❝don't do anything stupid until i get back.❞

-bucky barnes, captain america

♛

DESPITE THE IMMENSE ANXIETY pulsing through my veins, I help pull Bellamy and Mel up the cliff. It had been kind of nonsense for Finn to think that I was going to stand by and watch, which is exactly what he had suggested I do. I simply flipped him off and went to help.

My muscles strain as I pull as hard as I can on the seatbelt. We had tied it to the same tree stump Sterling had, though this time we're close enough to grab onto it in case something happens. I can't shake off the vision of the seatbelt tearing and Bellamy falling to his death just like Sterling.

My heart literally stops for a split second when the clip holding the two belts together snaps. I watch with my eyes the size of small planets as Murphy cries out and fights to keep hold of both sides, arms stretched out as far as they can go as his boots slide on the dirt. Monroe, Finn, and I tumble backwards onto our butts from the force.

"Come on, a little help!" Murphy shouts as his feet slide even more. I scramble to my feet and grab onto the shorter end of the seatbelt with Bellamy and Mel on the end of it. Once Finn comes to help and we now have enough strength to support them, Murphy releases the belt that's tied to the stump and focuses fully on the other. I pull so hard that my arms shake, heart racing erratically because my worst nightmare is coming true.

"What the hell is happening up there?" Bellamy demands from below.

"Just hold on!" Finn replies. "Monroe, come pull!"

Immediately, she rushes over and comes as close to the edge of the cliff as she dares, gritting her teeth as she grabs onto the belt. My hands are starting to slide on the rough material. Finn keeps bumping into me, causing my hands to jerk back the tiniest of bits.

I shriek in surprise as an arrow lodges itself right next to my foot. More follow, making short whistling sounds as they fly through the air. Monroe screams, "Grounders!"

"Monroe, cover us!" Finn shouts as he hands her his rifle. "Go!"

"How many are there?" Bellamy asks.

"I don't know!" I reply, gasping from the strain. My face is slowly turning red and by now Murphy is practically lying on the ground beneath me until I'm almost sitting on his lap. His legs tangle with my own. "We can't see them!"

"In the trees!" Finn shouts to Monroe right before she fires. "In the trees! Aim for the trees!"

Gunshots fill the air. Monroe shoots wildly, aiming for the trees just like Finn told her. Finn shouts and grabs my collar, yanking me forward so harshly my neck cracks and I experience inertia. A spear embeds itself in the ground right between the spot where Murphy's legs had been beneath me. Finn rolls to the side to avoid it, leaving me and Murphy to hold on.

I hear Mel shriek as the seatbelt inches down further. I can feel desperate tears filling my eyes again, but refuse to let them fall. We will get Bellamy and Mel to safety. We will. It's the only thing I can do to keep myself sane.

Finn rejoins us as quickly as he can, long hair whipping wildly around his beet-red face. From behind me, Monroe cries out in pain. I briefly turn my head around to see an arrow stuck in her thigh.

"He's gonna need to cut her loose," Murphy says breathlessly. "We can't do this." He raises his voice higher and yells, "Bellamy, you gotta cut her loose!"

"No way!" he responds as I expected him to.

My arms burn more than they ever have before, and I know that I'll lose most of my strength after this. The strain is getting to be too much. I can hardly breathe anymore. Sweat is starting to prick my face again.

The fog horn blows in my ears like music compared to what's going on. I'm not sure if it's actually acid fog or Lincoln again, but I hope my lucky stars it's the latter.

"Monroe, back on the rope! Come on!" Finn yells. Maybe, hopefully, we'll be able to do it with her.

We give it all we've got once she grasps onto the seatbelt again. The four of us pull in sync and manage to get them up fairly fast. The one thing that's worrying me now is the fact that Finn's foot is almost hanging over the edge.

I breathe out in relief when Mel and Bellamy's heads pop into sight. A few more tugs and he's able to set her on the rocks to climb up, then two more and they're both to safety. I collapse onto my back with my chest heaving, fighting to catch my breath. My arms feel like dead weights at my sides as I place them on my stomach. My mouth is dry as a desert.

"We need to take cover from the fog," Finn tells us through ragged panting.

"Bellamy?"

I immediately sit up and turn toward the source of the voice. My eyes widen at the sight of Octavia Blake, my heart warming at the fact that she's okay. She appears unharmed and has half of her hair pulled back in a braid- something I've noticed to be Grounder custom. And the fog horn is clenched in her hand.

"No, we don't," Bellamy breathes, face already lighting up in a smile at the sight of his sister. I can see the love filling his eyes.

"She blew the horn," Murphy realizes belatedly.

I push myself to my knees and watch as Bellamy goes to pull her into a hug, scooping her into his arms. Her face is a mixture of complete happiness and relief, eyes filling with happy tears. Her gaze locks onto mine for a brief second. When she and Bellamy pull away from their hug, she walks to me. I stand up just in time for her to wrap her arms around me.

"Nice hair," I compliment her lightly.

She laughs and steps back with a smile on her scraped face. "Thanks."

I nod and turn toward Mel, noticing that she's cradling her arm as if it's hurt. Her deeply tanned skin is covered with dried blood and cuts, lips obviously chapped from lack of water. I approach her and motion to her injured arm. She holds it out a little and I gently place my fingertips on her skin. She instantly sucks in a breath and screws up her face in pain.

"A reaction like that tells me it's broken," I inform her, turning around and sweeping my gaze around the area for something to use as a sling. All of the other articles of clothing are splattered with blood.

"Here," she says, starting to remove her jacket. "I have a tank top on under this shirt."

I help her take off the coat and shirt, wincing at her hisses of pain every so often when her arm bends in the wrong way. Once the shirt is off, I make a sling as quickly as I can and tie it securely around her shoulder.

Mel smiles gratefully at me. "Thank you..."

"Fallon," I tell her with a small smile. "And you're welcome. Your arm is broken and yet you held on for so long. Bellamy was right- you are strong."

Mel grins and blushes, staring at her feet. I find her adorable even though she's probably only a year or two younger than me.

I turn around and notice Octavia making a tourniquet for Monroe's leg. I go to help her, but she holds up a hand to stop me. "This happened to me, remember? I got it."

I nod and approach Bellamy, who holds out an arm for me. I lean into him as he holds me to his side, resting my head against his shoulder. My eyes calculate Octavia's masked expression of sadness as she finishes off tying a cloth around Monroe's thigh. What happened to her during these past few days?

She stands before I can ask. "The Grounders will be back, so we need to go. Now."

"Yes, we do," Finn agrees hoarsely. He is knelt beside a crate with a map drawn on it using my pencil and a scrap of paper he found lying around. He's been thinking about our next move for the past ten minutes, and I can sense his eagerness to leave.

"Octavia says the arrow might be poisoned," Bellamy comments. "I have to take them home."

Finn sighs. "I know." He stands and walks toward us, holding out a map. Bellamy takes it and unfolds the paper to reveal a fairly simple outline of the way we came. There are circles around the most important places, such as camp, the dropship, and the bomb shelter.

"I'll meet you as soon as I can," Bellamy promises him.

"Fallon, you coming?" Finn asks me.

I shake my head. "I'm the one with the medical knowledge. If one of them drops down on the way back, I can help them."

Finn nods in understanding and starts to jog off, taking his bag with him. Murphy reluctantly begins to follow.

"Parting," he says and raises his arms in mockery. "Such a sweet sorrow, right?"

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Bellamy asks him.

Murphy turns and shoots him an incredulous look. "Come on, Bellamy. You know if I go with you, they'll just lock me up again."

I look down at my rifle, which had slipped off my shoulder when I was tugging the seatbelt, and bend over to pick it up. Bellamy's arm automatically slips from my shoulders. Holding it up to show Murphy that I mean to give it to him, I toss it through the air. He catches it easily.

"Really?" Octavia questions from behind.

Murphy loads the gun with a click and examines it with awe. I slowly suck in a deep breath, wondering if I'll regret this or not.

"Watch his back," Bellamy tells him when I don't respond. Murphy nods with a smirk and turns to follow after Finn, disappearing around a turn. Bellamy faces his sister. "We can't get them home without you."

"Of course you can't," she replies confidently.

Bellamy glances at our two wounded companions. "Let's go."

--

I stumble along with Monroe's right arm around my shoulders, her left around Octavia's. The idea is to prevent her from walking on her injured leg, but it's much harder for the two of us to walk without dropping her. Every few steps we have to pause and start again to move in sync.

We had slept in the safety of the bushes at night, which wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but I got a few hours of rest in before we set on the move once more. We're so close to Camp Jaha that I can see its electrified walls.

"Open the gate!" Major Byrne orders in her stern voice. The familiar buzz of the door opening fills my ears as Bellamy slowly steps through with Mel cautiously at his side. Octavia and I lower Monroe onto her legs; she grunts in pain.

"We're gonna need your weapon," a guard says and takes the handgun from Bellamy. It's the only defense we had against the dangers of the forest, but we luckily hadn't faced any while we were heading back. Bellamy holds his hand up in defense to show he means no harm.

Abby approaches us and presses a gentle hand against Mel's face. "I know you. Factory Station." Mel nods and Abby glances briefly at Bellamy to assess his state. "Where are the others?"

"There are no others," Mel replies sadly.

"Found her a day from here," Bellamy informs Abby. "No survivors. Lots of supplies."

Abby nods in understanding and says to the surrounding guards, "Get her to medical."

She takes Monroe with her, making me sigh in relief and lower my aching arm to my side, rotating my shoulder. My sore arms hurt badly from yesterday's strain, but the sleep made it a little bit better.

My reflexes kick in once my body senses that there's something coming at me. I barely have time to look up before a blonde strand of hair hits me in the face and someone's arms are around me. I've received enough hugs from Clarke to know immediately that it's her, but the shock is almost too much for my brain to process. Clarke's here. She's alive.

I gasp in relief and wrap my arms around her so tightly I must be hurting her. Her face nuzzles into my neck like it always does, and I smile so hugely that it hurts. Sheer joy replaces any other emotion in me, filling my insides and swelling my heart. It isn't processing that she's okay, she's hugging me, and she missed me just as much as I missed her.

She stays in my arms for a long while until she pulls back and launches herself in the arms of Bellamy as well, catching him completely off guard. His arms stay outstretched for a second until they return her hug.

Octavia smiles fondly. "Now that's something thought I'd never see."

Lastly, Clarke hugs Octavia. While she does, I notice Raven approaching with a large, black brace covering her whole leg. It sends a punch to my gut seeing her like this.

"Raven," I say and then wrap my arms around her. She chuckles.

"What's this for?" she asks, but hugs me back anyways.

"You're okay," I reply. My eyes squeeze shut while my chin rests against her shoulder. "I knew you'd be okay."

I pull back from the hug and turn to face Clarke. "Who else is with you?"

The smile slowly fades from her face, which is littered with many dark, dried cuts and a split lip. Her hair is falling out of its pins. "Nobody."

And, just like that, the elation starts to deflate. Where is everyone else? How is she the only one here?

"Where's Finn?" Clarke asks in confusion, probably having heard that he was with us. Raven's eyebrows pinch together as well at this question.

Bellamy swallows. "Looking for you."

--

"What?" Clarke's voice is full of disbelief after what has just been said by her mother. "We can't just cut them loose."

Abby's report on what had happened in the Council meeting was the epitome of short and sweet. All she had done was state that she's going to leave Murphy and Finn out in the wild on their own. I have been shocked into silence at the ridiculousness of the idea. Clarke, however, has not been.

"Sweetheart, we don't have the manpower to send out two separate rescue missions and protect our camp," Abby tries to reason with her. The rational side of me agrees with her, but the other wants to save my people.

Bellamy sighs in annoyance and hangs his head low. He paces back and forth for a second; I can sense how anxious he is.

"Mom, they're in trouble," Clarke argues. "They're either gonna get themselves killed or they're gonna make things worse with the Grounders, who we need to get our people out of Mount Weather."

"I know you feel this is unfair" - even just the beginning of Abby's sentence is enough to make me want to roll my eyes - "but our priority has to be with Chancellor Kane if there is any hope for peace."

"If you wanted peace, you shouldn't have killed the Grounder who was gonna help us!" Clarke exclaims, which catches me off guard and makes my eyes widen.

"Woah, wait," I stop the conversation momentarily. A crease forms between my eyebrows; I hope I heard her incorrectly. "You killed Anya? She's dead? How?"

"I'm sorry," Abby whispers softly with the motherly face of a parent who isn't very sorry at all. "The decision's been made."

'I'm sorry' seems to be the quote of the year for all of the adults around here. Kane said it to me when talking about my mom. The guards have said it with little emotion at all. And now Abby, a motherly figure to me, is saying it and practically lying about it.

Isn't it funny how people say they're sorry when they're really not?

I watch Abby turn her back with an expression of complete disbelief. My mouth is partially open, the crease still between my eyebrows and my eyes blended with fury and sadness. The stray hairs that have fallen out of my ponytail now frame my face in a messy array of flyaways, my whole body hurts, and I just want some goddamn peace. Real peace. Real peace where all of us can live without fearing for our lives every time we enter a forest and teenagers don't have to grow up too fast.

Bellamy's eyes flicker to me and his arms cross defiantly over his chest. He steps toward Abby's retreating figure. "You're sorry?"

Abby, Clarke, and I all turn to look at him. I can see the familiar determination on his face that makes his jaw set hard and his eyes glaze over with anger. Plus, the fact that he cleaned up his face somewhat makes the expression a lot easier to see.

He continues with his voice harsh. "Finn and Murphy are out there looking for your daughter with guns you gave us. And now that she's home, you're just going to abandon them?"

I switch my gaze to Abby. "Bellamy's right."

Abby studies my face for a few seconds and examines my locked jaw and firm stance that doesn't suggest I'm standing down anytime soon. She looks down at the ground.

"If you can't spare the guards, we know the terrain," Bellamy reasons with a new approach, taking careful steps towards Abby and Clarke. "We have a map. We can do it ourselves."

"No," Abby protests immediately. "Absolutely not."

"Mom--" Clarke tries to cut in, but Abby shuts her down fiercely.

"I just got you back. Fallon lost her mother." Abby's voice wavers with emotion. I inhale a sharp breath at the mention of my mom, noticing how Bellamy and Clarke turn back to me with widened eyes. I forgot I hadn't told them.

Just then, Jackson comes running into the room. "Abby. I'm sorry. We need you in Medical."

Clarke faces her mother with an indifferent expression. "You'd better go."

"Byrne," Abby addresses the woman with her gaze locked on Clarke's. "No one leaves this camp."

"Yes, ma'am," Major Byrne responds quietly.

Abby holds a warning stare with each of us as she leaves with Jackson. Once she leaves, I can feel both of them staring at me. My eyes drift from the floor to Clarke. Her eyes are glassy.

"Fallon." Her voice is thick and makes my heart clench when she can't finish whatever she was going to say. Her beat-up face is a foreign sight to my eyes. It reminds me of how fast everything has changed-- how I'm now in danger of becoming blind, an orphan, and the amount of times I've been close to death since we've come on the ground. Everything has changed. Everyone has changed.

They both come toward me at the same time. Instead of pausing to see which of them will go first, I'm enveloped in the arms of both Clarke and Bellamy at once. My face is pressed half against Bellamy's shoulder and Clarke's neck. Their embrace is warm and caring and everything I need in that moment- because while everything may be different, each of their arms are too familiar to ever change.

------

when u try to make the ending sentimental and it sorta works

yay!!!! clarke and fallon reunited!!! hopefully that hug satisfied all ur fallarke needs. plus fallon got hugs from the two people she cares about most AT ONCE can we talk about this

fallon just needs lots of hugs

-kristyn