The Brain vs The Heart - A Battle Royale
Summary: He came, he saw, he cut, he went home…. What if when Dr. Reid Oliver came to Oakdale to operate on Noah he actually had? Noah gets his eyesight back in January, not May. Reid leaves after less than a week so….no new neuro wing, no trip to Dallas for a first kiss, no almost sex, no I love you, no train….. In the battle of the brain vs the heart who wins???
The Prologue
JANUARY 28, 2010
Dr. Reid Oliver leaned back, scooting back and forth, trying to make himself as comfortable as he could. He crammed his long lean frame into his coach seat happy to finally be on his way back to Dallas. He reflected on what seemed currently to very likely be the worst/best week of his life. He was utterly thankful to be getting the hell out of Oak Hay Illinois and away from its self satisfied white bread towns people but for some reason completely unknown (if he didn’t look to closely anyway ) to him he was worried he might actually miss the golden boy Richie Rich. There was something about that kid….
“We both know why I’m here so let’s not pretend that this is a normal consult.”
“Look I…I’m sorry. It’s just I felt as if”
“You felt as if you could blackmail me…what I see is the big fat silver spoon in your mouth that I hope you choke on….What makes you think that Mr. Mayer is more deserving of my time than anyone else?”
“He’s not… but he’s the only person that I love who needs you.”
----
“So what’s the verdict? Is he just another boring blind guy who’s not worthy of your talents?”
“I don’t like you”
“Yeah I got that”
“But Noah didn’t ask for this….he says he’s a pretty good filmmaker…arrogance appeals to me…”
“I do not know how to thank you.”
“Well how about this? As soon as I’m done restoring Noah’s eyesight I never hear from you again and you throw away the dirt you have on me.”
“It’s a deal”
“It better be a deal. I’m the one who’s going to be cutting open your boyfriend’s head.”
----
“Let’s do this now and get it over with. It’s time to make a blind man see.”
“Wait you want to operate on Noah today?”
“I want to be drinking a beer back in Texas but I’m prepared to operate.”
“He’s not ready”
“Luke, I can speak for myself. Dr. Oliver I’m ready, if you want to do the surgery today great, the sooner the better.”
----
“There isn’t anything else I can tell you about the procedure. You either trust me or you don’t.”
“But you don’t have to do the surgery today Noah.”
“I want to do this now. I’ve got to do this to get my life back.”
“You have your life.”
“I have A life. It’s not mine.”
-----
“Ok Noah, tell your boyfriend you’ll see him later, because you will.”
----
“Noah I just want you to do everything you want to with your life… everything I know you can… so open your eyes…please. Noah, it’s me. Can you see me?”
“I um… I see your eyes…. It’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
----
“It’s uh bleary. I don’t want to sound greedy Dr. Oliver but is this as good as it’s going to get?”
“No, your vision will continue to improve but it’s going to take some time. You need to be patient.”
“Thank you Dr. Oliver.”
“Just doing my job.”
“I never thought I was going to see again but you and Luke made this happen.”
“I think I had a little more to do with it.”
----
“How is he Dr. Oliver?”
“All yours Mr. Snyder.”
----
“My flight to Dallas got delayed. It’s like this town has tentacles.”
“You know Dr. Oliver if you want to get out of this town I think I could help you with that.”
“Going the rest of my life without seeing your face in this god forsaken town would be helpful indeed.”
Yep there was definitely something about that kid. In five days Reid’s feelings toward Mr. Snyder had gone from pure hatred to serious dislike to minor irritation to undeniable attraction which in turn made him become minorly irritated and in serious dislike with thoughts of pure hatred for himself. Reid repeated the following things over and over in his head as the plane took off: can’t get out of here fast enough….can’t get out of here fast enough…boy friend….boy friend….love of his life… Reid was thankful his brain was taking over….
Brain one, Heart zero!