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CULLEN SIGHS AS she looks in the mirror. She looked older yet still the eternal nineteen year old. Her features were the same except for her hair which was a slightly darker shade of brown, but other than that she still looked like her nineteen year old self. She hadn't changed much in the time away from her family. Five years had come and gone in the blink of an eye. Though it didn't feel that way to Cullen.
Walking to her daughters room she smiles, leaning against the door frame as she watches her color. Hope looked so much like him. The sound of a car pulling up draws both of their attention outside, a smile growing on Hope's face. "Is that her?"
"Let me check." Cullen exclaims. "Stay inside." Leaving her daughters room, Cullen makes her way outside, smiling when she sees Hayley's familiar car.
"Hey." Hayley greets, getting out of her car.
"It's good to see you." Cullen tells her, pulling the woman into a hug.
"How's Hope?" Hayley questions as the two pull away.
"She's good." Cullen states barely able to contain her curiosity. "Did you find it?"
Hayley's quiet for a moment which makes Cullen doubt, but the smile that pulls on her face quickly washes away those feelings. "I found it." Cullen sighs in relief as she throws her head back, excited for her family to be reunited again. "C'mon, I'll help you pack them up."
"Hope." Cullen calls as she enters the house. "Aunt Hayley's here." Bouncing into the room comes a cheerful Hope.
"Hi, sweetie." Hayley bends down to hug the child. "What have you done today?"
"I've been coloring." The seven year old responds.
"Fun." Hayley responds before straightening up. "I'm going to help your mom with something and then you and I are going to spend the entire weekend together." Hope smiles, though Cullen could see how it didn't reach her eyes. Hope loved Hayley, but the child didn't like being without her mother. After Hope went back to her coloring Hayley and Cullen hauled the coffins into the truck, packing everything up.
"Do you have to go?" Hope questions as the three of them walk back outside.
"I do. But I'll be back very, very soon. And I won't be alone. I'll call you every night before bed, okay?" Cullen hugs her daughter, squeezing her a little tighter than usual. "In the meantime, you listen to Hayley. Deal?"
Cullen kisses her two fingers, holding them out for Hope to do the same thing. "Deal." Hope nods, wrapping her small fingers around her mothers.
Once Cullen and Hope have said goodbye Cullen turns to Hayley, pulling the woman into a hug. "Be careful." Hayley tells her. "But bring them home."
"I will." Cullen exclaims, taking one last look at Hope before turning back to Hayley. "After all this time..."
Hayley smirks, bowing her head. "Always and Forever."
