Note: This chapter is significantly shorter than the last, or the next - it just worked out that way. Thanks again to my beta Sally for not making me change much in this one. We get some Clexa interaction here - I know, it's about time. Still not in the same place, though...soon.

Two days before New Year's Eve, 13 days since Clarke's concussion, Abby decided Clarke could have her phone back, with the understanding that Clarke wouldn't overdo it. Clarke tried to explain to her mother that she was, in fact, a grown adult capable of making her own decisions, but Abby countered by asking who had attended medical school and had completed an internship and residency. Clarke submitted less than graciously and assured her mom that she would be careful.

The first thing she did when she got it back was text her friends.

Griff: I got my phone back!

Griff: Aaannndddd, it's almost noon, and I am still headache-free! Booya!

O: Yay Clarkey! Back to the world of the living!

Rae: It's about time Griffin, Jesus, we thought you were trying to avoid us ;p

Griff: Thank you O.

Griff: Remind me again why I am friends with you Reyes

Rae: Because I am super awesome, duh. Oh, and super smart,- bordering on genius actually, and beautiful, don't forget beautiful!

O: don't forget modest

Griff: Right. Thanks for the reminder *insert eye roll here

Griff: Will you guys come over tonight? Pleeeaasseee. I'm going crazy here. We can try a movie.

Rae: Can you make it through a movie?

O: Will your mom let you watch a movie?

Griff: Omg you guys, I'm an adult, and if I think I can make it through a movie then I will watch a damn movie!

Rae: You're mom's at work, and your dad is away again - right?

Griff: I hate you.

O: BUSTED

Griff: Are you coming or not? I promise if my head hurts we'll turn it off and just talk ok?

Rae: Because I feel sorry for you for being deprived of my company for so long I will grace you with my presence. 7?

O: I'll come, but you have to be sure to tell us to get lost if you aren't feeling good ok?

Griff: YAASSSS! 7 is excellent - someone bring me something to eat so I don't have to cook!

Rae: Oh ho! I see the brilliance behind your plan now, you don't want to see us at all, you just want us to feed you. Jerk.

Griff: don't call me ho ;)

O: I'll bring something Clarke. Any preferences?

Griff: No. Thanks, O. Rae, you know I always want to see you guys, the food is just a welcome bonus! smooches.

O: Ok, see you in a few.

Rae: Jk. See you soon.

While she waited for her friends to arrive, Clarke worked up the courage to text Lexa.

Clarke: Hi. My mom told me that you messaged last week to see how I was. Thanks for that.

It was only a few minutes before a response to come in.

Lexa: I wanted to make sure you were doing okay. Are you doing better?

Clarke: Yes, much. Thank you. I was pretty good yesterday, but today I am, so far, symptom-free. Fingers crossed that it continues.

Lexa: I'm glad to hear that.

When a full minute went by with nothing else showing up on the screen, Clarke took a deep breath and started typing again.

Clarke: So, Raven and Octavia said that you came to the hospital the night of the party.

Lexa: Yes. You don't remember?

Clarke: Well, I sort of do. I mean, I thought you were there, but I also thought it might have been a dream or something? The pain meds were really messing with me. I wasn't sure until Rae and O confirmed it for me.

Clarke: So thanks for that too. You didn't have to go to the hospital, and you certainly didn't have to stay.

Lexa: Yes. I did.

Clarke wasn't sure what the feeling was buzzing around inside her chest when she read those three simple words, so she decided to ignore them for the time being.

Clarke: Octavia said that I asked you to stay until I fell asleep. I don't remember that - I don't remember much actually. So I apologize if I kept you too long, or if I said anything I probably shouldn't have or something. Raven and Octavia were teasing me about some of the things I said to them.

Lexa: You didn't keep me, Clarke. I was glad to stay, and no, you didn't say anything you shouldn't have.

Clarke: Ok, well that's good. What did I say? Out of curiosity?

Lexa: You told me to come in the room and then told me you felt like someone hit over the head with a bat. You also mentioned a concern that you wouldn't be ready to go back to school or start hockey when it all gets going again. That was about it.

Clarke wasn't sure if she was disappointed that she hadn't said anything more meaningful or relieved, but couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Lexa's visit than she was letting on. Clarke sighed as she composed another message.

Clarke: Oh, well, that's not too bad, I guess.

Lexa: No, not too bad.

Another few minutes of texting silence followed as Clarke fortified her courage to invite Lexa over for New Year's Eve.

Clarke: Listen, I don't know if you have plans for New Year's yet, but Octavia and Raven are coming over here to hang out with me. A very low-key night, if you'd like to join us.

Clarke held her breath while she watched her screen, waiting for a response. Several minutes went by, and Clarke was starting to panic; thinking Lexa wouldn't respond at all when the message bubble finally showed up indicating that Lexa was typing. Clarke tried to quell the butterflies doing acrobatics in her tummy as she waited for the reply. After what seemed like ages, it finally popped up.

Lexa: Thank you for the offer, Clarke. I have a friend visiting from Seattle, so we were just going to stay in.

Clarke: Oh, right. Raven and Octavia mentioned that they met her the other day. It would be totally fine if you brought her. If you want to come over, that is.

More time passed and Clarke assumed Lexa was discussing it with her 'friend.' Clarke felt slightly sick at the prospect of the woman Raven described being involved with Lexa but was still determined to befriend the stoic brunette regardless.

Lexa: Thank you, Clarke. Anya said she would love to meet the captain of the only hockey team to keep the Grounders undefeated, so we would be happy to come.

Clarke: Ha! Well, I hope you haven't told her too many lies, Lexa.

Lexa: Clarke. I would never lie.

Clarke: Right. Ok. So if you want to come early, we can catch the World Junior Game at 4.

Lexa: that is an excellent idea. Can we bring anything?

Clarke's heart clenched when she read the 'we' in the sentence but typed back quickly.

Clarke: Just yourselves, and anything special you may want to drink. There will be beer and food enough here for everyone.

Clarke quickly typed out her address and sent that along as well.

Lexa: Okay. See you in a couple of days. I'm looking forward to it.

Clarke: Me too. Bye, Lexa.

Lexa: Goodbye Clarke.

Two days before New Year's Eve, Lexa and Anya were arguing about what to do to ring in the New Year. Anya wanted to go out, and Lexa did not. Anya was doing her best to convince her friend when Lexa's phone buzzed with an incoming text.

Lexa froze, staring at her phone lying on the table beside the couch. It buzzed again, and she lurched over to pick it up, looking at the notification.

"It's from Clarke," she breathed.

"Are you going to read it, or are you going to stand there and breath heavily all over your lock screen?" Anya said.

Lexa looked up at Anya, eyes slightly wide. "What do I say?"

"Read the message, you dork. Go from there," Anya said trying to hide her amusement. It had been a long time since she had seen her friend this worked up.

"Right," Lexa huffed, sliding open the message app and reading silently. She texted back and forth for a few minutes, Anya watching the emotions run amok across Lexa's face before she paused and looked up.

"Well?" Anya asked.

"She doesn't fully remember me coming to the hospital," Lexa shared. "She asked me what she said, and that she hoped she didn't say anything she shouldn't have. So I told her the gist, but not everything. Should I tell her everything that she said?" Lexa asked.

"Maybe not over text, yeah?" Anya offered helpfully. "Save that for later, if it comes up."

Lexa nodded to her friend just as another text from Clarke arrived.

"Oh," Lexa softly exclaimed.

"What?" Anya shuffled over to peek at the screen.

"She just invited me over to her place for New Year's Eve. A quiet night with her, Raven and Octavia." Lexa said with wonder. "Why..."

"You should totally go, Lex," Anya said with a smile.

"No, I can't just go and leave you here. I'm going to tell her that you're here and that we were planning to stay in," Lexa firmly responded as she began to type.

"That's ridiculous Lexa. You should go - don't worry about me," Anya shot back.

"Too late, I already sent it," Lexa said as she turned the phone to show her friend.

A response from Clarke started coming in immediately and once again Lexa looked at her friend in wonder. "She's invited you to come along as well. She doesn't know you; she hardly knows me. Why would she invite us to her home?"

"Duh. She apparently wants to spend time with you. Get to know you. That's what people do, you know - hang out with other people," Anya sarcastically said.

Lexa frowned at her friend before snapping back, "I know that Anya. It's just usually not with me."

"Lexa," Anya said with all teasing gone from her voice. "You are an amazing person. Of course, she wants to get to know you. You just have to decide to let her. Plus," she said more forcefully, "I want to meet this mysterious woman who captains the only team to have not lost to the best hockey player I know."

"Oh, shut up," Lexa huffed. "Fine, we'll go."

Lexa sent a few more messages back and forth with Clarke before putting her phone down and looking at her friend. Anya silently looked back at Lexa, waiting for her to say something.

When nothing seemed forthcoming from the younger woman, Anya groaned and threw her hands in the air. "God! At least some things never change. You are just as stubborn as you always were. Why do you have to make me drag it out of you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Lexa said, avoiding Anya's eyes.

"Come on Lex. Talk to me," Anya pleaded.

Lexa sighed, "We're going to go over to Clarke's house around 4 to watch the hockey game. She said she will have beer and food, but to bring anything else if we want it."

"Arrrggghhhh! That is not what I meant, and you know it!" Anya yelled.

"What are you thinking? How do you feel? Are you nervous? Excited? Scared? Talk to me, Lex. What's going on in your head?" she finished in frustration.

Lexa remained silent, looking at the floor for a few moments and then her shoulders drooped as if defeated.

"I don't know An," she softly said before raising her head to look at her best friend, imploringly. "I am scared. My heart feels like it's torn between wanting to protect itself and falling headlong into...whatever, this thing with Clarke could be. My head says to wait; I'm not ready, and sometimes my heart agrees. But then, when I see her, the damn rebellious thing does what it wants, regardless of how hard my head is screaming to stop. My heart wins every time, even as my mind fights against it, and I don't know if I can do it."

Lexa took a deep breath. "It's exhausting."

Anya sat down next to her on the couch, wrapping her arm around Lexa's slender shoulders and pulling her close. Lexa leaned her head on Anya's shoulder and sighed. It seemed 'later' had finally arrived, and it had taken some work on Anya's part to get Lexa to finally open up to her, but she was relieved that Lexa was finally talking about how she was feeling.

"When Clarke got hurt and had to go to the hospital," Lexa continued just barely above a whisper, "I knew then that I could fall for her, Anya - hard. She was just lying there, not moving," Lexa paused and inhaled a shaky breath. "There was blood all over, and I was so angry, and so very terrified; both for her and because of what I was feeling. I haven't ever felt that helpless before. Not even after..." Lexa trailed off shaking her head.

Anya pulled away and looked at her friend. "Really? This experience was worse?"

Lexa shook her head again. "Not that the experience itself was worse. I'm talking about how helpless I felt," Lexa tried to clarify. "Before, all I could do was wait, there was literally nothing for me to do, but wait. With Clarke, she was right there. I could see that she was hurt, and I couldn't do anything. The guy that hurt her was right there in front of me, and I couldn't stop him from hurting Jasper either. I couldn't stop him from getting away - I couldn't do anything. I was completely powerless."

Tears were streaming down Lexa's face, though she fought to keep her voice steady. "When Finn ran out, and I looked down at Clarke I almost lost it. I stood there in the middle of a stranger's kitchen and barely contained a panic attack. If it weren't for Lincoln taking control and being so calm and confident, I don't know what might have happened. He grounded me."

Lexa felt Anya squeeze her tighter and kiss the top of her head, so she took a breath and continued, "I kept thinking what if she dies. What if I lose her too? I barely know her Anya, I shouldn't have cared that much. Concerned yes, as most of the people there probably were, but I knew in my heart that I would be devastated if something happened to her. What does that mean? What do I do with that?" Lexa finished plaintively, her voice finally breaking.

"Oh sweetie," Anya sighed, "I know this is hard, but I guess you just need to figure out what you want. I know," she said as Lexa's head came off her shoulder, her brows pulled down, and her mouth open about to say something before Anya quickly continued. "I know you think it's not that easy, but it is. Deciding what you want is the easy part. It's going to be allowing yourself to have it that will be difficult.

Anya paused and looked at Lexa. "And I think you already know what you want."

Lexa was looking at her friend with sad eyes. "Yes, I do know. I just don't know if I can."

"Then take it slow. Be Clarke's friend. Hang out together and get to know one another," Anya suggested. "New Year's Eve will be a good place to start."