-Epilogue-
(bettaread by: Rikku the bluefirevixon)

I stared up at the ceiling of my bedroom, my mint green eyes long accustomed to the darkness of the night. I found myself looking up at the white painted ceiling at night quite often. It occurred to me that I hadn't been able to sleep through an entire night ever since I left Kilika to find Gippal.

I could still remember the thrilling feeling I felt when I first laid eyes on him. I had been so excited to meet Gippal after all these years. He didn't even seem to mind that I called him father after that incident with Kahem.

I shuddered slightly at the memory of my encounter with that evil man. My hands automatically clutched the fabric of my blanket a little tighter as the image of Kahem´s face appeared in my mind, and I pulled the cover up to my chin. At least here I felt safe, with my father around…and the knowledge that Kahem was behind bars. Still, I couldn't shake away the angst away that turned a knob in my stomach, so I quickly switched to a happier memory.

Gippal…my dad, asking me to stay with him here in Djose.

A smile crept up on my face as I remembered that day and couldn't believe that three weeks had already passed since that day.

I let my head fall to the left so that I eyes could see the alarm clock positioned on the nightstand next to my bed. The red-lit letters flickered 2:36 AM, and I sighed knowing that it would not be easy to fall asleep any time soon.

The nightmares I had been having almost every night were really starting to exhaust me. Even my father had started to notice the dark purple circles growing beneath my eyes. No matter how many layers of foundation I applied on my face, they were hard to ignore.

I felt stupid and useless because not only did I look tired, I felt tired too. Yesterday I even fell asleep while I was lying under a hover trying to repair the engine.

Luckily Zam noticed it before anyone else could and woke me up.

I smiled as my new friend's face appeared in my thoughts. I wasn't used to having friends, but Zam seemed to be a really good one.

I traced the soft material of my covers with my fingers and sighed once again. I had to close my eyes to be able to fall asleep, but they refused to listen and stayed wide open.

I groaned and placed a hand over my eyes, forcing my eyelids to close and smiled at the sudden blackness. Yet it didn't take long before the visions of previous nightmares reappeared in my head and I dropped my hand, my eyes snapping wide open once more.

This was no good. How was I supposed to sleep when my eyes and mind refused to cooperate?

I pressed my lips together and frowned out of annoyance, trying very hard to concentrate on the memory of how it felt to fall asleep hoping that it would do me some good.

The silence around me was frustrating. It signified every other sleeping Al bhed in Djose and I couldn't help but feel the sting of jealously coursing through my heart.

I don't know how long it took before my eyes gave up, but eventually they closed and I slipped into a light slumber. I could still hear the piercing silence around me and faintly distinguish the pale silver moonlight, coming through the window into the shadowy darkness of my room, but I wasn't truly 'awake' anymore.

I rolled over on my side and sighed contentedly at the sudden warmth next to me. I imagined a pair of soft warm arms holding me tenderly. I smiled, and snuggled in closer as I imagined the way my mother used to hold me when I couldn't sleep. When I was still a child, and even into my teens, we would sometimes share the same bed. I always felt safer with my mother so close by. She was everything I was not: brave, gorgeous, outgoing. I wish I was half the person she was.

I inhaled deeply and my smile grew wider. I could swear I smelled her fragrance: a mix of fruit and engine oil. My mind was really playing tricks on me this time, or maybe I was just going crazy.

A hand went softly through my hair, gently combing it out of my closed eyes. I sighed again at the touch, and just when I felt myself slipping further and further away into a pleasant sleep, I tensed.

That hand hadn't felt as surreal as everything else.

And now that I thought about it, the warmth felt really real too. Even the smell was hard to ignore and pass off as a figment of my imagination.

Someone was here…right here next to me…in my bed.

My eyes snapped open and I nearly jumped into a sitting position. My eyes widened as I recognized the contours of the figure, lying on the edge of my bed. Ít too sat up straight, and I found that I couldn't make my body relax. It was silent for a while before the figure finally decided to speak.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" her feminine and slightly childish voice asked apologetically.

Breathe…I thought, remember to breathe.

I sucked in a breath of fresh air, allowing my brain the much needed oxygen and I stared at the woman before me.

Was I really going crazy?

"M…mom?"

I could see a faint smile appearing on the females face and one nod with her head confirmed my thoughts.

And all I could do was stare…

I had, very often, fantasized about our reunion. Most of the time it involved me squealing like an idiot and crushing her against my chest.

Sometimes I fainted too.

I could feel my lips tremble as the seconds passed and I swallowed away the lump that had formed in my throat.

"M…mom…" I repeated choking over the word and breaking out in soft sobs.

My mother let out a short chuckle that broke into a sob and she threw her arms around me, pressing my head right under her chin, holding her hand gently against my temple.

"Mom…I…m…missed you…so much…so much." I cried softly on her chest.

I could hear her swallow and laugh through her own tears. "I know Dheali, I know. I am so sorry sweetheart."

My arms found a way around her shoulders and I locked her into my hug, wishing we could stay like this forever. Just me. And my mother. Forever.

If I had died in that moment, I would have died happy.

"Never…never leave…me again. Promise." I demanded weakly holding her even tighter if that was possible.

"I won't." Her voice was a mere whisper, but her words were clearer to me than anything else ever had been. "I'm here. And I'm staying."

--

We laid like that until the first streams of sunlight broke through the clouds and shone into my room. We were both reluctant to let each other go.

Mother and daughter.

Only one crucial element was missing now, but I had no worries. Everything was going to be alright from now on.

Even though I had promised Gippal the night before to make an early start that morning, we didn't get up until 9:00 AM.

Gippal didn't seem to mind though, or at least he didn't come and wake me. He was probably happy that I was getting some 'sleep', or so it must have seemed to him.

Despite the fact that I didn't want to get up, I had to, just so I could get dressed.

"Stay there, okay?" I asked my mom, casting a worried glance over my shoulder every second as I picked out some clothes to wear.

She smiled warmly at me and nodded. "I'm not going anywhere" she promised and my heart skipped with joy.

I ran towards my private bathroom, and took the shortest shower in the history of mankind. I got dressed even more quickly and darted through the door when I was done, jumping on the bed and embracing my mother again.

"I'm so glad you came back." I whispered, feeling the tears sting behind my eyes once more.

She stroked my back affectionately and smiled. "Me too. I missed you."

I smiled back and we looked at each other like that for a while before I finally took her by her hand and pulled her up from the bed. "Come on. Let's go."

She seemed hesitant but got up anyway and followed me through the hall as we made our way towards the kitchen, which was downstairs.
All the while we held hands, my gaze fixed on her face, as if she was a bubble that was about to pop.

She grinned at me as I almost tripped over my own feet. "You're still as clumsy as ever." she said, giggling.

I smiled sheepishly at her, but it turned into a frown as a question popped up in my head. "How did you get here?" I asked curiously, while climbing down the stairs that lead us to a small hallway at the right side of the temple.

She smiled and shrugged. "Cid gave me a ride in his new airship." she said, winking at me.

"Oh…no I meant…" I replied, remembering the old bald man from over a month ago. "How did you get in Djose?" We passed the doors of the canteen, which was empty at this time of day. Most of the workers were already up and going.

"Oh…I've got my ways" she said and smiled her sly smile. "That reminds me Gippal really needs to improve Djose's alarm system." She tsked while shaking her head.

I giggled. "Yeah I know; I keep telling him that too."

The kitchen door came into view. The head chef (although I wouldn't really call him a chef per se...) came through the door before I could reach for the knob and held it open for us.

I gave him a friendly nod and entered. My mother followed my example.

"Thanks." she said and winked at him as she passed.

He blinked and stared at her in shock and recognition; his grip loosened on the door and it fell closed behind her.

"It was really easy picking the lock on the backdoor. I hadn't done that in years and I wasn't sure if I still had it in me. But a few twists and turns, and click," she made a motion with her hands at the sound," and it was open, just like that."

"Really?" I opened the fridge and pulled out a cart of milk and placed it on the counter. "Cereal?" I asked her as I reached for the box of cereal in the cupboard next to the fridge.

"Yes, thank you. I'm starving." My mother was leaning over the counter that served as a bar, occupying one of the two barstools that stood there.

I poured some cereal into two bowls and divided the milk betweeb them. "Here you go." I said, giving her a spoon and a bowl.

"Thanks." She grabbed the bowl and spoon and eagerly shoved a spoonful of cereal into her mouth.

I grinned and started poking at my own, eating small bites every now and then. "So," I started, "you have to tell me everything."

She was about to start when a deep voice interrupted our conversation.

"Goodmorning Dheali." the voice I recognized immediately said.

I tensed as I stared in shock at the man coming through the kitchen door facing my mothers back. I looked from him to my mother and saw that her face too had frozen, her eyes wide as she dared not turn around.

Gippal, oblivious to the whole situation, walked over to the kitchen counter where I'd left the milk and cereal.

I held my breath as I watched him pick up the empty milk carton and frown. "Is there any milk left?" he asked me, his own back now turned towards mom.

I blinked at him and slowly shrugged.

His frown got deeper and he turned to face me with a concerned look. "Are you okay, you look like you've seen a…"

His words got stuck in mid sentence as his eyes finally caught the person sitting across from him.

I sucked in a deep breath of air and watched as the two saw each other for the first time in almost 20 years.

The silence in the room was almost unbearable but I dared not to break it. This was their moment. I knew my father had always been waiting, hoping for her to return. He had to have given up by now, or at least have been close. But now she was here in front of him - and I knew exactly how he felt.

I smiled as the first word escaped my father's lips, happy that he had chosen that word to break the silence. It was not so much as a word, but a name… a name that had not been spoken out loud amongst the Al bhed for so many years. A name that even I had not heard in quite a while, and I was thankful that my father was the one who finally said it after all this time.

A name we had all missed.

A person we had all missed…dearly.

"Rikku."

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