CHAPTER 3

~Bellamy~

Although Bellamy hated leaving his sister, he knew that it was best for him to leave the hospital and not only for his insurance. In all of his haste, he had not alerted the rest of the ranch hands what had happened and when he arrived back at the ranch, the whole place was in a buzz.

When Bellamy had inherited the ranch, it was in a complete disarray to the point that he thought his father had left him the estate as some kind of cruel joke. However, Bellamy learned from his father's attorney that when Bellamy's father had gone bankrupt, the ranch was the one landholding he refused to let go of; clearly it had meant something to the old man.

Bellamy knew next to nothing about his father. He knew that he and O had different dads and that his dad was where he inherited the Filipino side of his genetics. But that was about it. He had no answers as to how a Filipino immigrant came into owning a century-old ranch in Texas and he had no answers as to why this man, who had never recognized Bellamy's existence while he was alive, decided to reach out to Bellamy in his death.

And to be honest, Bellamy didn't really care. He had Octavia and that was all that mattered.

When he got the ranch, he had immediately set out to get help and he found it in the form of Anya. Anya had been in ranching for years, going from ranch to ranch for most of her life but never really settling down until she had met the Blakes 3 years ago. Bellamy guessed that she had sensed the desperation in his need to get the ranch started and had taken pity on them. Within a day of Bellamy asking her, Anya had moved into one of the ranch houses and started making plans.

After Anya came Harper, Monty, Miller, Bryan and Roan who lived and worked on the ranch. There were other hands and helpers that came around when needed but those 6 became the core ranch hands. They all had shady pasts and were ambivalent about the future but they worked hard and were fiercely loyal and that's all that Bellamy could ask for.

The attorney that had reached out to Bellamy all those years ago had become the ranch's business manager. At first, Bellamy hadn't trusted Kane but soon came to realize that his heart was in the right place.

Now, all 7 of the people who had supported the Blakes in the past three years were pacing about restlessly on his front lawn. When he got out of his black truck, his boots had barely hit the ground before the whole group had run towards him, demanding answers. Anya looked pissed as all get out, Harper and Monroe shared looks of worry and concern, while Miller reached out and comforted Nathan by squeezing his shoulder. Roan stayed back, always the renegade, trying to not seem too interested, but his stiff posture and frown gave him away. It was Kane's calm voice, however, that quieted the rest.

"Where is Octavia?"

"She was run over by some of the cattle," Bellamy paused and put his hand up to silence the voices of concern, "She's fine. But her ribs are bruised and her arm is broken and she will be in surgery to heal her wrist."

"Ugh. Bruised ribs are better than broken ribs. Been there; not fun," Harper cringed, her dirty blonde hair rustling as she shook her head at the memory.

"I told you that you two should never bring the cattle in by yourself, no matter how small the herd," Anya scolded him, her fierce eyes narrowing in on him.

"I know, I know. Trust me, it won't happen again. Now, if ya'll will excuse me, I need to go grab our medical insurance that I stupidly forgot at home… Don't want to hear it, Kane." Kane's response closed with his mouth. Kane didn't live at the ranch but often had dinner with the group in the evenings. When the Blakes were surprisingly absent, he had stayed around to make sure everything was okay.

As Bellamy ascended the steps of the ranch house and turned to look at them all, he realized how grateful he was for this family of delinquents. After years of not having anyone to turn to, it was nice to have a whole group to be concerned when you didn't come home.

~Two Days Later~

After Octavia had her surgery, she was required to stay in the hospital one more night before returning home, when she was finally given permission to leave, her arm bandaged and wrapped in a brace, hanging from her neck in a sling, Bellamy couldn't have been more ready. Even though O and Bell fought like cats and dogs half the time, especially whenever there was some kind of boy involved, the house just didn't feel like home without her.

However, now that she was in his car as he was driving her home, his mind wandered to other pressing issues. For one, Octavia was the only wrangler (or horse manager) that he had on the ranch. He had been in dire need for a wrangler before she had broken several important bones in her body but now that need had gone from important to vital.

On top of that, there was Octavia's health. When the nurse dispatched Octavia, he had told the Blake siblings that they should come back to have the bandages on her wrist changed weekly. Both had grimaced at the prospect of spending more time in the hospital. Bellamy decided right then and there that something needed to be arranged in the comfort of their home and not the clinical white walls of the Ark.

Which led him to the next thought he didn't want to think about; there was only one medical care physician that he could trust to get the job done. It wasn't that he had problems with Wells careful care of his sister. And he would grudgingly admit that Dr. Abby Griffin had done a great job in the surgery. But the one person who seemed to really get his sister was the one person he really couldn't stand.

And that was Dr. Clarke Griffin.

Throughout the course of their forced encounters at the hospital, Bellamy had to deal with her constant patronizing and her I'm-always-right attitude. Half the time that Bellamy was at the hospital was spent yelling at the annoyingly stubborn blonde and the other half was spent watching her storm away in anger.

However, he couldn't help but notice how gentle she was with Octavia. They bonded easily over the couple of days in the hospital, Clarke checking in with every chance she had. partnered with Clarke's medical expertise made her an incredible healer for his sister. And Octavia always came first.

"Geez, Bell. Your silence is giving me the heebie-jeebies," the sister in question interrupted his thoughts as she watched him from the passenger seat of his Ford F-250. "If you think too hard, your brain might explode; I don't think it was made for too much work." Octavia grinned at her brother as he reached over and ruffled her hair for teasing.

"Well, we gotta figure out how we're going to manage house calls for your wrist," Bell responded, immediately getting serious. "I was thinking that maybe we could have Dr. Griffin come by every Wednesday to check your bandages?"

Octavia looked at him in surprise, "Hey, I'm not going to complain but I'm surprised. Don't you, like, hate the sight of Clarke?"

Bellamy glared at her, "Don't press your luck, O. I'm doing this for you. Plus, I am planning on being as far away from that house as possible when she's there. That woman is so infuriating."

"Infuriating. Huh. That's a word I would use to describe you," Octavia stuck her tongue out at him.

"That's the second time you've stuck your tongue out at me this week and this time you don't have delaudid as an excuse. What are you, five?" Bellamy responded, laughing.

"By the way you treat me, I wouldn't be surprised," Octavia retaliated cooly.

~Wednesday~

Bellamy had a foolproof plan to not even lay eyes on Clarke Griffin while she was checking on his sister. He, Anya and Kane had set up to interview new potential wranglers at 4pm, while the other's finished up the day's work out on the ranch. Clarke was coming in at 4:30pm. There was no way that the interviews would last less than an hour so he had a credible reason to stay far away from the ranch house.

Bellamy felt that this was a good idea, not only for him but for everyone else in a 10 mile radius. Things had been problematic even when he had called her to set up their little arrangement.

"Dr. Griffin speaking."

"Wait, which Dr. Griffin? The Princess or the Ice Queen?" Bellamy belatedly realized that this was not the best way to begin a conversation that was meant to ask a huge favor.

"Let me guess; this is Bellamy." Clarke responded icily and Bellamy felt like he could hear her glare through the receiver.

"Bet you've been waiting for this call your whole life, Princess, but I am not calling for me, I'm calling for my sister."

Clarke had ignored Bellamy's stab and fell instantly into doctor mode. "What is it? Is Octavia okay?"

"Yes, she's fine but Wells basically mandated that she needs weekly medical mumbo jumbo and I don't have time for that. Would you mind, I don't, know… checking on her every week?" The words tumbled out of his mouth a little bit less gracefully than he wanted.

"Wow. I'm surprised you're asking me, of all people, to do this," Clarke sounded genuinely confused.

"Well, it was either you or your mother and…"

Clarke cut him off before he could insult her mother again, "You could easily ask a nurse; you don't need a doctor to treat a bandage wound."

"The only nurse I know is Wells and I don't know… I just feel like you're better for Octavia. I mean… there's not many girls her age out here on the ranch… I mean…"

Clarke barely hesitated, "Don't worry, Bellamy, I'll take care of your sister. But you'll have to promise me one thing."

"And what's that, Princess?"

"You'll stop insulting my mother. AND you'll stop calling me that!"

"That's two things, Princess. And it's not my fault your mom's a bitch."

"How old are you? How have you not learned that this is NOT how you ask people to drive 20 minutes out of their way to help you? I will have you know that bandaging a wound is not what I should be focusing on in my residency and…"

Bellamy cut her off before she got too involved in her rant-he already knew how bad her rants could get- "Thanks, Princess. When will you be over at the ranch?"

"ARG."

"Are you a princess or a pirate?"

"Click." Clarke hung up without a comment.

It had taken Octavia calling Clarke back (Bellamy now realized that it would have probably been better if Octavia had called Clarke in the first place) and pleading with her to forgive the "moron" (Bellamy had resented that) to get Clarke to promise to be there every Wednesday for the next month at 4:30pm.

~Clarke~

When Clarke arrived at the ranch house for the second time in a week and a half, she was impressed. When she had rushed in earlier in order to investigate Octavia's injuries, she had not given the ranch house a second glance. She was in full "doctor mode" as Wells like to call it.

But as she stepped out and gazed up at the estate now, she was able to take in just how huge it really was. The house had a massive front porch with a swing and five rocking chairs. Up on the second story, there was also a massive balcony with a table and two chairs. Set against the backdrop of a gorgeous day in Texas, the house looked like a piece of heaven.

The ranch itself was also pretty large; Clarke had only seen a little of it when she drove in but she had seen enough to know that extended incredibly out in the back of the house. In the distance, there were several cabins in a cluster where, Clarke assumed, the ranch hands lived.

Although Clarke had lived in Texas when her family moved in middle school, she had spent her adolescent years in Austin, which was only about 45 minutes away at most, but a whole different world. Austin was a pretty large city filled with artists, hipsters, and cosmopolitans. Clarke knew of the ranch life in Texas but rarely was exposed to it until recently with her new job as a resident in the nearby small town.

As Clarke headed up the steps onto the porch, she thought for a moment before letting herself into the house. If she was going to be here for a few weeks, then she might as well get comfortable.

She was pleasantly surprised to see Octavia waiting for her in the dining area next to the door and massive windows that looked out over the front side of the property. The sun hadn't set yet but it was headed there, and Clarke knew that she was in for a nice view.

Poor Octavia was wrapped in blankets and propped up on pillows on one of the chairs. Clarke was glad that her immediate prognosis was incorrect; Octavia did not have broken ribs but she knew bruised ribs were pretty uncomfortable, especially with a newly operated on broken wrist.

"Hey Clarke!" Octavia said excitedly. Clarke knew that the younger girl was in pain but she could tell that it wouldn't stop her much.

"How have you been? Has the wrist been hurting too much?"

"It's not been too bad but I had no idea how terrible it would be to not be able to use my right arm! I feel like I can't do anything!"

"Haha yeah I can imagine! Have you started on any of your physical therapy yet?"

"No," Octavia shook her long, beautiful chestnut locks, "it hurts too much."

"Okay, I can help you with that as well as the bandage. How does that sound?"

Octavia smiled. Clarke could tell that she probably didn't get to hangout with many girls her own age. The girl was practically jumping with excitement.

"So who lives out here with you? Is it just you and your brother?"

"Oh, there are actually a few ranch hands out here who live with us-they're like family. Bell is hoping to bring in a new hand today since I'm pretty much useless at this point. To be honest though, it's nice having you around. Although I'm close to everyone, I'm not really friends with anyone; the crew is really more of Bell's friends than mine. Plus, Harper has both gotten uh…. close to Bell in the past... if you catch my meaning."

Clarke almost gagged. Of course Bellamy would not only be a jerk but a player as well. She definitely couldn't see the appeal. Well. Then again, his face was pretty uh passable when he wasn't glaring at her. And Clarke had noticed how particularly strong his arms had looked when she was watching him at the hospital. They looked like they could pick her up easily and carry her….

WHAT WAS SHE THINKING?!

Clarke tried to clear her mind as Octavia and her delved into less dangerous subjects: general backgrounds, where they had gone to college and etc. As they went about changing bandages, wrapping rib cages and physical therapy exercises, Clarke couldn't help but study Octavia. Over the past week, Clarke had gotten to know O better through various phone calls to check in. How in the world could such a monstrous brother be related to such a lively and interesting girl?

Speak of the devil and he doth appear.

In Bellamy swept into the room, tall and strong, an instant presence in the house. His white shirt stood out against the tan bronze of his skin.

And those damned arms looked somehow looked better than Clarke had remembered. Thankfully, Bell's cocky smirk at her as he caught her eyes dissipated any of Clarke's disillusions of Bellamy's attractiveness. Jerk.

Behind him walked in a beautiful Asian woman with long legs and light colored hair wearing jeans, a white tank and some mud on her boots. She was followed by an even taller dark-complexioned man with a smooth head and direct eyes. His extremely muscular body was apparent even beneath his gray t-shirt. He looked dangerous, confident and attractive: a lethal combination not unlike Bellamy but lacking the ranch owner's boyishness.

"Oh hello, Big Brother. Who's this?"

Apparently, Clarke wasn't the only one who had noticed the man's magnetism. Octavia's eyes were lit with a fire as she stared at the stranger in the doorway. The man looked directly back at her and Clarke could tell that the two were immediately in their own world.

Bellamy, however, was completely oblivious.

"Well, someone decided to break her wrist so I had to speed up the process of finding another wrangler," Bellamy teased Octavia smiling. Clarke could tell that he was hopeful that O would approve of his choice.

Octavia barely looked at Bell though. Her eyes were trained on the newcomer. "So quickly? I thought you were going to spend days on that decision."

"Well, wait till you see Lincoln in action. You would understand why we jumped to such a quick decision," the woman responded, smiling. Clarke could tell that the woman had also noticed the sudden chemistry between Lincoln and Octavia.

"Hello," the woman reached out her hand, "my name is Anya. You must be the infamous Clarke I keep hearing about."

"Infamous? Octavia have you been gabbing at me?" Clarke turned to her new friend and grinned.

"Actually," Anya smiled coyly, "I heard more about you from the other Blake."

Bellamy looked incredibly uncomfortable. Clarke enjoyed seeing him squirm and she wouldn't be ashamed to admit it. Clarke could imagine all the terrible things he ranted about her behind her back.

Clarke shook the older woman's hand, "well, it's great to meet you, Anya. I hope that you can excuse any of the terrible things Bellamy has said about me." Oddly, enough Anya only smiled at that as if there was something humorous to what Clarke said. What was even more strange was the flush creeping up Bellamy's neck.

"Well, I think that if a new wrangler is going to be approved, that I should have a say in matter," Octavia said haughtily, turning to the red-faced Bell.

"I would be happy to show you some of my skills if you would like," Lincoln said with a small smile. Octavia immediately grinned back, "Sounds like an excellent idea!"

Oh boy. They're both goners. Clarke thought. Clarke wasn't one for love at first sight but the sparks flying between the two were hard to ignore. Outloud she said, "Octavia, you need to be careful; I don't want you messing up all of my hard work!"

"No worries," said Anya. "I'll help her out there." Octavia frowned slightly at the supervision but accepted Anya's hand in assistance any way.

It wasn't until the three ranchers had left through the back door that Clarke realized that she had completely forgotten to talk with Octavia about her options for physical therapy. The two had tried to work through some exercises earlier but had to stop early due to Octavia's pain. It would be better if O worked with someone highly qualified in physical therapy, especially since Octavia had broken her dominant hand and would want as much movement back as possible.

Clarke turned to Bellamy who was weirdly enough already staring at her, his dark eyes unreadable.

"Hey, we should talk about what Octavia should do for physical therapy. It would be good for her to start as soon as possible," Clarke said, ignoring his pointed stare.

Bellamy shook his hair out of his eyes. "Yeah, sure that sounds great." He said absentmindedly.

"As long as it's not at the hospital," he added hastily.

"Why do y'all have so much against being in the hospital?" Clarke asked gently, "I feel like most people don't like hospitals but ya'll in particular seem to have a lot against it."

Bellamy sighed as he sat down at the table. "I don't know what O has told you about our mom but it isn't pretty. My mom had good intentions with us but life always dealt her a hard hand. She never felt like she could get ahead. She had no money, no family and barely a high school education. She first turned to men to find solace but then it was drugs and alcohol. When she overdosed, Octavia stayed at her side in the hospital, waiting for her to wake up. O was a child then; she barely knew what was happening. Mom never woke up," Bellamy said it all simply, not looking at Clarke as he spoke but at the last part he turned to look at her with that same unreadable expression. Then he shrugged as if none of it was a big deal and looked away again out the window as the sun began to set.

But Clarke wasn't fooled.

"I'm sorry that happened to you and Octavia," Clarke said, reaching over across the table to gently place her hand on top of Bell's. "It's so hard to watch a parent suffer. I know that your mom would be so proud of you both right now."

It didn't matter that Bellamy was a bonafide jerk most of the time. Clarke could now see the bigger picture of his character and how his story included dark times that were not so different from her own grief. She may not have lost a parent to drug addiction but she did know how it felt to miss someone you never thought you would lose.

When Bellamy turned to her this time, she was taken back by the power of his gaze. It made her spine tingle and her cheeks flush. She removed her hand and the spell was broken.

"So, uh, we should setup some kind of meeting with you and the PT's that I know," Clarke said, all business. "That way you and O can decide who O would like to work with and whether you can setup some kind of schedule where someone can come here or something. Does next Tuesday work for you?"

"In less than a week? You're going to be able organize a group of PT's just meet at your will in less than a week?" Bellamy looked impressed.

"Well… yeah. I've grown up with a lot of these people. I'm sure they won't mind if I call in a favor," Clarke smiled.

"You really are a princess," Bellamy said, his mouth turning into a smirk when Clarke's smile disappeared.

"Stop calling me that!"