Chapter 21: The Big Emergency
Reid could not remember ever being so miserable in the operating room. He had always found operating on the brain to be calming, enthralling. The delicate tissue, the intricate gray folds, the precarious nerve connections - he loved all of it, and prior to arriving in Oakdale, he never felt more at home, than in the operating room. The challenge alone was generally enough to keep him on his toes, intellectually and emotionally engaged throughout. But today was different.
Part of the problem, of course, was that he was doing a spinal disc herniation. He had assisted on several dozen during his residency and had done a large handful over the years as needed, but he found them unequivocally boring. The condition surgery was as routine as its underlying condition. It took every ounce of Reid's concentration to avoid switching into autopilot.
Ironically, Reid was glad for the simplicity of the procedure for if ever he was not at the top of his game, this was the day. For perhaps the first time, he wasn't sure he had the mental energy to deal with a more complicated one. Luckily, there were no complications, so Reid found himself back in the locker room, changing into his street clothes shortly before noon. He had never been so desperate to get away from work.
As soon as he got into his car, he picked up his cell phone and punched the speed dial entry.
Four rings later, a familiar voice picked up, "Hello?"
"Katie," said Reid, "I need to see you."
"Reid?" came Katie's concerned voice.
"Yeah, it's me," said Reid.
"You didn't pop another button, did you? I thought I was clear where I stood on doing your mending..." said Katie.
"I didn't pop a damn button Katie," said Reid impatiently. "I'm serious, Katie, I need to see you. Now."
"Is it a matter of life or death?" asked Katie in surprise.
"No," admitted Reid.
"Then it'll have to wait," said Katie. "I'm taping this afternoon, Reid. I can't just drop everything and come at your beck and call."
"Katie, it's important!"
"So's my job! Remember, job, money; money, way to feed Jacob?"
"Katie, please?" Reid asked.
"Please? You really are serious," said Katie. "Fine. If it's that important, come to WOAK. You can catch me up during commercial breaks and we can talk afterward. But you better hurry, I have to be in the studio by 2pm, so I need to be in makeup and wardrobe in about 45 minutes. See you soon."
"On my way," said Reid. He sighed as he hung up, then started the car, pointing it in the direction of WOAK.
Luke and Tessa stopped at the student center for breakfast, waving to Trevor as they entered. Trevor had been sitting alone, re-reading his assignment and couldn't help noticing the distinct combination of happy smiles, intimate chatter, and bleary eyes. His mood didn't improve after they exchanged weekend stories and Luke and Tessa mentioned their Sunday adventures at the mall. Tessa had agreed not to discuss her internet research, and as so much of their subsequent evening discussions were centered around Luke's life in Oakdale, they'd decided it would be better not to talk much about their evening lest they inadvertently open a can of worms.
Luke was in good spirits, as throughout the morning he surreptitiously pulled out his new phone and entertained himself with the photos on his new phone. Having finished his assignment well in advance, Luke actually volunteered his piece for discussion, blushing slightly when all eyes turned to him in surprise. For the first time, Luke actually found himself enjoying the discussion, and he elaborated with some detail in response to queries, a sharp contrast to his previous tersely mumbled replies.
After class, Alex stopped him briefly – both to voice his pleasant surprise at Luke's participation in class, and also to issue a friendly warning about cell phone use in class.
As Luke and his friends made their way back towards the cottages, Luke fought to stifle a yawn and Tessa openly lamented the need for a serious afternoon nap. They parted ways when the path split, and Luke made his way back to his cottage alone. Using the mini-microwave, he heated up a slice of leftover pizza for lunch, toying with his new chess app while he ate.
Spying the pile of towels on the floor, Luke remembered the morning's events, and that he owed Noah a phone call, but he found himself too tired to move. He tumbled on the bed, pulled Reid's shirt out from under his pillow and fell into a peaceful, contented sleep.
Fifteen minutes later, Reid pulled into the parking lot at WOAK and made his way into the lobby. Reid had been to WOAK only once previously — for the surgical wing announcement. At the time, he had been a guest of Kim and Katie's and they had all entered through an employee entrance. Now, he was annoyed to find there was a locked door in the building lobby and an overly self-important uniformed security guard stationed behind the large reception desk.
"I need to see Katie Snyder," Reid announced.
"And you are Mr..." the guard droned.
"Doctor," Reid corrected. "Dr Reid Oliver."
"Okay, sure you are," the guard said. Pointing at the log book, he grunted, "Sign in."
"She's expecting me," said Reid impatiently, scrawling his name into the book.
"Sure she is," the guard replied, glancing at the log entry.
"Would you just let me in already?" Reid insisted.
"Look, do you know how many YAHOO fans come by looking for Ms Snyder?" the guard asked, placing extra emphasis on the word "yahoo." "I've met her alleged butcher, nanny, hairdresser, and Aunt Betty. Five people tried to pass themselves off as her husband while she was married to Mr Snyder and he was on the show with her. You're the second doctor this month, though the other one said he was her podiatrist. You're not getting in until Ms Snyder says so."
Reid was aware that Katie was TV personality, but they rarely talked about their work, and had even more rarely discussed the details of their professional lives. It hadn't occurred to him that Katie not only had a fanbase, but a potentially rabid and irrational one.
"Just let MS Snyder know that I'm here," Reid demanded.
The guard reluctantly picked up the phone list and scanned for Katie's number. Then he dialed her extension and waited as the phone rang. Reid wondered if he were swimming in molasses, his movements seemed so slow. Reid stared expectantly as the guard stared at the ceiling.
"Yeah, um, Ms Snyder," he said into the phone.
"Finally!" thought Reid.
"It's Rudy at the front desk. I have a Mr Um..." Reid scowled at the top of the guard's head as he tried to decipher Reid's illegible handwriting. '...Orwell here to see you, Thanks." And before Reid could correct him, he hung up.
"It's Oliver, you idiot. DOCTOR Oliver." Reid said through gritted teeth.
"It could be Queen Elizabeth, for all it matters," replied the guard smugly. "I got her voicemail."
"Damn it, Katie," Reid muttered under his breath. He sat down on one of the lobby couches and shuffled the magazines on the coffee table. Central Illinois Life. People. O. Redbook. Business Week. His shuffling revealed a copy of Cosmopolitan at the bottom of the pile. The headline leapt off the page: He's having an affair! Foolproof signs to know for sure. Noticing the guard's watchful eye, he fought the urge to sneak a peek and tossed the Business Week over the offending magazine, before picking up copy of GQ. He knew Luke occasionally indulged in a copy, but had never really asked what he liked about it.
After leafing through page after page of attractive and well-dressed young men, the copy of GQ followed the Business Week, unceremoniously discarded on the table. Reid got up from his seat and began pacing. The minutes passed slowly before a young Asian woman wearing a wireless headset and carrying a clipboard poked her nose through the locked door.
"Dr Oliver?" she asked.
"Yeah," Reid replied.
"I'm Ms Snyder's assistant. She asked me to come walk you back to her dressing room," she said
Reid nodded thankfully and made his way to the door, turning back to give the guard a searing glare before continuing after the young woman.
"Hi," she said extending her hand, "I'm Thien, but you can call me Tina – no one can actually spell or say my real name right."
Reid grunted acknowledgment and quickly shook the hand in front of him.
"Katie's told me so much about you, Dr Oliver," she continued. "It's so nice to finally get a chance to meet you!"
Reid swallowed uncomfortably, wondering just what and how much Katie had told Tina. He curtly nodded again.
"These are the editing suites we're passing right now," she explained. "And down that hall are the stairs to the basement where we have over 50 years of archival footage stored in temperature controlled vaults."
The building seemed like an endless maze. When they'd entered through the employee entrance, it had only been a few dozen feet to the studio where Oakdale Now was filmed.
"Down that hallway is the Oakdale Now set and this way is the news set," Tina continued. They walked past a room full of clothes racks. "That's our wardrobe department. They can outfit anyone from Madonna to Henry the VIIIth in a few hours with the costumes they've collected over the years."
Reid finally couldn't contain himself any longer. "Exactly how much further is it?"
"Don't worry Dr Oliver," Tina said smiling warmly. "We're almost there. Just past the cafeteria, and props...and here we are. This is Ms Snyder's dressing room. She's expecting you." Tina stopped in front of an unassuming blue door. Katie's name was stenciled on the door, and next to it was taped a picture of Katie and Jacob.
Tina knocked on the door and cautiously peeked in. "Katie? Dr Oliver is here."
Katie nodded to her, and Tina pushed the door open for Reid to enter. Tina glanced at her watch. "You have about 20 minutes. I'll come back to get you for makeup." And with that, she left the two of them alone.
Katie stood up to give Reid a hug. "Reid, what's wrong. Are you okay? Is Luke okay?"
"We're fine. It's nothing like that," Reid said.
"Then what's the big emergency?" Katie asked, still concerned.
Reid stopped short and began to feel foolish. "Noah called."
"Noah called? THAT'S the emergency?" Katie exclaimed. "You bonehead! I've been worrying my head off since you called wondering what's wrong. What the hell is wrong with you?"
"You're right, Katie. I didn't mean to scare you," Reid felt a momentary pang of guilt as he meekly said, "Sorry."
"Aw. Reid. You do care," smiled Katie. But then noticing the bags under his eyes, she added, "Maybe you'd better sit down. You want to tell me the whole story?" Then she glanced at her watch. "You have about five minutes."
"Thanks," Reid said sarcastically.
"Reid..." Katie said with the tone she usually reserved for Jacob when he refused to eat his mushed peas.
"Well, you know how late we were imprisoned at Tom and Margo's last night?" Reid began.
Katie raised her eyebrow in warning.
Reid corrected himself, "You know how we were all enjoying ourselves at Tom and Margo's wonderful shindig yesterday evening?"
"Better," Katie said smiling. Reid scowled.
"Well, I didn't get home until nearly midnight, and when I got home, there was a message on the voicemail. From Noah."
"And? What'd he say?"
"He asked Luke to call him, and said it was important."
"That's it?" Katie asked.
"Well, there's more. Since it was so late last night, I waited until this morning to call Luke."
"So?"
"So I called him this morning at 6.45am."
"You called Luke at 6.45am in the morning? Are you insane, or just cruel?"
"I had to leave by seven to sub for that idiot Hendrickson," Reid said matter-of-factly. "I thought about calling him at six, but I waited."
"How thoughtful of you," said Katie. "You couldn't wait until after surgery?"
Reid rationalized: "Noah said it was important."
Katie raised a skeptical eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"And I didn't get a chance to talk to Luke all day yesterday," Reid reluctantly replied, "So I kinda wanted to hear his reaction. Um voice."
Katie nodded and smiled, more convinced by the amended version of events.
"So I tried his cell phone, but it didn't pick up. Then I remembered that he said his cell phone died."
"Oh yeah, Luke just sent me an email about that," Katie noted.
"Luke sent you an email about his phone?" Reid asked in surprise.
"Stay on topic, Reid," reminded Katie, pointing at her watch. "You're running out of time."
"Right, so I called him in his cottage and a girl answered. At 6.45 in the morning," Reid said.
"A girl?" asked Katie, "As in a female under the age of 18?"
"No, a girl, as in someone who shouldn't be in Luke's room at 6.45 in the morning!"
Katie frowned and was about to tell him off, but seeing the upset look on Reid's face, she decided to hold off on the feminist lecture. "She was probably just picking him up for class or something."
"At 6.45 in the morning?" Reid squeaked. "She said Luke was in the shower!"
A soft knock sounded from the door and Tina peeked in. "Sorry to interrupt, Ms Snyder. But 15 minutes to air. You're due in makeup for a final check."
"Thanks, Tina" Katie replied. "I'll be right there."
"Reid!" Katie said, trying to get his attention. "You do know that Luke is gay, don't you?"
"Very funny. It's been two weeks. I'm starting to forget."
"Reid, you're being ridiculous. Luke loves you."
"Easy for you to say."
"No, it's not — do you think you're easy to love?"
"Thanks a lot," Reid grumbled sarcastically.
"Look Reid, I've got to go. You're welcome to stay in here and wait, or Tina has a visitor pass for you and you can watch from backstage. I'll try to sneak out during the breaks, but really, Reid. Get a grip. You have nothing to worry about."
Intellectually, Reid agreed with her, but he couldn't explain the butterflies in his stomach, or the odd constriction he felt in his chest. Intellect won. "No, Katie. Go ahead, do your job. We can talk when you're done. I think I'll survive." He managed a weak smile.
"That's my boy," Katie smiled warmly, patted him on the back, and turned to leave.
"Hey, Katie?" Reid quietly called out. Katie turned back to face him, tilting her head questioningly.
"Thanks."