Secret Santa for Chanel_no5 (Criminal Minds: Blake)

[matilda3948]

Happy Christmas @Chanel_no5!!!   I'm your Secret Santa this year   Hope you like your story  

 

What are the Chances?

Blake cut through the police station and made a beeline for the bathroom. She had a tissue pressed to her nose and held her breath until she finally ducked inside the ladies room. Hotch looked at Morgan hoping for an explanation.

“Witness had four cats,” Morgan said. Hotch winced. Blake’s cat allergy was legendary. Morgan shook his head. “She’s been carrying on for the better part of twenty minutes,” he said with a laugh.

“It’s not funny, Morgan,” Hotch said.

“It’s a little funny. She tries to hide it or pass it off as nothing or deny anything is wrong until her eyes are almost swollen shut and she’s literally about ready to sneeze her lungs out.”

“You could show a little more empathy,” Hotch said.

“Hey, I stopped and bought her allergy meds,” Morgan said.

“Allergy meds? For who?” JJ asked as she joined the two men.

“Witness had four cats.”

“Oh, poor Alex,” JJ said. “Should I go check on her?” Hotch nodded and she left the other men to discuss what they’d learned at the witness interview before Alex succumbed to an allergy attack.

EhhKTSCHHeew! hehIHHTSCHHHeew! ahhTSCHHeew! KSHHeew!

Alex had one hand on the sink ledge to keep herself steady as she sneezed over and over. She was so grateful to finally have a moment of privacy. The car ride back to the station with Morgan had been awful; she stifled sneezes until her ears popped and the left sleeve of her jacket was still damp from sneezing into it when stifling was no longer an option. She tore more paper towel from the dispenser and blew her nose, rubbing the rough paper back and forth trying anything to quell the horrible  fluttering tickle in her nose. She didn’t care how red it made the skin around her nostrils, it just felt so good to scratch the itch. Plus she was pretty sure her nose was going to be red no matter what she did at this stage. Alex glanced in the mirror and groaned—she could be the poster child for nasal allergies. Her eyes were puffy and watery (an upgrade from when they had been downright streaming in the car). Her nose was, in fact, inflamed to a ridiculous degree, her face was flushed, and was that…

“Hives?” she wondered out loud, tilting her head to get a better look at the side of her neck. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she moaned.

“Can I come in?” JJ knocked on the door and opened it a crack, sticking her head in. “Oh, Alex,” JJ sighed as she caught sight of her colleague. Alex sniffled and turned around.

“Does Hotch need us?”

“Not yet. I came to check on you.”

“I’m fi— HehNGKT! NKTch! hhNTchh! Ntschh! Tschh!” She’d spun away at the last moment and managed to partially stifle the fit of allergic sneezes by pressing her wrist hard against her nose.

“Bless you!” JJ said, getting her fresh paper towels and handing them to her.

“Ugh. I’b sorry,” she said with a wet sniffle.

“Don’t apologize,” JJ said. “You’re totally miserable.” She watched Alex scratch at the patch of skin on the side of her neck.  JJ wet a paper towel in the sink and tugged Alex’s hand away, replacing it with the damp cloth. “Scratching it will only make it worse.” As good as it felt, JJ’s attention was embarrassing so Alex took over trying to keep the hives from spreading.

“I think the medicine is finally starting to work,” Alex said with a gentle sniff. It was true; the itch was starting to shrink into something small enough that she could at least think or speak without wanting to scratch her eyes or nose…or ears or the skin on her neck. She splashed some cool water on her face in an attempt to take some of the redness out of her face. “Okay,” she said with a sigh. “I think I can get back to work.”

**

Her head was pounding—a rhythmic thumping every few seconds. Alex groaned and rolled over. What time was it? What city was she in? And why did her head feel it was splitting open?

“Blake? Jet leaves in fifteen minutes.”

Oh.

Oh!

She sprung out of bed and winced as the room tilted. The pounding hadn’t only been in her head; it had also been Rossi knocking on her hotel room door. They had finished their case just after midnight and opted for a few hours of sleep at the hotel before flying home. She unlocked the door and squinted when the bright light of the hallway hit her square in the face. Rossi raised an eyebrow.

“Did I wake you?” he asked even though it was pretty obvious that he had.

“I’m sorry. I must have slept through my alarm…or forgot to set it or something,” she said. Rossi frowned. Frankly, Alex didn’t look well and she never overslept, but it had been a long couple of days so he decided to let it slide.

“I’ll have coffee ready for you downstairs,” he said.

“Thanks, Rossi.”

Alex shut the door and hurried to change clothes and brush her teeth. She still felt half asleep and was having a hard time figuring out what she was supposed the do next. As she was haphazardly shoving clothes into her bag she suddenly felt the urge to sneeze and, having nothing else within reach, sneezed into the pajama top she was holding in her left hand.

hehhAHHMFSHHHeeew!

“Gross,” she mumbled, shoving the shirt towards the bottom of the bag. She only had two minutes to meet the team downstairs so she did a quick check to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything then hurried out of her room. The elevator was descending when Alex realized her nose was running. She sniffled wetly and wished she’d grabbed a couple tissues before she left.

Ehh…hehh hihhhMFSHHHHeew! MFSHHHHeew!

The only option she had was to sneeze into the bend of her arm and she felt herself blush as she felt the dampness through the thick fabric of her sweater. Why wouldn’t her nose behave itself this trip? The elevator door pinged and she stepped out into the lobby. She really appreciated that Reid was not a morning person because it meant she wasn’t the last person to arrive. The weary profilers exchanged quiet greetings and, as promised, Rossi had a to-go cup of hot coffee for her.

“Thag you,” she said, frowning when she realized how stuffy she sounded. He must have noticed too.

“You okay this morning?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just tired I guess.”

The elevator door opened again and Reid came running out with his usual stream of “Sorry, I’m coming, I’m coming.” They started to file out to the two waiting SUVs when Alex felt her nose prickle again. With her coffee in one hand, she quickly pinched her nose shut and stifled two wet sneezes with a forceful jerk of her head.

“Salud,” Rossi said. “Here.” He took her coffee cup and handed her a handkerchief. Embarrassing as it was, Alex was in no state to turn it down. She nodded her thanks and pressed the fabric to her nose giving it as quick and quiet a blow as possible before being forced into the quiet atmosphere of the SUV. She folded the cloth in half and slipped it into her pocket before taking her coffee back from Rossi. He didn’t let go of her cup right away though, reaching up and putting a hand on her forehead—a move so quick and unexpected, Alex didn’t even think to pull away. “Thought so,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“You’re burning up,” he said.

“I am?”

He held the car door open for her and took her bag off her shoulder.

“I’d say over 100,” he said. “You didn’t notice?”

Obviously she hadn’t and as the car pulled away from the hotel the scattered pieces of her morning started to make more sense—oversleeping, the dizziness, sneezing, general inability to string her thoughts together in any coherent way. She was sick. That made sense.

 “Alex?” JJ shook her shoulder and the older woman startled awake. “Sorry but it’s time to get on the plane.”

She must have fallen asleep on the drive to the airport. Alex opened her door and shivered when the cool air hit here. When she went to get out of the car something held firm across her chest. Oh. Seatbelt. She really hoped nobody saw that.

Were the steps up to the jet always this steep? Her legs felt like lead and her head was throbbing. Alex stubbed her toe on the last step into the jet and lost her balance. A strong hand grabbed her by the forearm and another looped around her waist.

“I gotcha,” Hotch said quietly. He let go as soon as he wasn’t afraid she was going to fall over. “Have you taken anything?” he asked.

“No.” Apparently they were going to skip the part where he repeatedly asked if she was sick and she repeatedly said no. That was good—she wasn’t sure she had the energy for that.

“Go sit down and I’ll get you something before takeoff,” he said.

“You don’t look too good, Blake,” Morgan said as she sat down in the aisle across from him. She sighed.

“That obvious?”

“What are the odds of allergies and a cold in two days?” Morgan asked with a bit of sympathy.

“Actually, there’s a well-documented co-morbidity between the two,” Reid said, taking a seat next to Morgan. “The sinuses get inflamed during an allergy attack and if they don’t drain properly they can become an ideal breeding ground for virus and bacteria.”

Ehh…hehh AhhFSHHHHeew! hehhAHHSHHHHeew!

“But it occurs to me that that may have been a rhetorical question,” Reid mumbled.

“Gesundheit,” Morgan said, slipping on his headphones.

Alex got out the handkerchief that Rossi had given her earlier and pressed it to her nose. She was afraid if she blew her nose, or sniffled, or even breathed it would trigger another sneeze. There was a tingling sensation at the bridge of her nose that buzzed the whole length of her nose.

 “Boss sent these,” Rossi said, sitting down in the seat across from her. He put two pills on the table along with a bottle of orange juice and a box of tissues. Alex nodded but her eyes fluttered shut as her breathing audibly hitched twice.

Ehh Hehh ehhhMFSHHHHeew! heeAHHMFSHHHHeew! heh ehh…

She’d turned towards the window but there was little else she could do to hide from her team in the small, enclosed space. Her face burned with humiliation and she felt tears prick at her eyes. She just wanted to be home in her own bed, not trapped on an airplane caught on the edge of a sneeze.

ehh Ehh…hehhAHHMFSHHHeeew!

“Salud,” Rossi said.

“Sorry,” she sniffled thickly and wiped her nose. Keeping her eyes downcast, she grabbed the pills off the table and took them with a swig of orange juice.

“Three hours and you’ll be home,” he said as though he’d read her mind. She gave him a tired, lopsided smile appreciating the effort.

Takeoff redefined misery for Alex. The rapid change in cabin pressure made it feel like someone drove an icepick through her brain. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing but when the plane reached about 8,000 feet, she gasped and put a hand to her forehead. In too much pain to care, she put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands. She felt Rossi squeeze her arm.

“A few more minutes and we’ll level out and it’ll feel better,” he said.

The pain did lessen considerably when they hit cruising altitude and Alex leaned back in her chair, bringing a few tissues with her. She dried her eyes and blew her nose. When she looked up she found Rossi pretending to read a book.

“What can I get you?” he asked, turning the page.

“Nothing. I’m fi—”

“Alex.”

“Um. Okay. A blanket would be great, please.”

“See? Not that hard.” He snapped his book shut and got up, making his way to the back of the plane. Blake yawned and felt her ears pop, releasing more of the pressure in her sinuses. She sniffled and realized it had also made her nose run. A sharp prickle in her left nostril had her grabbing for the tissues. This wasn’t going to be a quick one or two sneezes. No, this felt like it could be one of those fits that carried on and on…and on for far too long.

hehahhTSSHH! KTSSHHeew! eh Heh…ahh EhhTSSSHH!

Her tissues were soaked and she struggled to keep her eyes open long enough to trade them for dry ones before

heh EhhTSSSHHHHeew! ehhhNGSHHHHeew! AHHNTSHHHHeew! heh ehh…

“Bless you,” Rossi said with a concerned frown. He sat back down and the worry lines around his eyes deepened as the poor woman clearly wasn’t done. The fever had robbed her face of any color except for a high flush across her cheeks and the red, inflamed skin around her nose.

hehhIHHSKSSHHHew! ISHHHeew! ISHHHEEEW! SHHHeew!

She gasped and nearly doubled over.

hehAHHTSSHHHHeew! ehhAHHNGKTSSHHHH!  hehIHHHSHHHHEEW!!!

By now the whole plane was looking at her with varying degrees of concern. Alex sat up, winded and miserable and embarrassingly drippy. Rossi held out a fresh handful of tissues and she gratefully took them and tended to her stupid, sneezy nose.

“I’b sorry,” she said loud enough for everyone to hear her and then turned towards the window. The cool glass looked inviting and she rested her forehead against it, sighing when she felt a little relief against her burning skin. She shifted around got more comfortable, briefly wondering if there was a sleeping agent in the pills Hotch had given her. Not that she minded; if she was asleep she couldn’t sneeze and she was so very tired of sneezing. As the sound of the plane started to drift into background noise she felt something warm drape over her. Of course—Rossi and the blanket. She pulled it tightly around her and drifted off to sleep.

 

[Oolia]

I don't watch Criminal Minds, but I never miss an opportunity to read your F fics   And this one was marvelous!

3 hours ago, matilda3948 said:

She folded the cloth in half and slipped it into her pocket before taking her coffee back from Rossi. He didn’t let go of her cup right away though, reaching up and putting a hand on her forehead—a move so quick and unexpected, Alex didn’t even think to pull away. “Thought so,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“You’re burning up,” he said.

This is pretty much perfection. My god. My brain actually turned off because it couldn't process how adorable the gesture was.

Everyone being so concerned for her, especially Rossi, was so cute! I love how they all had something to say about it and just want her to get better. And as always, your writing is spot on. I really enjoyed this, so thanks to @Chanel_no5 for putting out a request like this  

[Chanel_no5]

*squeak!*  

*clears throat* Ahem, I mean... *SQUEEEAK!*  

Okay. I love this. I love this so much. It's exactly what I needed right now.  

16 hours ago, matilda3948 said:

 

“Hives?” she wondered out loud, tilting her head to get a better look at the side of her neck. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she moaned.

Oh nooo...! As if the sneezing and sniffling wasn't enough. Poor Alex!  

16 hours ago, matilda3948 said:

The only option she had was to sneeze into the bend of her arm and she felt herself blush as she felt the dampness through the thick fabric of her sweater. Why wouldn’t her nose behave itself this trip?

Oh I am VERY pleased it doesn't...  

 

16 hours ago, matilda3948 said:

He didn’t let go of her cup right away though, reaching up and putting a hand on her forehead—a move so quick and unexpected, Alex didn’t even think to pull away. “Thought so,” he said.

“Hmm?”

“You’re burning up,” he said.

Oh, you know so well how I love it when Rossi looks out for her.

16 hours ago, matilda3948 said:

When she went to get out of the car something held firm across her chest. Oh. Seatbelt. She really hoped nobody saw that.

I literally did this myself TODAY! So... yeah, I feel her embarrassment.  

16 hours ago, matilda3948 said:

“But it occurs to me that that may have been a rhetorical question,” Reid mumbled.

Hahahahaha, can't get any more Reid than that...!  

17 hours ago, matilda3948 said:

A sharp prickle in her left nostril had her grabbing for the tissues. This wasn’t going to be a quick one or two sneezes. No, this felt like it could be one of those fits that carried on and on…and on for far too long.

hehahhTSSHH! KTSSHHeew! eh Heh…ahh EhhTSSSHH!

Her tissues were soaked and she struggled to keep her eyes open long enough to trade them for dry ones before

heh EhhTSSSHHHHeew! ehhhNGSHHHHeew! AHHNTSHHHHeew! heh ehh…

“Bless you,” Rossi said with a concerned frown. He sat back down and the worry lines around his eyes deepened as the poor woman clearly wasn’t done. The fever had robbed her face of any color except for a high flush across her cheeks and the red, inflamed skin around her nose.

hehhIHHSKSSHHHew! ISHHHeew! ISHHHEEEW! SHHHeew!

She gasped and nearly doubled over.

hehAHHTSSHHHHeew! ehhAHHNGKTSSHHHH!  hehIHHHSHHHHEEW!!!

By now the whole plane was looking at her with varying degrees of concern. Alex sat up, winded and miserable and embarrassingly drippy.

Guhh.... this is just beautiful. Poor, sweet, miserable Alex.  

15 hours ago, matilda3948 said:

briefly wondering if there was a sleeping agent in the pills Hotch had given her.

Don't know about the pills, but there's definitely a sleeping agent in the immediate future.  

Thank you SO MUCH, this is AMAZING!  

 

[Bruyere]

On 20/12/2017 at 0:08 AM, matilda3948 said:

“But it occurs to me that that may have been a rhetorical question,” Reid mumbled.

[silentdreamer789]

Amazing.