sarah paulson one shots

burnt out - harriet hayes

summary: harriet been under the weather but won't let herself relax being so dedicated to the show. that is until her body just gives out in your arms, finally allowing you to take care of her.

warnings: vomiting, the usual sickness stuff.

word count: 1419

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Harriet was a go, go, go person. She worked on the show, then she had a movie coming up, then she had this and that and so on. Of course it stressed you out a lot, the only thing you did was be on the show every week so when you did have free time, Harriet was still filming so it was hard to finally get time to just relax with her.

This week was awful though. She had clearly been coming down with something but each time you brought it up, she dismissed it either by storming off angrily or just telling you it was allergies. You knew it wasn't just allergies though; it was the middle of winter, a time where Harriet doesn't get allergies.

"Harry come here" you said moments before she had to go on stage and rehearse. She did as she was told, standing directly in front of you to the point where your bodies were almost touching. "Are you alright?" you queried, moving her hair out of her face.

That was the thing; you knew Harriet was terribly sick just by her appearance itself. Not that she wasn't beautiful because she was, you would still think she beautiful was even if she had been living in a dumpster for twenty years. It was just that her hair was all disheveled, her makeup was smudged, and she wasn't in her normal put together attire, she chose to keep her outfit more on the comfortable side.

"I'm fine. I told you that" her voice tried to be stern but it only came out hoarse, raspy, and low. She knew that was a dead giveaway so she looked down at her feet, avoiding eye contact with you.

"Well i know that's what you told me lovey, but i just don't believe you. You can hardly speak without breaking into a coughing fit" she crossed her arms up to her chest as to show you that she was in charge here although it didn't even faze you because all you cared about was making sure she was okay and her health was perfect.

"I'm not sick so if you excuse me, i'm going to go practice" she stormed out dramatically. You let her because honestly, if she wanted to play that way then you were going to let her. Although, that fear that she was going to wear herself out just really scared you so you weren't going to stop constantly checking on her.
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You were sitting in your dressing room when you heard a knock on your door. You had guessed that it was Harriet coming to apologize for her behavior earlier but when Matt walked in with a nervous look on his face, your heart sort of stopped.

"Y/n? Harriet's in the bathroom throwing up. I don't think she should do the show this week." If Matt was saying that Harriet should sit out than you knew it was serious.

You didn't have to hear anymore before you were running to the bathroom. Of course you were a bit disappointed that she didn't listen to you because if she did days ago then by now she probably would've been cured but, you would always still be there and take care of her.

When you walked in, you saw Harriet leaned over the toilet and you instantly kneeled down to her. She flinched when you touched her back because she didn't even hear you walk in. "It's okay, it's just me." you cooed, holding her blonde hair back. "It's okay" you rubbed your hand up and down her back. You noticed a few tears rolling down her face and you felt awful that you didn't have some kind of magical powers to instantly make her better, that all you could do was sit there and try to comfort her the best you could.

When finished, she instantly fell into your arms. Her body was weak, limp. "Oh baby" you said, your fingers running through her hair. At this point her tears were flowing down much heavier than they were moments ago.

"We're gonna go home, okay?" She hardly had enough energy to produce words, the best she could do was nod and bury her head deeper into the crook of your neck.

After you slowly scooted your girlfriend off your lap, you gently grabbed her arms and helped her up. She instantly fell right onto your body. What the hell did she catch?  You wondered as she couldn't even hold herself up. Sure it scared you, you've never seen her this sick.

"My head hurts" she muttered. You wouldn't have been able to hear her if it weren't for her head resting right on your shoulder. "I know lovely, hang in there. I just have to grab our stuff and then i'll give you some medicine when we get home" you spoke, soft, low, keeping in mind that she probably wouldn't be able to handle your normal voice.

You were afraid for the car ride home because driving a sick person around was never good; you were worried about her getting nauseous. But, you reclined her seat so she could lay down and she simply fell right to sleep so all went well.

"Harry" you whispered, moving the hair out of her face. She lightly stirred and opened her tired eyes. "We're home" the quietest groaned escaped her lips. The car wasn't very comfortable to sleep in but you knew that she probably preferred just staying where she was over having to walk all the way into the house, change into comfortable clothes, take medicine, and then finally be able to get into bed.

So, you made it easy on her. You got out of the car and walked over to her side. "Don't you have to be at rehearsal?" You could see that suddenly, she was worried that you were missing out on work. "I'm sitting this week out to take care of you, love" she began to get out of the car with help from you and once again, resting her entire body on you as you both walked into the house.

"But-" she let out a soft sigh.

"You're sick as a dog, sweetheart, i'm not leaving you all alone." She could hardly keep her head up to walk so leaving her alone for a whole day would be the last thing you would do.

Right as you entered your house, you dropped your bags that you were carrying with your free hand, on the ground and made your way into your shared bedroom with Harriet.

"Here we are" you muttered, almost to yourself. You placed the actress on her side of the bed and she practically melted right into the mattress. "Stay right there, i'm gonna get you some medicine." She hummed approvingly and you quickly scurried off to the connected bathroom.

It was when you were digging through the cabinet for the medicine that you heard her break into a coughing fit. Your heart felt like it cracked in half. You hated when Harriet was in any pain or distress because you could feel that pain too; your love for each other ran so deep that any emotions she experiences, you experience too.

Only seconds later, you walked in with a small pill in your hand and a cup of water. Her eyes were droopy and you hated having to keep waking her up but it's just that she's so tired that she could fall asleep while standing up.

After she took the pill, you helped her into more comfortable clothes which consisted of just a tank top with shorts because her body had felt like it had been under the hot sun for hours.

"Thank you-" she murmured "-for taking care of me." You crawled into bed beside her "you don't have to thank me lovely. I'll always take care of you" you kissed the top of her head after she rested her it on your chest and you wrapped your arm around her, drawing calming circles with your fingertips on the soft flesh of her stomach.

"I love you."

"I love you Harry" You said, smiling once her breathing had peacefully evened out.