Say something

Thursday afternoon.

Lexa's head was a mess.

Things with Clarke had been strange ever since they had come back to their apartment after the holidays. She had thought they would talk about the kiss at some stage but Clarke never brought it up and Lexa was too afraid to say anything about it, she thought that maybe Clarke didn't want to be anything more than just friends and that she regretted the kiss. They still shared a bed but rather than cuddling up like they used to they now just lay side by side holding hands but in the morning they always woke up to find their bodies tangled up, unconsciously seeking each others embrace during the night and they would awkwardly pull apart and go through their morning routines in silence until one of their friends would show up and break the awkward silence.

That morning Lexa and Clarke had accidentally crashed into each other in the kitchen. They used to be so in sync but now it seemed like they couldn't do anything right around each other, Clarke had sighed sadly when it happened and then wrapped her arms around Lexa holding her close for a few moments before silently slipping away out of sight. Lexa kept replaying the whole incident over and over again in her head since then, she had already been to two of her classes and was now on her way across campus to her next one but she couldn't focus on what she was supposed to be learning because she was just so confused about her relationship with Clarke. She had considered just skipping the rest of her classes and going home to think about everything more clearly but had ultimately decided not to because Clarke might have done the same and then she would have to explain why she had left college early. She knew she needed to figure out how to fix things with Clarke soon, she knew if she kept going like this the stress it was causing her would start to show in her college work.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the two strangers who had been following her for nearly ten minutes. She turned down an alleyway she often used when she needed to get across the campus quickly, it wasn't a very popular route but Lexa would occasionally pass a student in a rush using it.

"Well, well, well, look who it is boys." A familiar voice boomed through the alley.

Lexa head shot up to find Finn coming towards her, there were two boys with him, one on either side who spread out when they got closer completely blocking Lexa's path, she rolled her eyes at their pathetic attempt to intimidate her. "Get out of my way Collins." She moved forward determined to get past him.

"Oh you're going nowhere bitch." He shoved her back a step into someone she hadn't known was stood behind her, she quickly glanced back to see that there were two more boys stood there, both looking just as menacing as Finn and the other boys. "You hurt my pride Lexa, I don't like it when people do that."

Lexa rolled her eyes again, every word that came out of his mouth just showed how immature he was. "What are you talking about?"

"I've heard you've been showing people a certain video of us." Lexa could see the anger in his eyes and hear it just as clearly in his voice.

"What do you want Finn? If it's an apology then you might as well give up now because you won't be getting one."

"Not an apology I'm after." Finn signaled one of his friends behind her and she received a hard kick to the back of her knee causing her to fall to one knee.

"You need to learn to keep your mouth shut." Finn said menacingly as he stood over her. "It's time for me and my boys to have a little fun." He had a sinister grin on his face as he wound back his arm before delivering his first hard blow hitting Lexa's cheek, knocking her to the ground with the force.

She didn't have long to react before the other boys closed in on her, she was just able to cover her face with her arms and hands and curl her legs up to shield her stomach, she knew there was no point in trying to fight when she was outnumbered, her best option was to just protect herself to the best of her ability in the hope she might have a chance of escaping with a limited amount of injuries.

They were relentless in their assault, someone was kicking her back, one of them was punching her ribs, she assumed that must have been Finn seeing as he was the one harbouring a grudge against her whereas the rest of them seemed to just be following orders, kicking her wherever they could.

The pain she already felt was near unbearable but there was no way she was going to give Finn the satisfaction of seeing her cry, she was willing to use all of her remaining energy to make sure not one single tear would escape from her eyes. She focused her mind on the one thing that could get her through this, Clarke. She pictured her eyes, her smile, her laugh, the way she would stretch when she had been sitting at her easel for too long, the look of pure bliss on her face when she would take her first sip of coffee in the morning, any and every detail she could possibly think of about the woman she adored.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a yell in the distance and suddenly the boys were no longer beating her, she heard one of them say "run!" in a panicked tone as another ordered "split up".

She felt relief flood through her hearing their footsteps getting further and further away, only now that she was no longer actively trying to distract herself did she realize the full extent of her injuries. There were bruises, cuts and scrapes for sure, possibly some fractures or even breaks. She kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see her injuries and confirm her suspicions just yet but she was also worried that it might not be over yet.

She winced when she felt a hand on her arm but the touch wasn't hostile in any way. "Hey It's okay, they're gone now." Lexa recognized the voice, she slowly pulled her arms away from her face to see that she was right in thinking the voice belonged to Harper. Lexa could tell from the horrified look on her face that the injuries must be bad. "Oh shit....guys!" Harper called out looking down the alley, Lexa couldn't see who it was she was calling. "Guys!!! It's Lexa." Harper yelled more urgently.

Lincoln and Octavia had just entered the Grounders diner closest to the college. Lincoln had asked Octavia if she wanted to meet up for her lunch break and since the secret was now out about Gus owning the chain of diners he felt more comfortable using the family card his father had given to each of them so they could eat for free there whenever they wanted.

They were just about to sit down at one of the empty booths when Octavia's phone started ringing.

"Hel—" Octavia suddenly stopped mid word causing Lincoln to look at her curiously. "Monty....Monty slow down I can't understand you."

Lincoln turned to fully face Octavia who was looking more concerned by the second.

"What?!" Octavia yelled. "Where?" She grabbed Lincoln's forearm and pulled him towards the door. "We'll be there in five."

"What's wrong?" He asked as soon as Octavia ended the call.

"Lexa's hurt, we gotta go."

"Lexa!!!" Lincoln yelled, seeing his cousin barely conscious on a bench he ran over and dropped to his knees in front of her looking at all her injuries.

"Fuck" Octavia muttered, taking in her friends injured state. "You said Finn did this?"

Monty nodded. "And his asshole friends, we saw it happening and we managed to scare them off but we didn't know it was Lexa until they were gone."

"We have to get her to the hospital, now." Lincoln said as he carefully scooped Lexa up into his arms.

"Thanks for looking out for her guys." Octavia said as she opened the door of Lincoln's truck to get Lexa in there.

"Keep us updated on how she is, alright?" Bryan asked.

"We will." Lincoln replied, dashing around to the driver's side of the truck.

"Lex I know it's hard but you gotta stay awake for me, okay?" Octavia pleaded, she gently patted Lexa's knee hoping it wouldn't hurt her. "Why aren't they answering?" She huffed, ending the call to Clarke and trying Raven again instead.

"They must still be in class." Lincoln answered before cursing under his breath at the traffic lights.

"Raven finishes first, I'll text her and tell her to get Clarke." Octavia decided.

Lincoln nodded his agreement. "Anya should be getting ready for work, I don't know if she'll answer or not."

"I'll try calling if she doesn't answer I'll just have to text her too." Octavia quickly checked on Lexa again, her eyes were partially open, she seemed to be completely dazed. "Come on Commander keep those eyes open, I know you can do it."

Octavia (14:23)
Get Clarke and come to the hospital, Lexa's hurt.

Reading the words on her screen hit Raven like a punch in the gut, she leaned against the wall for support as she took a few deep breaths to try to calm herself, she knew she needed to be strong for Lexa and Clarke.

After figuring out which class Clarke would be in at that time she made her way to the classroom as quickly as she could, along the way she attempted to call Octavia but got no answer. She knocked on the door quite violently when she reached the classroom, the professor was quick to open the door and when he did Raven explained to the professor that there was an emergency and she needed to take Clarke out of class early, he didn't question it, it was clear from the look on Raven's face that something was seriously wrong.

The man made his way over to his students work space. "Miss Griffin you are needed elsewhere." He gestured toward the door where Raven was waiting. 

"Sorry about this." Clarke apologized, she figured Raven was just screwing around but she couldn't tell her professor that so she just had to go along with whatever was going on.

"It's fine Miss Griffin, I hope everything works out okay." He gave Clarke a sympathetic look but she couldn't quite figure out why. "I can clear up your work space, you and your friend should get going."

She frowned, growing even more confused but nodded and grabbed her bag before quickly making her way to the door.

As soon as they were outside of the room Clarke asked "Rae what the hell is going on?"

Raven grabbed Clarke's arm and started pulling her along behind her while she explained. "I got a text from O telling me to get you and take you to the hospital, she said Lexa's hurt."

"Hurt? How bad is it? What happened? Is she going to be okay?" Clarke questioned frantically.

Raven stopped and turned to face Clarke. "Listen Clarke I know you're freaking out but right now I know as much as you do, we just need to keep calm, get there as quick as we can and just hope that she's alright."

"You're right." Clarke took a few shuddering breaths and furiously wiped at the tears that had started streaming down her cheeks. "Let's go."

"Anya!" Raven called to get her girlfriends attention as they spotted her at the hospital entrance, desperately looking around for any familiar faces. 

"Finally!! I've been looking everywhere for you, what's going on?" Anya asked once she reached them.

"We don't know we just got here." Clarke responded.

"I got a text from Octavia telling me to get here as quick as I could, that Lexa was hurt but it said nothing else and she's not answering when I call." Anya's fear was evident in her tone.

Raven took her girlfriends hand as a small gesture of support. "We got the same."

"Do you know what department they're in?" Anya questioned.

"Probably the ER if she hasn't been seen yet." Clarke informed them. "Try calling O again I'm gonna see if mom's here, she might know what's going on." She went in the main entrance of the hospital, heading for the nearest nurses station.

Anya and Raven followed closely behind trying to call Lincoln and Octavia.

After a few minutes Clarke returned to Anya and Raven. "Mom's not on duty today but I called her and she said she's on her way now, hopefully she'll be able to find out what's happening."

"Linc and O still aren't answering." Raven told her.

"We should head over to the ER and see if we can find them." Clarke decided, the other two nodding their agreement.

They soon found Lincoln and Octavia who explained that Lexa had been taken away on a gurney but they had no idea where she was or what was going on, a nurse had told them that they would be informed as soon as possible but due to a bad car crash earlier that day the ER was in total chaos.

Clarke knew that they wouldn't be getting any answers any time soon, all they could do was wait for Abby to get there so she could pull some strings and find out what was going on.

While they were waiting they decided to call Monty to find out what exactly had happened. He explained to them that he and Harper had been hanging out with Bryan and Miller and it was only by chance they had spotted what was happening, he said that Miller was the first to intervene and they had all been quick to follow, luckily they had managed to scare off Finn and his friends fairly quickly, it was then that Harper realized it was Lexa they had been attacking and she informed the rest of them, Miller and Bryan had helped Lexa up and brought her to the nearest bench while Monty tried calling Clarke but when she didn't answer he called Octavia next.

By the time they had finished the call Anya was fuming, she pushed herself up off the chair and started heading towards the exit.

Lincoln grabbed her wrist to stop her. "Where are you going?"

Anya pulled her wrist away from him. "I'm not going to just sit here and let that asshole get away with hurting her." She snapped.

"Anya calm down, there's nothing we can do about that right now." Lincoln tried to reason.

"No, I'm going to find that scumbag." Anya stormed away towards the door.

Raven stood up and sighed, she put her hand on Lincoln's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "I'll calm her down, call me if there's any news about Woods."

Abby arrived not long after Anya and Raven had disappeared. Clarke quickly explained what they knew to her mother and then Abby left them to go in search of Lexa. Clarke was relieved that her mother was there but it didn't make her worry any less about Lexa. She hated the idea of Lexa being in pain and likely scared with only strangers around to comfort her, at least with her mother there Lexa would have a familiar face to focus on.

They were still waiting for Abby to come back when two familiar faces entered the ER department.

"Mom, dad over here." Lincoln called.

The couple rushed over to their son.

"Lincoln has there been any news yet?" Gustus asked.

"Not yet, Abby's trying to find out what's going on."

"How did you get here so quickly?" Octavia asked knowing how long the journey from Polis to Arkadia was.

"I took one of the cruisers from work." Indra explained.

"Won't you get in trouble for that?"

Indra shook her head. "Polis isn't a very high crime area, there's always a few cruisers available and I called them to explain so it's fine."

"Where's Anya?" Gustus asked noticing his daughters absence for the first time.

Lincoln sighed sadly. "She lost it, Raven's trying to calm her down."

"I'm so sorry, this is all my fault." Clarke admitted quietly.

"How is this your fault?" Indra asked, confused about what Clarke had to do with what happened. 

"Finn is my ex, he only has a problem with her because she tried to protect me from him."

Indra sat down next to Clarke. "His actions are not your fault Clarke. None of us blame you for this, Lexa definitely won't and you shouldn't blame yourself either."

"She's right, Lexa would hate to think that you were blaming yourself for something you had no control of." Gustus added, crouching down in front of Clarke and giving her a comforting smile.

Anya and Raven returned not too long after Gustus and Indra had arrived. Raven had managed to calm her girlfriend down pretty quickly but her anger soon turned to fear and sorrow for her cousin so Raven had sat with her and allowed her to cry away from everyone else knowing she wouldn't want anyone else seeing her like that.

She looked guiltily at her parents expecting a lecture about controlling her temper but instead they just bundled her up in a hug, relieved that she was okay and Raven had managed to calm her down before she could go after Finn.

"I've seen Lexa and I've spoken to the doctor that treated her." Abby told the group after she had quickly greeted Gustus and Indra.

"Is she okay?" Indra asked worriedly.

"She's okay."

"How bad are her injuries?" Gustus asked.

"Nothing too major, it could've been a lot worse, she has mostly defensive wounds so she did manage to block a lot of hits that would have caused her injuries to be much worse. She does have a concussion so she'll need to take it easy for at least a week, it looks like she managed to shield her face and some of her head with her arms and hands but the back of her head was unprotected so it's likely she was either kicked there or she could have hit her head against the ground at some point during the attack. Her ribs on her left side are badly bruised but thankfully not fractured or broken. Her arms and legs are badly bruised too as is her back. She has a small bit of bruising on her jaw but that's the only damage visible on her face. They're going to keep her in overnight for observation."

"Is she in a lot of pain?" Clarke asked quietly.

"She was but they gave her some pretty strong painkillers and she fell asleep not long after that."

"Can we see her?"

"Yes but she's sleeping right now. They usually only allow two people in at a time but I told them Lexa's family so they won't have a problem letting a few more people in just as long as we don't overcrowd the room it should be fine."

Gustus decided that Clarke should be allowed to stay with Lexa all the time while the rest of them would take turns going into the room to ensure it wouldn't get too crowded. Clarke sat diligently by Lexa's side gingerly holding her hand as she rested.  

"Guys she's waking up." Clarke said to Lincoln and Anya as she noticed Lexa starting to slowly open her eyes.

Lincoln rushed out of the room but was back only a moment later with Abby.

"Lexa can you hear me?" Abby asked her gently.

Lexa tried to nod but winced at the pain it caused her.

"Could everyone wait outside for a few minutes? We just need to give her a little time to adjust." Abby said to them with a careful look.

Clarke could tell her mother was trying to avoid them having to see Lexa in this much pain but knowing Lexa she would want the same thing so she decided to comply with her mother's request and followed Lincoln and Anya out of the room.

After helping Lexa to sit up in the bed Abby quickly checked her wounds again to make sure they hadn't missed any injuries.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital." Lexa croaked, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Yes." Abby picked up a glass of water, placed a straw in it and held it while Lexa took a sip. "You're alright now sweetie, you're safe and we're going to take good care of you."

"Clarke's here?"

"Of course she is and so is everyone else."

"Is she okay?"

Abby smiled fondly, even when she was injured her main priority was making sure Clarke was alright. "She's fine, she's just worried about you. She's been by your side since they said we could come in."

Lexa let a small smile show hearing Clarke had stayed with her. "Thanks for sending everyone out until I was settled."

"I figured you wouldn't want them to see you in pain."

Lexa hummed her agreement. "They don't need to be any more worried than they already are."

"On a scale of one to ten how bad is the pain?"

"It's not so bad." Lexa said despite wincing when she moved slightly. "Should I feel so worn out though?"

"That's completely normal and expected after having taken such a bad beating. It's a good sign though it means that your body is working to repair the damage, you're going to feel drained for a while especially for the first few days and the pain meds will make you feel pretty drowsy too."

Lexa asked her a few more questions about her injuries and how she had gotten to the hospital, her memory was fuzzy and she could only remember little bits beyond Finn and his friends cornering her so Abby filled her in on what she knew.

Lincoln, Anya, Gustus and Indra had all gone into Lexa's room after Abby came out and told them Lexa was ready to see them. They had all agreed that Clarke should go in after them to spend a few minutes alone with Lexa before Octavia and Raven would go in. Clarke waited outside the room pacing back and forth nervously, when the four Woods family members emerged they did so with smiles on their faces but Clarke could still see the sadness in their eyes.

When Indra came out of the room she locked eyes with her, she could easily see the worry in Clarke's eyes. "She is strong Clarke, she will be okay."

Clarke nodded and took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves.

Indra grasped Clarke's forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you for being here for her."

"Of course, I'll always be there for Lexa whenever she needs me."

Clarke responded with such determination and honesty that Indra couldn't stop herself from smiling widely at her. "She's lucky to have you."

"I'm lucky to have found someone as incredible as her."

Indra pulled her into a tight hug before she disappeared down the corridor leaving Clarke alone.

Clarke took one last calming breath before moving forward and pushing open the door.

A soft smile appeared on Lexa's face when she saw her favourite girl come into the room. "Hey you."

"Hi." Clarke replied quietly, she moved to the bed and sat on the empty space by Lexa's legs. She awkwardly stroked Lexa's arm, unsure of how much physical contact Lexa could handle in her injured state.

"Clarke I'm not going to break if you hug me." Lexa spoke gently wanting to ease the tense atmosphere.

Clarke carefully wrapped her arms around Lexa and relaxed when she felt Lexa wrap her arms around her too, they stayed like that for a few minutes in complete silence, neither really knowing what to say, Clarke was the one to end the silence. "I was so scared Lexa." Her voice was barely audible, if she wasn't hugging Lexa then she probably wouldn't have been heard.

"I know." Lexa stroked Clarke's back trying to calm her worries. "I'm sorry."

Clarke huffed as a few tears she couldn't stop rolled down her cheeks. "What are you apologizing for? You didn't plan on getting attacked and it's not your jackass ex that did this, I'm the one that should be saying sorry."

Lexa pulled back a little to look at Clarke with a confused frown. "Clarke you are not responsible for what that asshole did."

"I don't get why he did it, I know he's an asshole to me but to beat you up just because you're my friend is just evil." Clarke responded, avoiding acknowledging that she wasn't to blame.

Lexa sighed, not missing the way Clarke changed the conversation. "If I tell you his reason it stays between us, okay?"

"Why?" It was Clarke's turn to frown confusedly.

"Because Anya and Raven will blame themselves for this too if they ever find out and I don't want that to happen."

"What do they have to do with this?"

"The video, he thought I was showing it to people and he said it hurt his pride. I assume he was talking about when Anya and Raven had their run in with him and Anya told him she had seen the video."

"His pride?! He put you in the fucking hospital because of his damn pride?!" Clarke yelled furiously.

"Clarke...."

"I'll kill him." Clarke spat the words full of anger.

"Clarke!" Lexa raised her voice, finally getting her attention. "I don't want you to kill him, I don't want you anywhere near him."

"But—"

"Promise me you'll stay away from him Clarke." Lexa took her hand and intertwined their fingers. "Please?"

Clarke immediately softened. "Fine, I promise but I'm not happy about this."

"That's okay, you're allowed to be angry." 

"I knew I should've made Raven delete that video."

"It's not her fault, no one is to blame here but Finn."

"I know but if I had just made her delete it then Finn wouldn't have a reason to come after you."

"He probably would have found another reason, people like that don't need a good excuse to hurt people."

"You're right." Clarke sighed. "I wish I never met him. Why couldn't I have met you back then instead?"

Lexa knew that for now this was the closest she would get to Clarke accepting that she wasn't to blame for this. "Wrong place, wrong time but now you've got me and I'm going nowhere."

"I'm gonna take that as a promise and hold you to it."

"You should."

They both smiled fondly at each other.

There was a quiet knock at the door before it was pushed open to reveal Octavia and Raven.

"Is it okay for us to come in now?" Raven asked.

Clarke nodded and gestured for them to come in.

"Hey guys." Lexa greeted them with a soft smile.

"You know if you didn't want to go to class there are better ways of getting out of it than ending up in the emergency room."

"Raven." Clarke scolded.

Raven looked at them both apologetically. "Sorry, you know I make awful jokes when i'm worried."

"Ironically I was actually considering skipping a few classes before this happened."

"You were? Why?" Clarke asked.

Lexa gave a small shrug. "I just wasn't feeling up for it, I guess." She didn't want to admit that it was because she had been worrying about what was going on with her and Clarke.

"I wasn't exactly wrong then." Raven let a small smile show.

Lexa chuckled. "No, I suppose you weren't." Lexa noticed that Octavia was still lingering by the door looking a little nervous. "You okay over there O?"

"Yeah It's just....are you really okay?" Octavia asked quietly.

"I'm a bit sore but I'm alright. Abby filled me in on what happened, thank you for helping me O."

Octavia relaxed enough to move closer to the bed. "Lincoln was the one that was driving."

"Yes but you kept me awake which Abby said was very important in those circumstances and you made all the calls to let everyone know."

Octavia shrugged. "It's no big deal."

"Well it is to me, I'm lucky to have a friend as great as you looking out for me."

Lexa could visibly see the remaining tension leave Octavia as she smiled and said "I'm really glad you're okay Lex."

"If it's any consolation you still look hot and even more badass than usual."

"Seriously Raven?" Clarke asked disbelievingly.

"What?" Raven feigned ignorance. "That one wasn't a joke it was an observation."

Lexa gave Clarke's hand a squeeze to get her to look at her instead of frowning at Raven. "You know what they say, laughter is the best medicine."

"Guys please go home and get some rest." Lexa pleaded. "Don't be worrying about me I'm in good hands here, alright?"

Anya, Lincoln, Octavia and Raven were obviously exhausted but they were all determined to stick by Lexa for as long as possible.

"Fine but you call if you need us, okay? Doesn't matter what time it is." Anya said, although it sounded more like a demand than a offer of assistance.

"As soon as everyone's gone I'm going to go to sleep, I can almost guarantee I won't wake up again until morning so there's no reason to be staying up waiting for a call that won't come."

"Is there anything you need?" Octavia asked her.

"There is actually a few things. I want you guys to get some food you're all probably starving so make sure you eat something soon."

"I can pick up some food for everyone on the way home." Lincoln offered.

"Please make sure Clarke eats too, I know she'll probably argue that she's not hungry but she really is."

"We'll threaten to tell Mama G if she refuses." Octavia smirked knowing that Clarke would force herself to eat just to avoid a lecture from her mother.

"Lastly I think one of you might want to stay with Clarke tonight, I don't want her to be alone." She said to Octavia and Raven.

"We'll both stay." Raven decided.

"You don't have to worry Lex, we'll look after her." Octavia assured her.

"Are you sure you'll be okay here by yourself? I can ask if I can stay with you." 

Lexa smiled softly at Clarke's concern for her. "I'll be fine Clarke, go home and get some rest it's been a long day for you, you're probably exhausted."

"You realize you're the one that's hurt, right?"

"I know but today must have been an emotional roller-coaster for you and that's exhausting enough but add in the fact that you likely haven't eaten since breakfast and that would completely drain you of energy."

Clarke shook her head fondly. "Always so caring."

Lexa reached for Clarke's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Go home, eat, sleep, relax and I'll speak to you tomorrow, okay?"

Clarke sighed, knowing she would much rather stay there with Lexa. "Alright."

Lexa gave her a thankful smile for agreeing. "Goodnight Clarke."

"Goodnight Lexa." Clarke made a move to leave the room but stalled by the door momentarily when she reached it seemingly lost in thought. She thought about the conversation she had with her mother earlier and decided she was done with letting her fear of losing Lexa stop her from being with her, she moved back over to Lexa's hospital bed. She leaned in closer to Lexa and with the barest bit of space left between their lips she stopped for just a few seconds to give Lexa the chance to stop her if she wanted to, when Lexa didn't pull away Clarke closed the remaining distance between them, the kiss was gentle and careful, Clarke was worried that too much pressure might hurt Lexa but to both of them it was perfect. When she pulled back she watched Lexa's eyes flutter open, she drew in a shaky breath and asked "okay?"

"More than okay." Lexa whispered in response, a smile slowly appearing on her face as the realization hit her that Clarke had just kissed her.

Clarke pulled back a little more, a shy smile on her face. "I better go now before the others come looking for me."

Lexa nodded, smile still showing. "See you soon Clarke."

"Umhmm sweet dreams Lex." She leaned in to give Lexa one more chaste kiss before finally exiting the room. 

"You okay?" Octavia asked when Clarke met them back in the waiting area.

Clarke nodded in response. 

"I left my phone in there, I'll catch up with you guys in a minute." Raven announced quickly setting off to retrieve it, she entered the room and grabbed her phone from the table beside the hospital bed. She looked at Lexa planning to say another quick goodbye before leaving but stopped when she saw the goofy look on Lexa's face. "You okay Woods?"

"Yeah." Lexa responded distractedly.

Raven cocked her head to the side, silently analyzing Lexa's odd behaviour but the girl was completely unaware that she had piqued Raven's curiosity. "Alright I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya."

When Raven caught up with the others again she looked at Clarke suspiciously. "Griff what did you do to Woods?"

Clarke frowned. "What? Nothing, why?"

"She's in there grinning like the Cheshire cat."

Clarke couldn't hide the smile that appeared on her face hearing that Lexa looked so happy. She decided she wasn't going to tell anyone what had happened between them until her and Lexa had the chance to talk about it but that didn't stop the others from trying to trick her into revealing what had happened.

By the time everyone was gone it was long past visiting hours. Marcus had come by after Lincoln and the girls had gone home, he had only checked his phone on his way out of the university when he was finished for the day and had rushed over to the hospital as soon as he saw Abby's messages, he didn't stay for too long because he didn't want to take up too much of her time with her family, he told her not to worry about her classes, that he would explain the situation to her other teachers. Indra and Gustus were spending the night at Abby's house so they could visit Lexa again in the morning before they went back to Polis, Abby had let them say goodbye to her by themselves while she went to find out what had been done with Lexa's clothes and bag when she was brought in, she was successful in her quest and had returned with all of Lexa's things in a bag, she made sure Lexa had her phone nearby so she could call one of them if she needed anything before she said goodnight to her and told her she would be back in the morning and would bring a charger with her so Lexa could recharge her phone if it needed it. The Jaha's were the last to leave, they wanted to stay as long as they could since they had to go back to Polis that night. After they left Lexa checked her phone to find an abundance of missed calls and texts from Bellamy, Echo, Roan, Luna, Monty, Harper, Miller, Bryan, Jasper and even one from Jasper's girlfriend Maya who she had only met a few times, all of them asking if she was okay, if she needed anything, she laughed at both Roan and Bellamy's messages both stating they would happily go to prison for killing Finn.

Once she had responded to them all she finally allowed herself to think about everything that had happened that day. She should be angry, she knows she should, maybe she should cry or feel even the smallest bit of sadness but she can't, she doesn't because all she feels is the overwhelming love that she was surrounded by today. She had people that cared about her, people that put their lives on hold to spend a full day sitting in a hospital just to be there for her, who drove for two hours just to come see her, people who were willing to argue with police officers to ensure they were doing everything they could to protect her, people who went above and beyond for her.

She had never felt as loved as she did that day, she thought she must be the luckiest girl in the world to be surrounded by so many loving and caring people.

The next day.

Indra, Gustus and Abby were her first visitors of the day. Abby had made them all breakfast and then came to the hospital with them following close behind in the cruiser Indra had borrowed. She only stayed for a few minutes before going to check on her other patients to give Lexa some time alone with her aunt and uncle. When Lexa had fallen asleep some time later Indra and Gustus left the room only to find Anya coming up the corridor towards the room. They explained to her that Lexa was sleeping and decided instead to go to Lincoln's workplace to see if he was free to have lunch with the three of them while Lexa was resting.

"I spoke to Clarke." Abby informed her as she examined her a short while after she had woken up.

"Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She couldn't decide whether or not she should call you because she wanted to talk to you but she was worried she would wake you up. Octavia had to confiscate her phone to stop her from calling you in the middle of the night just to ask if you were okay." Abby chuckled imagining Clarke trying to get her phone back. "They spent last night coming up with this elaborate schedule to take shifts taking care of you when you're discharged."

Lexa frowned. "They don't have to do that, I can manage by myself."

"Actually no you can't, not without over-exerting yourself and if you're going to recover quickly you'll need to take it easy, at least for a few days."

"I don't want them missing work and classes to look after me though."

Abby nodded in agreement. "I have an alternative, I was thinking you could stay with me. Being a workaholic has left me with plenty of overdue time off built up and who better to take care of you than a doctor?"

"But then you'd be missing work too."

"Yes but as I said It's been a very long time since I last took a break from work and I'd like the opportunity to get to know you better."

"I'd like that too but are you really sure?"

"Absolutely." Abby smiled kindly at Lexa not wanting her to think it was in any way a problem for her. "I haven't told the others about this plan yet because I wanted to run it past you first."

"Thank you Abby, I really wouldn't like them to mess up their routines to look after me."

Abby nodded in understanding. "They were planning to skip their classes today to come see you but I told them not to because you wouldn't want that."

"You're right I wouldn't, they missed enough having to leave early yesterday."

Miller, Bryan, Monty, Harper, Jasper and Maya all came by to visit Lexa that afternoon. Soon after Clarke, Raven and Octavia came by, Lexa and Abby told them about their plan for Lexa to stay with Abby for a few days, at first they were reluctant to agree, arguing that they were capable of taking care of her properly but once Lexa explained that she didn't want them missing their classes and that she was looking forward to spending time with Abby they all agreed. Now Abby was helping Lexa gather her belongings, her discharge papers had been taken care of and it was time for them to go to Abby's house.

"Do I even want to know what's in this?" Abby asked holding up the flash Jasper and Monty had brought with them for Lexa.

Lexa shrugged, even she wasn't sure what it was. "Probably not."

"Alright well just don't drink it until you're off all you meds or I'll have to confiscate it."

"I'm a little wary of drinking it at all."

Abby chuckled. "Ready to go?"

Lexa glanced around the room making sure nothing was left behind. "Yeah, let's go."

They met Octavia, Raven and Clarke in the parking lot, they had already said their goodbyes earlier before Abby had shooed them away telling them that the doctors needed to do one last check before they signed off on discharging Lexa, since Abby had said that Lexa was family to her it would be unethical for her to act as Lexa's doctor so she allowed another doctor to take charge of Lexa's case, although she did double check Lexa's injuries and her chart to make sure nothing was missed but only she and Lexa knew that. While they were waiting Abby and Clarke ran an errand together while Octavia and Raven waited in the canteen for them to return. When they came back Abby told them she would go get Lexa and meet them outside. Lexa was glad to see them again before they left, they didn't hang around for too long knowing that Lexa and Abby needed to get back to the house and get Lexa settled so she could rest again.

"I went by your apartment and got everything you'll need from Clarke." Abby told Lexa as they drove out of the parking lot.

"That's great, thanks Abby."

"I really like the set up you have there, Clarke showed me your room and her art room, that easel you got for her is beautiful, I'd say that must have been fairly expensive."

"It was worth every cent just to make her happy."

"She showed me your 'woods in a room' setup, it's very soothing."

"It's great, isn't it? Best present I've ever gotten." Lexa responded with a big smile showing.

Abby grinned, remembering that Clarke had been just as happy when she had showed Abby the easel. "You two are like two peas in a pod." 

Lexa had fallen asleep almost immediately after settling into Clarke's childhood room, she only awoke when Abby jostled her to tell her it was time for dinner. After dinner Lexa wasn't quite as tired as she had been that afternoon, Abby set up her laptop on the coffee table in front of the couch, Bellamy had sent her a text asking her to set it up so that he, Echo, Roan and Luna could talk to her and Lexa via skype. The four of them had become close since first meeting at Gustus and Indra's house on New Years Eve, they often went on double dates, had game nights and spent most of their free time in each others apartments. Lexa was glad they had gotten so close. She had spoken to them all individually over the phone while she was in hospital but seeing her on the laptop screen reassured them that she really was okay, it helped that the poor video quality made it difficult to clearly see most of her injuries.

The next morning.

Lexa woke up to the sound of Abby yelling, she was worried something might be happening and Abby might need help until she heard what she was yelling about.

"I do not want that boy anywhere near her, he doesn't get to attack my family and just go on with his life like nothing happened." Lexa had never heard Abby yell before, she wasn't even sure the woman could get angry until now.

"I know Abby I'm going to handle this, we won't let him get away with this." Lexa heard Marcus reply in a much calmer tone than Abby's. "One of the boys, I think his name is John Murphy, came forward to admit his part in it. He agreed to tell us all exactly what happened and who was involved. The only reason there has to be a disciplinary hearing is because he was cunning enough to attack her in a place where there were no camera's or witnesses that aren't linked to Lexa like Monty and his friends are but with this boy as a witness who was present during the attack they will have no choice but to expel Finn from the university."

"And what does he want in exchange for being a witness?" Abby was no longer yelling but there was still anger clear in her voice.

"He's willing to accept any punishment but he's hoping that being a witness will convince the board not to expel him too."

"I'm not sure how I should feel about that."

"I know, I wasn't sure either but if it's the only way to get rid of Finn for good then I think it's for the best."

A long silence followed, Lexa wasn't sure if they had stopped speaking or if they had just moved further away in the house preventing her from hearing any more of the conversation until she heard Abby speak again. "We really need to speak to Lexa about all of this."

"I should get her side of the story in writing, it might help at the hearing."

"Okay but don't pressure her into telling you, she might not be willing to relive what happened and we should respect that."

Lexa smiled hearing Abby being so protective of her. She knew she would tell Marcus everything he wanted to know but she was glad that Abby made it clear that it was her choice.

The next few days were spent mostly sitting on the couch talking to Abby and watching TV with her, occasionally taking a break to rest. Lexa had to set a ban on texting her during school or work hours for her friends and cousins because they had been texting so often Lexa knew they were distracted from their work and she didn't want that. Once they were finished for the day Lexa would receive numerous texts and calls, the majority of them being from Clarke. She tried her best to quell their worries by distracting them whenever they focused a little too much on how she was doing.

Thursday morning.

"Hey guys." Lexa greeted from her spot on the couch as she tried to push herself up with some difficulty.

"Don't even think of trying to get up to greet us." Alie warned.

"I'm not incapable of moving." Lexa protested.

"But you're supposed to take it easy, doctors orders, right Abby?" Thelonius asked.

"That's right, let them come to you."

Lexa huffed. "Fine."

"Aw cheer up, we brought you chocolate." Alie said revealing the box of chocolates she had hidden behind her back.

Lexa groaned. "I'm going to have to workout so much once I've recovered."

"Well we can take them back if you want?" Thelonious asked.

"I didn't say that I didn't want them." Lexa said quickly as she reached out to take them.

The three adults laughed at her antics causing her to blush.

"Since Thelonious and Alie are here I was thinking about heading into the hospital for a while and you could all have some time alone together, I'll be back in time for dinner though, is that okay with you?"

"Yeah that's fine, have a good day at work."

"If you need anything at all just call me, okay?"

"I will."

"Alright then, have fun and remember not to overexert yourself, if you need something or if you're going anywhere let Thelonious or Alie help you and if you're outside wear a coat, it's a little chilly out today."

Lexa smiled fondly at Abby's motherly checklist. She was so used to the woman being fun and witty that she considered her a friend but she sometimes forgot she was a mother too.

Thelonious and Alie walked out to the car with Abby so she could give them instructions about what Lexa could and couldn't do without Lexa protesting. 

Later that day.

Thelonious and Alie had taken Lexa out on a driving tour so she could show them all her favourite places in Arkadia. They had gone by the college, gone for a short walk in the park she would go to occasionally for lunch with one of her friends, they drove by the gym Lincoln worked at but didn't go in knowing he was likely with a client. As their final stop Lexa decided to show them her and Clarke's apartment, delighted to have the opportunity to show them her home.

"This was Clarke's bedroom but we changed it into a little art studio." Lexa said as she walked into the room.

"She's really talented, these are exquisite." Thelonious commented as he looked at the completed paintings Clarke had placed against the wall.

Lexa was about to respond when they heard voices and the apartment door closing.

"I'll make us something in a few minutes I just want to call Lexa first."

Lexa smiled recognizing the voice as Clarke's, she put her finger up to her mouth telling Thelonious and Alie not to say anything as she moved as silently as she could towards the kitchen.

"Put her on loudspeaker so we can talk to her too." She heard Octavia say.

"My ears are burning." Lexa stated from the doorway to the kitchen surprising the three girls.

Clarke gasped. "Lex...." She practically ran the few steps to Lexa and pulled her into a careful hug, burying her face in the crook of Lexa's neck.

Lexa smiled and melted into the embrace. "Hey Clarke, I've missed you."

"I missed you too." Clarke pulled back from Lexa but cradled her face in her hands.

"You look good in my jacket Clarke."

Clarke looked down at her outfit, blushing when she realized Lexa had just caught her wearing her favourite leather jacket.

"She's been wearing it pretty much all day everyday, we had to force her to take it off before going to bed." Raven revealed.

Clarke avoided looking at Lexa. "Sorry, I just wanted to feel close to you." She made a move to take it off but Lexa halted her.

"You don't have to take it off, I like seeing you wear it."

"Really?" Clarke finally looked at Lexa to find her looking at her with a soft smile.

"Yeah."

"Okay." Clarke smiled shyly at her. "So what are you doing here?"

A throat cleared behind them and Clarke looked to see Thelonious and Alie standing there.

"We were driving around Arkadia and Lexa said we could come see your apartment." Thelonious explained.

"Hi it's so good to see you both again." She gave them both a quick hug before returning to Lexa's side, wrapping her arm loosely around her waist. "Come sit down, let me get you guys some coffee." Clarke directed them towards the couch.

As she tried to go back to the kitchen Raven stopped her. "You go sit too Griff, me and O can make the coffee."

"Thank you." Clarke gave Raven a quick hug and shot a grateful look at Octavia.

"Go spend some time with your girl."

Clarke moved to the armchair where Lexa was sitting and sat on the arm of the chair. "Hi." She smiled softly at Lexa, feeling like she could finally breathe again now that she was within reaching distance of her again.

"Hi." Lexa smiled back at her and took Clarke's hand in her own.

"How are you feeling?" Clarke's eyes quickly darted around Lexa's body checking the injuries that were visible like the bruising on her hands which she was glad to see weren't as dark and painful looking as they had been only a few days before.

"I'm good. How are you? Are you sleeping alright?" Lexa had noticed the lines below Clarke's eyes, a clear sign that she wasn't getting enough sleep.

"I'm fine. I've been sleeping over in O and Rae's place." She decided not to mention that she wasn't sleeping quite as easily as she did when she's with Lexa but she thought it was for the best, Lexa didn't need to be under any more stress than she already was.

Raven came out of the kitchen to ask Thelonious and Alie how they liked their coffee which reminded Clarke and Lexa that they weren't alone.

"So you guys toured Arkadia? Do you like it?" Clarke asked them.

"It's great, I especially love this apartment you've both made it so homey." Alie commented with a sweet smile.

"Lexa showed us your work Clarke, you're very talented." Thelonious beamed proudly, he was so glad Clarke had never given up on her art.

"Thanks." Clarke said shyly.

"It's great that you were able to change your bedroom into a studio." Alie commented.

"It is, I had forgotten how nice it is to sleep in a room that's not full of lingering paint fumes."

"Yeah it's probably better for your health."

"Plus I get to cuddle up with this cutie every night." Clarke draped an arm around Lexa's shoulders.

"I miss that." Lexa admitted, forgetting again that the Jaha's were there and they were watching them.

"I miss it too but soon...." Clarke trailed off knowing Lexa understood.

"Soon." Lexa repeated quitely, smiling adoringly at Clarke.

They sat there staring at each other until Octavia and Raven joined them finally making them aware that they had unintentionally been ignoring the Jaha's. They both apologized but the Jaha's weren't upset about it, they were happy just to sit there watching the two who were very obviously in love. After that the conversation flowed easily with the other four chatting to each other whenever Clarke and Lexa found their focus shifting to each other.

They stood by the Jaha's car saying their goodbyes, Clarke said goodbye to Alie and Thelonious first so that her last goodbye would be to Lexa. There was barely even a sliver of space between their bodies as they stood facing each other.

"We'll be coming to mom's house straight after college tomorrow." Clarke spoke quietly, it wasn't that she didn't want the others to hear it just felt like such an intimate moment that it called for soft spoken words.

Lexa gently ran her fingers over Clarke's cheek, her gaze following the movement for a minute before locking eyes with Clarke again. "Sleep well Clarke." 

"You too." Clarke didn't hesitate before closing the distance and finally kissing Lexa, she had been dreaming about doing that again all week, when she pulled back a moment later she kept her eyes shut and rested her forehead against Lexa's. "Okay?"

"More than okay." Lexa whispered, echoing her words from the day at the hospital.

Clarke opened her eyes to find Lexa looking at her with pure adoration, her own expression showing the same to Lexa. At some point her hand had come to rest flat on Lexa's chest over her heart without her even noticing she had done it.

Lexa took the hand on her chest in her own and raised it up to her lips to press a gentle kiss to the back of Clarke's hand. "I'll see you tomorrow Clarke."

When they broke apart they both noticed the not so well hidden grins on everyone's faces causing them both to blush slightly.

They made it back to the house not long after Abby had gotten home. They had called her on the way back deciding they would get takeout and bring it back to the house so no one would have to cook.

After dinner Thelonious helped Lexa to the couch since she refused to go back to bed not wanting to waste the rest of the time she had with the Jaha's whilst Alie helped Abby clean up.

"I really don't know how anyone could hurt that girl." Alie commented.

"There's always been something off about Finn, I knew it back when Clarke was dating him, he thinks no one matters but him because of his parents being so rich." Abby's hatred for Finn was evident in her voice.

"It's bad enough that he hurt her but all the pain she's had to deal with at such a young age, most people don't have to deal with that much in an entire lifetime, I have clients with smaller issues than what Lexa's had to deal with that feel like their world is crumbling around them but Lexa just pushes through it all, she never fully throws in the towel and I'm so proud of her for that." 

"She is an extraordinary young woman." Abby remained silent for a few moments, a thoughtful look on her face. "I've spent a lot of time talking to Lexa the last few days, I know there's no replacing her parents but from the way she speaks about you and Thelonious I think she sees you both as parental figures in her life."

"I was never able to have kids of my own and I accepted that, I never really thought it was something i needed anyways but getting that call from Indra made me realize that I've come to see Lexa as my own kid. I have never felt fear like that before and then seeing her lying in that hospital bed terrified me." Alie's voice trembled as she spoke.

Abby squeezed Alie's shoulder offering her a small gesture of support. "Trust me I know that fear all too well."

"How do you handle it?"

"Focus on the good as much as possible, you'll always be afraid something will happen but thinking about the good things happening in their lives distracts you from thinking about it the negative things too much."

Alie took a moment to absorb that, the fear she felt for Lexa seemed to creep up again and again over the last few days only disappearing when she was texting Lexa or speaking on the phone to her, she could only imagine how tough it was for Abby having to deal with that fear for multiple people. "Speaking of good things...." Alie decided to change the conversation not wanting to make Abby or herself think about that fear any longer. "Clarke and Lexa kissed again today."

"They did?" Abby asked, hoping she had heard that right.

"Umhmm."

"Finally." Abby breathed out the word.

Alie chuckled. "They're so cute together, I'm so glad they found each other."

"Me too but it took them long enough to get to this point."

"At least they're figuring it out now though."

Abby hummed her agreement.

After Thelonious and Alie left Abby and Lexa sat down to watch TV together.

"Were you happy to see the girls today?" Abby asked after a while.

Lexa hummed. "I really missed them. It's weird going from seeing them everyday to not at all."

"I'm sure it's the same for them."

"I made an important decision today."

"Oh really?" Abby asked curiously.

Lexa wrung her hands nervously, she couldn't just not tell Abby now that she had piqued her interest and she genuinely wanted Abby's opinion. "I want to date your daughter." She nervously blurted out as quickly as she could, she took a deep breath to calm herself before saying it more clearly. "I mean I would like to ask Clarke to go on a date with me, I just wanted to ask if you're okay with me doing that?"

"Well it's about damn time." Abby chuckled at Lexa's surprised expression. "Lexa I knew you and Clarke liked each other before I ever met you, Octavia and Raven told me and then I saw it too in the way she smiled every time you were mentioned. Clarke's not great at hiding her feelings and neither are you."

"So you're okay with us possibly dating?"

"I couldn't imagine anyone that would be better for my daughter than you Lexa." Abby's smile was kind and earnest. "You would've had Jake's approval too."

"You think so?"

"Definitely, he would be rooting for you two just as much as I am. Jake always said that all he wanted was for Clarke to find someone who would look at her like she was the most precious person on this earth and I know you don't just look at her like that but you really believe it too. You are a parents dream Lexa and I'm just so glad that it's my daughter you want to be with."

Lexa blushed and ducked her head to hide her shy smile. "Thank you Abby, it really means a lot to me to have your approval."

"So how are you going to ask her?" Abby asked excitedly.

"I want it to be special, I do have an idea about how to do it but I'll need some help."

"Well I'm happy to help in any way I can."

Friday.

Clarke nestled into Lexa's side refusing to have any distance between them anymore.

Raven looked at Lexa and Clarke trying to figure out how she could hug Lexa while they were in that position. "Wanna share Griff?"

"Nope, mine." Clarke tightened the embrace slightly, determined not to let go of Lexa.

Lexa smiled and kissed Clarke's forehead.

Raven smirked. "Alright then a fist bump will have to suffice Woods."

"I'm happy with a fist bump." She held her fist out for Raven to bump which she did gently because she worried about hurting Lexa.

Lincoln pressed a kiss to the top of Lexa's head, Anya squeezed her shoulder and Octavia engulfed both her and Clarke in an awkward group hug. Abby watched on as they all caught up with Lexa, it was clear how much they had all missed her especially her cousins since they had both been at work when Lexa went by the apartment with the Jaha's.

"Anya and Lincoln took over the cooking duties for us." Clarke informed Lexa during dinner.

"Oh really?" Lexa was clearly surprised.

Lincoln took a drink before responding. "We have a newfound respect for how much work you put into keeping our girlfriends full."

"I feed dozens of people everyday but even I struggled to keep up with their never ending hunger." Anya stated, looking at Octavia and Raven with a disbelieving look.

"We were thinking about changing up the cooking schedule so me and Anya could help out more often."

"Not like all the time but a few times a week to give you and Clarke a break from it." Anya added quickly, not wanting to get stuck doing it all the time.

"Seems only fair considering they're our girlfriends and we've just been letting you and Clarke do all the work to keep them happy." Lincoln looked at them both guiltily.

"We didn't mind doing the cooking but it would be good to have a break from it every now and then." Lexa admitted.

"We'll rework the schedule when you're feeling better." Clarke decided.

After dinner Clarke helped Lexa back to her room. Lexa didn't mention that she was perfectly capable of getting there on her own, enjoying the feeling of Clarke's arm around her waist.

"You look tired." Lexa commented as she slipped into the bed.

"I am, it's hard sleeping without you next to me."

"Come here." Lexa held her arms out to Clarke.

Clarke kicked off her shoes, snuggled up to Lexa carefully avoiding her injuries and hummed contentedly once she was settled.

"Better?"

"Umhmm, I honestly don't know how I ever slept without you."

"I know what you mean, I'm sleeping in your bed but without you it just feels wrong."

"We'll be back to our own bed soon, mom said you're healing well and faster than expected." Clarke smiled but it soon faded when she remembered what she needed to tell Lexa, she took in a deep breath and collected her thoughts for a minute. "I spoke to Finn's father."

Lexa stayed silent but Clarke could feel how her body tensed at the mention of Finn's name.

"He came by the university and asked to speak to me....I agreed to it, Marcus insisted on being there to supervise."

"I'm glad to hear that, I wouldn't want you to be alone in a situation like that."

"Mister Collins isn't a bad guy, he's really very nice and so is his wife. I really don't know how Finn turned out to be so cruel with parents like them." Clarke frowned trying to figure it out but shook away the thoughts to finish telling Lexa what she needed to. "He said he wanted to apologize to you but he didn't know if you would be okay with seeing him so he asked me to tell you that he is sincerely sorry for what his son did to you. He said Finn's been getting more and more out of control over the year's and that they blame themselves for not dealing with the issue sooner. They told Finn that he needed to apologize for what he did to you and should work to earn your forgiveness, when he refused and even went as far as to say he stood by his actions they decided it was time to cut him off financially, he said that money had corrupted their son and it was time to fix that. So now that he's been kicked out of college and has been cut off by his family he has no choice but to get a job and learn what it's like to live as an average joe hopefully he'll learn not to be such an asshole."

Lexa stayed silent, absorbing all the information Clarke had just given her. "I'm glad to hear they don't support his actions."

"He also said that if you wanted to press charges or even sue they would understand and would even support your decision."

"I don't think that's necessary, they do sound like decent people, suing would just be a punishment for them and they don't deserve to suffer for their son's bad behaviour. Pressing charges would probably just result in an unnecessary long trial and he'd probably just get a slap on the wrist anyway so I don't see the point in going through all that."

"I figured you wouldn't want to do either of them, you're too good to even consider revenge." Clarke finally felt Lexa relax for the first time since they had started this conversation.

"Why waste my time on plotting revenge when I could be enjoying my time with you instead?"

Clarke pressed a feather-light kiss to Lexa's jaw. "You're so sweet."

Clarke soon dozed off, sleep came much easier when she was with Lexa. Octavia, Lincoln, Raven and Anya had all taken turns checking on them but didn't stay too long not wanting to wake Clarke, they all knew the stress of the last few days had taken it's toll on her. 

As the night wore on Abby came into the room to give Lexa her painkillers. She smiled seeing her little girl resting so peacefully in Lexa's arms but she worried that the position they were in may be causing Lexa some pain. "Should I wake her or is it okay?"

"Nah it's okay, she needs a good nights sleep."

"Did you give her the sketchbook?"

"Not yet, I wanted to let her rest first, she was really tired."

Abby nodded in understanding. "I was thinking since it's not a school night everyone could stay the night if they want, are you okay with that?"

Lexa let a huge grin show hearing that everyone could stay and she wouldn't have to sleep without Clarke that night. "That sounds great." 

Abby sat on the bed beside Lexa and handed her one of her painkillers. 

Lexa put the pill in her mouth and took the glass of water Abby handed her to wash it down. 

"Are you okay for everything now?"

"Yeah thank you."

"Alright I'll let you get some sleep, I'll tell the others you're going to sleep now so they won't come in and wake you up."

"Thanks, goodnight Abby."

"Goodnight Lexa." Abby said softly before leaving the room.

Lexa shifted down a little in the bed to get more comfortable, being careful not to wake Clarke. Once she was settled comfortably she pressed a kiss to Clarke's forehead. "Goodnight Clarke, sweet dreams."

Clarke let out a content sigh in her sleep, Lexa smiled before shutting her eyes and getting a much needed good night's sleep.

Lexa woke up the next morning to an empty bed but thankfully that wasn't the case for long.

"Good morning." Clarke greeted cheerfully as she entered the room with a tray.

"Mornin'." Lexa responded, sitting up in bed and stretching her arms.

"Breakfast in bed." Clarke announced, placing the tray on Lexa's lap.

Lexa smiled seeing what Clarke had brought her. "You made me pancakes."

Clarke shrugged before sitting back down on the bed next to Lexa. "It's been a while since I've cooked them for you, thought you might like some."

"Thanks Clarke." Lexa kissed Clarke's cheek. "Is everyone awake?"

"Yeah, mom's making breakfast for them."

"I'm the only one that gets your pancakes?"

"Yup. Surprisingly Rae and O didn't try to steal any, it's a testament to how important you are to them, they're willing to give up pancakes for you."

Lexa finished a bite of her pancakes before responding. "Damn, that is true friendship."

Clarke grinned and took her own coffee mug off of the tray. "Wanna hear something weird?"

"Sure."

"Your cousin, the professional chef, was taking notes on how I made the pancakes." Clarke revealed proudly.

"Of course she was, they're amazing which isn't surprising considering the woman that made them is also amazing." Lexa smiled fondly at her before taking another bite of her pancakes.

Clarke leaned over and pressed a kiss to Lexa's cheek before resting her head on Lexa's shoulder.

"Time for your meds." Abby announced coming into the room with a glass of water and Lexa's pills.

Lexa took the glass and the meds from Abby but set them down on the bedside table. "I'll take them in a little while, there's something I want to do first and I don't want my mind to be all foggy."

Abby gave Lexa a knowing look and Lexa gave a small nod confirming that Abby did know what she was talking about.

Clarke frowned looking between the two, confused about what Lexa would have to do and what her mother knew about it.

"I'll give you some privacy." Abby exited the room with a wide grin plastered on her face. 

Lexa sucked in a nervous deep breath, she took Clarke's hand in her own to get her attention. "I have something for you."

Clarke tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Okay...?"

Lexa reached into the beside locker to pull out a sketchbook. "You can look at it now but not in here, I want you to look at it on your own, alright?" 

Clarke frowned even more confused now but nodded.

"Whatever your answer is it won't change anything between us, I promise. We'll always have a unique bond that I treasure whether it's as friends or....something else." Lexa said mysteriously, not wanting to give away much but needing Clarke to understand that she shouldn't feel pressured to say yes to her.

"What you got there Griff?"

"I don't know, Lexa said I have to look at it on my own though so I'm going out back."

Abby approached her daughter and gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Don't look so worried honey, it's nothing bad. Actually I think you're going to be very happy about it."

Clarke looked at her mother suspiciously but decided not to question her, too curious to look at the sketchbook, she simply nodded and slipped out onto the patio.

"What are you and Lex hiding from us Mama G?"

"You'll find out soon enough, just be patient." Abby responded, watching Clarke through the kitchen window with a soft smile on her face.

Clarke came back into the house with the goofiest looking grin on her face, hugging the sketchbook to her chest she leaned back against the door frame while everyone stared at her.

"Well?" Anya was the first to ask.

"Hmm?" Clarke finally broke out of her daze.

"What's with the book?"

Clarke put it down on the table in front of Raven and Anya.

Lincoln, Octavia and Abby moved to stand behind them to see the book as Raven flipped through the pages.

On every page there was a cheesy pick up line written at the top of the page with a sketch related to the line beneath it and Lexa had filled every page, it was clear she had worked hard to find the perfect lines and had really tried her best to make the accompanying artwork decipherable.

They flipped through some of the pages, stopping on random ones. The first one they stopped on had 'If I were a cat I'd spend all 9 lives with you.' written up the top of the page, underneath it there was a terribly drawn cat stood beside a stick figure with blonde hair which they all quickly realized was supposed to be Clarke. The next one they flipped to said 'you're kinda, sorta, basically, pretty much always on my mind.' below it was a brunette stick figure with a thought bubble containing Clarke's stick figure, a little heart on one side of her and a smiley face on the other. Raven couldn't help but laugh loudly at how bad the next one was, it read 'your eyes are blue like the ocean and baby, I'm lost at sea.' below it the Lexa stick figure was in a crudely drawn boat, the ocean a singular blue line. The next one brought a smile to all their faces 'you're like a dictionary, you add meaning to my life!' it said, below it Lexa had drawn an open book, on one of the pages it read 'Clarke: The most wonderful person to have ever existed.'. Next up was a drawing of the sun with love hearts for eyes and a big smile, above it 'you are so beautiful that you give the sun a reason to shine.' was written. The next one was one that was somewhat specific to their past 'you may fall from the sky, you may fall from a tree, but the best way to fall... is in love with me.' there was a tree trunk drawn with one branch growing out of it, below it stood the brunette stick figure holding the blonde stick figure as though she had saved her from falling out of the tree. 

They finally reached the very last page where Lexa had written 'One of the lines I was going to use was 'you’re my favorite weakness' but I don't think that's true because while I cannot stop myself from falling for you (even if I could I wouldn't want to) you gave me back my life and made it even better than I could have ever imagined it being, you give me a reason to smile from the beginning to the end of each day, you have helped me see the beauty in this world again, so I think you, Clarke Princess Griffin, are my greatest strength and I would never forgive myself if I missed my chance to be with you. So my beautiful, wonderful Clarke would you like to go on a date with me?'

"This is so cheesy." Anya said, closing the sketchbook, although if anyone were to look at her they would easily see the smile on her face.

"So very Lexa." Lincoln commented with a proud smile on his face.

"It's adorable." Octavia cooed.

"And very thoughtful." Abby added.

Clarke only remembered then that her mother had known about the book before she did. "What was your involvement in this mom?"

"All I did was get the sketchbook, everything else was all done by Lexa, she wanted to do something special for you."

Clarke heart fluttered hearing that Lexa wanted to make the simple act of asking her to go on a date special for her.

"What the hell are you waiting for Griff?" At Clarke's bewildered expression Raven clarified. "Go kiss your girl."

Clarke beamed and ran out of the kitchen heading towards her old room. Just before she burst into the room she heard her mother shout "Be gentle, she's still injured."

Lexa's gaze focused on Clarke as soon as the door opened. "Hi." She wrung her hands nervously, worried about Clarke's reaction.

Clarke moved to the bed and straddled Lexa making sure not to put too much of her weight on her. "Yes!" She captured Lexa's lips in a short, sweet kiss. "Yes!" She kissed her again "Yes!" And again "Yes!" Again. "Yes!" She finally pulled back, a huge grin on her face.

Lexa had a grin just as big showing. "I'm guessing that's a yes to the date?"

Clarke chuckled. "That is a definite yes to the date."

"Did you like the book?"

"It's so dorky." Lexa pouted but Clarke was quick to kiss away the pout. "And so freaking adorable."

Clarke noticed that Lexa's pills were still on the bedside table and frowned. "You haven't taken your meds yet?"

"I was worried that if I did I might forget this moment and this is something I want to remember for the rest of my life."

"Such a romantic dork." Clarke kissed Lexa again before pulling back to reveal a huge grin. "I'm a very lucky girl to have a date with someone so sweet and thoughtful."

A little while later.

"Congratulations Lex, I'm so glad you and Clarke are giving it a real shot." Lincoln leaned down over the bed to hug his cousin.

Anya sat down on the bed next to Lexa. "I'm proud of you for finally asking her out, even if you did do it in the dorkiest way possible." 

"Say what you want, Clarke liked it and that's all that matters." Nothing anyone said could get rid of the smile on her face.

Anya smiled, glad to see her cousin so happy. "We have to head back to the apartment and get ready for work now but we'll be coming back here later, Abby said we could stay again tonight."

"You know you don't have to turn your lives upside down just to keep me company."

"We know but we miss you so we want to be here, right Anya?"

Anya hummed her agreement. "Plus Clarke doesn't look like a sad puppy when she's around you."

"Do you feel up for a walk? I was thinking we could go back to the woods." Clarke asked hopefully.

Lexa looked to Abby for permission.

"That should be okay as long as you promise you won't climb any trees this time." Abby said in her most motherly tone.

"I promise to keep my feet firmly on the ground."

"And if you break that promise Clarkey will cancel your date, right?"

Clarke looked at Octavia incredulously before directing her response at Lexa. "Well no I won't agree to that but we won't be able go on a date if you're back in hospital because you fell out of a tree."

Lexa smiled, glad that Clarke wasn't willing to use their date as a bargaining chip even if it was just a joke. "I just want to be wherever you are so if you stay on the ground then that's where I'll be too."

Clarke kissed Lexa soundly on the lips, not caring that her mother and two of her best friends were watching.

"You two are even more lovey-dovey than before." Raven said, her disbelief that it was even possible evident in her voice.

Just like the last time they had been to the woods Abby, Octavia and Raven were a little ahead of Clarke and Lexa this time though it wasn't just so that they could be alone, although that was a factor, Clarke was adamant that they would walk slowly determined not to let Lexa get hurt in any way. They were walking mostly in silence, their hands linked and swinging slightly between them, without the pressure of trying to hide their feelings they both felt much more relaxed, a huge difference from the tension that had been plaguing them only a few days before that.

"Did you tell my mom you were going to ask me out?"

"Umhmm, I wanted to get her approval before I asked you out, she was very supportive." Lexa responded easily.

Clarke looked at her with a fond look but Lexa missed it, her gaze had been focused on taking in their surroundings. "She's known for a really long time that I like you, she even called you my soulmate at Thanksgiving."

Lexa met Clarke's gaze, a soft smile appearing on her face. "She told me she knew you liked me before she met me."

Clarke blushed at that. "I guess I was pretty obvious."

Lexa squeezed Clarke's hand and allowed a beat of silence to pass between them before speaking again. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Why don't you like Harper?"

Clarke stopped walking, causing Lexa to stop too, she was completely surprised and a little confused by Lexa's question. "I do like Harper, she helped save you from Finn and those other assholes."

"Yeah but I mean before that happened, you didn't seem to like her being near me."

"That was only because she kept trying to hit on you."

"So....you were jealous?" Lexa asked a little hopefully.

"Jealous?" Clarke blushed slightly again. "Of course not, I just didn't think it was right for her to keep hitting on you when you couldn't tell her if you were or weren't interested in her."

Lexa thought about Clarke's answer and hummed, she believed it was a partial truth but there was more to it than that. "Pity."

"What? Why is it a pity?"

Lexa shrugged, struggling to hide a smirk. "The idea of you being jealous is kind of hot."

"Really?"

"Doesn't really matter since you weren't jealous."

"I was jealous, so jealous I wanted to push her away every time she was near you." Clarke confessed hurriedly.

Lexa grinned delighted to hear Clarke say that. "Oh really?"

"Absolutely." Clarke answered very seriously.

"You, Clarke Griffin, are one of a kind." Lexa pulled Clarke closer with her hands on her hips and rested her forehead against Clarke's. "Whenever I look at you or just even think of you, everyone else disappears."

Sunday Evening.

"All I'm saying is that once she's up and running I'll have some real competition again, you're too gentlemanly to compete against." Octavia explained to Lincoln, he wasn't too happy when Octavia had mentioned while she was saying goodbye that she needed Lexa back to her best as soon as possible so she could get a real workout.

"How do you know I'm not just losing for real?" Lincoln asked.

"Because when Lexa's involved you actually take it seriously."

"Well you should blame Lexa for me letting you win, she's the one that's always telling me to be a gentleman and a gentleman let's his girlfriend win."

"Yeah but I never taught you to lose a race just so you could stare at your girlfriends ass while she's running."

"That's why you let me win?" Octavia asked, surprised by this new information. "Aw baby that's so sweet." She wrapped her arms around Lincoln's neck and pulled him closer to kiss him.

"Those two really are perfect together." Raven shook her head before moving over to Lexa to pull her into a hug. "Don't take too long to heal Woods." Raven ordered once she had moved back a bit.

"I've got a date with a beautiful woman, I'm pretty sure that will inspire me to heal in a record breaking amount of time." Lexa smiled widely, her focus turning to Clarke.

Clarke moved forward, occupying the space where Raven had just stood and captured Lexa's lips in a chaste kiss. "I'll wait however long it takes, the most important thing is that you recover."

"Well it shouldn't be too much longer before your next reunion, you really are healing very quickly, a few more days and I think you'll be ready to go home." Abby informed them.

"Enough time to plan our date and this way I'll be able to make it a complete surprise." Lexa told Clarke with a sweet smile.

It was another three days before Abby let Lexa go back to her apartment and start going to classes again. She had reluctantly agreed when Marcus said he would keep an eye on her in college and would send her home if she was overworking herself, he pointed out that she had Clarke, her friends and her cousins watching out for her at the apartment too so there was no chance she would get away with overexerting herself. She struggled to settle back into her routine the first day and the next day she felt worn out but thankfully it was Friday so she would have the weekend to relax and recuperate. By the following Tuesday she was feeling much better, she was able to keep up in her classes, she slept much better now that she could hold Clarke at night again and she even felt well enough to cook occasionally although she was very much enjoying the new schedule they had for cooking now that Anya and Lincoln were helping.

Clarke had told Lexa that their date could wait until she was fully healed and Lexa had initially agreed because of how worn out she was the first few days but by the next Wednesday she had changed her mind and asked Clarke if she would like to go on their date Friday after college. After questioning Lexa about how sure she was that she would be feeling alright by then Clarke had agreed, delighted that she would finally get her date with Lexa.

After classes on Thursday Clarke had taken a few of her outfits from their room and brought them over to Octavia and Raven's apartment so that on Friday she could get ready for their date in the other apartment while Lexa got ready in their own apartment. They both wanted to do this date properly right down to ensuring that their outfits would be a surprise.

Friday afternoon.

"Uh guys Lexa's sort of freaking out about what to wear and I don't think I'm much help to her." Lincoln told Octavia and Raven, looking a little distressed.

"I've got Woods, you stay here and help Griff." Raven said to Octavia. "And you should probably stay here too, you look like you're about to pass out." She told Lincoln.

Raven made her way over to the other apartment, not bothering to knock on the apartment door or the bedroom door before going in. "What's going on Woods?"

"Nothing I have is good enough." Lexa huffed as she threw another shirt onto a pile of clothes on her bed. "Why didn't I buy a new outfit for tonight?"

"Okay you need to sit down, Clarke won't be happy if you exhaust yourself looking for clothes and then have to cancel the date." Raven attempted to move Lexa away from the drawers she was rooting through.

Lexa managed to maneuver around Raven. "I don't have time to sit around doing nothing Raven."

Raven spun her around and carefully nudged her towards the bed. "I know, that's why I'm going to help, I'll find something for you, okay?"

Lexa reluctantly sat on the bed, feeling the relief immediately, she definitely needed a few minutes to rest her legs. "Thank you Raven."

A tense silence engulfed them as Raven started rooting through Lexa's clothes, she kept an eye on Lexa as she did, she could tell there was something bothering her friend but decided it was best not to put any pressure on Lexa to answer any questions right now. They stayed like that for another few minutes before Lexa finally let out a sigh. "What if it all goes wrong and she can't even look at me anymore? I'll have to move out and I'll lose all of you."

"Chill commander, if that happens O will move in with Griff and you can move in with me but that's not going to happen because this date is going to be amazing."

"What if it's not though?"

Raven stopped what she was doing and turned towards Lexa, a serious expression on her face. "Clarke is crazy about you. You could take her to Walmart and she'd still think it was the best date ever just because she was with you." Raven saw her relax a little and went back to trying to find an outfit for her. "Seriously you've got this Woods, there is no way this date will be anything less than amazing."

"Thanks Raven."

"It's my duty to help, remember? I'm your love guru."

Lexa chuckled the last of her anxiety finally dissipating. "Why do I get called dorky when you're clearly the dorkiest of us all?"

"I hide it better than you do." Raven draped a few different items of clothing over Lexa's lap. "Now put these on while I go raid your fridge as a reward for all my hard work."

Lexa rolled her eyes but there was no hiding her small smile, she really was grateful Raven was there for her.

"Wow." Lexa breathed out the word so quietly it was almost silent. "You look stunning Clarke."

Clarke was wearing a beautiful white dress that ended just below the knees and left her shoulders exposed, it hugged her curves so perfectly Lexa thought it must have been made specifically for her. Octavia had helped her curl her hair and she had only put on a small amount of makeup.

Clarke blushed slightly at the compliment before she let herself appreciate Lexa's appearance. Lexa was wearing simple black pants, a dark green shirt with the top few buttons left open and a casual black blazer over it. She moved toward her and ran her hands down the lapels of Lexa's blazer, her hair was done in her signature braids. "You are so beautiful."

They both stood staring at each other completely mesmerized with huge grins on their faces until a camera flash distracted them. "Are you taking pictures of us?" Clarke asked their friends accusingly.

"She is." Octavia said, gesturing towards Raven. "I'm recording a video so Mama G can see this too."

"Send it to me so I can send it to mom, dad and the Jaha's too." Lincoln told Octavia.

"You're all so embarrassing." Clarke hid her face in the crook of Lexa's neck.

Lexa just laughed at her friends antics and wrapped her arms around Clarke's waist. "Wanna go now?"

"Yes please." Clarke muttered still hiding her face.

Before they could get to the door Raven moved in front of it, standing there with her hands on her hips. "I understand you're young and you have urges, all I ask is that if you feel the need to get frisky just wait until the car has come to a complete stop first."

"Oh my god." Clarke muttered, hurriedly moving around Raven to get out of the apartment.

"Have her home by midnight Commander." Octavia called out to her down the corridor.

Lexa turned to walk backwards as she mock saluted. "Yes ma'am." She turned back around following Clarke to the stairwell.

Clarke shook her head and pulled Lexa along at a faster pace than before. "Don't encourage them."

"Anya what are you doing?" Lexa asked, her eyes wide when her cousin showed up at their table. 

Anya placed their appetizers down in front of them. "Everyone else got to see you two before you left, I didn't want to miss out so I asked a few of the waiters to keep an eye out and let me know when you two got here."

Lexa shook her head disbelievingly. "I'm so sorry Clarke."

Clarke chuckled. "This isn't even half as embarrassing as Linc, O and Rae's little photo shoot back at the apartment." She leaned closer to Lexa to speak quietly so that other people around them wouldn't hear her. "Plus everyone seems to think we're really important since the chef personally brought our meals out."

Lexa looked around the restaurant to find that there were a few patrons watching them curiously, some of them speaking to each other in hushed tones as they did.

"That was delicious." Clarke hummed happily after finishing her appetizer. "I know Anya's a top notch chef but why doesn't she work in one of the grounders diners? I would've thought your uncle would like to have a chef as good as her working for him instead of a competitor."

"She did back when she was still learning, it's where she got her start. She was always honest with my uncle about wanting to work in a place like this and he always encouraged her to do what made her happy. Then there was an incident that sort of forced her to leave grounders, during a particularly busy shift Anya ended up having to cook and serve the food and this one guy got a little handsy after she brought them their food, he grabbed her ass and she broke his nose. Luckily he didn't press charges or sue my uncle, we figure it's because he didn't want to admit that a girl broke his nose. After that Anya decided she should find somewhere else to work, I think she was worried that Gus might lose his business if she lost her temper again."

"That's smart, I hope that guy learned his lesson."

"Well he never showed up at the diner again so I imagine the experience made him think twice about ever hassling a woman again." Lexa said with a proud smile, she really believed that Anya did the right thing even if it could have jeopardized her uncle's business, she knew that if Gus had been there to witness that incident then the man would have been taken out of the diner on a stretcher, Gus would gladly give up his business to protect his family.

"So when exactly did you start liking me?" Clarke asked while they were waiting for their main course.

"You'll call me a dork again if I tell you the truth."

"I won't, I promise."

"From the moment I first met you." Lexa admitted quietly.

When Lexa finally built up the courage to look up she saw that Clarke was grinning at her. "Me too."

"Really?"

Clarke reached across the table to hold Lexa's hand. "Yeah, you took my breath away and I was mortified that I was just wearing old sweats while you looked like a freaking goddess."

"You looked beautiful, you always do." Lexa raised their joined hands up to her lips to press a gentle kiss to Clarke's hand.

They had just finished their main course when a bald man dressed in a very expensive looking suit approached their table.

"Miss Woods, I'm so pleased you're here, your cousin told me you would be dining here tonight."

"It's nice to see you again Titus." Lexa greeted politely.

"You'll be happy to hear there have been glowing reports from the customers about our latest art requisition. We've even had a few requests to purchase it but I had to inform them that my heart is set on keeping it."

Lexa beamed. "That's fantastic."

"Indeed." Titus turned towards a bewildered looking Clarke. "I believe this is the artist?"

Anya scrunched up her face. "Again, gross."

"Okay spill." Octavia demanded as soon as she closed their apartment door.

"Best. Date. Ever." Clarke responded dreamily.

"I told Woods she had nothing to worry about, now I'm going to have to gloat." Raven said as if doing so would be a chore.

"She was worried?"

"She saw this as the most important day of her life so yeah she freaked out a little bit." 

"Well it's been the best day of my life, she really made it special."

"Okay we need details." Octavia stated.

"We went to the Ark for dinner which was delicious, your girlfriends an amazing cook."

"i know." Raven beamed proudly. "She said all the staff thought you guys looked cute together."

"She waited on our table herself, everyone was looking at us like we we're some sort of big shots."

"What else happened?" Octavia asked trying to turn the conversation back to Clarke and Lexa.

"She had an incredible surprise lined up for me." Clarke smiled at the thought of her art being on display in one of the fanciest restaurants in town. "Anya and Lexa showed the owner of the ark my paintings, he bought one and has it hanging up in the restaurant."

"Seriously?" Raven asked excitedly.

"Yeah, did Anya not tell you?"

"No she didn't say anything about it to me."

"They probably wanted to keep it a secret until you got to see it first." Octavia explained.

"Makes sense." Raven stated before looking at Clarke with a concerned expression. "Are you okay with it? I know you worry about people seeing your work."

"I do usually but from what the owner of the restaurant said people seem to really like it and seeing it hanging there....it was just the best feeling."

"What about the roof?" Octavia asked excitedly.

Clarke frowned wondering how they knew about that. "Did Lexa tell you she was going to bring me up there?"

"No, Anya heard you guys coming downstairs when she was coming up to the apartment, we figured you guys had to have been up on the roof."

"She bought me a bench to make it more comfortable when I want to talk to dad and she bought two solar lights that give just enough light to make it easier to see up there."

"Jeez Woods is just perfect all round, huh?"

"Yeah, she really is." Clarke said with a dreamy expression on her face.

Octavia wrapped her arms around Clarke pulling her into a side hug. "We're happy for you Clarkey, you deserve the very best and clearly that's Lexa."

"So how did it go?" Lincoln was the first to question Lexa once they had gotten into the apartment.

"It was amazing, she is amazing." Lexa answered with a soft smile.

"How did she react to seeing her painting?" Anya asked.

"She loved it, she's thinking about possibly selling more of her art."

"She should, she's really talented." Lincoln remarked.

"Aren't you so glad you have me in your life?" Anya asked smugly.

"Yes." Lexa stated honestly. "I'm so glad I have both of you in my life and thank you for everything you've done to help me, not just with the date but everything you've done for me over the last few years, I wouldn't have gotten to go on this date if it weren't for you two."

"One date with Clarke and she turns all mushy on us." Lexa could tell by the quirk of her lip that Anya was happy to hear what Lexa had said but she would never openly admit it, except maybe to Raven. 

"Hey Lex what's the big deal about the roof?" Lincoln changed the conversation knowing his sister wasn't too fond of speaking about feelings.

"You guys knew we were up there?" Lexa asked, clearly surprised.

"I heard you talking when you were coming downstairs, Octavia and Raven said you must have been on the roof but never explained why." Anya clarified.

"It helps Clarke feel closer to her dad when she looks at the stars so she goes up there to talk to him sometimes. She took me up there a while back and we sat there watching the stars and talking to him, it was really nice but we had to sit on the hard concrete floor so a few days ago I managed to get a secondhand bench and I surprised her with it tonight." Lexa's smile grew into a full grin as she spoke. "She really loved it."

Lincoln smiled at the joy clearing radiating off of Lexa. "I'm really glad to see you this happy Lex, Clarke is so good for you, far better than Costia ever was."

"That's for sure." Lexa agreed immediately. 

"I think if it was anyone other than Clarke I would be worried about how captivated you are by her but it's because it's Clarke that I know your heart is safe." Anya said, surprising both her cousin and brother.

"That's....really sweet, thank you for trusting her Anya." Lexa wrapped her arms around her cousin.

"Don't make a big deal out of it." Anya grumbled, making a half-hearted attempt to escape from the hug.

Lexa shot up from her chair as soon as the door opened. "Hi." She greeted with a sweet smile.

"Hey." Clarke responded with a huge smile.

"Ugh let's get out of here before they start making out." Anya rushed towards the door. "Goodnight lovebirds." She called out before leaving the apartment.

"Just for the record I think it's sweet how mushy you two are, not gross." Lincoln clarified as he followed his sister out the door.

Clarke quickly shortened the distance between them with Lexa wrapping her arms around Clarke's waist as soon as she was close enough. Lexa rested her forehead against Clarke's, both of them allowing their eyes to fall shut and enjoying the feeling of the embrace. 

"Wanna go to bed?" Lexa asked quietly after a few moments.

"Umhmm."

After getting ready for bed, exchanging a few shy glances as they did, they both finally climbed into bed.

"Are you sure you're okay with us not taking things further tonight?" Clarke asked nervously. 

"Of course Clarke. I want to do this right too, we'll take it slow."

"You know you're like perfect, right?"

"I'm hardly perfect." Lexa protested.

"Name one thing you aren't amazing at."

"Well I can't draw." Lexa grinned proudly like she had just won a debate.

"I don't know about that, I've got a sketchbook full of cute doodles that proves you kind of can."

Lexa chuckled lightly. "That's the nicest way I've ever been told that I lack artistic ability."

Clarke absentmindedly started drawing random patterns on Lexa's forearm with her finger. "Well it's best to be nice when you're trying to woo an amazing woman."

"Woo? Really Clarke?" Lexa asked disbelievingly.

Clarke's hand stilled and she looked at Lexa. "What? It's as good a way as any to describe what I'm trying to do."

"Well consider me thoroughly wooed then."

"Oh there is plenty more wooing to come, it's my turn to plan our next date."

"I can't wait." Lexa noticed Clarke trying and failing to hold back a yawn. "We should sleep."

"I'm enjoying just being with you too much to sleep."

"I'll still be here when you wake up, just like I'll be here every other morning for as long as you want me to be."

"So forever?" Clarke lay her head on Lexa's chest and hummed contently. "Sounds good to me."

"Me too." Lexa pressed a kiss to Clarke's head. "Goodnight Clarke, sweet dreams."

"Goodnight Lexa." Clarke tilted her head up to press a kiss to Lexa's jaw. 

"Right back at you." Clarke leaned up to capture Lexa's lips again. "This is so much better than I ever imagined it could be."

"I'm glad I've surpassed your expectations."

"You have more than surpassed them, I'm pretty sure you have ruined me for anyone else."

Lexa frowned a little before schooling her expression. "Good, I don't want you to be with anyone but me."

Clarke grinned at Lexa's small display of jealousy. "I want you all to myself too."

"I am more than happy to only be yours." Lexa captured Clarke's lips in a longer kiss this time.

When they broke apart Clarke checked what time it was. "Do we have to get up?"

"We still have a few more minutes before Octavia breaks in and drags me away."

Clarke sighed, wishing they could stay in bed all day. "We should invest in a lock they can't pick."

Lexa chuckled. "Agreed."

"Clarke!!" Octavia yelled into the apartment. "Where are you Clarkey?"

"Jesus O calm down, what's going on?" Clarke asked, emerging from her old bedroom.

"I won, I actually beat the commander." Octavia announced proudly, practically bouncing with joy.

"What? How?" Clarke looked at Lexa worriedly, she thought maybe Lexa hadn't been ready to start exercising again and had injured herself as a result.

Octavia smirked. "Romeo here...." she gestured towards an embarrassed looking Lexa "had to make a quick stop."

"I got you these." Lexa muttered shyly before handing a small bouquet of flowers to Clarke.

Clarke took a moment to admire the beautiful flowers, spotting orange and coral roses with a few light yellow carnations. "You gave up winning to get me flowers?" She asked in astonishment.

Lexa shrugged, still looking a little embarrassed by the whole situation.

Clarke turned to face Octavia. "O I'm happy for you but you should leave 'cause we're going to make out now."

"You two are disgustingly cute." Octavia said with a smile. "Thanks for inadvertently helping me win Clarkey." She called out as she left the apartment.

Lexa pouted hearing Octavia's parting words.

Clarke moved closer and wrapped her arms around Lexa's neck, one hand still holding the small bouquet. "Don't worry you can reclaim your winner status tomorrow." She leaned in to give Lexa a long lingering kiss.

"It was so worth losing to O." Lexa said when they pulled apart before leaning in to capture Clarke's lips in a much longer, passionate kiss.

"What's that look for?" Lexa asked glancing at Clarke while she stirred the contents of the pan.

"What look?" Clarke asked from where she sat on the countertop so she could watch Lexa as she cooked their lunch.

"You're looking at me the same way I look at your art."

"That's because to me you are more beautiful than any artwork I've ever seen." Clarke said with a big dorky grin on her face.

Lexa chuckled. "Smooth talker."

"Truth teller." Clarke shot back quickly, reminding them both of their first ever text conversation.

Lexa moved to stand between Clarke's legs. "You're gonna have to keep those smooth lines to yourself until I'm done cooking or we may end up starving." She pulled Clarke closer with one hand on the back of her neck, bringing their lips together for what Lexa had intended to be a quick kiss.

Clarke hummed against Lexa's lips before she pulled back slightly. "Maybe we should order takeout then we could keep doing this." She captured Lexa's lips again, the kiss quickly turned heated causing Lexa to temporarily forget she had been cooking.

When Lexa did remember what she had been doing she slowed the kiss until she was able to reluctantly pull away from Clarke again to get back to making their meal. "Very, very tempting but it's almost ready."

Clarke sighed dramatically, a small smile showing. "Fine I'll just keep on admiring your beauty then."

Raven and Octavia stood in the doorway of Clarke's old bedroom admiring the scene in front of them. Lexa sat upright with her back against the wall on Clarke's old bed with a book in one hand and a coffee cup in the other as she read aloud to Clarke who was happily sitting at her easel painting something but the two couldn't see what it was from their position at the door.

"Aww look at them so domesticated." Octavia cooed, making their presence known.

"You know we're not zoo animals, right?" Lexa asked. 

"We're just observing."

"It's getting creepy, we didn't observe you guys when you started dating Anya and Lincoln." Clarke pointed out.

"Yes but we didn't take months to admit we liked Linc and Anya, we have waited so long for this that it's only fair we get to watch you two being all cute together." Octavia argued.

"Fine but if we ever wake up to find you two watching us sleep I'm banning you both from our apartment." Lexa warned.

"Fair enough that would be crossing the line." Raven admitted.

Lexa hopped up off the bed and walked over to Clarke to take her cup. "More coffee?"

"Yes please." Clarke replied with a sweet smile.

"Coffee guys?"

"Yup thanks Woods."

"You're far too kind to us."

"I know." Lexa agreed cheekily. "Go sit."

As soon as Lexa had left the room Octavia and Raven focused all their attention on Clarke with Octavia asking "so....?"

"So?" Clarke asked, unclear about what they wanted to know.

"How was last night? Did you two manage to keep your hands to yourself?"

Clarke rolled her eyes. "Yes, we're adults and we're perfectly capable of sharing a bed without jumping each others bones, we've been doing that for months now."

"Yes but now you know that you both like each other." Raven pointed out.

"I'd say it's a lot closer to love than it is to just liking each other." Octavia remarked.

"Whoa O it is way too soon to say things like that." Clarke protested.

"Is it?" Raven asked with genuine sincerity.

A silence fell over them as Clarke thought about Raven's question. She knew her feelings for Lexa were strong, much stronger than her feelings for Finn had ever been. No one had ever captured her attention quite like Lexa had. She couldn't picture a single day of her life without her, the thought of being that attached scared her a little because if she were ever to lose Lexa she knew it would destroy her but the excitement she felt thinking about the first time she would say those three words to Lexa almost completely eradicated that fear.

Lexa came back in breaking Clarke's train of thought, she handed Octavia and Raven a mug of coffee each before ducking out of the room again.

When the two friends looked at Clarke again they had no idea why she looked so glum.

"What's with the pout Griff?"

"I'm not pouting." 

"Uh yeah you kind of are."

Clarke sighed. "If I tell you you'll just mock me."

"No we won't."

"We wouldn't—" Octavia tried to argue but stopped when Clarke gave her a disbelieving look. "Okay fair enough, we probably would but we promise we won't."

"Really?" Clarke asked skeptically.

Both Octavia and Raven nodded their agreement.

Clarke stared at them both trying to decide whether or not it was a good idea to tell them the truth, she ultimately decided to trust that they would be true to their word. "I'm a little addicted to kissing her and I'm just a bit sad she didn't kiss me before she left the room."

Octavia and Raven both shared a look before wide grins appeared on their faces.

"You're giving me cavities from all this sweetness." Octavia teased.

Clarke stuck her fingertips into the glass of water that she was using to clean her paintbrushes and then flicked the water at her two friends. "You said you wouldn't mock me."

"I'm not, I'm just saying it's cute."

Lexa came back into the room again this time carrying her and Clarke's coffee mugs, she made her way over to Clarke and put her coffee cup on the little table she had beside her, she leaned down to press a kiss to Clarke's temple before going back over to the bed and sitting down beside Octavia.

"Whipped." Raven said between fake coughs.

Lexa just rolled her eyes at that comment. "So what are we talking about?"

"What a good kisser you are." Octavia responded almost immediately.

Lexa looked like a deer caught in headlights clearly not having been expecting an answer like that causing the three other girls to laugh at her clear expression of shock.

Raven and Octavia started making obnoxious kissing noises at Lexa in an attempt to further embarrass her.

"Clarke make them stop." Lexa pleaded.

"Why? They're not wrong." Clarke stood up and approached the bed, she leaned down to capture Lexa's lips with her own, she felt Lexa smile causing her to break the kiss to pull back and see the smile for herself. "You are a very good kisser babe."

"Ugh it's no fun if you actually enjoy it." Raven exclaimed before pouting and crossing her arms, disappointed that they couldn't mess with Lexa for just a little longer. 

Sunday afternoon.

"Oh look at you two, you're even cuter than I imagined." Abby cooed.

"Mom." Clarke whined.

"Let me be the doting mother, I've waited a long time for you two to finally get together."

Clarke huffed. "Did everyone know we were going to end up together?"

"Everyone but you two." Anya pointed out.

"We had a groupchat dedicated to talking about you two." Octavia admitted.

"Amongst other ways of celebrating your blossoming relationship." Abby added mysteriously.

"What other ways?" Lexa asked suspiciously.

"That is still a secret for now." Raven said before anyone could give away her secret about the scrapbook.

"You guys are weird." Clarke commented as she started up the coffee maker.

"Agreed." Lexa added as she got cups out of the cupboard and brought them over to Clarke.

Abby smiled watching Lexa easily maneuver around her kitchen, it was clear the time she had spent there while recovering helped her feel more at ease in Clarke's childhood home. "So tell me all about your date, I want to know everything....well not everything."

"Don't worry Mama Griff they kept it PG....unfortunately." Raven clarified, her disappointment clear.

Clarke shook her head. "I'm really starting to worry about how invested you are in our relationship Raven."

Everyone chimed in with their agreement except for Anya who patted Raven's hand in a comforting way. "I get it."

"I knew you would." Raven leaned forward to give Anya a quick kiss, she knew her girlfriend hated any kind of PDA but she occasionally made exceptions for Raven.

Lexa nudged Clarke's side and gestured towards the two with her head. "A perfect match, right?"

"Definitely." Clarke smiled at the sight of the two openly showing how much they liked each other.