Your Guardian Angel

Chapter 13

Ben checked his phone for, what seemed like, the hundredth time this class. He made Cassie promise to text him if she needed anything from him. She's had Pneumonia for a week now and this was his first day back from taking days off to care for her. He did his best to keep his distance, as he knew it was highly contagious, but frequently found himself in the same room with her just be sure she was okay.

He didn't want to go back to work yet, but she made him. She promised she was feeling better and could take care of herself for at least the day. He's now thinking he's going to need a few extra weeks off because he could feel his temperature burning. Thankfully, he wasn't wearing his usual suit and tie attire, but just a white button down and jeans. It was odd for his students to see him in jeans, but it seemed to make them more comfortable around him.

He made sure his students would keep their distance if they had a question and held meetings in the lecture room, rather than his stuffy office. By the time his day was done, he thought he was going to pass out. He almost didn't drive, but believed he could make it.

Once he got home, he threw down his briefcase and shucked off his jacket. He made his way upstairs while unbuttoning his wet shirt. Cassie was awake when he came in and saw he looked absolutely miserable.

"Oh shit," she sighed. "I knew I was going to get you sick."

"I'm fine, darling, I just need a shower," he assured, although he knew he was far from fine. He took his shower and got comfortable in just some boxers. The thought of a shirt made his fever climb.

As he got in bed, Cassie handed him the thermometer. He put it under his tongue and waited patiently. Once it beeped, he looked at it. He sighed. "Well, I guess that means I'm calling in for another week." He set aside the thermometer and welcomed Cassie to cuddle as she put her head on his chest.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I really didn't mean to get you sick." She turned her head away from him to cough in her hand. He ended up doing the same.

"It's alright, darling, it's my fault if anything."

"I did warn you to keep away."

He smiled. "Yes, but I couldn't, could I? I had to take care of my girl." He pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead. "I'd say it's worth it."

"As long as we're better before my parents' anniversary dinner, we should be fine."

Ben had his nose buried in Cassie's short hair, taking in her lavender scent and ready to go to sleep. He hummed in response and mumbled, "We'll be there." He kept his heavy eyes on the show in front of him, while feeling Cassie's weight get heavier on his chest. He knew she was asleep.

Deciding that would be a good idea, he closed his eyes and fell asleep to a fever induced dream. He dreamt about the last year and half. The most vivid part was when they lost the baby and he wanted so desperately to get out of that part. It seemed to drag on the longest out of everything. Of course, it was an over exaggerated dream, so there was much more to it, but just as much fear and anxiety as when it actually happened.

The next time he woke up, he had jolted awake after hearing the echo of baby screams around him. He gasped and sat himself up immediately. He looked around the room, lost and unsure of where he was. When the fog cleared his head, he realized he was in his bed, in his home. He let out a deep breath, followed by a long and painful cough.

This got Cassie's attention, who was downstairs working. She came up to the room and saw Ben practically coughing up a lung. "Here, take these," she said as she pulled out a bottle of prescribed coughing pills. "My cough's gone away enough to where I don't need them. Oh, and these, too."

She went to her bedside and grabbed every medicine the doctor had prescribed her to take. She put them on Ben's side and sat down next to him on the bed. "You okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost. And wow are you sweaty."

Ben peeled the rest of the covers away and saw he was, indeed, very sweaty. "Nightmare," he told her. "I'm fine, love, just..." He started coughing again. He quickly took some of the coughing pills.

"Yeah, you're fine alright," she smiled. "Why don't you get in the shower? I'm just finishing up some work downstairs, I should be done in a few."

Ben looked curiously over at the clock. "Jesus Christ, I slept until three? Fuck, I didn't even call the school!"

He was about to throw himself miserably back into bed when Cassie told him, "Don't worry, I called them and let them know. They wish us both a speedy recovery and said they'd have a Sub cover for you."

Ben's anxiety went immediately down. "You're truly my Guardian Angel," he said in relief. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

She brushed his sweaty hair from his forehead and cooed, "You'd probably still be alone because you were a major pain in the ass." That got him to laugh a little too hard to the point he needed to cough again.

"Alight," she said, taking that as her leave, "I'm going to get back to work. Take a shower and get some rest. Call me if you need me. Not like you can get me sick!"

She was true to her word and finished up work in just a few short minutes. She submitted what she needed to for her boss, then clocked out for the day. When she was done, she opted to make Ben and herself some soup. She was still feeling the affects of her sickness, so she couldn't stomach much more than that.

When it was done, she brought both bowls up on a tray and saw Ben was snoring away. She didn't have the heart to wake him so she put his soup back on the stove to keep warm. She was done with her bowl and a few episodes of her show when he finally woke up.

He groaned and stretched before coughing once again. "How're you feeling?" She asked him.

He moaned and mumbled something along the lines of, "I'm going to die". She rolled her eyes at him and got his soup. He sat up and ate it, looking absolutely miserable the entire time. When he was done, he snuggled up to her side and put his head on her chest.

"This through sickness and in health thing is hard," he mumbled.

She snorted and laughed, causing her to cough a little more. "Well, we're not married yet so it can't be that difficult."

He hummed as he said into her chest with his eyes closed, "Yet is the key term here."

"Do you plan on marrying me, Professor Cumberbatch?" She asked sweetly as she batted her eyes.

He looked up at her with a sleepy smile. "Nah, just thought I'd keep you around for a good shag and a nice pair of tits to look at."

He got a smack on the head for that one, but they both laughed...and coughed.