Sorry for the incredibly long delay! I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Ben was certain he had never been as anxious in his whole life as he was right then.

Melanie kept falling asleep, only to wake up a few minutes later in hysterical tears, which sent her into a coughing fit that she had to be calmed down from each time by Ben. Then she would fall back to sleep, still whimpering. Ben had pulled her into his lap after the fourth time, and she slept longer between her outbursts. He hadn't done it early in fear that removing her from her mother's side would only upset her more.

Evie was taking care of Mal, who had seemed to almost entirely loose touch with her surroundings. She had reached a point where she was totally unresponsive to Melanie's cries. Ben had seen her space out before, but not like this. Usually, Melanie was able to snap her out of it. Ben, Evie, and Carlos had whispered conversations around her and to her, and she didn't even seem to hear them.

"She's stuck in there again." Carlos said after once again trying to elicit a response from Mal. It would probably help if they could be a little louder, but they didn't want to risk waking Melanie.

Ben frowned. "Does this happen often?"

"No," Evie replied. "It's happened before, but it's been a while. I've come to believe it's a stress response. Too much of a stressor and she shuts down entirely. Maybe an anxiety attack of sorts. The fact that she's got a broken arm probably doesn't help either."

Ben looked a bit surprised.

"Hey, you guys send over perfectly good textbooks on your trash boats." Evie responded. "Can't let them go to waste."

"How long does it last?"

Carlos and Evie glanced at each other, and then back to Ben.

"Last one, it took her a few hours to snap out of it." Carlos replied.

"She's very disoriented once she comes to. She, however, will remember most of it." Evie explained. "She can probably hear us, but she's… stuck, for lack of a better word."

Ben nodded.

Soon, Melanie woke up sobbing. Ben shushed her and she fell asleep before she could start coughing again.

He looked out the window. He recognized their surroundings. The were getting close.

Franklin opened the window between the driver's seat and the back. "Ten minutes until we arrive at Auradon General, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Franklin. Can you call my mother and tell her that I'm alright, but to meet us at the hospital? I think I need her help."

Franklin sighed. "Certainly," And with that, he shut the little door.

"Queen Belle?" Carlos asked, wide-eyed.

Ben smiled. "The one and only,"

Ten minutes later, the royal limo pulled up in front of Auradon General Hospital's emergency room doors.

"Okay, guys. We're here." Ben told his new friends. "I'll get Melanie. Will you guys get Mal?"

Evie and Carlos nodded. Jay, who had been sitting silently with his arms crossed the entire ride, opened his mouth, but Evie sent him a glare and he closed it again.

Ben thought for a moment before speaking again. "Leave your things in the car, I assure you everything will be fine."

Franklin opened the back door and Ben scooted out first, cradling Melanie to him tightly. She was still burning up and her breathing was labored. It took everything in him not to run madly into the ER and insist someone help her. He had to wait for the other four to get out. They would have no idea where they were supposed to go.

A moment later, Evie stepped out of the limo, holding Mal's hand. "Come on," she coaxed gently. And Mal stepped out next, Carlos right behind. Mal blinked and looked around, confused.

"We're in Auradon, Mal." Carlos said. "So Melanie can get better."

Finally, Jay emerged from the car, and Franklin shut the door. He nodded respectfully at Ben before getting back behind the wheel.

Ben surveyed the four teenagers in front of him. All of them definitely needed to be checked out by a doctor, but Melanie was the priority at the moment. "Follow me," he said, heading through the automatic door.

"Please take a number and take a seat. We'll be right with you," the dark-haired desk clerk said flatly, before taking a sip of coffee. She hadn't even looked up. There was only one other person in the waiting room and usually if a person wasn't delivered at the door with sirens blaring and no one was gushing blood, emergencies could usually wait a few minutes.

"I really hate to be rude, ma'am, but I really don't think that would be in this little girl's best interest." Ben said, almost meekly. It was her job to tell people to do that, he wasn't mad at her. Mid-day on a weekday probably didn't see a lot of activity and she had the right to be bored.

The clerk looked up and her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. "King Ben,"

The patient in the waiting room that had a bandaged arm, looked over to them from the television at that.

"Yes, and this little girl has a very high fever and is having trouble breathing. She keeps falling asleep and then waking up crying a few minutes later. She coughs a lot and she doesn't appear to know where she is. Please, help her."

The clerk, still looking a little starstruck, came over to where Ben was standing in a hurry, ear thermometer in hand. She put her hand on Melanie's forehead and the thermometer in her ear. Within a few seconds, it beeped. "Jesus Christ," The lady murmured, running back to her desk and pressing a button on a walkie-talkie.

"Yes?" Came a scratchy voice.

"Pediatric patient with severe fever and breathing problems." Replied the clerk.

Less than ten seconds later, two people burst through the doors from the ER to the lobby with a gurney and oxygen tank.

Ben set Melanie on it.

"What's her name?" One paramedic asked as he placed an oxygen mask on Melanie's face. The other paramedic was listening to Melanie's heartbeat.

"Melanie," Ben replied.

"Age?"

"Almost five,"

"Are you her father?"

"N-no," Ben replied. "Her mother is behind me, but she's not in a very good state of mind at the moment. Severe anxiety attack."

At that, Evie and Carlos shifted Mal over slightly, so she was visible next to Ben. Mal still looked confused.

"You aren't allowed to come back with her."

"Alright," Ben nodded, feeling ripped apart. She was going to be all alone. For some reason, he felt like he was going to start crying.

"Can I?" Evie blurted. "I'm her aunt. Kind of."

Neither paramedic had taken their attention from Melanie.

"No blood relation. Sorry. We'll keep you all updated."

"Thank you," Ben said.

The paramedics looked up at the five people standing there and their reaction was similar to the clerk's.

"Don't worry, King Ben. She's in good hands here."

All Ben could do was nod. And then Melanie was rolled out of sight.

"Melanie," Mal said suddenly, just after the door slammed shut. Ben, Evie, Carlos, and Jay all turned to look at her. She looked more alert now. "Melanie! MELANIE!"

"Shh, shh, Mal. It's alright…" Evie tried to soothe.

Mal yanked her arms out of Evie and Carlos's grips. "MELANIE! MELANIE!" She made a move to dart towards the doors, but Ben caught her in his arms. Carlos had scurried to Edie's side and she wrapped a comforting arm around him. Jay looked flabbergasted.

"Easy there," Ben murmured. She struggled against him. It was a good thing he was stronger than her.

"LET ME GO!"

"I can't do that, Mal." Ben continued calmly.

"WHERE'D THEY TAKE HER?" Ben held her tighter.

"They took her back so they can start helping her get better. You'll be able to see her soon. She's alright. We would never have let anyone bad take her, Mal."

"I want my daughter!" Mal said, still fighting Ben, but much quieter.

"I know," he replied gently.

"I want Melanie," Mal looked to Ben, making eye contact. The blank, startled look had gone from her eyes. She looked aware now. She looked like she was back. But she also looked scared.

"I know you do. Can you take a deep breath for me?"

Mal did take a deep breath.

"Okay, good. How old are you?"

"Eighteen," she whispered.

"What's your name?"

"Mal,"

"What is my name?"

"Ben,"

"Do you want to sit?"

She nodded.

Ben lowered both of them to sit on the floor, but he never once let go of her. She was quiet then, though her heart was still racing. Mal had relaxed in his arms some, enough that she rested her head on his shoulder, eyes closed.

"Is there anything I can do for you?" Asked the clerk gently, kneeling beside the two of them.

Ben looked up at her. "If it could be arranged to have them all checked over, that would be great. No rush, though."

The clerk nodded and told Carlos, Evie, and Jay to take a seat, all three of them sending glances to where their friends were on the floor. She punched some things into her computer, called the patient with the bandaged arm over and summoned someone to take him back for stitches, then she returned to where Ben and Mal were seated on the floor with a bottle of water.

"I brought some water for her. You sit down here as long as you have to,"

"Thank you very much," Ben glanced at the clerk's badge. "Keisha."

"Of course," Keisha smiled. She returned to her desk, took a sip of coffee, and started typing on her computer again.

Ben was able to get Mal to take a sip of water. Her head had returned to his shoulder almost immediately after.

A few moments later, the mechanical whirring of the automatic door brought Ben's attention to the door. His mother came in and stopped short at the sight in front of him.

"Ben, honey, what happened?"

He smiled a bit. "I've made some new friends."

A/N: Well, they've made it to Auradon! I hope you don't think this story is going to be over any time soon. I've got big plans and at least 3 different ways this could go. Let me know your thoughts and predictions in the reviews! See you soon (I hope!)