concordia

twenty two

word count: 922

date written: 2.8.19

verse: medical secrets au

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"but sometimes, when she looked into the mirror, she was sure she could still see the shadow of a unicorn looking back at her," elle finished, turning to the next story and bookmarking the page before she gently closed the book. she yawned, craning her stiff neck, but claire had other ideas and loudly tapped the front cover of the book. 

"more," she demanded quietly, wriggling impatiently in elle's lap when she didn't immediately reopen it. it wasn't uncommon for elle to read to her until she fell asleep, but while she'd started to drift off midway through the last story, she was wide awake now that it was over. 

"more?" elle echoed in disbelief. they'd already gone through two entire stories and they were hardly short -- full novels, almost, compared to the mr. men books from months prior. 

"more," claire mumbled again, yawning slightly as she leaned back against elle and lazily tapped the book a second time. elle rolled her eyes fondly, repositioning her legs and letting the book slide onto the floor. 

"i think we've read enough for one night," she said, nudging the book farther away with her foot as she laid down on her back. claire huffed as she was dragged along, trapped behind elle's arms. she rolled herself over once they were still again, wriggling up elle's body and resting her chin on her collarbone. 

"i am displeased!" she announced with a frown that reflected her claim. elle laughed, lifting her head to look at her. it wasn't unlike claire to come out with 'too big' words, usually picked up from other people, but elle hadn't heard this one yet. 

"displeased, huh?" she said, grinning at claire's expression. she was certainly using it in the right context. "where'd you get that one from?"

"mummy," claire giggled, hugging elle's figure as she nuzzled her cheek against her shirt. "she shouted at mr. stretchan." elle bit back an amused snort at her mispronunciation of his surname, deciding it was too genius to correct. "and he look like this." claire sat up slightly before pulling a ridiculous face that immediately sent elle into a meltdown. her head fell back against the carpet as she burst into laughter that claire was quick to join in on, falling against elle's chest. 

neither of them heard the bedroom door open -- not that it had been closed properly in the first place -- and were unaware that the amount of noise they were making had attracted outside attention until connie came to a stop beside them, clearing her throat. "since when was playtime at 6PM?" she asked, quirking an eyebrow when the pair looked up at her with matching smiles. "not that it even is 6PM anymore." elle angled her head back to look at the clock and groaned when she discovered it was 6:50pm. 

"it's her fault," she said, gesturing down at claire as she pulled herself into a sitting position. claire slid into her lap, curling up into a slight ball as she hugged elle's thigh. 

"wrong," she mumbled, failing to suppress a yawn as she nestled her head into the back of elle's knee. now that she'd fallen still again, she was struggling to keep her eyes open. "mama stopped the reading." 

"because you were tired, muffin," elle pointed out, running her fingers through claire's short curls. "come on, why don't we get you into bed now?" claire freed a hand as she rolled over to look up at them, tiredly rubbing one eye. 

"okay," she mumbled, clinging onto elle's shirt when she gently lifted her up a moment later. she carried her over to the bed on the other side of the room where connie was already waiting with the sheets drawn back and carefully set her down on the mattress. no sooner had her head hit the pillow did connie cover claire with the duvet, tucking her in. 

"good girl," she said, taking her stuffed rabbit from the end of the bed and passing it to her. "mummys have the morning shift tomorrow so we have to get up a little earlier, alright?" claire nodded tiredly, disappearing partly behind her rabbit as she cuddled it against her face. connie smiled, running the back of her hand along the length of claire's arm before leaning over to press a soft kiss to her cheek. "goodnight, darling." 

"don't let the butterflies bite," elle added, and claire giggled slightly when elle bent down to kiss her forehead after connie had stepped back.

"night, mummys," she mumbled, closing her eyes and wriggling further under the duvet as she made herself comfortable. connie and elle watched her until she fell still again before they switched off the light and stepped outside, gently closing the door behind them. it wasn't until they were halfway down the hall that they spoke again. 

"how was work?" elle asked quietly, casting connie a faint look of worry. she'd been meaning to ask her ever since she'd gotten home but with four children on the loose, and dinner yet to even be started, she hadn't had the opportunity. connie shrugged, pausing at the top of the stairs. "is he still bothering you?" 

"not anymore," connie sighed, leaning back against the wall. part of her couldn't help wishing that elle wouldn't ask; this wasn't something she should have to deal with as well. "he moved wards today so..." she looked up, summoning a half-hearted smile as she forced herself to meet elle's questioning gaze. "hopefully that's the end of it." 

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continues in: 23