Scones do it better

mood: ecstatic

Title: My Person (6/10)
Author: scones_better
Rating: PG-13 (I think, if I’m wrong let me know)
Genre: Romance (with dashes of light angst)
Summary: When JD take care of a special patient, he discover a part of himself he didn’t know about. JD/Patient to be JD/Cox in the future.
Disclaimer: I own nothing and make no money out of this. If those characters were mine, they would be, very, very gay.

AN: This part is the longest by far, but I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope you will find it was worth the wait! A big thank you to sosaith, for being such a fabulous beta!

If you have just found My Person you might want to read Part 1 , Part 2, Part 3, Par 4 and Part 5 first ;)! 

My Person

Part 6: My big question

“Stella! Come!”

JD hurried behind Dr. Cox. He knew the older man was actually happy that JD was here today, even if he would never admit it. There had been a considerable accident in the hospital perimeter and Sacred Heart received some of the more “minor” cases. Seeing that Sacred Heart wasn’t one of the most highly ranked hospitals, there were rarely any big traumas coming in. Those minor cases were, therefore, pretty major to them. They required a lot of attention and effort from the understaffed hospital. JD would have panicked had he been alone in the situation, but Dr. Cox was making the crisis quite manageable. He actually looked thrilled! He probably hadn’t seen that much action in years. Nobody would have believed him if he said that he saw his mentor smile with excitement. An actual smile!

“Newbie! We are going to need way more blood here, so how about you sprint down to fetch some now! MOVE!”

JD shook his head to focus; now was not the time to get lost in daydream. He started running immediately. So much for his day off. The worst part was he wasn’t regretting it one bit.

***

“Hey Vanilla bear! We didn’t get to talk yesterday; how did that dinner go?”

“Oh yeah, sorry about that, I had this pile of paperwork to get trough.”

“So?”

“What? Oh… It went well.” It wasn’t a lie. The dinner part did go well after all.

“Come on, man. You go to Kelso’s house and you have nothing else to say?”

“Yeah sorry, I’m just tired today…”

“I’m letting you off the hook for now because Carla is yelling at me. She wants to know if you and Harrison are up for a double date tonight?”

“Oh. It’s just, Harrison and I had a special day prepared.” Okay, now he was lying.

“Oh. OH! I’ve got your back man. I’ll deal with Carla.”

“Thanks Chocolate Bear!”

JD hung up. It was his day off, yet he really would have liked to work. He didn’t want to stay home and he didn’t want to see his friends. Normally, JD would have loved their attention and care but not this time. After he had discovered his attraction to men, he had thought that things would have become easier. He had believed, that maybe his soul mate was a man, and that was the reason why he had failed at his past relationships. He hadn’t been with the right person. Harrison was supposed to be the right person, his person. JD had believed that his newfound bisexuality was the answer to his romantic problems, but now he was left facing reality; all his relationships would fail regardless of the gender of his partners. JD also knew his friends were tired of his whining. After over three years, it really was their affection for him that stopped them from strangling him.

He spent the morning watching episodes of Gilmore Girls (he had bought the special DVD set recently). By noon, JD was already tired of moping around. What a waste of a day off.

If he wanted to be doctoring why was he staying home? It’s not like he was enjoying himself. He might as well use his time helping others.

JD got up with a newfound determination. In no time, he had gotten ready, left his apartment, and driven Sasha to the hospital. He walked toward the nurses station, trying to ignore the strange looks everyone was giving him. He couldn’t blame them; he was here, voluntary, on his day off.

“ Oh, god no.”

JD turned toward an annoyed Dr. Cox.

“Hey! Hi, Dr. Cox!”

“What on earth are you doing here? This is the only day I actually get to work without you in my legs! Come on, Leila, get the stupid girl product you have forgotten in your locker and that you just can’t survive without, not even for one day, and get out of my sight! We are in a rush here!”

JD followed Dr. Cox who was half running.

“I just want to work. I don’t have to be around you if you don’t want me to. Heck, I’d settle for paperwork. Just give me something to do. Please.”

Dr. Cox glanced at him, with an unreadable expression. JD set his face to his most determined expression, trying to man up for the occasion, knowing it worked better with Dr. Cox.

“We have traumas coming in soon and we are under-equipped and understaffed, without mentioning that most of the staff are morons who are not made for such crisis, so you better be ready for a lot of running and yelling Princess, because if you slow me down in any shape or form, I will knock you out, am I understood?”

“Yes Dr. Cox!”

“Good girl, now get moving!”

JD spent the rest of the afternoon running, doing damage control and fetching blood bags. The patients were finally stabilized; they had only lost one of them, which was pretty amazing considering the circumstances.

JD rubbed his closed eyes, letting out a breath he hadn’t known he had been holding.

“Good job, JD.”

JD turned his head toward the voice. Dr. Cox was next to him, well, as close to someone as the older man could bare, holding up a cup of coffee for JD.

“Thanks.”

They drank their coffee in silence. For the first time in his life, JD found himself too tired to talk. Besides, it was the first time that the silence between them was comfortable. After that, JD had finished his paperwork and had gotten home. It wasn’t until he was lying in bed that he realized he hadn’t thought of Harrison all afternoon. His eyes started to water but he pushed it back. He was not going to cry, damn it.

“Good job, JD.”

The tears faded away and he smiled childishly in his pillow. Dr. Cox never had told him that clearly that he appreciated his work.

He fell asleep quickly.

***

“Oh shizzle!”

JD was looking up at his ceiling, every inch of his body sore. The day before had caught up with him while he had been sleeping. He then groaned, remembering that today, not only did he have work, which his body was definitely against, but he would also have to talk with his friends. Maybe he could call in sick. No, it was better to just do it. Like ripping off a band-aid really… A giant, ultra sticky band-aid.

JD’s eyes drifted to the left and he was suddenly covered with a giant band-aid.

“Time to take it off Bambi!”

Carla, Elliot and Turk started pulling at it and JD yelled in atrocious pain. He was left, naked, red, and hairless, hiding his “little buddy” with his hands.

JD shook his head. What was it with his daydreams lately? They were becoming so cruel to him. After a few more minutes, he had gathered the courage to get up. Of course, all that lazing around in bed meant that he was running late. When he got at the hospital, he breathed out in relief: no one seemed to have noticed.

“Dr. Dorian!”

JD stopped walking and then turned to Dr. Kelso, all smiles. He was getting an earful for sure; the older man had always strongly reprimanded tardiness. Dr. Kelso walked toward him.

“Yes, Dr. Kelso?”

The man in question sighed and then placed his hand on JD’s shoulder.

“I don’t know how to say this but… I think you would have made a fine Kelso.”

Dr. Kelso gave a little pat to JD’s shoulder and left.

“Hum. Thank you, Dr. Kelso.”

The Chief of medicine had actually sounded genuine. He knew the words were meant to comfort him but that didn’t really work. At least he knew his boss wasn’t going to give him hell for the break up. JD walked toward the nurses station where Carla, Turk and Elliot were gathered.

“Hey JD! My boy got some action all day, yesterday! Am I right or what?”

Turk smiled and nodded appreciatively, waiting for a high five.

“I doubt he had time for that, sugar. He was here all afternoon, helping with the trauma patients we received.”

“WHAT?”

His three friends were looking back and forth between him and Lavern. JD glared at her. He was intending to tell the truth, but he didn’t want her nosing around in his business. JD rubbed the back of his neck. Well he should just go for it.

“I lied. I’m sorry… It’s just after the dinner, Harrison dumped my ass and I needed to focus on something else for a while. I didn’t want to disappoint you all again. I know you are tired of my drama...”

“Oh, JD no. Okay, sometimes you are a bit much, but we care about you.” Carla said.

“I know you do.”

“What happened?” Turk asked.

JD explained. He said it as it was, simple and clean, without much whining. Telling it to Dr. Cox had brought him a lot of relief and he didn’t feel like bad mouthing Harrison much. He still was angry with him for handling things the way he had, but it didn’t press the same weight on him.

“Oh JD… I’m so sorry.” Carla’s eyes and voice softened.

“What an ass!” Turk, of course, took his side immediately.

“So, how is Dr. Kelso’s house?”

“ELLIOT!” Chorused Carla and Turk, glaring at the blond. JD chuckled.

“Way to show you care Barbie! A bit more and I might just cry because of how touched I am with your tact and empathy for your sister. Bravo! And Erica, if you are quite done emptying your heart to your girlfriends, maybe you could get started on, oh I don’t know, doctoring and lend me a hand?”

“I’ll catch up with you guys later!”

JD told his three friends has he walked away, following his mentor. He was glad for the man’s interruption. He was disenchanted with relationships and romance, and wanted to focus on work. He was a good doctor and he intended on improving his skills. He had been happy with friends and work life before he met Harrison; he had no problem returning to that. Besides, like one of his patient had once told him, there is a limit to how many times you can take total rejection and failure. JD decided that instead of falling into depression or doing something he would regret later on, he might as well make the best of the situation.

“All the patients we had are still stable, although I’d keep an eye on Mrs. Johns, she already tried to crash on me a couple of time last night…”

JD listened as Dr. Cox updated him and gave him his thoughts on how to proceed next. They actually dialogued, like equals, about the different options they had for the patients’ treatments. There had been occasional girl’s names, but they weren’t used in an offensive way. By lunchtime, JD was literally glowing with glee.

He grabbed his lunch and sat with his friends. When he sensed the topic was about to veer off on the emotional side of the break up, he changed the subject.

“Oh and there were little stones angels everywhere in the garden. I swear!”

The gossip about the house entertained them for a while, but JD knew it wouldn’t work in the long run. They’d eventually ask questions about his wellbeing. Afterward, JD went back to work. The afternoon was mostly uneventful. Mrs. Johns had tried to crash again, but JD had kept her from succeeding. He was on his way out when Dr. Cox called him.

“Newbie! Catch!”

He dropped a heavy pile of documents in JD’s arms, who looked up at the older man, perplexed.

“What is this?”

“You’ve shown that you are able to handle yourself instead of falling back on your drama fest and self-pity. Plus, you are capable of intelligent opinions on occasion, so I figured you could work on this research with me. Not that I think you are going to be any help, but you know, my genius might rub off on you and make you a semi-decent doctor.”

JD grinned.

“That mean you actually think I’m pretty good at what I do.”

“Oh, for god sake Veronica, don’t make me regret this.”

“You won’t, I promise!”

JD was so overjoyed that he made a little spin and ended up face first against a wall. He heard Dr. Cox groan in the background.

***

“Dude, what are you doing?”

JD’s eyes rose from the document he had been absorbed in to meet his best friend’s.

“Reading?”

“You are aware that your shift is over, right? That you are home, right?”

JD chuckled.

“Of course, Chocolate Bear, but this is a side project.”

“You mean extra work.”

“It’s volunteer research.”

Turk looked at him like he had grown a second head.

“You are doing boring extra work for free in your spare time?”

“Well, not just me, Dr. Cox too. But look at it like this, if we figure this out it could make our careers. We could have our on national holiday! Maybe a monument! Besides, it’s pretty interesting. It’s a bit like solving a mystery.”

JD’s head went to the side.

“But, Dr. Cox, how did you figure this out?”

“It’s elementary my dear Newbie!” Dr. Cox answered, dressed in a trench coat.

“JD!”

“Sorry, sorry.”

“Geez, tell me if I’m boring you!” Turk actually looked hurt.

“Aww, come on, we’re relaxing, you’re watching the sport network and I’m reading.”

There was an odd silence.

“What’s wrong, Turk?”

“We DO sound like a married couple.”

Turk smiled and JD chuckled once more. Turk face became serious once more.

“Are you okay, JD? I mean you and Harrison really were serious… And you just seem so… Detached and closed off these days. All absorbed in work and whatnot.”

JD was surprised by the question but not by his friend’s concern.

“It hurts, like hell. Sometimes I think maybe I should have followed him to Vancouver. But, lately, I figured if Harrison is that kind of person, I don’t really want him in my life. So, it hurts because I love him but I’m starting to think maybe I just dodged the bullet.”

There was a small silence.

“Besides, I know you think I’m crazy, but I really, really, am enjoying work. Dr. Cox is pretty decent, too. I’m learning a lot and improving as a doctor.”

Turk nodded. He didn’t look as worried now that JD had explained himself, but he still looked unsure.

“So… Is your team winning?”

“You bet. 3 to 1!”

The atmosphere relaxed between them. It had been a while since JD had spent some alone time with his best friend. They would most definitely do crazy stuff in the future; Turk would make sure of it, but for now JD just appreciated the other man’s presence and goofy humor.

***

“Newbie, what on earth are you doing?”

“…Stitches?”

JD asked, because Dr. Cox’s tone made him doubt for a moment that it was a good thing that he was closing Mrs. Calico’s leg wound. The older man got closer to inspect his work.

“Shouldn’t an intern be doing this? God knows they need the practice. Their work is worse than a team of drunk butchers stitching with blindfolds.”

JD chuckled. He was getting more at ease with the older man and could pick up when he was being offensive versus cheeky. Besides, the interns really were terrible.

“Yes, but seeing as Mrs. Calico is a beautician, I figured she would appreciate if a blind drunk butcher didn’t work on her. Plus, Turk showed me this new technique that really improves the final result for wounds as deep as this.”

JD was surprised when the man pulled a chair to watch him work. It was probably to make sure he didn’t screw up. Feeling nervous, JD turned around and when he looked at the older man, he realized that he was actually observing him, not with judgment but actual interest.

“See when you do it like this…”

JD tempted his chance and explained the procedure to Dr. Cox who nodded in understanding. It was a fairly simple method, but JD still couldn’t believe that he was showing, teaching, his mentor something. It was unheard of. When JD gave the instruments to Dr. Cox to let him try for himself, their hands brushed for a moment. JD felt goose bumps go up his arm, pass his shoulder and down his spine; he was not used to physical contact from Dr. Cox. The older man froze completely for a second, making JD feel uneasy. The air became still, and JD thought that maybe they weren’t on such good terms after all. They had yet to talk about the silent treatment. Just as JD was about to say something, the older man started to apply what he had seen, asking questions and letting JD guide him verbally along the way.

Mrs. Calico had been most pleased by the fact that two doctors were working hard to make sure there would be no mark left on her leg.

JD was sure no one would believe him if he told them he had spent half an hour teaching Dr. Cox something, not to mention that there had been no yelling or arguing. As he was heading to the Cafeteria, he heard Dr. Cox whistle at him.

“Newbie, where do you think your going?”

JD gulped: he was going to get crushed. He supposed he was grateful that his mentor had waited until they were in the corridor, and away from the patient.

“You’re having lunch with me. Bring your work and be at the parking lot in 5. I’m not eating what they try to pass for food at the cafeteria.”

It took JD a moment to process what had just happened and even more time to realize that Dr. Cox was talking about their research. He could pretend it was because he wasn’t paying proper attention, but really, it was because JD had fainted internally. His brain had collapsed. He had heard a chorus of Hallelujah. A light had shined on top of him. Dr. Cox had invited… Okay, fine, ordered him to have lunch with him, and not simply because JD was “down”. It was nothing short of a miracle. The day could not get any better. He was so going to write it down in his diary. And circle the day on the calendar; to be celebrated every year as their first (official) milestone toward their mentor-protégé relationship. He quickly grabbed his thick notes folder and rushed to the parking lot. Dr. Cox was waiting for him by the Porsche, tapping his foot impatiently, arms crossed. He hesitated, unsure if he still had the right to the front row passenger seat.

“Well, get in! You’ll have plenty of time to powder your nose while I drive, Jenny.”

They had bought lunch at the grocery store, and while Dr. Cox had refused to share anything with him, he had paid for JD’s lunch. They were now eating at the quiet park near by. JD was squealing, in a manly way of course, because he could not believe this was real. All his friends had thought he was not only a little weird, but also crazy to have endured the older man for so long, but it was finally paying off. It wasn’t sweet talk and hugs like he had wanted, but coming form Perry Cox, respect and conversation relatively equal footing was nothing short of an accomplishment.

JD was reading some of the notes that Dr. Cox had brought. It felt oddly personal to read those quick scribbles, always in blue, jolted down in a hurry. While the writing was impatient, the way it was disposed was very clear and tidy. JD believed it fit his mentor; he was an impatient and passionate person who preferred his surroundings clean and somewhat clinical, like his cold and impersonal apartment.

After a while, JD felt warmth behind him, at his shoulders’ height. Glancing sideways, he noticed that his mentor had wrapped his arm on the back of bench, behind JD but without touching him, like he usually did on the rare occasion they were sitting together. It occurred to JD that he hadn’t seen him do it with anyone else. JD frowned to himself and brought his attention back to the page, determined to not get distracted again. He didn’t want Dr. Cox to think he was slacking or daydreaming when they worked together.

Just a few minutes of reading and he was taken over by a strange sensation, as if Dr. Cox was staring at him. He pushed away the feeling and kept on reading. The sensation persisted and grew, making him finally raise his eyes to catch Dr. Cox starting intently at him. He was leaning closer to him than he had been earlier, JD was sure of it. That usually meant trouble. Dr. Cox loved to invade personal space when he was ranting and raging at someone. And JD was alone in a park with him. Great, it had probably been a trap from the very beginning. Why else would the older man take him out like that?

“Dr. Cox?”

The older man cleared his throat and leaned back on his side of the bench, allowing more space between them.

“Well, what do you think?”

JD shook his head. He had to stop over thinking everything.

“I think we are onto something. It really seems to indicate a correlation of the medication and the side effect of the patients with the…”

JD and Dr. Cox debated some more, drafting a plan for their next step. They then headed back to the hospital, the lunch break being almost over.

***

“I can’t believe it. Lavern was right.” Carla spoke so softly that JD barely heard her.

“What happened?”

“Did you notice anything different in Dr. Cox’s behavior?”

“Not especially. He tolerates me more than usual but that’s about it. Come on, tell me.”

JD didn’t mention his mentor glancing at him regularly or the increased time passed in his company, because he sincerely didn’t think it was worth mentioning. The staring was probably just to keep him on his toes and when they were together, it was always for work. There was nothing special or out of the ordinary there.

“What did he do?”

“I’m not sure what to think of it Bambi.”

“Just say it! Come on!”

JD made his best puppy eyes face, knowing Carla would have a harder time saying no when he tapped into her maternal instincts.

“Well… A few weeks ago, Lavern told me she saw Dr. Cox scaring away people. Nothing new there, I thought, but she insisted he scared away anyone who seemed interested in you. I didn’t think it made much sense and I presumed that the gossip wasn’t all that juicy so she made some up but… Lately I’ve just started to notice things. He really does scare people away from you. He glares and barks at anyone who so much as checks you out. I just don’t know what to think of it.”

JD stared at Carla, silent. She was making no sense at all… And then JD started laughing; Carla was still trying to be funny. It was actually working now that he knew it was a joke.

“Oh god. You almost had me there. I was so close to falling for it. You are a genius at serious faces! See when you are not trying to make jokes, your natural sense of humor really comes out!”

JD’s pager went off.

“Speaking of Dr. Cox, he needs my help, got to go! But, again, great acting! Keep it up! You should try it on Turk!”

JD left in a semi jog, ready to get into the action. He heard Carla yell something along the line of “It wasn’t a joke and I’m funny damn it!” but he didn’t think much of it seeing as he was far more preoccupied by his page.

He arrived to a not so unusual scene: Dr. Cox and Elliot arguing. Or, well, Dr. Cox was berating Elliot while she attempted to hold her ground. Attempted being the key word.

“There you are Newbie! About time too, seeing how Barbie here, has almost destroyed all of our work!”

“But the patient need these medications! It’s the best way to–”

“I know you are a blonde and I can’t expect much from you, but if there is such a thing as a Dr. Barbie and Astronaut Barbie, that means she can, at the very least, read. So unless you are telling me that you are denser then an actual doll, I cannot figure how you could not have read this chart properly. Unless you are telling me that you ignored my orders, for which I would develop respect for your gutsiness, but immediately mock your stupidity for thinking that you could get away with it. ”

JD had slowly walked toward Elliot and was now standing next to her. He was one hundred percent with Dr. Cox, but bringing Elliot to a total breakdown was definitely not the solution.

“Of course Elliot knows how to read, she probably couldn’t understand my writing seeing how I jolted it down fast…”

“That is not –”

JD pulled Elliot aside before she could say another word and whispered into her ear: “This research has been tremendous work for the both of us, so if you say you intended to destroy it, even for only one patient, he will skin you alive! You know he will do it, Elliot. And to be perfectly honest, I probably wouldn’t stop him. So, for once in your life, please, just shut up!”

Elliot looked at him with a mixture of fear and disbelief. JD wondered how she could still be surprised he was siding with Dr. Cox. She had said herself, on numerous occasions, that he always took his mentor’s side. Elliot looked at Dr. Cox’s reddening face one last time before she left in a huff.

Dr. Cox’s crazy eyes, as everyone called them, turned to JD. He took a breath for courage, and awaited the shit storm that was going to be dumped on him. Dr. Cox opened his mouth, and then closed it. The older man rubbed the arch of his nose and closed his eyes, looking more tired than JD was used to seeing him, more tired that he allowed people to see him.

“Help me remove this central-line, now, would you, JD?”

“Of course, Dr. Cox.”

JD immediately fell into motion, checking up on the patient, a smile spreading on his face. Dr. Cox left shortly after that.

***

“Hey JD.”

“Hey Elliot.”

“I want to say… I’m sorry about earlier. I totally stand by my actions, but I saw the work you guys did and I didn’t realize how big it was. Not to mention you probably had to put up with him all this time, anger and bad temper included. So, I guess what I’m saying is, I didn’t mean anything bad by it, okay? It really wasn’t to sabotage you guys, even thought I think I am right.”

JD was tempted to say that his time with Dr. Cox had been pretty agreeable, but he knew it was unlikely that Elliot would believe him. Not to mention, he was still a little mad at her for nearly destroying their work, even if it had been done with good intentions.

“I swear, I won’t stand in his way if you do it again but… Great on you for standing up to him like that.”

JD meant it. Elliot had the tendency to let people walk all over her. He was proud of her. He still thought she had to be a bit crazy to go against Dr. Cox so openly.

“So we are all good?”

“Yup”

Elliot hugged JD tightly. They jerked apart when they heard a loud growl.

“Please god, don’t tell me it’s that time of the year again; when you two hook up”

“NO it’s not” “SO not into him!” JD and Elliot denied in synch.

“Don’t care!”

Dr. Cox walked away, leaving JD feeling embarrassed. He liked Elliot, a lot in fact, but right now, she was just a friend. All their back and forth never cumulated to anything else but painful breakups and JD wasn’t up for that at the moment. That being said, he figured his embarrassment was due to the scolding voice of his mentor. It never failed to make him feel like he was the stupidest person the older man had ever met. That was not a nice feeling when you were trying to impress said man.

“Grey Marathon?”

“You bet!”

JD left with Elliot, ready to stuff his face in chocolate each time someone said “seriously” on Grey’s Anatomy.

***

“Pass the blue folder.”

JD handed the requested folder to his mentor. He still had a hard time believing that Dr. Cox had agreed to work on their research at JD’s place. He was there, willingly, after work hours, with him. It wasn’t because they were friends, but JD still rejoiced. You had to take all the little victories you could get, right?

They worked for a few hours, got pizza delivered and beer was served for his mentor. It was a calm atmosphere, filled with the noise of papers being moved around and pens jolting down. When someone found something interesting they would share it with the other. It was oddly relaxed, with just a few berating and demeaning words from Dr. Cox.

It was going pretty well, until JD’s phone rang. He answered, wanting to get rid of the caller as quickly as possible, to avoid disturbing the other man.

“Hello! JD speaking.”

“Hi JD. It’s Harrison.”

JD could not utter a word. Was this really happening?

“JD? Are you still there?”

“Yes, yes I am, Harrison.”

JD could have sworn he saw his mentor shift on the sofa.

“So… How are you?”

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

“I know, I’m sorry. I just don’t know how to start this conversation.”

JD sighed. He wanted this over with, yet he wanted to talk with Harrison. A little part of him still longed for the short man, and he hated himself for it.

“Well, just say it.”

“You’re right, I should be honest and straight forward about this. It was what broke us apart and I really don’t want to repeat that mistake. JD… I’ve been here for weeks, and I’ve been trying to go out and meet someone… Anyone. And I can’t. When I get asked out, I say no because I still feel like I belong to you. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I miss you and I love you. I made a mistake and I’m sorry so… Please, come see me in Vancouver and let’s fix this... Us.”

“Are you serious? You want me to go to Vancouver?”

“Yes –”

JD didn’t hear the end of that sentence because Dr. Cox had literally snatched the phone out of his hands and was now talking in his very low voice. That was when he was the scariest.

“Listen you high-maintenance, self-centered, over-groomed jackass. If you want to make up with JD you’re the one who should come back down here, crawling and begging for forgiveness not the other way around. You’re the one who dumped his innocent and trusting ass without consideration for his feelings and you have the guts to call him and order him around like a dog? I swear to god, if you so much as text him, I will hunt you down, castrate you and wear your balls as trophies around my neck!”

JD started in disbelief as his mentor snapped the cell phone closed. There was an awkward silence. JD didn’t know what to say or do. The older man had literally defended his honor.

“Pink folder.”

JD shook his head to try and clear his mind. He grabbed the file and handed it over. The older man started reading.

“Thank you.”

Dr. Cox’s eyes didn’t leave the paper he was reading, but he grunted. JD knew it was his mentor way of saying “you’re welcome”.

***

JD was in a peachy mood. Work was just great and his friends were pleasant. He only heard from Harrison once, in a text message that said “Sorry.” JD didn’t contact him. He agreed with what Dr. Cox had said: Harrison had to make the next move. Not that it was easy for JD. He had always been eager to please, eager to love and be loved. It had been a serious relationship, and his feelings had not disappeared overnight, but JD knew better, knew he deserved better. Other than that small grey cloud, his life was sunny and bright and he was loving it.

“Smile. Smile. Enjoy your moment of peace, but soon, very soon, I will ambush you! You will see no light, no hope, no future!”

The janitor taunted him in his usual over-dramatic voice. JD just smiled at him and didn’t get distracted from his goal: the bathroom. He had noticed that the more passive he was to the Janitor’s threats, the more it annoyed the tall man.

JD smile grew as he got closer to the bathroom, when, suddenly, an arm grabbed him and pulled him in a supply closet. JD turned around making grand karate-y gestures to scare his aggressor.

“I’m terribly sorry to scare you, Dr. Dorian, but I really wanted to talk to you.”

JD dropped his arms, his guards, unable to stay either angry at or scared of the shy but bright nurse in front of him. She had cherry red lips, round like an “o”, that would normally have charmed him right away, but not now, not yet. He wasn’t ready just yet.

“Please call me JD. You could have talked to me in the corridor you know, I’m quite the approachable guy.”

JD smiled smugly. He was very proud of his people skills; he felt it was his strongest point.

“Oh I know you are, but each time I try to approach you… Can I ask you a question?”

JD was curious now. The woman voice and gestures showed she was shy but determined.

“Sure… Hmmm?”

“Cindy.”

“Go ahead, Cindy.”

“I was wondering, if you would go out with me? For a coffee or something.”

“Oh. I’m terribly sorry Cindy, but I will have to turn you down.”

“It’s okay, I didn’t know if the rumors were true. I just thought I’d give it a shot. You really are my type of guy…”

“Rumors? I’m bisexual, it means I like both gender…”

“I know that. I meant, about you and Dr. Cox.”

“Me and Dr. Cox?”

“Oh, but I think it’s adorable really! He’s so protective of you! He scares off anyone that tries to ask you out or check you out. I tried to approach you a few times myself, but I’m terrified of him. It makes more sense now that I know you two are a couple. We just didn’t think that he bent that way you know…”

Cindy was moving her hands a lot, obviously embarrassed.

“We are not a couple.”

“Oh.”

“I turned you down because I’m not ready to be in a relationship just yet.”

Cindy tried to talk more, embarrassed and flushed, but JD left the closet without a word or a glance back. He would feel bad about it later, she had sounded like a really sweet girl, but right now, all he felt was anger. He stormed off, determined to find his mentor but stopped in his track and walked back a few steps. He was going to the bathroom, then to his mentor. It took courage to face the older man and he was not about to do it with a full bladder. A few minutes later, he was back on track and angrier then before. The pause had only increased his sour mood; giving him time to piece things together and the final picture wasn’t pretty.

“Where’s Dr. Cox?”

“Hi Bambi! He’s in the living room… Hey, what’s wrong?”

JD didn’t answer; he just kept moving. Unless a patient crashed at this very moment, nothing was going to stop him. He opened the room in a swift movement; saw that no one was there, exception of his mentor, sitting on the sofa, watching his soap.

“Dr. Cox!”

The older man ignored him, like he had often done in the past. Normally, that would be the moment JD would start to doubt himself, to be scared, to back down. Not today. His anger and his pain were stronger than his fear of the older man. Besides, after all those years, he knew Dr. Cox couldn’t do much to him, except, maybe, sucker punch him. That didn’t scare him.

He walked with a newfound determination toward the TV and turned it off.

“Lola, you didn’t just do that.” Dr. Cox growled.

JD held himself straighter.

“Oh yes I did, you jerk!”

He really needed to improve his insulting skills. JD just wasn’t used to confronting people. His forte was making friends not breaking with them.

“What did you say Velma?”

“Oh you heard me and you are going to hear me good now too, because I have enough of you and your hating. I spent the last few years taking your crap day in and day out, and it was all a-o-k because you are a jerk who has a hard time expressing himself. But you know what? That’s bullshit. You just keep pushing and pushing, and pretend to care and then you turn around and isn’t it nice, you give me more crap. You ignore me for a month, and I still come around and try to open you up and mend our relationship. But you know what? You have just managed to cross the line. Scaring people away from me because you have issues about my sexual orientation is NOT OKAY. What is so wrong with you that you can’t accept me? Why do you do this to me? All I ever asked from you is to teach me how to be a good doctor and for you to be a father figure. I think that there are things far worst in life than that, and seeing what kind of childhood you had, I’m pretty sure you are aware of that too!”

JD stopped to breath. Years of frustrations, pains and rejections had left his chest the minute he finished his speech. So did a lot of his courage, as he stood there, waiting for Dr. Cox to most likely explode in front of him.

“I don’t want to be your father.”

A simple, quiet statement that was said between gritting teeth. The older man was staring at him, jaw tight.

“I know! ‘Cause I’m such a horrible person! You have expressed that so many times by now, degrading me, humiliating me and calling me girl names. I know quite clearly, in big bold letters, that you hate me.”

JD started to walk away.

“I don’t hate you.”

JD stopped, turning his head slowly toward the older man.

“Why? Why did you ignore me? Why did you scare those people away?”

JD asked softly. He wished he didn’t sound so fragile, wished he could remain cold and in control. But, as usual, he came undone in front of Dr. Cox.

“Listen, Ophelia, I didn’t threaten them or hurt them. I barely glared, occasionally growled, at them and that was enough to make them scamper away like they were little children and I was the big bad wolf about to eat them. And if instead of riding your PMS wave, you’d stop and think for a minute here, maybe you’d realize I haven’t been that bad to you either, not since we started working on the research. So get down off your self-righteous high horse and stop trying to pin me down as the reason for all the things that aren’t to your liking, because the only thing I owe you is an explanation for ignoring you, nothing else.”

Shame overtook JD as he realized his mentor was right. He hadn’t been worse than in the past, he actually had improved. He then realized that Dr. Cox was still avoiding the question. It made him pull himself back together, at least for a moment.

“Why did you ignore me?”

JD waited, looking straight at his mentor. The man took a breath in, as if to collect himself, collect courage, but that would be impossible seeing that it was Dr. Cox. He wasn’t afraid. Not of something as trivial as a question.

“I love you.”

AN2: And I’m leaving you all on a cliffhanger. I promise to try and write the next part as quickly as possible! I try to avoid cliffhangers for chapters ending, most of the time, but I think this chapter asked for it!