New Addition

Chapter 11

“Hello, Mother.”  Reid hated interruptions at work, especially when he had an important appointment in less than ten minutes.

“Hello, Reid.  I had a lovely time with that wonderfully charming grandchild of mine.  How long will it be before I have two more grandchildren to spoil?”

“You can always spoil me, Mother.  I’m sure we could work out some time to make up for our twenty years of abstinence.” 

“Now, dear, I thought we were past all that silliness.  Besides, grandmothers always spoil the grandchildren.  Children become secondary.”

“Nice to know you’re consistent, Mother.”

“Don’t turn my words around, Reid.  You know how I feel about you, and I love your darling Luke.”

“Yes, Mother, I do know how you feel.”  Reid pinched the bridge of his nose.  “The babies will be here in a couple of weeks if all goes on schedule.”

“Perfect.  I’ll have plenty of time to spend helping all of you.”

“Mother, we can handle the babies.  Luke and I have worked out our schedules so we can take care of all three kids.”

“I’m sure you can, but I’ll be there to take care of my sweet Ethan when the babies are getting agitated.  Infants do get difficult at times.”

“So I’ve heard.”  Rolling his eyes, Reid continued.  “You really have taken to my kid.”

“Ethan’s a joy.  He’s always so well-behaved and appreciates the finer things in life.”

“I’ll just bet he does.”  Reid snorted.

“Reid Oliver!”

“That’s Oliver-Snyder, Mother.”

“Of course.”  Miriam Oliver sighed.  “Just plan on having me around for at least a couple of weeks when the little angels are born.  Lucinda and John offered to let me stay with them.”

“That’s just peachy.”  Reid wondered if John would move out while his mother visited.  The mansion might be too small with Miriam Oliver and Lucinda Walsh living there at the same time.

“I have to go.  I’m organizing a group to design a chic PFLAG float for Boston Pride this year.”

“Oh my God.”  Reid’s eyes widened.  “When did you get involved in PFLAG?” 

“When Ethan told me how much it would mean to you and Luke.”

“He did, did he?”

“He’s such a special boy.”

“Special wasn’t quite the word I was going for, but it’ll do for now.”  Reid glanced at his watch.  “I’ve got to go too, Mother.  I actually have an obligation or two of my own.  Talk to you soon.”

“Lucinda told me she’d call the minute your surrogate goes into labor.  What will her role be in raising the children?  I haven’t quite grasped that concept.”

“None, Mother.  Remember -- I told you, she’s just carrying the babies.  The eggs were donated by someone we’ll never meet.  We picked the donor from thousands of profiles in an egg donor data base.”

“Oh yes, that way the little tykes will be all yours.  No nasty custody issues.”

“Exactly.”

“Glad you’re still thinking clearly, Reid.  I must head out.  Bye.”

Before Reid could say another word his mother disconnected her phone.  He shook his head and chuckled.  His mother involved with a Pride parade; if he didn’t want to laugh so much, he’d puke.

Getting ready to leave for the consult with Mark, Reid stood, ready to leave, only to have his pager sound.  “Jesus, can’t he wait.  I’m on my way.”

Checking the phone number before turning off the device, Reid was shocked to see Luke’s cell number.  Without hesitating he picked up his office phone.  Mark could wait another couple of minutes.  It was a consult; they weren’t heading into emergency surgery.

“Luke, are you okay?  Is it Ethan?”

“Thanks for calling me right back.  I’m sorry to bother you.”

“You know you’re the exception to all the rules.  You can page me anytime, anywhere.  What the hell is going on?”

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”

“I don’t give a damn, just spill.”  Reid’s brow furrowed.  He could feel the tension building in his shoulders.

Reid could hear Luke take a deep breath.  “The good news first.  Molly’s in labor and on the way to the hospital.  I’ll be there in ten minutes to meet her.  I’ll page you if it’s more than a false alarm.”

“Holy shit!  I have a consult with Mark.”

“Go to the consult.  The entire hospital will know where to find you if this is really it.”

Combing his fingers through his hair, Reid returned to his seat.  He could be a father to two infants soon.  Maybe even that very day.

“Reid?  Are you still there?”

“Oh, sorry, just thinking about what might be.”

“I know.  Me too.  I can’t believe it.  I’ve waited so long to be a father.”

“You’ve been Ethan’s father for years.”

“Not really.  He always sees me as his brother.  You’re the dad.  I’m thirty and I’m finally going to have a kid -- two!”

“Well, compared to most in Oakdale, including your own father, we’re definitely on the late side of the parenting curve.”

Luke chuckled.  “That’s for sure.”

“The rest of your news.”

“Damn.  I’d almost forgotten.  I wish I had.”

“What’s wrong?  So far all the news sounds great.”

“Faith called this morning, and then Abigail.”

Reid hated all the build up, but that was Luke’s way and he tried to be patient.

“They told me to check my email right away, now that they both know everything about the latest goings on in Casey’s life.”

“I’m surprised it wasn’t top of the news by now.”

“Reid!”

“Sorry.  So what’s the problem?  Please tell me baby Hughes hasn’t dumped my new pediatrician already.”  Jason had become a great new addition to Memorial.  The families loved him, the kids loved him, Chris thought the new doctor walked on water, and he was always smiling -- no doubt a result of his newfound attachment to Luke’s oldest friend.

“Casey is more attached to Jason than even he thought was possible.  And it turns out, having Katie as a support in the family went a long way to smoothing things over when Casey had his big coming out dinner with them.”

“I’m still waiting to hear the problem.  So far all this sounds good.”

“Aaron’s coming into town.  Apparently he was the last to know he’s about to become a father.”

“He asked to stay with us, thinking we’d have room since the babies aren’t supposed to be here yet.”

“And you said?”  Reid truly hoped Luke had the backbone to stand up to his wayward big brother.

“I told him he could make other arrangements; maybe with Allison.”

“Evil Luciano still exists, even without the Grimaldi blood.”

“Too many years of practice.  Even though Casey seems pretty happy right now, he’s going through a divorce and that’s Aaron’s fault.”

“Don’t give Aaron too much credit.  As I recall, Allison and Casey’s relationship has always been built on shaky ground.”

“You may be right, but he’s my brother, and he knows how close I am with Casey.  He should have kept his damn pants zipped for once.”

“Well, Luke Oliver-Snyder, you sound pretty hot under the collar.  I look forward to heating the rest of you up later today.”

“Unless we’re feeding babies.”

“Page me as soon as you know something.  I’m sure it’s either indigestion or false labor.  Molly’s never carried twins before; she’s probably more nervous this time and overreacting.”

“I love you, Reid.  You don’t think I was too hard on Aaron.”

“To be honest, I think you were more than fair.  There’re a lot of people who know Aaron in Oakdale.  He won’t be sleeping on any park benches or in any sleazy motels.  Hell, he can stay at the Lakeview if no one wants him.  Unfortunately, I have a feeling Casey will discover his almost ex will be more welcoming than she should be.”

“I think you’re right.  I’m pulling into the hospital lot.  Talk to you soon.”

“Bye.  And Luke?”

“Yes?”

“You know I love you too.”

“Yeah, I know.  But it’s nice to hear, especially if we’re about to become parents again.”

Reid smiled as he hung up the phone.  He was late for his consult, so he bypassed waiting for the elevators and took the stairs to the floor where he’d find the neurology consult room.

As he approached the door he expected to find an annoyed Mark.  He was definitely late and it wasn’t a practice he wanted to encourage, or be known for. 

Before he reached the room, Luke stepped out of the elevator.  “Luke, what are you doing here?”

“I have no idea.  Molly texted me to meet her here.”

“What?  That makes absolutely no--”  Reid nearly fell over. 

The door to the large consult room swung open and a barrage of people yelled, “Surprise!”

“What the fuck!”  Reid’s eyes widened.

Luke started laughing.  “What’s going on?”

Noah, Mark, and Casey stepped across the threshold of the room. 

With a half smile on his face, Noah patted Reid on the shoulder.  He would have been annoyed at the patronizing gesture had he not still been in shock.  “You’re supposed to be the genius, Doc.  This is the Oliver-Snyder version of a baby shower.”

“Shit!”

“Dad!”  Ethan popped his head out the door.  “I guess this is one of those times crappy language gets a pass.  Come on in.  There’s lots of food.  Grandma Emma went berserk in her kitchen.”

Looking at Luke, Reid took a deep breath.  Luke held Reid’s hand tight.  “I guess we have some pretty special family and friends.”

“I guess so,” Reid whispered as he finally began to understand all the conniving and conspiring that had taken place to get Luke and him in the same place at the same time. 

The two best sights of all were Molly guiding Miriam Oliver’s hand over her belly to feel the babies moving, and watching as Mark and Noah stood off in a corner ogling one of the ridiculous baby decorations hanging from the ceiling.

“Here.”  Luke handed Reid a plate of food.

“You always take care of me.”

“I don’t plan on stopping.  Is that okay with you?”

“It’s perfect.”

[TBC]

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