Aftermath

The drive back felt like forever.

I sat in the back of the rover with Jasper, Monty, Finn... and Murphy.

I held his head in my lap and carded my fingers through his hair the entire way, whispering "You're okay, you're okay, you're okay," not sure which one of us I was trying to convince.

Finn glanced over. "We got him back."

I nodded. "Yeah. We did."

The gates flew open the second we rolled into camp. Abby was already running toward us.

"You found him," she said, not wasting time on surprise. "Clarke! Jackson! Gurney, now!"

They rushed him inside.

I walked. I couldn't sit. Couldn't stand still. Couldn't breathe.

Hours passed.

Then days.

Six days.

He wasn't waking up.

They said surgery went fine and infection was under control and he was stable, but he just... didn't wake up.

And for six days, I thought I'd only gotten him back so I could lose him for real.

On the seventh day I walked into Medical and froze.

He was sitting up.

"John," I breathed.

He looked over. And then he smiled.

"Kate," he said.

I crossed the entire room in two steps and threw my arms around him. He held me, and I finally let myself cry.

"You're alive," I said, shaking. "I thought I'd really lost you this time."

He swallowed. His voice was rough. "What... what am I doing here?"

I let out a shaky breath. "After you ran, I didn't have much choice, did I? I stayed. Someone had to keep this place from eating itself."

Bellamy stepped inside then, still in his guard jacket. "Kate, we need you at the gate."

Then he saw Murphy was awake.

"Murphy," he said softly. "You're up."

Murphy stared at him like he was looking at a ghost.

"There's... a lot to cover," I said quietly.

Murphy's eyes widened. "It's really been three years?"

I looked down and nodded.

"That night I went after you," I said, voice low. "I got turned around in the dark. Grounder dropped out of a tree to kill me. Bellamy shot him."

Murphy turned his head to Bellamy. "You shot him?"

Bellamy nodded. "I wasn't making the same mistake twice and watch a friend die."

Murphy looked back at me. "You trust him?"

I leaned in and kissed him, soft and sure. "He's done everything he could to find you," I said. "From the second he pulled me out of the forest, he swore loyalty to me. He's kept it."

Murphy nodded slowly. Processing.

I looked between them. "I'll give you guys a minute."

I grabbed my spear, exhaled, and went back out on duty.