Work Text:
Work days at NASA are often unpredictable. Sometimes they're asked to come in at 7:00 am on the dot. Other times, they don't start working until the afternoon or evening.
Today is a day where they're not needed until 3:30pm. Reid had invited Christina over to help him fix Katey's car. Even aerospace technicians sometimes need help when it comes to car mechanics.
It took them all morning, but after a quick test drive, they're 95% confident in their handiwork.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Reid offers, heading for the front door.
"A water would be nice!" Christina agrees, following him inside.
Reid keeps the water bottles at the bottom of the fridge, which means he has to bend over slightly to grab them. He stands, two cold water bottles in hand and… oh shit. He's felt this before… and he's pretty sure he knows what it's called too: vertigo.
He has no idea why he's been getting episodes like these recently, but he's too scared to tell anyone. What if it's something serious? Not only does he always think of the worst case scenarios when it comes to strange symptoms now… he's also worried about losing his job.
He knows that he really should file a health report, or at the very least see a doctor… but after not reporting the first… or the second… or the third… his benefit of the doubt is slipping away. Okay, he's played this off before… he can do it again.
"Reid?" He exited the bathroom just as Victor raised his hand to knock on the door. He floated out and to the side so Victor could get by. "Thank you…" he said, closing the door behind him. "Yeah."
Just as the door closed, Reid was overcome with a sensation that he'd never quite felt before. It wasn't quite dizziness… no, it was beyond that. The room genuinely looked as though it was spinning around him. He'd been in space for a few days now, and before that he'd been on a long ISS mission… so what was the problem?
He should've told Christina, but he didn't. He stayed as still as possible, closed his eyes and waited for the feeling to pass. Luckily for him, it did pass. The feeling didn't last for more than a minute or so, and he was left with just a few residual (but manageable) symptoms.
"You okay?" Jeremy asked him just as he was recovering from the short spell. Christina looked up too, her eyes scanning him. "Yeah, I'm fine…" he grabbed his tablet and got back to work. No one ever said anything else about it.
Unfortunately, this time it doesn't subside quickly. He sets the bottles on the counter, nearly dropping one of them because he can't quite get his bearings enough to figure out where said counter is. "Reid? You okay?" He closes his eyes and grips the laminate surface in order to stay upright.
"Okay," Christina grabs his arm. "I think you need to sit down…" She's probably right, but if he moves at all, he's scared he's going to fall… or vomit. Before he can voice his concerns, she's already guiding him away from the counter.
He doesn't dare open his eyes, just lets her do all the work. He expects her to grab a chair from the dining room table or maybe even guide him to the couch, but she does neither.
Reid's ears are ringing and everything sounds like it's underwater, but he does hear her say, "Watch your step." He doesn't know where she's taking him, so he just hopes for the best and continues ambling in the direction she leads him.
"Okay…" It seems he made it to wherever she wanted him to go because he can feel a different texture of flooring under his feet. Did she take him outside?
Christina pushes his shoulders down and he bends his knees until he's sitting on one of the deck chairs. The motion of going from standing to sitting should bring relief, but it doesn't. In fact, it makes everything worse. He swallows thickly.
"You can lay down if you need to… it's one of the lounges…" she says, not letting go of his shoulder and arm. "Can you actually," he takes a deep breath, "… get me something to hurl in…?"
"Oh… yeah, just give me a minute." He tries to convince his mind and body that he has a minute… fake it 'til you make it.
Christina lets go of him, but he can tell that she hesitates before leaving him; probably making sure he's not going to topple over. "Okay, I'll be back in a minute…" She leaves and Reid takes a few deep breaths to quell the nausea.
In through the nose… out through the mouth.
"Gregory Reid Wiseman, if you tell me that one more time…"
(The deep gashes from Carroll digging her fingernails into his hand (that actually ended up getting infected) were definitely worth it to have Ellie in their lives.)
Woah, that memory was so clear… He smiles slightly despite himself, just as Christina returns with a mixing bowl. "Okay, you no longer look like you're going to puke…" she says, setting the bowl in his lap anyway.
Reid cracks an eye open… bad idea. "Ugh…" He squeezes them shut again. "Do you want me to find you some sunglasses or-?" He can tell that all she wants to do is help, and he's extremely grateful that she's not asking questions, but he doesn't really know what he needs right now… this is the longest episode he's ever had.
He leans back very slowly, lifting his legs onto the lounge as his head meets the headrest. Christina sits down in the chair next to him. "Is this a migraine?" she asks after a minute of silence. "No…" At least, he's pretty sure it's not.
"Okay." She goes quiet again.
"Is the fresh air… helping? Or would you prefer to be inside?" she asks anxiously. "It is helping actually…" He is feeling a little better, taking deep, measured breaths.
"Okay, good!" she exhales, clearly proud of herself for making the right call.
While he is feeling better, there's no way he'll be able to go into work today. But he's not quite ready to admit that to Christina yet…
"Do you want water… are you dehydrated?" She asks, still trying to guess what's wrong even though he has no idea himself. "No… please don't leave again…" He's definitely going to be a little embarrassed about saying that out loud later, but right now…
All he can think about is how scary this feeling is. And while he's toughed it out by himself before, now that he's not alone, the thought of her leaving makes his chest tighten in panic.
It takes her a few seconds to respond. Clearly, she's as taken aback as he is… "I won't," she murmurs, gently taking a hold of his hand.
Reid lies still for a while and when he opens his eyes again, the dizzy feeling is gone. In its place is a feeling of complete and utter exhaustion. "Do you need something?" Christina asks when he looks over at her.
"No… I'm feeling better now." He lets out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "I'm glad…" She purses her lips, at a loss for what to do next.
"What were you feeling?" He sighs heavily. "Just a dizzy spell… it happens sometimes," he tries to brush it off, hesitantly pushing himself upright. Christina jumps up, placing a hand on his back while the other hovers in front of his chest.
She doesn't say anything for a minute, which scares Reid more than any other response would. "Do you want to go lay down in your room?" she offers, her tone unreadable.
He nods, "Can you help me?" She speaks with actions instead of words, helping him into a standing position, and leading him back inside the house.
They climb the stairs slowly and by the time they reach the top, she might as well be carrying him. He's completely slumped into her side, fighting to keep his eyes open as his legs threaten to give out. She readjusts her hold on his torso at the top of the stairs to provide more support.
"Almost there…"
When he finally collapses in his bed, the first thing Christina does is bring a cool bottle of water to his lips. He sips from it obediently, getting a few drops on the blanket.
"Can you call our boss, tell them I'm not going to be able to make it to work today?" Reid asks her timidly, setting the bottle aside with a slight tremor to his hands.
"Yeah, I can call in sick for you." If he didn't know better, he would say that she sounds annoyed… but that can't be right, surely?
He looks up at her as she pulls a blanket over his legs. "I'm sorry-" she cuts him off. "How long have you been having episodes like these?"
He winces and averts his gaze. She looks close to tears, and a little bit betrayed. He can't stand seeing her like this; hurt, angry, guilty, concerned...
"Since the mission…" he admits quietly.
"Since the mission?! How many times has this happened?!" Christina asks, now sounding more than a little distressed. "I don't know, a handful?"
He does actually know the exact number, and clearly, she sees right through him. "Reid," she presses.
"Five," he blurts out. "Five?! Oh my God…" she sits down on the small couch by the window in his room. "Does anyone else know?" she asks, running a hand through her hair.
"Ellie…" She had come over to find him passed out in his bed when they were supposed to get lunch together. She'd been so worried that she didn't stop asking questions until she was sure she had the full story.
"Reid! This could be serious! You need to see a doctor…" she exclaims anxiously. "I know, I know…" I'm just not a fan of doctors… he doesn't have to say that part out loud.
"Do you want me to go with you?" she offers immediately. "No, I'll be fine…" he assures her.
"Reid, I know you. You tell me you'll book an appointment and then you never will. Why do you do this to yourself?" He shakes his head; if she can't deduct his reasoning herself, then he is not emotionally ready to have this conversation with her.
"I don't get it… you, of all people, should know that symptoms like these could be serious. And serious things are best caught early!" The anxiety, shame and sadness are quickly replaced with anger.
"What is that supposed to mean?" He looks up at her and clearly his facial expression scares Christina because she raises her hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, I… that's not my place." It's her turn to stare at her lap in shame.
He calms down quickly… taking a deep breath. Let it go. She's just scared… "I know you're right, Tina… I'm sorry for snapping at you."
"So you're going to get it checked it out?" Wow, she's really pushing it…
"We'll see…" He tries to close his eyes, hoping he'll fall asleep and collect a get out of jail free card.
"What are you so afraid of?"
She says it gently, but it still burns. He's quiet for a minute, feeling the rage simmer down until all that's left is grief… for two things. He looks at her with teary eyes.
"Oh, Reid…" She looks at him with so much love and concern that it makes his chest hurt. He turns away from her, trying to collect himself. "It's okay, we can talk about it when you're feeling better." He doesn't want to talk about it at all.
He sobs quietly into his hands, and she immediately climbs into the bed next to him. "It's okay, you're gonna be okay…" Christina expects Reid to initiate a hug of some sort, but regardless, she's a little surprised when he throws himself into her arms, curling into her like a terrified child.
"It's okay…" she repeats, pulling him closer. He sobs again, louder this time. She holds him as he cries for a while, running her fingers up and down his back and occasionally soothing him with gentle, whispered reassurances.
Eventually, his body stops trembling. Christina is fairly certain he's fallen asleep until he whispers into her torso, "I've lost so much, Tina." His voice catches. "I can't do it again. I can't survive any more loss. I don't want to lose my job… and I don't want to lose my crew."
Her heart breaks because she knows the exact feeling. When she first started having hip pain, she had also put off doctors appointments until it was unbearable, merely out of the fear of being benched. She understands that anxiety.
But the second part… there's no world in which that is a possibility.
"I can't tell you you're not gonna lose your job because I don't know that for sure… but I can say, with absolute certainty, that you will not lose us, okay? We're forever." He nods. That sentiment seems to finally allow him to relax, and his eyes flutter shut.
"Just get some rest, buddy… We'll figure everything out another day."
He falls asleep very quickly after she says that, and she's nervous that she won't be able to dislodge him from her embrace without waking him. Thankfully, he's in such a deep sleep that when she repositions him to be more comfortable without her and eventually rises from the mattress, he doesn't so much as stir. She calls their boss, telling them that Reid has a 24 hour bug and can't make it, but that she'll be in on time.
Then she sends Reid a quick text to read when he wakes up.
Today 14:21 - Christina Koch (to Reid Wiseman)
I had to go to work, but if you need me to come back just call, okay?
Even if it's for something you don't think is important
We're crew, always will be