Carson woke slowly. She shifted her hips, feeling Greta curled close and warm against her back. Her head was pounding, and the sinus pressure under her cheekbones was uncomfortable. She closed her eyes again, an attempt at willing her body back to sleep.
Greta felt Carson shift against her. She pressed a kiss to Carson’s shoulder, pulling her closer.
“Hey, love” Greta spoke softly.
“I feel terrible…” Carson’s voice was rough from sleep, and this cold that had shown up seemingly overnight. She had felt slightly under the weather the past few days, easily blaming it on spring allergies.
“Mmm, I’m sorry you feel crummy,” Greta swept Carson’s hair away from her neck, leaving a soft kiss below her ear. “Let me take care of you today.”
“But, you have to go to work. I’ll be ok today” Carson spoke into the pillow, it hurt to swallow, and breathing through her nose was damn near impossible.
“I’ll call out, Vivienne will be fine for a day or two.” Greta reached over Carson to pull her phone from the nightstand to make the call.
Carson felt Greta trace looping, absent-minded patterns on her back as she spoke on the phone softly.
“Thanks so much, Viv…yes just use some of my sick time, I have so much of it accrued…right, ok, thanks again. Talk soon.” Greta ended the call and gently slid her phone back onto the nightstand, wrapping Carson up in her arms as she laid back down.
“Would a shower help?” Greta pressed a kiss to Carson’s hair, she smelled like sleep and orange blossoms.
“Mmm, maybe?” Carson shifted, slowly working toward sitting upright. Her head throbbed, and she felt out of her body. She sat on the edge of the bed, pressing her fingertips to her forehead before raking them through her hair.
Greta stood and walked around to Carson’s side of the bed, before kneeling and taking her hands. “Try it for me? I’ll run the water now so it’s hot, and while you shower I’ll make some tea and breakfast.”
“I’d kill for a cup of coffee,” Carson cleared her throat, trying to hold back a raspy cough.
“Not today, love. Tea first, and maybe some ice water too. Gotta keep you hydrated so you can kick this,” Greta said as she was making a mental note to herself.
Carson pouted, before standing slowly, the change in sinus pressure a momentary relief before sniffling and grimacing at the sound.
“You’re really pretty, you know that?” Greta teased, tracing her fingertips up Carson’s forearms. Carson rolled her eyes, pulling one of her arms away to cough roughly into her elbow.
With Carson close in tow, Greta walked to the bathroom to turn on the shower, running the water just slightly hotter than would be comfortable. She pulled a small bottle from the medicine cabinet.
“Let the water run until it’s steamy in here, and right before you get in, put a few drops of this on the shower floor. Peppermint oil, it’s strong, just a bit will do,” Greta kissed Carson’s forehead, pressing the small bottle of oil into her hand. Carson nodded against her lips.
“Thanks, sorry about all this,” Carson mumbled.
“All good, love. Take your time,” Greta slipped out of the bathroom, clicking the door shut softly behind her.
Greta hummed as she put the kettle on, peeling a clementine and separating the segments into pairs, the way Carson mindlessly did. She put a slice of bread in the toaster, before fixing herself a bowl of cereal. She could hear Carson in the shower, coughing wetly from time to time as the humid air broke up her congestion. Greta’s heart ached for her, Carson was always so tough and independent, and was a big softie when she was sick. Greta didn’t particularly want to catch her cold, though she knew Carson would want her close all day.
Carson felt the pressure in her head subsiding as she breathed in the steam of the shower. Her chest felt tight, and when she breathed slightly too deep, she’d cough. She let the water run over her head and face, eyes closed under the warm water. The sharp mint from the peppermint oil was helping clear her sinuses too. She had no idea how or where Greta learned that trick, and made a note to ask later. She leaned out from being directly under the shower and coughed again, before dipping her head back under, pressing her palms to her cheeks.
Greta was pulled from her thoughts as the toaster popped, and she heard the water shut off in the bathroom. She placed the toast and clementine slices on a plate, pouring hot water into a mug so the tea could steep.
Carson emerged from their bedroom in clean sweatpants and a tank top, her cheeks flushed pink and her hair pulled back. Greta smiled.
“Your eyes look a little brighter after that shower” Greta crooned, reaching out as Carson entered the kitchen. Greta pulled her close, wrapping her arm around Carson’s waist. Carson leaned into Greta.
“I still feel like garbage. Do we have any cold meds?” Carson's voice was low, it hurt her throat to talk much.
“In the bathroom cabinet. Here’s breakfast, I’ll bring some meds over to the couch in a second” Greta kissed Carson’s cheek before padding over to the bathroom to retrieve the cold meds. The air in the bathroom was still steamy and humid as Greta stepped in to quickly retrieve the bottle of pills from the medicine cabinet.
“Here, sweetheart,” Greta brought over a glass of ice water and 2 pills, gingerly setting the medication next to the citrus on Carson’s plate. Two of the small clementine pieces had disappeared. “Try to eat a bit more for me, please.”
Carson was laying on the couch, a blanket pulled up around her, the time spent showering and moving between the kitchen and living room had proven tiring.
“Hold me?” Carson looked up, her eyes glassy and a little distant. “Please.”
“Of course, c’mere,” Greta sunk into the couch, setting her own mug of tea on the coffee table. She picked up the meds and the glass of water, and Carson took both willingly, handing the cup back to Greta after a few sips. Carson shifted so she could sit and curl against Greta, her head against Greta’s chest. “How’s that?”
“Better,” Carson sighed, content. She closed her eyes. “Where’d you learn that peppermint oil trick?” Carson tried to hold back a cough. Greta rubbed her back, gently between her shoulder blades.
“Try not to suppress it, love, let your body clear that out. I learned it from my grandma. She smoked menthols, and used to rub Vick’s on my chest whenever I got sick. She swore by anything mentholated. Peppermint oil is similar, and is less sticky than Vick’s,” She could feel Carson’s fingertips against her thigh. Carson hummed, nodding slightly.
“She sounds like a smart lady” Carson sighed against Greta, drifting closer to sleep.
“She was, yeah” Greta gently released Carson’s hair from the elastic, combing her fingers through it as it fell around her girlfriend's shoulders.
Carson sighed, adjusting so she could snuggle closer, pulling the blanket up high over her shoulders. Greta kissed the top of her head, lingering a few moments to take in the smell of Carson’s shampoo.
“Get some rest, love. I’ll be right here,” Greta would stay on the couch forever, holding Carson, if it meant her girlfriend was able to rest.