35 Quelle drama!
Word Soap: As The World Keeps Turning
Author: SYLnl
Title: #35 Quelle drama!
Rating: PG
Summary: Pass the soap please!
Big Thanks To: ltklo, for brushing up my grammar
Author’s Notes: Happy New LuRe Year:-) During my break, my muses didn’t leave me alone, so I’ve this whole stack of stories to share. I’ll continue to publish one every (work) day, as long as I can. NO idea where this Word Soap is gonna take me/us and how long this ride is going to last, but I hope you’ll enjoy it! I know I do:-) Feedback is always highly appreciated.
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
The tension was almost tangible when Reid stepped into the waiting room. He gave a quick nod to Katie and noticed two other people he vaguely remembered seeing at Ali’s wedding-that-didn’t-happen and one new face. He focused his attention on Henry. The doctor prevented him from getting up from his chair, by putting his hand on his shoulder and sitting down too. Henry’s appearance was still shaky and Reid didn’t need another patient. He wanted to go home, he needed to see Luke, but somehow this day just wouldn’t end.
“Reid…” Henry looked terrified, “is she…”
“She’s hanging in there, Hank. You found yourself a tough one, I can tell you that.”
Henry gave a blurred grin. Barbara was tough, that was true. And he could use some of that strength. He missed her. Reid saw the despair in Henry’s eyes and he understood. Very well. It was hell to love and lose. Or think you’d lost.
“Is she gonna make it?” The two other men approached him and when Reid looked up to them, the older one introduced himself. “I’m Paul Ryan, Barbara’s son. And this is my brother Will Munson.”
Ah, so this is Will. Reid gave Paul a nod and Will a quick smile. Will acknowledged the greeting with a warm and friendly glow in his eyes.
“She’s stable, for now,” Reid had turned back to Henry again, “We did all we could do and now it’s up to her. Her brain needs to rest, so we’ll keep her under sedation for a few days.”
“Can I see her?” This Henry was a poor substitute for the chatty and showy original and a part of Reid liked this version better. He didn’t feel his usual annoyance and even managed a genuine smile.
“You can, but I allow only the three of you,” Reid’s finger went from Henry to Paul to Will, “to visit. Try to be as positive as humanly possible, when you’re in there with her.”
Henry nodded and looked Reid in the eyes. “Thank you.”
Reid smiled. “I’m doing my job. Now you do yours and be strong for her.”
When he left the room, Katie followed him, linked arms and pulled him close.
“Thanks for being so kind to him,” she whispered. “He’s an absolute mess.”
Reid looked at her. “You sound surprised.”
Katie blushed. “I guess it took this accident to make me realize how much Henry loves her. I just couldn’t understand the match, the attraction, and if I couldn’t understand it, it couldn’t be real, right?”
“Absolutely rational reasoning…” Reid’s rolling eyes told a whole different story and Katie smiled.
“I know…I have a tendency to believe my truth is the truth.”
“Can we still just call it a tendency, I wonder…” Reid accepted the slap on his arm with a telling grin, but the real reprimand came from a different direction.
“Please don’t damage those beautiful goods, darling. My grandson needs him in one piece.”
Reid moaned. As if his day hadn’t been wearying enough. He took a deep breath and played along.
“Grandma!” Reid squealed and clapped his hands, “what a joy to see you!”
Lucinda grinned and copied Katie’s slap on his arm.
“Hey! Remember those beautiful goods!” With feigned outrage he pulled away his arm and shook his head. “Be nice or I will tell on you…”
“No need, I witnessed it,” the calm voice behind him made Reid turn immediately.
“Finally a face I want to see,” Reid murmured and leaned in for a quick kiss. He softly slapped Luke on his cheek. “This is a nice surprise.”
Luke gave him a loving smile and squeezed his hand.
“We needed to see for ourselves if you were alright,” Lucinda explained. “John told me what happened and Luke got the headlines from you…” she shook her head, “we’re all so mad at Duke.”
Reid shrugged. “Don’t be, not on my account anyway. It is what it is.”
“What happened?” Katie was obviously the only one that didn’t get this conversation and she didn’t like that. She didn’t like that at all.
“Duke turned homophobic on Reid,” Luke explained.
“He didn’t!” Katie looked shocked.
“I never liked him,” Lucinda gave her famous and-that-explains-everything-look and they all smiled, “but for John’s sake I was willing to give it another try. And now I have my cook preparing all kinds of delicious foods, a well dressed dinner table, but no desire to throw this guy a party anymore. I don’t think anyone would come, anyway.”
“Quelle drama!” Reid was getting bored with the whole subject. “This wasn’t exactly the first time I had a conversation like this, and although I sincerely hope so, I don’t expect it to be the last time either. No big deal.”
“I don’t get that,” Lucinda was getting angry. “How can you say that’s it no big deal? If someone is this hateful…”
“What do you want me to do? Be as hateful as he was? I’m not going there.”
“Hmmm,” Lucinda started to understand his point of view and nodded. “Be the change you want to see in the world,” she quoted, sounding absent-mindedly.
“I knew there was a Gandhi inside of you somewhere,” Reid grinned.
“Well, there’s obviously not one in me, because I really don’t get it,” Katie was still outraged. “If someone attacks me like that, I wouldn’t take it lying down.”
“That’s the other end of the spectrum, though.” Reid winked at her. “I did let him know what I thought about it, don’t worry.”
“According to John you were incredible,” Lucinda beamed.
“Of course I was,” Reid murmured and faked indignation when Luke nudged him. “What?”
“Okay… let’s get down to business, my dears. I assume you don’t feel any need to come to dinner anymore?”
Reid looked at Luke. “How do you feel about it?”
Luke hesitated. “A part of me doesn’t want to be in the same room with him, but this other part wants to be in his face,” he admitted. “And furthermore, my grandmother went to all this trouble to arrange this dinner and to be totally honest… I was looking forward to Rose’s cooking and a nice evening at my grandmother’s. I don’t want to give Duke the power to spoil that for me.”
“Valid point,” Reid nodded and Lucinda gave her grandson a kiss on his cheek.
“Am I very evil for hoping your presence at the table will push Duke over the edge, so he’ll leave tonight and never come back?”
They all laughed. “Maybe a little evil, but very understandable,” Katie grinned. “I hope you’ll give a detailed account of this evening, my friend.” She caressed Reid’s cheek. “Make me proud.”
“You’re welcome to join, you know.” Lucinda surprised herself and Katie.
“I’m truly thankful for your invitation, but I don’t want to leave Henry. I failed him way too many times and I want to be here for him now. But I do have my cell phone, so live texting would be appreciated.”
***
- ‘Soup was superb. No words out of D yet. R’
- ‘Boost the PDA. K.’
- ‘Already on that. How’s H? R’
- ‘OK. He’s coming home with me to rest. K.’
- ‘Good plan, good friend. R.’
- ‘Tnx’
“Any news on Barbara?” Kim whispered and Reid smiled.
“I don’t expect any changes this soon. But Katie just texted that she’s bringing Henry to her place to rest.”
“That’s good,” Kim nodded. “The poor man must be in shock.”
“He was,” Reid agreed. “So I’m glad he’s looked after.”
“I never knew you liked him,” Kim’s smile was a mix of wonder and friendliness.
“Neither did I,” Reid grinned. “Go figure.”
They stopped talking when the entrée was served and the approving nods and murmurs filled the room.
Luke looked next to him and smiled when he saw his man enjoying his meal. Their eyes met and they shared a telling look. This was a good choice.
Even with him across the table. Luke glanced at Duke and noticed the man turning his eyes away. He had been watching them, obviously.
The Peace Dove Luke felt for him. Duke was pretty much ignored by everyone. The Give-Reid-a-Hard-Time-And-You’ll-Answer-To-Me Luke wanted to provoke him.
It was a civil war inside of him and eventually his grandmother’s words came to mind. ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’
So The Bird won. Luke spread his white wings, pulled out his most genuine smile and asked: “It must be strange to be back in town, Duke… did you see a lot of changes?”
For a second everybody seemed to hold their breath, sucking all oxygen out of the room. Duke stared at him. When he saw Luke’s soft smile and friendly eyes, he felt his initial need to sneer disappear.
“I did,” he was surprised how shaken his voice sounded. “The new wing, of course. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. And Trinity Park is larger than I remembered. But the town centre is pretty much the same, so that was a relief.”
Everybody started breathing again and other conversations found life. Bob, seated next to Duke, started telling him about the plans to increase Trinity Park even further and Lucinda and Kim talked about the latest media scandal.
Reid was proud of his blond Peacemaker and didn’t realize how his facial expression showed that, until he intercepted a contemplating look from Duke. All of a sudden Reid felt a change in their connection. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but for some reason it made him smile.
Author: SYLnl
Title: #35 Quelle drama!
Rating: PG
Summary: Pass the soap please!
Big Thanks To: ltklo, for brushing up my grammar
Author’s Notes: Happy New LuRe Year:-) During my break, my muses didn’t leave me alone, so I’ve this whole stack of stories to share. I’ll continue to publish one every (work) day, as long as I can. NO idea where this Word Soap is gonna take me/us and how long this ride is going to last, but I hope you’ll enjoy it! I know I do:-) Feedback is always highly appreciated.
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
The tension was almost tangible when Reid stepped into the waiting room. He gave a quick nod to Katie and noticed two other people he vaguely remembered seeing at Ali’s wedding-that-didn’t-happen and one new face. He focused his attention on Henry. The doctor prevented him from getting up from his chair, by putting his hand on his shoulder and sitting down too. Henry’s appearance was still shaky and Reid didn’t need another patient. He wanted to go home, he needed to see Luke, but somehow this day just wouldn’t end.
“Reid…” Henry looked terrified, “is she…”
“She’s hanging in there, Hank. You found yourself a tough one, I can tell you that.”
Henry gave a blurred grin. Barbara was tough, that was true. And he could use some of that strength. He missed her. Reid saw the despair in Henry’s eyes and he understood. Very well. It was hell to love and lose. Or think you’d lost.
“Is she gonna make it?” The two other men approached him and when Reid looked up to them, the older one introduced himself. “I’m Paul Ryan, Barbara’s son. And this is my brother Will Munson.”
Ah, so this is Will. Reid gave Paul a nod and Will a quick smile. Will acknowledged the greeting with a warm and friendly glow in his eyes.
“She’s stable, for now,” Reid had turned back to Henry again, “We did all we could do and now it’s up to her. Her brain needs to rest, so we’ll keep her under sedation for a few days.”
“Can I see her?” This Henry was a poor substitute for the chatty and showy original and a part of Reid liked this version better. He didn’t feel his usual annoyance and even managed a genuine smile.
“You can, but I allow only the three of you,” Reid’s finger went from Henry to Paul to Will, “to visit. Try to be as positive as humanly possible, when you’re in there with her.”
Henry nodded and looked Reid in the eyes. “Thank you.”
Reid smiled. “I’m doing my job. Now you do yours and be strong for her.”
When he left the room, Katie followed him, linked arms and pulled him close.
“Thanks for being so kind to him,” she whispered. “He’s an absolute mess.”
Reid looked at her. “You sound surprised.”
Katie blushed. “I guess it took this accident to make me realize how much Henry loves her. I just couldn’t understand the match, the attraction, and if I couldn’t understand it, it couldn’t be real, right?”
“Absolutely rational reasoning…” Reid’s rolling eyes told a whole different story and Katie smiled.
“I know…I have a tendency to believe my truth is the truth.”
“Can we still just call it a tendency, I wonder…” Reid accepted the slap on his arm with a telling grin, but the real reprimand came from a different direction.
“Please don’t damage those beautiful goods, darling. My grandson needs him in one piece.”
Reid moaned. As if his day hadn’t been wearying enough. He took a deep breath and played along.
“Grandma!” Reid squealed and clapped his hands, “what a joy to see you!”
Lucinda grinned and copied Katie’s slap on his arm.
“Hey! Remember those beautiful goods!” With feigned outrage he pulled away his arm and shook his head. “Be nice or I will tell on you…”
“No need, I witnessed it,” the calm voice behind him made Reid turn immediately.
“Finally a face I want to see,” Reid murmured and leaned in for a quick kiss. He softly slapped Luke on his cheek. “This is a nice surprise.”
Luke gave him a loving smile and squeezed his hand.
“We needed to see for ourselves if you were alright,” Lucinda explained. “John told me what happened and Luke got the headlines from you…” she shook her head, “we’re all so mad at Duke.”
Reid shrugged. “Don’t be, not on my account anyway. It is what it is.”
“What happened?” Katie was obviously the only one that didn’t get this conversation and she didn’t like that. She didn’t like that at all.
“Duke turned homophobic on Reid,” Luke explained.
“He didn’t!” Katie looked shocked.
“I never liked him,” Lucinda gave her famous and-that-explains-everything-look and they all smiled, “but for John’s sake I was willing to give it another try. And now I have my cook preparing all kinds of delicious foods, a well dressed dinner table, but no desire to throw this guy a party anymore. I don’t think anyone would come, anyway.”
“Quelle drama!” Reid was getting bored with the whole subject. “This wasn’t exactly the first time I had a conversation like this, and although I sincerely hope so, I don’t expect it to be the last time either. No big deal.”
“I don’t get that,” Lucinda was getting angry. “How can you say that’s it no big deal? If someone is this hateful…”
“What do you want me to do? Be as hateful as he was? I’m not going there.”
“Hmmm,” Lucinda started to understand his point of view and nodded. “Be the change you want to see in the world,” she quoted, sounding absent-mindedly.
“I knew there was a Gandhi inside of you somewhere,” Reid grinned.
“Well, there’s obviously not one in me, because I really don’t get it,” Katie was still outraged. “If someone attacks me like that, I wouldn’t take it lying down.”
“That’s the other end of the spectrum, though.” Reid winked at her. “I did let him know what I thought about it, don’t worry.”
“According to John you were incredible,” Lucinda beamed.
“Of course I was,” Reid murmured and faked indignation when Luke nudged him. “What?”
“Okay… let’s get down to business, my dears. I assume you don’t feel any need to come to dinner anymore?”
Reid looked at Luke. “How do you feel about it?”
Luke hesitated. “A part of me doesn’t want to be in the same room with him, but this other part wants to be in his face,” he admitted. “And furthermore, my grandmother went to all this trouble to arrange this dinner and to be totally honest… I was looking forward to Rose’s cooking and a nice evening at my grandmother’s. I don’t want to give Duke the power to spoil that for me.”
“Valid point,” Reid nodded and Lucinda gave her grandson a kiss on his cheek.
“Am I very evil for hoping your presence at the table will push Duke over the edge, so he’ll leave tonight and never come back?”
They all laughed. “Maybe a little evil, but very understandable,” Katie grinned. “I hope you’ll give a detailed account of this evening, my friend.” She caressed Reid’s cheek. “Make me proud.”
“You’re welcome to join, you know.” Lucinda surprised herself and Katie.
“I’m truly thankful for your invitation, but I don’t want to leave Henry. I failed him way too many times and I want to be here for him now. But I do have my cell phone, so live texting would be appreciated.”
***
- ‘Soup was superb. No words out of D yet. R’
- ‘Boost the PDA. K.’
- ‘Already on that. How’s H? R’
- ‘OK. He’s coming home with me to rest. K.’
- ‘Good plan, good friend. R.’
- ‘Tnx’
“Any news on Barbara?” Kim whispered and Reid smiled.
“I don’t expect any changes this soon. But Katie just texted that she’s bringing Henry to her place to rest.”
“That’s good,” Kim nodded. “The poor man must be in shock.”
“He was,” Reid agreed. “So I’m glad he’s looked after.”
“I never knew you liked him,” Kim’s smile was a mix of wonder and friendliness.
“Neither did I,” Reid grinned. “Go figure.”
They stopped talking when the entrée was served and the approving nods and murmurs filled the room.
Luke looked next to him and smiled when he saw his man enjoying his meal. Their eyes met and they shared a telling look. This was a good choice.
Even with him across the table. Luke glanced at Duke and noticed the man turning his eyes away. He had been watching them, obviously.
The Peace Dove Luke felt for him. Duke was pretty much ignored by everyone. The Give-Reid-a-Hard-Time-And-You’ll-Answer-To-Me Luke wanted to provoke him.
It was a civil war inside of him and eventually his grandmother’s words came to mind. ‘Be the change you want to see in the world.’
So The Bird won. Luke spread his white wings, pulled out his most genuine smile and asked: “It must be strange to be back in town, Duke… did you see a lot of changes?”
For a second everybody seemed to hold their breath, sucking all oxygen out of the room. Duke stared at him. When he saw Luke’s soft smile and friendly eyes, he felt his initial need to sneer disappear.
“I did,” he was surprised how shaken his voice sounded. “The new wing, of course. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. And Trinity Park is larger than I remembered. But the town centre is pretty much the same, so that was a relief.”
Everybody started breathing again and other conversations found life. Bob, seated next to Duke, started telling him about the plans to increase Trinity Park even further and Lucinda and Kim talked about the latest media scandal.
Reid was proud of his blond Peacemaker and didn’t realize how his facial expression showed that, until he intercepted a contemplating look from Duke. All of a sudden Reid felt a change in their connection. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but for some reason it made him smile.