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T W E N T Y T W O | PLAYING DOCTORS
It was official. Carter did not like storms.
She had heard about them before. Finn used to tell her all different kinds of facts about different kinds of storms. Carter always imagined what it would have been like to see one. The strong blistering winds, rain that acted more like a spray of bullets crashing heavily against skin, the loud, menacing booms of thunder and flashes of lighting. Not to mention black, angry storm clouds that hovered ominously above people's heads.
Although, now, she didn't have to imagine a storm. She was in one.
Talons of her hair whipped at her face as she battled against the rain, her eyes squinted so it didn't completely obstruct her vision. When she and Octavia finally approached the tent that belonged to Monty and Jasper, Carter almost jumped at the relief she felt. The tent wasn't even that far away from the Drop ship, but she struggled pushing against the wind and rain. She preferred it when she was just told about storms, being in one sucked.
The second they were kind of sheltered from the callousness of outside, Carter was quick to pull her hair out of it's usual side braid and tied it up into a high pony tail so it was out the way, though she still had a few stubborn locks of hair that refused to be pulled back.
"What is it we're looking for?!" Octavia yelled over the loud rushing of the wind and the flapping of the tent.
"Monty told me a few days ago, he made a moonshine, if we can find it, we can use it to disinfect Finn's wound!" Carter repeated what Clarke had told her moments before. Carter was more than happy to leave the Drop ship in search for a sterilizer, she couldn't bare the sight of her best friend lying on a makeshift operating table, slowly bleeding to death. She felt helpless just standing there, watching the baited rise and fall of his chest. She needed to be able to do something, anything. The radio was already fixed and it was down to Raven to get the right frequency that would allow them to talk to the Ark.
"Is this it?" Octavia held up a large metal flask, there was no lid. Carter took the flask off her friend and brought it to her lips. As soon as she felt the welcoming burn of alcohol slide down her throat, she coughed slightly and wrinkled her nose at the strong smell.
"Yup." Carter coughed, handing the flask back to Octavia. "It's freaking strong too. Nice, but strong."
"There's another flask down there," Octavia gestured with her head to the other metal container on the floor. Both girls grabbed a flask each and took a deep breath, ready to face the fierceness outside. Even when wearing a thick jacket, Carter felt the rain smack against her skin, surprising her with every shot.
The Drop ship was the only real shelter in the entire camp, and even that made Carter wary-- she wasn't big on the idea of standing inside a metal room when there's lighting. Some of the teens were focused on keeping the drapes to the Drop ship closed, though they were fighting a losing battle especially with that wind. Once inside, Carter and Octavia were greeted with the same grim scene as before.
Finn lay unconscious on a table, the knife still protruding from his chest and a small rag wrapped around the wound to slow the bleeding. His breathing was still uneven and hollow, but now it seemed weaker. Carter peeled her gaze off the image and towards to the two girls that were stood over by the radio. They were both tense, though Raven seemed more rigid than Clarke, her eyes glued to her dying boyfriend.
Almost as if sensing their presence, Clarke turned her head and walked up to them, eyeing the flasks carefully. "Monty's moonshine?" She guessed, wrinkling her nose at the smell.
"Pretty sure no germ can survive it." Octavia mused, her flask was rested against the makeshift operating table.
"You asked for a disinfectant, Doc." Carter shrugged, placing her flask down next to Octavia's. She straightened herself up and glanced down at Finn, her eyebrows pinched upwards. There was now a thin film of sweat slicked against his forehead. Carter gently brushed his hair off his face with a sad smile. "How's he holding up?"
"He's getting worse," Clarke answered truthfully, not even bothering with beating-around-the-bush. "He'll get better the sooner we can get this knife out and I can't do that without my mother."
"How is the radio?" Carter asked, looking away from Finn and towards Raven who was scrutinising the radio with narrowed eyes, her fingers urgently wrapped around the dial.
"We had them," Raven replied, her voice was slightly on edge. "We were through to the Ark and then nothing but radio noise."
"I made sure that satellite was high, this isn't a problem with the signal," Carter explained with a small frown. "It's this god damn storm, it's screwing with our connection."
"There's nothing we can do, not without reassembling the whole radio and rewire the programming. We don't have time for that." Raven held her head in her hands, emitting a loud sigh of hesitant defeat.
"Yeah, I know." Carter's shoulders deflated slightly. "We can only wait at least until the storm has weakened."
Raven nodded her head in agreement and stood up, striding towards one of the small tables, picking up a tiny object in her fingers and passing it to Clarke with little patience. "One suture needle."
"Right, I still need something to close the wound." Clarke sighed. Nerves got the better of her and Carter grabbed Finn's hand in a vice-like grip, her knuckles whitened under the pressure. Finn couldn't die.
He just couldn't.
Without him, Carter didn't even want to think of what would become of herself and Raven. The three of them couldn't live without each other, over the years of their friendship (and relationship in Raven and Finn's case,) they had grown more dependent on each other. When things grew tough, both girls ran to Finn. He was the one that consoled them, the voice of reason. If he died, Carter knew moral stability would change drastically.
"There's some wire on the second level," She faintly heard Octavia offer. "I use it for tents."
"Let's see it." Clarke instructed and Octavia nodded in answer, walking towards the ladder.
"Stay away from the blue wires in the ceiling, we rigged them to the solar cells in the roof!" Carter called over in warning, her voice distant.
"That means they're hot!" Raven elaborated, cautiously glancing over at her best friend then back to Octavia. "You got that?"
"Yeah, I got that." Octavia threw back, not bothering to look at the trio that surrounded the table with Finn on.
Raven stared at Finn with unfocused eyes, delving too deep into her own thoughts. The worst scenarios popped into her head and no matter how hard she tried to shake them away, they were singed in place. Her breathing became heavy and uneven.
"Hey," Carter nudged Raven lightly, though it was enough to snap Raven out of whatever daydream she was in. Raven blinked at Carter with a hint of disorientation. "I know you're scared, I'm scared too," Carter offered, her eyes fell down onto Finn's face, it was pooled with sweat. "But we've got to stay focused, R. We've got to stay strong for his sake."
"I don't know if I can," Raven whispered back, her voice broke under the emotion she felt. "Carter, if... if he dies, then what?"
Carter pursed her lips into a tight line and furrowed her eyebrows. She stayed like this for a moment before her face softened and she met Raven's lost gaze. "Do you remember when you accused Finn of being gay? We were, what, thirteen?"
Raven narrowed her eyes in confusion, not entirely sure why Carter abruptly changed the subject, but when the memories of her boyfriend resurfaced, a small, sad smile tugged at her lips. "Yeah, I remember, it was when he asked us if we ever wanted to go to a princess party-- his face got so red when I called him that."
Carter let out a breathy laugh. "He was so pissed. He ignored the both of us for three days."
"Four days," Raven corrected. "But, I wouldn't change that memory for the world-- it's the best one I have. Even... even if he's done something he shouldn't have, I still love him and I know he still loves me. We've been inseparable since I first laid eyes on him and I plan on keeping it that way." There was a hidden meaning in her words and Carter detected it, but said nothing on the matter.
"Not your typical love story..." Carter trailed off, distracted by the abrupt movements from behind Raven. She cocked her head to the side, frowning as she tried to make sense of the scene. "Bellamy?"
He was back. And with an extra member to his party too. Carter took cautious steps towards their leader, her eyes fixed onto the slumped figure of a man she had never seen before. His build was tall and strong, even unconscious, he wore thick furred clothing, something Carter had wasn't familiar with and his head was bald, yet sported dark symbols that looked as if they were permanently on his skin.
Tribal tattoos.
Carter was quick to make the link that the man was definitely not a member of the Ark, let alone camp. She snapped her attention to Bellamy, her eyebrows pinched upwards. "What is he doing here?"
The boys who were carrying the Grounder carelessly dropped him, letting his limp body thud against the floor. Carter grimaced at the sound and then looked up at Bellamy, still expecting an answer. When he stayed quiet and looked away from her, she made a point to step in his line of vision and crossed her arms over her chest.
"You're a freaking genius Bellamy. 'Hey, let's bring the Grounder back to camp because if we're not already a red hot target to the Grounders, we will be now, yippee.'" Carter mimed, sarcasm dripped from every syllable.
Bellamy met her gaze, her green eyes flared with anger and he tried his best to send the girl a flat look. "Never have I once said the word 'yippee'."
Just as Carter opened her mouth to retort with another snarky comment, a different voice filtered through the suddenly tense atmosphere. "What the hell are you doing?"
Carter turned her head to see Octavia making her way back down the ladder, a mixture of anger and confusion had set hard in her eyes.
"It's time to get some answers." Bellamy answered with his usual deep, gruffly tone, unphased by the death glare his sister was sending him.
"Oh, you mean revenge?" Octavia sneered. Carter wasn't sure how stable their sibling-ship was but by the way they were addressing each other, she didn't need three guesses to figure out they weren't on the 'best of terms' at that moment.
"I mean Intel." Bellamy answered, his tone clipped. The tension between was suffocating and Carter felt herself take a physical step away from them. Bellamy looked over to see the confusion and bewilderment in Carter's eyes. He wanted to talk to her, to tell her that they were doing this for the safety of camp and not to jeopardize the lives of the Hundred, he wanted to make her understand. But he couldn't, there was more pressing matters at hand than having to justify his actions towards a member of the camp. With a sigh, he turned his head towards the two boys who were carrying the Grounder..
Carter tried not to look down at the slumped body, instead she watched as Clarke approached them. Nope. No speech, Carter thought a little distastefully. She couldn't go another minute knowing there was yet another speech to endure, so she quickly diverted her attention towards a familiar brunette that was leaning against the wall, near the Drop ship entrance.
"Hey." She greeted Kara with a small wave. Carter wasn't ready to go back to standing beside Finn, watching helplessly as he died.
"Hello,"Kara turned her head and offered Carter a forced smile before turning her stare back to the blistering weather beyond the Drop ship. Just as she did, an abrupt flash of lightning lit up the Drop ship, making Carter jump slightly. She really freaking hated storms. She looked over to Kara, who hadn't even flinched.
"Goddamn storms." Carter mumbled bitterly under her breath before addressing the brunette again. "So, how did the bow and arrows come in use?"
Kara tore her eyes off the violent splashes of rain, half of her mind was preoccupied on other things. "Yeah, it was pretty good. Managed to get a few awesome shots, although there was one or two arrows that were too weak and snapped before I could even fire them."
"I'm only human," Carter shrugged somewhat nonchalantly. "At least it worked, I mean that's a start." Kara nodded her head in agreement. "Listen, when they take the knife out of Finn, he needs to be held down just in case he moves. Would you be able to help?"
"Why me?"
"Because aside from Steven, you are the only other person in camp I know the name of... that and I kind of like you enough to trust you with holding down my best friend's feet." Carter explained lightly. "I would ask Steven, but he has a weird fetish with death so I think I'm gonna pass."
"But I don't know any medical stuff?" Kara frowned, completely turning her attention to Carter.
"You don't need to be a doctor to hold Finn's feet down." Carter sent the girl a flat look. "I'm over there when you decide to join us." With that, Carter turned on her heel and headed back towards the makeshift operating table was.
***
"The blade is at a sharp upward angle between the sixth and seventh rib." Clarke observed with a perplexed expression, though Carter wasn't paying much attention to what the blonde was saying. Instead, her eyes were set into slits as she glared at members of the Hundred who were ready to watch Clarke pull the knife out of Finn with eager eyes. It was like they were excited to see it happen. Murmurs and other unintelligible noises bounced around sea of people, distracting the four girls from what they should be doing.
At first, they all tried to ignore the mass of eyes on them, but that became increasingly harder with every second that passed. Even Clarke was growing agitated and Carter couldn't recall a time seeing Clarke lose her patience. Carter inhaled deeply, trying to calm her irritation and then focused back on what was right in front of her and not the rowdy crowd.
"Okay, how deep?" A static voice sounded through the radio. Abby. There was still disturbance in the signal, but it at least now they could actually contact the Ark which is more than they had for almost two weeks.
"I can't tell how deep it goes." Clarke sighed in frustration, straightening herself up.
"That's all right," Abby's tone immediately took a motherly warmth to it as she attempted to calm her daughter down. For a fraction of a second, Carter felt a sharp ache in her chest. It had been more than two years since the last time she heard a motherly voice directed at her, or any kind of maternal characteristic. She was quick to shake it away the best she could, she had to stay focused. "Just don't remove the knife yet."
"Hey, here," Clarke handed Raven one of the flasks filled with Monty's moonshine. "Sterilize your hands-- all of you."
Raven glanced down at the flask in her hands before bringing it to her lips and swallowing the alcohol with generous gulps. When she pulled away, her face tensed at the strength of it and then she poured some on her hands before passing it to Carter.
Carter was a lightweight when it came to moonshine and considering she had already drunk some, she didn't want to take the risk of getting wasted while trying to assist in saving her best friend's life. Even more so when she had hardly ate that day. So, she poured a large amount onto her hands, passing it to Kara before rubbing her hands together.
"Clarke, can you see any fluid?"
Just as Clarke was about to answer her mother, there was a loud disturbance amongst the crowd of the Hundred and Clarke tightened her jaw. "Clear the room." She instructed to no one in particular, impatience evident in her tone.
"Everyone upstairs! Now! Let's go!" Raven barked, herding the crowd towards the ladder, how own irritation matching the other three girls'.
Carter's stare fell onto Finn's face and she took the time to brush his newly cut, brown locks away from his clammy forehead, smiling sadly as she did. "You have picked the worst time to get stabbed, you know that?"
"He feels a little warm..." Clarke trailed off, her eyebrows pinched with concern.
She felt his forehead with the back of her hand and even in the dim lighting the Drop ship offered, Carter could see the film of sweat droplets gathering on his forehead.
"Okay," Abby acknowledged. "That's all right. Fever sometimes accompanies a trauma. Clarke, I need you to tell me if there is any fluid leaking from the wound."
Clarke bent down, carefully scanning the damaged skin around the knife. "Uh, no." She replied after a brief pause and Carter released the breath she didn't realize she was holding.
There was a crackly sigh of relief that emitted from the radio before Abby explained, "Pleural Membrane's intact. That's good. Actually, that's really good. He got lucky."
"Hear that?" Raven's voice softened as she walked back up to the table, a small smile on her face. "You're lucky."
***
[Five years ago...]
All three of them sat with content in Carter's room. Her father was out working, which was no surprise and her mother was busy working on her next painting. Mia liked Raven and Finn, she thought they were good kids and had no objections to allowing Carter play with them, unlike Kane.
Carter was sprawled across her bed, distant eyes stared up aimlessly at the metal ceiling, her fuzzy reflection stared back. Raven had her head hanging on the side of the bed, musing at what the Ark looked like upside down and Finn had his back to the bed, one leg was tucked up to his chest the other was on front of him as she chucked a small ball to the wall in front of him, catching it as it bounced back.
In short, they were bored.
"This place would look so much cooler if it was made out of glass instead of metal." Carter thought aloud, piercing through the silence that had enveloped the three of them.
"There are so many things wrong with that you just said." Raven snickered, lifting her head up to face her friend.
"All this grey and metal is so... dull." Carter sighed dramatically. "What if, the Ark was glass and we had to wear pink? Now, that's a world I wouldn't mind living in."
"You don't like the color pink?" Finn pointed out with confusion, catching his ball one last time before turning to face the other two.
"Details, details," Carter waved her hand dismissively. "The point is, anything is better than this."
"Do you ever wonder what it would be like to live on Earth?" Finn asked.
"All the time," Carter nodded.
"No, not really. I like it up here." Raven shrugged, earning bewildered looks from both her friends. "What? It's... home. I have everything I need up here, which is you two. If we were on Earth together, that would be my home. As long as we're a unit."
Carter blinked at the sentimentality in Raven's words-- it was unlike her to ever say something so sweet. After a moment of smiling at her words, Carter sighed and flopped back down on the bed. "Like that would ever happen anyway. We're probably gonna die on the Ark just like everyone else."
"Do you ever just want to go to Princess Party?" Finn blurted randomly, immediately silencing the previous topic. Both Raven and Carter lifted their heads with amusement on their faces.
"... Do you?" Carter narrowed her eyes in suspicion, sitting further up to face her best friend carefully, though the amused smirk on her face was enough to show Finn she wasn't taking his question seriously.
"What? No... I mean, I would want to see one happening, but- but I don't want one." Finn tripped over his words, ultimately causing both girls to laugh. Hard. Finn's cheeks heated under his embarrassment.
"Look! He's blushing!" Carter bubbled with more laughter.
"Shut up, it's not funny! I just confided in you two and this is what happens." Finn scowled.
"Are you sure you're not gay?" Raven chuckled, sinking down to the floor beside Finn.
Finn's eyes widened and his jaw turned slack. "What? No!" He barked, completely dumbfounded that they would even suggest something like that.
"Well, you did say you wanted a princess party..." Carter trailed off, biting her lip to stop herself from laughing again.
"And there was that time you said pink was your favorite color..." Raven added with a snicker.
"And the time I caught you wearing my grandmother's heels." Carter pointed out.
"Shut up, both of you!" Finn growled. "A girl in my Earth Skills class was talking about how she always wanted a princess party when she was younger, but none of us knew what it was. I don't want one. I was just asking." He paused. "And you dared me to wear those heels, it wasn't because I wanted to."
"What about pink being your favorite color?" Carter asked.
"What? Just because I'm a boy I can't like the color pink?" Finn scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Sexist pigs."
"I still think your gay." Raven shrugged. "No one grows their hair to your length anymore, you just look like a girl."
"You think I'm gay, yeah?" Finn narrowed his eyes as he leaned closer to Raven.
"Yeah, as a matter of fa-" Raven was cut short by Finn.
Well, specifically his lips.
It was a short, innocent kiss and lasted a few seconds. But in that time, two thirteen year olds realized something that shocked the both of them. They liked each other more than just friends. Carter shifted awkwardly on the bed, diverting her gaze anywhere but her two friends.
Finn pulled away bashfully and stood up, trying to muster a glare. "Was that gay enough for you?" He asked sarcastically, but didn't wait for an answer, instead he sped out of that room. Leaving both girls with wide eyes at what just happens.
"I think he likes you..." Carter whispered with a smirk, happy to state the obvious.
***
"Okay, Clarke, firm grip on the knife." Abby instructed calmly. Carter had taken the habit to pace the length of the Drop ship, nervously biting her nails. She had been doing that for a while. Her eyes fixed onto the floor, desperately trying not to look at Finn. "You're gonna need to angle it upward and to the left, very slightly, to the left as it exits the rib cage."
Clarke was rigid and she looked up from the bloody wound on Finn and to nothing in particular as she took in her mother's information. "How very slightly?" She asked, hesitation in her voice. Carter stopped pacing and looked up at Clarke, waiting for Abby to answer.
There was a pause before a voice came through the radio, though it was distorted from the radio noise and the thunderous storm that was literally on their doorstep.
"Wait, what was that? You dropped out." Clarke called out over all the excess noise. Another flash lit up the Drop ship, startling Carter again.
"Clarke, three millimeters. Got it?"
Carter's eyes widened and she resumed in pacing again, gnawing on her thumb nail. Three millimetres. That's hardly anything and if Clarke went too far or too less, Finn was screwed. Stop, Carter scalded the doubting voice in her mind, Clarke can do this, she will do this.
"Yeah. Okay, I got it," Clarke sucked in a deep breath, attempting to swallow her nerves. "Here goes."
"Steady hand, Clarke." Abby warned, they could barely make her out her words through the fuzz of radio static. "You've assisted me on trickier procedures than this. And once the knife is out, the hard part is over."
A violent rumble emitted from above them, thunder Carter assumed. A subtle jolt rocked the Drop ship slightly, causing all four girls to look around hesitantly. It was just their luck to have to assist in a makeshift operation during the middle of a freaking storm.
"Alright. Extracting now," Clarke quavered, she bent down as her hand tightened around the handle of the knife. Carter watched with trepidation, her hands brushing through Finn's hair in a nervous motion. Raven was angled over her boyfriend's body, watching every move Clarke made with pinched brows and Kara stood by Finn's feet, her lips pursed as she gazed upon the situation with concerned eyes.
And then the worst thing they imagined happened. Finn woke up.
His eyes snapped opened with pain and a deep, throaty groan passed his lips. All of their eyes widened and Carter suddenly felt herself freeze, unable to will her body to move.
"He's waking up!" Raven trembled.
"Hold him still!" Clarke ordered, her hands wrapped firmly around the hilt of the knife. Carter snapped out of whatever dumbstruck state she was in and restrained Finn's shoulders, pushing her weight against them to stop him from wriggling. Kara and Raven did the same. "Finn, I'm gonna get that knife out of you, okay?" Clarke's voice had softened considerably as she spoke to the boy.
"Good plan." Finn groaned, his eyes crammed shut with pain.
"Finn, you can't move," Clarke instructed, her eyes fixed solely on the knife as she began to pull it out, very slowly. With every fraction it moved, Finn groaned loudly in pain. Carter grimaced, she had never heard Finn emit any noise like that in all their years of friendship. "You got it?" Finn moaned an answer and Clarke continued. "Okay. Here it goes."
"Nice and slow, Clarke." Abby encouraged.
"Finn, do not move." Clarke ordered, he tried to stop himself but his body convulsed instinctively as the knife tugged on his bare flesh on the way out. Raven, Carter and Kara all tightened their grip on him, desperately trying to stop him from moving so he didn't hurt himself. "Hold still, I've almost got it."
What Carter had originally thought was the worst scenario, Finn waking up, was immediately crushed the second a large jolt shook the entire Drop ship with a force that threw Carter to the floor, her shoulder connected to the metal with a painful thud, her ears ringing loudly. She ignored it. Her shot open and she quickly scurried over to Finn. He had fallen to the floor, landing on his back.
"Finn!" She cried, slapping his cheek in a panicked frenzy. As soon as another groan sounded from the boy, Carter's face relaxed and she looked down to where the knife was-- which was now clasped in Clarke's grip, her expression one of bewilderment as she tried to make sense of what happened.
"Ouch." Kara moaned as she heaved herself up from the floor. Her voice snapped them all out of whatever trance they were in. "Let's never do that again."
Finn lifted his head, eyes connecting with Clarke's. The intensity between them couldn't be denied, not even by Raven. Carter shifted her gaze between the two uncomfortably.
"Clarke, what's happening? Clarke, can you hear us?" Abby's voice was more static than before as the signal weakened.
"It's out," Raven breathed in relief. "She did it."
"That's brillian-" Councilwoman Abby's voice was abruptly cut short as another, more milder, shake rattled the Drop ship and the signal between them and Ark broke. Carter's happiness was short lived as she realized why the signal was gone.
And it needed to be fixed. Even during the climax of the storm.
Hi. Apologies for not being able to edit this adequately, but it's 01:45am and I'm tired. I shall edit it later or something... ugh. As always, thank you so much for reading!