The Descendants' Descendants (Multi-Ship)

*20*

"Mal, what the hell are you doing here?" Evie demanded.

"Hello to you, too," Mal frowned, rescinding her offer of a hug. "Why do you have such a stick up your butt?"

"Because you're shirking your responsibilities as a mother and the future queen of Auradon," Evie replied. "Ben is over there raising Macy entirely on his own, fretting over your whereabouts. And here you are, just... what? Fraternising with my mother? Have you been here the entire time you've been gone?"

"I would have thought that my parents were helping Ben with Macy," Mal told her with a tone of snark in her voice. "Since they're starting their new family, and they thought that prudent information to share with Ben before me."

"Is that seriously what you're mad about?" Evie scoffed. "Mal, you didn't really give them much chance to tell you before you lost it at them in the hospital. You were holed up in your room before you gave birth and then you threw their past in their faces at the hospital. You've been so concerned about parenthood changing the rest of us, but you're not even stopping to think that maybe you're the one who's changed since having a baby. They want you to be a part of their journey, but you're refusing to be."

Mal immediately broke down in tears. "Everything feels so wrong, E!" she sobbed. "I don't know why I feel like this! I feel cold and alone, and I'm scared of breaking Macy like my parents broke me!"

Evie pulled her in for a hug. "Mal, I think you're depressed," she said gently. "I know the doctors mentioned postpartum depression. Have they suggested anything for it?"

"Yeah," Mal sighed, beginning to calm down. "They want to medicate me and put me in therapy. This means I'm a bad mom, doesn't it?"

"No," Evie replied. "It means you're struggling. You're not going about it the right way right now, but we can all help you get back on the right track. This isn't fair to Ben, Macy, your parents, but most importantly, you. You need help, Mal."

•••

Ben received the message from Evie shortly after they'd arrived on the Isle. Mal has been at my mom's. I've managed to convince her to come home with us when the weekend's up. Hope everything's okay back there. He breathed a sigh of relief and rushed off to find Maleficent, Hades and Belle. He found them having lunch in the dining hall.

"Evie found Mal," he announced. "She was hiding out at the Castle Across the Way on the Isle."

"Why wouldn't the Evil Queen tell us?" Maleficent frowned, disappointed in her friend.

"Mal probably made her promise not to say anything," Hades told his wife. "Even Evie didn't know, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Evil Queen was sworn to secrecy. Mal is quite terrifying when she wants to be. She got that from you, you know?"

"Hades!" Maleficent scolded him. "This isn't a time to be joking around. She should be here, with us."

Her pregnancy had given her quite the sensitive streak, and coupled with the issues they were facing with Mal, she was crying pretty frequently.

"They found Mal?" Uma asked, entering the dining hall with Harry and Hunter.

"Yeah, she's on the Isle," Ben informed them. "Evie convinced her to come home with them when they finish visiting with the Evil Queen."

"Do you think she'll take the doctors' advice?" Belle asked.

"I think she would have benefitted from therapy long before now," Uma chimed in, earning her hurt looks from Mal's parents. "No offence. She's just been through a lot in her life, and you guys have to admit, you did play a part in that. I think she would've had a better chance at beating PPD to the punch if she'd had therapy when she first came here. The first thing I did when I found out I was pregnant was set myself up with a therapist."