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It all begins as a beautiful morning for Lexa Woods as she watches the waves crash into the sandy shore before drifting further inland to lick at her feet. The sun is out; its rays warming her skin as she feels a small, excited smile slowly creep its way across her lips. After a long week of work, the young lawyer is finally free to enjoy a hot autumn day at the local beach doing what she loves the most. Gripping the surfboard she has tucked under her arm, she takes a deep, steadying breath and races out into the salty ocean water for the first time in weeks.
The brunette is well-versed in the art of surfing, having learned everything she knows from her Uncle Gustus, who was a pro in his younger days. She understands how to judge a swell and predict how it will behave. She knows how to drop in off a wave and ride a curl. Surfing feels comfortable to her, almost as if it were second-nature. Unfortunately, an extensive knowledge can only go so far in ensuring a surfer’s safety, especially when the waves decide to have a mind of their own.
The session starts out well enough. Lexa rides along the beach break to warm up before paddling further out to traverse the larger waves. Everything is shaping up to be a great day of surfing for the woman. In that moment, life is good.
Until it isn't.
Things suddenly take a turn for the worse when she is riding along a large set and the wave begins folding in on itself at a much faster rate then what she is prepared for. Captured completely off guard, the woman attempts to correct herself, but she gets her timing wrong and is unexpectedly sent flying back as the wave continues to crash on top of her.
There is a moment of disorientation for the surfer before she attempts to swim upwards, her body still being sucked down with the current against her will. Lexa is just about to finally break the surface when her surfboard suddenly whips her directly in the forehead as it tumbles about in the waves above. The woman is instantly met with a mind-numbing pain as she feels the darkness seeping into her consciousness, and just as she is about to pass out in the water, she feels an arm wrap around her torso to pull her back up to meet fresh air.
"Clarke, why are you still here? You were supposed to have left an hour ago," Dr. Raven Reyes chides as she comes storming down the hall towards her friend. "Go the hell home before I am forced to get the other Dr. Griffin involved."
Without looking up from the chart she is reviewing, Dr. Clarke Griffin attempts to clarify, "Oh, so what you mean to say is that you are going to tattle on me to my mother?"
"Oh my god, you are impossible. I'll never be able to understand why you insist on overworking yourself here at the hospital when you have a big, comfy bed waiting for you at home."
"How do you know my bed is comfy? You've never slept in it. For all you know, it could be a lumpy nightmare."
"Well, Octavia says it’s awesome."
Finally tearing her eyes away from the file in her hands, Clarke glances up at the woman to clarify, "Octavia was drunk off her ass when she slept over. I'm surprised she even remembers it."
"She also told me it was pitch black in there after you pulled all the curtains closed the next morning, which is another added bonus for you going home to rest since it is two o'clock in the afternoon and there’s not a cloud in the sky."
"Whatever, I'll leave right after I-" the blonde tries to compromise before receiving a sudden page. Looking down to read the message, she hastily takes off down the hall, finishing, "Right after this case."
"What? No, don't you even think abou-" Raven protests before realizing she was not going to able to stop her stubborn friend before slowly turning to walk away in the opposite direction, grumbling under her breath, "Damn it, Clarke."
The words fall on deaf ears, however, as Clarke continues to make her way towards a group of her colleagues who were scrubbing in and joins them as she looks over to her associate, Dr. Monty Green, and inquires, "Any idea on the situation?"
"Yeah, apparently a twenty-eight-year-old female was sucked under while surfing. Patient was resuscitated before the paramedics arrived on scene but was still drifting in and out of consciousness when we last spoke to them. The medic also mentioned a possible head injury that occurred during the incident," Dr. Green informs as he dries his hands and begins gloving up.
"ETA?"
The man briefly glances over his shoulder at the large clock on the wall behind him and estimates, "Four, maybe five minutes."
"Alright then," Clarke states, mentally preparing herself for her next case before finding the frustrated gaze of Dr. Abigail Griffin as the woman makes a beeline towards her.
"Clarke, what are you-?" Abby goes to question before being interrupted by the sound of the EMS team busting through the emergency room doors with the awaited patient.
"I'm gone after this, Dr. Griffin. I promise," Clarke calmly reasons as she turns away from the sink to face the woman, pausing only to get her approval. Knowing there was nothing she could say to stop her daughter, Abby reluctantly yields to her daughter's request to stay with a terse nod and displeased scowl, signaling Clarke to mutter a quick word of thanks as she rushes to follow the paramedics, who were already wheeling the patient down the hall and into the appropriate triage room.
After the team transfers the woman off the gurney and onto the hospital examination table, Clarke involuntarily glances over to look at the woman's face and quickly feels her world come to a screeching halt. Her heart suddenly tightens in her chest as she forces down the urge to reach up and touch the woman's soft cheek. Snapping out of the split second lapse in concentration, she quickly glances around the room to make sure no one noticed before focusing back on the task at hand, all the while knowing one thing: she does not know how or when, but she has seen this woman before.
A couple of hours later, Clarke finds herself standing in the doorway of the recovery room her latest patient was given to rest in after the day's long events. Quietly walking over to the sleeping woman’s bedside, Clarke carefully inspects her vitals for any sign of irregularities before pulling up a chair to sit beside the bed while she reviews the patient's chart and test results.
Glancing up at the brunette lying on the hospital bed, she again feels as if she has met the woman before but still cannot seem to place exactly from where. Clarke continues to read over the printed sheets of information in Lexa Wood’s file as she racks her brain to remember where she knew the brunette from to no avail.
Suddenly, her patient’s bright green eyes slowly flutter open as she lets out a low groan, which immediately catches the young doctor's attention. Lexa’s gaze shifts lazily around the room before catching sight of the white-coated stranger sitting beside her, and her eyes only manage to widen a fraction before suddenly wincing as she sluggishly reaches up to press her fingertips to the source of her pain.
"Oh, no no! Please don't do that or else you're going to hurt yourself even more."
Lexa gives a slight pause before scrunching her face up in confusion and croaking out, "W-Who are you?"
"Oh, um, yes. Sorry. I'm Doctor Griffin. You were brought into Arkadia Memorial Hospital earlier this afternoon. Do you by any chance remember what happened?"
The young lawyer shifts her focus to stare down at the blanket covering the lower half of her body, furrowing her brow as she attempts to recall the day’s events. "Um, I remember going out to surf. There was a wave I misjudged. I, uh, wiped out. The current flipped me around for a couple of seconds before-before my board hit me," she recalls as she slowly lifts her hand to gently graze the tender skin of the large gash that was now sewn together by suture.
"Well, your story sounds consistent with the symptoms you came in suffering from,” Clarke notes as she flips back to the top sheet of the woman’s file to read off, "Some water found in the lungs, small laceration on forehead, and a minor concussion. You know, you really did a number on yourself, Ms. Woods."
Lexa was just about to respond to the doctor’s teasing remark when the pair suddenly notices Clarke’s friend and fellow associate, Dr. Octavia Blake, walking into the room. Octavia instantly stops in her tracks when she notices the blonde sitting in the room and narrows her eyes at her as she chides, "Clarke, what the hell are you still doing here? Raven and your mom are going to kill you if they find out you haven't left."
Clarke notices Lexa wince at the loud tone she was using and instantly feels protective over the woman, instantly flicking her eyes up to glare at her friend. "Dr. Blake, I would really appreciate it if you'd lower your voice. It would also be great if you were to refrain from speaking about personal matters in front of my patient," Clarke requests in a low growl as she shoots the woman a dirty look, trying to get her point across without having to use as many words.
Octavia briefly glances over at the woman on the bed before giving a nonchalant wave of her hand as if they have nothing to worry about. "Oh, please! I've known this knucklehead since way before I even met you, and I-"
"Hey, don't call me a-"
"And I," Octavia restates just loud enough to speak over Lexa’s failed attempt at an interruption before continuing to explain, "can assure you that her ears will be just fine. Anyways, I was actually coming in here to check up on her and see how she was doing when your grumpy, overprotective ass distracted me."
"Wait, what?"
"Yeah, this is Lexa, remember? Lincoln’s cousin?"
"She-" Clarke begins as she looks down and rereads the name on the chart before putting two and two together, pointing over at the injured brunette with her pen. "This is the same woman I was supposed to go on that blind date with tonight?"
"Yes, which is why you were supposed to be long gone by now so you could have time to take a nap and get ready. No offense, but you look like shit."
"Well, I personally think she looks stunning," Lexa speaks up from behind Clarke, causing the blonde to spin her head around to find her patient sitting there with a polite grin.
"Uh, thanks?" Clarke replies with a mildly questioning tone as a small smile starts to pull at the corner of her mouth.
"Anytime," Lexa responds with wink, which only causes her to wince due to the sutured cut on her forehead.
Octavia cannot help but laugh at the woman's pain-inducing antics before sending her an amused look, glancing over at Lexa as if she had never expected her to readily flirt with the blonde doctor before turning her attention back to Clarke. "Alright, I should get back to making my rounds. Is she going to be okay, Griff?”
Clarke doesn’t break eye contact with Lexa, a pleasant grin firmly planted on her lips as she simply answers, “Yeah, I expect she should make a full recovery.”
“Awesome,” she responds as she briefly glances back and forth at the two, who barely seem to remember she was even there. “Linc will be glad to hear you're alive, Lex. Oh, and Dr. Griffin?"
Realizing that her and her patient had gotten lost in their own little world, Clarke tears her eyes away from Lexa to look over to her friend and stutters out, "Y-yeah?"
"Please get out of here before one of your keepers finds you. I'm sick of having to hear them gripe about how you never leave this place,” Octavia groans playfully before walking back out into the hall, shutting the door quietly behind her.
After the other doctor leaves, Lexa wonders aloud, "So, did you still just so happen to be hanging around here so you'd have an excuse to cancel our date, or-?"
"What? No, never. Why would I-?" Clarke attempts to refute before noticing the knowing look Lexa is giving her and concedes, "Fine, I may have been trying to find an excuse to call off dinner tonight, but that's only because it's been a really long time since I've dated anyone and I feel really awkward going on a date with someone I've never actually met in person so I-"
"Hey, hey, I totally understand. I'm kind of in the same boat, so you don't need to explain yourself to me. Plus, I'm pretty sure I would have been forced to cancel anyway since, well, you know," Lexa admits as she weakly waves the hand that is connected to her IV and heart monitor, the wires and tubes rustling together as she moves her arm about. "Though, I'm not sure what I expected. I mean, you didn't even seem to remember your date's name until Octavia reminded you."
"Hey, no! That's not what happened, you jerk," Clarke playfully scolds. "All the little details regarding outside stuff gets put on the back burner while I'm in here. My patients, including yourself, come first. Also, it isn't like I expect my dates to come waltzing into the hospital with head injuries on the day of our first date."
"Is that what you call waltzing, Dr. Griffin? Because you really need to work on your definition of the term if that's the case. Shoot, I'm tempted to get up and show you the difference firsthand."
"Actually, how about we take a raincheck on that? You know, for once you are out of the hospital and no longer a patient? I know of a great dance hall on the other side of town if you are interested."
Giving a firm nod of her head, the brunette confirms, "Sounds like a plan to me. Plus, I'm pretty sure I'd fall over if I tried to stand up right now."
"And we wouldn't want you getting any more hurt than you already are, would we?"
"Nope, we definitely wouldn't," Lexa answers with a wry smile, already feeling surprisingly optimistic about their rescheduled first date and everything else that is to come for the two women.