Soldier's Attendant
Ch. 2 - Friends are Family
"Clarke, what will you have?" My, best friend's voice interrupted my thoughts.
My mind kept drifting all morning, over the memories of last night with Bellamy. I wasn't even sure how I drove safely. It truly was a night I'll never forget. Our instant connection proved to be incendiary in his bedroom. I could still feel the kiss goodbye he gave me this morning. Heat flooded my cheeks, as I tried to shake those thoughts from my brain. I looked around, almost in a daze, and remembered Raven and I were at the coffee bar in the cafeteria of the hospital we both worked at.
"Um, I'll have a black coffee with two sugars. Oh, and a plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese." I told the barista, pulling out my wallet.
"It's on me, Girlie. But, you gotta spill." Raven told me, handing her card over before I could pay for my order.
"Spill?" I asked as innocently as I could.
"I'll ignore the act. Just, spill on whatever -or whom ever- just made you blush and smile like that. Don't leave anything out." Raven demand, pretty much hitting the nail on the head, as usual.
Raven could be like a shark tracking the faintest hint of blood in the water. Once she caught a scent, there was no stopping her. That characteristic is what made Raven so incredible at her job. I should have tried to avoid her, knowing she'd notice any subtle difference in me. Alas, we ate breakfast every Monday morning together, so I knew missing it would make her even more curious. I hadn't wanted to talk to anyone about Bellamy yet, preferring to keep him to myself for a little while longer. I should have schooled my features better as well.
I met Raven about five years ago, during our first week at the hospital. We both reached for the last salad in the cafeteria, then we stood for a few minutes trying to let the other keep the salad. That was when the security guard, John Murphy, strolled by and snatched it from between us. She wanted to deck him on the spot, but I told her I had just gotten off a long shift, and didn't feel like trying to keep him alive. We both laughed and eventually bonded over the crappy meatloaf and tasteless green beans.
Over time, I learned just about everything about Raven. She graduated from MIT, top of her class. The FBI wanted to recruit her but she turned them down, saying their methods and tech were inferior. Instead, she opted the IT Department, for the University of Arkadia Hospital. She said the hospital needed her more, and that she always preferred a challenge. She was very driven and determined, not to mention observant. Now, she's the Head of IT at the same hospital I'm a surgical Fellow at.
Raven had moved to Arkadia after her graduation, to follow her hometown boyfriend of nearly two years, Finn. Apparently, Finn had moved to Arkadia for an EMT job, a year before she graduated. She told me all about their adolescent years, and how they'd met in counseling for orphans. Raven told me Finn. The way she spoke about him, proved that Raven Reyes loved deeply, fiercely and fearlessly. She kept wanting to introduce us over time, but our scheduled never seemed to align.
My second week on the job, while working evenings in the Emergency Room, I met Alex Collins. After a few encounters, he asked me out and we began seeing each other whenever our busy schedules allowed it. I was young and naïve, but I gave into the idea that we could be a fated romantic couple, like in movies or television. He was the first person I'd been interested in since I experimented with my college roommate, Lexa.
Almost three months into my friendship with Raven, I learned some new qualities about her. She valued loyalty and honesty, and she was incredibly resilient. One evening, Alex asked me to the movies and I decided to invite Raven along, as a last-minute idea. She was sad that her boyfriend, whom I still hadn't met, was unexpectedly called to cover someone else's shift. She agreed to come along, not wanting to mope at home alone. And I was excited to introduce Alex to Raven, my newest but already good friend.
Imagine our utter shock, when her Finn turned out to be my Alex. His real name was Finn Alexander Collins, as Raven exclaimed when his car reached the curb of my apartment to pick me up. I hadn't even processed the shocked look on his face when he saw her, or what was going on. At the time, everything seemed to happen incredibly fast. I caught on fairly quickly after he jumped out of the car, and began to apologize to her, calling her Ray and Sweetheart. She barely let him say much else. With a sucker-punched him, he hit the ground fast and hard.
I thought I'd lose a friend after that night, but that wasn't the case at all. At first, Raven felt bad for not having put two and two together sooner, to figure out something was off. Surprisingly, she soon found it within her to forgive him and eventually moved on with Wick, a guy in her IT department. It took me a while longer to forgive Finn, but time, as they say. Several months after that, my father was honorably discharged after a forced leg amputation. Finn and the resentment I'd been holding on to, didn't matter anymore. My father became my priority, and eventually, I decreased my residency hours to become my dad's Soldier's Attendant.
When my father died almost a year and a half later, the friends I had made at the hospital were there for me. Jasper and Monty, were a chemist and pharmacist respectively, and they worked in the hospital pharmacy. They were best friends and quite the dynamic duo, but great at helping me smile or laugh again. Harper was a resident in my year, who'd started dating Monty and helped keep me in the loop of anything important so I wouldn't fall too far behind. Yet, it was Raven who was there for me the most. She was my rock through that time, and never asked me to slow down or to talk to someone, as my mother often suggested. To escape my mother hounding me, I turned my grief towards my work. I increased my hours again, often pushing harder than the rest. I managed to catch up to the residents of my year, and even surpassed some of them, far beyond just making up for the time I'd missed.
Before long, it was my turn to be there for Raven. Finn was one of the first responders to a gang shoot- out, and got caught in the crossfire. Despite his betrayal, she still considered him her family, so losing him, was like losing the last of her family. One night, as I was putting her to bed after she'd finished a whiskey bottle, she told me I was the only family she had left. I knew she was drunk, but her words struck a chord in my heart. I knew then, that Raven had become family to me too.
With that thought in mind, I relented and decided to share about having met Bellamy. "Okay, fine, Raven. I met someone." I muttered, trying to sound blasé but feeling my heartbeat increase with just the thought of him.
"I knew it!" She exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air, then asked. "So, what's their name and did you more than meet this person?" She asked like the brat I knew she could be.
"You're not as funny as you think you are." I replied with a roll of my eyes. "Do you want to hear about him, or not?" I asked while taking the coffee and my bagel from the barista, without looking at her.
"Of course, but take your time. We've got all day." She said sarcastically, because we both knew we had about ten minutes before we had to be where we were needed the rest of our workday.
"I went to the Military Award Ceremony last night." I started, but she cut me off.
"Oh right, that was last night. Did your mom see you, are you okay?" She asked, and I knew she was worried for me.
"Yeah, yep and yes. Anyway, I was looking for an empty seat near the back, like I usually do. The place was packed, but after some lady rushed past me, I noticed an empty seat at the row she went into, near the front." I explained, and her eyes open wide, knowing how I felt about sitting near the front.
"I had no choice, so I sat in that aisle seat. His name is Sergeant Bellamy Blake, and he was seated right next to me. He's…" I smiled picturing him in my mind before continuing. "He returned a few months ago, after being honorably discharged."
"Wow! If you could see your face." Raven said, and I turned towards her, the question probably written on my face, because she answered before I could ask what she meant. "Oh, Girlie, you've got it bad."
"Raven, I just met him yesterday." I told her, trying to deny something that felt a little too true inside.
"Don't even try to sell me that. I remember how you looked when you spoke of Finn, you know. You fell for him rather quickly too, but you never once looked like this when you spoke of him." She told me, and I noted her smile falter at the memory of Finn.
I looked into her eyes, and I could see the truth in the words she spoke. I felt the truth of her statement in my chest, as well. "Bellamy is … I don't know how to explain it. There's something about him that I can't fight… and he brings something out of me that I don't want to fight. It's like nothing I've ever felt. Does that make sense?" I asked with a small smile, hoping she could understand because I didn't know how else to describe it.
She looked into my eyes for a few seconds, and her smile brightened just before she spoke again. "I think I get it. So, what happened, how did the rest of the night go?" She asked me without realizing the territory she was stepping in. However, I was sure the redness clued her in rather quickly, as memories of last night flooded my mind and heated my cheeks. "You dirty girl! What did you do?!" She exclaimed.
"Oh, my goodness, could you get any louder?" I whisper yelled, which only made her laugh louder.
"Yes, shall I try?" She asked between her laughter, making me giggle at her.
"Listen, it's kind of a long story, but I'll give you the gist of it. His Attendant pretty much quit and abandoned him there. We started chatting, and I learned that this was the third Attendant that had run off on him. Yet, nothing in the way he carried himself, gave any indication of him being a difficult vet. So, I kind of went on a rant and fumed at him over his past Attendants. Then, he asked why I know so much the SA's, and I told him how I had been my dad's SA." I told her and smiled when I saw her eyes open wide again, because she knew my dad has always been a touchy subject for me.
"I know, trust me, but opening up to him was surprisingly easy. Maybe because he's a vet too and I felt he could understand. When we kissed, I couldn't tell you who initiated it, but it was incredible. So incredible, in fact, that I pulled him in for a deeper kiss just seconds after the first one. I didn't think, I just reacted, like I was possessed or something." I told her, breathing heavily as I spoke about it.
"Damn, Clarke! That sounds so unlike you. But, that can't be the reason you keep blushing like a tomato. What else was Clarkey up to last night, huh?" Raven joked, probably that would be the end of my story, but little did she know.
"A whole hell of a lot more, but if you interrupt me again, I won't tell you about my late night sexual escapades." I told her with an evil grin, and laughing when her jaw dropped open.
"No shit?" She asked, sounding shocked, and maybe not really believing me.
"I offered to drive him home, partly because I knew he was stranded, but mainly because I wasn't ready to say goodnight to him yet. He kind of had a bad reaction to that, initially. And for a moment, I thought I'd misread things, but quickly realized the real issue. At my suggestion, he thought I was offering out of pity, or because I thought he couldn't manage on his own. I only realized the problem, because I remembered that my dad would sometimes act that way too. I was able to convince him that my motives were purely selfish." I said with a laugh, and she chuckled murmuring that I was bad, before I continued speaking.
"Just as we were about to leave, Dr. Abby Griffin came to speak to him about the upcoming Award Ceremony. That's right - cockblocked by my own mother. Don't interrupt!" I said when I saw her take a breath to speak, and continued after she clamped it shut again.
"Anyway, after she addressed him, she noticed me seated next to him. For some reason, she took that to mean that I was his Attendant. She introduced herself and head of the SA Program and as my mom. It all snowballed from there. Raven, Bellamy is up for the Fortitude Award, can you believe it? Anyway, Mom told me to run the Award ideas for his segment soon, then rushed off before I could correct her." I told her and was pleasantly surprised she didn't interrupt me, only nodded for me to continue.
"Basically, Mom put me in a tough spot, but it's not tougher than the spot poor Bellamy is in. You know there's always some sort of entertainment thing to arrange for the Fortitude Segment, and its usually up to the SA to arrange it. Only, Bellamy doesn't have an SA and that's sucky at best and probably embarrassing at worst. But Raven, his will be at the Winter Ceremony with a Banquet, just like my dad's. Naturally, that pretty much freaked me out." I told her, still feeling heavyhearted about the situation.
Raven didn't say a word, but she grasped my hand in a comforting way, so I continued. "I had a bit of a breakdown, but he comforted me when I told him all the details of the ceremony I had arranged for Dad. Raven, he's up for the same award as my father, and during the same time of year. I'm trying to connect him to my dad or push my unresolved feeling about my father's death on to him, I swear. But the way I see it, Bellamy deserves a kickass segment to receive his award, just like my dad did. Bell wouldn't be up for it, if he was undeserving." I explained.
"Don't want to interrupt but I need to say this. I think I understand what you're saying and I see how it can appear like transference in some ways. Despite that, I just need you to think clearly. Do not let yourself get roped into something you're not ready for. Don't let your mom, or your new feelings for this Bellamy, push you into this. Especially, if it's not where you need to be, mentally or emotionally. It took a lot of hard work for you to get your head straight after your dad died. Hon, I don't want to see you backsliding." She told me, and I was grateful she was forcing me to think about me first, instead of others, like I tended to do.
"I appreciate you saying that, I do. And I won't let anyone push me… but that's the thing. I want to do this for him. I'm just a little afraid of facing those feelings I thought I'd left behind, but I do think it's time." I told her with a smile.
"Then, I'll help in any way that I can. You can count on it. Now, tell me the juicy stuff!" She said, wiggling her eyebrows and making me chuckle.
"Well, he comforted me when I had my mini-melt, then asked me not to worry about his ceremony and to just let him figure it out. In return, I told him not to call my mom to correct anything yet, and he reluctantly agreed. He also gave me an out, offering to exchange numbers last night, so we could go on a date in a few days. That snapped me into the original mindset of not wanting to part from him yet, and I told him so. Then there was an intense make-out session as we were leaving, which got interrupted by a janitor. Finally, I drove him home. When we got there, he opened my car door and … I'll just say his 'Thank You' made me moan and left my legs weak." I don't her, feeling my pulse race just remembering it.
"Hot Damn, Clarke!" Raven exclaimed loudly again, but I didn't shush her this time.
"Raven, he is … damn, he just makes me crazy." I told her truthfully as I faux-fanned myself, which made her laugh.
"Is that it, or is there more?" She asked and my face must have given it away. "Oh, my goodness, tell me!" She demanded in a harsh whisper.
"I spent the night at his place. I won't make it cheesy and say it was magical … but I will say it was hot and passionate and completely unlike any other time for me." I told her, feeling emboldened remembering how he made me feel, all night. "Luckily, I had an overnight bag in my car with clean scrubs, for nights that I work double shifts. He even offered to make us breakfast before I left, but I told him about Monday morning breakfast with you." I finished my story and took a bite of my bagel.
"Holy shit, Clarke. That is one hell of a story. When are you seeing him again? I assume you are, right?" She asked, and I nodded as I swallowed.
"Who is Clarke seeing soon?" Monty asked as he and Jasper approached from behind me, and I saw Raven smile wickedly.
"Clarke met a boy." She told them, like she was dishing out classified military information.
"Really?" Jasper asked.
"Tell us more, Raven." Monty replied in the same tone raven had used, and I rolled my eyes.
"She met him yesterday, and she spent the night with him." She told them, and I shot her a death glare.
"Simply Scandalous, Dr. Griffin!" Monty admonished playfully.
"Clarke, you've impaled my heart. All this time, I thought you were holding out for me." Jasper wined, looking the part of a rejected man.
"Oh, stop it … both of you!" I told Jasper and Monty, at which point they broke character and started laughing at their own brand of crazy.
"Is he a good guy?" Jasper asked, still smiling but I knew he was being serious.
"I really think so, why?" I asked, feeling touched that he seemed to genuinely care.
"If that's the case, then we're happy for you. Right, Monty?" He nudged his partner in crime and Monty nodded in agreement.
"Why are we happy for Clarke?" Harper asked, joining us and giving Monty a peck on the lips as greeting, then I thought, here we go again.
"Our Clarke has moved past her obsession with me, and Jasper's obsession with her. She's found a man of her own. More details to come, as we learn them." Monty told her, making us all laugh.
"Damn, girl that great. Can't wait to hear more about it, but for now, we got a shift to start." Harper told me, and I stood up ready to follow her.
"Alright, you band of my favorite misfits. Harper and I've got people to save. See y'all later." I told the group, and walked towards Harper, who was sweetly hugging Monty goodbye.
"And we've got people to drug. Adios, folks." Jasper replied, ready to pull Monty away from Harper.
"Ok fine, and I've got to go make sure whatever you idiots do on your computers won't shut down the hospital." Raven told us all dramatically as she went her own way.
As I walked beside Harper, I gave her an abridged version of the story, saying I met Bellamy last night, and that we really hit it off, so I spent the night with him. Just as we reached the elevator, my cell phone vibrated in my back pocket. I felt my heart skip a beat when the screen said it was from Bellamy.
"Get it, girl!" Harper exclaimed beside me, and when I asked her what she meant, she told me. "I assume, by the look on your face, that it's from him." I shrugged and nodded and read his message.
From: Bellamy / Time: 6:55am / Message: I hope you got to work alright. I guess you're about to begin your shift now. I hope you can give me a call whenever you get a break. Does it make me a loser if I admit that I miss you already? Have a good shift.
"Your face will be sore soon, if you keep smiling like that." Harper chuckled beside me, as the elevator doors opened.
"Damn it! I won't have reception in there, and once we get upstairs, I won't have a free second." I responded, trying to decide.
"Call Sergeant Lover-boy. I'll cover for you, but don't be long." She pushed me away from the elevator doors as she stepped in.
"Thank you!" I told her, already hitting the 'send' button to make the call.
"Who am I, to stand in the way of Love?!" She called as the door slid closed, but her use of that word left mem frozen.
It can't be love, right? It's way too soon for it to be lo-
"Hello?" Bellamy' voice interrupted my thoughts and I smiled from just hearing his voice.
"Hello, Sergeant." I said, and turned away from the elevator doors towards the corner of the lobby.
"Dr. Griffin, I'm so glad you called." He said and I was sure my face would be sore later because I couldn't stop smiling.
"Just called to confirm that yes, you are loser… But, I guess that makes me a loser too. I also missed you already." I told him and he laughed.
"Well, aren't we a pair, then? Aren't you due to start soon, like now?" He asked and I nodded, before realizing he couldn't see me.
"Yeah, but my friend Harper is covering for me. I have a few minutes. So, at the risk of sounding like a school girl, all my friends know about you and that I spent the night with you. I told you about Raven, my best friend. Well, she has a big mouth." I told him with a chuckle.
"Really, well I'll just have to thank her soon for letting the rest of the school yard know that you are off-limits now. If you agree, that is." He responded with a light chuckle, bit the way he phrased the question made me feel like he was being serious and a bit insecure.
"I can definitely agree to that. Bell, I know we've only just met, but I'm in if you're in. You should know, there's no one else you'll need to worry about on my end." I told him, wanting to release him from any insecurities he might be having, and I heard him sigh.
"I'm so glad to hear that. I really wanted to talk about this in person, like over breakfast. But, I didn't want to make you late to meet your friends. I didn't want to make it weird. For the record, there's no one you need to worry about, on my end either. I'm definitely in, Clarke." He said and my heart skipped.
This man was going to give me a heart problem, I thought and giggled before responding to him. "Okay, this is madness, I hope you realize it. But, we're in agreement then. I must be crazy, but at least I'm not alone." I said, and he chuckled lightly.
"Hey, I know it's fast… But don't call my girlfriend crazy." He joked and I laughed, ignoring how my heart pretty much leaped from within me.
"Oh, what do you know? You're just as crazy." I told him, then decided to answer his comment to make sure he knew I liked it.
"Bell, I really hate to end this call, but just the sound of your voice makes my heart do funny things. And calling me your girlfriend, has given my heart some extra beats. If you like me at all, you'll let me get to work, so all the doctors will be around if I collapse." I joked and he laughed out loud, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't already love that sound.
"By all means, Princess, please go towards the medical professionals. I may be there later though… You make my heart do funny things too." He said, and I'd be lying again if it didn't feel good to hear them.
"Can I call you later, or will you be busy?" I asked, not having any idea what his days were usually like.
"Yes, call me whenever you can. I'll be free all day." He replied.
"Alright, gotta go now. Talk to you soon." I said and pressed the button for the elevator.
"Ok. Have a good shift, Princess." He said and I hung up as the elevator doors opened, so I stepped in.
For some reason, I felt better after our conversation. I felt energized and ready for anything. There was a tingling in my belly, at the foreign thought of being anyone's girlfriend, especially after only a day. I hadn't been anyone's girlfriend in ages, and that time didn't end well, at all. But knowing I was Bellamy's girlfriend, filled me with excitement and anticipation. I couldn't wait to get through this day, and speak to my boyfriend again soon. I, Clarke Griffin, have a boyfriend. Sheesh, I sounded like a teenaged girl. Yet, the thought didn't stop me from sending him a quick text message.
To: Bellamy / Time: 6:04am / Message: Just want to wish my boyfriend a great morning, and tell him I should have a break between 9 - 10am, unless I work straight until lunch at noon. Xoxo
I was still smiling as I went to put my phone away, when it vibrated with an incoming message. Sure enough, it was from Bellamy.
From Bellamy / Time: 6:05am / Message: Your boyfriend appreciates the best wishes from his Princess, and looks forward to hearing from his girlfriend soon. Xoxo
I chuckled and put my phone away and stepped out of the elevator. In the process, I nearly bumped into Dr. Eric Jackson. He was an attending, and essentially my boss. I've known him for years, as he had been my mother's protégé.
"Clarke, you're looking well for someone with a bad stomach bug." He said, and I saw Harper shrugging apologetically over his shoulder and mouthing the word 'sorry'.
"I'm feeling much better now. Keeping hydrated and all that." I replied.
"Yes." He said and turned his head to look towards Harper, who looked down at the Medical Chart Ipad just in time to avoid him catching her trying to communicate with me. "See that you stay well hydrated. If your symptoms worsen, you'll need to work from the breakroom, to prevent spreading." He told me, turning back to face me, having failed to catch Harper in the obvious lie about my tardiness.
"Will do, Dr. Jackson." I said and walked past him, towards the Ipad doc, to pick mine up and made myself busy.
After I was sure he was gone, I looked at Harper. "I'm sorry. I told him you had to run to the bathroom and would be a few minutes. Then he said we should all use the restroom before our shifts, and that you should have known better. Before I knew it, I was telling him you looked horrible and had told me it was a stomach bug before taking off to the restroom." She told me sounding like she was in acute distress.
I couldn't help, but laugh. She was a great friend and doctor, but a terrible liar. "It's okay Harper. He'll get over it." I told her, hoping to calm her down by showing I wasn't upset, and she released a nervous sigh.
"So, was the phone call worth it?" She asked, and I nodded.
"Yep, thanks Dr. McIntyre." I said, ready to head down one of the hallways to begin rounds on her patients.
"No problem, Dr. Griffin." She responded, going down the other hallway.
A/N: I wanted to incorporate Clarks Friend Family, because I think in many ways, they are more of a family to Clarke, than her own mother. I hope to bridge that relationship eventually, but not focus as yet.
Also, I didn't want them to have paper charts. That seems so old school and I've seen the doctors of Greys using the ipad charts. S/O to another favorite show of mine.
All that said – on we go, with more Bellarke
