Bruno smiled down at the sleeping Elena cuddling their daughter. It reminded him of the nights he left them early so that he could come back to the Casita without anyone noticing or when he visited them late at night. Only this time, no one could say if Lina would ever wake up again.

He heard Julieta working in the kitchen, probably preparing something if something went wrong. Bruno knew that his sister wouldn't sleep that night; she always stayed awake when someone remained in the room next to the kitchen in need of her healing ability. They both knew that she couldn't do much more for Lina, but her nightcap was the only thing that calmed Elena down and finally made her sleep.

Bruno could hear someone approaching them. He knew that she tried to be as quiet as she could, but after all those years of fearing that someone could follow him, his ears got razor-sharp.

"I said many bad things to you, Mamá." He muttered, not even looking at her. Suddenly, he felt like he was eleven again, but this time, no word from his mother could worsen the pain Bruno was already feeling.

He could feel her arms on his shoulders, holding him tightly. "And I deserved every single one of them."

Bruno stroked through Lina's hair which was as frizzy as his. It drove Elena insane to untangle it every morning, but Lina insisted on wearing it long. "I know that you would disagree because of how it happened, but she is the only perfect thing I have ever done. They both are. "

Alma smiled softly, not taking her eyes off her son. "I don't care how it happened; I am only happy for you. Elena loves you, and we will love them. We can't wait to meet Lina." She could feel how his body tensed, not believing it would happen anymore. It took her some seconds to think of a way to give him the hope he needed so much right now.

"You always knew that you were the smallest when you were born."

Bruno nodded but didn't even lookup. She was sure that he was listening anyway.

"I never told you how small you were. Actually, I was convinced that you wouldn't make it the night."

Abuela sighed; the memory of her tiny baby boy was fresh in her mind and heart. "Your father, on the other hand, never doubt you. He told me "One day, he will be the strongest of them all" and "He will be a troublemaker in the future". Oh, I couldn't wait to see that happen!"

Bruno huffed, still not knowing what his mother tried to tell him. "Well, at least he was right with the last part. I was always the troublemaker."

"You are." Alma agreed. "But not in the way you think. We needed all the trouble you brought us in, even if we didn't always see it at that moment."

She paused, tightly squeezing her son's hand with her hers. "Your father was right in every single way regarding you. You might be the smallest, but you ARE the strongest."

"You told me that I was too stubborn to see you all struggling, but actually, what I did was far worse." Alma continued, not leaving his side.

"I saw how much Pepa was fighting back her emotions because I asked her to do so, and I saw how much Julieta struggled every time she couldn't save someone. And I saw how much you tried not to have a bad vision or how many times you passed out because your powers were draining you. But the worst thing I did was that I always relied on you, Bruno."

Finally, Bruno turned his head towards her, and to his shock, he could see tears coming from his mother's eyes.

"I know how much you did for your sisters. How many times you intentionally make Pepa burst out so she would stop hiding her true feelings. Or how many times you consoled Julieta when she had an awful day. "They are triplets; it has to be like that". I told me that to excuse my behavior every single time, but it couldn't completely kill my guilt."

"Mamá, I am sorry..."

Alma laughed bitterly. "It was always like that. You did so many wonderful things, but you always apologize even when nothing of all the bad things you saw was ever your fault. You made it so easy to blame you, and after a while, some people even believed that you were indeed the problem. I am your mother, but I could never protect you."

Bruno tried to say something not to make her feel guilty anymore, but he knew she was right. And he also knew that they needed to have this talk right now.

"You even apologized to US when you came back. You protected the girl I could never protect, heard us telling so many terrible things about you, and saw how we tried to ban your name from our lives. I thought you left because you had every right to do so after all the things I have done or not done, but you came back even though we don't deserve you. And you were the one apologizing."

Bruno wrapped his arms around his mother, letting his daughter's hand go for the first time in hours.

"You became so strong, Bruno." She muttered while she couldn't hold back the tears anymore. "Your father would be so proud of you."

"I can't lose her." His voice broke down, and before he even knew it, his head leaned on his mother's shoulder while he cried. Alma patted over his head, crying with her son and singing the same old lullaby she sang when her kids were just toddlers.

"You will not lose her."