Octavia broke into a huge grin when she woke up the next morning and saw Bellamy and Clarke sleeping. Their hands were still clasped together. Bellamy was leaning his head on his arm which was propped on the side of the table in a position that couldn’t have been comfortable. Yet the expression on his face was one of extreme contentment, and Octavia knew it wasn’t just because he was sleeping.
Octavia saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and looked to see Jasper sitting up and grinning widely at her. She walked over and sat next to him.
“Thank God you’re here. I’ve been up for ages, but I didn’t want to make any noise and disturb them.” Jasper complained, but Octavia could tell that he didn’t really mind.
“Has she woken up yet?”
“Yeah, last night. I pretended to still be asleep to give them privacy.” Jasper smiled mischievously
“Hear anything interesting?” Octavia quirked her eyebrow.
“Just their typical banter,” Jasper said with disappointment. Octavia rolled her eyes. When would those crazy kids realize that they were madly in love with each other?
*****
Clarke woke up with a sweaty hand, but she did not remove it from Bellamy’s. Instead, she found her fingers curling tighter around his. She jumped a little when she felt his tighten back. Bellamy lifted up his head and looked at her through sleepy eyes.
“Good morning, Princess.” He said in a rough voice. He took his hand away from hers and used it to run through his messy curls. Clarke felt a weird sense of loss of the warmth of his hand. She tried to sit up but winced as she felt the pain in her side. Bellamy gently put his hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down. “I am ordering you to bed rest for the day. We can take care of checking up on the injured.” Bellamy said, gesturing to the now awake people in the ship.
“But…” Clarke tried to protest, but she was cut off by Monty.
“We can handle it Clarke. And if there is anything we can’t handle we will bring them here and you can talk us through it.”
“We need you to rest and recover, Princess. We need our doctor in full health.” Bellamy said, his hand still on her shoulder. Every instinct that Clarke had told her to ignore Bellamy’s verdict of a day of rest. There was so much that needed to be done. So much that she needed to do. She couldn’t afford to lay around all day. She would go crazy doing nothing, it was not in her nature.
However, she knew that she did need to give her side time to heal. And she knew that they were all fully capable of taking care of the minor cuts and injuries around camp. Plus she also knew that there was no arguing with Bellamy when he set his mind to something, especially when he was wearing the expression that was currently on his face. Clarke sighed and relaxed fully against the table.
“Fine, but make sure you come to me the second you are unsure about something.” She said. Bellamy smiled and removed his hand.
“Whatever you say Princess.”
“Make sure you make a new brace and maybe some crutches for Jasper. The poor boy is probably going crazy being cooped up in here.”
“It’s not that bad. Plus today I’ll have you for company.” Jasper said with a smile. Clarke threw him a look that was less than enthused.
*****
Bellamy wiped the sweat off of his brow as he stepped out of the sweltering tent. No wonder Clarke had run herself dry, this was hard work. He and Raven had taken over Clarke’s duties while everyone else took care of making sure the camp continued to run smoothly. Even with splitting the work, he and Raven had spent a few hours straight checking up on the injuries sustained in the rock fall, plus patching up a few idiots who had injured themselves in various stupid ways. Bellamy certainly had a new appreciation for Clarke.
“What do you say we work on getting Jasper a kick ass cast?” He said to Raven as she fell into step with him.
“I’ve been thinking about that. I’ve had a few ideas about how to make a good cast, but I want to run them by Clarke first.”
“Perfect. I’m going to make sure that Miller, Murphy, and my sister haven’t killed anybody yet. I’ll meet you back in the dropship in a few.”
“Sounds good.” They parted ways and Bellamy walked over to where there was a group gathered working on building a few cabins. It was hard and long work, but no one complained because they knew in the end it would be worth it. Bellamy took out his ax and began chopping wood. Miller nodded at him and the two continued to work in companionable silence. Bellamy took great comfort in the repetitiveness and the physical labor. That is until a huge crash sounded throughout the camp. Bellamy and Miller exchanged a quick look before sprinting to see what happened.
One of the logs for a wall had not been secured correctly and had fallen off and onto a few kids. Murphy and Miller got the log off of the kids and out of the way. Bellamy breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that no one was seriously injured. They really couldn’t afford to have anyone else out of commission. It just looked like people were mostly bruised and scraped up a bit.
“Anyone hurt?” He asked just to make sure. The kids looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes, but all shook their heads no. They were shook up, but not hurt. “Okay, everybody take a break. Get some water and rest.” He watched as everyone slowly drifted away except Miller and Murphy. He walked over to them. “What exactly happened?”
“Someone got sloppy and forgot to secure the log correctly,” Murphy said, earning him a punch in the arm by Miller.
“They probably just went on autopilot. We’ve been building these for hours and it’s easy to get too comfortable doing the same job over and over.” Miller offered an explanation in a more diplomatic way.
“Okay, make sure that everyone is getting frequent breaks. And explain to everyone again how to put them together and emphasize the importance of doing it correctly.” Bellamy said, looking at Miller to indicate that he was the one who should be doing the talking.
“Bellamy!” The three boys turned at the sound of his name to see Octavia running towards him.
“O, what’s wrong?” He said quickly, eyes scanning her face.
“It’s Clarke.” Octavia started, but put a hand to his chest when he immediately began moving. “She’s fine, but she heard the noise and freaked out and wanted to go see what happened. Raven and Monty had to hold her down so she would try to get up and rip all of her stitches.”
“I’ll talk to her,” Bellamy said and followed Octavia to the dropship. When they walked in he was greeted by a sight that made him simultaneously want to laugh and punch a wall in frustration. Raven was standing at the head of the table, both hands on Clarke’s shoulders and struggling to hold her down. Monty was thrown over Clarke’s legs, which were thrashing violently.
“Let me go! People could be hurt. Damn my side, I need to be out there!” Clarke yelled.
“Enough!” Bellamy yelled right back. Clarke stopped struggling immediately and Monty stepped back with a look of relief. Raven lessened the pressure, but still kept her hands on Clarke’s shoulders.
“Bellamy, what happened? Is anyone hurt?” Clarke asked hurriedly.
“Everyone is fine.” He looked around the room at the bystanders. “Everybody out, I need to talk to our dear doctor alone. Get Jasper on a stretcher and take him out into the fresh air.” They all burst into action, gladly following Bellamy’s instructions and glad to leave him to deal with the disgruntled Clarke.
Once they were alone, Bellamy sat down next to Clarke with a sigh. He lifted up her shirt and was relieved to see that she hadn’t ripped any of her stitches. He changed her bandage and then gently tugged her shirt back down into place. He looked over to see Clarke watching him with intense eyes.
“What happened?” She asked softly. Bellamy knew that he wouldn’t be able to talk about what he talked about until she was sure that everyone was safe, so he told her all about the fallen log.
“A few will have some nice bruises, but that’s about it. I promise everyone is okay.”
“Thank God. When I heard the noise I didn’t know what had happened. I felt so powerless to help.”
“Princess…” Bellamy tried, but she cut him off.
“I know what you are going to say Bellamy. That it is stupid of me to risk myself and that I need to make sure to take care of my own needs first. But that just isn’t me. you know what my mother said to me right before I came to the ground? She told me that my instincts would tell me to take care of everyone first just like my father. She told me to be careful, but I can’t turn it off Bellamy. I can’t stand the thought of someone getting hurt because I was choosing to take care of myself first. I know you understand how I feel.” Clarke finished and Bellamy simply looked at her for a few moments, trying to pick the right words.
“Do you trust me?” He finally said
“What...Bellamy...”
“Answer the question Clarke” he used her real name for emphasis.
“Yes, of course I trust you.”
“Do you think I am a capable leader and that I will do anything in my power to protect our people?”
“Yes.”
“Do you trust Miller, Octavia, Monty, Raven, Jasper, Murphy, Monroe, Harper, and the rest of the kids?”
“Yes I do, but what..?”
“Do you think they will also do all in their power to protect each other?”
“Of course…” Clarke said warily
“You need to let go a bit Clarke.” Bellamy said, finally getting to his point. “You need to trust that the rest of us can make reasonable decisions without you. You have been teaching all of us the basics of first aid. So you do not need to sew up every single cut that happens. We are smart enough to know when an injury is bad enough that we need your help. You are not obsolete, but you do not need to be present for every injury. You need to loosen the reigns and let us help you. Do you think you can do that?” Clarke stared at her hands for a moment after he finished.
“Maybe…” She said quietly. Bellamy put his hand over hers which brought her gaze up to meet his.
“We need our doctor in fully health, but I also need my co-leader. You ground me, you question my decisions, you make me better. I need you to help me keep everything running smoothly. Without you, I don’t know what would keep me sane.” Bellamy said in almost a whisper. Clarke’s eyes widened at his confession. Her hand twisted in his so that they were holding instead of just laying on one another.
“I do trust all of you, and I know that you guys are capable enough to handle injuries. It’s just that trust and letting go aren’t things that come easily to me. And I’ve always lived by, if you want something done correctly, do it yourself...but...I will try to let go a bit. And I will let my side heal correctly and every injury after that.”
“You trying is all I can ask for Princess.” Bellamy said with a smile. “How about we get you an intern to train. Someone to help you out, be a couple extra hands, and learn all that you know.”
“That sounds good.”
“What about Octavia or Raven? They both have helped you out before.”
“No, neither of them would want to be cooped up with me, plus Octavia is a good fighter and Raven is needed for mechanics and engineering. How about Monty and Murphy? They have both helped me treat people in the past and I know they are level headed enough. I can train the both of them so that they can switch on and off. That way Monty can still help with gathering herbs and assisting Raven and Murphy can still help you and Miller. As long as they both want to I think it could work. What do you think?”
“I think that’s a great idea Princess. I’ll ask them and see what they think.” Bellamy stood up to leave but Clarke tugged lightly on his hand. He sat back down and gave her a questioning look.
“I just...i just wanted to thank you for always looking out for me and having my back.” Clarke said in a slightly sheepish tone. But her eyes held his with and intensity that didn’t allow him to look away. He read something in her eyes that she did not say out loud. He saw something that encouraged him to do what he had been too nervous to do for a very long time. He stood up and braced his hands on the table on either side of her head. He leaned closer, testing the waters. Clarke reached up and stroked his cheek and he leaned further, until their mouths were a breath away. Clarke’s hand moved up into his hair, she tangled her fingers there and he softly touched his mouth against hers. Bellamy tried to keep the kiss light and tender, to show her how much he really cared for her even if he couldn’t find the words to say.
After a few seconds he pulled away slightly. Clarke’s eyes drifted open and skimmed over her face. Then with a twinkle in her eye she used the hand still tangled in his hair to push his mouth back to hers. This time he was unable to keep the heat out of the kiss, not that he wanted to. Clarke’s mouth moved frantically against his and he welcomed the passion. All thoughts other than Clarke disappeared. All he could think about was the tiny, blonde, firecracker. The girl who could cause anyone to cower with her voice alone, or light up a room with her smile. The girl who was so important to so many people and so incredibly selfless. The girl who knew how to make the hard decisions, yet would cry when she was unable to save someone. The girl who had somehow wormed her way into his heart and taken up permanent residence.
They finally pulled apart and Bellamy saw a smile on her lips to match his own. He sat back down and intertwined his fingers with hers. They sat in a comfortable silence, neither of them saying anything, but neither of them having to. They had always been good at communicating without actually saying the words they meant. The kiss had told each of them more than words ever could.
*****
Octavia snuck back to the group with a goofy smile on her face.
“They kissed!” She said in an excited whisper.
“Bout damn time,” Raven said with a grin.
“Looks like you’re taking my guard shift tonight.” Miller said, shoving Murphy with his shoulder. Jasper and Monty hi-fived and the rest of them whooped and laughed. They were all extremely glad to see their leaders finally together and happy.