Science and Faith (4/?)

[bhumimak]

Title: Science and Faith
Rating: PG-13 moving onto NC-17
Warnings: Angst, AU and a mention of Noah
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Drama
Character/Pairings: Luke/Reid, Other Characters, very brief Luke/OC and other character couples.
Disclaimer: Don't own the boys, I only wish I did! The title of the fic comes from a gorgeous song of the same title by The Script.
Summary: Luke is happy, or so he thinks, his life seems to be perfect barring one thing. Reid Oliver has everything he needs and wants, he's happy with his work and saving people and everything else takes second place...until he meets a certain blonde that is. When these two meet will they both find what they need?

A/N: Thank you to the wonderful traciamc for the beta! Feedback would be loved! Hope you guys enjoy! :)

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three


The sun was beating down on his bare back and he could feel the heat rippling over his skin without even needing to open his eyes. Along with the heat, there was the feel of hands, soft and warm hands, massaging his back in a soothing rhythm, working in exactly the right places, relaxing him and making him feel utterly boneless.

A soft, happy sigh left his lips and he heard someone above him laugh softly and only then did he feel the weight of someone on the back of his legs. Before he could say anymore, he felt lips pressing against the back of his neck, trailing kisses till he felt those lips reach his cheek. The sunlight at that moment was blocked, sensing that the warmth on his eyelids was no longer there, he mumbled something incoherently, reaching his hand out behind him but felt nothing.

“Good morning, Reid...” he heard someone whisper softly.

Reid opened his eyes slowly, blinking to get used to the sunlight flooding his room and was met with two sets of eyes, both hazel, and two smiling faces.

“Who were you having a sex dream about?” he heard a voice ask.

Reid closed his eyes, frowning, not sure whether he was still dreaming or not, but when he heard a loud squeal his eyes flew open in shock and he saw Grace sitting on the bed by his feet with Ava wriggling in her lap, “Jesus Chr-what the hell are you doing here?” he breathed, trying to calm his thundering heart down.

“Ava and I needed some fresh air,” she replied nonchalantly, “so I said to her, why don’t we go and see your Uncle Reid? She agreed, didn’t you baby?” Ava gurgled in response waving her arms and Grace kissed her shock of dark hair.

Reid groaned, rubbing his eyes with his hand, “How the hell did you get in?” he asked, his voice still thick with sleep.

“I swiped a spare key when I came round the other night. It’s not a problem is it?”

Reid turned onto his back and glared at Grace, “Hell yes, it’s a problem! You don’t just sneak into someone’s house in the morning and sit on their bed watching them like a creeper.”

“We weren’t creeping, jerk, we just wanted to see why you weren’t awake already! I called you but you didn’t answer.”

“Maybe I didn’t answer because I was sleeping!”

“Yo grumpy, calm down. You’re worse than Ava in the mornings, for Christ’s sake.”

“Urgh, shut up and go away, Grace,” moaned Reid.

“No I won’t, because you still need to answer my question.”

“What question?”

Grace grinned wickedly, “Who were you having a sex dream about? You were having one, right?”

“No, I wasn’t having a sex dream,” Reid mumbled.

“Reid, you were smiling in your sleep, you hardly ever smile during the day and you mumbled a name but I didn’t catch it and you were making these noises, so tell me, tell me! Was he hot? What were you doing? ”

“I’m not going to tell you about my dreams!”

“Were you doing stuff to him or were you letting him do things to you? I’m guessing when you’re in bed you love to relinquish control and love to be fu--”

“Jesus Christ, Grace!”

“What? Just want to know if my ‘bestest’ friend is getting some action even if it is just in your dreams. I bet you probably haven’t slept with someone in like forever because you’re too into your work, which is totally unhealthy by the way. Blue balls, my friend, blue balls...they aren’t good for you.”

Reid cleared his throat, trying to control his anger, “My ‘bestest’ friend is currently my right hand, not you, and urgh, none of this is your business so back off and go away.” Reid lifted himself into a sitting position, resting his back on the headboard. The covers slipped down his legs revealing his bare chest and the tight black boxers.

“Oh my!” Grace gasped and eyed Reid from top to bottom, “Hellooo, sexy six pack,” she said, her hand reaching out unconsciously to touch him. Reid swatted her hand away covering himself up with the covers to his waist glowering at her.

“For god’s sake, Reid, stop being such a girl! When the hell do you get the time to work out like that? You didn’t look this ripped in college, you are looking hot.”

Reid narrowed his eyes; a small smile threatening to curl up on his lips which he took control of just in time, “Don’t objectify me.”

Grace stared at him incredulously and finally let Ava go, babbling as she crawled, climbing on top of Reid’s legs to get closer to him. Grace watched her progress for a moment before facing Reid again, “Like you don’t objectify guys? Please, Reid...I’ve known you since college and when you were drunk, you used to do a lot more than just objectify guys.”

“Oh my god, why are you suddenly interested in my sex life?”

“Because you got a hot sexy body but no one to use it on except that person in your dreams, you fucking bastard! Plus, I would so tap you if I wasn’t married.”

“Firstly, don’t swear in front of the baby and secondly, but most importantly, I’m gay...I think ‘tapping’ me would be difficult job for you.”

“You haven’t even let me try, I could work around that pretty easily,” she grinned, batting her eyelashes.

“Grace, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“Nothing, I just like teasing you, baby,” she winked.

Reid rolled his eyes chuckling and shook his head in disbelief, “You’re unbelievable.”

“That’s why you love me.”

Reid shot her a warm smile, his annoyance fading away, and watched as Ava tried to use him as support to push herself onto her feet. He gave her a helping hand, lifting her carefully, holding her hands so she could stand up in his lap and walk the rest of the way. She only managed to stay standing for a moment, her feet not moving in synch and not steady enough just yet, before she dropped down into his lap squealing in delight, grinning toothlessly. Reid laughed softly along, letting her get onto her hands and knees and crawl up onto his chest.

Grace watched the both of them fondly and smiled, “You’re really good with her, you know? She doesn’t take to strangers this easily.”

Ava successfully managed to get to her hands into Reid’s hair and he held her close, one arm under her butt, lifting his own hand to untangle her small hand from his hair. He finally faced Grace and smiled wryly, “Yeah, but she’s too young to be a good judge of character just yet. Anyone who gives her some attention and food is awesome in her eyes.”

“Reid, you know that isn’t true. Can’t you just admit that Ava is falling in love with you as much as you are with her?”

Reid took a breath and grimaced when he felt drool on his shoulder. He looked down at Ava who gurgled, her hazel eyes wide with curiosity, as if she was waiting for an answer too, “I definitely don’t love her at the moment that’s for sure.” Reid wiped away the drool off his shoulder with the edge of his covers while Grace laughed. He turned Ava around and sat her in his lap, her back to his chest.

“So,” Reid raised his eyebrows at Grace, “what are you here for? What do you want?”

“Moi?” she asked innocently, her hand pressed to her chest, “I don’t want anything.”

“Shut up, I know you. You want something, so spit it out.”

“I want nothing, honestly!”

“Grace,” warned Reid.

She sighed loudly, her shoulders slumping, conceding defeat, “Fine! Dan and I need to go to some lunch party. It’s his cousin’s husband’s something, something, he has a huge family and anyway, Ava doesn’t like crowds and noise, she isn’t used to it yet. So...I was hoping you’d have her for the day? I know you’re not working today, I checked!”

Reid eyes widened, “Excuse me? You want me to take care of her for the day?”

“Didn’t you hear me?”

“Yes, I did. I just wanted to confirm that you just really did suggest what I think you did.”

“It’s not a suggestion, Reid, it’s an order.”

“An order?” Reid laughed shortly, “You are going to order me around?”

“Of course, it’s not like you can say no to me!”

“Jesus,” he breathed, “why don’t you get a babysitter?”

“I don’t like them because firstly, I don’t trust them and secondly, they might end up fornicating in the house and everywhere with some random druggie guy and scar my baby for life.”

“What the hell kind of babysitters have you hired before? And how do you know I won’t be fornicating everywhere either? I do have a life you know!”

Grace snorted, “You aren’t going to be having sex with anybody, not today anyway, and Ava is comfortable with you, I mean look at her,” she pointed at the baby who was lying comfortably against Reid. She was gnawing on one of his fingers which she’d put in her mouth, making contented sounds. Reid hadn’t even realised when that had happened and extracted his finger from her mouth carefully, scowling.

“See? She loves spending time with you and I trust you, and so does Dan by the way,” Grace grinned.

“What about your monster-in-law?”

“Are you stupid? It’s a family thing so she’s gonna be there too, genius!”

Reid rolled his eyes and was about to protest and Grace interrupted him, “So, Oliver...I’ve left a few bottles in the fridge, her stroller is near the door and the diaper bag is on the couch and that has everything you’ll need for the day including food.”

“Grace--” Reid attempted to get up, but Ava wasn’t having any of it, whimpering when Reid tried to move.

“Dan and I will be back in the evening, not too late, I promise,” she got to her feet, straightening her clothes before bending over kissing Reid’s forehead.

“Grace--” he warned again, however he knew he had to accept defeat.

She ignored Reid and then looked at her daughter, “Now, baby, make sure you annoy your Uncle Reid lots and lots. He won’t mind it really and take care of him for me, okay?” Grace stroked Ava’s head before peppering kisses all over her face, making her giggle, her arms and legs flailing in delight.

Grace pulled away to see Reid’s scowling face, “I told you that you wouldn’t be able to say no to me,” she smirked.

Reid covered Ava’s ears gently, “You’re a bitch, you know that, right?”

Grace shrugged, “I know, but you’re a bastard, so it balances out.” She laughed seeing Reid roll his eyes, dropping his hands to glower at her, knowing that there was no way he could back out of this now.

Grace smiled gratefully, “Thanks, Reid! I’ll see you later! Have fun my babies!” She waved enthusiastically blowing an air kiss to the both of them before making her way out of Reid’s room and out of the apartment.

Reid closed his eyes and dropped his head back onto the headboard, sighing audibly, wondering what the hell he’d let himself in for when he felt something wriggle against him. When he opened his eyes, he found Ava now on her front, looking up at him curiously, her hazel eyes wide. Reid picked her up and planted his feet on the bed, letting Ava lie back against his legs.

“So, munchkin...your Mom is pretty manipulative. I hope you’ll be a better friend to me then she is, yeah?”

Ava blinked, “Bah,” she said.

Reid shrugged, “I’ll take that as a yes,” and Ava wriggled against his legs, babbling all the while.

Reid couldn’t help but smile and smoothed a hand to flatten her soft brown hair, “So what are we doing to do, today?”

“Bah, bah,” she replied, flailing her arms, reaching them out to hold get closer to Reid.

Reid dropped his head onto Ava’s legs lightly, groaning in frustration, not knowing what the hell to do. He was the world’s best neurosurgeon, babies should be easy, right? He then felt hands hitting his head lightly, tugging at his curls and heard a gurgling laugh that didn’t fail to make him laugh either.

He lifted his head, his face close to Ava’s smiling one, “Like mother, like daughter, huh?”

Ava then slapped her hands either side of Reid’s face and giggled again.

Reid closed his eyes, exhaling slowly, “Yup, you’re exactly like your Mom.”

***

Reid hadn’t taken care of a baby since, well since ever. He’d never done it and had never planned on it at any time in his life and so what was he supposed to do with a baby when he needed a shower? So he improvised. Not wanting to keep her too far from him, he left the bathroom door open and put Ava in her portable crib, which he’d dismantled from the stroller and placed near the door, so he could hear anything. It was the quickest shower he’d had in a long time.

Luckily, Grace had written Ava’s routine down on a piece of paper, which he’d stuck to. He’d fed her, changed her, and entertained her with some television, relieved that he found some cartoon channel to keep her occupied so he could have a late breakfast. One thing he didn’t plan for however, was the crying.

“Oh crap, crap...don’t cry, don’t cry.” Reid rocked her in his arms, rubbing her back soothingly as she cried against his neck. Reid did the usual checks, no diaper change was required, she’d just been fed and he quickly checked her over for anything else that could be bothering her, but there didn’t seem to be anything wrong.

“Ava, why do you hate me?” Reid held her in his arms, wiping away her tears with his free hand, her face red as she wailed some more. “What do you want to do? You want to go out somewhere, huh?” Reid grumbled and cursed Grace for leaving him to deal with this but there was no use thinking about what he would do when he had to deal with the now.

He manoeuvred Ava so her head rested on his shoulder and gave her his finger to gnaw on as a last attempt to help her calm down, and he was right, that was just what she needed and he noted that Grace needed to buy a teething ring of some sort. She almost immediately settled down, sniffling against Reid’s neck, her small hand grasping his wrist.

Hoping that a little fresh air would help the both of them, he knew that the best place to go to was for a stroll in the park. But not knowing where anything was in Dallas, he had to do a quick search on the internet as Ava lay on his chest, whimpering against his neck, feeling exhausted from all the crying. Once he’d found the location of a park nearby, he quickly grabbed the baby bag, stuffing it in the stroller and carefully placed a half-asleep Ava in her stroller, buckling her up, and placing her hat on her head without jostling her too much.

“What has my life become?” he mumbled under his breath. Making sure he had all he needed, he grabbed his jacket and keys, leaving his apartment.

***

The park wasn’t too far from his apartment, “Maybe I should get out more," Reid thought, as the sun was shining brightly with a hint of a chill through the air, perfect conditions for a walk out to the park. Ava was asleep by the time he’d left the apartment and had luckily found her pacifier to take the place of his finger, which had settled her into a deeper sleep.

He was walking along the path when he heard fussing from the stroller and when he glanced down he saw Ava was wide awake, grinning toothlessly, “Oh hey, munchkin, you just about killed me earlier, how about an apology?”

“Gah,” she replied, flailing her arms, her pacifier popping out her mouth.

“I guess that’s enough of an apology for now, however you owe me big time,” he said, moving the pacifier to the side.

Even though Reid wasn’t much for small talk with normal grown up human beings, he wasn’t too sure how to keep a baby occupied and so he thought the best way was to talk to her. Even though he wasn’t going to get an answer and he looked like a madman, he didn’t care, as long as she didn’t cry like she did earlier, that was all that mattered.

“So Ava, when you grow up, whether you like boys or girls, you know you can call me? Actually only if it’s boy stuff because that’s my specialty, if you know what I mean?” smiled Reid smugly.

Ava blinked up at him, her small lips forming a pout, not finding what Reid was saying amusing at all.

Reid sighed, “Yeah, okay...don’t come to me for advice then, I’m a little unreliable and probably won’t be around all the time. Your Mom knows enough to handle anything, trust me, I know.”

Ava then giggled, stuffing her small fist in her mouth gnawing on it. Reid reached a hand out pulling her hand gently from her mouth wiping her hand with the napkin next to her.

“You’re not a cannibal, Ava...the world hasn’t run out of food just yet.”

Hearing some cooing from around him, he saw a young woman with some of her friends watching them fondly, with smiles on their faces. Reid sent a scowl their way, sending the women scurrying away. He continued his walk through the park and Ava seemed to have settled down, her eyes trying to take in her new surroundings, as was Reid.

When he heard the shouts of children playing, he realised he’d reached the playground. His eyes darted over the area but he was almost stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a familiar face, someone reading a book intently, his hair falling over his face, half obscuring it. Reid was sure that the blonde sitting on the bench was Luke, the café guy, and now, he had no idea what to do since the only path he could take was the one that went past him.

Before Reid could even think about possibly ignoring him, he looked up and smiled beckoning them over. There was no way of avoiding it now, not that Reid hadn’t had the urge to go and see Luke since he’d seen him, but just...he left the thought hanging and took a deep breath, making his way over to him.

“Hi,” Luke said, his brows furrowing in confusion, pushing his hair back as he noticed the doctor pushing the stroller.

“Hey,” replied Reid. He watched as Luke moved his bag from beside him, wordlessly asking him to sit. Reid pushed the stroller closer, keeping it beside him as he sat down and turned to face Luke.

“Is she yours?” asked Luke, not too sure what to make of the situation.

“Oh no, no, no, no, she’s my friend’s. Well, my ex-friend.”

Luke laughed, feeling weirdly relieved, “Ex-friend?”

“Would you like to be woken up in the morning with your creeper of a best friend sitting on your bed ordering you to babysit for the day?”

“Hmm, okay...I can see why she’s no longer your friend,” Luke grinned.

“Yeah, she’s gonna have hell to pay at the end of today.”

“So I see you’re still alive?”

Reid narrowed his eyes taking in Luke’s smug smile, “I can see the relief in your eyes, yes, I’m alive, so haunting you is off the menu and there’s no need for you to go on the run either.”

Luke smiled, nodding, noticing how Reid’s gaze flickered between him and the baby, keeping an eye on the baby longer to make sure she was okay, which he found rather endearing. Reid turned to look at Luke frowning at the look on his face.

“What?” asked Reid.

Luke hadn’t even realised he was staring at him and swallowed audibly, “Nothing! You just seem really good at the whole baby thing, that’s all.”

“You and all the women,” Reid mumbled.

“What do you mean?”

Reid grimaced, rubbing a hand over his face, “While I was walking here, all these women kept staring at me with these stupid smiles on their faces looking at the both of us and cooing and just being all stalker-y. It was weird.”

“Maybe because women have this thing for seeing men taking care of a baby? Trust me, I know.”

Reid frowned, “You don’t have a kid of your own, do you?”

“Oh god no,” Luke ran a hand through his hair, laughing nervously, turning to face the doctor fully, “I mean, whenever I used to take Bella out, I used to get the same thing and they used to assume I was her Dad or something, so I just let them assume after a while, it was easier.”

Reid nodded in agreement and then narrowed his eyes, “So now father daughter relationship has turned incestuous? That sounds a little too Austrian to me.”

Luke frowned, wrinkling his nose in disgust, “You’re sick, seriously...”

“What? I’m just calling it like I see it,” grinned Reid.

Luke couldn’t help the smile threatening to split his face and so looked away, rolling his eyes at him. Reid glanced over to check on Ava to hide his own amusement, and saw she seemed to be perfectly content playing with the toys hanging above her in the stroller.

“What are you doing here anyway? Should I be worried that you’re sitting here with a book, alone, in front of a children’s playground?” asked Reid, looking over at Luke.

Luke’s mouth opened in shock and he nudged the doctor with his shoulder, laughing, “Oh my god, no! I needed to get away and Bella needed some extra energy expelled so I suggested taking her to the park.”

“Oh, are you sure you don’t have a camera hidden somewhere?”

“You’re such an--urgh,...forget it,” Luke chuckled and his eyes met Reid’s blue ones, unable to look away. Reid hadn’t noticed how long they’d been looking at each other, it had been too long. He pointedly cleared his throat and glanced out and away onto the playground.

“Where is Bella by the way?” he asked, his eyes sweeping the play area.

“Just over there,” Luke pointed, “By the swings...she’ll be over to annoy you in a bit,” he chuckled.

Reid looked over to see Bella move from the swings and head for the monkey bars. She charmed her way ahead of the line talking to the young boy at the front, who had somehow let her go ahead of him and she happily swung her way across.

“Did you just see that?” asked Reid in disbelief.

Luke laughed heartily at the doctor’s expression, “Yup, that’s Bella for you.”

“She’s going to break hearts when she grows up.”

“Yeah, I thought with her special skills she could become President,” suggested Luke.

“I’d vote for her, at least I’ll know she stick to her promises in some way or another.”

They both laughed but were interrupted with a loud wail coming from the stroller. Reid immediately looked over to see her fussing, holding her arms out hoping to get out of the confines of the stroller, not wanting to miss out on all the fun.

“I think she wants some attention,” commented Luke, grinning.

“Yeah,” Reid sighed, “just like her mother...okay, come on, let’s get you out of this,” he unbuckled the straps and lifted Ava out, sitting her gently on his lap. She looked over curiously at the new guy sitting next to her and when Luke grinned at her she smiled back, clapping her hands together in delight.

“What’s her name?” Luke asked looking back up at Reid.

“Ava the brat.”

Luke ignored him and stroked the baby’s face gently and then let her wrap her hand around his finger, shaking it lightly, “Hey, Ava, nice to meet you.” She babbled her own greeting, her eyes sparkling with joy.

“Can I?” Luke held out his hands looking at Reid expectantly.

“Be my guest,” Reid handed Ava over to Luke, their fingers brushed as Luke got a hold of her and he tried once again to ignore the spark that he felt at the touch. Luke sat holding Ava in his lap facing him, “Hey, beautiful,” he said, bouncing her on his lap and she gurgled and babbled as if she was having a conversation with him. “Oh really? So you have been having fun today?” said Luke. He then lifted her higher into his arms after a few moments and Ava became interested in Luke’s hair. She grabbed handfuls of it, revelling in the soft feel of it against her fingers.

“Okay, so she likes hair,” Luke said, wincing slightly, as he tried to extricate her hand as gently as possible, settling her lower in his arms, flicking her nose lightly as she giggled.

“If she likes your hair, she likes you, which seems to be my thinking anyway.”

Luke grinned, “I think she’s getting to the grabby stage, anything that she can reach she’s gonna grab it.” He looked back at Ava who was babbling while hitting Luke’s chest, trying to get his attention.

Reid watched Luke lifted her high in the air before bring her down several times, nuzzling his nose with hers every time he brought her down. Ava didn’t seem scared at all and instead giggled loudly as the sensation of going up and down made her happy.

“You’re good with babies, too,” commented Reid once Luke had settled in his arms again, fixing the hat on her head.

“I have younger siblings and that helps, I think. I used to take care of them when they were babies although I wouldn’t call myself an expert.”

“Oh my god, Dr. Ollie!”

Both men turned to see Bella running towards the both of them, her curls flying behind her and came to a stop in front of Reid about to say something, but was distracted by the wriggling bundle in Luke’s lap.

“Hey Bella,” smiled Reid.

“Is the baby yours, Dr. Ollie?” she asked moving closer, leaning against Reid’s legs.

“No, the baby is Dr. Ollie’s friend’s. Her name is Ava, you wanna say ‘hi’?” asked Luke, glancing up at Bella.

Bella held out her hand and Luke held out Ava’s letting them shake hands, well a finger shake, “Hi Ava.” Reid looked on chuckling softly when Ava gurgled her own reply in response.

“She’s so pretty and small, her fingers are so tiny,” she said in fascination. “Did I used to be this small too, Luke?”

“You sure did,” Luke grinned.

“Wow,” she said in awe and Luke couldn’t help but laugh. Right at that moment, Ava started babbling out loud making Bella giggle.

“What is she trying to say?” asked Bella as stroked her cheek delicately with a finger.

“I don’t know, but it won’t be long before she’s talking everyone’s ears off,” replied Reid with a smirk.

Luke looked down at Ava to see her eyes focused on Reid, holding her arms out, her hands making a grabbing motion, “I think she wants you,” said Luke handing her over to Reid. Reid rolled his eyes and settled her against his chest and took the pacifier out the stroller putting it back in her mouth.

Bella watched her in fascination for a few moments before losing interest, “Luke, I’m hungry, can we go back now?”

Luke hadn’t realised that he’d been watching the baby too, smiling at any small movement she made. He took a breath and faced Bella, “You sure you don’t want to play some more?”

“No,” Bella shook her head moving closer to Luke, wrapping her arms around his, “I’m so, so hungry.”

Luke pressed a kiss to her temple, smoothing her hair back, “Okay then, gorgeous, let’s go.”

“Yeah, I should head off too actually,” Reid said, strapping a sleepy Ava into the stroller. “The brat needs to eat once she wakes up, as do I.”

“Why don’t you come along with us? I’m sure I can heat up anything Ava would need at the café and you could get something too?” asked Luke hopefully.

Reid hesitated for a moment, but to get some hot food would be nice, because he’s only going for the hot food for himself and Ava, that’s it, “Okay, sure that would be good.” Luke nodded and got to his feet, packing his book away into his bag before taking Bella’s hand and they all walked out of the park side by side.

They reached the café in no time, with Bella chattering away neither of the men got a word in edgewise, and when Bella asked Reid a question, that was the only time he got to talk. Luke looked on laughing at the both of them and stole glances when he could. But Luke didn’t know that Reid was doing the exact same thing before he scolded himself inwardly for doing such a corny thing. When they entered the café, they were met with Caro at the counter and Luke saw her immediately perk up, her eyes flickering between him and the doctor, and Luke felt nervous, very nervous.

After his last encounter with the doctor two nights ago, the next morning, like he’d promised, he had told Caro what he knew about him and reassured her that he was just a passing acquaintance and nothing was going to come out of it. Even when Caroline told him that this time it was something different, Luke brushed it off and had left for the library to do some work. Now, Luke could see that ‘I-told-you-so’ look on her face and he was worried where this meeting would take them.

“Mommy!” Bella shouted once they entered the café. Caroline managed to walk out from behind the counter just in time before Bella slammed into her, giving her a fierce hug. “Hey, sweetie, you have a good time at the park?”

Bella looked up and grabbed a hold of her hand pulling her towards the men, “I did have tons of fun, but Mommy come and meet my friend, Dr. Ollie.”

Caroline glanced over at Luke who had shoved both his hands in his jeans pockets and was moving closer to her, sending her a look saying, ‘you-had-better-not-say-anything-or-else’. She smiled, winking at him before her eyes found the auburn haired doctor who was standing next to the stroller.

“Mommy, this is Dr. Ollie and that pretty baby is not his baby,” Bella said pointing at the stroller and then glanced up at Reid, “and Dr. Ollie, this is my Mommy.”

Reid laughed and held out his hand, shaking Caroline’s but she eyed him curiously and remembered something that Luke had told her. “So, Dr. Ollie, I know my daughter has a habit of only half listening but I’m pretty sure ‘Doctor’ isn’t your first name.”

Caroline, out the corner of her eye could see Luke stiffen and close his eyes, sighing softly. Reid rubbed a hand over the bridge of his nose and glanced over at Luke who was now looking at him from under his eyelashes expectantly.

“It’s Reid, Reid Oliver,” he replied, his eyes finding Luke’s, smiling softly and Luke couldn’t help but smile back.

Caroline didn’t let that interaction go amiss and had to stop herself from locking the two men in a room together so that they could just get it on and save everyone a whole lot of grief. But knowing that was impossible, instead, she grinned and nudged Luke lightly with her elbow, bringing him out of his trance.

“So, Reid, I think I should apologise for this monster here, I hope she hasn’t been bothering you too much.”

“It’s fine, honestly. She seems like a smart kid.”

Caro glanced down at Bella who was still attached to her side and ran a hand through her hair, “Yeah, she is, just like her Mom, right?”

“Right!” Bella agreed, nodding her head.

Just then, Reid’s phone began to ring and he picked it up to answer. It was Grace letting him know that she was on her way home and would be back in about half an hour. Reid snapped his phone shut before looking at Luke sending him a half smile, “I’m going to have to go. I’ve got a murder to commit in about thirty minutes, thanks for the offer though.”

Luke laughed, “You’re welcome, just make sure to not leave too much evidence though. We wouldn’t want you going to prison or anything.”

“I’ll be sure to do that.” Reid shot a smile at Caroline and waved at Bella, who’d made her way to sit behind the counter, before making his way out of the café and down the sidewalk.

Luke watched as long as he could until the doctor, Reid, was out of sight. When he turned back to look at Caroline she was standing next to him with the largest smile known to man on her face.

“Oh my god, you two were so flirting.”

Luke frowned, turning away to walk behind the counter, “No we weren’t, don’t be silly, Caro.”

“Seriously? Dr.Sexy likes you and you like him. You should’ve asked him out on a date or something.”

“He doesn’t like me, Caro, he’s just a nice guy, that’s all! He’s probably not even gay.”

“Are you kidding me? Dr. Sexy was totally checking you out, and the way he was smiling at you and totally ignoring me...I mean, I think I’m pretty hot but he didn’t even look at me twice! He kept staring at you!”

Luke ducked his head taking a breath, trying to hide the blush creeping up on his cheeks, “Stop calling him, Dr. Sexy, it’s weird.”

“Why? Is it because you want to limit the use of that name to the bedroom?” she asked, waggling her eyebrows.

“Caro!” gasped Luke, feeling embarrassed.

She laughed slapped his cheek lightly, “So clueless, honey, you are so clueless. I will tell you something for a fact, Dr. Sexy is most definitely gay, he likes you and I think you like him too.”

“I like him too, Luke!” Bella chirped from her seat behind the counter.

Luke laughed and ruffled her hair before facing Caroline, “I know what you’re saying Caro, but I just don’t know if I’m ready for anything, even if there is something there. People can change once you get to know them and I don’t want to fall headfirst into anything without knowing for sure, because it hurts and...I just can’t put myself through that again.”

Caro sighed sadly and squeezed his shoulder with her hand, “Okay, honey...I get it. But don’t let this fear of the unknown stop you from finding something you’ve been looking for all your life.” She kissed his cheek, caressing it lovingly before picking Bella up and taking her into the kitchen to get something to eat.

Luke stood for a while gathering his thoughts. He knew that Caro was right; this fear was, in some way, irrational and pointless. But, he’d had enough thinking about other people. Maybe this time it was time he thought about himself, what he wanted and what he needed.

***

Ava was happily drinking her bottle when the doorbell rang. Reid had her in his arms and so got up carefully and opened the door to see Grace and her husband standing there with smiles on their faces.

“Hey Reid,” Grace grinned.

Reid ignored her and looked behind her at Dan, “Can you tell your wife I’m no longer speaking to her?” He turned away and walked inside as they let themselves in and Dan couldn’t help but laugh.

“You can tell her yourself, Reid. I don’t meddle in your business.”

“She’s your wife, Dan! You can tell her to hand over her spare key, too, otherwise I’ll call the cops.”

Grace huffed dramatically, waving her arms to get some attention, “Hello? I’m right here, Reid, and I can hear everything.”

Reid glared at her and Grace frowned moving closer to him, with the intention of hugging him. Dan knew he had to leave them to talk it out, and walked over to Reid to get Ava off his hands. Reid handed her over carefully, his anger irrationally rising.

“Hey bunny,” Dan cooed as Ava squealed in delight at seeing her Dad. “Err, I’m going to leave you two to work this out,” he said awkwardly and sat down on the couch, continuing to feed her.

Grace turned and smiled hesitantly, “Reid...”

“No, Grace! You can’t just leave the baby with me when I have no clue what to do with her. She was crying her eyes out at one point and I was freaking out not knowing what was wrong with her.”

“Reid...”

“No, just no, don’t you ever do that again. You can’t make me responsible for her when I have no experience with this shit and you know I don’t do kids.”

Grace knew that he wasn’t going to listen and went in with her final weapon, the only thing that would calm him down, even though Reid wouldn’t ever admit it. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, pulling him close and rubbed his back soothingly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she murmured in his ear. She held him tight and eventually felt him relax under her arms, his breath coming out as a sigh. Grace pulled away from the hug and looked at him sheepishly, “Am I forgiven?”

Reid eyed her with a look of annoyance and dropped his head, “No,” he murmured.

Grace sighed wrapping her arms around his middle and turning them to look at Dan and Ava, who was kicking her legs in joy as her Dad talked to her while she had her milk. “But she’s fine and you took such good care of her.”

“I didn’t have a choice.”

“Yeah but...look, I promise to ask you next time, okay? Just let this go, please. I trust you and that’s why I left her with you. Do you know how long it took Dan to convince me that letting you have her was a good idea?”

“Wait...what? This was Dan’s idea?”

Dan looked up hearing his name, “Don’t get me involved please, baby on board here and I can’t give those magic hugs, and to be honest it would be kind of awkward.”

Grace snorted at the image of Dan and Reid hugging but stopped seeing Reid’s face still full of anger, “The point is...I trust you and so does Dan. You took care of her perfectly fine and you knew exactly what to do with her. I promise, that next time I will ask you first, okay?”

“Fine,” replied Reid shortly. “Make sure you get her a teething ring though, I think she’s going to have teeth coming through soon,” he added.

“Really? Okay, will do doctor. I wonder why I didn’t pick up on that.”

“It’s ‘cause you have your head so far up your ass you don’t notice anyone but yourself.”

“Fuck you,” scoffed Grace, swatting his arm.

“I’m kidding,” Reid smiled wryly. “You’re a great Mom.”

“Thank you,” Grace grabbed a hold of his arm and pulled him towards the couch to sit down and she took a seat next to Dan as he handed Ava over to her, kissing her cheek.

“So what did you guys get up to today?” she asked.

“Just at home,” sighed Reid, “And we went to the park to get some fresh air and saw Luke--” he abruptly stopped talking, feeling stupid for letting slip his name, ‘Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,’ he thought. Grace wasn’t going to let this go.

Grace gasped, “Oh my god, who’s Luke? Is this the guy you were having that sex dream about this morning? It totally was, right? Who is he? How do you know him?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbled.

“Luke, you just said his name! Who is this guy who’s got our Reid so flustered? I would like to know!”

“Shut up Grace and let it go.”

“Oh my, this is serious, this is SO serious! You like this Luke. Does he like you back? Do you know?”

“I’m not telling you anything!”

“Seriously, Reid...this is Grace,” Dan interrupted trying not to laugh. “Just tell her and it will be over, otherwise she has other methods of getting the truth out of you and they ain’t pretty.”

“My hot hubby is a wise man,” added Grace winking at Dan who chuckled.

Reid licked his lips and conceded defeat, “It’s just this guy I’ve seen at this café a few times, that’s all.”

“That’s all? And you’re on first name basis with this café guy? Which place is this?”

“Caro’s Café, just a few blocks down from here.”

Grace’s eyes widened, her mouth open in shock but she quickly schooled her features into something a little more normal looking. “Oh okay, so what days does he work there?”

“Jesus Christ, don’t tell me you’re gonna go and have a look? I swear if you do go, I will...”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, I’m not going to go there, not alone anyway,” she winked.

“Grace...”

“Reid, I’m just kidding, calm down!” She was stopped from saying anymore when Ava started crying softly against her neck and Grace sighed. “Okay baby, I think it’s time to go home,” she said quietly, kissing the top of her head.

Dan and Reid helped gather everything together and led them to the door. Dan patted Reid’s back in thanks before taking all of Ava’s things to the car. Grace was just about to leave before she turned around to face a tired Reid.

“Thank you for today, Reid,” she smiled gratefully.

Reid rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, leaning on the doorframe, “It’s fine. It wasn’t so bad, I guess.”

“I’m guessing this, Luke, had something to do with it?”

“Grace,” he warned again.

Grace lifted a free hand that wasn’t holding Ava and cupped his cheek, “I love you, but sometimes you’re so infuriating it makes me want to kick you in the balls, hard. I know you don’t do relationships or whatever, but give it a chance, you bastard. You might be the best neurosurgeon in the world, but that doesn’t mean that you know everything.”

Reid looked at her seriously for a few moments before nodding gently in assent.

“Good,” she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yup, tomorrow,” he smiled softly, brushing a finger along Ava’s cheek gently.

“I love you,” she grinned.

“I hate you,” he muttered under his breath.

Grace laughed and winked at him as she walked down the hallway and waited till she was out of sight. Reid shut the door gently behind him, leaning heavily against it, taking a deep breath. He had thought that coming to Dallas would free him of complications and hassle and worries. But he could feel that his whole life was changing and starting to spin out of control and Reid didn’t know, for the first time in is life, whether or not he’d be able to handle it.