"Okay, what is going on with you?"
"Welcome Uma, please come in," Mal said, shaking her head as she lifted it from the trash can she'd been previously bent over. "What are you even doing here? I thought you were off on another trading run?"
Uma snorted. "I came in last week, Mali. You'd remember that if you weren't always bent over a trash can."
"I...why does this continue to surprise me? I mean you guys did it back when we were in school so why should adulthood stop you?" Ben asked as he walked into the shared office to see Uma and Harry standing there. "Where's Jay?"
"Tourney game against the Arendelle Arctic Foxes," Harry said. "It's an away game otherwise he'd have been here too."
"And why isn't Lonnie here in his place?"
"R.O.A.R. match in the Northern Wei Provence. She's really making a name for herself there though it makes date nights with Jay hard unless their bye weeks match up."
Mal sighed as she took the ginger ale that Ben handed her. "Don't you guys have better things to deal with than asking about me or gossiping about Jay and Lonnie's love life?"
"Hmm...no not really," Uma said, shaking her head. "You're my cousin so you're the number two priority."
"Two?"
"You and I both know Harry's the number one priority."
Mal nodded. "Ah yeah, I can't even fault you for that."
"And you're changing the subject," Uma said as Harry shook his head at both of them. "You're never sick Mal. Like ever. But from what I've heard from Benny and Hadie, you've been sicker than a dog most days. Plus you've apparently been destroying your alarm clocks."
"You're talking about me to my husband and brother?"
"Considering you're sending the lovely sensation of nausea through the mental link? Yep, I'm going to talk about you to your husband and your brother. I'd talk about you to your sister as well but she's like three."
Ben chuckled. "Why don't you just tell them Mal? They're going to find out sooner or later and at least then you don't have to hide what's going on."
"Tell us what?" Harry asked.
"Ben, you know everyone says to wait," Mal said, ignoring Harry's question. "What if something happens?"
"What would happen?"
"Wouldn't it be better if they knew though? That way if something did happen, you'd have plenty of support to fall back on?"
"Ahem!" Uma exclaimed. "If you two could stop talking about us like we're not here? What is Benny referring to, Mal?"
Mal sighed, though whether that was to steady her nerves or just suppress a wave of nausea she wasn't sure.
Seriously pup, if you could stop that, I'd greatly appreciate it. I'd like to do my Queenly duties at some point without my head bent over a bucket, she thought.
"Mal?" Uma prompted. "You gonna answer or just stare at me?"
Mal chuckled softly. "Okay, okay Uma. But only because you're family. This has to stay a secret okay?"
"What about from the crew?"
"You know the laws of keeping a secret Uma. The only other people who know about this are my family and Ben's family."
Uma paused. "Wait a minute...nausea, your powers freaking out, only telling the family...are you pregnant?!"
Mal chuckled softly. "Nothing gets past you, Uma."
"But...pregnant? With a guppy?"
"I'm not a fish but that's the general idea."
"You?"
"Why not me?"
"Maybe because we both made a vow on the Isle that we would never bring kids into such a messed up world where they'd have to fight to survive?"
Mal sighed softly. "Yeah I remember that vow. I also remember we were what, fourteen, when we made it? I didn't make the vow because I didn't want kids, I made it because I didn't want Maleficent to have a potential target to twist and steal their innocence, or have someone Freddy could target to get to me. Now though? We're here in Auradon, and I'm married to Ben. The kid will be able to have innocence dripping out the wahzoo."
"...is this something you want Mali?" Uma asked softly. "There's no outside pressure, no ridiculous newspaper articles speculating on when a royal heir will be born?"
"No, Uma, there's been none of that," Mal promised. "Well okay this was brought on after seeing Dean and his daughter but there haven't been any newspaper articles."
Harry chuckled. "So you got baby fever eh Mali? Happens to the best of us."
"Just wait til it happens to you Harry," Mal teased. "Honestly, you've been dating Uma for what, seven years now, and no ring?"
"Is there a reason why you always pick me to tease about my relationships and not Jay, DeVil, or Gil?"
"Jay's not here, Carlos is off at Vet school, and Gil's married, Harry," Mal chuckled. "He beat you to the alter."
Well yeah, because he doesn't have to deal with the fact that at some point, his girl's going to realize she can do a lot better than him, Harry thought, trying to hide the worry on his face. Sure it'd been seven years but between the time apart on her sailing commissions and the very fact that she was a Godling, Uma could very easily realize she didn't want anything to do with Harry anymore.
And that worried him, more than he cared to admit.
"So what are you hoping the guppy will be?" Uma asked, unaware of her boyfriend's thoughts. "Boy or girl?"
"We just care if they're healthy, Uma," Mal chuckled.
"Oh spare me the Boreadon jabber and tell the truth Mal."
Mal shook her head, knowing that Uma was only teasing. "I am telling the truth Uma. Ben's family doesn't care about men being the heirs so it's not as if I have to try for a boy, and I know Ben's secretly hoping for a mini-me—."
"What? I never said anything about that!"
"You've been measuring the hallways to make sure we have enough clearance to fit a baby dragon," Mal said, looking over at Ben as she nursed the ginger ale. "Since I'm still biologically a Fae, it stands to reason that a girl would be more likely to get my powers than a boy."
"Oh yeah...but you've still got shapeshifting from your dad," Ben pointed out. "Our son could get those powers and potentially shapeshift."
Uma shook her head. "They're debating their unborn kid's gender. And here I remember when Mal would spend hours sword fighting."
"If your niece or nephew would stop making me so nauseous maybe I would be able to spar," Mal shot back.
"...really? I'm your cousin, am I really going to be called Aunt Uma?"
"Of course not. You'll be called Auntie Uma while the pup's a baby."
Harry chuckled. "Pup?"
"Since we don't know the gender yet, I'm using a nickname for the baby," Mal explained. "So's Ben by the way and if you think 'pup' is amusing, just wait until you hear what he's using."
Uma and Harry turned to Ben expectantly.
"You know in some cultures they respect their King?"
"Uh huh. And in those cultures, the King didn't spend seven years basically pretending like he wasn't the King when dealing with his friends. Now spill Benny!"
Ben sighed and shook his head. "Firefly. That's been my nickname for the baby."
"Firefly?" Uma asked.
"...well I mean...Mal can turn into a dragon and they have fire and can fly..."
Harry snorted. "Okay so first of all, Benny, you need to do something for your dragon obsession. And I think I like Mali's better. At least she can say it's in reference to Estelle aka a Cerberus. Who wants to be told their nickname as a baby was after a glowing bug?"
"Dad's nickname for Rea before they knew she'd be a girl was 'sprout'," Mal spoke up.
"...I stand corrected," Harry said. "But because I am not ashamed to say your father terrifies me, I will not tease him. To his face."
"Oh please, Hadie and I did more than enough of that when we first heard it," Mal chuckled and then paused. "Please excuse me, I didn't realize there was still more in me."
"What do you—?"
Uma's question answered itself as Mal's head ducked into the nearby bucket. Ben winced; he wished there was something he could do for Mal but short of growing the necessary parts to carry the pregnancy to term there wasn't anything he could do.
"Ben?" Mal asked as she came up for air.
"Yes Mal?"
"How would you feel if I turned you into a seahorse for the duration of the pregnancy?"
Ben chuckled softly. "I think that would be considered a coup, Mal."
"Why? I'm Queen so I could rule and without the nausea and pregnancy hormones I could actually get something done," Mal said as Estelle got up from his little bed and rested his heads on her lap.
Yes, the King and Queen had a dog bed in their shared office. It had gotten to the point that most visitors didn't even question it.
"Let me just say this," Mal said as she pet Estelle behind the ears. "The person who came up with the phrase 'morning' sickness needs to be called out for the liar that they are."
"I'm pretty sure 'randomly occurring sickness' isn't as catchy though," Harry chuckled.
"Has anything helped?" Uma asked.
Mal sighed. "Oddly enough, Ben's paperwork."
"...explain how that could be remotely possible."
"I can just tune out the world around me and get into a zone. It's like my body even forgets I'm pregnant until someone deems me done with the paperwork because he thinks reading will harm the baby or something."
"You promised you'd take it easy," Ben said with a small shrug.
"And I am," Mal said. "The only magic I've done is on our alarm clocks, I've resisted every urge I've had to transform into a dragon, I don't even teleport. However, doing some of my shared responsibilities as Queen is not going overboard Ben."
Just then, Mal's cell phone rang as if to prove her point.
"Hello?" Mal asked as she answered. "Uh huh. Uh huh. Oh. Well thank you for informing us. We'll make sure that aid is sent right away. Thank you again. Okay. Good bye."
Mal hug up the phone and set it down gently on the desk.
"Who was that?" Ben asked.
"One of the administrators over at Elpída Hospital on the Isle," Mal said, her voice soft.
"Why are they calling?" Uma asked. "What, do they need more supplies?"
Mal sighed and shook her head. "No, no, they're good on supplies. Especially since Atlantis has basically taken providing support and guards for the hospital, with Agrabah and Corona aiding them."
"Okay...so why the call?" Harry asked.
"Well...we figured that the best way to have an accurate registry would be to have the hospital report to us when kids were born," Mal explained. "Yes the population of the Isle is rather sparse now, I think we've got like what seven crew members elected to stay behind? But there's still a chance of children so we want to make sure the aid is provided. Then, when they're old enough, they can come through the barrier if they want and be welcomed to Auradon."
"What if the parent elects for a home birth?"
"Then the doctors will go to them, along with a couple of guards," Ben explained. "They're volunteering their time after all, no need to risk them getting hurt. As well, if there's any indication that...that the baby will end up living a life like...like how you guys described your lives on the Isle to be, the child will be sent to a safe house on the Isle. Again, until they're old enough and then they can make the choice to come here. I don't want anyone feeling forced to come to Auradon."
Uma shook her head. "What's the name of the safe house?"
"The Carlos House: A Safe Place for Lost Boys and Girls," Mal said with a small smile. "Carlos goes back there to tend to the kids' pets and Dude gives the kids kisses in exchange for pets."
"Why doesn't Estelle go?"
"Dude's less intimidating."
Harry nodded. "Did DeVil ever get his cat back? You know the one he got from Evie's party?"
Mal shook her head. "Thankfully Beezlebub wasn't turned into a scarf or earmuffs. One of the first kids who got put into the safe house found her and she became his pet. Carlos told me he was just thankful she was still alive somehow that he didn't mind giving her up to a kid who needed her more."
"As cute as this story's been, we've gotten off topic," Uma chuckled.
Ben nodded. "Uma's right Mal. Did the administrator say who gave birth?"
Mal sighed. "See I was kinda hoping we could just keep talking about Carlos and his cat because I'd just gotten the image out of my head."
"Let me guess," Harry said, shaking his head. "Gil's an Uncle again?"
"Nope, though thank you for reminding me that the Gaston boys have been way too quiet which makes me think Zevon might have killed them."
"Well we know Dustin wouldn't get any one pregnant," Uma said. "And the only other guy on the Isle other than Zevon who would try to get someone pregnant is Strat."
Mal shook her head. "Guys...it's Maddy. Maddy gave birth and Zevon's claiming the kid as his."
Uma and Harry paused, looking at Mal in shock, and horror.
"I'm assuming it's because of your pregnancy hormones that you're not taking this as seriously as I would have thought you would," Uma said.
"Detergent Boy? Really?" Harry exclaimed. "He's actually acknowledging that his blood line extended?"
Mal nodded. "I wish I could tell you I was joking you guys but I'm not. Maddy had a son, they're naming him Matt."
"My Gods, what next? Is Gaston going to acknowledge his daughters?"
"Now now Harry, don't be talking crazy." Uma said, shaking her head. "You know the only reason Zevon's acknowledging this kid is because Maddy would turn him into a flea if he didn't."
"Hold up, we can't let Jay be out of the loop!"
"Didn't you say he was at a game?" Ben asked as Harry pulled out his phone and started to dial.
"I'll leave a message!" Harry said and then paused as he got Jay's machine. "Jay, when you stop celebrating from how you trounced the Arendelle Arctic Foxes nine ways to Sunday, call me back! Detergent boy gave birth! And acknowledged it!"
Uma sighed. "You know I'm not surprised Maddy got pregnant. With the quality of the food going to the Isle improving, Plus I doubt there's any age gap between us and the Casters."
"I know Maddy's my age if I remember correctly," Mal said. "And honestly I stopped thinking about Zevon the moment I met him."
"As you rightfully should...but Gods help that child," Harry sighed.
"What aren't you three telling me?" Ben asked, looking at the three of them.
"Benny...Zevon was one of the most well known fling havers on the Isle. Freddy was the only one who tied him," Harry said. "If a girl turned up pregnant, which was rare considering it was the Isle after all, Zevon would always deny the kid was his since the girl might have gone to any other guy for a fling for food."
"So for him to actually acknowledge the kid's his...it'd be like Uncle Hades inviting Zeus to a family brunch," Uma said. "It doesn't happen. It'd be like you not reading of Mal not having a fondness for dragons."
Mal, though, paused as a thought came to her. "Guys...as much as I don't want to give Zevon the benefit of the doubt, but is it as shocking as we're making it out to be? Bonny's the only girl left in our crew still on the Isle and she'd cut Zevon from port to starboard before she had a kid with him. So that leaves what Locklyn and Shayla? I doubt they're getting the best food even with the better quality. And on top of that, Maddy doesn't have to do fling for foods so Zevon doesn't even have his usual argument of the girl being with other guys."
"I'm sorry Mal but it is shocking," Harry said. "Honestly though I'm more surprised that it finally got through his thick skull that Mal didn't return his crush. Besides, Maddy was always his favorite fling."
"And now she can say she did something Mal didn't," Uma shook her head. "Have a kid with Zevon. Congrats Maddy, you're finally out of Mal's shadow. But now, what do we do? Take the kid off the Isle? Put him in the safe house?"
Ben sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Does...does it make me selfish if I say I...I don't want Genevieve to feel bad?"
"Oh right," Harry said softly. "Gil told us Gia finally said who Geene's birth father was."
"And if Geene finds out that her biological half sibling actually was acknowledged by their father..." Mal shook her head. "That would not only confuse her but break her heart...so why do I feel like such a hypocrite to consider leaving the kid there?"
"Because you've got a big heart," Ben told her. "I know as King I should bring the baby over but as a big brother..."
Mal got up and walked over to Ben, gently resting a hand on his cheek. "Ben, you took the crown at sixteen so that your dad could mourn Abby. If there's anyone in this room with a big heart it's you," she said softly. "But sometimes family overrides kingship..."
"Well...what if we asked the crew that's left to keep an eye on the kid?" Uma suggested. "Maybe even pass on the whereabouts of the old clubhouse in case he needs a place to hide?"
"Surprised you're willing to help out Zevon's kid, Uma," Mal said.
"I'm not," Uma told her. "I'm willing to help out Genevieve's brother though. Uncle Hades still has his restaurant running so the kid'll get food and if push comes to shove, he can reach out to DeVil if he's still too young to come to Auradon."
Ben and Mal looked at each other, as if they were trying to read the other's mind, before they both nodded slowly. It was a good compromise...and it would give Gia time to talk to Genevieve about who her father was.
Well, more like who her donor was as Henry liked to describe his own father. There was only one father Genevieve had known all her life and that was Beast.
Plus, this helps avoid any hurt feelings on her part too, Mal thought as she thought about the girl who was like another sister to her. Any child raised by Maddy would be quick to poke the buttons Geene wouldn't want poked once she knows who her donor is...
"Okay...for now, they'll stay there," Ben said. "But we'll be watching and if the kid...if Matt needs to get to Auradon, we'll have the resources to make it happen."
Harry shook his head. "You know I still can't believe it..."
"Yeah, what's next? You proposing to Uma?" Mal teased.
"Stop that," Harry grumbled.
Uma tilted her head in thought. "Am I the only one thinking that Maddy might have wanted a girl instead? From what Mal's told me, Maddy used to say that the Mim magic's stronger through the female line."
"Of course Maddy would have wanted the kid to be a girl," Mal nodded before shaking her head. "Doesn't matter though, Isle population's gone up by one."
Uma and Harry nodded just as Harry's phone rang.
"Well look who's decided to take my call," Harry chuckled. "'ello Jay."
"What do you mean Zevon had a kid?!" Jay's voice exclaimed as Harry put him on speaker.
Ben shook his head as he slipped some of the paperwork off of Mal's desk as the three of them started to explain the whole thing to Jay. He might not have been able to help with Mal's pregnancy symptoms but he could certainly help with this.
"And what do you mean Mal's pregnant as well?"
Why am I not surprised? Ben thought with a small chuckle. At least we know Jay won't spill the beans to anyone. If there's anyone more loyal to Mal than Uma or Harry, it's Jay.
His wife had some good friends...and Ben was happy for that. She deserved them, that was for certain.