In Between

In Between Chapter 3

This one will be a totally AU, angsty, and probably OOC drabble.

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3. Three calls

The first call had come in January.

Valkyrie sat numbly on her bed in Skulduggery's house. She was staying over for the weekend, as they were to go on a stakeout later that night.

"What did you say?"

The reflection's voice was distorted by the bad connection.

"Mum has oral cancer. Stage two. She needs to get an operation."

"No. You're lying. She was fine the last time I saw her."

"I thought you might want to know. The last time you saw her was a year ago. Anyways, they're leaving for the hospital in an hour."

Valkyrie had rushed downstairs. Skulduggery was sitting on the couch, flipping through some paperwork. The skeleton had looked up worriedly.

"What's wrong?"

"I have to get home. Now."

That had been two years ago. The car ride had felt like a lifetime, and Valkyrie had felt a sense of relief when she had traded places with her reflection and her mother was still there.

Valkyrie had squeezed her mother tightly as soon as she saw her.

"How long will you stay at the hospital?"

Melissa Edgley had smoothed down her daughter's hair in what might've seemed calming to the untrained eye, but Valkyrie had heard the worry laced tightly in her mother's voice.

"I'll only stay overnight, maybe two days. It depends on how large the tumor is. Can you baby-sit Alice while your dad and I are gone?"

Valkyrie could only nod.

"There's a good girl. Make sure that Alice gets her naps; we don't want a cranky toddler to be there the first thing we come back!"

That one word, when, gave Valkyrie hope. Not an if, but when. Valkyrie had waved almost joyfully as her parents left. She would see her mum soon. It was only a matter of time.

'When' came, but it didn't last long enough.

Valkyrie had lunch ready the next day when her parents came back. Yesterday, after she explained that her mother had cancer- the word felt heavy and foreign to her mouth- Skulduggery had given her the rest of the weekend off to stay with her family. She had spent the rest of the night sleeping and watching Disney movies with Alice.

As soon as she saw the family car coming down the street; Valkyrie had flown to the door, greeting her parents eagerly. Her dad was a bit haggard, and her mum looked a little more tired than usual, but Valkyrie brushed those thoughts aside. Her mum was home, and she would be fine, and Valkyrie could go back to fighting crime with Skulduggery and everything would be back to normal again.

"Is that chicken I smell?" her father had asked. "Alice is getting better at cooking."

"Desmond!" her mother had reprimanded, but Valkyrie could still hear the laughter in her voice. "Alice is only three. She can't cook yet."

"And here I was, thinking that I had two daughters fully capable of cooking a meal. Oh well. At least Stephanie can cook... You cooked the chicken, right?"

Valkyrie had smiled sheepishly.

"Actually, I took some precious time to call KFC. You like original, right?"

The next call had come a month later.

Valkyrie had been training with Tanith when her phone rang.