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randomweavingFic: Changeling
Characters: John Dorian/Perry Cox
Rating: NC-17 (eventually)
Chapter Rating: R for language, sexual situations and implied violence.
Description: This is a wildly AU story with fantastical elements based on![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thuri's Nano writing project. It begins late in season three, before Carla and Turk's wedding, and from there follows the characters as they face the Change, a strange, magical phenomenon that is turning ordinary humans into half-human creatures from fantasy.
Chapter listings: Contents Post
By the time the end credits began to roll, Perry had nearly fallen asleep, JD still a comfortable weight atop him. But when the movie flipped back to the DVD menu page, he stirred, reaching down to nudge JD's shoulder. "Newbie?"
"Mmmm. No."
Perry smiled. "JD..." he crooned.
"Quiet. I'm dreaming about you."
Perry laughed. "I'm right here, you know."
"But you're not naked," JD mumbled. "In my dream you're naked." He smirked against Perry's chest when it rumbled once more with a deep chuckle.
"We could fix that, you know," the other man suggested. "I think I could use a shower..."
JD sighed, pushing himself up. He moved so he was hovering over the older man, weight held on his hands and knees, which straddled Perry's hips still. "I don't know if you should be attempting showering yet," he said, but when Perry frowned, held up a hand to forestall any protests. "At least," he said sternly, "I don't know if you should be attempting to shower alone."
The frown vanished, Perry's eyebrows rising as his lips curved upward hopefully. "Yeah?" he murmured back. "That your...professional opinion, Doctor?"
"Mmm." JD rolled his hips forward, pressing against Perry for a brief moment before pulling back. "Physician's orders," he replied. "No unsupervised showers for the next... oh, fifty or sixty years, at least."
Perry grinned. "That so. Well, if it's an order--I've turned over my care to you, after all."
JD's smile softened, and he leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Perry's lips. "I know," he said, hoping Perry knew how much that very fact meant to him. "And I intend to honor that."
He stood, helping Perry to his feet. Luckily, the older man's strength seemed to have mostly returned--"You're good," Perry joked, tugging JD close and kissing him again--so JD felt safe leaving him alone in the bathroom while he went to check on Jack.
The child was still fast asleep; his wings were out, and he was moving them slowly, dreamily, but he did not stir. JD watched him a moment, a tender smile on his face. He reached down and stroked Jack's cheek, smile growing when Jack turned his head, making a small noise before yawning, stretching, and going still again. JD bit his lip, surprised at the surge of emotion the child's movements caused. If he'd had any doubts whatsoever about the depth of his feelings for this boy, they dissolved in an instant, and he realized with sudden blinding clarity that he would die before he'd let anything happen to him.
He stood, swallowing a little. "So this is what it's like to be a father, huh?" he murmured, half to himself and half to the sleeping child in the crib. "It's...intense."
Jack didn't stir. JD smiled, then turned away, returning to the bathroom.
In the doorway, he paused, the sight before him making him swallow even as it caused yet another surge of tender protectiveness to rise within him. Lord, who knew I was so territorial?
Perry stood, completely naked--the first time JD had seen him this way, he realized, in a non-medical situation--turned profile to the mirror. His back was to JD, and he was trying to watch his wings, a frown of intense concentration on his face as he moved them. He extended them back, then out, before folding them in tight once more, and his expression was half awe, half curiosity.
He finally noticed JD watching him, and turned, an excited grin spreading across his face. "JD, come here," he said, reaching out to tug the younger man forward. "Look at this, you've got to see this..."
JD laughed, confused. "What...?"
"Watch." Perry turned his back. "See the wings?"
"Um...yes?"
"Feel them--the framework, I mean." Perry squirmed a little, obviously very excited about something; shrugging to himself, JD obeyed, reaching out and tracing the structure of the wings that lay along Perry's back. "What am I looking for, exactly?"
"Feel how soft it is?" Perry said, twisting his neck to try to see them over his shoulder. "How it's...almost spongy?"
"Yeah?"
"Okay," Perry wiggled his shoulders a little. "Watch this."
With a sudden snap, the wing under JD's hand extended outward, toward the mirror, and JD yelped, jumping backward, eyes wide. "Holy shit..."
"I know!" Perry said, grinning. "Cool, huh?"
That was one way to put it, JD decided, approaching again and reaching out to feel the wing. What had been soft, porous--spongy, as Perry had accurately described it--was now stiff, like bone. And it was thinner but also a good deal longer than it had been. The hide between had also stretched, now held taut between the finger joints that had sprouted at the end. The wing looked to have more than doubled in size from when Perry had held it against himself, and JD realized that it was larger than he'd previously assumed, even though he'd played at extending the wings himself, while Perry had been unconscious. "Are you...consciously making it do that?" JD asked. "Because I couldn't get them to extend like this..."
"I know," Perry said, squirming. "I think it has something to do with blood flow, or something...it's like inflating a balloon, almost."
JD giggled suddenly. "Wing erections," he supplied, and Perry snorted.
"Kinda," he said, shrugging. "It might actually be sort of the same mechanism. But I don't know of any animal whose wings do this. I mean, bats don't..."
"Bats don't have scales, either," JD pointed out, reaching around Perry's waist to stroke his forearms. "So maybe you really are half dragon."
Perry gazed at the mirror, taking in the sight of JD, fully dressed, pressed against his bare back, arms around his middle, gazing back at him in the reflection. He swallowed, watching as it made his Adam's apple bob, and smiled. "I'd've counted this as an unlikely sight, about two weeks ago," he commented. "But now it just looks...obvious. Like I can't quite believe we didn't figure it out sooner."
"Three," JD corrected automatically. "You're not counting the week you were unconscious."
Perry winced, looking away, and JD felt a twinge of guilt. "It wasn't your fault or anything," he added hastily, but Perry waved him off. He reached up and unhooked JD's arms from his waist, causing JD to protest, but only for a moment as Perry turned to face him and hooked them back. JD grinned up at him. "If your wings do that when they're full grown, you should still be able to sleep on your back," he said.
Perry smirked. "Meaning you'll still be able to sleep on my chest, right?" he guessed, bringing his arms up to rest on JD's shoulders.
JD shrugged, looking non-apologetic. "If it ain't broke..."
"Yeah, yeah. Get naked, birdboy. I want to see how well these things shed water." He stepped back, grinning, and extended his wings, waving them a little--then suddenly staggered, reeling backwards. He would've fallen, if JD hadn't lunged forward and grabbed his hands, steadying him.
They stood for a moment in silence, Perry blinking, then JD started to laugh. "Wind catch you off-guard?" he guessed, winking as he released Perry's hands and turned to obediently begin shucking his clothes.
"Uh,y-yeah..." Perry said, plastering a sheepish grin onto his face. "I think I'll just...get the water running," he said, then turned away quickly. The grin vanished, and he swallowed, trying to calm his racing heart. The stagger had truly had nothing to do with the wind he'd raised--that had been, in the confined space of the bathroom, relatively slight. No...it had been a sudden, rather intense wave of dizziness--an all too familiar wave of dizziness, in fact. It reminded him of the morning chopping wood...
You just got up today, he reminded himself. And you've been very...active. Probably just overdid it a little.
He took a few deep, calming breaths. Yeah, that was it. Of course it was. Overexertion. He was a doctor, he knew better--hadn't JD warned him? He would just have to take it easy for a while, that was all. Maybe take JD up on that opportunity to let the younger man be the top. Probably best if he wasn't being too energetic at the moment anyway.
"Forget how to work a shower?" JD's voice, right behind him, was amused, but when he ducked around and caught a glimpse of Perry's face, he frowned. "Hey, are you okay?"
Perry turned, forcing a smile onto his face--one that melted into a genuine smile, as soon as he saw JD standing naked before him. "Yeah," he murmured, swallowing appreciatively. "I'm fine."
JD laughed, blushing a little with pleasure as Perry's eyes roved over his now-bare chest. He twitched his wings a little, knowing it made the muscles ripple attractively, and heard Perry swallow again.
"Like what you see?" he murmured.
"I do," Perry replied, reaching out to take JD's hand and tug him toward the shower. "I like it even better knowing it's mine."
"It is," JD agreed softly, waiting as Perry turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature.
Despite their teasing, however, JD knew they were both likely too tired to act on their flirting. Well, JD thought, he could have had another go--the sight of Perry standing strong and unabashedly bare before him had let him know that quickly enough--but he knew Perry was not only older, but still recovering from the eight days of comatose rejection, so he restrained himself, calming his body's reaction. He focused instead on the simple, tender act of bathing his lover, and closed his eyes with enjoyment when Perry returned the favor.
Even when he had finished, however, Perry did not want the shower to end just yet; a look at JD's expression told him the younger man felt the same. He reached out and pulled him into his arms, and for a long time they stood holding one another under the steady flow of hot water, kissing slowly as the steam gathered around them and fogged the mirror.
* * *
JD's dreams, which were oddly peaceful images of soaring through threads of colored light, were interrupted abruptly by the shrill ring of his cell phone. He groaned as the dream images shattered, pulling himself up and out of Perry's arms, squinting at the clock. Two o'clock in the morning. This had better be good... "'lo?"
"JD, man, how soon can you get us out of here?" Turk's voice was low, tense and frightened.
JD felt his own blood freeze, and he pushed himself up further. "I...Perry can get the truck there in four hours, I think. He's insisting on picking you up, which I personally think is kind of a bad idea, but he can still hide his Change, so it makes the most sense..." he realized he was babbling, and cut himself off. "Turk, what happened?"
"They're rioting, man. Right here. Right outside. The whole fucking world is going crazy!"
"Oh God," JD gasped, sliding to the edge of the bed and climbing to his feet, shoulders hunching around the phone as though he could somehow protect Turk that way. "Are you guys all right?"
"We're fine, dude, but Mr. Johnson, downstairs...We did what we could for him, but I don't think we could've saved him even at the hospital. JD, we've got to get out of here."
"We'll be there," JD promised. "Hang on, man. Bar the doors, don't let anyone but me or Perry inside."
"Yeah, okay...JD, I..."
"Forget it, man," JD said quietly. "I couldn't...I couldn't leave you guys..." he choked a little. "Turk, I..."
"Yeah, me too. See you soon, buddy."
"Yeah," JD whispered. "Soon."
He clicked off the phone and turned to Perry, who was already awake and watching him with silent worry.
"There's a riot," JD said shortly, voice breaking a little. "Perry--we have to get them out of there."
"Jesus," Perry whispered, then flung the blankets aside and sprung out of bed. "JD--go get the truck started," he ordered, suddenly very much the Dr. Cox JD remembered from the hospital. "And toss some blankets into the back. We might not have time to rent a trailer."
JD frowned. "Will they fit in the truck?" he asked, even as he tugged on a pair of jeans.
"They'll have to," Perry replied grimly, tugging a shirt over his head. "We'll pull the plywood out; Elliot and Turk can probably squeeze into the back, and Carla can fit up front with me." His mind was racing--cat, more pliable, up front.
JD bit his lip, but nodded. "It's a good thing the centaurs aren't the size of actual horses," he muttered, half to himself as he tugged on a jacket. He didn't bother trying to fit it over his wings and simply threw it on backwards, then took the stairs two at a time in his rush to get to the garage and start the truck engine warming up.
He got the truck started, and tugged the plywood out of the back, not even caring about the subsequent splinters in his fingers and palms. Then, darting back into the house, he sprinted up to Ben's room. In the closet he found a few extra blankets and pillows to throw in it, hoping that'd help cushion his friends for what was very likely going to be a very uncomfortable ride. He carried them back down to the truck, nearly tripping over the corner of one of the blankets in his distraction. His mind was racing, wondering what could've sparked the riot, if things would've calmed enough for Perry to get through, if the older man would be safe...But he had to go. They couldn't just sit here, while Turk and everyone was in the middle of all that...he bit back a sob, trying not to panic. He was torn, wanting to go himself but knowing he couldn't, because one of them had to stay with Jack, wanting his friends to get here but not wanting Perry to go...
Forcing himself to calm down a little, JD chewed his bottom lip, thinking. Perry'd need food...and the easiest thing would be the Glucerna. He darted forward, grabbing two of the six-packs from where Danni had stacked them against the wall of the garage. At least there was still plenty of it left, and it was already chilled. He set them in the cab, then frowned, trying to add. Four hours there, an hour to get them out, four hours back...They'd be back by noon at the absolute earliest. That'd give him plenty of times to get things ready...Ben's bed-frame could be moved to the garage, the mattress tossed to the floor so Turk and Carla would have space, and he could shuffle things in the den for Elliot...
He was startled from his thoughts by the sound of the garage door opening, and he moved back to greet Perry, eyes going wide when he realized the older man was carrying a rifle. "Perry...?"
Perry shook his head. "I'm not taking any chances," he growled. "We'll be a little bit exposed when we're getting them from the apartment to the truck, and there's no way I'm going to go out there with no way to protect them."
JD was still staring at the gigantic weapon. Though he'd been raised in the Midwest, he'd never been one for hunting, and he'd only ever seen guns that size behind the counter at Wal Mart. "Do you even know how to use that thing?"
"You'd better believe it," Perry replied, tossing the gun into the cab of the truck and pulling out a box of shells, which he tossed in as well. "I did my fair share of hunting when...when Ben and I used to come out here with Jordan's folks." He made a face at JD. "Jordan didn't care for it."
JD smiled, though it was tight with worry. "No, I don't guess she would," he said. Then, without warning, he surged forward and wrapped Perry in a tight hug. "Be careful, okay?" he said, and if his voice was a little higher than normal, Perry let it slide.
"You know me," Perry replied, hugging him back hard. "I'm always careful." He pulled away, smiling and reaching out to nudge JD's chin gently with his fist. "Chin up, Newbie. Back before you know it, menagerie in tow."
"There goes fucking in the living room..." JD pulled himself under control, smiling slightly. "I put a case of the Glucerna in there, and some straws...you should be able to eat and drive at the same time. Call me when you're on your way back? I'll have things ready here...and watch out for deer..."
Perry stopped JD's stream of words with a long kiss. "Love you, kid," he whispered.
JD had relaxed a bit, by the end of it, and managed a real smile for him. "Love you. Jack and I will be waiting. Hurry." He forced himself to step back, already planning to call Turk again, as soon as Perry was gone. Maybe he could help keep him calm...and God knew he'd never get back to sleep now.
Perry winked and saluted, then climbed into the truck and headed out down the drive.
This time, JD didn't watch him go, deciding instead to start focusing on preparing for the arrival of his friends. Though he'd been eager to get them out here--he missed them--this was not the way he'd wanted it to happen.
Still, he knew if anyone could protect them, Perry could. And he had to smile, realizing that, Changes in place, his friends wouldn't exactly be helpless...
That encouraging thought in mind, he set about moving furniture to accommodate for his friends, phone in hand as he called to assure the others Perry was on his way.
* * *
Perry reflected that he'd now officially made this drive more times in a month than he had in the past two years, and it didn't get any less boring each time, no matter what awaited him on the other end.
This time, however, when he drew near the city, he knew it was going to be a little different. In the dim light of pre-dawn, he could see the red glow reflected on the low-hanging clouds that were promising to dump more weather on them, though if it would be rain or snow or ice, Perry couldn't tell.
Fires, he thought grimly, mind drifting back to the blazes he'd seen as a child in seasons of drought. Jesus. One little fantasy comes true and the world goes fucking insane.
He drove slowly, windows up and doors locked, through a downtown rendered nearly unrecognizable by the looters and the fires still flickering, some nearly died out, others going strong. He could hear sirens in the distance, but they were apparently more concerned with the residential district fires than the business district ones, because the street he drove on was empty of official vehicles.
He wasn't sure that made him feel any better.
As he drove over the broken glass that littered the streets, he silently thanked whatever gods of luck or fortune had seen to it his wheels still had the snow chains over them. Not good for the roads, sure, but it would at least protect his tires. The last thing he needed right now was a flat.
When he finally reached JD's apartment building, he swallowed a groan.
The building hadn't been set on fire, thank heavens, and it seemed to be mostly quiet now, but it was clear it had been involved in a major way in the riot that had taken place hours before. Nearly every window on the ground floor was broken, the glass littering the pavement like some strange rain of crystal ice. There was graffiti on the brick, obscenities and words like "freak," "mutant," and "die" written sloppily in reds, greens and yellows: a veritable rainbow of hatred and fear. There were also broken bottles and cans littering the sidewalks, proof that alcohol may very well have been involved in the induction of the riot.
He sighed, putting the truck into park, then picked the rifle up from the floorboards and loaded a shell into each of the large double-barrels. He kept the safety on but held the gun snug under his arm, ready to use it if necessary, Hippocratic oath be damned. He'd try not to hurt anyone, but he'd be damned if he'd let them hurt his friends. Sparing a moment to wonder when he'd started thinking of them that way, he checked the mirrors again then unlocked the door, sliding out of the truck.
He'd backed up to the side of the building, right below the fire exit; he figured the more covert he could make their escape, the better their chances of getting out of the city without incident. He hurried up the stairs, then knocked on JD's apartment door, doing the "shave and a haircut, two bits" rhythm as JD had instructed.
There was a shuffle inside, and the peephole darkened for a moment as someone inside peered out at him. He waved, and moments later the door slid open, Elliot's face appearing in the gap. "Dr. Cox!"
"Yeah," he said, taking in her frightened expression, which only grew more fearful as she spotted the rifle. "Where are the others?"
"In here," she said, and he heard the clop of hooves as she backed from the door.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, then paused, taking in the sight before him with wide eyes.
JD had told him, of course, about their Changes: Elliot had become a palomino centauress, Carla was half blank panther, and Turk half wolf; hell, he'd seen Turk's Change, when he'd come down to rescue them the first time.
But even if JD had seen them himself, he couldn't have prepared Perry for this. Not for the way Elliot's cream coat glinted gold in the dim light of the apartment, her white tail a shimmering silver, reminding him of the unicorn they'd spotted only--God, could it really have just been yesterday morning? Not for the way Carla's muscles bunched as she leapt lightly down from where she'd been stretched, sinuous, along the back of the couch. Not even for the way Turk's toenails clicked against the linoleum in the kitchen as he moved forward, joining Carla in the living room. They were all so... real, somehow, and seeing them like this made Perry realize how different the world was going to be. Already was.
"Um... Dr. Cox?" Elliot said, waving a hand in front of him a little to get his attention; he shook himself lightly, nodding.
"Right," he murmured. "All right, let's get going."
Without waiting for an answer, he spun around and looked into the hallway, but it remained empty; he turned back to the others. "I think one at a time might be best," he said after a moment. "It leaves the least number of people exposed at once, and gives us a warning system. I've parked within sight of this room, so Carla, I want you so stay by the window while I take Turk and Elliot out of here. You're my eyes, okay?"
She swallowed, eyes wide, then nodded. "Okay."
"Wait, why is she last?" Turk said with a frown. "I don't--"
"Because she's riding up front with me, that's why, and unless you want her sitting in the cab--whose windows are perfectly clear, unlike the camper hood--while you two figure out how you're going to squeeze into the back, it's the safest way to do this," Perry snapped. "Look, Gandhi, you're going to have to trust me, okay? Because if you start questioning my orders when we get going, you could cause serious problems, and I am not in any kind of mood to deal with serious problems. Got it?"
He hoisted the rifle up onto his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at Turk, who nodded, wide-eyed.
"Good," Perry growled. "Barbie. You first. Let's get going." Her Change, he figured, was the largest, and could therefore inflict the most damage, should push come to shove. She was probably also the one who would be best equipped to run, if the need arose, and run fast.
Elliot bit her lip, glancing fearfully at the others, before nodding. She grabbed a duffle bag and followed Perry into the hallway.
Getting her loaded into the truck was easier than Perry had feared. Her Change was, as JD had pointed out, smaller than that of a normal horse: She was taller than he, now, but only by a few inches, and the shoulders of her horse half rose only about four and a half feet or so. Perry offered her his hand as she climbed onto the tailgate, ducking awkwardly to get in under the camper.
"We can take it off if we have to," Perry said as she maneuvered. "But I'd feel better about leaving you out here if we left it on."
"No, I can get it...hang on." She crouched, then gave a kick with her hind legs, scrambling up and finally getting her hindquarters into the truck. She settled down, legs tucked beneath her, and drew one of the blankets up around her shoulders with a shiver before nodding at Perry.
"Good girl," Perry said, nodding to her. He studied the truck bed for a moment. Small horse or not, Elliot still took up a rather good portion of it; Turk would have to be draped across her back in order to fit. But he should. "I'm going to close this," he told her, "but I'll be right back with Turk. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, then smiled at him a little shyly. "Dr. Cox...thank you."
"No time for that now, Barbie," he said gently, as he lifted the tailgate and slammed it shut. Then, as he reached up to close the camper, he winked at her. "But you're welcome."
He climbed the stairs, knocking in the same rhythm as before; Turk opened the door immediately, a duffel bag of his own slung over one shoulder. "All right," he said. "Let's do this."
Perry nodded. "Carla? Still doing okay?"
She gave him a thumbs up from the window, and Perry headed back downstairs, Turk in tow.
Getting him loaded into the truck went more smoothly, though there were a few awkward moments as he and Elliot attempted to sort themselves out in the back. Ultimately Turk had to drape himself on top of her, with Elliot's back pressed against Turk's chest as though she were giving him a ride. Under normal circumstances, Perry would have been tempted to remark on the arrangement, but the circumstances had long ago stopped being normal, and he knew that time was of the essence. The distant sounds of rioting had begun to grow nearer, and he was rather fearful that the crowd was going to circle back toward them soon. Besides, Perry reflected as Turk wrapped his arms around Elliot's shoulders from behind, it would be a good way for the two of them to share body heat.
He had just closed the back of the truck and latched the camper when he heard the sounds of shouting from just down the street.
He spun, and squinted, then realized he could vaguely make out the massive shape of a very large crowd of people moving in their direction. Fast.
"Shit!" he hissed. He didn't think they'd spotted him yet, but he knew they would be here before he could go back up after Carla. "Damnit!" he swore, momentarily at a loss. He couldn't just leave her, but Turk and Elliot were in no position to defend themselves, tangled as they were...
However, it was just then that Carla dropped onto the hood of the truck, having apparently just leapt down from the fire escape. As he gaped at her, she sprang down from the hood, landing lightly, and tore open the passenger side door. She saw him staring and yelled, "Get in, get in!"
He scrambled to obey, sprinting around the truck and throwing himself into the driver's side before slamming the door shut and locking it.
Carla barely fit--she was practically in his lap--but there wasn't time to worry about that, either. Perry shoved the key into the ignition and turned, nearly swearing again when the engine sputtered for a moment. But on the second try it roared to life, just as the crowd rounded the corner onto the street in front of the truck. Someone noticed them, and pointed, shouting; several other heads turned toward them as well, but Perry didn't wait around to see what they wanted. He threw the truck into reverse and slammed on the accelerator, spinning around in the parking lot, before gunning it toward the empty street on the other side of the apartment building.
The sound of a gunshot rang out, and Perry heard the thump of several somethings being flung at the truck, but he didn't look back, even when Elliot sobbed in fear and Turk swore loudly; he shoved the accelerator all the way to the floor, and as the truck finally shifted and began picking up speed, the sounds of shouts grew distant, then finally faded completely.
He drew a deep breath, heart racing, and glanced in the mirror before returning his attention to the debris-littered street in front of them. "Everyone okay?" he demanded.
"Yeah," Carla replied, glancing at the other two before turning back to him. "Yeah, we're fine."
Perry nodded, relaxing a little, but not slowing down any until they were well on their way out of the city.
"God," Elliot whimpered, voice cracking with fear. "I can't believe this...this is so crazy!"
"It's like the sixties all over again," Turk agreed darkly; Perry could hear the contempt in his voice. "People are always afraid of what's different."
Perry sighed, mind drifting to JD. Ironically, before the Change, he and his now-lover would have been the most popular object of derision among the narrow-minded masses. He almost snorted, realizing that after the Change, homosexuals would be passé. Old news. Step aside, queers and fags! Mankind has someone new to hate! His lip curled into a sneer at the thought.
"Perry," Carla said after a moment, voice tense with remembered fear as she lay a hand on his shoulder, "I don't...I mean, I just...thank you."
Perry glanced at her, lifting an eyebrow. "For what?" he asked dryly. "Saving your asses yet again?"
"Yeah," Carla replied, smiling faintly. "Among other things."
"Don't mention it," Perry replied, shrugging. He pulled onto the exit for the interstate, grateful to be putting as much distance between them and the city as he could, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, handing it to Carla. "Call JD for me, would you?" he instructed. "Let him know we're on our way."
Carla nodded. "You got it," she said, and he could hear the relief in her voice. He smiled softly, feeling the same relief washing over him as the road opened up before him, the mountains looming, friendly and sheltering. As Carla dialed the phone, Perry let himself slowly relax. At long last, his family was finally safe.
* * *
Next Chapter
* * *
Characters: John Dorian/Perry Cox
Rating: NC-17 (eventually)
Chapter Rating: R for language, sexual situations and implied violence.
Description: This is a wildly AU story with fantastical elements based on
thuri's Nano writing project. It begins late in season three, before Carla and Turk's wedding, and from there follows the characters as they face the Change, a strange, magical phenomenon that is turning ordinary humans into half-human creatures from fantasy.Chapter listings: Contents Post
By the time the end credits began to roll, Perry had nearly fallen asleep, JD still a comfortable weight atop him. But when the movie flipped back to the DVD menu page, he stirred, reaching down to nudge JD's shoulder. "Newbie?"
"Mmmm. No."
Perry smiled. "JD..." he crooned.
"Quiet. I'm dreaming about you."
Perry laughed. "I'm right here, you know."
"But you're not naked," JD mumbled. "In my dream you're naked." He smirked against Perry's chest when it rumbled once more with a deep chuckle.
"We could fix that, you know," the other man suggested. "I think I could use a shower..."
JD sighed, pushing himself up. He moved so he was hovering over the older man, weight held on his hands and knees, which straddled Perry's hips still. "I don't know if you should be attempting showering yet," he said, but when Perry frowned, held up a hand to forestall any protests. "At least," he said sternly, "I don't know if you should be attempting to shower alone."
The frown vanished, Perry's eyebrows rising as his lips curved upward hopefully. "Yeah?" he murmured back. "That your...professional opinion, Doctor?"
"Mmm." JD rolled his hips forward, pressing against Perry for a brief moment before pulling back. "Physician's orders," he replied. "No unsupervised showers for the next... oh, fifty or sixty years, at least."
Perry grinned. "That so. Well, if it's an order--I've turned over my care to you, after all."
JD's smile softened, and he leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to Perry's lips. "I know," he said, hoping Perry knew how much that very fact meant to him. "And I intend to honor that."
He stood, helping Perry to his feet. Luckily, the older man's strength seemed to have mostly returned--"You're good," Perry joked, tugging JD close and kissing him again--so JD felt safe leaving him alone in the bathroom while he went to check on Jack.
The child was still fast asleep; his wings were out, and he was moving them slowly, dreamily, but he did not stir. JD watched him a moment, a tender smile on his face. He reached down and stroked Jack's cheek, smile growing when Jack turned his head, making a small noise before yawning, stretching, and going still again. JD bit his lip, surprised at the surge of emotion the child's movements caused. If he'd had any doubts whatsoever about the depth of his feelings for this boy, they dissolved in an instant, and he realized with sudden blinding clarity that he would die before he'd let anything happen to him.
He stood, swallowing a little. "So this is what it's like to be a father, huh?" he murmured, half to himself and half to the sleeping child in the crib. "It's...intense."
Jack didn't stir. JD smiled, then turned away, returning to the bathroom.
In the doorway, he paused, the sight before him making him swallow even as it caused yet another surge of tender protectiveness to rise within him. Lord, who knew I was so territorial?
Perry stood, completely naked--the first time JD had seen him this way, he realized, in a non-medical situation--turned profile to the mirror. His back was to JD, and he was trying to watch his wings, a frown of intense concentration on his face as he moved them. He extended them back, then out, before folding them in tight once more, and his expression was half awe, half curiosity.
He finally noticed JD watching him, and turned, an excited grin spreading across his face. "JD, come here," he said, reaching out to tug the younger man forward. "Look at this, you've got to see this..."
JD laughed, confused. "What...?"
"Watch." Perry turned his back. "See the wings?"
"Um...yes?"
"Feel them--the framework, I mean." Perry squirmed a little, obviously very excited about something; shrugging to himself, JD obeyed, reaching out and tracing the structure of the wings that lay along Perry's back. "What am I looking for, exactly?"
"Feel how soft it is?" Perry said, twisting his neck to try to see them over his shoulder. "How it's...almost spongy?"
"Yeah?"
"Okay," Perry wiggled his shoulders a little. "Watch this."
With a sudden snap, the wing under JD's hand extended outward, toward the mirror, and JD yelped, jumping backward, eyes wide. "Holy shit..."
"I know!" Perry said, grinning. "Cool, huh?"
That was one way to put it, JD decided, approaching again and reaching out to feel the wing. What had been soft, porous--spongy, as Perry had accurately described it--was now stiff, like bone. And it was thinner but also a good deal longer than it had been. The hide between had also stretched, now held taut between the finger joints that had sprouted at the end. The wing looked to have more than doubled in size from when Perry had held it against himself, and JD realized that it was larger than he'd previously assumed, even though he'd played at extending the wings himself, while Perry had been unconscious. "Are you...consciously making it do that?" JD asked. "Because I couldn't get them to extend like this..."
"I know," Perry said, squirming. "I think it has something to do with blood flow, or something...it's like inflating a balloon, almost."
JD giggled suddenly. "Wing erections," he supplied, and Perry snorted.
"Kinda," he said, shrugging. "It might actually be sort of the same mechanism. But I don't know of any animal whose wings do this. I mean, bats don't..."
"Bats don't have scales, either," JD pointed out, reaching around Perry's waist to stroke his forearms. "So maybe you really are half dragon."
Perry gazed at the mirror, taking in the sight of JD, fully dressed, pressed against his bare back, arms around his middle, gazing back at him in the reflection. He swallowed, watching as it made his Adam's apple bob, and smiled. "I'd've counted this as an unlikely sight, about two weeks ago," he commented. "But now it just looks...obvious. Like I can't quite believe we didn't figure it out sooner."
"Three," JD corrected automatically. "You're not counting the week you were unconscious."
Perry winced, looking away, and JD felt a twinge of guilt. "It wasn't your fault or anything," he added hastily, but Perry waved him off. He reached up and unhooked JD's arms from his waist, causing JD to protest, but only for a moment as Perry turned to face him and hooked them back. JD grinned up at him. "If your wings do that when they're full grown, you should still be able to sleep on your back," he said.
Perry smirked. "Meaning you'll still be able to sleep on my chest, right?" he guessed, bringing his arms up to rest on JD's shoulders.
JD shrugged, looking non-apologetic. "If it ain't broke..."
"Yeah, yeah. Get naked, birdboy. I want to see how well these things shed water." He stepped back, grinning, and extended his wings, waving them a little--then suddenly staggered, reeling backwards. He would've fallen, if JD hadn't lunged forward and grabbed his hands, steadying him.
They stood for a moment in silence, Perry blinking, then JD started to laugh. "Wind catch you off-guard?" he guessed, winking as he released Perry's hands and turned to obediently begin shucking his clothes.
"Uh,y-yeah..." Perry said, plastering a sheepish grin onto his face. "I think I'll just...get the water running," he said, then turned away quickly. The grin vanished, and he swallowed, trying to calm his racing heart. The stagger had truly had nothing to do with the wind he'd raised--that had been, in the confined space of the bathroom, relatively slight. No...it had been a sudden, rather intense wave of dizziness--an all too familiar wave of dizziness, in fact. It reminded him of the morning chopping wood...
You just got up today, he reminded himself. And you've been very...active. Probably just overdid it a little.
He took a few deep, calming breaths. Yeah, that was it. Of course it was. Overexertion. He was a doctor, he knew better--hadn't JD warned him? He would just have to take it easy for a while, that was all. Maybe take JD up on that opportunity to let the younger man be the top. Probably best if he wasn't being too energetic at the moment anyway.
"Forget how to work a shower?" JD's voice, right behind him, was amused, but when he ducked around and caught a glimpse of Perry's face, he frowned. "Hey, are you okay?"
Perry turned, forcing a smile onto his face--one that melted into a genuine smile, as soon as he saw JD standing naked before him. "Yeah," he murmured, swallowing appreciatively. "I'm fine."
JD laughed, blushing a little with pleasure as Perry's eyes roved over his now-bare chest. He twitched his wings a little, knowing it made the muscles ripple attractively, and heard Perry swallow again.
"Like what you see?" he murmured.
"I do," Perry replied, reaching out to take JD's hand and tug him toward the shower. "I like it even better knowing it's mine."
"It is," JD agreed softly, waiting as Perry turned on the shower and adjusted the temperature.
Despite their teasing, however, JD knew they were both likely too tired to act on their flirting. Well, JD thought, he could have had another go--the sight of Perry standing strong and unabashedly bare before him had let him know that quickly enough--but he knew Perry was not only older, but still recovering from the eight days of comatose rejection, so he restrained himself, calming his body's reaction. He focused instead on the simple, tender act of bathing his lover, and closed his eyes with enjoyment when Perry returned the favor.
Even when he had finished, however, Perry did not want the shower to end just yet; a look at JD's expression told him the younger man felt the same. He reached out and pulled him into his arms, and for a long time they stood holding one another under the steady flow of hot water, kissing slowly as the steam gathered around them and fogged the mirror.
* * *
JD's dreams, which were oddly peaceful images of soaring through threads of colored light, were interrupted abruptly by the shrill ring of his cell phone. He groaned as the dream images shattered, pulling himself up and out of Perry's arms, squinting at the clock. Two o'clock in the morning. This had better be good... "'lo?"
"JD, man, how soon can you get us out of here?" Turk's voice was low, tense and frightened.
JD felt his own blood freeze, and he pushed himself up further. "I...Perry can get the truck there in four hours, I think. He's insisting on picking you up, which I personally think is kind of a bad idea, but he can still hide his Change, so it makes the most sense..." he realized he was babbling, and cut himself off. "Turk, what happened?"
"They're rioting, man. Right here. Right outside. The whole fucking world is going crazy!"
"Oh God," JD gasped, sliding to the edge of the bed and climbing to his feet, shoulders hunching around the phone as though he could somehow protect Turk that way. "Are you guys all right?"
"We're fine, dude, but Mr. Johnson, downstairs...We did what we could for him, but I don't think we could've saved him even at the hospital. JD, we've got to get out of here."
"We'll be there," JD promised. "Hang on, man. Bar the doors, don't let anyone but me or Perry inside."
"Yeah, okay...JD, I..."
"Forget it, man," JD said quietly. "I couldn't...I couldn't leave you guys..." he choked a little. "Turk, I..."
"Yeah, me too. See you soon, buddy."
"Yeah," JD whispered. "Soon."
He clicked off the phone and turned to Perry, who was already awake and watching him with silent worry.
"There's a riot," JD said shortly, voice breaking a little. "Perry--we have to get them out of there."
"Jesus," Perry whispered, then flung the blankets aside and sprung out of bed. "JD--go get the truck started," he ordered, suddenly very much the Dr. Cox JD remembered from the hospital. "And toss some blankets into the back. We might not have time to rent a trailer."
JD frowned. "Will they fit in the truck?" he asked, even as he tugged on a pair of jeans.
"They'll have to," Perry replied grimly, tugging a shirt over his head. "We'll pull the plywood out; Elliot and Turk can probably squeeze into the back, and Carla can fit up front with me." His mind was racing--cat, more pliable, up front.
JD bit his lip, but nodded. "It's a good thing the centaurs aren't the size of actual horses," he muttered, half to himself as he tugged on a jacket. He didn't bother trying to fit it over his wings and simply threw it on backwards, then took the stairs two at a time in his rush to get to the garage and start the truck engine warming up.
He got the truck started, and tugged the plywood out of the back, not even caring about the subsequent splinters in his fingers and palms. Then, darting back into the house, he sprinted up to Ben's room. In the closet he found a few extra blankets and pillows to throw in it, hoping that'd help cushion his friends for what was very likely going to be a very uncomfortable ride. He carried them back down to the truck, nearly tripping over the corner of one of the blankets in his distraction. His mind was racing, wondering what could've sparked the riot, if things would've calmed enough for Perry to get through, if the older man would be safe...But he had to go. They couldn't just sit here, while Turk and everyone was in the middle of all that...he bit back a sob, trying not to panic. He was torn, wanting to go himself but knowing he couldn't, because one of them had to stay with Jack, wanting his friends to get here but not wanting Perry to go...
Forcing himself to calm down a little, JD chewed his bottom lip, thinking. Perry'd need food...and the easiest thing would be the Glucerna. He darted forward, grabbing two of the six-packs from where Danni had stacked them against the wall of the garage. At least there was still plenty of it left, and it was already chilled. He set them in the cab, then frowned, trying to add. Four hours there, an hour to get them out, four hours back...They'd be back by noon at the absolute earliest. That'd give him plenty of times to get things ready...Ben's bed-frame could be moved to the garage, the mattress tossed to the floor so Turk and Carla would have space, and he could shuffle things in the den for Elliot...
He was startled from his thoughts by the sound of the garage door opening, and he moved back to greet Perry, eyes going wide when he realized the older man was carrying a rifle. "Perry...?"
Perry shook his head. "I'm not taking any chances," he growled. "We'll be a little bit exposed when we're getting them from the apartment to the truck, and there's no way I'm going to go out there with no way to protect them."
JD was still staring at the gigantic weapon. Though he'd been raised in the Midwest, he'd never been one for hunting, and he'd only ever seen guns that size behind the counter at Wal Mart. "Do you even know how to use that thing?"
"You'd better believe it," Perry replied, tossing the gun into the cab of the truck and pulling out a box of shells, which he tossed in as well. "I did my fair share of hunting when...when Ben and I used to come out here with Jordan's folks." He made a face at JD. "Jordan didn't care for it."
JD smiled, though it was tight with worry. "No, I don't guess she would," he said. Then, without warning, he surged forward and wrapped Perry in a tight hug. "Be careful, okay?" he said, and if his voice was a little higher than normal, Perry let it slide.
"You know me," Perry replied, hugging him back hard. "I'm always careful." He pulled away, smiling and reaching out to nudge JD's chin gently with his fist. "Chin up, Newbie. Back before you know it, menagerie in tow."
"There goes fucking in the living room..." JD pulled himself under control, smiling slightly. "I put a case of the Glucerna in there, and some straws...you should be able to eat and drive at the same time. Call me when you're on your way back? I'll have things ready here...and watch out for deer..."
Perry stopped JD's stream of words with a long kiss. "Love you, kid," he whispered.
JD had relaxed a bit, by the end of it, and managed a real smile for him. "Love you. Jack and I will be waiting. Hurry." He forced himself to step back, already planning to call Turk again, as soon as Perry was gone. Maybe he could help keep him calm...and God knew he'd never get back to sleep now.
Perry winked and saluted, then climbed into the truck and headed out down the drive.
This time, JD didn't watch him go, deciding instead to start focusing on preparing for the arrival of his friends. Though he'd been eager to get them out here--he missed them--this was not the way he'd wanted it to happen.
Still, he knew if anyone could protect them, Perry could. And he had to smile, realizing that, Changes in place, his friends wouldn't exactly be helpless...
That encouraging thought in mind, he set about moving furniture to accommodate for his friends, phone in hand as he called to assure the others Perry was on his way.
* * *
Perry reflected that he'd now officially made this drive more times in a month than he had in the past two years, and it didn't get any less boring each time, no matter what awaited him on the other end.
This time, however, when he drew near the city, he knew it was going to be a little different. In the dim light of pre-dawn, he could see the red glow reflected on the low-hanging clouds that were promising to dump more weather on them, though if it would be rain or snow or ice, Perry couldn't tell.
Fires, he thought grimly, mind drifting back to the blazes he'd seen as a child in seasons of drought. Jesus. One little fantasy comes true and the world goes fucking insane.
He drove slowly, windows up and doors locked, through a downtown rendered nearly unrecognizable by the looters and the fires still flickering, some nearly died out, others going strong. He could hear sirens in the distance, but they were apparently more concerned with the residential district fires than the business district ones, because the street he drove on was empty of official vehicles.
He wasn't sure that made him feel any better.
As he drove over the broken glass that littered the streets, he silently thanked whatever gods of luck or fortune had seen to it his wheels still had the snow chains over them. Not good for the roads, sure, but it would at least protect his tires. The last thing he needed right now was a flat.
When he finally reached JD's apartment building, he swallowed a groan.
The building hadn't been set on fire, thank heavens, and it seemed to be mostly quiet now, but it was clear it had been involved in a major way in the riot that had taken place hours before. Nearly every window on the ground floor was broken, the glass littering the pavement like some strange rain of crystal ice. There was graffiti on the brick, obscenities and words like "freak," "mutant," and "die" written sloppily in reds, greens and yellows: a veritable rainbow of hatred and fear. There were also broken bottles and cans littering the sidewalks, proof that alcohol may very well have been involved in the induction of the riot.
He sighed, putting the truck into park, then picked the rifle up from the floorboards and loaded a shell into each of the large double-barrels. He kept the safety on but held the gun snug under his arm, ready to use it if necessary, Hippocratic oath be damned. He'd try not to hurt anyone, but he'd be damned if he'd let them hurt his friends. Sparing a moment to wonder when he'd started thinking of them that way, he checked the mirrors again then unlocked the door, sliding out of the truck.
He'd backed up to the side of the building, right below the fire exit; he figured the more covert he could make their escape, the better their chances of getting out of the city without incident. He hurried up the stairs, then knocked on JD's apartment door, doing the "shave and a haircut, two bits" rhythm as JD had instructed.
There was a shuffle inside, and the peephole darkened for a moment as someone inside peered out at him. He waved, and moments later the door slid open, Elliot's face appearing in the gap. "Dr. Cox!"
"Yeah," he said, taking in her frightened expression, which only grew more fearful as she spotted the rifle. "Where are the others?"
"In here," she said, and he heard the clop of hooves as she backed from the door.
He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, then paused, taking in the sight before him with wide eyes.
JD had told him, of course, about their Changes: Elliot had become a palomino centauress, Carla was half blank panther, and Turk half wolf; hell, he'd seen Turk's Change, when he'd come down to rescue them the first time.
But even if JD had seen them himself, he couldn't have prepared Perry for this. Not for the way Elliot's cream coat glinted gold in the dim light of the apartment, her white tail a shimmering silver, reminding him of the unicorn they'd spotted only--God, could it really have just been yesterday morning? Not for the way Carla's muscles bunched as she leapt lightly down from where she'd been stretched, sinuous, along the back of the couch. Not even for the way Turk's toenails clicked against the linoleum in the kitchen as he moved forward, joining Carla in the living room. They were all so... real, somehow, and seeing them like this made Perry realize how different the world was going to be. Already was.
"Um... Dr. Cox?" Elliot said, waving a hand in front of him a little to get his attention; he shook himself lightly, nodding.
"Right," he murmured. "All right, let's get going."
Without waiting for an answer, he spun around and looked into the hallway, but it remained empty; he turned back to the others. "I think one at a time might be best," he said after a moment. "It leaves the least number of people exposed at once, and gives us a warning system. I've parked within sight of this room, so Carla, I want you so stay by the window while I take Turk and Elliot out of here. You're my eyes, okay?"
She swallowed, eyes wide, then nodded. "Okay."
"Wait, why is she last?" Turk said with a frown. "I don't--"
"Because she's riding up front with me, that's why, and unless you want her sitting in the cab--whose windows are perfectly clear, unlike the camper hood--while you two figure out how you're going to squeeze into the back, it's the safest way to do this," Perry snapped. "Look, Gandhi, you're going to have to trust me, okay? Because if you start questioning my orders when we get going, you could cause serious problems, and I am not in any kind of mood to deal with serious problems. Got it?"
He hoisted the rifle up onto his shoulder, raising an eyebrow at Turk, who nodded, wide-eyed.
"Good," Perry growled. "Barbie. You first. Let's get going." Her Change, he figured, was the largest, and could therefore inflict the most damage, should push come to shove. She was probably also the one who would be best equipped to run, if the need arose, and run fast.
Elliot bit her lip, glancing fearfully at the others, before nodding. She grabbed a duffle bag and followed Perry into the hallway.
Getting her loaded into the truck was easier than Perry had feared. Her Change was, as JD had pointed out, smaller than that of a normal horse: She was taller than he, now, but only by a few inches, and the shoulders of her horse half rose only about four and a half feet or so. Perry offered her his hand as she climbed onto the tailgate, ducking awkwardly to get in under the camper.
"We can take it off if we have to," Perry said as she maneuvered. "But I'd feel better about leaving you out here if we left it on."
"No, I can get it...hang on." She crouched, then gave a kick with her hind legs, scrambling up and finally getting her hindquarters into the truck. She settled down, legs tucked beneath her, and drew one of the blankets up around her shoulders with a shiver before nodding at Perry.
"Good girl," Perry said, nodding to her. He studied the truck bed for a moment. Small horse or not, Elliot still took up a rather good portion of it; Turk would have to be draped across her back in order to fit. But he should. "I'm going to close this," he told her, "but I'll be right back with Turk. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, then smiled at him a little shyly. "Dr. Cox...thank you."
"No time for that now, Barbie," he said gently, as he lifted the tailgate and slammed it shut. Then, as he reached up to close the camper, he winked at her. "But you're welcome."
He climbed the stairs, knocking in the same rhythm as before; Turk opened the door immediately, a duffel bag of his own slung over one shoulder. "All right," he said. "Let's do this."
Perry nodded. "Carla? Still doing okay?"
She gave him a thumbs up from the window, and Perry headed back downstairs, Turk in tow.
Getting him loaded into the truck went more smoothly, though there were a few awkward moments as he and Elliot attempted to sort themselves out in the back. Ultimately Turk had to drape himself on top of her, with Elliot's back pressed against Turk's chest as though she were giving him a ride. Under normal circumstances, Perry would have been tempted to remark on the arrangement, but the circumstances had long ago stopped being normal, and he knew that time was of the essence. The distant sounds of rioting had begun to grow nearer, and he was rather fearful that the crowd was going to circle back toward them soon. Besides, Perry reflected as Turk wrapped his arms around Elliot's shoulders from behind, it would be a good way for the two of them to share body heat.
He had just closed the back of the truck and latched the camper when he heard the sounds of shouting from just down the street.
He spun, and squinted, then realized he could vaguely make out the massive shape of a very large crowd of people moving in their direction. Fast.
"Shit!" he hissed. He didn't think they'd spotted him yet, but he knew they would be here before he could go back up after Carla. "Damnit!" he swore, momentarily at a loss. He couldn't just leave her, but Turk and Elliot were in no position to defend themselves, tangled as they were...
However, it was just then that Carla dropped onto the hood of the truck, having apparently just leapt down from the fire escape. As he gaped at her, she sprang down from the hood, landing lightly, and tore open the passenger side door. She saw him staring and yelled, "Get in, get in!"
He scrambled to obey, sprinting around the truck and throwing himself into the driver's side before slamming the door shut and locking it.
Carla barely fit--she was practically in his lap--but there wasn't time to worry about that, either. Perry shoved the key into the ignition and turned, nearly swearing again when the engine sputtered for a moment. But on the second try it roared to life, just as the crowd rounded the corner onto the street in front of the truck. Someone noticed them, and pointed, shouting; several other heads turned toward them as well, but Perry didn't wait around to see what they wanted. He threw the truck into reverse and slammed on the accelerator, spinning around in the parking lot, before gunning it toward the empty street on the other side of the apartment building.
The sound of a gunshot rang out, and Perry heard the thump of several somethings being flung at the truck, but he didn't look back, even when Elliot sobbed in fear and Turk swore loudly; he shoved the accelerator all the way to the floor, and as the truck finally shifted and began picking up speed, the sounds of shouts grew distant, then finally faded completely.
He drew a deep breath, heart racing, and glanced in the mirror before returning his attention to the debris-littered street in front of them. "Everyone okay?" he demanded.
"Yeah," Carla replied, glancing at the other two before turning back to him. "Yeah, we're fine."
Perry nodded, relaxing a little, but not slowing down any until they were well on their way out of the city.
"God," Elliot whimpered, voice cracking with fear. "I can't believe this...this is so crazy!"
"It's like the sixties all over again," Turk agreed darkly; Perry could hear the contempt in his voice. "People are always afraid of what's different."
Perry sighed, mind drifting to JD. Ironically, before the Change, he and his now-lover would have been the most popular object of derision among the narrow-minded masses. He almost snorted, realizing that after the Change, homosexuals would be passé. Old news. Step aside, queers and fags! Mankind has someone new to hate! His lip curled into a sneer at the thought.
"Perry," Carla said after a moment, voice tense with remembered fear as she lay a hand on his shoulder, "I don't...I mean, I just...thank you."
Perry glanced at her, lifting an eyebrow. "For what?" he asked dryly. "Saving your asses yet again?"
"Yeah," Carla replied, smiling faintly. "Among other things."
"Don't mention it," Perry replied, shrugging. He pulled onto the exit for the interstate, grateful to be putting as much distance between them and the city as he could, then reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, handing it to Carla. "Call JD for me, would you?" he instructed. "Let him know we're on our way."
Carla nodded. "You got it," she said, and he could hear the relief in her voice. He smiled softly, feeling the same relief washing over him as the road opened up before him, the mountains looming, friendly and sheltering. As Carla dialed the phone, Perry let himself slowly relax. At long last, his family was finally safe.
* * *
Next Chapter
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