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Kara wasn’t sick, she just wasn’t, she couldn’t be. She woke up at 5:30 and her entire body was hurting as if a truck had fallen on top of her while she was sleeping. She whined and closed her eyes again. She moved her hand to check if Lena was still on the bed and tried to stay quiet in order not to wake her up because Lena would have to get up in an hour to go to work and she needed to rest.
The silence didn’t last much though as a few minutes later her stomach started turning and her hand shot up to her mouth, trying to stiff a moan of pain. Kara could handle the pain all over her body, but nausea was like her worst enemy. She hated feeling sick and hated getting sick even more, it was like an alien feeling even though she was an alien herself. She contemplated about calling her sister, she knew she was going to freak out, even if just a little, if she actually got sick, but she changed her mind, knowing her sister also needed to rest.
Kara kept tossing and turning, trying to find a position that easy some of the pain she was feeling. At some point she started to cry quietly, from both the pain and frustration of not knowing what to do.
“What’s going on with you? You’re moving around away more than usual.” Lena spoke with a sleepy voice, her eyes were still closed but she reached out to search for Kara’s hand. When there was no response, she finally opened her eyes and turned around to look at Kara. She saw how pale Kara was and the tears constantly streaming down her cheeks. “Hey, what happened? Did you have a nightmare?” Kara just shook her head and tried to take a few deep breaths. “Then what is it baby?” She touched Kara’s cheek and felt how hot it was, not her normal alien hot, this was clearly a fever. She sat up and started focusing on Kara. The girl was sweating, one arm holding her stomach and the other covering her mouth. “Oh no, you’re sick baby. You must’ve lost your powers after your last fight yesterday. I told you your body needed a break, you’ve been working too much, you need to call for backup sometimes.” Lena saw the tears getting more constant, falling faster than before and Kara started shivering a bit. “Hey, it’s alright, I’ve got you, okay? I got you and I can call Alex if you feel like you need your sister.” She tried to calm the girl down before she made herself sick from crying.
“I hate being sick.” Kara sniffed tiredly a minute later.
“I know, no one likes to be sick. But I’ll take care of you.” Lena kissed her forehead and started to get up. “I’ll be right back, I’m just going on the kitchen to grab a glass of water, you need to stay hydrated.” She ran outside and got everything as fast as she could and ran back to their room. “You’ve been sick once, right?” Kara nodded slowly. “Ok, so you know what that feels like. If you feel like you’re going to be sick, tell me so I can help you to the bathroom. It’s alright if you don’t make it though, you’re still not used to it and I’d never be angry at you because of an accident, it can happen to anyone, alright?” Lena was trying her best to stay calm, if she got nervous then Kara was going to get even more agitated and make herself feel worse. She got this, Kara took care of her a bunch of times, she could handle this role reversal right now. Besides, she could call Alex if she needed help.
“Ok.” Kara was curled up on her side now, eyes tightly closed, hand still hovering over her mouth and begging for the nausea to go away.
“Alex once said that you freaked out the first time you threw up, can you tell me what happened?” Lena asked while laying down on her side facing Kara.
“That had never happened to me before, I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t stop to think about all the times Alex had gotten sick, I just panicked. When it started, I felt a horrible pain in my stomach and I screamed, calling for my sister, she ran into my room and sat me up, by that point I was already having a panic attack, I couldn’t breathe properly and I think that made everything worse because when I actually got sick, then I really couldn’t breathe and my brain completely shut down, trying to figure out what was going on. It just happened once so as soon as I was done, my body automatically started to go back to normal so Alex only had to help with the panic and I was fine 10 minutes later. I don’t think I’ll have a panic attack over it this time, don’t worry.” Kara opened her eyes slightly and tried to smile at Lena, it came out weak so she just dropped it and closed her eyes again while pouting.
“I wasn’t worried about that, I just want to he prepared to help you.” Lena explained quickly, she didn’t want Kara to think she was a inconvenience because of how she is.
“You have to go to work, I’ll be fine.” Kara tried to sound more confident than she felt.
“I’m not leaving you while you’re like this, I’ll work from home until you get better.” Lena sat up and immediately grabbed her phone to explain to her assistant the whole situation.
“Thank you.” Kara didn’t had it in her to tell Lena to go again, she really didn’t want to be alone right now. “It feels different this time.”
“Can you explain to me what you’re feeling?” Lena placed her phone back onto the nightstand and turned all her attention back to Kara.
“My stomach is hurting and I feel it moving around, is that normal?” Kara’s eyes were wide open, she looked a little scared and was still shaking slightly.
“It is. What else are you feeling?” Lena was trying to get a mental note on the girl’s symptoms to try and figure out if she could do it by herself or if Kara would need to go to the DEO for professional help.
“I feel hot and cold at the same time. I’m Dizzy, my entire body hurts but my stomach is still the worst it’s cramping and I’m so nauseous. I hate this!” She started to cry again.
“It sounds like a stomach flu. Jess got it last week, my driver is still out and my housekeeper was out for 3 days, I gave her the whole week because I knew I was going to stay here anyway. I’m so sorry baby.”
“I can’t be like this for 3 days!” Kara cried harder and Lena almost laughed at how dramatic her girlfriend is.
“Technically this can last for almost 2 weeks, but it Probably won’t for you, Kara, your powers will probably be back by tomorrow.” She laid back down and started running her fingers through Kara’s hair and face softly, trying to calm her down.
Kara stopped crying after a minute but the peace didn’t last long. She got tense suddenly and tried to get up. A few seconds later Lena understood what was going on so she got up and ran to the other side of the bed to help Kara up.
“Come on, I’ve got you baby, hold on to me.” Lena kept both arms wrapped around Kara.
They walked slowly, Kara was shaking and whimpering the whole time. She bent over when they’re halfway there and Lena used all her strength to keep Kara up.
“Are you gonna make it?” She tried to get Kara’s hair away from her face while still supporting most of the girl’s weight.
“I don’t know. I’m sorry.” Kara moaned and laid her head on Lena’s shoulder for a second.
“It’s alright. We’re almost there though, hold on and let’s just try to keep walking, just a few more steps baby.”
As they walked in Lena quickly turned the light on and helped Kara lower herself to the floor. She sat on the edge of the bathtub and kept talking while holding Kara’s hair back.
“I’m right here with you, you’ll be fine. I’ll make you some soup, homemade, not those can things you always make because you can’t cook.” Kara half laughed which was something. “I’ll help you take a quick shower or a bath, we need to break your fever.”
“I don’t like cold showers.” Kara pouted, tears still streaming down her cheeks.
“I know, but if we can’t break your fever, we’ll have to go to the DEO. Do you want to stay there the whole day?” Kara shook her head. “Didn’t think so.”
“Oh my Rao, Lena, you’ll end up getting this from me!” Kara turned around to look at Lena with wide eyes, she hadn’t stop to think about the fact that she was probably contagious now.
“It’s alright honey, don’t worry about it.” She tried to calm Kara’s nerves again.
“But…” Kara couldn’t bear the thought of making Lena sick, she was supposed to take care of her, not cause her pain.
“No “but’s” it’s ok. If I get it, I’ll just deal with it. It’s not like I haven’t been exposed to it before anyway, in my office, with my driver, on the restaurant. If I do get sick, at least I took care of you before.” Kara finally settled again and turned back around.
Kara tensed up again a minute later and searched for Lena’s hand.
“It’s alright, don’t fight it, it’ll hurt even more.” She sat closer to Kara to hold her hand when she finally gave in. “That’s it, just let it out, I’m here.” She squeezed Kara’s hand, encouraging her to do the same and kept whispering to her to try to keep her as calm as possible while the poor girl kept throwing up. “That’s good baby, get it all out, it’ll help you feel better.”
Kara leaned back after a few minutes and tried to slow down her breathing.
“Are you done?” Kara only shrugged. “Let’s sit here for a bit more then.”
“H-hold me?”
“Of course.” Lena moved to sit on the floor and helped Kara move to lay on her chest. “My poor sick alien...” She touched Kara’s nose and got a tiny smile from her. “Still so cute, with those puppy eyes and sad pout. I’m so sorry you’re not feeling well.” She brushed Kara’s hair away from her face and laid a gentle kiss on her cheek.
10 minutes later it started again and after getting rid of everything she had on her stomach, when there was only bile left, Kara just wasn’t having it anymore. She was full on sobbing and looking brokenly at Lena, her eyes begging for her to help make the pain go away.
“It hurts so bad Lena.” She sobbed. “My throat is burning.” She had both arms wrapped around her stomach, eyes tightly closed now but the tears still managing to escape.
“I know honey, I know. It’ll be over soon.” Lena said while getting up to fill up the bathtub. “Do you want your sister? I can call Alex if you want.” She knew she could handle this but she also knew how Kara sometimes needed her sister to calm down.
“No, I want you and I wanna go to bed.” Kara whined and rubbed her eyes tiredly again.
“We will baby, but you need to take a bath first. Your fever is too high, stay a little bit on the bathtub and then you can go back to bed.”
After everything was done she knelt in front of Kara to start opening her pajama shirt.
“Do you want some water? It’ll help with the burning feeling you have in your throat.” Kara nodded so she threw the shirt into the laundry basket and got the cup, filling it with water and knelling back in front of Kara. “Slow sips or you’ll get sick again.” Lena helped her take a few sips and then placed the cup back onto the sink. “You can drink more in a bit, let your stomach settle.” She then helped Kara stand up and got the rest of her clothes off and then used all the strength she mysteriously still had to practically lift Kara into the bathtub. “Sit down, I’ll stay here with you, I found the thermometer and I got you a towel.” She pointed to the items neatly sitting on top of the counter.
“It’s so cold.” Kara was trembling and her grip on Lena’s arms grew tighter. “I don’t want to stay here.” She tried pouting again.
“I know sweetheart, but I don’t know what else I can do to break your fever. You can’t take any medicine on an empty stomach but if you eat right now and take the medicine, it won’t last 5 minutes in your stomach. Right now all I can think of is either this or taking you to the DEO.”
Kara groaned but started to lower herself with Lena’s help and sat in the cold water.
“I’m sorry about the meltdown, it’s just… I don’t know, I never felt this much pain before so I lost control.” Kara said after a minute, she was shivering and still holding onto one of Lena’s arms.
“It’s ok, you’re tired and you’ve never been this sick before. Besides, I cry sometimes when I get really sick, the exhaustion and the pain makes us more sensitive so, I was expecting a meltdown sooner or later.” Lena replied gently while washing Kara’s hair. “Once we’re done here, I’ll let you rest for a bit but then you’ll have to eat, at least a little bit, otherwise it’ll hurt even more every time you need to get sick and you’ll keep feeling your throat burning because of the acid your stomach is forcing out.” She finished with Kara’s hair and sat back on the edge of the bathtub.
“Fine. Can I have more water please?” Kara asked tiredly.
“Yeah,” Lena got the cup back. “Here, slowly.” She helped her once again and then got up to get the thermometer. “Alright, let’s check your temperature and if it went down at least a little bit, I’ll help you out and we can go back to bed.”
Kara’s temperature went down to 100°, it was still high but manageable so Lena helped her out and wrapped her up with the towel so they could walk back to their room. She help Kara get dressed and under the covers.
“Rest for a bit, I’m going to start making the soup so we can have lunch soon. I’ll be right outside so just call me if you need anything.” She kissed Kara’s forehead and walked to the kitchen.
Lena took her time preparing everything, pausing to check on Kara a few times. Almost 2 hours later it was done, she got 2 plates and walked to the room to wake Kara up.
“The soup is ready.” She whispered and caress Kara’s cheek. “Come on baby, wake up.”
“Hum… Nooo!” Kara whined and hid under the covers.
“Just a little bit, you need get something in your system or you’ll start to feel worse.” Lena tried to remove the covers from Kara’s face.
“Just 5 more minutes.” Kara whined.
“No love, let’s eat while it’s still warm. I’ll turn the TV on, we can finish watching Harry Potter. We slept halfway through it yesterday.” She finally managed to remove the blanket and brushed Kara’s hair away from her face to kiss her cheek.
Kara slowly sat up and they started eating while watching the movie.
Lena finished 15 minutes later and Kara hasn’t even eaten half of her bowl before she handed it back to Lena.
“All done?” Kara nodded. “You sure? You don’t want to try to eat just a little more?” She shook her head and laid back down. “Is it really that bad? I thought you liked my food.” Lena smiled down at her.
“Noo, it’s not bad, I just don’t feel like eating right now, I don’t feel well.” Kara closed her eyes and held Lena’s free hand, bringing it up to her lips and kissing it softly.
“I know, I was just joking with you. I’m going to wash the dishes, just call if you need anything.” Lena kissed Kara’s hand back and got up. Her name was called about 10 minutes later. She dropped the dishes back into the sink and went to find Kara.
“Again baby? I’m so sorry.” Lena said when she saw Kara leaning over the toilet again. She sat down on the edge of the bathtub and put Kara’s hair up in bun before caressing her back and speaking softly to calm her down. “You’ll be all better soon. You can choose where we’re going on our next trip, anywhere you want. You’re in charge of our next date, just please, no karaoke at the aliens bar this time.” Kara smiled weakly at her and laid her head on Lena’s legs.
They waited a few minutes to see if Kara was going to throw up again and went back to bed when she didn’t. They fell asleep after a few minutes.
2 hours later Kara was up and running back to the bathroom, dropping in front of the toilet and crying frustrated tears. She dropped onto Lena’s lap once she was done and they sat there until Lena had managed to calm Kara down again. They went back to bed and turned the TV back on, trying to keep themselves distracted.
That was pretty much how their day went, Kara would fall asleep for a bit, wake up whining and then they spent a good while in the bathroom. Lena was doing her best to help her girlfriend through this, trying to keep her calm and hydrated, checking her temperature every hour and making sure she was comfortable, getting her more blankets and pillows, turning the lights off, closing the curtains and lowering the brightness of the TV.
Kara finally got some rest at 3 pm when she fell asleep and just woke up again at 7 pm when Lena called her for dinner.
They ate while watching some random show they found. Kara managed to eat almost the entire bowl this time, she handed it back to Lena before laying down on her side again.
“Lena…” Kara called almost 20 minutes later. She tried to get up and after Lena helped her, they went back to the bathroom.
“Try to relax baby, I know it hurts but relaxing will help.” Lena grabbed the hand towel and wet a part of it to wipe Kara’s sweat and try to help her relax a little more. She gently ran the towel on the sick girl’s face and neck. She kissed the side of Kara’s head softly and kept the towel laying on her neck until she was done getting sick.
“I'm exhausted.” She sighed and looked up at Lena. “I’m so sorry you humans have to deal with this so often.”
“That just happens once or twice a year, you just had the bad luck of losing your powers right when this nasty bug is going around.” She wiped Kara’s face again and threw the towel on the laundry basket.
“Still, that’s once or twice too many.” She closed her eyes to breathe for a minute.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. I’m really sorry baby.” Lena caressed her cheek.
“Ugh, this sucks. I need to brush my teeth.”
“Ok, here…” Lena helped her up and handed her the toothbrush. “All good?” Kara nodded and started brushing her teeth.
“I wanna go back to bed now.” She said after she was done and laid her head on Lena’s shoulder again.
“Alright, let’s go then.” They slowly walked back. Lena got Kara under the covers again and was about to leave when Kara grabbed her hand. “Hey, I’ll be back in a minute, I just need to finish washing the dishes.”
“I want you here, let’s take a nap.” She did her tired version of puppy eyes and pouted.
“Alright, you win, but let’s drink some Gatorade first, keep you hydrated. Which one do you want?”
“The blue one, please.”
“Your wish is my command.” Lena laughed when Kara pushed her out of the bed.
“You’re such a dork.” Kara tried to hide a laugh.
“I had an amazing teacher. The prettiest one, that’s for sure!” She bent over to kiss Kara’s cheek and ran out of the room before Kara could hit her with one of the pillows.
She sat down besides Kara a few seconds later and helped her take a few sips before placing the bottle on the nightstand besides her and moving to her own side of the bed and laying down.
“Can I lay on your chest? I miss hearing your heartbeat.” Kara blushed a bit.
“Of course you can, you don’t have to ask though silly. Come here.” She opened her arms and helped Kara move closer.
Kara got one arm around Lena’s stomach and one leg on top of Lena’s.
“Are you feeling any better? I don’t think you have a fever anymore.”
“The pain is not as bad anymore and the cramps stopped.” Kara sighed contently, she finally felt comfortable enough to completely relax.
“Good, it broke my heart to see you like that and not be able to make it better.” Lena looked down at her and caress her face.
“You just being here with me helped a lot.”
“I didn’t know if I was actually helping, I was trying to keep you as comfortable as possible.”
“You did great, I know I can be a lot sometimes. Alex says I’m very dramatic on a normal day so I can’t even imagine what it’s like to be around me while I’m sick so, I apologize if I was too much.”
“Nonsense. Yes, you’re a very dramatic little alien, but that’s necessarily a bad thing, it just means that you’re extra sensitive to everything around you and you react accordingly to what you’re feeling. It’s alright, I swear, I love you and even though I hate to see you in pain, I love to be able to take care of you just like you always take care of me.”
“I love you too!” Kara said while looking up at Lena.
“To the moon and back?” Lena tried to hold back a laugh.
“Rao, you’ll never forget that, will you?” Kara laughed sleepily, eyes starting to get heavy.
“Nope, you’re right when you said that I love when you act all romantic and cheesy. I love when you’re your silly self too, and when you’re serious, emotional, professional, just everything, I love everything about you.”
“I love everything about you too, you’re like…” Kara paused for a second to think. “A Disney princess, that’s it, everything about you is perfect like a Disney princess.”
“I’m no princess, most of those women just sit around and wait for a stupid prince to come and rescue them, I can take care of myself.”
“I know you can. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you, I just love those movies and I love you so…” Kara tried to explain herself.
“Kara, it’s fine, I was just joking. I mean, I can take care of myself, but I know what you meant and it’s really sweet of you. I’m a princess dating another princess. Better yet, a queen, that seems pretty forwards to me. A queen with powers, you’re like Elsa but better.”
“Hey, I love Elsa.” Kara opened her eyes again and frowned at Lena.
“I love Elsa too, but she’s no Kara Zor-El, you know what I mean?” Lena raised an eyebrow and laughed softly.
“Shut up.” Kara blushed again and hid her face between Lena’s neck and shoulder laughing softly.
“Alright, alright, I’m done now, let’s slow down before you get sick again.” Lena stopped laughing and kissed Kara’s forehead before moving a bit to get more comfortable. “Close your eyes and try to rest baby. Wake me up if you feel bad again, okay?” Lena said before closing her own eyes and wrapping both arms around Kara to keep her close.
“Okay.” Kara whispered and finally fell asleep, completely relaxed for the first time that day.