Head Over Heart

Chapter Seventeen

It had been a long time since everyone was altogether at a table. Well, it was a long time since Lexa was there with them. Clarke was making the cake for Raven like she said she would. The sassy brunette sat at the island talking up a storm while Clarke made the batter.

Lexa was outside firing up the grill with the boys. Lexa seemed to cling to Lincoln anytime he was over. Octavia told Clarke that he was doing better. He still wouldn't talk about what happened but he was more himself lately. 

"How is everything?" Lexa asks 

Lincoln takes a drink of his beer and shrugs his shoulders  "Taking it day by day you know." he says 

"Do you still get nightmares?" She asks quietly 

He nodded his head "You?" He asks 

Lexa nods "Not as much as before but yes." She says

"How is that shrink thing going?" He asks 

"Good I guess. I feel like she's helping. We're going to start doing exposure therapy." Lexa says 

"What the hell does that mean?" He asks 

"I don't really know. She said she's going to like cause an episode and talk me through it." Lexa replies while adding burgers to the grill 

Lincoln pulled a white envelope out of his pant pocket and tries to hand it to the younger girl

"I'm not taking whatever that is." She says 

"I heard about the donations and the surgery. I'm in your unit. Let me help." He pleads 

"You already helped," Lexa says waving him off 

"I couldn't stop what they did but I can help with this," Lincoln says with glossy eyes 

Lexa sighs and she pulls Lincoln in for a hug. He breaks down in her arms and she rubs his back. 

"Lincoln, I would not be alive today if you weren't there with me. That's selfish of me to say. To be glad you were there going through that with me but I am. I wouldn't have made it alone." Lexa says 

"They did so much worse to you than me just to try and get me to break," Lincoln says 

"Don't blame yourself for things out of your control. You couldn't stop them and neither could I when they hurt you." Lexa says as she pulls back to flip the burgers 

Lincoln continues to sip on his beer as he wipes his eyes and tries to recompose himself 

They sit by the grill and start to exchange old stories to lighten the mood. Lexa immediately brings up the time Quint shot that poor private in the ass. The kid was straight out of boot camp and walked right into his line of fire. Lincoln brings up the time they played a prank on the rest of the unit. It was something out of the movie parent trap. There were tripwires everywhere in the barracks and balloons filled with water and then buckets of flour that were dropped on them. Titus was not amused by the mess. 

Clarke looks out the window and smiles seeing her wife and Lincoln laughing. The Woods sisters came out and joined the soldiers in old war stories. Bellamy and Octavia brought out the chips and began to set up the table. Abby and Indra exchanged conversations over a glass of wine as the mac and cheese cooked in the oven. 

Gustus had begun to hover over his youngest daughter and the grill. She rolled her eyes when he tried for the 10th time to tell her to flip the burger that was not ready yet. Clarke liked her burger well done and for some reason, her old man didn't understand that. 

"Would you like to finish this?" She asks clicking the tongues together sassily at him

He holds up his hands in surrender