AUTHOR'S NOTES: So, if you've ever read the Encanto story 'The Seer and His Butterfly' (Which I HIGHLY recommend), this story follows a similar design in that most of the chapters will be shorter vignette-style chapters, rather than my longer fare.

Chapter 2: Welcome to the Family Madrigal

"Alright, little moonbeam," Bruno said as he listened to Julieta settle his daughter into a stroller. "Time to go home."

"Home wif Mami!" Luna exclaimed, happily, bouncing in her stroller.

Turning to Bruno, Julieta saw her brother stiffen slightly as he knelt down, touching Luna's hair as he spoke. "Not with Mami, Luna. You're going to a new home with me. With your Papi."

Luna's smile faded and she looked around, clutching the blanket she'd been found in. "No Mami?"

Bruno hesitated before finally replying, "Your mami... Your mami went away."

"Moona go home with Papi?" Luna asked, trying her best to understand what was going on.

"That's right," Bruno said, a smile returning to his face. "You're going to a new home with your Papi, your Tia Juli, Tia Pepa, and your Tios Gus and Felix. And you've got an Abuela... and you have a special house to grow up in."

Still holding onto her blanket, Luna smiled at her new father and when he kissed her head, she reached up to hug him. "Home wif Papi!"

Standing up, Bruno pulled out his cane, unfolding it before taking Julieta's elbow so that she could lead him out to where Alma was waiting with the car.

X

Luna's eyes widened in wonder as she looked up at La Casita Madrigal and Alma chuckled as she watched the little girl wave at the house which was clattering roof tiles excitedly.

In Bruno's arms, his daughter was still as he walked up to the front door, but was clearly taking everything in.

"Mind the steps," Alma cautioned as she guided her son into the house before taking Luna so that Bruno could pull out his cane. "Everyone else is in the dining room."

Bruno nodded as he made his way towards the kitchen with Julieta.

Hearing the floor tiles clatter questioningly, Alma whispered, "No, Casita. Bruno has to learn how to get there himself." After a second sadder clattering, she murmured, "I know. I want to help him, too. But we need to give him space. Only help if he asks or is in trouble." Following behind, Alma got Luna settled in her new highchair at the dining room table before watching Bruno talk to Julieta in the kitchen.

Concerned about his mother-in-law's expression, Agustin asked, "How is he doing?"

"He's improving," Alma responded, nodding thoughtfully. "It's challenging for him, but Bruno has always been tougher than he appears. Looking after his new daughter will be good for him."

"Speaking of daughters," Felix piped up, excitedly. "Julieta confirmed that Pepa's pregnant as well."

Beaming with joy, Alma laughed as she hugged her daughter and sons-in-law. "That is wonderful news! A new generation of Madrigals!" Seeing the cloud forming above Pepa's head, she frowned slightly as she took her hands. "What's wrong, Pepita? Why do you look so worried?"

Her face scrunching up, tears fell down Pepa's cheeks along with fat snowflakes as she blurted out, "What if something happens to me or Felix or the baby? What if my weather affects the pregnancy? O-Or what if I make it through the pregnancy and die after the child is born? What if Felix dies and I have to raise this child all by myself-?"

"Slow down, Pepa," Alma soothed, pulling her frantic child into an embrace. "Deep breaths, remember?" Once Pepa was able to take a few long breaths, she went on. "I know how scary this can be. But Julieta will help you through it and so will Felix, Bruno, and myself. You're not alone, mi dulce nube de tormenta."

"Snow! Snow, snow, snow!" Hearing Luna's jubilant shouts and laughter, Pepa smiled at her sobrina, the cloud above her head ceasing its precipitation.

"You like it when your tia makes it snow, do you?" Felix said to Luna who was still staring at Pepa's cloud. "You should see her make a rainbow."

Pepa closed her eyes and concentrated and after a moment, she was able to produce a dazzling rainbow, eliciting squeals of delight from Luna.

"What's all this, then?" Bruno wanted to know as Julieta guided him out of the kitchen and over to his chair.

"Mi nieta is enjoying your hermana's weather," Alma replied, smiling fondly at Luna.

Feeling the chill in the air, Bruno wanted to know, "What's Pepa worried about now?"

"Pepi's going to have a baby," Felix replied, proudly before going to help Julieta bring out lunch.

"I'm so scared," Pepa confessed, her cloud starting to flurry again. "I can't stop thinking about all the things that could go wrong and I just wish there was some way I could know that everything is going to be okay."

Letting out a loud groan of pain as a monstrous headache built up behind his right eye, Bruno cursed out loud as he recognized the migraine as the type he'd get when he resisted an impending vision.

"Bruno!" Julieta exclaimed, helping her brother out of his seat and onto the floor while Alma dashed off for one of the bottles of headache tonic kept in the pantry.

Taking Bruno's glasses, Julieta gasped as she saw his right eye pulsing bright green, making the scarring on his cornea much more prominent. Hearing Bruno's cries of pain and seeing his right hand reach for his face, she took his hand in her, squeezing, tightly. "It's alright, Brunito. I'm here."

Luna's cries mingled with her father's and she wailed, "Papi! Papi!"

Kneeling down next to Bruno, Alma looked up at her son-in-law and asked, "Agustin, could you take care of Luna, por favor?" Turning to Bruno, she raised his head a bit and murmured, "Can you drink this, Bruno? Just a few sips." Holding the bottle of tonic to her son's lips, she helped him take some of the tonic and after a while, the pulsing green stopped and Bruno relaxed his grip on Julieta's hand.

After getting Bruno back into his chair, Julieta tore off a piece of arepa con queso and popped it into her mouth before giving the rest to Bruno.

"How are you feeling, mijo?" Alma murmured, sitting next to Bruno and rubbing his back. "That was a hard one, wasn't it?"

Nodding shakily, Bruno took another tiny nibble of arepa before replying. "It-It wasn't a full vision. Th-There were flashes and... And-And I think my Gift was hurting me because I can't use it properly anymore." Feeling for his mother, he took her hand and went on. "I think I saw the family. You have more granddaughters and two grandsons, Mama." Feeling Alma hugging him with one arm, he murmured, "I can't do it anymore. I-I can't have any more visions."

"Esta bien, mi pequeno," Alma promised. "All that matters is that you're okay."

When Bruno lifted his head, seeming to listen for Luna, Agustin handed the little girl over, watching as she put her tiny hands on her father's face, looking him in the eyes. "Papi."

"I'm okay, rayo de luna," Bruno assured her, holding her close before holding her away a bit. "Your papi just had a very bad headache because he can't look into the future anymore."

"Look!" Luna shouted, waving at her father before reaching for his face again.

Bruno's smile was bittersweet as he thought of how to explain things. "Papi can't look, carina. Your papi is blind. My eyes don't work anymore."

Letting Luna feel the artificial eye and see the scarring on his right eye, he felt his heart clench as she said, "Papi no see?"

"That's right," Bruno whispered, his voice cracking. "I can't see. I can't look at things with my eyes. But," he added, thinking of the fragments of vision he'd had a little bit ago. "I saw you in my mind." Touching Luna's curly hair before stroking her cheeks and tapping her nose, he finished, "And I know that you are very adorable. Okay?"

When Luna hugged him, Bruno held onto her, tears streaming down his cheeks.