Science and Faith (6/?)

[bhumimak]

Title: Science and Faith
Rating: PG-13 moving onto NC-17
Warnings: Angst, AU and a mention of Noah
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Character/Pairings: Luke/Reid, Other Characters, very brief Luke/OC and other character couples.
Disclaimer: Don't own the boys, I only wish I did! The title of the fic comes from a gorgeous song of the same title by The Script.
Summary: Luke is happy, or so he thinks, his life seems to be perfect barring one thing. Reid Oliver has everything he needs and wants, he's happy with his work and saving people and everything else takes second place...until he meets a certain blonde that is. When these two meet will they both find what they need?

A/N: Thank you to the wonderful traciamc for the beta! Feedback would be loved! Hope you guys enjoy! :)

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five

"Luke!" he heard someone screech. Luke had just come out of his final class of the day, only having half a day of lectures, when he'd heard someone call out for him. He turned around and was met with a blonde slamming into him.

"Holy crap!" mumbled Luke as he tried to get his balance under control. The woman pulled back and waved a hand in front of his face and tried to point something out, or more likely take his eye out.

"I'm engaged! I'm engaged!" she screamed with happiness.

"I can see that Mary! If you stop waving your hand and bouncing around, can you let me look at it?" he laughed.

Mary scowled mockingly at him but let Luke take her hand in his. Luke was impressed; it was the perfect ring for her. Adam had chosen well.

"It's beautiful, Mary," he grinned before holding her face between his hands. "Congratulations...I am so happy for you."

Mary's eyes brimmed with tears and she choked out a sob before pulling Luke in for a tight hug.

"Thank you," she said, her voice a little hoarse. She left his embrace and held both of his hands in hers.

"Luke, this wouldn't have even happened if it wasn't for you. Who knows whether I’d even be alive if--"

Luke shushed her and wiped away the stray tears that were marring her face, "You were strong and brave and you still are. I just gave you a little nudge, that's all. You and Adam did everything else."

"But Luke," she sniffed, a few more tears escaping, "if it wasn't for you I wouldn't be cancer free and I'd most probably would have been dead by now."

Luke winced, "Mary, come on..."

"Can't you at least let me thank you?"

"No," he said, smiling softly, "you're my friend, I love you and friends don't ever say 'sorry' or 'thank you'. I did what anyone else would do."

"I don't know how to repay you."

"You don't have to."

"But I do, somehow...I don't know!"

"You want to repay me?"

Mary nodded earnestly.

Luke pursed his lips in thought and then smirked, "Have an amazing wedding, take care of yourself and Adam, have tons of babies and name one of them after me, that's all I ask for," he grinned.

Mary laughed wetly and wiped her tears away with her hand, "Then that's settled, our first born will be named after you."

"Good," he smiled before hugging her tightly once more and pressing a kiss into her hair.

"Yo, Luke! Hands off my beautiful fiancé!" Luke looked over Mary's shoulder to see Adam walking towards them and he laughed as he stole Mary away from him, wrapping his arms around her possessively before dropping a kiss to her forehead. He noticed Mary quickly wiping her eyes and Adam shot Luke a mock glare.

"What did you say to make my girl cry?"

"Why don't you ask her? She's the one saying thank you for silly things," answered Luke, his eyebrows raised.

“Saving my life is not a silly thing, you ass,” Mary said, swatting his arm and laughing.

“Yup, it’s definitely not a silly thing, Luke,” Adam agreed. “Without you, I wouldn’t have this beautiful woman in my arms.”

Luke sighed, scratching behind his ear, feeling overwhelmed, “You guys are unbelievable,” he said, huffing a laugh.

“Yes, you are,” Adam said, wrapping an arm around him to bring him closer. “Come here, you!”

Luke was squeezed between Mary and Adam as the both of them hugged him tightly, whilst Luke giggled trying to get out of it.

“Guys, come on, I can’t breathe!”

They finally let him go after a few moments and Luke congratulated them again, offering to take them out for lunch, which they both agreed to.

***

"So you knew he was going to propose on my birthday?" asked Mary.

Luke nodded, laughing, "Of course I did, and he was shitting himself. I had to mentally psych him up before he did it."

"I can't believe you, Adam!" exclaimed Mary, bumping her shoulder with his.

"Mary, do you even know how hard it is to propose? I was freaking out thinking you'd say no or something."

"You think I was ever going to say no? You idiot!"

Adam laughed heartily and pulled Mary closer, cradling her face in his hands, “I love you.” He kissed her deeply, forgetting anyone else who was sitting there right there with them. They were sat in the canteen, knowing that Mary had a class soon and going too far from campus wasn’t an option for the day.

"Urgh, hetero kissing," grimaced Luke before laughing at the expressions on both their faces.

"How about you get on with some gay kissing so we can complain too?" Adam retorted.

"Adam!"

"What? It's the truth, Luke. You, my man, need to find a man."

"Yeah, yeah whatever,” Luke dismissed with a wave of his hand.

Mary suddenly gasped as she remembered something, "By the way, I have some news! Scott broke up with Jimmy..."

Luke frowned, “Okay, and?”

“And? And what Luke? You seriously liked the guy and he knew about it and now he’s single! Now you have a chance to ask him out!”

Before Luke could answer, Adam jumped in, "Oh babe, I don't think Luke's interested in Scott anymore...I think he's got someone else on his mind."

"What? No, I don't!"

"You've been checking your phone every five minutes, whose call are you waiting for?"

"No one, just my grandma. She's helping me find someone to help with some funding for the hospital."

"But I thought you had millions?"

"I do, but I can't be using all of it now and some of the money is in other projects."

"What do you need the money for this time then?"

"Reid...I mean Dr. Oliver needs some funding for his research project."

Mary looked puzzled, "Reid? Who's Reid?"

Luke averted his eyes, scolding himself internally for saying his name out loud, "Just one of the doctors at the hospital."

"Just one of the doctors? So, the money is just for him?" asked Mary.

"Well no, it's for him, the kids and the hospital."

Adam quickly glanced at Mary with a knowing grin, "But he’s the only doctor you’re working with?” he asked.

“Umm I guess so.”

Adam raised his eyebrows, “You guess so? Okay, let me ask this in a different way, is this ‘Reid’ gay?”

“Adam!”

“Dude, just answer my question.”

“I don’t know if he’s gay or not, okay? I think he is though, well Caro is pretty sure but you can’t just ask that outright can you? Plus, I don’t trust my track record for falling for straight guys so knowing my luck he probably is.”

“Oh my god, Luke! You’re falling for him?” gasped Mary.

Luke hadn’t realised what he’d just said and he took a breath, his eyes widening as he tried to find a way to get him out of what he’d just admitted. It had been about a week since that night Reid came to apologise and after that, he used to pop in either early morning or late at night for either a coffee, a piece of pie or the burger and fries, which Luke noticed Reid had grown very fond of. Whenever they did meet, they talked briefly about their day. Luke told him about how his classes were going and Reid would complain about the incompetent staff that had managed to make his day ten times worse. Luke was left amused whilst Reid was left a little annoyed, but that annoyance never lasted too long when Reid was given his food and also when Reid got a glimpse of that stupid smile of his, not that he would ever admit it.

Although Luke did have his number, never once had he called it. Finding funding for the research project was proving a little harder than he’d previously expected. Reid had asked about his progress one evening and he’d apologised, letting him know that he’d had no news. However, Reid was still grateful and reassured him that it wasn’t a problem and that he could take his time. Even though Luke hadn’t known Reid for that long, he believed that they were working towards what he thought was a friendship, and maybe, just maybe there was something more. But if Reid was feeling any more than that, he wasn’t making it obvious and if there wasn’t anything there, Luke didn’t want to take that chance and ruin what little friendship they did have. Everything he touched or got too close to was ruined and taking that chance to trust again...the risk was too high.

Luke dropped his eyes and taking a breath before he spoke, “No, I’m just talking hypothetically. My track record with guys isn’t that good, so why expect that to change?”

Mary sighed, reaching a hand out to cover his, “Luke, come on! You’re a catch and anyone would be crazy to not go out with you. If I wasn’t with Adam, I would be trying to bed you,” she winked.

Luke laughed taking his hand away from under hers, “You’re crazy!”

“And you’re my fiancée, Mary, and you’re talking about bedding another man?” Adam sniffled dramatically, moving away from her. “If you wanted Luke all along, why did you lead me along? Sad and depressed doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

Mary laughed pulling him closer by his arm, “Don’t be stupid, I’m sure Luke would be more than happy to share.”

“That’s okay then,” replied Adam, winking suggestively at Luke.

Luke’s mouth flew open in surprise and he leant over the table and swatted Adam’s arm, “You’re both crazy, totally crazy!”

Adam ruffled Luke’s hair in response, “You won’t be rid of us crazies any time soon, dude!”

Coming to Dallas three years ago seemed like a distant memory, and although much had happened, if there was anything he would be grateful for forever, it was the friends that he’d made. And although he was missing the love of the other kind...maybe there would just be a time for it and he was willing to wait. After all, love was worth waiting for, right?

***

Reid was busy finishing off some reports before the end of the day when he heard someone knocking on his office door.

"Go away," he said loudly without looking up.

But whoever was behind the door knocked again, louder this time, "Go away," he shouted.

He then heard the door squeak open, which he definitely needed to get fixed, he reminded himself. He looked up to shoot daggers whoever it was who came in but was met with a small floating head instead. When those hazel eyes met his and she recognised who it was, she squealed in delight and made grabbing motions with her hands.

Reid couldn't help but smile, "Come in Ava, you're welcome in my office anytime, however your Mother isn't."

The door then swung open revealing a scowling Grace clutching Ava to her chest.

"You're a dick! How come she gets treated better than me?"

Reid got to his feet, smirking, and walked around his desk taking Ava from Grace's arms as she picked up the portable crib and the diaper bag, bringing it inside.

"Because for one thing, Ava doesn’t call me a dick and also...she doesn’t keep trying to set me up with men.”

Grace’s eyes widened innocently, “What are you talking about?”

“Grace, don’t try and deny it...I know you and I know what you did.” Ava then babbled something, her tiny hands clinging tightly to Reid’s collar, her eyes fixed on Reid trying to talk to him, interrupting Grace from answering back.

Reid grinned, flicking Ava’s nose affectionately making her beam a gummy smile right back at him, before addressing Grace, “See? Even your daughter knows what a schemer you are, and she agrees, don’t you?”

“Don’t you dare corrupt my daughter, Oliver! I’ll have your balls! Plus, I didn’t do anything anyway!”

“What about you sending that doctor from Cardiology to my office to ask me out on a date? What the hell is your problem?”

Grace sighed heavily closing his office door behind her and slumped on the sofa.

“I didn’t send him to your office, Reid. Stop being such a drama queen. I know he kind of fancies you and I told him that you’re single and available and in desperate need to get laid.” Seeing Reid stare at her angrily she amended, “Okay, I didn’t say you needed to get laid but I said the other stuff. The guy is nice, Reid, and you need to get out. And he could’ve helped melt your heart a little, you know, with him being a Cardiologist and all,” said Grace, winking at him knowingly.

Reid rolled his eyes at her attempt at a horrible joke and sat down on the couch next to Grace whilst Ava lay on his chest, tummy side down, head rested on his chest, perfectly happy to watch her Mommy and Reid have their conversation.

“You need to stop doing stuff like this, Grace. I told you the other day and I’m telling you again. If I want to go and get laid, I will. I don’t ever have any problems with finding a guy.”

“But Reid...” pleaded Grace.

“No, just drop it. I don’t want to hear about it or talk about it.”

"Fine," she pouted. She watched as Ava lay contently, her head lifting up as did her hands. She held them either side of Reid’s face, slapping his face lightly to get his attention.

Reid playfully held his hands over hers, and raised his eyebrows to scold, but he couldn’t help the smile that curled up on his lips anyway. “Seriously Ave, you gotta stop with the violence. It’s not very nice when you do it decent folk like me. But if someone else is trying to harrass you, go for it!”

Ava giggled in response and instead, tried to climb higher to try and get a hold of his hair.

"Oh my god, my ovaries..." exclaimed Grace with a groan.

"What?" asked Reid, perplexed, as he managed to get Ava to sit in his lap and she sat playing with Reid's hand.

"If you had a baby with you 24/7, you would cause mass murder, no kidding. Babies and you are a mind-blowing combination, guaranteed to make any woman, or in your case, a man swoon."

"Jesus Christ," mumbled Reid. "When do you ever stop?"

"Never baby, and you know you love it."

Reid huffed a laugh and ruffled Ava’s hair as she tipped her head back to look at him, grinning and laughing all the while.

He glanced over at Grace who was watching them with a huge grin on her face, “Seriously, my ovaries are gone and I blame you. What if Ava wants a brother or sister? I shall claim your first born if that happens, you owe me.”

"Shut up! What are you doing here so early, anyway?" asked Reid, knowing it was best to change the subject when things got to babies, because those conversations led to love and marriage, and a whole myriad of things he didn’t want to even think about.

"I'm not that early!"

"You're never on time for anything Grace, I should know."

"Ava and I missed you, isn't that enough of a reason?"

"It's the cheesiest reason since I only saw you a couple days ago."

"Urgh, why complain now? We agreed to have dinner together 'cause you’re such a loner and we're here now! We won't disturb you, so go," Grace held her hands out and Ava dropped down onto all fours and crawled towards her. “Go and finish off your paperwork or whatever. Me and my baby will be waiting for you right here,” she said, peppering kisses to Ava’s face as she gurgled and smiled.

Reid left Ava and Grace on the couch and got to work quickly finishing off his reports for the day. When Ava started fussing and whimpering, Grace knew that it was time for a feeding and she was right. As soon as she gave Ava her bottle, she immediately settled and guzzled down her milk hungrily, her small hands wrapping around the bottle.

"So how's your week been?" asked Grace quietly, seeing that Ava was falling asleep, her eyes half closed.

"Not bad," answered Reid, not looking up from writing.

"Not bad?" Grace asked again.

Reid furrowed his brows and glanced up at Grace, “Yes, not bad. What more did you want me to say?”

“Nothing! Jesus Christ, I was just asking,” Grace quickly averted her eyes and watched Ava drift into sleep, hoping that he didn’t know why she was so adamant to know. Reid was suspicious as to why she was questioning him about this week in particular but shrugged it off, believing it to be Grace just being Grace.

Reid was finished around twenty minutes later and by the time he was ready to leave, Ava was fast asleep and in her portable crib and Grace was becoming impatient.

“You done now, Oliver? ‘Cause I am starving!”

“Christ,” said Reid as he grabbed his jacket, his wallet and his phone. “Let’s go, Your Highness.”

Grace grinned and handed Reid the diaper bag and she took Ava, making their way out of Reid’s office. When they were further down the hallway and about to get the elevator, Grace stopped with a start.

“Oh crap! I just remembered, I have to go down and collect something from my office.”

Reid grimaced, his mind now focused on getting another job done well, eating, “Now?”

“Yes, now! Come on let’s go!” Grace hooked her arm through Reid’s and punched the button for the elevator and made their way down to Pediatrics.

Reaching the correct floor both of them ambled out the lift and walked towards Grace’s office. For an evening, especially in a Pediatric ward, there seemed to be a lot of noise. There were kids laughing and shouting in happiness and Reid found it a little odd. Before Reid could ask Grace what was going on, he heard someone call out for him and then felt someone slam into him, arms wrapping around his legs. When Reid looked down he saw a mop of brown curly hair and a pair of vivid green eyes staring up at him with happiness.

“Dr. Ollie!” she exclaimed.

Reid was taken aback as well as concerned, “Hey, Bella!” he replied, tousling her hair affectionately.

Grace sent him a confused look, “Whoa, is this your secret love child?” she whispered in his ear.

Reid shot her a look of disdain, ignoring her, before crouching down to Bella’s level, “What are you doing here? Are you okay?”

“Yeah! I’m fine Dr. Ollie, I came here with Luke.”

“Is Luke okay?” Reid asked before he could stop himself, the anxiety in his voice not going amiss by him, neither did the gasp of recognition from behind him.

“Yes silly, he’s fine! He was just behind me,” Bella turned around and smiled widely. “Look there he is,” she said, pointing at the blonde.

Reid glanced up and saw Luke walking towards them, a frown turning into that stupid smile of his making his stomach do that ridiculous flip flop thing. He stood back up again trying to dampen down that feeling and shot him a half smile.

“Luke! Look who I found! It’s Dr. Ollie!” said Bella, bouncing on her toes as she grabbed a hold of Reid’s hand.

As Luke came closer, he laughed at Bella’s huge smile, “I think I see him, Bells,” he said with a grin. He looked up at Reid and quirked a smile, “Hey, Reid.”

“Hey,” replied Reid softly. Luke looked over Reid’s shoulder, his eyes narrowing, as if he was trying to work out exactly what he was seeing and he couldn’t help the huge smile that crossed his face.

“Oh my god, Grace!”

“Luciano!”

Reid turned around and watched as Luke walked around him and opened his arms to hug Grace, hug Grace, they were hugging? He was utterly confused and shocked, his mouth falling open, his eyebrows knitted together in bewilderment. What the fuck was happening?

Grace pulled away from Luke’s embrace and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “It’s so good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you too!” Luke replied. “Is she yours?” he asked seeing Grace with Ava.

“Of course she is! If she wasn’t sleeping, I would be sure to introduce you to the little madam, but we can do that when she wakes up.”

“I don’t think you’ll need to,” Reid piped in from behind them, “He’s already met her.” He moved closer to them bringing Bella along with him and asked that question he definitely needed an answer to, “How do you know each other?”

Grace wrapped an arm around Luke’s waist pulling him flush to her side, “I’ve known this gorgeous man since he got to Dallas, right Luciano?” Luke nodded at her and smiled, his cheeks flushing slightly noticing the way Reid was looking at him. “And Luciano, remember I was telling you about that supposed best friend of mine that was an idiot for not getting in contact with me and who I missed terribly? This is him, the great Dr. Reid Oliver.”

Luke looked between the both of them and he finally understood, “Oh!”

“So I’m guessing you know each other already? What a coincidence,” Grace said with a sly grin, cocking her head at Reid, directing her gaze at him.

Reid narrowed his eyes at her, “What a coincidence,” he said with a firm tone. Grace winked at him, grinning widely and Reid knew that someone was definitely going to get murdered today. Luke noticed the deadly look on Reid’s face and felt slightly uneasy, “Is everything okay?” he asked hesitantly.

“Everything is fine,” Reid replied, his gaze not wavering from Grace’s. “Yeah, we’re fine,” Grace smiled, squeezing Luke’s waist and grinning up at him.

“Dr. Ollie?” Bella broke the tension and snapped Reid out of his staring match with Grace. He exhaled noisily and put on a smile for Bella, “Yup?”

“Why don’t you and the pretty lady and her baby come to eat dinner with us? Luke said we were going anyway!”

“I like her, she called me a pretty lady,” said Grace. “You don’t ever call me that, Reid,” she pouted.

Luke laughed as Reid scowled at her, “Bella, they might have plans to go somewhere else.”

“But Dr. Ollie promised, please, please, please! And then you can tell me more scary brain stories!”

Reid’s lips curled into a smile but before he could answer, Grace got there first, “Well we can’t deny a gorgeous girl like her dinner with the best doctor in the world, can we?”

Luke shook his head, “Seriously, Bella is being stubborn. I’m sure you guys have plans and we don’t want to impose on them. We’re only going back to the café anyway.”

Grace shook her head defiantly, “No way, we would love to have dinner with the both of you. I mean, Reid was supposed to cook for us, but I don’t want to get poisoned or anything so this is definitely the better option.”

“Grace!”

“Oh Reid, I’m only kidding! Let’s just go okay and I promise you can cook for me and Ava another time since you were so desperate to do just that.”

Reid looked down and saw Bella pouting, her puppy dog eyes used to the max, and with Grace by his side he knew he had to give in.

“Fine, let’s go.”

“Yay!” exclaimed Bella, as she wrapped her arms around his legs again tightly. Grace and Luke laughed at Reid’s shocked expression, and for a moment he let his anger for Grace dissipate, letting a smile emerge on his lips.

“Okay then, that’s settled,” Grace said taking Ava from her friend, and Luke walked over to Reid, prying Bella off of his legs, “Bella, come on, your Dr. Ollie isn’t going anywhere,” he glanced up at Reid apologetically, “I’m so sorry about her.”

Reid smiled in response, “It’s not a problem,” he replied, and let Luke grasp a hold of Bella’s hand as they made their way down the corridor. He could see Grace wanting to walk step by step next to them, but grabbed her by her arm just in time. The smug look on her face when he did was hard to ignore. Reid wrapped an arm around her shoulder as they made their way to the elevator.

“How long have you known?” he asked quietly once Luke was out of earshot.

“About what?” she asked innocently.

“About Luke.”

Grace smirked, “Since that day you babysat Ava, mentioned his name and the café. I am a damn good actress, you have to admit.”

Reid mumbled something indecipherable and possibly rude under his breath before he spoke again, “I’m gonna get you for this, Grace, you just wait and see.”

Grace met his eyes and pursed her lips, “Bring it on Oliver. Bring. It. On. I’m not afraid of you, baby.”

***

“Mommy, mommy! Dr. Ollie’s here!” she shouted as soon as they entered the café.

Caro glanced up and smiled, seeing the group of people that had come in. Luke ushered them further in before making the introductions.

“Hey Caro, this is Grace, you remember her?”

“Of course I do, you’ve come in a few times and you’ve had your baby now I see?”

“I sure have,” she said, smiling fondly down at Ava who in that moment yawned softly and burrowed her head further into her blankets.

“She’s beautiful,” Caro said, as she bent down and stroked a finger delicately across her cheek. Caro stood back up and said her ‘hello’s’ to Reid before finding them a table to sit at. The café that night was unusually quiet, which was perfect for them, allowing them the time to sit down, talk and also eat of course. Well, it was either Bella, Caro or Grace doing all the talking whilst Luke and Reid shared amused looks. Ava was still fast asleep, uncaring of the noise, sleeping soundly.

Reid had a million questions, okay, not a million, but quite a few questions on his mind of which only 20% could most probably be asked without embarrassing himself. There was this feeling in the pit of his stomach that he didn’t like. Luke being at the hospital was odd, since Reid was sure that there were no meetings today, unless there was something wrong with him and...he stopped that train of thought right there. Why should he care in the first place? He then felt a hand on his shoulder jolting him out of his thoughts and turned to look at the owner of the hand.

“You okay?” Luke asked, concern laced in his voice.

Reid blinked and nodded, “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said, letting his eyes drop to his almost empty plate.

“You just seem a little quiet.”

“That’s maybe because I don’t do small talk.”

Luke smirked, “You make small talk with me though.”

Reid glanced back up at him and shot him a half smile, “Maybe you’re the exception.”

Luke tried very hard to not let the blush rise up on his cheeks and chuckled, “That’s nice to know. I like being special.”

“Richie Rich, how much more special you want to be? You already have a million bucks!”

“Reid!” Luke nudged his shoulder with his lightly and laughed. “You don’t do small talk, but the snark is easy?”

“Everything is easy for me, I’m a genius after all.”

“Oh my god, you’re impossible.”

“I certainly am," he shrugged, "and I’m proud of it.”

Luke rolled his eyes and laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. Neither of the men noticed that they were being watched as they gazed into each other’s eyes, quite obviously. Grace pointedly cleared her throat, breaking the spell between both the men. Reid rubbed a hand under his nose and got back to eating whilst Luke dropped his eyes and helped Bella with her drink.

Grace had a sudden urge to push both their heads together and make them kiss. But she knew nothing like that would happen if they were surrounded by people, “Umm Caroline, is it okay if I can heat up Ava’s bottle? I think she’ll be up for a feeding soon.”

“Of course, why don’t you come on through?”

They both got to their feet and Grace grabbed a bottle out of the bag. She also moved Ava closer to Reid, “Just keep an eye on her in case she wakes up, please?”

“Yup,” Reid mumbled, his mouth full. Grace pulled a disgusted face and tousled his hair, narrowly managing to avoid being swatted by him, and followed Caroline back into the kitchen. She closed the door carefully behind her and turned around to face Caro, falling against the door, her mouth falling open.

“Oh my god!” she said.

Caro sighed, “I know, right?”

“Oh my god, they so like each other.”

“They most definitely do.”

“I really want them to kiss already! Christ! Why are men so stupid?

“Don’t ask me honey, I’m guessing it’s just something built into them.”

“I guess so, urgh! I don’t get why they don’t just get together already. Reid’s changed, I can tell you that for a fact. I haven’t seen him smile that much in a long time.”

“I can say the same for Luke, sweetie. He’s different, just happier...there’s a light in his eyes that wasn’t there before.”

Grace rolled her eyes, pushing herself off the door, walking nearer to Caro, “Men always need a helping hand from a woman, or women in this case,” she grinned.

“And our planning was exceptional I have to say.”

“Obviously, we are amazingly beautiful and smart women, using out womanly wiles to get two incredibly stupid guys together. I was worried thinking if Reid had taken just a little while longer, we would have missed Bella and Luke altogether. Oh and make sure Bella gets whatever she asked for, her acting was superb!”

“I can’t believe how excited she was for this. I think it’s fuelled her dream to be a performer and she assured me that she’s up for more tasks just like this.”

“A little matchmaker in the making. God, I love it!”

“Hopefully with Luke trying to get money for Reid, that whole thing should bring them closer too,” commented Caro.

“Oh yeah, we have that too! I swear, we don’t have to do much. As long as we give them a little nudge, I’m sure they’ll work it out. If they don’t? We’ll just lock them in a bedroom together!”

The both of them laughed quietly, taking care not to be too loud in case they heard them outside. Caro held her hand out for Ava’s bottle and set to work warming it up.

“So, Valentine’s Day is in a couple of days and I have an awesome idea!” declared Grace.

“Oh my, of course! I totally forgot about that, what are you going to do?”

“Nuh-uh,” Grace smiled smugly. “It’s what the both of us are going to do.”

***

The silence between them was a comfortable one, Reid however kept checking on Ava while he ate as a means to not look at Luke for too long. Bella was the only one who broke the silence, at times talking to Reid and at times asking Luke to tell her stories about his home town, Oakdale, or something like that. But that one question was still bugging him and once again, he let his mouth run before he had a chance to stop himself.

“What were you doing at the hospital?”

“Huh?” asked Luke confused, since the question came out of the blue.

“At the hospital, today? There wasn’t a meeting or anything was there?”

Luke shook his head, smiling, “No, no meeting. It’s just... Bella and I go once a month with some games and things for the sick kids in the ward. Bella gets a chance to play with them and talk to them and we get to give a little in return and make the kids happy.”

Reid raised his eyebrows in surprise but also impressed, “Wow, that’s very nice of you.”

“Why thank you,” grinned Luke. “I just hope that the refurbishments will mean that the kids will be more comfortable and even if the games and things seem like minor things, they make a huge difference. I should know, being a kid in hospital is no fun at all.”

Before Reid could ask Luke what he meant by that Bella chimed in, “Luke, you remember Tommy? Today the doctors told him he’s gonna be out soon and then he’ll be back in school soon too! How cool is that?”

“Very cool,” replied Luke as he high-fived her. He glanced over at Reid and noticed his empty plate, “You want anything else to eat?”

Reid looked down at his plate and then back up, “No, it’s fine.”

“You sure? Because we still have pie too!”

Reid smirked, “I’m sure Mr. Snyder, trust me, I’ll be the first to let you know if I need anything else, especially in regards to food.”

“I’ll count on that Dr. Oliver,” smiled Luke, and once again Reid couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on just his lips. Luke could feel something bubbling up in his chest, because that crooked smile of Reid’s was doing things to him, making him feel things that hadn’t been felt in a long time. Luke realised that the whole staring thing had gone on too long and cleared his throat, his cheeks reddening slightly as he turned back to finish the rest of his food. “By the way, I’m still waiting on my Grandmother to get back to me about some contacts she had. She sounded positive so fingers crossed we hear something soon.”

“That sounds good. I know that I said that you can take your time, but patience is not my best event. That money is needed quite urgently,” he said quirking a smile.

“I promise you’ll get the money soon,” Luke reassured him. “It’s only been a week and my Grandmother is amazing and because she loves me, she’ll do anything to make me happy,” he laughed.

“Lucky you, or should I say lucky me? Now as long as you make me happy in the process we’re set.”

“Yes sir,” Luke mock saluted making the both of them laugh.

Just then, Ava started whimpering, her soft cries alerting Reid that she was awake. Reid quickly wiped his hands and mouth with a napkin and unbuckled Ava, taking her into his arms carefully. Finding comfort in Reid’s arms, Ava burrowed her head into his neck, her soft cries, turning to sniffles until she completely stopped crying altogether. Reid kept rubbing her back in soothing motions till she settled down. Luke watched as Ava’s eyes slowly blinked open, taking in her surroundings and when her eyes landed on Luke and she saw him smile at her, she smiled back, babbling something in response causing Bella to laugh.

“She still can’t talk can she, Luke?”

“Nope, not like you and me, but she is definitely saying something. It might not be in the same language, but she’ll get there soon.” Luke watched as Bella moved closer to Reid, fascinated by the baby and held out a finger for her to grab, which Ava did, rather tightly.

“She’s holding on so tightly,” giggled Bella. And the giggle from Bella set Ava off, as she babbled and gurgled, delighted with someone wanting to play with her.

Luke looked at them fondly before turning his gaze to Reid, “You’re really good with her, you know? You sure you haven’t had practice?” he teased.

“No way! I can just handle little people better than adults. Adults are complicated and they confuse me whereas these things,” Reid dipped his head to look down at Ava, “...are easier to handle.”

“These things? You had better not Grace hear you say that, knowing what she’s like, she will cause you physical harm,” chuckled Luke.

“Hear me say what?” Reid snapped his head up to see Grace and Caro making their way back.

“Nothing,” said Reid and once Grace was close enough he handed Ava over. “Here’s your monster.”

Grace laughed and pressed a kiss to Ava’s forehead, “Hey little monster, why don’t you give your Uncle Reid more trouble like a real monster?”

Reid scowled at her, “I think she saves all her monster business and inflicts it on you, you deserve it.”

Grace narrowed her eyes at him, “I would be saying something else really inappropriate right now, but be grateful we’re with people.”

Reid smirked and catching Luke’s expression of amusement, and couldn’t help the smile on his face. Once Ava had been fed and changed and everyone else had eaten, Reid and Grace took leave of the café. Bella was sure to make Reid promise that they would do this again as did Grace and Caro.

As soon as they’d left, Caro turned to Luke with a big smile on her face, “So, how about now you ask Reid out on a date?”

Luke sighed, “Caro...”

“Come on, Luke!” she continued, “The guy likes you, he came and had dinner with you, which is kinda like a half-date thing and then he asked you for a piece of pie, not me, he asked you, even though I was sitting right there and closest to it. Seriously Luke, go and get Dr. Sexy.”

Luke laughed feeling embarrassed, “Caro, please...I don’t know. I don’t know him too well and just no, not right now.”

“What if he finds someone else by then?”

Luke shrugged, “If he does, he does...there would be nothing else I could do to change that.”

Caro frowned, “Honey...”

“No, Caro...please...let’s just leave it there, he’s a friend, that’s all. There are more important things for me at the moment like getting through this last year of college, for example? So, I’m gonna head upstairs and get some work done. You need me down here?”

Feeling resigned and now knowing that Luke wouldn’t want to talk about it any further, she dropped the subject, “No sweetie, you go on up. I’ll close up tonight.”

Luke smiled gratefully, “Thank you,” he said and made his way upstairs. Caro groaned in frustration wondering when the hell Luke would just get his act together.

Being scared of falling in love wasn’t a good thing, and she was hell bent on changing that.

***

Reid didn’t have the most pleasant journey home. It was filled with innuendos, remarks and the constant mention of the name Luke. Grace was having a blast, and even though Reid was seething inside about the fact that she had lied about now knowing Luke, she had a feeling that Reid would forgive her for that soon. He had to stop himself from saying anything, but knew he would get straight answers out of her soon enough. Reid dropped Grace and Ava home, promising never to see Grace again but Ava was free to come and see him anytime, and he finally made his way home.

His hectic day caught up with him and so as soon as he got home, he had a shower, grabbed a snack and did some reading before settling down in bed to sleep. Just as sleep had overtaken him, he heard his phone ringing on the bedside table. He fumbled around blindly for the phone and finally managed to grab a hold of it.

“Hello,” answered Reid in a sleepy voice.

“Oh it’s me, Luke...I’m so sorry! I didn’t wake you did I? It’s just that--”

Reid blinked away his sleep, and sat up in bed a little, “It’s okay, Luke. What’s the problem? I should let you know though,” he glanced at the clock blinking 12.00am, “...a booty call at this time is a little late. For you, though, I could still make it.”

Luke laughed softly, “Shut up and listen to me. I have good news. We’ve got a potential client who might give us some funding.”

“Your Grandmother most certainly loves you, so, when do we get the money?”

“Hold your horses,” he chuckled. “We don’t get the money straight away, the guy wants to meet you.”

“Urgh, I hate meetings. Why don’t I just send him the project file? That has everything, what we want to do, what we’re doing and he can decide from that, can’t he?”

“Because that’s not how it works, Reid. We’ll go to the meeting together and he wants to meet you.”

“We?”

“I told you remember? I’m not letting you do this on your own. Especially since you said you don’t get along with adults very well,” he teased.

“I--,” he sighed, wondering why the hell Luke was doing so much for him, “Fine, okay...so when is this meeting?”

“The day after tomorrow,” he answered.

“Where?”

“New York, and like I said, we’re going together.”