92 Crisis
Word Soap: As The World Keeps Turning
Author: SYLnl
Title: #92 Crisis
Rating: PG
Summary: “I really do think that any deep crisis is an opportunity to make your life extraordinary in some way.” - Martha Beck
Big Thanks To: ltklo, for brushing up my grammar
Previously on As The World Keeps Turning:
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20
#21 #22 #23 #24 #25 #26 #27 #28 #29 #30 #31 #32 #33 #34 #35 #36 #37 #38 #39 #40 #41 #42 #43 #44 #45 #46 #47 #48 #49 #50 #51 #52 #53 #54 #55 #56 #57 #58 #59 #60 #61 #62 #63 #64 #65 #66 #67 #68 #69 #70 #71 #72 #73 #74 #75 #76 #77 #78 #79 #80 #81 #82 #83 #84 #85 #86 #87 #88 #89 #90 #91
“They could use some lighting too…” Luke whispered, when Reid parked the car in front of the dark farm. Their eyes met in the rearview mirror and he saw Reid smile.
“Already taken care of it. But it’s a surprise…” He put his long finger before his lips.
Luke unbuckled and squeezed Reid’s shoulder. “Very thoughtful.”
He could feel Reid shrug.
“You’re bringing out the best in me…”
“Maybe,” Luke smiled, “You could also just accept my compliment.”
Reid softly laughed. “I think you’ve had enough sessions with Dr. Michaels. You’re getting way too sharp.”
Luke chuckled, while unbuckling their sleeping boy. When Reid opened the car door, the cold wind forced its way onto their faces and it woke Danny up. Disoriented he looked around.
“Where are we?”
“We’re at grandma’s farm,” Luke whispered, caressing the blond head. When he saw the boy frown, he continued: “My mother is missing and the whole family wants to be together right now.”
The frown deepened. “Your mother…I can’t remember…”
“You haven’t met her yet,” Reid explained, while bending his body into the car so Danny could put his arms around his neck.
As soon as Reid stood up straight again, Danny snuggled against his chest, his head resting on Reid’s shoulder. As always, it made Luke smile. He knew for a long time Reid was great with kids. He remembered seeing him with Jacob for the first time. Saying goodbye to Katie in Old Town. Luke had been in complete awe, watching that loving side of Reid he’d never seen before. He had been physically unable to walk away from that scene. Sucking up the image of that arrogant and rude doctor being nice.
He remembered vividly that something had stirred at that moment. A longing to see more of that loving Reid. A need to make him smile. Laugh, even. A desire to have Reid looking at him like that. And he’d spent many days trying to ignore all that yearning, but after that first real smile - that had taken Luke’s breath away - he had become an addict. Craving for more. More smiles, more laughs, more attention, more approval, more affection. And now, now he had it all. With a deep contented sigh he put his arm around Reid’s waist and pushed himself close. When he looked up, he saw Reid smiling at him and their lips met in a soft kiss.
“I love you,” his doctor softly said.
“I’m blessed that you do,” Luke answered, took a deep breath and opened the kitchen door to drama.
There was a strange vibe that even Emma’s loving greeting couldn’t affect.
“I’m sorry you had to come out here,” the older woman whispered against Reid’s cheek before kissing it. The way Emma glanced at Holden made him realize that the call to Luke was part of the annoyed atmosphere in the room.
“It’s okay,” he assured her, “Luke wants to be here.”
“But you don’t,” Emma grinned and Reid smiled.
“I want to be with Luke.”
He was awarded with another kiss and then Emma put her arm around Luke - pulling him close - and softly caressed Danny’s cheek.
“Do you want to put him down?”
“No, I’ll keep him with me. He still has nightmares and I don’t want to leave him in unfamiliar surroundings.”
Emma nodded. “I understand. Can I get your coats?”
For some reason that was Holden’s cue to stand up and help.
“Thanks for coming,” he said in general, “the kids are in the living room. We brought some mattresses down. I understand that’s kind of tradition at a crisis.”
Holden looked at Luke and the blond smiled. “It is. It helps to be together.”
“It’s sad those kids have had so many crises in their lives, they’ve created their own tradition to deal with it,” Emma shook her head and Holden sighed. For some reason drama always knew how to find his family.
“Let’s just be grateful they deal with it,” Luke said calmly and when he walked into the living room, his siblings jumped up to great him. There was a silent group hug and Reid watched it from the threshold until he noticed Luke’s extended hand is his direction. He smiled, walked to him and joined the hug.
The living room looked like one big mattress and the coffee table was filled with glasses of lemonade and bowls filled with chips and popcorn. Reid’s look was telling.
“You’re making the most of it,” he said with a grin and the youngsters chuckled.
“Why submerge in drama if you can turn it into a party?” Faith stated and she blushed when Reid gave her an approving smile.
“Great mantra,” he complimented and she grinned.
“Thought you’d like that.”
Reid took a seat on the couch, Danny still asleep against his chest, and Ethan quickly found a spot next to Reid. His envy was obvious and Reid ruffled his hair.
“Hey E, are you okay?”
Ethan nodded, a little hesitant. “Are you his BeeBee too?”
“Nope. I’m Danny’s dad.” Wow, that felt great to say out loud! Reid smiled when he felt Luke, standing behind the couch, kissing his hear. Obviously it was also great to hear…
“Dad?” That didn’t improve matters much for Ethan. The envy grew. “You’re his daddy?”
“I am,” Reid’s voice was calm and very matter-of-fact, “and so is Luke.”
Ethan looked doubtfully at Danny, drawing his own conclusions. “So now you love him more than me?”
“It’s not a contest, E. Do you love Natalie more than Luke?”
The young boy frowned. “I love them both.”
“Exactly. That’s how it works.”
“Ah… yes.” Ethan’s envy was pulling out and replaced by acceptance. “Is he okay?”
“He’s very tired,” Luke whispered, caressing Ethan’s hair, “How about you…it’s way past your bedtime, my friend.”
Ethan showed them his most charming smile. “Daddy said I could wait for you guys…”
“Well, we’re here now,” Luke chuckled, “So how about we put your PJs on?”
“Is Danny sleeping here too?” Natalie was in awe of the sleeping boy.
“Yep, we’ll put his pajamas on too,” Luke nodded. “Can you help me with that?”
Natalie jumped up, all beaming. She was a real Snyder. Ready to help.
When Luke took Danny over, the boy softly moaned, but didn’t wake up and Ethan was fascinated by that.
“He must be very tired…”
“He is,” Reid agreed. “You know, E… Danny still has nightmares. So if he starts crying or screaming tonight, you don’t have to be scared. Luke and I will be here.”
Ethan nodded, deep in thought. “Daddy said that Danny was hurt. Like Handsome.”
“He was,” Reid confirmed. “He was hurt very bad. But now he’s living with us and he’s safe.”
“Yeah. That’s good. Is his mommy missing too?”
“No, his mommy and daddy died when he was a little baby,” Reid explained and Ethan looked shocked.
“Dead? And then?”
“Then some people found him a new home,” Reid bit his lip - he didn’t like talking about this - and Luke jumped in.
“But his foster parents didn’t know how to be nice to a child, so that’s how Danny got hurt.”
Ethan nodded, not noticing the ‘thanks’ Reid sent Luke.
“I’m glad you are his new daddy,” he concluded and Reid pulled him close.
“Thanks E. So am I…”
With obvious unwillingness Ethan found his way to the floor and Reid softly touched Luke’s leg.
“Do you need me to come up too?”
Luke shook his head, his eyes on Ethan. “No, that’s okay. I’ll manage. We’ll be down soon. Ethan, come on buddy. Let’s go.”
Reid could use some fluid, but the way Faith huddled herself in the chair made him stay.
“So how are you?”
Faith looked up for a moment to give him a quick smile.
“Grateful that you guys are here.”
“No fun being the eldest at times like this, right?” Reid guessed and the teen grinned.
“You got that right,” she shrugged, “They are looking at me for support, but I’m a mess myself… I’m really scared.”
Reid gave her a nod. “Understandably. This is scary stuff. But what’s wrong with showing that?”
“Luke is always so composed, so calm and I…”
“You’re not Luke,” Reid interrupted her calmly. “If you’re trying to be all composed and calm, but not feeling it, those kids will know and it will upset them even more. Just be honest, Faith. To them and to yourself.”
Faith smiled. “As I said…I’m grateful that you guys are here.”
Reid wanted to reply, but was distracted by a cold bottle against his cheek. He returned Holden’s smile and focused on the beer while Holden sat on the armrest and kissed Faith on her hair.
“You’re doing a great job,” he assured her and the young woman smiled.
“So what’s the plan for now?”
Holden turned to Reid. “Margo promised to call with an update within the next half hour and depending on her findings, we call it a night.”
Reid took another large pull of his bottle, while nodding.
“We do have a spare bedroom…”
Reid shook his head. “Thanks, but I think Luke wants to stay with the kids.”
“I think so too,” Holden agreed with a shy smile. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”
“It is what it is,” Reid shrugged. “Nobody asked for this. Let’s just hope they’ll find her soon and well. How’s Damian holding up?”
“He’s a wreck. No clue where she could be. They didn’t have a fight or anything. Well, according to Damian they hadn’t.”
Reid smiled. He knew Holden didn’t trust Damian and he also knew Holden had the personal experience to back up that mistrust.
Before he could respond, Holden’s phone rang and within seconds all adults were in the living room. Watching Holden nod and listening to his “I see” and “Okay”. When he disconnected, he shook his head.
“They found her car. At the Iowa border. Abandoned. They found traces of blood. Tomorrow we’ll know if it’s Lily’s.”