In honor of the announcement that season three of "The 100" will begin on January 21st (who else is FLIPPIN EXCITED?!), here is the final chapter for "The Note." Enjoy, and if you don't have tissues near you, you might want to grab some before you start reading. Just a piece of friendly advise.

Also, I just wanted to thank all of you for all of the amazing support you've given me during this entire process. Though I didn't always reply to your comments, I hope you know that I loved every single one of them, as well as every favorite or follow that I received, and also just so appreciate that you all have taken the time to read this story. Thank you, and an even bigger thank you to those of you who read the first chapter and wanted more when I had no plan to really write more: this story wouldn't exist if not for you guys, so thank you so, so much!

Anyway, enjoy!

Seven Months Later

"Drink, drink, drink, drink!"

Lexa held the cold glass to her lips, feeling the cheap beer flow over her tongue and down the back of her throat. She didn't stop, letting the cheers spurn her on until the glass that had moments ago been full was finally empty, swallowing the last big gulp before she slammed the glass back down on the table, smacking her lips with a huge grin on her face. Everyone around her cheered, Shet slapping her on the back, and then everyone raised their own glass to her, taking long drinks of their own.

It was two days before the wedding, and Anya, Lincoln and her unit along with Captain Rivo had taken her out for her bachelorette party. It had not been her idea to write to the Marines: it had been Clarke's. She hadn't even bothered trying, figuring they had work they must be busy with, surely they wouldn't be able to take time away from fighting just to celebrate her wedding. One person leaving for a wedding was one thing, but an entire unit was another thing, so the thought had truly never even crossed Lexa's mind. It crossed Clarke's though, and the blonde had reached out to Rivo, asking him if the unit would by any chance be able to make it for the wedding. To Lexa's surprise she had received a letter only a week or so later informing both women that the entire unit and the Captain would be there, and that they would be taking a couple of days off around the wedding as well. The end of the letter had informed Lexa to be ready, as her unit had already begun planning her bachelorette party, and Clarke had laughed when she read that and Lexa had merely shook her head.

The knowledge that the group of Marines would be taking care of Lexa's bachelorette party had been a relief to Anya, her maid-of-honor, not much of a party planner herself, and so she and her brother had merely had to tag along. Lexa had been unsure of what it would be like, having her two oldest friends along with her and the unit she had led for so many years, but a couple of hours into the evening and more than a couple of drinks in and they seemed to be doing just fine. Lincoln had no trouble laughing with them all, and even Anya seemed comfortable enough with them. Of course, Lexa was simply enjoying watching Jay and Tristan take turns trying to hit on the other woman, neither of whom Anya was showing any interest in at all. She could have told them not to even bother trying, Anya had never really shown any romantic interest in anyone as far as Lexa knew, but watching was too entertaining and she knew that they would both back off the moment Anya told them to. They were both good guys, as much as she knew they were a couple of horny Marines, and besides, Anya had proven time and again that she could take care of herself. If they pushed too hard, they would get the glare that Lexa had learned as a child, the terrifying look that she had used to create her own glare, and the fact that she knew her glare worked on them made her positive that if they ever managed to get Anya's they would run away with their metaphoric tails between their legs. So instead of speaking up, she merely watched the show, grinning to herself as Jay once again leaned forward, trying to say something quietly to the other woman, Anya merely rolling her eyes when she met Lexa's look from across the table. The soon-to-be bride laughed, the alcohol mixing in her veins along with the general excitement she felt to be around them all again, and she knew that she wouldn't be able to hide her joy right then even if she'd wanted to. Which she definitely did not want to do at all.

"Alright Heda, come on, take a shot with me," Tony called out, sliding a shot across the table to her which she caught, a little bit of the alcohol splashing over the rim of the shot glass and hitting her hand. It turned out that once Captain Rivo knew about the engagement and the trip the unit would be taking, he had made contact with the other man, and Tony had been thrilled to meet up with the unit again, thereby bringing the Grounders all back together.

Lexa grinned over to him, telling him and the rest of them, "You are all trying to get me drunk." Nevertheless she wrapped her fingers around the glass and lifted it up. She raised it up in a silent toast and he did the same with his own shot before they both tossed the liquid into their mouths, successfully feeling the burning liquid slide down the back of their throats. They both hissed a little at the burn, but then grinned at each other again.

Shet slung his arm around her shoulders, leaning against her as he called loudly, "No Heda, we're not trying to get you drunk: we're trying to get you plastered."

A bunch of them cheered at that, clearly in agreement, before they once again raised their beers to their lips, taking another long drink. Lexa let her laughter ring out, even as Captain Rivo, sitting on her other side, slid another full glass of beer over to her. She accepted the drink, saying, "Thank you, Captain." The man just shook his head, one corner of his mouth turned up in a grin as he replied, "I'm not your Captain tonight, Woods." He looked around the table, indicating that the words were meant for all of them there as he added, "Tonight I am just a Marine drinking with his friends, celebrating the fact that in two days you will no longer be a single woman."

Another cheer went up from the table, and Lexa was sure the other people in the crowded bar must be giving them all strange looks, but she didn't care. She just shook her own head, her grin only growing as she told him, "I don't think I've exactly been a single woman in quite some time Cap... Rivo."

"Nu uh, our Heda's had her hot blonde not-so-much-an-ex-anymore tying her down for awhile, ain't chya, Heda?" Jay asked, giving her a knowing wink before taking a swig of his drink.

Lexa used the opportunity of him taking a drink to tell him, "I'd say I'm the one who's tying her down more often than not, but I do like to mix it up sometimes." The wicked glint in her eye only grew when he started choking, her words clearly having the desired effect as he suddenly inhaled some of his beer. Everyone else started laughing as Tony began pounding on his back as Jay placed his glass back on the table, his eyes wide even as he coughed.

"Damn Heda, you could kill a guy, giving him images like that to think about," he finally managed to get out, his voice a little hoarse. A number of her people nodded and she just rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"At least you only have to imagine it," Anya spoke up, her voice easily carrying over the table. "You might not think it's so hot when you've inadvertently had to hear them go at it." Lexa turned to glare at her, having forgotten that there were people there who actually knew something about her life with Clarke, and then her attention was turned to Lincoln as the man added his own two cents.

"Anya's right," he agreed, his eyes dancing at Lexa as he spoke, even as she shot a glare at him. "Those two have never been able to keep their hands off of each other, no matter how many other people are there. They think they're quiet when they sneak into the other room to fool around: they're not."

Most of the people at the table started laughing, and even those who didn't couldn't keep the grins from their faces. Lexa shot another glare at the siblings, both easily meeting the glare, and then stood up, pushing her chair back from the table.

"Alright, well if you're gonna start talking about my sex life, I'm seriously going to need to be more drunk than I am now," she informed them, picking up both the empty shot glass and beer glass.

"Hey, you brought it up Heda" Shet told her, wiggling his eyebrows at her slightly, causing her to just roll her eyes.

"And I am immediately regretting it," she replied quickly, pushing herself away from the table to make the short trek to the bar. Quint stood as well, his own chair scraping against the floor as he said, "I'll go with you. You ain't buying any of your own drinks tonight." She just nodded, and then the two left the table, just as Tristan turned to Anya and asked, "So our Heda isn't quiet when she's got the Wanheda against her, huh?"

Lexa rolled her eyes as she walked away, but she couldn't help but let the little smile appear on her lips. Clarke's title had never gone away, and she had noticed that her people almost never called her by name, always referring to her as the "hot blonde ex" or the "Wanheda." Considering they never called her by name even now that she had been away from them for a while, instead still sticking to "Heda," she found that kind of entertaining.

She and Quint finally reached the bar, waiting until there was an opening in the people standing around it to step up to it. Lexa placed the empty glasses on the hard surface and they were almost immediately taken away. As soon as they were gone one of the bartenders looked at the two of them, giving them a smile and asked, "What can I get you both?"

Quint gestured over to their table, telling him, "We'll have another round of shots for the table, I'll have two more beers, and make her some mixed drink that'll get her real drunk, real fast." The bartender looked to her to be sure, but she just shrugged and nodded, and he left to get the order taken care of. While they waited, the two leaned against the bar, eyes drifting back to their table.

"They all look good," she said suddenly, her eyes scanning over the face of each member of what had once been her unit. "You must be doing a good job with them. It looks like you are, at least."

He shrugged at her, also looking back at the table before saying, "Eh, we're doing alright I guess. It ain't the same without you an' Ryder, but we're getting by. It's... weird, leading them, being in charge of the unit, but we're making it work. Captain Rivo's a pain in my ass, but he's a good commanding officer. Not as good as some, but good." He ended by looking back at her and shrugging again.

His words warmed her, better than even the alcohol had. Hearing that from him, the one who had always given her the hardest time, felt good. She knew he wouldn't want to hear that though, and honestly she didn't really want to say it, this whole moment getting a little too emotional for either of them to be entirely comfortable. So instead she just nodded and said, "Yeah, Rivo can be a pain, but he knows what he's doing. If you have to report to someone, he's a good guy to have to do so to."

Quint nodded, one hand up on the bar and fingernails almost digging against the wood. She looked over to him, only to find him scowling slightly. The look wasn't directed to her, and then she heard him sigh. "Look Heda," he began, his tone almost quiet except it couldn't be entirely quiet or she'd never be able to hear him in the noisy bar, "I never apologized to you. You know, for being a real dick to you at first. I was stupid. Just a complete asshole who didn't know what the hell he was talking about. You were an amazing leader, and we were all lucky to have you as our Lieutenant. If we hadn't had you, we'd all a been dead ten times over. So I'm sorry. For all the shit I pulled, all the stupid stuff I said. I was just a dick."

"You were," she easily agreed, nodding, and he met her gaze. "But you also made me tougher. Made me work harder. I was fresh out of school when the Grounders were formed, and some of your words had merit. You and Ryder and the other guys who were there when the unit was first formed had been Marines longer than me, had been actively fighting and not just in classes learning. You kept pushing me to be better, and that helped me, even if it drove me crazy at the time."

"You never let it show," he answered, his lips quirking up into a half smile. "It pissed me off that I could never get you to blow up, couldn't even get you to wipe that uncaring look off your face. Pissed me off that nothing I did or said had any effect."

"It all had its effect," Lexa replied, shrugging, "I just let it drive me harder instead of letting it break me down. I was too damn stubborn to let anyone change my plans, especially not someone accusing me of sleeping with just about every man at Polis."

Quint chuckled, saying, "Yeah, I really didn't get my facts right with that one." He paused then, his grin falling a little as he shook his head again. "Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I am sorry. For all of it. And to let you know that it really was an honor to follow you for so long. If I can even be half as good a leader as you, it'll be more than I can even imagine."

She didn't really know what to say to that, his words meaning more to her than she could really form words around, so she just hit him lightly on the shoulder, the unit's way of saying thanks. He nodded to her, and then looked down as she pulled her hand away. He cleared his throat a little, clearly trying to get the emotion out of his voice before he said gruffly, "It looks like it's healed well, then."

Lexa looked down at the arm she just used, almost subconsciously flexing her hand as she did so. It was her right arm, her injured arm, and yes, it was healing. It wasn't at a hundred percent yet, but she could move it, it no longer hurt, and she hoped that it could only get better. For four months she had gone to physical therapy three to four times a week, with little to no progress to show for it. And then finally the arm had started responding to her, and for over a month now she'd had no problems moving it at all. It was still tender at times, and her grip with her right hand wasn't as firm as it had once been, too much damage done to her nerves, but overall she was happy with it. She continued to go to physical therapy, now only once or twice a week, and she was still working on building up the strength in the arm, but it was healing, and that was all she could ask for.

"Yeah," she finally answered, lifting the arm again and clenching her fist. "It still is not what it was before the mission, but I can move it, and it no longer hurts. It is healing."

The bartender returned at that moment, sliding a tray in front of them with the shots on it and then setting the three drinks down next to it, and Quint nodded to him, telling him, "Thanks." He turned to Lexa then, grabbing the tray as Lexa carefully grabbed all three drinks, and just said, "Good, I'm happy to know that."

She returned his nod, and without another word they started back to the table, walking carefully so as not to spill too much of the drinks. They reached the table and Quint set the tray down and then took both beers from Lexa. He turned and handed one to Ryder, sitting not far from Lexa's seat, earning a nod of thanks from the bigger man. Ryder had managed to join them also, and he had made a comment at the beginning of the night that it would be his first night out with his "new leg." He'd had the prosthetic for a couple of months now, but hadn't spent much time out and about with it. He had done well with it so far, having no trouble keeping up with them (though they all kept a watchful eye out, being sure to slow down if needed), and it had only been in the last hour he had decided he needed to sit down for awhile. That was how the group had ended up staying at the one bar so long, and as Lexa looked around at them all laughing and joking, she didn't see any reason for them to leave any time soon. Quint moved back over to his chair, sitting down and quickly laughing at something Marques said, and Lexa looked around the table once again as she too sat down. Anya was talking to both Jay and Tristan, and while she showed no kind of romantic or sexual interest in either of them, Lexa thought she at least looked like she was enjoying talking with them. They both also seemed interested in what she was saying, and more than just in the "I'll pay attention in the hopes that eventually we can get naked together" kind of way. Lincoln seemed focused on the conversation he was having with Echo, Shet and Tony, and across from them Lexa noticed Ryder paying attention to the conversation too, clearly interested. Quint quickly fell into Marques's and Artigas's conversation, wasting no time in picking on the youngest of the Grounders, who also had only within the past year turned twenty-one, and who was quite clearly feeling his alcohol, having not paced himself at all. Rivo was also watching them, grinning at the young Marine having a hard time holding his liquor. Lexa let her own smile form as she watched Artigas swat at Quint, completely missing him, but even as she smiled she felt a small tug at her chest. It had been a long time since she sat with all of these people, and seeing all of their faces just reminded her of who was missing.

Suddenly she reached forward, her fingers circling around one of the as-of-yet untouched shots in the middle of the table, raising it up. She saw everyone turn to her, eyeing her in slight confusion before they too reached forward, each grabbing a shot and lifting it up. Once she saw everyone holding a glass, she called quietly, "To Fio. The only one of us not here. A brave Marine, and a great man."

They all turned solemn the moment she started talking, and she noticed all of the Marine's hold their arms up a little straighter. Even Anya and Lincoln turned serious, their eyes meeting Lexa's. They had no connection to the man she was talking about, but she could feel their respect for him anyway.

"To Fio," they all echoed, and then they all tossed back the shots, the burning of the liquid also burning away any sadness any of them might be feeling from the toast and memory of their fallen comrade.

And then they were laughing and joking again, and the main cause of the laughter was the one they were really there to celebrate. The Marines began telling stories about Lexa, filling Anya and Lincoln in on what her life had been like as a Marine. In turn her two oldest friends told them some of their own stories of the brunette, and soon Lexa was shaking her head, the grin plastered on her face even as she hid her face in her hands. Her people were never supposed to know about that time when she was ten and had tried to beat up an older kid on the playground just because he had made fun of Anya's hair, only to lose the fight when the other kid pushed her into a mud puddle.

She was about to make a retort to the story, especially when Tristan said something about how that explained why she had always seemed to find a mud puddle to throw them into when they were training, when she felt her phone in her pocket vibrate a few times. Ignoring them all for a moment, she took it out, her brow turning down in confusion when she saw who had texted her and what they had said.

Jasper: (10:47 PM) I loooove you.

Jasper: (10:47 PM) I mish you.

Jasper: (10:48 PM) Lexaaaaa. I miiiiiiss youuuuu. Wher r u?

She was about to try to figure out how to reply to all of that, when it suddenly began to vibrate again, and this time her phone informed her that Jasper was trying to call her. Standing up quickly from the table and shooting a smile at the others when they looked at her, she took a few steps away, answering the phone and holding it up to her ear. Her free hand moved to her other ear, pressing against it to block out as much of the noise from the bar as she could.

"Hello?" she said, "Jasper? I think you are very, very confused, and more than likely very, very drunk."

She heard a giggle on the other end of the line, and she felt herself smile, knowing that giggle anywhere. "It's not Jasper, silly," she heard Clarke say, enough noise coming from her own end to make it difficult to hear her. "I just had to steal his phone."

"Clarke," Lexa murmured, her tone going soft without even meaning to. She spoke louder as she asked, "Why did you have to steal Jasper's phone? Where is yours?"

"Raven and Octavia took it from me," Clarke answered, and Lexa could practically hear her pout through the phone. "They said I wasn't allowed to text you, cause we're supposed to be out on our own bachelorette parties, but I wanted to talk to you. Jasper left his phone on the table when he left to go make out with Maya, so I borrowed it."

"Aren't you afraid Raven or Octavia are going to see you with the phone and take that one away also?" Lexa asked, still smiling against the phone pressed to her ear.

"I told them I had to go to the bathroom," she heard Clarke say, and then sure enough Lexa heard what sounded like a toilet flush. "They think I had to pee, but I was just smart and got away so I could talk to you. I miss you."

"I miss you too," Lexa replied, her tone soft once again. "Are you having a good bachelorette party, at least?"

"Yeah, I am, but I miss you," Clarke told her, and then Lexa heard some muffled talking from Clarke's end. Someone must have been talking to Clarke, because she then heard Clarke say, "I'm talking to my fiancee. We're out on our bachelorette parties, but my friends are being mean and wouldn't let me talk to her, so I had to sneak into the bathroom." There was more muffled talking that Lexa couldn't make out, and then: "That's so smart! Lexa, Katy had a really good idea! Where are you?"

"We're at the Exodus Bar, why? And who's Katy?" Lexa asked, her confusion clear.

"Katy's this really awesome girl I just met in the bathroom," Clarke explained, and then there was a little more muffled talking before Clarke said, "Well you are awesome!" She then seemed to turn her attention back to Lexa, asking her, "Are you gonna be there for a while still?"

"I believe so," Lexa replied, shrugging her shoulders, even though she knew Clarke couldn't see it. "I think we will probably remain here for the evening. We started at a couple of other places, but I do not believe Ryder is up for much more travel, and we have gotten comfortable."

"Aww, poor Ryder," she heard Clarke say, and she could hear the worry in her tone, before the tone changed and she said, "But anyway, that's perfect. Don't go anywhere. I love you!" And then the line went dead before Lexa could say anything else. Shaking her head and not entirely sure what had just happened, Lexa hung up her own phone before stuffing it back in her pocket. Clarke obviously had some plan, and so Lexa would do as she was told. She made her way back over to the table and sat down, her drink almost immediately shoved into her hands, and she laughed before taking a long swig of the very strong mixed drink.

Forty-five minutes later she had finished that drink, gotten half way through a second one and done at least two more shots when she saw a few of her people look behind her, suddenly all grinning. Her cheeks were hot, and her limbs were all heavy, the smile impossible to wipe off her face, but even so she clearly felt it when a pair of arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"You here alone, sexy?" a voice purred into her ear, "Or does a girl have a chance if she asks for a drink and maybe a kiss or two?"

Her smile grew immeasurably, knowing that voice, and even as she turned she said, "I'm sorry to say that I am actually engaged, and I love my fiancee very, very much. But you are more than welcome to try to tempt me."

Clarke laughed, burying her face against Lexa's shoulder even as she somehow managed to pull herself on to Lexa's lap. Lexa's arms circled around her back, firmly holding her in place as the blonde whispered loudly, "Oh trust me, I will most definitely try to tempt you." The blonde pulled her head from Lexa's shoulder, giving her her own huge smile which Lexa easily returned, just as she heard, "Oh come on, you have got to be kidding me! How the hell did she find her?!"

Lexa looked past Clarke, barely managing to tear her eyes from the blonde, to find Raven and Octavia standing just a couple of feet away, Raven's arms crossed over her chest while Octavia's fists were propped on her hips. Also with them were Bellamy, Monty, Jasper and Maya, but the four of them didn't seem nearly as upset as the first two. Jasper was leaning against Maya, a dopey smile on his face that told Lexa just how much he was feeling it, and Monty, though upright, also had an easy grin on. Maya looked a little nervous, but that was probably simply because she didn't know most of the people around Lexa's table. Bellamy was watching Clarke on Lexa's lap, his own grin easy to read.

"You can't take me away now!" Clarke exclaimed, her hold on Lexa tightening, "I found her fair and square, so you have to let me stay!"

Lexa laughed, as did many of the people around her table, before she asked, "Clarke, sweetie, how much have you had to drink?" Clarke looked at her almost sheepishly before she replied, "A lot."

"Damn it, we're failing our Heda!" Shet exclaimed before he shoved a shot towards her, clearly ignoring the fact that the blonde still sat on her lap with her arms around her. "If the Wanheda's feeling it this much, then we have to get Heda to the same level!" Everyone around the table cheered, including Clarke, still on the brunette's lap. She twisted in what could not have been a particularly pleasant way, taking the shot from Shet's hold, and then brought it up between their bodies, only managing to spill a little bit of the alcohol on them.

"Drink, Lexa! Drink!" she cried, and then Lexa laughed and shook her head before she opened her mouth and let the blonde pour the alcohol into her mouth. They all cheered, Clarke loudest of all, as she less than gently placed the empty shot glass on the table.

Lincoln looked past the happy couple to meet his wife's gaze.

"Join us?" he asked, nodding to all of them, and then looked back to Clarke and added, "It does not look as though Clarke wishes to leave anytime soon."

"Nope!" Clarke sang out, throwing her arms back around Lexa's shoulders, and Octavia just sighed and then nodded. She moved over to her husband, sitting on his lap also but in a much more dignified way than Clarke sat on Lexa's. She felt his arms wrap around her middle though, and then couldn't stop her own smile from growing as she felt herself settle against him.

Everyone around the table shuffled, somehow managing to make space for the other five as they all pulled chairs over, taking the chairs from the tables around them that weren't using them. As Raven sat down between Ryder and Echo, she shook her head and groaned, "I really just don't get how she found you. We took her phone and everything!"

"I stole Jasper's," Clarke admitted unashamedly, throwing a grin over to Raven. The other brunette shot a glare at the boy as Octavia exclaimed, "Jasper!"

"What?!" he cried, eyes wide and holding up his hands. "She said she stole it, not that I gave it to her! How is that my fault?!"

"It's your fault cause you shouldn't have left it out where she could get it!" Raven exclaimed, glaring at him. "You knew we were trying to keep them apart for their damn bachelorette parties! Who has a bachelorette party with their fiancee?"

"I wanna be with Lexa though," Clarke told her, her head dropping to Lexa's shoulder even as she looked at Raven. "Don't get me wrong, I love everything you guys did for me, and it was all fun and awesome and all, and hell, even the strippers were kind of fun, but I want to be with Lexa now."

"Strippers?" Lexa suddenly asked, her tone dropping as her eyebrows rose. She heard Jay swear and then hit Tony, saying, "Dammit, I told you we coulda done strippers!" Raven grinned at Lexa, clearly nothing but proud of herself, and Lexa turned her raised eyebrows at the smug brunette.

"Of course there were strippers Lexa, it was a bachelorette party!" Raven exclaimed, as though it should have been the most obvious thing in the world. "Who has a bachelorette party without strippers?" Again, Jay hit Tony, glaring at him.

"This one, apparently," Artigas said, a dejected look on his face. Bellamy, now sitting beside him, sighed in relief.

"Thank god," he muttered, taking a shot that was in the middle of the table.

Quint raised an eyebrow at him, asking, "What, you don't like seeing naked women?"

Bellamy shook his head, meeting Quint's eyes as he answered, "Nah, the naked women were great, it was the naked men I coulda done without, especially when my baby sister was getting a lap dance from one of them. That's an image I'll never be able to get out of my head." Quint laughed while Marques patted Bellamy on the back in sympathy. Lincoln however raised his eyebrows at his wife who was still sitting now a bit sheepishly in his lap.

"You got a lap dance from a naked man, huh?" he asked, his tone even. "Emma and Jonas will be so happy to hear that."

"First of all, he was not naked, just mostly naked," Octavia informed him, after shooting a glare at her brother. "Second, I only got one because Raven practically shoved the guy in my lap."

"And you are so very welcome for that," Raven told her happily, her elbows braced on the table as she leaned forward, resting her head in her hands. "He was hot and you know you liked it. No offense Lincoln, but a girl's gotta have a little fun every now and then, and a bachelorette party is the perfect place to do it." She rolled her eyes and added, "But don't worry, your wife was a good girl and only had the one. Party pooper."

"You were having enough lap dances for everyone," Octavia retorted, raising her eyebrows at her friend. "You seemed to especially enjoy the red-head with long legs and barely anything covering up her chest."

Raven shrugged, one corner of her mouth pulling up as she said, "Hey, she had some excellent talent, what can I say? Very good control of her hips."

"You see, that is why I will always question your sexuality," Anya remarked, shaking her head. "When you say things like that, you do not sound as straight as you claim to be."

"And I will always tell you that even if I'm straight, I can still totally appreciate a beautiful lady," Raven replied easily, earning a "Here here!" from Jay across the table from her. She grinned at him and then turned back to Anya, shrugging as she said, "And besides, I haven't gotten a lap dance from a chick since college."

"You didn't go to college, Raven," Jasper reminded her, his grin still nearly splitting his face.

"Yeah, but I certainly crashed a number of college parties, and there were more than one of them where I got some pretty nice lap dances from a few pretty ladies," Raven replied, and then added, "And not all of them were from Clarke or Octavia, either."

Most of the people around the table laughed at that, and a number cheered. Lexa shook her head, turning her attention back to the blonde in her lap whose head still rested on her shoulder, clearly a little too interested in the beat of Lexa's heart to really be paying attention to the conversation going on around them.

"So did you enjoy your strippers?" Lexa asked mildly, her eyebrows raised slightly still. She felt Clarke shrug against her before she replied, "They were alright. Raven made each of them give me a lap dance, and they were all pretty good at it I guess." She picked her head up then, a smirk forming on her lips as she added, "Don't worry, they weren't nearly as hot as you though. I'd much rather it had been you giving me a lap dance. Or I could give you one if that would make you feel better." She felt Clarke begin to get up from her lap, and Lexa's arms tightened around her, even as she felt her cheeks get even hotter. The table was suddenly much too quiet for her liking, and far too many of the people around it were watching Clarke on her lap, waiting to see if she would actually start giving her a lap dance. "No, that is alright Clarke, you do not need to do that," she finally replied, then she admitted, "Although it is good to hear that you would have preferred it was me." Clarke just grinned at her before pressing her forehead to Lexa's, telling her, "Much, much would have preferred it."

She nodded against Clarke's forehead, a lump suddenly in her throat that she found it hard to swallow around, and then felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Rivo holding up a drink for her, raising an eyebrow at her. She let go of Clarke with one hand, accepting the drink with a grateful nod, and then took a few long gulps it. Those around the table cheered, and everyone began drinking again, Bellamy, Lincoln and Shet getting up to get drinks for the newcomers and those who'd run out.

As the night wore on, Lexa drank more and more, the light buzz in her limbs becoming a steady thrumming as people pressed more and more alcohol into her hands. Clarke never left her lap, and soon the blonde was bringing all of her drinks to her lips, often times stealing her own sips before letting Lexa have a drink. Everyone was laughing and grinning, the alcohol dulling any nervousness or uncomfortable feelings with spending so much time with strangers. Soon her unit was joking with Raven and the others as if they had known them a long time, and the others were joking right back. More often than not they were laughing at something due to either Lexa or the blonde in her lap, but as time went on and Lexa drank more, she stopped caring about any embarrassing stories that might be being told. All she could focus on was the woman in her arms, the blonde's laughter ringing out louder than anyone else's, and even though Lexa could feel her legs falling asleep, she didn't care. She just held the other girl tighter, let her eyes linger longer whenever Clarke's head would tilt up, clearly exposing that beautiful pale neck. Lexa was seriously debating whether or not she should lean forward and let her lips trace along that beautiful skin, her clouded mind nearly forgetting that so many people were sitting so close, when she felt the blonde get up. She looked up, meeting Clarke's eyes, and immediately returned the smile Clarke was giving her, not even knowing what it was about.

"Dance with me?" Clarke asked, her tone light. Lexa was too busy scanning her face, eyes slowly taking in the deep blush that had permanently set to the blonde's cheeks, her alcohol warming them, to even really hear the request, but she heard it somewhere within her, and without even really knowing what she was agreeing to or what she was saying Lexa answered quietly, "Always."

And then Clarke's smile grew and she was reaching out and pulling Lexa up out of her chair, and again Lexa really wasn't entirely sure what was going on because she could only focus on one thing at a time when she was drunk like this and when it came to Clarke there was just so many things to focus on that her fogged mind couldn't stay on one thing for more than a few seconds. But Clarke's hand was around hers and it felt as good as it always did so she let Clarke lead, following her wherever she pulled her, and then Clarke was stopping and turning around, her arms moving to wrap around Lexa's shoulders and Lexa's arms moved to her hips, wrapping around them as though she were on autopilot because now Clarke's face was close to hers again and now she was trying to focus on the blonde's smile, her eyes, the redness of her cheeks and every part of her body that was suddenly pressed against the blonde's, and she couldn't focus on it all at once so she didn't really know what to do except stare down at Clarke, the goofy smile forming on her face.

Clarke noticed the smile, returning it with one of her own before she asked, "What?"

"I get to marry you in two days," Lexa said, almost as though Clarke could have possibly forgotten. The blonde's grin just widened as she replied, "I know. And I get to marry you in two days." Lexa's goofy smile grew as her arms tightened around Clarke. "I can't wait," she admitted, and Clarke nodded, silently telling her that she felt the same way, before she dropped her head back to Lexa's shoulder, resting it there as they swayed with the music that neither was entirely sure was real, or if it was just playing in their own love-drunk minds.

They remained that way for a long time, just holding each other and swaying, before something in Lexa's clouded mind clicked, and her eyes widened. "Aren't you supposed to be trying to tempt me?" she asked, suddenly remembering Clarke's words when she first appeared at the bar. "Not that this isn't tempting in itself, but I'd kinda figured it'd be a little more... I don't know. Dirty." She felt Clarke chuckle against her, and then she felt Clarke's head pick up, her mouth moving to Lexa's ear.

"I can do that," she husked into the brunette's ear, causing her to shiver. "And later on, after I've tempted you and we've gone home, I can give you that lap dance that I promised. You know, since you didn't get strippers. I can be your stripper."

Lexa's mouth went completely dry, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the alcohol in her system. Clarke pulled back slightly, turning up to meet Lexa's eyes, and Lexa had to unsuccessfully lick her lips when she saw the look Clarke was giving her.

"Can't... can't wait," she finally managed to get out, and then Clarke was kissing her, her lips hot against her own, and Lexa could taste the alcohol on them, especially when the blonde's tongue suddenly pushed past her lips.

Yep, Lexa really, really couldn't wait.

/

Lexa eyed the rows of chairs, her brow down. She knew they looked fine, but something about them looked off to her. For at least the third time she shifted the chair in front of her, very possibly putting it right back to where it had been before she moved it the first time, if the indentations in the grass were anything to go by. She sighed and then moved the one next to it, knowing that in reality she was just trying to keep herself busy. Then, still just to keep herself busy she looked up, finding a clear sky above her, unable to give her anything else to worry about. She was glad about that, as worrying about rain or some other form of bad weather interrupting the outdoor wedding she and Clarke had planned was really just a headache that she didn't need, but at the moment she really could have used the distraction.

It was the wedding day. Finally. The day had finally arrived, and Lexa's stomach was in knots and had been in knots ever since the night before. The majority of it she knew was excitement, but the rest of it was nerves. She finally totally understood how Octavia had felt on her wedding day, and she had to agree that running away and eloping sounded pretty good right then. But she and Clarke had put this wedding together and dammit, she was going to see it through.

"Would you leave the chairs alone already? You're just messing them up, not making them better. They are fine where they are: now leave them alone," Anya growled, walking up behind her and rolling her eyes.

Lexa didn't look away from the chairs as she replied, "I don't know, I feel like they could be arranged better."

Again Anya rolled her eyes and then reached out, grabbing Lexa's arm and gently pulling her away from the chair.

"They are fine, now just stop," she said again, a hint of annoyance in her tone and Lexa sighed before she rubbed her forehead.

"I know, I'm sorry," she told her, "I just feel like I need to be doing something."

"You could be getting ready, you know," Anya informed her with a raise of her eyebrows. "After all, you are getting married in a couple of hours."

The bride shook her head, telling her best friend, "If I get ready now I'll just be sitting around in my wedding dress for more than an hour, and then I'll really feel awkward."

"Fine then wait, but please leave the chairs alone," Anya replied, giving her a look which made Lexa sigh again and then nod.

Before either of them could say anything else, they heard, "Aunie Lexa! Aunie Anya!" and both turned, smiles on their faces, to find Emma running towards them. Their smiles only grew when they noticed little Jonas attempting to keep up behind her, Lincoln following close behind as the little guy ran on two legs that hadn't been holding him up for more than a couple of weeks. Copying his sister, he screamed, "Ne! Ne!" Lexa bent down, arms out as Emma finally reached them, quickly jumping at the bride and wrapping her arms around the brunette's neck as Lexa lifted her up. They looked up just in time to see Jonas tumble down, managing to catch himself with his hands, and then his father grabbed him, lifting him up as he squealed in delight.

"Oh my goodness, you are getting so big!" Lexa exclaimed, smiling at the little girl in her arms.

"I am big!" Emma agreed, her face breaking out into a huge grin. "Jojo's da only baby now!"

"Ne!" Jonas seemed to agree, reaching out also as his father brought him over to them, bouncing him lightly in his arms. He reached out to Anya, little fingers gripping her sleeve tightly, and Anya quickly took him from his father, smiling down at him. Lincoln let him go, saying, "Well I feel unloved."

"I love you, Daddy!" Emma assured him, blowing him a kiss but not letting go of Lexa. Lincoln leaned forward and gave her a loud kiss on her cheek, causing her to shriek before he told her, "I love you too, beautiful girl."

She just grinned at him, and then turned her attention back to Lexa, asking her, "Ready Aunie Lexa? It's da wedding day!"

Lexa returned her grin, even as she felt the nerves stir in her stomach again, and informed the little girl, "I am, but I'd be even more ready if your mommy and Auntie Raven hadn't kidnapped Auntie Clarke yesterday." She ended it by looking at Lincoln, raising her eyebrows at him, and he just shrugged.

"Hey, sorry, I can't help you with that," he replied, holding up his hands. "I haven't seen my wife since she left to get Clarke, and other than her phone call last night to say goodnight to the kids and the one this morning I haven't talked to her."

Lexa let out a sigh, though she was unsurprised. Weeks ago Raven and Octavia had informed them that they would be stealing the blonde away the day before the wedding, deciding for them that they wouldn't see each other until it was wedding time. They had argued with them originally, but as always Octavia and Raven had stuck to whatever plan it was they had concocted, and by the time they arrived at the two fiancees' apartment the previous morning both girls had still been too hung over from their bachelorette parties the night before to really put up any fight. Lexa wondered if they had planned it that way, and wouldn't be at all surprised if she ever found out they had. The two brunettes were clever, and clearly they had thought this plan through. So as much as Lexa wanted to see Clarke, and even though she knew that Clarke had to be nearby even at that moment, getting ready for the wedding, she knew better than to hold her breath in the hopes of seeing her. She would see Clarke when it was time to walk down the aisle, and that would just have to do.

Deciding to put those thoughts out of her mind, Lexa turned her attention back to the three-year old in her arms.

"So what about you Miss Emma?" she asked, bouncing her just a bit, "Are you ready to walk down the aisle?"

"Yeah!" Emma exclaimed, throwing her fists up, only just managing to miss smacking Lexa's chin. "I'm da flower girl!"

Lexa grinned, telling her, "Yes you are, and you're gonna be the prettiest flower girl ever!" She looked over to Anya still holding Jonas and asked the little girl, "And what about Jonas? You think he's ready?"

"Jojo's ready," Emma answered, suddenly serious as she looked over to her brother. "Right Jojo?"

"Yeah!" the little guy exclaimed, having no idea what he was agreeing to but just happy to be included. The adults all laughed, telling both kids how great they were going to be, when Lexa looked up and saw Monty walking towards them. He stopped when she looked at him and gestured to her, silently telling her he needed to talk to her. She excused herself, handing Emma over to her father, and then made her way over to him. She eyed him curiously, surprised to find him a little pale.

"Everything alright Monty?" she asked him, "You look a bit nervous."

He shrugged, giving her a forced smile before he admitted, "I am a little. I've never done this before, you know."

She smiled at him and shook her head, saying, "Aren't I supposed to be the one who is nervous? I am the one getting married, after all."

"Yeah, and I'm the one who's marrying you," he agreed, rubbing the back of his head. "Gotta admit, when I offered to do this I didn't realize I'd be so scared the day of the wedding. I'm just hoping I don't mess up."

Lexa gave him a small smile and assured him, "You will do fine, Monty. You did what you needed to to get ordained online, and now it is just a matter of actually saying the words."

"Yeah, in front of a ton of people," Monty muttered, but then he shook his head. "But anyway, I shouldn't be so worried, and especially not with you. You're probably nervous enough anyway." To an extent she was, the butterflies in her stomach starting up again as they spoke, but she was forcing herself to push them away, trying to ignore them, so she merely shrugged. "I actually came over because there's a few last minute details I wanted to go over, and I can't seem to find Clarke, so I hoped you wouldn't mind going over them with me."

"Of course," Lexa replied, and then looked around, sighing again before she said, "I am afraid that Octavia and Raven have kidnapped Clarke, and we most likely will not be seeing her until it is time to get started."

Monty rolled his eyes before he muttered, "No surprise."

She agreed, and then the two turned away from the topic of the blonde, Lexa listening to what Monty needed to go over and offering her ideas whenever she could. The two worked together for nearly a half hour, ironing out these last minute details before Monty seemed reassured, looking much less pale when he finally walked away.

As he left to go do whatever he needed to, Lexa looked around. Anya and Lincoln had disappeared, probably to take care of the kids or their own last minute problems. A few other people were straggling around, clearly doing their own last minute preparations, and Lexa figured it was probably just about time for her to go start getting ready too. She eyed the rows of chairs one last time, trying to decide if it was worth it to bother moving any of them again, knowing she was just trying to put it off as the nerves flared up once again in her stomach, when she saw Maya approaching her. She smiled politely to the other girl; over the past seven months they had actually spent a little time together, though mostly in crowds, and were no longer strangers, though nor were they close friends. She seemed like a sweet enough person, but she and Lexa really just didn't have much in common. Still, Lexa had no problem talking to her, so remained where she was until Maya finally managed to reach her.

"Hey Lexa, how're you feeling?" Maya asked, her own polite smile on her face, a bit of excitement in her eyes. Lexa was not at all surprised to find that the other girl enjoyed weddings.

"I am well," she answered, nodding to her. "Thank you."

Maya just returned the nod with a smile, and then she reached down and fished something out of her pocket. A moment later she held up a small piece of paper. She gave Lexa a knowing smile as she handed it to Lexa, telling her, "I was asked to give this to you. But if anyone asks, you didn't get it from me."

Lexa frowned, not understanding her words, until she opened the slip of paper, a grin suddenly appearing on her face. Meet me in the bathroom, was all the little note said, and Lexa didn't have to guess to know who had written it.

"Thanks," she said to Maya, already starting to walk around the girl, "And don't worry, I will not rat you out."

Maya laughed, and then Lexa left, her footsteps quickening the closer she got to the lodge where there were enough rooms for everyone to get ready in private. She walked into the large building, going through the hallways and large reception hall already partially decorated and in the process of getting ready for the reception that would take place there later that afternoon, ducking out of the way of the wedding decorators they had hired to get it ready. She left the large room, going through another hallway before she found the stairs leading up to where she knew the many individual rooms were where they were all expected to get ready, hurrying down that hall, her eyes on the look out for anyone who would see her and try to stop her. Finally she made it to the end of the hall, finding the bathroom she assumed the note had been referring to, and then quickly opened the door and stepped inside, closing it firmly behind her.

"Oh thank god. Finally," she heard, and then turned around, unable to stop her smile from forming. Clarke stood in the middle of the room in a pair of sweatpants and a simple t-shirt, with much of her hair all pinned up in curlers. The sight only made Lexa's smile grow. "I was seriously starting to think that Maya wouldn't be able to find you before Octavia and Raven found me." Lexa saw the blonde eye her, frowning. "Okay, why does only one of us look like a mess? You look way too good in those jeans, and here I am in sweatpants. Don't you know you are supposed to look like a wreck before you get all beautiful? It is so not fair that you are just gonna be able to go from looking great like that to looking great in your dress."

"I do not know what you are talking about, Clarke," Lexa informed her, taking a step closer to the babbling blonde. "I happen to think you look beautiful."

Clarke scoffed, rolling her eyes, and then mirrored Lexa's movement, closing the gap between them as she threw her arms around Lexa, the brunette's arms wrapping around her just a moment later.

"I missed you," she muttered, and then scowled as she pulled back just enough so that she could look at Lexa's face when she growled, "How the hell did we let Raven and Octavia convince us to let them kidnap me? I'm not okay with it."

Lexa just shrugged before she replied, "I don't know. But they do always seem to get their way with these things somehow."

Clarke shook her head and then let it fall back against Lexa's shoulder and the two just held each other for a moment in silence before the blonde broke it, asking Lexa quietly, "Lexa? Are you nervous?"

"A little," Lexa admitted, and she felt Clarke shift against her, pulling her head back up to look at her again. Lexa met her eyes as she continued, "I am nervous that there are going to be a lot of people watching. I feel a bit like Octavia saying this, but I am nervous I might trip as I walk down the aisle."

"You nervous about marrying me?" Clarke asked, a little grin on her face, and as an answer Lexa bent down, gently pressing her lips to Clarke's. She stayed there for a moment, her mouth working against the blonde's, before she pulled away just a bit, whispering, "Never. That I am not nervous about at all."

"You sure?" Clarke wanted to know, her voice almost teasing.

"Bring Monty in here now and I would marry you at this very moment," Lexa replied, smiling at the blonde. "I do not need anyone but you there when I say I do."

Clarke grinned and then kissed her again, this kiss a little more forceful before she pulled back, telling the brunette, "I don't need anyone else there either. But," she added, raising her eyebrows, "I spent a lot of money on my dress, and I am so not getting married in my sweatpants, so unfortunately we do need to wait a little longer."

Lexa merely shrugged, telling her, "As long as it is only a little longer, then I suppose I can wait." The blonde laughed, and then they were kissing again, holding on to one another and helping each other get rid of their nerves.

The kiss was suddenly interrupted when the bathroom door opened and they heard, "Oh for the love of! O, I found 'em." They broke apart, both turning to find Raven standing in the doorway, her hands crossed over her chest. "Seriously, can you two not spend even just a few hours apart?" the brunette exclaimed, "And what is it with you guys and bathrooms? Do you have like a fetish or something because I mean, no judgment and all, but even a clean bathroom is dirty, and there are way better places to meet up. Though right now you aren't supposed to be meeting up, or do you not remember you're getting married in like, two hours and should be getting ready?"

They both looked at her a bit sheepishly, about to say something when an angry Octavia appeared beside Raven.

"No," the small brunette, growled, walking past Raven and right up to the two of them. She grabbed Clarke's arm, saying, "Nope, nu uh. This is not happening. I have waited too long for this day to let either of you ruin it for me! Clarke, let's go, you're supposed to be getting ready, and Lexa, you should be getting ready too! Neither of you are going to ruin this for me!"

Clarke looked over to Lexa out of the side of her eyes, even as Octavia began to pull her out of the bathroom.

"Uh, O, you do realize that this is our wedding day, right?" Clarke asked her, and then gestured to Lexa and herself. "As in, mine and Lexa's?"

"Yeah I do," Octavia cried, shooting another glare at the blonde, "And I have been waiting for this day for years. Very patiently waiting, I might add, and if you two think you are going to do anything to make it anything less than perfect, then you can just think again, cause it's not gonna happen!"

"I'd listen to her," Raven said, pointing at Octavia as she moved out of the doorway so that the small brunette could pull Clarke out of the bathroom. "She's a mother now, and you never want to piss off a mother."

"Okay, yeah, but again, it's our wedding," Clarke emphasized, shooting a look back to Lexa as she followed them out of the bathroom. "Shouldn't it all go the way we want it to?"

"Today's not all about you Clarke, you just think it is," Raven told her with a grin. "In reality it's for those of us who've had to sit back and agonizingly watch you two go through the past eleven years."

"Okay, I'm pretty sure it's actually supposed to be all about us," Clarke argued, shaking her head, and Raven just rolled her eyes.

"Is Clarke being stubborn, even today?" they heard a voice call from down the hallway, and Clarke froze, inadvertently tugging out of Octavia's grip. She turned, her eyes wide, and exclaimed, "Wells?!"

Her oldest friend smiled at her, and then she was running at him, her arms enveloping him in a huge hug when she finally reached him. His arms returned the hug, and he used the momentum of her run to pick her up and swing her around, both of them laughing crazily. Only when he'd set her back down did she pull away slightly, her eyes scanning his face as she babbled, "What are you doing here?! I thought you were on the other side of the world? How'd you get here? I can't, I can't believe you're here!"

Wells laughed again as Raven, Octavia and Lexa moved over to them, and met Lexa's eyes over the top of the blonde's head. He grinned and nodded to her, and she returned the nod, her own lips curling up into a smile. Clarke looked between him and Lexa, noticing the interaction, before Wells answered, "Did you really think I was going to miss your wedding?"

"B-but, last time I talked to you you were supposed to be in Ireland right now!" Clarke cried, her head spinning.

Wells, unlike either Clarke or Lexa, had not decided to follow in a parents' footsteps. Rather than become a politician like his father, he'd majored in history in college, and decided to become a cultural historian, which meant that he spent most of his time traveling all over the world and studying the different cultures he came across. Because of that, Clarke hadn't seen her oldest friend in almost four years, and had barely been able to talk to him. She'd told him about her engagement of course, but she had never expected him to actually be able to make it to the wedding.

He just shrugged, telling her, "I postponed my trip. There was no way I was going to miss this."

Clarke just shook her head, still unable to wrap her mind over the fact that he was here.

"I still don't understand how you're here right now," she told him, and he met Lexa's eyes once again, smiling at her. This time Clarke focused on the look and turned around, seeing Lexa returning it. "Lexa?" she asked, and the brunette mirrored Wells's shrug.

"I knew you wanted him here," she replied easily, "So I contacted him, and we made it work out. It only took a little bit of creative thinking to get him back in time."

"I love you," Clarke told her, the truth of the words clear from the tone of her voice, and then she turned back to Wells, squeezing him in another hug as she said, "And I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too, Clarke," Wells assured her, returning the hug.

"Alright alright, it's awesome to see you again Wells, and really great you're here, but we need to keep getting ready for the wedding that's gonna happen very soon," Raven informed them, stepping up and taking Clarke by the arm again.

"But you should come with us, Wells," Octavia added, smiling up at him, "We can all get caught up while we finish Clarke's hair and make-up and then do our own. It'll at least give Clarke a distraction so that she doesn't try to go AWOL again."

"Which, by the way, you should know that you've totally lost your bathroom privileges," Raven informed the blonde, turning to her. "Until the wedding starts either Octavia or I will be escorting you to the bathroom if you decide you need to go, so don't even try to sneak away again."

"I don't need a babysitter, Raven," Clarke groaned, rolling her eyes, but Raven just smirked back at her as Octavia replied, "Uh, clearly you do."

Clarke shot Lexa a pitiful look, which Lexa returned with a helpless look of her own, as if to say, "What can I do?" Clarke just sighed and then let Raven pull her away, pulling Wells with her.

Octavia looked back at Lexa before following, smiling at her and telling her, "We'll see you soon, Lexa!" Lexa nodded, and then Octavia turned back around, just in time to see Anya walking towards them, passing Raven and Clarke and Wells. As she did, Raven called out to her, "Anya, you're on Lexa watch! Keep her from sneaking off again." Anya in turn merely rolled her eyes, not answering the other girl as the small group moved down the hall only to turn into one of the many rooms, Octavia closing the door behind them. When Anya reached Lexa, she raised a single eyebrow at her.

"You and Clarke are causing problems again, aren't you?" she inquired, her tone telling Lexa that she already knew it was true.

"We are not causing problems, we just wanted to see each other," Lexa replied, holding her head high. "I do not understand why that is a bad thing. It is our wedding day, after all."

"Yeah well it might be your wedding day, but those two seem to have an idea as to exactly how they want the day to go, and I will not have them come complaining to me if you ruin it," Anya informed her, and then jerked her head to the side. "Let's go, it's time to get you ready."

Instead of trying to argue, Lexa merely nodded, following Anya to their own dressing room. In the room she found both her dress and Anya's hanging up, as well as a small couch, a trifold in the corner, and a small table set up with a mirror, brushes, and numerous other kinds of hair supplies. Anya walked her over to the table, gesturing to the chair in front of it, and told her, "Sit." Lexa did so, and then Anya was brushing her hair, her fingers working nimbly to remove any knots. As soon as it was smooth, Anya got to work, carefully and intricately weaving strands of her hair into small braids.

Lexa closed her eyes, even as she tried not to wince as her hair was braided tightly against her head. The motions reminded her of when they were children and the many times Anya had done this exact same thing for her. When she was very little her mother had braided her hair, spending multiple minutes every morning gently twining the strands around each other, and then after her mother had died Anya had started doing it. She still didn't really remember when it happened, but suddenly it seemed like every time they hung out, Anya's fingers would play at her hair, guiding it into the braids Lexa had gotten so used to. It was this connection to both her mother and her best friend that had made Lexa continue to pull it back into the small braids all throughout her college years and during her time in the Marines. Even though Anya's hands were not exactly gentle, there was a tenderness in her movements, a care in how she shaped Lexa's hair, and Lexa knew that.

The brunette finally opened her eyes, looking ahead into the mirror and watching Anya as she stood behind her, her own gaze down on Lexa's hair. Looking at the other girl, Lexa felt a tug at her heart.

"Anya?" she called out softly, trying to get the other girl's focus.

"Mm?" was all she got for a reply, and it nearly made Lexa smile.

"You know that I love you, right?" she asked, and at this Anya's eyes did shift, looking at Lexa through the mirror even as her head remained down and her fingers continued to work.

"If this is you trying to tell me that you do not wish to marry Clarke and are in fact in love with me, then I must say you have terrible timing," Anya finally replied, her eyes shifting back down to her work. "And since I do not wish to hurt you, I will let you down as gently as I can by simply telling you that I have no desire to ever see you naked, Lexa."

Lexa rolled her eyes, the corners of her lips quirking up.

"Nor do I ever wish to see you naked, Anya," she informed her best friend. "I do love you, but that is not the kind of relationship I wish to have with you. I will stick with Clarke for that, and for everything else even remotely romantic. But I just wanted you to know that I do love you as well, though yes, in a different way. You are my best friend."

Anya let out a deep breath, closing her eyes as her fingers stilled, and when her eyes opened once again she looked up, glaring at Lexa in the mirror.

"And you are a my best friend as well, yes, and I love you also," she growled, never one to be comfortable with any kind of emotional moment. "Now may we continue with getting ready for your wedding?" The brunette just smiled at her and then nodded, wincing slightly as Anya's fingers tugged at her scalp.

They did continue to get ready, and before long Lincoln joined them, having left Emma and Jonas with his parents who had been invited to the wedding, since they had nearly been like a second set of parents to Lexa as she grew up. The three got ready, Lincoln ducking behind the trifold to put on his suit while Anya applied Lexa's make up (when they first started hanging out, Clarke had been shocked to learn that Anya actually had quite the gift for hair and make-up, but had remained quiet about it when Anya had just glared at her), and then Anya doing the same to put her maid-of-honor dress on. Only then was it Lexa's turn to move behind the trifold, Anya helping her to get the wedding dress on, and as the other girl zipped the dress up, Lexa felt the butterflies start swarming around her stomach again. She stepped out from behind the trifold and Lincoln's eyes ran over her, a large smile forming across his face.

"Lexa, you look beautiful," he murmured, and she shifted uncomfortably.

"Thank you," she replied simply, and tried not to get a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror, wanting to not care about her appearance, but she couldn't help it as her eyes seemed to be pulled to the mirror.

It had taken her a while to find the dress, but finally she had found what she believed to be the perfect dress for her. She had considered for a while simply wearing her dress blues, and therefore not needing to get a dress, but she had decided that she didn't want to look like a Marine on her wedding day. Her days in the Marines was in the past, and while she knew she would always be a Marine and always see herself as one, this day wasn't about the past: it was about the future, her future with Clarke, and so she had decided she would go with tradition, and get a wedding dress.

The dress was long, falling just to her feet but not any longer so that she wouldn't have to worry about tripping on it. It was slimming, loose only in the skirt, having no extra poof or design to it, instead hugging her waist. It had long sleeves that made it all the way to her wrists, and a small loop on each sleeve wrapped over her middle fingers, holding the sleeves in place. The front was low cut, showing off just a bit of her chest, but the back was much lower cut, creating a long v that ended mid-way down her back. Because of this, parts of her tattoos showed, and that was one of the reasons she had chosen the dress; while she didn't necessarily want to look like a Marine, she was still proud of her time spent serving, proud to have been a Grounder, and letting the markings she'd placed on her body in honor of that time be visible seemed like a good way to honor it. She had no veil, having no desire to cover her face, so with the heels that she wore and the silver necklace her father had given her to wear ("It was your mother's," he had said, his eyes bright with unshed tears as he handed it to her. "It can be your something bored."), she was ready.

She tore her eyes away from the mirror, the nerves in her stomach only growing the longer she looked at it.

"Come on," she said to the two in the room with her, "Let's go downstairs. We must be starting soon."

They both nodded, and then Lexa led the way out of the room and down the hallway, her eyes glancing to the closed door of the room Clarke and the others had disappeared into not long ago. She wondered how the blonde was doing, and if her stomach felt the same as Lexa's, but she just kept walking. They made it down the stairs and through the reception hall, until they were standing just inside the door of the lodge, unable to go any farther until the wedding actually started. Reaching the door, they found Bellamy and Jasper standing with her entire unit, and Lexa rolled her eyes.

"You are all aware that the wedding is taking place outside, yes?" she asked them, catching their attention suddenly. "You should be getting to your seats."

They all turned to her, and she saw many of their eyes widen, some of their jaws actually falling open. She merely raised her eyebrows at them, giving them her best Lieutenant look, but it did nothing to change their expressions.

"Fuck Heda, you look..." Shet began, and Jay finished by blurting out, "Hot!" Tristan elbowed him in the side, as if to remind him who he was talking to, and then he spluttered, "Uh, I mean, beautiful."

"Do not be fooled by the dress, I could still throw any one of you into the mud," she informed them, lifting her head up, to which Bellamy snorted. Artigas looked at him wide-eyed, and then nodded. "She totally could," he informed the other guy, and Bellamy shook his head. "Oh I totally believe it," he replied, smirking before he looked at Lexa, "I just think it's funny that that's her first response. You have no idea how perfect she is for our Princess."

"The Wanheda is a lucky woman, to have you, Heda," Ryder informed her, all sincerity, and Lexa nearly blushed. This was all getting too emotional for her, and especially with them.

Quint sighed then, and turned to the rest of the Marines, telling them, "She's right though, we should go take our seats. This thing's gonna start soon." They all agreed, and with nods to Lexa, they all turned around and exited the building to head out to the chairs set up outside. As the door opened and then fell closed behind them, Lexa could hear all the people talking outside, and the nerves in her stomach began acting up again.

"I am going to go get Emma and Jonas," Lincoln stated, stepping towards the door also. "We might as well all be ready as soon as Clarke gets here." Lexa nodded, and he left also, the door nearly falling shut before someone pushed it back open, and then Lexa's father entered, Abby and Jake following right behind him. They all stopped when they saw Lexa, Abby immediately getting tears in her eyes and gasping, hands going up to cover her mouth, and Jake grinning. She met her father's eyes, seeing too many emotions flying through them to even try to decipher.

"Oh Lexa," Abby breathed, "You look absolutely stunning."

"Definitely one of the most beautiful brides I've ever seen," Jake agreed, his grin only growing.

"Thank you both," Lexa replied, but she couldn't tear her eyes from her father. He slowly moved up to her, and then reached out, gently brushing her cheek with one hand.

"Look at you," he murmured, his eyes almost beginning to water. "You look... You look so much like your mother did on our wedding day. You are truly beautiful, Lexa."

"Thank you," Lexa whispered, feeling her own eyes begin to water, but she fought the tears back. "I've... I've been thinking about her. A lot, today."

"As have I," her father admitted. "She would be so proud of you, Lexa." He suddenly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a tight hug and she closed her eyes. "So very proud."

She clung to her father, feeling his strength, his emotion, and drawing it into her. She hoped that he was right.

"Wow."

Lexa's eyes opened and she felt her father loosen his grip, letting her pull away. She turned, and there was Clarke, standing just a few feet away, her eyes slowly moving over Lexa, taking in every detail. Lexa's eyes mirrored the blonde's, her breath getting caught in her throat.

Clarke's dress was lace: a lot of beautiful, intricate lace patterns, primarily on the corset but trailing down the skirt as well. The skirt was a bit more full than Lexa's own, a few layers building one on top of the other to give the dress a little more body. The top was tight, hugging her perfectly, low short sleeves almost hanging off her shoulders. She wore her star necklace around her neck, not even taking it off for this, and her hair hung in golden curls, the back of it pulled up in a loose bun while the rest of it hung around her face, framing it nicely. Seeing her, Lexa couldn't even get a "wow" out to return: she was simply speechless.

The door opened again, and Lincoln returned, carrying Jonas and holding Emma's hand, both now dressed for the wedding, with Monty trailing behind them. Monty's eyes scanned them all, finding both brides and bridal parties there, and he nodded, asking, "Alright, are we ready?"

Everyone turned to Clarke and Lexa, neither of whom had been able to take their eyes off the other yet, and still without looking away from Lexa the blonde called out, "Yeah, we're ready."

Monty let out a nervous breath, clenching and unclenching his fists quickly, and then said, "Alright then people: places!," before he left, ready to get it all started.

With hurried "good lucks" and "I love yous" and "you look amazings," Bellamy, Jasper, Wells and Abby left, all to take their seats, leaving the door open behind them. Octavia moved to stand next to Lincoln, smiling at her son and daughter, and then Raven and Anya moved together, once again walking down the aisle together ("You think they're trying to tell us something?" Raven had asked Anya when they were first told they would be walking together again, and Anya had merely rolled her eyes, to no one's surprise). Only once they were all situated did either Lexa or Clarke find the strength to move, immediately moving to one another.

"You ready?" Lexa asked softly, holding out her hand to the blonde.

"I'll jump if you jump," Clarke answered, a little smile on her lips as she took the brunette's hand.

Lexa's lips turned up into a smile as well as she replied, "I'll always jump with you."

They turned then, joining the rest of the wedding party as they heard the music begin to play, and then Lexa's father took her free arm while Clarke's father took hers.

One of the first decisions they had made when planning out the wedding was that neither of them was going to be at the end of the aisle, waiting for the other. They had spent too long waiting for each other, they explained whenever anyone asked why. Lexa had waited in high school, waited for Clarke to come with terms with who she was and how to tell the people she loved her feelings for the brunette, and then Clarke had waited while Lexa was in the Marines, spending years just waiting for Lexa to be ready to come home. Now they were finally together again, and neither of them wanted to wait any longer. Instead, they were going to start this next chapter in their lives just how it should be: side-by-side, hand-in-hand.

Lincoln and Octavia went first, Emma leading them, the little girl reaching into the basket she carried and tossing rose petals as she went, her face pulled down in concentration as she took her job very, very seriously. Once they had walked a ways, Anya and Raven followed, both holding their heads high as the crowd turned to watch them. And then it was Clarke and Lexa's turn. They stepped out of the lodge, slowly walking down the steps, and they heard the shuffle as everyone sitting before them stood up, all turning to watch them. The crowd was full of faces of all the people they loved, all the people who cared about them, but as they walked, all either could really focus on was the tight hold they had on each others hand. Finally they reached the altar, a beautiful white arch with vines of flowers twined around it, and their fathers let go of their arms, giving them both a kiss before they stepped away to take their own seats. They turned to each other, green eyes meeting blue, and together they took a steady breath, smiling slightly as both hands came together in front of them.

The crowd sat down as Jake and Gustus took their seats, and then Monty, standing between the girls and up just a step higher than them, looked out over the crowd.

"Dearly beloved," he began, and then he grinned, shaking his head. "We all know why we are gathered here today," he called out, his tone suddenly much more relaxed than it had been all morning. "We're here because these two amazing women have finally decided it's time for them to tie the knot. I say finally, because most of us here have known this was going to happen for years now. Personally, I had a pretty good idea it was gonna happen senior year of high school: some of you might have realized it sooner than that, and others maybe not as soon, but whenever you realized it, we've all known it was going to happen." He looked back at Clarke and Lexa, both of who were smiling at him at this point. "Clarke and Lexa are two of the most amazing people I've ever been lucky enough to know." He looked back to the crowd, gesturing to Clarke when he said, "Clarke has been in school for, what, eight years now? Nine?"

"Too long," Clarke informed him, causing a chuckle to ripple through the audience.

"Right, way too long," Monty agreed, his smile only growing, eyes flickering back to his audience. "But she's been in school this long because she wants to be a doctor. A surgeon. Clarke's dream has always been to help people, and as one of the many people she's already helped, I think I can speak for all of us when I say there's no doubt in my mind she's gonna help hundreds of people." He gestured to Lexa then, saying, "And Lexa. Lexa's already helped hundreds of people. Lexa is a Captain in the Marine Corps. She spent four years of college learning how to lead, how to be in charge of the countless lives of others, and then she spent nearly six years on active duty, leading the Grounders, her very own unit, and risking her life every day so that the rest of us can live every day without even knowing the dangers that are out there."

"Yeah Heda!" Jay called out, and Lexa rolled her eyes, unable to stop the small smile from pulling at the corners of her lips.

Monty's grin just widened at the interruption, nodding to Jay, before he continued, saying, "Both Clarke and Lexa are amazing people, and in my opinion, heroes that we can all only hope to live up to. But in the search of their dreams, they both had to make a sacrifice: each other. In order to do these amazing things, these two had to walk away from each other, and while we all knew deep down that they would get back together someday, we all worried a little too. Because while their dreams, and the sacrifices that they made were incredible, we all knew that they belonged together. We all knew that these two women had to find each other again, had to come back together, eventually.

And that's why we are all here today. We are here because finally, after too many years apart, Lexa and Clarke have found each other again, and their dreams are no longer standing in their way. Finally they've decided it's time for them to live the rest of their lives together, and none of us could have hoped for anything else. We're here to celebrate the union of these two indescribable ladies. So, without any further adieu, let's get this thing going, yeah?"

He looked again at the two girls, and then stated, "Clarke and Lexa have each decided to write their own vows, and I think it's time we all hear them. Let's go in alphabetical order, so Clarke, you're up."

"Thanks Monty, make me go first," Clarke joked, rolling her eyes at him, making a few people laugh, and then she looked back at Lexa. "Lexa, I..." she closed her eyes and shook her head before she opened them again. "What can I say? I love you. More than... More than I ever knew I could love someone, I love you. You stole my heart that first summer we had together at Camp Ark, and I don't think you've ever given it back. Which is fine, because I like leaving it with you. I know that you keep both it and me safe, but more than that I know you take care of it." She paused for a moment, swallowing as she felt the burn in the back of her throat, and Lexa squeezed her hands, and it was only then that she continued. "You've always been taking care of me, Lexa, even before I realized I needed taking care of. Everything you've ever done was to take care of me. Even when you broke up with me before you left for college and the Marines, I know it was just to take care of me. You've always put me first, Lexa. You've always put everyone first, always too busy taking care of others to take care of yourself. But that's okay now Lexa, because I'm going to take care of you. I vow, that from now until I die, I am going to love you and take care of you, Lexa, because you are my whole world. Monty said that being a surgeon is my dream: it's not. You are. You are my dream Lexa, and now that I have you back I'm never letting go of that dream again. Never."

Lexa had to fight against the tears in her own eyes and the burn of her throat, especially when she heard Monty, the tears evident in his voice, say, "Lexa?"

"Clarke," Lexa breathed, her tone quiet, but she was sure everyone could hear her due to the silence from them all. "I do not know how I got to be so lucky," she said honestly, and Clarke let out a little watery laugh, along with a few people in the crowd behind them. "Deciding to be a counselor at Camp Ark when I was sixteen was the best decision I have ever made. I thought I knew what to expect when I left home that first summer: I thought I would spend the time teaching dance, taking care of a bunch of kids, earn some money and then just go home. I had it all planned out. And then you came along and changed it all. You have a, a talent for completely throwing me off, which is not something most people can do." She heard a few of her people murmur their agreement, but ignored them, her lips only quirking up at the noise. "I can remember the exact moment I began falling for you that summer. Do you know when that was?" Clarke merely raised an eyebrow, a single tear rolling down her face even as she smiled. Lexa lifted one hand and gently brushed the tear away, letting her fingers linger against her cheek, feeling the blonde press into the touch. "That first time we met in the clearing. You interrupted me while I was trying to plan out my next dance class, and somehow we ended up dancing together."

"You used me to see how your kids would pick up on the dance, because like me they 'didn't exactly have any talent for it,'" Clarke quoted, a teasing in her tone that made a number of people laugh.

"You are the one who claimed not to have any talent for dancing," Lexa reminded her, completely ignoring the crowd around them. "But I remember being unable to take my eyes off you. With every move, I found myself trying not to stare, and even without realizing it, I knew I was falling for you. From that moment, you had me hooked, and every day since I've continued to fall for you." She paused then, her hand falling back down to clasp with Clarke's again, and then she continued, "You say I have your heart: that is good, because you have mine, Clarke. You have had it ever since that moment in the clearing by the lake. You have had it every moment since; you had it when we returned to school, you had it when I left for college, and you had it every day I was in the Marines. You have my heart, Clarke, and I never want it back. Now all I want is to live, every day, seeing your face. I want to be able to reach out and find your hand, your smile. I want to look and see those beautiful eyes staring back at me. I love you Clarke, and I will continue to love you until death and after."

Lexa could feel the tears running down her cheeks as she watched the same tears run down Clarke's. They didn't care though: these tears symbolized the love they felt for each other, so these tears they would happily cry.

They were not the only ones.

All around them they heard sniffles coming from the audience, and for a moment they turned to look out at the crowd, finding few dry faces among them. Every one of Lexa's people had tears streaming down their faces, and Lexa couldn't stop the smile from growing on her face from that realization. Clarke's own smile grew when she saw Bellamy, Wells, her parents, Gustus, Jasper and Maya all crying as well. She then let out a small laugh when she turned and saw that Monty was also crying. He held up a finger, telling them to hold on a second, and then took a long, deep breath.

"Phew," he finally breathed out, and then looked out to the audience. "Alright, well now that that just about killed us all, let's move on." He turned to Lincoln and Octavia, both whom also had tears streaking down their cheeks, and asked, "Does the ring-bearer have the rings?"

"Y-yeah," Octavia croaked, sniffing, before she and Lincoln stepped forward with Jonas, their little ring-bearer. His parents held out the rings, handing them to Monty, and then they stepped back. Monty handed the first ring to Clarke, telling her, "Place this ring on Lexa's finger, and repeat after me." Clarke nodded, gently taking Lexa's hand and sliding the ring on her finger. "I, Clarke Griffin, take you, Alexandria Woods, to be my wife."

"I, Clarke Griffin, take you, Alexandria Woods, to be my wife," Clarke whispered, her eyes turning up to meet Lexa's.

"I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you in times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness."

"I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you in times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness," Clarke repeated, eyes scanning Lexa's.

"I promise to give you respect, love and loyalty through all the trials and triumphs of our lives together."

Clarke's lips quirked up into a bigger smile as she echoed, "I promise to give you respect, love and loyalty through all the trials and triumphs of our lives together."

"This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives."

More tears fell down her face as Clarke promised, "This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives."

"Awesome," Monty murmured, unable to keep his excitement in. He turned to Lexa, handing her the second ring, and said, "Lexa, place the ring on Clarke's finger, and repeat after me. "I, Alexandria Woods, take you, Clarke Griffin, to be my wife."

Slowly Lexa slid the ring on Clarke's finger, and then just as slowly repeated, "I, Alexandria Woods, take you, Clarke Griffin, to be my wife."

"I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you in times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness."

"I will share my life with yours, build our dreams together, support you in times of trouble, and rejoice with you in times of happiness," she said, her gaze focused solely on the blonde.

"I promise to give you respect, love and loyalty through all the trials and triumphs of our lives together."

Lexa brushed her thumb across the back of Clarke's hand as she whispered, "I promise to give you respect, love and loyalty through all the trials and triumphs of our lives together."

"This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives."

Lexa could feel her heart swelling in her chest as she promised, "This commitment is made in love, kept in faith, lived in hope, and made new every day of our lives." Clarke met her smile, matching it with one of her own as her tears continued to fall.

Monty nodded to them both, his own tears flowing freely without him even trying to stop them, as he said, "And now: Clarke, do you take Lexa to be your wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?"

"I do," Clarke answered easily, her voice ringing out over the entire crowd.

"And do you, Lexa, take Clarke to be your wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" Monty asked, turning the attention to the blonde.

"Longer," Lexa replied, nodding, "I do, but for so much longer."

Monty grinned, and then looked out to the audience, gesturing to the two women, and declared, "Then it is my pleasure, by the power vested in me by the internet, it is my great honor to declare you Mrs. and Mrs. Griffin-Woods." He paused for a minute, watching as the two gripped each others hands tighter, their eyes glowing as their smiles widened. He then rolled his eyes, telling them, "Well come on already, kiss your wife! We all know you want to!"

And so they did. Just like that, they leaned forward, arms wrapping around each other, their bodies pressing close together, and then their lips were together, drinking in the other. Their tears mixed together as their cheeks bumped, hands reaching up to wipe the wetness from the others face, but they didn't break the kiss, staying together because with this kiss, with this ceremony and the words they had just said, they were together, finally and forever, they were together.

If they had been paying attention to anything else, they would have argued over who started it. Clarke would have insisted that it all began with Raven's muttered, "About fucking time," made only stronger by Octavia's applause quickly following, the small brunette too focused on keeping her tears from completely taking her over to scold her friend for her choice of language. Lexa would have disagreed; she would have said that instead it began with one of her people, most likely Ryder, the first one to stand up, albeit slowly and a bit shaky on his prosthetic leg, his hands coming together the next moment and only followed by the rest of her unit, all following him to rise, their cheers less controlled as they started to hoot and holler, the giant grins plastered across their faces as they cheered on their Heda and the terrifying Wanheda who kinda didn't look at all terrifying at the moment.

But they weren't paying attention, so they didn't know who started the cheers that suddenly surrounded them. They had no clue who began it or how it got to be so chaotic and deafening, but even with all the noise neither girl even knew it was happening. Instead they held on to the other, arms wrapped over shoulders once the tears were wiped from their faces and fingers digging into hair that withstood the bombardment because that's what good hairspray was meant to do, and their mouths remained firmly together, smiles pulling at the corners of each. Neither focused on anything but the woman in her arms, held close to her as she would always be, had always been, even when they were apart, because they were in love, had been in love practically since that first day at camp, and now they were going to spend the rest of their lives together.

And you know what? Everything about that felt absolutely perfect.

And... that's it. "The Note" is over. You guys have no idea how weird that is for me. For months now this story has been my main focus, and now it's done, and I just think that's so weird.

But! It means that it's time to move on to a new story! I was going to take a short break from writing, but with the news that season three is going to be starting soon (again, YAY!), I've decided not to, and instead am going to be diving right into "Unbroken," since I'd like to get a decent ways into that before season three starts. Unfortunately that does mean that I really won't be working on "Continuum" for a little while, which means we will have to leave Clarke and Lexa (in this universe at least) where they are for a while. I still have every intention of writing it though, so you just have to be patient with me, and hopefully "Unbroken" will be able to tide you over in the meantime. Be looking for the first chapter of that in the next week or so, as I really do plan on starting it very, very soon.

Again, thank you all so much for your support and love of this story, and for the final time I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on "The Note!" So please: review, message me, favorite, follow, or just read, do whatever you're most comfortable with, but know that I hope you enjoyed!