Traveler's Blessing

Chapter 9: The Girl Under the Floor

"Come in." Bellamy steps to the side to let his friend in. "Mom, this is my friend Jackson."

Jackson rarely makes his way down to the Factory station. Bellamy's quarter has no space view, which makes the already small room look even smaller. A seamstress workstation is at the corner of the room, and Jackson quickly notes the floor plank below. Directly across is Bellamy's mother in bed and under the covers. "Hello, Ma'am." Jackson walks towards the bed.

"Please call me Aurora. Thank you for coming." Bellamy's mom smiles warily. She does not like having strangers over.

"It's not an issue. I'm here for a friend." Jackson replies, carrying his voice intentionally. He has noted that Aurora doesn't look that sick, not enough for Bellamy to risk exposing Octavia. That would mean Octavia is the one ill. But he is willing to play along.

Jackson brings a stool over and sits next to Aurora. He then pulls out a temperature gun. "Let me take your temperature first."

He scans Aurora's forehead and reads the temperature. "You have a slight fever. I'm going to take a sample of your blood to see what we are dealing with."

Jackson then puts on some gloves and starts to prep a lancet device. He then places the device on top of Aurora's index finger. "You will feel a little pinch. Ready?" Aurora nods.

Pop.

The lancet draws a quick drop of blood. Jackson methodically swipes the blood sample and drops it in another handheld machine. "This will tell me if your illness is viral or bacterial; the results will only take a few minutes."

"So, Bellamy, will you be going to this year's Unity Day party?" Jackson asks, raising his voice again suggestively.

"I might be assigned guard duty. Why?" Bellamy answers.

"Well, if you are there. I'll make sure to introduce you to my friends, Clarke, Raven, Mills, and Murphy. Do you know them?"

"Can't say I do." Bellamy shrugs.

"They would love to meet you during the Unity Day Masquerade Party."

"Yeah, sure." Bellamy rubs his neck, feeling a bit self-conscious.

Beep. The device breaks the awkward atmosphere.

Jackson studies the device. "It looks like you have influenza. I have just the medicine." Jackson reaches into his pack and pulls out some pills.

"Make sure to follow the label carefully, and take your medicine. We do not want this to develop into a secondary bacterial infection." Jackson looks down, glancing at the floor, and appears to be thinking. "Just to be safe, I'll also leave you some antibiotics. Take it only if you believe infection has set in." He sets the bottles down by the nightstand. Jackson is unsure how sick Octavia is and thought it would be best to leave the Blakes with options.

"Umm ... thanks ... how can we repay you" Bellamy is a bit shell-shocked. Medicine is expensive, and he can't imagine Jackson just giving it away. "If you don't use it, just return it to me," Jackson says reassuringly.

"Ok, I got to go. Remember, do not tell anyone about this, not even those closes to you." Jackson warns, his voice straining.

"We won't." Bellamy answers. He understands Jackson is taking a risk here. Even though it is Jackson's personal stash, giving out medicine can cost him his license.

"Well, it is nice meeting you, Aurora. Send Bellamy if you need anything else." Jackson packs up to leave as Bellamy sees him out the door.

"Thanks again." Bellamy waves as Jackson walks down the corridor.

"What a strange kid, maybe he has a crush on you," Aurora smiles as her son locks the door.

"It is not like that." Bellamy retorts back; he proceeds to move the workstation and pop the floor lid off.

Underneath the floorboard is his little sister, and she is covering her face crying. "What's wrong, O? Are you feeling alright?"

"All this time, I thought being locked up is making me imagine things and that I was going crazy," Octavia sniffles. She heard everything Jackson said. I'm here for a friend. Clarke, Raven, Murphy, and Miller. Would love to meet you. Unity Day. Don't tell anyone.

"What are you talking about?" To Bellamy, his sister has a very active imagination; no doubts she got it from the books he reads her. Stories about grandeur, most of which he would ignore. "It must be the fever. Here we got you some medicine." Bellamy picks his sister up, lays her down next to their mother, and hurries off to get some water.

Octavia looks over her shoulder at the bottles on the nightstand. She will have to investigate the labels carefully when her mom and brother are not around. For now, she will rest.