Warnings: mentions of migraines, terrible directors
Word Count: 1,185
Prompt: This is a little fic for @ellen-reincarnated1967. She’s found herself in quite a funk with a migraine and posted a little request (found here). I couldn’t resist, as I myself suffer from chronic migraines. I hope you like it Andi!
“Okay…here we go. Lock it up, background. And action,” the director called, beginning the scene. You readied yourself for your coverage, keeping your eyes closed until they called the final action.
Your head was pounding and everything made it worse. Tears brimmed in your eyes just from how bad it was. It had been a long day of shooting and no matter how many times you told the director about how you were feeling, he still wanted to get ‘just this last scene’ finished. That ‘last scene’ was three scenes ago.
“You know, I can hunt just as well as the two of you can,” you spoke in , doing your best to keep your voice from wavering. You tried your hardest to keep your eyes steady on Jared and Jensen, without looking at the camera. The lights around you made you dizzy and you stumbled, catching yourself before you could fall.
“S-Stop. I’m sorry.” You broke character, closing your eyes again and sitting down on the nearest chair. “I’m so sorry,” you breathed, putting your hands to your head.
“Can we just call it a day?” You heard Jared ask, as Jensen came to kneel right beside you. “She’s in obvious pain.”
“No, Jared it’s fine. I can do it. I just need to sit down for a minute,” you protested, not wanting to let your cast down. You had done it before. You suffered from migraines and a lot of the time, when you had one, they would stop you from completing a scene. You pushed as much as you could but sometimes it was just too bad.
“No, you’re not fine. Just let it go, we can pick up the scene tomorrow.” This time Jensen was the one eyeing the director. Most directors were considerate of your illness, this one was not. You had never worked with him before, and you hoped you would never have to work with him again.
“Fine, strike the set, we’ll pick it up in the morning.”
“No!” you shouted, standing up and steadying yourself as quickly as possible. “I can do this!” The tears were no longer brimming in your eyes, but now streaming down your cheeks. Your face was pale, even with the makeup on. Everyone on set could tell you felt miserable.
“Hey…you have pushed yourself far enough, we have all seen it. It’s okay.” Jared came to your side, helping to steady you. “What’s going on? Can we help?”
More tears rolled down your face as you kept bringing your hands up to wipe them away. It was no use, it was like a dam had broken behind your eyes and the tears just wouldn’t stop. “I’m just sick and tired of being sick and tired,” you stated, not even trying to hide the fact you were crying anymore.
Jared pulled you to his chest, his arms wrapping tightly around your back. “It’s okay,” he shushed as you bawled into his shirt. Your fists clenched the soft fabric of the flannel, more embarrassed to be letting yourself break down like this than anything.
“I’m sorry, this is so stupid,” you sniffled, pulling your head away from his chest.
“No, it’s not, this is something you suffer from, but you don’t have to push yourself through it if it is as bad as it is. No one is mad at you.”
“Yes they are… Tim is mad at me because I can’t get through this scene.”
“Well, Tim is a lousy director,” Jared commented in a hushed voice. The set was being cleared. The build was left but props and things were being moved off, ready to be put back on tomorrow. “No one is mad at you, promise. And if they are, they can shove it up their-”
“Jared,” you scolded, knowing fully well what he was about to say.
He smiled, happy to see the bit of liveliness. It was then that Jensen approached again, holding a couple water bottles and ice packs. “Drink up,” he said, throwing a water bottle Jared’s way so he could hand it to you.
“What d’ya say we head back to your trailer, you can take a hot shower, or bath, and I’ll head out and pick up some Excedrin Migraine and then we can call it a night?” Jensen suggested.
“That sounds amazing,” you sighed out, happy to have the two boys looking out for you.
“Here, hop on,” he said, kneeling to the ground and pointing to his back. You wasted no time in carefully climbing onto the man’s back, securing your arms around his shoulders as he carried you.
“Okay, you stay here while I go pick up some medicine for her,” Jensen said as the three of you were safely inside your trailer. You had already headed for the bathroom, taking up Jensen’s offer to take a hot shower.
Jared made himself comfortable on your small couch, waiting for you to finish showering. He easily made himself at home, having been in your trailer multiple times in the many years you had worked with them. You were a great friend, to the both of them, but there was always something a little more between you and Jared. You two clicked easier, which lead to talking more, spending more time together, then the occasional dates, that turned into steady dating. It wasn’t out publicly, but Jared had introduced you as his girlfriend plenty of times now and the shared kisses between takes and on your off days helped to define the relationship.
You exited the bathroom, dressed in some comfy clothes. Your head was still pounding and you were still dizzy and slightly nauseous from the headache. You could hear the TV on and saw Jared cozily curled up on the couch watching whatever it was that was playing.
He muted the TV once he sensed you were out, turning his head to see you coming towards him. “Better?”
“A little. Jensen still gone?” You sat down beside him, closing your eyes and leaning your head against the back of the couch.
“Yeah. He texted a couple minutes ago saying he was on his way back though.”
“Thank you for taking care of me,” you whispered, opening your eyes and turning to face Jared.
“You work too much,” he teased. “Really, we should’ve called it quits hours ago. I’m sorry you had to push yourself so much.”
“It’s part of the job, I guess. No sick days, right?” You shrugged, leaning closer to Jared’s side. He took the invite, wrapping his arm around your shoulder.
“I think a migraine calls for a sick day,” he said, combing his fingers through your hair, slowly and subtly at first. The sensation relaxed you and you closed your eyes just letting Jared comb your hair. Eventually his hand moved to the top of your head, gently massaging your scalp, easing the tension of your headache with each glide of his fingers, gently but still with enough pressure that it would help.
It did, and you were out before Jensen even returned with the medicine.
