Casandra sat in the chair playing with her wedding ring not knowing what to say. What do you say to the woman who abandoned you? Twice at that.

"Is that a wedding ring?" Hannah asked in surprise after what felt like forever.

Cas looked up at her mother (oh god thats her mother) at her thin pale skin, and her thinning hair. She looked so sick, cancer they said and too far along for chemo or surgery, "Yeah, it is."

"Oh," Hannah muttered, "Whos the lucky guy? Your little friend from when you were little? Isaac?"

The younger woman immediately made a face, "No, Dios no we aren't even friends anymore. I married a woman named Gabriela about 6 months ago."

"A woman? Oh," Hannah muttered in surprise, "I didn't realize…."

"You don't get to comment on me and my wife," Cas cut off as they sat in silence for a while.

Finally, Hannah said, "I didn't mean anything like that. In my head you're still that little girl, with her cute little braids and her blue dress."

"I'm not though."

The silence returned that Cas hated so she sighed and finally said what she had been thinking since she arrived in California, "I have no idea why I'm here. I really don't. Mom, I want to scream at you so much. So much. But whats the point of that? You know I'm upset. Ask why you left us? We don't know that won't help. Forgive you?"

"Casandra…." Hannah whispered seeing the distress on her daughter's face.

Cas looked at Hannah with a pitying look as she switched from english to spanish, "I could have forgiven you. I really could have have, when you came back with Mateo. You could have stayed and made a family with me and Jaime and Mateo. But you left us again, and you left Mateo behind. I can't forgive you and I just don't have the energy to be angry anymore….:

The beeping of the medical equipment was the only sound in the room for a while.

Cas looked over at the tears starting to run down her mother's face. But Cas herself felt nothing from those tears.

"Casandra, it's hard to explain," Hannah took a deep breath and then continued in spanish as well, "I was happy at the beginning. Being with Pedro was amazing, but within a month of being married I was pregnant with you. I was only 18 and scared, but here you came and I was so happy to be your mother. But then Pedro was always in the village helping and yes your Abuela was helping but I was still new to the culture and language….. The good times were good yes but the hard times were so hard. And then I was pregnant again….I wasn't ready for another kid Cas. I tried to explain that to Pedro, he knew how I felt, he had addressed them, he always said the right thing but….it didn't change the feelings."

Hannah looked at her daughter and was surprised to see a confused look on her face so Hannah continued.

"I was so tired and depressed when Jaime was born, I guess that's why I didn't push to get him named like how my family did. I felt so overwhelmed all the time. You needed glasses, we learned Jaime was deaf, the town everyone needed your father all the time, I didn't know what to do. The Madrigals was so much and we clash culture wise so much. You use to spit out the lunches I made cause they weren't like Abuela made all the time….And yes they offered to help but it felt they were always pitying me when they did," Hannah whipped her tears, "It's hard to feel like an outcast in that big family."

The confused look on Cas' face started to look like pity.

"And then you got gift, and honey, it was so scary to me," Hannah admitted in as sob, "You would disappear and reappear from nowhere, you would make people move faster, make people move backwards, and your glowing eyes….I think it's what pushed me over the edge. I tried to talk to Pedro. I did, he may have felt my emotions but he couldn't understand why I felt them. So, I left."

"You left your kids," Cas finally said still giving her a pitying look.

"I had planned to come back originally. After spending time with my parents, I found I was too embarrassed to admit I had left you behind. So, I didn't mention you. I started just living that 20's something life most college kids were supposed too," Hannah laughed harshly at herself, "Then before I knew, 7 years were gone and my stupidity had passed and I was pregnant cause I sleep were a douche I was friends with named Hugh. That was the wake up I needed I think."

Cas shook her head in disbelief at and Hannah explained, "I know, I know. But It was. I stayed in Europe for my pregnancy with Matt….Mateo…"

Hannah looked at the surprise on Cas' face as she corrected herself and she couldn't help but smile over it, "Put myself in therapy to work out my feelings. I came to realize I still wanted my family, my family with Pedro, you, and Jaime. You were my kids. I focused on relearning spanish and taking care of Mateo along with the therapy. I eventually was ready as I would be, I was behind on my sign language class though and just decided-"

"Wait, you….You did try learning sign language?" Cas asked in genuine surprise.

"Yes, but I realized I had been learning American Sign language instead of spanish sign language and had to start over and decided to hold off till later," Hannah explained and took a deep breath, "I wrote down exactly what I wanted to say to your papa but I got there and…."

"And Papi was gone," Cas finished for her.

Hannah sobbed a little as Cas said that, "I will never forgive myself. I still can't believe it. Pedro always seemed so happy and he had his whole family, I didn't think he would kill himself. I had gone through all that therapy and planned this happy future again with the 5 of us and like that it was gone."

"But you still could have stuck around and been our mom!" Cas snapped with angry tears, "You could have stayed for us and then….you left Mateo…."

"The Madrigals were so angry at me, I couldn't even consider it, and what was the other options? Taking you away? You have only ever lived in the Encanto, I wasn't taking you away to America or any other country. Especially with your magic," Hannah replied.

Cas had never considered that but tried not to think too hard on that and said "But you left Mateo, too…."

"I was so broken, I mean look were my choices had lead me to that point. I wasn't meant to be a mom so when I saw David with him, he looked so natural with him….so I took the out…." Hannah admitted, "I considered going back so many times, especially when I was with Malcom and the rest of the kids. I see so much of Jaime in Malcolm…."

"But you didn't go back….and the only reason I'm here is cause you're sick….dying…. " Cas cut in.

"Yeah, bone cancer. Too far now for a transplant…." Hannah said.

They sat in silence again for who knows how long before the blonde woman looked at her daughter, "I won't ask for forgiveness, I failed as a mother and wife, but I would ask one thing. I want to see Jaime and Mateo as well. Please, one last time."

Cas didn't reply and at that moment a knock came at the door and it opened to reveal something that made Hannah's eyes go wide. Her mother in law. But it was her mother in law as she looked when she was in her twenties.

"Hey, Casandra. I'm just checking on you," the woman said, "You okay?"

"Oh god! I'm dead! You've finally come for me!" Hannah cried in grief, "I didn't even get to see the boys!"

Cas couldn't help but cover her mouth hiding her laugh as Mirabel looked on in confusion.

"Mirabel please! I'm sorry!" Hannah continued as Matthew and Martha shot their heads in confused.

"Mom, that's not Abuela, that Mirabel from the year 1955. I brought her her with my gift. Calm down," Cas explained as she stood up and walked to the door.

"Wait, gift?"

"1995?"

Cas just look at her grandparents and said, "Oh, right I forgot to tell you about my magic powers."

"What?"

Author's Note

Okay, that's it. That's Hannah reasons. As Cas said it doesn't make it right.

This was kinda hard to write. I'll be a little personally honest here and admit I'm imagining my own mother here. My mother and I do not get along. She ran around doing drugs more when I was a child than actually raise me. So, I wrote this wishing I could see a talk like this with my own mother, though I know she would never admit to doing drugs or being a bad mother in the first place. I wanted to give Cas closure I know I will never have with my own mother.

Anyway, enough Sap, please review it gives me life and thanks for reading.

next chapter- Cas makes a big decision