#nicholasg

“Dr and Dr Garrigan,” he said with a laugh, wrapping his arms around you underneath the water, bobbing up and down. The cold hardly seemed to bother him. You were forgetting about it also, feeling warm in his embrace instead. Your hand went to his shoulder to help keep you up, your wedding band twinkling in the pale sunlight. You had married young, during your second year of university, after only a year and a half of knowing one another. But when you know - you know. That’s what people say, and you understood it to be the truth. You looked into Nicholas’s adorable face, with his poofy hair, and his do-good attitude, and knew that he was the only man for you.  

And now, now you were both Doctors, finished with Medical School, getting ready to make your mark on the world. “Now we just have to figure out exactly where we’re going to practice,” you said, kissing his wet cheek, making him blush. Even now, after the honeymoon phase was older, you were still able to bring that reaction out of him, and there was something beautiful about that. The way that the pink spread across his cheeks, his nose.  

“I have a globe back at ‘ome,” he said, a mischievous grin on his face. “Why don’t we give it a spin? Wherever we land is wherever we go.” 

You poked his cheek gently. “Within reason, Nicholas. We should have at least a quick look at current events before we go. I want to help people, but I also don’t want to go somewhere that’s really dangerous for us - is that a deal?” 

“Alright, alright,” he said, rolling his eyes but he was still smiling at you. Giving into you, as he always did. 

Dinner with his parents had been an awkward affair, as per usual. They never really approved of the marriage between you and Nicholas, simply because you were also in medical school. They thought that their son should be with someone that was more like his mother. A stay-at-home wife. Someone to give him lots of children and then spend all of their time watching them, cleaning the house, cooking roast dinners. You weren’t like that. You wanted to work, you wanted to help save lives, you wanted to make a difference, which was one of the major things that you and Nicholas ended up connecting on. 

“Your mother and I are very proud of you, Nicholas,” His father said, pouring you all just a splash of sherry. He was a very reserved man, hardly taken to drink. Not like his son has. “And you too, y/n,” he said, as an afterthought. 

“Very proud,” Nicholas’s mother smiled at the two of us. You put your hand on your husband’s thigh beneath the table, giving it a squeeze, smiling back at the older woman.  

“Not quite as good a degree as mine...” His father continued. “-but a fine one nevertheless.” 

You scoffed, unable to help yourself, and Nicholas laid his hand on top of yours. Nicholas’s mother shook her head slightly, used to this sort of pompousness from her husband. And Nicholas looked slightly disappointed. What boy didn’t want his father’s approval? And what father would compare his own degree to their child’s - especially after all those years of medical school? It hardly seemed fair. 

“Being a family doctor..." Mr. Garrigan said, sitting down in his seat. “Well, let me tell you, Nicholas, you’ve chosen a fine life. If we’ll all raise our glasses - a toast.” 

It took everything inside of you not to roll your eyes. But you picked up your glass and raised it, just as everyone else at the table had. “To father and son. And a long future together.” 

“And to wives,” You added, right as you clinked glasses, looking at Mrs. Garrigan, who seemed to blush slightly at being included in the toast. “And to Doctors in general, shouldn’t we?” 

“There’s three at the table now,” Nicholas said, looking at you with a grin. His father looked a bit shaken, bringing the glass to his lips without saying anything more. “Three doctors, in one family.” 

“It’s wonderful,” Mrs. Garrigan said, probably patting her own husband’s knee under the table. You looked at Nicholas, making eye contact with his big, beautiful blues and winked. He knew that you had his back.  

An hour later, you were in his room, sitting on the floor and going through some of his childhood things while he laid on the bed smoking. It was just a twin-size bed – small, and you couldn’t fit on it with him. He would be taking the guest room tonight, stretching out on the big bed by himself, which was still less comfortable than this one. 

He surprised you by screaming. Well, more of a yell but it was still loud enough to make you jump, to turn your head away from the G.I. Joe Toys that you were examining to see what was with him. “Nicholas, are you alright in there?” His father’s voice came through. 

“I’m fine,” He shouted back. He started to sit up. “I’m fine,” he said again, quietly.  

“What a prick,” You sighed. “You know, he wouldn’t even have a job if it wasn’t for people like us. Family doctors, running tests on people, finding out the problems for him to go in and act like a hero. You know who is always in demand? Us. You know who would still have a job if we had shaky hands? Guess what! Us.” 

Nicholas looked down at you and chuckled. “Tell me how you really feel about him.” 

“Infuriates me. And also - we’re married, Nicholas. And they won’t even let us have the guest room together. They drove us to the airport on our honeymoon, they know that we-” 

Nicholas laughed again and put his hand on your mouth, stopping you from saying something vulgar. “Say it any louder, and they won’t even let us be in a room together,” He teased. Then his eyes seemed to catch on to something, and he remembered the plan that he had come up with before. He got up from the bed and grabbed the globe, setting it on his nightstand beside the glass of whiskey that we had been sharing. “Okay, first place we land, we go,” he said. 

You nodded, your heart beating quickly with anticipation. Were you really about to make a life changing decision by spinning a globe? Yes, you really were. This spontaneous side of Nicholas was something that you adored. Seeking adventure, even at the most inopportune times.  

“This is terrifying,” you said, standing up pacing along behind him, looking over his head of wavy hair to the globe as he closed his eyes and gave it a spin. You almost couldn’t look yourself. But you also couldn’t look away. Round and round the globe went, until Nicholas put his finger on it, bringing it to a stop. You bent down over his shoulder to see the large country that was painted pink beneath his nail.  

“Canada,” he said. He really didn’t sound sure about it. Actually sniffed his nose at it and then gave it another spin before you could stop him. 

“Hey, first place we land, we go,” You argued. 

‘But come on. It’s Canada. It’s basically like being in England,” he said, a look of disdain on his face, his finger stopping on the globe again.  

“Oh, we are not going to Uganda,” you said, shaking your head. “There’s a civil war brewing there, I read about it in the papers. I know you want adventure but I’m not ready to be surrounded by guns.” 

“This was a bad idea,” Nicholas sighed, falling back onto his ass on the floor, glaring at the globe like it was his fault. 

“Actually - it’s not,” you said, brightening up. “You want adventure? You want to make a difference?” You could see that you had his attention with that, his blue eyes sparkling curiously. You moved the globe back to Canada and pointed towards the northern territories. “We go here.” 

“And freeze our arses off?” Nicholas asked, raising an eyebrow. You sighed and rolled your eyes.  

“Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to warm you back up,” you said, putting your arm around his shoulders, looking at the second largest country on the globe. “But think about it, Nick. There are people out there, people who don’t get access to healthcare usually. Or if they do, it’s really expensive. And not only that, but they also live a totally different lifestyle than we do, right? So, there’s the adventure. PLUS,” You added, looking at his unconvinced face. “- who doesn’t want to ride on a dogsled? Come on. Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it.” 

He sighed, the air blowing up, moving his brown bangs out of his face. You smiled, biting down on your lip, knowing that you had him. Knowing that you were slowly getting into his head with it all. 

“We land, we go,” He finally agreed. 

“We land, we go,” you said with a grin. “Besides, if it gets really cold - we’ll have to snuggle up close to one another for body heat, and that doesn’t sound bad at all, does it?” 

Nicholas looked at you, and then to his small bed, a playful smile beginning to cross his face. “Bit nippy for late spring, dont’cha think?” He asked you. “Should we get started on practicing that now?” 

You caught his line of thinking and instantly started to undress yourself, taking off your sweater. His hands were on your waist in seconds, one wrapping around it and the other helping to tug your shirt up over your head, his lips attaching themselves to your skin. Together, you crashed down onto the twin-sized bed, with just enough room if you two held one another close, which was exactly what you had planned to do for the rest of the night. 

After getting your VISAs, making travel arrangements, finding a place to stay and making medical contacts in Yellowknife, you touched down in the Northwest Territories for the first time, the plane. It wasn’t the biggest airport you’ve ever been in, but it was still larger than you had thought it was going to be.   

“It’s also said that Yellowknife is one of the best places to see the Aurora Borealis, can you imagine that?” You chattered happily, waiting for your bag. “We could just ... step outside and see one of the most beautiful things on earth." 

“And if I ever wanted to freeze my bollocks off, I just have to open a window,” He mumbled. You had managed to talk him into the trip, to get him slightly enthused, but as soon as the colder-than-Scotland weather came around, he had turned almost into a child. You leaned in and kissed his cheek, then ran your fingers through his dark wavy hair.  

“If they ever get cold, I’ll massage them back to life,” you told him with a smile. “Can you please just smile for me, love? We’re where not many people ever step foot. It’s almost like - we’re explorers, don’t you think?” 

“Darling, light of my life,” Nicholas said, wrapping an arm around your waist. “I say this with all possible love. But you have to be one of the nerdiest people that I have ever met in my life.” 

Your smile grew even wider with that. Of course you took that as a compliment. “And that’s what drew you to me in the first place, isn’t it? My supreme nerdiness and endless optimism?” 

It was his turn to smile now, finally, showing off that small gap that he had in his teeth, your favorite little spot. One of the few features that reminded you that he was indeed human, and not some perfect figure of your imagination. The slightly bulbous nose, the tooth gap, the freckles, the way that he enjoyed taking his shirt off even when he wasn’t the most muscular fella around. All of these adorable things made up your husband - Nicholas Garrigan. 

“Your face helps too. And your body isn’t too bad,” he said, his hand starting to tickle your side. You squeal a little and try to swat him away, but he just takes the opportunity to pull you in closer to him, looking at one another, your eyes completely caught. “But you’re right, as usual. I do love that brain of yours. And how you seem to be even more adventurous than I am. Only you could see snow and want to go out there, like someone trying to find the Northwest Passage.”