When he wasn't working, Reid sat by Luke's side. Dark circles had begun to form beneath his eyes and Reid had lost 10 pounds due to lack of food. Everybody was starting to worry that he wasn't taking enough care of himself. Luke had woken up a couple of times but he had done a lot of damage to his body and he was weak as his body replenished his blood supply. On top of that, he was fighting a kidney infection. Unfortunately, Reid had been working each time Luke had opened his eyes and Luke was never awake long enough to learn that Reid had been keeping vigil over him for the past couple days.
On Saturday, Lily arrived at the hospital to visit Luke. When she opened the door, she found Reid asleep in a chair hunched over Luke's bed. Frowning, Lily went over and gently shook him. "Reid?" she said quietly. Reid moaned and sat up.
"Oh, Lily…hi," he said groggily.
"Reid, why don't you go home? Either you're working or you're here by Luke's side. It's not healthy," Lily suggested.
"No, no. I'm fine. I have to stay here in case he wakes up. I haven't had the chance to speak with him yet."
"Well will you at least go down to the cafeteria and grab something to eat? I will make sure somebody comes and finds you if Luke wakes up."
"I'm not hungry," Reid said stubbornly. Lily knelt down to Reid's level and placed her hands on his shoulders.
"Reid, you need to eat. You have bags under your eyes and you are starting to look too thin. You can't go on like this," Lily said soothingly.
"It's my fault."
"Reid. It isn't your fault, all right? I've had a lot of time to think about everything that happened in the last couple weeks. Two years ago, when Noah pushed Luke away, my son was heartbroken. Yet, Luke kept trying to hold onto a relationship that was over. I admit, I didn't like you at first and I had hoped Noah would take Luke back…but I see now that their relationship wasn't good. And Luke ignored his feelings for you because he was holding on to a lost cause. It is understandable that you would have doubts about his feelings for you after finding Noah kissing him. You were hurt. Luke chose to try and take his life and even though it was because you were angry with him, it doesn't make it your fault," Lily said. After she had finished, Reid began to cry. He never cried and this wasn't who he was…yet Luke had brought the emotional side of him out and Reid was so overwhelmed with everything that had happened that he allowed himself to be human for a moment. Lily brushed a hand across Reid's forehead. "Reid, I know this is hard. And I know you blame yourself. But not eating and not sleeping isn't going to help. Please, get something to eat."
Reid nodded. "I-I just n-need to get my com-composure back," he stuttered. Lily smiled sadly at him.
"Okay."
Down in the cafeteria, Reid attempted to eat his lunch. It was a struggle because he just didn't have an appetite. But Lily was right; not eating wouldn't solve anything. He needed to keep his strength up if he was going to be there for Luke. Reid finished up and headed back upstairs. On the way up, he ran into Allie. "Dr. Oliver! I was just on my way to find you. Luke's awake." Reid suddenly had a burst of energy. He thanked Allie and sprinted up the stairs. As soon as he reached Luke's room, he flung open the door. Lily was talking to Luke and stroking his head when they heard the door slam open. Luke was the first to look up. "Reid?" he said.
"Luke, you're awake! And I didn't miss it this time!" Reid exclaimed.
"Miss it? What do you mean?"
"Reid here has been sitting with you for 3 days on top of working. But every time you woke up, he was making rounds," Lily explained. She then looked at Reid. "You got something to eat, I hope?" Reid nodded. "Okay, well I am going to leave you two alone." Then Lily stood up, kissed Luke on the forehead and left. Reid made his way over to where Lily had been sitting before. He sat down and took Luke by the hand.
"God, Luke it's wonderful to see you awake," Reid said.
"Why are you here? I thought you hated me," Luke replied.
"No, God, no Luke. I could never hate you. I love you. You're mom told me what had happened. I am so sorry I didn't listen I just…" Reid began.
"Shh, Reid. It's okay," Luke said, placing a hand on Reid's cheek. Reid closed his eyes and smiled.
"God, I thought I was going to lose you…" then tears welled up once again in Reid's eyes. Luke was startled; he had never seen Reid cry before.
"Hey, hey, it's okay, I'm here," Luke said. "I'm not going anywhere." This made Reid cry even harder.
"God, I feel like such an id-idiot!" Reid said. "I d-don't cr-cry! Th-this isn't me." Luke chuckled a little.
"Come here, babe," Luke said, patting the bed. Reid kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed with Luke, careful to avoid messing up any wires. He laid his head down on Luke's chest. Luke began to stroke Reid's head.
An hour later, Lily came back to check on Luke. She smiled when she saw Reid and Luke asleep. Gently, Lily closed the door and went to go find Holden.