Author's note: Hello! And welcome to another installment of PBOSW! (I've been watching too many Let's Plays lately. Lol.)

I've been considering adding alternate universe one-shots randomly into the mix, whenever I feel like it. Most of the one-shots are meant to be in the canon universe, but, when an AU comes up, I'll be sure to write it in big bold letters in the author's note.

... Unless, of course, you'd prefer me to have three separate one-shot collections. One for canon, one for future and one for AU. Be sure to let me know.

Anywho, please enjoy. :)

Hello, Nurse

Evening fell upon the region of Sinnoh. Ash, Dawn and Brock had recently made it to the next town - which unfortunately held no gyms or contest halls - and had booked a room in the local pokémon centre before handing their pokémon over to Nurse Joy.

Now in the back room, Pikachu watched as Nurse Joy slowly released each and every pokémon from their pokéballs. As per usual, they would get a healing machine each, recover from their injuries, and then the mouse would be able to stay in Ash's room for the night. The beds were only used for really bad cases. He was quite familiar with that rule, having used them a few times before.

Eventually, Nurse Joy opened the last pokéball and Buneary materialised in front of Pikachu. He immediately expected to see the bright smile on her face that he'd come to know so well, so what he actually saw shocked him.

Buneary was swaying on the spot, her eyes glazed over and her cheeks bright red. Sweat dotted her forehead, and she seemed about ready to topple over any moment. He became rather concerned.

"Oh, dear..." Nurse Joy said, "that doesn't look good." She picked Buneary up. "You seem to have caught a fever. I'd best get you to a bed. I'm sure your trainer will want to know about this, too." She glanced at her assistant. "Chansey, please get the others to their healing machines."

"(Okay!)" Chansey replied cheerfully. She motioned for the rest of the group to follow her. "(Come on, everyone!)"

As Nurse Joy walked away with Buneary, and the other pokémon followed Chansey, Pikachu watched the nurse, still feeling concerned. A fever? Was Buneary going to be okay? He looked to the side of him and noticed that Piplup was also still standing there, watching Nurse Joy with a concerned expression on his face.

"(Buneary...)" Piplup muttered.

Pikachu watched him for a second longer, then turned back to where Nurse Joy had just disappeared through a door. Buneary would be fine, right?

Sure. She'd be fine. It was only a fever, after all, right?

A while later, after spending some time in a healing machine, Pikachu was sitting on the edge of a bed that Buneary was currently lying in. Piplup was sitting next to him, and the three humans were in chairs on the opposite side.

"Oh, Buneary..." Dawn said sadly. "How did this happen? She was in her pokéball the whole time, so how could she be sick?"

"Now, don't worry, Dawn," Brock replied warmly, "it could be anything. She may just have a mild infection or something."

"Yeah!" Ash added enthusiastically. "No need to worry, right, Dawn?"

"Mm..." Dawn murmured, not sounding too sure. "... Brock, is there nothing you or Nurse Joy can do to help her?"

Brock gave a quiet sigh in response. "Sorry, but I'm afraid not," he replied. "We can heal injuries and provide suitable nutrients, but this is something that she just needs to ride out."

Dawn's voice got louder, and more hopeful. "But, if it's an infection, then maybe you could-!"

"Nurse Joy said it didn't seem too serious, so there's no need for antibiotics. It'll most likely be gone by morning."

Dawn groaned in displeasure, her voice getting quieter again.

Pikachu, meanwhile, continued to observe Buneary in her bed. She looked so helpless. He'd never seen her look so helpless. She was staring through half-lidded eyes at the ceiling, sweat still dotting her forehead, and her cheeks were still bright red. She seemed barely aware of the world around her.

He really hoped Brock was right. Buneary was a nice, sweet girl. She didn't deserve this illness.

She clenched her eyes shut for a few moments, looking as though she was in pain. His heart went out to her. He really wished there was something he could do to help.

"(Water...)" Buneary said weakly.

His ears perked up. "(Huh?)"

"Buneary!" Dawn cried in concern. "Are you okay?"

"(Water...)" Buneary repeated.

Realising what she wanted, Pikachu quickly looked around the room. Spotting a bottle of water that Nurse Joy had left on the table nearby, he rushed over to get it for her. He bumped into Piplup on the way, but paid the penguin no mind. This was important, after all.

Piplup pulled his face up from the mattress in shock. He watched as Pikachu jumped off the bed onto a nearby table, picking up the bottle of water that'd he'd been about to get for Buneary, before he'd been rudely shoved aside.

He scowled. How dare the mouse upstage him like that!

It wasn't the first time, either. He'd been doing it ever since he could remember. Like when they'd first met Buneary, and she'd beaten the tar out of him, yet had refused to attack Pikachu. Or when he'd played a game of ring toss on a steamboat and missed, and Pikachu had rebounded it onto the one hundred point mark. She'd gone crazy over him, completely ignoring that he'd almost had it.

... Piplup may have congratulated him at the time, but still. He'd been in a great mood that day.

When she'd won the Hearthome Collection, he'd tried to give her a hug as congratulations, but, yet again, she'd completely ignored him and hugged Pikachu, instead. When they'd been separated from Pikachu in a snowy environment, Piplup had managed to get an apple for their group, but Swinub had promptly eaten it. While Ambipom had belittled his inability to find more apples, Buneary's only response had been to say that Pikachu would've done a much better job. Later, when the group had all reunited inside the ice palace, she'd shoved him out of the way and run straight towards Pikachu. Buizel had teased him about that shortly afterwards.

In fact, all she'd ever talked about while being on Dawn's team was 'Pikachu this' and 'Pikachu that'. Well, he was twice the man that stupid mouse would ever be! He was far more awesome and he'd prove it!

He jumped to his feet. Buneary was his friend and his team-mate, therefore she was his responsibility! He wasn't about to let Pikachu upstage him again!

Pikachu jumped back on the bed, the water bottle in his paws, and walked towards Buneary. Partway, there, however, someone suddenly swiped it away from him. He turned in indignation, only to see Piplup smirking victoriously at him.

"(Hey!)" he said in annoyance.

"(I'll be taking this, if you don't mind,)" Piplup replied smugly. He then turned and walked towards Buneary with a beaming smile. "(Oh, Buneary~! Look what I got~!)"

Pikachu grew angry. "(Oh no, you're not taking credit for that! I'm the one who went and got it for her!)"

Piplup stopped and turned to smirk at him again. "(Oh? And what're you gonna do about it?)"

Pikachu gritted his teeth. Was this really worth fighting over? All that mattered was that Buneary got her water, right?

Piplup grinned. "(Ha ha! I guess that makes me the victor, then! In your face, Pikachu! I am the almighty king, and you are but a lowly peasant!)"

Pikachu's pride spiked. Okay, insulting him was going way too far. "(Oh no, you don't!)" He dove at Piplup and yanked the bottle from his flippers. "(I'm not letting you get away with that!)"

Piplup yanked it back. "(I'm gonna be the one to give this to Buneary!)"

Pikachu yanked it back again. "(No, I am!)"

Piplup tried to yank it back, but Pikachu held fast. The bottle wavered back and forth as they each tried to pull it away from the other.

"(Buneary is my teammate, so you don't deserve to give it to her!)"

"(Don't you tell me what I do and don't deserve! Buneary's my friend, too!)"

"(Screw you, Pikachu!)"

"(Yeah? Well, screw you, too, Piplup!)"

Releasing the bottle, the two of them fell into a brawl on the bed. They rolled back and forth, pummelling each other with their paws and flippers.

"Hey, whoa, whoa!" Ash called out.

"Why are you two fighting?!" Dawn cried in worry.

"Break it up, you two!" Brock said sternly, grabbing them both by the scruffs of their necks and pulling them apart.

"What the heck were you two doing?" Ash asked in annoyance.

Brock's tone calmed as he looked between them. "Hmm... they seemed to be fighting over who would give Buneary this water bottle."

"Really?" Dawn asked, sounding perplexed. "Why would they do that?"

Brock released the two pokémon, who glared daggers at each other. "I'm not sure, but pokémon can be very competitive sometimes. In any case..." He picked up the water bottle and unscrewed the cap. "Buneary probably needs some water. Ash, could you pass me that cup behind you?"

"Huh?" Ash asked, then turned behind him to see a plastic cup. "Oh, sure!" He grabbed it and passed it to Brock.

Brock poured some water into the cup and passed it to Buneary. "Here you go, Buneary. You do need to keep your fluids up, after all."

Buneary slowly held out her paws and took the cup. "(Thank you...)" she replied weakly, then started drinking from it.

It was a couple of hours later, and Buneary had shown no improvement. Pikachu was sitting near her pillow on one side of the bed, and Piplup was on the other side. Occasionally, the penguin would lift his head up and glare at Pikachu, every once in a while protectively shielding the rabbit with his flipper. Pikachu was growing a bit tired of it.

As for the humans, they were all reading magazines that Nurse Joy had brought them earlier. Ash was reading Trainers' Monthly, Dawn was reading Coordinators' Digest and Brock was reading Beauty Queen, no doubt staring at all the pictures of beautiful models. Eventually, Nurse Joy came back into the room.

"Alright, everyone..." she said, "it's time for bed."

Dawn lowered her magazine. "But, Nurse Joy!" she cried. "What about Buneary? I can't just leave her alone down here!"

"I'm sure your Buneary will be fine, dear. I know the other pokémon beds are empty at the moment, but she does need her rest."

Dawn whined, but didn't argue.

"Now, get to bed, the three of you. Staying up late is bad for your skin. It makes you irritable, and it ruins your appetite."

"... Where have I heard that before?" Ash asked, puzzled.

"Come on now." Nurse Joy lightly clapped her hands. "Chop chop."

"Alright..." Dawn replied begrudgingly.

The three humans all put their magazines down, then stood up and walked around the bed, heading towards the door. Piplup waddled down to the edge of the bed and jumped off to follow them. Pikachu, however, took one last glance at Buneary, concerned about her well-being.

She'd be okay, right? He paused. Sure. She'd be fine. He turned around and started walking towards the edge of the bed.

"(Please...)" Buneary said weakly.

He stopped and turned to look at her. "(Huh?)" he asked.

"(Please... don't leave me...)"

He walked back to his place beside her pillow. "(Buneary?)"

She turned slowly to look at him through half-lidded eyes. "(I don't wanna be alone...)"

Her feelings hit him like a freight train, and sent him careening down memory lane. He recalled the time that Ash, Misty and Brock had been about to leave him with Nurse Joy, way back in Gringey City in Kanto. He'd been sick and had needed the company of friends. The thought of them leaving him had terrified him. He knew now that Ash would never leave him, but the memory still burned in the back of his mind.

His heart went out to her. "(... Don't worry. I won't.)"

"Pikachu?" Ash asked from across the room. He turned to his best friend. "You coming, buddy?"

He shook his head. "(No, I'm staying with Buneary.)"

Piplup, who was standing by Dawn's feet, blinked. "(You are?)" he asked.

"I think Pikachu wants to stay with Buneary, Ash," Brock said.

Ash blinked in surprise. "You do?" he asked. He gave a determined frown. "Then I'll stay here, too!"

"No, no," Nurse Joy replied, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but this area is for pokémon only. Humans aren't allowed to stay in here overnight. Pokémon centre rules."

Ash turned abruptly to face the nurse. "But-!"

"Can't you make an exception, Nurse Joy?" Dawn asked pleadingly.

Nurse Joy shook her head again. "I'm sorry, but rules are rules. Now, go to bed, you three. If Pikachu wants to stay down here, then he's free to."

"Pikachu..." Ash said, turning sadly to his best friend.

Pikachu gave him a determined smile. "(Don't worry, Ash!)" he said. "(I'll be fine!)"

Ash blinked at him, then smiled. "Well, if this is really what you want..."

Down by Dawn's feet, Piplup scowled. "(If he's staying, then I'm staying, too!)" he cried. He ran over to the bed, jumped on it and turned to face the humans, his flippers on his hips and his head held high.

"Piplup?" Dawn asked, surprised. "You wanna stay, too?"

Piplup nodded. "(Yeah.)"

"Oh... well, okay, then. If that's what you really want."

Piplup smacked a flipper against his chest. "(It is!)" He turned to face Pikachu and scowled at him. "(I'm gonna be Buneary's nurse. You just stay out of my way.)"

Pikachu frowned at him. "(Oh, brother...)" he replied.

A while later, it was dark in the pokémon centre. The only light in the room was reflecting off the moon and attempting to bend around the drawn curtains. Since Pikachu had been in here a while now, watching over Buneary, his eyes had finally managed to adjust to the darkness.

Opposite him, just as before, was Piplup. The penguin yawned, clearly in need of sleep, but refusing to budge from his position near Buneary's pillow. Buneary, in the meantime, had been quiet for a while, presumably trying to get some sleep.

Suddenly, the rabbit stirred. Pikachu's ears perked up and Piplup sat up straighter. They watched as she shivered, pulling the blanket tighter around her.

"(Buneary?)" Pikachu asked. "(Are you cold?)"

"(Mmm-hmm...)" she replied, scrunching up her face in discomfort.

"(Huh?)" Piplup asked, clearly confused. "(But I thought you had a temperature.)" He placed his flipper on her forehead, then drew back quickly, looking shocked. "(You're still hot!)"

Pikachu was slightly annoyed at the penguin's incompetence. "(Well, yeah,)" he said. "(She has a fever, remember?)"

Piplup scowled at him. "(Don't you condescend me!)"

"(I'm so cold...)" Buneary murmured.

Pikachu felt the blanket vibrate with her shuddering, and suddenly felt very worried. Piplup didn't matter. What mattered now was making sure that Buneary was warm.

"(I'll get you another blanket!)" he said, dashing off the side of bed.

"(Oh, no, you don't!)" Piplup called out. "(I'll do it!)"

Pikachu ignored him, pulling the blanket off the adjacent bed. Unfortunately, it fell on top of him and completely clouded his vision.

"(Ack! Tsk, darn it.)"

He struggled to get out from under the blanket, but it was immediately pulled away from him.

"(Mine!)"

It fell on top of Piplup, instead. Pikachu ground his teeth in annoyance and lunged at the blanket, pulling it away from the penguin.

"(Get off it!)"

Now free of the blanket, Piplup also grabbed it and tried to pull it away. "(No, you get off it!)"

"(Buneary needs this!)"

"(So, I'll give it to her!)" He opened his beak, which began to glow white.

Pikachu had no time to dodge before a stream of bubbles smacked him in the face. They stung a fair bit, and definitely packed a wallop. His paws slipped off the blanket and he toppled backwards.

When he managed to sit back up again, Piplup had managed to drag the extra blanket onto the bed. He was currently trying to cover Buneary with it.

Pikachu was filled with indignation at the sight. "(Oh, no, you don't!)" He ran over, jumped onto the bed and started tugging the blanket into place over Buneary. "(I'm gonna do this!)"

Piplup tugged it back. "(Oh, I don't think so!)"

This continued for a while, until the first blanket was completely covered with the second blanket.

Pikachu smiled at his handiwork and touched Buneary's arm. "(Hey, Buneary, I-)" He paused in shock when he felt the goosebumps on her arm. Not only that, but she was still shivering. Thinking quickly, he decided to tuck her in.

"(Are you-? I wanna do that!)" Piplup began to mimic him, tucking her in from the other side.

Pikachu wasn't sure when, but this had become a competition. Buneary's health was still top priority, but, somewhere along the line, he'd found that he needed to prove himself to Piplup. If the penguin was so keen to outdo him, for whatever reason, then he needed to up his game. He'd be the first to admit that he wasn't the competitive type, but Piplup had insulted his honour. No one did that and got away with it.

As the night wore on, Pikachu and Piplup continually fought over Buneary. They fought over who would bring her water, who would get a damp cloth and put it on her forehead, who would try to cheer her up, and who would try to help her get to sleep. Currently, they were both fluffing her pillow from opposite sides of the bed.

"(There you go, Buneary,)" Pikachu said. "(Is that soft enough?)"

"(Did I do a good job, Buneary?)" Piplup asked.

"(Thank you, you guys...)" Buneary replied with a weak smile.

She really appreciated what these two were doing for her. She'd always thought that it was just Pikachu who was an angel, but she was beginning to see that Piplup could be an angel, too. She was glad to have friends like these.

Maybe if her brain was functioning properly, she'd be fawning over how her crush had volunteered to be her nurse for the night, but, in all honesty, she was far too tired to care as much. She still cared – a lot, in fact – but it was dulled by the constant high temperature, cold shivers, and the need to keep her fluids up.

She wasn't stupid, though. She could see that Pikachu and Piplup were getting rather competitive over being her nurse. Who knew why, but at least it meant that she was well taken care of. Hopefully, though, this wouldn't continue on tomorrow and the following days. She'd hate for her best friend and her crush to be at each other's throats for too long.

Pikachu was exhausted. He had no idea what time it was, but he was sure that it was pretty late by now. He glanced at Buneary, noting that she was fast asleep – with her face turned towards him – and seemed reasonably okay. This satisfied him. He was happy that he'd done a good enough job that she would recover soon.

Lying down next to her - on top of the blankets, so as not to disturb her - he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

Piplup glared at Pikachu across the bed. Oh, so the mouse was going to sleep next to Buneary, was he? Well, two could play at that game! He quietly shuffled into position behind her - on top of the blankets - and closed his eyes.

He lay like for a few minutes, until he opened his eyes again, his heart heavy. What was he doing?

Maybe it was his tired brain, or maybe his conscience had finally woken up, but he realised that he was being stupid. Buneary had a massive crush on Pikachu, so it was only natural that she'd choose the mouse over him. It didn't mean that he wasn't important, did it? Heck, maybe no one ever even realised that they were neglecting him. Buneary was obsessed with Pikachu, to the point where she was blind to everything else, and he knew that Pikachu could be pretty darn stupid sometimes. It didn't help that the guy's trainer was even more stupid than he was.

Piplup wasn't going to lie. He loved attention. He craved it like Pachirisu craved pink poffins. Well, sure, he craved them, too, but that was beside the point! He'd often been asked why he wouldn't prefer to do gym battles, instead of contests, and the simple answer was that he liked to show off. He liked being watched by a crowd of cheering fans, and rated 'simply remarkable' by a panel of adoring judges. Maybe tonight had been the wrong time for showing off, though.

He'd been a bit selfish. He'd mostly been thinking of being better than Pikachu, instead of keeping Buneary happy and healthy. Annoyingly, Pikachu had been doing the exact opposite. He'd still been competitive, but he'd always been the one to jump to her aid first. Perhaps the mouse really did deserve the title of 'Buneary's nurse'.

Standing up, Piplup carefully waddled around Buneary and observed Pikachu. The mouse seemed to be pretty much asleep already, and awfully close to Buneary. The penguin smiled. The two of them actually looked rather cute like that. It was a pity that Buneary was fast asleep and sick, otherwise she'd probably have a heart attack at the sight.

Making a decision, he waddled a bit further down the bed, near Buneary's feet, and lay back down. Closing his eyes, he had one last thought before drifting off to sleep. If the three of them were still in these positions when the humans woke up, a squealing Dawn would be demanding a camera from a confused Ash.

The End