A/N: This chapter was harder to write than expected. I thought I would touch more on Bruno being there, but it didn't feel right yet. It will come, but obviously the family will want to know about Mirabel first.

**Reminder that I do not speak Spanish, so if anything is wrong, please let me know and I will fix it! Thank you!**

Also another big thank you to Nonchalantly44 for helping out with the Spanish! 3


"Hola sobrina."

Julieta noticed Mirabel's shocked expression, and was concerned for her and the baby as it had been a traumatic couple of days, and her healing food could only do so much. "Mija, why don't you sit."

Mirabel's eyes flew from her tío to her mother, blinking at her owlishly. She slowly nodded her head, as she seemed to take a minute to process what her mother said. Julieta, and the rest of the family, were surprised when Casita moved the empty seats at the table out.

The twins giggled when the chairs nudged into them and they sat down, gasping when the chairs moved to bring them to the table.

"Here, amor, I'll take him." Julio said, plucking their son from her arms. He then took his own seat, between Aleta and Dolores.

Julieta bit her lip, hesitating on whether she should help the still shocked Mirabel to her chair, or if Mirabel would reject the help. The choice was taken from her when Casita's tiles under Mirabel gently turned her around and moved her chair behind her knees.

Mirabel smiled, the stunned look fading a bit, and sat in the chair; allowing Casita to turn the chair back around and bring her to the table to be on Luna's right. "Gracias Casita." The young mother said, and Casita's tiles clinked happily in return.

Julieta could distinctly remember the last time she had seen their Casita so playful with anyone; it was the day of Antonio's gift ceremony. The last day her hija was with them. She wrung her hands in front of her for a moment, before smoothing down her skirt. Julieta took her spot between Mirabel and Agustín.

Agustín's hand immediately sought her own out, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Julieta squeezed back, knowing he felt just as anxious and hopeful as she did.

Silence rang out around the table, as no one was sure what to say. Just as Julieta was about to insist everyone eat, her mother broke the silence.

"Today, is a great day for la familia Madrigal. Mirabel," Julieta noticed her daughter tense up beside her at hearing her Abuela call her name, "nieta, I know I speak for everyone when I say that we have missed you terribly. It is a relief to know that you are safe and well." Her mother smiled, looking at her youngest granddaughter. "And look at the beautiful woman and mother you have turned into. I welcome you home, mariposita."

Mirabel gave a tight smile and nod, but didn't speak.

Julieta decided to cut in before it got more awkward. They would speak after the children were put to bed anyways. She placed a hand lightly on Mirabel's tense shoulder. "I am sure you all are hungry after your trip."

"Sí, let us eat." The matriarch agreed, motioning to her family to begin.

Julieta couldn't take her eyes away from watching her daughter with her own children. It was a sight she had, until recently, given up ever seeing.

"Mi amor, you need to eat too." Agustín said softly into her ear. She turned to look up at him and then to her plate, noticing that he had placed food on her plate for her. She gave him a grateful smile and started eating.

"So Julio, what do you do?" Félix asked, wanting to ease into a conversation.

Julio finished cutting up Aarón's food, then met the older man's eyes. "I am a librarian at our local university."

"You must read some very fascinating books." Luisa said, also helping her own hija, Sofía, with cutting her food up to small pieces. "We have such a small selection here in town." She said, wistfully.

Julio cracked a grin at his cuñada. "It is two floors and bigger than your Casita. I'd love to tell you all about it."

Luisa's eyes grew wide in excitement. "Two floors! That must be amazing."

"Two floors! That must be amazing." A mocking voice came from further down the table. A second Luisa was seen dramatically holding their clasped hands beside their face.

"Camilo, knock it off!" Pepa scolded, as Félix lightly smacked the back of his son's head, causing Camilo to shift from Luisa to Mirabel and back to himself.

He just grinned and shrugged. "Lulu just makes it so easy though." He winked at his older prima, who just fondly rolled her eyes at him.

"I see some things never change." Mirabel said from beside Julieta, causing her to once again look at her hija. The young woman wore a look of amusement tinged with nostalgia.

"¿Mamí?" Mirabel turned to Luna who had spoken beside her. She sounded scared and confused as to what just happened. It seemed the Casita being sentient hadn't scared them, but seeing Camilo shapeshift had; oh, the wonders of a child's mind.

"Shh mija, it's okay. Camilo," Mirabel motioned towards her cousin who smiled gently at the little girls who were staring at him with wide, stunned eyes. "Camilo can shapeshift into other people. Remember your favourite bedtime story? Well it is actually based on my family."

The girls' expressions went from terrified to filled with wonder and excitement. "Really? So there is magic food and flowers?" Aleta asked.

"Sí, mi mamá, tu abuela, heals injuries with her food. Isabela, mi hermana mayor, can grow flowers out of thin air." Mirabel answered with a gentle smile, despite the tenseness in her shoulders that still had yet to leave. She pointed out Isabela to the girls, as it was obvious they had already forgotten from when Julieta had introduced everyone.

Isabela smiled at her sobrinas. With a little wave of her fingers, small flower crowns weaved into both of the girls' hair. They gasped and looked at each other, identical expressions of awe on their faces.

"What do you say, mijas?" Julio prompted after a moment.

"Gracias, Señora Isabela." They said, peering shyly over to the woman wearing a dark purple dress.

"De nada, mis sobrinitas. You may call me Tía Isabela, or Tía Isa for short." Isabela said with a smile.

Julieta saw Mirabel's tight smile as she nodded at her daughters' questioning looks. She just wanted to reach out and hold her hija's hand to reassure her that everyone has changed from what she remembered, but she wasn't sure how it would be received.

"So if everyone has a gift, what's yours Mamí?" Aleta asked. "Why didn't you tell us you had a special gift?" The room fell into a deafening silence, everyone looking towards Mirabel and her niñas. Pepa had a grey cloud appear above her head that she tried batting away.

"Because, mis amores, I did not receive a gift." Mirabel reached over and tucked a loose curl behind Luna's ear. "But that's okay, because I got to meet your papí and then we had you three."

"Eres la mejor mamí del mundo." Luna stated quietly.

"Gracias mija. Ustedes tres son mi mundo." Mirabel said, planting a kiss on her hijas forehead. "Now, finish your dinner that your abuela made."

Luna just nodded and stuck her fork into her arroz con pollo, Aleta following suit.

"So, uh, Mirabel, how do you like living in a city?" Agustín asked, trying to change the subject. "Do you do anything for work too?"

Mirabel looked up and met her fathers eyes for the first time. Julieta was relieved at the tiny smile her daughter offered him.

"The city is very busy. People hustling and bustling here and there at all hours of the day. It is very different to life here in Encanto, but we've made our life there." Mirabel answered.

"Mirabel is a brilliant seamstress,"Julio added. "Her work is known throughout the city, and even some neighboring towns."

Mirabel bushed a little, pushing the food on her plate a little. "I used to work a lot more, before our children. I've only been taking on a limited amount of projects each year, as Julio's job allows me to be home with our hijos."

"Don't sell yourself short, mi amor. Her creations are stunning, and one of a kind. We could live off what she makes and still live comfortably. But she enjoys being with our hijos, and I enjoy working with my books." Julio said, with a fond look sent to his wife.

Julieta couldn't help the smile that graced her face at seeing the obvious love her hija and her esposo shared. "I'm sure if they are anything like what you created when you were younger, that they are beautiful." She said, and was graced with a small smile from her hija.

"How did you two meet?" Pepa asked, always the hopeless romantic.

Mirabel cleared her throat and shifted in her seat, before she looked up and caught Julio's gaze. She smiled, lightly and said, "it wasn't that long after I… well… left here. I just arrived in the city after a couple days of riding the old donkey I had taken. He walked right into the poor donkey-"

"I am pretty sure you guided the donkey into walking into me, not paying attention as you took in the city."

"How many times do we have to go over this? You had an open book in your hand!" Mirabel huffed, but it was obvious that they teased each other about this often. "Anyways long story short, I felt bad, even though it was his own fault, and I insisted on helping him pick up his other books that had fallen."

"I then insisted on buying us a cup of café, as she looked like she needed a strong cup." Julio continued. "As we sat, I finally figured out she was new to town, and didn't have anywhere to go. I offered to bring her home with me. At the time I was living with mi tía."

"They were kind enough to allow me to stay. Tía Rosa was a seamstress and helped me get an apprenticeship at the shop she worked at." Mirabel said, a fond tone in her voice.

"It was almost a year later that I finally worked up the courage to invite her out to dinner."

"We married about a year and a half later, with Tía Rosa signing off as my guardian." Mirabel blushed a little.

Julieta swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, thinking of her bebé getting married before her 18th birthday. Though it was a relief to her that Julio obviously loved her daughter like she was the light of his life.

"Ay, amor joven." Alma said with a smile. "And you have three hermosos niños y un bebé precioso on the way."

"Camilo, you can't let your Tía have more nietos than me." Pepa said, turning to her son. "¿Cuándo te vas a asentar, eh?"

"Mamá, I'm only 23! You didn't even have Dolores until you were 28, almost 29!" Camilo responded in exasperation, eyes rolling, obviously used to his madre's antics.

Pepa humphed and her cloud that returned gave a little rumble.


"Buenas noches mis bebes." Mirabel said, kissing each of her children's foreheads. Aarón was tucked between his two hermanas. "Dulces sueños."

"We'll just be across the courtyard if you need us." Julio said, placing his own kisses to all three kids' heads.

"Buenas noches, Mamí y Papí." The three tiredly responded. Aarón's eyes were already drooping, and his hermanas were not going to be much further behind him.

The two parents quietly left and headed next door to the guest room. As soon as the door was closed behind them, Julio pulled Mirabel into his arms. She clung to his shirt, head tucked under his chin.

"Are you doing okay, mi amor?"

Mirabel sighed. "It's… it's weird being here. Everything is so different, everyone is so different."

He ran his hands up her back, trying to sooth her. "I can go by myself if you don't want to go see them. We can leave first thing in the morning, if you are uncomfortable."

Mirabel bit her lip before shaking her head. "No. I will go. I have to do this."

Julio placed a kiss on the top of her head. "Alright, mi vida, but you say the word and we'll head to bed."

She nodded her head. "Can we just stay here a few more minutes?"

"Of course, corazón."

"Te amo." She whispered.

"Te amo, mi vida."

Julio moved his one hand to massage the side of her protruding belly. He smiled when he received a kick to his palm. "Hola bebé, you go easy on your Mamí tonight, okay?"

Mirabel let out a small huff of laughter. She loved whenever he would speak to their unborn bebés, it filled her heart with so much warmth.

They stayed like this a little while longer, before Mirabel reluctantly pulled back.

"You ready?" He asked softly, hand caressing her cheek.

"As I will ever be." She answered. She pulled him down for a quick kiss, before fully pulling back.

Julio took her hand in his, and she clasped onto it tightly. He offered her a reassuring smile and led them out into the courtyard. Mirabel motioned to the direction of the sitting room, and followed him there. Her grip tightened as they passed the threshold and entered the sitting room. Everyone but the young children were present.

Agustín was the first to stand as they came in and he approached them slowly, as if not to scare her off.

"Mirabel..." He said softly, with tears filling his warm, dark brown eyes.

Tears filled Mirabel's own eyes, as she took a hesitant step forward. "Papá." She whispered faintly.

She soon found herself in her fathers arms for the first time in almost 8 years. She let out a small sob and buried herself into his chest, breathing in his scent that had always calmed her as a child.

"Ay, Miraboo, I've missed you so much, mi vida." He said as he placed kisses to the top of her head, before laying his cheek there.

Besides Antonio, the hardest people to leave had been her parents. She had known they loved her as she was, and knew her leaving would cause them grief. But it hadn't been enough to stay at the time.

"Look at you, you're all grown up, and with niñitos of your own." He said, pulling back a little to cup her face. He used his thumbs to wipe her tears. She offered him a small smile.

Mirabel noticed her mother standing nearby, hands wringing in front of her as she seemed unsure if she would be welcomed. So Mirabel reluctantly pulled back from her father and held a hand out to her mother.

"¿Mamá?"

Julieta let out a sob, and raced forward to embrace her daughter. "Lo siento, lo siento…" Julieta repeated over and over. "Te quiero mucho, mi mariposita."

"Yo también te amo, Mamá." Mirabel said into her mother's shoulder. She held her hand out to her father. "Y Papá." More tears slipped from her eyes as her father wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter.

"Te amo, Miraboo." He said into her curls.

Julieta pulled back and started planting kisses all over Mirabel's face. Before just cupping her face just as her husband had. "I am so relieved to know you have been safe and happy all these years. Lo siento that you felt you couldn't be that here." She sniffed.

Mirabel took in her mother's features for the first time. She saw how many more gray hairs she had and the newer lines over her face. She knew many of those were not just age related, the bags colouring under her mothers eyes were proof of that. She felt a pang of guilt for causing her mother this grief, but knew that if it came down to it, she wouldn't change leaving - it gave her Julio and their life together.

Julieta sniffed one more time, placing another kiss to her bebés forehead.

Mirabel pulled back from her parents and held her hand out for Julio, who immediately took it and came to her side. "Mamá, Papá, I know I introduced you at dinner, but I would like you to meet mi esposo, Julio Álvarez."

"Hola, Señor y Señora Madrigal." Julio said, giving them a nod.

"Please, call us Julieta and Agustín." Julieta said, her husband nodding as he wrapped a supporting hand around her waist. "Muchas gracias for caring and loving our daughter so much, and being there when we couldn't."

He gave them a tight smile, but he glanced down at Mirabel and it softened to a tender smile. He kissed the side of her head. "She is easy to love. I thank every day she ran her donkey into me."

Mirabel rolled her eyes and prodded him in the ribs with her free hand, but she smiled in amusement. She rocked slightly as the bebé shifted and kicked her sharply, placing her hand on her belly to sooth the pain from her side.

"Ay, you must want to put your feet up. Come, come." Julieta guided them to a loveseat they had left open for them. "Please sit."

"Gracias, Mamá." Mirabel said as she sat down, sighing in relief. Casita quickly moved a small footstool over in front of her and nudged at her feet with the tiled floor. "Okay, okay, Casita. Muchas Gracias."

Julio sat beside her and she quickly took his hand again. As her parents retook their seats across from them on the larger sofa, she took note of the rest of the family staring at them. It was hard to read their expressions.

"So, uh, I'm sure you have lots of questions." She started. "Where would you like to start?"

"Why don't we start with why you left?" Luisa asked softly.

Mirabel nodded, gripping Julio's hand like a lifeline. "Alright. Well the final straw was the day of Antonio's gift ceremony…"


Translations

cuñada/cuñado - sister-in-law/brother-in-law

tu abuela - your grandmother

mi hermana mayor - my oldest sister

De nada, mis sobrinitas - Your welcome, my little nieces

Eres la mejor mamí del mundo - you are the best mom in the world

Ustedes tres son mi mundo - you three are my world

ay, amor joven - oh young love

hermosos niños y un bebé precioso - beautiful children and a precious baby

¿Cuándo te vas a asentar, eh? - When are you going to settle down, huh?

Buenas noches mis bebes - Goodnight my babies

Dulces sueños - sweet dreams

Te quiero mucho, mi mariposita - I love you so much, my little butterfly