"Hope is everything." - Abby Griffin, "Earth Skills"

Three days had past since Lexa and Roan's warriors had set up camp less than a mile from Arkadia. The air was thick with the promise of war and blood, it was a wonder that they could still breathe it. Kane could hardly think as he walked back from their camp with Bellamy after a last minute war council meeting. His head swam with battle plans and strategy, but all he wanted to do was sit around with Abby, Benja, and Clarke and relax.

They passed through rows of tents outside of the gates of Arkadia and Kane spoke with a few of the Grounders along the way. Penn glanced up from the fire he ate dinner at and called out, "Yu chek bilaik skrish. | You look like shit."

"Shof op | Be quiet," Kane said, not bothering to look his way. Bellamy fought a smile and taunted, "En yu chek bilaik mokskwoma, Pen. Yu jos ste pis yu ste ban au. | And you look like a worm, Penn. You're just angry you are being left behind."

Penn scowled but didn't retort, instead he turned back to his food, slicing off a large piece of meat and stuffing it in his mouth. Kane smirked and passed through the gates with Bellamy. They passed by several vehicles — Raven, Mel, and Robert Stanhope had managed to get a few more started in Mount Weather over the last few days. They had fixed them up enough to take the guards the nearly 400 miles to the Ice Nation capital.

"Sir?" Kane looked at him and Bellamy nodded toward the garden where Nyko was planting something. "What's that about?"

Kane shrugged. "I'll find out. Go, make sure you are ready to leave. Check on the others. We leave at sunrise."

Bellamy nodded and walked away. Kane walked toward the garden, noticing Eleanor Nelson working alongside the Grounder healer. He saw the small bump that was her stomach, regretting instantly the fact that Thomas was coming with them tomorrow.

He knelt next to Eleanor and asked, "What's going on here?"

They both looked at him, Nyko's face was unreadable but Eleanor gave him a small smile. She said, "Nyko has been kind enough to offer us some medicinal herbs for the garden."

"Has he?" Kane asked, meeting Nyko's gaze. The Grounder nodded.

He said, "Don't brush them off, Kane. One of these is helping Jasper as we speak. The boy is healing. He will wake soon."

"One saved Penn, I know they work, Nyko. Thank you," Kane told the healer. He watched as the two of them finished with the planting of the herbs. They rose to their feet, Eleanor with difficulty, causing Kane to seize her elbow to steady her. He nodded to the healer before he set off toward Gedanes, the expanded housing project he now called home.

It meant "Unity" in Trigedasleng, it only felt right given the direction he was taking their camp. The Council had approved it instantly and Sinclair had constructed the sign. Half of camp had opted to move to the new quarters, leaving much of Alpha abandoned, allowing the Council the opportunity to brainstorm new ideas for the old station, if they ever had the time.

"Marcus." He turned and found Eleanor walking quickly toward him. He stopped to let her catch up and he fell into step beside her. He raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to say her peace. He expected her to try and talk him out taking her husband with him. Instead, she held out an herb for him. "Valerian."

He took it and examined it for a moment before meeting her gaze again. "What does it do?"

"A lot of things," she said with a smile. She watched him twirl the plant absently in his hands for a moment before she explained, "But make a tea from it, give it to Abby."

His eyebrow raised as they passed through the outer door into Gedanes. They walked along the hallway, until they reached the Nelsons' quarters, one of the first in the new station. He asked, "Why?"

She gave him a sad smile. "She's been running herself ragged these past few days, getting everything ready for your departure. Give her this, she'll get a well deserved sleep tonight."

He smiled and glanced at the ground before meeting her eyes again. "Thank you, Eleanor." He touched her arm briefly before he set off down the hallway.

Their quarters was at the end of the hallway on the first floor and was marked Chancellor's Quarters. It was the largest in the entire camp, with three bedrooms — albeit small bedrooms — and several bunks built into the hallway that held the bathroom. Two of the bedrooms had two bunks each built into the walls but the third bedroom had an actual bed. Abby preferred this one over their old one, she claimed it was much softer, but he couldn't tell the difference. All he cared about was being with her and their family.

Kane opened the door, finding an empty and silent room. His eyes passed over the couch and chairs, over the clear board in the corner, over the chess board set up on the coffee table, a forgotten game still waiting to be finished on it. He smiled to himself before walking to the small galley kitchen and starting on the tea.

He was seated on couch, War and Peace open in his hands, when the door opened and Abby walked in. She hung up her jacket and slipped off her boots before walking over to him. She flopped down on the couch next to him, tucking her feet under her and leaned her head against him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she slid hers over his stomach and shut her eyes.

"Long day?" He asked, turning the page of his book. He was only a quarter of the way through, but progress was progress. He glanced down at her when he felt her nod against his chest. "Where's Benja?"

"Playing with Reese, Parish, and Cara, I believe," she mumbled into his shirt. His eyes were still on her worn out face and he sighed, snapping the book shut. He leaned forward, causing her to pull away from him, annoyed.

Two mugs sat on the coffee table, both still steaming. He left his own, that held simple green tea, in place and instead picked up the one made from the valerian root. He leaned back and held it out for Abby. She raised an eyebrow but took it from him. He reached for his mug and took a sip of his tea.

"What's this?" She asked, staring down into the mug of brown liquid. When her eyes met his again, he was smiling. He cupped her cheek and said, "It is valerian tea, you have been working too hard, Abby."

She shook her head, trying to hand it back to him. "I have patients who need me, Marcus."

He held his hands behind his back, not allowing her to give the mug back. "It's Jackson's shift tonight. I told him the only plausible reason for interrupting you tonight would be a nuclear war — and Earth's already had one of those, I don't see another happening tonight."

"You had no right to tell him that, what if there is an emergency?" Abby said, gripping the mug tight in her hands.

"You have to cut the cord sometime; besides, I have every right." He said gently, reaching out to the lift the mug toward her lips. "I'm the Chancellor, Abby. I need my doctors well rested."

She glared at him over the top of the mug as she raised it to her lips. She knew he was right and hated that he could use his position to sway her to do what he wanted. She drained the mug and handed it back to him more forcefully than she intended. She stood from the couch and disappeared into their bedroom.

He sighed and picked up his mug, drinking it slowly before following her. She sat at the desk under the window and was going over patient charts. She shook her head as he stepped next to her, whispering, "I can't believe you are drugging me, Marcus."

Kane walked behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "You had no problem doing it to me; you enjoyed it if I remember correctly."

"I'm a doctor," she said with a roll of her eyes. "I know what I'm doing."

"These are just herbs, Abby," he said, placing a kiss beneath her ear. His fingers starting to work at the knots under her shoulder blades.

"You can't ply me further with a back rub," she said even as her eyes drifted shut and her head rolled back again his chest. He smiled as he looked down at her, watching the stress erase from her face as the tea took effect and his hands did their job on her back.

He pulled away after a few minutes and a deep frown settled on her face as she whispered, "Don't stop."

He let out a breathy laugh and said, "We should get you to bed."

She nodded but made no effort to move.

"Abby?"

"Mhmm?" She murmured, her eyes barely opening to look at him under her lashes. He smiled at her and said, "Let me get you into bed."

Again, she nodded and closed her eyes. He sighed and turned her chair. He bent down and scooped her out of the seat into his arms. Hers wrapped around his neck on reflex and her head rested against his chest as he carried her to the bed. He smiled to himself as he pulled back the blanket and settled her in the bed. He reached for the button of her pants, knowing how she liked to sleep. He pulled them off of her legs before tucking the blanket around her.

As he pulled away, her hand came to rest on his arm. She was looking up at him, fighting to keep her eyes open. She squeezed his arm and he knew what she wanted. He leaned in and pressed a light kiss to her lips. She whispered, "Thank you, Marcus."

He smiled as he pulled away. "You're welcome, Abby." Her eyes drifted shut and he added, "I'll go find that damn kid of ours."

She nodded as she curled up in the blanket. Her voice was thick with sleep as she replied, "Good, who knows what trouble he's getting up to. He's too much like you."

Kane laughed as he walked out of the room. He collected the mugs and washed them quickly before he picked up his jacket and walked out of the room. The sun had already set by the time he exited Gedanes and he walked toward the patio. Benja and his friends liked to play football in front of the patio, showing off for whoever was enjoying the fire pit or sitting around after work.

He found him sitting at the fire pit with Rebecca, Gina, and Bellamy. Kane sat next to Benja, placing his foot on top of the football, rolling it back and forth.

"Did I miss the game?" Kane asked and Benja nodded at him, a smile on his face. "Who won?"

The boy's face fell in an almost comical way. Kane forced himself not to laugh. He placed his hand on Benja's shoulder and said, "You will get them next time."

"Yes," the boy said with confidence.

"Why don't you go practice for a few minutes while I talk to Rebecca?" He asked quietly. Benja glanced at her before nodding. Kane kicked him the ball and he took off. Bellamy looked to Kane before standing and grabbing Gina's hand.

"I'll see you in the morning, Kane," Bellamy called. Kane nodded, watching them go. Rebecca was looking at him expectantly when he turned back to her.

"What's up?" She asked, a small smile on her face.

"I wanted to say goodbye before we left," he said quietly. He turned toward the fire and leaned forward, staring into it, unable to actually look at her for this conversation. He continued, "If I don't make it back, I…"

Rebecca rested her head against his shoulder and curled her arms around his that was nearest to her. One of her hands slid down his arm and grasped his hand in hers. "Marcus, it's okay. You don't have to say anything."

He nodded and squeezed her hand tightly in his, hoping she understood everything he couldn't tell her. He wanted her to know that he was sorry for shutting her out, for allowing her to be arrested, for pushing her from his mind because it was easier for him to cope and move on. He wanted her to know that he loved her, that he always would, that he would support her no matter what.

She leaned over and pressed her lips to his cheek before leaning against his shoulder again. They stayed like that for some time, several others around the fire retired to bed. It wasn't until Benja came back and told Kane that he wanted to go home that Kane finally looked at Rebecca.

She had tears in her eyes and he reached out to wipe them away. She met his eyes and gave him a sad smile. She whispered, "It will be okay, right?"

He nodded, though he was still on the fence about it himself. He would have said anything to make her feel better. He stepped closer and pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her shoulder. He whispered, "I'll be back soon, I promise."

She nodded against him, squeezing him tight. "You'd better."

She released him and said goodbye to Benja before she walked off toward Alpha Station. He frowned before he glanced at Benja who was waiting. He rolled the football toward himself and flicked it up, catching it after a bounce. He said, "Let's go."

They arrived home a few minutes later. There was a light under Clarke's door, but by the time they hung up their jackets, it was gone. He hadn't seen her all day and wondered where she had been. He walked with Benja toward his bedroom and opened the door, letting the boy walk in ahead of him.

Kane was surprised by the cleanliness of the room, but it was something Abby expected from Benja. He kicked the boy's football into the corner of the room and said, "Reshop, Ben. | Goodnight, Ben."

"Goodnight," he said, walking toward the small dresser that held his clothes.

Kane walked out of the room to his and Abby's. He didn't turn on the light and stripped himself to his t-shirt and boxers before climbing into bed with her. She didn't even stir when he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss to her neck. He would have to thank Eleanor for the miracle that was Abby Griffin sleeping soundly.

Her nightmares were unforgiving that night, as they had been for the past several nights — images of Benja bloody on the ground, of Marcus laying lifeless staring back at her, of Clarke being tortured filled her head and caused her to wake in a sweat just before dawn. She reached for Marcus, but found the bed empty. She glanced around the room before sliding out of bed and pulling on a thin robe. She walked out of their room and found him sitting on the couch in the dark, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hands.

She whispered, "Marcus?"

He started and bolted upright, his head snapping to look at her. "Abby, what are you doing up? Go back to bed, we don't leave for another hour."

She shook her head and walked toward him, sitting next to him and taking his hand. "What are you doing out here?"

He leaned forward, putting his chin in his hand. He mumbled, staring absently at the chess board on the coffee table, "This is a mistake, Abby."

She squeezed his hand and his eyes drifted to look at her. She shook her head once she had his attention. "No, it's not. Think of how they saved us in our time of need."

"We have twenty people," he said incredulously, eyebrows squeezing together. "Half of them are kids. Two of them are you and Benja. What difference can we make?"

"One person can make all the difference in a war, Marcus," Abby said gently, running her thumb over the back of his hand. She leaned over and kissed his cheek lightly. The corner of his mouth pulled up at the gesture. She whispered, "You just have to have hope, ai gona."

A smile slowly spread on his lips and he turned to face her. He reached up and cupped her cheek. "I don't deserve you, Abby."

She looked at him seriously for a moment before climbing quickly onto his lap. She placed a light kiss against the corner of his mouth, murmuring, "Yes, you do. And I love you, Marcus Kane. We'll get through this war, we'll have peace."

His eyes searched her face before he slowly nodded and leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers. She could taste the acceptance on them and that was enough for now.

Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated; I love hearing what you all have to say!

-Lauren