Not my story
Bellamy stood just outside his tent, one foot still inside. He scanned camp for Clarke. It was pretty dark to try to see from a far, but he couldn't leave the baby on her own. Soon he saw her gold hair reflect off a torch. He called for her and she came right over.
"What's up?" she asked, lifting her eyebrows.
"I need your help," he stated simply
"Okay..." Clarke replied. "With what?"
"Don't make get mad," he pled, and then disappeared into his tent.
"Bellamy..." she said suspiciously, and then followed him inside.
She brought a hand over her mouth as she took in the child, an infant really, curled up in blankets and t-shirts on Bellamy's table. He had made a little crib for her.
"How..." she started. "Where did you find this? Whose is it? What..." She didn't know which questions to ask first.
"It's a she, first of all," he said with a smile. "I found her tucked in a corner in an abandoned grounder village when I was hunting earlier. She would have starved if I didn't take her back. I don't know what do. What if the council thinks it will be too hard to take care of her? I can't leave her to die. I just..."
He was rambling. The commotion made the baby start crying. Loudly. The sound made Clarke's insides twist in sadness, and it was clear Bellamy was shaken up about it. Clarke didn't have to imagine why. She placed a hand on his upper arm.
"Hey, she'll be okay. We'll take care of her. The council isn't going to abandon a baby. The ways of the Ark are over. I'm making sure of that. We don't decide who lives and dies down here. Now everyone gets a chance."
Clarke walked over to where the baby was laying. She picked her up and tried to cheer her up.
"It's okay little one, shh..." she tried with a smile. Bellamy ran a hand through his hair nervously.
"What are we gonna do with you?" Clarke sighed at the wailing baby in her arms, shaking her head a little but smiling all the while. She bounced her, rocked her, and shushed her in tired efforts to calm her down.
Bellamy stared at both of them hopefully. Clarke felt his eyes on her and shot him a glare.
"Any bright ideas Mr. Helpful?" she asked pointedly.
Bellamy dropped his gaze and brought his hand to the back of his neck. It felt hot and sticky on his calloused palm.
"You..." he started hesitantly, his eyes focused on the ground. "You could sing to her?"
His words hung in the air. He chanced a look up. Clarke was staring straight into his eyes with such ferocity that he thought he might burst into flames then and there. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if he did. Yet there was something in her expression that he couldn't quite place. A softness. Wonder, maybe.
"sing?" she repeated. He thought he heard a choke in the word, but he must've imagined it. Clarke wasn't one to choke on her words.
He nodded.
"You're crazy," she scoffed, shaking her head, more for her own clarity than as a reply to Bellamy. She turned her attention back to the upset little bundle in her arms, her back now facing Bellamy.
"I remember," He began. Maybe she needed more of a reminder herself. "In the woods, with Atom." He waited for a response, a head turn, something.
She gave him nothing.
"You calmed him in his final moments. Granted him his final wish when i wasn't strong enough. And you sang to him."
Clarke turned her head ever so slightly and stopped bouncing the baby. Bellamy thought she might say something, but he recognized that she might not know what to say. She looked confused, maybe even upset. He tried to change that. He stepped closer, watching her visibly tense under his shadow, and placed a hand lightly on her shoulder.
"I liked it," he assured with a soft smile. He felt her relax a little under his touch. "Maybe she will too," he suggested hopefully, nodding at the teary baby.
"Okay," she said quietly, and turned away toward Bellamy's makeshift cot.
As the hair on the back of her shoulder slipped from his fingers, he wished, for some strange reason, that he could hold on to it, run his fingers through it, but he doesn't get the chance.
Clarke sits cross-legged on the bed, with the bundle on her lap.
"shh..." she cooed, "don't boo me before I've even started" she said lightly though a smile, stroking the little girl's nose. She closed her eyes and rocked side to side. And then she began to sing. The first note out of her mouth made Bellamy go weak in the knees.
~~~
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry
Go to sleep my little baby
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little horses
~~~
Her voice was bit shaky, a bit gravely, but beautiful nonetheless. The little bundle stopped crying so she could listen, focusing on the melody and the way Clarke's mouth moved to make the music. Bellamy found himself doing the same.
~~~
Blacks and bays, dapples and grays
All the pretty little horses
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry
Go to sleep my little baby
~~~
Bellamy was suddenly drawn toward Clarke. His legs were carrying him forward, and he didn't stop them. He kept his eyes trained on her as he sat down next to her on the cot, his knee brushing hers.
~~~
Hush-a-bye, don't you cry
Go to sleep my little baby
When you wake, you shall have
All the pretty little horses
~~~
Clarke smiled at the sleeping baby, proud that her lullaby had been a success. She turned toward Bellamy, whose wide brown eyes were locked on hers.
"It's sort of a creepy melody," Clarke admitted with a smile, "but I guess it does the trick."
"you're amazing," Bellamy replied.
Surprise washed over Clarke's face as she let out a light gasp. She wasn't prepared for that response. Bellamy smiled in response. He knew she wasn't expecting that, but we wasn't going to take it back. He meant it, completely. He cupped her cheek with his hand, his fingers burying themselves in the hair on the bottom of her scalp.
He leaned in placed his lips as gently as he could on her lips. She deserved gentleness. She deserved everything gentle in the world after everything they've been through. He had planned to pull away. To tuck the baby back into her makeshift crib and allow Clarke her much needed sleep. But the kiss deepened. He couldn't even be sure if he was the one to do it. They're mouths moved in a perfect rhythm, they're tongues dancing together. Leaning forward became difficult, though, and they parted for the babies' sake.
Bellamy smiled sheepishly, and Clarke let out a small laugh. It was a beautiful sound.
"We should probably sleep while we can," she said, "who knows when this little one is gonna decide to be fussy again."
Bellamy looked down at the sleeping baby girl and then back at Clarke
"Yeah," he agreed. "Let me take her," he offered, taking the bundle from Clarke and placing her safely in the crib. He turned to see Clarke was standing too, hesitating by the tent's exit.
"Goodnight," she said lightly. He didn't want her to go.
"Wait," he called, grabbing her wrist before she could leave. "You should stay, you know, for the baby's sake. You said yourself she might wake up again. I'm gonna need you for that."
Clarke smiled and looked into Bellamy's eyes. The ferocity was gone, but he still thought he might melt.
"Okay," she agreed, "but only for the baby's sake."
