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Long before they got married, Vi learned early on that taking care of Caitlyn is a delicate dance. Caitlyn has little patience for physical weakness in herself. When it comes to Vi, she is absolutely adoring and patient anytime she is the slightest bit unwell, hardly leaving her side. And yet when it comes to herself, Caitlyn is reluctant to accept any form of what she deems ‘fussing’.
It’s all about finding the sweet spot, Vi knows. Push too hard and Caitlyn becomes withdrawn and stubborn, doubling down on her work and insisting she’s fine. But don’t push enough, and Caitlyn will absolutely run herself into the ground, until she’s bedridden and ten times worse off than she would have been if she just rested in the first place.
Luckily, Vi is just the woman for the job.
She’s not quite sure what’s bothering Caitlyn tonight, but she does have a hunch. They’re in their master bathroom getting ready for a Valentine’s Day date that Caitlyn has been excited about for weeks. She made reservations for them at an up-and-coming Italian spot downtown that apparently all her colleagues have been raving about. Vi doesn’t really need the fancy food, but she’s happy to go on a date anywhere with her beautiful wife.
However, she knows something is off for a couple of reasons. She watches Caitlyn meticulously applying her lipstick, leaning into the mirror. First, she’s pale, even with her flawless foundation and expertly applied blush. Second, she’s wearing her glasses instead of her contacts, which she only does when she’s tired or getting a headache.
So Vi knows something’s up. Getting Caitlyn to admit it? That’s the hard part.
She comes over to her wife and places a hand on her back, admiring the expanse of smooth skin showing in the slinky, low-back black dress Cailtyn’s put on. “You look gorgeous,” Vi murmurs. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Mhm, fine,” Caitlyn says distractedly, capping her lipstick and grabbing her setting spray.
Vi leans against the counter casually. “You’re wearing your glasses,” she observes. Not that she minds, Caitlyn somehow manages to look even more hot in her black-rimmed glasses, which shouldn't be possible.
“My eyes are dry,” Caitlyn answers, shooting Vi a wary glance. “Don’t start, love.”
Vi holds up her hands. “Just checking! Cause, you know, if you don’t feel good you can tell me.”
Caitlyn turns to give her a kiss. “Yes, and I would, if there were anything to tell,” she promises, wiping her lipstick off Vi’s lips with her thumb. “But I’m fine. Are you ready? We should probably head out, the reservation is for seven.”
Vi decides to drop the subject for now, but she’ll keep a close eye on her wife.
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The restaurant is nice, Vi has to admit. It’s cozy and intimate, a small establishment with only a few tables. Crisp white linen tablecloths drape over the tables, which are set with softly flickering candles and antique-looking dinnerware.
They’re ushered to a table immediately, which has a stunning view of the waterfront through floor to ceiling windows. Vi smiles to herself, knowing Caitlyn probably requested this table specifically so they could have the best view. Her wife never does anything halfway, and it’s one of the things she loves most about her (and it only drives her crazy occasionally).
“This is a beautiful place, I can see why everyone was talking about it,” Vi says, once they’re settled at the table. She reaches across the table to softly caress her wife’s hand.
“I’m glad you like it,” Caitlyn murmurs, her eyes glimmering a soft azure in the flickering candlelight. “I feel like we haven’t been on a proper date in ages.”
“Mm, it has been awhile,” Vi agrees, absently running her thumb across the back of Caitlyn’s hand. Between her work at the boxing gym she owns, and Caitlyn’s career, things have felt extra busy lately. She makes a silent resolve to enjoy this night, mind already drifting to what they might get up to later.
Their server arrives, and Caitlyn orders a chardonnay for them both, and they decide on a couple appetizers. After he leaves though, Vi notices Caitlyn press two fingers to her right temple, rubbing with a faint wince. Vi knows her wife well enough to easily recognize one of her tells of an oncoming headache, confirming her earlier suspicions.
She frowns, reaching across the table for her hand again. “Getting a headache, sweetheart?” she says gently, concern knitting her eyebrows.
Caitlyn drops her hand from her temple immediately, looking sheepish. “No, I’m fine, love.”
“Cait…” Vi sighs, giving her an imploring look. Caitlyn is prone to migraines, and Vi really would like to catch this headache before it gets worse.
“It’s Valentine’s Day, and I want to enjoy our date,” Caitlyn says stubbornly. “I promise, I’m alright, Violet. Can we just enjoy the evening?”
Vi lets out another heavy breath, feeling mildly frustrated. But she knows how important tonight is for her wife, so she decides to leave it for now. When they get home, Vi will get her to take some medicine and tell her how she’s really feeling.
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However, as the night wears on, it becomes increasingly clear that Caitlyn is not feeling well at all.
Vi can tell she’s doing her best to power through it, for the sake of the date, but she can see the exhaustion seeping into her wife’s posture, and the tightness in her eyes.
Their entrees arrive, a perfectly cooked steak for Vi and a frutti di mare pasta for Caitlyn, but her wife just picks at the food, clearly uninterested.
Eventually, Vi decides she’s had enough of the charade, and she puts down her knife and fork, fixing Caitlyn with a level look.
“You’ve barely touched your food, Cait” she says, her tone gentle but also pointed.
Caitlyn, her face pale and drawn, looks like she’s torn between admitting the truth, and pretending she’s fine, but Vi just raises her eyebrows at her. She’s had enough of this dance.
After a beat Caitlyn sighs, face falling. “My stomach is a little off,” she admits with a small wince.
Vi reaches over to trace soothing patterns on the back of her hand, encouraging her to continue. “Just your stomach, sweetheart?”
“I think I’m getting a migraine,” Caitlyn exhales, pouting a little. She rubs at her temple with her free hand. “It’s terrible timing. I’m sorry darling.”
“Hey, none of that, it’s not your fault,” Vi squeezes her hand, then raises a finger to signal their server. “Let’s get you home.”
“But what about our date?”
“Our date can wait, baby. You’re much more important, and you need to take your meds before it gets any worse,” Vi says firmly.
She silently kicks herself for not being more persistent when she noticed the signs of Caitlyn getting a headache before, but the best thing she can do now is get her wife home as soon as possible, before the migraine really ramps up.
By the time she’s paid and helped Caitlyn back to the car, she can tell the headache is getting much worse. Caitlyn has gone quiet and white as a sheet, curling in her seat to press her forehead against the car window.
Vi eases the car out of the parking lot, silently cursing the speed bumps. “Scale of one to ten?” she asks quietly, glancing over at her wife.
“Six and a half,” Caitlyn mumbles, not moving. Vi’s chest clenches in worry. Caitlyn’s six on the pain scale is a normal person’s nine, she knows.
Vi nods. “I’ll get you home as soon as I can, baby,” she promises.
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When they get home, Vi guides Caitlyn to the bedroom with an arm wrapped protectively around her waist. She only flips on a couple of lights, just enough to see well enough to not trip over anything, but keeping everything as dim as possible for her wife.
In the bedroom, she leads Caitlyn to sit down on the edge of bed. Her wife bends forward, clutching her head in her hands, and Vi wishes more than anything she could take the pain herself. She hates seeing Caitlyn in so much pain like this, migraines are one of the few things that well and truly knocks her wife off her feet, leaving her completely bedridden and miserable.
Vi quickly grabs Caitlyn’s migraine and nausea meds from the bathroom, and fills a cup with water. She shakes out a pill from each bottle and gently places them in Caitlyn’s palm. “Meds, sweetheart,” she murmurs as quietly as possible, handing over the water. “Then you can get in bed.”
“Could you get my pajamas please?” Caitlyn whispers miserably.
“Of course,” Vi kisses her forehead tenderly. “Be right back, cupcake.”
She helps Caitlyn get changed into her softest silk pajamas, and also puts a bucket by the bed in case her wife’s nausea worsens. After Caitlyn is tucked under the covers, Vi heads to their bathroom to grab the pack of makeup removal wipes that Caitlyn keeps in the drawer there.
“Want me to take off your makeup for you, honey?” she asks gently when she returns, settling on the edge of the bed next to her wife. Caitlyn nods slightly, and Vi takes a wipe out of the pack, softly running it over her face and carefully removing the makeup. She frowns when she gets it all off, truly seeing how pale Caitlyn looks without the foundation.
“All done,” Vi murmurs, brushing her lips over her wife’s forehead. “Be right back,” she says, getting up to head into the kitchen to retrieve the eye mask they keep in the freezer.
“Ice – yes, no?” she asks Caitlyn when she returns. She knows simple questions are easier for her wife to process when she’s feeling like this.
“Yes,” Caitlyn murmurs. “Thank you darling.”
Even when she’s feeling absolutely awful, her wife is still polite, Vi notes with exasperated fondness. She smoothes the eye mask over Caitlyn’s face, adjusting it so it won’t fall off. She’s pleased when she sees a little of the tension ease in her wife’s expression.
“Anything else I can get you baby?”
“Just you, Vi.”
Vi strips quickly until she’s just in her tee and boyshorts, and slides into bed next to Caitlyn. She curls an arm around her wife so that she can rest her head on her chest. Caitlyn sighs, relaxing. Vi presses her lips to the top of her hair, breathing in the familiar vanilla scent. Her fingers drop to her hair, scratching gently at her scalp.
“I love you,” she breathes, and her heart aches with it. “Feel better, sweetheart.”
“I love you,” Caitlyn snuggles closer to her. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
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Caitlyn wakes feeling like her head is being squeezed in a vice. God, she hates migraines . They leave her feeling so completely useless and muddled, and tonight's no exception. She remembers the lovely date she had planned, and even the negligee she had picked up for tonight specifically, and moans quietly. So much for a fun Valentine’s Day for her and her wife.
“Baby? You awake?” Vi whispers, and Caitlyn turns her head to face her, cracking her eyes open and squinting immediately against the dim light.
“Mhm,” Caitlyn mumbles, fighting down the wave of nausea that rolls in her stomach from talking and moving.
“The same, worse, or better?” Vi asks, starting to scratch at her scalp again. The sensation of her fingernails on her scalp is wonderful, and Caitlyn sinks into her hand gratefully.
“Mm…same,” Caitlyn says, although she can’t really be sure. Migraines always make her head feel fuzzy and her thoughts slow, like her brain has been dipped in molasses.
Vi makes a sad noise at that, continuing to rub her scalp. “I’m gonna get you some Liquid IV, you need to stay hydrated, okay sweetheart?”
Caitlyn nods, her head throbbing painfully at the movement. She feels Vi kiss her forehead gently, then carefully extricate herself from the bed, trying not to jostle Caitlyn too much.
When she returns, Vi helps Caitlyn shuffle up in bed against the pillows to be a little more upright, Caitlyn thankful for her wife’s strength in times like this when she’s feeling so weak.
Vi holds the glass while Caitlyn takes a few tentative sips of the lemon-flavored drink, trying not to make a face. She’s not really a fan of the electrolyte drink, but it’s one of the few things that will truly hydrate her when she’s got a migraine, and her doctor had recommended it to help ease her symptoms.
Soon though, her stomach starts twisting uncomfortably, and she feels a wave of nausea in her throat, so she pushes the glass away, groaning slightly.
“Nauseous?” Vi asks, setting the drink aside, and Caitlyn gives a small nod in lieu of answering, not trusting her stomach enough to open her mouth.
A second wave of nausea hits, stronger than the first, and she hastily throws back the covers, ignoring the sharp stab of pain in her head as she clambors out of bed.
Vi’s got a hand around her waist immediately, already knowing what’s about to happen. She supports Caitlyn as they quickly make their way to the bathroom, and Caitlyn falls to her knees in front of the toilet.
She feels Vi sweeping her hair back from her face with one hand, the other on her back, as she heaves and gags into the toilet. Tears well in her eyes and course down her cheeks as she throws up. This is the part of migraines she hates the most. The pain is terrible, yes, but she absolutely despises throwing up.
Eventually, her stomach stops contracting and she coughs one final time, slumping forward to lay her head on the toilet seat. Normally she’d be too grossed out to do such a thing, but she is far past the point of caring. Her head is pounding, the dim light in the bathroom feels like a floodlight even through her closed eyes, and her entire body aches painfully.
A sob escapes her lips and she feels more tears run down her cheeks. She hates this so much.
“Oh, sweetheart, ” Vi’s voice is dripping with concern and tenderness, and it makes Caitlyn cry harder, because she feels so needy and helpless like this, so unlike herself.
“Come here, honey, come here,” Vi soothes, pulling Caitlyn against her chest and into her lap. They’re on the floor of the bathroom, Vi leaning against the wall, and Caitlyn curled in her lap, feeling as miserable as she can ever imagine feeling.
“I’m so sorry,” Vi murmurs, rubbing a hand in large, warm circles on Caitlyn’s back. “I know this is awful. It’ll be over soon, baby, I promise. I’m right here, you’re okay.”
Caitlyn buries her face in Vi’s chest, knowing she’s probably getting her shirt wet with tears, but she doesn’t care. Vi is so solid, so steady beneath her, and it feels like she’s the only thing holding Caitlyn together.
“Shh, shh,” Vi holds her close, her head tucked protectively over Caitlyn’s where it’s buried in her chest, soothing circles never stopping. “I know, I know, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”
Caitlyn hates how weak migraines make her, and how much throwing up rattles her. But even as she cries, she’s so grateful for her wife, who never wavers, never leaves.
Eventually her sobs quieten, and she stays curled up in Vi’s arms, utterly exhausted and boneless. The crying leaves her head feeling congested and stuffy, increasing the pressure from her already awful migraine. She whines a little at the pain, and Vi tightens her hold on her.
“How about we get you back in bed, sweetheart,” Vi says softly, running a hand up and down Caitlyn’s back.
Caitlyn nods into her chest, and Vi scoops her up easily into her arms, carrying her back to the bed and gently laying her down tenderly. She brings the covers back up over her, and kisses her cheek. Then she moves away and Caitlyn makes an unhappy noise.
“I’ll be right back baby, I promise,” Vi kisses her again, smoothing some hair back from her face. “Just gonna get you a couple things, okay?”
Caitlyn nods, curling up in bed, squeezing her eyes shut and wondering when the pain will end.
In a little while the mattress dips as Vi returns, sitting next to her. “I got a cool washcloth for your face honey, can you turn over a little?” she asks quietly, hand on Caitlyn’s shoulder.
Caitlyn turns to face her, cracking her eyes open to see Vi frowning down at her with a look of tender concern.
“There’s my beautiful girl,” Vi smiles softly, but her eyes are sad. She gently runs the washcloth over Caitlyn’s face, cleaning up some of the clammy sweat beaded there, and then folds it and lays it on her forehead. Caitlyn’s eyes close immediately at the soothing cool touch, sighing gratefully.
“We’ll try some fluids again in a little bit,” Vi murmurs, running her thumb lightly over Caitlyn’s jaw. “And I’ll give you your next dose of meds as soon as it’s time, promise. For now, just rest, sweetheart.”
Caitlyn blindly reaches out until she finds Vi’s hand, clasping it in her own. “Lay with me,” she mumbles croakily.
“Where else did you think I was gonna be, baby?” Vi chuckles quietly, but Caitlyn can tell her voice is fond. Vi gently eases herself down into the bed next to her, wrapping her arms around Caitlyn, who nestles her head in the crook of her arm and tangles their legs together.
Vi hums a tune softly, whisper-quiet, her voice smooth and melodic. Caitlyn feels herself relaxing into her, her mind slowing, her tension ebbing away.
She drifts asleep in her wife’s arms with a lullaby wrapping her in love.
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