A/N: So when I started this four part story, I had great ideas for what made the others jealous, but I swiftly realised I didn't want it to be all angst and darkness, even with a happy ending, so this one is a little different to the previous one.

Enjoy!

"You know this is the first time we've been together at an engagement for three months." Ben whispered and he heard Mal's soft chuckle.

"Thank hell for Audrey popping out another child then." She murmured and Ben bit back his laugh. They took their place in the church and stood as the mother and newborn entered.

Several hours later they fell into bed beside one another.

"That sucked." Mal groaned, glaring down at her fancy dress with fiddly buttons. "We may have been in the same room but I don't think we spent more than five minutes with one another." She grunted as Ben rolled over to face her. She laughed as he kissed her on the nose.

"I mean, I saw you from afar and you looked beautiful?" He offered with a grin and Mal rolled closer to him.

"Do you think E will kill me if I rip the back of this dress off?" She pouted.

"I know what that dress is retailing for in her store and yes, she will kill." Ben groaned, tugging his waistcoat off, rolling around in the bed to remove the article of clothing.

"You undress me and I'll undress you?" Mal offered with a lazy but wicked grin, and Ben caught the look in her eyes.

"I think I'm getting a rough end of the deal but… deal." The pair fell into one another's arms in a tangle of discarded clothes.

When they woke up the next morning, Mal's alarm blared into life and she sprang out of bed.

"Sugar Honey Ice Tea, I am going to be late!" She scrambled up and all but ran to the bathroom. "If I'm late to Wonderland it's going to be the final irony!"

~Bal~

"Meeting on Tuesday? I thought we had arranged dinner for that night?" Mal half rose from her chair, as Ben collected his briefcase, shuffling through a scattering of papers on his desk, he barely spared her a glance.

"Did we? Well, the Advisor from Charmington is only available on Tuesday and Wednesday, so we can rearrange can't we darling?" Ben frowned again, still rooting through his desk. "Have you seen the file on coast erosion?"

"It's next to Louisa." Mal gestured to the bust in the window and Ben was soon gone with a distracted 'bye' in her direction. Ignoring the soft ache in her chest, she pulled her own case towards her, taking out the neatly bundled documents and finding her glasses in her comfy cardigan pocket, she set about to looking at her own royal affairs.

~Bal~

"Hey, you looking fancy, where you off to?" Ben leant against the doorjamb and smirked as his wife dusted down her skirt and tweaked the collar of her blouse.

"Do you think?" She scrunched her hair, making her loose curls bounce slightly.

"Looking beautiful, where you going?" He jammed his hands in his pockets and bit back his disappointment.

"Naming of the new research ship, heading out towards the Northern Isles."

"Oh, The Tinkerbell?" He thought of Wynona Darling, Doctor Wynona Darling, he corrected himself, and her latest venture.

"Indeed so, I'm doing the rum bottle smashing."

"I thought it was champagne?"

"It's champagne for you, rum for me." She winked and leant up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek. "What are you doing today?"

"Free day for me today." He sighed, and held back saying anything. He had hoped they'd be free together, maybe have a chance for a ride through the Royal Park, or canoodle in the maze like they used to.

"That sounds heavenly, make sure you slob out for me as well!" Mal grinned, sliding her boots on before grabbing her bag. "See you tomorrow." She left before Ben could comment on her nighttime absence, but he sighed and resigned himself to a lonely evening in.

~Bal~

"Where are you heading this time?" Mal asked tiredly. She'd felt crap in the last few weeks, she was overly tired, her feet ached and there was a lingering sense of nausea she couldn't shake.

"Delegation of Dwarves and Forest Animals over in the Enchanted Forest, they're worried about ecological damage from over logging at the western boundary." Ben sighed.

"Oh."

"You about next Tuesday?" He watched her reach for her diary and thumb through the pages.

"No, I'm over in Agrabah for the new University Opening, how about Friday?"

"I already know that I'm hosting the Charity Ball for mom and dad that night." He stared at her as she flicked through the weeks trying to find another night, day, hour they could share with one another. "Leave it Mal, we'll find time. I have to go or Grumpy will live up to his name." Ben waved and was gone.

Four days later he came in and found Mal absent. Going through to their bedroom, he found the note on his pillow.

Have been called to Corona to help Rapunzel with errand, back soon.

"Yeah, we'll find time." He whispered to himself.

~Bal~

There was almost a moment, there was a two hour window that crossed over between the two of them before one went North to Arendelle and one was heading South to Atlantica.

"I can't do this anymore Ben." Mal exploded suddenly and Ben almost leapt out of his seat.

"What?"

"I can't stand your aloofness, your coldness." She stood up, her eyes were blazing, and her sudden anger left Ben silenced. She took his silence as a continuation of his emotional withdrawal and she let out a feral scream.

"Mal."

"I can't do this alone." She pulled at her hair and Ben stood with her as well. His anger was flaring as fast, and her words were hardly registering. He had felt just as alone as she had. He had felt her absence in his life, it had been like a huge gaping hole when she hadn't been beside him. He was seeing red and he let out a short breath to try and calm himself down.

"Alone!?" He snapped, drawing her attention back. "You think you're the only one that's alone? I haven't seen you in months, if there isn't this party, there's that visit, if you're not entertaining one noble family, you're out at some charity ball." His rage was bubbling over and Mal almost looked taken aback, but he saw the fire flare back in her eyes.

"Me?! I'm not the one who's arranged my meetings to specifically avoid you? Any down days I get and I find that you're elsewhere, across the kingdom attending various openings and galas of your own?!" Mal wanted to scream and Ben wanted to snarl.

"You think this is my fault?" He snapped.

"I can't do this anymore." She turned away and curled in on herself.

"So what now?"

"I can't do this alone Ben, I need you here." She moved back to face him, "We need you." She clutched her stomach and Ben's anger melted away.

"What?" He was struck dumb by her admission and she faltered again.

"I am pregnant Ben." Her words felt brittle, she felt brittle. She felt that if he touched her she'd smash into a million pieces. "I can't cope with you not being here, I'm scared." Her confessions were pulled from her, her fears overwhelming her but all of a sudden she was enveloped in his arms.

"Christ." He murmured into the top of her head.

"Ben."

"Mal, relax. I'm not going anywhere."

"What about Arendelle? And Atlantica?" She mumbled into his jacket.

"LUMIERE!" Ben suddenly shouted and Mal stepped back as the old retainer's daughter stepped into the room.

"Yes Sir?"

"Cancel the plans for the next week, the Queen and I have matters to attend to." Ben looked down at Mal's pale face.

"Yes Sir, Ma'am?"

"Cancel all of my plans as well." Mal turned to her faithful servant whose eyes seemed to be sparkling.

Neither Royal saw Lumiere leave, neither saw the relieved sigh she gave as she strolled down the corridor, phone in hand. Neither of them knew she text Jane, the Fae Advisor to say that they would be okay, or the message of relief that Jane sent back. Their relationship had been a concern for most of the Court, all of them were panicked at the distance between the pair, but none of them knew how to fix them – they both took duty very seriously. If it had continued for another week, they were going to send in Carlos but it hadn't and there was a moment of tangible relief over the castle.