60.
And the blood dries while we spill some more
(Soundgarden-Blood On The Valley Floor)
When Anya woke up, she could sniff a lovely smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen. She smiled and got up, slowly walking outside the bedroom. When she entered the kitchen, she smirked seeing Raven putting the last pancakes on the dish and pouring some maple syrup and chocolate chips on them.
"What did I do to deserve all of this?" she asked, bringing Raven's attention on her. The brunette bit her own lip and stepped forward to her.
"Being here with me." she said, pressing a soft kiss on her lips. "Now sit down, please. Let's have breakfast.". Anya raised her own hands and obliged, sitting at the table. She took her dish and cut herself a bite of pancakes.
"They look good."
"Hope they are good too." Raven chuckled, staring at her girlfriend. She was waiting for a response on her hard work. Raven wasn't exactly a pro chef. She didn't hate cooking, but she was aware of the fact that she wasn't Clarke. Her best friend was way better than her, she knew that. Well, at least I'm not Lexa, she thought, watching Anya putting the pancakes in her mouth and chewing them, slowly.
"How are they?" she asked as her girlfriend swallowed them. Anya smiled at Raven tenderly, a little amused by her anxious and worried gaze.
"They're really good." she answered, causing the brunette to breathe in relief. "Not as good as Clarke's pancakes, but..." she joked, eliciting a little punch on her arm. They both started laughing and for the first time in days Anya could feel more relaxed, the anguish of the case she was investigating on and the truth about her parents she had just found out vanishing even if only for a moment.
"I love you An, so so much." Raven whispered to her, giving her a small peck on her lips. For a while, Anya thought that her heart could have blown inside her chest.
"Me too, Rae. I promise you, when all of this ends, I'll bring you somewhere. Maybe we could go to Malibu or to Hawaii."
"Yes, we could." Raven said. "I'd love to go with you to the sea. I want to teach you to surf.". Anya scoffed. She and Raven had different ideas about relaxing vacations. First of all, Raven loved the ocean and everything concerning the sea, while Anya preferred camping in the woods and going to the mountain. Moreover, the mere idea of surfing on the ocean, a place potentially full of sharks, terrified the blonde.
"I will never go on that thing."
"Yes, yes, whatever you say." Raven replied, grinning. "You'll change your mind.". Anya rolled her eyes, amused by her girlfriend's stubbornness.
"I have to go." she then said, checking the time. "See you tonight, I don't really know when I'll be back home."
"Don't worry, I know you're working hard." Raven reassured her. "You'll find this fucking killer, I'm sure of it."
"I hope." Anya replied, while putting her coat on. She took her bag and her car keys and stepped forward the door.
"I love you so much." she told Raven again, before crossing the threshold, under the Latina tender gaze, so full of love.
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"Woods, it's about time. You're late." Indra welcomed Anya, pointing at her chair and desk in order to make her understand that she had to hurry. Octavia, Gustus and Jasper were already there, scrolling some papers
"Sorry, I... Nevermind.". The detective sat down and turned on her computer. She could sense everyone's gaze on her and she was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Really? Is there anything you have to tell us? I don't know, what you and Nyko talked about, for example. We waited all yesterday for you to tell us." Octavia blurted, a bit annoyed. She was aware of the fact that it wasn't easy for Anya, but they all needed to know. They needed to solve that case, find the killer and put them behind the bars.
"Oh, yes. Sorry, I... You're right. Yeah, I talked to my uncle yesterday and it was... I learned a lot of things about my mother."she began. "But this isn't the point. I don't think that what concerns my mother will be useful to us.". The others sighed, distressed.
"God, not another dead end." Gustus complained, slamming the papers on the desk. Anya rubbed her neck and took a deep breath.
"The point is that there's something more useful and interesting. My uncle told me that a lot of people we know were in Polis those years. From Abby and Jake to Marcus, to your mom O... They all were there."
"Did he tell you if any of them came in contact with Grounders?" Indra asked.
"Unfortunately, he didn't know. But maybe we can search."
"And how?" Octavia questioned. "Too many people, An. Moreover, this ain't something you find searching on the computer."
"Yes and no." Jasper contradicted the brunette. "We can easily have access to a lot of information about them. We can compare years, places where they've been and so on." he explained.
"I don't like this." Octavia said, tapping her nose. "But I guess it's something we have to do.". Indra looked at her maternally and put a hand on her shoulder. The federal agent was well aware of the fact that none of them was used to deal with stuff like that and she wanted them to know that she was there for them, to help them do whatever they had to do.
"Blake, listen to me. We aren't spying on them. We are trying to find a serial killer, a fucking psychopath, a bastard who is playing god. We need to do everything possible to catch him and, sometimes, doing everything possibile means doing things that we don't like. But, as long as they can save other people's life, we can't back down. Not now.". Octavia nodded, tears in her eyes. She sighed and gazed at her colleagues.
"Okay, let's do it.".
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Madi was waiting for Raven outside of the school. She was sitting on the wall that ran alongside the stairs that lead to the school door with Aden, Ethan and Charlotte. The three older kids were chatting about this and that, mostly about NBA results, while the child was sitting on his sister's legs, half asleep. It was later March, almost April, but the weather was still really cold. The sky was cloudy and the wind was freezing. Madi couldn't understand why Raven had told her to wait for her. The Latina had just hinted at her desire to bring the girl and her brother to a special place, but she hadn't said more.
"Well, I think I have to go. Lincoln is waiting for me." Ethan suddenly said. Madi still had to realize that Ethan was back in her life. After what had happened with Aden she had stopped seeing him, of course. However, having him around again was somehow pleasant. Since the boy had moved to Lincoln he had manifested the desire to change, even if he was at the man's place only for few days. He had started a rehabilitation program and Lincoln and Octavia were really helping him.
"Yeah, I have to go too." Charlotte said. "Where is Raven?"
"Late as usual, I suppose." Madi answered. "I can't understand where she wants to bring us and why. I mean, it isn't a great day and the weather is freezing. Can I say that I prefer Polis' weather than Shallow Valley's?". Charlotte and Ethan bursted in laughter.
"You are offending our town, but you're quite right." Ethan stated.
"Hey, isn't that Raven's car?" Charlotte questioned, pointing at a red truck.
"Yes, it." Madi confirmed. "Let's go Aden.". The child jumped off her legs and funnily toddled to the car, causing Madi to chuckle at him. She told her friends goodbye and headed to the car, joining her brother.
"Hello guys, sorry I'm late." Raven greeted them. "Get in the car.". Madi helped Aden to sit on the car seat and buckled him up. She was about to get in the car too, when someone called her. She froze, immediately recognizing that voice. She clenched her fists and leaned her forehead on the car, under Raven's shocked gaze.
"Rose, what are you doing?" she asked, turning to the redhead.
"I... I need to talk to you, Madi. Please.". The brunette bit her lip and looked at Raven, not really knowing what to do. It was the Latina who took the lead.
"Get in the car, Rose. Come with us." she offered. The girl widened her eyes, not really expecting such a proposal. Madi shook her head and sat next to Raven, waiting for Rose to do the same.
"Great, let's go." the Latina said, starting the car. She was driving in silence, waiting for the girls to talk, but none of them was opening her mouth. She sighed, realizing that she had to encourage them to say something.
"So Rose, how are you?" she asked, praying she hadn't picked the wrong question.
"I... Well, I... This is why I wanted to talk with Madi." Rose answered. Raven shook her head and decided to pull over, stopping the car. She and Madi turned facing her and the woman smiled at her, encouraging her to keep talking.
"Rose, you're scaring me. What's the matter?" Madi asked, worried. Rose's lips were trembling and her gaze was so upset.
"Honey, you're safe here." Raven assured her, putting a hand on her shaking leg. The redhead took a deep breath and waved a hand through her hair, trying to find the courage to talk.
"I'm so sorry for what happened between my mom and you. And I'm so sorry I didn't stand up to her, I'm the worst friend ever."
"Rose, this ain't true. You protected me during the game, you are one of my best friends." Madi told her.
"So why did you stop talking to me?" Rose asked, desperately. Madi glanced at Raven, looking for help. The woman smiled at her and gestured her to tell her friend the truth. Madi sighed, aware of the fact that she had no choice.
"Rose, you did nothing wrong. It was your mother, she told me to stay away from you." she finally said. Rose couldn't believe her ears.
"I didn't see it coming." she muttered.
"I know, you were in the car. I'm sorry, I only wanted to protect you.". The redhead shook her head, her eyes full of tears. She was so tired, so fed up with her mother. She couldn't stand her anymore. She scoffed and turned to a confused Aden, who wasn't fully understanding what was happening. The child smiled at her and she could do nothing, but smile back at him. She looked at Madi, her gaze firm and proud.
"I'm sorry." the brunette whispered, bowing her head.
"Don't be." Rose reassured her. Madi faintly smirked and took her hand between hers.
"Everything will be alright." she promised.
"I know." Rose claimed. "Yes, now I know.".
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"Here we are!" Raven exclaimed. "What do you think?". They were on a hill, among the fields and they could see all Shallow Valley below them.
"It's incredible, Rae." Madi stated. "But why are we here?" she asked, frowning.
"I want to ask Anya to marry me. And I want to do it here." Raven answered, causing Madi and Rose's jaws to drop. Aden too looked surprised by such a statement.
"M-marry you?" Madi stuttered, incredulous. "Wow, I... Congratulations."
"Yeah, congratulations Miss Reyes." Rose said.
"Are you gonna wear a white dress auntie Rae?" Aden asked, causing Raven and the two girls to chuckle. The woman kneeled at him and tenderly ruffled his hair.
"We'll see, why not?".
"Rae, can I ask you why bringing Aden and me here? I mean, why not Clarke or Octavia?" Madi asked, out of nowhere. Raven stood up and leaned on her truck.
"I know that you find really difficult to call Lexa your mother, but that's what she is, Madi. Lexa adopted you and this makes her your mom.". Madi frowned, not really understanding what the woman was trying to tell her.
"What does this have to do with..." she was asking, but Raven stopped her.
"Let me finish, okay? Anya is her sister and this means that she is your aunt. Maybe it's hard to accept it for you, but they are your family, Madi. I want to be your family too, but first I need to know if this is okay for you.". Madi swallowed hard, not really sure she had understood correctly.
"Anya isn't my mother, you didn't have to ask my permission."
"But i needed to." Raven replied and Madi could nothing but nod and hug her, snuggling to her chest.
"I love you, Rae."
"Me too, sweetheart." the woman whispered softly. She then turned to hug Aden too, but froze when she realized she couldn't find him.
"God, where is he?" Raven cried. "Rose, tell me you've seen him.". The redhead looked around carefully, praying that she could see the child.
"He's there!" she exclaimed, pointing at the small figure of Aden jumping through the fields.
"I'll catch him!" Madi started running, followed by Rose and Raven. She had almost reached the child, when he stumbled into something and fall on the ground.
"Aden, are you hurt?" she asked, worried. The child was crying, probably more scared than hurt. He nodded and waited for his sister to come and help him.
"I've told you plenty of time not to run off on us, all alone. It's dangerous." she scolded him. She stretched her own hand and helped him to stand up.
"So, let's see into what you stum-...". She couldn't finish her own sentence. She jerked, horrified. A slaughtered chicken lied on the ground, full of blood.
"What's the matter?" Raven asked, but Madi didn't answer. She stood still, utterly frozen. They were surrounded by dead animals, mostly chickens and wolves, all covered in blood. She heard a noise and started looking around, nervously.
"Oh my God. I think we've just found Kara Cooper's chickens.".
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"We're just wasting time, it's like looking a needle in a haystack." Octavia complained, annoyed.
"I agree with her." Gustus said, scratching his long beard.
"Shh, Jasper and I are working here." Anya shushed them.
"Found anything?" Indra asked. Jasper stopped tapping on the keyboard and glanced at Anya. They both were staring at the computer, shocked.
"Guys?" Octavia called them, gaining no answer. "Oh, c'mon." she huffed, stepping forward to them. She turned the computer screen, in order to understand what was going on.
"Oh fuck!" she cussed. "We need to find him!" she exclaimed, running out of the room.
"Blake!" Indra called her, in vain. "We need to find who?"
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Madi, Rose and Raven stood still, terrified. The man in front of them had a gun in his hands and he was pointing it at them.
"What a surprise." he said, horribly grinning. Raven put herself between him and the kids, to protect them.
"Give me the Grounders, Reyes." he hissed, cocking the hammer of the gun. Raven shook her head. "Never. I will never give them to you, Finn.". The man horribly scoffed, his eyes full of madness and a violence Madi had never seen in her own life, not even in Polis.
"Never mind. I'll catch them on my own.". And a flock of birds took flight after the sound of a gunshot.