Almost Everything 10/15 [Lure Big Bang]
Almost Everything Master Post
Chapter Ten
A few days passed after that dinner, and the rare times Reid saw Luke it was during breakfast. The conversations they shared provided more opportunities for the two men to get to know one another. Reid had received more thank you’s for coming to dinner with the Snyder family. He had also learned about Luke’s fear and hope of making Grimaldi a success, and Luke heard about Reid’s parents, two overachievers who pushed their son to be the best. Once he did, he didn’t speak to them often. Reid had cited an incident regarding playing chess. Luke had teased that he was glad to hear Reid was a master before offering to play a game and get hustled by Reid. The doctor had smiled at that, surprised Luke could get him to smile at something that used to bother him so much.
They went about the rest of their days. Luke continued to visit Noah, and Reid did everything he could to stay out of Luke’s way, not wanting to see any touching moments between the two men.
Reid was a little surprised when he hadn’t heard or seen Luke late one afternoon. Beth, Noah’s primary nurse, had been kind enough to let Reid know when his husband was in the hospital or when he had finished visiting Noah, so Reid could go check on him. He hated that his personal life was starting to impede on his work life, but he justified it to himself that the best way he could help Noah was to not let his feelings influence the care of his patient. Seeing Noah with Luke, talking about their relationship with Luke-all of those things made Reid uncomfortable and hesitant around Noah, and it did affect his work.
Shaking away his thoughts Reid walked toward the hospital. He’d gone to Java and was heading back. He’d gone in through the entrance by the emergency room, but Reid stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his husband being brought in on a stretcher. There was another man with him, trying to answer the nurse’s questions.
“Luke,” Reid whispered, but they couldn’t hear him.
Luke was trying to answer the questions as well, but his voice was laced in pain. Reid felt nauseous. He couldn’t move, and all he wanted to do was help Luke. The man who came in with the blonde explained what had happened, something about an accident on the docks.
“Luke!” Reid’s voice finally worked its way out of his throat and past his lips.
Things seemed to stop. Luke’s gaze met Reid’s. He couldn’t read the expression, but it didn’t look happy. The man who had come in with Luke was still trying to quietly explain what was happening, but the nurse wasn’t listening.
Reid quickly closed the short distance to get to his husband. With each step, his feet felt like they were weighted down with lead, and he couldn’t get to Luke fast enough. “What happened?” he demanded.
When the man started to talk again, Luke held up his hand. “Miguel, this is my husband, Dr. Oliver, I was telling you about him.”
Miguel’s mouth shut immediately, and his eyes became the size of saucers.
“What happened?” Reid demanded again. Nothing was making sense; Reid would have even welcomed him visiting Noah, anything not to see Luke hurt.
“There was a slight accident at the docks. I’m fine, really. I’m not hurt that bad,” Luke’s voice trailed off when he saw the look on Reid’s face. “I know you’re going to start insisting on knowing when I got my medical degree and all, but-”
The doctor ignored him and turned all of his attention to the nurse. “Get him in the exam room; I’m going to want a CT scan.”
“Yes, Dr. Oliver,” she replied, and the paramedics helped to get Luke into the room.
Reid completely ignored the man who came with Luke and headed for the room himself. Just outside the door, he stopped and took a deep breath. He would need all of his concentration devoted to helping Luke.
The paramedics got Luke on the bed, and Reid winced every time he heard a groan of pain coming from his husband. The paramedics quickly explained the injuries and left. The nurse hovered for a moment, helping Luke to get his shirt off. When Reid saw the bruises and some cuts, he felt like he was trapped in that elevator again. He couldn’t breathe and beads of sweat started to form on the back of his neck and forehead. He took a couple of shaky steps toward the bed.
Luke was sitting up and his gaze caught Reid’s. The blonde knew immediately that something was wrong with Reid. He wasn’t sure if the doctor saw something that made him concerned for Luke or if it was something else.
“Reid…” he whispered, his eyes searching the doctor’s.
“You’re all right?” he whispered. His gaze was locked on Luke, but he was starting to sweat harder. It was difficult to focus on anything.
“Think about the brain,” Luke responded. He tried to reach out for Reid, but his left wrist was sore. He felt a shooting pain go up his arm. “Remember…Godfather movies…chocolate…”
Reid swallowed and nodded his head for a moment. “Nurse…um…”
“Martin,” she offered quietly. She’d never seen Dr. Oliver this way before. She’d heard the patient call Dr. Oliver his husband. She knew the neurosurgeon had gotten married, but she didn’t know more than that.
“Right, Nurse Martin,” Reid said and he tried to keep his mind focused, but he couldn’t look at Luke. He felt that every time he did; he saw a new bruise or cut on Luke’s body. “Stay with…stay with my husband…I need to go find Bob Hughes. Get the CT scan, and I’ll be back as soon as possible.”
As the doctor turned to run away, Luke called after him. “Reid-”
He stopped and tried to catch his breath. The walls felt like they were closing in. “I can’t…” He took a breath. “You’re my husband; I shouldn’t be the doctor who treats you. I’m getting Bob.” He raced out of the room.
Luke looked at the nurse. She pulled out a gown and told him she would help to get it on him for the exam.
“Thanks,” Luke responded. “Reid’s…”
She gave him a sympathetic smile. “My boyfriend would probably act the same way if I ever got hurt. It’s obvious how much he cares about you. And he’s right; he could get in trouble for treating you.”
“Right,” Luke murmured.
*
Reid was turned around twice on his way to Bob’s office. He couldn’t focus even Luke’s reminder to think of the brain didn’t help. All he could picture were the bruises and cuts and the possibility of what the CT scan would uncover. He finally found Bob’s office and barged in.
“I need you,” he greeted the older man.
Thankfully, Bob was alone and going over paperwork. “Dr. Oliver?”
“Luke’s here…” His breath came out in short pants. “He’s hurt and…I need you…I can’t…Help.”
“Of course.” Bob quickly got up and followed Reid back to Luke’s room. He stopped outside of the door and turned to Reid. “You need to wait out here and calm down. I’m sure Luke’s already seen you like this, and it won’t help him. Reid, you need to pull yourself together.”
Reid just nodded his head in agreement, and Bob went into the exam room.
The man who had brought Luke in, Miguel, was still there. “Dr. Oliver?” he asked.
Reid turned to look at him for a moment, but he didn’t recognize him. “Look, if we had an appointment, I’ll have to reschedule. I’m not able to see patient’s right now.”
“Oh, no.” Miguel shook his head. “I came with Mr. Snyder, I mean, Mr. Oliver. He told me to call him Mr. Oliver. Well, doctor, he…your husband is a kind and generous man. He saved my life.”
“What did you just say?” Reid asked.
“Yes, we were on the dock, and Mr. Oliver was telling me about you, about your work, my daughter…” Miguel looked at Reid and realized the doctor wasn’t going to help him right then. “Well, we were on the dock, and another company was moving cargo. There was a problem and the next thing I know, Mr. Oliver is pushing me out of the way. He saved my life.”
“Wait, explain this to me again,” Reid ordered.
*
Bob tried not to hurt Luke too much during the exam, but it seemed inevitable. Luke had explained about the accident and the way he fell. Luke was talking constantly, mostly about Reid and apologizing for his behavior if he was rude to Bob or demanding.
“See…he’s claustrophobic and I know why would that matter?” Luke asked, and Bob continued to clean up some of the cuts on Luke’s arm. “But he gets panic attacks when he feels the walls are closing in, and…” Luke winced from the sting of the bacterial cleaner. “I think he felt that way when he saw me. But if he thinks about the brain, that place where he feels most confident, most in control…his safe place…and I tried to-”
“Luke,” Bob cut him off. “He acted as any concerned husband would react. And Reid was right to come get me. Some members of the board have begun asking questions about the wing, if it’s a gift from the doctor’s husband, afraid that it’s not on the up and up.”
“But most of the money was donated by Henry Coleman,” Luke argued. “The foundation is just supplementing any of the lack of funds.”
“Yes, but Dr. Oliver does need to maintain his professionalism. After the Judd case, Reid can’t afford any indication of impropriety. There could be ethical concerns if he treats a family member, including his husband.”
“I guess that makes sense,” Luke admitted. “But anyone who knows Reid knows how important his work is to him. He would never-”
“You idiot!” Reid stormed into the exam room.
“Uh honey…” Luke chuckled nervously. “I thought we said no pet names at work.”
Reid glanced briefly at Luke. “I told you not to call me honey.” Then his attention was focused solely on Bob. “How badly is he hurt?”
“Did you agree to see Miguel’s daughter?” Luke asked before Bob could respond.
“What?” Reid asked. The worker had mentioned his daughter was having problems and that was why Luke was talking to him. But mostly he kept asking Miguel about the accident: how Luke had fallen, if he’d lost consciousness, how long it took for the paramedics to get there, and the type of pain Luke described.
“Miguel’s daughter,” Luke repeated. “Did you agree to see her?”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Reid countered. “How badly are you hurt?”
Luke and Bob looked at each other for a moment. “Don’t tell him anything until he agrees to treat Miguel’s daughter,” Luke instructed Bob.
“Excuse me?” Reid countered crossing his arms over his chest.
“Doctor-patient confidentiality,” Luke said, throwing Reid’s words back to him whenever he had asked about Noah.
“You're my husband!” Reid shouted.
Luke refused to be affected by Reid calling him that, but it did feel nice. “Well?” Luke pushed.
Letting out an angry huff of air, Reid said, “Fine. I'll see her tomorrow. What's going on with you?”
Bob answered for Luke, “A bruised rib, what we think is a broken wrist. The X-rays will get us more information.”
Reid moved closer to Bob. It was still difficult to see Luke hurt. “What did the CT say?”
Neither man responded, and Luke appeared to suddenly find the floor fascinating.
“You haven't done it yet?” Reid knew exactly what had happened with the CT scan, but he had to ask. “I ordered that first thing.”
Luke winced; the anger in Reid’s voice was overwhelming him. He knew it came from a place of concern, but every time he opened his mouth, Reid seemed to get angrier. Luke could only imagine the response he was going to get when he told Reid what had happened. “Well, they said they were a little busy, and some of the other people looked more-”
“Dammit, Luke! I'm taking you down there myself.” Reid turned to go get a wheelchair.
“No, you're not,” Bob’s firm voice drew both guys’ attention. “Reid, you can’t treat Luke. Go home and get your husband some clothes and whatever items he will need to make his stay here more comfortable.”
Luke sat up a little straighter, feeling more confident with Bob in the room. “And don't you have to set up that appointment with Miguel's daughter?”
“If you think the two of you ganging up on me-”
“Reid…” Luke held out his hand for Reid to take.
The redhead looked at it for a moment, and then he came closer, taking Luke’s uninjured hand in his. With his palm, he rubbed Luke’s knuckles, once, twice. It felt so good to hold his hand; he knew that if Luke was trying to order him around, he wasn’t feeling that bad. Then he felt Luke squeeze his hand back, and Reid had the reassurance he needed.
“Reid, please to do this for me.” He looked at the doctor until the redhead met his gaze. “I trust you, but you're kind of making me nervous right now. Please let Bob take care of me, set up the appointment with Miguel and then come back to me.”
Reid let out a breath. The moment Luke said he trusted him, Reid had felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He didn't know if he could do this, really be the person Luke relied on, be his husband, and take care of Luke. It was so much more than he signed up for. More than that, he didn't think he was worthy of being the guy that Luke trusted.
And then Luke smiled softly at him, and Reid felt like he could do anything.
“Fine. I'll set up the appointment and get your things. I have my cell and my beeper. I want to be notified the second the CT results come back.”
Bob and Luke looked at each other for a moment, and Reid held up his finger in warning. “I mean it. The second they come back.”
“Yes,” Bob agreed and Luke nodded his head.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Reid promised Luke and left.
*
“Well, Luke, you have two bruised ribs, and your left wrist is broken. You also have a concussion,” Bob told him.
“Did you call Reid?” the blonde asked.
Bob smiled gently. Luke was more concerned for Reid. And Bob realized he would probably react the same way with Kim. “Yes, he still wants to look at your CT scans, and he did insist on reviewing all of your tests, just to be sure-all in an unofficial capacity.”
“Yeah, that’s Reid. He’d probably offer to divorce me if he doesn’t like any of my results just so he could be the one to treat me. Do I have to stay?”
“Well, with the concussion, in circumstances like these, we’d keep the patient overnight for observation. Since I would be sending you home with one of the top neurosurgeons in the world, the decision is up to you.”
Luke thought about it for a moment. Thinking of how panicked Reid had been, Luke wasn’t sure if he could get any rest. “I’ll talk to Reid when he gets here, see if he’s up to taking me home. I’m trying to think of the lesser of two evils,” he admitted. “Reid hovering at home or Reid hovering here.”
Bob nodded his head. “I’ll get you started on a prescription for the pain. We’ll need to set your wrist and wrap your ribs. With bruised ribs, unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do for them, not like setting your wrist. It will just take time to heal.”
“I understand.”
Bob started to head for the door, but he turned back to the young man. “I know I don't have to tell you this…that Reid can be abrasive and overbearing.”
“Cold and extremely rude,” Luke added with a smile.
“Yes, but the way he was today…I've never seen him care so much about anything, including this new wing.”
“What are you saying?” the younger man wondered. He’d heard Reid talk about Bob, mostly with annoyance, but he knew that Reid respected Bob and his opinion. Luke would appreciate any insights into his husband.
“I'm not sure why you got married and it's none of my business either, but he's becoming a better man and a better doctor because of it. I know that he's older than you, but when it comes to experience and caring for another person-”
“I don't want to hurt him,” Luke promised.
*
Luke got bandaged fairly quickly and Beth, Noah’s nurse, came to get him to a new room. Reid had asked Bob to get her because Luke had known Beth from his visits with Noah, and Reid thought Luke would be comfortable with her.
When they were going down the hall, Luke ran into Noah. Noah’s vision was almost completely restored, and they let him walk around the hospital to build up his strength again.
“Noah, hi,” Luke greeted him.
“Luke? Why are you here?”
“I got hurt at work: broken wrist, bruise ribs, and a concussion.” Luke glanced up at Beth, who had wheeling him around. “I know it’s against policy, but could you give us a few minutes?”
Beth didn’t want to feel the wrath of Dr. Oliver, but she knew that Luke and Noah wanted to be alone. “I’ll come back for you in five minutes. We need to get you to your room soon.”
“Great. Thank you, Beth.”
Noah knelt down so he could be closer to Luke, and it was easier to see him. “How are you feeling?” the brunette asked.
“Been better,” Luke admitted.
Noah gently reached out and ran is fingers through Luke’s hair. “I’m sorry.”
“Why? You didn’t do this.”
“I know.” Noah let go of Luke. “I’m sorry for how I reacted when you told me you and Dr. Oliver were going to get married. Actually, I’m sorry about a lot of things.”
Reid, who had spent too long trying to figure out what to bring for Luke, finally made it back to the hospital. Bob had told him the room they were getting for Luke and offered to release him if Reid wanted to take care of him. Reid still felt a little nauseous about seeing Luke hurt, and he didn’t know if he could take care of him. He decided to talk to Luke about it and let his husband decide when Reid got to the hospital. He had gone Luke’s room, and when he didn’t find him there, he started to look for Luke. Rounding the corner, Reid found him with Noah.
They didn’t see him, and he leaned back to eavesdrop on the two men.
“I keep thinking it should have been us,” Noah admitted. “The ones who got married. Remember when we used to talk about getting married, the promises we made…”
“Noah, if you and I were to get married, you know it shouldn’t be because of this trust fund hanging over our heads.”
That was enough for Reid; he turned and ran into Beth who was coming back to take Luke to his room. “Oh, Dr. Oliver, your husband-”
“This is his bag,” Reid cut her off and handed it to her. “Make sure he gets it,” he ordered and walked away.
*
Reid went straight home and into his office. He tried to go through his emails and patient notes, but his mind wouldn’t allow himself to focus. He kept thinking about Luke and Noah, their history, the great love affair they had, and the future they were probably still planning. He felt like such an idiot. He had made himself sick worrying about Luke, terrified of what had happened to him, of what could happen, and his husband was talking to Noah about the wedding they were supposed to have.
When his cell phone buzzed, Reid distractedly answered, “Oliver.”
“That’s my line,” Luke’s voice greeted him.
When Beth had come back with his bag and said that Reid had dropped it off and left, Luke felt so alone. Noah was still there and offered to go with him to his room, but Luke had told him no. He wanted to see Reid, and he didn’t want to lead Noah on. Luke’s feelings for his ex were still complicated and indefinable, but it wasn’t until that moment that Luke had realized how much he had been looking forward to seeing Reid again. Luke had wanted to reassure his husband and negotiate a way for Reid to take Luke home. He was still trying to reconcile the image he had of the shaken and panicked Reid with the cool and in control man he’d known for so long. This other side of Reid was a little scary, but when he realized that there was so much he didn’t know about his husband, he found himself wanting to learn all of those things.
Reid didn’t realize how much he needed to hear Luke’s voice and be reminded that he was all right. “Hello, Luke. What do you need?”
He heard the soft sigh over the line. “Answers, I suppose. But I almost said I need you.”
Reid’s grip tightened on the phone. “Luke.”
“Why didn’t you pick me up? Did you get an emergency page?”
“No. I figured leaving you at the hospital would give you and Noah the quality time you both so desperately want.” Still feeling hurt and jealous, Reid had said the first words that came out of his mouth.
“What are talking about?” Luke questioned.
“The wedding that you two so lovingly planned,” the words came out like sharp little bullets, spitting out of Reid’s mouth. “I’m surprised, that’s all. We haven’t been married a month, Mr.-”
“Oliver,” Luke cut him off. “It’s Mr. Oliver now, remember?” He heard the hurt in Reid’s voice, but he didn’t want to comfort him. Luke was in the hospital, and he had been waiting for Reid to come back. But Reid had left him there, in a fit of jealousy, instead of coming to talk to him. Although Luke understood that was something he would have done and had done in the past. But Reid made him want to be more mature, to grow. So Luke decided to call him and find out what was going on.
“Aren’t you already planning the divorce?” Reid countered.
“Reid…” Luke sighed. “Noah and I-”
The older man didn’t want to hear it. “Look, I have to work.”
“Come back,” Luke insisted. “I want to talk to you about what you think you heard and how upset you were when you saw me.”
The doctor shook his head. He couldn’t do this; he didn’t have relationships. “Luke, you should be resting.”
“I’d rest better at home.” His voice was petulant, and Reid could picture the way Luke’s mouth would form a pout.
“You have a concussion, Luke. If I got called to the hospital, no one would be able to look after you. It’s best if you stayed there.”
Reid’s argument sounded reasonable enough, and Luke would have believed him if Reid hadn’t already given away his jealousy when he accused Luke of planning is future with Noah. “Fine,” he murmured. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”
“N-no, I should have the day off. I’ll come get you first thing, I promise.” But a part of Reid wanted to drop the phone and head over to the hospital now to check on Luke and see for himself that the younger man was all right.
“Okay.” There were so many things Luke wanted to say. He didn’t want to hang up the phone. He wanted to talk to Reid, try to make him understand how things were with Noah. But Luke wasn’t sure himself. “Oh, you’ll need to set the coffee machine. I know you think it hates you, but go to the kitchen and I’ll talk you through it.”
Reid chuckled softly. “Luke.”
“I know you’ll probably head straight to Java but just humor your sick husband.”
The redhead almost dropped the phone as he flashed back to how hurt Luke had been and how scared he had felt. But Reid still headed into the kitchen. “All right. So what do I do?” he asked.
Luke went through the procedure he always used. “You realize that we won’t know if this works until tomorrow,” Reid admitted.
“Yeah, well, call me and yell at me then,” Luke offered. “Oh, I got more of those bagels you liked, and I went to the farm before heading to Grimaldi. Grandma gave me some chicken wings. They’re in the fridge if you get hungry later.”
Reid started to feel like a complete ass. His “husband” was in the hospital in pain, and he was calling Reid, taking care of him. He overheard one conversation between Luke and his ex, and he couldn’t even be bothered to take him home, to take care of him? But Reid knew that with Noah it wasn’t ever just a simple conversation. He glanced at his watch. It was late. He probably couldn’t have Luke discharged, but maybe there was something else he could do to ease his husband’s stress. “Luke…”
“Yeah?”
“If you want to be with Noah-”
“We can’t,” he cut off Reid.
“Because of the marriage agreement?” Reid questioned, and he felt like he was holding his breath.
“Because too much has happened,” Luke countered. He knew he should probably be having this conversation with Noah, but he didn’t know how to explain what he wanted and who he wanted to be with. “Yes, I still love him-”
Reid felt another pain in his chest, like he was about to have another panic attack. “I see,” his voice didn’t give anything away.
“But I can’t be with him,” Luke insisted. “Look, I am tired like you said and kind of bored. I’ll see what’s on TV. And if the coffee machine doesn’t work, call me and I’ll talk you through it again.”
Despite everything, the redhead smiled to himself. “All right.”
“Good night, Reid,” Luke murmured.
“Good night.” Reid hung up the phone.
*
Luke flipped through the limited television channels three times. Reid had packed Luke some clothes. With the help of his nurse, he’d been able to get his pajama pants on, but he had to keep on the hospital gown. Reid had brought the book that had been by his nightstand, and he tried reading it. The pain medication made his head feel fuzzy, but he was not tired. So Luke had opted for the television. One bad movie after another and fifteen infomercials later, he was ready to throw the remote. He tried raising his good hand, but his ribs hurt too much that he dropped it agony.
“Dammit,” he muttered.
“That’s my line,” Reid’s voice greeted him.
Luke’s face broke out into a wide grin when he saw his husband standing in the doorway of his hospital room. “Reid! Wh-what are you doing here?”
“Well, the coffee is pretty bad here, but first thing in the morning it’s somewhat manageable,” he said.
“You still don’t trust that coffee machine?” Luke asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Funny.” Reid smirked. “I thought you might be going a little stir-crazy, so I brought your iPod. You’ve got some really bad music on here, Luke. We’re going to have to broaden your musical repertoire.”
Luke chuckled softly. “You have over a decade on me, so I’m sure there’s plenty of music from before I was born that you could introduce me to.”
“Oh, there are plenty of things I could introduce to you.” The words slipped out in a husky whisper.
Luke shuddered softly and then winced at the pain. “Well, uh, thank you,” he said. He looked down at the bag in Reid’s hand. “You needed a bag for my iPod?”
“No,” Reid countered. “I just thought if you were going to be stuck in the hospital all night that you’d want company.”
“You’re staying?” he asked but tried not to get his hopes up. If he couldn’t go home, then having Reid come to see him was the next best thing. Luke had wanted to ask earlier, but he was too afraid.
“Yeah, let’s not get all weepy,” he muttered. “I am your husband, after all. It might look suspicious if I just left you here, and I just figured if I get paged it’ll be easier for me to be at the hospital.”
Luke smiled and patted the bed next to him. “Yes, it’s all about you. Sorry I forgot, it must be the medication they gave me for my injuries.”
Reid reluctantly cracked a smile at that last line.
“Come sit with me?”
Setting the bag down, the doctor slowly edged his way to Luke’s bed. “Are you in a lot of pain?” he asked.
“It’s better. My ribs are really sore.”
“Yeah, I know even breathing can hurt.” Reid looked around for a chair, but he didn’t see one. He was about to head out of the room to look for one, but Luke called after him.
“You can sit on the bed,” Luke offered.
Reid hesitated. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Reid, come on,” Luke insisted.
The doctor let out a breath. “Fine.” Reid walked around to the side of the bed where Luke wasn’t injured. He lowered the bar and gingerly sat down on the bed. His eyes searched Luke’s face and worked his way down, tracking every scrape and bandage.
Luke tried not to move; he wasn’t sure what Reid was looking for and if he even saw Luke or if he was just cataloging all of his injuries. “Thank you for coming,” he told Reid.
The doctor shifted, sitting up further on the bed and his hand reaching across Luke to the opposite bed frame so he could get a better grip. “It’s the least I could do. Could you tell me what happened?”
“I thought Miguel-”
“He did,” Reid murmured. “But I have to admit my mind wasn’t really focused on what he was saying. I was...I was worried about you.”
“Oh, well, one of my supervisors had come to me a couple of days ago, and he mentioned that his best worker-”
“Miguel.”
“Yeah, that he’d noticed a decrease in Miguel’s work and was concerned. Then I asked Miguel to come to my office so we could talk.” Luke moved hesitantly, trying to turn on his side.
Reid reached over, gingerly holding onto Luke’s shoulder to help him. Reid got up and went to the closet, finding an extra pillow. He placed it under Luke’s side. “It’ll help with your ribs.”
Through a wince, Luke thanked him, and Reid got back into the bed.
“So, where was I?” Luke asked.
“Miguel had come to your office.”
“Yeah, it was awful, Reid. He was so upset, and he thought he was being fired. That was when I realized what it looked like, being called to the boss’s office. I should have gone down to the docks and talked to him there. Anyway, he told me that he’d been really concerned about his daughter. You set up an appointment with her, right?”
“Yes, she had a big test at school so, despite my offer to come in on my day off because I know you’d ask if I didn’t, I’ll see Arianna the day after tomorrow,” Reid informed him.
“Thank you. So, Miguel told me about the headaches Arianna had been getting, which everyone thought was just allergies, but they weren’t getting better. And I immediately thought of you. So I told him about my brilliant husband.” Luke smiled softly and looked at Reid. “And I offered to set an appointment for him.”
“And if I didn’t agree, what were you going to blackmail me with this time?” Reid asked with a teasing tone in his voice.
Luke’s smile deepened, and his hand reached out for Reid’s, the one that was resting on the bed between them. “I wasn’t going to set the coffee machine anymore.”
Reid chuckled and the bed shook a little. Seeing Luke’s wince of pain, he immediately stopped, and his hand reached out, cupping Luke’s face. “Are you okay?”
The feel of Reid’s hand on his face was comforting, and Luke was half-tempted to say no just to keep it there. “Yes, thank you. So after I talked to Miguel, I walked back to the dock with him. I was going to head here, see if you wanted a late lunch, but… Anyway, when we got down there, one of the cranes was moving some cargo, and it looked like one of the cords snapped. Suddenly, there was shouting, and the cargo was coming right at us. I didn’t even think, I just pushed Miguel out of the way and ended up here. I just wish there was more I could have done.”
Reid’s hand came up to Luke’s face again. He gently stroked his cheek with the back of his hand. “I can’t believe you did that, pushing him out of the way like that, especially when you think that you didn’t do enough for Miguel. You saved his life.”
“But you save people’s lives every day. You’re this brilliant neurosurgeon. You’re a hero and I’m just…Well me, a trust fund kid-”
Reid’s hand fell away. “Luke, you help people, it’s what you do. You save people in your own way, with the foundation and giving this money to the wing. You pushed Miguel out of the way of getting hurt. That’s what you’re doing with that trust fund, not spending it on yourself.”
“I couldn’t save Noah. I tried everything I could to help him, and he just wanted me gone. It was never enough.”
“Do you still feel guilty about the accident? It was an accident, Luke, you have to know that by now.”
He shifted, his gaze leaving Reid’s. “You don’t understand. I…I distracted him, and it was so awful. Noah was my first everything. I couldn’t imagine my life without him. So I did everything I could to help him, that’s why I kept calling and pressuring you until you agreed to do his surgery.”
Reid couldn’t believe they were back to Noah again. He’d allowed himself to hope, to think that maybe Luke would be glad to see him. He allowed himself to forget the conversation he’d heard between Noah and Luke about the plans for the future and their wedding. He allowed himself to believe that just once he and Luke could have a conversation and it wouldn’t involve Noah, but he was wrong. Reid moved and got up off the bed.
“Reid?”
“Why do you insist on making me your confessor about Noah? I don’t need to know everything about the great love of your life. I know this marriage…it’s just a business deal, a simple arrangement and once it’s done, you’ll go back to Noah. I don’t need the constant reminders.”
Luke sighed, wishing there was something he could say that would make Reid understand, but Luke was still confused. He was attracted to Reid. He didn’t regret choosing him as the person he married. Too much had happened between him and Noah, but he still loved Noah. Luke just wasn’t sure if he was in love with Noah any more. He opened his mouth to apologize, but it would be a lie. Why should he apologize for his feelings?
“Reid, um…”
The doctor crossed his arms over his chest. “What?”
Luke decided to change the subject completely, and he said, “I’m kind of hungry.”
Reid chuckled softly, that was something he could understand. “Yeah, the food here is pretty bad. What are you in the mood for?”
“Turkey club with extra mayo from Al’s?” he asked, and his eyebrows rose hopefully.
Reid realized then that whenever he saw the young and eager expression on Luke’s face he would never be able to deny him anything. He paused for a moment, thinking he’d never been so whipped before mostly because he never allowed a man to be in his life too long.
“Yeah,” Reid agreed. “I’ll be back soon.”
He headed out of the hospital and automatically reached for his phone. He really wanted to talk to Katie, otherwise he would be eating Luke’s sandwich before he got back. When he saw the clock on his phone, he realized it was way past Jacob’s bedtime and if he woke him, Katie would be angry. He pocketed the phone and headed over to Al’s.
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Onto Chapter Eleven…