Lips of an Angel

by Redhead17x

Bellamy Blake lives in a dark world... A world of blood, death, and crime. To the outside world he's either a cold hearted business man or a ruthless Underboss, an indestructible force to be reckoned with but alone, he grapples with the demons that haunt him. He craves the warmth and light that only an angel can give, but angels don't exist... Or do they? [Modern Mafia AU]

14. Crazy Zoo Days

Hey guys... So this is definitely my longest chapter thus far. Seriously... Over 18k words! Jeez... Have fun reading this monster. Also, there is an important authors note at the end I recommend reading :/

Warning: Like last week, this chapter is pretty funny and super cute, so I suggest reading when no one is around... Just so they don't think your crazy for laughing like a hyena at some of these scenes. Also, probably not wise to read in class... I had a reader get in trouble for that last week ;)

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my plot and my original characters.

Chapter 14- Crazy Zoo Days

The work week passed by slowly it seemed, and Bellamy couldn't have been more grateful. Clarke worked 12 hour shifts Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.

Monday found Clarke having a horribly bad day at work, so Bellamy decided to surprise her by bringing her lunch from her favorite sub shop up the street, near the hospital. The look of awe, gratitude, and adoration on her face when she saw him, made his chest ache so bittersweetly… So did the kiss on the cheek and the tight hug she gave him. In an effort to have the day look up, Bellamy asked her if she wanted to go visit Chinatown that night after her shift, but made sure she knew they could go another time if she was tired. She did want to go, and so they spent the night walking the streets of Chinatown, enjoying the shops and culture on display. They ate dinner at a restaurant they found that sounded appetizing while out walking around, before Bellamy took her home promising to come back to the little neighborhood another time, during the day.

Tuesday, they had lunch again, and the same on Wednesday. She invited him over for a delicious dinner of Chicken Alfredo and a movie on Wednesday at lunch. That night they watched her favorite rom-com movie, The Proposal. Bellamy found it amusing how she could quote lines word for word, and sighed so contently when the guy at the end gave his little cheesy speech/proposal.

Thursday, seeing as how it was Clarke's day off, they went out for lunch instead of eating in the hospital cafeteria like they had the rest of the week, before Bellamy returned to work. After work he went and picked her up for dinner with his grandmother. He laughed when she answered the door waving a CD around, grinning ear to ear, saying today was the day he expanded his music knowledge and horizons… She had made him a mix CD.

They spent the whole ride discussing the music she had so carefully selected for him to listen to, and Bellamy found he loved each and every song that played. He had never enjoyed the hour long drive to his grandmother's house as much as he did that day, with Clarke in the passenger seat beside him.

Turns out having Clarke at dinner was a brilliant distraction. His grandmother was all over Clarke, and didn't have the time to question him on why he had been at church on Sunday, or why he hadn't been returning her calls all week… Even though he was pretty sure she knew why. He was also pretty sure he was in for the lecture of his life when she did end up cornering him alone like he knew she would, but he couldn't seem to give the issue as much caution and mindfulness he knew it rightfully warranted. All he knew to do was evade her for as long as possible, and hope with all his might that reality would be better than what his imagination was conjuring up.

Dinner went off without a hitch, not that Bellamy expected anything different. His grandmother sent him knowing looks all evening that seemed to say, I know, or, You're a goner, or, You just wait 'til I get my hands on you, I'm going to enjoy extracting every little morsel of information out of that big head of yours. Frankly, the looks were terrifying, and would have had a lesser man ducking for cover and running for the hills, but all he had to do was look at Clarke, and he automatically thought, It's worth it… She's worth it.

Amelia loved showing Clarke around her home and Clarke was in awe of the house and its beauty… The solarium was her favorite room by far she said, which pleased his grandmother to no end. Clarke seemed to love hearing the history behind it too. When his grandmother showed her the fancy sitting room, Clarke asked Bellamy if it was the room he broke the vase in as a kid, starting his grandmother on the story all over again, but with her dramatic flair that had Clarke doubled over laughing.

When it came time to leave, Amelia asked if Clarke had next Thursday night off, prompting her to sadly tell the older woman she didn't. She had the night shift at the hospital, but she had Tuesday off, and would love if they could do lunch, or maybe dinner at her apartment. Amelia said she would love to have both if possible, seeing as how she was going to be in the city for the day running errands and attending meetings, and so plans were made for the two women to have lunch and then dinner later. They both offered for Bellamy to join them, and while he declined the lunch invitation, he accepted the dinner one. He figured they would want some time without him, so he made up some meeting he had that day during his lunch hour.

The next day, Clarke and Bellamy had lunch again, but at a little café by the hospital. They had dinner that night and Bellamy took her to the High Line, which is a linear park built in Manhattan on an elevated section of a disused New York Central Railroad spur called the West Side Line. She loved it, and they had a wonderful time walking around, watching as the sun set, before Bellamy took her home. He stayed until she fell asleep while they were watching Modern Family, before tucking her into bed and taking his leave with a kiss on her temple.

Saturday morning, as Bellamy drove to Clarke's apartment to pick her up for their day at the Bronx Zoo, he thought over his week, and how extraordinarily happy he was. It was hard to think that a little over two weeks ago, he was living a terribly miserable, lonely existence with no hope for the future just darkness, blood, death, and grief, and now, he had all the hope in the world for the brightest of futures with his beautiful princess. His company was thriving. Everything on the Mafia side was quiet after his huge drug bust, no one wanting to incur the wrath of the Rebel, and lastly, he got to see Clarke. Life was good.

The only concerning thing at that moment was… Well, his guys. They had been acting ridiculously bizarre all week… Some were clingy, namely Jasper and Murphy, while others had kept their distance, namely Monty and Lucca. Jasper and Murphy had taken to silently working every day in Bellamy's office for hours on end and only leaving when Bellamy ordered them away so he could sneak out for lunch with his princess. They always came back though in the afternoon and stayed 'til he went home. He had to stop Jasper from following him into the bathroom at one point. He saw Monty and Lucca in the lobby on Tuesday in a heated whisper discussion, and decided to approach them to see what was going on. Upon seeing him, both guys got a little teary eyed, and turned, running from him off toward the elevators. Bellamy hadn't seen nor heard from either of them since. He had been getting strange looks from Diego, Miller, and Antonio all week… They were almost pitying and sorrowful looks. Romeo had been very attentive, coming to visit Bellamy in his office two or three times a day to check and see if he needed anything. Like he said… Bizarre. He knew he'd been neglecting them a bit, but not too terribly bad to warrant such crazy behavior.

Bellamy pushed those thoughts away, vowing to deal with the lot later, as he pulled up in front of Clarke's apartment, and parked. He had taken to going up stairs to her apartment when he picked her up and dropped her off. He like ensuring she was safe in her apartment before he left her for the night, even though she was never alone… Sterling was always watching, and doing a damn good job of it too. He was proud of the younger man, and was going to be very happy when the time came to add him to the Family. As he made his way up stairs and down the hall toward her door, the sound of loud playing pop music reached his ears until he stood in front of Clarke's door identifying it as the source of the noise. The chick singing the song was singing something about really, really liking someone.

Bellamy knocked once on the door, not getting a response. He knocked again, and still nothing. He figured she couldn't hear him over the loud music. He grabbed the doorknob and twisted, finding it unlocked. He pushed the door open and poked his head inside, smiling while taking in the captivating scene before him.

There was his princess, dancing, jumping and twirling around her apartment to the beat of the music, singing along with the lyrics. Bellamy opened the door wider and slipped in to the apartment closing the door quietly behind him and grinned while leaning against the door, settling in for the show. She was wearing a cute light blue sundress with straps that showed off her shoulders. The dress had a sweetheart neck line that emphasized her bust perfectly but modestly. It had ivory designs at the bottom of the dress along the hemline and along the straps on her shoulders. She was barefoot with her hair hanging in loose curls down her back. She had yet to turn see him, and he wondered what her reaction would be turning and seeing him standing there. Would she stop and act embarrassed at having been caught? Or would she continue? He didn't have a clue… She always did the unexpected; it was never the predictable with Clarke, and for that he was oh so grateful.

He didn't have to wait long though. She was jumping and dancing on the couch when she turned and saw him, but instead of screaming or jumping in surprise or fright, she just grinned at seeing him, like she always did. She jumped over the back of the couch and danced over to him, grabbing his hand pulling him in to dance with her. He started chuckling, as she continued to dance and sing using him to twirl her around the room. While he wasn't doing a whole lot of the dancing, he was trying, and she had everything to do with that. She danced around him, making his smile and laugh with some of her moves, and he'd join in.

It's way too soon, I know this isn't love

But I need to tell you something

She sang, pausing and stilling after singing the word something as the music stopped, before the music picked up again almost immediately.

I really really really really really really like you

And I want you, do you want me, do you want me, too?

I really really really really really really like you

And I want you, do you want me, do you want me, too?

She sang as she began jumping up and down in place with her hands is the air, throwing her hair around in time with the reallys.

There came a part of the song where the music slowed… The singer began speaking instead of singing. Clarke continued to say the words with the woman, but far more serious than she had been the moments before when she was laughing and dancing with him.

Who gave you eyes like that?

Said you could keep them?

I don't know how to act

Or if I should be leaving

I'm running out of time

Going out of my mind

I need to tell you something

Yeah, I need to tell you something

Clarke had come closer, no longer dancing. The song had pause while the woman said something about being pregnant, but Bellamy was too focused on Clarke mouthing something to him that he didn't catch. God how he wanted to know what she'd said! But he couldn't ask with the music picking back up again, repeating the chorus, and so he was forced to drop it.

They danced through two more songs after the first. Finally, the both collapsed on her bed, laughing and out of breath. Bellamy had never done something as fun and simple as dancing around to upbeat music before, simply because he'd had no reason to, but with Clarke, he had every reason to.

After they had caught their breath, Clarke hopped up and began searching for her pair of nude flats to go with her dress, which she eventually found after ten full minutes of looking. She found them under the couch, saying "This is why I take my shoes off at the front door. If I don't, I tend to lose them before they get to my closet. I found a pair of my converses hanging from my ceiling fan one time." Bellamy just grinned. She really was too cute for her own good sometimes.

They left her apartment and headed down stairs, Clarke almost bouncing on her toes from excitement, going through her mental list of animals to see, out loud for Bellamy to hear.

"Elephants and giraffes… Oh don't forget the lions, and tigers, and bears…" She listed off. Oh my. Bellamy thought, smiling to himself as they drove off.

XxxX

That same morning, across the city, Miller leaned casually against his car in the parking garage of Bellamy's apartment building waiting for the rest of the guys. He scanned the text message he'd gotten that morning from Murphy.

Meet at Bellamy's place 11 AM. It's time we sit him down and let him know that we know that he's sick. I can't take this anymore… I want to squeeze the stuffing out of him every time I see him. –J. Murphy

Miller had to admit that the Boss had been acting weird as of late… Chipper almost. Miller had even caught the man smiling to himself on more than one occasion, freaking out the people in the room with him. According to Diego, he smiled the other day in a meeting with the finance department while looking at something on his phone, a full blown smile, and one man had a heart attack. He was fine of course, but the point was, Bellamy Blake never smiled unless one of his boys did something he genuinely found outrageously funny, or something bad was about to happen. Even then he might smirk, or his lips would twitch into a semblance of a smile. You might as well forget about laughing. That happened, MAYBE twice a year... Maybe.

Normally, when Jasper and Murphy came up with a ridiculous theory or idea, Miller was usually the first to make the group see sense and refute whatever preposterous thing that they thought up with fact and logic, but last Friday, he had no facts or logic, that made sense, to back him up, and well… Their idea didn't seem that far off, compared to the alternative. Everyone knew Bellamy didn't do relationships, so the thought that he was in love with some chick was complete and sheer ludicrousness… Definitely more likely he was dying. The phone call he got from Bellamy last Saturday night telling him to pick Katie up from work for the coming week, and to make her happy, and to not screw it up, was pretty much the last nail in the coffin and confirmed the whole dying thing for him.

He sounded like a man trying to make things right before he died. It was a terrible phone call that had kept him up, replaying over and over in his mind, every single night for the last week. He could hardly even focus on what was going on with Katie, because he was so distracted, worrying that his boss and friend, the man who had saved him, given him a second chance, and a whole family to with it, was dying. While he might not recognize it, Bellamy was their heart and soul… Where he went, the boys followed, it was truly just that simple. What were they supposed to do without him? He really couldn't even fathom the thought.

Speaking of the boys, Jasper's Jeep, Murphy's bike, Lucca's Range Rover and Diego's McLaren 675LT, pulled into the garage. Jasper and Monty hoped out of the Jeep, Murphy got off his bike, Lucca and Romeo got out of the Range Rover, and Antonio and Diego got out of the McLaren. They all unloaded loudly, but that was nothing new.

"So what's the plan?" Lucca asked, eating a taco. "And why the hell are we here so early?" He asked disdainfully with a full mouth after taking a huge bite.

"We go talk to him, dum-dum." Murphy said. "And it's eleven in the morning… It's not early at all. Why are you eating a taco?"

"Why aren't YOU eating a taco is the question…" Lucca retorted. It would have been a pretty good comeback except for the fact he had another mouth full of food, making his words garbled.

"Better question, where did you get said taco?" Jasper asked curiously, eyeing the taco hungrily.

"Best question of all… Do you have another?" Monty asked hopefully.

Romeo grabbed a couple of big Taco Bell bags out of his back seat and held it up. "Brunch, boys."

Miller couldn't count how many tacos were in the bags if he tried, seeing as how they were all scarfing them down one by one like it was their last meal. They were all very much still growing boys. After a good ten minutes of nothing but eating, and a brief round of arm wrestling between Diego, who was a huge guy with mountains for arms, and Jasper, who had little twig arms in comparison to Diego, over the last taco, they were ready to go. They walked over to the elevator, and pressed the button calling it.

Jasper glared at Diego cradling his arm against his chest like he was hurt, as Diego smugly ate his taco, slowly making a show of chewing and savoring it. Jasper sighed heavily… He'd had like 10 or 11 tacos before that. Miller couldn't tell why he was so sad about that one taco. It was probably just the fact that he lost the arm wrestling match, and his pride was hurt.

As the elevator dinged and opened, they all loaded in and Antonio pressed his thumb to the scanner starting it up. Miller, Diego, and Antonio were the only one's of the who had access to Bellamy's apartment… Bellamy didn't trust the other boys to not just show up at his apartment randomly to do something stupid like watch cartoons. Once the elevator started moving, it was silent while everyone was getting in the right frame of mind for the tough conversation ahead… That is until Diego, who was standing in the back of the elevator, wadded up the taco wrapper, and launched it right at Jasper, who was standing by the doors, hitting him in the back of the head.

"THAT'S IT!" Jasper shouted, turning to do what, Miller had no clue, but he stopped short seeing Diego holding up another taco that he'd had previously hidden.

"That's… what?" Diego asked smirking, knowing he had the younger man by the short hairs.

"Oh gracious one…" Jasper said slowly with awe, watching the taco the whole time. "I know I am unworthy…" He began to slowly move toward Diego and the last taco. "But if I don't eat that taco in your hands, I. Will. Die!" Jasper finished, desperately grabbing Diego's T-shirt and clenching his fists.

Everyone watched in amusement as Diego moved the taco upwards slowly watching as Jasper's eyes followed the movement. Diego quickly threw it in the air, over his head, and caught it in his other hand making Jasper whimper. With a shake of his head and a chuckle, Diego handed over the taco, patting Jasper on the head like a puppy as he gleefully unwrapped it.

Before the elevator doors opened though, Murphy hit the stop button and turned to look at everyone. "Okay people… Be cool, be yourselves." He said and then zeroed in on Jasper humming quietly, while bouncing in place, picking the cheese off the top of the taco and eating it. He was very focused on his task, not realizing everyone was watching him. "Okay… Scratch that. Don't be yourself-yourself, be the coolest version of yourself you can possible muster, and someone throw Jasper out of the elevator." He grumbled the last part to himself while starting the elevator again.

"Heeyyyy…" Jasper said outraged. "Not nice butt-face. I'll throw YOU outta the elevator." He huffed.

The doors opened, and everyone got off walking over to the door. Miller knocked and waited… And waited… And waited.

"Did anyone actually call him to let him know we were coming over?" Antonio asked the group.

Everyone paused and turned, looking at Murphy standing at the back of the group. "Yeah, about that…" He said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "I figured we could surprise him… Surprise!" He said doing jazz hands.

Miller face palmed while Lucca spoke up. "How's that working out for ya, you ding-dong? We surprise him, and he has a stroke, killing him instantly. You know he's got a bad heart… That's why he's dying, duh."

"No he doesn't… It's cancer." Murphy retorted.

"Guys, guys, guys, it doesn't matter, we've just got to talk to him and let him know we'll support him through whatever it is…" Monty trailed off.

No one paid any attention to Jasper typing in random codes for the door until he got a green light, and unlocking it with the key he pickpocketed off Antonio, until they all jumped hearing Jasper hollering "Beeeelllllaaammmyyyyyy!" while barging through the front door, half a taco still in one hand.

"Damn it! I told someone to toss him off the damn elevator. Now Bellamy's going to be irritated Jasper woke him up or something!" Murphy exclaimed following Jasper into the apartment.

After searching the apartment high and low, there was still no sign of Bellamy. Everyone was extremely loud… People calling out his name, boss, or skip in Murphy's case. Monty and Jasper kept yelling, "Oh captain my captain!" repeatedly, before giving up and reconvening in the foray.

"Where could he be?" Diego asked.

"Maybe the club or at BGE?" Antonio questioned.

"No, I checked both of those places before I messaged you all, and he wasn't there." Murphy said pacing. "That's why I figure he had to be here, and told you all to meet me here."

"What about his dad's estate, Marcus' place, or Nonni's house?" Romeo asked.

Jasper gasped. "He wouldn't go see Nonni on the weekend without taking us… Hush you." He said sternly to Romeo.

"Okay, we'll split up then… Half go to…" Murphy started.

"Why do you always forget to just call him?" Miller said interrupting Murphy, shaking his head.

"Oh… Right. Be my guest and call him then…" Murphy said making a sweeping gesture. "He could just possibly be dead in a ditch somewhere, but it's no biggie… He'll pick up, I'm sure." He said scoffing sarcastically. Murphy's words had their desired effect as everyone jumped on their phones taking turns calling him and messaging him. Finally, they got a group message from the missing man.

I am busy… Stop calling and messaging me. I'll speak to you all tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be back home tonight. –B. Blake

"What the hell does he mean he 'doesn't know when he'll be back'?" Lucca asked confused.

"I don't know…" Miller muttered… None of this made sense. His strange behavior, and then this disappearing act? Something smelled fishy…

"I know one way to find out." Murphy murmured lowly, looking at Jasper who was licking his fingers enthusiastically having finished his taco.

"Jazzy…" Murphy said sweetly approaching him. "We need you to track Bellamy's phone, and get a record of where he's been all week."

"Oka…" Jasper started to agree, pulling his phone out.

"No way!" Monty said coming up behind Jasper and jumping in front of him, glaring at Murphy. "Don't do it Jasper… He's just doing it to trick us. Remember how we got in trouble last time for tracking Bellamy using his phone when there wasn't a good life or death reason to?"

Jasper furrowed his eyebrows looking down, remembering, "Yeah, he took the PlayStation away for a whole week because we were being nosy, and that was our punishment!" He looked up glaring at Murphy, "You were tryin' to get us grounded again, you butthead! I'm not talking to you anymore." Jasper huffed, crossing his arms over his chest like a petulant child and turning away.

"I wouldn't trick you Jasper." Murphy soothed moving around Monty to clasp Jasper's shoulder. "You wouldn't fall for it. I just asked you, because I think you know what you're doing more than Monty. You're faster than him." He said in a fake whisper loud enough for everyone to hear. Miller rolled his eye just like everyone else did, who wasn't Murphy, Jasper and Monty. Everyone knew what Murphy was doing, but made no move to intercede and stop his careful game of manipulation.

"Hey!" Monty shouted. "That's not true. See, watch…" he said, quickly pulling his phone out and typing on it, his fingers moving like lightening. "Ha! Told ya…" He said smugly, turning the phone around to show the screen.

Murphy quickly snatched the phone from Monty's grasp, "Thanks Monty Cristo. You played your part well, young grasshopper." Murphy praised.

"Damn it! Not again!" Monty shouted slapping his hand against his forehead "Murphy you cheater-cheater-pumpkin-eater… How could you lie like that?" Monty said glowering at the other man.

"I prefer, Master of Deceitfulness, or The Dark Lord of Deviousness… Either will do. I said I wasn't tricking Jasper… I said nothing about you." Murphy said distractedly. Monty punched him in the arm once, before walking over to Miller who patted him on the shoulder reassuringly.

"This is bad… It can't be…. I just… I don't even…" Murphy started to mumble scrolling on the phone.

"Spit it out Murph." Antonio said anxiously.

"Yeah dude… Seriously what's the lowdown?" Romeo said taking a step forward as though to take the phone from him.

"Well, if this is right, it's worse than we thought… He's been at the hospital every day this week during lunch, and he was there last week too it looks like. Right after we took the Grounders down." He said not looking up from the device in his hand.

"So… That's why he left in such a hurry after we got to the club. He was feeling ill, and he had to go to the hospital. Oh God… How didn't we see he was sick?!" Lucca asked frantically.

"I don't know, but there are some other places he's visited that are… Questionable at the very least." Murphy said. "He visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on Saturday, Chinatown on Monday night, and the High Line yesterday evening. Last week, he visited The Met. This makes no sense… Bellamy's been to all these places before. We all have, living in the city like we do." Murphy said looking up confused.

"Unless…" Diego spoke, with one arm across his chest and the other rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Unless what bro?" Romeo asked.

"Unless… He's re-visiting places on a bucket list of sorts, before he dies." The big man rumbled sadly with his head down.

"It could be… He went to church this past Sunday, and you know he doesn't break the church once a month rule, unless there are dire circumstances… Like he screws something up with Nonni, and she makes him go as penance." Murphy added.

"He's obviously coming clean with God before he goes." Monty piped up quietly.

"Anything else?" Miller asked lowly as silence descended upon the group.

"Yeah… There is this one address over on the Upper West Side that he's been to numerous time over the last two weeks…" Murphy said trailing off.

"It could be a therapist… Dying ain't easy ya know." Antonio said rubbing his face wearily.

"So just a recap…" Jasper said speaking up for the first time since the whole conversation began. "He's visited the hospital practically every day this week because he's so sick, he needs treatment every day. He's gone to various attractions all over the city because he wants to see them one last time before he… he… he…" Jasper got choked up a bit, not being able to bring himself to say the word 'dies'. Lucca came over and grabbed his shoulder squeezing gently. Jasper continued with the silent support, "He's gone to church twice in two weeks' time, something he hasn't done in years, and he's been going to therapy, all to get right and be prepared for when he…" Jasper just looked away, not bothering to try and finish his sentence.

"Looks like it…" Murphy muttered grimly.

"Where is he now?" Miller asked gravely.

"Uh…" Murphy looked down and scrolled some more before hitting a button or two. "He's at the Bronx zoo."

"Come on boys. Let's go let him know we've got his back now more than ever, and we're not going to abandon him and let him suffer through this alone." Miller said, rallying the troops. He could see the despaired faces falling away to be replaced with masks of steely determination all around him, as they nodded.

XxxX

As Bellamy leaned against the wooden log railing a couple yards from the bathrooms, he couldn't keep the silly grin from his face. Clarke had dragged him from one exhibit to the next, spouting facts about the animals and their habitats. She had explained to him in the car how she had downloaded an interactive map app on her phone that gave information about whatever animal they were looking at, and had made use of it in the park. They had stopped to let her take a bathroom break, while Bellamy waited for her in the shade of the miniature forest behind him. He had a perfect view of the restrooms, and very few people milling around… Not that any of them would recognize who he was with his casual clothes, ball cap and sunglasses on.

Bellamy was contemplating whether to wait to eat 'til they had explored a bit more, or taking her to get lunch once she got back from the bathroom. He hadn't eaten that morning because he had been too excited about seeing Clarke, and his stomach wouldn't let him. It kept doing this weird jumping thing when he would think about her, which was just about every moment naturally, so he had skipped breakfast. He briefly wondered if she had eaten that morning before he showed up… He already worried she didn't eat enough while she was at work to keep her energy levels up.

He was snapped out of his musings by a body tackling him, hard. Somehow he managed not to topple over sideways thanks to the railing, and seconds later, he had another one on him… Then a third… Fourth… and lastly a fifth. Before he could start flinging bodies on the ground, he looked up to see Miller, Diego, and Antonio running up, completely out of breath like they had just run a marathon. They tried to talk but were to out of breath, and all three hunched over wheezing.

Looking down he saw all five of his other guys hugging him tightly. Monty was first followed by Jasper, Murphy, Lucca and lastly Romeo.

"Well hello to you guys too." Bellamy said trying to sound annoyed, but it came out sounding mostly bemused. "What's going on? Why are you all here?" He asked confused. "I told you guys I would talk to you tomorrow." Bellamy said turning to see if Clarke had come back from the restroom yet, praying he could get rid of his guys before she came back, and they saw her.

They would start asking her questions and then they would get to know her, and like her because it's practically impossible not to like her, and then they would steal her attention away from him, and then monopolize it, and then she would forget all about him… Or worst, she wouldn't understand the guys crazy, bizarre sense of humor, and wouldn't want to be around him anymore. Both situations were equally bad… Very bad. Bellamy could feel the panic welling in his body, making him want to go find her and run. His two worlds were on a collision course with each other, and he didn't know the outcome or how to stop it. They would steal her, his angel, away from him, and she would no longer be his. He would no longer have her, and that scared the shit out of him.

"You… You have to go. Now." Bellamy said harshly, stuttering a bit, trying to push them away and get them to leave. He succeeded in pushing them all of except for Jasper and Murphy, who stubbornly clung to him.

"No way Skip… We'll be here 'til the very end. We won't let you go through this alone." Murphy vowed.

"What are you talking about?!" Bellamy asked anxiously still trying to get them off him and watching the bathrooms… She would be back any moment…

"The cancer…" Murphy said in a duh voice.

"Or the heart problems…" Lucca joined in.

"Wait, wait, wait… What the hell is going on around here?" Bellamy asked, completely outraged, confused and irritated.

"You're dying boss…" Diego stated bluntly, shocking the hell out of Bellamy. He stopped struggling and turned his attention from the bathroom to look at his guys.

"It's okay boss… We know just about everything that has been happening. Everything is okay… We're here now. We'll get you through this. You'll die peacefully I promise." Romeo said, soothingly.

Suddenly there was a small gasp from behind all the guys that had them all turning around to look at the source, giving a Bellamy a perfect view of his very pale and stunned looking princess. Jasper and Murphy let him go, and turned like all the others to look at her. He quickly took his hat and sunglasses off, holding them both in one hand.

"Princess…" Bellamy whispered, taking a step forward. Then Clarke did something she'd never done before… She took a step back, more like stumbled really, away from him like he'd hit her. He didn't think it was possible, but such a small action sent waves of agony through him. She had never moved away from him like that… She always felt comfortable and safe around him, always, even from the very beginning.

Jasper was the first to move or say anything. "Doctor Clarke? What are you doing here?" He asked confused, before he seemed to come up with an explanation to fit the circumstances, and slapped his forehead with an "Oh…" He quickly walked up to Clarke and hugged her, sniffling, before pulling back to look at her. "You're here to make sure he doesn't collapse or overdo it aren't you? Oh you delightful gumdrop, you." He said to her before hugging her again. She didn't return either of the hugs or even look at him while he was talking, her watery blue gaze was fixed on Bellamy the whole time.

Jasper moved back, noticed something was making her cry, and panicked. "Oh God… She's crying. What did I do? What do we do? Someone get her some Tylenol or something! Just make it stop, I can't handle a woman crying!" Miller reached over and smacked him on the back of the head, holding a finger up to his lips in a shushing motion.

"Is it true Bell?" Clarke asked him brokenly, the tears that had been steadily gathering in her blue eyes finally spilling over and coursing down her pale cheeks. Looking at her standing there, so distressed and saddened at the thought of his demise, both gutted him and made his cold dead heart, begin to beat with the fervor of some unknown emotion he had welling up inside his chest… For the life of him, he couldn't place the emotion, but in that one fleeting moment it had the capacity to change his whole world.

Her once bright baby blue eyes, that had had him so utterly bewitched from the moment he'd seen them, were now a frightening translucent, glossy, light blue-greyish color. She had her shaking hands wrapped around her waist as if holding her sadness in, refusing to let it come out. Her full lips no longer held that beautiful smile she always seemed to have just for him, instead, she was biting her trembling bottom lip as though to hold her sobs back. She looked so small, like even the slightest wind would knock her over. Bellamy could see she was having trouble taking a breath.

Before she could blink or move away from him again, he was crossing the space separating them, swooping her up into his arms, and holding her securely against him seeing as how her feet weren't touching the ground anymore. He tossed his sunglasses and hat to a stunned Murphy when he passed, knowing he needed his hands free to comfort his angel. He held her tightly to his chest as she relaxed into him immediately and began shaking with silent sobs that broke the heart he was just then coming to realize he had. He ignored everyone around him, except for the girl in his arms… They were in their own little bubble.

"Shh Shh la mia bella ragazza dolce (my sweet, beautiful girl)." Bellamy murmured in her ear, trying to calm her, as she brought her small soft hands up to wrap around his neck, calming a bit hearing his voice. He said it purposefully in Italian believing she couldn't understand the language. "I'm fine, I promise, Princess. I'm staying right here with you, and I'm not leaving… I can't." He whispered in a soothing voice for her and her alone to hear, switching between languages.

He felt her take a deep breath, and then another one… He took two quick steps to a bench that was conveniently close by and set her down while he knelt down in front of her on his knees. He cupped her face gently wiping her tears with his thumbs while whispering comforting reassurances to her in hushed tones. Even while crying, she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

"You… You're okay right? You're n-n-not dying?" She stuttered out, clutching at his forearms arms while his hands fell to hold her neck.

"I'm fine Princess… I'm not sick, and I'm certainly not dying. The guys are just a little on the insane side… Completely mad actually, all of 'em. I should have warned you, huh, you were bound to meet them sooner or later." He said with a playful little smile hoping to draw one out of her, or one of her endearing giggles, that he swore could put a spell on any man… It certainly had him.

While he didn't get a giggle, he did get a sweet little smile that had him relaxing his tense shoulders, even if it was still a little bit wobbly.

"Why don't you go splash some cool water on your face huh? It'll make you feel better. I promise." Bellamy said lowly, standing and lowering his hands to grasp hers, before pulling her to her feet. She nodded uncertainly, as though reluctant to leave him. "You have absolutely no need to worry, I'll be right here when you get back, I promise. I haven't broken any of my promises yet have I?" He asked, knowing he hadn't… He couldn't. Not with her anyway. She shook her head no. "Okay then, go on." He said kissing her forehead, giving her his best genuine smile. She nodded once before turning and walking back the way she came, to the bathroom. He waited 'til she was out of sight and hearing range before rounding on his guys.

The looks on their faces were priceless… astonishment, stupefaction, incredulity, and disbelief, were all present, and in any other situation, Bellamy might have laughed, but at that moment, Clarke's tortured face was still fresh in his mind as was the feel of her shaking with silent tears in his arms. He approached silently and gracefully. They knew they were in trouble and assumed the position, standing with their heads down and hands crossed behind their backs, to take the reaming out they were sure to get from their extremely pissed boss. Bellamy didn't disappoint.

"What in God's name were you thinking?!" He hissed lowly in Italian, not realizing he had slipped into another language, but that's what happened when he was truly enraged. They all had learned the language for communication purposes in the field, and knew what he was saying. "What in the world possessed you to think I was dying?! I told you I would see you tomorrow, but no… You had to track me, like you knew you weren't supposed to Monty and Jasper." Bellamy said pointedly at the two boys. He stood straighter, and crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you have to say for yourselves?" Bellamy asked calmly, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You were acting funny…" Romeo muttered petulantly.

"Yeah, and you were smiling when we hadn't done anything funny." Monty said a little hurt.

"I didn't track you… That was Monty." Jasper snitched, pointing at Monty.

"Murphy tricked me!" Monty said outraged, pointing at Murphy.

"Well, Jasper thought you were the one dying, and convinced all of us…" Lucca said coming to Murphy's defense, while Murphy was nodding along glaring at Monty for ratting him out.

Bellamy sighed heavily as the five of them started arguing with each other loudly. "Shut up, all of you!" Bellamy barked, silencing them all immediately. He turned and looked at Miller, Antonio, and Diego. "What do the three of you have to say for yourselves that explains why you went along with all this ridiculousness? I rely on you three to keep the other five in line when I'm not there, and not go along with their tomfoolery." Bellamy said disappointedly, making the three men flinch… Bellamy being disappointed was the absolute worst. It was worse than him being angry and yelling, but at least he wasn't silent. When Bellamy was silent and mad, people knew to run, because there was almost a 100% guarantee of being shot. The guys had only seen Bellamy like that a handful of time since they had known him, and thankfully, it had never been directed at one of them.

"We just kind of assumed…" Miller started off but stopped seeing Bellamy's face.

"Assumed? You assumed… What have I told all of you about assuming?" Bellamy asked with raised eyebrows, turning to look at the other five guys. They knew the answer because he'd had to go through the same speech every time they came to some crazy ass conclusion, and acted on it. He didn't think he'd ever have to go through it with his other three guys, but there was a first time for everything.

"To not do it. Ask the person directly." Monty said lowly.

"Uh… It's the mother of all fuckers." Murphy said rubbing the back of his neck.

"It makes and ass out of you and me," Jasper said scuffling his foot on the ground.

"You hate assumptions." Lucca said.

"Don't make 'em unless you know the whole story." Romeo said reluctantly.

"Exactly." Bellamy said. "Now, because of your actions, you've upset Clarke, unnecessarily mind you, and worked yourselves into a tizzy I'm sure. Go home, all of you and think about what you've done. I need time to think about your punishments." Bellamy said, sounding very much like a parent scolding his children.

"Bellamy Blake…" Came a stern voice behind him, causing him to whip around quickly. "Don't you dare punish them for my overreaction." Clarke said, walking right past him, to Monty, who was sniffling pitifully like the kid in the store last Sunday, and immediately started to hug him and comfort him. All the guys stared at her like she was some sort of alien, then Jasper, never one to miss out on a hug started sniffling too. Murphy decided he didn't like not being the center of attention, and started wiping away fake tears. Somehow she ended up comforting all five guys, giving them hugs and smiles while cooing over them. Meanwhile Miller was tossing him knowing looks, while Antonio and Diego looked on at the scene longingly wanting to join in too. Clarke turned and saw them, beckoning them both forward until they were in some sort of giant group hug. All of the guys were fawning over Clarke, who was in the center, about how cute and short she was.

The group hug started to separate until they were in a loose circle standing around her. Bellamy heard Clarke's stomach growl, as they all chuckled a bit at the noise. Clarke, much to Bellamy's great relief, walked over to him and asked sweetly, "Hey Bell, can we go get something to eat now?" Whether she was talking about just her and him, or her, him, and all the guys, he knew not. All he cared about was feeding her.

"Yeah, come on Princess…" He said leading her away from his guys, with his hand on the small of her back. He took one look over his shoulder, and saw his guys all gaping at him, uncertain what to do… Bellamy resigned himself to the fact that they would get to know her one way or another. He gave them one single jerk of the head, and they came running to follow.

They were seated in a secluded spot in the restaurant around a large round table. Bellamy and Clarke sat together of course, with Monty sitting next to Clarke and everyone else filling the other seats until Jasper sat down on the open seat next to Bellamy. The guys were all mostly quiet, watching Clarke with rapt attention, like she would break out into song and dance at any moment, while the waitress gave them their menus and took their drink orders… Romeo didn't even flirt with her.

"Do you know who everyone is, Princess?" Bellamy asked breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen over the table.

"Umm… I think so." She said looking around the table.

"Prove it…" Miller said suspiciously.

"Okay… Well, Jasper is beside Bellamy," She said leaning around Bellamy to wave at Jasper. "And then there's Lucca, the energy guy, and beside him is Romeo, the lover boy mechanic. My best friend Raven and her husband Wick, are mechanics… I bet the three of you would get along well." Clarke said thoughtfully to a surprised Romeo. She kept going though. "Umm… You're Antonio right?" She said a bit hesitantly to Antonio. He nodded, confirming her words. "Right, so you're a security manager guy at the place where Bellamy works." Antonio sent a questioning look at Bellamy, who just shook his head, telling the other man not to ask or say a word. "And if he's Antonio, you must be Diego, the gentle giant…" She said gazing at Diego with a bashful little smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "I have a brother about your size, and he gives me the best bear hugs. My nickname for him is Bear actually. He's a tough guy on the outside and can be downright vicious when he wants to be, but he's a real teddy bear on the inside. I bet you're the same right?" She said smiling warmly at the bigger man, who blushed, but nodded smiling back just as warmly. She moved on and pointed at Murphy. "Then John, the architect… I know your sister Katie. She is so marvelous. I love working with her at the hospital when we're on shift together. She talks to me all the time about you and M…" She stopped abruptly, when her eyes landed on Miller who was discreetly making panicked throat slashing motions. "I mean you and you're many hair-brained pranks. She loves you to death." Clarke said quickly covering from her almost slip up. Murphy didn't seem to notice thankfully. "Anyway, you're Nathan… I've uh…" She paused clearing her throat. "I've heard a lot about you." And that's all she said about him.

"You forgot me." Monty said pouting a bit from beside her.

"No I didn't… You're Monty, the master puppeteer. From what I've heard, you're the brains of this whole outfit, am I right? You're the one that works behind the scenes." She said grinning, making Monty beam at having such a reputation.

"Once again, the legend of our awesomeness proceeds us boys." Murphy said with a cocky grin. "It's so sweet that you talk about us all the time Bellamy." He continued, teasingly.

"Oh no, Bellamy hasn't told me anything about any of you." Clarke corrected, before taking a sip of her drink that had just been set in front of her.

"What… How do you know about us then?" Lucca asked confused.

"Umm… Well I met you all before even if I didn't get all of your names, but it was Amelia, actually. She thinks you all are… What was the words she used…" Clarke mused to herself. "Oh yeah! She called you all, and I quote, 'Cute little flappy eared puppies with no sense of up or down.'"

The whole table was silent, and Bellamy could see Clarke start to fidget worriedly. She relaxed though when Romeo nodded thoughtfully and said. "Yep… Sounds like us."

There were various nods and agreements all around. The waitress came back and took their orders before leaving once again. It didn't escape Bellamy's notice that not one of his guys tried to hit on her or even flirt with her, which was practically unheard of.

"So, Doctor Griffin…" Antonio said leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table.

"Oh, please call me Clarke… All of you." She said with a smile that had more than one of his guys sighing dreamily.

"Right, Clarke… Most important question I'll ever ask you." He said seriously.

Bellamy watched Clarke straighten up, and make a show of being just as serious as he was being. "Okay… I'm ready. Most important question you'll ever ask me… Go."

"How tall are you?" Antonio asked, trying to hide his smile. He finally gave up all pretenses, and grinned.

"Would anyone believe me if I said 5'6?" She asked with playful smile, looking around the table.

"Not a chance…" Murphy said with a shake of the head. "You're so tiny… Like 5'2 maybe."

"Ouch…" She said with mock hurt. "My driver's license says 5'6." She said shrugging.

"That doesn't tell us anything…" Monty said with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yeah, that just says you lied about your height at the DMV." Jasper said with a shake of his head.

"Hey… I didn't lie. I was 5'6 that day…" She fake coughed into her fist. "I may have been wearing very tall high heels, but…"

"I knew it…" Romeo grinned. "So really, how tall are you? You're like a midget."

"Okay first off, I'm not telling. My driver's license AND my passport say I'm 5'6… Second, I'm not short or a midget, you trees are all just ridiculously tall. What do they feed you all over here? Or is it just something in the water?" She asked jokingly.

"Nope, nothing wrong with the food or water… You're just short." Diego said. "Romeo and I were born and raised on the west coast. We moved here some years ago, so you little lady, are just simply of short stature."

"Sorry Shorty, but it's true." Romeo said shrugging.

Clarke gasped in mock outrage and turned to Bellamy. "Bellamy, tell them I am not short… I'm of average height."

Bellamy chuckled and shook his head, "Sorry. No can do Princess. You really are short… Like pocket-sized."

"Traitor." She said sticking her tongue out at him, before winking, letting him know she was just playing, and turned back to the guys to continue answering their questions and asking questions of her own.

That's how lunch proceeded. They talked and talked, and talked some more. To Bellamy's immense relief, his fears of the guys taking Clarke and her attention away from him seemed unfounded. She sought ways to include him in just about every conversation. When their salads came, without thinking, Clarke put the onions that she didn't like, but knew he did, onto his plate, while he slipped her the cucumbers on his plate he didn't like, but knew she loved. It was like they had been doing it for years. It was something they had learned about each other when learning each other's eating habits, and Bellamy couldn't help the feeling that started to unfurl in his chest once again at the small insignificant little actions. While Bellamy didn't miss the dumbfounded looks on his guy's faces, he chose to ignore them, instead focusing on Clarke.

All the guys started calling her Shorty, Tiny, Short Stuff, or in Jasper's case, Short Stack, because she was 'sweet and fluffy like a stack of pancakes, and who doesn't love pancakes?'. She accepted the nicknames, and proceeded to make up her own. Instead of calling Miller and Murphy by their last names, she called them by their first names. They were both okay with it, and Miller even told her she could further shorten his name to Nate if she wanted to, making her grin at him brightly. Bellamy was happy his friend no longer seemed suspicious of her, and made an attempt to get along with her. She shortened Lucca's name to just Luc, Romeo's to just Rome, and she called Antonio, Tony. She called Jasper by his initials, JJ, and Monty, Ty, like the beanie babies, claiming she couldn't look at him, and not want to squeeze him just like the miniature stuffed animals. Lastly for Diego, she said he had a choice… Dieglet, Digby, or Digs. Diego accepted Digs, happy to not have been left out.

After lunch, Clarke invited all the guys to come with them while they explored the rest of the zoo, and everyone jumped at the opportunity, not wanting to leave. It was amusing to Bellamy how all the guys seemed to hover around her. She didn't seem to notice, and if she did, she didn't mind. She walked right next to Bellamy with her arm looped through his like they had every other time they were together, further settling Bellamy's insecurities. In fact, as the day progressed and nothing really changed in regards to the way he and Clarke interacted, Bellamy started to feel guilty and more than a little ridiculous for his childish thoughts, thinking she would drop him if she met his friends or that she might not want to be around him when she found out how crazy they were.

Bellamy actually found it easier to deal with the guys when Clarke was there to help him manage them all. When Jasper wanted to ride a giraffe, and Clarke said no, Jasper didn't throw a tantrum. Instead he accepted her offer to buy him a balloon, and he was happy. Of course Murphy wasn't so easily mollified when Clarke wouldn't let him feed or pet the lions… He made a very good case arguing how Daniel in the Bible was in a den of lions, and didn't get eaten, so Murphy could feed one and pet it, and be fine. She distracted him by showing him a shiny key chain stand, and buying him the one he wanted, and that was that. He didn't bring it up again. When Lucca and Romeo tried to sneak off to play in the Gorilla Forest, Clarke caught them and gave them a stern lecture on how playing with the gorillas was wrong because they would both be disrupting the mammal's habitat. "How would you feel if I came in and interrupted you both playing video games huh?" It was a good ten-minute lecture that really had them seeing the light of the whole situation.

Bellamy made sure Clarke had a walk-through of the butterfly garden, knowing she'd love it and probably would want to draw it. He was spot on about her loving it, if the smile on her face was any indication. Overall, it was a very interesting, successful, enlightening day. Clarke handled the boys like a pro, and Bellamy was in absolute awe of her. As the day came to a close, and they started heading back to the parking lot, the guys began asking her where she had been so far in the city, and where she still wanted to go.

Clarke explained where they'd been so far, and began listing places not marked off on her list.

"Hey… You guys should come with us for some of these!" She said excitedly.

"Would if we could… Like 90% of the places you said, we can't go. Not all of us anyway." Jasper pouted.

"Yeah…" Monty said sadly.

"Why can't you come?" Clarke asked confused.

"To which place?" Murphy scoffed.

"Okay… Empire State Building." Clarke said watching everyone suspiciously. Bellamy grinned remembering this story.

"Funny story…" Antonio said grinning at Clarke.

"No…" Lucca said. "Very serious, logical story."

"Well, what had happened was…" Jasper started off seriously and paused. "There is no serious, logical way to explain this in such a way that makes any sort of sense. Murphy… Help." He said with a slump of his shoulders.

"We watched King Kong." Murphy said simply, with a shrug of his shoulders, like that was the obvious answer. "And we, being the incredibly awesome, creative thinkers that we are, decided the girl in the movie was exaggerating how difficult it was climbing up the building. The goal for the rest of us was to reach the top of the building where the giant gorilla, AKA Jasper and Monty, would be before they fell off the building, shot down by the planes, dead… There was a time limit to the climb you see. We couldn't just take all freaking day. Anyway, everything was fine, and we were about to successfully reach the top, but Jasper had to pee, not listening to Lucca when he said to take a bathroom break, and well, suffice to say, Jasper's lucky to be alive, we were grounded for two whole months for that stunt, and banned from the Empire State building."

"Oh jeez…" Clarke said.

"Yeah… I got a lollipop in the hospital though. Bright-side…" Jasper said smiling doing jazz hands.

"Okay, what's some other crazy stuff you've done?" Clarke asked.

"Jasper and I hacked all the screens in Time Square and put up the Nyan cat video… Never got caught." Monty said, shrugging. "You know, the pop tart cat?" Monty asked seeing Clarke's confused face.

"No, not really." She said shaking her head in amusement.

"Uh, Romeo and I got kicked out and banned from the Met… Who knew you couldn't play with the pieces?" Lucca asked like the idea was completely insane.

"Yeah… It was just an innocent sword fight." Romeo said nodding. "Until we accidentally sliced Miller up a bit when he jumped in the middle of the fight, trying to take away the cool swords." Romeo said innocently, like Miller didn't have to get 33 stitches on his side for the laceration, and still have the scar.

"I broke the clock in Grand Central Station…" Murphy said. "Allegedly that is."

"We all climbed to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge without Bellamy knowing, and well, again, Jasper's lucky to be alive…" Diego admitted.

"Yeah…" Jasper said sheepishly. "Who knew I was afraid of heights? Not me. It only took almost dying twice to figure it out." He mumbled a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, and we don't go to Central Park anymore, because of the great geese fiasco of '09." Miller said with a fearful expression.

"I still have nightmares…" Jasper whispered with a pain stricken expression. "So many feathers and blood."

"Oh my God! Did you kill them!?" Clarke asked horrified, even though Bellamy was shaking his head at her violently, trying to convey she shouldn't ask.

"No…" Monty said mournfully. "The blood wasn't from the birds, it was ours. Damn devil birds attacked us for the bread on our sandwiches!" He said outraged, while all the guys nodded solemnly backing him up.

"How are any of you still alive?" Clarke asked in wonderment. "Is there any place you haven't been banned, committed a crime at, or almost died?"

"Yeah… Here." Antonio admitted. "And I'm pretty sure it's because you were here with us."

"Oh Lord." She whispered looking around at everyone.

"Wait! Coney Island… We haven't had a chance to go there and climb the Ferris wheel, like Mighty Joe Young did on that one movie." Murphy said, in an 'ah!' kind of moment. They loved large monkey movies…

"Yeah, I really wanted to go parkouring there… I feel like it would be a ton of fun." Romeo said excitedly.

Bellamy sighed… While this was probably like the Twilight Zone for Clarke, this was his life. Bailing hooligans out of jail and the ER…

The continued talking until they reached the parking lot, and then they had to separate and go in different directions to their cars. Clarke hugged each of the guys and said her goodbyes, while Bellamy sent them off with a stern look and told them to be at the club tomorrow morning. He still wasn't quite happy with them.

They all left, and Bellamy and Clarke were back to being on their own. She suggested they head back to her apartment, so she could make them dinner, to which Bellamy readily agreed to.

That night, they both made baked spaghetti, well really more her than him, but he helped, while dancing around in her kitchen to some of the different songs on her various playlists. Bellamy couldn't stop smiling. She made him so happy. He laughed and smiled and joked when he was with her. He teased her, loving the dusty pink blush that covered her cheeks, and how her eyes would sparkle mischievously when she had a good comeback lined up. She was quirky in an endearing sort of way, and Bellamy found himself completely bewitched by her. She didn't know it, and he could hardly bring himself to admit it, but he knew she could literally ask him for anything, anything at all, and he would move heaven and earth to give it to her.

His business and money? Done…

Van Gogh's The Starry Night painting? Hers in a heartbeat…

The Hope Diamond? No problem…

The Lincoln Memorial? He wouldn't even blink…

The thing that made Bellamy smile though, and not freak the hell out that she had this kind of power over him, was the fact that he knew she wouldn't want any of it and she wouldn't use him like that. There had been wars fought over women like her… Bellamy certainly knew he'd fight for her.

While it seemed like a stupid thing to be gleeful about, Bellamy found himself relishing in the fact that they had a routine. After dinner they watched TV 'til she fell asleep on him, and then he slipped her into bed, with a kiss on the temple, cleaned any mess up and left, making sure to lock the door behind him.

Most nights he went home and worked 'til he could hardly keep his eyes open, before proceeding to bed… Not everything had changed. What had changed in regards to his time away from Clarke, was how long he slept. He was often woken in the middle of his nightmare by the sound of his alarm clock in the mornings. Now, he could sleep a couple hours longer than the normal five hours he was used to, before a nightmare woke him up.

He had a sneaking suspicion that his new sleeping habits were due to his beautiful blonde princess having captured not only his conscious mind, but his unconscious one as well. He couldn't bring himself to panic or worry, not when he was getting almost a full night's sleep.

Before heading to bed though, he got an email from Katie with Clarke's schedule for the next week. The message attached read, Thought I'd go ahead and send this to you before you asked for it tomorrow. Call off Miller for me will ya? I don't need him picking me up anymore, or you sending him over. Miller refused to say we were anything more than acquaintances to my brother, so I didn't tell Murphy anything. I'm just so done with all the hurt and drama… Hopefully I'll get over him and move on to someone who will stand up for me. Eventually. Thank you though, for trying to help me, the advice, and looking out for me throughout the whole ordeal. Clarke promised to help me in any way she can, and I've accepted her help. I'm going to get in a good place, and get back out there in the dating game. Please don't hurt her, she is the best friend I could ever ask for. I can see, plain as day, how much you both care for one another, so just… Don't screw around and fuck up the best thing that'll probably ever happen to you. Okay?

Bellamy swallowed hard re-reading the message twice. While he hated how down she seemed and how heartbreaking the whole thing must be for her, he knew he couldn't change her mind or Miller's or the situation. So he simply responded with, Thank you. I won't. Things will get better, I promise. Before heading to bed.

XxxX

Sunday morning, Bellamy opted out of going to church. His father and everyone else would be there, and Bellamy wasn't too keen on a run in with them. Perhaps the most important factor in his absence was the fact that Clarke was working that day, and wouldn't be there. He told her he would bring dinner to her when she got home that night so she didn't have to cook. She was very grateful, and said that she thought that it would be a great idea.

He knew he had to go deal with his guys. As soon as he walked into the House, he was bombarded with questions. How long had he been seeing her? Why had he been hiding her? Did he like her? When could they see her again?

"Calm down all of you!" Bellamy said loudly over the chatter and incessant questions that just wouldn't seem to stop. "You will all sit, and I'll try to answer your questions." Bellamy said firmly.

They did as he asked, and sat down, crowding in around him like it was story time. Bellamy told them the Spark notes version of meeting her at church, agreeing to be her tour guide, where they've been, and having dinner with her a couple times a week. He gave them the very bare minimum.

"Boss? Doesn't it seem suspicious?" Miller asked. "I mean, what if she's a plant?"

"Hey dummy! Shut your mouth!" Jasper said outraged. "Clarke is a sweetheart."

"Besides, who would she work for?" Murphy asked like the idea was absurd. Bellamy's relief at Miller having dropped his suspicions was gone. His friend obviously did not trust that she was who she said she was.

"Literally anyone…" Miller said throwing his hands in the air. "Any government agency, including but not limited to FBI, ATF, ICE, TSA… And that's only in the US. You know we've always got Interpol on our asses." Miller listed off.

"God, I hate those slimy, slick, dirty bastards." Lucca said, grimacing, with utter disdain dripping from his words.

"Yeah, well that's just feds. What about rival families? Thought of those? Or even other criminal organizations? Russia's pretty pissed with us at the moment if you haven't forgotten… Same with the damn Liberians." Miller said. He turned to Bellamy who had been quite, and continued, "Look, I'm not doubting that she's a nice person… Really, I'm not. All I'm saying is let me and Antonio check her out a bit, Boss… Background check and stuff. It's routine to check people who come in contact with you anyway."

"No." Bellamy said firmly.

"Bellamy, please." Miller pleaded. "Her last name is Griffin… Isn't that a little suspicious? Griffin, as in Jake Griffin. Griffin, as in Griffin Crime Family. What if she knows Jake, huh? What if she's his daughter? No one's ever met her, or seen her for that matter, including you. It could be her!"

"Damn…" Antonio whispered, looking down. "He's got a point Boss." He said apologetically.

"No, she's not Jake's daughter…" Bellamy denied vehemently. "There are literally hundreds of thousands of people who have the last name Griffin. What is the likelihood of running across Jake Griffin's only daughter, especially here on the east coast, when her family is rooted to the west coast? Practically zero, and you know I think big coincidences like that are bullshit. This isn't some movie! Besides her name is Clarke, not Charlotte. She has no idea who I am… Mob-wise, or business-wise. She has no idea I'm rich, or that I've got that bullshit false reputation for sleeping around."

"Bellamy she could be playing you…" Diego said, like the words literally pained him to be said. "She isn't the first person who knows how to lie, act, and play a part."

"Listen to me…" Bellamy said sternly. "All of you listen and listen well. She doesn't know who I am… I know she doesn't. I have thrown so many hints and curve balls at her, and she hasn't reacted suspiciously even once. Okay? No one is looking into her because I said so. That is an order." Bellamy said with authority. "You want proof?" Bellamy pulled out his phone and typed a quick message to her.

Have you looked me up yet? -Bellamy

He didn't have to wait but five minutes before he got a reply.

Ugh… This again? No, I have not looked you up yet, and I have no plans to. I wanted to get to know you-you, not paper-you, and I succeeded… I know who you are, and I don't need a website or anyone else telling me lies. The you other people see doesn't matter to me. –Clarke

Bellamy tossed his phone to Miller who read it and passed the phone to the other guys so they could look too.

"I know what I'm talking about," Bellamy said smugly, promptly turning serious while giving his reasoning as to why things were the way they were. "I'm not going to go looking into her and her past when she's not going to go digging into mine. I'm talking about the girl who has literally asked me for nothing but a little bit of my time, something I am all too willing to give her. I had to threaten to sic my grandmother on her case just to pay the bill when we went out to eat the first time, and then she turned around and sneaks back into the restaurant to tip the waitress who was rude to her, a ten."

"Did anyone see her reaction yesterday?" Murphy prompted, still firmly on Bellamy's side in regards to Clarke. "Those weren't fake tears. Those were real. That whole reaction was real. She isn't acting, or lying, or playing some part."

"Yeah…" Jasper said joining in. "Shame on you!" He said crossly making everyone but Miller hang their heads in shame for doubting her.

"Miller, let's go for a walk." Bellamy said coldly, standing and making his way to the door, knowing the man in question was following him. The other man's behavior was pissing Bellamy off to no end, especially when Clarke was the one consoling Katie every time Miller dropped the ball with her. He did not like being questioned like he was… Like he was bringing their worst enemy into their house, and saying 'Hey look, we've got a new member!'. If it had been up to him, the guys would have never met Clarke, for the sheer fact that they would ask him questions he didn't want to answer. He was the boss, and if he said don't do something, then he expected that to be the end of it.

Once they were out in the hallway, Bellamy rounded on him. "Do not question me on this matter again Miller. She knows about you and Katie, and she's kept quiet. Clarke is there for your girl every time you fuck up which seems to be all the time, so show a little respect and appreciation. By the way, you're an absolute idiot for losing Katie. She's done with your ass. Back to the point, I know a snake or a rat when I see one, and Clarke's neither. She's an angel, so back off… Don't look into her, or their will be consequences. You got me? I know your just lookin' out for everyone, especially me, and I got mad respect for that, but you need to trust me. She has never asked about any of you, or even what I do for that matter… If she is a spy, she's the worst damn spy in the word. She is in the dark for the most part about my life outside of her, so leave her be. Understand?" Bellamy asked gravely.

Miller nodded watching Bellamy intently. "You love her don't you?" He asked quietly after a moment.

Bellamy just shook his head, like the other man was wrong. He didn't know what he felt. For the life of him, he couldn't identify the emotions and feeling swirling around in his head and heart in regards to her, no matter how hard he tried… He had his suspicions of course, but those freaked him out, so he didn't focus on those too much. It was frustrating to say the least, but at the same time, he didn't really want to label them, because when he did, he knew his whole world would flip on its axis, and he'd be tossed into the great big ocean of the unknown. He had no idea if he'd sink or swim, so for the time being, just enjoying her and the reactions she pulled from him is what he was going to do.

"Come on…" Bellamy said turning to go back inside to the other guys.

"Wait!" Miller called, prompting Bellamy to turn and look at the other man with a raised eyebrow. "I know we had a fight the other night, but… She said she's done with me?" He asked downtrodden. Bellamy knew his friend was talking about Katie.

"Yeah man. You can only play a game for so long before the other person quits." Bellamy said.

"What? I'm not playing any game with her." Miller said confused.

Bellamy sighed heavily. "Look… I don't claim to know a single thing about relationships okay, but you've been playing tug-a-war with her for a while. You want to be with her, but you refuse to tell Murphy about the relationship, and so you wind up keeping her hidden like some dirty secret. She's done with it bro. I made her understand you needed time to get up the nerve to tell him, because you've been friends for so long, and she accepted it… Hell, she was even ready to tell Murphy on her own without you there, but according to her, you refused, saying you'd tell him that you're nothing but acquaintances. That probably hurt like a bitch, and it was the last straw. Your one chance with her is gone. Out the window, in the breeze. You know I don't give my opinion or input on stuff like this unless it's asked for, but I'm going to give it now because you need to hear it… She deserves someone who will fight the world and all its cruelties for her. She deserves to have someone that will face Murphy, and the huge possibility of getting the shit beat out of them by him, for her. You obviously can't be that person for her, so let her go. You are one of the bravest men I have ever known, but you're being a coward. You've got no problem jumping in front of a gun for someone, but you won't face the wrath of her brother for her? When she clearly wants you? That's so unbelievably stupid!" Bellamy finished having gotten himself worked up over the subject.

Bellamy watched as every single word hit home with his friend. "Let her go." Bellamy said calmly. "Just let her go so she can move on and find someone who is even a little worthy of the awesome person that she really is. She'll find a guy who can be the person she deserves, who can tell Murphy that he wants to be with his little sister, and who will handle Murphy's reaction… Sadly, that's not you. You made your bed, and it's empty, so have fun laying in it." Bellamy turned and left his friend to digest the verbal lashing that he just got. Bellamy never pulled punches when it came to telling the truth… The real honesty was that the truth is harsh and often cruel. He didn't sweeten the truth to spare someone's feelings… It just wasn't in his nature.

Bellamy spent the rest of his day with the guys… Miller eventually joined them, but he was visibly defeated and more subdued than his normal calm appearance, but no one asked him to talk. They acted like everything was normal. The hung out, played pool, watched TV, discussed bits of business, and ragged Bellamy about Clarke a ton. Bellamy finally got fed up and declared that the next person to tease him would ensure that the whole group wouldn't get to see her for a whole month. Bellamy was actually a little shocked how effective the threat worked. It was amusing to see how quickly they all took to her. They asked Bellamy what she liked and didn't, and made observations about things they thought she would like or things they wanted to tell her.

He talked on and off with Clarke throughout the day, through text message, making her laugh with comments and questions the guys wanted to know. When Bellamy got the message from Sterling that said she was getting ready to leave work, Bellamy got ready to leave the club… That's when all hell broke loose.

"Can I come?!" Monty asked.

"Yeah! Me too. Please? We'll be on our best behavior ever! Scouts honor…" Jasper said holding up three fingers.

"Jasper, you were never a boy scout." Bellamy said amused, getting up from the couch.

"PLEASE!" Lucca begged.

"Don't make me sit on you." Monty said, trying to sound threatening.

"Boss… Pretty please with a guava on top?" Romeo said holding his hands together like he was praying.

"Nope…" Bellamy said heading for the door. Next thing Bellamy knew, he had something attached to one of his legs causing him to stumble. Bellamy stopped and looked down to see Murphy clinging to his leg. He was on his stomach, sprawled out on the floor, hugging his leg. Bellamy tried to take a step to shake the man off, but only succeeded in dragging him across the floor. "Murphy, let go." Bellamy grunted, taking another step, and dragging the oversized man-child further.

"No…" Murphy huffed like the five-year-old Bellamy swore he was.

"Damn it." Bellamy cursed taking another step and almost falling face forward. All the other guys were whining and begging to come along too, from behind him.

"Guys!" Bellamy said loudly, cutting them off. "She just got off work… She's tired, and she doesn't need you overgrown delinquents in her apartment. Besides I'd have to ask her, and I don't want her to have to deal with your craziness after putting up with it all day yesterday."

"Okay, firstly… Ouch. We have feelings over here." Antonio said. "Second… What if she's okay with us coming over? We won't know because you won't ask."

"Yeah, why do you get to see her?" Monty huffed petulantly.

"Yeah… What are you so special?" Jasper glared.

"We want to see her too…" Diego mumbled a bit put out, not being able to go.

"Fine!" Bellamy said exasperatedly. "What if I call later in the evening and let her talk to you?" Bellamy asked compromising.

Everyone seemed to think it over… He slowly got some agreements. A few head nods and mumbled affirmatives. Murphy dropped his arms, freeing Bellamy, but made no move to get up. He just laid face down on the floor.

"Jasper… Come drag me back to the couch… I'm too lazy." Murphy said pathetically, his voice sort of muffled by the floor.

Jasper sighed heavily… "Fine you lackadaisical koala bear." Jasper said before slowly rolling off the couch and crawling over to Murphy. He tugged on Murphy's foot a couple of times before falling on the floor as well saying "It's Sunday. God said rest. Monty… Come get me." He said with a fake pout holding his arm out for his friend to come help him.

"Okay you sluggish slug." Monty mumbled rolling over the back of the couch onto the floor. "Never mind, I change my mind. Lucca pull me back up onto the couch. Eh-Eh-Eh…" He said waving his short arm in the air.

Bellamy rolled his eyes and decided that was the perfect moment to take his leave. He knew what was going to happen. In ten minutes' time, all the guys would be in various positions on the floor calling across the room for someone to come get them. They'd stay on the floor for an hour or so before they all slowly made their way back to the massive couch on their own. It was actually pretty humorous to watch. They tended to act like this when they didn't get their way… It was like being told no or not getting their way, physically sapped all the strength in their bodies.

Bellamy rolled his eyes once again and turned for the door, leaving, but not before hearing Lucca's reply to Monty, "On my way, my slothful sloth."

XxxX

Bellamy stopped at his favorite take-out place and the corner store to grab a couple of packs of gummy bears, before heading over to Clarke's apartment. He figured she'd already be home since he had such a hard time getting his guys to let him leave without a fuss, and then stopping for food, but to his surprise, she wasn't. In fact, she didn't show up for another 15 minutes. Bellamy resisted the urge he had to call her and Sterling to make sure nothing had happened. Instead, he exercised his patience, and waited… patiently… While slowly going out of his mind with worry… Those fifteen minutes seemed like the longest in his life.

When she did appear, Bellamy was instantly concerned. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes. She looked exhausted. Her hair was thrown up haphazardly in a ponytail, and she was wearing her hospital scrubs. What really had Bellamy worried, was how dejected she looked. Her shoulders were hunched over as if she was trying to make herself smaller. Her eyes were cast down so she hadn't seen him yet. When she did though, the utter sadness in her eyes caused his heart to stop, before it started up again seeing her sadness replace by surprise first then happiness upon seeing him standing there by her door.

"Bell…" She sighed, almost relieved, confusing Bellamy for a moment, while also making him weak in the knees. Her happiness at seeing him never failed to so stop him in his tracks and warm his entire being.

He shrugged the confusion off and opened his arms, beckoning her forward. "Come here Princess…" She accepted his gesture and walked to him hugging him tightly. He felt her small tense frame relax into him immediately. After a moment of just holding her, he slipped her keys from her hand and opened the door before picking up the bag of food resting on the ground and guiding her inside with his free arm still around her, kicking the door closed behind him. He sat her down at the kitchen bar and sat the food on the counter. Bellamy grabbed her bag and keys and set them on the entry way table before heading back to Clarke who had her head resting on her hands on the bar watching him.

"You want to talk about it Princess?" Bellamy asked watching her out of the corner of his eye while grabbing two plates from the cabinet and some silverware from the drawer.

She watched him for a minute more while he dished the food onto the two plates, setting one on the bar in front of her and the other at an empty seat beside her. She sat up as he walked around to sit next to her, before beginning to talk. "I had a rough shift… Lost a patient on the table due to heart complications, and baby Griffin is having some complications preventing him from leaving until later in the week. My uh… My mother called today too, as I was getting ready to leave work, and I forgot to look at the caller ID before answering." She mumbled, pushing the food around on her plate with her fork, worrying Bellamy further. She sounded like she had a really shitty day at work, so he was sure she hadn't eaten properly throughout the day, but that shouldn't have stopped her from eating dinner… It was almost like she had no appetite. Something was seriously wrong. Then her words registered in his brain. Her mom…

"What'd she say?" Bellamy asked around the lump in his throat.

"She informed me that her, my dad, and my brother would be coming to New York next Saturday." She said sadly.

"Isn't that a good thing though? I'm sure you've missed them." Bellamy said trying to get her excited for the visit. He knew for a fact that she did indeed miss her dad and brother something fierce… Her mom too, even if she was reluctant to admit it.

"It would be if it weren't for the fact that the only reason my parents were coming here in the first place is for an important business meeting my dad has Saturday afternoon that we all have to go to, including me. The only reason my brother is tagging along, is because he says he wants to see me." She said smiling weakly at the mention of her brother. "My mother also called Jackson setting up a tour of the hospital and lunch on Sunday before they all leave, so she can, quote, 'check-up on me', and she ordered I attend, so I have to go to that… She of course couldn't end the call then, no, she had to tear into me for answering my phone while I was at work, even though I tried telling her I was off the clock. Then I made the mistake of pointing out she was the one who called me. I ended up just hanging up the phone. I couldn't handle her yelling at me and scolding me like a three-year-old after the day I've had. I am so happy you're here, but I won't get to see you next weekend." She said looking up at him with a miserable expression making his heart clench painfully in his chest, before dropping her face back to her uneaten food. She dropped her fork, and halfheartedly pushed the plate away.

"Hey…" Bellamy murmured, swiveling her stool around so she was facing him. He hooked his index finger under her chin, raising her face up to look at him. "It's going be okay…" He said with conviction, hoping to calm some of the anxiety he could see building in her eyes. Everything would be okay if he had anything to do say about it. "It's your parent's loss for not having come to see you sooner… I know your brother is probably ecstatic to see you, and so is your dad too if I had to guess. You are such an amazing doctor, and your mom will have nothing to say that can contradict that fact… And if she does, I bet Jackson will put her in her place. It was perfectly acceptable to hang up the phone on her. As for us not seeing each other, it's only two days, and then they'll be gone. I will only be a phone call away… All you have to do is say the word, and I'll whisk you away to do some sightseeing or go to the beach… Anything you want to do. We'll even drag your brother along. I'll have all my guys run interference to get you away from the Wicked Witch of the West…" She smiled a watery smile at his nickname for her mother. "I should probably warn you, interference will more than likely include ridiculous code names, walkie-talkies, half of New York losing power, the other half of the city burning to the ground, a huge battle between King Kong and Godzilla if they can swing it, and robots… Lots of robots."

"Oh my…" She said smiling bigger. "The scary part of that is, I don't doubt that any of that is an exaggeration… It would all happen."

"Definitely…" Bellamy agreed. "As for your day at work… It was your patient's time to go. It wasn't your fault they died, and there was nothing you could have done, that you didn't already do, that could have saved them. I know baby Griffin will be just fine and healthy enough to leave by the end of the week because he has the greatest, kindest, gentlest doctor in the world watching out for him." He said making her stunning blue eyes swim with tears at the praise and honest words.

"Thank you Bellamy… You know what's even worst though? I'm all out of frozen gummy bears." She said pouting adorably. "I meant to stop at the store, but I forgot with the distressing phone call and all the craziness."

Bellamy grinned… Now that was something he could fix at that very moment. He got up and walked around the bar to the bag on the counter and pulled both packages of the sweet bears out, showing them to her. Her eyes widened to comical proportions. "How did you know?" She asked amazed as Bellamy opened the freezer and set them inside the door.

"You told me yesterday before we left for the zoo. It was thrown in somewhere between scolding your shoes for hiding from you, and telling me you wanted to see a zebra."

"Oh…" She said blushing. "Yeah, I was kind of all over the place yesterday." She said sheepishly with a hand wave.

Bellamy just shook his head, grinning at her adoringly. He found scatterbrained Clarke completely charming. She was so cute; it was almost unbelievable. "Now, let's eat this amazing dinner I made." Bellamy said playfully, slipping back into his seat.

"You made?" She asked giggling, picking up her fork and taking a hearty bite, which pleased Bellamy to no end… It looked like she had her appetite back.

"Oh yes… Didn't you see me put it on the plate?" Bellamy asked her with fake confusion.

"You mean from the box? Yes, I did see that." She said giggling again, with an eye roll. "You're a really good cook." She said jokingly between bites of food.

"Thank you." Bellamy said grinning, happy that she was back to being the happy, warm, playful Clarke he knew and…

Bellamy paused, his thought just hanging there. His smile fell as he gulped and cleared his throat.

"Are you okay?" Clarke asked concerned, sensing something was wrong.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" He said in a strangled tone.

He could tell she didn't believe him, but thankfully she didn't ask… Instead she began throwing meal ideas out for Tuesday's dinner with his grandmother. While it did distract him from the crazy direction his thoughts ALMOST took him, he still had the slip up lurking in the back of his mind.

He was going to say like… He was, okay?... She was back to being the happy, warm, playful Clarke he knew and, liked. Bellamy mentally scoffed… He just lied to himself, and he knew it too. You're so stupid… His subconscious shook its head at him. Yeah, I know… Bellamy thought back. He couldn't admit the truth though… Not yet anyway. It was such a strange thing, and it scared him. He didn't do… that word. He didn't believe in that word, not him. Oh no… Hell, he couldn't even bring himself to say or think the actual word properly… How was he supposed to feel what the word meant? He shook his foolish thoughts off, and focused on his princess.

They finished dinner and cleaned the kitchen together like they had done every other night that they ate together. Bellamy made sure to put the leftover food in her fridge, for her to reheat later, while she went and changed out of her work clothes.

Before they got too comfortable on the couch and started watching TV, Bellamy sheepishly told her how the guys wanted to talk to her. She was confused, but was okay with it, maybe a little amused too. He called Antonio's phone, and gave a stern warning that they could only talk to her for five minutes each, before passing over the phone to her. For the next thirty or so minutes Clarke was continuously laughing at whatever the guy she was talking to, said. She asked them questions about what their interests were, and genuinely seemed to enjoy talking to them. Murphy and Jasper hogged the phone of course, and he had to threaten to hang up the phone to get them to hand the phone to someone else. After another round of passing the phone around so they could all say goodnight to her, the phone call finally ended. Clarke told him that she was proud he didn't punish them for her over reaction the day before, and that she thought they should invite all the guys along when they came across a place they all weren't banned from, and Bellamy reluctantly agreed.

They settled in for one of her 'comfort' movies. Meaning she had them watch Pride and the Prejudice. Of course she fell asleep almost 40 minutes into the movie after having eaten 15 or so cold gummy bears, but Bellamy didn't mind in the slightest. She was curled into his side with both of her legs hooked over one of his knees, and her head resting on his shoulder. He had one of his arms around her shoulders while he idly twisted one of her loose curls around his index finger. He didn't even realize he was doing it. He held her for longer than he normally did that night, only moving when her phone vibrated on the coffee table in front of them.

He carefully shifted forward to see who was calling her, not wanting to wake her for no reason. The name displayed on the screen read 'Birth-Giver'. Bellamy smiled at her contact name for her mom… The name was amusing, but sad at the same time. It indicated that she had no real connection or relationship with her mom, other than the fact that her mother gave her life. It didn't slip by his notice that she called her mom, mother, while she called her dad, dad. Clarke started to stir beside him, so quickly sent the call to voicemail, hoping it didn't wake her. He cuddled her back into his side and resumed watching TV, sending the two other calls from her mother to voicemail over the next ten minutes. If it was really important, she'd leave a message, which she didn't do, so it mustn't have been important. That was Bellamy's thinking on the matter anyway. He didn't want Clarke's mother upsetting her further than she already had.

As the movie was winding down, Bellamy's phone started vibrating in his pocket. He pulled it out seeing Jake was calling him. He looked down at the blonde in his arms, while answering the call.

"Blake." He said lowly, trying not to wake his angel.

"Hey kid." Came Jake's disembodied voice from the other end of the line. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah." Bellamy whispered, still watching Clarke's peaceful expression and even breathing that indicated she was still sleeping. "Let me call you back in 20."

"What? Why? Why are you whispering?" Jake asked confused.

"Umm… I'm busy?" He accidentally phrased what he meant to be a statement it in such a way that it came out sounding like he was asking a question. He hadn't really TOLD anyone about her… Definitely not his dad and uncle. Everyone else seemed to just find out, or already know her. He needed to think on whether or not he wanted to tell Jake about her… He already knew he could trust the older man, but still. He was learning he was a possessive bastard, and was overly cautious about who in his life knew about her… It was for her safety and his sanity really.

"You're busy? You don't sound too sure kid. Wait… Are you with a chick? Damn it Bellamy, we talked about this." Jake sighed, disappointment lacing his voice.

"Listen, it's not what you think." Bellamy defended himself. It truly was not at all what the older man was thinking. "I'll tell you about it when I call you back in 20 okay?"

"Alright." Jake agreed. "Talk to you soon kid." He said before hanging up.

Bellamy reluctantly put Clarke in her bed and covered her with the sheet and comforter, before kissing her head gently. She sighed so sweetly in her sleep as he brushed away the stray strands of hair, it took the breath right out of Bellamy's lungs. He quickly cleaned up and left, locking the door as he went. The drive to his penthouse was quick. He parked and headed upstairs, quickly jumping in the shower and getting ready for bed. He threw on a pair of sleep pants before heading out onto his balcony… He quickly dialed Jake's phone number and waited as it rang three times before he picked up.

"Griffin." Jake said gruffly.

"Hey, old man." Bellamy said in a taut voice.

"What's the story? You said it wasn't what I thought, so give it to me straight." The older man said impatiently.

Bellamy hesitated. He had made his mind up on the drive over to tell Jake about Clarke… Jake was going to be the first person Bellamy told about her, but he just didn't know how to begin.

"Where do I start?" Bellamy asked hoarsely.

"From the beginning son… From the beginning." Jake coached gently. Jake could tell Bellamy was nervous. Something was going on, because his Bellamy was never nervous. He prepared himself for the worst…

So the beginning is where Bellamy started… He recounted the last three amazing weeks he'd had. The best in his life, if he were honest. From Clarke finding and saving him and Adam after the failed assassination attempt to the dinner he'd had with her not two hours ago. He told him everything… Everything but her name that is. Bellamy worried the older man would check up on her, in the interest to protect him, and he didn't want that. He avoided calling her by her name, and just called her his princess or his angel. He told Jake how she had no idea who he was, how she interacted with his grandmother so fantastically, and how she handled his guys. The reverence in his tone when he spoke of her couldn't be masked or disguised, and Bellamy didn't really try.

Jake was silent for the most part, letting the younger man tell his tale, only interrupting to ask a question or two. When he was finished, Bellamy waited patiently to see what his mentor's reaction would be. Jake's approval meant the world to him… He didn't know what he would do if Jake disliked Clarke.

"Sounds like you got it bad kid…" Jake said amused. "How's your grandmother handling this development?" He questioned

"Not good." Bellamy grumbled.

"What are you talking about? I thought she'd be over the moon about this." Jake said confused.

"Oh no, she's over the whole freaking galaxy about this. Don't get me wrong, when I say not good, I mean she's not handling her absolute and utter glee very well. She's always squealing, or clapping, or plotting things, and other weird behavior. I swear, if I weren't one-hundred percent sure she was in tip top shape for a woman at her age, I would be worried that the amount of excitement she has over our friendship would give her a heart attack. I'm currently on the run from her actually… I can't be in the same room with her without my princess there to act as a buffer, because I'm afraid she's either going to threaten to murder me or black mail me into telling her everything."

Jake started chuckling on the other end of the phone, 'til it grew to a full out belly-laugh. He laughed for a good solid minute before calming some. "Oh jeez, I haven't laughed that hard in a while kid…"

"Yeah, well I'm not going to be able to hide from her for much longer… I've got Thursday dinner this week, and my angel has to work, so I'm on my own. I'm thinking of calling, pretending to be sick, and then heading to your neck of the woods for a day or so… Its either that or you're going to be attending my funeral."

Jake chucked again. "Well kid, there's a couple of flaws with your plan. Firstly, you know she would hunt your ass down, and while I would love a visit from you, I really don't want to see you murdered before my very eyes by your terrifying, yet slightly sweet grandmother. I could picture it now… You bleeding out on the floor, and then her offering me a cookie." He said laughing again, this time with Bellamy joining in. Once the two men had their bearings, Jake continued. "Secondly, from what I hear, you wouldn't be able to drag yourself away from your girl for an hour let alone a day or two." Bellamy's heart beat erratically in his chest hearing Jake refer to Clarke as 'his' girl. He liked it… Liked it a lot. "And then lastly, the reason I called actually, I'm coming to town Friday night." Jake said wearily.

Bellamy was instantly concerned. "What's happening?"

"I'm meeting with your dad Saturday morning so I can see if I can trade some hardware for some man power. This situation with the Canadians isn't handling itself like I was hoping it would. In fact, it's gotten progressively worst. According to my intel, I've got not just the Indo-Canadians, but the Outlaw MC's and the Aboriginal Native Americans all on my ass too. They joined together…"

"What?" Bellamy asked confused. "That's not possible." Bellamy said in astonishment. "Who all is in on it and why?" Bellamy asked bewildered.

"The Aboriginal gangs out of Manitoba, the Indo Canadians out of British Colombia, and the outlaws out of Alberta. They want to work with the cartels down in Mexico, and start getting their commodities from straight down there, but they don't want to pay their dues to go through my territory. They refuse to compromise, same as me. Then they decided they wanted more territory so they can pave a road, boarder to boarder, and well… War's knocking on my doorstep kid. I've got the backing of some of the other families, but no one will cough up supplies and such. Bunch of scared lazy bastards." Jake mumbled. "I'm in a bind, and I can't just go on a recruiting spree… I wouldn't have enough time to fully train the pups. It would be even more of a blood bath than it already is. All they would be doing is dropping more bodies left and right."

"Damn…" Bellamy sighed heavily. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "What did you mean you 'the situation isn't handling itself like you thought it would'?"

"Honestly, I thought they wouldn't be able to get their act together long enough to be a viable threat. I mean the outlaws are a bunch of vicious brutes, and the Native Americans are just a bunch of hippies with guns. I figured they'd all end up taking each other out, and I'd pick off the survivors. Bam… over and done with, but they're actually working together…"

This was bad. The situation was so much worse than what Jake originally made it out to be. Bellamy shouldn't have been surprised really… Jake was the master of downplaying things. Everything Bellamy knew about trivializing things, he learned from Jake.

Jake could practically feel the younger man's anxiety through the phone. "Listen kid, everything will be fine, ya hear? We'll come over this weekend, I'll talk with your dad, we'll trade somethings, and then me and the family will leave. Easy-peesy." Jake said trying to make light of the situation. It didn't work.

"Look, I'll take some time off work," Bellamy said, a plan already forming in his head. "The guys, some of my other men, and I will head over to the west coast, and we'll have the whole situation done and dealt with in a week." Bellamy implored.

"No…" Jake said firmly. "I can't have you handling my problems for me. This isn't anything new kid… I've fought wars like this before, and survived. Come out on the other side unscathed, and this will be the same. We are done talking about this, unless you're ready to talk about my offer?" Jake asked.

Bellamy sighed heavily, but remained quiet. Before, he'd had nothing really holding him to the city other than loyalty to his family, and even that was unstable at best. His company could be moved, and his grandmother could come visit him where ever he relocated to, but now… Well, he had Clarke. Jake wasn't wrong when he said he couldn't go an hour without her… He was actually pretty spot on, but that was neither here nor there. The point was he was rooted in this city now more than ever, and couldn't just up and move to become boss of the Griffin Crime Family.

Instead, they discussed travel and lodging arrangements for Jake and his family. Bellamy would be sending his private jet to get them all from SeaTac in Seattle and bringing them back to JFK here in New York. They would have two cars take them all straight to the hotel, seeing as how it would be very late Friday night. The next morning, the meeting would be held at Blake Tower, so that is where they would all head to from the hotel. Bellamy decided to have the meeting at his company headquarters instead of some other usual location like the club because it was Jake and his family he was meeting. Bellamy had gone numerous time over the years to visit Jake in Seattle, and they had occasionally met up if they were both in the same part of the country or world on business, but Jake had never visited Bellamy. So Bellamy was taking this opportunity to show off his accomplishments to the older man who was his mentor, and so very important to him.

As the phone conversation wound down, Jake told Bellamy he was proud of him and promised to see him real soon before hanging up. Bellamy sat on his balcony for a few minutes longer pondering the possibilities of getting a chance to get Clarke away from her overbearing mother, and introducing her to Jake. He knew she also had family coming in… What a coincidence… Bellamy mused, thinking how they both had family coming into town to stay on the same weekend. He considered Jake family. You're so stupid… He subconscious shook its head at him. It is right in front of you, you blind moron… how can you not see it?!

Bellamy shove the pesky voice to the farthest recesses of his mind and decided to forget about it. It was more of a hindrance than a help anyway. Bellamy fell asleep that night nervous and excited for the coming week. He had a feeling the week was going to be huge, and big things were going to happen, but he was strangely optimistic in the outcomes he wished for. He had no idea how wrong he actually was to be optimistic…

Alright my lovelies... First off, questions... What did you consider the best part of their week? Their lunch dates, dinner with Nonni, or everything that started on Saturday? What did you all think of the cute Bellarke dancing to Carly Rea Jepson's 'I Really Like You' before heading off to the zoo? Adorbs right? Just for your info, it was the music video version they were listening to. Now on to the guys... Sheer craziness am I right? And they upset poor Clarke! How could they! How much did you love the Bellamy comforting and reassuring Clarke scene? What did you think about their lunch with the guys and the new nicknames everyone got? Anyone think Miller was justified in being suspicious about Clarke? Miller and Katie seem to be on the rocks :/ I know several of you were asking when we'd see Jake again, so what did you all think of their call and Bellamy telling him about Clarke? Jake's coming to town... Ya'll can guarantee stuff is gonna go down, and things are gonna happen, so stay tuned :)

Now, IMPORTANT THING HERE... I wont be updating next week. I know, I know, groan. But seriously, I have got so much stuff to do for school, my grandparents 55th wedding anniversary coming up, and all the craziness that comes along with that. I haven't been writing as much and as often as I would like recently, and its caused me to get behind. Not to mention these chapters are so long, and take a ton of time to write! This chapter is the last that I have stored up, and I'm a little uncomfortable writing on a chapter by chapter basis because I tend to go back and change or add things to fit my plot... I don't want me constantly changing things to confuse you guys or hurt the plot, so a break is needed. I plan to update again on the 25 of this month. You all were so understanding last time, and I hope you'll still be understanding this time around :/ I would truly appreciate it.

I love you all so much, and the continued support I get from each and everyone of you with reviews, favorites, and follows brings tears of joy and gratitude to my eyes. I never expected for my story to be loved this much, have such an impact, and help so many people out... Thank you to me doesn't seem to say enough, but its all I've got, so THANK YOU!

-Redhead17x

Spoiler for next chapter: Clarke and Nonni have a day out, and Bellamy is frustrated. Bellamy forgets an important day, and scrambles to make up for it. Bellamy has some realizations, and makes a plan. Fortunately, yes I said fortunately, those plans get blown out the window.

Also, if anyone would like know the songs on Clarke's mix CD for Bellamy, lemme know, and I'll put it up next chapter :)