Abby was truly a disaster on two feet. There she sat, late into the evening hours, scanning desperately over a set of maps and charts. In ten days Camp Jaha was sending out a team to make connections with a Grounder tribe to the north, and they needed to be ready. She, as Chancellor, needed to make sure that they were ready.

But unfortunately, Abby had no clue what she was doing. Being hopelessly stubborn, she'd refused the help that Bellamy and Lincoln had offered, claiming that she was Chancellor, and perfectly capable. What a blatant lie that had been. Abby was a doctor, a healer, not an expert navigator. She wasn't one of those people who could tell just by scanning a map what was the safest, most effective route to avoid getting her people killed. She simply wasn't. Who she really needed for this was..

As if he could read her mind (and some days she wouldn't put even that past him), Marcus Kane sauntered into the meeting room. Her eyes flashed over him and she found herself smiling to herself, finding comfort in his familiarity. Marcus was the definition of dependability, down to the very last and most insignificant detail. Before even looking at him she knew that he was wearing his signature black jacket, the scruff of his beard was visible yet manageable, and he smelled of the forest. These details weren't of any great significance to her; it was simply fact. It was simply Marcus.

"Chancellor," he bowed slightly, flashing her one of his famous smirks.

"Marcus," she replied shortly, perhaps a bit more harshly than intended.

Her abrupt tone caused him to raise an eyebrow before joining her at the table.

"What's all this?"

"Lincoln's charts. I'm trying to figure out the best poss-"

"Charts? Abby, it's late. We have plenty of time to figure out what route we're going to take."

"Ten days," she shot back exasperatedly. "We have ten days to make sure that we have a plan to get our people there and back safely."

"Exactly, Abby. We have ten days. That is more than enough time to figure all this out." Marcus gently removed her hands from the papers and folded them up. "And besides, we don't have any enemies to worry about anymore. This is a peaceful mission."

"Something could go wrong!"

"There is always something that could go wrong," he pointed out, "but as of right now, there is absolutely no need to worry."

She glared at him before running an exasperated set of hands through her hair. Abby found herself closing her eyes and picturing her life on the Ark. She'd been a doctor. All she had to worry about had been her patients, not every single living one of their people.

Marcus jolted her from her musings by grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the chair.

"Marcus, what the hell are-"

"Oh, lighten up, Chancellor. You look like you could use a drink."

xxxxxxx

After Abby's fourth glass of Monty and Jasper's moonshine, Marcus found himself regretting his latest bright idea. They were sitting at the edge of the camp, just inside the fence, and Abby Griffin was the definition of drunk.

"So I told Jackson that he could go screw himself if he was going to keep acting like he was a better doctor than me."

"Well that was very eloquent of you," Marcus replied lightly. "What did Jackson have to say about that?"

"He just laughed," Abby fumed, a fire dwelling behind her eyes. "You know, sometimes I get the feeling that people around here don't appreciate me at all."

"Is that right?"

"People think I'm useless as Chancellor."

Marcus was surprised when Abby then shimmied across the grass towards him, leaning into his ear to continue their conversation in a hushed whisper.

"And do you want to know what else? They're right." Abby couldn't contain her giggles, as if this was the most hilarious thing in the world. "I mean, I wasn't Chancellor for thirty seconds before I let my teenage daughter take over for me."

Abby started laughing louder. She couldn't control it. A fit of giggles so intense overtook her, that she couldn't help but leaning into him, resting her head against his chest as she rode out the hilarity.

"Marcus, I am a mess."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone," he leaned down and whispered in her ear with a smile.

"Well, that's good, because we don't need the whole camp knowing that their leader is crazy!"

With that, she shook her head wildly, the top of her head colliding with his jaw. They groaned in unison at the pain, before laughing some more. Marcus lifted his hand and began to tuck the stray strands of hair out of her face. It had been an unconscious gesture; he hadn't even noticed what he was doing until it was happening.

"Marcus Kane," she slurred, grabbing his hand and examining it, before changing her point of interest to his face. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"What-"

"All of this: the liquor and the moonlight and the hair touching. Do you want me?"

"Ah, you've got me all figured out." He smiled down at her.

"Well, you're not exactly hard to read."

"I'll keep that in mind as one of my skills I can work on. Maybe I'll tackle it while you work on your alcohol tolerance."

He stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her to her unsteady feet.

"Can you walk?"

"I can walk," she scoffed at him.

But evidently, this was not the case. After only a few timid steps, she nearly collapsed to the ground. Marcus rushed over to her and wrapped a gentle arm around her waste, steadying her.

"Case in point. You are trying to woo me."

"I am trying," he responded, "to make sure that our best doctor isn't out of commission because of a sprained ankle."

"Excuses, excuses," she mumbled irritably as he helped her back to camp.

xxxxxx

Being taken care of wasn't something that Abby was used to, and she could not deny that it was a nice change. She'd merely expected Marcus to drop her off at her door and tell her that he'd see her in the morning. Instead, he'd brought her inside and placed her carefully in her bed, tucking the blankets up to her chin. He then began bustling around her cabin, retrieving her water bottle and some dried meat that each person kept in their quarters.

"Use both of these," he advised her, "and tomorrow morning will be much more pleasant for you."

The Ground had truly changed Marcus. Councilor Kane from the Ark wouldn't have given a damn if she even made it back home, let alone trying to prevent her from getting a hangover. Earth suited him in every way, softening everything about him. Abby had noticed the biggest difference in his eyes. In space, his eyes had been cold, ruthless and unchanging, no matter the circumstances. Down on the Ground, those eyes showed kindness, remorse and life. It was a nice, if not perplexing, change.

"Well, it's late."

"It was late when you took me out for the first drink," Abby reminded him.

"Very true," he smiled at the woman who looked so small underneath all of the blankets.

Silence fell between them. It wasn't an uncomfortable one; there simply wasn't much left to be said. Her eyes wandered up to meet his, and she was surprised to see that his had already been locked on her. His gaze was slightly narrowed, as if he was looking for something. For what, she had no idea.

"Well," he said, after a long period of not speaking at all. "Goodnight, Abby."

He turned to the door, but was cut off by her voice.

"Thank you, Marcus."

"For what?" Marcus asked softly.

"For tonight. You looked out for me."

"Always," he smiled with a shake of his head. "You're my Chancellor, I have to look out for you."

"Well, it's appreciated." Abby smiled at him sleepily. "Goodnight, Marcus."

A while after he'd finally slipped out the door, in the short moments before Abby Griffin slipped out of consciousness, she wondered whether or not Marcus Kane would visit her in her dreams.