A/N: This is yet another story set in RadiantBeam's ViCia/Shadows series. It takes place immediately following my "Caught Within Shadows" and during the events of chapter 3 of her "Sunrise."

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"So, Fate-chan, what's for dinner?"

Fate blinked at her wife in surprise. After all, they'd just been in an intense and emotional discussion about their daughter Vivio's relationship with Lutecia Alphine and the revelation that Lutecia was a Shadow, one of the TSAB's black-operations specialists.

"D-dinner?"

Nanoha grinned sheepishly.

"Nyahaha...I guess these kind of talks make me hungry?"

Fate chuckled softly, as much in a release of tension as because it was actually funny.

"It's my turn to cook," she agreed. "Why don't you go ask Vivio what she'd like? She's had the hardest day, after all, so at least she can have her choice of meal."

"What about me?" Nanoha argued, still grinning. "I've had to face off first with Vivio, then with Lutecia, and then with you today! I'm not all that good at confrontations where nothing gets blown up."

"You're Nanoha-mama, so that means you have to be the strong one for Vivio's sake."

She wiggled her eyebrows at Fate.

"It's easier to be strong with lasagna, Fate-chan..."

Fate pointed to the door.

"If it's what your daughter wants, O Ace of Aces."

"Meanie," Nanoha pouted, but got up and went into the next room. "Vivio!" she called. "Vivio!"

There was no answer. She poked her head around the corner into the living room; there was no sign of Vivio and the entertainment center was silent. Nanoha went over to the sliding glass doors and looked out into the back yard. There was no sign of her there.

She's probably in her room, Nanoha thought.

"Vivio!" she called upstairs. "Fate-chan wants to know what you want for dinner!"

Silence.

If she's ignoring me--! Nanoha felt a spark of anger well up. Vivio was a good daughter, but the topic of her girlfriend was the one subject guaranteed to turn her into a surly, intractable teenager.

Okay, so my own reactions might have something to do with that, too, Nanoha admitted. She'd never been a supporter of the relationship. When push came to shove, Vivio was a child. A responsible and intelligent child, but a child nonetheless, who'd always had her mothers to love and support her and a huge extended family to fall back on as well; she'd been sheltered and given a normal childhood in ways that none of their friends except Arisa Bannings and maybe Subaru and Ginga Nakajima had been. Certainly Nanoha and Fate hadn't! Lutecia, by contrast, was an adult, and not just in her chronological age. She'd basically been raised by mad scientist Jail Scaglietti, trained and used in his evil schemes. Like Nanoha or Fate she'd been forced to grow up far too fast. Unlike Nanoha and Fate, there hadn't been anyone there to catch her and let her have a second chance at a childhood, even though she'd been rescued and found friends.

The most telling difference, to Nanoha's mind, had been Lutecia's relationship with her mother, Megane. Though they lived together, even when Lutecia had been thirteen they'd never really acted like mother and daughter; the relationship was more equal, sisterly rather than like parent and child.

Lutecia's job made it all fall very neatly into place for Nanoha. Doing what a Shadow did would burn any remaining childishness out of the girl very quickly indeed. And now Nanoha didn't know which was the bigger problem! Or maybe it was the same problem? That Lutecia would take unethical advantage of Vivio to get what she wanted out of the relationship regardless of what Vivio was ready for?

Nanoha shook her head as she climbed the stairs. Wasn't parenting supposed to get easier as a child grew up?

"Vivio!" she called. There was still no answer.

Maybe she's listening to music with headphones on and can't hear me?

Her room door was open, so Nanoha leaned her head around the jamb.

"Vivio, it's--"

Nothing. She wasn't there, either. Nanoha glanced down the hall. The bathroom door was open, too, so she wasn't there.

"Raising Heart, Area Search," Nanoha ordered, starting to worry.

"Vivio is not in the house," Raising Heart answered a few seconds later when the search was complete.

"Call her."

"I cannot, my master. Burning Glory was damaged during Vivio's AAA-rank test and is being repaired," Nanoha's device said apologetically.

That was right. She'd forgotten that.

"Fate-chan! Fate-chan!" Nanoha shouted running downstairs.

"Nanoha, what is--?" Fate was waiting for her in the front hall.

"Vivio's missing! She's not in the house--I had Raising Heart check that. And we can't call her because she doesn't have Burning Glory with her!"

Fate held up a slip of paper.

"She left a note. I found it on the hall table."

"A note?"

Fate gave it to Nanoha, smiling sheepishly.

"I got worried when you kept calling her, so I came out to have a look."

Nanoha smiled back. That was the pattern, though. Fate was a worrywart over the little things and levelheaded about the big stuff, while it was the emotional crises that never failed to take Nanoha out of her comfort zone. She glanced over the note.

Mamas,

I need to talk to Cia and get some answers. You sounded like you were having a really intense talk and I didn't want to break in, so I'm leaving this note instead. I'll call if I'm going to be late.

Vivio.

"So she's at Lutecia's."

"It was going to happen, sooner or later," Fate-chan pointed out. "They can't go on without talking things out. I'm not surprised it's 'sooner,' though. Vivio's a lot like you when it comes to getting answers to emotional questions: relentless."

"Does it make me a bad person if I hope she had to get those answers by bouncing Lutecia off a few walls, Fate-chan?"

Fate chuckled and ruffled Nanoha's hair.

"Mou, Fate-chan!"

"No, it makes you a worried mama who's not too happy with her daughter's significant other for being dishonest and hurting Vivio."

"Just because I know they have to work it out on their own doesn't mean I can't hope Lutecia gets what she deserves." She looked at the note again and scowled.

"Nanoha, why the nasty face?"

"I raised her better than this," Nanoha grumbled.

"Are we still talking about Lutecia's job?"

Nanoha shook her head.

"No, about this note! She may be nearly an adult and have to come to her own conclusions about her relationship, but I'm still her mother and as her mother I'm saying that this penmanship is completely unacceptable!"