Chapter Text
Alvin knew the warning signs of a migraine extremely well. He had been having them for years and more frequently than he liked to admit. He felt one coming on and had a feeling it was going to be a bad one.
“Hank, do you know where my migraine medication is?” Alvin asked one night. His head had already started throbbing and he wanted to ease the pain before it got more severe.
“Has the attack already started?” Hank responded as he went into the bathroom.
“Yeah”.
“I think you're all out Darling. Let’s get you in bed and I’ll see what I can get in the morning”. Hank hated that he couldn't ease his husbands pain knowing the migraine attacks were always worse without the medication.
Alvin only hummed as he settled in bed. He closed his eyes and heard Hank come back into their room. He cracked an eye open to watch Hank. His husband made sure the blinds were closed and the lights were all off. Their garbage can was emptied and placed beside Al, and a cool compass was placed on his forehead. The lamps were flicked off and he heard Hank climb into bed.
“Try to sleep”. Hank whispered and Alvin curled against him hoping to catch a few hours of sleep.
xxxxxx
“I know, just get it all out”. Hank reassured a few hours later as Alvin leaned over the garbage can and vomited up everything in his stomach.
Every gag made the pain in his head worse and Alvin wanted it all to be over. Hank had turned his lamp on so Al didn’t throw up all over there bed and that didn’t help the pain either.
“Done”. Alvin said weakly shoving the garbage can onto his nightstand. He felt horrible for leaving it to Hank to clean out but Alvin highly doubted he could stand at that moment.
“It’s okay, I got it”. Hank had a feeling he knew what Alvin was thinking and didn’t care at all. He grabbed the garbage can and the facecloth and headed into their bathroom. He re-wet the cloth and grabbed the Tylenol before heading back out to Alvin.
“Here Honey. Take these and then you can go back to bed”. Hank helped Al swallow the pills and take a few sips of water before he placed the cloth back on Alvin's forehead and turned the lamp off. Once Al was settled Hank headed back into the bathroom to rinse out the garbage can and place it back in its original spot before he also got into bed and tried to get some sleep.
xxxxxx
“Hal? Can you stop that smell? It’s hurting my head”. Alvin asked a few hours later. He had just finished another round of vomiting and was trying to sleep again but a foul smell was stopping him.
“What smell? Sweetheart, what does it smell like?”
“I’m not sure exactly. Foul”. Al couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the smell was coming from, all he knew was it was causing his already throbbing head to hurt more and more.
“It’s probably from the vomit”.
“It’s not. Hank it’s from something else”. Al was getting frustrated and maybe slightly scared. He knew what vomit smelled like and this smell was nothing like that.
“Alright, I hear you but I don’t smell anything”. Hank wasn’t sure exactly what to do and Al’s frustration and fear was worrying him. Alvin wasn’t one to lie about something like this and Hank wondered if it had anything to do with his migraine.
It took almost an hour before Alvin fell back asleep and Hank made a phone call. He was sure Will was probably sick of his constant phone calls but he hadn’t got Doctor Parker’s phone number yet and they were the only two doctors Hank completely trusted.
“Doctor Halstead”.
“Will? Hey, it's Hank. Al has a migraine right now, and about an hour ago was telling me about this foul smell he smelt. He was convinced it wasn’t the lingering smell of vomit and I don’t smell anything”.
“It’s possible it was an olfactory hallucination. When the migraine has eased enough, bring him in. We need to make sure it’s not a bigger issue and only a symptom of the migraine. Olfactory hallucinations aren’t unheard of with migraines but it’s always important to make sure there's not something else at play. Keep him as comfortable as you can and do what you usually do when he has a migraine. Don’t dismiss his worries as even if it is an olfactory hallucination it’s very real and probably terrifying for him”. Will knew Hank worried about his husband and also knew this could be a much bigger issue. He hoped it wasn’t. Not only were these men his brother's family but they were starting to become his.
“I will. Hopefully he’s feeling a bit better later today or tomorrow and we can head in. I want answers but he looks like he wants to kill me if I turn the lamp on”. Hank replied, getting a chuckle in response.
“Sounds good. Just ask Maggie for me and I will find out what’s going on. It’s important for him to get checked out but waiting a day won’t harm anyone and I feel confident enough to wait until then. Booking an appointment with a doctor would take longer anyway”.
They talked for a couple more minutes before Hank checked in on Al and headed downstairs to get himself some food.
xxxxxx
“Hey”. Hank said quietly as Al’s eyes slowly opened. The light from his phone gave him just enough light to see Alvin waking up.
“Hal. The smell is gone”. Al said with relief as he smelt the room. The lingering smell of vomit was still there but he knew that’s not what he had smelt. It had been foul but much different.
“I’m glad Darling. Will thinks it may have been an olfactory hallucination. It makes you detect a smell that isn’t there. He wants me to bring you in when you're feeling a bit better just to make sure it’s not anything more serious than a symptom of the migraine”.
Alvin gave a small nod but Hank could see the poorly hidden fear that he knew was also in his eyes.
“I’m sure it will be fine. Will said it could just be from the migraine but we would rather be safe than sorry”. Hank knew they were both terrified of what might happen.
“I got your migraine medication. You take that and I’ll re-wet the cloth”. Hank changed the subject knowing Al didn’t need to think about that when he was still in pain.
“Thank you”. Al whispered as Hank pressed a quick kiss to his lips and stood up. Fear settled in Al’s stomach as he watched Hank head into the bathroom.
“Rest Darling”. Hank urgered and Al knew the only reason he tried to listen was because he knew it eased the pain. Having a hallucination scared the shit out of him and Al only hoped it wasn’t anything serious. But he also knew if it was from his migraine it could happen again and Al didn’t want to experience that again. The brief moment of feeling like he was going crazy was not one Al wanted to repeat ever again.
“Sleep Alvin. It will make you feel better”. Hank said and Al didn’t ignore him again.