Published: 15-08-2018
WARNING:
DESCRIPTIONS OF VOMIT
Steven had recovered from a stomach bug a few days ago, after Garnet had taken care of him. Nothing much was thought of it until a few days later, when things started to go wrong.
Apparently, gems can catch human illnesses, and Garnet learnt the hard way.
Garnet was feeling mostly fine until lunchtime, aside from a bit lethargic, and had laid on the couch to sleep it off. Her face felt a bit warm so she removed her visor and faced the cieling, closing her eyes.
She must have fallen asleep because she was woken by the clanging sounds of Amethyst cooking, and the smell of bacon and eggs sizzling in a pan with butter underneath them. It was a sudden realisation; the nausea. It felt as if she had been at sea for weeks in a monstrous storm. She noticed her arm had curled itself around her stomach while she was sleeping. Garnet sat up, breathing deeply and preparing to stand.
Once she stood up, she made sure her stomach was settled enough before speaking.
"Amethyst, tell me where Pearl is." She said bluntly, her mouth quickly filling with saliva at the movement. "Uh, I think she went to her room. Why, you good?" was the response. "I don't know…" Garnet started, before the queasy feeling in her stomach became impossibly more intense. She swallowed.
"I feel- I, uh, need to go to the bathroom- now!" She continued, turning on her heel and slouching over herself. She broke into a fast walk as her stomach seized, before stopping suddenly and gagging into her hand.
Amethyst ran over to her and they stumbled into the bathroom together, Garnet using the smaller gem for support. As they got closer to the toilet, the gagging became harder to fight, until she tasted bitter acid in her throat. She leaned over the bowl and opened her mouth, steeling herself before the vomit came up.
Drool was dripping into the water below her face, her jaw slack. She gagged. She gagged again. The third time, she heaved dryly, before immediately lurching further towards the toilet bowl and spilling her lunch (and maybe breakfast) into the once-clear water. She couldn't breathe as she retched over and over, again and again.
When she did calm down, she flushed the toilet and curled over herself, clutching her stomach and resting her forhead on her knees. Amethyst was rubbing her back, although Garnet didn't know when she started. She felt horrible and sore and hot and she just wanted it to go away.
The worst part was that Garnet knew there was more to come, and that Steven was out for almost a week with this illness.
There was a sudden urge to lie down and never move again, and Garnet intended to do just that. She carefully rocked sideways, careful not to move too fast, and relaxed onto the tile of the bathroom floor. Amethyst mumbled something about Pearl and the couch bafore she left.
Garnet, with her future vision, could see that the most likely future was that her friends would try to move her to the couch, near a bucket and some water.
She also saw that she would probably end up throwing up on the floor if they did so.
Amethyst returned and coaxed her into a sitting position, pearl appearing at her other side. Garnet shook her head, not wanting to move or be sick on the floor. She simply moved around their arms and closer to the toilet, leaning on the edge with her arms under her head.
The others were shuffling awkwardly. "Um, Garnet? I know you don't feel well, but you will feel better if you aren't on the floor." There was a pause, then, "And you should keep warm, but not too hot. And drink some water." It was Pearl, of course. She really didn't want to ingest anything at the moment, but she would have some water, if only to get the inevitable over with.
Amethyst hurried to the kitchen at Pearl's request, deciding they should do that first instead of moving her. When she returned, Garnet looked up slowly at the glass as if it were a terrible fate in the form of liquid.
The glass was passed to the ill gem before it was gulped down far too quickly. Pearl nearly smashed the glass in an attempt to remove it from Garnet's hands. Before anyone could react properly, Garnet was vomiting harshly yet again. She was suddenly glad that Steven was at the barn for a few days.
Pearl was speaking again, "What on Earth are you doing? You aren't that stupid, you know it will make you sick!" There was an exasperated tone to her voice. "I had to. If I didn't, I would have been moved and vomited on the floor." was the simple statement in reply. Pearl flushed the toilet and looked away, ashamed for thinking Garnet didn't know what she was doing.
After they were all settled from the fit of vomiting, Garnet stood unsteadily and wobbled to the sink. She splashed her face with water using one hand , while the other held her upright. The dizziness was unexpected, surprisingly, and it took Amethyst shapeshifting to form a support for Garnet to get to the couch without falling.
Soon after she laid down, Pearl brought a bucket, a glass of water, some saladas and some tissues to the table, along with a thick blanket to cover Garnet.
Garnet really appreciated her friends, especially in moments like these.