Hey all, Twisteddarkness225 here with a one-shot inspired by the events of the episode Yesterday's Lie. No matter how many times I watch the scene where Luz and Camila talk towards the end, it always gets me a bit misty-eyed and I just had to do something revolving around it, so I came up with this. Honest reviews and constructive criticisms are welcome.

A Restless Night After a Long Day

Disclaimer: I do not own the Owl House and make no profit from this story.

Camila Noceda had endured many hardships throughout her life. While growing up, she had dealt with bias against her for her Dominican heritage. She had tolerated gender inequality during her young adult life and even some harassment while she worked her way through college. Her love life had taken her through three bad relationships before she finally met the man she decided to marry. She had been in the hospital more than enough times as well; for things like broken bones, appendicitis and even one time where she had been hit in the shoulder by a stray bullet. The concept of pain was nothing new to her, be it physical or even emotional.

What she was currently going through however, was in a whole other league. Camila would go through all of the misfortunes she had experienced in life all over again if she could just be spared from what she was dealing with right then and there. Her only child, who she had believed had been living safely at home with her, had actually been missing for months. The proof was right beside her in her car. A reptilian girl of some sort, a basilisk if she recalled what she had been told correctly, had been posing as her daughter for months. The whole revelation was worse than anything out of any nightmare.

For what it was worth, she knew that Luz was alive and relatively safe. Camila had gotten to speak to her through… through a reflection. It was horribly confusing, defying all known physics and logic. Luz had called it magic, witchcraft to be precise. Her daughter was living in another realm among witches and demons and she had begun learning how to cast spells. There was more to it, so very much more that Luz hadn't even begun to explain. But there hadn't been enough time to get all of the story. There was no possible way to summarize over three months of experiences in just a few minutes. It had been an emergency after all.

There was a red light ahead and Camila brought her car to a stop. While she waited for the light to change, she looked at her passenger. Vee, the young basilisk she had just rescued from some horrible, and very sad man, was curled up in her seat, wrapped up in her coat. It was still hard to believe that demons were real, despite there being one so close to her.

Vee looked over at Camila, sensing her gaze. She smiled a little, gratitude in her surprisingly innocent eyes. Seeing such a sweet expression on the poor girl's face was enough to ease Camila's worries ever so slightly and let her have the tiniest smile come to her own face.

The light turned green and Camila returned her attention to the road. She drove through the intersection and after another couple of blocks, made a left turn onto her street. Soon she'd be home again and then… and then…

She didn't know what she'd do then. In all honesty she had absolutely no idea. As she finally slowed to a stop again in front of her house, Camila picked up her phone, seeing her daughter's image on the otherwise dark screen. It wasn't a photo, it was really her child. Luz looked up at her and Camila forced a smile, trying her best to mask her feelings. After a quick look around the neighborhood to ensure nobody was nearby, she stepped out of her car. Vee got out as well, making a check of the surrounding area of her own first.

As the rain began to come down faster, the image of Luz appeared through the headlights of the car. Camila and Vee approached her, Camila with mixed feelings about what she was seeing. Luz however seemed fairly amused with what was happening.

"Heh! Look what I can do with the rain!" She exclaimed giddily before turning her attention to the young demon. "Vee! I'm so happy you're okay!"

Luz lifted her hand to attempt and give Vee a high-five. But as Vee moved her hand in, Luz's phased through it, surprising both girls. Vee pulled hers back while Luz just stared at hers in amazement.

"Whoa." She breathed, letting out a giggle.

"Yeah." Vee said smiling and turning her attention to the older human. "Thank you Camila. For everything."

"Vee. You have a place here for as long as you need." Camila told her, reaching into her handbag and pulling out a deck of Hexes Hold'Em cards. "And take these. Luz said they might be helpful for you."

"Magic!" Vee exclaimed in delight, starting to eat the cards as she went for the front door.

"Mom, you were awesome back there!" Luz said excitedly. "Thanks for being cool... about everything." She added, scratching the back of her head.

Camila turned to face her daughter, tears in her eyes, her shoulders trembling. "I'm trying to hold it together... I really am... But I have never been this scared before." She admitted, barely able to keep herself in control. "A demon realm? Magic? How are you going to get back here? Is this the only way I can touch you?"

She reached out to hold Luz's hand, only to see it phase through. It pained her all the more to witness that. As if she were being teased by some higher power to have her daughter so close and not even be allowed simple contact. Luz began to become a bit upset herself, hating how sad her mother looked.

"I... I need a little more time." She said. "But if I keep working my hardest I will make a working portal, I promise!"

"As scary as this is, it really does seem like you've matured." Camila replied, managing a small smile.

"Yes! I've learned so much... Staying here was the best decision I ever made!"

"You... chose to stay there?" Camila asked, beginning to look more angry than sad.

"Oh, uh..." Luz began, at a loss for how to explain herself.

"Were you trying to live out some witch fantasy?! Did you..." She trailed off momentarily, turning away from Luz. "Did you hate living with me that much?" She asked, glancing at her child with a hurt expression.

"Mama, no!"

In the reflection dimension, Luz suddenly felt the rope around her body tug. She began to move back as her feet lifted up and she grabbed at the rope in desperation. Then she reached out for the cube which allowed her to see her mother, but it slipped from her grasp as she once again was lifted upwards.

"No. Not yet. Not... yet! MOM!" She cried out. "I'm being pulled back!

"Baby, no! No, no, no, no, no..." Camila turned and reached for Luz as her image began ascending. She reached out to grasp at Luz's arms, closing her hands around nothing despite it looking as though she had her. "When you come home, promise you'll stay here! I didn't mean to push you away! I swear things will be different!"

"Mom, it's not you, it never was!" Luz told her, tears appearing in her own eyes.

"Promise me, Luz... please!" Camila begged, her voice cracking.

Luz hesitated, her expression saddening further. "Okay, mom. I promise."

Her image continued to move up, out of the light from the car. Camila watched helplessly as her precious baby rose up and faded from view, like an angel going into the heavens. Unable to maintain her composure any longer, Camila covered her face with her hands as she began to cry openly, her tears falling as heavily as the rain.

It was all she could do to leave the spot where her child had vanished and head to the front door where Vee was waiting, hiding as best she could in the coat. Camila unlocked the door and they both went inside where Camila caved into her grief entirely. She made her way to the couch and sat down, grabbing a throw pillow and embracing it with all of her might. Another woeful wail escaped her and she removed her glasses so she could bury her face into the pillow. The fabric quickly became soaked with her tears as she let all of her pain out.

A cold, scaly hand toucher her own and Camila reflexively flinched. She pulled her face away from the pillow, the blurry silhouette of Vee in front of her. Putting on her glasses again, Camila was met with the odd sight of a reptilian face with a sad and apologetic expression. The deep sorrow washing over her began to ebb away as she wiped the tears from her eyes and once again pushing her emotions down.

"I'm sorry, Camila." Vee said, cutting the woman off before she had a chance to speak. "I never wanted to hurt you. You've only been nice to me, even if it was only because I was disguised as your daughter."

"You don't need to apologize." Camila replied, placing her hand over Vee's. "I don't resent you for what you did. From what Luz told me, you never had a real home before. I'm happy to know I was giving you one."

"Do you really mean that?" Vee asked, her voice ripe with uncertainty. "Even though I lied to you for so long? You're not even a little upset about it?"

Camila smiled sadly. "I couldn't possibly feel that way after learning about what sort of a life you've had. Especially after the way that awful man treated you today. If anything I feel bad because… because I need to ask you to keep pretending to be Luz for a while longer."

Vee looked stunned. She had not expected to be asked to do such a thing. If anything she was going to ask how she should start disguising herself from that point onwards. Continuing to make herself look like Luz was only going to be difficult for Camila. Vee just didn't understand.

"Why?" She finally asked.

"Because even though I don't like it, we need you to do this." Camila replied, her voice cracking slightly. "There are other people, my family, Luz's family, who will wonder what happened if she was suddenly gone. Not to mention that if you try to make yourself look like another human, I would have to explain where this random child came from and why she was living with me." She said with a sad smile. "And if anyone asked if I were allowed to look after you, I'd have no way to prove that I am! No, Cariño, it's just best for now if you continue to look like Luz."

Hesitantly, Vee shapeshifted into Luz's form. She regretted it instantly as Camila's face scrunched up and tears began to flow again. The woman bit down on her lower lip as she choked back a sob, a soft whimper coming from her instead. Vee began reverting to her true form, but Camila pulled her into a hug and held her tight. She began to mumble in Spanish, Vee not understanding most of what she was saying.

After a little time, Camila calmed down again and loosened her grip on Vee. She offered a quiet apology and went to dry her eyes. Vee got the box of tissues on the end table and held them out to her. Camila smiled and took a tissue, wiping the tears away before blowing her nose into it and tossing it into the little wastebasket in the corner.

"Thank you, Vee." Camila said, standing up. "Are you hungry? After everything you've been through I bet you could use a nice, hot meal. What would you like me to cook for you?"

"I'll just have some of the leftovers, thanks." Vee replied. "But you should get out of those wet clothes or you might get sick. You aren't cold-blooded like me."

A soft chuckle came from Camila. "That would be a good idea. Catching a cold is the last thing I need right now. But if you need anything let me know, okay? I'll be in my room after I shower."

Vee nodded and went off to the kitchen to warm up something for dinner. Camila watched her go sadly, a powerful ache in her heart. It was going to be so difficult to see Vee without thinking about Luz. And knowing she'd have to keep calling her 'Luz' whenever anyone else was around only caused Camila more anguish. She couldn't tell what would be worse, having to get used to it or the grim reality that it may actually happen.

Camila dragged her feet all the way to the bathroom where she turned the shower on. A short while later she stepped back out in her light blue bathrobe with a white towel around her still wet hair. Despite having spent a solid twenty minutes under the hot water, she didn't feel refreshed like she normally would. No amount of hot water or soap would be enough to wash away the worries she was being plagued with. She was afraid that when she fell asleep that night she'd only have bad dreams.

After drying her hair and changing into her nightgown, Camila got into bed and tried to find something to distract herself. But there was nothing that could keep her mind off of the unsettling truth she had just learned about so suddenly. Her current novel wasn't of any interest to her no matter how hard she tried to get into the story. Music and television became just white noise in the background of the storm of unpleasant thoughts in her mind. In the end, Camila just rested her head on her pillow and stared up at the ceiling.

There was a gentle knock at the door shortly after Camila decided to just go to bed early. She sat up a little and saw Vee waiting at the entrance to her room. For a moment, Camila almost forgot that it wasn't actually Luz and she let herself get her hopes up before reality set in again. But her negative feelings were easily quashed by her motherly instincts when she saw how uneasy Vee was at that moment.

"Did you need something, Vee?"

Vee nodded. "I was just wondering if I could stay in here tonight." She said, blushing a bit. "I just don't think I can sleep alone after what happened."

"Oh, Cariño… of course you can stay with me tonight." Camila replied, patting the space beside her in the bed. "There's plenty of room, don't be shy."

The young demon crawled into the bed, settling beneath the covers. Camila smiled at her, turning over onto her side to face her. She reached out with her hand and gently stroked Vee's hair

"Pobrecito bebé." She whispered. "You've been through so much. You're very brave."

"Do you really mean that?" Vee asked.

"Mmm-hmm." Camila replied with a nod. "You put up with such hardships and managed to escape from terrible people. And even though you made it to a completely unfamiliar place, you managed to adapt so quickly. I honestly had no idea you weren't really my daughter." She said, a sad look coming to her face again. "I suppose that makes me a bad mother, doesn't it?"

"I don't think so." Vee told her. "You've been so good to me, I think you're a great mom. Even though you're the only mom I've ever had. Is it… is it okay for me to still call you 'Mom'?"

Camila let out a soft chuckle. "Of course it is. I'm happy to know that I can fill that role for you. And you are more than welcome to stay, even after Luz comes back. I know she'll love to have you for a sister… I just hope she comes home soon… and safely."

"I'm sure she's going to be fine." Vee said, letting out a small yawn. "The demon realm is a scary place. But she's got someone who's really smart and strong to look after her. She's even stronger than the people who kept me locked up most of my life. Some of them were even scared of her."

"And you're certain that Luz is with this person?"

"Uh-huh. I saw them together before I came here and Luz mentioned her when we were looking for magic stuff for me to eat. So they have to know each other. Although it seems kinda weird that Luz would want to stay with a wanted criminal."

"A what?!" Camila asked, eyes widening in fear.

Vee didn't answer. Despite Camila's sudden exclamation, Vee had fallen asleep. Camila wanted her to elaborate, but she didn't want to wake the sleeping girl up. So she was just left with far more questions than she had before. Any chances Camila had at falling asleep sometime soon had just gone from slim to none. Her worries grew as her mind struggled to process this new information.

Luz was staying with a wanted criminal? Did she know that? Was she really safe with such a person? Why was she a criminal in the first place? What sort of an influence had she had on her precious daughter?!

Camila took a deep breath, fixing her eyes onto Vee's sleeping form. If a creature as sweet and innocent as her could manage to come out of such an awful sounding place, then her Luz could do it too. And the fact that Luz had seemed still very much like herself was a good sign. It meant she had done well so far and nothing bad had happened to her. At least not yet….

No. She had to have faith in her daughter and trust that the person caring for her, whoever she was, would protect her until she could return home. Luz had been confident that she could find a way back and she had promised to stay once she had. Camila told herself she needed to hold onto the belief that Luz would keep her word with both of those. She silently prayed that Luz would be able to do it at all.

The minutes continued to pass by and Camila still wasn't able to sleep. She grabbed her phone and opened up her contact list, finding and tapping her daughter's name. For a few moments she stared at the screen, wondering if she should even bother with what she was about to do. Surely if Luz could have sent her texts, she would have gotten them by now. Sending her own text seemed pointless. But regardless of that, she would try with the same hope she needed to keep that Luz would return to her someday. Camila typed out a short message, hesitating before finally tapping 'send'.

As she had fearfully expected, the message didn't go through. The option to try resending the message came up on the screen, but Camila didn't bother. Instead she just prayed that where technology had failed, her love would not. That somehow, her daughter would just know the ten words which made up her message.

'Be safe. Be strong. I love you. I always will.'

The End.

So a couple notes regarding this story. One, I know it may seem a bit odd, but I just can't help but think Camila would refer to Vee the same way she does with Luz despite learning the truth. They only had a short amount of time together but I can absolutely see Camila thinking of Vee as a daughter regardless of that. So calling her Cariño may seem strange to some, but I really feel that it fits. Vee is a little sweetie after all.

Second, I took a small liberty and changed one detail from the episode Yesterday's Lie. When they arrive back at the Noceda household, Vee isn't wearing Camila's coat after they get out of the car. I put that in because it seemed like the sort of thing Camila would do and the idea of Vee snuggled up in her adopted mama's coat just seemed too cute not to add to the story.

Lastly I do want to mention to anyone following my stories that both Love Notion and Selective Reading are still in the works, but after certain events in Season 2 (specifically episode 8) I ended up rethinking some things and am now back to work on them both. When I get close to having something ready for update, it will be on my profile page. So be sure to peek in occasionally in case you find yourselves wondering.