┊┊┊┊ ➶ CASSIE 🛩⌇ ｡˚ ✧ ﹐

"Olive, can you pass the strawberries?" Cassie asked as she cut her daughter's pancakes. The teenage girl muttered a small 'mhm' before sliding the bowl of strawberries over to Cassie. The blonde hair girl grabbed three strawberries and cut them in half, putting them on her four year old's pancakes, "Here you go, Kayla."

"Thanks, Mummy," Kayla said before stuffing her face with food.

"So..." Cassie looked at her watch, it's 10:am and she was out of things to do. "Wanna watch a movie Ol?"

Olive didn't look up from her phone as she replied, "Depends, what movie?"

"What movie do you want to watch?"

"Wolf Creek?!"

Cassie chuckled, "No way! Your mother would kill me. What about The Conjuring?"

"Sure," Olive shrugged as she put her phone down.

Cassie grinned as she walked into the kitchen and grabbed out a large bowl, a bag of popcorn, some sweets and chocolates. She opened the fridge, welcoming the chilly air as it hit her pale skin. Cassie grabbed out two cans of Coca Cola and a Pop-top which she got for Kayla just in case.

Cassie realised she had grabbed too much stuff when the popcorn kept slipping out of her grip, "Ol! I need a hand!"

No reply.

Cassie's ears pricked as she heard quiet footsteps approach the kitchen, "Damn, you went all out on the sweets, Aunt Cass!"

She smiled sheepishly, "I know, it'll be our little secret, don't tell your mum."

Olive rolled her eyes playfully before grabbing the popcorn, bowl and bags of sweets, "I call dibs on the Nerds!"

"No fair!"

Olive opened the packet of Nerds and ate a mouthful. Cassie gasped playfully, "How dare you?!" The phone rang which caught the two girls' attention, "I got it."

Cassie walked over to the house phone and grabbed it, "Hello?"

"Mrs Stone?"

"This is Miss Stone speaking, Grace isn't at home at the moment. I can pass on a message though."

"Miss Stone, Montego Air 8-2-8 has landed. Your family are at Stewart Airport. Michaela Stone, Benjamin and Calvin Stone were all present on the plane."

The phone fell out of Cassie's hand, the blonde girl felt her hands began to shake, "O-Ollie!" She yelled, "Olive! Come here!"

"What is it?" She heard the teenage girl ask as she walked into the kitchen, she gasped as she saw Cassie on the verge of tears. "Oh my gosh. What happened are you okay?"

"I'm okay." Cassie smiled, as she hugged Olive, "We're okay. Flight 828- They're alive!"

"What?!

Olive exclaimed, she always knew that her family was alive, that Michaela, her dad and brother had somehow survived despite popular belief. Olive could feel him, her twin, she could feel Cal and that they were still alive. Olive looked at the phone that was on the floor, she picked it up, "They're alive?! Where have they been?"

"I couldn't say Miss"

"Thank you! Thank you!" Olive cried as the person on the other side of the phone hung up. She looked at her Aunt, who was trying to keep herself together but failing miserably, "We need to tell mum!"

Cassie agreed.

┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁ 🛩⌇ ｡˚ ✧ ﹐

FIVE AND A HALF YEARS AGO

Cassie looked at the test on the shelves. Her light blue eyes wondering between the variety of tests, 'why are there so many?' She asked herself, surely there didn't need to be over ten different types of pregnancy tests. Maybe they do different things. Cassie grabbed the closest test to her and read the packet, 'first response 14 day ovulation kit' what the fuck does that mean? Cassie couldn't understand what the packet was saying, maybe it was because of her nerves or because she was still slightly hungover. Cassie's ears pricked as she heard someone whispering behind her, "She looks like a mess."

A man snickered, "Poor kid."

"Hey! What is your problem?!" Cassie asked as she turned to face the two men whispering behind her, "If you have something to say, say it to my face! Don't be a pussy about it."

The taller man rolled his eyes, "Whatever." The two went to walk away.

Cassie raised her voice, "I asked you a question. What's your problem? You seemed eager to voice your opinions about me when you thought I wasn't listening."

The short blond-haired man looked at Cassie, "Look, I don't care about your problems."

Cassie scoffed, "Then stop talking about me."

The two men rolled their eyes before walking away. She looked back on the shelf, "Pardon me," a middle aged lady said as she grabbed a test off of the shelf and handed it to her. "This test is for early detection."

Cassie looked at the lady, she was short and pushing a stroller that had twin girls in it. "Thank you," Cassie grabbed the test. "Sorry about yelling, if I knew there were kids near by-"

The lady laughed, "No, no, I'm glad you yelled at them. They were being jerks, you should be able to look at pregnancy tests without being judged."

"Thank you." The lady nodded before walking away. Cassie went over to the cash register and paid for the test.

┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁ 🛩⌇ ｡˚ ✧ ﹐

NOVEMBER 2018 (PRESENT TIME)

Cassie had volunteered to drive, Grace wanted to but Cassie refused after seeing how bad her hands were shaking. Cassie had called her father and told him that the flight had returned, he was driving separately so that there was enough car space for Michaela, Ben and Cal to get home. "Dad, did you tell Jared?"

"I texted him but he can't make it, there's an emergency down at the station."

"What?! Surely there is enough officers there. I know that Jared's married to Lourdes but Mick will still want to see him," Cassie shook her head, she was never the biggest fan of Jared, honestly Cassie wasn't the biggest fan of Grace until flight 828 disappeared.

"I know but Jared's the lead detective, there are two little girls depending on him."

Cassie looked through the mirror and at her little girl, Kayla was asking Olive a series of questions about Ben and Cal, two people she never got the chance to meet. Cassie's mood softened as she thought about the two missing girls, sisters, one of them not much older than Kayla. "I get it, he's got a job he has to do. Okay, we're at the airport now, see you inside Dad."

Cassie stopped the car and undid Kayla's seatbelt, the young four-year-old looked up to her mother and tilted her head, "How are we seeing Aunt Mick? You said she died."

"I was wrong."

"How?"

Cassie bit her lip, "Sometimes adults are wrong." Kayla pouted as Cassie grabbed her hand, the little girl unsatisfied with her mother's answer. "Come on, let's meet your family."

When they got inside the airport, Cassie saw her father waiting for them. Kayla ran up to her grandfather, "Poppy!" The four-year-old exclaimed as she jumped onto him, attacking the elder man with hugs. Cassie chuckled at the sight.

Cassie looked at Olive, who usually had her head buried in her phone, "How are you doing?"

"How do you think?"

"I think you're probably freaking out on the inside but you're trying to keep yourself together for your mum," Olive crossed her arms as she turned away from Cassie, "I'm right, aren't I?"

Olive groaned, "Yes," she lowered her voice to a weak whisper, "I just don't understand! Where have they been this whole time?!"

"I don't know Ol, but I do know one thing. Whatever happened, your father had no control over it because he would have never wanted to leave you and your mother alone."

Olive's eyes began to water, she wiped them before burying her face in her hands, "I know, I know. But-" she looked at Cassie, her big brown eyes red and glassy, "I can't help but feel mad at him."

Olive began to cry, she looked around for her mother, Grace had gone over to the front and was talking to the people keeping them from seeing the passengers. Cassie grabbed Olive and wrapped her arms around her niece, "That's okay. You're allowed to feel that way," Cassie ran her hand softly through Olive's curly brown hair. "You had to grow up so much faster than you were supposed to, you're allowed to be resentful."

"Olive! Steve! Cass! They're opening the gate!" Grace yelled as she grabbed her purse.

Steve grabbed Kayla and ran in front, "Come on Ol."

┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁ 🛩⌇ ｡˚ ✧ ﹐

"Ben! Ben!!" Grace ran to Ben as she spotted him, running faster than Cassie had ever seen her sister-in-law run, waving her arms like a mad woman. Grace pushes herself through the crowd, "Ben!" She sobbed as she wrapped her arms around the three returning.

Cassie looked ahead at the group, her heart skipped a beat as she saw her older sister, who looked as if she hadn't aged a day in the last five and a half years. Cassie lowered her gaze and saw Cal, Olive's twin, a boy who should be fifteen years old, who was still just ten and a half. "How?"

Steve and Kayla were the next to reach the gang, "Hi, Daddy," Michaela said softly as Steve engulfed his eldest daughter with hugs and kisses, smothering her with a tight embrace. "Who's this?" She asked as she looked down at the toddler who was tightly holding Steve's hand.

"I'm Kayla!" The little girl said as she held up four fingers, showing her age to her long-lost aunt.

"Kayla?" Michaela questioned, hearing the familiar sound of her own name in the toddler's. Steve chuckled at his youngest granddaughter's actions, he was the one who had just taught Kayla how to show people her age.

Grace continued to kiss and hug her husband, she was standing on her tippy-toes as she reached for every space on his face. Ben chuckled, "It's okay. We're okay."

Grace looked at her son, miraculously he was the same age that he saw had been five and a half years ago, still her little sick boy who had volunteered to go on the later flight with his father. She grabbed her son's face softly, "I don't understand. How? How are you the same? You haven't aged a day."

Cassie and Olive are the last to join the group, Olive is holding Cassie's hand squeezing it tight. "Oh my god," Cassie stared dumbfounded at her siblings and then her nephew, it's even more of a miracle up close.

This catches Ben's attention as he turns to face Cassie, "Olive." He whispered as a tall teenage girl stood in front of him, her big brown eyes catching tears. Cal looked up at his sister and froze at the sight before running off

"Cal!" Grace cried as she chased after him.

Ben hugged Olive, still frozen as his arms wrapped around his teenage daughter.

Cassie smiled as she saw her niece and brother reconnect after five and a half years of thinking that Olive would never get the chance to sob in her father's arms again.

She then turned to her father, Cassie watched as Kayla showed Michaela her butterfly dress. Cassie grinned as she ran a hand softly through Kayla's hair. "Is she your daughter?" Michaela asked.

"Yeah. I found out I was pregnant just before flight 828 disappeared."

"And Kayla?" Michaela raised an eyebrow at her niece's name.

"Her full name is Michaela Callie Stone, I named her after you and Cal."

Michaela chuckled, "Don't you dare tell Ben that when I'm not around."

Steve shook his head as he hugged his two daughters, a thing which he had spent the last five and a half years wanting to do. Michaela looked around, enjoying her father's hug but missing another pair of arms, "Where's mum? And Jared?"

Steve breaks the hug and looks at Cassie, he hopes she has the words to explain but she is just as lost as him. Cassie looked at Ben, her older brother who was listening to their conversation. "I texted with Jared. He couldn't make it over. Work emergency."

Michaela looked between Cassie and Steve, she didn't need to be a cop to know that they had purposely thought about her mother, "And mum?"

"Your mom got sick. She fought, so hard." Cassie looked at Ben, her older brother who had fought so hard so that his son would survive when he got sick. She knew that deep down, Ben would hold himself responsible. Cassie grabbed her brother and wrapped her arms around him, as he stared quietly.

Michaela's eyes widened, "What're you talking about, sick-" Her voice cracked as she shook her head.

"She loved you kids more than life itself. You were-"

"No! She, she was just running with me on the beach! I was walking out here right now to tell her she's right about me and Jared," Michaela kept shaking her head, sobbing into her father's arms. "No, Dad. No. No! I can't!"

Cassie remembered when she had first been told about her mother's passing, Kayla was too young to understand, so she stayed at home with her and Olive. It was 4:13 in the morning and she had just woken up to a call from her father about the news. Cassie had cried so hard that she woke up Olive and had her rushing to the room, already aware of what had happened.

Ben cried softly, his head burying into her shoulder.

┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁ 🛩⌇ ｡˚ ✧ ﹐

The drive home was somber the news of Karen's passing was still new to Michaela, Cal and Ben as they grieved quietly. Grace, Ben, Cal and Olive road home in one car while Michaela, Cassie, Kayla and Steve drove in another.

Cassie scoffed as she saw groups of reporters and camera people camped in front of their house, it was wishful thinking to believe that the news would leave them alone.

Cassie helped Kayla out of her car seat, stopping to look at her older (younger) sister who was watching her with a grin on her face, "What?" Cassie asked.

Michaela chuckled, "Nothing," she shook her head, "It's just, you're a good mum, Cass."

Cassie's eyes watered at the compliment, she had spent so much of the last five and a half years wishing that her brother and sister could meet her daughter, that Kayla could have a relationship with her cousin Cal. "Thank you," she said, her voice softly cracking.

Michaela smiled.

When they got inside the house, Cassie saw Ben looking at the pictures of Olive on the wall. Each photo documenting his little girl growing up, "I missed so much," he whispered to himself.

Cassie sighed, "Olive is strong, she's a lot like Grace."

Ben looked at a picture of Olive and Cassie, they were in matching Christmas dresses, opening presents on Christmas morning. "You never visited. Olive and Cal only ever saw you on Christmas and their birthday."

"That was a long time ago, Ben."

┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁ 🛩⌇ ｡˚ ✧ ﹐

FIVE AND A HALF YEARS AGO

"Okay. Okay. Everything will be okay," Cassie paced in her brother's living room, she had decided to tell him first. Her family's flight was meant to land hours ago and Cassie started to get worried about the delay in them getting home. "Where are they?" She asked herself as she looked at the clock on the wall.

Suddenly she heard a pair of keys rattle at the front door, Cassie straightened herself up and hid the positive pregnancy test in her pocket. Cassie looked at the front door, expecting to see Grace or Ben opening the door but instead being surprised by her mother's red face and her father's foggy glasses. "Cassidy?" Her mother asked as she saw her youngest daughter, "We've been trying to reach you for hours."

"My phone died."

Karen and Steve entered the house, as they walked inside the home, Cassie could see their faces better and just how red they were. "What's wrong? Where's Ben and Grace?"

Karen sobbed at the mention of her, she turned to her husband and wrapped her hands around his neck, heaving in despair. "Grace is at the airport with Jared and Olive."

"And Ben, Mick and Cal?"

Steve choked back his sobs as he looked at his daughter, a devastated look on his face, "Their plane didn't land."

"What? I thought you were all on the same plane."

"There was a later flight. Ben, Cal and Michaela got on it, but it didn't land."

Cassie shook her head, "I don't understand, how is it possible that it didn't land? Their plane was meant to land hours ago!"

"I know. That's why Grace is at the airport, she's trying to figure it out."

Cassie cried. Small exhausted sobs escaped her mouth as an overwhelming weight punched her in the gut. She came in to tell her perfect older brother that she was pregnant and ended up finding out that both of her siblings and her nephew were missing.

Steve and Karen wrapped their arms around her, embracing her in their hug. Cassie looked at the photos on the wall of her brother's family, Ben, Grace and their twin children. She was too scared to close her eyes, worried that when she opened them she would hear more horrible news.