In-Laws

Epilogue

“She is so my grandmother; just as much as Grandma Emma is Luke’s grandma.  You’re just jealous, Natalie, because you only have two, and one of yours is staying with Dr. Dixon in Amsterdam.”

“She’s your Grandmother too!”

Reid pinched the bridge of his nose, listening to Ethan and Natalie bellowing in the living room, rehashing the same argument they started the previous month at the family’s Thanksgiving dinner.

“Yeah, she may be my Grandmother too, but I’ll still have two of them with me today.”

“You’re such a child, Ethan.  I’m glad Grandmother’s still happy with her doctor boyfriend.  Besides, she sent us all tons of gifts.”

“I’m a child!  Look who’s talking.  You’re the one calling an old man someone’s boyfriend.  He’s called her partner.”

“Shut up, mister I have two dads so I’m totally cool.” 

Making his way to the ever-full cookie jar, Reid took out three big oatmeal raisin chews.  Thick and gooey -- perfect.

“Caught ya!”  Luke came in carrying a small pile of firewood.

“Nothing to catch, because I wasn’t sneaking.  I need sustenance, and since my mother won’t arrive for at least another half hour I knew where to find the stash.”

“No wonder Grandma Emma loves you so much.  You indulge her never ending desire to stuff her children and grandchildren.”

“And I qualify as a grandchild -- the same category as those two screaming maniacs in the other room?”

“Are Ethan and Natalie at it again?”

“Do they ever stop?”

“I can understand.  I was always going at it with Faith, unless we were in a peaceful period where we were best friends.  We were really close, despite some huge arguments.”

“And now you’ll probably be godfather to her no-so-little bun in the oven.”

Luke placed the firewood in the rack next to the fireplace.  He rinsed off his hands, then returned to Reid, standing in front of him and wrapping his arms around him.  “You can put the cookies down for a second.  I think I have something much better to keep your mouth busy.”

“I like the sound of that.”  Reid set the rest of his cookies on the kitchen island and swallowed his mouthful as quickly as possible.  Placing his hand at the nape of Luke’s neck, he drew him in, pressing their lips together.  Although the kiss began slow and tender, the heat quickly began to build.  Reid held Luke close, pushing his tongue past the beautiful, full lips he could never get enough of.  Their kisses became urgent, both needed more as they clung together.

When the two finally parted they were both panting.  “Damn!”  Luke’s voice hitched.

“Isn’t there any place on this entire farm where we can be alone for thirty minutes?  I’d even take fifteen in a pinch.”

“It’s Christmas.  The whole family is coming, and more than half of them are here already.”

“And why do you insist we spend every holiday at Snyder Central?”

Luke lowered his head and snorted.  “Reid, this script is getting yellow and dog-eared.  Can’t we get through one holiday without you complaining about being with the family?”

Reid smiled.  “I know one script that isn’t yellowing.”

Luke blushed.  “I still can’t believe it.  The new owner of WOAK and Noah are going to produce and direct my documentary about the neuro wing and the soon-to-be-built state of the art pediatric center.”

“It’s my understanding you’ve written scripts before.  It’s about time one of them was given the attention it deserves.”  Reid brushed his hand over Luke’s warm cheek.

“The last script I was truly proud of got trashed by--”  Luke closed his mouth and gave Reid a peck on the cheek.  “I think we should finish setting the table.”

“Don’t go silent on me now Mr. Snyder.”

“Fine.”  Luke closed his eyes.  “The last script I wrote was pretty good.  It wasn’t great, but it was good.”

“So why hasn’t it seen the light of day?”

“Because Noah’s film professor shot it down.”  Luke opened his eyes.  Reid heard the bitterness in his voice.

Reid stared blankly at Luke until he remembered the complete story of the demise of the Luke and Noah romance that was supposed to last a lifetime.  One of the catalysts was a lecherous college professor who wanted to get into Noah’s pants, and would stoop to anything to achieve his desire, including destroying the self-esteem of another young man.

“I told you about Mason.”

“Seems to me you still hold a grudge.”

Luke threaded his fingers through Reid’s hair sending a shiver down his spine.  “You know, that jerk Mason set a series of events in motion that nearly destroyed Noah’s career.”  Luke bit his lip.  “Although I had a big hand in it too.”

“As did Noah.  You’re referring to the blindness.”

Nodding, Luke continued.  “Yes.  And our break up.”  He paused.  “But in a strange way, if Mason hadn’t done what he did, the course of my life may well have been different, and I might never have found you.”

Rolling his lips inward, Reid listened to Luke.

“I can’t imagine life without you now.  Guess in a weird, twisted way, I owe that asshole.”

“A few years ago I might have agreed with you.”

Luke furrowed his brow.  “And you don’t now?”

“Maybe I’m a bit less tainted being around you -- living with you, and having the kid in our lives.  Somehow, I think we would have found each other, even without the sleazy teacher.”

“That’s one of the most romantic, and non-cynical things you’ve ever said to me.”

“Well, it’s Christmas, I’m feeling the Snyder warmth.”

Huffing, Luke rested his head on Reid’s shoulder.  “You’ll get a lot more warmth when we get home tonight.”

“Are you sure there’s no place to--”

“No!”  Luke poked Reid in the ribs.  “I can’t believe you’ll be forty in a couple of months.  You have the energy of a twenty year old.”

“Well, look who I have to keep up with.”

“Just making up for all the time I made you wait.”

“Then we’re set for another twenty years.”

“At least.”  Luke licked his lips.

“Tease.”

“I wonder when Noah and his new boyfriend are going to get here.  Please tell me you didn’t assign him a shift today.”

“It amazes me that two kids who thought they were each other’s destiny both ended up with much more mature men in their lives.”

“The term is older men.”

“Not if you do want to get any later.”

Laughing, Luke ran a finger over the bulge in Reid’s pants, which certainly didn’t help Reid’s efforts to make it disappear.  “I’ll get plenty later.  I’m not worried about your idle threats.”

“For someone who waited so long to have sex in both of his relationships, you’re insatiable.”

“Lucky for you.”

“Indeed.”  Reid’s eyes widened.  “To answer your earlier question, I did not assign my newest neurosurgeon a shift today, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be paged if one of his patients needs him.”

“It’s so strange.”

“What?”

“Noah meeting Mark, who was covering for his neurologist during a regularly scheduled appointment, and the two of them hitting it off so quickly.”

“Noah was ready.  Let’s face it, he’d been enthusiastically enjoying his freedom, far more than either of us expected, for quite some time.  Talk about making a big return to town.”  Reid paused and took a deep breath.  “Besides, I knew after seeing you only twice that I wanted you.”

Luke sighed.  “Now, that is romantic.”

“Consider it my contribution to the Christmas spirit.”

Luke glanced around the room.  “Is Parker here yet?”

“Isn’t he coming with his parents?  I think Jack mentioned they were picking him up on the way here.”  Reid took a step back and picked up one of his earlier abandoned cookies.  “By the way, isn’t he related to Faith?  How did those two get together?”

“You keep forgetting.  Parker isn’t Jack’s natural child.  His father was Hal, same as Will.”

“I know you’ve tried to give me a scorecard or draw me a diagram, but I’ll never figure out the Snyder family.”

“It’s fun to keep you guessing.”

“Just promise me that Faith’s kid isn’t a product of--”

“Ew, that’s disgusting!  Reid, when Faith and Parker finally decide to get married...”

“Maybe even before they have the baby; wouldn’t that be novel around here?”

“Shut up.”  Luke swatted Reid on the arm, then grabbed the dishes stacked on the table, setting them in front of all the chairs.

“Ethan’s really excited about seeing your mother again.” 

“He’s hoping she’ll fill in any presents Lucinda missed on his wish list.”

Luke sat in one of the chairs at the oversized table.  “He deserves to be spoiled.  That’s why I gave him the foal a few weeks ago.  It’s what Dad would have wanted.”

Reid stood behind Luke, placing his hands on his shoulders.  “Nothing will ever fill the void left by your parents -- not for any of you.”

“You think that’s why Faith’s pregnant and hesitant to marry?”

“And why Ethan wants to collect grandmothers along with their multitude of gifts, and Natalie, despite being in her early teens, is dating half of Oakdale High’s football team.”

“Well, Dr. Sigmund Oliver, what about me?  How has it affected me?”

“You, Mr. Snyder, have decided to create a new Snyder tradition to honor your family.”

“Oh?  What would that be?”

“To commit to one person, marry him, and never screw it up.”

“I can live with that.”

“So can I.”  Reid took the seat next to Luke and held both his hands.  “Taking a chance on a very young Luke Snyder was the best decision I ever made.”

“Better than deciding to go into medicine?”  Luke smiled, the blush returning to his cheeks.

“Medicine doesn’t compare.”

“You make me happy, Reid.”

“Right back at you.”  Reid took a deep breath.  “I love you.  I know I don’t say it enough, but I do.”

“I know.”  Luke rested his cheek against Reid’s.  “You know how much I love you, but it always bears repeating.  I love you, Reid.”

The two kissed.  They weren’t the hungry kisses of earlier, but gentle pecks that held the promise of many years to come, unwillingly breaking apart only when they heard Noah and his boyfriend greeting Miriam Oliver on the porch and Ethan yelling in the background.  “Dad, Luke, Grandma Miriam and Noah are here!”

[The End - for now]

Return to Luke/Reid