"Hades, Maleficent...It's a girl."
"What was that?" Maleficent asked, drowsily.
"You said it was a girl?" Hades added.
"That's right and oh, she is going to look just like her mommy." Evil Queen said, looking over at Maleficent then down at the baby, smirking wickedly.
Hades and Maleficent looked over the bed and saw EQ holding onto a naked and wailing newborn with tufts of purple hair. Hades gazed at her in wonder while Maleficent gave a look of...disappointment. Anger. As if she was internally screaming in rage as she continued staring icily at the baby being held by her best friend.
"I am going to clean her up and then hand her over, alright M?"
Maleficent didn't say anything, just stared at her newborn daughter as if she was hideous. EQ and Hades gave each other a concerned glance and then Hades shrugged then EQ had stood up and carried the baby off so that she could wipe off all the blood and afterbirth that was on the squirming baby girl. Hades turned to Maleficent and frowned at her.
"You could show at least some reaction. We do have a kid now. Shouldn't we be a little bit happy? I am." Hades said, smiling a little.
"Don't you get it, hot stuff?! I didn't want a girl! I wanted a boy! If it was a boy, there'd be a chance he'd be a much stronger threat to the Isle like us but we get saddled with a bratty girl?! That's a total letdown!" Maleficent snapped.
"That's not true! What about Ursula's baby Uma? There's no doubt she will inherit her Mom's powers of the sea when she grows and besides, our kid is the daughter of The Mistress Of All Evil and the former God of the Underworld. Pretty awesome gig. She's lucky and we're lucky. She'll make us proud." Hades assured.
"No. I can tell that little pest will be a huge failure. We'll just have to try again." Maleficent said, turning away.
Hades was about to argue back at Maleficent but then EQ came back now holding the baby in a towel and she went to Maleficent's side and held the baby out to her.
"Look, sweetiekins, that's your new Mommy." EQ said to the baby, turning to Maleficent.
EQ moved the baby to Maleficent's arms, Maleficent's eyes glowed green and she snarled at EQ and then shoved her away causing the baby to fuss. It was taking all of Hades' willpower not to shout at Maleficent for doing that since he didn't want to upset the kid further.
"Get that disgusting riffraff away from me! That's not my baby, that's nothing but a shrieking, grotesque spawn! I don't want a thing like that in my castle!" Maleficent screeched, fuming over at the baby.
"Oh. Okay. Very well, M." EQ said, frowning, shrugging.
The baby continued crying while Maleficent scoffed and put her pillow over her head. EQ tried rocking the baby but she wouldn't stop wailing out. Whether it was because the baby was hungry or was scared of all the noise, Hades knew one thing had to be done. The baby needed to be calmed down and there was no way Maleficent was gonna do it. He didn't want her to attempt it either.
"Give the kid to me, EQ. Let me have her." Hades said, quietly, holding out his arms.
EQ looked at Hades, blinking in surprise but then she slowly smiled and gave the baby to Hades. Hades tensed for a moment as the baby cried and cried. This was it. His chance to prove to his daughter that not all parents were that bad. But what could he do? Then hearing his daughter wail louder and seeing the tears running down her face, feeling her small body shaking from the tiny sobs underneath her blanket, her hands waving in the air. By some connection, he could see that this kid just wanted someone to make her feel safe. He remembered what that was like when he and Zeus were kids and his parents only focused on calming Zeus during said moments. How angry he felt when he needed his parents, whether it'd be talks of Olympian wars or somebody was pushing him around but all their love went to Zeus. He wasn't gonna be like his parents. Hades looked down at his crying daughter and then he slowly exhaled and cradled her against his chest and gently stroked her tufts of hair on the top of her head.
"Shh, shh. Shh, shh. It's-it's okay, kid. It's okay, baby. Don't cry, princess. I'm...here. Daddy's here." Hades said softly.
The baby stopped crying much to EQ and Maleficent's surprise. The baby opened up her eyes for the first time and looked up at her dad curiously. Hades found himself tensing a second time. What was the baby gonna do when she saw him? He was kinda a tough-looking guy. A second later, the baby did something the three didn't expect, she began cooing and gurgling...happily. She wasn't scared of him. Hades sighed and then he smirked at the baby.
"Looks like you take no mess already, kid." Hades said, chuckling.
The baby cooed and then subconsciously, Hades stared at her, smiling fully and letting her grip his finger. And hold the phone..was he...crying? Huh. Guess being a parent did that to you. Hades wiped away his tears and then regained his composure but never took his eyes off the baby and that proud smile never left his face. Their baby was awesome...to him.
"We're going to need to name you, aren't we, princess?" Hades murmured to the baby.
"We're not naming it, it's not staying!"
Hades looked at Maleficent in shock and anger. What did she say? He had to make sure he heard right. Hades sat on the bed, the baby cooing while her tiny hands reached for her father's shirt along with the edge of his jacket. Hades gave his finger back to the baby and she held onto it and then Hades looked at Maleficent.
"What do you mean the kid's not staying, Mali?" Hades asked, trying to keep his voice calm.
"I am going to have my cronies take it and kill it and throw it away with the rest of this garbage we got on the Isle. Then we'll try for another kid and I'll ensure it's a boy. when it's born" Maleficent replied.
"I don't want another kid, I want our daughter! And you are not gonna get your hands on her and kill her or you'll deal with me, dollface." Hades growled, blue eyes shooting daggers at his wife.
"Why should we be saddled with this abomination? This isn't a baby, it's a mistake and mistakes can be dealt with." Maleficent sneered.
"You wanna bet? 'Cause you're not killing this kid while I'm around. So we can do this two ways, babe. You deal with what we have or me and my backup teach you a lesson if you follow through with your threat. What's it gonna be, Mali? Your choice." Hades whispered, seething.
Maleficent looked at Hades' menacing glare and the baby he was holding onto protectively then back at Hades. Maleficent knew Hades didn't mean what he said, his threats were pointless, but she decided to play along...for now. This kid was gonna drive Hades insane sooner or later and he'd find himself wanting to kill her too. Give it a day or two and that baby would be dead like she intended.
"Okay. We'll keep it. Give it to me." Maleficent said, holding out her arms.
By sudden instinct, Hades moved the baby away from Maleficent's waiting arms and closer to him. There was not a chance in the Underworld he was going to let this psychotic dragon hold their baby after her reaction when she first met her. EQ walked to Hades and touched his shoulder. She carefully took the baby out of his arms and the baby began whimpering.
"It's alright, princess. You're okay. EQ's got you. Daddy's here too." Hades said to the baby, gently holding onto her hand.
Maleficent rolled her eyes and then held out her arms further to the wailing infant while Hades looked between his wife and kid, then he grabbed Maleficent's wrist tight, his eyes yet again piercing into hers.
"If you try and pull something..."
"Relax, fireball. I'm not gonna kill the kid. As you can see, I'm unarmed. Chill." Maleficent said, giving Hades a pointed glance.
Hades gave Maleficent a look of suspicion but then allowed EQ to give the baby to his wife. The baby had settled down and Maleficent smiled sweetly at the baby but then before The Evil Queen and Hades knew it, Maleficent had hit her daughter causing the baby to scream loudly and cry. Hades reacted and took the baby immediately out of Maleficent's arms and back into his own, gently bouncing her and cooing to her.
"Hey, hey, it's alright, it's alright, baby girl. Shh. Shh. Daddy has you. Daddy's got you, okay?"
The baby stopped crying and looked at her dad and quieted down while Hades gave a small chuckle and then he turned to Maleficent, smile turning into an scowl.
"What in Zeus' name was that all about, Mali?! You hit our kid!" Hades said, enraged, fuming.
"Hey, I had to get it out of my system, handsome. Won't do it again. Can't you relax?"
"If you do this kind of crap a second time, you're gonna be playing with fire and I'll be there administering the heat, you got that?" Hades asked Maleficent, blue eyes like steel.
"Pfft. Yeah, yeah. Give it...I mean, her back already." Maleficent demanded, crossing her arms.
Hades reluctantly gave the now quiet baby back to Maleficent and Hades relaxed when he saw Maleficent actually begin to breastfeed the baby. She didn't seem to show any signs of wanting to strike the baby but Maleficent was a ticking time bomb and Hades was gonna protect his daughter if he saw one giveaway Maleficent was getting angry. She wasn't going to lay a hand on this kid. As soon as the baby was fed, Maleficent's eyes began to droop and she began snoring loudly. Hades shook his head. Typical Maleficent. Hades took the baby out of Maleficent's arms and looked down at her small face, her green eyes staring up at him in awe.
"You do need a name." Hades whispered to the baby.
"What are you two going to name her, Hades?" EQ asked, curiously.
Hades opened his mouth but then saw the baby had gotten a hold of his ember and began to teeth on it while cooing. Hades and EQ laughed and then Hades gently took the ember out of the baby's hands.
"No, princess. Daddy needs that. You're quite the rascal, aren't you? That's Daddy's girl." Hades cooed to the baby.
Hades stared at the baby. What was she gonna be named? He wanted something simple. He looked at Maleficent and then at the baby. He didn't like this idea but it was at least something since the baby did have Maleficent's looks.
"I think we're gonna name her...Mal." Hades said over to EQ, staring back down at the baby, her eyes starting to close.
"Alrighty. I'll put it on the notice and then inform the rest of the Isle. Better be going back to Evie. Congrats." EQ said, patting Hades on the shoulder.
Hades only grunted in response, too busy paying attention to Mal. EQ gave a smile and then had left the castle. Hades looked at Maleficent sleeping then at baby Mal now also asleep.
"Mal. I want you to know something. I may not be the best dad like all those heroes back on the Isle are but I promise that I'm gonna try my best to at least be a dad you can put up with. You may not be someone to your Mom but she'll just have to learn to love you 'cause you've already grown on me and I can't imagine giving you up. I can't exactly say those words to you yet but...maybe someday I will." Hades said to his daughter.
Hades watched his daughter sleep in his arms against his chest. He really wanted his promise to Mal to stick. He wanted to give her her best chance with a parent who'd look out for her and Maleficent wasn't a likely candidate but he was going to be. He had to be. Nobody was going to hurt his kid. His little princess of the Underworld. His baby girl. His Mali.