Disclaimer: Really wished I owed ATWT...or at least Reid, but I don't. It's a sad, sad world we live in

AN: Finally an update! Colds and Mid-terms at University...oh the joy. I've been tired and writer blocked these last two weeks, but now I wrote this! (instead of my midterm paper due next Wednesday...I'm being a bad student...and right now I'm working on le Choix du coeur instead of my paper...oh procrastination you evil thing!) Anyway, hope you like this!

Chapter 11

Luke Snyder felt amazing. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had felt so blissfully happy. The last few weeks had been great. Reid was finally released from the hospital soon after his big discussion with Luke but wasn't expected to go back to work quite just yet. He could come back now, but since Bob still felt kinda bad, he had given Reid extra vacation to make sure the older man would be back at 110%. As a result, Luke and Reid had spent a lot of time together. Luke rapidly saw the differences between his relationship with Reid and the one he had with Noah. Noah had been his first boyfriend and as such would always have a special place inside his heart, but things with Reid were so much better. It was hard to explain. The only thing he could think of was that his relationship with Reid was…natural. Things flowed really well. There weren't terribly awkward moments or fear of what was to come. He could finally take a day by day approach and stop constantly wondering about the future. His couple felt safe; he didn't feel like Reid could walk out on him at any given time. And he always felt those pleasant butterflies floating around his stomach. It was a nice change; he hadn't felt like that around Noah in a long time. He knew butterflies are normally not internal but he was convinced that if they ever went away it would be because they evolved into something even deeper. In a way, it was actually quite scary to think like that. Sure, he didn't worry about the future, but that didn't mean he never ever thought about it. The problem is, now, when he imagined his future, Reid was always in it. He saw his relationship with Reid as a 'forever' one. When he stopped to think about it, he would blushed and then get a little anxious because there's never any solid certainties. But then he'd remember how happy he was right now with Reid and that no matter what the future hold, he could at least look back and have those wonderful memories. Still, he did hope Reid and him were the real deal. It seemed Luke's internal hopeless romantic had decided to come back at the surface. Reid of course had a lot of fun teasing Luke about his romantic side and kept telling him he should audition for a role in a soap opera; he'd fit right in. Luke's only response to these comments were to throw a pillow or cushion in Reid's face, which of course only made the older man laugh more. Luke was actually surprised by that. Sure he knew Reid was quite different around him then when he was in public, but he hadn't imagined the older man would laugh so much. Luke and Reid were often teasing each other, gently pushing certain buttons, and just playing around. Reid said Luke made him act like a kid. Luke said Reid made Luke feel like a real adult. Luke concluded they were good for each other.

And they were really good for each other. In more ways than one. Let's just say there compatibility extended to things that you normally do in private….when Katie and the kid were out. Reid still teased Luke mercilessly at how shy he was about talking about sex. The first time Allison had asked him if Reid was good at 'exercising' with him, he had blushed to the point of putting a tomato to shame. Allison had gaped and exclaimed "Oh my god! That good! Oooohhh now I want details. Spill Snyder." And he had.

"Oh God Alli, you have no idea. I mean it was….there's just no words. I mean I thought Noah and I had sex….eventually" Luke added as an afterthought. Dear Lord had he really waited two years before sleeping with his ex? He hadn't even been dating Reid when he had the urge to throw him on a bed and beg him to have his wicked way with him (in Texas…and then after Noah's surgery…and then at his house…although the last one, he didn't regret not acting on. Being caught kissing another guy by your ex with whom you still have unfinished business with was one thing; being caught having sex with another guy….well that was another thing altogether and a whole new level of incredibly embarrassing.) "But apparently we should have talked to someone because we didn't get things right." Allison stifled a laugh at that comment. "No I'm serious Alli. Noah and I…what we did…if I compare it to what I do with Reid, I'm not even sure I can call it sex at all. Well no I can call it sex but I certainly can't call it making love. You know I always wondered what the big deal was. I mean sure it was physically pleasant…kind of…towards the end 'cause at first it just really hurt and sometimes it actually didn't feel much like anything you know. I would just stay there and wait for Noah to finish and then…well I didn't even feel like jerking off afterwards."

Allison's eyes widened. "My god Luke you sound like Maddie when she told me about her new boyfriend a couple of months back. She said it was all she could do not to start laughing during sex because she was bored out of her mind. I thought she was exaggerating. Although I can understand the 'it's not making love part'. You don't always connect profoundly with the person you're having sex with. It's why people who have sex early discover a whole new side to it when they become older. Because when you're like 14, you're not equipped yet to truly connect with someone else on a profound level. Well…at least when you're the kind of 14 year old girl I've met in my stage as a high school nurse."

"You were a high school nurse?" Luke asked surprised. He didn't know that.

"Oh not for long. I quickly transferred back to the hospital. It wasn't very mentionable. Basically it was teens asking questions about sex."

"That sound embarrassing."

Allison rolled her eyes. "Seriously, sometimes Luke, you're such a prude. I'd imagined Reid would have cured you from that" Luke blushed intensely. Alli raised an eyebrow at him, urging him to spill.

"Well…it's not a subject I can talk about matter-of-factly like Reid can, but…well… he has made me try things that I would never ever, ever have thought about doing before."

Luke was beet red. A particular memory had resurfaced when he told Allison that. They had been at the movie theatre on a date and the movie had been incredibly disappointing and mind numbing. Especially for Reid. He wasn't a huge fan of movies in the first place but he knew Luke liked them a lot so he made an effort to watch one with him once in a while. But this movie had been even more horrible in Reid's mind than any other before. Hell, he preferred the Disney movies he had watched with Nathalie and Ethan on one of those days where Lily had just dumped (Reid's word, not Luke's) the kids on Luke and made the latter cancel his date with Reid. The third time that happened, Reid was pissed and started wondering if it was just an excuse, so he had shown up at the Walsh residence anyway. When he saw that there were indeed kids there, he had tried to run for it but Luke had hugged him and had been so happy to see him and that Reid would finally get to meet someone of his family that Reid had just sighed silently and mentally called himself a whipped man and awkwardly sat down with the kids. Babies were just fine in Reid's book but that was because they hadn't started talking or being able to form opinions on people yet. As soon as toddlers became kids, Reid did not know what to do and preferred to stay far away from them. Luke had said that it would be good practiced for when Jacob got older. Reid had replied that Jacob was his nephew and therefore family, which was totally different. Family normally automatically liked each other. Or at least a family where Katie Snyder is in it anyway. Then Luke had argued that technically Ethan and Nathalie were Reid's sister and brother-in-law and therefore family too. Reid hadn't found anything to say to that and Luke had won the verbal sparing match yet again. It seemed to be impossible for Reid to win a battle nowadays. He couldn't wait to get back to the hospital and start torturing interns again (he couldn't torture nurses anymore. Not after all their cards and worry. He doubted he'd be able to be nice to them…he just didn't do nice and that was that and if you screwed up then you needed to be told, but torture for the heck of it? Nope. Not for his nurses. Everyone else was fair game though. Oh he couldn't wait!) So yes, he had been forced to watch Disney. He had pulled faces at the sappiness of certain scenes which had intrigued Ethan. When he had explained to the little guy why he was pulling faces, the kid just laugh and said Reid was strange but that he liked him. His sister agreed too. She was also fascinated about Reid's job so Reid started to explain biology concepts to her while she listened avidly. When Luke told him later on that Nathalie had told Lily she wanted to be a doctor who cuts people open to fix them when she grew older, Reid had just smirked. He still didn't like kids, but apparently there were two new additions to that rule. But Luke's mind was digressing again. Which was good because thinking about that day at the cinema.

"Luke, earth to Luke!" Alli said

"Sorry I got lost in thought"

"Apparently. But you're not red anymore so I guess it's not dirty thoughts." Luke shook his head. "Well change that because I want to know what Dr Oliver had succeeded in making this prude do!"

"Shut up" Luke exclaimed blushing again.

"Oh come one Luke. I have no life. Give a girl something to vicariously feel." Luke rolled his eyes. His friend had won.

"Ok. Well you know how I like movies but Reid's not a fan. Well, we went to the cinema to watch this movie that really wasn't so great, which of course meant Reid absolutely hated it. He got bored and well…I discovered you don't want Reid to get bored…well actually I do, but that's because he deals with boredom with me differently than with other people. "

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"It depends on what you think I'm saying"

"Well, did he do a job?" Alli asked. She didn't need an answer though. The look on Luke's face told her everything. Semi-public…oh yeah, that'd definitively be out of Luke's comfort zone all right. " A job that starts with a h or an o?" Luke hold out two fingers. The second one then. Oh my. Allison had never ever done that. "Is he good at that?"

Luke groaned. "Oh you have no idea girl. It's better than sex with Noah was! Like a lot better. Reid is just…so intense you know"

"Oh yeah. If he puts as much focus on you as he does his job…wow you must find it hard to hold it in and last long."

"Oh I don't. But then he just makes me come again and again. I feel like I have no stamina with him. It was so embarrassing. I couldn't look at him in the face after the first few times we did anything. He thought I didn't like it or that we had moved too fast and he stopped coming on to me which of course made me feel worse because I thought he wasn't enjoying himself with me and….it was just a huge misunderstanding that lasted about a week. Longest freaking week of my life I tell you. Then Katie sat us down and glared at us and said that if we didn't talk about what was creating all this tension, she'd ties us up and force us to watch 24 hours in a row of the Young and the Restless. Reid was so traumatized by the idea that he ended up spilling his guts. And thank lord for that because I was too shy to start a conversation about it. When I finally explained what I was embarrassed about he looked so shocked. It was like I was an Alien or something. He said I was a complete idiot and that he loved how responsive I was and was absolutely crazy about the fact that he could make me lose myself completely. He then sighed and said he really needed to kick Mayer's ass…..which I hope he was only kidding about" Luke added as an afterthought.

"I'm sure he won't do it. He needs his hands for his job….unless he meant literally kick Noah's butt then yes he could do it. Preferably somewhere I can film it"

"Allison!" Luke exclaimed in shock at his friend.

"What? You can't tell me he doesn't deserve it. I'd kick his ass if I could for your sake, but I won't because I know you wouldn't want me to and as a friend, an offence is less easy to forgive than it would be to forgive your hot loving boyfriend."

"You think Reid is hot?" Alli looked at him with a 'well DUH' expression. Luke smiled. "He really is, isn't he? I'm dating a hot guy!"

"A hot, older guy with a super job that makes money…..Not that you'd need money, but for the rest of us, it's a good thing. Allows you to buy a house sooner than later."

"uh…I don't think Reid and I are there quite yet."Luke said slowly. "I mean sure things are going great! I love spending time with Reid. Hell I spent more time at Katie's than at home but…." Luke paused and thought. Actually, living with Reid officially didn't sound so bad….or so different from what they were already doing. Luke smiled. When the right timing came, he knew he'd be totally ready to move in with Reid. It was great. There had been some doubts before moving in with Noah, but with Reid he was confident things would work out just fine.

"Well duh. It's early for that plus I think Katie really likes having Reid and you around. It's not easy for her since Brad. She's quite lonely and she told me having Reid as a masculine model for Jacob was a huge relief. She knows Jacob won't remember being so small, but there's a lot of psychology specialist who says our experiences from our birth shape us. We develop a lot of things unconsciously and the deep link you create with your parents is formed when you're still a baby. She's single now so she's really happy that Reid is in the portrait. This way, Jacob will have a strong link with a man, even though Reid isn't his father. He'll be the uncle Jacob can turn to for guys stuff. Unless he wants to go fishing." Allison added after thinking a little. "That, he'll probably ask his uncle Luke."

Luke laughed. "Yeah probably. My god, can you imagine Reid fishing!"

"Oh dear lord know. He's bound to start insulting the fish to occupy his mind! It'd actually be kind of funny to watch."

"I won't tell Reid that!"

Allison's eyes widened "Oh please don't. I don't need Dr. Oliver on my back on his very first day back as revenge from what I said"

"Oh come one Reid wouldn't do that" Luke said. Allison gave him an incredulous look "Ok, ok you're right, he would totally do that! But you're his favourite nurse so, he'd probably go easier on you than the others. And if not, you can always ask Katie to force him to watch her soaps with her! She's really good in tricking him into doing things he doesn't want to do. I don't know how she does it, but she's really amazing at it."

"Katie is amazing at convincing people period. You know how I don't do blind dates nor double dates? I had a double blind date with Katie the other day!"

"Really? How did that go?"

"It was fun!" Allison said with a huge smile. " Katie is so hilarious sometimes! We went to a carnival and she made me go on these rides with her. I was super scared because I hate heights so she kept doing these imitations of Reid and Chris before the ride went off to distract me… She's so good at doing them! You need to ask her to make her imitation of Chris. Trust me, it's really funny" Allison continued describing her double blind date to Luke and the latter wondered if his friend noticed that she was talking exclusively about Katie. Apparently, whoever she had been on that blind date with had been less than memorable. Hell, neither he nor Katie's date were mentioned in any of the activities that happened on that date. Peculiar kind of blind date if you ask him. He wondered….naw!

So yes, Luke had told Allison all about sex with Reid. Actually, he told Allison….well pretty much everything nowadays. Casey was mighty busy doing Lord knows what, to which Allison had coughed 'doing whom' and then told Luke that he really, really didn't want to know. It was bad enough Allison knew about it while being such good friends with Katie. Luke didn't see what that had to do with Casey but figured if Allison said he didn't want to know, then he really didn't want to know. His friend had picked up Katie's liking of gossip apparently and loved to know everything about everything. Not that Luke was complaining. His newfound closeness to Alli was doing him wonders. It was so amazing to have people he could talk to about absolutely everything. Especially since Reid would soon go back to work. There was a lot of work waiting for him when he got back and Reid had warned Luke that they were in for a rough few months. Reid would have to work extra hours, although he promised nothing as extreme as the "two months of doom" as Luke had called them. Reid had looked at him funny the first time he had referred to them as such and had said maybe it was a good thing he had stopped writing. The usual cushion in the face was his only answer. Man, but Reid could really get the Brat out of Luke sometimes. However, it seemed that Reid's teasing was all Luke needed to start writing again. Reid whined about it at first, saying that Luke liked his writing more than him. Unfortunately for Reid, Katie had been home when he said that. The result was a slap on the back of the head and a forced shopping trip with her so Luke could write in peace. "Come on Reid. Stop being such a big baby. I bet when Luke barely sees you for two weeks because of your work, he won't whine even half as much as you do! Besides, the more peace he has, the quicker he will write and have time to do something with you" Katie had told her 'brother'. Luke had had to force himself not to laugh at his boyfriend's pout. He could groan all he wanted, it was extremely rare for him to deny Katie anything. Of Luke for that matter. Then again, they hadn't talked about big family reunions or galas yet so…he'll see. He could always go to benefits and galas with Alli as a friendly date. Family reunions though were not negotiable. But Luke figured that by the time Reid met everyone, he'd be ready for a big reunion. The older man had already met Katie, Nathalie, Ethan, Jack and Carly.

The two last ones had come as a surprise to Luke. He didn't even know that Reid had the intention of going to meet them for real, let alone going to meet them on his own. He had gone to the police station and asked Jack if it was possible to talk to him about how he dealt with Carly's alcoholism. At the man's shocked face, he had explained that he was now dating Luke and that his boyfriend feared that Reid wouldn't be able to handle it if he started drinking again and admitted to actually having no clue as to how he would react to it. And Reid always knew how he would react. The uncertainty was bugging him, especially since it concerned Luke. Jack had looked at him with a sad, comprehensive smile and invited him to dinner that night. It took some convincing since Reid didn't do dinners with anyone but Katie, Jacob, Luke and Allison, but in the end, the doctor had accepted. Reid had been surprised at the couple's hospitality and at their willingness to discuss such a sensitive issue with him. Carly was able to provide Reid with some insight as to how things are for an alcoholic and how people's reactions affected her. Jack provided some insight on how hard it is at times and how the person you love is so different when they're drunk. Both of them had been supportive and had told Reid that Luke and he were welcome at any time for anything. When Reid had mentioned going to meetings for alcoholics' family, Carly had tears forming in her eyes and she had hugged him so hard Reid was still affected by it when he came home. She had hugged him and told him he was a good man and that Luke was lucky to have found him. And then she had released him and asked him to tell Luke that she was there for him and that if he ever thought about drinking, even if it was 3 o'clock in the morning, he could call her and she'd go to him immediately. Jack said he would to. Basically, Jack and Carly had welcomed Reid as part of the Snyder family. Reid had been a little shaken when he got home. He was unused to people hugging him as Luke knew. However, Reid was also unused to people liking him and welcoming him. Reid told Luke that he never really had a family, Katie and Jacob being the closest thing. He had been surprised at Jack and Carly's willingness to just accept him. Luke had hugged him and whispered 'Of course they loved you!" in Reid's ear. Reid had felt content. He wasn't into the whole big family thing, but it was nice that people in the Snyder clan liked him. Especially since he knew that Lily Walsh would not welcome him with open arms. Luke tried to reassure him she would, but it felt false even to his ears.

Luke and Lily's relationship was the only thing that had gone bad in the last few weeks. After Nathalie had told her mother she wanted to be a surgeon, the older woman had questioned her youngest son until he admitted that Reid had babysat with him. Apparently, the discussion that ensued didn't go so well. She had forbidden Luke from bringing Reid home again and it hadn't sat well with her son at all. There was a huge argument between them. The next time Reid met Nathalie, the little girl thanked him for making her big bother stronger. Reid, confused, had asked her what she meant by it. Nathalie explained that though she was young, she could tell when someone was not happy. She said that for as long as she could remember, her big brother Luke had never fought back against her mom even when it made Luke sad. But that time, Luke had fought back and told Lily exactly what he wanted. She wanted to hear nothing of it and had left during the fight which made Luke cry. Nathalie wasn't happy with her mother at the moment and had asked to go to her Dad and Molly's place for a while since Dad didn't make Luke sad. Reid looked at that little girl and thought that she was wise beyond her years. It also made him think that she had potential as a future doctor because if you wanted to put yourself through medical school, you had to act older than your age, otherwise you'll fail because you go out all the time. Reid had tried to talk about Lily to Luke, but the younger man changed the subject and Reid didn't want to push. He simply told Luke he loved him and hugged him hard. Luke appreciated Reid not pushing for answers. He didn't want to think about his fights with his mom when he was with his boyfriend. He wanted to be happy. But it was becoming obvious that his relationship with Lily was hurting him.

Reid didn't know what to do. He was due to go back to work within the next week and the idea of leaving his boyfriend alone with Lily made his skin crawled. He had talked to both Katie and Allison and asked them to try and distract Luke while he was working, but Allison had arranged her schedule so she would work at the same time as Reid most of the time so she wouldn't be very present. Katie had of course accepted but she also had to work. So did Luke actually, but he worked less than Reid and Reid feared he would go back to his mom's home after work instead of going to Katie's.

"You know Luke," Reid said. "Since we only need one bed for the two of us, you could come live here for a while. You don't have to stay at your mom's. Nathalie is at your Dad's after all and you could still pick up Ethan to play with him."

"Reid" Luke sighed. "It's fine. Beside, things with my mom won't get better if I'm not there."

"Have they gotten better even though you're there right now?" It was true. Luke had been spending less time at Katie's and Reid's place as usual.

"No" Luke said sadly. Reid's heart ached. He hated seeing that dejected look on Luke's face. Then he remembered something Allison and Katie had mentioned. They had said that maybe, since things with Lily couldn't be made better, making things good with Luke's dad would cheer him up a little. This way, he could have one parent who backs this relationship with Reid up.

"You know, I've been thinking…I've seen your mom a couple of times but…I never really saw your dad. Or at least I haven't really interacted with him. I was wondering if perhaps I could meet him. The way Nathalie and Ethan talk about him, he seems like a good guy who might just be able to tolerate my unsocial ways. His cousin Jack likes me after all."

Luke looked at his boyfriend startled. "You…You'd like to meet my dad" Luke asked, his voice filled with hope.

"Yeah" Reid answered simply. "I'd liked to meet your dad" Luke smiled, grabbed Reid and kissed him hard. Reid responded in kind. He loved kissing Luke. Sadly, this was a short kiss. "I'm gonna go call my dad!"

Reid was left on the couch with hard on and no way to relieve it since apparently Luke's dad was free for dinner tonight.

The Snyder farm was….something else. Reid had never really been on a farm before and he didn't really think he was missing out on anything. His boyfriend though would certainly disagree with him. He was so enthusiastic when he showed everything to Reid. Especially the pond. Luke love the pond. Reid didn't know what to tell his boyfriend. You see, in his opinion, there wasn't anything special about the pond. So when Luke suggested they go take a swim in it one day soon, Reid didn't really know how to react. But apparently, something negative showed on his face because Luke immediately lost his smile.

"Or you know we could not" Luke said awkwardly. "I mean there's no need to swim in the pond"

Reid sighed. "Luke, it's not that I don't want to go swimming with you. It's just….do you have any idea how many germs there are in ponds and lake? Not to mention leeches and…"

"There aren't any leeches in our pond Reid" Luke said.

"Well…ok. I guess I can swim with you. But not long and if I feel something gross on me I'm getting out and watching my hot boyfriend swim alone ok. I just…Luke there are just some things that…" Reid sighed again and pinched his nose. "Ok take three days ago as an example. Katie cleaned the bathroom and when she put the toothbrush back in their places, she put mine on the wrong side. You should ask her how I reacted. I got angry. I never get angry at Katie but changing my routines…it's just…I'm a methodical person and certain things comfort me. Putting my half-naked body in unsanitary water doesn't comfort me. It creeps me out. But…" He added slowly. "If you can distract me so I don't think about all the germs that might be crawling all over my skin, then I could take swims with you in the pond. Just…Just don't make it a big issue if I take a really long shower afterwards. I don't consider myself a neat freak but I have been told that I might be a little obsessive when it comes to cleanliness. But then that person didn't throw out his used Kleenex so…."

Luke was trying not to smile. He really was. Obviously, his boyfriend was having a serious talk with him but he was babbling so awkwardly that Luke couldn't help but find it incredibly adorable and totally hilarious.

"It's okay Reid. I'm sure once you swim in it once, you'll see there are no big evil germ trying to kill you in it." Luke said smiling. Reid frowned at him

"Ah ah. Real funny Mister Snyder"

"Oh come on Reid, don't be like that. I don't mean anything by it. I understand. Well not totally because for me swimming here is just natural. But I know there are things I wouldn't be comfortable doing, like let's say getting a b-job in the middle of a movie theatre" Reid smiled at that. Best movie theatre experience ever! "but I still accepted to try it. I think it's a good thing to try new things. And this really means something to me, so if you could do it at least once, I'd really appreciate it."

"Haven't I already said I would do it Snyder? Well I'll say it again. I'll take a swim in this pond with you. But not today because I don't want to meet your father completely soaked from hear to toe" Luke smiled. He gave Reid a small kiss and took his hand again to lead him towards the main house.

Once there, Reid was quite surprised at the reception he got.

"Reid!" Holden Snyder exclaimed. " Finally, it's nice to meet you properly" the older man said shaking Reid's hand enthusiastically. What was it with these Snyder and being so welcoming? "This is my love, Molly"

"Glad to see you again, Dr. Oliver. We've been hearing so much about you."

"Really?" Reid and Luke asked, surprised.

"Oh yes" Holden answered. "It's all Nathalie can talk about. 'Reid said that a good doctor always washes his hands' 'Reid showed what I look like without skin!"

"Reid this, Reid that" Molly added with a huge smile. "You've made quite an impression on her. All she can talk about recently is how she wants to be a doctor and operate on people."

"Yes although she calls it 'cutting them open' which I'm trying to discourage her of. I had a complaint from her teacher because she told a friend that she would 'cut people open' when she grew up and her friend told the teacher about it. If you could get her to use another term, we'd be really grateful Reid. She won't listen to us"

Reid flinched. "That's actually my fault. I'm not…I don't really know anything about kids and at what age they understand certain things. I didn't know what Nathalie could understand so I tried to use simple words. I'll tell her to use operate instead. Sorry" Reid looked sheepish. He liked Nathalie well enough and didn't mean for her to get in trouble at school. Luke looked at his boyfriend and smile. It was so cute how awkward he was being. Totally different than when he's alone with him (or with Katie and Allison)

"Well, come on." Molly said, "let's sit down."

Dinner with Holden and Molly was very nice and much less awkward than Reid expected. They both were very welcoming and although Reid did his usual thing with sarcasm and kind of jerk-ish replicas, it didn't seem to cause any trouble. Holden ignored his dry humour much in the same way as Luke did, but Molly….she loved Reid's jokes and sarcasm. She had a couple of her own too. At the end of the supper, the Snyder men had decided to take a walk together. Luke and Holden used to be very close but they hadn't spent a lot of time together recently. Reid was a little nervous at being left alone but he really shouldn't have been. Molly was quite something else. She could tell you things about people in this town….and although she admitted being like them before (something that Reid had trouble picturing), she was now mostly away from the drama now that her ex wasn't an issue anymore. Holden had been very supportive of her and she looked very happy. Reid could now see that Luke had been right; their relationship was like Molly and Holden's. Reid found that strangely, talking to Molly came naturally.

" I'm so glad Luke had found you. It's so obvious that he's happy. It truly warms my heart to see that. And Ethan and Nathalie seem to love you."

"Yeah, Lord knows why. I guess they take after their older brother"

"I hope not! That's be awkward to have them crushing on you" Molly joked. Reid shuddered at the idea and Molly laughed at his expression.

" I'm suddenly very glad they are still kids." Reid said. "How about you? Do they like you? I know sometimes the step-mom has trouble being accepted."

"Oh no. They like me. I'm not their mother, but they like me. Faith actually confides more in my than in her mother."

Reid snorted. "Can't blame her for that!"

"Why? You don't feel like confiding in Lily?"

"It's hard to confide in a woman who has forbidden her son from bringing you in her house or exposing him to her kids." Reid said derisively. Molly looked at him in slight shocked.

"You're…tell me you're joking. She didn't really forbid Luke, her 22 years old son, from seeing his boyfriend"

"Looks like it. Then according to little Nat, she left in the middle of the argument and made Luke really, really sad. I hate seeing him like this. Every time he goes in that house, he comes back to me with this haunted look on his face."

"Wow…that's heavy. I mean I'm not on Lily's good book in any way, she pretty much loathes me for being with Holden but Luke is her son. It's something else entirely to act like a….like a…."

"Like a selfish bitch?" Reid suggested. Molly's twitched to smile. Finally someone who didn't like perfect Lily. Seriously, even her cousin Carly kind of liked her. Then again, Molly knew that if Lily liked you, she could be very nice. Didn't stop her from being a bitch from hell many times over though.

" Something like that yes, but don't tell Holden, he really would not like me to talk about Lily like that. He still loves her so much….I feel like I can't say anything bad about her"

Reid snorted "Oh do I know how you feel. The same thing could be said about Luke about Noah. At the beginning of our relationship, we had a huge fact about it. He kept putting Mayer on a pedestal, and I felt like I could never compete"

"Exactly!" Molly exclaimed. "Doesn't it drive you crazy at times!"

"It did. But we talked about it. Luke…he doesn't love Noah anymore. Well at least not romantically."

"Thank goodness for that" Molly said to herself although it was clear Reid heard her when he raised an eyebrow. "It's just…there was something about their couple that I really did not like. I didn't have the impression Noah treated Luke right. It seemed to me like Luke was the one giving everything and only receiving put downs in return. I've seen relationship like that before. It's not healthy. "

"No it's really not. Luke compared his relationship with Noah with the relationship between his parents. So I wouldn't worry about Holden and Lily if I were you. Like Luke said, your relationship with Holden is much better and healthier than the one he had with Lily even in the best of times. There was always another shoe ready to drop."

"Well that's really nice of you to say, but sometimes, even though Holden and I are engaged….I can't help but feel that she will always come first. And that really hurts"

"Have you told him that. And my god, I can't believe I'm advocating communication. What has Luke done to me?" Molly laughed. "But seriously, talking about it, it helped Luke and I."

"I tried. But he always says I'm imagining things."

"Try again. And if it doesn't work, talk to Luke. He really doesn't want his dad to put a 'Luke' and go back to Lily, like Luke always used to go back to Noah. That's over for him. He moved on. He's with me now. But I had help to get here in my relationship with Luke. If Allison Stewart hadn't confronted Luke and enumerated all the ways Noah and he were bad for each other….I'd probably be just where you are right now. In doubts but hanging on to the man I love. But I did have Allison and Luke sat down and really thought things through in a way most people rarely do and he finally understood what was going on with himself and that although the issues that Noah created within him aren't over, Noah and he are most definitively finished. If you think Holden won't listen to you than talk to Luke. I'd talk to him but I barely know him so it wouldn't be useful. But his own son…from what I heard about him, he's a really good dad. He'll listen to Luke."

Molly's eyes filled with tears. "Thank you. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. And if you need someone to complain about Lily to, feel free to talk to me. I don't have anyone to talk to about that either. Luke would be too hurt and Katie and Allison would rip me a new one for saying something that could hurt Luke."

"Oh I'll definitively take you up on that offer . I have to be so careful about what I say about her in front of the kids and Holden, it'll be nice to get a few things off my chest." Reid gave her a 'go ahead' sign. Turns out she really did have a lot to get off her chest. Reid didn't mind though. It gave him an idea of what to expect from Lily and of how things between Luke's parents were.

When Luke and Reid drove to Katie's home that night, they were both smiling. Granted Reid's smile was a lot smaller than Luke's but it was a smile nonetheless.

"So…did you like my dad."

"Well I'm not the one who spent the most time with him but yeah, I liked him. Loved your step-mom though. She was great. She gets my humour and she's able to bitch about Oakhell and its crazy citizen as much as I am! I think you may need to be the Allison to your Dad though. I don't know how he thinks things are going with Molly but in her opinion…"

"What?" Luke asked, a little urgently. He liked Molly and his dad was happy with her. He really didn't want them to separate.

"Remember that fight we had on our first day as an official couple?"

"Of course I do" It had been difficult days.

"Well, let's just say Molly is me and your dad is you that day. And they haven't arrived to the three-days-later-post-Allison-wake-up-call-and-post-deep-self-reflection stage yet. She doesn't think she would come first to your dad. Not when Lily is concerned and she's scared he'll get back to her the same way I was scared you'd get back to Noah."

Luke frowned. He didn't like this at all. His dad and Molly were great. His dad and his mom were self-destructing. He had grown up in their constant blow-ups and make-ups and so had Faith. He was an alcoholic (not that it was his parents' fault. But the break-ups sure hadn't helped him) who had spent years in a unhealthy relationship; she was a drug user who also had issues when it came to relationships of the heart. Their parents' relationship had affected the both of them. They were both terrified of people leaving. It was enough. He didn't want Nathalie and Ethan to grow up like that.

"I'll talk to dad, don't worry about it." Luke said. Reid took Luke's hand in his and squeezed.

/

AN: Here it was. I really hoped you like it! It was another long chapter so I hope it kind of makes up for the slow update rate. Hope to see you guys soon with the next update! Oh and thanks to all my reviewers. You guys are AWESOME!