Wow...it's been way too long! Sorry about that guys! School tends to suck the fun out of everything! I know this chapter's a little short-and I'm sorry about that, I am-but I needed to add something!

I actually went back and re-read all 28 chapters before writing this one so I could get some ideas of stuff to incorporate into the next few chapters. I did fix some of the tiny mistakes that don't mean anything to anybody (except me-because they bothered me).

I hope y'all enjoy this next chapter! :)

Chapter 29: Up in Flames

Three Years Later

Finn paced in the hall right outside of his bedroom. It was four in the morning and his wife had been in labor. He couldn't stop pacing. The last time she was pregnant, she had had a miscarriage after four months. A year later, she made it to five months before she lost the baby. It was a miracle that she had made it the full nine months, in Finn's opinion. But he couldn't handle losing yet another child—and he knew Amanda couldn't either.

"Finn, why don't you sit down? I'm sure everything's going great." His sister patted down the seat next to her on the bench. She looked just as tired as him. The past three nights, Finn had been woken up by his wife having contractions, but none of them were considered "the real thing" until tonight. He was glad Willa was staying with him at the castle this week, otherwise he would be waiting all by himself.

Finn sat down next to her and leaned his head back on the cold stone wall.

"How much longer do you think it'll be until we hear something?"

"Hopefully not much longer. She's been in there for an hour or so."

"What if something bad has happened?"

"Finn, she's going to be fine. So is the baby."

"This is the third time, though. What if its just another miscarriage?"

"It won't be Finn. She's made it this far. Today's going to be your first day as a dad, I just know it."

"What if I'm not going to be a good dad? What if Amanda doesn't make it? I can't raise a kid without her."

Willa rolled her eyes and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Calm down Finn. You're worrying over nothing. Why don't you just take a nap?" She yawned. "You're not going to get a lot of sleep for a long time."

She stopped talking and Finn could tell she had fallen asleep. He wrapped his arm over her shoulder and started drifting into sleep.

He wasn't sure how long they sat there like that before Jess walked out of the door with the biggest smile on her face. Upon seeing Finn and Willa she put her hands on her hips and started tapping her foot.

"Finn! Willa!" The two of them woke up with a start, which made Jess laugh. "You've got a son and a nephew to see and you're both sleeping? Amanda is going to hate you two for that!"

Finn without saying another word, scrambled up and practically ran into the bedroom. Willa and Jess laughed at him and followed in.

Finn saw Amanda sitting in the bed with their son in her arms. He walked over and sat next to her on the bed.

"He looks just like you." Amanda said without looking up at Finn. Finn couldn't help but smile.

"What should we name him?"

Amanda turned to Finn and gave him a confused look.

"I thought the name would be obvious if it was a boy?"

Finn returned her confused look. "We never talked about a name. What do you think we should name him?"

"I think we should name him Dillard."

Finn kissed his wife on the cheek. "Dillard it is then."

"Now let me see my nephew!" Jess said as she walked up to the new parents.

"Yeah!" Willa joined them. "It's never too early to start spoiling him."

Amanda laughed as she handed their son over to Willa.

"Oh, aren't you a cute little baby?" Willa said in a baby voice.

"You must get all your looks from your mommy, because your daddy isn't helping much." Jess looked up at Finn.

"Oh shut it Jess."

"No, Jess. He obviously get his good looks from my side of the family. Right Finn?" Willa winked at Finn.

"That's not fair! You two didn't even know you were siblings until three years ago!" Jess crossed her arms and pouted like a child.

"Oh stop it Jess." Amanda's voice seemed a little sleepy to Finn.

"I think it's time we leave Amanda alone. She needs some rest." Finn took his son from Willa. "It's time for me to show off my son to everybody in the castle."

Philby walked into the tavern, searching the room for his friend. Upon seeing him at the bar, he walked up, ordered a drink and sat down.

"It's a boy. They named him Dillard." Philby waved down the bartender and ordered a drink.

The captain took a sip of his drink. "That's awesome."

Philby studied the captain. He looked like he hadn't slept in a few days. Philby could smell the alcohol on him—which meant he was drunk. It was eight in the morning and there were only a few people in the bar. The smell of alcohol was most definitely coming from him.

"What's wrong man? It's early and you're already drunk."

The captain took a large gulp of his drink this time and slammed it down.

"I heard something last night and I haven't been able to sleep."

"So you've been up all night?" Philby let a small laugh escape him. "You haven't done that in a while."

"Look, Phildweeb. It ain't good news."

"Did something bad happen? Is Charlene okay? What's going on?"

"It doesn't have to do with Charlene."

"Then what?"

The captain waved the bartender over to refill his drink. Once he was gone, the captain leaned in to whisper—despite the lack of people in the tavern. Philby felt nauseated by the overwhelming smell of alcohol on his breath.

"I heard Maleficent's still alive. And that she's making her comeback."

Philby rolled his eyes and helped the captain stand up. "Okay, that's it. You're way too drunk. Let's get you back to the castle."

The captain wiggled his arm out of Philby's grasp. "Man, I'm serious!" He reached into his pocket. "I got proof!"

Philby crossed his arm and tapped his foot. "We don't have time for this captain. Let's get you back."

He ignored Philby and continued to search his pocket. Philby knew his pockets weren't that deep and his patience was growing thin.

"Ah, here it is!" The captain pulled out a necklace. On that necklace was a small silver wedding ring and a royal family pendant. The captain handed it over to Philby and smiled. "Told ya I had proof."

"Where did you get this?"

"Somebody at the docks found it last night near my ship. When I was checking up on the crew, they showed it to me."

"And how does this prove that Maleficent's alive?" Philby asked skeptically. "Finn killed her. Remember?"

"Did he though?"

"Yes. He did."

"Well if you had a brain, you'd remember that Finn used to wear this. After fighting Maleficent, he didn't have it any more."

"How do you possibly remember that?"

The captain shrugged. "I thought it was weird that he wore a wedding ring around his neck. But I never got the chance to make fun of Shark Fin for it."

Philby studied him. Even though the captain was so drunk he was having trouble standing, Philby could tell he was telling the truth.

"So how did this necklace end up here? Why would she just leave it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" The captain threw up his hands in frustration. "She wanted us to find it."

Philby rolled his eyes. "And why would she want us to find it?"

"Because she's sending us a sign man! We need to tell Finn!"

Philby rolled his eyes again and grabbed the captain by the arm. He dragged him out into the street and started walking back to the castle.

"Then why didn't you tell him when you found out?"

"At first, I didn't know why this little necklace was so important, but then I remembered, but by then I was already at the tavern."

"So you decided to get wasted first?"

The captain nudged Philby. "Now you get it!"

"Let's just get you back to the castle man. You need to sleep this off."

"What are you gonna do with the necklace?"

"I'll give it to Finn if you really want me to."

"Good. He needs to see that. Don't forget about the Maleficent part."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever."

"Where did you get this?" Finn asked Philby as he held out the necklace.

"The captain said his crew found it at the docks."

Finn's face drained of color.

"What's so important about a stupid necklace?" Charlene sat down in a nearby chair. The sitting room's ambience went from alive and happy to cold and filled with tension.

"Can I see that?" Willa asked. Finn handed it to her and Willa's eyes immediately went wide with recognition. "This…this was yours!"

"Yeah. I lost it at the ancient temple three years ago." Finn turned to Philby. "How did it end up here in California?"

"You're not going to believe this, but the captain thinks Maleficent's back."

Charlene burst out into laughter. "He was wasted, wasn't he?"

"Yeah a little." Philby stifled a laugh. He didn't think now was the time to mention that the captain had stumbled and fell into a table to apples-or that it was the most hilarious thing Philby had seen all week.

Willa and Finn exchanged a look. Neither of them thought this was a laughing matter. It might have just been Philby, but they seemed to be having a silent conversation.

It was a few minutes of awkward silence before Charlene finally realized they were taking the captain's theory seriously.

"Okay, is there something I don't know? Because I'm pretty sure Finn killed Maleficent THREE YEARS AGO!"

"I know I did…" Finn thought for a second then shook his head, deciding not to say whatever he had just thought about.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Philby asked him.

"I…I think so."

"Well you better get sure!" Charlene stood up. "I'm not having her attack us again! My ballroom is finally finished! I do not want to go through that nightmare again."

"I am sure!" Finn's shaky voice made it sound like he was trying to convince himself. Finn glanced over to Philby before leaving the room, mumbling something about going to see his wife and son.

Philby tried his best to not show any fear on his face. If Finn wasn't sure if he had killed Maleficent, that meant that everything that had happened over the past three years was about to go up in flames. They were going to have to fight for everything—again.

Philby glanced over at his wife and she gave him a worried look. The last thing he wanted was to lose her. The last time they fought Maleficent, Dillard had died. If they were going to have to face her again…Philby shook his head and walked out of the room.

But he didn't want to think about that. Until he had proof, he wasn't going to believe that she was back. He simply wouldn't allow himself to believe the theory of a drunken captain.

Yes, it's a little short. But hey, there's some plot! That's good right?

Again, I apologize for the long wait. I'm not going to promise to update again soon, but I will try my best!

Please review! I want to hear what y'all have to say!