The Descendants' Descendants (Multi-Ship)

*15*

The day of the baby shower was finally here, and all the girls, including Jane, anxiously got ready. This would be Mal, Evie, Uma, Audrey and Harriet's last public appearance as nobles before they would have their babies. For the remainder of their pregnancies, they would attend school for as long as they could manage, then retreat to their homes to await the births of their babies. By this time, the princesses and Evie had their own cottages they had moved into, and Uma and Harriet had been offered quarters in the palace to live until they could afford their own homes. Once Mal and Ben were married, the girls would have a place at court as Mal's ladies in waiting, and Ben could then give them land and titles.

In Jane's bedroom at home, she fretted, much to Carlos's dismay. "What if they notice the bump?" she rambled as she paced frantically. "What if I'm dressed too nicely? Maybe this gown is too over the top for someone who's attending as a guest. Carlos, should I change into one of the other dresses I bought yesterday?"

"Jane," he stated, placing his hands on her shoulders in order to stop her pacing. "The dress is fine. Everyone will be showing up in gowns, just like any other royal event. It's beautiful, you're beautiful and I love you. No one is going to notice. The lady at the store definitely did an excellent job at making sure the gown doesn't cling to you. Now, please, relax. You won't do our baby any good stressing out over this."

She took a deep breath and snuggled into him. "Thank you," she sighed into his chest. "I'm just so scared of everyone knowing before I'm ready. I watch how everyone treats the other girls, and I'm just so relieved that I don't have to deal with all of... that yet. It kind of makes me not want to say anything until the baby is here."

Carlos frowned in thought for a moment. "Then let's do that," he agreed. "It's been nice to have this with just you. And your mom. And Ben. And Jay. And Belle. Apparently, she knows now, too. Which is not a worry, because she kept Maleficent and Hades a secret from Mal between the gender reveal and when they came back from the honeymoon. That's beside the point. What I mean to say is, maybe we should hide it the entire time. Getting to soak up the time together where it's just the three of us feels really nice. If you want to do that, we'll do it. We'll just need to work out what to do when you start showing more, but I'm sure your mom can work out the school stuff for you."

"Carlos De Vil, you are amazing," she smiled, kissing him gently. "And I love you. I think we'll do it."

"Do what?" Fairy Godmother asked, entering the room.

"We want to hide the entire pregnancy," Carlos informed her, earning a shocked expression from Fay. "We know it'll be difficult, but we just want to spend as much time alone with our baby as possible. If we can get away with concealing the whole pregnancy, we want to do it. It's more than enough that the people who do know, know. Which reminds me, you and Belle can bond over becoming grandmothers together now."

"Very well," she smiled. "Are you two ready to go?"

Carlos collected up the gift bags for Jane and they went down to the town car.

•••

Mal, Uma, Harriet and their partners loaded into Mal's limo. "So, do we think Jane will be there?" Mal asked as their vehicle drove towards the Coronation Hall.

Uma rolled her eyes. "If she wasn't coming, she'd have messaged us last night," she pointed out. "What's the point of gossiping about her again? I don't get what value you Auradonians see in rumours."

"Yeah, it feels kind of gross to speculate about someone who's meant to be our friend," Harriet added. "Knowing Jane, she's probably just been worrying herself literally sick about exam time."