The lunch table was quite talkative, Miranda catching all of them up on some of the events that happened over the past couple of years. Her attention always seemed to end up back with Nick though, no matter how hard she tried to include everyone.

"What do ya say in all of us going out tonight? There's some really nice clubs around here," AJ commented.

"I'm up for it!" Neenah agreed enthusiastically as she sat next to Kevin.

"Same here," Katie sighed, not even hiding the fact that she was gazing at Brian.

"Randa, you up for it?" he asked.

"Well, if everyone else is going, I might as well. No reason to rain on the parade." Just as she finished her sentence, she sneezed again.

"You okay?" Nick asked, sounding almost too concerned.

"Nick, she sneezed. It's not like she hacked up a lung," AJ smirked. Nick shot him a glare.

"Really, I should just rest until tonight," Miranda almost whispered. "I think I'll head up now."

"We'll help ya," both girls said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh...why doesn't God just kill me," Miranda mumbled as she leaned over the toilet. It had been five hours since they'd left the guys and in those five hours her cold had gotten worse, her throat felt like sand paper and her stomach felt like there was a tornado inside it.

"I take it you won't be going," Neenah frowned. "Oh honey, I'm so sorry," she comforted. "Do you want us to stay?" Miranda was about to respond when she leaned over the toilet again. "I take that as a yes."

"No," Miranda slowly nodded. "You guys go and have fun. Tell the guys I'm sorry."

Both girls nodded and slowly made their way out the door and into the hallway. "Hey guys," they smiled.

"Hey," said Brian. "Where's Miranda?"

"She's, uh, she's feeling a little under the weather," Katie said quietly.

"Great," Nick let out under his breath. "One of you gonna stay with her?"

"She told us to go," Neenah said in a small voice.

Nick glanced around at all the faces. "Look, you guys go. I was only goin' to keep Randa company since neither of us really like clubbin'. Can one of you let me in?"

"But she's only dressed..." Katie began to speak, but was jabbed in the side by Neenah.

"Of course, Nick," she smiled. "Randa is so fussy when she's sick."

"Yeah, I remember talkin' to her one time on the phone when she was ill. I kept tellin' her to lie down but she wouldn't listen. Stubborn lil' thing!"

"Take care of her, Nick."

Neenah’s tone held something in it. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but as she slipped the card through the slot and let him into the room, a weird feeling came over him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miranda laid on the couch, clad only in a t-shirt and panties. Any kind of waistband around her stomach right now would send her over the edge. She felt miserable. Here she was, her first night in Germany, and she was stuck in her hotel room! Never mind the fact that she was invited out to go clubbing with five guys she hadn't seen in years. If she knew the girls, Neen was flirting like crazy with Kevin and Katie was shyly batting her eyelashes at Brian. Howie and AJ would be dancing like wild men and Nick...well; Nick would be sitting at the table by himself. He was never one for clubs. The dimly lit room only made the TV illuminate even more, making her eyes hurt slightly. Through the pounding of her head though, she heard the door faintly open. "Neen? Katie? You forget something?" She went to sit up slightly, but was stopped by a gentle hand.

"Don't you even think about gettin' up, young lady."

She practically froze. Her eyes frantically searched for a blanket to be around anywhere. "Nick, what are you doin' here?" she barely got out.

"Shh...sounds like you need to give that voice box a rest," he smiled. He studied her a little more. Her skin was pale, showing how sick she really felt. Her long dishwater blonde hair was carelessly laying on her head, no combing or brushing done to it.

She watched as he kneeled next to the couch, his hair combed perfectly and every strand seemed to be in place without even trying. His jeans hugged him perfectly and the big button up shirt her wore looked so comfy. "Why do you always have to look so perfect," she accidentally mumbled the more tired she grew.

Nick began to laugh lightly. "Now I know you're sick. Sick with a high fever I'm guessin'. Do you need me to get you anything?"

Without notice, Miranda's eyes popped open and her small figure darted off the couch and ran towards the bathroom. Nick began to panic, not knowing what exactly was wrong with her. His question was soon answered as he heard the heaves coming from behind the partially closed bathroom door. He quietly made his way toward the room, pushing the door open slightly. She was still kneeling over the toilet. He noticed her long hair kept falling forward. Instinctively, he kneeled down next to her and held her hair back. That's when he saw the beads of sweat forming on the side of her face. Glancing around, he eyed the wash cloth. He reached for it and managed to wet it under the faucet with one hand while the other kept hold of her hair. When she seemed to have gotten everything out of her body that was possible, she backed away from the toilet slightly, allowing Nick to press the cool cloth against her face. "Hey, whatcha think caused this?" he asked quietly.

She was too sick to even care that she looked like death warmed over. "I don't know," she mumbled. "Maybe plane food." Her eyes filled with worry. "Uh oh."

Nick watched as she leaned over, getting sick once more. "You poor thing," he whispered. All he could do was rub her back and shoulders, holding her hair as well. "What a way to spend your first day in Germany, huh?" he said giggled lightly.

Miranda leaned back when she was finished again. Her face was flushed and her eyes filled with tears. "I wanna be in bed," she whimpered.

He pressed the cloth to her face once more. "Shh...come here," he whispered, pulling her into his embrace as they sat on the floor.

"I'm so cold," she shivered. Not giving it another thought, he picked up he half clothed body and carried her into the one bedroom. Laying her down gently, he noticed she wanted to say something. "I'm thirsty," she got out.

Nick smiled. "Lemme go get ya a Sprite from the machine down the hall. Where's your card so I can get back in?" She motioned for the dresser. "Be right back," she said quietly. As he hurried down the hall, he thought about how good it felt to help take care of her. It felt good that she needed him right then. It had been so long since they'd been together or around one another that all these new emotions were entering his body. Before he forgot what he was actually out there to do, he got the soda and rushed back to the room. "Okay, hon, let's put some ice from the bucket in this cup and get somethin' in that upset stomach of yours." He walked slowly over to the bed, lightly sitting next to her. "Now, just sip this. If you gulp it down you'll be back in that bathroom faster than you can say sparky."

She giggled lightly. "You're lucky I only had a little in my mouth. You woulda been covered in Sprite." She took a few more sips until her thirst was taken care of for a while. "Nick, would you mind staying here?"

"I wasn't gonna leave anyway," he smiled. She settled back into bed as he kicked off his shoes and crawled into bed next to her. "Anything else I can do? Your tummy still upset?"

She nodded her head lightly. "It hurts really bad." She didn't mean to whine, but she was in so much pain.

"Come here, lay against me," he comforted. She stayed in her place for a moment, not sure whether to listen or not. "I'm not gonna bite," he smiled. "I just wanna help to make ya feel relaxed." She scooted towards him, leaning her head against his chest. He wrapped one arm around her from behind and used his other hand to rub small circles on her stomach. "My mom used to do this when I was younger. It always helped to make me feel better." He glanced down and noticed her rhythmic breathing. "It always put me to sleep too," he whispered. Not having much of anything else to do, he turned his attention to the TV, watching the latest episode of Jerry Springer. He giggled quietly at the physical antics, but couldn't really get much enjoyment out of it since it was all in German. The more he breathed in the scent of Miranda's shampoo-scented hair, still fresh from that morning, the more relaxed he was getting. It soon caused him to doze off into a comfortable sleep.