Fic: Neither Rhyme Nor Reason (5/9)
Title: Neither Rhyme Nor Reason (5/9)
Author: gradgirl (aka Ali)
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Luke/Reid eventually
Summary: When it comes to love, neither rhyme nor reason need apply.
Warnings: Based upon this prompt.
Author’s Notes: Written for a prompt by gypsieheart. Hope you enjoy it. And a huge thank you to cherimola for beta work and listening to my whining. Comments are appreciated and loved. Thank you ~Ali
Previous Chapters: { One} { Two} { Three} { Four}
Chapter Five
After the encounter in Reid’s office, the men tried once more not to be alone together. It was an unspoken and mutual decision.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t something that Katie realized. Whenever she was with one of them, she was invariably full of questions about the other. Her matchmaking was still going strong, and she couldn’t be certain about Luke, but she knew that Reid was definitely interested. At first, she assumed Reid’s constant disdain for Luke was part of Reid’s constant disdain for everyone. Reid’s voice would change sometimes, and apparently, Mr. Snyder was the topic of more conversations than anything else combined. As far as Luke was concerned, he rarely mentioned Reid’s name, and whenever Katie tried to bring up Reid, Luke moved the conversation along. She wasn’t sure how she was going to make this work; Luke had never expressed any interest in men, but the thing that was between him and Reid didn’t seem as if it was about to go away. And if Luke wanted Reid, then Katie would do whatever she could to make it happen.
Katie’s first move was to have the two men on her show for an interview. Both had balked, mostly because neither one of them wanted Reid on-camera. She had tried to laugh it off, but they had been adamant. Going over their heads to Bob, Katie had gotten what she wanted in the end.
It was the longest five minutes of Luke’s life. He was sitting between Katie and Reid. He tried not to look at the doctor, but that was awkward, and when he did spare a glance in Reid’s direction, the redhead would glare at him. Luke would then turn back to Katie. She’d smile at him and Luke could feel the other man bristle. Finally, it was over, and both men ran out of there.
Fate had a mean sense of humor, though, and both men found themselves in the lobby of the Lakeview. Reid wanted a drink, and Luke was there to pick up some paperwork for his mother. The men looked at each other and then Reid started to stalk off toward the bar.
“Excuse me!” a very large and angry man called after Reid.
Luke stopped at the noise. He turned, briefly wondering if the guy was trying to get his attention, but saw the stranger grab Dr. Oliver.
Reid didn’t recognize the man. “What?” he demanded.
"You sanctimonious jerk! I saw you on the TV today, acting like you’re some gift from God.”
“It’s not an act,” Reid countered. He didn’t immediately recognize the man, but he was preventing Reid from getting his drink. He’d dealt with Mr. Snyder enough today; he didn’t need some ridiculous jerk adding to his problems. He’d been in Oakdale less than a month, but the towns’ people really left something to be desired. On more than one occasion, Reid had second-guessed his choice to take part in the Pavilion, but he assured himself it was for his career. And in a moment of weakness, he allowed himself to acknowledge he wanted to be near Luke.
“You killed my daughter!” the man charged and reached for Reid’s jacket, pulling the doctor closer. “You killed my daughter and then you go on television and act as though it never happened. That you didn’t-”
Luke immediately came forward. “Excuse me, Mr.-” He tried to get the man’s attention, but the stranger appeared to be lost in his rage.
“Go away, Mr. Snyder,” Reid gritted out. The moment the man mentioned a daughter; it all came flooding back to Reid. “Annie Judd.” She’d died six months earlier. It was an awful case, and the loss of a child wasn’t something the doctor wanted to think about. He’d somehow managed to block out his own pain over her death. He wasn’t supposed to get emotionally involved with his patients.
“Do they know?” Mr. Judd questioned. He briefly let go of Dr. Oliver. “What you did? That you killed my daughter.”
“Annie-” Reid tried to explain, but there wasn’t anything he could say.
And before anyone realized it, Dennis Judd’s fist was in the air, hurtling toward Reid’s face. “You disgust me. You don’t get to say her name. You killed her.” His fist came back repeatedly. Luke tried to intervene, yelling for security and attempting to grab Mr. Judd. Luke was briefly struck by a flying punch, and that was the thing to pull Mr. Judd out of his rage. He looked at Luke, muttered an apology, and raced out of the Lakeview.
The wind was briefly knocked out of him and so Luke knelt down. Dr. Oliver was in a heap on the floor. “Dr. Oliver,” Luke’s voice was a little breathless, and he winced slightly. “Dr. Oliver, are you all right?”
“I’m fine, Mr. Snyder,” the redhead ground out, his voice laced with pain, and his face was red, his eye swelling miserably and his cheek cut.
“Yeah, that’s obvious,” Luke noted, his voice dripping in sarcasm. He reached out and helped Dr. Oliver stand up. “I’m taking you to Memorial.”
“Why?” Reid automatically questioned.
“Well, I know that you can’t tell, but you look awful. We need to get you checked out.”
“But why Memorial? Those people are quacks.”
Luke was used to this, but he still couldn’t hold back a sigh. “Yeah, and you’re going to be one of the top ones, once we get this neuro. wing built.” He tugged on Reid’s arm, and practically dragged the doctor out of the hotel.
Reid didn’t say anything the whole ride to the hospital. The first couple of times he tried to open his mouth, Luke shot him a look and pressed harder on the gas pedal. The doctor was half-tempted to make a run for it once they got to the parking lot, but he knew that Luke wouldn’t let him get too far. But he did drag his feet the whole way into the hospital.
“So who should we ask for?” Luke asked companionably as they walked through the doors of the emergency room.
“It’s not that bad,” Reid ground out. “I can take care of myself.”
“But you won’t, so who should I ask?” the younger man countered. His grip tightened a little, as though he could read the doctor’s desire to escape.
Reid sighed, hating that Luke knew that about him. He usually kept his cool façade, and if not, insults generally worked. And yet Luke Snyder had a way of getting to him, of knowing him. It was annoying.
“I’ll need some bandages,” the redhead finally gave in.
“What about your head and your ribs?” Luke couldn’t see everything, but he knew Mr. Judd got more than enough licks in. “That man was pretty scary; do you think you have internal bleeding?”
The doctor was ready with a quick comeback, but when he looked at Luke, he saw the care and concern in his eyes. Reid stilled for a moment. “Uh, no. I’m sure I’ll have some bruises, but nothing feels broken. You’ve done your good deed for the day, Mr. Snyder. I’ll make sure to tell your Scout Leader. You can go now.” He finally tugged himself loose and tried to walk away.
Luke snorted in response. “You think I’m a Boy Scout? You don’t know me at all.”
Reid swallowed thickly, momentarily intrigued by Luke’s comment. But he was also ready for an argument. Reid was beginning to wonder if he didn’t know Luke better than he knew himself.
“Dr. Oliver!” a young nurse came along, interrupting the two. “Are you all right? Do you need any help?”
The doctor glared at her. He couldn’t remember her name, just that she cried a lot in his presence. As if that wasn’t annoying enough, she was interrupting his time with Luke. Reid spared a glance at the young man and saw Luke’s gaze on her. He cleared his throat, hoping to draw Luke’s attention back to him. “I’m fine,” he ground out. “And if I wanted help, I would know better then to ask you.”
“Dr. Oliver!” Luke smacked him with the back of his hand. And when he saw the redhead wince, he quickly reached out and rubbed his shoulder. “I’m sorry. Uh, Nurse…”
“You can call me Gretchen.” She smiled and her head briefly ducked down before her gaze met Luke’s again.
“Unbelievable,” Reid muttered under his breath. “I’m the one who’s in pain. Could you two flirt later?” he demanded.
Luke jumped slightly, and his hand fell away from Reid’s shoulder. The doctor pretended not to miss it. “Yes, uh, Gretchen…” Luke nervously cleared his throat. He hadn’t realized the nurse was being anything more than friendly with him. “Dr. Oliver should be fine, but I was wondering if there was a room or someplace I could help him clean up,” he ended his request with a smile.
Of course, he flashes the dimples at her, and he hits me. Reid wanted to smack himself. Get over it. “Yes, do you think you can manage that much?” he demanded and turned to Luke. “Do you see now why I want to hire my own staff?”
Gretchen gasped and raced off to find a room. No doubt tears pooling in her eyes.
“You’re really great with people you know that?” Luke replied. “It’s no wonder you’re getting beat up in public.”
Reid shook his head and started to walk in the direction of Nurse Gretchen. He kept going even when he heard the sound of Luke’s hurried feet following him. He stopped by a cart, grabbed some supplies, and went to the first available room. And, of course, Luke was right on his heels.
“What?” the doctor demanded, ripping open a package of gauze.
“I’m sorry,” Luke said and shuffled his feet. “I shouldn’t have...” He shoved his hands into the pocket of his pants. “You just… No one has ever gotten to me the way you do.”
“What can I say?” Reid offered a half-smile. “It’s a gift.”
"Yeah," the younger man muttered and reached for the gauze; his fingers briefly lingered on Reid’s and both men stilled for a moment. “Let me help you, okay?” And without waiting for a response, he reached for the bottle of antiseptic. “This might sting a little…” he whispered.
Reid tilted his head to the right. “No kidding.”
Luke’s hands fell away for a moment. “Dr. Oliver… Why don’t you ever let anyone help you?”
“Because I’ve learned you can’t depend on anyone for anything.”
“That’s a terrible outlook,” Luke noted. “But it’s also not entirely true.”
“What?”
“Aren’t you depending on me and my money…”
Reid sighed. “Fine. Fix me up so you can go back to Nurse Crier.”
“Gretchen,” Luke corrected. “And you really think she was flirting with me?” he couldn’t keep the surprise out of his voice. Luke generally didn’t notice that type of thing. The nurse had been cute, but he wasn’t interested.
“Gee, I don’t know, Mr. Snyder, but I’ll pass her a note later,” Reid said.
With a shake of his head, Luke grabbed Reid’s face and started to apply the antiseptic. His right hand gingerly cupped the doctor’s face in his hands. His fingers were cool, but Reid’s face felt warm. “Your face is red…” Luke whispered, his breath blowing across the doctor’s mouth.
Reid held himself perfectly still, pretending not to notice those gold flecks in Luke’s eyes again.
“You might have a nasty black eye. And that man broke the skin across your cheek…” Luke moved back slightly, his eyes locking with Reid’s. “What happened?”
“Well, a big, angry man attacked me. Weren’t you there? Or did you already start your afternoon libations?”
Breathing deeply through his nose, Luke went back to work on cleaning up the cut on Reid’s face. “I was picking up paperwork for my mother. And thanks for throwing my alcoholism in my face.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry,” Reid said quietly. “I was there to get a drink, maybe a meal.”
“Oh.” Luke hesitated for a moment. “Look, Dr. Oliver, if you’re going to be the face of this new wing… Well, with the shiner you’re going to get, I don’t think anyone would trust you-”
The doctor reached up and grabbed Luke’s wrist. “Excuse me? I am the best neurosurgeon in the country.” His grip tightened with his anger.
“Then tell me what happened!” Luke countered. “That man said you killed his daughter.”
"Annie," Reid noted, his grip loosened a little, and his thumb dragged itself up and down the pulse point at the inside of Luke’s wrist. “Her name was Annie. She was…” He took a breath. He never talked about his patients. He tried not to think about them once they left his care. The ones that he lost, though, he kept them with him, locked inside of him, pushing him forward, making him learn the next best technique, perfect his skill, so that he wouldn’t have to look into the eyes of the parent or spouse or child of one of his patient’s and say… “I’m very sorry, but…”
Luke watched as the emotions scattered across the doctor’s face. The anger wasn’t there, but a haunting shadow had settled in his eyes. “Annie,” he prompted and tried to ignore the race of his pulse, as though it was searching for the doctor’s thumb, tracing Reid’s movements, trying to be connected.
“She was six. She had a tumor…most doctors wouldn’t have even attempted-”
"But you’re not most doctors, and you couldn’t save her," the blonde deduced.
“I gave her a year, more than any one else could have done, but… She’s still gone. That man was her father, Dennis Judd. He never used to look at me like that. He used to hate the cancer, then he started hating me.”
“I’m sorry,” Luke whispered. While Reid had Luke’s left hand trapped in his own, the blonde’s other hand was holding onto Reid’s face. “I am so sorry, Re- Dr. Oliver.” His grip tightened a little and his thumb dragged across the doctor’s cheek.
Reid was lost in his own head for a moment, remembering the last time he’d seen Annie and her smile. Pulling himself out of the past, he felt Luke’s hand on his face, comforting and gentle. His thumb was a little calloused and Reid was surprised. He didn’t think Richie Rich had ever done a day’s work in life. He briefly wondered if it was a callous from writing too many checks. And Reid wanted to focus on that, on the snark and barriers, he didn’t want Luke to hold his face, he didn’t want to know that there are flecks of gold in the blonde’s eyes and that the skin on the inside of Mr. Snyder’s wrist is soft. With a jerk, Reid pushed himself away.
“Have I bled enough for you?” the doctor questioned, his voice cool.
Luke felt a shiver go down his spine, the loss of Reid’s touch, making him feel cold. Shaking his head, and pretending once again that the doctor never made Luke question…everything…he picked up a bandage and pressed it to Reid’s cheek. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, his thumb running across the older man’s face, smoothing down the sticky tape.
“What for?” Reid asked, his voice weary. He wanted nothing more than that drink and to get as much distance between himself and Luke Snyder.
“You’re in pain,” he replied.
Reid tried to shake his head, but it made him feel worse. “I’m fine, Mr. Snyder. He didn’t hurt me-”
“That’s not what I meant,” Luke replied, picking up the remnants of his work. He couldn’t quite meet Reid’s gaze.
“You don’t have any idea what you’re talking about.” The cool distain and superiority once again in his voice.
Luke’s hand slammed down on the tray and some of the items clattered to the floor. “Why is it so difficult for you to be real with me? Why can’t we ever have one honest conversation?”
Reid snorted in response. “That’s rich. You want to talk about honesty.”
“Yes!” the younger man countered. He noticed the bandage started to work itself lose and he reached up, trying to fix it, his fingers dancing across Reid’s face.
“I think you’re the one who’s hiding,” the doctor whispered. He hated that his skin tingled every time Luke touched him. How does he not get it? He has to feel it too.
The blonde’s hands immediately flew off Reid’s face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He went back to cleaning up his mess.
Reid shook his head in disgust. He was tired of pretending and worst of all, he was hurt. Luke’s reaction was painful. Reid wasn’t sure if the blonde knew how much he was rejecting Reid, but he was done. He vowed not to let Luke get to him any more. He wasn’t about to hold the younger man’s hand, or push Luke until he realized what was going on between them. And he certainly wasn’t going to let Luke touch him any more. The blonde seemed to do it almost without knowledge, and when the realization came, he would jump away, afraid of catching cooties, or worse, Reid feared, ‘gay.’ The older man already suspected that Luke knew exactly what was going on between the two of them, and he wasn’t a bigot, just afraid.
“Good-bye, Mr. Snyder.” Reid moved, trying to get past Luke. He needed an escape.
Luke’s hand shot out and grabbed Reid’s arm. The doctor glanced down at Luke’s hand, but the younger man wasn’t about to let go. “Are you all right?” he asked. His eyes searching Reid’s face, hoping just once he’d seen the real Reid Oliver. What Luke didn’t realize was that Reid was more honest with him than with anyone in his life.
It was on the tip of Reid’s tongue to wonder why Luke cared, but he didn’t want to know the answer. “I’ll be fine, Mr. Snyder.”
“And this thing with Dennis Judd…”
Reid tugged loose. “He’s a grieving father. I don’t know what he’s going to do.” He walked with purpose out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
“I meant how are you going to cope,” Luke murmured to Reid’s retreating form.
*
For nearly two weeks, things were back to normal. The guys spent as much time avoiding each other as possible. They finally found an architect, Matt, who wasn’t scared by their constant bickering. He told them that he didn’t want his time wasted. He’d show them some plans, leave it with the guys, let them work out their fight, and then they should get in touch with him.
Reid and Luke looked at each other, a smile tugging at Luke’s lips, and he briefly ducked his head down. The doctor smiled as well, but when Luke’s head snapped back up, the smile was gone. Their eyes locked for a moment.
“Agreed,” they said in unison.
And Matt was hired.
Luke took a deep breath before knocking on the door of Reid’s office. They’d both had a set of plans, and Luke wanted to talk to Reid about patient rooms. The doctor hadn't seemed too put off whenever Luke mentioned them, but it was an added expense, which meant more investment meetings. After their encounter with Allen Hale, the guys had hesitated about setting up another appointment.
When there was no response, Luke decided to bite the bullet and opened the door. He hesitated when he saw Dr. Oliver. The redhead was sitting at his desk, but the office was a mess. All of his files were on the floor and it didn’t look like Reid’s eyes were focused on anything.
Luke shook himself free and quickly shut the door behind him. Reid’s eye looked significantly better. “Dr. Oliver,” he made his way further into the office and slipped on one of the files. He stumbled a little, and his hands reached out in front bracing himself against the desk. They landed a couple of inches from Reid’s. Panting heavily and leaning over the desk, Luke’s eyes met the redhead, and Reid finally pulled himself out of his reverie.
“You okay?” Reid checked.
“Uh, yeah. Are you?”
“Today’s meeting will have to wait…indefinitely,” the doctor said and slowly stood up. He glanced at the mess in his office and shrugged.
“Wh-what?” Luke sputtered.
“I’ve been suspended, Mr. Snyder,” Reid told him and started to walk around Luke. “Dennis Judd has filed a malpractice suit against me. Bob just told me that I’ll be suspended until further notice. Guess you’ll have to find another project to spend your money on.”
The blonde felt his heart start to race. He knew something was wrong with Dr. Oliver, but he never… “No,” he insisted. “No.”
Reid stopped and looked at the younger man for a moment. “No, what, Mr. Snyder?”
“He can’t suspend you.”
“Hospital rules,” Reid’s voice was deceptively cool, but Luke knew, he had to know what this was doing to the doctor.
“So what are we going to do about it?” Luke questioned.
That got Reid’s attention. “Excuse me?” he asked, rounding the desk and he stood in front of Luke. Crossing his arms over his chest, Reid’s gaze locked directly on the younger man.
“We have to fight this, Mr. Judd can’t… We need you. There is no neuro. wing without you.”
“Well, for once I have to agree with you on that but, Mr. Snyder, I don’t know what you expect me to do. I’ve already trashed my office. I’m thinking a drink might be nice, and since you won’t be joining me-”
“No, but that doesn’t mean…” Luke took a deep breath. He knew this had to be killing Reid, and he couldn’t understand why the doctor wasn’t angrier. He’d spent ten minutes explaining to Luke all the reasons his parking space had to be changed with more fire and rage. Now he was acting as though he’d bought the wrong type of bread. “I’ll talk to Mr. Judd. I’ll see if I can get the charges dropped.”
“And how are you planning to do that? Toss money at him.”
“If I have to,” Luke replied.
Reid let out a dark chuckle. “Well, that’s just great. His daughter is dead. He blames me. Unless you plan to buy him another daughter, I don’t think he’s going to listen. From what I remember about Dennis Judd, his whole world revolved around Annie.”
“Then we’ll get the charges dropped,” Luke argued. He honestly wasn’t sure what he was saying anymore, but he couldn’t let Reid walk away. He needed this project. Despite all the arguments and insults, Luke hadn't felt more focused and energized then when he started working with Dr. Oliver. And…he would do anything to get that haunted and defeated look out of Reid’s eyes.
Reid tapped him on the shoulder. “Good luck with that, Mr. Snyder.” He started to walk toward the door.
“Since when you do give up?” Luke called after him.
The doctor hesitated at the door. He was tired of fighting. Sometimes it was invigorating, challenging, like a game of chess or great sex, but Reid knew something about false hope and that you never give it to your patients. He wasn’t about to let Luke give him that.
Reid slowly turned around. “I’m a doctor, first, last and always, Mr. Snyder. Bob Hughes is telling me I can’t be a doctor, and…”
Luke quickly closed the small distance between them. He held up his hands, ready to reach out and touch Dr. Oliver, prevent him from leaving, but he hesitated, his hands hanging in the air between them. “Then we’ll fight.”
“We?” His eyes narrowed slightly. Reid was used to being alone. He preferred it actually, but like everything else since he met Luke, he was starting to question himself.
“Give me ten minutes and I’ll see what I can do. I know…” He took a deep breath. “Don’t start drinking.”
“Don’t worry, Mr. Snyder, you won’t need to stage an intervention-”
"Dr. Oliver," Luke cut him off and this time, his hands came forward, his palms pressed against Reid’s chest.
“I’m sorry,” Reid muttered. The insults were going too far; he knew that. “Ten minutes. That’s all I’m giving you.”
Luke smirked. “At least you’re giving me something. You never bend.”
The redhead had a feeling that he would break if he started to, and he wasn’t sure if Luke would be able to stop him. With a shake of his head, and a purposeful ignorance of the fact that yet again Mr. Snyder was touching him, Reid said, “Nine and half minutes.”
The younger man jumped slightly, his left hand trailing down Reid’s chest, and the doctor’s stomach contracted in anticipation. “Right,” Luke said and moved around the doctor. “Don’t leave,” he commanded and left the room.
Reid watched the blonde and then leaned heavily against the door. “He has got to stop touching me,” he muttered to himself.
*
The doctor checked his watch. Luke had been gone exactly nine minutes. With a sigh he started to grab his coat. He’d lock his office and deal with the mess some other time. He wasn’t going to get a drink, but a sandwich sounded good. He just hoped that Katie wasn’t at home. She’d started asking him about his day, in particular pointed questions about any meetings he had with Luke. He tried to deny any implications that he had a crush on Luke Snyder, but he felt that, like Luke, she had a way of seeing him. How did he manage to go 34 years without a relationship and in the span of six weeks find two people who seemed to know him almost as well as he knew himself?
What kind of rabbit hole did I fall into? he wondered.
“I have fifteen seconds!” Luke announced as he walked into Reid’s office. He felt more triumphant than he should have, and he quickly lost his smile when he saw the coat in Reid’s hand.
The doctor was lost in his thoughts and he hadn’t noticed Luke’s return. He was surprised and grateful, generally constantly aware of everything to do with Luke. “Wh-what?”
“You weren’t going to wait for me,” Luke said, his voice soft and full of hurt.
“I was going to give you fifteen more seconds,” Reid snapped.
“Oh.”
“And your brilliant plan is what?” Reid questioned, his grip tightened on his coat.
“We’re going to Texas.”
“What?” Luke wanted to take a vacation when Reid’s career was on the line?
“We’re going to Texas,” Luke announced. “I spoke with my grandmother, Lucinda, and she knows some people. And…” He shook his head. “We got you a hearing. The Texas Medical Review Board is going to hear your case tomorrow. So go home, back a bag, tell Katie, and I’ll meet you at your place in two hours.”
Reid’s eyes darted back and forth for a moment. His head was swimming. “Wh-what?”
“We’re going to fix this,” Luke assured him. He smiled that grin of his, open wide, eyes shinning, and Reid was reminded of how young he was.
“Mr. Snyder, I…”
Luke’s smile deepened. “I can’t believe I’ve actually made you speechless.” He bounced on the balls of his feet. “I love it.” He gently patted Reid on the shoulder and walked around to the door. “See in you two hours. Now, I’ll do the timing.”
*
Katie went from concern to that knowing grin of hers in less than thirty seconds. It drove Reid crazy. “It’s not a weekend away, this is my career,” he reminded her. He went to get one of the boxes in his room. He kept some case files there, and found Annie’s almost immediately. He would go over some of his older cases, review what he could have done differently. He couldn’t have saved Annie, he knew that, but that didn’t mean Reid hadn't been tempted to try.
“I know. But why is Luke going with you?” She crossed her arms over her chest. She tried to lessen her grin, to keep her lips together, but it wasn’t working. She saw Reid every day, and she knew when he’d just left Luke. He’d have this dazed look on his face. He’d sputter about some argument, still a little shell-shocked. Katie had the feeling the shock was Reid stumbling ass-backwards into love, but she wasn’t about to voice that opinion. And Luke… Well, she still wasn’t sure how she was going to help Luke realize what he was feeling.
“His grandmother set up the whole thing. And it’s Mr. Snyder. When does he not have a say about everything?”
“I keep telling you, Reid, it’s because Luke cares.”
He tried to wave her off. “Not about me. He’s going to be hard-pressed to find a surgeon of my caliber, that’s all. It’s about money.”
She shook her head. “Not with Luke.”
*
Luke wandered through the bookstore, trying to decide which kind of magazines Dr. Oliver might like to read. He was hoping to talk about the case, begin the prep work for Reid, but every time Luke tried to talk about anything that wasn’t related to the wing, he could see the shields go up over Dr. Oliver’s eyes. He let out a sigh, and his eye caught on a gay lifestyle magazine. He sent a cautious glance in either direction and reached for the magazine.
“Luke!”
He dropped the magazine on the floor, and his cheeks were flushed red when he turned to see Noah. “Uh, hi,” he said, greeting his friend.
Noah glanced down at the magazine on the floor between them. He raised an eyebrow, before reaching down and picking it up. “Did you drop something?” he asked, checking out the attractive guy on the cover. He was in a gym, wearing boxing gear, smiling for the camera.
"That’s not mine," Luke insisted. “I mean, it’s not for me. I’m getting it for Dr. Oliver.”
“Okay,” Noah said slowly. He didn’t know that his former doctor was gay, but he didn’t really care, either. He wasn’t used to seeing Luke so jumpy. He and Maddie had actually gone with Noah to his first Gay/Straight Student Alliance meeting at Oakdale U. Luke had been a little apprehensive then, but after the first meeting, he’d jumped in with both feet, helping to organize fundraisers and supporting whenever he could. Even after Maddie left and before Luke dropped out of school, he went with Noah. It was how Noah had met Richard, actually, and for that, Noah was grateful.
“Sorry.” Luke let out a breath. He grabbed the magazine out of Noah’s hand and pulled a few random ones, not bothering to look at the titles. “We’re going to Dallas, and I thought.” He shook his head and with his free hand rubbed his forehead. “I don’t know what I thought. He’s so hard to read, you know? If they had some medical journals, I’d be all set, but except for brains and food…” Luke snapped his fingers. “That’s it,” he moved quickly past Noah and grabbed some food magazines.
“Why are you and Dr. Oliver going to Dallas?” Noah questioned, walking behind Luke.
“He has a hearing,” Luke said, keeping his voice low. He knew that Reid wouldn’t want anyone to gossip about him.
“Is he testifying for someone?” Noah questioned. His eyes narrowed slightly, and he was still trying to figure out exactly what was going on with Luke. He’d never seen the blonde so nervous. “And I thought you guys didn’t get along, why are you going with him?”
Glancing around again, Luke bridged some of the distance between them. “A former patient of his, the family is suing him for malpractice.”
“What!”
“Shh,” Luke hissed.
“Sorry, but that’s ridiculous, Dr. Oliver is the best. I wouldn’t be here without him.”
“I know,” the blonde agreed quietly.
Luke was still feeling extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation. He hurt for Reid, the moment he saw the doctor getting hurt. He wanted to protect him, and Luke tried to brush it off as concern for a friend, but they weren’t friends. And then when he found out about the lawsuit, seeing the doctor’s face, Luke was in pain. He wanted to do anything he could to make the doctor feel better. He’d been so adamant about getting the case dropped, not for the neuro. wing, but for Reid, because he knew how much being a doctor meant to him. He would see it, sometimes during their meetings, when Reid had just gotten out of a surgery or met with a patient. He wouldn’t have to say anything, and Luke would know exactly what was going on. If there was a smile, nothing too overt, the tail ends of his lips curving up, then Luke knew he’d just given someone good news. If he’d be frowning and started shuffling papers around his desk, it had not only been a bad surgery, but he’d lost the patient. If he’d look at Luke and shake his head, then he’d just had to give bad news to a patient. And if he’d flash a grin, just one, a brief one, when Luke could see his slightly crooked front tooth, then the blonde knew that Reid had just kicked ass in surgery and he was ready to take on the world.
“Is there anything I can do?” Noah offered, working his way through Luke’s thoughts. “Write a letter, testify, anything? He gave me my eyesight back. If there’s anything I can do to help, tell me.”
Luke nodded his head and pulled the magazines closer, hugging them against his body. “It might help, actually. I’ll let you know.” He started to move past him.
“Luke?”
The blonde turned back. “Yeah?”
“Are you okay? I know Dr. Oliver can be-”
“He still is,” the blonde assured him. “But he needs to be a doctor, and we need him. I can only imagine what that family went through, but they’re trying to blame Dr. Oliver instead of, I don’t know, God or fate for taking her away. I just hope that another mistake isn’t made by this review board. They have to… Well, Dr. Oliver and I have some work to do. I wish just this once he’d listen to me instead of fighting over…” He let out a breath and itched to run his fingers through his hair, but he became conscious of the magazines he was holding and thought better of it. “I’ll be in touch.”
*
Reid almost waited for Luke out on the street, but he knew the younger man would want to see Katie. And just once, Reid hoped to be wrong. He was disappointedly not.
“Thank you for doing this,” Katie greeted Luke with a hug. “I keep saying that, don’t I?” She chuckled. “After Brad…”
“I know.” Luke’s eyes briefly caught Reid’s, and he knew the doctor was upset. He wanted to assure Reid, let him know that they would be successful, Luke would make sure of it. He even opened his mouth to respond, but Reid turned away, reaching for his
bag.
Katie glanced at Reid as well, having noticed the distracted look in Luke’s eyes. With a knowing shake of her head, she walked over to the doctor.
“I don’t do hugs,” Reid said, holding up his hand in warning.
“Too bad.” She pulled him close and briefly kissed him on the cheek. “Listen to Luke,” she whispered into his ear. “Don’t fight him when he’s trying to help you.”
He pulled back and his eyes narrowed slightly. He would have more to say, but didn’t want to in front of Luke, nor acknowledge that there was some truth to all of her questions and hints. “Keep the fridge stocked,” he replied instead.
She rolled her eyes. “I’ll miss you too.” She turned back to Luke and smiled.
Luke automatically opened his arms and Katie came forward. He pulled her close, holding her, and gently running his hand down her back. Reid watched every moment, and felt a burning pain in his chest with each brush of Luke’s hand across Katie’s back. He blamed the pastrami sandwich he had for lunch.
“I’ll bring him back to you,” Luke assured her.
Reid wanted to remind Luke once again that he was gay, but he knew that Luke was obviously aware of that fact.
“Come on!” Reid called, walking past them. He was tempted to grab Luke’s hand, and pull him along, but he didn’t want to touch Mr. Snyder.
Luke offered one last wave to Katie and headed out the door with Dr. Oliver. He felt the redhead bristle next to him. There was a car and driver waiting for them.
“Airport parking is kind of ridiculous,” Luke noted.
“Aren’t we taking a private jet?” Reid countered.
“You still want that antique mahogany desk?” the blonde said, and cocked an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Reid ground between his teeth.
“See, every penny counts,” Luke tossed over his shoulder and headed for the car.
Reid let out a sigh and, despite himself, chuckled as well. But he wouldn’t allow himself to enjoy the view of Mr. Snyder’s ass as he walked toward the car.
Well, not as much as he usually did.
-------------------------------------------------
Again a huge thank you for reading and commenting. I’ll have the next chapter up on Wednesday, and yes, Luke will finally get a clue. ;-) Happy Easter. ~Ali
Onto Part Six...