"Don't you dare give up!" Clarke snapped as she tried desperately to stop the bleeding.
Lexa's voice was barely above a whisper when she replied, "I'm not."
Clarke noticed Titus preparing some sort of ritual for after Lexa died, and her anger flared once more. Lexa wasn't dying, not if Clarke had any say in it. With one look and a nod to Murphy, Titus was backed into a corner with the offending gun trained on him.
Tears fell freely from her eyes as her knuckles traced down Lexa's cheek, "I'm sorry, but I have to get the bullet out. It's going to hurt."
The brunette nodded shakily, clenched her jaw, and squeezed her eyes tight, "Do it."
Clarke took a deep breath and plunged two of her fingers into the wound in Lexa's stomach. The Commander couldn't help but scream as Clarke probed around in her wound, each cry piercing and echoing throughout the room, causing more tears to fall down Clarke's pale cheeks.
There.
Clarke's fingers pinched the cool metal of the bullet and she carefully pulled it out, trying to be as gentle as possible. With one last scream, the bullet was free and she tossed it to the side.
Clarke's hands were still shaking as it hit the floor with a small clang, "There," she said, voice wavering, "all better."
Lexa smiled slightly, panting in a weak voice with labored breath "Thank you, Klark."
Clarke nodded once, they weren't in the clear yet - far from it.
She turned to Murphy, "I used all the other bandages, give me your shirt."
She expected him to protest, but something about her desperate expression must have stopped him, and he threw it to her without a word. She pressed the shirt against Lexa's stomach, the blood flowing faster than before, black as night.
"Hey!" She snapped when she saw Lexa's eyelids falling. "Stay awake!"
Her voice cracked when she got no response, "Please, Lexa. Stay awake."
But Lexa's eyes didn't open again.
New tears flooded Clarke's bright eyes as she watched Lexa lying there unconscious.
She screamed over to Murphy, who was still monitoring Titus, "Get him the fuck out and find me a needle, she needs stitches. Now!"
He did as she asked and heated the needle over a candle flame before threading it and handing it to her. Clarke knew she had to do this for Lexa to survive, but the closer her hand got to Lexa's stomach, the more it shook.
She felt Murphy place a steady hand on her shoulder. "Clarke, we both know stitches require a steady hand. I know you want to help her, but let me do this part, okay?"
She eventually nodded, handing over the needle and he sighed, "Go hold her hand. Comfort her, you don't need to watch this."
Clarke slowly moved up near Lexa's face and kneeled beside the bed. She took one of her tan hands in both of hers and held it close to her face, kissing her knuckles as she spoke, "Please."
Clarke continued to beg almost silently, "Please don't leave me. I just got you back, Lexa. I can't lose you again. I can't lose you too. Please, please come back to me. I can't do this without you."
She stayed there with a frozen heart and cried until Murphy took a step back, saying, "Alright. It's done. She's all stitched up and the bleeding's mostly stopped. What now, blondie?"
Clarke stood quickly and stared down at her, "I don't know."
As they observed her still form, Clarke couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right. Her eyes scanned over her stomach and her eyes widened.
"Murphy! She's not breathing."
He nudged her out of the way and held his fingers against the side of her neck before looking back at Clarke with sympathy in his eyes.
"No!" She yelled as she shook her head vigorously back and forth.
Clarke picked up Lexa's wrist and frantically searched for a pulse.
She didn't find one.
"Clarke-" Murphy put a hand on her shoulder, trying to guide her away from the scene but she shook it off and launched into the motions of CPR.
"Come on," She whispered, "Come on. This has to work."
It felt like years and just moments later that Murphy spoke carefully, his voice filled with remorse, "Clarke. You've been at this for almost ten minutes. I don't think she-"
"Shut up," Clarke interrupted, not pausing in her movements, "Shut the fuck up, Murphy!"
He chose to stay silent after that as she continued pounding on the brunette's chest in a desperate attempt to save the girl she loved.
"I don't care how long it's been," Clarke said to herself, "Lexa is not dying!"
It was a few minutes later that Lexa suddenly sucked in a breath beneath her hands. Clarke let out a surprised gasp and grabbed Lexa's wrist as Murphy put his fingers back to her neck in disbelief.
There it was. It was weak and it was slow, but it was there.
A heartbeat. Lexa's heartbeat.
Murphy's arms snaked around Clarke's waist as her knees buckled underneath her. He hugged Clarke to him and ran his fingers through her hair as she sobbed quietly into his chest, her whole body trembling.
"Shh. It's okay princess. She's okay."
And then, "You did it, Clarke. You saved her."