FIC: On Second Thought (31/37)
A Luke/Reid fic in which Noah is in trouble. (As the World Turns, PG)
Title: On Second Thought (31/37)
Author: sleeper6
Rating: PG
Characters: Luke/Reid, assorted characters
Summary: Noah is blind again and needs Luke in L.A. What will Luke and Reid do?
Disclaimer: All belongs to As the World Turns, not me.
Warning: Will contain angst so read only if you don’t mind that.
Previous: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30
“American, right?”
Ruth, her hair in a ponytail and sunglasses on her head, looked at the tall man who sat on the stool next to her. The tall, handsome man.
She eyed him interestedly but cautiously. “That’s right. How’d you guess?”
The man smiled. “You have that glow about you that most American or European women have,” he said in slight Italian accent.
She smiled, blushing lightly. “How’d you know I wasn’t European, then?”
The man smiled wider. “I confess: I heard your laughter from over there and had to meet the woman who was making such a beautiful sound. From the Carolinas?”
Ruth turned in her bar stool to face the man. “Tennessee, actually.”
The man extended his hand. “Angelo.”
Ruth shook it. “Angelo from . . .?”
“From another country,” Angelo said, winking at her.
Ruth giggled. Men like this didn’t approach her often; in fact, hardly any kind of men approached her back home. She was suddenly very glad she’d decided to leave the country for a while; maybe over here, she wouldn’t be alone for long. She got tired of being lonely sometimes, and love was something that had never come easy for her. That’s why she’d encouraged Noah to pursue Luke. She remembered how fondly Noah would describe Luke in his emails and postcards, and Ruth thought it’d be a shame for Noah to so easily let go of what he had with Luke.
And she also thought it’d be a shame to let someone as wealthy as Luke get away from her. If Luke and Noah reunited, Ruth figured she’d always have money at her disposal because, thankfully, Luke was a generous man when it concerned those he loved. She fingered the purse by her hand and smiled at Angelo.
“May I buy you a drink?” he asked.
“How about several?” she replied with a wink.
Angelo Marcano, who worked for Damian Grimaldi (as an associate, a title that carried several obscure connotations) for years and then his son, Luke, (as a shipping supervisor, which meant exactly that) for months afterwards before relocating to Chicago, had to bite back a laugh as he realized how easy his task was going to be.
“To Bangkok nights,” Angelo said, raising his glass in the air.
“And mornings,” Ruth added, batting her eyes at him.
“That’s really good,” Chris said enthusiastically. He then looked curiously at Reid. “Did you copy it from someone?”
Reid gave him a stern look.
Susan hit him on the arm.
“What? I’m just asking.”
Tim smiled apologetically at Reid. “I think Chris is simply overwhelmingly impressed by the eloquence of the speech, Dr. Oliver. It’s no secret that all of us in this room know that you don’t like to talk a lot, especially not like that.”
“And yet it still sounds exactly like you,” Susan interjected with a warm smile.
Chris nodded and pointed to both Tim and Susan. “What they said.”
Reid sat down behind his desk. “Well, it’s a good thing I got the approval from my underlings; otherwise, I was going to have a very sad day,” Reid said with mock emotion.
“And that also sounds exactly like you,” Chris said with a laugh. “We’re leaving, but we’ll see you tonight. Come on, Tim.”
The two doctors left, and Susan sat in the chair opposite Reid, who was looking over some paperwork.
“Luke?” she asked quietly.
Reid looked up, a smile escaping from his lips. “Yeah, he helped me write it.”
Susan smiled.
“Okay, he wrote most of it, or all of it,” he admitted with a laugh, feeling comfortable enough to tell Susan.
“So you two are okay, I take it? Everything sorted since you two left to L.A.?”
Reid nodded.
“If he’d been straight, I would’ve definitely wanted him for Alison,” Susan said.
Reid laughed.
“He’s an extraordinary young man, Reid. You hold on to him.”
Reid thought about all that Luke had done for him so far and everything he’d be doing that day for him and for them. He nodded firmly. “I will. I certainly don’t want to lose him to your daughter,” he said with a grin.
Susan left shortly thereafter, and Reid checked his phone. He was expecting a call from Luke, who said he’d call Reid to share some more details of the plan against Ruth. Reid was discovering how excited his body would get at the mere thought of Luke talking about the plan. If he hadn’t fallen asleep so quickly after their bout of sex, Reid thought, he could’ve asked Luke more about it then. That morning, Reid had been determined to know more of the specifics, but then he was called in earlier than expected, so Luke had kissed him and told him to wait for his call:
“Once Grandmother lets me know her part, I’ll tell you everything,” Luke whispered against Reid’s cheek.
“Please tell me you’re talking about Lucinda. The thought of Emma with a fresh apple pie in one hand and an iron bar in the other is not an image I want in my head.”
Luke laughed. “Relax, it is Lucinda. And I think Grandma Emma would use a baseball bat,” Luke teased.
Reid looked directly into Luke’s eyes and held his chin in his hand. “Be careful, Luke.”
Luke nodded. “I will.”
“Come back to me, okay?”
“I will.”
There were no calls from Luke so Reid put his phone away and resumed his work.
“Grandmother, you are wicked,” Luke said, clearly impressed, as he talked to Lucinda Walsh on the phone.
“Thank you, dear,” Lucinda replied graciously.
“But are you sure she won’t get hurt?” Luke asked worriedly. “Reid and I don’t want her physically harmed.”
“She’s a big girl; she’ll be fine. But don’t you forget everything she did to you and Reid. The woman deserves no sympathy in my book,” Lucinda declared.
“Did Angelo call you?”
“Yes, he did, darling. After she passed out, he copied everything on her hard drive and deleted it all as well.”
“Passed out?”
“She’s okay, Luke. You know we need her to be alert to be where she needs to be, don’t we?”
“Yeah.”
“Anyway, someone else took care of her house in Memphis so you can rest assured that your doctor is safe. There’s no more incriminating evidence out there on him,” Lucinda explained.
Luke closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Grandmother. I’ll be sure to tell Reid that.”
“Don’t tell him yet, Luke. In fact, don’t tell him about any of this until the problem is taken care of.”
“But I said I’d call him-” Luke started.
“After it’s done, Luke. He’s got a lot to deal with at the hospital right now. And he probably already has enough worries with the party tonight, which you know is very important to Memorial. Don’t bother him with this. We can take care of it ourselves.”
“But-”
Lucinda continued. “Luke, you just make sure your part of the plan goes accordingly. Is you-know-who ready to help?”
“I-I think so,” Luke said as he watched Noah come out of the bedroom in his L.A. apartment with a smile on his face, Luke still getting used to Noah’s closely shaven head.
“Make sure, Luke.”
“I will,” Luke said quietly as Noah, who no longer squinted as much, stood before him. “Thank you, Grandmother, for everything.”
“I’ll do anything for you, Luke, you know that. And John and I don’t mind the detour. Thailand is wonderful this time of the year.”
Luke said goodbye and hung up. He looked at Noah expectantly.
Noah didn’t say anything.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Noah?”
Noah briefly glanced down before looking back at Luke. He then put his hands on Luke’s face, pulled him close, and dove in.
Next
Title: On Second Thought (31/37)
Author: sleeper6
Rating: PG
Characters: Luke/Reid, assorted characters
Summary: Noah is blind again and needs Luke in L.A. What will Luke and Reid do?
Disclaimer: All belongs to As the World Turns, not me.
Warning: Will contain angst so read only if you don’t mind that.
Previous: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30
“American, right?”
Ruth, her hair in a ponytail and sunglasses on her head, looked at the tall man who sat on the stool next to her. The tall, handsome man.
She eyed him interestedly but cautiously. “That’s right. How’d you guess?”
The man smiled. “You have that glow about you that most American or European women have,” he said in slight Italian accent.
She smiled, blushing lightly. “How’d you know I wasn’t European, then?”
The man smiled wider. “I confess: I heard your laughter from over there and had to meet the woman who was making such a beautiful sound. From the Carolinas?”
Ruth turned in her bar stool to face the man. “Tennessee, actually.”
The man extended his hand. “Angelo.”
Ruth shook it. “Angelo from . . .?”
“From another country,” Angelo said, winking at her.
Ruth giggled. Men like this didn’t approach her often; in fact, hardly any kind of men approached her back home. She was suddenly very glad she’d decided to leave the country for a while; maybe over here, she wouldn’t be alone for long. She got tired of being lonely sometimes, and love was something that had never come easy for her. That’s why she’d encouraged Noah to pursue Luke. She remembered how fondly Noah would describe Luke in his emails and postcards, and Ruth thought it’d be a shame for Noah to so easily let go of what he had with Luke.
And she also thought it’d be a shame to let someone as wealthy as Luke get away from her. If Luke and Noah reunited, Ruth figured she’d always have money at her disposal because, thankfully, Luke was a generous man when it concerned those he loved. She fingered the purse by her hand and smiled at Angelo.
“May I buy you a drink?” he asked.
“How about several?” she replied with a wink.
Angelo Marcano, who worked for Damian Grimaldi (as an associate, a title that carried several obscure connotations) for years and then his son, Luke, (as a shipping supervisor, which meant exactly that) for months afterwards before relocating to Chicago, had to bite back a laugh as he realized how easy his task was going to be.
“To Bangkok nights,” Angelo said, raising his glass in the air.
“And mornings,” Ruth added, batting her eyes at him.
“That’s really good,” Chris said enthusiastically. He then looked curiously at Reid. “Did you copy it from someone?”
Reid gave him a stern look.
Susan hit him on the arm.
“What? I’m just asking.”
Tim smiled apologetically at Reid. “I think Chris is simply overwhelmingly impressed by the eloquence of the speech, Dr. Oliver. It’s no secret that all of us in this room know that you don’t like to talk a lot, especially not like that.”
“And yet it still sounds exactly like you,” Susan interjected with a warm smile.
Chris nodded and pointed to both Tim and Susan. “What they said.”
Reid sat down behind his desk. “Well, it’s a good thing I got the approval from my underlings; otherwise, I was going to have a very sad day,” Reid said with mock emotion.
“And that also sounds exactly like you,” Chris said with a laugh. “We’re leaving, but we’ll see you tonight. Come on, Tim.”
The two doctors left, and Susan sat in the chair opposite Reid, who was looking over some paperwork.
“Luke?” she asked quietly.
Reid looked up, a smile escaping from his lips. “Yeah, he helped me write it.”
Susan smiled.
“Okay, he wrote most of it, or all of it,” he admitted with a laugh, feeling comfortable enough to tell Susan.
“So you two are okay, I take it? Everything sorted since you two left to L.A.?”
Reid nodded.
“If he’d been straight, I would’ve definitely wanted him for Alison,” Susan said.
Reid laughed.
“He’s an extraordinary young man, Reid. You hold on to him.”
Reid thought about all that Luke had done for him so far and everything he’d be doing that day for him and for them. He nodded firmly. “I will. I certainly don’t want to lose him to your daughter,” he said with a grin.
Susan left shortly thereafter, and Reid checked his phone. He was expecting a call from Luke, who said he’d call Reid to share some more details of the plan against Ruth. Reid was discovering how excited his body would get at the mere thought of Luke talking about the plan. If he hadn’t fallen asleep so quickly after their bout of sex, Reid thought, he could’ve asked Luke more about it then. That morning, Reid had been determined to know more of the specifics, but then he was called in earlier than expected, so Luke had kissed him and told him to wait for his call:
“Once Grandmother lets me know her part, I’ll tell you everything,” Luke whispered against Reid’s cheek.
“Please tell me you’re talking about Lucinda. The thought of Emma with a fresh apple pie in one hand and an iron bar in the other is not an image I want in my head.”
Luke laughed. “Relax, it is Lucinda. And I think Grandma Emma would use a baseball bat,” Luke teased.
Reid looked directly into Luke’s eyes and held his chin in his hand. “Be careful, Luke.”
Luke nodded. “I will.”
“Come back to me, okay?”
“I will.”
There were no calls from Luke so Reid put his phone away and resumed his work.
“Grandmother, you are wicked,” Luke said, clearly impressed, as he talked to Lucinda Walsh on the phone.
“Thank you, dear,” Lucinda replied graciously.
“But are you sure she won’t get hurt?” Luke asked worriedly. “Reid and I don’t want her physically harmed.”
“She’s a big girl; she’ll be fine. But don’t you forget everything she did to you and Reid. The woman deserves no sympathy in my book,” Lucinda declared.
“Did Angelo call you?”
“Yes, he did, darling. After she passed out, he copied everything on her hard drive and deleted it all as well.”
“Passed out?”
“She’s okay, Luke. You know we need her to be alert to be where she needs to be, don’t we?”
“Yeah.”
“Anyway, someone else took care of her house in Memphis so you can rest assured that your doctor is safe. There’s no more incriminating evidence out there on him,” Lucinda explained.
Luke closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Grandmother. I’ll be sure to tell Reid that.”
“Don’t tell him yet, Luke. In fact, don’t tell him about any of this until the problem is taken care of.”
“But I said I’d call him-” Luke started.
“After it’s done, Luke. He’s got a lot to deal with at the hospital right now. And he probably already has enough worries with the party tonight, which you know is very important to Memorial. Don’t bother him with this. We can take care of it ourselves.”
“But-”
Lucinda continued. “Luke, you just make sure your part of the plan goes accordingly. Is you-know-who ready to help?”
“I-I think so,” Luke said as he watched Noah come out of the bedroom in his L.A. apartment with a smile on his face, Luke still getting used to Noah’s closely shaven head.
“Make sure, Luke.”
“I will,” Luke said quietly as Noah, who no longer squinted as much, stood before him. “Thank you, Grandmother, for everything.”
“I’ll do anything for you, Luke, you know that. And John and I don’t mind the detour. Thailand is wonderful this time of the year.”
Luke said goodbye and hung up. He looked at Noah expectantly.
Noah didn’t say anything.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Noah?”
Noah briefly glanced down before looking back at Luke. He then put his hands on Luke’s face, pulled him close, and dove in.
Next