NEW! "Hazard Pay - Chapter Sixteen"
Title: Hazard Pay - Chapter Sixteen
Pairing: Noah/OMC
Rating: M
Prompt: Action!Noah in action ripped from the headlines!
Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em. Don’t make no money.
link
“I didn’t lie.” Luke stood at the foot of Noah’s bed, arms folded, face mulish. Maddie stood behind him in the self-same posture with the self-same expression on her face.
“Yeah, you did,” Noah said.
“No, I didn’t,” Luke insisted. “I never said he was dead.”
“You let me think he was!”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Noah looked helplessly at Maddie. “Is Jeff alive or not?”
She nodded. “He’s alive.”
Noah felt his heart soar. “He wasn’t injured in the explosion?”
“No. He wasn’t even there. Apparently you were off on some patrol.”
“Okay, okay. Now I remember.” Noah rubbed his eyes. “Now would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”
Maddie sighed. “Like I said, the first time we knew what happened was when we saw you on the news. Everyone freaked out. Nobody had heard from you in more than a year,” she said gently.
“I know,” Noah said, feeling ashamed. “I’m sorry. I was just...really busy.”
“Apparently,” Luke said sarcastically.
Noah glared at him. “Since when did you give a shit where I was or what I was doing?”
Luke’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me, Noah?”
“Guys.” Maddie held up her hands. “Please.”
Noah subsided. “Fine. Go on.”
“We found out you were at the base in Germany. That’s where you had the first surgery.”
“And then I came here?”
Maddie shook her head. “Johns Hopkins.”
Noah frowned. “In Baltimore?”
“Apparent your...Jeff has major connections there, through his family or something. He had you transferred from Germany, and their top surgeon did the second procedure.”
“Wait, so he was with me?”
“The whole time,” Maddie said. “That’s kind of when the problem started.” She looked at Luke, who scowled.
“He wouldn’t let me see you,” he muttered.
“What?”
“He wouldn’t let me see you,” Luke said, louder. “He wouldn’t let any of us see you. The guy was a total asshole.”
Noah hesitated. “Well, maybe he thought--"
“I don’t care what he thought!” Luke raged. “At that point, we didn’t know if you were going to live or die! I begged him to let me see you, and the asshole said no.” He folded his arms again, and shrugged. “So I got a lawyer.”
“Luke,” Noah said softly. Luke refused to meet his eye, so he turned to Maddie, who nodded.
“It got pretty ugly,” she said. “Both of them got attorneys. Expensive ones.”
“So, what, you guys had some kind of custody battle over me?” Noah asked, laughing in disbelief.
“That’s right,” Luke said defiantly. “And I won.”
“How?”
“Show him, Luke,” Maddie ordered when he hesitated.
Luke rolled his eyes, but pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Noah. He peered at it, but the letters seemed tiny and jumbled.
“What is this?”
“Medical power of attorney,” Luke said. “For you.”
Noah stared at him. “What the hell, Luke? I never signed this.”
“Yeah, you did. Don’t you remember? Before Reid did your surgery, you had it drawn up. You said...” Luke’s voice wavered. “You said if anything went wrong, you trusted me to make the right decisions for you.”
Noah rubbed his eyes again. “Okay, I remember now, but, Luke, that was years ago.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Luke said. “You haven’t replaced it with another, so it’s still binding.”
Noah tore the paper in half. “Not anymore.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Oh, yeah? Why the hell not?”
“The court declared you non compos mentis,” Maddie said gently. “You were in a coma, honey,” she added.
“Jesus!” Noah threw his hands up in frustration. “Well, they’ll have to declare me un-compos mentis, or whatever it is.”
“Fine, but it will take a few weeks.” Luke shrugged at Noah’s glare. “It’s just how the courts work.”
“Fine,” Noah said through gritted teeth. “Does Tom Hughes still practice?”
“As far as I know.”
“Then get him on the damn phone. And I want to see Jeff.”
“It’s not that simple,” Luke said again.
“Why the hell not?”
Luke suddenly became very interested in the ceiling tiles. “Because of the restraining order.”
“You took out a restraining order?” Noah looked at Maddie, who shrugged.
“I told you,” she said. “It got ugly.”
“Luke!” Noah grabbed his hair in sheer frustration. “Why would you do something like that?”
“To protect you!” Luke snapped.
“What do you mean?”
“The guy’s dangerous. He almost got you killed.”
“Why - wait - what?” Noah sputtered. “What are you talking about?”
“What the hell were you doing in Iraq, Noah?”
“My job!”
“Since when?” Luke challenged. “You never wanted to be a cameraman on some news crew. You were supposed to go to film school.”
“Okay, well, it didn’t work out.”
“Did you even try?”
Noah stared at him, mouth open. “I...no, but-"
“You gave up and ran away, just like you always do.”
“Are you kidding me?” Noah was so outraged he tried to get up out of bed, ignoring the stabbing pain in his leg.
“Guys, come on. Don’t do this,” Maddie pleaded, but they both ignored her.
Luke folded his arms. “Face it, Noah. When things get tough, you bail.”
“When things get tough...Luke, you dumped me!”
“Only because you shut me out!”
“I shut you out?” The adrenaline completely obliterated the pain. Noah felt like he could get up and run, fueled by sheer rage. “Are you serious?”
“What the hell is going on here?” Reid stood in the doorway. “I can hear you guys yelling all the way down the hall.” He frowned at Luke. “Are you upsetting my patient?”
Noah grabbed the pitcher of water on his bedside table and threw it at Reid, who ducked easily.
“Get out!” Noah roared. “I am not your freaking patient!”
“Technically, you are, since this is my institute.” Reid took a step forward.
“You come near me again with that needle and I will fucking kill you,” Noah hissed.
“Settle down, and I won’t have to,” Reid replied.
“God!” Noah fell back on the pillows, covering his face with his hands. “Would someone just get me a fucking cigarette?”
“Noah!” Luke said in a shocked tone. “You don’t smoke.”
The gap between Noah’s old life and his new life suddenly seemed too vast and overwhelming. He was embarrassed when tears sprung into his eyes.
“I want Jeff,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. He uncovered his eyes and glared at Luke, “Get him here.”
Luke gave a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll have my lawyer call his lawyer.”
“I don’t care what you have to do,” Noah retorted. “Just do it. Now.”
“Fine!” Luke spun on his heel and left the room.
“I’m sorry, Noah,” Maddie said. “None of us knew Luke had told you...or not told you, or whatever. He wouldn’t let the rest of us see you until this week, and then he said we probably shouldn’t talk about the accident since it might upset you...” Her voice trailed off, and she shrugged helplessly.
“’C’mere,” Noah said. She came over to the bed, and they embraced fiercely.
“I’m sorry I’ve been such a shitty friend,” Noah whispered.
“Oh, sweetie.” Maddie sniffed, and when she finally pulled back they were both fighting tears.
“I want to get to know your beautiful daughter,” Noah said.
Maddie laughed, wiping her eyes. “Trust me, you will. She’s a force of nature.”
“Just like her mom. Will you come back and visit me again?”
Maddie snorted. “Just try to keep me away.” She hesitated. “And try not to be too hard on Luke. He was just...”
“Being Luke,” Noah finished. “I get it.”
Maddie smiled, kissed him on the cheek, and left the room.
Noah wiped his eyes and glared at Reid. “What the hell are you still doing here?”
“I need to check your vitals.”
“Fuck off.”
Reid smiled thinly. “I see being in a war zone hasn’t improved your temper.” He tilted his head to one side. “Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. You be a good boy and let me check you out and...”
Noah folded his arms. “And what?”
“I’ll take you outside.”
“Outside?” Noah hadn’t realized until that moment how much the four walls of the narrow room were encaging him. “Where outside?”
Reid shrugged. “The roof.”
“You got a deal.”
***
Noah took a deep breath of the brisk, biting air. The rain was gone, and it was a beautiful, late fall day. He’d managed to struggle into a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, although the fabric had to be slit open to allow for his heavily bandaged right leg. The chilly air actually felt good on his bare arms, although he was conscious of how much weight he’d lost and how shaggy his hair and beard were. He’d thought about shaving, but his hands and limbs were ridiculously weak, which frustrated him.
“You’ll get your strength back,” Reid said, reading his mind. “But you need to get your ass to physical therapy.”
“I will,” Noah vowed. He looked out over the town, the place he’d once considered making his permanent home. It seemed so tiny now compared to some of the places he’d seen. He felt a sense of loss in his gut, like the dull edge of a knife.
He heard a metallic snick and smelled tobacco. He looked at Reid, who was holding two cigarettes in his mouth as he lit them.
“What?” he asked defensively. “You want one or not?”
Noah held out his hand. “Want.”
Reid slipped him the cigarette and they both smoked quietly for a minute. It made Noah’s chest hurt more than he remembered. He exhaled with a sigh.
“Since when do you smoke?” he asked.
Reid shrugged. “I keep a stash, just for emergencies.”
“Does Luke know?”
Reid snorted. “No. I’d never hear the end of it.” He took a drag.
“Yeah, but you live together,” Noah pointed out. “Doesn’t he smell it on your clothes?”
“No, we don’t.”
Noah frowned. “You don’t? Why not?”
Reid stared at him. “You didn’t know?"
“Know what?
Reid gave a final exhale, then flicked his cigarette butt over the rail. “Luke and I broke up two years ago.”
To be continued...
Pairing: Noah/OMC
Rating: M
Prompt: Action!Noah in action ripped from the headlines!
Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em. Don’t make no money.
link
“I didn’t lie.” Luke stood at the foot of Noah’s bed, arms folded, face mulish. Maddie stood behind him in the self-same posture with the self-same expression on her face.
“Yeah, you did,” Noah said.
“No, I didn’t,” Luke insisted. “I never said he was dead.”
“You let me think he was!”
“That’s not the same thing.”
Noah looked helplessly at Maddie. “Is Jeff alive or not?”
She nodded. “He’s alive.”
Noah felt his heart soar. “He wasn’t injured in the explosion?”
“No. He wasn’t even there. Apparently you were off on some patrol.”
“Okay, okay. Now I remember.” Noah rubbed his eyes. “Now would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?”
Maddie sighed. “Like I said, the first time we knew what happened was when we saw you on the news. Everyone freaked out. Nobody had heard from you in more than a year,” she said gently.
“I know,” Noah said, feeling ashamed. “I’m sorry. I was just...really busy.”
“Apparently,” Luke said sarcastically.
Noah glared at him. “Since when did you give a shit where I was or what I was doing?”
Luke’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me, Noah?”
“Guys.” Maddie held up her hands. “Please.”
Noah subsided. “Fine. Go on.”
“We found out you were at the base in Germany. That’s where you had the first surgery.”
“And then I came here?”
Maddie shook her head. “Johns Hopkins.”
Noah frowned. “In Baltimore?”
“Apparent your...Jeff has major connections there, through his family or something. He had you transferred from Germany, and their top surgeon did the second procedure.”
“Wait, so he was with me?”
“The whole time,” Maddie said. “That’s kind of when the problem started.” She looked at Luke, who scowled.
“He wouldn’t let me see you,” he muttered.
“What?”
“He wouldn’t let me see you,” Luke said, louder. “He wouldn’t let any of us see you. The guy was a total asshole.”
Noah hesitated. “Well, maybe he thought--"
“I don’t care what he thought!” Luke raged. “At that point, we didn’t know if you were going to live or die! I begged him to let me see you, and the asshole said no.” He folded his arms again, and shrugged. “So I got a lawyer.”
“Luke,” Noah said softly. Luke refused to meet his eye, so he turned to Maddie, who nodded.
“It got pretty ugly,” she said. “Both of them got attorneys. Expensive ones.”
“So, what, you guys had some kind of custody battle over me?” Noah asked, laughing in disbelief.
“That’s right,” Luke said defiantly. “And I won.”
“How?”
“Show him, Luke,” Maddie ordered when he hesitated.
Luke rolled his eyes, but pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Noah. He peered at it, but the letters seemed tiny and jumbled.
“What is this?”
“Medical power of attorney,” Luke said. “For you.”
Noah stared at him. “What the hell, Luke? I never signed this.”
“Yeah, you did. Don’t you remember? Before Reid did your surgery, you had it drawn up. You said...” Luke’s voice wavered. “You said if anything went wrong, you trusted me to make the right decisions for you.”
Noah rubbed his eyes again. “Okay, I remember now, but, Luke, that was years ago.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Luke said. “You haven’t replaced it with another, so it’s still binding.”
Noah tore the paper in half. “Not anymore.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Oh, yeah? Why the hell not?”
“The court declared you non compos mentis,” Maddie said gently. “You were in a coma, honey,” she added.
“Jesus!” Noah threw his hands up in frustration. “Well, they’ll have to declare me un-compos mentis, or whatever it is.”
“Fine, but it will take a few weeks.” Luke shrugged at Noah’s glare. “It’s just how the courts work.”
“Fine,” Noah said through gritted teeth. “Does Tom Hughes still practice?”
“As far as I know.”
“Then get him on the damn phone. And I want to see Jeff.”
“It’s not that simple,” Luke said again.
“Why the hell not?”
Luke suddenly became very interested in the ceiling tiles. “Because of the restraining order.”
“You took out a restraining order?” Noah looked at Maddie, who shrugged.
“I told you,” she said. “It got ugly.”
“Luke!” Noah grabbed his hair in sheer frustration. “Why would you do something like that?”
“To protect you!” Luke snapped.
“What do you mean?”
“The guy’s dangerous. He almost got you killed.”
“Why - wait - what?” Noah sputtered. “What are you talking about?”
“What the hell were you doing in Iraq, Noah?”
“My job!”
“Since when?” Luke challenged. “You never wanted to be a cameraman on some news crew. You were supposed to go to film school.”
“Okay, well, it didn’t work out.”
“Did you even try?”
Noah stared at him, mouth open. “I...no, but-"
“You gave up and ran away, just like you always do.”
“Are you kidding me?” Noah was so outraged he tried to get up out of bed, ignoring the stabbing pain in his leg.
“Guys, come on. Don’t do this,” Maddie pleaded, but they both ignored her.
Luke folded his arms. “Face it, Noah. When things get tough, you bail.”
“When things get tough...Luke, you dumped me!”
“Only because you shut me out!”
“I shut you out?” The adrenaline completely obliterated the pain. Noah felt like he could get up and run, fueled by sheer rage. “Are you serious?”
“What the hell is going on here?” Reid stood in the doorway. “I can hear you guys yelling all the way down the hall.” He frowned at Luke. “Are you upsetting my patient?”
Noah grabbed the pitcher of water on his bedside table and threw it at Reid, who ducked easily.
“Get out!” Noah roared. “I am not your freaking patient!”
“Technically, you are, since this is my institute.” Reid took a step forward.
“You come near me again with that needle and I will fucking kill you,” Noah hissed.
“Settle down, and I won’t have to,” Reid replied.
“God!” Noah fell back on the pillows, covering his face with his hands. “Would someone just get me a fucking cigarette?”
“Noah!” Luke said in a shocked tone. “You don’t smoke.”
The gap between Noah’s old life and his new life suddenly seemed too vast and overwhelming. He was embarrassed when tears sprung into his eyes.
“I want Jeff,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady. He uncovered his eyes and glared at Luke, “Get him here.”
Luke gave a heavy sigh. “Fine. I’ll have my lawyer call his lawyer.”
“I don’t care what you have to do,” Noah retorted. “Just do it. Now.”
“Fine!” Luke spun on his heel and left the room.
“I’m sorry, Noah,” Maddie said. “None of us knew Luke had told you...or not told you, or whatever. He wouldn’t let the rest of us see you until this week, and then he said we probably shouldn’t talk about the accident since it might upset you...” Her voice trailed off, and she shrugged helplessly.
“’C’mere,” Noah said. She came over to the bed, and they embraced fiercely.
“I’m sorry I’ve been such a shitty friend,” Noah whispered.
“Oh, sweetie.” Maddie sniffed, and when she finally pulled back they were both fighting tears.
“I want to get to know your beautiful daughter,” Noah said.
Maddie laughed, wiping her eyes. “Trust me, you will. She’s a force of nature.”
“Just like her mom. Will you come back and visit me again?”
Maddie snorted. “Just try to keep me away.” She hesitated. “And try not to be too hard on Luke. He was just...”
“Being Luke,” Noah finished. “I get it.”
Maddie smiled, kissed him on the cheek, and left the room.
Noah wiped his eyes and glared at Reid. “What the hell are you still doing here?”
“I need to check your vitals.”
“Fuck off.”
Reid smiled thinly. “I see being in a war zone hasn’t improved your temper.” He tilted his head to one side. “Tell you what. I’ll make you a deal. You be a good boy and let me check you out and...”
Noah folded his arms. “And what?”
“I’ll take you outside.”
“Outside?” Noah hadn’t realized until that moment how much the four walls of the narrow room were encaging him. “Where outside?”
Reid shrugged. “The roof.”
“You got a deal.”
***
Noah took a deep breath of the brisk, biting air. The rain was gone, and it was a beautiful, late fall day. He’d managed to struggle into a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants, although the fabric had to be slit open to allow for his heavily bandaged right leg. The chilly air actually felt good on his bare arms, although he was conscious of how much weight he’d lost and how shaggy his hair and beard were. He’d thought about shaving, but his hands and limbs were ridiculously weak, which frustrated him.
“You’ll get your strength back,” Reid said, reading his mind. “But you need to get your ass to physical therapy.”
“I will,” Noah vowed. He looked out over the town, the place he’d once considered making his permanent home. It seemed so tiny now compared to some of the places he’d seen. He felt a sense of loss in his gut, like the dull edge of a knife.
He heard a metallic snick and smelled tobacco. He looked at Reid, who was holding two cigarettes in his mouth as he lit them.
“What?” he asked defensively. “You want one or not?”
Noah held out his hand. “Want.”
Reid slipped him the cigarette and they both smoked quietly for a minute. It made Noah’s chest hurt more than he remembered. He exhaled with a sigh.
“Since when do you smoke?” he asked.
Reid shrugged. “I keep a stash, just for emergencies.”
“Does Luke know?”
Reid snorted. “No. I’d never hear the end of it.” He took a drag.
“Yeah, but you live together,” Noah pointed out. “Doesn’t he smell it on your clothes?”
“No, we don’t.”
Noah frowned. “You don’t? Why not?”
Reid stared at him. “You didn’t know?"
“Know what?
Reid gave a final exhale, then flicked his cigarette butt over the rail. “Luke and I broke up two years ago.”
To be continued...