So sorry this took so long! I was having a lot of trouble deciding what is wrong with Noah and figuring out medical jargon, yada yada. I finally figured something out and was able to pretty much fake it for the little bit necessary in this piece. You'll find out more about Noah's condition in the next piece. Thanks again for reading, everyone! I'll have the next piece up tomorrow afternoon before the shows airs. 3

Dr. Oliver was surprised by how anxious he was to see Noah. He knew he should be anxious, after all, Noah was his patient who now was possibly suffering from damage after performing surgery on him, but that wasn't the sole reason for his anxiety. Yes, of course Dr. Oliver wanted Noah to be alright for his own sake, and for the sake of his reputation, but he also knew that if anything was wrong, Luke would be devastated. Some would say that if Noah pulled through successfully, no brain damage and with restored vision, Oliver would be losing his only chance with Luke. Reid knew better, though. Luke felt responsible for Noah. Yes, he did love him, but even Reid could see things weren't the same as they had been even when he'd first come to town. He wanted Noah to be alright for Luke, because only then would Luke finally allow himself to be free. Dr. Oliver scorned himself as he hurried down the hall for thinking so selfishly. Normally he was all about selfishness, or at least that's how he made it seem, but truth be told, that wasn't who Reid was. Luke had told him once that people didn't realize that he was a great doctor because he cared so much; and he was right.

As he rounded the corner Dr. Oliver forced the image of the beautiful blond from his mind, intentionally forgetting the way he smelled standing so close, the taste of his hungry mouth and the touch of his hands… He shook his head as he approached Noah's room, casting his attention on Bob Hughes who was standing outside the door. When Bob heard him coming he turned from peering in through the window and toward the frustrated doctor.

"You got here fast," Bob observed flatly.

"Your page is my command," Reid said instantly, "When did he wake up?"

"Only a minute or two before I paged you."

"Is he responsive?"

"So far he appears alright. We explained the situation to him but have also assured him that he shouldn't worry just yet. And as you can see, we've bandaged his eyes again. If this procedure did work, we want to ease him back into having his sight," Bob explained. Dr. Oliver glanced inside to see the bandages he spoke of, and nodded. He couldn't help but be slyly happy that he would be the one to discover first hand if he'd at least managed to do what he set out to do. "There's no obvious signs of brain damage. We figured you would want the honor of examining his eyes before we start running tests."

They stood there only a moment longer before Dr. Oliver nodded to Bob and then entered the room. Noah was motionless though Oliver noticed his fingers flexing against the sheets. The nurse beside the bed moved out of the way without being told, which normally would have earned her a cocky but appreciative comment from the doctor, but today he was far too preoccupied to have even noticed.

"Awake in there, Noah?" Dr. Oliver asked in a straight voice, glancing at the monitors around him. He heard Noah groan a little at first.

"Yeah, I'm awake," he said groggily. Dr. Oliver was just grateful that the words were in order and understandable.

"Good. Alright, now here's how this is going to work. We're going to start with one eye. We're going to dim the lights," Oliver went on, and the nurse immediately went to the light switch and turned the lights off, leaving only the light from the hall and natural light from outside shining in. "Are you ready?" he asked, managing an unusually high level of kindness in his tone. This seemed to ease Noah, who gulped once before nodding a little.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm ready," he said as confidently as he could. Dr. Oliver was vaguely aware of the sound of multiple sets of feet approaching the room at a quick speed and he instantly knew it was Luke and his family. Still, he refused to look back at them, paying only attention to Noah. Carefully he peeled the tape away and slowly began to lift the swabs that covered Noah's left eye. He watched as Noah blinked, allowing him to adjust at first. Dr. Oliver then pulled out his pen light and shone it into Noah's eyes. He squinted and clenched his teeth, letting out a groan of displeasure. Dr. Oliver's face lit up and he was unable to stop himself from smiling.

"You saw the light?" he asked Noah, who was already beginning to shake with excitement.

"Yes. Yes! I saw … I saw it," he choked a little. Feeling incredibly optimistic, Dr. Oliver pulled back the covering from his right eye now. Casting the light into his eye Oliver noticed that his pupils didn't dilate quite as much as his left, but Noah still reacted; definitely a good sign. Noah was unable to say anything though Dr. Oliver could easily hear the pure joy in his cries.

"And again?" Dr. Oliver asked, and Noah nodded again, still unable to speak. Noah's eyes swelled with tears and for a moment Dr. Oliver felt a tingle in his nose as if he was about to cry as well, though of course that would never happen. With a boyish grin on his face, he couldn't resist turning toward the door and window. Luke was standing there, parents on either side of him, and Bob as well. Luke had his hands pressed together, the tips touching his lips, and for a moment Reid wondered if he was praying. When the blond saw the doctor's encouraging expression, a similar joy to that Reid had just seen in Noah spread across his face. Reid could see that Luke was crying, his parents hugging his shoulders. Turning his attention to Bob Hughes, Dr. Oliver saw the proud smile on his face and knew it was directed at him; he could honestly say he'd never felt more proud of his work than in that moment.

"So it worked? My vision is back? Now what?" Noah began to ask questions faster than Dr. Oliver could absorb them, though this didn't bother him like it might have on other days.

"First things first. How do things look?" Dr. Oliver asked, watching as Noah continued to blink and squint in response to the sudden return of vision.

"Um… dark, and blurry," Noah said uncertainly.

"That's normal. Your going to need physical therapy and time to adjust before your sight is back to normal. I'm going to let you keep the bandages off, but we're going to leave the lights out for a while so you can begin to readjust. Now, I know this will be hard, but I want you to keep your eyes closed as much as possible. They need to adjust gradually and need to rest. I see you opening them too much and I'll tape them shut again," Dr. Oliver laughed a little. Noah managed to laugh as well, nodding in agreement and forcing himself to close his eyes.

"Dr. Oliver?" Noah asked when he heard Reid moving across the room.

"Yes?" he said.

"Is Luke here?" he asked. Reid gulped.

"He's right outside. I'm going to tell him the news, and then I'll let him in," Reid said, causing Noah to smile brightly.

Dropping his head and allowing himself only a moment of awkwardness, Dr. Oliver took a deep breath and turned back to the door, stepping out into the hall and facing the Snyders.

"Well? How is he?" Luke asked immediately. Reid couldn't help but notice that once again the blonde's attention was entirely aimed at Noah. He couldn't recognize the man he'd been with early at all in the one standing before him. He cleared his throat, staring down at his papers instead of looking at Luke.

"So far it looks like Noah's going to be just fine. He's noticing vision in both eyes, he's responding well to the light stimuli. As far as we can see there's no obvious brain damage, but we won't know more until he's had more recovery time and we've been able to run a few tests."

Luke sensed that he was now speaking to Dr. Reid Oliver the neurosurgeon and not Reid the man anymore. He frowned for only a moment though, looking away nervously and nodding.

"That's wonderful new," Lily Snyder said, stepping up beside her son. "Thank you so much Doctor, you have no idea what this means to us."

Instead of arguing with her, Reid simply smiled, still refusing to look at Luke.

"Can we go in and see him?" Luke asked. Reid finally looked up.

"Yes, you can go in. Take it easy, though. The lights need to stay off, and he's been told to keep his eyes closed as much as possible, so please encourage him not to try and look at you, no matter how hard that might be," he said, and Luke's eyes widened, catching the double meaning in his words with ease. He pressed his lips together, forcing a smile as he parents herded him around Dr. Oliver and Bob and excitedly into the recovery room.

Watching from the hallway, Reid could see Lily and Holden both said their hellos. As Luke approached the bedside, though, he had to turn away. He didn't know what Luke would do, but Reid knew he couldn't stand to find out. Instead he turned to Bob, the same uninterested look he wore most days once again plastered onto his face.

"You did good work today, son," Bob said favorably.

"Yeah, well, what can I say. They call me the best for a reason," he said half-heartedly.

"I'm also glad to see you've cooled off. I had to send Luke home as well, he was just about as frantic as you were," Bob noted, and Reid shifted his weight uneasily. "I'll be back shortly to check up on Noah myself. You need anything for him, let me know," Bob went on. Reid nodded with a forced smile, watching his Chief of Staff wander back down the hall.

Unable to help himself Reid glanced inside the room again. Lily and Holden were standing off to the side, Holden's arm around Lily's shoulders. Luke was sitting on the bed, holding Noah's hand and smiling brighter than Reid had seen in days; he was beside himself with happiness. Seeing him glow like that, Reid had no choice but to allow himself to smile. It was a sad smile, one of longing and wishing that he could be the cause of Luke's joy, but a smile nonetheless. Watching a little longer, Reid dropped his head with a sigh before heading back to his office.