Hey guys, this is my first fanfic so I hope you like it. I'm not too sure on the timeline for Malcolm in the Middle but I think this is set in season 3 (where Reese is 15 and Malcolm is 14). Francis has married Piama and he's working at the dude ranch (Grotto's) and there is no Jamie.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything that was created by the creators of Malcolm in the Middle.

(I went over the chapter again and hopefully fixed all the spelling mistakes and extra comma's. Thanks for the reviews)

Chapter 1

Slowly he opened his eyes. He watched as the world around him fell apart as one by one all the buildings came crashing down. Avalanches of grass and dirt fell down the mountains gaining speed as they got closer to the bottom. Cracks appeared in the earth as the earthquakes got worse, the sound growing louder and louder. Finally the earth split in pieces, some of the pieces falling into the fires below. Then suddenly, it all stopped. He was accompanied by nothing but silence and his own thoughts. Slowly he began to walk around, the earth surprisingly steady as his feet hit the ground with every step he took. He stood on grass, dirt, gravel and glass but he didn't stop walking. There was no sign of anyone, alive or dead, yet somehow he had survived. He kept walking in silence glancing here and there as if inspecting the damage. Then it happened. Either he tripped on something or the ground beneath him gave way. It didn't matter though because now he was falling slowly. He closed his eyes...

Reese opened his eyes. The sun shone brightly through his bedroom window, so bright he had to close his eyes again.

'Oh no' he thought to himself as he realised that it was now morning. His mother must have opened the curtains, which explained the brightness.

"Reese, come on. Get up!" said his brother Malcolm, who was standing at the bedroom door, "Mum said that if we're not at the breakfast table in 5 minutes she throwing breakfast in the bin."

"Alright, I'm getting up." Reese groaned. Gradually he peeled himself out of bed, threw some clothes on and walked to the kitchen. At the table he was met by Malcolm and his brother Dewey eating what looked like scrambled eggs and toast, his father Hal reading the paper while drinking coffee and his mother Lois simultaneously dishing his own breakfast and talking on the phone.

"Just hold on a second Francis," she laid the phone on her shoulder and looked at Reese. "Eat up Reese or you'll be late for school." After dropping Reese's plate on the table in front of him she turned her attention back to her eldest son on the phone.

"Sorry Francis, now what was it you were saying?"

"I was trying to organise this weekend mum. Remember Piama and I are coming over?" On the other end of the phone Francis was sitting in his office at the dude ranch.

"Oh I'm sorry Francis. I completely forgot. I knew there was a reason why I took work off."

"How could you forget? I told you weeks ago!"

"Calm down Francis. You can still come over. We didn't make any plans or anything and I'm sure the boys would love to see you."

"Good. It took me weeks to get this weekend off and I'm not going to waste it here. Now can you pass me to dad, I have to ask him something."

"Okay, bye sweetie. Hal, Francis wants more money." Lois passed the phone to Hal then went to the sink and washed Malcolm's and Dewey's dishes who had already finished their breakfasts and disappeared. Reese though, still sat at the table, his breakfast barely touched.

"Alright Francis, how much do you want?" Hal asked on the phone which made Francis chuckle.

"No, no dad, you've got it all wrong. I was just wondering if while we're there Piama and I can sleep in the garage."

"The garage, huh. Why would you want to sleep in there?" Hal and Lois exchanged looks.

"Well I was thinking that with an extra 2 people in the house it might be quieter if we slept in the garage."

"Quieter while we're all asleep? I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean." Hal said puzzled. On the other end of the phone Francis was annoyed and growing impatient.

"Dad, do you really need me to spell it out for you? The reason I asked is because Piama and I will need privacy."

"Oh" was all Hal could manage when he realised what Francis meant. "Well I can't make any promises son but I'll talk about it with your mother."

"Alright then, dad. Hey, I got to go now, one of the cows just got stuck in the fence, but let me know as soon as you can. Bye Dad."

"Bye son." Hal hung up the phone and looked at Lois, who was sitting at her usual place at the table. Neither of them noticed Reese empty his breakfast from his plate to the bin and leave the kitchen.

"What does he want Hal?" Lois asked.

"While he's staying here he wants to sleep in the garage with Piama" he replied casually before picking up the paper and sipping his coffee.

"What!" Lois almost exploded.

"Well, he said that with 2 more people in the house it might get a little loud," Hal said, a little startled. "You should've heard him on the phone, dear. He's quite the convincing little chap."

"Oh, Hal. We have a perfectly good sofa bed he can use. Besides, how are we going to get a bed inside the garage? It'll take you weeks just to clear a space for it!" Hal paused, rolling his eyes searching his brain for the right answer.

"I hadn't thought of that" he eventually conceded.

"Oh well" Lois said getting up from her chair, "you'll just have to get the boys to help you then. Good luck with that." Lois left Hal at the kitchen table to think but a moment later, he could hear her yelling at the boys to hurry up.

"So anyway, I can't wait to get to school and tell my friends about my weekend" Dewey said excitedly. Reese just rolled his eyes tiredly while Malcolm pretended to be interested.

"Sounds great, Dewey. Make sure you tell them about the giant rat we caught."

"Oh, I almost forgot about that. Thanks Malcolm." Dewey grinned.

"That's alright. We'll meet you here after school, okay?"

"Okay, bye" Dewey turned around and headed for his school while Malcolm and Reese continued walking towards their own. For a couple of blocks they walked in silence until Malcolm couldn't stand it anymore.

"So, mum told me that Francis is visiting this weekend. Exciting, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." Reese couldn't be bothered talking, he was tired and he felt sick. Walking was hard enough.

"That's it?" Malcolm was dumbfounded. Usually when Francis visited none of the brother's could shut up about it.

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Reese asked angrily.

"I dunno, maybe something with a little more enthusiasm" Malcolm snapped back. Reese sighed. His brother was still staring at him and he was getting frustrated.

"Okay Malcolm. It's great news about Francis, I'm so excited and I couldn't be happier." Reese said impatiently. Malcolm was taken aback. Forgetting how to walk he stood where he was and watched Reese. He seemed to be walking okay but had a bit of a limp in his step. He was also breathing hard and for the first time that morning he noticed how pale Reese looked. Forgetting about his anger and remembering how to walk he caught up to his brother.

"Hey, Reese. Are you okay? You don't look so good." Reese couldn't help but stop where he was, just outside the school gates, and grind his teeth. To add to his fatigue and malaise he now had a headache.

"I'm fine" he answered through gritted teeth. Malcolm stood and stared at him, worry written all over his face. Seeing this Reese realised that Malcolm wasn't going to let him leave without something, so he continued.

"I just have a bit of a headache but that's all." Then he turned around and entered the school gates. Malcolm, giving up for now, followed him and ran to class.

"And so class, I'm going to hand out your work for the day. I'll finish by repeating what I say every class, the more you complete in class, the less homework you'll have tonight. I hope all of you take that on board and use your time wisely." As he said that last part the teacher stared at Reese.

A sheet of paper was handed to Reese so he absentmindedly read through it. On it were 15 questions of maths problems, something Reese was not in the mood to do. He still felt tired, he still felt sick and as the day went on his headache kept getting worse. Plus he was now starting to feel dizzy.

"Reese," he heard his teacher call.

"I suggest you pick up your pen now." Doing as he was told, he picked up his pen and wrote his name up the top. At that action, his head gave out a throb of pain so he rested it in his hand. After that Reese lost track of time.

He didn't know how many times he read and re-read the first question, it never got any easier and after what seemed like hours he gave up.

"Sir" Reese called to the teacher.

"Yes, Reese" his teacher glared at him.

"May I go see the nurse? I don't feel so good."

"Nice try, Reese, but I know you better than that. The last time I let you see the nurse you egged my car. Now finish your work and wait until the end of class."

'Easier said than done' Reese thought. Staring down at his work again he realised he didn't know how much time was left, so he looked up at the clock. Reese later regretted that. While squinting up at the clock the numbers seemed to fade away and he felt the strange sensation of falling.

Thanks for reading.

I'll update as soon as possible. In the mean time feel free to review.