The leather moaned when he dropped himself in the chair and leaning backward – his hands behind his head – he looked at Luke’s picture on his desk and smiled. Then he closed his eyes and let the surgery cross his mind again. He knew he couldn’t reverse one single part of the procedure, but he liked to list all the choices he made and feel that sense of achievement. This knowing that his patient got the best surgery she could get. All she had to do now was to wake up.
That thought made him smile again, reminding him of last night. He’d woken up without any real cause and had missed Luke’s presence immediately. Expecting to find him in Zoë’s room, Reid had been surprised to find both kids sleeping, without their blond father in close proximity.
Then he had made his way to the kitchen and that hunch had paid off. After opening the door to the scullery, his heart had skipped. Luke sat on a cushion on the floor, his hand on the edge of the crate and the dog’s head on his hand. The only thing moving had been the dog’s eyes. Luke had been fast asleep and even the flash of Reid’s phone camera hadn’t woken him up.
“Hey Chief, I bring you gifts.”
The huge mug with sweet smelling coffee made Reid grin and nod with approval.
“That must mean you want something,” he sneered, making a gesture towards to the empty chair at his desk. They didn’t need words. She sat.
“Surgery went well?” Gwen made a slurping sound and Reid gave her a quick smile, mirroring her drinking habits.
“Of course,” he snorted.
“You look tired.”
He was. Without answering he pulled out his phone and showed Gwen the picture. Her face mellowed.
“Oh my God. He was asleep?”
“Utterly,” Reid grinned, “It took me a while to wake him up, too.”
“He looks so peaceful,” it was a loving whisper. “I guess you guys haven’t had much sleep the last few days. This ordeal with Zoë…”
“Yeah, it took its toll,” Reid nodded, putting the phone on his desk. “In the end we didn’t know where reality stopped and the nightmare started.”
“It was hell,” Gwen took another sip of her coffee, “but on the other hand it was beautiful to watch how the whole town joined forces. I know they didn’t really achieve anything, but the energy of it was overwhelming.”
“It was,” Reid had to agree. “I hadn’t expect this outburst of outrage, to be honest.”
“The whole situation was unfair on many levels,” Gwen shrugged, “and everybody felt it. Did you see the videos on YouTube? Of Zoë’s speech? If you can watch that without seeing her love for you and Luke, you’re not human.”
Reid smiled. Luke had showed him the clips and he had mixed feelings about them. Of course, he was very proud of his little girl too, but he just wanted to get things back to normal as soon as possible.
“She deserves her ten minutes of fame,” he said, “but personally I hope this will blow over soon.”
“I understand. You have a whole new drama to focus on.”
Her tease didn’t stay unnoticed and Reid rolled his eyes.
“P-lease.”
“She looks gentle.”
“Don’t you start too, now,” Reid tried to look ominous, but failed. “Or I’ll make you take her in.”
“I honestly wish I could,” Gwen sighed. “I would love to have a dog. But no pets allowed in our building.”
Reid picked up the phone again and activated the picture. Without realizing, he shook his head. Luke and animals.
After Gwen’s hand signal, Reid handed her the phone and again she smiled at the image.
“They look so much nicer with the ears not cropped.”
“Not what?”
“Cropped. They normally cut their ears and make them stand up. She has her natural ears.”
“They did cut her tail. She has this little stump.” Reid pulled a face.
“I know. It happens when the puppies are very young. Apparently it doesn’t hurt.”
“I don’t buy that,” Reid shook his head again, “but knowing Luke, nobody will get a chance to hurt this puppies. Not even a vet.”
They both chuckled.
“You do realize your family has a dog now, don’t you?” Gwen’s grin was a little mischievous.
“I’m still in denial,” Reid shrugged, “but this picture says more than a hundred words. The connection is there. Luke was already sticking up for her before he’d seen her. He’s such a wuss.”
“And you love him for it,” Gwen smiled. She loved these little talks with Reid, especially right after a surgery. For some reason he was always more emotionally available after he saved a life. Or lost one. She felt all tingly when he gave her a beaming smile.
“Oh yes. I sure do,” he agreed. “Don’t tell Luke, but I’ve known from the start that we wouldn’t stay together for long.”
He saw Gwen’s confusion and grinned.
“I mean, the two of us. I always knew Luke would attract company, in whatever shape or form. We didn’t see the kids coming, but animals in and around the house? I’ve always known it was just a matter of time. So I made peace with that possibility from the moment we moved in together.”
“You’re such a wuss, too.” Gwen blew him a kiss. “You should tell Luke. It’s so romantic.”
Reid frowned. Romantic?
“For you this kind of thing is normal, but believe me… it’s not. It’s beautiful that you took into account that Luke is the type of guy who would like animals around him.”
Reid didn’t get it. “I’m glad you see the beauty in it. To me it’s just logic. Based on his character I made up some very likely scenarios and asked myself if I could live with that. And obviously I never came across a scenario I couldn’t handle in my mind. Being able to share my life with this guy…”
He bit his lip. Gwen was so right. He was such a wuss.
“And that’s the beauty of it,” Gwen smiled. “That love. That’s what made this whole town stand up for your family. I overheard a conversation in Al’s a few days ago. Two teens, discussing the whole situation. I heard one of them say ‘I never really gave it any thought, to be honest, but seeing those two guys together made me realize that it’s exactly the same dynamics as my family, for instance. Okay, it’s two guys, but it’s the same love, the same family bond, the same loyalty.’ And that warmed my heart, because that’s an important message.”
“It is,” Reid smiled, “It would be great if sexual orientation could have the same importance as preferences of food, fashion and stuff like that. So you like fish and I don’t. No big deal. So I like my own gender and you don’t. No big deal.”
Gwen sighed. “Yeah, that’s a great futuristic view.”
Reid nodded, standing up.
“But let’s focus on our immediate future. Let’s grab some lunch.”
