concordia

eleven

word count: 819

date written: 29.4.19

verse: unspecified au

-

elle lifted the last plate from the soapy water, giving it a final wipe down with the sponge before she placed it gently on the draining board to join the others. with the washing up finally ticked off her to-do list, she dried her hands with the nearby dishcloth and turned back to claire. only to find a whole other issue waiting for her. the almost empty plastic bowl of mushy bananas that had been on her highchair was now turned on its side and what remained of its contents were all over claire's face. upon being spotted, she immediately waved her unused spoon at her mother, beaming brightly.

"oh my god," elle said, trying not to laugh but failing miserably. she threw the dishcloth back on the counter as she retrieved her sponge from the sink, squeezing the water out of it before approaching claire. "i can't leave you alone for five minutes, can i?" she reached out to angle claire's head up towards the light and gently began cleaning her face with the damp sponge, much to her chagrin. she quickly began to fidget and whine in protest, turning her head away to try and escape elle's grasp. "hey, stop that." elle wiped banana from her cheeks with a grin. "you know other mummy will kill me if she comes home to find you looking like this."

claire begrudgingly did as she was told and elle stepped back a moment later to inspect her face for any banana smears she might've missed. finding none, she dabbed the sponge against the tip of claire's nose one last time -- making her scrunch it up in response -- and turned to toss it back into the sink. she then stretched over to grab the dishcloth again and patted claire's clean face dry while she played with the empty bowl in front of her.

"there we go," elle said, draping the dishcloth over her shoulder. "good as new." she gently ruffled claire's short hair, making her squeal, before bending down to retrieve her stuffed rabbit from where it had fallen to the floor. fortunately, flopsy had escaped its owner's experimental banana painting unscathed and elle handed the stuffed animal back to claire, who immediately started squishing it between her little hands.

with the mess resolved, elle turned to the kettle with a sigh. she needed a nice hot cup of coffee before she did anything else, end of story. having spent her morning running around after three young boys (and one cheeky little baby), she more than deserved a chance to put her feet up for five minutes.

kalen entered the room just as she was filling up the kettle but, with his footsteps muffled by his socks, elle didn't realize he was even there until she turned back from the sink. he watched her curiously for a moment, resting his chin on the edge of the kitchen island, before finally piping up. "is mama on the plane?" he said out of nowhere just as elle placed the kettle back on its base.

"what plane, sweetheart?" she asked, leaving the water to boil as she turned to the cupboard overhead and reached inside for the coffee on the bottom shelf -- low enough, of course, for connie to reach without needing to drag a chair across the room.

"the one on tv," kalen answered, having expected her to already know. elle frowned, looking over at him in confusion, and he blinked back innocently, still waiting for an answer to his initial question. elle sighed slightly, at a total loss for what he was referring to.

"show me," she said, setting the jar of coffee on the counter before walking over to lift claire out of her highchair. she'd only begin to whine if she was left unattended in the kitchen so elle carried her into the hall after kalen as he guided them to the lounge. elle wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting but it certainly wasn't the news report he had playing and her frown only deepened as she approached the tv, holding claire tightly while kalen sat back down in front of it. aerial footage of a fiery wreckage was being played onscreen and elle's blood ran cold as she moved close enough to catch what the reporter was saying.

"british airways flight 149 crashed just ten miles short of the runway as it attempted to make an emergency landing in holby. as we speak, emergency services are..." the rest of his sentence devolved into white noise as his words sank in and elle stared wide-eyed at the scene on the tv. the entire world around her had suddenly gone numb and she could taste bile in the back of her throat as she watched the camera pan over the folded tail of what remained of the plane.

crashed ten miles from the runway.

british airways flight 149.

connie's plane.