Clarke commanded her body to be still. She slowed her breathing as much as her frantic mind would allow. She could tell by the sounds in the woods that she had separated herself too far from the others. When the grounders had attacked, everyone scattered. This part of the woods was unfamiliar so she had just ran as far and as fast as she could.
It was sheer luck that kept her from being impaled by the grounder trap. She was just short enough to be able to duck away from the brunt of it. Still, she had been hit pretty hard on the head. Her hope was the grounder that had been in pursuit of her would have seen the hit and her very real fall and decide to move on.
Then again, the grounders did have that odd habit of injuring then kidnapping their new neighbors. Clarke was trying to think of a better plan than just lying there but her mind felt fuzzy. She couldn't quite seem to finish her thoughts. The world seemed to fade away until suddenly someone was talking to her, lifting her.
"You went the wrong way princess!"
Finn? No this person sounded too gruff and angry. She felt her body be pulled away from the sprung trap, then her head swam again and she felt wet, rough bark against her back.
"All though almost everyone else who ran into a trap didn't fare so well."
"Bellamy?" He was surrounded by gray and had spots all over his face, but it was definitely him.
He reached out with something and whatever it was sent blinding pain through her body.
Alarmed he immediately pulled back a blood stained cloth. That shouldn't have hurt so much right? He must be doing something wrong. Bellamy looked around again to see who else could help. Once again he saw no one near by. This one is all on him and he'd be damned if he gave her an excuse to call him a coward! He reached forward but Clarke avoided his hands.
"Hold still, let me look at it!"
"No, I'm fine! I just need to lay down for a minute."
"Right, let the girl with a concussion take another nap!" His look said he thought she was stupid.
Clarke fixed him with the best glare she could muster.
Bellamy released a frustrated sigh, but then his eyes were drawn back to the bloody mess of blonde curls. He willed his hands not to shake as he pushed her hair back and saw the extent of the damage. Luckily her eyes were too glazed over to detect how squeamish he was.
"You have something in the wound. Metal maybe, I can't tell." He squatted down, resting on his ankles to try and get a better look.
"How big?" Her voice sounded far away and frightened.
"Like a large splinter." He said gently.
Clarke willed her voice to be strong this time. She hated how weak this was making her look. But her head hurt! "Can you take it out?"
Bellamy heard the change in her voice and it had just enough steel in it to get his own hands moving. He pinched the object between his first two fingers and thumb. He wanted to pull quickly before his stomach could turn but feared that might risk part of the object breaking off inside her skin. Slowly, smoothly he pulled. He felt Carke's hands on his knees in a death grip. Once it was out, his other hand quickly brought the cloth down to stop the new outpouring of blood.
He was still applying pressure when someone else finally showed up.
Finn had sped up his pace the second he had seen that it was Clarke Bellamy had been tending to. He actually looked as though he was being careful? One hand was holding her neck, supporting the back of her head as the other hand pressed down on a cloth a few inches above her right eye. Her hands were braced on his knees.
They looked oddly intimate. Finn didn't realize he had stopped running until Raven bumped his shoulder with hers and asked what was wrong.
"Nothing." Except why is Bellamy taking care of her? "Do you see Clarke's pack?"
Raven looked around and quickly spotted the back pack. Remembering her first encounter with the other girl, she rummaged through the pack and passed some badges to Bellamy. He switched out the soaked cloth for the thicker fabric and moved Clarke's hands up to hold it in place. He made sure she was steady before standing and turning towards Finn.
"I found her here unconscious, she's been bleeding from a wound on her head, but it doesn't look too deep."
"I was unconscious?"
Bellamy turned back to Clarke and bent to one knee. "Yeah, out like a light. I finally had my shot to do what I wanted to you."
Clarke's vision had finally cleared enough that she could see the wide smirk on Bellamy's face. He was making light of the care he had shown for her. Clarke looked past his shoulder and saw the dark look of concern on Finn's face. He didn't get the joke.
Clark then slid her eyes to Raven and decided she had no time or patience for Finn or his protectiveness. Time to bypass both the boys all together. "Raven, help me walk?"
Raven put her head and shoulders under Clarke's arm and slowly lifted them both to an upright position. Clarke pretended not to notice Bellamy's support at her other elbow.
He eyed both girls warily and then turned back to Finn. "Is it safe to walk back towards camp?"
"Yes, it looks like all the grounders have gone back to the eastern ridge."
"Good, take me to get that seaweed and other stuff you got before. We are going to need it". Then he turned to Raven "You two go back to camp" His tone did not invite any protests from the girls.
Finn seemed ready to argue but Clarke wasn't ready to accept his help. "I'm fine. Raven can help me. It is better that you two go to the lake anyway."
Both boys gave her a once over before squaring shoulders or clenching a jaw and walking away.
It was a long walk back to camp for the ladies on their own. Raven must have sensed Clarke's fading consciousness because she filled the silence with a lively account of everything that happened while Clarke had been out.
"Then after all that, just as fast as they came, they were gone. Bellamy ordered everyone back to camp with the injured. Then immediately took a few of us to go find the the missing."
"How many are missing?"
"Including you, there were four. One boy Finn and I found caught up in a net. Bellamy found you and the other is still missing. But Calvin and Jada are still looking for him."
"And Octavia? She and I had run off in the same direction but got separated "
"She is safe at camp, but is looking pretty similar to you. She was caught in a snare and hit her head pretty hard as she fell. Bellamy and the two guys with him found her first. He had them carry her back to the camp while he kept looking. We passed them on our way from dropping off Darius, I think that was his name, anyway. Finn and Bellamy both seemed intent on finding you. Bellamy said it is because you are the closest thing we have to a doc. around here" Raven paused for a moment and her voice got softer. "Your mom would be proud."
Clarke suppressed a groan. "Can we please not talk about my mother?" She didn't mean to sound so snappy but she had a lot of crap to deal with right now and her feelings about her mother was not one of them. She glanced at the charm around Raven's neck and reminded herself firmly that her feelings about Finn was not one either.
That was a lot easier to do once she saw the injured teens back at the camp. Immediately she went towards one when Raven stopped her.
"You can barely stand! Take it easy for a minute."
"There are clean bandages in the ship, Montey can tell you where. Bring some hot water too please. Oh! and something I can see my reflection in."
Raven set her carefully down before running off to do as bid.
Clarke wanted to go to the girl she saw laying in the nearby tent but her own nausea was a reminder that she was not up to moving independently.
"Where is Bellamy?"
Clarke looked up to see a very battered looking Octavia. Raven said they looked the same, but did Clarke really look that bad? She blinked her eyes slowly to clear her thoughts.
"He went to the lake to get a seaweed poultice with Finn."
Octavia's eyes closed with relief and she sank to her knees. She glance around the camp and then her tear filled eyes landed on Clarke. "This can't keep happening."
Raven chose that exact moment to return. "Can't really find any mirrors, but I will keep looking." She set the water in front of Clarke and moved back toward the ship.
Clarke twisted, slowly sliding the strap of her pack up and over her head. She felt around inside it with her hand for the Valerian root she had found earlier that morning. "We will use this to make some tea, it should help with the pain and dizziness". Octavia nodded, eager for some relief.
Clarke forced herself to sit still while the tea took it's effect but her mind could not be idle.
"Octavia, where all are you hurt?"
"All over, but nothing too serious I think. But this bump on the head hurts like hell."
Clarke smiled in empathy. "Who else is hurt?"
"A boy named Marcus has been speared through the thigh and that girl over there has a broken leg or something. She fell from a tree trying to escape. Its weird though, because the grounders didn't really attack. It was more like they were chasing us into the traps."
Clarke agreed but her memories of the event were foggy and she was not in the mood for speculation. "So that boy , with the brown eyes and cropped hair?"
"He didn't make it."
Clarke waited a beat to continue, letting the death of yet another group member weigh heavily on her heart. "How is Marcus doing? Has the bleeding stopped?"
"Montey cauterized the wound, like we did with Jasper. All the pain must have made him pass out."
"And the girl? Has anyone set her leg?"
Octavia shook her head "no". Clarke mimicked the motion testing her own balance and seeing no spots, slowly stood. The girl's pain filled face had been bothering Clarke for a while now and she knew that without help, it would not be going away soon.
Clarke carefully walked the short distance to the girl's side.
"What's your name? We've not really met." Clarke smiled in a good-natured apology.
The girl shook her head quickly and offered a very brief smile. "Miranda"
"That's a pretty name, here drink this, it will help with the pain."
Clark waited for the girl to down the cup and then moved away to begin gathering what she would need to stabilize the girl's leg. Octavia had just joined her to help when Finn and Bellamy returned to the camp. Bellamy looked from Clarke to Octavia.
"Should you be walking around so much?" Clarke wasn't entirely sure who he was talking to with they way his eyes lingered on each girls face as he spoke. Octavia responded for both of them.
"We've been sitting very still most of the time, and besides, both of us had been waiting on you to be able to clean our wounds."
Finn, uncomfortable with the whole conversation, went to check on Clarke himself. He felt some self hatred over not being able to take care of her the way he wanted to.
Finn passed the bag of herbs and seaweed to Clarke and tried to see how she was doing. She was all business and stepped out of his reach. "Like she said, we are fine." Clarke dismissed him.
She wasn't mad at him, she just didn't know how to be casual around Finn yet.
Finn watched her move away with the usual precision and determination. But he saw the pain on her face, emotional or otherwise, and for the hundredth time that day he cursed himself for being such a fool.
Bellamy also watched Clarke work. His interest was in the way Octavia seemed so willing to help. Clarke would give concise directions to both his sister and Montey and they followed obediently. The camp needed people who could tend to the sick and wounded. Octavia looked as though she was a natural. He couldn't suppress a grimace as Clarke set the girl's bone, but Octavia was rock steady. He felt proud of his little sister.
He left the girls to their own devices so that he could attend to the matter of burying their lost comrade. Bellamy assigned two of his guys to take care of the body before wandering to the outer wall. There he stood, watching the woods and questioning what he had truly gotten himself into.
He must have stood there lost in thoughts for long while because by the time he had returned to camp, everything was quiet. He saw the three who had been out were safely returned. The boy had his arm in a sling. Maranda and Marcus were resting quietly. Clarke and Octavia were talking softly by a low fire. Bellamy began to make his way over to the girls but stopped as Finn reached them first with some water. Octavia accepted gratefully. And then Finn had a brief conversation with Clarke. He seemed to be slightly frustrated, she gave him a courteous response but was all business.
Bellamy watched Finn walk away towards the tent he was sharing with Raven and as his eyes passed back to Clarke's face, he saw the hurt, longing, and anger clearly etched in her brow. He knew instinctively what was happening and was impressed by how well Clarke seemed to be handling it. No screaming in the face when Finn screws up it seems. Perhaps he can tease her about it later.
The girls didn't seem to notice his approach, they were too busy talking to each other all of a sudden. Their heads were donned in matching braids and bandages. They sat with their knees drawn up to their chests like innocent little girls. As he got closer he could tell that they had washed their hair and faces clean of blood. He felt a small tug in his chest realizing they weren't so innocent as they seemed.
"Who's the genius that decided the two girls with head injuries should keep each other awake?"
Octavia laughed, Clarke mostly ignored him. As expected.
"Jasper is coming to sit up with us, he just wanted to gather some extra blankets in case it gets cold." Bellamy only narrowed his eyes in response so Octavia pressed on. "Clarke and I have been having a proper girls night. We braided each other hair and everything."
That got a genuine smile from both Bellamy and Clarke. Bellamy, happy in the thought that Octavia was making girlfriends, Clarke happy that after such a hard day, they could still find joy in the little things.
Bellamy caught himself just watching Clarke smile. He quickly sat down and wondered what had gotten into him? He knew he had a tendency to watch Clarke. Everyone in the camp did. She was very logical and wise. Her single minded determination to keep all of the delinquents alive had won her a fair amount of respect. They followed his orders, but looked to her for guidance. Bellamy had relied on her before to help him handle tough situations. He came over tonight because he wanted her take on the days events. Nothing more. He allowed his eyes to slide back to her profile.
Now wasn't as later as he had intended, but the put- out look on her face was just so amusing. She was staring at Finn's back as he readied for the night. She didn't get her way and was actually pouting! Bellamy couldn't hold in his chuckle.
Clarke could somehow tell he was laughing at her. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing, its just I find it very ironic that you could have any guy in the camp you wanted. But you choose the one guy on the entire planet who just so happened to have a genius engineer girlfriend." Clarke gave him a dubious look but he continued. "A girl who, out of all the people on the Ark, made friends with your mom." Clarke rolled her eyes but it wasn't enough to even slow him down.
"Then your mother helps her build a ship to come down and join us!" His face broke into a wide grin. "You weren't just told "no" you were told "Hell No!"
Clarke wanted to be mad at him, she really did. But the amusement on his face was genuine. And when you put everything so simply like he did, the whole situation really did seem ridiculous. A small giggle escaped.
Octavia had been looking tentatively between the two, ready to step in if Bellamy was acting too much the bully. But as she thought of the situation in those terms, she couldn't help but to laugh either. "And to think, I was ready to fight you for him when we first got here. I am so glad I didn't though...Clingy girlfriends can be such a drag!"
With that, all three of them burst into laughter. Clarke was glad for an outlet for the small amount of hysteria she had been building all day. Laughing is so much saner sounding then screaming obscenities.
"You shouldn't be dating now anyway." Bellamy admonished his sister with a smile.
Octavia rolled her eyes at Bellamy's big brother act and was about to tell him where to get off when Clarke beat her to it.
"And what should she be doing Bellamy? Trying to bang the whole camp...at the same time? You are the last person here who should be giving dating advice."
"I can't help that I'm popular!"
"Popular! More like pompous you ass!" Octavia added a swift punch to the arm with her insult.
The girls had a good laugh at Bellamy's expense. He was laughing as well but had a sense of unease that he had been exposed somehow. He quickly pushed aside any feelings of shame over Clarke's disapproval of his choice of late night distractions. He didn't judge her nighttime activities!
Finn watched Clarke laugh and smile with Bellamy and his sister. He couldn't fathom what the three of them found so amusing. Could she be doing this all on purpose to punish him? He remembers a time not very long ago that Bellamy talked of wanting Clarke dead! Now they are sitting there talking like old friends! He was already standing to go over when Raven called out for him. 'I love Raven' he reminded himself. 'She needs me.'
Jasper had joined the group now anyway and it was likely Bellamy would be moving on.
Finn turned to go inside. He may have thought he could calmly return to Raven but had he looked back in that very moment and seen Clarke rest her soft little hand on Bellamy's forearm, Finn would have been across the camp before that garbage knew what hit him.
Clarke saw the pain in Bellamy's eyes. She knew how deeply he cared about people despite his own sense of self preservation. He had cared deeply about what happened to Charlotte and to Atom. Clarke knew he played the hard-ass leader well but was softer on the inside. So when he asked if she thought the grounders would attack again, she knew his question held more meaning.
Octavia and Jasper were deep in their own conversation now. Clarke leaned in closer and spoke firmly but in hushed tones.
"It is not your fault. What happened today, was not anyone's fault. We needed to find more supplies for the winter. There hadn't been any movement from the grounders for a while. You did what had to be done for the good of the camp."
"You had wanted to try and make contact with them, what if there can be a peace treaty or something?"
"No, you were right. The grounders are deadly and we need to treat them as something dangerous."
Bellamy felt oddly soothed by both her words of support and the very warm touch of her hand on his arm. He would never admit it out loud but he truly valued her opinion. No one else in the camp had the guts to get in his face and demand that he do the right thing, that he is in fact the kind of person who does the right thing.
His thoughts were interrupted by her voice. "Thank you for coming and finding me today."
The softness of her eyes, that hand still burning a hole in his arm, the sincerity of her thanks. It all became too much. He pulled back and rose to his feet. "It wasn't you I was really looking for, but you are welcome." He lied. He turned to walk away, fearful that Clarke could see it written all over his face. He told himself that he went looking for Clarke because Octavia was hurt, and he trusted no one else to look after her. But really he looked for her because he always looks for her. In a crisis, it has always been those blue eyes that he locks onto. And he never has trouble finding them in a crowd.
First he only looked to know what she knew. Then he looked to know what she was planning. It didn't take long before he looked to know what she was thinking. Now he finds himself looking all the time. He tells himself it's pathetic and that it will pass. She'll pull some princess crap and he'll remember where they really stand. How different they are, and how his time in the sun will fade, but that she will always be the daughter of privilege.