Family Maintenance

Author's Note

This chapter is filled with fluffy angst. I'll make up for it in the next chapter, I swear! I do hope you enjoy the eleventh chapter of FM!

Leave those reviews!

Mal glanced at Ben, who was staring back at her with sad eyes. She sighed as she drew her finger along the carpet.

"You know, I didn't really like Este at first," Mal bit her lower lip. She still was a bit miffed that she didn't want to take in the little girl that had become her most beloved treasure. "Evie watched her the first few weeks and Jay brought back food that they mashed so she could eat it and Carlos built little things for her to play with out of scraps. I mean, I was there, I came by everyday, but I didn't make an effort."

"I could tell," Ben chuckled as he leaned back to sit against the nightstand. "Your voice got all guilty."

Mal rolled her eyes. "My voice did not get guilty!"

"Uh-huh," Ben teased. Then his expression turned serious. "What changed?"

Mal snorted softly. "Evie. She chewed me out for not even trying when it was obvious Este had taken to me. She made me stay the night with Este," Mal hummed quietly as she gazed at her sleeping toddler, remembering the first time she really held her. "And after that, I guess I just gained the title of mama."

"She sounds like she at least had a decent life on the Isle?" Ben asked gently, not wanting to offend her. Mal shrugged.

"It was fine. As good as it can get on the Isle, I mean. Jay and Carlos witnessed her first steps. I'm still not over how they got to see it first," Mal pouted and Ben laughed softly. "She learned to babble and she was so talkative… She's still very chatty now. Her first word was purple."

"I wonder why."

"Ben!"

They snickered and Mal tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "When she was around two, she realized her hair color was different from mine and insisted that we make it purple. Evie ran to Lady Tremaine's hair shop to get purple dye and we spent almost four hours trying to dye it for her since she kept moving."

"That sounds like Este." Ben commented. He noted that Mal's tone was much lighter now, the stiffness of her back fading as she talked about memories with her daughter. It was clear as day that Este was the most important person to her and she was absolutely Mal's kid, in every way.

"She was two and a half when my mother decided to pounce." Mal suddenly sniffed and Ben reached out to rub her knee, almost without thinking. If she was surprised, she didn't show it, and she made no move to push him away, so he kept his hand there.

"I overheard from one of the goblins that Amie had passed away from starvation. And I learned that the henchman that had… Er, gotten her pregnant, was drunk and told my mom that Este was still alive, when she thought she had died as a baby. And she was with me," Mal's voice got softer. "My mother was furious. I left Este with the other three and my mom… She, uh, hurt me. I told her that," Mal paused to take a deep breath and Ben squeezed her knee again. "I told her that she could do anything she wanted to me, as long as she left Este alone. I think she realized that she could use Este to control me. So she agreed."

"Mal, that's terrible." Ben whispered and Mal shook her head.

"I did it to protect her. Word spread like fire that I had a daughter and Maleficent was out for her, and people were desperate to try and take her to hand off to my mother to get in good with her," Mal kept her eyes trained on the floor, her voice heavier. "But she's always been so perspective. She knew something was up. She couldn't ask questions, but when she turned three, there was a scare, a few months before we came to Auradon.

Ben sat up straighter. Was this the reason Este was having nightmares?

"Thank the Gods that Jay was there with her. One of Maleficent's men was trying to break in. He didn't realize that Jay was present and Jay can spar and fight like nobody's business. He drove the guy away and told me as soon as I got back. I didn't want to tell Este, but she had seen. She was terrified and demanded an explanation. And she was only three, Ben. She was.. She was three," A tear leaked from Mal's eyes and Ben scooted over to sit next to her. Her eyes fluttered closed as her mind sped back to that day.

"Why, Mama?" Este begged, pulling on her mother's shirt. "Why did Uncle Jayjay use his sword?"

"Este, your mama is-" Evie tried to quiet her, but Este started to wail. Carlos and Jay winced at her shrill screams.

"Este.." Jay said softly and Este's shout got louder.

"No! I wanna know!" she demanded. She clambered onto Mal's lap, the purple-haired girl sitting on the couch with tearful eyes, and curled into her chest. "Why you cryin'? Mama, wha's happened?"

Mal glanced at the other three. Carlos shrugged while Evie raised her chin towards Este and Mal sighed, her arms looping around to hug Este close.

"Baby girl, listen to me, okay? Your grandmother, my mama, she wants to… She wants to take you away from me."

Este's eyes widened and she gripped Mal's shirt tighter. "Why?"

Mal hesitated. She already told Este about Maleficent. She didn't even use Maleficent's name! She didn't want to, wasn't going to explain further.

"I don't know, baby," she finally murmured into Este's hair. "But don't worry. Mama's going to protect you, no matter what. Grandma is not going to touch a single hair on your head."

"That goes for me, too, pumpkins," Jay said as he approached. The nickname pumpkins was given to her after he had brought her a pumpkin to carve for Halloween and Este smiled through her tears. "She won't be able to even come near you, not on my watch."

Carlos and Evie nodded and Este leaned her head against Mal's.

"I wove you, mama." she whispered and Mal hugged her tighter.

"That's… I don't know what to say, Mal," Ben said softly. "You shouldn't have had to go through that."

Mal straightened, wiping away the last of her tears. "It's in the past. We're in Auradon, my mother is on the Isle, far away from Este. And yeah, her nightmares happen, but she's safe."

Ben nodded. "Maybe she can try therapy, if she wants to. It's generally for older kids, but if you need it, it's for everyone."

Mal shrugged. "Maybe."

"You're not going back." Ben told her, his voice taking on a protective tone because all of a sudden, all he wanted to protect the two of them from the world, the judging eyes and horrible people, like Maleficent. Mal beamed.

"I wasn't planning to, not unless they wanted to send us back," Mal's mouth tilted into a smile. "Thank you for listening… And, um.. Caring," Her voice lowered as she continued. "People don't generally want to hear it, all they see is an irresponsible teen who ended up with a child."

Ben chuckled. "I asked you to tell me. And I do care. About Este and yo- Er, her well-being." He cursed himself inwardly at the slip, but Mal didn't seem to notice as she stood up and stretched. He followed her lead, his eyes landing on the clock.

"Oh, Gods, it's really late. Sorry for keeping you up." Ben muttered and Mal laughed quietly.

"Late-night talks are always a fun one. And we didn't wake Este up, so bonus points."

"I'll… I'll leave you to it then. You're still up for going to the park tomorrow with her?"

Mal nodded. "Of course. She'll be so excited. Thank you, Ben."

Ben wished her good night with a charming smile and as she watched his figure retreat into the dark, she closed the door and leaned against it, closing her eyes and sighing.

She felt so much lighter after revealing it all to Ben.

And she should be worried. Concerned. He was the prince, and he could do anything he wanted with the information.

But she wasn't and weirdly enough, she was just fine with it.