A month later, Luke was sitting on the couch in his mother's house where he unfortunately still lived, although when no one else was there like this morning, he liked it very much. He was looking at a flyer for the new Snyder Neurology Wing that was finally opening after months of dedicated work and long hours from himself and Reid.
He put down the flyer on the coffee table and went into the kitchen to make breakfast. Just as he came back out with food twenty minutes later and sat back down on the couch, Reid appeared in the doorway that led from upstairs, wearing only a pair of Luke's sweat pants and staring at the younger man with so much love Luke was sure that it was the food which held so much rapture for the doctor.
"Have I mentioned how much I love you?" Reid said, sitting down on the couch and immediately putting a huge forkful of scrambled eggs in his mouth.
"Not since last night," Luke said, kissing Reid's cheek and taking his own forkful of eggs.
When they had finished eating, they sat back on the couch to watch the morning news, Luke leaning against Reid, his head on the doctor's shoulder, and Reid's arm around the blonde.
An hour later, Luke switched off the TV, clearly ready to start his day, but said, "I don't want to move."
"So don't," Reid said, kissing the top of his head.
"No. We have to get ready. We have the opening of the wing. It's like our child. We have to be there. Plus they're announcing whether you or Chris got the Chief-of-Staff job. C'mon," Luke said, disentangling himself from Reid and gently smacking him on the leg to get him to move.
"Fine. But I'm only doing this for you."
"No you're not. You want to be there," Luke said.
"C'mon," Luke said, grabbing Reid's hand and pulling him off the couch. "Go upstairs, get your stuff, go home, and get ready. I'll meet you at the hospital in a couple hours."
Reid gave Luke a look of deepest resignation and went upstairs. He came back in ten minutes, wearing his own clothes and his jacket draped over his arm.
"I could shower here and wear something of yours," Reid said seductively, but walking to the door nevertheless.
"No!" Luke protested, but smiled. "Go back to your apartment. I'll see you later." He kissed Reid briefly and pushed him out the door.
An hour later, Luke walked into the new Neurology wing and spotted Reid, looking gorgeous as ever, dressed in a pair of black jeans and his favorite button-down, burgundy colored shirt, amongst all the board members and people there to celebrate the opening of the wing. Despite it being like a second home to him, Reid looked oddly out of place; perhaps it was because he wasn't in his scrubs or lab coat.
"Hi," Luke said, walking over and kissing Reid. "You look wonderful."
"So do you," Reid said, smiling.
"Are Chris and Katie here yet?" Luke asked.
"No. Doogie's probably trying to convince Katie to have engagement sex," Reid said.
"What? They're engaged?" Luke asked.
"Yeah. I heard her squeal a 'yes' as I was leaving yesterday," Reid said, clearly appalled at the silliness of women.
"That's great. So Chris is feeling better? No more worry about rejection?"
"No. He's past the stage of rejection now. She gave a good answer," Reid said.
Luke laughed. "I meant his heart."
"Oh! No, as long as he keeps taking his pills, he should be alright."
Just then Bob walked in, followed by Chris and Katie, who waved at Reid from across the room.
"Excuse me, everybody, can I have your attention?" Bob said. The room quieted so that a pin could be heard if dropped. "I want to thank you all for coming today for the opening of the new Snyder Neurology Wing. We are very proud of it, having been designed exclusively by our top neurosurgeon Doctor Oliver. It is our hope and our goal that this wing continues to be the best of its kind in the Midwest and that it helps to save countless lives. It is a real honor to be able to present you all with this new, wonderful gift that has been given to us.
"Before we officially christen the wing, however, there is one matter of business that needs to be attended to. Seeing as how I am retiring this weekend, it is imperative that there be a replacement for me as Chief-of-Staff." Reid, Luke, Katie, and Chris all collectively stiffened. "I was informed this morning by the President of the Board of Trustees as to whether my son Christopher Hughes or Doctor Reid Oliver has been chosen. It is now my pleasure to announce that Doctor Oliver is the new Chief-of-Staff."
Luke beamed and hugged Reid who looked flabbergasted but pleased nonetheless; Katie was smiling because she was happy for her friend and Chris looked unfazed, almost relieved that he didn't get the job.
"Doctor Oliver, would you like to say something?" Bob asked.
Reid moved to stand next to Bob and said, "I'm completely honored that you chose me as your next Chief-of-Staff. I will do everything in my power to make sure that Memorial is run properly and in a way that respects how Doctor Hughes has run it all these years. I will make sure that only the best doctors are hired and that the patients get the best care possible. I also look forward to running the new Neuro wing to be the best that it can be. Thank you," Reid said and he walked back to Luke who squeezed his hand.
"It is now my pleasure to declare the Snyder Neurological Wing official open," Bob said, cutting the ribbon.
Everyone clapped and the crowd dispersed.
"I'm so happy for you," Luke said, grinning ear to ear. He kissed Reid and stopped only when someone cleared their throat. It was Katie.
"Reid, I'm happy for you, too," and she hugged him.
"What about your fiancé?" Reid asked.
"Eh, he didn't want it anyway," Katie said, as Chris walked over to them.
"Congratulations, Reid," Chris said, extending his hand.
"Thank you," Reid said, returning the gesture.
"Let's go home and celebrate," Katie said, leading the three men out of the hospital.
Ten minutes later, the four walked into the apartment that Katie shared with Reid. Chris, still recovering from his transplant, sat down on the couch, Katie next to him. Reid brought over two kitchen chairs for himself and Luke and poured them all sparkling cider. After a few glasses, Katie sighed and said, "I'm really going to miss it here."
"What do you mean?" Reid asked.
"Now that Casey moved to Carbondale with Alison, Tom and Margo found a smaller place to live and they offered me and Chris to move into their house when we told them we're engaged. We said yes. We already moved most of my stuff."
"You're moving out?" Reid said, true sadness in his voice.
"Holy co-dependency. You don't want me to leave," Katie said, repeating words Reid had once said to her long ago. "That's adorable."
Reid opened his mouth to speak but closed it without saying anything.
"That's wonderful, Katie. Congratulations," Luke said, getting up and hugging her.
"Yeah. Congratulations," Reid said, also standing up and hugging his friend.
"A few more trips tonight and Jacob and I should be gone," Katie said, standing up and walking around the apartment to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything.
"Where is Jacob?" Luke asked.
"He's at the farm with Emma."
"Right. Do you want help?" Reid asked.
"Now you're trying to get rid of me?"
"No. I just wanted to know if you wanted help since Chris shouldn't be doing any heavy lifting yet," Reid said, offended.
"That would be lovely," Katie said, hugging Reid again.
Two hours and five trips later, all of Katie's and Jacob's things were moved into Tom and Margo's old house. Chris, Katie, Reid, and Luke were all standing outside the apartment door, Reid and Katie both putting off goodbye.
"Don't cry, Katie," Reid said. "It's a small town. We'll see each other every day."
Katie nodded but a tear escaped.
"I'm going to miss you, Reid. Terrible eating habits and three a.m. yoga chants and all."
"I'll miss you, too, Goldilocks. You and the rotten kid." Katie gave a watery chuckle and gave Reid a huge bear hug.
After what seemed like an hour to Reid, Katie released him, took Chris' hand, and left.
Reid and Luke watched them go and then Reid opened the door. He stood staring at the half-empty apartment and then sat down on the couch.
"Are you okay?" Luke asked, sitting down next to him. Reid wrapped his arm around Luke again.
"Yeah. A goodnight sleep and I'll be fine." But Luke wasn't quite convinced.
"Do you want me to stay?" Luke asked.
"Yes." Reid said with more vigor than was warranted.
"Okay," Luke said and kicked off his shoes.
"No," Reid said.
"Hmm? You just said you wanted me to stay," Luke said, confused.
"I do. But that's not what I meant."
"I don't understand," Luke said, looking at Reid.
"I want you to stay permanently."
Luke looked at him, wide-eyed.
"Move in here with me. You said you wanted to get out of your mom's place. And Katie's gone. Why not?" It was a Reid answer, but an earnest one.
"Are you sure?" Luke asked.
"Absolutely. I love you, Luke. I want you with me always. Move in with me."
"Yes. Of course!" Luke said enthusiastically, a huge grin on his face.
Reid smiled and pounced on Luke for the first of many nights of their life together in their new apartment.