Part 8
Reid felt the warm body pressing against his back and grinned widely.
"Luke," he exhaled in relief. Reid's hands found Luke's and rested on top of them.
Luke's breath hit his neck, and Reid couldn't stand it. He had to see his boyfriend face to face.
Moving slowly, he tried to turn in the bed to watch Luke sleep. The IV in his arm began to tug at his
skin, and he stopped moving before he yanked it out.
He lay back against the pillow. No matter how much he wanted to see Luke, he couldn't risk pulling out his IV.
Reid pressed the call button for a nurse.
Nurse Smith entered the room within seconds. She'd been standing outside, waiting for Reid to wake up.
"It's good to see you conscious, Reid." she said quietly. "What do you need?"
Reid really hated being so dependent on her, but it couldn't be helped.
"I can't quite manage turning to see Luke without yanking out the damn IV." he said. "Could you -"
Nurse Smith was at his bedside before he could complete the sentence.
"Well, it's time to change your IV. How about I take it out long enough for you to turn around?"
"That would be great." he answered. "For a second, I thought you were going to offer to move me, and no offense, but I am really tired of being led around like a child. It's humiliating. I can only what the nurses are saying. The arrogant bastard Dr. Oliver has pnuemonia and gets weak when he tries to move." He chuckled bitterly.
"No offense, but you would have created that situation." she said smoothly, as she removed his IV. "But most of the nurses are really worried about you, Reid. No one likes it when one of their own gets sick.
Okay, are you ready?"
"Yeah." Reid said.
He squirmed in the bed, until he was face to face with Luke.
"You were out sixteen hours, in case you were wondering." Nurse Smith said briskly.
He wasn't. His thumb cupped Luke's cheek. His breath came out slowly, as he gazed at Luke's eyelids.
"Medical update later, Luke now." he murmured.
"It's my job, Reid. I'm not even supposed to let Luke in your bed, but I am. You would have my ass if I weren't thorough." She changed his IV. He hardly felt the pinprick of the needle; he was too absorbed in watching Luke.
Reid frowned, but knew she was right.
"Out with it, Nurse Smith. What's my status?"
"We've been treating you with the strongest antibiotics we have for pneumonia. Your blood work looks good, but you'll need to be in the hospital for at least a week to make sure the antibiotics do their job."
"I want to go home," Reid interrupted. "If it's standard pneumonia, I can go home."
"Absolutely not, Reid. Your immune system is weakened due to your body's fatigue. You're not going anywhere until we take care of the pneumonia. Got it?" She crossed her arms and awaited his response.
"Fine." he said, looking back at Luke. "Whatever you think is best." He shouldn't be shocked at her competence, but he was. Apparently I underestimated the nurses. he thought to himself.
Nurse Smith smirked to herself. She began to leave the room.
"Nurse Smith," Reid called out.
"Yes, Reid?"
"When I'm back on my feet, I want you as my scrub nurse. It's obvious you're talented and committed, and I need that kind of skill in my OR." He began to play with Luke's hair idly.
Nurse Smith's mouth fell open in a small O. She hadn't expected that at all.
"I'd be glad to be your scrub nurse, Dr. Oliver." She exited the room, bemused at how the pneumonia had revealed Dr. Oliver's humanity.
Reid sighed softly, and brought his hand off Luke's hair to once again rest on his cheek.
"I need to get out of this fucking hospital and get better, Luke. Promoting Nurse Smith to my scrub nurse? Ridiculous."
Luke's mouth turned upward in a smile, and he opened his eyes to look at Reid.
"Hey," he said sleepily. "How ya feeling?"
"Hey yourself," Reid replied, watching Luke's eyes grow more aware. He couldn't help himself, and bent slightly to kiss Luke's forehead.
"I missed you," Reid mumbled, drawing back to meet Luke's eyes.
Luke's body shook with repressed laughter.
"I missed you too," he said sincerely. "You have no idea how much." He brought his hand to cover Reid's hand and squeezed tightly.
Reid clenched his jaw and stared, transfixed, into Luke's glimmering eyes. Though he was in no position to do anything about it, he felt a surge of desire for Luke which shot through him like lightning.
"I love it when you look at me like that," Luke confessed, his grin wide and open. "You make me feel like -"
"Like what?" Reid asked huskily. This time, answer me. Please give me a real answer. "Feel like what?"
"Like I'm most the cherished person in your world. When you look at me like that, I feel - loved."
Reid, to his embarrassment, felt tears well up in his throat.
"You are loved," he said, clenching Luke's other cheek with his right hand. "You are so loved, Luke."
Luke's eyes darkened with desire, and he edged even closer, his chest brushing against Reid's.
"Reid," he said softly. "I'm gonna kiss you now."
"Okay," Reid said.
Luke kissed Reid, a slow, tender kiss which deepened when Reid snuck his tongue into Luke's mouth.
Reid trailed his hand along Luke's torso, and let it linger there for a moment.
Luke pulled away, looking at Reid with faint consternation.
"Reid," he said, panting slightly. "We can't-"
"I know," Reid said, also out of breath. "I actually can't breathe right now, which is seriously frustrating."
Luke laughed, and moved his hands to hold Reid's shoulders. Reid drew in air, slowly. He rested his head next to Luke, their noses millimeters apart.
"So how did you find me?" he asked.
"You called me, you idiot." Luke said affectionately. "I found you in the break room, and got you admitted. You were babbling a lot." He caressed Reid's shoulders slowly.
"I remember," Reid answered. "But not much. I was so out of it. I didn't say anything incriminating, did I?"
Luke furrowed his brow, remembering chewing out Chris Hughes for endangering Reid's life. He decided now wasn't the time to share exactly what Reid had said. He just wanted to bask in his conscious lover.
"You said some interesting stuff," he said finally. "But don't worry. I defended your honor."
Reid blinked at the bizarreness of that statement, and laughed heartily.
"I wish I could have seen that, Luke. I bet you were brilliant."
Reid also didn't feel up to hashing out the whole Doogie situation. A yawn escaped his mouth.
"Damn it," he said. "I hate being sick."
"Just go back to sleep, Reid. I need to let my parents know what's going on. I'll stay with you until you fall asleep, okay?"
"Right." Reid said. He had a sudden flash of a back massage, and a promise Luke had made. "Because you're not leaving me again."
All merriment vanished from Luke, to be replaced by seriousness.
"You're god damned right."