Caring

By: Riley

Summary- Carlos helps Riley show more of her caring side when he's sick. Short one-shot.

When Riley had gone to the crib that day, she was surprised to find Carlos by himself, lying down on the couch, looking as miserable as she had ever seen him before.

"What's wrong?" Riley asked, flopping down onto the couch beside him. Carlos had his head buried in a pillow, his helmet lying on his chest, rising and falling each time Carlos breathed. A low guttural grunt came from the boy, and Riley leaned closer to him, her blue eyes boring into his brown ones. Her hair tickled Carlos's face. "I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on, CareBear."

Carlos grunted again and Riley sat back. She thought for a moment and then reached out, grabbing onto Carlos's ear. He mustered out a shriek and tried to roll away from her, but she held a tight grip. "I can't hear you," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Go away," Carlos continued to muffle into his pillow. He reached out a hand and tried to push hers away, but she continued to hold on. "Riles…" He sounded pitiful.

"What's wrong?" Riley repeated. "Tell me? I'll let go." She tapped her chin. "Oh, let me guess! Mama Knight took away your Pinkie Puffs?"

"The Pinkie Puffs are James's," Carlos mumbled. He picked up his helmet and pushed it against Riley's arm, nudging her until she let go of his ear. He then grabbed the blanket and pulled it over his head, rolling so his back was facing her. It was quiet, Carlos started to snore quietly.

"Carlos, wake up!" Riley smacked him on the back. Carlos woke suddenly, jerking slightly in his sleep, only to elbow her in the side.

"Son of a bitch!" Riley muttered, rubbing her side.

"Sorry," Carlos said in a babyish voice, rolling back so he was facing her. He yawned loudly and closed his eyes for a moment, causing Riley to tilt her head to the side as she looked at him.

"Are you sick?" She demanded. She then leaned forward and pressed her hand against Carlos's forehead. "You're burning up. Let me go get the thermometer."

Before Carlos could protest, Riley went to the kitchen to find the thermometer. When she found it in a cabinet, she turned to see Carlos had pulled the blanket over his head, pulling it underneath his armpits so that she wouldn't be able to pull it away from him, no matter how hard she tried.

"Oh don't be such a baby, Carlos." Riley put her hands on her hips as she looked down at him. "You're just as bad as my brothers. Well, just as bad as Patrick and needles." She reached out and gently tugged on the blanket. "Come on."

Carlos pulled back the blanket and shook his head, his face pressed into the pillow again. "I don't want to have my temperature taken." He muttered, his voice again muffled by the pillow.

"Well you're going to have to suck it up, boofhead." Riley pushed him onto his back, giving Carlos no time to respond before he put the thermometer in his mouth. "Next time, just let me do it."

Carlos crossed his arms bad-naturedly, but didn't fight as Riley took his temperature. When he was finished, Riley pulled the thermometer out and looked it over.

"A hundred-point-one." Riley informed him, raising an eyebrow. "Why didn't you just tell me that you were sick?"

"I'm not sick!" Carlos complained, pouting.

"Yeah, you are," Riley replied. She held up her hands. "Whatever? What makes you feel better when you're sick?" She placed a finger on her chin and started to walk back and forth as she thought about it. "Well, basically any food makes you feel better…but there isn't enough food in the world that will help you now."

Carlos smiled as he watched her. It wasn't a side of her that normal people saw. Usually they saw a teenage girl that told things like it is, wasn't afraid to speak her mind, and would do anything to help her family and friends, even going so far as to get into fights or get in trouble in general. Now she was showing a softer side to her, which she usually did whenever he or one of the other guys was sick or if she was worried about them in general. Having taken care of her brothers, with her twin sister's help, for years when they used to be abused, he knew that it was hard for her to let go of the motherly instinct that she had sometimes.

"What's so funny?" Riley asked when she turned to him, noticing his smile.

"Nothing." Carlos shrugged. "I'm just starting to feel a little better."

Riley gave a small smile as she shook her head. "I'll make you some soup."

"Chicken Noodle?" Carlos asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Whatever you want."

THE END

A/N: I hadn't done a CarlosxRiley (or Carley) one-shot in a while. You can see this as friendship or romantic, I don't care, I just wanted to write something cute between them.

Cheers

-Riles