Clarke was sitting in the drop-ship, rolling the bandages she had just made and trying to get some semblance of organisation in the small area set up as an infirmary. There had been a big storm the night before and most of the wall surrounding the camp had fallen down meaning everybody had a job. There had already been four kids in to see her with injuries ranging from 'Getting distracted while using an axe' to 'splinters really hurt okay?'
Once the wall was repaired it would be a lot calmer, especially injury wise, but it was always good to be prepared so Clarke was gathering a small kit of medical supplies.
They also needed food but she figured Bellamy would take care of that. He would probably walk into camp with a haul of meat and say something about "bringing home the bacon as per usual" and she would roll her eyes but be thankful that he was. They lead the camp together but they did have their domains of expertise. Opposites do attract after all though she would definitely not say he completed her. She may, however, admit that she was glad to have him around.
Jasper came into the drop-ship then and Clarke expected him to present his finger and announce that the splinters really had it in for him today but instead he looked nervous.
"What have you done this time Jasper?" Her voice was stern but she smiled warmly not minding at all how much he reminded her of a little boy asking his mother for help.
"Huh? Oh, no it's not me it's Bellamy. Miller fell off the top of the wall and Bellamy caught him but I heard something break. It wasn't Miller and Bellamy said he was fine but I could tell he wasn't and- I just thought you'd want to know." Jasper was wringing his hands and Clarke could tell he was worried. He had gotten really attached to his two leaders.
"Thank you Jasper, where is he now?"
The boy barely managed to get the words "Still working on the wall the stubborn bastard." Before Clarke had marched out the door patting Jasper on the shoulder on her way out.
The wall was looking a lot better than that morning and Clarke quickly found Bellamy near the gate hammering in a few posts. He was getting the job done but Clarke could tell he was in pain; his breaths were shallow and it looked as if he was trying hard not to curl his arm around his chest as he worked.
Determinedly striding towards him with Jasper following behind caused a few heads to turn and someone to let out a low "ooh someone's in trouble." Clarke slowed her pace and tried to replace her scowl with a relaxed smile.
Bellamy had once let slip that "I wish you wouldn't contradict me in front of the kids." That had made the whole 'camp mum and dad' thing make a lot more sense but she knew it upset him when she undermined him like that so she tried to be as casual as possible.
"Hey Bellamy, how's the wall coming?" He turned and looked at her, noticing the hovering Jasper and the number of watchful eyes looking on, and tried to stand up a little straighter.
"Good, the front sections almost fully repaired, we should be done by lunch tomorrow."
Clarke nodded and asked a few more lame questions about the wall until the delinquents got bored of watching and carried on with their work. Clarke nodded towards the drop ship and waited for Bellamy to drop his tools before going inside.
"Thanks Jasper I can take it from here." She smiled at the boy and he left, looking nervously at Bellamy and hoping that he somehow didn't realize he had ratted him out.
"What do you need Princess? More seaweed? Cause we just went out and got some like two days ago, I thought-"
Clarke interrupted him. "Take your shirt off and sit on the table."
She realized how that sounded a second too late and Bellamy smirked, only making her scowl return.
"Usually you have to pay to see someone strip."
Clarke only raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. "Jasper told me you got hurt so don't pretend your fine. Now on to the table so I can check you over."
She walked over to the table and sat down on her stool watching him as he nervously shrugged.
"It's fine, that kid worries too much and besides the wall won't get finished on time if I stop every time I get an ouchie."
"Don't you test me Bellamy Blake. Sit on the damn table."
He sighed in defeat and hefted himself up to sit on the table in front of her. There wasn't any point in arguing with her and at least she had waited until they were inside to yell at him.
Clarke leaned forward and lifted his shirt gently to reveal some deep bruises and a graze or two over the unnatural bumps on his chest. She prodded them gently and although Bellamy was silent she didn't miss the quick intake of breathe or his fingers that turned white against the table.
"Your ribs are definitely broken. I'd say two of them with a third that's cracked. What happened?"
"Miller's foot slipped on the top of the wall and he fell. I caught him but he isn't a small guy and his elbow dug in on impact. He's okay though."
Clarke grabbed a wash cloth and dipped it into a water bucket nearby before wrapping it around his chest. The cold would help to stop the pain and swelling.
"It looks like you cushioned his fall with your own body. Why didn't you come and see me as soon as it happened? Jasper was worried and this could have been a serious injury."
Bellamy ducked his head at her stern tone, looking guilty. He hated it when she told him off and he would usually start arguing at this point but he was just too sore. As much as their bickering amused him he didn't actually like to see her upset.
"The wall has to get built Clarke-"
He changed tactics when he saw her glaring at him "Look, I didn't realize how bad it was okay? I thought I'd just been winded and it would go away eventually."
The girl shook her head and placed a hand on his chest.
"Next time come straight to me even if you think it's nothing. Take a deep breath for me."
Bellamy gripped the table as he drew in a breath. It was shallow and strained which made the creases between Clarkes eyes deepen. She moved her hands to his back and repeated the order to breathe in. When he winced at the painful breath Clarke removed her hands and leant back on her stool.
"From what I can tell your lungs seem to be intact but breathing will be painful for a while. Make sure you take deep breaths every so often so that your ribs heal properly. For now we'll try to reduce the pain and swelling and I'll wrap your chest before you go as well."
Bellamy could tell she was still angry at him and groaned mentally at how infuriating girls could be. He had learnt from many experiences with a pissed off Octavia that apologizing early was always a good idea.
"Clarke, I'm sorry I didn't tell you okay? I didn't know you'd get so upset about it." She looked up at him surprised that he had apologized but not entirely satisfied.
"Just tell me next time okay? We're supposed to be leading this camp together and that means we trust each other. What would have happened if your injury turned out to be worse and you hadn't told me? What would I do if something happened to you?"
She looked away from his concerned eyes realizing she had been getting a little too close to confessing how important he was to her. She wasn't in love with him, as far as she knew but he was important to her in a way she couldn't describe.
'Screw it' she thought 'for all the self-loathing the guy did, he deserved to know he was more than the monster he thought he was.'
"Bellamy your important okay? The kids need you, I need you. I wouldn't be able to run this camp by myself."
"Yeah you would."
She ignored his melancholy smirk.
"Well I wouldn't want to. Those kids look up to you Bellamy Blake and don't think they won't copy you and hide injuries so they won't disappoint you by being weak."
He looked confused at that. "They wouldn't hide injuries to avoid disappointing me that's ridiculous. I wouldn't think they were weak anyway. More like they don't want to get told off by the mama bear for being careless."
Clarke laughed and removed the wet cloth from Bellamy's chest so she could start wrapping his ribs.
"Oh yes they would. I know for a fact that Monroe has a broken finger and Michael cut his arm getting distracted by Tanya's ass. They just haven't been in to see me yet and I am not a Mama bear."
Bellamy laughed. "Oh, okay. Sure."
Clarke shook her head again, smiling as she finished up the bandages around her co-leaders torso. She patted his knee and stood up from her stool to put away the supplies.
"You're all good to go. Just supervising today for you though, no lifting anything for a few days and you'll be taking it easy until your ribs heal."
The man eased off the table and saluted her with a smirk. "Whatever you say Doc."
"Oh and send in Monroe and Michael for me will you?"
He nodded and walked out smiling only to see half of the delinquent's running back to their posts from where they were obviously listening by the opening of the drop-ship.
Bellamy saw Monroe and Michael trying to hide behind a portion of the wall. "Go on in you two, and make sure you apologize." He couldn't help but smile a little at the two as they mumbled apologies as they went inside. He could already hear Clarke telling them off. And she said she wasn't a mama bear.