Second to last chapter!

Mal's therapy was slowly going well. She struggled at first to even admit she was having trouble, though she's told Ben plenty of times over the course of months. But a complete stranger was different. Even if she was a women, Mal felt strange to tell her. Luckily, the woman was nice about the entire thing. She didn't talk straight away about why Mal was there (she was a specialist in rape survivors therapy), she just spoke to Mal about who Mal was.

Mal still took her medicine. But she was pretty sure she wouldn't have to take them as often as before, probably in a couple of months.

Mal was dead asleep in her room one morning until she heard someone run into her room and jump on her bed. "Mommy! Mommy!" Penelope screamed. "It's Christmas! It's Christmas."

"Whoa, okay Nelly," Mal laughed. She turned over and sat up to face her purple plaid nightgown dressed daughter. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, mommy!" Penelope hugged Mal. "Mommy, Belle make pancakes this morning. Blueberry!"

"Okay, okay." Mal said. "Let's get going."

Mal threw on a long sleeve purple sweater over her tank top with her black yoga pants, put on socks and ran down the hallway holding Penelope's hand. The duo giggled the entire way to the dining room.

Inside of the dining room already were Ben and his parents. Ben kept looking over his shoulder every couple of minutes to look for his purplette girls, discouraged to not even hear them yet. Belle noticed and joked.

"Maybe they decided to go back to Halloweentown."

"I hope not. I kept dreaming of this Christmas with them since Mal decided to move back to Auradon a year ago." Ben admitted. He heard two giggled down the hallway and smiled. "Here they come." Ben smiled.

Christmas morning was pretty great. Belle and Beast both lounged around in one room while Ben, Mal and Penelope lounged in another room watching a cartoon movie for the afternoon. While Penelope ran off to use the bathroom, Ben and Mal took the few minutes to start making out on the couch. Mal pulled out of the kiss and stared at him.

"What?" Ben breathed out.

"Nothing," She smiled. "Just wanted to look at you."

"And you think I'm the odd one." Ben smirked. Ben cupped her face gingerly as he placed his forehead on Mal's. "Are you okay?" he whispered. Mal nodded; she knew why he asked this. Holding his wrist with her hand she smiled.

"I'm okay."

Sometime had passed and trio were soon off to a holiday gathering at a friends home. Mal was able to hang out with her isle friends for the night while Ben hung out with the Auradon boys and all the kids that came hung out in another room. Though Ben would come up behind Mal and wrap his arms around her waist and pull her closer, kissing her ear. "You okay?"

Mal nodded against him. "I'm okay."

Mal kept checking on Penelope every once in a while in the kids room. She was happy the entire time. Kristina was there and Jessalynn was there too, since her parents were having some issues at home and asked Mal to take care of Jessalynn for a couple of hours. Mal's check ups were becoming less frequent with every hour passing, seeing as Penelope's happiness had come back.

Mal still couldn't believe that she had a daughter sometimes. What did she do to deserve a little girl like Penelope in her life? She still loathed how she became pregnant with Penelope and she still loathed who her biological father was, but those were two minor things that were part of her and Penelope's life together. The rest was what they created together; far better than the first part.

Ben sneaked out into the backyard for fresh air a bit later. It was chilly out but not freezing as the forecast had called earlier in the morning. Ben sat on a bench gazing up the star filled sky with a crescent moon shining brightly over Auradon. He wondered if anyone back on the isle had thought of the moon as anything other than something that lit up the sky at night.

"Ben?"

Ben turned his head and found Penelope standing next to the bench. "Oh, hey Penelope."

"What you doing?" She asked.

"Just star gazing."

"Alone?"

"I like being alone sometimes." Ben told her. "It's really nice."

Penelope looked between Ben and the sky. She saw nothing interesting about the sky but Ben seemed to be oddly interesting. Penelope climbed onto the bench and then onto Ben's lap. She rested against him and stared up too. Ben, without ever looking away from the sky, smiled and held one arm on Penelope as she sat on his lap.

The October first babies kept their position on the bench and gazed. The music inside the house changed from fast to slow paced. Ben recognized the first couple of notes of the song as one his mom sang to him as a little boy. In a swift moment Ben stood up, still holding Penelope in his arms but switching her around so she faced him. One arm holding her around the waist while his free hand held up her right hand, almost like an odd waltz position, and began moving slowly.

Penelope smiled and giggled a bit. This was odd, Ben's never done this before, but she liked it a lot. "Mommy's right."

"What about?"

"Your weird."

"She's weird."

"You have little crowns on your swim trunks."

"Guilty." Ben laughed.

Mal was alone upstairs in a bathroom. She had used the toilet, but now for the past couple of minutes she was in a trance. A trance of horror. She was brought back to that night...it was so vivid and terrible. Mal clutched onto the sink and breathed in and out heavy, trying to keep clam and counted backwards from ten just as her therapist suggested she do. It took all the willpower in Mal to not take her medicine in her bag or grab something sharp to release the pain. She's never gone that far, but lately she's been eager to do so.

"Mal?" Ben asked from the other side of the door. "You in there?"

"Uh...huh..." She said.

"Oh, you've been gone for a while."

Mal tried to speak clearly. "Ben?"

"Yes?"

"Come inside and close the door?" She asked. Tears were falling down, she was shaking in her skin and nearly loosing it.

Ben opened the door and the moment he saw Mals' state he shut the door, locked it, and hurried to her. He embraced her into a hug and comforted her whilst Mal sobbed into his shirt. "I'm here, I'm here." Ben muttered.

"Flashback, flashback," She muttered in a shaky voice.

"It's okay. I'm here, I'm here," Ben rubbed her back in small assuring circles. "I'm here now Mal. I'm here."

Mal nodded. She wasn't there in her mind anymore, but it scared her to flashback to it. She was safe now. But it still haunted Mal. Maybe forever she'd be haunted that by that horrible night.

Ben held a sleeping Penelope in one arm while supporting Mal as she walked along him. Ben carried them to Mal's room and rested Mal on the bed first sitting down. He used his free hand to grab a top and pants from her opened drawer and handed them to Mal.

As she dressed Ben brought Penelope into her room and sat her on the bed sitting up. He carefully slid the dress over her head, dropped the material and took the laid out nightgown from the end of the bed and placed it over her head. He slid the nightgown down and slid her arms through the holes. Ben took her shoes and socks off and rested her under the duvet. Ben rubbed her hair back gently before going back to check on Mal.

Mal was clad in her pajamas, under the duvets and dead asleep. Ben tugged the covers up some more and then kissed her head gently. "Sweet dreams. I love you, Mal." He whispered and shut the lights off.

Ben returned to Penelope's room to tuck her in a bit more. He rubbed her purple locks back and kissed her forehead. "Sweet dreams. I love you, Lollypop."