Martin
I weave through the bleachers, following my son and Chris, and sit down.
“Doctor,” Nick greets me.
“Dickhead number one,” I reply.
“How nice to watch the games among you lot,” Don Madigan comments from behind me.
“Then you shouldn’t use the reserved seats,” Nick mutters through clenched teeth.
Casey sighs softly and calls Nick back. “Nick, please.”
Nick snorts and crosses his arms and legs, acting like a stubborn kid.
“How is he?” I ask Riley, who’s sitting right behind me.
“He is excited and tense.”
“I understand. Jamie was a nervous wreck this morning, too.”
“It’s not easy for either of them.”
“And how are you?”
“I’m very good.”
Riley is having another baby girl. They just found out, and she’s thrilled — Jamie even more so. I just feel bad for Ian, though.
And Chris? She’s also expecting a girl, and I can’t help but look forward to watching Ryan O’Connor deal with a future troublemaker.
I probably shouldn’t enjoy it this much. We’re friends now, we usually get along, and we’ve grown used to each other’s rough edges, but I can’t help feeling a bit smug.
“Hey, Dad,” Evan draws my attention. “You’re really cool,” he comments, nodding at the special pass around my neck.
“No need to put it on display like that, you know?” Nick points out.
“All envy.”
Then Evan leans in to my ear. “Dignity, remember?”
I nod nervously as the teams come out, shifting in my seat.
My son looks at me with a teasing shake of his head. “Will you ever get used to it?” he asks, amusement in his eyes.
How could I?
Every time he steps onto the field, I feel something different. Watching him out there reminds me of all the training, hard work, and challenges he’s faced to get here.
Sometimes I wish I’d met him when he was younger. Maybe I could have helped, made him feel less alone, or shared some of his struggles.
But when I say things like this, Jamie just gives me that smile only he can pull off — cocky yet somehow hides a sensitive, colourful soul.
He tells me it’s okay, that it just wasn’t the right time, and that he might not even have recognised love back then. Maybe he’s right. If life brought us together now, this must be our time, and I thank him every day for seeing it and for not giving up.
He is, and always will be, my Captain. He’s not as tough as he tries to seem, and he’s far from perfect.
He’s vulnerable, sweet, and sometimes scared, and he still has nightmares.
But when that happens, instead of hiding, he wakes me and asks me to hold him.
It warms my heart that he trusts me and shares everything, even the hard stuff.
When he can’t sleep or feels restless, I let him rest his head on my chest and read to him.
It helps him relax, clear his mind, and dream.
When I come home from work, exhausted after witnessing other people’s pain or failing to save someone, he’s always there waiting for me. He hugs me, tells me I did my best, and just lets me talk. He never gets bored or frightened by what I say or do.
The first thing he does when I walk through the door is ask if I’m okay.
He does this every time — even when we talk on the phone during a break — because he cares about how I feel, what I think, and what I’m afraid of.
When I try to hide something that’s too heavy to share, he notices, but he doesn’t push me.
We’re total opposites, yet somehow we fit and balance each other out.
With him, I feel like myself, and I feel him. We are a strange twist of fate, but we’re together, and that’s the only thing that matters.
When the game ends, I get up from my seat and head to the locker room.
“Where are you going?” Evan asks.
I proudly flash my pass again and head down the bleachers to celebrate with my Captain.
Nick hurries after me, determined. “Hey, Doc, you don’t think I’m going to let you go alone,” he declares, catching up.
“I don’t need your help.”
“Sure, but I like to take the piss.”
We walk into the facility together, and as we go down the corridor to the locker room, Nick swings the door open and waves me in.
I’m not afraid, O’Connor. Nothing scares me now, not even a dozen cocks flying around.
I enter the room, immediately stunned by the shouting, singing, and commotion.
I feel like I am at the zoo, locked up in the monkey cage.
I make my way through the players, who don’t waste a second paying attention to me.
Then I spot my own, but before I can signal my presence to him, someone else notices me, and not to mention, naked.
“Doctor, at this point, you’re practically a regular in the locker room. Looking for something? Or maybe someone isn’t quite as gifted as he wants everyone to believe…”
“Fuck you, Ryan. Remember the vein,” I say, pointing to his neck. He immediately reaches up to touch it.
“Oh, Dr Martin, welcome.” The other brother chimed in with the rest of the group.
Did I really just think ‘gang’ while standing in a locker room with a rugby team?
“Did you escort him this time, too, Nick?” he asks his brother.
“I have my pass,” I say, holding it up.
“Things are getting interesting,” Ian says.
“Speak for yourself. This story is already boring me to death,” Ryan retorts.
“Then go play somewhere else.” His voice, my music. “And hands off my man.”
“Holy fucking shit!” Ryan exclaims.
“Do you want to meet your daughter?” Jamie threatens him.
“You are a pain in the arse.”
Jamie leaves him to his bullshit and comes over to me. He grabs a fistful of my shirt and yanks me into him.
“Hello, Doctor. It’s always good to see you—and every time, it’s a little more so.”
Then his mouth is on mine. His breath. His taste, salted with sweat. His big hands slide over my face.
“Uh…” someone says.
Jamie doesn’t pull away. He flips them off, then tightens his arm around me.
The locker room erupts in screams, whistles, and even applause, and I start laughing as I finally pull back from him.
“You’re the Captain in everything, even the public announcements.”
“I just want everyone to know that Dr Kane is my man.”
“I think that’s clear, Jamie,” Ian says. “Even to the team in the next room.”
“Fuck you all,” he mutters under his breath, then turns back to me. “For the record, tonight…”
“Do we have a book to finish?” I tease.
“No, Doctor. We have one to write.”