Fic: All That I Am (1/17)

[gradgirl_07]

Title: All That I Am (1/17)

Author: gradgirl (aka Ali)

Rating: PG-13 (what else?)

Characters/Pairings:  Luke/Reid, Casey/Ali, Chris/Katie, appearances from Snyder clan and other OCs

Summary: Luke found almost everything with Reid. Is that enough?

Warnings: Sequel to Almost Everything, so that should be read that first.

Author’s Notes: So yes, this is a sequel to Almost Everything. I hope you all enjoy diving back into this world with me and enjoy the journey. Thank you reilaroo your awesome beta work  (I can never thank you enough) and slayerkitty for letting me give you presents. Constructive criticism and comments are appreciated. Thank you for reading. ~Ali


Chapter One

Dr. Reid Oliver slowly opened his eyes. The sun was starting to come up and slants of it fell across the bed. He stretched languidly and looked over at his companion. A smile tugged at his lips.

My husband.

Reid actually never expected to be here, lying in bed on a sunny and warm Saturday morning, looking at his husband. But that was before Luke Snyder, Luke Oliver, he could hear the smirk in his husband’s voice as he always corrected him on that point. Well, all of that was before Luke Oliver walked into his office at Memorial Hospital and said, “I have a business proposition for you.” The young man had bounced on the balls of his feet, and Reid was again reminded that a 22-year-old had blackmailed him to get him to this ridiculous town. He hated that Luke had gotten the best of him. Later, Reid could admit he had been impressed that Luke had lied about the blackmail. The tenacious way Luke went after what he wanted to help those he loved, it was one of the things that had annoyed Reid but also made him fall in love with him.

The blonde sighed softly in his sleep, and Reid smiled to himself.

It had been two years, he realized. Two years since he came home from an exhausting day at Memorial to find his husband waiting for him. Reid had constantly been living in a state of limbo. His husband had worked his way into Reid’s head, his heart, his bed, and yet he was in a constant state of worry and waiting, just biding his time for Luke to say those words that Reid had spent his whole life saying to other guys: It’s over.

But it hadn’t turned out that way at all. His smile deepened and unconsciously his hand reached out, and he pulled Luke closer. Reid buried his nose into the nape of Luke’s neck, spooning his husband, fitting the younger man’s body perfectly with his.

“Reid, you’re the man I married, the man who helped me to accept that what had happened with Noah was an accident and I shouldn’t feel guilty about it. You’re the man I’ve grown to love as an adult and not the first love, end of the world intensity…”

Slowly, Reid’s right hand pressed into Luke’s torso, and he gently rubbed. He was happy. He was content. Two words Reid never expected to use to describe his life. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead and the back of his neck. He immediately recognized what was happening. As much as Reid wanted to say his husband was causing him to feel warm and increase his heartbeat, Luke wasn't the only reason Reid felt the familiar stirring of a panic attack. He used to get them frequently, thinking about Luke being hurt, living in domestic bliss with the young man, imagining a future or fearing that it would never happen. It had been a while, several months in fact, since the last time Reid had a panic attack. But the reminder of the fact that he was lying in bed, spooning his husband, and he was happy, all of it made his heart beat erratically and the familiar fear sweep over his body.

Reid’s breath came out in hot pants, and the hair against Luke’s neck fluttered. The hand that was pressed into Luke’s stomach stilled, and he closed his eyes, trying to focus on slowing down his heart and return his racing pulse to normal.

Luke sighed again and moved. His back pressed into the redhead’s torso, his legs shifted, intertwining with Reid’s. The older man smiled again. He was home. He had nothing to worry about.

The blonde opened his eyes; he had felt Reid moving and tried to keep his eyes closed as long as possible. Living with a brilliant surgeon, Luke had learned that emergencies happen at all times and in the worst possible situations. For a while, Luke had been convinced that the only way he and Reid would have sex was in the hospital because every time they started to get closer, his beeper would go off. He also learned that his husband loved to get up around the crack of dawn and go for a run, especially on the days when he had a surgery. The alarm would go off at four or five in the morning some days. Reid would give him a kiss, his warm breath against Luke’s ear, a gentle, “I love you” or “I want you. Wake up.”

Luke knew it was still early in the morning. He was exhausted and wanted to sleep a little bit longer.  Then he felt Reid pull him close. If he could spend the rest of his life in this position, Luke knew he wouldn’t have any regrets. After everything that had happened with Noah, after the break-ups, the accidents and fights, Luke never believed he wouldn’t be in love with Noah. After watching his parents make-up and break-up throughout the years, he had learned that it was alright. You could meet the love of your life when you’re a teenager and no matter what happens you’ll always find your way back to each other.

And then he’d met Reid.

The fights, the disdain, the constant referrals to “Mr. Snyder.” Luke never disliked anyone as much as he did Dr. Reid Oliver.

Then he walked into the brilliant and abrasive man’s office and said, “I need to get married.” If nothing else, Luke relished the idea of having the upper hand with Dr. Oliver. Of course, Reid had laughed in response. It wasn’t until Luke found out he could give his husband panic attacks that he realized how perfect they were for each other.

Noah would still have a place in his heart, but first loves don’t always last, nor are they supposed to, at least not for Luke and Noah. Reid was the man he had grown to love as an adult, the man he was going to spend forever with.

Luke had sighed, slowly letting sleep try to claim him again. But then he felt the breath hit his neck, short pants, and Reid’s heart pounding against his spine. Luke would like to believe that his husband was desperate for him, but he knew that wasn’t the case. Reid was having a panic attack.

Taking the older man’s hand, he stopped Reid from rubbing against his torso. Slowly turning in the cocoon of his husband’s arms, Luke looked at Reid. The older man’s face was contorted, trying to return his heartbeat to normal.

“I love you, Reid,” Luke murmured and reached out, cupping the redhead’s face in his hands.

Reid’s eyes fluttered opened and he tried to focus on the brown eyes of his husband.

He moved his hands and gently massaged Reid’s scalp. It was an action that the blonde had perfected over the last couple of years. He knew exactly where to press, how long to hold Reid, anything to make the redhead feel better. “Remember your special place,” Luke continued. His voice was low, calm. He could be strong for his husband because that was what Reid needed. “The brain.”

“No,” Reid panted and shook his head. Luke’s fingers tangled briefly into the red curls. “It’s right here.”

Luke found himself smiling. “Then why are you panicking? I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. And it’s way too early in the morning for you to be awake. If you loved me so much, you would let me get back to sleep.”

Reid chuckled softly, and he leaned over, nuzzling his nose against his husband’s. Luke let out a low sigh and his hands flexed before the pads of his fingers pressed close against Reid’s scalp, tangling into his hair. Reid had never known anyone to love his hair as much as Luke did. The blonde was constantly playing with it, tugging on the curls at the nape of his neck.

The younger man tugged again, and Reid was held in the support of his husband’s arm. And that’s when it started. His heartbeat returned to normal, his pulse slowed. Luke’s right hand slid down Reid’s back, and he started to rub gentle circles. Reid and Luke laid that way for a while; Luke’s hand started to slow, and his brain started to feel fuzzy again. Sleep was trying to intrude and Luke wanted to allow it.

But then Reid moved, his head ducked down, and his lips were pressed to Luke’s neck. Gentle kisses, nips, and then the redhead’s tongue ran down the length of Luke’s neck. The blonde groaned.

“I want you,” Reid whispered into his husband’s ear.

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Luke muttered. He loved his husband and making love to him (although Reid cringed every time Luke called it that) was one of the best parts of his life. But Luke was exhausted. They had a busy day ahead of them, and he just wanted to sleep a little longer.

Katie and Chris’s son, Robert Reid Hughes was going to be Christened. They had asked Reid to be the godfather, and after Luke and Katie ganged up on him, the redhead finally agreed. He still didn’t understand why they would pick him. Chris agreed with the redhead, but Katie insisted that Reid was one of her best friends and without him and Luke, she might not have been willing to give Chris a chance and they wouldn’t have Bobby.

“Reid…” Luke’s voice had a tinge of a whine to it. “Some of us don’t get up at before dawn to crack into people’s skulls.”

His husband continued to kiss and nip at his neck, not to be deterred from his goal. After a few moments, Reid moved, bracing his forearms against the bed on either side of Luke. His eyes were the color of sapphires. “All you have to do is lay here,” he told Luke. He leaned down, his mouth brushing against the blonde’s until his lips parted, and Reid’s tongue slipped in. Luke groaned again, deepening the kiss and pulling his husband closer.

Reid’s hands reached down, rubbing along the sides of Luke’s torso. He blindly reached for the hem of Luke’s shirt. Finally, the older man pulled away. “Although, it is better when you help.”

Luke chuckled softly. “I love you.”

The redhead looked at Luke for a moment. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

“Shut up,” Luke said, tugging on Reid’s hair, pulling him close again.

The kisses quickly heated up, hands everywhere, tugging at clothes, trying to feel as much of each other as they could. Reid worked his way down Luke’s chest, a kiss here, a nip there. Luke’s hands in Reid’s hair, guiding him lower.

And then…

Reid’s cell phone buzzed. Both men groaned in frustration. Reid continued to press soft, open-mouthed kisses to Luke’s torso.

“Don’t-” His stomach clenched in anticipation, but he knew that they would have to stop. “Reid,” Luke murmured, torn between trying to pull Reid off of him and push him closer.

The redhead stopped, his chin resting against Luke’s chest, and their eyes met. “If it’s a real emergency, then I’ll get a page,” he assured his husband.

Luke nodded, his fingers tangling into Reid’s hair again.

Reid’s pager went off.

“Damn it!” the older man swore and moved toward the pager. “It’s Katie.” He was tempted to throw the pager against the wall. “I never should have given her that number.”

“You better answer it,” Luke noted. He turned and started to get out of the bed.

“Where are you going?” Reid demanded and this time he did toss the pager. He reached for Luke’s hand and tried to tug him back onto the bed. “I’m not done with you yet.”

Luke smiled softly. “If Katie is paging you, then it’s an emergency. And…” He knew this would definitely kill the mood, but he said it anyway. “I won’t be able to stop thinking about Katie while we’re…”

“Okay. Ew.” Reid winced. “I cannot believe you just said that.”

Now Luke’s cell phone buzzed.

“Just call her,” the blonde said and got out of bed. “We have plenty of time. I promise to make it up to you,” he vowed before heading toward the bathroom.

“What the hell do you want?” Reid demanded answering Luke’s phone.

“Reid? Oh, thank God!” Katie’s voice greeted him. “Bobby has been crying all morning, and I think he’s running a fever.”

“Of course he’s crying,” Reid replied. “You’re going to put him in a dress and throw water at him. What boy wants that?”

“Reid!” Luke hissed coming back into the room.

The redhead placed his hand over the mouthpiece. “You didn’t use my toothbrush did you?” he demanded.

Luke shook his head and a smile tugged at his lips. “Of course not.” The one time Luke had done that, Reid had banned him from their bathroom for six months. “What’s wrong with Katie?”

“Reid!” her voice rang out through the room. “Reid, come look at my baby!”

The younger man raced further into the room and grabbed the cell phone from his husband’s hand. “Katie? It’s Luke, what’s wrong?”

“Bobby. He’s been crying all morning, and he’s got a fever.”

“Ask her where her husband the pediatrician is!” Reid demanded. He was frustrated and keyed up. And he knew that once Luke started talking to Katie, any plans the redhead had for the morning would disappear.

“Katie-” Luke began.

“I heard him,” Katie said. “Chris is at the hospital. Peterson went home sick, and Chris is trying to cover his rounds. Please, you guys, by the time I get Bobby and Jacob ready to go to the hospital-”

“He’s on his way,” Luke assured her.

“Thank you,” she let out breathlessly before ending the call.

Reid gave another angry huff. “Why did you insist on living so close to her and Doogie?” He crossed his arms over his chest and his eyes narrowed, focusing all of his frustration on Luke until he could see Katie.

“Reid…” Luke sighed and started to close the distance between them. “When we moved in here, it was so you could be close to Katie.”

“That was almost three years ago,” he muttered. “And I was told this was a temporary arrangement.”

The blonde shook his head and placed his hand on his husband’s arms. “Reid, you hate change. When we made us…” His hand moved, rubbing across the redhead’s forearms. “When we planned our wedding, our real wedding, I asked if you wanted a fresh start, a new home. You then spent an hour explaining to me all the reasons why we still needed to be close to Katie when ‘Doogie breaks her heart’ or ‘the kid gets the sniffles,’ and the fact that you’re a complete control freak and change hurts you.”

Reid’s eyes narrowed slightly. “I never said control freak.”

“Rigid and methodical,” Luke amended and gently squeezed his husband’s arms.

“Yes,” the older man agreed.

Luke smiled and took a couple of steps away from his husband. “And that’s one of the reasons I love you. Now get dressed. You need to go check on Katie and Bobby.”

“All right, but-” He held up his hand.

The blonde pressed a soft kiss to Reid’s mouth. “I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”

“Well…” his argument deflated a little.

“I’ll be rigid and methodical in my efforts,” Luke vowed.

The older man’s eyes narrowed again. He was dubious. “How?”

“I won’t stop until every inch of your body has been thoroughly satisfied,” Luke’s voice was a little husky as he made that promise.

Reid breathed deeply through his nose. “You play dirty, Mr. Snyder.”

“It’s Oliver,” the blonde countered. “And I learned from the best, Dr. Oliver.”

===========================

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Thank you for reading.

Also, Eric Sheffer Stevens has a new movie seeking backers (incentives included). For more info (including the trailer go here). ~Ali

Onto Chapter Two...