Almost Everything 2/15 [Lure Big Bang]
Almost Everything Master Post
Chapter Two
Three days before the wedding…
Reid honestly didn’t expect to hear back from Luke for another couple of days, and even then he figured the younger man would come to him and say that he had been joking. The idea of them getting married was just too ridiculous to be anything other than a hoax.
But not more than an hour after Luke had agreed to Reid’s conditions, there was a knock on his office door. Before he could even attempt to utter a “come in,” Luke’s familiar blond head was poking around the door and he held out a cup of coffee.
As though he remembered Reid’s response from the last time, Luke simply stated, “Caffeine fix.”
The doctor eyed him wearily for a moment. “Thank you.”
And then it started. “So I talked to my grandmother. She knows some people-”
Reid let out a bark of laughter. “She knows some people? Whose kneecaps are we threatening to break now?” he asked conspiratorially.
Luke sighed and wondered if he could really spend the next six months or a year with this guy. He said a silent prayer, grateful that it wouldn’t be the next 50 or 60 years. “Anyway…” He gave Reid a pointed look and the doctor smirked in response. “My grandmother was able to get you a hearing in Dallas. We’ll go before the medical board down there and present your case.”
The redhead swallowed, some of the hot coffee burned his throat. He was impressed. “Great. I just need to-”
Luke held up his hand. “I talked to Dr. Hughes and your assistant. They’re reworking your schedule for the next few days. I explained about the hearing and he was grateful,” Luke paused, not sure how to tell Reid this. “Dr. Hughes wasn’t going to fire you.”
Luke saw Reid’s surprise and then a smile form on his lips. It made his heart hurt. They weren’t quite so antagonistic around each other, but it wasn’t like he would refer to the man in front of him as a friend, either, even though he was going to call him husband soon. “You are going to be put on suspension though.”
Reid slammed his coffee down on the desk. “I don’t believe this.” He started toward the door.
“Dr. Oliver.” Luke gently placed his hands on Reid’s shoulders. “I’m sorry. He said it’s policy. That’s what he’s been trying to tell you. With the lawsuit-”
“Wait, why did he tell you instead of me?”
Luke’s grip tightened slightly. “Well-”
“You did not tell my boss we are getting married!” It wasn’t a question, more like a demand.
“No, I told him about the hearing and he was relieved because of the suspension. Then I asked if I could be the one to tell you.”
“Why?” Reid asked and neither man seemed to notice Luke’s hands were still resting on Reid’s shoulders.
“I could picture your response,” he offered hesitantly.
“And?” Reid’s eyes narrowed. He hated all the game playing.
Luke shrugged.When he noticed where his hands were, he quickly let go of Reid. “While I’m sure I’m the last person you want to hear news about your career from, I was afraid you would do or say something to make the situation worse. I wanted you to have a job to come back to once you win your hearing.”
Reid crossed his arms over his chest. He wasn’t about to admit that Luke was right. “So what’s the plan now?”
“We’ll fly to Dallas this evening. Your hearing is scheduled for the day after tomorrow. We’ll prep for that while Grandmother’s lawyers get the agreement together for our marriage.”
The doctor let out a dark chuckle. “Pre-nup?”
“Yes, I’ll sign one as well. I don’t care. Also she…” He sighed and rolled his eyes.
Reid knew he was going to enjoy the words that were coming out of Luke’s mouth, especially since the young man seemed so perturbed.
“She wants to get us a house as a wedding present.”
There it was. Reid chuckled softly. “That’s very generous of her.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed slightly and he crossed his arms over his chest, mirroring Dr. Oliver. “Yes, if everything goes all right in Texas, then we’ll have a place to come back to. She’ll set up the movers, decorators, all of it.”
“In a few days?” Reid had to admit he was impressed.
Luke shrugged. “She is Lucinda Walsh after all.”
“Lucinda Walsh?” The doctor’s arms fell to his sides in shock. “That’s your grandmother?”
Luke shifted his weight nervously and dug his hands into his pockets. “Yes. Now you understand how we can get all of this done quickly.”
Reid had heard of the woman and knew she was quite formidable. “Absolutely.”
“So, do you have a preference for where we live? Any type of criteria?”
The doctor eyed the young man in front of him for a moment. Not sure what he was expected to say and knowing the particular ways Luke wanted to be involved the design of the new wing, he could only imagine what he would have to say about the house they lived in. “I’m a low maintence type of person, Mr. Snyder.”
This time, Luke let out a bark of laughter.
“Look, I live with Katie and her son. I don’t like hotels. As long as it’s close to the hospital, has heat and air, a roof, I should be fine.”
“All right.” Luke sighed, grateful that part of the equation wouldn’t cause problems. “Speaking of Katie-”
“I have no idea how I’m going to tell her about us,” Reid interjected.
“Yes, well, I trust her, so tell her whatever you want, but don’t you have a lease with her? Will she be bothered that you’re moving out? I suppose, I could-”
“Stop, right there.” The doctor held up his hand. “You’re not paying off my lease with Katie. I think she’ll miss the company but not expect to be paid. I’ll probably have to offer to come over for dinner once a week or babysit the kid.”
Luke nodded his head in understanding. “I’ll help too. And I think there might be a house a few blocks from Katie’s that’s for sale.”
“Wait, what do you mean, you’ll help too?”
“Dr. Oliver, I have three younger siblings. I’m great with kids. Besides, if you have an emergency, I can always check on Jacob. I figured you and Katie, well…” Luke shrugged. “I thought it would be nice if we lived close to her. If you have a problem with that-”
“No.” Reid shook his head. It wasn’t so much that he was surprised by the thoughtfulness of Luke, but in a way, he was. The young man obviously cared a lot about other people, his generosity with his foundation, even this contract relationship they were about to enter was to keep that wing going and help a shipping company from a family Luke appeared not to want to have anything to do with. “Thank you,” Reid said softly. “I’m sure Katie would like for us to be close.”
“It’s not a problem,” Luke assured him and offered a shy smile.
The doctor tried not to be affected by it. There was something about this guy. He got under his skin, drove him crazy, and then there were times like this, when he would be kind and thoughtful. He left Reid unbalanced, and it wasn’t a feeling the doctor liked. “So, now what?”
“Pack a bag. Tell Katie what’s going on. As much as you want at least. Grandmother said she’d find a judge for us to get married. We just need to get a license, but we can worry about all of that after your hearing. I want to focus on that right now.”
“Honeymoon in Dallas? That’ll be romantic,” Reid muttered.
“Dr. Oliver.”
He shook his head. “Sorry. What flight are we booked on?”
“We’ll use my grandmother’s jet. They’ve scheduled a flight plan, and we’ll leave around six.”
“Private plane?”
Luke crossed his arms over his chest and took a couple of steps toward the doctor. “Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, I’m just thinking I could get used to this. I might not want to let you go.” He even attempted a smile.
The blonde’s eyes narrowed slightly; he knew Reid was joking. “Right. So, I need to go talk to Noah, tell him what’s going on. Meet me at my place in a couple of hours?”
“Yes.”
Luke turned to leave, but Reid’s voice stopped him. “Mr. Snyder…”
He looked back at the redhead. “Yes?”
“Thank you. And you’re right, I probably would have gotten fired if Bob had told me about the suspension. And thank you for clearing my schedule for me, taking care of all of this.”
“What are fake fiancés for?” Luke offered with a cheeky grin.
Reid smiled. It was something he would have said.
*
By the time Reid got home, he still wasn’t sure what he was going to tell Katie. He knew he would have to tell her the whole story, but the truth sounded almost as ridiculous as admitting to suddenly having feelings for Luke. She had hinted at as much during breakfast, when Reid had been relaying one of Luke’s arguments about the new wing. She’d chuckled and asked, “When are you going to get past the verbal foreplay stage of your relationship?” He almost choked on his eggs.
Katie smiled in greeting when he walked in, and he decided to bite the bullet. “I have to go out of town for a few days.”
“Okay. Conference?”
Reid let out a sigh. “Uh, no, I have a hearing in Dallas with the medical review board.”
“Oh, Reid.” She reached and gave him a gentle hug. He stood awkwardly in her arms. She was always free with her affections, even when she knew he hated it. “But that’s a good thing, right?” she asked as she pulled away. “You’ll get this ridiculous lawsuit taken care of and then you can come back and focus on your patients and the new wing. Jacob and I will have a surprise for you when you get back.”
He took a couple of steps away from her and went into the kitchen. Now wasn’t the time to eat, but he wanted to create a little barrier between them. “That’s very nice, but I won’t be coming back here.”
“You’re going to stay in Texas? But why? What about the new wing? After everything Luke and I have done-”
“Katie, Katie, Katie,” he said, coming back and placing his hand on her shoulder, trying to find an “off” button. “I’m coming back to Oakdale, but I won’t be living here.”
She opened her mouth and he held up his hand to stop her. “If everything goes my way, I’ll have to move in with my new husband.” He tried to smile, but it made his face hurt and saying the word “husband” left a bad taste in his mouth.
“What?”
“Look, it’s a long story. Needless to say, Mr. Snyder needs my help and frankly, I need his as well. We’ve negotiated a business arrangement…and one of the stipulations is we need to get married.”
Katie looked at him for a moment. “Mr. Snyder? I assume you’re talking about Luke and not Holden?”
“Yes, I’ve barely met the good dad.”
“I thought you ‘barely’ knew Luke as well,” she noted pointedly. Reid refused to look at her, so he missed the knowing look on her face.
“Katie…” He shook his head. “I can’t explain it. I don’t really have time, we’re flying down to Dallas in a couple of hours. Just know that I’ll miss you, and Mr. Snyder is planning to find us a house in the neighborhood. He’s even offered up his babysitting services-for whatever they’re worth-”
She smiled, watching Reid as he was talking. His voice always changed slightly when he talked about Luke, but she doubted Reid ever noticed. And she was happy for Reid but a little concerned. After having gone through a marriage of convenience with Henry and watching it nearly destroy their relationship, she didn’t want that to happen to Reid. On the other hand, a part of her couldn’t help but wonder if this was the opportunity both of them needed. A chance at a fresh start in life and with each other.
“So what happens now?” she asked.
“We fly down to Dallas. His grandmother-”
“Lucinda,” Katie interjected. Sometimes it was difficult to keep track of all of Reid’s nicknames for people.
“Yes. She’s made some calls, cullied a few favors. I have a hearing in a couple of days, and then we’ll get married. Ms. Walsh is also going to find us a house and try to get all of that settled before we return. So if some men come here to pack up the few things I have-”
“I’ll point them in the right direction,” she finished with a smile. “Reid…” She wasn’t sure what to say. “Good luck with the hearing and…” She sighed, “Especially with Luke.”
He held up his hand. “It’s just a business arrangement, Katie.”
“No, it’s not. Whatever it is between the two of you, it can’t possibly be ‘just business.’”
“Why do you say that?” he asked suspiciously, and his eyes darted from the left to right.
“I may not know you very well, but even Henry doesn’t get under your skin the way Luke does. Just be open to the possibility-”
“He’s in love with Noah,” Reid cut her off. Her romanticism was completely lost on him, at least that’s what he hoped. “It affects everything Luke does; it’s a part of every action he takes.”
“Then why isn’t he marrying Noah?”
*
Luke hastily packed a bag, wrote a quick note to his mother explaining the meeting in Dallas. He couldn’t add a “P.S. I’ll be getting married to Dr. Oliver while I’m down there.” He wanted to wait and have that conversation…most likely over the phone. His grandmother had been keeping Lily advised of the situation, and now everything was happening so fast. He had to find Noah and try to explain. He hesitated when an image of his ex-boyfriend flashed before his eyes. Luke had no idea how he was going to tell him that not only was he going to get married, but he was marrying Noah’s doctor.
The blonde had just picked up his overnight bag and was heading toward the door when he heard a knock. It was still a little early for Dr. Oliver, but maybe it would be best to get this whole trip over with.
Swinging open the door, Luke was surprised to see Noah standing in front of him.
“Luke?” the brunette asked.
“Y-yeah. How’d you know?”
“Uh, your cologne,” Noah said sheepishly.
“Right. Please come in.” Luke had to shove his free hand into his pocket to prevent him from reaching out to help Noah as the brunette walked further into the house.
“So…” Luke began.
“Yeah, I heard from Dr. Oliver’s assistant, she said he’s going to be out of town for a few days. Then he called to tell me why.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah.” Noah reached out and Luke came forward, taking his hand. “Thank you.”
“F-for what?” Luke asked. He couldn’t believe that Reid would tell Noah everything.
“For what?” Noah chuckled. “The hearing? Dr. Oliver said you had Lucinda call in some favors, and you’re getting his malpractice suit dropped. You’ve been so amazing. Getting him here, agreeing to stay away…” Noah’s voice trailed off and he shook his head. “The new wing and now this, I can’t believe…I know how much you two hate each other, but Luke, this is really going above and beyond.”
“No, it’s not,” Luke insisted.
“Luke, come on.”
“Noah, there’s something I have to tell you.”
“What?” His grip tightened slightly, and there was concern written all over his face. Luke’s fingers itched, wanting to smooth out the worry.
“There’s…well, there’s been some problems, some financial problems with the Foundation and Grimaldi Shipping.”
“Oh, Luke, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“No, don’t worry, Noah. Grandmother has found a way to fix it. It’s a long story, but needless to say, I can get the money if I get married.”
Noah’s chuckle brought Luke up short. “What? Get married? Luke, that’s ridiculous.”
He sighed. “I know, there’s this trust fund and a loophole. Like I said I don’t have time to explain-”
“You have to get Dr. Oliver to Texas, I know, but Luke…who are you going to marry? If you’re helping Dr. Oliver with his case, when will you have time to-”
“It’s…” He sighed, trying to push a newly formed lump down his throat. He knew this would be difficult. Despite the break up, his feelings hadn’t disappeared. But Luke had to do this. “Noah, Dr. Oliver and I are planning to get married.”
Noah stumbled backwards, his leg hitting the coffee table, and Luke automatically reached for him. “Don’t!” the brunette commanded and managed to find his way over to the couch. “Don’t help me,” Noah insisted.
“I’m sorry, Noah,” Luke’s voice cracked as that lump in his throat started to grow.
“For what? Luke, why didn’t you come to me? You know I would-”
“Noah, I didn’t…we broke up and you have to focus on your upcoming surgery. I didn’t want to burden you with this.”
“I thought…” Noah sighed softly. “I thought we were still going to be friends. You’re always trying to protect me, you never let me help you.”
“That’s not true,” Luke insisted.
“But Dr. Oliver? You guys hate each other.”
Luke sat down next to Noah on the couch. He wasn’t sure how he was going to explain all of this, especially since he wasn’t sure why he chose the abrasive man himself. “We…we’ve been trying to…” He shook his head. There was no point in lying. “Of course, he still yells and insults me, but there have been times when we’ve gotten along.”
“Like when I heard the two of you sharing a joke?”
It took Luke a moment to understand what Noah was telling him, but then he remembered the encounter. Another insult from Dr. Oliver, which Luke deflected, and then…the gleam in the redhead’s eyes and the lingering smile. “Yeah,” he murmured. “Besides, Dr. Oliver is an ideal choice actually. We can each live our lives and not worry about any complications.”
“But, Luke, how can you marry a straight man? Wouldn’t that draw suspicion?”
The blonde reeled back in surprise. Dr. Oliver was usually pretty much in your face about everything; he couldn’t believe he’d never told Noah. “Dr. Oliver's gay.”
“Dr. Oliver? My doctor is gay?” Noah sputtered in surprise. “How do you know?”
“He showed me the secret handshake,” the words slipped out so suddenly, Luke barely registered them as his own. And they weren’t really, something Dr. Oliver had mentioned along with asking Luke what kind of proof he expected from the redhead to confirm his sexual orientation.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Luke shook his head, trying to focus on the here and now. “Noah, I…I need to do this. There are so many people counting on me-the employees at Grimaldi Shipping, the Foundation, this new wing-”
Suddenly the brunette had an idea. “Dr. Oliver can do the surgery in Dallas.”
Luke reeled back as though he had been hit. He couldn’t believe that was what Noah was focusing on, but they had both been so anxious for this surgery and for Noah’s sight to return that a part of Luke understood. And yet… “What about Katie? She needs Dr. Oliver to be close and we're making this wing for Brad, for his memory. And Dr. Oliver…he is different around her and if you could only see him with Jacob.” He winced at his last sentence, it wasn’t what he had meant to say.
Noah jumped all over it though. “Apparently you've seen a lot more of Dr. Oliver than I have.”
Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t do this, not now, not with so much they had to do to get Noah’s doctor ready for the hearing. But more than that, Luke wasn’t sure if he could ever do this, ever have this conversation. So much of his heart was still wrapped in Noah and what they had. Noah had pushed him away, he had been doing so for months, and Luke was tired of not being enough, feeling guilty, not having any happiness for more than a short amount of time.
“Noah, what do you want? I need to do this, and you don't see a future with me, at least not an immediate future. I have to…I have to get this money, there are so many people counting on me.”
Before Noah could respond, both men heard a knock on the door.
“Wait here,” Luke instructed, placing a gentle hand on Noah’s shoulder before answering the door.
“Ready?” Dr. Oliver greeted him, and as Luke opened his mouth to respond, Reid saw Noah over Luke’s shoulder. “Obviously not.”
“I hear congratulations are in order,” Noah responded, getting up off of the couch and going over to join the two men.
Reid glanced at Noah for a second before his attention focused on Luke. Reid looked the blonde up and down for a moment. “Yes, I've always wanted to be married to a spoiled rich kid.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Thanks,” he replied his voice dripping in sarcasm.
Not noticing the tension or simply ignoring it, Noah responded, “You're getting the best, Dr. Oliver.”
Reid’s angry stance lessened for a moment. “Once this hearing is over with and I can work again… Noah, you’ll get your surgery. In fact, why don't you come with us?"
“What?” the younger men responded in unison.
The more he thought about it, the more Reid was warming up to the idea. Something about spending all this time with Luke left the doctor feeling a little unsettled. He knew they were going to come back married and living together, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t try and keep their lives completely separate. “I could do Noah's surgery in Dallas.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Noah replied, echoing Luke’s thoughts. “Besides, bringing the new husband's ex-boyfriend on the honeymoon? It's all about making this look real, right?”
“You would know,” Luke muttered.
Noah felt disgusted. How was he turning into the bad guy when his ex-boyfriend was marrying his doctor? “I can't believe you're bringing up Ameera. I thought you forgave me for that. I thought you understood.”
“Who's Ameera?” Reid interjected. The way Luke and Noah talked about each other, it had sounded like love at first sight, forever and always.
“No one,” Noah responded. He needed to get out of there. Luke had made his choice, and Noah didn’t want to be witness to any more then he had to.
“Oh, don't say that,” Luke chastised Noah. “She is your ex-wife after all.”
Reid was certain he hadn’t heard Luke correctly. “Excuse me, what?”
“She needed a green card,” Noah said in Reid’s direction, but a part of him was anxious to reach out for Luke.
The blonde let out a bitter laugh. “She wanted more than that.”
“Luke-”
Reid wasn’t sure what Noah was going to say, but he could see so many emotions running across young Mr. Snyder’s face. He briefly wondered if that was one of the more difficult aspects of Noah’s loss of vision. No matter what the words coming out of Luke’s mouth, his face always said so much more. But he wanted to get out of here, and a small voice in his head was telling him it was more for Luke’s sake then his own. “Mr. Snyder, don't we have a plane to catch?”
“You're right,” Luke replied, and shot Reid an appreciative smile. “Noah, I-”
“Luke,” he said so much with just that one name.
Luke reached out and gave Noah a hug, his chin resting on the brunette’s shoulder. Reid could see the tears that were starting to form. He didn’t need to witness this, but he couldn’t leave either. “This is the one time I’m grateful you’re blind,” Luke whispered.
Noah pulled back with a jerk. “How could you say that to me?” He pushed past Luke and the doctor, trying to get out of the house.
“Noah,” Luke struggled with what to say, how to make all of this better for his ex. “Let me get you a cab.”
“No, I’m fine. I don’t want anything else from you, especially after you could tell me-”
“It nearly killed me watching you marry someone else, watching you pretend to be the loving husband. All the times I couldn’t touch you, or hold you, because someone might see, and you were with her…”
“Then you’re right,” Noah said, his voice hard. “It’s a good thing I can’t watch you marry someone else.” He slammed the door shut behind him.
Dr. Oliver stood and looked at Luke for a moment.
“Not one word,” the blonde told him and held up his finger in warning.
Reid’s mouth had been open, but he quickly shut it.
*
Reid flipped through the same magazine three times. He was glad Mr. Snyder had thought to pick up something to read along the way, but he couldn’t focus. He desperately wanted to ask Luke about Noah’s wife.
Luke sat across from him, reviewing the latest shipping contracts. On a good day, it was only somewhat difficult understanding them. On a day like today? He swore he read the same sentence ten times. Reid had been quiet, but Luke knew the doctor was about to burst.
“She was an Iraqi immigrant,” Luke said quietly, placing the papers down in front of him.
Reid simply sat there, the magazine he was holding long forgotten.
“Ameera…she knew Noah’s father…Colonel Mayer,” saying that man’s name was always so difficult for Luke. “He was a friend of Ameera’s mother. She worshipped him, and Noah…he needed to know that his father wasn’t completely evil.”
Reid’s mouth opened to ask about the evil comment, but he was afraid if he asked too many questions, Luke would stop talking altogether.
“She needed to stay in the country, we couldn’t let her go back there. The only solution-we thought-” The blonde rolled his eyes, remembering how naïve they had been. “Noah married her. It ended quickly, it was a miserable time while it lasted, but… It’s over now.”
The doctor couldn’t be certain if he was talking about Noah’s marriage or his relationship with Luke.
Luke picked up his contracts again, hoping that maybe they would make sense this time.
“Luke…”
His head snapped up and he dropped the papers in front of him. He never expected to hear Reid call him that.
“Can you go through with this?” Reid asked.
“You called me Luke,” he whispered, almost afraid if he said it too loudly it wouldn’t be true.
“I also asked you a question,” the doctor noted.
Luke was brought back to the moment, hearing the snarky response. “I’ll be fine. Just can’t believe you called me Luke.”
“Well, I can't keep calling you Mr. Snyder, especially since you're going to take my name, right?”
The blonde smiled in kind. “Right.”
“So…” Reid set down the magazine and gave his traveling companion an assessing look. “Lucas?”
“What?” It took him a moment to understand what Reid was getting at. “No, it's Luciano. Luciano Eduardo Grimaldi.”
Reid would have liked to test out the name, but there was another question on his mind. “Luke Snyder?”
He shrugged. “Holden raised me, he loves me. He was the first person I told I was gay…my mother couldn't and Damian-”
“He tried to ‘fix you,’ isn't that what you said?”
“Yes. Holden accepted me. He's my father, he always loved me unconditionally.”
“You should keep it then.”
Luke smiled softly. He did appreciate the offer, but… “A deals a deal…Reid.” And Luke pretended not to notice the smile on the doctor’s face when he picked up his magazine again.
=============
Thank you for reading. Did you like the flashbacks?
Now o nto Chapter Three…