fic: A Beautiful Mess, 9/22
Fic: A Beautiful Mess, 9/22
Summary: Luke is a pediatrician! He is officially Dr. Luke Snyder.
Spoilers: References to Luke's past from canon and that's about it.
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Wish they were mine but they're not.
Note: This was inspired by this entry in lure_prompts by the brill _alicesprings. Feedback, concrit, etc. welcome! ♥
Didn't wanna leave you guys hanging! Next chapter as promised. The story will return after the two challenges I'm working on. :D
Luke and Reid walk back into the house and Reid sees that Noah is still there, acting very much like a part of the family. Noah looks at the both of them and his eyes zero in on their hands. Then, he looks back at Luke. "Who's this?"
"Are you kidding me? Did you really just ask me that?" Luke asks him.
"Luke, let's go somewhere where we can talk." Noah makes a move to touch Luke's elbow and Luke immediately pulls away but takes a step off to the side so that there aren't too many eavesdroppers. Reid looks around the room to see that everyone is interested in this conversation but they're trying their best to look occupied.
"No, Noah. I want you to leave. You have no right to be here."
"Luke, I know it's been a long time, and I thought that if we just talked ..."
"If we just talked, what? I'd forget about the way that you treated me? That I'd forget you married a woman you barely know and protected her at all costs while forgetting about me? That I'd forget you blamed me for your father dying? That I'd forget that instead of being with me, you wanted to join the army? That you blamed me for your accident? No, I haven't forgotten about any of that."
"Luke, you know that that's not what --"
"I'm done, Noah. I stuck with you through everything. I was there for you. I wanted to be with you and make it work more than anything. But, no matter how much I loved you, there was only so much that I could take. I'm not going to put myself through that again. I ... I don't deserve that," Luke looks at Reid and Reid conveys his encouragement silently, giving his hand a squeeze. Then Luke looks back at Noah. "What did you think was gonna happen here?"
"I just ... I thought that since you were back and I was back from LA that maybe ... we always said that --"
"You said that we couldn't be friends. You said that we couldn't be friends and then you said that you'd be waiting for me. Well, I never said that I'd be waiting for you. I've moved on and I'd like that for you too."
Noah looks at Reid again and Reid raises both eyebrows, already unimpressed by this guy. If he wants to start something in the middle of a kitchen with the whole of Luke's family watching, he welcomes it.
"Is it because he's a doctor too and --"
"Oh my god, Noah. Just leave. Please, just go."
Noah stands there and pauses for a moment, looking at the both of them once again. "All right."
"Noah," Luke's mom walks toward him as she watches him begin to walk out the door.
"No, it's okay Lily. This was a bad idea anyway. Thank you," he says to her and then leaves, closing the door behind him.
"What is he talking about, mom?" Luke asks, releasing Reid's hand, and crossing his arms over his chest. "Did you invite him over?"
"He's always alone on the holidays, Luke. I just thought that ..."
"You thought wrong and you invited him over when you know that I'm with Reid?"
"No, no. I invited him over before I knew that you were officially seeing anyone. I couldn't just take back --"
"Mom, it's been years since Noah and I saw each other. It's been years since we've been together. I know that you and dad have always liked him but you can't do those things without asking me first. Did you even think about me at all when making that decision?"
"I'm so sorry, Luke. I'm sorry," she apologizes.
Holden's watching the whole thing and he tentative steps beside Lily. "He's right, Lily. Luke and Noah aren't together anymore."
Reid's seeing the big picture here, parents who think that the ex-boyfriend is the perfect partner, ignoring the unhappiness of their son, and he can see the absence of a picture perfect childhood despite the picture perfect surroundings.
"But, please, Luke. We want you to be here. We want you and Reid here. Please don't let us ruin today for you."
The kids are absent from the kitchen when this is all taking place and they pick the perfect time to come bursting through the door. "Come on, Luke! Let's go out to the barn. You haven't seen the loft that daddy built," Natalie (he thinks that it's that one) tells him.
"He put a TV up there and everything!" Ethan exclaims. "It's so cool."
"It's so cool, huh?" Luke smiles a little as he looks at them. "Then, I guess I'm gonna have to check it out." His brother and sister leave and Luke's about to follow before he looks at him. "You gonna be okay in here?"
"Don't worry about me. I was promised samples," he motions toward the spread of food on the counter.
"Right," Luke chuckles. "I'll be back then." He leaves to follow his siblings and Reid begins to walk toward the tray of cookies he spotted earlier.
"Reid, can I offer you something to drink?" Holden asks, blocking access to the tray.
"Uh, sure. I'll take a beer."
Holden heads to the fridge and grabs him a bottle. Reid has enough time to pick up a cookie, stuff it in his mouth, and take another couple of cookies to hold on to. Holden laughs when he sees him. "Are you hungry? I could get you a plate of something if you can't wait for dinner to start."
"I'm always hungry," he mumbles around the cookie. "I'm a surgeon, always in and out of the operating room. I always look for a free minute to eat," and he generally loves food anyway whether or not he's had a long surgery. Holden opens the bottle for him and passes it to Reid. "Thanks."
"And I just wanted to apologize to you too." Reid shifts a little, already uncomfortable with where this is going. "We wanted to make a good impression on you and I think we got off to a bad start."
"Well, inviting his ex-boyfriend was definitely a bonehead move. I think Luke's made it pretty clear that he's done with him and onto the bigger and better," he pops another cookie in, chewing before he takes a sip of his beer.
"Um, right. You're right." Reid's familiar with the look that Holden gives him. Reid isn't going to bother with niceties. After the way that he's seen them treat Luke, he doesn't think that they deserve an ounce of understanding or sympathy from him.
"Okay, let the festivities begin! I've brought the good wine," an older woman walks through the door, carrying a very large bottle of wine. She enters with her sunglasses on and full mink coat. She's straight out of Dynasty and Reid knows exactly who this is. "And who does this gorgeous man belong to?" her eyes zero in on him as she takes off her glasses to get a better look at him.
"Uh, he's Lu -- I mean, this is Dr. Reid Oliver, mother," Lily tells her, helping her take off her coat.
"Dr. Reid Oliver!" she exclaims. "So, you're the man that Luke is besotted with. Do you drink wine?"
"Yes," he tells her, a pleased expression on his face by the many compliments she's showering him with.
"Well, my boy. Let's get to know one another," she loops her arm through his and leads him out into the living room.
Yeah, Reid likes her already.
---
Reid abandoned his beer long ago for the large glass of wine that Lucinda shoved into his hand when they took a seat on the couch. Luke doesn't come back until he's almost done with it and sees the two of them laughing on the couch together.
"And then he jumped up and ran naked all the way from the pond back to the house. His face turned so red!"
"Oh ... my god," Luke covers his face with his hands and crosses his arms in front of him. "Please tell me that you're not sharing embarrassing stories, Grandmother."
"No, that is something that I cannot do, Luke. More wine, Reid?"
"I'd better not," he laughs, still imagining a young Luke Snyder running out of the pond just because his cousin screams that there's a snake in there and Luke believes him. "I like to keep my head clear."
"Yes, well, you are the brilliant neurosurgeon. You should know. Okay then, I'll take this bottle to liven things up in the kitchen." She gives Reid's shoulder a squeeze and stands, pressing a kiss to Luke's cheek in passing. "Darling, he's a keeper."
She leaves and then it's the two of them together again with various relatives scattered throughout the living room. "Having a good time?" Luke asks, amused as he sits next to him on the couch.
"Now I am. Lucinda's a hoot," he leans back and takes in Luke's appearance. "You seem better."
"Well, you're having a good time and I had fun with my siblings. Not quite the disaster that it was shaping up to be earlier. But, the night's still young and when the Snyders and the Walshes are together, anything can happen."
"Your family isn't lacking in drama. I'll give you that."
"You don't mind it?"
"No," Reid shakes his head. "Keeps things interesting."
"So, when it's just the two of us again, you'll be bored out of your mind?"
"Stop fishing, Dr. Snyder," he says with a smile that Luke returns.
"Okay, guys! It's time," one of the relatives pops head out of the kitchen to make the announcement to the room.
"Come on," Luke grabs Reid's hand and leads him back into the kitchen. Reid watches Holden wrestle a giant squash through the door and he calls for help.
"Luke! Give your old man a hand."
Luke laughs and heads over there, Holden and Luke smile at each other before Luke picks up the other end to get it to the counter.
"I've got the saw!" someone else makes the announcement and the saw is in his hand.
"Reid, we need you too. You're our resident neurosurgeon so you're probably used to carving into something like this," Holden says, taking the saw, and handing it to him.
"Um, if any cranial structure were this large, I'd worry." But, he takes the saw in hand and presses it in the middle of the squash. Luke's holding one side while another man is holding on to the other side, keeping it steady so that Reid can make that first incision. Reid begins to cut to sounds of encouragement and cheering. Luke's the loudest of them all and he can't help but smile as he gets the saw down to the bottom. Then he steps aside so that others can have a turn.
He finds himself holding on to the massive hubbard squash until it's completely split. When the ordeal is over, he claps with everyone else.
"All right, everyone. Dinner," Emma calls them over to the table that's already set. "Holden, you're over here. Janet, there that's right. Luke and Reid, you're over there," she assigns them their seats and they walk to the other side of the table to sit down.
Emma stands at the head of the table, presiding over the meal. She makes some family announcements and welcomes the new additions to the table. "This year we have the addition of beautiful baby Mark," and as if on cue, the baby coos in response, and everyone laughs. "We have Aaron's wife, Lucy," she smiles at them and at Aaron. "And we have Dr. Reid Oliver, new to Oakdale and very welcome here with us." Reid smirks and turns to look at Luke who's smiling widely at him. Reid can't help but smile a little wider then. "Now, everyone hold hands."
Reid takes Luke hand in his and he's not surprised by how natural that feels.
Emma says a blessing for them and afterward, they're allowed to eat. It's all noise and grabbing plates and Reid feels very comfortable. He'd have thought that Luke would have a formal meal, everyone wearing their Sunday best, and polite chatter around the room. It's nothing like he's imagined it.
Luke takes his plate to fill it with turkey and someone passes him the green beans.
It's all very domestic and traditional and he somehow became part of their celebration. This whole thing is going at lightning speed for him. Part of him sort of doesn't mind all of this. The other part of him wants to run in the other direction. But, when it comes down to making that decision, he takes one look at Luke and he never wants to leave.
---
After dinner, everyone goes their separate ways. Everyone starts taking advantage of the wine and free flowing alcohol. This leads to fighting about old issues that should've been put to rest years ago. The parents with the kids start to leave and in between all that fighting, people take off in each other's cars, leaving angry partners stranded at the Snyder farm.
"Luke, I'm sorry. Can we borrow your car? Carly took off in ours and we really need to get home."
"Uh, yeah. Sure," he takes out his keys and gives them to Jack.
"Thank you. We'll have it back as soon as we can."
"And how are we gonna get outta here?" Reid asks but he's feeling a little high on the excessive amount of desserts he's consumed so he doesn't mind sticking around for a little while longer.
"Um," Luke thinks, most of the cars gone. "We could try getting a ride from my dad. Oh, shoot. He has my brother and sister tonight. There isn't anymore room in his truck. Grandmother left earlier."
"Oh and she had that nice, comfortable limo."
"We could call a cab." Reid shrugs his shoulders. "Or we could just stay here and you could continue to stuff your face until there aren't anymore leftovers," Luke chuckles.
"You know, I'm not completely averse to that idea."
"Really?"
Reid nods, "Sure."
"All right," Luke smiles. "I'll go see if my old room's taken." Luke leaves his side and Reid rests his hands on his stomach while he waits for him to return. A few minutes later, Luke comes back into the living room. "Room's ours. Come on," he reaches for Reid's hand and helps pull him up.
They head upstairs and into the room that Luke used to call his own. It's turned into a guest room but there are still remnants of Luke there. His high school diploma hangs on the wall, a few pictures of Luke with his family, and a few awards that he's won ... for writing.
"You were a writer?" Reid notices as he looks at the wall.
"I dabbled a little," Luke says as he pulls back the covers on the bed. "I used to want to be a novelist or the next John Grisham," he chuckles. "But, I wanted to help people more and I didn't think that that was something that I could do by writing. Well, I write in medical charts and I did an article for a journal once but that's as far as I go these days."
"Never too late to jump right back on the wagon again," Reid reaches down and takes off his shirt, leaving it on the chair. It's warm throughout the house anyway. No need to keep all their clothes on.
That move distracts Luke from what he's doing, opting to watch Reid instead. "Yeah, maybe." He stops fixing the pillows and walks over to Reid, placing his hands against his bare chest. "You were really great today."
"I was on my best behavior," Reid mentions as his hands begin to move underneath Luke's shirt.
"I think that you deserve to be rewarded," Luke smiles before leaning in to kiss him.
Their hands begin to roam, Luke's hand moving into Reid's hair, and grabbing the short, curly strands as they kiss passionately. Reid's hand presses against the small of Luke's back, bringing the two of them closer together.
Just as they begin to move back toward the bed, the sound of one of their pagers goes off. They both pull apart, reaching into their pants to see whose is going off.
"It's mine," Luke tells him, taking his phone from his other pocket.
Reid nods and walks back to the bed, taking a seat and removing his shoes and socks.
Luke dials the hospital and speaks, "Okay and he had a reaction to it? Where is he now? Move him into a private room and tell his mother that I'll be right there." Ending the call, he looks over at Reid, and sighs. "Sorry, I have to go. I'll be back but you don't have to wait up for me."
"Wasn't planning on it. Now I've got the bed all to myself," he makes his point by falling back on the bed and stretching out on it.
Luke laughs and heads to the bed, leaning over a smiling Reid. "Bye," he says and after a kiss, he leaves the room, closing the door behind him.
Reid sighs and removes his pants, leaving him in his boxers. He settles in for the night, turning off the lamp, and pulling the covers up around himself. Aside from the drama that they encountered when they first got here, the drama that followed, and everyone else's drama that followed later, he thinks that this has been a pretty great day.
He knows that Grandma Emma's food absolutely lives up to what he was promised. He knows that Luke's family is just as crazy as he expected them to be. He knows that Luke's ex-boyfriend caused more damage than he can comprehend. He knows Luke has two quality grandmothers.
Most importantly, he knows he's put up with all of that and more because he is love with Dr. Luke Snyder.
With that thought in mind, he falls into a peaceful sleep.
Next.