Disclaimer: I do not own any of the material appearing in this story. The OC's belong to their respective owners.


Hours after the Universe Had Been Restored

"Here we are… home sweet home!" Tai said as he, Summer, Zwei, Yang and Ruby were staring at their home.

"Oh… oh my…" Summer said, staring at their home in front of her.

Ruby giggled. "Welcome home, mom!" She said, happily going inside as Yang put a comforting hand on Summer's shoulder.

"You'll get used to it." Yang said, walking into the home as Summer stared at her home in front of her. Her former home.

She slowly walked to the door, her hand hovering above the handle and slowly hesitated. After all this timeI'm back home. She thought as she slowly opened the door and walked in.

BGM: My Room (Pokemon Channel)

"Mommy!" A small voice echoed in her mind as she saw herself kneeling down and hugging a very young Yang with a baby Ruby in her arms.

"Oh, look at you… you two are precious!"

"Mom?"

Summer snapped out of it, seeing her children turn into their teenage selves. "You alright?" Ruby asked, with a hint of concern.

"Y-yeah… I… just got hit by a wave of nostalgia." She said, closing the door and then took off her cloak, placing it on the coat rack.

Ruby giggled. "That's understandable." She said and walked off, where Summer would see her as a little baby crawling around the home and babbling.

A tear ran down Summer's cheek, watching the same baby crawl around before she would see her wandering around as a teenager once again. She would turn to see Yang leaning on the couch and turning on the TV. She would immediately picture her as a little toddler holding on to Ruby and watching cartoons.

"Okay, that's enough TV. Time for bed."

"Aww… okay."

Summer let out a giggle. So many memories I made hereand that's just with them as kids. She thought as she sat down on the couch, now picturing Yang lying on her lap while humming a soft lullaby. She then saw Yang flipping through the channels on the remote. She slowly reached out to her and wanted to put in her lap, but stopped herself.

"Hmm?" Yang turned her head. "Need something?"

"No… not really." She said a bit awkwardly, looking away and leaning her arm on the couch as Zwei hopped up and curled up next to Summer. This all feels soforeign… why? She thought to herself, unaware of Tai staring at her from behind.

It's going to take time for her to adjust, but I know her… she'll get through this. Tai thought and lightly chuckled. Never thought I'd ever see Summer come back home, even if its just temporary.


A few hours later, after Rosalina made up her mind

"Alright, dinner's ready!" Tai called out as they went to the dinner table, where they would sit down as Summer sat next to Tai as they would start digging in.

"Oh! Oh my goodness, this is delicious!" Rosalina said, her eyes sparkling.

His cookingit's improved… Summer thought as she took a bite. Not that she needed to eat since she's dead, but she didn't want to be rude. She looked at her daughters, picturing the two as little kids again as Ruby was making a mess in her high chair and Yang was happily eating. She also pictured Tai looking quite happy and laughing at Summer's jokes. She felt a hand touch her, snapping her back from reality as she looked down and saw Tai holding her hand and gave her a soft friendly smile. Summer returned the gesture and kept eating.

"You like it?" Tai asked. "I've definitely improved over the years."

"Y-yeah, you sure have." Summer agreed.

"I've definitely got to have the recipe for this." Rosalina said. "This is amazing."

Tai chuckled. "Well, I'm sure I can give you the recipe… maybe do it your style."

"I might!" Rosalina giggled.

"Who knows… you might make a killer dish!" Yang said.

"Excuse you?" Tai shot her a fake offended look. "I thought I made some killer recipes. What makes you so sure Rosie can do better?"

"You ever ate one of the Star Bits? I'm sure it could add a bit more flavor to it."

"Oh, what's wrong with the salt and pepper!"

Both Ruby and Summer snickered at this at the playful banter between the two while Rosalina let out a few soft giggles. Summer would then stare at Ruby again, her mind picturing her as a little girl once again.

"Ah.. It feels great to be a whole family again!" Ruby blurted out, snapping Summer back to reality.

"Y-yeah, it feels great…" Summer said, a hint of sadness in her voice which Tai immediately picked up on.

End BGM


Later that night

Summer wandered into Ruby's room, who was already wrapping herself under the covers. "Aw, look at you… all snuggled up under the blanket." Summer smiled.

"Yeah." Ruby giggled.

"You… want me to tuck you in? Read you a bedtime story or… sing you a lull-"

"Nah, I'm good. You don't have to do any of that." Ruby told her.

Summer immediately frowned. "Oh… okay…" She said, looking down with a hint of disappointment.

"Night mom." Ruby said, turning off the light and falling asleep.

"Night… love you…" Summer walked over to her and then gave her a small kiss on the forehead before walking out of the room and closed the door. She then wandered into Yang's room, who was already snoring, and was also under the covers. She pictured a smaller Yang being tucked in and being read a story as her little sun dragon would fall asleep in the middle of the story.

None of this is rightShe thought as she wandered into her and Tai's room, the latter already in bed and looking through a crossword puzzle.

"Mmm… four letter word for Mario Bros…" Tai mused as Summer looked into the drawers and found no pajamas at her for her.

Ohright. Summer thought, closing her eyes as her combat skit had changed into actual pajamas, something that Tai noticed.

"Heh, if only changing clothes was that fast." Tai teased, causing Summer to giggle and then climbed into bed. "…Ya know, I'm wondering… do ghosts even need to sleep?"

"Not really, but… it does feel nice to take a nap every once in a while."

Tai let out a chuckle. "Good point." He said as he put the crossword puzzle down. "Alright… I'm hitting the hay… night babe." He said, turning off the light and going to sleep as Summer watched him before lying on her back.

"Night sweetheart." Summer said as she attempted to close her eyes and sleep… but her mind drifted to what it was like in the home before she went off on that mission. Her kids were completely small and vulnerable… and the next thing she knew, they're all grown up in the blink of an eye. Life used to be so simple and yet… here she is, as a ghost, trying to comprehend and adjust to everything.

She opened her eyes and sat up, letting out a soft sigh and got out of bed, walking out of their room. Tai opened his eyes and turned his head. "…Summer?" He wondered as he sat up and walked out, putting on his slippers and walked around the house. He would see Rosalina sleeping soundly on the couch as he wandered into the kitchen, but didn't see Summer at all. He wandered around the entirety of the home before wandering outside.

"Summer?" He called out to her as he went to the backyard and soon heard soft sniffling. He turned his head to see Summer sitting on the edge of the roof. Oh, there she is. He thought as his husbandly instincts kicked in as he walked over to the shed and pulled out a ladder, gently placing it next to the house as he climbed up and got up on the roof where he walked over and sat down next to his wife. "Something on your mind?"

"I… none of this is right…"

"What is?"

BGM: Kairi III (Kingdom Hearts)

"This whole thing…" Summer said, wiping her tears. "The last time I was here, the kids were just little… but now, after all these years after I came back just to help our daughter out… I come back to our home and discovered that… they're not the same little girls anymore. Everything just feels so… awkward."

"You didn't see any of that when we were up in space?"

"I was too focused on other things to really notice…" She admitted. "Now that everything is calm… I began to see how much they've grown. I made many memories here… and they were all in the past when they were just little kids. Now look at them, they've grown so much that they didn't need to be told to brush their teeth or get tucked in or feel the need to be read a story."

"Yeah… I figured you would be adjusting to this." Tai said. "I've seen you try to interact with Yang by trying to get her on your lap like you used to do, not to mention you were being a space cadet all day. I figured you were picturing the girls as little kids and they just grew up in the blink of an eye."

"I was removed from their life, Tai… I didn't watch them grow up or I didn't even teach them anything that a mother would. I see them as little kids, but as I try to interact with them as I did before, they would suddenly turn into teenagers…" She looked down, some tears escaping her eyes.

"I don't blame you… you were taken from all of us." Tai said. "Sometimes… I feel like I wish our roles were reversed. It's not easy being a single parent… in a way, I can relate to how Bowser feels. It's really tough… I've heard tales of how single mothers, despite all odds, come off strong and bear all the weight on their shoulders, but they just keep doing it despite anything that gets in their way. Me? …I've been nothing but a train wreck."

"Hon, I'd be a train wreck too if our roles were reversed."

"Yeah… but I think you'd handle it better than I would…"

"Tai… you raised them well on your own."

"And yet, Yang went to look for Raven with Ruby in the wagon right as I went to bed… had I known that would have happened, I would've stayed up a little longer. Hadn't Qrow saved them, I'd…"

"Raven…" Summer looked away. "Right… her…" She said and looked to him. "Honey, it's not your fault. Kids do dumb things all the time… believe me, I've had my fair share when I was little. I imagine you were the same way."

"Yeah… you're right. Kids will be kids." Tai shook his head. "Personally, Summer… I wouldn't worry about the girls. It will take time to adjust, yes… but I imagine you can make a lot of new memories with them. I can understand though… they were little when you left, and now that you're back, you're seeing they're not the same little girls anymore. Believe me, they grew up way too fast."

"Tai…" Summer looked at him, tears swelling in her eyes as they began to fall down her cheeks.

"Come here." Tai said, opening his arms and hugged her, as she softly cried into his chest.

"It's not fair…" She sobbed. "I shouldn't have been taken from them! I wanted to be with them…. I wanted to watch them grow into the beautiful young ladies that they are! I… I wanted to raise them with you!"

Tai rubbed her back softly, gently kissing her on the forehead as the moonlight shined down from above, shining down on the couple. After a few minutes of sobbing, Tai realized that Summer was actually sleeping in his arms. He let out a chuckle as he put her on his back and carried her down, making a mental note to put the ladder back in the shed as he then carried her bridal style as he walked back into the house and into their room.

Tai gently put her down on the bed as he then climbed into bed and started to drift off, but he felt an arm wrapped around him as he saw that Summer snuggled up right next to him with her arm wrapped around him. He let out a chuckle and gently held her hand as he started to fall asleep.

"It's going to be okay…"


It's gonna be okay indeed!