Abby Griffin hated storms.

It was already a cold night before the storm swept in. It was the kind of cold that seeps into your bones and freezes you to the core—you can feel it when you move and you can feel the iciness seep into the cracks of your mind. The cold wrapped around Abby Griffin and refused to let her rest, refused to let her worries dissipate.

The wind howled outside and Abby clutched her hand near her chest in fear. They hadn't had a storm this bad for quite some time. She tried to calm herself by listening to the rhythmic pounding of rain droplets on the roof of her tent.

One, two. One, two.

She listened carefully to the steady drum of nature's metronome and waited for her racing heart to calm itself.

One, two. Inhale, exhale.

She finally felt herself relax a bit. She tried to forget about her worries for the night. Just don't think, she told herself. Don't think about the fact that your daughter is out there somewhere right now, probably drenched in the rain, possibly even dead. Don't think about the fact that Marcus is leaving on another peace mission tomorrow, and he probably won't make it back alive. Don't think about the fact that once he leaves, you'll be all alone. Again.

For some reason, it was always the middle of the night when Abby's worries seemed to hit her the hardest. She felt something wet fall down her cheeks; it was her own form of rain. She brushed it away immediately. Damn this storm, she thought.

She sat upright in her cot, arms crossed, shivering. Her thoughts were as loud as the wind howling outside, her heart as heavy as the rain. Sleep was not an option tonight. How nice it would be to have a warm body beside her, someone to hold her and comfort her…

Stop it Abby, she thought to herself. You can handle this, you are strong. But lately, she had admitted to herself that it wasn't only in the dead of night that she wanted Marcus Kane around. She wanted him by her side at all times, wanted his presence, to hear his voice say her name.

It came as a bit of a surprise when she realized that she had feelings for him, but not much. Not after everything they had been through together. There had been many rough patches, sure, but at the end of the day, they were always there to support each other. She needed him, but she still wasn't sure if he felt the same. And starting tomorrow, he would be gone on another peace mission, and wouldn't return until who knows how long. She would stay at camp, running the medical station like she always did. There was simply no time left for them to be together.

Abby was startled out of her pessimistic reverie by a explosive rumble of thunder and the blinding flash of lightning following it; her entire tent shook frantically and there was a crash outside. Abby screamed, she hadn't meant to, but it had startled her and she just was not in great shape tonight—she hated these damn storms.

She sat there, shaking, when she heard footsteps sprinting towards her tent and then the flap leading into her tent suddenly swung open.

"Abby!" Marcus said frantically—it was hard to see through the dark, but nevertheless he found her sitting on her cot and ran to sit down next to her.

"Marcus…" she breathed. She sighed, filled with relief and astonishment that he actually had come to her in this weather. He was dripping wet from the unceasing downpour outside, but his body still radiated warmth despite it all and without thinking, she felt herself leaning against him.

"Abby, what happened? Are you hurt?" He asked, his voice coated with panic and concern. "I heard a scream and…" When he felt her body shaking against his, he stopped talking and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back into an upright sitting position so he could look at her face. She held her head down, but he could see that her cheeks were wet.

She shook his arms off of her, leaning away from him now, and very quickly wiped away any tears remaining on her face.

"Just the rain…" She said, her voice quiet. Kane was no fool, but decided not to comment on it for her sake.

"What's wrong?" he asked very gently, as if he was afraid if he spoke too loudly, she would break into pieces. He was unaware that she already had.

She sighed. "I can't handle this anymore. Clarke's gone, and you're leaving. I don't want to do this on my own. I- " she paused momentarily, figuring she might as well say it before it was too late. "I want you by my side, Marcus. I- I need you." She made no attempt to hide the blatant desperation in her tone, the sense of urgency her words conveyed.

"Clarke will be fine, Abby. She's strong and she'll come back when she's ready. And Abby, you are a very capable leader, and I assure you that—"

No, he still didn't understand her. To make her point, she gently put her hand on his cheek (at which point he abruptly stopped talking) and made it so that he was looking her directly in the eye, their gaze never wavering.

"Marcus." Her voice was firm now. She spoke very clearly, each word left its own impact. "I need you."

Marcus gazed at her fondly, his mouth curled upwards into a grin. "Abby," softly, he took her hand off of his face, and smoothly intertwined his fingers with hers, as if he had been waiting to do it for a long time. "You already have me."

At this her heart fluttered, and with those four words she felt the cold melting away, replaced by a strong, comforting warmth in her chest. It was a feeling she never wanted to be rid of. She didn't know how long he had felt the same way, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered but here and now and the warmth of their hands pressed together.

"And about that peace mission…" Kane continued. She looked at him with a flicker of hope in her eyes. "It's been postponed."

There was so much relief flooding through Abby that she actually laughed. "Postponed?" She asked him, to clarify.

"There was an unplanned meeting not too long ago, with me, Bellamy, and the others. We agreed that as long as the weather is this unpredictable, it's not safe to go just yet. The mission is necessary, but we aren't going anywhere anytime soon."

She gave his hand a squeeze. "That's great news." He nodded, smiling.

They stayed like that for a minute, and Abby realized she had no idea what to do or say now. It seemed natural that he would go back to his tent and they could get some sleep, but she didn't want to let him go. So, she made a proposal.

"Stay with me?" She meant to say it more like a command, but it came out sounding like a question, once her insecurities took over her voice. She gestured her head at her cot, hoping she wasn't forcing him into something he didn't want to do.

He leaned towards her, close enough that she felt his hot breath as he whispered into her ear, "I'm not going anywhere."

Her heart skipped a beat and her face flushed intensely; she was glad it was hard to see with the dim lighting. She laid down on her tiny cot and Marcus climbed in after, immediately wrapping his arm around her protectively. She curled up against him, enjoying his warmth—her current coziness made it hard to remember the chill that had come in with the storm. She laid her head on his chest, comforted by the steady pounding of his beating heart.

One, two.

Thu-thump.

Inhale, exhale.

The steady, melodic patterns lulled Abby into a sleepy state, feeling like she had never been more comfortable in her life. Then, in that brief moment before completely losing consciousness, she thought she felt him lightly stroke her hair and murmur, "I won't leave you, Abby. Not ever."

Abby Griffin hated storms, but perhaps this one wasn't so bad.