Try A Little Tenderness (c)

[Tag Along]

Tag was about to answer negatively, but she stopped herself. When she actually thought about it, she realized that whenever her sister or her mother or, more recently, Zippy, had been sick, she had made them tea and soup and given them medicine... But she hadn't sat dutifully by their bedside all day, and she hadn't read to them until they fell asleep.

"Well... You are special to me." She replied quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

[Specs]

Specs reached over and gently rubbed her cheek, smiling at her. "You are too," he said softly. "I'd never had a girl pay this much attention to me before. Thank you for caring." He meant it and Specs wasn't one to lie, especially to Tag.

[Tag Along]

"My pleasure." Tag smiled sheepishly at him, her cheeks hot. She took his hand and brought it up to her lips, kissing it softly.

"You're still burning up." She said with a very worried look. "I'll go get some more medicine."

[Specs]

"But I'm feeling a lot better?" said Specs in confusion as he watched Tag dart out of the bunkroom and appear with medicine yet again.

"Are you sure you're not trying to drug me?" he teased, smirking at her.

[Tag Along]

"I'm offended you'd even think that." She teased, trying to look serious.

"And maybe I was exaggerating a little. You're not burning up, but you are warm. Just take the medicine. Or don't you trust me?" She cast him a skeptical look, raising an eyebrow.

[Specs]

"Of course I trust you," said Specs, taking the medicine from Tag and downing it with water. "I'd rather get medicine from you than anyone else in this house."

[Tag Along]

"I knew you were smart."

She sat on the bed, her hands in her lap. She was glad that most newsboys didn't come back to the house until night. She wanted to spend as much time with Specs as she could; she wanted to be fully satisfied that he was on the road to recovery. And she couldn't do that with twenty or thirty boys breathing down her neck.

[Specs]

Specs would've wanted her to lie down with him on the bed. But with him being sick, he definitely didn't want to pass his germs to her. He was sure he wouldn't be as good of a nurse as Tag.

"So what'd you do when I fell asleep?" he asked, nudging her gently with his foot.

[Tag Along]

"I read some of my book, I sewed up some holes in my shirts... And yours, too." She said as her cheeks turned pink. "I washed my hair, and I made the soup."

She had obviously spent most of her time sitting on the bed next to Specs', waiting for any sign of him waking up.

[Specs]

"You sewed my shirts?!" he said in surprise and embarrassment. As a newsie, he didn't have much clothing options. And as a guy, he wasn't one to maintain them either. "Tag, you really didn't have to... you do too much for me."

[Tag Along]

"Well, you'll pay me back one day, of course." She smirked at him, wiping the cloth over his forehead once more before putting it in the empty soup bowl.

[Specs]

"Of course," he said, returning her smile and making sure to remember to do something special for her. "So, what's the verdict, Nurse Lillian? Am I going to live?"

[Tag Along]

"I believe so." She replied with a nod. "You just need more rest. You should feel better tomorrow."

[Specs]

"That's good to know," chuckled Specs, smiling at her. "I hope you didn't loose too much money from not selling today 'cause of me... I'll pay for your stay here tonight."

He wanted to pay her back somehow, even if it meant doing something small for now.

[Tag Along]

"Absolutely not!" She said, her stern voice returning. "I wouldn't hear of it. Besides, I pay by the week. I'm stuck here 'till Saturday morning."