Hello my wonderful readers, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! As my final gift to you this holiday season, here is the first chapter of "Continuum." I really hope you all enjoy it. For anyone who doesn't know, this is the sequel to my story "The Note." While I advise reading that before reading this, I don't think it's exactly necessary. A lot of what will be written in this story is directly related to the previous story, but this is its own tale. Also, "Unbroken" is still my main focus right now, but I will be updating this story periodically as well, and honestly, the more I know you guys like this and are interested in it, probably the more I will update. So yeah, let me know your thoughts! Thanks everyone!

I do not own "The 100" or any of its characters. Unfortunately.

She felt a pair of lips graze lightly against her neck, and Clarke smiled before she even opened her eyes. She knew those lips anywhere, whether she was dreaming or awake, so it was easy, in that place dancing between sleep and consciousness, to turn into them, and then they were against her own lips and she was still smiling. She felt the lips pull up into a smile as well, and it was only then that she finally opened her eyes, the light of the morning streaming into their bedroom window but blocked by the beautiful face pressed against hers. She felt a hand move to her neck, a finger brushing against her jaw softly even as she watched the person above her open her own eyes, and then the corners of those green eyes crinkled as the smile made its way to them. Clarke felt her own smile grow as her hand moved up to cup the other woman's cheek, deepening the kiss for just a moment before their lips parted.

"Good morning," Lexa whispered, her fingers brushing against the blonde's jaw again. "Happy anniversary."

Clarke's smile grew before she lifted her head up, capturing those lips once again, loving the feel of their mouths together just as much as she had the first time they ever kissed. "Good morning to you," she replied as she pulled back, her smile obvious even in her tone. "Happy anniversary." Lexa's smile only grew, before she leaned down, fingers wrapping in her hair to pull her closer as their lips came together again. They fell into their rhythm, a rhythm they had developed after so many years of marriage, pushing and pulling against each other easily, fingers tangled in hair or brushing against skin. The blankets on top of them moved as they did, coming untucked as Lexa moved to straddle Clarke's hips, their lips still together. The brunette's fingers moved from the blonde's face, trailing between their bodies and hovering against the hem of Clarke's t-shirt, the blonde shivering as she felt the pads of her fingers just barely brush against her stomach.

Just as Lexa's fingers were about to dance up Clarke's shirt, they heard a small crash from outside of their room, as though two pots had been hit together, though whether it had been done accidentally or on purpose neither could tell. They paused in their movements, lips coming apart as Lexa picked her head up, tilting just barely to the side. Clarke mirrored the action, listening for further noise as well, and now that they were focused on it, they could hear dull movements and the sound of people talking from the kitchen below them. Clarke turned to look at the clock on their bedside table and whistled.

"They're up before eight? On a Saturday?" she said, the surprise clear in her voice. Lexa's eyebrows rose in reply, her own shock clear.

"The world must be ending," she replied, and then carefully sat up, swinging her leg over so she no longer straddled her wife. She heard Clarke sigh wistfully and turned, giving her a grin before she stood up, holding her hand out. "Come on," she said, watching as the blonde sat up and took her hand, allowing her to pull her out of bed, "Let's go see what those daughters of yours are doing."

"When they're up before eight they're your daughters," Clarke argued, making Lexa's grin only grow, but let the brunette lead the way from their bedroom. Walking down the hall, they peaked into both bedrooms, and sure enough neither of their daughters were in their beds, an extremely strange occurrence so early on a Saturday morning. They made their way down the stairs, fingers still lazily wrapped around each other, and then turned the corner into their kitchen. There they found both daughters standing next to the stove with two pans in front of them.

"Hey, watch it Sky, that grease is hot!" they heard their oldest daughter exclaim, nudging her sister over slightly so that she had more room to work with the pan in front of her.

"I can't control where the grease goes, Tris, it's not like the bacon's gonna listen to me!" their youngest daughter replied, very much sounding like the teenager she almost was.

Clarke interrupted them before it could go any further, asking loudly, "Alright, who are you two and what did you do with my children?"

Lexa lifted her nose in the air, catching the scent of bacon cooking, and added, "And what do we do to keep you? Something smells good."

Tris and Skylar both turned around, shooting grins at their mothers before they exclaimed together, "Surprise! Happy anniversary!"

Both women's smiles only grew as they moved to sit at the bar stools they had set up next to the small island that separated the kitchen from their dining room table.

"Aww, you guys didn't have to do this," Clarke told them, shooting them both a thankful smile.

Tris just shrugged, turning around and flipping the three pancakes on the griddle in front of her.

"Yeah, we know we didn't have to, but we wanted to," she replied, and then once each pancake was flipped she turned back around and shot a grin at her mother, adding, "Plus it keeps Mama from trying to cook you breakfast. This way none of us had to wake up to the fire alarm."

Clarke let out a laugh, but Lexa scowled at the older girl.

"Hey, I can make pancakes," she argued, and Tris just raised her eyebrows at her, a habit she easily could have picked up from either of her mothers. It was Skylar who answered though, not bothering to turn around as she said, "No offense Mama, but the last time you tried to make pancakes you almost burned the kitchen down. This is just safer." Tris grinned before she turned back around, and Clarke had to stifle another laugh as Lexa just glared harder at her daughters. She nudged the brunette's side, catching her attention, before she said quietly, "I love your burnt pancakes."

"Burnt or raw," they heard Tris mutter as she lifted the three pancakes expertly from her griddle and placed them on a plate she had ready and waiting beside her. As soon as they were out she was lifting the bowl of pancake batter, pouring little pools of it on to the griddle. While she worked, Skylar used a set of tongs to carefully lift the cooked bacon from the pan in front of her and put it on her own prepared plate, the paper towel already on it soaking up the extra bacon grease.

Lexa rolled her eyes, but then just let out a long sigh. It was a long running joke in their family that she couldn't cook, and the unfortunate part of the joke was that it was completely true, even if she tried to deny it. She clearly remembered the smoke that filled up the kitchen the last time she had tried to make pancakes and bacon, and she imagined even if she could forget it, her oldest daughter would never let her.

"Alright, enough about my cooking abilities," she said, and then heard all three of them chorus, "Or lack there of." Tris and Skylar high-fived each other, laughing, and Lexa turned to glare at her wife whose own smile barely faltered under her glare.

"I'm sorry sweetie," the blonde told her, squeezing her fingers tighter, "But you can't cook and we all know it. We still love you, though."

Lexa was about to reply when a black figure jumped up onto the surface in front of her, walking gracefully before her. The cat turned to her, eyes meeting her own, and she turned her attention to the cat, choosing to let the conversation of her poor cooking skills drop.

"Panther, down," she said, free hand moving to the cat who just gave her a look as she lifted him off of the counter and bent over to gingerly drop him to the floor, his feet easily breaking the fall. He shot her a look before he sat and began licking himself, acting as though he hadn't just been caught somewhere he knew he wasn't supposed to be.

Seeing the cat Clarke frowned, looking around.

"Where's Pauna?" she asked, knowing that if they were all there then the old dog shouldn't be far away.

"She's right here," Skylar replied, turning around and smiling down at the floor by their feet, and the two mothers lifted themselves up slightly in their chairs to find the old Boxer/Pitbull mix laying on the floor on the other side of the island. She lifted her head up slightly when they moved, sending them both one of her doggy grins, but didn't get up from her spot on the floor. A moment later Panther moved around the island, going straight for the dog and sitting next to her as though he were watching out for his old friend.

Lexa raised her eyebrows at her youngest daughter, saying, "You've been feeding her bacon, haven't you?"

The young girl merely rolled her eyes before she replied, "I only gave her one piece." Her mother just shook her head, the corners of her mouth pulling up into the smallest of grins.

The family continued talking as the two daughters continued making breakfast, and when they were about done their mothers got up and moved to get plates and silverware to set the table with. Lexa was just pouring orange juice into the cups Clarke had placed on the table when the blonde's cell phone rang, the ring tone one they all easily recognized. Another smile growing on her face, Clarke moved to the counter where her cell phone sat and picked it up, immediately putting it on speaker phone as she answered.

"Cal!" she exclaimed, "Even you're up early. It really is the end of the world."

"Hey Mum, yeah, I am," they heard him say from over the phone, "I just wanted to wish you both a happy anniversary! I figured you'd all probably be eating around now. Hey Ma."

"Morning Kiddo," Lexa called, stepping over to Clarke so that she could be heard easier. "So you knew about this breakfast surprise, huh?"

"Uh yeah, who do you think gave them the idea?" they heard their son say, which just made Tris scoff.

"No you didn't," she replied, rolling her eyes at the phone as if her brother could see it. "This was totally my idea."

"It was definitely Cal's idea," Skylar said softly, causing her sister to glare at her but making her brother laugh.

"See? Sky knows the truth," Cal told them, but then changed the subject. "But anyway, it doesn't matter. I just wanted to wish you guys a happy anniversary and say I'm sorry I can't be there."

"No worries Cal," Clarke replied, holding the phone up closer to her face. "We know you've gotta work. Since I've gotta work too this afternoon, I don't think you're missing much other than this amazing breakfast your sisters are making us."

"How's the gallery?" Lexa asked, and they heard the sigh from the other end of the line.

"Pretty much dead," he groaned, "Which I guess isn't surprising, considering most of the student body's gone home for the summer. And most of the townies don't really care about coming into the gallery, so we don't get many people at all."

"What do you expect?" Tris asked, pulling the last stack of pancakes from the griddle, "It's a college art gallery. No one wants to spend their summer in a boring art gallery except for you, ya geek."

"Tris," Lexa warned, raising her eyebrows, but the girl just returned the look.

"What?" she asked, "It's true."

"Well I'm hoping to come see it soon," Clarke told her son, ignoring the looks between Lexa and Tris, "I'm excited; it's been way too long since I've been able to spend some time in an art gallery, summer time or not."

"See?" Tris said, not taking her eyes off of her mother while she gestured to the other one with her spatula. "They're both geeks."

"And proud of it," Clarke informed her, winking. Tris just rolled her eyes.

"Definitely," Cal agreed, and then there was a pause as they heard some movement on his end of the line, before he said, "But anyway, I gotta go now. Bye all, and again, happy anniversary Moms!"

"Thanks Calvin," Clarke said, "Bye, and I hope you get some people in the gallery today. Love you!"

"Bye dude, and thanks, and love you. We'd better see you soon," Lexa added, and both girls just called out, "Bye Cal!"

"Thanks all, and yeah, I love you too, and I'll see what I can do, Ma," he said before they heard the line beep, and then he was gone.

"Alright, so now that that's done, time to eat!" Tris exclaimed, bringing the plate of pancakes to the table, Skylar following her with the bacon.

"Sounds good to me!" Clarke exclaimed, sitting in her usual seat at the table, "I'm starving!"

"Me too!" Skylar agreed, grinning as she sat down, quickly stabbing one of the pancakes with her fork and placing it on her plate. The family all began to dig in, happy noises coming from all of them as they took those first few bites.

"I admit, these are much better than I could make," Lexa conceded, earning a smile from her youngest daughter and a grin and an eye roll from her oldest.

"Duh," Tris replied, her tone teasing as she took another bite of her pancake followed quickly by a bit of bacon.

Clarke just shook her head at them, before she looked at both girls, telling them, "Don't forget that we're going over to Nana's for a little while this morning to help her out with some things." She looked up at Lexa, adding, "It probably won't take very long, but we should probably take two cars, in case I have to leave for work before it's all done."

Lexa merely shrugged, giving her a nod as she said, "That works for me."

"Can't we just go over early?" Skylar asked, tilting her head a bit, giving her mothers a look. "I mean, we're all up anyway, so why not just go early? Then we can take one car, and we'll definitely be done by the time you have to go to work."

Clarke looked at Lexa, meeting her eyes, and the other woman simply shrugged again.

"That works for me if it works for your mother," the brunette simply said before she took a bite of bacon.

The blonde nodded before telling them, "Alright, then I'll call Nana when we're done eating, and see if she minds if we come over a little early. Does that work for you, Tris?"

The teenager just shrugged, much in the way her mother had, and then replied, "Yeah, sure, that's fine with me."

"Alright then," Clarke said, a smile on her lips, and then they all continued to eat, easy conversation going around, often times interrupted with a bit of laughter. It was a simple morning, but a special morning, because they very seldom got to start a day like this, sitting together as a family. To both women, it was already an amazing anniversary, and it was barely past eight.

/

"Can I go to the Birchs' tonight?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Lexa saw Clarke raise her eyes at their daughter via the rear-view mirror.

"Are Octavia and Lincoln going to be there?" the blonde simply asked, and Lexa could practically hear the eye roll she received as a response.

"Yeah, they're gonna be there, but I don't get why they always have to be," Tris complained, and from her own look in the rear-view mirror Lexa could see the teenager cross her arms across her front. "It's not like me and Jonas are gonna do anything. We're just friends."

"Sure you are," Skylar muttered quietly, earning a side-long glare from her sister. The two mothers tried to contain their grins, keeping their faces straight as Clarke simply replied, "It's not that we don't trust you, Tris, we're just more comfortable with it when his parents are there. Especially if the twins are there too."

"Just two more reasons we wouldn't be doing anything," the older girl growled, but then just sighed and asked, "So I can go?"

The two parents shot a quick look at each other, Lexa only taking her eyes off the road for a moment before they both nodded. "Yeah, you can go," the brunette told her, earning a grin from her daughter.

"Cool, thanks," Tris replied, quickly grabbing her cell phone from her pocket and shooting a text which both mothers assumed was to Jonas to tell him the news. Neither mother noticed the little grin at the corners of her mouth as her gaze darted out the window before she started her text. Her sister did though, and gently elbowed her side, sending her a silent warning. The older sister merely stuck her tongue out, earning an eye roll from Skylar which perfectly mirrored the one she had done just moments ago.

Not noticing any of this, Clarke offhandedly asked while she looked out her own window from the passenger's seat, "What are you and Jonas gonna do tonight?"

Tris just shrugged, saying, "I don't know. Probably just watch movies like usual. Try to avoid the twin terrors."

"Andy and Liv are not terrors and you better not ever say that around them," her mother scolded, blue eyes piercing at her from the mirror once again.

"Mum, all little siblings are terrors," Tris replied, earning an immediate, "Hey!" from Skylar. The older girl just looked at her and shrugged, saying, "What, it's true."

Trying to once again contain a grin, Lexa pointed out, "Tris, you do remember that you too are a little sibling, yes?" The girl met her gaze in the mirror and nodded, telling her, "Yeah, I know, and if you ask Cal I guarantee he'd tell you I'm a terror too. Just like Sky is to me."

"You are way more of a pain than I am," Skylar informed her, glaring at her, and Tris just returned the look with a grin.

"Nah, it's definitely you," Tris declared and Skylar opened her mouth to argue but Clarke cut them both off.

"Alright, enough, both of you," she told them, shaking her head. "Neither of you are terrors or pains, just like Andy and Liv aren't either. Siblings are just siblings, and that's all there is to it."

"Like either of you would know," Tris said, raising her eyebrows and looking between them, "You're both an only child."

Clarke turned slightly in her seat, shooting her a grin while she replied, "Yeah that's true, but I had something worse than siblings: I had Octavia, Raven and Bellamy. Trust me, I didn't need siblings when I had those three to take care of."

"And I had Lincoln and Anya," Lexa added, her eyes moving back up to the mirror for a moment. "There is no one scarier than your Aunt Anya, trust me."

"Accurate," Clarke agreed with a nod, and Tris and Skylar both partially nodded as well.

"Alright, so you have a point," Tris admitted, "But it's still annoying whenever the twins try to barge in and hang out with me and Jonas. If we're gonna babysit we wanna get paid."

"You make it sound like they're five," Clarke said, shaking her head once again. "They're only a year younger than your sister."

Tris shot a look over at Skylar and said, "Yeah, and if we're gonna babysit her we wanna get paid too." This time it was Skylar who stuck her tongue out at Tris.

Lexa was about to say something to her daughter when she turned down the street leading to Clarke's childhood home, and frowned. As she got closer to the house, a number of cars were lined up on the side of the road, and the more she looked at them, the more she recognized them. Clarke must have noticed them too, because her brow pulled down, eyes looking out the window and murmured, "What the..." A moment later Lexa was pulling the car into the driveway and suddenly something else caught their attention, completely making them forget about the cars.

"Calvin!" Clarke exclaimed, a huge smile breaking out on her face, and as soon as the car was parked she was unbuckled and out of the vehicle, hurrying over to where their son sat on the front steps, apparently waiting for them. He grinned when he saw her, standing up and accepting the giant hug she gave him and returning it with equal force. Lexa exited the car only a hair slower, her surprise still clear on her face as she moved over to them both, and he grinned at her from over the blonde's head, holding an arm out so that his other mother could hug him as well, an invitation Lexa quickly accepted. They heard the backseat doors open and then Tris and Skylar got out of the car as well, and when Lexa looked back at them she saw the equally big grins on their faces.

"How, what, what are you doing here?!" Clarke finally asked, pulling away from their son just far enough so that she could look up to meet his eyes. They both had to look up standing this close to him, the nineteen year old almost half a foot taller than Lexa now.

Calvin's grin only grew as he told them, "It's all part of the surprise. I got my shifts switched around at the art gallery, and got here last night. Nana's letting me stay with her, and I helped her get everything ready. I'm here for the next two days before I have to head back."

"Two days? That's wonderful!" Clarke exclaimed, her excitement clear as she squeezed her son again, but Lexa frowned at him, asking, "Help Nana get ready for what?"

He just grinned and stepped back as Tris and Skylar walked past them, both also still grinning as Skylar opened the front door.

"Come on," he just said mysteriously, and Lexa and Clarke looked at each other, both clearly having no idea what was going on, but they followed their children into Clarke's mother's house. They walked through the living room and into the kitchen, seeing little that seemed to be out of place, but as soon as they walked into the kitchen and could see out the opened sliding-glass door, both of their jaws dropped. Above the doorway hung a long banner which read, "Happy 15 Year Anniversary" with pictures of both of them sketched on it. Even more surprising than that, however, was the fact that standing in Abby's backyard was almost everyone who they considered to be family.

"Surprise!" everyone roared as they stepped out onto the deck, and both women's gaze swept around the yard. Abby and Gustus both stood on the deck, beaming at them. Beside them stood Bellamy and Echo, their eight-year old daughter River standing between them and grinning up at them. Octavia, Lincoln and Anya all stood to the other side of the deck, a satisfied smirk on Octavia's face as she saw the look of shock from the two women. With them stood Raven, her fourteen-month old son Tony balanced on her hip while her teenage son Jason stood beside her. Behind them stood Ryder, his hand on Raven's shoulder while Tony gripped a finger on his other hand in his little fist. Down on the lawn they found Octavia and Lincoln's children, Andy and Liv already in bathing suits and sitting by the pool while their older siblings sat at one of the picnic tables that seemed to have been set up just for this occasion. With Emma and Jonas at the table were Jasper and Maya and Monty and Miller, while at the other table Jasper and Maya's children, Wyatt and Parker, sat with Monty's son Spencer. Everyone was looking at the two women still standing in the doorway, and everyone was smiling at them.

"What... What is this?" Clarke finally asked, her shock wearing off just enough for her to get the words out.

"This is your surprise anniversary party," Octavia informed her, moving over to stand between them and slinging her arms over both of their shoulders. "And by the looks on your faces, it is most definitely a surprise. Nice job guys!" The end bit was directed to their three children, all of whom had stepped to the side to make it easier for their mothers to take it all in, the proud grins only growing on their faces as their mothers turned to them.

"You guys did this?" Lexa asked, her eyes once again sweeping over the people in the backyard, a smile slowly forming on her lips as her shock wiped away.

"Eh, it was no big deal," Tris replied with a shrug, eyes still sparkling as she looked at her parents. "Just took a few phone calls."

"Um, some phone calls and some planning, actually," Cal said, giving his sister a look, but then he turned back to his mothers and his smile returned, adding, "But yeah, I guess it wasn't too difficult to bring it all together. Everyone was more than happy to make this work."

"God, you have no idea how hard it was to keep it a secret," Raven informed them, stepping up while she shifted Tony to her other hip. One corner of her mouth turned up in a smirk as she said, "This has been planned for weeks now, and we've all had to keep it quiet. Not as easy as you might think."

"So I take it you didn't actually need help with anything, huh Mom?" Clarke asked, turning to her mother who shot her a smile.

"No, we just needed an excuse to get you both here," Abby told her, "And it made sense to have the party here since it's nearby and since there's the pool for the kids to play in."

As if on cue, they all heard a splash and turned to see Andy and Liv surfacing in the water, clearly having decided they had waited long enough to get in the pool. As their laughter rang out, Clarke just shook her head, a smile on her face. Suddenly she frowned though, looking at them all as she said, "Thanks for this guys, it's incredibly amazing, but I have to work this afternoon, remember? I can't stay for long."

"Wrong," Tris sang, and then Octavia rolled her eyes before telling the blonde, "Please Clarke, we got you out of classes for two days after my wedding, do you really think we weren't able to get you off of one afternoon of work?"

"I'm sorry, what?" Clarke asked, raising her eyebrows, and the smaller woman's grin just grew. It was Raven who answered, however, informing her, "Well actually, this time it was all Abby, we really had nothing to do with it, but I am hurt that you would think we wouldn't think of such a little detail as that. Truly hurt. It's like you don't know us at all."

Ignoring Raven, Clarke turned to her mother, raising her eyebrows at her, and Abby simply smiled at her.

"I got Charlotte in on it," she admitted, "After she heard about what we had planned, she made sure not to schedule you for any surgeries or appointments today, but promised to keep it a secret. So you don't have work today. Instead you are expected to spend the afternoon with all of us so that we can all celebrate your anniversary."

"I have no objections to this idea," Lexa murmured, turning to Clarke and giving her a small smile, and after another moment of processing it all and a shake of her head, the blonde's lips curled into a matching smile.

"Well alright then," she finally said, meeting her wife's eyes, "Let the party begin!"

/

"Olivia, do not push your brother into the pool!" Octavia exclaimed, sending a warning look over to where her youngest daughter stood at the side of the pool. The little girl grinned sheepishly up at her mother as her brother spluttered to the surface, wiping water from his eyes.

Bellamy, sitting beside Octavia, scoffed.

"Yeah, you're one to talk," he drawled, "Cause you've never pushed your own brother into that exact same pool. Hypocrite."

His sister shot a warning look at him, though the corners of her lips pulled up into a grin as she told him, "Watch it Bell, or I'll have to do it again."

Clarke grinned at the siblings, telling him, "Yeah Bellamy, that's one of those, 'do as I say, not as I do,' parent things." He merely scoffed again, rolling his eyes at both of them, before turning to find his own daughter. River sat on the lawn with Parker and Spencer, the three kids playing some kind of game, and after the quick look he turned back to his friends.

"Yeah well, how often does the 'do as I say, not as I do' thing actually work?" he asked them, raising his eyebrows at them. His eyes went right to his sister as he added, "Especially with your kids. You know I love them all, but all four of them is like a mini Octavia, and sometimes I just can't handle that. Growing up with just the one was bad enough for my health."

"Hey!" his sister exclaimed, her hand coming out and smacking his arm lightly, even as Clarke laughed. The brunette turned to shoot a glare at the blonde, and Clarke just shook her head.

"No offense O, but I absolutely know what he means," she told the other girl, "Nobody would ever have to guess that those four are your kids. Especially the twins: they most definitely have their mother's energy."

Octavia looked like she was about to refute that, but then her shoulders just slumped and she rolled her eyes as she admitted, "I know, and it's exhausting."

They both simply laughed at that, and after a moment even Octavia was grinning, her eyes shooting back to the pool where she found the twins, now both in the water and playing with Wyatt.

As her laughter died down, Clarke looked around her. She and the Blake siblings were sitting in some lawn chairs, close enough by the pool so that they could keep an eye on the kids swimming, but not close enough to be crowding their space. At one of the picnic tables sat Raven, Tony on the grass in front of her and grinning every time he stood up to present her with a new blade of grass. Jason sat on the ground as well, his eyes almost never leaving his little brother, the little smile on his face almost non-existent, but for those who really knew him it was obvious. Beside Raven were Monty and Miller, their eyes also on the baby, though every now and then one or the both of them would look up to check on Spencer, still sitting a few yards away from them playing with River and Parker. As the blonde watched, Jasper and Maya moved to the table as well, Maya's attention moving to the baby while Jasper simply grinned at the adults. At the other picnic table she found Calvin and Emma, both in bathing suits now, but both seeming to be content just sitting and talking with each other. Also sitting there was Skylar, and Clarke wasn't at all surprised to see her youngest child with her face in a book, clearly blocking out everything else around her. She shook her head, grinning, and looked past the table, to where Jonas and Tris were coming down the deck, both also now in bathing suits. She watched as Jonas suddenly grinned and then picked Tris up, ran towards the pool, and then first threw her in and then jumped right after. Yeah, no, there was definitely nothing going on there. Nope.

Clarke's attention continued to wander, finding Lincoln, Gustus and Abby all crowding around the grill on the deck, the three clearly trying to get lunch started. Sitting on the other side of the deck she found Anya, Ryder, Echo and Lexa, the four easily chatting about something. Clarke was willing to bet whatever it was was Marine related. Whenever the three ex-Grounders got together, that tended to be what the conversation turned to.

Somehow Lexa must have felt her gaze on her, because a moment later the brunette looked up, meeting Clarke's eyes. The other woman shot a smile at her, her eyes clearly shining even from so far away, and Clarke simply returned the smile. She thought it was strange how even after all this time all it took was a smile from Lexa to get the butterflies churning in her stomach again, and yet that always seemed to be what happened. Even after fifteen years of marriage, Clarke still looked at her wife the same way she had when they first started dating. She hoped that would never change.

Tearing her eyes from Lexa's, the blonde saw her mother move inside. She stood up, telling the siblings not to kill each other while she was gone, and then quickly moved up the deck, shooting Lexa another smile as she passed her, the brunette's hand sticking out and catching hers just briefly before she followed her mother inside. Once in the kitchen she turned to find her mother at the counter, loading rolls and condiments onto a large tray.

"Hey, can I help with anything?" the blonde asked, stepping up beside her mother.

Abby shot her a smile, telling her, "This is your party, you shouldn't help with anything. You should just relax."

She rolled her eyes slightly at the older woman, grinning as she replied, "Come on Mom, you know I don't relax well. What can I do?"

Abby shook her head, but easily gave in, telling her, "Would you like to get the drinks together? There's soda and juice for the kids, and wine and beer for the adults. I have a cooler next to the table that you can put them all in." Clarke looked, and sure enough a large cooler sat next to the table, waiting to be stocked.

The blonde's grin only grew, saying, "Now that is definitely something I can do." She moved to the fridge, opening the door and immediately seeing the sodas and juice on one shelf, and a couple of cases of beer on another. She grabbed the sodas first, setting them on the counter beside her, before doing the same with the juice, and then grabbed the beer. Opening the freezer door she found two bags of ice, and grabbed them both, carrying them over to the cooler. Quickly she opened the bags, having to hit them against the side of the cooler a couple of times to loosen the cubes, and then dumped them in, spreading them out. She then grabbed each end of the cooler, lifting it up and moving it closer to the counter with the drinks, and then began placing all of the drinks inside, pushing them in amongst the ice.

As she worked, Clarke watched her mother gather paper plates, plastic silverware and napkins and add them to her tray. She then stepped around Clarke, digging into the fridge to pull out various dishes of salads: fruit salads, macaroni salads, potato salads, just all kinds of salads. Seeing it all, Clarke just shook her head.

"I really can't believe you guys all did this," she said, her tone telling her mother just how impressed she was. "I really had no idea any of this was happening."

Abby simply shot her a smile, telling her, "It was all your children's idea. Those three planned just about everything."

"That's just... amazing," Clarke murmured, her voice trailing off as her gaze moved back up to the sign that still hung above the sliding doors. Everything about the sign screamed Calvin. Clarke would know those brush strokes anywhere. After all, she'd been the one to introduce him to art twelve years ago, back when he was an angry and scared little boy who didn't really know what was going on. She'd shown him art, showed him how to express himself with brush and pen and paint, and she had been nothing but thrilled when he had told them almost two years ago now that he wanted to go to school for art. Thinking about it, Clarke felt her lips curl up in a small smile.

Abby looked back at her daughter when she noticed the blonde pause in her movements, and turned to see the younger woman looking up at the banner still above the doorway. Also looking up at it, Abby smiled.

"Does it feel like it's really been fifteen years?" she asked her daughter, breaking through the blonde's thoughts.

Clarke's smile grew even as she shrugged.

"Sometimes," she admitted, her gaze breaking away from the banner to move to her mother's face. "Other times it feels like it's been longer, and then there are times when it feels like it was just yesterday Lexa and I were at camp."

Abby returned the smile, telling her quietly, "I know what you mean." Clarke's gaze was pulled to her mother's hands as Abby subconsciously twisted the wedding ring she still wore on her finger. Seeing it, a small pang pulled at the blonde's heart. The pain wasn't nearly as bad as it had once been, but little moments like that still caused it to flare up. Now, standing in the kitchen with her mother, the pain hit her a little harder even as she murmured, "I just wish Dad was here too. That would have made today perfect. I just... miss him."

Her mother moved over to her, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her close. Clarke closed her eyes as she felt the side of her mother's face press against hers, returning the tight hug.

"Oh honey," she heard her mother whisper, "I know. I miss him too. So much, sometimes." They stood like that for a long moment, simply holding each other, but then Abby sighed and pulled back slightly so that she could look at Clarke. Carefully tucking a stray strand of hair behind her daughter's ear, she said, "But your father wouldn't want us to be sad today. He'd want us to be happy, and say we're here to celebrate." She leaned down and kissed her daughter's forehead, an action she had done less and less as the years went by, but that still made them both feel better. Even being a mother now, it still felt good to Clarke, knowing that her own mother was still there to make her feel better whenever it was needed. So the blonde nodded, smiling slightly at Abby, and then pulled away, turning to put the last of the drinks into the cooler. Lastly she grabbed one of the bottles of wine from the counter along with the corkscrew beside it, and put both of them in the cooler before she grabbed each end. She groaned as she lifted the heavy cooler, her muscles screaming at her, but she managed to make her way over to the door, her mother following along behind her with her tray.

Clarke had to turn slightly in order to step out the door, but as soon as she did she let the cooler drop to the floor, its weight too much for her to take it any farther. She heaved it to the side so that it sat against the wall, and then turned to go back inside to grab some of the salads her mother had pulled out of the refrigerator. As she stepped inside she heard someone follow her, and then she felt a pair of arms wrap around her middle. Grinning, the blonde turned around, her arms casually swinging up to rest on her wife's shoulders. Lexa smiled down at her, green eyes scanning her own, before she bent down and closed the small gap between them. Their lips pressed together easily, and as always Clarke's eyes fell closed even as she sighed against her wife. She felt the arms around her tighten, and her arms mirrored the small movement, and together they just stood inside the kitchen for a long moment, simply holding each other and kissing.

Finally Lexa pulled back, the smile still on her face, and even as Clarke returned the look she asked the brunette, "What was that for?"

Lexa merely shrugged, the movement pushing Clarke's arms up with it, before she easily replied, "No reason, really. I just did it because I could."

"Well you are more than welcome to do it again, any time," the blonde informed her, her amusement clear in her tone, and Lexa's smile only grew before she leaned down and quickly pecked her wife's lips again.

"Do not worry," she told her, quick kisses interrupting her words every here and there, "I fully intend to take advantage of that as often as possible." She felt Clarke laugh against her, and she grinned, before she pulled back finally, adding, "However, right now why don't I help you get this food outside? There are a number of people in the backyard, and I imagine they are all hungry." The blonde nodded, and the two moved over to the counters, carefully grabbing all of the food spread out there. Together they brought the salads outside, making their way down the deck steps and to one of the picnic tables. Once all of the food was placed on the table, Lexa stayed there, uncovering each dish and getting each ready to be served, while Clarke headed back inside, quickly opening a cupboard and grabbing a number of wine glasses. As soon as she stepped back onto the deck Octavia saw her and moved over to help, and between the two of them they were quickly pouring wine into the glasses and handing it out to those they knew would want some. While they worked, Clarke's stomach began to make noise, her wonderful breakfast that morning clearly no longer satisfying her hunger, and so she cheered along with everyone else when Lincoln called out to suddenly, "Burgers and hot dogs are ready! Come eat!"

The blonde couldn't help but laugh as the kids all abandoned whatever they were doing to run to the picnic tables, and suddenly the massive hoard of hungry kids swarmed the adults. Lincoln had been prepared though, so as the pile of hot dogs and burgers he had just set out on the table disappeared he was able to quickly replace it with a new pile before he added more food to the grill. Rather than attempt at the food then and risk losing a hand, Clarke just waited, taking a small sip of her wine as she moved over to Lexa. She pressed the beer she'd grabbed from the cooler into her wife's hand, shooting her a smile as she simply said, "Here."

Lexa looked down to find the cold beer being pressed into her hand, and she shot a look of gratitude to her wife.

"Thanks," she replied, quickly popping the cap off and taking a long sip of the beer. She closed her eyes, smacking her lips slightly as she pulled the bottle from her mouth, ignoring the eye roll she received from the blonde as she took another sip from her glass of wine. She managed to stop herself from making a face at Clarke's wine; ever since she'd joined the Marines, Lexa had been a beer drinker, and very seldom drank wine. Clarke, on the other hand, wasn't a big fan of beer, and preferred wine over it every time. The two often teased each other for their choice in drink, and even now all it took was a grin and an eye roll to know what the other person was thinking.

The two waited together until there was an opening around the food, and then they both grabbed plates which they were quick to fill. Once they both had all they wanted, they stepped back to make room for the next people in line, and made their way over to one of the lawn chairs. Clarke sat in one and then scooted over as far as she could, looking up at Lexa through her lashes as she asked, "Sit with me?"

The corner of Lexa's lips curled up before she replied, "I would love to," and with a little maneuvering and luck, they managed to sit together without spilling any food or drink. They ate, their bites interrupted only by light conversation as some of their friends came over to sit next to them, and before long both of their plates were empty and they were just leaning against each other, Clarke's head on Lexa's shoulder while the brunette's head leaned against the blonde's. They were perfectly content to sit there, fingers soon intertwining, even as they laughed along with their friends. Neither really moved until all three of their children came over, sitting on the grass by them, and then they both picked their heads up, smiling at the three of them.

"So were you surprised?" Skylar asked, a small mischievous smile on her face.

Clarke returned the smile, telling her, "Very surprised."

"Good," the youngest of their kids said, giving her mothers a nod.

Tris looked at her brother and sister, grinning as she told them, "We are good, guys. We are damn good."

"Hey, language," Lexa said to her with a raise of her eyebrows, but then her lips curled into a smile as she added, "But yes, you are all damn good, indeed. Thank you for putting this all together."

"It wasn't a problem, Ma," Cal assured her, giving her his own smile. "We just wanted you guys to have something special today. Fifteen years is a big deal." He shrugged, then continued, "Besides, it was fun." Both of his sisters nodded, agreeing. He looked up, and the two mothers noticed him make eye contact with Gustus, sitting over at one of the picnic tables. Gustus nodded and then got up, disappearing into the house, and as he did Calvin got up also, gesturing for his sisters to follow. "In fact, it's not over yet."

Both mothers raised their eyebrows before Clarke asked, "There's more? Really? I think you guys have done enough."

"This surprise isn't from us, it's from Nana and Bampa," Skylar informed them, and then told them, "Just wait here." After receiving a nod from both of them, the three kids got up and followed their grandfather into the house.

Clarke and Lexa watched them going, wondering what was coming next, when Octavia, who was sitting in one of the lawn chairs beside them, pulled their attention back to the group.

"And for my anniversary gift, Lincoln and I will be stealing both of your daughters tonight so that you two can have some alone time," she informed them, smirking at them both. "I believe Calvin is staying here tonight, though he's more than welcome to come to our place also, so you two will have your house all to yourselves. Have fun."

Clarke grinned, her eyes moving over to meet Lexa's. She saw a spark in those green eyes, even as she joked, "The house all to ourselves? Whatever will we do with so much free time and no kids to watch?"

"As if we don't all know exactly what you'll be doing," Raven scoffed, leaning back against Ryder who sat beside her. For once they were baby-less, Tony busy entertaining some of the younger kids on the other side of the yard, Jason with them to keep a close eye on his little brother. "Even after fifteen years of marriage, I doubt anything has changed between you two in the sex department."

"Only that we don't have it nearly as often as we used to," Clarke replied a little wistfully, and then her grin returned as she looked over at her wife once again. "Tonight, however..." She trailed off, not having to finish that thought, everybody there knowing exactly what the two of them would be doing that night.

"And Heda, you do not have to worry about coming into the center tomorrow morning," Ryder added, nodding to Lexa. "I will be running the counseling session so that you have no excuse to get out of bed. Instead you and Wanheda can simply relax." When Clarke beamed at him, he merely nodded to her too.

"Well I like that idea, personally," Clarke told him, grinning. "Thanks Ryder."

Lexa smiled as well, but shook her head as she did so.

"All of the soldiers know why it is I will not be there, don't they?" she asked, to which he just grinned. She groaned and then her face fell against the hand that wasn't still holding Clarke's. "Which means the next time I am in there all they will want to talk about is my sex life with my wife. Thank you, Ryder."

"You are very welcome, Heda," he replied, his grin turning into a smirk as his eyes shone. Lexa merely groaned again before she muttered, "Raven is a terrible influence on you."

"I think you mean a wonderful influence," Raven argued, also grinning before she turned to give Ryder a kiss, which he happily returned.

"No, I definitely mean terrible," Lexa insisted, but she couldn't keep her own lips from curling up into a small smile. She felt Clarke nudge her, and turned her attention to the blonde.

"I think it's a great idea, personally," her wife said, her own eyes shining.

"You are not the one who will have to try to evade an endless stream of questions about our sex life from a bunch of former soldiers," she mumbled, but when Clarke nudged her again she couldn't help but smile.

Before any of them could say anything else they all heard footsteps approaching, and the two women turned in their chair to find Abby, Gustus and their children walking over to them. Behind them trailed everyone else, but that was likely due to the large cake that Calvin carried with him. The two women tried to push themselves up to meet their parents but couldn't easily do so due to the tight squeeze of the chair and Gustus just smiled at them as he shook his head, telling them silently not to worry about it. So they sank back down into the chair, eyeing their parents curiously as they closed the space between them.

"Clarke, Lexa," Abby began, holding something in her arms. "Happy anniversary. In honor of fifteen years of marriage, Gustus and I got together and we put a little something together for you both." She reached out, and Clarke took the large book from her hands.

They quickly realized it was a photo album as Clarke set it against their laps. On the cover of the book it read "Fifteen Years of Marriage: Twenty-Seven Years of Love." Beneath the writing was a picture from their first Christmas with all three of their children. They stood in front of their tree, both in holiday sweaters, and both with large smiles on their faces. Clarke held little Skylar, the two year old looking up at the blonde as though she had no idea what was going on, but smiling none-the-less. Calvin stood in front of Clarke, a large grin on his face as he held up the big case of art supplies he had just opened, and Tris stood beside him and in front of Lexa, a hockey stick in her hand as she also smiled at the camera, her smile just a bit smaller than Calvin's.

"Hey, my first hockey stick!" the same girl now exclaimed, moving so that she could see over her mother's shoulder. "Man, that thing lasted forever."

"It lasted a year and a half before you broke it and needed a new one," Lexa reminded her, sending a small smile to her daughter, "Which yes, is longer than any other has lasted, I think." As Tris grinned at her, Clarke opened the album and her attention was drawn back to it.

The first few pages were filled with pictures from high school, and they weren't the only ones in them. Their friends appeared in a number of them as well, and even their parents appeared in a few. Clarke's fingers ghosted over a picture with her father in it, her finger tips just managing not to actually touch the picture.

"Grandpa Jake," Calvin murmured, and Clarke looked up to meet his eyes.

"How much do you remember about him?" she asked, and he shrugged.

"Some," he answered. His lips pulled into a small smile when he added, "He always made you laugh."

Clarke nodded, her gaze moving back down to the book as she said quietly, "Yeah, he was always really good at that."

She continued through the pages, and soon found pictures from their wedding. She flipped to a picture where baby Jonas stood on a chair, Lincoln holding his sides as the little boy grinned at the camera, wedding cake all over his face and down the front of his little suit. Emma swung an arm around her brother's neck, pulling him down as she crooned, "Aww, look at baby Jojo!"

Many of them laughed, even as Jonas's cheeks turned a slight shade of pink.

"I told you not to call me that," he growled, pushing his sister away from him, but he couldn't help but smile even as he rolled his eyes.

They continued on in the album, soon coming to pictures of first Calvin, and then Calvin, Tris and Skylar, and then they had reached the point where they had truly become a family. Lexa and Clarke looked at each picture, the memories from each taking over as they slowly flipped through the pages. The book held so many memories, so many times that they hoped to never forget, that soon both women felt tears building up in their eyes. They held their life together in their lap, and they felt that life surrounding them as everyone tried to lean in to get a better view. Finally they turned to the last page, a picture of them all at Calvin and Emma's high school graduation, and just about everyone standing there now smiled back at them from that picture.

Finally closing the album, Clarke looked up at her mother and father-in-law, the tears obvious in her eyes but not falling down her face.

"Thank you both," she told them, the sincerity of her words clear in her tone. "Really, just... Thank you."

"We couldn't have gotten anything better," Lexa added, also meeting their eyes, and her sincerity was just as obvious as Clarke's. "This gift," and then she turned to her children and added, "And this day, it is all just perfect. So thank you all."

"Of course," Gustus said, and Abby continued, "We all just love you two so much. You deserve it all."

They all remained there for a minute, the weight of the day and the moment hitting them all, and no one said anything. Finally however Tris stood up, breaking away from the group and pulling Calvin with her who still had the cake in his hands.

"Alright, enough of this sentiment, I'm getting uncomfortable," she stated, and then exclaimed, "Let's eat some cake!" Everyone laughed and exclaimed along with her, and then the entire group migrated over to the nearest picnic table where Calvin finally set the cake, and Gustus grabbed a knife to begin cutting it.

Everybody except Clarke and Lexa. The two women remained where they sat for a moment longer, both looking at the album still resting on their laps. Lexa's hand moved back to Clarke's, once again wrapping her fingers around Clarke's own and gave the hand a little squeeze. Clarke looked up, meeting Lexa's gaze and when she did Lexa smiled softly at her.

"Happy anniversary, Clarke," she whispered. "May we have many, many more that are just as perfect as this."

Clarke returned the smile before she leaned forward, pressing a slow kiss to her wife's lips. As she pulled back she murmured, "Happy anniversary, Lexa. I love you even more now than I did fifteen years ago when I said I do."

Lexa pressed another kiss to Clarke's lips, her free hand moving to cup the blonde's cheek where her finger tips gently brushed against smooth skin. Pulling back, Lexa whispered, "I love you even more than I did when I said I do, too."

They smiled at each other, lost in the moment of just being together and so happy when their oldest daughter's voice broke in.

"Mum, Ma, stop kissing and get over here, or I'm gonna eat your pieces of cake!"

The two grinned, laughter bubbling from their lips, and finally they pulled themselves out of the chair and made their way over to the picnic table, joining the giant family neither had ever known they would have twenty-seven years ago when they sat together on a rock by a lake, both still too shy to tell the other how they felt. A lot had happened since that moment on what would become their rock, and they could only hope that the next twenty-seven years would be as amazing as the last twenty-seven years had been. As they joined their family, both knew there was a pretty good chance they would be.

So, what do you think? Are you at all confused? I have a feeling this chapter might have created more questions than it answered, but if you read "The Note," you probably know by now how mysterious I like to be with my writing. Anyway, I hope you liked it, and I hope it has piqued your interest. As always, I love to know your thoughts. Thanks all!