He would have given up his entire kingdom to have been spontaneously murdered right then and there.

Was there anyone angry enough in Auradon to kill him right now? Maybe Maleficent, but that seemed a bit dramatic. Still, Ben would have given anything for someone to have driven a bullet through his skull right then.

He'd ruined his life. He'd ruined Belle's life. He'd ruined Mal's life. He'd ruined Audrey's life. He'd even ruined his son's life, whatever his name was, and he hadn't even met the kid yet.

Ben dropped his head into his hands and rubbed his tired eyes. He had no idea what he was supposed to do now. He'd formed a tentative list while he'd been away, sitting in the tiny hidden area by the river where he'd woken up without Mal beside him. First, he needed to talk to Audrey. That had been done. Then, he still needed to work things out with Mal, and lastly beg for her help still. After all, Maleficent was still out there.

The table slumped dramatically in front of him and then returned to a stable posture as someone sat down. Ben glanced through his fingers, glimpsed purple, and then looked up, leaning away even though he really wanted to lean forward. "You're back," he murmured.

"I made sure Audrey got inside okay," Mal offered by way of explanation. "She looked pretty… beat up."

Ben nodded. "Yeah. She didn't deserve that."

"You know, she's not as bad as I made her out to be in my head," Mal sighed. "Especially when it comes to Belle… I relate to her."

"You," Ben repeated, "Relate to the daughter of Aurora. Okay."

Mal snorted. "Crazy," she agreed. Ben watched her pick at her nails.

"How soon did you find out?" He asked.

"Find out about what?" Mal raised an eyebrow at him. "Who Audrey was? It was pretty obvious from-"

"The baby," Ben interrupted. "Our son."

Mal's expression fell. She stopped picking at her cuticles and instead traced the wood grains in the table with the tip of her nail. "Not long after you left," she recalled. "I mean… we were a little busy building everything, but I don't get sick ever so when the nausea started hitting, it didn't take long for me to link it."

"A month?" Ben asked. "Maybe two?"

"Maybe right in the middle," Mal agreed.

"You should have come to the palace," Ben chided her. "No - don't give me that look. You should have. I would have taken care of you, and-"

"Listen, Ben, I appreciate the gesture, but I think you're missing the big picture here." Mal set her finger on a random spot in the table. "You left. You chose to go back to Audrey and I supported you because that was where you belonged and this is where I belonged. Protecting my people. And so finding out I was pregnant… yeah, that sucked, but it didn't change those decisions. Who am I to show up on the palace doorstep with a new baby and drop that responsibility on you?"

"I think you're missing the point," Ben gritted his teeth. "He's my son too. My responsibility regardless of what I decided. I'm the reason he happened to you and you should have held me accountable for that mistake from the beginning. I should have had the opportunity to at least help you out with him."

"He's not a mistake to me," Mal glared at him.

Ben reeled. "I… didn't mean it like that," he corrected himself.

"No, you only meant it as in 'I regret this'," Mal snapped. "You don't even want him, Ben. Why are you trying to argue that-"

"I do want him!" Ben protested. "With every fiber of my being, I do. I mean… you remember me with all the kids here. I love them. And I only have - had - one. To know I have a son is kind of a miracle despite-"

"You don't even know his name," Mal cut him off.

Ben blinked up at her. He sighed. "Not to make a tense situation humorous, but I hope you named him something better than Bertha or Florian."

The corner of Mal's mouth twitched up. "I don't know if I want you to know," she murmured. "Isn't there some sort of Auradon roll you need to put him on?"

"Yes," Ben thought, but didn't say anything aloud. Mal exhaled. "Xavier James," she said. "We named him Xavier James."

"Prince Xavier James Adams," Ben thought, leaning back even more. "Wow," he whispered. "That's a good name."

"Evie picked it," Mal nodded, brushing a bit of her hair behind her ear. "I didn't quite trust myself. She wanted Xavier John, actually."

Ben nodded and brushed a bit of nothing off the tabletop. "When can I meet him?" he whispered.

Mal looked a little startled. "You want to?" she asked. Ben nodded. She crossed her arms. "Well… you can't take him with you," she said. "I want you to know that right off the bat. I want him here with me."

That was going to be a problem. Ben chewed on his lip. "Technically, he's next in line for the throne now."

"I know."

Ben looked up at her. Her eyes were stormy now as she crossed her arms even tighter. "That's why you didn't come to tell me," he whispered.

"Well, look what it did," Mal scoffed. "You've yanked Audrey and Belle into this full-force."

"If you had come to me right off the bat, we could have changed the law before he was born," Ben snapped a little before forcing himself to calm down. "And as it was, the moment we'd tried to put the crown on Belle's head, it would have rejected her. Then we would have figured out, one way or another, that there was another heir out here."

"I didn't know that," Mal murmured, looking crestfallen and guilty as she put her chin atop her hands. "I don't suppose… there's no way for her to now-"

"Belle can't get the throne until he releases it and he has to be fourteen to do so," Ben explained. "So she won't be able to be crowned queen at sixteen no matter what. And if he - Xavier - decides to keep it, then I'll need to train him. That training will have to be done at the palace."

"My place is out here, Ben," Mal reminded him. "Auradon doesn't know I exist, remember?"

"Irregardless," Ben shrugged. "He's set to be the next King of Auradon." He drummed his fingers on the table and sighed.

"I guess… I screwed up then," Mal sighed. "I didn't realize. Sorry."

Ben shook his head. "The problem wouldn't have existed if I hadn't… If I'd had a bit more self-control."

"Way to cut me and my feelings out of the problem, Ben," Mal reprimanded. He blinked at her easy and somewhat careless tone. She blinked at him, waiting for a response. Not yelling, not snapping, only waiting.

"You've changed," he muttered. "You would have yelled that at me before I left."

"I had a baby," Mal shrugged. "That tends to teach you lots of patience really fast."

Ben snorted. "I guess if you're taking care of them," he rolled his eyes.

"Don't shoot Audrey in the foot like that," Mal chided. "She's struggled more than you know. You just haven't listened to her."

Ben almost fell off his chair. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "I listen to her whenever she wants to talk to me - she just doesn't."

"Because you haven't listened and she's stressed."

"What? About me closing the spa?"

Mal stared at Ben and then shook her head slowly. An odd expression came across her face, like he was fond of him but still thought what he was doing was silly. "Nevermind," she mumbled. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep at my house? I have a couple of extra bedrooms… "

"No," Ben shook his head. "I - thank you, Mal, but I… I still pick Audrey." His voice cracked and broke on the end of his sentence and he almost choked. "I wish… I could but I think we both know what would happen if I stayed there. Especially since Audrey and I still aren't sharing a room."

Mal nodded and reached across the table. Ben flinched back, but she only set her hand atop his and squeezed. God, her hands had so much strength in them. When she pulled back, his hand followed hers a few inches. "I understand, Ben," she murmured. "More than you think I do." When he looked into her eyes, there was nothing but clarity there. Some sort of demented peace.

Mal got up. "You ought to get some rest. It's late, and Audrey will need your help with Belle tomorrow."

"Wait," Ben got up too - so fast he banged his knee into the table. "Xavier - I want to see him. Can I?"

"Oh," Mal blinked. She glanced back in the direction of the tower and her eyes lit up a little. "He's already asleep. I can't fly him down without waking him up and it's probably a bit too cold for him to be out. Do you want to wait until morning?"

"No," Ben stepped out over the bench. "Please, can we go up?"

"Alone?" Mal asked. "With me?"

A lump formed in Ben's throat and he felt his face go crestfallen. Sure, they were fine here aside from the fact Ben was aching to lean forward and touch all of that smooth skin and trace every strength-filled muscle on her, but behind closed doors it would be so easy… he could lean forward and accidentally brush her wrist… she could trip and stay on him for a second too long… And he knew how easy it would be to fall.

He sat back down. "I guess maybe we should wait," he muttered.

"I'll bring him down in the morning," Mal agreed. "And, uh, there are blankets and some spare cots in the storehouse here." She pointed to a portion of the pavillion that was walled away. With a flick of her hand, the lock clicked open on the door. "I'll leave my door open if you need it. Belle is on the second floor and Audrey took the third. Just… don't freeze to death out here. We'll find a place for you in the morning."

"I'm fine with being outside," Ben shook his head. "I've missed it."

"So Audrey said," Mal nodded.

She turned and as she did, large purple and feathered wings appeared on her back. Ben watched without much reaction. He hadn't known she had wings, but wasn't surprised to learn.

Mal took off and Ben was finally left alone underneath an unwavering electric light above his head. He realized, now that she was gone, that he'd forgotten to ask Mal about everyone else and how much they knew.

Ben woke up to Hades nudging him. "What're you doing out here?" he asked.

With all the crazy that had happened, it took a few seconds for Ben to remember how he could be talking to the God of the Underworld, much less answer his question. "I wanted to be outside again." he shrugged and stood up. "How are you?" he asked. "Did you find your daughter?"

"I did," Hades nodded, giving a little sigh. "She was a bit too busy to talk though, so I haven't said anything yet. Apparently I'm a grandfather now."

"Really?" Ben let a smile cross his face. It felt odd to smile after yesterday. "That's wonderful!"

"Yeah," Hades nodded. "I don't know who her partner is yet. I'll have to scare the tar out of them when I meet them."

"Ah, don't be too rough on them," Ben chuckled. He climbed out of the sleeping bag he'd assembled and began to fold up everything to put back into the storehouse. It was still very early. People were wandering around outside their homes, but no one had seemed to spot them yet. "Has anyone come around?" he asked.

"A white-haired boy," Hades nodded. "But that was as I was walking up. He went that way." Hades pointed in a general direction, but Ben didn't follow his finger.

"Probably Carlos," he nodded.

As he finished folding up the blankets, someone slung an arm around his head. For a moment, he panicked, but then he heard frenzied giggling. Not from a child, but from a man. "Hey, Harry," he said.

"Oh, if'n it isn't our wee king. Back for another round?" Harry released Ben and dropped down on the pavement beside him. "I don't s'ppose you've heard… you got yourself into a world of trouble."

"I've heard," Ben cut him off shortly. "And it's already been worked out. Thank you for your concern."

Harry's laughter grew even thicker. He opened his mouth to say something else, but then someone behind Ben said: "Harry, quit." Ben glanced behind him. It was Evie, and she was holding hands with someone familiar.

"Doug?" Ben asked, getting to his feet. Doug a little salute. "What are you doing here?"

"I… uh…" Doug held up his and Evie's hands awkwardly. "We're together! I'm with her."

"That's great, Doug," Ben smiled even though a pain had erupted in his chest. "I'm happy for you."

"Yeah," Doug nodded. "We've been married for almost a year and we have our daughter asleep at the house."

Another pain. Ben kept his smile. "That's great," he smiled.

Evie reached forward to brush off his arm. "Carlos said you were sleeping on the ground," she murmured. "Did Mal talk to you about-"

"I chose to sleep out here," Ben assured her. "I missed the outside. And yes, Mal and I talked."

"We came to invite you two for breakfast," Evie said, glancing between him and Hades. "I don't think I've been given the rundown, yet. Was Hades released from the Isle?"

"Discharged," Ben said before Hades could tack on anything else. "However, we have Maleficent in Auradon now. We need Mal's help."

"Ah," Evie glanced towards the towering building. "Will your wife and daughter need a place to eat too?" she asked. "I made lots, just in case."

"I don't know if they're awake yet," Ben said. Maybe I should - oh, there's Belle."

Down the path, Belle was holding tightly onto her doll Molly with one hand and holding Uma's hand in the other. She jumped over blades of grass on the pavement as she went. Evie chuckled as she looked up and waved with broad gestures to her dad.

"Found this one wandering," Uma called, releasing Belle to run to Ben when they were close enough. Ben bent down and Belle rushed straight into his arms with a shout. "You shouldn't leave kids alone, Ben."

"Ah, this one's smart enough," Ben teased, flicking Belle on the nose. "Did you sleep well?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she shrugged one shoulder.

"Do you know where Mom is?" he asked.

"No," Belle said. "I think she's still sleepy."

"Let's go get breakfast," Evie suggested, holding out her free hand to Belle. "You can play with my baby after you eat, if you want."

Belle immediately left Ben and took Evie's hand. The three began to walk away and Ben got the impression he and Hades were meant to follow. They waved goodbye to Harry and Uma as the sea duo began to head back into Uma's sector.

Evie's house had blue tiling on the roof and a beautiful whitewash on the exterior walls. Her flowerbeds were looking a bit sparse with the seasons, but her home was still lovely. Evie led Belle right up to the door and let her wander in. Belle slipped off her shoes at the entrance. "Your house is so pretty!" she marveled.

"Thank you," Evie smiled. "We have breakfast in here - come and get some."

Breakfast turned out to be burritos stuffed with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, peppers and cheese. Ben recognized a lot of Auradon items in Evie's household that the VK's now had access to. Evie served up Belle a large portion onto a china plate that Belle balanced carefully to a large table with a figurine in the center. Molly the Doll was placed in the chair beside her with a little food set on a napkin in front of her.

"So, you did talk to Mal?" Evie asked, handing Ben a plate.

"Yes," Ben nodded. "We've… got a few things figured out, but it'll take time."

"I thought there wasn't anything going on with you two?" Doug asked, pulling a bottle of orange juice out of the fridge. "What happened?"

"We got drunk," Ben replied.

Hades gave them all an odd look. "What?" he asked.

The front door opened, interrupting them all. Down the hall, Ben heard Mal yell "Evie? You home?"

"Kitchen!" Evie called, picking up a new plate and handing it to Hades. She picked up a new one for Mal, who appeared in the doorway. Her eyes zeroed in on Hades before flitting momentarily to Ben. Her lips pinched.

"Good morning," Hades said softly.

"Good morning," Mal replied in a tart tone. She stepped further inside and Ben almost dropped his plate to see her cradling a bundle to her ribs.

"Is that him?" he asked, siding his breakfast onto the table beside Belle and then crossing the room to Mal. He made to put a hand in the small of her back and then reminded himself otherwise and put it on her shoulder instead.

"This is Xavier," Mal nodded and then carefully loosened the bundles that had kept the baby warm during the trip to Evie's home. The moment she began to take away the blankets, Xavier began to squirm. Hades hovered over Ben's shoulder a little to watch as Xavier wrestled one arm free and gave a little cry of outrage. Mal put the extra blankets over her shoulder and then passed Xavier to Ben with both hands.

Tears formed in Ben's eyes. He leaned against the wall as Xavier clutched at the last remaining blanket with a clenched fist and examined Ben carefully. They looked alike. Xavier had his darker eyes and his tanner skin. His hair too, though his face more closely resembled Mal's. And despite being older, he was smaller than he should be. Ben would probably have a short son.

"Go sit down," Mal urged. "I don't want you to drop him."

Ben sniffed and used the back of his hand to wipe away tears before he took a few steps away, used his foot to draw out a chair, and sat down with the baby in his lap. Xavier pulled himself up to sit and looked all around at the room. Beside Ben, Belle squealed and leaned over with grabby hands to wave at Xavier. "Hi Xavier!" she cheered.

Mal set a careful hand on Ben's shoulder. "What do you think?" she mumbled.

"He is so small," Ben sniffed. "Just… wow." He wiped another tear away.

"Do other people around here have babies?" Belle asked.

"A couple," Evie nodded. "There's me and Mal and then a few others."

"I've got a baby!" Belle exclaimed, leaning over to pick up Molly. "Her name is Molly and I check her vitals every day and make sure she eats lots of vegetables. She likes broccoli the best, which is good for me because broccoli is gross."

Evie chuckled and sent a sideways glance to Ben. Ben also caught a glimpse of Hades's expression - confusion.

"It looks like you're a little doctor," Mal smiled. "Good job looking after her."

"It's practice," Belle said. "Do you think I can look after Xavier? I'll be very careful," She climbed out of her seat, leaving Molly in her chair, and waved again to Xavier. Xavier waved back with a chubby little smile.

"I'm sure you'll get to see Xavier lots," Mal murmured, getting down on her knees to be beside Belle. A hand came up and began to trace careful fingers up and down her back.

"Where's his dad?" Belle asked. "Did he die?"

Hades leaned in a little, brow furrowed.

"No," Mal choked a little. "He's, well, uh…" She glanced up at Ben for help.

Ben took Belle's arm. "Belle, Xavier is your brother. He's Mal's and my son."

Hades took in a very ragged breath. "What?" he asked.

Belle stayed quiet and blinked for several seconds, scrutinizing Xavier. "So…" she trailed off. "Are you married to two people?"

"No, honey." Ben shook his head. "Mal and I aren't married. We just have a baby together."

"So Mal and he are going to come live with us?"

"Mal doesn't want to, no."

"So he's going to live with us?"

"He has to stay with his mom."

"Can't Mom be his mom?"

"It doesn't work like that."

Belle furrowed her brow as if this didn't make sense. "So he's only coming to visit?"

"That's right," Ben agreed.

Belle nodded. "Okay," she decided. "So long as I can take care of him when he's over, I guess that's okay." She held out her hands. "Can I hold him now?"

"Sit down," Mal advised. She looked a lot more relaxed now. Ben carefully passed Xavier to Belle after she'd secured herself back into her seat and chewed on his lip.

"Honey?" he said softly to Belle, brushing her ratty hair back. "He's going to be king one day."

Belle didn't even look up. "Sure," she agreed.

"That means you might not be able to be queen - even though mom and I said you would be."

"That's okay."

Maybe it was just because she was young that the gravity of the situation hadn't sunk in. It was such a small thing to her. She barely even cared. She'd been talking about liking doctors for a few months now, but he and Audrey had just passed it off as childish fantasy. Now… she could technically do it if she wanted. And if she grew out of liking doctors and dolls and little kids, then there would be options.

"I need something explained to me," Hades announced from behind everyone. They all glanced over to face them. Hades pointed at Xavier. "He," he began, "is your son?" He directed everyone's attention to Ben.

Ben nodded. "Yes," he said softly. "Mal and I had an affair when I was out here. She saw fit to not tell me about him."

"That was the first time you'd met him, right, Ben?" Doug asked. Ben nodded.

"I can't believe it," Hades shook his head. "The King of Auradon stepped out on his wife?"

Ben flinched away.

"It was a difficult situation," Mal said in a tart tone. She ran a hand down Belle's hair and her brown hair combed itself out with one swipe. Ben wasn't sure she'd meant to do that. Mal looked over at Evie. "Can I have two plates?" she asked.

"Does mommy know about him?" Belle asked.

"Yes," Ben nodded. He glanced over to Hades, who looked upset for some reason. Ben couldn't imagine why.

Evie passed Mal two full plates and Mal set one down on Belle's other side, away from Ben and still leaving a seat for Molly.. She leaned down to whisper into Belle's ear. "I need to run somewhere real quick. Do you want me to take him back?"

"No! I can watch him!" Belle bopped Xavier on the nose. "He's cute."

Mal glanced at Ben. He nodded. "I'll watch her with him," he promised.

Mal nodded and headed for the door with her other plate. Hades stopped her just before she reached the door. "I'd… like to talk to you," he said softly. "When will you have a moment?"

"I have no business with you," Mal replied in a cold, cold tone.

"Mallie, I'm not asking for a lot. Just to talk." He reached for her hand but Mal batted his wrist aside and continued walking away. Hades let his hand fall to his side, chewing on his cheek in defeat. Ben reached for Xavier, picked him up, and gestured for Belle to finish eating her breakfast. She pouted, but didn't throw a fit.

"I can't believe you got away with calling her 'Mallie'," Ben said. "She would have killed you two years ago."

Hades shook his head. He sat down on one of Evie's bar stools and buried his face in his hands before taking a deep breath.

Ben frowned. "Is everything ok-"

"Shut up!" Hades flung a hand out at him and snapped in a voice so cold it made Ben jump. "Just… everything is fine." His hair caught fire as he pressed his fingertips to his eyes.

Evie and Doug exchanged a wary glance. Evie moved closer to the sink, worrying that the flames might grow out of control. Ben stared at the God - he looked furious. His veins were popping out of his arms and his face was red as he took several deep breaths.

"Hades?" Ben asked.

Hades's face began to slowly return to normal color. He glared over his shoulder - a look so icy that Ben felt his muscles ache as if he'd been hit instead. "Boy," he growled. "You screwed with the wrong girl."

And with that line, a lot of things suddenly made sense to Ben. He pointed out the door. "Mal?" he asked. "She's… oh."

Hades had said that his daughter had left with the villains. That she was older now and he was a grandfather. Her mother was crazy and had given their daughter a horrible middle name. Ben recalled how he had enquired about Maleficent's daughter and the proud smile that had spread across his face. With everything that had been going on with him and Mal, he'd missed the fact that Hades's eyes were always on her, that he was watching her.

Going down this line of thought, Hades had just discovered that the King of Auradon had gotten his daughter pregnant and left. Every nerve in Ben's body was on edge as his hands shook.

"Hades… it's not at all what you think… I wasn't trying to coerce her into anything."

Evie immediately spoke up in his defense. "He's a good man, Hades," she said. "They just got drunk. That's all it was."

"What?" Belle asked.

"Nothing," Everyone replied.

"Did you do something wrong?" Belle asked.

Ben chewed on his cheek. "Yes," he admitted. "Dads aren't supposed to have babies with other moms."

"Is Mom mad?"

"Very."

"Oh." Belle looked down and picked up Molly to hold even tighter. She seemed very unsure suddenly. it wasn't a look Ben was used to seeing on his daughter. But it was reasonable. Belle adored her mother, and had grown a little sensitive after all the long months Ben had spent working with her. Even though Audrey was never around for much or for long, Belle was always looking around for her and collecting small trinkets to show her. It was Audrey who always got Belle ready, even when Ben offered to, and Audrey who Belle always liked to cuddle with when she was scared or tired.

It was Audrey who was hurting the most over this.

"Maybe I should go find Audrey and make sure she's okay," Ben muttered.

"If I were you, I wouldn't leave the house with him," Doug called over Evie's shoulder, nodding a little to Xavier. "Mal will implode outwards if she has to search the camp for him after trusting you to watch him. She likes knowing where he is all the time, even if she's not present. A bit obsessive."

"Doting," Evie corrected. "I do the same thing with Morgan. It's just because they're small."

"Morgan?" Belle perked up. "You have a Morgan too?"

"That's my little baby," Evie nodded. "She's asleep upstairs." She gestured to her head and Belle craned her neck towards the ceiling, as if hoping she could see through the sheetrock.

"Just wait, Ben," Doug said, returning Ben's focus to him from the roof. "Mal will be back soon. Besides, I bet Audrey probably needs lots of space."

**Incase anyone was wondering, I did lots of research on how these cheating situations affect households and found out that, often, younger kids don't understand what is going on until they reach 10-12 and that's when the gravity sinks in. Given that Belle has never actually seen a happy marriage and is a bit used to hearing/seeing her parents fighting, she's not going to question why this matters so much however she is very sad that her mommy is sad.**

We're going to return to Audrey next chapter. Life is going to get both a lot better and a lot worse for her.