𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘, 𝖺 𝗀𝗅𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝖺𝗅𝖻𝗎𝗆

i'm still your little girl

There are moments when time softens — and this was one of them.

The quiet garden tucked at the east end of the Iron Lion base had become Vivian's retreat. She'd been tending to the wilting herbs there, soft hands in the soil, a trowel resting beside her knee. The sun was beginning to sink, turning the brick walls golden.

She didn't hear Vicky come up behind her.

But when she looked over her shoulder, she smiled in that way only a mother could — like she'd been waiting all along.

"I thought you were off running the world," Vivian said gently, brushing her hands on her apron.

Vicky shook her head with a soft laugh. "Just trying to make it through the day."

Vivian stood, arching an eyebrow. "That's not the face of someone who came to talk about chores."

Vicky hesitated.

She held something behind her back — not a weapon, for once. A small wrapped cloth. She offered it to her mother silently. Inside was a single knitted square — yellow, soft, unevenly shaped. It was a baby blanket. The beginnings of one, at least.

Vivian blinked. "V...?"

"I'm pregnant," Vicky whispered.

It hit the air like a secret so sacred the wind barely dared carry it.

Vivian didn't speak at first. Just stared at her daughter, not the war-worn woman she'd become, but the little girl who used to fall asleep in her lap humming lullabies. The same girl she thought she lost once. The same girl who came back stronger, softer, and now... a mother herself.

Vivian reached out and cupped her face with shaking hands. "You... oh, sweetheart."

"I was scared to tell you," Vicky admitted, eyes glassy. "Because I know what this world is. I know what it took from you. From us."

Vivian pulled her in, resting her forehead against Vicky's. "And yet you still chose to hope. You still chose life."

They stood there like that for a while. No battles. No bloodshed. Just the garden, and the sun, and two generations of strength holding each other close.

"Does Matt know?" Vivian asked, voice thick with emotion.

Vicky smiled. "He cried."

Vivian chuckled. "Of course he did."

"You're gonna be a grandma," Vicky whispered.

Vivian kissed her daughter's hair. "Then I'll fight like hell to make this world safe enough for you both."