Commander's Choice

Untitled Part 1

"Look at me Clarke." Lexa said softly, trying to get the girl's mind off of her back. Clarke couldn't help but let out a whimper; whether it was from the pain or from Lexa's intense gaze she didn't know. Finally, after a few more agonizing moments Nyko was finished. With Lexa's help he wrapped up her lower back and left them be. Clarke sighed in relief once he was gone. Whatever was in that salve was a blessing from god; her back pain was down quite a bit. Exhaustion hit her like a brick after a few moments though. She felt as though she could sleep for days.

"Sleep now, Clarke." Lexa said and kissed her forehead.

"Will..will you be here when I wake up?" Clarke asked. Lexa nodded to her. She waited until Clarke's breathing evened out before sitting in a chair near by. She would have liked to lie in the bed with the girl in her arms but she would give her space for now.

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Clarke smiled to herself as she thought of how careful Lexa had been with her. She wouldn't let Clarke moved around too much and made sure she was well taken care off while staying in the grounder's camp. The last few days had been a bliss and she would miss them. Her stomach grumbled a bit and she frowned. She had eaten a light breakfast before leaving, though that was a few hours beforehand. Camp Jaha was only an hour or two away and Clarke didn't think she could eat any of the camp's canned preservatives anymore. Not after eating Grounder meals for the past week. The taste of freshly cooked fish had made her moan when she first tasted it. She had blushed red when she saw Lexa looking at her with a soft smirk.

Luckily Lexa had heard her stomach and wordlessly grabbed at a small pouch hooked onto the horse and gave it to the blonde. She opened to pouch to find berries and small fruit. Clarke looked back at Lexa and smiled before digging into the berries, letting her mind wonder again.

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"How are you feeling?" Lexa asked her on the third day of her stay. She was lying on the furs with Clarke in her arms. Her head laying on her chest.

"Much better to be honest." Clarke replied, smiling at her. Truth was she felt ten times better. Her back had minimal pain, but that was more than likely to stay for a few more days at the most. "Thank you."

"And thank you, for helping me escape." Lexa said, running her hand through Clarke's hair again, it seemed to be an unconscious habit of Lexa's from time to time. "Though if you hadn't then you would not have gotten this treatment from your people." She said with a hint of anger in her voice.

"It's fine, really." Clarke said, snuggling into Lexa's embrace more. "It makes me glad I came down to Earth more, because if we were back in space then I would have gotten floated." She murmured.

"Floated?" Lexa asked. She had heard of the expression before but never fully understood. Clarke stayed quiet for a moment.

"It's when...back in space. If someone had committed a crime, if you were over the age of eighteen, then they would put you in an airlock and open the door out into space. There you would be sucked out and die." She explained.

"Would you have been floated if you had stayed longer up there?" Lexa asked, curiously. She knew Clarke was one of the 'delinquents' that had arrived first as an experiment for the rest of their people. It still angered her today how they could send children without experience down on the ground.

"Yes..." Clarke whispered. Lexa wanted to asked why. Why was this sweet natured blonde put in a prison? But she didn't need to ask because a moment later Clarke spoke more. "My father...found a flaw in the oxygen system. He was going to go public and tell the people. He thought that the people could and would rally together to help solve the problem. Jaha and...my mother." Clarke said a bit angrily. "Disagreed with him. I overheard them once, while they were arguing about it. They caught my dad before he could go public and they floated it." Clarke swallowed the lump in her throat at the memory of her father. "They couldn't let the information leak out so they had me put into solitary confinement for a year." Lexa's gripped tightened around her waist.

"I'm sorry Clarke." Lexa said, although she knew no sorry's could save the blonde from the pain.

"My mom and I haven't been on the same page ever since then. When I came to the ground I found out that it was her that had turned my father in. I still have hard time standing the in the same room with her at times." She confessed. Lexa rubbed Clarke's arm soothingly. She wished she could have saved the blonde from the heart ache. The blonde seemed to pure for all the darkness in the world.

"Know that you are safe here, with me, Clarke." Lexa told her. Clarke looked up at her and smiled. She kissed her softly. "Thank you."

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"We don't have to go if you do not wish to, Clarke." Lexa's voice broke her thoughts; she had noticed how the girl had seems lost in her head. Perhaps she was reconsidering going back to her camp. Not that Lexa minded. She preferred the sky girl to stay by her side where she could make sure no other harm came to her.

"No, it's fine." Clarke replied, scooting back a bit more so that she rested more comfortably against the burnette. "Seriously Lexa. I've been away for almost a week. I'm surprised my mother didn't send out a search party for me yet." Lexa didn't reply. In truth her mother had sent one out, but Lexa quickly caught them and told them to return to their camp. Once there Lexa told Abby about Clarke's health and that Clarke would not be returning until she was well enough to travel.

"Lexa?" Clarke said quietly after a few moments of silence. Lexa hummed a reply. "Thank you...for coming back..and helping me. You didn't have to."

"I know, Clarke." Lexa said softly, kissing the blonde's head. "But I had promised you I would come back, did I not?"

"Well yeah.. but still.. you could have rethought your promise. And your people-"

"My people do not control my choices." Lexa told her, squeezing her waist gently. "I am Commander and this was my choice to come back to you."