March 15th, 2150

In the wake of A.L.I.E., a cloud hung over Arkadia. Everyone did their best to move on, to rebuild, but it was a slow process. Abby herself was reinstated as Chancellor, though she didn't want the power, promising an election within the month.

The teenagers were affected the most by the dreariness, Abby thought. They had experienced the most hardship since being forced to come to Earth and she thought they deserved something good. It was a surprise to all those summoned when they walked into the Council chamber and found Abby standing there, a board drawn up next to her.

"What's this about?" Monty asked, eyes scanning the board before they settled on Abby. "Why is my name next to 'moonshine?'"

Raven, Jasper, Harper, Nate, and Clarke filed into the room behind him, all finding their names on the board as well. They awaited an explanation, arms crossed over the chest the favored stance.

Abby took a breath and said, "I'm sure you've noticed that everyone is still tense after…well, after everything. I thought a party would help clear the air, relieve some of that tension."

Clarke raised an eyebrow as she said, "You want to throw a party?"

Abby nodded.

"I didn't take you for the party type, Doc," Jasper said, smiling as he glanced at his name again and read music/DJ next to it. He gave an approving nod.

Abby asked, "Are you guys in or out?"

"Oh, we're in," Raven replied, smiling as she took a step toward the board. She tapped the word next to her name: speakers. "How many?"

"Whatever you have," Abby said with a shrug.

Raven grinned and replied, "I don't think you want it that loud."

"I want people to remember that they are capable of feeling something. Give me that, all of you."

"We can do that," Nate said, smiling as he looked at the writing next to his and Harper's names: keep the moonshine flowing.

March 18th, 2150

Raven was right, she had too many speakers. When she turned them on, Abby thought she went momentarily deaf. Raven's face turned white at the look of pain on Abby's and she turned it down immediately. She muttered, "I warned you," before she ordered Monty over to help her adjust the system.

Clarke had done wonders with the yard and the bar area: lights were strung high and cast the entire area in a soft glow as dusk set in. Monty had brewed 10 gallons of moonshine for the occasion and Harper and Nate were ready to dole it out. They assured her that no one would be without a drink.

The music was loud when everyone began filing out of Alpha to join the party. Harper and Nate had a full tray of moonshine ready, handing Abby one as she passed by. She smiled as she took a drink, walking to where Clarke and Raven were sitting on the outskirts of the bar area.

"Good idea, Abby," Raven said as she sat down at the table with them. Abby's eyes scanned the crowd, it was like she could see the tension evaporating as the alcohol filled their systems and they began dancing. She smiled and could feel the ghosts of those they had lost disappear if only for the night. She hoped the effect would last, but only time would tell.

Harper plopped down into the remaining seat and Abby raised her eyebrow at her. The girl shrugged and said, "Miller said he had it covered, Bryan's helping him."

Abby nodded but frowned as the conversation turned to Octavia. Abby still couldn't get the thud Pike's body had made when it hit the floor out of her head. His death had been so unexpected, after all of the fighting was done, and the sound had made her feel hollow, it still did.

Clarke whispered, "I thought she would have come back by now."

Harper shrugged, "She needs time to herself. She's still grieving."

Abby opened her mouth to join the conversation, but a familiar tune came out of the speakers. She felt a smile cross her face and her daughter looked at her strangely. "What is it, Mom?"

"I haven't heard this song in years," Abby commented, turning her ear to the speaker. She smiled, her eyes closing as an image of her and a tall boy dancing on a crowded floor flashed through her mind. When she opened her eyes again, the three girls were staring at her. "What?"

"Where'd you go, Doc?" Harper asked, a smirk playing at her lips.

"When's the last time you heard this song?" Raven asked, an eyebrow quirked up.

A smile was on Abby's lips as she replied, "It was a long time ago at my first Unity Day dance."

The three girls leaned forward, their hands clutching their mugs. Abby smiled at their attentiveness and continued, "I saw this boy leaning against the wall. He looked so lonely so I asked him to dance. He was resistant, but I got him on the dance floor anyway."

"Of course you did," Raven said with a grin. She took a quick drink of her moonshine before asking, "Was it your husband?"

Abby shook her head. "We danced before briefly, Jake and I, and after. I only knew this boy as 'Mecha,' we never exchanged names. We danced for a few songs and he left before midnight, so I never saw him without his mask on."

The girls looked at each other and Harper raised her eyebrow at Raven. The guard said, "You don't think…?"

Raven smiled and nodded. She looked at Abby and said, "You know, Kane's from Mecha."

She spoke quietly, like it was a secret, and Abby realized not many people knew that about him. He had tried so hard to keep his past in the dark from the other Council members for fear of them looking down on him for being born in a low station.

But how could she have missed it? She had seen Marcus Kane a few times around the Ark before her time on the Council, but he was normally leading cadets or guards passed her without a glance her way. The boy she had danced with had warm brown eyes, but Kane's had been cold then. The Marcus Kane she knew on the Ark was harsh, ruthless, stiff. She had never wanted to get close to him then. But how many times had she looked into his eyes since coming to Earth? How many times had she thought of kissing those lips, lips she had apparently already kissed on the Ark?

She chalked it up to the fact that she had started dating Jake Griffin less than a year after that night. She hadn't thought much about that night since those months after when she visited Mecha Station to try and find her mystery dancer with the rich hair and warm eyes, but the memory of him faded as time went on.

"He's right over there," Harper said, nodding over Abby's shoulder. Abby looked that way and found Marcus leaning against the metal bar, in deep conversation with Bellamy. She hadn't talked with him much since coming back to Arkadia, it was an unspoken agreement that they both needed time to sort through the horrors they were forced to inflict while under A.L.I.E.'s control. But that was weeks ago and still, they avoided each other at meals, when he visited Medical for checkups for his wrists, when they saw each other in the yard.

Abby looked back to the girls and Clarke whispered, "Go to him, Mom."

She drank what was left of her moonshine and rose to her feet, feeling the courage she had lacked in the past several week surge within her. She knew she shouldn't need this strength to talk to Marcus, but she had done horrible things to him while under A.L.I.E.'s influence and she didn't know if he had forgiven her completely.

She was standing in front of him within a few seconds and his conversation with Bellamy stopped abruptly. The two men looked at her and Abby realized she didn't know what to say.

"Are you all right?" Marcus asked, taking a step toward her on reflex. He stopped a foot from her, unsure if he should keep going, unsure if he should reach out and touch her.

"I, um," she began inarticulately. Marcus' brows knitted together as his eyes searched her face. A throat cleared to her right and they both looked at Bellamy who just nodded at them in turn before slipping away.

Marcus took another step closer to her. Tentatively, he reached out and placed his hand on her arm. "What's wrong, Abby?"

She smiled at the concern on his face and placed her hand over his on her arm. "Nothing." Her eyes met his and she took his hand, lacing their fingers together. His eyes widened at the contact. It was amazing, how he could still doubt her feelings for him after everything they had been through.

She tugged on his hand and pulled him toward the others dancing, but he didn't budge. She looked at him and he was frowning. "Abby, what are you doing?"

"It's a dance, Marcus. This is the whole point," she said simply.

Realization dawned on his face and he smiled at her, letting her pull him along. As they passed the table with Clarke and the others, she noticed that Bellamy had joined them, filling her vacated seat. He was no doubt trying to figure out what was going on. From the looks on Raven and Harper's faces, he had been told everything.

They entered the fray and the song changed to something slow. Her hand rested on his shoulder as he took the other in his and his hand went to her waist. He kept a respectable distance between them but Abby pressed her body to his and rested her head against his chest. He buried his face in her neck, she felt his lips against her skin as they swayed within the same few feet. The song was halfway over before he breathed, "I knew that song sounded familiar."

She smiled against his chest and said, "It seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it?"

He nodded and ran his thumb over the back of the hand he held in his. He murmured against her skin, "I still don't like dancing."

Abby laughed quietly and let her fingers play with the hair at the nape of his neck. He had changed so much since that night on the Ark. He wasn't the masked boy standing alone anymore, he was the man she had come to rely on, to trust, to have faith in. He was a leader who always did what was right for their people.

"I wonder what would have happened if I had gotten your name that night," she mused. She pulled back to look at him and found him frowning. "What is it, Marcus?"

"What's in a name?" He muttered to himself. He looked at her and said, "You shouldn't think like that. We weren't right for each other then. I wasn't right for you."

"You're right for me now," she whispered, running her hand through his hair. He smiled softly and she leaned back against his chest.

The next song was another slow one and Abby caught Jasper's eye, he gave her the thumbs-up. She smiled to herself, closing her eyes and pressing her face into Marcus' chest as he moved them effortlessly along the packed dirt amongst the others dancing. This was how it had felt that night, only she had true feelings for him now. She was in love with him, she knew that for certain.

Marcus' lips were on her ear and he whispered, "You know, that was my first kiss."

Abby smiled and pulled back to look at him. She traced her thumb over his lower lip as she whispered, "Mine too."

Her thumb was dragged up with the corner of his mouth as he smiled. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Abby's eyes drifted shut as she let him move them to the music. He was better than last time, if that were possible, and his closeness sent a flutter through her like it had that first time. She could get used to the feeling, to being privy to this side of him.

After three slow songs in a row, Jasper had to play a fast one and Abby and Marcus left the floor, hand-in-hand. Abby sat at the same table she had been at before, now empty. The kids were on the dance floor, even Bellamy who she assumed was coaxed out there by Clarke.

Marcus sat next to her a minute later, two mugs of moonshine in hand. He set them down on the surface and took her hand loosely in his own. Abby leaned her head against his shoulder, her eyes on Clarke who was laughing and smiling for the first time in a long time. She commented, "We should hold these more often."

He smiled and reached for his mug. "Only if I get to dance with you."

As usual, reviews are always welcomed and appreciated. This is the end of this one, it's strange to write something so short. More one-shots, two-parters to come. :)

-Lauren