Don't Mess With Me!( Long chapter)

Kane's office was still half war room, half storage closet. Maps spread over the table. Ammo in bins. Notes everywhere. A far cry from the Ark's pretty council chamber.

He sat. I stayed standing.

"How much can we trust Murphy?" he asked.

My heart kicked. "With our lives," I said. "All the way to the fingertips."

He nodded slowly. "And his history here in camp?"

"Gone," I said. "Buried."

"And if it's not?" he pressed.

"Then I take his punishment with him."

Kane studied me for a beat. Then he nodded. "Good. I want him on hunting detail."

Everything in me froze. "With respect, Chancellor — no. Every time he's gone through that gate we've almost lost him. I can't... I can't lose him again. Not for good."

Kane came around the table, his expression softer than usual. "Then what do you suggest?"

I went with my gut. "Let him help Abby and Jackson. Not surgery. Just practical medical work. Supplies. Sterilization. Triage. Clarke and I both went different ways. Abby can't run Medical alone forever."

Kane tilted his head, considering. "I'll talk to Abby."

He paused. "Do you know where Bellamy is?"

I huffed a little laugh. "Sleeping off the same hangover Murphy is."

Kane actually smiled. "They had a lot to talk about."

"Oh, yeah."

He waved me off. "Dismissed."

"Sir," I said, with a little half-salute.

When I came back out, Bellamy was awake and groaning his way toward the dropship. I snorted. "Good morning."

He only grunted.

Then I ducked into my tent. Murphy was already sitting up, hair a mess, eyes soft when he saw me.

"Good," I said. "You're awake."

"Bad day to drink," he muttered. "There's a party tonight."

I laughed. "Oh, you're definitely drinking tonight. But first? Work."

He blinked. "Work?"

"I talked to Kane," I said, sitting next to him and handing him water. "He wanted you on hunting detail."

I saw the fear hit his eyes.

"But I said no," I added. "I told him I couldn't stand losing you. So I suggested something else. Abby needs help in Medical. Practical help. Cleaning wounds, prepping gear, setting up sutures. Not surgery. Just hands."

He stared at me. Then the tension left his shoulders and he smiled slow. "I'd like that," he said. "Actually. Yeah. I'd like that a lot."

"Good," I said. "Because I already told him yes."

He laughed softly. "Dr. Murphy. Huh."

I snorted. "Don't push it."

We walked hand in hand to Kane's office. Bellamy and Abby were already there.

Kane looked at Murphy. "John Murphy."

Murphy nodded back. "Marcus Kane."

"So we meet again," Kane said.

Murphy gave a half-smile. "Guess we do."

"Kate and Bellamy put in good words for you," Kane said. "In fact, they believe in you so much that if you screw this up, they've volunteered to take your punishment with you."

Murphy's eyes jumped between me and Bellamy. We both just smiled.

"That won't be necessary, Chancellor," Murphy said quietly.

"Good," Kane said. "Everyone deserves a real second chance."

Abby stepped forward. For once, she didn't look at him like a threat. "Did you two talk about work?"

Murphy nodded. "Yeah. Kate told me."

"I've talked to Kane," Abby said. "And I think it's a good idea."

Murphy's whole face lit up. "So do I."

"Then come on," Abby said, motioning toward Medical. "Let's get you set up."

They left together. Bellamy followed a second later.

Before I walked out, I looked back at Kane. "Thank you," I said quietly. "For giving him a chance."

Kane nodded. "There's good in that boy," he said. "Always has been. I knew his father."

That hit me. "You did?"

Kane sighed. "We've lost a lot of people, Katerina. His father... your father..."

My throat tightened. "I still remember the day you pressed the button," I said softly. "It's been almost twelve years."

His jaw worked. "Me too."

I walked out before it could get heavier.

—

Abby's POV

"And this is where we keep sutures, and here are the disinfected dressings, and that cabinet is clean gauze," I said, opening each drawer for Murphy.

He was actually paying attention. Really paying attention. I could see him tracking where each thing was.

"Don't worry," I said gently. "You'll learn it. I'll help you."

He smiled. "Thanks, Abby."

I smiled back. "I'm just glad I've got someone to pass this stuff to."

He huffed a laugh. "Clarke's talented," he said.

"She is," I said quietly. "But Clarke... Clarke changed after we came down."

He gave a knowing little smirk. "The ground changed all of us."

"Yeah," I said. "I heard... what happened with Wells. I'm sorry."

He shrugged one shoulder. "She thought I killed him. They found my knife next to his body. I get it."

"I'm still sorry."

He gave me a half-smile. "Hey. I'm still standing."

I actually laughed at that. "And you make Kate really happy."

That got me full-body soft-eye Murphy. "Yeah," he said. "She makes me happy too. Love's kinda the only thing that matters down here, you know?"

Then — to my surprise — he looked right at me. "What about you?"

I blinked. "What about me?"

"You and Kane," he said, grinning. "Isn't it about time?"

That caught me so off-guard I almost dropped the forceps in my hand. "Excuse me?"

"Come on, Abby," he said, laughing. "Everybody can see it. Maybe talk to him at the party tonight?"

I just shook my head, but I couldn't stop smiling.

"Can I go help set up outside?" he asked.

"Yes," I said. "Go."

He jogged out like he hadn't been half-dead a week ago.

Clarke walked in as the door swung closed behind him, jaw tight. "Tell me that's not true," she demanded.

I looked up. "Depends what 'that' is, sweetheart."

"You didn't actually take Murphy on as an assistant," she said. "Tell me you didn't."

"I did," I said. "With Bellamy, Kate, and Chancellor Kane's approval."

Clarke's eyes sparked. "Mom, we can't trust him. He's a psychopath."

My face went cold. "And what are you basing that on?"

"He murdered four guards, hanged Bellamy from a tree, held a gun on me, Kate, and Octavia—"

"And you had him beaten half to death," I snapped. "You strung him up, Clarke. You exiled him, and then you lied to everyone and said the Grounders took him. Don't you dare stand there and pretend you're clean here."

She stared at me, shaking. Then she turned and stormed out.

I sat down hard on the cot.

We were all so, so tired.

—

Murphy's POV

I carried firewood toward the main pit, some weeks later.

"Can't believe you're still alive," Miller muttered behind me.

I kept walking. Didn't answer.

"What did you do to earn this?" he sneered. "You walk back in here like nothing happened, you get a job with Abby, you sit at our fire—"

I dropped the wood and turned. "What did you do to earn not getting your face broken right now?"

He smirked and shoved me. "Aw. You go soft because you've got a girlfriend now?"

My fists tightened. "Don't talk about Kate."

He laughed. "Oh, I've talked to Kate. She liked it."

He said it just to get under my skin, and it worked.

My fist cracked his jaw.

He lunged, tackling me into the dirt. We traded hits, hard, fast, teeth-rattling. I got him flipped and started pounding when—

"Murphy, stop!" Bellamy shouted, grabbing me and hauling me off.

Miller stumbled up, grinning like he'd won something.

This was deliberate. He wanted me to snap in public. He wanted me to prove I didn't belong here.

"What the hell is going on?" Kate's voice cut through the camp like a blade.

Everyone froze.

She stalked over, taking us both in — Miller bleeding from the mouth, me breathing like a wild animal, Bellamy still gripping my arms.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He jumped me," Miller said.

"Liar," I snapped, straining against Bellamy's hold. "He started it."

Kate turned to me. "John. What happened?"

I locked eyes with her. "He said you liked him hitting on you."

Her face went flat and cold.

"He said he was the one flirting with you and you liked it," I said.

She nodded once, slow. Then she spun on Miller.

"Are you done?" she asked him quietly.

He nodded, fast.

"Good," she said.

Then she turned to the whole camp.

"Listen up," she shouted. "I'm second-in-command of security now. That means I am the only thing standing between all of you and a whole planet that wants us dead. So you're gonna pack your petty crap away. You hear me?"

Silence.

She pointed straight at me. "You HANGED him." Then she pointed at Miller. "He wanted payback. Of course he did. And now you want to act shocked? What is wrong with you?"

No one answered.

"That's what I thought," she snapped. "Get back to work."

Everyone scattered.

Then she looked at me. "You. With me."

I followed her into her tent.

She threw her weapon down and rounded on me. "What is wrong with you, John? You can't just swing on people every time they talk."

The anger came back up in me fast. "He wouldn't drop it! He said I didn't deserve to be here. He said I'm 'girlfriend tame.' He said you—"

Her expression shifted. Softer. Sadder.

She touched my face. "Hey," she said. "Breathe."

And then she started coughing.

Hard.

"Kate?" I frowned.

The coughs racked through her whole body, violent, ugly. She bent forward and I grabbed her before she hit the ground. She kept coughing, and then I saw it — dark red on her lips.

"Kate?!"

Blood.

"Kate!" I yelled, panic tearing through me.

Then she went limp.

I scooped her up without thinking and sprinted for Medical. "HELP!"

Bellamy was already running to meet us. "What happened?"

"I don't know," I shouted. "We were talking, she started coughing up blood and collapsed."

We crashed through Medical's door.

Abby's head snapped up. "What happened?"

I laid Kate on the cot with shaking hands. "She just dropped."

Abby moved fast. "We need fluids,"