A/N First, do not fret. I am still working on my other story. This was just a minor distraction (that turned out longer than I expected) because I like Ben and Abigail fics and think there needs to be more happy romantic feel-good fluff out there! I thought I'd have it ready for Valentine's Day, but obviously that didn't happen! Anyway, I'm not kidding. This is very fluffy. It may be sweet enough to cause cavities. You've been warned.

Benjamin Gates was not a natural born romantic. Any one of his ex-girlfriends could attest to that fact. Gentlemanly - yes. Charming - absolutely. Loyal and devoted – without a doubt. But when it came to romance, he needed a little work. It never seemed to bother him either; sure, his girlfriends might have complained a little, but eventually they just accepted that Ben showed his love in other ways. In fact, no one could ever say that Ben wasn't completely devoted to the people he loved; he would do anything for them. He'd even risk his own life to save the life of someone he loved. Wasn't that romantic?

Apparently not romantic enough.

That realization hit Ben like a ton of bricks the day he unintentionally hurt the woman he loved more than life itself. It was exactly one year ago today - Valentine's Day. And Ben really messed up.

His entire mindset changed that day with one glance into her disheartened eyes, knowing full well that he caused that disappointment. She deserved more from him. She deserved to be romanced, not just on Valentine's Day, but every day. His mind was made up, he was determined, he realized that she was worth every ounce of his effort. One problem remained however. Ben still had no idea how to do it.

And so Benjamin Gates called the one person he knew could best help him.

"Hello?" came the familiar, soft voice on the other end of the line.

"Hi…Mom…" His voice trailed off as he thought of how to explain his predicament to his mother. Finally, with a heavy sigh, he simply accepted defeat. "I need your help."

......................

Ben stood in the doorway of the large master bedroom, leaning casually against the door and slowly sipping on his second cup of coffee that morning. His gaze was fixed adoringly on her, the soft, steady breathing that accompanied a gentle rise and fall of her chest, her body curled up comfortably under the blankets. It was a sight he didn't get to experience all that often. She was almost always up before him.

He was content to just watch her as she slept soundly and peacefully, wondering where her dreams might have taken her. After a few more minutes, Ben swallowed the final gulp of his coffee and took a few steps toward the bed. She was so still and looked so content that he debated in his mind whether to wake her or not.

But it was Valentine's Day and he was determined to do better this time.

Ben sat down on the edge of the bed and began to lightly run his fingers through her silky blond hair. It didn't take long for her to begin to stir as she woke from her sleep, murmuring things Ben couldn't understand.

"Abigail," he coaxed softly, his lips tracing her ear as he whispered. "Wake up, sweetheart."

Abigail groaned tiredly in response and continued muttering something to him. From the expression on her face, it looked as though she truly believed her words were coherent, which caused Ben to chuckle.

"Oh, is that so?" He teased, as though he understood whatever she was mumbling.

With her eyes still closed, she reached forward, trying to find his hand. When she did, she began pulling him back down to the bed.

"Why are you up?" Abigail asked groggily. "Come back to bed."

Ben kissed her on the cheek, resisting the temptation to crawl back under the warm, satin sheets and straight into her waiting arms.

"I can't, Abby, I have to leave soon."

Abigail's forehead wrinkled and a contemplative frown formed on her lips as she tried to remember what it was that he had to do that day. With nothing coming to mind, she pulled gently on his hand again.

"Come on…what's so important that you'd rather do it instead of cuddling in bed with me on my day off?" Abigail tried to persuade.

Ben laughed, leaning down to lightly kiss her lips. "There is absolutely nothing in this world that's more important to me than you," he told her and she smiled. "However, Dr. Kinsey's second year history students are anxiously awaiting part three of 'Finding the Templar Treasure.' I don't want to disappoint them when it's just getting to the best part."

Abigail opened her eyes and met his gaze, grinning curiously at him. "Is that the part of the adventure when you pulled me into your arms and kissed me?"

Ben chuckled, leaning in for another, longer kiss.

"I usually leave those details out," he told her, pulling away from her lips just slightly. "Some things should just be between you and me."

"Yeah, like…Valentine's Day morning?" She suggested, wrapping her arms around his neck as her lips sought his again. She pulled him down toward her and the kiss became more passionate, enticing him to stay.

Somehow Ben eventually found the resolve to pull himself away from her, and Abigail responded with her best pout. Ben laughed at how adorable she was, and stood up from the bed.

"I'm sorry, honey. I really would rather stay here with you," Ben told her. "But I'll be home later and we'll go out to dinner somewhere special, ok?"

Abigail sighed and took his hand again, knowing he still felt guilty about last year's Valentine's Day. "Ben, we don't have to go anywhere…I'll be happy just staying here with you tonight."

"No," Ben said adamantly. "I'm taking you out, and that's final."

"Ok, but –"

"No buts!" Ben interjected, placing his index finger against her lips. "I want to take the woman I love out tonight."

"Ok, ok!" Abigail surrendered. "I just don't want you to think you have to make up for last year, because you don't."

Ben leaned down and stole one last quick kiss. "I told you it would be better this time."

Abigail shook her head in wonder. "Once you get something in your head, there's no stopping you, is there?"

"Nope," Ben replied with a grin. "I'll see you a little later, ok?"

Abby nodded. "Ok. I love you."

"I love you too," Ben said, grabbing his glasses from the nightstand and turned to walk out the door. "Oh, by the way," he remembered. "There's a fresh pot of coffee waiting for you downstairs."

"There is?" Abigail asked in disbelief. Ben just smiled and went on his way.

Half an hour after Ben had left, Abigail was still lounging in bed, thoroughly enjoying not having to get up and go to work that day. The welcoming aroma of fresh coffee had drifted up from the kitchen to the bedroom, finally convincing her it was time to get up. She got out of bed and stretched, completely relaxed and ready to enjoy a day of doing things she rarely had a chance to do; watch her favorite mid-morning talk show, call her sister and have a nice long chat just to catch up, and later curl up on the couch with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa, extra marshmallows.

Of course she would have rather spent the entire day with Ben, but he had agreed weeks ago to do a special presentation on his treasure pursuits, in particular on discovering the Templar treasure, for a history professor at a local college who also happened to be one of his good friends. Abigail was happy he had these opportunities to relive those moments. He loved to tell the story; it was so evident in the way his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree when someone asked him about the quest to discovery or the treasure itself. Many times since then, Abigail had marveled over the fact that she had the honor of sharing such an important and defining moment in his life, and she would never, ever forget the look on his face when all of his pursuing finally came to fruition.

Smiling to herself as she reflected on those memories, Abigail poured herself a cup of coffee and added a little cream and sugar, then carried it over to the kitchen table and took her usual seat. The sun was shining, warming the kitchen considerably through the skylight above. It was an addition that she wasn't sure Ben would be keen on, but she had always thought kitchens should be brightly lit up with natural light, and the kitchen in their mansion only had a moderately-sized window above the kitchen sink. Surprisingly, Ben was quite agreeable to the addition. It may have had something to do with the fact that Abigail very pointedly, though quite sweetly, told him he'd be cooking most of his meals himself if she had to work in a dark kitchen, and by his pensive expression, she figured he liked that idea even less than having a skylight installed. And so she got her wish.

Ben had left the morning paper on the table for her, and she picked it up, automatically flipping through the pages to the Lifestyles section; she liked starting her morning with lighter, not so depressing reading, as was often the case with the stories in the News sections. As she pulled the section from the newspaper, a bright yellow post-it note that was stuck to the middle of the first page caught her attention.

Happy Valentine's Day, Abby. I'll be thinking of you all day, counting the seconds until I see you later. Love, Ben.

An ear-to-ear grin immediately appeared on her face and she sighed happily. First he thought enough to make her a pot of coffee, then left a little note in the newspaper section he knew she'd turn to first. Abby wondered with eager curiosity what else he had up his sleeve. She felt a little guilty, knowing at least in part that his efforts were a result of her explosive reaction to last year's uneventful Valentine's Day, when she probably was more harsh with her words than she should have been...