Mal and Ben ~ Parenthood

She won't turn out like her mom

Mal woke up feeling like she had to throw up, so she ran to the bathroom, and did.

"Are you okay?" she heard Ben call after her.

"I'm okay," she said, not really sure if he could hear it. She came out from the bathroom, and walked back to Ben. She snuggled up to his side, and closed her eyes.

"It's not so bad you now," she said, "It's worth it."

Ben smiled, "Are you still scared?"

"I guess so," she paused, "Yes. But still... I'm also really happy. I'm just scared that I will hurt it. I don't want it to be afraid of it's own mother... Like I was."

Ben hugged her tighter, and they were quiet for a little while.

"Can you handle going to school?" he asked.

Mal nodded, and began to stand up, "I said I'm fine."

Ben didn't want to argue with her, so he didn't try to protest.

Unfortunately their first class was with the teacher who hated Mal like hell. And their relationship, hadn't really grown when she became pregnant.

But fortunately Ben was in the same class.

While they were really having fun, listening to what the teacher was telling, Mal suddenly felt the urge to throw up again.

The teacher stopped her movements, "If you're going to throw up, don't do it in here." she said cold, and kept talking.

Mal hurried out the door, and Ben followed her.

When she came out from the bathroom, she walked into his arms. "Let's go home," he said, and Mal just nodded.
-

Ben looked at Mal, who had fallen asleep. He was really excited about becoming a father, and he knew Mal was excited too. And even know this time was hard, she didn't hate it. He could see in her eyes, how true her words was, when she said it was worth it. And he heard her several of night, talking to the baby. And these words didn't prove anything else, than that she was going to be a terrific mother.

Mal opened her eyes, and looked back at him. "I can't imagine that we will be having a baby in about 4 months. It's crazy," Mal said.

"Yeah it's crazy," Ben agreed, placing his hands on her stomach.

Mal smiled, "We can't wait to meet you," she laughed, placing her hands on top of Ben's.

"She telling the truth," Ben laughed back, "And we love you."

Mal smiled, "Yeah, a whole lot."

They heard a knock on the door, and Mal hurried to pull down her shirt.

"Come in!" Ben called, and of course it was his mom, worrying about where they were, since they were not in school. But with Mal being pregnant, it never took them long to convince her to let them stay home.

"I'm sorry," Mal said, a few tears falling down her cheek.

Belle walked over to hug her, "What are you sorry about?"

"That I'm such a burden. Ben can't do his work, and he misses school because of me, and..."

Ben took her hand, and Belle hugged her tighter. "It's okay Mal, this is a special situation. It's not easy, but..."

"Stop saying it's so hard," Mal interrupted, "It's not! You're making it sound like being pregnant is a horrible thing. And it's not. It's amazing," she said it all with a voice, that told both Ben and Belle that her love for this baby were out of this world. She placed her hands on her stomach again. "I love this child, and I will never hurt it. Never. I will never become my mother. I..." she stopped because she started to cry, "I could never hurt my child."

Ben pulled her closer to him, and Belle let go of her, so she could crawl into Ben's arms. She snuggled into his chest, and cried into his shoulder. "I know, I know," he said, while he had his arms around her.

Belle placed her hand on her back, "If you need to talk or anything, then I'm always here."

Mal sat in Ben's arms for a long time, while Belle looked at them, and thought about how amazing they were for each other. And she knew Mal would never turn out like her mom, there was too much love in her heart for that. She walked out to leave them alone, but they didn't even notice it.
-

Next day Mal had an appointment with Evie, so after school, she went to find her.
Evie was so excited about Mal having a baby, and Mal new that she really wanted one herself. And Mal somehow felt it was unfair that she had been the first one to become pregnant.

"Hi Mal," Evie said, and hugged her, she looked down at her stomach, "Is it 5 months now?"

Mal nodded, "4 months to go."

Evie smiled, "How are you feeling?"

"Great," Mal said truthfully, sliding her hands down to her stomach, "It's amazing." she paused, "And my morning sickness is fading off, now it's only my moods," she laughed.

Evie laughed too, "Just let Ben deal with them."

"Oh yeah, he loves them," she laughed, and they began walking to the tourney field.
Some guys were practicing, so they sat and looked at them.

"What about Ben and his practice?" Evie asked.

Mal shrugged her shoulders, "He's taking a break right now, but I hope that he will
come back."

"Are you doing fine?"

"What do you mean?" Mal asked, and turned to look at her.

"How are you and Ben?"

"Oh, we're great." she smiled, "Everything is great."

Evie loved seeing her this happy, despite her reaction in the beginning. But of course she understood that reaction. She would probably have reacted the same way herself. But she was so happy that Mal realised that everything was going to be okay. And Evie was so excited to have a little child around. She really wanted to have one herself, but not right now. Neither her or Doug were ready for that, and she could probably get to babysit Mal's child every once in awhile.
-

And that's how time kept going. They got better at planning their time, which meant Ben got to do his work, they could both go to school, and they still had time for each other, which right now was all they needed. Maybe sometime Ben could return to Tourney and R.O.A.R. But right now he just wanted to enjoy the moment. Tourney or R.O.A.R wouldn't disappear. But Mal would only be pregnant with their first child once. And he didn't want to miss one part of it.

Mal still loved being pregnant, she loved that she was carrying a child inside of her. And that it would be her responsibility. She was actually responsible for something really important. And she couldn't describe the love she was feeling. True love was what she had with Ben, but that love couldn't be compared to this one. This love was completely different. But they were both right as deep and true. And being surrounded by so much love, made Mal believe, that she wouldn't turn out like her mom.