Serendipity (1/3)
Title: Serendipity
Summary: Three years ago, Reid handed Bob his stethoscope and took a job with the Mayo Clinic. Now, he’s back, but it may be too late for him and Luke.
Disclaimer: So not mine
Spoilers: None
Rating: Eventually NC-17
Warnings: There is some (brief, inexplicit) Reid/OMC in this. Consider yourself warned.
A/N: This is for astrolatryae, for winning the Follow-Up contest! I promised a one-shot, which this totally is. It just needed to be divided into several posts for length. Yeah.
Katie Peretti Snyder has sent you a message.
Reid read the emailed notification for the sixth time since he received it that afternoon. His mouse hovered over the delete button. It had been almost three years. Almost three years since he had last seen her or talked to her. What could she possibly want? It seemed odd that she even remembered him, and odder still that it had only been a day and a half since he created the Facebook account (under duress from the clinic’s chief of staff who wanted all department heads to have an online presence) and she managed to discover his account in just that short amount of time.
The time he spent in Oakdale was in the past. That’s where he desperately wanted it to stay. He had moved on.
What could she possibly want?
Before he could stop himself, Reid clicked on the notification and read the message.
Hello!
I can’t imagine there is more than one Reid Oliver, M.D., in the world, although I find it hard to believe you actually have a Facebook account. Remember me, your one-time roommate? I hope you are doing well. I certainly am. Jacob has started preschool, and it’s wonderful to have a little bit of free time again, but I do miss him dreadfully of course. Please drop me a line and let me know how you are and how life as the world-renowned head of neurology at the Mayo Clinic is treating you.
Katie
Reid didn’t even consider replying to the message. He simply signed out of his account and turned away from his computer. He closed his eyes and swallowed. It was absolutely unacceptable, the way everything just came rushing back in. The fact that a guy he flirted with for a couple months and kissed, what, maybe three times could still manage to make him - he was Reid fricking Oliver. He didn’t pine. He certainly didn’t moon over guys who chose someone else.
He had moved on. Professionally. Personally. Reid ran a hand down his face as he reminded himself of that. He knew he wasn’t going to get any more work done, though, so he walked out of his office and into the living room. He picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number.
“It’s Reid,” he said when the person on the other end answered. “Busy?...Come over.”
**
Peter was sound asleep when Reid slipped out of bed. He had yet to drift off, despite the rather strenuous exercise he had just received. But no matter how blissfully exhausted his body was, his mind wouldn’t shut up. Usually, he was used to that. But usually it was because a case was bothering him, or he had an operation coming up. It wasn’t because a private message on Facebook was taunting him.
Reid sighed as he quietly closed the door to his office before flipping on the light. He pressed a key on his computer and waited for the machine to come out of sleep mode. Once it had, he sat down slowly. And then he opened his browser and signed into his Facebook account.
Reid stared at the screen. He clicked reply.
Hi Katie,
Yes, I remember you. How could I forget? I’m fine. Everything’s fine.
Reid
Reid sat in front of his computer, motionless. He recalled a very similar feeling, standing like a statue as he watched Luke and Noah laugh at the table in Java mere minutes after Reid had risked everything. He remembered saying nothing as he watched Luke’s face fall as he concluded that Reid quit Memorial for his own career instead of…anything else. Being physically unable to chase after Luke when he walked out of Katie’s apartment.
It had been for the best. That’s what he told himself, anyway. Really, Reid suspected, it was because he wasn’t willing to be anyone’s second choice and he certainly wasn’t willing to be rejected repeatedly. Pride was more important than any potential happiness, it turned out.
**
For a couple weeks, Katie sent Reid paragraphs-long private messages and posted stupid things to his wall. He'd read them at night, sometimes in the office with Peter asleep in the other room, and other times, when he was alone, by bringing the laptop into bed with him. She was the only one, outside of his colleagues, who contacted him on the site. Every so often, she’d drop in a little piece of Oakdale gossip. Reid pretended to care, hoping for the day she’d finally take pity on him and confirm that Luke and Noah had had their commitment ceremony and were now raising five orphaned African children and making stupidly pretentious movies. Just so he knew for sure.
And then one day, she did comment on Luke, but it was nowhere close to what he’d been waiting for. It was completely unexpected, just some casual sign-off after a novel about Jacob’s accomplishments with fingerpaints. Reid’s vision turned fuzzy and there was a ringing in his ears when he read the short closing sentences.
Well, I’m off to the hospital. Luke’s got dialysis and it’s my turn to distract him.
**
“This is kind of last minute, don’t you think?” Peter asked casually from where he was still lying naked in bed. He had one arm propped behind his head, and he was looking at Reid with confused amusement.
Reid shrugged as he stepped out of the closet. He brought the three shirts in his hand over to his duffle bag and stuffed them in, not really bothering to fold them at all.
“I thought you said this conference was for idiots pretending to be doctors, who learned their neurology on Mr. Potato Head.”
“I did,” Reid confirmed. “And it is. I just want to get out of town for a little while.”
“Hmm,” Peter observed.
Reid stared at him for a moment. “Get up, get dressed. I have to leave.”
Peter grunted quietly as he lifted himself to a sitting position. He threw the sheets aside and climbed out of bed. A few minutes later, he was completely dressed, and he walked over to Reid again.
“You know, if I had a key, I could just lock up after myself.”
Reid snorted derisively. He glanced at Peter, who had a teasing smirk on his face as well. Peter leaned in and pecked Reid’s chin.
“You’re coming to my place next time you want an itch scratched,” he called over his shoulder as he left the room. “Gas is too damned expensive.”
Reid didn’t reply, and as he heard the door close, he stared at his bed. And then, without another thought, he grabbed his bag and followed Peter out of the apartment.
**
“Hello.”
Katie blinked once. And again. And then she threw herself at Reid with a high-pitched shout. Reid patted her back awkwardly and waited for her to release him.
“What are you doing here?”
Reid shrugged. “In Chicago for a conference. Thought I’d pop over for a visit.”
Katie crossed her arms and looked at him skeptically. “Mm-hmm.”
“What?”
“Interesting timing.”
Reid ignored her implication. “How are you?”
“Fantastic.”
They stared at each other for a moment. “Have you eaten?” Reid finally asked.
Katie couldn’t stop her grin. “Let’s go to Al’s.”
**
After dinner, Katie and Reid meandered slowly through the streets of Old Town, talking and catching up. Reid enjoyed himself, and he realized how much he missed her company, although he knew if he ever admitted that, he’d never hear the end of it. Katie had already made several rather obvious comments about his time in Oakdale years ago, about the relationships he had formed and the people he -
“Coffee?” he asked as they neared Java.
The question had the added bonus of stopping her reminiscing about how Bob had treated Reid like he was his protégé. Frankly, he didn’t want to talk about that almost as much as he didn’t want to talk about…anyone else. As surprised as he was to learn that Bob had sent Invicta packing shortly after Reid quit and left town, Reid still resented that Bob had been so willing to throw him (and Luke) under the bus if it meant selling Memorial to a heartless corporation.
And he was still pissed as hell that Bob had hired Richard Meredith to run his - the neuro wing.
“Um, yeah,” Katie replied, interrupting Reid’s thoughts. “Coffee sounds good.”
Reid nodded once, sharply, and turned towards the shop. Katie glanced at him with a smirk, and Reid pretended he had no idea what she was implying. He had a photographic memory, and he had gone to Java every day for weeks, for months. Of course he remembered how to get there. It didn’t mean anything.
Before they even reached the building, however, someone turned the corner and ran directly into Reid. Instinctively, Reid reached his hands out, grabbing onto the man’s elbows to balance him.
“Oh, I’m so sor - !” The man stopped speaking abruptly and he stared.
Then he blinked. And then, apparently involuntarily, he broke into the same wide grin that had haunted Reid’s dreams for the last few years.
“Reid!”
He was the last person Reid wanted to see. He was the only reason he was in town.
“Luke.”
**
Reid scratched a fingernail over the handle of his coffee mug. He risked a glance at Luke, who was holding his own (decaf, no frills) tea in both hands. Luke smiled at him over the rim before he took a sip. Katie had oh-so-conveniently remembered somewhere she needed to be shortly after they (literally) ran into each other, and she took off, leaving Reid alone with Luke. Reid wasn’t sure if he’d ever forgive her for that.
“What are you doing in Oakdale?”
“Medical conference in Chicago. Thought I’d say hi.”
Luke nodded. “I didn’t realize you still were in contact with Katie.”
Reid glanced away. He inhaled as he shrugged. “She emailed me a few weeks ago.”
“Oh.”
And then awkward silence. Reid finally, really looked at Luke. It was very, very clear he was not in good health. He had lost weight, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted and vaguely uncomfortable in his own skin. And yet, he looked unbelievably, irrationally happy to see Reid.
Reid cleared his throat and glanced back at the tabletop.
“So, how’s Minnesota?” Luke asked, teasingly adopting an accent on the vowels. “Everything you dreamed it would be?”
Reid snorted. “In my nightmares, maybe.”
Luke chuckled as he bent his head forward. Reid couldn’t help but stare. Luke looked up again, slightly licking his lips, and Reid broke eye contact. Luke opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a beep coming from his watch.
“Oh,” Luke said, as he sat up straighter and turned off the alarm. “I have to go. I - I have an appointment.”
Reid nodded slowly.
Luke swallowed. “Dialysis,” he admitted.
Reid didn’t pretend to be surprised. He simply waited for Luke to speak again.
Luke glanced away. “I had a kidney transplant when I was younger. Don’t think I told you that.”
“And it’s failing?” Reid asked quietly.
Luke shrugged. “Past the expiration date, I guess. I always suspected it wasn’t the best quality one, anyway.”
Reid was at a loss. And Luke clearly didn’t want to hear any empty platitudes, anyway. He stood up and threw a tip on the table. Then he paused.
“If…” he cleared his throat. “If you wanted to come along, we could catch up some more.”
Reid worked his jaw for a moment. He stood.
**
It was oddly easy to ignore the machine hooked up to Luke and the technician coming and going. And while the tone remained stilted for a few minutes, they eventually fell back into natural, if somewhat superficial, conversation. Reid had placed his phone on the table between them, with the chess app turned on. He had already beaten Luke twice, with only a few moves, and Luke was laughing at his own inability to compete at all.
It reminded Reid way too much of the day, shortly before everything…well, shortly before he left Oakdale. When he and Luke were alone - or so they thought - and Luke had reached out, put his hand to Reid’s cheek and…
Reid shook his head quickly. He needed to stop thinking about things like that. It was in the past.
Luke shifted slightly, making a face. Reid watched him for a moment.
“Need water or something?” he asked softly.
“Um, I think…yeah. Could you?”
Reid didn’t bother responding. He merely stood and headed out of the room, looking for a nurse or a vending machine. It took him a few minutes, but he finally managed to run into someone who looked vaguely familiar. Judging by the expression on her face, she recognized him too. Reid hoped that meant she’d actually (and quickly) do what he asked.
He walked back to the room, his steps slowing as he noticed Luke’s body language. Something had definitely changed since he left.
“Are you alright?” he asked, once he was back in his seat.
“Hmm? Yeah. Um, you got a text message.”
Reid furrowed his brow and picked up the phone, turning it around so he could read the message still on the screen.
When are you getting back? Insert unsubtle sexual innuendo here. - P
Reid deleted the message.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Luke asked.
If Reid didn’t know better, he would have thought that Luke’s cheerful, casual voice sounded way too forced.
“No. I don’t know. Sort of.”
“Well…I’m glad that you have someone. Sort of.”
Reid looked up. “That I sort of have someone, or you’re sort of glad?”
Luke blushed. “I meant - the first one.”
“Let’s play another game,” Reid said, quickly resetting the app.
He placed it between them again and waited for Luke to make his opening move. A long pause later, Luke finally selected a piece and touched the destination square. Reid immediately responded. As Luke began to ponder his next turn, Reid glanced up.
“Speaking of, where’s Noah during all this?” Reid gestured around the room to indicate his meaning. “Your turn, by the way.”
“I know,” Luke replied, sounding somewhat flustered. He quickly pressed a square. “Noah? I haven’t talked to him in years.”
Reid moved a chess piece, seemingly absent-mindedly. “Really? I would have guessed you two would have - ”
Luke pressed a button, and Reid watched as the tips of his ears turned red. “Well, we didn’t. We aren’t. He went off to L.A. shortly after graduation, we made a very half-assed attempt to stay friends, and then…”
Reid hummed. He pressed a button on the phone. “Your move,” he said.
“I’m not…I’m not seeing anyone,” Luke said softly, staring at the screen while he took his turn.
Reid moved a piece. “Checkmate.”
Luke sat up quickly. He stared at the phone. “What? How…what?”
Reid fought a smile. Luke exhaled as he looked up at Reid, blinking in surprise and annoyance. “You did that on purpose!”
“Did what?” Reid asked, smirking.
“You know, I’m dealing with this every few days. The least you could do is let me win.”
Reid stared at him, one eyebrow raised.
“Right,” Luke replied. “What was I thinking?”
**
Reid knocked on Katie’s door again later that evening. When she opened it and saw him, she smiled widely.
“Hello.”
Reid ignored her tone and stepped inside.
“How was the rest of your afternoon?”
“Fine,” Reid said succinctly. “Just wanted to let you know that I’ll probably stick around a few days.”
“Oh, great.” She didn’t sound surprised. “You’re staying with me, of course.”
Reid rolled his eyes. “Katie.”
“No arguments.”
Reid inhaled and exhaled slowly. He looked at Katie. “OK.”
“Besides, why else did you bother bringing your bag up here?”
“I said OK!”
Katie flashed him a quick smile, then led him through the apartment to the guest room that had been Reid’s for a few months several years ago. It was decorated differently, but it was still familiar. It still felt like home, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. Reid tossed his duffle bag onto the bed. He turned to look at Katie, who was leaning against the doorframe. She offered him a small, grim smile.
“It’s pretty bad,” she said softly. “Worse than it looks, even.”
Reid nodded. “I figured.” He was beginning to realize or perhaps remember there was no point in deflecting when it came to talking with Katie about anything, and especially about Luke.
“He needs a new one.”
“No match on a living donor?”
Katie shook her head. “They tested every Snyder, Walsh and Grimaldi they could get a hold of. And some other completely unrelated Oakdale residents. It’s not so much his blood type, although it’s not the most common out there, but the main problem is a few other markers that are rarer. His history pretty much guarantees he’s lower priority for a, you know, a non-living donor, at least until his condition gets worse.”
Reid turned away. He looked around the room, as he tried to come up with a response.
“He’s been pretty down. Today was the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time. I think you’ll be good for him.”
Reid scoffed. “I can’t help him any more than anyone else can.”
“Don’t sell yourself short.”
**
“Hey.”
Reid hid his amusement at Luke’s shocked reaction. Luke gaped up at him, mouth open in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d take a walk.”
“By my pond?”
Reid pointlessly swiped his foot over the ground several times, as if he were clearing a spot for himself, and then sat down on the dirt next to Luke. He felt a small smile drift to his lips as he stared out over the surface of the water.
“Is it weird to have a pond named after you?”
Luke’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t point out Reid’s evasiveness. Instead, he simply said, “It’s not named after me. It’s been Snyder Pond long before I was around.”
Reid nodded slowly. “Plus, you’re probably used to it all by now. How many things are named Snyder in this town?”
Luke snickered. “A few. Most notably, of course, the Snyder Pavilion. The best neuro center in the Midwest.”
“Led by the biggest plagiarizer in the Midwest.”
“Dr. Meredith? He’s not so bad.”
Reid scoffed.
“People don’t run off in tears after talking to him for five seconds.”
“Being everyone’s friend saves no one’s life.”
“Besides, someone had to run it.”
Reid didn’t reply. He could sense Luke sneaking a peek at him.
Finally, he just changed the subject. “Man, it’s hot out.”
“Definitely summer,” Luke agreed.
Reid couldn’t believe it when his mouth opened and he actually suggested, “Wanna cool off?”
Luke looked at him again, his brow furrowed in slight confusion. “Um…ice cream?”
Reid nodded at the water. “Swimming.”
Luke shook his head quickly. “Oh, no. No.”
Reid stood up. “Why not? The water looks…refreshing.”
“It…is. I mean, it usually is. I just - ”
Luke’s voice died off when Reid stripped off his shirt. Reid suppressed a grin and faced Luke again.
“What’s the problem?”
Luke’s eyes were focused somewhere around Reid’s sixth rib. He pressed his lips together and swallowed. Then he looked up at Reid, his face darkening with a blush.
“I’m…in kidney failure.”
“So?”
“So, I…” Luke broke off quickly, laughing in embarrassment. “I’d prefer for you to remember what I looked like shirtless that morning in the hotel, not - not like this. Silly and vain, I know, but…”
Reid smiled softly and stepped closer to Luke. He held a hand out, and when Luke grabbed it, he pulled Luke to his feet. They were standing incredibly close now, and Reid could feel the body heat radiating off Luke’s torso.
“Consider that incentive to get better and all bulked up again,” Reid suggested, even as he reached his hands down to the button on his jeans.
At the sound of Reid’s zipper opening, Luke closed his eyes and exhaled. Reid smirked, even as his brain screamed at him for being so stupid as to open all this up again. That voice inside his head was getting quieter and quieter the more time he spent away from Rochester.
Luke opened his eyes again, immediately catching Reid’s gaze with his own. He licked his lips and swallowed. Reid pushed his jeans down as Luke lifted the hem of his shirt.
To Be Continued
Summary: Three years ago, Reid handed Bob his stethoscope and took a job with the Mayo Clinic. Now, he’s back, but it may be too late for him and Luke.
Disclaimer: So not mine
Spoilers: None
Rating: Eventually NC-17
Warnings: There is some (brief, inexplicit) Reid/OMC in this. Consider yourself warned.
A/N: This is for astrolatryae, for winning the Follow-Up contest! I promised a one-shot, which this totally is. It just needed to be divided into several posts for length. Yeah.
Katie Peretti Snyder has sent you a message.
Reid read the emailed notification for the sixth time since he received it that afternoon. His mouse hovered over the delete button. It had been almost three years. Almost three years since he had last seen her or talked to her. What could she possibly want? It seemed odd that she even remembered him, and odder still that it had only been a day and a half since he created the Facebook account (under duress from the clinic’s chief of staff who wanted all department heads to have an online presence) and she managed to discover his account in just that short amount of time.
The time he spent in Oakdale was in the past. That’s where he desperately wanted it to stay. He had moved on.
What could she possibly want?
Before he could stop himself, Reid clicked on the notification and read the message.
Hello!
I can’t imagine there is more than one Reid Oliver, M.D., in the world, although I find it hard to believe you actually have a Facebook account. Remember me, your one-time roommate? I hope you are doing well. I certainly am. Jacob has started preschool, and it’s wonderful to have a little bit of free time again, but I do miss him dreadfully of course. Please drop me a line and let me know how you are and how life as the world-renowned head of neurology at the Mayo Clinic is treating you.
Katie
Reid didn’t even consider replying to the message. He simply signed out of his account and turned away from his computer. He closed his eyes and swallowed. It was absolutely unacceptable, the way everything just came rushing back in. The fact that a guy he flirted with for a couple months and kissed, what, maybe three times could still manage to make him - he was Reid fricking Oliver. He didn’t pine. He certainly didn’t moon over guys who chose someone else.
He had moved on. Professionally. Personally. Reid ran a hand down his face as he reminded himself of that. He knew he wasn’t going to get any more work done, though, so he walked out of his office and into the living room. He picked up his phone and dialed a familiar number.
“It’s Reid,” he said when the person on the other end answered. “Busy?...Come over.”
**
Peter was sound asleep when Reid slipped out of bed. He had yet to drift off, despite the rather strenuous exercise he had just received. But no matter how blissfully exhausted his body was, his mind wouldn’t shut up. Usually, he was used to that. But usually it was because a case was bothering him, or he had an operation coming up. It wasn’t because a private message on Facebook was taunting him.
Reid sighed as he quietly closed the door to his office before flipping on the light. He pressed a key on his computer and waited for the machine to come out of sleep mode. Once it had, he sat down slowly. And then he opened his browser and signed into his Facebook account.
Reid stared at the screen. He clicked reply.
Hi Katie,
Yes, I remember you. How could I forget? I’m fine. Everything’s fine.
Reid
Reid sat in front of his computer, motionless. He recalled a very similar feeling, standing like a statue as he watched Luke and Noah laugh at the table in Java mere minutes after Reid had risked everything. He remembered saying nothing as he watched Luke’s face fall as he concluded that Reid quit Memorial for his own career instead of…anything else. Being physically unable to chase after Luke when he walked out of Katie’s apartment.
It had been for the best. That’s what he told himself, anyway. Really, Reid suspected, it was because he wasn’t willing to be anyone’s second choice and he certainly wasn’t willing to be rejected repeatedly. Pride was more important than any potential happiness, it turned out.
**
For a couple weeks, Katie sent Reid paragraphs-long private messages and posted stupid things to his wall. He'd read them at night, sometimes in the office with Peter asleep in the other room, and other times, when he was alone, by bringing the laptop into bed with him. She was the only one, outside of his colleagues, who contacted him on the site. Every so often, she’d drop in a little piece of Oakdale gossip. Reid pretended to care, hoping for the day she’d finally take pity on him and confirm that Luke and Noah had had their commitment ceremony and were now raising five orphaned African children and making stupidly pretentious movies. Just so he knew for sure.
And then one day, she did comment on Luke, but it was nowhere close to what he’d been waiting for. It was completely unexpected, just some casual sign-off after a novel about Jacob’s accomplishments with fingerpaints. Reid’s vision turned fuzzy and there was a ringing in his ears when he read the short closing sentences.
Well, I’m off to the hospital. Luke’s got dialysis and it’s my turn to distract him.
**
“This is kind of last minute, don’t you think?” Peter asked casually from where he was still lying naked in bed. He had one arm propped behind his head, and he was looking at Reid with confused amusement.
Reid shrugged as he stepped out of the closet. He brought the three shirts in his hand over to his duffle bag and stuffed them in, not really bothering to fold them at all.
“I thought you said this conference was for idiots pretending to be doctors, who learned their neurology on Mr. Potato Head.”
“I did,” Reid confirmed. “And it is. I just want to get out of town for a little while.”
“Hmm,” Peter observed.
Reid stared at him for a moment. “Get up, get dressed. I have to leave.”
Peter grunted quietly as he lifted himself to a sitting position. He threw the sheets aside and climbed out of bed. A few minutes later, he was completely dressed, and he walked over to Reid again.
“You know, if I had a key, I could just lock up after myself.”
Reid snorted derisively. He glanced at Peter, who had a teasing smirk on his face as well. Peter leaned in and pecked Reid’s chin.
“You’re coming to my place next time you want an itch scratched,” he called over his shoulder as he left the room. “Gas is too damned expensive.”
Reid didn’t reply, and as he heard the door close, he stared at his bed. And then, without another thought, he grabbed his bag and followed Peter out of the apartment.
**
“Hello.”
Katie blinked once. And again. And then she threw herself at Reid with a high-pitched shout. Reid patted her back awkwardly and waited for her to release him.
“What are you doing here?”
Reid shrugged. “In Chicago for a conference. Thought I’d pop over for a visit.”
Katie crossed her arms and looked at him skeptically. “Mm-hmm.”
“What?”
“Interesting timing.”
Reid ignored her implication. “How are you?”
“Fantastic.”
They stared at each other for a moment. “Have you eaten?” Reid finally asked.
Katie couldn’t stop her grin. “Let’s go to Al’s.”
**
After dinner, Katie and Reid meandered slowly through the streets of Old Town, talking and catching up. Reid enjoyed himself, and he realized how much he missed her company, although he knew if he ever admitted that, he’d never hear the end of it. Katie had already made several rather obvious comments about his time in Oakdale years ago, about the relationships he had formed and the people he -
“Coffee?” he asked as they neared Java.
The question had the added bonus of stopping her reminiscing about how Bob had treated Reid like he was his protégé. Frankly, he didn’t want to talk about that almost as much as he didn’t want to talk about…anyone else. As surprised as he was to learn that Bob had sent Invicta packing shortly after Reid quit and left town, Reid still resented that Bob had been so willing to throw him (and Luke) under the bus if it meant selling Memorial to a heartless corporation.
And he was still pissed as hell that Bob had hired Richard Meredith to run his - the neuro wing.
“Um, yeah,” Katie replied, interrupting Reid’s thoughts. “Coffee sounds good.”
Reid nodded once, sharply, and turned towards the shop. Katie glanced at him with a smirk, and Reid pretended he had no idea what she was implying. He had a photographic memory, and he had gone to Java every day for weeks, for months. Of course he remembered how to get there. It didn’t mean anything.
Before they even reached the building, however, someone turned the corner and ran directly into Reid. Instinctively, Reid reached his hands out, grabbing onto the man’s elbows to balance him.
“Oh, I’m so sor - !” The man stopped speaking abruptly and he stared.
Then he blinked. And then, apparently involuntarily, he broke into the same wide grin that had haunted Reid’s dreams for the last few years.
“Reid!”
He was the last person Reid wanted to see. He was the only reason he was in town.
“Luke.”
**
Reid scratched a fingernail over the handle of his coffee mug. He risked a glance at Luke, who was holding his own (decaf, no frills) tea in both hands. Luke smiled at him over the rim before he took a sip. Katie had oh-so-conveniently remembered somewhere she needed to be shortly after they (literally) ran into each other, and she took off, leaving Reid alone with Luke. Reid wasn’t sure if he’d ever forgive her for that.
“What are you doing in Oakdale?”
“Medical conference in Chicago. Thought I’d say hi.”
Luke nodded. “I didn’t realize you still were in contact with Katie.”
Reid glanced away. He inhaled as he shrugged. “She emailed me a few weeks ago.”
“Oh.”
And then awkward silence. Reid finally, really looked at Luke. It was very, very clear he was not in good health. He had lost weight, and there were dark circles under his eyes. He looked exhausted and vaguely uncomfortable in his own skin. And yet, he looked unbelievably, irrationally happy to see Reid.
Reid cleared his throat and glanced back at the tabletop.
“So, how’s Minnesota?” Luke asked, teasingly adopting an accent on the vowels. “Everything you dreamed it would be?”
Reid snorted. “In my nightmares, maybe.”
Luke chuckled as he bent his head forward. Reid couldn’t help but stare. Luke looked up again, slightly licking his lips, and Reid broke eye contact. Luke opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by a beep coming from his watch.
“Oh,” Luke said, as he sat up straighter and turned off the alarm. “I have to go. I - I have an appointment.”
Reid nodded slowly.
Luke swallowed. “Dialysis,” he admitted.
Reid didn’t pretend to be surprised. He simply waited for Luke to speak again.
Luke glanced away. “I had a kidney transplant when I was younger. Don’t think I told you that.”
“And it’s failing?” Reid asked quietly.
Luke shrugged. “Past the expiration date, I guess. I always suspected it wasn’t the best quality one, anyway.”
Reid was at a loss. And Luke clearly didn’t want to hear any empty platitudes, anyway. He stood up and threw a tip on the table. Then he paused.
“If…” he cleared his throat. “If you wanted to come along, we could catch up some more.”
Reid worked his jaw for a moment. He stood.
**
It was oddly easy to ignore the machine hooked up to Luke and the technician coming and going. And while the tone remained stilted for a few minutes, they eventually fell back into natural, if somewhat superficial, conversation. Reid had placed his phone on the table between them, with the chess app turned on. He had already beaten Luke twice, with only a few moves, and Luke was laughing at his own inability to compete at all.
It reminded Reid way too much of the day, shortly before everything…well, shortly before he left Oakdale. When he and Luke were alone - or so they thought - and Luke had reached out, put his hand to Reid’s cheek and…
Reid shook his head quickly. He needed to stop thinking about things like that. It was in the past.
Luke shifted slightly, making a face. Reid watched him for a moment.
“Need water or something?” he asked softly.
“Um, I think…yeah. Could you?”
Reid didn’t bother responding. He merely stood and headed out of the room, looking for a nurse or a vending machine. It took him a few minutes, but he finally managed to run into someone who looked vaguely familiar. Judging by the expression on her face, she recognized him too. Reid hoped that meant she’d actually (and quickly) do what he asked.
He walked back to the room, his steps slowing as he noticed Luke’s body language. Something had definitely changed since he left.
“Are you alright?” he asked, once he was back in his seat.
“Hmm? Yeah. Um, you got a text message.”
Reid furrowed his brow and picked up the phone, turning it around so he could read the message still on the screen.
When are you getting back? Insert unsubtle sexual innuendo here. - P
Reid deleted the message.
“Is that your boyfriend?” Luke asked.
If Reid didn’t know better, he would have thought that Luke’s cheerful, casual voice sounded way too forced.
“No. I don’t know. Sort of.”
“Well…I’m glad that you have someone. Sort of.”
Reid looked up. “That I sort of have someone, or you’re sort of glad?”
Luke blushed. “I meant - the first one.”
“Let’s play another game,” Reid said, quickly resetting the app.
He placed it between them again and waited for Luke to make his opening move. A long pause later, Luke finally selected a piece and touched the destination square. Reid immediately responded. As Luke began to ponder his next turn, Reid glanced up.
“Speaking of, where’s Noah during all this?” Reid gestured around the room to indicate his meaning. “Your turn, by the way.”
“I know,” Luke replied, sounding somewhat flustered. He quickly pressed a square. “Noah? I haven’t talked to him in years.”
Reid moved a chess piece, seemingly absent-mindedly. “Really? I would have guessed you two would have - ”
Luke pressed a button, and Reid watched as the tips of his ears turned red. “Well, we didn’t. We aren’t. He went off to L.A. shortly after graduation, we made a very half-assed attempt to stay friends, and then…”
Reid hummed. He pressed a button on the phone. “Your move,” he said.
“I’m not…I’m not seeing anyone,” Luke said softly, staring at the screen while he took his turn.
Reid moved a piece. “Checkmate.”
Luke sat up quickly. He stared at the phone. “What? How…what?”
Reid fought a smile. Luke exhaled as he looked up at Reid, blinking in surprise and annoyance. “You did that on purpose!”
“Did what?” Reid asked, smirking.
“You know, I’m dealing with this every few days. The least you could do is let me win.”
Reid stared at him, one eyebrow raised.
“Right,” Luke replied. “What was I thinking?”
**
Reid knocked on Katie’s door again later that evening. When she opened it and saw him, she smiled widely.
“Hello.”
Reid ignored her tone and stepped inside.
“How was the rest of your afternoon?”
“Fine,” Reid said succinctly. “Just wanted to let you know that I’ll probably stick around a few days.”
“Oh, great.” She didn’t sound surprised. “You’re staying with me, of course.”
Reid rolled his eyes. “Katie.”
“No arguments.”
Reid inhaled and exhaled slowly. He looked at Katie. “OK.”
“Besides, why else did you bother bringing your bag up here?”
“I said OK!”
Katie flashed him a quick smile, then led him through the apartment to the guest room that had been Reid’s for a few months several years ago. It was decorated differently, but it was still familiar. It still felt like home, a small voice whispered in the back of his mind. Reid tossed his duffle bag onto the bed. He turned to look at Katie, who was leaning against the doorframe. She offered him a small, grim smile.
“It’s pretty bad,” she said softly. “Worse than it looks, even.”
Reid nodded. “I figured.” He was beginning to realize or perhaps remember there was no point in deflecting when it came to talking with Katie about anything, and especially about Luke.
“He needs a new one.”
“No match on a living donor?”
Katie shook her head. “They tested every Snyder, Walsh and Grimaldi they could get a hold of. And some other completely unrelated Oakdale residents. It’s not so much his blood type, although it’s not the most common out there, but the main problem is a few other markers that are rarer. His history pretty much guarantees he’s lower priority for a, you know, a non-living donor, at least until his condition gets worse.”
Reid turned away. He looked around the room, as he tried to come up with a response.
“He’s been pretty down. Today was the happiest I’ve seen him in a long time. I think you’ll be good for him.”
Reid scoffed. “I can’t help him any more than anyone else can.”
“Don’t sell yourself short.”
**
“Hey.”
Reid hid his amusement at Luke’s shocked reaction. Luke gaped up at him, mouth open in surprise.
“What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d take a walk.”
“By my pond?”
Reid pointlessly swiped his foot over the ground several times, as if he were clearing a spot for himself, and then sat down on the dirt next to Luke. He felt a small smile drift to his lips as he stared out over the surface of the water.
“Is it weird to have a pond named after you?”
Luke’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t point out Reid’s evasiveness. Instead, he simply said, “It’s not named after me. It’s been Snyder Pond long before I was around.”
Reid nodded slowly. “Plus, you’re probably used to it all by now. How many things are named Snyder in this town?”
Luke snickered. “A few. Most notably, of course, the Snyder Pavilion. The best neuro center in the Midwest.”
“Led by the biggest plagiarizer in the Midwest.”
“Dr. Meredith? He’s not so bad.”
Reid scoffed.
“People don’t run off in tears after talking to him for five seconds.”
“Being everyone’s friend saves no one’s life.”
“Besides, someone had to run it.”
Reid didn’t reply. He could sense Luke sneaking a peek at him.
Finally, he just changed the subject. “Man, it’s hot out.”
“Definitely summer,” Luke agreed.
Reid couldn’t believe it when his mouth opened and he actually suggested, “Wanna cool off?”
Luke looked at him again, his brow furrowed in slight confusion. “Um…ice cream?”
Reid nodded at the water. “Swimming.”
Luke shook his head quickly. “Oh, no. No.”
Reid stood up. “Why not? The water looks…refreshing.”
“It…is. I mean, it usually is. I just - ”
Luke’s voice died off when Reid stripped off his shirt. Reid suppressed a grin and faced Luke again.
“What’s the problem?”
Luke’s eyes were focused somewhere around Reid’s sixth rib. He pressed his lips together and swallowed. Then he looked up at Reid, his face darkening with a blush.
“I’m…in kidney failure.”
“So?”
“So, I…” Luke broke off quickly, laughing in embarrassment. “I’d prefer for you to remember what I looked like shirtless that morning in the hotel, not - not like this. Silly and vain, I know, but…”
Reid smiled softly and stepped closer to Luke. He held a hand out, and when Luke grabbed it, he pulled Luke to his feet. They were standing incredibly close now, and Reid could feel the body heat radiating off Luke’s torso.
“Consider that incentive to get better and all bulked up again,” Reid suggested, even as he reached his hands down to the button on his jeans.
At the sound of Reid’s zipper opening, Luke closed his eyes and exhaled. Reid smirked, even as his brain screamed at him for being so stupid as to open all this up again. That voice inside his head was getting quieter and quieter the more time he spent away from Rochester.
Luke opened his eyes again, immediately catching Reid’s gaze with his own. He licked his lips and swallowed. Reid pushed his jeans down as Luke lifted the hem of his shirt.
To Be Continued