The Light That I'd Bless Chapter 20
Chapter 20
The rest of the day had been...well...interesting. Luke had convinced Reid to stay at his mom’s house (which Reid had dubbed “The Lilypad”) until it was time to go to the farm. And saying that the afternoon had been uncomfortable for Reid would have been putting things very mildly.
Luke had to admit that despite everything they had been through, he still got great enjoyment from watching Reid squirm. Surprisingly, his mother was not the problem…she was actually very respectful of what Reid had suffered, going so far as to offer him some reassuring shoulder squeezes (which caused Reid to look as if he were on the verge of a seizure…thank God his mother was generally pretty oblivious) and gentle words of encouragement.
She had her own addiction issues and could empathize with Reid’s concerns about his own ability to stay clean.
Reid, you are a genius, at least that’s what I’ve heard, so you have to realize that it is very different for you. You did not become an addict because of any weakness or lack of control in your own life. Someone did that to you. There’s no reason to believe that you can’t go back to doing what you love to do.
Reid had just shaken his head slowly.
But don’t you understand? My mother was an addict, and, most likely, so was my father. It’s widely understood that the predisposition to addiction has a genetic component. I can’t take that risk. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
Lily had listened and not argued. She understood how difficult it was to take back your life…she was still working on that herself.
For the first time in quite a while, Luke had been truly proud of his mother and the way she handled a very difficult situation.
The kids, on the other hand…not so much. Ethan had spent the better part of the afternoon continuing to mutter about Oakdale‘s “stupid“ lack of zombies, Natalie had possessively squirmed herself between Reid and whoever tried to sit next to him, to the point that Reid had spent a good portion of the afternoon standing, and all the while, Faith had grilled Reid like a CIA agent.
She had pounded him with question after question for what must have seemed like an eternity to Reid, but she had saved the best for last.
So, let me get this straight. You’ve been alive all of this time and, yet, this is the first we’re all hearing about it? You let my brother spend the last 9 months thinking you were dead, making him suffer? And from what it sounds like to me, Luke found you by accident. Did you ever have any intention of coming back?
And another thing, how do we know that you’re not the psycho twin? Hmmm…Andrew?
Luke had grabbed her by the elbow and steered her toward the stairs.
Faith, go upstairs and get ready to go to the farm, please.
And then he had dropped his voice down low.
And, for God’s sake, will you knock it off? It’s Reid. I promise. And if you scare him off, I‘m going to come into your room and shred that new Marc Jacobs bag Grandmother sent you. I‘m not kidding.
Faith had scowled and turned toward the steps, but as Luke walked away from her, she had given it one last shot.
Hey Andrew!
See…he looked! He looked!
Lily had finally marched over to Faith and grabbed her hand, pulling her up the stairs.
We all looked, Faith. You were pretty loud, sweetie.
Reid had just stood in the living room, blinking furiously, looking completely flabbergasted, as if he was wondering what in the hell kind of mess he'd gotten himself into by agreeing to spend any time with these drama queens.
Reid had actually breathed a sigh of relief when Luke told him that it was time to head on over to the farm.
So now, Luke was driving to his Grandma's with Reid in his passenger seat. God it felt good to be this close to him, even if Reid was making the entire car rattle with the way his legs were bouncing up and down.
Luke couldn’t really blame him for being nervous. What was about to happen was going to change everything for a lot of people and there was no telling how they were going to react. Luke was pretty sure that the reactions would be intense and he supposed that possibility probably scared the hell out of Reid.
As they pulled up to the farm, the sight of all of the cars had Reid glaring at Luke.
Luke, how many people did you invite, exactly?
Luke parked the car and turned toward Reid.
Well, let’s see. There’s my mom, my dad (by the way, my mom already called him and filled him in), Faith (stop, Reid), Natalie, Ethan, Grandma, Aunt Meg, Jack, Carly, Parker, Sage, JJ, Chloe (she doesn’t count, though, she’s an infant), Katie (I called her and Jacob will be with Simon for the day…I hope you don’t mind not seeing him right away), Chris (don‘t roll your eyes, the guy deserves to know whose heart he has), Bob, Kim, Tom and Margo. I think that should be it.
Reid ground his palms into his eyes.
For the love of…Luke? Really? Why are you doing this to me? And who the hell are Tom and Margo?
Luke patted Reid’s knee.
Aww, Reid, you’ll be okay, I promise. All of these people are going to be thrilled to see you. Oh, and Tom is Bob’s other son…I know you‘ve met him…he was the lawyer who was involved in getting the permission for you…I mean, Andrew…to donate his heart to Chris and Margo…you remember, Katie’s sister…is his wife and the chief of police. I thought it would be good to have them both there to help us work on the legalities of getting you your life back.
With an audible sigh, Reid opened the door and exited the car, following Luke to the farmhouse. Luke opened the door ahead of him and walked through first, leaving Reid obscured behind him. When he saw that everyone was gathered in the kitchen, he smiled at them all.
Hey everyone. I’m so glad that you could all be here. I’ve brought someone…I have some incredible…you won’t believe who I…
Oh, hell…just see for yourself.
He reached behind him for Reid’s hand and stepped off to the side.
Reid would later refer to the immediate reaction as “the deafening cacophony of a pack of feeding hyenas”.
The room erupted into chaos. There were shouts of disbelief, sobs of relief and screeches of delight.
Katie Peretti Snyder launched herself across the room.
Reid!!! Reid??? Oh my God, Reid!!! How can you…??? How did you…??? Reid???
Without waiting for an answer, Katie threw herself at Reid and wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, pushing Reid up against the door. Reid, for his part, stood ramrod straight, save for his hands gingerly patting her back.
Luke, bless his heart, gently put his arms on Katie’s waist and peeled her off of him.
Katie. He’s alive. Let’s keep him that way.
Katie gave Reid some space but grabbed his hands.
Oh, God, Reid. How is this possible? You died…your heart…oh, God.
She turned to look at Chris, whose face had gone ashen as he rubbed his chest.
Luke interrupted.
Why don’t we let Reid actually come into the house and we’ll all sit down and Reid and I can try to answer all of your questions.
And so it was that Reid and Luke told the assembled group the story of what had happened that horrible day. They didn’t share all of the details of Reid’s childhood or his time in rehab, as those were Reid’s stories to tell when he was comfortable, but they gave a general version of the events, giving enough pertinent information to satisfy the small crowd.
When they finished and everyone assembled had expressed their happiness at having Reid among them again, and Reid had been forced to accept more hugs in ten minutes than he’d received in his entire existence, Reid asked if they would mind if he went outside for a bit to get some air. It had been an overwhelming day and he needed a moment to breathe.
He sat out on the porch, remembering the first and last time he had been there, and the words he’d spoken to Molly. The foreshadowing would have been funny if it…well, if it weren‘t so goddamned not funny.
Nothing’s forever in this world. As human beings, we’re hard-wired to cope with that….It is what it is. Things change, people move on.
Why did things have to change this much? But, he was coping, right?
He heard the screen door open behind him and turned around, expecting to see Luke.
Hey roomie, are you okay out here?
Katie walked up to him and put an arm around his waist and her head on his shoulder. Reid had forgotten what it felt like to have a friend like this. He put his arm around her and patted her head.
I’m alright. I just started feeling a little too much like a circus freak in there. And the look on poor Chris’ face when it dawned on him that the heart beating inside his chest belonged to someone like Andrew. It was a little much to take, but I can’t blame him.
He looked down at her upturned face and smiled.
By the way, I heard you came to your senses and ditched that goofus.
Katie grinned.
Yeah, he had your heart, but, let’s face it, he’s no Reid Oliver…so I had to kick him to the curb. Seriously, though, we’re actually still really close friends. He learned a lot from what happened. Your death and his transplant made him realize how he’d spent his life self-sabotaging and he’s done a great job of turning that around.
Reid ruffled her hair.
Luke says you’re involved with Simon again?
She thought for a moment before speaking.
We’re working on things, but it looks like it might stick this time. Right now, we’re taking things slowly.
But enough about me. Are you trying to deflect here? You are the one with details to fill in, Dr. Oliver, and I’ll expect to hear them all.
So, what do you say? Your old room is waiting for you. I’d love to have you back in every way, Reid.
Reid hadn’t really planned on staying in Oakdale indefinitely. He’d only come to check on Luke’s health and then to get him to back off and go back to the life he’d made with Noah. But, as he looked down at his friend, he knew he wasn’t ready to return to Boston just yet.
As hard as he fought to admit it, this perky little blonde still represented home for him. She’d given him the first taste of what it meant to share yourself emotionally, even if he was kicking and screaming the whole way.
He felt…strangely unburdened…being with her again. Everything else in his life had gotten tossed and broken in the storm, but she was an unexpected anchor. He’d forgotten what this felt like.
Mistaking his silence for hesitance, Katie spoke.
I promise, Reid, I won’t pressure you. We’ll do everything at your pace, just please say “yes”.
Wait, unless you’re planning on staying with Luke, because that would be just fine…no, great…with me too.
Reid looked at her with questioning eyes.
Yeah, that would go over really well. No, Katie, I won’t be staying with Luke. And, yes, I don’t know how long I’ll be in town, but I’d love to stay with you again.
Katie put both arms around Reid’s neck then and whispered in his ear.
God, it hurt so much to lose you. You have no idea. Thank you for coming back...even if I do have a bone to pick with you about staying away for so long.
Reid hadn’t allowed himself to think about the impact his “death” may have had on her. He’d never had a friend like Katie before, so his frame of reference was pretty skewed.
He lightly kissed the top of her head.
Thanks, Katie. Thanks for still being...you.