Break In
2 a.m.
Clarke let out a tired sigh as she stepped out of her car and into the dimly lit parking lot of her apartment complex.
The patients from the ten car pile up had taken her much longer than she had anticipated. Some broken bones, internal bleeding, and a concussion later Clarke was finally getting ready to be relived from her shift at around seven that night, but right before she could make her way out the doors she was being paged to scrub in on an emergency heart transplant surgery. The surgery was a grueling six hours and scrubbing herself clean had taken another thirty minutes. Clarke was finally about to walk out the exit of the hospital almost seven hours after her shift had ended and make her way home.
Clarke begrudgingly shuffled up the stairs towards her apartment floor. She longed to be able to sleep with Lexa but thought against it seeing at how it was already two in the morning and she didn’t want to disturb her girlfriend.
“Girlfriend.”
Clarke’s face split in a smile and her heart raced every time she called Lexa her girlfriend. She let out a small giggle as she finally walked up the last step that lead to her floor and began walking down the hallway while digging through her purse to find her keys.
Ahead of her the sound of glass breaking made her stop in her tracks and her heart to flutter in fright. Clarke pulled her hands out of her purse and began to cautiously walk further down the hallway. The fast pace beating of her heart only sped up when she stopped about a foot away from her apartment door.
The wooden frame of her door was demolished into splinters as if it had been kicked in. The door was slightly ajar and Clarke couldn’t see any light shining through the opening. Not hearing any other sounds Clarke started to slowly inch forward and finally reached the door. Heart feeling like it could beat out her chest Clarke silently pushed the door open and poked her head around the door. The apartment was dark, the only light dimly floating in from the large window on the opposite side of the room.
Clarke pushed the door open wider and walked in slowly as she looked around the apartment. Her couch and love seat looked as if someone had taken a knife to it and pulled the stuffing out to strew it across the room. Books and papers from her shelves had been ripped and tossed hazardously to lie along the hard wood flooring. Clarke glanced over to her kitchen and could see all her cabinet doors open and everything had been pulled from the shelves. She could make out the shards of broken glass scattered across the floor from the little bit of flooring she could see from around the kitchen island.
Clarke’s mind raced as she mouth hung open in a horrified gasp as everything around her began to sink in. Someone had broken into her apartment and deliberately destroyed it. Clarke leaned down to grab one of her favorite books that laid torn on the floor before her and slowly leaned back up. As she fully stood up once again and looked down at the book a movement from the entrance of her hallway caught her eye.
Clarke quickly glanced up to see the silhouette of a tall man come from her hallway, arms raised in front of him. She froze. The dim light from the window casted down on him just enough for Clarke to see the sleek black gun that the man held, pointed right in her direction. The torn book feel from Clarke’s hands causing a small thump to reverberate through the silent room.
Clarke felt her heart stutter as the man’s hand moved along the gun and caused a small click to sound out in what she assumed to be the safety. Only the slightest millisecond passed before Clarke turned to bolt out of the apartment door as the sound of the first gunshot rung through the air. Not looking back Clarke breathed heavily as she ran with all her might down the hallway and finally down the stairs to the floor below her.
Clarke ran down the short distance of the hallway towards Lexa’s apartment only to stop when the brunette herself came barging out of her door, dressed in cotton shorts and a t-shirt, gun drawn and pointed at Clarke.
Lexa quickly dropped from her stance as Clarke sprinted into her and threw her arms around her neck,“Clarke, what the hell is going on?”
“There was a man,” Clarke paused to take in a deep breath before continuing,“He broke into my apartment. I just got home and he came from the hallway with a gun pointed at me. He fired and I ran here.”
“Where is he now?”
Right before Clarke could answer a bullet penetrated the wall next to them causing Lexa to force them both into the open doorway of her apartment. Clarke stood beside Lexa back pushed against the wall as the detective slowly peeked her head around the door. The sound of another gunshot rang through the hallway as Lexa quickly pulled her head back before looking over to Clarke.
“Clarke, I need you to listen to me. I want you to go in my room, grab my phone and call Indra. Tell her what happened and she’ll know what to do from there. Stay in my room until I come and get you, okay?”
Clarke gripped Lexa’s arm before she could move from her spot against the wall,“Please be careful, Lexa.”
Lexa smiled gently at her before leaning down and placing a kiss to her forehead,“I will. Now, go.”
Clarke ran through the apartment towards Lexa’s room in search for her phone. Clarke paused in her search as a couple more shots rang out from the hallway. Shaking her head Clarke finally spotted Lexa’s phone on her bedside table and quickly grabbed it before unlocking it and searching through the contacts to find Indra’s name. A sigh of relief slipped through her lips as she found the contact and hit the call button before putting it to her ear and waiting for an answer.
While waiting Clarke could hear the distant sound of police sirens growing gradually closer to their apartment and figured someone had already called the police. She was pulled away from the sound as the raspy voice of Indra came over the phone speaker.
“Lexa, I just got a call about some gun fire at your apartment complex. What the hell is going on?”
“Uh, Indra. This is Clarke. Lexa’s girlfriend. She told me to call you. There was a guy who broke into my apartment and when I came in he fired a gun at me. I ran up to Lexa’s apartment and she came out with her gun and now their firing at each other,” Clarke said hysterically as she heard a few more shots being fired.
“Okay, Clarke. I need you to breathe and calm yourself down. Lexa is one of my best detectives. She's going to be fine. Just keep yourself somewhere safe. I’m on my way over now. I’ll call everyone else. Just stay calm.”
Clarke breathed deeply a couple of times as Indra’s words washed through her ear. Right on the brink of calming her racing heart multiple gunshots sounded and a heavy groan could be heard from the hallway. Without thinking Clarke dropped the phone and ran out of the room, missing the sound of Indra calling her name through the speaker.
As she came barreling out the apartment Clarke felt a ton of weight lift from her shoulders as she saw Lexa kicking away the gun from the body that laid at her feet a few meters away from her apartment. Lexa, catching the movement from the corner of her eye, glanced up as Clarke slowly walked towards them.
“Clarke, I told you to stay in the—,” Lexa halted her words as her eyes drifted down Clarke’s body and stopped at her legs.
Clarke looked on in confusion as Lexa cursed and tucked her gun into her waistband and began removing her t-shirt to reveal a thin strapped tank top underneath. Lexa quickly walked towards her and pushed her to sit down on the floor before grabbing ahold of her left leg.
“Clarke, why didn’t you tell me you got shot?”
Clarke gasped in pain as Lexa pressed the fabric of her shirt against the side of her leg where the green fabric of her scrubs were stained with a deep red. She hadn’t felt any pain as she had run to Lexa, but looking down at it now the pain came rushing to her senses.
“I didn’t…I did’t even know I got hit. It had to be the adrenaline. I didn’t feel anything as I ran up here.”
Lexa looked up at her with worried eyes before looking back down and slowly pulling the fabric away and placing it on the floor,“I’m going to need to rip your pants so I can get a better look at this.”
“Don’t we usually save the ripping off clothes part until the third date?”
Lexa laughed lightly before grabbing ahold of Clarke’s pants to begin ripping off the leg of her scrubs,“Well, we’re already past that stage. Remember the night in the kitchen?”
Clarke blushed and looked away as Lexa finished ripping her scrubs. As Lexa slowly peeled away the fabric Clarke let out a little hiss of pain and turned to look down at the wound. As Lexa removed the fabric completely Clarke sighed in relief at the sight.
“The bullet just grazed me. It’s kinda deep though. I’ll defiantly need some stitches.”
Lexa looked into Clarke’s sky blue eyes before pulling her into a kiss. Clarke could feel the hidden emotion behind Lexa’s lips. Relief. Relief that she was okay, and that made Clarke’s heart swell.
As Lexa pulled away the heavy sound of footsteps running up the stairs had both women looking back towards the end of the hallway to see Indra, Bellamy, Lincoln, and Anya rushing towards them with guns drawn. Lincoln stopped at the man’s body to check for a pulse before shaking his head negatively at the Indra and continuing their way to them.
“You guys okay? What the fuck happened here?” Anya questioned as she kneeled down next to Lexa.
“Clarke was grazed by a bullet but other than that were fine. Apparently he broke into Clarke’s apartment and when she got home he was still there, and had a gun. I woke up when I heard the shots and came out here to see Clarke running towards me. When she started explaining everything to me he came up and started firing again. I pushed us both in and told Clarke to call Indra while I handled him. He wasn’t listening when I told him to put the gun down and he kept getting closer so I gunned him down,” Lexa explained.
Indra nodded her head as she looked around the hallway as other residents began to poke their heads out their doors to get a look at the scene.
Indra turned to Bellamy and Lincoln,“Let’s get some officers up here to secure the scene and also Clarke’s apartment. I don’t want anyone messing with evidence or the body.”
Bellamy and Lincoln nodded before disappearing down the hallway stairs. Clarke glanced up at Indra as she came to kneel on the other side of her and place a hand on her shoulder.
“Can you make it down the stairs with mine and Lexa’s help or do you need a stretcher?”
Clarke gently shifted her leg and winced in pain,“I think I can make it downstairs.”
Lexa and Indra pulled her arms around their shoulders and hoisted her up slowly, stopping when Clarke let out a yelp of pain. Both Lexa and Indra stilled at the sound and slowly let her sit back down with a huff of pain.
Anya looked down at Clarke before shifting her gaze to meet Lexa’s,“How about I go get that stretcher?”
“Actually, I’ve got an easier idea,” Lexa’s words stopped Anya from walking down the hallway.
Lexa moved to Clarke’s right side before cradling her knees and back and lifting her up gently. Clarke wrapped her arms around Lexa’s neck as the brunette stood up fully and began to walk towards the stairs.
“You know you’re just showing off, right? Trying to be the hero who always gets the girl in the end,” Clarke whispered in Lexa’s ear.
“I have no reason to show off. Besides, I already got the girl, and I don’t intend to let her out of my sight any time soon after this little incident.”
Clarke giggled and shook her head as Lexa made her way down the last flight of stairs and out into the parking lot with Indra and Anya following behind. The decent sized parking lot was now overcrowded with patrol cars, crime scene unit vans, and an ambulance. Not being distracted by the dozens of police lights that shined brightly around them Lexa made her way over to the awaiting ambulance. Miller and Harper both jumped from the back of the van when they spotted Lexa carrying an injured Clarke towards them.
“Jesus, Clarke. Pick a fight with someone you couldn’t handle?” Miller said as he looked over her leg once Lexa had placed her on the stretcher.
“Very funny, Miller. A bullet just grazed me. I’m going to have to get stitches so it looks like it’s back to the hospital for me.”
Harper came up to Clarke holding a pad of gauze,“This is gonna hurt a little.”
Without giving Clarke time to protest Harper pushed the pad against the graze causing her to let a out hiss followed by a few cuss words. Harper looked up at her apologetically before telling Clarke to apply pressure to the wound so she and Miller could get her lifted into the ambulance.
After they lifted her in and had hooked her up with an IV Lexa jumped in to lean down by Clarke’s side,“I have to stay here for a bit but as soon as I’m done I’ll be over at the hospital. Don’t go trying to leave like Anya, either. At least not until I get there.”
Clarke nodded in agreement and gave Lexa a thumbs up with her free hand,“Sounds like a plan, Lexi.”
“Lexi?”
Harper laughed from her spot standing at the head of Clarke’s stretcher,“We gave her some meds in her IV to help with the pain. It shouldn’t last too long but Clarke always ends up loopy on any pain medication she gets. Next time I see you remind me to show you the video from the time she got her wisdom teeth taken out.”
Clarke looked at Lexa as she laughed lightly and looked back at her. She smiled as Lexa leaned down and placed a kiss to her cheek before standing up and jumping out the back of the ambulance.
“Take care of my girl, Harper.”
Clarke sat up and looked at Lexa once more before the brunette shut the doors and pounded on them to signal Miller that he could begin his route to the hospital. As the ambulance began to move forward Clarke felt Harper’s hand on her shoulder pushing her back to lay down. As her back met the sheet covered stretcher Clarke could feel her eyes drift close as the events of the day and the pain medication lulled her to sleep.
Shift in POV (Lexa)
Lexa watched as the ambulance disappeared in the direction of the hospital before turning and seeing Bellamy come walking down the apartment stairs. Lexa made her way over to him only for Bellamy to grasp her arm and pull her to the side away from the ears of the others around them.
“We need to talk,” Bellamy said stiffly.
“Why? Did you find out who the man was and why he broke into Clarke’s apartment?”
Bellamy searched Lexa’s eyes for a moment before pinching the bridge of his nose,“Yeah, we found out who he is and I have a pretty good feeling about why he broke into Clarke’s apartment and shot at her.”
Lexa waited for Bellamy to continue talking only to be met with silence. She quickly hit him in the arm causing him to stop pinching his nose and look up at her with a steely gaze.
“Well, who the hell was it?” Lexa spat.
“Aaron Gabriel.”