The new Northwests
Mother's Day had dawned on Piedmont, California, and Pacifica had gotten some welcome news; the courts decided that her mother, Priscilla Northwest, could spend the day with Pacifica. Relations between Pacifica and her mother had drastically improved since her father's incarceration. No more was the demanding, controlling woman Pacifica had feared and resented in her childhood. Instead, a more compassionate, understanding, and remorseful Priscilla took her place. Pacifica had spent the early hours of the morning deciding what to wear, and Mabel had been helping her choose.
"I've got it narrowed down to either the emerald green or the ocean blue. What do you girls think?" inquired Pacifica. For a day this special, Mabel had enlisted the aid of Candy and Grenda, who were talking via webchat from Gravity Falls. Since living with the Pines family, Pacifica was now on speaking terms with Mabel's friends, after Mabel herself vouched for her. Just as well, Candy and Grenda were not ones to hold grudges.
"Didn't you wear the blue on your last date with Dipper?" Mabel asked.
"Yeah, but it didn't see much use since that was when he got carted off by that agent. That was something you don't typically see on dates" Pacifica answered. The news brushed off Dipper's arrest as a case of mistaken identity, although Pacifica had to wonder what made the agent think he would be a part of the Excalibur Institute. Pacifica hadn't heard from them since the Cipher War, and she was thankful for it, but Pacifica still thought her new homeroom teacher was an agent of theirs. After all, her previous one was.
"All the more reason to go with the green. Plus, it really brings out your eyes" Candy suggested.
"Also, if your mum takes you clothes shopping, you can just get a new outfit later" Grenda added.
"I really don't know what she has planned for us, my mum wanted it to be a surprise" Pacifica said. This bit of news threw Pacifica off-guard. She wondered what her mother had planned for their day together. Since it was Mother's Day, Pacifica thought she would be the one planning the activities that she knew her mother would enjoy. But a week before, Priscilla told her she had everything sorted. Since then, Pacifica had been speculating on what her plans were.
An hour later, Pacifica had decided on the emerald green, and a car pulled up next to the Pines house, and Priscilla was waiting to take Pacifica to wherever she had planned. To Pacifica's surprise, the court appointed supervisor was not present, but this only slightly worried Pacifica, as she was sure Priscilla would not try anything untoward.
"See you later, guys" Pacifica said to the Pines family, and after a kiss from Dipper, got into Priscilla's car.
"So, Pacifica, tell me, are things OK between you and Dipper? I heard what happened, and for the record, I don't believe for one minute that he is involved with that awful Excalibur Institute, he's too sweet for that" Priscilla inquired.
"That's nice of you to say, and things between us have never been better. Mabel's still planning the wedding, and I understand that she and her friends back at Gravity Falls have started a betting pool on when the first child will be born, and what gender it will be" Pacifica explained. Priscilla chuckled a little.
"It's not too soon, I hope. I'm too young to be a grandmother just yet" Priscilla joked.
"Oh, heavens, no. That's not in the cards. Not for another ten or so years. But you know what Mabel and her friends are like" Pacifica assured. In their weekly supervised visits, Pacifica would often tell her mother about the new friends she had in California. When Pacifica told Priscilla about hooking up with Dipper, Priscilla confessed that she hoped that would happen, believing Dipper to be a good influence on Pacifica. To her relief, she was proven correct.
After a short ten-minute car journey, Pacifica and her mother finally arrived at the mall. While Pacifica would think nothing of spending huge chunks of time in the mall in Gravity Falls, in California, she never really found time. Primarily, the thing holding her back was finding someone to go with. While Mabel was good company, she wasn't a mall person, preferring instead to knit her own sweaters rather than get them off shelves, and she knew first-hand that if she ever tried to drag Dipper clothes shopping, there would be an incessant amount of whining on his part. Besides, Dipper would say she looked good in anything, making the choice of what to buy especially difficult.
"I thought, whilst we're here, we could both upgrade our wardrobes. While I'm sure Dipper likes you the way you are, let's see if we can get something you like that'll really get his attention" Priscilla outlined.
"Dipper isn't that picky when it comes to clothes. He loves me for me" Pacifica countered.
"True, but some appearance enhancers never hurt" Priscilla added. They went into a modestly priced clothing store, and Priscilla allowed Pacifica to pick out anything she liked. Pacifica was liking this new freedom. Usually, when the Northwest family hung out in public, Priscilla was very strict when it came to appearances, controlling what Pacifica wore at all times. Now, Pacifica had been given freedom to choose, and she was quickly getting used to it. She had come back with colours that she had never worn before, including one exceptionally pretty white dress, which, Priscilla joked, would make a good wedding dress.
Priscilla treated herself to some dark coloured blouses and pants which gave her the image of a working class woman, a look Priscilla was getting used to, partly out of a genuine desire for change, and partly out of necessity, now that the Northwests weren't fabulously wealthy anymore. Once both Northwest ladies picked out their favourites after an hour trying stuff on, they took their purchases and left for a shoe store. Pacifica took this moment to ask a question that had been on her mind since she left.
"Have you heard from Dad lately?" Pacifica inquired. Priscilla was suddenly uncomfortable. She knew that Pacifica would be curious about how her father was doing. She decided on the truth, so as to avoid confrontation when Pacifica eventually found out.
"Well, as you know, when your father was imprisoned, I sought out a lawyer to discuss an annulment. It was going well. He told me I had a very strong case, and that any judge would grant my request to dissolve my marriage. But before the proceedings could get underway, I got an update from your father's prison officer" Priscilla explained.
"What did the officer say?" Pacifica asked. Priscilla braced herself for the worst.
"It turns out, even prison inmates have standards. When they found out what your father was convicted of, everyone immediately hated him. It turns out one of them managed to smuggle or make a sharp object, get to Preston's cell, and, well, you can guess what happened" Priscilla told her story. Even though she was young, Pacifica knew what this meant.
"He's dead, isn't he?" Pacifica concluded. Priscilla confirmed what Pacifica had suspected. Pacifica did not know what to make of this revelation. Instead of feeling grief at the death of her father, or joy that the monster who abused her the entirety of her life is gone forever, she felt nothing. Pacifica collected her thoughts, and spoke again.
"While I don't think he deserved to die, I won't be sorry he's gone. What he did was unforgivable" Pacifica summarised.
"I know, sweetie, I know" Priscilla comforted. They arrived at the shoe store, and Pacifica immediately sought to distract herself from the previous conversation, a notion Priscilla was more than on board with. Pacifica had her eyes on some high heels which, in her mind, screamed professionalism. Pacifica was looking at summer internships, and she thought the shoes, along with the clothes she picked out at the previous store, would give her the image she needed.
"Do you think these will persuade employers to hire me?" Pacifica asked her mother. Pacifica had never asked her mother's opinion on anything before now. The need never really arose. But as the day went on, she found herself valuing her mother's input, rather than dreading it as it was forced upon her in the old days.
"I was wearing an outfit just like that one when I asked for a pay rise. I was promoted to assistant manager and got more perks, as well as the pay rise" Priscilla answered. Priscilla had gotten a new job at a high-end fashion store in the weeks following her court case, to prove to the people and the courts that she could work to provide for her daughter, and it certainly worked, the judge was very impressed with her progress, and the fact that not one of her monthly child support payments was ever late.
"That's my work style finished, then" Pacifica concluded. After making their way out of the store with their purchases, Pacifica and Priscilla made their way to an ice cream bar to have some treats before dropping Pacifica home. Priscilla got mint and vanilla flavour with chocolate toppings, and Pacifica settled with a strawberry and chocolate flavour with sprinkles. When they sat down to eat, Priscilla decided now was the best time to tell Pacifica the real truth.
"Pacifica, you know the judge said I could only visit you once a week until they were satisfied I was a fit mother?" Priscilla started.
"Yes, though if you ask me, you've proven your fitness ten times over. I don't get why they haven't confirmed it in writing yet" Pacifica replied.
"Well" Priscilla began, took a deep breath, then came out with it. "They declared me fit three months ago". Pacifica did not know what to make of this latest discovery. If the courts deemed Priscilla a fit mother, why was Pacifica still living with the Pines? Not that she minded, Mabel being her best friend and Dipper her boyfriend, and both were really great to be around. Not to mention Mr. and Mrs. Pines, who treated her like one of their own. As good parental figures as they were, no-one could replace her mum.
"May I ask why you held out on me?" Pacifica inquired, uncomfortably.
"It's because I still felt like a failure. For thirteen years I stood and watched as your father – no, Preston Northwest, treated you as less than human, as something to be shown off. I admit, I had a part in that, in fact, I was just as horrible to you as he was. I still couldn't forgive myself, and I still can't. When you tell me how great your life is now, I can't help but think that this is what you deserve, after all those years of abuse. I didn't want to take you away from that" Priscilla explained, close to tears as she did so. Pacifica now understood where Priscilla was coming from. She was still beating herself up over the past. No matter what happened in the present, those demons haunted her still. Pacifica got close to her mother, and spoke.
"I am going to say something I should've said long ago" Pacifica said, finally. Priscilla braced herself for whatever came next, whatever Pacifica could throw at her, she knew she deserved. What she said next took her completely by surprise.
"I forgive you" Pacifica concluded. Priscilla smiled, and embraced her daughter lovingly, for the first time in ages, as a parent should. They finished their ice creams and made their way back to the Pines house. Now that Priscilla's fitness to be a mother was affirmed, the two Northwests arranged to see each other more often, this time, without the presence of a supervisor, whom Pacifica learned was there for three months as a favour for a friend. Pacifica still decided to live with the Pines, after all, she was seeing Dipper. When they arrived, Priscilla said her goodbyes, and made to drive off, but Pacifica stopped her momentarily.
"Whatever comes, we'll deal with it together, as a team. I don't need a friend, I have plenty of those. But I do need a mum. Can you do that?" Pacifica asked.
"For you, anything" Priscilla confirmed, and drove away, their next meeting coming sooner rather than later. Dipper and Mabel were watching from an open front door.
"You OK, sweetie?" Dipper inquired.
"More OK than I've been in a long time" Pacifica answered, and she told the twins everything that happened, from what she learned, to the clothes she got (Mabel couldn't help but adore her choices, despite a lack of sweaters) and finally, the most crucial part of her story, how she got her mum back.
Author's note: Sorry for the long gap between fics, I've been rediscovering Pokemon Crystal on the Virtual Console. For the longest time, I could never play that game without emulating it. Now I can play it legitimately, and I found I really did not miss the difficulty curve. Seriously, Pokemon games nowadays are far too easy. Also, apologies if this wasn't as long as my last fic. In that one, I was working with multiple characters, in this I wanted to focus just on Pacifica and her mother, and the relationship between them now that Preston is gone for good. The usual disclaimers, I own nothing, Alex Hirsch and Disney own Gravity Falls. Enjoy, and happy Mother's Day.