seventeen; NOT TO BE LEFT UNSAID

She woke to the sounds of muffled screaming coming from outside of the dropship and she shook her head and slowly sat up as her eyes focused on Rowena who was helping a girl into a spot on the ground.

"It's on me!"

"Ro, you shouldn't be in here." She murmured as the screaming outside got louder, "You'll get sick."

The blonde girl shrugged, "I'm helping Clarke out."

"Calm down."

The young woman slowly and carefully stumbled to her feet, ignoring Rowena who had ordered her to lie back down and pulled back tarp at the entrance to find the camp in chaos, everyone screaming, guns being pointed at one another and few in the crowd covered in blood from the sickness.

Reese stared at it for a moment as Clarke turned and caught her eye, surprised that the older woman was even standing.

"Put that gun down!" Finn was shouting. 

Reese glanced to her left and found one of the rifles and picked it up slowly before she stumbled out and onto the ledge where the metal met the grass and she raised the gun into the air, firing three shots that caused shrieks to erupt as everyone turned to the noise only to see Clarke and Reese glaring at them, the latter still holding the gun to the sky.

"This is exactly what the grounders want." She shouted at them angrily.

"Don't you see that?" Clarke asked as she took a few steps towards the delinquents, "They don't have to kills us if we kill each other first."

"They won't have to kill us if we all catch the virus." One male yelled as he pointed his gun at Clarke who stopped walking and then at Reese who held her free hand up in surrender, "So, both of you, get back in the damn dropship."

Bellamy rushed forward and ripped the gun from him, angrily elbowing the male in the face who groaned in pain as he clutched his nose.

"Not to state the obvious, but your quarantine isn't working." He told Clarke as his eyes flicked over to Reese who was slowly placing the rifle onto the ground as she swayed on her feet.

"Finn, don't touch her."

Reese glanced back up to see Clarke in Finn's arms and she rolled her eyes, immediately regretting it when her world began to spin out of control.

"Reese!" Bellamy called worriedly.

"I'm fine." She told him as she kept her feet firmly on the ground.

"Octavia will come back with a cure." Clarke slurred out.

"There is no cure!" Octavia shouted before Reese could ask the Clarke where the girl actually was, considering she was supposed to be on the third level, "But the grounders don't use the sickness to kill."

"Really? Tell that to them. " A sceptical Bellamy told her in anger, "I warned you about seeing that grounder again."

"Yeah, I have a warning for you, too." Octavia snapped, "The grounders are coming, and they're attacking at–"

"First light." Reese cut her off in a soft voice that everyone heard and quickly began to talk all at once in panic. She rememberedDelphia's words, and she found Bellamy in the crowd who looked at her in surprise, "That's what I was trying to tell you earlier."

"Reese, how did you..." Clarke trailed off in question.

"I saw Delphia." She answered and recognition flickered across Clarke's pale face, "She warned me."

She lost her footing and stumbled but before she could fall, arms circled her waist and pulled her upward, and she glanced up to see Octavia smiling at her, eyes filled with worry.

"I got you, Ree." She whispered softly, "Let's get them in the dropship."

"What do I have to do to stop you from coming in here?" Clarke asked Finn, her tone annoyed.

"Get better." He answered as he stepped further into the ship before he placed her down in the hammock that Murphy had just gotten out of.

"I was offering that to Kane." He murmured to him, "But yeah, sure, she can take mine."

"If he's not sick by now, then he's probably immune." Octavia told Clarke as she helped Reese step over one of the girls who had passed out in the entryway, "Like me."

"It's cool, Murphy, she needs it more than I do." Reese told him with a small smile before she looked up at Octavia, "Can you just put me back in that corner, Tavia?"

"What else did Lincoln tell you?" Finn questioned as he looked over his shoulder at Octavia who was gently helping Reese onto some of the blankets near the corner.

"The virus doesn't last long," Octavia answered.

"It's true." Murphy confirmed, "I feel better."

"It should be me helping you." Reese grumbled out, feeling utterly useless, "Not the other way around."

Octavia laughed lightly, "Think of it as me thanking you for all the times you hid in the floor with me."

"You don't have to thank me for that." Reese whispered, "I'd do it again if I had to."

"You're going to be just fine, big sister." Octavia told her softly as Rowena placed a cup next to her, "Just rest and drink that water, yell out if you need me."

"Okay." She murmured and she quietly listened to the conversation that Murphy was having with Finn about how they didn't have the numbers to fight and quietly called over to them, "We slow them down."

"What?" Finn asked her.

"Find Xander and Raven." She told him, "Use the hydrazine, blow up that bridge."

"That bridge has survived over ninety-seven years of weather, not to mention a nuclear war," Rowena exclaimed, looking at the girl as though she'd finally lost it.

"It won't survive them," Reese responded strongly.

✦❀✦

"Clear some space." Octavia shouted hours later when the sun had long since stopped shining through the tarps cracks and Reese rolled over in order to see who had just come in with the virus, "Lay him down."

When the body was placed onto the blankets right beside her, her eyes widened in horror as Bellamy was rolled onto his stomach and he began to vomit up the blood he'd almost choked on.

"No." She whispered when Octavia patted his back harshly as he cleared his airways before rolling onto his back, his head rolling to the side in order to look at both Reese and Octavia.

"Hey, big brother." Octavia greeted him with an encouraging smile that wavered.

"I'm scared." He gasped out and tears burned in Reese's eyes at the admission, it was her fault that he was sick, she shouldn't have gone anywhere near him.

"I won't let anything happen to you." Octavia told him strongly, "I promise."

"That's what I said to you the day you were born." He smiled up at her.

"I know." She nodded, "You told me that like a thousand times."

"I'm glad you're here." He told her and Reese smiled at that, knowing how rocky their relationship had been in the last couple of days.

"Just get some rest now, okay?" She whispered quietly, "Both of you."

He nodded and when Octavia stood to tend to a few of the others, he rolled over onto his side and Reese got a good look at his bloodshot eyes and the blood staining the skin around his mouth which was slowly beginning to dry and a tear fell from her eye and down her nose.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered brokenly.

Bellamy shook his head, "It's not your fault."

"It is." She cried, her lip beginning to quiver and tears filled her eyes, "You picked me up when I fell."

"Was I supposed to leave you outside the wall all by yourself?" He asked quietly and she nodded, another tear falling down her face as she stared at him, "I wasn't going to do that so just accept that this isn't your fault."

Reese gazed at him for a moment before she finally nodded and slowly reached out to grab his hand, feeling better when her calloused fingers were laced through his own roughed up hands and she lay there, staring at his sweat and blood-covered face and she felt a smile pull at her cracked lips.

"I love you." She murmured and a soft grin stretched across his face, "I don't think I ever tell you that enough."

"I know." He responded as his thumb traced the back of his hand, "I love you, too, in case you didn't know that."

"I did." She whispered before she used her free hand to cough into and fear flooded her as she quickly rolled away from him and she lurched painfully, spewing out nothing except for blood, her arms shaking beneath her weight as Bellamy pulled himself up next to her and rubbed her back as heaved the rest of the throat and collapsed onto her stomach breathing heavily as tears blurred her vision, "I don't wanna die, Bell."

"You're not going to." Bellamy responded tightly when she looked up at him, his hand drawing light patterns onto the skin of her exposed arm, "I'm not going to let that happen."

Rowena rushed to the pair and helped Bellamy sit her up and she raised a cup to Reese's lips who allowed the warm liquid to go down her throat and she grimaced at the odd taste of it.

"It's thyme." Rowena explained when she saw the look, forcing another cup into Bellamy's hands who drank it hesitantly, "Monty found it and I had the idea to boil it into the water because of its healing purposes, you know, strengthen immunity, lower blood pressure, ease sore throats and stomach aches and I mean, it's not as good as actual medicine but at least its something."

Reese smiled at the rambling girl as she finished the contents of her drinks.

"Good idea, plant girl." She praised and Rowena smiled, rolling her eyes at the nickname.

"Real original." She responded, "But thank you."

"I'm sick, let me have that one." She chuckled, the sound coming out rather hoarse.

"Never." She joked and Bellamy smiled at the pair.

"Seriously, Rowena, this tastes really weird, but it was some quick thinking." He told the girl who blushed, "Thank you."

"Just doing my part." She smiled.

When she woke a few hours later, the light was slowly beginning to pour into the dropship and she slowly sat up, resting against the wall as she stared at those who lay around her and when she couldn't locate Bellamy, she got to her feet in a panic.

Those around her were asleep and couldn't tell her anything so she quickly stepped over those in her were and pulled back the tarp, her shoulders sagging in relief at the sight of Bellamy up and walking, shouting orders for everyone to get into the drop and when their eyes met, he sent her a bright smile that she returned before she stepped out and moved to his side.

"Feeling better?" He questioned, nudging her hand with his own.

She nodded slowly, "Yeah, actually."

"Good." He replied and before she could speak, the ground rumbled below their feet and everyone else turned in time to see a cloud of smoke erupt into the air and Bellamy's tone was filled with disbelief as he spoke, "They did it."

"You doubted my plan?" Reese asked with a small smirk.

"I doubted the people executing your plan." He corrected, "It was a great idea, I didn't tell you that last night."

"Eh, you told me better things." She shrugged and he sent her that stupid grin she loved before he ducked his head.

"I am become death, destroyer of worlds."  Clarke spoke from in front of the two smiling adults and she looked over her shoulder at them when she received no response, "It's Oppenheimer, the man who built the first–"

"I know who Oppenheimer is." Bellamy cut her off with a chuckle, "Reese doesn't though."

"That was five years ago." She exclaimed, swatting his shoulder as he chuckled and Clarke grinned at the fact, "Stop bringing it up."

"Fine, fine."

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reesamy? belleese? rellamy? i don't know yet but my heart is soaring with love for them!

anyway, we're nearing the end of act one which is awesome. where do you guys think reese will end up during act two??

be prepared for minor some smut in the next chapter.

also, i've changed rowena's faceclaim from sabrina carpenter to kathryn newton!

thanks for reading!

~r