Chapter Text
In Your Eyes
Eleven Years Ago
Clarke
Clarke had always felt comfortable in the clinic. Since she was two she'd been coming to the clinic with her mother, “a bright smiling face is always the best medicine” her mother told her. Clarke always made sure to smile bright at those who looked the most ill, and they'd always smile back at her brightly, which made her feel accomplished.
However, today was different; she was supposed to be in class. She loved class, but today was more special than usual. They were starting the section on the animals of Earth, and it was a subject Clarke was fascinated with. She'd found some books during the summer at the exchange on animals and she'd read them back to back twice.
Her favorite animals were horses, and she knew everything about horses. Wells didn't know anything about horses, and he was supposed to know everything. Clarke couldn't wait to show off in class, and prove that she was smart, too. Not that Wells didn't already know, but she liked to gloat.
Except, no, she couldn't because her mom was dragging her off to the clinic in Go-Sci instead of toward her class room on Alpha Station to sit in a stuffy room bored out of her mind without a book on horses in sight.
“Mom, why do I have to go to the clinic today?” Clarke pouted, dragging her feet heavily as she followed her mothers brisk pace toward the Med Station.
Abby Griffin stopped in her tracks, turning around to look sternly down at her daughter before she spoke, “Because something very important is happening today, and I need to make sure you're safe.” her mother answered cryptically, “you don't want to go down to engineering with your father, do you?”
“Will Raven be there?” Clarke asked hopefully, watching her mothers triumphant grin fall. Really, Abby should have known better. Clarke always wanted to find Raven. The young wannabe mechanic was always hanging around Mecha Station, after all she lived there. But most often she was in Clarke's father's office trying to learn everything she could to get ahead of her classmates.
She swore she'd be the youngest zero-g mechanic on the ship, Clarke believed her.
Her mom reached back and tugged Clarke to her side tightly, “No sweetie, Raven wont be there today. But Wells will be in the clinic so you two can play chess, is that okay with you?” Clarke nodded sadly. She liked Wells, he was her best friend, but she didn't want to play chess today, she wanted to learn about horses or talk about nonsense with Raven.
The clinic was packed when they reached it, two long lines leading in full of people chattering excitedly. Clarke couldn't understand most of what they were talking about. A dropship, supplies, lottery. It didn't make any sense to her, so she just followed her mother to the tiny little closed off room where Wells was already sitting down to set up the chess table.
“You and Wells stay here. I'll be back around lunch time, okay?” Clarke nodded obediently, perching in a chair opposite Wells at the table. Her mom nodded, satisfied, and walked away. Clarke got lost in the game, as she usually did, eager to beat Wells. It took them almost three hours to complete their game, lots of time was spent plotting moves and re-plotting moves. But when they finished they were both ready to take a break.
It was Clarke's idea to us their secret escape hatch.
“Come on Wells, we do it all the time. What's the big deal?” she taunted when he protested.
His nostrils flared and he raised his chin defiantly, “My dad told me it was important to stay here.”
“Do you always do what your dad says?” Clarke prodded, eyeing Wells carefully, her blue eyes narrowing mischievously as she watched his resolve weaken. She was going whether he came with or not and she was pushing her chair up against the wall and loosening the air vent already when he made his choice. He had to go with her, if only for her own safety.
Besides what would he tell Abby if she came back and Clarke was gone and he wasn't? He could hear it now, no Doctor Griffin, I don't know where Clarke went. She just disappeared. Yeah right.
Clarke hoisted herself up into the air vent with practiced ease, sliding in and rolling carefully around in the vent while Wells put her chair back at the table. They worked as a team, Clarke always crawled in first and turned around to help Wells inside, since she was small enough to twist around completely without getting stuck.
When he was done putting the chair away he picked up the vent cover, tucked it under his chin and grabbed Clarke's hand. He reached his other hand up and grabbed the bottom of the vent and together they pulled him up into the vent. Inside he managed to twist enough to put the vent back on and then he followed Clarke's path through the vents.
They'd discovered the vents last year when her mother and his father had decided that they needed to be kept under a watchful eye after they nearly got stuck in a room that was sealing off for the night without oxygen. Clarke had gotten bored, she wanted to go see her dad and Raven, and then she'd wondered if she could fit through the vents.
When her mom found her hours later back in her bed she'd turned red in the face and grounded Clarke for a month. Jackson had to spend his days sorting medical supplies with Clarke practically tethered to him. He kept muttering about who was really being punished and Clarke tried to pretend she didn't find it funny.
The vents were roomy, at least roomy enough for two six year olds, but they got stuffy fast. Clarke was crawling fast toward the vent that let out on the other side of the clinic near the all but abandoned Earth monitoring room. When she reached the vent, however, there were people talking outside and feet rushing back and forth.
Wells and Clarke sat hunched over in front of it for what felt like hours waiting for the hallway to clear. Clarke thought she was going to suffocate by the time the hallway was cleared and she all but shoved Wells out before falling down herself. She sagged against the cool metal wall and hauled in deep breaths for the next five minutes.
“Why were all of these people out here?” Clarke asked, glancing at Wells.
“Who knows. Probably just the quickest short cut to avoid those long lines out of the clinic. So, where are we going today?” Wells asked, glancing down the hallway toward the old Earth monitoring station. His jaw dropped open.
Clarke's eyes followed his stare and they widened, “The lights, the lights are on Wells!” she scrambled to her feet without hesitation, bolting toward the door. Wells was right behind her, slowing once they got near the door, “we have to get in there.” Clarke declared, looking up, there wasn't an air vent in the hallway that would lead into the room and the door was locked with a pass code.
She frowned.
“Clarke, we should just go somewhere else. They doors are locked and if someone catches us down here...” He was always the first to get worried about rules.
“Well if you want to go back and play chess, fine.” Clarke huffed realizing he was right about not being able to get into the room. At least not from outside. “I'll just go find Raven, she'll help me. She's seven, she's cool.” she stomped away from Wells, her feet carrying her from memory to Mecha Station in search of her non-rule-abiding best friend.
The halls were surprisingly empty, usually mechanics and techs were everywhere running around like the Ark was falling out of the sky, but even her fathers office was empty. There wasn't a soul in sight, which meant she had no clue where to find Raven.
She knew Raven's living quarters were somewhere on Mecha Station, but she'd never been invited, so there was no way that she would be able to find her apartment, and she was starting to feel a bit woozy and cold. After checking her father's office on more time, it was definitely empty, she started her way back toward the clinic, trying to think up an excuse as to why she was outside of the clinic.
Clarke was wandering down an empty hallway one second, the next she was sitting somewhere, strapped in, people were all around, chattering excitedly. She had no idea where she was, she'd never seen this part of the Ark before. She tried to look around, but when she did she was back in the hallway, alone and in silence, yet at the same time she was back in that seat, staring at a woman with brown hair and tired eyes.
Where's Octavia? A boy asked right beside her, she whipped her head from side to side, but she was still alone.
“Who said that?” Clarke asked. She was back in the hallway, and she was still alone. Her heart was hammering in her throat, her fingers were shaking. She needed to get back to the clinic now. Running wasn't allowed on the Ark, but Clarke didn't care-what rule hadn't she broken today? She slid around a corner, stumbling when suddenly she was back in that seat. She crashed to her knees, grabbing her head.
The same woman as before was sitting across from her, now along with a young girl about Clarke's age with long black hair and wide scared eyes. The woman was smoothing her hair lovingly, and whispering. Clarke couldn't hear her.
She was back in the hallway, leaning against a wall panting heavily. Her fingers were quaking and her knees gave out the first time she tried to stand, but eventually she made it to her feet and set off toward the clinic again.
She could see the clinic doors, they were right there. The Ark shuddered and something made a loud bang, Clarke caught herself on the wall, nearly falling down again. The lights flickered, and then she was back in that seat. The woman and girl across from her were gripping the red belts tightly, people were screaming, Clarke looked down and she was clinging to her red belts too.
Except.
Except, no, those weren't her hands, those weren't her clothes. She wasn't hanging onto the straps, someone with large tan hands was clinging to them, and then she was looking around frantically. Jaha was on a small screen above the seats, talking, but everyone else was yelling and Clarke couldn't hear anything.
There was a hard drop, the lights flickered, something felt like it smacked into the back of her head, and she crumpled to the ground. The last thing she heard was someone screaming one name, loudly, completely terrified before she lost all sense of the world around her.
“Bellamy!”