Nova took the picture frames off the mantle as Adrian started to pack up the kitchen.

The twins had just graduated college and moved in together. Adrian and Nova decided to get a smaller house.

Nova grabbed a picture of the girls from Halloween when they were four years old. Tala was a princess, and Georgia, being the goofball she was, decided that she wanted to be a frog.

Nova imagined that night.

Ruby and Oscar were supposed to take the girls out with their son and infant daughter, but Eric had come down with strep throat and couldn't go trick or treating.

So, Nova and Adrian cancelled their plans to go to a Halloween party and took the girls out.

The night started off well, but it all went downhill.

Tala slipped in a mud puddle and got mud all over her gown and she began to cry.

Georgia felt bad, so she rolled around in the mud. That backfired, because as they finished trick or treating, many people applauded Georgia for being "creative" enough to put mud on her costume.

The girls finished trick or treating, and then Nova and Adrian brought them home, bathed them, and gave them hot chocolate as they watched Halloween Kids movies.

Nova was startled out of the memory when she heard a clatter.

Adrian had dropped a pan.

"Oops, sorry, Nova," He said, picking it up and putting it in the box he was currently packing.

Nova shook her head and put the picture frame in the box.

Nova put a few pictures from her and Adrian's honeymoon.

Then, she grabbed another picture.

This one was of the whole family.

It was the day that her and Adrian took Georgia and Tala to their first play.

There have been many She-Ras throughout the ages, the first one debuting in the 1980s. After that, many reboots followed.

This reboot was different, because it was in the form of a theatre play. The girls had loved the most recent She-Ra, so when Nova and Adrian found out they were doing a play, they knew they had to get tickets.

The girls were six.

This night actually started off horribly. So horribly, in fact, that the picture Nova was holding had to be taken after the play because the girls were not cooperating.

Georgia was wearing her favorite She-Ra shirt, but Tala came out of her room, cosplaying Shadow Weaver.

Georgia threw a fit, saying that Shadow Weaver was evil and that Tala needed to take off that costume and wear her matching She-Ra shirt.

Tala resisted. She thought that by cosplaying, the crew would notice her.

The girls began to scream at each other.

By the time Georgia won the argument, it was time to go and Tala had to go in her costume anyway.

Tala had a smug smile on her face, so Georgia tried to slap it off.

Tala was hit so hard she began to cry and Nova, who was driving, had to pull over to punish Georgia while Adrian calmed Tala down.

After threats of heading back home and missing the play, the girls agreed to behave and Nova made it to the theatre.

The girls sat down with Nova as Adrien went to buy snacks.

Then, the play started, and the girls' anger seemed to melt away.

By the end, they were whispering to one another and laughing.

Nova and Adrian looked at each other and grinned.

After the play ended, Nova and Adrian asked someone to take a picture of them and the girls in front of the theatre.

Nova was holding that moment in her hands.

The family cat, named monarch because of her obsession with Danna, rubbed against Nova's knees, which pulled Nova out of her memory.

Nova grabbed another picture.

This one was a picture of the two cats, and the dog Adrian had begged Nova to get.

Nova remembered the day they took Monarch home.

Princess Sweetie was getting old. She was already blind, and she was starting to get health problems.

And when Adrian and Nova got their new dog, a black lab, named Percy, because he liked to swim, Princess Sweetie got more and more irritable.

So much so, that once, when Tala, who was sixteen at the time, tried to pick her up and got bitten. Adrian and Nova didn't know what to do. Giving Percy away was not an option, as Nova and Adrian had both bonded with him and loved him.

Danna, however, had called later that week and told Nova that she had found a litter of kittens. The mother was nowhere to be found and the kittens were freezing, so Danna, seeing no other option, unless she wanted them to freeze while waiting for their mother, took them in.

There were four. One was a male tuxedo cat, one was an orange and white male, and the remaining two were female calicos.

Danna decided to keep the orange and white one, who she named Creamsicle.

She gave the black and white to Kennedy and Oliver (A/N: Who are still together in this timeline). They named the cat Klondike.

Ruby and Oscar took one of the calicos, who they named Fawn.

Danna was trying to find someone to take the remaining calico. She had asked a few already, including Tara, who already had too many pets, and Maria, who was allergic to cats.

Adrian and Nova discussed it. Maybe having another cat around would make Princess Sweetie feel better.

Or it could backfire.

Adrian was for the idea. Nova was against it.

But eventually, Nova caved. She was really hoping it would bring Princess Sweetie's spirit up.

Nova stayed home while Adrian went to pick up the cat.

When he brought her home, he was telling Nova how the kitten didn't want to leave Danna.

She also had orange, black and white, so Nova suggested naming her Monarch. Tala and Georgia loved the idea, and Adrian didn't really care what they named her.

After a week of having the kitten around, Princess Sweetie grew to love the kitten.

Monarch really made Princess Sweetie happy.

She died a couple of years later, but while Nova and Adrian were sad, they knew that she got to spend her last hours the way she wanted to, cuddling Monarch.

A tear landed on the glass, and Nova was shaken out of the memory. Nova smiled and put the picture frame away. She knew that wherever Princess Sweetie was, she was happy and cared for. Monarch leapt on the couch, in front of the window and lied down for some sunbathing.

Percy ran into the room, knocking down a picture frame on the coffee table.

Nova grabbed the picture frame, laughing at Percy's antics, especially when she heard Adrian shout "Percy, no!", then heard a clatter, and saw Percy running to the couple's room, with Adrian running after him screaming "Give me that ladle!"

Nova looked down at the picture, and saw that day that, as far as she was concerned, ruined her and Adrian's lives.

It was the most recent picture taken, just a few days ago, of Tala and Georgia graduating.

The group was smiling, and even Percy, who was allowed to come because it was outdoors, was looking at the camera.

Nova was proud of her children, of course, but she was so sad that they were leaving her and Adrian with an empty nest and distant memories.

The girls already had jobs set up and were doing the things they loved, the things they went to college in order to do.

And Nova was proud. She knew that her and Adrian gave their daughters a good life and that the girls were successful because Adrian and Nova did their best, but Nova had lost so much.

She had lost her parents, Ace, Leroy (a couple years ago from cancer), Evie moved to Italy, Princess Sweetie passed away... Nova felt that by letting her kids go, she would lose them, too. Sure they promised to visit, but what about when they got married? Had kids? Would they still have time for mommy and daddy?

Monarch seemed to notice Nova's sadness, so she purred and snuggled against nova.

Monarch actually liked Adrian, and the family concluded that she was nicer than Princess Sweetie, who really only liked Nova and sometimes the twins. She hated Adrian. Monarch loved each and every member of the family, and she even liked visitors, like Ruby, Oscar, and, of course, she loved Danna.

Nova felt hot tears prick at her eyes as she pet Monarch.

Through her blurry eyes, she saw Percy run into the room.

When he noticed that Nova was hurting, he dropped the ladle and began to lick Nova's face.

Adrian, who was out of breath, grabbed the ladle, but dropped it when he noticed that his wife was crying.

"Nova? Honey, what's wrong?"

He saw the picture in her hands.

"Oh." He said, kneeling in front of her.

He hugged her as she cried.

Adrian knew that Nova seldom cried.

But the girls graduating and moving out was hard for her. It was hard for Adrian, of course, but even more so for Nova. She had always been close to the girls. She carried them for nine months after all.

Adrian was close, but he would never have the same bond between a mother and her daughters.

The house they were packing up had so many memories.

The house where the family had laughed, cried, and loved.

The house where Nova measured the height of the girls on the doorframe.

The house where Adrian had spent three months babyproofing.

The house where the girls had their birthday parties. The house where Georgia clung to Percy when she first met him. The house where Tala cried when Princess Sweetie was found dead on her favorite spot. The house where Monarch nuzzled her family members.

The house would be sold, but the memories were theirs.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The new house was smaller, but it was nice.

And Nova made sure it had a mantle, so her memories would be on display whenever she needed them.

And the girls did visit.

Even after they married and had families of their own, they never forgot about their parents.

And Nova and Adrian had grandkids that they could spoil.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

This turned out a lot happier than I wanted it to be. I wanted it to be a sweet little tearjerker, but I didn't cry once while writing it.

Oh well.

Anyway, until next time,

Keep reading!