Dr. Oliver vs The Heinous Blackmailer - Chapter Two
Title: Dr. Oliver vs. The Heinous Blackmailer - Chapter Two
Author: nancygrew
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Characters belong to ATWT\
Notes: This is outside of my usual "Amnesia" verse. It’s less of an AU [no Sentinel!Luke/Guide!Reid or WereDoberman!Reid/WereKitten!Luke] and more of a remix [Reid doesn’t show up in Oakdale until June 2010 and Luke has made a couple of wiser life decisions than in canon.].
Warning: Complete disregard for actualities of neurological conditions
Summary: Dr. Reid Oliver, Neurosurgeon Extraordinaire, gets his life hi-jacked by a ruthless and entitled brat.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
After spending an uncomfortable night sleeping in a hotel room chair, and having an uncomfortable sex dream about young Mr. Snyder, Reid was sitting in a coffee shop mainlining caffeine and sugar. He had an hour before his shift at the hospital. How Ancient Bob Hughes had convinced Reid to become a temporary staff doctor, he’d never know. He suspected that Bobbo had hypnotized him. Hopefully, the old guy hadn’t implanted any weird post-hypnotic suggestions involving quacking or wearing stripes.
"Is it okay if I sit here?" asked a young brunette woman. Reid looked around and noticed that the coffee shop was packed and the only empty seat was at his table.
"Do you plan on throwing out boring conversational gambits at me in an attempt to distract yourself from the emptiness of your own teeny-bopper thoughts about sparkly vampires?" asked Reid warily.
The woman smirked. "Since I’m not a member of the AARP generation, I doubt you and I have anything in common. I’ll be stoic and resist making small talk with you."
Reid snorted and waved a hand to indicate that he would permit the interloper to sit at his table. He then went back to reading a medical journal; he huffed whenever he came across an article by a doctor who obviously got his or her medical degree from a mail order medical school advertised on the back of matchbooks. The young woman started highlighting a textbook like a mad, highlighting fiend. The shrieking of an air raid siren interrupted the not uncomfortable silence. The air raid siren turned out to be a red-faced, squalling infant.
"Are you a doctor?" asked the blonde juggling the eardrum piercing cyborg.
"Katie," said the brunette while stroking the cyborg’s tiny leg in a futile attempt at comfort. "The man’s obviously on a break. Take Jacob to his own doctor instead of accosting complete strangers who are off-duty."
"His doctor is off today, Maddie," cried the blonde. "My baby needs help. You have no idea what it’s like to be a single mother who lost her husband and now has to do everything on her own."
Maddie rolled her eyes. "It’s an ear infection. It’s always an ear infection. Poor Jacob is the ear-infection-iest kid in the world and probably needs another prescription."
"If your friend is a doctor then he can write---"
"Don’t be a spoiled brat," interrupted Maddie. "It’s completely inappropriate to accost off-duty doctors for free medical care when there’s a hospital literally down the block. The world doesn’t revolve around you."
"Henry is going to hear about how heartless you are," sniffed the blonde while she stormed out of the coffee shop.
"Why did you just rescue me?" asked Reid suspiciously.
"Partly because I just don’t like Katie. She broke my brother’s heart when they were married and she once wrote a scandalous tell-all that included my personal business."
"You don’t like old enough to have any personal business that would liven-up a scandalous tell-all," Reid informed Maddie.
Maddie shrugged. "And partly because you look like crap."
"Ruggedly handsome crap?"
"Sure. Up all night with a sick patient?"
"No. Up all night because I slept in a chair due to the fact that hotels and their linens are germ-ridden cesspools of death."
Maddie grinned. "So, instead of rescuing a dedicated doctor exhausted from caring for a patient he’s desperate to keep alive, I rescued a germaphobe from having his coffee interrupted?"
Reid shrugged. "Since you did such a good job at scaring off a random stranger, can I hire you to scare off the man who’s doing his best to destroy all that is good in my life?"
"Someone’s actively trying to destroy all that’s good in your life?" asked a doubtful Maddie.
"Twenty-four hours ago, my life was perfect," groused Reid. "Then Beelzebub unapologetically turns my life upside down."
"Beelzebub? Would that be of the Chicago Zebubs?" asked a smiling Maddie.
"Yes," responded Reid. "The Chicago Zebubs. I believe his great grandfather is Rudy Zebub, the founder of the Zebub Grocery and Eternal Pit of Hellfire and Suffering Store chain."
"What’s he done to destroy your life?"
"I have to live in Oakdale for the next three weeks."
Reid glared when Maddie laughed.
"Are you going to be spending the next three weeks sleeping in a chair?"
"Maddie, I’m so glad you’re here," said a woman in a nurse’s uniform who was leading an apparently blind giant towards their table.
Reid watched Maddie take a longing look at her textbook before she responded to the nurse.
"Hey, guys. What a lovely day, isn’t it."
"I wouldn’t know," grumbled the giant petulantly.
"You’d know that the sun is warm and the birds are singing and the air is fresh and bright with the smell of flowers," suggested Maddie encouragingly.
The giant huffed.
"You know that Noah and I are living together, right?" asked the nurse.
"Yeah, you’re the mismatched roommates just trying to make it in the big city. Dealing with your wacky neighbor by day and fighting crime by night," grinned Maddie.
"Exactly," said Allson. "But we didn’t renew our lease because we were going to get a bigger place with Casey after the wedding."
"I’m sorry about the wedding not happening," sympathized Maddie. "What was the deal with the psychopath that shot up the chapel?"
Allison shifted guiltily.
Reid had the distinct impression that Maddie knew the deal with the chapel-shooting psychopath and had merely asked the question to discomfort Allison. Reid normally had no interest in the petty interactions of his fellow human beings but found himself wishing he had popcorn.
"That’s not important," squinted the giant named Noah. "Anyway, Allison is going to move in with her mom for awhile and I know that your roommate just transferred schools."
"Oh, Noah. I’m sorry but I already have a replacement roommie. Noah and Allison, meet my new roommate . . . Skipper," introduced Maddie.
Reid raised his brow at both the blatant lie and at his new, very temporary nickname.
"Maddie’s the only one who calls me Skipper. Everyone else calls me Dr. Oliver. Or sir."
Allison eyed Maddie suspiciously while Maddie looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. Reid wondered if anyone, other than Paula Dean, ever ate butter straight.
"Has he signed a contract yet?" asked Noah.
"Yes. Yes, he has," lied the lying liar.
"Well, I guess Noah can move in with my mom and me," said Allison brightly while patting Noah’s arm.
Allison and Noah said their good-byes and left with their coffees.
"Don’t want the responsibility of a blind roommate?" asked Reid without judgement.
"I think being friends with your ex-boyfriend is awesome and mature. Being roommates with your ex-boyfriend is sad and pitiful."
"Ex-boyfriend? Weird. He dinged my gaydar pretty hard."
Maddie snorted. "Where were you when I was 18 and giving up the college of my dreams for my handsome new, supposedly straight, boyfriend?"
"Saving lives and being all-around generally amazing," replied Reid.
"Thanks for not giving me away."
"I owed you for saving me from Hysterical Mom."
"So, do you want to be my roommate for the three weeks you’re going to be in Oakdale? I keep my apartment clean but I’ll buy you extra bleach for you to bathe in."
"How are you still alive? You can not invite strange men into your home. It’s insane."
Maddie shrugged. "I have a taser that I’m not afraid to use. Also, one of my other ex-boyfriend’s mom is the Chief of Police. I’m going to ask her to do a background check on you."
Reid thought about spending the next several weeks trying to sleep in a chair.
"I don’t mind having a wacky neighbor but I refuse to fight crime at night," said Reid.
Chapter Three