AN:I own nothing but my own imagination.
Hi everyone. This is my first time publishing, and as such I'd like to start of by saying thank you for taking the time to read this story. I will not post notes on every chapter, only ever to denote any kind of content warnings for weary readers. This story will be mature. It will contain fluff, smut, angst, and everything in between. I wholeheartedly encourage feedback and constructive criticism. As this is the first chapter, your comments will help shape the future of this story. That is all! Enjoy
The day was young, too young for Bellamy. His body ached a bit as he walked down the busy street. His only goal at the moment was salvation in the form of a cup of hot black coffee. Clad in a dark heather-gray long sleeved henley and a pair of black denim that hugged his every muscle, he ran a hand through his wet hair to separate some more of the drying strands. The same hand ran down his face and over the scruff of his unshaven face before falling to the handle of a large glass door. With no effort he pulled the door open and was hit with the delicious aroma of roasted coffee. The scent filled his lungs like that of a woman, causing nothing shy of a feeling of comfort and pleasure. The lust for his morning boost had dwindled into a slight contempt at the sign on the line before him though. Counting the heads lined up between him and the counter distracted him for only moments before something run into him sending a searing heat over his chest and thighs. The sudden pain caused his arms to snap upward and his body to jolt. Snapping back into reality Bellamy realized what was happening.
"What the fuck?" His voice boomed with confusion and anger. "Watch where..."
"I am so sorry!" An uneasy voice said before him as his eyes met with a stunning blue. He was silenced by his draw to look at her. Before him stood a girl some inches shorter than him with bright blond waves laying just before her shoulder. Her skin milky and nearly spotless spare a few beauty marks. What was only a moment felt like minutes of drinking in her beauty before someone had put a hand up to his shoulder. He looked over. "Are you alright, Sir?" He heard. Flickering between the girl before him and an older woman next to him, Bellamy nodded. "Yeah, it's fine." He looked to the employee who had come around the counter but turned back to the blonde. His lips began to form words before he was interrupted by an annoying beeping coming off of the girl who had accidentally dumped her fresh, piping hot coffee on him.
"I am so, so sorry." She said again, her eyes not connecting to his anymore. Her hand slid to her hip and silenced the device before stammering. "I am sorry, but I have to go." She said. The girl looked confused and flustered if not embarrassed. After a stumble of confusion about which way to go, left or right, she slid out of the coffee shop and disappeared before Bellamy could say anything more. A bit bewildered, he looked down at his now coffee stained shirt and realized he was idly pulling the hot fabric from his torso. A few of the customers watching were making comments about how she was rude for causing a commotion and running away. One had said something about how she was a poor thing and must have taken off in humility. Bellamy didn't take heed of any of it.
After moving out of the way of the door and offering to help clean the mess up, the employee shook her head and handed Bellamy a large black coffee to go. "You look like you need to change." She winked. Bellamy went for his wallet but was quickly denied. "Go clean up, enjoy your coffee and have a better day than it started." She smiled at him and pat her hand over his shoulder. With an ever charming smile, Bellamy nodded. He knew to respect the orders of an older lady. "Thank you." He said simply before leaving.
The warmth of the coffee was really relaxing. He sipped it as he walked the next few blocks to his job site. It's as if the coffee he was drinking somehow eased the stress his morning had begun with. With a hint of optimism, he enjoyed the walk and thought he'd try to make this day better. Little did he know, his day was about to get worse.
Running later than anticipated, Clarke threw her scrubs on. She quickly slid on a well fitting black jacket and stumbled to her shoes as she ran a hand through her loose waves. Grabbing her bag and slipping into some large boots, she looked a mess. All she knew was she needed to be out the door five minutes ago to get her coffee and be at work on time. Of course, she was never late. Last night however was a bad night and a different story. Shaking the replay out of her mind, she shut the front door of her apartment behind her. Within ten minutes she was the second in line at the coffee shop next to the hospital. Her turn to order came up and with a cold smile, she ordered her usual, "House, Black, Grande." Not only was her order simple, but they knew her well by now and had it ready. She was consistent on certain days of the week as her shifts rarely ever changed. Paying with a swipe of her card, Clarke took her coffee and a napkin in hand, waved to the barista and headed for the door. In her other hand, her phone buzzed quietly as she was receiving messages. Scrolling through the screen for a moment before she went to exit the cafe, she suddenly ran into something. The impact popped the lid off of her, cup spilling hot black liquid all over her hand and to her surprise, the man she had bumped into.
"I am so sorry!" She squeaked out as an automatic response. Her eyes flickered over his shirt and to the liquid on the floor. A pink tinge rose in the apples of her cheeks realizing the mess she made. Between being frantic this morning and now causing a mess, she felt so embarrassed. Clarke used the napkin in her hand to dry off her own hand without even thinking about it. Her brain wasn't processing the way it should be, she should have offered it to him. When she realized that, she looked up at him. Her eyes connected to his for the first time and it caused her breathe to hitch. She noticed her reaction and prayed silently that he hadn't. Luckily, in that moment he had looked over to an employee who was checking on him. Suddenly her pager had gone off, and she knew she was late. The sound only confirmed it and struck an urgency within her. Priority kicked in, and Clarke apologized again before scrambling to leave. As much as it pained her to just bail on a mess she made, her job was far more important.
Within five minutes of her hasty exit, Clarke was in the staff locker room changing her boots into her work shoes and putting her things away. Scrambling as quickly as possible to get to her post and do her job, she ran into someone leaving the locker room. "Dammit!" She exclaimed.
"Whoa there." Another voice rang out.
"Sorry Fox, rough start." Clarke said with a weak smile.
"I can tell. Well, go get em." Fox replied with a pat to Clarke's back and a smile.
She took off in a quick pace to get to the ER. Her pager had gone off twice more and she silenced it. Upon arriving she found Doctor Tsing at the triage counter. "About time, Griffin" she snarled.
Clarke felt guilty for being late but she also had a track record of being early so she knew this was a rare instance. "Where do you need me, Doc?" She asked.
"Pileup on the highway was called in when we paged, we had four ambulances en-route, two already here. Box three waiting for surgery, already stabilized. Ghost C-box one until the other ambulances arrive in case they need you. A minor, waiting for Neuro. and a PT as well as her parents. They are fixing her up but since you're our infection whisperer, they will likely need you. She's got a lot of open wounds. When the other two ambulances get here, be ready. So far no losses. Let's keep it that way." The older woman have Clarke a nod.
"On it." She said in reply, heading off to C-box one. Peaking in, Clarke made herself known to her co-workers and looked over the patient. A younger girl, possibly a teen was laying in the bed. Her clothing cut open and and IV in her arm. Two nurses were working on accessing her wounds and an intern was watching closely. The intern looked over at her. "Imaging was clear. Passed ABC's, waiting for Peds, Neuro, and PT. Slight dehydration." As one of the nurses was telling Clarke to check on her after she was admitted, the other ambulances had arrived. Clarke and the other free nurses rushed over to access the situation. The paramedic rattled off everything wrong with the first patient as they pulled them into a box. On autopilot, Clarke told two of her co-workers exactly what to do before she sought out the second arriving patient.
On the gurney before her lay hysterical woman, no older than herself. She was thrashing and irrationally upset. Shock had set in. Checking her pupils and giving her body a full exam, she only found one injury. The woman's leg was broken. So broken that it was sticking out of her once intact jeans. Ordering an Ortho consult and for a sedative to be on standby, Clarke gently put a hand on the girl face. "Hey, look at me." She said sweetly.
The paramedic beside her was holding the woman's thigh and ankle against the table trying to help keep the limb in the field brace. He whispered the patients name to her, seeing she was trying to calm her down.
"Can you tell me your name?" She used. Talking often helped bring the patient down into reality and focus on something else. She didn't reply though, she stared up at the ceiling her brown eyes were glazed over. She was thrashing and looked angry. Questions wouldn't work, not this time.
"Octavia, that's a pretty name." Clarke started. "Octavia, I need you to calm down for me."
The woman wasn't very responsive, but her body was working on adrenaline and she would come down from it soon hopefully so Clarke didn't have to sedate her.
"Octavia, I know you're in pain. I need to treat your leg, but to do that I need you to calm down for me. So how about we breathe together? Nice deep breathe in, and slowly out the nose. Can you do that with me?" She asked, motioning for someone to close the door to the room. It was shut to block out the other commotion from the rest of the ER. Clarke simulated how she wanted the girl to breathe, and within a minute the girl had calmed slightly trying to replicate the breaths. Her body was tired from shock, so she was naturally calming down. Waving off the sedative, the intern put it to the side and focused. Holding her patients hand and looked her in the eyes, Clarke smiled. "That's much better."
"I saw it." The girl laying before her spoke. "I saw my leg." She repeated.
Clarke nodded, stroking her thumb over the other woman's hand. "Want to tell me how it happened?"
Between her calm but rough breathing, Octavia spoke up. "Some dick on the highway must have fallen asleep or something. He swerved, over corrected and hit someone in the middle lane. I veered off the shoulder and got hit by the car he hit." Clarke kept Octavia's focus on her, so she wouldn't look down. The paramedic stood by not needing to hold her down anymore as she was calm and the field brace was doing its job. Clarke knew him well, and used him as her distraction.
"Well, at least your medic is a cute." She suggested. Octavia laughed a little, looking at him. Just then there was a knock on the door and someone walked in. It was the Orthopedic Surgeon who knew to be on call for this pileup the moment it was called in. Clarke moved aside but stayed near Octavia's head to keep her calm. The doctor looked over the injury and ordered an X-ray. He offered to take her himself and let her know it looked pretty clean from just a glance. Clarke nodded. Octavia looked nervously between the two. Smiling down at her, "He's going to whisk you away and get some glamour shots. After that, we'll fix you up." With that the doctor and the intern wheeled Octavia out of the room. The medic went to do his report. Checking in on the other rooms, everyone else seemed to be taken care of. They had enough staff that night and luckily the car accident wasn't as bad as it had seemed.
Just over two hours later Clarke was beckoned by another nurse. She wore an obnoxious print, so she knew she was an attending nurse and not part of the department. "Griffin?" She called out into the ER. Clarke was seated at one of the charting desks. "Yep." She said, standing up and looking to the voice. "A patient is asking for you in." Confused, she couldn't think of who would be wanting to see her. In the last two hours she had seen another four people and had gotten lost in charting. While she was used to checking in with admitted patients, or being requested to, she just wasn't about her whits today. After following the other nurse up a few floors and ushered to the patients room, Clarke rapped her knuckles on the frame of the door. Walking in, she was surprised to see Octavia from before laid up in bed. Clarke smiled.
"Miss Blake, how are you feeling?" She said as she walked in and came up to the side of Octavia's bed.
"Like I got in a car accident. Call me Octavia, please." Octavia sarcastically said, and smiled.
"Accurate. I hear the meds for that are pretty solid. I'm surprised you're awake." Clarke said honestly.
"Oh, I'm tired. But the other nurse," Octavia motioned to the door. "Kind of got an attitude with me saying I didn't have any emergency contact and acted like it was my fault no one was called. She wouldn't show me my own information. So, I asked for you."
"Oh, alright. How can I help?" Clarke asked with a smile.
"Can I see my info?" Octavia asked.
"Of course." Clarke walked back to the door and grabbed the clip board on the wall beside it. She looked it over, and it was incomplete. "Hang on, she wasn't wrong." She held her index up at the girl.
Walking out into the hall and going to the nurses station, Clarke politely asked if the nurse could let her used the computer. She looked up Octavia full name, and pulled up any information. Everything came up, insurance, emergency contact. Clark printed it off and showed the clipboard to the nurse. "Did you print up her work here, or was it a pass down?" Clarke asked the nurse. "We got it from you guys." The other nurse snarked, implying it was from the ER. "You should have double checked. Half of the chart wasn't printed. We can't fix it if you don't find it first." Clarke said firmly back, correcting the woman's attitude with only words.
Grabbing the freshly printed chart from the printer and taking the clipboard, Clarke went back to Octavia's room. She presented her with the new information and explained "A technical error down in ER meant she didn't get the full print-out."
"Oh that's great." Octavia snorted. "At least now I don't have to worry about dealing with my brother."
Scanning the document, Clarke smiled. "Well, I hate to break it to you but I do need to call him. He should have been informed the moment you were brought it. It's protocol. I'm sure he'll be glad to hear you're okay."
"Oh you have no idea." She rolled her eyes. "Let's get this over with."
"I'll be right back." Going back to the nurses station, Clarke dialed the number for Octavia's brother while repeating his name in her head, questioning it. Letting the phone ring until the machine, Clarke hung up and dialed the second number, a work number. This line was quickly answered.
"Eden Contracting, this is Pike, how may I help you." A voice answered.
"Hi, I'm a nurse with Shallow Valley General and I'm looking for a Bellamy Blake." As his name came out of her mouth, it almost rolled off of her tongue. Bellamy. Hmm
"Blake is on a job right now, can I take a message?" The man replied.
"This is urgent, Sir."
A huff of annoyance could be heard. "Alright, hang on." The man said. Faintly, Clarke could hear the man talking to someone else, informing him to have Bellamy take a break and get to his phone.
"Alright Miss, Blake will be available in a few minutes. You can reach him on his cell, do you need the number?" He asked.
"No Sir, I have it. Thank you." Before she knew it, the man had hung up. Waiting about two minutes, Clarke dialed the first number again.
"Hello?" A deep voice was heard when the phone stopped ringing. Something about the tone of his voice felt familiar, but she couldn't figure out why.
"Mr. Blake?" Clarke asked.
"Yeah, can I help you?" He seemed annoyed, as anyone would be, being called off work to take a call.
"Hi, I am Nurse Griffin. I'm calling from Shallow Valley General. You are listed as the emergency contact for Octavia Blake?"
Before she could even finish Octavia's name, Bellamy spoke up. "O? Is she okay. What happened?" He seemed frantic and alert.
"Sir, your sister was involved in a car accident a few hours ago and..."
"HOURS AGO" He yelled into the phone. "I'm finding out about this now? Is my sister okay?!"
"Sir, she's fine. There was an technical problem that pr..."
"I don't give a fuck. Tell me what I need to know, I'm on my way." He demanded, not willing to hear anymore. He clearly needed to see his sister.
Feeling attacked, Clarke bit back any feeling and nodded as if he could see her. She quickly rattled off the details of how he could come see her and he hung up without saying thanks. She sighed, rubbed her hand over her face. The other nurse beside her was grinning, glad she didn't have to do that. Clarke rolled her eyes and went back to Octavia's room. She cleared her throat before entering, as to not alarm her of her presence. "So, he's on his way."
Octavia looked up and had a near devilish grin. "He yelled at you too, didn't he?" A curt nod answered her. "He's passionate."
"I should get back down to the ER, you need anything while I'm up here?" She said smiling with care. Octavia shook her head, likely knowing not to keep the nurse from her job any longer.
"Well the nurses are just down the hall, if you need anything let them know. I hear one of them really loves to chat." Clarke winked, letting Octavia know how to annoy the nurse that had copped an attitude with her. She turned on her heels and headed out, back to her post in the ER. Settling back down at one of the charting desks in ED, Clarke sighed. "Two down, ten to go" She mumbled to herself, noting her shift had only just begun.
Not even 15 minutes had passed before there was another altercation rising in the ER. "Sir you can't go in there" a nurse exclaimed. Clarke had stood from her position and looked towards the sound of the voice well they had not yet come into view. The person the nurse was chasing spoke up, "I'm looking for nurse Griffin," an angry voice dictated. Stepping out from behind the counter she raised her hands almost instinctively while saying blindly, "I'm nurse Griffin." In the very moment she announced herself she also realized who was before her. The warmth of a tidal wave a realization hit her, warming her cheeks and sending her brain into overdrive. Oh.Oh. Ohhh. Her cheeks flush slightly while she looked up to the tall men standing before her. He froze almost like a deer in headlights after making the connection himself What appeared to be a mix of anger and confusion painted his face before clearing this throat allowing his demeanor to snap back to his anger.
"You care to explain to me this 'error' that led me to not know about my sister being in the fucking Hospital? He demanded looking Clarke straight in the eyes. Her expression quickly steeled and she nodded. Before she said anything to him she gently took his arm and pulled him aside to be out of earshot of other patients and the other nurses all the while waving off the nurse who had been chasing after him. Her fingers nearly pulsed at how firm his arm war and the heat it radiated. As quickly as she had taken his arm, she had let it go. "Of course Mr. Blake," she hesitated. Quickly, she went to the desk and grabbed a prepared manila folder, opened it and handed it to the man.
"There was a technical issue that led to your sisters file not being completely printed. It was no one's fault, however it was overlooked by one of her nurses and it was handled." Clarke sounded very calm and poised, assuring him there was no issue.
Bellamy took the folder from her hands and opened it quickly glancing and over. Although he honestly didn't register anything he saw visually, he did hear her words and while it settled his anger to an extent he looks back up at her, "And is the nurse responsible going to be punished?" Stifling a sigh before tilting her head at him "Like I said Sir, the situation was handled."
"I'm due to check on your sister so I will escort you back to her and she can confirm with you that everything was settled and that she's received the best care." Clarke decided action was more this mans language. "If that doesn't satisfy you then we can most certainly look into it." She calmly assured him in the most professional tone. With that she escorted him back out to the main elevators.
While waiting what felt like too long for the lift to reach the bottom floor, Clarke idly picked at the hem of her top which was nothing more than basic black scrubs. Her department was color codes and as an RN, she wore black every shift. That ding broke into the tension and she ushered him onto the large lift. Pressing the button, the doors closed and the air became thick. They were only going up seven floors but the elevator felt like it was going to take seven years. When the elevator hit the third floor two people got on and got off on the fourth floor they looked like they had gotten off on the wrong floor in the first place and we're relieved to find their desired floor. As the doors closed and they began ascending to the seventh floor again Bellamy cleared his throat like he was about to say something but words ever came out. Say you're sorry. Not just for his sister, or the glitch but you know, dumping your hot coffee on him. Say something.
It wasn't soon enough before the elevator dinged and they were on the seventh floor. Clarke silently escorted Bellamy back down the hall to Octavia's room, waving off the nurses at the station as they passed. Gently tapping on the door before entering the room, she smiled over at Octavia who was riddled with anxiety looking up at her big brother. "So, I believe this belongs to you." Clarke said in the more casual tone. Octavia smiled and nodded as if to apologize for her brother.
"He we sweet enough to make sure that everything was resolved and that you were receiving the best possible care." This was Clarke giving Octavia and in on the conversation and hopes that she would settle her brother down.
Octavia hesitated, "I tried to tell him before he took off looking for you that everything was dealt with but he's kind of stubborn." The latter part of the lower tone which led to Bellamy rolling his eyes.
"Look you're my sister and you're my responsibility, the moment I find out something like this happens and I wasn't told right off the bat I got pissed." He explained.
"I know Bell I'm fine. Nurse Griffin here made sure everything was taken care of without me even asking. People are human we make mistakes you know that more than anyone." Octavia looked up at her brother with a slight annoyance but a load of sympathy that instantly softened his icy demeanor.
"And now I think you should apologize for going and trying to start shit." Octavia added with a cautious confidence. Bellamy grinned at his sister. Even in a hospital bed she could stand up to him and he seemed to love her so very much. It was written all over his face, his smile lines were soft and his eyes had a sparkle. In that very moment Clarke realized how beautiful this man was when the faintest of pink appear beneath the freckles that danced on his cheeks. He knew his sister was right and the humility of that was almost charming.
Lost in studying the pair, mainly the brooding brother, Clarke snapped to and shook her head. "Actually," she swallowed. "I'm the one who owes him an apology." Now Clarke was the one looking humiliated.
Her eyes moved from a confused Octavia to the floor before slowly meeting the brown gems Bellamy was boring into her. He almost looked like a lost little kid in that moment, not expecting humility out of anyone but himself that day.
Clearing her throat Clarke reluctantly drew her gaze back to the questioning patient. "I may or may not have met your brother a few hours ago, right before your accident actually."
Her lips had a habit of forming different shapes as she nipped the skin beneath them from the inside. She did then when she was in thought, or often unable to express her feelings. She felt the eyes on her.
"I was late to work and stopped to grab coffee but instead of drinking it, well your brother ended up wearing it. I was in a rush." As the words came out, Clarke blushed. She looked back to Bellamy with a pleading but serious look in her eyes. "I am truly sorry, and I'm sure I looked like an ass but..."
"I get it now, trust me." He stopped her. Bellamy dismissed the apology.
Clarke gave a curt nod and left it at that but Octavia just burst into a fit of laughter. "You've got to be kidding me? You dumped coffee on my brother?" She repeated with a level of excitement that almost sounded like respect. She looked as if she approved of this. Someone else picking on her brother. It made Clarke smile. Clarke noticed a look of adoration on Bellamy as he watched his sister laugh as his misfortune.
He smiled gently, "Yeah, it's been a hell of a day so far." He pointed out the obvious, leaving them all with knowing smiles.
She cleared her throat, "Right, so Octavia, how are you feeling? Your leg, not your joy over your brothers misfortune." She smiled.
"I'm really tired." Octavia rasped. "When can I take her home?" Bellamy asked, his tone back to the protective sibling he seemed to be.
"Oh, the Doctor didn't talk to you?" Clarke asked, looking at Octavia in confusion.
"No." Bellamy said angrily.
"Bullshit. He did, Nurse Griffin, but the big dummy here ignored him and tried to bully him instead. I swear, he was here for like ten minutes trying to get jackass here to shut up." Octavia assured Clarke. Her face lit up in amusement but she quickly hid it.
"You can call me Clarke." She started, looking from Octavia to Bellamy. "I'll gladly go over what you may have missed." She smiling knowingly. Bellamy moved to sit near his sister on the other side of the bed.
Without even needing the chart, Clarke explained, "Your sister experienced a compound fracture, which means the bone broke through the skin. The break was very clean and she is very lucky. She didn't require any pins or plates. However this kind of break and very easily lead to infections to the bone and the surrounding tissue. Because of that we will keep her here for three days. If everything checks out and she is healthy otherwise, she will be able to go home after that. The healing process can take four weeks, it may take over three months. It's really about how she treats her body while she's healing." Clarke grinned when she saw Bellamy roll his eyes at his sister. They must have been silently thinking about memories of their childhood.
"Three days, O. You're stuck with me." He said with a sigh.
"Clarke, can you like, kick him out?" Octavia joked.
Clarke tossed her hands up. "I'm not getting involved" she exclaimed playfully.
"Is there anyone else you would like contact on your behalf? Parents, partners, or a place of work? You will have to be off of it for at least six weeks." Her question registered a sadness between the siblings as they looked at one another. A pang of guilt washed over her. One of the many moments this job pulls your strings.
Nodding, Octavia was looking at her brother. "I'll have to have a note out for work or I'll get fired, and I need to call Lincoln" Bellamy grimaced as his sisters comment. Clarke looked on in confusion.
"Actually, Bell," Octavia looked shyly at her brother then down to her lap where bandaged hands sat. "My phone was destroyed in the wreck, and you know I don't know his number by heart..."
Moments of silence passed before he straitened out. "Yeah" was all he said. Clarke guessed he didn't want to but knew he needed to contact this other person. The air felt personal, so Clarke decided it was time to take her leave.
"Well, I'll let the nurses at the station know. They will get the doctor to order you out of work and make sure everything is set for you. I do need to get back down to the emergency department though." She said before she turned for the door. Just as she reached it, she head Bellamy clear his throat. "Clarke," her name coming out of his mouth felt so... "Thank you." He followed. Clarke smiled softly, looking directly into his brown eyes from across the room. She gave a simple nod and took her leave.
The trip back down to her department happened in a blur, her mind replaying his voice in her head. Any woman would be weak in the knees over such a handsome man with an even sexier voice, so Clarke knew she wasn't out of line. No, she was just a red-blooded woman. As she sank into one of the computer chairs behind her charting station, she looked at the clock and sighed. It's only noon?
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