Weeks had passed since that day and the anticipated due date was drawing nearer. One stormy day while Maleficent was relaxing on her throne, one of her guards approached her with a message from Nyx. The letter said it was an issue of utmost importance and asked her to come to the Underworld at once; it must be an emergency of some kind. Even though she had her doubts, Maleficent decided to go down to the Underworld anyway and see what Nyx wanted. By the time she arrived, her own curiosity was basically eating her up inside.

"What could Nyx possibly wish to speak to me about?" She asked herself before she felt something covering up her eyes. She yelped in surprise as someone grabbed her arms and started leading her away from the ferry dock and somewhere unknown. "What is this? Who is that?! What are you doing?!"

The Mistress of Evil tried to get away, but whoever held her down had a grip like iron and she couldn't get loose. And because she couldn't see where she was going, she quickly assumed the worst. But after a few moments of her struggling, she was released and the blindfold that was wrapped around her eyes was quickly removed.

"What is the meaning of this?! Tell me right now or suffer the…" Maleficent started before she finally saw what was happening.

"Surprise!" Nyx cried along with a few other Goddesses, including Hera and Rhea.

Maleficent could only stare in shock. She was standing in the middle of what looked like a party of some kind; there were banners, a table of food and drinks, a little pile of presents, and a large, comfortable-looking chair in the center. Her eyes darted over to Nyx and her expression changed from shock to anger.

"This is why you have summoned me?" She hissed.

"Okay, I get it. I know. But don't get mad." The Goddess of the Night said, approaching her. "If it wasn't already obvious, I wanted this party to be a surprise."

"This… party is for me?"

"Of course it is! It's a baby shower and we wanted it to be extra special."

Maleficent cocked a confused eyebrow in response.

"You don't know what a baby shower is?" She shook her head and Nyx sighed. "It's a party for expecting mothers; her female friends organize it and bring gifts for the new baby. And right now, the guest of honor and expecting mother is you."

Maleficent froze and put a hand to her rounded stomach; her condition was now exposed. She glanced over at Rhea and gave her a nasty glare.

"I told you NOT to say anything." She snarled at her mother-in-law.

"I know, I know." Rhea said, trying to explain herself. "I tried to keep quiet, but it practically jumped out of my mouth. But you should've known by now that I can't be trusted with secrets."

Maleficent pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed in frustration.

"Come now, don't be like that." Hera chimed in as she started to gently push the evil fairy towards the large chair. "Now that you're here, why don't we enjoy this party? You still need to open your presents."

Maleficent sighed. She didn't really want to be at this party, but it was just for her and it would be rude and a shame to let everything they worked on go to waste. What was the harm in staying for at least a little while?

"Let us get this over with." She muttered as she sat down.

"Okay, then! Let's start with… this one." Rhea placed a gift wrapped in yellow paper in Maleficent's lap and she reluctantly began unwrapping it.

She opened the box to reveal a yellow and orange hat with a propeller. She took it out and looked at it questioningly, along with the rest of the guests. She raised an eyebrow at Rhea, who let out a nervous laugh.

"Oh! Is that Zeus's old hat? How did that get in there?" She anxiously shrugged as Maleficent tossed the hat to the side in disdain.

"Moving on." Hera chimed in, gently bumping her mother-in-law out of the way. "How about another one next?" She then handed the Mistress of Evil a box in magenta wrapping.

Inside were eight sets of baby-sized footie pajamas and eight little dresses in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple, and pink. The dark fairy stared at Hera with wide eyes.

"I didn't know whether it was going to be a boy or a girl." The Queen of the Gods explained. "So I had them made in each color of the rainbow! When the baby arrives, I can make a whole new set with proper measurements and different colors, if you don't mind."

"Um… thank you, Hera. They're… lovely." Maleficent said, gently setting the little outfits to the side. The brighter, warmer colors of some of the outfits were enough to make her gag, but the green, blue, indigo, and purple outfits seemed acceptable.

"Open mine, next." Nyx handed her a box wrapped in black and blue.

Maleficent unwrapped it and was surprised to see it was a book. The evil fairy gave her friend a slightly stunned look while Nyx gave her a mischievous smirk.

"I know how you and Hades are, so I thought 'why not give her something that'll be more to her tastes'?" She said. "This is a compilation of spooky stories and rhymes. Not just from Greece, but from all over the world. It took a lot of digging to find them, but it was worth it. So what do you think?"

Maleficent glanced at the book; she flipped through the pages and noticed illustrations corresponding with various poems and tales. She recognized quite a few of these stories from her childhood and now, she had a way to tell the same fables to her own child. She smiled at Nyx.

"It's perfect. Thank you." She said before they shared a hug.

"You're welcome. I'm just glad you like it."

They parted and Rhea placed another gift into Maleficent's lap.

0-0-0-0-0-0

By the time Maleficent finally made it home, she was exhausted and relieved. She heaved a sigh as she took a seat on her throne, happy to be home. She waved her specter and the collection of miscellaneous gifts she received at her baby shower fell to the floor next to her feet. She then looked down at the swell in her stomach and shook her head.

"The things I put up with for you." She sighed.

"Mistress!" The voices of Pain and Panic called out.

Maleficent rolled her eyes and grimaced as the pair of imps entered and stopped right in front of her. She narrowed her eyes at the pair.

"Shouldn't you two be with Hades?" She asked.

"The boss told us to come and check on you." Panic replied. "Who were you talking to?"

"None of your concern."

Pain then noticed the pile of gifts and asked, "What's all this stuff?"

"…Gifts for the baby." The evil fairy grumbled.

Panic grabbed a set of pink footie pajamas and held it up while Pain took out the propeller hat and put it on his head. Maleficent took immediate notice of their interest in these items.

"Keep them. You needn't even ask." She said with a dismissive wave of her hand.

"…Sweet!" The two imps cheered before running off with their new souvenirs.

The moment they left, Maleficent picked up a couple of things from the pile of gifts. She held up one of the little dresses Hera had made; it was made from dark purple silk and was smooth and soft to the touch. Her child would enjoy this. Then she skimmed through the pages of the book Nyx had given her; she recalled listening to her parents tell her such stories in her childhood. A small smile slowly crept onto her lips.

"How curious…" She said, unconsciously placing a hand on her belly. She didn't even notice Diablo flying in and perching on her armrest next to her.

Maleficent then closed her eyes and started to hum to herself. It was a tune her grandmother used to sing to lull her to sleep when she was very young. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't even noticed Hades appearing before her in a blaze of blue fire. Diablo's cawing quickly snapped her out of it. Her eyes brightened at the sight of him.

"Hades!" She exclaimed, standing up from her throne.

"Hey, babe. I got off work early and wanted to surprise you." Hades said, going up to greet her. He gave her a kiss before noticing the pile of presents behind her. "Whoa, what's all this?"

"Oh, um… Nyx and your mother planned a surprise baby shower for me." She replied.

He facepalmed and sighed. "Mother never could keep a secret." He started sifting through the pile to see what his wife received, pushing past homemade blankets and pillows, various toys, and personalized baby clothes. "All of this… is for our kid?"

She nodded. He stood straight and turned to face her, clearing his throat.

"I have to say, this is… nice of them to do." He gagged. "But you and I both know how we feel about nice."

"Nothing short of loathing and hatred for the sentiment." She added.

After a pause, the two shared a laugh.

"Oh! Speaking of our kid…" Hades then took a scroll out from the folds of his chiton. "Hope you don't mind, babe, but I did a bit of research today and I came up with a list of potential names for the baby. Now keep in mind these are only a few slight suggestions."

He unfurled the scroll and Maleficent was surprised to see how long it was; the parchment reached the floor and rolled off the edge of the platform until it was halfway down the wall. She stared with wide eyes.

"…You must've been busy." She said.

"Oh believe me, I was." He replied before looking over the list. "I practically tore through A LOT of scrolls and books to find names that actually sounded good. But there are still so many. How will we know which name is the right one?"

Maleficent rolled her eyes before she gasped, clutching her stomach; she had just felt something inside of her and she didn't know what it was. Hades looked up from his list and his eyes widened in terror the moment he saw the look of horror in her eyes.

"Malef? What is it? What's wrong?" He asked worriedly, dropping the scroll.

"I-I don't know. I believe… something moved." She whispered.

"Moved? W-what do you mean? Where?"

Maleficent quickly grabbed Hades' left wrist and placed his hand on the curve of her stomach.

"What are you—?" The Lord of the Dead asked.

"Shush!" She hissed.

The pair waited in silence for a few long moments until Hades felt something underneath his hand. His eyes widened and his mouth nearly fell open; he knew what it was, but it still caught him by surprise. He looked at Maleficent, who had a distressed look on her face.

"Babe, it's okay. Don't freak out. It's just a kick." He said, trying to contain his excitement.

"A… a kick?" She asked.

"Yes. It's the baby. From what I heard, it's perfectly normal." He explained.

Maleficent stuttered; she was at a loss for words. This was considered normal? She looked down at her stomach, feeling the squirming being inside of her; it was a fluttering discomfort. She had never felt anything like this before and she didn't know how to feel about it or what else to say. She looked back at her husband who smiled and raised an eyebrow at her. The Mistress of Evil smiled back; Hades' sarcastic yet loving look always helped her feel at ease. She tenderly placed her hand on his.

"I guess it'll be pretty hard to keep this a secret now, huh?" He asked.

"Indeed… But I don't believe that matters now as much as it used to. After all, we have the support of many loved ones." She replied.

"Eh, more or less." Hades said with a shrug, which made his wife giggle. He pulled her closer to him and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "You know I love you."

"Yes. And I you." Maleficent said, resting her head on his shoulder.

Hades then glanced down at his wife's belly with a smirk and thought, 'Can't wait to meet you, kiddo.'