DISCLAIMER: Most definitely not mine.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviews, favorites, and follows! They all make me so happy; you have no idea.

Bay: I think that could totally work! Thanks for the suggestion, and I hope you have/had fun at your school dance!

MAD (If you're even still reading this): I'm sorry you feel that way. All my stories are a "Don't like, don't read" deal, so…

Big fan of you: In the future, yes. There is a teeny tiny bit of it in Chapter 19 (Eyes) when Ben most definitely does not lose Aria, but that's really it so far. Maleficent might not even know that Mal was pregnant with Clara because Mal might not have told her.


Christmas came and went, and then, before Mal knew it, it was 2027. Then January passed by in a blur of meetings and banquets and balls and milestones. Aria is now only a few weeks away from wearing underwear all day long and only Pull-Ups at night, and Clara has said her first word- Ara, quickly followed by 'Da-da.' Considering Aria's first word had been 'Ma-ma,' he's incredibly proud.

All of the sudden, it's February, and Tegan is a big sister. The first boy of their little group had to, of course, be Evie and Doug's son, a tiny little thing named Henry. She's only seen Tegan hold him a few times, but Mal knows that Tegan is going to take to being a wonderful big sister, if her interactions with Aria and Clara are any indication. Evie is one of the most caring people Mal knows, and Tegan certainly inherited that.

She's a little worried about Tegan, though. Being that their daughter's almost four, Evie and Doug needed some time to get used to having a baby again, so Ben and Mal volunteered to watch her for a little while. Tegan's been coming over to the castle most days after pre-school. She's usually picked up before dinner, but there's been a few times she's staying until almost Aria's bedtime, and those are the times that worry Mal and Ben.

One day in early February, Tegan comes over after pre-school and she throws up, with it narrowly avoiding Clara. Ben takes her down to the infirmary while Mal keeps Aria and Clara occupied, a surprisingly easy feat that night.

"Stomach flu," Ben announces once he returns, and Mal sighs, standing up off the couch to take Tegan out of Ben's arms.

"Wash your hands- thoroughly- and then sit with the girls. I'm gonna call Evie."

She goes to another room to call Evie, since the last thing she needs right now is either one of her kids getting sick. She feels bad for Evie, of course, but the one coherent thought in her head is Sucks for you!

Neither Evie nor Doug picks up when she calls their cells, so she tries the home phone. Twice. Doug picked up on one of the last rings.

"Yes, Mal?" He sounds as if he's at his wit's end, and she can hear Henry crying loudly in the background. Evie had said that he'd been diagnosed with colic a few days earlier, one of the main culprits for all-but kicking Tegan out of the house.

"I called-"

"I can't hear you. Eve, you've got the better ears; I'll take him and you can talk to Mal," she hears him shout.

"No, Doug, it's fine-"

"Here she is."

There's a rustling noise and the crying fades into the very light background. The last thing Mal hears before Evie makes any noise of her own is a door slamming shut, quickly followed by a sigh.

"Hi, Mal. I'm sorry about… all that. He's just really fussy."

"I'm a mom, too, E; you don't have to apologize to me."

"I know. Okay, so, what's up?"

"Tegan's got the stomach flu; I think you said it was going around her preschool?"

"Yeah, and I naïvely hoped she'd be spared. Is she doing okay?"

"Well enough. She's thrown up at least once; I don't know if she did again when Ben took her down to the infirmary. What time do you want to get her?"

"You're not going to watch her for me?"

"E, she's sick!"

"So?! Henry has colic and wakes her up in the middle of the night!"

"I have two young children, too, Evie, and I don't want Tegan around them if she has the stomach flu!"

"Fine! I'll be there in half an hour."

"Evie, don't sound so victimized about this! She's your kid, not mine!"

"I'm sorry that not all of us are queens with nannies to look after their children!"

"Ben and I don't have a nanny, and you know that! We didn't dump Aria on you 24/7 after Clara was born!"

"You would if Doug or I suggested it. I thought you looking after Tegan was returning the favor!"

"It was, at first, but she keeps staying here longer and longer each day. She misses you, E, and you guys just keep dumping her on us!"

"I told you I'll be there in half an hour, alright? Bye."

Mal hangs up the phone in shock.


Tegan's better in time for Valentine's Day, when the Charmings always throw a big party that they're always invited to.

Aria runs off with Tegan almost immediately, and Mal knows that Clara wants to desperately, but, as Aria gently points out, "Clara, you're still a baby. You can't play with us yet." Evie and Henry are nowhere to be seen, but Doug tells her that they're around somewhere.

Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Jay and Carlos conversing quietly in the corner, and holds in a laugh. For the past five years, she'd always assumed they were just being antisocial and talking about tourney or the like. Now, she's sure that they'd been having different conversations that whole time. She and Carlos are still on rocky terms since the whole 'Maleficent' thing, and Ben and Carlos can literally not look at each other without Ben looking like he's going to murder his friend.

"M?" she hears someone call, but only one person would ever call her that. She turns around and, surprise surprise, there's Evie, holding an only slightly fussy Henry. "I wanted to-"

"It's already forgiven, E. You were- well, you still are- a ball of stress."

"Thank you for understanding."

"What are fellow moms here for?"


Mal wakes up in the middle of the night about a week later to screams of pain.

It's only when she tries to get her husband's attention that she realizes that it's him.

"Ben? Ben?! BEN?!"

She wakes up Belle and Adam, who rush him to the hospital, which scares her almost as much as his screams. The palace doctor hadn't been on call, so the hospital had seemed safer. Adam stays behind with Aria and Clara and Mal sits with Belle in the waiting room, waiting for something- anything- to tell her that Ben is going to be okay.


A/N: I know, I'm evil. Next update will be no later than November 6!