Consult (12/14)
Reid was watching a movie at Katie’s three nights later. Or rather, Katie was watching a movie, while Reid was making fun of it. It was getting close to 1:00 in the morning, so he was feeling a little punchy, but he still managed to keep up a running commentary on why the damsel-in-distress was stupid, the plot nonsensical, the dialogue cheesy, the music inappropriate, and the hero clearly in love with his sidekick.
Katie held her stomach, laughing. “You think everyone’s gay.”
“We’ve already established that I’m much better at recognizing my kind than you are.”
“Your kind?”
“You know what I mean.”
“I do. Speaking of your kind, what’s going on in that department?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do.”
Reid’s pager went off and he immediately reached for it.
“Damn,” Katie said. “Saved by the bell.”
“Can I use your phone?”
Katie waved permission, focusing on the TV again. Reid stood up, walking over to the side table and picking up the phone. He dialed the hospital and waited for an answer.
“This is Reid Oliver. I was paged,” he said as soon as the desk nurse picked up.
He was silent for a moment, listening to her. Then he turned and stared at Katie, eyes wide with excitement.
“When? OK, thank you. No, I’ll be right there.”
He hung up the phone and immediately began to move, grabbing his jacket and patting his pockets for his keys.
“You only get this jazzed when you get to cut into someone’s brain.”
Reid laughed. “No, not this time. Lily Snyder’s awake.”
Katie’s cheer followed him out the door.
**
Reid opened the door to the hospital room carefully. He didn’t want to startle his newly-conscious patient. The first thing he saw was Bob sitting in the visitor’s chair, holding her hand. Someone had raised her bed so she was sitting, and she turned slowly to look at Reid.
“Good morning, Lily. Sleep well?” Reid asked, smiling at her.
“This is the doctor I mentioned, Lily. Reid Oliver, the one who operated on you.”
“Too…young,” Lily said, the sound of her vowels not quite right.
Reid laughed, and Bob grinned. “I assure you, Dr. Oliver has completed medical school.”
Reid stepped closer. “Have you checked - ”
“I just got here, Dr. Oliver. I’ve left all that for you.”
Reid nodded. He lifted the covers off Lily’s feet, pressing his palms against her soles.
“Lily, could you press against my hands? As hard as you can? Good job. Now try to lift your legs. OK.”
Reid nodded, flipping the sheets back down. He glanced at Bob. “Holden?”
“We called him; he’s on his way.”
“Want to…see him,” Lily interrupted.
“He’s on his way,” Bob repeated, louder.
“A little aphasia?” Reid muttered at Bob as he passed him on his way towards the head of the bed.
“Maybe,” Bob replied, equally soft.
Reid took the penlight out of his coat pocket. “Lily, I’m going to check your eyes, OK? The light might be a little bright.”
Lily nodded, and Reid raised his hand. He held Lily’s head still, watching as her pupils reacted to the light.
“Lily, can you count to ten for me?”
She did, slowly.
“And the alphabet?”
Reid walked her through several more questions. Just as she was telling him who the president was, Holden opened the door. Lily made a soft noise, reaching her arms out, and Holden walked quickly to her. They held each other for a few moments, Holden whispering brokenly in her ear.
Reid stepped back, giving them some privacy. He met Bob in the corner of the room.
“She’s doing fairly well, all things considered,” he said.
“I agree.”
“We should probably see how much she remembers. I wanted to wait until Holden got here, in case she gets agitated.”
There was movement by the bed, and both doctors turned to face the other two again. Holden was sitting back, wiping the tears off Lily’s cheeks.
“The kids?” Lily asked.
Holden nodded. “Good. Great. I figured I’d let them sleep. But they can see you tomorrow, after school and after you’ve had some rest and have gotten used to things a bit. But I know they can’t wait to see you. All four of them.”
She furrowed her brow. “Four?” And then a look of shocked realization washed over her. “Four! My baby!”
All three men smiled at the reaction (and the positive sign).
“Four,” Holden said again, nodding. “He’s beautiful and healthy and getting so big. He can’t wait to see his mama.”
“He?”
“We named him Ethan. Luke found the list you had made.”
Lily ducked her head, clearly searching her mind for something. “Luke,” she murmured. “Something’s - something’s wrong with Luke. I need - ”
Reid bit his tongue, wanting to tell her that there was nothing wrong with her son. But it turned out he had jumped to conclusions. Lily raised her head again.
“Damian! The camp! I didn’t know. And Luke was - ”
Holden shook his head, resting his hands on his wife’s shoulders. “It’s fine. He knows the truth. Damian’s gone. Everything’s fine.”
Lily started crying. Reid looked at Bob, and they communicated silently. Bob nodded and stepped forward.
“Lily, we’re going to give you a little something to help you sleep. You can see everyone tomorrow.”
**
Luke was about ready to scream. He couldn’t believe his dad had made him go to school. School! Like he had managed to concentrate on anything that day. And then they all had to eat dinner at Grandma’s. And then Holden had very nicely asked him to let the girls see their mother first, so as not to worry them in case she got too upset or tired from talking to Luke.
Luke paced up and down the hall, every once in a while hearing the high-pitched voices of his sisters as they talked excitedly. And finally, finally, the door opened. Luke spun quickly, watching as his dad led his sisters out of the room. They were walking backwards, waving goodbye.
“OK, girls. How about some ice cream in the cafeteria?”
“Yeah!” they both replied. Natalie even jumped up and down. Luke laughed.
His dad glanced up at him, and Luke walked closer. Holden leaned in. “Take it easy, if you can. Just try and keep her stress down.”
Luke nodded. He waited until the others disappeared down the hall. Staring at the door to the room, he swallowed thickly. He tried to remember everything he had wanted to say to her these last couple months, tried to organize it in his head. And then he took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
Lily looked up at him, and their eyes met. Luke laughed in relief when he saw her, finally allowing himself to really believe she was awake. And then his throat choked up.
“Mom,” he said.
She lifted her hands to her face, cupping them around her mouth and nose as she fought tears. Then she reached out, waving a hand to indicate he should come to her. Luke crossed the room in three steps. He sat on the bed beside her and tentatively leaned closer.
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said.
“You won’t. You can’t.”
Luke closed the distance, wrapping his arms around her in a hug. And it turned out, they didn’t need to say anything.
**
Reid walked down the hall, fighting exhaustion. He had stolen four hours of sleep in his temporary office before starting work again. He had performed his rounds and reviewed several lab tests, and now he was making his way back to Lily’s room before heading home for the day.
He passed the window, reaching a hand out for the door handle. Then he stopped abruptly and backed up a few steps. He looked through the window, taking in the sight of Luke bent over his mother, her arms wrapped around him, one hand rubbing his back.
Reid looked away and then continued down the hall. The nurse would page him if anything came up.
Continued