Sorry this is late! I've had internet connection problems but thankfully they are fixed but I've also been a bit sick with a cold. I would also like to say thanks to my reviewers again and I hope you enjoy this chapter :) Oh, just to let you know, there is some light swearing in this chapter.

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

Chapter 3

Malcolm slowly opened his eyes to see the sun shining brightly through the windows of his bedroom. Finally it was morning. It had been a long night for Malcolm and he had lost sleep over it. It had started off innocently enough though, when he returned to his room after dinner Reese was lying in bed, seemingly asleep. Not wanting to disturb him he turned on the desk lamp at his desk and started doing homework. Hal and Dewey were watching TV and Lois was washing dishes so he had a bit of peace and quiet. After a couple of hours he had finished his work, in which time Dewey had returned after showering and was sitting on his bed in his pyjamas.

"Dewey, I'm gonna have a quick shower so can you watch Reese?" Dewey looked up from the book he was reading.

"Okay, but be quick. I wanna go to sleep soon."

"Okay." With one last look at Reese, who albeit had moved positions was still sleeping peacefully, Malcolm disappeared into the bathroom. After he had showered and dressed he starting brushing his teeth. Then he heard a thud which had unmistakably come from his bedroom.

"Oh god" he muttered under his breath. Racing back to his bedroom he returned to find Dewey leaning over something on the floor and Reese not in bed.

"What happened?" Malcolm asked a little panicked. Dewey was also panicking.

"I dunno, he all of a sudden fell out of bed! I think he's still asleep." Malcolm got down on his knee and looked at Reese. Besides the pained expression on his face and a sweaty brow, Dewey was right and he was still asleep.

"Should we wake him?" Dewey asked.

"I dunno, I guess it couldn't hurt." Slowly and lightly Malcolm shook Reese's shoulders. Sooner than expected Reese woke up with a small yelp. Malcolm helped him sit against his bed and inspected him. Reese was panting heavily and was red in the face.

"Reese, are you okay?" Malcolm asked.

"I think so. What happened?"

"You fell out of bed you silly duffer." Dewey told him.

"Really" Reese was startled.

"Yep, looks like it." Malcolm said. Reese's eyelids began to droop and Malcolm instinctively felt his forehead, keeping his hand away from the bruise. He was burning up.

"Man, Reese. I think you have a fever. Dewey help me get him back to bed." Still a little freaked out Dewey did as he was told and by the time they had got him back to bed Reese's eyes were closed. Malcolm turned to Dewey.

"I'm just gonna get a wet cloth. You better get back to bed but keep an eye on him. I'll only be a second." Malcolm raced back to the bathroom, found a cloth and held it under water. Wringing out the excess water he folded it and ran back to his room. Dewey was back in bed with his nose in a book and Reese had moved onto his side. Sitting on Reese's bed Malcolm tried to turn him over without waking him. He was successful so he placed the cloth on his burning forehead then Malcolm got up and put the covers back on Reese.

"I think I'll leave my desk lamp on tonight," he told Dewey.

"Okay" was all he got in reply. Feeling he had done all he could Malcolm put himself to bed.

"Okay Dewey. No more reading, it's time to sleep." Without saying anything Dewey put the book on the shelf behind him and rolled over.

"Goodnight" Malcolm said as he himself rolled over. It took what seemed like hours for Malcolm to fall asleep but when he did, he was rudely awoken by a cry. Opening his eyes he saw a sight he had never expected. Reese was sitting up in bed, the cloth disappeared, with what looked like something streaming down his face and neck. Gingerly getting out of bed Malcolm went in for a closer look.

"Holy crap!" he cried out when he realised what it was. It was blood, which seemed to be coming from Reese's nose.

"Reese, did you hit yourself?" Reese shook his head, still a little alarmed. "Okay Reese, just hold on a moment." With only the light coming from the desk lamp Malcolm tried looking for the cloth. Finding on the floor he hurriedly brought it to Reese's nose where Reese was ready to hold it.

"Can you get up? I should take you to the bathroom to get cleaned up." Reese nodded slightly and Malcolm helped him out of bed. Dragging him to the bathroom Malcolm sat Reese on the toilet while he searched the cupboards for another cloth. Finding one right at the back, Malcolm started cleaning Reese's face and neck. In the bathrooms brighter light Malcolm noticed the blood had flowed down his chest and seeped into the edge of the singlet top Reese was wearing. He also noticed that there were more bruises on his arms and legs, probably caused from falling out of bed.

"Let me see" Reese slowly removed the cloth from his nose. There was still a bit of blood flowing down so Malcolm pushed the cloth back in position.

"I'm gonna go get mum." Malcolm said.

"No" Reese choked out and grabbed Malcolm's arm.

"Did you swallow some blood?" Reese nodded. Thinking quickly Malcolm searched the cupboard for a glass and filled it with water. "Here, spit out the first mouthful to get the blood out."

Reese did as he was told, spitting out the first mouthful into the sink then swallowing the next one. When he sat back down on the toilet Malcolm removed the cloth again and breathed a sigh of relief as the bleeding had stopped. He took both cloths and washed them out in the sink and hung both on the tap. He then put his hand on Reese's forehead and thankfully, he had cooled down a bit. Malcolm helped Reese to his feet and led him back to bed. Before Reese could get settled Malcolm found another bed shirt and helped him change, throwing the bloodied one in the hamper afterwards. Once Reese was settled Malcolm went back to bed, glancing at Dewey as he did. Not surprisingly, Dewey had slept through the whole thing.

Malcolm was feeling pretty tired as he down at the table the next morning. Everyone was eating breakfast except for Reese, who was noticeably absent. After his nose bleed he had seemed okay but Malcolm was so worried that he had spent the rest of his night watching Reese. As a result he was now grumpy.

"So, you didn't have to come and get me last night Malcolm. I'm assuming everything was okay?" Lois asked, breaking the silence.

"Uh, he had a bit of a fever last night but other than that he was okay."

"Hmm, well that's good then." Lois put the last piece of toast in her mouth and wiped the crumbs from her hands. "I guess I'd better check on him then." She got up from her chair but didn't make it far as a tired looking Reese entered the kitchen.

"Hi, sweetie" Lois walked over to where he stood. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yep, I guess. Are you guy's ready to go yet?" Reese asked looking at Malcolm and Dewey.

"Wait, aren't you going to eat something?" asked Lois. She quickly put her hand to his forehead to check his temperature.

"We'll be late if I do" he answered blankly.

"Well take something with you. We have muesli bars if you want one." Lois ran to the cupboard and rummaged through it, catching a glance at her watch as she did.

"Oh boys, Reese is right. You are going to be late. Quickly go and finish getting ready." Malcolm and Dewey ran out of the room and by the time Lois had found the muesli bars they were back standing next to Reese.

"Okay, here you go Reese. Have fun at school." Lois said as she walked them to the door. The instant they were outside the door behind them slammed shut and the boys started their journey to school. After a couple of blocks Dewey separated from them and Malcolm pounced on Reese.

"Aren't you gonna eat that?" he pointed at the uneaten muesli bar still in Reese's hand.

"Why, do you want it?" Reese countered .Malcolm rolled his eyes, he was too grumpy for this.

"No I don't want it Reese!" he snapped. "What I want is for you to eat it!"

"Maybe later" Reese mumbled as he chucked it in his backpack.

"Fine, don't eat it. See if I care!" Malcolm yelled. "Just don't expect me to be there when you collapse again from starvation!" Angry, Malcolm ran ahead and didn't look back.

It was lunchtime and Malcolm and Stevie were sitting together. Stevie was talking about something but Malcolm wasn't paying attention. He was too busy scanning through all the school kids to see if he could find Reese. Being his paranoid self he was a worried that Reese may not have made it to school and he was guilty about leaving him alone. A wave of relief washed over him when Malcolm finally spotted him.

"Stevie, I'll be back in a minute" without waiting for a reply Malcolm ran in the direction of his brother. As he got closer he noticed that there was a lost expression on Reese's face, like he wasn't sure where he was.

"Reese!" Malcolm called out before he reached him.

"Oh hi Malcolm" Reese said, still looking lost.

"Reese, I'm sorry about this morning."

"That's okay" Reese said blankly. All of a sudden Reese cried out in pain and clutched his side.

"Are you okay? Here, let's go sit down on that bench over there" helping his brother to the bench Malcolm sat down next to him. "What's wrong?"

"My side hurts" Reese pointed to his left side at the bottom of his ribs.

"Do you wanna go see the nurse?"

"Nah its okay, it's stopped hurting now."

"Okay" Malcolm said slowly. "Did you at least eat anything?" Reese was silent. Malcolm took that as a 'no'.

"Reese, you have to eat! You collapsed yesterday and I was up all night because you had a fever!"

"Well I'm sorry Malcolm!" Reese yelled. "But I never asked you to do anything! I'm not a little kid you know." Reese got up and gingerly walked away.

"Reese!" Malcolm cried out but he didn't stop. He was about to chase after him but the bell rang and stopped him in his tracks. Reluctantly, he went to class.

Hope you enjoyed that :) When I first typed it out I wasn't sure about how I wrote it but if there is anything you don't understand just let me know and I'll fix it. The same goes for spelling mistakes. The next chapter will be up soon!