FIC: Smiles and Sandwich Shops (ATWT)
Title: Smiles and Sandwich Shops
Author: im_with_him84
Rating: G, so sugary sweet it will give you a headache!
Summary: Without giving too much away, it deals with Reid. Luke does not appear in this one, just Reid.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
I always smiled when he walked in the room.
I don’t know why.
Maybe it was his funny hair. It was curly, and funny.
Maybe it was because he didn’t lie to me like everyone else did. He didn’t keep things from me, or pretend like everything was okay when it wasn’t. If he had news, he would just say it, good or bad. I liked that.
Maybe it was because part of me felt sorry for him. He always seemed tired. It was like he was always at the hospital; in my room, walking around the hallways (with a frown on his face), talking to the nurses (with a frown on his face). One time I asked him why he was mean to the nurses, and he answered with a whole bunch of big words, including one that my daddy said was a bad, bad word. I always thought he seemed lonely.
One day, as he was taking my temperature, I asked him if he had any friends. He seemed surprised by the question, and he smiled one of those weird half-smiles.
“No, I’m a neurosurgeon. I don’t have time for friends. I don’t need any friends.”
“I’ll be your friend, if you want,” I told him.
I already had a lot of friends (my neighbor Becca, Rosie and Christina from school, my cousin Ellie…) but I figured I could make room for one more.
“Okay, I’ll make an exception for you,” he answered, with another smile. He made some notes on my chart and left.
Today, I was waiting for him. He should have come in by now, but you never know with neurosurgeons…
I looked up as someone came in, but it wasn’t him.
Finally, he walked in. He looked tired and a little overwhelmed, but that’s how everyone looks when they come in.
I remember.
When I died, I was very scared and lonely at first, but then it went away. Endless ice cream cones and cotton candy made me feel a lot better!
I made my way towards him, smiling and waving so he would see me.
The fear and doubt that shadowed his face was suddenly gone, as his eyes grew large and his mouth dropped open.
“Annie!” he said, kneeling down so he was eye level with me.
“Hi, Dr. Oliver” I answered, giving him a hug. He hugged me back a little too tight, but I didn’t want to be rude or anything so I waited for him to pull back. He stroked my face and slid his hands through the brown curls on my head.
“It grew back, Dr. Oliver! I’m not bald anymore!” I said, laughing.
He laughed too, and stood up. He looked around, trying to take everything in. He seemed lost and overwhelmed again, but I remembered that as his friend, it was up to me to show him around. So, I gently grasped his hand and began to walk.
“Where do you wanna go first, Dr. Oliver? The ice cream shop or the cotton candy stand?”
“Do they have sandwiches around here?” he asked.
“Yeah! They sell the biggest sandwiches you have ever seen,” I told him, as we made our way to the sandwich shop.