Left and Right: Chapter Ten
Title: Left and Right (multi-chapter)
Author: dolce_amore
Summary: Reid injures himself in an accident six months after starting a relationship with Luke. This is the story of how Reid and Luke handle it.
Genre/Type: Romance/Drama/Future-Fic
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own As the World Turns, it’s characters, or it’s settings. Though if you know where I can buy a Reid, please let me know. ☺
Disclaimer #2: Chapter titles are all lyrics taken from songs. I take no credit for them. They are being used for entertainment purposes only. All rights go to the artists that first penned them. ☺
Characters/Pairings in this chapter: Luke/Reid, Bob
Author's Notes: This is my Big Bang fic for LROnline. It's 23 chapters, though, so I figured I'd break it up instead of posting all the chapters at once. Enjoy! Comments = love.
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Ten: When You’re Older You Will Understand
Reid stepped into Bob’s office looking like he had been through hell.
“Dr. Oliver, I wasn’t expecting you to come in today!” Bob exclaimed.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Reid asked, piqued.
Bob leaned against his desk, motioning for the young doctor to sit down. Reid sat in the chair, continuing to stare at Bob.
“I heard about the accident and… your hand,” Bob said gently.
Reid pointed the arm that was nestled into a sling. “Well, even if you didn’t hear about it before, its pretty obvious now, isn’t it? I’m sure the other surgeons were thrilled to gossip about how I got knocked down a few pegs.”
Bob let out a sigh, shaking his head. “I’m just glad no one was injured any more seriously. From the sounds of it you could’ve had a head-on collision with that other car.”
Reid straightened up, looking more seriously at Dr. Hughes. He didn’t feel like responding to Bob’s comment, which was nothing more than the polite statement to make whenever someone was injured in an accident. The whole self-righteous ‘Just be glad it wasn’t worse’ spiel was not one Reid could deal with at the moment. He saw death every day. Of course it could’ve been more serious. He was grateful it wasn’t more serious. That didn’t mean that his current predicament sucked less.
“I wanted to come in and tell you that while obviously I won’t be able to operate for a while I fully intend to continue with my other duties. And any way I can keep busy in the times when I would’ve been performing surgery - let me have it.”
“I wasn’t worried, I knew you would continue on as usual.” Bob replied. “You are one of the most dedicated doctors this hospital has ever seen, and you are the most dedicated doctor that this guy,” Bob said, pointing to his own chest, “has ever had the privilege to work with.”
Reid raised an eyebrow. “Well, thank you,” he said, genuinely humbled by the compliment. He scratched the back of his head and stared down at his feet.
“If you need to talk, of course you know I’m here. As a friend, not just as your Chief of Staff,” Bob said.
Reid nodded, but didn’t meet Bob’s glance.
Bob stared at the young man before him. Reid had so many qualities that he admired deeply - his dedication, his intelligence, his wit, his passion, and his skill. Yet he had the most childlike innocence about him at times. Though mature, he still was yet to gain the wisdom to realize that he was not superhuman. Day after day Bob watched Reid try to save the world on his own, one patient at a time. He would never admit to being this way, and Bob knew better than to mention it. But Reid’s constant effort to save as many lives as possible and the torment that spread across his face whenever he failed to do so gave away pieces of Reid that he could not keep contained no matter how hard he fought to.
Reid finally broke the silence, but not without resistance. “I don’t know where to go from here.”
Bob knew how difficult it was for Reid to admit his weaknesses. He smiled gently at him. “You continue to be a magnificent doctor.”
Reid groaned. Obviously he’d continue to be a doctor. “What happens if I can’t be a surgeon anymore, though? I mean, this new wing is me, it’s built to all of my specifications, it’s my brainchild.”
“Pun intended?” Bob chuckled.
Reid cracked a smile before getting serious again. “I’m concerned about how this will affect the new wing. I don’t want to let the hospital down. The opening is in a few weeks and I won’t even be able to use it.”
“You had an accident, Reid. This wasn’t your fault. Whether you can operate or not you have the full support of the hospital. You have my full support as well. If you can’t operate in the new wing - which I’m sure will not be the case, but theorizing that you are debilitated long-term - I see no reason why you cannot be the head of the department. You know the workings of neurology inside and out.” Bob paused.
“And I have something else I’ve been looking for the right time to run by you,” he added.
“Okay…” Reid said hesitantly.
“In early March I’m going to be retiring.”
“You already told me that, Bob. Memory failing you again, eh?” Reid scoffed.
Bob let out an exasperated sigh and continued. “I need to know that the Chief of Staff that succeeds me will take good care of Memorial.”
“Well, I’m sure Doogie won’t do anything without running it by you first, so you have nothing to worry about. I doubt it’s going to be much of a retirement, though, with all the hand-holding you’re going to have to do with the kiddo.”
“You think I’m choosing Christopher?” Bob asked, seeming genuinely surprised. “My first choice, Dr. Oliver, is you.”
Never was Reid rendered speechless, nor was he ever shocked at one’s praise of his abilities, yet somehow this declaration left him completely flabbergasted.
“I don’t know what to say,” Reid replied, his eyes unable to mask his shock.
“Well, I don’t expect you to give me an answer right away. Obviously your neurology wing has to come first, and of course if you think taking on more responsibilities would interfere with that, I wouldn’t want to burden you with it. And I suspect you’ll have to discuss this with Luke as well. It’s a huge undertaking that is very time consuming, thus will effect not only your professional life, but your personal life as well.”
Reid nodded. “Right, of course,” he said, barely audible.
“I do hope you seriously consider it, though. I mean what I say - I want to leave knowing Memorial is in good hands, and I have complete faith in your abilities.”
“Thank you,” Reid replied, his voice soft and childlike. He stood up and shook Bob’s hand with his unharmed one. “I will think about it,” he assured Bob. “I should get to work,” he added.
“I want you to take the rest of the week off,” Bob said firmly.
“What?” Reid asked, his mood switching from honor and disbelief to annoyance.
“You had a rough night. And you and I both know that no matter what front you put up that this is more than just an injury. It could change your life,” Bob said.
“Thanks for reminding me,” Reid muttered.
“I know you’re aware of what could happen, and I know you don’t need reminding. I just… I want you to take a few days just to get your thoughts together. This can’t be easy.”
“Why are you punishing me for getting hurt?” Reid asked.
Bob chuckled. “Most people wouldn’t consider a week off with pay to be punishment, Doctor Oliver.”
“I need to keep busy. I need the distraction. I never do well when my mind and I are left in silence together. I don’t want it nor do I need it, and I’m not taking the break. I refuse.” Reid replied angrily.
“Don’t force me to order you to leave the hospital. I’m asking you to do this as your friend who is concerned about you, not as your Chief of Staff.”
Reid bit his lip, staring at the floor for a moment. If Bob were really concerned about him he wouldn’t be ordering him away for a week when he knew that his work was so important to him. When everything else in life was going wrong, it was one of the only things he had that he knew was there. It was always there. It was stable, solid. In truth, there were only two things in his life that provided stability in his life, and those things were medicine and Luke. Take medicine out of the equation; place the entire weight of his life onto Luke? Reid didn’t want that. He never wanted that, even for as short a time as a week. He and Luke undoubtedly needed each other. They, however, were never needy for one another.
“I have some work that I could do from home,” Reid finally replied.
“That’s fine,” Bob replied. “So you’ll take some time off?”
Reid reluctantly nodded. “I hope when I get back I don’t find that the inmates are running the asylum,” he said.
“It will surely be a struggle with out you, but I think we’ll manage for a few days,” Bob replied with a laugh.
Reid returned home, feeling defeated. Getting some work done would’ve made him feel like he was still good for something, but all he got was pity from Bob. Great.
He went into the bedroom to find Luke still sleeping soundly. He climbed back into bed and laid an arm over Luke’s torso, snuggling up to him. He wasn’t a snuggling kind of guy, but right now it was the only thing that seemed appealing other than curling up in a ball on the couch and sulking, and self-pity was just not an option.
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End Author's Note: I wrote this chapter before the whole COS thing came up on the show. I was beyond stoked that the first words out of Reid's mouth on the show when Bob offered him the position were the same I had written! :D Hehehe.
Author: dolce_amore
Summary: Reid injures himself in an accident six months after starting a relationship with Luke. This is the story of how Reid and Luke handle it.
Genre/Type: Romance/Drama/Future-Fic
Rating: R
Disclaimer: I do not own As the World Turns, it’s characters, or it’s settings. Though if you know where I can buy a Reid, please let me know. ☺
Disclaimer #2: Chapter titles are all lyrics taken from songs. I take no credit for them. They are being used for entertainment purposes only. All rights go to the artists that first penned them. ☺
Characters/Pairings in this chapter: Luke/Reid, Bob
Author's Notes: This is my Big Bang fic for LROnline. It's 23 chapters, though, so I figured I'd break it up instead of posting all the chapters at once. Enjoy! Comments = love.
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Ten: When You’re Older You Will Understand
Reid stepped into Bob’s office looking like he had been through hell.
“Dr. Oliver, I wasn’t expecting you to come in today!” Bob exclaimed.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Reid asked, piqued.
Bob leaned against his desk, motioning for the young doctor to sit down. Reid sat in the chair, continuing to stare at Bob.
“I heard about the accident and… your hand,” Bob said gently.
Reid pointed the arm that was nestled into a sling. “Well, even if you didn’t hear about it before, its pretty obvious now, isn’t it? I’m sure the other surgeons were thrilled to gossip about how I got knocked down a few pegs.”
Bob let out a sigh, shaking his head. “I’m just glad no one was injured any more seriously. From the sounds of it you could’ve had a head-on collision with that other car.”
Reid straightened up, looking more seriously at Dr. Hughes. He didn’t feel like responding to Bob’s comment, which was nothing more than the polite statement to make whenever someone was injured in an accident. The whole self-righteous ‘Just be glad it wasn’t worse’ spiel was not one Reid could deal with at the moment. He saw death every day. Of course it could’ve been more serious. He was grateful it wasn’t more serious. That didn’t mean that his current predicament sucked less.
“I wanted to come in and tell you that while obviously I won’t be able to operate for a while I fully intend to continue with my other duties. And any way I can keep busy in the times when I would’ve been performing surgery - let me have it.”
“I wasn’t worried, I knew you would continue on as usual.” Bob replied. “You are one of the most dedicated doctors this hospital has ever seen, and you are the most dedicated doctor that this guy,” Bob said, pointing to his own chest, “has ever had the privilege to work with.”
Reid raised an eyebrow. “Well, thank you,” he said, genuinely humbled by the compliment. He scratched the back of his head and stared down at his feet.
“If you need to talk, of course you know I’m here. As a friend, not just as your Chief of Staff,” Bob said.
Reid nodded, but didn’t meet Bob’s glance.
Bob stared at the young man before him. Reid had so many qualities that he admired deeply - his dedication, his intelligence, his wit, his passion, and his skill. Yet he had the most childlike innocence about him at times. Though mature, he still was yet to gain the wisdom to realize that he was not superhuman. Day after day Bob watched Reid try to save the world on his own, one patient at a time. He would never admit to being this way, and Bob knew better than to mention it. But Reid’s constant effort to save as many lives as possible and the torment that spread across his face whenever he failed to do so gave away pieces of Reid that he could not keep contained no matter how hard he fought to.
Reid finally broke the silence, but not without resistance. “I don’t know where to go from here.”
Bob knew how difficult it was for Reid to admit his weaknesses. He smiled gently at him. “You continue to be a magnificent doctor.”
Reid groaned. Obviously he’d continue to be a doctor. “What happens if I can’t be a surgeon anymore, though? I mean, this new wing is me, it’s built to all of my specifications, it’s my brainchild.”
“Pun intended?” Bob chuckled.
Reid cracked a smile before getting serious again. “I’m concerned about how this will affect the new wing. I don’t want to let the hospital down. The opening is in a few weeks and I won’t even be able to use it.”
“You had an accident, Reid. This wasn’t your fault. Whether you can operate or not you have the full support of the hospital. You have my full support as well. If you can’t operate in the new wing - which I’m sure will not be the case, but theorizing that you are debilitated long-term - I see no reason why you cannot be the head of the department. You know the workings of neurology inside and out.” Bob paused.
“And I have something else I’ve been looking for the right time to run by you,” he added.
“Okay…” Reid said hesitantly.
“In early March I’m going to be retiring.”
“You already told me that, Bob. Memory failing you again, eh?” Reid scoffed.
Bob let out an exasperated sigh and continued. “I need to know that the Chief of Staff that succeeds me will take good care of Memorial.”
“Well, I’m sure Doogie won’t do anything without running it by you first, so you have nothing to worry about. I doubt it’s going to be much of a retirement, though, with all the hand-holding you’re going to have to do with the kiddo.”
“You think I’m choosing Christopher?” Bob asked, seeming genuinely surprised. “My first choice, Dr. Oliver, is you.”
Never was Reid rendered speechless, nor was he ever shocked at one’s praise of his abilities, yet somehow this declaration left him completely flabbergasted.
“I don’t know what to say,” Reid replied, his eyes unable to mask his shock.
“Well, I don’t expect you to give me an answer right away. Obviously your neurology wing has to come first, and of course if you think taking on more responsibilities would interfere with that, I wouldn’t want to burden you with it. And I suspect you’ll have to discuss this with Luke as well. It’s a huge undertaking that is very time consuming, thus will effect not only your professional life, but your personal life as well.”
Reid nodded. “Right, of course,” he said, barely audible.
“I do hope you seriously consider it, though. I mean what I say - I want to leave knowing Memorial is in good hands, and I have complete faith in your abilities.”
“Thank you,” Reid replied, his voice soft and childlike. He stood up and shook Bob’s hand with his unharmed one. “I will think about it,” he assured Bob. “I should get to work,” he added.
“I want you to take the rest of the week off,” Bob said firmly.
“What?” Reid asked, his mood switching from honor and disbelief to annoyance.
“You had a rough night. And you and I both know that no matter what front you put up that this is more than just an injury. It could change your life,” Bob said.
“Thanks for reminding me,” Reid muttered.
“I know you’re aware of what could happen, and I know you don’t need reminding. I just… I want you to take a few days just to get your thoughts together. This can’t be easy.”
“Why are you punishing me for getting hurt?” Reid asked.
Bob chuckled. “Most people wouldn’t consider a week off with pay to be punishment, Doctor Oliver.”
“I need to keep busy. I need the distraction. I never do well when my mind and I are left in silence together. I don’t want it nor do I need it, and I’m not taking the break. I refuse.” Reid replied angrily.
“Don’t force me to order you to leave the hospital. I’m asking you to do this as your friend who is concerned about you, not as your Chief of Staff.”
Reid bit his lip, staring at the floor for a moment. If Bob were really concerned about him he wouldn’t be ordering him away for a week when he knew that his work was so important to him. When everything else in life was going wrong, it was one of the only things he had that he knew was there. It was always there. It was stable, solid. In truth, there were only two things in his life that provided stability in his life, and those things were medicine and Luke. Take medicine out of the equation; place the entire weight of his life onto Luke? Reid didn’t want that. He never wanted that, even for as short a time as a week. He and Luke undoubtedly needed each other. They, however, were never needy for one another.
“I have some work that I could do from home,” Reid finally replied.
“That’s fine,” Bob replied. “So you’ll take some time off?”
Reid reluctantly nodded. “I hope when I get back I don’t find that the inmates are running the asylum,” he said.
“It will surely be a struggle with out you, but I think we’ll manage for a few days,” Bob replied with a laugh.
Reid returned home, feeling defeated. Getting some work done would’ve made him feel like he was still good for something, but all he got was pity from Bob. Great.
He went into the bedroom to find Luke still sleeping soundly. He climbed back into bed and laid an arm over Luke’s torso, snuggling up to him. He wasn’t a snuggling kind of guy, but right now it was the only thing that seemed appealing other than curling up in a ball on the couch and sulking, and self-pity was just not an option.
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End Author's Note: I wrote this chapter before the whole COS thing came up on the show. I was beyond stoked that the first words out of Reid's mouth on the show when Bob offered him the position were the same I had written! :D Hehehe.