"Mama?!"

"What is it, honey?" Gracia called back to her daughter, the only other occupant of the apartment they lived in.

"…I need help!" her thirteen year old daughter called back. Gracia brushed her hands, ridding them of the flour they were covered in from her pie-making. She untied her apron and laid it gently across the counter, walking swiftly out of the kitchen to her daughter's bedroom.

There she saw her daughter, Elicia, furiously licking her palms and trying to smooth back her hair. When she failed for what appeared to be the umpteenth time, she threw her hands down in exasperation.

"It's still there!" she exclaimed at the mirror. Gracia walked up behind her, gently running her fingers through Elicia's long, dark blonde hair.

"What is it, baby girl?" Gracia asked. Elicia blushed furiously and she frowned.

"Mama, I'm not a baby!" Elicia grumbled. Gracia gave a small, kind smile and hugged Elicia gently.

"Sorry, honey. What's the matter?" Gracia asked. Elicia huffed and pointed to her forehead. Gracia turned Elicia around gently and looked at her.

"What's wrong? I can't see anything on your forehead." Gracia said. Elicia sighed once more and grabbed at the perpetrator.

Gracia blinked.

"This bit of hair won't go anywhere! I'm going to look stupid in front of the girls!" Elicia whined. She was going out with her girlfriends for the first time, today, and wanted to look her best. She usually put her hair back in a headband, but today, she let it tumble gently over her shoulders.

"Is it just that bit?" Gracia said, and Elicia noticed the tweak in her voice as most daughters would.

"Yeah… Mama, what's wrong?" Elicia asked as Gracia sat down on her bed, letting her legs fall underneath her.

"It's nothing, Elicia." Gracia shook her head, brushing off her daughter's worry as if it were a pesky insect. Elicia sat down next to her mother and took her hand gently.

"Please tell me." Elicia said, quietly. Gracia gave a sigh and took a deep breath.

"Your papa had a piece of hair that stuck out in front of his face like that. It drove me mad." Gracia laughed. Elicia's eyes widened and she hugged her mother tightly.

"I'm sorry, Mama." she whispered desperately. Gracia shook her head and hugged Elicia back, a smile following.

"It's alright, baby. You're just growing to be more like your father every day." Gracia admitted. And it was true. Elicia had looked almost identical to Gracia in her infancy and toddler years, but after Maes passed, she began to look more like him. Her hair began to darken and her eyes gained a certain olive quality.

"Really?" Elicia asked.

"You are. Let's just hope you don't start growing that stubble he insisted on having." Gracia gently stroked Elicia's cheek, and she gave a small laugh.

"Alright, honey. You're going to be late if you don't get going soon." Gracia said. Elicia nodded and stood up.

"You have your train ticket?" Gracia asked. Elicia nodded.

"And you're sure Elizabeth's mother is going with you?" Gracia asked. Elicia giggled and nodded.

"Yes, Mama, on the train." Elicia said. Gracia nodded and smiled, but Elicia looked shocked.

"My camera!" she gasped and ran out of the room, into the study. Gracia shook her head and gave a small, reminiscent smile. She walked out after her daughter in time to hear the relieved sigh she gave when her camera was safely in her bag.

"Okay, Mama, I've got to go now. I love you." Elicia said, hugging Gracia tightly. Gracia hugged her back and it took all of her willpower to let her go. Walking out the door was the way that Gracia lost her husband.

"Please stay safe, okay?" Gracia asked. Elicia nodded and hugged her mother once more.

"I will. I love you." Elicia kissed Gracia on the cheek and walked out the door. Gracia promised that she was going to give Elicia more freedom, but she could barely keep herself from running towards the door and telling Elicia to come back home.

She walked over to the couch to steady herself and sat down. She then stretched out on the couch, shutting her eyes and trying to make the worry disappear, secretly hoping that one of her Maes-filled dreams would carry her away.

"She's growing up fast, isn't she, my love?"

Gracia's eyes bolted open and she sat up. Her living room had been replaced with a room of all white. And, across the room, a familiar face was seen.

"Maes?" Gracia asked. Maes nodded.

"What… This is another dream, isn't it?" Gracia asked, as she did every time she had a dream about her husband. Maes stepped forward and sat down next to Gracia, putting his hand on hers. She swore she could feel it.

"I'm sorry." he murmured. Gracia shook her head and her tears began to flow.

"Every time." Gracia sobbed. Maes turned to face Gracia, tilting her head up and looking into her eyes.

"If there was a way I could make this real, I would. But, dream or not, you are still my wife, and Elicia is still our daughter." Maes reassured her. Gracia nodded and snivelled.

"I thought you'd be proud that I let her out with her friends." Gracia muttered. Maes smiled that oh-so-familiar smile and nodded.

"Very, Gracia." Maes said. Gracia rubbed at her eyes with one hand, one still firmly intertwined with her husband's.

"She's got the bit of hair like you, Maes." Gracia giggled. Maes leant forward and grinned.

"You mean this thing," Maes looked up at the piece of hair sticking out in front of his face, "the bane of your existence?"

"Yes, that thing." Gracia laughed. Maes smiled and let Gracia lean against him.

"I'm proud of her. I'm proud of you for raising her so well." Maes murmured in Gracia's ear. She sniffed and buried her head into the crook of Maes' neck.

"I could have used you, you know." Gracia replied. Maes nodded and stroked Gracia's soft, flaxen hair.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Maes said quietly, "but you've done an amazing job, my love."

"I know." Gracia breathed. Maes chuckled and nodded.

"Now that's the feisty woman I married, Gracie baby." he continued to chuckle, eventually resting his chin on Gracia's head.

"Oh, God, don't call me that." Gracia laughed. Maes chuckled again and the smile stayed on his face.

"Elicia's going to be like you. I can sense it." Maes said.

"Oh, I'm in for some fun for the rest of her teenage years." Gracia replied. Maes wrapped his arms around Gracia, nuzzling into her neck.

"I love you." Maes said. Gracia jumped back and shook her head.

"No." she stated.

"What?" Maes asked.

"No," she began to cry again, "every time you tell me you love me, the dream ends. I don't want it to end, Maes."

"Gracia, I'm sorry, but it must." Maes said. Gracia, through choked sobs, lurched forward and wrapped her arms around Maes.

"I love you more than I can explain." Gracia sniffled. Maes hugged her tightly back, kissing her on the top of the head.

"I know, Gracia…"

"…I know." Gracia murmured in a teary, sleepy stupor. She sat up and had to look around. She had to remind herself that the dream was not real, and that in itself made her upset.

She rubbed at her eyes and stood up, looking at the clock.

She had been asleep for an hour; it had taken one earthly hour to spend a few measly dream minutes with her husband.

Gracia missed her husband dearly. Even after these ten odd years he could bring a tear, nay, several to her eye.

She gave a heaving sigh and twisted the wedding band she still kept on her finger. She couldn't take it off – she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She took a deep breath in and shook her head. She couldn't be like this – not when she had Elicia to worry about. She couldn't help but think about the maturity and worry her daughter showed before she left the house. She gave a smile.

Her little girl was growing up.

No.

Their little girl was growing up.