They decided to meet at a diner, some local truck stop on 51st street at the industrial end of town. Yang sat in a booth nervously, a lukewarm mug of coffee in front of her that she hadn't touched yet. Raven was over ten minutes late. Yang half-expected her not to show, it would be just like her to do that.

Another five minutes passed and Yang was cursing her stupidity for believing Raven would show up in the first place. She was about to get up and leave when a dark haired woman slid into the booth across from her.

Yang stared at her wide eyed. It was like looking into a negative image mirror. Raven had the same wild wavy hair but pitch black in colour. Her eyes were dark brown tinged with a shade of burgundy so deep that they looked red in the sunlight.

Raven didn't say a word, just looked back at Yang expectantly, waiting for her to start. Yang couldn't shake the feeling that she was studying her, forming an opinion, appraising her worth.

"First of all, I just want you to know that I don't want or need you in my life. In fact I don't want anything from you."

"Says the girl who was so bold to blame me for all the problems in her life."

Yang stuttered. "That was… It was childish and immature. I shouldn't have said it but I'm not sorry because it's true."

Raven raised an eyebrow, looking slightly amused.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" she asked taking out a pack of cigarettes from her purse.

"Yes."

"Well too bad," she said, lighting up anyways.

"This is so fucked up…" Yang muttered to under her breath.

Raven slowly inhaled and exhaled a few drags from her cigarette before speaking again. "So Tai became a drunk."

Yang bristled at the word. She didn't like how she called him 'Tai' like it was so familiar, like she still knew him. "Don't call him that.."

"'Raging alcoholic' Isn't that a drunk?" Raven continued.

This time Yang snapped. "Can you blame him? After you broke his heart to pieces when you fucking left?"

A brief flash of anger flickered through Raven's eyes but she did not answer. She took another long drag from her cigarette and blew it out to the side.

"Well, he certainly moved on rather quickly after I left. Tai found his perfect wife, the perfect mother for his children. You know I knew Summer back then. She was always fawning over your father even at the police academy, waiting for her chance-"

"Don't you dare talk about her like that!"

Yang raised her voice earning a few looks from the people seated around them. Raven smirked.

"She was my mom. More than you'll ever be to me."

Raven sighed. "Now that is true statement."

Yang looked up at her, confused. "What?"

"I said it's true." Raven's reddish eyes seemed to soften as she remembered the past. "Summer and I may have had our differences but she was a good woman… Better than I was anyways," she conceded.

Yang was quiet for a moment. It still hurt to think about her, harder to hear about her from someone else. She tried to work up the nerve to ask her next question.

"Why did you leave anyways?" Yang asked, looking down at her knuckles.

It was the first time in the conversation that Raven hesitated. "It was different back then… I never wanted to get married. Your father kept talking about it. A ring, the house with a white picket fence. Looking back, maybe Taiyang didn't know me at all. Having a baby was the last thing on my mind… And then it happened. I had you. I don't regret having you… But I don't regret leaving either. It was for the best."

Yang narrowed her eyes. "What the hell does that mean?"

"If I stayed, I would have started to resent Tai, I would have started to resent you. Then we'd all be miserable. Would you really have wanted that?"

No, Yang thought sadly. "But why were those the only options? Stay and be miserable or abandon your family. Why couldn't you-"

"Like I said, it was a different time!" Raven snapped. "I'm not going to sit here and apologize for the past when you and I know it wouldn't change a goddamn thing. It wouldn't make you feel better, it wouldn't make any difference at all, so why bother?"

Something in Raven's angry tone clicked in with Yang.

"You were afraid…"

Raven scoffed. "No I wasn't. It was a conscious decision," she said flipping her dark hair over her shoulder.

Despite her words, Yang knew that Raven even with all her bravado was just a scared young girl when she gave birth to her.

"You were," Yang pressed.

"Let's just get to the point, what did you hope to accomplish from this meeting?"

"Dad… He really needs to stop drinking. We've all tried to get him to stop but he won't listen. Maybe if you talked to him-"

Raven let out a short laugh. "You honestly think that he would listen to me?"

"You guys have a history…"

"I'm not going to talk to Tai. I'm practically a stranger to him now… It won't work."

"You could try…"

"Try, try, try." Raven repeated exasperatedly. "Sometimes it's just not worth it."

"My dad is worth it. Family is worth it."

"And what do you want, Yang? Do you want to spend the rest of your life taking care of others? Never living for yourself?"

Yang didn't answer. She thought about what she wanted. Her family to be safe and happy. To be with Blake forever and for always.

"I made some mistakes but I can say for sure that I'm not a burden to anyone. I live the way I want and make no apology for it. It's better than living a lie."

"It's not a burden to care about someone. You probably don't care about anyone and maybe that's easier in some ways, but do people care for you? It must get lonely…"

It was Raven's turn not to answer, she sat staring ahead, the cigarette burning to the filter between her fingers.

"I'm not going to talk to him."

"Fine, don't." Yang didn't really expect Raven to help. In actuality, she had no idea what she expected from this meeting. "So this is it?"

"I guess so. One last piece of advice. If Summer were alive, she would have wanted you to live your own life on your terms. Too much compassion is a weakness, don't forget that."

Yang just shrugged.

Raven twisted what was left of her cigarette into the ash tray and she was gone. Just like that. No goodbye, no well-wishes, no plans to see each other again. Just gone. Yang thought it would hurt more, but she felt oddly at peace with it all.

She dialed Blake's number on her cell phone, glad that she could look at Blake's smiling face from the first selfie they took on the way to LA.

"Hello?"

"Hey Blake? I uh, I just met my biological mom Raven… It was the weirdest conversation ever."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine… She's definitely… She's definitely something. A few things make more sense now, I guess... I'll tell you all about it."

Taiyang was sitting on a bench in Laurelhurst Park watching the ripples in the lake. The park always held some form of comfort for him ever since his highschool days, playing basketball on hot summer afternoons or fooling around with girls in the dark. It was a quiet place he could sort out his thoughts in peace.

The clouds were dark and grey in the sky as he mulled over the last few days. He and Yang had barely spoken since their spat at the intervention.

I'm a terrible father, he thought miserably. What's wrong with me? How could I say those things?

He tossed in some bread pieces into the water and watched as the ducks floated over, collecting the pieces and darting away.

"Hello Tai."

That voice! He nearly fell off the bench when he saw her. It was like seeing a ghost.

"What are you doing here?"

Raven fixed him with a hard stare. "You know why."

Tai slumped further into the bench. "You've talked to Yang..." It was a statement not a question.

"You know how bad things are if she reached out to me, out of all the people, for help. What are you doing to yourself Tai?"

He shrugged. "I drink. I drink to forget. I drink to feel better." He passed his palm over his face like he was wiping a thick layer mud off it. "I never claimed to be perfect…"

Raven gave him a disgusted look. "You're pathetic."

"At least I was there!" Tai shot back. "You left me alone to take care of a one month old! Do you have any idea how hard that was? No. No, you never looked back, not even once, did you? That was always your motto, 'no regrets' even when you abandoned your own family! You. You have absolutely no right to judge me."

"You're right, I don't. But, what would Summer think?"

The retort died on Taiyang's tongue when Summer's name was mentioned.

"Don't you say her name…" he whispered.

"Summer. Summer." She drew out the syllables slowly, watching Taiyang shrink in return. "Do you think she would have wanted this? For you to spend the rest of your life mourning her and in the process wrecking your kids' lives?"

"No…"

"Then fix it Tai. Be a fucking man and fix it."

Tai hung his head down, Raven's words echoing in his head.

"After all, Yang can't afford to have two absentee parents," Raven said with a little smile.

Tai groaned. She just couldn't resist one last jibe could she? A she turned to leave, a memory from long ago came at him suddenly. He remembered the girl from highschool, wearing a leather jacket and a dangerous look in her eyes. The girl who he would do anything for, just to see her smile. His first love.

"Wait! You show up out of the blue after eighteen years, and now you're just going to leave again? We were a family Raven. I loved you… Don't you ever-"

"Stop, Tai."

He froze, knowing what the painful answer was going to be.

"You know it was for the best," Raven said, looking off at the lake.

Taiyang took a deep breath and swallowed the words he was about to say. He looked at her and simply nodded. Raven looked back at him one last time and they parted ways.

One day after school, Yang came home and there was a note on the kitchen counter.

I've gone to detox at the medical clinic. Come visit me in a couple days.

Dad

Her father was sitting up in the clinic bed looking out the window when Yang came in. Taiyang looked like he had seen better days. His eyes were sunken in and there were flecks of grey interspersed in his blond stubble but he also looked calmer, strangely content.

He smiled when he noticed Yang at the door. "Hi Little Sun Dragon."

It was a relief to hear her father's voice without a trace of any anger and frustration. The last time they had spoken was their argument during the intervention.

"Dad, you know I'm not so little anymore," Yang chided lightly.

"I know, I know. You're all grown up now." You had to be, Tai thought sadly.

"You look…" Yang paused, choosing her words. "You look good."

Taiyang chuckled. "You can be honest. I look like shit."

"How are you feeling?"

"The docs gave me some medicine, lorazepam I think it's called? It helps with the withdrawal symptoms. I'm feeling a lot better today."

Yang nodded and looked around the room. "No TV?"

"Ah, that costs extra."

"That sucks. So what have you been up to?"

"Just a lot of thinking… Yang, I need to apologize."

"Dad don't-"

"No I have to. I've been a terrible father to you and Ruby. I finally realized after the haze wore off… I was crushed by Summer's passing… But that's no excuse. I was the adult, I was the parent. I shouldn't have been so selfish, I should have been there for you, I should have-"

"Dad, stop. It's okay. You're here now," Yang said pulling him into a hug.

He sobbed into her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course!" Yang choked out, shedding a few tears herself. "I'm so glad you're back…"

"Me too. Me too. I'll never leave again."