Here's the next chapter!
About two hours in, there was a knock on the door that woke Spence up.
"Are you expecting someone?" he asked, looking at her.
"I can'd rebember," Spencer said, coughing as she sat up.
"I'll get it," Caleb said, heading to the door.
He opened it to find Aria standing outside.
"Caleb?" she said, looking confused, "Did I get the address wrong? I thought this was Spener's place."
"It is," Caleb said as he let Aria in, "I'm working in the city right now too. Spencer and I were supposed to get lunch today, but she came down with the flu so I have been taking care of her."
"That's really sweet of you Caleb," Aria said, setting her bag down.
"Did Spencer know ou were coming?" Caleb asked as they stood in the living room area.
"I called her yesterday and asked if she would be free this weekend becaseu I am in town for a while for work," Aria said, "Why? Did she not mention it?"
"I think this whole flu thing might have started yesterday," Caleb said, "We were supposed to grab dinner last nihgt, but she bailed on me cbecasue she had too much work. She rescheduled it for lunch today but completely forgot."
"Are you two like a thing now?" Aria asked, looking at Caleb.
"No," Caleb said, "No. We just both work here and sometimes we spend time together. Have a little taste of home is nice sometimes, especially when one of us is having a bad day."
"Yeah," Aria said, nodding.
"I think Spence is awake if you want to go see her," Caleb said, pointing to the bedroom, "I'm going to make her some tea. Want some?"
"Sure," Aria said, heading into Spencer's room.
"Aria?" Spencer croaked out, voice raw and painful, "Oh my dosh, I fodot you were cobing ."
"It's fine Spence," Aria said, sitting down on the bed next to Spencer, "Caleb said you've been really sick."
"Yeah," Spencer said, coughing a little bit.
"I'll find a hotel for the night," Aria said, "You clearly need to rest."
"Doe," Spencer said, sniffling, "You can stay on the couch. Caleb dows how to pull it out."
"Is Caleb staying the night?" Aria asked, looking at Spencer.
"I don'd dow," Spencer said, rubbing her eyes, "He can sleep here dough."
Aria gave Spencer a look, but the sick girl totally missed it.
"Tea," Caleb said, coming into the bedroom.
"Danks," Spencer said as he handed her the cup.
Once Caleb handed Aria her tea, he put his hand on Spencer's forehead.
"I think the fever went up," Caleb said with a sigh.
Spencer nodded, leaning back into her pillows.
"Do you want me to go so you can sleep?" Aria asked, looking at Spencer.
"I'b not tired right now," Spencer said, looking at Aria.
"Have you eaten?" Caleb asked Aria.
"No," Aria said, shaking her head.
"How about I go out and grab some Chinese for dinner?" Caleb asked.
"Sounds good to me," Aria said.
"Spence?" Caleb asked.
"I'b not hungry," Spencer said, looking at Caleb.
"You sure?" Caleb asked, brushing a piece of sweaty hair from her face, "How about egg drop soup?"
"Maybe," Spencer said, looking at him with her glassy eyes.
"I'll get you some and you can decide if you want to eat it when I get back ok?" Caleb said.
Spencer nodded a little bit, offering him a smile.
"I'll be back soon," Caleb said, getting up from the bed and walking out of the room.
Aria looked at Spencer with huge eyes and crossed her arms.
"What was that?" Aria asked, sitting down next to Spencer.
"Whad?" Spencer asked, coughing.
"You and Caleb?" Aria asked, handing Spencer her tea.
"We're just friends," Spencer said, rubbing her eyes, "We met up in Spain and it was so nice to have someone from home with me. I had a hard time while I was there. Nightmares and I was really sick."
"Umhm," Aria said, looking at her best friend.
"We're dot doing to do andything," Spencer rasped out, "We couldn'd do dat to Hanna."
"Hanna has a new boyfriend," Aria said, knowing Spencer knew this.
"I know," Spencer said, "But still."
"Alright," Aria said, shaking her head, "Now, are you up to talking or do you just wanna watch a movie or something?"
"You talk," Spencer said, rubbing her eyes, "I hurt too much."
"Want me to rub your back?" Aria asked, knowing how much Spencer loved being touched when she felt bad.
Spencer nodded, moving a little so Aria could rub her back. Aria started talking about her time in New York, telling Spencer all about Liam and their first few dates. Spencer nodded off to sleep on and off while Aria was talking, enjoying just being with her best friend.
Through her fever, Spencer couldn't help but think about what Aria had said about her and Caleb. She did have feeling for Caleb, she was starting to realize. She didn't know what to do about it because of Hanna though. She knew she and Caleb hadn't really talked about it very much, but she decided when she was better, she would talk to him about it.
"Dinner's here," Caleb said, coming into the bedroom and drawing Spencer's attention back to reality.
"I think she might be sleeping," Aria said, pointing to Spencer.
Spencer groaned a little, rolling over to show she was awake.
"You were awake," Aria said, "And here I thought you couldn't be bothered to listen to my stories."
Spencer gave Aria a look, rubbing her eyes.
"Alright. I have your favorite veggie lo mein, Aria," Caleb said, handing her the container.
He pulled up a chair from the other side of the room net to Spencer's side of the bed.
"You hungry Spence?" Caleb asked, knowing she had barely eaten all day.
"Not really," she said, blinking sleepily.
"Can you try to eat just a little?" Caleb asked. She nodded, sitting up a little bit and taking the soup.
The three of them ate, Caleb and Aria talking a little bit. Spencer only ate about a quarter of the soup before deciding she was done.
"Cad you make up the sofa bed for Aria before she goes to bed?" Spencer asked Caleb sleepily.
"Sure," Caleb said, putting a hand on Spencer's forehead, wincing at the warmth, "I'm going to get more cold towels."
Spencer nodded a little, moving around in the bed.
"He's a good nurse," Aria said, smiling at Spencer.
"Mmmhhhmm," Spencer said, really feeling the effects of her fever.
Aria was glad her friend had someone looking after her. She knew that Spencer had had a very hard time after the doll house. Aria was Spencer's go to person to talk to once she broke up with Toby.
It was good for both of them that they had someone to lean on who hadn't been down there. It was hard to talk about the doll house with the other girls sometimes because they were always afraid of triggering someone else into flashbacks.
Caleb came back just then with a bowl of water and cloths. He began mopping Spencer down with them gently. Soon enough, her fever was down a little and Spencer was sleeping.
"You like her don't you?" Aria asked as Caleb sat back don in the chair next to the bed, eyes still on Spencer.
"What?" Caleb asked, looking up at Aria as he picked up his dinner.
"You like Spencer," Aria said, "Like, more than friends like her."
"WE're just friends," Caleb said, looking at her.
"But you want to be more," Aria said, looking at Caleb knowingly.
"I mean, a little," Caleb said, "But I don't know what Spencer wants and I don't want to make her uncomfortable. She's been through so much and she keeps telling me she feels safe when I'm with her. I know how hard the past six years have been for all of you, and knowing that I can do something to help…"
"I get it," Aria said, nodding, "I totally get it. You should talk to her about it when she's better though. "
"We'll see," Caleb said, turning his attention back to the TV that was playing some show.
Caleb really did like Spencer a lot and wanted to date her more than almost anything, but the one thing he wanted to do more than date her was protect her with all his might.
"Alright," Aria said, finishing her dinner, "I'm really tired so I think I'm going to go to bed."
"I'll help you with the couch," Caleb said, getting up, "You can shower or whatever in the bathroom. This place only has one."
"Thanks," Aria said, "Are you going to spend the night?"
"Yeah," Caleb said, looking at Spencer, "She's so sick. I'k worried about the nightmares again."
Aria nodded, heading into the bathroom. Caleb went into the living room and pulled out the bed, making it up for Aria. He had spent the night on that couch more than once. However, tonight, he was going to sleep on her floor so he could be there if she needed him.
"Thanks Caleb," Aria said, coming out of the bathroom.
"No problem," Caleb said, "Let me know if you need anything."
Caleb headed back into Spencer's bedroom, sitting down next to her bed in the chair again. Spencer woke up about a half hour later in a coughing fit. Caleb was right there for her, rubbing her back again. She was shivering when the fit was over, looking absolutely miserable.
"How can I help you?" Caleb asked, rubbing her back.
"Cuddle," Spencer mumbled, not moving her head from the pillow. He got into the bed with her, wrapping his arms around her burning form as she cuddled next to him. Soon enough, both of them fell asleep.
Spencer woke up six times in the middle of the night with nightmares and coughing fits. Caleb was there through all of them, holding her so she could relax.
Her fever didn't budge the whole night which made it challenging for her to get comfortable.
By morning, the fever was still high and Caleb was getting worried. However, she was sleeping soundly when he woke up in the morning so he decided to just let her sleep. Caleb got out of bed without disturbing her, tucking the blankets around her gently.
"How is she?" Aria asked as Caleb came out of the bedroom.
"She's still on fire," Caleb said with a sigh, putting a pot of coffee on.
"Spencer never does anything small," Aria said, shaking her head, "I remember when we were thirteen, mono went around and Spencer literally had it for six months."
"Wow," Caleb said, chuckling, "Yeah. I remember when you all caught that demon stomach bug junior year. Hanna told me Spencer was sick for almost two weeks."
"That is true," Aria said, nodding, "She could not get her stomach back to normal."
The two sipped on the coffee as Caleb started breakfast. He just made pancakes, knowing they were Spencer's favorites. They ate in relative silence. The two had never been super close when they still lived in Rosewood.
When they were almost done wit breakfast, they head Spencer start coughing. Caleb ran into the room, finding the sick girl doubled over coughing. He grabbed her water and helped her drink some of it after she finished coughing.
"That cough is not sounding good," Caleb said, helping her lean back.
"I dow," Spencer rasped out.
"Are you up for some pancakes?" Caleb asked.
"I'b still not hundry," she said, grabbing a tissue and blowing her nose.
"You've gotta eat Spence," Caleb said, "I made them just like you like."
"Only if I cad eat tem dot here," Spencer said.
"How about in the chair in the living room?" Caleb asked, helping her up. She nodded, leaning on him as he helped her out of the bedroom.
"Hey Spence," Aria said, "How are you feeling?"
"Terrible," Spencer said as she collapsed into the chair.
"Eat and I'll get your medicine," Caleb said, handing her a plate of food.
"Want some tea?" Aria asked as Spencer picked at her pancakes.
"Please," Spencer said, nodding a little.
Spencer took her medicine, trying to eat a little of her food. The rest of the day was much like the one before. Spencer was so achy and miserable. Her cough was bad and her chest was burning even when she wasn't breathing. Aria had work to do so she went off for the day.
Caleb worked while Spencer slept, trying to calm her after the nightmares she had. This continued for the next four days, Spencer's fever barely changing.
Let me know if you guys want another PLL story! I have more I could probably crank out soon if your interested!
