Lexa is staring out of her hospital room window, waiting for the doctor to come in and (hopefully) tell her she can be discharged today. Discharged to where, she had no idea. As much as she hates being in the hospital, she can't deny it's been nice to have a safe bed and consistent meals. She just hopes the next place she goes isn't too horrible.
She had a feeling that she'd be ok though. Especially since she had the Griffin clan on her side. She had shared her story with Mr. and Mrs. Griffin shortly after Clarke and they told her immediately not to worry. And for some reason, Lexa believed them when they said it.
The Griffin's had been working along with Lexa's social worker, Indra, on all the legal matters concerning Nia. The woman had been arrested early Wednesday morning and her hearing was in a couple days. Lexa couldn't help but feel extremely anxious at the thought of having to see her in the courtroom. Lexa knew she had to be strong, not show weakness. Nia feeds off weakness.
She shakes her thoughts away and takes a deep breath. She was suddenly very aware of the fact that she was alone right now and it was an odd feeling.
She's been in the hospital for four days and was only ever alone a handful of times. Including when she forced Clarke to go home on day two.
Lexa couldn't help but laugh at the memory:
"Clarke, just go home. I'll be fine.."
"I told you, I'm not leaving your side."
"You've been here over 48 hours straight. And I so, SO appreciate it, but you need to go home and at least shower."
Clarke's mouth drops in mock offence. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying your smell is making me feel worse."
Clarke laughs loudly and Lexa decides she loves that sound.
"Ok, fiiiiiiiiiine. I'll be back soon."
Clarke was back in less than two hours.
"Why are you smirking like that?" Lexa looks away from the window to see Clarke entering her room holding her favorite frozen coffee beverage from The Dropship.
"Oh, it's nothing." She says, smirking even wider.
"Uh huh, sure. That's your 'making fun of Clarke' smirk. But, it's your release day so I'll let it slide." She says as she hands over the drink.
"Thank you. You didn't have to go over there just because I said I was craving it."
"I don't mind." Clarke replies with a smile as she sits in her chair beside the bed. She automatically takes Lexa's hand in her own. Lexa smiles at the action. Clarke holding her hand has become second nature now and she doesn't think the blonde has been in this room longer than 30 seconds without holding it. And honestly, she's more than okay with that.
"So, you ready to get out of this place?"
"I'm so ready." She says quietly, taking a sip of her coffee and looking away from the girl.
Clarke, senses something is off. "You don't sound ready. What's wrong?"
Meeting her eyes again, Lexa releases a small sigh. "It's just… I don't know where I'm going when I leave here. And, I'm worried. Indra said 'she was working on some options'... whatever that means."
"We can help you answer that." Mr. Griffin announces as he, Mrs. Griffin and Indra walk into the hospital room. Mrs. Griffin walks straight over to Lexa's bedside doing a quick examination of her eye and then her ribs, causing a small wince from Lexa.
"Pain?" Dr. Griffin asks her.
"They hurt, but I can breathe more comfortably. I'm good." She smiles "So… you have answers for me?" Her eyes darting between the three adults.
Indra steps forward. "Well, I know you want to get emancipated... That is still your goal correct?" Lexa nods. "Ok, good because I was able to pull some strings and I was able to get you a hearing in 30 days. You need to show the judge that you can financially support yourself - pay rent, buy food etc. As well as stay on top of your studies. Can you do that?"
Lexa smiles. "Yes! Yes, I've been saving and…" her excitement is cut short and her face falls. "But, I don't have enough money for an attorney yet or to pay the court fees. I'll need more than 30 days to come up with it. Especially since I can't work for a while." She feels Clarke squeeze her hand in support.
"We handled it." Mrs. Griffin suddenly says.
"What?" Lexa and Clarke ask at the same time.
Mr. Griffin smiles. "My old college roommate is an attorney. He agreed to help you, pro bono of course. And we took care of the court fees."
Lexa stares at them, mouth agape. She shakes her head. "Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, I appreciate this. Really, I do. But you don't have to do that."
"Nonsense, it's already done. No refunds." He says with a wink.
"Did you know about this?" Lexa asks to the blonde beside her. "I had no clue." Clarke responded while beaming up at her parents.
Lexa smiles at the elder Griffin's. "Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Griffin… thank you." She turns to Indra. "So, I guess I'm back to a group home for 30 days?"
"Wrong." Mrs. Griffin responds quickly. The woman takes hold of the girl's other hand that's not currently being held by her daughter. "If you'd like, we would love for you to stay with us. We have an extra room and already prepared it for you. We gathered all your belongings from Nia's and they're already at the house."
"Really? When did you guys do all that? How come I didn't know about it?" Clarke interrupts.
Mr. Griffin laughs. "Honey, it wasn't hard to keep it from you. You've barely left your current position all week." He says motioning at the girls joined hands. Causing a small blush in both. "Besides, we didn't want you to get Lexa's hopes up in case we weren't able to get a judge to approve the temporary fostering."
"So, what do you say?" Mrs. Griffin asks, bringing Lexa's attention back to her.
Lexa has remained silent throughout this whole conversation. She's at a loss for words. No one has ever gone to so much trouble for her and she's not sure how to respond. But she has to admit, living with the Griffin's for 30 days sounds nice. At least she knows she'll be safe. She looks up at Mr. and Mrs. Griffin to find them staring back at her, not with pity but with affection. She offers them a small smile before turning to the blonde beside her.
"Are you okay with this?" She asks hesitantly, biting her lip. This is Clarke's house to after all. She didn't want to impose on the girl's life more than she already has.
Clarke lets out a small laugh. "Seriously? Of course! I think this is perfect." She squeezes her hand reassuringly. Lexa smiles at her and turns back to the older Griffin's.
"I would love to stay with you. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Griffin."
Lexa was released from the hospital about an hour after it was decided she would be living with the Griffin's and now she was walking through the door of the place she'd call home for the next 30 days. As she enters she lets out a sigh of relief. She knows she'll be okay here.
"We're going to get started on dinner. Clarke, will you show Lexa to her room please? And Lexa, honey, you should try and get some more rest. You're still healing." Mrs. Griffin says.
"Yes ma'am. And thank you, again. I just… just thank you." She smiles shyly as Mrs. Griffin walks over to her and gently hugs her. "You're welcome, sweetheart."
Lexa is watching the adults walk towards the kitchen when she feels a familiar hand hers, bringing her attention to the girl standing beside her.
"Come on." Clarke says gently as she leads Lexa up the stairs. It's a slow process. Each step consists of Lexa grunting in pain, Clarke asking her if she's okay and Lexa replying 'yes'. Eventually they make it to the top and Lexa lets out a small giggle, receiving a curious look from the blonde. "That took us way longer than it should have. Remind me to never break my ribs again." Clarke rolls her eyes, "Real funny, Lex."
They walk down the hall past Clarke's room and to the guest room. Upon entering, Lexa takes a moment to look around and take it all in. Her eyes move to the desk, where she sees all her school books. Then to the closet, where all her clothes are hanging.
Her eyes eventually land on the bed. It's definitely the biggest bed she will have ever slept in but what she can't take her eyes off of, are the four big, fluffy pillows. Clarke has been watching Lexa look around the room but worries when the girl seems fixated on the bed.
"What's wrong? Do you not like something? We can change anything you want." She rambles.
Lexa looks over to the girl and smiles. "Everything is perfect, Clarke. I'm happy. I just… nevermind."
Clarke takes her hand when she notices tears in the brunettes eyes. "No. What is it? You're crying."
"They're happy tears, I swear. It's stupid Clarke, don't worry about it."
"Lex, nothing about you is stupid. What is it?"
Lexa smiles and a single tear falls onto her cheek. "It's just the pillows."
Clarke narrows her eyes and wipes the tear off the girl's face. "The pillows? What about them?"
Lexa shakes her head. "It's just…"
Blue eyes lock on green and Lexa smiles.
"I've never had more than one pillow before."