Chapter Text
Normally, Karen tried to wait until at least dinner time to have a drink. Something about the self-imposed rule made her feel just a little bit less guilty about her habit, but today, she’d barely made it past noon.
After making a second sandwich for Ted, because he decided today he didn’t like mayonnaise. She’d just poured herself a glass of wine. Fuck it, it's 5 o’clock somewhere, she thought bitterly as she took a large sip.
She had hoped it might dull the ache in her head, maybe make her feel just a tiny bit better, but as soon as she’d finished, her stomach lurched, and she gagged, covering her mouth quickly, as she held onto the counter with her other hand, riding out the wave of nausea.
“God, I’m a fucking mess.” She muttered when it finally passed, self-hatred lacing through her as she drank the rest, poured herself another glass, downed it and poured one more.
The alcohol went straight to her head; she hadn’t eaten a thing today. Trying to go back to folding laundry, Karen found she couldn’t; her limbs just wouldn't cooperate, and her vision swam. Worst of all, her head was aching more than before, and the nausea was back.
How she’d managed to get upstairs, she’d never know, but once she did, she stumbled to her bedroom and collapsed onto the bed, not even bothering with her shoes. She just lay on top of the covers, willing the world to stop spinning.
After a while, she curled in on herself, feeling miserable knowing she wouldn’t be able to rest for long; she still had so much to do. A choked sob escaped her lips, and she buried her face in her pillow, wishing she had someone to hold her.
.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•~~~~~•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.
When Joyce stepped through the door, she was surprised to find the house unusually quiet; the only sound she could hear was the TV playing in the living room. It was half past 4, and by now Karen was usually starting dinner, filling the house with the mouth-watering aroma of whatever she was cooking that evening. But there was no such smell now, no sound of her puttering, she hadn’t even appeared to greet Joyce at the door like she normally did, flashing her the sweetest smile that always made Joyce’s heart soar.
She walked further into the house, checking the kitchen, but the blonde wasn’t there. What was there, though, was a half-empty bottle of wine with an empty glass next to it.
“Oh, Karen.” She winced sympathetically, now worried.
She put the glass in the sink and tucked the bottle out of sight so that no one would see; she didn’t want Ted making any comment about it. Clearly, Karen was dealing with enough today.
Joyce wandered about the house, checking the basement, dining room, everywhere she could think of on the lower floors, her worry increasing with each empty room.
Moving upstairs, she found herself outside what she knew to be the main bedroom. She wrung her hands, feeling incredibly awkward as she listened outside the door, trying to figure out if she was in there. But there was no sound.
Finally, she gave in and knocked softly, but there was no answer.
“Karen?” Still no answer, she knocked again, louder this time. “Karen, honey? You in there?”
“Joyce?” Karen slurred, voice muffled by the door.
“Yeah, it’s me.” The brunette replied, relieved she’d gotten a response. “Can I come in?”
There was no answer for a moment, and Joyce winced, worried she’d overstepped. She heard some shuffling around and finally got a response.
“…yeah.” The blonde replied in a small voice.
Joyce opened the door, and her heart broke at the sight she was met with.
Sitting on the bed was Karen. Mascara streaked down her cheeks, lipstick smudged, and her eyes and nose were red from crying.
“Hey,” she gave the brunette a watery smile that quickly turned into a frown as she clumsily wiped away a tear.
“Oh, honey.” Joyce moved forward without a second thought, sitting down on the bed beside her and putting an arm around Karen, pulling her into an embrace.
This caused the blonde to start crying again, letting her head fall against Joyce’s shoulder as she hugged her back, clinging desperately to her as sobs wracked her body.
“Shhh, it’s alright, you’re gonna be alright.” The brunette soothed, stroking Karen’s permed hair. “Just let it out.”
They sat like that for a while, Joyce whispering comforting words to the blonde as her sobs lessened, turning into whimpers and sniffles, and finally she fell quiet. She lessened her grip on the brunette and pulled back, giving her a guilty look.
“Sorry,” she whispered, sniffling.
“Karen, you have nothing to apologize for. I’m- I’m sorry, I knew something was up with you this morning, and I left.” Joyce shook her head, using her sleeve to wipe away some of the tears, a habit she still had from when the boys were young. “What’s goin’ on? “ she asked softly.
Karen’s breath hitched, and she looked down, shaking her head. God, she didn’t know where to start.
“It’s-“ she sniffled again. “It’s just- it’s just everything. I feel like I’m drowning… there’s just- just always so much to be done, Ted’s no help, he just berates me or-or dismisses me or ignores me” her breath hitched again. “a-and my babies… they won’t talk to me anymore. I can- I can tell there’s something going on, but they won’t let me in.” She sobbed, “Holly's getting distant too, today I just, I don’t know it all became too much, and I feel so sick, and I-I just don’t know what to do, I’m all alone, Joyce, and I’m drowning and no one, no one notices, no one cares!” She sobbed again, her brown eyes bored desperately into the Joyces’ as her breath became irregular.
“Hey, hey, hey.” The brunette’s hands came up to cup Karen’s cheeks. “You gotta calm down a bit, kay? Just breathe, in and out, slowly.” She demonstrated.
The blonde nodded and followed her lead. After a few times, her breathing became more regular.
“Good.” Joyce praised. “Now, I want you to listen to me, alright?”
Again, Karen nodded, her bottom lip wobbling as she fought back more tears. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had touched her like this, comforted her; it was almost too much to bear.
“You are not alone. Okay? You’re not alone, and I care.” Joyce nodded for emphasis, wiping away another stray tear. “I care, and I’m so sorry I haven’t shown you that, “ her voice broke. “You’re going through a lot, but you don’t have to go through it alone, okay? I’m here.”
Karen’s soft brown eyes shone at her; there was something in them now beyond just pain and sadness, surprise maybe, but it was more than that.
Suddenly, Karen’s lips were on Joyce’s. It was quick, clumsy, like their kiss all those years ago, but filled with passion. Joyce kissed her back for a moment, one hand moving from the blonde's cheek to her hair, before she finally forced herself to pull away, remembering Karen was probably still drunk.
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” The blonde's eyes were now wide with fear.
“No, no, don’t be sorry! I liked it, I really liked it.” Joyce smiled at her. “I just don’t want to take advantage, you’re very upset, and you said you weren’t feeling well and- and well…”
Karen’s brow furrowed.
“I know you’ve been drinking, hun.”
Shame and embarrassment flashed across the blonde's face, and she pulled away from Joyce, hanging her head.
“Hey, I’m not mad or anything, I’m just worried and… and if we’re gonna do that again, which I very much want, then I want you to be in a good place.”
“I want to do it again, too,” Karen whispered, looking back at Joyce with a shy smile.
“Raincheck?” The brunette grinned.
Karen nodded, moving closer once more and leaned her head against Joyce’s shoulder, closing her eyes against the pain in her head, which had gotten even worse with all the crying and alcohol.
“God, I really-really don’t want to cook dinner.” She muttered.
“Karen, there is no way I’m letting you cook dinner tonight. You’re not feeling well; it’s probably all the stress you’re under. You need to rest.”
“But Ted-“
“Fuck Ted! You’ve had a horrible day, you’re not well, you deserve a rest.” She wrapped an arm around Karen’s narrow shoulders. “I’ll cook something.”
Karen perked up at that, giving her a skeptical look; she knew the brunette wasn’t exactly skilled in the kitchen.
“I’ll order pizza.” Joyce amended, urging the blonde to rest her head against her shoulder once more.
Karen chuckled lightly, and a warmth spread through her as she felt the brunette kiss her head.
“Thanks, Joyce.” She murmured, closing her eyes once more, feeling as if she might fall asleep.
“Not a problem at all, honey. Why don’t you get under the covers and take a nap?” The brunette suggested, clearly seeing how exhausted the blonde was. She stood and helped Karen out of her shoes
The blonde nodded, blinking heavily as she stood too, staggering slightly as she pulled back the covers and slipped underneath. Joyce tucked the blankets up to her chin and smiled fondly down on her.
“Sleep well, Karen. I’ll come by and check on you in a bit.”
The blonde let out a sleepy grunt of acknowledgment, already half asleep, for the first time in what felt like forever, Karen felt the weight pressing down on her chest lessen just a little.