Chapter 7
Lexa wakes up to her phone ringing. She groggily gets up and looks over at Aden who is fast asleep, undisturbed by the annoying ringing. She must have dozed off while thinking about their family reuniting. She can’t believe it. She’s finally got her Clarke back.
Lexa looks at her phone on the nightstand and sees two missed phone calls, both from Raven. Lexa frowns in confusion, still half asleep. Raven is her friend of course, but she’s Clarke’s best friend. After the divorce, they haven’t seen each other as much as they used to. It’s not that Raven picked sides but she’s known Clarke since kindergarten. She obviously is closer to Clarke. So why is she calling Lexa? Lexa feels a knot in her stomach forming and she doesn’t like it one bit. Lexa quickly hits the call back and await Raven’s voice on the other end.
“Lexa, thank god you answered.” Raven breathes out, her voice thick as if she’s been crying.
“Raven, what’s wrong? Are you oka-” Lexa slowly says and Raven cuts her off.
“It’s Clarke. Clarke was in a car accident.” As soon as the words leave Raven’s mouth and reach Lexa’s ears, the green eyed woman’s heart stops. This can’t be happening. She just saw Clarke. She just had Clarke in her arms..for the first time in much too long. They whispered sweet nothings and love confessions. They wipe away each other’s pain and tears with kisses. They held onto each other like there would be no tomorrow..except now, there really might be no tomorrow.
Lexa lets out a gasp and a quiet yet so powerful ‘no.’ Raven starts talking again, knowing that Lexa is about to shut down and she needs to explain as much as possible before that happens.
“A - um a semi truck ran a red and hit her car. She just was rushed into surgery. The doctors said a lot of stuff...um - they..they said that she - s-she was..”
“Raven.” Lexa shakily says, her heart feels like it’s stopped beating. Raven is rambling and she sounds hysterical. She can’t understand what she’s saying. “Take a breath then explain it to me.”
Raven sucks in a deep inhale and exhale. “The doctors said she has a few broken ribs and blunt cardiac trauma. She has something called a myocardial rupture. I don’t know what it means but I just wanted to let you know. Can you please tell Aden and Adria too?”
“What hospital Raven?” Lexa croaks out, still barely breathing.
“Arker Memorial.”
“I’ll be there soon.” Lexa frantically says and hangs up the phone. She shoots up and gently wakes her son. His eyes flutter open and he groans, wishing he could fall back into a deep slumber.
“Mom?” Aden asks groggily but still worried. He sees his Mom is crying so he sits up. His head is killing him but his mom is all that matters in this moment. “What’s wrong?”
“Honey..your mother has been in a car accident.” Lexa gently says, softly pushing back her son’s messy hair from his eyes once more. “She’s in surgery right now. We need to go.”
“What?” Aden’s voice is small and his eyes immediately water. “Mom was in a accident? No. She was here when I fell asleep. She was here.” Aden’s brain is slowly catching up to the news and when it does, he launches himself in his Mom’s arms. “She’s gonna be okay...right Mom? She’s gonna be okay?” Aden’s eyes are just like Clarke’s and right now they are filled to the brim with tears. Lexa’s heart breaks more than it already was.
“Your Mom is a fighter. We are going to get through this and so is she.” Lexa stays strong for her son and keep the rest of her tears at bay. She is terrified though, terrified that she’s going to lose the best thing that ever happened to her just after she got her back.
///
They hop in the car and Lexa drives them to the hospital. In the car, she puts her phone on speaker on calls Adria.
“Hi Mom. Can I call you back? I’m cramming for a huge exam and I ca-”
“Adria, you gotta listen to me baby.” Lexa softly says as she focuses on the road. Aden is staring at his mom. How can she be so strong when the love of her life is in the hospital?
“What’s wrong?..Mom, you’re scaring me.” Adria’s chipper voice is quieter now, as if she anticipates bad news is coming.
“Ok so your mom has been in an accident. She’s in surgery right now at Arker Memorial. Your brother and I are on our way there now. Can you meet us there or do you need me to pick you up?” Lexa’s voice is broken.
The phone is so silent that Lexa thinks for a second she lost her connection with Adria.
“Honey?” Lexa tries again.
“I...mom, she thinks I hate her.” Adria speaks with a cracked voice.
“No she doesn’t Adria. Your mother knows you love her. Don’t do this to yourself. Look, I don’t want you driving like this. I can come get you if you need me to.”
“That’s an hour drive. No, you need to go to her. She needs you. I’ll get Lincoln to drive me.” Adria curses herself for holding onto the anger for so long. Her mom might not make it and she hasn’t talked to her for real in a year. Her mom. Adria feels the tears silently falling.
“Okay my sweet baby girl. I have to go, we just parked the car. I’ll keep you updated. I love you.”
“I love you too Mom.” Adria hangs up the phone and runs out the door, almost forgetting her shoes. She runs across the campus to the frat house where Lincoln lives and opens the door. She rushes past a confused Paul and up the stairs to Lincoln’s room. She barges in and the boy is lying in his bed reading a book. He looks at her confused then hopeful then a little broken.
“I need you.” Adria breaks down and Lincoln is there to catch her, no questions asked. Lincoln is always there for Adria.
///
“Raven!” Lexa calls out and she speed walks over to Raven and Niylah. Raven is a wreck. Her mascara is smeared. Her husband Finn is holding their sleeping two year olds in his arms. Raven and Finn have a long on off history. They decided they wanted kids later in their life and got a surrogate to carry their twins, Diego and Jack. Niylah is sitting next to Finn. She looks distraught, her leg keeps bouncing up and down and she’s biting down on her nails.
“Lexa! Thank god you’re here.” Raven tightly hugs Lexa and Lexa can’t help but look over at Niylah who is glaring at her. Raven hugs Aden as Lexa greets Finn as warmly as she can under the circumstances.
“How is she? Is there any more news?” Lexa sounds desperate but she doesn’t care. This is Clarke.
“Not yet. They said she will be surgery for a few more hours. That’s all we know.”
“What about the other driver? What the hell happened?” Lexa’s nostrils flared and she all but growled when she thought about the driver who almost took her Clarke away from her and their kids.
“The cops arrested him a block down. The fucker tried to flee the scene on foot. His name is Cage Wallace. He was smuggling drugs from Mexico. He was high of some new drug called the Red. He was so high he didn’t see the light. Clarke’s beat up ole truck didn’t have a chance against his semi. The doctors said she’s lucky that she made it out of their alive. Cops showed me pictures of the scene..Lex, it’s so horrible.”
“Motherfucker, I’ll kill him.” Lexa growls out. “I want that scum in prison for the rest of his life. I’m calling Anya as soon as Clarke is stable.” Anya is Lexa’s only friend from childhood. She also happens to be the Olivia Pope of the West Coast. She is the biggest and baddest lawyer around these parts. She’s the assistant attorney general too. Lexa wants to make sure Cage never has the chance to hurt anyone ever again.
“I’m not sure that’s really your place Lexa.” Niylah spits out like venom. “My father’s team of lawyers will do just fine. We don’t need any exes getting involved in our personal affairs.” Lexa grits her teeth and Raven’s eyes widen. Is this girl really trying to exert power over her?
“Are you serious right now?” Lexa is absolutely livid. “You know what Niylah, it is my place. Furthermore, Anya has been Clarke’s lawyer since before we were married. Just because you warm her bed doesn’t mean that you have any legal right to-”
“That’s enough!” Lexa’s blood runs cold as soon as she hears that voice. It’s her Mom. It’s Abby. She turns around to see her ex mother in law, hugging Aden. Her hair is in a messy bun and she’s in disheveled clothes like she just threw on the first pair of clothes she could find.
“Shame on both of you for talking like this in front of Aden.” Abby says in her stern motherly tone. Lexa hates to disappoint Abby. That woman was like a mother to her. “Lexa, I expect better from you.” Lexa hangs her head in shame. “As for you, Miss Niylah.. I don’t know you very well. But after that outburst towards my daughter here..” Abby points to Lexa and the writer’s heart warms. Abby still thinks of her as a daughter. “I don’t want to get to know you anyways.” Before Niylah can even speak, Abby waves her off and looks to Lexa.
“Sweetie, tell me everything.” Abby looks at her with worried eyes and Lexa tells her about Cage and the medical jargon they don’t understand. Everything. Abby was chief of trauma surgery here before she retired last year.
“And who’s her doctor?” Abby asks, while holding both Aden and Lexa’s hands. Niylah just rolls her eyes at the family scene.
“Dr. Yang.” Lexa croaks out, her body leaning into her Mom.
“Good. Yang is the best heart doctor out there.” Abby says confidently.
“I’m going to go get a coffee. Would you anyone like anything?” Niylah asks and everyone politely declines. Except Lexa of course...she doesn’t answer and Niylah doesn’t wait for her answer anyways.
Right now, they all just need rest and support from one another. Which is why Abby is happy that woman Clarke has been seeing has scurried off. Nobody can compare to her darling Lexa in her book, but Niylah seems to be a particularly bad choice. What was Clarke thinking? She'll have to ask her when she wakes up...not if but when. Abby knows her daughter will get through this because her other daughter and their kids need her to.
Abby looks over at Aden who is dozing off. His eye is a tad swollen and although curious about the story behind the bruise, Abby knows it's not the right time.
“Oh sweetie, look at you. You look like you got in the ring with Rocky himself. How about I pull some strings and get you an empty on call room. Finn, you can come too and let the twins sleep in a real bed instead of your lap.” Abby gets up and politely tells the nurse who she is. The nurse’s eyes widen and she immediately scurries off to get an on call room for them. Aden wants to protest but between his meds for his eye and the sheer emotional intensity of the day, he really needs sleep.
Raven helps Finn carry their babies to the room and Aden sleepily follows. Now it’s just Abby and Lexa. It’s silent at first. Nobody is around, not even a nurse. And then Lexa starts sniffling. Abby looks over and can tell Lexa is about to break, her strong facade for Aden finally shattering now that her son isn’t here. Abby hugs Lexa. The writer gives in to the embrace and starts crying into her shirt.
“She has to be okay Mom. She’s my everything. Please.” Lexa isn’t sure who she’s saying please to. Maybe the surgeon. Maybe some God. But please please don’t take her Clarke away.
“Not a chance in hell that my baby girl’s fight ends here. She is strong Lexa. Just like you.” Abby mumbles into Lexa’s hair as she soothes the girl. Once Lexa’s tears dry and she puts a little space between her and Abby, the overwhelming silence starts again.
“We kissed.” Lexa says bittersweetly, breaking the silence. Abby just looks at her like it wasn’t a surprise. “Why aren’t you surprised?”
“I knew you two would find your way to eachother again. Your love story isn’t over yet, not even close.” Abby states confidently.
“We...she was going to end things with Niylah and we were going to try again. But now we might not ever get the chance." Lexa shook her head and released a bitter sad laugh, like she just remembered something. "You know the last thing we told each other was 'I love you.' I always used to say I wanted just one more 'I love you' from her, just one more chance to feel what it's like to be loved by the majestic Clarke Griffin. And I got my one more chance...but now I'm greedy. I need more. God, I need forever with her. ” Lexa feels the tears coming to the surface again.
“Don’t you dare lose hope. My daughter is in their fighting for her life right now. She needs you Lexa. She needs you to believe she will get through this. She needs you to be strong for her when she can’t be. Do you understand me?” Abby says sternly but lovingly as she holds tightly onto Lexa’s face.
“Yeah Mom. I will never give up on her.” Lexa mumbles quietly.
“I know you won’t my darling. I know.” Abby lets her go and Lexa leans her head on her mom’s shoulder. She closes her eyes and thinks of Clarke. Of their first kiss. Of the first time they made love. Of their wedding day. Of their first fight as a married couple. Of their first makeup sex as a married couple. Of their first night in the beachhouse. Of their first day as new parents. Of their first sleepless night hearing Adria’s incessant cries to be changed and fed. Of their first everything. She just hopes there will still be so many more firsts to come.
She’s almost dozing off when she hears the voice of a male nurse talking to her and Abby.
“We have news on Clarke’s condition.”