Chapter 100: Clarke

I sit with Lexa holding her hand with my forehead laying on the edge of her bed. I can feel Dakota standing watch over me. I'm not sure how long I have been there. The fluttering in my stomach becomes somewhat painful, and I begin to cramp. I start to cry and try talking to her, hoping she can hear me in her unconscious state. I feel Dakota's strong arms around me as I begin to cry. "Cielo, I really need for you to wake up. I love you, and I need you. You can't die on me; do you hear me? You can't. Owww…what now?" I start to cramp even more, and it's excruciating. "Shit…I think something is wrong. Something doesn't feel right, Lexa. Please come back to me. I need you."

Dakota says, "What can I do?"

"Help me to the bathroom, please. Something isn't right."

I feel something wet between my legs and begin to freak out. I look at Lexa and say, "Babe, I'm sorry, but I think something is really wrong." I start to let go of her hand to go to the bathroom and check to see what is going on, but when I try to release her hand, she doesn't let go. She squeezes my hand instead. I look down at her and see that her eyes are fluttering like she is trying to open them, and suddenly I'm looking into her unique steel blue eyes. "Clarke, what's wrong? Why are you so pale? Have you lost weight?"

I begin to cry even harder, "I-I don't know! Something just doesn't feel right."

Lexa tries to sit up but realizes she can't with all the tubes and wires. "Get me out of these things so that I can help you."

"Babe, I can't. You just had surgery. You shouldn't get up."

"You need me. Now help me get up." She looks over and sees Dakota. "Kota, help me up, now!"

Mom comes in the door about the time Dakota gets Lexa into a sitting position. Lexa looks down at me and says, "Clarke, you're bleeding!"

Mom yells, "Lexa, lay back down. I will take care of Clarke. You are in no position to be up and around."

Mom then turns to me and says, "Clarke, take off your pants and underwear and get up on the exam table so I can see what is going on." Dakota scoops me up and lays me gently on the table as Anny walks in and sees what is happening. Anny grabs an ultrasound machine and rolls it over. I pull up my shirt, and she squirts the gel on my belly and begins using the wand to find the babies and heartbeat. I reach for Lexa, but she is too far away. It only takes a minute for her to rip out the IVs and be at my side.

Mom says, "Damn it, Lexa. You shouldn't be up!"

Lexa just gives her a look and wraps her arms around me, kissing my temple. Then, she whispers, "Ya Amar, I am so sorry. This is all my fault!" She begins to cry along with me. Dakota moves to stand against the wall in the corner.

Anny breaks the tension by saying, "Both babies look healthy and have good heartbeats. I will have to do an internal pelvic exam to try and figure out what is going on. Is that okay?"

I say, "Do whatever you need to do."

After the exam, Anny says, "Everything is fine. The babies are growing fast, and the cramps are from round ligament pain. Your ligaments are stretching to try and keep up with the growth of your uterus. The bleeding is also from the stretching of your cervix. It shouldn't be more than what would fill a panty liner. You and the babies are fine. This is all normal. I'm going to go ahead and take some measurements since we already have the machine out."

Anny takes the ultrasound wand back out and finds the babies again. She says, "Wow, they measure 4 and 4.5 inches from rump to the crown. That is big for 15 weeks. The normal measurement is around 3-3.5 inches. Do you remember what the measurements were from your last ultrasound?"

Lexa says, "At 12 weeks, they were 1.2 and 1.5 inches."

Anny replies, "That is amazing, especially since Clarke hasn't been taking as good of care of herself as we would like. It's no wonder you are cramping and spotting with them growing this much in three weeks. We should probably do some blood tests on you, Clarke."

"That's fine, do whatever you need!" I turn in Lexa's arms and slam my lips against hers in a heated kiss. I feel her wince against me and pull back. "Babe, are you alright?"

She still has tears running down her cheeks, "I am now! Just sore." She looks at her left ankle and says, "Abby, where are we, and what is going on?"

Mom laughs, "We are at an Air Force base right outside of Minsk. Ash sent everyone but a small group home while we waited for you to contact us. We hadn't heard from you in six days before Zaria called Ash with your location. When we got to you, you were in bad shape. You even coded on the chopper ride here."

Lexa says, "So, what is the plan now?"

"Now you need a CT scan to make sure we were able to stop all of the bleedings and to make sure you don't have any swelling of your brain. So, I need you to get back into that bed and let me hook you back up to the IV. You lost most of your blood and had to have a transfusion. It will take a while to get your blood levels back up to normal. Not to mention that you have an infection and need the antibiotics from the IV. Clarke, I will go and get you a change of clothes."

Lexa says, "Abby, can we get these tests over with so that my fiancé and I can go somewhere and lay in the same bed and be more comfortable? I promise to behave!" She gives mom her best puppy dog eyes.

I chuckle and say, "Please, mom. How can you say no to that face? Besides, I will be with her and can call if anything goes wrong."

"Fine! I will see how quickly I can get you scheduled for the tests. Until then, I will have another bed brought in so Clarke can lay beside you."

"No need, she can get in this one with me. Just hook the IV's up, so they won't be in the way." Before Abby can say anything, Dakota scoops up Lexa and places her in the bed while mom puts the IV in. Next, she picks me up and lays me carefully beside Lexa.

Lexa laughs and looks at Dakota. "Thanks, Kota. Are you alright?"

She nods yes. "So, you still aren't talking?"

Dakota smiles, "I speak when there's something that needs to be said. I'm sorry that you had to save me and were hurt in the process."

Lexa looks at her, surprised, "Hey, it wasn't your fault. I made the decision, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I guess you have met my future wife and all-around amazing person, Clarke."

She nods as Clarke says, "Yes, we've met. Dakota here has been taking outstanding care of me while we waited to see how you were."

Dakota smiles and turns red. Lexa smirks and cocks her head, "Kota, hands-off. She's mine."

Dakota holds her hands up and starts to stutter, "Wh-what? N-No, it's not like…I'm-I'm only…."

Lexa, mom, and I start to laugh. Mom says, "Honey, she is just giving you a hard time. It's okay." Mom shakes her head. "Come on, Dakota, let's let them have some alone time. Clarke, I will have Ash bring you both some food in about an hour, and you better eat it, Clarke Griffin. After the tests, if everything looks good, then I will allow you to go to the house where we are staying until the plane gets here."

Lexa says, "I will make sure she does. She looks pale and like she has lost weight in the past few days. I will also make sure she gets some rest so those dark circles under her eyes will go away."

"Hey, I should be taking care of you. After all, you are the one that died at least two times."

"I think it was more like three or four, but who's counting. Besides, each time I came back because you told me to. It's terrifying to love someone so much that the fear of death took on a whole other meaning because of how it would affect the person who would lose you. Not to mention that I promised not even death would make me miss the birth of your babies."

"How many times do I have to tell you that they are our babies, not just mine? Samiya told me some of the stories of when you passed out, but I think I need to hear them from you. How did I make you wake up?"

"I'm not completely sure. All I know is that I would see you and sometimes the babies, and I would be so happy and content. Then you would start yelling at me about not being there or that you needed me to come back. Most of the time, I was confused as hell, but I wanted to make you happy, so I did whatever you told me to do."

"Samiya said it was your love for these babies and me that kept you fighting each time, and by the sound of it, she was right. She also told me a Japanese legend about a 'red string' and how the connection we share is rare, and it is because of the string that we can never be torn apart."

"So, you've met her? Are they all alright?"

"Yes, I have, and they are all fine. Everyone is worried about you. Babe, I think she may be your mother. I ask one of the doctors to run a DNA test on her and the twins. So that we can compare theirs to yours, but I haven't gotten the results yet. The timeline we have worked out with her matches up. We just can't figure out how you ended up in the orphanage. According to her, you were adopted by a young couple when you were a couple of months old."

"I may have the answer to that question. I just don't know how true it is."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…this last time that I was having, let's just call them dreams because I don't really know what they are. Anyway, the last time it was like a movie about my life, past, and future. The first thing I saw was a younger me. I was maybe four or five, and I was walking between and woman and a man holding their hands. The woman was crying, and we went into this building. We were shown into an office with an older woman, where I was shown some toys to play with. I remember the man telling the new woman that they couldn't keep me because I was different. He said that people didn't like how I caught on to things that they didn't say or something like that. I just remember the woman crying and kissing me. She said she was sorry that they couldn't keep me, but she was afraid that the soldiers would take me away and use my skills, so I was better off here where they couldn't find me. Next, I saw myself a little older, attending school in a uniform with many other children my age…, and it just kept going like that. Flashing from one memory to another. Some I know are true other's I'm not sure about."

Clarke looks at me and says, "What else did you see?"

"Um…I saw myself and a little boy named Ali. This is another one I'm not sure about, but maybe Blake can help me with it. I saved Ali from some bullies, and we became friends. We started sneaking out at night to watch the American's train on a nearby base. This is where I met Blake. He helped us learn to defend ourselves against the bullies. At least that was what was in the 'dream.'" I continue to tell her how I saw all the battles that Ash and I were in together. Along with our time together as lovers. Then I tell her how I saw everything that happened between her and Finn like I was there but couldn't do anything…."

"But…you-you didn't see the whole thing, in reality, only the end."

"I know. I told you, I don't know how to explain what I saw. I did see some things that haven't happened yet also. Like, I saw the birth of our beautiful girls, our amazing wedding. I saw us hanging out by the pool on the Untouchable with the twins under an umbrella. I was so happy and filled with love…but then you told me it wasn't real, and I had to fight to be with you, so that's what I did. Then the weirdest one was right before I woke up this last time. I couldn't find you, so I searched everywhere and found you in a graveyard crying. You were standing by a headstone. I ask if you were okay, and you looked at me and said no. You said that I lied and broke my promise because I left you and didn't come back. I was so confused, I tried to explain that I was there with you, but you said it wasn't real. You said it didn't count if I made it back, only to die in surgery. When I looked around, I saw Ash under a tree with the twins in a stroller. I asked you if those were our babies, and you said they would be if I hadn't left you alone. I walked over to them; they were beautiful. A perfect combination of you and me. One with blonde hair like yours but blue eyes like mine. The other dark hair and green eyes. I looked at Ash, and she said if I wanted to meet Maddy and Lena that I had to fight to get back to you…."

Clarke's head snapped up, and she looked confused. Then, finally, she says, "What did you just say?"

"Ash told me if I wanted to meet Maddy and Lena, I had to fight. What I was seeing wasn't a reality yet, but it could be if I didn't fight. Why?"

"Well…you know how I told you I would work on names to go with the ones you picked out? So I asked Samiya to help me with some Arabic names that would complement our nicknames for one another and…I chose Madelyn 'Maddy' Lyrah and Celina 'Lena' Abigail…I mean, if you like…."

I interrupt her, "Seriously? Star and heaven…they are perfect, but wait…how did…how did I know about Lena?"

"I have no idea!"

Ash

After Abby and Dakota come back out, they sit down with us while Abby explains Lexa's injuries and how she is doing. I ask, "Can I see her?" I notice that Dakota cuts her eyes over at me.

Abby replies, "I told her that you would bring them food in about an hour. Let's give them some time alone. I think they both need each other right now."

"Okay, but is Lexa going to be alright?"

"Yes, I'm not sure how, but she is going to be fine."

"Abby, I would like to introduce you formally to Samiya, Zaria, Kalen, Jasmine, Elias, and Nasrin." I point to each one as I introduce them. "It looks like you have already met Dakota."

Abby says, "Wow, now I know why Clarke wanted the DNA tests ran. There is definitely a resemblance. Now, who is responsible for the chest tube and splint?"

Zaria turns pale and looks at the floor before saying, "That would be me. I'm sorry, but…."

Abby interrupts her, "Don't be sorry, you saved her life and possibly her foot. How did you know how to do a chest tube?"

Zaria replies, "I was training to be the combat medic for my group at the facility."

"How old are you?" Abby asks.

"I will be fifteen next month."

"You did an amazing job. I'm not sure I would have thought to use the tubing that you did. Is medicine something that you want to do?"

"I mean…I like it, but I never have a choice. It's what I am supposed to do."

I speak up, "Zaria, you have choices now. You can do or be anything that you want. When we get to the US, you will be free or as free as any teenager. The point is you have choices now. All of you do!"

Nasrin says, "What about Elias and me? I'm 19, and he is 20. All we know is what they taught us. Which is basically combat and how to blend in and kill. How is that helpful in the normal world?"

I shake my head, "We will figure it out together. Lexa was the same way when I met her, and look at her now."

I look at Samiya and say, "You mentioned something about names, how they tracked the DNA or something. Can you tell us more about that?"

She smiles, "I can tell you what I know, which isn't a lot about the medical side. I only know how to deliver babies. I know how they kept up with who the mothers were and the type of DNA they used, though. They used seven different types of ancient DNA and wolf DNA to cause the mutations in the fetuses. At first, the babies were given numbers instead of names, but when some of them began having what the doctors called defects, they started giving them names so that they could track the defects."

Abby asks, "What kind of defects?"

"I'm not sure. Some were minor, like being smaller than normal, like Jasmine, but others were what they called genetic birth defects that most likely came from the mother since the sperm donors were tested. They really couldn't control the mothers…well, because they had to take what was available. Anyway, some were born with Down's Syndrome, heart defects, intestinal defects, etc."

Abby says, "I'm kind of scared to ask, but what happened to those babies?"

"I'm sure you probably know the answer to that without asking. So, to track which mother or injected DNA was creating the defects, they begin using the mother's last name as the child's middle name, and then the last name tracks the type of DNA. For example, Zaria Sahar Trikru means that I'm her mother and the DNA used on her was Amazonian. Kalen Sahar Floukru means he is my son and was injected with Viking DNA."

Abby looks at me and says, "So, if what you are saying is correct, Alexandria Sahar Trikru could mean that Lexa is your daughter."

Samiya smiles, "Yes, it would mean that she was my first child and that she most likely has Amazonian DNA."

"Well, we know that she has Amazonian DNA. I guess we will find out the rest when the results from your DNA test come back. What other types of DNA did they use?"

"There were seven that I know of. I will list them with their codes for last names. This will help you figure out more easily what to expect when you do the tests on the others that were at the facility. There were Amazonian (Trikru), Scythians (Azegda), Vikings (Floukru), Akkadians (Sangedakru), Parthian (Baudalan), Hittite (Podakru), and Lipen Apache (Ingranronakru)."

I look to Abby, "What does this mean?"

"It looks to me like they were using the DNA from some of the most skilled warrior societies in history to make an army of mutated soldiers that would obey their commander completely without question. For what, I don't know. Maybe Julian can shed some light on that when we get to DC. I should call Dalia and give her this information. Hopefully, by now, they have gotten everyone settled and off of whatever drugs they were on. She should have a list of names by now, and this information should make it easier to predict the type of DNA we will find. Ash, go get Lexa and Clarke some food while I see if I can speed up the results of the DNA tests."

I stand up to go get the food, but Dakota also does. I look at her and say, "I've got this. You can stay here and relax." The girl just shakes her head no.

Samiya says, "It appears that Dakota has become very attached and protective of Clarke and Lexa."

"I can see that, but I have been protecting Lexa for a while now…so, I think I have it under control."

I hear a noise between a snort and growl come from Dakota. I ask, "What? Do we have a problem?"

Dakota shrugs her shoulders and says, "We might!"

Abby speaks up, "Dakota, what do you mean by that?"

Dakota looks at Abby and then me, "I…I just don't like the way she was kissing Lexa in the chopper and calling her babe. Lexa is with Clarke. If she's supposed to be protecting Lexa, where was she while we were trying to get away from the Titian's?"

Zaria says, "Wow, that's like the most I have heard Dak say in years."

Abby looks at Dakota and says, "Why don't you come with me to check on the DNA tests and let Ash have a little while with Lexa. Then Lexa can maybe explain her relationship with Ash to you."

"I'm not sure why Lexa needs to explain anything to her, especially our relationship," I say. Dakota takes a step towards me, but Abby takes her hand and leads her down the hall.