Flatline (CLEXA AU)

Chapter 31: Communication Skills 101

It wasn't until 3 am when Clarke could finally take her much needed rest in the on-call room.

She took off her protection gear and left it on the door hook hanger before she lay on the bed, closing her eyes and letting out a deep sigh.

Even in her busiest moments in the ER, Clarke could not stop thinking about the expression on Lexa's face in their last video call. There was no doubt that her girlfriend was not thrilled about the reappearance of Ontari, especially after finding out about the nature of their latest encounter at the medical conference in Washington three years ago.

Clarke remembered that night clearly; Sure, they had consumed alcohol, but they were not intoxicated. Encouraged, but definitely not drunk. And there was no talk of them getting back together, in fact, Ontari had told Clarke that she had met someone shortly before the trip to Washington, and that they had already been on a few dates. The blonde wondered now if maybe it was Dr. Josephine Lightbourne the person that Ontari had met back then, which would explain the slight hostility on her part that Clarke had detected the previous day during the introductions.

Whichever the case, Clarke could not bring herself to care about anything else but Lexa. She was the first thought on her mind when she woke up and the last one before falling asleep, and it had been like that pretty much since the first time she laid eyes on her.

And there was no way in hell Clarke was going to let this come between them.

She sat up, grabbing her phone decidedly and opened her chat with Lexa. Despite the late hour, she had a feeling Lexa was still awake, just like she had been for the last week whenever Clarke was doing a night shift at the hospital.

Her fingers moved fast as she typed the message and sent it.

Clarke:
<< Hey... Just wondering if you're awake. I can't stop thinking about our last conversation and I feel terrible. Can we talk about it, please? >>

Not even ten seconds went by before she received a reply.

Lexa:
<< Sure. >>

Clarke:
<< Can I call you now? >>

Instead of a text message, there was a FaceTime request on Clarke's phone screen, which she accepted eagerly.

"Hey..." she smiled when she saw Lexa's face, illuminated by the phone in her dark bedroom.

She was on her side, with her head on the pillow, holding the phone close to her face that looked quite tired, and Clarke noticed that the rims of her eyes appeared to be slightly red and puffy. She couldn't help but feel a tug in her chest at the thought that Lexa had been crying.

And it was all her fault.

"Hey..." the brunette gave her a soft smile in return. "How's your shift going?"

"Busy... I'm finally taking a break after the first six hours..." Clarke replied. "Hopefully it will calm down now..."

"Have you eaten anything?" Lexa asked and Clarke's heart swelled at her girlfriend's concern, always making sure she's taken care of.

"I will now..." she said and saw Lexa raise an eyebrow at her. "I will, I promise... I had dinner at home before I started my shift, so I'm not hungry... but I'll grab a snack now."

"Good..." Lexa seemed to be happy with her answer.

"Did I wake you?" the blonde asked, even though she knew the answer.