"So I already told you this yesterday, but I'll say it again. Mal I'm thrilled that you are back in town and now we can all go out together, and you guys can help me make some videos." Luke said raising his glass and making the rest of the table laughed but mirrored his actions cheering. Jay, Lonnie, Carrie, Ben, Mal, and Luke had agreed to get together for dinner two days after the arrival of Mal to the city. Mal had decided to stay home on Sunday trying to put all her things in order and also to rest because as beautiful as baby Daniela was she was also very demanding, and Mal was in an odd sleeping schedule. So that day after Mal make herself at home again she decided to rest. The girl never knew that Carrie invited Luke and Ben for dinner trying to celebrate the girl's arrival that night, in the end, the three friends ate alone in the living room talking about how things had changed in a small amount of time.

Ben took the opportunity to talk to Luke about them traveling together to his next assignment, he did so this way so he could see Carrie's reaction the girl seemed a little taken aback and Ben told them that he wouldn't take offense if the boy declined his invitation. When Ben went back to his apartment, the couple talked about his request. Carrie told Luke that she was afraid that he was never going to be able to settle down if he continued to travel regularly for his vlog, the boy decided to decline Ben's invitation and promised Carrie that he had no problem with staying in one place if that meant to be with her. When Luke told Ben the boy was sad because he had no longer his traveling buddy, but at the same time he was glad that his friends have decided to invest in their relationship. On Monday, he made his way to the office before the sun was up trying to make up his mind about what his plans for the future should be, he knew that he too needed to adjust his way of living if he wanted to have a chance to build something with Mal. Constant traveling was not the way to start a relationship especially after Mal had share with him that there was the possibility of them getting back together, he wanted to be there and tried to make things right.

Making his way into his office, he was relieved to find Billy there making his way out; the man was supposed to retire in a month and was now shadowing the new guy. "Billy!, Hey are you done for the day?"

"Ben, I'm glad to see you kid. Yeah, is weird leaving this early but I guess I need to get used to it now. What are you doing here so early?" The boy told him that he needed some advice and invited Billy to eat something; both men make their way to a little diner near the office where Ben started to tell the men everything that happened to him since Mal came back. The older man was glad to see that the couple was beginning to make some real progress, he had heard from the boy that he had finally ended his relationship with Lindsey. He was sorry to hear from Tony that the girl had decided to trash Ben with her followers but was proud to see that the boy was not giving them the time of day.

"Well, first of all, let me tell you I'm happy for you two. I'm glad to see that you have managed to start rebuilding a relationship with Mal. Now even though is tempting just to jump the friendship step of the equation and tried to date again I think is important that you get to know each other. I think that is also going to help her feel more secure about open up about her life, you told me that she has been sharing more of her with you, but Ben as amazing as that is you have to realize that you were about to propose to someone that you barely knew. Yes, you love her, and I understand that, but please take the time to build something so that when the time comes for you two to be together again in that way you have a good foundation." Ben nodded he knew that Billy was right, still part of him really wanted to take a chance and move on to the dating part of the equation.

The boy then shared his concerned about the way he was accustomed to living his life, traveling for several weeks at the time and how that could prove to be a disadvantage for his and Mal's future. "Ben, I think is good you are thinking about that, but don't start changing your life just yet, ok?"

They continued to talk for hours until the boy got a call from his office asking him about a meeting that he was late for, Ben said goodbye to Billy promising to visit him at his home after his retirement. At the end of the day, Ben was making his itinerary when Carrie enter his office looking a little ashamed; the girl started apologizing to Ben for "guilting" Luke into declining his offer. "Carrie you must know by now that Luke doesn't do anything he doesn't want to, so don't worry about it. I think is great that you guys are trying to find your own rhythm."

Carrie smiled at Ben and told him how happy she was that Luke decided to move back to the States with her. "He still has his house at Cape Town; we are planning to go there in a couple of months to close it up. Maybe we can all go there together; I know Luke wanted Mal and Evie to see the place."

Ben smiled at the idea of traveling with all of his friends but decided not to say anything until everyone agreed to actually make the trip. Soon the boy started telling Carrie about his next trip; he was going away for two weeks to Japan. His friend seemed shocked by the news, Carrie told Ben that she thought that now that Mal was back the boy was going to stay more in the city and even went on to ask him if things were ok between them. The boy smiled and assured Carrie that things were great with Mal, but he had made a commitment to the magazine that he intended to keep it. Taking advantage that Carrie had brought up Mal's name Ben asked how the girl was doing.

"Mal is fine, this morning when she woke up it took her a couple of minutes to actually stayed awake, but after a cup of coffee, things were great. Actually, I wanted to invite you to our celebratory dinner tomorrow night. Lonnie called Mal a couple of minutes ago, and they settle everything up, and Jay is also joining us, so the night promised to be interesting, to say the least." Ben was a little apprehensive about his friend joining them, Jay was making an effort, but he still had some reservation towards Mal. Carrie asked Ben if he was ready to go home so they could walk together, and that's how the couple ended up walking into the building just as Mal was getting there too.

The girl looked tired, and Ben fight his protective instinct to tell Mal that she should just miss work for the rest of the week before she would pass out of exhaustion. The three of them went in the elevator with Carrie chatting enthusiastically about what she was planning to cook for tomorrow night and Mal yawning the entire time. The door of the elevator opened showing Luke knocking on the girl's apartment, the boy turned and smiled at his girlfriend and friends. Ben waved to him but decided not to get out of the elevator not wanting to impose on the couple or a visible tired Mal. When he made it to his apartment, he started to put his flight itinerary in the fridge and decided to go straight to bed exhausted from his early morning. A smile appeared on his face when he was about to put his alarm and Ben noticed a text from Mal wishing him goodnight and telling him that she was looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.

When night came the friends were enjoying their time together while Luke fill the silence with stories of his many adventures, soon Lonnie was suggesting that they should all play a board game and Mal made her way to the kitchen. Ben took this opportunity to have a private moment with the girl to tell her about his next trip, part of him wondered if Mal was going to have the same reaction Carrie did and what would he do if that was the case.

"So, they all seemed to be having a great time. How about you?" Ben's voice made Mal turned; the girl hadn't realized that he was walking behind her until he spoke. The boy had entered the kitchen as Mal put several dishes in the sink and seemed to be debating going back to the living room with the rest of the group. The girl smiled and nodded, but then she noticed that Ben hadn't include himself in the group of people having fun, so she asked him if he was ok. "I'm fine Mal, is just that I can't enjoy myself when I can see that you are not doing ok. Are you still tired? Have you managed to get some sleep?"

Mal smiled at the boy that always found a way to make her feel care for no matter the situation. "I'll be honest. When Lonnie called me yesterday about having the dinner today, I was going to say no, but she started saying how all of you wanted to celebrate that I was back and that even Jay was going to come. Well at the end, I agreed not only for them but because we haven't had any chance to talk and I wanted to see you."

Ben smiled at the girl that continue to rant about how she just wanted to lay in bed and sleep before she would just pass out in front of everyone. The boy opened his arms asking the girl to come so that he could hug her. The couple stood in the middle of the kitchen in silence enjoying being in each other's arms after so many months of being apart; the boy took the opportunity to say that he missed seeing her. "You know you can call me whenever you want; you didn't need to agree to this dinner for that. I was giving you some time to rest before asking you out, but if you want we can make plans right now, although I think that first, we should tell everyone that you need to rest. I'm worried about you Mal can you please take a couple of days off work?"

The girl smiled against Ben's chest and the boy could feel it making him mirrored her actions. "I promised that I'd take the next week off, but I still need to go for the rest of the week to finished a couple of urgent projects. Maybe we can have lunch together tomorrow so we can catch up?"

"Sure. I'd love that, but how about we go to the living room and tell everyone that you are tired a need your sleep." Mal nodded but didn't make a move and even went to snuggle a little more against Ben chest. The boy in response gave her a couple of kisses on the head telling her how adorable she was and how happy he was that she was finally back, sure Mal thought he was talking about her coming to New York, but in reality, Ben was talking about her coming back to him.

The voice of Lonnie asking them if they were coming back soon broke the moment making Ben groaned at how annoying his friends could be, but he decided to take Mal's hand and walk with her towards the living room. Once there he announced that Mal was too tired to continue to participate in the game or any other activity so she was going to sleep. Most of the eyes of their friends were focused on the couple's hands wondering if something had happened in the kitchen, so they just nodded in silence. Mal noticed what her friends were looking at and she also realized that Ben didn't seem to be aware that he was holding her hand like he used to do back in the day when they were a couple. Using her free hand, Mal waved towards their friends thanking them for coming to celebrate her returned while also saying goodnight and assuring them that they could keep playing without her.

Ben took that opportunity to said goodbye too, letting everyone know that he had an early morning the next day and he also was going to bed early. Once both of them left their friends alone, everyone felt free to talk about the way the couple entered the living room holding hands like they used to do a little over a year ago. "So do you guys think that something actually happened in the kitchen? I would love to know, but sometimes those two remind me of a deer that get spook easily when one tries to talk to them about each other. I guess we are just going to have to wait and see."

Carrie nodded to Lonnie agreeing that they should just wait for Mal or Ben to talk about what happened there because if they pressed the situation, they could ruin any progress the couple had. The couples decided to continue with their night, and soon they were having a great time, talking and laughing and with each passing minute, they got louder and louder. In her room, Mal was staring at the ceiling not being able to sleep because of the noise, annoyed but not mad enough to go out and scream at her friends to be quiet in her apartment.

When the girl was about ready to scream at them though, she decided to pick up her phone and sent a quick text to Ben telling him about what was happening. She knew that Ben was possibly already sleeping but just sending him a text make her feel like he was going to back her up whenever he read it, and by that point, she was ready to go out of her room and be extremely rude to everyone. A message came announcing that Ben was awake and he offered to go down to her place or send a text to their friends telling them to be quiet so she could go to sleep. Mal smiled at her screen, and soon they were texting until the boy invited her to sleep at his apartment if she didn't want to stop their friends from going on with their fun. A blush spread all over her cheeks while Mal bit her lip as ideas of what could happen if she accepted the invitation. Still, she was about to decline when a powerful wave of laughter came from the living room clearing her mind of any ideas aside from a good night sleep.

She said yes and then picked her keys and phone up, Mal opened her door expecting to see everyone in the living room, but nobody was there. The girl was confused for a couple of seconds until the noise of pots clashing and loud conversation alert her of the presence of the group in the kitchen. Mal pondered for a couple of seconds if she should tell her friends about her leaving the apartment, but in the end, she decided against it not wanting to make them feel bad about keeping her awake. A couple of minutes later she was knocking at Ben's door, and the boy opened the door instantly looking a little disheveled, making it evident that he had managed to sleep before Mal interrupted him with her texts.

Mal started to apologize for waking him up, but he cut her off assuring her that she was right to text him. Closing the door, he took her hand and walked into the apartment completely missing the smile on the girl's face at his action. "I was thinking that you should sleep in my room and I'll sleep on the couch. At first, I was going to suggest Luke's bedroom, but we didn't tell him that you were going to come so he might come home in the middle of the night."

Ben was about to walk Mal to his room when the girl told him that she would be fine sleeping on the couch, he had already done too much by invited her, and she wouldn't be able to sleep if she knew that he was uncomfortable in the sofa. The boy started to say no while Mal tried to convince him. "Fine, let's compromised how about we both sleep in your room tonight. I mean if that's ok with you."

The boy wasn't sure how to agreed without showing his excitement, so he tried to nod looking cool, and once again took the girl's hand making their way into the room and closing the door behind them. Both of them stood staring at Ben's bed with moments of their past flashing on their minds making the moment awkward. Mal cleared her throat and went to get in the bed at her usual side making Ben smiled at the girl that used to tell him that she loved sleeping close to the window. Soon both of them were laying in bed wishing each other a good night and turning the lights off.

Ten minutes passed with neither of them being able to sleep and trying not to move so not to disturbed the other one until Mal broke the silence. "Ben? Are you sleep?"

"Of course not. How could I?." He laughed making the girl smile at how he was also nervous about them being back in his room after so much time. Mal started to tell Ben that she remembered the last time she had been there, it was before he flew back to see his parents in Denver after she had told him for the last time that she didn't want to go with him. Even though the boy was hurt back then, she remembered him holding her and kissing her head telling her that he soon would be back and they would have a fantastic end of the year together. Ben kept quiet with vivid images of that night playing in his head and wishing that he could tell himself to enjoy his last minutes with Mal.

Then Mal asked him if he ever thought about their past together, she knew that it was a loaded question but been close to him in such an intimate moment made her feel more free with her thoughts. "I used to think about it a lot, but lately not anymore if I'm honest."

The second those words came out of his mouth Ben knew that Mal wasn't going to understand what he meant, he tried to elaborate, but she just said goodnight and move away from him. Getting a hold of her hand in the darkness, Ben pleaded for her to listen to him. " I know that didn't sound good, but please hear me out. The reason why I don't think back to our times together as much as I used to is that for the first time since we had that awful coffee date for your birthday last year I can finally see that maybe we can have a future together. When we broke up, I needed to get out of the country to try to outrun the memories of us and plans that I had for our future. I know you think that dating Lindsey is proof of me moving on, but I'm ashamed to admit that I was using her to forget you. Please don't think I did it on purpose because I at some level I didn't realize it until it was too late, that's why when she started trashing me in her videos I never said anything. I acted poorly with her, and she had every right to be upset with me, sure I would prefer she quit doing that, but hey I get it. Now, since we started talking again, I decided that I was going to be ok with being in your life even if it wasn't in the same capacity as before, but after our conversation on Saturday I think we might get back together at some point."

The girl stayed quiet, and for a moment Ben pondered if he had misread all the signs on their conversation until he felt her hand squeezing his. Both of them were smiling at each other even if the other couldn't see it, and then they fell asleep peacefully until the next morning. Ben woke up first and smile when he realized that Mal was snuggling against him like she used to do back in the day. He got ready and left her a note telling her that he was going to meet her for lunch and to please send him the information. Several hours later Mal woke up to an empty bed that still smelled like Ben making her smile thinking back to the boy's confession from the night before. Mal made her way to her apartment that was now empty and got ready for work although but the time she was ready, it was closer to noon.

Mal decided to call her office while making her way to Ben's hoping that the boy was available to eat lunch earlier than usual. Once there she said hello to the receptionist that smile brightly at the sight of Mal informing her that everyone was at a meeting but they were close to finished it. "You can wait in Ben's office. I'm sure he will be fine with that."

The girl thanked her and made her way to the boy's office while the woman sent a quick text to Ben telling her of Mal's arrival. A couple of minutes later Ben made his way to his office eager to see Mal; he found her reading one of his books seating on his couch. "Hey, I was wondering where and when we were going to meet, and suddenly you are here."

She smiled and stood to give him a quick kiss on the cheek while telling him about her morning. "So after calling in, they told me that we could have our staff meeting this afternoon, so there was no need for me to go to the office before lunch."

Ben smiled to see the girl looking more rested than the night before, and he really wished he could be able to go out for lunch. However, in his last meeting, he had realized that to be able to have everything ready for his trip to Japan Ben needed to spend more time planning it. "I'm sorry Mal I was actually going to write to you about our lunch. I don't really have a lot of time today, so I wanted to ask you if you would be ok with us eating here?"

The girl agreed, and soon he was telling her about his plans to travel to Japan in a month. "I asked Luke to come with me, but he decided to stay because Carrie isn't comfortable with him traveling. So, I'm going alone for now, but I'm glad to see that they are giving their relationship a real chance. With that said I wanted to know what you think about me traveling?"

Mal was taken aback she knew that Ben like traveling and that his column was important to him, but part of her understood why Carrie had told Luke not to go with him. Now that the boy was giving her the opportunity to say to him that she preferred he didn't travel she found herself unable to do it, yes she wanted Ben close to her, but she didn't want him to missed any opportunities on her behalf. "I'm going to miss seeing you, but both of us are always busy Ben, and we don't see each other every day. We should take things slow, and that means keep doing things that we used to do when we were apart, I'm going to keep going to boxing lessons twice a week and pilates, and you should keep traveling. Now maybe you could space your trips a little?"

"Sure, I can do that. I'm going to Japan for two weeks and after that, I'll probably won't travel for a month or two with all the material that I plan to gather there. If you are up for it, we can maybe travel together someday?" Mal smiled and nodded, telling Ben that they should go to Washington so he could meet Cora and Zohu and also finally go to the Spy Museum, that last part made the boy laughed.

The next two hours they spent eating and talking about the places he needed to go while he visited Japan and some souvenirs Mal wanted him to bring for her. They were having a good time when Carrie came saying hello to them and telling Ben that they needed to go to their meeting. Mal stood and said goodbye to both of them when Ben asked her if he could pick her up from her class that night, the girl smiled but declined his offer. They needed to slow things down; if they continued at the same speed they were going she was afraid they would soon start acting like a couple and forgot to focus on working on themselves.

Mal told Evie about her progressed with Ben and the girl was glad to see that there was a real chance that her friends could get back together. She also took that opportunity to tell Mal that Azis was going to fly to New York in a couple of weeks for a few work meetings and also, he had managed to get himself a couple of weeks off, and he was joining Ben on his Japan adventure. Evie told Mal both boys always talk about traveling there when they were young so when Ben told his friend about his next trip Azis couldn't find it in himself to miss this opportunity. Soon, he was asking for a two week vacation period, and he was glad that they were able to flight from New York together after his meetings.

Three days before Ben's trip the boy asked Mal to join him as his date in a fundraising where he was supposed to go representing his family, but once again the girl declined this time afraid of the implication of joining Ben in what could be considered a family affair even though his parents weren't attending. The day before the event the couple was having lunch with Carrie and Jay in a beautiful restaurant when one of the friends of Ben's parents came to the table asking the boy if he had a date for the event. Ben seemed confused by the question but said no, and the older men asked him to please do him a favor. Apparently, Audrey wasn't supposed to attend the event, but she had agreed to come at the last minute. Sadly, by the time the girl informed the organizers she was coming the main tables were full, and now the organizers were trying to find her a place in one of them with people she knew. "I know you two are not dating anymore, but I think she would be comfortable going to the event with you. I wouldn't ask you if there was another way to accommodate her, but you know how important her family is for our charity, and we need to keep her happy."

At that moment Ben resent Mal for not agreeing to go with him, having her as his date would have saved him from this situation. In the end, the boy knew that Audrey's parents love their daughter enough that if the girl didn't have a good time they would pull their support from the charity as retaliation for them "mistreating" their daughter. "Sure Carl, I'll be glad to escort Audrey to the dinner. Should I get in contact with her? If I'm honest, I don't have her number anymore or any way of contacting her."

Carl couldn't be happier about Ben's decision and asked the boy to please join him at his table where Audrey was eating with his wife so they could finalize the details. Ben nodded and excused himself from his table telling everyone not to wait for him; he was sure that he was going to stayed at that table for a long time. Jay wished Ben his best and chuckled at his friend defeated expression; however, the boy noticed Mal shooting daggers at the boy that thankfully missed them. "What's wrong Mal? Why are you looking at him like that?"

"Like what? I'm not looking at anyone Jay so dropped it". Her tone was harsh, and the way she looked at the boy made it evident that she disliked his line of questioning. However, Jay was not going to let the matter drop, he had agreed to be pleasant with Mal for Ben's sake, but that didn't mean that the girl could talk to him like that without him answering back. The boy went on to described the way Mal had looked at Ben after the boy agreed to be Audrey's date and also made it clear that he didn't like her tone either, after that he said his goodbyes and told Carrie to charge the meal the magazine account.

Once he left the table Mal was fuming, she finished her lunch in silence and then stood walking out of the restaurant, Carrie barely caught up with her outside asking her what was wrong."What do you mean what is wrong? Are you guys deaf? Ben just agreed to be Audrey's date for the fundraising. He agreed to go out with his ex-girlfriend while they both represent their families at this huge event."

"Yes, I know that Mal. But what I don't understand is why you are mad? It wasn't like he went looking for her so they could go out, one of his dad's friends asked him for a favor, and there was no valid reason for him to decline it. Ben knows that Audrey's parents would not donate to the charity if their daughter didn't have a pleasant time at the gala, that's why everyone is always trying to accommodate her." Mal knew that but she was not ready to let go of her anger, the girls made their way to Mal's company and Carrie followed her into her office closing the door so they could have a private chat. Once again the girl pushed for an answer, and Mal finally broke down.

"I hate that he is going out with her ok? I know that they didn't have the healthiest relationship in the past, but that doesn't mean that they couldn't reconnect tonight and decide to give each other a chance." Carrie looked at Mal like she had three heads and wondered if she was joking. As time passed and the girl continued to say how Ben could go back to date Audrey or even Lindsey the girl decided that Mal wasn't joking and that her friend was also starting to hyperventilate.

"Mal, breath. Come on you know that Ben is not going to go back to Audrey; he doesn't even talk to her at all. He is only going out with her as a favor. I thought you guys were doing better, what is going on Mal?" Carrie made her friend sit next to her; then she made a point of telling Mal that Ben had asked her to join him at the fundraiser, but she had declined. "Ben keeps asking you to let him picked you up from class or work; he even makes some appearances here when you tell him that you don't have time to go out to eat, but you are pushing him away again. Mal you have to put some effort into this relationship too if you want it to grow. I know you are afraid, and I'm sure Ben is too but he is trying. Look Azis is already in town, and you know that we are just a couple of days away from their trip so maybe tried to spend some time with him. You keep saying that you need to know more about each other before going out as a couple again, well then tried to get to know him and let him know you."

Carrie said goodbye to Mal telling her that she needed to go back to her job. That afternoon Mal went on to looked for Azis ready to ask him for a favor, the next night when Ben walked into the fundraising with Audrey on his arm he was shocked to see not only Azis but Mal among the other attendees. The boy wanted to ditch Audrey and confront Mal about coming there with Azis when she had declined his invitation, but norms mandate for him to make a round with Audrey before going on his way. To his joy, the girl started founding some of her friends, and soon she was ditching him when he finally found himself alone he walked straight towards Mal. Just as he got to her, a band started playing, and he found himself asking her to dance with him.

When he asked Mal what was she doing there and why had she declined going out with him; Ben was pleasantly surprised. "I talked to Carrie, and I realized that I've been going back to my old ways. So, I wanted to apologize for that and also for declining your invitation to come here. I'm sorry that by not saying yes to come here with you, you were forced to come with Audrey. With that in mind, I asked Azis if he had been invited and came as his date so I could be here in case you are bored, now don't feel like you need to forgo your duties as Audrey's date for me. I'm just glad we can spend some time together here."

Ben smiled brightly at Mal, and he was planning to thank Azis for bringing Mal to the event, he knew his friend didn't want to come, and the only reason he had accepted was that Azis was promised he would be seated in one of the low key tables. So when the time for the banquet came, Azis and Mal went on their way leaving Ben with Audrey; still the knowledge that she was there made the night bearable to him. He managed to convince Audrey that he was too dull for her after party and the girl went on her way alone after the event leaving the boy alone to find Mal and Azis.

The three of them went to grab something greasy to eat and then made their way to Azis hotel exhausted, but in high spirits, after leaving the boy there to rest, the couple made their way home. Ben walked Mal to her door while continuously telling her how beautiful she looked that night. The next day was Ben's last in the city before going to Japan, and the boy had a million things to do still, he asked Mal if she had time to go out with him and once again was surprised when she told him that she had cleared her schedule to spent time with him.

However, when morning came, and he went looking for her, the girl wasn't answering her phone. After constant calls, he decided to knock on her apartment discourage by the possibility of Mal backing down once again of their time alone. When the door opened after he knocked and called her name a couple of times Ben's heart broke, in front of him, was Mal with her eyes red and puffy. He hugged her asking Mal what was wrong just for the girl to break down crying unable to make a coherent sentence. The boy picked her up bridal style and went to sit on her couch while he cradled her in his arms, it took Mal a few minutes to calm down and explained to Ben that her mother had called her.

It seemed that photos of Mal and Azis at the fundraiser made her way where she was, and the woman called her asking her if she was worming herself into society. "She wanted to congratulate me for finally getting myself someone that was dumb enough to want to be seen with me. I told her that Azis was Evie's boyfriend and we were just friend and then she accused me of sleeping with my friend's boyfriend to made into society."

The girl continued to tell Ben how horrible her mother was to her and how at the end of the conversation after making sure that Mal was crying she asked her to raise the limit on her credit card. The boy was furious, he wanted to find that woman and gave her a piece of his mind, how dare her treated her daughter like that. Trying to made her feel like she was worthless when Mal was just so beautiful inside and out. Ben spent hours calming Mal down, at some point he asked her to please call Stella so she could chat with her but the girl declined. "I can't run to Stella every single time something happens to me."

Ben just hugged her telling her how wonderful she was; he told her how her kind heart was one of many attributes she had and how he felt so lucky to have her in his life. The girl fell asleep at some point and woke up to Ben's voice telling someone that he was canceling his trip, there was no way he was leaving town now. Mal walked towards the boy and took the phone from his hand asking who he was talking too, Azis voice came from the other side of the phone, and she could hear concerned in his words. "Azis don't cancel anything, you guys are flying to Japan tomorrow and don't you dare forget any of my souvenirs ok?"

With that, she hung up the phone and asked Ben what he had told his friend. "I only told him that you were ill and I didn't want to leave you, I would never tell anyone what you told me without your consent Mal. Please trust me."

"I do Ben, thank you. Now I really want you to go to Japan; I'll be fine I promised. You were actually here for me when I needed you the most, and now I think I should call Stella but mainly I need to think about all the things you told me. Do you honestly think all those things about me?" Even though her eyes well swollen for all the crying Ben could still see how vulnerable Mal was in them.

"Of course I do Mal. I think you have so many qualities and it is a shame that woman is so blind that she doesn't even realize how lucky she was to be related to you. I know I'm glad to be able to have you in my life, and I know you want us to take things slowly, but I just need you to know that I love you Mal." The girl smiled, and a few tears of joy escape her eyes, she was about to say something, but Ben stopped her not wanting her to say anything while she was feeling so vulnerable.

Together they called Azis and asked the boy to finalize all the details of the trip without Ben; the boy spent the rest of the day with Mal and the next morning he kissed her goodbye on his way to the airport promising her to call her the second he made it to Japan.

Notes

So once again you guys are getting creepily good at catching my clues about future events, which I enjoy a lot. Mal's mom has made her first appearance, and Ben was there for Mal, but in the end, our fairy is growing strong enough to stand on her own little by little.