Hi there! I promised you guys this in Never Be Alone and said it'd be up after the holidays, but I forgot I already had the first chapter written, so, here it is! A fic where I get to love on the fictional babies I have for these fictional people.

There will probably be between a couple chapters a child depending on how much background there is and how much filler I need until the next kid because it will chronologically overall, not by couple. One chapter per child will most likely be dedicated to how their existence was discovered.

I'm staying canon for this (or eventual canon), so the couples are: Ben and Mal, Evie and Doug, Jay and Audrey, and Jane and Carlos.
I might create some other couples/kid for background purposes, but this story is focused on the kids of the Rotten Four.

This story won't be updated as often as Never Be Alone will, but it will be updated! I promise!

Enjoy!

No. Absoultely not. This is not happening.

It wasn't true. It couldn't be.

Stop shaking.

But she couldn't stop shaking.

She steadied herself by grabbing onto the sink and taking a deep breath.

She couldn't have a baby. She couldn't be a mother. Not with how she was raised.

They had never talked about kids. Ben loved kids and they loved him. She had only ever gotten along with one. Being parents seemed like such a distant possibly they had never talked about it.

This wasn't supposed to happen. They weren't even married yet.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was paler than usual and she had never seen herself look so afraid.

Maybe she was weak.

Damn it.

She turned around and kicked the trash can hard enough that it smacked into the bathtub with an empty plastic-y clang. It fell on its side.

Damn it all.

There was a gentle knock on the door. "Mal, honey? Is everything okay?"

Crap.

Mal lied through her teeth as she fixed the trash can as quietly as she could manage with a scattered brain and shaky hands."Yeah, everything's fine."

Apparently Belle knew her better than she anticipated. "Mal, what's wrong?"

Belle hadn't been being creepy or anything. Both Ben and Adam were out of town and she had only been wondering if Mal wanted to do anything and had come up to ask. It was nearly lunch time and she hadn't seen her soon-to-be daughter-in-law (or her cats) all morning, which was strange. Both kittens were sprawled across the bed when Belle came up, which meant Mal hadn't gone anywhere without Belle noticing (they followed her like puppies and caused a fuss when she left) and the bathroom door across the hall was shut. She had come past just in time to hear the clatter that was Mal kicking the garbage can into the tub.

Mal knew she wouldn't be able to escape Belle. She could either come up with one of a multitude of excuses to stay in the bathroom or make a run for it (or climb out he window), but she knew Belle would find her eventually and pry it out of her.

Mal opened the door slowly, crossing her arms to try and hide the fact that her hands were trembling.

Belle's expression was soft and concerned as she gave her a once-over.

That's all it took for Mal to tear up.

"Oh, come here." Belle pulled the girl into a hug. It took a lot for Mal to cry, so this was definitely serious. "What's wrong, hm?" She hadn't realized, but she had slipped into her 'mom' voice, the one she used when someone was sick or scared or having a bad day.

Mal tried to compose herself to speak, but she couldn't manage it.

Finally, she managed to say it. "I'm pregnant."

It came out shaky and scared, so unlike the spunky and confident girl Mal usually was.

"Oh Mal, it's okay." Belle said soothingly.

"It's not okay!" Mal snapped, pulling away from the closest thing she had to a mother. "It's not okay! This isn't how it's supposed to work! We've never talked about kids! We aren't married yet! I've been with Ben long enough to know that people talk. They're going to say terrible things about this, just like they always do! And Ben's going to look bad and-and..." Mal stopped her rant to wipe her face with the back of her still-trembling hand and catch her breath. She felt ready to pass out.

Belle reached for her hand to steady her. "Mal, sweetheart, it will be okay. I promise you."

"No it won't." Mal slid to the floor and hugged her knees close like a defeated, frightened child. Maturity tends to slip out the window when one is afraid.

Belle sat beside her. "Sometimes things don't happen the way we plan them... sometimes things happen we didn't plan at all. Take, for example, Prince Charming falling in love with Cinderella when all she had wanted originally was to go to that ball. Or Adam and I... Or, you and Ben falling in love. The unexpected keeps life interesting... it keeps you on your toes. You and Ben may not have ever spoken about having children, but you're going to have one now. I know it's been a while since I was in your position, but I do know that while you may not have been planning on that baby, it exists based purely on the fact that you two love each other. So what if you aren't married yet? You have been crazy about each other since you were sixteen and you're engaged. I say that if people haven't realized your an item by now then they're clearly delusional."

Mal managed a weak chuckle.

"Of course they're going to talk. Like you said, they always find something to say and it can get nasty and hurtful. The most important thing is to not let it get to you too much, which you've been doing a wonderful job of already. You have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to worry about because no matter what they say, you will know the truth. And Ben will know the truth and so will Adam and I and Evie and Jay and Carlos and everyone else that really matters. Ben will not look bad for this and neither will you, Mal, not to anyone that has a brain at least. You two adore each other and I know you're going to make wonderful parents."

"Ben will," Mal said quietly.

"And you."

"I doubt it. My mother... she, she only cared about using me. Not about me. I might as well have been one of her minions. She didn't love me and I didn't love her. I might have thought I did at some point, but I didn't. She's not a good role model to have."

"You aren't your mother. You're good. You're honest and funny and you care about your friends. You're good, Mal. And you will be a wonderful mother. I know it."

Mal rested her head on Belle's shoulder.

"It's not easy, but you'll have so many people to turn to when you need help who love you and Ben and that baby that you'll have nothing to worry about."

"...how do I tell him?" Belle knew Ben better than anyone, certainly she had some ideas.

Belle wrapped her arm around Mal and gently squeezed. "That's up to you, dear."

The soon-to-be mother sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that." She couldn't wait three days, could she? Should she tell him when he called that night? She had no idea.

Belle laughed.

"How did you tell Adam about Ben?" The Isle kids had been on a first name basis with Ben's parents since they apologized to them after Ben's coronation.

"Like a fool."

It was Mal's turn to laugh. Belle was generally calm, articulate, and quick-witted, all things Ben had inherited. There was no way Belle had ever done anything to embarrass herself.

"My darling little boy waited two and a half years to show up and I was so excited everything came out in a rush. Over dinner. With company over... Chad's parents actually. And Adam spilled his entire glass of water all over himself. Mrs. Potts, or poor Mrs. Potts, she was so startled, she tripped and nearly fell. I had to repeat myself three times for everyone to understand. I still get teased about it, by the way."

Mal tried not to laugh, but it wasn't working.

"Go on, laugh." Belle said, chuckling herself. "It is rather funny. Mrs. Potts likes to tell me it's why Benjamin was-and is- such an excitable boy."

That reminded Mal of a question she had. "What was Ben like when he was little? Like five?"

She had heard plenty of stories about Ben when he was an infant and toddler (all to moans of 'Mooooom, stop embarrasing me!') but none about him when he was a kid.

Belle smiled wistfully at the thought of her grown-up son as the little boy he once was. "Precious. Always so happy and laughing and running around. He loved exploring and asking questions. He was such a curious child, always asking why and how or reading. He also loved hugs."

"Still does," Mal interjected.

Belle hugged the girl again. "He was a wonderful child... we always meant to have another one or two after him, but we got sidetracked. Ben was quiet and wellbehaved, but he was a handful in his own right. And being the first king and queen of a country tends to make you busier than you would like... Too much information?"

"A little bit,"

"Sorry," Belle replied with a little smile.

"'s okay," Mal replied. She hadn't moved. She was comfortable and felt so loved. Her hands had stopped shaking and the tears were gone. She wasn't confident yet, but she felt better, which was the first step.

"Goodness, I've missed having a little one around." Belle commented after a few beats of silence. "They're fun... Ben will be over the moon when you tell him."

"You think?"

Belle nodded. "I know,"

And she said it with such sincerity that Mal couldn't help but believe it.

A/N: So, there's the first chapter! I hope you liked it! If you've read my story called Auradon's New Heir, this would be that baby! Next chapter will include freaking out about a baby and a wedding!

Let me know what you think!