Ricky Bowen Sickfics

23

@holyymarvel

Nini's POV

For as long as I could remember, Ricky suffered from chronic migraines. Having chronic migraines is described as having 15 or more headache days in a period of one month, 8 of which are migrainous. Ricky would often miss school or just a couple of classes because of his migraines. He experienced a minefield of symptoms including: vision loss, difficulty hearing, throbbing/pulsating pain, nausea & vomiting, sensitivity to light and smell, etc. 

Some days when he had migraines he would want me to sit in bed with him and play with his hair and other days he would lock himself in his room in the dark and I wouldn't hear from him for two to three days. 

Migraines are weird and it's hard to find a cause for them as there can be multiple triggers. Ricky had some triggers that we knew about, like caffeine and dark chocolate, but sometimes neither of those things would be involved and a migraine would come on. 

Another known trigger for Ricky was stress. The more stressed he became, the worse his head would hurt. 

One day, Ricky and I were out eating and we had had dessert at the restaurant we were at. As we were finishing up, I could tell that something was starting to go wrong. 

"You okay, bubs?" I asked. 

Ricky spoke slowly, "No. I think I'm getting a migraine. My vision is getting all spotty. Can you drive us back?" 

I nodded. "Of course." 

We paid the bill and then started walking to the car. Ricky had driven us, but it wasn't the first time I'd had to drive Ricky's car back home because of a migraine. We had gone out to eat at a restaurant that was about twenty minutes away from where we lived. Throughout the car ride I could see Ricky get worse and worse. He was squinting his eyes and keeping them shielded from the headlights of the cars in oncoming traffic. He had turned the temperature in the car all the way down--heat made his head feel worse and cold made it feel better. 

"We're almost back, baby," I said quietly. 

Ricky croaked, "Thanks." 

When we pulled into Ricky's driveway I expected him to sit for a moment and prepare himself to go inside, but instead, he shot out of the car and started throwing up on his lawn. 

"Oh, Ricky," I frowned. I walked over to him and rubbed his back. He spit up a small amount and then I led him inside and up to his room. "I'm gonna go tell your dad what's up. You stay here."

"I can't move, don't worry," Ricky murmured. 

I shut the door quietly and made my way downstairs to talk to Mike. 

"Hey, Mike!" I said. 

He grinned. "Hey, Nini. Where's Ricky? I didn't hear you guys come back."

"Ricky just got hit with a migraine. I drove us back and I got him in bed and everything. Is it okay if I stay with him for a little bit?" I asked. 

"Of course, Nini." Mike smiled. "This is pretty crappy timing, though. I was planning on telling Ricky tonight that his mom and her boyfriend are coming in to town to finish up some legal stuff."

I froze. "Do you want me to tell him?" I asked. 

Mike nodded, "If you could. I know stress makes this type of thing worse and I don't want to say the wrong thing, you know?"

It was my turn to nod. I made my way back upstairs and entered Ricky's dark room quietly. 

"Hey, Ricky. I'm back," I whispered. 

Ricky groaned. 

"I have to tell you something, bubs," I said. "Just listen to me carefully, okay? Your mom and Todd are coming into town in a couple of days. Most likely two days from now. I'm pretty sure they're both staying here. We can set you up to stay at my house if you want, or-"

"Oh, fuck," Ricky's voice shook. He was already starting to panic. He hissed and grabbed at his head. 

I pulled him close to me. "It's okay, lovey. I'm right here."

I held him close to me. "Nini, I'm gonna throw up," Ricky murmured. I shot up and helped him to the bathroom. 

Ricky sat with his head against the cold tile. He was close to the toilet. His arm moved and knocked the toilet seat down with a loud crash. Ricky winced audibly. 

Loud noises weren't a good thing when Ricky had a migraine. 

Suddenly, another noise came. It was Ricky's phone ringing. I went and grabbed it. It was his mom calling. 

"Ricky, it's your mom. You don't have to answer it."

I heard Ricky hiccup and then spit into the toilet. He sobbed, "Just make the noise stop, please."

I declined the call. She called again. Ricky had his hands covering his ears. I tossed his phone back into his bedroom after turning it on silent. 

I could tell that Ricky was getting worse. His mom kept calling him and he didn't want to talk to her or see her after everything that had happened. The fact is, his mom was his greatest source of stress, and it was not coming into play at a good time. 

Ricky gagged a couple more times and then he had no energy left. I helped hoist him up and walk him to his bed, where he promptly passed the fuck out. 

I stayed by his side until I had to go back home. I told Mike I would be back the next day.

When the next morning rolled around, I drove over to Ricky's. Mike let me in and I went up to Ricky's room. 

He hadn't moved an inch. He looked adorably angelic when he was sleeping like this. His eyebrows were furrowed and his nose was scrunched up. I ran my fingers through his hair until he woke up a while later. 

"Nini?" Ricky asked. 

I nodded, "It's me."

"What happened?" 

This was common. Ricky would become incredibly disoriented once the migraine hit him and he'd wake up confused the next day, barely remembering the onset of the migraine. 

I explained, "We were out to dinner and you started to get hit by a migraine. You got sick a little and you've been in bed ever since. Your mom is coming to visit tomorrow."

Ricky didn't respond. He pulled me closer to him and then winced as he moved his head too quickly. 

"Can you stay with me? Until I'm better?"

"You know you never have to ask."