Miscommunication in Love

[gwennylou]

Title: Miscommunication in Love
Summary: Reid and Luke sort of suck at being in love and communicating. It almost costs them dearly.
Rating: PG-13
Warning: Angsty and lots of narration. One-Shot
Disclaimer: I don't own Reid or Luke, but Lord if I did, we'd be seeing a LOT more on tv.


The warm September air blew against Reid as he left Oakdale Memorial Hospital for the last time. He stopped at the entrance to take one last look around.

He sat on one of the benches nearby. He was ready to get back to Dallas and forget about the last eight months he spent in Oakdale, Illinois.

Even as he thought about getting back his life in Dallas, he knew he would never be able to completely erase all the memories of that time. One person would join the place where very few people had ever taken up residence. They only people that had ever penetrated that far into his soul were Annie Judd, Katie Peretti Snyder, her son Jacob, and now Mr. Luke Snyder.

Luke Snyder who had started out at his enemy, but quickly went to frenemy, then to lover.

Reid had never met anyone like Mr. Snyder before. He was one of the first people he had ever met to see beyond his façade of sarcasm, rudeness, and misanthropy.

He read him like an open book and had no problem calling Reid out.

At first, Reid found it annoying, but it quickly turned to intrigue and fascination.

Of course it didn't help anything that Luke had blackmailed him into coming to Oakdale in the first place, but to make matters worse it was for Luke's boyfriend, Noah.

Truth be told, Reid wasn't all that upset about the blackmailing or the impertinent way in which Luke acted during the whole ordeal with the car accident and his being held hostage.

In fact, he kind of found it hot. And finding your patient's boyfriend hot was a nuisance. And to make matters worse said person was everywhere you turned.

No matter what Reid did to push Luke away he always came back for more. Reid could not escape.

Then Luke and Noah broke up and Reid was screwed. Cause he fell and he fell hard.

Reid did everything in his power to keep up the appearance of being in hate with Luke, but it got more and more difficult.

Then came Mr. Judd who tracked him down to Oakdale, beat him up, and filed a lawsuit against him. And Luke was the only one to believe in him and stand by him.

Reid had no clue where that came from, but when Dr. Bob Hughes had suspended him from the hospital, Reid's only line of defense and support had come from Katie and Luke. Luke went out of his way to get him help, even borrowing his grandmother's private jet and flying down to Dallas to with him.

And when the case was over and he had won, the only person he had to share the news with was Luke.

And never having anyone in his life before that truly cared about his wellbeing and career, he let himself go in a moment of weakness.

Luke had chipped away at all his defenses and left him vulnerable and bare.

He ended up kissing Luke with all the passion, angst, lust, fire, and intensity that had been building up for months. And to Reid's complete surprise and mild consternation, Luke responded well to it.

And thus began the true journey of Reid and Luke.

They had decided to embark on a relationship, but both decided it would be best to keep it a secret until after Noah's surgery and the wing was ready to be built.

And the relationship was wonderful. They spent three months making love, discovering each other's quirks and uniqueness, and what made each other tick.

Both were incredibly happy and falling in love.

Then Reid operated on Noah Mayer and restored his eyesight.

And Reid was terrified. In the back of his mind he had two reasons why he should never get involved with Luke:

When Noah got his sight back, Luke would drop him like an uncoordinated fat kid trying to catch a baseball.

Someone would find out about their relationship and the board would be upset and he could lose his license or his job

Reid was fortunate when neither of those happened, until Noah having regained his sight spotted Luke and Reid in a kiss, while at the hospital.

Reid had arrived home that day anxious to see Luke and get one of his famous scalp massages and to see Jacob who always put a smile on his face.

He walked in the house he shared with Katie, to see Luke and Katie sitting at the kitchen table.

Both look extremely worried and Reid felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Things were about to change.

Luke leaped up and grabbed his hand gently and pulled him to the table, rubbing the back of his hand with his thumb.

Reid pulled his hand away and told him to get on with it and drop the other shoe.

Luke told him that when he had shown up to the hospital to surprise him with a bagel, coffee, and a kiss, Noah had seen him. He followed him to see why Luke was there and saw Reid and Luke kissing in his office.

Noah followed Luke back to his mother's house and spent an hour yelling at him. Noah couldn't believe that Luke had gotten upset about Richard and the fact that they were hanging out, and the entire time Luke and Reid had been cavorting around in a secret and tawdry affair.

Luke had begged and pleaded with Noah to understand that they had just started something and it was unexpected a few months before and it was after Luke found out about Richard. Noah left though, without saying much.

Luke and Katie had no idea what Noah would do with this information and both agreed it would be best to lay low.

Reid didn't cherish the thought of spending more time as Luke's dirty little secret, but he knew deep down both of them were right. He understood the reasoning behind it and he loved Luke even more for thinking of Reid's career and the new wing.

Yes, that was right. Reid had fallen madly in love with Luke, but with the turn of events and the stipulations of very limited contact, Reid kept it quiet.

Unfortunately, two weeks later the board had found out about the relationship and Reid was told that he and Luke could no longer work together. It casted a bad image on their reputation if they let a major board member and financial contributor be in a romantic and professional relationship. So Reid was told he was going to be replaced by a different Neurosurgeon in the setup of the wing and all decisions would go through him. He would work with Luke and when the wing was built, Reid could go back and run it. He was also told if he and Luke did not end their relationship, that Reid would never work on the wing and he had a decision to make.

So, Luke quit visiting him at the hospital, spending time at Katie's, and purposely stayed away from each other in public, unless discussing official hospital business.

Reid took Al's and Luke took Java's and both men avoided the other at all costs to avoid any awkward moments in public and to keep up the appearances that they had ended.

The only contact they had was a room Luke had at the Lakeview. They saw each other for a few hours a week and both had cover stories and reasons why they were in the same building as the other in cased Noah or anyone else asked.

The limited contact and few hours led the relationship from being about talking and emotional intimacy to purely physical. They stopped truly talking and just made love.

Reid always wanted to blurt out that he loved Luke, but felt that the time had passed for that and he was resigned to being a booty call.

Then one day in mid July, Reid decided to have his lunch in the park near the hospital. He chose a bench on the jogging path and took out the sandwich Katie had made him.

He ate in silence for about five minutes when he heard male laughter on the breeze. He looked over to his right and he saw Luke.

Luke was sitting on a blanket with a picnic basket, and he wasn't alone. He was enjoying a romantic picnic date with Noah.

Immediately Reid wanted to run back to the hospital but he didn't know if Luke or Noah had seen him. He sat for a few minutes and watched them. His emotions went from shock to anger to hurt to resignation.

After all, Luke and he had never said they were exclusive, they had never said what they wanted from the other or the relationship, and they had never said the L word.

Reid had always know this was a good possibility, Noah was back to being the great, standup, wonderful guy that Luke had always loved, and Noah and Luke were together. Reid was nothing but a distraction and booty call.

Reid left the park then. He knew he had to take action, he was a fool for sticking around thinking their relationship would work or even last. He didn't know what he was going to do, but he knew something had to be done.

So he headed back to the hospital. He called the Lakeview and cancelled the standing room reservation. Then he emailed Luke and told him that it wasn't working for them anymore and it would be best if they just went back to working together and kept their relationship purely professional.

Reid he taken care of the problem, but the problem of his broken heart still remained.

So he threw himself back into his work and tried to wipe away everything Luke and he had shared.

Over the next few weeks Luke texted him, called him, and emailed him. Reid ignored them all. It was easier that way.

Katie knew that something had happened and after about two days of Reid moping around the house realized that Reid was heartbroken. So Katie was there for him. She made him sandwiches, let him make fun of her, gave him numbers of cute guys she thought would be good for Reid, and always was there to greet him with a smile and shoulder to cry on.

The only advice Katie gave him was to follow his heart and if Luke was what he wanted, then he needed to fight for him. Otherwise, get back up and move on. There are other guys and it won't be the last time he would love again.

But Reid knew, Luke was out of the question. He would never be out of love with Noah and he wouldn't fight for something that would never happen. He didn't have it in him.

So he went back to work. He did his rounds and took care of the occasional neuro trauma that Oakdale saw, and settled into a boring routine life.

Reid was drowning under the pressure of conforming to and living a normal life and he had nothing. The one person, who used to be able to read him like a book and bring him back from the edge, was in love with someone else.

He lasted until mid-August when he couldn't handle it anymore.

Reid was called into Dr. Hughes office. He was informed that the board had unanimously voted to keep the other neurosurgeon on, because they felt comfortable with his ideas and enjoyed working with him.

Reid was told he was still welcome to stay on and work collaboratively with this other doctor, but Reid would not be running the wing. He was thanked for his help in getting the project up and running.

Reid felt like all the air had been let out of his sails. It was the reason he had stayed in Oakdale in the first place.

There were other obvious reason why he had stayed as well, but now his entire livelihood was called into question. He had no on but Katie to talk to about this.

Katie told him she and Jacob would miss him if he left, but she told him to do whatever he felt was necessary. This was his life and only he knew what he needed.

Reid knew that what he truly wanted and needed was no longer an option.

So Reid walked away. He resigned from the hospital.

The next week he spent saying goodbye to the Hughes, the hospital staff. At the end of the week, he finished his last treatment with Noah, said goodbye to him and wished him luck. He gave his course work over to the new neurosurgeon.

He shared one last meal with Katie and Jacob. They ate sandwiches, ice cream, and he spent the last evening in Oakdale doing Justin Timberlake impressions for Jacob and making him laugh and smile.

The next morning he headed back to Memorial to finish his exit paperwork and pack up his office.

He was ready.

Reid was snapped back to reality by a voice.

"You were going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Reid looked up and saw Luke leaning against his car.

"Who told you?"

"Believe it or not, Noah did."

"Well, as you can see, Luke, I haven't left yet."

Luke straightened up and said,

"So why are you leaving exactly?"

"It's time. I have nothing keeping me here."

"What about me, Reid?"

"What about you?"

"Two months ago, you would've come to me. Instead, you get bad news about running the wing and you take off?"

"Two months ago I would've done pretty much anything for you Luke. And I did. I don't know what else you want me to do. I let you go so you could go back to the love of your life. I let another doctor take over the wing, knowing that I would eventually get to run the new wing. Then it was taken away from me. I literally have nothing left, Luke. "

"So, I finally get some answers as to why you suddenly no longer wanted anything to do with me. Did you not get my multiple texts, phone calls, and emails? That should've been an indicator that I didn't want you to walk away. I never asked for you to do that. Why would I? I wanted you, Reid. I was in love with you."

Reid didn't know what to say, so instead he stood up from the bench and started pacing.

"You weren't in love with me Luke. You were in love with Noah. So as much fun as you and I were having, and as much as I cared about you, I saw the signs that you and I were not permanent. I saw you and Noah on your picnic date. I knew that you cared about me, but what you felt for Noah was lasting and deeper. I didn't want to make it harder on you to have to leave me. Besides, it was your idea to not see each other until the wing was built. That was a pretty clear indicator to me that we were only temporary.

"I was doing that for you!" I knew how important being a neurosurgeon was to you and I understood your desire and need to run the wing. Noah played no factor at all in that decision. I did everything out of love and care for you. Why in the world would you sacrifice for me?

"Because it was easy"

"Don't give me that bull, Reid"

Reid exasperated that even after 2 months of extremely limited contact, Luke could see right through him.

"You want to truth? I was in love with you! Does that me you feel better? I loved you since that damn day in the hospital when I first saw you!"

Luke stepped forward and grabbed Reid's shoulders and stared into his eyes.

"Then why in the world did you leave me?"

"Because it was easier than losing you. I knew you would inevitable leave me for Noah or because you got tired of me."

"You would've never lost me, Reid. I was in it for the long haul. Yeah, Noah and I will always love each other, but I was, in love with you. Noah and I are friends, nothing more. We talked more the week after our huge blowout and we both realized that we are better together as friends than as lovers. And Noah was finding something with Richard and I was finding myself with you. That day at the park we were meeting some friends. We were having a goodbye party for Hunter. Maddie, Jade, Casey, Ali, Noah, and I were all there.

Reid had heard enough.

"Stop it, Luke. I can't hear anymore of this. So we were in love with each other, but it has been months, and you expect me to believe that you any of it matters? "

Reid picked up his box and brushed past Luke.

Luke reached out and grabbed his arm,

"I spent years trying to give my love and devotion to someone who pushed it away at every turn. Then I met you and you accepted me, as I am, flaws and all. And I accepted you in the same way. I am still in love with you, Reid. Even months later, and I understand your need to leave, but I want to thank you for showing me unconditional acceptance and showing me that my love was worth accepting. "

Reid slammed his box down on the trunk of Luke's car and spun around,

"What do you want from me, Luke? To tell you that I'm in love with you and can't stop? Or that I took your advice and tried being in love? Well it didn't really work out for me, Luke. I'm not like you. I can't be someone's emotional punching bag. I can't sit and pine for you knowing in the back of my mind that the love of your life is still out there and when he beckons you will go running, and I especially can't handle the fact that I will be the one left looking like a fool."

"You are right about one thing, Reid. If the love of my life, needed anything you bet your ass I would be there for him. No questions asked."

"Which is why as much as I love you, I can't do this."

"The love of my life, is you, Reid."

Reid nearly fell over from shock when he heard the words that Luke had just said. Had he heard correctly?

Suddenly Luke was there pulling him close, and grasping Reid's head in his hands.

Luke brought Reid's lips down on his and kissed him like Reid had never been kissed before.

It was the perfect amount of angst, lust, passion, and love. Neither man was fighting it anymore.

The both knew good or bad, they were "it" for each other. Both had left an indelible mark on the other that would never go away or be erased.

They came up for air and Reid just stared at Luke in an expression that can only be described as shock, happiness, a little anger, and amusement.

"Goddmanit Luke. Don't you know annoying it is to make someone fall in love with you? It's like a disease I can't escape and the worst thing of all is I don't want to. And as a doctor, liking diseases doesn't coincide with the Hippocratic oath I took."

Luke laughed at this and grabbed Reid's box and said,

"Yeah I know, but loving you ain't sunshine and roses either."

Both Reid and Luke got a good laugh at that.

Reid said,

"Unfortunately, Luke, while all the love in the air is good, I still have to go back to Dallas."

"I know. I called your landlord and added my name to the lease. I'm going with you. Hope you don't mind."

Reid burst out laughing and said, "What would you do if I said I did?"

"Then I would say you were lying, because arrogance appeals to you."

Luke winked at Reid when he said that and both men laughed at that memory.

Reid climbed into his car and Luke joined him in the passenger seat,

"Let's go home, Doctor."

Reid smiled, flipped on the radio and headed out of the hospital parking lot. As he turned on the road he knew he was headed into the rest of his life with the love of his life by his side.

Epilogue (Six Months Later):

Reid walked into his apartment and threw his bag and coat on the table.

He walked through the apartment removing items of clothes, so that when he reached the bathroom he could get into the shower.

A few minutes later he was in the shower trying to get rid of his workday. He heard the shower curtain being pulled back. He felt Luke come up behind him and put his arms around him.

"Hey babe."

"Hey"

"How was work?"

"Exhausting and annoying."

Luke started rubbing Reid's neck and scalp,

Reid groaned when he felt those fingertips massage him,

"Oh God, that feels great, Luke."

"I'm glad you approve."

"Always, but don't get too comfortable in here. You are after all interrupting my shower, Mr. Snyder?"

What? You mean I get in your way?

I don't know. Just being you seems to do it.

Both men laughed heartily at that, until Luke spun Reid around and trapped him against the shower wall.

Luke kissed him then.

Life was good for Luke and Reid. They wee in love and had each other, and that's all the really needed.