Author's note: Okay I'm taking A LOT of leeway here with Reid's past. Also, does anyone even know his real age? I'm making him 37 here, 3 years younger than I made his brother. (Also, his actor, the great ESS just turned 38 so that kinda fits.) In addition, I had to make a reason for his family to have all been in Austin when I rewatched clips and he mentioned Harvard Square. *insert awkward cough here* MY BAD! Whatever, I fixed it! xD

Chapter 3:

When Reid arrived in Austin, he was surprised to remember the way to his parents house. He hadn't been there in years, not since he was still in med school. He remembered when he first saw Texas, back when he was still a child and took a liking to chess (until his parents OD'd on tournaments). By the time he'd decided to quit them, his parents had enough money to buy a new house - in Austin, Texas.

He could still remember how much his older brother complained about having to pack up and move just because Reid was a 'chess prodigy.'

*Summer of 1985*

"What's so great about Texas anyway? Rodeos and Mexican food? Do you even understand that I'm leaving my friends?" the older brother asked. He moved his long dirty blond hair out of his blue eyes.

"You'll make new friends, sweetie," their mother replied, fixing her red hair while her husband packed the car up with their suitcases. "Help your father, will you?"

Alex hadn't stopped glaring even after he dragged Reid into the house."This is all your fault, brat. I thought this moving around crap would end when you stopped doing these stupid tournaments, but no, now we have to go move to Goddamn Texas."

Ironically, Alex ended up loving Texas, making plenty of new friends and meeting a beautiful brunette whose father owned a ranch.

*November 1991*

"Hey, Reid, how are you liking Harvard?" he heard his brother's cheerful voice on the line.

"I've only been here a few months, but it's pretty cool. What's got you so cheery?"

"She said yes, man! Loretta and I are getting married!"

"Congrats."

"Oh, come on, Reid, can't you be happy for your big bro?"

"Sorry, Alex, I've just got a lot on my mind," Reid lied. He truly didn't see the point in weddings - if love lasted, then it lasted. If it didn't, no pretty speech and piece of jewelry could change that.

"You? Ha, I've got to worry about graduating and then getting married. I'm gunna miss Columbia U, but hey, now Loretta and I can start our lives together. Can you believe we've been together six years already?"

"Yeah, congrats."

"By the way, you probably guessed already, but I'm asking you to be my best man." Alex's tone surprised Reid; it was as if his brother was afraid he'd say no.

"Yeah, sure, of course," he replied.

"Great, get to workin' on that speech, kid. I'll see you at Christmas; you're coming to Mom and Dad's right?"

"Yeah, Christmas, right..."

A part of Reid wished he'd have been around the family more. Even after college, medical school and him starting his own clinic in Dallas, he barely made the drive in to Austin. Sure, he sent gifts on his nieces' and nephew's birthdays, but he'd always find an excuse not to visit ("Yeah, Alex, I know it's Corinne's first Christmas, but someone needs to be at the clinic.")

For a minute, he couldn't remember why he stopped visiting Alex and his family. Then his thoughts returned to Paula and Greg Oliver, his insatiable parents who never thought anything was good enough. The parents who objected to him going to Harvard - "Why don't you go to Columbia with your brother?" - him becoming a neurosurgeon - "If you want to go into medicine, why don't you follow in my footsteps and become a cardiologist?" - starting a clinic in Dallas - "Why would you open a clinic almost 200 miles away? Austin could use you, and you'd be able to see us more." The one thing Reid was proud of his parents for was that they didn't even bat an eyelash when he told them he was gay. His mother, however, did try to set him up with every other gay man she ever met.

He pulled the rental car into the driveway of the large Austin mansion that had been his home for about six years. He heard his mother yell at his nephew to stop playing with his dinner and his nieces to 'shut up and stop fighting like children'.

"Home sweet home," he mumbled, walking up to the door and ringing the bell.

Sorry for OD-ing on the italics but I want a lot of memories, we don't know much about Reid's life in Dallas or Massachusetts. I know I promised you'd meet Paula and Greg but hey, slight introductions are okay for now, right? Sorry for making them so horrible but I was listening to my iPod a few nights ago and the song 'Perfect' by Simple Plan came on and it inspired me. If you don't know, the song is about how the father used to be the guy's hero but he disapproves of everything the son does and the son's apologizing for not being the father's idea of perfect. I'm so glad we're seeing more of Reid tomorrow, this Dusty-Janet-Blackie Craig-Lucinda-Lily CarJack Avalon castle storyline bored me to tears. Can Janet please just give birth already? I feel like this pregnancy has lasted years.