Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Katherine woke up with a jolt.

Not because she was woken up by Abaddon putting coins into her mouth, nor by two ghosts phasing into her room arguing over one thing or another, nor by Nathan's presence, staring at her like an owl.

No, she woke up because it was quiet. Which obviously worried her, the hotel was never quiet.

She didn't bother changing from her pajamas; she didn't imagine she would get any guests until later on in the day, if she were to get any at all. Ben and Esther had already decided they were to catch the bus, so she was free from the school run, too.

The walk from her bedroom to the kitchen was.. uneventful. Peaceful, even. Normally, she would be ever so thankful for a single moment of quiet within the hotel, but something about the silence was just.. eerie to her.

Katherine's chest felt heavy, but she couldn't make out why. However, when she opened the door to the kitchen to find her two children and her nephew sat at the table, loudly speaking with their mouths full of sugary cereal, the sensation lightened.

"Good morning, kids," she yawned, heading towards the coffee machine.

"Morning, mom!" Ben smiled at her, before eating another spoonful of cereal. The crunch was loud.

Katherine paused at the cabinet, "does anyone know if your Uncle Nathan is joining us for breakfast?"

The silence that followed was suffocating. She turned to the children, Ben and Esther were in a hushed conversation while Abaddon just stared at her.

Esther realized Katherine was looking, and put on her best smile, "uh, mom? Are you okay?" Her smile faltered as she tried to scan Katherine's face.

Katherine laughed, albeit a little nervously, "I'm fine. I'm just wondering if he wants some cereal put in a bowl for him, you know how he likes to pretend."

Abaddon's eyes just kept getting wider and wider. While Ben looked mildly uncomfortable, "mom?"

"What? Do I have something on my face?" She hovered her hand over her cheek.

Esther quickly glanced at her brother, and placed a comforting hand on her cousin's now trembling hand. She faces her mom, "Uncle Nathan's gone, mom."

This gave Katherine pause, she swallowed, thickly, "did he finish his business?"

Ben winced, "you've been seeing him again, haven't you? You said the medication was working!"

"Medication?"

"Mom.." Ben started, but was immediately cut-off by Abaddon's almost silent sniffles.

It was only then did she really look at Abaddon, and she realized he was different. He wasn't as pale as a corpse, nor were his eyes shrunken in. His hair wasn't matted and tangled. He was also wearing a graphic tee with some sort of superhero on it, something that couldn't be farther from the pilgrim getup he adored. Abaddon actually looked like a real non-possessed child.

Esther's hand still lay atop his, "Abie.."

The boy's, who definitely was not Abaddon, body began to tremble and Esther's hand clutched his. She dragged him out of the kitchen, after nodding towards her brother.

Ben got up from the table, sighing, "you promised you'd tell us if the medicine stopped working."

"Ben, I don't know what you mean," she narrowed her eyes at her eldest, "I don't need.."

Ben doesn't listen, so she trails off. What her son does do, however, is pull an orange bottle from the cupboard. The bottle's contents rattle, and her stomach flips. She had banned these bottles from the hotel, if anyone was prescribed anything they would need to put it in something else.

Anything but an orange bottle.

Not after Nathan had found some painkillers and he spiraled. That was before he had found out the true cause of his death, so he had admitted to Katherine he didn't know why he had, and had apologised profusely. She lied and said she didn't either.

Maybe she also banned them because they were a reminder of how she failed at being a sister, but nobody needed to know that.

Ben placed the bottle into her hands, "you need to stop with the Uncle Nathan talk around Abie, too. You know how it makes him feel," he sighed as he turned the tap on, pouring up a glass of water.

Katherine turned the bottle over, her name printed onto the sticker. The word 'aripiprazole' was written in bold, she vaguely remembered it being some sort of antipsychotic.

But she didn't need antipsychotics, she never has. Has she?

"You promised you were better, mom," Ben didn't even look at her, he just stared into the sink, "you said you had moved on."

"Ben, I don't understand," she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No, you don't," Ben finally looked at her, and his eyes were shining with tears, "you don't understand how it feels to be forced to grow up and look after your sister and cousin, who you didn't even know existed, by the way, because your own mother is so grief ridden she can't even look after herself. Let alone three children."

Katherine stared at her son, her shy, pushover son, as his voice raised with every word. He crossed his arms, almost hugging himself, and turned away from her.

"I'm sorry, I know that you lost your brother, I don't know what I'd do if Esther were to ever.." he caught himself, before exhaling, "but it's almost been two years now, and I- I miss my mom." His shoulder's sank, as he stood in the doorway, "I'll send Esther to school today, but me and Abie will be staying here."

"Ben.."

But he had already stepped past the door, closing it behind him.

She glared down at the bottle she still had in her hands.

Were the ghosts really just tricks her mind was playing? Was she really just imagining Nathan this entire time.

She took the lid off, and pulled one of the pills out. She studied it. This one small circular pill would be the reason she wouldn't see her deceased brother anymore.

Would she grieve all over again?

She placed the pill into her mouth, and downed the glass of water Ben had left her.

Katherine woke up with a jolt.

People were shouting outside her room and she groaned. She pulled her pillow over her ears, hoping to block out the sounds. She thought it must've been some guests, until her mind supplied she didn't have any.

She groaned, if it wasn't guests it must be the kids. And they were her responsibility.

She begrudgingly got out of bed, not even bothering to change out of her pajamas. She had no reason to after all.

Katherine opened her door, ready to shout at her children and tell them to shut up, but the hallway was empty. She needs to take her pill.

She walked down to the kitchen, pausing when she heard laughter. She smiled, that sound was a.. rare occurrence in the hotel.

She entered the room, her children and nephew were sat around the table, making jokes and threatening each other with their spoons.

"Good morning, kids," she shuffled to the cupboard. She opened it and frowned when she couldn't see her bottle.

"Morning, mom!" Esther shouted, "you should hear what Abaddon's been telling us, tell her Abaddon!"

Before she could question Esther on who Abaddon was, she caught sight of her nephew. He didn't look well, at all. His eyes were surrounded by the worst bags Katherine has ever seen, it looked like he had slept in years. Not to mention how pale he was. In honesty, Abie looked like a ghost.

Katherine didn't hesitate to slide to him, checking him over. "Abie, are you feeling alright?" She placed a hand on his forehead, "you're freezing!" How does somebody get this cold?

Abie stared at her, unblinking. He said nothing.

And to make it worse, she heard him.

"Good morning to my favorite family!" Katherine's very dead, very not real, brother singsonged. She didn't even look his way, she just swallowed and kept her attention on her nephew.

But the vision continued, "good morning to my favorite nephew," he ruffled Ben's hair, but his hand just ghosted through. Ben laughed, probably at something Esther was saying. "Good morning to my favorite niece," Nathan gave Esther a thumbs up. "Good morning to my favorite demon," he bowed to Abie, and Abie seemed to nod in his direction.

Katherine felt her heart drop.

"And finally, good morning to my favorite little sister," he sat down next to her. She didn't even look at him, she couldn't, she was getting better.

Esther crossed her arms, "that doesn't mean anything if we are your only family."

Katherine finally pulled her focus from her nephew to Esther, who did seem to be talking to Nathan. Which would be impossible. Because he wasn't actually there.

"I've seen a lot of families, Esther, and trust me, you guys are the best."

"Don't worry, you're my favorite uncle, Uncle Nathan," Ben grinned, bringing his spoon up as if he were cheering a drink.

Katherine managed to finally look at her brother, who has his arms crossed on the table. But they weren't on the table, they phased through ever so slightly but Katherine noticed.

He didn't look like the usual Nathan she saw when she was at her worst. That Nathan had a vomit stain on his sweater, had damp hair from sweat, had blood all over his sleeves. This Nathan looked too clean to be dead. He looked alive.

She couldn't help herself, Katherine poked his upper arm, just for her finger to phase through it. She gasped and pulled her hand to her chest. She looked up, and Nathan was staring at her, his eyebrow raised in amusement.

"Kathy, what was that about?" He didn't even try and hide the levity in his voice.

She didn't acknowledge the question and instead turned to the kids, "do you see him?"

Abie finally blinked, "the apparition of the man who used to be Nathan? Yes, we do."

Katherine couldn't breathe.

"Hey, bud, what have we talked about? It's not used to be, I'm still the Nathan you know and love!"

"Mom," Ben begun, skepticism laced his words, "are you okay? Because Uncle Nathan's been here since we moved in."

"It was my hotel after all!" Nathan chirped.

"But," she was now so focused on trying to breathe she began to hyperventilate, "he can't be. He- he died."

"That I did," Nathan nodded, but he was concerned. The Nathan she saw never showed any emotion but silent melancholy. This Nathan had shown a wide range of emotions, especially happiness. "Katherine, what's up with you? Why are you so.. like this?"

"She's not our Katherine," Abie - was this Abie? They had been calling him Abaddon - shrugged.

"What do you mean?" Ben tentatively asked.

Esther gasped, "are you saying she's an alternate version of mom? Like from an alternate universe?"

Abaddon didn't answer, but instead bit down on a spoonful of cereal. Katherine pulled on her hair.

"Ohh!" Nathan slapped his palm against the table, or, well, he attempted to, his hand just fell through the wood, "so, you're from a universe where I don't become a ghost! That makes.. a lot of sense actually."

She looked up at her brother, "does it?" She screeched.

"Is it just ghosts?" Esther asked, "is Abaddon still a demon in your universe?"

Katherine definitely felt her heart stop.

"Is Abaddon still a what?"

Chapter Text

Katherine sat in the kitchen, alone with her thoughts.

The orange bottle was on the table, staring at her. For the past two years, she had been talking to a memory of a man who was no longer there. It made her feel stupid, in a way, because of course ghosts didn't exist.

It was just her mind chasing any sort of closure it could get.

But it felt so real. The breeze she would feel when 'Nathan' placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, the slimy tentacles of Jessica as she wrapped around Katherine waist, the screams of a demon which cracked glass as he was restrained by seatbelts.

A part of her didn't believe that it wasn't real. But the other part of her told her that's just what she wanted to believe. But she couldn't want, because she had hurt her children enough.

Speaking of, the door to the kitchen creaked open, disrupting the silence. "Hey, mom," Esther tentatively said as she held onto the side of the door, as if she was hiding from Katherine, "I'm, uh, going.. to school, now."

Katherine smiled, or at least, she tried to, "okay, hun. Have a lovely day, for me?"

Esther looked away, and Katherine felt her heart break, "sure.. bye."

"Bye, sweetie," but Esther was already out the front door before she could finish.

Katherine felt herself physically deflate. What did she do to make her children hate her? She couldn't recall, only yesterday were they trying to coerce the mothman out of one of the guest rooms together. She smiled to herself at the memory; Ben trapped underneath the beasts claws, while Esther and Abaddon tried some sort of ancient spell, Katherine was hit it with a broom, and Nathan cheered them on.

And her smile fades.

It was just another one of her fake memories.

She sighs and forces herself up from the table. She felt ill at the sight of the orange container on the table. She couldn't look at it anymore.

She stepped out of the kitchen. The lobby somehow felt more quiet than the kitchen, as if the hotel itself were in mourning. She tried to stay calm, but her entire body trembled as she walked up the stairs.

She peeked through the one door that was slightly ajar. Ben and Abie were close together on the bed, as Ben read a book aloud. Katherine couldn't help but smile softly at the boys. They looked so at peace, as if Ben hadn't put her in her place just moments prior, or as if Abie hadn't gone through an unexplainable loss at such a young age.

She gently closed the door shut, and headed towards her bedroom. Maybe she could get another hour or two in before any guests arrived, if they ever did.

She entered her bedroom and didn't hesitate to flop straight into her bed. She fell asleep in record time.

She slept better than she had in a long while, until she felt a gentle tug at her arm. She opened her eyes, and Abie had a firm grasp on her pajama sleeve.

"Aunt Kathy?" His voice was small, quite the contrast from the voice she thought she remembered him having.

"What's the matter, bud?" Katherine wiped the sleep from her eyes, her nephew seemed to be upset and if he was, she needed to be there for him. She wouldn't disregard him, or any of her kids anymore.

She watched as he winced at her words, and she wasn't quite sure what she had said wrong. His grasp grew tighter as he spoke, "I miss him."

Katherine was startled, to say the least, and she sincerely hoped she didn't show it. "Oh, sweetheart," she helped his small form onto the bed. Abie clutched onto her like a koala. She planted a gentle kiss onto the top of his head and she held him close, "I miss him, too."

"It's not fair," his voice was muffled against her pink pajamas, "why did he want to leave us?"

And Katherine wished she knew, it was all she's wished since she had answered that fateful phone call.

She held onto Abie like her life depended on it. Maybe it did, the young boy was the last living thing her brother had left behind and she didn't want to lose him, too. Even if he wasn't of her brother's flesh and blood, Abie was Nathan's child, so he was a Freeling, through and through.

If Nathan cared for him, so would Katherine.

It was in this moment of quiet that she let herself think about the altered memories her mind had provided. Ones where they all sat around the table on spaghetti night, where a ghost of Nathan would tell the corniest jokes which only made Ben laugh. Ones where they would be fighting for their lives and Esther would pull out some sort of talisman which made everything fine and Nathan would pull her into a hug, even if he couldn't really hug her. Ones where she spied Abie (or Abaddon, as she thought his name was) sat at the kitchen table, staring frustratingly at a sheet of paper while Nathan made him read it.

They were all bittersweet, in a sense. Nathan wasn't real in those memories, she had to remind herself, even if the way he interacted with everyone seemed so real. And the way they interacted with him, too.

Which they shouldn't have been able too. Because nobody could see him but Katherine.

She shot up, and Abie let out a little surprised whine. She quickly apologized.

In the plethora of totally impossible memories, she caught herself thinking of a mirror, which made her feel a strange sense of uneasy as she cleaned it the day before.

Maybe she was crazy for what she hoped, maybe she was logical. It was a fine line when you lived in the Undervale. She didn't wait another second to rush out of bed, ignoring her nephews confused shouts as she ran through the hallway.

She practically skidded to a halt, her breathing ragged as she opened the door she stopped at. The room was a standard guest room, a king sized bed, an en-suite and a large wardrobe placed neatly inside. However, her eyes were trained on the thing she had came for.

A large mirror was hung on the wall, its elegant silver frame was decorated by the greenest emeralds Katherine had seen, even if she hadn't seen many emeralds.

She sighed as she approached it, the uneasy feeling returning, "why do we have so many cursed mirrors?"

~

Katherine sat in the kitchen, she couldn't even hear her own thoughts.

She messaged her temples, trying to make sense of everything that was happening. She sighed, "I wouldn't say Abie is a demon, per se. Sure, he can be a little.. troubled at times, but you have to cut him some slack. He found his father slumped over.." she saw how Nathan (who was really there, and not just in her mind) tensed. Katherine didn't know what to say, "uh, no offense. Is that what I should say?"

Nathan only offered her a small smile.

Esther, however, was quick to explain, "well, unlike this 'Abie', Abaddon is a demon through and through!"

The boy plunged his spoon into his cereal as if he were stabbing it.

"He doesn't.. look like a demon," Katherine mused.

Abaddon suddenly drops his head into the bowl, Katherine could hear him groan.

"He's been cursed to an eternity in a human child's body," Ben explains, "and Uncle Nathan emotionally adopted him before he realized that fact."

"Who wouldn't?" Nathan tried to defend himself, "who can say no to that face?" He gestured towards Abaddon, who was still trying to drown himself in milk.

But, Katherine couldn't look away from her brother as he teased his niece and nephew. He looked so alive, like he didn't do what he did, and she couldn't bare it.

She got up from the table, without saying a word. Somebody asked something, she didn't really hear. Katherine left the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

She was breathing faster than she should be, her vision swayed to and fro. Within moments, she found herself sitting on the staircase. Her hand clutched her chest, her fist full of pink silk.

Katherine's mind betrayed her, and forced her to remember getting the call for the first time, the one that told her about her brothers death. She remembered her and her mother coming to the decision to cremate him, and the funeral, and how quiet the hotel was when she first moved in.

In her reality, it was always going to be quiet. The hotel was always going to be mourning its previous owner, and Katherine was always going to miss her brother.

The Katherine of this reality would never have had to grieve Nathan the way she did. She had her brother to guide her through all the hotel business, she had her brother to help her look after the children.

She had her older brother.

While Katherine had her antipsychotics. Because everyone in her reality had deemed her insane as she had said thought she had seen Nathan.

She didn't have her older brother.

Katherine wondered if the other Katherine knew how lucky she was. Her family seemed to love her still, while Katherine's couldn't stand her.

She held her head in her hands, realizing there was no use in trying to stop herself from crying. Her sobs echoed through the lobby.

She didn't know how long she was there for, before a familiar voice cut through her hiccups, "do you mind if I sit here?"

Katherine looked up at the ghostly form of her brother with tearful eyes. The Nathan before her sported a small, sad smile. She didn't say anything as she shuffled up towards the wall as Nathan sat down.

The two siblings didn't say anything for a bit, the silence only being broken by Katherine's occasional hiccups.

It was Nathan who spoke first, "Esther's, uh, trying to figure out how to get you home. She's having some problems, seeing as though we've never dealt with.. multiversal problems? If that's what this is. I'm gonna be honest with you, Kathy, I have no idea what's going on."

Katherine felt her lip twitch upwards, she raised her eyebrow, "you all seem so calm about all of this, do things like this happen a lot?"

"Oh, all the time," he was quick to say, "maybe not this exactly, but, yeah, pretty much. Just one of the pros of living in the Undervale for you. Or, well, existing in the Undervale."

And, with that, the silence returned, and with it came a tension that wasn't there before. Katherine watched as two ghosts (she assumed) walked through the lobby, continuing their conversation even as they walked through the wall.

She picked at the hem of her pajama sleeves, she needed to ask him the question she's been rotating in her mind for two years. It was now or never, and she needed to know, "why?"

Nathan hummed in confusion, turning his head to face her.

"Why did you leave me?" She felt the tears begin to fall again, but she couldn't care less.

Nathan's eyes widened for a second, he opened his mouth but no sound came out. He snapped it shut.

Nathan looked away, as if he were ashamed. Katherine imagined he might be. "I.. don't know."

And that wasn't the answer she wanted, "what do you mean you don't know? Nathan-"

"I can't remember why I decided to do it, Katherine, I can't even remember doing it. I didn't even know until my first deathday, it was you.. well, the other you, who had let me believe I choked on grapes."

Katherine didn't know what to say to that. She tried to place a hand on his shoulder, only for it to fall through.

"I wish I knew why I thought the only option I had left was death, I really do. And, I know you do, too. There are some days I regret doing it. Those days I sit in the lounge, imagining all the things I could be doing if I wasn't dead. Like, for example, being able to wipe your tears away."

Katherine smiled at him. The silence was back, but it was more companionable this time.

After a moment, she spoke up, "do you think there's a universe, out there, where you didn't?"

"Yeah, I think there is."

Chapter Text

Katherine stared at the mirror, trying to recall how exactly whatever happened, well, happened.

"Nathan?" She felt stupid, watching her own reflection talk into a mirror, "are you in there?"

No, of course not, Katherine. Your brother's dead, ghosts don't exist and neither do magic mirrors.

She pushed down those thoughts to her best ability.

You've fully lost it.

She placed her hands on the mirror, trying to find a way to release Nathan and the other supernatural beings of the hotel, because they've got to be in there. There wasn't any other explanation.

Nathan wasn't gone, she was sure of it. The kids had somehow had their memories altered, it wouldn't be the weirdest thing that would have ever happened in this hotel.

Her hands trailed up and down the mirror, searching for a button, or a switch, or anything that could release her brother. Katherine felt her breathing become erratic.

"Come on, Nathan, I know you're in there," she started pounding her fists on the glass, "just come out!"

"Mom?"

She turned around, Ben was in the doorway, holding Abie's hand. They were silhouetted by the light behind them, but Katherine could see the anger in her son's eyes and the fear in her nephew's clear as day.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"Ben, sweetie, I was just.. looking. At this mirror. Isn't it a nice one?" She wasn't entirely sure why she was lying to him, he didn't deserve to be lied to.

"Really?" Ben spat, "because Abie said he was very worried when you got up and ran from him with no warning."

Katherine gulped, "honey-"

"Do not act like nothing is wrong, don't shower me with names like you used to. Don't act like you're well, because you aren't," Ben dropped Abie's hand, stepping forward into the dark room, "you haven't been well since you got that call."

Katherine took a step back, literally taken aback by her son's words - not for the first time that day. But, before Katherine could say anything, Ben continued.

"I'm so glad I sent Esther to school today. She doesn't deserve to watch you fall apart like this. Neither does Abie, but he wouldn't have been able to even concentrate at school, because you decided to bring up his dead father."

Katherine raised her hand, reaching for him, "Ben, hun, I-"

But Ben folded his arms, practically curling in on himself, "you know, I'm glad I didn't go to school. Because, if I did, you probably would have ended up killing yourself too."

And then there was silence, occasionally broken by Abie's almost silent sobs.

It didn't take Katherine long to notice the tears racing down Ben's rosy cheeks, even if he tried to hide it from her. She tentatively approached him, like he were a wild animal that could ever run or attack, and wrapped her arms around him. She pulled him close, and ushered for Abie to join the hug.

He did, and Katherine held her two boys close. She planted a kiss onto Ben's hair, and ruffled Abie. She felt her pajama shirt grow damp with their tears.

Katherine tried to stop her own tears from falling, she needed to comfort her children. She needed to make them feel safe, something they apparently hadn't felt for a while. And it felt perfect, or as close to perfect as it could be, until it was ruined.

"Katherine?"

She ignored it, he wasn't there. But Ben and Abie tensed.

"Katherine," the voice was a little more stern this time, "hullo, Kathy? Can you hear me?"

Ben and Abie pulled away, and stared at the mirror with wide, fearful eyes.

"Oh god, what if she can't?" And this new voice gave Katherine pause, because that was her voice, "what if Esther was-"

She turned around, slowly.

"There she is," her brother, who was in the mirror smiled wide and happy.

When Ben spoke, he sounded so hurt, "Uncle Nathan?"

Abie's small "papa?" was so quiet, Katherine barely heard it.

Katherine stared into the hotel lobby, enjoying the companionable silence she shared with her brother.

It reminded her of a time long passed, where she and Nathan would sit together on a tree in the forest behind their childhood house. There were days the two would sit in silence, but also some days they would loudly play games.

She missed being young, sometimes. Children shouldn't have to have responsibilities. She winced as her mind supplied an image of Ben (her Ben, not this universe's Ben), the memory was from one of their many arguments.

Nathan caught the wince, "what's up?"

Katherine placed her head in her hands, "I'm a terrible mother."

"No, you aren't," Nathan simply stated.

"Yes, I am," she replied, "your Katherine can not only care for her kids, but also the hotel itself, a demon, her dead brother and god knows how many other ghosts and monsters. And I can't even look after three children."

"I'm sure-"

"They hate me, Nathan. Ben, Esther, hell, I think even Abie can't stand me."

"Kathy-"

"It was.. hard for me, when you died."

Nathan was silent for a moment, before almost whispering, "I don't doubt that."

"I mean, from the moment I got the call, I knew that nothing would be the same again. My big brother, who swore he would always be there for me, had left. And then I started seeing you."

This time, Nathan didn't answer. A simple, small nod of his head told her to carry on.

She sighed, "you would be practically everywhere, whether that be behind me in the mirror or at the foot of my bed. It only got worse after we moved to the hotel. You were like a, well-"

"A ghost?" Nathan said with a light-hearted chuckle.

"Yeah, like a ghost. But not like you are now, he looked more.. dead, than you do. It got bad. There were days where one of the kids would walk in on me talking to you, or running away from you. It didn't take me long to be prescribed antipsychotics."

"Did they help?"

"In a way, yeah. You stopped showing up, but they made me feel more.. hollow. I would have to start forcing myself out of bed, and the kids would still have to look after themselves."

Nathan clicked his tongue, "that doesn't make you a bad mother."

Katherine couldn't help but roll her eyes, "were you not listening?"

"You started taking the antipsychotics for your kids, right?" He asked.

Katherine tilted her head, "I wanted to get better for them, yes."

"Exactly, and the antipsychotics didn't have the effect you wanted. That's not your fault, it's the medications. And the hallucinations, those weren't your fault either. They only started because you were grieving, and you were faced with a massive change. Stress does that to you."

"So, why didn't your Katherine hallucinate?" She glared at him.

Nathan thought for a moment, "who's to say she didn't? Besides, everyone grieves differently. That might still apply to you and my Kathy."

Katherine sniffed, "I always hated it when you called me Kathy."

"I know, that's why I call you it."

Katherine didn't get the chance to say anything else, before Esther burst into the lobby from the kitchen, "we've figured it out!" Abaddon and Ben followed.

Nathan stood up, "that was fast, kiddo! Lay it on us."

"There's a mirror, in room 306, that, according to this grimoire, can show the reflection of other universes."

"So how do I get back?" Katherine asked.

Esther pursed her lips, "I haven't figured that out yet."

"Maybe we should go check out the mirror?" Ben shifted his feet, "I feel that's the best option."

A memory flashed through Katherine's mind, "wait, room 306? I was in there yesterday, cleaning it, and the mirror. It's a very fancy mirror."

"Okay, great," Nathan nodded, enthusiastically, "that's good to know. And, it's always the fanciest mirrors that are the most cursed. Which is a shame, I love fancy mirrors." He frowned, before clapping his hands together, "right! Mirror time!"

The family - which consisted of two children, a demon, a ghost and a woman from another universe - made their way up to the room.

Katherine pushed the door open, it creaked ominously. The light from the hallway illuminated the silver mirror, the emerald decorations glimmered.

Nathan whistled, "that is a very fancy mirror."

Katherine ignored him, walking towards it. She felt Nathan following close behind. And, lo and behold, the reflection didn't show her nor her brother. Instead, it showed another Katherine, who held Ben and Abie as they both shook with sobs.

"Katherine?" She heard Nathan beside her, he wasn't talking to her, but rather mirror-Katherine. She didn't stir, so he tried again, "Katherine. Hullo, Kathy? Can you hear me?"

Ben and Abie were staring into the mirror at this point, but Katherine felt herself panic, "oh god, what if she can't? What if Esther was-"

Her rambling was cut off by a sharp inhale from inside the mirror. Mirror-Katherine was staring right at them. Nathan smiled, "there she is."

Ben and Abie both said something, which earned a wave from Nathan, but Katherine was focused on the other her. She looked so.. put together, it was kind of surreal to see.

That Katherine was like the perfect version of her, but Katherine was surprised to find she didn't envy her, but instead she felt hope. Hope that someday, after a copious amount of therapy, she could be like her.

Esther pulled her out of her thoughts when she was suddenly between Katherine and the mirror, "it sounded like you almost doubted me there, not-mom. Never doubt me again," she pointed at Katherine, who raised her hands in defense, Esther turned to the mirror, "anyway, hi, mom. Long story short, you're in the wrong universe, and the multiverse may break if you stay there for any longer. But no pressure, or anything."

Katherine shouted, "what? You never mentioned anything about-"

"Shush, I'm working on it," Esther shrugged, "anyway, does anyone have any idea what we should do, because I'm going to be honest, I have no idea where to go from here."

The Ben in the mirror held his head, "what is going on.." he sighed, "Esther would love this."

"I do love this!" Esther, the only Esther there, said, "Abaddon, any ideas? It was you who realized that not-mom was not mom."

Abaddon simply shook his head, "I do not. I only knew because she smelled different."

"What?" Both Katherine's said at the same time, "what do I smell like?"

"Woah, freaky," Nathan giggled. His eyes widened, "you said you were cleaning in this room? What if you cleaned it again?"

"That could work," mirror-Katherine sighed, "but I don't want to clean the mirror again, it was quite the chore yesterday."

"Me neither," Katherine agreed.

Ben's eyes shimmered, "what if you placed your hands on the mirror?"

"That's a little cliché, don't you think?" Esther squinted her eyes.

Ben huffed and crossed his arms.

"Well, it's the best idea we've got so far," Nathan chimed in, "I say let's give it a try! What's the worst that could happen?"

Katherine shrugged and raised her hand to the glass of the mirror, "why not?"

Mirror-Katherine chuckled, and nodded, "why not?" She mirrored Katherine's movements.

Their hands met.