holding something back from him. Of course, Evie did want to know Raven more if she was given the chance, considering she did steal her boyfriend away from her, unknowingly. She would give Raven all the time she needed before trying to make a friend out of the brunette, because that is what Evie was making herself think. That she would have all the time in the world, she couldn’t think anything else right now. She knew first hand what could happen to any of the group by outside forces, and with the impending winter that was approaching them quicker than they had planned for, Evie had to keep herself thinking in a positive light. “I don’t want her to hate me, it’s obvious she’s never going to hate you.” Evie admitted as she had felt hatred from people she didn’t even know for all of her life on The Ark, having that follow her down onto the Earth was the last thing she wanted to happen. Especially as the group needed to work together to survive this world, as so far it hadn’t been kind to any of them.

Aria laughed quietly, unable to help it. “Yeah, it surprisingly wasn’t a waste of time,” she agreed with a nod, relieved with it, because they needed guns, they needed weapons. Without weapons, their chances of surviving Earth was slim to none and Aria wanted to survive, she wanted her sister to survive, she wanted her friends to survive, she wanted Bellamy to survive. Peering over at him with the thought, she watched him for a long moment, unable to help it, and when he looked back over at her, she quickly ducked her gaze and pulled out a pack of nuts for herself, mostly to keep herself busy to avoid Bellamy realizing that she’d been paying more attention to him than anything else. Popping a few in her mouth, she chewed them quietly, not too fond of the taste, but eating them was better than eating nothing at all and starving.

But, when she concentrated on his words, she paused, blinking as she peered over at him with confusion. “Wait, what? What do you mean you won’t need to worry about me if you’re not there?” Her brows pulled together with confusion, watching him, and she wondered what was going on. Why would Bellamy worry about her at all? And where would he be if he wasn’t around? Hunting or scouring or guarding, maybe? She wasn’t sure what to think about any of it and she watched him for a long time, just wanting to know what was going on in his head. “Yeah, uh… Okay, but that conversation isn’t over.” She gave him a pointed look, too curious about what he meant, especially with his worry comment, to let it go. “So… Teach away, I guess.”

---

Finn shook his head slightly to Evie’s words. “That’s not who Raven is,” he assured her quietly, “Whether you want to hear it or not, she’ll tell you how it is. If she says she wants me to be happy, then she wants me to be happy. She’s hurt, sure, and she made that known, made it known that I hurt her, but she understands.” He watched her for a long time, relaxing under her touch as he held her closer to himself, just wanting to relish in this moment, wanting to enjoy having her in his arms. He wasn’t sure how long it would take to get Evie’s forgiveness or how long it would take for her to accept him back into her life in the way he was before, but he felt like this was a good start. He’d gotten Raven’s approval - now it was only a matter of earning Evie back. Silently, he made himself a promise not to give up, no matter what it took to get her back to himself - he needed her in his life.

Hearing her concern, though, he shook his head slightly as he rubbed her back, watching her for a long while. “She’d never hate you,” he promised her quietly, leaning to kiss the top of her head, though he wasn’t really sure if she was okay with that just yet or not. But, he couldn’t help it, he wanted to be there for her and to assure her that everything would be okay. “She knows none of this is your fault. I told her that I hadn’t told you about her, that you didn’t have a clue at all that I’d been with somebody, because I hadn’t told you anything about it. And, she told me that you weren’t to blame, that I was, and I am, I know that, and she knows that. Besides…” He smiled slightly, pushing her hair out of her face gently. “She’d never be able to hate somebody as amazing as you, Evie.”

Bellamy grinned when he had caught Aria looking at him, he didn’t say anything about it but maybe she didn’t hate him as much as he thought she did. He was going to prove to her that she could trust him again, he would always hate himself for everything he has done but he would deal with that on his own in silence. Sure, he wasn’t planning on sticking around the group for much longer, but he wanted to leave knowing Aria did trust him again. It was selfish of him, he knew that. It would hurt her less, if she did hate him because he was going to leave camp without anyone noticing or knowing. For a second, panic filled his chest when Aria questioned him as he had said to much. He would just brush it off when she asked him about what he meant later, he would convince her that he only meant if he was on guard or away from her if he went hunting. He wouldn’t tell her what he was planning for himself, as she would try to talk him out of it, and he knew the group was better off without him.

“Of course, it’s not.” He grinned as he looked at her, he knew that she wouldn’t forgot about what he had said to her and she would bring it up again. If he was still around, that is. Moving closer to her, he held a gun out for her to take. He stepped behind her, so he could show her how to use the gun, he wanted her to be prepared in case she did ever need to use it. “This is how you hold the gun,” Wrapping his arms around her, he moved her hands to where she would be holding the gun comfortably. “When you fire any gun, you will feel kickback and that’s normal. It’s just from the power that the gun has when it’s fired,” He told him as he carefully guided her finger to sit over the trigger, he would give her the space and time to pull the trigger back whenever she felt ready to. And she could take her time, he was enjoying how close he was to her again. He missed having her body this close to his own, he still knew that it wouldn’t last much longer.

---

Listening to Finn’s word did ease the worry that Evie was feeling about the entire situation with them and Raven, she trusted in what he was telling her about how Raven reacted when he explained it all to her. She had to believe Finn as she didn’t even know Raven, she had seen her in passing on The Ark but that was it. From what she had seen of Raven on Earth, she could see why Finn had once loved her. Which caused a part of Evie to worry about him going back to Raven, she couldn’t help but worry as they had so much history together. Pushing those thoughts away, she rested her head on his chest and listened to the beating of his heart. “I just wanted to make sure she wouldn’t, I dealt with enough on The Ark.” She closed her eyes for a few seconds relishing in the feeling of his lips pressing to the top of her head, she knew she shouldn’t care about what other people thought of her, but she did. She always had, she wanted to be liked and have friends which never happened while she was on The Ark, she just wanted Earth to be different for her.

Lifting her head to look at him, she had to roll her eyes at his comment about her being amazing. If she didn’t roll her eyes, then she would have started to blush. “Just because you think I’m amazing, doesn’t mean everyone else will. And you can’t make people think that either,” She couldn’t see what was so amazing about her, she did whatever she could to help the group and did what was needed on any given day. That was the person she was, she was raised to be that way as a person. If something needed to be done, she would do it because she could. Nothing about that made her an amazing person, Aria was the amazing person. She was smart, strong and so brave. She truly was helping the camp be better and she would be the one person who made this group survive whatever else came at them, “Besides, Raven was pretty amazing in getting the radio to work and in getting those flares to work.” She wouldn’t have had the first clue where to start in fixing the radio, she probably would have only caused more damage to it if that task had been given to her.

Aria watched him for a long moment, her brows furrowing in suspicion and concern. She wasn’t sure what was going on in his head or what he was planning to do, but something didn’t seem right and she wanted to talk about it, but she was quickly distracted when he’d stepped closer and behind her. Feeling his arms around her, she felt her cheeks warm up, her skin tingling where he was touching her hands. She tried to concentrate on what he was saying, but she found herself so easily distracted by how close he was and just how warm she felt with him right there. A part of her wondered if she should have felt nervous being this close to Bellamy, but, instead, she felt the safest she’d ever felt, the happiest, too. “Are you sure it’s a good idea to teach me how to shoot, though?” she asked quietly, trying to focus on the makeshift target rather than on the fact that Bellamy was so close that she could feel his breath and take in his scent. “I mean, I’m not exactly the most stable.” She smiled jokingly but took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

---

Finn smiled slightly in understanding and shook his head slightly in response. “Raven’s not like that,” he promised her quietly, “She’d never hold it against you, I promise. If she was going to hold it against anybody, it’d be me, but she seemed completely supportive.” He watched her for a moment, just hopeful that things would be okay now, that they could work through everything properly. He’d have to earn her trust back still, he knew that, and he planned to do everything in his power to manage that. But, at least, this was a start. “I don’t think that’s true. Besides, I’m not the only person who thinks you’re amazing. Bellamy cares about you, too. Your sister loves you. Monty and Jasper adore you, too. They all think you’re amazing, just like I do. Every single one of us were afraid of losing you.” He rubbed her back gently, holding her close to himself, wanting her to know just how much she mattered to all of them. “And Raven worked so hard on that radio because we were trying to save you, so she clearly thought you were worth saving. That’s another person in your favor.” He grinned, watching her, hoping he was helping, even a little

Bellamy wasn’t sure how much of what he said to Aria, actually stayed in her mind as he thought she looked distracted as he was showing her how to hold the gun. What she could be distracted about in the bunker confused him, there wasn’t anything or anyone else around that could distract her. Though he let it slide as he stepped back, giving her the space and time to pull the trigger when she felt ready to. He chuckled softly and shook his head, “I trust you, Aria. And I know you, even in a panic attack, you wouldn’t hurt anyone, and you wouldn’t risk hurting yourself when you still have Evie.” He was certain about that, “Besides, I don’t really trust any of the others enough to give them a gun. But it’s a means to keep us safe, you should know that I’d take you with a gun over anyone else.” He looked at her before glancing over at the target, “Not bad… you’ll need more practice though.” Considering that was Aria’s first time shooting a gun, she did alright. Suddenly, Bellamy’s vision went out of focus. Blinking his eyes, he turned to look at her. “I need some air, will you be okay down here?” He asked as he wasn’t feeling the best, he hoped getting some fresh air would fix that.

---

Evie knew how close she was to dying, if it hadn’t been for Raven then she would have. Resting her chin on Finn’s chest, she looked at him. “I care about them all,” She really did. Bellamy was someone she was beginning to look up to, partly because he was strong but also because she knew he cared deeply for her sister. Monty and Jasper were the friends she always wanted but never received while on the Ark. “I didn’t think about them though. I knew the stab wound was just that, a wound which would heal. It was the poison… I felt like it was slowly killing me from the inside out… I was so scared.” She could feel her eyes well with tears as she looked at him, “I thought about Aria and how she’d be without me. But I also knew that Bellamy would take care of her and be there for her. Then I thought about my parents, I’d never see them again or talk to them and that hurt me.” She explained as her eyes stayed on Finn’s as this was something she needed to tell him, she still had to trust him again but she wanted him to know. “Then I thought about you… how I’d never get to touch you again, or kiss you again. How… I’d never get to tell you how quickly I’m falling in love with you, even after what happened with Raven, I’m still falling for you.” Her voice had dropped to a whisper by the time she finished speaking, she now knew that she couldn’t keep things to herself anymore, because there could be a day when she isn’t able to tell someone how she felt about them.

Aria turned to look at Bellamy when she heard him chuckle, just really enjoying his laughter, feeling like she hadn’t heard it in far too long. For a few moments, she really just took him in as she listened to him, and she could feel her heart swelling with his assurances, with his certainty, with his faith in her. “Your faith in me is astounding, Bellamy,” she joked lightly, offering a small grin as she watched him, unable to help it, though she shifted a bit, trying to hide her grin, trying to remind herself that she was supposed to still be upset with him, but she couldn’t help it. “Despite everything, the only person I trust with a gun besides Evie would be you. I mean, since you trained for the Guard, you probably have experience with guns, anyways.” She chewed on her lip, though, and nodded to his words. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” She watched him for a moment, concerned, but she smiled. “I’ll be here when you get back.”

---

Finn smiled as he took her in for a few moments, nodding slightly. “I know you do,” he assured her quietly, taking her in, “And I love that about you, I really do. It makes you all that much more amazing - that caring heart of yours is just… Perfect, to me.” Watching her, his expression softened as he listened to her words and he shifted, running his fingers through her hair, worried about her, his heart aching with hearing her confess that she had been scared. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.” For a few moments, he examined her and he shifted, pressing a kiss to her forehead gently. “But you’re here now, you’re safe, and you’re alive.” But, he fell silent, though, when she began talking again, and his expression softened before he shifted to cup her face gently, running his thumb over her cheek gently. “Hey… You don’t have to think about that anymore. You’re here and I’m here and you’re completely welcome to get to touching and kissing me and falling for me.” He grinned. “Because I’m definitely going to enjoy all of that when it comes to you.”

Bellamy reached his hand out and gave Aria’s arm a gentle squeeze, “I shouldn’t be to long.” He told her before turning and walking out of the bunker, he made his away past some trees and inhaled deeply hoping it would help to clear his mind. Suddenly, he heard a noise like a stick snapping under someone’s foot. His eyes scanned the area before him and he couldn’t see anyone, until he turned around and his eyes landed on Jaha. “How are you here? You’re on the Ark.” Bellamy spoke to the man that he couldn’t be seeing right now, Jaha couldn’t be on the ground. What confused him even more was when Jaha answered his question, Bellamy could see the blood staining Jaha’s grey shirt from where he had been shot. Bellamy defended his actions as he did what he had to do in order to protect Octavia, Jaha then mentioned that he had survived Bellamy’s treachery, but the other three hundred and twenty people who had been culled from The Ark in order for the others to survive. It was than that Bellamy realised if he hadn’t taken the radio from the drop ship Raven came down in, all those people would have survived. Panic filled him as he was suddenly surrounded by the people who had been sacrificed on The Ark because of him, they all started chanting that he was a murderer which caused Bellamy to run, run away from the people he couldn’t be seeing, no matter how real with felt to him. Bellamy lost all track of time as he continued to run, he didn’t even notice when the sun started to go down as he just had to escape the souls that he had killed.

---

Evie looked at Finn and moved more into his touch, “I know. I know you’ll be waiting for all of that,” She smiled softly to lighten the mood again, she wasn’t sure if it was the fact that she was so close to him or the fact that she had almost died. But every part of her wanted to kiss him, listening to her body, Evie slowly started to lean in and close the gap between them. She was just about to press her lips to his when loud footsteps echoed through the drop ship, her eyes looked over to see Monty making his way over to them. “How can I change the tide when the moon won’t cooperate?” Monty asked them his serious question, Evie looked at Monty confused and noticed how strange his movement was, something wasn’t right. Glancing to Finn, she knew she had to check on everyone now, so she pushed her body off the crib they had been laying on together. “I can’t even have a day in bed without this camp falling apart,” She signed softly as she got to her feet, a hand cautiously placed on her side when the stab wound was healing. Her steps were slow as she headed to the entrance of the drop ship, looking at the scene in front of her she frowned as she simply just watched everyone. Clearly, everyone at the camp was high on something. “What happened out here?” It was a question more so for herself than anyone else, and it wasn’t until she spotted all the empty packets laying on the dirt ground that she realised what had gone on. “Their all high and hallucinating, great…” She mumbled as this was the last thing that anyone would want to happen, not only was Aria and Bellamy not back yet and the sun was setting, but Evie was in no shape to actually help anyone if they needed her.

Aria watched Bellamy leave and she chewed on her lip for a few moments. She wanted to go after him, she wanted to make sure he was okay, she wanted to fix everything that had gone wrong between them. But, another part of her was still upset with everything he’d done, and a bigger part of her felt like going after him would only make things worse, that they’d just get into another argument, and that she’d never get to see more of the side of Bellamy that she’d fallen for. Breathing out, she settled her gaze back on the target and went back to shooting, though she felt herself growing a little dazed and, for a moment, she swore she saw her parents. “Mom? Dad?” she called out quietly, lowering the gun as she approached, wondering how in the world they could be there in that moment. She could see their smiles and she felt her eyes water but her vision cleared just in time to see Dax standing there instead before he slammed a gun against her head to knock her out and rushed out after Bellamy.

---

Finn couldn’t help but to smile fondly when he heard Evie’s words, his heart swelling, because he was grateful that she knew he was being honest. “Good,” he murmured quietly as he watched her and, when she started to lean towards him, his gaze dropped to her lips and he wanted to close the distance, but he didn’t want to rush her or press things, in case she changed her mind. Before any further distance could be closed between them, though, Monty had interrupted them and, blinking, he peered over before he looked back to Evie. “Hey, hey, you don’t have to -” he started, but Evie was already up and walking out. Concerned for her, especially with the condition she was in, he quickly followed after her. Peering around once they got outside, his brows furrowed as he watched the state everybody was in, but he placed his hands gently on Evie’s shoulders to make sure to keep her stabilized. “Hey, I can handle this,” he told her quietly, “I’ll see who else isn’t out of their heads and we’ll get everybody occupied so they don’t get themselves hurt?” He shifted, moving to stand in front of her, his hands still on her shoulders. “You, on the other hand, need to go sit down and relax before your injury gets worse, okay?” Lifting his hand, he brushed her hair gently out of her face before resting his hand against her cheek. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Bellamy’s head was spinning as he ran through the forest, it wasn’t long before the ground and trees were also spinning around him. He lost his footing and fell onto the dirt ground, he laid there wishing for his life to end in that exact moment. Until the sound of a gun loading hit his ears, his head shot up only to find Dax standing there with a gun in his hands which was aimed directly at Bellamy’s head. “This isn’t anything personal,” Dax spoke before pulling the trigger, however the gun didn’t have a bullet to shoot so nothing happened. Bellamy took that chance to grab his gun which he pointed at Dax, however when he looked at his hand, there was no gun. He wasn’t holding anything and had nothing to protect himself with. “I didn’t expect this to be so easy, it was nothing to knock your girlfriend out either.” Dax haunted Bellamy as he loaded his gun again, it was only a few seconds that had passed but it gave Bellamy enough time to register what Dax had said about Aria and for him to scramble back to his feet.

“That was your mistake, Dax.” Bellamy lunged forwards, his hand managing to block the gun and knock Dax. So, when he pulled the trigger, the bullet was shot into the air and didn’t hit anything. Bellamy punched Dax with enough force to knock them both to the ground, he would have just given up on his life if Dax hadn’t hurt Aria. If he had just left her alone, he would have let Dax kill him. They each punched and kicked each other as they fought to have the upper hand, Bellamy noticed that Dax went to grab the gun, so he grabbed whatever was close to him. Bellamy swung his hand and hit Dax in the side of the neck with the bullet casing he had picked up, once Dax didn’t move, Bellamy pushed himself up on unsteady feet and made his way back into the bunker. “Aria?” He called out just wanting to hear her voice.

---

Evie felt Finn place his hands on her shoulders as she surveyed the scene in front of her, hearing Finn’s words she looked at him. She knew that he could handle a bunch of high teenagers without her, but Evie didn’t see why he had to deal with it all on his own. “I’ll be okay,” She looked at him but she knew there was no way he would be letting her help with anything, at least not in a physical way, she could still help him by keeping an eye on everyone until they come down off whatever was making them high. “Fine, I’ll sit down.” She gave in and stepped over to where someone had pulled a chair from the drop ship out, Evie slowly eased herself down onto the chair. Looking around at everyone, she noticed there were groups of teenagers who were sitting around laughing together, some where talking to themselves and others were either watching the sky or staring off at nothing. “They should be fine, the drug just has to wear off.” She looked over at Finn and watched him, to make sure that he was okay as well.

Aria had begun to stir, her head aching, and she wasn’t sure if it was from being hit by the gun or by falling to the concrete ground. Cringing, she lifting her head, pushing herself up off the ground, though she felt a sudden panic fill her as she recalled what had happened and she peered around for Dax, wondering what he had been up to. He wasn’t there, though, and that made her worry about Bellamy - how much time had passed since she’d been knocked out? Hearing his voice, though, she felt her heart ease a bit, and she quickly pushed herself to her feet, though she’d been a little dizzy and unsteady at first. “Bellamy?” she called back, though once she got her balance, she quickly rushed to where she heard the sound of footsteps echoing in the bunker and, when she spotted Bellamy, she felt her heart squeeze with a relief that she hadn’t even known was possible to feel, though her heart ached with the sight of the state he was in. “Are you okay?” Before she could stop herself, she quickly rushed over, throwing her arms around him, just glad that he was there. “Dax was here - did you see him? What happened to you?”

---

Finn examined her for a few moments, hoping she’d agree to sit and relax, and he waited for a few moments, making a slight face when she said she’d be okay. He worried about her straining herself for one, but another thing he worried about was the others getting too rough in their high states or not paying attention to Evie at all and for her to get hurt in some way because of that. But, when she gave in, he offered a small smile and nodded. “Good, thank you,” he told her quietly, leaning to press a gentle kiss to her forehead, glad she was planning to take it easy for a bit. “Just sit there and relax, I’ll handle all of this.” He peered back to the groups, watching them for a few moments. There were some groups laughing and staring around, but he saw a few wandering a bit too far towards the gates, and he looked back to Evie. “I’ll be right back.” He quickly made his way over to the teens who were wandering towards the gates and got them distracted - he even dealt with Jasper, who had been going on and on about Grounders, giving him a stick to focus on, before he returned. “Okay, that should be everybody handled and distracted.” He looked down at her, taking her in for a few moments, taking her in. “Are you okay?”

The sound of Aria’s voice was like music to Bellamy’s ears, the panic he had been feeling eased away by hearing her voice. And it made him move quicker towards her, he signed in relief when he found her. Dax didn’t seem to have done much to her, but even in the darkness of the bunker, he could see the red bump that had formed on her head. Part of him was now glad that he had killed Dax, as he had hurt Aria. Hearing her words, he looked at her as she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. “No,” He whispered as he gently pulled her body closer to his, he wasn’t sure if Dax had hurt her anywhere else, but if he had, he didn’t want to hurt Aria further. Dropping his head to her shoulder, he held her tightly as he never wanted to let her go. “I saw him… are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere else?” He asked lifting his head so he could look at her and look her over for anymore injuries, he didn’t want to answer her. He didn’t want to tell her that he had seen all the people he had killed on the Ark, or how he had killed Dax. He knew how she felt about his actions with the radio, he didn’t want to give her another reason to hate him.

---

Evie watched as Finn moved around the camp, checking on the group and distracting those who were wandering off. She looked at him as he moved back over to where she was sitting, “I’m okay.” She assured him before she looked around the camp again, “Did you see Aria or Bellamy?” She asked turning her attention back onto him, the sky was quickly turning dark as the sun was setting and she still hadn’t seen her sister. “It’s dark now, Finn. Do you think their okay?” She looked at him with concern in her eyes, all she could do was think about all the bad possibilities that could find her sister out there. Aria could have gotten hurt, or gotten separated from Bellamy, or someone could have kidnapped them both. They did after all hold a Grounder here, tortured him before Evie set him free. “I hate this, I’m useless. I can’t do anything,” She should have been gathering a small group, she should have been out there searching for her sister and yet she couldn’t, and she hated it.

Aria couldn’t begin to describe the relief that flooded through her when she felt Bellamy’s arms around her, being reminded that he was there, that he was alive, but her brows furrowed when he answered her question of whether he was okay or not with ‘no.’ Peering up at him, she took him in. “What do you mean?” she asked with concern, immediately focused on him, her hands reaching to cup his face so she could angle his face this way and that to see how seriously he’d been injured. She shook her head, though, to his question. “I’m fine, he just knocked me out.” She frowned gently to herself, not understanding why Dax had attacked either of them - why would he do such a thing? He’d always seemed relatively harmless. “What happened? Where is he?” A part of her tensed with the thought that Dax could come back, that he could hurt Bellamy again, and she hated the thought of Bellamy getting hurt, ever. But, right now, he was there and alive, and she couldn’t believe how much it meant to her - how much Bellamy’s life meant to her. “I was so worried about you… I’m glad he didn’t kill you or something.”

---

Finn smiled when he heard Evie confirm that she was okay, relieved to hear it, and glad to see that nothing had happened to her with all the craziness that was going on in the camp. He didn’t think he could stand the idea of Evie getting hurt, in any sense of the word - especially when she was already going through enough because of the injuries she’d sustained before. “I’m glad,” he told her gently but his expression softened when he heard her question and he shook his head. “I didn’t see them, it seems like they haven’t come back from their attempt to find that bunker yet.” Shifting closer, though, he leaned to kiss the top of her head, wanting to assure her in any way that he could, wanting to provide whatever comfort he could for her, in whatever way she needed him to. “I’m sure they’re okay. The bunker was probably a good distance away. I’m sure they’ll be back before you know it.” Reaching, he ran his fingers through her hair, letting her know he was there, trying to keep her focused, because he didn’t want her to worry too much. Hearing her words, though, she frowned. “You’re not useless, Evie. You never have been. You’re far from it.” Cupping her face, he lifted her face so that he could stare into her eyes, his thumbs running over her cheeks. “None of us would have gotten this far without you.” He knew she was thinking this way because her sister hadn’t returned yet, but he needed her to know how much the people here needed her, how much he needed her. “How about we wait another hour and, if they’re not back by then, I’ll send some people out - maybe the people here will be sobered up by then.” He blinked, though, realizing. “Bellamy and Aria took some of those nuts with them. Maybe that’s why it’s taking them so long, maybe they started hallucinating and decided to hunker down until it passed?”

Bellamy shook his head lightly as he didn’t know if he could explain to Aria that he had been hallucinating and truly believed that he was seeing all the people that died on The Ark, because of what he had done with the radio. He couldn’t tell her that he had wanted his life to end, he wasn’t even sure if that is what he wanted or if it was just that he was high from the nuts he had eaten. He couldn’t be sure. He watched as Aria checked him over for any wounds, not that she would find any because all his wounds were on the inside. “I should have stayed here with you,” If Dax had done anything to Aria and he wasn’t around to help her, Bellamy would never forgive himself for that. He had seen Aria eat her own packet of those nuts, he should have stayed with her. “We won’t have to worry about him anymore, I had a word with him.” He couldn’t tell her that he had killed someone else, he didn’t want to do anything to make her hate him more. “You never have to worry about me,” He looked into her eyes, the eyes that he could lose himself in and not even care. He stood there in the bunker, holding Aria close to him. His hands resting on the small of her back, he wanted to enjoy how she made him feel but knew they needed to get back to camp before nightfall came.

“I’ll always protect you, you know that right?” He looked down at her as maybe he would stick around, he still wasn’t sure what he was going to do. What he did know was that if he didn’t act on how he felt, he would regret it. He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers, being there with Aria in his arms and kissing her, was the only place he wanted to be. Aria made him better, she made him want to be a better person. Pulling back from her lips slowly, he smiled as he looked at her. “We should get these guns back to camp, it’s already starting to get dark.” His rough voice was low, because he couldn’t care less about returning to camp with the guns. He wanted to stay there with Aria, but he knew that wouldn’t be a good idea as she needed to get back to her sister who was still healing after the grounder attack.

---

Evie let a long breath escape passed her lips when Finn informed her that he hadn’t seen either Aria or Bellamy, as she was sitting there watching over the camp, she didn’t have a bad gut feeling. Deep down she knew that Aria was okay, it was her head that was making her second guess the safety of her sister. “Yeah, the bunker is probably far away from here.” She repeated feeling Finn place a kiss on the top of her head, the small action gave her more comfort then Finn would ever know. She knew what his answer would be when she told him that she was useless, but that is how she felt in that moment because she couldn’t do anything without causing more injury to herself. Not that she didn’t want to hear what Finn said to her, because she did as it made her feel better and she knew the wound would heal in time. “That isn’t true, everyone here would still have been fine without me.” She looked into his eyes when his hands cupped her face, she could feel her heart begin to race in her chest.

Hearing that Finn would wait for another hour and then send a group out to search for Aria and Bellamy, Evie would have felt better being in the search but there was no way that would happen. “Thank you,” She looked at him with a small smile on her face as she leaned in closer to him, kissing him gently to let him know that he was making her feel better about everything. And letting him know that she also forgave him about the Raven situation, she was still hurt that he hadn’t told her sooner that his girlfriend was still up on The Ark. But Evie understood and she wanted him in her life, she had fallen in love with him quicker than she ever expected that she could. She needed to have Finn there beside her, she had already seen what could happen when she was trying to keep her distance from him. And she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if anything happened to him, she would do everything she could to make sure he was safe.