It should have been a good day.  Reid had come out of a six-hour surgery in which he removed a Grade III meningioma from the cerebral cavity of a nine-year-old boy.  Reid had felt elated as he walked out of the operating room.  Assuming the tumor didn't appear again, the child would live to a ripe old age, and it was Reid's skill ( Read more... )

After getting out of the car at Emma's, Luke whirled on Reid and urged, "Look, if Noah brings up his movie, just don't comment on it."

Reid was confused.  "Didn't it debut at some random festival in Fresno?"

"Yes.  And it did really well in Canada for some reason."

"What was it called?"

Luke drew in a long breath and winced.  "HieroSky: ( Read more... )

                The dreams, however, only partially contributed to Reid being in a particularly foul mood on his fourth day of incarceration in Oakdale.  When he had not been dreaming of Luke’s voice, he would wake to the image of Luke Snyder’s bare chest.  His lack of control annoyed him endlessly.  Not only was he thinking about it while he was ( Read more... )

                Dr. Stephen Regan waited nervously to welcome his new temporary staff surgeon, Reid Oliver.  Stephen, the head of the neuro-wing for the past five years, felt no small amount of trepidation about having the man for whom the center was named suddenly reappear at the hospital.  Stephen enjoyed his job and was not keen on losing it, ( Read more... )

                By the time Reid arrived at his apartment, he was willing to walk without shoes back to New York.  From the moment he had first seen Luke Snyder, his life had been a hectic series of nonsensical events.  Today had been no different.  Bob had looked ready to weep when he met Reid at the hospital.  Weep!  What sort of person had ( Read more... )

Chapter 9

Reid had been so engrossed in Luke that he had no idea how long Alec had even been standing there.

“I hope I’m not intruding,” said Alec.  It took all Reid’s will power to refrain from saying, “Of course you do.”

“Who’s your friend?” asked Alec.

Oh Christ, he’s going to try to pretend he doesn’t ( Read more... )

Chapter 7

After his discussion with Luke, Reid tried to do some paperwork in his office, but eventually admitted defeat and went back to his apartment in Chelsea.  He felt like he was crawling out of his skin by the time he got home.  Reid’s brain was trained to focus on one task at a time while blocking out all distractions.  It ( Read more... )

Chapter 6

I watched you die.  The words echoed in his head.  Dropping his hand from the doorknob, Reid slowly turned and replied, “You what now?”

Luke really had not wanted to broach this part of the story this early, but it was naïve thinking he could avoid it.  “First, my name is Luke Snyder.  But to answer your question, it’s a long story. ( Read more... )

Chapter 5

Jude’s day had gone to the dogs since seeing the young man by the registration desk that morning.  In fact, seeing someone that attractive was the only highlight of this otherwise tedious day.  When he arrived at his office, he found out that his first appointment was canceled.  If the nurses and paging station had done their jobs, he ( Read more... )

Chapter 4

Luke still was uncertain that the past three minutes had not taken place in his head.  Reid.  Reid is alive.  But, he had seen Reid die with his own eyes.  He had kissed Reid in his final moment on earth.  Reid was dead-that was the reality that Luke knew was real.  So what was this?

Marcus had guided Luke to his office ( Read more... )