Shallow Valley

62.Daughter

62.

I want to see
You happily ever after
That you know in your heart that you matter
That you are royalty
(Sleeping At Last-Daughter)

"White girl, fifteen years old, bullet injury. She needs surgery." Eric Jackson instructed a nurse, entering the ER in a hurry. "Madi, keep your eyes open! Do it for me, honey." he then told the girl on the stretcher, who was paler and paler by the second.

"Don't be afraid, Madi. They'll cure you." Lexa tried to reassure her stepdaughter. "I mean, we're in a hospital, they cure people here, they'll...". She couldn't end her sentence. Clarke pulled her close to her chest, to let Jackson and Harper check on the girl.

"What's... What's going on?" Lexa asked, panicking.

"She is unconscious. Shit, she needs immediate surgery." he answered. They all were almost running to the operating room. When they finally got to the OR, Abby was already there waiting for them. Clarke was about to cross the threshold, but her mother stopped her.

"What are you doing? Stay here."

"Mom, I just..."

"Stay here. You can't come in." Abby told her, pushing her away. She then slammed the door, leaving Clarke and Lexa outside of the OR, frozen. The blonde turned to her girlfriend. Lexa was shaking, she could barely stay up. Clarke helped her sitting on a chair and sat next to her. She closed her in a sweet embrace and kissed her hair, forcing herself not to burst in tears. She wanted to be nothing but strong for Lexa, she wished she could have had the power to wash her pain away. She felt so useless, so powerless.

"Clarke I..." Lexa muttered, her breath so erratic.

"Lexa, look at me." the blonde whispered to her, cupping her cheeks.

"No Clarke, I can't lose her. Not her, please. Not Madi. I can't.". Lexa found herself on the floor, in tears. She couldn't stop vomiting, it was like she had lost control over her body. She was shaking as a leaf and she was starting to see blurry. Clarke didn't really know what to do. She bent down at her girlfriend and tried to hug her, but Lexa flinched, crushing herself against the wall.

"Lex, I need you to look at me." Clarke tried to bring the brunette back from her mind, in vain. "Lex, please, look at me."

"Madi..." it was all Lexa managed to say. Clarke stood up on her feet and gestured a nurse to go and help them.

"Doctor Griffin, I'll call the janitor so he will clean this me-..."

"I need a favor." Clarke said, interrupting the woman and giving her a small paper. She knew her well, they had often worked together.

"Doctor Griffin, it's not even your shift. Are you sure?". Clarke waved a hand through her hair, swallowing her own tears. She nodded, through the sobs.

"Yes, I am. I need you to give her what I wrote in the prescription. Please, I... She can't stay here.". The older woman looked at Lexa and rubbed her own neck. The brunette was still laying against the wall, shaking and crying. She was hyperventilating and Clarke was really worried. She knew that anxiety attacks couldn't kill anyone, but at the same time she was aware of the fact that the more Lexa stayed there, the more she felt worse and worse. The nurse took a wheelchair and helped Lexa to sit down, ignoring her attempts to wriggle herself free.

"Are you coming with us?" she asked Clarke, tenderly gazing at her. The blonde shook her head in no, faking a smile.

"No, I... Someone needs to stay here. You know, just in case the surgery ends." she said.