Morgan Spencer walked up to the home of Mrs Barclay. She knocked on the door. While she waited, she started wringing her hands together.

It had been a month since her last supervised visit with her daughter. Morgan was anxious for this visit, for a lot of different reasons.

Ever since her first day in this world, she had been without Lilac. Seven months without her daughter outside of approved visits from SS and Mrs Barclay- who was already at the top of Morgan's list by name alone.

Apparently her sister's death was well known here- or at least well known enough in her community that they took Lilac away for Lilac's 'own safety'.

Which was stupid.

Because Morgan would never do anything to hurt Lilac.

Ever.

Still. Social Services saw differently.

Even though Morgan looked like a twenty-two year old woman, she had a house of her own and a paying job, she wasn't considered a proper guardian to her own daughter.

Yes her sister had died.

Died in Morgan's place.

Darcy lost her head.

Not Morgan.

She owed it to her sister to keep her head together. Darcy had given her life so that Morgan and Lilac would be fine.

Morgan had to keep it together- or at the very least not fall apart.

She was a Stardust.

Stardusts were strong.

She packed her feelings up, and moved on.

"We got things to do, Stardust." Morgan reminded herself. "Cry on your own time. Criers get slapped."

Except as she said that last line, Morgan could swear her voice had an echo.

Not just a normal echo that comes from caves or big empty spaces. This was a Shining-Murder-Twins echo.

She turned around- hoping in her heart of hearts that her sister would be standing there. A smirk on her face. A look in her purple eyes like 'I'm back, bitch'. Maybe she'd be wearing all black. Or maybe she'd be wearing some kind of Guardian getup, because wouldn't that just be the best worst thing to ever happen to Morgan?

The air behind her was empty. Morgan wasn't sure if that broke her heart or not.

"Sestra?" She asked in a low voice. "Sestra, are you there?"

There was no reply.

"I believe in you, Darcy." Morgan spoke into the empty air. "I miss you...Author Darcy why can't you come Home?"

Morgan wanted nothing more than her sister again. She'd been left alone for seven months- never a good thing. This was the longest she'd been alone since Darcy and Lilac entered her life. Morgan could feel her already weak mental state shudder at the solitude.

She had to go through the motions of life here. Live the life Morgan Spencer apparently lived in this world. Work her awful job. Live in her awful quiet house. No big adventures that left her heart racing, no death defying stunts, she had to be boring. This world's Morgan didn't even get a cool job! She was a secretary for a school. True torture was sitting at a desk all day with no hope in sight.

And hearing that echo, it brought some joy back to Morgan.

If only she could hear it again.

Darcy loved to do that creepy twin thing. She would talk to Morgan, coordinate their speeches so they could talk at the same time with the same words. Sometimes they didn't even rehearse. It just happened.

But there was nothing.

"Darce." Morgan pleaded on the wind. "Please come home." When nothing came, Morgan fought to not cry. "They're singing deck the halls, but it's not like Christmas at all." She sang. "I remember when you were here, and all the fun we had last year. Pretty lights on the tree I'm watching them shine. You should be here with me, Darcy please come home."

Just when Morgan was giving up, when she thought the silence was going to drive her mad, she heard a voice.

"Mom!" Her daughter cheered, throwing a nearby door open.

She put on her best smile, turning around to see her little girl. Lilac had grown so tall over these seven months. Her hair was longer- Morgan knew how much Lilac hated long hair (the fact that it was blonde was secondary)- so Morgan would have to get it cut. Or just take her Home.

This was supposed to be a fun trip.

How had it gone so wrong?

"Hey princess!" Morgan cheered.

Lilac was smiling wide at her mother. "Is it true- what Mrs Barclay said? Are we going Home?"

Morgan nodded. "You bet your britches we are! Now go on and get your stuff."

Lilac stepped to the side of the door. She came back holding a large suitcase and a heavy backpack, heaving with all the things Lilac had used the past seven months. Morgan had no doubt she had a lot of art to sort through, see what would make the fridge back Home or the walls.

"Whoa!" Morgan laughed. She went to pick up the suitcase. It was heavy, appearances did not deceive. She dragged it towards the car. "Geez, kid, did you pack bricks in here?"

Lilac giggled. She followed behind her mom. "Nope! Just my brushes, and scrapbooks, and clothes that I liked, oh and all the gifts you sent me."

Yes, Morgan had sent her daughter gifts. She had to be sneaky about it. She knew from her own time in foster care how SS was a stickler for rules. She wasn't supposed to give a gift outside the proper channels. So she just left them on Lilac's window, whenever she thought her daughter needed a pickup. Special art kits, new

"Right." Morgan winced. She hadn't thought all of those things could be so heavy when lumped together. "Makes sense." No it does not. "Whatever. Let's go."

Lilac followed her mother. Neither of them said anything to Mrs Barclay. There was nothing to say. The woman was a greedy vixen who deserved this level of abandonment.

"Mom I met Santa." Lilac admitted, just as Morgan threw the suitcase in the back of her car.

Morgan paused. "Oh you met North?" The child nodded. "Awesome!" Morgan climbed into her car. Lilac too.

Lilac pulled out a picture from her backpack. "And the Tooth Fairy."

Morgan accepted the picture. Lilac had indeed painted the Tooth Fairy on this, in watercolor. It did a good job capturing the many layers of color of Tooth's feathers. "It's beautiful, Princess."

Now assured that her mother wouldn't yell at her, Lilac continued on. "And Sandman, and the Easter Bunny, and Jack Frost!"

"Were they cool?"

"The Easter Bunny was tiny at first...I pet him before anyone told me he was supposed to be really big."

Morgan hid a snort. "Ooh. Sorry, princess, that must've-" She snorted again. "-must've been awful."

"It was." Lilac pouted. She slumped in her chair as her mother started to drive them away.

"And Pitch?" Morgan asked, carefully. She looked in the rearview mirror to see her child. "You met him too?"

Lilac nodde. She was curling her arms around her chest, looking out the window. "He- He was scary, yeah. B-but I was brave. And we- I stayed brave."

"You look tired, Lilac." Morgan commented. "Take a nap, yeah?"

"But...Home-" Lilac yawned.

"Time pauses when we leave Home. There's plenty of time for you to take a nap." Morgan assured.

Lilac nodded, blinking slowly as sleep was coming to her.

==CR==

As mother and daughter drove away, six figures walked out from behind a nearby oak tree.

Cupid- or Darcy Anderson- watched the car go with a flat expression. Not even her purple eyes betrayed the hurt inside.

Beside her was Jack, who had wanted to see Lilac was happy in her life. The kid had been so sad on the sleigh, crying in Cupid's arms ever since she agreed to be a Guardian.

North stood behind Jack, a somber expression on his face. It was an odd look on the usually jolly Guardian. Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy were hiding in the branches of the tree. They stayed up there as the car drove away.

Which speaking of, were all the people standing behind Jack. They also came to see the sweet Lilac getting home to her mom. It just had the added bonus of seeing Cupid's family, before she met them.

"We raised her together." Darcy admitted, watching the car drive into the distance. The Guardians all listened, not making one snide remark or joke about Darcy raising a child. "Ever since we found her, she's been our kid. When she first came to me about it, I laughed. Morgue...she said, she said that she'd raised me and I turned out kinda..." Darcy knocked on her head. "So maybe with Lilac we'd get it right. Didn't need to, the kid is perfect. Super perfect."

If she sniffled, no one ever spoke of it again.

"Such a sweet thing, you'd never know who her parents really were." Darcy took a breath. "We always told ourselves not to cry until you had time for it. Until the work was done...guess Morgue just decided to never cry ever. We swore to do better for Lilac. She's...so much better than us."

Jack walked to Cupid's side. He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "She believes in you, she heard you I saw it. Why didn't you just-"

She wiped away any tears that suddenly appeared on her cheeks. Stupid Hamil for getting tears on her face...from the North Pole... "She'd see me blonde." Darcy lied easily. "You're stupid, Jack. You can't understand how much flack I'd get for this hair. It's better my sister never see me again."

She floated up. After watching Lilac cry in her aunt's arms...they understood. Their own hearts went out for the poor girl. North, Bunny, Tooth, Sandy, and Jack had been alive for centuries- any family they had died long ago. Darcy was the only one among them with family, and she couldn't put her family through losing her again.

Tooth was near crying. Bunny put a paw on her shoulder for assurance.

Darcy whirled back around, a false beaming smile on her face. "Well you guys. W better get going."

"Going?" Bunny asked.

She nodded, flying up so that she was face to face with him. "Better start headed back to the Pole. My cherubs have been setting it up."

"Setting up what?" North asked, eyebrow rising at her.

"I'm just impressed you got them pass Phil." Jack remarked.

Darcy smiled with innocence. "Easy. I had a good reason for it. We're gonna throw me a party, Jack-my-boy." Darcy explained. She tapped Jack on the shoulder. "Now that I remember stuff, I got it figured out. Just in time too, my birthday's in a few days. A girl only turns 46 once."

==CR==

AN: The end.

I am not emotionally ready for this story to be over- but here we are. I'm just...each and every person that's read this, thank you! I'm in awe that so many people stuck around week-by-week!

Thank you, and a Happy Valentine's Day!

(Unless you get hit by this Cupid...yeah...nice knowin' ya!)

Thanks to rose2e for favoriting and following!