Choosing Life

Chapter Eight

"So...like what I've had with Harry my whole life?"

"Pretty much. Only difference is he probably won't feel like your grandfather will smite him if he kisses you."

"You've noticed him tensing still whenever we show affection too huh?"

"Uma, a blind monkey with a sledgehammer could notice that," Mal sighed. "The thing is I don't blame him. Ben gets the same way sometimes if I show him affection and dad's in the room. And we've been married for three years. Not to mention, unlike Ben...Harry's from the Isle."

"So?" Uma asked. "We're from the Isle too, Mal, and we don't tense whenever we get affection shown to us."

Mal sighed. "True Uma but don't forget. Harry spent all his time on the Isle acting as our protector. And what's the first thing anyone who would have looked to take us down back on the Isle would have gone for?"

"...anyone we had feelings for. If that was the sort of thing we did."

"Exactly. It's only been seven years since we four got off the Isle. Sometimes it takes a while to teach an old Cerberus new tricks."

Estelle looked up from his spot at the end of the bed and yipped softly.

Mal chuckled. "Sorry boy, I didn't mean you. You're the smartest Cerberus there is after all!"

"Yeah boy, we could teach you any trick we wanted and you'd get it right away," Uma nodded.

Estelle grinned and put his heads back down, contently chewing on a chicken rawhide. Mal had been sure to lay a towel out before giving it to him since the rawhide tended to stain whatever it was on.

Uma shook her head. "How's it feel? Being pregnant I mean?"

"...weird," Mal told her. "Like a good weird. I'm preparing to bring someone into the world who's part Ben and part me, and a part of me is terrified that I'm going to mess up this child from all the time I spent around the Dragon."

"And the other part of you?"

Mal smiled slightly. "The other part of me is excited to see how much more goodness there'll be in the world from bringing Ben's child into it. Because I know we're not our parents and I would never pressure the pup to be Ben if they're a boy, but how could Ben's child be anything but good?"

"You're forgetting something Mali," Uma said. "You've done so much good for Auradon. You stopped Freddy."

"We did that together," Mal said. "You, me, and Macaria. I would have never gotten up on the roof had you not lifted me up."

"Shut up and listen to what I'm telling you," Uma said. "What I'm trying to say is that there's no way you're going to mess the kid up. And you want to know why I'm sure about this?"

"Why?"

"Because you're worried about it." Uma told her. "If you weren't worried about turning out like the Dragon, then I'd be worried that you might mess this kid up Mali. But you won't."

"You sure?"

"Mal, how many times did you fight to make sure the younger VKs of the crew kept their innocence as long as they could on the Isle? And yes, I know we were co-captains and we both did that but I'm talking about you. Not to mention Ben wouldn't have married or wanted to have kids with you if he thought you wouldn't be a good mom."

"...Ben didn't marry me for kids though."

"Yeah I know," Uma nodded. "Still he was probably thinking about it. I mean he's the High King of Auradon, how could he not have thought about the possibility of having an heir at some point?"