Heaven Can't Wait - Chapter 52
15 Mar 2022 10:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jennickels
Chapter Fifty-Two - A Nightblood
Bellamy shakes off Miller and ignores Indra. He drops down in front of Heaven. Her lip is busted open along with a cut on her cheek, and her nose is already crusted with black blood. Harper looks as confused as he feels. The people around them have finally noticed. The shouts turn to whispers. This is about to get very out of control with the number of Grounders around. A Nightblood. Just what they’ve been looking for.
He quickly gathers the terrified Heaven into his arms. Immediately, her fingers are in his hair as she sobs into his shoulder. Despite the situation, he feels his nerves relax as soon as he hugs her. He pushes through the crowd, Miller, Harper, and Indra on his heels. Kane and Octavia meet him at the exit. Bellamy doesn’t pay any attention to them. All he knows is that Heaven is hurt, and he has to help her. He doesn’t notice the violent shaking of the station as the storm pummels it or the frightened masses huddled in the halls.
Abby and Clarke are already in Medbay when they arrive. Abby looks up from where she’s helping a Guard injured in the fight. Her eyes widen. She turns treatment over to a frazzled-looking nurse then hurries over just as Bellamy sets Heaven carefully on a counter in the corner away from prying eyes.
“What happened?” She’s in full doctor mode, but he can hear the parental concern under those words as soon as she sets eyes on Heaven’s injuries.
Bellamy can’t form the words or he might explode. Harper is more than willing to help, though.
“That asshole foster father hit her,” she says through her teeth. “Who does that?”
“Bellamy,” Abby says softly.
It takes him a second to realize she needs him to move out of the way, but he doesn’t want to let go of her. Heaven seems just as reluctant to release him. As soon as he backs away, she starts crying again. She smacks away Abby’s hands and launches herself at Bellamy. He barely manages to catch her in time.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he whispers. “Remember, Abby’s a friend. She’s just going to make sure you’re not hurt.”
Any more than you obviously are. What if this isn’t the first time? This could have been going on the entire time.
The thought tears at his heart. He squeezes her tight as tears burn his eyes. How could anyone hurt her?She’s so pure and innocent and perfect. He carefully pushes her tangled hair from her face. Her lashes are thick with tears, eyes puffy and red. She looks awful. Even worse than when he found her wandering in the forest alone. Someone hands him a damp cloth, and he uses it to wipe the dried blood from her face.
How did we not know this? A Nightblood. That seems like a big thing. Important. But no one knew? Abby surely drew blood after he rescued her. God knows, she took enough of his while recovering from exposure to the Black Rain.
But after racking his brain, he can’t remember Abby ever actually taking a blood sample from Heaven. She swabbed burns, took her blood pressure, checked her ears. But the one time he remembered her bringing out a needle, Heaven freaked out. She said they’d do it another time.
Once he’s gotten most of the blood gone, she shoves her thumb in her mouth and makes a face when it bumps her cut lip. But it doesn’t stop her from sucking on it. She sniffles and lays her head on his shoulder.
“Better?”
She lets out a shuddering breath. Bellamy’s own breathing slows as he listens to her. Her fingers twisting his hair doesn’t hurt either. He finally looks up at the small group surrounding him. He ignores the other patients and random nurses glancing over to watch the drama. Abby looks sympathetic of course. So does Octavia. What surprises him is the look of pity on Indra’s face, but as soon as she notices him staring, her features change. Her lip curls up. She obviously hates being seen as weak. Or she just really hates seeing you happy.
He almost laughs at the thought because it’s probably the truth.
“How many people saw?” Abby asks once Heaven finally allows her to take a look at her injuries.
Bellamy exchanges looks with the others. “The Mess Hall was packed. But there were a few other fights happening. It was chaotic.”
“There were at least a dozen people in the immediate vicinity,” Indra adds. “Grounders. They will have seen the blood.”
Octavia glares at the ground. “It wasn’t only Grounders either. There were a lot of people watching. Word is going to spread fast that she’s a Nightblood.”
Bellamy doesn’t like the thought of that. His grip tightens slightly, and he has to force himself to relax.
“That,” Abby says, pulling out a needle and vial, “could be a good thing.”
“How?”
“Not that everyone knows. But if Heaven is a Nightblood and healed that quickly from the Black Rain-”
“Then maybe there’s something about her blood,” Clarke finishes, eyes lighting up. “The chip produced small amounts of radiation. To counteract that, Becca developed the Nightblood treatment to withstand the effects. It’s the reason she could implant the chip and tolerate the radiation on the ground. She passed that on to the Grounders. It’s the reason only Nightbloods can be Commanders.”
“Your point,” Bellamy says flatly.
You know her point.
Clarke’s face falters. “If her Nightblood was able to filter and help her recover more quickly from the Black Rain maybe we could-”
“No.”
Everyone looks at him.
“But-”
“I said no. You are not experimenting on her. She’s just a kid.”
“But Bellamy,” Abby says, laying a hand on his arm. “If her blood holds the key to surviving the radiation, don’t we owe it to ourselves to try.”
His eyes narrow at her. “Not if it means torturing a little girl.”
“Nobody said anything about torture. It’s just a sample of blood.”
“How many samples? One now. Another in a day. Then more. What if it works, and you need even more of her blood to make enough treatments? When does it end?”
“Bellamy, you’re being unreasonable,” Clarke says. “We just need a sample to do some tests.”
He wheels around on her, anger flaring his nostrils. “I said no; end of discussion.” He tightens his grip on Heaven lest anyone gets any ideas about sneaking her off to get stuck by a bunch of needles. Over my dead body.
“It’s not your decision to make,” Indra interrupts Abby and Clarke’s protests. She glares at Bellamy before turning to Abby. “But I concur—you won’t experiment on the only true Commander. I won’t allow it.”
Bellamy’s grip tightens. “She’s not your Commander. She’s a toddler, for Christ’s sake. A baby.”
“As were all the Commanders before her. She will be trained, and when she comes of age-”
Panic grips Bellamy, making it hard to breathe. His eyes search the room for an escape, but where would he go that they wouldn’t find her? He’s trapped. Heaven’s trapped—doomed to live and die as a Grounder Commander no matter what she wants. This is crazy.
Clarke lays what’s probably supposed to be a comforting hand on his arm, but it only feels like a betrayal. She’s on their side. He jerks away from her, burying his face in Heaven’s neck. She no longer smells like lavender—just blood and sweat and tears. Or maybe those are his tears.
There’s further discussion and argument that Bellamy ignores. They’re not going to let him have a say. He doesn’t deserve a say.
You’re not her father, the voice says.
No, I’m not.
Apparently, a consensus is reached. Indra steps forward, reaching for Heaven, but Bellamy pulls away.
“You were supposed to keep her safe. You failed her once already—why should I trust you again?”
“And now all the Grounders are going to want a piece of the new Commander,” Harper adds, chewing on the corner of her nail, looking nervous. “That can’t be a healthy way to grow up.”
Indra crosses her arms. “What do you suggest?”
“An Arkadian family can take her-”
“Out of the question.”
Bellamy grinds his teeth to keep from yelling. “Just until you can find a Grounder family—one that won’t abuse or take advantage of her because she’s a Nightblood.”
The muscles in Indra’s jaw pop as she considers the offer. “This is just an excuse to be close to her.”
“No,” Bellamy says with a sigh. “I promise to stay away just like before. Anything to keep her safe.”
Indra considers for another moment then nods. “Then this is acceptable. For now.”
Bellamy sighs with relief. She’ll be safe from the Grounders, at least for a little while.
“Do you have someone in mind?” Kane asks.
Bellamy nods. “I have a thought.”
