Three Years

fourteen

"Kirst, please calm down, you're making me feel more anxious than I already am," Avi said to Kirstin, who was clearly panicking. Her entire body was shaking and she wouldn't stop playing with her hair. She murmured something that sounded a lot like a curse word and continued to play with her hair that was so interesting to her, apparently.

Sierra's been hurt.

That was the only thing running through her mind. After hearing those three simple words, it felt like her entire world had come crashing down and burst into flames. The words rung over in ears and she had to ask Tori to repeat herself. However, she regretted asking that because it meant she had to hear the words a second time. 

Tori then proceeded to explain what had happened. "I just heard these strange shuffling noises in the middle of the night, so I went into the kitchen to see what was happening. I found that it was Sierra who was on top of the kitchen counter. She was trying to reach the phone that was on top of the cupboard - I figure that she missed you and was trying to call you. Before I could put her safely down, she had already lost her footing and fell."

That killed Kirstin inside; she was the reason her daughter was hurt. Sierra had just been trying to call her and in the process she injured herself. "She's in the hospital now. She bumped her head and her arm is severely broken, otherwise she's okay. But..." this is where Tori hesitated."Sierra needs to have an operation on her arm." That was the moment when Kirstin broke down. Her poor, little angel was in the hospital, probably terrified of all the machines, and it was all her fault. So now Kirstin was stuck on a 12 hour plane trip with Avi who was completely unaware of what was going on. She didn't want him to come with her but he was as stubborn as a mule and would not take no for an answer. 

"You're not emotionally stable enough to fly to a different continent on your own," he had said to her earlier. 

Maybe she wasn't, but any normal person wouldn't be stable if their daughter was hurt and a million miles away. So they left the wedding in a frenzy - first apologising and explaining to Kevin and Alyssa what was happening, of course - packed their bags and boarded the first flight they could get to London.

"I'm worried about you. I have no idea why we're on a flight back to London or why you're so upset, please talk to me, Kirstie," Avi begged. Kirstin finally looked up and and saw the love in his eyes. He truly cared about her. She sighed and lifted the armrest that was creating a barrier between the two. She cuddled closer to him and interlocked their hands. 

"Why do you put up with me, Avi? Our first encounter after three years involved me just yelling at you, and now something happened that's not your fault and I'm still mean to you. Why do you put up with it?"

"After all I did to you, yelling at me is just minor. I don't deserve you. If I were you I wouldn't have forgiven me," Avi kissed the top of Kirstin's head lightly and so she closed her eyes, enjoying the moment. 

The soprano mumbled quietly, "I've done things that are as bad as what you did, possibly worse."

Avi chuckled, also feeling quite sleepy himself; it had been a rough day. "I'm sure your idea of doing something bad is bumping into someone without apologising."

Her throat tightened and she found the palm that was connected with Avi's went sweaty, "Avi, I'm serious. I did something horrible and I'm not sure how you're going to react once I tell you this." A pause. "It also interlinks with the reason why we're sitting on this very plane." 

Avi looked at his ex with confusion and suspicion written on his face, "Continue..." 

Kirstin looked up at the man she was cuddled with and felt her entire body go numb; it was now or never, there was no going back after this. 

"Avi, you have a daughter."