A lot of mother-daughter drama in this chapter. Please leave a review!

Lauren walked down the hallway of the hotel her parents were staying at. She didn't want to do this, but she had to. When she found the right room, Lauren hesitated before knocking.

Victoria answered it with a smile. "Lauren!"

"You can cut the act, Mom," Lauren said, keeping her face stoic.

Victoria's smile fell a little. "Come inside."

Lauren entered the suite. "Where's Dad?"

"He went to get some stuff we needed."

"Why are you pretending that nothing happened?" Lauren asked.

"Because I want to forget about it," Victoria immediately responded. "I regret everything I said to you. I was selfish."

"Why did you want me to stay? What did it matter to you?"

"When you have kids, you'll understand."

"I'm asking for an answer now, Mom."

Victoria was silent for a moment. "I didn't want another member of my family to leave me."

"What do you mean?"

"When your father and I first got married, he worked for the secret service and I was a nurse at a hospital in Washington, D.C. I constantly worried about him. He protected the country's leaders from dangerous people and was gone for a while every so often. I told him that if we were going to start a family, he had to be here. So he got a job with the FBI in New York City and I got a job at local hospital. We moved there two years before you were born. When you were seventeen and Catherine was thirteen, your father was working on a case involving a very dangerous kidnapper. He got a lead that brought him to Maui. He was gone for-"

"A month. I remember."

Victoria nodded. "When he called and told me he caught the kidnapper, I never felt so relieved in my life. I had been so scared. Do you remember when we flew to Maui for a vacation?"

"Yes."

"That was three days after your father called. We loved it there so much that he applied for a job at the Maui Police Department. He was hired as a detective. He's been there ever since. I thought I was finally done with my family leaving, but then your sister told us she was joining the Navy. When she left for Anapolis, I realized another member of my family was leaving. You were the only one that never left. When you decided to become a nurse, I was so happy that you chose the same career as me. You even worked in audiology with me. And then you left four years ago."

"Working in audiology was not what I wanted to do. Do you know how it felt to be recommended for a job at one of the best medical offices in the state? I was ecstatic and you didn't even care."

"Listen to me, sweetie. I am so ashamed of everything I said to you before you came to Oahu. I wish I could go back in time and take all my words back, but I can't. I hope you know how sorry I am."

For a moment, Lauren didn't say anything. When she did, her voice was no more than a whisper. "I didn't know you felt that way. You know, about people leaving you."

"It's no excuse for what I did, Lauren."

Lauren shook her head. "No, Mom, it's no excuse for what I did. I should have never left."

"It's not your fault, honey. It's mine."

When Andrew came back to the hotel, he found his wife's arms around their daughter, both of them crying.

Catherine and Victoria were in the kitchen going over plans for Steve and Catherine's wedding.

"What do you think of Steve, Mom?" Catherine asked.

"I like him. He's very good looking."

"Mom!"

Victoria smiled. "It's the truth."

"But what about him? Not just that's he's good looking."

"He's a great dad. I can tell he's going to be a great husband and son-in-law."

"So you do like him?"

"Very much."

Catherine smiled. And Steve was worried, she thought.

"Your girls are fantastic. So well behaved, so polite. You and Steve are doing a wonderful job."

"Thanks, Mom. Serenity didn't like me very much at first. It was before Steve and I adopted the girls. Steve was legally their guardian and I wasn't, so Serenity didn't like me being around."

"Well you'd never know that now. She clearly respects you as her mother."

Although Catherine nodded, Victoria knew her daughter well, and something was bothering her.

"What's bothering you, honey?" Victoria asked. "And don't give me 'nothing.'"

Catherine sighed. "Serenity still calls me Catherine. I'm her mom, but she doesn't want to acknowledge that. When she talks to Steve, she calls him Dad, but she doesn't call me Mom."

Victoria took her daughter's hand in her own. "I think that in Serenity's mind, calling someone Mom is a bad thing. Her biological mother was a terrible person. She probably used to think that calling someone Dad was a bad thing, too, but she realized that Steve loves her and cares about her. She's still in the process of realizing that you love and care about her as well. It took her a while to say Dad, and it's the same process with calling you Mom."

"But Willow calls me Mommy."

"Willow's younger. The emotions of a young child are faster to change than the emotions of a more matured twelve-year-old."

"I guess so."

"Listen to me, Catherine. You are doing nothing wrong. Don't doubt yourself. I know from personal experience what it's like to raise two girls. I was always unsure of myself, but looking back, I must have done a good job because you and your sister are absolutely amazing women. I am so proud of both of you. And if you ever need to talk about something, not only about being a mom but about anything, you can always talk to me."

"Thank you, Mom. I really appreciate that. Now speaking of Serenity, her birthday is coming up."

Victoria smiled. "Then we have a party to plan."

On Saturday, Steve was sitting in the kitchen when someone walked in. He smiled. This was when Catherine arrived. She came a little bit later on weekends than on weekdays because they didn't have to be up as early for work. They shared a kiss, not knowing that another person was in the room.

"Lovely scene to wake up to," Mary said as she walked down the stairs.

"I'm sorry, Mary," Catherine apologized. "I thought you already left to see Danny and Grace." Mary usually left early every morning to them, just like Catherine did to see her family.

"I'm going to tell Serenity happy birthday before I go."

Willow came downstairs first with a folded piece of paper that had been colored on. "It's Serenity's birthday! Look, Daddy, I made her a card!" She ran over to Steve who lifted her up immediately.

"Nice job, Willow. Your sister is going to love it."

"Love what?" Serenity asked as she walked into the room.

"The card I made you! Happy birthday, Serenity!" Willow walked forward to her sister and handed her the card.

"Thanks, Willow." Serenity smiled.

After a few more "happy birthday"s were said, Mary left to see Grace and Danny. Catherine was surprised when Serenity asked to talk to her. They went upstairs in Serenity's room.

"What's up, Serenity?"

"Well, I've been talking to someone at school a lot lately. It's a guy. And now that I'm thirteen, I was wondering if maybe...if I could..."

"If you could see him?" Catherine filled in.

Serenity nodded.

"I think that would be okay, but I'm not sure how this is going to go over with your father." When Serenity looked disappointed, Catherine said, "But I'll talk to him about. Don't worry. I know what it's like. Steve and I were fourteen when we met. I didn't tell anyone I had met a guy I liked, so we met in secret. That's why Steve has never met my parents. I'm proud that you didn't do what I did and told me instead of going behind our backs."

Serenity nodded. "I thought you lived on different islands."

"Even though we lived in Maui, we came to Oahu a lot. We met on the beach. Lauren told me some kid was staring at me and it was Steve. It was getting pretty annoying, actually, so I went up to him and told him to take a picture because I'd rather not see him standing there watching me." Catherine laughed at the memory. "We somehow grew to like each other. Everytime we came to Oahu, Steve and I made sure to meet. We talked about what we wanted to do in the future. We both wanted to join the Navy and start-" She broke off.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just that we wanted to start a family, and now look how it turned out." She smiled.

Serenity returned the smile. "It turned out pretty good, Mom."

Catherine's smile grew into a beam. "It certainly did." She hugged Serenity.

Yes! Catherine thought.