Chapter 4 - Reid

The four interns Reid was leading through rounds today, clustered at the third floor nurses' station, like wall flowers at their first homecoming dance. Truthfully, to the doctor's jaded eyes, most of them didn't look old enough to be attending a high school senior prom, much less making "life and death" decisions, so to speak.

Is that how young he had looked when he started rotations?

When the interns heard the Doctor clear his throat, they automatically flinched, and turned to face him, clip boards in hand. To Reid they looked like deer caught in headlights. Eyes big as saucers, frozen, just waiting for one of them to run, so the rest could follow... It amused him.

Actually, what amused/ horrified him more, was that living in "Oakhell" and hanging out with Luke, he had seen deer "spotlighted" in the fields out at the farm. It was on one of Reid's first 'official' visits out to meet Luke's family. Holden insisted that he take Reid for a spin around in one of the old jeeps. That so called spin, had ended up being much more like Gilligan's infamous "three hour tour". By the time they came back, Reid had felt like every bone in his body had been jarred loose. Except his jaw, since he'd kept his teeth clenched the whole time, afraid that he'd bite through his tongue if he didn't. One of the things Luke and his father had done was shine a police style spotlight after dark to see how many deer they could 'catch'.

So much fun, so little time...

Dr. Reid Oliver, who's only experience with nature had been his Uncle Angus dragging him through the park to play chess. 'Nature' for Reid had been homeless people rummaging through the trash cans. He remembered the first time he had seen some one 'dumpster dive'. He was seven years old and it had scared him.

Why would anyone go through a trash can?

Then he had seen an old man take out part of a hamburger some one had tossed away and finish it off like it was a steak dinner. Reid had been barely able to eat for a week; every time he looked at food it just made him want to throw up. His parents thought he had picked up a bug from school. And the really scary part, was growing up in a big city, just how use to those kind of things you became. That memory, and the hundreds like it, had become just one of the callouses on Reid Oliver's soul. It's funny how you can ignore those parts of your life until something/ some one takes you out of your 'comfort zone'. Reid had always lived in large metropolitan areas; New York, Boston, and Dallas. It was crowded and chaotic, and nobody really gave a shit who or what you were. You came, you went, you were anonymous.

Of course, I am the best in my field, which hardly makes me anonymous...

"Gotta love that humility Dr. Oliver" Reid could hear Luke saying in the back of his mind.

But then, when a 'tornado', named Luke Snyder, had dropped the esteemed doctor in the middle of no where; Reid Oliver had definitely landed outside his 'comfort zone'. Twilight Zone would be a better description. "Oakhell", as Reid still insisted on referring to his new home., was the small town to end all small towns. Although, it did have over 100,000 people living in the area - Reid swore that was a fictitious number.

There can't possibly be more than 349 people living in this place. And, I'll bet 306 of them are Snyders...

How in the hell can a man, who's claustrophobic,

hates being confined,

suddenly find himself not only at home,

but opening up,

in a snow globe sized world?

Just thinking about it all, was enough to make Reid shudder. And, if he was truthful, probably the only part of his old life he missed was that it had been on auto-pilot. It certainly wasn't that way now. Which brought him back to the task at hand.

"I haven't got all day ladies and gentlemen. Believe me the interest rate on your student loans is compounding while we stand here. Shall we begin? Dr. Brinker you can start us off."

A/N This chapter has been lurking for a while, but it did surprise me where it went. Luke came with background. It's not as easy to flesh out Reid. I'm trying to find his motivations. Please review.