Interlude 4

2150 AC

Lexa's steps echoed along the white walls of the station. She could feel her heart beating faster than her feet could move forward and wished she could calm herself. The nervousness she was feeling was making her nerves tremble, and she could practically feel the electricity running under her skin.

Finally, she stopped in front of the right door and inhaled. Her hand came to knock on the door, and she waited. Unconsciously she'd taken the stand she'd learned in training as if she were about to talk to a superior. In a way, he was. While she'd changed before coming, wearing civilian clothes instead of her white guard uniform, her shoulders were still squared, and her hands resting behind her back. As soon as the door opened, though, she seemed to deflate and lose a bit of her edge.

"Oh, hi Lexa!"

"Mr. Griffin, hello. Is Clarke here? We were supposed to meet half an hour ago but she didn't show up. I just... wanted to make sure she was okay."

In truth, she'd felt her fear growing from the moment the clock had ticked past the six thirty mark. She knew they were in a station, in space, and there weren't a lot of places where Clarke could be, but still.

Clarke's dad smiled.

"Actually, she is. She's in bed with a pretty bad fever. Her mom thinks it's the flu."

Lexa let out a sigh of relieve. Jake seemed amused by the girl's reaction. Before Lexa could say that she would come back tomorrow to see whether Clarke was feeling better, he asked:

"Maybe you want to talk to her?"

Lexa hesitated. She wanted Clarke to rest so she could heal quickly, but she still wanted to make sure she was okay. Jake seemed to pick up on it and declared:

"Hang on, let me ask her."

He turned his head around, and yelled through the apartment:

"Clarke! Lexa's here to see you! Do I let her in?!"

The faint but distinctly sick voice of Clarke came through her bedroom door:

"No! Dad, please, don't!"

Jake smiled.

"Alright, come on in!"

He stepped aside, letting Lexa walk inside. While the brunette was still uncertain, she felt her feet walking passed the threshold on their own accord. Her gaze quickly scanned the living room, just as white as the rest of the station. She'd peeked inside once or twice when she'd been bringing Clarke home, but had never been inside. Jake glanced at the clock.

"I'd say you have half an hour before her mother comes home. Go on, I'll be in the living room if you guys need anything."

Lexa only nodded, and walked toward the door she assumed was Clarke's. She stopped in front of it and turned around. Jake was back on the couch, watching old TV programs once again.

"Thank you." she declared.

He looked at her over the couch's backrest, still smiling.

"Have fun!"


Lexa took the time to knock before she opened the door. She passed her head in first, just to make sure Clarke really was inside. She saw a large bump under a bundle of blankets and assumed the blond was there. She walked in, closing the door behind her.

"Your dad let me in."

"Of course he did!" Clarke replied from under the covers. "I'm fine, don't worry..."

Lexa noticed that Clarke's voice was raspier than usual, and when she heard the blond cough she understood why.

"Can I come closer?" she asked.

"No, don't! I'm a mess and you'll catch my cold!"

Lexa crossed her arms, a small smile playing on her lips.

"I don't really care."

"Still, I don't want you stuck in bed like me... It sucks... and I missed our date too!"

Lexa could hear the guilt in the blond's voice. She shrugged, though she knew the other girl couldn't see her.

"It's okay. We can arrange a new one once you're feeling better."

Clarke coughed before she could reply, and it made Lexa wince. It looked pretty serious. Tentatively, she took a few steps closer, until she found Clarke's desk chair. She took it and turned it to face Clarke's bed. The blond heard the light tapping of the feet of her chair on the ground and dared to peek out of her cover, only to find Lexa watching her with an amused smile on her lips.

"You can come out, you know?"

"You really shouldn't be here, you know? You'll get sick, and it's not enjoyable at all."

Lexa crossed her arms, leaning back in the chair.

"I can only imagine."

"If you want to know, I feel like a kettle right now. Just about to explode. I don't want you feeling bad."

Lexa couldn't help but smile.

"I'd rather feel bad than not make sure you're okay. I mean, I know you're not, but when you didn't show up I..."

She pursed her lips, not sure what to add. The blond groaned from under her cover, and it turned into a cough.

"See, I already made you feel bad! I'm so sorry! I wanted to find you and tell you I wasn't feeling alright but as soon as my mom noticed I had a fever she escorted me back to bed and forbade me from moving. I mean, I don't want to move because it hurts, but I would have sent words if I could have, I swear."

"I know you would have. But like I said, it's okay. We'll just reschedule."

While the blond continued to cough all the content of her lungs under her blanket, Lexa turned around and looked at her desk. Among the clustered table were many drawing, and Lexa noticed a few were of her, though when the blond had made them she didn't know. She'd probably drawn them from memory, which impressed her greatly. One wasn't finished though, and Lexa assumed Clarke hadn't had the time to work on it yet.

"Are you still here?"

Lexa's attention went back to the blond.

"If you weren't under your quilt you would know," Lexa replied.

Clarke sighed.

"If I come out I'll cough on you!"

Lexa shook her head.

"Come on Clarke, don't be stubborn. You must be incredibly uncomfortable under there..."

It took a good minute, but finally, Clarke emerged from her blanket and reclined her head against her pillow. She did look like a mess, with her hair disheveled, her red nose contrasting with her pale skin and her glassy blue eyes. Lexa instantly felt the urge to hug her until she felt better. Clarke pouted.

"If you're sick, it's completely your fault."

Lexa smiled and was about to reply that once again, she didn't care, but Clarke began to cough, and it quickly turned into a bad fit of coughs. Lexa instantly moved from the chair to crouch beside the blond and pass a soothing hand on her back until she was done coughing. Even through Clarke's shirt, Lexa could feel her skin radiating heat. Clarke took in a deep breath, calming herself after that bad fit, her eyes teary and the muscles around her lungs hurting as if she'd pulled something. The feeling Lexa's hand on her back, however, had made her feel at least a bit better. Unfortunately, the brunette had taken her hand away as soon as she was done coughing.

"Do you want some water?" Lexa asked.

"No, I'm okay." Clarke had managed to let out.

Lexa sat down on her bed, beside her legs. Clarke was done protesting. She knew it was too late anyway, with how much she'd coughed.

"You should get some sleep." Lexa declared.

"What, are you going to abandon me now?"

Clarke's voice croaked, and she was sure she would lose her voice before the end of the day. Lexa smiled, making Clarke's flutter a bit. She loved to see the brunette smiled.

"I thought you didn't want me here?"

Clarke shook her head as she brought her cover a bit higher, shivering though her body was burning on the inside.

"Like I said, too late. With a bit of luck once my mom sees you're here she'll lock you up in here until she's sure you're not sick too. We wouldn't want to spread the flu to everyone on the station now, would we?" the blond declared with a sly smile on her lips.

"Still, you should get some rest."

"Alright, but first..."

Lexa watched curiously as Clarke scooted to one side of her bed and then patted the empty side of her bed.

"Come here."

Lexa was hesitant at first. It wasn't like they were about to do anything, not with Clarke in such a state, but they hadn't even had their first date yet. Still, she stood up and sat beside Clarke, placing her legs on the bed as her back rested against the cold wall behind her. Clarke scooted once again closer, using Lexa's lap as a pillow, forcing the brunette to adjust her position a bit. Once Clarke was happily cuddling against Lexa, she sighed and closed her eyes.

"I knew it! It was a trap!" Lexa declared as she passed a hand through Clarke's hair. They were a bit sticky with sweat, but the brunette didn't care.

Clarke giggled, her eyes still closed.

"Now, entertain me until I fall asleep."

Lexa huffed, pretending to be annoyed by the blond's antics.

"Worst first date ever."

Clarke cracked an eye open.

"Well, you're already in my bed so I wouldn't call it a failure."

Lexa couldn't help but blush. She brushed once again Clarke's hair away from her ear.

"Alright, what do you want to know?"

"I don't know, tell me about your day?"

"Not much to say. Bellamy and I were assigned to the patrols by midday so I couldn't eat until three this afternoon, but other than that it was pretty typical. You?"

"Well, besides turning into a human radiator, not much. I helped my mom with Raven's leg, and its getting better, but she sent me home right after."

The two settled in a comfortable silence, Lexa combing delicately her fingers through Clarke's hair while the blond slowly felt sleep taking over her. Her eyes were burning, but she didn't want to fall asleep just yet.

"Saturday?"

Lexa frowned.

"What?"

"For our second first date. Usually, flu lasts for about a week, but I bet I'll feel better in five days, at worst. If you don't have a shift too late we can have our date then."

Lexa smiled and placed her other hand on Clarke's. The blond's skin was hot and damp, burning Lexa's palm, but she didn't care.

"Saturday's fine with me, but only if you're feeling alright."

For good measure, she managed to place a kiss on Clarke's forehead before she settled back against the wall.

A few seconds later Clarke's door open, and he mother walked in.

"How are you feeling, honey?"

She stopped dead in her tracks, however, when she noticed Lexa seating beside Clarke, one hand in her hair and the other holding her hand. Lexa felt the instant urge to jump away from Clarke and stand as far away from her as possible. Unfortunately, she was still stuck under Clarke's head, who hadn't even raised her head when her mom had entered.

"Hello Lexa, I didn't know you were here."

Before Lexa could explain herself Clarke declared:

"Dad let her in. It's his fault if she becomes sick!"

Abby crossed her arms.

"I told you to rest."

"I'm resting, can't you see?"

Lexa carefully and as discretely as possible untangled her hand from Clarke's hair and let go of her hand, though not without passing her thumb over the back of it one last time.

"You really should rest. I'll come see you tomorrow, alright?"

Clarke grumbled.

"You're not fun."

She stood up just enough for Lexa to slip away from her and stand up. She nodded, trying to smile one last time to Clarke but feeling too nervous under Abby's gaze.

"Goodbye, Mrs. Griffin."

"Goodbye Lexa," Abby said as Lexa passed her to exit the bedroom.

Lexa quickly bid her goodbyes to Mr. Griffin and almost ran through the front door, while Clarke huffed and brought once again the covers up to her neck. Abby sighed.

"If Lexa comes tomorrow with a fever it'll be your fault, you know."

"She won't." Clarke declared as she closed her eyes.

Abby came to sit on her bed.

"Do you still have a headache?"

"No," Clarke declared. "I'm feeling much better now."


A/N: Hi guys! While I don't have any reviewers to thank today, I noticed yesterday that this story just passed the 20 followers, 23 to be precise, and it has been a very long time since I've had so many people following a story of mine, so I wanted to thank you guys! Now, of course, the story isn't over yet, and I wonder how high the number of followers can get... But anyway, I'll see you all tomorrow!