The next morning the boys woke up happy, if a little sore. They smiled at each other and Luke suggested that they have a shower before they went downstairs to breakfast. Reid was happy to comply, despite the fact that he was starving.
After their shower the boys got dressed and then headed downstairs for breakfast. They had decided to eat at the hotel restaurant mainly for convenience. The two men still needed to pack up their belongings and checkout before heading back to Oakdale.
When their breakfasts arrived, a huge amount of food for Reid and a reasonable amount of food for Luke, it suddenly hit Reid that they were heading home today. Reid began to worry. He had enjoyed his time away with Luke soooo much and he was unsure what was going to happen to them when they returned to Oakdale. He began to lose his appetite. He kept eating because he didn't really want Luke to start peppering him with questions that he wasn't sure he wanted to answer. So he ate most but not all of his breakfast.
Luke noticed that Reid was not eating with as much enthusiasm as he normally did. He was surprised when he realized that Reid left some of his food untouched.
"What's wrong Reid?" Luke asked as he always wanted to share his feelings.
"Nothing!" Reid snapped back. How the hell does he know that something is bothering me? Christ I ate way more food than he did. Reid sighed to himself, this is going to be a very long day. I hope I don't screw this thing, whatever it is, up.
Luke decided not to press Reid, he could tell that something was definitely up, but he left it alone hoping that Reid would snap out of his clearly foul mood.
After breakfast the two men went upstairs to pack. They didn't have that much stuff with them so the packing went fairly quickly. Luke stripped the bed and added the sheets to the other dirty sheets and packed them with the rest of his dirty clothes. Once they had all of their things packed, Reid double checked the suite for any forgotten items. Satisfied that they had packed everything, the boys left the room.
"I'm going to miss this suite." Luke said with a wistful smile on his face.
"You are such a sap, Luke!" Reid retorted, although secretly he was going to miss the suite as well.
"I've had a great time with you and I'm going to miss it. So sue me?" Luke replied somewhat defensively.
Reid just snorted.
Reid checked them out and had the valet bring his car arond to the front door. They filled the trunk with their luggage and headed back to Oakdale.
As Reid drove them back to Oakdale his worry increased. He desperately wanted Luke to talk to him and reassure him that their relationship would continue, but of course he didn't want to start the conversation. He kept hoping that Luke would magically figure out what was bothering Reid and manage to soothe his fears. Instead Luke just sat in the passenger side reading his bloody book as Reid became more and more stressed.
Luke could tell that Reid was in a very bad mood so he had planned ahead and brought a book with him so that he would be able to entertain himself without disturbing Reid. He was grateful that he was able to read in cars without getting sick.
After stewing for an hour while Luke calmly read his book, Reid couldn't take the heavy silence anymore.
"So how is your book, Luke?" Reid questioned.
"It's good" Luke replied.
"So, what's it about?" Reid asked inanely, really he could care less about what Luke was reading he just wanted to hear the blonde's voice.
"It's a thriller with a serial killer on the loose and the FBI trying to catch him before he kills again." Luke replied patiently. Why was Reid asking about his book, he wondered.
"Are you enjoying it?" Reid continued hoping that Luke would take the hint and put his book away and just talk to him.
"Yeah, I mean it's not exactly challenging, but it is a good read." Luke replied getting exasperated with all of the questions.
"So, have you read any other books by that author?" Reid continued. God Luke get a clue he silently pleaded.
"No, this is the first one, but I might try some of his other books if I am happy with the whole book. Why are you asking me all of these questions? Are you looking for a book recommendation? I've never seen you read anything that wasn't a related to medicine." Luke responded.
Reid sighed, god Luke was dense. "No, I just wanted to talk to you." Reid replied quietly, feeling like an idiot.
"Oh, okay well is there anything you want to talk about in particular?" Luke asked gently knowing how hard it was for Reid to admit that.
"Yeah, tell me what you like best about running the foundation." Reid replied, happy now that Luke was talking to him.
So Luke talked about the foundation. He talked about how much he liked being able to help people. How having his position allowed him to really make a difference in people's lives. He went on for quite awhile and then asked if he was boring Reid.
"You're not boring me at all, Luke. I love hearing the passion in your voice when you talk about your work. You have such a big heart, it always surprises me how truly generous you are, not just with your money but also with your time." Reid replied. "Is there anything else that you would like to do with your life?"
"Well, I wanted to be a writer for a long time, but I really haven't had much time for that lately. If I had the time I think that I would really like to get back to writing." Luke replied.
"You should make the time, Luke if it's something that you are really interested in. I am sure that you are an excellent writer." Reid encouraged Luke.
"What makes you say that, you've never read anything that I've written?" Luke questioned.
"It's just who you are Luke. If you weren't good at it you wouldn't waste your time writing. The fact that you want to devote time to it tells me that you are good at it. I would love to read something that you have written if you are comfortable with that. Then I can have solid proof that I am correct in my assessment." Reid smiled.
"If I start writing again I will think about you seeing it, but not my old stuff." Luke replied firmly.
"So tell me about running Grimaldi shipping Luke. Does running the company stimulate you or do you find it a burden?" Reid asked.
"To be honest with you, I hate it Reid. I feel woefully under qualified for my position and I am not really interested in improving my skill set for it. I'm sure that sounds terrible, but really I don't think that I am cut out to be a business man." Luke replied.
"How are you going to fix this situation, Luke?" Reid asked. "Life is too short to be stuck in a job that makes you miserable, especially when you are so passionate about other things."
"I think that you are right Reid. I will talk to my grandmother Lucinda when I get home and see what suggestions she has. She is an amazing business woman and I am sure that she can help me extricate myself from Grimaldi." Luke smiled at Reid. "Thanks Reid."
"For what?" Reid asked puzzled.
"Thanks for pointing out that I had a problem and helping me figure out how to fix it. You are pretty perceptive, you know." Luke answered.
"Well, I am a genius, you know." Reid smirked. "I'm glad that I was able to help you, Luke."
Just then Reid's GPS announced that he needed to take the next exit to get to Oakdale. As soon as he heard this his insides started to get tied up in knots.
"Well it sounds like we're almost home" Luke said with a sigh. "I'm going to miss waking up with you in the mornings."
"Me too" Reid barely whispered.
The two men contemplated the state of their relationship. They were both a little uneasy about their future. Things had been so easy in Chicago, but real life was abut to intrude on their bliss.
Luke finally broke the silence by saying, "well I guess we will have to be more creative in finding our alone time, now that we no longer have the suite to go to."
"I'm sure that we will be able to figure something out!" Although he wasn't entirely sure what that something would be.
"When will you find out about the medical review board?" Luke asked not wanting to let real life intrude but trying to support Reid.
"I will go to the hospital and see Bob after I drop you off." Reid replied with a sigh. "I'm not looking forward to it, but it has to be done."
"I'm really sorry about all this Reid. I feel responsible because of Noah." Luke stated
"Don't feel guilty, Luke. You are not responsible for Noah's actions. This is not your fault Luke." Reid stated emphatically.
"Thanks Reid. It means a lot to me that you don't blame me for Noah's actions. I won't really feel better until everything is resolved in your favour though." Luke admitted.
"I'm sure that it will all work out. I will let you know what Bob says after I talk to him, okay?" Reid asked.
"Great, hey do you want to have dinner with me tonight or are you sick of me yet?" Luke asked.
"I don't think that I'll ever be sick of you, Luke" Reid answered seriously, "and I'd love to have dinner with you."
Just then Reid pulled into Luke's driveway and parked his car. Both men got out of the car and Reid helped Luke bring his bags to the house.
"Thanks for taking me to Chicago, Reid! I had a great time." Luke said smiling broadly.
"The pleasure was all mine, Luke" Reid replied with a wink.
"Call me when you are done with Bob and we'll figure out where to go for dinner." Luke said and then leaned in to kiss Reid good bye.
"I will call you later." Reid replied with a smile and then they said good bye.
