Chapter 11 "Freedom"
Octavia's POV
Today is supposed to be my day off, but I had to come check on Clarke. I won't be here long. I got the phone call a few hours ago, from Harper, saying that she was awake. I remember the first time I heard Clarke's name mentioned. I just started dating Lincoln when he decided to work with his mom. I was just finishing my residency and going into trauma. It made me fall even more in love with him. It was his passion and drive that did it.
He wanted to help women be able to live their lives without fear. He said that if he had to put every bastard away that harmed a woman or child he would do it. This all came about because of a news story on Clarke and Raven.
Clarke lived in fear of the next time Finn was angry or drunk that he would hit her again. Then the first time she tried to leave, he beat her so bad she should have died. Raven should have as well. I found out later that the only reason that neither of them did die, is because of one Abby Griffin.
She was the only surgeon available the night it happened. She had them brought to the same OR. She was halfway through stitching Clarke's back and Raven's surgery as well, when she realized who she was working on. There was just too much damage and blood to tell at the time.
Jackson came in halfway through it and started to work on Clarke. Which is about the time that Abby noticed how severe the damage to Raven's was. Raven is lucky that she wasn't paralized from the waist down.
Jackson told us about that night. He said it was the day he believed in miracles. Of course, he was only one of the few that knew that they survived. Jake and Abby knew what it meant when the police couldn't find Finn. They knew both girls would never be safe till he was found. I place a hand on my stomach, just thinking about what I would do if something happened to mine and Lincoln's baby.
I knew Lincoln was working on Clarke's case. He couldn't tell me all the details, but it didn't really shock me that she was alive. I see it everyday at the hospital. Survivors of abuse do not always have many other options. Many kill themselves, in order to not have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives.
I walk up to the nurses desk and see Harper. She already has Clarke's file ready for me, but I can see that she wants to talk a minute. "Her whole family was in the hallway when she woke up. Lexa had locked them out." Harper says.
I frown upon hearing that and ask, "Why would she do that?"
Harper smiles sadly and says, "I think she was worried that Clarke wouldn't ever wake up."
"I could see her withdrawing further into herself each day that there appeared to be no change in Clarke's condition. So what happened next." I ask her, knowing there is more that she wants to say.
"Jackson was just coming to check on her, when he ran into the family. After talking to them for a few minutes, he went to unlock the door and that's when we all heard it." Harper says.
I look at her, after glancing at Clarke's chart, I notice a sad smile on her face and a tear running down her cheek. I place a hand on her shoulder and she shakes her head and continues, "Lexa must have hit the intercom button next to the call button, because we heard the most chillingly beautiful voice come out of the speakers. She was singing a song no one has ever heard before. There wasn't a dry eye on the floor."
"Lexa was singing to Clarke?" I ask her.
"She was, but when the song ended, there was a crash from the room. I ran up behind the family, just as Jackson opened the door. Clarke was awake and both Lexa and her were kissing. It was the sweetest moment that I have ever seen." Harper says.
I smile before I ask, "So what was the crash?"
Harper laughs and says, "Lexa's guitar was on the floor, broken in half. She must have dropped it when she saw that Clarke was awake."
I could see Lincoln doing the same, if he played the guitar. "So where is the family now?" I ask her.
"Clarke saw her mom yawning and told everyone to go get some rest. She told them that she wasn't going anywhere." Harper says.
"So everyone just left.?" I ask her.
"Well not everyone. You know Lexa would never leave, but everyone else did." Harper says.
"Yeah, I thought I was going to have to have security brought in, if Lexa didn't get some rest. Anyways, I better go check on them." I tell her, while walking to Clarke's room.
I open the door to see Lexa fast asleep in the recliner, hand still holding onto Clarke's. I think that is the most peaceful look I have seen on her face ever. Clarke, herself is awake, just laying there watching Lexa sleep. However, when the door closes, a bit too loudly, Lexa jerks awake and Clarke turns to me. "Hello, Clarke. I am Dr. Blake. I was the one that performed your surgery." I tell her.
Lexa puts the chair down and stands next to the bed. Clarke turns to me and says, "You were at the restaurant, with Lincoln and his family."
It is not a question but a statement. "I was there. Lincoln is my fiance. It is a good thing I was there, or you wouldn't have made it to the ambulance." I tell her.
I try to be very honest with my patients. Clarke glances over at Lexa before asking, "How bad was it? No one will tell me."
I nod before saying, "That is probably for the best. I usually want to be able to tell the patient myself. I won't lie to you. It was bad. Your heart stopped three times. The bullet nicked your liver before embedding into your pelvic bone. A bone shard made a tear in your right ovary. I was able to repair both with minimal damage."
She closes her eyes and I know she is trying to process it all. She knows more than most people do, with her mom being a surgeon. At one time she was also accepted into medical school. Finally she takes a deep breath and asks, "How long was I out?"
"You were out for a week. After the first forty-eight hours, I knew you would make it." I tell her.
Clarke turns to Lexa and says, "You should be in Vegas."
Lexa takes Clarke's hand and kisses it, before saying, "I am where I am needed to be."
Clarke looks like she is going to argue with Lexa, but instead she just sighs, "We can talk about that later."
She then turns back to me and asks, "How long will I be here and much therapy will I need?"
"I looked over your chart before I came in. You will be here at least another ten to fourteen days. As for therapy, with your injuries, it will take at least four to five months. Raven said something about Dr. Nyko. He is really the best in the area. He does remarkable work and so does his daughter Echo." I say.
"I think that is something everyone in this room can agree on." Clarke says as she tries to stifle a yawn.
"I can see you need more rest. It is my day off and I just wanted to check up on you. Get some rest and I will see you in the morning. Harper will be here for the night, if you need anything." I tell her.
"Yes, sleep is good." She says as her eyes are already closing.
"Thank you, Dr. Blake." Lexa says.
"Call me Octavia. I will be Trikru soon." I tell her.
"You are already one of our strongest warriors, Octavia." Lexa says as I walk out of the room.
Walking to the elevators, I think to myself that I don't believe that for a second. I believe that the strongest two warriors are in the room that I just left.
Clarke's POV
Sitting in the restaurant, I could listen to Lexa talk all night, especially about her people. It is short lived though, when Finn shows up with someone else, both of them with guns. I have never been so scared in my life.
For once though, I wasn't scared for myself. I was scared for all the other people in the restaurant, but mostly scared for Lexa. "There you are, princess. If you come with me now, no one else has to get hurt." He says, his grin is almost feral.
Standing up from the table, I glance at Lexa as she shakes her head. Finn grabs my wrist and pulls me against him while Lexa jumps up. Pulling me tighter, he wraps his hand around my chest, playing with my breasts as he swings the gun in Lexa's direction. Finn's hand moves slightly down my stomach to my center as he says, "I will be taking my slut back now, pity I don't have time to make you watch, before I kill you."
As he leans down, he runs his tongue down my cheek, never keeping his eyes off Lexa. It is then that I hear the gun go off, Lexa clutching her stomach, as she crumples to the ground.
I bolt up in bed, screaming out Lexa's name. A hand touches mine, oh so gently and I glance over to see Lexa talking to me softly, a concerned look in her eyes. I close my eyes a moment, taking slow deep breaths, glad the panic didn't fully set in. When I open them, I can concentrate on what Lexa is saying. "It's ok, you're safe. I am here." She says, over and over again.
A few seconds later, Harper comes in, more than likely having heard my screams. I focus on Lexa for a moment, the tapping of her fingers on my wrist, her soft voice, as my breathing calms even more. It is then that the excruciating pain hits me, tears forming in my eyes, whimpers coming out of my mouth and I know I tore something.
Breathing through the pain, squeezing Lexa's hand, "I am ok. I think I tore something though." I tell them.
Harper gently pulls the covers down, the inside spotted with blood and says, "I will look into that. If the stitches popped then I can take care of it, but anything worse and I will have to call Dr. Jackson."
I nod at her while still squeezing Lexa's hand. I lay back down in the bed, glancing at my stomach, seeing where I bled through. Harper carefully pulls the tape off the bandage and says, "Looks like you popped two stitches. I am just going to get a few things from the drawer and fix you right up."
True to her word, Harper is back with the rolling cart, the tray on top with everything that she needs. It only takes her a few minutes and she is placing a bandage on it. "You know, it's a bit of a different situation, but I used to have nightmares. I still do sometimes. It helps to have someone in the bed with you." Harper says.
"You're right, it does help." I tell her.
Lexa looks a bit unsure, "Are you sure I won't hurt her?" She asks Harper.
"If you are careful of her IV, and of her stomach, then it should be fine. Jolting up in bed or thrashing from a nightmare can cause much worse damage than a few popped stitches." Harper tells Lexa.
Harper cleans up the tray, putting everything back where it belongs and heads towards the door. Just before she opens it, she turns around and says, "Oh, and Clarke, I am really glad you are ok. The boys wanted to tell you the same as well."
"Thank you, Harper. I appreciate it, very much so." I tell her.
I turn back to Lexa, bringing her hand up to my lips, kissing it gently and ask, "Can you hold me, please? It feels like it's been forever."
She only hesitates for a moment before carefully joining me. I lay my head on her chest as she kisses the top of my head and asks, "Am I hurting you?"
"No, you never have." I tell her.
"I love you, Clarke. We should get some sleep." She says while yawning.
"We should. I am so tired. Tomorrow though you are going to tell me everything." I say.
"Ok, I will, if you are up to it." She says.
"I will be. I love you Lexa." I tell her sleepily.
It is early morning when I wake back up. I can tell that Lexa has been up a while. Harper must have come and gone. There is a fresh cup of ice water on my table. Lexa leans down and kisses my lips gently, before helping me sit up more, to get a drink.
I lay back down on her chest, taking her hand in mine. I need to find out exactly what happened after I was shot. I have to know that Finn or his friend won't be coming back. "What happened after I got shot?" I ask her.
Lexa stiffens against for just a moment, then relaxes a bit before saying, "Finn was arrested. His trial is set to start in a few months. Indra shot Jason, who is a retired police officer. He is paralized from the neck down."
"Was there anyone else hurt?" I ask her.
"A waitress and a busboy were killed by Finn. Jason, his friend, shot three others, but all three are fine." Lexa says.
I take a deep breath, knowing that there is something she isn't telling me. "Who were the three that were shot?" I ask her.
"Lincoln was shot in the arm by Jason, it went right through. Artigas jumped in front of Octavia, when Finn turned the gun on him. The bullet barely grazed his head." She tells me.
"Who else was shot, Lexa?" I ask her, part of me already knowing the answer.
She kisses the top of my head before she answers, "I was, but it just left a small burn on my arm. I am fine."
"Tell me more about the couple that died." I ask her.
"Janie and Tommy were Trikru. They have a four year old. Janie has a father that is in prison. Mikka was leaving a bar one night and was witness to a man raping a young girl, about Janie's age at the time. He saved her, but he also lost control, beating the man. The man almost lost his life. He got a six year sentence that ends in about a month. Janie and her family were here to visit and later take him home." Lexa tells me.
"I am sorry. None of this should have happened. Who is taking care of their child?" I ask her.
Lexa brings her hand up, looking into my eyes as she pushes back the hair that has fallen into my eyes. "Junie is taking care of little Tommy. Mikka will take him home when he is released." She tells me.
We sit in silence for a little while, before I squeeze her hand and ask, "So why are you not in Vegas?"
Lexa shakes her head and says, "There was no way that I could have competed, knowing you were here, fighting for your life. I meant what I said, I am right where I need to be."
I never want to be the cause of her not making her dreams a reality. Sighing deeply, "It is everything you have worked for. You should have been there, following your dreams." I tell her.
I feel something wet on my cheeks and look up to see Lexa crying. Her voice quivers as she speaks, "My dreams mean nothing if you are not there to share them. I will go back next year. If I had gone I wouldn't have been able to compete, not with my heart back here."
She lays there quietly for a few minutes as tears well up in my eyes as well. Eventually, after taking a deep breath, she says, "Losing you would have killed me. I can not live in a world in which you are not there."
I gently kiss her lips and say, "I can't either. In my dream last night, you were the one Finn shot. I screamed as you fell to the ground, Finn dragging me away. That is my biggest fear. What if he breaks out and comes after both of us. I can't lose you."
"You will never lose me. As for Finn, I don't think we will have to worry about him." She says.
"I will always worry about him. I hate that you and others have been hurt because of his fixation on me." I tell her quietly.
"You don't have to worry about his parents getting him out. He turned on them. He talked about the cover up they were all involved in, Jason killing his wife and daughter. As for Finn, he has two counts of murder and twelve counts of attemted murder, among other charges. That is if he even makes it to trial." She says turning her head to look at the wall.
I reach up, turning her head back to me and ask, "What do you mean if he makes it to trial?"
"In Trikru, there are certain things that we take care of on our own. No one has mentioned anything to me directly, but they did mention that Finn has a trial coming in a few days. Gustus has requested that Finn be moved to a more secure facility. It is the prison that Mikka is in. The judge is Trikru, it will go through." She says.
"What does that mean?" I ask her.
"It means that Finn will more than likely never see trial. It will be set up to where Mikka receives justice for his family. Finn is a danger, not only to you and me, but anyone we are close to. Trikru always protects its own." She tells me.
I close my eyes, for a minute thinking how wrong all of this is. Then I think of the people Finn has harmed and could still harm if he was to ever get out. Cupping her cheek, I look into her eyes, "In most cases, just the idea would upset me, but in this one it does not. Finn hurt many people and given even half a chance, he would never stop." I tell her.
Lexa kisses my cheek and says, "Many years ago, things like this were common. Today things are different and these methods are rarely used. It has actually never happened in my lifetime, but there are stories of my fathers generation. Though if it were not already going to happen, I would fight for it. I want my people safe. I want you safe as well. I would do anything to make that possible."
I am about to say something else when the door opens and in walks Octavia. She glances at the two of us in the bed together and says, "Normally I would not allow this, but I talked to Harper as she was leaving. She told me about popping your stitches after a nightmare, so I will let it continue."
Octavia looks at my chart a moment before she gathers things to check my bandage. Lexa kisses me on the forehead and gets up, never letting go of my hand. After Octavia finishes putting clean bandages on my stomach she says, "Harper has done a good job fixing you up. However, I want to run a scan to make sure nothing inside was damaged. Also, I want you to start walking some during the next few days. Just around the room, maybe to the bathroom and back to the bed, but only when you have someone to lean on. I don't want you falling. By the end of next week I hope to see you walking the hall."
Lexa frowns and asks, "It's not too soon is it?"
Octavia shakes her head and says, "Nope, as long as Clarke has someone to help her out of bed and keep her steady. It will help make sure her muscles don't deteriorate, but she should go slow. It will be painful and it will make her tired, but it will also help her recover more quickly."
It isn't long before Octavia leaves. Lexa's family and mine start piling into the room. I missed mom and dad so much. However, this visit is short lived, for when lunch time arrives, they all leave for a few hours.
Lexa and I are just finishing eating lunch when Murphy and Emori show up. Murphy and I have known each other since elementary school. I would never call us best friends, Murphy never let anyone close enough for that. "Hey Clarke." He says as he walks into the room.
I can tell he has been crying. His eyes are puffy and red. I have never known him to cry. Maybe, he hid it like I hid the things that Finn did. "Hey, Murphy. I never did get a chance to tell you thank you. You saved my life and Raven's." I tell him.
He hangs his head and says, "I should have done something sooner. I knew what was going on and I didn't help. After dad died, mom blamed me and there were many times she took that anger out on me."
I reach over and squeeze his hand, "There wasn't much you could have done. I had to be ready to leave. Besides you acted when it counted." I tell him.
"Then we went to your funeral and I thought that I was too late. I spent over four years thinking that. That if I had helped you sooner, then you wouldn't have died. When I saw your picture on Twitter, I was angry at your parents for lying to everyone. It took a while to realize that they had no choice. Then all we could do was worry, because we knew that with your picture out there, that Finn would find you." He says.
I look at him, shaking my head and say, "Murphy, I will say this again, none of it was your fault. For the longest time, I blamed myself. Your mom, Finn, they both had something inside of them that was broken. They chose to let their demons out and that is on them, not us."
He nods his head and asks, "So what do we do now, Clarke?"
I glance at Lexa and smile before turning back to him to reply, "Now we get the chance to heal and truly live."
He smiles and says, "I think that I can do that now."
Murphy turns to Lexa and says, "Emori and I have been staying with your parents. Come to find out, many years ago, Emori's great grandfather was banished from Trikru. Your father has lifted her family banishment and offered me a test to join you. I am not sure I understand what that means. Maybe you could tell me."
"Normally the test is two parts. The first one will test where your morals lie. The second is a fight. You are not expected to win the fight. It is more about a test in courage. There is then a ceremony afterwards. However, I will talk to my father. In my eyes, you have passed both tests already." Lexa tells him.
John smiles and asks, "Do you really think so?"
"Yes, I really think so. You showed bravery when you protected your friends, even though it could have meant your own life. You also didn't let what happened to you in your childhood change your heart. I can see that your heart is good. You will make Trikru that much stronger if you decide to join us. The choice will be yours." Lexa tells him.
Emori wraps her arms around his waist as he says, "I never felt that I truly belonged anywhere."
Lexa reaches across the bed and puts her hand on Murphy's shoulder and says, "The choice is yours, but regardless of that choice, you have people that will always be with you when needed. You have a place, always."
Murphy nods his head, tears resting just at the edge of his eyelashes, as he turns to leave. He probably needs some time to process things. Emori will help him, of that I have no doubts.
It is two weeks later, that I find myself in my room with Lexa packing up everything. I am checking out of the hospital as soon as my paperwork shows up. I managed to get Lexa to leave the hospital a few times, to go out to dinner with her parents or mine, though it wasn't easy.
It's not that I don't want to be with her all the time, because I do. I just want her to not be stuck in one room for so long. We did manage to walk outside in the hospital gardens a few times this week, but I know it wasn't enough. Lexa is meant to be always moving, whether it be inside or outside.
Jarrah and my dad show up and without a word, start taking the bags that Lexa has packed. We are stopping to see Junie on the way back to Lexa's house. I wasn't sure that I was ready to step back into the restaurant again, but decided that I have nothing to fear anymore. I am still having dreams about Finn, but they no longer have the effect on me that they used to. I think the difference is that I know that I am safe.
Mikey and Gigi have visited a few times. Mikey always brings me a new picture of his favorite superheroes. I don't feel like a superhero, but I love his visits. Mikey always brings an innocent joy with him. I don't think that anyone could spend five minutes with him and not fall in love.
The door opening brings me out of my thoughts and I smile as Harper and Octavia come in with my paperwork. "Octavia here tells me you are leaving us today." Harper says.
I smile and say, "Don't get me wrong here, you both have made being here better. However, I want to sleep in a more comfortable bed, besides the food here isn't exactly my favorite."
Octavia looks at me and says, "I may be letting you get out of this popsicle stand, but I am not letting you go easily. I expect to see you both at lunch next week."
She hands me the paperwork, and I smile before asking, "Who would skip out on a bbq, with Lincoln manning the grill?"
We talk a few more minutes before Harper brings me a wheelchair. Before I know it I am being wheeled outside and loaded into Lexa's jeep. My dad's playlist playing, the wind whipping through my hair and I can't help but feel free.