So this story was supposed to be a one-shot. But after I wrote the first part, I realized that Mal would have more problems than just the ones she started dealing with in the first part, and there was more room for healing. So I wrote another chapter. I don't currently have plans to add to this story again, but I also didn't plan on expanding it after the first part, so who knows. I do have other ideas I plan to explore, though. That will be a definite multi-chapter story that I want to finish writing, revising, and editing so that it's completely ready and I don't have to abandon another story. As always, reviews and constructive criticism are welcome!

Tuesday morning found Mal lying across the couch of Jiminy Cricket, her therapist. Fairy Godmother allowed him to take a human form, which made it easier to have conversations with those who wished to talk to him. He sat in his chair, with his wire thin glasses, receding hairline, and kind (and non-judgmental face) looking at Mal.

"Thanks for taking the time to see me today, Jiminy." Mal said, hands still shaking from her earlier revelation. Her normal therapy sessions were on Thursdays, but Jiminy had made it clear from day one that if she needed to see him outside of their regular sessions, all she had to do was call. It had been two years since she had started therapy and been diagnosed with PTSD, and she had never needed him outside of their regular sessions. Until today.

"Of course, Mal. I've told you I'm always available to be a listening ear. How are you?" He asked. He always started the conversation that way. The first time he asked, Mal had gotten defensive and said that she was a total mess, which was why she was there in the first place. Jiminy told her, to start, that she wasn't a total mess and that she simply had struggled through different situations than other people had, and that her struggles didn't make her any more or less put together than anyone else. He then continued to say that he wasn't asking about her specific problems, but was generally asking about her and her life. What was important to Mal?

"Well...I'm doing okay, for the most part. I still have nightmares, but having Ben there to support me has helped a lot."

"And have you and Ben continued working on your communication and finding that balance between him being the king and him also being your husband?" Once Mal had gotten to a more stable place, her and Ben had given all of Auradon the wedding it had been waiting for. It was more traditional and stuffy than Mal would have liked, but she knew that there were some times her own preferences would have to come second to the royal traditions. The wedding had been just a little over a year ago.

"Oh yeah, we've gotten a lot better about that. We still have our bumps, but we always manage to work them out, and we make sure that any fights we have are at least addressed and discussed, if not completely resolved, before we go to bed every night. The nights that we feel we can't resolve a problem, we still make sure to say we love each other, even if one of us feels it's necessary to sleep in another room."

"And you feel like you two are working together better?"

"Completely." Mal said with no hesitation. And she meant it. Since she had started getting help, and started trusting Ben more with her mental health, things had improved quite a bit for them.

"I'm so glad to hear about that. I know you've also talked about your friends. How are they doing?"

"They're good. Evie's business is going crazy. She's had to hire extra help just to keep up with the demand for her fashion. Jay and Gil came back from their journey around Auradon with tons of pictures of everything they saw, and Jay is now playing Tourney in Sherwood Forest. Carlos has graduated and started at MIT, where he got a full ride scholarship with the promise for plenty of work because of how well he makes technology work so that it seems like magic."

"Sounds like you're really proud of your friends."

"I always have been. They're more than my friends - they're my family."

"Which I'm sure helps you a lot, having so many people who you're close to and trust. Now, why don't we talk for a little bit about why you called, if you're ready to talk about that. If not, you can say so and we can talk about whatever you want to talk about."

Mal hesitated. She knew she would have to get to the main topic, but she wasn't sure how ready she was. This was big, and would affect not only her, but Ben and the future of Auradon as well.

"Well, Jiminy. It's...difficult. I had a moment." She had almost called it a problem, but remembered Jiminy's advice from one of their early sessions. He said that her panic attacks weren't problems, they were merely moments. Problems made it seem like something was wrong and needed to be fixed; moments were just passing things that didn't speak to who you were and mattered only as much as you and others let them matter. He suggested that, in their conversations and her general conversations, she refer to situations like her panic attacks or other self imposed "deficiencies" in her character as moments rather than problems.

"We all have moments, Mal. That's nothing to be ashamed of. What brought on this moment?"

"Well...I haven't told Ben, yet, so I feel like I'm doing something wrong not telling him before I tell you, but after having my moment earlier, I need to talk about it with someone who isn't going to judge and won't be emotionally invested or involved, if that makes sense."

"I completely understand, Mal. You know that I keep complete confidentiality on anything said to me in this office. This is a safe place for you to say whatever it is you need to say."

"I know. Well, I've noticed lately that my body has been acting unusually. I took the test today and got enough positives to feel confident in saying I'm pregnant. I've already set up an appointment with Leah to confirm, but...I'm going to be a mother. I'm going to give Auradon its heir to the throne."

"I sense that this news isn't exciting to you. Am I getting the right sense?" Jiminy asked, leaving the floor open to Mal to decide how much she wanted to say.

"Don't get me wrong, Jiminy, I'm excited and nervous. But my moment came when I realized that I've never really had a proper mother figure to look up to. The only guidance I have is from Maleficent, and I think there are enough obvious reasons to say I shouldn't be following her parenting advice."

"I see. So you're afraid that you'll be a bad mother because your mother was a bad mother."

"It's crossed my mind, Jiminy. I don't want to ruin this kid's life the way my mother did to me. I want them to grow up happy and loved and intelligent and able to make their own choices. And I know they'll get that from Ben, but I never had a model for that growing up. Maleficent always taught me from the day I could walk and talk that I had to be evil. I didn't have a choice. I was never loved, only threatened and feared. And happiness wasn't part of my vocabulary until I came to Auradon and realized what it really meant to be happy. What if I can't be the mother my child deserves? What if I completely screw up raising the future ruler of Auradon?"

Jiminy sat back and thought about Mal's questions. On the one hand, he was proud of the progress she was making. Her first concern was about being a good mother. On the other hand, she still thought about her position as queen and how her singular choices might destroy the entire nation.

"Mal, I think you ask two very valid questions. As a woman who spent 16 years of her life not knowing what love was, it's only natural that you have concerns about being able to show your child the love you wish you had gotten. And as queen, you have to think about your child, boy or girl, as heir to the throne. But that shouldn't be at the forefront of your mind. It shouldn't be one of the first two questions you ask in relation to raising your child."

"I know, but it's a struggle. Ben has been doing so well putting aside his title and being my husband, and here I am incapable of putting aside my title to just be his wife."

"And acknowledging that is a big step forward, Mal. I think the next step is to have a serious conversation with Ben. Aside from him needing to know you're pregnant, he also needs to know how you're feeling and the concerns you have about motherhood. Give him the chance to support you."

"He supports me so much, I feel like I'm leaning on him for too much."

"Mal, love and marriage isn't always about a fair split of support. You're both there to help each other, and you can't give more of yourself than you have. Where you're at right now, you need Ben. Without knowing it, you've been supporting Ben by not trying to be someone you aren't. He can worry about you and your well being significantly less, which helps him. But where you're at right now, you need him to help carry you. So let him; I know Ben, and he'd want to do it."

Mal nodded, knowing that Jiminy was right. Ben had never run away from anything she brought to their relationship. No matter how wicked she felt, he had always loved her. He had even loved her because of her wickedness in some instances.

"Thanks, Jiminy. This helped a lot."

"Always my pleasure, Mal. If you ever need to talk again, you know my number. And will I be seeing you Thursday for our regular session?"

"Can I talk to Ben first and get back to you?"

"Of course. By the way, I didn't say it earlier, but congratulations on the pregnancy." Mal smiled and thanked Jiminy before leaving his office.

It was her first memory of her mother. She didn't have many good memories, just the ones that she had tweaked to be good. This memory, from early in her life, stood out because it was the first time she had been introduced to her mother's expectations. It was one of the many that weren't good.

"Mommy, why am I called Mal?" She asked innocently.

"Ugh, useless child. Far too inquisitive for your own good! You should be out making people fear you, not asking me questions that don't matter. You're called Mal because you aren't worthy of your full name, and you're lucky you have a name at all!" Maleficent screeched at her five year old daughter. Mal shrunk back, upset that she had upset her mother so.

"I'm sorry, mommy. I didn't mean to upset you."

"If you don't want to upset me, get out of my sight and don't return until you've done something evil! Your dinner tonight depends on it!"

Something about that felt wrong to the five year old. Should mothers be...not like this? She didn't have any other frame of reference, but something about this felt wrong to her. But she did as she was told and went out to try and do something that she thought would make her mother happy.

She didn't eat that night.

Mal returned to Beast Castle, her's and Ben's home, to be immediately accosted by Evie upon entering the door.

"Mal!" The bluenette called, carrying a clipboard in hand. "There you are! We've been looking everywhere for you. You missed your meeting with the seven dwarfs to discuss mining rights, but we managed to reschedule that one. Your next meeting is with Mike and Sully in 20 minutes to discuss the use of Laugh Power to help expand the Ethical Energy Project. After that is your meeting with Yen Sid to discuss making the Auradon curriculum expansive and inclusive for all types of people. Then you have 30 minutes for lunch, before you meet with…"

"Evie!" Mal said loudly, her head spinning already. "I really appreciate you telling me all of this, but I need to find Ben, first. Have you seen him, lately?" Evie looked confused, but nodded.

"He's in his office, where he almost always is at this time of day. But Mal, you don't have time…!" Evie tried to say, but Mal had already taken off towards Ben's office. Up several flights of stairs and down a few corridors that Mal had still gotten lost in for the first year of living here. Now she could navigate the castle with ease. She arrived outside of the door and gave it a light knock. She heard a faint "come in" and opened the door, peeking her head in. She saw Ben sitting behind his desk, mountains and mountains of papers in front of him. He looked up and smiled when he saw her.

"Mal!" He got up and hugged her as they met halfway through the room. He guided her over to the couch and sat next to her. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Don't you have a meeting in a few minutes?"

"I do, but I need to talk to Ben, first. It's important." Ben's eyes widened. He recognized the code that they had established. Wen they were alone at night, after 9:00pm, he was always Ben. If something came up during the day that was personal, or where Mal needed comfort or support or just to talk to ben without the pressure of the kingdom, she would ask to "talk to Ben," which signaled to him to take off the kingly persona.

"Is everything alright, Mal?" He asked, worried.

"I called Jiminy this morning. I needed to talk to him."

"I thought your sessions were on Thursdays? And that everything was going alright?" He took her hands in his own. She looked at their hands and smiled.

"Ben...I'm pregnant."

Whatever Ben had been expecting, that wasn't it. Various emotions crossed his face: shock, concern, excitement. He scooped Mal up in his arms, standing them both up, and spun her in a circle.

"You're pregnant!?" She laughed and nodded, kissing her husband. He kissed back, unable to take the grin off his face.

"When did you find out?"

"Just today. That's why I needed to talk to Jiminy, I was worried…"

"Don't worry, me, mom, and dad will take care of all the details. I know how much you worry about all the royal obligations, but we'll make sure it all goes smoothly." Mal's face dropped.

"No, Ben, that wasn't what I…"

"And of course we'll have to do a public presentation of the heir to the throne, as well as a christening." Ben was off in his own world.

"Ben, I need to talk to Ben. Please, please, I just…" Mal was begging, and she rarely begged. Unfortunately, Ben hardly noticed the change in tone.

"And then there will be names to pick. We'll have to be careful about which names we pick so as not to offend other royals." Mal had had enough.

"Forget it. This was obviously a mistake." She said as she stormed out of his office. She heard him calling after her, but she refused to stop for him. She had hoped that she'd be able to talk to Ben and get her husband's reaction but, as she feared, he had gone full King Benjamin mode when he heard he was getting an heir. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes and blinked them away. She had gotten better about showing emotion, but also knew that there was a time and place. She went to the one place where she knew she could process everything: the bedroom she stayed in when she needed space away from Ben. On her way there, she passed Evie.

"Mal, your meeting…"

"Forget the meeting, or go in my place, I don't really care right now!" Mal shouted. Evie was shocked, and was going to chastise Mal when she realized that her best friend was close to crying. She sent a quick text to Belle and then followed Mal to the room she knew Mal would be going to in this state.

She lightly knocked on the door. "Mal? It's Evie. Can I come in?" There was a light thump that Evie recognized as a pillow getting thrown at the door. Most people would have taken that as a sign to leave, but Mal had thrown much worse at the door before, so if all she was throwing now was a pillow, it was safe to enter. She pushed the door open, entered, and closed the door behind her.

"Mal, what's wrong?" Evie asked as she sat down next to Mal, who was lying on the bed in tears.

"Everything, E. Today's just been one thing after another and I can't take it."

"M, if this is about the meetings, we can work on that schedule. Remember, we all agreed to talk about that if it became too much?"

"I remember. I remember all of the agreements we all made. I can't say the same about my husband." Mal couldn't keep the disdain out of her voice when she said "husband" and Evie caught it.

"Did something happen with you and Ben?"

"I told him I'm pregnant…" Mal started explaining but couldn't finish because Evie was screaming and squealing, congratulating Mal. Despite being hurt and depressed, Mal couldn't help but smile at her friend's antics. "But what does that have to do with you and Ben? Wasn't he happy?"

"Oh yeah, he was happy alright. Happy to be getting an heir to the throne." Evie gasped. She knew how much it hurt Mal when Ben acted like that, and to hear that he had done it again; he had gotten so much better since the last incidents.

"Mal...I don't know what to say."

"What is there to say, Evie? He's never gonna change. I was stupid to think he could ever be anything other than the king."

"You'll never be anything other than a disappointment!" Maleficent shouted at Mal, age nine. She had just gotten back from one of her mom's "training sessions" and had come out worse for wear.

She wanted to argue with her mother, wanted to fight back. But fighting back only made the beatings worse. And she was already in so much pain. Every part of her hurt and she wanted to crawl out of her own skin. She knew that she'd get no comfort from her mom, and was hoping that sleep would be kind to her tonight. Before she could stop herself, Mal spoke.

"Mom, please listen."

"Unless you're about to tell me of some evil act that you did and that these lessons on your body are a lie, I don't want to hear it."

"But mom, I…"

"NO BUTS!" Maleficent screeched again, bringing her staff down on Mal's back. Mal crumpled to the floor. "Get to your room!"

Mal knew better than to argue. She climbed the stairs, carefully and barely on her feet, up to her room. She never listened. Maleficent would never be what she needed. She was stupid to think that her mom could ever be anything other than the Mistress of All Evil.

Mal was brought back to the present by a hand on her shoulder and Evie's voice.

"M, are you having the flashbacks again?" Evie asked, concern apparent in her voice. Mal wanted to lie, but she knew that Evie recognized the signs of the flashbacks. Ever since she had started to acknowledge and process her past, she regularly zoned out, her mind taking her back to random moments that, somehow, felt tied to what was happening around her.

"I can't control them, E, and...I keep hoping for some good memory. Some proof that Maleficent really loved me...even a little bit."

"I hate to be blunt, Mal, but you know she didn't. Just look at the scars you still have." Mal tensed up and her flight instinct went on full alert. Evie grabbed the woman's hands and simply sat until Mal calmed down.

"I just...I don't understand. Ben was doing so well." Mal said, taking them back to the conversation they had been having. "And then I mention I'm pregnant and he undoes all of the progress he made." Mal was planning to say more but there was a light tapping on her door.

"Mal, honey. Can I come in?" It was Ben.

"Go away, Your Majesty!" She shouted in response.

"Mal, that isn't fair and you know it. I'm sorry that I went full king mode, but it is something I have to think about. You knew this." Mal was going to say more, but Evie interrupted her.

"Let me go out and talk to him. You're in an extremely emotional state and need some time to calm down. Your stress levels being this high aren't good for your or your child." Mal just nodded, still contemplating throwing a book at Ben's face when Evie opened the door. She knew it wasn't the most mature response, just like throwing a pillow at the door when Evie came wasn't, but throwing stuff like pillows helped her channel her anger, which helped her control her magic.

She took a few deep breaths while Evie left the room.

Ben got excited when the door creaked open, only to deflate when he realized that it was Evie coming out, rather than Mal.

"Evie, please. I need to talk to Mal."

"She doesn't want to talk to you right now, Ben, and I can't really blame her. She told me about what happened."

"I...I thought I was making things easier for her. I was trying to be proactive and mitigate her concerns." Ben said sincerely. Evie rolled her eyes, remembering exactly how dumb Ben could be.

"You were so worried about being 'proactive' that you didn't give her a chance to talk. You assumed you knew what she wanted, despite her making it clear that she had no intention of talking about the royal aspects of her condition."

Ben hung his head, ashamed. She was right and he knew it; he knew that he should have shown more control. Mal had used the code and he had ignored it. He had made his choice, and even though he regretted it, he knew how seriously Mal was taking it.

"Is she okay?" Ben asked. He knew his wife needed space, but he refused to leave until he knew she was at least in a safe mental place.

"She's angry, as she should be." Evie said, and Ben nodded. "And she's having the flashbacks again."

"I...I thought they were lessening? She was doing better."

"She was, Ben, but the shock and stress of finding out she's going to be a mother is probably weakening her mental state. Having this fight with you didn't help anything." Ben stood silently, his guilt eating away at him. He was about to leave when both he and Evie heard a scream from within the room. A scream that could only be Mal. Without waiting for Evie's permission, Ben pushed past her and burst through the door, ready to fight whatever had made Mal scream.

There was nothing to fight. The room was empty, except for Mal who was curled up on her bed, hands over her ears, eyes closed tight. Ben ran over.

"Mal, sweetie, come back to us." He didn't know if she had fallen asleep and it was a nightmare, or if it was a flashback, so he tried to soothe her the same way he did through both.

Sorry. The word came out of Mal's mouth before she had been able to stop herself. It had been the first lesson her mother ever taught her: Never apologize. And she had just done that. Maleficent's eyes glowed green.

"How DARE you use that word under my roof! It's time you learned your lesson the hard way, since clearly my other methods aren't getting through.

Maleficent grabbed Mal by the arm and dragged her through their home. She took Mal down corridors, constantly heading downwards, towards the dungeon. Mal knew exactly what was coming, and tried to break free. The more she struggled, the harder her mom gripped. It didn't take long for Maleficent to draw blood, but she didn't care and Mal had learned not to complain. All that mattered was getting free.

But she couldn't.

Her mother tossed her down the stairs into the dark dungeon, slammed the door, and locked it. After taking stock of any new injuries (a broken rib, a twisted ankle, a bruised wrist, and possibly a concussion), Mal carefully climbed the stairs and tried the door. She couldn't see her hand in front of her, so she moved slowly, hand stretched out, so she would feel the door before running into it. The door was locked, as she expected. She let out a sigh. The only way out was to make her way to the other entrance, a few dozen passages away, or wait for her mom to let her out. And her mom would never let her out.

She made her way back down the stairs and started making her way through the familiar labyrinth of the dungeon. She had been put through this more times than she wanted to count, so she knew the path like the back of her hand. It wasn't being lost that scared her, it was knowing how her mother manipulated what she experienced down here.

The first magic obstacle she encountered was a flooded part of the hallway. The only way forward was through it, and the only way to cross was to swim, which Mal couldn't do. Which meant she had to use her magic, which was always tough after getting hurt. But she channeled her energy and made it focus for just long enough that she was able to cast a spell.

Through this water send me now
Let me live, I don't care how

Like a cannonball out of a cannon, Mal's body immediately launched through the water. She came out on the other side, coughing and sputtering at the water that had gotten into her lungs, but she survived; albeit more sore than before. She would need to tweak that spell so it wasn't so loose on how she survived.

Mal jumped up, panting. It had been a flashback, but it held a stronger grip on her than her normal flashbacks. It felt more real. She felt arms wrap around her and tried to fight them off, not wanting anyone to touch her, not again, not again, not again. But whoever it was held on, and she ended up giving up the fight. It was easier to just surrender…

"Mal, honey, I'm so sorry." She heard the voice and genuinely relaxed. It was Ben holding her. She still fought a little, remembering that she was mad at him, but she didn't fight with the same furor that she had been.

"What are you doing here, Ben? I made it clear that I don't want to talk to you right now."

"And I'm going to respect that. I really am. I should have respected what you wanted sooner, and listened to you when you came to my office; but I can't change that now. I can only be here when you need me, and it seemed like you needed me after that flashback. Do you want to talk about it?" Ben asked, letting go of Mal and moving his hands from her back to holding her hands. She shook her head.

"I'm still not at a place where I can talk about them all, Ben. I don't know if I ever will be. What my...what Maleficent did to me...nobody should ever have to know that kind of pain."

"And you shouldn't have to bear it alone. Better or worse, sickness and health, remember? We're gonna fight, but I will always be by your side, no matter what you're going through." He leaned in and kissed her. She kissed back, unable to control the smile that spread across her face. "Just let me know when you want to let me in."

Ben got up and left the room. Evie, who had been standing back to give the couple space, stepped in and took over the role of comforting Mal. Mal never said it to them, but she hated being alone after the flashbacks. She always feared that they would become reality; that she'd be abandoned by everyone she cared about.

A few days later, Mal was sitting in the gardens. She had made amends with Ben and had returned to their bedroom, rather than her guest room, but she still hadn't been able to talk to him about her concerns about being a mother. He was too excited about being a father and she couldn't take that away from him. She placed a hand on her stomach. She wasn't showing yet, but she knew that a life was growing in her.

"You deserve so much better than me, little one. You deserve a mother who can shower you with love, and will know exactly what to do when you need her. I'm not that mother." Mal said, a tear rolling down her cheek.

"You won't know until you try." She jumped, not expecting to hear anyone else with her. She turned and saw Belle standing there. She stood up and curtsied to the former queen. Belle laughed.

"Mal, you're my daughter-in-law. You're family, no need for the formalities. Besides, if we're playing that, I should be curtsying to you, Your Majesty." Belle said, curtsying to Mal, which made Mal laugh.

"About a year of formally being queen and it still hasn't fully hit me."

"And it never fully will. It wasn't the life you had growing up, so it's never going to feel natural to you. Take it from someone who knows. But that's not what I wanted to talk about. Ben said you've been distant."

Mal grumbled. Leave it to Ben to send his mother in.

"But I would have come even if he hadn't said anything. We've all noticed you've been isolating yourself from everyone. Want to talk about it?" Belle asked as she sat down next to Mal. Mal hesitated. If anyone would understand her, it was Belle. On the other hand, the last thing she wanted was her own family thinking she couldn't handle herself.

"Mal, we love you. Ben doesn't always know how to show it, and he acts impulsively, but so do you. Don't shut us out because of your fears." Mal looked at Belle and saw the sincerity in her eyes.

"Well, you've already heard some of it, Belle. My child isn't going to get the mother it deserves. I was raised by Maleficent. The most 'love' I experienced were the days that I wasn't punished in some way.

WHACK. WHACK. WHACK.

As quickly as Mal had fallen into the flashback, she was pulled back out. Belle's hand on her own and the comforting voice she used had quickly stopped Mal from sliding back there.

"Mal, dear, you're okay. Maleficent isn't here, and you aren't there." Mal took several deep breaths as she felt the ghost pain of the hits across her back. She could feel every single time Maleficent had hit her. They all hurt.

"Belle...what if I can't raise Ben's and my child properly? What if, after everything, I'm nothing but a villain? So messed up in the head that I can't distinguish between good and bad?"

"Then Ben, Evie, Jay, Carlos, Jane, Adam, and me will all be there to help you. You aren't a villain, Mal. If we've learned anything, it's that the world can't be easily split up into heroes and villains - you taught us that." Mal remembered. Hades, her dad, had just brought Audrey back to life, and they were celebrating hers and Ben's engagement. She had declared that she couldn't just be queen of Auradon, she had to be queen of all her people, including the Isle of the Lost. That was the day that barrier had come down, when Mal reminded all of Auradon that everyone can be good or evil.

"How did you do it, Belle? Becoming queen, having Ben, living this life? Wasn't it hard, coming from your background? No offense."

"None taken, because you're right. I grew up as an inventor's daughter with no mother figure. All I knew was what Papa had taught me. I had to take the skills he taught me and use them to the best of my ability. I'm not saying that your mother was a good mother, Mal, far from it. But she did give you everything you'll need to be a good mother. You just have to figure out how to use it."

Belle stood up and excused herself, leaving Mal to think. All of this time, she had been worried about being a bad mother, because she didn't have an example to follow. She did, in Belle, but it wasn't the same as growing up with a mother who cared. Now, Belle was telling her that she did have the skills in her to be a good mother. But how? And what could Maleficent have taught her that would translate to motherhood?

It was late at night. Ben was sound asleep next to Mal, who was wide awake. She couldn't get Belle's words out of her head. Maleficent was the Mistress of All Evil, and the winner of the Worst Mother of the Year award 16 years straight. How could she, the most evil woman in the world, have given Mal any parenting skills?

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ben asked quietly, rolling over to face his wife. Mal was surprised that he was awake.

"You should be sleeping, Ben. You have that council meeting tomorrow, not to mention…"

"They aren't important to me. You're what's important to me, and you've clearly got something on your mind." He placed an arm on her waist, rubbing lightly. "Talk to me, Mal."

She took a deep breath before she started. 'I talked to your mom earlier today. She found me in the gardens and gave me some advice that makes no sense. She said that Maleficent, though a terrible mother, gave me the ability to be a good mother. But...how is that even possible?"

"Well, what all did you learn from your mother?" Ben asked, trying to prompt Mal to think it through. And she did.

"She taught me how to hurt people. She taught me how to hate everyone. She taught me to depend solely on myself and that everyone else is beneath me. She abused me, Ben. I didn't know an ounce of love until I came to Auradon and met you. And yet you think I learned anything about being a mother?" It wasn't acknowledged, but this was a big milestone for Mal. It was the first time she admitted that what Maleficent had done was abusive.

"You did. Because you learned how to stand up for yourself - the way you stood up to her at my coronation. You learned that you aren't your mother - you chose good and chose your friends, rather than evil. You learned perseverance; the scars on your back show how much you endured and you kept standing, and you're here today. Mal, you may not realize it, but every lesson your mother tried to teach you was a lesson you learned. It just wasn't the lesson she wanted you to learn. I wish I could go back and make sure you never felt all of the hurt. Hearing you talk about what your mother put you through breaks my heart. But she also made you the fierce, loyal, determined woman I fell in love with."

Mal leaned into Ben, hugging him and letting out the tears she hadn't realized she had been holding back.

"And what if that isn't enough, Ben? What if I'm not good enough for our child?"

"Then you remember the most important lesson your mom taught you: the importance of family. Through everything, you clung to your friends. They became your family and your support system. Then you came to Auradon and you expanded that family. And now we're expanding that family even more. And I can guarantee you every single member of your family, from me to Jane and everyone in between, is gonna make sure not only that this child is so loved, but that you have all of the support you need. We're all gonna be in this together."

Mal nodded and let out a contented sigh. This was her Ben. This wasn't King Benjamin; it was truly Ben. And he knew exactly what she needed to hear. She was still terrified of being a mother, still worried about messing up. But Ben was right. Despite what she had wanted to believe, her mother did teach her what she needed to learn. She still wouldn't forgive her mom - the scars on her back made that impossible - but she could at least be grateful for everything she learned from her mom. It was all about how she looked at it. Mal closed her eyes and started to fall asleep in Ben's arms.

"Ben." She mumbled. He grunted, acknowledging he was still partially awake.

"Whatever we do, we're not including Florian or Bertha in our kid's name." She smiled when she heard him chuckle. Things wouldn't always be easy, but maybe she could learn to see things better and spin the bads into positives. And her Thursday session with Jiminy would be one of her best, she could already feel it.