Chapter 26: New Leaf

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Summary: Mothers and daughters have a heart-to-heart talk.

As Lyra sat down on the bed in the medical wing, she looked between Caitlin and Carla. Carla looked at Caitlin and asked gently, "May I check up on her? I would like to get to know my granddaughter a little."

Caitlin considered it for a moment. While she would have liked to finish the examination herself, she could understand her mother's motivation, and this could be the first sign of good faith and trust Caitlin shows her mother in many years.

After a moment, Caitlin smiled at Carla and replied softly, "Of course, Mother."

Carla gave Caitlin a small smile, and that was already more than Caitlin had gotten from her mother since she was just a kid.

Her mother then walked to stand next to Lyra and asked in a motherly voice Caitlin missed so much, "Hello dear, I don't think I got your name earlier."

Lyra gave Carla her usual wide smile. "Hi, Nana. My name is Lyra Nora Snow-Allen."

Carla smiled softly with a faraway look in her eyes as she said, "Your mother always loved the stars."

Without even thinking, the words slipped out of Caitlin's lips, "Dad was a great teacher." But Caitlin noticed the words didn't have the same bite they usually held when she tried to throw the fact in her mother's face.

Carla froze at the words, but when the tone registered with her, she gave a small, sad smile to Caitlin and responded gently, "He was."

Caitlin noticed the odd look that passed over Lyra's face for a moment, though before she could question it, the girl regained her usual smile and said, "Hey Nana, did Mom ever break any rules?"

Carla seemed to consider the question for a moment before responding, "Well, she always liked to follow the rules, but when she was little, Caitlin did have the occasional rebellious phase. Though Frost was more of the rule-breaking kind."

Caitlin could feel herself blush and heard Frost in the back of her mind, 'That was so not cool of her to say.' Caitlin followed those words with a loud whine of her own, "Mother!"

Carla shot Caitlin a small smirk before turning back toward Lyra, still checking her vitals as she asked slowly, "What about you, young lady?"

Lyra had to scratch the back of her head a little awkwardly in a way that reminded Caitlin so much of her fiancé. After a forced chuckle, Lyra answered, "Well, Mom always said that I scold people like her and always get into trouble like Dad."

Carla raised an amused eyebrow at her before stepping back. Her face still smiling as she asked, "Tell me dear, is Caitlin a good mother in the future?"

Caitlin remembered asking the same herself, and while she knew what Lyra would answer, she still felt nervous.

Lyra's smile grew a little distant as she answered, "Yeah. Even when things just kept getting worse and worse, she would always come back home with a smile so we would feel everything was okay. Each birthday she would sit the whole day with us, just doing whatever it was we wanted. Mom and Mama were always the best."

Caitlin could feel her eyes sting a little, though what surprised her was when she noticed her mother had a single tear running down her cheek as well.

Carla kept her small smile and said quietly, "I am happy to hear that, dear. I always worried that my own subpar skills as a mother would influence Caitlin's, but she grew up to be the woman I always hoped she would."

Carla then did another surprising thing by hugging Lyra closely and saying, "And she raised a brave and amazing young woman."

Her mother seemed to hold the hug longer than Caitlin ever imagined she would, but it also looked like she was debating with herself about something.

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