Chapter Text
“You’ve taken care of a ton of people before, Clarke,” said Raven. She tossed the flyer on Clarke’s desk and flopped down on her bed. “You’ve been complaining about needing money, and he pay is so great, I’d almost consider doing it.” Clarke smirked, not looking up from her laptop.
“Almost?” she asked.
“Don’t deflect, Griffin,” Raven said. “And also the kid you’d be babysitting is Lincoln’s sister.” Clarke finally looked up from her laptop.
“Octavia’s boyfriend?”
“Yup,” said Raven. “Those long hours must really be fucking with you. You were there when O was talking about it.” Clarke sighed and ran her hand through her hair. It had been a long few months. With only a semester and a half left until, hopefully, she started her internship. The pressure had been on. And money had been tight.
“I don’t know, Rae,” she said. “I’ve never like…”
“You helped me out when my leg got messed up,” she said. “You helped me take care of my mom when she would get blackout drunk.”
“There’s a difference between that and taking care of someone with autism,” said Clarke. Raven shrugged.
“Fine. Don’t do it. I don’t care. But you should think about it. Maybe you can help her,” said Raven. “And God knows how much you like trying to fix people.” Clarke rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I gotta go to the lab. Have fun studying.” Raven limped out the door.
Clarke looked down at the paper next to her and sighed. She got to her cell phone and dialed.
“Hello, I’m Clarke Griffin calling about the position of caretaker…”
*****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
Clarke was surprised to find that Lincoln and his family lived in one of the most beautiful towns in the county of Coalition, Polis. Arkadia University was not a bad school by any stretch, but most people, if they could afford to go somewhere better, they did. Especially, if, like many of the residents of Polis, they were old money.
She pulled up in front of a more modest house, still large, but no excessively so. She walked up to the door and rang the doorbell twice. The door swung open, and she was greeted by…a very angry looking Asian woman.
“Hi,” Clarke said.
“We’re not buying anything. Including Jesus.” She started to slam the door.
“Wait,” said Clarke. “I’m here to apply for the job.” The girl stopped shutting the door.
“Mom!” she yelled. “Lexa’s new babysitter’s here!” The girl stepped back. “Come in.”
The decorations of the house were modest, but Clarke had to admit, it was still really nice. Clarke stepped in. A tall, dark-skinned woman met her almost immediately.
“Hello. My name is Indra Woods. You’re Clarke Griffin?” she asked briskly. Clarke nodded. “Pleasure.” Indra shook her hand firmly. “My eldest son told me you are a friend of Octavia.” Clarke nodded.
“Since middle school,” said Clarke. Indra nodded.
“Between your credentials and the blessing of Lincoln and Octavia, I’m tempted to hire you outright,” she said. “However, with these kind of credentials, a pre-med from Ark Station and doing your doctorate in Arkadia, you could get a much nicer job.”
“Not a job with this flexible of hours this close to the university,” said Clarke. Indra raised an eyebrow at her. “But, um, I also…Octavia told me…” She tried to remember what Raven had briefed her on before she had come here. “That Lexa was very sensitive and had a bad experience with her last, um, caretaker. She told me Lincoln would be comfortable if it was someone he knew.” Indra nodded.
“Hm,” she said. “Let’s see if she likes you.”
Indra led Clarke through a confusing series of halls into a room painted soft blue. There were lots of blankets strewn about and several stuffed animals on the floor, two of them were headless and one was missing an arm. There was a desk pushed into the far corner. Clarke could just make out a thin pair of shoulders.
Indra stepped over the clutter and walked over to the shoulders. Clarke followed her. Something crunched under her foot. She froze. Neither Lexa nor Indra even bothered to look over. Indra firmly placed a hand on Lexa’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Lexa didn’t stop writing.
“Lexa, look at me please,” said Indra. Lexa didn’t look up. “Lexa, I need to know you’re listening.” Lexa still didn’t look up. “You have to the count of three, then eyes on me.” Lexa started mumbling something Clarke couldn’t hear.
“One…two…three—”
“No!” Lexa yelled. Clarke jumped. Lexa had curled up into a ball, her head between her knees. “No, no, no…” Indra reached over and pulled the hood over her head. She grabbed a blanket off the floor and draped it over her shoulder.
“156…143…130…” Lexa mumbled. Clarke looked at Indra, slightly distressed, but Indra wasn’t looking at her. Lexa was rocking slightly.
“Deep breaths. It’s okay. It’s okay,” Indra murmured. She turned the desk chair around. “Look at me please…” Lexa slowly raised her head. Clarke was stunned by her eyes. They were a dark green, and they held so much sadness—so much fear.
Lexa cocked her head to the side. Clarke took a deep breath and approached her.
“Hi,” she said gently. “I’m Clarke. I’m gonna be your new friend. I’m not gonna hurt you, okay?” Clarke gave Lexa the most genuine smile she could manage. Lexa lifted a hand and pushed her wild mane from her face.
“Why are you talking to me like that?” she said. Her voice was surprisingly light and airy. “I’m not a baby.” Clarke’s jaw dropped.
“Sorry…I just thought…” Clarke had no clue what to say. Lexa continued to stare at her. Lexa seemed mesmerized by her. Lexa lifted her head from her knees.
“Lexa,” said Indra. She didn’t move. “Would you like Clarke to be your assistant?” Lexa paused. “It’s okay if you don’t.”
“Are you friends with Octavia?” asked Lexa.
“Best friends,” said Clarke. “Since we were kids.” Lexa nodded slowly.
“Then we’re best friends.”