This tale begins in a Midwestern hospital; rather unsurprising, as both of the protagonists have embraced the medical profession. The details may have been exaggerated to entice the reader, but the events and passionate love remain unaltered. The emergency department was busy that day. The anguished grunts of the injured, the flashing lights of the monitors, and the stringent scent of antiseptic cleaner assailed her senses as Sam logged onto the workstation to investigate her next patient. Her current rotation with the trauma surgery service marked the completion of her clinical education as a nurse practitioner, stretching back 4 years as she learned the intricacies of caring for the most acutely ill and complex patients in the medical system. Her eyes flitted across the screen, quickly digesting lab values and radiology reads as she mentally prepared to examine the next trauma victim. But her gaze was momentarily distracted by the flash of blue scrubs past her side. She had seen him before, buzzing from room to room like a cerulean worker bee, pollinating the emergency department with contagious optimism. Her cheeks flushed as he stopped beside her, his hand placed gently on her shoulder. "I think Dr. Williams would prefer pip-taz on room 8, right?" Tyler asked as he leaned over to confirm the patient's orders. "Yeah, that should cover her," Sam replied as she adjusted her glasses atop her nose. "Great!" Tyler flashed her a smile and offered a quick high-five as he hustled back down the hall. He had been working as a physician assistant in emergency medicine for half a decade at this point and appreciated the clinical expertise of the trauma surgery service. However, what he had recently come to appreciate more was the muted smile and scintillating hazel eyes of the nurse practitioner student that had recently joined their ranks...

The scene changes to a dimly-lit tavern, with a sign announcing "Henry's" swaying gently over the entry doors. It had been several weeks since the initial encounter, marked by a flurry of calls and messages. Tyler had just returned from a ski trip; Sam was fresh from the orchestral thrall of a concert at the Embassy Theatre. The snug wooden booth creaked as they sat, the hours flying by as Tyler regaled her with stories of alpine adventure. Pulses quickened as hands made contact across the table, but the night seemed to stand still as they shared their first kiss in the inauspicious alleyway beside the tavern doors.

The year 2020 found Sam and Tyler sharing a small apartment high above the bustling streets of downtown Fort Wayne. Her computer lay on the coffee table, keys worn from the long spells of typing and editing her final thesis. But she was relaxed on the couch, reveling in the satisfaction of a new degree and a bright future. There had been whispers of a respiratory illness, first in East Asia and along the west coast, that had caught the attention of these medical practitioners. But they could not predict the upheaval caused by the global COVID pandemic. The great societal cataclysm prompted a dramatic personal re-appraisal for both Sam and Tyler. The local nurse practitioner prospects had been crushed by the sheer uncertainty of the repercussions of the pandemic; Sam was now desperately searching for a job. Tyler had longed to escape the agricultural plains of Indiana, and the call of the mountains beckoned ever louder. Looming layoffs threatened to shatter his cohesive physician group, sparking his own search for greener pastures. The pursuit for new employment led them through deserted airports, newfangled Zoom interviews, and personal expeditions--from the riverine coastline of Maine to the towering firs of Oregon. It was within the Willamette Valley, the historical terminus of the Oregon Trail, that they were both able to secure employment and cement their future together. They packed their modern Conestoga wagons (a Honda CR-V and Subaru Crosstrek) and embarked on a month-long adventure across the pandemic-scarred continent. Thousands of highway miles were interrupted by stops in Liberal, Kansas; visiting friends north of Denver, Colorado; and exploring the wilderness of the Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Wind Cave, and Badlands National Parks. They didn't escape unscathed; the overnight stay in Boise found Sam bedbound and febrile, with the final leg of the journey limping across the vast eastern plains of Oregon as the smoke of wildfires grew thick on the horizon...

Sam stopped abruptly as the mountain goat turned its head and bleated forlornly on the trail ahead. She glanced over at Tyler, who shuffled his feet impatiently as the goats lazily trod down the trail, eager to ascend the fabled Cascade Pass deep within the North Cascades. The intervening years found Sam now an experienced and respected nocturnist hospitalist, advancing in her profession as anticipated with her intelligence and grit. After a decade of emergency medicine, Tyler left the field for an ill-fated attempt at a writing career; he would soon return back to the fold of clinical medicine. But on this day, their careers were far from their minds as they basked in the remote beauty of the Washington wilderness. The goats had finally discovered more delectable vegetation down the steep slope of the mountainside, allowing their bipedal visitors to pass adroitly across the trail. The path snaked upward through old-growth forests and into the fen and rocky outcroppings that dotted the ridgeline. Sam and Tyler continued past a fork that would have led south towards the Stehekin River, and climbed north across the Sahale Arm to a flat viewpoint over Doubtful Lake. Sam reached down to unscrew the cap of her water bottle as she heard Tyler rustling through his pack. As she turned to inquire about the snack situation, she found him down on one knee. A silver ring was in his right hand, sunlight reflecting off the sapphire, diamond, and tourmaline as he gestured towards her. "Sam," he stammered, eyes tearing from the dry wind and swelling emotions, "will you marry me?" A small family of pika sniffed the air nearby, unsure if the distracted humans would notice a missing granola bar.

The clouds thinned, giving way to a sapphire blue sky on the drive north to Salem; a respite from the drizzle and gloom that was the default for winter days in the Pacific Northwest. Sam was lovely in a lacey blue dress, completed with a bouquet of flowers wrapped with her grandma's kerchief and grandfather's watch. Tyler's garb was slightly more drab, but he at least deigned to don a necktie. They were quickly ushered into the courtroom, the first order of business after lunch. After an efficient flurry of paperwork and signatures, they clenched hands as the Justice of the Peace legally cemented the union that had manifested in their hearts years ago. As they exited down the hallway, they were greeted by a grunted "Congratulations," as a disheveled citizen shambled past them for his court hearing. After a low-key elopement and a frenetic two years of loving marriage, Sam and Tyler have finally found the moment to celebrate their love with their devoted family and friends. No ceremony, no stuffy formalities; simply time to Live Long and Party!