Can't We All Just Get Along?

Luke approached Bob Hughes' open office door.  Bob looked up and waved him in.  "Thank you for coming in, Luke...Close the door, please.  Take a seat."  He gestured toward the seat next to Dr. Oliver. 

"What's this about, Dr. Hughes?" Luke asked, sitting down and glacing briefly at Reid. 

"The principal here is about to reprimand us," Reid said, sounding irritated.

Bob cleared his throat.  "Luke.  Reid.  What happened in the meeting this morning has got to stop.  Your inability to keep your tempers in check in regard to one another is making the other board members very uncomfortable."

Luke nodded, and Reid rolled his eyes.

"And it is hampering productivity," Bob continued.  "I understand that you don't get along, but you have to find a way to work amicably with one another, for the good of the hospital and the neuro wing that we are all trying so hard to make a reality.  So, I have asked you here to do a little team building exercise together to focus on and acknowledge each other's strengths, what you admire about each other, and to maybe identify things that you could both work on so that you get along better as individuals."

Reid sighed.  "Would you like I us to hold hands and sing Kumbiyah?  Listen, Bob, I'm very busy...I don't have time for this Girl Scout shit, so if you'll excuse me..." 

Reid made to stand up, but Bob redirected him.  "Sit down, Reid!"

Luke snickered, and Reid shot him a look as he sat back in his chair.

Bob ran a hand over his face.  "Gentlemen, you are both an asset to this project.  I'd like each of you to take a turn and list the things that the other has to offer this endeavor."

"Oh, come on, Bob...this is bullshit." 

"Oh, good," Bob said calmly.  "Thank you for volunteering to go first, Dr. Oliver."

Reid rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and shook his head.

"Reid," Bob urged, "Please, tell us what Luke brings to this project."

Reid stayed silent, while Luke stared at his own hands.

"Reid..."

"Money," Reid said, bringing his palm down against his thigh.  "Okay?  Money.  Richie Rich here brings money."

"What else?"

"What do you mean, what else?" Reid asked, exasperated.

"What else does Luke bring to the table?"

Reid huffed out a breath and looked at Luke, who met his eyes for a second and then looked away.  "He understands patients' needs.  Not the physical ones, which I'm here to fix, but.................through his foundation work and getting to know patients and their families, he has an understanding of what they're dealing with, what they need.............emotionally.  Maybe?  Shit, I don't know..."

"That's a very good point, Reid," Bob said.  "And I agree.  Luke has spent a lot of time in hospitals himself, so he has insights into treating the whole patient, not just the immediate physical issues."

Reid looked over at Luke who looked uncomfortable at this revelation.  Reid's brow furrowed.  "Are you okay?  I mean...ya know, are you...........are you sick?"

"Do I look sick?" Luke answered without looking at Reid.  He scratched behind his left ear.

"Okay," Bob said, not giving Reid time to answer.  "Luke, your turn.  What are Dr. Oliver's strengths in relation to the development of the new wing?"

Luke glanced toward Reid.  "He's very intelligent."

Reid nodded.  Luke shook his head but continued, returning his eyes to Bob.  "He's an incredibly gifted physician, and he brings pretige to the project because of his reputation and track record."

"Great answer," Luke.  "See this isn't so bad is it?"

Luke shrugged.  Reid sighed.

"Dr. Oliver, your turn..."

"Again?"

"Please, name one thing you admire about Luke Snyder."

"He doesn't back down," Reid answered easily.  "I admire that in people."

Bob nodded.  "Much like yourself, in that regard."

Reid shook his head.  "Yeah, maybe."

"What do you admire about him that is different from yourself?"

Reid looked over at Luke and their eyes met.  "Everybody likes him."

Luke smirked.  "Yeah, everyone except you,right?"

"I never said I didn't like you," Reid said, narrowing his eyes at Luke.

"Oh my God, yes you did!" Luke exclaimed, leaning toward Reid.  "On the day we met.  I think your exact words were:  I DON'T LIKE YOU, and then you wished me death by telling me to choke on the silver spoon in my mouth."

Reid laughed.  "Yeah, I guess I did."

Their eyes locked.  Bob cleared his throat.  "Okay...Luke.  Your turn.  Name something you admire about Dr. Oliver that is different from yourself."

"He's confident."  Luke nodded.  He turned back to Bob.  "And, yeah.  I admire that." 

"This is going very well, I think," Bob said, smiling at both Luke and Reid.

"What, did you go to a management seminar recently, Bob, and we're your test subjects?  Can we be done already?" Reid asked, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

"We're getting there.  I think this is a productive exercise in team building.  Okay, so Reid, we've gone over character traits, but now I'd like you to tell me something you physically admire about Luke."

Reid shifted in his chair.  "What kind of celebrity therapist bullshit is this?  Did you find this in a self help magazine in the waiting room, Bob-O?  And why do I have to keep answering questions first.  It's his turn!"

Bob let out a frustrated breath.  "Fine, Dr. Oliver.  We'll do this like first graders."  He turned to Luke.  "Okay, Luke...it's your turn to go first."

"You want me to tell you something I find physically attractive about Doctor Oliver?"

"Shouldn't be hard..." Reid said, picking at a thread on his lab coat.

"Yeah," Luke agreed, hooking his thumb at Reid.  "Look at him.  He's a good enough looking guy."  He turned to Reid.  "But then he opens his mouth."

"Luke," Bob said.

"Fine." Luke sat up straighter.  "Fine.  He has insanely blue eyes.  Okay?  And um...his smile.....................when he actually smiles, it's.......................he's got a great smile."

Reid watched Bob writing in his notebook.  "You're writing this all down.  Really, Bob?  This is idiotic.  I don't know how you think this is going to make us work better together. "

"Your turn, Dr. Oliver," Bob said, without looking up from his notebook.

"No.  That's a weird and inappropriate question.  I'm not answering it."

"I did it," Luke said.  "Just answer it, Dr. Oliver, and maybe we can be done with this."

Reid turned to Luke and ran his eyes down his body and back up to his eyes.  "Your mouth."

"My..........mouth?"

"Yeah."  Reid licked his lips and turned back to Bob.  "Okay, that was a ridiculously odd question, can we move the fuck on, please?"

"Language, Dr. Oliver," Bob warned.

"Yes, Dad..."

"I'll take the next question, Bob."  Luke absent mindedly rubbed his bottom lip. 

Bob nodded, suddenly uncomfortable by the tension in the air. 

"What is something about Dr. Oliver that impedes productivity on the project?"  Bob asked Luke.

"I don't impede the productivi...."

"He's rude," Luke said.  "Like, would it kill you to greet people with something other than a scowl?" Luke asked, turning his attention to Reid.  "Maybe ask them how their day is going?"

"I don't care how anyone's day is going..."

"Or smile once in a while?"

"You mean with that killer smile you say I have?"

"Yes!  Smile.  Or maybe don't call everyone idiots all the time.  Everyone has ideas, Reid, and..."

"Did you just call me by my first name?" Reid asked.

"...and yours are not the only good ones," Luke continued, ignoring what the doctor had said.  "And while you're at it, maybe stop talking about your brilliance all the time.  Believe me, people will notice it on their own, if you would just shut up about it long enough for them to see it.  But NO, you just keep going on and on about how great you are and how you're the best at this and the best at that, and before long all anyone can see about you is your giant ego..."

"Gentlemen," Bob tried to break in, but Reid talked right over him.

"Well, you, Mr. Snyder, you stand too close to me.  It doesn't matter where we are, you have absolutely no concept of personal space.  I step back; you step forward."

"Give me a break. You're so full of it.  I'm not anywhere near you right now!"

"Because you are in a chair!  Believe me, if we were up having this argument, the toes of our shoes would almost be touching, and it's not just me.  I see you do it to everyone.  And you especially do it when you don't want to leave things alone, when you want to keep pushing your entitled nose further and further into things that don't concern you."  Luke glared at Reid, and Reid slouched back into his chair.  "And his hair."

"What?"  Bob asked.

"His hair," Reid said, gesturing toward Luke without looking at him.  "He mentioned two physical things about me, so I'm giving you another one. "I like his messy fucking hair."  Reid closed his eyes and shook his head at himself.

Silence hung in the air.  Reid opened his eyes and watched Bob's eyes move back and forth between himself and Luke, as realization spread across his face.  "Oh..."

"Yup.  Surprise, Chief.  I'm a fag."

"Dr. Oliver!" Luke exclaimed.

"I thought you were calling me Reid now..."

"Did I completely miss something here?  The the two of you are...?" Bob began asking, but then both Luke and Reid answered, "NO!!" in unison.

Luke laughed awkwardly.  "God, no," he repeated. He looked at Reid. "Right?"

Reid kept his eyes on Luke's and nodded.  "Yeah.  No.  Right."

Bob cleared his throat again.  "Okay...........well, there's one more thing I wanted to bring into the discussion.  I'd like each of you to ask a question that ..."  Bob's phone rang.  He looked at the screen.  "Oh.  I've been waiting for this call.  This is very important."  He stood up.  "Will you gentlemen excuse me?  I must take this."  Luke and Reid watched Bob walk into the meeting room adjacent to his office and close the door.

Reid sighed.  "This is bullshit."

"Yeah, it's kind of weird, huh?" Luke asked, smiling slightly at Reid. 

"Good thing he's retiring," Reid said, brushing his palms over the front of his jeans.  "I think Grandaddy Hughes is losing it..."

"He's just trying to be helpful.  We do sometimes take those meetings over with our arguing..."

"Yeah.  Maybe."

They sat in silence for a few moments.

Reid nodded his head toward Luke.  "So, earlier, what Bob said about you spending a lot of time in hospitals...what's that about?"

"Well, it was a number of things.  But mostly, it's because I've had a kidney transplant.  I sometimes get infections, and the meds weaken my immune system to other things."

"I'm sorry," Reid said, his voice sounding much softer to Luke than he'd ever heard it.  "That sucks."

"Mmmm, it does," Luke agreed.

"Right now though...you're okay?  The kidney is functioning well?"

Luke nodded.  "Yeah, it is.  I've had a strong couple of years.  I stopped making some self-destructive mistakes that were putting my health in jeopardy."  He closed his eyes and shook his head.  "Anyway, yeah.  Thanks for asking..."

"Good, good.............that's good."

They sat in silence for a few moments.    Luke smiled a bit and without looking at Reid said, "So....my mouth, huh?"  Reid let out an uncomfortable chuckle and rubbed his forehead.  "Dr. Oliver?"  Reid pinched the bridge of his nose.  "Reid...look at me..."

Reid turned his head slowly and brought his eyes up to Luke's.  He gave a little shrug and then a small smile lit his eyes.

A surprised laugh escaped Luke's chest, and he shook his head, smiling.  "Okay..."  He ran a hair through his own hair and laughed again.  "Yeah...okay..."

"I'm sorry about that, gentlemen," Bob said, returning to the office and sitting behind his desk.  "That was unavoidable.  Thank you for waiting.  Where were we?"

"Actually," Luke said, "I think we're good.  This was helpful, Bob.  Dr. Oliver and I got off on the wrong foot with each other when he came to town to restore Noah's eyesight, but that's over now, and Dr. Oliver and I, Reid, are going to concentrate on treating each other with respect in order to move forward in a positive way so that we can achieve our mutual goals in regard to the neuro facility and Memorial's reputation in the medical community.  I think we can both agree that you can expect no further problems with our attitude toward each other in the board meetings.  Right, Reid?"  Luke emphasized Reid's first name, looked over at Reid, and raised his eyebrows.

"Oh, um....yeah," Reid agreed tentatively, nodding his head.  "Sure thing, LuKe," he said, stressing the hard K at the end of Luke's name.

"I'm glad to hear this," Bob said, smiling.

"In fact," Luke continued, "Dr. Oliver and I are going to have dinner tonight to discuss how best to integrate our very different personalities," Luke said, looking over at Reid. 

"We are?" Reid asked, his brow furrowed.  "I mean....yeah.  We are." He nodded at Bob before returning his eyes to Luke's.

"We think it would be benificial to get to know one another on a more friendly, intimate level," Luke said.

"Absolutely," Reid agreed in a deep voice.

Bob glanced between the two men, who seemed to have forgotten that he was in the room.  He cleared his throat.  "Okay, then.  Fantastic.  Thank you for your cooperation, gentlemen."

Luke smiled and stood up, with Reid following.  They walked to the door, saying goodbye to Bob.  Reid opened the door and gestured for Luke to walk through it.  "After you, Mr. Snyder..."

Once in the hall, Reid laughed.  "Snyder, I had no idea you were such a bullshit artist."

Luke laughed along with Reid.  "It wasn't bullshit.  We are having dinner.  I'll pick you up at 7:30.  Wear something casual.  Burgers and fries at the outside patio on the river sound okay to you?  They have live music out there on Friday nights."

"Yeah," Reid said, nodding.  "That sounds great."

"Then it's a date," Luke said, turning the corner opposite of Reid.

"It is?"  Reid said, stopping in his tracks.

Luke turned around, walking backwards.  "Of course not, Dr. Oliver.  It's a business meeting." 

And then Luke winked.