Chapter Text
It was the end of a long paperwork day - Reid's least favourite kind of day. Though he appreciated the order, the structure of paperwork that had to be studied and annotated closely in order to facilitate his job properly, it was nothing compared to the rush when he was actually in the OR. Frankly, there was nothing like that feeling, nothing that even came close. Paperwork days were a necessary evil, the thing that got him to the place where he could experience that feeling.
As much as Reid was aware of that and was almost thankful for it, he was looking forward to going home and collapsing with a frozen meal and the remote control. Even he'd learned that, from time to time, you just had to switch off.
When his phone buzzed he briefly paused to hit the speaker, then continued writing. "Speak."
He knew who was going to be on the other end of the line. Reid never giave praise lightly but his PA, Susie, was excellent. She'd have to be, for him to actually go the lengths of having a standing order at her favourite florist to have flowers delivered every year on the day that just happened to be her birthday. She was organised, efficient, didn't give a crap what he thought and wasn't afraid of him. It was the best relationship he had with anyone.
Ever.
"He called again," she informed him, her voice conveying the fact that a) she knew he wouldn't like the news and b) she didn't care that he wouldn't like the news.
Like Reid didn't have a million things he should already be attending to. "Did you tell him that I'm unavailable for an 'unidentified mass' look-in for at least the next three months unless he comes here? It's not like I'm running my own neurology centre with my own list of patients a mile long or anything."
"Believe me, I gave him your entire speech, including sarcastic inflections."
Reid knew just how good she was at mimicking him. It should've been effective. "And he still didn't give up."
"There's been a development."
She hesitated, then, which was unusual for Susie. Neither one of them pulled any punches and it actually made him stop writing and look at the phone. Reid frowned. "What is it?"
Susie paused. "They managed to identify the unidentified mass."
Despite himself, Reid felt intrigued. He loosened his hold on the pen. "Well, what is it?"
When he heard the news, Reid stayed in town only as long as it took to re-schedule everything that wasn't about to kill someone, then boarded the first flight to Oakdale.
Susie had done her research so the town was about as small as he expected, yet somehow felt much smaller. Admittedly, he didn't actually get to see that much of it as he went straight from the airport to Memorial Hospital, but as the cab driver too helpfully told him they were driving 'straight to the heart' of Oakdale and the journey took all of five minutes, Reid drew his own conclusions. For such a small town the hospital was actually somewhat impressive-looking and he pounced on the first member of staff he saw after stepping through the automatic doors.
"You," he addressed a nurse, whose smile faltered for some reason. "I'm here to see Bob Hughes. He's expecting me. Where can I find him?"
"Dr Oliver?" a male voice asked and Reid turned, abandoning the nurse to face a guy who was sixty if he was a day. "I'm so glad you could make it out here," he said congenially, holding a hand out. "I know how busy you are and we really appreciate-"
"Yeah, look," Reid interrupted, because he was obviously talking to Dr Hughes now and they had things to do. "I am busy, so let's just get on with it. Obviously I've gone over the images you e-mailed to my assistant but I'd prefer to see hard-copies." Reid was all for moving with the times, using the absolute latest technology - he pioneered neurological technology and techniques at his own centre - but there was something about results he could hold in his hands that just couldn't be replicated on a computer.
Barely raising his eyebrows, Dr Hughes smoothly changed his attempt at a handshake into a gesture to the right. "This way, then, Dr Oliver."
Five minutes later, Reid was staring intently at the images hanging from a light box on the wall.
Incredible. After the initial scans, they'd managed to get the patient into a more advanced machine and it really did look like...
"No one's gone in yet?"
"No," Dr Hughes replied, "our own neurologist, Dr Channing-"
Reid knew of him, but he'd disappeared off Reid's radar years ago. "That deli slicer?"
"As I was saying," Dr Hughes continued, ignoring the remark, "he wanted to wait until these results came in, following procedure, and once he saw what...it appeared to be, he didn't think he had the capability or expertise to remove something this unusual."
Reid snorted. "You mean he didn't want the lawsuit." There was no way in hell Reid was missing out on this opportunity, resulting lawsuit or not. "How soon can I get into an OR?" He finally tore his gaze away from the images to see that Dr Hughes seemed pleased at the question - before his expression flattened out.
"There's something we need to take care of first."
*
Reid was in one of the nine circles of hell. That was the only explanation for the clusterfuck he found himself in the middle of. He was surrounded by three women and while he didn't have the vaguest clue what any of their names were, he had been able to determine from their histrionics alone that one of them was the patient's mother, one was his girlfriend and one was his wife, or ex-wife.
His issue with them wasn't that they were women. His issue with them was that they were idiots.
Dr Hughes certainly wasn't helping. His earlier attempts at keeping everyone calm had been completely over-ridden by the pointless, constant arguing between the three of them and he'd been relegated to watching from the corner of the room while the arguing continued. Reid didn't get paid enough to put up with this level of idiocy - and he was paid a considerable amount - so he promptly put an end to it with a loud, shrill whistle.
A talent he'd gained in college, courtesy of a boyfriend who knew some extremely useful breathing exercises.
All three women were gaping at him, but at least they'd shut up. Reid focused on the only one who mattered right now - the mother. "You," he began, "moron."
Her gaping grew even more pronounced. "I beg your pardon?"
Reid rolled his eyes. Of all the things to focus on at the moment...she really was a moron. "Look, I can beg your pardons later on, when your son is not lying in a hospital bed, recovering from an explosion and the fact that he apparently has a microchip embedded in his brain."
Snapping her mouth shut, she finally turned her attention from anyone else in the room. "You really think you can do this? Of course I want this thing removed from Paul's head - his father's legacy has lived on long enough as it is," she said with distaste, like that statement meant anything to Reid. "But Steve was really quite unsure-"
"Steve?"
"Dr Channing," Dr Hughes offered from his corner.
"Of course," Reid sighed. "I wouldn't trust Steve Channing to clip off a hang-nail, let alone perform brain surgery. He doesn't want to take the chance that he'll screw up. Now, who knows? That might be the right thing to do. But it could also be that this thing in your son's head is what's keeping him from waking up." Her eyes widened, as if she hadn't considered that possibility. "It seems I'm the only one willing to give this a shot and, since his life is not in immediate danger, I'm not just going to dive in. This kind of surgery takes time to plan, exactly where to cut, how deep, what tools to use, calculating the risk factors. But the sooner I can get started, the sooner we can get this thing out of your son's head. And, apparently," he continued, because it was worth a shot, "remove this part of his 'father's legacy' forever. Whatever that means."
That did seem to cinch the deal. Back straightening, she met his gaze. "Bob," she announced, not looking away from Reid, "get the paperwork ready. And if either of you two," she continued, glancing at the other two women with disgust, "try to intervene-"
"For once, Barbara," the blonde one interrupted, stepping closer as she folded her arms across her chest, "we're in complete agreement about something. The sooner we get that thing out of his head, the better. I can only hope that having that thing in his head explains some of his..." she glanced at the third woman, "...less desirable behaviour."
"Oh, please," snapped the third woman, a brunette, "pretty words coming from the woman who shot him in the back."
And that was Reid's cue to leave. "Bob," he began, amused now at the the sound of that name rolling off his own tongue as he advanced towards the other man. "I'm going to need caffeine, and not the swill that passes for it in hospitals across America. I mean real, good, actual coffee. Anywhere in this one-horse town that's capable of that?"
As it turned out, Oakdale wasn't a one-horse town. It was, however, a one-coffee shop town. Grateful for the chance to escape the insanity currently occurring in the hospital waiting room, Reid headed straight for it.
When he arrived - all of three minutes later - Java certainly smelt like it could produce a half-decent cup of coffee, so Reid was almost feeling optimistic as he walked towards the counter and waited behind the people in front of him.
That was when the arguing started. Reid couldn't help but wonder if there was something in the water as he watched the two men sitting at a table - obviously lovers - get more and more agitated with each other. As ridiculous as it was, there was also a small part of him that was almost pleased they were so obviously together and so obviously arguing in front of people. Reid wasn't an activist by any stretch of the imagination, but it gave him an admittedly small amount of hope that Oakdale wasn't a complete lost cause. If two gay guys could air their relationship issues in public, without fear of reprisal, then Oakdale had to have something going for it.
Somewhere.
Plus, they were both pretty hot in their own ways, and made attractive viewing while he waited to be served.
They weren't being circumspect at all and pretty soon the entire place was listening in as the blond one - Luke - was derided for his career choices by the other one, Noah. Reid started frowning.
"Well, what happens when I'm done with the project?" Noah asked. "What happens when I graduate? I thought we were gonna move to New York together - how is that gonna happen if you're working for Damian?"
"Well, that's the great thing about this job," Luke replied eagerly, genuinely happy. "Grimaldi Shipping Lines' main office is on Fifth Avenue. So I can work there, while you work on becoming the next Scorsese. Another great thing about the job? There's tons of travel opportunities. You can come with me - we can see the world!" He sounded so pleased, so hopeful. He probably collected pink, fluffy bunnies and gave them all cute nicknames like Starshine and FuzzyFace.
"Not if I'm still at school, we won't," Noah replied darkly.
Reid frowned even deeper as Luke's enthusiasm physically deflated out of his body.
"What can I get you?" A bored voice asked from behind Reid and he turned to see the barista staring at him. Entertaining though the sideshow had been, it was nothing to do with him and Reid tried to focus back on what he'd come for. By the time he had his drink and his change, another man had arrived at the table. Trying to decide what kind of idiot wore scarves in the middle of summer, Reid shook his head and headed for the small table near the exit, loaded with supplies. Popping the lid off his coffee, Reid picked up a stirrer, using it in his drink. Despite himself, he swivelled back around just as Luke stomped away from the table, towards the exit. Unable to stop himself - and not wanting to, frankly - Reid snorted, rolling his eyes.
Luke noticed him, stopping just a few feet away and fixing him with a glare. "Having fun laughing at the gay guys, are you?"
Now that was funny. "Right," Reid said dryly, "if I'm laughing at you, it must be because you're gay. Not because you're idiots." Far more involved than he'd intended on being - in fact, being involved at all was far more involved that he'd intended on being - Reid tossed the stirrer in the trash and walked out of the shop. It was none of his business in the first place, no matter how entertaining it'd turned out to be.
Reid made it as far as the bench resting in the middle of the shopping centre when someone called out, "Hey! Rude guy with the coffee!"
Pausing, drink raised to his lips, Reid turned slowly to see Luke walking towards him. Sighing, he lowered his drink. "Seriously? Are you following me now?"
"I'm not the one who thought it was okay to butt his nose into somebody elses' personal life as if he had a right to comment on it."
Reid stared at him, disbelieving. "Are you actually not seeing the irony between that statement and what you're doing right now? I mean, are you actually that dumb? By the way, if you don't want people to comment on your personal lives, I suggest you stop making your personal lives so public. Also, just so we're clear," he continued, before Luke could get a word in edgewise, "it was because you're idiots, not because you're gay. I can be accused of many things, but homophobia isn't one of them."
Clearly regaining his equilibrium, Luke folded his arms across his chest. "I'm surprised you even bothered to point that out."
To be honest, so was Reid. "I'm a jerk," he said bluntly, "but I deserve to be called a jerk for the things I actually do, not because you're overly-defensive about your sexuality."
"Oh my God," Luke replied quickly, gesturing madly towards Reid with his right hand, "you're-gah!"
Reid - very, very carefully - didn't smile. "And you're articulate."
Luke must have found something entertaining in that because despite his frustration, he lowered his arm and a small smile appeared on his lips. It wasn't long, however, before it vanished again and Luke studied him intently. "What did you mean about us being idiots?"
Shrugging, Reid sipped at his coffee. "Noah's an idiot for treating you like crap, and you're an idiot for taking it."
Face reddening with indignation, Luke sputtered out a few words. "Noah does not-"
"I'm just saying what I saw," Reid replied calmly, instead of going straight back to the hospital. "The entire time I was in that place, every time you tried to placate him, soothe him, make him happy, he shot you down. Like he was just looking for excuses to upset you."
Looking seriously confused, Luke stared off to one side. "But-"
"All I'm saying is that I'm a miserable bastard," Reid pointed out, starting to feel vaguely unsettled. "I don't like anything. I don't like you, so if I think he was treating you badly, maybe there's something to it." Clearing his throat, not knowing why, Reid gestured in the general direction of the hospital. "You asked, I answered. Let's not do this again."
Turning away, Reid made a rapid retreat, trying to figure out why he was making a rapid retreat in the first place.
*
Fortunately for Reid, the next few days were nothing but work. It really was a fascinating case, despite the town the patient was in, and it would be another first for Dr Reid Oliver. He was quite sure Paul Ryan wasn't the first person to ever have a microchip inserted into his brain for non-medical reasons - human beings were just that twisted - but it would probably be the first not to be covered up by its respective government.
Reid had certainly had time to wonder why anyone would do anything so ridiculous. From all accounts, the patients' birth father, James Stenbeck, had been a real piece of work, ruining the lives of everyone he knew and enjoying every minute of it. According to the rumours he'd heard flying around the hospital, this was just his MO. It took some swallowing, even for Reid. He'd never had a close relationship with his parents but this took family dysfunction to a whole other level.
Wanting coffee but electing not to go to Java, Reid left the room - closet, really - he'd been assigned by Bob, contemplating trying out the local diner several people had recommended. So far he'd been living on room service and hospital cafeteria food - neither choice particularly inspiring - and he was beginning to feel the urge to try something different.
And when he thought 'different' he actually meant 'something for people who actually had taste buds'.
"Luke!"
Jerking at the sudden noise, Reid turned to see the man in question being welcomed cheerfully by Bob. They greeted each other effusively, prompting a huge, pleased smile from Luke.
"Any problems?" Bob asked, gesturing to Luke's legs.
"You ask that every time, Bob," Luke replied, smiling even as he shook his head. "I haven't been paralysed for years now."
Reid's eyes went wide. Was everyone in this town insane?
"Anyway, it's not a check-up," Luke continued, as his gaze moved away from Bob and scanned the general area. "I'm here to meet-" He stopped, cold, when his gaze landed on Reid.
Reid thought about looking away.
He didn't.
Something must have happened at some point because Bob was guiding Luke towards him. "Luke, this is Dr Reid Oliver, the specialist we've brought it-"
"For Paul," Luke nodded slowly, still not looking away from Reid. He held out a hand.
"That's right," Bob agreed. "Reid, this is Luke Snyder."
Taking Luke's hand, Reid shook it slowly. There was something about that name that sounded familiar. "Snyder...?"
"Ah," Bob said quietly. "Meg."
"Meg Snyder is my aunt," Luke explained and it snapped into place. Though he'd been doing everything to avoid them, by now Reid had absorbed the names of all the women who seemed to be involved with Paul Ryan purely by osmosis.
"Lucky you," Reid replied sardonically.
Luke's expression pinched into something unpleasant just as a nurse approached Bob and spoke to him quietly. Excusing himself, Bob rushed off somewhere leaving Reid alone with Luke.
Luke just kept looking at him and, uncomfortable, Reid made a point of looking at their still-joined hands.
Flushing, Luke quickly tugged his hand out of Reid's. "Sorry," he explained, "I was just thinking...I owe you a thank you."
That Reid had not been expecting. "What have I ever done for you?"
"What you said the other day," Luke said awkwardly. "It made me think. My whole family is kind of..." he gestured with his left hand "...insane and I'm so used to doing what keeps them happy that I didn't realise I was doing the same thing with Noah. Um," he paused, suddenly, as if he realised he might've said too much. "Well, I'd never really thought about that before; the reasons behind it. And I told Noah that it was my career and we'd make compromises if it came down to it, but I wasn't going to abandon it just on his say so. So...you know. Thanks." Hooking his thumbs into the back pockets of his jeans, Luke rocked on the balls of his feet.
And smiled.
For one horrible moment, Reid actually thought Luke was going to punch him on the arm or something. "I'm not your personal Agony Aunt."
Undeterred, Luke chuckled. "Never said you were. I was just saying thank you. Can't take a compliment?" he teased.
"About my medical skills, sure," Reid retorted. Quite frankly, other than following some kind of surgical procedure, no one ever said thank you to him. About anything. He never did anything that warranted a thank you.
"Well, there's a human being in there somewhere, not just a doctor," Luke continued, grinning. "And this human being says thank you very much."
Luke just kept smiling and just as Reid was beginning to feel ridiculous for no good reason, he was saved by the arrival of someone new.
"Luke, my man," Casey Hughes greeted, throwing an arm around Luke's shoulder, "I'll be right with...oh," his voice tapered off as he recognised who Luke was talking to. Reid had already met Casey several times. The first time due to Bob proudly introducing his grandson (Reid had thought the Hughes family really didn't say much for nepotism if the best job Bob could get for Casey was janitor); the times after that had been more literal run-ins - usually between Reid and Casey's mop. Words had been exchanged, and they hadn't been pleasant.
"So, uh," Casey began, "is Dr O joining us for lunch, or-?"
"No!" Reid and Luke both rushed to say, talking over each other.
"Oh, oh, good!" Casey replied quickly, before realising how that sounded. Reid didn't give a crap, but Casey plainly did. "I mean, that's too bad. A real shame. Luke?" He turned his face towards Luke as he started marching him away from Reid. "What do you feel like for lunch?"
"Chilli," Luke replied, his voice plainly amused, "chilli and cornbread."
"Fine with me, man," Casey agreed, "but if you let one go in the diner, you're not blaming it on me again."
Watching them go, Reid realised he could really go for some chilli and cornbread.
He went to the cafeteria instead, and ate three slices of soggy apple pie.
*
Reid had made every preparation he could. Studied all the variables from every perspective he could. Ultimately, there was only so much prep work any surgeon could put in and, eventually, you just had to get in there and do it.
He didn't get nervous before surgery - hadn't for years - but that didn't mean he wasn't very aware of the responsibility being placed on his shoulders. Although the people meant nothing to him they came to him alive, if damaged. It was his personal responsibility to ensure that, when they left the OR, their life was an improvement over their life before the surgery. Sometimes that didn't happen. Sometimes nothing he did could help. Sometimes patients died. He didn't like it - he didn't know any surgeon who did - but it happened.
So he might joke about it sometimes, but Reid took surgery extremely seriously. And removing a microchip that'd been planted there by the patient's evil father?
Yeah, he was definitely taking this seriously.
There'd only been so much he'd been able to see on the scans about brain growth around the microchip and exactly where the blood flow was going. The family - and Paul Ryan's harem - had been warned about all the things that could go wrong. Death, sudden personality changes, anuerysms, brain damage resulting in disability, memory gaps, the patient suddenly not being able to perform simple tasks they'd been able to perform before. Just before the surgery, Barbara Ryan had looked him straight in the eye and said firmly,
"Get that piece of trash out of my son's head, doctor. He wouldn't want it in there. Whatever it takes, get it out."
Reid found himself starting to respect her. He hoped the feeling wouldn't last.
He also couldn't help but notice that when she said the word 'trash', she glanced over at Meg and Emily.
In the end, the surgery went as well as Reid suspected a microchip removal could go. The patient didn't die and Reid had to make minimal incisions into the brain. He relayed this information to the family as efficiently as possible and put up with their questions with has much grace as he could manage - which was never very much.
"No," Reid grit his teeth, "I made it clear before the surgery that we didn't know if this would make him wake-up or not, but given that his brain has just undergone another trauma - albeit as beautifully handled as possible - he still won't be waking anytime soon. All we can do is wait. Now might be a good time to take up a new hobby."
"A new hobby?" Emily asked, disbelieving.
"Sure," Reid replied, "maybe you could start collecting baseball cards, or - I know! Create dioramas of historic scenes from Oakdale's past. Something interesting must have happened here once upon a time - a horse pulling a cart, for example. A farmer shucking some corn. Nothing too racy, though," he finished, winking at Meg as he walked away.
Bob found him five minutes later, changing out of his scrubs in the changing room. He hesitated in the doorway.
"Sorry, Dr Oliver, do you need some privacy or-?"
"It's fine, Bob," Reid interrupted, doing up the last button on his shirt. "Do you need something?"
"Well, first to say congratulations on a job well done," Bob replied, stepping further into the room and holding the door open for someone behind him.
Reid eyed the woman who stepped into view, still tucking his shirt into his jeans. "It's my job."
"Also," Bob continued, turning towards the newcomer, "Dr Reid Oliver, I'd like you to meet Detective Margo Hughes of the Oakdale Police Department - and my daughter-in-law. She's looking into this business with the microchip."
Another Hughes? "Is everyone in this town related?"
"Only 50% of the time," Detective Hughes joked, holding out a hand. "I'd like to ask you a few questions."
Picking his wristwatch up from the table, Reid started putting it on. "If you must."
Lowering her hand, Detective Hughes glanced briefly at Bob before focusing back on Reid. "I was hoping you might be able to tell us something about how long the microchip has been in Paul Ryan's brain."
"You mean was there a date stamped on it?" Reid asked, amused. "The brain isn't an exact science, Detective, so there's no way to know for sure. What I can tell you is that there was old scarring on the brain, around the microchip, that'd had time to heal - so it's been there at least a few years. However, there was minimal growth of the brain around the microchip, so it had to be inserted into his brain after the patient reached full maturity."
"So Paul Ryan had to have already been a fully grown man when someone did this to him," Detective Hughes concluded.
Reid nodded. "I believe that's what I just said. The brain doesn't keep growing in size when the rest of our bodies stop growing - otherwise it wouldn't fit inside our skulls," he pointed out. "Frankly, I'm amazed that this Paul Ryan was as coherent as he apparently was before the explosion happened." When she stared at him, he quickly continued. "This thing wasn't just resting on top of his brain, or attached as part of some medical procedure; it was embedded. Someone had cut away part of his brain. Sure, it was a small part - it was a small microchip - but part of the brain was still removed, nonetheless. The nerve cells in the brains - neurons - once they die, that's it. They don't heal themselves, they don't regenerate. Once nerve cells die, they die." There was something absolute about that that Reid appreciated.
Detective Hughes contemplated his words. "Doctor, in your expert opinion, was this...procedure performed by someone who had medical knowledge?"
"Without a doubt, whoever did this knew what they were doing," Reid replied. "It wasn't sloppy work - not as good as mine, of course, but definitely not sloppy. The scarring was minimal and the cuts were clearly precise. Whoever did this definitely had detailed medical knowledge of the brain. From the look of their work, I'd say this wasn't the first time they'd performed this exact procedure, either."
"There's a cheery thought," Detective Hughes muttered, before putting her game face back on. "Well, Doctor, thank you very much for your time - you've been incredibly helpful. If it comes to it, I hope we can rely on your expert testimony in court."
Oh, what a joyous experience that would be. "Depends when it is, whose brain I'm cutting into at the time and if I'm actually legally required to be there."
"Well," she said, clearly not expecting that reaction. "Thank you anyway."
"Whatever," Reid shrugged, turning away to pick his wallet up and slip it into his back pocket.
Margo Hughes made herself scarce pretty quickly, and soon it was just him and Bob.
"So, Dr Oliver," Bob smiled at him, "what's the next step?"
Tugging his jacket from the chair he'd draped it over, Reid shrugged it on. "The next step is for me to contact the airport and find out which flight can get me back to Dallas ASAP."
Bob's smiled dipped. "You're not staying?"
This was too easy. "Bob," Reid began seriously, placing a hand on Bob's shoulder and searching his eyes, "we meant a lot to each other, but you knew it was never going to last. Not only do we come from different worlds, we come from different time periods."
Stiffening, Bob crossed his arms. "Very funny, Dr Oliver."
Chuckling darkly, Reid dropped his arm. "Look, I said from the start, I'd only stay as long as was necessary. I'll stay overnight, make sure there are no unforseen issues, but that's it. There's nothing else I can do for him and I have a career in Dallas to get back to." With all the explanation necessary given, Reid brushed by Bob, heading for the exit.
"Just a career?" Bob asked unexpectedly.
Turning around, just before the door, Reid frowned at him. "What?"
"You said you had a career to get back to," Bob explained carefully. "Not a life?"
Reid's irritation spiked. "Like I said, I have a career to get back to." Turning away again, he grabbed the door handle.
"It's long been my experience," Bob said behind him, making Reid pause despite himself, "that one is not worth having without the other."
Huffing, Reid yanked open the door. It seemed Luke Snyder wasn't the only sentimental fool in this town. In fact, it was starting to look like the Luke Snyder's of Oakdale were the rule, not the exception.
*
The attendant at the Oakdale Air desk - Reid had no idea how a town this small had its own airport, never mind its own airline - had cheerfully informed him that the next flight to Dallas was tomorrow at 3:15pm and she was easily able to get him a seat. It was perfect timing for Reid - he'd have enough time the next day to check on Paul Ryan's progress before packing up his few personal belongings and heading for the airport.
Satisfied that everything seemed to be coming together exactly as planned, Reid returned to his hotel room, shaking off the restlessness he'd been fighting since that ridiculous conversation with Bob. Settled into his room, he called Susie for an update and to pass on his schedule. They exchanged a few barbs and, after that, he sat down with his laptop to continue with the paper he'd started writing the night before. Mysterious microchip removal was too good an opportunity to pass up.
Two hours later, Reid un-hunched himself from over the laptop and stood, stretching his arms above his head. He was definitely starting to feel hungry but after a quick, familiar perusal of the room service menu, Reid decided to at least venture out of his room. Generally he preferred his own company, but sometimes even Reid wanted to be surrounded by people - even if he didn't actually want to interact with them.
Five minutes later, he stepped into the Lakeview dining area. He'd passed through it a few times but never eaten there, and right now it looked busier than he'd ever seen it. Typical.
A well-dressed woman approached. "Are you looking for a table, sweetheart? I have one that just opened up."
Pleased at the news, Reid didn't even launch into a diatribe about his hatred of pet names. A few minutes later, he was sitting at a table with a cup of coffee within reach and the full restaurant menu in his hands. Reid was busy analysing the appetisers - surely potato skins missed the point of potatoes entirely - when a voice intruded.
"Don't miss out on the barbecued chicken wings," it said, and Reid knew it was Luke before he even looked up. Sure enough, when he did look up, Luke was smiling at him from where he was standing at the other side of the table. He was wearing dark suit pants and a bright blue shirt that Reid found surprisingly distracting. "It's busier than I thought it'd be and I didn't think to make a reservation. Do you mind if I sit here while I wait?"
Reid eyed him, calculating the possibility of the two of them randomly running into each other again. "Are you sure you're not following me, Mr Snyder?" Luke apparently took that as an invitation, because he pulled out the chair across from Reid and sat down. "Oh my God, you're sitting down."
The corners of Luke's eyes crinkled even more as he made himself comfortable. "Sorry to disappoint your ego, but I'm actually here to meet my father for dinner. Well," he amended, "biological father. The new job, you know." Too busy analysing the words that'd just come out of Luke's mouth, Reid just stared at him until Luke was forced to explain. "I have two Dad's."
That he had not been expecting. "Oakdale's more progressive than I thought. So, being gay is inherited in your case?" he joked, placing the menu to one side. "I bet there's a whole baseball team of Gay Snyder's."
Laughing once, then laughing some more, Luke shook his head dramatically. "No, no, that's really not..." He sobered a little. "That's a really strange image." Shaking his head as it to clear it, he smiled again as he focused back on Reid. "Mom and Damian were married and had me the, uh, 'traditional' way, but later she married Holden Snyder - my adoptive father. And my real dad, if I'm honest."
Reid wondered why Luke was telling him all this. More frustratingly, he wondered why he didn't tell Luke to stop. Feigning disinterest, Reid concentrated on the spoon he was using to stir sugar into his coffee. "But you have a good relationship with your sperm donor?" When Luke gave him a look, either for the sperm donor comment or wondering why Reid was asking, Reid chose to believe it was for the latter. "You're working for him, right? At that shipping company?"
Plainly amused at something, Luke planted his elbow on the table and propped his chin up on his hand. "Wow, Dr Oliver, you really were paying attention to that argument."
Reid rolled his eyes pointedly. "It's hard not to pay attention when you're innocently waiting for a cup of coffee and two morons start yelling at each other right in front of you."
Luke ignored him. "And that was - what? Five days ago? And you still remember?"
He really wasn't in the least bit entertaining. At all. "The curse of a photographic memory," Reid acknowledged, lifting his drink.
The teasing stopped, replaced by instant fascination. "Really?" Luke asked quickly. "That's so cool! Do you remember everything you see and hear, or is there a limit? Is all this information right there all the time, or do you have to think about it, like rifling through a mental filing cabinet? Is that why you went into neurosurgery?"
Reid stared at him, drink frozen halfway to his mouth, feeling assaulted with palpable joy from all sides. It was a bizarre feeling. "Are you on drugs?" That kind of exhuberance had to be medically induced.
Flushing, Luke lifted his chin from his hand and sat back. "Sorry. I'm...I was a writer, and I'm still fascinated sometimes by what makes makes people tick. And," he continued, starting to smile again, "for your information, I am on drugs, although nothing that would make me high. Immunosuppresants," he declared, tapping a hand towards one side of his body, "kidney transplant at fifteen."
Reid couldn't help but keep staring. "No, really, are you on drugs?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do I mean?" He didn't know where to start. "You have two Dad's, you're - what, 20?"
"21," Luke replied.
"21 and you've already had a kidney transplant, been paralysed due to God know's what-"
"You know about that?" Luke frowned. "Anyway, I fell down a hill. After Noah's dad tried to kill me."
That actually made Reid pause. For all of one second. "Your boyfriend's dad tried to kill you, you're openly gay which usually isn't easy for anyone, let alone a kid from a small town at the ass-end of nowhere, by your own admission your family is 'insane'," Reid used the fingers on his free hand to make speech marks, "you have a selfish, domineering boyfriend-"
"Hey!"
"-and instead of moping and feeling sorry for yourself, you're stupidly optimistic about everything and I don't think I've seen you smile for less than five seconds the entire time I've been in your presence." His piece said, Reid finally lowered his drink back down to your table.
"So what's your point?" Luke asked, not looking in the least bit impressed. "Or did you just list all the crappy things that've happened to me for the fun of it?"
"My point, Mr Snyder," Reid replied slowly, "is that you either have to be on drugs, or-" He stopped, actually letting himself think about where that sentence was going.
"Or?" Luke prompted, clearly frustrated yet curious to know what he'd intended on saying.
What the hell? "Just that your attitude towards life is...admirable."
Blinking heavily, obviously surprised, Luke slouched back in his chair. "Oh."
Reid was kind of surprised, too. "Too many people give up when something bad happens - lose all their drive. The fact that you haven't - apparently time and time again - is something to be admired."
"Oh," Luke repeated, shifting around in his chair and generally looking pleased but uncomfortable.
Reid wasn't sure why, but he was feeling pretty pleased but uncomfortable that he'd made Luke feel that way, too.
"Thank you," Luke blurted out suddenly. "I mean, that's really nice of you to say. Do you even usually give compliments?" he asked, chuckling, obviously feeling more at ease.
"No," Reid pursed his lips together, tipping his head to one side. "But I appreciate success. So appreciate the moment."
"Oh I will, believe me," Luke grinned. "Anyway, like I said, thank you, but...I'm really not as well-adjusted as you seem to think I am."
That was no doubt true. "Who is?"
"I know I have a lot of faults," Luke rambled on. "I don't know how Noah puts up with me."
Freezing for a moment, Reid continued speaking with deceptive casualness. "Why's that? Take too long in the bathroom doing your hair?"
"Ha ha," Luke snarked. "No. I just...really like taking care of people, you know? And Noah doesn't like being taken care of. I think it's the way he grew up - he got used to looking after himself. I worry that I suffocate him sometimes. Like, right now, for example," he continued, obviously eager for someone to talk to. "We finally have a place together but we never see each other. He's always off working on this film project of his - which I know is really important, don't get me wrong - but he's always with his advisor, Mason, and we see each other less now than when we lived apart. I just..." sighing, he looked off to one side. "I really like spending evenings together, you know? Eating, relaxing together. Talking things out if we've had a bad day. Just being with each other. I can't even remember the last time Noah and I fell asleep together, instead of him creeping in at three in the morning."
It took Reid no time at all to reach two conclusions:
Luke Snyder was a hopeless romantic.
Noah Mayer was an idiot.
Sighing again, Luke focused his attention back on Reid - and only then, seemed to realise everything he'd just said. "I don't know why I'm telling you all this," he said quietly, shifting in his chair. "You're right, you're not my personal Agony Aunt. I shouldn't have-"
"Stop apologising," Reid interrupted. "If I was bored, I would've told you to stop talking."
"Oh...kay," Luke said carefully, before forcing some cheer onto his face. "Just part of living with a director, I guess. Lots of people are obsessed with their work. I bet living with a neurosurgeon's no walk in the park," he grinned. "All those long hours spent in surgery. Emergency calls getting you out of bed in the middle of the night. Must be difficult finding someone who can cope with that."
Reid could imagine that it might be, but he had no practical knowledge. "I wouldn't know."
Luke stared at him with wide eyes. "Really?"
"Nothing serious. Like you said," Reid shrugged, "lots of people are obsessed with their work. I find saving lives more important than romantic entanglements."
"I guess I can see some logic in that," Luke pondered, "but I can't imagine not wanting to be with someone, at least some of the time. Whether it's a guy or a girl," he finished, gesturing towards Reid.
Reid found it profoundly amusing the way Luke covered all bases. "Guy," he corrected.
Those wide eyes were back. And very still. "You never said anything."
"I may be out, but, unlike you, I don't go around announcing my personal business at every opportunity. Besides," he rested the thumb and index finger of his right hand against the rim of his cup, meeting Luke's gaze, "is there any reason I should have said anything?"
Before Luke could reply, someone stepped up to their table.
"Luciano?"
Oh, that was too good. "Luciano?" Reid mimicked.
"Shut up," Luke hissed, quickly shoving back his chair and getting to his feet. "Damian, hi," Luke greeted warmly.
Damian - the bio-dad, Reid remembered - looked between them and continued speaking in a heavy accent. Italian, most likely. "If I'm intruding, Luciano, we can always reschedule-"
"No, Damian, it's fine," Luke explained. "Reid was just leaving."
"Uh, no he isn't," Reid argued. "This is his table, not yours."
Rolling his eyes as if Reid was being the inconvenient one, Luke gestured between them. "Damian, Dr Reid Oliver. Reid, Damian Grimaldi. Dr Oliver is-"
"Ah, yes," Damian interrupted, holding a hand out towards him. "The expert brought in to help Paul Ryan with that strange microchip business."
Shaking his hand, Reid studied Damian Grimaldi and could immediately see that he was being studied just as equally. He didn't stand up. "You're remarkably well-informed."
"It's a small town," Damian replied with a too-pleasant smile.
"On that, we can agree," Reid nodded, extracting his hand from Damian's. As it turned out, Luke got that staring thing from his biological father.
"I hope Mr Ryan's treatment has been proceeding well."
"Exceedingly," Reid offered, then changed tacks. "So, you're Luke's dad. Luke and I were just discussing the long list of horrible things that've happened to him in his short life. Is it a genetic trait, or does he just have that much bad luck?"
For some reason, Luke looked concerned. "Damian, I didn't say anything about-"
"It's okay, Luciano," Damian told him kindly. "As I've told you before, we need to embrace our mistakes to learn from them. Myself included." He turned back towards Reid, who was definitely intrigued by now. "Yes, Dr Oliver, my son has been through a great deal for one so young. I'm extremely proud of his strength of character. I put him through much myself, and I can only be thankful that he's given me a second chance."
Reid looked at them blankly.
Luke sighed. "When I first came out, Damian tried to send me to a straight camp."
Of course he did. It seemed Luke Snyder had the worst luck of anyone he'd ever met. "Something else to add to the list," Reid muttered.
"If you don't mind my asking, Luciano, how do you and Dr Oliver know each other?" From the way he was looking at them, Damian seemed fascinated by the answer.
"We don't, not really," Luke answered truthfully, smiling softly as he glanced over at Reid. "We just keep bumping into each other."
"And then you keep telling me your life story," Reid added, although there was no heat to his words - which annoyed him greatly.
"Ah, I believe I see a table opening up," Damian suddenly announced. "And there's Lisa. We don't need to intrude on Dr Oliver's generosity any longer."
"I really wasn't being generous," he pointed out.
Damian ignored him. "Luciano?"
"Sure," Luke agreed, stepping free of the table and pushing his chair back in. Waiting until Damian had walked away, he then quickly leant in towards Reid.
Reid blinked, surprised.
"By the way?" Luke said too-sweetly. "Last year, my new Grandfather kissed me. Noah married an Iraqi girl to help her get a green card. And I've been kidnapped. Twice!" With one last grin, he spun away and out of Reid's field of vision.
Running his finger over the rim of his coffee cup, Reid very deliberately didn't smile.
Much.
*
The next morning found Reid waking up in a bad mood. He usually woke in a bad mood but this was even worse than usual because he was forced to admit, at least to himself, his attraction to Luke Snyder - mostly because his dreams had been full of Luke Snyder. The really annoying thing was that, while he usually had a photographic memory, when it came to his dreams they vanished almost as soon as he remembered them. There was always some vague recollection of what he'd dreamt about, but rarely anything specific. It was bad enough that he knew he'd engaged in dream sex with Luke. It was even worse that he knew he'd engaged in dream sex with Luke and couldn't remember any of the details.
After a short, frustrated hand-job in the shower (during which his mind flashed up a sudden image of Luke jerking him off and he couldn't determine if it was a memory from the dream or pure wishful thinking), Reid decided that what he really needed before going to the hospital was a caramel latte from Java. Mood slightly improved at the thought of decent coffee and whatever baked good he'd purchase for breakfast, Reid washed, dressed and told himself that the odds of running into Luke again were so astronomically high that they didn't even bear thinking of.
He didn't run into Luke. Sitting on the bench in the middle of what he now knew the locals called Old Town, Reid found something much more irritating.
"I can't believe we filmed all night again," Noah laughed, obviously pleased despite the prominent bags under his eyes.
The guy sitting next to him - probably his advisor, although Luke had mentioned nothing about an improbable scarf - leant towards him, throwing an arm around Noah's shoulder. "I know it can really take it out of you, getting your body to adjust to the different hours you need to work sometimes - but trust me, Noah. Night is definitely the right medium for this scene. It's going to look incredible and will have a much bigger impact on the audience."
Lapping it up, Noah just kept smiling. "God knows I need this," he raised his right hand, holding a paper cup which had the Java symbol emblazoned on the side. "I'm supposed to start work in fifteen minutes."
Mason kept his arm just where it was. "Are you sure...Luke's okay with how little time you're spending with each other lately? You know I don't want anything to affect your relationship. It can be hard for partners to cope with a..." he paused, as if he was thinking about what he was going to say next. Reid suspected Mason already knew exactly what he was going to say. "...a change in priorities."
Reid squinted, hiding out by an antique shop.
"Like with you and George," Noah said, turning his head to meet Mason's gaze.
"Like me and George," Mason agreed. "Like I said before, I really don't want you guys ending up the way we did."
"That won't happen," Noah said firmly.
"Are you sure? I mean, just the other day you were saying how concerned you were about Luke. His lack of focus and drive. His need for attention."
Reid's squint turned into a full-on frown.
"Well, he's got this new job now," Noah explained, "and despite my initial concerns, I think it might actually be good for him. And Luke, he's...he's always been supportive of my directing. He knows how important it is to me. He understands that some things are worth sacrificing for. And it's not like either of us are going anywhere," he grinned. "We'll both still be there when I finish editing together the final movie, no matter how long it takes."
He kept telling himself it was none of his business. It was absolutely nothing to do with him and he shouldn't get involved.
It didn't help. Five seconds later, he was standing over both of them.
Mason still didn't move his arm away. Reid's frown turned into a scowl.
Noah blinked up at him. "Uh. Hello?"
But what the hell was he supposed to say? They didn't know who he was and even if they did, it wouldn't make any difference. They knew nothing about his conversations with Luke.
"Can we help you?" Noah tried again, lifting the hand holding the coffee.
Seeing the drink, Reid was suddenly inspired. "Where'd you get the coffee? I really need a caffeine fix."
Looking relieved, Noah's face relaxed. "Oh. Just over there," he nodded to the right. "You can't miss it."
"You really can't," Mason pointed out. "There's a large sign on the window that says 'Coffee Shop'."
"Mason," Noah rebuked.
For the obnoxiousness alone, now Reid really had to make some kind of comment. Making a point of looking between them, then at Mason's arm still around Noah's shoulder, Reid nodded at them. "You two make a cute couple."
"Oh!" Noah exclaimed, jerking forward and away. Mason started pulling his arm away but it was pretty obvious to Reid that he was doing so reluctantly. "We're, um, we're just friends."
"Oh, really?" Reid asked as innocently as he could muster, making a point of meeting Mason's gaze. "Could've fooled me."
A few minutes later, Reid had just received his caramel latte, extra cream when Noah walked in. He didn't notice Reid at all, and as he unzipped his jacket, a Java t-shirt was revealed beneath.
"Hey, Beth," Noah greeted, joining the barista behind the counter. "You need me to take anything out to the trash?"
Grabbing the bag containing his muffin from the side, Reid shook his head as he headed for the hospital. It was just as well he was leaving town today - he couldn't imagine being served by Noah Mayer on a regular basis and not ask him what the hell he thought he was doing.
*
Paul Ryan still hadn't woken up. This did not come as a surprise to Reid. This did, apparently, come as a surprise to his family, despite everything Reid had told them before - and after - the surgery.
"I don't understand why you can't stay longer," Meg implored somewhat hysterically and Reid hoped that everyone else in the Snyder family wasn't as irritating as she was. Luke had said his family was insane - Reid had assumed he was exaggerating, but maybe he hadn't been. "We may not being married anymore, but-"
"Woah, hold up a minute," Reid interrupted, turning from the chart he'd been pretending to read. "I thought you were the girlfriend."
"No," she huffed, "I'm the wife. His wife," she quickly corrected with a glare. "Ex-wife. At the moment."
Barbara managed to produce something vaguely like a snicker.
Emily practically snarled a response. "Stop talking like you're the loving ex. It amazes me that after everything you've done, you still haven't learnt the art of subtlety."
Meg actually tossed her hair. "And what does that mean?"
"That means, sweetheart, that everyone knows that you and Damian are doing the dirty. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you were only here on his behalf. He loves to keep a finger in every-"
"How dare you?"
Reid had to do something drastic before the bickering started again.
Also, Luke's Aunt was sleeping with Luke's Dad?
Eww.
"Let's make this easier: people who wish to know about Paul Ryan and apparently also have the legal right to know, otherwise Bob wouldn't have given you all clearance," he addressed, waiting as they all focused on him. Good. "I don't know when Paul will wake up. I don't know if Paul will wake up - although I suspect he will," he quickly added, "based on the lack of any other apparent brain trauma. There's nothing more I can do. His brain needs to heal, so the only thing the patient needs is time. Do you understand these words as I am saying them to you?" He looked from one to the other, to the other. "Do I need to use simpler words? With handpuppets from Sesame Street?"
"We understand you perfectly, Doctor," Barbara replied archly. "We just wish that we didn't."
"Also," Emily chimed in, actually agreeing with her, "that you were less of an ass."
"Sucks when you can't get what you want, doesn't it?" Reid asked, gesturing towards her with the chart, then making a show of looking at his watch. "I've gotta get out of here to catch my flight. So...hope he wakes up, everything works out, etc etc. Bye!" Leaving the room swiftly, Reid placed Paul's chart in the holder next to the door and went to find Bob. Somewhat disturbingly, whenever Reid did go searching for Bob, it seemed the Chief of Staff was inevitably wandering aimlessly around the hospital. He did actually seem to be in possession of all his faculties, he just liked to...wander the hospital when he wasn't stuck with paperwork or in meetings. Make himself easily available to anyone who might want him.
Reid would not be Chief of Staff for all the pies in Canada.
Although, when he thought about it, he was technically Chief of Staff of his own facility. Reassurring himself that at least it wasn't an entire hospital, Reid took approximately twenty-five seconds to locate Bob, who was wandering around near peds.
"Bob."
"Dr Oliver," he said warmly, turning towards him. "How's our patient?"
"Your patient is still very much unconscious - as I predicted," Reid replied. "And there's no sign of any deterioration in his health. As I've fulfilled my professional obligation, I came to inform you that I'll be leaving."
"I appreciate the courtesy, Doctor," Bob held his hand out, "and I appreciate your assistance in this matter."
"You wanted the best," Reid pointed out, even as he shook Bob's hand, "so I came."
"So I did, Doctor, so I did," Bob answered, drawing his hand away from Reid's. "While I have you here, are you sure there's nothing we can do to convince you to stay longer?"
Reid absolutely did not think of anyone in particular after hearing that question. "Bob, you really don't want an honest answer to that question."
Chuckling quietly, Bob smiled. "I have to say, Reid, that I have admired your forthright honesty - if not always the way you express it."
That was not something Reid had been expecting to hear today - but neither was something else. "Reid? So, I finally get the use of my first name?"
"I was always taught, right from a young age," Bob informed him, with what Reid would swear was an actual twinkle in his eye, "that first names are synonymous with respect." With one last, slow, enigmatic smile, Bob wandered off somewhere new. Probably towards the janitorial closet with the leaky tap.
Feeling downright fuzzy inside, Reid promptly decided the best way to rid himself of this feeling was to get back to Dallas as soon as humanly possible. The sooner he got out of Oakdale the better - for oh so many reasons. To keep himself occupied during his journey to the Lakeview, Reid decided to list them all, a method he used frequently in various scenarios to be clear about a course of action.
1) Reid really did have a career to get back to, patients who'd already been kept waiting
2) Oakdale was microscopic, almost literally, and was so old-fashioned it simply couldn't cope with Reid in all his glory
3) One coffee shop. What the hell was that about?
4) Most of the town were friendly and welcoming to disturbing levels
5) Reid had actually begun wondering if Bob, clearly the town patriach, might actually be a) wise and b) worth listening to, an obvious indicator that Reid was already starting to go native and should get the hell out of dodge
6) He was pretty sure Damian Grimaldi hated his guts. Of course, the feeling was mutual but, unlike Reid, he had the feeling Damian Grimaldi arranged for the people he hated to end up at the bottom of the nearest river, wearing a stylish new pair of cement shoes
7) Worst of all, Reid had actually started investing himself in the personal life of someone who a) wasn't a patient and b) wasn't someone he was sleeping with. Luke Snyder's life literally had nothing to do with him, but instead of being completely uninvested, Reid had found himself doing ridiculous things such as listening to what Luke had to say and not telling him to shut up afterwards. Actually interfering when he saw Noah being a crappy boyfriend. Lurking out by old-fashioned antique stores. Reid did not lurk anywhere, let alone near cutesy, old-fashioned antique stores. This ridiculous behaviour had to stop and since - embarrassingly - he couldn't seem to stop it voluntarily, the best course of action was to simply remove himself from the area as soon as possible
8) In relation to 7; see 6
Satisfied with this course of action and the return to a life that he knew so well, Reid was therefore greatly annoyed when he strode into the Lakeview only to see the very person he'd just been thinking about. Not allowing himself to get distracted, Reid ignored how good Luke looked in the obviously expensive suit he was wearing, and simply nodded as he passed. "Mr Snyder."
"Hi!" Luke greeted, his voice going up with something like joy, and who the hell ever smiled when Reid Oliver walked into a room?
Sticking with his plan, Reid continued on until reaching the elevator and pressing the call button. Predictably, just a few seconds later, Luke was standing next to him. Smiling.
"I'm here for a business meeting," Luke informed him, as if he'd even asked. "Damian's really throwing me in at the deep end," he explained, sounding vaguely nervous, "but he's going to be doing most of the talking, so...you're staying at the Lakeview, then?" he asked, suddenly changing topics.
Finally, the elevator doors pinged open. Reid barely waited for the people inside to get out before throwing himself into the confined space. "Not for much longer," he announced, pushing the button for his floor.
"What? Wait, you're leaving?" Even as he asked the question Luke was diving after Reid, just as the doors started closing.
Finger still pressing the button for his floor, Reid stared at Luke helplessly. So much for getting away from him. "So, you are actually following me now, you realise this."
"We're having a conversation," Luke argued, "and you're leaving?"
"Job's done," Reid shrugged, looking up at the display showing the rising floor numbers. 2...3... "Nothing else for me to do here. I have a...life to get back to in Dallas."
"Oh," Luke said slowly. "Oh, well, of course you do." There was a moment of blissful silence. 4...5... "Well, in that case, Dr Oliver," Luke declared, smiling and holding a hand out towards him, "I appreciate the time you spent putting up with me. I know I can be-"
"Luke," Reid sighed as he found himself interrupting even as he took Luke's hand. Deciding to roll with it - he was about to leave town anyway - he held Luke's gaze. "Don't ever apologise for who you are. Don't make excuses for who you are, and make sure that you do what you want to do, even if that is taking care of someone. Stand up for yourself once in a while."
Still holding Reid's hand, Luke smiled at him gently. "You called me Luke," he teased.
Reid was so glad he was leaving this town. "Seriously? Out of everything I just said, that's the part you concentrate-"
The elevator shook, suddenly, shuddering. Moving on pure instinct, Reid yanked his hand out of Luke's and flattened himself back against the nearest wall, staring up in horror as the lights flickered.
*
This was not happening. This was seriously not happening.
Propelling himself forward, away from the wall, Reid started pounding on the elevator doors. "Hey!" he yelled. "Hey, there are people stuck in here!"
"Reid?"
Sweat breaking out across his body in an instant, Reid kept striking the doors. "I said get us the hell out of-"
"Reid!" Luke was yelling, right next to him, grabbing Reid by the shoulders and turning him around. "Calm down!"
Blinking, Reid shut up.
"Good," Luke continued, calming himself down, too. "I'm pretty sure that keeping your hands in good condition is kind of essential to being a neurosurgeon. Thumping the doors is not going to help you, or your career."
Lifting his hands, Reid stared down at them. They were shaking. He tried to swallow, but his throat felt like it was closing up.
"Okay, so you're obviously claustrophobic," Luke continued.
"What was your first clue, genius?" Reid snapped, pulling at the collar of his shirt. Christ, it was warm in here. There was no room, there was never enough room.
"Look, I'm sure they know about it," Luke tried to reassure him.
Reid almost produced a laugh. "Yeah, if we were back in Dallas, but here in Oakdale?" He pulled out of Luke's hold and started pressing on the doors. "Probably still work on a primitive pulley system with a bucket of sand on the other end." Trying the panel instead, Reid pressed the emergency button. Nothing happened. "What's the deal with this emergency button?" He tried it again, repeatedly.
"I don't know - it's landmarked," Luke offered.
Well that made no sense. "The button?"
"The building. The elevators are temperamental, but they get inspected all the time."
Trying to focus on anything other than the feeling that the walls were closing in - Christ - Reid pressed everything he could get his hands on. "How do you know all this?"
"My Mom's part-owner of the hotel."
"Of course she is," Reid snorted, glancing up at the floor display. Nothing. "Your Mom owns the Lakeview, your Dad currently runs his shipping company from this backwater town from hell, your boyfriend works at the only decent - no, only! - coffee shop in town, your aunt is one of Paul Ryan's harem and it seems everywhere I turn, there you are. Is there any part of this place that's free from your influence? Because if so, I'd really like to find it."
Plainly unamused, Luke folded his arms across his chest. "Seeing as you only just got through telling me not to apologise for who I am, I'm not going to apologise for the fact that I'm apparently so repellant you can't wait to get away from me. What I am going to do is tell you that you're lucky I'm cutting you some slack due to your claustrophobia, because there's no way in hell I'd normally let you speak to me that way."
"Please," he retorted, trying more buttons, "Noah treats you worse than that all the time."
Luke made a weird, unidentifiable noise, and for a moment it actually took Reid's attention away from the fact that he was currently experiencing something worse than being forced to sit through 'romantic' 'comedies'. Crap. It was rare, but this was one of those moments where he actually started feeling...regret...about something that he'd said.
"Look," Reid tried, speaking to Luke's back, "I'm a jerk. I told you this the first time we met, so nothing I say should come as a surprise. That said..." The muscles in Luke's back started to loosen up. "Listen up, Mr Snyder, because I don't list my faults very often."
"You mean you actually admit to having some?" Luke asked, not turning around but beginning to sound amused.
"I'm claustrophic," was what Reid responded with. "I don't know if you know what a phobia is, Mr Snyder-"
"I do read. A lot, actually."
"You can't control it, you can't reason with it. More often than not you'll even lash out at the people who are trying to..." he swallowed, managing it this time, "...help you. So," he quickly continued, "I was being even more obnoxious than usual because I'd rather do anything than focus on the fact that the doors still won't open and..." Shit, he shouldn't have mentioned it. Vision starting to grey out, Reid stumbled back against the closest wall.
Luke must've realised what was going on because he was suddenly there, supporting Reid's weight. "Careful, careful," his voice said soothingly and when Reid could focus again, Luke was smiling that smile right into his face. "That was the worst apology in the entire world."
"Technically," Reid managed, "no apology crossed my lips."
"Which is why it sucked," Luke smirked. "Now, let's try and get you comfortable and I'll see about calling someone to make sure help is definitely on the way. So tell me, Dr Oliver," Luke continued, letting go when he was sure Reid could lean against the wall under his own power, "where's your happy place?"
In the process of reaching for a handkerchief from his pocket, Reid paused. "Are you seriously about to try some bogus pop-psychology on me?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "Does it matter if it works?"
Patting at his forehead a few times, Reid closed his eyes. Okay. Okay. Anything was worth a try. Happy place...his happy place...actually, that was easy. "The brain," he announced, snapping his eyes open.
"Figures," Luke smiled.
"Well, if I told you it was some field with tadpoles and dancing cows you'd know I was lying, so..."
Nodding his agreement, Luke spoke again. "Okay, so is it any brain in particular?"
"Each one's different," Reid shrugged, scratching at his head. "They're all amazing, though. This...tangled mess of grey spaghetti - it's totally alien." He thought back to the first time he'd observed a procedure, his first time seeing a living, still-functioning brain, and his realisation that his strange, ugly-looking thing was responsible for so much. "It's not much to look at to the naked eye but it makes us...walk and talk...think..." he thought of his previous memory, "...remember...smell...love." Reid considered some of the things he admired most. "It produced the Sistine Chapel. Chocolate. Theory of Relativity. Godfather, Parts 1 and 2." Frowning, he contemplated the next movie...hmm. Nah. "Not so sure about 3." Realising that Luke was staring at him and smiling, Reid shifted. "What?"
"It's working," Luke pointed out, obviously pleased.
Considering, Reid realised that - annoyingly - he was right. "Yeah. Okay. Yeah. I feel better." He actually did, as long as he didn't think about...he closed his eyes as the panic flared.
"Right," Luke said decisively, "okay, you keep thinking of the brain and I'll see if I can contact the outside world. How about mentally reciting parts of the brain or something?"
That actually wasn't a completely terrible idea. Closing his eyes, Reid tried to regulate his breathing, keeping it calm and measured as Luke started talking to someone on his phone. Reid didn't pay attention to who it was, concentrating more on what might actually keep him calm. On the lateral surface of the human brain, the central sulcus separates the frontal lobe from the parietal lobe. The lateral sulcus separates the frontal lobe from the temporal lobe. The frontal lobe can be divided into lateral, polar, orbital and medial parts. Each of these parts consists of particular gyri-
"So," Luke announced, not sounding pleased.
Reid's eyes immediately snapped open. "What's wrong?"
"Talked to Damian," Luke gestured with the phone he was still holding in his right hand, "he was about to call me to find out where I was, actually."
"You're stalling," Reid determined. "Tell me."
Sighing, Luke told him. "The good news is - they know we're in here, and we're in no danger of the cable snapping or anythi-"
His stomach lurched. "Thank you for that image. You really suck at taking care of someone with a phobia, you know that?"
This time, Luke just let it wash over him. "The bad news is, apparently, there's really only two employees who know how to get this thing going again - something to do with the 'original design' of the building. One of them's out sick."
Reid really didn't want to ask. "And the other one?"
Luke cleared his throat. "His wife went into labour this morning."
Reid just stared at him. "That is the worst planning I have ever heard of in my entire life." He couldn't stay here, trapped in here, for God knew how long. He'd suffocate first. Reid started breathing faster than normal, yanking at his collar some more. He had things to do, places he needed to go. He was going to miss his flight because he was trapped inside an elevator with Luke Snyder and life just liked to screw with him that much.
"I don't really think you can plan exactly when you give birth, Reid."
He swept his gaze around the interior of the elevator, mostly eyeing the hatch on the roof. "Come back to me when you get a medical degree. Or a uterus." He should be slim enough...
"Right, I'll get right on that," Luke said blandly, but dropped the apparent lack of interest when Reid started reaching up, trying to grab the underside of the hatch. "What are you doing?"
"Getting out of here, as if it isn't obvious," Reid gasped, making a leap for it, missing, and swaying on his feet.
"Okay, big guy, that's enough," Luke declared and the next time Reid tried to get the hatch open, Luke intervened, shoving Reid back up against the wall.
Pinned in, frustrated, Reid tried to shove him off. "What the hell do you think you're doing, Mr Snyder?"
"Saving you from yourself," he replied heatedly, pushing back, holding Reid in place. He was surprisingly strong. "You're not thinking straight right now. It's safer in here than it is clambering around up there," he nodded towards the ceiling.
"That's what you think," Reid spat. "I'll miss my flight." Trapped in Oakdale for another day...that was almost worse than being trapped in this elevator.
"So you'll get another one," Luke answered. "And you can't handle elevators, but you can handle planes?"
Reid stared at him, becoming more aware with every second of Luke's body still pressed up against his. "Planes move."
"So do elevators. Most of the time," Luke admitted, producing a small smile. "Look," he tried again, pulling his body away from Reid's, "if you go up there, you'll probably end up hurting your hands somehow." Reid seriously disliked how many valid points Luke seemed to make. "So, let's try this again," Luke said in the same kind of voice he'd probably approach a spooked animal with. It should've been irritating. "Now, I only have a basic knowledge of the brain-"
"Most people only have a basic knowledge of most things," Reid found himself saying.
"Well, not all of us can aspire to your level of genius," Luke smirked, "but if you want to talk to me about it or something, I'm a good listener. Or...maybe we can find something we're both interested in, so we can have an actual conversation. What else are you interested in?"
Wiping the back of a shaky hand across his forehead, Reid shrugged. He couldn't fight this anymore. If it got his mind off what he was currently going through... "Food."
"I eat food, too," Luke grinned, "we're already off to a great start. Anything else?"
Reid thought about it. Came up empty. "Nothing."
Stepping back, Luke studied him. "Do you read?"
"Medical journals, mostly." Nothing Luke would've read.
"Watch TV?"
"Only as background noise." When he didn't like the silence.
"You are a difficult one," Luke admitted. "Okay, what about hobbies?" Hobbies? "You've made it clear how important your work is to you, but there must be something else you do. Even if only sometimes."
Hobbies? Reid was a busy man, he didn't have time to waste on-
"Chess," he said suddenly, lifting his head.
"I love chess," Luke told him, surprised but clearly pleased. "I have my own board at the apartment, but never have anyone to-" Stopping, obviously not wanting to get into his own issues just then, he nodded at Reid. "Something tells me you're good at chess."
"I'm brilliant at chess," Reid corrected, simply because it was the truth. "Used to play professionally."
"No way," Luke replied, reminding Reid of his youth. "Is there anything you can't do?"
"Handle tight spaces?" he offered, immediately wishing he hadn't; vision swimming alarmingly.
"So, chess!" Luke announced, clapping his hands together, picking up on Reid's discomfort. "Played since you were a kid?"
"As far back as I can remember," Reid agreed, eager for the conversation now. "I used to hang out at Harvard Square with these 70-year-old Ukrainian guys. When my parents realised how good I was, they started entering me in competitions. I never lost."
"Must've been exciting," Luke reasoned, looking impressed.
Initially, but then...really not. "It was what it was. It was always more exciting for my parents. I was just their...trained seal; I wasn't a kid. Then one day I just upped and refused to do it anymore. When I play now...it's because I want to," Reid finished, and it was only when he looked up that he realised he'd been so lost in the memory that he'd failed to notice how easily he was spilling his guts and how absolutely fascinated Luke looked.
Luke didn't offer sympathy or pity - he offered a challenge, instead. "So if we played chess right now, you'd probably kick my ass."
Ha. "There's no 'probably' about it, Mr Snyder, but unless you've been hiding a chess board upon your person that I somehow failed to notice..." It wasn't the smirk that stopped him. It was Luke, pulling his phone out again, tapping on the touchscreen. Seconds later, he turned the phone towards Reid, who watched a digital chess board appear on the small screen.
And that was how he found himself sitting on the floor of a broken-down elevator, hunched over a cell phone, playing chess with Luke Snyder.
Luke's phone came with a stylus that they shared between them, which meant it was easier to sit side-by-side, shoulders brushing together, leaning against the same wall. Luke had long since removed his suit jacket and rolled up his shirt sleeves. Reid kept finding the hair on his forearms distracting. Actually, there were many things Reid found distracting - Luke's general proximity, the hair on his forearms, the expression on his face when he was concentrating - but even distracted as he was, Reid was still a far superior chess player than just about anyone else in Illinois. Or Dallas. Or Boston.
And as Luke rightly predicted, Reid was kicking his ass.
He sighed, peering at the next move Luke was in the process of making. "That's a stupid idea."
Luke didn't look up, although the stylus stopped moving. "I thought we agreed you weren't going to comment and let me make my own mistakes."
"I am aware that I agreed to those terms," Reid conceded, because unfortunately that was the truth, "however, allowing you to make your own mistakes is a futile exercise when you never learn anything from them."
Shrugging, Luke continued with his stupid move. "I can show you how I've learnt to poke this stylus in your eye."
"Then again," Reid told him, "far be it from me not to provide myself with the opportunity to win yet another game." After Luke passed him the stylus - surprisingly pleasantly - Reid barely looked at the phone Luke was still holding, quickly tapping the screen in two places. "Checkmate."
This had to be the tenth game Luke had lost in a row, but he took the stylus out of Reid's hand - their fingers brushing together - and gamely started another one. "So, really," Luke asked casually, forehead creased in concentration, "you think Noah treats me badly?"
Ah.
It was pretty obvious Luke's apparent ease was all an act. Reid found himself staring at the side of Luke's face. Luke stubbornly kept his face turned away.
Reid didn't say anything because he actually didn't know what to say - something that didn't happen very often in the life of Reid Oliver. He was actually...worried about hurting Luke's feelings.
Setting his shoulders stiffly, Luke lifted his head and looked at Reid. Their faces were so close together that Reid had to focus on something absurd, like being able to see the pores on Luke's face. "You've always told me the truth," Luke said, like they'd known each other years instead of days, "even when I didn't like it. Don't chicken out now just because you think I'm not a complete imbecile."
Reid twisted his lips. "I said no such thing."
"It's implied from all available evidence," Luke joked, though he was still wary around the eyes.
Fair enough. "Yes," Reid said bluntly. "From what I've observed and what you've told me, Noah takes you for granted while at the same time diminishing your accomplishments and the positive aspects of your nature. Not that I'd ever claim to be an expert on relationships," he continued honestly, "but it's my understanding that those of you interested in romantic relationships are actually supposed to support each other; take care of each other and let yourselves be taken care of. Not share a bed and nothing else. Unless it's just about the sex, in which case - he's doing everything right."
Swallowing heavily, Luke nodded slowly. "Wow," he croaked, "well, I did ask for honesty."
Shit. "Luke-"
"No, really," Luke cut him off, "it was exactly what I asked for. Just because-"
A loud clunk interrupted him and the elevator started moving. "Oh, thank God." Scurrying to his feet, Reid stared up at the display. 6...5... "It's about time," he muttered, glaring at his watch. There was absolutely no way he was getting his flight. Stupid goddamn elevators. Turning, he was surprised to see Luke still sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. Forgetting all about his flight, Reid bent down at the knees, forcing Luke to meet his gaze. "You know why I told you all that?" For getting him through two hours of hell, Reid owed him this much.
"Because I'm a masochist, apparently?" Luke chuckled mirthlessly.
"Because God only knows why I give a crap," Reid told him, just as the elevator came to a stop and the doors pinged open, "but something tells me you deserve better."
*
As he'd anticipated, Reid did miss his flight - but only just. They'd closed the gate barely ten minutes before he arrived and nothing he offered - money, food, free neurosurgery in the event of a cerebral event (possibly necessitated from the metal pole he was about to clobber them around the head with) - would get them to open it again. Walking briskly away from check-in with a reservation for the same flight the next day, Reid grumpily considered his options.
Chicago wasn't a million miles away. It might be worth his time finding transport into Chicago and trying to get a flight to Dallas from there - being an actual city and actually part of civilisation, there had to be more flights to Texas coming out of Chicago than there were coming out of Oakdale. But...his day had already been hellish enough. The thought of arranging transport to Chicago, then actually travelling there, then trying to bargain himself onto the next available flight - which was bound to be more difficult than it was here due to the much larger population - Reid really didn't want to put himself though the stress. As bizarre as Oakdale was turning out to be, the idea of spending another night relaxing and leaving for the airport in plenty of time the next day seemed infinitely more appealling.
He only hoped he wouldn't regret it.
Decision made, Reid returned to the Lakeview and checked in for another night. The check-in clerk didn't appear particularly thrilled to see him, so Reid made a point of being particularly obnoxious and difficult. Amused with himself and - after dumping his laptop and his travel bag in his room - Reid decided that after a day like today, he really should have that chilli and cornbread he'd been craving. Getting directions from the concierge, it didn't take long for him to locate Al's which, much as he loathed to admit it, looked like the kind of place where he'd really enjoy the food. Reid wasn't one for fancy food, much preferring basic, hearty meals. The food in the Lakeview had been technically excellent, but Reid was much more an Al's kind of person.
Pleased at this development, Reid contemplated his seating choices. It was mostly free-standing tables with a few booths by the window, but Reid ultimately decided on sitting at the counter - he had no table, so no one could end up inviting themselves to sit at his table. A harried looking man wearing an frankly alarmingly-coloured shirt appeared at the other side of the counter, placing a cup by Reid's hand and splashing some coffee into it.
"I'll be right with you," the man said, rushing off into the kitchen. "Sweetie," he called out loudly, "how are your balls doing?"
"Oakdale really is more progressive than I thought," Reid muttered to himself, adding sugar to his coffee as he began eyeing the menu on the counter. He was still pretty set on the chilli and cornbread, but he checked over the options just in case there was something more appealling. Seeing nothing that leapt out at him, he placed the menu to one side. Not long after, Alarming Shirt returned and whipped out a pad of paper and a pencil.
"So, do you know what you'd like to drink?"
"Chilli and cornbread," Reid retorted. Then, off Alarming Shirt's surprised look that he already knew what he wanted to eat, "Through a straw, if you want."
"A man who knows what he likes," Alarming Shirt conceded, scribbling down the order, obviously wanting to please his customer. "A man after my own heart."
Okay, that level of sucking up really wasn't necessary. Reid was already going to buy the food, Alarming Shirt didn't need to go that far. "It came recommended," he offered, which was almost the truth.
"Well," Alarming Shirt enthused, obviously happy at that piece of news, "here at Al's, we're always pleased to-"
"Look," Reid interrupted, sighing, "I've had a really bad day and yet somehow - ridiculously - I'm staying in this godforsaken town for another night voluntarily. Now, could you just pass the order on to the kitchen so I might get my food - which I've been informed is very, very good - sometime this century? I'm already going to pay. I'm a sure thing. I understand that it's part of your," he gestured towards him, "customer service routine, but the flirting is completely unnecessary."
Eyes bulging, Alarming Shirt straightened his back, standing tall. "I was most certainly not flirting with one of my customers," he insisted dramatically, "I would never be that unprofessional. Also, I'm not in the least bit offended that you thought I was gay, because there's nothing wrong with being gay. That said...I'm not," he said. "Gay. That is."
Reid stared at him, entirely unconvinced.
"I'll...go put your order in," Alarming Shirt suddenly declared, quickly walking away.
Shaking his head, Reid pulled his phone out. If he was staying another night, he really needed to let Susie know what was going on. He unlocked the screen and when his background blinked into existence, he was suddenly back in the elevator, playing chess with Luke.
He'd been purposefully avoiding thoughts of Luke Snyder as much as possible since their goodbye outside the elevator.
If Reid had any choice in the matter, Damian Grimaldi's face would not have been the first one he would've chosen to see after finally escaping.
Unfortunately, Reid obviously had no choice in the matter whatsoever.
"Luciano," Damian rushed to his son, almost shoving Reid aside. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Damian," Luke assured him, although his expression looked anything but. Reid felt a distinct twinge of guilt. "It's not like I've been held hostage - and it was only a couple of hours. I'm just sorry I missed the meeting."
"Forget about the meeting," Damian told him, "I'm just glad you're okay." Pausing, he finally turned towards Reid. "You didn't tell me you were trapped with Dr Oliver."
Reid stared back at Damian, crossing his arms.
"I said I wasn't alone," Luke pointed out. "Why does it matter who it was?"
"It doesn't," Damian quickly faced back towards him, smiling magnanimously. "I was simply curious."
Like Reid bought that for a single second. "Touching though his family reunion obviously is," he began, "I have to get out of here." Good luck didn't seem to travel much in this town, but maybe by some miracle he could still get his flight. He doubted it, but it was worth a shot. "Mr Snyder, thanks for..." he looked at Luke, holding his gaze. Reid nodded towards the elevator. "The chess."
Smiling vaguely, Luke nodded back. "You too. I hope you make your flight."
A woman appeared next to them suddenly, lunging at Luke. "Sweetheart, are you okay? I'm so sorry! I've spoken to Frank again and again about those-"
"It's fine, Mom," Luke told her, accepting her hug with ridiculously good grace, staring at Reid over her shoulder.
After one last look Reid was turning away, trying to find the stairs that'd take him back up to get his belongings, but all he could see was the ridiculously sad expression on Luke's face.
Groaning at himself quietly - he was so screwed - Reid tried to distract himself by scrolling through the menus on his phone. When he found himself at the Applications menu, he wondered why he'd never thought to download an electronic version of chess. Given his brain capacity and his general brilliance, the idea should have occurred to him before.
But when he took the time to scroll through the list of applications he'd downloaded...
Aldiko Book Reader
Anatomy of the Brain
Dallas Weather Report
Dictionary.com
Documents To Go
Google Maps
Gray's Anatomy 2009
Nervous System Anatomy
Pocket Atlas of Anatomy
Skyscape Medical Resources
Yellow Pages
Maybe it wasn't such a surprise after all.
Alarming Shirt suddenly yelled so loudly, Reid almost dropped his phone.
"Bubbles!"
Recovering from the shock, Reid pocketed his phone and levelled a glare at him. "Are we randomly shouting words, now? Because I have a few I could-"
"It's so good to see you," Alarming Shirt spoke over him - probably on purpose - greeting a woman who'd just sat a few stools down from Reid.
"Hey, Henry," she acknowledged with a smile, placing her handbag on the counter, "you too."
"So, how are you feeling?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm pregnant, Henry, not dying of consumption."
Reid had opinions to voice about that, about how a foetus basically acted as a parasite, using your body for its own purposes and draining it of resources - but decided not to say anything. He'd already become too involved in the lives of the people of Oakdale. There was no reason to compound earlier mistakes.
"Besides," she continued, "I'm past my first trimester now, so everything should be..." Stopping suddenly, looking unsure, she glanced awkwardly at Henry. "Never mind."
Henry looked suspiciously teary-eyed. "Katie, I can't expect you not to talk about your pregnancy, just because..." He took a breath, obviously steeling himself. "I mean, it makes you so happy."
"It's just so unfair," Katie said emotionally.
"Well, that's the way life is sometimes," Henry said quickly, suddenly looking down. Finding a cloth, he started rubbing at the counter space in front of her, focusing intently on the task at hand.
Katie studied him quietly. "How's Vienna today?"
Pausing his work, Henry sighed and looked back at Katie. "Cooking. Constantly," he gestured towards the kitchen. "Fortunately for my bank balance, the people of Oakdale can't get enough of Swedish Meatballs." He ended his sentence by producing a little flourish with his cloth. "So," he continued, in an obvious attempt to move on, "what would you like today? Your usual or something a little different? We currently have a special on Swedish Meatballs."
"Mostly because you're trying to get rid of them," she concluded.
"Mostly," he agreed happily.
"I think," she began, then paused. "Woah," she continued groggily, bracing a hand against the edge of the counter. "This is a doozy."
Reid found himself inching towards her. Henry began reaching over the counter anxiously. "Katie?"
She didn't reply. Instead, her eyes rolled back in her head and she started slipping off her stool.
"Katie!"
Even as Henry ran around the counter, Reid was already moving to catch her. She wasn't a big woman, but her limp body still brought them down harder than he would have liked. Grateful that he'd at least been able to get a hand under her head before it hit the floor, Reid carefully lowered her the rest of the way and started checking her vitals.
"Katie, oh my God! Vienna! Call an ambulance!"
Pleased with her pulse and pupil response, Reid stood up. "Stand down, Hank," he ordered, as a striking woman with long hair tied back neatly came dashing out of the kitchen.
"Katie?" She gasped, panicked. "Oh my goodness!"
"Stand down?" Henry asked. "She just...how do you know my name?"
Reid ignored the question. "Do you have a car?"
"Of course," he replied quickly.
Bending down again, Reid started to lift her up. "Help me get her to it and it'll be faster than waiting for an ambulance." When Henry still dithered, Reid glared at him. "Or we could just leave the pregnant lady lying on the floor."
"Yes, yes, you're right," Henry finally agreed and after asking Vienna to watch Al's, the two of them - with the help of the crowd who had gathered in the diner - got Katie to the car. Fortunately for everyone involved it was four-door, so after carefully depositing Katie in the back, the two of them took the front seats and Henry started the engine.
"So you know what you're doing, right?" Henry asked, pulling out, constantly checking the rearview mirror. "What are you - a doctor?"
"Yes," Reid snapped. "Medical history?"
"Oh, Katie's?"
"Well I wouldn't want yours, Brainiac."
"I was just checking," Henry huffed. "Well, Katie's 32 years old, she was pregnant once before but it was an ectopic pregnan...oh God," he realised, "you don't think it's happened again, do you? They had such a hard time getting pregnant, she and Brad'll be devastated."
"Don't jump to any conclusions," Reid warned, although it was a valid concern. "She probably just hasn't been getting enough rest."
A sound came from the back seat of the car.
"Bubbles!" Henry said. Well, yelled, gaze glued to the rearview mirror again. "Everything'll be okay, we'll be at the hospital in a flash, you'll see!"
The car started to veer dangerously to the right. Reid actually found himself raising an arm, as if that would protect him in any way, shape or form. "Truck, truck!"
"Sorry!" Henry yelled back, veering the car back the other way. The sound of blaring horns echoed after them.
Bracing a hand on the dashboard, Reid found himself regretting every decision he'd ever made in life that had brought him to this moment. "I should've gone to Chicago."
"What?"
Shaking his head, Reid made a point of keeping his eyes on the road, since it was clear Hank wasn't. "Okay, you in the back."
"Me?" Katie's voice asked.
"Unless you've got someone hiding back there with you," Reid growled. "Are you feeling any pain? In your abdomen? Head? Anywhere in your body?"
The car swerved dramatically as Henry barely avoided a cyclist.
"No," she answered. "Well, there's a slight throbbing because my head keeps hitting the window due to Henry's insane driving, but other than that..."
Good, that was good. "Have you been feeling ill lately? Any strange pains or cramps before you passed out?"
"I've had a few dizzy spells, but that's it. Do you think-"
"We're here!" Henry announced, the car barrelling into a left turn. Seconds later they screeched to a stop outside the ER. Flying out of the car, Henry yanked open the back door. "Come on, Bubbles."
"This is ridiculous," she told them, but let them both help her out of the car. "I feel fine now."
"Well, better safe than sorry," Henry argued as a nurse wheeled a chair towards them. "Ah, good."
When she was settled, Reid quickly pushed Katie into the arrival area. Another nurse rushed up to them. "32-year-old female," Reid began, letting the nurse take control of the chair, "just passed her first trimester. Lost consciousness and was out for approximately three minutes. Pulse was good and pupils remained reactive."
"I was just dizzy," Katie insisted, although she sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as anything else.
"Why don't you let us be the judge of that, Katie?" the nurse asked, and of course everyone knew everyone else in this town. "Thank you, Doctor," the nurse nodded, clearly recognising Reid when he didn't have a clue who she was.
"I better call Brad," Henry announced as Katie was wheeled away, digging in a pocket for his cellphone. "I doubt-"
A tall, dark-haired man burst into the room, running straight for the desk. "My wife," he gasped, "she was just-"
"Brad!" Henry called, shoving his phone back in his pocket. The two men rushed towards each other.
"Vienna called me," Brad explained, "is she-?"
"She seems fine," Henry assured Brad, "the baby, too. They've just taken her to get checked out. Uh," he threw an uncertain glance Reid's way. "He helped."
Reid looked at him. "Could you have understated that any further?"
"Thank you, man," Brad said genuinely, ignoring the comment to Henry and slapping Reid heavily on the shoulder. Reid looked at the hand. It didn't move. "If there's ever anything I can do for you..."
"You could start by removing your hand from my shoulder."
After a few moments Brad laughed, obviously thinking Reid was joking. "No, really. Thanks." Giving Reid's shoulder one last squeeze, Brad finally let go and started stepping away. "I better see what's going on."
Watching him walk away, Reid frowned as his stomach began to rumble. Looking down at it morosely, Reid considered the unfortunate fact that he still hadn't been able to try the chilli with cornbread.
"Hey, Hank."
"Don't call me Hank," Henry instructed. "My name is Henry. And why am I still talking to you, anyway?"
Like that mattered. "Does Al's deliver?"
*
Susie laughed like a hyena by the time Reid finished telling her everything that'd happened - at which point he promptly forgot why he ever bothered to tell her anything. They'd already talked business, but afterward she asked for a more general update - and he'd made the mistake of giving her one.
"Reid, please," she laughed down the phone line, "tell me the part again when you're trapped in an elevator. For two hours! Or, or," she continued, "your mad race to the hospital with a pregnant woman in the back and a maniac at the wheel. Or the janitor who keeps tripping you over every time you see him!"
"Goodbye," Reid said calmly, ending the call and walking back into the hospital. So much for that raise she thought she was getting next year.
It'd been about an hour since they'd brought Katie to the hospital and, despite their mutual dislike, he and Henry were still waiting for news - together. Reid concluded that the only reason he gave a crap was the fact that he'd dealt with the patient initially, and he'd be failing in his duty as a medical professional if he didn't make sure that she was receiving all the support that she needed.
Even Reid could tell that now he sounded like the one trying to convince themselves of something.
Stupid, annoying Oakdale with it's moronic, unevolved population.
Finally, Brad came back into view, looking relaxed. "Hey, you guys can come and see her now if you want."
"How is she?" Henry asked quickly.
"She's fine," Brad grinned. "Scaring the crap out of me, as always. I swear, that woman." Reid considered leaving, now that he knew for sure. "Oh," Brad continued, smiling at Reid, "and she totally wants to see you."
Perfect. Reid didn't have many manners, but one thing had been instilled in him from a very, very young age:
You never said no to a pregnant woman.
It may have been sexist. It may even have been demeaning. Reid just knew it was a fact of life.
With a nod and a shrug, Reid found himself walking with Henry, following Brad to Katie's room. This entailed an elevator ride which Reid had to physically force himself to participate in, and for which he spent the entire time staring at the digital floor display.
Sweating more than usual when he disembarked, Reid leant against the wall for a moment, finding his legs.
"Are you sick?" Henry asked suspiciously.
Clearing his throat and tugging at his jacket, Reid straightened his back. "Where is she?"
Thirty seconds later, Brad was pushing open the door to Katie's room. Wearing a hospital gown and sitting comfortably in the bed, she smiled at all three of them. "Hi, guys."
"Hey," they replied in unison.
The nurse in the room, who'd been checking Katie's pulse, dropped Katie's arm like a hot potato when she realised Reid was in the room. Quietly leaving, she placed Katie's chart at the foot of the bed with a, "There you go, Doctor," before scurrying out of the room. Watching her go, amused, Reid turned back to see the others staring at him.
"I have fans," he shrugged.
The moment gone, Henry hurried to Katie's right side. Brad had automatically stationed himself at her left. "So, Bubbles, how are you? Really?"
"I'm fine," she insisted, "and I really mean that this time. But you guys were right," Katie said, smiling up at Brad, who placed a hand over her stomach. "Better safe than sorry."
"You got that right," Brad said softly.
Finally pulling her gaze away from Brad, as if only just remembering there was someone else in the room, she faced the others and continued talking. "I just have to make sure I'm getting enough rest. No more all-night Star Trek marathons," she joked.
Reid nodded. "From articles I've read, it seems many people find it difficult to...strike a balance. They don't realise just how much energy pregnancy takes."
"I know I sure as hell didn't," Katie agreed. "Doctor..?"
"Oliver," Reid told her, "Reid Oliver."
"Well, Dr Reid Oliver," she greeted formally, "I asked Brad to bring you here because I wanted to thank you properly for helping me today. I mean, you don't know me at all - just calling an ambulance would've been enough for most people. But you really went out of your way to help. I can't tell you how much I - we - appreciate that. And if there's anything we can do..."
Now he'd had that offer from both halves of the couple. He was beginning to think he should take them up on it.
"I was there, too," Henry complained.
"I know you were, Henry," Katie reassurred him, "and you know how much I love you. But you're my best friend. We're supposed to risk life and limb for each other. Dr Oliver doesn't have any personal investment but still stuck around to help. That's the kind of thing that impresses a girl," she teased. "So that offer really does stand," Katie told Reid. "If there's ever anything Brad or I can do for you, just name it."
"Well," Brad coughed, giving Reid, then Katie, a significant look. "Within reason. You know how it is..."
Reid knew perfectly well what Brad was insinuating. He'd experienced the phenomenon a few times in his life - The Straight Guy Warning. Me Tarzan. She Katie. She mine. Hands off. Luckily for Reid, he had the perfect comeback.
"Brad," Katie warned, obviously not thrilled at the show of machoism.
"No, it's fine," Reid told her. "Reassuring as it must be of his faith in your relationship," he continued, "unless you've got a surprise under that medical gown, you're really not my type."
Katie's eyes widened, before she gave a nod of comprehension.
"You're gay?" Henry asked. "Really?"
Reid frowned at him. "Why on Earth would I lie?"
"To lure unsuspecting women into your web of deceit?"
Henry really needed to lay off the caffeine. "We've known each other for an hour."
"Ohhhhh," Brad finally said in understanding. "You're light in the loafers."
Henry all but forgotten, Reid just stared at Brad. Truthfully, he almost gaped. "Do people in this town still actually use that phrase?"
"That's cool, that's cool," Brad continued, before anyone else could. "There's nothing wrong with being gay," he announced, like he'd heard it once on an After School Special.
Reid's eye twitched. "I know."
"You know, I have a first cousin who's-"
"That's fascinating," Reid cut him off, picking up the chart that'd been left on the foot of the bed and scanning through the details. "Let's get the official word on how the patient is..." His words trailed off as he took in the patient's name. Katie Peretti Snyder. "You're a Snyder?" Of course she was a Snyder.
"Through marriage," Katie nodded towards Brad, who grinned at him charmingly.
Unbelievable. "How many Snyders are there, exactly?" Between the Snyders and the Hughes', the entire town could be in-bred. It seemed a distinct possibility. There was no way Henry was the result of normal gene pool.
Or Brad, for that matter.
"I don't actually know the answer to that question," Henry admitted apologetically. "You'd think I would."
"A lot," was all Brad could come up with, "although they don't all live in Oakdale anymore. Hey, you should come to the next reunion," he suggested. "My cousin would definitely be-"
"I'll pencil it into my schedule," Reid lied, although he was less offended at Brad's awkward attempts to be accepting now that he knew that the cousin Brad kept trying to set him up with was probably Luke.
The sound of the door opening made them all face the door in question to see Bob walking in with a woman Reid didn't recognise. She was well-dressed and looked to be about Bob's age, so Reid wouldn't have been surprised if she turned out to be his wife.
"Katie, sweetheart," she greeted, "are you still feeling all right?"
"Nothing's changed in the last five minutes, Kim," Katie spoke with the voice of someone who was getting sick and tired of reassuring everyone that they were okay. Reid heard it a lot in hospitals. "I'll still be fine to come to work tomorrow."
"Well," Kim frowned, "if you absolutely insist."
"Dr Oliver," Bob quickly introduced, "my wife, Kim."
Kim smiled kindly, reaching out a hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Doctor."
"Yeah, look," Reid said brusquely, not shaking her hand. There were getting to be a few too many people in this relatively cramped space. "Are we done now? Because I really need to get out of here."
"You can leave if you wish," Bob said congenially, "but I've been looking for you to personally give you my thanks for helping Katie."
Reid almost took Bob up on his offer to leave, but his curiousity got the better of him as he tried to fathom what Bob's relationship with Katie could possibly be. This town was definitely getting to him. "Let me guess - daughter?"
Smiling, Bob shook his head. "No."
"Granddaughter?"
"No."
"Fifth cousin, twice removed?"
"This could go on forever," Kim commented.
"Katie is Margo's sister," Bob finally explained.
Margo...that was the daughter-in-law. "Ah, I see. So she's not technically related to you."
"Not by blood, no," Bob confirmed, "but she's still family. Anyway," he continued, "I was quite surprised to hear that you were still in town-"
"You and me both."
"-but when I heard all about your heroics from Henry, I had to-"
"When?" Reid interrupted. Then... "You did?" From Henry?
With a weird, constipated look on his face about being caught paying Reid any kind of compliment, Henry laughed once. Abruptly. "You were on the phone."
Utterly amused, Reid smirked. "Gee, Hank, I didn't know you cared."
"Hey, he asked what happened!" Henry defended himself. "It's not like I volunteered the information or anything."
"What I keep trying to say," Bob pressed on, actually beginning to sound annoyed, which Reid had doubted was even possible, "is thank you, Dr Oliver. You didn't have to help as much as you did, and we appreciate it."
"It was truly a wonderful thing to do," Kim agreed.
"We should totally interview you for Oakdale Now - our viewers love that stuff. You know, getting personally involved in the lives of the hosts. And anytime you want me to set you up with-"
"Brad!" Katie hissed. "Luke already has a boyfriend!"
"What's your point?"
Reid looked around the sea of happy faces - well, bar Henry. Every single one of them looked happy and thankful towards him just for doing the thing he was paid to do. "Do you people regularly thank others just for doing their jobs? Even though you're fully aware that, most of time, they're doing what they're doing simply because they're being paid a wage?"
"Oh, yes, Dr Oliver," Kim smiled. "It's called being grateful."
Reid really had to get the hell out of there - but even he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. "If you guys really meant it, about offering to do something for me..."
"Definitely," Katie nodded.
"Oh, yeah," Brad agreed.
"What is it?" Henry questioned with a scowl.
That night, Reid feasted on all the chilli with cornbread that he could eat.
It meant spending more time in Henry's presence, but as it seemed to bug the hell out of Henry, that just added to his joy.
*
The following morning, Reid woke when the phone in his hotel room started ringing. Used to forcing himself alert in an instant, Reid was immediately moving, opening his eyes and reaching for the phone.
Yawning, he brought the phone up to his face. "Yeah?"
"Dr Oliver?"
"Yeah?" Reid said again, even as he began to recognise the voice.
"It's Bob Hughes. I'm glad I caught you! I was hoping you'd be able to stop by Memorial before you leave for the airport."
Rubbing at his face with his free hand, Reid sat up. He certainly had no plans to go anywhere other than straight to the airport and couldn't see any reason to change them. "And why would I do something like that?"
"Paul Ryan woke up this morning."
Huh. That was earlier than he'd expected. Good, but earlier. "That's good news. Why do you need me?"
"Well," Bob replied, "it appears he's suffering from amnesia."
*
If Reid hadn't already known, it would've been plainly obvious which room was Paul Ryan's due to the huge number of people who had gathered outside. Fortunately for him, Bob was just on the outside of the crowd, standing next to his wife.
"Bob," he said quickly.
"Reid," Bob's face lit up in recognition. "Good, good, thank you so much-"
"Yeah, yeah, give me your lab coat."
Bob's face quickly changed into a frown. "What for?"
"Look," Reid sighed. Did he really have to explain everything, all the time? Why couldn't people just do what he asked without question? He'd spent much of his life calculating just how much more efficiently things would get done if people would just listen to him. "Do you want my help or not?"
After a moment or two of consideration, Bob apparently decided that he did want Reid's help - and started taking off his jacket.
"Bob," Kim said with something akin to horror in her voice, as if she couldn't believe that anyone would've dared to ask that of Dr Bob Hughes in the first place, "you're not actually-"
"I'm giving Dr Oliver the benefit of the doubt," he argued, holding Reid's gaze as he passed over the lab coat.
Immediately putting the jacket on, Reid looked down at himself as he tugged it into place. It was big on him, but not so much that he looked like a kid playing dress-up. It'd do - he wasn't about to waste any time. Tugging Bob's stethoscope from the chest pocket, he hung it around his neck then surveyed the idiots between him and the door. "Whatever you do," he told Bob, "keep them out of that room." Raising his voice, he addressed the crowd at large. "Clear a hole," he ordered, beating a path through the hastily-clearing crowd, pulling Paul Ryan's chart out of the slot on the wall even as he pushed the door open with the weight of his body.
Paul looked startled to see him, but otherwise seemed coherent. "Uh, hi."
"Reid Oliver," he introduced, coming to a stop next to the bed, tugging a pen out of Bob's chest pocket.
Paul studied him for a few moments. "Nice to meet you, doc," he greeted calmly.
Good. "Must be pretty disconcerting not knowing who anyone is."
"It's not the greatest feeling in the world," he admitted.
Still good. "What's your name?"
"Paul Ryan. Apparently," he chuckled, shaking his head. "Amnesia, right? Sounds crazy."
Wonderful. "Let me guess - someone's been in here already, telling you who you are and what's happened to you?"
"Sure," he nodded. "Some other doctor. An old guy."
That was...frustrating, but expected. "Okay, Mr Ryan, what day is it?" Hooking the pen onto the edge of the clipboard, Reid placed it on the bed and pulled out a pen light.
"I have no idea whatsoever," Paul admitted. "But, I have amnesia, so - probably Monday. That's the kind of stuff that's meant to happen on Mondays."
Reid smiled faintly, amused that the most entertaining person in Oakdale so far was the amnesiac. "What if it's not?" he asked casually, holding Paul's chin in his hand while the other flicked on the pen light. Paul remained calm, letting Reid shine the light in his eyes. Pupil response was normal; reactive. Good. "What's the day after Monday?" Reid continued, flicking the light off and putting it away.
"Tuesday, obviously."
Nodding, Reid reached for Paul's wrist, mentally counting the beats as he checked the passing seconds on his watch. "What's your favourite food?"
"Well, I could really go for some cake right about now, but I'm not sure that's my favourite food as much as I just really want cake."
"What kind of cake?"
"There's this cherry almond thing - trust me, you'd love it."
Releasing Paul's wrist, Reid picked up the chart and pretended to make a notation on it. "Okay, Mr Ryan," Reid instructed, "I want you to look at me."
"I'm already looking at you," Paul pointed out. "You're the only one in the room."
Lifting his head, Reid spoke. "Do you recognise me?"
He frowned. "You're Reid Oliver. Dr Reid Oliver," he finished, hopefully.
"You know that because I told you my name when I first came into the room. Have you ever seen me before that moment?"
Pausing, Paul concentrated. "No," he said eventually. "I've never seen you before - that I can remember. I don't recognise you at all."
"Good," Reid announced, amused at Paul's sudden confusion. "I'd be worried if you had - we've never met before."
Relieved, Paul shrugged. "Oh. That's good, I suppose."
"It is," Reid agreed. "I need you to sign something."
"What is it?" Paul asked, automatically reaching out towards him.
Reid flicked to a random page on the chart and faced it towards Paul. "Here," he said, holding out the pen.
Paul took it easily. "What am I signing?"
"Oh, I just want your autograph," Reid said blandly, "so I can sell it when we become world-famous due to my astounding medical skills."
Chuckling quietly, Paul nonetheless signed what was obviously not a legal document. Taking the chart and the pen back, Reid studied the signature; it's strong lines and smooth curves. Satisfied, he spoke to Paul again. "How old are you?"
"I don't know."
"What's your current living situation?"
"I don't know."
"Job?"
"No idea."
"Religion?"
"Nada."
"Family?"
"I assume I have one, but that's it."
Pretending to scribble something down for the last time, Reid clicked the pen and slotted it back into the pocket. "Thank you for your time, Mr Ryan. Someone will be with you shortly." Turning away, Reid crossed the few steps to the door, pulling it open and forcing his way through the crowd, which had again clustered themselves around the doorway. "Bob, some privacy?" he asked, glancing at Bob and nodding towards the other end of the corridor.
As soon as Bob reached him, Reid launched into his observations. "He knew I was a doctor just from the way I was dressed, so his visual recognition and comprehension skills are fine. He understood and was able to respond to complex words and he was able to make his own jokes, so his language comprehension and production is unaffected. Fine motor skills appear normal. He could talk generally about experiences he'd enjoyed - even if he couldn't remember all the specifics - and generally acted like a normal human being."
"So...what are you saying?" Bob asked carefully.
"He's suffering a classic case of retrograde amnesia, with some source amnesia thrown in for fun. He appears to to retain his procedural memory. This is a win, Bob," Reid told him, pleased. "For a patient who survived an explosion and the trauma of brain surgery to remove a microchip that'd been implanted as part of some whack-job's insane plan, it's a miracle that he only escaped with amnesia."
Nodding contemplatively, Bob sighed. "I know you're right, Reid - and frankly, I agree with you. But the family are not going to be happy at the news that this result is really the best case scenario."
"Well then tell them that amnesia is rarely permanent," Reid instructed. "And that he's, otherwise, a fully functioning human being. They should consider themselves incredibly lucky." Considering his own words, Reid thought about the crowd of people still waiting for news. Truthfully, there were only three of them, but they made it seem as if there were so many more of them. And those three people in particular... "Yeah, that's not going to happen, is it?" Loved ones made the being a doctor thing so much more challenging. "Look, run another MRI and PET scan to be on the safe side - it's what I'd do - and get him properly tested, of course...but we've effectively done all we can do. It's down to therapy, now." With nothing else to say, Reid started taking off Bob's lab coat.
"Dr Oliver..." Bob began plaintively, "...Reid..."
Freezing half-way out of the coat, Reid slid his gaze back towards Bob. He did not like the sound of this. "What now?"
"Would you consider staying until the results are in, so you can fully explain them to the family?"
Why on Earth would he do that? "You have your own neurologist," Reid reminded him, shrugging off the rest of the lab coat. "True, he's nowhere near my level of genius, but he's probably somewhat capable of deciphering lab results."
"Well, that's part of the reason I called you this morning," Bob hedged.
Reid was starting to feel extremely suspicious. "What is?"
"Unfortunately, there's been a rather dramatic family emergency," Bob explained sincerely. "It seems Dr Channing will be out of town for the foreseeable future."
Reid didn't even move. "Convenient timing." Suspiciously convenient. Reid couldn't quite decide if Bob really had it in him or not to make sure Reid stuck around.
Not that that was ever going to happen.
"That as it may be," Bob shrugged, "but I'm not asking you to take over his position at the hospital - just stay for these results. After all," Bob fixed him with plaintive eyes, "you were the one who operated on the patient originally. You're really in the best position for this task."
Despite his own best intentions, Reid felt himself wavering. He desperately tried to talk himself out of it. "I told you on the phone this morning, my flight-"
"3:15, yes," Bob agreed. "If we get Paul in straight away, you'll still have plenty of time to get to the airport."
Dammit. Groaning, Reid thrust the lab coat towards Bob. "Fine. Get the scans done. I'm getting the breakfast I still haven't have time to eat. And if you," Reid raised a hand, pointing a finger at Bob, "make me miss my flight again, you will personally be responsible for upgrading me from business class to first class." Annoyed at his own lack of willpower, Reid stomped off towards the cafeteria, not wanting to see the no doubt smug smile on Bob's face.
The cafeteria wouldn't have been Reid's first choice, but he was hungry and it was the closest cooked food available. The snack machines at the hospital actually weren't that bad, but Reid's stomach wanted something more filling than tiny snack bars and small bags of dried fruit. The line in the cafeteria was moving at a decent rate so Reid quickly grabbed a tray and got in line. Loaded up with toast, bacon and orange juice, Reid sat himself in the corner, eager to be left alone to stew in his own annoyance.
He'd been indulging in a good two minutes of mental castigating and had just bitten viciously into a particularly crispy piece of bacon when Luke was suddenly standing there, as if from nowhere.
"Wow," Luke began awkwardly, trying too hard to be funny, "what did that bacon ever do to you?"
Reid really didn't need this right now. Chewing and swallowing the rest of the bacon, he eyed Luke perceptively. "What are you doing here?"
"Came to see how Aunt Meg's doing," he said, jamming both hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "I know they're not together anymore but he's still Eliza's dad, so..." He trailed off, still looking incredibly uncomfortable.
"If you say so," Reid retorted, wondering when Luke actually got any work done. "In any case, last time I saw her she was loitering outside Mr Ryan's room, generally being annoying."
"Right," Luke nodded firmly. "Of course. Thanks." A few moments later, he sat himself down across from Reid. Without invitation. Again. "You're still in town."
Reid slapped butter onto a fresh piece of toast. "You noticed."
"I'm observant that way," Luke teased, but his smile fell away quickly. "I thought I wouldn't..."
It was as if Reid's mouth had suddenly been hardwired to go into action before his brain did any thinking at all. "What?"
Shrugging, Luke quickly glanced away. "I just didn't think I would see you again, that's all."
Reid had nothing to say to that. There was a good thirty seconds of silence as Reid chomped on his toast until finally, he decided to take pity on Luke - who was obviously feeling awkward as hell about something. Probably that chat in the elevator.
"So," Reid strived to ask as casually as possible, "is this place actually crazy, or what?"
Focusing back on him, Luke produced a tiny smile. "What do you mean?"
"Well, there's all the insanity we know you've been through," Reid gestured towards Luke with his glass of juice, "and there's all the stuff I've seen just since I've been here. I mean," he lowered his glass to the table, "I was brought here because a man had a microchip in his brain, get verbally accosted and generally irritated by his extremely challenging family, then these two morons get into a fight - right in front of me."
"Uh huh," Luke murmured speculatively.
"So then I actually perform the surgery - brilliantly, by the way - get trapped in an elevator for hours on end-"
"Two. Two hours."
"-it was endless torment, let me tell you," Reid paused, sucking butter from his thumb. "So then I finally get out of there, and of course I've missed my flight so I decide - okay, Reid. You've had a crappy day. You deserve some decent food. Only when I get to the diner a pregnant lady collapses right in front of me, so then I have to deal with her and some hysterical gay guy - who should never be in charge of an automobile, by the way - and then there are all these people being..." he gestured vaguely "...thankful and happy with me."
"That's a good thing," Luke said, looking and sounding amused.
"It's creepy," Reid argued. "No, really. And then this morning, Paul Ryan wakes up with amnesia and now suddenly I have to deal with that and somehow I let Bob blackmail me into staying until the test results are in. I mean," he finally concluded, "it feels like there's always something happening. Is it always like this? It must be exhausting. Also," he added, because he really did want to know, "did Emily Whatshername really shoot Paul Ryan in the back?"
With a wide, pleased grin on his face, Luke shook his head from side to side. "I guess it does sound kind of crazy. I never really thought about it before." Eyeing Reid's plate, Luke licked his lips. "That bacon looks really good," he mentioned, before glancing over to the line for food.
Reid didn't even think about it, something that horrified him moments later - but it was too late. He was already holding his plate out towards Luke.
"Oh!" Luke exclaimed. "Thanks," he smiled gratefully, taking the last piece of bacon and bringing it up to his mouth with his fingers. Reid tried not to watch as Luke licked his fingers afterwards, but it was a lost cause. He was beginning to suspect that he was a lost cause.
"Yes," Luke said when he finished chewing, then explained when Reid frowned at him. "Emily Stewart shot Paul in the back. Three...four? Years ago."
"That's love for you," Reid snorted. Cutting the last piece of toast in half, he smeered his half with butter, then shoved the plate over to Luke. "So, Luciano...tell me about this place."
Happily smeering butter on his own half with the same knife, Luke lifted the toast up and started talking. "Well, I guess the biggest families in the area are the Snyders, Hughes', Stewarts and Ryans - although they all kind of mix together and it's difficult even for me to remember who everyone is in relation to everyone else. But you wanted weird stuff, right? Hmm." He munched thoughtfully on his toast. "Oh, I know - has anyone told you that Paul has psychic visions?"
*
An hour later, Reid was thinking back on that conversation with Luke with warm, fuzzy feelings. Not only because it'd probably been the most enjoyable hour he'd had since stepping foot in Oakdale, but also because he'd much rather be anywhere than stuck trying to explain test results to a group of half-wits who thought they knew better than a well-trained, well-respected and award winning physician. Frustrated beyond words that he'd somehow let Bob talk him into doing his dirty work for him, Reid ended the 'discussion' with a particularly scathing remark about Meg Snyder's sanity - or lack thereof - and marched away, fully intending to leave the hospital immediately and go straight to the airport.
Somehow, Barbara intercepted him before he could.
Coming to an abrupt halt, Reid frowned in confusion before looking around, trying to figure out exactly where she'd come from. "I just left you back...how did you do that?"
"I've lived in this town for years, Dr Oliver. I know all it's secrets."
Yeah, that wasn't creepy at all. "Look, lady, I've made myself abundantly clear that I have nothing more to say to any of you-"
"Let me make myself abundantly clear, Dr Oliver. You don't have to say anything, but you will sure as hell listen to what I have to say to you."
He really needed to start carrying mace. "And what is that, exactly?"
"My son will get his memory back," she informed him, absolutely certain. "And you're not leaving until that happens."
This town - and the people in it - had to be seen to be believed. "Are you actually threatening me?"
"Call it that if you want," she shrugged. "Although good luck getting the police to believe it."
Trying something else - clearly Meg wasn't the only crazy one - Reid briefly pinched the thumb and index finger of his right hand at the bridge of his nose. "As I understood it, your son hasn't been the most pleasant of people to be around for the last few years, anyway. Are you sure you really want him to get his memory back?"
"Absolutely sure," she informed him. "I will not have my son living half a life, Doctor, not knowing who he is. Even if it is a life I don't approve of, at least it will be his life."
So much for that idea. "Mrs Ryan-"
"No, Doctor," she interrupted, "since you've been here, you have belittled, mocked and made fun of us - and couldn't have made it more obvious how quickly you wanted to get away, to hell with your patient. Well, what goes around comes around, Dr Oliver. I was married to the man who, most likely, had a microchip implanted into his own son's head. If there's one thing I'm grateful to James Stenbeck for, it's for showing me every kind of evil there is - I learnt very well from his example. I know every way there is to mistreat, blackmail and manipulate someone. So," she continued, heels clipping ominously on the floor as she stepped closer, staring down her nose at him, "I suggest you get comfortable in Oakdale because believe me when I tell you, Doctor, that you are not going anywhere until my son gets his memory back."
*
"...this actually isn't funny anymore."
There was only one response Reid could give to Susie's blindingly obvious statement:
"No shit."
For all that he'd joked about it, even to himself, it seemed that Oakdale really was as chock full of insanity as it'd first appeared. Among the variety of truly mind-boggling situations these people got themselves into, they actually blackmailed each other - something that was only supposed to happen to cheating politicians and bored housewives who couldn't keep a lid on their infidelity.
Not brilliant neurosurgeons who had certainly never done anything to deserve this kind of treatment.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked. "I could come into town and..." her words came to a stop as she clearly tried to think up options.
"And what? Throw my day planner at her?"
"Well," she mused, "seeing as it's electronic, a computer to the head might get the point across."
Chuckling, Reid sat down on the end of the bed. Leaning forward, he rubbed his free hand over the back of his neck and genuinely considered Susie's offer. It would be...nice knowing there was someone in the Town That Sanity Forgot who was actually competent and cared if Reid was about to be eaten by the local cannibals or not.
But he really couldn't see any benefit to it.
"Stay in Dallas," he warned. "Once you step foot in Oakdale, you'll be trapped in a quagmire of mysterious murders, swapped babies and split-personalities. There'll be no escape."
The hell of it was he wasn't even really joking. When he thought about it, it really did seem as if the town of Oakdale itself had been doing everything it could to make sure he didn't leave - from blackmailing mothers to broken down elevators. Even his attraction to Luke Snyder and the sudden, suspicious availability of the Head of Neurology job. It was as if Oakdale itself didn't want him to leave.
Shaking his head at his own fancifulness, at the idea that Oakdale itself was a living, breathing entity capable of independent thought, Reid told himself not to let his current situation get to him and concentrated back on the call.
"But she can't seriously expect you to do this, right?" Susie was asking. "Blackmail aside, she can't expect you to suddenly up sticks from Dallas to Oakdale just like that. What about the Centre and the 'good work' you do there? Surely someone like her, who takes patient care so psychotically seriously could appreciate how much you're needed."
This really must be serious. "You're singing my praises, Susie. Careful. I seem to remember a solemn vow about how that would never happen."
"For once I'm actually taking this seriously," she said in an equally serious tone of voice. "The Centre, everything you've accomplished professionally...your patients. You can't give that up."
"I'm not, if I can help it. I brought these extremely salient points up with Barbara Ryan myself."
"And what did she say?"
Reid had had enough of trying to tread carefully. "Listen, Ryan's Mother - first of all, I have more than just one patient waiting to be seen. I have over a hundred - a number growing all the time - all patiently waiting their turn to see me in Dallas. Your son is healthy and functioning. You don't get dedicated attention just because he's 'special'. Secondly, you're right. Your son means nothing to me beyond being someone I operated on. We can't all be wailing and gnashing our teeth because Little Johnny has a boo-boo. Nothing about overreacting in that way does anything to help the patient or help make me more effective as a physician."
Barbara lifted her chin. "And there's the heart of our dilemma, Doctor - this is about my son. This isn't about you. But fine, let's make it about you," she told him, staring at him imperiously. "You see, I've done my research. 32 years old, graduated out of high school, college and medical school years early. Considered a genius by all of his peers, even those that hate him - which is most of them." None of the actual information came as a surprise. The only surprise was that she knew so damn much about him. "Three years ago," she continued, "you launched your own brainchild - the Judd Neurology Centre, isn't it?"
Reid swallowed. "Yeah," he said quietly. "Yeah, it is."
"Staffed with a hand-picked team of experts, all highly qualified and more than able to perform any neurological surgery between them."
There was no way in hell Reid was about to admit she'd made a fair point. "Not nearly as well as I can."
"Despite your ego, you're a smart man," Barbara told him with a smirk. "You'd never build your own little empire so poorly that it would collapse like a house of cards when one piece went missing. People take sick days. Have family emergencies. Vacations."
"I don't," he argued, because it was the truth.
"Dr Oliver," she regarded him with humour and an annoying amount of satisfaction, "you've already been gone for a week. A whole week, and how many times have I seen you take a call? About some kind of emergency that only the great Reid Oliver can deal with?"
Dammit. "Fine, fine. If I'm so unimportant, why do you even want me to stay?"
Amusement fading, she studied him seriously. "You've never loved anyone, have you?" she gestured towards him. "Anyone at all. Family. Friends. Partner. Child. If you'd ever loved anything other than your own image, you'd know exactly why I was doing this." Smoothing a hand over her hair, she continued. "Now, your staff are coping without you. If that changes, we'll negotiate terms. In the meantime, I suggest you tell Bob Hughes you want Dr Channing's job - it's a good cover for why you're staying in town. I can help make sure that happens, although given your credentials it shouldn't be a problem. As soon as Paul gets his memory back you're free to go on your own way," she informed him coolly, "so if you want to leave as soon as possible, I suggest you put all your efforts into helping my son. If you leave without arranging it with me, if you try to go back to your old life when my son still remembers nothing of who he is...I will dig up every dark little secret you've ever had, and I will destroy you. Your life, your reputation, and everything you've ever cared about. Are we quite clear about this, Dr Oliver?"
Still stunned, possibly in shock, for once all Reid could say was: "Yes."
Susie let out a frustrated sigh. "You're really going to do this?"
"I honestly don't know if I can afford not to. If I don't stay, whatever she'll ultimately accuse me of..." Reid didn't even know what it could be beyond malpractice, which was bad enough, but Barbara's attitude showed she didn't do anything small. She'd go for something big. Even an accusation that ultimately ended up going nowhere could undo everything he'd worked for when it reached the wrong ears.
"How should we play it this end?" she asked. "Leave of absence for personal reasons?"
Reid doubted anyone at the Centre would actually buy that because they knew he had no personal life to speak of. But if he wanted to go straight back when this nightmare was over and done with... "Yeah. Yeah, I guess so." Stretching out on the bed, Reid lay on his back, stared at the ceiling and spoke quietly. "I can't believe this is happening." He'd been trying to keep his mind busy since the ultimatum from Barbara, going over everything she'd said, deciding how to make it work, discussing it with Susie. But when he stopped and just existed...it was horrible. This level of manipulation. Really fucking horrible.
"Neither can I," Susie confessed. "You actually met someone who has bigger balls than you do."
Surprised, Reid broke out into a laugh. "I think I might actually miss you, Miss Johnson."
"Don't tell my boyfriend that," she warned, before sighing again. "Seriously, this is shitty, Reid. Your entire life is in Dallas."
Reid kept staring at the ceiling and didn't know he was going to say it until he did. "Career."
"Sorry?"
"My career," Reid told her, sitting back up. "My career's in Dallas."
*
Determined to get on top of this as soon as possible - the sooner he had the full resources of the hospital at his command in his attempts to 'heal' Paul, the sooner he could make his escape - Reid headed straight back to the hospital. Bob was looking lost near oncology when Reid pounced.
"Bob."
"Reid!" Bob announced in surprise, then made a show of checking his watch with a sly grin. "Don't tell me I owe you an upgrade."
Reid didn't even pretend to try to appreciate the attempt at humour. "The Head of Neurology job?"
Realising Reid meant business, Bob lowered his arm and stopped any show of levity. "What about it?"
"I want it."
Clearly shocked, Bob's eyebrows climbed even further up his forehead than usual. "Not that it wouldn't be a great boon for Memorial to have someone of your standing with us permanently, but what brought on this change of heart?"
"Oh, you know," Reid shrugged, tapping the fingers of his right hand against his thigh, "think I need a change. Dallas is...so big. And Oakdale is so...small."
Bob just frowned at him, clearly not understanding. "Yes, and?"
For all that he'd been thinking earlier about the best way to do things, he probably should've considered how to convince Bob that he genuinely wanted the job. "Well, as it turns out, size matters after all." Bob didn't laugh. Bob didn't even crack a smile. Reid tried again. "Look, do the reasons even matter? I want the job, you want me to have the job, we both know I'll be brilliant at the job - this is a pretty simple equation, even for a town as ridiculous as Oakdale." Uh, yeah. He should've thought that through, too. "Where I really want to stay. And live. The pie here is amazing."
Considering Reid's pitch - even Reid himself had to admit it was pretty shabby, but at least he had his impressive body of work to fall back on - Bob still looked confused. "I just want to be sure you understand how big a change this will be, Reid. It's such an apparently sudden decision and I can't believe for one moment that you'd just abandon your Centre-"
"Oh, I won't be," Reid interrupted. "Once I get the job, patients that they simply can't help without me at the Centre can be sent here, or vice versa. The odd trip to perform a surgery now and then is pretty common in a specialist field, right, Bob?" Leaning forward, he clapped Bob on the shoulder. The move felt really familiar and when Reid suddenly remembered he was copying Brad Snyder, he snatched his hand back as if he'd been burnt.
Bob started looking amused again. "Got it all figured out, have you, Doctor Oliver?"
It didn't escape Reid's notice that they were back to titles and surnames. "Considering the variables now will make it a smoother transition in the future. So, come on, Bob," Reid questioned, "what do you say?"
Bringing a hand up to his face, absently rubbing his chin - Reid hadn't seen anything like it before outside a '70's cop show - Bob pondered the offer. Eventually, he lowered the hand and spoke. "Well, Reid, it's clear that having you here as Head of Neurology would be a huge benefit to the hospital."
Clapping his hands together, Reid nodded. "Glad to hear it."
"We do deal with an abnormally high number of head injuries on a regular basis," Bob admitted. "However..."
Reid's hands stayed clasped around each other. "However?"
"Well I can't just give you the job," Bob explained like it was obvious and Reid actually felt like he was being patronised. By Bob Hughes. "The position has to be fairly advertised, internally and externally, for at least two weeks - otherwise we leave ourselves open to litigation."
"Oh." Reid's shoulders slumped.
"And you have to go through the full application process, just like anyone else."
His shoulders slumped either further. "You mean like...application forms, interviews, references?"
"That's right."
Oh, this was just piling indignity on top of indignity. He was Reid Oliver - he did not apply for jobs. They were offered to him. "Sounds excrutiating. But fun," he quickly added with a smile that was probably a little demented.
Bob seemed pleased by this development. That, or his eyesight was failing. "If you're still interested, I can get you an application form right now."
Reid wanted to torture Barbara Ryan in interesting and creative new ways. "Absolutely. Can't wait."
"Then come with me," Bob invited and led Reid out of the corridor. They ended up in Bob's office, where he spent what felt like five minutes rummaging around inside a creaky old filing cabinet. Finally, his hand emerged clutching what had to be an entire ream of paper. "Here we are," he announced, thumping the papers onto the table with a loud whump.
Reid stared at Bob's desk with horror. "Don't tell me that's the application form."
"There's been a few additions over the years - mostly from Human Resources. And well, you're a doctor. You know how well we have to protect ourselves these days."
That was depressingly true. "Does everyone who applies for a job have to fill in all this?" he asked, reaching a hand out to flick through the first few pages.
"For a Head of Department job, absolutely."
"Great," Reid muttered, grasping the pile and heaving it up into his arms. "So, two weeks, right?"
"Yes, but you really should get your application in as soon as possible. The longer your potential employers are aware of you, the better."
"Great," he muttered again, speaking through clenched teeth. "Can't wait to get started. It'll be the highlight of my career so far." Stupid town with it's stupid people and it's stupid blackmailers and it's stupid, stupid men with stupidly attractive blond hair.
"Good luck, Reid," Bob informed him cheerily. "I'd tell you to give me a call if you're not sure about anything, but that would be giving you an unfair advantage, wouldn't it?"
Scowling, taking in the badly-hidden amusement, Reid decided right then and there that Bob Hughes was an evil son of a bitch.
*
Still determined to get himself through this entire painful process as quickly as humanly possible and thus back to Dallas as quickly as humanly possible, Reid planted himself at a booth in Al's and set about covering the table with the biggest job application known to man.
Henry wasn't thrilled at Reid's mere presence - and at the fact that he was co-opting an entire table for his paperwork during the dinnertime rush. But when Reid ordered a large plate of fries with a chocolate milkshake and told Henry to keep them coming, he at least stopped complaining.
Most of the time.
It took Reid barely any time at all to realise that the application forms - multiple - were the most confusing, mind-boggling and utterly bewildering things he had ever laid his hands on - and that included the human brain. If the brain was a grey mess of spaghetti, this was a giant brown dog turd. You spent hours sifting through it, searching for something, anything, just one redeeming feature to make the experience worthwhile. In the end you were left with nothing but a bad taste in your mouth.
Reid decided the best approach was to be methodical. One step at a time. Rather than staring at the mountain of paper with horror at the very idea of having to fill in all of that, he was going to concentrate on one page at a time. Complete one page, then worry about the next. It was the way he performed surgery and the way he lived most of his life and had served him well.
Picking up one of the variety of pens he'd brought with him, Reid tugged the lid off and concentrated on the first box.
Name of Applicant
That one, at least, was easily dealt with. Cricking his neck, Reid leant forward and got to work.
Fifteen minutes - that felt like a lifetime - later, Reid couldn't help but wonder how even Oakdale was so behind the times that Bob didn't have an electronic version of their application forms.
Bob probably didn't even know how to check his e-mail.
Bob probably didn't even have a computer.
When he thought about it, Reid honestly couldn't remember seeing one sitting on the desk in Bob's office. That explained so much.
Slurping at his milkshake through a straw - truly, the best way to ever drink a milkshake - Reid froze, mouth still wrapped around the straw, when he looked up just as Luke stepped into the diner. He'd clearly come straight from work, dressed as he was in smart pants and a shirt. He'd clearly also had a long day, as his tie had been loosened and was listing to one side, his suit jacket was over his shoulder, hanging from the fingers of his right hand, and his stupid, stupidly attractive hair was sticking out in a million different directions, as if he - or someone else, Reid thought with an absurd flash of envy - had been running their hands through it for hours.
The surge of lust was so strong, Reid felt like one of those cartoon dogs who had just seen Betty Boop for the first time.
He was so distracted, in fact, that he didn't realise he was still drinking until suddenly he was sucking up nothing but air, the event producing a loud, echoing sucking noise and causing Reid to break out into a surprise coughing fit.
Christ, this was ridiculous. He felt like such a moron. It was high school all over again.
And if that wasn't a ridiculous thought, he really didn't know what was.
All the commotion, of course, gained Luke's attention. Instead of making it to the counter where he'd obviously been heading, suddenly he was walking towards Reid, his face a combination of pleased surprise and confusion. "Are you okay?" was naturally the first thing he asked. Luke was just that nice.
"Fine," Reid said, only his throat was still shot to hell and it came out as a weak croak. Clearing his throat rather loudly, he tried again. "Fine."
"You're still here," Luke noted warmly. "Again."
Attempting to regain his equanimity, Reid pushed his glass away and glared. "I'm curious," he began slowly, "your fascination with stating the blindingly obvious - is it a genetic or learned trait?"
Not in the least bit offended - something Reid found extremely frustrating - Luke swung his jacket from over his shoulder and hung it over the back of the chair opposite Reid. When he, once again, sat himself down at Reid's table Reid couldn't help but mutter, "I could ask the same thing about your inability to ask permission before sitting at someone else's table."
Though he plainly heard the comment Luke didn't acknowledge it at all, instead frowning at Reid's plate and announcing randomly, "You're always eating when we bump into each other."
Reid liked food. A lot. Reid also wasn't feeling very charitable at that particular moment and didn't want to prove Luke Snyder right. "Or," he suggested, "I happen to be innocently eating some food, minding my own business, when you appear like a ninja out of nowhere and invite yourself to sit at my table."
Luke still didn't seem offended. "You say that like it's a bad thing. And I always wanted to be a ninja," he grinned, and damned if Reid didn't feel his own lips beginning to twitch in response.
Clamping down on that instinctive response, he raised his glass up and yelled across the diner, "Hank!"
"Don't call me Hank!" travelled back across the diner, but Reid could already see Henry reaching for a clean glass.
"So, I heard Paul Ryan woke up," Luke stated after Reid had placed his glass back on the table. "Is that why you're still in town?"
Technically, yes. "Not exactly," Reid replied, nodding towards the swathes of paper currently swallowing the table.
"Yeah, that was my next question," Luke admitted with a wry smile. "Are you staging your own anti-recycling protest? 'Kill A Few Trees For Charity'?"
This time he couldn't stop a small chuckle. "Not quite. Believe it or not, I'm applying for a job."
"Where?" Luke asked quickly, intensely.
Interesting. Reid held his gaze. "Memorial. Head of Neurology."
The smile that Luke wore transformed his entire face. "You're staying?" he questioned eagerly. "Permanently?"
"Oh, God, no," Henry suddenly said, and Reid turned to see Henry frozen in place, nearly - but not quite - at their table. With a milkshake in his hand, he'd obviously been about to bring Reid's replacement drink.
Passing his old glass to Luke, Reid nodded towards Henry. Luke gamely swapped the old glass for the new one and passed it to Reid. Eventually, Henry swivelled away. "If anyone needs me," he declared, crossing the diner, "I'll be laying down somewhere with a cool cloth pressed to my forehead. Trying to wish this nightmare away."
Amused, Reid looked at Luke who turned back from watching Henry's antics and seemed just as entertained as Reid was. They grinned stupidly at each for a few moments before Reid realised what it was he was actually doing. Schooling the smile from his face, he cleared his throat. "I don't know about permanently," he finally explained, because really, who wanted to live in Oakdale at all? Never mind permanently. "But definitely for a while. Assuming I get the job."
"Of course you'll get it!" Luke argued enthusiastically, like Reid was the dumbest person in the world for even considering otherwise. "You're a genius."
It was the kind of information Reid was aware of, that he heard all the time. But when Luke said it, God help him, it sounded like…praise. Reid started feeling all fuzzy again. Staying in Oakdale was a really, really bad idea for a wide variety of reasons.
But mostly because he'd be living in the same town as Luke Snyder and couldn't do a damn thing about it.
"Well, we'll see whether I'm a genius or not," Reid said, shifting in his chair, "because I can't make head nor tails of these application forms."
He only realised exactly what he'd said and exactly who he'd said it to when Luke announced, "I'll help," and whipped the first piece of paper from the pile.
"You don't need to-"
Holding up a hand to silence him, Luke's eyes roamed over the paper, absorbing the information. They moved rapidly, left to right - then stopped moving completely. Glancing up at, Luke squinted at him, almost accusingly. "You're younger than I thought." Lowering his gaze back down, he then continued reading as if he'd never stopped.
Leaving him to it, Reid concentrated back on the latest sheet of paper he'd been working on when Luke had strolled into view. He scribbled down a few answers and when he glanced back up a minute or two later, Luke was staring at him curiously.
Lowering the sheet of paper, Luke spoke. "Why are you staying?"
"Why am I staying?" Reid mimicked.
"Why are you staying," Luke confirmed. "No offense, Reid, but you've complained about pretty much every aspect of life in Oakdale - frequently and in great detail. Why stay here after all that?"
Reid didn't move. "Does it matter?"
"I guess not," Luke confessed. "I'm just curious."
"About how people work," Reid remembered. "You said that."
Luke nodded.
Contemplating a response, Reid tried to think up some suitable answers. Something convincing. There wasn't much that came to mind, but he managed to come up with a few. "I'll be a big fish in a small pond," he said firmly. "The food in Al's is frankly amazing - although you may not tell Hank that on pain of death. Everyone seems to think I'm a hero just for doing my job, which is pretty cool. And I don't have to deal with traffic in and out of work every day which, let me tell you, is worth the cost of moving here alone."
Luke didn't seem entirely convinced, but he did manage a smile. "So it's not that bad here after all," he gloated, plainly proud of his hometown.
Reid had to concede defeat, if only to make the lie believable. "Oakdale has its attractions." He'd meant it innocently, he absolutely had at the moment he'd originally said it. But the moment after he'd said it he grasped the unintended double-meaning and from the flush spreading over Luke's face and the way he didn't look away when Reid held his gaze, Luke had grasped it too.
And for the first time, Reid knew that Luke was just as attracted to him as he was to Luke. He'd suspected, of course, but Luke appeared so pleased and happy about just about everything in general, that it'd been difficult for Reid to figure out if Luke really was flirting or just being nice. Reid wasn't used to the appearance of innocence, and he'd be lying if he said that wasn't part of the reason he found Luke so attractive.
And now he could also tell that although Luke was attracted to him, Luke had no idea what to do about it whatsoever. Given the small size of the town and it's equally small population, he'd probably never been seriously attracted to anyone else since dating Noah. Providing Luke with an out - for now - Reid grabbed a random piece of paper and when he saw what was printed on it, realised it was perfect for causing a distraction.
And, actually, it really did need commenting on. This was just insane.
"Look at this," Reid declared, "this is just what I'm talking about. Why is this in the application and not in the contract when you actually get the job?"
"What is it?" Luke asked, colour fading from his cheeks.
"It reads - and I'm quoting directly here," he pointed out, "You and your next of kin agree to indemnify Memorial Hospital against any responsibility or any form of legal redress in the event that you experience any of the following while at work:
Kidnapping
Torture
Blackmail
Accidental beheading
Natural disasters
Unnatural disasters
Stalking
Memory loss
Adultery
Paralysis
Previously unidentified tropical diseases
I mean, the list goes on," Reid said, amazed, flicking through the next few sheets of paper. Spotting one in particular, he frowned. "Unintentional incest?" Reid didn't know exactly who ran the legal department at Memorial Hospital - he had no idea at all, in fact - but whoever it was, they sure as hell knew what a weird place Oakdale was. Even if no one else did.
He almost found it comforting.
"Well," Luke shrugged, "they're probably just covering all their bases. I know there were at least…oh, five cases brought against people in Oakdale last year."
Reid stared at him. "Five? Just five? A town as crazy as this, with microchips in brains, cheating farmers at every turn and psychopathic blackmailers hiding under every leaf? And only five people sued each other last year?"
"We never used to have any," Luke defended, like Oakdale existed within its own little bubble, independent of the state - née, country - it existed within.
But then, Reid realised, it kind of did. Oakdale really did seem to exist by its own set of rules, regardless of how the rest of the country lived.
"Here," Luke offered, snatching the paper out of Reid's hand. "Let me see." He devoured the information on those sheets, too, quickly flicking from one to the other. "Ha, here it is," he told Reid, turning it towards him and pointing right at the bottom of the last item of the list.
There it was. Right beneath Possession by The Devil:
NB: This also applies to potential employees.
"In case something happens during the application or interview process, I guess," Luke shrugged.
Reid wondered how many hapless doctors had tragically lost their lives while applying for a job at Memorial Hospital. Then wondered if he might be better off going up against Barbara Ryan after all.
But then Luke announced that they should keep working. And then ordered a chocolate milkshake himself, telling Reid they were his favourite because when his Grandmother was fighting cancer - the first time - the two of them used to come to Al's and drink them together whenever she needed cheering up.
And when Luke told him that simply listing his successful surgeries was not an appropriate response to the request to Describe, in detail, why you are the only candidate we should consider for this position, and that he actually needed to describe his qualities as a human being instead, Reid let him change it.
After all, Luke was a writer.
*
Bright and early the next morning, Reid strode determinedly through the automatic doors granting access to Memorial. After a night where he'd spent not enough time sleeping and too much time thinking about Luke Snyder, Reid had decided to focus on nothing but the immediate task at hand. That way, he was sure, these inappropriate and stupidly romantic thoughts would cease immediately. The whole thing was ridiculous, anyway. This...infatuation with Luke would never go anywhere for a variety of reasons - mostly because Luke had a boyfriend; moron though he obviously was. Reid was capable of many things, but he had no interest whatsoever in purposefully getting mixed up in an existing relationship. It never led to anything other than injured parties, bitter resentments and - most importantly - threats of physical violence. Reid had his hands to think about. Getting involved with anyone in a relationship - toxic though it appeared to be - just wasn't worth the trouble.
With this focus and his current task renewed in his mind, Reid set about locating Bob - only for once, Bob didn't seem to be anywhere at all. Finally reaching the conclusion that he'd actually have to ask one of the local minions for help, Reid turned around and promptly tripped over a mop.
The only upside, as far as Reid could see, was that he managed to avoid falling flat on his face; only stumbling a few yards and not quite losing his grip on the laptop bag he'd shoved the paperwork into. Turning to one side, he was completely unsurprised to see Hughes Junior Junior watching the scene unfold with a great amount of 'surprise'.
"Careful, Dr O," Casey warned innocently.
If this kept up, Reid was going to have bruised shins for weeks, maybe even months. And not for any fun reason, possibly involving Luke.
Right, he wasn't thinking about that.
Reid plainly hadn't ingratiated himself to Casey at all in the last week, and he honestly didn't give a crap about it. He did, however, give a crap about the potential head trauma he was bound to suffer from eventually if these incidents continued as regularly as they'd occurred so far. Loathe though he was to admit it, it was in his own best interests to try and build some kind of 'relationship' with Casey Hughes, if only so he wouldn't have to worry about tripping over a mop every time he wasn't paying attention.
It grated on his nerves that the hospital janitor apparently wielded that much power over his life, but that was just the way things were going lately. If it wasn't hospital janitors, it was the mother of one of his patients. If it wasn't the mother of one of his patients, it was a cute guy with stupid hair. All of them, in their own way, were forcing him to do something he didn't want to - fake a friendship, stay in town, care about them.
More reason than ever to get this over with as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, there was only one thing Reid could think of that he and Casey both had in common that they actually gave a crap about. So, rather than following his first instinct and verbally eviscerating Casey for being so stupidly immature as to potentially cause more injuries in a place that was already treating the sick, injured and dying (and realising that nepotism actually was working well in Oakdale, because Casey still actually had a job), Reid addressed Hughes Junior Junior about the one subject he wanted to talk about least.
"Luke Snyder."
Smug expression transforming into a frown, Casey balanced his arms on the handle end of the mop. "What about him?"
"How long have you known him?"
"Years. Since we were kids," Casey continued, studying Reid suspiciously. "Why do you want to know?"
Reid didn't explain immediately. "He has a boyfriend, right? Noah something." He obviously knew the answer to this himself, but for once didn't want to appear too knowledgeable about the subject at hand.
"Is that a problem?" Casey asked darkly, subconsciously broadening his stance to look intimidating.
Automatically, Reid rolled his eyes. He couldn't help it and wouldn't have stopped himself even if he could. "Seriously, the people in this town," he complained. "Not every question about a couple of gay guys is automatically heading towards 'I'm a homophobic ass'."
Casey began to relax his body. "Well, half the shoe fits."
"True enough," Reid conceded. "The only reason I'm bothering to ask when you can't stand me, I can't stand you, and we generally can't stand each other, is the other day I saw this Noah guy looking pretty chummy with someone else and...it didn't sit right."
Beginning to look reluctantly impressed, Casey plunged his mop back into the bucket in his cleaning trolley and took a step closer to Reid. "You actually felt bad about someone else?"
"Yeah, don't spread it around," Reid said seriously. "Reputation, being an ass, you know."
Casey contemplated Reid for a few seconds. "What did this other guy look like? I'm assuming it was a guy," he quickly added, as if he'd only just considered the idea that it might not have been a guy at all.
Interested that Casey's brain had gone there at all - and exactly what it might mean - Reid nodded. "Lanky hair. Weird scarf-"
"His college advisor," Casey interrupted immediately, clearly recognising him from that brief description alone. "Mason." Good. "What were they doing?"
"Well, they weren't humping each other-"
"Thanks for sharing that, man," Casey interrupted, bringing his hands up to either side of his head dramatically, "because that's a horrifying image I'll never get out of my mind. I'm fine with the gay stuff, don't get me wrong," he promised, "but I really don't want to picture it. Or see it. Or listen to it."
Reid smirked. "They were sitting together - they couldn't have been sitting any closer if they'd been surgically sewn that way. Scarf Guy had his arm around Noah, who really didn't seem to think it was out of place."
Seeming surprised, Casey was nonetheless apparently determined to give Noah a fair chance. "That doesn't prove anything."
"Didn't say it did," Reid pointed out. "Just said that it felt wrong. Luke is..." How the hell did you describe Luke Snyder? Rather than trying to do that, Reid instead focused on the things Luke had done for him - calming him down in the elevator, helping him with the application, generally keeping Reid entertained. "Loathe as I am to admit it, Mr Snyder has helped me out a few times since I arrived in this hellhole. He's not as...irritating as the rest of the local populace. I don't like owing anybody anything, so..."
"This is your way of paying him back," Casey extrapolated.
"You could say that."
Studying him, Casey broadened his stance again. "And how do I know you're not just trying to cause trouble?"
"You don't," Reid replied bluntly. "However, I can't see any advantage to deliberately making you hate me more than you already do. Can you?"
Apparently having no answer to that, Casey turned his testosterone back down a notch. "What do you want me to do about it?"
"I'm not trying to break up Oakdale's hottest - and apparently only - gay couple," Reid defended, "I'm an ass, but I'm not that much of an ass."
"So?"
"This is seriously not my department," Reid huffed. "This is why I told you; so you could deal with it. I don't know. I didn't go to Luke because I think it would just hurt him more than anything else. Keep an eye out? Kick his ass if he's being an ass and doesn't realise it?" It wouldn't surprise Reid at all if the people in Oakdale somehow managed to have entire affairs without ever being aware of it. "I'm assuming you know him pretty well."
"Really well," Casey confirmed. "And...actually, Doc, you may know him better than you think."
This sounded promising. "Oh?"
"Well," Casey began, like a veteran launching into an old war story, "this one time, Noah married this Iraqi girl, Ameera-"
"Oh yeah, the green card deal."
"You know about it," Casey nodded. "So, Luke had to live a lie for months, right? The ICE were on our asses all the time, we all had to lie about everything, Luke and Noah could barely get a moment alone together. And then a few months later, Luke and I got into a liiiiiiiittle bit of trouble at college and all Noah had to do was lie once to the dean, just say that no, he didn't know anything about it - and he couldn't do it. He turned us in. When Luke had lied for months to keep Noah's secret. That never sat right with me. I mean, man, we even pretended to be boyfriends to throw them off."
It was clear, without a shadow of a doubt, that Reid's initial assessment of Noah Mayer had been spot-on.
But that wasn't what Reid focused on.
"Please tell me there are pictures," he smirked, "of a commitment ceremony with the two of you arguing over wallpaper and hugging your African twins."
"Bite me, Dr O."
"You're really not my type," Reid pointed out, "too many muscles."
"You can never have too much of a good thing," Casey argued, flexing his right bicep. There was a moment when he seemed to realise who he was actually joking around with, and he quickly lowered his arm. "So, um. Yeah. Noah's my friend, because he is pretty cool most of the time. But Luke's my man, my bud. You know?"
"I think there was something in that sentence that approximated the English language," Reid retorted, "but I was able to translate what you were trying to say."
"Don't assume this changes anything between us," Casey warned, "I still think you're an ass."
Reid could respect that, as long as he stopped being knee-capped by cleaning supplies. "And I still think you're a Neanderthal with a steroid addiction, so we're even."
They shared a moment of mutual non-loathing, when a nurse came running around the corner. "Casey! Projectile vomiter in x-ray!"
Sighing, Casey turned back towards his trolley and started guiding it away. "I love my job. Really, it's the highlight of my day."
Reid certainly didn't envy him. Of course, showing empathy was entirely out of the question. "I'm sure someone extremely intelligent once said that we end up with the jobs we deserve."
Casey just flipped him off.
Overall, Reid was quite pleased with the way that had gone. The one downside - and it was a pretty damn big one, he had to acknowledge - was the fact that, once again, despite vowing to have nothing to do with Luke's personal life, he'd barrelled head first into Luke's personal life. True, it'd originally been intended as a ploy to gain some kind of positive reaction from Casey, but in the end everything he'd said to him had been the truth. Reid did feel like he owed Luke something, did want to pay him back, but - despite the way he'd always lived his life - didn't like the idea of potentially hurting Luke by telling him how he'd seen Noah and Mason interacting.
Reid was just considering if there was something in the area that simply sucked all intention right out of you, some kind of intention-sucking monster or a local TV broadcast that hypnotised you into numbness, leaving you a mindless drone left to the whims of a particularly cruel fate, when Bob came walking around the corner.
"Reid!" he announced gladly, striding towards him enthusiastically. "Excellent, excellent. Just the man I'm looking for."
Reid eyed him suspiciously. "Really?" No one was ever that pleased to see him.
"Of course," Bob laughed. "I was coming to find you. I've just come out of a Board Meeting and - provided you still want it, of course - the job's yours."
Staring at him, Reid swore he could actually visualise every single sheet of paper currently resting in the bag hanging from his right hand. His mind actually stuttered over the idea of filling all of that paperwork, hours with Luke, hours by himself, for nothing. "I-You....we....what?"
"The job's yours for the taking," Bob repeated, obviously extremely pleased with himself and life in general.
Reid was actually flabbergasted. "What about the application form?" He jiggled the bag from side to side. "What about doing things the right way to avoid a lawsuit?" What about making Reid fill that endless crap in for hours?
"Well, yes, that was a concern of mine yesterday," Bob admitted, "but then I was discussing it with Kim over dinner last night, and she brought up some extremely excellent points about what you'll bring to the hospital, even beyond your own exceptional medical skills. Your name, your reputation. In fact, she was so enthusiastic, so certain you'd be a perfect fit here at Memorial that I immediately got onto the phone and arranged an emergency meeting to see if we might be able to expedite matters."
Kim? Kim Hughes?
"And you can?" Reid asked dumbly.
"The board's in full agreement," Bob announced proudly, "you're welcome to start immediately."
This was entirely too easy. Reid had originally just wanted to be given the job and now that he actually had? Way too easy. "And it'll be entirely legal?"
"I confess, I don't quite know how that side of things will work out," Bob conceded, "but our legal people are putting things into motion at this very moment to ensure that it's all above board. All being well, you'll be signing your contract by lunch."
He should've been...well, not thrilled, but certainly satisfied that the plan was falling into place - and that at least he was going to be paid for staying in this ridiculous place. But mostly all Reid could concentrate on was:
Kim Hughes?
They'd barely had even one conversation and Reid was more than certain he hadn't been polite to her. Why would she, of all people, be so eager for Reid to get the job?
The answer came in the form of laughter.
A few moments later, Kim Hughes came walking into view - with Barbara Ryan. The two women were walking with each other, arms linked together, laughing joyously about something. Coming to a stop a few feet away from Reid, Barbara raised a hand to her chest as her laughter dissipated, separating from Kim.
"Dr Oliver," she greeted with a huge, evil grin. It made Reid think of the Cheshire Cat. In a nightmare. "Kim and I were just discussing the good news. You must be so pleased."
It all made sense, now. Barbara's comment about 'helping' to make sure Reid got the job. She'd obviously used her friendship with Kim to manipulate Bob into stepping up the process. "Oh, absolutely, Mrs Ryan. It's thrilling. I don't know how I'll ever be able to contain my joy."
"It means so much to me," she said emotionally, her eyes even starting to water, "that you care so much about helping my son that you decided to stay."
Bob was suddenly right by them, clapping Reid on the shoulder and smiling proudly. "Dr Oliver may have a...unique way of dealing with his cases, but it's always been clear to me that he cares deeply for his patients. We're extremely proud to have him working here with us at Memorial."
Both Bob and Kim smiled at him genuinely and as Barbara smirked at him, face just out of their view, Reid was forced to admit that she was kind of magnificent.
*
Reid did indeed get his hands on the contract by lunchtime - for once, this town actually did something right - and it was almost as big as the original application forms had been. Reid assumed it contained much of the same legalese protecting Memorial against prosecution, and the same long, long list of bizarre happenings he couldn't sue for - but unfortunately, he wasn't actually able to check.
Due to Barbara Ryan.
Again.
"Here it is," Bob announced, walking into the corridor where Reid was busy looking over the latest test results from Paul Ryan. Kim and Barbara were hot on his heels.
Spying the wad of paper in Bob's hands, Reid shut the folder he'd been looking through. "Ah. This is where I sign my life away, is it? Or my soul to the devil?" He cast a pointed look to his own version of the devil.
Bob chuckled. "Only for as long as you work here," he joked. "Now, we of course strongly advise that you read through it thoroughly before you sign - perhaps even get some legal representation to look over it, make sure everything's as you'd like it to be. Better we resolve any problems now, before you actually sign, rather than after you sign when things get much more complicated to deal with."
Reid didn't consider himself an idiot; at least rarely at all until lately and certainly never in relation to his career. He'd been thinking along the same lines himself, wondering how long it'd take for him to get the contract or a copy of it to his preferred legal office back in Dallas, but his current thoughts on that subject stopped cold when Barbara spoke up.
"Oh, I doubt that's even really necessary, Bob," she argued sweetly. "We all know that with you as Chief of Staff, there's absolutely no way any of the employee contracts would contain anything untoward. Isn't this the eleventh year in the row now that you've won Oakdale's Employer of the Year for your fairness and generosity of spirit?"
Puffing his chest out, Bob stuttered a little as Kim regarded him proudly. "Well-I...thank you, Barbara, that does happen to be true. It's just that I'm not personally responsible for creating the content of the contracts - that's down to our legal department. Who are absolutely excellent," he rushed to add. "I don't want to sound as if they don't know how to do their jobs-"
"You never could, darling," Kim assured him.
"It's just that a legal contract is binding," he continued, concerned. "I always like to make sure that our new employees are absolutely satisfied that everything is just as they expected."
More likely, he wanted to make sure that the newest unfortunates on the Memorial payroll realised exactly what they'd gotten themselves into.
"Which just proves my point about how fair you are," Barbara said smarmily. "But Dr Oliver has expressed such an interest in starting work here immediately that I really can't see him wanting to put it off, even for a single-"
"Okay, okay," Reid interrupted, having had more than enough of this entire production, snapping his fingers at Bob. "Contract. Now."
Kim looked surprised, then quite frankly appalled. Reid decided it was deserved for being so easily manipulated.
In the end, Reid started his new career as auspiciously as it probably deserved - hunched over the counter at the nurses station, scribbling his signature and the date onto a piece of paper while the nurse standing behind the counter looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Something told Reid new employees weren't vetted for emotional stability.
As soon as it was signed and dated, Barbara snatched the contract from the counter and passed it over to Bob. "There you go, Bob. Why don't you make sure this gets to the right place?" she asked, yet somehow not making it a question, tapping a hand firmly on top. "I should probably go and check in at work - make up for some of that lost time."
Bob seemed vaguely confused. "Yes, yes," he replied, clutching the contract. "Quite."
"I'll be back to check on Paul later," she informed them, although she was looking only at Reid.
Reid watched her go, deliberately waiting until she was out of view before speaking to Bob and Kim. "Oh!" he snapped his fingers, feigning realisation of something he'd forgotten. "I meant to ask her...something. About Paul." Yeah, at least that sounded vaguely convincing. "I'll be right back." Jogging after Barbara, he caught up with her just as she pressed the call button for the elevator. "Hey, Mistress of Darkness."
Glancing towards him, she smirked, shook her head and looked back up at the floor display. "Keep flattering me like that and people will talk, Doctor."
Reid ignored her, moving straight on to the reason he'd wanted to talk to her. "Listen, do whatever it is you crazily think you have to do," he told her, "I can almost respect your commitment, Looney Tunes though it obviously is. But leave Bob out of it."
Curious, she swivelled towards Reid, fixing him with a stare. "Why should it matter to you?"
A perfectly valid question. "It doesn't," he defended. "Not really. But Bob's actually been...decent towards me, even more than people from his era generally think people should act. Social niceties, respect and good manners, that kind of crap. You playing him the way you have been..." Reid shrugged. "He doesn't deserve that."
"Well," Barbara enunciated dramatically, "who would've believed it? Reid Oliver has a conscience. And actually seems to be caring about someone from this...what was it you called it when you were ranting the other day? This town full of half-wits, inbred idiots and underachieving rednecks?"
Yeah, that sounded like something he'd say.
"In any case, you needn't worry about Bob anymore - I have what I want. For now. But this is glorious news," she continued smugly. "You're actually caring about someone from a town you can't stand, which just proves that absolutely anything is possible - including giving my son his memory back. I suggest you run with this theme while you can," she advised slyly, walking into the elevator as the doors opened. Turning around to face him, she pressed the button for what was presumably the ground floor, then posed elegantly in the middle of the elevator. "Have a wonderful day, Doctor," she instructed, eyes twinkling with maniacal glee, "I certainly have."
She was still kind of magnificent.
And evil.
When Reid returned to the nurses station, Bob and Kim had already left. Getting straight down to work, he pushed open the door to Paul Ryan's room and walked inside. As had almost constantly been the case since Reid had arrived in town, Paul wasn't alone. On this particular occasion, it was Emily Stewart who was sitting by his bedside, eyes snapping up from something she was typing on a laptop.
Paul was sleeping quietly and Reid had no need to wake him at the moment, so he nodded at Emily and placed the folder he was still carrying on the tray table sitting at the end of Paul's bed. "Miss Stewart."
"Doctor," she greeted acerbically.
Reid flicked the folder open, taking a pen out. "Working hard?"
"Time waits for no one in the newspaper industry," she replied, tapping the next few keys with a particularly large amount of enthusiasm. "Not even me."
That was his own fault for asking. "How's the patient?"
"You'd know if you were ever here," Emily snapped back, her typing once again becoming a reflection of her emotional state.
"Yes, because that kind of response is incredibly useful when I'm trying to assess a patient's condition," Reid replied calmly, noting something down in the folder. "I'm here now, and unfortunately for all of us it seems like I'm staying for the foreseeable future. So, let's try this again," Reid instructed, finally lifting his gaze and looking at her. "How is the patient doing?"
Pausing for a moment, her gaze flicked over to Paul momentarily before moving back to Reid. "I'm no doctor, but-"
"I'd be greatly concerned for the legitimacy of the medical industry if you were."
"He seems fine," she said through gritted teeth. "Besides - oh, you know. The amnesia?"
Reid scribbled something else down. "Is he sleeping a lot?"
"Most of the time," she confirmed, "but Bob said that's to be expected, with his body still recovering from the explosion."
Reid nodded. Paul had sustained fairly extensive burns on the lower half of his body. "Does he ever seem groggy or confused about where he is?"
"Maybe when he first wakes up."
"Has he shown any signs of remembering anything at all? A slip of the tongue? An unexplained comment containing more information than he should have access to?"
"No," she shook her head, placing her laptop to one side and standing up. "Nothing like that at all." Stepping towards the bed, she folded her arms tightly across her chest, looking down at Paul. "Do you think..." Pausing, she tried again. "This could be permanent, couldn't it? He might never get his memories back."
Reid hoped not, for a huge variety of reasons. "It could be," Reid was forced to tell her, "but then it might not be. Anything could happen - especially in this town. He could wake up tomorrow, remember everything, then announce he's marrying an Oak Tree in Pennsylvania and he wants you to officiate. Don't carve their initials into a tree, though, because you'll probably end up mutilating the mother of the bride. Or," he admitted, "he could just wake up and remember everything. But that wouldn't be anywhere near as entertaining."
Huffing, Emily unfolded her arms and placed her hands on her hips. "You really do insist on being as rude and offensive as possible."
"Pretty much, yeah," he agreed. "So," he continued on, as if they hadn't participated in that little segue, "does he know who you are?"
Sighing, she apparently decided to just answer his question. "He knows my name, because we told him - but other than that, he just thinks I'm a friend. Bob said it wasn't a good idea to tell him everything all at once, that we should give his mind some time to adjust. He doesn't know what he's meant to me," she said sadly, casting a longing look towards Paul's sleeping form, "or the history we've gone through together. Which is probably a good thing," she admitted forlornly.
Speaking of which... "So, you actually shot him in the back, right?"
Immediately straightening up to her full height, she jabbed a finger towards him. "It was a very stressful time in my life," she hissed, "I was going through a great deal, and I don't appreciate people who know nothing about the situation trying to make fun of what I went through."
"I'm just saying," Reid raised his hands in the universal sign of surrender, "if that's your form of love, I have some genuine concerns about you being around Mr Ryan while he's recovering."
"I assure you, you have nothing to worry about," she told him icily. "I am the least of your concerns."
Reid eyed her. "Who should I be worried about?"
"His mother, for one," Emily informed him, her hatred for Barbara obvious. "You'd think he was still a child the amount of attention she pays to his life. If she had it her way, he never would've come out of diapers - and don't think that comes from a kindly, mothering place. Oh no, it's a creepy, manipulative place."
"Tell me something I don't know," Reid muttered.
"And Meg Snyder," she declared darkly, "she was always devious; even more so now that they have Eliza. Getting pregnant was the smartest thing she ever did - they're not even together anymore but she has him wrapped around her little finger, always doing her bidding. With Eliza as the bait." She let out an angry breath. "Then there's the fact that she's doing whatever the hell it is she's doing with Damian Grimaldi - I don't even want to think about it," she finished, making an unpleasant face.
Automatically, Reid zeroed in on that comment. "You mentioned that the other day. You think they actually give a crap about each other?"
"I have no idea what she's thinking," Emily declared, "and frankly I don't want to. But everyone in this town knows that Damian will only ever love Lily."
"Lily?"
"Snyder," Emily told him.
It clicked. "Luke's mom." The hysterical woman outside the elevator at the Lakeview. Frankly, Reid didn't see the appeal.
She nodded, smirking. "Apparently once you go Snyder the first time, you can't go back. Not that she's always been a Snyder," Emily admitted, "but she's been one so long it hardly matters."
Reid simply had no way of commenting on that. "And you think Damian's up to no good?" He vividly remembered her comments during the last conversation she'd had about Damian.
"Damian Grimaldi only ever comes to Oakdale when he wants something. Lily. His inheritance. His son. What he's doing here this time, I really don't know - or care. As long as he stays far away from me. And Paul."
Intrigued, Reid put his pen away and closed the folder, picking it up and placing it under his arm. "Well, Miss Stewart, you won't have to worry about him not knowing who you are for much longer."
She brightened. Well, she would have if her face had been capable of producing anything other than a scowl. "I won't?"
Reid nodded. "Tomorrow, Mr Ryan starts his therapy - physical and mental. Tomorrow," he moved his gaze back towards the patient, "we begin re-introducing Paul Ryan to his old life."
*
When Reid walked into Paul Ryan's room the next day, Paul was awake, alert and sitting up in bed.
Excellent. "So, Mr Ryan," Reid began, positioning himself at the foot of the bed, "are you ready to get your old life back?"
Paul shrugged, as if it really wasn't a big deal one way or the other. "Sure. I mean, I guess it has to be better than sitting around here doing nothing, right?"
Pausing, Reid quickly flicked through Paul's chart again, double checking the pain medication he was on. As Reid suspected, there was nothing being given to Paul in a sufficient enough quantity to prompt this kind of...zen-ness. Maybe he was always like this, and even amnesia couldn't diminish his relaxed demeanor. "Okay," Reid dropped the papers, "well, we want to make your brain work, want to try to make it remember, but not bombard it with too much information all at once. That often results in headaches, confusion - and in extreme cases - can even make the brain shut down and cause amnesia patients to pass out."
"That would be bad," Paul concluded.
"That it would," Reid agreed. "Rebuilding a whole life, re-discovering everything in it...it's hard work, Mr Ryan, I'm not going to lie to you because that wouldn't do either of us any good. Going through this kind of thing usually causes more issues than expected, both for you and your loved ones. And it's not going to happen overnight," he warned. "Even if you do suddenly get your memories back, I've yet to see a recovering amnesia patient settle easily back into their old life. Are you ready for the challenge?" Reid held his gaze firmly. "Because you're the one that has to be."
Finally seeming to take the situation seriously, Paul started nodding cautiously, before it became more pronounced as his confidence grew. "Yes. I am."
"Good," Reid replied, pleased. Half the battle of treating any patient was convincing them to fight. Reid knew he was a good - excellent - doctor, but having a patient who wanted to live or wanted to succeed made all the difference in the world to the prognosis. "Today you'll have only one visitor, but you'll be able to talk to them for as long as you want or until I feel you're putting yourself under unecessary stress." Frankly, given Paul's current laid back attitude that didn't seem very likely. "Your purpose here is not to interrogate them," Reid instructed, "even though that may be your first instinct. Most amnesia patients want to know as much about themselves, their lives, as quickly as possible. Try not to assault them with questions. Talk to them, get to know them - and yes, ask questions, but remember this isn't a race. Doing too much, too fast will ultimately slow your recovery." It pained Reid to have to say that, knowing that his own freedom was being curtailed until Paul's memory came back. But it was the right advice to give and doing what was right for the patient was his weak spot. "Also, it will make me think you're an idiot when you've been doing so well at avoiding that. So far, you're one of only about three people in this town who I can stand to be around."
"Even with amnesia?" Paul asked, surprised. "I must be even more amazing with my memories intact."
"That remains to be seen," Reid argued. "Though you'll be hard pressed to be the most fascinating person in the room when I'm around. During this initial visit, I'll stay in the room just to make some observations, assess how you're reacting to the experience. I'll remain out of your way the entire time - unless I feel you're pushing yourself too hard," he reminded. "Ready?"
"I do have one question," Paul replied.
"What's that?"
"Will it make my hair grow back faster?" he asked, making Reid's lips twitch. "No offense to your handiwork, but even though I can't remember what I looked like before, I'm pretty sure I look better with a full head of hair." A hand came up the hair in question, brushing over the bandage still over the surgery area.
"Absolutely," Reid confirmed seriously. "Research has shown that a quick trip down memory lane stimulates follicle growth greatly. You'll be back to your old hair in no time." Sure, now, that Paul was ready, Reid opened the door and waved in the visitor waiting outside. It had physically pained him to contact Barbara Ryan himself, requesting her presence at the hospital. She'd expressed her approval for Reid's first course of action over the phone - not that he gave a crap about her approval either way - and had brought herself to the hospital immediately. She'd been his choice for this first session only due to the fact that Paul had - obviously - known her longer than anyone else, and thus had more memories of her that could be stimulated. "Mrs Ryan."
Ignoring him for once, she smiled warmly as she stepped into the room. "Paul,"
He studied her awkwardly. "Barbara, right?"
"Your mother," she reminded.
"Yeah, I remember that much from the other day," he told her. "I have to admit it's kind of weird picturing you as my mother. I can't remember anything about you. What kind of mother you were, where we grew up. None of those childhood memories I figure I'm supposed to have."
Her smile faltered slightly, before she broadened it intentionally, sitting in the chair next to the bed. "Well, that's why I'm here. So we can get to know each other. Again." Placing her handbag on her lap, she paid it a little too much attention for a few moments before looking back up at him. "I know that you don't know me," she told him, obviously trying to hide how sad she was, "but know that whatever happens, I am your mother. And I will always love you."
Moving to a chair behind them, tucked away in the corner of the room, Reid sat down and couldn't help but muse on what the people in this town did for love. Emily had shot the man she claimed to love. Barbara was blackmailing Reid to help her son. This was only proof of what Reid had always suspected - love only led to reckless, sometimes illegal, behaviour. There were probably some benefits to it, he acknowledged - but he couldn't imagine what they were. Not being tied to anyone romantically - this current situation with Barbara aside - he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, without having to consider anyone else's 'feelings'.
As far as Reid was concerned, love was a huge waste of time, feelings and money, and he was glad he had nothing to do with it.
*
Paul started fading around midday. As soon as he saw the signs, Reid hustled Barbara out of the room - despite her objections - and checked Paul's pain levels. Convinced they were fine for now, he arranged for a nurse (ordered one) to check the dressings on Paul's legs. Leaving the room, he closed the door behind him, turned around and came face-to-face with Barbara.
"How dare you?" she hissed, actually poking a finger at his chest. "Ordering me out of my own son's hospital room as if I was the type of person you could just order out of a hospital room. I have-"
"-been talking for far too long already," Reid replied quickly, angrily. "You may have me currently undertaking your every whim, but one thing you can't change is the fact that I'm the trained physician and you're the imbecile who seems to think she knows better. I know what I'm doing, Mrs Ryan, and I'm doing what's best for your son - which, as far as I recall, is exactly what you asked me to do. Leave me to do my job without interference and you'll get what you want a whole lot faster."
Drawing back, she glared, swivelled on her heel and walked - stomped, really - away from him.
Aware of the tension building in his neck, Reid massaged the right side with his hand. Closing his eyes, he sighed. This town was going to give him an aneurysm before he hit 33.
"Dr Oliver!"
Shoulders slumping - he couldn't be left alone, even for five seconds - Reid lowered his arm and opened his eyes to see a familiar woman smiling at him.
Ah. "The pregnant woman," he greeted.
"Katie," she corrected with a grin, stepping closer. "I heard you were staying in Oakdale - is that right?"
"Unfortunately," he agreed. "It seems that no matter what I do, I just can't get away." Fate had conspired to constantly kick him in the balls.
"It's not so bad here," she assured him, "in fact, it's pretty wonderful."
Reid snorted. "You would say that."
"Why's that?"
"You're one of them," he gestured towards her. "You've all had your brains sucked out through your noses, replaced by computers programmed to think that Oakdale is the happiest place on Earth. Disney got the brainwashing all wrong. So, what are you doing here?"
Surprised at the sudden change in conversation, she stumbled over her words for a moment. "Oh. Well-I. Brad guilted me into getting another scan," she finally confessed. "Just to be on the safe side. I just came in on my way past to make an appointment."
Reid frowned. "Didn't you have one when you came in the other day?"
"Oh, yes," she confirmed. "One thing you'll quickly find about the Snyders - when they care about someone, they don't do it half-way. They don't just love. They...uber love." She chuckled and shook her head at her own silliness.
That did not sound pleasant. "Sounds suffocating."
"I guess some people could see it that way," she conceded. "I choose to find it comforting. I know that, whatever happens, Brad will be there to look after me - if I want him to. Anyway," she nodded towards the direction she'd been walking in, "I was just about to get some lunch. Would you like to join me?"
Actually finding himself considering the offer, Reid weighed the pros and cons. She talked a lot. She might want to talk more about love. However, it was lunchtime. And there would be food.
"Let's go," he announced, but had walked all of five steps when Luke was there, bumping into him.
"Sorry!" Luke apologised, bracing his hands against Reid's upper arms to steady himself. "I wasn't looking where-oh." Realising it was Reid he was currently groping, Luke grinned widely. "Hi."
Instead of yelling at Luke to watch where he was going and asking exactly when it was that he last got his eyesight checked, Reid was very much enjoying being groped and smiled back. "Hey."
After a few, long, enjoyable moments, Katie ruined the moment. "Luke, hi! So good to see you! How's Noah?"
Yanking away from Reid, cheeks flushing, Luke actually stumbled. Steading himself, he cleared his throat and tried to act as if that hadn't just happened. "Fine. Noah's fine. I guess. I don't really know to be honest," he confessed, shooting brief looks towards Reid every few seconds. "He's busy all the time, lately. So," he continued, nodding towards both of them, "you two know each other."
"Saved her life," Reid deadpanned, "she was a gonner without me."
"Reid," she rebuked, smacking the back of her hand against his chest.
"Hey, assault," he complained.
"Reid helped me out the other day," Katie explained, ignoring him. "I had a bit of scare-"
"Are you okay?" Luke asked, immediately concerned. "Is the baby-?"
"We're both fine," she promised. "But that's how we met."
Calming, Luke nodded thoughtfully. "I'm surprised I didn't hear anything about it," he said, "but then I haven't seen Mom or Dad for the past couple of days." From the way he said it, it sounded like an unusual occurrence - and it probably was. In a town as small as Oakdale, Reid could imagine that families still lived deep in each other's pockets, even after they'd moved out. Reid shuddered internally at the thought. Yet another reason for him to get out of town ASAP. "Oh!" Luke suddenly exclaimed, pointing a finger vaguely in Reid's direction. "Was Katie the pregnant lady who-"
"Collapsed in front of me the other day? Oh, yes."
Luke nodded again.
"I'm more interested in the fact that you two know each other," Katie eyed them speculatively.
Reid wasn't touching that one, but he had to admit to being interested in what Luke was going to say.
"Oh, well," Luke explained too casually, "Reid and I just keep running into each other. Literally, in this case," he grinned, "and usually when he's eating."
"And when Luke's being a ninja," Reid retorted. Luke smiled up at him from underneath his eyelashes. Something inside Reid's stomach twisted.
Katie cleared her throat pointedly. "So what are you doing here, Luke?"
Tearing his gaze away from Reid with what was apparently a great effort - Reid could understand that, he was quite a specimen to behold - Luke smiled at Katie. "Just an appointment with my nephrologist."
Reid suddenly lost that strange, warm sensation he'd been feeling inside.
"Nothing serious?" Katie asked.
"Nah, we're just talking about changing some meds. Some of those side effects are killer," he explained, glancing back over to Reid.
Reid stared at him.
"Well, Reid and I were just about to get lunch," Katie explained, "it's a shame you can't join us."
Nodding, still looking at Reid, Luke shrugged. "Next time."
After a brief silence Katie was suddenly grabbing Reid's arm, steering him out of the corridor.
"Hey!"
"We'll see you later, Luke!" she yelled.
Once they were around the corner, she finally loosened her hold. Yanking out of her grasp, Reid turned to face her. She already had her arms folded across her chest and seemed to be glaring at him. Although people disliked him in general, Reid couldn't imagine what he'd done this time.
"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.
"Me?" he asked in disbelief. "You're the one groping people you barely know and dragging them-"
"With Luke," she interrupted.
Crap. "I barely even know Luke Snyder-"
"Bull," she told him, still glaring. "That young man has been through more than I can ever tell you."
"Actually, I heard most of it already," he told her blithely.
"Reid," she tried again. "He has a boyfriend. They've been through so much together already-"
"Oh, and don't I know it?" Reid found himself arguing back. "Most of it Noah's fault. Look," he continued, "I did not come to Oakdale with the intention of breaking anyone up and it probably still won't happen. Luke is young, still figuring things out. And in any case, it's not my fault that Luke is so...so..." Yeah, he still didn't know how to describe Luke.
Staring at him, Katie looked greatly confused. "You're not just attracted to him, are you?" Confusion morphing into a huge smile - Christ, the people in this town lived on emotional yo-yos - Katie just grinned at him stupidly. "Oh my God, Dr Oliver," she stated, amazed, "you have a thing for Luke."
*
Try as he might, it quickly became abundantly clear that there was no way Reid was getting rid of Katie Peretti-Snyder.
And the really annoying thing was that she didn't even say anything. During the entire trip to Al's, she just kept looking at him. And smiling. Like he was the most adorable thing since Cutie the cute kitten was outfitted with cute little fluffy socks by its cutesy owner.
Reid hated cats.
It wasn't until they were sitting at a booth in the diner doing a bad impression of actually reading the menu, that Reid finally, finally cracked. He slapped his menu down on the table. "I do not have a thing for Luke Snyder."
A perfectly plucked eyebrow was the first thing to emerge from behind her menu, joined soon after by the rest of her face. She said nothing. Her smile said everything.
"I will admit," Reid continued, "that he has helped me out a few times since I arrived in Oakdale and, subsequently, he is one of the few people I can stand to spend any time with. But given the low standard that the rest of the town sets, that really isn't saying much." Katie still just kept smiling at him. "Will you stop doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"That thing with your face. It's disconcerting."
"You mean my smile?" Katie questioned. "Because I'm greatly entertained by your reaction? Have you ever heard the phrase, 'the gentlemen doth protest too much'?"
Of course he had. Unlike most of the people in this town, he actually had a decent education. Or any education at all. "No," he lied, "but I have heard the phrase 'curiousity killed the cat'." He really hated cats.
Katie didn't seem bothered at all, shrugging. "At least my phrase makes you a gentleman."
Like he gave a crap about that. "It also makes it seem like I have...feelings for Luke, which is ridiculous. Utterly. Completely. Ridiculously-why aren't you stopping me?" he pleaded, well-aware that the longer he talked, the bigger a hole he was digging.
"Oh, I was just waiting to see how long you'd go on for," she informed him, propping her head up with her hand. "Sooooooo...tell me everything."
They'd spent a total of twenty minutes in each other's presence, spread over two days. Reid wasn't doing this at all, and he certainly wasn't doing it with someone he'd known for only twenty minutes. "We came to eat," he announced firmly. "That's all we're going to do. I was promised food." Reid made a point of studying his menu, deliberately placing it between them. He heard a sigh but - thankfully - she said nothing else until Henry arrived to take their order.
"Katie!" he said with enthusiasm. "I didn't know you were coming in-oh," his voice dropped dramatically, enthusiasm fleeing as he recognised who she'd come to lunch with. "You."
Reid waved at him. "Hi, Hank."
Gritting his teeth, Henry turned his head back towards Katie. "Brad not with you today?" he asked hopefully.
She shook her head. "He wanted to research something after today's show that we're hoping to run with next week. I had a few things to do in town."
Reid was honestly quite surprised. When he'd realised they worked on local television, he'd actually been able to picture Brad as a local TV presenter quite easily. Anything else but that? Just didn't make sense. "Brad can do research?"
"Shush," Katie warned.
"Well," Henry said quietly. "Isn't that a shame." Sighing, he tried to force some cheer onto his face. "Bubbles, what can I get you?"
"I will haaaaaaaave..." Clucking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she mulled over her options one last time. Finally deciding, she put the menu down and looked at Henry. "The garden salad. With fries."
Reid looked at her askance. "You realise one of those cancels the other one out?"
"I'm pregnant," she retorted, and - yeah. That was pretty much gonna win every argument, every time.
"And you?" Henry heaved a great sigh, turning somewhat towards Reid and focusing on a point somewhere to the left of Reid's shoulder.
"Cheeseburger and fries," Reid replied, "and make it snappy. Some of us have to work for a living."
Literally growling as he snatched the menus from their tables, Henry turned and flounced away.
Katie shook her head at Reid. "You'd think you'd know better than to taunt the people who make your food."
Yeah, that was actually a fair point. "If Hank spits in my burger, I'll sue him for everything he has." He glanced around the diner. "Which probably isn't much."
"So, really," she continued, obviously not really caring about his food, "Luke Snyder?"
The way his life had been going lately, he should've known that he hadn't dodged that bullet. He tried to turn it to his advantage, instead. "I do not understand you."
"What don't you understand?"
"You were about to stomp on one of my testicles for taking advantage of poor, innocent Luke, but the moment you realised..." Yeah. Really not. "...thought that it was something more serious, suddenly you want to paint each other's toe nails, braid each other's hair and share all the juicy details." She stared at him until Reid realised what he'd actually said. "If there were any juicy details to share. Which there aren't." Because that sounded oh so convincing. One of the things that bugged him most about this...thing with Luke was how it made him babble like an idiot, even when Luke wasn't around.
Babbling was not something that Reid Oliver did.
...for a long time.
"Well, it's not like I want Luke and Noah to break up," she told him, "and they had such a hard time getting together in the first place, it seems like they're meant to stay together, you know?"
Reid had many things he could say about people who were allegedly 'meant to be'. Mostly, though, he wanted to know more details. "Hard time? Because of Noah's dad?"
"You know about that?" she asked, surprised and obviously pleased that he knew so much detail about Luke's life already.
"Don't read anything into it," he warned. "There is nothing romantic about someone telling you that their boyfriend's father tried to kill them."
Katie shrugged. "Depends on the setting. Anyway," she continued, "when Noah came to town, he was still pretty deep in the closet." She made a sad face. "Nobody really knew until later, but it seems he was pretty far gone for Luke after the first month. Of course, still in denial, he started dating Maddie Coleman - Henry's sister. Poor Luke liked Noah right from the beginning, so he had to watch the guy he was crazy about in a relationship with someone else - a female someone else - while he was still giving Luke all kinds of confusing signals."
Reid wished he could've just thought Noah was a moron for the way he'd treated Luke initially. But although Reid had never hidden who he was, and was frequently judgemental about any subject that passed his way, that was the one thing he tried not to judge. Although he did have his limits.
As it had turned out, Noah was still an ass even after he came out so his issues obviously ran much deeper.
"I don't know," she sighed, "it just seems like...after Noah facing the truth about himself, facing his father - who really was a psychopath."
"Yeah, I got that much."
"And finally getting together with Luke...it just feels right, you know? They faced so much together."
Reid knew, better than most, that traumatic incidents frequently brought people together. The heightened emotions brought on by the situation could easily be mistaken for love. He'd seen it happen all the time. "Soul mates, huh?"
She studied him. "Anyway, the point I was trying to make with all this, is that...yes, I think Luke and Noah are cute together. But I want you to be happy, too," she grinned. "I just like a happy ending for everyone."
"I get to do something I love, all day, every day," Reid told her. "Believe me, I already have my happy ending."
Katie shook her head. "A job is not a happy ending."
"Depends on the job," he mimicked. "Now, I swear to you that nothing is going on between me and Luke Snyder. Nothing is going to go on between me and Luke Snyder. Can we please talk about something else?"
After a few moments of contemplation, she apparently decided to let it go - although Reid was definitely left with the feeling that she was only letting it go for a while. As far as Reid was concerned, that was good enough for now.
"Fair enough," she decreed, "so, have you started looking for your own place?"
Reid couldn't see the point in that, especially if he - hopefully - really was only staying for a short time. "I figured I could just keep staying at the Lakeview." It wasn't like he couldn't afford it, and it was pretty convenient having prepared food literally brought to his door anytime, night or day.
"I guess there's no reason you can't," she admitted. "There are a few people in town who do that already. It just seems so...impersonal. It's not a home, you know?" A few moments later, she was sitting up straight in the booth. "I have a great idea! We have a spare room-"
Oh, hell no. "I am so not moving in with you."
"Why not?" she argued. "It's tastefully decorated-"
"I could care less about how it's decorated," Reid interrupted. "You live there," he stated, as if that was reason enough not to move in. "And I can't see your husband being thrilled at the idea."
"Brad won't mind," she insisted. "One, you were already the knight in shining armour to his beloved wife." She struck a pose, fluttering her eyelashes. "Two, you're gay, so he won't have to worry about you trying anything-"
"Well if that isn't an excellent reason to move in with someone, I don't know what is."
"-and he'll probably be grateful to have a doctor around 24/7 while I'm pregnant. I know I would," she fixed him with what he could only call 'bambi' eyes - and he'd never even seen that movie. "It'll be a lot cheaper than staying at the Lakeview, and you'll be welcomed home every night by people who actually care about you - but you'll still be free to do your own thing."
Reid really wasn't thinking about how appealling that idea was. "You're having a baby-"
"In six months," she argued, "which means you can move in now, and still have plenty of time to find a place of your very own. If you really want."
He was not considering this.
"Even if it only ends up being for a few days," Katie told him, "this way, Brad and I will finally feel like we're really paying you back for the way you helped me the other day." Her eyes watered. Her lips actually quivered.
He was definitely not considering this.
*
Two doggy bags later, Katie was striding happily across the WOAK building. Reid glanced around as she stepped into an office where he could see Brad sitting inside at a computer desk. Strolling around the area, Reid passed the time by inspecting everything. The 'set', the cameras, various offices. A few members of staff milled around from time to time, but frankly, it looked about as dead as he expected a local television station would look.
"Dr Oliver," a woman's voice greeted, and he looked up to see Kim Hughes walking towards him, smiling hesitantly.
He remembered now. "You work with Katie."
"That's right," she confirmed. "Are you here with Katie?"
Reid nodded towards the office. "She's talking to Brad."
They stood there together, in silence. After about ten seconds, Reid realised she was waiting for something. When he realised what it was, he almost rolled his eyes. While it was obvious she would never be so uncouth as to outright ask for it, she was expecting some kind of response for convincing Bob to take him on.
"Um," he began, clearly a promising start. He hated this being polite crap. "Bob told me. You know, about how you convinced him to...help me. So. You know...thanks."
"Oh, you're more than welcome, Dr Oliver," she told him warmly. "I'm pretty good at reading people, so it's been easy to see that interacting with people is not your...forte, shall we say?" She smiled cheekily, in a way that was - God help him - almost endearing. "But you're an excellent doctor with an excellent reputation, and it would be foolish of us to not make the most of this opportunity. It didn't take much effort at all to convince Bob of that. And who knows?" Kim asked. "Maybe after you've been here a while, Oakdale will smooth off some of those rough edges." Her eyes crinkled as her smile widened. "Entertaining as they are." A voice yelled from behind her, calling her name. "Oh, do excuse me, Doctor."
"Please, go," Reid insisted. "Really." Disturbed by that encounter on a fundamental level - Kim Hughes liked him and he actually kind of liked her and, when said in her voice, the idea of smoothing rough edges didn't sound like such a bad idea - Reid shuddered and hurried over to the office. Lingering in the doorway, he blatantly listened in to Katie and Brad's conversation.
"-know he helped you, Katie and really, I get what a big thing it was he did. But what if he tries something?"
Reid rolled his eyes.
"Brad, he's gay!
"You're not the one I'm worried about."
Then he rolled them even harder.
"Brad Snyder, I cannot believe you just said something that ridiculous. Do you think the same about Luke and Noah?"
"Gross, Katie, Luke's my cousin."
Like that would actually stop anyone in this town.
"That's not the point, Brad," she sighed. "Look. Trust me when I tell you that if Reid is interested in anyone in this town, it's certainly not you." Oh, he did not like the sound of that. He knew that conversation wasn't finished. "Just think, Brad," she said quietly, moving closer and fussing with the collar of his shirt. "A doctor in the house at all times. And it may only be for as long as it takes him to find his own place. And he's obviously independent, it's not like he'll be wanting you to spend time with him."
That, at least, was the truth.
Brad made a face. "You're not going to let this go until I say yes, are you?"
She wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up at him. "I really wouldn't be doing this if I thought he was dangerous," she told him quietly. "I just think...after what happened...before. Having a doctor right there-"
"Hey, hey," Brad shushed, pulling her even closer and wrapping his arms around her. "There was nothing anyone could've done. You know that."
Sniffing, she pressed her face into his chest. Her words were muffled momentarily, but Reid could just make them out. "I'd just...feel better if he was there. And, you know, I do think it'd be good for him, too. With a place to call home - rather than a hotel room - he might start to feel like he actually belongs here." Heaving an emotional sigh, she clutched Brad harder.
Turning his head to one side, Brad finally realised Reid was standing there watching. They looked at each other. Brad nodded, once.
And that was how Reid suddenly found himself living with Brad and Katie.
*
Reid had to give Katie credit. For all that she initially appeared to have a friendly, bubbly personality, it had readily become apparent that she was equally capable of being selfish and manipulative. Though he had no doubt that the offer to live with her and Brad was somewhat coming from a generous place, he also had no doubt that the offer was mostly due to the fact that she wanted a doctor living with them.
Reid couldn't even blame her - she was protecting her child, and it was likely she'd go even further if it came down to it. Reid simply had to think of Barbara's actions to be aware of that. Reid had never been a parent and likely never would - why would he choose to be up to his elbows in diapers when he could be up to his elbows in brains, instead? It was an actual no-brainer.
But he'd seen and heard enough from parents of patients to understand that the parent-child bond was usually strong and sometimes even uncontrollable - with definite exceptions, himself included. Even though Barbara and Katie had both manipulated him in their own way, there was something about someone doing whatever it took to achieve a goal that he'd always found himself respecting - even if it was only a little.
It was probably due to the way he'd lived his own life since leaving his parents' home. He'd escaped as soon as it was possible, intent on becoming the best neurosurgeon on the face of the planet. As it'd turned out he'd had an almost uncanny natural aptitude for almost every aspect of neurology - whether it was surgery itself, diagnosis or choosing the best course of treatment. It was the sole reason he'd come so far at so young. Reid was well aware of his own achievements. A surgeon of his age running his own specialist medical centre - and being a financially successful medical centre at that - was virtually unheard of. And although he'd been approached several times by well-respected publications, Reid had turned every interview request down cold. He wanted success; not celebrity.
If he hadn't had that natural ability? Reid preferred to think he wouldn't have potentially put patients' lives at risk, but he honestly couldn't say that he wouldn't have done anything necessary to get what he wanted. He was fortunate that he was so damn good it was a non-issue, and therefore something he didn't need to give much thought to.
He was thinking all this in an attempt to rationalise the fact that he'd just spent his first night in the spare room in Katie and Brad's apartment. The evening of the same day she'd made the invite, he'd found himself moving his belongings - all one bag and a laptop of it - into the apartment. The room was large enough, the bed comfortable enough, the apartment warm enough.
But this wasn't going to last.
Reid was smart enough to know why he'd caved so easily - Katie was pregnant. In his own peculiar type of morals, you did anything a pregnant woman asked you to, whether you liked it or not. By saying yes, he assuaged her ego by accepting the invitation in the first place, made her feel better by having a doctor around for a few days - and didn't have to ride an elevator up and down a seven story building, every single day.
To be honest, it was the lack of elevator that was the clincher.
The evening of his first night in the apartment, Reid stayed sequestered in his own room - partly so they wouldn't get the wrong idea and try to 'bond' with him or anything, but also because he had things to do.
Opening up the local paper, he'd immediately started reading the listings.
The next morning while Reid was devouring his second bagel, Brad stumbled into the kitchen. Barely awake - clearly not a morning person - Brad rubbed at his eyes and fumbled around for coffee.
While wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts.
Reid was not a stupid man. On his way out to work that morning, he dumped the paper in the trash.
Paul's loved ones continued to visit, the visits growing longer and longer each day as his condition improved - except for one person in particular. Emily had been particularly thrilled at the fact that, since his amnesia, Paul apparently had no interest in Meg whatsoever. In fact, Paul had decided to talk to Reid of all people about the issue.
"I just don't see what I apparently saw in her back then," Paul explained, while Reid was trying to check his pulse. "And it's not like we were just dating - we got married. We had a child together."
"Well it's not like you need to be in love to conceive a kid," Reid pointed out, "or get married. Especially in this town. Will you stop moving your arm around?"
"Oh," Paul said, as if he'd only just realised that Reid was trying to do something. He immediately stilled his arm. "Sorry. Probably makes your job a lot easier."
"Go figure," Reid snarked. "How are your legs?"
"No longer my best feature," he quipped. "The pain gets worse, then it gets better, then it gets a lot worse and on and on."
Reid nodded. "Burns are a pain in the...well-"
"Leg," Paul finished. "To be honest, as long as I can walk I don't really care." He paused, obviously thinking something over. "I wonder if I was vain before."
"I honestly couldn't care less," Reid replied, "and it hardly matters now. How's your PT going?"
"Painfully," Paul admitted. "Have you met my therapist? He's intimidating, and I say this as a man secure in his masculinity."
"I haven't had the pleasure," Reid sighed, annoyed at the small talk that kept creeping in. "Any memory flashes, jumbled thoughts in your head?" He remembered something Luke had told him. "Psychic visions?"
For the first time, Paul seemed genuinely surprised by something. "Have I had what now?"
Rather than confuse the amnesia patient further for his own amusement - even Reid had his limits - Reid shook his head. "Never mind."
Paul frowned at him. "Have you ever been in love?"
And that one came way out of the left field. "Look, if you're that desperate for someone to talk to, I could go and call one of your harem-"
"But I know you'll tell me the truth," Paul explained. "All of them. Those...people," he gestured towards the door, "they all remember me as I was. They all have agendas of their own, things they do or don't want me to remember for whatever reason." He was remarkably perceptive for a man with no memories. "We'd never met until I woke up after the accident. You only know me as I am, now, and all you want is for me to get my memories back - without reservation. Yours is the one opinion I can really count on."
Reid really hated it when patients made a good argument. "No," he huffed out, finally answering Paul's question.
Paul nodded slowly. "I have no answer to that question," he confessed. "I don't know. Do you know what a strange feeling that is? I know what love is - or at least think I do - and I know that it's supposed to be this amazing, maybe life-changing thing. But have I experienced it? I've been married, but given what I think of Meg now, I don't know. If I haven't, is that a regret I have or do I just think - shit happens. What will be will be? I don't even love the woman claiming to be my mother," he admitted, "even though she apparently raised me. I barely know her." After a moment of silence, he continued quietly. "I don't even know if I'll feel it when I meet Eliza."
Now they were reaching the crux of the matter.
They'd held off on bringing the kid in for a meet and greet until Paul was stronger, physically and mentally. Reid currently had it pencilled in for the beginning of the next week, but now he was thinking they should bring it forward. "Considering how worried you are about it at the moment," Reid said honestly, "and from everything I've heard about what parenthood is meant to be like...at the very least you're going to look at her and think - I made that. I made this amazing, thinking, breathing, creature. I'm responsible for that." Reid shrugged. "And maybe that will be enough."
The conversation with Paul left Reid surprisingly contemplative for the rest of the day, which annoyed him. Brooding over love or the lack thereof, its effects, its consequences. He was coming to realise that all the crazy things in this town were usually motivated by love in one form or another.
And he just kept thinking about it.
Frustrated, he decided to treat himself to dinner that evening at Al's. Sitting as far away from anyone else as possible - not easy during the dinnertime rush - Reid barely even threw an insult Henry's way; just ordered his food and started eating it quietly.
To add to his joy, Luke walked in just as Reid bit into his BLT.
With Noah.
At least Luke hadn't seen him - in his current mood, he really didn't want to converse with Luke Snyder - and somewhat ridiculously, Reid found himself hunkering down in his seat.
They sat at a table well within Reid's general proximity, but Luke still hadn't spotted him and sat with his back towards him. Ridiculously grateful for the reprieve, Reid sat back up and tried to act like he hadn't been worried at all.
He tried to focus on his meal, he really did. But within ten minutes their voices started rising.
Seriously, the people in this town and their public domestics.
Luke had obviously been trying to do everything he could to make sure Noah was happy since they'd come in - although he'd plainly been trying too hard. Smiling a little too much, being a little too attentive. Reid couldn't even really blame Noah - much - when he told Luke to tone it down. Eventually, they seemed to reach a happy medium, and ordered their food.
That was when Noah opened up the bundle of paper he'd brought with him. And not long after that was when everyone else started paying attention to them.
It started when Luke cautiously asked if Noah could read over that later.
"We've made changes to the script, Luke. I have to know perfectly what these scenes are going to look like."
"I know it's important to you," Luke acknowledged, "but...we're finally alone together, Noah." Stretching an arm across the table, he placed a hand on top of Noah's. "I was hoping we'd spend some time just on...us," he said, an impish twang in his voice. Clearly to Luke, 'us' meant sex.
That was a mental image Reid really didn't need.
"It's not like it's just my fault we barely see each other," Noah defended, shifting in his chair. "You're working, too."
"I am," Luke conceded, nodding, "but you have to admit, you're working much longer hours than I am at the moment. If you're not filming, you're editing. If you're not editing, you're doing something with..." he paused, over what was clearly a sore subject. "Mason."
That just seemed to make Noah angrier, who pulled his hand out from under Luke's. "Is this about Mason? I already told you-"
"I know you did, Noah. And I trust you," he added, "but I still don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that Mason finds you attractive. After all," he joked, "you are pretty cute."
Noah wasn't having any of it. "I don't believe this. You probably talked to Casey, too."
Luke shook his head, clearly having no clue. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't act like you don't know," Noah told him. "He came to see me the other day, started asking questions about Mason. He tried to hide what he was doing, but subtlety has never been Casey's strong suit. He thought something was going on between me and Mason," he shook his head angrily. "I can't believe you'd talk to one of our friends about this."
Aww, crap. Hughes Junior Junior needed a lesson in being sneaky - a somewhat surprising revelation.
"Noah, he's your friend, too. I swear to you, I have no idea where Casey would get the idea-"
"Don't lie to me, Luke."
Finally, fucking finally, Luke's back straightened. When he spoke, each word was enunciated clearly. "I. Am. Not. Lying. And I can't believe that you'd think even for one second that I'd lie to you deliberately. God, just because I have some concerns about Mason-"
"There you go again," Noah interrupted angrily.
"And apparently I'm not the only one," Luke pressed on, just as angrily. "I understand that the work is important to you, but God, Noah - why can't you just trust me on this? It's like Brian all over again."
Noah made an ugly face. "This is nothing like Brian."
"Why?" Luke pressed. "Because you're the one being hit on this time? And, for the record," he pointed out, "I was right about Brian all along."
"Well, you're wrong about Mason," Noah insisted.
"Why?" Luke demanded. "Just because you want me to be? Seriously, Noah, after everything we've been through together, why can't you just trust me?"
"Because of everything we have been through together," Noah replied heatedly.
Luke sat back further in his chair. Reid could imagine a frown on his face. "What does that mean?"
Rubbing a hand over his face, Noah shrugged awkwardly and glanced from side to side as if he was finally beginning to realise they weren't alone. They'd probably been so entrenched in the argument that they'd forgotten they even had an audience. "Look, Luke, let's just talk about this later-"
"You have an answer," Luke announced perceptively. "Tell me." Noah squirmed in his chair, finally looking like he felt bad about something he was going to say. Luke wouldn't let it go. "Tell me, Noah."
Sighing heavily, Noah eventually mumbled a response so quietly, Reid couldn't hear it.
From the way Luke's body suddenly stilled and stayed that way, Luke could. "Say that again," he said quietly, his voice emotionless. "Say that again, Noah."
"I said," Noah repeated louder, still fidgeting in his chair, "that I can never trust your opinion because I'm never sure if you've been drinking or not."
A hush fell over the diner. It'd been pretty quiet anyway, the rest of the diners blatantly listening by this point, but after that comment Reid literally could've heard a pin drop.
That explained the kidney transplant.
Reid hadn't known him for very long, but it was obvious that Luke wore his emotions for everyone to see. As he turned his head to one side and Reid could see the embarrassed flush on his face, he could imagine the mixture of emotions Luke was experiencing. Shock that Noah could be so cruel. Horror at realising they had an audience. Embarrassment at being spoken to that way by the man who was supposed to be his boyfriend. Anger at himself for putting himself in the situation where he could be spoken to like that in the first place. Frustration at not having the conversation somewhere private.
"I didn't want to say it," Noah explained cagily, "but you made me, Luke. You wouldn't let up! You forced me to-"
Luke pushed backwards, the legs of his chair screeching loudly on the diner floor.
Noah stopped talking.
Reid wouldn't have been surprised at all if Luke just walked silently out of the diner. Hell, he wouldn't have been surprised if Luke threw his drink over the idiot.
It turned out to be a lot more entertaining than that. A million times more entertaining than that.
Slowly standing up, Luke planted a hand on either side of the table, leaning over it towards Noah. "I cannot believe," Luke said passionately, "that I had to make an appointment to see my own boyfriend. And then when you do actually manage to squeeze me into your schedule, you bring a script so you don't actually have to interact with me. But then I'm a drunk, right?" he asked. "I'm clearly not worth the effort." Standing back up to his full height, he folded his arms across his chest. "You know what?" he asked rhetorically, slowly shaking his head in anger, disbelief - any number of things. "Screw you, Noah. Screw you. After all," Luke snorted derisively, "it's not like you're screwing me."
*
That had been, without a doubt, the hottest thing Reid Oliver had ever seen Luke Snyder do.
But Reid acknowledged internally that his own level of horniness was not the main issue at hand. That was Luke, who - after that final pronouncement about the apparent lack of a sex life between him and Noah - was now striding across the diner, towards the exit, with his head held high and a remarkable amount of dignity (to Reid's mind, that the biggest indicator of all of Noah's stupidity. Who would be in a relationship with Luke and not screw his brains out at every opportunity? As passionate as Luke was about, well, everything, he had to be a dynamo in the sack).
Reid considered not interfering for 0.5 seconds but Noah was still sitting there, dumbstruck, while Luke was yanking open the first of the doors that led out of the diner.
Not entirely clear on his next course of action - just knowing that it seemed wrong for Luke to walk off alone after that - Reid found himself pushing his own chair back and getting to his feet.
He'd made it all of two steps when Henry was there, blocking his path.
Reid was not in the mood to be toyed with. "Out of the way, Hank," Reid ordered; eyes on Luke, voice like gravel.
"Easy, macho man," Henry assured, "for once I'm actually following your lead. You go after Luke and I'll have a few words with Mr Mayer."
"Didn't think you were capable of producing just a few words," Reid replied automatically, uncaring of Henry's reasoning; eyes still tracking Luke who was walking past the window at the front of the diner.
"I may prefer a more...verbose form of conversation," Henry agreed, "but even I have found, from time to time, that less is more."
By now Luke had completely disappeared from view. Reid nudged forward against Henry. "I gotta..."
"Go," Henry ordered, making shooing motions, "go. Prove that - despite all the evidence to the contrary - you're an actual human being." Reid was already across the diner, tugging open the door as Henry called out, "There may be hope for you yet!"
Jogging in the direction he'd seen Luke go, Reid's fear - mild, more like vague concern, really - that he wouldn't be able to catch up to him almost immediately proved unwarranted. Luke was pacing back and forth near a bench, gesticulating wildly and muttering to himself. Quickly slowing to a walk, then a stop, Reid just watched him and waited. To be honest, he still didn't know what he was going to do.
But maybe he didn't need to do anything.
When Luke noticed him he didn't seem the least bit surprised; he just seemed angry. But then it appeared that, at the moment, anger was Luke's default setting.
"Were you there?" Luke demanded, then didn't wait for an answer. "Of course you were! Heaven forbid my shame shouldn't be complete." Reid opened his mouth to point out that he really didn't give a crap about anything Noah Mayer had to say, but Luke just kept talking. "I've never been this angry before," he said, still pacing, "in my entire life. Is this what it's like being you?" he asked quickly, then moved on just as quickly, answering his own question. "No, you just pretend to be angry. It's like...gah!" he exclaimed, throwing his right hand up, then flopping it back down. "I don't think I was even this angry..." He stopped moving suddenly. "No, okay, the guy who was blackmailing Mom into sleeping with him to get me the kidney, I was definitely this angry then. But!" he exclaimed suddenly, walking again and pointing upwards, "I've definitely never been this angry towards someone I care about - and who's supposed to care about me. Not when I realised Damian only wanted me for my money. Not even when I thought Mom couldn't love me for who I am." Clenching his hands into fists, he shook his head again. "He thinks he knows," he continued passionately, "he thinks he knows what I went through because he was there when I started drinking again, but he doesn't have any idea, no clue what it's like. It's still there, every day," Luke announced, coming to a stop and finally facing Reid, "you think about it every single day. Do you know what it's like living with that?" He asked the question accusingly, as if waiting to see if whatever answer Reid produced was going to please him.
Reid just went with the truth. "I'd think you'd have to be one of the strongest people I've ever met."
Reid had seen addictions, seen the way they could destroy people. The fact that Luke was currently conquering his was something to be proud of, not something to be used against him.
Blinking, surprised, some of Luke's anger seemed to seep out of him. He was still agitated though, his own gaze falling to his hands, still in fists. "I need to do something," he said quietly, "I need to do something because right now the only thing I can think to do is-" Luke broke off, turning his head to one side in embarrassment at admitting what he obviously saw as a weakness.
Yeah, Noah was such a great guy he was driving his boyfriend to drink.
Luckily, Reid had just the thing.
*
Memorial had a gym as part of the Physical Therapy department. Reid had seen it, but thus far hadn't had any use for it.
Until now.
The hospital was open twenty-four hours, of course - even in a dump like Oakdale - but it was definitely quieter at night time. He could admit, at least to himself, that it made a nice change of pace to some of the busier places he'd worked in. Reid usually preferred to keep busy, but there was a difference between busy and insane.
It didn't take Luke very long to realise which section of the hospital they were headed towards. Of course, he had all the reason in the world to be familiar with it.
"I've really had enough physical therapy for a lifetime," he warned.
"This is physical therapy of a different kind," Reid promised, walking forward and activating the automatic doors - provided for easy access - that led into the section. They passed only a few members of staff and a few turns later, they were walking into the gym. Reid bypassed the rest of the equipment - surprisingly state of the art, most of it - and headed straight for the far corner.
Luke came to a stop in front of it. "Seriously?"
"Trust me," Reid told him, grabbing a pair of gloves from the nearby storage shelf. Advancing towards Luke, he gestured for Luke to hold out a hand. "There are some important things to remember," he said, as he fit the first glove snugly onto Luke's left hand. "Don't keep your thumb inside your fist - but don't have it sticking right out, either. That way lies a broken bone," he warned, satisfied that the first glove was on securely. He moved onto the other hand. "Are you left or right handed?"
"Right," Luke replied quietly, letting Reid work.
Nodding, Reid gave the second glove a quick tug to be sure. Satisfied with that one too, he looked up and grabbed Luke's shoulders, guiding him into position. "Lead with your weak side - in your case the left," he instructed, tugging Luke around. "Sideways," he instructed. "Left foot forward, feet shoulder-width apart."
Luke accommodated. "How do you know all this?" he asked, looking down at his own feet.
Reid studied them too. "I thought we agreed I am all-knowing." Luke snorted. Reid smiled briefly to himself. "My Grandfather used to box semi-professionally," he explained, "knees bent. Back straight." Luke complied. "Back heel off the floor." He stepped back and moved around to the front, studying Luke's stance. Far from perfect, but it'd do the job.
Luke bounced up and down experimentally. "This feels good." He bounced again. "You don't still do this yourself?"
"Not anymore," Reid answered, watching Luke's movements. "I have these to consider," he explained, waggling his fingers. Even boxing gloves didn't fully protect your hands.
"Right," Luke acknowledged. "Um, so can I punch something now? You've kind of got me looking forward to it. Or am I all dressed up with no place to go?"
Things had to be improving if Luke was making jokes. "Have at it," he agreed, stepping off to one side.
Stepping closer, Luke seemed to be studying the punching bag. Eventually, he let rip with his first punch. It was a decent enough effort, but with the muscles evident beneath the snug t-shirts he liked to wear, he was capable of much better. "Make sure the first two knuckles on your hand connect first - square on the knuckles," he warned, "or you'll end up hurting yourself." He started walking in a circle around Luke and the punching bag. Luke tried again. Good. Luke punched again. And again. And again.
"Keep your knees bent," Reid reminded, observing and critiquing as necessary. After a while he didn't have to say anything at all - partly because Luke was good at following instructions, but mostly because Luke was so focused he probably no longer heard anything Reid said.
This was what Reid had been hoping for. Luke was intent, punching over and over again, almost constantly without break. The only thing in his mind were the emotions he was trying to exorcise. Reid remembered the feeling well. It wasn't as good as the rush when operating, but there was a purity in this kind of violence that Reid appreciated. Mindless violence made you look like an idiot. Controlled violence was a great motivator. When you reached that point, nothing else mattered.
Luke's stamina was impressive, but when he started getting sloppy in his stance and in his punches, Reid brought it to an end. Tapping Luke on the shoulder at the moment was a bad idea, so he approached the punching bag from the other side and grabbed it, holding it still.
Stopping mid-punch, Luke's eyes cleared as he stood up straight. Swaying on his feet for a few moments, he stared down at his gloved hands. He was breathing hard from the exertion, hair clinging to his face, t-shirt glued to his back. "That was..." He said nothing else, apparently not having the words for it.
"You need to hydrate," Reid informed him, releasing the bag and stepping around it, reaching for Luke's hands. "Do you feel dizzy? Nauseous?"
Luke shook his head, quietly watching Reid work. Reid left him to whatever he was obviously processing internally.
When the second glove was off, Luke opened and closed his fists experimentally. "You'll probably feel some soreness tomorrow," Reid warned him, with a small smile, "but something tells me you can handle it."
Slowly lifting his head, Luke produced a small smile of his own. Reid moved to step away but was brought up short when one of Luke's hands suddenly shot out, grabbing Reid's wrist.
Reid turned back to him inquisitively, stupidly aware of just how much heat Luke was generating from that small amount of contact alone. "Yeah?"
Luke looked at him kindly. "Thank you," he said, and it was clear he meant it from every pore of his body, the two words suffused with such genuine thanks that it was almost awe-inspiring.
If Reid were the type of person who was easily awed by anything. Which he wasn't.
"No trouble," he shrugged, "it's not like I-"
Luke's hand tightened on his wrist. "Reid." Reid couldn't help but meet Luke's gaze and he saw the blatant request there: just accept this. Let me thank you.
And damned if he didn't find himself doing just that. "Um. You're welcome."
The faint smile on Luke's face grew bigger. Still not up to its usual standards, but still definitely the best smile he'd produced since the moment he'd stepped into the diner with Noah. Luke's lips were...
Reid was suddenly aware of how close they were standing. Of Luke touching him. The heat rolling off Luke's body. The moisture on the side of Luke's face. How unbearably close Luke lips were.
And Reid didn't even plan it, but they were inching fractionally closer to each other, gazes flicking from mouths to eyes and back again, and Luke might have swallowed and their mouths were millimetres apart-
Luke wrenched away, stumbling backwards, a hand flying up to his mouth.
Shit. "Luke-"
The hand came back down. "I can't," he pleaded, as if wanting Reid to understand. "It's...things with Noah are screwed up, but I have to figure out where we are. For real," Luke continued, face anguished. "We've been together for two years, Reid. I can't just..." He stopped. "I don't know if we'll stay together after this, but..." his shoulders drooped. "I have to know for sure. I owe it to the two years we've been together to make absolutely sure."
It wasn't like Reid didn't understand that. He did. "Okay."
Reid's easy acceptance just seemed to make Luke more miserable. "This is just what I accused him of," he said, "only I don't think he's actually attracted to-" Turning to one side, he brought a hand up to his face. Taking a few fortifying breaths, he visibly tried to calm himself. Eventually, he lowered the hand and turned his head back towards Reid. "My entire life," Luke told Reid, voice wobbling with emotion, "I've watched my parents cheat on each other. I barely remember a single year where they didn't sleep with other people." Jesus, with everything else he'd been through, it was no wonder Luke was an alcoholic. "I can't be that way," he explained, shaking his head. After a moment he licked his lips and nodded once, firmly, as if coming to a decision. "I won't. I'm not sorry for that, but I am sorry if you wanted something more. I'm sorry," he said again, before turning and walking away.
Reid respected Luke enough to make his own decisions - dumb though they could obviously be, such as picking Noah as a boyfriend - but there was something Luke had to hear before he went. "Luke."
He didn't turn around, but he did stop walking.
"Being attracted to someone else when you're in a relationship," Reid told him firmly, "it doesn't automatically make you the bad guy. Or a cheat. You're not them," he said finally, hoping the message was getting through. "You're nothing like your parents."
A few moments later Luke nodded minutely - then walked quickly out of the gym.
Leaving Reid alone with nothing but a pair of boxing gloves.
*
Unsurprisingly, Luke proceeded to vanish off the face of the planet. There were rare occasions where they happened to see each other but they never lasted long, as Luke would inevitably look embarrassed then apologetic and quickly scurry off. But all the places they'd spent time together, even briefly - Java, Al's, the Lakeview, even the hospital - Luke vanished from them entirely.
Reid told himself it didn't matter, that he wasn't disappointed that Luke wasn't constantly buzzing around in his orbit, sticking his nose into Reid's business, or sitting himself at Reid's tables uninvited.
Things were better this way. Life was better this way. Those inconvenient feelings he'd been having whenever Luke was around had done nothing but take his focus off what really mattered - doing whatever it took to get out of Oakdale as fast as possible. Spending the ludicrous amount of time thinking about Luke that he had - that ridiculous night he'd barely slept, those moments of quiet during the day when thoughts of Luke would creep in - only proved how much time was being wasted. Spending so much time concentrating on something other than his job, how could he possibly be performing at full capacity?
Luke had been nothing more than a temporary inconvenience and Reid fully intended to forget about him. Out of sight, out of mind.
Only after the first few days, it became clear that wasn't happening. If anything, he was thinking about Luke more.
He'd be filling in paperwork and he'd suddenly find himself wondering what Luke was doing. He'd be working with Paul and bam! Thoughts wondering (hoping...no, just wondering, dammit) if Luke had kicked Noah's ass to the curb yet. And at night, when he had nothing to distract him even slightly, the greatly disturbing thoughts considering the possibility that he might just be willing to attempt the whole relationship thing, if Luke were the other part of the relationship.
It was extremely frustrating.
The only peace of mind Reid found at all was when he was in surgery. Luke hadn't infected that part of him, at least. In surgery he was still focused, absolute, and when the latest neuro-trauma was rolled into the OR - Bob was right, they did have a strangely high number of them - Reid was almost thankful. Something he decided was best kept to himself.
Susie knew something was up. They still kept in frequent contact and, with Reid in consultation with Bob, they'd started arranging for some of Reid's patients from his Dallas facility to come to Oakdale for treatment. Being Susie, she used every opportunity she could to try and get something out of him.
"So that's James Price booked in on the 25th," she confirmed, the sound of her fingers typing rapidly on the keyboard resonating clearly through the phone line, "and I just wanted to double-check when you're going to crack and tell me everything."
In the middle of his own note-making, Reid froze, fingers still clamped around the pen as he sat at the desk in the Head of Neurology office he'd inherited. It came with the job and was only slightly bigger than the water closet he'd been working in before. "That would be never," he managed to reply calmly, "because there's nothing to tell you everything about." Irritatingly, an image of Luke came to mind.
"You know you've never been able to hide anything from me," Susie gloated, "you'll tell me eventually."
"Keep enjoying those delusions you're having," Reid advised, "because you won't enjoy it when I diagnose the brain tumour you're undoubtedly suffering from."
"I must have a brain tumour if I'm actually worried about you," she told him. "Something is going on. You're moping."
How could she possible tell that over the telephone?
Not that he was moping. "I have never once moped."
"Ha! Tell me you haven't been sitting on the sofa hugging a cushion."
The irritating thing was, he really hadn't been able to hide anything from her. They'd known each other for what felt like so long that she'd long been able to assess his exact mood from the moment he first strode into work in the morning, and immediately know if he needed to get something out of his system before he got to work. His mouth stayed stubbornly shut.
"I knew it!" she crowed annoyingly.
God, she really didn't deserve the awesome job he'd given her. "It's an extremely comfortable sofa," he said defensively, which it really was, "you're always telling me to relax more. In fact, I believe your exact words are 'Reid, take a break before you pop a blood vessel. I'm not clearing up all that blood'."
Susie wasn't having it. "And the purpose of the cushion is...?"
He said nothing.
"Look," she said eventually, "I've told you before, it's nothing to be embarrassed about. Even you, Creepy Reid Oliver-"
"Creepy?"
"-from time to time, even you want a hug."
Reid hadn't had a hug from an adult since he was ten years old. "I literally have no idea what to say to that sentence."
"Try 'Yes Susie, you're absolutely right and deserve a bonus'," she suggested. "In fact, you should say that in every conversation we have from now on."
"This fantasy island you're living on," Reid began, "is the weather nice? I've been thinking about working on my tan."
"Like you'd purposefully expose your body to that many UV rays," she pointed out. "And don't think you can distract me from the task at hand. You're hiding something. And I will find out what it is."
"There's the professional PA I hired who doesn't get involved in her boss' personal life."
Reid didn't even catch the slip-up he'd made. Susie most definitely did.
"Personal life?" Her voice perked up. "You have a personal life, now?" Oh, hell. "You've met someone," she continued eagerly, "tell me you've finally met someone! Oh my God, does he love you despite your many, many, many faults?"
"I'll tell you no such thing," he answered, attempting damage control even though he feared it was pointless. There was frequently nothing that could tame Hurricane Susie. In fact, Reid decided then and there that retreat was the better part of valour, and promptly hung up.
Thirty seconds later he received a message on his cell phone.
u no landline isnt only form of communication rite? ILL B WATCHIN U
Texting back, That's not creepy at all, Reid paused before adding and when are you going to start using proper punctuation? before turning off his phone and getting back to work.
Only the nightmare continued.
Case in point: Paul Ryan, who Reid didn't actively hate on sight, had been continuing his therapy with more visits and finally meeting his daughter for the first time. Meg had rightly insisted on being there, but it'd been clear to Reid that Emily had been right about her. Meg clearly hated the fact that Paul didn't really care about her at all anymore, and was blatantly manipulating Paul into spending more time with her in order to have access to his kid. Reid didn't think she was even in love with Paul anymore - she just wanted the attention.
Crazy exes aside, meeting the kid had gone as well as it could. Paul's fears had mostly proven unfounded and he'd appeared slightly happier since. Reid used the word 'slightly' because Paul didn't ever seem to produce much emotion at all. He had actually been concerned it was an effect of the trauma to the brain, but by this point it just seemed to be a facet of his personality.
It was Thursday, and Paul was due to be released from the hospital soon. Reid was pleased; he'd been wanting the opportunity to show Paul where he'd been living for the last few years, see if it would jog any memories. Paul seemed satisfied, but quiet.
But then Reid realised Paul had been so quiet because he'd been busy watching Reid.
"What's up with you?"
Neatly stacking the flash cards he'd brought with him on the tray table - he preferred using them to a computer display - Reid frowned. "What are you talking about?"
"You," Paul nodded towards him, "you're all...gloomy."
Wonderful. "I've frequently been told that's my general disposition."
"No, this is something different," Paul replied perceptively, squinting as he studied him. "Broken heart?"
Reid found himself fiddling with the cards. "We both know I don't have one. Now," he quickly moved on, holding up the first card, "you remember how this works?"
"I told you - I'm not forgetting new stuff."
Anterograde amnesia was indeed unlikely on top of what he was already suffering, but Reid wasn't taking any chances with the nutcase Paul had for a mother. "Better safe than sorry," he argued, "you'll thank me if you do start forgetting new memories. Except - oh wait. You won't remember anything."
Even Al's wasn't safe.
Surgery aside, Al's was Reid's bastion against unwelcome thoughts of a specific Oakdalian. Because of the food. Surgery and food were his only distractions and if this kept up, his waistline was going to be paying for it soon.
That didn't stop him from ordering a cheese burger.
Definitely not chilli. Or cornbread. Or milkshakes.
Scowling at the offending items on the menu, Reid was startled when Henry stepped into view wearing another eye-dazzling shirt.
"Haven't seen you for a while," Henry said. "Not that I wanted to."
"Well if you'd actually turn up at your diner from time to time, you'd have been able to revel in my presence, just like always." The last few times he'd come into the diner, there'd been no sign of Henry at all.
"I was dealing with some...rather personal problems," Henry confessed, nodding towards the kitchen. "She's going through some extreme ups and downs at the moment."
"Yeah, I really don't care," Reid replied, bored. "I already gave that waitress my order. I really don't need the small talk today. Or any day, for that matter."
Drumming the fingers of one hand on the other side of the counter, Henry looked at him. Then spoke. "So, do you know what happened with Luke and Noah?"
Reid felt another twitch building in his eye, annoyed at himself for wondering if Henry was genuinely asking or if Henry actually had information to share - in which case Reid would finally know. God, he was pathetic. "I don't know, and I couldn't care less."
"Well it certainly didn't seem that way the other day," Henry said, "the way you rushed out of here after-"
This really had to stop. "Why do you hate Noah, anyway?" This was a much better topic. Safer. Listing Noah Mayer's many flaws was a far better way of spending his time.
"Hate's a strong word," Henry prevaricated. "More like...mild dislike, from time to time. He did break my baby sister's heart." Right, that whole closet deal. "And, you know, I am not not-understanding of our gay citizens. I imagine it can be incredibly difficult coming out - especially with Colonel Mayer as a father. I met that guy, and let me tell you, creepy is not the word. And I wasn't thrilled that Noah hurt Maddie so badly," Henry continued, "but she told me to cut him some slack, so for her I did. But given that he lied to her only to move on to Luke...and then to see him treat Luke that way, after all that..." He shook his head. "Words were needed."
Now Reid definitely wanted to know. "What did you say?"
"Oh, just a few Coleman pearls of wisdom. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Love thy neighbour. Speak to anyone in Al's like that again, and you'll be banned for life." He grinned, charmingly.
Reid actually found himself chuckling. Briefly. Hank wasn't...entirely useless. Occasionally.
"So, really," Henry pressed on eagerly, as if they'd been talking about it all along, "you and Luke?"
This again? Really? He might as well just go into hiding. "There is no me and Luke."
"Don't even try it, Mr Doctor Man," Henry advised. "I've seen the two of you in here together, remember? Making googly eyes at each other. Sucking on your milkshake straws suggestively. It was practically porn!"
This was intolerable. "I've never made googly eyes at anyone in my life."
"Ah ha!" Henry announced. "But you didn't deny the suggestive straw sucking!"
Rolling his eyes purposefully, Reid tried not to remember the somewhat childish but greatly entertaining straw-sucking they'd participated in. "Am I getting my food anytime soon? Or are you planning on continuing to grill a paying customer about their alleged personal life?"
Henry held his hands up. "All I'm saying, Dr Oliver, is that I am fully behind this thing between you and Luke. Mostly because it certainly couldn't make you worse to be around. Who knows? If you were in love, you might even insult me every other sentence instead of every sentence. I call that a win!"
Reid twisted his lips. "It's important to have these aims in life."
"Glad we're in accord," Henry replied. "So, really," he leant forward, bracing his elbows on the counter, "anything I can do to help. I'm quite the matchmaker, you know."
Reid couldn't conceive of anything worse than letting Henry Coleman try to set him up with Luke. "Don't waste your time. Luke's already made it clear he's a one-guy guy." Luke wasn't a cheat, and Reid refused to let anyone try to encourage him otherwise. Far off in some strange, strange alternate universe, if he and Luke ever did get together, it would be because Luke wanted to, and he was ready.
"Really?" Henry asked, disappointed. "Wait," he then said speculatively, "does that mean you actually tried something, in order for him to make it clear he's a one-guy guy? Because if so, I insist on hearing all the juicy details-"
A loud buzzer saved Reid, sounding from the far end of the counter where the machines were.
"The toasted ciabatta!" Henry wailed, sprinting along the length of counter.
When Reid finally got his food he asked for a doggy bag, paid - and got the hell out of there.
*
Paul was finally being released, after his mother had been given specific instructions on how to care for the burns on his legs - she was already in the process of arranging for a private nurse to visit the home at least once a day.
The mother in question was currently standing in Paul's hospital room with Reid, who was doing everything possible to ignore her.
"So," Reid faced Paul, "you remember my wise, sage and extremely sound advice?" Reid did this frequently, giving Paul information then asking him to repeat it sometime later, testing his new memory retention.
"Get plenty of rest," Paul began listing robotically, clearly bored of this practice by now, "keep hydrated. Don't lose the instructions for your pain meds."
"I'll take care of that anyway," Barbara chirped happily, every inch the doting mother. Reid rolled his eyes.
Paul continued on. "Don't miss your PT sessions. Don't be a moron."
"That last one is the most important," Reid nodded approvingly, "and you will be a moron if you don't do exactly as I say."
"Your bedside manner is astounding, Doctor," Barbara told him, unimpressed.
Given his sudden and disturbing obsession with Luke, Reid was in even less of a mood than usual to be dealing with the likes of Barbara Ryan. "What, I'm required to be polite, now? Or is giving your son his memory back not enough? Tell me, Mrs Ryan, are you ever satisfied?"
Taken aback, Barbara's face contorted into something ugly, no doubt ready to hurl a foul invective in Reid's direction - when she realised her son was still in the room. Paul knew nothing about the blackmail and since interacting with him post-brain surgery, Barbara had played the role of a caring, nurturing mother well. Reid smiled to himself internally as her face transformed into something far more publically acceptable - a smile.
"Oh, Doctor," she all but cooed, "you have such wit."
He wasn't impressed by the effort but then apparently neither was Paul, who was paying his mother no attention at all, instead spending his time frowning at Reid.
"So, really," Paul said suddenly, "definitely gloomier." If Reid was gloomier it was only because he'd been trapped in Bizarro Town. "Lose out on a big poker game?" Paul asked, still trying to decipher the cause of Reid's bad mood. "Shares took a nosedive? Get shot in the back by someone who claimed to be in love with you?"
And just like that, Reid and Barbara were willingly looking at each other. They both stepped towards Paul.
"What made you say that?" Reid deliberately kept his voice calm, not risking making Paul anxious - although it seemed unlikely, given it was Paul.
"Say what?"
"The last one," Reid prompted, "about someone shooting you in the back."
"I don't know," Paul shrugged, "it just came to mind. That's a saying, right? Shooting...no, stabbing someone in the back, right?"
"That's right," Reid confirmed, mentally going over past conversations that had happened in front of Paul. Reid had definitely talked about the shooting, but not when Paul was awake. It might be conceivable that Paul heard it and processed it somewhere in the back of his mind when he was sleeping, but...hmm. "Has Emily told you much about your past together?"
"Bits and pieces," Paul replied, "she said it's better to focus on what's happening now rather than what happened in the past."
No kidding. So, he hadn't been definitively told about the shooting, either. This was a potentially interesting development, but Reid didn't want to make too much of it just yet. He made a show of nodding. "I'll get someone to help you into a wheelchair." Stepping out of the room, Reid snapped his fingers at the first nurse he saw. "You! Nurse Thingymabob."
"It's Gretchen, Dr Oliver," she replied meekly.
"Yeah, that's fascinating. Get a wheelchair for this patient and get him into it."
She nodded almost frantically, scurrying away. "Yes, Doctor."
Quite frankly, he was getting so used to it that when Reid turned back around he was expecting to see Barbara Ryan waiting for him. He wasn't disappointed.
"This is a good development, yes?"
"It's a promising sign," he hedged his bets. "I'll only truly be pleased if he starts making more than one comment that could be ascribed to random chance. He could've overheard something. He could've just gotten lucky. I need more data to make an informed decision, which means - more waiting."
Barbara made a face. Reid was no fan of waiting, either, but in any medical field, more often than not the one thing a patient needed most was time.
"If he does start making similar comments, let me know immediately. And before you even ask," Reid raised a hand to forestall any comment that was about to emerge from her opening mouth, "no, beyond what I'm already doing, I cannot do anything to make this process go any faster. You know as well as I do that I have every reason to get this done as soon as humanly possible."
Sighing, disappointed, Barbara forced a smile onto her face and stepped back into her son's room. Reid was about to follow suit, when he saw a familiar face come squeaking around the corner. He'd seen Casey in passing since the Luke and Noah debacle, but one of them was always smack bang in the middle of something. This time, Casey didn't look like he rushing somewhere to clear up a spilt bedpan and Reid preferred doing anything than interacting with Barbara, so the timing was perfect.
He needed a few words with Casey Hughes.
"You," he hissed quietly, stepping towards Casey, "are an idiot."
Coming to a stop, jerking his head back in surprise, Casey nonetheless didn't take long to recover. "You need some new material," he responded, pushing his trolley forward again.
Reid stepped in front of him, forcing him to stop. Casey glared at him. They stood at opposite ends of the trolley, a battle of wills. Mano a mano. Hughes versus Oliver.
"Have you ever actually read a dictionary, Hughes?" Reid inched the trolley in Casey's direction. "You know, that big book with lots of words in it?"
Casey shoved it back. "Oh, another dig at my education?"
"Not expressly," Reid retorted. "I'm just wondering if you actually had any concept of what the world 'subtle' means?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Your little chat with Noah," Reid spat, "resulted in nothing but Noah taking a huge and very public chunk out of Luke's hide because his friend has all the subtlety of Henry Coleman's shirts."
Casey didn't even have the sense of mind to look regretful. "Well I guess that proved your point, didn't it?"
Reid's grip loosened. "What point?"
"That Noah's an ass, isn't that how it goes? Well, you were right. Congratulations." Tugging the trolley out of Reid's grasp completely, Casey guided it around him and continued on his way, wheels squeaking on the hospital flooring.
Oh, they so weren't finished. Reid quickly caught up with him, walking with Casey as he wheeled the trolley along. "Are you saying you planned that? Deliberately?" That took the kind of planning even Reid would be proud of.
"I do actually use my brain, sometimes," Casey snapped back. "But I didn't..." Rolling to a stop, he slumped his shoulders and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, he glanced over at Reid. "I didn't think it would backfire on Luke the way it did. I didn't think Noah would react the way he did. Man, I still can't believe it!"
"You know the details?"
"Showdown at the OK Corral?" Casey asked rhetorically. "It's a small town, as you like to remind just about everyone, and everyone knows who the Snyders' are. I knew all about it by the end of the day."
Somehow, Reid hadn't even considered that possibility. Luke hadn't just been humiliated in front of the people in the diner. By now, the whole town had to know about it. Noah had lived here for a few years; he knew how the town worked. As far as Reid was concerned, that only made his behaviour worse.
Reid wanted to ask the question, he really did. But he couldn't quite make himself.
Casey looked at him knowingly. "He's...okay, if you were wondering. Which I'm sure you weren't," he smirked slightly, "but just on the off chance you were. He's thinking things through. Working things out." Casey gave Reid one final look, a full up and down with his eyes. "God only know what he sees in you," Casey muttered, shaking his head, before pushing his trolley forward again and squeaking away.
Reid's mood was just taking an upswing for the first time in days, when Barbara Ryan appeared next to him.
"Why, Dr Oliver," she began, "I hope you weren't planning on making an escape."
She was the first person on his shit list when he got to Hell.
*
Katie was...strange when he got home.
"Hi!" she exclaimed, when he unlocked the door and let himself in. "You're here!"
"And you're stating the obvious!" he exclaimed back, closing the door behind him and throwing his keys onto the coffee table. "When the pregnancy is over, you should look into valium. Really."
She frowned at him. "Wouldn't that affect the baby if I'm breastfeeding?"
"She or he is your kid - trust me, they'll need it." Flopping down on the sofa, Reid sprawled out, relaxing completely.
Katie perched next to him, looking at her cell phone. "Hard day at work?"
Every day was a hard day when you had to deal with imbeciles who could barely change a bandage, never mind assist surgery. "Paul Ryan went home today. The arrival home was...interesting." Paul lived at some place stupidly named Fairwinds, and had seemed impressed. Reid had gone with him and, frankly, he'd been more impressed by how fancy it was than he'd let on, i.e., he hadn't let on at all. "Didn't prompt any memories, though. He might have made a breakthrough earlier today," he conceded. "Not sure yet."
Glancing at her phone again, Katie suddenly jumped up. "I just remembered something! I'll be right back." She disappeared rapidly into her bedroom and a few moments later, the doorbell sounded.
Squinting suspiciously, Reid nonetheless walked across the room and opened the door.
And somehow wasn't at all surprised to see Luke standing in the doorway.
Luke certainly seemed surprised to see him, though, judging by the comically shocked expression that appeared on his face. "What are you doing here?"
Tipping his head back, hand still grasping the door handle, Reid closed his eyes and prayed for patience. "Katie!"
"Oh, Luke!" She greeted, walking up behind Reid. "What a-"
"Can it, Peretti," Reid interrupted, turning around to glare at her. "My room. Now."
Clutching her phone between her fingers, she encouraged Luke to come in. "Make yourself at home, Luke. We'll be right back."
Reid had already walked off and was now waiting not-so-patiently beside his bed. The moment Katie stepped in and closed the door behind her, Reid launched his attack. "I'm not even going to ask what the hell you think you're doing because it's blatantly obvious what you think you're doing. How could you possibly think, even for a second, that something this ridiculous could even work?"
"You've been like a bear with a sore paw for days, Reid!" She argued. "No - a mutilated paw! When Henry told me what happened at the diner-"
"You, what?" Reid demanded. "Decided this idiocy was a good idea? I thought you were all ‘Yay! Luke and Noah!'" He waved his hands either side of his head. "What, you suddenly changed your mind?"
"That's not what happened," she defended, before pausing. "Not exactly. But when I heard about the things Noah said to Luke, and then Henry told me about how you two were together..."
"Henry is a biased observer," Reid retorted, "he seems to think he has a promising future as Oakdale's premiere matchmaker."
Katie immediately looked guilty.
"Oh, don't tell me..."
The doorbell rang again.
"Unbelievable," Reid muttered, shaking his head, yanking open the door. Luke was dithering in the living room, clearly trying to decide if he should open the door or not. Reid saved him the trouble, opening the door himself.
"Bubbles!" Henry immediately declared, sweeping into the room. "Sorry to intrude, but I need your help for-"
"Save whatever lame excuse you're about to conjure up, Hank," Reid informed him, "whatever it is, it'll be terrible."
Pausing, Henry nodded, conceding the point. "In that case, I'll just...go." He pointed towards the door, then started heading out the way he'd just come in.
Katie was right behind him. "See you later!" she declared, slamming the door behind her.
Reid stared at Luke. Luke stared at Reid.
It was really, really good to see Luke. Christ.
Reid sighed, rubbing a hand over his face and sitting down on the sofa. "Can you believe those two idiots?"
Luke shrugged awkwardly, still standing. "I guess...they're just trying to do something nice for us, right?"
He really was unbelievable. "Always seeing the good side," Reid shook his head, smiling vaguely. Glancing up at Luke, he then focused his gaze down on the coffee table. "You might as well go. You don't need to hang around. I know you don't want to be around me."
"You're living with Brad and Katie?" Luke queried, as if he'd only just figured it out. "How did I not know that?"
"Well, once they put this 'plan' together, they were probably deliberately trying to hide it."
Luke nodded thoughtfully. "In any case...not wanting to spend time with you is really not the problem," he said in a rush. Pausing, he lifted his gaze upward as if trying to find focus. "In fact," he admitted eventually, bringing his gaze back to Reid, "that's the complete opposite of the problem." Reid didn't need it spelled out, but Luke spelled it out just the same. "I want to be around you. All the time."
Jesus Christ. Shooting to his feet, Reid paced over towards the kitchen. "I can't believe you."
"What?" Luke asked, completely confused.
"You can't just say that crap when you're dating someone else," he told him, swinging back around.
"You think I don't know that?" Luke asked, pained. "Why do you think I..?"
"What?" Reid asked. "Went into hiding?"
"Pretty much," Luke confessed. "You're a...serious distraction. I can't deal with that and Noah right now."
"Smart man," Reid nodded. "So get out." This was too much. This was actually too much for Reid to handle. After the last few days, Hank and Katie's ridiculous intervention, being blackmailed into staying in Oakdale by Barbara Ryan and Reid's own constant thoughts of Luke, he was done.
"Reid-"
"No, no," Reid interrupted, "you said so yourself. I'm too much of a distraction. Don't tell me that and then suddenly want to spend time with me. You're not a cheater and I'm nobody's second best. And I don't want you around me, either," he insisted, "because when you're around I do ridiculous things like wanting to hear your opinion, care if Bob is actually developing dementia, lurk around different parts of Oakdale, trying to eavesdrop on brain dead people and their insipid conversations. Reid Oliver does not lurk! Get out!"
Luke set his jaw firmly, nostrils flaring. "You've made yourself perfectly clear, Dr Oliver. I'm sorry the time we've known each other has been so inconvenient for you. But you don't need to worry about me wanting to spend any more time in your majestic presence. Rest assured, that will never happen again."
Jaw still firmly set, Luke walked out of the apartment - and out of Reid's life.
*
At the ass-crack of dawn the next day Reid was already in his office on the computer, searching for apartments to rent. He'd already bookmarked a few that he wanted to look into in more detail; see if they met his stringent standards and were worth a viewing. Reid wasn't particularly fussy about having huge amounts of space - he was basically only going to be sleeping there - but it did have to be easy to maintain, well-built and exceptionally clean.
He'd just found another likely suspect, when the door to his office opened. Reid flicked his gaze up, then flicked it back down to the monitor. "Most civilised human beings knock before attempting to enter someone's office."
Brad knocked on the open door.
Reid sighed.
Apparently taking that as invitation to enter, Brad stepped inside, closed the door behind him and sat at the opposite side of Reid's desk.
Shaking his head, Reid still didn't look at him, scrolling through options. "You people," he complained, "always commenting on how rude I am, how my manners just aren't up to scratch. And yet you're constantly barging in or sitting down uninvited. Do I have this behaviour to look forward to from any future Snyder's I unfortunately run in to?"
Brad didn't seem fazed, but then Reid wasn't sure Brad's brain operated at a level above 'beloved family dog'. He seemed to spend a lot of time doing nothing but being enthusiastic. Even if he was upset about something, he was upset enthusiastically.
"So, um," he began.
"Save your breath," Reid retorted, selecting a preferred price range, "Katie has plainly sent you here on her behalf to beg for mercy. It's not going to work. I actually respected her ability to manipulate people," he confessed, clicking on a link, "but there's a difference between manipulating people to help you and being completely insane. There are bad judgement calls and then there's that." Who the hell thought collaborating with Henry Coleman on a romantic endeavour could ever end well?
"You just have to understand how Katie works, that's all," Brad explained, apparently unconcerned about Reid's brush-off. "And I know how you feel, really. She's pulled this kind of stuff on me in the past."
Interesting. "And you're still with her?"
"She's worth it, man," Brad shrugged, "and it's not like I'm always smelling of roses, you know? Look," he tried again, "she only did any of this because she cares about you. And I think you're not half-bad," he admitted generously. "You should give her another chance."
Reid wasn't used to people caring about him. He certainly wasn't used to people caring about him so sneakily. "What's to say she won't pull this kind of crap again?"
The door suddenly burst open. Reid's gaze was finally ripped away from the monitor as he stared at surprise at Katie, who had plainly been listening in. "I won't," she assured him emotionally, rushing to his side, eyes watering. "I promise, Reid! I just wanted you to be happy! And Luke! You're both so wonderful - even though you are a little grumpy," she added as an aside. "And if you stay with us, you don't have to go to the inconvenience of finding your own place, viewing apartments, negotiating the contract. You'll already have a place, with a large sofa and a huge refrigerator."
Damn her for knowing him so well. She actually did make it sound like an appealing proposition, despite her abundance of emotion. But Reid really didn't want to make it that easy for her. Leaning back in his chair he swivelled towards her, squinting purposefully. "You pay for all my sandwiches for the next month."
She launched herself towards him, and Reid was horrified to realise she was hugging him.
"Oh, Reid!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"
Even as he awkwardly tried to dislodge her, Reid shared a look with Brad. "God save me from pregnant women and their hormones."
"You're not sharing a job with her at the moment," Brad replied sympathetically. "One minute she's crying over a story about an abandoned puppy-"
"But it was so cute!" Katie interrupted, finally pulling away from Reid. Reid brushed the front of his lab coat down. "With its little eyes."
Brad continued on. "And the next she's-"
"She's what?" Katie demanded imperiously, standing with her hands on her hips.
"Not at all scary," Brad replied quickly, wide-eyed. "So, are we done?" he asked, glancing between Katie and Reid, gesturing behind him with his thumb, "only I have some stuff I could be doing-"
"Go," Reid encouraged, making shooing motions with his right hand, "both of you. Get out of here before I change my mind. I've been hugged," he shuddered, "enough for one day."
Brad wasted no time getting out of there, disappearing out the door with a smile. Katie lingered a little longer.
"Really, Reid," she told him genuinely, calm now. "I thought I was helping."
He knew that. "I know," he told her, actually thinking that terrible cliché, her heart was in the right place, "and because you are such an idiot, I've decided to be generous and not hold your idiocy against you. Much."
Katie smiled. "You don't fool me, Dr Oliver."
Reid tilted his head. "How so?"
"You wouldn't have gotten so angry if you didn't care so much about Luke."
Did she never learn? Immediately turning away from her, Reid grabbed his mouse and stared at the monitor. "Sandwiches," he reminded, "for a month." Realistically, he knew he'd caved much, much too easily and he was trying not to focus on what that said about him.
"It might break the bank," she teased, "but somehow we'll manage."
*
For the next few weeks, life passed as ordinarily as it could in Oakdale. There was a car crash (Reid had operated on and saved the life of a guy with the ridiculous name 'Dusty'. Seriously. Who did that to their kid?), a murder-suicide pact, Reid tried to help Paul get his memory back, tried and inevitably failed not to think about Luke - but worst of all, Al's had to close temporarily due to a health scare.
Henry had yet to work his way back into Reid's good books - not that he'd ever actually been in Reid's good books. More like the 'they're not that bad' books.
That didn't mean he didn't try often, and at length, to engage Reid in conversation. Unfortunately, whenever he did, he only had one subject to moan about. Greatly.
"I'm going to be ruined," he exclaimed, sitting next to Reid in a bar Reid had recently found called Yo's. "It doesn't matter that they traced the problem to the delivery van. My food made people sick. My reputation's toast!"
"Toast, ha," Reid nodded, wishing Henry would go away. "And you work in a diner. I see what you did there."
Henry stuck his head out of his gloom for once. "Seriously, are you ever going to get over Luke? Because this mooning over him stuff is making me feel even worse."
"Can't be any worse than your customers felt after they ate your food," Reid shot back. "And I do not moon. Mooning is what teenage girls do when the jock of their dreams turns out to be an inevitable disappointment."
Henry tilted his head. "I see nothing in that statement that doesn't relate to you. Luke used to be on the basketball team, you know."
"In any case," Reid glared, "you were all gung-ho for the Luke and Reid show. What's the matter - not liking the casting, now?"
"It could do with some improvements," Henry nodded, "mostly I'm just tired of you pouting all the time."
"I keep telling you to leave me alone," Reid pointed out. "If you're disturbed by whatever imaginary expression you think you're seeing on my face, it's your own fault."
Henry apparently had no answer to that, and lapsed into silence.
Grateful, Reid kept nursing the one non-alcoholic drink he'd ordered - he was on-call and he wasn't much of a drinker anyway - mostly just tracing the rim of the glass with his fingers. A few moments later, Henry deliberately thumped his head down on the bar.
"I'm ruined!"
Reid closed his eyes, pained by the melodrama that seemed to be inherent in Oakdale and its inhabitants. The sooner Paul got his memory back, the better. Life really couldn't get any worse.
*
Reid was putting his lab coat on in the staff room when Bob walked in.
"Bob," he nodded, closing his locker.
"Reid," he greeted genially. "I was hoping to find you. I wanted to ask how things are progressing with Paul Ryan."
"Same as ever, for the most part," Reid shrugged, reaching up to straighten his collar. "I'm looking into some new therapies to try - there's some interesting research coming out of Germany at the moment." When he said interesting, he meant 'crazy, brand new analysis that he'd never even considered before'. At this point, Reid was willing to try anything even vaguely scientific.
Bob nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like you've got everything well in hand. And your first transfer from Dallas is coming to Memorial soon?"
"Next week," Reid confirmed.
"The 25th, that's right," he said. "I expect you're eager to continue with something you have such a personal investment in. You must be pleased."
Reid narrowed his eyes, studying Bob suspiciously. "...okay?"
"And you did an excellent job with Dusty Donovan last week," Bob said proudly, "the fact that he's been released from hospital already is a testament to your-"
Okay, this really had to stop. "Bob," Reid spoke very, very slowly, "are you...trying to compliment me?"
He had the gall to not even look embarrassed, even though he'd clearly be caught out. "Reid," Bob replied, giving up the pretense, "it has come to my attention that you're not your usual...robust self of late. I don't know what's caused this apparent change and - I'm aware that it's unlikely - but should you feel the need to talk about anything that's...concerning you, Kim has informed me that I'm a very good listener."
Reid just stared at him in disbelief. That was kind of...God help him, adorable. How a sixty-something man could even manage that feat, Reid didn't know - but somehow Bob did.
Not that there was any chance in hell of Reid taking him up on the offer. "Look, Bob, much as I-"
The door suddenly swung open, and Margo Hughes rushed inside. She'd clearly been crying, her eyes still wet and her nose a bright, unattractive splotch of red. No doubt there was more melodrama. "Dad," she gasped, "sorry to interrupt-"
Bob walked towards hers, grasping her forearms. "Margo, what on earth's the matter?"
"I'll, uh, get out of your way," Reid volunteered, gratefully slipping out of the room, considering himself lucky to escape. He kept himself busy for a few minutes, checking on a patient in the opposite room and when he emerged again, Bob and Margo were in the doorway of the staff room. Bob looked quite emotional himself and Reid found himself getting intrigued despite his impulse not to.
"-but someone has to tell him," Margo was saying.
Bob placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You have work to do, Margo. I'll tell him. Really. Go on," he urged. Hesitating for a moment, Margo eventually nodded, straightened her back and walked away.
When she was out of view, Bob's shoulders slumped visibly, a hand coming up to his face. When he started slowly shaking his head in disbelief at whatever news he'd just received, Reid actually found himself taking a step towards him.
Someone else got there first.
"Grandpop?"
Startled, Bob quickly lowered his hand and lifted his head. "Casey."
"Is everything okay?" Casey asked, concerned, stepping away from the trolley he'd just wheeled past the nurses' station.
"I, um," Bob frowned, eyes moist, "I need to talk to you actually. Come in, come in." Reaching behind him, he pushed the door open.
Hesitating, as if he could tell it was bad news, Casey eventually stepped inside.
Before the door has even swung shut, Reid was walking across the corridor. Given Margo's emotional reaction and even Bob's quiet display, it had to be something serious. Loss of a family member?
Peering through the open shutters hanging inside the only window in the room, Reid watched as Bob spoke to Casey, watched as Casey started shaking his head, as Casey started pushing against Bob in despair.
It was painful to watch. It had to be a death. Family member? Friend?
And suddenly his mind was there.
Friend.
He hadn't seen Luke, even in passing, for days.
He hadn't seen Luke for days.
Reid's throat went dry.
Mere seconds later Casey was bursting out of the room, anguished, running across the corridor and out of sight.
"Casey!" Bob called after him, pausing in the doorway. After a few seconds, he slumped to one side.
None of that mattered. Reid walked up to him robotically. "What happened?"
Sighing heavily, Bob shook his head slowly. "There...was an accident. Holden Snyder."
Holden. Snyder. Luke's Dad. Not Luke.
Not Luke.
That was good. Luke would hate him forever if he ever found out, but Reid didn't give a crap.
"He was driving to a horseshow in Kentucky," Bob explained quietly. "They're still trying to piece together exactly what happened, but his truck...it went off a cliff," he shook his head. "But the worst thing," he continued, voice horrified now, "is that at the last minute, Luke decided to go with him."
No.
Reid couldn't do anything but stand there and listen to Bob tell him that Luke was dead.
"The bodies were..." Bob paused, swallowing. "They're arranging for dental records to confirm absolutely, but apparently, given the height and apparent age..." He shook his head. "As far as we can tell, Luke and Holden are both dead."
*
Bob prattled on about the tragedy of it all - Holden being such a well-known figure in town, Luke's young and troubled life - but it didn't matter.
Nothing mattered.
Reid managed to produce words, managed to join letters and syllables together to make some kind of sense, blurt something out about needing time and then he was turning and walking away.
He didn't have a car in Oakdale - it was so small that, so far, he hadn't needed one - but he wouldn't have been capable of driving anyway.
Reid walked. And walked.
He walked through Memorial, out to the parking lot. Into the Lakeview, stopping at the elevator, glaring at the people sitting at the table in the dining room, laughing. Past Al's with it's optimistic We'll Be Back in Business Soon! poster. Walked by the cutesy, irritating antique shop; the bench Noah and Mason had cuddled up on and Luke had freaked out by. He paused outside Java, which he'd stupidly started avoiding so he wouldn't have to see Noah Mayer's equally stupid face.
Luke was everywhere.
In Java, the first place they met - accusing Reid of being a homophobe. At Al's, with his sticky-up hair, sucking down milkshakes and telling Reid that writing I believe that patient care is as vitally important to recovery as treatment on his application wasn't an outright lie, because he knew Reid cared more than he let on. In the elevator at the Lakeview, somehow growling and laughing the first time Reid beat him at chess, demanding they try again, leaning in close as he immediately loaded a new game. By the bench in Old Town, throwing his arms around in anger; telling Reid about his drinking.
Even the apartment wasn't safe. Luke was there most of all, fighting back against Reid just as passionately, telling Reid he never intended to see him again.
Reid had no conscious drive or impulse. He just kept walking because if he stopped for longer than a few seconds, there was no telling what might happen. He honestly had no idea.
He couldn't do nothing. He had to do something.
So he walked.
At some point, his phone started ringing. Fumbling it out of his pocket, he blinked a few times, clearing his eyes to see the Caller ID.
Katie is calling...
Rejecting the call, Reid turned his phone off and put it away.
He walked past a club named Metro, WOAK, the Oakdale Police Department. Some place called The Wagon Wheel Inn. He thought about getting a room there, somewhere no one knew he'd be - but that would mean he'd have to stop moving.
Eventually he blinked and realised he was back outside the hospital - but that was no good, either. In the hospital, Luke was being officially introduced to him, actually being thankful for Reid's snarky advice. Merrily chomping away on Reid's bacon and toast, telling him all about the time that Henry Coleman's other sister went insane and murdered a bunch of teenagers at Raven Lake. Literally bumping into Reid in the corridor, then holding on tightly, smiling and looking so, so ridiculously pleased to see him. In the gym, following Reid's instructions to the letter, letting out all his anger and frustration towards Noah-
Yes.
Yes. Perfect.
Reid walked straight to Memorial's gym. A few people tried to flag him down, catch his attention. Reid either ignored them completely or brushed them aside. The doors to PT swept open automatically and not long after that, Reid was stepping into the gym. It wasn't empty; a few patients present with their therapists. Reid ignored them, too, stripping off his lab coat as he stalked across the room, stepping around equipment, taking the fastest route possible to the far corner. As soon as he was in range, he tossed his lab coat aside and aimed a punch towards the bag with all his strength. The punching bag veered wildly away, immediately swinging back towards him. Reaching up to grab the sides with both hands, Reid clung on, pressing his forehead against the material, closing his eyes, trying to contain this living, burning thing inside of him.
This was what always happened. It'd happened time and time again. His parents no longer giving a crap about him when he refused to play chess anymore. His grandfather's sudden stroke when Reid was fifteen. The classmates at high school, who hated him for being smart. The so-called friends from college, who only wanted to ride on his success. The idiots from medical school, who turned on him when he won the grant.
Every time there were 'feelings' involved, Reid got screwed over.
Every. Damn. Time.
He never learned. Why the fuck did he never learn?
Exhaling a heavy breath, Reid dug his fingers into the material before pushing himself away, readying his stance, remembering everything his Grandfather had taught him.
*
The day Reid came home from school with a black eye and bruised knuckles, Grandpa finally took him to the gym. Mom and Dad had never allowed it, informing Reid quite confidently that nothing good could ever come from any kind of violence, no matter how successful Grandpa was. He was far better off concentrating only on his chess and his education.
They had to drive by the front of the gym to get to the parking lot and Reid stared up at in interest, nose all but pressed up against the glass. Beacon Hill Boxing Club it said on the front of the large, old brick building. Despite his parents' wishes, Reid couldn't wait to see inside.
Reid knew that Grandpa knew what he was doing, but even he was surprised at just how fast he was in the gym, changing into shorts and a t-shirt, and watching as Grandpa tied the boxing gloves on. Reid liked his hands, his fingers. They helped him to write essays, play chess, eat - all of his favourite activities. Despite his excitement at finally be able to come here, it felt...weird to have them so contained. It wasn't like in winter, when Mom forced him into those embarrassing patterned mittens. This was even more profound.
"So," Grandpa said when both gloves were on, stepping back and folding his arms across his chest, "what kind of idiot starts a fight with someone bigger than them, when they've never thrown a punch before in their life?"
Defiantly lifting his chin, Reid fought against the blush he could feel staining his cheeks. "He was the idiot," he argued, "bullying me just because I'm smarter than him."
"So you figured, what?" Grandpa asked. "You'd show him who was boss? How'd that work out when you ended up on your ass with a black eye?"
Shamed, Reid glanced down. "I tried just talking to him first," he confessed, "but he was too dumb to understand any of my insults." Hearing a noise, Reid looked back up to see Grandpa raising a hand to his mouth and turning his head away. Reid was horrified. "Are you laughing at me?"
"You bet my ass I am, kid," Grandpa chuckled, shaking his head as he looked back at him. "You're something else, you know that?"
Reid wasn't pleased about being laughed at, but that last thing had sounded like a compliment. He shifted in place.
Growing serious, Grandpa reached out both hands and placed them on Reid's shoulders. "Let me tell you something, kid. You're not here to learn how to fight. You're here to focus all that rage inside of you - and do something with it. I should've done this a long time ago," he added sadly, patting Reid on the right shoulder before pulling both hands away. "Stupid ass daughter of mine."
Reid knew that Mom and Grandpa didn't like each other very much, that they only kept in contact because Grandpa would've kicked up too big a fuss about seeing Reid otherwise. "Mom and Dad said I'm not allowed to do this," he found himself saying, moving his gloved fists up and down.
It didn't bother Grandpa at all. "Lucky for you, they're at that conference until the weekend. And try as they might, they couldn't find anyone else to look after you, so you're stuck with me. Of course, it is your choice," he added slyly, "if you don't want to do it..."
"I didn't say that," Reid replied immediately. "I want to try."
Smirking, Grandpa placed a hand on Reid's back and guided him out of the sweaty-smelling locker room, into the equally sweaty-smelling training area. The same people who'd greeted Grandpa on the way in greeted him again, but left them alone. Once Reid was standing next to a punching bag - it looked huge, with the word Everlast printed on one side - Grandpa stood right next to him.
"Never punch anyone when you're angry," Grandpa told him, watching Reid to make sure he was paying attention. "The only time it's acceptable to punch someone in anger is if you're defending yourself, or someone you love. Mindless violence does nothing but make you look like an idiot - and didn't we decide a few years ago that you weren't an idiot?"
Reid grinned, remembering the conversation. "You said we were the only non-idiots in the family. And then you said I should never tell Mom that you said that."
Smiling, Grandpa shook his head in apparent disbelief. "Memory like an elephant. So," he continued, "while mindless violence makes you look like an idiot, controlled violence can be a very, very useful tool. When aimed at something like this," he held an arm out towards the punching bag, "not another human being. Are we extremely clear about this, Reid?"
Grandpa was speaking so seriously, staring at Reid with such severe eyes, that he wouldn't have even dreamed of not paying attention. He nodded enthusiastically, wide-eyed.
"Good." Grandpa's eyes transformed to match his sudden smile. "Now, stand sideways. Lead with your left side."
Reid followed every instruction Grandpa gave him, determined to give him nothing to complain about, to prove how good he could be. Grandpa told him about the right way to hold his fists inside the gloves, which way his feet should be facing, the movement he needed to keep in his knees and hips. He told him the right way to draw his arm back, which part of his fist he should be trying to hit the punching bag with.
And then he finally let Reid start hitting the bag.
It was messy at first; that much was obvious even to Reid. But Grandpa kept encouraging him, correcting him and eventually Reid found the technique, found a rhythm and Grandpa stopped talking. He didn't need to anymore.
The bruise around his eye was throbbing. The bruises already on his fingers hurt even more. It didn't matter.
Reid just was.
"Reid!"
Shocked out of his routine, Reid turned; his next punch just barely clipping the bag. It swung back towards him, hitting him, but he barely shifted.
Katie was standing before him, tears in her eyes.
She knew.
She knew.
Panting, breathing heavily, Reid knew he should be feeling the strain on his muscles, the sweat-soaked clothes sticking to his skin. He didn't feel anything. He didn't feel anything at all.
"I've been looking for you," she explained hesitantly, tangling the fingers of her hands together. "You wouldn't answer your phone. And then Alison told me she saw you heading down here," she gestured towards the rest of the gym. Reid didn't even know who Alison was, but he followed Katie's gaze automatically. There was no else in the gym. "You scared them all off," she tried to smile, but it didn't work. "I wanted to...see how-" Her eyes widened as she noticed something and she suddenly stepped towards him, grabbing his wrists. "Oh my God, Reid. Your hands!"
Blinking slowly, Reid looked down at his hands as she turned them over. They were red, and raw, and bruising already.
"How long have you been doing this?"
He shook his head silently. He had no idea.
It didn't matter, anyway.
"Come with me, okay?" she said carefully, trying to guide him away from the corner. "We'll get someone to look at your hands."
But it was too late. He'd stopped walking, stopped moving at all for more than a few seconds by now. A lot longer than a few seconds. Reid could...feel it.
Luke was dead.
Luke was dead.
"I don't know," he hissed quietly, lifting his hands up so they were facing his chest, shaking them. "I don't know what this is."
Head tilting sympathetically in understanding, Katie at least seemed to know and she stepped closer still, wrapping her arms around him. Reid didn't even try to pull out of the hug. He couldn't, letting his arms hang by his sides. He could feel it now, the damage he'd done to his hands. And it still didn't matter.
"I don't know what this is," he whispered into her neck.
Sniffing, she rubbed a hand over his back soothingly. "I didn't know," she replied emotionally, voice breaking. "I didn't know you were in love with him."
*
Reid refused to let anyone in the hospital tend to his hands, but he did let Katie drive him to the apartment. They didn't speak the entire time, Katie throwing him worried, frantic looks from the drivers' seat; Reid sitting in the passenger seat with his head down, battered hands resting face-up on his lap, fingers curling inward.
Inside the apartment she ordered him to sit down on the sofa as she headed towards the kitchen. Noises; the sound of a door opening, the crack of plastic and a few moments later she was back, ice wrapped in a towel as she perched next to him on the sofa.
"I don't even know what hand to do first," she explained quickly. "Should I make another one up? But you're right-handed, right? Maybe we should just do one at a time. I'll make another one," she suddenly decided, rising to her feet.
Reid finally had something else to focus on. Hand snapping out, he grabbed hold of her wrist. "Katie," he said firmly, and when she looked back at him he met her gaze. "You need to calm down," he explained, "the baby."
Freezing briefly, she nodded and quickly sat back down, handing the ice pack over to Reid. "Brad will probably force me into bed the moment he sees me," she tried to joke.
"I really don't need to know that much about straight sex, Katie."
They shared a brief, awful smile. Reid pressed the pack to the knuckles of his right hand, hissing slightly.
"I can't stay," she said quietly, awkwardly looking down at her hands, clasped tightly together as they rested on their knees. "All the Snyder's are getting together at the farm. I'm a Snyder now," she shrugged. "And Brad needs me there."
That was okay. That was even expected; the way it should be. Everyone had their own priorities. Reid had never come first to anyone, except maybe his Grandfather.
"You should come, too," she added in a rush, looking up at him. "That's why I came to find you, actually. I was there when Brad got the phone call," she paused, her face reflecting the shock and pain of that moment. "And he told me to find you. That you should be there, too."
Luke's family? Why on earth would the Snyder's want him there? Confused, Reid shook his head. "Katie...they don't even know me."
"Luke knew you," she reminded him gently, "and he cared about you. And he'd want you to be there. That's all that matters."
Reid couldn't do it. Generous though the invitation was, there was no way that Reid could sit there while Luke's small town family grieved a father and son on the same day that he'd learnt that Luke was dead.
"I can't."
For once, she didn't try to argue, didn't try to persuade or change his mind. Didn't try anything underhanded or sneaky. Nodding in understanding, she leant forward and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll call you later, okay?" she told him, drawing back. "Look after your hands." After one last, emotional attempt at a smile, she stood up and walked out of the apartment.
The rest of the day - and night - crawled by agonisingly slowly. Reid tended to his hands only because Katie had instructed him to. He actually found himself mentally re-counting every interaction he'd ever had with Luke, trying to calculate what mistakes he'd made, what he could've done differently to make sure Luke never decided to go on that trip with his father. Reid wasn't usually one for re-living past mistakes or regrets; what was, was, and short of the development of an actual working time machine, there was nothing anyone could do about it.
But he couldn't stop himself.
Maybe if he'd been more overt about his attraction to Luke, made a real pass at him, Luke might've broke things off with Noah and hooked up with Reid, instead. On the other hand, he might've clung to Noah for dear life, then be grateful for the excuse to leave town and get the hell away from Reid. If Reid had somehow managed to be more distant, forced himself to keep away - the way he knew he would've been able to if he really, really wanted to - maybe that could've changed things, too. If Barbara Ryan hadn't been a scarily obsessed parent, he wouldn't have been forced to get to know Luke for longer; only staying in Oakdale for the few days he'd originally planned.
If he hadn't been so damn fascinated by Paul Ryan's case and in his own self-interest, he never would've gone to Oakdale in the first place, would've never even met Luke Snyder and wouldn't be so affected by his death, now.
So many people, so many events. Without a single one of them, he wouldn't have come to know Luke as well as he had.
Fate had proven that, once again, it was a real bitch.
Collapsing on the bed, he didn't sleep, reflecting on what Katie had said in the gym. Was this love? This gnawing, gaping hole inside of him? Reid had had no practical experience of it before, not being in love and if this was love - or anything even remotely like it - he knew he'd been right to avoid it for all this time. Meeting someone, developing these feelings for them - and in an instant it could all be snatched away. Even if you were blissfully happy together - which was extremely unlikely, given human nature in general - there was no guarantee at all that you'd both live into incontinence together. If Reid ever were to take the chance, he actually didn't want the 'chance' aspect at all. He'd want an absolute guarantee - all or nothing, the way he'd lived his entire adult life. Together until they died of old age, or nothing at all.
But there was no such thing, and this event only proved it.
He tried the television. The computer. Working on his paper about Paul Ryan.
Nothing worked.
After a long, relentless night where he barely slept, confirmation came in the form of a phone call from an emotional Katie - both sets of dental records were a match. Luke and Holden Snyder had been officially declared dead.
In contrast, the next few hours were a blur. There were few specific memories: sitting on the edge of the bed. The phone in his hand. An automated voice repeating the same phrase, over and over, telling him to hang up the phone.
But mostly it was the grief. Reid had never felt anything like it - and when he realised that, really and truly realised it, that was the moment he started moving. It'd worked for him before. It'd work for him again.
Work was entirely out of the question, but the Snyder Farm...it would be almost impossible to bear, but sitting here, doing nothing but living in his own head, would be even more unbearable.
And Luke...
Luke would want him to go.
He showered, shaved and dressed. He disinfected and treated his hands. He called Katie.
She was at the apartment within twenty minutes, greeting him warily. "You have everything you need?"
Reid walked past her, straight out the door. "Let's go."
He didn't notice much about the drive, other than it took longer than almost any other journey he'd taken in Oakdale. It was only when she turned onto a property that his mind focused again, seeing the nearby house, smaller buildings clustered around it, the barn further out. It looked like acres of rolling fields, a picture perfect American dream.
Reid snorted.
Katie finally spoke again as they left the car, crossing the ground to the house on foot. "Lily's pretty inconsolable," she cautioned, "she's staying up in the bedroom. You probably won't see her. Emma, Holden's mom, is coping by frantically cooking everything in sight, so don't be surprised if she dumps a tray of food in your lap. The kids are..." she sighed. "Ethan, the youngest, doesn't really get what's going on. Natalie and Faith are in pieces. Luke held them all together, you know?"
That didn't surprise Reid at all.
Reaching the house, Katie pulled open the porch door.
Damian Grilmaldi was the first person Reid saw. Currently talking to someone on his cell phone, when he caught sight of Reid, he ended the call with an abrupt burst of a foreign language, snapping the phone shut. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, positioning himself in front of the door that led into the house.
Reid's patience was at incredible new lows. "I was invited. Get out of my way."
"Luke was my son," Damian responded, eyes red, "I don't want you-"
"Damian Grimaldi," a female voice interrupted, and Reid looked behind Damian to see a dark-haired woman standing in the doorway to the house, holding the door open. "This is my house and I say who is and isn't allowed in."
Damian was immediately all pleasantry. "Of course, Emma," he acknowledged, lowering his head slightly, "my apologies. My emotions are..." Pausing, he glanced away. "I will go and see if Lily needs anything," he announced, stepping towards the house. Emma moved out of the way to allow him access.
Reid thought she seemed surprisingly together for someone who'd just lost a son and a grandson.
"Dr Oliver, isn't it?" she asked, surprising Reid. "Katie told me that you were coming - and what you meant to Luke. Thank you for coming," she said genuinely, holding out a hand.
Reid didn't know what to say. He couldn't even really shake her hand. "Um," he said, gesturing. "Accident."
When she saw his hands, her gaze softened and she lowered her arm. "Do you need anything? How's the pain?"
Christ, no wonder Luke was the way he was. She'd just lost her son and grandson, and here she was asking if he needed anything.
"I'm fine," he shook his head, not wanting the escape from the pain. The pain was inevitably worse the day after and he deserved every second of it.
Everything changed once they were inside the house. If she'd been calm and welcoming outside, she was clearly on a frantic mission from God to create as many baked goods as possible inside the house. She'd obviously roped a couple of family members into helping her, two of them sitting forlornly at the kitchen table, cutting fruit up on chopping boards. Glancing up, they nodded at Reid - not looking in the least bit familiar - then were instantly rebuked by Emma for deviating from their task.
"It has to be perfect!" she told them. "Absolutely perfect!"
Reid and Katie shared a look. Katie shrugged as if to say, I did warn you, and then they got the hell out of there. Brad turned out to be in the family room with a bunch of other people, including a few kids. In the middle of talking to another man, Brad paused when he saw Katie and Reid walk in. Punching the other man on the shoulder, he nodded and then walked towards them.
"Sofa," he said to Katie, "right now."
"Brad," she whined quietly.
"You should've let me pick him up. Your doctor told you to take it easy after the scare. And it's not like we've had an easy couple of days. Or do I have to call Dr Zenkman and tell him you're not following doctor's orders?"
Reid had to admit to being impressed. He hadn't thought Brad had it in him. Or that Brad could be that serious.
After Katie had huffed away to the sofa, losing her anger when she wrapped her arms around a young girl sitting there, Brad nodded at him. "Thanks for coming, man."
"I was surprised you even asked me."
"You're meant to be a genius, right?" Brad asked. "Could've fooled me." Spotting someone off to one side, he gestured towards them. "Eat anything that Emma makes, okay? Trust me, you'll be doing us a favour." After another nod, he walked off.
Left to his own devices, Reid mostly lingered by the table of food out of habit. He didn't eat anything. Occasionally someone came up to him and introduced themselves. He made what awkward small talk he could, so it wasn't long until he was left on his own again. After a while the amount of people squashed into one house all got a little too much and Reid went exploring. No one noticed, or if they did they didn't care.
The stairs that led upstairs were behind a door in the kitchen. Intrigued by the layout of the house, the place where Luke grew up, Reid followed them. He counted each step, listened to every creak of wood. Luke had probably known where all the creaks were; had known how to avoid them when he snuck down for a drink. At some point he'd probably pushed Noah against the wall and kissed him, knowing his family were on the other side of the door. Luke had told him so much about his life but right now Reid felt like he didn't know anything at all. He knew Luke liked chocolate milkshakes, but not what his favourite colour was. What food he preferred to eat. If he found his immunosuppressants a blessing or a curse. What time he usually got up in the morning, and if he ever watched trashy TV. Who his favourite author was. Favourite poet. If he was ticklish and if so, where. What side of the bed he preferred to sleep on; if he snored.
He was never going to find out if Luke snored.
Just as Reid was really feeling sorry for himself, he opened one of the doors upstairs and found Noah sitting at the end of a bed.
Grasping a photograph in his hand, Noah looked up, eyes red and watering.
Reid couldn't even hate him right now. "Sorry," he said quietly, and began backing out of the room.
"No," Noah wiped at his eyes with the back of his hand, "it's okay. I think I've had enough of being alone. I'm Noah."
Hesitating, Reid considered leaving anyway. He didn't feel like ripping Noah's head off at this particular moment in time but he didn't want to make him feel better, either. Eventually, ridiculously, he found himself wondering what Luke would want him to do. He stepped inside. "Reid."
"Do we know each other?" Noah asked, tilting his head to one side, frowning. "You look familiar."
"We haven't been introduced," Reid evaded. "What're you looking at?"
Smiling down at it briefly, Noah held it out towards him. Taking it, Reid's breath nearly caught in his throat. Unsurprisingly, it was a picture of Luke and Noah and although Reid had been expecting it, he hadn't braced himself for how wonderfully terrible it would be to see Luke again, in any form. He was a little younger. Hair a little longer, a little darker.
But the smile was exactly the same.
Reid handed the photograph back with shaking hands. Noah didn't seem to notice.
Swallowing hard, Reid turned away, jamming his injured hands into his pants pockets. "He must've cared about you a great deal," Reid found himself talking, anything to try and keep his mind at bay.
"Luke always cared too much," Noah replied sadly, "more than he should have. At least until lately."
Interest caught by that last statement, Reid swivelled back around. "Sorry?"
"I, um," embarrassed, Noah looked away. "Not many people know, but...Luke broke up with me. About a week before he went on the trip."
*
Reid could only stare at him, mind spinning off in new, uncontrollable directions, as Noah kept talking.
"I don't know why," Noah began, "but for some reason it's easier talking to someone I don't know about this."
He broke up with Noah.
"Probably because it's not as embarrassing," he admitted.
He finally fucking broke up with Noah.
"I asked him to keep it quiet while I looked for my own place, so no one would try to...coddle me. And he did. Even though he'd broken up with me, he did that for me."
And then he died.
"That was Luke all over, really."
Was the break-up just to get away, spend some time on himself?
"I still can't believe that he's gone."
That was probably what he needed most, what was best for him.
"I figured we'd get back together after a while. We always do."
But maybe he...maybe he wanted to...
"But...it did seem...different, this time. More permanent."
But Luke was dead. Dead, and he wasn't coming back. It was ridiculous even hypothesising.
Reid turned away, storming out of the room. "I have to go." He stumbled down the stairs, slipping a few steps, blindly reaching out along the wall. Banging the door open with his shoulder, he was crossing the few steps to the screen door, then into the porch, pushing open another door and finally, finally, outside.
It was ridiculous even hypothesising, but he couldn't stop hypothesising. He kept walking, away from the house, away from the cars. A new car was just arriving, Meg Snyder at the wheel. Reid didn't bother to even do more than glance at her, heading out past the barn and into the distance.
His eyes stung. Luke had started asserting himself, concentrating on what he actually wanted and even if it was just before he died, he should've been pleased for him, right? Not feel like his insides were being torn apart by missed opportunities, regrets and the not knowing. Failing to swallow the huge lump in his throat, Reid tipped his head back and stared up at the stupidly bright sky and tried not be as ridiculously trite as to wonder how the sun could keep shining when Luke was dead - scientifically, he knew exactly why the sun was still shining - but he didn't seem capable of stopping himself.
"My dear boy," a distinctive female voice asked, "are you quite all right?"
Reid spun around to see an older woman, well-dressed - like most of the women in Oakdale - standing behind him. She seemed too elegant to be standing in the middle of a field, but there she was. He had no idea who she was and blinked his eyes, hard, clearing the film of moisture that'd built up.
"I've been up with Lily, but I came out to make a call," she continued, gesturing with the cell phone she held in her right hand, even as she studied him inquisitively, "and I saw you out here, apparently communing with God."
Annoyed at having been caught being so...emotional, Reid's defenses snapped back up. "I'm hardly a boy." It was not one of his best efforts. He was just pleased that he was capable of making any effort at all.
Eyes widening in something that might be recognition, she smiled and nodded slowly. "You must be Reid Oliver." He made a face in confusion and she smiled - smirked, really - even more. "Oh, my grandson has told me all about you."
And suddenly he knew. Lucinda, who loved chocolate milkshakes. Lucinda, who had always accepted Luke for who he was. Lucinda, who had a special relationship with her grandson.
Lucinda, who didn't seem in the least bit upset that Luke was dead.
His brain couldn't comprehend how she could mean so much to Luke and he could apparently mean so little to her. He came to the only logical conclusion that something else had to be going on.
"Lucinda Walsh," she introduced, confirming his suspicions. Seeing the state of his hands, she didn't attempt a handshake.
She was calm, collected and - not completely unemotional, not in the way people could be after receiving tragic news - but normal. Emotionally average, certainly not the reaction of someone who had lost two members of her family, including a particularly beloved grandson.
Illogical as it may have been, Reid found himself clinging to even the vaguest possibility. "You don't think Luke is dead."
She didn't look away, instead lifting her chin. "Do you know how we got official word on Holden and Luke's fate?" Reid shook his head. "Damian received a phone call. I was out of the country when this whole business happened - I only made it back this morning. Lily was so distraught yesterday that she let Damian handle, well," she somehow managed to snort elegantly, "just about everything. By the time I arrived, it was too late. He had already 'received' a phone call telling him that the dental records were a match."
If there was a chance, any chance at all...they had to try. Had to try something. He stepped towards her, already intent on forcing his way onto the first flight to anywhere in Kentucky. "But you don't trust him?" Reid sure as hell didn't.
"I trust Damian Grimaldi about as far as I can throw my private jet," she retorted. "Speaking of which..." Lucinda studied him speculatively. "I've spoken to Jack, but there's only so much he can do officially - although he's certainly no fan of Damian's, either," Reid had no idea who Jack was, "and I've been getting nowhere with the ME's Office in Louisville. It appears there are still some people, in this day and age, who are impervious to bribes. Who knew?"
It seemed they were thinking along similar lines. "What's your point?"
"I can't leave Lily alone in Damian's clutches - he's always been able to manipulate her far too easily. But I do need someone in Kentucky as soon as possible," she kept studying him knowingly, "to find out the truth, whatever that may be - even if they are really dead." Pausing, she closed her eyes painfully, as if finally, really, acknowledging the possibility. Straightening her back, she somehow managed to open her eyes with enthusiasm. "But I am not yet going to grieve for something I am not sure of. I need someone I can trust and Luke seems convinced of your strength of character - which is enough to convince me. I need you, Dr Oliver. Someone with a personal investment. And a doctor," Lucinda added, pleased at that piece of information. "An extremely well-respected and well-known doctor."
He should've said that the very idea was ridiculous. What was he supposed to do? Walk into the ME's office and be handed everything he asked for on a silver platter, simply because he happened to be a doctor? Things may have had their own way of working in Oakdale, but back in the real world, you didn't just get everything you wanted purely because you wanted it.
But then he realised something. His...emotional - instead of logical - reaction since hearing about Luke had masked the fact that he was Reid Oliver, and he had come to a conclusion about his life a long time ago:
Reid Oliver always got what he wanted.
Within the hour he was on Lucinda's jet, flying to Louisville.
*
The entire journey - boarding, take-off, descent, landing and taxiing - took just less than an hour.
It was still much too long as far as Reid was concerned. Stupidly, he had convinced himself that now there was a strong possibility that Luke was alive, that for some insane reason Damian had concocted this entire scenario. Luke and Holden came from Oakdale. Of course they were still alive. They'd probably been abducted by aliens and replaced by doppelgangers, and that was who died in the accident.
But he had to try and retain some objectivity. If he found out, after all, that Luke really was dead...to have this ridiculous hope, only for it to be taken away...
Lucinda had told him there would be a car waiting for him under the name Franklin Smith. She didn't disappoint. Fortunately, the ME's office in Louisville wasn't particularly far from the airport, so once they actually managed to get out of the airport itself, the journey there took less than forty minutes - although, ironically, that was about how long it'd taken to fly to Louisville in the first place.
Reid spent most of the car ride drumming the fingers of his right hand against his thigh.
The ME's office was one of several in Kentucky, but Louisville's was the main office where the Chief Medical Examiner was stationed. It was part of a much larger Government Centre that provided many local services - not something that Reid particularly cared about generally, but something he did end up caring about personally after they turned off Barret Avenue and he had to decipher the extremely poor instructions on the outside of the building, listing where the different departments were situated.
Eventually figuring out where he thought he was supposed to go, he jogged back to the car and told the driver to park up. The driver responded that he'd already been paid not to leave him, on pain of death.
Reid decided he liked Lucinda Walsh even more than he did already.
With an objective to focus on, Reid was able to somewhat put his emotions aside. Inside it was a lot less confusing than outside. It still took several minutes to reach the ME's office - of course, it was located in the furthest part of the building. Finally, after a trip in an elevator - always fun - following the occasional sign, and a lot of walking, Reid pulled open a glass door and stepped into his destination.
Reid eyed the receptionist, or whatever the hell she was, sitting at the main desk, searching for a weakness. She appeared professional enough - appropriate hair and clothing. As Reid approached, though, he caught a picture of a dog in a photo frame. Immediately reaching a conclusion about the type of person she was, Reid decided to attempt a tactic he'd learned from both Barbara and Katie. He wasn't usually a believer in manipulating people - for Reid, the truth almost always won out, no matter how blunt. But this time, he had a feeling manipulation would be more useful.
He spun a great, emotional tale about how he'd come all the way from Oakdale personally, to see for himself the absolute proof that Luke and Holden were dead. They were so close, he said; Holden like a father and Luke the best friend a man could ever had. He showed her his ID when she appeared doubtful, then suggested she search for him on the internet.
He could see hers eyes widening unintentionally as she scrolled past his accomplishments and awards and as it turned out, just being Reid Oliver really did get you everything you want.
Glancing around furtively, she picked up the phone from her desk. "Just give me a minute," she said quietly, dialling someone on the phone. A few moments later, she began speaking. "Hey, Frank. It's Candice. I have a Dr Reid Oliver here who needs to personally see the file on..." Pausing, she covered up the phone with her hand and addressed Reid. "What was the name again?"
"Snyder."
She removed her hand. "On the Snyder's. Yeah, yeah," she nodded. "That's right. Great. Thanks a lot," Candice replied, lowering her voice with an air of flirtation. Hanging up the phone, she smiled up at Reid. "Have a seat. Someone will be here to help you shortly."
"Thank you so much," Reid replied emotionally, clutching his hands together in front of his chest, still in character. Realising she was now staring at his hands, he quickly lowered them and turned away.
The last thing he wanted to do was sit anymore, but Reid forced himself to sit down in one of the surprisingly comfortable chairs clustered around a small table. There might be a chance. There might actually be a chance...
"Dr Oliver?"
Blinking, Reid looked up and saw a heavy set man in a lab coat looking down at him. He was holding a file folder in his left hand.
Reid immediately got to his feet. "Thank you for seeing me."
"Not at all," Frank assured him. "Let's walk." Frank led him down a corridor and into a room a few doors down. Sitting on the far side of the desk in the sparsely decorated office - a potted plant in the corner was the sole decoration - Frank gestured towards the other side, gesturing for Reid to take a seat.
Reid sat. Reid sat on the edge of the chair, leaning towards the desk.
Frank cleared his throat. "The physical evidence, of course, has been handed over to the police."
"Of course," Reid nodded quickly, eyes fixed on the file folder now lying on the desk.
Flicking open the folder, Frank slid a dental x-ray towards him. "Holden Snyder," he said quietly. "Taken after his...remains were brought to us." Reid stared at it. "This one," Frank continued, sliding another x-ray across the table, "was what we received from his dental office. There's some understandable...damage on the former," Frank explained awkwardly, "but all the major indicators match."
Holding himself very, very still - if he didn't he might fly apart - Reid forced the words out. "And Luke?" The hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. Moving Holden's x-rays to one side, Frank slid two more towards Reid.
"Before," he said quietly, indicating one, "and after."
They were definitely taken from the same man.
Reid smiled.
But it wasn't Luke. It wasn't Luke.
He was still alive.
*
Reid was on his phone as soon as he stepped out of the ME's office.
Lucinda picked up within moments.
"Dr Oliver? You have news?"
"You could say that," he announced smugly, pleased with himself. "I don't know whose dental x-rays I just looked at, but they sure as hell weren't Luke's."
"You're absolutely certain?" she asked, as Reid strode quickly along the corridor.
"One hundred per cent," he responded, spotting the elevator in the distance. "Not only were several major indicators missing, the teeth were all wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"Luke has those...weird-ass, stubby little teeth. This guy had normal teeth." Reid had seen Luke's up-close when they trapped in that Godforsaken elevator, playing chess.
Lucinda was actually silent for a few moments. "This is the evidence you're presenting me with? How am I supposed to present this to the police? 'By the way, Detective, Dr Oliver said it couldn't possibly be Luke because the x-rays were of a man who didn't have stubby little teeth'?"
"I don't care what the hell you say," Reid retorted, pressing the button for the elevator calmly. "But I'm telling you - this guy had a lot more tooth above the gum line than Luke does. It was absolutely not Luke." Pausing, he considered her response a few moments ago. "I thought you weren't impressed with the police, anyway."
"They can still have their uses," she pointed out. "But if this is true...someone must have swapped the x-rays that came from Oakdale, after the fact. And given that we haven't heard from them-"
"Someone probably has them," Reid nodded, having already faced the same conclusion. As relieved as he was at finding out the body wasn't Luke's, he was still missing and probably in danger.
"I'm more convinced than ever that Damian is behind this," Lucinda growled as Reid stepped onto the elevator and pressed the button for the ground floor. "Whether he orchestrated the whole thing or took advantage of the situation I don't know, but either way we need evidence! Why must the criminal justice system be so very challenging?"
In this case, Reid absolutely agreed with her. The doors pinged open and he walked out, heading towards the exit. "What do you want me to do next?" For once, Reid was more than happy to just follow instructions. Lucinda had access to the kind of money and resources that even he could barely dream of. He'd happily use any and all of them to find Luke.
"I think it's probably best if-oh, excuse me a moment, Reid. I have another call coming in."
Reid couldn't help but notice the use of his first name. Well, he had just unofficially proven that her grandson was alive. For the first time he was actually glad that Luke came from a crazy ass place like Oakdale - as far as Reid was concerned, Oakdale was so strange and bizarre, that you didn't even to have be in the general vicinity to suffer its effects. Even in a different state, Luke and Holden were so entrenched in Oakdale that it's utter strangeness was the only way they'd survived whatever ordeal they'd be through so far.
"Reid," Lucinda's voice was suddenly back, urgent, "University of Louisville Hospital. This instant."
Goosebumps breaking out across his skin, Reid broke out into a run, pushing through the exit and running straight to the car. "What is it?" He knew the University Hospital - it had one of the best stroke centres in the country, and he'd been there on a consult.
"Holden and Luke were admitted there within the past half an hour." Reid's heart squeezed painfully. Luke was alive, he even knew where Luke was, but he'd been admitted to hospital. It didn't matter. Whatever was wrong, Reid would fix it. "Which means that, more than likely, Damian didn't have them after all and has been playing it by ear, probably searching for them all this time. He's almost as well-connected as I am. If I know about it-"
"His people know about it, too."
"And, given the cover-up so far, they'll do everything they can to make sure Luke and Holden vanish without a trace and that there'll be no evidence they were ever there."
The driver had obviously seen Reid running out of the building and screeched up alongside him with style. Diving into the back, yanking the door shut behind up, Reid yelled out his destination. "University Hospital!"
The driver put his foot down, throwing Reid around in the back. "That's less than fifteen minutes away," he announced, "and I suggest you put your seat belt on, Mr Smith."
Having no intention of getting killed before he found Luke, Reid did just that. "Drive as fast as you can without getting us arrested," he instructed, then brought the phone back up to his ear. "Lucinda?"
"Still here," she confirmed. "I've just dispatched a private security firm to the hospital - I've used them before, they're trustworthy - but you'll probably still get there before them. I'm counting on you, Reid."
Reid really didn't need the extra pressure. "Lady, I'm already nuts about your grandson. I'm already gonna end up breaking I don't know how many laws today. I really don't need you trying to persuade me to do anything. Just call if you hear something new."
"I'll get you an excellent lawyer," she promised, and hung up.
Although this was set to be the shortest journey he'd taken since boarding Lucinda's jet, the time passed interminably slowly. Reid felt like he was coming out of his skin. Luke was alive but, more than likely, someone was after him - whether it was actually Damian or not. Reid tried to pass the time by contemplating where Luke actually would be in the hospital when he arrived. Assuming no immediate life-threatening injuries - and Reid was running with that theory; he had to after the past two days - he could well still be somewhere in the ER or even still in triage if the hospital was particularly busy. Reid closed his eyes, mentally visualising what he could of the hospital. He'd spent most of his time in the stroke centre, of course, but he had gone over the main hospital building once or twice. Knowing exactly what route he was going to take in advance would speed up his progress considerably.
When they finally turned into the hospital, Reid shifted closer to side of the car, hand already on the door release. The driver stopped as close as he could without drawing unwanted attention, and then Reid opened the door and broke into a run. He ran straight through the ER entrance, annoyed when he had to slow to a walk due to the amount of people inside. Moving from place to place, panting for breath, his eyes were constantly scanning the area. Seeing no sign of Luke, Reid walked through a door, into the next section with all the confidence of someone who belonged there. Having the actual credentials and arrogant confidence of a certain type of doctor, no one even doubted his presence.
He was all set to literally start tearing privacy curtains aside to see who was in each ER bed, when-
"Dr Oliver?"
Mentally cursing his bad luck, Reid turned on his heel to see a young, female doctor staring at him in shock. She seemed vaguely familiar and it took Reid a few moments to place her. He couldn't remember her name but she'd been there last time - the irritating newbie who hung around Reid like a particularly bloodthirsty and annoying gnat. "I've been following your career since you left us. I didn't know you were coming back," she said, obviously pleased now. "Are you here to help another patient?"
Maybe this wasn't such bad luck after all. Maybe he could use this to his advantage. "Yes. That's exactly it, Dr..."
"Cohen."
"Yes, yes, right, exactly," he nodded. "In fact, I'm looking for a patient who should be here right now. Could you possibly help me?" It was worth being polite, if it got him the information sooner.
Two frantic minutes later - at least inside his head - Reid was pulling a curtain back. A brown-haired man stared back at him from the bed.
It wasn't Luke. Reid could only hope...
"Holden Snyder?"
"That's right," he responded.
Reid stepped closer instinctively. "Where's Luke?" His fingers flexed.
"He just..." Pausing, Holden suddenly eyed him dubiously. "Who are you?"
Reid opened his mouth to answer but Cohen was suddenly right there, next to him. "Oh, this is Dr Reid Oliver," she announced breathlessly, "one of the best neurosurgeon's in the country."
"The world," he corrected automatically.
Holden's eyes widened. "You're Reid Oliver?" he asked, obviously recognising the name and just as obviously surprised that he was standing in front of him.
"Yes, we all know my name," Reid spat out heatedly, "where's Luke?"
"They decided he didn't need a bed," Holden explained, "so he's been here with me. He just went to find a phone-"
Reid spun towards Cohen. "Nearest public phone?"
She pointed to the right. "That way."
"Don't leave that man alone," Reid instructed then took off running, barging through a set of double doors. It didn't take him long to find the small bank of phones. Most of them were in use, but Luke wasn't one of the people using them. Frustrated, hands aching, Reid spun around on the spot, trying to find a familiar blond head of hair.
He didn't see Luke's stupid hair. But he caught a glimpse of sudden, strange movement and when he focused, he realised it was someone's feet, kicking out as if fighting someone, being dragged through a doorway.
No.
"Someone call security!" Reid bellowed, breaking into a sprint that had to beat anything he'd done so far today. Reaching the doorway, he slid as he turned, banging the door open. And it was Luke being dragged into the stairwell, and although the man who had him was bigger, stronger, and had a hand over Luke's mouth, Luke was fighting with everything he had, twisting and contorting his body as much as possible to be as inconvenient a kidnap victim as possible.
The kidnapper and Luke had both looked up when the door banged open; both now staring at him in surprise for entirely different reasons. Apparently deciding that Luke wasn't worth getting caught over, the kidnapper suddenly released him and shoved him aside, clearly intent on getting away.
Reid wasn't about to let that happen. Before the guy could move more than a foot, Reid punched him square in the face with everything his grandfather had taught him, every emotion he'd felt over the past two days, everything he was. The guy staggered back, swaying on his feet too close to the stairs leading down behind him. Reid considered letting him fall but at the last second, as the guy started to go down, Reid tugged him forward and let him land on the linoleum floor instead.
Staring down at him, at the man who had almost succeeded in taking Luke, Reid panted heavily, hands clenched into fists, fighting the absurd impulse to kick him in the head.
Mindless violence makes you look like an idiot.
"Reid?"
Luke. Luke was there. Luke was alive.
He was still on the floor where he'd been thrown, staring up at Reid like he couldn't believe he was there.
Reid knew exactly how he felt.
Tumbling to his knees, Reid reached his hands out to touch Luke's face. "Are you all right?" he rasped, fingers carefully turning his head, looking for injury.
Luke kept staring at him with wide eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"Are you all right?" Reid repeated emotionally, needing an answer. There was a bruise on the left side of Luke's face that looked like it'd been there a while. He was dirty, covered in dust and obviously in need of a good night's sleep.
Smiling tenderly, Luke's hands came up, clutching at Reid's wrists. "Nothing serious." His own hands sliding up to touch Reid's, Luke frowned when he finally noticed something. Drawing his head back, he kept his hands on Reid's and looked down at them. "Your hands...Reid...what happened?"
"Thought you were dead," Reid shrugged, feeling his chest tighten at the memory as Luke's incredible eyes widened again. "Turns out I have emotions after all."
*
The moment was interrupted when hospital security finally barged into the stairwell, hands resting on holsters. There were two of them and when they saw the still form lying of the floor they immediately turned to Luke and Reid menacingly, grips on their holsters tightening.
Reid rolled his eyes. Idiocy really was universal. "Oh, you have to be kidding me. I am a doctor, that," Reid gestured towards the guy on the floor, who was slowly starting to stir, "is your kidnapper and this," he gestured towards Luke, "is the patient he tried to kidnap. Congratulations," Reid announced sarcastically as he looked up at them, unimpressed, "I did your job for you. Now, are you gonna cuff him before he just gets up and walks away? Or are you expecting me to do that for you, too?"
Even as hospital 'security' started actually dealing with the kidnapper, Luke was sliding towards Reid; resting his head on Reid's shoulder, throwing an arm around him and chuckling quietly.
Reid wasn't stupid enough to pull away from any form of physical contact with Luke, but he was somewhat surprised by it. "What are you doing?" he tried to ask dubiously as he looked down at Luke's head, but he was so relieved Luke was there to act dubiously towards at all that he was pretty sure it came out a lot more tenderly.
The arm around him tightened its hold. "I'm just really glad you're here," Luke breathed out, leaning against him heavily.
Supporting his weight, Reid found himself putting an arm around Luke and squeezing back in return.
The asshole who'd tried to take Luke was now apparently awake enough to move, as he was hoisted to his feet by security (Reid took a particular feeling of satisfaction at the amount of blood streaming from the guy's nose). He was also apparently awake enough to realise the amount of trouble he was in, because about two seconds after he was upright he blurted out in a heavily accented voice,
"Damian Grimaldi made me do it! That's how it works, right? I tell you information, I get treated well? I'm a great fan of the American justice system."
And just like that, Luke's good mood was gone. Body tensing, he pulled away from Reid, getting to his feet and apparently having no problem at all getting right up in the face of the large, intimidating man who'd just tried to kidnap him. Like Reid needed another aspect of Luke to go nuts about.
"Are you telling me Damian did this? My own father?"
The security guards standing behind the man shared a look that basically said 'wow, is his life screwed up'.
Reid pushed himself to his feet, standing behind Luke and trying not to wince from the pain developing in his hand. "He's from Oakdale. In Illinois," Reid explained, "this kind of crap happens all the time."
"Reid!" Luke hushed, without even turning around.
"Right, not helping."
Luke folded his arms across his chest. "Answer the question."
"Like you said," the man spoke urgently, "I work for Damian Grimaldi. We were told to take you and the older man with you. Make sure all sign of you disappeared."
We. We.
There was more than one of them. He'd left Cohen with Holden, but...
Apparently having the same thought at the same time, Luke and Reid shared a look and then bolted out of the stairwell and into the corridor, racing back towards Holden's bed.
"Dad!" Luke screamed, pounding ahead of Reid - Cohen was nowhere to be seen, which only proved to Reid how flakey she was and that he'd been right about her all along - and when Luke yanked open the curtain and saw a huge man in a suit leaning over Holden, he didn't hesitate in diving towards him, tackling him to the ground. Though much bigger than Luke, the man hadn't been expecting the attack and toppled down easily, taking a medical trolley with him. Seconds later, however, he'd recovered his equilibrium and had no trouble at all in turning Luke's erratic attack against him, pining Luke to the floor.
Reid charged towards them, intent on kicking this guy's ass as well as he had the previous one - although he had no idea how, this one actually seemed to have some kind of training - when the man suddenly let go of Luke and stood up quickly, backing away. Luke quickly pushed himself up to his feet and ran the few steps back to Holden's bed, standing there defensively.
"That won't be necessary, Dr Oliver," the man explained, barely out of breath, producing a business card. Security were there by now, next to Reid with their guns drawn - which was kind of cool, Reid had to admit, but that was something he'd have to reflect on in more detail later.
Carefully reaching out, eyes constantly flicking from the guy's face to his hand and back again, Reid then snatched the card out of his grasp and read the printed text.
T.P.S. Security
Private Security Solutions
555-234-8965
"Ms Walsh sent me," he explained.
Well, that explained that. Passing the card back, he glanced over at Luke - still standing protectively in front of his father - and nodded. "Lucinda said she was sending someone."
Relaxing his body, Luke then proceeded to produce an embarrassed expression. "I, uh...sorry," he apologised awkwardly, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck as security started lowering their guns.
The man didn't seem offended. "You were protecting your father, Mr Snyder. I'd have done the same in your position."
Reid was impressed despite himself, but something didn't fit right. "There's only one of you?"
"That you're aware of," he replied meaningfully, and Reid was suddenly suspicious of the janitor who'd been circling the area for the last few minutes, watching carefully.
Reid loved Lucinda Walsh. People with more money than God really could do anything.
"Could someone," Holden began from his bed, "explain to me just what the hell is going on?"
Holstering his gun, one of the security guards strode up to his bed. "You're not the only one who needs an explanation, sir."
Hopefully, all of them would find out exactly what had been happening over the past few days.
But first, Reid needed to make a phone call.
*
"Lucinda Walsh-"
"I have them."
"They're safe? Uninjured?"
"For the most part, but listen - we have proof, a confession that Damian was involved."
"Excellent! Just as I suspected. And he just started making noises about needing to leave to deal with a problem that'd 'come up' at work."
"Yeah, and I know exactly what that problem is. There was a second man we haven't found yet - Damian must've heard from him. You can't let him leave; he'll run."
"Not to worry, Dr Oliver. I have no intention of letting Damian get away with anything. Excuse me for a moment.
...Damian? Oh, good, I'm glad I caught you before you left. I just wanted to say-
*CRASH*
*THUMP*
...well, that was a moment twenty years in the making. That was quite satisfying, let me tell you. Emma needed a new cooking pot, anyway - hers are terribly old-fashioned."
*
After Reid passed on the information that Damian was in Lucinda's 'custody', that she was contacting the local police and that she'd confirmed that T.P.S. Security was indeed who'd she'd contacted to help, they sat down and figured out between them just what the hell had gone on. The police - who had arrived by then - of course wanted to know every detail.
Luke and Holden had got much of the way through their drive to Kentucky, and were actually in Kentucky itself when they were effectively car-jacked. Being the ridiculously naïve, good-hearted souls that they were, they'd stopped in the middle of nowhere to pick up a couple of hitchhikers (it was at this point that Reid interjected, wondering how it could be possible that they'd survived this long without getting themselves killed by a creepy guy wearing a hockey mask. Luke then asked him when someone had told Reid about what'd happened to his Great Uncle John. Reid wasn't entirely sure he was joking). Apparently father and son - although if that was actually true or not was anyone's guess until the DNA results came back - the father had squeezed in up front with Luke and Holden, and the son had made the best of it on the truck bed.
They'd barely been in the truck two minutes before the father pulled out a gun, ordering them to hand over their wallets and cell phones - then pull over and get out of the truck. Once out of the truck the son had joined them with his own gun. Holden and Luke had put up a fight and in the ensuing scuffle, Luke got punched around the face, Holden badly sprained his left ankle and received a painful punch to the kidneys (at this point, Reid announced them both utter imbeciles for fighting the men who had guns. Luke pointed out Reid's own heroics in the stairwell. Reid promptly shut up).
Still in the middle of nowhere, with no phones, an injured Holden and only a vague idea of which direction they should be heading in to get help fastest, progress was extremely slow going. The drive was a tradition they shared every year but they both preferred the longer scenic route, far from any highways or anything much of any use.
Luke refused to leave his father alone, despite Holden urging him to (by this stage, Reid didn't even have to say anything. His expression spoke a thousand words) and the road was so quiet that it was nearly three days until someone actually stopped - they weren't the first car that passed, but they were the first car that passed that apparently gave a damn about another human being.
Reid suddenly had a new perspective on picking up hitchhikers.
Their rescuers had been an elderly couple, horrified at their situation but without possession of a cell phone. They insisted on driving them all the way to the hospital personally; the University Hospital specifically because the old man, Robert, had been treated there following a stroke and was apparently a big fan of the hospital in general. Luke had tried to convince them to drop them off at a closer hospital more than once, but they wouldn't hear of even stopping for as much as pee break before they got to University Hospital ("They were old! You could've taken them!" "It's not like we were about to die from our injuries - and they gave us food and water, so Dad perked right back up. They were so nice, Reid! It would've been rude!" "Oh my God, I ruined my hands for an idiot.")
Once they were dropped off at the hospital, they were both quickly treated for dehydration - it seemed Emma insisted on all the adults in the family memorising their insurance details, and no one back in Oakdale had yet gone about the business of reporting them dead to their insurance company. After that, it was decided Luke didn't need a bed and they were more concerned about possible damage to Holden's kidneys than the ankle, so he was currently waiting to undergo tests. Luke had refused to leave his Dad's side through all of it, and it was only once Holden was comfortably situated that he left to call home, intending to call collect.
He never made it to the phone.
They knew nothing about how the truck went over the cliff; about Damian taking advantage of the situation after the crash was reported, until the guy in the stairwell mentioned his name.
The police seemed just as shocked by the story as Reid felt, but decided it was so ridiculous that it couldn't possible be a lie. "In fact," Luke pointed out, "I'm pretty sure Robert and Marge are still sitting in the waiting area. They'll corroborate everything we said about them." He paused. "Only make sure Marge's hearing aid is in properly."
Eventually, the police were convinced that Luke and Holden were nothing more than the victims of bad luck.
"We'll have to talk to the Oakdale PD," Officer Fry told them, "and we'll need official statements once your dad is finished here. Other than that...welcome back to life, Mr Snyder."
After Holden was taken away for tests, Luke took the opportunity to freshen up by scrubbing his face in a sink in the public bathroom and chewing on a piece of gum the security guy gave him. He then made an emotional phone call.
"Mom...we're fine. We're fine. Dad's just getting some tests done to be safe, but he's okay. A little banged up, but...I know. I can't believe Damian did this, either. I...I really believed that he'd changed. I love you, too, I love you so much. Yes, of course I'll speak to Natalie!"
Reid made his own phone call.
"How's Damian?"
"Currently in the custody of the Oakdale Police Department. I imagine he has quite the headache."
"You're a hell of a woman, Lucinda."
"I could say the same about you, Reid Oliver."
"...thank you. I think."
"How are things your end? Do you think you'll make it home tonight?"
"We'll probably have to stay overnight. Who knew kidnapping attempts and coming back from the dead came with so much paperwork?"
"Life can be so tedious. I imagine Lily will probably want to fly in and join you."
"Understandable. The police were okay, if confused. Clearly things aren't as crazy in Kentucky as they are in Illinois. Holden's in for tests, but it looks good. Luke's fine."
"And you?"
"Sorry?"
"Well, you've accomplished everything you set out to achieve, yes? Luke is safe, Holden is safe, Damian's been foiled, the police have been informed. You can breathe now. What next?"
Hanging up, Reid turned away from the pay phone. They'd moved to the waiting room in Renal Services when Holden had been taken for tests and Reid headed towards it now. Luke's new shadow from the private security firm had apparently scared everyone else out of the waiting room, because when Reid arrived he was standing outside and Luke was the only person inside. Reid didn't slow down, didn't stop, just opened the door, stepped inside and kept walking.
Luke had been perching on the edge of chair, bouncing up to his feet when Reid walked in. "Hey, so I was thinking," Luke told him, "we should really get someone to look at your hand-"
But Reid just kept walking, all will and intent, hands coming up to cup Luke's face, guiding him back against the nearest available wall and pressing his lips firmly against Luke's.
Breathe.
*
It didn't last long, initially, but then Reid had more than one purpose for kissing Luke. First and most obviously, Luke was Luke and he was standing there alive in all his dirty, bruised, exhausted, bedraggled glory.
Secondly, and almost as importantly, Reid was making a mark, a statement of intent. This is what he wanted and it was entirely Luke's call where it went from here. If it went anywhere from here. Reid was really, really hoping it was going somewhere from here.
After the few seconds of the kiss Reid pulled back, hands still touching Luke's face. Luke was staring at him with wide, surprised eyes, but after a few moments his gaze softened, a hand coming up to touch the side of Reid's neck, Luke's thumb slowly rubbing over the skin there. Eventually, as he held Reid's gaze he furrowed his brow and tipped his head to one side, as if asking a silent question.
Reid wasn't entirely sure what he was supposed to be answering. That he knew that Noah was history? That he knew about Luke's crazy life and equally crazy family and still wanted Luke anyway? That he wanted this, whatever the hell this was?
Reid nodded anyway, because the answer was yes. To all of it. After the last two days, it couldn't be anything else.
A tiny, barely perceptible smile turned Luke's lips upward - and then his gaze fell to Reid's mouth. Swallowing, briefly licking his lips, Luke leaned in and pressed his mouth against Reid's. It was better this time, being two-sided, then when Luke pulled away only to produce a broken gasp and dive right back in, it got a whole lot better.
Kissing Luke was everything and nothing like Reid expected - and that was just about the moment his brain fused out and stopped producing anything coherent.
Luke turned his head, opening his mouth and deepening the kiss. Reid kissed him back fiercely - Luke was there and so very, very alive - and Luke matched him inch for inch, his hands sliding from Reid's neck up into his hair, fingers dragging across his scalp. Reid liked that a lot, his right hand instinctively coming down to wedge itself between the wall and Luke's ass.
Breaking the kiss and pushing away from the wall, Luke gasped as he stumbled away. Reid actually found his lips leading his body, automatically turning around to locate Luke's.
"This is crazy!" Luke exclaimed, face flushed, somehow still looking unbelievably sexy even though he was flailing an arm around.
"You drive me crazy," Reid growled, managing to grab the end of the flailing arm and tugging Luke back towards him, hard. Luke went all too willingly, but as their bodies collided together he grabbed Reid's upper arms and spun them around until Reid was the one being pushed roughly against the wall.
Reid had no problem with that.
Something thudded to the ground.
Reid had no problem with that, either. In fact, Reid had no problem with anything at all other than the fact that no matter how hard, how deep they kissed, it still wasn't enough Luke.
Luke groaned into an open-mouthed kiss, his arms winding around Reid's body and clutching at his back. Reid could do nothing but hold on himself, first grabbing on to Luke's sides, then his back. Just as Reid was about to do something truly ridiculous, like just rubbing himself all over him, Luke broke the kiss again.
Fortunately, he didn't go far.
"Drive you crazy, huh?" he asked breathlessly, clearly pleased with himself before leaning back in for another powerful kiss.
Reid yanked his head back. "Like you didn't know."
"I may have had my suspicions," he confirmed cheekily, smiling into the next kiss.
Naturally, as sappy as he'd been over Luke lately, Reid found himself smiling back into the kiss whether he wanted to or not. Although he was beginning to think that maybe he wanted to.
"God," Luke moaned, between another kiss. And another. And another, his hands all over Reid. "I just kind of want to...climb all over you. Is that weird?"
Jesus Christ. "If that's weird," Reid replied heatedly, sneaking another brief kiss, "I don't want to be normal."
"Normal's overrated," Luke agreed quickly, stealing another kiss.
"Practically sedate," Reid concurred as they shared another, deeper kiss.
"Boring." This kiss was deeper still and Reid was starting to lose track of what they were even talking about.
"Less talking," he urged, mouthing Luke's neck, "More kissing." Finding a particularly delicious-looking spot, he sucked, hard.
He'd apparently struck gold because Luke let out a loud, lengthy groan, his hands falling to Reid's ass, and the prominent erection Reid had been feeling pressed up against him for the last thirty seconds or so was suddenly even more prominent.
"Ohmygod," Luke gasped, hands scrabbling at every piece of Reid he could find. "Oh my God."
"That's my name," Reid panted, and Jesus, if they ever actually had sex, Luke was going to kill him, "don't wear it out."
Reid had no problem with that, either.
There was a brief chuckle at the lame joke - Reid could hardly be expected to produce his best work under these conditions - a flash of amusement, probably some consideration of a smart comeback, but then their lips were coming together again and everything was suddenly very, very serious. It wasn't funny anymore. It was them and they were here and they were together and this was bigger than anything he'd ever experienced.
"Well, I see you two didn't waste any time."
It was Luke who wrenched away, Reid's mouth left pitifully still trying to grab for purchase. Dazed, it took him a few moments to realise Holden was in a wheelchair in the doorway. The nurse who'd obviously been pushing it was stationed just behind him, looking as dazed as Reid felt.
Luke had already flown to the other side of the small room, body turned awkwardly away in a failed attempt to hide his obvious boner from his father. "Dad! Hi!"
On the upside, Holden just sat there looking amused.
Reid could imagine that under any normal circumstance, Luke would be rushing over towards his father, asking how he was and probably giving him a hug. He could totally understand why Luke wasn't doing that right now - even if he found the whole thing profoundly entertaining. He had to, because although he wasn't ashamed, getting caught by a guy's dad was actually something he'd never experienced before. In fact, he'd never really 'met the parents' at all. Although he and Holden had briefly been introduced, they didn't know each other at all.
He was sure his own obvious erection didn't make things any less awkward.
"So, what's the news?" Luke asked, still turned slightly away.
"My kidneys are in perfect working order."
"That's great!" Luke enthused. "What about your ankle?"
"I'm just going to have to keep it strapped most of the time and rest it," Holden explained, which had been what Reid had expected. "I may need more help than usual on the farm."
"You don't even have to ask, Dad," Luke rebuked, like Holden was an idiot for even needing to suggest it. "In fact, I'll move back to the farm for a while. You know Grandma will be making you stay there anyway so she can fuss over you."
"That's true enough," Holden conceded, "Momma does have her protective side. Thanks, Luke - I appreciate it. I just have some paperwork to sign and then what do you boys say we get out of here? But first, you might want to pick up that picture you knocked off the wall."
Luke flushed in embarrassment. Reid balked mentally at being called a boy. But then Luke's Dad had just caught them humping against the wall and hadn't garrotted Reid on sight, so he decided to let it go.
*
By the time they actually left the hospital, it was decided they'd have to give their official statements to the police the next day. Lucinda had booked them into the nearest high-end hotel as possible. A limousine picked them up from the hospital - to accommodate Holden's ankle - and despite the great enthusiasm Luke had shown in the waiting room, once spread out in the comfortable seats in the limo, he - and his father - started fading fast.
Reid wasn't really surprised. They'd barely slept for three days. Luke had no doubt been worried and scared about his dad the entire time, as well as constantly supporting his weight. It could only be adrenalin and emotion that'd got him through the day so far.
When Luke started dozing against him, Reid told himself that it really wasn't cute. Jim, the security guy - a car from the security firm was following them, too - apparently thought differently, for once breaking the apparently implacable façade on his face, scrunching up his nose from where he was sitting opposite them like Reid was cuddling an adorable fluffy bunny, instead of a man.
Not that was Reid was cuddling. Luke just happened to be leaning against him, and Reid had an arm around him purely to make sure he didn't slide down.
Check-in was a painless procedure. Lucinda had obviously informed the hotel of some of the detail of their day, because no one asked for their non-existent bags, a wheelchair was waiting for Holden and they didn't even have to sign anything, simply being escorted up to their suite.
The trip in the elevator only freaked him out a little, but Luke smiled fondly at him and reached over to grab his hand. Reid squeezed it back.
They staff were amazingly discrete, disappearing almost as soon as the group were in their suite. Reid would've expected someone to show them around the rooms, but was thankful he didn't have to put up with that fake pleasantry - he could find his own way around well enough. Jim had stationed himself just outside the locked door, and Reid had to admit he found the idea comforting. He didn't actually think anything else would happen, but just in case that second guy of Damian's turned up somehow, he liked the idea of Jim being there.
There was plenty of room for Holden to use the provided wheelchair and Luke disappeared into the room Holden had chosen as his for the night, probably seeing if his dad needed anything.
As for Reid, he didn't know what to do with himself. He was exhausted, physically and emotionally, but he didn't want to move. He could use a good shower, but that'd mean moving, too. Finding a bottle of champagne resting in a metal ice bucket, Reid located a small towel and made himself an ice pack.
Flopping down onto the expensively embroidered sofa, he carefully pressed the ice pack to his right hand, hissing.
Luke was alive.
Reid didn't know how long he stayed that way, but when he heard a noise he lifted his head to see Holden sitting in his wheelchair a few feet away, staring at him.
"Thank you," Holden began, "for what you did for us today."
Reid shrugged automatically. "It wasn't-"
"No, it was, Reid. It was." Pausing, he met Reid's gaze firmly. "You know, when Luke told me during our drive here that he was worried about starting a relationship with someone else so soon after Noah, I told him he was right to be concerned." Reid felt a ridiculous thud right about where his heart was meant to be. "I think we both might've been wrong," Holden admitted, a small, knowing smile tugging at his lips. "In my experience it's usually a good idea to wait - but life isn't worth living unless you take some chances, and something tells me you two can work anything out. But for future reference," he continued, amused, "you might wanna keep the physical side of things behind closed doors."
Reid literally couldn't keep his mouth from flying open. "It's not my fault your son's a sex animal."
Holden just smiled and began the arduous process of turning himself around, not asking for and clearly not wanting help. It wasn't until he finally started wheeling himself away that he spoke again. "You think he was like that with Noah?"
Still on the sofa, alone again, Reid considered his options. He'd told himself before that he didn't want the chance; that it had to be all or nothing. But when he'd kissed Luke today he'd immediately made that leap because while Luke was alive there was simply no alternative.
It was terrifying.
Reid stood up.
He dumped what was left of the ice back in the ice bucket and tossed the towel onto the side.
The room Luke had moved to was lit only by a lamp situated in the corner. Luke was lying under the covers in the middle of the bed, apparently sleeping and apparently naked. Standing in the doorway, Reid could do nothing but stand there, hold the door open and stare at him.
Sometime later, he urged his feet forward, crossing the plush carpet until he was sitting gently on the edge of the bed. Luke's head was pointing towards that side of the bed and Reid's hand reached out towards it of its own accord until his shaking fingers were in Luke's hair, his stupid, stupid-
"Reid?" Stirring on the bed, yawning, Luke tipped his head back and rubbed at his eyes. Pulling his hands away, his body quickly tensed and his eyes widened as he looked at Reid. Suddenly sitting up, he placed a hand on Reid's arm. "Are you okay?"
Finally noticing and realising what had Luke so worried, Reid carefully blinked his glassy eyes dry. He opened his mouth to make some snappy retort, a quick-witted remark. Something very Reid Oliveresque. "Not really," came out instead.
Making a sad face, Luke immediately set about stripping Reid of his clothes. After the past few days they'd had there was nothing sexual about it at all, despite the fact they both ended up naked in the same bed.
"I haven't showered yet," Luke warned tiredly as Reid climbed in with him, "I just couldn't wait to sleep anymore-"
"You could smell like a skunk right now and I wouldn't give a damn," Reid replied bluntly, collapsing into the bed next to him and pulling the covers up. They moved towards each other automatically and it was a little awkward at first, but they soon figured out where it was best to have whose arms where. In the end it was Reid with his head on Luke's shoulder, and Reid's brain just couldn't process it.
Twelve hours ago, Luke had been dead.
Reid fought the urge to clutch at Luke's body. "I spent all of last night thinking you were dead," Reid told him, voice rough.
Luke's arm tightened around him. "Reid-"
"I beat my hands to a pulp."
"Reid..."
"This is your fault. If you ever do that to me again, I will kick your ass from here to Timbuktu. Are we clear about this, Mr Snyder?"
Luke's voice was suspiciously wobbly when he replied. "Yes, Dr Oliver."
Swallowing hard, Reid nodded. "Good. Now get some sleep." Closing his eyes, he settled in for the night, but a few moments later it felt suspiciously like Luke was kissing him on the forehead.
Reid decided to let him get away with it. Just this once.
*
His first night sharing a bed with Luke didn't go quite the way Reid expected for a number of reasons - they were both completely exhausted, there was no kissing or groping of any kind despite the fact they were naked, and there was a guy standing guard outside their suite ready to protect them from any and all intruders.
Mostly, though, it was the doorbell that sounded less than two hours after he and Luke had collapsed into bed.
A habitual light sleeper due to his choice of career, Reid was up and out of bed within seconds. Luke remained out cold in bed, in a completely unsurprising - and no doubt needed - deep sleep.
The lamp in the corner was still on, so Reid used its light to locate one of the hotel-provided fluffy, luxurious bath robes. Tugging it on and fastening the belt, Reid suddenly understood why people stole them. If heaven actually existed - which Reid had long been sceptical of - it no doubt existed in the form of this bathrobe.
Once leaving the bedroom and crossing the suite, Reid peered through the security peephole. Jim was standing on the other side but Reid wasn't taking anything at face value. Being a high-end hotel it had high-end security features, so Reid pressed the button by the door. The small screen next to it flashed to life, displaying the view from the hidden camera. It wasn't another of Damian's henchmen lurking next to Jim.
Luke's mom had arrived.
With Noah.
Lucinda had failed to mention that development.
Fighting against his first instinct to tell them through the intercom to go away, Reid instead opened the door. As tired as he was right now and as much as his knuckles were throbbing, opening the door was about the depth of his generosity.
The door swung open and Jim loomed into view, Lily and Noah trying to peer over his shoulder in an obvious attempt to catch a glimpse of the men they loved.
"Mrs Snyder has arrived, Dr Oliver. However, this man claims-"
"Yeah, yeah," Reid interrupted, turning away and implicitly inviting them in. "Dad is that way," he announced, pointing towards Holden's room, "son is that way," he continued, pointing towards Luke's, "I'm going back to bed."
Turning to face them briefly, he saw they were giving him strange looks and then Lily quickly made a beeline for her son.
Jim disappeared back out the door, closing it behind him. Noah just kept looking at him strangely.
"They said a Dr Oliver found them," Noah said, obviously confused if the squinting was anything to go by. "I didn't realise that was you." Reid shrugged. "Thank you," Noah rushed on, "I can't believe you went to all this trouble."
"It's just as well someone did, or Damian really might have had them by now," Reid retorted. "Anyway, like I said, I'm going back to bed." Circumstances being what they were, he wasn't about to climb back into bed with Luke right in front of his mother or his ex-boyfriend - even he wasn't that crass, and it was still debatable whether he and Luke were even really 'together' - whatever the hell that meant - at this point. Luke should be informed, however.
Taking a step towards Luke's bedroom, Reid came to a stop when Noah took a step in the same direction, unwittingly bumping into him. There were brief mumbles of apology as they stepped back - well, Noah apologised, Reid just sighed heavily - and then Noah was staring at Reid intensely.
It was actually kind of creepy.
"Where are you going?"
He had to explain himself now? "To speak to Luke."
"Why?"
God, no wonder Luke had dumped him. Having to explain every little thing you did would've driven a saint mad - and Reid was sure as hell no saint. "For a reason that's none of your business?" Reid asked rhetorically, quickly resuming his journey.
"How do you even know Luke?" Noah continued curiously. "You did all this, but I've never even met you before this morning."
Ignoring the question, Reid continued on and when he pushed open the door to the room, Luke was wrapped in one of those luxurious robes and the arms of his mother.
"Mom, I'm fine, I swear," Luke was saying, hugging her back tightly, then pulling back a little to smile at her reassuringly. "Tired, definitely. Sore from helping Dad walk," he shrugged, "but nothing I can't handle. Now, go and see him," he insisted, "I know you want to."
"Are you sure?" Lily asked emotionally, clearly torn between her son and her husband.
"That's only the third time you've asked," Luke rebuked with good humour. "Now go!"
Tightly holding his hands for a few moments, Lily then leant in and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I love you so much," she said quietly, reaching out to touch the fingers of her right hand lightly against the bruise on his face. "My little boy." After one last watery smile she hurried away, squeezing past Reid to find her husband.
Letting out a breath, Luke turned, breaking out into a smile when he saw Reid. Barely two seconds later, the smile vanished as Noah rushed into the room.
"Noah?"
Luke still looked profoundly shocked as Noah engulfed him in a huge hug, Luke's arms eventually coming up to pat Noah awkwardly on the back.
"Thank God you're okay!" Noah enthused, rocking Luke gently from side to side. "Luke, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault!"
"Um," Luke frowned, "how is it your fault, exactly?"
Pulling back, Noah gripped Luke's upper arms. "I was so insistent that you go on the trip with your Dad rather than the business trip with Damian. If you hadn't listened to me..."
"I didn't," Luke assured him. "I finally decided myself to come to Kentucky with Dad because I had some..." he glanced over at Reid "...things I wanted his advice on." Reid wasn't sure how he felt about being the reason that Luke had gone on the trip in the first place.
Realising they still had company, Noah nodded toward Reid. "Could we have a little privacy?"
Reid really didn't want to play audience to whatever the hell Noah was going to say, anyway. He'd been through enough with Luke today to know nothing was going to happen. "Sure," he shrugged, really just wanting nothing more than to get back to sleep and avoid as much drama as possible, "I just came to tell Luke I'm crashing on the sofa-"
"No," Luke urged, stepping away from Noah, although Noah was still hanging on to his arm. "Don't go."
Reid didn't move. It annoyed him - he annoyed himself - but he didn't move. He may have been exhausted, but the prospect of even just sleeping with Luke again was a heady one.
He was totally screwed.
Noah turned Luke back towards him. "Okay, okay, I don't mind if he stays. That was one of the reasons you broke up with me in the first place, right? I couldn't be open about my emotions." Swallowing hard, clearly bracing himself for the emotional moment - seriously, the guy needed therapy - Noah then announced, "Luke, thinking you were dead was just about the worst I've ever felt in my whole life. I know you said that we're not right for each other anymore, but I'm willing to try. Therapy, anything that could bring us back together. After the last couple of days, I can't imagine a life without you in it."
"Noah," Luke sighed, tipping his head to one side, "I'm sorry that you had to go through that. I'm sorry anyone had to," he continued, "but I will always be a part of your life. As a friend," Luke added, quietly but firmly.
Noah shook his head rapidly. "Luke-"
"Noah," Luke interrupted, "what happened changes nothing about our relationship. And it's not like this is our first brush with death, right?" he joked. Reid figured that if you came from Oakdale you'd have to joke about it or go insane. Which probably explained most of the people in the town. "It didn't change the way we treated each other before, and it won't change anything this time. We might be better for a while," he admitted, nodding, "but we always fall back into the same routine. Pulling away. Hurting each other." Reid was pretty damn sure there'd been little to no pulling away on Luke's part. Luke smiled at Noah sadly. "That's not what I want, anymore. We deserve better. I deserve better," he announced finally.
Noah's face was a frustrating picture of understanding. "It's okay, Luke. You're tired. We'll talk about it some more tomorrow-"
"No we won't, Noah," Luke informed him, pulling out of his grasp, "I told you when we broke up and I'm telling you now - there's nothing left to discuss. As far as I'm concerned any romantic relationship between us is over, and I don't want to revive it."
"Luke-"
Clearly getting frustrated, Luke interrupted him again. "Noah. No. Please get out of my room."
"But-"
"There are no bedrooms left, but you're welcome to sleep on the sofa. It's surprisingly comfortable for an expensive sofa - they usually go for style over function." He was clearly trying to make the situation easier through levity. Reid kind of doubted that was going to work.
Pausing, Noah frowned intently towards Reid. "Where's he sleeping?"
"Where he was when you arrived," Luke replied calmly. "With me." Luke was a much better man that Reid was. Reid would've been taking every opportunity to rub his own hotness in Noah's face.
Speaking of Noah's face, the changing emotions passing over it were really quite pleasing. "With you? In the same bed?"
"There's nowhere else for him to sleep in here, is there?" Luke asked, beginning to shepherd him towards the door. Reid quickly stepped in and moved to one side, freeing up the space in the doorway.
Noah had started moving automatically when Luke had urged him to, but then he paused and spun back around to face Luke. "Are you two together?"
"I don't know what we are," Luke replied, unashamed, glancing over towards Reid with a small smile, "but I know I want to find out." Once again Reid found himself smiling back, and this time he definitely knew it was because he wanted to.
God, he was a sap.
"I can't believe this!" Noah exclaimed. "We've only been broken up for a week and you're with someone else already? Have you been cheating on me?"
"Nothing happened until after we broke up," Luke quickly explained, although his gaze flicked away guiltily. Reid could at least understand where Luke was coming from - although nothing had actually happened, there'd definitely been something between them before the break-up. "And he wasn't the reason I broke up with you."
Noah, apparently, had selective hearing. "I can't believe this! You left me for another man!"
"I left you for me!" Luke finally exploded, his considerable patience giving way. "Because I was sick and tired of you constantly not believing in me, belittling me and making me feel bad about who I am! It's only been a week but I think I might actually like Luke Snyder. And I certainly like him a hell of a lot more when he's not around you! Now get out of my room!"
"I'm not going anywhere," Noah retorted darkly. Reid's first instinct was to snap out something harsh but he held it back, waiting to see how Luke wanted to handle it.
Luke set his jaw firmly, folding his arms across his chest, looking adorable yet fierce in his fluffy robe. "Oh, I think you are, Noah. That man just outside the door? One word to him and you'll be kicked out of this hotel so fast your head will spin. Good luck trying to find a hotel anywhere in Louisville that'll take you after I call Grandmother."
Noah's nostrils flared unattractively with rage. "Before Damian came back, you told me you never wanted to be anything like him. Well, you failed, Luciano. You're exactly like him!" Storming out of the room, Noah slammed the door behind him impressively.
Holding still for a few moments, Luke then walked forward slowly and locked the door. Standing there with his arms crossed, he was plainly still steaming.
"We could always kick him out, anyway?" Reid suggested hopefully.
It got the hoped-for chuckle out of Luke, at least. Sighing, Luke brought a hand up and used the thumb and index finger to rub at his temples. "Don't tempt me."
Moving closer behind him, Reid placed a hand on Luke's shoulder, leaning in close and murmuring a husky, "Luciano."
Flushing, Luke glanced back at him. "I don't like that side of myself," he admitted.
"Why not?" Reid asked bluntly, sliding his hand away. "I thought you liked Luke Snyder? That's a part of you, too. And it's whether you use your powers for good or evil that really matters. If you really were like Bad Dad you wouldn't have just threatened Noah - you would've followed through with it. Plus," Reid acknowledged, "the Luciano side of you? Totally hot."
Grinning, biting on his bottom lip - now nothing like Damian Grimaldi whatsoever - Luke grabbed Reid's wrist. "Come on," he said, leading Reid back towards the bed, appearing suddenly nervous in a way he hadn't been the first time they'd gone to sleep. "I'm still exhausted and after the week I've had you're sleeping here with me whether you want to or not." He looked a little embarrassed by his own forwardness, but equally determined not to back down.
"Yeah," Reid said dryly, eyeing Luke's impressive package as he quickly slipped out of his robe and snuck under the covers. "It's a real sacrifice."
*
The next time Reid woke, it was due to the quiet voices coming from the far side of the room. Stretching, stirring in the extremely comfortable bed, Reid pried his eyes open slightly to see Luke's robed back in the doorway.
"-can't believe you brought Noah," Luke was in the middle of saying.
"Honey, to be fair," Lily's voice quietly pointed out, "it's not like either one of you told me you'd broken up."
Luke tipped his head down briefly at the mild rebuke. "It's not like I wanted to hide it. Come on, Mom, you can't honestly tell me that you actually believed I moved back home recently just to help with the kids?"
"It is the kind of thing you've done before, Luke," she told him. "I just thought you were having a few problems or that Noah needed some space to concentrate on college. I know I barely see him anymore," she said sadly. "In any case, he explained everything to me this morning."
Reid couldn't help but wonder exactly what Noah had 'explained' and if it matched anyone's version of reality.
Apparently feeling the same way, Luke questioned Noah's version of events. "And what did Noah explain to you, exactly?"
"That you broke up with him about ten days ago," Lily said, "that you told him that you weren't good together anymore - that you just kept hurting each other and you didn't want to keep doing that any longer."
Shoulders slumping in surprise, Luke stood there awkwardly. "Oh." Reid felt as surprised as Luke sounded but when he gave it some consideration, Noah must've had some redeeming features, somewhere, or Luke never would've been in a relationship with him in the first place.
"Of course, he had some choice words about your...friendship...with Dr Oliver."
That sounded more like it.
"I bet he did," Luke retorted, shoulders tensing.
"It does seem awfully fast," Lily admitted, "and so soon after Noah. How do you know the two of you won't find your way back to each other? You always have before."
"Because all those times before," Luke replied firmly, "I wanted to get back together. Anything was better than being alone. The abandoned drunk."
Lily gasped. "Honey..."
"It doesn't feel that way with Reid," Luke continued quietly. "I'm not starting something with him because I think no one else could care about me. I'm still figuring it all out, but...I just know that I like him, Mom."
Reid didn't know what to do with this information. Despite the habit Luke apparently had of suddenly blurting out whatever random thought came to mind, Reid still didn't know how to deal with people who were so open with their emotions. Generally he found them irritating and would brush them aside or destroy them with a carefully chosen sharp-edged comment.
But he liked Luke.
Lily sighed. "It just seems so sudden."
"Not as sudden as you might think. Noah and I have been drifting away from each other for a while, now. And it doesn't matter even if it is sudden," he announced decisively, "we're both adults. I know you like Noah, but-"
"You're right," she interrupted, "I know that. It's just hard for a mother to see her little boy as a fully grown man," she added fondly. "I suppose I see Noah that way, too. He was so...lost and it was easy seeing him almost as another son. My two boys. Dr Oliver, however? He is definitely a man."
That wasn't icky at all.
Luke shifted in place. "Mom..." It was disturbing how easily Luke could sound like a little kid.
"Luke Snyder, get your head out of the gutter. Although I suppose you enjoy it down there." Luke said nothing, lowering his head quickly and Reid just knew his face was flushed red. "That's what I thought," Lily continued knowingly. "What I actually meant was, when the rest of us heard the news we just...fell apart. Or at least I did," she cleared her throat, voice emotional. "I couldn't do anything. I couldn't even get out of bed. God, I let Damian deal with everything and when I think about that I get so mad at myself!"
Stepping forward, Luke comforted his mother. "I still can't believe he did it. I don't even know why he did it."
A few moments later, Lily found the strength to continue. "My point is, we couldn't do anything but grieve. Even Noah. Reid? He came down here determined to get to the truth, whatever that may be."
"He still grieved, Mom." Pausing, Luke changed the angle of his body and turned his head around, catching Reid watching him. Luke stared at him and Reid didn't look away. "He just did it in his own way."
Reid clenched his fingers together automatically. Both hands still felt sore, overused, but his right hand in particular was still throbbing.
Luke turned back towards his mother when she spoke again.
"Luke, I may be fond of Noah but Dr Oliver brought you and your father back to me. I will admit," she conceded, "from the brief interaction we've had so far, Reid doesn't seem especially...pleasant. But he brought my family back together. How can I do anything else but like him?"
This being a hero thing was turning out to be more awesome than he'd anticipated. It was making the whole 'meet the parents' thing much less...concerning. Mild though that concern had obviously been. Both of Luke's parents loved him already and they'd barely interacted at all.
Admittedly, that was probably why they liked him.
Reid must've missed something, then, because Luke was kissing his mom on the cheek and closing the door, turning around and almost...sauntering?
He was definitely sauntering.
Wearing the fluffy robe, Luke sauntered across the room, pausing at the end of the bed...and then seemed to have no idea what he should do next. Suddenly looking unsure, his hands clutched nervously on the sash holding his robe together. "Um. Sleep well?"
"Sure did," Reid replied warmly, amused, flicking his gaze over Luke's body.
Actually taking a half-step back, Luke suddenly announced, "I need to take a shower." Immediately moving, he walked as quickly as he could towards the bathroom without actually breaking out into a run. When the door closed quickly and firmly, Reid continued to grin to himself and rolled over in the bed, spreading out.
He could only imagine what sex between Luke and Noah had been like, and quite frankly he didn't want to imagine it at all. It was better thinking of it in vague, blurry concepts. This yo-yo, hot and cold performance of Luke's was half alluring, half frustrating as hell - or at least Reid could imagine it would be, eventually - and it made Reid wonder just what the hell had happened in Luke and Noah's relationship when it came to sex.
Reid could only hope that after the first few weeks it would no longer be an issue for them and that, before long, they'd be screwing like bunnies.
A man could dream and, closing his eyes, Reid attempted to do just that.
Still, he couldn't help but contemplate what Luke's reaction would be if Reid tried to join him in the shower. Given the way Luke had all but run for his life into the bathroom, he'd probably go all Victorian Heroine on him and clutch his metaphorical pearls to his chest.
Either way, it was going to be fascinating seeing how Luke behaved in a relationship with someone who wasn't Noah. And that someone was actually him.
Somehow he'd used that word without even thinking about it. Relationship. But that was what he'd thought before, right? That it might actually be worth trying if Luke was involved.
Yet they hadn't even decided anything and although Reid wanted to say there was no rush - it would've been what he usually said, no need to define anything just yet - Luke had been dead yesterday morning.
Death changed everything, even for Reid Oliver.
It was clear sleep was gone for the night, but Reid just kept laying there comfortably as he pondered over the things Luke had revealed to his mom and his own thoughts a few moments ago.
Some unknowable time later, Reid heard the bathroom door open. There was a vague sound of movement and then the side of the bed dipped. Turning over, Reid blinked his eyes open to see Luke studying him warily. Wet was another good look on him. Back in nothing but the bath robe, his hair was damp and his skin was flushed from the shower. The bruise on his face stood out even more vibrantly. Reid resisted the urge to touch it.
"I shouldn't have run off like that," Luke apologised.
Somehow, Reid wasn't surprised that apology was Luke's first instinct. "You have nothing to apologise for," Reid insisted.
Luke bit his bottom lip. "I've only ever been with Noah."
That didn't come as a surprise - although he thought that based only on the way Luke behaved. As far as he was concerned, any gay guy in Oakdale who hadn't even tried to hit on Luke was a moron. "I figured."
"And I'm assuming you're more experienced."
He wasn't surprised this was at the heart of the matter, either. "You assume right - if you're talking about sex. If you're talking about the actual relationship side of things? We're pretty much equal." Reid had only really been in one relationship before, and even that had been more of a business relationship.
The answer seemed to mollify Luke for a few moments. Unfortunately, he then blurted out, "We didn't have sex for eighteen months."
Reid stared at him.
"Me and Noah, that is."
Reid stared at him.
"Noah and I didn't have sex until about eighteen months after we first kissed," Luke clarified.
Reid stared at him.
Reid thought about Luke's reaction after Reid had kissed him, the passion he'd responded with, and came to the only logical conclusion.
"Was he a eunuch?"
Spluttering, Luke was doing a very bad job of trying to look disapproving. "Reid!"
"I'm serious," Reid shrugged, "have you seen you? I wanted to sleep with you about two seconds after I met you. No matter how irritating you were."
Luke perked up at that a ridiculous amount. "Really?"
"Eighteen months?" Reid asked, disbelieving. Eighteen months. "I've never even known someone I've slept with for that long."
"Well, you know," Luke looked down at his hands, "it's always meant a lot to me. Sex." Given how his parents' various infidelities had made him feel, Reid could completely understand. "But I definitely didn't want to wait that long," he admitted, "at first there was always something getting in the way, and then...I don't know. Noah kept putting it off."
Reid needed a rubber stamp marked IDIOT! just so he could stamp it onto Noah Mayer's forehead whenever another piece of his past idiocy cropped up.
Eighteen months?
Reid eyed Luke, who was now looking at him warily. He thought over everything Luke had just said and realised this was a moment when he was probably meant to be reassuring. "It'll happen when it happens." Perhaps not the best pep talk he'd ever given, but he hoped to God he wouldn't have to wait eighteen months because he might just die from the severe friction burns caused by excessive masturbation.
Smiling fondly, Luke pressed a hand flat onto the bed. "If we are starting something-"
"We are," Reid assured him, taking Luke's free hand. He was in far, far too deep to just turn away.
The smile brightened, Luke gently squeezing his hand. "I can't see it taking eighteen months," he murmured quietly, honestly. "I can barely see it taking eighteen days, which is...kind of terrifying," he admitted. "You make me feel..."
At least Reid wasn't the only one feeling...concerned...from time to time.
But there was something far more interesting to focus on.
"How?" Reid prompted, turning his hand and carefully threading their fingers together. "How do I make you feel, Luke?"
Luke's mouth opened but nothing came out, his gaze instead falling to Reid's lips.
It was easy to see where this was going. "You know I haven't brushed my teeth yet, right?"
"Stop talking," Luke ordered, "it ruins how pretty you look."
That whole exchange kind of ruined the moment which Reid didn't even really mind because they ended up sitting there, holding hands and grinning at each other.
Yeah, he was totally screwed.
And not even in the literal way.
After Reid had his own shower and brushed his teeth with one of the complimentary toothbrushes - seriously, best hotel ever - he strode innocently out of the bathroom in his new favourite robe when Luke pounced. Actually letting out a small yelp of surprise - which he'd never admit to anyone and barely admitted to himself - Reid soon got over it when Luke pushed him up against the wall and they shared a mint-soaked kiss with just a hint of tongue.
After Luke's attack ended, he stepped back and regarded Reid mischievously. "Seventeen days," he murmured seductively.
Yeah, this was pretty much going to be the best countdown ever.
When Luke and Reid finally emerged, fully dressed in the well-fitted clothes provided by the hotel (Reid was so staying here the next time he travelled even vaguely in the direction of Louisville), everyone else was dressed and waiting for them.
Several trays of breakfast foods were also waiting for them. Reid eyed these Divine Trays of God hungrily, his stomach rumbling loudly.
Noah glowered at him.
Luke chuckled at him. "When's the last time you ate anything?"
He tried to think up an answer, but honestly couldn't remember. "Don't know," he shrugged absently, fingers itching to reach for a plate, "had other things on my mind."
Luke made a soft noise and when Reid glanced up, Luke was looking emotional and Lily was looking at Holden meaningfully with a hand to her chest.
Rolling his eyes, he then moved on to the food.
"I'm starving," Luke announced, grabbing his own plate and getting stuck in.
"You've dropped a lot of weight over the past few days," Reid observed casually, trying to pick between a bagel and a croissant; eventually choosing both, "both of you. And neither one of you needed to lose it. Eat," he instructed, biting into a slice of honeydew melon. Mmm, melon-y goodness.
As everyone else helped themselves to breakfast - Lily preparing a selection for her husband - Reid glanced up mid-munch, pausing when he saw Noah staring at him. Chewing and swallowing his mouthful of food, Reid smiled at him brightly just to irritate him, then went about selecting exactly what to spread on his bagel.
*
Leaving the hotel was just as painless as entering it had been. The staff were helpful and professional, Holden was helped into the limousine, and again there was nothing that had to be signed. Reid was a rich enough man, but he more than admired Lucinda's deep pockets.
The drive to the police station didn't take long. This time, Luke was wide awake which Reid found himself regretting - something Jim apparently noticed, giving Reid a knowing look. Reid tried to be intimidating in return, but trying to intimidate Jim was like using a leaf-blower against a hurricane.
They spent entirely too long at the station. First, they had to give their statements separately. Then someone had to type them up. Then they had to read over them, agree that they were correct, and sign them. It didn't sound like a particularly lengthy process but it definitely was and Reid considered himself extremely restrained for not breaking out into vivid rants about the inefficiency of the entire system. A few times he came seriously close to letting rip with a comment that'd probably end up getting him arrested. Luckily, Luke was close-by each time and would break the moment with a touch, by leaning in close or just murmuring something.
By the time they all emerged into daylight again, it was late afternoon. Noah, who'd had to wait with Lily the entire time they were giving their statements, looked particularly grumpy. Reid couldn't really blame him. He'd been bored out of his mind and he'd actually been doing something.
"What do you guys say?" Holden asked as the limo pulled up. "Do you want something to eat and drink, or should we go straight home?"
"Home," came the collective answer, even from Reid. He could definitely eat, but he'd been in Louisville long enough.
Holden was helped in first, the chauffeur placing the folding wheelchair in the spacious trunk - apparently the wheelchair was either bought by Lucinda to begin with or bought from the hotel by Lucinda, due to her disgusting oodles of cash - and then one by one they all climbed inside the limousine. Reid was the last one on the sidewalk, bar Jim, and just as he moved to slide inside, his phone started ringing. Pausing with the car door open, Reid tugged the phone out of his pocket and stared at it.
Barbara Ryan is calling...
Immediately rejecting the call and turning off the phone, Reid finished his climb into the car.
"Who was that?" Luke asked as Reid settled in next to him.
"No one important," Reid shrugged, placing a hand on Luke's thigh as he looked out through the window and watched Louisville pass by.
*
Boarding a private jet took far less time then for a regular commuter, even with Holden's wheelchair. Luke and Holden had still had no wallets with ID in them, of course, but Lily had dug out their passports and brought them with her just in case they turned out to be necessary.
Before even letting them go anywhere near the plane, Jim made a point of examining it closely, a process that took a good half an hour. Reid appreciated the thoroughness, especially after seeing that guy try to kidnap Luke, but after the first few minutes he just wanted to get on the damn plane.
Luke obviously noticed how fidgety he was, constantly moving from foot to foot.
"You okay?"
Glancing up at the quietly murmured question, Reid responded just as quietly. "Not exactly thrilled about getting on that thing in the first place. All this...waiting is just exacerbating the problem."
Nodding sympathetically, Luke opened his mouth to produce something no doubt equally sympathetic when Jim declared the plane all clear.
Going up the small flight of stairs in order to board the plane was out of the question in a wheelchair, so the three men awkwardly helped Holden up the stairs, Lily making worried noises behind them the whole time.
Once there were on board and the single crewmember - other than the pilot - had stored the folded wheelchair away, Jim wished them a safe journey and turned to disembark. Before he could, Luke stepped toward him.
"Thank you so much for all your help," he said.
Holden concurred. "We really appreciate everything you've done for us."
"I couldn't agree more," Lily moved to stand next to her son. "Thank you for protecting our family."
It was like an episode of The Waltons.
Not that Reid had ever watched The Waltons. And he'd certainly never heard of John-Boy.
"Don't worry," Reid assured Jim, "the 'thanking you for something you're paid to do' thing? It's just something they do in their part of the world. You'll get used to it."
Lily and Noah frowned at him. Luke looked like he was trying to be offended but was having trouble following through. Holden just smiled to himself.
Unlike Reid, Jim didn't seem to find anything disturbingly Stepford-like about their effusive thank you's. "Just doing my job, Ma'am," Jim replied smoothly. "If you're ever in the area again and in need of some assistance, don't hesitate to call."
Before long the stairs were up and they were all asked to turn off their phones and make sure they were seated safely. Being a private jet instead of a regular plane, the seat belt situation was somewhat sporadic. Reid wasn't actually able to sit right next to Luke, but they were only a few feet away from each other. Fortunately, Noah was sitting somewhere behind him, so Reid wouldn't have to a) see his face at all, or b) put up with his constant glaring.
Unfortunately, they then just sat there. And sat there. And sat there.
Reid could cope with planes if he was distracted - when normally planning to fly, he brought along something to read that would occupy his time - or they were actually moving. Sitting there with nothing to do was interminable. Swallowing quietly, he pulled at the top button of his shirt. When the steward or whatever the hell he was then announced that they were waiting for a break in the available air space and they weren't sure yet how long it was going to take, Reid shifted in his seat.
This was appalling. How were rich people expected to survive in these conditions? They paid millions of dollars for private jets for good reason. They shouldn't have to wait in line.
"Reid?"
Luke had noticed. Of course Luke had noticed.
"It's fine," Reid insisted, right hand tapping sporadically against his thigh. It was fine, it was fine. He just had to remember Luke's suggestion from the elevator. The amygdala is involved in signalling the cortex of motivationally significant stimuli such as those related to reward and fear in addition to social functions such as mating.
His amygdala was definitely getting a work-out lately, he thought with a quiet snort.
The hippocampus is required for the formation of long-term memories and is implicated in the maintenance of cognitive maps-
"What's the matter, Dr Oliver?" Noah's voice intruded, speaking to him directly for the first time that day, breaking his concentration. "Can't be bothered to wait around like a normal person? I thought doctors were supposed to be all about patience instead of instant gratification."
As Noah was immediately rebuked by all three Snyder's - he was already making himself look like an ass; Reid didn't have to do anything at all which was extremely convenient - Reid clenched his fingers into his arm rests.
He really shouldn't have been surprised that the first thing Noah brought up - albeit in a round-about way - was sex. He plainly hated Reid (the angry glares he'd been sending Reid all day were a pretty big clue) and there was no way that the instant gratification comment wasn't about sex. He probably thought that Luke and Reid had screwed each other senseless already.
And that was an extremely distracting thought to continue with, but if he did continue with it he was likely to grace the rest of the group with a boner for the rest of the journey, and Reid actually wasn't much of an exhibitionist if there was no one to be sharing the boner with at the time.
"It boggles the mind," Reid began, talking over whoever had been talking at the time, "that even you cannot tell the difference between someone who is impatient - which I am most of the time, I fully admit - and someone who is trying to cope with a phobia. Your level of comprehension and understanding of your fellow human beings is astounding, Mr Mayer."
"Well...I..." Noah stuttered, then promptly shut up.
"You're afraid of flying, Dr Oliver?" Lily asked curiously.
"No, I have a phobia about being stuck inside a tin can for hours on end."
"Oh," she said. "Do you feel this way every time you-?"
"Can we not play twenty questions right now, Mrs Snyder?" Reid spat out, feeling the tension in his head increasing. "I'm trying very hard not to be rude because it's in my own self-interest to maintain a good relationship with Luke's parents, but you're really not making it easy."
Lily stopped talking, too.
There was a clunk; the sound of metal on metal and then gentle pressure against the back of Reid's hands. Opening his eyes, he wasn't surprised to see Luke in front of him, smiling gently.
"You've flown a lot," Luke said carefully, "is it this bad each time?"
"No," Reid shook his head. "Worse than usual."
He nodded. "Has anything unusual happened lately? Something that could've made the reaction worse?"
"Are you kidding me?" Reid shot back. "In the town you live in, everything is unusual. I don't know if you noticed, but psychic visions and evil doppelgangers are not normal behaviour."
"You live there, too," Luke pointed out warmly.
"Yeah, don't remind me," Reid muttered, then focused on recent events. "I did get stuck in an elevator with this really hot but irritating guy," he pondered, "for hours. I almost died of starvation."
"I don't know how you survived such harsh conditions," Luke mocked lightly.
"It was a challenge," Reid played along. "Fortunately, I'm made of stern stuff."
Smiling for a moment, Luke then asked a question. "What about when you flew out here? Was it that bad then?"
Reid hadn't even thought about it. Reid hadn't even realised that he hadn't reacted at all. "No. I didn't freak out at all. I guess..." he glanced away, "...it didn't matter at the time." He wasn't thinking about that again unless he couldn't help it.
The pressure on his hands increased briefly.
"It's just a shame we can't play chess, this time," Luke said eventually, and when Reid looked back at him they shared a smile of remembrance.
"I'd kick your ass, anyway."
"Only because I let you," Luke teased.
Ha. "Keep telling yourself that, Mr Snyder. I know the truth."
An announcement from the pilot interrupted through the speakers. "Ladies and Gentlemen, if you'd like to make sure you're safely seated we've just been given permission to depart."
"Seat," Reid instructed, "right now."
"Sir, yes sir!" Luke mocked, even going as far as saluting him cheekily before returning to his seat.
Smiling to himself, more than he should have, then at Luke who'd buckled in and was grinning across at him, a thought suddenly occurred. "Mental chess match?"
Luke looked surprised, then concerned at the idea. But after a few moments, he nodded his head. "Sure. But now you're definitely going to kick my ass."
As if there was ever any doubt.
The steward walked about the plane, double-checking everyone was strapped in safely - and checking if there was anything Reid needed. His shook his head abruptly.
Predictably, Reid thrashed Luke even more thoroughly at mental chess than he had an actual chess, but it certainly made the flight pass quickly. Being a short flight anyway, once they started playing chess it felt like no time at all until they were coming in to land in Oakdale. In cases of airplane travel, Luke was officially the best distraction ever.
As soon as they landed, were permitted to undo their seat belts and the engines had come to a halt, Luke peered out of a window. "Everyone's here!" he announced, running to the exit. Somewhat impressively, he got the door open and the steps down all by himself - obviously either used to doing so or used to seeing someone else doing so, which said so much about his life - and then he was all but leaping out of the plane. The steward watched the entire thing with a huge frown of disapproval.
Strolling over to Holden, Reid started helping him up. "I see how it is," he complained, "leaving us all the grunt work."
Chuckling, Holden leant against him. "Sometimes Luke's enthusiasm gets the better of him."
"Tell me something I don't know," Noah retorted, giving Reid a significant look as he stepped into view, supporting Holden's other side. It turned out to actually be less awkward with two people supporting him instead of three, and they'd moved Holden most of the way to the door when Luke pounced back inside.
"Oh my God, Dad, I'm so sorry!"
"Don't worry about it, Luke," Holden grinned. "Help Dan with the wheelchair, okay?"
Reid didn't even really look around as they emerged from the plane, too intent on getting Holden safely down the stairs without mishap. It wasn't until they were on solid ground, Holden's arm still around his neck, his arm wrapped around Holden's back, that he actually looked at who was waiting for them.
It really was everyone.
Lucinda and Emma, Brad and Katie, various children, Meg and Eliza, a bunch of men and women who seemed familiar - they'd probably been at the farm the previous morning. Even Casey was there, with one of the nurses from Memorial.
Emma immediately started rushing towards them, pulling Holden into a huge hug. Reid had to release him and step back from fear of being caught in its gravitational force.
"My boy," Emma said emotionally, "my dear, sweet boy."
"Momma," Holden replied roughly, holding on just as tightly.
The younger kids were just moments behind her, throwing their arms around their father. The oldest one lurked a few feet away, until Luke gave her a look and she caved and joined in with the hugging.
The crowd started swarming around them as Holden was finally able to lower himself into the wheelchair. The youngest kids then threw their arms around Luke.
"Hey, guys!" he greeted cheerfully, like he hadn't been through a traumatic experience for what felt like days on end. "Have you been behaving yourselves for Grandma?"
Katie was suddenly right there, beaming at him. "You did good, Dr Oliver," she announced proudly, pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"I did?"
"Oh, I quite concur," Lucinda agreed, stepping next to Katie, removing her expensive-looking sunglasses. "Without your help, goodness only knows how long Damian would've fooled us."
"It was your idea and your money that got me there," he pointed out.
"And it was your balls that got the job done," she retorted with a smirk. "Much as it pains me to say to this to anyone...I am in your debt. If there's anything I can do for you - my eldest grandson, perhaps?" she asked knowingly.
Katie grinned stupidly.
Reid tried not to. "Touched though I am at the idea of you trading your Grandson for services rendered, I'm pretty sure I don't need any help in that department." Searching through the crowd, he saw Luke talking with Casey enthusiastically, the two of them laughing, Luke acting out what looked like a recreation of Reid's punch in the stairwell.
With this particular group of people milling around, laughing and talking, the sun shining low in the sky and Luke, alive, laughing just a few feet away...Reid was forced to admit that, despite everything, it'd turned out to be a nice freaking day.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," Lucinda suddenly announced, drawing all attention to her. The various conversations dried up. "Festivities will continue shortly at the farm, where Emma has prepared a feast fit for her charming new cooking pot. Tonight," Lucinda declared, "we celebrate the return of two members of our family. And perhaps," she smirked in Reid's direction, "the addition of a new one in the form of the man who brought them back to us - Dr Reid Oliver."
Instantly, all attention was on him. Reid normally liked being the centre of attention - when it was on his terms. Being visually dissected by twenty pairs of Snyder & Co eyes was extremely disconcerting. "Um. You're welcome?"
When they surged towards him, Reid actually took a step back.
Luke, his knight in shining denim, was suddenly standing in front of him. "Let's continue this at the farm," he suggested, holding his arms out, "we need to get the area clear anyway. Come on! Move, people!"
Slowly, the crowd began to dissipate, people heading off in different directions, probably towards whichever mode of transport they'd arrived in. In the end it was just the group from Louisville - bar Noah, who'd disappeared off somewhere - and their direct family left behind.
"Dr Oliver," Emma said, raising a hand to her chest and looking disturbingly like she wanted to hug him, "I can't begin to tell you how much I - we - appreciate what you've done for this family."
Reid started feeling awkward again - until Luke elbowed him in the side.
"You are pretty awesome," he grinned.
Reid grinned back. "Well as long as you think so, that's all that matters."
Still smiling, Luke leant into him and it just felt like the easiest thing in the world to reach a hand up, pull him in closer and plant a kiss on his lips.
"Oh," Emma breathed. "Well, that clears a few things up. Come on, young boys and girls, let's give them some privacy."
Reid thought he heard the oldest one muttering something about her brother being gross. And then...
"Grandma?" the smallest kid asked, voice getting quieter as they walked away.
"Yes, Ethan?"
"Why isn't Luke kissing Noah anymore?"
*
There were a few cars waiting to take the group to the farm. Luke and Reid were the last people to arrive to the last car and as they slid inside, Reid only then realised that the others had deliberately sat themselves in way that meant the two of them could sit next to each other. Luke clearly noticed it too, smiling to himself as he pulled the car door shut behind him.
Reid just found it odd. Sure, out of all of them of course he wanted to sit next to Luke the most. Luke was the only one he wanted to strip down and do sweaty, dirty things to. But it just seemed bizarre how many of these people appeared immediately accepting of whatever this thing was between them. Lily had some concerns, initially, but she'd got over them pretty damn fast. Everyone else? Seemed to be on board with the whole thing already.
True, they were apparently viewing him as some kind of hero - not an inherently bad thing when it came with benefits - so they were already more likely to be amenable towards him, but it was not what Reid was expecting.
This whole damn situation had happened so quickly - Luke dying, travelling to Louisville, Luke coming back to life, the kidnap attempt, talking to the police, Lily and Noah arriving, making their official statements - and, if he were honest, Reid didn't really know what he'd been expecting. He'd barely had time to think about it.
But when he did think about it, now, he expected judgement. Concern. Disapproval. Oakdale was a small town and, right or wrong, he automatically connected small towns with small-minded people.
But here they were, laughing and smiling, travelling in a caravan of cars to celebrate the return of family and the 'saviour' who brought them back. Reid was used to being thought of as a saviour when it came to his work, but this was something else entirely and something that he didn't know how to accept.
At least Noah hated him as much as he was expected to. Reid found it especially ironic that Noah was the only one from the entire group acting the way he should.
Luke was so distracted, chatting away happily with his grandmother who was sitting in the front, that for once he didn't notice Reid's confusion. Which was how it should be, as far as Reid was concerned.
When they reached the farm, the car turned and advanced along the gravel driveway. Reid leaned forward, peering through the windscreen and when he saw the huge collection of cars and people all waiting cheerfully for them, for him, he suddenly broke out into a sweat and he was back in the plane, freaking out.
Shit.
When the car crunched to a stop on the gravel, Luke wasted no time leaping out of the car, pulling open the passenger door and seeing if his grandmother needed any assistance. The driver - one of those guys who looked vaguely familiar at the airport - got out of the drivers side and walked towards the group.
Reid just sat there, frozen in the car.
A few moments later Luke was back, pulling open his own door. "Reid?"
"Yeah, I can't do this," Reid admitted, nodding to the back of the seat in front of him.
Leaning back out, Luke made some kind of gesture to the group waiting for them, then climbed back inside the car with Reid and slammed the door shut. The group started to disperse, although a few people lingered and studied the car curiously.
"What's wrong?" Luke asked and seemed to be making a point of not touching Reid at all.
At that particular moment in time, Reid appreciated it. He kept his gaze focused on the seat back, trying to keep calm. "They're all there. Waiting. To swarm."
"What?" Luke asked, clearly utterly confused.
Reid didn't know how he couldn't possibly comprehend it. "I'm going to step into that house and they're going to swarm all over me. They're going to keep hugging or touching. Little kids and their sticky fingers. Old people with no concept of personal boundaries. Manly men, always slapping each other's shoulders and asses."
Luke just stared at him. "What movies have you been watching?"
"And they're all going to want to talk to me," Reid continued, entrenched in the nightmare, "thank me for everything I've done for them when my motivation for finding you was entirely selfish. I didn't think about anyone else. They're all so loving and caring and sharing, and I never think about anyone but myself. We have absolutely nothing in common."
"We both know that's not true," Luke retorted. "No matter what you try to tell yourself. And that nonsense about making them sound like a Hallmark Card, Picture Perfect family? One of the reasons I...like you so much," Luke pressed on, "is that it feels like you see me as I really am, flaws and all. Including my family. And you still appreciate me despite all of that. Noah always…" Pausing, he glanced away. "One of the reasons I ended things with Noah is that I finally realised he saw me how he wished I would be, instead of how I actually was. He saw the Picture Perfect, ready made family that he never had-"
"Like a Norman Rockwell painting," Reid said.
"Exactly," Luke nodded, looking back at him. "Too perfect. Not actual reality. And when I inevitably couldn't live up to his expectations, he...punished me for it." It looked like it was difficult for him to admit, only a recent realisation. "You're the one who helped me realise that, you know."
Reid licked his lips. "You're welcome?"
Nodding, Luke continued talking. "Yeah, my family love each other, but they're far from perfect. And you know that. You make fun of the people in Oakdale enough," he reminded with a small grin. "So what's really going on?"
Reid hadn't really been lying before. The...swarming thing was a very real concern. He hated crowds. "There's so many of them."
"And you're not used to that," Luke stated.
He shook his head. "I've never seen more than three members of my family at the same time. And it was always the same three members. For some reason, the Oliver's have never been good at maintaining any kind of relationship - even familial. Hard to imagine why, huh?" he asked sarcastically. Christ, this was ridiculous behaviour and even he could tell that his insecurities were showing.
After a moment, Luke spoke quietly and insistently. "Reid."
Reid glanced across at him. "What?"
Luke smiled, looking at him meaningfully. "You're nothing like your parents."
Recognising the phrase as his own advice, Reid rolled his eyes at Luke's smile and snorted softly.
"You know," Luke told him conversationally, "Noah was in the same boat when he came to town."
Oh, wonderful. "Thanks for that comparison, really."
"I'm just saying," Luke continued, "he had no family to speak of, either. And he managed to face down the big, bad Snyder clan."
Reid squinted at him suspiciously. "Are you actually trying to turn this into a challenge to my ego?"
"Not at all," he insisted too-innocently. "I just think that if a teenage college student can handle it, a world-renowned neurosurgeon should be more than up to the task."
Regarding him seriously, Reid decided he was impressed. "You're a particular brand of evil, you know that?"
"Me?" he asked, all innocence.
"But a kind of cute, fluffy evil. Like whenever you were wearing that robe."
Eyes widening, Luke suddenly made a surprised face. "Oh! Yeah! I have something that'll make you feel better." He disappeared out of the car, feet crunching on gravel before quietly moving on grass, as he ran into the house.
Reid watched him go the entire time, a frown on his face.
Appearing again a few moments later with a pair of car keys, Luke promptly ran to one of the cars nearer the house and unlocked the trunk, pulling out a large bag with the name of the hotel they'd stayed at across the side.
Reid frowned even harder.
When Luke finally climbed back into the car with the bag, his grin was huge. Reid didn't even hesitate before snatching the bag out of his hand, extremely suspicious.
When he saw the contents he stared up at Luke, wide-eyed. "If I was physically capable of conceiving your child," Reid announced seriously, "I would absolutely be willing to do that right now."
Laughing, Luke let Reid pull him in for a brief kiss. "It was hard not to notice how you kept fondling yours," he said after, "and the way you kept looking at me when I was wearing mine," Luke finished, looking particularly pleased at that last detail, his gaze flicking up at Reid from under his eyelashes.
Hand inside the bag, Reid ran the hand across the material. "How did you even do this? I didn't even see this go onto the plane."
"Oh, you know what us rich people are like," Luke shrugged with a teasing grin, "always paying people to do things for us."
"I don't care what anyone says," Reid declared, "this was absolutely a much needed and valid use of your money."
Obviously delighted at Reid's reaction and his own cleverness, Luke sat there looking so pleased with himself and so pleased with life in general that Reid could do nothing else but shove the bag aside and pull Luke into another kiss.
Grinning into it, Luke's hands came up to play with the hair at the top of Reid's neck. "I love that," he murmured quietly, happily.
"What?" Reid asked, between one kiss and the next.
After another brush of mouth against mouth, Luke pressed his forehead against Reid's "You don't care that I have money."
What an absurd statement. "Why would I give a rat's ass if you have money?" Reid asked seriously. "It's money. What else is there to do but spend it? That's its function; the whole point of money in the first place. And if it's being spent on me," he shrugged, "well then it couldn't go to a more deserving guy."
Laughing - and kind of making Reid do the same - Luke leant in for another kiss. Reid was just starting to enjoy himself immensely when Luke unfortunately pulled away, although he kept his hands in Reid's hair. "So, Dr Oliver, are you feeling any better?"
Nodding, Reid had to be honest. "I have an awesome robe. I have an awesome boyfriend. If I had an awesome sandwich right now, life would be perfect."
Luke's stupid grin got even stupider. "Boyfriend?"
Ah. That had slipped out rather unintentionally, but Reid decided to just roll with it. "You prefer another term?"
"No," Luke grinned some more, "boyfriend's good. Is that what we are, Dr Oliver?"
Reid was pretty sure no one had ever grinned that much before in their entire life. "You're the expert," he shrugged, "you tell me."
"If you're amenable to the idea," Luke began jokingly, "then I think I can live with it." When Reid nodded, Luke moved his hands out of Reid's hair and clutched at Reid's wrist, instead. "Think you can handle going in, now?"
Once again Luke had been a great distraction, but as Reid looked back towards the farmhouse, he let out a deep breath. "It's still going to be crowded."
Tipping his head to one side, Luke studied him thoughtfully. "You think this is why you freaked out on the plane?"
He hadn't even considered that. "I don't know. Maybe." It was at least a working theory.
Nodding, Luke kept looking at him thoughtfully. "I'll enforce a two-foot exclusion zone," he said eventually. "Absolutely no hugging or touching."
"Apart from you," Reid offered.
"Apart from me," Luke agreed. "You may be forced to partake in small talk, however, and people generally going on about how wonderful you are."
He made a show of looking pained. "The things I do for you, Mr Snyder."
"But there will be food," Luke informed him happily, "lots and lots of food."
"Well hell, why didn't you just say so? Let's go!"
Smiling again, Luke squeezed Reid's wrist before releasing it. "Come on."
They climbed out from either side of the car, Reid bringing the bag with him (he wasn't taking a chance and leaving it behind. What if someone drove off with it still in their car?). As they approached the house, Reid was definitely still feeling...concerned about dealing with that many people wanting to interact with him all at once. Soon enough, however, Luke drifted over to him and when he gently brushed his hand against Reid's, Reid decided he might just survive the ordeal.
"Finally!" Lucinda announced, pushing open the door that led into the porch, "I thought you two were never going to stop kissing out there. Not that I don't applaud that use of your time," she added slyly, "I was young once, you know."
Reid thought Lucinda was pretty damn awesome, but wrinkled his nose at the thought nonetheless.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Grandmother," Luke apologised, rather too cheerily and not embarrassed at all, "my boyfriend and I just needed some time to ourselves."
Luke grinned to himself.
Reid rolled his eyes.
Lucinda widened hers. "Oh, well, in that case, I'm sure you did. Come in, come in," she urged, stepping aside to give them room to enter. Reid's gaze flicked to the small window showing the view into the kitchen, at the people standing there and the noise drifting out.
He could do this.
"Tell me, Dr Oliver," Lucinda began as Reid walked through the porch, "what's your opinion on pre-nups?"
*
Things improved significantly barely five minutes after Reid entered the house, when Emma announced they should take advantage of the mild weather before summer made its farewell. The sun was beginning to set, but a few of the crowd left the house and a few minutes later, sturdy-looking folding tables were being set up in the yard.
Needing no other excuse to get out of the house, Reid rushed outside as calmly as he could and parked himself by the table he suspected the best of the treats were going to be placed on. Luke wasn't far behind.
Luke was also plainly amused. "They weren't that bad."
Truthfully, they could've been a lot worse - although the sooner Lucinda stopped trying to be amusing with the marriage comments, the better. Reid was still just getting comfortable with the idea of a relationship at all. Marriage was something he'd never even contemplated, especially after seeing the way his parents lived together.
In any case, Reid's imagination may have been running away with itself initially, but that still didn't mean he didn't prefer being out in the open. At least out here, even if several people actually wanted to talk to him at the same time - although God only knew why - he was out in the open and there was room to breathe.
Also, he could make an easy escape if it came down to it.
Holden had been offered the opportunity to rest, but he insisted on taking part in the festivities. Once the tables and chairs had been set up, Brad wheeled Holden outside, parking him in place of honour at the head of the largest table.
"Luke," Emma said, carrying out a disappointing bowl of salad, "you sit down next to your father at the head of the table."
"Oh, that's okay, Grandma. I thought I'd help you with-"
"Luke Snyder, you will do exactly as I say," she instructed, banging the bowl down with a definitive thump. "We lost both of you and you have both come back to us. You are not doing anything today."
Luke promptly sat down on the chair.
Reid hastily sat down on Luke's other side, before Emma ordered him to sit next to Meg or somewhere equally hideous. She'd been shooting him glares whenever he had the misfortune of accidentally looking at her.
As Emma returned to the house and other members of the family ferried food out to the table - Reid spotted a platter of breaded chicken pieces and licked his lips - Luke turned to his dad. "So, what's it like having a set of wheels, old man?"
"Inconvenient," Holden admitted, looking down at his legs in frustration. "I got jammed in the kitchen door a couple of times and I have to admit, people falling all over themselves to be 'helpful' makes me feel about two inches tall. I think, from tomorrow, I'll see about getting around with crutches whenever I can. I don't know how you ever coped, Luke."
"Uh, you remember my vivid queen outs, right?" Luke chuckled. Reid could definitely picture them. "But eventually, I didn't have any other choice. Plus," Luke raised his arms and struck a body builder pose, "it was the best my arms ever looked."
Reid shook his head. "Trust you to find the upside to paralysis."
"Believe me," Luke shrugged, lowering his arms and facing Reid, "it was either that or give up on life altogether."
"I can't picture you doing that," Reid said seriously. Luke just giving up on life seemed as wrong as Henry and his shirts - they just didn't go together. "Queening out and overreacting? Absolutely. I saw that happen first hand at the apartment."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks, Dr Oliver. You're so sweet."
Reid flashed a deliberate grin. "I just call it how I see it, Mr Snyder."
Noticing movement from the corner of his eye, Reid moved his gaze to Holden who was busy rubbing a hand over his mouth at a poor attempt at hiding his amusement.
Reid raised his eyebrows. "Something you wanted to say, Mr Snyder?"
"No, no," Holden insisted, shaking his head and still wearing a small smirk as he removed his hand. "Just sitting back and watching the entertainment, that's all."
Luke gave his father an odd look, then focused back on Reid. "So, you were saying something about how brave and strong I am?"
"Pretty much," Reid agreed, much to Luke's apparent surprise. "I told you this before, Luke. If you were the type to give up you wouldn't be anywhere near as fascinating."
Blinking in surprise, Luke opened his mouth to respond when he glanced across to his father, shutting his mouth again. After a moment, his gaze fell to Reid's hands. He frowned. "When's the last time you treated your hands?"
Blinking in his own surprise, Reid looked down at his hands. He was so used to the constant soreness now; it was definitely still painful but he tried not to pay it any attention. "I don't-"
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Luke said almost angrily, grabbing the wrist of one of the hands in question and tugging Reid to his feet. "Come with me."
Reid let himself be tugged up and towards the house, but he was pretty sure he had no say in the matter anyway. Luke's sudden change in mood was perplexing and interesting. Reid wanted to know more, and bossy Luke was pretty damn hot in the first place.
They received more than a few looks from the people still inside as Luke dragged Reid through the kitchen and then through the door that led upstairs. At the top of the stairs, Luke turned right and then right again, turning into what turned out to be a reasonably-sized bathroom.
Closing the door behind them, Luke lowered the toilet set and pointed at it. "Sit."
Reid sat.
Opening the medical cabinet above the sink, Luke turned back and knelt before Reid, holding up a tube of antiseptic ointment. "We're not exactly a hospital pharmacy," he admitted, "but will this do for now?"
Reid shrugged. "Sure."
"First thing tomorrow, you're going to Memorial to get someone to look at them," Luke instructed, concentrating on unscrewing the lid.
"Okay."
Squeezing some cream out onto the end of his own fingers, Luke put the tube down and started carefully dabbing the ointment onto Reid's knuckles. "They're only your livelihood."
"They are," Reid agreed, watching Luke work carefully and studiously.
"I know there's been...a lot going on, for both of us," Luke said, carefully applying the ointment, "but we should've been paying more attention to your hands. They're so important." Pausing, he looked up, meeting Reid's gaze. "I'm sorry."
As far as Reid was concerned, Luke apologised far too much. "Luke...since this crap happened, I haven't thought about neurosurgery, the Centre, my work - none of it. Not even once."
Biting his bottom lip, Luke blinked through what looked like suddenly suspiciously wet eyes.
"Oh, God, don't get all weepy on me."
"I can't help it!" Luke exclaimed. "It's like you have no idea how romantic you are."
"Romantic?" Reid shuddered. "I wouldn't even know how to be romantic."
"Which is exactly why you are," he replied. "There's no faking it with you, because you don't even know how. It's all real. Sincere. And you can't tell me you don't still want your career."
That was a dumb statement. "Of course I still want my career."
"Then take care of your hands!"
"That's exactly what I'm doing!" Reid replied, shaking the hands in question.
Squinting, Luke huffed at him. "You are infuriating. You're a genius, but you're an idiot who wants to continue his career as a famously successful neurosurgeon without taking care of his hands."
"My hands are being taken care of! Right now! This instant!"
"Only because I insisted!"
"What the hell does that matter? The end result is the same!" He took a breath, completely confused. "Why are we even arguing?" Luke glanced up at him guiltily. Reid's frown deepened. "You're picking a fight with me. On purpose."
Luke didn't answer the question directly, focusing on dabbing the cream onto Reid's hands again. "I know I've just been...going with the flow since you turned up in Louisville, but we never talked about it, you know."
Reid had no idea what the hell was going on. "Talked about what?"
"The fight we had. At Katie's. We never really...resolved it. We were just happy to see each other."
Is that what this was about? "That wasn't a fight. That was two idiots refusing to say how they really feel about each other."
Working on Reid's hands was instantly forgotten. "Really?"
"Of course!" Reid snorted. "Even I could see that. Retrospectively," he admitted. When Luke simply frowned at him, Reid explained. "I thought you were dead, remember? I did all the cliché grieving things - I know, don't even get me started on how much I hate myself for being a cliché. I walked around in a daze. I saw your face everywhere I went. I beat the crap out of my hands. And I replayed each and every conversation we ever had, torturing myself even further - because clearly, I am the idiot you say I am. It didn't take much torturing myself at all to realise we were both running scared." He shrugged, providing another truth. "You're kind of terrifying, Mr Snyder."
Luke swallowed as he stared at him. "You say you're terrified," he replied quietly, "but you're not acting like it right now."
"In any normal situation, I'd probably be running for the hills," Reid admitted, "because I have no idea how to do this. But like I said - you died. After that - phobias that make me act like an irrational fool aside - I can deal with just about anything."
Luke kept staring at him. "You keep saying that you see me as this strong, together guy, and half the time it makes me feel fantastic and half the time I keep waiting for you to realise that I'm really not and push me away."
Just like him, Luke had issues. And it appeared plainly obvious what one of the biggest ones was. "I don't play games, Luke. I'm not him. I'm not that guy." He had no intention of ever treating Luke badly - and especially not the way Noah had. "I'm not Noah."
Staring at him, still, Luke suddenly surged up, smushing his lips against Reid's. Surprised, Reid whacked a hand out, bracing it against the wall to keep his balance. The cream still on Luke's hand smeared onto Reid's face and hair but who gave a damn about that when Luke was getting down with that climbing all over him thing?
A fist pounded against the door, making them freeze. "Hey! Can you guys hurry it up in there? Some of us actually have to pee instead of rushing off for a quickie!"
Paused with Luke's right hand under his shirt, Reid licked his lips. "Can I have your permission to kill your best friend? Just a little?"
"Not if I get there first," Luke retorted, sighing and regretfully climbing off of Reid's lap.
Really, this wasn't the most hygienic place to be doing this, anyway. Standing up, Reid brushed down his clothes. "To be continued in some place that isn't used to empty Casey Hughes' bladder."
Chuckling, Luke leaned in for a brief peck. "Deal."
As they left the room, Casey gawked at him.
"Uh," Casey lifted his hand near to his own cheek, "you got a little...something. Also...TMI, guys!"
"Casey!" Luke replied, horrified, cheeks flushing red. "We didn't-"
"Whatever you say, dude, whatever you say," Casey held out his hands placatingly. "Just make sure you clean it off before anyone else sees it."
After Casey ducked into the bathroom, Luke manhandled Reid around to get a good look at the left side of his face. "Oh," he said. "Um, it does look kind of bad," he admitted with a slightly embarrassed smile, reaching up to rub the white cream off.
"You should've left it," Reid suggested, amused at the colour of Luke's face. "Imagine watching your parents still trying to like me while I'm walking around with what they think is their son's-"
"Reid."
"-on my face. Yeah?"
"Play nice," Luke instructed, grabbing Reid's wrist again.
Reid was tugged along behind him. "But nice is so boring."
He was distracted soon enough when they returned to the table and Reid saw the huge spread now laid out before them. It was truly a sight to behold.
"Wow," Luke commented, seeing his reaction. "I think your eyes are actually turning into plates."
Reid spent the next hour eating. He had to put up with the occasional question from someone, mostly about his career, but for the most part he could just sit there and graze. Emma lived up to her advertising - she really was a fantastic cook and Reid let her know this, at length. She fluttered her eyelashes and thanked him profusely. Luke rolled his eyes. Reid was no fool - from this point on he planned to visit the farm often, and it make sense to butter up the woman who'd be providing the wonderful food.
As dusk began to settle in, candles were placed and lit on the tables. People began to leave, all of them giving Luke and Holden hugs before they went. With a smaller group now, they were all clustered around the one large table and Brad launched into the story of how he and Jack had had a knock-down, drag-out fight one Thanksgiving.
Reid actually knew who Jack was by now and he found himself laughing at the visuals Brad was describing. With a smile on his face, a full stomach, Luke leaning against him and candlelight flickering around them, Reid had to admit it had turned out far better than he'd anticipated.
Luke seemed pretty damn pleased himself, although Reid suspected that most of his happiness at that particular moment in time came from the fact that they were so sitting so close together in front of Luke's family. When Reid had originally leaned in closer, wrapping an arm around Luke's back, Luke had looked faintly shocked at the quiet intimacy happening in front of his parents - but had most definitely not pulled away. If anything, he leaned in further and quickly settled in, obviously pleased to be there.
Reid knew, also, that it hadn't passed Luke's family by. Lily and Holden were sitting together, Ethan sprawled sleepily across his Dad, small arms around Holden's neck. After Luke and Reid leaned in together, they shared a significant look. Lucinda, Emma and Katie all looked happy in different measures - Katie the most emotional, sighing happily, which Reid ascribed to her pregnancy.
Reid knew he was hot, and Luke was definitely hot - but seriously, they were just two guys who were into each other. What was so damn fascinating?
*
When Lucinda made another comment about marriage ("What do you think of gold versus platinum, Dr Oliver?"), Reid rolled his eyes and took the opportunity for a much needed bathroom break. After washing his hands and coming back downstairs, he pushed the door to the kitchen open to find Luke and Emma mid-conversation.
"-feel kind of guilty, I have to admit," Luke was in the middle of saying, and as soon as he heard that, Reid stopped himself from opening the door any further and blatantly eavesdropped. It was pretty obvious that Luke felt guilt about things he was in no way responsible for and he wanted to know if this was another one of those cases.
At the far end of the kitchen while Emma did something food-related, their backs towards him, Luke and Emma continued talking.
"About Noah?" Emma asked. "What on earth for?"
"Grandma, I only just realised he isn't here! Just because we're not together anymore doesn't mean I don't still care about him." Luke wasn't the only one who'd entirely forgetten about Noah. Reid couldn't say that it bothered him in the slightest.
"Luke, after the week you've had, you're entitled to be a little selfish for once. You care so much about other people - you need to take care of yourself, too. In any case, you don't need to worry about Noah," she admitted, "he called not long after we got back to the farm and said that something had come up and he couldn't make it." Reid knew what that 'something' was - his pride. "I didn't tell you, because I knew it would only make you worry. And today is a day for celebrating, not worrying," she smiled broadly, pulling him into a hug. "I'm so very glad you didn't come to harm, sweetheart."
Hugging back, Luke squeezed her tight. Reid suddenly felt absurdly jealous, even if she was a sneaky old broad who hadn't told Luke that Noah had called. In truth, that made her infinitely more appealling.
"Besides," Emma eventually said as she released him, "you've looked so very happy today." She patted his hair down like he was still a kid. "You know I always adored Noah, but...I haven't seen him make you smile like that for a long time."
"Like what?" Luke asked curiously.
"Like the way your Dr Oliver makes you smile," Emma replied, obviously pleased at that piece of information. Bizarrely, Reid felt his own cheeks start to warm up.
As if on cue, Luke suddenly broke out into an earth-shattering grin, glancing down.
"Yes," Emma nodded her approval with a smile, "just like that. He seems like a very nice man."
"Really?" Luke asked immediately, then caught himself. Reid had to stop himself from snorting in amusement. "Um, I just mean, I get the impression most people don't like him straight away. If at all. And he's fine with that. I know I didn't like him."
"Isn't that how all the great one's start?" Emma asked knowingly. "I know it was certainly true of your parents. And oh," she sighed, pressing a hand against her chest, "the things I could tell you about your Grandfather..."
Luke looked surprised. "I thought you and Grandpa Harvey had the perfect marriage?"
"No relationship is perfect," she scolded fondly, letting her hand fall. "That man used to drive me crazy."
Luke bit his lip. "Reid says that about me."
She chuckled. "There you are. Harvey and I may have been...combative, sometimes. But we loved each other dearly."
Reaching out a hand, Luke touched her arm. "I wish I could've known him."
"So do I, sweetheart," she replied wistfully. "I think the two of you would've got on very well together. But that's another reason we should love as fully and as often as possible - we never know when someone is going to be taken from us. Goodness knows, Dr Oliver is certainly crazy about you."
"You really think so?"
"Oh, heavens yes. Even if he hadn't run off to Kentucky to find you, all you to have to do is look at the man when he's looking at you. There's nothing else in the world to him in that moment." Reid was definitely feeling uncomfortable. He may have been coming to terms with his feelings for Luke himself, but it still didn't sit comfortably that he apparently had no control whatsoever of what his face was showing when he was with Luke. And it was something else entirely to have Luke's old-fashioned, loving Grandmother declare how obviously gaga Reid was over Luke.
"I'm kinda crazy about him, too," Luke admitted, which wasn't something that Reid didn't know already, but still made him stupidly happy to hear. "And I'm so glad you like him. I was...worried you guys wouldn't like him automatically just because he wasn't like Noah, so soon after Noah. Pretty stupid, huh?"
"Stupid indeed," Emma confirmed, "and didn't I say that today wasn't a day for worrying? Although, I have to say that Dr Oliver rescuing you and your father certainly helped our impression of him. And by the way," she told him, "don't think I haven't forgiven you for not telling me you and Noah had broken up and then I suddenly see you kissing another man at the airport."
Embarrassed, Luke scratched the side of his neck. "Uh, yeah. That's a long story. In any case," he said quickly, obviously eager to change the subject, "I just hope he doesn't get scared off."
"Dr Oliver?"
Luke nodded. "Grandmother keeps talking marriage," he groaned. "They've only just met! We've only just started this...thing! When I called her on it a minute ago, she said 'Luke, he's a doctor. And not just any doctor, a neurosurgeon. If you insist on staying in this one-horse town, that's the best you're ever going to get'." Luke did a scarily impressive Lucinda impression. "Then," he continued, "she said-" Stopping mid-sentence, as if realising whatever he was about to say might not be appropriate for his present audience, he cleared his throat. "You know what? Never mind."
Oh, now Reid simply had to know. Pushing the door open with enough power to ensure it would create a thump, Reid made his way down the last few steps as Luke and Emma turned towards him.
Luke's face was comical. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to know I would've liked Grandpa Harvey," Reid responded, nodding an acknowledgement at Emma but not tearing his eyes away from Luke as he advanced towards him. "What else did she say?"
"Who?" Luke asked, eyes darting around, trying to create a distraction.
"Lucinda," Reid reminded firmly, coming to a stop in front of him. "What else did she say about me?"
"I think..." Emma announced, "...I'll see if anyone needs anything outside." Clearly a smart woman, she vacated the kitchen as fast as she possibly could.
"There," Reid said, after hearing the screen door slam shut and Luke was still looking at him cautiously, "now it's just the two of us. Go on."
Encouraged, but plainly also a little embarrassed, Luke stumbled through his response. "She said that...you were plainly crazy about me and..."
So far, nothing too startling. And nothing Emma hadn't said herself. "And?"
Swallowing, Luke spat it out. "She said that a man like that, a man like you, would do absolutely anything to keep me happy." He paused. "In bed."
Nothing too startling there either, as far as Reid was concerned. "Your Grandmother's a smart woman."
"Yeah?" Luke asked, grinning slightly.
"Yeah," Reid nodded, amused at Luke's reaction to this whole thing. "You're one hell of a paradox, you know that?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you," he confirmed. "One minute you're climbing into my lap on the toilet, the next you're embarrassed because your Grandmother thinks I'm a generous lover. She's right, by the way," he added, because that was something important that needed to be shared. "I know I already covered that, but I think it's for the best if you're left in no doubt whatsoever about my awesome skills in the sack."
Laughing, flushing - Reid was still crazily proud of himself for prompting that reaction whenever it happened - Luke shook his head in disbelief. "You're something else."
"It's true, I am," Reid acknowledged, moving in closer.
Luke didn't back away, grinning at him almost shyly. "Generous lover, huh?"
"Generous," Reid confirmed, "amazing, astounding."
"Careful, Dr Oliver," Luke teased, leaning in, hands resting either side of Reid's waist, "you might not live up to your own hype."
"Impossible," Reid shook his head minutely, "I'm a neurosurgeon."
"What does that have to do with anything?" Luke asked, forehead creasing together just inches from Reid's.
"I'm good with my hands," Reid breathed, the hands in question coming up to splay across the sides of Luke's neck, then sliding up to cup his face.
Eyes fluttering closed, Luke made a noise and Reid suddenly felt a hand on the back of his head, pushing him towards Luke. He more than went with it, and the kiss that followed was everything the moment had been building to. Luke kissed him like he'd been starving for it, like Reid was the rain after a year-long drought, like he'd never really been kissed before and he was just now discovering something new and amazing.
It was surprisingly terrifying. Reid had never been terrified by a kiss before.
But he kissed Luke back with as much passion, as much emotion as he could muster, because a kiss that open deserved nothing less in return. He couldn't see anything but Luke, couldn't taste anything but Luke and when their lips finally parted, Reid's eyes were closed and Luke's voice was barely audible.
"Reid," he panted quietly, sounding awed, "you're shaking."
And his first instinct was to pull away, to run as far as he could from this kid with the stupid hair and even bigger issues, but he fought against it. Opened his eyes. Swallowed. Smiled.
Because Luke wasn't the only one discovering something new and amazing.
"That kiss was something else, Mr Snyder," Reid tried to joke, but his voice came out wrong, mangled.
Making an understanding face - it's okay, you're not alone in this. I'm scared, too - Luke tipped his head to one side and smoothed a hand down Reid's shirt. "It sure was, Dr Oliver."
And that feeling was in his chest again; a living, burning monster inside that was able to rip apart his insides - and he knew that it could. Because it already had when he'd thought Luke was dead and here it was again, this time re-building him from the inside out, brick by brick, step by step. With every touch, every smile from Luke, every moment adding something new, changing him fundamentally into something more than he'd been before.
He knew then, instantly, that Katie had been right.
This was love.
*
Luke was staring at him, one hand on Reid's shoulder, the other still playing with his hair, Luke's fingers absently moving through the faint curls at the base of Reid's skull.
Closing his eyes in an attempt to focus, to reign in the staggering emotion running through him, Reid leaned forward, resting forehead to forehead with Luke. It'd started off as a joke, to tease Luke about what to expect when it came to sex - but the joke had been on him when Luke had kissed him.
Reid had had a few sexual partners but not as many as he could have, medicine becoming his focus. Still, he'd definitely experienced what he'd classify as great sex - but none of them had ever kissed Reid the way Luke had just kissed him.
That ridiculous, sappy sentiment he'd always scoffed at was now looking like it was actually true: it was better with someone you loved.
Even a week ago he would've been scared shitless of the way Luke made him feel, torn between wanting him near and pushing him away. Now, he was still scared shitless, but there was no possible consideration of doing anything other than ensuring Luke was around at all times.
It was ridiculous. It was undoubtedly co-dependent. It went against everything he'd told himself to do in life.
Ironically, it seemed his personal analysis of love had been spot on. It did make you do stupid, probably illegal things. It did make you act irrationally. It was definitely terrifying.
The one thing he hadn't counted on was how good it could feel.
"Reid?" Luke asked carefully, almost hesitantly, the hand in Reid's hair sliding down slightly, nails scraping gently across the skin there.
Reid shivered.
Opening his mouth, Reid paused, wanting to say something but for once not having the right words. He was no writer, not of anything that required any actual writing skill, but he still prided himself on being verbally quick-witted, on being able to produce words in an instant that could cut and destroy, amuse and enlighten. More and more often, it seemed, just being around Luke rendered him mute.
Conversely, Luke was now one of the people he'd spoken to the most in his entire life.
These contradictions - especially in a man so usually sure of himself - were maddening.
And intoxicating.
"Luke," he finally said, "I-"
The sound of a car engine outside intruded on the moment, making them both turn their heads towards the porch. A sea of faces greeted them through the window into the porch, where it seemed nearly everyone who'd been seated around the table was watching them.
Luke laughed. Reid scowled.
They scattered like spooked animals, sudden incredibly interested in anything that wasn't in the kitchen and Reid was pretty sure he heard Natalie's voice demanding to know what they'd all been looking at and that whatever it was she wanted to see it, too.
"Starting them early with watching the man-on-man action," Reid nodded agreeably, "I approve."
"Reid!" Luke made a horrified face. "That's my sister!"
"Relax," he drawled, thankful that he could focus on something less emotional, for now, "it's not like we've actually got a porn movie going on in here." A wicked thought flashed across his mind. "Although..." He leaned in deliberately. "Mr Snyder, I've...come to repair your refrigerator."
Luke couldn't hide his smile, although he made an extremely poor attempt at doing so. "You'd be a lousy refrigerator repair man," he argued, "you'd just eat all the food before it went bad."
"Hey, that's clearly a better idea than wasting food," Reid pointed out, before slipping back into his role. "Have you seen my big tool, Mr Snyder? I seem to have misplaced it."
Flushing clear to the tips of his ears like he couldn't quite believe they were having this conversation in his family's kitchen with his family just outside, Luke bit his bottom lip for a moment. "If you can't find it yourself, serf, you're clearly doing it wrong."
Surprised into laughing, Reid grinned at him. "The selfish rich guy and his handy man? I like it. We'll have to work on that more. It'll definitely be a best seller."
Luke was just looking like he really, really liked that idea and Reid was just thinking that he'd really, really like to kiss him again when the door to the kitchen creaked open.
Reid wished he'd never turned to look when he saw Barbara Ryan standing in the doorway. More accurately, she was glaring in the doorway as if the power of her own glare was enough to keep her upright.
His good mood evaporated in an instant. Reid had been hoping to put this encounter off until tomorrow; give himself at least one good night with Luke before reality forced its way back in. Apparently, it wasn't meant to be.
"Dr Oliver," she pronounced with the same kind of enunciation anyone else would use with 'scumbag', her gaze flicking between the two of them before settling back on Reid. "I'm sorry to interrupt on what's clearly a...personal moment for you, but I need to talk to you urgently about Paul." She still had the concerned mother act down pat. Reid rolled his eyes at it again.
"That's fine," Luke immediately offered, which of course he did. Now wasn't the time, but Luke would have to be brought up to date with the situation with Barbara at some point. She certainly didn't deserve any of his boundless generosity.
Regretfully moving away from Luke for many, many reasons, Reid forced a twisted smile onto his face. "Shall we have some privacy, Mrs Ryan?" he suggested, gesturing towards the family room.
"That's an excellent idea, Doctor," she agreed with a distinct chill, walking briskly past him and into the other room. Sharing a look and a nod with Luke, Reid joined her.
He didn't even wait for her to turn around. "Look, I already know what you're going to say," he began, "yes, I went out of town without your 'permission'," he actually created air quotes with his fingers, "and, quite frankly, I don't give a crap." Amazing as it seemed, Reid had discovered that there was something more important than his career. "If you think-"
"The police are going to arrest Paul," she blurted out, back still towards him.
That he had definitely not been expecting. The last he knew about anything, Paul had still been settling into life at Fairwinds and flirting with Emily on a regular basis. "I've only been out of town two days." What the hell had Paul been up to since yesterday morning? But then, this was Oakdale. Nothing should surprise him.
"It's for the explosion," Barbara explained. "Margo came to see him this morning. They've been spending all this time combing through the debris and they say they've found proof that the explosion was set intentionally - and that something ties Paul directly to it."
They seriously thought Paul was responsible for the explosion that almost killed him? That'd be nicely ironic, but Reid just didn't buy it. He thought of the guy who'd asked him about love, who could tell when Reid had been moping...was frustrated at Luke. It just didn't fit what he knew of Paul Ryan. "What's the evidence?"
"Apparently," she huffed, "they've found a piece of the trigger mechanism intact. Paul's fingerprints are all over it."
That was...actually extremely convenient. "Clear, whole fingerprints?"
Barbara frowned at him. "She didn't specify. Does that matter?"
It could well do. "What would be his motivation?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Behind the explosion. Why are they saying Paul would be behind it?"
She made a face. "The explosion took place in a warehouse where he was apparently due to meet with Dusty Donovan." Ohh, that guy with the unfortunate name. Everyone in this town was connected, somehow. "They have...let's say, not been getting along, lately. Something of a rivalry had developed between them."
"So they think Paul tried to off him, but it literally blew up in his face."
"Exactly," she confirmed, "and given Paul's less than pleasant history..."
Yeah, that didn't look good. "We need to see the evidence."
"You think he's innocent?" she asked immediately, obviously surprised.
"Mrs Ryan," he replied, "your son is one of the only people I've encountered in this town who isn't a complete moron. Even if he was responsible for the explosion, there's no way he'd be stupid enough to set it off accidentally and injure himself, and he definitely wouldn't have handled the device without gloves." She seemed pleased. Reid had to do something about that. "I take it you came here to make more of your usual demands?" he continued. "Get my son his memories back, save the universe with one hand tied behind your back, bow to my every whim, etc etc?"
"Something like that," she admitted. "Paul still has no memory of anything at all, let alone the explosion itself. If he could remember, maybe he could do something; provide the police with some kind of information to prove his innocence."
It was a slim chance, but still a chance. "I'll continue doing what I can," he nodded, "but I suggest you get yourself a good lawyer - if one actually exists in this godforsaken town - and demand to get a look at the evidence ASAP." When she kept frowning at him, he frowned right back. "What?"
"You're offering to help," she said suspiciously, "of your own free will."
"And you didn't have to make any threats at all," Reid retorted, "imagine that." He sighed. "Look, Ryan's Mother, we may not like each other but even I don't want a potentially innocent man to go to jail. Frankly," he admitted, "I'm just as surprised that you haven't threatened to kill my career after I broke your precious little rules about not leaving town."
"Yes, well," she sniffed, "I am not unfeeling." That was true, at least. In fact, Reid suspected Barbara Ryan felt a little too much. "Bringing two men back from the dead has made you the talk of the town. Attacking you right now would only make me look suspicious." That sounded more like the Barbara Ryan he knew and loathed. "And besides," she told him, "it can only be good for my situation that you seem to be developing a...bond," Barbara smirked as she glanced towards the kitchen, "for certain people in Oakdale. It seems that, with my 'influence' or not, you could well be staying in town for the foreseeable future, anyway." Smoothly picking up one end of her silk scarf and flicking it around her neck, Barbara walked away. "Goodbye, Doctor. Rest assured, I'll be contacting you soon."
Reid wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea but quite remarkably, that was the best interaction he'd ever had with her (and by best he meant, he only rolled his eyes once). Maybe he could actually get through this farce without losing his medical license. Feeling surprisingly optimistic, Reid was about to follow her out of the room in search of Luke, hoping to continue their Arrogant Rich Guy/Hot Handy Man scenario, when another woman walked in.
Just as scary as Barbara.
Meg Snyder.
Everyone else had been so thrilled at Luke and Holden's miraculous return, at Reid's alleged bravery and stunning heroics, that they'd seemed to have completely forgotten that Reid was pretty much directly responsible for putting Meg's current boyfriend in jail.
Neither Reid or Meg had forgotten. They'd both been doing their best to avoid each other all day, Meg sitting as far aware from him as possible at all times, although he'd certainly seen the glare she'd sent him whenever their gazes accidentally crossed paths. What the hell was he supposed to say? Hey, great to see ya! Sorry I got your boyfriend locked up in the slammer. Emma makes great pies, right?
Reid sucked at small talk at the best of times. This was something else entirely.
"You," she hissed, stalking towards him, "are going to do everything in your power to ensure that Paul doesn't end up in prison. You've already taken one man I love from me. You are not taking the father of my child. If you do," Meg continued, eyes bulging so much Reid wondered if she was on something, "I will destroy you." With one last glare she spun away, hair fanning out dramatically behind her.
Watching her go, Reid sighed. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. It just wouldn't be Oakdale if someone wasn't threatening to ruin him.
At least Oakdale had a few - okay, one - advantage, and it came strolling towards him now, somehow smiling and frowning at the same time.
"What did Aunt Meg want?"
"Oh, you know," Reid shrugged, "no hard feelings about Damian, yadda yadda."
Luke looked surprised, like even he knew what a nutcase his aunt was. "And Barbara Ryan?"
He really didn't want to get into this right now. Tomorrow. Tomorrow would be his step back into the real world. "She wanted to know if she could film our hot, hot porno."
Breaking out into laughter, Luke opened his mouth - sadly, only to respond verbally - when Katie peeked into the room.
"Hey guys. I'm not intruding on anything, am I?" She grinned hopefully, clearly wishing that she was intruding on something.
"Yes, actually," Reid replied, "we were about to participate in very hot and very gay sex right in front of you."
"Reid!"
Reid really enjoyed doing anything he could to make Luke react that way.
"Don't make promises you can't keep, Dr Oliver," Katie winked. "Anyway, Brad and I are leaving soon and we wanted to check if you needed a ride." She looked expectantly between them, clearly hoping he wouldn't need a ride, still grinning - seriously, it was like her teeth were glued together. It was kind of freaky.
Frankly, Reid couldn't imagine anything worse than walking away from Luke right now (and wow, was he right about the co-dependency). Luke, at least, looked like he felt the same, and after a few moments of frowning he rushed out of the room with a "Berightback!"
Reid and Katie looked at each other. Reid shrugged.
Slowly following behind Luke, Reid pushed through both doors that led outside to see Luke in a heated discussion with Emma.
"-not like we're going to do anything," Luke was saying urgently. "Especially with like the entire Snyder family under the same roof." Reid frowned, wondering how on earth they'd fit that many people into one house.
"Luke, you know the rules of the house-"
"Come on, Grandma, you know I'm like the only person in our entire family who hasn't broken them." There were house rules? Emma was certainly living up to Reid's impression of her being old-fashioned. That wasn't an inherently bad thing, but right now? Bad. Very, very bad. Sharing a bed with Luke was good.
Very, very good.
She scoffed. "That still doesn't mean it's right, Luke."
"Doesn't he get special dispensation or something? He did save us from Damian," he reminded, grinning sweetly, lifting his eyebrows up and down rapidly.
Emma smiled slightly, clearly charmed despite herself.
"Cut them a break, Momma," Holden called out from the table, where everyone had re-situated themselves and were blatantly listening in. "They're both grown men."
"It's not like either one of them can end up pregnant!" Brad called out.
"Brad!" Katie seemed to spend most of her time admonishing Brad for one reason or another. When he realised just how similar that made them to him and Luke, Reid was disturbed - and then realised Brad might've been saying stupid things deliberately to get a rise out of Katie. Just like he did with Luke.
Which made him like Brad. Which was even more disturbing.
"What?" Brad shrugged. "I'm just trying to help."
"Oh my God," Faith moaned, "I do not need to think about my brother getting pregnant."
Natalie wrinkled her nose in confusion. "How would the baby come out?"
"I'm glad you asked, Nat," Brad declared, "I've always thought the butt would be a viable-"
"BRAD!"
Shaking her head, still smiling faintly, Emma gave in. "Very well. Just this once," she pointed out.
"Thank you so much, Grandma!" Luke enthused, throwing his arms around her and causing her to laugh lightly.
"When I see how happy it makes you," she told him fondly, touching his face as he pulled back, "I can see nothing wrong with it at all."