Disclaimer: I do not own ATWT or its characters.
Summary: Luke hashes it out with Katie, while Noah experiences more frequent and painful flashbacks.
"This is where I met him," Katie reminisced.
Luke smiled. "I know."
"Jacob wouldn't stop crying, and I thought it was a godsend when I saw a doctor sitting over here. But he was such an ass!"
They both laughed. "It was a front," Luke reminded.
"I know. I kind of knew it then. He had this air of invincibility...," Katie paused, sadly realizing what she'd said. "Ironic, I guess. But there was just something about him - underneath the bravado. Like he was his own island... isolated."
"So you found the stray and took him home," Luke answered.
"I guess I did. One of the best decisions I ever made," she added, tearing up again.
Luke reached across the table to take her hand. "This is where I told him I loved him."
Katie's eyebrows raised in interest. "Really? What did he say? That he loved you back?"
Luke snickered. "Not exactly. I believe his exact words were, 'hold the phone'."
Katie giggled. "Oh my God. Ever the romantic!"
They shared a smile.
"Luke, if this is too personal, you don't have to tell me," Katie began. "But... did he ever get to say it back?"
Just like that, Luke was fighting back the tears. Those words had meant so much to him, but remembering them now brought more pain than anything else.
After a pause to gather himself, he responded. "Yes. Yes he did."
The moment was broken by the chime of Katie's mobile. Apologetically, she answered the call from Chris. Luke tried not to wince outwardly.
Wrapping up the call, Katie explained. "That was Chris. He got a babysitter for Jacob and wants to take me to dinner at the Lakeview later. He has to stop by the hospital first to check on some things; I think I'll go early and catch up with him there, so he doesn't stay too long on his day off. He's been so attentive this week, just making all this bearable."
Luke chastised himself. So Chris was an asshole and hated the man who had saved his life. But somehow, the guy was walking Katie through this hell. Knowing how much he'd been leaning on Noah, Luke couldn't begrudge her that support.
"I'm glad. You deserve to have someone take care of you." He admirably resisted the urge to tack on, someone better.
"Thanks," Katie said. "The service was beautiful, by the way. It was a wonderful tribute...," she broke off as Luke averted his eyes. "What? Oh, Luke, I'm sorry. I was upset, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you like that at the memorial-"
"It's all right; I understood."
"You deserve to have someone take care of you, too, you know - and I'm glad you do. I could see how Noah was helping you through the service," Katie continued.
Luke let out a small, strained sigh. You don't know the half of it, he thought, reminded of exactly how much Noah had helped with the service - and Luke hadn't.
Katie appeared thoughtful. "Look, you don't have to say anything. But I know you and Reid hadn't broken up."
Panicked, Luke shook his head while Katie continued.
"He would've said something to me. Or at least sounded 'off', and I would've grilled him 'til he spilled. Plus, news like that couldn't stay out of the Oakdale rumor mill for 24 hours, let alone over a week."
Scrambling, Luke lied. "I didn't tell anyone. I still cared about Reid - I didn't want to embarrass him by having people know I left him for Noah."
"Luke, just stop. I might believe it if it was just you lying. But Noah's a terrible liar. I could see it all over his face at the station. He was telling the truth when he said he didn't kill Reid, but he still looked guilty. And it took him a little too long to figure out how to say goodbye to you."
Shit, Luke thought. He wondered how many other people had figured it out if Katie had.
"I'm not going to say anything," Katie reassured. "But you guys need to get your act together if you want people to buy it." She slung her purse strap over her shoulder, and stood. "I have to go now. Luke - thank you for this."
Luke rose from his chair. "I'll walk you out. And Katie," he added. "Thank you, too."
Noah and Casey arrived at Java, but didn't see Luke and Katie. "He must be driving her home."
"I'll wait with you," Casey said.
"Case, you don't have to. You've done enough today."
"Yeah, do me a favor? Don't remind me," Casey answered in mock horror. "For my last above-and-beyond friend act of the day, I'll buy you a coffee."
Noah smirked. "Would you stop trying to date me?"
"... and, I'll probably spit in it. Or not. It's the wondering that'll get to you," Casey wagged a finger, then headed for the counter.
Smiling at his irrepressible friend, Noah took his usual seat since the table was vacant. He flipped open his phone to see if Luke had texted. As he awaited Casey's return, Noah was overcome with a sense of déjà vu.
Feeling on the cusp of a memory, Noah thought back to the last day he'd worked at Java - the day of the fire. He'd sat here on his break, checking his messages. Casey said he'd gotten a message from Reid's office.
Noah concentrated hard on retrieving that memory. Yes, he did recall getting that message, and returning the call to explain to the woman he no longer saw Dr. Oliver. Still, he as much as he tried to gain some recollection of learning about Reid's stunt or confronting the man, he couldn't.
His attempts to regain more from that day only garnered a series of disjointed flashbacks that Noah couldn't wrap his brain around. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the clash of nonsensical recollections. Some felt real, but it was like he was watching them for the first time.
Other memories that sprung forth he was all too familiar with, like finding Luke in Reid's arms. But sometimes the recollections seemed wrong somehow; like he was seeing recognizable events unfold in a jumbled way he wasn't sure was correct. The only commonality of the flashes was that both physically and mentally, each was painful.
"Noah!"
Noah opened his eyes to find both Casey and Luke standing over him. It took him a moment to shake off the swirling thoughts in his mind. He realized it was Luke who had spoken.
"Are you ok, man?"
Noah swallowed hard. He felt like he'd just awoken from an especially traumatic dream, only he'd been awake and the memories had been real. Or most of them had been, he thought.
Trying to mask his growing alarm that something was really wrong with his head, Noah answered Casey. "Yeah man, I'm cool. Just a headache."
Luke looked on with concern. "You've been getting a lot of headaches. I'm taking you back to Memorial to get checked out."
Noah objected, "It's fine, I'm just really tired. It's been a long week. Oh, thanks for the ride, Case."
Casey winked. "Anytime, Beyoncé. Enjoy your coffee. I'll call you guys tomorrow." He fist-bumped Noah and nodded at Luke before exiting Java.
"Beyoncé?"
"Long story." As Noah's head began to clear somewhat from the fog of confusion he'd just experienced, he noticed the coffee Casey had left for him, and took a sip, thinking he could use the caffeine shot.
"Noah, let's take that to go. I know it's late, and this may be the longest day in recorded history, but we really need to get you checked out."
"I said no! You can stop acting so concerned," Noah snapped.
"What?" Luke was completely thrown by Noah's attitude towards him. "I'm not acting - I'm your friend! I care about you!"
Noah was furious. "Oh, now that your boyfriend's dead, you want to be my friend. When he was alive you said we couldn't be friends, but now we can?"
Gobsmacked, Luke leaned close and fired back. "What is wrong with you? You get your sight back, and lose your memory?"
Just as Noah prepared to retort, Luke's words hit home. Pausing, Noah thought it through again, trying to correctly assemble the shards of his confusion. Finally, he spoke. "You didn't say we couldn't be friends... that was me."
Long past concerned with the way Noah was looking at him as though not quite sure who he was, Luke pulled the opposite chair close, and dropped down in it to sit. Placing a hand over Noah's, he asked softly, "all right. You don't remember the fire. What else don't you remember?"
Blinking at Luke, Noah suddenly burst out laughing, though it was a bizarre, pained sound.
"This isn't funny!" Luke's affront was more a knee-jerk reaction than anything else. He didn't think Noah was actually amused, so much as coming undone before his eyes.
Noah quieted. "I know. But how can I tell you what I don't remember?"
Luke sighed. "Why didn't you tell me you were having memory problems?"
"I don't know. It wasn't this bad at first. I was only missing part of that day...," Noah answered. "But today - I don't know. Stuff I do remember is getting mixed up in my head. I don't know how to explain it."
"That's why we're going to Memorial right now."
"No, Luke," Noah pleaded. "Not tonight. I'm too tired, and they'll have me up half the night running tests." As Luke shook his head to object, Noah implored, "Please. I'm so tired. Please - I just wanna go home and sleep."
"Noah, something could be really wrong with you!" Luke tried to control his panic, but it seeped through his voice.
Wanting to reassure, Noah promised, "tomorrow. I swear. Just not now. Let me do this my way..."
The two of them stood on the streets of New York. Noah pled with Luke to let him handle the Colonel...
"You have to let me do this my way... you have to trust me. I won't let anything happen to me, okay? I love you too much..."
Shaking himself from the flashback, Noah stared at Luke. He tried to discern if that memory was real - yes.
The realization Noah had gone somewhere else for a moment did nothing to assuage Luke's concern, but his ex did looked completely drained. "All right. But tomorrow morning, we go to Memorial."
Noah's troubled face relaxed into relief. "Thanks. I know I'll feel better if I can just catch up on my sleep."
Luke seriously doubted that, but nodded in agreement, hoping it was true. They drank their coffees with an unsettled air between them, each man feeling suspended on the edge of dread, but neither understanding entirely why. When they had both drained their mugs, Luke stood for them to leave, and noticed a cell phone under the table.
Holding it up, Luke told Noah, "This must've fallen out of Katie's purse. We can drop it off on our way home."
Noah shook his head in agreement, and they headed out of Java together.
Since Noah's headache was still in full force, he chose not to accompany Luke into the Lakeview, hoping Luke might get in and out faster knowing Noah was waiting outside. As Luke made his way inside, he spied Katie and Chris in the lobby, deep in conversation. While he wanted to just give her the phone and go, their discussion seemed rather intense, so he hung back awaiting a less awkward moment to intrude.
"You can't tell anyone!"
Though he hadn't been purposely eavesdropping, Luke couldn't help that his ears perked up at the desperation in Chris' voice. Realizing he hadn't been spotted, he took cover behind a large decorative plant, despite understanding he must look ridiculous to anyone who could see him.
"Chris, I can't lie to Margo!"
Luke knew immediately his decision to listen in had been the right one.
"Katie... baby... you don't need to lie," Chris said, his voice dropping into a sickeningly sweet impersonation of someone who actually gave a damn. "You just don't need to volunteer information that's irrelevant."
"If Margo asks me-"
"If Margo questions you again, you tell her everything you know about Reid. What you saw at the hospital today has nothing to do with that!"
"Chris, you were coming out of his office! The police sealed that off for a reason. If Margo finds out that I knew and didn't tell her..."
"Katie, the only thing telling her will do is make me a suspect. Unless that's what you want to happen... do you think I hurt Reid?"
Luke was not only stunned by what he was hearing. He amazed they hadn't all seen through this jackass before now. Everything about Chris was fake - even the way he adopted a hurt tone in his voice to try and win Katie's cooperation. God, don't let her fall for it.
"No, don't even think that," Katie began. "But if we withhold information, it makes us look like we have something to hide. And we don't! Do we?"
"Of course not!"
"Then what were you doing in Reid's office?"
Chris sighed heavily; yet another affectation, Luke thought.
"When I first came back to Memorial, Reid and I had a disagreement about a patient. He didn't agree with my treatment plan, but I stood up to him, and fought for my patient! Long story short, I got my patient the care he needed, but I had to go behind Reid's back to do it. And since he's... he was... Chief of Staff now, that didn't exactly sit well with him."
"Well that I can imagine," Katie replied. "But I'm sure Reid was trying to help the patient, too!"
"He was," Chris quickly agreed, solely in an effort to placate Katie, Luke thought. "And I know everyone thought he was infallible, but Katie, this time he was wrong. My treatment plan gave the patient the best chance - and it worked! The man has made a full recovery; he's going to get to watch his kids grow up!"
Luke's stomach turned as Katie's face softened. He truly believed Chris had mentally checked every box under "Things to Get Katie on Board with My Lie" as he spun his cockamamie tale. The guy was full of shit; Luke was certain of it.
Though calmer, Katie still questioned her fiancée. "What did that have to do with you breaking into his office?"
Chris ran a hand over his face as if distressed. Luke didn't buy it for a second.
"I'm ashamed of myself, but I did it for us," Chris began. At a suspicious raise of Katie's eyebrow, Chris hurriedly went on. "As COS, Reid does my evaluations. I was scheduled to meet with him when he died. Whatever Reid wrote about me will go to the hospital board. They're gonna choose the new COS, and I was afraid that after doing an end-run around him to save a man's life, Reid could've written something in anger that will hurt my chances now."
Katie stared at Chris, and not particularly sympathetically, Luke discerned.
Chris must've sensed it, too. "Don't you see? This affects our whole future! I'm going to marry you, and I want to give you and Jacob the best of everything! Not just a nice apartment - a perfect house with miles of yard for Jacob to play in. When I'm your husband, neither of you should want for anything!"
"Chris, we don't want for anything; we have each other, and we have you!"
God bless Katie, mused Luke. She always sees good in someone whether it's there or not.
"But I want to take care of you both... save for Jacob's education for the best schools... plan for our golden years together... the whole enchilada! You two mean everything to me." Chris went in for the proverbial kill. "When Brad died, you both lost everything. Your husband, Jacob's father, and your sense of security; of knowing someone who loved you would always be there to take care of you both. I know I can't ever take his place, but I at least want to replace what I can... give you back some of what you lost. You deserve that."
By the end of Chris' speech, Luke could see Katie's eyes were filled both with tears, and love. Luke would've hated to admit it, but even he had started to fall for the guy's act, thinking maybe his actions could be out of love. Until Chris brought up Brad.
Something about the way he'd done it - for maximum possible impact - shook Luke. He was sure Chris was actually trying to use Katie's love for Brad and pain at his loss against her. What's worse, he was succeeding.
"All right," Katie finally said softly. "I don't approve of what you did, but if you put the evaluation back where you found it, I won't say anything to Margo. It wouldn't be fair since you did it for us. But from now on, you need to know you never have to go to such lengths for Jacob and me. We are happy and secure, and that's because of you. We don't need a fancy house or high-end lifestyle. We just need you to love us!"
"I do," Chris vowed. "So much, baby. You're my life." Chris concluded his triumph by pulling Katie in for a kiss. Luke reasoned it was good he was so near to the potted plant, since he might very likely need to vomit in it.
