136 Time warp
Word Soap: As The World Keeps Turning
Author: SYLnl
Title: #136 Time warp
Rating: PG
Summary: “Let him who would enjoy a good future waste none of his present.” - Roger Babson
Big Thanks To: ltklo, for brushing up my grammar
Previously on As The World Keeps Turning: click here for chapters 1 - 135
Luke and Reid nodded and looking at their faces made Bill Chimberlane take a deep breath. Damn. They were the first couple he thought of for this case. He just knew they would be perfect. Judge Jessup had been very resolute in his rapport about his findings and the personal talk he’d had with the judge had confirmed the admiration and trust he felt for these two men.
He sank on the couch. “Is there any way I could change your mind?”
Luke lowered his head and it made Reid bite his lip again.
“It’s not a definite no yet,” Reid heard himself say and he frowned. Where did that come from? Luke looked surprised too. It’s not?
Chimberlane looked relieved. That was more than he had hoped for.
“May I ask what the biggest obstacle is?”
It was Luke who explained, showing Reid that he really understood. And their visitor understood too.
“Let me start by saying that I’m glad Danny is such a priority,” the man smiled, “And I respect your assessment. You both know Danny best, so if you think it would hurt his healing process to bring in another child, a no would be the right choice.”
“But?” Luke challenged him and Bill grinned.
“I know you grew up with siblings, Mr. Snyder. So did I. Having a little sister could also be very beneficial to Danny. To experience family, sharing, bonding…lots of stuff.”
Luke just nodded and Reid knew why. Bill was repeating the point Luke had made earlier, but he didn’t want to let Reid down by sharing that with their visitor.
“It’s something we should ask Danny,” Reid said, more to himself, but Mr. Child Services took his words and ran with it.
“That’s a very good idea.”
“Why are you approaching us with this particular case?” Luke asked, his eyes on the papers again.
“Unfortunately a lot of children fall by the wayside, Mr. Snyder, and we’re grateful that we have a huge system of loving families that are willing to take those children in. But sometimes we encounter kids that stand out. Like Danny. What he endured was…” Bill sighed and shook his head, “…mind blowing. And it takes a special home to give kids like that a chance to heal. You two offer that kind of home and when I met Zoë,” the man shook his head again, “and learned her background, you were on my mind immediately.”
“Similar backgrounds?” Reid’s question almost sounded like a growl.
“No, no...not the abuse…at least, as far as we know.” Bill frowned, “I’m happy to share what we do know…”
Reid’s brain yelled: ‘No! Shut up!’ Reid’s heart whispered: ‘I need to hear.’ He knew Luke wanted to know, so he listened to his heart.
“Go on.”
“Zoë was found on the side of the road, next to her parents. The parents were murdered and Zoë’s leg and a few ribs were broken, but she was alive.”
“Family members?” Reid was in his doctor mode. His way of keeping his emotions out of the equation.
“Some. An uncle, the brother of the father, but he’s a priest in Europe and an aunt of the mother, but she’s in an elderly home. They can’t take her in. We already checked that.”
“Does she remember any of it?” Luke asked and Bill sighed.
“We don’t know. She isn’t talking.”
“At all?”
“At all. Since she’s been found, she hasn’t said a word. We don’t know if it’s the trauma or if she’s never been able to speak.”
“How old is she?” Luke whispered.
“Five.”
Reid didn’t have to ask. He knew Luke. His loving man wanted to rush to her aid. He was touched too, he wouldn’t deny that. But another troubled kid…
Thanks to Danny, he wasn’t questioning his dad-skills anymore. He knew he had those. But a little girl? And no communication?
“Shit.” The heartfelt word was out before he realized and it made them all chuckle.
“I know,” Bill’s smile was understanding, “but I wouldn’t be here if you were one of the many options. As I said…for some reason she made me think of you and Danny. And I’ll be honest. Until you come up with a definite no, I will try very hard to make it happen. It’s my gut instinct. That doesn’t happen very often, but then again…cases like Zoë don’t happen very often either.”
“Okay, you made your point,” Reid stood up to end it. “We will discuss this some more and we’ll get back to you.”
“Please do,” the man handed Reid his card after he wrote on it. “It’s my cell phone number. I hope to hear from you soon. Whatever the answer is.”
“We’ll let you know,” Luke promised, shaking the man’s hand.
After he left, they both noticed the papers on the table and Reid shook his head.
“Devious Devil.”
“He’s very determined,” Luke smiled, “and I like that, to be honest.”
“Yeah, me too,” Reid agreed smirking. “I saw you pulling a face when he mentioned her name, by the way. What was that about?”
Now it was Luke’s turn to smirk. “I knew a Zoë,” he rolled his eyes, “and let’s just say she isn’t part of my best memories.”
Folding his arms, Reid gave Luke a curious look.
“Sounds intriguing.”
“Just one of those situations you like to refer to as SSDs”
“I was afraid of that. So in what Snyder Soap Drama is this Zoë involved?”
“She and her lover had kidnapped Noah and me.”
“Ah, nice girl,” Reid raised his eyebrow.
“Apparently she was part of the Grimaldi family,” Luke chuckled. He knew what was coming. Reid didn’t disappoint.
“Of course she was,” he snorted.
“And she wanted to have my baby.”
“Excuse me?” Reid actually looked baffled. “She was family and she…” he shrugged and took a deep breath. “Oh well…as you said…SSD all the way.”
“It was,” Luke grinned. “At the time it was pretty scary, because Noah was shot and this girl started kissing me…”
They both pulled a face.
“Anyway…her plans failed. But I had a little flashback when Mr. Chimberlane mentioned her name.”
“I understand your facial expression now,” Reid grinned. “But by the looks of it, it didn’t put you off.”
“It didn’t,” Luke agreed, grabbing Reid’s hand and softly kissing him. “You go ahead, I need to do something before I go home…”
Reid took Luke’s chin between his fingers and looked him in the eye.
“Let me guess…you’re gonna visit the Children’s Ward.”
Luke blushed. “I am. I need to see her.”
“I know,” Reid kissed him. “You go, I’ll sign off with Gwen.”
“Okay,” Luke swallowed away his disappointment. Part of him had hoped Reid would accompany him. The fact that he didn’t, made him aware that the ‘no’ was very present. He took the papers and pressed them against his chest.
“I’ll see you at home,” after another quick kiss Luke left and Reid watched him leave with a heavy heart. He felt like a coward and gasped when some sort of time warp showed Luke and him at Java, having an emotional argument.
“You’re the one that can’t handle the emotional overload,” the Luke-in-his-head said, “And that’s why you can’t give your heart one hundred percent to anything or to anyone. And you want everybody else to react the exact same way. You just had Katie do exactly what it is you always do. You run away when things get too sensitive. When things get messy, you turn your back, you run away from that mess.”
“It’s called a defense mechanism,” the Reid-in-his-head explained. “It’s what keeps me sane.”
“You know what, Reid. It might keep you sane, but it also keeps you from being able to love.”
Damn. He quickly made his way to Gwen.