Ben woke up feeling awful. Despite getting a semi good night's sleep, he still didn't feel fully rested, but he put that down to waking up in the middle of the night coughing. As he got up, his chest gained a dull ache, which only turned into a sharp pain when he coughed. Nonetheless, he dragged himself out of bed, going over his mental to-do list. In addition to his classes, he had a council meeting in the afternoon, and with Valentine's Day a day away, he had to put the final touches on his surprise for Mal.

Once Ben was finally dressed, he walked out of his dorm, wearing an extra hoodie as he felt cold. He made his way towards his locker, hoping that nobody noticed him. However, his girlfriend had to come up from behind him when a coughing fit seized him.

"That cough seems to be getting worse," Mal said. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ben said , although it came out softer than he thought it would. In truth, he had been coughing for a few days now, but he figured that it was just because he was recovering from a cold he had a few days ago.

"Hmhm," Mal said as she walked around him so that they were standing face to face. After a moment, she said, "You look awful."

Ben scoffed a little, trying to turn the comment into a joke. "Gee, thanks."

However, Mal wasn't laughing. "Ben, I'm serious. You look like you're sick."

Ben shook his head. "I'm not sick."

Mal sighed. "Fine, but I'll be keeping an eye on you. And lucky for me, we have first period together today."

Ben sighed, which made him cough a little. "Alright then. And to prove to you that I'm alright, I'll walk you to class."

Mal still didn't seem convinced, but she nodded anyways. "Alright. By the way, the hoodie over your suit makes quite the fashion statement."

Ben didn't find it amusing. However, he was afraid that if he took the hoodie off, he would be freezing. He walked Mal to their class, going at a noticibly slower pace than usual. They reached their first period class just as the bell rang and say down at their desks. The teacher started the lesson, but Ben wasn't paying any attention. Either he was thinking about how his chest hurt, or how tired he felt. Feeling his eyes droop, he figured it wouldn't hurt to rest his head for a few moments.

Mal was concerned when Ben was slower than he usually was on the way to class. However, she felt her worry increase as she looked over and saw her boyfriend with his head down. Luckily, she was seated right next to Ben, so she reached over and felt his temple with the back of her hand, biting her lip as she did so. He felt so hot that Mal thought he was going to burst into flames, not to mention he was sweating. She gently rubbed his back. "Ben?" She relaxed when he grunted. "Come on Ben, let's get you back to your dorm."

Ben slowly turned his head. "But I'm fine." He seemed like he wanted to say more but started coughing, earning him a few concerned looks from the other students.

"No, you're not," Mal said gently before raising her hand.

"Yes Mal?" the teacher said.

"Can I take Ben to his dorm?" Mal asked. "He isn't feeling well."

The teacher nodded. "Certainly. We all hope he feels better soon."

Mal helped Ben out of his seat and lead him out of the classroom, ignoring Ben's protests along the way. "Ben, just admit it, you're sick."

Ben sighed in defeat as they started up the stairs. "Fine, I may feel a little sick."

"Mmhmm." Mal thought he felt more than a little sick, but she could tell he didn't have the energy to continue arguing about it. They climbed up the stairs in silence until Ben suddenly stopped in the middle of them.

"Hang on," Ben said, sounding spent. "I just need to catch my breath."

To say that Mal was worried was an understatement. Ben usually wasn't winded so easily. "No, I'm carrying you."

"Aren't I a bit..." However, before Ben could finish his sentence, Mal had already swooped him up and held him in her arms bridal style with ease. Ben managed to smile at her. "Isn't this supposed to go the other way around?" He chuckled, which quickly turned into a hacking cough.

Mal rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. However, despite him being on a roll of corny jokes today, she was concerned about his well being, especially since this seemed like something more then that little cold he had a few days ago. She carried him up the stairs to his dorm. However, Ben had accidentally left his key inside, so Mal had to improvise.

Once they arrived in her dorm, she laid Ben down on her bed and helped Ben out of his hoodie before pulling one of the covers half way up. "Now, you stay here, and no getting up unless I tell you to," Mal said, knowing he'd want to either go to class or do his kingly duties.

"But I'm supposed to attend a council meeting this afternoon," Ben complained.

"And I'm sure your parents can take care of it," Mal said as she grabbed her phone and texted Fairy Godmother, as well as Ben's parents to let them know what was going on. Belle, Ben's mother, texted back almost immediately, saying that she would stop by later to check on him and that Ben's dad would take care of all of Ben's duties until he was better.

"But..." Ben started before he started coughing. His hand flew to his chest, and each cough seemed to wrack his body.

Once his coughing fit was over, Mal gently rubbed his back. "Does your chest hurt when you cough?" Ben nodded, using minimal words. Mal was near the point of panicking now, a feeling she'd never thought she would experience. It was clear that her boyfriend was very sick, and to be honest, she didn't want to to try to think about what life would be like without him. "Just hang in there, ok?"

Ben weakly looked up at her. "Aren't you afraid of getting sick?"

Mal smirked a little. "Trust me, we eat everybody's scraps on the Isle. You think our immune systems wouldn't toughen up by then?"

"I'll give you that." Ben put his head down on the pillow as his eyes drooped.

Mal gently brushed his sweat plastered bangs out of his face. "Get some sleep. You could use it." Once Ben was asleep, she walked into the bathroom, soon returning with a wet cloth and placing it on his forehead, inadvertently making Ben flinch in his sleep. "Sshhhhh." Mal gently rubbed his shoulder until he settled back down.

Unfortunately for Ben, it wasn't long before there was a knock at the door. "Come in ," Mal said before gently shaking her boyfriend. Ben stirred, muttering something incoherent before his hazel - green eyes fluttered opened.

The door opened and Fairy Godmother and the school nurse walked in.

"So, it seems like his majesty is sick," the nurse said.

"I'm not..." Ben started before he was interrupted by Mal's glare. "Okay, I'm sick."

The nurse couldn't help but chuckle. "Let's take a look then, shall we?" She took Ben's temperature, frowning as she read the thermometer. "104.1" Then, she put her stethoscope on Ben's back. "Take a deep breath."

Ben tried but it quickly turned into a coughing fit. Mal wanted to go to her boyfriend, but Fairy Godmother put her hand on Mal's shoulder, indicating that they should give the nurse some space and let her do her work. When Ben's coughing was over, he did manage to let out a shaky breath. Once the nurse had finished checking Ben out and asking about his symptoms, she finally announced her diagnosis. "Well, it looks like you have pneumonia, but I'll have to run a test to be sure. In the meantime, rest, plenty of fluids, no physical exercise, and no paperwork or other kingly duties."

"But... " Ben started to say.

"No buts," the nurse interrupted before turning to Mal and Fairy Godmother. "Knowing how stubborn Ben can be, I would suggest you keep a close eye on him. Also, it would be wise to keep him here for now, at least until his fever goes down. "

Fairy Godmother thought over this for a moment. "I suppose that will be alright for a few days, if it's alright with Mal's roommate."

Mal nodded. "I'll text Evie right now." She pulled out her phone and began texting her best friend/sister, explaining the situation and asking if it was okay for Ben to spend a couple of days in their room.

"I'll be back soon with some medicine," the nurse said as she left the room.

Fairy Godmother turned to Mal. "Are you sure you two will be okay in here?"

Mal couldn't blame Fairy Godmother for the skeptical look on her face. She could only imagined what was running through her mind at the moment. Still, Mal nodded. "We'll be fine."

Once Fairy Godmother walked out of the room, Mal went over to the bed, where Ben had fallen asleep while she was talking with the nurse and Fairy Godmother. She gently places the cool, wet cloth back on his forehead, being careful not to wake him up. She carefully say down picked up a book that Ben had introduced her to: Stardust. So far, it was a good book, although a little slow at times. She was at the part where the main character, Tristian, was meeting the star when she heard coughing. She turned around, only to see that her boyfriend was awake. "How are you feeling?"

"Awful," Ben said once the coughing had stopped. "How else?"

Just then, there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" Mal said.

Fairy Godmother walked into the room carrying a tray with a pitcher of water, a cup, and a pill bottle. "The nurse finished testing. Ben definitely has pneumonia." She put the tray on Mal's nightstand . "Make sure he takes two every three to four hours." She turned to Mal and Ben with a suspicious look on her face. "You two are okay, right?"

Ben nodded. "We're fine."

"Nothing happened," Mal added.

Fairy Godmother nodded, and started to walk out the door. But before she left, she said, "Oh, and I ran into Evie. She said that it was okay for Ben to stay."

Mal nodded. "Okay."

Ben raised an eyebrow at Mal after Fairy Godmother left. "You really had to add that we didn't do anything? Don't you think that will get her even more suspicious? "

Mal shrugged as she filled the glass what water and hand Ben his antibiotics. "Here, take your medicine." Ben reluctantly took his medicine and leaned back. "How about we get you into something more comfortable, okay?" She helped Ben out of his jacket and shirt off and put on the hoodie he had on earlier, ignoring her boyfriend's protests that he could do it himself.

So this is part of my Journey into the Past series, and this idea for this Bal Valentine's Day stemmed drone fact that I get sick almost every single Valentine's Day. Due to writer's block and life, I wasn't able to finish it in time, but I will finish it eventually.