Encanto: The Inevitable (AU)

Rebuilding Casita

It had been a full day since the incident and Mirabel still hadn't woken up yet. The Madrigals decided it was best to rebuild the house so they could move her back home as soon as possible. Julieta stayed at Mariano's house to watch over her daughter while she was unconscious.

The majority of the townspeople offered to help out with the rebuilding of Casita. It went much faster that way.

Just when they cleaned up all that was leftover from the wreckage, Dolores noticed a familiar old woman coming from the mountains.

"Abuela!" She called out, diverting everyone's attention towards Alma. "She's back!"

"Mamá!" Pepa ran towards her mother. She was still angry and felt betrayed, but was relieved she was okay. "Where were you?"

"I-" Alma looked down, remaining silent for a while. "I needed some time to think. To reflect." She muttered.
"Seriously?" Agustín joined them. "After my daughter was almost crushed under that tower? She could have died!" He scolded.

"I know," Abuela said, barely audible. "And I'm so sorry." The old woman looked around for a second. "Where is she? Mirabel?"

"She's at the Guzmán's house together with Julieta," Pepa said, avoiding eye contact. "She'll have to stay there until we build a proper room for her."

Agustín glanced at Abuela for a second before silently walking away to continue helping with the reconstruction. Pepa also went back to aid with the build, leaving her mother alone.

Dolores was still looking at her. She thought back at the figure she, Camilo, and Félix chased through the forest. She knew for sure it wasn't Abuela, but she had a theory on who it might have been. She wanted to tell the family but didn't want to let the whole town know just yet.

'Maybe it's best to wait a while.'  she thought.

The family and townspeople managed to get pretty far on the house in a single day. They finished one of the rooms, but there wasn't anything in it so they were still unable to bring Mirabel back home.

Everyone agreed to call it a day. The townspeople went back to their own house, and the Madrigals had to overnight in the single room they finished. All the other spaces were either non-existent or lacked a wall.

"Ugh, this sucks..." Isabela whispered as she was trying to find the most comfortable position to lie in. Everyone had to rest in a sleeping bag on the floor. No one was comfortable, but at least they weren't sleeping outside.

"Where's Julieta?" Pepa asked. "Is she staying with Mirabel?"
Agustín nodded, and realized it was too dark for anyone to see so he answered with: "I think so, yes."

Abuela was sitting in the corner, still thinking about yesterday's events. She didn't feel like sleeping. She just wanted to see her granddaughter.

———————————

Julieta had fallen asleep, sitting in a chair beside Mirabel's bed. The plate with arepas — which was sitting on the nightstand — had gotten cold.

Señora Guzmán opened the bedroom door to check up on them. She didn't want to wake Julieta up, so she took the arepas and walked out of the room, closing the door.

On her way to the fridge, she found Mariano finally arriving back from the day's work.

"You stayed long," she whispered. "How's it going?"

"Well, we managed to finish a single room," Mariano whispered back. "Better than nothing I suppose. At least they've got a place to sleep."

"All of the Madrigals in a single room? Goodness, that must be a bit cramped."

"I bet it is. But we'll make more rooms tomorrow! Mirabel will be able to go back home."

"I'm so proud of you mi hijo," Señora Guzmán smiled at her son. "Now, get some rest."

———————————

The next day everyone woke up early to continue with the house again. The Madrigals were all very tired, none of them were able to sleep very well that night.

Mirabel was still unconscious and Julieta remained at the Guzmán's house, even after Mariano offered to watch over her instead.
"Kind offer, Mariano, really. But I'd much rather stay with her myself," Julieta said. "So I can make sure everything will be alright."
So he went to continue helping with the construction instead.

The progress on the house went a little slower than the day before, but it was coming together pretty well. They were able to put together a room where Mirabel could stay for a while, along with some other parts of the house like the kitchen.

By the end of the day all the rooms were done, they just needed furniture and wallpaper.

Luisa made her way to the Guzman's house so she could pick Mirabel up and bring her back to Casita.

Julieta noticed that Alma had returned, but didn't bother speaking to her. She was too emotionally drained to confront her mother. So she went to her husband instead.

"How is she?" Agustín asked.
"She's doing well. Still no signs of consciousness, but I think she'll wake up soon," Julieta responded. "I wish I could've done more."
"You've done the best you can for our daughter, mi amor," her husband took hold of her hands. "And it's enough. Mirabel will be okay."

Most of the Madrigals went to sleep in the same room Mirabel was put in since it was the most well put together.

Félix, Pepa, Dolores, and Alma went to sleep in other rooms where they would have some space for themselves. 

Camilo put his sleeping bag right next to his cousin's bed. Just like old times, when they used to stay in the nursery together.
'Please wake up,' he thought. 'I'm worried about you.'

Julieta was still sitting in a chair beside Mirabel's bed. She found it more comfortable than sleeping on the floor anyways. She rested her head in her arms — which were still holding onto Mirabel's hand — and fell asleep.
——————————

Sorry if this chapter seemed to be moving a bit fast, I'm still struggling a bit with the pacing in my works.
Advice is always appreciated! Thank you for reading chapter 3! ^^