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Being a nurse was both rewarding and exhausting. Zach got to help people in ways no doctor ever could but it really took a lot out of him by the time his shift was over.
Today had been an especially gruelling day because there had been an influx of trauma patients from a major accident on the QEW. By the time Zach’s shift was over, he was dead on his feet. All he wanted to do was go home and vegetate until he could fall asleep.
Zach’s boss tried to corner him to see if he could pick up a shift for a nurse that had called in sick. When his boss saw Zach’s zombie-like appearance, he thought better of it and wished Zach a safe trip home.
Zach weakly thanked his boss before walking to his car. As soon as Zach was inside said car, he took a breath to gather himself. The last thing he needed was to crash his own car and end up as one of the trauma patients he had had to treat during his shift.
When Zach felt stable enough to drive, he buckled his seatbelt and turned the key in the ignition. He took another steadying breath for good measure as he backed his car out of the parking lot and started driving home.
As soon as Zach got home, he leaned back against the door and slid to the floor. He put his head in his hands and sighed. Every part of Zach ached and all he wanted to do was cry. Today really tested the limits of whether being a nurse was the job Zach wanted to do as his career.
Footsteps echoing through the room forced Zach to look up from his hands. He smiled faintly when he saw his boyfriend, William, standing in the entryway between the foyer and the living room.
“I thought I heard the front door open,” William smiled, leaning against the wall. His smile quickly turned to a frown when he noticed the look on Zach’s face. “Is everything alright? You don’t look so good.”
Zach raked a hand down his face and sighed.
“It was a hectic day at work,” Zach said. “There was a crash on the QEW that kept us swamped with patients. I’m bone-tired and seriously wondering if I made the right choice in becoming a nurse.”
William pushed off the wall and walked over to Zach. He held out his hand.
“Come cuddle. You need to relax and stop thinking for a while.”
A faint smile tugged Zach’s lips as he grabbed William’s hand. William helped Zach up from the floor and held Zach’s hand the entire way to the bedroom. William crawled into the bed while Zach slipped out of his shoes. As soon as they were off, Zach crawled onto the bed in front of William and slotted himself in as the little spoon. It wasn’t often that Zach was the little spoon but days was one of those days where he needed to be cocooned until his brain shut off.
William shifted the two of them around a couple of times to get them comfortable. Once he was satisfied, he buried his head in Zach’s hair and kissed the nape of Zach’s neck. Zach sighed contentedly and closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, Zach felt William’s soft snoring vibrating against his neck. Zach felt his stomach swoop at how precious that was. He decided that he needed to be the little spoon more often because he wanted to feel this way a lot more regularly than he did.
Another thought crossed Zach’s mind then. A thought that made a fizzy feeling spread throughout his entire body and make his heartbeat pick up a little bit.
Zach realized that being a nurse would always be worth it. Any job he had would always be worth it. Because, at the end of a gruelling day, he got the one thing in the world that mattered most to him.
Love and affection from William Nylander.