2015 LuRe Yule Challenge : Christmas Shopping
Christmas shopping
in which Reid makes a little boy cry but all ends well…
"I don't see why I have to do this." Reid grumbled, while shrugging on his coat.
Nicole, who had been his assistant for more than 5 years, sighed.
"Reid, come on. Do I really have to explain it again? You do this for all your wonderful nurses and colleagues who are always there for you when you need them and who are willing to help you out."
"Help me out?" Reid raised his eyebrows. "Are you serious? It's a miracle I'm able to do my job when they are around."
"Yeah, yeah." Nicole rolled her eyes. "You're a genius. Believe me, we all know it. But we also know you'd be lost without all of them. So stop whining and come with me."
Now it was Reid's turn to roll his eyes, but he didn't argue anymore and dutifully followed Nicole out the door, stuffing his hands deep into the pockets of his coat.
"It's not that I don't agree with the idea of all of this, but with the salary I pay you, I would think you could do this without me." Reid started again when they walked out of the hospital.
Nicole snorted. "You should be thankful I'm coming with you. But if you don't stop bitching about it, I'd be happy to turn around and work in my beautiful, organized, quiet office."
Reid held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright. It's just... There are so many people, especially those small ones and they make a ridiculous amount of noise. I can't stand it."
Nicole's faced softened a bit. "I know you have... hang-ups about this. But it's only a little shopping Reid. It'll mean much more to your staff if they knew you picked out their Christmas present yourself. I'm not expecting you to spend the rest of the day shopping, just pick out what you think they'll like and have it delivered to the hospital." Before Reid could open his mouth to protest, she held up her hand and shh-ed him.
"Yes, you do know what they like. Don't act like you don't care about them. We all know you better than that."
"Nicole, I'm serious, I don't know what anyone likes!" Reid answered, trying to sound convincing. Nicole was right; he knew a lot about the people who worked for him, business and personal stuff.
"Yes, you do. Just take a little time to think about it." Nicole grabbed Reid by the arm and pulled him towards the entrance of the mall. "But, since I'm a good mood, I'll help you out."
Reid looked at her suspiciously. "Really?"
Nicole laughed and then almost immediately disappeared out of Reid's sight the moment they set foot inside the mall. She had let go of his arm and seemed to dissolve in the sea of people before him.
Reid barely stopped himself from calling out her name, because he really didn't want to draw attention to himself but he couldn't help but picking up his pace and looking around for her, anxiety starting to show on his face.
But soon enough he felt a hand on his arm again and there she was again, smiling innocently.
"Where did you go?" She asked. She started to walk again, but kept her hand on his arm this time.
"Where did I go? Where did you go? You're the one who disappeared on me!"
"Don't be silly, Reid. I would never do that. I know how you feel about crowds." She patted his arm and then focused on the festive and beautifully decorated display windows.
"Now, who's first?"
------
Two hours later, Reid was done. More than done. A headache throbbed behind his eyes and he had to fight the urge to cover his ears with his hands to escape the noise.
"Okay, okay." Nicole relented. "You're right. I think we have something for everyone now."
Reid sighed in relief. He started to make his way to the exit. "Let's get back to the hospital then and do some actual work “He grumbled.
But Nicole grabbed his arm to stop him. "Not so fast, Dr. Oliver."
Reid looked down at his arm and then back up to Nicole, his eyebrows raised.
Nicole huffed. "Don't give me that look, it doesn't work. Now, listen. you still have one more thing to do."
Reid gritted his teeth. If he didn't get out of this hellhole very soon, he didn't know what he would do.
Nicole continued as if she didn't notice Reid's reaction.
"You have to buy me something." She smiled brightly.
"What?"
Nicole's smile made way for a frown. "Are you saying you're not going to get me anything?"
"Can't I just give a bonus and be done with it?" Reid asked with a frown matching Nicole's.
"Pff. That bonus is mine anyway and you know it."
Reid sighed. She was right. She was far too valuable to Reid to not give her a generous bonus. She really deserved it for putting up with him.
He supposed he could try and give her a small personal present.
"Come on Reid, you don't want my stocking to be empty on Christmas, do you?" Nicole teased.
"I don't want anything to do with your stocking. In any way." Reid muttered, which made Nicole laugh out loud.
"I'm going back to the hospital now. You take your time; I've cleared your schedule for the rest of the afternoon."
"I’ll be back in half an hour. Tops."
"Okay fine. I'm sure Santa will get me something nice." Nicole laughed as she walked away.
"Hey! Santa doesn't exist, remember? I'm the one buying the presents! " Reid yelled after her retreating back.
He stared into the crowd for a few moments, until he heard a soft, trembling voice behind him.
"Santa doesn't exist?"
Reid froze on the spot, afraid to turn around. But a small hand tugged on his sleeve. "Santa doesn’t exist?"
Slowly Reid turned around and was faced with a small boy, about five or six years old. Big brown eyes that were looking right at him, slowly became watery.
"Uhm.. maybe?" Reid said uncertain.
Now the tears definitely started to roll down the boys face.
"No, no, no." Reid felt his face heat up and panic rushed through him. He crouched down to the kid's height and moved his arm as to touch the boy's arm, but decided against it after all.
"Don't cry, I don't ... please... " But the more Reid spoke, the harder the boy seemed to cry. "Oh shit." He said, standing back and looking around him frantically, trying to find the boy's father or mother.
Between snotty inhales and teary hiccups, the boy answered. "You shouldn't say that, it's a bad word."
Reid looked at him in confusion, thinking about what he'd said. "Oh right. Shit. Yes, okay. I'll try to remember that."
At that point, he heard a voice call out "Ethan!" and when he turned he saw a guy with crazy dark blond hair come running towards them.
The boy shouted, "Luke!" and held out his arms. The guy, Luke apparently, swept him up in a fierce hug and held him close.
"Don't even do that again. God, I thought I'd lost you."
Ethan tried to worm his way out of Luke's arms. "Luke, let go of me."
"'Shh, it's okay, Eth, I know you were crying, but it's okay."
"No, it's not okay Luke!" Ethan started to sniff again, "Santa doesn't exist!"
"What?" Luke exclaimed. "Where did you get that idea?"
"He said so!" A chubby finger was pointed accusingly at Reid, who had been watching the exchange so far with interest. Now he felt like a deer caught in headlights when two pairs of eerily similar brown eyes focused on him.
"You told a little kid that Santa doesn't exist?" Luke put Ethan down, but held on to his hand. He leaned in closer to Reid, "What's the matter with you? Why would you do that?"
He hissed.
Reid stared at him. "Excuse me?" He asked, taken aback by the hostile tone in the guy's voice.
"I didn't do anything. If you had paid better attention to your son, he would not have been wandering around, listening to other people's conversations!" Reid bit back.
And just like that, Luke seemed to deflate right in front of him. "You're right." Luke rubbed his forehead tiredly. "I mean, he's not my son, he's my little brother, but I should have paid more attention to him. I just got distracted for a moment and then he was gone, just like that.
Now Reid felt bad about accusing him of negligence. It didn't help that this guy, this Luke was ridiculously attractive. From the wild hair, to the expressive brown eyes, the tall, slightly muscular frame, Reid liked it all. And hearing the boy wasn't his son, but his brother, well... that made the whole thing even better.
"Yeah well." He shrugged. "From what I've heard, that's what kids do. So, don't beat yourself up, but pay a little more attention next time."
Luke's ears turned red, but Reid couldn't tell if it was from embarrassment or something else. "Usually he doesn't let me out of his sight, but he saw something he liked and went for it." Luke let out a frustrated noise. "I still should have watched him better."
"What did distract you? Was it at least worth it?" Reid asked, surprising himself with an attempt at small talk. He didn't want to let go of him, of Luke yet.
Luke snorted. "No. My ex-boyfriend and his date. Christmas shopping together, can you believe it?"
Reid made an 'I don't know' face and grumbled, 'I don’t even know why anyone would go Christmas shopping voluntarily."
Luke looked amused. "Not a big fan of Christmas shopping?"
"I don't like Christmas and I don't like shopping. So no." Reid replied.
"Then why are you here? Besides telling little children Santa isn't real." Luke asked, adding the last part in hushed toned with a sideways glance at his little brother, who, fortunately, was completely focused on the Christmas displays.
Reid sighed. "My assistant is very adamant that I personally buy the presents for my staff. According to her it makes it more... "
"Personal?" Luke offered smiling.
"Yes, exactly. And meaningful." Reid rolled his eyes.
"What, you don't agree?" Luke was clearly surprised, but also amused by Reid's lack of holiday spirit.
"I don't know. It seems that no matter who bought it, the present stays the same. So, what's the difference if I bought it or someone else? I just don't get it." Reid shook his head.
"I think that maybe it's the thought that counts?" Luke tried.
Reid snorted. "If that were true I should just write them a card." Then he groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Oh god, I have to write the cards too."
Luke laughed out loud and it made Reid forget his misery for a moment. He lowered his hands to take in the sparkle in Luke's eyes and the ridiculous dimples in his cheeks. Reid felt himself smiling back at Luke, before lowering his eyes to the ground. He briefly glanced back up and noticed Luke was still looking at him, smiling.
"So..., " Luke started after a few moments of silence, "where do you work then?"
Reid thumbed over his shoulder, without even knowing if it was the right direction.
"I'm the Chief of Neurosurgery over at the hospital."
"Oh wow. Really?" Luke eyes widened in surprise. "You're the Chief of Neurosurgery? Are you... you're not...?"
"What? Am I what?" Reid asked, clearly suspicious.
"Oh, it's. nothing. I just... " Luke's cheeks flushed and he rubbed the back of his neck.
"What?" Reid took a step closer. Now he really wanted to know what caused that reaction in Luke.
Luke shifted uncomfortable form one foot to the other. "It's nothing." He started to look around, eyes looking everything but at Reid. "I don't want to take up any more of your time, so we're going to go. Ethan!" He called out. "Come on, we're going."
Ethan came skipping towards Luke and grabbed his hand. "I just saw Santa, so I guess he is really after all, isn't he?" He chattered excitedly, glancing at Reid for a moment, before focusing his full attention on Luke.
"Yes, he is definitely real. The nice gentleman here was just joking." Luke ruffled Ethan's hair. He looked at Reid with pleading in his eyes.
Reid coughed and cleared his throat. "Yes, yes, of course. He's real. I was indeed just joking."
Ethan frowned at him. "It wasn't very funny."
That made Luke snort in amusement.
"I guess not." He said a little sheepish.
"Well," Luke said, "good luck with your Christmas shopping. I hope you find what you're looking for."
"Thank you." Reid said. He was disappointed that Luke had to go and it seemed that it had something to do with Reid's job. But he couldn't for the life of him figure out why that would be. He had never seen Luke at the hospital before, he was sure of it. He would have remembered meeting Luke.
"Okay then...bye!" Luke said with a little wave, turned and walked away, tugging Ethan along with him.
"Yeah, bye." Reid said softly, watching Luke walk away. It was the first time in God know how long that Reid found a man interesting enough to make an attempt at small talk.
And it had gone pretty well, he thought. Up until Luke learned about Reid's job.
Reid shook his head. He didn't know what to make of it.
And it didn't really matter, because Luke had said his goodbyes and walked away, without giving Reid his name or his number.
He sighed and turned to walk back into the shops to buy the last of the presents.
----
A knock on the office door, made Reid look up. But before he could say anything, Nicole was already standing before his desk, holding up a clothing bag.
"What is that?" Reid said frowning.
"I made sure that you look respectable on Friday at the Christmas dinner with the hospital board.
Reid groaned and let his head fall onto his desk. He resisted the urge to bang his head a few times, but it was a close call.
"I'm not going." He grumbled.
"Yes, you are. There's no getting out of it this year. All the department heads are going to be there. You have to go." Nicole sat down in the chair opposite Reid's desk and folded the bag in her lap.
"I know, I know." Reid sound resigned. "But I really don't want to."
"Okay, now you're just being a big baby." Nicole laughed.
"So?" Reid scowled.
"You're 36 years old, Dr. Oliver. Start acting like it." Nicole rested her elbows on the desk and leaned forward a little. "I may have something to get you through the dinner pleasantly."
"What, a bottle of scotch?" Reid asked, still disgruntled.
"No silly, a date!" Nicole clapped her hands, clearly very excited.
"No." Reid said. He had no need for a guy on his arm that he didn't know and probably found boring. That would make the night even worse than it already was.
"Yes, Reid. All you have to do is say yes and I make it happen." She said mysteriously.
"Haven't you tried that before?" Reid asked, narrowing his eyes.
Nicole leaned forward and looked at Reid with serious eyes. "Yes, I have. But.."
"Like three times?" Reid interrupted.
"Yes, but..." Nicole tried.
"With the same guy?" Reid interrupted again. "Who kept saying no?"
Nicole sighed. "Will you let me talk?"
"Do I have a choice?" Reid sounded resigned.
"No." Nicole answered. "Hear me out. I know I tried to set you up before and it didn't work out. But this time, I know it's going to work out."
"And how would you know that?" Reid asked suspiciously.
"Because... a little bird told me he's definitely interested in going out on a date with you." Nicole leaned back triumphantly.
"Why is he interested now and not before?" Reid still didn't believe her.
" Well, apparently before, he was just getting out of a shitty relationship and not looking for something new."
"And now he suddenly is? Well, you know what? This time it's me who's not interested."
Reid crossed his arms stubbornly.
"Come on, Reid. Don't be like that. I guarantee you want to meet him. He's good looking, nice and from what I hear he's a great kisser." Nicole pressed.
Reid rubbed his face with one hand. "Nicole, I appreciate what you're trying to do here, but I really don't need you to do this. I don't even have time for someone in my life right now."
"That's bull and you know it." Nicole leaned over and grabbed Reid's hand.
"I know you're extremely busy and you spend most of your time right here, at the hospital. But I also know you're lonely, Reid. You're 36 now. Don't you think it's time to try and find someone to settle down with?"
Reid thoughts wandered back to last week, to meeting Luke at the mall. Now, that was someone he wanted to get to know better. But he'd lost his chance and let Luke walk away. He couldn't imagine this guy Nicole tried to set him up with was going to make a bigger impression on him than Luke did.
"Reid?" Nicole called his name, waving a hand before his eyes.
He blinked and shook the thoughts of Luke out of his mind. Too little, too late.
Maybe going on one date with this guy wouldn't be so bad. He could try to get little bit more smooth so the next time a really cute guy crossed his path, he'd know what to say. Maybe this date could help him achieve that.
"I'll do it." He said.
Nicole squealed, "Yes!"
"But under one condition. You have to promise me that he's really willing to do this. I don't want to be stood up, like an idiot."
Nicole pushed the chair back and stood up. "Don't worry. His best friend is engaged to nurse Stewart, so my source is solid." She walked towards the door and turned one more time.
"I'll take care of everything. I will make sure he's going to pick you up here, okay?"
And just before she disappeared through the door, "You won't regret it, I promise."
Reid shook his head. Sometimes he really hated Nicole's meddling in his personal life, but he knew it came from a good place. She worried about him, always fussing over his eating habits and trying to convince him he needed someone in his life to take care of him. He didn't exactly disagree with her, he wouldn't mind having someone to come home to, but he preferred to keep his personal life to himself.
But he trusted her and that was why he let her handle a lot of things, which now apparantly included his love life.
He opened the folder on his desk and focused on his patients, abandoning all thoughts of dates and Luke.
----------------
It was close to 6 o'clock and Reid was in his office, pulling on his suit jacket. It was a very nice suit; Nicole really did her best. The dark blue fabric complemented his eyes and it was really form fitting. Reid smirked. At least he would make a good impression on his date, he knew he looked good. As a finishing touch he put a little product in his hair and styled it quickly.
Then a knock on the door.
He gave himself on more look in the mirror and sighed. "Ridiculous." He muttered to himself.
In a few steps he reached the door and carefully opened it.
His eyes widened.
And widened.
And then widened some more.
Because there right before him, was the one guy he hadn't been able to put out of his mind.
“Hi.” He said, his cheeks pink from nervousness and he stuck out his hand. “I’m Luke Snyder and I’m going to be your date for tonight.”
Reid grabbed his hand and shook it, still dumbfounded. “Dr. Reid Oliver,” was his simple reply. He gestured for Luke to come in to his office.
“I know.” Luke smiled while brushing past Reid and into the office.
“Did you know….” Reid didn’t finish the question.
“No!.” Luke hastily explained. “I didn’t know. But when you told me what you did and where you worked, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.” He bit his lip and looked at his feet. “Are you… disappointed?”
Reid had composed himself somewhat during Luke’s explanation and his mind was going in a million different directions.
“Nicole tried to set us up before, but you didn’t want to. Why not?”
Luke held out his hands in front of him. “Okay, but don’t be mad. My friend works here at the hospital and he said that you’re … a bit difficult. To work with, at least. He kind of told me not to do it, that you weren’t a nice person.”
“Oh.” Reid said. He knew what people who didn’t really know him said about him, but to hear Luke say it, actually hurt for some reason.
“But then I met you and yes, you were grumpy. But also funny and I could tell that, in spite of your complaints, that you cared. And then I kind of wanted to get to know you better. So I told my friend that and she told Nicole, I guess. And here we are.” Luke briefly looked up at Reid. “Are you mad?”
“No, I’m not. Surprised yes, but not disappointed or mad. The only reason I agreed to this date was that I needed to get my mystery guy, *you*, out of my head.” Reid admitted freely. Hearing Luke explain what happened, restored his confidence very quickly. “But I don’t think that’s going to work out.” He shot Luke a smile.
Luke shook his head, smiling. “Your mystery guy, huh?”
“Yes. I only knew your first name and that isn’t a lot to go on. But,” Reid took a step closer to Luke, “now I’m hoping that maybe we could loose the ‘mystery’.”
The tips of Luke’s ears turned pink, but he kept his eyes on Reid. “Let’s see how tonight goes first, okay?” Then he leaned in and kissed Reid on the cheek. “But I’m hopeful.” He breathed in Reid’s ear.
Before Reid could react, Luke pulled away, leaving Reid speechless. So instead he swung open the door, grabbed Luke’s hand and pulled him with him into the corridor.
“Let’s go then.” He grinned.
fin