Prompt: Kristyn is Niall's girlfriend, and they are bonded by their shared love of dentistry. Niall had already finished school, and was working as a dentist; Kristyn was finishing up schooling to be a dentist. Something that Niall never knew was that Kristyn was secretly afraid of the dentist. She had been hiding pain in her mouth for months, when she couldn't take it any longer, and told her boyfriend. He takes her into the office, and discovers that she needs four root canals. Kristyn shows her fear of needles as well, so Niall opts for laughing gas to calm her. He comforts her as she cries, but she makes it through. However, when he begins the procedures, her numbing wears off, and he has to renumb her. Kristyn feels defeated, but Niall finishes the procedures, and takes care of Kristyn for the rest of the day, leaving Kristyn feeling better about the dentist and needles.
Disclaimer: Talk of fear of needles, and use of needles.
Niall and Kristyn were perfect couple goals- Niall completed his studies in dentistry, and Kristyn was finishing up her schooling. It was always helpful to have a boyfriend that had already finished the classes, especially now, because Kristyn was getting close to final exams. Despite her dream of becoming a dentist, Kristyn harbored a secret- she was terrified of the dentist, then only thing she hated more was needles. Here lately, Kristyn had a terrible feeling that she was going to be visiting one soon though due to excruciating pain in the back of her mouth. This had been going on for several months now, and it was all that Kristyn could do to keep the secret hush-hush.
"Hey, love," Niall said closing the door behind him, the slamming of the door making Kristyn's headache worse. "Hey Ni," she said looking up from her books. "Studying still? You were studying when I left this morning!" Niall exclaimed. "I know, but I have to pass this test," Kristyn said running her fingers in circles on her temples in attempt to lessen the throbbing. "You know I'll be more than happy to help you study, Kristyn," Niall said wrapping his arms around her from behind. "Thank you, Niall," she said turning around on the bar stool. He leaned in to kiss her, and distract her from her studies. "Do you have a headache?" he asked seeing the bottle of ibuprofen on the bar. "Yeah, probably from staring at the books all day," she lied. "Yeah, let's take a break and eat supper," Niall smiled and Kristyn nodded. Kristyn was truthfully not hungry at all though, eating was the last thing on her mind. Her mouth was throbbing so badly, that she was on the verge of crying. Niall heated up some chicken noodle soup left over from the previous night, and Kristyn didn't eat any of it. Niall took into account her quiet swirling of the spoon in the broth. "What's the matter, love?" Niall asked pulling Kristyn from her thoughts. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine, just tired I suppose," she lied again with a fake smile. Niall knew better than to believe that though, but he left it at that as he knew she probably didn't want to be bothered right now if she wasn't willing to tell him yet. "Do you want me to throw the soup away?" He asked her after a few silent moments. "Yes please, I think I am just going to go to bed," she said sliding her seat out from under the table, and hopping up the spiral staircase, leaving Niall wondering if he had done something. It was a reasonable thought. Kristyn had been short with him lately, going to be early, not eating, not speaking much, and not kissing back. It made Niall start to ponder on if he had done anything the past few months.
After Niall finished cleaning up the kitchen, he wandered up the stairs to their shared bedroom. He opened the door slowly as to not wake her, but Kristyn was sat up slightly reading a book. "Kristyn, may I ask you a question?" Niall asked. "Of course, babe," Kristyn answered bookmarking her book, and sitting it on her night stand. "Have I done something to upset you? I just know you have been distant lately, and-" Niall said shuffling his fingers as he spoke. "No hun," Kristyn stopped him with a giggle at his cuteness. "If you want me to be honest, I have had a gut wrenching pain in the back of my mouth for several months now," she finally admitted. "Kristyn, why didn't you tell me?" Niall said sitting under the covers. "I- I um...Fine. I'm terrified of the dentist Niall. I know, it's crazy with me studying to be a dentist and all, but I am just scared, and-" she ranted and Niall crashed his lips into hers to calm her down. When he pulled away, he swiped some hair behind her ear. "Kristyn, I totally understand," he admitted. "You do?" she questioned. "Yes. I was afraid of the dentist till I actually became one, and saw that they aren't as bad as I thought. I still don't prefer them," he smiled. "I never knew that!" Kristyn said. "I always kept it a secret," he said. "But I'll tell you what. How about we go in tomorrow and just take a look? It's a Saturday, so nobody will be there. It'll just be me and you," he reasoned pulling on some sweatpants. "Deal," she agreed, and they went to bed with that.
The next morning, Kristyn woke up nervous. She recognized the familiar feeling of fear in the pit of her stomach. She threw her hair into a ponytail, and changed into a pair of sweats and one of Niall's old t-shirts. "Ready?" he asked her and she nodded. They made their way to the office, and Niall prepped her for an exam. It started off easy with some simple x-rays. As Kristyn waited in the chair, she anxiously wiggled her feet back and forth. "Alright, Kristyn. It looks like you're going to need four root canals. No biggy at all!" he said studying over her x-rays. "Woah! Root canals, like needles?" she gulped. "Yes, but it'll be quick...wait, are you afraid of needles?" Niall questioned sitting down. "Yes," Kristyn said looking down. "That's okay! I'll be quick. We'll use some laughing gas, you won't feel a thing," Niall said turning on the light and leaning the chair back. "Are you sure?" Kristyn asked still scared. "I promise," he said giving her a kiss.
Once everything was sat in place, Niall lowered the oxygen mask over Kristyn's nose, and started to grab the needle. Kristyn started feeling a little loopy, but not enough to not focus on the seemingly huge needle in her boyfriend's hand. Kristyn opened her mouth nonetheless, but felt like she could feel every single poke. She began to cry, and Niall caught glimpse of the silent tears now running down her face. "It's okay, Kristyn! You are doing so good, I'm right here," Niall comforted taking her hand in his free hand. As he continued to numb her, the stream of tears continued. "Relax babe, we are almost done. You're doing amazing," Niall said speeding up. Kristyn, though scared, trusted his words. She did her best to ignore the pinching, and focus on her boyfriend's comforting words. "All done! Let's give it a few minutes to set in, and that way you can get a break for a few moments," Niall said putting the syringe away. Kristyn could feel her mouth starting to numb at the beginning, but as time went on, it felt like she was slowly getting feeling back in her mouth.
After several minutes, Niall picked up his tools, and got ready to start the procedures. "Okay Kristyn, here we go," Niall said getting started. He worked diligently for about five minutes, and then Kristyn felt the worst pain she had ever felt in her life. She could feel every single poke and prod that he did. She put her hand up to get his attention, and he quickly stopped when he saw her pained expression and once again teary eyes. "What's the matter?" he asked nervously. "I can feel everything," Kristyn said. "Oh my gosh! I am so sorry! Here, let me get a stronger numbing medication," he said standing up. Kristyn felt her whole body tense at the thought of more needles. She wished she hadn't have said anything at all, and would've just let the pain continue. She knew that wasn't the way to think, but it would've been better than having so many shots. She became even more discouraged at the thought of how she decided to face both of her fears, but both of them turned out to be excruciatingly awful. "Okay, let's try this," Niall said. This time he brought a smaller needle. "I brought you a smaller needle this time, it'll just take a little longer, but it'll hurt less this time," Niall explained and Kristyn nodded defeatedly. She let him do what he had to do, and he was right, it was much better than last time. After what felt like forever, she was finally completely numb. Niall finished up the procedures quickly, and Kristyn even fell asleep.
Kristyn woke up to Niall carrying her back to the car. She couldn't feel her face at all, and everything was spinning. Luckily, she fell right back asleep. Kristyn woke up about five hours later in her and Niall's bed. She felt the comfort of her boyfriend laying behind her with his arms wrapped around her. "Morning sunshine," he said seeing her eyes flutter open. "Morning," she replied closing her eyes at the pain in her face. "I have you some medicine, water, and some tea heated," Niall said sitting up. Kristyn opened her eyes, and looked at him holding the medicine and water bottle. "Thank you," she said gladly taking the medicine. "I also have some ice packs," Niall said laying them on her slightly swollen cheeks. She could feel the pain starting to dull, and started to feel slightly better. Niall held her close, and checked to see how she was doing every hour or so. Kristyn slept the day away, but when she was awake, Niall made sure to be right there with her. He held her close, and did anything and everything that he could to make her feel better. Kristyn was so thankful that she had such an amazing boyfriend, and they both knew in that moment they would be together for the rest of their lives.
