Xavier hiccuped and Ben's heart melted.

"Buh," Xavier babbled to himself, repeating the single sound over and over. He was sitting beside the couch in Evie's living room, chattering and playing with the little toys Evie had left out. Ben hovered half in the doorway to the living room and half in the hallway, peering down towards the kitchen where Mal and Evie were talking. Audrey stood beside Ben and watched as Xavier slowly lost interest in the toys and then began examining the table legs instead.

"He looks like you," Audrey mumbled beside him.

Ben nodded. He reached for Audrey to put an arm around her shoulders, but she brushed his arm back and stepped into the room for some space. She knelt beside Xavier, who looked up with guarded concern at the appearance of his new playmate. "I wonder what it was like for her when he came and he looked exactly like you and you were gone."

"Well, it sounds like people had already assumed I was the father," Ben recalled, thinking back to how Audrey had asked Evie about people's reactions.

"I wasn't talking about other people. Just her," Audrey specified. She showed Xavier her hand and he carefully held his own up, glancing between their palms as if to ask "What now?" A smile spread across Audrey's face.

Ben considered that. Mal had seemed indifferent and absurdly calm when describing Xavier to him. Not the spitfire she was before, though she was still strong-willed. It could be, he supposed, a result of long-term stress or resignment.

Audrey placed her palm up to Xavier's to show him the size difference and Xavier stared at her with wild confusion. Ben snorted, cleared his throat, and waved. "Xavier," he called. His son's name felt familiar on his tongue as if he'd been saying it all his life. Xavier turned with a little jump and a tiny grin crossed his face when he caught sight of Ben, who was more familiar to him than Audrey was. He waved, rotating his wrist slowly as Ben stepped into the room and sat beside Audrey. Then, he leaned forward until he had fallen on his hands and crawled over to pull himself into a standing position using Ben's arms as a prop.

Audrey didn't look at Ben as she offered Xavier a hand and then guided him into a walking position. She did clear her throat before helping Xavier toddle around in small, easily-manageable circles. "So," she began. "Mal."

Ben flinched. He really, really didn't want to talk about Mal with Audrey.

"Is she Hades's daughter?" Audrey asked.

Ben relaxed again. That was an easily manageable territory. "Yeah," he agreed. "Hades and Maleficent."

"That's insane," Audrey huffed.

"Well, it certainly… yes, it is," Ben agreed.

"This little boy," Audrey began, leading Xavier closer to her until he was able to let go of her finger and grab her shirt sleeve for support, "is the grandson of Beast and Belle and Maleficent and Hades. What a pedigree."

"Do you like him?" Ben asked softly. He'd seen her betrayed expression the first time she'd glimpsed him this morning. No doubt she'd been reeling over their likenesses. Part of him reasoned she'd have every reason to loathe the physical proof of his infidelity, but she seemed rather content with little Xavier.

"He's cute," Audrey hummed with a nod. "He's got your face."

"Well, my features. His face is more his mom's."

"I don't hate him if that's what you're asking. Or her."

Ben stared as Xavier reached for Audrey's hand again. He'd noticed her nails and thought they were cool. "You don't?" Ben asked.

Audrey shook her head. "Mal is… nice. And it hurts knowing what you did with her, but I think you both have made your intentions very clear and-" she paused to wipe at her eyes as tears filled them. "It still hurts a lot, obviously, but that's where I am right now."

Xavier slowly let himself down to the ground and rediscovered his toys with fascination. As he picked up some sort of rattle, Ben reached over and set a hand in Audrey's back. "I'm sorry. I should have… I shouldn't have let my heart get the better of my head."

Audrey stayed silent.

"I want to fix things between us," Ben continued, setting his other hand on Audrey's leg. "Will you let me?"

Audrey moved away from his touch a little, but then sat still as his hand rested on her leg. She blinked at it slowly, as if she couldn't process that it was there, and Audrey wondered if she was going into another one of her phases where she zoned out. But instead, she squeezed his hand and then got to her feet. "Where's Belle?" she asked.

"She's still out playing," Ben reminded her. "We'll have to go find her before lunch."

On the floor, Xavier began to babble happily. He tossed his rattle aside and waved his hands in the air with a large smile. Ben turned to see what Xavier had seen and his entire body relaxed to see Mal leaning against the doorframe.

"I think I saw Belle running towards Uma's sector," Mal informed them both. "We're having lunch with Jay and Carlos at the pavilion today. We can walk over and I can find her if you need."

Ben picked up Xavier, who was still reaching for his mom with a pout becoming increasingly prominent as he extended grabby-hands toward her. Mal sighed and took the baby, letting a little smile show as he grabbed onto her hair and relaxed. "That is if this rascal doesn't need me still."

"I think he's just clingy," Ben chuckled. He set a hand on Xavier's back and then leaned in to boop noses with his son. Xavier turned away, wrinkling up his forehead and then burying his face in Mal's hair. He started babbling incoherently into her hair and then discovered Mal's hair was stuck to his hands. Mal pulled the purple locks out of his reach and then looked up past Ben with concern.

"Do you need an arm?" Mal asked Audrey. Ben looked over his shoulder and leaned out to catch his wife's arm as she swayed a little.

"Just blood rush," Audrey shook her head, though she held onto Ben's arm for a few seconds before she was able to stand by herself again. She gave Xavier a little smile that made the little boy return his face to Mal's hair. Ben pulled a few locks out from in between Xavier's fingers and let his fingertips hover on the strands a moment.

"Soft," he murmured to her and a little color rose in Mal's cheeks. She stepped back and exhaled.

Evie and Doug appeared, all wrapped up in light jackets against the faint breeze that had been blowing all day. Their little girl, Morgan, was cuddled under Doug's arm. Ben, Audrey, and Mal all followed Evie and Doug out of the house and down to the pavilion. There, Uma was serving sandwiches. She handed one to each as they passed and Ben marveled that Mal and Uma could now pass each other without insulting the other.

"We need Belle," Audrey said as she sat down.

"She already came through," Uma assured her. "All the little ones without parents get fed by us. She just followed her friends."

"Where did she go?" Audrey frowned, peering around for any group of giggling children.

"Down by the river," Harry directed her gaze, pointing towards where Ben had disappeared to the day before. "There's a little place you can hike to on the banks… they like to play games down there."

"Will she fall in?" Audrey demanded.

"The older kids keep an eye on them and don't let them get wet unless it's hot," Uma promised. "But we did set up a net downstream in case something - or someone - falls in."

"Dizzy's probably down there," Evie announced. "You remember Dizzy, right Ben?"

"I do remember Dizzy." Ben set a hand on Audrey's shoulder. "She's probably fine. Let's eat and go check on her."

Mal set her plate down beside Evie. She was close to Audrey, but not to Ben. She carefully readjusted Xavier on her hip and then glanced towards her towering building. "I need to go grab some food for him," she mumbled. "All the baby food is in his room."

"I can watch him?" Ben offered, holding out his hands.

"No," Mal declined. "I'll take him up with me. He needs to be changed and you'll have to go get Belle soon and I don't want him being carried around camp." She grew her wings out without any verbal command. Audrey dropped her fork in surprise as Mal walked around them and then took to the skies gently, holding tight to Xavier as she did.

"Wings," Audrey muttered. "She has wings."

"Yes, she does," Ben affirmed, picking up his sandwich.

"How am I supposed to compete with wings?" Audrey muttered under her breath. Ben paused with his sandwich halfway up to his mouth and gave her an odd look.

The ground rumbled. Everyone looked down, then up at the pavilion's roof. Then, the entire earth began shaking. The tables rattled and clanged and food slid off onto the ground.

"Earthquake?" Ben asked.

"Get out from under the pavilion," Evie ordered. She covered her head as she and Doug struggled to stand up. Ben used the table for support and helped Audrey up. Her hands were clasped around her neck and her eyes were squeezed shut.

They got to the edge of the pavement and Ben squinted. Out past the edge of the barrier, a great cloud was arising. Several tons of brown earth was being thrown into the air. A new shock knocked them all to their knees before the barrier turned vivid green.

"It's an attack!" Evie realized.

"Maleficent," Audrey whispered.

Lightning struck the barrier. People inside screamed. The ground continued to shake as if someone was trying to tear the barrier out of the ground. Audrey turned and seized the front of Ben's shirt. "Belle!" She demanded. "We need to find Belle!"

"I got her, I got her," Ben agreed, squeezing her hands. He got to his feet, stumbling as he tried to keep his balance on the rocking ground, and then began running towards the river. It was easier to run than to stand still. Within moments, the pavilion was out of sight. The barrier continued shaking as the sun was completely blocked out by the massive dust cloud surrounding them.

"Belle!" Ben shouted when he got close to the river. "Belle!"

He kept running downstream, hoping to find her there, but the sounds of the attack were beginning to grow louder. Loud blasts that could have come from a cannon were echoing off the barrier and the sharp crack of electricity made Ben's hair stand up on edge.

He suddenly reached the barrier's edge.

The river, which started in the east, flowed out to the west and then to the sea several miles outward. Several different sections were engulfed in the bubble-like barrier, and this was the beginning of the section closest to the road. In fact, he could see the carriage through the trees, out by the road.

A whistling sound caught his attention. Something landed to his right. Had Maleficent managed to break through? But no, it was Mal instead. Devilish horns had appeared on her head and her wings were extended, waiting to take flight at any second. Her hands were outstretched and her fingertips were glowing. her eyes were vivid, vivid green.

She raised her hands and Ben watched the barrier grow thick, almost like the green glass of a bottle. The shaking subsided. The booms seemed more distant now. He took a step closer - she still hadn't seen him yet.

Who had given her the right to be so beautiful? Even amid chaos, when she was fully prepared to murder for her people, she was immaculate. Ben watched her purple hair drift around her face as if it was obeying a gravity other than earth's. She hovered on the outskirts of the barrier, mostly turned away from him, and slowly let her hands down. Ben followed her gaze to see what she was searching for.

Outside, the dust began to settle as the attacker realized their attempts were futile. Ben balled his fists up as he kept his gaze focused on the thinning cloud. The outlines of trees became visible, and then the ground began to gradually appear.

In the middle of the path, black robes became visible. Ben almost jumped out of his skin when he recognized the vicious, fanged snarl of Mal's mother, Maleficent.

The wicked witch turned with a snap of her robes and vanished almost immediately after she became visible, but there was no mistaking who had come and gone.

"Maleficent," Ben said from upstream. Mal's head swiveled around to stare at him. Her wings and horns were retreating into her head. "That didn't take long. Only three days even without the maps from the palace."

"She saw me." Mal chewed her lip. "Did she see you? Does she know you're here?"

"I don't know," Ben admitted. "I only glimpsed her on the trail."

"I don't know if she'll come back now that she knows I'm still with the VK's," Mal muttered. She nodded towards the pavilion. "Come on, I need to talk to Evie."

"I need to find Belle," Ben protested and glanced around to affirm there were no wayward children around. "Audrey's panicking without her. Where do the kids usually play?"

"Upstream." Mal's gaze hit the ground. "In, um, our place. They like to crowd around the water and they call it 'the enchanted lake'."

"Oh," Ben sighed and nodded. "Okay."

They walked back towards the pavilion. Ben would drift closer to Mal and then remind himself to put more space between them, again and again. She was like a magnet, pulling him into her.

At the pavilion, everyone had once again crowded underneath the roof and around the tables. Audrey was sitting down, but when she saw him, she got back up. "Did you find her?" she called, walking out to meet them both.

"Belle should be upstream with the other children," Mal told Audrey. She skimmed the people around the pavilion with pinched lips. "Where's Evie?"

"I think she went to go find the children too," Audrey explained, wringing her hands. "She walked that way." Audrey pointed towards the north and Mal sighed.

"Great," Ben decided. "That's exactly where we need to go for Belle, supposedly. Let's walk up and meet her."

Ben looped his arm through Audrey's to support her as the three began their walk away from the pavilion. Mal remained stone-faced, distracted, and on-guard as Ben explained to Audrey what he'd seen.

"Maleficent discovered us pretty quickly, even without the maps in my office," he thought aloud. "I hope she hasn't hurt too much of Auradon. With me gone, things will be in disarray."

"It's only been three days," Audrey whispered. "We'll be back soon. We can sort out this thing with Maleficent and figure out something with our family."

Ben ducked underneath a sign hanging from two trees and saw that the path Mal had led them on led right to 'the Enchanted Lake'. The area had been cleared of most of the underbrush that had hidden it from the settlement and it was now a wide-open grassy area. A large cart's handle - similar to the ones they'd used to travel - was put on a stone pillar beside the path's opening and several smaller carts for the children to use were scattered around.

Up ahead, Evie was bent down and talking to some shaking children. Others wandered around and picked up fallen debris. Ben and Audrey ducked under the trees, following Mal as she walked over and pulled Evie away from the kids. It felt odd to be with Audrey here, in this place.

"Where's Belle?" He muttered under his breath, looking around.

Audrey pointed ahead to the riverbank wordlessly and Ben saw Belle picking up a yarn doll from the ground and offering it to its owner, with her medical doll underneath one arm. The motion was so simple and sweet that Ben forgot to go grab her for a moment. He simply watched as Belle sat down on the ground with her legs stretched out and tied a little piece of cloth around the yarn doll's arm as if it were a bandage and then look back down to examine her own doll's marks.

Audrey leaned her head on Ben's arm. It had been years since she'd done that, it felt like.

He was so caught up in watching Belle examine a scratch on her doll's arm that he missed the sliding, griding sound behind him. With a crash, the cart, which had been knocked off balance in the attack, slid off of its dock and began to wheel backward. The handle thumped across the ground as it rushed right for the river - right towards Belle.

Someone shouted a warning.

It hit her full on and her head was knocked back from the base of the cart slamming against her ear. Her leg was caught in the wheel and the cart flipped on top of her. Audrey let out a shriek of horror. Ben started moving, but the handle of the cart had been caught by the current. With the wooden planks grinding down on the pebbles, it was pulled into the river, which was running much faster than it should have been due to the earth shaking. Belle was pulled in after it and her head promptly disappeared underneath the waves.

He reached the banks, fell to his knees, and stuck his hands in to grab the cart's large wheel. With a mighty heave, he began to pull it back out. His arms burned. the water tugged back and tried to pull him in, but he dug in his feet and kept his grip. Belle still hadn't resurfaced. She could swim, but probably not in this fast water and not with the cart holding her captive. With a yell, he yanked back and the entire cart began to be pulled up onto the shore. Ben kept going until both wheels and handle were on the ground and then realized with horror that nothing was underneath the cart.

"Where is she?" the littler kids howled in horror. "Where's Belle?"

Audrey collapsed beside him. Her hands searched in the dirt as she stared at the water for any trace of Belle. Then her arm shot out to point downstream. "There!" she shouted. Ben caught a glimpse of brown hair and a pink shirt and jumped to his feet. As he did, a blur of purple passed him by.

"Mal!" Evie shouted.

Ben caught up to her as she stood on the bank. Since the river was winding, she'd been able to run past a bend and was now watching as Belle's body approached her. She was splashing a little against the fast current, so she must be awake.

"You can't swim!" Ben gasped as he approached. "Mal, let me-"

Mal stretched out her arm and the river stopped in its tracks. It split apart, leaving a dry riverbed, and Belle dropped onto dry soil in the center of it. Mal wasted no time in jumping in and picking up Belle before rushing back to the bank and putting her into Ben's arms. The river resumed its course as Mal climbed back onto solid ground.

Ben squeezed Belle's body. She was cold and shivering. She gasped for breath and then began to throw up water. He helped turn her so she could throw up into the river, but she began to thrash against his aid. Gargled screams escaped her mouth amidst the streams of swallowed water.

"What's wrong with her?" Ben demanded, squeezing her arms in a panic as he looked up at Mal for answers. "What can we do?"

"Her leg!" Audrey cried as she came upon the pair. Ben looked down and his hands began to shake when he saw how Belle's pant leg was drenched in blood. She was cut.

Belle stopped throwing up and began to sob and scream. "Owie!" she cried. "Owie!"

Ben ran his hands through her drenched hair. "Hey, hey, we've got you," she tried.

Belle reached out blindly. "Mommy!" she called. "Mommy, mommy!"

"Let Audrey have her, Ben," Mal ordered, moving to support Belle's head as Audrey sat down and began reaching for her.

"Audrey can't - she's not strong enough to-"

"Let me have my daughter, Ben," Audrey snapped. Her voice was so firm and powerful that Ben immediately began to calm down. Audrey took Belle from him and squeezed Belle's arms as Belle began to babble in pain.

"Mommy, it hurts! My leg, my leg!"

"Hush," Mal commanded, taking the side of Belle's face. "Listen to me, Belle. I need you to look at me. Look at me right now."

"It hurts!" Belle continued to cry. Her eyes were squeezed shut against the pain.

Mal's pupils lit up. "Belle!" she called more urgently, and Belle forced one of her eyes open. "Listen to me, Belle. What hurts?"

"My leg! My leg!"

Mal reached for Belle's ankle and Belle let loose an ear-splitting scream.

"Can you numb her?" Audrey begged.

Mal took Belle's face again. "Listen to me, Belle. What color are my eyes?"

"My leg… my leg…"

"Belle!"

Belle forced her eyes to open just barely and her entire body relaxed suddenly. Mal breathed a little sigh of relief and maintained her gaze as Belle fell silent. "What color are my eyes, Belle? Can you tell me?"

"Green," Belle murmured in a tiny whisper.

"Good girl," Mal nodded. "I'm going to move your leg now so I can help you. We're going to do it fast and it'll probably hurt, but we need you to be brave while Mom is holding you."

Audrey glanced at Ben and then squeezed Belle tighter, rubbing her arms to keep her warm. Belle gave a small, dreamy nod. She was under some sort oh hypnosis charm.

Mal took Belle's leg and quickly straightened it out through touch while maintaining Belle's gaze. Belle grimaced in discomfort, but there was no more screaming. That was good because Ben thought he might cry if he heard her yell out in pain again. Once her leg was straight, Mal was able to scoot up her wet and bloody pant leg. She then broke her eye contact with Belle for seconds at a time to glance down at the wound.

Ben almost had to turn away to throw up himself.

Something - her bone - was sticking up through her lower leg in a horrible break that had punctured her skin. It looked almost like a PVC pipe except it was bone and bloody and made Ben think he might faint. Mal's fingertips grazed over it almost carelessly and she nodded and kept Belle's gaze off of her own ruined leg.

"Its a bit bad," she told her. "But we're going to get you help, okay?"

"I hurt," Belle whispered back.

"I bet," Mal agreed. "But you're being very brave. Now we're going to fix it so it won't hurt as bad. I'm going to do it myself to make sure it gets all better. I'll be your doctor - you like doctors, don't you?"

"I like doctors," Belle agreed.

"Good," Mal whispered. "I'm going to use a doctor trick now. I want you to count backward with me, and when you wake up, you'll be all better. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Three…"

"Three."

"Two…"

"Two."

"One."

Belle never responded because she went right to sleep with her cheek nuzzled against Audrey's shoulder. Audrey let out a breath.

Mal got to her feet and held out her arms. "I can hurry and set the break," she said. "It would probably be best that you don't see it, though. I'm going to have to open it more."

Ben set his hands on Audrey's shoulders. She seemed remarkably calm, though tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Let her," he whispered. "She's done this before."

Audrey nodded and slowly let Mal take Belle out of her arms. Mal's wings were appearing as she secured Belle's arms atop Belle's torso and carefully supported her ankle and leg with her arm. Then, with a swoosh of air, Mal was gone, heading towards the large building where she lived.

Audrey began to cry in earnest now. Ben was in shock as he slumped beside her. She turned and curled up into his chest and he dropped his head onto her shoulder in complete, numbing disbelief. Upriver, the cart was being hauled onto safer ground. One of Belle's new friends had found her doll where it had been dropped before the cart went into the water.

She'd almost drowned. Her head had been under the water probably for two minutes. He'd almost lost his daughter.

Ben wasn't used to feeling so powerless and vulnerable all the time.