Mal and Ben ~ Parenthood

Is she hurt?

It felt like time was moving so fast in Auradon lately. Lily was getting older and older, and she would soon be turning 3, Evie's stomach was growing bigger and bigger, soon being as long as four months into her pregnancy, Jay and Carlos were busy planning where to go next, and Mal and Ben was finding everything a bit easier everyday.

Since they had opened up the barrier things hadn't been bad, but they had been a bit hectic, having everyone settle in and for all of them to build a new home here. But lately everyone seemed to have done so, and soon it would be hard to tell whether someone had once been from the isle or not.

Mal's father was actually becoming the part of her life she had never thought he would be. It hadn't been smooth and easy all the way through. He had had a bit of difficulty getting used to the responsibility. It was something he had secretly dreamed of for a long time, but he was used to living so differently that a complete change of lifestyle wasn't going to happen over night.

But both Mal and Hades gave each other time. They both had unsolved feelings about each other and no one was pressuring the other to move along faster than what was comfortable and what would conclude in the best relationship in the end.

Ben was still a bit scared of Hades, not exactly because he was the god of the underworld, but more because he was her father. But this was also changing, and Mal believed that if they worked hard enough they would be able to make everything as good as it could possibly be.

But even in the best of times you might feel the need to cry a few tears once in a while, Mal realized as she heard Lily's cries echo through the hallway. Mal and Ben had asked Jay to look after her for the day, so that they could get some things done. Therefore Mal felt a slight worry as to why they were returning this early, and especially why her daughter was crying.

"What happened?" Mal asked Jay as Lily ran into her arms.

"She'll be okay," he said as Lily's cries started to fade as soon as she was in her mothers arms, "I was just trying to teach her a few things... she was really good don't get me wrong... but then it went a bit wrong. She only scratched her leg it's not that bad. I think the main reason she is crying is that she is really tired. We've been doing a lot of things all day."

Mal looked at her leg and saw that he was right. She did have a big scratch but Lily wasn't one to be bothered much about getting hurt, unless she was tired and wanted her parents.

"It's okay," she assured Jay, "I can take her now. I just think she needs to relax and have a good nights sleep. Thank you so much for looking after her. But I bet as soon as she's back on her feet again she'll be begging you to teach her more stuff," she laughed.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Jay replied, "Well, I'll see you soon. Bye Lily."

Lily turned her head away from Mal's shoulder and looked a Jay with a big smile, "Bye," she said, waving her hand at him as he left.

"You okay?" Mal asked her daughter as they entered the door.

Lily who had now stopped crying nodded and looked her mother in the eyes, "Jay taught me how to sword fight," she said excitedly.

"Hopefully not with real swords?" Mal replied.

Lily shook her head, "No. They were soft."

"So how did you get hurt?"

"I fell," she said shortly.

Mal nodded, "Well I promise everything will be alright once you've had some sleep."

"Not now," Lily said quickly.

At that moment the door opened again and Ben entered the room. "Why didn't you..." then he noticed Lily and smiled, "Oh that's why."

Mal told him what had happened, while Lily reached her arms out for him to take her. Before Mal was finished telling him about Lily's day, she had already fallen asleep with her head in his shoulder.

Ben kissed the top of her head, and told Mal he would put her to bed.

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Later in the afternoon, just as Mal was starting to consider it time for bed, she heard a knock on the door. Ben, who was half asleep, looked up, but Mal gestured to him that she would get it.

"Dad?" She asked surprised at first, but when she saw his expression she started to feel worried, "What's wrong?"

"Is Lily okay?" He asked quickly.

"Yes she's fine?" Mal asked confused, "She scratched her leg today and she's tired but that's all."

"So she did get hurt today?"

"Yes a bit, but she's alright," Mal answered, getting more confused every second.

Then Mal saw something she would have never imagined from the god of the underworld, she saw him cry. Not much, but Mal could swear she saw it. How Auradon had changed him, she thought.

"Can I see her?" He asked.

"Um... yes of course, but she's asleep."

He walked past her and into Lily's room, while Mal just looked at him and then at Ben who was now completely awake again.

"What was that about?" He asked.

Mal shrugged her shoulders and went into Lily's room too.

Hades was looking more like himself now, and turned to look at Mal as she entered. "I'm sorry if I scared you," he said "I was just doing some magic today... I know I'm not supposed to... and it went wrong and something happened... I don't know. Then I just realized it could have hurt her..."

Mal wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about or what kind of magic he had been using, but she was beginning to understand what was going on. "Listen," she told him, "If it was you who hurt her you only knocked her over hard enough for her to get a scratch. She isn't hurt."

He nodded, finally seeming to accept it now, "Thank you for letting me see her. I'm sorry about the magic. It's just... it felt good to be doing something again, don't get me wrong, I love it here in Auradon and with you, but... I miss the freedom to be me."

Mal knew better than anyone what he was saying. It felt good to be good and it felt amazing to love and be loved, but it was hard just giving your previous life away and forgetting all about it. Sometimes she missed it too. Not that she wished she could go back, but sometimes she just missed that part of herself, because it was still somewhere inside of her. "I understand, and I won't tell Fairy Godmother," she said and smiled.

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That night Mal couldn't help but think about it. Was it fair to change someone's lives so much without even acknowledging that it could be hard for them? Of course they shouldn't be villains, and of course, the less use of magic helped prevent that, but where to draw the line? It wasn't an easy question, and Mal didn't manage to come up with an answer for it before she fell asleep. All she knew was that she had to remember that part of herself, not because she needed to be that person again, but because she needed to remember how it felt.