Hi. I hope everyone had a good week and is staying safe because the cases in my country hit an all time high today - 15000! Yikes.
Anyway, stay safe and if you're staying at home, why not take the time to enjoy this story and tell me what you think. I'd love to hear your guesses on what's going to happen in the next chapter.
So, enjoy this chapter and don't forget to comment and review.
Her eyes flutter, head shifting from side to side, as her lips murmur unintelligible words. Her fists clench and unclench, toes curling then unfurling, as her body twists and contorts itself on the bed.
Tears start pooling beneath her eyes, flowing down her rosy cheeks, and onto the hands of another.
He picks her up, cradling her small frame in his arms, resettling the both of them on her bed. Tucking her head into the crook of his neck, he begins to rock her slowly, humming a lullaby in the hopes it will soothe her tears.
Eventually, small arms wrap around his neck, and he watches as eyelids flutter open. Her little pale pink lips form a yawn, her blue eyes blinking blearily at him, and he can't help but fawn over her.
Choosing to savour this moment a while longer, he rocks her a little more, a fond smile gracing his lips as he notes her closing her eyes in contentment, rather than for sleep.
He hears the door creak open, sees two figures previously standing in the doorway edging towards them. He beckons them forward, shifting the young girl in his lap to face them.
"Morning, little butterfly." The elder greets, taking her small hand and giving it a squeeze.
"Good morning." She yawns back, a fist moving to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
Gently, Bellamy brings her fists back down to her sides. "Don't rub your eyes, O." He advises, pressing a kiss to her temple, before running his hands up and down her arms.
The little girl leans into his touch, burrowing herself deeper into his arms until he has to nudge her awake.
Grinning, Hope gives her sister's hand a light tug. "C'mon. Let's go down for breakfast before we have to get to school."
Octavia nods, and arms move around her, picking her up. She wriggles in protest, trying to get Bellamy to put her down, but his grip on her only tightens.
"No, O." He tells her firmly as the two other girls move to stand by his side, ready to catch her if necessary. "Aunt-" He quickly cuts himself off before he lets anything slip, much to the amusement of the girls beside him. "Mom says you're not supposed to walk near the stairs yet."
The girl huffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she let herself be carried down by her big brother. Carefully, upon reaching the landing, he sets her down.
She takes one tentative step, then another. She's almost halfway to the kitchen before her legs start to ache. She pushes through the pain, her legs shaking as she continues to cross the floor.
"One step, then another." She tells herself. "One step, then another." She breathes heavily, trying to move her foot forward, but she's stuck.
Her breath hitches as she falls to the floor, her legs giving way. She wants to scream, wants to cry out. She just wants to hit something.
A tear slips out of her eyes, and she finds herself in the arms of her mother.
Drying her eyes, she rocks the girl back and forth, soothing her before a tantrum is able to form. She brings her over to the table, a plate set with pancakes and bites of fruit in front of her.
Settling her in her lap, she allows the girl to feed herself, only stepping in once she's done to wash the utensils. By then, the rest of the family has left for school and work.
"It's just you and me now, little Pocahontas." She grins at the little girl. "What would you like to do?"
The duo spend the morning doing light exercises to bring some strength back into the little girl's legs. Her seven-week-long coma had left her with very little strength, and every movement seemed to be a struggle.
They worked on their exercises until it was time for lunch, Diyoza rewarding her little girl after with a sweet treat.
Octavia swirls the ice cream in the bowl, watching as the melted raspberry ripple forms patterns within the cream. She flicks the spoon back and forth absent-mindedly as she slurps the watery dessert.
Putting the bowl back down, she traces the rim with her fingers, following the little shapes etched into the glass. She's not sure what they're supposed to be, but they're interesting enough to preoccupy her for the moment.
With a sigh, she realises the treat is finished and moves off the stool to tell her mama. As she slides down, her hand grazes the bowl, causing it to spin on the countertop, wet from condensation, and spiral onto the floor.
The glass splinters, shards flying across the room, and as gravity pulls them back to the ground, Octavia can only watch as they catch the light.
Rainbows emerge from the shattered glass, light refracting in all directions, bathing the room in a colourful glow.
She turns, seeing the colours dispersed throughout the room, and feels herself drawn to it's source: a single shard of glass. She reaches towards it, clumsy fingers moving to pick the piece up, stopping short only as she nicks her finger against the sharp edge.
Blood begins to pool at the tip of her finger, and she's not sure if she's supposed to cry or watch the crimson flow in awe. It hurts, the liquid sending her skin aflame, but a deeper part of her can't seem to tear her eyes from the sight of it dripping onto the floor, staining the lacquered wood red.
She hisses as she accidentally presses on the cut, blood now coating her thumb as well. She pulls her fingers apart, examining the sticky substance with curiousity. Bringing her finger closer to sniff it, she finds herself unable to move, her wrist firmly in the grasp of her mama.
"Are you ok, baby girl?" She asks her, lifting her off the floor and setting her on the countertop, far away from the broken glass. "Does it hurt?"
Octavia doesn't say anything, merely watching as the droplets dance across her arm, brilliant red patterns forming with each movement she makes.
Diyoza sighs, looking for one of the bandaids Clarke told her were placed all around the house. She rummages through the drawers, finally finding one not unlike the one her daughter had sported a few months ago.
Gently dabbing the girl's finger with a damp cloth, she cleans the wound before placing the bandaid. "Give me a minute, little warrior. I'll clean up the glass, then it's naptime."
Octavia doesn't say a word, choosing to watch as the rainbows were swept away and hidden in the dark recesses of a bin. She wants to bring it out, let the light shine in this unfamiliar home, but she doesn't want to make her mama mad. So she sits still.
It is not a moment later that she's in her mama's arms once again, and the pair are laying on the couch.
"How about we have a nap, ok?" She asks the girl, stroking her hair as she knew would send the girl to sleep. "When your siblings are back, we can start on your schoolwork."
Octavia nods drowsily, already half asleep, dreaming of butterflies flying over rainbows.
Diyoza, on the other hand, remains awake. She continues to stroke the long dark locks, her fingers ever so often twisting the strands before letting them loose. She's glad her daughter's getting better - a week ago she could barely get out of bed - but deep down she knows, things will never be the same again.
Years of memories had been snatched away by a heartless driver. A reckless and irresponsible person who nearly tore her family in two. She wasn't oblivious to everything and from a single glance at the doctor, she knew that she had almost lost her baby. 'How many times?' She doesn't dare to ask.
And this is not to mention that they've found her baby's biological family, the one who she later learnt hadn't abandoned her, but tried to keep her hidden. From what, the teenager had claimed to forget.
Part of her wants to fight for the custody of her daughter, she had been the one raising her for the past seven years after all, but she has to think of her children.
Octavia doesn't remember anything, she doesn't know anything besides the big happy family they're all pretending to be right now. And throwing her into a court case would not only confuse her, but give her an immense amount of stress, which would definitely not be good in her current state.
So for now, she has to share her baby, she has to share a home with a strange man and her daughter's biological brother.
For what it's worth, it is a happy home. Her daughters are happy here and they're never alone. Hope now has a big sister figure and Octavia's brother practically dotes on her every waking minute. It's adorable, and in a way, makes her less fearful.
Because now she knows, that whatever happens, her girls will always have a good support system behind them-
She's broken out of her thoughts by voices coming from down the hall. "O! We're home." Bellamy's voice is easily the loudest of the three and she can't help but grin at the boy's excitement to see his baby sister. A part of her feels guilty to have unintentionally taken her away from him, but the other part of her can't imagine a life without her baby girl.
"In here, kids." She whispers to them, hearing their footsteps padding her way. "She's asleep."
The trio approach them quietly and she relinquishes the little girl into her brother's arms. He was easily the biggest among them and she had no worries about him accidentally dropping her. The four of them settle on the couch as she approaches her - in Octavia's eyes - husband.
"Any luck?" She asks as he locks up the gun in it's safe by the door.
"No." He sighs. "I've asked around half the neighbourhood, especially the ones with kids, to see if they could identify the vehicle or at least describe it. All I got is that it was blue."
"Any traffic cams in the area? Or neighbourhood ones?" She tries suggesting, only to see him shake his head.
"We've never needed any. Shallow Valley has always been as safe as it gets. Guess we should probably install some now, though." He chuckles halfheartedly.
"We'll catch them." She pats his shoulder. "They'll pay for what they've done to my family. There's no way I'm letting them get away with it." She says, determined.
At this moment, Kane can't help but agree. This woman was a force to be reckoned with. Him and Bellamy had nearly moved in with her and her daughters, because for every point he made, she had three.
Thankfully, Abby stepped in, reasoning that it would be helpful to have a doctor next door, and that their larger house, with a vacant room for the girls, would give her more space for rehab.
It was then though, he realised hell hath no fury like a mother scorned.
The pair watched as the trio woke the girl and set up the coffee table as a mini schoolroom. Hope had gotten her schoolwork from her teacher and the three started the lessons.
Hope began guiding her through some simple math - because according to Clarke, Bellamy is hopeless at math - teaching her to add using her fingers and toes. Then Clarke taught her science, demonstrating the different body parts of various animals, and allowing her to match the body parts with similar animals. Finally, Bellamy takes over with social studies, telling her about their current president, Thelonious Jaha, and the president before, Diana Sydney.
While they wait for their turn with the girl, each child does their own homework, occasionally asking for assistance from the other when they stumble upon a question they don't understand. As predicted, Bellamy is hopeless at math and the simple concept of the volume of a cube in Hope's homework is lost to him.
Eventually, their schoolwork for the day is completed, with Octavia managing to catch up with a week's worth of her work from when she was in a coma.
Sweat dots her forehead as she sits up from bed, her mind still racing as flashes of the nightmare not a moment ago flood her mind. Her head darts left and right, it's too dark. The monsters lurk in the dark. She can't stay here.
Quietly so as to not disturb the monsters, she slides off the bed and tiptoes to the door. It's heavy, but she eventually manages to push it open.
Entering the brightly lit hallway, she looks left and right. She's not sure what to do. She probably should have woken Hope up so she could scare away the monsters, but she hadn't thought of it then, and there's no way she's going back in there now. Not while it's dark and not while the monsters still lurk about.
She walks up and down the length of the hallway, stopping as she neared the stairs. Maybe mama could help her scare away the monsters.
She turns to the stairs. Mama and daddy's bedroom was downstairs.
She'd have to go down to get her.
But mama said she wasn't allowed to go down all by herself yet. Technically, she's not even supposed to be this close to the stairs without someone watching over her.
She huffs. She's already broken one rule anyway, so what's another? It's just a couple of steps, right?
Taking in a deep breath, she edges over to the stairs. She holds on tightly to the banister, a socked foot slowly descending onto the step below. She releases the breath.
'One step then another.' She reminds herself, bringing her other foot down so they were now both levelled. "I can do this."
She takes yet another step, breathing in as she leaves the step and breathing out when she finds purchase on the next. She's almost halfway down when she hears the patter of footsteps behind her.
She quickens her pace. The monsters are out, but she won't let them catch her.
She takes another step, nearly slipping, when arms find their way around her waist. She struggles.
"Let me go!" She twists and turns, trying to get free from the monster. "Put me down-"
"O." A soft voice whispers in her ear. It's calm, soothing and familiar.
"Bellamy." She throws her arms around his neck, clinging onto him with relief. Tears start flowing down her cheeks and he's quick to brush them away.
"It's ok, O. I'm here now." He rocks her back and forth, hoping to soothe her cries. Eventually, tears subside into hiccups. "How about I make some of mom's special hot cocoa?"
She nods minutely into his neck, and the pair make their way down the rest of the stairs.
He sets her on the countertop in the kitchen before going through the cupboards to get the ingredients. Then, he gets the utensils and sets them on the counter as well.
Cup of milk
Dash of vanilla
Boil boil boil
He sings as he adds the ingredients into the saucepan, passing Octavia the ladle so she can help stir the ingredients.
Lots of cocoa
Spoon of sugar
Stir stir stir
He waits until the concoction starts to boil before turning off the heat. Then as it cools, he grabs the mugs.
Mix it up
Into a cup
Then drink it up
He places a few marshmallows into the beverage before handing it to his sister, telling her to sip it slowly as it's still hot.
When they're done, and she's starting to nod off, he offers to take her to her room.
"I... I can't Bell." She's now wide awake, shaking her head from her spot on the counter. "The monsters. They'll come and get me."
He picks her up and she leans into him.
"Do you want me to scare them away?" Bellamy asks her, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Yes." She nods. "But not tonight. I can't go back. Don't make me go back."
"I'd never make you do anything you didn't want to do, O." Bellamy bounces her a little. "How about you sleep in my room, tonight?"
She nods, yawning just as they begin up the first step.
He pulls back the blanket before laying her down. "Don't worry, O. I have a special nightlight for keeping all the monsters away."
He turns off all the lights, leaving a lone Disney lamp on right beside her.
"Thanks, Bell. You're the best big brother ever." She cuddles up to him and he holds her close, his face glowing with pride. "You make me feel safe."
Bellamy can barely contain his smile but chooses not to say a word as her soft snores fill the silence.
"I'll always protect you, O." He kisses her forehead. "I love you."
And this has been an AngelFanfics productions.