Bal: it starts with me & you

Burnt bridges

*Mal turned to Belle with a curious look upon her face, trying to figure out what she was thinking, they spent a moment just staring at each other in silence, both unsure of what to say and if they should say anything at all until Mal finally decides to break the silence*
Mal: so this is Mason, your grandson
*belle takes that as an invitation to move closer, she comes right over so she can see him properly, she soon as she does she begins to smile*
Belle: he looks exactly like Ben did
Mal: Bella has his eyes though, Mason's all mine
Belle: I see, they're a beautiful green
Mal: everything about both of them is beautiful
Belle: and how are you doing?
Mal: I'm absolutely fine, like I said I passed my physical this morning....
*Mal was about to continue but Belle cut her off, seeing she'd side stepped the real point of the question*
Belle: that's not what I meant
Mal: I don't know how I feel
Belle: it's understandable
*they remain silent for a few moments, avoiding eye contact until Mal finally brings her gaze back to meet Belle's*
Mal: I'm sorry for what she did , if I'd had any idea about any of what was going on...
Belle: you didn't know, you couldn't have known
Mal: but I should have
Belle: you feel guilty?
Mal: shouldn't I?
Belle: no, you didn't do it
Mal: you always held me accountable for my mother's crimes before
Belle: Mal....
Mal: I'm civil to you for his sake, I have nothing for you, I'm very sorry for what happened to your husband, but I will morn how I chose and I chose to not share it with someone who's viewed me as a wrong decision at every turn
Belle: Mal I...
Mal: what?
Belle: I'm sorry
Mal: Ben needs you, he needs someone that's not me, someone who isn't the daughter of his father's killer, he needs to mourn him, I know he hasn't even begun to try and deal with it, he's too worried about how I'll feel, how I DO feel and how I'll cope, I can't help him, I don't know how
Belle: you need help too
Mal: I'm fine
Belle: no you're not
Mal: how would you know? You don't know me, you never even tried to know me, you just judged me, you have no idea what I am and what I'm not
Belle: please let me change that, I only have my son left, I don't want to be at odds with he girl he loves
Mal: I'm not gonna tell him what to do, I won't stop you seeing him so you haven't gotta play nice with me
Belle: maybe I just want to fix things now
Mal: why? What's the point? You don't like me, you don't want to accept me, so don't bother pretending you do
Belle: I do Mal, but he was always my little boy, I never had share him with someone, he never had someone that came before me, we were always so close, then you came around and it was sorry mom I can't come home this weekend, I'm staying here with Mal, you were everywhere he was, he wouldn't go anywhere or do anything without you, you know how you feel about your children now, I just wanted him to be my little boy a little while longer
Mal: no I don't know how it is, and I never will, because Ben was enough for me before and he'll be enough for me after they're all grown up, I just want them to be happy
Belle: I wanted him to be happy, I just didn't want to let go
*Mal's gaze falls away to the floor as she comes to a realisation*
Mal: maybe I just can't understand because no one was ever attached to me like that
Belle: she really wanted you dead?
*Mal's gaze returns to meet Belles, now with watery eyes, it hurt, but she had to admit it, if Mal hadn't have killed her mother she'd have killed her*
Mal: yeah
*her voice cracked as she said it, somewhere deep down she'd always had some hope her mother would come to love her, that she'd show she really did care, but she knew that would never have happened, but now as a mother, it hurt her even more to acknowledge her mother had been willing to kill her just out of spite, belle just couldn't contain herself anymore, she threw her arms round Mal in a big hug, careful of Mason who was still in Mal's arms, at first Mal just stood there in shock, she still didn't do hugging and physical contact unless it was Ben or Evie or occasionally one of her other friends, she stood there awkwardly, contemplating pulling away and then just running out of the room but when she thought about it for a moment she realised something, it was actually quite nice, it was like having a mother that cared, it was what she'd always wanted but had never wanted to admit to, she used one arm that wasn't holding Mason to hug her back and nestled into the grip of her mother in law, belle was as shocked by this response as Mal had been at the hug happening to begin with but belle happily accepted it, she really did want to mend things between them, she knew she'd burnt some bridges over the years, especially between them but now it was time to put all that aside and begin to mend the broken relationships, starting with the one between her and her daughter in law, Mal was Ben's wife and the mother of her grandchildren, she deserved more from belle and belle had decided it was time to acknowledge that*

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Sorry this took so long, it took me so long to write this because I wrote like twenty different versions and hates them all, tbh I don't really like this version either but oh well now I can move past this scene finally! Xoxo