Author's Note: So, this is part one of the Mother's Day part of the story. I was going to do one whole chapter with all the VK's different stories. But when I started this section involving Evie and Snow White…well a muse it, and it just went somewhere I didn't plan, but felt was a good place to end up with them. I am going to do another chapter with Mal, and Jay and Carlos. Those hopefully won't each be this long, but they will really show where they've come as far their families are concerned as well.

Mother's Day – Part 1

Evie was standing next to Raymond's bed. She looked down at her nephew and smiled. He looked so peaceful as he slept. His brown hair was mussed and unkempt. She knew that when it was brushed that she'd at some point hear Snow go after him to cut it since he was keeping it a little longer that she liked. He was breathing rhythmically, but she could see him grin every few seconds. Must be a nice dream, she thought to herself. All in all, she thought her almost fifteen year old nephew looked too sweet to disturb. Well…almost too sweet.

"Raymond," she said as she shook him. He twitched hard enough that he rolled himself over to face the other side of the bed. Evie gave a small nod of resignation and shook him again, harder. "Raymond."

"Ughhh," she heard him groan and bury himself deeper into the bed. Evie took a deep breath and leaned onto the bed so she was able to be closer to his head.

"Raymond, wake up," she said vehemently as she shook him even harder. "Come on, I need you to get up."

"Leave me alone, it's Sunday," he groaned as he pulled the blanket over his head.

"It's Mother's Day, and you're getting up," she told him as she walked around his bed and pulled his curtains open. The morning sunlight streamed in, illuminating the room and, most importantly, Raymond's bed. She then pulled his blanket completely off and toward the foot of the bed. Raymond immediately began moving on the bed as if the sunlight was painful to him. He sat up, his eyes blinking wildly as they adjusted to the brightness of the room.

"What the hell?" he shouted at Evie as he rubbed his eyes and looked at her angrily.

"Good you're up," she smiled cheerfully. "Like I said, it's Mother's Day, and I need you up to help."

"Help?"

Evie nodded. "Yeah, I don't need you to get dressed, but I do need you to get out of bed. Go brush your teeth, anything else you need to do, and meet me in the kitchen," she told him, turning to leave and not giving him the time to argue with her.

"What the hell?" he repeated at her, though if she heard him, she didn't return to his room to say anything. He got up and shut his curtains and got back into bed. A minute later he heard his phone chirp. He groaned, already knowing who it was. He reached for it and read Evie's text.

Evie: If ur not down here in 10 mins, im coming back up there and dumping a pitcher of ice water on u

Damn it, he thought as he began to slowly get out of bed. He knew all too well that she'd do it, mainly because she'd done it before. Ten minutes later, he was shuffling into the kitchen. Evie was busy moving here and there, getting pots and pans and placing them on the stove. He could see food already spread on the counter, waiting to be used.

"Where's the kitchen staff?" he asked.

"Asleep probably," she answered him as she took stock of what she'd laid out. As he watched her looking over everything, he took stock of her. Unlike him, who was still wearing his pajamas and robe, she was already dressed for the day in a dark blue, flowy summer dress with matching heeled wedges. How can she be so chipper this early, he thought. I swear, it's like dealing with a younger version of Mom, he further thought.

"You're gonna cook breakfast?" Raymond perked up. While he was used to the palace's chef's food, he'd be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy when Evie decided that she wanted to cook dinner for the family every now and then. Honestly, he was surprised that her cooking was as good, if not sometimes better, than the palace chef's considering she was a lot younger than he was.

"Yes and no," she told him. "I'm gonna cook breakfast for you, me, and Florian. You," she smiled positively wickedly, "are going to cook your mother's breakfast."

"Say what?" he asked, confused, and a little frightened.

"For the third time this morning, it's –"

"Mother's Day, I heard you. But what do you mean I'm cooking Mom's breakfast?"

"You're her son. It's Mother's Day. You're going to do something nice for her," she answered him.

"But I can't cook," he told her flatly.

"Which is why I will be walking you through it," she reassured him. "You will do fine. I've picked foods that are pretty easy, even for a beginner," she added as she handed him a piece of paper.

He began reading over it. He looked up at her, an eyebrow arched.

"Like I said – easy," she smiled at him. "Let's get started."

A half hour later, Snow and Florian had joined Evie and Raymond in the patio, sitting at a small four person table. Snow was sitting at one side of the table, with Florian and Raymond sitting adjacent to her, and Evie sitting across from her. She had placed trays of food in the center of the table with enough food for Florian, Raymond, and herself. But Snow had a covered tray in front of her that she was anxious to see under. "Can I open it now?" Snow asked once they were all seated.

"Yes," Evie nodded.

Snow pulled off the lid, and gasped at the breakfast in front of her – French toast, a vegetable omelet, bacon, oatmeal, and fresh cut fruit. There was also a cup of coffee waiting just in front of Snow as well. "Oh, Evie, thank you."

"Don't thank me," Evie corrected with a look of pride on her face. "Raymond made it."

"You cooked?" Florian asked his son, both amazed, and not quite believing it.

"Uh…yeah," Raymond answered shyly as he looked at his mother. "Happy Mother's Day," he said.

"Thank you, honey," Snow said to her son, a big shining smile on her face. She waved him over and, once they were leaned in, gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Although, a better gift would be cutting that hair," she told him as she ruffled his hair. Raymond let out a groan at being told that for what seemed like the hundredth time. As she straightened back up, she shot a glance toward Evie, one of appreciation since she knew that this was something that Raymond wouldn't have thought to do on his own. And even if he had, she knew her son's skills in the kitchen, or rather, his lack of skill, and so he would have had to gotten the older teen involved.

"Did you make all the food?" Florian asked as he glanced at his son, a sense of worry in his voice.

"No, while he was making Snow's breakfast, I was making the rest for us," Evie answered her brother-in-law. She saw Florian breathe a small sigh of relief, and nearly laughed at the response.

As the four of them ate, Evie stared occasionally at her sister, and could tell that Snow was enjoying the moment. She was bright, and effervescent. She was glad to be in the company of her family. And Evie was glad to have made that moment happen, especially after having a hand in a far more traumatic moment…

Evie was sitting at her desk in Snow's private office. Her laptop was open, and she was waiting for the screen to pop up showing that her video call was being answered. She was nervous, but didn't know why. After all, it was just a video call with her mother. She'd done one before. Of course, it also involved everyone else's parents, and it turned into a massive debacle that left them all feeling embarrassed that Fairy Godmother, of all people, had to see it. But this time, it was one on one, so she hoped for a much smoother outcome.

While she was thinking, the screen came to life, and Evie found herself face to face with her mother. "Hello my little Evilette," Evil Queen said.

"Hi, Mom," Evie greeted back, a large smile on her face at seeing her mother. "How are you?"

"I'm well. Well, as much as can be expected around common folk."

"Mother," Evie grinned.

"I know, I know, I need to play nice with them," Evil Queen said, repeating what her daughter used to say to her when she still lived on the Isle and Maleficent had allowed them to start integrating with the rest of the Isle again. "To what reason do I owe this unexpected call?"

"No reason, I just wanted to talk with you."

"And the boy king allowed it?"

"Actually, Snow arranged it for me," Evie revealed to her mother. Evil Queen pursed her lips. "Really Mom?" Evie asked as she recognized her mother's facial expression.

"For you, I'm trying not to bad mouth the little ingrate."

"Mom," Evie gasped.

"Well, I'm not totally wrong. That little terror never appreciated everything I did for her," Evil Queen ranted.

"Mom," Evie chastised her mother.

"What? Has she been saying – again – how she was the victim?" Evil Queen asked her daughter.

"Mom, stop it," Evie implored her mother. Evil Queen saw her daughter letting her eyes drift away and over to something off screen.

"What are you looking at, dear?" Suddenly, a light bulb went off for Evil Queen. She felt her blood run, with restrained glee or with anger she couldn't tell, but she suddenly felt the call become a hundred times more interesting. "She's there isn't she?" she asked her daughter, deciding to go with the restrained glee. Evie looked at her mother nervously. "If you can hear me, don't just stand there, Snow, come say hi to Mommy."

Evie looked over at Snow, who had the same nervous expression. She wanted to shake her head to tell her sister not to get involved. But Snow was not one to scare off easily. She took a breath to muster her nerves and walked over. She stood next to Evie, placing a hand on her shoulder and leaning down to put herself at the same height and into the frame. "Hello, Mother," Snow greeted, trying to sound like her normal chipper self, and hoping her nervousness didn't come through in her tone.

"Snow," Evie Queen said neutrally. "I see you're looking…," Evil Queen looked her over judgmentally, turning her head this way and that. "Like you've put in some effort," she said with a pleasantly fake smile.

"Well I do remember all the ranting you did about make-up, and color coordinating, and proper hair styling," Snow responded with the same pleasantly fake smile.

"Still willing to talk back as well I see," Evil Queen commented.

"Defending myself, actually. But enough about us, this call is about Evie," Snow tried to steer the conversation. "Her birthday's coming up in a few months."

"Yes, my little Evilette is turning 18, Mommy's so proud," Evil Queen actually smiled. "I do hope this time you'll have the day to yourself instead of being made to share it like last year."

"She wasn't made to share it, Mother," Snow told her.

"I wanted to do that for Mal," Evie added.

"I'm sure you did, sweetheart," Evil Queen said to her daughter. She then turned toward Snow. "And you just let her. Why? Are you still angry about those supposed lackluster birthdays you say I forced you to have?"

"Supposed? You would give me stale, week old cake and like half a glass of water."

"Better to give the cake to you than throw it in the trash and you needed to wash it down with something. Besides, I didn't know it at the time, but apparently I was saving the effort for planning the good celebrations on my real daughter," Evil Queen replied angrily.

"Mom!" Evie gasped at the insult. She immediately turned toward Snow, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Snow was still staring at the screen, but Evie could see the glare from it highlighted in the tears that were beginning to fill her sister's eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, are you? You're not going to cry again…Brat?" Evil Queen asked condescendingly.

Snow closed eyes tightly, trying desperately not to let the tears start falling at the sound of what her mother called her everyday instead of her actual name. When she opened them, she could still feel them water, but she was confident that no tears would run down her face. She could also feel them burning from holding them closed so tightly. She looked at her mother, and for once, felt like saying something back, Lord knows she was entitled to it, but then she remembered the girl next to her and decided that it was best if at least she acted like the adult if her mother wasn't going to.

"I've taken up enough time from Evie's call," she said as she turned and pressed her forehead into the side of Evie's head. "I'm okay," she whispered into her sister's ear hoping to keep her from worrying. "Be nice to her," she added, then stood back up straight and began to walk out.

"Snow…?" Evie called after her, starting to stand up.

Snow turned and looked at her sister, holding her hands up in a halting manner. "I'm okay, Sweetheart," she said as normally as she could. She nodded to her to affirm what she'd just said, and then motioned for her to sit back down and walked out once Evie did.

"Well, now that we're alone again, tell me, just what is it like living with her?"

Evie wanted to yell at her mother. She wanted to defend her sister from what she just saw. To tell her mother that she had no right to speak to Snow like that, especially after all the strings she pulled to arrange this. That seeing her mother live up to the stories she'd heard about her were heartbreaking for her. But she remembered Snow's instruction to be nice. She almost couldn't understand why she said that. If anything, Snow should've been the one to stand up for herself. But she reasoned that Snow was doing what her mother apparently was incapable of. Remembering that Evie had a somewhat good relationship with their mother, and she didn't want Evie to harm or end that over her. So Evie bit her tongue, and answered her mother's question, doing her damnedest to make the situation as positive as possible.

"So how did you enjoy today?" Evie asked Snow as the two of them were sitting out in the garden. Snow wanted to watch the river than flowed under the castle, and listen to the sounds of the outdoors as the sun was setting. Usually Florian would be with her, but Evie wanted to be the one talking to her.

"It was nice, thank you," she said with a soft smile. "How did Raymond handle you waking him up so early?"

"I had to threaten to pour ice water on him," Evie revealed matter-of-factly.

"Good call," Snow said as she let out a loud laugh. "But again, thank you for today," she said as she watched the water ripple softly. Evie just looked toward her sister, a slightly caught off guard expression on her face. "Please, my son is a treasure, but he can't cook, so coming up with the idea to make me breakfast is not something that he would do. You on the other hand, well…that idea just screams Evie."

Evie laughed and felt herself blush slightly. "I just wanted to do something nice to make up for how Mom treated you a few weeks ago," she confessed.

"I figured," Snow said, confirming a lingering thought she'd had all day. "You didn't need to, you know. I'm fine, and over it."

"I'm sorry," Evie said suddenly. "For what Mom did. And for letting her make me hate you when I was younger. But she was so…and she kept saying what you…I'm sorry for being like her back then, over you," Evie tried to explain, not able to find the words until the end. She was tearing up, and a tear quickly fell down her face.

Snow looked at her sister surprised. She then scooted over until she was right next to her and put her arm around her, drawing Evie in. She leaned her head onto Evie's, her arm coming up and starting to stroke the younger girl's hair. "What have I told you before? You are not Mom, you are your own kind, beautiful person. And I love you for that. And you don't need to apologize for Mom. I accepted a long time ago, that as much as I do love her, she is always going to have issues with me. That won't change overnight – if at all – and she's not going to hold back just because you're there. So don't blame yourself okay, Evie?"

Evie nodded, already starting to feel better. "You really do still love her?"

"Yeah. My Dad married her pretty quickly after my real mother died, and I was still really, really little. So, she was the only mother I really had. In fact, she never called me her step-daughter, just her daughter. And until she went delusional, she was a pretty good Mom."

"Then she became the Evil Queen," Evie said absentmindedly. "And that's who raised both of us from that point on, huh?"

Snow nodded. "Look at us, a pair of sisters sharing their Mommy issues," Snow joked, eliciting a small giggle from Evie.

"Well, it is Mother's Day," Evie concurred while bringing her hands up to clasp Snow's as they were still wrapped around her shoulders. "And no mother is perfect."

"No matter how much we love her," Snow said tightening their hug.