"Tiana?"

"Mama!"

As Eudora pulled Tiana into a crushing hug, Naveen quietly stepped to the side, giving the two women what little privacy the small porch would allow. It wasn't long before Eudora started to cry, and then Tiana started in as well. Naveen found himself blinking back his own tears as he wondered what his own reunion with his parents would look like.

The last time he had seen his parents was when they had cut him off. They told him that they had been thinking of doing so for awhile, but after his recent behavior, they had ultimately decided it was for the best. Naveen felt the guilt weigh heavy on him as he remembered what he had done to deserve that punishment, and the rude things he had said to his parents before storming off in a huff. Not long after, Naveen had convinced Lawrence to use his savings to buy them tickets to New Orleans, effectively running away from his problems.

He hadn't said goodbye, or even told his parents where he was going. Were they even looking for him? Were they worried about him? Would they be as happy as Eudora was to see him again? Naveen shifted as Tiana's mother planted a series of kisses on her daughter's dimpled cheeks. Probably not.

Still, Naveen hoped they would be able to forgive him once they learned he had married an amazing woman like Tiana.

At last Eudora pulled back and cupped Tiana's tear stained cheeks. "Babycakes, is it really you?"

Babycakes? Naveen hid his smile behind his hand. That was the cutest nickname he had ever heard, and he couldn't wait to tease Tiana about it later. He liked her mother already.

"Yes, Mama," Tiana laughed, sniffing and brushing away the last of her tears. If the nickname bothered her, she didn't show it. "It's me."

"But how…? Where have you been? I've been so worried. What happened to you? And what," Eudora finally took in her daughter's dress, "are you wearing?" She cooed softly as she gently felt the fabric between her fingers. "It's gorgeous."

"It's a long story." Tiana quickly glanced to Naveen, before turning back to Eudora. "Can we come inside?"

Eudora's hand came up to her forehead as she laughed. "Yes, of course, baby. I'm sorry, I should have done that first thing." She wrapped her arm around Tiana's waist. "Come in, come in, out of this rain and-" Eudora paused. "Did you say we?"

Tiana took a deep breath, taking another quick glance at Naveen. "Mama, there's somebody I'd like you to meet."

Naveen had the sudden irrational desire to flee. Oh god, this was it. He should have warned Tiana that he had never dated a girl who's parents liked him. Though Naveen could easily imagine her quipping that they weren't dating, they were married and love for her swelled inside him. Maybe this time it would be different. Yes, that was it. Think on the positive side, Naveen. As long as I don't say anything idiotic I'll be fine.

Of course just thinking of speaking out loud made his mouth dry up. Great.

Tiana gestured towards Naveen, and Eudora finally looked his way. When their eyes met, he offered her a wide smile, hoping it would make his slight nausea go away. It didn't. He clung to Tiana's hand when she offered it, stepping closer into the porch light. Eudora's brows furrowed slightly.

"This is my… this is Naveen," Tiana finally said.

He swallowed hard, his mind whirling for something, anything clever to say, but it was a blank. Tiana squeezed his hand gently. He cleared his throat, finding his voice at last. "Prince Naveen, of Maldonia." Instinctively he clicked his heels and bowed low. "At your service."

When he straightened, Eudora's hand rested on her heart, her eyes opened wide as she gaped blatantly at Naveen not saying a word.

"Mama?" Tiana's asked softly, taking a small step forward. "Are you alright?"

Eudora didn't answer, but Naveen did notice her knees start to wobble and the color was draining out of her face. Her lips started to move, and Naveen had to lean in to hear her over the rain. "The p-p-prince?"

It all seemed to be getting to her fast. In one fluid motion, Eudora's eyes rolled back into her head, and her knees buckled.

Tiana cried out. Naveen rushed forward, not aware of anything else but the desperate need to catch her before she fell. He didn't even remember catching her, but there she was, safe in his arms. He held her firmly as his heart beat furiously in his chest, his mind blank on what to do.

Tiana was already behind him fumbling with the doorknob. "Quick," she said. "Bring her inside."

Yes. Ok. Yes. Inside. Yes that was the right thing to do. Naveen was grateful that his body seemed to remember how to move, because his mind was on overdrive. Faldi faldonza, what did I do? I didn't mean for this to happen, I'm so sorry, please be alright, faldi faldonza what did I do?

"Here, on the couch." Tiana's command cut through his intrusive thoughts. She quickly cleared off the couch, leaving room for Naveen to gently lay Eudora down.

Tiana began frantically searching through a drawer, looking for what, Naveen didn't know. Desperate for something, anything, he could do to help, he did the only thing he could think to do - he found a nearby pillow and carefully propped Eudora's feet up.

"Here, Mama." Tiana had found the smelling salts she had been looking for, and she waved them under Eudora's nose. Naveen stood by her, resting his hand on Tiana's lower back, offering her what little comfort he could.

At last Eudora blinked awake. Her eye's focused on her daughter. "Tiana?" she croaked out.

Both Tiana and Naveen exhaled in relief. "Yes, Mama. It's me."

Eudora's brows furrowed in confusion. Naveen offered her a small smile when she gave him a passing glance. "What happened?" she asked, her gaze returning to Tiana.

"You fainted," Tiana explained keeping her voice low and soft. She brushed a stray hair off her mother's forehead.

"Oh."

"Are you alright?" Tiana asked.

"Yes, I think so." The color was returning to her cheeks. Though Naveen had only met the woman five minutes ago, he thought she looked more like her old self. He exhaled again, softer this time. It looked like she was going to be alright. So much for a good first impression though.

"I'll get you some water," Tiana said. She pressed a kiss to her mother's forehead. "You stay right there."

Eudora sighed and rested her hand over her eyes. Before Tiana could make it too far, Naveen gently held her hand and kissed her palm. He was rewarded with a soft smile that made his stomach jump. How his insides had survived this day with all its surprises he didn't know.

God she was so beautiful. He wanted to hold her in his arms, kiss her senselessly and apologize for frightening her mother, and then kiss her all over again and again and-.

Tiana rested her finger on lips, as if to quiet the thoughts inside his head. "Not in front of my Mama," she whispered. How did she know what he was thinking? Was it that obvious? Oh, he was still holding her hand, caressing it softly.

He gave it a parting squeeze, and reluctantly let go. Tiana bit her lip and took another glance towards Eudora, who still had her eyes closed. Oh those lips. She was torturing him. Before Naveen could do anything about it, Tiana pressed a quick kiss to his cheeks.

He chuckled softly, watching her leave. She looked over her shoulder and smirked at him before turning the corner into what Naveen assumed was the kitchen. His whole body felt lighter. Naveen wouldn't have been surprised at all if he started walking on air.

Of course he didn't, but no matter. He turned back to the living room with a spring in his step, having practically forgotten the frightening last few minutes. But Eudora on the couch brought it all back. She was looking at him now, her gaze was strong and clear. He didn't think there was any danger of her fainting again but Naveen wanted to be careful just in case.

"Are you really the prince?" Eudora asked.

"Yes." He wanted to say something clever that would make her like him. Something that could prove that he would be a good husband to Tiana, but at the same time sooth her nerves and not scare her again. Instead he simply said "Hello."

Eudora cracked a smile and laughed. Naveen could see where Tiana got her smile from. "Hello, yourself."

This was promising. Naveen fiddled with his cape, unsure of what to say next. So he took the opportunity to look around the room. It was small, but as he told Tiana outside, very cozy. Though the room was quite a mess - scattered newspapers littered the floor, while bits of fabric, thread, and half sewn garments were strewn about. It wasn't at all like the clean and tidy house Tiana had described to him.

"Sorry about the mess," Eudora said, as if hearing his thoughts. "I haven't been myself lately. If I'd known the prince was coming I would have cleaned up."

Eudora groaned as she tried to sit up.

"No, no. It is fine," Naveen said. "I will straighten things up for you, yes? You stay and rest some more."

She stared at him in disbelief, but the fear that she would collapse again seemed to be the only thing that made her nod and lie back down.

Naveen quickly got to work gathering the newspapers, and was surprised to see his own face peering up at him printed on many of the pages. The pictures were accompanied by headlines like MALDONIAN PRINCE MISSING and STILL NO TRACE OF THE PLAYBOY PRINCE. Skimming the articles, Naveen found them to be full of hearsay about his philandering past. It seems his disappearance had been a boon to the local newspapers. Naveen highly doubted that Eudora was the only one buying the papers to read gossip about him.

But why had she been buying these? The answer was tucked into a small corner. One short sentence had been underlined and circled in heavy black pen: A missing persons report has been filed stating a local citizen has also been missing since Mardi Gras.

Tiana.

Eudora must have been scouring the news, desperate for any mention of her missing daughter, but his own disappearance had eclipsed everything else.

But just how much had Eudora read about him? Did she believe everything she had read? Even though some of it appeared to be true, this was not the first impression he had hoped to make on his new mother-in-law. At least word about his disinheritance hadn't come out yet. Though Naveen knew it would only be a matter of time before it did, which meant that he would have to tell Tiana exactly what happened sooner rather than later. He would much rather have her hear about his stupidity from him than read about it in the paper. He only hoped she wouldn't think less of him for it.

Tiana finally returned carrying a tray with water and plates of food. Naveen didn't recognize the food, but who cared when it smelled so good. His stomach rumbled and he realized just how long it had been since he had eaten food cooked on a real stove.

"Here Mama," she said handing her mother the glass of water. "Drink this. Slowly."

"Lord, child, I know. You don't have to babysit me."

Tiana handed Naveen a plate. Fish it looked like, served on top of rice. "Thought you might be hungry."

"Yes, thank you," he said. Their fingers brushed as he took the plate from her, sending sparks down his spine. "You made this just now?" he asked, impressed.

Tiana smiled, pleased. "It's not that hard. I'll show you."

"I'd like that."

"Alright..." Eudora butted in. Naveen felt heat rush to his cheeks. He'd forgotten she was there. "I feel like I am missing a lot here. Tiana, will you please tell me what happened?"

Tiana shared a nervous look with Naveen, who gave her a reassuring smile in return. She took a deep breath. "Ok. Well, I guess it all started the night of Lottie's party."

To Eudora's credit, she didn't interrupt the story, unbelievable as it all sounded even to Tiana's ears. Though her mother's eyes did widen at the first mention of magic, and they almost seemed to pop out of her head when Tiana mentioned that she was in love and also married to the prince sitting beside her. By then she and Naveen had linked hands, for which Tiana was grateful, even though she did find herself being distracted by the occasional brush of his thumb.

And then the story was finished. Silence engulfed the room, save for the relentless ticking of the clock. Eudora sat with her arms crossed, rubbing her arms, a habit Tiana had picked up herself. At last the clock struck the hour (Tiana counted eleven strokes. Was it really that late already?), and then suddenly Eudora let out a subdued chuckle. It quickly grew into full on laughter. Naveen glanced quizzically at Tiana. Is this a good sign? She shrugged her shoulders, having no idea.

"I must have hit my head earlier," Eudora finally said through her laughter. "That is the craziest story I've ever heard." She wiped away a tear shaking her head. "You mind telling me what really happened?"

Tiana shared another look with Naveen. "That is what really happened. It's the truth."

"The truth." Eudora sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Tiana, this isn't like you to be spinning fairy tales like this."

"You mean you don't believe us?" Tiana asked.

"Believe you?" Eudora laughed. "Of course I don't. Why would I?"

But Tiana was stuck. What proof did they really have that all of this had happened? No matter what little evidence they offered - their clothes or the scar that was still present on Naveen's hand - Eudora turned it back on them.

A costume shop could have had clothes like that, and Naveen could have cut his hand on anything. It didn't prove their story.

Eudora sighed again. "Do you at least have any witnesses for this wedding that supposedly happened?"

"Mama Odie was there," Tiana said.

"Louis too," Naveen added.

"Right, the 200 year old blind voodoo queen and a trumpet playing alligator. I'm sure that will hold up in court."

"Court?" Tiana couldn't help but ask. She felt a pit in her stomach.

"Yes, court. You think you can just go around telling people you're married? Tiana, use your head."

Oh no. How could this thought never even cross her mind? Tiana glanced at Naveen and was disheartened by the despair on his face that mirrored her own. "We don't have a marriage license."

"I'm guessing y'all didn't get a blood test either," Eudora said.

Their silence was all the answer Eudora needed. "Tiana, I'd like a word with you, please. In private."

Tiana reluctantly followed, but not before Naveen gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

Once the two women were alone in the kitchen, Eudora asked softly, "Are you pregnant?"

Tiana gasped and blinked in surprise. "Mama! God!"

"It's alright, sweetheart. We'll work it out together, okay?"

"How could you ask me something like that?"

"I don't know, Tiana. You've just been gone so long, and now you're back and..." Eudora's voice was starting to break. "I've been so worried about you!" She pulled Tiana into a crushing hug.

"Oh, Mama, I'm so sorry." Tiana hugged her mother back. "I wanted to write to you so much, to let you know that I was okay. But I couldn't because-"

"I know, I know." Eudora sighed as she pulled back. It was clear that she still didn't believe their story, but she wasn't going to fight it anymore. At least for tonight.

"I'm not pregnant, though," Tiana said. "I can promise you that."

Eudora let out a tired chuckle. "Well, at least we have that going for us."

Us. Such a simple word, but it was one Tiana was very glad to hear. Despite everything they had told Eudora tonight, this meant that she was still on her team. They could get through this together.

But then suddenly Eudora hounded her with questions, each one harder to answer than the next.

Did she honestly expect to go out into the world and declare to everyone that they were married and have it be okay? Eudora wouldn't be the only one who would think that Tiana was pregnant, and that would give her a bad reputation, and what would that mean for her restaurant? People wouldn't want to come to an establishment owned by somebody who for all intents and purposes was basically pretending to be married. It wasn't proper.

And what about Naveen's parents? What about his royal duties? Was Tiana now expected to be a princess to a country she had never been to, or even heard of before? Did that mean she had to pack up her life in New Orleans and give up her dream restaurant?

Tiana had no answers for any of these questions. The happy camaraderie they had shared just a few minutes ago was gone. Her eyes started to sting with tears. Why couldn't Mama just be happy for her? Why did she have to ruin such a happy day with her matter-of-fact reasoning?

The worst thing about all of this was that Eudora was right, and Tiana knew it. Of course she hadn't thought about any of that when she married Naveen. They had been frogs, and neither of them expected to ever be able to change back. But now they had, and all of the complications of the human world were crashing down on them fast. Would they even be able to stay together now? Were their lives just too different to sustain this fragile beginning of a relationship?

A tear escaped and flowed down Tiana's cheek as she started to sniffle. This was all wrong. Just when she had found a sense of happiness, it was all being taken away. Again. It just wasn't fair!

Eudora tenderly pulled her back into her arms and shushed a weeping Tiana. "I'm sorry, baby," she said softly. "I know love makes you do crazy things sometimes."

Tiana looked up, hopeful. "So you really believe that we're in love?"

Eudora sighed and brushed away a tear from Tiana's cheek. "Out of all the impossible things you told me tonight… well, that's the one thing that seems true." She smirked. "It's pretty obvious from the way you two look at each other."

Tiana felt the corners of her mouth tug upwards. "Does this mean you approve after all?"

"Babycakes," Eudora began. Instantly Tiana's ghost of a smile disappeared. "Being in love and being ready for marriage are two completely different things." She took Tiana's hands. "I'm so happy that you found somebody, really I am. I'm sorry if it doesn't seem like it. Y'all just surprised me, that's all. But it doesn't seem like you've thought things through, and I can't give my blessing until you can show me that you have."

Eudora glanced at the clock. "It's late. I think we could all do with a good night's sleep." She squeezed Tiana's hands. "That prince of yours can sleep on the couch. I don't care how married you two think you are, there will be none of that funny business in my house."

"Yes, Ma'am."

A/N: Despite Eudora's warnings, the next chapter might change the rating to M. I haven't decided yet. Also, the next chapter might take longer because I'm actually going to visit New Orleans!