So I thought I'd try and write something set after the S1 finale, mainly because the wait for S2 is so long but also because I wanted to write about what could happen. So here it is. It's a little different from what I've written for these two before; more drawn out and more 'serious', hopefully more like the show itself.

I've got a general idea of where this is going, but no idea how many chapters. I'll update as often as I can :)

Feedback is greatly appreciated, I hope you enjoy :)

It was, Abby thought, incredibly peaceful as she stood on top of the station, gazing out into the beauty of the world that surrounded her. She described the landscape to Jaha as he requested, and instantly felt regret that he would never experience the wonders of their new home. He had worked so hard to get them here only to be denied the chance to lead his people on the ground.

She heard someone else climb the ladder out of the station behind her and saw the familiar dark hair of Kane out of the corner of her eye. She didn't turn to face him, just allowed him to take in the wonder of where they had landed. It was something he should experience without her input. After a few seconds, she turned her head to look at him, to say something poignant about the occasion, but he immediately drew her attention to something in the distance.

"Abby, look," he whispered, his gaze focused on something over her shoulder. She turned and spotted the smoke.

"There's smoke in the distance. It might be another station. We'll check it out."

Jaha's voice suddenly had a hint of confidence about it; as if her words had given him hope that maybe, somewhere out there, more people of had survived the landing on Earth.

"You do that. Find the rest of our people Abby. Find Clarke."

He said nothing else so Abby quickly relayed Thelonious' reply to Kane, who merely nodded and continued to focus on the thick trail of smoke that rose into the air.

"We should get back inside," he said quietly after a minute, reaching over and placing his hand softly on her arm to get her attention. "See how many people we have. We need to start building a camp, get some security set up, sort out supplies."

Abby nodded, pausing to take in the beautiful landscape once more. She turned and smiled sorrowfully at the man stood beside her.

"You're right," she replied, glancing back towards the trail of smoke in the distance. Just for now, it would have to wait.

Abby and Kane spent the next few hours helping the other Mecha survivors get out of the wrecked station, watching as they took in their breathtaking new home with the same wonder that they had. There were supplies and construction tools to remove from the station and everyone seemed enthusiastic to start setting up their new home while a couple of injuries kept Abby busy as Kane organized the placement of the temporary shelters they'd brought from the Ark. It wasn't a major operation, but it was enough to keep the remaining survivors distracted from the smoke that still drifted into the air from the nearby mountainside.

Whenever anyone asked her about it Abby merely stated that they weren't sure what it was, and that the survivors here were their priority for the moment, that they'd investigate the site in due course. It was a typical 'council' response, but what more could she do? She couldn't confide her fears that it was the remnants of the hundred's camp, nor could she admit to them that it could be the destroyed remains of a station that may well have contained their friends and family. Fortunately, all those who asked seemed to accept her answer, and Abby was able to focus on setting up the camp.

The remaining survivors had immediately looked to Kane for instructions; knowing that he was the only remaining member of the council alive. Despite their attitudes towards him following the Culling, the fact that he'd been willing to sacrifice himself to save them all had obviously had an impact and old grievances appeared to be forgotten. He delegated tasks and provided support for them all, but Abby, watching carefully as she tended to the wounded, noted that he seemed to lack some of his usual confidence, as if he'd lost a part of himself on their journey to the ground.

She made a note to herself to check up on him later in the afternoon, to make sure that everything was ok. They couldn't afford to let old arguments prevent them from co-operating now. Their attitude towards each other had changed in the last few days; since the launch of the Exodus ship and her rescue from the Service Bay by Kane. Abby was unsure what the subtle shift signified, hadn't had the opportunity to mull it over, but whatever it was could only be a positive thing surely. Any tentative friendship she endeavored on with Kane could only help the camp as a whole. She realized, as the man in question looked up at her from across the small patch of grass, that she was staring. He raised an eyebrow in a silent question and she smiled, shaking her head. There was nothing wrong; she'd just been caught up in her thoughts.

She turned her attention elsewhere and spotted Sinclair in the distance, ordering a couple of younger men around with some bigger pieces of equipment. As soon as he had been able, the engineer had set up a temporary communication center in the hope that if any of the other stations had landed safely they would be able to get in touch with them as soon as possible. So far there had been nothing on any of the frequencies, but Abby held out hope that there were others out there… there had to be. No one hadn't heard from Jaha either since she and Kane had stood on top of the station, so they were truly on their own in trying to communicate with anyone else. It wasn't an ideal situation of course, but it was the hand that they'd been dealt, and Abby knew that they were all capable of handling any of the issues that might arise.

An hour later and she was in the process of setting up a small makeshift tent for medical supplies, her hands rummaging through a bag full of medicine, when she heard a cough at the doorway. It was Kane. He stood almost anxiously at the doorway, eyeing her carefully as she moved around the improvised area.

She gestured for him to come in, which he did. Abby watched as he took a seat next to the small table she had set up. Abby saw that he was holding a small metal cup and he raised it up to her.

"Water," he said simply. "It's from the lake; Sinclair ran a couple of tests and found it radiation free and safe to drink."

"That's excellent news," Abby said, relieved. That had been one of their main concerns, that the water wouldn't be drinkable and that they'd struggle for fresh water for the remaining survivors. Kane reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small flask. Abby raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"I brought some for you," he commented simply, passing it over. "I'm probably correct in thinking that you haven't drunk anything since we landed?"

Abby accepted the flask graciously and nodded as she unscrewed the lid to take a deep pull of the water. The liquid was warm but refreshing and she closed her eyes at the sensation. She placed the flask carefully back on the counter and turned back to face Kane, whose face was impassive.

"So what's the plan?" she asked, watching the man opposite scan the tent, as if cataloging everything inside.

"We need to set up camp for the night to start. I've already got a couple of men on security detail, just in case we have any unexpected visitors. Priorities will obviously be food, water and shelter. There are plenty of trees around, although we are limited by the number of tools we have available to us."

"Well," she started, looking up at him, "the kids managed to build a wall and shelters from what they landed in. I'm sure we're resourceful enough to do the same for the time being."

Kane nodded in agreement. They each took a drink of their respective water, eyes not leaving the others. Abby felt a flutter in her stomach at his gaze, but chose to ignore it; now was not the time. The two of them sat in silence for a minute or so, although, Abby noted, it wasn't particularly uncomfortable. She studied the man in front of her as he sat, occasionally taking a drink of water. Kane eventually put his cup down and folded his arms across his chest, looking pensive. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then shut it again and sighed slightly.

"What is it Kane?" She asked. Was there a problem? Had Sinclair heard something on the radio? Oh God… what if it was the hundred? What if…

"I need your help," he finally admitted, locking eyes with her.

It certainly wasn't what she'd expected him to say, and confusion spread across her face. Sure, she'd figured she would assist him if he required her involvement, but she'd never expected him to ask. She'd just been willing to provide input whenever she deemed it necessary, to leave him to the job he'd craved for years.

"But I'm not really sure I can he…"

He held his hands up, signaling her to stop.

"No, Abby, I do need your help. Granted we've not always seen eye to eye, but I can't do this on my own. I need advice so that I… we… don't destroy our best chance of surviving here. And I don't need you working for me… I need you working with me."

She felt honored really, that Kane still viewed her as a valuable ally despite everything. Something had shifted between them since the Culling, as if they had a mutual understanding now about how the future of the human race needed to go forward.

"Are we going to have a council?"

He nodded, smiling softly.

"It makes sense; there's little point in ignoring one of the things that worked on the Ark, especially as we're still trying to establish a sense of order here." He hesitated slightly before he continued. "But no more secrets if we can help it. I'm not having more plots and death because we stubbornly refused to acknowledge that we weren't perfect. They," he pointed outside, obviously indicating the rest of the survivors, "already know that I'm not perfect so it's a promising start."

Abby realized then that the man in front of her had changed so much in such a short amount of time. Where was the man who never admitted he was wrong? The one who never backed down from an argument? She wasn't sure, but she definitely preferred the replacement: a man who'd rescued 35 people on his own and helped find hundreds more in the aftermath of the Exodus disaster, a man who'd been willing to give up his life to ensure that everyone else stood a chance of survival. That was the Marcus Kane she'd always known he'd been capable of being.

"We'll need to pick representatives from each of the stations; farm, hydra and the rest; make sure that everyone agrees on the initial members. Once we've settled a bit more we can have elections, but they need stability at the moment."

"I agree. The two of us will work together as Co-Chancellors and we'll go from there. Every decision goes through the two of us and the rest of the council, and we need to agree unanimously. It's the only way to stop potential unrest."

Abby nodded her head in agreement; it made sense. Too many decisions in the past had been overruled by Jaha because he thought he knew better. Now wasn't the time for the citizens to be having doubts in the leaders.

"I recommend Sinclair for engineering representative; he's the most experienced person we have."

"True. I'll have a talk with him when we get back." He stood up, and motioned for her to do the same.

"Get back from where?"

"We need to go and investigate that smoke Abby. I know it doesn't look good from here, but I think the sooner we find out who or what made it, the sooner we can make relevant decisions. Sinclair's attempting to find out if it's the hundred or another station; he should have some sort of answer within the hour. There should be enough light left in the day to make our way across to the site and see what's there."

She knew he was right, knew that they needed to find out what was going on. If it was another station there were likely to be injured people and if it was the hundred… well, she didn't want to know what could have caused that amount of smoke. Her thoughts drifted to Clarke again; she prayed they'd find her, that she was safe and that the lack of communication from the ground in recent days had a perfectly reasonable explanation.

"Did you think to sort yourself out before you starting helping everyone else?" He asked suddenly, moving to stand in front of her.

"What do you mean?"

He gestured for her to sit, and indicated her forehead.

"You've got a cut," he said simply, leaning over to pick up a piece of clean cloth. He dipped it in some wound wash he picked up from the table, and held it in his hand. "Looks pretty deep."

"I'm sure it's fine," Abby said, looking warily at the fabric. Kane merely raised an eyebrow at her.

"And the large amount of dried blood down your face? A new fashion statement?"

Abby had the grace to blush and sat still as Kane carefully wiped the dried blood from her face, then cautiously cleaned the wound on her forehead. He deemed it unnecessary to have stitches, the blood having made it look worse than it was. He did, however, ghost his fingertips over the wound, as if his touch could bind the skin back together. The gesture was fairly intimate, she thought, looking up at him as he traced the damp material across her face. His bandaged left hand held her cheek to keep her in place, the material scratching but she paid it no mind. She had never dreamed that Marcus Kane of all people would be helping her out like this. The whole situation seemed surreal.

Suddenly he seemed to realize just how close he was, and his job seemingly finished, took a step back. He didn't break eye contact though, and Abby felt the flutter again. She could still feel his hand against her cheek and it wasn't until he left, citing a need to patrol, that she raised her own hand and traced where his had lain.

A minute later Abby sighed deeply, determined to leave thoughts of what had just occurred until later. Now, though, she had a mission, and she needed to be ready.