Genre: Family / Friends / Drama /
Rated: T
Word Count: 4,658
Characters: Clarke Griffin / John Murphy / Bellamy Blake / Alex Griffin-Bailey (OFC) / Nick Bailey (OMC) / Jasper Jordan / Nathan Miller / Raven Reyes / Monty Green /
Characters Mentioned: Nikki (OFC) / Carl Emerson / Cage Wallace / Kayla (OFC) / Luke Bailey (OMC) /
Relationships: Clarke/Bellamy (Like the foundation is being built) / Clarke/Nick (Past) / Raven/MC /
Summary: Prompt: Clarke is Murphy's neighbor, all of his friends see him as an emotionless badass of sorts. But of course, it's super fake. So when she comes frantically knocking on his door asking if he can babysit her actual baby daughter because she's been called into work (because I'm obsessed with Stripper! Clarke), it's not like he's going to turn her away. And hey, if he can set her up with Bellamy, bonus points.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot / Hints at domestic violence/abuse / I veered away from the prompt a bit, still hope you like it though!/
A/N: I'm generally annoyed at myself. I've come up with like another four of these "family prompts" and I can't fucking get around to Clarke and Bellamy actually hanging out without it being over 10K. Whatever, I piss myself off. There's a second part already in progress, so...yeah...but school is also coming up so I don't know if I'll get to write a bunch. Sorry in advance. Also...ignore my OC names, I don't know any more about them than you do so we're not gonna question it.
John Murphy has the general appearance of being a dick. And most of the time he lives up to it. Like now.
He, Miller, Bellamy, and Jasper are all sitting on his couch yelling at his TV. It's just how he is around his friends and strangers.
Unfortunately, it's not how he is around kids. Or Clarke Griffin, his next-door neighbor.
And it's just all kinds of unfortunate when she comes pounding on his door at six o'clock.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." He grumbled, his friends yelling at him when he walked in front of the TV. Opening the door he finds a frazzled looking Clarke with her seven-year-old daughter. "Clarke?"
"Hey! Christ, I hate asking this..."
"You need me to watch the kid." He finishes for her, knowing it still makes her uncomfortable, no matter how many times she's done it.
"I'm sorry, Nick bailed and I really need to get to work- which reminds me, can you zip me?" She turns around, allowing him to zip up her diner uniform.
"It's fine, I'll just...figure something out. Go to work, it's fine."
"You're a lifesaver." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, doing the same to her little girl before running down the hall.
He ushered the kid in, his friends all staring at her.
"This is Alex. Be nice."
"Sup."
"Hi..."
"Hey."
His friends are tentative. Alex looks up at Murphy, "I can stay in my own apartment."
"Yeah, no. Your mom would kill me."
The girl huffed, looking awkward.
After they get him settled in front of the TV watching The Avengers, which- Clarke still might not approve but it's a compromise for everyone, the four men gather in the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, I have to ask. What the hell?" Miller breaks first.
"What?"
"You're watching a child. Someone trusts you with their small child. Is she new? Is she insane?"
"No, I've been doing it for like three years now. Her dad is a deadbeat, she works three jobs, I help out." He states it so easily, putting some chicken nuggets on a plate for the small girl.
"So, what I'm hearing is, you're a decent person." Jasper tries to clarify, his mouth tugged in a tight line.
"I've always been a decent person." He gets a few scoffs but rolls his eyes in response. "Yes, I am a decent person. Just- You guys don't have to stay, but she'll go pass out in Mbege's old room in a couple hours."
"I'll stay. I don't care, I like kids."
"Of course you do, Bellamy." Murphy rolls his eyes again, taking the plate out to Alex, who's eyes were glued to the TV.
"Thanks." She pauses, chewing on a few nuggets, "Who are you guys?" She looks at John's friends who look away just in time, trying to make it seem like they weren't staring.
"Uh, Murphy's friends." Jasper slowly answers.
"Cool. What's your name?"
"I'm Jasper, that's Miller and Bellamy." Alex looks each of them over.
"I have a friend in my class named Jasper, he's cool. Are you cool?"
"I like to think so."
Alex hums in acknowledgment, "Probably not. You think you are, so you probably aren't."
Miller chokes on his beer trying to stifle a laugh. "She's got you pegged, Jas."
"Shut up, Miller."
"Is your name really Miller?" Alex draws attention back to herself.
"Huh?"
"Your name. Is it really Miller?"
"What else would it be?"
The girl shrugs, "I dunno. He goes by Murphy, but that's his last name."
"Oh. Yeah. Miller is my last name."
"So what's your first name?"
"Nathan."
She scans over Miller with a critical eye.
"What? Is there a Nathan in your class too?"
"Yeah."
"He's not cool?" He replies, smirking.
"Everyone hates him." The smirk falls off his face, eyes widening.
"Why do they hate him?"
Alex just shrugs, "He sucks."
"Ok, but how?" Miller is trying to engage in conversation while the other two are just laughing to themselves.
"He pushes girls a lot, calls everybody names, draws on other people's art. Mom says his parents are idiots who don't know how to be parents."
Miller is nodding slowly, "Yeah. I agree with her."
They go back to watching the movie, letting the kid eat her food.
"So, Alex, what happened this time?" Murphy's curious and the girl always has the answer, even when her mom thinks she doesn't know.
"What do you mean?"
"You were supposed to go to your dad's this weekend, right?"
"Oh. Yeah, I guess."
"So what happened?"
She shrugs again, looking down at her hands. "I don't actually know. Mom was yelling at him on the phone a lot, he was probably drunk."
They all stare at her.
She doesn't say anymore but she does yawn.
"You want to go to sleep?" She nods, hopping off the chair and wandering to the door. "Um, I'll be right back."
They leave, going next door so she can change into pajamas. Coming back she doesn't stop, going straight for the spare room and shutting the door.
Murphy sighs, rubbing his hands over his face.
He remembers Nick. He moved in with Clarke when they first came to the building four years ago. They fought and yelled a lot, Alex cried, even more, being a baby. She kicked him out after a few months, throwing divorce papers at him along with the rest of his crap. Murphy was the one to propose that he watch Alex, especially while she was going to court, dealing with the custody issue. It was supervised visits only until the girl was five, then he had her every other weekend. But she was seven now and Nick missed, at least, half of those weekends.
"Alright, I'm going to sound like an asshole here, but. What are you getting out of this? I mean- are you trying to score with her mom or what? Seriously, I've never seen you do this shit." Jasper was talking quietly, probably hoping Alex wouldn't hear him.
"What? No. I'm just helping her out, seriously, Nick's an asshole and that kid deserves better." Bellamy is looking at him with something close to sympathy but also empathy.
They all continued watching the movie, quietly giving input where they felt it was necessary. Until around eleven when sound was knocking on his door again.
He opened it to find Clarke, home three hours early.
"Clarke? What are doing here? I thought-"
"Nope. Got fired. Can I have my daughter back?"
His eyes went wide, but he stepped back to go get the kid, leaving her standing in the doorway. He came back out, walking with the sleepy seven-year-old
"Mom?"
"Hey, baby. Let's go, you can go back to sleep."
"Why are you home?"
"I missed you. Duh." The girl conceded but looked skeptical. They went home and Murphy went back to his chair.
Clarke was actually a pretty close friend. Murphy always tried to help the best he could, but she hadn't needed money before. Then again, she'd always had enough jobs to cover everything, now she was a job short. Which made him worry about how she would pay for food, rent, utilities, etc. It wasn't like she could ask anyone else; Nick didn't pay child support, her mom disowned her for having Alex, she doesn't really have a lot of friends she can rely on.
After his friends left, close to an hour later, he went over to her place. She answered the door in her pajamas, with her hair up and her eyes red. He enveloped her in a hug before a word could be said, she started crying again. After she regained her breath, she pulled him into the hallway so they could talk.
"What happened? I know you said you got fired, but-"
"My boss died." She rested her back against the wall and slid to the ground.
"Oh, shit..."
"Yeah. Dante was super cool, he loved Alex. Let me bring her in when I worked the day shifts, but he died like earlier this week I guess. Anyway, so his son took over. What an asshole. First, he pulled me into his office so he could go over my record and tell me everything I had done wrong; from being late to getting orders wrong. Then said he didn't really have any other choice but to fire me. I mean- I pleaded and even told him all the shit I deal with. Nope. Not a drop of sympathy in that man. He didn't even let me finish my shift!" She was exasperated. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I used that money for groceries. I mean- I have to get another job, like tomorrow, but-"
"I can help you out-"
"Mmnmm," She shook her head vehemently. "No, I'll find something. I just-"
"Jeezus, Clarke. Look, I have a good job, I can help you with your groceries until you find another job."
Murphy decided to talk to Jasper about hiring her at the bar. He was pretty sure he could get her a job there, even if it was part-time.
She still looked at the floor. "Are you sure?"
He slung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, "Of course I am, Clarke. C'mon, we're friends, this is what friends do."
The next day he had Alex while Clarke made up her resume and sent it out to different places. Bellamy decided to join him when they went to the park.
The two men sat on a bench, watching the kid run around the small playground.
"How come we didn't know you did this? I mean it's been, what? Four years, you said?"
Murphy shrugged at his question, "I don't know. I never really had a reason to tell you, it just didn't come up in conversation."
Bellamy nodded. They talked about trivial things for the rest of the hour before making the trek back to his apartment complex. As soon as the three of them got settled on the couch, Jasper texted back saying he'd meet to talk about hiring the blonde.
Murphy went over to knock on Clarke's door to see if she'd be able to watch her while he went to his meeting.
"Uh, hi?" She had changed into her uniform for the hotel.
"I thought you didn't work today?"
"I don't, but Kayla called out and I could use the extra hours. That's not a problem, right?"
"Um...I actually just got called into a meeting." He didn't really want to get her hopes up about anything.
She buried her head in her hands, clearly trying to think of a way to make this work.
"Um, my friend could watch her." Murphy offered tentatively.
"Friend?"
"Uh, yeah. Bellamy. Blake. He's pretty good with kids. More or less raised his sister."
"And you're sure he could watch Alex? I probably won't be back until ten and I don't know how long your meeting will be."
"Just a lunch meeting. He'll be fine."
"I guess if you trust him..." She checked her watch before realizing she didn't really have any other options.
After she left, John called Bellamy out in the hall to let him in on the already arranged plans.
"Seriously? I barely know the kid-"
"You'll be fine, I just have to go meet Jasper for a quick lunch and then I'll be back. All you have to do is not kill her and don't lose her, simple."
"Her mom-"
"Already cleared it with her. C'mon man, I gotta go." Bellamy conceded after a few moments of begging. Murphy let Alex know that they'd be staying in the apartment but Bellamy would be watching her for a couple hours.
"Why?"
"I have a thing I have to do."
"Why can't I just go back to mine?"
"Your mom had to go into work for a little bit."
"Oh..."
He could see the disappointment on the kids face, "But, I mean, Bellamy is pretty fun. You'll barely notice I'm gone."
"Ok..."
As he was leaving he punched his friend in the shoulder, "Don't bore her to death."
xxx
Alex sat back in the recliner, staring at Bellamy while he tried to focus on the TV. Tried being the keyword.
"What?" He looked over to the little girl.
"You look familiar."
"We met last night."
"I'm not stupid. I meant before that."
"Don't know what to tell you, kid."
"Do you know my dad?"
"Probably not. What's his name?"
"Nick."
"Ok, last name?"
"Uh...Bailey, I think. That's my brother's last name, anyway." Bellamy paused.
"You have a brother?"
"Yeah. Dad has a girlfriend. I don't like her."
"Why not?"
"She's super mean and always yelling at me. She gets mad that she has to take care of me because I'm not her kid."
Everything about it sounds familiar to Bellamy, except for the daughter part. He worked with a Nick Bailey back when he did construction. Terrible person; always showed up late, reeked of alcohol, talked about his twenty-year-old girlfriend. But that was two years ago, it can't be the same guy.
"How old is your brother?"
"Two." Or maybe it can be. "His mom doesn't like him either."
"What?"
"She always gets mad when he cries and doesn't really pay him any attention. Neither does dad. He's trying to get mom to take him."
"Your dad is trying to get your mom to take a kid that isn't hers because neither he nor the kid's mom wants him?" He tried to clarify.
Alex nodded, "Mommy told Auntie Raven that Nikki was a slut, that's why she gets mad at Luke. Because she can't be a slut with a baby." She lowered her voice and her head, "Mommy also said that Luke was probably in danger, I don't know what to do about it."
Bellamy's heart softened for the kid. "It's not your responsibility to deal with that, it's your dad's."
"Nuh uh. Dad said Luke was my brother so he was my responsibility." And just like that, his heart melted into a puddle.
xxx
Murphy sat at one of the tables in the back, waiting for Jasper and Monty to finish talking to their distributor.
He had one of Clarke's resumes in the bag he had to take to make it look like he was going to a work meeting. It's not like he was positive she'd get the job, but he was fairly confident.
The came out and sat across from him.
"Alright. Your friend. Why should we hire her?" Murphy pulled out his phone and opened Facebook, picking a picture of Clarke from the beach she'd posted a couple of weeks earlier, he turned the phone to show Jasper. "I'm on board. Monty?"
The smaller boy shook his head in disappointment at his friend. "Does she have any qualifications? Has she worked in a bar before? I get that she's pretty, but-" Murphy yanked out the paper with the tiny print listing all of Clarke's previous jobs. "Alright, she's qualified. Does she actually know about working here?"
John scratched the back of his neck, "Not exactly. I didn't tell her because I didn't want to get her hopes up for you guys to shoot her down."
They both nodded, Jasper more so knowing about her daughter.
"Well, I like her resume-"
"And her look." Jasper jumped in.
Monty glared at his friend, "It's looking good, could she come in for an interview? Just so we can get a feel for her personality and her skill and style. Talk about hours and stuff."
"Uh, yeah. Probably. She might be able to come in tonight, I'd have to check with her of course-"
"Sounds perfect. Just let us know, Murphy. But yeah, I like her odds."
Murphy nodded, trying to contain his smile best he can.
"Will do."
xxx
Clarke walked into the breakroom, heading straight for Raven at the back table. She let out a huff as she sat down.
"Rough shift?"
"I'm ready to cry."
"That bad?" Her friend had a sympathetic smile on her face, rubbing circles in between her shoulder blades.
"I walked in on a naked guy tied to a bed. I thought that only happened in movies and TV shows, not real life." Clarke whined, throwing her head down on the table.
"Yikes, never happened to me."
"Of course not."
Raven didn't really need the housekeeping job; she co-owned a mechanic shop with her boyfriend, but that was mostly his and she wanted to feel like she was making even payments.
"I'm so tired Rae."
"I know hon. Hey! Maybe you can get that John guy to watch the kiddo tonight and you and me can go out."
"No," She moaned, "His friend is already watching her right now and he was supposed to watch her all day. I'm not going to ask him to look after her overnight as well."
"Why not? He loves Alexis. She's a great kid, Clarke. And last I heard, she got along great with him."
The blonde let out a huff of laughter, "Yeah, they do. She always calls him Uncle Murphy when she gets home."
"See? Adorable. Just- think about it, babe. I miss you and you need to relax."
"I relax-"
"Sorry. I mean you need to get laid." Clarke chokes on her laughter.
"Ha. You're funny." She gets up, paying for a bag of chips from the vending machine before returning to her seat. "Did I tell you about Nick trying to get me to take that slut's kid?"
"What? You're joking."
"Nope. He can't watch the kid and she's a fucking stripper who sleeps with her customers, she doesn't want a baby."
"You're not going to do it, right?"
"What? No. I can't. I can barely take care of me and Alex, add Luke to that and I'm gonna get two meals a week."
"Alright. I know you're saying it, but I can practically see the gears in your head trying to figure out how to take care of all three of you."
Clarke paused, throwing a chip in her mouth, "Shut up."
xxx
Murphy was sat on his couch, both Bellamy and Alex were asleep on the floor when he heard the next door over slam. Clarke was home. He walked over to find the door unlocked.
"Clarke?"
"In here!" She called from her bedroom.
He walked in the find her on her knees rummaging through a pile of old clothes.
"Whatchya doin' there?"
She looked up at him, huge purple circles under her eyes.
"Emerson called, found out I got fired, offered me my old position back."
Emerson, Emerson, Emerson... He tried to remember where he'd heard the name before, but it clicked.
"No."
"No?"
"You're not going back to that club."
"I've gotta find a job and this way I don't even have to go looking."
He groaned. "What if I told you I found a job for you? One that doesn't include you stooping to Nikki's level." She stopped shuffling through the pile and looked at him dead on.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, showing some cleavage might help you with tips but it's not stripping."
"No. What job?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "My friends own a bar, they need a new bartender/waitress."
She looked like she was about to cry when she launched herself into his arms.
"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me."
He let out a small chuckle, embracing her back.
"I don't know why you're thanking me. I did this for purely selfish reasons, I'd get to keep the kid overnight sometimes."
"Oh. Shit. I didn't-"
"Clarke, it's fine. I love her, and I'm pretty sure she likes me well enough."
The blonde gave a watery smile and laugh, "Yeah, you're her uncle Murphy."
Well, that makes some emotions stir inside him.
"I'd love to have her stay over when you work, it's great." He took out a business card, "Here, you go interview. Ask for Jasper and Monty, mention me. You should be fine." He handed her some cash as well, "And please get something to drink, you need a break every once in a while."
xxx
The position works out, of course. She works Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights so Raven and Murphy alternate taking Alex on those nights, staying in their apartment until Clarke gets home. Clarke loves it because while it is a bar, it's one of the nicer ones. She definitely gets groped a lot less than she would at Emerson's club.
She gets along with the whole staff, Monty and Harper especially. She even talks to Bellamy when he pops in, with or without Murphy. Jasper takes every other Friday and Saturday off to spend with his small group.
But, naturally, since the position worked out something needed to go wrong. At least it happens two months later.
Clarke went to work, Alex came over, she and Murphy played Wii until her bedtime, the guys came half an hour before she went to bed, and it all seemed to be going fine.
They're all passed out in his living room, continuing their Friday night plans. Jasper was the one who woke them up.
"Hey. Hey, guys, wake up." He pushed and kicked each of his friends.
"What, Jas? What is so important at..." Bellamy looked over at the cable box, "two-forty-six in the morning."
But they all heard the muffled, angry conversation that was getting less muffled as they grew louder.
"Because I said so, Nick. I'm fucking done with this bullshit and so is she."
"You don't get to decide that, Clarke. She's my daughter too." Murphy rose quickly, heading for the door.
"Yeah? How about you fucking act like it, because I'm tired of seeing her face drop every time I have to tell her you're not coming." John gave her a quick once over, noticing her ruffled clothes and messed up hair, he decided this had already gone bad.
'Call the cops', he mouthed at Jasper before stepping out in the hall. He wasn't entirely sure what he planned to do; Nick was close to six foot five and had a hell of a lot more muscle. But Murphy had Miller and Bellamy, and to a certain extent Jasper, for backup, so he might be okay.
"Everything okay here?" They both look over at him. He can now see a bruise forming on her cheek, he can also see the silent plea in her eye and the anger in his.
"It's none of your business, asshole. Go back inside."
"Yeah, I'm not going to do that. It is my business, Clarke's my friend, I look out for her." He made a small hand movement, motioning for her to come over to his place. But as soon as she tried to move, he stuck his muscular arm out in front of her, blocking her path.
"You're not going anywhere, we aren't finished."
"You aren't finished. I am. Move your arm, jackass."
"I'm not letting you do this, Clarke. You're not allowed to." He's now grabbed her biceps and turned her to face him.
"You should get your hands off her, man." Bellamy decided it was time to step in.
"Who the fuck are you? You don't even live here, you don't know her."
"I know you should let her go."
"Why don't the both of you go back inside and fuck off."
"Let me go, Nick."
"No! You don't get to do this!" He shook her.
"Nick, just let her go-"
"He's drunk, he's not going to listen."
"I'm not drunk! Fuck, Clarke! How many times do I have to apologize?! I'm sorry! You can't take my daughter away from me!"
"I really can, it's pretty basic shit. You got arrested for a DUI, I have the right to take away your custody. All you had to do was not drink." She probably seemed extremely calm to anyone else, but John heard the slight waver in her voice.
"Nick, just back off, man. It doesn't have to get any worse for you."
"Really? Because I'm losing my fucking daughter, if you think it could get worse, you don't know shit."
"Well, you could go to prison. Does that sound better?" He turned his head slightly to see Jasper holding the phone and giving a thumbs up.
The large man stuttered in his movements, thrown off by the mention of prison, but regained his footing when he saw Miller exit the apartment and the three men advance on him. He looked back to Clarke, his grip getting tighter on her arms.
"Where is she, anyway? You just leave her alone?"
"I already fucking told you, she's at my mom's. She offered to babysit after you bailed. Again." She spat the lie in his face.
He was seconds away from replying when the sirens came, as did the visible relief in Clarke.
"Like I said: prison. Doesn't sound great." Murphy crossed his arms over his chest.
They could all see the man's hesitation, but he let her go once the trio advanced again and pounding footsteps could be heard thundering up the stairs.
Two policemen came up behind him, beginning to ask questions. Nick still gets arrested. One begins to take him down the stairs.
"Mam, where is your daughter?"
"Next door, she should be asleep...?" She looked to Murphy who confirmed that she was still asleep in the guest bedroom.
"Alright. For the safety of you and your child, I do recommend a restraining order and a court order to remove his parental rights-"
"He doesn't have parental rights anymore, it's why we were fighting in the first place." The cop nodded at her, giving her a few more words of advice before bidding them all good night and retreating to his car. Once he was out of sight the group seemed to visibly deflate.
Murphy turned to look in the apartment, seeing Miller open the door slightly to confirm yet again that Alex was still asleep, and in those ten seconds Bellamy had taken residence next to a seated Clarke, wrapping her up in his arms. Murphy went inside and brought her a blanket, kneeling in front of the pair.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, he was just on something. Wouldn't let it go."
"Yeah, but it's okay to not be okay."
"I know, but I'm really okay." Murphy noticed the way she sort of leaned more into Bellamy and decided to ask about it later.
"Alright, just let me know if you want to talk."
"I will, thanks."
"Anytime, Clarke."