Now and Again (4/??)
Title: Now and Again
Author: alissablue
Rating: PG-13/R, will be NC-17 eventually.
Characters/Pairings: Luke/Reid, Noah, other Oakdale characters and an OC here or there.
Category: Fix it-fic, AU
Summary: “If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences.”- W.I. Thomas
Warnings: Angsty Angst, some mindfuckery
Disclaimer: Do not own. Wish I did, though. I could make them do all sorts of kinky stuff.
A/N: Keywords for this fic are ‘patience’ and ‘payoff’. I have been working on this since... September(?) and I've finally written enough chapters to start posting. Title credit goes to my epically awesome beta slayerkitty, who deserves a round of applause for sitting through my long rants, freak outs, smut-related giggles and posting hesitation.
A/N: Me + comments is like... Reid + Sandwiches<3.
Prologue / 1 / 2 / 3 /
Chapter 4: I am surgeon, hear me roar
William Channing was many things. He was a 53-year-old divorced man, a dedicated father of two teenage girls, Sarah and Juliet, a great friend to anyone who needed it, especially to lonely, young women with daddy issues, who could cry on his shoulder and then some.
And he considered himself to be a respectable citizen.
He always paid his bills on time, never ran late for anything and he always remembered everyone’s birthday. But, on top of all of those things, he also considered himself to be a brilliant, world class neurosurgeon, despite what cocky, egotistical bastards like Reid Oliver would claim on any given day.
Channing knew all this about himself and he sure as hell knew what he was worth, who the green eyed, brown haired -with a slight amount of grey- man was who stared back at him in the mirror. Yes, he knew. He knew of his strong jaw, light stubble, godlike hands and skills, but a part of him wanted, needed and felt this urge for everyone else to know as well, an urge he’d had since childhood.
I am surgeon, hear me roar.
The call from Luke Snyder, from small town Oakdale, Illinois, couldn’t have come at a better time. Luke called him on a morning in mid June, just as he was drinking his morning Espresso. Young Mr. Snyder had just faxed him the patient’s file and the case was so juicy, so mouthwateringly intricate, screaming at him to make it his own, that he almost caught himself drooling over the possibilities.
This was his case, the one case that was going to put him back on the surgical map, after younger, demanding doctors who Channing deemed unworthy of being called ‘surgeons’, had made it a habit in the past few years to snatch all the hot cases, with Reid Oliver leading the pack.
“Dr. Channing? Hi, this is Luke Snyder from Oakdale, Illinois.”
“Yes, I got the dozen faxes you sent to my office.”
“You did? Oh, good. Did you get a chance to look at them?”
“I’m looking at them as we speak.”
“And, what do you think? Do you think you’d be interested in taking on Noah’s case? Do you think his case is worthy of your talent? I’ve read a lot about your hospital and the amazing doctors and Noah really does deserve the best and he thinks you’re the very best and I don’t want to let him down, again, and he’s been through so much and-”
“Mr. Snyder…” He heard the deep intake of oxygen on Mr. Snyder’s end of the phone. “Babbling won’t get you anywhere in this world. But, you are right about one thing… I don’t think there’s a better surgeon out there, for this particular case.”
"Does that mean you'll take Noah's case?"
"It sure does."
“Really? Oh, wow, that’s great, wonderful. Thank you.”
“Just doing my job.”
“Right… Look, Dr. Channing… When do we start- How? Do you need me to fly you in from Dallas?”
“Mr. Snyder, I have patients and responsibilities here. What makes you think I can just drop everything at your beck and call?”
“No, that’s- That’s not what I meant…” Channing could hear the young man pacing back and forth and he felt a slight amount of glee at the knowledge that he could still make people squirm after all these years. Luke stopped in his tracks, took a deep breath and continued. “We could come to you.”
“I’ll tell you what… Why don’t you and Mr. Mayer come to the hospital over here, I’ll check Mr. Mayer out in person and then we’ll see.”
“Okay. When can we come to you for that appointment?”
“How does next week sound?”
********
Noah had been waiting for about ten minutes, which to him seemed like an hour and he was starting to feel a little irritated and worried and restless all at once, not knowing why Luke was taking so long.
He was sitting on his bed, tapping his fingers on his right leg, waiting for Luke to come back after his phone call with Channing downstairs, as Luke didn’t want Noah to hear the immediate disappointment in Luke’s voice, if Channing were to say ‘no’. Minutes seemed to drag on and on and Noah had no idea what to make of it. Had Channing said no to Luke and was Luke trying to figure out where they’d go from here? Had he said yes and was Luke just-
Noah heard a faint click, as Luke softly opened and closed the door behind him, careful not to startle Noah. Noah turned his head in Luke’s direction and not too long after, he felt Luke’s hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.
“So, what’s the verdict?”
“Looks like we’re going to Dallas.”
********
After his talk with Luke Snyder, William had suddenly been called to the ER for a consult. He had hoped for a good trauma, something to really sink his teeth in, but had discovered to his disappointment, that Michael, the teenage boy who had fallen out of a tree, would be up and walking within a day.
Slightly agitated at the ruined prospect of a decent surgery, Channing ran into the one man he wasn’t hoping to see until four months from now. Or ever again.
“Oliver, what are you doing here?”
Reid fucking Oliver turned around to face him at the sound of his name and the death glare he shot Channing made it quite obvious that he was just as excited to see him as the other way around. Reid had a few colorful binders clutched in his right hand and a Starbucks cup of coffee in his left and was wearing a blue grayish dress shirt with a dark pair of jeans. Judging by the bags under his blue eyes and the cranky, almost pained expression on his face, Channing could tell that all that free time Reid had, awaiting his hearing, had not done him much good, if any.
“William, always a delightful displeasure… Not that it is any of your business, but I’m picking up some paperwork for my hearing next week.” Reid put the emphasis on the word ‘week’ and if Channing hadn’t known any better, he could see a faint smile creep up on Reid Oliver’s face.
Bastard.
“Next week? I thought you still had a few months to go?”
“Feeling a little threatened, are we?”
“Keep on dreaming, Oliver. I just got a hold of the case that will put all of yours to shame.”
“Is that right?” Reid let out a deep, throaty chuckle and Channing’s left hand clenched into a fist. I am surgeon, hear me roar.
“Yes. 23-year-old kid who had an accident involving fireworks. I’m giving him his sight back in a very wonderful and experimental surgery.”
“Ah, Dr. William Channing, residential healer of the blind." Reid rolled his eyes and made sure Channing caught every split second of it. "I hope this kid knows what the hell he’s getting himself into with you cracking open his skull like the deli slicer that you are.”
“Noah Mayer will be perfectly fine, thank you very much. In fact-”
“Noah Mayer?” Reid’s interruption caught him off guard and by the look on Reid’s face, it had been a surprise to him as well. He had a questioning look on his face, as if he was trying to wrap his mind around the name and it’s apparent significance.
“Yes, do you know him?”
“No.” Reid said, letting go of a thought somewhere in the back of his mind and putting the smirk right back on his face. “If I did, he’d actually have a capable surgeon working on him.” And he’d already have his sight back by now.
********
Channing took a big sip out of his coffee mug, shivering a little as his Espresso had gone cold and with a grin, he propped his feet on his desk, leaning back in his chair a little. He grabbed Noah Mayer’s file, caressed it lovingly and proceeded to sniff the pieces of paper in his hands, as if he could breathe in and smell the scent of victory. Yes, life since Reid Oliver had been suspended had been particularly… epic for him, as his daughter would say and he could only laugh at the absurdity of it all, how this case would have surely been Oliver’s, but was now handed to him on a silver platter. As he hummed an old tv theme, he thought only one thing.
Take that, Oliver. Take. That.
NEXT
********
A/N: 1) Reid/Channing, there's a bromance in there somewhere<333! 2) They're going to Dallas! Important things will happen in Dallas, involving a very frustrated sales girl, Luke and something with a rooftop, Noah and a shirt instead of a medal and a drawing of dogs and guinea pigs! I bet that totally made sense!
Thanks for reading! =)