I'm getting on a plane right now so I figured I'd be nice and leave you all with a longer piece. It's about the same length as the first two chapters combined... The "teaser" I shared last week is in this scene, and also there wasn't a good place to cut in the middle of this, so those are some of the reasons why. As I said before, I'll be updating one chapter a day until I finish the entire story, and then I'll do a few chapters at a time. So enjoy!


"Good to meet you, Dr. Oliver."

"Good to meet you, Mr. Snyder?"

"You don't sound too convinced about that," laughed Luke. He had caught on long ago that Reid was hardly the friendly sort of guy, but he didn't let that get to him. In fact, it made him all the more interesting in Luke's eyes.

Reid just shrugged.

"So you're a doctor, huh?" asked Luke.

Reid looked from Luke to his scrubs, then back to Luke. "What gave it away?" he said sarcastically.

"Touché," Luke laughed.

The conversation dragged on and mostly consisted of Luke throwing out questions or topic suggestions and Reid giving back limited responses, forcing Luke to dig deeper to get any real answers. Luke wondered if Reid really did just hate small talk, or if he was doing this on purpose to get under his skin.

As it was a Friday night there was no surprise that as the evening carried on the place became more and more crowded. The bar filled up and Luke had already moved over to the stool beside Reid so they could hear each other. Still, the noise level continued to grow and Luke could tell that Reid was hardly comfortable with the atmosphere, even if he wasn't complaining.

"Do you want to go outside or something?" Luke suggested.

Reid stared at him almost suspiciously. "And why would I want to do that?"

"Because we can barely hear ourselves think in here," Luke laughed as though it were obvious. Contemplating the option for a moment, Reid glanced around the now crowded bar and shrugged.

"What the hell," he sighed.

Five minutes later they were walking in the warm night air down one of the main streets of Dallas. Their earlier conversation never really ended and even now they continued to learn about each other one baby step at a time. Reid noticed quickly that Luke could play this game just as well as he could, offering only as much as was necessary and leaving Reid with the unfortunate task of having to press further and actually ask questions.

When another comment was made by Reid criticizing Luke's apparent lack of witty comebacks, Luke simply laughed, scratching the back of his ear.

"I can admit to that," he laughed, "I've never been the quick-banter type of guy."

"Clearly," Reid shrugged. The dialogue reminded Luke of their earlier conversation, and he decided to double back.

"Earlier, when you gave me those rankings," he began carefully. Reid looked up as though he weren't sure what Luke were talking about. "You gave me a four for conversation, a three for wit, and a seven and half for looks."

"Your point?"

"So you're saying my looks are the only thing I have going for me?" Luke joked, deciding to keep his curiosity about the third ranking as casual as possible.

Again Reid shrugged. "Pretty much, yeah," he said nonchalantly. Luke did his best not to blush.

"Only a seven and a half, huh?" said Luke. "Surely I deserve at least a full eight." Reid looked up and caught the teasing expression on the young man's face and couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Fine, I'll give you an eight, but only because the alcohol is still in my system," Reid said with an almost friendly demeanor.

"Ah, so you're only being nice because of the alcohol?" Luke teased.

"Basically," said Reid. They both laughed and continued along in silence for a few minutes. Music was drifting out of bars and clubs on either side of the street, mixing with the already exciting unknown of the night.

"I'd give you an eight," said Luke plainly after a few minutes. Reid looked up.

"What?" he asked, making Luke laugh.

"I said I'd give you an eight. You know, scale of one to ten," he explained.

Reid looked surprised. "Ah," was all he said back.

"That was a compliment," Luke insisted, laughing a little to himself at Reid's sudden awkwardness.

"Oh, right. Well, er, thanks?" Reid said, grinning in confusion.

And again came the silence. It wasn't awkward though, Luke realized. It was actually quite comfortable. They walked at an easy pace, a warm breeze winding its way through the streets and passersby's still wandering the night streets of Dallas. It was nice, meeting someone new. Living in Oakdale all his life, he rarely met new people. Luke liked being able to just hang out with someone, even if that someone was practically a stranger and probably wouldn't remember him the very next day, and not have to worry about expectations.

"So how long have you lived in Dallas?" asked Luke as they turned onto a quieter street. Reid didn't seem to mind the return to conversation nearly as much as he might have earlier.

"About six years," he said. Luke knew he'd have to get more specific.

"Where are you from originally?"

"I grew up in Ohio, just outside of Cleveland, and I worked at the Cleveland Clinic for a few years after med school before I got a job here," Reid explained. Luke was pleasantly surprised that he had offered more information than Luke had specifically asked for.

"Really? I'm from Illinois, about an hour south of Chicago," said Luke. Reid nodded, not necessarily seeming to blow the information off but not feeling the need to respond verbally either.

"Do you like Dallas?" asked Luke.

"I'm still aren't I?" said Reid.

"That doesn't necessarily mean you like it," said Luke. Reid looked up. He wasn't always the most observant guy but he could tell when someone was no longer reflecting on the situation of another, instead speaking from experience. For now, though, he decided not to call the boy out on it.

"It's… alright," Reid shrugged. "I guess it's like any big city, you've got the good and bad. I don't venture further than my apartment or work most days, so I guess I'm not much of an expert."

"Ah," began Luke. "So that's why you felt like you had such bad luck sitting next to me; you never go out to begin with, and when you do, you end up stuck with me," Luke joked. Reid laughed along.

"Exactly."

Their walk continued and the conversation trailed from Dallas to Oakdale, which Reid was even more convinced was Hell in disguise after Luke gave more details. They even touched upon their professional lives, sharing the basics, such as that Reid was a neurosurgeon and that Luke ran a foundation. Luke had to laugh at the fact that Reid didn't try to hide the fact that he was one of the best in his field, but actually found his egotistical nature to be almost endearing. Reid showed actual interest in Luke's foundation, much to his surprise.

"I work with a guy who specializes in treating children with autism," Reid began. "I think he might actually work for the camps you're talking about, he's always going on about horses and how they interact with some of his patients."

"Really?" said Luke excitedly. "Small world, huh?"

Reid laughed. "I guess."

"I'm actually suppose to be meeting with an autism specialist tomorrow with the owner of the camp. Maybe it's the guy you know," suggested Luke.

"Yeah, maybe," said Reid simply. Luke smiled, strangely appreciative of Reid's simple nature.

They'd walked pretty much in a giant circle, taking on three or four square blocks, neither could remember exactly, before they turned onto a familiar street. The sign for the bar and grille they had met at gleamed ahead and further down the road Luke could see his hotel. Neither of them mentioned the bar as the came closer and they actually walked right past it without batting an eye, chatting casually about this and that, letting their conversation digress as it pleased.

Coming closer to the hotel Luke realized how late it was and that perhaps he should call it a night. The idea saddened him in all honesty, since he was enjoying his time with Reid, but he knew that he had to get a good night's sleep if he wanted to be functional tomorrow.

"This is me just ahead," said Luke, pointing out toward the four-star hotel up the block.

"You're kidding me?" responded Reid, again not filtering his thoughts. "Wow. I guess I knew you had to be some rich boy to run a foundation or whatever."

Luke laughed. They kept walking while Luke very briefly explained that he came from both a wealthy and a modest background, mentioning quickly that he'd started the foundation with his inheritance from his birth father. Reid gave him a look and Luke grinned.

"I told you, unconventional family," he laughed. "I actually didn't want the money, but he insisted, so I used it to start my foundation. My first project was to help promote gay rights, mostly in spite of him," Luke sighed. Reid looked up suddenly.

"Daddy have a problem with you being gay I take it?" Reid asked. Luke realized that he'd never told Reid he was gay, but he figured that after his last comment it was probably obvious.

"You could say that," Luke said with a sarcastic laugh. Reid decided not to push further.

"Well, you didn't live with him from the sound of it, so at least he couldn't kick you out," Reid shrugged, and Luke had a feeling he was talking from experience.

"He tried to send me to a brainwashing camp for the hetero-challenged," replied Luke sharply.

"Alright, you win."

They laughed, both deciding not to outright point out the fact that they'd just outed themselves to each other, though honestly, they both knew damn well the reason behind it. There was no denying the unexpected connection between the two men and they were both too stubborn, too nervous, or some mixture thereof, to admit it.

As they finally approached the front of the hotel Luke suddenly felt like he was coming home from a date. He suppressed the urge to laugh at the idea, hoping he wasn't blushing too badly. They stopped just off to the side and Luke turned to face Reid, still smiling like an idiot and he knew it, but honestly, he didn't care.

"I had a lot of fun tonight, Reid," Luke began. "Thanks."

"You're not going to Facebook stalk me or something are you?" Reid said, half jokingly. Again they shared a moment of laughter and they both couldn't deny how easy it felt.

"I don't even have a Facebook," said Luke mildly. "Seriously, though. It was nice talking to you. I can't remember the last time I've just hung out and talked to someone like that."

"I think that would be sometime before med school for me," shrugged Reid, making Luke laugh. Reid smiled appreciatively.

Luke was tempted to ask Reid if he would like to get dinner the next evening or even just hang out and talk again. He didn't want it to sound like he was asking the older man out on a date, though, and when the proper words failed to find him, he gave up. His shoulders fell and he sighed with a smile.

"Well I should get going, my meeting is pretty early and I'm useless at these sort of things if I don't get sleep."

Reid nodded, though Luke got the impression that he was just as against saying goodbye as he was, which suddenly gave him a kick of confidence.

"I'm in town through Sunday," Luke said bravely, though his nerves were quite apparent. "Maybe I'll see you around?"

Reid studied him for a moment, obviously debating how deep his interest in this kid went. The hint of a smile finally emerged onto his face.

"Possibly," he said simply, his smile a bit more clear. Luke beamed.

They stared at each other, strange but content smiles on their faces. It was clear to both of them that this was somewhat uncharted territory on both ends, but that actually made things easier somehow. Realizing that neither of them were talking, Luke laughed nervously, scratching his ear.

"I should get going," he said again. Reid continued to smile easily, looking almost amused.

"214-343-8762," said Reid slowly. Luke turned his head, eyes narrowed in confusion. Reid rolled his eyes. "It's a phone number, you know, you dial it, there's a ringing sound, most times someone on the other end answers?" Luke's face lit up. Reid laughed. "There ya go, genius," he grinned, watching as Luke fumbled for his phone. He repeated his number, endlessly amused by the smile on Luke's face.

"Text first," said Reid plainly, taking the phone from Luke. "I don't always have set hours at the hospital, but I'm usually off by five. You can try me after that." He finished putting in his number and handed the phone back to a smiling Luke. "Just, please don't turn out to be one of those people who get a kick out of sending texts every five minutes. I don't want to get a new phone number."

Luke laughed, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I promise I won't bother you," he said reassuringly.

The smile one Reid's face told Luke that he believed him. Luke bit his lip a little, just watching the other man before the pause finally became awkward. Again he laughed nervously, turning slightly and gesturing over his shoulder.

"I should go," he said.

"As you've said, three times now," Reid pointed out, though he didn't seem annoyed. If anything he looked entertained. Luke was embarrassed but didn't let it get to him too much.

"I'll see you," said Luke, taking a step back and smiling pleasantly at the doctor.

Reid stood there, hands in his pockets as Luke walked away. A man in a rather ridiculous uniform opened the door for Luke, which Reid couldn't resist rolling his eyes at. Luke turned back as he stepped in, giving a final smile before disappearing from sight. Reid stayed a moment longer, trying to wrap his mind around the evening he'd just had and more importantly that it had ended with him giving a much younger man his phone number. Rubbing the back of his neck he let out a sigh, laughing a little at the craziness of it all. He turned on his heel and headed back toward the lot where he was parked, just around the corner from the bar and the hotel, smiling the entire way.

As the elevator slowly climbed to the twelfth floor Luke found himself in a bit of a daze. He stared at the blurry reflection of himself in the stainless steel doors, recounting the conversations he'd had with Reid and the overall feelings of contentment and ease he'd felt while with the man. As he fumbled for his room key outside of his door, Luke realized suddenly that he hadn't enjoyed himself like that in a very long time. He'd been sulking so much lately, a fact he was quite aware of, that he was pretty sure that this was the first time in weeks he'd managed to go more than an hour without feeling sorry for himself, and he knew he had Reid to thank for it.

He showered again and changed into some flannel pants and a t-shirt, turning the TV on and going over some notes for tomorrow. He double checked his phone to be sure his alarm was set and reminded himself that he had already asked for a wake up call from the front desk. Slipping into the bed he used the remote to turn off the TV before returning it to the bedside table, sinking into the blankets and pillows. His mind instantly drifted back to Reid and the couple of hours they had spent talking. Luke realized he honestly didn't know many details about Dr. Reid Oliver other than where he was from and what he did for a living. What he did know, though, was that Reid was a confident and sometimes cocky man without a filtering system. He also knew that Reid had a passion for his job and a smile that made him weak in the knees. It wouldn't be until the next morning that Luke would realize that for the first time in two years it wasn't Noah's face he was picturing as he drifted into sleep, but the face of the 30-something doctor with curly hair and the perfect crooked smile that filled Luke with an excitement he'd almost forgotten existed.