In A Meeting (Pine Gap, Kath) Quick oneshot.

[Chanel_no5]

***Note***

So, unexpected shit happened, and I got sad. And then I got mad. And I couldn't work on my trade-fic because I couldn't focus on that plot, or my Deep Blue Sea-fic because I felt so vicious and I didn't want to put Jan through more than I already had, the poor girl is near her breaking point, so... I had to turn to a tougher character that can take being roughed up. So, say hi to my first (and probably only, because she's so much easier to write with hayfever) attempt at wrecking Kath with a cold. 😏

***

Kath had a cold that was so glaringly obvious that everybody ignored it, because mentioning it would be as in-your-face obnoxiously apparent as stating “you’re a redhead.” Kath knew she was a redhead. Everyone with colour vision – which covered everyone in this room at least - could see she was a redhead. Her hair colour had zero to do with the topic they were here to discuss. There was no reason to bring it up.

Similarly, Kath knew she had a cold. Everyone with eyesight - or hearing! - knew she had a cold. Her health status had zero to do with the topic they were here to discuss. There was absolutely no reason to bring it up.

What Kath hoped wasn’t obvious, was how utterly miserable she felt. She was freezing in the air-conditioned conference room, trying to hide her shivering, desperate to soak up any warmth the turtleneck and pantsuit could provide her with, but the fabrics were cool, usually perfect for formal meetings here in one of the hottest parts of the country. Not so perfect when you had a fever, though.

She was so congested that breathing through her poor, cherry-pink nose was out of the question. The wall of thick liquid stuck inside her nose and sinuses was so massive that just moving her head even the slightest created a crackling sound inside her sinuses. It sounded extremely loud to her, because her ears had popped earlier too, and she supposed she would really get the worst of this; ear infection and sinus infection. Fucking fantastic.

Her throat felt like she’d just had a snack consisting of needles and razorblades. Her chest was tight with congestion and she wanted to cough and clear her lungs, but she knew that once she started coughing she would go on forever. Every time she had a bad cold (which thankfully wasn’t very often), she promised herself that she would quit smoking, and sometimes she even kept that promise for a month or two, then some sabre-rattling at some disputed border or a terrorist attack or world leader assassination attempt pushed her stress levels to the point where daily workouts just didn’t cut it and a ciggy was absolutely necessary to maintain balance.

She had brought a cup of tea to the meeting, instead of the coffee that the others were drinking, and now she took a sip, hoping to stave off the looming coughing fit a little bit longer. The steam, however, made her nose run – how that was even possible considering how blocked her sinuses were, was beyond her, but facts were facts – and she made the mistake of trying to sniffle.

It didn’t work, of course. She was far too congested. What it did, however, was upsetting the very delicate status quo within her upper airways, setting in motion a chain reaction, where the congestion shifted ever so slightly and scraped against tender, inflamed nasal membranes, setting irritated nerve-endings on fire, and that burning, grinding tingle was irresistible; she had to sneeze.

It would be far from the first time she’d sneeze today, but until now she’d been lucky enough to be alone when the urge hit her. She wasn’t easily embarrassed, that wasn’t the issue. She just didn’t want the focus of the meeting to shift to her personal annoyances. They were discussing matters that, if handled incorrectly, could lead to world war. A fucking cold was nothing compared to that.

Kath pressed a knuckle against the underside of her nose, hoping the pressure would avert the prickle before the sneeze was inevitable. For a moment it seemed to work, but then the sensation spread throughout her nose, a thousand tiny pinpricks at once, and she was absolutely helpless against it; she gasped – louder than she had expected, and heads turned in her direction – and sucked in a lungful of air that burned as it rushed through her sore throat, while simultaneously turning to the side and getting her hands up to her face.

She didn’t have enough time to get her hands in place to fully contain the sneeze, and rather than sneezing into them, she sneezed at them. Because she was so congested, the sneeze came out so deeply throaty that it took her voice with it, using her vocal cords as a scratching board and tearing her voice to shreds.

“AaaaEEEECHHooo!”

And that was the final strike when it came to the carefully held back coughing fit. As she inhaled to sneeze again, a thick rattle in her chest forced the first cough out along with the sneeze, turning it into a messy double-whammy. And then she kept coughing until tears streamed down her flushed face and her head was pounding.

Once she could draw a full breath without exploding into another coughing fit, she turned back, clearing her throat, hoping she wouldn’t have to say anything, because she could feel she had nothing left in terms of voice.

Ethan looked genuinely concerned. Gemma and Dani looked part annoyed, part concerned, and part disgusted, and frankly, Kath couldn’t blame them.

“Go home, Kath. Before you fucking die on us,” Dani said after a few moments of shocked silence. Kath had a dozen snarky responses lined up but not the voice to deliver them, so she just shrugged, got up from her chair and gathered her things. If she was completely honest with herself, she was relieved. If Gemma hadn’t been here today, she would have had to stay, if nothing else to make sure Australia was represented in the decision process. But with Gemma and Ethan present, Kath felt secure enough to take her cold with her and go home.

“Fuck’s sake,” Dani muttered, “in a couple of days we’ll all have a case each of that cough.”

“Well…” Ethan said, “… that cold has pretty much run through everyone here on base already, so we’ll probably be fine. Kath lasted the longest before catching it.”

Dani and Gemma, the only two outsiders, exchanged looks that said more than words. Ethan, who, like Kath, didn’t particularly like either of them, smirked.

But only inwardly.

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Chanel_no5

[nothin2sneeze@]

Oh my god yummmm! The simultaneous sneeze and cough, followed by the uncontrollable coughing fit— soo good! Poor Kath with her gruesome (read: hot) cold symptoms!

Loving your other stories lately too! I’m following the Deep Blue Sea fic and I seriously can’t wait to see Janice suffer more (yes I’m terrible, I know…) Oh and feel free to let your viciousness shine in your next chapter, I’m sure none of us will mind …

[sneezemeister]

This was great! I agree that a little viciousness in your deep blue fic certainly wouldn't bother me.😈

[Chanel_no5]

11 hours ago, nothin2sneeze@ said:

Oh my god yummmm! The simultaneous sneeze and cough, followed by the uncontrollable coughing fit— soo good! Poor Kath with her gruesome (read: hot) cold symptoms!

Loving your other stories lately too! I’m following the Deep Blue Sea fic and I seriously can’t wait to see Janice suffer more (yes I’m terrible, I know…) Oh and feel free to let your viciousness shine in your next chapter, I’m sure none of us will mind …

Thank you so, so  much! This is a very helpful type of comment! When readers mention which parts they really liked, it gives me an inkling of what to focus more on going forward. I personally don't like coughing, but I'm super fascinated with people whose body is so desperate to do both that they sneeze and cough simultaneously. Also when coughing triggering a sneezing fit. It quickly turns so involuntarily dramatic.   I've had some of that afflicting poor Janice as well, I could add more of that.   

1 minute ago, sneezemeister said:

This was great! I agree that a little viciousness in your deep blue fic certainly wouldn't bother me.😈

Thank you!!   Oh, but you haven't seen yet what she's already been subjected to in the upcoming chapter.    I will probably end up in hell, but at least I'm gonna drag you guys down with me!  

[SleepingPhlox]

Oh man.  This story is like a relentless barrage of the most wonderfully crafted beautiful descriptions.  Just reading it like "Oh wow, that was good...oh wow, that was good.  OH WOW that was GOOD"  This was just a masterclass in describing misery.  Man, you are such a good writer!