"Step away from my daughter or I'll forget myself!" The man growled and Clarke would have been lying if she had said she wasn't scared, but there was no way she would let it show.
"Like hell I will!" She snarled back and took a step towards the man.
"Listen girl, and listen closely because I will not repeat myself." He took a step forward as well. "You will step aside and I will take my daughter home with me."
"You pushed her away, you left her all by herself like a piece of garbage because you were too fucking weak to take care of your own daughter you pathetic coward," Clarke hissed and pointed her index finger at him with narrowed eyes, "and now you come back, as if you had anything to say? Tell you what, Mister Woods, you lost every right to even say her name, you hear me? Stay away from Lexa because she deserves so much better and it disgusts me to even think that she's related to someone like you." She spat out and paused for a second to take a breath, while the clearly dumbfounded man in front of her looked back at her in disbelief and shock about what was actually happening.
"If you ever…" she whispered dangerously slow and took another step forward, "come back… I will end you, so help me God." She finished with a last step and was now only inches away from his face. "You disgust me."
"Mr. Quint Woods?" Two security men approached them and gestured for Lexa's father to step back.
"Took you long enough." Clarke huffed, still trying hard to come back to reality and get herself back under control. She heard a distressed whimper and shot around, and she was next to Lexa in no time.
The girl had not moved an inch, she noticed. She was still crouched on the floor, rocking heavily. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, her hands tightly covering her ears, and she let out loud noises of distress.
"CLARKE!"
It took her a second to realize who had called her name, until she quickly reached out to get Lexa's phone.
"Anya! Thank God! Please help me, I– I don't– Lexa is– Quint– I don't know what to do!" She stumbled over her words, helplessly gesturing around with the hand that was now holding the phone, while the other was lying firmly on Lexa's back.
"Clarke, I need you to listen to me."
"O–okay"
"I need you to move behind Lexa and pull her hands away from her ears. Then you put your arms around her and hold her hands in place at her chest."
Clarke nodded but struggled to act and follow Anya's instructions.
"Embrace her, hold her, as tightly as you can, okay?"
Clarke's head was spinning.
"Clarke! I'm here, it's going to be okay, you hear me?" Anya explained with a firm but still gentle voice.
Suddenly, Clarke's head was clear, her brain was working again, and she quickly moved to sit behind Lexa and put her arms around her, but the girl immediately began to fight the embrace.
"Don't let her go, Clarke! Hold her, you're doing a great job!"
It took every bit of Clarke's strength to keep Lexa and her hands in place. Without realizing what she was doing, she started whispering into the brunette's ear.
"It's Clarke. I'm here. You're okay." Another distressed whimper escaped the girl. Clarke pressed her cheek against Lexa's. "You're okay, Lex. He's gone. You're okay. Shhh…"
To Clarke's relief, Lexa slowly stopped fighting the embrace and the sounds became quieter but the girl was still struggling to breathe.
"Don't stop, Clarke," she heard Anya, "you're doing great. Keep talking to her."
The blonde began to caress Lexa's hands with her thumbs.
"I'm here, Lexa. You're okay. But I need you to breathe, okay? Breathe with me. In, one, two, three… out, one, two, three, four, five" She paused to feel Lexa's body. "Again. In, one, two…" Clarke kept instructing Lexa, and slowly felt the girl's breathing even out.
Eventually, the brunette stopped rocking, but Clarke held her for another long moment and kept whispering calming things into her ear. She took the time to look around. Apparently, the security guards had escorted Quint Woods out of their sight, and the secretary was still standing a few feet away from them, shock evident in her eyes. Clarke knew she should scold her for just standing around, for not doing anything to help Lexa while Clarke was busy handling her father, but she couldn't care less about the woman right now. Her priority was Lexa.
"Clarke?" It was only a whisper, barely audible, but the blonde heard it loud and clear.
"Yes," she said softly and kissed her girl's cheek. "I'm here. You're okay, Lex," she assured her. "You're okay."
Clarke waited for another moment until she was sure it was safe to let go of Lexa. She quickly moved around and brushed a strand out of the girl's face. She felt a huge amount of stress and tension fade when Lexa looked back at her, green puppy eyes meeting hers. Clarke smiled and gently cupped Lexa's cheeks, wiping away some warm tears.
"Hey," she said softly. "How are you feeling?"
Lexa sniffled. "Tired."
The blonde nodded understandingly. "Would you like to go to my apartment?"
"Yes" the other girl said quietly.
Clarke helped her get up and then remembered that Anya was still on the phone, so she held it in front of them and waved at the woman, who quickly searched Lexa's face for any signs of stress and discomfort, but when she realized that Lexa had calmed down, at least for the most part, her features softened. "Hey munchkin!"
Clarke gave them a minute and stepped back, not letting go of Lexa's hand though.
"Miss?"
Clarke turned her head to the secretary. The woman shifted her weight uncomfortably. "We need your phone numbers. The police took Mr. Woods into custody and they'll need your statements."
Clarke sighed. "Okay, just… can I come back tomorrow? I really don't have time for that right now, I need to make sure Lexa is okay."
The woman opened her mouth, probably ready to insist, but hesitated and finally, she shot Clarke an understanding smile. Understanding smile my ass, lady! Clarke thought.
"Of course. I hope she will be–"
Clarke shut her up with a lazy wave of her hand, indicating that this conversation was over and turned around, ready to get Lexa out of the office building and into the safety of her apartment. She was so done with the world.
