Nurse Patrick Preston

28.5.3. A moment of heightened emotions

Co-written with mrpublicity
[Follows a few weeks after THIS]

Pat flexed and unflexed his hands around the steering wheel of his car and sighed as he he pulled up for the red light at a busy intersection. He wet his lips and glanced at Aiden sitting in the passenger's seat. "Are you serious? You want to do this now?" he asked calmly. "Right now? It can't wait until we get home?" He fought the urge to light up a cigarette, even if that was what his first reaction was. He did know sooner or later they would reach this point, but it was just something he wasn't sure he was ready to face yet.

( “Home?” Aiden returned with a small snort and shake of his head... )


Word Count | 1,246

28.2. Panic

Co-written with mrpublicity
[Follows THIS, THIS, THIS and all THIS]

It was half time in game and Pat had been watching Aiden sitting beside him out the corner of his eye. It had probably been a good half an hour since Aiden's eyes seemed to even focus on the screen and now his head slipped off his hand that had only just been managing to hold it upright. Pat reached over and caught Aiden's forehead with his palm before he banged his head on the arm rest. He smiled a little as Aiden blinked groggily, clearly not realising he had been veering closer and closer to falling asleep by the minute. "Go to bed, darling," Pat told him quietly. "It's very late."

( “No, I can wait,” Aiden said through a wide, loud yawn... )

All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe


Word Count | 1,538

14. I'll get your medicine when your tummy aches
build you a fire if the furnace breaks
Oh it could be so nice, growin’ old with you.
I'll miss you, kiss you, give you my coat when you are cold.
Need you, feed you, I'll even let you hold the remote control.
[‘Grow Old With You’ – Adam Sandler]

Co-written with mrpublicity | Follows THIS

Aiden never really got hangovers. Not terrible ones, anyway. He usually suffered through a headache and got bitchy until it wore off, but that was the extent of it. And that was only when he drunk a lot. He wasn't a heavy drinker at the best of times. So there really was no explanation why he was bent over the toilet throwing up extensively the morning after Lachlan's birthday party. If anyone should be in this position right then, it was the birthday boy himself. Aiden had all of two glasses of wine because he was driving home. The thing was, he rarely got sick, too. He usually had to be unable to move and half dying before he even admitted to being ill, but right now, he really did not feel good at all.

( With a small, strained moan, he flipped the lid of the toilet closed and flushed it so he could move to the sink and brush his teeth. Despite being sick, he didn't even really feel much better... )

All muses referenced with permission and are from the princeton2nyc universe


Word Count | 1,020

14.1.6. “When love is not madness, it is not love.” - Jacques Prévert

Co-written with mrpublicity

“Stop it,” Pat warned breathlessly, turning his head to shoot Aiden a weak glare. “I can hear you working up to an optimistic pep talk and I don’t want to hear it. I’m sore, I’m tired, I’m sweaty. As much as you’re my favourite cheerleader, darling, just no. It’s our first Valentine’s Day and I’m extremely unsexy and cranky. It’s a miracle I’m not crying right now and I’m warning you, there is a distinct chance I might vomit on you, so I just really don’t want optimism right now.” This was his fifth day of intense physiotherapy and it was one of the worst. He was gradually regaining the use of his legs, but the work he was doing to get that far was draining and exhausting. He could walk short distances now with assistance and currently that assistance was his partner, Aiden. Pat’s head was pounding from exertion and he really was everything he just listed and more. The biggest, most-hard to swallow issue was Valentine’s Day. This was their first together and this was how they were spending it… stuck in the hospital trying to keep him on his feet so he could fight through the latest MS attack. This was one of his worst ever and it was getting him down more than he could possibly explain. He was sick of hospitals and he was sick of being sick. He just wanted to finally go to their new home and just be a normal couple with Aiden. It wasn’t too much to ask, was it?

( Aiden couldn’t help but laugh softly as he wiped Pat’s face with a damp cloth... )


Word Count | 931

10.8.5. Change of Heart

Co-written with mrpublicity | Set Christmas Day

[Companion piece to THIS]

Aiden watched Pat and his twin up at the SingStar mics belting out You'll Never Walk Alone together. Pat in his wheelchair wasn’t going to let a single thing ruin his Christmas, especially not the illness. It was early in the day that Pat had caught Aiden’s hand in his and fondly but firmly told him to stop worrying. Aiden had been nervously watching Pat like a hawk but hadn’t realised how obvious he was being until Pat pulled him on it. Pat promised him that he would be the first to know if he didn’t feel well and that from that minute on it was time to enjoy themselves, and he hadn’t missed a beat in doing just that. It also gave Aiden the gentle nudge he needed to relax, realising Pat was surrounded by people who could help him in an instant if he needed it and even if he did overdo himself, it was Christmas. It would be worth it.

When the song finished, the mics were offloaded to Riley and Tab for their own twinly duet and Cameron wheeled Pat back over to Aiden. “Your turn again. Musical Wheelchairs,” he told him with a smirk and made a beeline for Harri again.

( Aiden laughed and sat down on the armrest of the sofa so he could be at Pat’s eye level... )

All muses here used with permission and come from the princeton2nyc universe


Word Count | 1,083

10.3. Sacrifice

Co-written with mrpublicity

[Follows THIS]


Aiden took Pat’s hand as he sat down beside his bed once again. He gave him a small smile and kissed his fingers. “We have to talk, sweetheart. I know that sounds scary and ominous, but we have to get a few things sorted out.”

Pat touched Aiden’s cheek and nodded. “I know. Doesn’t mean I’m not nervous,” he said quietly. He rested his head back against the pillow and watched Aiden for a few silent minutes. “I love you. And I’m so sorry for what I said, how I said it, how I made you feel. It was stupid, I know, but I hated you seeing me in such a useless mess. I was so angry that I got sick again and it had to ruin everything right when it was going perfectly. When you went to help me, it just all snapped in me. It was just like, fucking hell, we should be holed up in bed naked together and you’re here trying to help me with something as simple as doing up the buttons on my shirt. I’m just so sorry. I clearly haven’t accepted the illness as much as I thought I had. At least, not when it came to anything I’m rusty on, like relationships. Plus, and I’m not making excuses, but when I get sick like this, it’s not just physical symptoms. I get very angry, frustrated and depressed with a lot of things and I should have warned you. I just want you to know that it wasn’t you or us. That last thing I wanted to do was make you think I didn’t want this… us… you to take care of me.”

( “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” Aiden admitted. He pulled his seat just a little closer to he could rest his elbows on the bed beside Pat’s legs... )

All muses referenced with permission


Word Count | 1,138

8.1.3. “The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in its value.” - Charles Dudley Warner

Co-written with mrpublicity

[Follows ALL THIS]

Pat pulled out of the deep kiss and stroked his fingers along Aiden’s cheek. “Do you mind if we have a night off tonight, darling? I’m buggered from the trip. I feel like I could sleep for a week.” He stretched and then settled in against Aiden’s side with his ankle hooked over Aiden’s leg.

“Nope,” Aiden confirmed with a tired smile. “I’m about ready to join you in that quest.” He pressed another kiss to Pat’s lips and relaxed under the covers himself.

Pat’s eyebrows rose with a smirk. “Why Aiden Lewis, did I hear you right? Are you actually going to attempt something as appalling as slowing down? That’s surely an event worthy of a sacrificial ritual with pig’s blood on a full moon, no?”

( “Cheeky bastard,” Aiden sniggered and squeezed Pat’s bare hip... )

All characters referenced with permission


Word Count | 607

6.2. "You're too hot, man. You gotta step off a bit."
| Shaft

Co-written with mrpublicity | Follows THIS & THIS

Pat pushed his cheek into his hand as watched the busy streets of New York pass by the car window. “Why couldn’t Benny just bring it home for you, darling? It’s not like he’s going to go another twenty four hours without shagging you. I’ll be out of your hair and he can have you all to himself again.”

“It’s my favourite jacket, sweetiepie and it’s the only thing that goes with my purple Jimmy Choos. You don’t want me to be all uncoordinated, do you?” Jules asked as they pulled on to the Manhattan street that housed The Bondi. She was bouncing inside, but had to keep a lid on it. As what now had come to be named Operation Pat Needs Shagging, the group had worked together to manage to get Aiden at Luke’s bar simultaneously to Jules suddenly needing her favourite coat that she had ‘left’ at the bar the previous Friday night. Of course, the coat was actually in the back of Benny’s van, but Pat didn’t know that. Jules was also about to become the World’s Worst Driver and forget how to park, meaning Pat would have to duck into the bar to find the coat that wasn’t there, meaning he’d need to look for it. Luke and Tab were also there, so it was there job to make sure Aiden was poignantly placed when Pat arrived. A text message to them from Jules told them they were on their way, so the plan was practically fool proof. The only downside was that Pat seemed to be lacking his usual bouncy lustre. He was flat and lethargic, even a little washed out around the cheeks. He’d assured Jules he was fine, though, so the plan had kicked right into gear as so finely mapped out.

( Pat shrugged slightly, uncharacteristically passing up a chance to comment on fashion choices, especially something as vital as Jimmy Choo. “I’ll wait in the car,” he decided as they approached the bar... )

All characters referenced with permission


Word Count | 1,830