Chapter 4
Finn's eyes slowly traveled over the camp, searching out the familiar head of blonde curls. He exhaled a sigh when he finally found her, deciding to make his way towards the dropship to actually talk to Clarke, making up an excuse as he weaved his way through the groups that were just milling about. Before he could actually reach her, he came to an abrupt stop. His gaze falling to eh person who was crouched beside her, rather than standing tall. Bellamy was holding the Grounder Baby, arms extended as if he had just pulled the kid away from him. Clarke was laughing at something Bellamy had said and he felt rage boiling in the pit of his stomach at the bright smile on her lips.
"It's your turn," she was saying, watching the way Bellamy pouted before he straightened to his full height.
"You are lucky I am one hundred percent committed to this, other wise you would be changing all the diapers," he commented lightly, his eyes never leaving the infant's face. Finn waited a few moments before making his way towards Clarke once again.
"Does he help you often?" he said as a way of greeting, watching as Clarke jumped slightly, her eyes jumping from Bellamy's departing figure to Finn who was leaning against the dropship, closer to her than she expected.
"Yes, he does. He's helping me raise Julius Finn," Clarke answered, annoyance coloring her tone as she turned to glare at him.
"Really? It looks like you always have the kid," Finn stated, knowing he sounded as if he was whining but unable to help himself.
"That's usually what happens when you have a child Finn, adopted or not," Clarke spoke, a growl in her voice and he knew he needed to say something so she wasn't as angry with him. However before he could, Bellamy returned, passing the infant to her.
"He's such a mama's boy," he stated casually, his amber eyes narrowed to slits as he glared at Finn and took a step closer to Clarke. She grinned as she took Julius from Bellamy, hugging him to her chest before glancing towards the other man from the corner of her eye.
"He likes Daddy too, just loves Mama more," she replied, sticking out her tongue, and not seeing the way both men froze at her words.
"I need to get back to the med bay. Be a good boy for Daddy, okay baby?" Clarke nuzzled her nose against Julius who squealed in delight before Clarke handed him back to Bellamy, reaching up on her tip toes to press a kiss against his cheek.
Finn watched the exchange in anger, feeling his jealousy boiling in the pit of his stomach before he turned on his heel and walked away. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides as he stormed through the camp, glaring at anyone who got to close to him. He had made his way back towards the dropship after a few hours, not intentionally, however something caught his eye. The spot Clarke spent most of her free time was marked by a familiar looking sketch book, one he knew Raven and Lincoln had redone for her about a month ago, rebinding it with fresh paper. Slowly, Finn looked around the area to ensure that he was alone. Clarke was possessive over her sketches, and never shared them with anyone. He was curious as to what she had been drawing and picked up the red leather bound book. He carefully began flipping through the pages, noticing one thing each drawing had in common. They were mostly of Bellamy and Julius.
His jealousy bubbled in his chest as he stopped on one sketch, something about it catching his attention. It was of Bellamy, shirtless and laying on what looked like a cot with Julius on his chest. Both were asleep and Finn could see how much younger Bellamy looked in this sketch, saw how much detail went into it. His grip on the sketch book was white knuckled, and he felt his jealousy grow even more as he fought the urge to rip the page from the binding and shred it as kindling for the fires. His eyes took in the sketch slowly this time, noticing how it was done in a light blue pencil, the color softening the sketch even more.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? That's Clarke's! You know how she feels about her sketch book! Why would you go through it?" Raven's voice hadn't raised in the slightest, and Finn knew it was to keep from drawing Bellamy's attention. He slowly turned to face his ex girlfriend, his first love with a fire burning in his chocolate colored eyes.
"What does it matter? You're just going to run off and tell Bellamy anyway," he spat, knowing her loyalties had changed the minute he betrayed her trust.
"Like hell I am. He's likely to string you up by your balls just for going through Clarke's things. You know how protective he is of her," Raven snapped, shaking her head as she narrowed her caramel orbs on him.
"What the fuck were you thinking Finn? That she spent all her time sketching you?" she ended her comment with a bark of a laugh, glancing over her shoulder to see Murphy and O making their way towards the two ex lovers.
"Of course not! I'm not stupid Raven. I thought she would be sketching plants or the scenery, or everyone in the camp, not Bellamy fucking Blake holding a Baby," he spat, dropping the book, only for Raven to pick it up carefully, dusting the cover of dirt and hugging it to her chest.
"She has other books for all that. She wanted to fill this one with memories of Julius, for Julius. It's the easiest way to show him how loved he is when he gets older and questions it," Raven replied with exasperation, looking softly at the book but not once flipping through it. Finn realized than that Raven already knew what she was going to see if she were to open it and he couldn't help the betrayal he felt.
"You knew she was in love with him," he accused, his voice dropping to a hiss as Raven rolled her eyes, knowing Murphy and Octavia were now within hearing range.
"Of course I did. I was the one who told her she was. She hadn't even realized it until I pointed it out. And damn it Finn, if you try to interfere with her happiness I'll gut you myself. Leave her alone. She's moved on and she's happy," Raven spoke heatedly, watching as Finn's muscles tensed.
"I deserve a fighting chance, don't you think? Maybe she just thinks she's happy playing house with Bellamy. She couldn't have possibly forgotten how arrogant and selfish he really is," Finn growled, moving to step around her only for Murphy to shove him back against the side of the dropship.
"I'm not Bellamy's biggest fan after the whole banishment thing, but Little Bird over here has a point. If he even catches a whiff that you had gone through Clarke's personal sketch book, one she's making for their son, he'll string you up by your balls and leave you out there all night. And if you think Clarke would have any sympathy for you, it would vanish the minute she learned just why he was so pissed. Do yourself a favor Spacewalker, just let it go, let her go. She's moved on and she's obviously a low happier," Murphy spoke with a lazy drawl, dark eyes narrowed as he waited for Finn to concede.
"Since when do you care about anyone's happiness?" he snapped. Murphy exhaled a sigh, running his fingers through his shorter hair.
"Since I actually got to know Clarke. Since I spent time with her, learning how to help people because she's been so fucking over worked and no one but us seem to care about her. You pestering her, everyone running to her with the slightest inconvenience to talk some sense into Bellamy and than turning on her when she agrees with him. Trying to take care of everyone plus a five month old baby? It gets to her and she's running on empty at this point. Bellamy, O, Raven, Miller, Monty, Jasper, Lincoln, and me are the only ones who seem to notice how thin she's spreading herself. If you love her like you say you do, you'll let her go. She's found happiness, and it sure as hell isn't with you," Murphy was in Finn's face at this point, his anger getting the better of him. Raven gently touched a hand to his shoulder, drawing him back before he did something idiotic.
"Just let her be, Finn," Raven whispered before turning on her heel and making her way into the dropship, only to shout in surprise and cause everyone to come running. Finn led the way, eyes widening at the sight of Clarke's body slumped against Raven who was struggling to hold the blonde up.
Finn took a step to help, only to be shoved out of the way as Murphy moved towards Raven, knowing Bellamy would be there in a moment.
"Did she hit her head?" he questioned quietly, watching from the corner of his eye as Bellamy stormed into the dropship, his eyes immediately searching for Clarke, only to find her in Murphy's arms as he was lifting her off of Raven.
"No, I caught her before she could," she answered, taking a step back as Bellamy handed her Julius and took scooped Clarke up bridal style before turning his gaze towards the brunette.
"What the hell happened?" he growled, turning on his heel and making his way out of the dropship as all the kids parted to allow him through.
"She just collapsed. I don't think she ate breakfast or lunch, or dinner for that matter. She's been in here all day helping everyone," Raven stated, following after him, with Murphy, Octavia, and Finn trailing behind her.
"You mean to tell me she hasn't eaten all fucking day?" Bellamy snapped, and it was than Finn noticed just what everyone else was saying. He thought the other man was just possessive of Clarke, always showing up at her side with something to eat or taking the baby, but he was quickly seeing it was protective, a way to get her to take care of herself.
"We've been a little busy today Big Brother. I thought you were the one in charge of making sure the Doctor fed herself," Octavia teased slightly, hoping to lighten his dark mood.
"Whatever you do, don't yell at her. You know how antsy Jules get whenever you two argue," Raven reminded him, watching his frown deepen as they stopped outside Clarke's tent.
"I won't. Just... Fuck! I told her to eat before I took Julius," he growled, pushing the tent flap aside and striding over to her cot before laying her down gently. Finn watched as everyone else waited outside and suddenly he felt like an intruder, as if these were no longer his friends.
"O, will you go make her a plate, pile it with enough food for two. Thanks for holding him Raven. Murphy, can you, O, and Lincoln handle the med bay for a while? Clarke's going to be put on bedrest for a couple of days," he muttered the last part and Finn felt the urge to protest only for Raven to shoot him a glare and shake her head slightly.
"No problem Bell, just yell if you need anything else. I'll come by to check on her in a few hours," Raven answered, wrapping her slender fingers around Murphy's wrist and tugging him behind her after he nodded to Bellamy's question, shooting Finn a look that told him to leave before he was skinned.
"She's not going to be up to deal with your crap Spacewalker. I suggest coming back in a few days after I get her to eat something and she gets some rest," Bellamy spoke quietly, and it only dawned on Finn that he was actually worried.
"You really care about her, don't you?" that surprised a snort from Bellamy, who glanced over his shoulder as he held the flap open with one arm and held a sleeping Julius in the other.
"What gave it away? The fact that I'm raising a kid with her? That I'd do anything for her? That I'm freaking out because she hasn't eaten all day?" Bellamy growled, his temper getting the better of him as Finn held up his hands in the universal sign of surrender.
"The fact that all your actions scream I love you without you consciously doing it. Knowing she probably doesn't even realize that's your motive behind everything you do," he answered, watching as Bellamy shrugged.
"Eventually we'll be on the same page. Until than, I'll just wait for her to play catch up," he replied with his best version of a shrug he could manage. Finn nodded, turning away from the tent as he saw Octavia rushing towards them with a plate full of food. He knew when he wasn't going to win, and Bellamy, while not his favorite person, was the person Clarke needed.
A/N: I think the next chapter will be the last. Not 100% sure on that though. We'll see. Hope you enjoyed Chapter 4! Feel free to let me know what you thought!