AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Hi y'all! Yes, this is a Trish/Jace one-shot because while Austin and Ally are my favorite couple on A&A, I can't help but love Trish and Jace too, because in my opinion, Jace was the only one of Trish's boyfriends who wasn't problematic and I feel like if their relationship wasn't long distance, Trish would have ended up with him and not Chuck. Obviously, their relationship isn't long distance in my universe. I'm writing about them because, in my opinion, they were the most underrated ship on the show. Anyway, here's My girlfriend, the herbalist.

JACE:

Let's be real. Being sick is a pain in the ass. You feel like a bus ran over you, you have trouble sleeping at night, you're in pain, you're cold, ugh it sucks. Well, that's what's plaguing me right now. Cold and flu season has been spreading like wildfire in Miami, and it's hit me really hard. I have a thick, wet cough (and it hurts when I cough, too) and I've been rapidly producing yellow-green mucus, I've had a runny nose, I've had body aches, I have congestion in my nose and chest, I've had a horrendously sore throat, I have chills, I've been short of breath and I've been wheezing, I've had a fever that's been racking up quite a bit and I have a hoarse smoker voice.

I was diagnosed with asthma when I was three, so that was exponentially making my cough worse. At the time, my parents thought I just had a cold, but I was hospitalized because I was gasping for air, losing color and my lips were turning blue and I was hospitalized for forty-eight hours. Up until I was five, I was very prone to croup and I would get it a lot when I was little and it would linger for up to four weeks, and last night I had had my first asthma attack in years. My asthma was usually under control now, but I had to use an inhaler from time to time and every now and then, I would have to take a breathing treatment. My triggers were colds and the flu, cold weather, dust, mold, tree pollen, smoke (tobacco smoke and environmental smoke), as well as anaphylactic food allergies to shellfish (I could still eat fish, but not shellfish), peanuts and kiwis. If I was in contact with those foods, my anaphylaxis would act up. I did the best I could (and usually succeeded) to steer clear of them. I inherited asthma, anaphylaxis, and kiwi and peanut allergies from my mom, and I inherited allergies to shellfish from my dad. I had three brothers, two older and one younger, and my oldest brother Eric was allergic to shellfish and kiwis, too. I could never leave the house without my inhaler and my epipen and I never let either of them out of my sight. Asthma was a bitch and anaphylaxis was an even bigger bitch, but I never let them define me. For me, visits to the doctor and the allergist were essential- even though my allergies didn't ever seem to change. I was sitting on the table of the doctor's office after I got my vital signs taken, wearing an N95 mask, waiting for my doctor, Dr. Murray Cochran, to come in to check me out.

I was at the doctor's because I had a fever that had made it to 103 degrees, I was coughing so hard that I couldn't sleep and I had had trouble breathing with my coughing. I picked my phone out of the pocket of my green hoodie. My phone was a black iPhone 6 with a Dexter iPhone case. My lock screen was a picture of my girlfriend, Trish De La Rosa, and I at her quinceanera two years ago, and my home screen was a picture collage of her kissing my cheek and me kissing her cheek. Speaking of Trish, I was getting a text from her now. She sent me a picture of herself, her thick black hair, that was normally in tight curls, was flat and her ends were softly curled and tied in an Ariana Grande-esque high half ponytail. Her makeup looked perfect, as always, even though her nose and mouth were covered by a mask.

"Hi, baby. Are you OK? You're not at school."

I sent her a picture of me sitting on the doctor's table.

"I'm at the Doctor's. This cough is kicking my ass."

She sent me some crying and broken heart emojis. I decided to record some of my coughing and send it to her. I got a text from her saying,

"Your coughing sounds terrible,"

And she included crying emojis after it. She followed it up with another text that said,

"You know how bad your cough is when it sounds like a smoker cough."

I texted,

"I feel worse than I sound. It's why I'm seeing my doctor."

Speak of the devil. I heard Dr. Cochran come in, holding a clipboard.

"Good morning. What brings you here today?"

I coughed and cleared my throat. I said in a very raspy voice,

"I have a very bad cough. My chest feels tight and I'm short of breath, I'm wheezing, I couldn't sleep, and my fever made it to 103 and it's not responding to cough medicine."

Dr. Cochran said to me,

"Hmm, that's not good. Good thing you're here if you're having those symptoms."

I chuckled wryly and let out another fit of coughing. I watched Dr. Cochran unwind his stethoscope from around his neck and shoulders and gently press the drum on my chest, telling me to take deep breaths. My breaths were accompanied by coughing fits and it was hurting to cough. Dr. Cochran was checking my other vitals and other than my coughing and breathing, everything else was luckily OK. He asked me,

"You're not showing any signs of a throat infection or tonsilitis. But your cough has a bit of that wheezing and barking to it, you have a buildup of catarrh and your sputum is yellow-green in color, so you have bronchitis. When did your symptoms first start?"

I said,

"Early this week. It just started off with a little bit of coughing and a little sore throat and yesterday it seemed to get worse."

I coughed and hacked into my elbow again and cleared my throat. I said in a hoarse voice,

"What do you recommend, doctor?"

Dr. Cochran said,

"Your bronchitis is viral, so it won't go away with an antibiotic. Steam, like a hot shower or breathing in steam from a humidifier, hot liquids like tea and soup, will help with the catarrh and dry up the congestion. Stay hydrated- cold liquids will help to hydrate you, and they'll help to lower your body temperature, and most importantly, get a lot of bed rest. Bed rest is the fastest way to recover."

Once again, I went into a coughing fit and cleared my throat. My doctor handed me my visit summary and he told me,

"If your symptoms don't improve in a week or two, come back in."

"Thank you, Dr. Cochran."

"Just doing my job. I hope these remedies help you out."

I got home and I refilled my canister with water, got a washcloth wet with cool water and got into bed. I took my mask off and put it on my nightstand. I put the damp cloth on my forehead, proceeded to cough again, swallowing the mucus I was coughing up, and I heard my phone vibrate on my nightstand. I got another text from Trish saying,

"What did the doctor say?"

I texted,

"I got bronchitis. I'm fucking congested and I feel shitty."

My girlfriend texted,

"Aww poor baby"

And followed it up with crying emojis. Trish texted,

"Believe it or not, you're not the only one who's sick."

I texted,

"What do you mean?"

She texted,

"Half of the Marino High student body is sick. Austin and Dez both apparently have strep and Ally has a cold. Ally's the only one I mentioned who actually went to school today."

I texted,

"That sucks for them. Hopefully, you don't get sick, too."

She sent me a picture of herself wearing a surgical mask.

Trish texted,

"I've been washing my hands and sanitizing whenever I can. This mask hasn't left my face either."

I texted,

"That's good."

First chapter down! Second part soon to come. If you like the story, remember to favorite, follow and review. Have a great day! Love y'all!