The Butterfly Effect 10/11
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Author: moonchilddj
Characters/Pairings: Luke, Reid, Noah, Bob and various other Oakdaliens/LuRe, past Nuke/attempted Nuke, references to other pairings
Rating:PG-13-light R, for some sexy fun and some cursing
Summary: AU-ish. When the breaking of one relationship sends him running from Oakdale, can the new face of another man put Luke’s heart back together?
Beta: Unbeta’ed!
Disclaimer: Still not mine, will never be mine. XD All the established ATWT characters belong to their respective copyrights. The only claim I lay to is the story itself and my OCs. Seldom though they are =p For entertainment purposes only!
Author’s Note: Welcome to Chapter 10! I am sorry it’s taken me so long to get this written up…I never would’ve imagined that moving would be such a long process. XD And then real life had to butt its way in as well, along with a few personal health issues, AND my computer needing a cleaning. But I am settled, finally, and I wanted to get this out before the holidays, so you’ll have something to be thankful for! ;) That being said, thank you SO SO VERY MUCH for hanging in as long as you guys have! It means the world to me that you guys look forward to my chapters, when I make you guys wait for-flipping-ever. Comments are LOVE and keep me going!
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For a moment, one could’ve heard a pin drop in the hospital room, each individual privy to the occurrence staring, as if frozen in place, at Noah, and what he had enunciated.
Luke was horrified. He did not think that Reid was a negligent doctor, not even close. He had seen the dedication in the man, both in Dallas, at the hospital he’d worked at, and in Oakdale. He didn’t have the greatest bedside manner, but he cared. He gave his all to his patients, did everything in his power to make sure that they survived under his care, thrived, even. From the youngest to the eldest, he had seen the determination in those sharp blue eyes.
Noah wanted to sue Reid for bending over backwards, to make sure Noah could see again, for denying himself food, rest, for worrying about a patient, as he did every patient?
“What the *hell*, Noah?!” Luke cried, and the frozen diorama broke its mold, as voices, all demanding to be heard, fought with the other for top status. Luke’s incredulity, Noah’s anger, Reid’s curt demeanor, until another voice silenced them, firm, and not to be denied.
“Quiet! All of you!” Bob called above the din, crossing his arms over his chest as his role of Chief of Staff gave him credence. “Now, Mr. Mayer. I know you’re upset. But it has only been a few minutes since Dr. Oliver examined you, since your waking up. Do you honestly think that you’re going to see results right away?”
“What kind of hospital is this?!” Noah all but bellowed, slamming his fist against the bed as he glared in the general vicinity of Bob. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Of course not.” Bob replied, his voice seeking to be calm as he bit down his exasperation at the young man’s irrationality. He seemed to have quite the axe to grind against Reid. “What I am suggesting is that you take a few minutes to calm down. Give it some time. Rest your eyes a little. No results from such a serious operation is going to be instantaneous, not even in the best of circumstances. To sue a doctor for a successful surgery is something of an overkill.”
“Don’t you think I know my own eyes, Dr. Hughes?” Noah growled. “Better than you or anyone else? I would know if it‘s successful or not!”
“Hey. You can take out your hate on me if you want to, Mr. Mayer.” Reid uttered, frowning. “But don’t start on Dr. Hughes. He’s not the one that operated on you.”
“Maybe he should’ve.” Noah sneered. “He might’ve had a better chance than an arrogant son of a--”
“Noah!” Luke cried, frowning down at the brunette. “That’s enough! You’re getting way out of hand!”
“Out of hand?!” Noah snarled. “Out of hand?! It’s my eyes, Luke! You may not care, but--”
“Don’t you *dare* say that I don’t care!” Luke snapped in return. “I’ve done nothing but care about you, for you!”
“Whoopee for you. Do you want a medal for your exploits?” He heard Luke make a stifled, incredulous noise when he turned his head away, and slashed a hand through the air. “All of you! Out of my room! Now!”
Luke looked livid, and Reid upset and more than a little confused, and Bob sighed, resting a hand on Luke’s shoulder.
“Come on. Let’s leave him alone for now. Mr. Mayer, I’ll send a nurse in for you.”
“Send in Allison. She’s the only one that understands.” Noah retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“All right. I’ll send in Nurse Stewart.” Bob replied, trying to keep Noah happy and Reid out of a negligence lawsuit as he ushered the two younger men out with him as he headed out the door.
“Bob, you can’t let him do this.” Luke replied as he gazed at Bob. “It’s not fair. R…Dr. Oliver has done nothing but help him, on every level that he could.”
“I know, Luke. I’ve seen the paperwork.” Bob replied, glancing at Reid for his overtime work on Noah, to the point where he was starting to get concerned about Reid taking care of himself. “All we can do right now is to let him calm down and try to see reason. Let’s hope it works.”
“I don’t know if it’s best to send in Nurse Stewart, then.” Reid muttered. “She doesn’t like me very much, either.”
“Maybe not, but she is Mr. Mayer’s friend, and practically the only one that can calm him. Whatever we can use to not have a malpractice suit on our hands.”
Luke waited until Bob had headed down the hall to track Allison, that he glanced to Reid, and made a motion with his hand, heading down the hall with him.
“Reid…I hope you know I don’t think you screwed up.” he told him softly when they reached the end of the hall, turning to him. “You’re one of the most accomplished doctors I know, and you wouldn’t do things half-assed.”
“You’d better believe I wouldn’t.” Reid grunted. “I know I’m not Mr. Mayer’s favorite person, but I’d never risk his eyesight or his health. Not even for you.”
Luke grinned crookedly. “Gee, Dr. Oliver, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. I think.”
Reid snorted in amusement, despite himself. “Don’t let your ego get out of control. You’re hot stuff, but not that hot to risk my career.”
Luke smiled softly. “I know, Reid. Your practice means everything to you.”
“Well…” Reid paused, eyeing him up and down for a moment. “It used to mean everything. The only thing.”
“Reid…” Luke whispered, before he internally melted when Reid’s fingers brushed his cheek.
“Things have kind of changed, you know.” Reid murmured. “Now it’s not the only thing…I kinda have someone I really do care about these days.”
That made Luke feel like his heart was going to overflow. After everything he’d gone through with Noah, to know that someone cared that much for him made him happy.
“Thank you, Reid. I know soft words for you…aren’t exactly the norm. I just…I wanted to let you know that I wouldn’t blame you. He just woke up, you couldn’t have possibly botched the surgery. Not you.”
If that certain bit of knowledge didn’t burst his buttons with pride…Reid took a deep breath, silently pleased at Luke’s show of confidence in him, and nodded. “Thanks. Now if only Mr. Mayer could possibly have the patience to let the treatment work!”
“You’re worried that you messed up somewhere, aren’t you?” Luke replied gently, reaching out to take his hand. “It’s not every day you doubt yourself, and you shouldn’t start.”
“I don’t doubt myself.” Reid protested gruffly, though he did let Luke’s fingers twine with his. “I just want to cross every T and dot every I. There can’t be anything I’ve missed, no way would I miss anything.” He didn’t think he did, anyways. There had to be a simple reason as to why Noah couldn’t see. Of course, it could be the fact that it was still too soon, and he did hope it was that. If only he could make sure…
Luke squeezed his hand, getting Reid’s attention as he met eyes with him. “Hey. You’re a wonderful doctor, Reid, and I bet that everyone will know it, too, when Noah gets his sight back. Of course, you already knew that.” He smiled at Reid, and after a moment of enjoying the sight of the slight blush on Reid’s cheeks, he leaned forward, and touched his mouth softly to his.
“Luke, we shouldn’t…” Reid whispered, though he didn’t try to stop the kiss, giving a low, pleased murmur against Luke’s mouth.
“No one’s watching.” Luke assured him quietly. “Besides, you’re kind of cute when you’re unsure of yourself.”
“Am not cute…” But Reid did give a muffled moan when the kiss turned deeper, the kind that made his knees knock together and try to melt out from under him. It wasn’t often that Luke took the initiative. He had encouraged him, when they were together in Texas, to take control whenever he wanted. He wasn’t against changing it up, especially when it was someone as attractive as Luke. He was a few inches taller than Reid was, had a bit more bulk to him from working on the farm. Reid had no qualms whatsoever in being dominated a bit. That and Luke seemed new to the whole thing…Noah hadn’t allowed him a lot of sexual freedom when they were together, to grow and experiment, what was the harm?
He reveled in it now, when Luke’s hands buried into the curls around his ears, and he about kissed his mouth off. He groaned quietly, and levered them backwards, hoping, absently, to hit his office door, and find some peace and quiet to do more than just kissing.
It was Luke who laughed against Reid’s mouth when the first door they found wasn’t exactly Reid’s destination. “Reid…this is the janitor’s closet.” he murmured.
“Close enough.” Reid muttered, grabbing a handful of Luke’s shirt and tugging that Luke was forced to follow, pulling the door closed behind him just enough.
“But Casey’s the janitor…what if he sees?”
“Mm…then Baby Hughes will learn something new rather than chasing after skirts.” Reid replied as his hands found the hem of Luke’s shirt, and skimmed under, palms gliding up against Luke’s torso and causing a hiss of breath to expel from him.
“Casey’s not that way…I would’ve known.” Luke breathed, closing his eyes when Reid’s hand slid over his torso, causing goosebumps in its wake. “Been friends forever.”
“A pity for him, not knowing how fun this could be.” Reid nipped softly at Luke’s neck, grinning at the growl of pleasure he received for it. “You’ve gotta learn to live in the moment, Snyder~” he teased as his fingers unbuttoned a few buttons on Luke’s shirt.
“Live in the moment, huh?” Luke captured Reid’s face in his hands, and after maneuvering him around a couple of brooms, pinned his back softly to the back of the closet, and kissed him once more, loving the way that Reid opened his mouth for him and clung onto his shoulders. He took the invitation eagerly, swirling his tongue around his and pressing closer to Reid. The heat of his body, through the lab coat and his clothes, the way he met every kiss…it turned him on, to the point that he could’ve easily sucked him off in the closet. And that usually wasn’t a normal attitude for him, but Reid did something to him. Made him let go of all his reservations.
“What’s wrong?” Reid muttered quietly, tongue sweeping at Luke’s bottom lip as he tried to catch his breath. “You’re not gonna chicken out, are you?”
“No…” Luke murmured, stroking his hand softly over the shell of Reid’s ear, and marveling at how a simple touch seemed to affect Reid so much, what with the way he shivered, and arched into his touch. “I just…I don’t want to get caught.”
“That’s half of the fun.” Reid replied with a playful arch of his brow. “C’mon, Luke…don’t get scared. Just act. You know I’m not going to say no to anything you want to do, right?”
“I know.” Luke whispered, swallowing hard as he gazed into those heated eyes, eyes that spoke so eloquently of how much he wanted him, wanted whatever he gave him. There was no guesswork to Reid when it came to this sort of thing, and after Noah, that was something amazing. But at the same time, it was almost intimidating. What if Reid didn’t like what he did? What if he laughed? What if he stopped him, like Noah used to do?
“Hey.” Reid tapped his fingers against Luke’s cheek, drawing his attention from his worries. “Stop thinking so hard. This is about us. About just stealing some time for each other. You’re not going to need a lot of brainwork for that.”
“Why?” Luke asked, lifting his brows when Reid smirked at him.
“Because, everything you do turns me on. I like it when you get bossy and take-charge. I like it when you surrender, too. So stop thinking so much, before you break something~”
“Ha ha.” He supposed that Reid was right, however. He needed to stop thinking so much of what he was doing. He was supposed to be impulsive. Luke gave himself a short little shake, to calm down those little bubbles of uncertainty, before he took a deep breath, and wiggled into the small area so he could kneel down before him.
“Oh god.” Reid smacked his head softly against the wall as he stared down at him. “You’re gonna kill me here, Snyder.” The sight of the younger man on his knees, those brown eyes looking up…it could drive a heterosexual man to think naughty thoughts. And he wasn’t heterosexual, so it was even worse. Those kissable lips, the tanned skin…it was far, far too easy to think of what he could do to him.
“Not too soon, I hope.” Luke whispered. The zip of Reid’s zipper sounded loud in the quiet of the closet, but he didn’t let it stop him, as he pulled the zipper down to its base, and slipped his fingers in, massaging softly as Reid groaned and closed his eyes.
“Soon enough.” Reid muttered, feeling his heart pounding in his chest with every movement of Luke’s fingers against the material of his underwear. And just when he thought it couldn’t get much better than that, those sly fingers slipped up to the waistband, and pulled it down, baring his aching cock. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“This.” Luke whispered, before he dared to be brave, and swallowed the head of Reid’s cock into his mouth, shifting so he wouldn’t choke. He was glad for that, too, since Reid hadn’t been prepared, and bucked a second after his moving. He didn’t have the greatest experience in this department, besides that one time, and other than Reid having done it to him a few times, and he wanted to at least get it right.
Breathing out through his nose, Luke looked up at him as he fitted his lips over him, and felt a surge of pride when Reid let out the loudest groan he’d ever heard from him yet. He might’ve tried to shush him, since they were in a hospital, but he was too damned proud that Reid had made that sound because of him. Swirling his tongue around the head, he experimented with different positions of his mouth, trying to figure out what worked the best, and made Reid squirm the most. The flat of his teeth against the edge? The swirl of his tongue against the veins at the underside? So many choices.
“Don’t tease me.” Reid murmured, his voice low and guttural as he seized his fingers into Luke’s hair, and pulled him close. “If you’re going to do anything, Snyder, then by all means~”
Luke hadn’t meant to tease him. He would’ve apologized, had he the talent to do so with a full mouth, so he adapted, spelling out a ‘sorry’ with the edge of his tongue. That seemed to work just fine, considering the way that Reid shuddered, and gripped harder at his hair, almost to the point of hurting. Not that he would’ve complained, it was hot to see Reid so out of control. He kept himself in check so often, hiding so much of himself, even from him, that seeing him let go and respond to him had him a bit hot and bothered. Not to mention a bit more daring.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed Reid’s hips up against the wall, possibly clattering a bucket, broom or two in the process, but Luke accomplished what he set out to do, which was to take him as far as he could go into his mouth without choking. He hummed quietly in the back of his throat, glancing up when Reid hissed a breath and arched, his fingers clawing at his hair.
They hadn’t had a lot of time to explore various sexual situations. Luke had been shy, understandably burnt from Noah’s actions that had made him leave Oakdale in the first place, that they hadn’t had much time than to perhaps give a hand job, and Reid with a few blowjobs. Luke was obviously a quick study, taking all of him in, and Reid felt like his head was going to explode. He would’ve preferred a bed to get comfortable in, have something to dig into to hold himself steady. But the wall of the closet, and Luke’s hair were just as good for adapting. He moaned, and closed his eyes, hips pivoting forward just slightly as he tried his best to not thrust forward.
“Luke…” Reid gasped out, trembling as he felt Luke’s tongue skim across the underside of his cock. It was like touching a live wire, all his nerves at the forefront, alive and prickly and hot. “Nn…you keep that up…I won’t be lasting long at all.” he warned.
And that was supposed to be a bad thing? Luke arched his brow silently, lips making a scandalous, wet sucking noise as he peeked up at him.
“Oh hell.” Reid hissed softly, and gritted his teeth as heat rushed through him at the sight, feel, and utter warmth of Luke’s mouth. “Mercy, mercy, Luke.”
‘Never’, Luke thought to himself with an internal smile. If Reid was going to look like that before he came, then he would never give up the chance to take in that sight, over and over again. His fingers reached, cupping the base of Reid’s groin, and massaged gently as his tongue lapped over him with a couple of quick sweeps. He glanced up again, enjoying the flush of heat that had streaked down over Reid’s face, across his neck as he leaned his head back, gasping for air.
There was no way he was going to make it, not with the way that Luke was driving him crazy. Reid whimpered in the back of his throat, fingers sweeping gently through Luke’s hair, and pulling softly when he reached the pinnacle of his release. He had enough sense to not cry out loudly, and bit down on his lip as his hips jerked upwards, filling Luke’s mouth with his come. As he struggled to not just fall into a boneless heap in front of Luke, he gazed down at him, and smiled, watching Luke swallow. Sure, he may have missed a couple of drops, but he still did a hell of a job for his second time.
Catching his breath, Reid reached down, and softly thumbed up the remnants that had slid down Luke’s chin in a sticky rivulet. “You okay?” he asked, mentally wincing at how wrecked his own voice sounded. “I mean…I haven’t traumatized you, have I, coming down your throat like that, and--”
Luke’s fingers reached up, and sealed Reid’s flapping lips closed. He gave a little cough, and swallowed, smiling. It had been a lot to take in, but he was happy to be adaptable, especially when it came to making Reid feel good. “I’m all right.” he replied softly. “You didn’t traumatize me, Reid. I’m glad to have made you let go like that. Was it okay?”
“Okay?” Reid echoed, surprised at how very modest Luke could be sometimes. He’d have to work on that. “Okay? I’m lucky my brain didn’t melt out from under me, Luke. Or…or fall out of my head.”
“Ew.” Luke laughed softly, wrinkling his nose playfully. “It really wasn’t that bad?”
“Not that bad at all.” Re shifted so he could kneel down with him, his knees shaking a little, before he cupped Luke’s face in his hands, and brought their mouths together, tasting himself on Luke’s mouth, his tongue. He let their tongues twine together, and hummed approvingly when he felt Luke’s warm fingers slip up under his lab coat, pull his shirt slightly, and press up against his back in a soft glide. Funny that, how Luke could know what made him feel good, in just a few months’ time, where most people just didn’t get it. Luke was special, indeed.
“We probably should get going.” Reid whispered against his mouth. “Nurses will be looking for me, and didn’t you say your mom and dad were going to be here for support?”
Luke sighed quietly, and nodded. “I think Mom still hopes Noah and I will get back together, but at least Dad’s keeping her at bay. I’d better get back to them.”
“Okay.” Reid murmured, leaning his head back, and gazing into Luke’s eyes. “For what it’s worth…thank you, for having so much confidence in me. It means more than you know.”
“I always have confidence in you.” Luke told him, smiling. “You were the one that believed in me, in Dallas, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Reid dropped one more kiss to Luke’s mouth, and got to his feet with Luke’s help, snickering softly as heads bumped into brooms, and legs kicked buckets. “People are gonna wonder what’s going on~” he hummed as he zipped himself back up.
Luke grinned suddenly, brilliantly as he gazed at Reid. “Let them.” he whispered. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”
“Glad to hear that.” Another voice interrupted, startling them both as Bob peeked in from the door crack, smiling at them wryly. “It might as well have been worth it, for me to wait until you two were finished.”
Luke flushed and sputtered, staring at the older doctor as Reid lifted his brows, and smirked at Bob playfully. “Didn’t know you were such a perv, Bobbo. Is there something your wife should know?” he drawled.
Bob snorted softly. “I just thought you two should have some time together. Especially after Mr. Mayer. And you wouldn’t be the first couple that has used the janitor’s closet for extracurricular activities.”
Bob had never seen Reid rocket so fast out of an area, muttering about cooties from heterosexuals as Luke followed, smiling softly at him, though his cheeks were still red.
“Has Noah calmed down?” Luke asked hopefully as he closed the door with a click, and discreetly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, just to make sure he was ready for public sight.
“Allison was able to calm him down. Though I suspect it was not her first choice, considering she and Dr. Oliver have already clashed.”
“Not my fault that I don’t care for nurses with loose morals, and looser legs.” Reid muttered, grunting when Luke elbowed him. “Any chance that I can look at Mr. Mayer’s x-rays, make sure I didn’t miss anything?”
“That was what I was looking for you for. I figured you might want to double check, and triple check everything.” Bob replied with an understanding smile to Reid. “We doctors are perfectionists, after all.”
“No one more so than Reid.” Luke murmured fondly, glancing at Reid with a smile.
“Yeah, well.” Reid muttered, before he clapped his hands together. “Okay! Let me get my hands on those x-rays.”
“Good luck.” Luke replied softly, touching his arm lightly. “Keep me posted, okay?”
“You’re not going to visit with McSquinty?” Reid replied as Bob tried his best to bite down a snort of amusement.
Luke smirked a bit, and shook his head. “I don’t think I’d be the first person he’d want to visit with. I’m going to catch up to my parents, get something to eat. Talk to you later?”
“Yeah.” Reid wanted to keep him around, irrational as it was, when he had work to do. His eyes lingered on Luke, and he paused, then asked, “Maybe dinner later, or something?”
“I’d like that.” Luke smiled in return, eyes glittering, before he nodded to Bob, and headed on down the hall.
Bob smiled fondly, when he saw Reid gazing after Luke like a lovestruck teenager. It was good, to see Reid responding to Luke as such. It softened up those sharp edges he possessed.
Catching Bob looking at him, in almost a paternal fashion, Reid coughed, and prepared his best scowl. “What are you looking at, old man? Let’s go look at the x-rays.”
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“You don’t have to let anyone know. Just pretend.”
“Keep looking away from whoever you’re talking to. Remember to use your cane.”
“I know it’s difficult to lie to Luke. But you want to keep him, don’t you? This is the only way to keep him from Dr. Oliver, if you don’t want them together. Trust me. You have to do what you have to do.”
Noah knew that Allison was looking out for his best interests. She always did, she always had his back. When she’d told him that Luke was still with Dr. Oliver, and that they seemed extra chummy, she had sat down on his hospital bed, and coached him through the preparations of pretending to still not be able to see. It wouldn’t hurt anyone, after all, and he could still keep Luke around.
It was a good plan, a great plan, even, but he had never thought about how difficult it was to fool everyone. Every nurse that came to check on him, test his vitals, test his eyesight. Reid and Bob’s constant visits to run tests, and try to figure out why he couldn’t see. Luke’s visits, and even Luke’s parents. It was a struggle to not look directly at everyone every minute, every second of the day, and it made him cranky. Why couldn’t Luke have just kept his priorities straight and stayed away from the doctor? He wasn’t even all that good looking. Why was Luke attracted to Dr. Oliver, anyways? What did the doctor have that he didn’t?
“Noah? Where did you go?”
That was Luke, visiting again, concerned, considerate, and grating to his nerves. He didn’t place one iota of doubt on Dr. Oliver’s shoulders. He didn’t stop seeing Reid. Oh, sure, Luke came and saw him, but it felt more like an afterthought, and Noah didn’t like the feel of that, scowling and jerking his arm away when Luke nudged him gently.
“Leave me alone.” Noah muttered crossly. “I’m fine, I’m just thinking.”
“It’s been two weeks since you woke up from your operation.” Luke sighed. “Please don’t tell me that you’re still considering trying to sue Dr. Oliver.”
Noah scowled even deeper. “Well, my eyes sure aren’t the same, are they, Luke?” he sneered, biting back the urge to glare at him. It was so hard to remember sometimes that he was supposed to be blind. “I don’t know why you even listen to that quack. He’s not a good doctor.”
“He’s a great doctor, Noah!” Luke protested fiercely, startling Noah in his insistence. “He’s done everything he can for you, and for others. You can’t take it out on him just because of this!”
“Can’t I?” Noah snapped, crossing his arms over his chest as jealousy reared its ugly head. Luke was still defending Dr. Oliver, still standing in his corner! Whatever happened to Luke supporting him? It wasn’t right. “It’s MY eyesight, isn’t it?”
“Noah…” Luke drew in a deep breath, seeking to calm his temper, and not seeing Noah’s eyes flash to him as he turned his head. “Dr. Oliver has been one of the most dedicated doctors I’ve ever known. He’s thought of nothing else but of saving your eyesight.”
Luke should know. Reid had been almost to the point of obsessive, trying to find the cause of Noah’s problem. Their time together had dwindled down a bit in the past two weeks, but he could hardly blame Reid. Not when Reid worked so hard to have a success rate in whatever he did. A patient that didn’t respond to treatments, didn’t recover his eyesight like one would think…that would drive him crazy, too. He heard Noah draw a scoffing snort at his words, and frowned deeply, lifting his head.
“Don’t act like that. Maybe you haven’t noticed it, being in here, but I’ve seen his dedication. What use is it to sue Dr. Oliver for malpractice or negligence when he’s all but turned over backwards to help you? What good use is it to sue him, if he can’t help others?”
“They’d be better off!” Noah cried angrily. “They could find a better doctor, and he would leave Oakdale, go on to greener pastures, and be far, far away!”
“Noah!”
The door opened at their argument, and Luke bit his tongue on his chiding, looking up to see Reid in the door. He looked a little tired, a little more harried than he had been when he’d first come to Oakdale a few months ago, but he could see the determination on his face.
“Well, isn’t this like déjà vu.” Reid replied dryly. “Several months pass, and you’re still arguing enough to rouse everyone else in the hospital corridor.” He shook his head, and glanced to Luke, before he closed the door a bit. “Mr. Snyder, if you could leave the room for a little? It’s time for Mr. Mayer’s checkup.”
“All right.” Luke replied, rising from his seat beside the bed as Noah huffed. “Try to listen to Dr. Oliver, all right?”
Noah didn’t respond other than to give a grunt of acknowledgement, scowling as he slouched in his bed. Still the same thing. No Luke not standing at his side, Luke defending Dr. Oliver, still not being able to make him see reason. It disgusted him. He didn’t say goodbye to Luke, or do anything more as the door closed behind him.
What he also didn’t know was that Reid looked determined to the point of scary, rolling up the sleeves of his lab coat. “All right, Mr. Mayer. Let’s see if anything’s changed today, huh?”
“I don’t know why you’re even trying.” Noah snarled. “Nothing’s changed, Dr. Oliver.”
“Guess I’m feeling a little hopeful today.” Reid replied, waiting until he was close to Noah’s side of the bed. He eyed him thoughtfully, then started by dropping his chart sheet, close enough by Noah’s head that the corner of it glanced off of his head, making Noah flinch.
It was instinct, after all, that made Noah grab hurriedly for the chart. He saw it falling out of the corner of his eye, and moved before he had time to think of it--freezing as Reid skillfully caught the chart before it could fall to the bed.
Two pairs of blue eyes traded glares in that moment as Reid leaned in close. “I believe I’ve caught you red-handed, Mr. Mayer.” he replied quietly. “You’ve only been pretending to be blind, haven’t you? I saw you through the door’s glass just before I came in here, glancing at Mr. Snyder. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
Noah glared back at him, his chin lifting stubbornly. “What would I have to be ashamed about?” he growled, his voice low and mutinous.
“What would you have--” Reid echoed, nearly sputtering. Never had he had to bite back the urge to punch a patient, but he was surely starting now. He drew in a deep breath, and narrowed his eyes at him. “You’ve had doctors working around the clock trying to fix you, including myself. You’ve had nurses giving you examinations that they didn’t need to give, when they could’ve been taking care of other patients. You’ve had people worrying about your welfare, including Mr. Snyder, when you are perfectly fine. And you say your conscience is clean? You either have no sense of morals, or you broke something in there when you hurt your eyes.”
“I did what I had to do.” Noah snapped in return, gritting his teeth as he repeated Allison’s words ad verbatim, too stubborn to back down. “It was you, after all, that took Luke away from me.”
So that was what it came to. Reid leaned back, and barked a short laugh. “I took him away from you, huh? Not that that has to do with my professionalism, but I didn’t take him from you. You chased him away yourself, if I remember right. Came to Dallas, trying to make a new life for himself, from a broken heart. I didn’t twist his arm to make him stay. And I certainly didn’t force him to get into a relationship with me. But at least I knew how to treat him right!”
Noah growled and lunged out of bed, either trying to punch him, or wrap his hands around his throat, but he missed on both, falling out of bed instead as Reid stepped back from him. He yelped and tipped, bare-ass-in-hospital gown over teakettle, landing on his chin as he tripped himself up. Nothing was hurt except his pride, which rankled more when Dr. Oliver dared to laugh at him.
“Because it always helps to try to attack the man who saved your eyesight.” Reid replied dryly. “Honestly. I don’t know about you, Mr. Mayer.”
“Shut up!” Noah cried, dragging himself up to his knees and weighing in the decision to tackle the man at the knees. He had about five inches or so on the man, he could surely lay in a few punches before Reid knew what was happening and was able to defend himself.
“What is going on here?!” Luke replied as the door flew open at the noise, lifting his brows at the sight of Noah on the floor, and Reid standing there. “Dr. Oliver…”
“I know what this might look like, but trust me, I didn’t push him out of bed. He flung himself out.” Reid replied, his eyes widening a little at the thought of how it might look very bad, in Luke’s eyes.
“Luke, Dr. Oliver is a bas--”
“Quiet.” Luke replied, his voice almost a whisper as he walked in, closing the door behind him. “Noah, I know you don’t like Dr. Oliver, but he’s the person that has helped you the most, and you ought to be grateful that he’s so dedicated.”
Noah almost saw red at such a remark, incensed that Luke took Reid’s side, again. He lifted his head, mouth opening to let him have it--before he stopped, horrified when Luke just looked at him, meeting his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“So this is the head game you try to play. You try to make me feel sorry for you, get me in your corner, by pretending at being blind. And I fell for it, too. I thought something horrible must’ve happened. I guess the only horrible thing there was was believing in you.” Luke replied softly, shaking his head. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given you guilt tripped me into coming back into Oakdale with you.”
Desperate now, feeling all his well-laid plans coming apart at the seams, Noah got to his feet, and gripped at Luke’s shoulders. “Luke, don’t! You know I love you!”
“Do I?” Luke replied with a frown. “I haven’t felt like that since we first got together. I’m not perfect, I know that. I hadn’t always been a good boyfriend to you, but at least I was damn honest.” He took a deep breath to curb his anger, and spoke at a calm, even level as he gazed at Noah. “I was always loyal to you, and I never strayed, and I always showed you I loved you. It’s been a long time since we’ve been like that, and you know it.” He glanced at Reid, and smiled. “I’ve found love in another place, Noah. And he makes me happy. You and I haven’t been together intimately for a year, and we haven’t kissed for months. Do you really think that we have a relationship, still?”
“We can if you would try harder!” Noah growled, gripping at Luke’s shoulders to the point that Luke winced, and extricated himself from Noah’s grasp.
“What do you think I’ve been doing, Noah? Ever since the accident, I’ve done nothing but try to save our relationship, try to get back into your good graces. I’m tired. A relationship shouldn’t have to be so strenuous.” He glanced to Reid again. “I found out it doesn’t have to be. I’ve let this relationship go, and if you have to pretend to be blind to try to keep me, it’d be best for you to do the same.”
“I’m not the one that’s blind! We can make this work, we’ve always made this work.” Noah protested. “What do you see in an old doctor that’s better than I am, better than what we have?”
“If you have to ask that, then you really haven’t been paying attention, not to mention you’ve lost touch with me.” Luke shook his head with a sigh. “Now, you’d better get dressed, and own up to your actions. I don’t want you getting arrested for all this, or for picking a fight with a doctor.” He paused when Noah lunged, to do just that, and grabbed at his arms. “I said, no fighting!” he growled, glaring at Noah.
“Just one punch! It’ll make me feel better!”
It ended up with Reid catching Luke when he was flung sideways by a swipe from Noah’s arm, and he grunted, holding Luke in his lap as he sat down forcefully in a visitor’s chair with him. “Mind your paws, Sasquatch.” he snorted. “Luke’s trying to keep you out of trouble.”
“You mean trying to keep you from getting beat up.” Noah snapped. “Just…leave me alone. Both of you.”
Luke was more than happy to do so, disgusted with Noah’s attitude. He remained silent as Noah all but snapped the wires off of himself, which caused a few surprised nurses to blink at Noah from the doorway when Reid waved them off. He remained quiet when Noah dressed, and stomped out the door, and sighed into the quiet once more.
“I’m so sorry about that. Noah…well, they call me a drama queen sometimes. He’s even worse.”
“Ahhh.” Reid muttered with a shake of his head. “Don’t worry about it. He was looking to pick a fight because he was upset. Things didn’t go like the way he wanted to.” He shrugged his shoulders. “So I found out when he was looking at you. How did you find out?”
“I suspected it.” Luke murmured softly. “Two weeks? We would’ve at least seen improvement by that time. But there was nothing at all, which lead me to wonder. I was just…hoping he’d come clean on his own.”
“I’m sorry he disappointed you.” Reid muttered, blinking a little when Luke turned into him, clinging to the front of his shirt as he buried his face against his neck.
“He’s disappointed me for a long time now, Reid. It’s nothing new.”
“Though it still hurts, I bet.” Reid murmured, wrapping his arms around Luke and rubbing his back lightly. “Especially since you were in love with him for a long time. To try to trick you like that…”
“Noah’s…he’s never really understood how a relationship goes, I guess.” Luke sighed, before he scowled. “Though I know he couldn’t have come up with that himself. Someone coaxed him into it. And I know who.”
“Uh oh. I’m not going to have to call the cops on you for homicide, am I?” Reid drawled softly, smirking when Luke laughed against him.
“No, not yet. But you might have to restrain me a little~”
“Oh. I like the sound of that.” Reid turned his head, and kissed him, slow and sweet. “I’d like to restrain you against my bed.” he whispered against his mouth, and grinned crookedly when Luke shuddered in return.
“All in due time.” Luke whispered, kissing him again, feeling far more free to pursue such affairs with Reid, now that it was truly over, and Noah was no longer in his life. He shifted a hand, and pulled out Reid’s engagement ring from his shirt collar with a thumb, leaning back with a noisy, playful smack of lips. “Right now, I have a potentially-former best friend to talk to.”
“Ah. The ever-charming Ms. Stewart, I bet?”
“Yeah. Casey would never encourage Noah to lie to me. Allison’s…well, she’s lied before, it’d be old news to her.”
“I believe I would never want to hear the old stories that are sure to pop up from her exploits. But then again, it might be a good thing to laugh about over meals with Katie.” Reid muttered with a smirk, laughing when Luke nudged his elbow into his side.
“Be nice.” Luke chided, smiling as he slid off of his lap. “So…dinner later? Katie’s or at Grandma’s?”
“Not Katie’s. She’ll tease me continuously about getting it on, and in this case, she’ll be right!” Reid replied, climbing to his feet, and setting his hands lightly on Luke’s hips as he snickered. The worry was gone from Luke’s face, and he was glad for it. Now he looked happy. Even carefree, and he was relieved that Luke didn’t have to worry anymore. There’d been enough in the way of Noah Mayer. Now there was only Luke Snyder and Reid Oliver.
“All right, then.” Luke replied as he softly thumbed a curl of hair off of Reid’s forehead with a fond smile. “Grandma loves feeding you, as always. She’ll welcome another hardy appetite.”
“But what about your mom?” Reid asked, allowing his worries to be silenced with a kiss.
“Let me handle her.” Luke whispered. “She’ll understand, soon enough. “Okay?”
It was all Reid could do to nod stupidly at Luke’s kisses, smiling in return when Luke smiled at him. “Okay.” he echoed.
“Good.” Luke breathed, leaning into him to kiss him again. “You know something?”
“No, what?”
“I love you.” It was the first time he’d been able to say the words to Reid, and he felt his heart become buoyant when those blue eyes widened at him. He kissed him again, and winked. “See you later.” he replied, before he headed out of the hospital room, leaving a stunned Reid in his wake.
“Hold the phone…!” Reid muttered softly, several minutes after the door had closed. Luke had just uttered those magic three little words, and he was gone. Now he truly had something to talk to Luke about at the Snyder homestead.
------
She couldn’t believe it. She honestly couldn’t. Nurse Gretchen was a mousy little nurse, shy, brown-haired, cried at the drop of a hat. She wasn’t all that important, and still…Alison could see that she was having lunch with Casey in the hospital‘s cafeteria. And smiling. Was he flirting with her? She was going to kill Casey. Just because she had…sort of cheated on him before their wedding, and the secret had come out on their wedding day…it didn’t mean that Casey had to turn his attentions elsewhere!
Allison was livid, and would’ve happily ripped Nurse Gretchen’s thick brown hair out of her head, if she hadn’t been interrupted.
“What?!” she started, turning on a dime in her nurse’s shoes when she heard a throat clearing, before she relaxed a bit at the sight of the blond behind her. “Oh. Luke, it’s you. Ha…how are you?” she asked, working down her jealousy quotient to caring friend as Luke lifted his brows at her.
“Wow, Alison. I think you’ve had too much coffee.”
Coffee? She would’ve rather done with a car to run Nurse Gretchen over. Alison managed a weak smile.
“Right. Coffee, sorry. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Mmm, actually…I was wondering something.” Luke murmured thoughtfully.
“Really? What’s that?”
“Since when do you tell people that you supposedly care for to lie to others, and pretend that they’re blind, like it’s a good idea?”
Alison froze. It had only been two weeks since she’d suggested it to Noah. Had the secret broke so soon? She had expected Noah to at least achieve in getting Luke back, before he found out that Noah wasn’t really blind still. At least he could pretend that it had miraculously come back. But no, it seemed that the cat was out of its proverbial bag, and Luke didn’t look too happy.
“Now, Luke.” she replied softly, using her most placating, gentle voice, the kind one would use on young children and the elderly. “Noah was desperate to have you back, and you two had been so happy before, there was no reason to think that it couldn’t be that way again.”
“Except for the fact that I’m in love with someone else, and he loves me.” Luke told her, before he smiled, and not with his usual warm, gentle smile. “You might know a thing or two about that, right? When you left my best friend at the altar because you’d had some weird fling with that Mick Dante?”
“Luke, that’s not fair.” Alison protested, frowning.
“Neither is your actions to sabotage my relationship with Reid Oliver.” Luke retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just because Noah and I had been together before, didn’t mean it was going to work out again. The least you could’ve done is to talk to me about it.”
Alison glared at Luke for that. “How could I?” she snapped. “Every time I saw you, you were playing tonsil hockey with Dr. Oliver!”
“So you decided to take matters into your own hands, is that it? Decide for me that I was making a huge mistake, and concoct some scheme to make me come running back to Noah?” Luke’s eyes narrowed when Allison looked away. “That’s it, isn’t it? Oh, Ali. You’ve really put your foot in it this time. I can’t believe you!”
“Luke, come on, you belong with Noah, not that…horrible Dr. Oliver!”
“Actually…Dr. Oliver isn’t that bad, once you get to know him.” a feminine voice replied, startling both Ali and Luke, before they both turned to see Gretchen standing behind them, her arm shyly tucked into Casey’s. “Sure, he seems a little intimidating and mean, but he’s one of the best. He even has some patience to help us nurses when we have our hands full, and the kids in the peds wing like him.”
“Who asked you!” Alison snapped, startling the younger nurse that she edged back against Casey. “And shouldn’t you be working!”
“It’s my lunch break…” Gretchen replied softly.
“Ali, you don’t have to be so rude!” Casey replied, frowning. “I asked Gretchen out for a lunch date with me.”
Was the world falling apart around her? Everything seemed to be so wrong! Luke wasn’t with Noah, Casey was hanging around with the mousy brown-haired nurse…Ali rubbed at her head with her hand. “Casey, how do you even KNOW Nurse Gretchen?”
“Uh…I work here.” Casey replied with a blink. “Her shift and my shift often coincide, so we talk in between surges of traffic and stuff.”
“Glad to see you’re never bored.” Luke smiled, glancing at Gretchen, who blushed prettily. “Dr. Oliver mentions you a lot. He says you have a lot of potential.”
“Really?” Gretchen stepped back shyly by Casey’s side, smiling at Luke. “I thought he didn’t like me at first.”
“Dr. Oliver’s like that to everyone. He didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“Dude, he’d make anyone cry.” Casey cracked with a grin. “When he snapped the first order to me when he first came here, I thought--”
“Casey, no one cares what you thought of that egotistical, selfish, arrogant--!” Ali took a deep breath, having worked herself into a rant by the time she’d watched Gretchen cozy up to Casey, and listened to everyone talk in glowing terms about Reid Oliver. Everything was all topsy-turvy.
“Ali, maybe you need to lay off the coffee.” Casey murmured, arching his brow at his ex-girlfriend/ex-fiancée. “What are you all worked up about?”
“All of you are crazy.” Alison snapped. “Liking Dr. Oliver, with people that you shouldn’t be with…it’s insane! Noah’s the only one that made any sense around here!”
“Then maybe you should hang around him instead.” Casey replied, bemused as his ex stomped away. “Wow. Bad mood.”
Luke shook his head. “No kidding. I think only half of it was that I caught her in the act of telling Noah to pretend to be blind.”
“Seriously? Noah can see?” When Luke nodded, Casey scowled. “What is it with people not telling the truth?”
“Some people think that the truth would hurt worse.” Gretchen murmured, before she glanced at Luke. “I know you were very concerned about Mr. Mayer. Is everything all right?”
“It is now.” Luke assured her with a smile. “And this, Casey…is this something new?” he asked as he flicked his fingers between them with a smirk.
“Might be.” Casey replied, grinning as Gretchen blushed again. “We’ll see. So I take it that you and Noah are done for good. You’re with Dr. O…have you guys done any mattress dancing yet?”
“Casey!” Luke protested, laughing as he gazed at his best friend.
“What? It’s a legitimate question!”
Luke snorted softly. “I had thought about having some fun at the farmhouse…but I just had an epiphany.”
“What about?” Casey asked as he and Gretchen walked with Luke, through the corridors of the hospital.
“Talking with Noah, and Ali, and putting things back together…everything’s come full circle. So maybe I need to return to where this all started.”
Casey blinked curiously, before his eyes widened. “You don’t mean you’re going back to Dallas? You can’t disappear again, your mom will have a nervous breakdown!”
“So this time I’ll tell her.” Luke smiled, warming up to the idea. Just Reid and himself, together in the place they’d met. “And whoever else needs to know. But it feels right. I left without wanting to, you know. I left Reid. So maybe we need to go back. Make it right.”
“Are you going to stay?” Casey asked, frowning in concern as Luke mulled over his words. He’d liked Dallas a lot. Its people, the friendly atmosphere, the places to go. He’d left so much behind, when Noah had come chasing after him.
“Maybe.” Luke replied softly. “I’m not sure yet. That’s something to discuss with Reid.”
“Well…” Casey took a deep breath, and rested a hand on Luke’s shoulder, smiling at him. “Whatever makes you happy, man. You know I’m always here for you, right?”
“I know.” Luke agreed, resting a hand over his. “Thanks, Casey.”
“Though you know that if he ever does anything to hurt my best bud, I’ll have his ass nailed to the wall, right?”
Luke choked on a laugh, bringing his hand up to his mouth as Gretchen blushed furiously. “You do know that sounds a little bit suggestive, don’t you?”
“Sure. I’m friends with you.” Casey grinned playfully. He slapped a hand against Luke’s back as they walked. “Just let him know that, and we’ll be good. Want any help in getting your plan set up?”
“No, that’s okay, Case.” Luke smiled back at him. “Enjoy your time with Gretchen here. You deserve it. I have plans to make.”
-------
~To be concluded in the Epilogue~
Author: moonchilddj
Characters/Pairings: Luke, Reid, Noah, Bob and various other Oakdaliens/LuRe, past Nuke/attempted Nuke, references to other pairings
Rating:PG-13-light R, for some sexy fun and some cursing
Summary: AU-ish. When the breaking of one relationship sends him running from Oakdale, can the new face of another man put Luke’s heart back together?
Beta: Unbeta’ed!
Disclaimer: Still not mine, will never be mine. XD All the established ATWT characters belong to their respective copyrights. The only claim I lay to is the story itself and my OCs. Seldom though they are =p For entertainment purposes only!
Author’s Note: Welcome to Chapter 10! I am sorry it’s taken me so long to get this written up…I never would’ve imagined that moving would be such a long process. XD And then real life had to butt its way in as well, along with a few personal health issues, AND my computer needing a cleaning. But I am settled, finally, and I wanted to get this out before the holidays, so you’ll have something to be thankful for! ;) That being said, thank you SO SO VERY MUCH for hanging in as long as you guys have! It means the world to me that you guys look forward to my chapters, when I make you guys wait for-flipping-ever. Comments are LOVE and keep me going!
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For a moment, one could’ve heard a pin drop in the hospital room, each individual privy to the occurrence staring, as if frozen in place, at Noah, and what he had enunciated.
Luke was horrified. He did not think that Reid was a negligent doctor, not even close. He had seen the dedication in the man, both in Dallas, at the hospital he’d worked at, and in Oakdale. He didn’t have the greatest bedside manner, but he cared. He gave his all to his patients, did everything in his power to make sure that they survived under his care, thrived, even. From the youngest to the eldest, he had seen the determination in those sharp blue eyes.
Noah wanted to sue Reid for bending over backwards, to make sure Noah could see again, for denying himself food, rest, for worrying about a patient, as he did every patient?
“What the *hell*, Noah?!” Luke cried, and the frozen diorama broke its mold, as voices, all demanding to be heard, fought with the other for top status. Luke’s incredulity, Noah’s anger, Reid’s curt demeanor, until another voice silenced them, firm, and not to be denied.
“Quiet! All of you!” Bob called above the din, crossing his arms over his chest as his role of Chief of Staff gave him credence. “Now, Mr. Mayer. I know you’re upset. But it has only been a few minutes since Dr. Oliver examined you, since your waking up. Do you honestly think that you’re going to see results right away?”
“What kind of hospital is this?!” Noah all but bellowed, slamming his fist against the bed as he glared in the general vicinity of Bob. “Are you calling me a liar?”
“Of course not.” Bob replied, his voice seeking to be calm as he bit down his exasperation at the young man’s irrationality. He seemed to have quite the axe to grind against Reid. “What I am suggesting is that you take a few minutes to calm down. Give it some time. Rest your eyes a little. No results from such a serious operation is going to be instantaneous, not even in the best of circumstances. To sue a doctor for a successful surgery is something of an overkill.”
“Don’t you think I know my own eyes, Dr. Hughes?” Noah growled. “Better than you or anyone else? I would know if it‘s successful or not!”
“Hey. You can take out your hate on me if you want to, Mr. Mayer.” Reid uttered, frowning. “But don’t start on Dr. Hughes. He’s not the one that operated on you.”
“Maybe he should’ve.” Noah sneered. “He might’ve had a better chance than an arrogant son of a--”
“Noah!” Luke cried, frowning down at the brunette. “That’s enough! You’re getting way out of hand!”
“Out of hand?!” Noah snarled. “Out of hand?! It’s my eyes, Luke! You may not care, but--”
“Don’t you *dare* say that I don’t care!” Luke snapped in return. “I’ve done nothing but care about you, for you!”
“Whoopee for you. Do you want a medal for your exploits?” He heard Luke make a stifled, incredulous noise when he turned his head away, and slashed a hand through the air. “All of you! Out of my room! Now!”
Luke looked livid, and Reid upset and more than a little confused, and Bob sighed, resting a hand on Luke’s shoulder.
“Come on. Let’s leave him alone for now. Mr. Mayer, I’ll send a nurse in for you.”
“Send in Allison. She’s the only one that understands.” Noah retorted, crossing his arms over his chest.
“All right. I’ll send in Nurse Stewart.” Bob replied, trying to keep Noah happy and Reid out of a negligence lawsuit as he ushered the two younger men out with him as he headed out the door.
“Bob, you can’t let him do this.” Luke replied as he gazed at Bob. “It’s not fair. R…Dr. Oliver has done nothing but help him, on every level that he could.”
“I know, Luke. I’ve seen the paperwork.” Bob replied, glancing at Reid for his overtime work on Noah, to the point where he was starting to get concerned about Reid taking care of himself. “All we can do right now is to let him calm down and try to see reason. Let’s hope it works.”
“I don’t know if it’s best to send in Nurse Stewart, then.” Reid muttered. “She doesn’t like me very much, either.”
“Maybe not, but she is Mr. Mayer’s friend, and practically the only one that can calm him. Whatever we can use to not have a malpractice suit on our hands.”
Luke waited until Bob had headed down the hall to track Allison, that he glanced to Reid, and made a motion with his hand, heading down the hall with him.
“Reid…I hope you know I don’t think you screwed up.” he told him softly when they reached the end of the hall, turning to him. “You’re one of the most accomplished doctors I know, and you wouldn’t do things half-assed.”
“You’d better believe I wouldn’t.” Reid grunted. “I know I’m not Mr. Mayer’s favorite person, but I’d never risk his eyesight or his health. Not even for you.”
Luke grinned crookedly. “Gee, Dr. Oliver, that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. I think.”
Reid snorted in amusement, despite himself. “Don’t let your ego get out of control. You’re hot stuff, but not that hot to risk my career.”
Luke smiled softly. “I know, Reid. Your practice means everything to you.”
“Well…” Reid paused, eyeing him up and down for a moment. “It used to mean everything. The only thing.”
“Reid…” Luke whispered, before he internally melted when Reid’s fingers brushed his cheek.
“Things have kind of changed, you know.” Reid murmured. “Now it’s not the only thing…I kinda have someone I really do care about these days.”
That made Luke feel like his heart was going to overflow. After everything he’d gone through with Noah, to know that someone cared that much for him made him happy.
“Thank you, Reid. I know soft words for you…aren’t exactly the norm. I just…I wanted to let you know that I wouldn’t blame you. He just woke up, you couldn’t have possibly botched the surgery. Not you.”
If that certain bit of knowledge didn’t burst his buttons with pride…Reid took a deep breath, silently pleased at Luke’s show of confidence in him, and nodded. “Thanks. Now if only Mr. Mayer could possibly have the patience to let the treatment work!”
“You’re worried that you messed up somewhere, aren’t you?” Luke replied gently, reaching out to take his hand. “It’s not every day you doubt yourself, and you shouldn’t start.”
“I don’t doubt myself.” Reid protested gruffly, though he did let Luke’s fingers twine with his. “I just want to cross every T and dot every I. There can’t be anything I’ve missed, no way would I miss anything.” He didn’t think he did, anyways. There had to be a simple reason as to why Noah couldn’t see. Of course, it could be the fact that it was still too soon, and he did hope it was that. If only he could make sure…
Luke squeezed his hand, getting Reid’s attention as he met eyes with him. “Hey. You’re a wonderful doctor, Reid, and I bet that everyone will know it, too, when Noah gets his sight back. Of course, you already knew that.” He smiled at Reid, and after a moment of enjoying the sight of the slight blush on Reid’s cheeks, he leaned forward, and touched his mouth softly to his.
“Luke, we shouldn’t…” Reid whispered, though he didn’t try to stop the kiss, giving a low, pleased murmur against Luke’s mouth.
“No one’s watching.” Luke assured him quietly. “Besides, you’re kind of cute when you’re unsure of yourself.”
“Am not cute…” But Reid did give a muffled moan when the kiss turned deeper, the kind that made his knees knock together and try to melt out from under him. It wasn’t often that Luke took the initiative. He had encouraged him, when they were together in Texas, to take control whenever he wanted. He wasn’t against changing it up, especially when it was someone as attractive as Luke. He was a few inches taller than Reid was, had a bit more bulk to him from working on the farm. Reid had no qualms whatsoever in being dominated a bit. That and Luke seemed new to the whole thing…Noah hadn’t allowed him a lot of sexual freedom when they were together, to grow and experiment, what was the harm?
He reveled in it now, when Luke’s hands buried into the curls around his ears, and he about kissed his mouth off. He groaned quietly, and levered them backwards, hoping, absently, to hit his office door, and find some peace and quiet to do more than just kissing.
It was Luke who laughed against Reid’s mouth when the first door they found wasn’t exactly Reid’s destination. “Reid…this is the janitor’s closet.” he murmured.
“Close enough.” Reid muttered, grabbing a handful of Luke’s shirt and tugging that Luke was forced to follow, pulling the door closed behind him just enough.
“But Casey’s the janitor…what if he sees?”
“Mm…then Baby Hughes will learn something new rather than chasing after skirts.” Reid replied as his hands found the hem of Luke’s shirt, and skimmed under, palms gliding up against Luke’s torso and causing a hiss of breath to expel from him.
“Casey’s not that way…I would’ve known.” Luke breathed, closing his eyes when Reid’s hand slid over his torso, causing goosebumps in its wake. “Been friends forever.”
“A pity for him, not knowing how fun this could be.” Reid nipped softly at Luke’s neck, grinning at the growl of pleasure he received for it. “You’ve gotta learn to live in the moment, Snyder~” he teased as his fingers unbuttoned a few buttons on Luke’s shirt.
“Live in the moment, huh?” Luke captured Reid’s face in his hands, and after maneuvering him around a couple of brooms, pinned his back softly to the back of the closet, and kissed him once more, loving the way that Reid opened his mouth for him and clung onto his shoulders. He took the invitation eagerly, swirling his tongue around his and pressing closer to Reid. The heat of his body, through the lab coat and his clothes, the way he met every kiss…it turned him on, to the point that he could’ve easily sucked him off in the closet. And that usually wasn’t a normal attitude for him, but Reid did something to him. Made him let go of all his reservations.
“What’s wrong?” Reid muttered quietly, tongue sweeping at Luke’s bottom lip as he tried to catch his breath. “You’re not gonna chicken out, are you?”
“No…” Luke murmured, stroking his hand softly over the shell of Reid’s ear, and marveling at how a simple touch seemed to affect Reid so much, what with the way he shivered, and arched into his touch. “I just…I don’t want to get caught.”
“That’s half of the fun.” Reid replied with a playful arch of his brow. “C’mon, Luke…don’t get scared. Just act. You know I’m not going to say no to anything you want to do, right?”
“I know.” Luke whispered, swallowing hard as he gazed into those heated eyes, eyes that spoke so eloquently of how much he wanted him, wanted whatever he gave him. There was no guesswork to Reid when it came to this sort of thing, and after Noah, that was something amazing. But at the same time, it was almost intimidating. What if Reid didn’t like what he did? What if he laughed? What if he stopped him, like Noah used to do?
“Hey.” Reid tapped his fingers against Luke’s cheek, drawing his attention from his worries. “Stop thinking so hard. This is about us. About just stealing some time for each other. You’re not going to need a lot of brainwork for that.”
“Why?” Luke asked, lifting his brows when Reid smirked at him.
“Because, everything you do turns me on. I like it when you get bossy and take-charge. I like it when you surrender, too. So stop thinking so much, before you break something~”
“Ha ha.” He supposed that Reid was right, however. He needed to stop thinking so much of what he was doing. He was supposed to be impulsive. Luke gave himself a short little shake, to calm down those little bubbles of uncertainty, before he took a deep breath, and wiggled into the small area so he could kneel down before him.
“Oh god.” Reid smacked his head softly against the wall as he stared down at him. “You’re gonna kill me here, Snyder.” The sight of the younger man on his knees, those brown eyes looking up…it could drive a heterosexual man to think naughty thoughts. And he wasn’t heterosexual, so it was even worse. Those kissable lips, the tanned skin…it was far, far too easy to think of what he could do to him.
“Not too soon, I hope.” Luke whispered. The zip of Reid’s zipper sounded loud in the quiet of the closet, but he didn’t let it stop him, as he pulled the zipper down to its base, and slipped his fingers in, massaging softly as Reid groaned and closed his eyes.
“Soon enough.” Reid muttered, feeling his heart pounding in his chest with every movement of Luke’s fingers against the material of his underwear. And just when he thought it couldn’t get much better than that, those sly fingers slipped up to the waistband, and pulled it down, baring his aching cock. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“This.” Luke whispered, before he dared to be brave, and swallowed the head of Reid’s cock into his mouth, shifting so he wouldn’t choke. He was glad for that, too, since Reid hadn’t been prepared, and bucked a second after his moving. He didn’t have the greatest experience in this department, besides that one time, and other than Reid having done it to him a few times, and he wanted to at least get it right.
Breathing out through his nose, Luke looked up at him as he fitted his lips over him, and felt a surge of pride when Reid let out the loudest groan he’d ever heard from him yet. He might’ve tried to shush him, since they were in a hospital, but he was too damned proud that Reid had made that sound because of him. Swirling his tongue around the head, he experimented with different positions of his mouth, trying to figure out what worked the best, and made Reid squirm the most. The flat of his teeth against the edge? The swirl of his tongue against the veins at the underside? So many choices.
“Don’t tease me.” Reid murmured, his voice low and guttural as he seized his fingers into Luke’s hair, and pulled him close. “If you’re going to do anything, Snyder, then by all means~”
Luke hadn’t meant to tease him. He would’ve apologized, had he the talent to do so with a full mouth, so he adapted, spelling out a ‘sorry’ with the edge of his tongue. That seemed to work just fine, considering the way that Reid shuddered, and gripped harder at his hair, almost to the point of hurting. Not that he would’ve complained, it was hot to see Reid so out of control. He kept himself in check so often, hiding so much of himself, even from him, that seeing him let go and respond to him had him a bit hot and bothered. Not to mention a bit more daring.
Taking a deep breath, he pushed Reid’s hips up against the wall, possibly clattering a bucket, broom or two in the process, but Luke accomplished what he set out to do, which was to take him as far as he could go into his mouth without choking. He hummed quietly in the back of his throat, glancing up when Reid hissed a breath and arched, his fingers clawing at his hair.
They hadn’t had a lot of time to explore various sexual situations. Luke had been shy, understandably burnt from Noah’s actions that had made him leave Oakdale in the first place, that they hadn’t had much time than to perhaps give a hand job, and Reid with a few blowjobs. Luke was obviously a quick study, taking all of him in, and Reid felt like his head was going to explode. He would’ve preferred a bed to get comfortable in, have something to dig into to hold himself steady. But the wall of the closet, and Luke’s hair were just as good for adapting. He moaned, and closed his eyes, hips pivoting forward just slightly as he tried his best to not thrust forward.
“Luke…” Reid gasped out, trembling as he felt Luke’s tongue skim across the underside of his cock. It was like touching a live wire, all his nerves at the forefront, alive and prickly and hot. “Nn…you keep that up…I won’t be lasting long at all.” he warned.
And that was supposed to be a bad thing? Luke arched his brow silently, lips making a scandalous, wet sucking noise as he peeked up at him.
“Oh hell.” Reid hissed softly, and gritted his teeth as heat rushed through him at the sight, feel, and utter warmth of Luke’s mouth. “Mercy, mercy, Luke.”
‘Never’, Luke thought to himself with an internal smile. If Reid was going to look like that before he came, then he would never give up the chance to take in that sight, over and over again. His fingers reached, cupping the base of Reid’s groin, and massaged gently as his tongue lapped over him with a couple of quick sweeps. He glanced up again, enjoying the flush of heat that had streaked down over Reid’s face, across his neck as he leaned his head back, gasping for air.
There was no way he was going to make it, not with the way that Luke was driving him crazy. Reid whimpered in the back of his throat, fingers sweeping gently through Luke’s hair, and pulling softly when he reached the pinnacle of his release. He had enough sense to not cry out loudly, and bit down on his lip as his hips jerked upwards, filling Luke’s mouth with his come. As he struggled to not just fall into a boneless heap in front of Luke, he gazed down at him, and smiled, watching Luke swallow. Sure, he may have missed a couple of drops, but he still did a hell of a job for his second time.
Catching his breath, Reid reached down, and softly thumbed up the remnants that had slid down Luke’s chin in a sticky rivulet. “You okay?” he asked, mentally wincing at how wrecked his own voice sounded. “I mean…I haven’t traumatized you, have I, coming down your throat like that, and--”
Luke’s fingers reached up, and sealed Reid’s flapping lips closed. He gave a little cough, and swallowed, smiling. It had been a lot to take in, but he was happy to be adaptable, especially when it came to making Reid feel good. “I’m all right.” he replied softly. “You didn’t traumatize me, Reid. I’m glad to have made you let go like that. Was it okay?”
“Okay?” Reid echoed, surprised at how very modest Luke could be sometimes. He’d have to work on that. “Okay? I’m lucky my brain didn’t melt out from under me, Luke. Or…or fall out of my head.”
“Ew.” Luke laughed softly, wrinkling his nose playfully. “It really wasn’t that bad?”
“Not that bad at all.” Re shifted so he could kneel down with him, his knees shaking a little, before he cupped Luke’s face in his hands, and brought their mouths together, tasting himself on Luke’s mouth, his tongue. He let their tongues twine together, and hummed approvingly when he felt Luke’s warm fingers slip up under his lab coat, pull his shirt slightly, and press up against his back in a soft glide. Funny that, how Luke could know what made him feel good, in just a few months’ time, where most people just didn’t get it. Luke was special, indeed.
“We probably should get going.” Reid whispered against his mouth. “Nurses will be looking for me, and didn’t you say your mom and dad were going to be here for support?”
Luke sighed quietly, and nodded. “I think Mom still hopes Noah and I will get back together, but at least Dad’s keeping her at bay. I’d better get back to them.”
“Okay.” Reid murmured, leaning his head back, and gazing into Luke’s eyes. “For what it’s worth…thank you, for having so much confidence in me. It means more than you know.”
“I always have confidence in you.” Luke told him, smiling. “You were the one that believed in me, in Dallas, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Reid dropped one more kiss to Luke’s mouth, and got to his feet with Luke’s help, snickering softly as heads bumped into brooms, and legs kicked buckets. “People are gonna wonder what’s going on~” he hummed as he zipped himself back up.
Luke grinned suddenly, brilliantly as he gazed at Reid. “Let them.” he whispered. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”
“Glad to hear that.” Another voice interrupted, startling them both as Bob peeked in from the door crack, smiling at them wryly. “It might as well have been worth it, for me to wait until you two were finished.”
Luke flushed and sputtered, staring at the older doctor as Reid lifted his brows, and smirked at Bob playfully. “Didn’t know you were such a perv, Bobbo. Is there something your wife should know?” he drawled.
Bob snorted softly. “I just thought you two should have some time together. Especially after Mr. Mayer. And you wouldn’t be the first couple that has used the janitor’s closet for extracurricular activities.”
Bob had never seen Reid rocket so fast out of an area, muttering about cooties from heterosexuals as Luke followed, smiling softly at him, though his cheeks were still red.
“Has Noah calmed down?” Luke asked hopefully as he closed the door with a click, and discreetly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, just to make sure he was ready for public sight.
“Allison was able to calm him down. Though I suspect it was not her first choice, considering she and Dr. Oliver have already clashed.”
“Not my fault that I don’t care for nurses with loose morals, and looser legs.” Reid muttered, grunting when Luke elbowed him. “Any chance that I can look at Mr. Mayer’s x-rays, make sure I didn’t miss anything?”
“That was what I was looking for you for. I figured you might want to double check, and triple check everything.” Bob replied with an understanding smile to Reid. “We doctors are perfectionists, after all.”
“No one more so than Reid.” Luke murmured fondly, glancing at Reid with a smile.
“Yeah, well.” Reid muttered, before he clapped his hands together. “Okay! Let me get my hands on those x-rays.”
“Good luck.” Luke replied softly, touching his arm lightly. “Keep me posted, okay?”
“You’re not going to visit with McSquinty?” Reid replied as Bob tried his best to bite down a snort of amusement.
Luke smirked a bit, and shook his head. “I don’t think I’d be the first person he’d want to visit with. I’m going to catch up to my parents, get something to eat. Talk to you later?”
“Yeah.” Reid wanted to keep him around, irrational as it was, when he had work to do. His eyes lingered on Luke, and he paused, then asked, “Maybe dinner later, or something?”
“I’d like that.” Luke smiled in return, eyes glittering, before he nodded to Bob, and headed on down the hall.
Bob smiled fondly, when he saw Reid gazing after Luke like a lovestruck teenager. It was good, to see Reid responding to Luke as such. It softened up those sharp edges he possessed.
Catching Bob looking at him, in almost a paternal fashion, Reid coughed, and prepared his best scowl. “What are you looking at, old man? Let’s go look at the x-rays.”
------
“You don’t have to let anyone know. Just pretend.”
“Keep looking away from whoever you’re talking to. Remember to use your cane.”
“I know it’s difficult to lie to Luke. But you want to keep him, don’t you? This is the only way to keep him from Dr. Oliver, if you don’t want them together. Trust me. You have to do what you have to do.”
Noah knew that Allison was looking out for his best interests. She always did, she always had his back. When she’d told him that Luke was still with Dr. Oliver, and that they seemed extra chummy, she had sat down on his hospital bed, and coached him through the preparations of pretending to still not be able to see. It wouldn’t hurt anyone, after all, and he could still keep Luke around.
It was a good plan, a great plan, even, but he had never thought about how difficult it was to fool everyone. Every nurse that came to check on him, test his vitals, test his eyesight. Reid and Bob’s constant visits to run tests, and try to figure out why he couldn’t see. Luke’s visits, and even Luke’s parents. It was a struggle to not look directly at everyone every minute, every second of the day, and it made him cranky. Why couldn’t Luke have just kept his priorities straight and stayed away from the doctor? He wasn’t even all that good looking. Why was Luke attracted to Dr. Oliver, anyways? What did the doctor have that he didn’t?
“Noah? Where did you go?”
That was Luke, visiting again, concerned, considerate, and grating to his nerves. He didn’t place one iota of doubt on Dr. Oliver’s shoulders. He didn’t stop seeing Reid. Oh, sure, Luke came and saw him, but it felt more like an afterthought, and Noah didn’t like the feel of that, scowling and jerking his arm away when Luke nudged him gently.
“Leave me alone.” Noah muttered crossly. “I’m fine, I’m just thinking.”
“It’s been two weeks since you woke up from your operation.” Luke sighed. “Please don’t tell me that you’re still considering trying to sue Dr. Oliver.”
Noah scowled even deeper. “Well, my eyes sure aren’t the same, are they, Luke?” he sneered, biting back the urge to glare at him. It was so hard to remember sometimes that he was supposed to be blind. “I don’t know why you even listen to that quack. He’s not a good doctor.”
“He’s a great doctor, Noah!” Luke protested fiercely, startling Noah in his insistence. “He’s done everything he can for you, and for others. You can’t take it out on him just because of this!”
“Can’t I?” Noah snapped, crossing his arms over his chest as jealousy reared its ugly head. Luke was still defending Dr. Oliver, still standing in his corner! Whatever happened to Luke supporting him? It wasn’t right. “It’s MY eyesight, isn’t it?”
“Noah…” Luke drew in a deep breath, seeking to calm his temper, and not seeing Noah’s eyes flash to him as he turned his head. “Dr. Oliver has been one of the most dedicated doctors I’ve ever known. He’s thought of nothing else but of saving your eyesight.”
Luke should know. Reid had been almost to the point of obsessive, trying to find the cause of Noah’s problem. Their time together had dwindled down a bit in the past two weeks, but he could hardly blame Reid. Not when Reid worked so hard to have a success rate in whatever he did. A patient that didn’t respond to treatments, didn’t recover his eyesight like one would think…that would drive him crazy, too. He heard Noah draw a scoffing snort at his words, and frowned deeply, lifting his head.
“Don’t act like that. Maybe you haven’t noticed it, being in here, but I’ve seen his dedication. What use is it to sue Dr. Oliver for malpractice or negligence when he’s all but turned over backwards to help you? What good use is it to sue him, if he can’t help others?”
“They’d be better off!” Noah cried angrily. “They could find a better doctor, and he would leave Oakdale, go on to greener pastures, and be far, far away!”
“Noah!”
The door opened at their argument, and Luke bit his tongue on his chiding, looking up to see Reid in the door. He looked a little tired, a little more harried than he had been when he’d first come to Oakdale a few months ago, but he could see the determination on his face.
“Well, isn’t this like déjà vu.” Reid replied dryly. “Several months pass, and you’re still arguing enough to rouse everyone else in the hospital corridor.” He shook his head, and glanced to Luke, before he closed the door a bit. “Mr. Snyder, if you could leave the room for a little? It’s time for Mr. Mayer’s checkup.”
“All right.” Luke replied, rising from his seat beside the bed as Noah huffed. “Try to listen to Dr. Oliver, all right?”
Noah didn’t respond other than to give a grunt of acknowledgement, scowling as he slouched in his bed. Still the same thing. No Luke not standing at his side, Luke defending Dr. Oliver, still not being able to make him see reason. It disgusted him. He didn’t say goodbye to Luke, or do anything more as the door closed behind him.
What he also didn’t know was that Reid looked determined to the point of scary, rolling up the sleeves of his lab coat. “All right, Mr. Mayer. Let’s see if anything’s changed today, huh?”
“I don’t know why you’re even trying.” Noah snarled. “Nothing’s changed, Dr. Oliver.”
“Guess I’m feeling a little hopeful today.” Reid replied, waiting until he was close to Noah’s side of the bed. He eyed him thoughtfully, then started by dropping his chart sheet, close enough by Noah’s head that the corner of it glanced off of his head, making Noah flinch.
It was instinct, after all, that made Noah grab hurriedly for the chart. He saw it falling out of the corner of his eye, and moved before he had time to think of it--freezing as Reid skillfully caught the chart before it could fall to the bed.
Two pairs of blue eyes traded glares in that moment as Reid leaned in close. “I believe I’ve caught you red-handed, Mr. Mayer.” he replied quietly. “You’ve only been pretending to be blind, haven’t you? I saw you through the door’s glass just before I came in here, glancing at Mr. Snyder. You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
Noah glared back at him, his chin lifting stubbornly. “What would I have to be ashamed about?” he growled, his voice low and mutinous.
“What would you have--” Reid echoed, nearly sputtering. Never had he had to bite back the urge to punch a patient, but he was surely starting now. He drew in a deep breath, and narrowed his eyes at him. “You’ve had doctors working around the clock trying to fix you, including myself. You’ve had nurses giving you examinations that they didn’t need to give, when they could’ve been taking care of other patients. You’ve had people worrying about your welfare, including Mr. Snyder, when you are perfectly fine. And you say your conscience is clean? You either have no sense of morals, or you broke something in there when you hurt your eyes.”
“I did what I had to do.” Noah snapped in return, gritting his teeth as he repeated Allison’s words ad verbatim, too stubborn to back down. “It was you, after all, that took Luke away from me.”
So that was what it came to. Reid leaned back, and barked a short laugh. “I took him away from you, huh? Not that that has to do with my professionalism, but I didn’t take him from you. You chased him away yourself, if I remember right. Came to Dallas, trying to make a new life for himself, from a broken heart. I didn’t twist his arm to make him stay. And I certainly didn’t force him to get into a relationship with me. But at least I knew how to treat him right!”
Noah growled and lunged out of bed, either trying to punch him, or wrap his hands around his throat, but he missed on both, falling out of bed instead as Reid stepped back from him. He yelped and tipped, bare-ass-in-hospital gown over teakettle, landing on his chin as he tripped himself up. Nothing was hurt except his pride, which rankled more when Dr. Oliver dared to laugh at him.
“Because it always helps to try to attack the man who saved your eyesight.” Reid replied dryly. “Honestly. I don’t know about you, Mr. Mayer.”
“Shut up!” Noah cried, dragging himself up to his knees and weighing in the decision to tackle the man at the knees. He had about five inches or so on the man, he could surely lay in a few punches before Reid knew what was happening and was able to defend himself.
“What is going on here?!” Luke replied as the door flew open at the noise, lifting his brows at the sight of Noah on the floor, and Reid standing there. “Dr. Oliver…”
“I know what this might look like, but trust me, I didn’t push him out of bed. He flung himself out.” Reid replied, his eyes widening a little at the thought of how it might look very bad, in Luke’s eyes.
“Luke, Dr. Oliver is a bas--”
“Quiet.” Luke replied, his voice almost a whisper as he walked in, closing the door behind him. “Noah, I know you don’t like Dr. Oliver, but he’s the person that has helped you the most, and you ought to be grateful that he’s so dedicated.”
Noah almost saw red at such a remark, incensed that Luke took Reid’s side, again. He lifted his head, mouth opening to let him have it--before he stopped, horrified when Luke just looked at him, meeting his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“So this is the head game you try to play. You try to make me feel sorry for you, get me in your corner, by pretending at being blind. And I fell for it, too. I thought something horrible must’ve happened. I guess the only horrible thing there was was believing in you.” Luke replied softly, shaking his head. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, given you guilt tripped me into coming back into Oakdale with you.”
Desperate now, feeling all his well-laid plans coming apart at the seams, Noah got to his feet, and gripped at Luke’s shoulders. “Luke, don’t! You know I love you!”
“Do I?” Luke replied with a frown. “I haven’t felt like that since we first got together. I’m not perfect, I know that. I hadn’t always been a good boyfriend to you, but at least I was damn honest.” He took a deep breath to curb his anger, and spoke at a calm, even level as he gazed at Noah. “I was always loyal to you, and I never strayed, and I always showed you I loved you. It’s been a long time since we’ve been like that, and you know it.” He glanced at Reid, and smiled. “I’ve found love in another place, Noah. And he makes me happy. You and I haven’t been together intimately for a year, and we haven’t kissed for months. Do you really think that we have a relationship, still?”
“We can if you would try harder!” Noah growled, gripping at Luke’s shoulders to the point that Luke winced, and extricated himself from Noah’s grasp.
“What do you think I’ve been doing, Noah? Ever since the accident, I’ve done nothing but try to save our relationship, try to get back into your good graces. I’m tired. A relationship shouldn’t have to be so strenuous.” He glanced to Reid again. “I found out it doesn’t have to be. I’ve let this relationship go, and if you have to pretend to be blind to try to keep me, it’d be best for you to do the same.”
“I’m not the one that’s blind! We can make this work, we’ve always made this work.” Noah protested. “What do you see in an old doctor that’s better than I am, better than what we have?”
“If you have to ask that, then you really haven’t been paying attention, not to mention you’ve lost touch with me.” Luke shook his head with a sigh. “Now, you’d better get dressed, and own up to your actions. I don’t want you getting arrested for all this, or for picking a fight with a doctor.” He paused when Noah lunged, to do just that, and grabbed at his arms. “I said, no fighting!” he growled, glaring at Noah.
“Just one punch! It’ll make me feel better!”
It ended up with Reid catching Luke when he was flung sideways by a swipe from Noah’s arm, and he grunted, holding Luke in his lap as he sat down forcefully in a visitor’s chair with him. “Mind your paws, Sasquatch.” he snorted. “Luke’s trying to keep you out of trouble.”
“You mean trying to keep you from getting beat up.” Noah snapped. “Just…leave me alone. Both of you.”
Luke was more than happy to do so, disgusted with Noah’s attitude. He remained silent as Noah all but snapped the wires off of himself, which caused a few surprised nurses to blink at Noah from the doorway when Reid waved them off. He remained quiet when Noah dressed, and stomped out the door, and sighed into the quiet once more.
“I’m so sorry about that. Noah…well, they call me a drama queen sometimes. He’s even worse.”
“Ahhh.” Reid muttered with a shake of his head. “Don’t worry about it. He was looking to pick a fight because he was upset. Things didn’t go like the way he wanted to.” He shrugged his shoulders. “So I found out when he was looking at you. How did you find out?”
“I suspected it.” Luke murmured softly. “Two weeks? We would’ve at least seen improvement by that time. But there was nothing at all, which lead me to wonder. I was just…hoping he’d come clean on his own.”
“I’m sorry he disappointed you.” Reid muttered, blinking a little when Luke turned into him, clinging to the front of his shirt as he buried his face against his neck.
“He’s disappointed me for a long time now, Reid. It’s nothing new.”
“Though it still hurts, I bet.” Reid murmured, wrapping his arms around Luke and rubbing his back lightly. “Especially since you were in love with him for a long time. To try to trick you like that…”
“Noah’s…he’s never really understood how a relationship goes, I guess.” Luke sighed, before he scowled. “Though I know he couldn’t have come up with that himself. Someone coaxed him into it. And I know who.”
“Uh oh. I’m not going to have to call the cops on you for homicide, am I?” Reid drawled softly, smirking when Luke laughed against him.
“No, not yet. But you might have to restrain me a little~”
“Oh. I like the sound of that.” Reid turned his head, and kissed him, slow and sweet. “I’d like to restrain you against my bed.” he whispered against his mouth, and grinned crookedly when Luke shuddered in return.
“All in due time.” Luke whispered, kissing him again, feeling far more free to pursue such affairs with Reid, now that it was truly over, and Noah was no longer in his life. He shifted a hand, and pulled out Reid’s engagement ring from his shirt collar with a thumb, leaning back with a noisy, playful smack of lips. “Right now, I have a potentially-former best friend to talk to.”
“Ah. The ever-charming Ms. Stewart, I bet?”
“Yeah. Casey would never encourage Noah to lie to me. Allison’s…well, she’s lied before, it’d be old news to her.”
“I believe I would never want to hear the old stories that are sure to pop up from her exploits. But then again, it might be a good thing to laugh about over meals with Katie.” Reid muttered with a smirk, laughing when Luke nudged his elbow into his side.
“Be nice.” Luke chided, smiling as he slid off of his lap. “So…dinner later? Katie’s or at Grandma’s?”
“Not Katie’s. She’ll tease me continuously about getting it on, and in this case, she’ll be right!” Reid replied, climbing to his feet, and setting his hands lightly on Luke’s hips as he snickered. The worry was gone from Luke’s face, and he was glad for it. Now he looked happy. Even carefree, and he was relieved that Luke didn’t have to worry anymore. There’d been enough in the way of Noah Mayer. Now there was only Luke Snyder and Reid Oliver.
“All right, then.” Luke replied as he softly thumbed a curl of hair off of Reid’s forehead with a fond smile. “Grandma loves feeding you, as always. She’ll welcome another hardy appetite.”
“But what about your mom?” Reid asked, allowing his worries to be silenced with a kiss.
“Let me handle her.” Luke whispered. “She’ll understand, soon enough. “Okay?”
It was all Reid could do to nod stupidly at Luke’s kisses, smiling in return when Luke smiled at him. “Okay.” he echoed.
“Good.” Luke breathed, leaning into him to kiss him again. “You know something?”
“No, what?”
“I love you.” It was the first time he’d been able to say the words to Reid, and he felt his heart become buoyant when those blue eyes widened at him. He kissed him again, and winked. “See you later.” he replied, before he headed out of the hospital room, leaving a stunned Reid in his wake.
“Hold the phone…!” Reid muttered softly, several minutes after the door had closed. Luke had just uttered those magic three little words, and he was gone. Now he truly had something to talk to Luke about at the Snyder homestead.
------
She couldn’t believe it. She honestly couldn’t. Nurse Gretchen was a mousy little nurse, shy, brown-haired, cried at the drop of a hat. She wasn’t all that important, and still…Alison could see that she was having lunch with Casey in the hospital‘s cafeteria. And smiling. Was he flirting with her? She was going to kill Casey. Just because she had…sort of cheated on him before their wedding, and the secret had come out on their wedding day…it didn’t mean that Casey had to turn his attentions elsewhere!
Allison was livid, and would’ve happily ripped Nurse Gretchen’s thick brown hair out of her head, if she hadn’t been interrupted.
“What?!” she started, turning on a dime in her nurse’s shoes when she heard a throat clearing, before she relaxed a bit at the sight of the blond behind her. “Oh. Luke, it’s you. Ha…how are you?” she asked, working down her jealousy quotient to caring friend as Luke lifted his brows at her.
“Wow, Alison. I think you’ve had too much coffee.”
Coffee? She would’ve rather done with a car to run Nurse Gretchen over. Alison managed a weak smile.
“Right. Coffee, sorry. Is there something I can help you with?”
“Mmm, actually…I was wondering something.” Luke murmured thoughtfully.
“Really? What’s that?”
“Since when do you tell people that you supposedly care for to lie to others, and pretend that they’re blind, like it’s a good idea?”
Alison froze. It had only been two weeks since she’d suggested it to Noah. Had the secret broke so soon? She had expected Noah to at least achieve in getting Luke back, before he found out that Noah wasn’t really blind still. At least he could pretend that it had miraculously come back. But no, it seemed that the cat was out of its proverbial bag, and Luke didn’t look too happy.
“Now, Luke.” she replied softly, using her most placating, gentle voice, the kind one would use on young children and the elderly. “Noah was desperate to have you back, and you two had been so happy before, there was no reason to think that it couldn’t be that way again.”
“Except for the fact that I’m in love with someone else, and he loves me.” Luke told her, before he smiled, and not with his usual warm, gentle smile. “You might know a thing or two about that, right? When you left my best friend at the altar because you’d had some weird fling with that Mick Dante?”
“Luke, that’s not fair.” Alison protested, frowning.
“Neither is your actions to sabotage my relationship with Reid Oliver.” Luke retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Just because Noah and I had been together before, didn’t mean it was going to work out again. The least you could’ve done is to talk to me about it.”
Alison glared at Luke for that. “How could I?” she snapped. “Every time I saw you, you were playing tonsil hockey with Dr. Oliver!”
“So you decided to take matters into your own hands, is that it? Decide for me that I was making a huge mistake, and concoct some scheme to make me come running back to Noah?” Luke’s eyes narrowed when Allison looked away. “That’s it, isn’t it? Oh, Ali. You’ve really put your foot in it this time. I can’t believe you!”
“Luke, come on, you belong with Noah, not that…horrible Dr. Oliver!”
“Actually…Dr. Oliver isn’t that bad, once you get to know him.” a feminine voice replied, startling both Ali and Luke, before they both turned to see Gretchen standing behind them, her arm shyly tucked into Casey’s. “Sure, he seems a little intimidating and mean, but he’s one of the best. He even has some patience to help us nurses when we have our hands full, and the kids in the peds wing like him.”
“Who asked you!” Alison snapped, startling the younger nurse that she edged back against Casey. “And shouldn’t you be working!”
“It’s my lunch break…” Gretchen replied softly.
“Ali, you don’t have to be so rude!” Casey replied, frowning. “I asked Gretchen out for a lunch date with me.”
Was the world falling apart around her? Everything seemed to be so wrong! Luke wasn’t with Noah, Casey was hanging around with the mousy brown-haired nurse…Ali rubbed at her head with her hand. “Casey, how do you even KNOW Nurse Gretchen?”
“Uh…I work here.” Casey replied with a blink. “Her shift and my shift often coincide, so we talk in between surges of traffic and stuff.”
“Glad to see you’re never bored.” Luke smiled, glancing at Gretchen, who blushed prettily. “Dr. Oliver mentions you a lot. He says you have a lot of potential.”
“Really?” Gretchen stepped back shyly by Casey’s side, smiling at Luke. “I thought he didn’t like me at first.”
“Dr. Oliver’s like that to everyone. He didn’t mean to make you cry.”
“Dude, he’d make anyone cry.” Casey cracked with a grin. “When he snapped the first order to me when he first came here, I thought--”
“Casey, no one cares what you thought of that egotistical, selfish, arrogant--!” Ali took a deep breath, having worked herself into a rant by the time she’d watched Gretchen cozy up to Casey, and listened to everyone talk in glowing terms about Reid Oliver. Everything was all topsy-turvy.
“Ali, maybe you need to lay off the coffee.” Casey murmured, arching his brow at his ex-girlfriend/ex-fiancée. “What are you all worked up about?”
“All of you are crazy.” Alison snapped. “Liking Dr. Oliver, with people that you shouldn’t be with…it’s insane! Noah’s the only one that made any sense around here!”
“Then maybe you should hang around him instead.” Casey replied, bemused as his ex stomped away. “Wow. Bad mood.”
Luke shook his head. “No kidding. I think only half of it was that I caught her in the act of telling Noah to pretend to be blind.”
“Seriously? Noah can see?” When Luke nodded, Casey scowled. “What is it with people not telling the truth?”
“Some people think that the truth would hurt worse.” Gretchen murmured, before she glanced at Luke. “I know you were very concerned about Mr. Mayer. Is everything all right?”
“It is now.” Luke assured her with a smile. “And this, Casey…is this something new?” he asked as he flicked his fingers between them with a smirk.
“Might be.” Casey replied, grinning as Gretchen blushed again. “We’ll see. So I take it that you and Noah are done for good. You’re with Dr. O…have you guys done any mattress dancing yet?”
“Casey!” Luke protested, laughing as he gazed at his best friend.
“What? It’s a legitimate question!”
Luke snorted softly. “I had thought about having some fun at the farmhouse…but I just had an epiphany.”
“What about?” Casey asked as he and Gretchen walked with Luke, through the corridors of the hospital.
“Talking with Noah, and Ali, and putting things back together…everything’s come full circle. So maybe I need to return to where this all started.”
Casey blinked curiously, before his eyes widened. “You don’t mean you’re going back to Dallas? You can’t disappear again, your mom will have a nervous breakdown!”
“So this time I’ll tell her.” Luke smiled, warming up to the idea. Just Reid and himself, together in the place they’d met. “And whoever else needs to know. But it feels right. I left without wanting to, you know. I left Reid. So maybe we need to go back. Make it right.”
“Are you going to stay?” Casey asked, frowning in concern as Luke mulled over his words. He’d liked Dallas a lot. Its people, the friendly atmosphere, the places to go. He’d left so much behind, when Noah had come chasing after him.
“Maybe.” Luke replied softly. “I’m not sure yet. That’s something to discuss with Reid.”
“Well…” Casey took a deep breath, and rested a hand on Luke’s shoulder, smiling at him. “Whatever makes you happy, man. You know I’m always here for you, right?”
“I know.” Luke agreed, resting a hand over his. “Thanks, Casey.”
“Though you know that if he ever does anything to hurt my best bud, I’ll have his ass nailed to the wall, right?”
Luke choked on a laugh, bringing his hand up to his mouth as Gretchen blushed furiously. “You do know that sounds a little bit suggestive, don’t you?”
“Sure. I’m friends with you.” Casey grinned playfully. He slapped a hand against Luke’s back as they walked. “Just let him know that, and we’ll be good. Want any help in getting your plan set up?”
“No, that’s okay, Case.” Luke smiled back at him. “Enjoy your time with Gretchen here. You deserve it. I have plans to make.”
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~To be concluded in the Epilogue~