Reconstruction - Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Fifteen
Luke stepped out of the elevator on the fifth floor and the first person he was Casey. He was sitting alone and looked lost in thought. He could see the worry all over his face. He slowly walked up to his friend and lightly touched his shoulder. Casey looked up and saw his oldest friend. A feeling of relief came over him. He stood and was immediately enveloped in a hug from Luke Snyder.
“Where’s Ali?
“She had to check in with her shift nurse.” Casey’s voice sounded so hallow; scared.
“Are you ok?”
“I guess, it’s such a shock. I had no idea that there was anything wrong. Apparently he’s been sick since he came home.”
“Really? How did he hide that this whole time?” Luke asked and all Casey could do was shrug. John came out of Chris’ room and Luke straightened his spine; he didn’t even realize he did it. “John?”
John turned to the sound of his name and saw Luke standing there with Casey by his side. Under other circumstances he would have been delighted to see Lucinda’s grandson, but today was not a usual day.
“Luke.” John extended his hand and the blonde quickly grabbed it.
“How is he?”
“Grave would be the word. All we can do is keep him comfortable and wait. He needs a transplant.” John relayed Chris’ condition and Luke could feel the anxiety start to come off of Casey. His friend wrapped his arms around himself and his shoulders tightened. Casey and Chris may not have been close in their lives, but they were still family and right now Casey was nervous. John’s pager went off and he slipped away to make a call. Casey mumbled something about checking on his grandma and left Luke on his own. He tucked his hands into his pockets and walked towards Chris’ room. Luke looked in the window and saw something that made his heart swell. Standing just to the side of Chris’ bed, was Reid holding a crying Katie in his arms. She had her arms wrapped tightly around Reid and his cheek was resting on the top of her head. His hand was lightly rubbing up and down the length of her back; trying to soothe her. This was the Reid that Luke had seen. The man that he was attracted to. The man he wanted to know better, but there was time for that later. Luke gave them one more look and decided to see if he could do anything for Casey.
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Luke was in the waiting room on the fifth floor and he was just sitting. This was driving him crazy. He wanted to do something to help. Growing up in Oakdale, the Snyder family was closely entwined with the Hughes. Luke couldn’t think of a big moment in his life that didn’t involve his best friend. Next to his dad, Casey was the most important man in his life. He would anything for Casey and Casey would say the same for Luke. And to see him so beaten down, killed him. Not to mention, Bob.
Bob had been Luke’s biggest advocate each time he got sick. He fought longer than anyone else would have. Luke was confident in his belief that if Bob had not been his doctor when he was younger, Luke would not be here. That was why Luke felt like he had to do something to help Chris and the family that he loved nearly as much as he loved his own. There had to be something he could do to help them. He could hear raised voices and was worried when he thought he heard Reid. He quietly slipped out of the waiting room and searched for the commotion.
“They cannot do this!” Luke could hear Reid’s voice coming from an empty patient room. He moved closer to the door and strained to hear what was going on. He could hear Reid’s voice above John, Bob, and Tom. “Do they not know how dire Chris’ condition is?”
“We have told them. I even sent them a copy of Chris’ file to prove the point, but there is only so much we can do. He is still on the list and if another heart becomes available, then we will move on from there. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go check on my patient.” John said and stepped into the hallway. Bob and Tom exited soon after. Reid was extremely angry. He thought that getting Bob to see that Chris was sick earlier than last time would give them more time, but they were in the same boat again. An arrogant heart surgeon holding the donor heart hostage. He knew that he had to do something. He needed to get this done.
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Luke just couldn’t sit around and do nothing any longer. He needed to talk to John and Bob. He pulled out his cell and called his assistant; telling him to have the Grimaldi helicopter readied. Luke then went to nurses’ station and them paged. He had an idea, but he wanted to check with them first.
Reid went into Chris’ room and pulled Katie into the hallway. He wasn’t sure if she had been updated on Chris’ condition and he wanted to be the one to do it. She wiped the tears out of her eyes and joined her friend.
“Ok. Has anyone come to talk to you lately?” Reid asked and Katie just she shook her head no. “All right. Ah, there is a heart available in Bay City.” He saw her gasp lightly, but now he was going to break her heart. “But it won’t be coming here.”
“What? Why?”
“Red tape and an arrogant son of bitch disguising himself as a heart surgeon.” Reid was so frustrated and Katie could see it on his face and in his body.
“Don’t they know that Chris will die without it?” She asked desperately; fresh tears falling down her cheeks. “How could they do this to him?” She asked and had to hold back the sob that was threatening to come out.
“I don’t want you to worry. I am going to fix this. I am going to bring that heart to Chris.”
“Because no one is more arrogant than you.” Katie teased.
“And don’t you ever doubt that.” He smiled and pulled her into another hug. She sniffled deeply and rubbed her cheek against Reid’s chest.
“I’m going to leave for a little while, but don’t tell anyone where I’m going ok.”
“What?” She asked as he looked up at her friend.
“I don’t anyone to worry or get their hopes up too soon. All right.”
“Ok.” He kissed her forehead and she watched him walk towards the stairs. She felt the first bit of hope since Chris had been admitted. She knew that Reid would not let her down and would save Chris. She didn’t want to be away from Chris for too long and slipped back into room. As she sat next to Chris’ bed and slipped her hand into his, she prayed that everything would turn out.
Reid walked out to his car and stopped for a moment when he thought back to the last time he did this. He fidgeted with his keys while he stood there. He even closed his eyes to concentrate on his memory. He was standing in the parking lot with Luke and had never felt so calm in his life. He was in a stressful situation, but yet he was calm. It was all Luke. He remembered turning back just before getting in his car and seeing the late summer sun shining through his golden hair. He looked so beautiful and Reid could not resist the urge any longer. He felt it for a long time, but had not said it, that was until now.
“I love you. There, I said it.”
Reid sat in his car for a second and brushed the sadness he felt off his shoulders before he pulled out of his spot and drove towards Bay City.
Luke ran across the roof of Worldwide and hopped up into his company helicopter. He nodded hello at his pilot and slipped his headset over his ears. Buckling his himself in tight, he yelled 'Let’s go' to the man sitting next to him.
“Where are we going exactly Mr. Snyder?”
“Bay City Memorial.” Luke answered. He was going to go there and he was not leaving without that heart. He was going to save Chris or die trying.
Chapter Sixteen