Chapter 5
“No way!”
“Lexa, don’t be so damn headstrong.”
”No fucking way, Bellamy!”
She stared at the wheelchair in front of her. No way was she going to sit in it. She had spent ten days in a hospital bed and today she was going to leave and go home and she would bloody well do it on her own two feet.
“What is going on?” Lexa heard Clarke’s voice and turned her head.
“I am not sitting in that.” She pointed at the wheelchair. “I am perfectly fine and capable of walking.”
Clarke looked at her and started to laugh. “What is it with patients and not wanting to get into a wheelchair? It is hospital policy.”
Lexa looked at her. “It makes you feel weak. After ten days in a bed I really don’t want to feel weak again.”
Clarke grinned. She had spent the last ten days with Lexa and she still hadn’t figured her out completely, but she knew that if she didn’t want to sit in the wheelchair she probably wouldn’t. She looked at Bellamy.
“Would you be so kind and get my luggage? I’ll take care of her.” She pointed at Lexa.
Bellamy shook his head in utter annoyance, but went anyway.
Clarke sat down next to Lexa.
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“I don’t know. I just know that I will see my mum and my friends in a few hours and though I’ve really missed them I’m also a bit afraid of seeing them again.”
Lexa looked at her. “Why?”
Clarke smiled. “I kind of left in the middle of the night.”
“Me, too.”
They sat in silence for a while.
“If you really don’t want to get in the wheelchair there is one other possibility.”
“Which one?”
“You could walk out of here if you’re accompanied by a medical professional. Do you think you can get one of those to help you out?”
Lexa looked at her and was speechless. She had no idea how Clarke did it, but she was flirting with her and it made her smile. She hadn’t smiled that much in months. It gave her a warm feeling, but it also made her feel guilty. How could she smile after losing Costia only a year ago? She looked at Clarke who was studying her.
“Well, Dr. Griffin, would you possibly be so kind to accompany me to our ride?”
“Well, Ms. Woods, I thought you’d never ask.” Clarke laughed and got up. She offered Lexa her arm. “May I?”
Lexa looked at her. “You’re being ridiculous.”
She took Clarke’s arm nevertheless and let her lead her outside.
Bellamy and Lincoln were waiting at the car and Lexa suddenly had a déjà vu. She heard the bullets ricocheting next to her and smelled burned gunpowder. Her grip on Clarke’s arm tightened, but Clarke seemed to understand without words. She stopped and whispered to her. “It’s okay. We’re going home, Lexa. I am right here.”
Somehow it made Lexa snap back to reality. She nodded.
“Then let’s go home and slay our demons.”
--
The flight was smooth and about an hour in Lexa fell asleep. When she woke up hours later she realized that Clarke’s head was resting on her shoulder, her eyes closed. It made Lexa feel fuzzy in a nice way. On the other side of the aisle Bellamy was reading a book while Lincoln was listening to some music with his headphones on. Lexa watched them for a while. They had become part of her family and it was weird to think that after they had landed she wouldn’t see them every day. Well, she’d probably see Bellamy. She knew that Anya had hired him and she was sure that her sister had made him promise to take care of her for the last few months. Lexa was no fool. Somewhere deep inside she appreciated Anya’s concern and also Bellamy’s, but she knew that they couldn’t help her with what she was going through. She had to figure this one out by herself.
She felt Clarke stir just a little bit, her hand searching for something. Before she could stop herself Lexa took Clarke’s hand and held it in hers. She felt Bellamy’s eyes on her and shot him a glance daring him to say something, but he just smiled and concentrated on his book again. Lexa closed her eyes and went back to sleep.
“Hey sleepyhead, wake up. We’re here.”
Lexa woke with a jolt. “What?”
Clarke was looking down on her from where she stood. “We’ve landed.”
“We have?”
“Yes, you slept right through it.”
Lexa rubbed her eyes. “Okay.”
Clarke smiled and took her hand to pull her up which had Lexa almost smashing into her. “Hey, careful! I’m still injured.”
Clarke grinned. “I remember you telling me how perfectly fine you were only hours ago.” Lexa growled at her und followed her outside.
There was a small staircase leading to the ground and downstairs there were people waiting for them. Lincoln already seemed to be suffocated by a woman that was probably his fiancé. Bellamy hugged a small, but feisty looking girl Lexa didn’t know and next to them she could see Anya and a woman that was looking at Clarke. She could feel Clarke stop.
Clarke hadn’t expected her mother to be at the airport. She was usually so busy that Clarke had thought she’d probably see her only later that day. She'd thought she’d have more time to prepare and now she didn’t know how to react. What was she supposed to say? “Hi Mom, sorry that I left without so much as a note?” She stayed at the top of the staircase not knowing what to do when she felt Lexa’s hand in hers.
“Is this okay? I just want to make sure I have a medical professional accompanying me to the ground. Just in case. I’ve heard about people fainting and stuff.”
Clarke looked at her with an expression that Lexa could only interpret as gratefulness. She smiled at her and started to make her way down, pulling Clarke with her.
Clarke saw her mother’s curious look as Lexa took her hand, but she didn’t care. All she cared about right now was how everything inside her had calmed the second their fingers had touched. It was almost troubling her when Lexa let go to greet a woman who was probably her sister. She was tall, muscular and simply intimidating. Lexa looked at her like she was trying to find out what mood her sister was in, but then Anya did something unexpected. She smiled. She smiled so warmly that Lexa didn’t know how to react. She had expected almost everything from anger to hurt, but not this. To top it all Anya pulled her over and hugged her.
“It’s good to have you back, kid.”
With Lexa occupied Clarke now found herself finally facing her mother who looked at her for the longest time before she finally opened her arms to pull her into a tight embrace.
“Clarke.”
“I’m sorry, Mum.”
“It’s okay. We can talk about it later.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah, you better be, Griffin!”
Clarke turned around to face Raven who was staring at her. For a second Clarke wasn’t sure if she was about to attack her and she saw Lexa watching them closely, but then Raven launched herself into her arms. “Damn it, Clarke! If you ever leave like that again I will kick your sorry ass. Do you understand?”
Clarke felt a few tears running down her cheeks and simply nodded. Octavia smiled at her and joined in.
“Really Clarke, it’s bad enough that Lincoln and Bell are playing the hero, but I needed you to pick out cake and stuff.” She grinned. “Actually I still do. Raven and I can’t decide on one and you’ve always been the tie breaker.”
Clarke felt Lexa’s eyes on her and motioned for her to come over.
“Guys, say hi to Lexa. She saved Bell and Lincoln and got shot in the process.”
Octavia stared at Lexa for a second and before she could stop herself she hugged her.
“Thank you! Thank you for keeping them safe.”
Lexa winced a little bit and Octavia released her instantly.
“I am so sorry. Did I hurt you?”
Lexa shook her head, teeth clenched. “I am fine.”
Clarke raised her eyebrow at her. “As fine as you can be with a bullet hole in your stomach.” She turned to her mother. “Mum, can you check on Lexa at the hospital? I want to make sure everything is fine.”
Lexa stared at her. “Clarke, I really don’t think …”
“Listen to the doctor, Lexa. You will go with them and I’ll pick you up later.”
“But Anya, I …”
“This is not a discussion.”
Clarke looked at Lexa’s sister. She had been right. The woman was intimidating.
She felt Lexa staring at her in annoyance and couldn’t help, but grin.
“Follow me, Ms. Woods.”
Bellamy grinned and when he looked over at Anya he grinned even wider. Anya was dumbfounded when Lexa stopped arguing and simply followed Clarke and her mother to their car. What the hell was happening to her sister?
--
“It looks like you’re going to be fine, Lexa. My daughter did a good job.”
Abby smiled and Clarke blushed just a little. Her mother was a brilliant doctor, the kind of doctor Clarke hoped to be one day so a compliment from her meant a lot.
“You can get dressed again.”
Lexa nodded and put on her shirt, not realizing that Clarke looked a little disappointed. Lexa had a fabulous body, muscular, but not too much, and with curves in all the right places. Abby had seen her daughter’s look though and was curious. She turned away to scribble down a few things in Lexa’s file.
“Listen Clarke, I ran into Finn the other day. He asked me about you and says hi.”
Clarke seemed to freeze in mid-motion. She went pale and her heart started to race. Lexa watched her with concern. Finn. She made a mental note to find out who was behind that name.
“What did you tell him?” Clarke’s voice was shaky and it made Abby look up.
“I told him you had been out of the country for a few months and would be back this week.” She realized that something was wrong. “Why? What’s the matter?”
Clarke was shaking, her face almost completely white and Abby made a step in her direction, but it was Lexa who reached her first. Without thinking she put her arms around Clarke and held her tight.
“Breathe, Clarke. You are safe. Breathe.”
When she realized that Clarke’s breathing was erratic she started to slowly stroke her back. “Breathe, Clarke. Breathe in, breathe out. It’s easy, just listen to my voice, okay?”
Abby just stared at them. She had no idea what was wrong and she had no idea how Lexa did it, but Clarke seemed to relax in her arms. Her daughter had had panic attacks before and it’s always been hard for her to get through, but here she was, listening to Lexa’s voice, breathing. Abby was perplexed.
After what seemed to be an eternity, Clarke let go of Lexa and looked at her mother. Her face was still pale and she was shaky, but she knew she owed Abby an explanation. She inhaled deeply and it took all of her courage to talk, but she did it anyway.
“Mum, we have to talk about Finn.”