"If we hit them now, at least we'd take them by surprise."
"We don't even know how many of them are out there."
Murphy snorts. Clarke's still playing it safe. Has she learned nothing? "I'm not hearing any better ideas, Clarke."
"We'll give them something."
"All they want is Finn." Bellamy rasps.
"Finn wasn't the only one at the village." Raven states; there is a meaning behind her words no one can fully comprehend.
"What are you talking about?" Clarke asks.
"Raven, hold on." Bellamy realizes what she means and a moment later so does Murphy.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Raven, I came here to protect him. You were the one who wanted me to come. You..." he looks over at Finn, wondering if he was a part of the plan. So that was what she really wanted. Smirking, challenging her he asked her why he would do anything to help. It wasn't because he didn't want to but because that was what he always did. He defied everything and everyone, guard up. Then she simply answered Because I'm asking you to. He stared into her eyes, actually looking closely for the first time. Big brown pools of pain. She wasn't asking him to repay the debt to her, to Finn, to anyone. She wasn't pleading even, she was simply asking. Like asking a friend. No promise, no demand. And the fool that he was he fell for it. Too bad the art of acting is obsolete here, she would be a pro. Mechanic/actress, "…that's why you asked me to come along."
"Enough Grounders saw him at the village. They'd believe he was the shooter." she is not backing down.
"Sick bitch."
"Raven, you don't mean this." Clarke attempts to reason with her.
"You know what they do to people."
No, she really doesn't. And neither does Bellamy. Murphy does.
"They want a murderer, we'll give them one. Drop your gun." her voice is a bit shaky. She didn't think this through.
If they do decide he would be a scapegoat (yet again) there is not much he can do about it. To them he is a psychopath and a murderer, he always will be. The noble spacewalker was not. He did all of that to find the girl he loves. That, apparently, makes everything worth wile. He did it for Clarke, yet Raven is the one pointing a gun at him. Ready to save the boy who needed couple of days to forget her and fall for someone else. And he thought she was the smart one. He also thought that they were… that they were not enemies. When she didn't reveal it was him who shot her, he got the impression she was different. The fact is she isn't, she is just like him. Well, if she wants to play that game he will not make it easy on her. Almost hanged by his own, tortured by the Grounders, nails pulled, nearly skinned alive... compared to that, a bullet is a child's play. He takes another step, daring her to pull the trigger, "Go to hell, Raven."
"Put it down, Raven. Like it or not, he's one of us."
"I said drop it." the barrel stabs into his chest.
"Stop! Stop! We're not doing this." Finn intervenes. Guess he wasn't in on it after all, "They've got us surrounded. The only thing we can do is stay. And defend this place."
"I'm with you." Bellamy agrees and the girls nod.
"Murphy..."
"Yeah."
While Finn is delivering his plan, which is obviously not very good but definitively better that Raven's, Murphy can't help but think. He shouldn't have been surprised by the act itself, more by the fact that he didn't see it coming. But why does he feel hurt, like he's lost something important?
As he walks away, he throws a glance at Raven. She is looking everywhere but directly at him.
He is standing at the fence with everybody. They all hold their breaths, there is almost no sound. Clarke turns and starts to walk back. Nearly at the same moment all, on both sides, realize what she's done. A wave of gasps and sighs of relief spread around the camp (no one else will die tonight). A high scream comes from somewhere. He cannot spot her but he knows it's Raven. He feels something deep, in the pit of his stomach. It is not something he felt before. It is foreign and he doesn't like it. At first he thinks it's because he feels bad for Finn. Well he does, but knowing firsthand what he would have endured, at least he knows he got a merciful death.
He heads back to bed before the crowd disperses. First, there is shouting. Discernible voices of Raven, Bellamy and Abby. Others too but not Clarke. What could she say? Words are not what anybody needs right now. What's done is done. The rest of the night is not just silent, it is mute. Nobody dares to talk and he starts to miss the buzzing of the machines.
As days pass Raven is quiet, hardly acknowledging anyone. They stop trying to engage her in any conversation, figuring she needs space.
Then out of the blue, she sits across from him and he doesn't look up, just freezes. Why is she here? What is she going to do? She just sits there, playing with her food. It is as if it's normal for them to be in such close proximity. It takes him a minute or two to look up. Why the hell is he nervous? He can handle Raven and whatever state she's in. She's been throwing menacing glances at him for days. He pretended not to notice but he did. And what did she want from him? To roll over and die? Go back in time and get killed instead of Finn? Now, she has the nerve to sit there. If she thinks he will keep quiet just because she's suffering…
"He was my family." she says in almost a whisper. That catches him off guard. She keeps doing that, "And now… I don't know."
Was that an apology? A justification? Neither? Both? He doesn't get it. And what Raven doesn't get is how much of a family she still has. Clarke, Bellamy, Octavia, everyone. Hell, even that guy who works with her and thinks is funny. Murphy doesn't see what is so likeable about him. Anyway, there are people who care for her, love her. He can't remember what that's like. He's complaining, though. There are worst things in life, there must be. But he doesn't tell her that, any of it. The others have surely given her that speech. And she already knows his sob story. Instead he pushes a cup over to her. "Have a drink."
"I have my own."
"They didn't lock me up on the Ark for being a model citizen, you know?"
Murphy looks at her knowingly and a trace of a smile passes over her lips.
She takes his offering and brings the cup to her nose. She scrunches her face as she smells the liquor. He leans back and laughs. She looks cute. Not that it matters, he never liked cute girls.
"It's not as bad as it smells." he assures her.
She gulps it down and starts to cough. "God! It's worse." when she calms herself a bit she adds, "But it helped for a moment."
"That's the point."
"They are having a feast today." she comments.
"It's the sensible thing to do." he's not gonna sugarcoat it. If they are to get their people out of Mount Weather, they'll have to put some things aside.
"I know. It just sucks."
"I know."
Before they get to an actual conversation someone calls out to her. It's that Wick guy.
"I got to run. This was…"
"Swift as a shadow, short as any dream." he smirks.
As she walks away she gives him a warm smile. And he spends the rest of the day trying to suppress a smile of his own.
Writing for this fandom first time so don't be too harsh on me. I thought writing Murphy wouldn't be this challenging. I hope he's not too OC. I waned to write the one focusing on Raven too but let's see how this goes first. Anyway, thanks for reading.