"Open up," Brooke instructed in an amused tone, slowly bringing the spoon full of medicine closer and closer to her sick roommate's mouth. She placed her left hand underneath her right one when Haley grunted and refused to open her mouth. "Seriously, Hales, are you like two or something? Just open your mouth!"

"No," Haley hissed in her nasal tone, her voice hoarse and just above a whisper from all the coughing she had been doing all night. Brooke had finally had enough and stormed out of bed, determined to get at least a few hours of sleep. "I don't need that stuff."

"Well I need to sleep so yes, you do," Brooke shot back, shoving the spoon in Haley's mouth when she opened it to protest. She held back her giggle and watched as the small blonde pouted and wiped her lips with her arm. "Aw, was that bad?"

"It tastes horrible," Haley protested weakly, sighing when she couldn't get rid of the aftertaste of the nasty goop. She flopped back down on her bed and moved all around, groaning loudly when she couldn't get comfortable. "I am perfectly fined."

"All right, Monica," Brooke laughed, avoiding the slap that was coming her way. She absently placed her hand on Haley's head and rolled her eyes when she began to whimper loudly, obviously looking for the attention. "Tutor Girl you're Tutor Hot. And I don't mean that as a compliment. Why didn't you just tell me you were sick?"

"Because I am not sick!" Haley yelled in exasperation. Haley James didn't get sick; at least that's what she thought. "Brooke, I'm fined. There is no need for you to go and play Nurse Brookie and make me feel better."

"Because you're fined?" Brooke mocked, biting her lip when Haley agreed with her for a split second, glaring at her when she realized what she had said. "You definitely have a fever and ew, Haley," she moaned when Haley sneezed in her hands, handing her a tissue as the snot dripped down her face. "Your throat hurts, I heard you complaining about an ear ache, you sound like you have emphysema…"

Haley rolled her eyes as Brooke began to tick off her illnesses with each one of her perfectly manicured fingers. She hated the whole production of being sick and used to hate it when her mother made her stay home from school all because she had a fever of 103. Brooke on the other hand faked sick half the time to stay home and used to love watching the trashy talk shows all day with the numerous maids they had in the house.

"Yeah, yeah," Haley mumbled, shutting her eyes in an attempt to drown the brunette out. There was no way she was going to let Brooke go all protective on her and decided to suck it up, ignoring the burning sensation she felt every time she swallowed. "G'night."

--

"Broookie?"

Brooke groaned into her pillow an hour later, knowing this was going to happen. The minute Haley pretended to be okay, she knew she'd be waking up a few hours later and putting on the 'take care of me' act.

"What?"

"I don't feel good," Haley whined, clutching the sheets tighter and bringing up Mr. Waffles closer to her, something she always tried to hide from Brooke for fear she would make fun of her for the rest of her life. "I think I'm sick."

"Really?" Brooke gasped, reluctantly throwing the cover off of her and turning on the bedside lamp. After her eyes finally got adjusted to the light, she shuffled over to Haley's bed and plopped down near her stomach, giving her hair a gentle ruffle. "I told you that you were sick. But do you listen to me? No, of course not!"

"Shut up," Haley groaned, whacking Brooke with her teddy bear, a small gasp escaping her lips when Brooke stared at it in confusion.

Here it comes…

"Aw," Brooke cooed, removing Haley's fingers one by one off of its arm. She gazed at it in adoration and fiddled with the legs. "May I ask who this might be?"

"Mr. Waffles," Haley muttered, snatching him back and throwing him back under the covers when Brooke laughed. She rolled her eyes and whimpered in pain when her whole body began to ache with every move she made. "Brookie?"

"Yes, Haley-bub?" Brooke asked, her heart melting at how cute the nickname made Haley. She was met with the famous Haley James pout and just grinned, watching Haley shift around until her head was resting in her lap. "What's the matter my dear?"

"I'm sick," Haley repeated, closing her eyes when she felt Brooke's fingers run through her semi-tangled hair. Brooke shook her head and slowly lifted Haley's head out of lap, placing a pillow beneath her. "My throat hurts, my ears hurt, my stummy hurts…"

"I'll make you some soup then," Brooke told her sweetly, patting Haley's slightly exposed stomach when she threw the covers off of her to emphasize her point. Haley thanked her gratefully and buried her head further into the pillow. "Does chicken noodle sound good to you?"

"Mm," Haley mumbled, her voice muffled by the pillow. Before she even registered Brooke leaving the room, the brunette was back with a tray of hot soup and a glass of orange juice, the sight alone making Haley want to throw up. "Gross."

"I know you are," Brooke teased, watching Haley slowly sit up to sip the soup carefully. "You look like Rudolph with that little red nose and if I didn't know you, I'd think you'd smoke a pack a day. Now drink the orange juice! It will help your stummy!"

"I don't like this soup," Haley complained, absently dragging the spoon through the now luke-warm liquid. She pushed the bowl away from her along wit the orange juice, crossing her arms and pouting when Brooke was about to tell her off. "It's yucky!"

"You're such a baby," Brooke groaned, disappearing in the kitchen momentarily to get rid of the soup and liquid. She returned seconds later and sat in her same spot, suppressing her yawn when Haley began to burst into another coughing fit. "Oh, Hales, you really need to take some more medicine for that nasty cough."

"No."

"Yes," Brooke corrected forcefully, tearing at her hair when Haley's coughing continued, mixed with sniffles and whines. "Okay, the whole 'let's act like a five year old,' was cute at first, but now it's just getting annoying, babe."

Haley gave up the will to fight and let Brooke give her another spoon of medicine, this time washing it down with some water. At least that made the after taste go away a lot quicker than before. She hated being sick, especially away from her mother and Taylor; they were the only two who would be able to make her feel better in no time.

"Will you drive me to Georgia to see my sister? Or, or even better…will you help me track down my parents? I want my Mommy."

"Oh, God," Brooke mumbled, ready to slap some sense into this girl any minute now. She thought it was adorable at first how Haley refused to be taken care of, but now that she gave in and started acting like a little girl, it was getting on her last nerve. "Hi, okay. See, now if you start whining and asking for your Mommy again, I'm going to hit you, got it? It's just a little cold and if you just be quiet for point two seconds, I'm sure I can get you settled into bed all nice and comfortable and then we can both sleep. Sleep is good."

"Not when you have lots of aches and pains," Haley pointed out, clearing her throat when the sentence came out in a low whisper. She could tell Brooke was getting tired and decided to zip her lips from now on. "I guess we can try that."

"Thank you," Brooke breathed a sigh of relief before fiddling with the mess of blankets, cautiously pulling back when she thought Haley looked settled. "You just better pray you don't get me sick."

"What, what if I do?" Haley asked nervously, squeezing Mr. Waffles' arm tighter as Brooke stupidly leaned down and kissed her forehead. "It's your fault if you get sick so don't you dare think I'm taking care of you!"

"Good night, Haley," Brooke said through gritted teeth, climbing up to her bed and falling under the sheets. She tried to drown out Haley's coughing and sniffles by putting a pillow over her head but it just wasn't working. "Will you be quiet?!"

"I can't," Haley sniffled, making noises and trying to rid herself of the phlegm stuck in her throat. She did her best not to whine again and caught herself when she felt it rising up in her throat. "Brookie, I can't sleep."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Brooke asked tiredly, keeping her eyes closed when she could hear distant whimpering. "Haley, please just go to sleep."

When that didn't work, Brooke threw herself out of bed and scooped Haley up in the mess of blankets before throwing her down on the couch. Haley was too shocked to utter a word and reluctantly made herself comfortable.

Finally a few hours later, she finally drifted off to sleep, only to be woken with a violent shake.

"Haaaaaley," Brooke moaned, feeling her head spin as she practically crawled on top of the smaller girl passed out on the couch. "I think you got me sick."