A Nightmare Cold Before Christmas (female, cold, F/F)

[Chanel_no5]

***Note***

A quick little prelude to the Christmas fic that is in the works, as usual my time management skills are, uh... not well-managed, lol. The actual fic will most likely have to go in the Adult section. I think.

For now, I wrote this for a sick friend who needed some comfort. ❤️ 

CW: contagion, snot/mess, coughing, fever.

Disclaimer: Linda's joke is based in the stereotype that women have 1000 words for what's essentially the same colour, and men only one. If that is a valid determinating factor in gender then I am probably a man myself, because we have a nice enough word for beige shades, BEIGE. Why call it off-white, eggshell, cream, linen, sand, camel... light beige, or darker beige, isn't that enough??  And no, I'm not colourblind, in fact I'm among those who can see the most different shades, but I still think the names are a bit ridiculous. And the fact that I just went off on a rant about it proves that.  )

ANYWAY, Savannah is really ill but needs to go to work. Linda offers as much TLC as she can. 

 

ETA:

LMFAO I have so little Christmas spirit that I even forgot to wish you guys a Merry Christmas! And happy holidays to those of you who celebrate with other traditions!  

***

The alarm clock went off, but its sound was nearly immediately drowned out by a rough, harsh, ‘phlegm-rattling-in-chest’-sounding cough.

“Oh God,” Savannah groaned thickly, voice muffled into her pillow, where she had also tried to muffle the coughing fit.

”You shouldn't go to work today,” Linda mumbled, rolling over so she could stroke her wife’s back.

“No choice,” came the raspy-voiced response. “I got the holidays off so I can’t… heh… can’t… ahhEGTSCHkk!-ugh…”

“But you’re sick,” Linda tried, knowing it was futile.

“Yes, I am,” Savannah replied as she sat up and held her head in her hands, as if it hurt too much to hold it up. Linda thought it probably did, considering how full of cold she was. “So are others. We’re short-staffed as it is. In our department, I’m the only doctor still standing. I can’t stay home.”

“Still standing, that was optimistic of you,” Linda said dryly as Savannah began to get dressed. “You’re really going with that outfit today?”

“Since when did you become my stylist?”

“Since absolutely never, but baby, you’re already chilled, you’re telling me a thin turtleneck and a skirt will be enough?”

Savannah looked down at the clothes she was about to put on, feeling dumb. Of course it wouldn’t be enough. She’d spend all day shivering, trying to draw some extra warmth from the lab coat that offered nothing of the sort.

She sighed. The sigh came dangerously close to a sob. She was exhausted, she was sick, she was disappointed that Christmas would be ruined because she was sick, and she was worried that she would get Linda sick too. She was less concerned about infecting her patients – it sounded careless, but the truth was anything but; she could wear a mask and sanitize her hands every two minutes in the hospital. It wasn’t comfortable at all to wear a mask when you were hopelessly congested and needed to cough or sneeze all the time, but masks were efficient at keeping the germs on her person and not spread them around. She couldn’t walk around wearing a mask 24/7 at home, and even if she tried, Linda would just take it off her.

“Hey,” Linda said in a low voice, suddenly sitting next to her with an arm around her. “It’s okay. Wear those sexy black slacks instead…”

Savannah let out something that was a mix between a huff and a chuckle, and accidentally blew a snot bubble out of one irritated nostril.

“Oh God,” she groaned and quickly wiped it off, “I hope you didn’t see that but if you did, that’s what I mean, nothing sexy about me today.”

“I saw,” Linda said. “You’re sick. Snot happens. Yeah, you may not look your hottest today, but the slacks are still sexy.” She ran her fingers through Savannah’s hair, and the redhead closed her eyes, sniffled thickly, and leaned into her wife. “And they’re warm.”

They were. The fabric was wool. And they were also a rather loose fit – that was what Linda meant by sexy, because if Savannah wore them at home, she wouldn't bother with a belt, which allowed them to slide down until they stayed up resting only on the curve of her hips, showing off the waistband of her underwear, and that drove Linda up the walls for some reason – so she could wear a pair of tights underneath for extra warmth.

“And then,” Linda continued, speaking softly into her ear, warm puffs of air tickling her skin, “you put on a button-up blouse… and that gorgeous beige cashmere sweater on top…”

“It’s camel,” Savannah said. “Not beige.”

“Forgive my moment of maleness,” Linda said without missing a beat, and Savannah began to laugh, but the crackling, congested sound in her chest revealed that in just a moment she’d be coughing instead, and she did.

“Oops, forgot about the joke rule,” Linda chuckled and rubbed Savannah’s back as she endured the coughing fit. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay…” Savannah sounded out of breath. “I want to laugh, but I’m not too keen on coughi-hihISSSSHH! Coughing. Ugh, not too keen on sneezing either.”

“Ah but you’re so cute doing both,” Linda said. “In all seriousness though, that outfit would look just as professional and sophisticated, but it would be so much warmer and more comfortable.”

“I think maybe you should be my stylist,” Savannah said after a moment of either consideration or wrestling a stuck sneeze, Linda wasn’t sure which.

“If I could dress you up any way I wanted, you’d never gather the courage to leave the house again,” Linda replied and kissed her cheek. “We’re talking full biker gear leather outfit here… or maybe a tight, sleek catsuit…”

“On second thought, I’m out,” Savannah said and returned the kiss – she felt guilty about it because she could feel how contagious she was, but Linda had kissed her with no inhibition since she first started showing symptoms, so at least she was fine with it.

“Fair enough,” Linda chuckled and watched as Savannah quickly got dressed and got ready to leave the bedroom and head out to work. Linda didn’t have to get up for a few hours yet, so she planned on getting another hour of sleep – she didn’t want to add burden onto Savannah’s already weighed-down shoulders by saying it, but she hadn’t slept much tonight thanks to Savannah’s continuous coughing. But before she let her wife head out, she beckoned her over.

“What?” Savannah asked. She was paler than usual, but her cheeks were flushed, revealing a fever.

“C’mere,” Linda said, and when Savannah did so, Linda wrapped her arms around her in a hug so tight and fullbodied that Savannah felt like her entire being was being embraced in warmth and softness. “Hang in there, honey,” she whispered. “You can do it, and then you come home and I’ll have hot tea and a blanket ready for you.”

“I want to stay home,” Savannah moaned.

“I know, baby. I want you to stay home, too.”

Savannah sighed.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Another sigh, heavy and crackling with concrete-thick congestion, and then Savannah broke loose from the hug and left to get ready and leave for work.

Linda climbed back into bed, listening to her wife’s repeated coughing fits, stray sneezes, and the thick, productive, but seemingly still useless noseblows, until the front door closed behind her.

“My poor baby,” she mumbled to herself as she pulled the blanket over her again. Then she snatched Savannah’s extra blanket and pulled that over her as well. She was a little chilled. And there was a slight scratchiness in her throat. Not a whole lot, but… she had a feeling Savannah wouldn’t be the only one with a cold over the holidays.

 

 

Edited December 25, 2023 by Chanel_no5

[PollenFiend]

Thank you for sharing, and for the Christmas well-wishes, Chanel.    Mm I think I'll tuck in to this story, whatever board it ends up in.  I feel a hankering to study up on a good cold-fic and I think your works of art will shed light on what makes a good one tick.  

Merry Christmas!

[dee]

this is so lovely!! linda and savannah cuddling together despite savannah's cold was such a precious touch and so comforting ❤️ thank you for sharing this!

[Chanel_no5]

On 12/25/2023 at 11:37 PM, dee said:

this is so lovely!! linda and savannah cuddling together despite savannah's cold was such a precious touch and so comforting ❤️ thank you for sharing this!

Thank you so much! Haha, poor Savannah, it took her forever to accept that she too is allowed to receive some caretaking, not always be the strong and tough one. Lucky her that Linda has love and care in spades.  

 

On 12/25/2023 at 3:13 AM, PollenFiend said:

Thank you for sharing, and for the Christmas well-wishes, Chanel.    Mm I think I'll tuck in to this story, whatever board it ends up in.  I feel a hankering to study up on a good cold-fic and I think your works of art will shed light on what makes a good one tick.  

Merry Christmas!

Thank you!  LOL if you want to study up on what makes a good cold fic, I'm probably not your girl, I still feel like a beginner in the cold and caretaking field.   But thank you, I'm flattered! Hope you had a great Christmas!  And the Christmas story is, uh... in progress.  

 

[Bgrace27]

This story is fabulous, I can't wait to see where the next one takes us. Their relationship feels so reflective of a real life, it's incredible 

[A4o]

I love these two so much !

[Chanel_no5]

On 12/29/2023 at 5:13 AM, Bgrace27 said:

This story is fabulous, I can't wait to see where the next one takes us. Their relationship feels so reflective of a real life, it's incredible 

Thank you so much! That really means a lot, I've never actually had a real relationship myself, so I don't have anything to draw inspiration from, but their relationship is kind of my "relationship goals", haha!   Yeah, I thought I'd be done with the next fic by now but due to me drinking way too much yesterday, I have been out of working order today.  Should have it done by tomorrow though.  

On 12/31/2023 at 8:12 PM, A4o said:

I love these two so much !

Thank you! They're probably my favourite OCs ever, so I'm glad others like them too!  

 

 

Edited January 1 by Chanel_no5