Disclaimer: I do not own Descendants.

"Daddy, do you think Mommy will be happy to see us?" the little girl asked. She clung to Ben's hand tightly as she skipped along beside him, running her free hands over the trunks of trees they passed.

"I have no doubt that she'll be very happy," Ben answered, smiling at her. The expression was slightly forced, the pain in his chest making it hard to make his smile genuine. It was the girl's seventh birthday and the seven-year anniversary of Mal's death.

"Do you think she'll like me?" The girl glanced up at him, waiting for his answer.

Ben nodded. "Of course, she will, Mallory. She'll love you. She's always loved you."

Mallory smiled, satisfied, and they continued walking through the woods.

It was astonishing how much she looked like Mal. It hurt Ben sometimes when he had to braid Mallory's purple hair. It was the same shade as Mal's had been. And her eyes, they were the same. So much was the same that Ben often wondered if he would have been able to tell the difference between them if Mal had had pictures of herself growing up.

Ben had never kept Mal's death a secret from her, but he had wanted to avoid taking Mallory to the grave site for as long as possible. He made a point to visit by himself on Mal's birthday, Christmas, and other significant dates that demanded the remembrance of lost loved ones. But he had kept Mallory away from seeing it for herself for her own good. However, she had persisted that what she wanted this year for her birthday, in addition to her usual party, was to see her mother. Ben had reluctantly agreed and driven the two of them out to the site alone. No limo, no driver. Just them. Seven was such a young age to do this, he thought.

"Are you excited for your party?" Ben asked, trying to change the subject.

Mallory looked up at him, her eyes bright. She nodded, grinning.

Ben smiled a little easier that time. "Good. Your Auntie Evie said she made you a new dress now that you're all grown up." He winked.

Mallory giggled. "Is it purple?"

"Yes, lavender. Your favorite." He gave her hand a slight squeeze. Then he sobered, looking ahead to where their path in the woods ended.

He led her past a low branch, and the path suddenly opened up to a clearing. It was well-kept and grassy. In the center stood a small single maple tree, its leaves bright red for autumn. In front of the sapling was a black headstone that read:

Mal
A truly good woman, wife, and friend
To love is the greatest act of good that one can bestow upon the world.

Ben stopped, immediately wanting to turn around and leave. But he couldn't; he had promised Mallory she could meet her mother. So, he led her forward, silent.

Mallory looked at the headstone curiously, her grip on Ben's hand tightening as she did so. "Is that the date she died?" she asked. When Ben nodded, she continued, "But that's my birthday."

Ben had never told Mallory all the details. He had purposefully neglected to tell her when Mal died. Whenever she had asked, he always told her it was soon after Mallory was born. And that was true. Mal had given birth after a long and terrible labor. She was exhausted, and never regained consciousness after the birth. She had never held Mallory and had died within the hour after the birth.

Sometimes, Ben was still angry with Mal about it all. They had gotten married after high school. Mal had wanted children, and so had he. But he never knew what price he would pay for it. They tried several times, having several miscarriages before a doctor finally told them Mal just wasn't fit to carry a baby. Her body couldn't handle it physically. Her magic would drain the baby of its life, resulting in a miscarriage, and if Mal was even able to carry to term somehow, the magic could reverse and the baby drain her of her magic, killing her. Neither option was desirable. Both Ben and Mal had cried many times. He locked himself in his study with his work. She went to the Enchanted Lake to be alone.

The day that Mal died, Ben had hated Fairy Godmother. Mal had pleaded with the woman to try magic on her to let her carry a child to term; she was willing to do and try anything. No pregnancy had lasted past the first four months. She begged Fairy Godmother for time and strength, and the woman had agreed to make an experimental potion for Mal that would help. But even so, Mal would only have a forty percent chance of surviving the labor if the baby ended up possessing magic like hers. It would drain Mal's life too quickly in the end to save her. Mal had decided to take the risk. And Ben, like a fool, had agreed to make Mal happy.

In the end, it had been a twisted and devastatingly bittersweet day. He lost Mal and gained the most precious gift she could have ever given him. Standing there in the hospital's delivery room and holding the newborn girl after watching Mal's heart monitor flatline had almost destroyed him. Luckily, Evie, Mallory's appointed godmother, had stepped in and taken care of Mallory for the first few weeks while Ben had been in a statuesque state of shock from his grief. It hadn't been pretty.

"Yes, Mallory, that's your birthday," Ben said slowly, his mouth dry. "Your mother died the same day. There were...complications with her health."

"Oh," Mallory said. She released his hand and walked forward, inspecting the stone. She looked over her shoulder at him where he stood like a giant gargoyle, unmoving. "Did you plant the tree?"

"Yes. Maples were her favorite. She liked how vibrant they are this time of year," he said.

Silence fell between them. Mallory stood just a few inches from the headstone, and Ben silently watched her. Mallory reached forward and brushed her fingers over the slick obsidian surface. A gentle breeze then swept through the clearing, rustling the maple's leaves before allowing it to grow still again.

Mallory gasped, and Ben's senses went on high alert. She was pointing at the base of the headstone, too stunned for words. A slender green stalk was sprouting out of the earth, rapidly growing. Its end swelled into a bud and unfurled, blossoming into a large purple flower. Ben thought it was tinted green, almost like it was flecked with green glitter to make it shimmer greenish purple like a galaxy.

"Did you...Mallory, did you do that?" Ben asked even though he assumed the answer was no. Mallory knew small spells, but nothing so extravagant as growing plants out of nothing yet.

Mallory shook her head.

"No, Mommy did it," she said.

"What?" Ben's chest almost caved in on itself, but then it expanded sharply as he gasped. The whole clearing was coming alive with slithering green tendrils pushing up from the earth. They grew and twisted, sprouting leaves and buds. And then all at once, they blossomed. Hundreds of purple-green flowers like the first opened in a sparkling symphony of color. The sun's light made some appear more green or more purple depending on which way Ben turned his head.

He didn't move either, afraid to step even an inch. The flowers had covered the ground like a carpet, and multiple blooms had grown around his feet.

Mallory was now staring at a spot above the headstone as if she was greatly interested in the maple. Her mouth was agape. "You're so beautiful. I mean, I've seen your wedding pictures, but..."

"Mallory?" Ben asked. "Who are you talking to?"

"Mommy," was all Mallory said, which didn't help Ben's sense of suspicion welling up in his chest. Then, her focus back on the maple, she blushed and plucked at her dress. "Oh, thank you, Auntie Evie made it."

"Mallory, your mother isn't..." But he stopped. He didn't know how to explain the flowers. Purple and green flowers nonetheless. If Mallory hadn't done it, who had?

"She says it's beautiful here. You picked the perfect spot," Mallory said.

Ben swallowed. "I did?"

"She says she's always loved the area around the lake, ever since you took her here on your first date."

Ben's heart constricted and beat faster as if it were having an isolated seizure and the rest of his body was frozen in ice. "Our first date..." He hadn't told Mallory that they were near the Enchanted Lake. It was a bit further north from there. He hadn't wanted lake-goers to stumble across Mal's grave, but he had known it was the only appropriate place to bury her. He had certainly never told Mallory about their first date.

"Did Auntie Evie tell you that?" Ben asked.

Mallory frowned at him and looked back at the spot above the grave. "She says you can't see her because her magic isn't powerful enough to appear to people who aren't blood relatives. She doesn't have a strong enough physical anchor to make you see her. She says she loves you and misses you."

"Mallory!" Ben suddenly snapped. "Stop this. This isn't a game!" His voice threatened to break, his throat tightening as he fought to keep back the tears.

Mallory looked at him, her bright smile slowly disappearing. "I'm sorry that you can't see her."

"She's not here, Mallory. It's just a stone."

"But...she's sitting on it. She's right here," Mallory said, frowning in confusion. Her attention suddenly snapped back to the spot above the headstone, and Ben briefly thought that she would, in fact, be staring directly at Mal's face if she was sitting there. But it was impossible. Mallory then nodded. "I know. He's silly." She sighed.

"Mallory, let's just go," Ben said. Too much of this was weird. It was overwhelming. He wasn't sure where the flowers had come from, and he wasn't sticking around to have his heart explode in his chest. "Mallory, now."

Mallory looked over to him and then back to the same spot above the stone. "But I don't want to go." She sniffled and then she laughed. "He had what?" There was a pause, and then she laughed again. "Mommy says you once wore swimming trunks with little crowns on them."

Ben blinked, and then he remembered. Mal had taunted him about the design of his shorts on their first date. It was such a small detail, but...it wasn't possible. He swallowed, thinking fast. "Ask her...ask her what the last thing she said to me in private was." The last time he had spoken to Mal was just before her water broke. After that, they had been surrounded by people. He had had to order people out of the room in business voice when he wanted time alone to grieve over her body. But he definitely remembered the last thing she had said to him because they hadn't decided on a name for the baby yet.

Mallory was quiet for a moment, listening. Then she cocked her head and said, "She says she told you to pick a good middle name for me because Florian and Bertha are sucky names."

Ben's mouth slowly turned up into a smile. With only slight paraphrasing, those had been Mal's exact words. That was why he had given Mallory the middle name Grace. "I love you, Mal. I've missed you so much," he said. He blinked back tears. "Our little girl is seven today. Can you believe that?"

Mallory smiled. "She loves you too."

A breeze passed through the clearing again, and Mallory shivered. She hugged herself and was quiet for a moment. Then she nodded. "Oh. Ok. I understand."

"What?" Ben asked.

"She says she can't stay too much longer. It's hard to appear here even like this," she said. She smiled at where Mal was supposedly sitting. "I'll come back though. We can talk more as a family," she said. She bent to pick the first flower that had bloomed in front of the grave and started wading through the flowers toward Ben. She stopped and looked back, listening. Then she giggled. "I'll tell him."

The wind made the flowers sway. In an instant, their green sheen evaporated and they became just a normal purple hue.

Mallory took Ben's hand and led him out of the clearing. Ben felt dazed, his head spinning from the events in the clearing. "What did she want you to tell me?" he asked after a few minutes.

"Oh," Mallory giggled. "That you look funny with a beard."

"It's not that bad," he said, stroking it and thinking. Maybe he should trim it.

"She said it makes you look older. But I mean, she hasn't seen you in a long time, I guess, right? You are older now."

Ben frowned. Had she not seen him for years? Or had she been able to appear like that before more discreetly? Had she been sitting there every time he went to the grave? Perhaps, he just shouldn't think about it until they were back at the palace. As much as the thought of Mal hanging around there and secretly spying on him at the grave was thrilling, it made his head spin. All the memories of her that he had filed away and closed forever were flashing into his mind one after the other. Laughs they had had. Tears they had both cried. Dances they had shared. Their wedding cake. Mal rolling her eyes when she saw Ben give Carlos an extra piece of it to give to Dude. It took all of his strength not to burst into tears.

But it was still Mallory's birthday. It had to be a good day.

They reached the car where Ben had parked it at the side of the road that ran through the forest. He opened the rear passenger side door for Mallory. She got in.

"Wait," she said when Ben made to close the door. She handed him the flower she had picked.

"Are you sure?" Ben asked her.

She nodded and smiled sweetly. "You need it more than I do."

Ben shut the door and stood there, looking at the flower. It hadn't lost its green sparkle like the others had. And then all at once he understood, and he nodded to the forest. He got in the car and drove them home, knowing for sure then that Mal would always be with them.

I really hope you guys enjoyed this story! If you liked it, please consider leaving a review. This is a oneshot, so it will NOT be updated or continued. If you want to read more of my work in the future and wish to be notified when new stuff is posted, I'd suggest giving me an author follow. Thanks so much!

Foarrin