Hello! Finally, something that isn't Spiderman fanfiction, because that's been my life for the past three months. Anyways, on the last story, someone said that they wanted more Japp and Clover content. So, please enjoy, dear commenter (also just wrote this for myself, but the comment did stick in my mind while I was writing this).
Clover sat in the jail cell quietly, nursing her injured arm. Her right face was covered in cuts and bruises, each stinging gently. At first, the pain was unbearable, but now it numbed to a dull headache in the back of her mind. Each one felt like an open wound though, and she still bit her lip to keep from crying.
Her shoulder length, brown hair was disorganized, and her shirt was coated in spots of blood from her wounds. She tried wiggling her fingers, but a sharp wince escaped her lips.
Hot tears leaked from her eyes, and she sat there, whimpering as she laid her head between her knees, letting the tears fall to the floor.
She then heard several noises as the locks were being undone. She looked up with a sharp inhale, holding her breath. It sounded like the door was open. She jumped up from the chair she sat in, rubbing her tears away. She didn't need the police chief to see her crying; she was not a child.
But she accidentally used the injured hand, and she cried out in pain. The eyes that looked through the slot in the door widened in alarm, and barked for the door to be open faster.
Japp? Clover tried even harder to wipe off the tears, sitting back down in the chair. Japp entered and looked down at her.
She couldn't answer because of the lump in her throat. Instead, she just looked up.
Japp sat on the bed, gesturing for the other officer to leave. Soon, it was just the two of them.
"You were with him that night, weren't you?" he asked.
She nodded, "He wanted me to escape to avoid capture. I hopped through the window, but the pain was so unbearable. I walked to the next town and fainted. I guess a police officer found me and took me in. Now I'm here."
Tears streamed down her face. "It hurts so much."
Japp offered a hand and she took it, using him for balance as she stood up. She nearly collapsed onto the floor, but Japp took his arm and held her shoulder.
"Why the blazes didn't they treat the wounds?" he growled, looking around for the officer. He kicked the door with his foot, making a loud noise.
The officer ran and opened the door immediately. Japp set Clover on the chair and turned to the other officer, jabbing a finger into his chest.
"She is injured. Why was there no medical staff to help her? Her wounds could have gotten bloody infected, you idiot. She could have died, for heaven's sake!"
"She came in around midnight. They all went home-"
"That's no excuse. You could have called our men. We have people. Do you know who this is?"
"She's a criminal. We found this on her."
The officer handed Japp a pouch full of screwdrivers and a beanie. "We thought she committed a robbery."
"This is Hercule Poirot's assistant, you bloody idiot. And regardless of whether she is a criminal or not," Japp seethed, stepping forward so the officer had his back against the wall, "She needs to be treated if she is hurt. I shall be reporting this blatant violation to your superior. Get out of my sight, and bring a doctor with you."
He snapped the order so harshly the officer immediately went out. A few moments later, a doctor entered the room, alongside a nurse. He muttered some apologies while holding a simple first aid kit.
"Can the lady walk?" he asked in a slight accent.
Clover nodded. "It might take a bit, but I can. I think I scrapped my knee from the fall or something."
The nurse came over and took Clover's arm, wrapping it around her shoulder. Clover sent a silent thank you to Japp through her eyes and was led out of the room.
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Japp followed the three into a doctor's office. The doctor stopped Japp from entering.
"We shall be conducting an inspection to see if she has any bruises on her person. She needs privacy. Me and you shall wait until the nurse is done."
They both stood outside the door. The nurse closed it and turned to Clover.
"Would you mind taking off your blouse?" she asked, going over to the windows and closing the blinds.
Clover struggling to unbutton the shirt. "This arm hurts when I move my fingers."
The nurse took the hand and inspected it.
"Can you wiggle them?" she asked.
Clover did with a sharp cry of pain. "It's very limited."
The nurse then unbuttoned Clover's blouse and placed it on a nearby table. She inspected Clover for wounds.
"Just some light bruising on the torso. I imagine you landed on your arm mostly?"
Clover nodded. "Helped break the fall," she chuckled. "I'd be laughing if I wasn't in absolute pain."
"I see," the nurse said absentmindedly, taking some ointment. "This should help for now. It might be a bit cold."
She placed her hand on Clover's bruises and Clover jumped back a bit.
"Oooooh," she said, shivering slightly. The nurse continued rubbing the ointment in, then handed the small jar to Clover.
"Two times a day until the bruises are faded."
Clover placed it in a nearby pocket. Eventually, she got her blouse back on with some help from the nurse and the doctor entered.
The nurse prepared a sling for Clover and placed her arm in front. And after a while, all of her bruises on her face were cleaned and bandaged.
The doctor slapped a bottle of pills into Clover's hands. "Painkillers. Twice a day, then once to wean you down."
Clover nodded. "Thanks, doctor."
She got up and made her way out. Japp was waiting outside, reading a newspaper.
"They treat you?" he asked, folding up the newspaper and putting it away.
"Yep," she answered, shaking the pill bottle. "Even gave me some painkillers."
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Some of the worry in his face relaxed a bit. He handed her a bag.
"The stuff they found on you. Confiscated it when they brought you in."
"Thanks," she said awkwardly, opening it with one hand and placing the pill bottle inside.
Japp shoved his hands into his jacket pocket.
"You know, I was really worried about you."
"Really?" Clover said, pulling her jacket closed to her.
"I know, call me crazy. But just…. seeing you injured because of this stupid case, it just… set something off in me."
"I could tell. You nearly scared the uniform off that poor officer."
"Good," Japp scowled, "If it was one of my lads, he'd be suspended for a week. Without pay."
"Really?"
"Absolutely."
They both sat in silence. Japp noticed that she had a leaf in her hair.
"You have something there… God, I'm turning into Poirot."
He picked it off and she laughed.
"God, I never thought you'd be the one organizing things. The amount of imaginary dust Mr. Poirot has flicked off can make a woman go mad."
"Yeah, our Belgian genius tends to be like that. You get used to it."
Clover nodded, "And how."
She then thought back to that night. The fear in Mr. Poirot's eyes as he shoved her away. Whispering in French for her to run, to go far away. She protested, but then he shoved her forcefully, nearly yelling at her to flee the scene.
And she did. She jiggled the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. Finally, she had to resort to jumping through the window.
The pain felt like several knives going through her. She laid on the ground and limped over, finally collapsing.
If that officer hadn't found her, she would have died. With no one around. Would Uncle Hastings have known if no one found her body? Oh God-
The tears began anew as she sat there, holding her non-injured hand to her mouth, biting it to prevent from whimpering.
Japp noticed. "Williams, are you okay?"
She shook her head, taking her fist out of her mouth. "I was so afraid, Chief Inspector. What if I died right there? It felt like I was going to die, the way my body felt like it was on fire. And Uncle Hastings, it would break his-"
Her voice failed her and it just turned to wordless babbling. She choked up, the tears falling even harder. Her nose became congested and she sniffed.
Japp wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer.
"It's fine, it's fine. You're here now. Don't focus on that. You wouldn't have died. Just be thankful that you were found."
"But I could have died-"
"But you didn't. Don't dwell on that."
She pressed her head against his chest, sobbing her heart out. He wrapped another arm around her, pulling her into a hug. He could feel his coat getting wet from her tears but he didn't care. He patted the top of her hair.
"Come on. I'll take you back to Scotland Yard. I imagine that Poirot is probably waiting for you."
She nodded and he released her from the embrace. She wiped her eyes and silently followed him.