Chapter Text
As Claire took Owen’s hand and stepped out of the helicopter, the wind swept in from the side and brought her hair across her eyes, making it harder to see in front of her. She kept her head down to shield her face and let Owen lead her to the plane with the other passengers, only glancing up every few seconds to check that the red hooded figure she’d grown so accustomed to seeing in her life now was safe and heading in the right direction.
They were at a small airport, somewhere still in Europe, that much Claire was aware of, but she couldn’t recall how long they’d travelled in the helicopter for or heard where they had headed. Just that Kayla had called in a favour and requested a plane to fly eight passengers back to the US. Kayla had omitted the ninth passenger, the baby raptor. Even though the illegal transportation of dinosaurs was standard in her line of work, the fewer people that knew about Beta the better.
Once Claire was on board she took a quick look at her surroundings. The aircraft was mostly empty, apart from a few crates and cages, one of which Owen used to secure Beta in. It appeared to be a passenger plane, except that most of the cabin had been stripped and gutted for cargo use, with only a dozen or so seats remaining up the front. The seats were in pairs and they had filled up quickly. Claire’s eyes became still as they landed once again on the red hooded figure, now seated in the back row. Maisie, alone. Her head resting heavily against the window.
Claire turned to face Owen, who had rejoined her side, and their eyes met with a searching gaze. They were both thinking the same thing: which of them should sit with Maisie. As Claire deliberated, her reasoning immediately aligned with Maisie’s wants and needs. Owen had always been Maisie’s favourite, Claire was well aware of that, and yet she felt something, a niggling, an instinct deep inside, telling her she needed to be the one to sit next to her right now. She tried to tell Owen, but when she opened her mouth a sudden wave of uncertainty rushed over her and no words came out.
Owen smiled at her hesitation and gave her an encouraging nudge in Maisie’s direction. He knew it was what both Claire and Maisie needed, whether they knew it themselves or not. Maisie needed to be with her mom. And Claire with her daughter.
While Owen took the adjacent seat across the aisle, Claire stopped when she reached the empty seat next to Maisie. She hadn’t been noticed standing there yet, the girl’s side view concealed by her hoodie.
‘Hey,’ said Claire softly, but still she didn’t sit down. She didn’t want to, not straight away, lest Maisie didn’t want to sit next to her on a long haul flight back to the States, or in case she just wanted to be left alone with her thoughts.
When Maisie turned to face Claire she stared at her blankly for a moment before finally giving her a small, and somewhat unconvincing, smile in acknowledgment. Claire figured she had pulled Maisie from a deep thought and wondered if she should join Owen instead. But Maisie reached over and pulled the seatbelt out of the way for her to sit down. Claire’s resulting smile was one of great relief because there was nowhere else in the world she wanted to be right now than sitting next to Maisie. And it seemed Maisie wanted her to be there too. Although she hadn’t let the strange reaction she’d had just now go unnoticed.
Not long after Claire had buckled in, the plane began taxiing on the runway. She looked over at Maisie who’d gone back to resting her head against the window, her face once again concealed by the red fabric. Claire longed to speak to her, and find out her state of mind, but it was obvious she wanted to be left alone. It was enough, however, just to be sitting next to her. That they were reunited again. Maisie, safe and sound. So she sank back into the seat instead and waited for takeoff.
Maisie was exhausted. Exhausted, and wide awake. She found it increasingly uncomfortable to be resting her head against such a hard surface and she longed for a pillow. Her pillow. And her bed. All she wanted to do was go home. Back to the cabin in the woods with Claire and Owen. She had grown to despise that place. The house that was never a home. Or at least, in her mind, it had never been quite deserving of that title. She had always felt trapped there, with nowhere to go, and no one to talk to except for them. But now it was all she wanted. All she longed for. To snuggle up in her bed under the covers and forget everything that had happened to her in the last 24 hours. Yes, she couldn’t wait to lay her eyes on that blessed wooden cabin. Her home.
As the wheels lifted from the tarmac, Maisie held onto the armrests and tried to let her head fill with those pleasant thoughts. She was desperate for them to take over the terrifying memories and images that continued to play over and over in her mind.
Claire, meanwhile, stared wide-eyed at the seat in front of her. The plane dropped and shook frequently as it climbed, making her wince internally with every sharp movement. She felt Owen reaching for her hand and she took hold of it gratefully, squeezing back when he squeezed hers reassuringly.
She wasn’t usually an anxious flyer, but given everything she had just experienced, the turbulence was an unwelcome reminder of all that recent terror. She just wanted for everything to be still and quiet. But she could only sit there and take it and hope that the plane would fly smoothly once they levelled out and reached cruising altitude.
What felt like a lifetime later, but in reality was only about ten minutes, the turbulence did indeed cease, and Claire felt like she could finally relax. She exhaled deeply and turned to face Owen.
‘You okay?’ he mouthed, gently stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.
She nodded, sharing a warm smile with him and mouthed back, ‘Thank you.’
Owen winked at her, squeezed her hand again, and then let go. He settled back into his seat and closed his eyes, grateful at last for a respite, and waited for sleep to find him.
Claire watched him for a moment, silently admiring and appreciating him. Adoring the man who was willing to do anything and everything for her and Maisie. For their family. She loved that man, she really did.
And Maisie…
Claire turned her head to check on her. Much like before she couldn’t see much of Maisie from where she was sitting. She looked past the girl to the window instead, and because it was still dark outside, and with the soft cabin lights on, she could see a partial reflection of Maisie in the glass. She was staring out of the window into the night. But something about her eyes didn’t seem quite right to Claire. They were glazed over. Blank, but occupied. Like she was seeing something, only that particular something wasn’t the view she was actually seeing in front of her.
Claire looked down and saw that Maisie’s hand was clutching the armrest. She was clutching it just tightly enough for the white’s of her knuckles to be faintly showing through. And now that Claire took her in fully, she noticed that her shoulders were hunched over more than usual. In fact, her entire body seemed tense and rigid.
‘Hey,’ she said softly, gently placing her hand on top of Maisie’s. ‘You okay?’
Maisie turned away from the window and stared at Claire for just a little too long. Then she shrugged as if it didn’t matter and looked down at the floor.
‘What’s wrong?’ Claire insisted.
‘Nothing. I’m fine.’
Claire thought she detected a hint of agitation in Maisie’s tone. She also noted the significance of the girl having spoken without looking at her. While she wanted a proper answer, Claire didn’t want to push her just yet. Besides, Maisie was probably just tired, because she sure was.
‘It’s been a long day,’ said Claire with a sigh. ‘You should get some sleep.’ She rubbed and patted Maisie’s hand hoping it would relax her a little more.
Just then, Maisie half turned her head to say something, but she stopped herself at the last moment.
Claire’s heart lurched at the girl’s uneasiness. She was genuinely concerned for her now and anxious to know what was troubling her.
‘Hey,’ she said again, in the softest of voices.
She reached over and pulled Maisie’s hoodie down, brushing the hair out of her eyes so she could see her properly. She placed her hand on the farthest side of Maisie’s face and gently guided her head around so that they were facing each other. For a moment Claire did nothing but comfortingly stroke the girl’s flushed cheek. Her thumb then traced lightly over her eyebrow, right next to the little cut she had cleaned up for her just a few hours ago back at the Biosyn sanctuary, and in that moment Claire wished she could heal it for her and make it go away with a simple stroke of her thumb. But time, she knew, would heal it.
Claire cupped the side of Maisie’s face and waited to speak until the girl met her gaze.
‘What is it, sweetheart? What’s wrong?’
Maisie did everything to avoid the woman’s powerful but kind green eyes. ‘I— I’m just tired is all.’
Claire shook her head sadly. ‘That’s not all.’
It upset her that the girl didn’t feel comfortable enough to open up to her. Her gaze deepened as she willed for Maisie to tell her the truth.
‘It’s just—’ Maisie began. ‘Well, I— I—’, but she forced her head away from Claire's gaze when she couldn’t say what she was too ashamed to admit.
Claire let her hand drop from Maisie’s face. Instead she carefully pried the girl’s still tense hand from the armrest and cradled it in the warmth of both of hers.
‘Sweetheart, look at me. Look at me.’
Maisie reluctantly met her gaze once more. There was fear in her eyes, but she wasn’t giving anything away.
‘Please tell me,’ said Claire, giving the girl’s hand a gentle squeeze.
Maisie considered for a moment, caught up amongst all her bombarding thoughts. She was scared to tell Claire. If she told her, if she said it out loud, then it would make it all real. It would confirm everything. It would confirm she was weak. But in Claire’s eyes she recognised a desperate desire to want to help her. And the more comfort she allowed herself to seek within those kind eyes, the more she just wanted to tell her what was wrong.
And then Claire saw it. The exact moment that Maisie gave in. It was like the girl had breathed in a helping of courage and her eyes became unguarded. Claire stooped her head as Maisie gulped and leaned in closer to her.
‘I want to sleep, but I’m— I’m…afraid to shut my eyes,’ Maisie whispered.
‘Ohhh,’ breathed Claire, finally understanding, and wondered why she hadn’t figured that out herself. She let go of Maisie’s hand to raise the armrest that separated them both and held out her arm for the girl to cuddle into. ‘Come here.’
Maisie didn’t hesitate. She sank into Claire’s embrace and wrapped her arms tightly around the woman’s waist.
Claire knew how terrifying and frighteningly real the images inside Maisie’s head right now could be. Enough to make your heart pound. To paralyse you. To keep you awake all hours of the night. She held the girl firmly against her and whispered softly in her ear.
‘It’s okay, Maisie. It’s all over now. You’re safe. We’re all safe. You’re okay now, and I’m here. I’m right here Maisie, and I’ve got you. I’ve got you, sweetheart. I promise.’
She rocked her gently and continued whispering soothing words until she felt the girl’s body loosening up and beginning to relax. For the longest time she just sat there and held her. She’d made up her mind to stay like that until Maisie was ready or wanted to let go.
After a while the adrenaline had left Maisie’s body and all she felt now was exhausted. She was still scared to close her eyes and go to sleep, but with Claire right there she felt safer. That everything really was going to be okay. And if something were to go wrong, she took comfort in the fact that she wasn’t alone.
Maisie sighed deeply, retracted her arms from Claire’s waist, and leaned over further to rest her head in the woman’s lap. Her eyelids finally closed. And they remained closed.
Claire, surprised but quietly content by Maisie’s continued closeness, bent down and placed a soft kiss on her temple. With one hand resting protectively on the girl’s back she gently stroked her light brown hair with the other.
Owen, who had caught some of the conversation and seen their interaction, reached over and placed his hand on Maisie’s head, rubbing it gently. Claire then placed her hand on top of his and looked over to meet his gaze. They shared a tender smile in the knowledge that they were all okay. That their family was still together. That they were on their way home.
Claire knew it was going to be a difficult road ahead of them as they all dealt with their trauma and moved on from what had just happened. But right now she could relax. With Maisie warm and asleep on her lap, Claire laid her head back and closed her eyes too, and at last succumbed to a much needed sleep.