Mal and Evie spent the rest of the evening talking, laughing and sharing kisses. The nerves and embarrassment of their feelings melting away each time their lips met. Eventually they fell asleep, limbs entangled with each other's.

Mal woke up first in the morning and glanced over at the other woman. They had drifted apart as they slept and Evie's back was to her. Mal reached over and put her arm around the sleeping body, pulling her closer. Evie shifted next her before turning over and facing Mal.

"Good morning," Evie grinned, unable to believe it was really happening.

"Hi," Mal smiled back at her.

"Hi," Evie laughed. She didn't really know what to say. She had wanted this for so long and now she was so awkward.

"Did you sleep okay?" Mal asked her, reaching for the girl's hand, twisting their finger around each other's.

"I did. It's been a while since I've actually slept. It was nice to feel...safe." Evie told her, knowing how cheesy she sounded but it was true.

"I'm glad," Mal smiled at her.

The women laid in silence for a while, just enjoying the peacefulness between them.

"I'm really sorry for yesterday, Mal. I never meant to break down like that. I'm so embarrassed." Evie told her, looking down. "You never should've had to take care of me like that. I'm not one of your patients."

"Evie, I wasn't going to just let you fall apart or end up dead. I don't want you to think you can't cry or anything in front of me. I don't mind taking care of you." Mal told her, truly meaning her words. She was a nurse, so she was used to making sure her patients were okay but this was different. She cared so much about Evie, that something as simple as making sure she took a bath was okay with her.

"I really don't mean to be broken." Evie said quietly.

"You're not." Mal told her. "Do you wanna tell me what happened yesterday though? I mean, you were high. Very high. You should've been happy and hyper, not that depressed."

"I went to therapy. She made me talk about what happened." Evie started. "I guess it just really messed with my head."

"Okay, honey, I get how that could've led to the drugs. I don't get how you ended up so upset when you got home."

"Right. I um...I went and got the coke from Do-my dealer," Evie caught herself before saying Doug's name. "Once I was high, I walked around for a while, just enjoying the feeling. Before I knew it, I was at the castle."

"Your old castle?" Mal asked.

Evie nodded, "Yeah. I just wanted to see it again. I sold it and spent all the money on drugs. Being there again, seeing where I was raped. I don't know. It's like my brain snapped. All the memories came flooding back even more. I don't even know how I ended up back here," Evie confessed.

"I'm sorry," Mal said, brushing her hair out of her face.

"It all turned out okay, I guess," Evie laughed. She leaned in a kissed the other woman.

Mal laughed once they pulled apart, "I guess it did."

"I do have one question though. Do you know who helped me that night? I mean I should've died. I woke up, in bed, my wrists bandaged. Did you do that?" Evie asked.

Mal shook her head, "No, I didn't realize anything was wrong until the next day."

"I wonder who it was," Evie said.

"Carlos maybe? I mean he was taking anatomy that year. I think. Maybe he bandaged you up? Although I don't know why he wouldn't have told me what happened," Mal finished.

"Maybe." Evie smiled, "way too many people had keys to that place."

"Yeah," Mal laughed, leaning in to kiss Evie again.

"So what does this mean...for us? I mean what are we?" Evie asked. She knew she was rambling and ruining the moment but she wanted to know.

"I don't know," Mal answered honestly. "I'm sorry, Evie. I just don't know."

It hurt Evie a little to hear that but she understood.

"Evie, I like you. Please don't think I don't. I have since we were kids. Everything is just complicated. Between the drugs and Macie, I'm scared to start something new with you." Mal admitted. Being vulnerable wasn't the easiest thing for her.

"Why are you so scared? It's just me." Evie asked her, running her fingers along Mal's arm.

"I mean what happens since we are both drug addicts? Or if we get married? Or if we break up and Macie has to deal with that. It all scares me." Mal told her.

"Slow down, dragon girl." Evie laughed. "I don't remember anyone proposing or promising marriage. There's been no mention of love, only a handful of kisses."

Mal turned red, her eyes starting to glow in embarrassment. "Right...I...I..."

"Mal, breathe," Evie laughed, leaning in kiss Mal once again, trying to calm her. "Look, I have a lot of stuff that's wrong with me. I'm completely broken."

"You're not broken, Evie," Mal told her for what seemed like the thousandth time.

"That's not my point, Mal. My point is that just because we kissed, doesn't mean I'm ready for marriage and love either," Evie's told her. "I need slow. I need to feel safe. I haven't really ever been with anyone. Not really. I could use some slow."

"Really? You're okay with that?" Mal asked, surprised.

"Mal, I want to be with you. I always have. If that means slow, I'm okay with that." Evie smiled.

"Thanks, E," Mal smiled, feeling some relief at the words.

"Kiss me again?" Evie asked, grinning.

"Happily," Mal laughed before pulling Evie into another kiss.

Mal made her way through the hospital at the end of her shift. Her whole body was exhausted. It hadn't been a particularly busy day, but she had run from floor to floor more times than she could remember.

"You heading out?" Sofia asked her as she made it back to the ER desk.

"Finally," Mal told her, "I was supposed to leave 2 hours ago."

"Oh the joys of being a nurse," Sofia laughed.

"Gotta love it." Mal grabbed her bag off the shelf.

"Any plans for tonight?" Sofia asked her while she typed up patient information.

"A nice, long bath," Mal told her.

"Where's Macie?" Sofia asked.

"She's with Chloe. I have to pick her up on the way home. With any luck, she will be asleep not long after I put her to bed."

"What about that girl that's staying with you? Ava? Eva?" Sofia asked, scrunching up her forehead.

Mal laughed, "Evie. What about her?"

"Why isn't she watching Macie? That way she doesn't have to go back and forth so much." Sofia stood up, grabbing on the tablets and leaning against the counter.

"That's a...work in progress." Mal said slowly. "I'm just not that comfortable with a drug addict watching my kid. Not at least until she has more time clean."

Sofia nodded, "That's understandable. Just remember that some drug addicts get clean and manage to become nurses." She winked at Mal. "Give her a chance, okay? It'll be good for Macie to spend time with someone other than Chloe."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Mal rolled her eyes, waving goodbye and walking off.

—-

Mal walked through the door about an hour later and stopped in her tracks. She breathed in the smell of dinner. She put Macie down and shut the door behind her.

"You made dinner?" Mal asked, walking into the apartment completely, making her way to the kitchen. She was met with Evie's giant grin.

"I did!" Evie exclaimed.

"Um...can you cook?" Mal asked warily, leaning out to check on Macie. The toddler had found her favorite doll and was currently brushing its hair. Mal looked back at Evie whose lip had turned into a pout. Mal leaned in a kissed it away. "I'm just kidding."

"I can cook!" Evie protested as Mal laughed at her.

"I'm sure you can, E." Mal said looking over at the stovetop. "So what did you make?"

"Maple glazed pork chops with corn, mac and cheese, and rolls." Evie danced a little in place, feeling very proud of herself.

"I'm impressed," Mal told her. "When will it be ready?"

Evie looked over at the timer on her phone, "5 minutes."

"I'm going to go get Macie changed then. She definitely had a dirty diaper,"

Mal laughed, "the joys of motherhood."

"Yeah I'm going to stay here with the food." Evie turned away, her blue hair swishing.

Mal walked over to her tiny daughter and held out her hand, "Mace, come on, let's go get you changed."

Macie shook her head and went back to her doll.

"Sorry, wasn't really giving you a choice." Mal picked up a squirming Macie and carried her through to her bedroom.

Mal changed Macie and then changed out of her scrubs into some yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt. She looked in the mirror and played with her hair for a bit. She really couldn't decide if she wanted to go back to her original purple.

"Ready!" Evie yelled from the other room.

"Blue!" Macie yelled as she took off running out of the bedroom.

"Incoming!" Mal yelled to warn Evie.

"Got her," Evie yelled back as she grabbed the tiny toddler before she hit the stove.

"Thanks," Mal said as she made her way into the kitchen and grabbed her mini, quickly getting her settled into her high chair.

"How long does she have to eat in that thing?" Evie asked, playing the food for the 3 girls.

"Until she can stay seated at the table without running around like a maniac,"

Mal chucked, taking Macie's plate and cutting up the food into small pieces.

"Sorry, kid," Evie winked at Macie before taking the other 2 plates into the dining room, setting them in front of Mal and Evie's seats.

"So what did you do today?" Mal asked, sitting down.

"I sketched a little, fed your mom, mostly just relaxed." Evie told her, taking a bite of food. "Oh! I almost forgot!"

Evie stood up and grabbed her phone off the counter. "I talked to Dizzy today! Guess what?" Evie said, so excited to share what she had found out.

"What?" Mal asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Dizzy's pregnant!" Evie exclaimed, shoving her phone in Mal's face. "She sent me the sonogram!"

Mal took the phone and looked at the picture. She had no idea what she was looking at but faked excitement. She couldn't even read her own sonograms when she was pregnant, let alone someone else's."That's so exciting! But ummm isn't she a little young? She's what? 18?"

"And you were 19," Evie answered.

"Yeah I wouldn't exactly recommend getting pregnant the way I did. A drug infused hook up you can't remember. Not exactly the best start to motherhood," Mal rolled her eyes.

"Who cares! I can't wait to buy the baby so much stuff! I mean Dizzy is like my little sister so this is my niece or nephew!" Evie was so excited for her old friend.

"Slow down, Evie." Mal laughed. "Did you talk to Dizzy about what's been going on with you?"

Evie's smile turned to a frown, "No, but I'm meeting her tomorrow to catch up."

"Just make sure you give her the chance to be upset with you or potentially not want you around her kid for a while," Mal warned. She knew first hand both sides of the coin.

"I know," Evie told her, sitting back down. "I'm just so excited for her."

Mal smiled at Evie's giant grin. It was nice to see her happy and bubbly again.

Apparently Macie was tired of being ignored at that point and flipped her food upside down, her plate clattering loudly.

"Macie Evelyn!" Mal yelled, immediately getting up taking the toddler out of her chair. "Go," Mal commanded, green eyes glowing. Macie looked at her mom for a moment before throwing herself down on the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs. "Macie! Go to your room, now!"

"Woah! Mal, shes just a baby. You can't yell at her like that!" Evie stood in between Macie and Mal.

"She's my kid and she needs to listen to me." Mal snapped back.

"Back off, Mal." Evie commanded, reaching down and picking up Macie, carrying her through to her bedroom. Evie made sure the toddler was settled before closing the door and heading back to the living room. "What the hell is your problem?"

"Don't, Evie." Mal warned but Evie ignored it.

"This isn't the Isle, Mal. There are rules to parenting here. You can't scream at a toddler for throwing her food on the ground." Evie stood with her hands on her hips, challenging the blonde.

"She's my kid." Mal told her.

"I don't care. Do you want Auradon Child Services here? They will take her in a heartbeat. You can't scream at her like that." Evie told her, not backing down.

"Whatever," Mal told her, turning around to clean up the mess.

"Look at me, Mal," Evie told her. Mal slowly turned back around, green eyes hitting chocolate ones. "Your eyes are glowing. You have to learn to control the dragon. You can't lose your temper like this anymore. I don't know if that means anger management or what but you need to figure it out. It's not fair to raise that little girl the way we were raised."

Mal took a few breaths, upset with herself for over reacting. After a few moments, she felt her eyes calm down and she looked at Evie again. "Better?"

Evie nodded. "I'm going to go sit with your daughter while you figure out your next plan. And that plan had better be a way to parent better." Evie flipped around, her blue hair flying behind her as she stormed off. She knew she had no right to butt into Mal's parenting but she didn't care. No one deserved to be raised the way they had been. It was no wonder they were so fucked up.

Mal stood for a moment, her brain on overload. She knew she had anger issues. It was the dragon in her. She had always struggled to control it. Evie was right though, she definitely didn't want to raise her daughter the way she had been raised. Her mother was insane. She didn't want Macie to ever think of her like that.

Mal finished cleaning up the mess. She looked over at her and Evie's food, sighing. Guess they would finish eating later.