Echo

"Echo? O? We need help. The girls have tied Roan up and won't let me help him. You were right—the slingshots were a very bad idea."

We looked at each other, unsure whether to laugh or be mortified.

Yeah, the slingshots were a bad idea.

"Should we go save them?" Octavia asked with a raised eyebrow.

I tried my best to hide my smirk. "Well, you still need to see Niylah. And they did give the kids the slingshots even though we warned them not to…"

She just chuckled. "They have our husbands' hostage."

"To be fair, they are our kids."

She burst out laughing, barely wincing when she moved her arm. She was good at hiding pain, but I was even better at noticing even the smallest of things. And she knew that. "Don't give me that look, Echo. Let's go see Niylah. Though I'm not going to drop dead, I promise."

I rolled my eyes. I didn't think she was going to drop dead. Maybe a little. I clipped the radio to my belt and gathered our weapons, leaving the training room and walking down one of the many identical hallways of the bunker. We turned onto one of the side halls that led to the back of the infirmary, saving victims of reckless or "pointless" accidents from going through the infirmary itself in front of Abby Griffin's scrutinizing gaze. I knocked on the door and Niylah opened it, her eyes settling on Octavia's arm. She shook her head with a ghost of a smile on her face, as if she was saying of course.

"Can you at least try to stay out of trouble, Oktevia?"

Octavia shrugged helplessly. "Why don't you tell Echo to try not to hit me with her blade?"

"I've seen Echo fight, she's all about precision. She's not going to mess up, so you must've got your arm in her way."

I tried with all my might, but I was unable to hold the laugh in. I'm not sure which was funnier: that Niylah blamed Octavia for getting her arm in my way, thus making it her fault or the look on Octavia's face. Her jaw nearly hit the floor.

Her eye then narrowed suspiciously. "Are you siding with her because you like her more, or because you're afraid to lose your arm?"

"Hey!" I smacked her uninjured arm.

Niylah rolled her eyes playfully at the two of us, like she did every single time. "Let's get you patched up, Octavia. You know the drill."

We headed to the exam room and she hopped up on the table, removing her jacket. I removed mine as well, knowing very well Niylah would examine to see if I was hiding any injuries. I hid broken ribs once, and now it's a regular occasion for Niylah to check me over whenever Octavia ends up here, which is more frequent than I'll admit.

Niylah pulled out her kit for the millionth time since we've been in the damn bunker. She poured a small amount of antiseptic wash on a reusable cloth and cleaned up the wound. Octavia didn't bother hiding her wince. Niylah let out a tiny chuckle, muttering "if you were more careful, we wouldn't be doing this right now" in a slightly amused, slightly annoyed tone. Octavia's eyes bulged when she saw her pull a needle and thin string from the kit.

"Stitches?"

"This one is deep, Octavia. Just hold still." She pulled a syringe out, and I knew enough about medical stuff from me visits here to know it was a painful injection that would numb the area. Octavia reached her hand out and I gave her a squeeze. An arrow and sword doesn't faze this girl, but needles were her weakness. I wouldn't admit it, but there's something about a needle that makes me queasy as well. I felt a squeeze when Niylah injected her, but her hand relaxed after. Niylah made quick work of sewing her arm up.

"How are we hiding this from Roan and Bell?" she asked in a breathless voice. She had made the mistake of watching Niylah sew her arm.

"We don't. Accidents happen, especially when we have swords in their hands."

She looked at me skeptically. "Usually we try our hardest to hide injuries. Accident or not, they'll be pissed that we had another trip here. And then when we don't give details, they'll come here and pester Niylah and she'll save our asses and not say anything," she shot Niylah a grateful smile and the healer returned it, "and then they'll be even grumpier. So, why are we not hiding it?"

"Well, usually they aren't held captives by three and five year olds. They armed the kids, managed get tied up and held hostage by them, although I have no idea how. Like, how the fuck do two grown men get held hostage by a toddler and two little girls?"

Both Octavia and Niylah were nearly on the ground laughing by now. It was bewildering, and even between the three of us we had no clue. Only an inkling of a clue. Could they be wrapped around those kids fingers so much that they got taken hostage. My gut said yes.

"We should gave save their asses. Do you and Clarke want to meet us for dinner tonight?" Octavia asked.

Niylah thought for a moment before nodding. "We should both be out of work by then."

We gave her one last thank you and wave before leaving.

And the best part? She never examined me to see any of my hidden injuries.