Choosing Life

Chapter Thirty Seven

...Gods this baby needs to get out of me, they're making me mushy!

Mal couldn't help but give Uma a small smile, as if she knew exactly what her cousin was thinking about. She also knew that some things could be left unsaid, even on the Isle. They weren't stupid after all, they weren't about to give someone something to use against them.

Even if one of them was a Captain of their ship and the other was a Queen.

"You know Akiho would probably be freaking out if he knew you were walking around without a guard," Uma said.

"But I am," Mal told her. "I've got you cuz."

"I don't think he'd count your heavily pregnant cousin as a guard." Uma snorted in amusement.

"We're on an Isle surrounded by water, you've got your water magic," Mal said, shrugging slightly. "But on to happier topics. You know mom dyed her hair?"

"She did?"

"Yep. Apparently Rea drew a picture of the family but her brown crayon broke so she thought she was grabbing red to get as close to brown as she could but actually drew mom with pink hair," Mal said, chuckling slightly as she thought of the antics of her little sister. "Mom apparently liked the concept of it and so went to Dizzy to see about getting it dyed."

"Wow...good for the fireball," Uma said with a small smile. Not that she was surprised; Dizzy used to do Uma's braids when they were all on the Isle and sometimes Uma would stop by the fireball for a touchup if she wasn't busy. "I'll have to stop by at some point, see Aunt Steph's hair for myself."

"It's really good, though the fact that Evie's paying for Dizzy to go to beauty school probably helps," Mal said. "It was Dizzy's idea actually; Evie said that Dizzy had told her that even though she loves designing with Evie, she also wanted to get back into hair but the chemicals Auradon had intimidated her."

"Hard to imagine the fireball being intimidated by anything considering she once threw a glue gun at Audrey when Sleeping Brat had the Dragon's scepter," Uma chuckled before pausing in shock.

"Uma?" Mal asked, looking over at her cousin in concern. A very pregnant woman growing silent was never a good sign.

"Well...this is awkward," a familiar voice said and Mal turned in shock to see Locklyn standing in front of them. A slightly pregnant Locklyn at that. "Would it be bad form to ask when you're due Uma?"

"...December," Uma said, a hand resting on her stomach though whether that was because the baby kicked or as a way to warn Locklyn not to think about messing with her, Mal honestly didn't know. "...You?"

"I've still got a ways to go...I'm only about three or four months," Locklyn said, her hand going to her own small bump. "And obviously congratulations are in order for you, Mal, on having a healthy birth. Especially with twins..."

Mal couldn't help but blink in surprise, that had probably been the last thing she expected Locklyn to tell her.

"Thank you," she said, working hard to keep the surprise out of her voice. "I hope you have the same."

Locklyn nodded slightly. "The thought's appreciated...thought it's...it's more of a guarantee now that we have the hospital. I...I know we've had our differences Mal but if there's one thing I can't deny that the Isle owes you for...it's you and your Beastie boy getting the hospital here..."

I don't think I would have survived giving birth to my first child...my daughter...my stillborn...my Blake...if we hadn't had the hospital, Locklyn thought.

"It's what the Isle should have had for twenty years," Mal said with a small nod of her head, unaware of Locklyn's thoughts. "Ben and I weren't going to let it go twenty more."