Summer Fever (The 100, M)

[ThatSneezyGirl]

*This is my first story in a long long time, and I apologize for that. I’ve had some major writers block, but I’m slowly overcoming it. I finally decided to started The 100 (I regret not starting sooner) and I’m hooked. I’ve made it all the way to season 5 in just a few weeks. I’ve really fallen for these characters and each of their personalities, so I decided to write a story about it. This one is set in the middle of the 1st season before the main grounder attack, back when Clarke and Bellamy still hated each other, or so they thought*

 

 

“Isn’t the sunset beautiful?” Clarke said.

 

“Stunning.” He said sarcastically.

 

He could care less about the sunset, or really anything she had to say for that matter. His only focus was on their next prey. 

 

“I wonder how many like these I’ve missed all of this time?” She said.

 

“Well you were in space for 17 years so I would say quite a bit.” He remarked. 

 

She rolled her eyes, brushing off his comments like she usually did. He didn’t want her to come hunting, but unfortunately she was more useful than most of the others right now so he was stuck bringing her along. Her presence alone was enough to make his hair stand up. Her voice made his skin crawl. She was single handedly the most annoying and frustrating person in the camp. She never agreed with him. She constantly went against his orders and did what she wanted. She was almost as bad as his sister.

 

“We’ll come back tomorrow.” He said finally after another 20 minutes of walking with no result. 

 

“We still have some light left.”

 

“Clarke, we have more than enough to last us for the rest of the week. It’ll be dark before we make it back if we don’t go now. Let’s bring what we have and come back out tomorrow,” He said. “And besides, Jasper made some more of whatever the hell that drink is. We can celebrate making it this long and let the kids enjoy themselves tonight.”

 

He had no interest in drinking or celebrating. Honestly, he was exhausted after walking through the woods all day and he figured if he offered a distraction, everyone would leave him alone and he could sneak off to bed early. 

 

“We don’t need to be partying. The grounders could attack at anytime. We need to be on high alert.”

 

“We will be. We’ll rotate the guards out and give everyone a chance to just hangout for once. You forget that they are still kids after all.”

 

He was right. It was easy to forget that down here. 

 

“We still need to be careful.”

 

“Like I said, we’re not letting our guard down. Just unwinding a bit. Lighten up a little,” Clarke hated when people told her to lighten up, especially on the ground. There was nothing light about their current situation. “It won’t hurt anyone to take the night off.”

 

“That’s true,” She contemplated for s moment. “There are worse things we could do.”

 

Bellamy said whatever he needed to say to convince her, and by the tone of her voice, it worked. He had always been good at persuading people. After all, he’d been doing it all of his life back on the Ark. For him, it was the only way to get what he needed. Not everyone grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths like Clarke.

 

“Okay everyone lets head back to camp.” She called out. 

 

Bellamy scoffed. Of course she had to give the final orders. Clarke wrangled in the rest of the group and they started their hike back to camp, her and Bellamy leading while everyone else followed. 

 

They all walked in silence, leaving Clarke to be immersed in her own thoughts. She couldn’t help but take in the artistry of the nature around her. Everything on earth was so beautiful. The way the sun shined through the trees and bounced off of the water in the creek beside them. The sound of the branches swaying in the wind. The smell of the early summer flowers blooming in the bushes that lined their path. It was all so naturally stunning and she couldn’t help but ponder about all of the views and moments like these that she had been missing out on while stuck in space. 

 

“HAHTSCHIEWW!!”

 

A loud sneeze snapped her out of her daydream and caused her to jump. She panicked for a second, looking around for the source of the noise. Her eyes laid on Bellamy who was rubbing his nose with his index finger.

 

“Bless you,” she said with a sigh of relief. “You startled me.”

 

He nodded his head at her without saying anything. He didn’t feel like talking and he knew that if he responded, she would want to start a conversation with him that would never end. 

 

They kept walking, no one saying a word. Clarke wanted to rave about her thoughts more and how amazing the ground was, but she knew that Bellamy didn’t want to hear it, although he didn’t really want to hear anything that anyone had to say. He was only worried about his thoughts and his actions, a dangerous and selfish way of life down there. 

 

“HEHTSCHOOO!!”

 

Bellamy sneezed again, louder than before, alarming some of the others. He sniffles and rubbed his nose again.

 

“Sorry.” He said blankly.

 

He received a few odd looks but he ignored them. He had been fighting that tickle off all day and couldn’t curb it anymore. 

 

“You good?” She asked.

 

“Yeah? I just sneezed. Am I allowed to do that or is that against the rules too?”

 

The others stared at him for a minute before they continued walking. They knew better than to talk back to him. Bellamy could feel Clarke glaring at him out of the corner of her eye, but he paid no mind. He kept his eyes forward for the remainder of the trip until they were finally at the camp. The doors were promptly opened and they were all greeted with smiles as they strolled through with their trophies from the hunt. It felt good to finally be appreciated, even if it was from a bunch of kids.

 

“We have returned with food for everyone. For once, tonight; we won’t have to go to bed hungry. We won’t have to worry about rationing. We can eat enough to be full for the first time in our lives. This may not seem like a lot to some of you, but this is a huge step in the right direction. We will establish a life down here, free of harsh rules and awful conditions.”

 

The crowded cheered. Clarke gritted her teeth. They all loved him for some ungodly reason. To them, he was their savior. Their liberator. Clarke was just the ‘naggy mom’ who liked to follow the rules. Bellamy on the other hand, was daring and reckless. He offered them things that they had never gotten to experience on the Ark. The  kind of wild and carefree life that they so desperately craved. 

 

“Now, the grounder attack is still at our feet. While I’m allowing us to have a few hours of celebration tonight, that doesn’t mean that we can let our guard down.” 

 

Clarke noticed that he kept scratching at his nose while he was talking. She even noticed it twitch ever so slightly. She honed in on it, watching and waiting.

 

“All of you still need to be on high alert at all times. We will have the gates guarded, but I advise you to carry your weapons on you at all times. This is not something to take heh....heh.... lightly....”

 

He could only get a few more words out before the tickle grew even more, stopping Bellamy mid sentence.

 

“We need to be prepared. We need to fight. And most importantly, we- HAHTSCHOOO! HEHTSCHIEWW!!”

 

He sneezed over his shoulder, making sure no one saw him wince. 

 

“We need to win,” he picked up right where he had left off, unfazed by his interruption. “We have no other option.”

 

The crowd cheered again, giving Bellamy time to quickly turn around and let out another sneeze into his hands. So much for personal hygiene. He turned back around and flashed his award winning smile once more before walking off, but not without Clarke following right behind him.

 

“That was a nice speech,” She said. “And bless you by the way.”

 

She said it both jokingly but also to let him no that his sneezes didn’t go unnoticed.

 

“Thanks. I hope I was able to inspire them at least a little.”

 

He had purposely ignored her blessing. She wanted to press the issue, but she knew that if she did, he would just blow her off and blame it on something else. She also knew that she had to keep a close eye on him. Not only for his sake, but for the other campers. They couldn’t afford another outbreak, especially with no medicine.

 

“Are you going to go get a drink?” She asked. She motioned over to Jasper, who already had campers lining up to get a cup of the disgusting alcohol that he had somehow managed to distill. 

 

“No,” He said. “I’m going to bed early tonight. Today’s hunt wore me out.”

 

“This hunt wasn’t even that hard compared to the others,” She raised her eyebrow at him. “And besides, I figured you would be the first one to start drinking away your problems.”

 

“Well you’re wrong,” He looked her up and down. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

 

“I-“” Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to my tent. Don’t follow me and don’t disturb me or you’ll be sorry.”

 

And with that, he turned around and walked to his tent. Luckily everyone else was too caught up in the high of the celebration to notice that he was gone.  He slid back the flaps to his tent and sighed with relief. He had never been so happy to see his lousy sleeping bag before. He hastily undressed and curled up into his sack, shivering slightly as he did. He laid there for a minute, listening to the lively campers talk and mingle with each other. It was a good distraction to say the least. He was actually pretty proud. As he reveled in his ego, the festivities slowly became background noise to him as his body quickly fell into a fitful sleep.

*I apologize for the lack of sneezing. There is more to come so stay tuned ;)*

 

 

[MeForever]

I'm really exited for more! I love the 100, and this is very nicely writen!

[beau34]

This is amazing!!!! I’m super excited for the next part!!

[ThatSneezyGirl]

*Well friends here’s part two!! More sneezing, more sick Bellamy, and most importantly more Clarke care taking. Enjoy 😊 *

 

 

 

The next day:

 

 

Bellamy woke up to sun shining in his face. He rubbed his eyes to see one of the younger boys standing at the entrance of his tent. 

 

“Hey Bellamy are you coming? Everyone is waiting.”

 

“Yeah, just give me a second.” He snapped.

 

The boy was drawn back by what he saw. He had dark bags under his eyes like he hadn’t slept at all, which was the case. His headache had kept him from sleeping for a majority of the night, leaving him exhausted. He looked like a zombie.

 

“Are you good man?” He asked.

 

“I’m fine,” he said. “Just give me a minute. I’ll meet you guys at the gate.”

 

As much as he had hoped that sleeping would make his headache go away, it hadn’t. Instead, it had brought along some unwelcomed partners in crime; a blocked nose, an aching chest, and chills that he just couldn’t shake. He didn’t have time to get sick. Not with the attack basically at their feet.

 

He let out a few coughs before slowly standing up, stumbling slightly in the process. Everything was fuzzy and he had to blink repeatedly to get his eyes to even somewhat focus. He searched around his tent for his jacket longer than he should have until he realized that it was on him. Even with his jacket, he was freezing. He wished he could bring his sleeping bag with him for extra warmth, but that would only draw unwanted attention to him that he didn’t need at the moment. He picked up his backpack, which felt like it was 100 pounds, and slung it over his shoulder before making his way to the gate. Some of the other campers gave him weird looks but he ignored them. 

 

“Sorry I’m late.”

 

“Jesus Bellamy you look terrible.” Were the first words out of Clarke’s mouth.

 

“Good morning to you too.”

 

His voice was raspy and his words were smothered with congestion.

 

She raised her eyebrow.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

“I’m fine.”

 

His nose said otherwise. A sudden tickle crept up on him, causing him to bury his face in the crook of his arm.

 

“HAHTSCHIEWW!! HUHTSCHOOO!! HAHTSCHOOO!!”

 

He punctuated his triple with a wet sniffle and wiped his nose on his sleeve. 

 

“Yeah clearly.” She scoffed. 

 

“Allergies.” He said blankly. 

 

His throat was on fire and the last thing he wanted to do was talk.  Without another word, he walked past her and out beyond the gate. Clarke gritted her teeth as she followed him. He was so stubborn and defiant. She didn’t know how he wasn’t arrested sooner on the Ark. She reluctantly followed him while the others trailed behind her. She could that tell he was a crappy mood so she kept her distance from him while they hiked through the woods. She had her suspicions about him, but she also knew that now wasn’t the time to push the issue because it would only result in a fight that they didn’t need to have at the moment. 

 

“I see something over there.” Clarke said.

 

They all looked over to see something furry running swiftly through the woods. Bellamy aimed his gun and shot at the animal, only to miss each time. He never missed. Ever. Clarke pulled out her gun and got it on the first try. The others went to check on the animal and prepare it to be brought to camp while Bellamy stood back. His eyes glossed over and his breath started to hitch as the need to sneeze took over his body. 

 

“Nice shot.” Clarke joked.

 

“HAHTSCHOOO!! HEHTSCHIEWW!!”

 

Bellamy braced himself against a tree as his body doubled over from the powerful sneezes. A sharp pain shot through his head and for a moment, the world around him began to spin. He closed his eyes for a moment and continued to hold onto the tree in fear that he might fall over. After a few second, he finally got his bearings and looked back up, only to find Clarke’s eyes burning into him. 

 

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Clarke asked.

 

“I’m fine,” He said coldly. “Don’t you have other things to worry about?”

 

She bit her tongue to keep from starting a full blown argument with him. It was obvious that he was sick. There was no doubt about it in her mind. As much as didn’t really care about him being sick, he need to rest. He also needed to keep himself away from the other kids. The thought of another epidemic was terrifying and not something that they could afford. 

 

“I do actually,” she finally spoke up. “If you’re sick, you need to keep it to yourself and not infect the others.”

 

“Well good thing I’m not.”

 

His words were harsh. They had a certain punctuation to them. He was bitter as it was, but for some reason it seemed to be intensified today. She could also here congestion in his voice. 

 

“Go back to camp. We’ll take it from here.”

 

“No. I told you I’m fine. Stop pushing it.”

 

“I told you to go back to camp. End of story.”

 

She was not backing down. There was no way she was going to risk the lives of the others simply because Bellamy was too prideful to admit that he was sick. She was not having it. He went to say something, but Finn stepped forward and gave him a stern look, as if to say that if he did anything other than do as Clarke said, they would have problems. Bellamy rolled his eyes and left without another word.

 

“Don’t touch anyone or anything on your way back,” He stopped walking and for a second she thought he was going to put up a fight, but instead he turned his head to the side and let out another wet sneeze. 

 

“HAHTSCHOOO!!”

 

“And for god sakes Bellamy cover your damn mouth.”

 

He flipped her the bird before trudging back to camp alone. Luckily he didn’t have far to go. To be honest, he was thankful that Clarke sent him back. As soon as he got away from them, he realized how much his entire body ached. His head, his chest, his limbs. Everything. All he wanted to do was curl up in a ball and sleep until whatever was attacking his body ran its course and left. He knew that was only a dream. He made it to the gates of the camp and was let in without having to say anything, which he was thankful for. His head hung down as he made his way to his tent. He knew the kids were watching him. He never came back early from hunting, specifically alone. They also knew to not question him when he was in a bad mood, which was clearly the case. After what felt like forever, he made it to his tent and crumpled to the ground. He was suddenly so weak and could barely find the energy to take his shoes off and  get into his sleeping bag. He somehow managed to do so and snuggled into it before immediately falling asleep. 

 

____________________________

 

He spent the next 3 hours in his tent, trying desperately to get some sleep to try and make his headache would go away, but the noise outside plus the constant sinus pressure from the congestion made it nearly impossible. He had no idea what time it was when Clarke came barging into his tent or why she was even there. He pretended to be asleep in hopes that she wouldn’t bother him.

 

“Hey how are you feeling?” 

 

He didn’t respond. His back was facing hers so luckily he couldn’t see her facial expression. 

 

“You’re sleeping In the middle of the day?” 

She joked. “That’s very out of character.”

 

He still didn’t say anything. After their argument in the woods, he had nothing nice to say to her and found it best to just not say anything at all. Without hesitation, she kneeled down and placed her hand on his forehead. She felt the immense heat radiating under her palm, confirming her suspicions.

 

“Jesus Bell you’re burning up.”

 

He quickly swatted her hand away.

 

“I’m fine.”

 

“You are clearly not fine. Stop saying that.”

 

“Leave me alone.”

 

“Shut up and stay here.”

 

And with that she was gone. He knew she was coming back, he just wasn’t sure when. Hopefully never. He was not in the mood to deal with her anymore. He tried to settle back down into his sleeping bag, but Clarke came back quicker than he expected or wanted. 

 

“Open.”

 

“No.” 

 

“Stop being stubborn and just open your damn mouth.”

 

He rolled over onto his back and finally looked at her, reluctantly opening his mouth. Clarke placed the plastic thermometer that she had gotten from the first aid kid into his mouth. While she waited for it to give her an answer, she looked him over, studying his features. His face was pale and clammy. She could see small beads of sweat at the base of his forehead coincided with rosy red cheeks. Even his nose was started to turn red. There was no doubt in her mind that he was sick, and when the thermometer finally beeped, her suspicions were confirmed.

 

“100.7” she said aloud, more to herself than to him.

 

“Just leave me alone.” He growled.

 

He rolled back over to where his back was once again facing her. 

 

She sighed. Sick Bellamy was even angrier than normal Bellamy. She knew that if she kept persisting, he would just blow up on her like he always did. She decided to back off and leave him be, although she would still keep a close eye on him and with that, she left his tent without another word. 

_________________________

 

“Hey,” Octavia said as she pulled back the tent flap. “Clarke told me to bring you some food.”

 

“I’m not hungry.” 

 

His back was still against the opening and he made no attempt to turn around. Even from the opening, she could see that he was shivering. 

 

“You need to eat.” She said firmly.

 

“I said I’m not hungry.” 

 

She rolled her eyes and placed the food next to him before taking a seat. 

 

“I know you’re sick. There’s no denying it, and you’re only going to be able to avoid Clarke for so long.”

 

“I don’t need either of you looking after me,” He growled. “Or bothering me.”

 

“I’m your sister. Both of those are my job.”

She laughed. 

 

In reality, it was Bellamy’s job to look after Octavia. She couldn’t look after anyone or anything to save her life. Her intentions were always good, but were often misguided. She was still young and naive and let her emotions get in the way of her goals.

 

“Yeah well not today.” He pushed the food away from him. 

 

“You have to eat something.”

 

“I already said I’m not hungry. Just leave me alone Jesus Christ.” He winced, the world’s stabbing his throat as they left. 

 

Even though she was used to his attitude, his harsh words still stung. All she wanted was to be useful. She wanted to be needed by someone, but hell her own brother didn’t even want her around. It was as if she couldn’t do anything right.

 

“Fine. You can suffer alone. It’s what you’re used to anyway.” She said as she stormed out of his tent.

 

He was never happy to see his sister upset, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy that she left. All he wanted was to stay isolated in his tent until the illness went away. He was tired of people bothering him. 

 

“HAHTSCHIEWW!” 

 

He sneezed into the crook of his arm and groaned as he burrowed deeper into his sleeping bag, desperately trying to find warmth even though there wasn’t any left. He rolled on his back and let out a few wet coughs. It was moments like these, which were few and far between, that he missed being on the Ark. At least they had medicine and a warm bed, the two things that he longed for. He closed his eyes and imagined himself back in his bunk. Back before Octavia was arrested and back before his mom was floated. He remembered his mom caring for him whenever he would get sick, which unfortunately was quite often. His immune system had been subpar since day one, but his mom was always there. Every stomach bug, sinus infection, even the flu; no matter what it was, she was by his side the entire time. Even Octavia, being a child back then, would try her best to help. Now he had no one. His mom was dead, his sister was a bitch, and Clarke was no where to be found. Sometimes he wished that he didn’t have such a bad habit of pushing everyone away. 

 

“HEHTSCHOOO!!” 

 

He sneezed again into the crook of his arm. He knew this was going to be a long night.

______________

 

It was the middle of the night when the sneezes attacked him. One after the other after the other. No matter what he did, the itching wouldn’t stop. He tried desperately to stifle them, but he could only try so much. He didn’t want to draw any attention to himself and with no real walls between him and the others, he had to be as quiet as possible to avoid this. 

 

“HNNGXT!! HIIIH-NGgXT!!”

 

It hurt so bad to stifle and it only made the tickle worse. He just wanted to sleep, but his nose had other plans.

 

“HMPSSHHH!”

 

He muffled a sneeze into his sleeping bag, although it was still pretty loud. He had loud sneezes to begin with so that coupled with being sick just made them even louder and harder to contain. He seriously needed to blow his nose. He contemplated on doing so, but he settled for wiping it on his jacket sleeve once again. This act was only making his nose more raw and irritated, and not to mention that both of his sleeves were now soaked.

He closed his eyes and tried to focus on not sneezing. For a few minutes he was actually successful and for a moment he thought he would actually be able to fall back asleep, but a burst of strong sneezes crept up on him without warning. 

 

“HAHTSCHOOO! HEHTSCHIEWW! HAHTSCHIEWW! HAHTSCHIEWWW!!”

 

The forceful sneezes threw his body forward into an almost sitting position and each one sent a wave of pain throughout his entire body. He accidentally let a painful moan escape as he tried to clean up the mess that the fit produced. 

 

“Bless you,” Bellamy looked up behind his cupped hands to see Clarke standing in front of him. Usually he would’ve shooed her off, but he didn’t even have the energy. “How are you feeling?”

 

His head was still spinning from beings vigorously thrown around and he couldn’t get his eyes to focus. He started up at the figure standing above him. The voice sounded like Clarke. Hearing it was oddly refreshing for once.

 

“Like shit.” He admitted, congestion completely smothering his voice. 

 

She honestly felt bad for him. She had laid awake for the last hour battling insomnia and listening to each painful sneeze rack his beaten down body. It wasn’t until the last fit that she finally decided to get up. She wanted to give him his space. She really did. She knew he didn’t want her to mother him, but she just couldn’t take it anymore. He needed her help, even if he would never admit it.

 

“Let me check your fever again.” 

 

She repeated the same process that she did earlier and this time she got an even higher reading. 

 

“102.1. Your fever is getting worse,” He responded by suppressing a few coughs and sniffling.  “I’ll be right back.”

 

And just like earlier, she was gone again. It took a little bit longer for her to return, but this time when she did, her hands were full. She placed everything on the ground in front of him, but he couldn’t quite make out what she had through watery eyes. She began pouring strange looking liquid from different vials into a cup and mixed it up with her finger. 

 

“Take this.”

 

“What is that?” He raised his eyebrow.

 

“It’s a remedy that my mom taught me.”

 

He was going to question her, but he wanted to feel better so badly so he took the cup from her and drank it in one swift gulp. It tasted awful and sent him into a violent coughing fit that didn’t subside until Clarke handed him a bottle of water. He took small sips in between bouts of coughing and was eventually able to get them to slowly fizzle out. 

 

“That was absolutely disgusting,” he coughed a few more times. “It better work.”

 

“It will, trust me. My mom wouldn’t lie to me.”

 

He was caught off guard by Clarke placing a cool cloth on his forehead. It felt amazing against his burning skin. 

 

“That feels nice. Thank you.”

 

The fever must’ve been making him delusional because that was the first time Clarke had ever heard him say thank you to anyone, specifically her. She had to admit that it was a welcome change. Maybe sick Bellamy was nicer than she thought.  She accidentally made eye contact with him and even though she would never disclose it, she blushed. There was just something about him being in such a vulnerable state that made her heart skip a beat. Maybe it was the fact that he always acted so tough, so to see him like this, it was almost like seeing a new person. A kinder and softer one. One who deep down just wanted to be loved and cared for, the things that Clarke enjoyed to do the most, some of her best qualities that she had inherited from her mom. 

 

“You’re welcome. I hope you feel better.”

 

Her words weren’t harsh like they usually were towards him, and he could tell that they were genuine. She had planned on just going back to her tent and keeping an eye on him from there since she would still be close enough to hear him. She got up and tried to leave but Bellamy reached his hand out and pulled Clarke back by her arm.

 

“Will you stay with me?”

 

At first Clarke thought he was joking. He wasn’t that kind of person, especially with her. He gave her a pathetic puppy dog look and something about it lit a fire inside her frozen heart. She knew that she wasn’t going back to sleep anytime soon, so she might as well stay to look after him. She sat back down next to him and he smiled. 

 

“Thank you.” 

 

This was the second time that he had said thank you in a span of maybe five minutes. The world must’ve been falling off of its axis. She sat there for a minute before laying down next to him, trying to get comfortable. She stared up at the tent, reminiscing back to how different life was before they came down here. Things were so routine and boring. She did the same things day in and day out. Down here on the ground, every day proposed a new adventure. Some were exciting, some were terrifying, but she enjoyed every adrenaline filled moment of it. 

 

In a fevered daze, Bellamy snuggled up next to her and put his head on her chest, snapping her out of her day dream. At first Clarke froze. She wasn’t quite sure what to do. She had never been in a situation like this, let alone in any situation that included Bellamy willingly touching her. She felt very uncomfortable, both emotionally and physically. Not only was it weird, but his boiling, sweaty head against her shirt was not ideal. For Bellamy, on the other hand, it felt amazing. She offered a new source of heat and comfort, both of which he wanted more than anything in that moment.

 

 

At first Clarke laid there stiff as a board. Her brain had gone into chaos mode and couldn’t process any real thoughts. There was no way this was actually happened. She must’ve been dreaming. Hell would have to have frozen over before Bellamy would in fact lay on her of all people. She closed her eyes and told herself over abs over again to wake up. She opened her eyes to find herself in the same spot with the same exhausted Bellamy settled on top of her. The more she began to relax, the nicer it felt. Even though he was sticky and snotty, it was still nice to have intimate human interaction with someone. It was basic things like this that she had been deprived up both in the Ark and on the ground. She was kind of angry at the fact that she had never experienced this kind of touch before. Something about was unlocking her nurturing side and she  found herself gently running her fingers through his messy hair in an attempt to sooth him. His hair was soaked from sweat and was hard to get her fingers through in places, but Clarke slowly untangled it with her hands until it became somewhat smooth again. Bellamy let out a small moan and this time it was out of content instead of pain. This whole situation was strange and she felt like she was in some sort of alternate universe. She wasn’t a caretaker. A healer yes, but definitely not a caretaker. She didn’t have the compassion that her mom and the others had. She just had the skills. 

 

At first she didn’t like it, but the longer he laid on her, the more indolent she began to feel. The sound of her heart beat slowly lulled him back to sleep and she could feel his muscles relax as it did so. His breathing slowed and she listening as the congestion rattled in his chest with each exhale. He may not have been very comfortable, but at least he was finally sleeping. She knew she should probably do the same. She closed her eyes again, but this time instead of trying to shake herself out of a dream, she let herself slip into one. Maybe the cure for insomnia wasn’t solitude, it was comfort.

[beau34]

So good!!! Do you think maybe a little father into the story there could be some contagion to Clarke? Keep up the good work! Loving it!

[ThatSneezyGirl]

*Sorry it’s been so long. Better late than never right? :)*

 

 

"What the hell is this?" Octavia said as she barged through the tent. 

 

Clarke sat up quickly, both embarrassed and caught off guard. 

 

"I didn't realize I fell asleep," she said, pushing her messy hair out of her face. "His fever spiked last night so I was watching over him."

 

"I didn't realize that looking after someone meant cuddling with them." She laughed. 

 

She was partially joking but also a bit confused. She had seen a lot of weird things on Earth, but this was one of the weirdest things she had come across so far. 

 

"It's not. It was an accident."

 

"You don't accidentally fall asleep with someone." Octavia retorted.

 

Clarke didn't have the patience to argue with her so instead she got up and walked out. 

 

"You can watch him for now. I have stuff to do." She said harshly. 

 

Octavia didn't mean to offend her, although she often had a bad habit of doing that. She was just trying to wrap her head around the bizarre spectacle that she had just encountered. 

 

She looked down at Bellamy who was still asleep. He was snoring loudly, a sign that the congestion hadn't let up. She placed the back of her hand on his forehead and sighed. His fever hadn't let up either. She wasn't exactly sure what Clarke wanted her to do for him. She was not a caretaker in the slightest. She didn't have the first clue as to what to do. 

 

“HAHTSCHOOO!!”

A loud sneeze erupted out of the sleeping boy next to her and caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. She looked over to see his brown eyes slowly blinking open. 

 

"Hey O," he looked up at her and smiled." I missed you."

 

She gave him a bewildered look. Just yesterday he was telling her to get away from him and now he was saying that he missed her. It had to be the fever talking.

 

"I missed you too," She smiled, stroking his face with her fingers. 

 

As much as she didn't want to admit it, all she wanted was for Bellamy to want her . To need her the way that she needed him. For once, she wanted to be the one who was taking care of him instead of the other way around. 

 

"Can-," She inhaled slightly. "Can I get you anything?"

 

"Water." He whispered, his burning throat not letting him be any louder.

 

She looked around and found a metal container in the corner of the tent. Luckily is still had water in it. She helped him sit up and poured it into his mouth for him. It burned as it went down and he coughed, making it even more painful. 

 

"Did that help?" She asked.

 

"Yes," He nodded. "Thank you."

 

She hadn't heard him say that in a long time. It was like music to her ears.

 

"Of course big brother. Anything for you."

 

He smiled at her. For a moment, she saw their mother looking back at her. He had always shared a closer resemblance to her than she did. It was both comforting and disturbing.

 

She continued to stroke his face gently, her soft fingertips sailing over the rough stubble on his jawline. She wasn't sure if it was helping, but it was something. He smiled at her again.

 

"You're so beautiful."

 

"Thank you Bell," She said. "I always knew I was the better looking sibling."

 

She was able to get a weak laugh from him, but that was really the only reaction she got. 

 

"Are you feeling any better?"

 

He shook his head no. She sighed. Being sick sucked enough. She imagined that being sick in this environment with no real medicine sucked even more. She had contemplated on going to see Lincoln, but with the entire wall surrounded by guards, there was no way she would make it out without suspicion.

 

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

 

He looked up at her with pleading eyes.

 

"Just don't let me be alone."

 

"I won't. I'll be right here." She smiled.

 

Maybe him getting sick wasn't the worst thing that could happen. This was the nicest he had been to her since they landed.

 

“HUHTSCHIEWW! HEHTSCHOO!!”

He sneezed loudly and if had been anyone else, Octavia would've been disgusted, but instead she handed him a rag that was laying next to him. He blew his nose forcefully, even though it made no difference. The congestion had burrowed deep into his sinuses and had no intentions of going anywhere anytime soon. Even though it felt solidified in his nose, thick snot was still trailing down his upper lip, leaving him to constantly sniffle to keep it from overflowing onto the rest of his face. He resorted to holding the rag under his nose and keeping it there, but again it didn't make a difference. Mucus continued to pour out of his swollen nasal passages and the only thing that he could do was try not to make a mess. He looked so pitiful. Her heart ached for him. 

 

This was the it worst that he had felt in a long time. The last time he had felt this way was when he was practically laying on his death bed in medical when he had come down the pneumonia. His mom didn't want him to go in fear that they could get in trouble, but once his fever hit 105, they didn't have a choice anymore. He remembered being alone, listening to the sound of the other patients moan and cry as they laid there, sick and dying. Most of them were alone too. It was one of his least favorite memories but it somehow always seemed to pop up no matter how many times he repressed it.

 

"Remember when mom used to read us those stories about Greece and all of the Gods?" Octavia said.

 

She crossed her legs and picked up Bellamy's head and laid it on her thigh. Even through the fabric of her jeans, she could still feel how warm he was. 

 

"Yeah," He smiled a little. "She would read to us every night before bed."

 

"She always read The Iliad. Achilles was one of her favorites. He was the greatest of all the warriors. He was the bravest and strongest one and he was always the first to fight," Octavia twisted a black curl of hair around her finger. "Everyone looked up to him. He led their army to victory and was celebrated by everyone. Kind of reminds me of you sometimes."

 

Bellamy looked up at her with a child like expression. It was a far comparison, but she was right. All the kids looked up to him. They all adored him. He was the toughest and the fastest and the most courageous out of all of them. He was their Achilles... and Clarke was his heel. 

 

"I like that story."

 

"Me too Bell."

 

This kind of interaction would have never happened if he wasn't as sick as he was, however Octavia wasn't arguing. She missed this side of Bellamy. It had been so long since they had had a decent, let alone civil, interaction that didn't result in them fighting. It was nice. Hopefully this favorable side of him would stay even after he got better. 

 

"I'm glad you came back, O." He said, after a few minutes of silence. 

 

She thought he had fallen back asleep, but instead she looked down to see him peering back up at her with blood shot eyes. 

 

"Of course. I would never leave you, especially not like this."

 

"Good, I was kind of worried," He coughed. "I need you to be with me. I don't know what I would do without you. I know I said that my life ended the day yours began, but that isn't true. My life started the day you began. You give me a purpose. You give me a reason to keep fighting."

 

His voice was a whisper at this point, but Octavia was still able to take in each beautiful sentence. He had no idea how much she had desired to hear him say those words. She didn't care that it was the fever talking. It was like a weight had instantly been lifted off of her shoulders and for the first time since she could remember, she felt the kind of sibling love for him that she has been missing for so long.

________________________________

 

 

Clarke made her way to the hunters who were waiting for her by the gate. She was late, but fortunately none of them seemed to mind. 

 

"Me and Bellamy won't be going hunting with you guys today. I'm counting on you all to behave yourselves and bring back as much as you can."

 

"Is he okay?" One of the kids asked.

 

"He's fine. Stay focused on the task at hand please," She snapped. He nodded. "So this time I want you guys to travel along the river. Check for tracks. Make sure you're checking the trees at all times. The grounders could ambush at any moment."

 

She hated having to send them out alone, but she needed to be with Bellamy. Not only because she wanted to, but because she was the only one who knew how to deal with this type of illness. She was the camp's only healer and while there were a few promising kids, they weren't anywhere close to her.

 

"Report back to me as soon as you guys return so I know that everyone made it back safely." 

 

They loaded up their guns and headed for the gate. Clarke said a silent prayer for them. There had been enough deaths already. If any of them were to get killed because she wasn't there to protect them, she wouldn't know what to do with herself. 

 

With one task down, she was onto the next. She was hurrying as quickly as she could so she could get back to Bellamy. After last night, her feelings towards taking care of him had completely changed. He was so sweet in his feverish state. She wanted nothing more than to lay next to him and comfort him. On her way to the drop ship, she found some of the kids sitting around laughing and talking, their guns in pieces scattered around them. 

 

"What are you guys doing?"

 

They were silent. They knew better. 

 

"You're supposed to be guarding the wall."

 

"We were. We're taking a break."

 

"The grounders won't take a break and you'll learn that the hard way when they have a knife to your throat," she growled. "So get up and get back to work."

 

"Bellamy usually gives us orders." She young girl snapped back, followed by a few chuckled from some of the others 

 

She was right. Bellamy oversaw all of the warfare and guarding aspects. However, it was Clarke's job for the time being.

 

"We've already established that Bellamy isn't here right now, therefore I'm in charge and you will listen to me. Got it?"

 

The girl nodded. Clarke hated being mean to them, especially the younger ones, but there was no other way to get through to some of them. They were such hard headed preteens. 

 

As she was on her way to the drop shit to check on Raven's bomb, she heard Octavia scream her name.

 

"Clarke!!"

 

It came from Bellamy's tent. Her heart dropped. She ran at full sprint through camp, panicked and fear coursing through her body as she dodged other tents and various campers poking around. She had only been gone for a short period of time. There was no way something bad could've happened. She bursted through the flaps of the tent to find Octavia standing over him, tears welling in the corner of her eyes. 

 

"What's wrong?"

 

"He wouldn't stop coughing and I didn't know what to do."

 

Clarke helped him sit up and gave him some more water until the fit subsided like she had the night before. At this point she could hear him wheezing. Whatever virus this was, it was attacking hard. His body was beginning to be too weak to fight it, which only added to her stress and worry. She looked over to see the distressed look on Octavia's face

 

"When that happens, just sit him up and help him through it." Clarke said calmly.

 

She nodded. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing. All that she knew was that she wanted her brother to get better and she needed to be strong in order for that to happen. 

 

"There's a few extra rations in the bag I brought I have you last night. Try to get him to eat as much of that as you can and keep him hydrated. I'll be back as soon as I can get everything and everyone squared away."

 

She grabbed Bellamy's hand and smiled.

 

"Try to get some rest. You need it."

 

"I'll do my best." He croaked. 

 

She gave him one last smile before exiting the tent and heading back towards the drop ship. Her mind was so clouded with so many different things that she couldn't think straight. Images from last night wouldn't leave her alone and neither would the feelings that accompanied them. It was one of the best nights she had had since they had landed on the Ground and she longed to go back to it, but she had tasks that she had to complete and she knew that. The only thing getting her through the day was the fact that she would soon get to see Bellamy again.

 

*Octavia taking care of her big brother has my whole heart and it has yours now too 🥺*

[beau34]

EEEEEE I’m so happy you continued this!!!! 😁