Happy Birthday

Part 1

Reid pinched the bridge of his nose as he paced the length of the room Luke was resting in.  Ethan would be arriving soon and the best they could manage for his fourteenth birthday was a cake in the shape of a motorcycle, the only one he’d ever let Ethan own despite the kid’s pleas for a motorbike.  There were some balloons and snacks, and assorted members of his family crammed into the staff lounge of Memorial Hospital awaiting the kid’s arrival.

Although he was the Chief of Staff, the asshole of a nephrologist had taken it upon himself to insist that Luke had to have his annual inpatient evaluation before the doctor left for his two-week vacation.  Reid would have threatened to cancel his vacation time, but didn’t want to take the risk of  him responding by threatening to resign. It had been a real coup to get the renowned physician on staff, and he intended to keep him.

“Dr. Oliver, you may be the Chief of Staff, but I’m the kidney expert.  Patients who follow my regimen tend to live long, comfortable lives.  Unless you want me held accountable in a malpractice suit brought by your own partner, you’ll let me do my job when it has to be done.  I doubt you want me to screw up on this case in particular.”

“I don’t expect you to ever screw up on any case while on my watch.”

“Then don’t have me postpone a patient’s ongoing care for a kiddy party.”

“Unless you forgot to read the adolescent development portion of your anatomy book, you’ll note that fourteen is not a kiddy, but a person evolving into adulthood, with the hormones and emotions that accompany said development.”

“In other words, Doctor, you don’t want to get flak from your son for having to celebrate his birthday a few days late.” 

Reid hated it when one of the staff called his bluff.  It reminded him of the days he bested Bob Hughes, although both he and Bob knew Reid never truly bested the old guy.  He always seemed to know how to manipulate Reid to get him right where he wanted him.

“Fine.  But Luke had better be one-hundred percent before you abandon your job.”

The doctor huffed.  “I’m taking my first vacation since I arrived in this one-horse town over a year ago.  It’ll be one of the ways I avoid getting served divorce papers by my wife.”

Now Luke was stuck overnight at Memorial on Ethan’s birthday. 

When they broke the news to Ethan he seemed to take it better than either of the adults, until they really listened to his reaction.

“Hey, no problem big brother.  At least this kidney seems to be treating you better than the last.  I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that you got this one legally.”

“Ethan!”

“What, Luke?  I’m not deaf, dumb, and blind.  I’ve listened to you and Reid the past three years, since you got the new and improved body part.  Now I know you won’t drop out of my life too.”

Reid guided Ethan to the sofa, handing him a ginger ale.  He’d learned not to ignore remarks like that when they came from the young teen.  “What are you talking about?  Neither Luke, nor I are dropping out of your life.  Why would you say something like that?”

“Well, let’s see, my parents got married for the fiftieth time and died soon after, one of my grandmothers jet sets all around the world -- I’m lucky to get a postcard every now and then, the other gran is too busy taking care of Natalie, who only speaks to me if she wants to insult me, my other sister is so busy with the man in her life, she’s forgotten there were a few guys in her life before him, and Luke--”

He stopped short in the middle of his overly dramatic rant.  However, Reid had to admit the kid had a point.  He’d lost a lot for someone so young.  Being born into the Snyder family hadn’t turned out to be the brass ring everyone in town most likely thought it was.

Luke joined them on the sofa.  “Ethan, what about me?”

“You’re gonna die sooner than you should.”

“What!”  Luke was shocked.

Reid raised his eyebrows, remaining silent.

“Why would you think that?”

“Why do you think?”  Ethan closed his eyes.  “When I was little lots of shit happened to you.  From what I remember the worst was the kidney stuff, and being an alcoholic.  I know Mom and Dad were always freaked out about something happening in your life.  Hell, your real father kidnapped you!  It’s like you have a target on your back.”

“My real father was our father, Holden.  Damian was, well, an unfortunate accident of birth.  Besides, I’m okay now.  I plan to stay around for years to nag you and Reid.”

Reid put his arm around Ethan’s shoulders.  “We’re both in trouble now, Kid.”

“You’re a doctor, Reid.  Is Luke gonna be okay?  Can he really live a long life?”

Reid looked at Ethan and then at Luke.  It was strange how Ethan was channeling some of his own concerns, but Reid had one advantage -- Reid knew he’d do everything in his medical power to keep Luke alive and well for many decades to come.  Reaching across to brush his fingers over Luke’s cheek, Reid smiled.  “If I have anything to say about it, and we all know I’m a medical genius, your brother will outlive us all.”

Ethan seemed to calm down from his momentary tirade.  For a split second Reid wondered if this could be counted as a queen-out, but he figured the kid would let them know soon enough if he actually was more like his brother than anyone suspected.

After that the birthday plans proceeded smoothly.  Katie took charge, enlisting Jacob as her planning assistant.  Even though he was a few years older than his cousin, the two boys got along quite well. 

Faith’s job was to keep Natalie in line, making sure she remembered that orphans are supposed to love and rely on each other more than most siblings, not less.

She might be a huge flake, but on occasion Reid was glad Faith listened to Luke most of the time.  It was their relationship that kept the family close-knit even though they didn’t all live in the same house.

Reid knew all the guests were waiting in the lounge.  He brought a wheelchair to Luke’s room.  He was taken aback by the soft, beautiful features of the man lying in the stark white hospital bed. 

They may have been together for almost ten years, but Luke still looked like a college boy.  Wisps of his blond hair scattered haphazardly around his face made him look even younger and sweeter.  Reid blinked.  Where did that come from?  He’d have to make sure Luke never heard him use that word to describe him.  Reid would never hear the end of it from the premier junior philanthropist of Oakdale.

Luke yawned as his eyelids began to slowly flutter.  He’d been through a battery of tests and so far had passed them all with flying colors.  A few lab results were still out, but there was no reason to expect anything but a perfect three-year check, with continued clearance for most normal activities and minimal limitations.

“Your chariot awaits, Mr. Snyder.”

“I always wanted a slave.”

“Keep the kinky stuff in the bedroom.  Remember this is a party for Ethan.”

Luke snickered.  “Does that mean you’ll be my slave in bed when I get out of here tomorrow?”

“How about tabling this discussion until we can pursue the specifics more immediately?”

Running his tongue along his lips, Luke whispered, “Sounds delicious.”

Reid coughed.  “You’re the only one I’ve ever met who actually looks hot in a hospital gown.”

“Good thing for us.  If you’d said otherwise, I wouldn’t let you leave for work each day.”

Getting behind the wheelchair, Reid pushed his partner the short distance to the decorated room filled with close family and friends.

It wasn’t a surprise, but when Ethan walked in everyone yelled, “Happy Birthday!” as if he wouldn’t expect it.

Unfortunately the surprise was on all of them.  The huge black and blue bruise surrounding the kid’s left eye silenced the entire group.

Luke grabbed Reid’s hand and squeezed it so hard that is was almost  beyond bearable.  For an exhausted patient, he had a good grip.

Finding his voice first, Reid approached the teen.  “What the hell happened, and did anyone at school check this out?”  He immediately began to take a closer look at the injury to confirm it was nothing more than a simple bruise that would become a black eye and then fade as it healed.

“Let’s just say a couple of jackasses at school wished me a great year in their own special way.”

“I’m calling that school first thing in the morning and we’re going to have you transferred to Oakdale Prep.”

“Reid, cool it.  It was just a couple of guys and they were caught in the act.  By the time you call they’ll already be on suspension.”

Luke stood from the wheelchair, appearing completely steady to Reid’s relief.  He spoke softly, ghosting his fingers over his brother’s swollen cheek.  “You never get into fights.  Why?”

“I’d rather not talk about it.  Can we just have cake?  Since I’m in a hospital, maybe someone can get me an ice-pack.  The one I got from school got warm and I dumped it.”

Jacob snuck through the crowd.  “You’re gonna have a major league shiner.”

Ethan tilted his head.  “No shit.”

Reid snorted and Luke scolded, “Ethan!”

“Give the kid a break.”  Reid guided Luke back to the chair, not willing to take any risks.

“I’ll give him a break when he tells us what happened.”

The family started whispering amongst themselves, but for the most part remained focused on the guest of honor.

Ethan’s face began to redden as he glared at Luke.  “Do you really want to know why a couple of football jerks wanted to use my face as a punching bag?”

Faith piped up, “I’d sure like to know.”

Standing next to her, in a voice more comforting than normal, Natalie added, “Me, too, Eth.”

“Fine.  It’s because of them.”  He pointed from Reid to Luke and back again.  “My adoptive father, who’s also my pseudo brother-in-law, and my older brother whose life has never been normal or private in this stupid town.” 

The red in his face deepened and a stray tear ran down Ethan’s cheek.  “It’s because my stupid parents thought I should be raised by a couple of gay men.”

He stormed out of the party and appeared to head toward Luke’s room down the hall.

Luke lowered his head, letting it drop into his hands, and Reid stared after Ethan murmuring, “Damn.”

[TBC]

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