Very picky. And we can't quite figure out everything it takes to go back and forth. I just know it's more difficult each time. [ Claire would rather go in the direction of levity, of lighter as soon as they can get there. Annabeth's gesture is met with a small but warm smile, and Claire covers her hand for a moment with her own.

She appreciates her words, and in truth, she wouldn't be telling Annabeth if she didn't trust her, didn't want to try and build something close to what they all shared. It felt nice, to be connected to others, a feeling that she's lacked for most of her life. ]

Twenty years for each of us. When I went back...well. We'd been apart longer than we'd ever known one another. It was awkward. And yes, it was Brianna, our daughter. I raised her, and then she encouraged me to go, to find Jamie again.

[ That feels like a happy note to end on, and not an untrue one. She can't believe sometimes that it's been nearly four years since she's seen her daughter, but Claire shoves that aside and reaches for another cookie. ]

How's all that for a complicated history?