Chapter 11
Lexa had back to back clients all morning and she’d promised to attend a poetry reading with Costia one town over that afternoon. Lexa had never attended a poetry reading, but decided it was worth a try - after all, worst case scenario, she would hate it and never go to another. As the day went on though, she got behind and ended up pressed for time as she rushed through her shower and took off to pick up Costia.
In the end, she was a little late, but Costia seemed very understanding.
When they got to the poetry reading, Lexa sat listening very attentively, just allowing herself to get lost in the words of others for the time. Some she thought were ludicrous, but others really resonated with her well, almost two well. Though it had been Costia's idea, she actually seemed rather bored by the whole thing. Lexa, on the other hand, had enjoyed it very much.
A couple hours later when they returned to the car, Lexa turned her phone back on and shook her head in confusion as it flooded with messages. What the..?
Clarke: 911!!!
Clarke: Raven’s hurt. It's bad.
Clarke: Get your asses to Ark Memorial!! A.S.A.P.
Jasper: What happened???
Lincoln: I’ll be there in under an hour.
Clarke: Driving now. Just get there!
Clarke: O’s with me.
Lexa felt her stomach drop. Oh God. This wasn't happening.
.
Finn: Holy shit.
Monty: I’m on my way there now.
Anya: I’ll be there in twenty.
Bellamy: Booking a flight. Be there in a couple of hours!
Lincoln: Anya, where the hell is Lexa???
Anya: I don't know.
Anya: She's not answering her phone.
Lincoln: Seriously?
Clarke: Someone fucking find her!!
Lexa shook her head. She had other messages - voicemails too, but didn't bother to look a them. She had to go. She had to go - right now.
“I can't take you home. I'm sorry,” Lexa said quickly as she pulled out her keys and unlocked the car. “I need to get to Ark Memorial.”
“Whats wrong?” Costia asked curiously as they got inside.
“It’s Raven.” Lexa explained as she started the car. “Something happened. She's hurt.”
“Raven?” Costia asked, tilting her head slightly. "Clarke's friend?"
“My friend,” Lexa spat instantly. “They're all my friends. That's my family.”
As they sped off toward the hospital, Lexa's mind was reeling. Why the hell had she turned her phone off?
After what seemed like an eternity, they pulled into the parking lot. They'd barely spoken on the drive, Lexa's mind was far to engulfed in what she might possibly be walking into.
“I'll go with you.” Costia told her as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
“I don't think that's a good idea.” Lexa responded and shook her head. She had no idea what to expect. “Just take my car. I’ll get a ride.”
Costia's face fell a little bit. “I want to be here for you,” she said softly.
Lexa paused for just a second and sighed. No. Not right now. “I know and I appreciate it - really, I do,” she said as she opened her door. “I'm sorry.”
Lexa entered the hospital and spoke to the woman behind the desk who told her where to go. She bolted down the hall with her mind in a haze. Turning the corner, her eyes fell on her friends, her family.
Jasper and Monty were sitting next to each other on the floor, Monty’s head was in his hands.
Lincoln had his back against the wall, holding Octavia from behind in one arm as his other hand rubbed absentmindedly against the top of his shaved head. Octavia looked exhausted, her greenish blue eyes were tinted red and wet as she just held on to Lincoln’s forearm with a white knuckled grip.
Bellamy was already there too. Sitting in a chair with his hands clasped together in front of him and a tense look was on his face.
Anya was at the far end of the corridor, pacing furiously on her phone.
Two figures stood about halfway between her and Anya, they had their backs to her, but she made them out easily. It was Jake and Finn. Suddenly they shifted and Lexa caught a flash of blonde as blue met green.
Clarke.
Instantly Lexa stormed forward, her chestnut locks flowing behind her as her long leather jacket whipped around her knees. Clarke had seen her. Her face tensed up in what appeared to be a knew rush of tears as she pushed her way passed Jake and Finn and took off running. She collided with Lexa with such a force that it should have rocked her, but in that moment all Lexa felt was instant relief in the warm embrace.
“You’re here,” Clarke whispered through her tears as she pulled Lexa impossibly close.
“Of course I am.” Lexa replied as she tightened her arms around here.
They stood here for a moment, neither moving nor speaking. Lexa opened her eyes and they fell on Finn, he looked far from pleased, but she had no way of knowing if it was because of her. Fuck him, if it was.
“What happened?” Lexa finally asked when they separated slightly.
“Some asshole ran a red light,” Clarke answered, as her hands continued to grip the lapels of Lexa's jacket.
“How bad is she?” Lexa questioned her again.
Clarke shrugged as her eyes welled up with tears again.
Bad.
“I'm sorry,” Clarke shook her head. “I'm so sorry. I was going to come see you - to talk to you and try to explain, but then I got the call and…”
Lexa silenced her with another hug. “Shh, we’ll figure it out,” she said softly as Clarke nodded against her, “but, not now,” she added. This wasn't the time.
Clarke took a deep breath and leaned back, “Not now,” she nodded again.
Suddenly Clarke's mother, Abby, came walking down the hall, talking quietly to one of her colleagues. Abby was highly respected in this hospital, having worked there for most of Clarke’s life. “Lexa,” she said when she got close. “I’m glad you’re finally here.”
“Abby,” Lexa stepped away from Clarke and greeted her with a light kiss on the cheek. “I came as soon as I heard.”
“Mom?” Clarke said with tears swimming in her eyes.
“Clarke,” Abby sighed as Jasper and Monty got to their feet. “She’s in bad shape.”
Lexa’s shoulders dropped. God. “How bad?”
“She's in surgery," Abby explained as she motioned back down the hall. "She was awake when they brought her in, but we had to put her under.”
“Why?” Octavia's voice was flat.
“She started seizing.” Abby answered.
The air in the hallway could have been cut with a knife.
“What else?” Clarke questioned gravely.
“Her leg is pretty bad, and there's debris,” Abby swallowed hard, trying to keep her tears at bay and then paused and took a steadying breath. “There's debris in her back. It's close to her spine, too close and we don't know...”
Lexa heard Clarke's quick intake of breathe as she grabbed onto her arm hard. Her eyes scanned the group. Octavia burst into tears as Lincoln slowly slid them to the floor. Bellamy was covering his face with his hands as Finn turned and pressed his forehead against the wall. Jasper stood silently with tears swimming in his eyes as Monty turned his back and silently broke. When her eyes met her sisters, something inside her chest clenched. Though she couldn't find the words to describe what was swimming in her eyes, she could absolutely feel it and it hurt.
“What happens now?” Jake questioned as he stepped forward.
“Right now, we're focusing on the surgery.” Abby answered. ’We have to get it out. I'll be scrubbing in to assist soon."
“Abby...” Jake began, his voice thick with caution.
“I’m doing this, Jake.” Abby cut him off and then took another steadying breath. She looked around at the group and smiled reassuringly. “Jackson is going to find somewhere to put you all, so you won’t be clogging up the hallway.”
Jackson was another colleague of Abby's.
When Abby walked away Lexa was unsurprisingly approached by Anya. “Where were you?”
“I was at a poetry reading with Costia,” Lexa explained as she shook her head.
“You had me worried.” Anya told her.
“Did you really think that I wouldn’t come?” Lexa questioned her rather harshly.
“Of course not,” Anya answered. “That’s why I was worried. You weren’t here and no one could get in touch with you.”
“My phone was off,” Lexa unnecessarily explained. Her eyes went to Clarke, who was now standing talking to Finn as he rubbed her arms reassuringly.
“It was good to see you two talking again,” Anya said absently.
Lexa nodded slightly and rubbed her eyes. She couldn’t think about any of that right now. Not now. Later. They’d deal with it later.
Jackson found them an unused room with two beds and was able to scrounge up some extra chairs for them too. Jake called and had food sent in, but no one really ate much of it. They chatted on and off about nothing in particular and had the television on, more for background noise than anything else. Everyone just kind of found a place in the room and stuck to it, each zoned off and locked into their own thoughts.
Anya was sitting in the window, while Lexa paced nearby. Clarke had refused to lay down, so she and Finn were occupying two chairs in the corner. Bellamy was lying on one of the beds, staring blankly at the ceiling, while Octavia had taken up a similar residence in the other, with Lincoln close by. Monty and Jasper were again, shoulder to shoulder on the floor. The hours ticked by slowly, but still, they refused to leave.
As the clock slipped passed midnight, one by one, sleep began to take them. It was just after two in the morning when the door slowly opened, the light causing Lexa, who was not sleeping, to open her eyes. She held her breathe when Abby stepped in and clicked on the light. Slowly everyone who had been dozing stirred.
“We got it out,” Abby finally said when they were all awake and focused, "and repaired as much as we could."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“There are still things that we don't know though,” she explained. “Things that we won't know, not for a bit yet, but we know that…” Abby’s voice caught in her throat.
Clarke stood up and stepped forward. “Mom?”
Abby looked down. “We know that there was damage - damage that can't really be repaired and because of that, we don't know how well she'll be able to walk,” she finally answered, “if, she will be able to walk at all.”
The group sat stunned. What? God. No. Raven Reyes, not be able to walk?
Lexa covered her face with her hands. This wasn't happening. It couldn't be happening.
Abby told them that there was really no way of knowing how long Raven would be out. She had seized again during the procedure, thankfully in between the removal and the stitching. It could be hours, it could be days.
After much conversation the group decided to take their stay in shifts, with Octavia swearing that she wasn't leaving under any circumstances. In the end, I it was decided that the first shift would consist of Octavia, Bellamy, Lincoln, Clarke and Lexa.
Lexa decided that Finn didn't look happy, but she didn't really care and in the end, he seemed to accept it quickly anyway.
Hours went by with no change in Raven’s status. Bellamy and Octavia were sitting on one bed with her head on his lap as Lexa paced back and forth in front of the window, wanting nothing more than to pummel the man who had run the red light and, miraculously, come out unscathed. She glanced at Clarke, who had fallen asleep in one of the chairs, in what looked like the most uncomfortable position ever. Her eyes traveled to the empty bed and she let out a small sigh.
“Do you want me to get her?” Bellamy yawned, having followed Lexa's eyes.
“No. I've got her.” Lexa told him as she walked over and carefully scooped Clarke up bridal style.
She carried her over to the bed and placed her down carefully, but when she went to resume her pacing, Clarke's hand shot out, gripping her arm hard. “Stay with me,” she barely whispered, her eyes remained closed, but her face twisted up in turmoil. “Lexa, please," she breathed. "Stay with me.”
Lexa gripped her wrist. Twenty four hours ago, she might have turned away - she might have said no. She might have. But, not now. No. Not after almost losing one of their own – a member of their family. She sighed and slipped onto the bed next to Clarke, who instantly curled into her side. It didn't take long for them both to be lost to sleep.
“They’re going to be the death of me.” Octavia said warmly as she glanced at the two. Lexa was sitting upright against the wall with Clarke on her chest and their hands connected at Clarke's shoulder.
Bellamy shook his head. “They’re going to be the death of us all,” he grinned lightly.