Extra Strength
14 February 2017 — London
"Wake up, sleepyhead," Fiona cooed into her girlfriend's ear, brushing stray pieces of hair off of her face, and kissing her lightly on the cheek.
Imogen only groaned in response, turning on her side and gathering their blanket tightly around her. "Five more minutes," she begged, although clearly having no intentions of getting up anytime soon.
"Oh no," Fiona said, grabbing Imogen and pulling the blanket away, "we both know it's never only five minutes with you. If you don't get up now you'll be in this bed all day."
"As long as I'm in here with you." Imogen was laying the charm on heavy, even opening one eye to look and grin up at Fiona. "And isn't that how you'd like to spend Valentine's Day, after all, wrapped up in bed with your hot girlfriend?" Imogen winked.
Fiona giggled despite herself. "You're only cute when you're not being cocky. But as amazing as it would be to spend the day here, I have to go to the office and you have assignments to be passed in. Don't worry, though, I already made dinner reservations for tonight … and I may have splurged on some new underwear and I think you'll like."
"Fiiiiiiona, you can't just say something like that and expect to carry on with my day!"
"Happy Valentine's Day, Immy." Fiona laughed before leaning in to kiss her girlfriend, but right before their lips touched, Imogen tilted her head back and let out a sneeze, violently turning her head to the side to avoid Fiona's face. "You feeling okay?" Fiona asked, grabbing and handing Imogen a tissue.
"Just a little bit of sneezing … and maybe a sore throat, but no biggie." Imogen blew her nose and got out of bed to throw the tissue in the trash. Fiona, however, did not seem as sure as Imogen.
"Are you sure? You do look a little pale. Do you have a fever?" Fiona rushed over and placed the back of her hand on Imogen's forehead.
"Chillax, Fiones," Imogen protested, pulling her girlfriend's hand away from her head. "I'm sure I'm fine. Now, I'm going to take a shower, and we both know how important it is to conserve water, so you better come with me."
"What time did you say you made the reservation for?"
"Seven thirty, so we should be ready at seven. As I always say, early is on time, plus who knows how busy the Tube might be." Fiona pulled her piece of toast from the toaster before joining Imogen at their breakfast bar. "By the way, you should wear that royal blue dress, with the V-neck – it makes your boobs look so good."
"Oh really?" Imogen put a finger to her chin, as if thinking about something. "It's almost as if the designer herself decided to make the dress especially for that reason. But if we're choosing each other's outfits I'm wrapping you up like a nun –"
"Imogen!" Fiona gave her a what-the-hell face.
"Fiones, I love every part of you, which is why I need to keep you covered up, so other people don't see why I love you so much. I mean, damn, that body and –"
"You are such a weirdo," Fiona sighed, taking her dishes over to the sink and quickly washing them.
"And you're loving every minute of it."
"Mmm, that is true, but I also love work and if I don't hurry I'll be late." Fiona leaned in and pecked her girlfriend on the lips. "I shouldn't be too late, five o'clock at the latest, I promise."
Imogen started to reply, but before any words came out she began coughing.
"Are you one hundred percent sure you're feeling well?" Fiona questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Fiona, stop worrying so much, I'm fine! Now get going, the sooner you get that cute bum of yours to work the sooner you can bring it back home."
Fiona smiled. "Take it easy today at least? Drink some tea, there're some cough drops in the bathroom, take a nap if you need to –"
"Fiona!"
Imogen watched as Fiona gave her a weak smiled and blew her a kiss before grabbing her bag and leaving through the front door of their flat. Imogen sighed as she made her way over to the sink to wash her own breakfast dishes, taking a second to fill up their old kettle in order to make tea.
Before she could have a nice, relaxing evening with Fiona, she would have to finish the blueprints for a customer in Oxford, who was determined to have a modern Victorian house at a cheap price, which caused Imogen to make interesting choices in the house's layout. Nevertheless, it was going to be a long day, and if she was getting sick, it wouldn't help her out much.
Imogen grabbed a bag of ginseng oolong tea from the cupboard and added it to the cup hot water from the kettle along with a generous amount of honey.
Along with her stemming cup of tea, Imogen made her way to her desk, preparing to finish the Oxford blueprints within a few hours. The first few minutes went well, but soon enough, Imogen began sneezing again.
"Fiddle sticks," she groaned, running to find tissues in their flat.
"No, no, no, no, no, I can't be sick. Not today. Oh crap, I look like crap," Imogen said to herself, looking in the mirror. She quickly blew her nose and rifled through the drawers in the bathroom before finally finding lemon cough drops. Looking in the mirror again, Imogen tried to think of some way to feel better in just a few hours. "Cold facecloth and more tea."
With a fresh cup of tea by her side and a cool cloth on her forehead, Imogen tried to finish her work.
"Come on, Imogen, just finish this and then go to bed. Just a while longer, you can do this."
A few hours of talking to herself and several cups of tea later, Imogen was finally finished work for the day and could snuggle up in bed.
Before changing back into her pajamas and climbing under the covers of their bed, Imogen checked her phone for any missed messages. Sure enough, there were three from Fiona:
I hope you're taking it easy, Im
I hope you're feeling better, thinking of you
I love you, Immy
Imogen smiled, leave it to Fiona to worry about her all day from a few coughs and sneezes. Imogen quickly replied back:
I love you, Fiones, can't wait for tonight
Imogen got in bed, hoping that after a few hours of sleep she would wake up and feel one hundred percent better – or more importantly, she would at least feel better for her date that night with her girlfriend.
A few hours later, Fiona was finally finishing up at her studio office right on time. She took the lift down to the ground floor and hailed a taxi from the street. On the drive back to their flat, she texted Imogen:
On my way home, need anything?
Several minutes later Fiona still hadn't received a replied. She could only hope the lack of reply meant Imogen was busy working and not being sick, but she figured she'd find out the truth in a few minutes. As the taxi pulled up to the front of her building, Fiona handed the driver a few pounds before getting out and going up to the third floor.
"Imogen?" Fiona called out, closing the door behind her and setting her bag down. "I'm home!"
Fiona looked around the living room and kitchen, seeing no sign of her girlfriend in either room.
"Im? Where are you?"
Fiona looked into their study, seeing only an empty tea cup and used facecloth on Imogen's desk. Fiona sighed before making her way to their bedroom, where she finally found her girlfriend, curled up in their bed. She could only smile at how adorable Imogen looked, sound asleep, before getting in the bed behind her.
"Oh, Immy," she sighed.
Imogen felt the bed sink in behind her, waking her up, and immediately recognised the arm around her waist and the feel of the face against the back of her neck. She turned around and opened her eyes, looking directly into Fiona's. "Hey you."
"Hey, stuffy nose," Fiona smiled weakly while rubbing Imogen's back affectionately, the evidence of a cold visible in the sound of Imogen's voice. "How are you feeling?" Fiona was actually concerned, Imogen rarely ever got sick, and she really hoped it wasn't anything serious.
"I feel like a very sick little puppy," Imogen whined, cuddling further into Fiona.
"Oh, poor baby," Fiona pouted, holding her girlfriend close and kissing the top of her head. "What can I do to help you? Need some tea or water? Do you want your pillow fluffed? A warmed blanket? I can make you some soup? Or run you a bath?" When Imogen didn't reply and only snuggled in closer, Fiona reasoned, "Or I could just stay here."
"Mmm, I like that option." Imogen grinned, feeling better already just by having Fiona there and more than willing to help her feel better. "But aren't you afraid you'll get sick, too?"
Fiona laughed. "Imogen, we live together, we sleep together, I'm bound to get this cold eventually – if I don't already have it."
"You, Fiona Coyne, are the best girlfriend ever." Imogen leaned up and kissed Fiona's cheek just before making a realisation. "Our reservations! Oh, Fiona, I know how much you were looking forward to tonight – dinner and the blue dress and the new underwear and –"
"Shhh," Fiona whispered, cutting Imogen off and shaking her head. "None of that matters tonight, Im. Tonight is all about making sure you rest up and feel better."
"Does this mean Doctor Coyne is at my service?" Even when Imogen was sick, she was still able to crack a joke at any given time.
"Funny," Fiona commented, getting out of the bed. "So, vegetable soup or chicken noodle?"
"What – where are you going?"
"I am going to the market to pick up some soup and Tylenol for my lovely but gravely ill girlfriend," Fiona explained, her tone both sincere and slightly humorous. She pulled a coat from her closet before putting it on and kneeling beside Imogen.
"Is that my prescription, Doctor?" Imogen tried to ask with a straight face but eventually broke into a smile.
Fiona laughed, gently pushing Imogen's hair behind her ear. "Definitely, and lots and lots of cuddles." She leaned in and kissed her girlfriend's forehead before telling her, "I'll be right back, you stay right here, okay?"
"Doctor's orders? You got it. Oh, and chicken noodle soup would be amazing." Imogen pulled the blanket tighter around her, eyes closed, ready to go back to sleep. "And Fiones? Extra strength Tylenol, please?"
"Anything for you, Immy."
Imogen smiled, burying herself further into the bed. Having a completely amazing and perfect girlfriend made up for the fact that she was sick; she knew Fiona would do whatever she could to make her feel better, even if that meant missing out on the romantic evening she had planned.
I guess we'll always remember Valentine's Day in London, Imogen thought to herself, both amused and slightly disappointed.