"Where is your mind today, Henrik?"

He looked up at Graham and shook his head a little. "Just thinking about the fact that Roxanna left for Boston today, and I wasn't there to see her off. I know that I have responsibilities here, but there are things other than the work," he said, knowing that his mentor would understand where he was coming from. The last two months had seen their working relationship flourish, since he did remind Henrik of an older, male, version of Roxanna at times, beneath his more John like exterior.

"This is true, but she's only there for the length of the term, and then she'll be working here."

Henrik looked up at him in surprise, feeling his brows furrow together in confusion. "I'm sorry? The last I heard, she was hoping to get a position here for her foundation training."

"I may have pulled a few strings to look at our candidates who have put out feelers already, and Roxanna MacMillan is the best of all the candidates so far. So I put in a good word for her, knowing that it would be important for you to work with her, since it sounds like you're pretty committed to each other already."

He nodded and leaned back in his chair, staring at the table as a small smile appeared on his face. "We are. I cannot imagine how my life would have turned out had we not gotten into a relationship. Somehow, I think my life would be a bit greyer."

Graham nodded a little as he patted Henrik's shoulder gently. "That's how I felt about my wife when I met her in my undergrad program. Though we married before I started med school."

"I know that she wants to get married, but I'm not certain that I want that. We're happy the way we are, so why would I want to rock the boat?"

Graham chuckled as he took a seat across from Henrik, setting his mug on the table. Henrik looked at him, trying to figure out what he was going to tell him. "There's a sense of permanence to a relationship once you marry. And from what you've told me about Roxanna so far, she's a bit of a traditionalist in some respects despite her more flighty tendencies."

Henrik chuckled a little as he nodded. "She's probably going to want a large church wedding, if I know her."

"What would you want? No, let me guess, something small and private, with only your closest friends, held in a guildhouse." He nodded guiltily, listening to Graham's big laugh fill the room. "Oh, Henrik, I don't think that she'll agree to that, but you can always try."

He nodded and took a deep breath as he thought about the future in an entirely different way. This was something he knew he would be discussing with Caroline later, since he felt a little overwhelmed at the thought that he wouldn't be listened to, if he went to Roxanna with his wishes. He was hoping that there would be compromise, but the idea that a big spectacle would be expected of him caused a thin crack of worry to appear in the bubble of his relationship with Roxanna. Graham fell silent as Henrik finished his meal, and then he gave his mentor a small wave before heading back into the ward and making his rounds.

"Has my husband arrived yet?" Henrik looked from the older woman, so small and frail in her bed, to the nurse on duty, seeing the small shake of her head. "Doctor?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think he'd made it here yet. How long have you been married?" he asked as he began to do his obs, taking careful note of everything that seemed to be out of the ordinary. The woman, Mrs Simpson, seemed more keen on getting him to listen to her, as her thin hand grabbed hold of his tightly, forcing him to look at her. "Ma'am?"

"We've been together for fifty years. Which should be enough time, but it feels like barely a day. Could someone call my house to make certain that he's all right? And when he's planning on coming? I go into surgery in four hours, and I don't want to face it without him by my side."

Henrik finished his observations before nodding a little. "I'm certain the nurse can take care of that for you, Mrs Simpson." He tried to gently extract his hand from her hold, only for her to squeeze all the tighter, keeping him by her side. "I do have other patients that need my attention. Like I said, the nurse will take care of your needs, and everything will be fine, in the end."

"What if it's not, though? You shouldn't make promises that you cannot keep, and this is certainly one of those situations. I'll be lost without him, you know. He's always been the Sun to my Earth." A few tears slipped down the older woman's cheeks, and Henrik let out a low breath, hoping that it didn't sound like a sigh, as he didn't want to offend her.

"You're right, I don't know if everything is all right. Would you like me to sit with you until the nurse has contacted your husband?" She nodded and Henrik drew in a long breath before answering her with a slightly sharp nod, glancing at the nurse with a look that told her to hurry.

Folding his body into the small chair at her bedside, Henrik was finally able to pull his hand back into his lap, and he gazed at her, trying to stay calm and measured. He knew that patients mattered, and he needed to respect all their wishes when it lay in his ability to do so. "Do you have a wife?"

Henrik shook his head, though he felt his features soften as the idea of Roxanna flitted through his head at Mrs Simpson's question. "I have a partner. She's in Boston right now, finishing up her formal education before she returns home and starts the more practical education of learning to be a neurosurgeon."

"But you love her?"

"With all my heart." The words slipped out before he could capture them in his mouth, and Mrs Simpson gave him a warm smile as she brushed away a few tears from her cheeks.

"So, you understand why it's so important that my Johnny is here. If you were in hospital, facing surgery which you might not survive…" He went to protest that, only to have her wave her hand a little to stop him from speaking. "You would want her by your side. Because it's only when you see the one who holds your heart that you feel at ease with whatever might happen. Your love might be new and shiny, but when you've really sunk into things, you'll find that the separation tears at you in ways you never knew. Until it happens that you're in hospital and needing surgery, and your Johnny…"

"Is incredibly late, and sorry for worrying the love of his life." Henrik glanced over to see the older man approaching them, a small potted plant in his hands. "I went past a house where these were for sale, and I knew it would brighten your spirits. And then I got caught in traffic. But I'm here now."

"And that's all that matters, darling," Mrs Simpson replied, giving Henrik a small wink as he stood and allowed Johnny to take his seat so that he could continue his rounds, having something new to think about as he considered his relationship with Roxanna.