Survivor: Chapter 5
21 May 2008 21:25![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
randomweavingTitle: Survivor
Characters: JD/Perry, JD/Jordan, Jordan/Perry, JD/Perry/Jordan
Series Rating: NC-17 (eventually)
Description: A terrible accident requires JD use all his skill to save the mentor he idolizes. But times of crisis can bring people together in unusual ways...
Author's Note: Beta by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
yutamiyu who rocks all! Thanks again, you are totally awesome.
Warnings: Eventual OT3. Het content.
Over the next day, Dr. Cox's condition remained more or less the same. Dr. Rhoads--the orthopedic surgeon--Dr. Miller, and Turk all came to check on him, and Dr. Rhoads went over the slides with JD and Jordan, explaining what would still need to be done.
"He's going to need more surgery on that knee," he told them. "The patella was broken in four places. We've rewired it, but we're going to need to do a replacement procedure when we go in to take out the pins. It was too risky to keep him under for that long, before."
"Will he be able to walk?" Jordan asked softly, glancing from JD to the orthopedist, face carefully blank. JD could read the fear in her eyes, however, and reached out to give her shoulder a quick squeeze.
"With therapy, the chances are good he'll regain most function in the limb, yes," the surgeon said, turning back to the slide. "He's done some considerable damage to the ligaments, so he'll never be 100%, but chances are he'll be able to walk with only a slight limp. It'll take a lot of work on his part, though," he added, peering at them over the tops of his glasses. "He'll have to be willing to stick with it."
JD almost smiled. "He's stubborn. I don't think that'll be a problem."
Jordan shot a glance at him, but her expression eased. "That's good to hear...What about his hand? And his arm?"
"The knee is the worst of it," the surgeon said with a shrug. "The arm and hand should heal fine. He'll have to have the pins removed after a few weeks, but he should regain full function. It was a clean break." He paused, glancing at them. "He was a lucky man, from what I hear."
JD shivered internally, remembering the scene of the crash, but simply nodded. He'd resisted telling the story to anyone who'd asked, but he wasn't sure if maybe the rumors going around weren't worse. Even if he did come out as a hero in several of them...
He thanked the surgeon, and he and Jordan returned to Perry's bed, closing the door. They'd taken him off the mask, and weaned him down to two liters of oxygen on a nasal cannula instead; Jordan moved to the bed and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to the older man's mouth. "We're back, babe," she told him (she'd started talking to him as though he were awake, at JD's suggestion, hoping it would help him regain consciousness faster to know there were people waiting for him). "Looks like you're going to be all right."
"You'll be back and yelling at everyone in no time," JD offered, picking up Perry's--he'd given up trying to think of the other man any other wa; it just felt somehow strange, now--chart, flipping through it. There was nothing more for him to do, and he knew everything it said, but he wanted the distraction, while Jordan settled herself again.
Eventually, she did, and he set the chart back down, slumping into his own chair and picking at a loose thread in his t-shirt. For a time, there was silence; then Jordan said, sounding amused, "You keep doing that and the hem's going to unravel."
"They always do," JD replied, looking up and smiling slightly. "Don't think I have a single one that isn't mostly ripped out..."
She smirked. "I can't really say anything, I guess," she said. "Every pair of jeans I own is too long for me, and I never get around to altering them, so I walk on the heels until they're tatters."
JD laughed, surprised by the admission from her. "Really? Mine were like that until I finally got tall in high school..." Were they really bonding over clothes? Well, God knew it was better than sitting in silence, or watching her watch Perry while trying not to watch him himself...
"Well, what actually happens is when I shop, I'm in heels," she said, rolling her eyes at herself. "They're the perfect length, then. But when I'm wearing jeans, I'm generally in tennis shoes, and for some reason I never put two and two together when I'm actually shopping."
"My mom just bought things too big so I'd grow into them. Or they were Dan's hand-me-downs and were already thrashed...but I started picking the hems out of my shirts when I was in elementary school. I was always finishing things early and was bored..."
"You were a picker, huh? I was a doodler," she replied. "Danni was a note-writer. I assume Dan is your brother?"
JD nodded. "Yeah. He's four years older than me." He grinned wryly. "He's the cool one, I'm the smart one. And I started doodling later, but if I don't have paper and a pencil...my shirts suffer."
Suddenly, there came a slurred voice from the bed: "Have things really gotten so lax around here that you've got nothing better to do than flirt with my ex-wife, Newbie?"
JD started, pulling himself up as he felt his face go red. But then a grin spread across it, and he moved over to see Perry's eyes open and looking at him. "Well, you've been snoring a little, but that's not exactly four star entertainment," he replied, grinning at Jordan for a moment.
Perry blinked at him, lifting an eyebrow, then turning to look at Jordan. "One of you wanna explain what I'm doing here?" he asked.
Jordan shook her head, though there was a faint smile about her lips. It disappeared as she began talking, though, her voice once again gentle and soft. "Your plane had a landing gear malfunction, Perry. It..." she hesitated, looking at JD.
"It crashed, in Griffith Park," he finished for her, watching Perry closely. "You're one of the twelve who made it."
Perry stared at JD, then looked back at Jordan. "My plane crashed?" he repeated.
JD nodded. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Perry opened his mouth, then closed it again, frowning. "Packing," he said at last. "In my hotel in Chicago."
Jordan reached over, lightly squeezing his arm again, looking up at JD, her face worried.
"That's normal," JD offered, trying to keep his tone light. Dealing with patients who'd just regained consciousness wasn't exactly his forte, and now that the patient was Perry... "Considering the concussion. Want to let me know how you're doing, or should I go ahead and ask all the usual questions?"
Perry cringed, shifting a little. "How about we skip that part, and you tell me when my next dose of pain medication's due?"
"Now good? I'll get you Demerol, and then we'll hook you up to morphine PCA." JD ducked out of the room, almost gratefully, glad to miss the reunion between Perry and Jordan that was sure to come. And to put off being told Perry wanted a new doctor for as long as he could.
* * *
Jordan watched JD go, before turning back to Perry, stroking his hair back from his head. "Well. You've done it. You've got my undivided attention, Perry. It's good to see you awake."
Perry cringed again. "I think I preferred the coma," he said. "Fuck, I feel like..."
"Like you survived a plane crash?" Jordan supplied, lifting an eyebrow.
He snorted. "Yeah. Like that. How long've I been out, anyway?"
"Almost two days," Jordan replied, fingers still move gently through his hair. "DJ tells me it's good you're waking up so soon..."
"He's my doctor, huh?" Perry chuckled, a little painfully, and winced again when the action made his sides ache. Broken ribs, then. Great. He added it to the mental list of ailments he was keeping in his head--a list that, especially given he'd only been awake for about five minutes, was already pretty damn long.
"You think I would've let it be anyone else?" Jordan asked, raising an eyebrow. "He came with me to the crash site, and treated you there. Then rode with you in the ambulance, spent the night, and has only been home for a few hours since. Think he's worried about you, Per."
Perry wrinkled his nose, and growled a little. "From the feel of it, he's got cause to be," he said. "You made him go get some rest at some point, I hope?" Newbie would drive himself to exhaustion, if no one was there making sure he didn't...
Jordan's soft smile widened. "Yes. I'm taking care of him, he's taking care of me, and we're both looking after you."
"Sounds like you've got it covered quite nicely," Perry said, settling back down into the pillows a little. He looked up at her, taking in the lack of make-up, the bags under her eyes, and her eyes themselves, which were bloodshot with lack of sleep and shiny with tears.
She was beautiful.
"Hey lady," he murmured softly. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she replied, stroking his cheek gently and leaning down to kiss him softly, her tears spilling over as she closed her eyes. "I am now."
He closed his eyes, kissing her back, wanting to reach out and hold her but knowing he couldn't at the moment. "Yeah, you are," he whispered. "You're strong. Strong for the both of us right now, huh?"
Jordan opened her eyes, and saw JD watching them through the window, barely masked pain on his face. "The three of us, I think," she replied, nodding slightly over at him. "But I'll do my best. Love you, Perry."
Perry glanced over at JD, who looked away swiftly, though not before Perry caught the wistful expression on the young man's face. He glanced at Jordan. "Got it bad, doesn't he?" he said softly.
"Mmhmm," Jordan murmured, going back to stroking Perry's hair. "He really does. Question is, what're we going to do about it?"
* * *
JD flushed when Perry caught his eye, knowing he'd been caught watching his mentor and Jordan kiss. He would've left them alone, but...Perry's pain was obvious even from outside the room, so he pulled himself together and knocked, waiting for Jordan to open the door.
She did, a moment later, that oddly knowing expression on her face again. JD flushed harder, a small part of him wondering if the smirk on her face was gloating--but no. Jordan had been nothing if not understanding, and besides, it wasn't like they were competing over Perry or anything.
That competition would be over even faster than the one-on-one basketball games he used to play with Dan, when his brother would occasionally suffer his company on the courts.
"I, uh...I have his shot," he murmured, stepping into the room when Jordan moved away to make room for him. He moved forward, feeling a little awkward, then realized Perry was giving him a strange look, too.
Oh, shit...she told him...
He wondered if there was even any more blood left in his body that wasn't already working on turning his face into a tomato. He stepped forward, lifting the needle by way of explanation, and moving give his mentor the injection when Perry nodded briefly to him.
"Got a guy from anesthesia on his way to set up the morphine pump," he said, mostly to fill the silence, wondering when the other shoe would drop and they'd laugh at him, kick him out, and tell him not to bother to come back.
Or worse, when those knowing expressions would shift to pity.
Perry nodded at him when JD released his arm. "Thanks, Newbie," he said softly.
"Just doing my job," JD replied with a slight smile, though he couldn't hide the care in his own voice when he said it. I am so pathetic. "For as long as you want me to be the one to do it, at least," he added, turning away to deal with the needle and get himself under control again. Detachment, detachment, he's a patient first, Dorian, act like it...
Finally JD felt like he could talk again without making a fool of himself. "There anything I can do or any questions I can answer for you?" he asked, trying to sound professional, since he didn't think he could manage normal just then.
"Yeah," Perry replied. "You can tell me why it is you keep acting like you think I'm going to be upset with you for taking care of me."
Well, so much for talking without making a fool of himself...Christ. "I..."
Perry waited, eyebrows raised. Jordan moved forward again, settling gracefully next to Perry and smirking up at JD. "I told him he'd be the one you'd want, but apparently my word wasn't good enough," she said, looking amused.
Perry turned to her, and their eyes met, and JD swallowed when both of their grins turned a little mischievous. "He didn't believe you, huh?" Perry asked.
She raised an eyebrow, grin widening as she turn to JD. "Well, DJ? Did you?"
"Um. I..." JD scrubbed a hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead. God, he'd forgotten how annoying it was down... "I'd understand if you wanted someone else," he said finally, wondering if he'd ever felt quite this uncomfortable before. "But I'm doing my best for you." He managed a slight smile. "Guess I might as well stick around;Jordan got them to take all my other patients away until you're out of here."
"Yeah, well, can't compromise the quality of your care," she said with a shrug.
JD actually chuckled. "For Perry, or for my other patients?" he joked. "I was a little distracted."
"Perry?" Perry repeated, looking up at him incredulously.
JD flushed again, biting the inside of his lip. "Sorry. Dr. Cox." Fuck. He'd known he was going to slip up...
"Awfully chummy of you, Maggie," Perry said, lips twitching a little. "Something happen between us while I was out or something? Confessions of undying affection, perhaps? The revelation of your desire to be my long-lost son?"
"He kissed you, once," Jordan confided, leaning forward and touching Perry's forehead lightly with two fingertips. "Riiiiight there."
"I...uh...gonnacheckonthemorphinepump," JD blurted, escaping as quickly as he could.
He darted from the room and pulled the door closed behind him, then all but sprinted out of the ICU. He was shaking, he realized, glancing with mild interest at his hands.
Maybe some food would do him good. Yeah. Food. Or at the very least, coffee. God, he needed coffee.
This was bad. This was very, very bad. He'd thought they might be angry--he'd expected that, at least. He wouldn't've been surprised by insults, harsh words, or demands that JD never set foot in the room again. He'd've been hurt by them, but he would've expected them.
But this...this teasing, this drawing him in then slapping him down with their smirks and their chiding and their jokes...this, he wasn't sure how to handle. He almost wished they'd ask him to leave, or that Jordan had let him keep his patients, because now he was to be in the room practically 24/7, and if he knew Jordan and Pe--Dr. Cox--they were just getting started.
It didn't help, either, that a small, quiet voice in one corner of his brain whispered that, if it were anyone else, he'd've said they were flirting with him.
* * *
Jordan watched him go, an amused smile on her face, and turned back to Perry. "See?"
He nodded, the Demerol already starting to kick in and making him comfortably drowsy. "I do," he murmured, words slurred just a little. "You're right."
"Of course I'm right. The kid's got a thing for you. He's got one for me, too, you know," she added, watching Perry's eyes drift closed, before opening again slowly. "Hey...you're going to be all right, okay?"
"That reassurance or a decree?"
Jordan chuckled. "A little of both. But you will be. Get some sleep, superman, we'll both be here when you wake up."
Perry let out a soft chuckle of his own, before gratefully letting sleep come for him once more.
* * *
Next Chapter
* * *
Characters: JD/Perry, JD/Jordan, Jordan/Perry, JD/Perry/Jordan
Series Rating: NC-17 (eventually)
Description: A terrible accident requires JD use all his skill to save the mentor he idolizes. But times of crisis can bring people together in unusual ways...
Author's Note: Beta by
yutamiyu who rocks all! Thanks again, you are totally awesome. Warnings: Eventual OT3. Het content.
Over the next day, Dr. Cox's condition remained more or less the same. Dr. Rhoads--the orthopedic surgeon--Dr. Miller, and Turk all came to check on him, and Dr. Rhoads went over the slides with JD and Jordan, explaining what would still need to be done.
"He's going to need more surgery on that knee," he told them. "The patella was broken in four places. We've rewired it, but we're going to need to do a replacement procedure when we go in to take out the pins. It was too risky to keep him under for that long, before."
"Will he be able to walk?" Jordan asked softly, glancing from JD to the orthopedist, face carefully blank. JD could read the fear in her eyes, however, and reached out to give her shoulder a quick squeeze.
"With therapy, the chances are good he'll regain most function in the limb, yes," the surgeon said, turning back to the slide. "He's done some considerable damage to the ligaments, so he'll never be 100%, but chances are he'll be able to walk with only a slight limp. It'll take a lot of work on his part, though," he added, peering at them over the tops of his glasses. "He'll have to be willing to stick with it."
JD almost smiled. "He's stubborn. I don't think that'll be a problem."
Jordan shot a glance at him, but her expression eased. "That's good to hear...What about his hand? And his arm?"
"The knee is the worst of it," the surgeon said with a shrug. "The arm and hand should heal fine. He'll have to have the pins removed after a few weeks, but he should regain full function. It was a clean break." He paused, glancing at them. "He was a lucky man, from what I hear."
JD shivered internally, remembering the scene of the crash, but simply nodded. He'd resisted telling the story to anyone who'd asked, but he wasn't sure if maybe the rumors going around weren't worse. Even if he did come out as a hero in several of them...
He thanked the surgeon, and he and Jordan returned to Perry's bed, closing the door. They'd taken him off the mask, and weaned him down to two liters of oxygen on a nasal cannula instead; Jordan moved to the bed and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to the older man's mouth. "We're back, babe," she told him (she'd started talking to him as though he were awake, at JD's suggestion, hoping it would help him regain consciousness faster to know there were people waiting for him). "Looks like you're going to be all right."
"You'll be back and yelling at everyone in no time," JD offered, picking up Perry's--he'd given up trying to think of the other man any other wa; it just felt somehow strange, now--chart, flipping through it. There was nothing more for him to do, and he knew everything it said, but he wanted the distraction, while Jordan settled herself again.
Eventually, she did, and he set the chart back down, slumping into his own chair and picking at a loose thread in his t-shirt. For a time, there was silence; then Jordan said, sounding amused, "You keep doing that and the hem's going to unravel."
"They always do," JD replied, looking up and smiling slightly. "Don't think I have a single one that isn't mostly ripped out..."
She smirked. "I can't really say anything, I guess," she said. "Every pair of jeans I own is too long for me, and I never get around to altering them, so I walk on the heels until they're tatters."
JD laughed, surprised by the admission from her. "Really? Mine were like that until I finally got tall in high school..." Were they really bonding over clothes? Well, God knew it was better than sitting in silence, or watching her watch Perry while trying not to watch him himself...
"Well, what actually happens is when I shop, I'm in heels," she said, rolling her eyes at herself. "They're the perfect length, then. But when I'm wearing jeans, I'm generally in tennis shoes, and for some reason I never put two and two together when I'm actually shopping."
"My mom just bought things too big so I'd grow into them. Or they were Dan's hand-me-downs and were already thrashed...but I started picking the hems out of my shirts when I was in elementary school. I was always finishing things early and was bored..."
"You were a picker, huh? I was a doodler," she replied. "Danni was a note-writer. I assume Dan is your brother?"
JD nodded. "Yeah. He's four years older than me." He grinned wryly. "He's the cool one, I'm the smart one. And I started doodling later, but if I don't have paper and a pencil...my shirts suffer."
Suddenly, there came a slurred voice from the bed: "Have things really gotten so lax around here that you've got nothing better to do than flirt with my ex-wife, Newbie?"
JD started, pulling himself up as he felt his face go red. But then a grin spread across it, and he moved over to see Perry's eyes open and looking at him. "Well, you've been snoring a little, but that's not exactly four star entertainment," he replied, grinning at Jordan for a moment.
Perry blinked at him, lifting an eyebrow, then turning to look at Jordan. "One of you wanna explain what I'm doing here?" he asked.
Jordan shook her head, though there was a faint smile about her lips. It disappeared as she began talking, though, her voice once again gentle and soft. "Your plane had a landing gear malfunction, Perry. It..." she hesitated, looking at JD.
"It crashed, in Griffith Park," he finished for her, watching Perry closely. "You're one of the twelve who made it."
Perry stared at JD, then looked back at Jordan. "My plane crashed?" he repeated.
JD nodded. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Perry opened his mouth, then closed it again, frowning. "Packing," he said at last. "In my hotel in Chicago."
Jordan reached over, lightly squeezing his arm again, looking up at JD, her face worried.
"That's normal," JD offered, trying to keep his tone light. Dealing with patients who'd just regained consciousness wasn't exactly his forte, and now that the patient was Perry... "Considering the concussion. Want to let me know how you're doing, or should I go ahead and ask all the usual questions?"
Perry cringed, shifting a little. "How about we skip that part, and you tell me when my next dose of pain medication's due?"
"Now good? I'll get you Demerol, and then we'll hook you up to morphine PCA." JD ducked out of the room, almost gratefully, glad to miss the reunion between Perry and Jordan that was sure to come. And to put off being told Perry wanted a new doctor for as long as he could.
* * *
Jordan watched JD go, before turning back to Perry, stroking his hair back from his head. "Well. You've done it. You've got my undivided attention, Perry. It's good to see you awake."
Perry cringed again. "I think I preferred the coma," he said. "Fuck, I feel like..."
"Like you survived a plane crash?" Jordan supplied, lifting an eyebrow.
He snorted. "Yeah. Like that. How long've I been out, anyway?"
"Almost two days," Jordan replied, fingers still move gently through his hair. "DJ tells me it's good you're waking up so soon..."
"He's my doctor, huh?" Perry chuckled, a little painfully, and winced again when the action made his sides ache. Broken ribs, then. Great. He added it to the mental list of ailments he was keeping in his head--a list that, especially given he'd only been awake for about five minutes, was already pretty damn long.
"You think I would've let it be anyone else?" Jordan asked, raising an eyebrow. "He came with me to the crash site, and treated you there. Then rode with you in the ambulance, spent the night, and has only been home for a few hours since. Think he's worried about you, Per."
Perry wrinkled his nose, and growled a little. "From the feel of it, he's got cause to be," he said. "You made him go get some rest at some point, I hope?" Newbie would drive himself to exhaustion, if no one was there making sure he didn't...
Jordan's soft smile widened. "Yes. I'm taking care of him, he's taking care of me, and we're both looking after you."
"Sounds like you've got it covered quite nicely," Perry said, settling back down into the pillows a little. He looked up at her, taking in the lack of make-up, the bags under her eyes, and her eyes themselves, which were bloodshot with lack of sleep and shiny with tears.
She was beautiful.
"Hey lady," he murmured softly. "You okay?"
"Yeah," she replied, stroking his cheek gently and leaning down to kiss him softly, her tears spilling over as she closed her eyes. "I am now."
He closed his eyes, kissing her back, wanting to reach out and hold her but knowing he couldn't at the moment. "Yeah, you are," he whispered. "You're strong. Strong for the both of us right now, huh?"
Jordan opened her eyes, and saw JD watching them through the window, barely masked pain on his face. "The three of us, I think," she replied, nodding slightly over at him. "But I'll do my best. Love you, Perry."
Perry glanced over at JD, who looked away swiftly, though not before Perry caught the wistful expression on the young man's face. He glanced at Jordan. "Got it bad, doesn't he?" he said softly.
"Mmhmm," Jordan murmured, going back to stroking Perry's hair. "He really does. Question is, what're we going to do about it?"
* * *
JD flushed when Perry caught his eye, knowing he'd been caught watching his mentor and Jordan kiss. He would've left them alone, but...Perry's pain was obvious even from outside the room, so he pulled himself together and knocked, waiting for Jordan to open the door.
She did, a moment later, that oddly knowing expression on her face again. JD flushed harder, a small part of him wondering if the smirk on her face was gloating--but no. Jordan had been nothing if not understanding, and besides, it wasn't like they were competing over Perry or anything.
That competition would be over even faster than the one-on-one basketball games he used to play with Dan, when his brother would occasionally suffer his company on the courts.
"I, uh...I have his shot," he murmured, stepping into the room when Jordan moved away to make room for him. He moved forward, feeling a little awkward, then realized Perry was giving him a strange look, too.
Oh, shit...she told him...
He wondered if there was even any more blood left in his body that wasn't already working on turning his face into a tomato. He stepped forward, lifting the needle by way of explanation, and moving give his mentor the injection when Perry nodded briefly to him.
"Got a guy from anesthesia on his way to set up the morphine pump," he said, mostly to fill the silence, wondering when the other shoe would drop and they'd laugh at him, kick him out, and tell him not to bother to come back.
Or worse, when those knowing expressions would shift to pity.
Perry nodded at him when JD released his arm. "Thanks, Newbie," he said softly.
"Just doing my job," JD replied with a slight smile, though he couldn't hide the care in his own voice when he said it. I am so pathetic. "For as long as you want me to be the one to do it, at least," he added, turning away to deal with the needle and get himself under control again. Detachment, detachment, he's a patient first, Dorian, act like it...
Finally JD felt like he could talk again without making a fool of himself. "There anything I can do or any questions I can answer for you?" he asked, trying to sound professional, since he didn't think he could manage normal just then.
"Yeah," Perry replied. "You can tell me why it is you keep acting like you think I'm going to be upset with you for taking care of me."
Well, so much for talking without making a fool of himself...Christ. "I..."
Perry waited, eyebrows raised. Jordan moved forward again, settling gracefully next to Perry and smirking up at JD. "I told him he'd be the one you'd want, but apparently my word wasn't good enough," she said, looking amused.
Perry turned to her, and their eyes met, and JD swallowed when both of their grins turned a little mischievous. "He didn't believe you, huh?" Perry asked.
She raised an eyebrow, grin widening as she turn to JD. "Well, DJ? Did you?"
"Um. I..." JD scrubbed a hand through his hair, pushing it off his forehead. God, he'd forgotten how annoying it was down... "I'd understand if you wanted someone else," he said finally, wondering if he'd ever felt quite this uncomfortable before. "But I'm doing my best for you." He managed a slight smile. "Guess I might as well stick around;Jordan got them to take all my other patients away until you're out of here."
"Yeah, well, can't compromise the quality of your care," she said with a shrug.
JD actually chuckled. "For Perry, or for my other patients?" he joked. "I was a little distracted."
"Perry?" Perry repeated, looking up at him incredulously.
JD flushed again, biting the inside of his lip. "Sorry. Dr. Cox." Fuck. He'd known he was going to slip up...
"Awfully chummy of you, Maggie," Perry said, lips twitching a little. "Something happen between us while I was out or something? Confessions of undying affection, perhaps? The revelation of your desire to be my long-lost son?"
"He kissed you, once," Jordan confided, leaning forward and touching Perry's forehead lightly with two fingertips. "Riiiiight there."
"I...uh...gonnacheckonthemorphinepump," JD blurted, escaping as quickly as he could.
He darted from the room and pulled the door closed behind him, then all but sprinted out of the ICU. He was shaking, he realized, glancing with mild interest at his hands.
Maybe some food would do him good. Yeah. Food. Or at the very least, coffee. God, he needed coffee.
This was bad. This was very, very bad. He'd thought they might be angry--he'd expected that, at least. He wouldn't've been surprised by insults, harsh words, or demands that JD never set foot in the room again. He'd've been hurt by them, but he would've expected them.
But this...this teasing, this drawing him in then slapping him down with their smirks and their chiding and their jokes...this, he wasn't sure how to handle. He almost wished they'd ask him to leave, or that Jordan had let him keep his patients, because now he was to be in the room practically 24/7, and if he knew Jordan and Pe--Dr. Cox--they were just getting started.
It didn't help, either, that a small, quiet voice in one corner of his brain whispered that, if it were anyone else, he'd've said they were flirting with him.
* * *
Jordan watched him go, an amused smile on her face, and turned back to Perry. "See?"
He nodded, the Demerol already starting to kick in and making him comfortably drowsy. "I do," he murmured, words slurred just a little. "You're right."
"Of course I'm right. The kid's got a thing for you. He's got one for me, too, you know," she added, watching Perry's eyes drift closed, before opening again slowly. "Hey...you're going to be all right, okay?"
"That reassurance or a decree?"
Jordan chuckled. "A little of both. But you will be. Get some sleep, superman, we'll both be here when you wake up."
Perry let out a soft chuckle of his own, before gratefully letting sleep come for him once more.
* * *
Next Chapter
* * *