It had been two days since Clarke had last seen Octavia. Sharing a look with Raven, she couldn't help the shiver that ran down her spine as her nerves took hold of her. No one had heard from Octavia in those two days and as she looked over at Bellamy, she could feel the tension rolling off of him in waves. Clarke worried that the truth had surfaced and all of their hard work hadn't been enough. She desperately wanted to get up out of her chair and check on Octavia but was stopped when a hand reached out and laid itself gently on her thigh.
She looked over as Ten squeezed her thigh gently before leaning closer and whispering, "She's fine, Clarke. The head caretaker told you that she'd be coming to class today. She'll be here."
"How can you be sure, Ten," she whispered back hotly. "We haven't heard from her in two days. Two days!"
"Baby," Ten said reassuringly and Clarke couldn't help how her stomach flipped at the term, "they've had her busy. Getting her settled into the Ward and testing to see where she is in school. That takes time. Plus, the kids aren't allowed a lot of freedom outside of mandatory outings. Apprenticeships and such. She'll be here."
Clarke swallowed thickly and took in a shuddering breath before she nodded. She leaned closer to Ten and kissed her gently on the cheek before resting her forehead against hers. She felt more than saw Ten smile as she gave another gentle squeeze on her thigh.
"Thank you," she replied gratefully. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
That sparked a dry chuckle that caused her to back away in surprise. Seeing the smirk on Ten's face, she immediately wanted to wipe it off but she didn't.
"You would find yourself in a lot more trouble because you'd be listening to Bellamy or gods forbid, Raven."
"Hey, I heard that," Raven piped up, glaring back at Ten over her shoulder.
Ten's smirk widened, "I meant for you to, Rae. You'd be getting everyone in trouble with one of your schemes if it wasn't for me."
Clarke couldn't help the chuckle that escaped past her lips, finding herself nodding along in agreement. This made Raven huff and stick out her tongue at both of them.
"See if I ever help you out again," she replied.
Ten sighed dramatically, "Oh, if only that were true, Rae."
"Ms. Cartwig," the teacher spoke up breaking through their conversation. "Is there something you'd like to share with the class?"
"Busted," Raven snickered as she ducked her head to hide her smirk.
Ten sat up straighter, removing her hand from Clarke's thigh as she cleared her throat, "No, Ms. Davenport. I was only inquiring as to Raven's interpretation of Mary Shelley's mindset when she wrote Frankenstein."
"As fantastic as that is to hear, Ms. Cartwig," Ms. Davenport spoke evenly. "We are not discussing Ms. Shelley rather her husband."
Ten nodded sagely, "I understand, but in truth, you cannot speak about one without speaking about the other. Nor can you ignore Lord Byron."
Ms. Davenport closed her eyes in consternation before she opened them once more and leveled a glare at Ten, "Ms. Cartwig, although I applaud your enthusiasm in going beyond the subject, neither Mary Shelly nor Lord Byron has any relevance in what we are currently discussing in class."
"My apologies, Ms. Davenport."
"Apology accepted, Ms. Cartwig," she replied and then returned to addressing the rest of the class.
Clarke sighed and slouched further into her chair as Ms. Davenport began droning on about Percy Bysshe Shelley and his influence during the Romantic era. She looked over at Ten and fought the laugh that bubbled inside her chest as Ten used her hand like a puppet mimicking the teacher and playfully rolling her eyes.
When Ten saw the mirth in Clarke's eyes, she stopped and instead propped her head on her hand and thought to her, There you are, C.
Clarke couldn't help the blush and shook her head, smiling, Thank you, Ten. You always know what to do to make me feel better.
What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn't? It would also make me a poor Second if I let my pack leader drown in worry. I'm here for you always.
Clarke's blush deepened and the flutter in her stomach increased, You're too good to me, Ten.
Never.
Before they could continue, there was a knock on the door and ten heads snapped towards it. There was no word for their reaction, but they all knew that someone with black blood was on the other side of that door. Bellamy, Clarke, and Ten sat up rigid with tension as Ms. Davenport opened the door. There were some quiet words spoken and then Ms. Davenport was stepping back and admitting someone in. Leaning forward in anticipation, Clarke sucked her lower lip between her teeth and held her breath until the familiar brunette came into focus. She could have sworn there was a collective sigh of relief when Octavia appeared and looked around. Clarke watched as Octavia's posture relaxed seeing her friends and happiness shone in her eyes. Ms. Davenport introduced Octavia and then Bellamy shoved a kid out of his seat to free it up for her. There were some words exchanged and apologies given, but soon Octavia was sitting with her pack and everything was right again in the world.
That evening Clarke was setting the table for dinner as her father prepared the meal. Clarke's mother, Abby, hadn't gotten home yet, but it was only a matter of time. Ever since she had begun studying the eleven children, she had made it a point to always be home for dinner. The better setting to subtly try interrogating her daughter for her research. Little did Abby know that Clarke knew exactly what she was doing and allowed it to continue.
Abby arrived just as the meal was ready, slumping tiredly into her chair. Clarke and her father exchanged an amused smirk but refrained from making any comments lest they irritate the Alpha. Jake divided up the food on three plates, handing them to Clarke to set on the table. Once everything was placed, Jake and Clarke joined Abby and began eating.
Once a few bites had been eaten and hunger was slowly starting to abate did anyone venture to break the silence with voice.
"So, how was your day, Princess," her father asked, smiling happily at her.
Clarke shrugged, "It was the usual. Ten got caught teasing Rae by Ms. Davenport, but she played it off and stayed out of trouble."
"Oh," Abby said, perking up. "How so?"
Clarke shrugged again, hiding a smile behind her glass. When she set the glass down, she answered, "Well, the discussion was on the Romantic poets, specifically Percy Shelley. Anyway, Ten played it off by saying that she was asking Raven about her thoughts on Frankenstein. Ms. Davenport said that while it was nice to see her delving into that subject, it wasn't relevant to the current discussion. Ten then said that you can't talk about one Shelley without talking about the other. Nor can you not also talk about Lord Byron."
"And what did Ms. Davenport have to say about that," Jake inquired.
Clarke snorted, smiling, "Well, Ms. Davenport didn't like that Ten was showing off, but didn't say anything except to remind her to stay on topic. Of course, Ten apologized for the tangent and everything went back to normal."
"My," Abby gushed, "Ten certainly has a wealth of knowledge, doesn't she?"
"I guess. It's worse when Bellamy and her both start discussing literature or mythology. They could go on and on for hours if we let them."
"But Ten can do that with any subject that's brought to attention, can't she," Abby dug deeper.
Clarke nodded in agreement, "Oh, of course. Bring up something that she knows and she'll talk about it until she runs out of information. Then she'll delve for more if there's enough interest to do so. She's like an encyclopedia of information. I've even caught her tinkering alongside Raven when the mood's struck her."
"Why do you think that is?"
Clarke scrunched her face in confusion, "What do you mean, Mom?"
"Well," Abby edged carefully around the subject, "why do you think she wants to know so much?"
Clarke caught on to what her mother was implying, smiling inwardly, "It's just the way she is, Mom. She likes to know everything. The more she knows, the more she can help others. She likes helping people out."
Clarke could tell that Abby didn't like the answer she gave. It was too vague and didn't outright proclaim Ten as Second in the pack. The pack knew that Clarke was in charge and that Ten was her Second, but they weren't going to share that information outside of the pack. It was their way of keeping each other safe, especially from the Council. The pack had, on their own, decided that keeping where everyone stood within the pack outside public knowledge. Once everyone had presented, their hierarchy would be more cemented and things would fall into place more permanently. The only two that stood out from everyone were Ten and Clarke which was inevitable and unavoidable. They stood out no matter who they were with. Be it within their own pack or their classmates or among the residents of the Ark. They stood out.
"So, was that the only thing interesting that happened today," Jake asked, drawing Clarke's attention back to the present.
"Um, no, not exactly," Clarke replied, playing with the food on her plate. She suddenly felt a little nervous about outing Octavia to her parents, especially her mother.
Abby picked up on her reticence, "Oh, really? What else happened?"
"We got a new girl in class," Clarke answered, still feeling reluctant. "She showed up shortly after Ten's conversation with Ms. Davenport."
That perked up her parents. It was extremely rare that an unknown child was suddenly introduced into an established class.
Abby couldn't help but lean forward, "A new girl? How is that possible?"
Clarke took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and dived into the revelation, "Um, yeah. Octavia. She had been homeschooled until just recently. Today was her first day in a classroom. Really, it was her first day dealing with people her own age."
"I hope you made her feel welcomed," her dad said, looking at her sternly.
Clarke shot up straight in her chair and gave him a smile, "Of course, I did. We all did…well, most of us. Anyway, Ten and I invited her to meet everyone in our group during lunch. She's nice but shy. Kinda has an attitude, though."
"And your friends had no qualms with her," Abby asked almost eagerly.
Clarke bit back the laugh that was threatening to escape at her mother's poorly disguised eagerness, "Nope. They all welcomed her with open arms. Bellamy even got a little protective of her when Atom tried to flirt with her."
"So, she's pretty," Jake teased.
Clarke chuckled, "I guess so. I think he was only flirting with her because she's new."
Jake laughed, "I get it. You've only got eyes for Tennyson, don't you?"
Clarke blushed and ducked her head, "Nooo…that's not…urgh…Dad. Ugh. You're horrible."
"I'm only teasing, daughter of mine. I'm glad you and your friends are welcoming her into your group. You guys are pretty selective who you let in."
Clarke huffed, leaning back to cross her arms, "We're not picky, Dad."
"Of course, you're not, sweetheart," Abby interjected, trying to placate her daughter. "It sounds like you and your friends are very considerate of the new girl."
Clarke nodded and relaxed, "Yeah, we are. She's not used to being around people, so we want to make her feel welcome and safe."
"Not used to being around people?"
"Um, from what she told us, her parents hardly let her out of their quarters. Insisted on homeschooling her. Almost made me think that they were ashamed of her or something."
Jake looked horrified, "That's not right. Poor girl. So, she's no longer living with her parents?"
Clarke shook her head, "No. Um, she's living in the Orphan Ward now. She's okay with it, but it makes her uncomfortable."
Jake nodded sympathetically, "I can see how that would make her feel like that. To go from just having her parents around to suddenly being surrounded by people. Kids older and younger than her invading her space. But, with you and your friends, I'm sure she'll be able to overcome that."
Clarke nodded, "That's the plan. Like I said, she's really nice."
"That's good," Abby hummed in agreement, her mind already buzzing that she had been led to another child with the serum running through their veins. "And you said the girl's name is Octavia?"
Clarke nodded, finishing off her dinner, "Yep. Octavia Essex, I think. We weren't trying to bombard her with a lot of questions today. Since it was her first day and all. Ten and I were thinking of inviting her to our afternoon training session tomorrow. Let her hang out with us afterward and see if she needs any help catching up with school work."
Abby beamed, that was exactly what she wanted to hear. Clarke once more hid a smile at her mom's reaction and Jake ruffled the hair on her head. Clarke's plan of piquing her mom's interest had worked and she knew that the information would be gathered and collated with the rest. That is, once Abby delved into the medical records and found the ones planted. Octavia was now out in the open and that meant that the Blake's were safe for the rest of their lives.
Today had been a good day.
