dpracket

Previous Chapters:
The sixth of five scenes:  dpracket.livejournal.com/14667.html
After the parking garage (pt 2):  dpracket.livejournal.com/15254.html


Current chapter:
What are You Doing Here? (pt. 3) :  dpracket.livejournal.com/20200.html


Luke approached the nurses station on the fourth floor of Memorial Hospital, and Ali smiled at him.  "Look at you, Luke Snyder, you clean up nicely."

Luke smiled back, and raised his arms to show off his dress slacks and long-sleeved button down dress shirt.  "I had a meeting this morning.  Have you seen Casey?  He was supposed to meet me in the cafeteria for lunch, and he wasn't there."

"No, I haven't seen him in awhile.  He must be busy with something.  I can try having him paged over the intercom."

"No, that's okay," Luke said.  "I'll catch up with him later."

"Noah's here," Ali offered, pointing to the examination room to the left. 

"Why?  Is something wrong?"  Luke asked, concerned.

"No; he's fine.  He's in there with that doctor from Dallas."

"Dr. Oliver?!"

"Yeah, that's his name.  The rude guy."

"The one and only...I wonder how Noah got him to come back.  Do you think it's okay if I go in?"

"I don't see why not.  You didn't hear it from me."

Luke smiled, nodded, and headed for exam room 2.

Luke opened the door to find the doctor's back to him as he stood in front of Noah, who was seated on the exam table.  A small table nearby held an open laptop, and MRI scans of Noah's brain illuminated the screen.

"What's he doing here?"  

"Luke!" Noah exclaimed.  "What are you doing here?"

"I was meeting Casey for lunch, and...what's going on, Noah?"

Reid turned around and stared at Luke, and Luke's breath caught in his throat when Reid's blue eyes met his.

"Mr. Snyder," he said, not smiling, not extending his hand.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked nervously.

"If you must know, I had a meeting with Bob Hughes this week, and he asked me to consult on Mr. Mayer's case while I was in town."

"Oh.  I didn't know."

"So, if you will, please, excuse us, I would like to continue the examination of my patient."

"Your patient?" Luke answered, excitedly.  "Does that mean you are taking his case?"

"LUKE!" Noah said angrily.  "Will you please get out of here before you fuck this up again?"

Luke looked at Noah, hurt.  "Noah, c'mon...I want to support you..."

"Luke, please...go."

Luke looked back at the doctor, who was drumming his fingers quietly on his clipboard.  "You heard your boyfriend..."

"He's not my..."

"Go," Reid said bluntly, letting his eyes travel down Luke's body before returning to Luke's brown eyes.

Luke swallowed hard.  Reid noticed.  "Fine.  But if you need me, Noah...I'll be right outside," he said, not taking his eyes away from the doctor.

"Yeah, ok..." Noah replied, sighing.

Reid turned away from Luke and concentrated on his patient, as Luke exited the room.

**************************************************

A few minutes later, Reid exited the exam room and headed down the hall.

"Dr. Oliver," Luke said, following him.

"Mr. Snyder, I'm busy," Reid said in response, without even glancing in his direction.

Luke grabbed him by the inside of his elbow to stop him.  "Will you wait a minute?!"

Exasperated, Reid turned around to face Luke.  "What do you want?"

Luke released his grip on Reid's arm.  "Are you operating on Noah?"

"I can't discuss my patient with you."

"Oh, c'mon...I'm the reason that he's even your patient to begin with."

"No, Mr. Snyder.  Dr. Hughes is the reason he's my patient.  He called me.  He ASKED me to see Mr. Mayer.  He didn't lure me here under false pretenses.  He didn't blackmail me.  He asked."

The doctor continued to walk down the hall, Luke in step next to him.  "When will Noah's surgery take place?  Will you be able to restore his eyesight?"

"I told you that I'm not discussing this with you.  It's clear that your boyfriend didn't even want you in the room today.  Goodbye, Mr. Snyder.

Reid pushed open the door of a single-person restroom.  As he turned around to lock the door, Luke pushed his way inside.  "Honestly, Mr. Snyder?  Following me into the restroom?"

Luke locked the door.  He turned around and stepped toward Reid.  "For the last time, I cannot..." but Reid couldn't finish his sentence because Luke's hand was on the back of his neck, and Luke's lips were on his.

Reid pushed Luke with enough force that luke stumbled backwards and almost fell.  "What the fuck, Mr. Snyder?"

Luke grimmaced and stepped forward again.  He grabbed two fistfuls of the doctor's labcoat and pushed him backwards until Reid's back hit the opposite wall.  Reid tried to wrestle free of Luke, but Luke held him steady and pressed his mouth against Reid's again.   This time, the doctor kissed him back, his tongue sliding into Luke's mouth.  As Luke relaxed into the kiss, Reid turned them around and forcefully flipped Luke over, so that he was now face first against the wall.

At this point, both men were breathing hard, as Reid held Luke by his wrists against the wall.  He allowed his forehead to press against the back of Luke's head, and he breathed raggedly against Luke's neck.  "Fuck, Snyder..."  He released one of Luke's wrists and dropped his hand to cup Luke through the front of his pants, where he found Luke fully hard and ready to go.  Reid had to suppress a groan as Luke bucked forward against his hand.  "Fuck..." Reid repeated.  He released Luke's other hand and worked Luke's belt buckle from behind.  Luke did not make a move to help him...or to stop him.

Once Luke's pants were at his ankles, Reid unzipped his own pants and pulled himself out over his boxers.  He pressed himself against Luke, that act alone causing his balls to tighten.  "Is this what you want?" Reid asked huskily.  Luke nodded against the wall and pushed himself back against Reid.  "Yes."

Reid reached back into his pocket and retrieved his wallet.  He pulled out his one "emergency" condom and didn't care as his wallet fell to the floor of the public restroom.  He opened the wrapper deftly and slid the condom over his length.  He spit into his hand and tried to slick the condom a bit.  "You sure about this?  I'm going in dry.  It's going to hurt."  He spit again directly down onto himself and lined himself up.

"Yes, I'm sure...c'mon...just do it already."

Reid didn't have to be told again.  He grabbed hold of one of Luke's hips and pushed in forcefully through the resistance until he was buried inside of Luke.  He hadn't been mistaken.  It was dry.  And it did hurt.  Luke cried out in pain and tried to pull away from Reid, but the wall and Reid's firm gripped forced him to stay where he was.  "Easy..." Reid panted against Luke's shoulder, as he swiveled his hips, allowing Luke to adjust to the intrusion.  He had one hand on Luke's hip, the other up under Luke's shirt, splayed across his hard abdomen.  Without withdrawing, Reid pushed forward three times, causing Luke to feel pressure against his prostate.  Luke quieted his breathing and concentrated on the fullness.

After a few moments, Luke pushed back against Reid, and Reid withdrew slowly before slamming back in, Luke pushing back to meet his thrust.   Luke moaned as Reid moved in and out of him.  Reid knew it must still burn a bit, and he angled himself so that he could assault Luke's prostate.  "Yes..." Luke slurred, as he reached back and dug his nails into the back of Reid's thigh and continued to meet each of Reid's thrusts with his own backward motion.  Reid reached forward and wrapped his hand around Luke's shaft, jerking him in long strokes with their movement.  It didn't take long, and Luke was spilling over his hand and onto the wall.  His orgasm caused his muscles to tense, and the tightness around Reid pulled him over the edge too, both men grunting and trembling as they came.

As Reid came down from his orgasm, his legs felt like rubber.  He had one hand on Luke's hip, and the other he put on the wall to hold himself up.  His forehead rested at the nape of Luke's neck, and Luke brought his hand back to push into Reid's hair, pulling slightly as his breath tried hard to return to normal.

Once Reid felt steady enough, he released Luke and pulled up his pants, tucked his shirt in, and secured his belt.  He reached down to pick up his wallet, as Luke fixed his own clothes. 

Luke watched the doctor as he walked over to  the sink.  He washed and dried his hands and without a glance or word toward Luke, he walked out the door.

Previous Chapters:
The sixth of five scenes:  dpracket.livejournal.com/14667.html
After the parking garage (pt 2):  dpracket.livejournal.com/15254.html
What are You Doing Here? (pt. 3) :  dpracket.livejournal.com/20200.html

Current Chapter:

A Peek Behind the Wall:  dpracket.livejournal.com/20336.html



Reid walked past Noah who was sitting with his cane in the waiting area.  He approached the nurses' station and grabbed Noah's chart from behind the desk.  He flipped it open and began making notes.  He wondered if maybe he should ask Noah if he had a ride home but decided against it.  Not my problem.

"Noah, how did you get here?"  Luke's voice.

"Maddie gave me a ride.  She had some errands to run, but she's on her way back."

"Well, if you want to call her and let her know, I can give you a ride home," Luke offered.

"No, thanks," Noah replied flatly.

"Really, it's no problem, I'm on my way out anyway..."

"I said NO."

Reid turned to find Luke with his back to him, head down in front of his patient.

"Noah..."

"Luke, really...I need you to stay away from me right now.  I can't believe you walked into my examination today without even knocking.  I think we've established that Dr. Oliver can't stand you, but the thing is, I need him, Luke.  And what I DON'T need is you hanging around and budding into my medical care and pissing him off more than you already have.  I'm so thankful that Bob arranged for him to take my case.  After he left here four months ago, I thought that was it.  You know I've seen other neurosurgeons, Luke, and Dr. Oliver is the only one who thinks he can do this.  So, please, stay away.  We're not even together anymore, so this isn't your business.  I know you have a lot of guilt about this, but I don't have the energy to help you with that.  Please, don't mess this up for me, Luke.  I need you to back off."

Luke ran his hand through his hair and nodded.  "How did we get here?  What happened to us?"  He spoke softly.

"You broke up with me, Luke, remember?  Because I couldn't give you what you needed, whatever that was..."

"Damn, Noah...you're not being fair.  It wasn't all me, and you know it."

Just then, Maddie approached.  "Hey guys..."  She could see the sadness on both of their faces.  "Everything okay here?"

"Everything's great," Luke said sarcastically.  "Your ride's here, Noah."

"Good, I'm ready to get out of here," Noah said, standing.

"Luke," Maddie said, "We're going to grab some lunch, would you like to join us?"

"No," Noah answered before Luke had the chance to do so.  "He's busy.  Right, Luke?"

"Yeah, thanks Maddie.  Maybe another time."

"Sure, Luke," she said smiling at him, and Luke forced a smile back at her.  "Take care, c'mon, Noah."

Noah walked past Luke and said, "If you see my doctor, please steer clear of him, okay?  No questions."

Luke shook his head.  "Yup."

Maddie gave Luke a comforting squeeze on his arm and led Noah toward the elevators.

Reid watched Noah and his escort walk away and then turned his head back in Luke's direction.  Luke had taken Noah's place in the chair and was staring down at this hands.  Tears threatened his eyes, and he blinked them away.

"Reid!" Bob's voice came from the other side of him. "I'm glad I caught you.  Have you had lunch yet?"

Luke looked up at the sound of Reid's name.

"No, I haven't."

"Good.  Would you care to join me in the cafeteria?  We still have a lot to discuss."

"Yeah, sure..."

"Great; is now good?" 

Reid nodded and turned his head back toward Luke.  Their eyes met briefly before Reid looked away.  Not my problem.  He turned and followed Bob down the hall.

"LUKE!  I've been looking all over for you," Casey said as he approached him.  "Dude, I'm sorry I couldn't meet you earlier.  There were three codes in the I.C.U., and we were moving all kinds of equipment down there, and then the ER is crazy today...lots of admissions, so I've been wheeling beds and wheelchairs.  Hello?  Luke?"  Casey followed Luke's gaze down the hall, as he watched Bob and Reid walk away.

"Who's grandad with?"

"Nobody..."

"So, bro, did you eat already, or do you still want to grab some lunch with me?  I only have a little bit of time, so it'll have to be the cafeteria."

"Sure, that's fine," Luke sighed, standing up.

"You okay?"  Casey asked.

"I'm good," Luke lied, putting his arm around Casey's shoulders, "Let's go."

******************************************

"Hey, there's my grandfather again...let's go sit with them..." Casey said as he stepped away from the cashier.

"NO!" Luke replied, a little too enthusiastically.  "I mean...no...I think they're discussing business, let's leave them alone...let's sit over there."  Luke gestured toward a table in the corner.

Casey shrugged his shoulders and followed Luke.  While they ate, Luke's eyes kept drifting over to the table where Bob and Reid sat, involved in whatever they were discussing. 

"You keep looking over there...who's that guy my grandfather's talking to?" Casey asked.

"That's Dr. Oliver."

"Noah's doctor from Dallas?  I heard he's a total dick."

Luke laughed.  "Yeah, he is...but apparantly he's brilliant, so he can get away with it."

"Is that why you didn't want to sit with grandad?"

"That and the fact that Noah wants me to stay away from him."

"Why would he want that?"

"Because when Dr. Oliver first came here, I sort of blackmailed him into it.  And he's still pissed about it."

"Really?!...What did you blackmail him with?"

Luke smiled weakly.  "That's the thing...I didn't have anything on him.  I bluffed my way through it."

"No shit?  Go, Luke." Casey smiled. "Your inner Grimaldi..."

"That's truer than you know...Damien was totally behind it..."

"Well then, Dr. Neuro must have some skeletons in his closet if it worked."

"Yeah...maybe...so, Noah doesn't want me anywhere near him or the doctor.  He won't tell me anything about his treatment and pretty much told me to back off."

"I'm sorry, Luke...Noah's my friend, but man, he hasn't been treating you nicely for a good long time now.  You're a better man than I am because I don't think I could put up with it."  Casey looked sad.

"Well, I guess neither can I.  I broke up with him three weeks ago."

"Three weeks ago?  How come I haven't heard about it?  How come you didn't tell me?"

Luke shrugged.  "I don't know....I feel like such a failure....and I guess I keep hoping that Noah will come around, but Case, he was pushing me away all the time...blaming me for the accident, which I guess it was sort of my fault, but it wasn't intentional..."

"Whoa, stop right there.  It wasn't your fault."

"...and he never seemed to want me around...really didn't want to hang out or go anywhere, didn't want me to help him with anything...didn't let me touch him, kiss him, anything...I mean, when you're down or need assistance, aren't you supposed to lean on the people you love?  But he just didn't want any help...he told me that I made him feel helpless, that he couldn't do anything for himself.  It just got to the point where I was like, 'what the heck are we doing together?'  Neither one of us was happy.  I got tired of trying."

"I'm sorry, Luke...do you think you'll be able to be friends?"

"I don't know...right now he doesn't want me anywhere near him because he thinks Dr. Oliver can't stand me and that my presence will somehow screw up his treatment." 


"Is it true?"

"Yeah, mostly."

"Well, don't let it bother you.  Word is he is a grade-A asshole, so fuck him.  Let him fix Noah up , and then you never have to deal with him again, right?"

Luke sighed. "Right...I did a lot of research on the guy, and I don't think his annoyance with me will affect his treatment of Noah.  Yes, he's a jerk, but he's a jerk who takes medicine seriously.  His track record is outstanding.  He's only 35 years old, and he's one of the top neurosurgeons in the country..."

"Well, then...no worries, right?  He'll fix Noah up, and you can put this all behind you, and maybe things will get better between you and Noah.  But for now...c'mon, buddy...now that you're a free man, we need to go out!  We can go clubbing together."  Casey started bobbing his head back and forth and singing the theme to Night at the Roxbury.  "There's a lot more fish in the sea, bro...we need to get your ass laid!"

Luke smiled flatly and glanced over toward Reid, who at the same time turned and looked in Luke's direction.  They held each other's gaze for a few seconds before Reid turned back to Bob.  Luke wondered what Reid was thinking.

*********************************************************

Two days later, Noah sat in Reid's office, going over details of his upcoming surgery.

"The day before, you'll have to come in for a contrast MRI and blood tests.  You'll also get an EKG and a chest x-ray, which is standard before surgery.  The MRI will give us a current picture of your brain; it will be put into a computer, and we'll use it as a map during the surgery.  I don't expect that it will have changed much since the last one you had, but I'm concerned with the small accumulation of blood that we saw on the last one."

Noah nodded.

"It will be a pretty long procedure...probably four hours or more...a nurse will brief your family periodically either in the waiting room or by telephone from the operating room."

"I don't have any family."

"Well, your friends then.  Whoever your support will be in the waiting room.  Mr. Snyder."

"Luke won't be there.  We broke up, and I don't want.........whatever.  He just won't be there."

"Listen, Noah, I know Mr. Snyder and I started off on the wrong foot, but I'm a professional, and if you want or need him here,  please know that I fully support that.  Regardless of any issues I have with him, he clearly cares about you, or he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to get me to Oakdale.  You have the right to have anyone around you that you need."

"I don't want him there.  My friend, Maddie, will be in the waiting room and possibly my friend, Richard.  You can brief them."

"Fine.  That's your perrogative.  I just want to make sure that you're not keeping him away because of me. I can handle an annoying boyfriend."

"Ex boyfriend," Noah corrected him.

"Right.  Ex boyfriend.  Got it.  Okay, so I've outlined the risks for you, we've talked about the recovery and what you can expect, do you have any other questions?"

"No, I'm just ready to get this done."

"Okay, great...then my nurse will have the consent forms for you to sign outside.  The morning you are admitted, my P.A. will be in to visit with you, answer any last minute questions, and I will see you in the O.R. before the surgery next Thursday."

"Thank you, Dr. Oliver."  Noah extended his hand.

"Well, let's wait and see how the surgery goes."  He shook Noah's hand.  Let me walk you out to my nurse's desk..."

**************************************************************

Three days later, Reid walked onto the elevator at the Lakeview to find Luke already inside. 

"Mr. Snyder.  What are doing here at the hotel?"  He cocked an eyebrow.

Luke rolled his eyes.  "I was visiting my friend Henry."

"Coleman?"

"You know him?  Well, I guess you should, since he's a backer of the wing I hear that your heading up."

"Possibly heading up.  Dr. Hughes and I are still in negotiations.  So, you're seeing Henry now?"

"What?  NO!" Luke laughed.  "Henry?  No.  He's my friend.  And he's not gay.  Why would you even go there?"

"Really?  Are you sure?  Because I would have pegged him as..."

Just then the elevator jerked to a stop.

"Oh, geeze...again?" Luke asked nobody in particular.

"What do you mean, again?" Reid asked, his voice a little higher pitched than just seconds before.

"This building is old.  These are the original elevators.  They break down all the time.  It's annoying.  But don't worry, they'll send someone to fix it quickly."

"How quickly?"

"I don't know...within a half hour or so."

"Great," Reid said, pulling at his collar.  "Hello?!  We're stuck in here!" Reid yelled loudly.

Luke laughed.  "Relax.  Save your breath.  They'll figure it out in time, and then they'll spring us.  This is the fourth time I've been stuck in one of the elevators at this hotel."

"Wish I'd known that before I checked in here.  What kind of shithole is this?" Reid huffed, his left hand tapping against his leg.

"My  mother owns this hotel. It's not a shithole.  It's landmarked." 

"I should have known  Your money's all over this town, isn't it?"

"Again, it's my MOTHER who owns this hotel; not me.  And you shouldn't be so quick to criticize MY money, Dr. Oliver.  I'm in discussions with Dr. Hughes and Henry Coleman about my foundation possibly making up any financial shortfalls for the new neuro facility."

"Why would you do that?" Reid asked absently, tugging at his collar and shifting his weight back and forth.

"This hospital is a big part of our community.  It provides excellent medical care, but is also an important part of our economy.  A top-notch neuro facility will help a lot of people, and it will bring patients in from around the country, especially if it is headed up by the great Dr. Reid Oliver," Luke said sarcastically, "Or the equally brilliant Dr. Channing, out of Chicago, if it doesn't work out with you."

Reid huffed, "Channing?  You've got to be kidding me..."

"It's also agreed that as the hospital makes money, a certain percentage will be funneled back into my foundation to fund programs for patients and their families, during and even after treatment.  This isn't something I'm taking lightly.  I've put a lot of thought into it.  And it's been on the table since way before you walked onto the scene in Oakdale.  We've been discussing it for months, even before Henry was the main backer.  So, don't think that my interest in helping fund this project has anything to do with you."

Reid was facing Luke, but his eyes darted around the elevator, and his his fingers continued to tap nervously against the side of his leg.  Luke noticed the sheen of sweat breaking out across Reid's suddenly ashen face.  "Hey, you okay, doc?  You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, Mr. Snyder. Fine."  He turned around and banged his fist on the elevator door. "Hello?  There are two people stuck in this elevator!"

Luke tugged at Reid's arm.  "Really.  Stop.  It won't do any good.  We'll get out of here in time."

Reid nodded and loosened his tie, his breathing becoming labored.

"Hey," Luke said, looking concerned, "Are you claustrophobic?"

"No.  NO.  I just...I don't...I don't like small spaces...that's all."

Luke smiled.  "You're freaking out, Dr. Cool."

"Fuck you, Mr. Snyder."

"Too late; you already did," Luke joked lamely.

This made Reid smile briefly before he began tugging at his tie some more.  He then pulled off his labcoat and dropped it to the floor.  "Shit..."

"Okay, Dr. Oliver...relax...you're going to hyperventilate.  Don't be such a baby.  Try to slow your breathing."  He reached out and unbuttoned the two top buttons of Reid shirt.  "You're okay..."

Reid wiped at the sweat on his face.  "This will make for some interesting conversation at the nurses' station, right?  Asshole neurosurgeon cracks up in small spaces...does this make your day, Mr. Snyder?" Reid asked angrily.

"What's that?" Luke asked honestly.

"Finding out that I'm human..."

"It's a start," Luke smiled.  "But really...I'm not going to tell anyone...just c'mon...relax...try to focus on something else...you're okay...we have plenty of space in here...plenty of air...we can remove the ceiling panels if we need to...we're going to be fine, okay?  Next, you're going to tell me you're afraid of spiders or of the dark.  C'mon...sit down...you're okay."

Reid nodded and slid down the wall.

Luke grabbed a file folder out of his backpack and began fanning Reid with it.  He ran his hand down Reid's chest, trying to soothe him, and feeling his heart hammering away realized that the doctor really was scared.

He brought his hand to Reid's cheek.  "Dr. Oliver.....Reid....look at me."

Reid turned his eyes to Luke and they were wild with panic.  "Okay..." Luke continued.  "We're okay...right?  Look at all the space in here.  We could fit 20 more people in here with us, easily.  Plenty of air...and there's so much space, we could have a party in here....Hey, now...it's okay...calm down... breathe...look... like this... in through your nose...slowly..."

Reid concentrated and slowed his breathing down to breath in time with Luke, as Luke ran his hand up and down his arm.

"Good..." Luke continued to soothe him.  "That's good...I've got you..."  He leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips.  "Everything's fine, Reid...you're safe..."  He kissed him again.

And then the doctor's hands were gripping both sides of Luke's face, and he was kissing him back.  But this kiss was different than the few others that they had shared.  This was slow.  And deep.  And frighteningly intimate in nature.    Reid pulled back and looked at Luke, his eyes dropping from Luke's eyes down to his mouth, before their mouths came back together again, wet and searching.  Almost greedy.  Yearning.

Just then, the elevator whirred back to life, the sudden sound and movement causing the men to break apart.  Luke stood up and lowered his hand to help Reid to his feet.  Reid stooped to pick up his lab coat and put it on while Luke buttoned his sweat-soaked shirt.  "You okay?" Luke asked, as he straightened Reid's tie. 

"Yeah, I got this...thanks..." Reid said, as his hands replaced Luke's at the knot.  He gave Luke a weak smile as the elevator doors opened.

"Everybody okay in here?" a maintainance man asked, as Reid stepped out of the elevator with Luke close behind. 

"Yeah.  We're fantastic," Reid said sarcastically.  "I'll see you later, Mr. Snyder."  Luke watched the doctor walk away without a glance back and sighed.  "Hey, Manny, how are you doing?"

"Good, Mr. Snyder. You?"

"I'm fine.  What is this the fourth time you've gotten me out of this thing?"

"Something like that.  She's tempermental."

Luke looked in the direction Reid had walked but didn't see him.  "The elevator's not the only thing..."