I woke up to Brian thrashing in his sleep. It was still dark out, probably about three in the morning. It was cold and wet around us. But surprisingly, beneath the tree, it was dry and comfortable as we kept each other warm.

I leaned in closer to his and gently stroked his hair, trying to calm him down. It eventually worked and I fell back to sleep.

I woke up once more by the bright rays of the sun shining on my face. Brian was sitting up and staring down at me.

"Good morning, beautiful,"he said as he smiled,"did you sleep well?"

"Surprisingly yes. I usually can't sleep if I'm not in a bed."

"Well, I think here is just as cozy as any bed, if not more."

We both smiled at each other as the warm breeze blew over us, rustling the leaves on the tree. It was so peaceful.

"So, Brian," I started again,"you were moving around a lot in your sleep last night..."

He turned to me with a confused look on his face and then answered,"that's odd. I usually don't do that- at least I don't think I do."

"You did last night. It woke me up."

"Oh goodness, I'm sorry. Maybe it's because I've got a lot on my mind."

"Like what?"

He shrugged and then quickly changed the subject.

"Are you hungry? Because I know I am. Why don't we get going and get some breakfast."

I nodded in agreement. I was starving, to say the least. Yes, I enjoyed those sandwiches Brian made last night. But it just didn't suffice.

We made our way through the wooded path that led toward the road. We followed it down a few minutes and found Brian's car parked on the side of the road, which apparently I hadn't noticed on the ride there with Roger.

We packed everything inside and got in. Brian started it up and asked,"so, what do you want?"

"You know, I could go for anything right now."

"Perfect. I know I great diner just down this road. I actually hadn't planned that, either."

We drove and couple of miles and pulled up to an old diner. It didn't seem like much from the looks of it. But I had to take Brian's word on it.

We immediately were sat down and asked what we wanted. I got blueberry pancakes and Brian got the same.

While we were waiting for our food, we talked and talked. The service wasn't that great. But at least it gave us time to converse. Talking to Brian was just so easy. He always knew what to say even if he didn't even know what he was talking about.

The waitress brought out our food. She winked at Brian and whispered,"and some bacon for you, you manly man. Can't just go around and eat blueberry pancakes and call yourself a man!"

Brian smiled weakly and thanked her. As soon as she left we burst out in laughter.

"What does that even mean?" Brian asked, barely able to get his words out through his laughing.

"I have no idea," I answered. I really didn't,"I'm pretty sure men can enjoy blueberry pancakes and still be men!"

----

We finished and, I must say, they were probably the best pancakes I've ever had. I truly learned never to judge a book by its cover, especially when it came to food.

The drive back home was exhilarating. Brian put the top down on his convertible. Even though we could barely hear each other talk because of the wind, we still had a great time.

We got the the house and entered inside and found everyone sitting on the floor talking.

"What are you guys doing?" Brian asked.

"We've got tour dates!" John answered excitedly.

Brian's face immediately lit up. He rushed over to their huddled circle and snatched some papers out of Roger's hand.

"So which is first?" Brian asked as he flipped through the pages.

"Portugal," Freddie answered,"in a couple of months."

My heart nearly kept out of my chest. Portugal. I couldn't contain myself and blurted out in a loud tone,"that's near Spain, right?"

They all turned to me and laughed. Them Freddie answered,"yes, dear. I can see who knows their maps."

They all laughed at Freddie's sarcasm and I just rolled my eyes.

"Why so excited, Elle?" Roger asked.

"My friend, Cassie, is in Spain to study. Maybe, since Portugal is closer to Spain than England, we could meet up."

"Spain's a pretty big country. Where is she studying?" John asked.

"She didn't tell me. Madrid, maybe?"

"That's a pretty far way from Portugal. But I'm sure we can work something out, dear," Freddie reassured me.

----

The next day, I started to feel a little strange.

"Elle, are you okay? You don't look so well," Brian asked as he placed his hand on my forehead.

"My God! You're burning up!"

"huh?" i asked, confused,"well, no wonder I've been feeling so weak..."

"you'd better go lie down and rest and I'll make you some tea."

I flopped onto the sofa and lay on my back, feeling completely drained. Brian came over and handed me a cup of tea and sat on the ground next to me.

"You need anything else, love?" he asked as he ran his fingers through my hair.

"I think I just need to sleep, thank you."

He was getting up to leave when I stopped him,"oh, and Brian?"

he turned around and answered,"yes?"

"Next time we camp out, make sure it's not after a rainstorm on a cold night."

Brian just stared at me, finally realizing why I had gotten sick. He ran toward me again with his arms outstretched and gave me a hug.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! Will you ever forgive me? I'm so stupid. I should've thought that through. I just-"

"Brian," I interrupted him,"please stop overreacting. I'm fine! I'll be better soon!"

He smiled weakly and then kissed me on the forehead. I soon drifted off into a deep sleep. Nothing could wake me up- or so I thought.

----

It seemed almost immediately that I was woken up by a loud crash. But I looked over at the clock. It was 11:30 at night. I'd slept almost the whole day. I didn't feel any better, though.

I mustered up enough energy and strength to get up and investigate. I heard laughter coming from the hall downstairs. I took the first step down and immediately slipped and slid and bumped the whole way down.

"ouch, are you okay?" a booming voice called from the corridor.

"Uh, yeah," I answered slowly.

Brian emerged from the shadows and just stood over me as he stared. I was still sitting on the floor, too exhausted to get up.

"Brian, could you help me up?" he asked, holding out my hand.

"huh?" he stared at me with a blank look on his face.

"Brian, are you okay?"

"of course I'm okay!" he answered, slurring his words.

"Brian? Are you drunk?" I raised ny voice.

"Nah! Just living the life, ya know? I love life, don't you?"

I rolled my eyes and then lifted myself up to my feet. As soon as I regained my balance, the rest of the band came in. And thank goodness, they were sober.

"Sorry, Elle. We couldn't stop him. He likes to drink his feelings away," Roger explained.

"Yeah, he feels guilty about you getting sick," John added.

"And he's basically a train wreck without you," Freddie finished,"and when you wouldn't wake up, he started to freak out."

"come on, boys. Let's get him to his room," Roger said as he hoisted Brian to his feet.

"Guys, let me go. I'm a free spirit. Let me go!" Brian complained.

When no one would let him go, he started to sing The Beatles and screamed,"the magical mystery tour is coming to take you away!!!"

he was all out of tune and his voice cracked. It was actually kind of funny.

They laid him down on his bed. I sat down next to him and grabbed his hand.

"Hey, you're one pretty lady," he said, sitting up to touch my face.

"I think you need to sleep, Brian," I said as I politely pushed him away.

"Please, baby! One kiss!"

"Brian, no. Go to bed."

"Damn. Okay, love. I'm going to sleep."

He lay back and immediately closed his eyes. He started to fake snore, giggling in between each one.

"Oh, Lord. Please, give me patience," I mumbled to myself.

I walked out of the room, leaving him by himself. I really didn't want to deal with him. I was more focused on my health rather than his, which was rather selfish. But at least I didn't choose to become sick like he chose to drink and become drunk. All I knew, though, was that I needed my rest, so I fell asleep once again.

A/N:

Finally got to update this! I'm sorry! I've been so busy. Blegh :P