Date Night, The Blues and Stupid Weakened Immune Systems - a fanfic - Chapter 6/7
Title: Date Night, The Blues and Stupid Weakened Immune Systems
Author: nancygrew
Disclaimer: characters belong to atwt
Rating: pg-13 for a few swears in an upcoming chapter
Characters: Luke/Reid, Lucinda, Half of Oakdale. A small percentage of Malta.
Warning: The title probably gives away the fact that there’s hurt/comfort ahead.
Notes: Futurefic. Takes place June 2015. Takes place between my story Luke and Casey Have a Chat and my story Amnesia and Realizations. And Maple-Glazed Turkey. The latter story mentioned that Luke had been seriously ill about six months prior to that story and there was a request to see that story so I thought I’d give it a shot. You don’t have to read my other fic in order to understand this one. AU after Reid drives off to Bay City on some long-forgotten errand.
Summary: Reid hangs out with Lucinda and Luke’s been working too hard.
Chapter Six - At the hospital and at the Grimaldi Villa
After Dr. Zickly examined Luke, he decided that Luke should stay overnight in the hospital for observation. The Kreizmanate had already eradicated most of the Goutman virus, without manifesting any of the possible side effects yet, but Luke was still weak and Dr. Zickly wanted to keep on eye on him. This decision was heatedly debated amongst Holden, Lily, Damian and Lucinda. Wasn’t it too dangerous for precious Luciano to stay at the hospital where germs were just laying in wait to attack and wouldn’t he be more comfortable at the Grimaldi Villa with a fully trained medical staff to keep an eye on him? Wouldn’t it be best for darling Luke to be immediately flown back home to Oakdale aboard his grandmother’s private jet along with a fully trained medical staff? Wouldn’t the smart thing to do be to put Luke into a plastic bubble hidden beneath the sands of the Gobi Desert?
Reid put his fingers in his mouth and whistled. Everyone stopped talking. "Here’s the plan. Luke just woke up from a coma not nap time. He needs to stay in the hospital at least overnight. Then tomorrow if he’s strong enough, we’re going to go to the Grimaldi Villa for about a week so that he can recuperate. Even though the medication is knocking out the virus, he still has a lot of recovery to do in order to regain his strength. After that we’ll make the decision about whether he’s strong enough to go home."
"Reid, you can’t take such a long unplanned absence from the hospital," fussed Luke. "Why don’t we just fly home? I can sleep on the plane just as easily as in a hospital."
Reid was flabbergasted at that ridiculous statement. When Reid drank straight from a cartoon of milk and put it back in the refrigerator, Luke treated it as though some horrible, traumatic event had occurred. One that would change all life as they knew it. Governments would fall, the Heavens would weep, Lucinda would start wearing sweatpants. But when Luke develops a deadly, mysterious illness and beats back death? Well, then it’s all la di dah, is it Tuesday already? Reid didn’t bother to respond to Luke’s suggestion.
"Lucinda, are you guys going to stick around for a day or two before you fly back?" Reid asked.
"Yes, darling," replied Lucinda. "I don’t think any of us are quite comfortable leaving Luke yet."
"Damian, is there room to put Lucinda, Lily, Holden and Lien up at Dracula’s Castle?" asked Reid.
"Of course," said Damian. "And I’d be offended by the comparison of me to Dracula if I didn’t believe wholeheartedly that Dracula was misunderstood."
"Okay, Luke needs his rest," ordered Reid. "Everyone gets to kiss him goodbye then you’re all out of here. Don’t let the door hit you on the butts. I’ll spend the night here with Luke and call when we’re ready to be picked up tomorrow."
"Why do you get to spend the night with Luke?" huffed Lily. Lily winced. "Okay, maybe that sounded a little creepily jealous. I understand that Luke needs his husband and not his mother. And I’m fine with that. Just fine. Really. You know, he likes to have his temples rubbed when he’s feeling cranky."
"He’s a grown up, now. He prefers other things being rubbed when he’s feeling cranky," said Reid. And that was way too easy. Reid decided to blame his going for the cheap, and tawdry, shot on the fact that he hadn’t slept, or more importantly eaten, in many, many hours.
After much sturm and drang, and fervent expressions of love expressed by everyone other than Reid and Lien, Reid physically shoved Luke’s family out of the room. For a moment, Reid thought Damian might resist leaving. He suddenly remembered that Damian was a boxer. A boxer who had done time in the Big House. Reid was relieved when Damian quickly relented and followed the others out of the room. Moments after Damian and the others had left, the chauffeur from the drive from the airport brought Reid his luggage. This was followed by an orderly bearing a rollaway bed and linen.
When they were finally alone, Reid sat on Luke’s bed and entwined the fingers of one of his hands with one of Luke’s hands. Reid used his other hand to stroke the side Luke’s face.
"You must feel pretty crappy, huh?" asked Reid gently.
"Yeah. I hate that I worried everyone," said Luke shamefacedly.
Reid tugged on Luke’s ear. Hard. Luke yelped. "I meant that you must be feeling sore and achy and exhausted. I didn’t mean that I thought that you were enough of a numbskull to feel guilty about succumbing to illness like the mere mortal you are."
"Would I have gotten so sick if I hadn’t been enough of an idiot to drink myself into a kidney transplant when I was younger?" asked Luke. "It’s my fault that I have to take meds that make me susceptible to being sick and causing everyone so much bother. None of you deserve to have to worry about me because of choices I made when I was drinking."
"Choices made when you were a kid," huffed Reid.
"Doesn’t matter. They’re still choices that I made. Mistakes that I made," said Luke.
"Faith was a druggie when she was a kid. Should we make her wear a hair shirt and flagellate herself over it?" asked Reid. "Should we make her suffer a little for mistakes she made when she was a teen?"
"That’s different," said Luke. "She was going through a lot of emotional turmoil over our parents’ relationship and had body image issues and was confused by Mom’s addiction. She was troubled and we weren’t giving her the help that she needed."
Reid sighed. He loved Luke. He really did. But sometimes he was such an idiot.
"Luke, you were drinking because you had a lot of crap to deal with for someone so young," said Reid. "You drank for a little bit of escape. Not a brilliant move but an understandable one given the circumstances. Given your . . . interesting childhood, you could have grown up to be an insufferable and angry jackass but you're someone we love and admire."
"But---"
"Your near death experience was really stressful for me," said Reid. "Could you just accept that I’m right about this so we don’t have to argue so soon after your miraculous recovery?"
"Sure. You’ve had a tough day. Wanna lie down beside me and make out a little?" Luke offered a sexy leer. Followed by a yawn. Reid smiled. Luke was going to be fine. Everything was going to be fine.
Reid put sheets on the rollaway bed and pulled it up next to Luke’s bed. He laid down on the rollaway on his side, facing Luke. He placed his hand on Luke’s hip. Luke grinned at him.
"I’m so disappointed that the first time you come to Malta I’m too sick to drag you out to Popeye’s Village," said Luke.
"Popeye was Maltese?" asked Reid.
"Not as far as I know. But the movie with Robin Williams was shot here in Malta. The movie set is still up and it’s quite the attaction," said Luke.
"Tell me about," Reid commanded. It was so good to hear his brat talking again.
"Well, there are people dressed up like Olive Oyl, Popeye and Bluto and they sing and dance," said Luke.
Reid shot Luke a look of horror. "That sounds like something that I would hate."
Luke nodded enthusiastically. "I know! But it would be really amusing for me to get to watch you be so utterly disgusted."
"That’s why you enjoy Snyder Family Jamborees so much," Reid said knowingly.
"I’m pretty sure there has to be somebody playing music on a whiskey jug in order for a gathering to officially be considered a jamboree. I enjoy Snyder Family gatherings so much because they’re our family and you and I love them very much."
Reid snorted. Luke poked him in the shoulder.
"Also, Popeye Village has Santa’s Toyshop!" exclaimed Luke.
"Santa is Maltese?" asked Reid.
"Maybe," shrugged Luke. I’m not quite sure why he has a toyshop here in Malta. Maybe the elves unionized and he wanted to outsource?"
"Did you want me to visit Malta before?" asked Reid. "You never mentioned it."
"It was always a maybe, someday kind of thing," Luke responded. "You only get so many weeks of vacation a year. And we need that time alone together not to be surrounded by another side of my family."
"Between being surrounded by more of your crazy relatives and being sung to by Popeye, you’re not making Malta sound like a promising future vacation spot," grumbled Reid. "But if you want to spend a future vacation here, I’ll do it."
"There’s actually a lot of things that you’d love here," said Luke. "Malta was first settled back around 5000 BC. There’s a prehistoric temple site and ancient ruins that are pretty cool. Malta’s been in the hands of the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and just about everyone else other than the Martians. There’s a medieval walled city, a cathedral with paintings by Caravaggio, and catacombs---"
Luke yawned. He’s eyes drooped shut. Reid watched Luke sleep. He had almost lost Luke. He couldn’t begin to imagine a life without Luke. The walls of the hospital room seemed to get closer. He felt his breathing become more rapid.
There was a soft knock at the door. Reid got out of bed to answer the door before the knocking woke up Luke. Reid opened the door to an elderly, tiny man with the blackest eyes he had ever seen.
"Temi!" an awakened Luke called out in greeting. "How are you? Reid, let Temi in the door."
Reid stepped aside and waved Temi into the room. Not because Luke had told him to. Luke wasn’t the boss of him. But because Temi carried an enormous wicker basked full of food.
Temi entered the room and placed the basket of food upon a side table. He approached Luke’s bedside. Reid watched as Temi gently brushed Luke’s hair off of his forehead.
"We were all very relieved that you’re going to be alright," Temi said to Luke. "Pompea has prepared a feast in order to tempt you to eat so that you can recover quickly."
"That’s so sweet of her," said Luke. "And it’s very nice of you to bring it all down here. Temi, this is my husband, Dr. Reid Oliver. Reid, this is Temi Scalpello. Temi is the majordomo of Grimaldi Villa and the one who takes care of everything."
Reid and Temi shook hands and eyed one another suspiciously.
"Help me move the table to Luke’s bedside so that he can eat," Temi ordered Reid. Reid was pretty sure that a majordomos didn’t outrank him. But Luke looked completely amused by the order so Reid obeyed. Plus, there was food.
"Pompea didn’t know if you were going to be starving after being in a coma or if you were going to be unable to eat anything rich so there’s quite a selection of food," Temi informed Luke. "There’s some pastizzi, aljotta, minestra, and kannoli."
"It all smells wonderful, Temi," said Luke with a grin. "Please tell Pompea how much Reid and I appreciate not having to eat hospital food."
"She loves cooking for you," intoned Temi. "She’s going to make some rabbit stew for your return to the Villa tomorrow. Is there anything at all I can do for you?"
"Thank you but I’ll be fine," said Luke. "I’ll gorge myself on this wonderful food and then I’ll just sleep. Reid’ll take good care of me."
Everyone exchanged goodbyes and Temi left.
Reid and Luke started unpacking the meal and china and silverware. Real silverware. Because heavens forbid that Luciano Grimaldi eat with stainless steel utensils.
"Just so you know," Reid informed Luke. "I’m not eating Bugs Bunny stew tomorrow."
"I’m pretty sure it’s not Bugs," said Luke. "Although, it may be Peter Cottontail. He’s slower than Bugs. Rabbit is a culinary tradition in Malta. It’s normally for special occasions. You’ll like it.
Reid would have responded but he was too busy eating. He didn’t recognize most of the dishes but it was good. Luke must have realized he was starving from all of the coma-ing and for the first time in their relationship, Luke ate just as much as Reid did. Reid found it a little appalling, actually.
Afterwards, Reid packed the used dishware into the basket and he changed out of his clothes into a pair of pajamas. Luke changed out of his hospital gown into a pair of silk lounge pants that someone must have placed into the dresser drawer at some point during his hospital stay.
They lay back down and both fell into a deep sleep and weren’t awakened until the morning when Lucinda swept into the room. Reid would have been annoyed at her waking them if she hadn’t brought pastries and a thermos of coffee.
There was very little talking as the three of them ate. When Luke went into the bathroom to shower, Lucinda plopped herself down beside Reid. "You missed a glorious scandal this morning, darling."
"With your family, I’m sure there’ll be another one by the afternoon," snarked Reid.
"When we got back to the Villa last night, Damian assigned us all rooms," said Lucinda. "I was assigned a glorious suite overlooking the Mediterranean. After sleeping like the dead, I wandered downstairs to the dining room at the same time as Lily and Lien. We all witnessed a magnificent fight between Damian and Holden."
"Fistfight? Thumb wrestling? Mud-wrestling?"
"Just words, darling. But amusing words. Apparently, Damian put Lien and Holden into some positively horrid little cell of a room that used to be used as a servant’s room back in the day. Holden chose to take it as an insult."
"Which I’m sure is what Damian intended it to be," murmured Reid.
"Holden said something about Damian not treating him with respect and then Damian lit into Holden about once having tried to kill him."
Reid shrugged. "Well, he did. Holden beat Damian unconscious at the docks and then dragged him onto that ship and left him there. Damian could have been dying of internal bleeding but Holden didn’t call for an ambulance. I’m still unclear on why Holden isn’t in jail for attempted murder."
"Well, I think the fact that Damian later tried to frame Holden for his murder made him seem less like a victim," said Lucinda. "And yes, it did turn out that Damian had been acting like a nutcase because Insane Meg Snyder had been surreptitiously drugging him with meth while Holden was perfectly sober while beating Damian. But it still would have been a nightmare to prosecute."
Reid shrugged. Oakdale: Where the Law is Really Just a Suggestion.
"Anyway, Holden must not have ever mentioned to his wife that he once almost murdered a man," said Lucinda. "Lien was furious and disgusted. Whenever Holden attempted to justify the incident by pointing out something that Damian had done, Damian would helpfully point out to Lien something that Holden had done. Things that she hadn’t known about."
"I’m sure that an Accusation Fest between those two would take hours," said Reid. "They’d have to take regular breaks for refueling with Gatorade. Don’t mention it to Luke. It would upset him."
Lucinda huffed. "Why do you insult me by insinuating that I’m senile?"
Luke exited the bathroom in time to hear Lucinda’s question.
"That’s his way of flirting," Luke informed his grandmother.
Dr. Zickly entered the room. Lucinda and Reid reluctantly left so that the doctor could examine Luke. Dr. Zickly agreed to release Luke but warned him that it could take weeks for him to fully recover from the Goutman virus. He ordered Luke to not push his recovery. He should take at least a couple of weeks off of work in order to recuperate. Before Luke, Reid and Lucinda left, Dr. Zickly spent several minutes gushing about the work Reid had done in researching Luke’s case and making the necessary connections in order to save Luke’s life.
When Luke, Reid and Lucinda got into the limo for the ride back to the Grimaldi Villa, Luke turned towards Reid. "You know that I’m so very proud of you, right? That I think you’re an absolutely amazing doctor and that I have the best husband in the world? That I feel so lucky that I have you?"
Reid sighed. "What is it?"
"Dude, the guy practically asked for your autograph! What’s it like being a rock star in the field of medicine?" grinned Luke. "Do you get the interns to take out all of the brown M&Ms when they fill the candy dishes?"
"Dr. Zickly was close to throwing his panties at you just now," cooed Lucinda.
Reid wrapped his arm around Luke’s shoulder and allowed Lucinda and Luke to continue to amuse themselves. He didn’t see why he shouldn’t have fanboys and fangirls. He was awesome, after all.
After awhile, they arrived at the Grimaldi Villa. The limo drove slowly up the long, winding drive. Geez! The Grimaldi Villa was massive.
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again," muttered Reid as they drew closer to the Villa.
Lucinda laughed.
"Reid, are you sharing pop culture references with my grandmother?" asked Luke with a grin.
"I wouldn’t snark about pop culture references if I were you," said Reid. "Seeing as how you share the same pop culture references as little six year old Jacob Snyder."
"Not my fault that you’re too much of an old fogey to enjoy Killer Squirrels from Space: The Gangsta Rap Musical," said Luke. "It’s really a metaphor for man’s inhumanity towards man, you know. And the duality of man. And possibly the existential despair one feels when one first discovers their mortality."
Reid patted Luke’s knee. He was feeling a little stunned by Luke’s ancestral home. The villa was actually atop a cliff and overlooked the Mediterranean. Okay, he had thought that given his relationship with La Walsh, and the amount of time he spent with her, he had gotten past being . . . surprised by displays of wealth. But this? Roman emperors had probably dreamt of someday aspiring to this.
When the limo stopped in front of the Grimaldi Villa, Luke’s cornucopia of parents rushed out of the Villa towards him.
"I spoke to Dr. Zickly," said Damian. "He was insistent that you rest. Why don’t you go up to your room to nap?"
"Actually, I was thinking of grabbing a book and laying out one of the lounge chairs on the cliffside overlooking the sea," said Luke. "It’d be relaxing."
"Alright," said Damian. "Would you like me to have Pompea prepare a snack for you?"
"Grandmother brought some of Pompea’s pastries to the hospital so I’m still pretty full," said Luke. "I’m sorry I scared all of you but I’m going to be alright. You don’t have to worry or fuss. I’m going to take it easy just like the doctor ordered."
Reid rolled his eyes as Luke’s mommy and two daddies accompanied Luke and him to Luke’s room. You know, in case picking out a book was too taxing for Luke. As they moved into the house and headed to Luke’s room, Reid started feeling a little overwhelmed by the wealth displayed in the Villa. He was pretty sure that he’d seen some of the paintings in art books. He wondered how many visitors to the Villa had experienced Stendahl Syndrome. Luke’s ‘room’ at the villa was a master suite with a dressing room, sybaritic bathroom, walk in closet, and home gym. It had French doors leading to a balcony overlooking the sea. There were a dozen books piled on the bedside tables. Reid knew that sometimes when Luke traveled to other time zones, he had trouble sleeping and liked to read late at night. There were several family photos on a desk in the corner. Not just the Snyder/Walsh family but the Grimaldi family. Reid was suddenly bothered by the fact that Luke had a room somewhere other than their home.
He and Luke picked out a couple of books and headed out to the cliffside to loll around. When they reached the place where they were going to spend the morning reading and napping, Reid was unsurprised to find Lucinda had arrived before them and had commandeered one of the lounge chairs for herself. She had a book in one hand and a Bloody Mary in the other. As there were only three lounge chairs, Damian arranged with a servant to bring out several blankets and pillows so that he, Lily and Holden could stay within reach of Luke in case he sneezed or something. Reid allowed himself to consider the fact that there was a reason why Luke’s family was feeling so overprotective and clingy. As long as no one else tried to bogart Luke, Reid decided he was fine with sharing Luke, and the worrying about Luke, with his cadre of parents. Luke fell asleep within minutes of everyone settling themselves. Reid spent a few moments watching Luke sleep, feeling so relieved and happy that Luke was alive to be drooling while he slept. When Reid realized that he was being watched with various degrees of amusement and indulgence, he huffed.
After a short time, it became a little chilly. Reid decided to go up to Luke’s room to get him a sweater.
"I’m going to go grab Luke a sweater," Reid said to Lucinda. "Do you want one?"
"That’s so sweet darling," said Lucinda. "I have a lovely aubergine, cashmere sweater hanging in my closet. Can you bring that to me? My suite is the one next to yours."
"Will I recognize aubergine when I see it?" asked Reid.
"Eggplant, my darling philistine."
As Reid approached the Villa, he noticed Marijah Grimaldi standing near the windows looking out towards where Luke and the others rested or read. When Reid entered the Villa, Marija thanked Reid for keeping her and the other Grimaldis up to date on Luke’s condition. He replied that since he had unlimited texting, it hadn’t been a problem. He was unsurprised that Marija decided to accompany him to Luke’s room. Grimaldis could be pushy. He briefly wondered if she was going to try to blackmail him about something.
"It’s disappointing that it took a tragedy to get you to visit your husband’s homeland," sniffed Marijah.
"He’s homeland is Illinois," said Reid.
"You do realize that someday, Luciano is going to take his place as the rightful head of both Kingsley Malta and the Grimaldi family, don’t you, young man?"
"Not necessarily. One of the other zillions of Grimaldis could take over running Kingslely Malta and being in charge of the Grimaldi Family Newsletter or whatever the heck the Head of the Family does," said Reid.
"There are only about two dozen Grimaldis left," said Marijah. "And half of them are over fifty. The Grimaldi name and legacy is important and of the highest consequence. We’ve prospered for centuries. Through wars and conquest by foreign powers. Through economic upheaval and---"
"If you guys have been around for hundreds and hundreds of years, why are there so few of you?" asked Reid.
"Grimaldis have a low threshold for bordeom," said Marijah airly. "Three Grimaldis have been gored to death while running with the bulls in Pamplona---"
They had reached Luke’s ‘room’ by this point.
"So Grimaldis have a low threshold for boredom and they run slow," snarked Reid.
Marijah ignored the interruption. "Two have died while racing Formula One cars. Cuckolded husbands have shot a half dozen. A few have died while hunting big game in Africa. A couple have died while climbing the Himalayas---"
"Stop, I’m begging ya. I’m starting to picture Grimaldis dying by pianos falling on their heads. Look, I support whatever Luke wants to do. If he wants to someday head the Evil Empire, then I’ll back him up on that. But I won’t have anyone pressuring him into doing anything he doesn’t want." Reid grabbed a couple of sweaters and left the room to go grab Lucinda’s sweater.
"Oh, don’t be silly. The last of the purely evil Grimaldis are all dead. The last truly evil Grimaldi was Caesar Grimaldi and he was eaten by sharks here in Malta," said Marijah.
"There are sharks off the shores of Malta?" asked a skeptical Reid.
She waved her hand airily which told him exactly nothing about whether there really were sharks off the shores of Malta.
"He wasn’t lowered into a pit of sharks, was he?" asked a suspicious Reid.
"If he was, would you really want to know?"
"You people are freaking scary," said Reid. "Plus the fact that you’re not counting Poisoner Umberto or Kidnapper Zoe as evil makes me think you guys have a completely different scale for evil than I, or any other sane person, does," said Reid.
As Reid and Marija entered Lucinda’s room, Marijah grabbed Reid’s arm. The lady had Kung Fu grip.
"Luciano is the only one in his generation with the business acumen, the vision and the strength to head Kingsley Malta," she said. "And he’s the only one who has the generosity of spirit and kindness to see that our name is restored to what it should be."
"What do you mean?" said Reid as he looked into Lucinda’s closet to try to see which sweater looked like eggplant. "I thought the Grimaldi name was already all of that and a bag of chips."
"We spent centuries as leaders worthy of respect and awe," said Marijah. "We stayed powerful and in charge no matter who our enemies were. But in the last few generations, we lost sight of what our ancestors had intended our legacy to be. Our name was tarnished by deeds performed."
Reid sighed. He grabbed Lucinda’s eggplant-y sweater and turned towards Marija. "You don’t think that being the savior of a dynasty is kind of a lot of pressure to put on someone?"
Marijah shrugged. She managed to do it elegantly. "He’s the one. One day, he will accept that his legacy is all of this. Not some stable boy’s barn which will most likely be evenly divided amongst the stable boy’s dozens of children."
"Luke and I have decided that when it’s time for us to have a kid, we’re going to use my sperm and one of his sisters’ or cousin’s eggs," Reid informed Marijah. "Our kid isn’t going to have the blood of the Grimaldis running through their veins."
"Adoption wouldn’t have been acceptable to us a couple of generations ago," admitted Marijah. "But then, neither would have Luciano’s sexual orientation. As vital as traditions are, being able to accept change is paramount. Any children of Luciano’s will be accepted fully into the family regardless of the biology."
Marijah turned and left. Holy crap. Reid was starting to understand that Luke didn’t have just one overly involved family with expectations for him. Reid thought that he and Damian had a pretty good relationship but he had never really given much thought to the other Grimaldis. Yes, Luke was on the board of Kingsley-Malta and was learning the businesses. But he hadn’t given much thought to what that might mean.
He returned to the others. He gave Lucinda her eggplant sweater and laid Luke’s sweater atop his sleeping body. When Luke woke up, they decided to go up to the house for lunch. Reid discovered that rabbit stew was yummy.
During lunch, Luke asked where Lien was. Holden explained that Lien had to leave due to an important client needing his attorney. Since Holden looked guilty when he explained Lien’s absence, Luke shot him a suspicious look that Holden ignored. Luke suggested that Lily, Holden and Lucinda go home. He assured them that he was fine. He told them the kids needed them. Lily and Holden reluctantly agreed to go but Lucinda said that she was going to stay long enough to visit Popeye’s Village.
After lunch, Luke and Reid retired to Luke’s room. They took off their shoes and laid down on the bed together. They tangled their limbs together.
"Are we going to have to move to Malta?" Reid asked Luke.
"Why? Is there a warrant out for your arrest in the United States?" asked Luke
"Not as far as I know," said Reid. "But look around us. You’re the heir apparent to a virtual fiefdom. The Grimaldis expect you to take your rightful place ruling over them and their empire."
"The life that you and I have together is what’s important to me," Luke told Reid. "Not the Grimaldi expectations of me, not the Snyder expectations of me, not Grandmother’s expectations of me. The life that we’re building is what matters."
"You didn’t exactly say that you don’t expect us to move to Malta," Reid said worriedly.
"Well, I’ve been toying with the idea that it might be nice, once we have little Oliver or Olivia Snyder to spend time in places other than Oakdale," said Luke.
"You’ve never mentioned this," said Reid.
"Well, it’s not set in stone or anything. I definitely want our kid to spend most of their time growing up in Oakdale. Playing with their cousins, swimming in Snyder pond, being spoiled by his or her great-grandmothers," said Luke.
"You do know that Oakdale is just as much Peyton Place as it is Mayberry, right?" asked Reid.
"Your old-time references confuse me," said Luke. "But it might be fun to spend a year in Malta when the kid is old enough to find another culture interesting. If that’s something that you and I decide would work for us as well. If you’d be interested in being on guest neurologist in Malta for a year."
"It’s something for us to consider, I suppose," said Reid.
"Maybe every few years we could spend time in another country. Maybe we could spend time in Boston where the little Oliver-Snyder spawn could see where you and your parents grew up. Maybe we could spend a year someplace exotic where Grimaldi Shipping has offices, like Bangkok."
"It would definitely depend upon whether our kid would look at moving away from home for a year as a trauma or an adventure," said Reid.
"Of course," agreed Luke. "Look, you’re not feeling freaked out by being here are you?"
"Not really," said Reid. "I’m just a little worried that the Grimaldis are going to try to pressure you or guilt you into becoming King Grimaldi. I’m not against you becoming King Grimaldi if that’s what you want. I just never really gave it much thought before."
"You and me. Everything else is just details," said Luke before gently kissing Reid. "Besides, Damian is going to live to be a hundred and twenty."
"Well, only the good die young," agreed Reid.
Author’s Note: I sincerely apologize for the delay in posting. I had four chapters written before I started posting and figured that I’d have plenty of time to write the remaining chapters. Real life can be very annoying.