Stitching Something Together (For last week's scar prompt)
"I'll take it from here," Reid said, entering the ER bay, picking up the chart off the table, and looking it over perfunctorily.
"That's okay," the young doctor at the side of the bed said, "I was just about to irrigate the wound."
"Listen, MD Junior," Reid said, putting on gloves, "Our chief of staff told me to come down here and personally take care of this, so skeedadle." He made a shooing motion with his hand.
Luke rolled his eyes as the young doctor walked away dejectedly and Reid took his place in front of him.
"How'd you manage this, Mr. Snyder?" Reid asked, standing between Luke's legs looking at the gash over his left eye.
Luke found himself at eye level with Reid's neck and suddenly found it hard to breathe. "Did Dr. Hughes really tell you to come down here?"
"Yes...apparantly he deems you worthy of special treatment. You're Oakdale royalty or something...he signs my paychecks, so if he wants to pay me a surgeon's salary to stitch a minor laceration..............I don't get it, but whatever. Again, how did you do this?" Reid repeated, as Luke watched his adam's apple bob up and down.
"I was playing baseball with my little brother. He hit a high, fast one."
"And you caught it with your head?"
"Yeah... there was blood everywhere, and my eye started swelling shut a little."
"You look like one of those UFC guys after a fight."
"I wouldn't peg you as a UFC fan," Luke said, aware of the proximity of Reid's body to his.
"It's buff, sweaty men rolling around with their faces in each other's crotches. It's so fucking gay. How could I not watch?" Reid looked in Luke's eyes and winked. Winked?
Luke looked at the ER nurse, who was standing behind Reid with her mouth hanging open. Luke chuckled. "Yeah."
"The ball probably just hit your brow bone the right way to break the skin open. Head wounds bleed a lot. Does it hurt now?" Reid pressed two fingers gently below the wound.
"Yes, and I have a headache."
"Tylenol?" Reid asked, looking back at the ER nurse, who nodded her head and left the bay. Reid pressed below the wound with his thumb. "There's some swelling and bruising. After I stitch you up, we'll get an X-ray and CT scan just to be sure, but there doesn't seem to be any damage to the supraorbital ridge." He shined his pen light into Luke's eyes and then tested Luke's reflexes with a mallet. "Push down on my hands," Reid said, putting his hands out to Luke, palm sides up. Reid made his arms rigid so that Luke had to push hard. "Okay now up," Reid said, turning his hands over and pushing down to offer resistence to Luke. "Okay, good. Take off your shirt and lie down," Reid instructed, turning his back to Luke to ready the items already on the table. "Who drove you here?"
"I drove myself. My sister, Faith, was freaking out, and I didn't want to bring my brother here. I wasn't dizzy or anything, so I was okay driving."
"Not smart, Mr. Snyder, but let's blame it on the head injury." Reid turned around with a needle as the nurse reentered the room. Luke caught the doctor's eyes lingering on his now bare shoulders and chest a moment. Reid cleared his throat. "I'm going to numb the area. You probably need four stitches."
"Ok..."
Reid injected lidocaine into two spots in the cut. Luke winced a bit, and Reid ran his thumb along Luke's opposite eyebrow in a gesture that caught Luke off guard. Their eyes met. "You okay?" Reid asked.
Luke nodded.
"How old's your little brother?"
"Seven."
Reid turned to the nurse, and she handed him a bottle of solution to irrigate the wound. "Big age gap between you."
"Seventeen years."
"OK...here we go..." Reid said, as he began to clean the gash above Luke's eye. "This shouldn't hurt, but let me know if it does."
A few mintues later, Reid began stitching the skin closed. As Reid's wrist grazed his nose, Luke couldn't help noticing how good the doctor smelled...clean like soap. Luke hated how good he smelled. "Am I hurting you?" Reid asked, starting the second stitch.
"No."
"Hmmm, guess I need to try harder," Reid joked, not smiling. Reid addressed the nurse. "Please, see if there's a wheelchair for transport to radiology?"
"I don't need a wheelchair. I can walk," Luke offered.
"Nope. Protocol. Sorry." The nurse handed Reid surgical scissors and left the bay. Reid clipped the suture thread and then inspected his handiwork from behind Luke's head. "Perfect," he said, softly thumbing the injury. "If you're lucky, when it heals, you'll have one of those sexy eyebrow scars."
Luke smiled and shook his head. Reid used a towel to gently dry the back of Luke's neck and head. "You okay?" he asked. "Dizzy or anything?"
"No," Luke answered. "I'm good. It doesn't even hurt."
"It might later, but you shouldn't need anything other than Tylenol or Motrin." Reid placed Luke's slightly bloody t-shirt on his stomach, removed his gloves, stepped around to the side of the bed, and put his hand out to help Luke up. The men grabbed each other's forearms, and Reid helped Luke to a sitting position. Reid then stepped between Luke's legs again. He brought his hand up to the side of Luke's head, and angled Luke's head to look at the laceration again. "I'm sure the x-ray and CT will come back negative...I'll sign the discharge papers, and you'll be on your way. Try ducking next time, okay?"
Luke smiled. "Sure thing, doc..."
Their eyes met. Reid's hand dropped to Luke's bare shoulder. Luke lipped his lips. Reid swallowed. "Yeah, this is probably a bad idea," Reid said, stepping even closer to Luke.
"What is?" Luke asked.
"This..." Reid answered, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Luke's.
Luke made a surprised sound in the back of his throat but then easily met Reid's tongue with his own.
Reid reluctantly pulled away to look at Luke, but Luke put his hand on the back of Reid's head and pulled him back into the kiss. Reid's arms went around Luke's waist and shoulders and held him tight as they kissed deeply.
A few moments later, the nurse cleared her throat as she entered the exam area. "Oh...um, I'm sorry.............."
Luke and Reid broke apart as Luke scrambled to put his t-shirt back on. Reid cupped the side of Luke's face and ran his thumb along Luke's bottom lip. He spoke without taking his eyes off Luke. "If Mr. Snyder's scans come back normal, he's free to go...I'll sign the discharge papers before I go back upstairs, otherwise, please page me, and I'll come back down."
"Yes, Dr. Oliver," the nurse answered, busying herself with clearing the table.
"I'll see you later?" Reid asked, but it was more of a statement than a question.
Luke nodded, a slight smile on his lips, their eyes locked.
Reid ran his thumb along Luke's brow. "Keep it clean and dry for the next few days, then you can wash it gently with a mild soap. No scrubbing. Make an appt. to have the stitches removed in a week."
Luke nodded. "Ok."
Reid glanced back at the nurse to find her with her back to them, so he turned back to Luke and mouthed the words "Call me," with a lift of his eyebrows.
Luke chuckled. Reid playfully slapped the side of his face and then left the bay.
The nurse turned back around to find Luke with his eyes squeezed shut. "Mr. Snyder?"
Luke opened his eyes and laughed. "I cannot believe that just happened." He glanced in the direction that Reid had just left. "I'm sorry you had to walk in on it."
"Are you kidding me?" The nurse laughed. "Best shift ever."