My New Start
Disclaimer: I own nothing except this here storyline and the characters of Virginia and the rest of her family.
Summary: Virginia Dalloway is a new intern at Sacred Heart Hospital and will do anything to cover up her dark past. Being a doctor isn't everything she imagined however and when two of her patients die on the same day she takes things to heart and starts to doubt whether she has what it takes to make it. Things are then made even worse when a child is admitted and she suspects that the little girl is a victim of abuse. As she tried to do the best she can by her patients, she is forced to face her past and just what it was that made her choose the career path she had chosen. Can the staff at Sacred Heart help Virginia to confront her demons and when she has no other choice but to face her biggest nightmare will she have the strength to carry on or buckle under the pressure?
A/N: Pretty please read and review, reviews mean a lot.
Bold = daydreams.
Chapter 1 – My First Day
Looking up at the Neon sign before her, Virginia Dalloway took a deep breath and willed her legs to move. It was her first day at Sacred Heart Hospital, today was the day that could make or break her career as a doctor so she knew that she couldn't afford to screw this up. She had decided that she wanted to study medicine when she was five and a half years old and her auntie had bought her a 'pretend' doctor's coat and stethoscope for Christmas. When she had made it to med school, she had been ecstatic but now, as she stood outside the hospital where she was going to be an intern, she felt that same heart-stopping fear she had felt only once before when she was six years old and her view on life had changed forever.
"You going to stand and stare at that all day or are you going to be a good little intern and go on inside?" The sarcastic and somewhat mocking voice came from behind her and when she turned around, she was greeted by a stern face and mop of curly, ginger-blonde hair.
"I uh…I'm…well I mean…" Trailing off, she sighed and nodded before walking into the building.
"Man it's gonna be a long day." Dr. Perry Cox rolled his eyes and followed the younger intern into the hospital. He had been in the building for a grand total of three and a half minutes when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Whirling around, he glared as he said, "Susan, how many times do I have to tell you that personal contact with me is a no-go area?" When the younger doctor opened his mouth to speak, Dr Cox interrupted, "That was a rhetorical question…don't answer it." Smirking, he raised an eyebrow. "What do you want newbie?"
"Mr Richards in bed four has been complaining of stomach pains since last night but I've already run all the tests I can think of and they all came up negative." JD stared at the older doctor and waited but when Dr Cox said nothing, he sighed. "What should I do?"
"Okay, here's what you're going to do…are you ready?" JD could tell from the tone in his voice that whatever Dr Cox said was not going to be helpful. "You are going to take this prescription for two, that's right count them…two, testicles and then come back here and act like the man that you actually aren't instead of running to me. Okay Judy?"
JD stared blankly at Dr Cox before saying, "I'll just be going then."
"Atta girl." When JD walked off in the opposite direction, Dr Cox once again rolled his eyes and set about doing his morning rota.
An hour later, Virginia was still waiting to meet her 'mentor'. Although she was overjoyed to have someone looking out for her, she was nervous about meeting whoever had the job. 'What if they didn't like her? What if she messed up and they didn't help her fix things? What if…' Stopping her thoughts dead, she sighed and shook her head to clear it. Smiling, she waited in the reception but her smile quickly fell when Dr Cox walked up to her and offered her a clearly faked smile.
"Why hey there, you're the lucky little intern who got me." She said nothing but inwardly cringed at the sarcasm. "Don't you worry, we're gonna be bestest best friends forever." Before she could think of a witty remark, he looked at her seriously and sighed. "Okay, here is how this works. I am not your mentor and I am certainly not your gal pal so if you need to talk about anything other than medicine you don't come to me about it."
"Okay, got it." Nodding, she tried not to say anything else that would further annoy the doctor in front of her.
"Good, now Mr Clarke in bed nine needs a blood sample taking so if you think you can handle that then that can be your first task of the day." Raising an eyebrow, he asked, "Can you handle that?"
Looking away, she nodded and quietly answered, "Yes sir." She chanced a glance his way and when he nodded she set about the task she had just been set.
As the day passed on, Virginia was disheartened when she earned the nickname 'Jinx' from her 'mentor' after messing up two usually simple procedures. Luckily, after a sarcastic lecture, he agreed to let the matter go but told her that he was going to keep a close eye on all of her procedures until he could be certain that she wouldn't mess any more up. Things then got worse as she made a new enemy out of the Janitor who said that he was going to get his revenge when she wasn't expecting it.
Sighing, Virginia walked into the break room and sat down on one of the sofas before closing her eyes and letting out a tired moan. "How's the first day goin'?" Her eyes quickly snapped open and she came face to face with JD. "You okay?" A look of concern etched itself onto JD's face as he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, Yeah I'm fine thanks Dr. Dorian." Smiling the fakest smile in the world, she frantically nodded.
"You can call me JD, everyone else does…except Dr. Cox…
"Say Susan…" "You listening Courtney?" "Here's the deal Emilia." "Alright, what do we have here Newbie?"
"JD? JD, are you okay?" Quickly snapping back to reality, JD smiled at the look of confusion and worry on Virginia's face.
"Yeah, I was just…thinking." She slowly nodded and he raised an eyebrow as he once again asked, "The question is are you okay…really okay?" It soon became clear that he hadn't believed her earlier lie.
"I'm…well I…umm…" Sighing she shook her head. "No, not really." Looking away from him, she averted her gaze to the floor.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" When she shook her head, he gently asked, "Are you sure, I mean I've been there before…I know what it's like?"
"I'm sure, thanks." Looking up at him, she smiled the tiniest of genuine smiles.
After a moment he nodded and quickly pulled out a piece of paper which he then proceeded to scrawl on. Handing it over, he softly told her, "This is my mobile number and address in case you change your mind. I finish my shift in an hour so if you wanna talk you know where to find me." She nodded and he stood up before heading for the door. He stopped however and turned around when she called out his name.
"Thank you." He nodded and left the room as she looked down at the piece of paper in her hand. Shaking her head, she sighed quietly to herself and stood up, she had patients to check on, now was not the time to feel sorry for herself.
JD was sitting in the living room of his and Turk's shared apartment, trying to fake interest in the drama that his best friend was watching on TV. "Man, can you believe that?" Turk excitedly pointed at the television and JD rolled his eyes but cheerily answered.
"I know, that's awesome." There was a long, awkward silence until JD asked, "What?"
"Dude, she just found out her husband has been having an affair." JD's false smile slipped as Turk shook his head.
"I know that, I just meant that it's awesome how…" He was literally saved by the bell…the doorbell. "I'll get it." Quickly hopping off the sofa, he hurried over to the door and pulled it open to find a nervous looking Virginia staring back at him. "Hey."
"Hi, I umm…I was wondering if I could take you up on that offer." Holding up the scrap of paper JD had given her earlier, she suddenly felt self-conscious. 'What if he said 'no'? What if the offer no longer stood? What if…?'
She was broken from her thoughts as JD nodded and stepped aside. "Sure you can, come in."
"Thanks." Walking into the apartment, she looked around and was slightly startled to see JD's flatmate sat on the sofa engrossed in the TV. "I'm not interrupting anything am I?"
"No, Turk's too busy watching his programme to notice anything anyway." JD let out a small chuckle as Virginia nodded. "Hey Turk?"
Turning around, Turk raised an eyebrow. "What's goin' on?"
"I just thought you might wanna meet Virginia, she's one of the new interns." JD wrapped an arm around her shoulders and smiled reassuringly at her.
"Oh hey, I'm Turk." Smiling, he stole a glance at the TV then back to Virginia again.
"Look, me and 'Gin are gonna go and talk in my room while you watch your show." Turk nodded as JD led Virginia over to his bedroom door.
"Alright, see you guys later." Quickly flipping back round, he once again glued his eyes to the TV screen.
JD shook his head in amusement and pushed his door open before saying, "After you." Chuckling lightly under her breath, she walked into the room. "Make yourself at home."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks again."
"Don't mention it. Do you want anything to drink?" Raising an eyebrow he waited for her to answer but when she said 'no' he sat down on the bed next to her. "So, what's on your mind?"
Sighing, she looked down at the duvet before saying, "Everything." Looking back up, she shook her head. "I'm sorry…I've just had the day from hell." JD nodded, he'd had lots of those in his time at Sacred Heart. "I umm…I think I've made my first enemy today." When JD silently asked 'who', she simply said, "The Janitor."
"Oh, yeah don't worry about him. He'll get over it, he hates me too…I still have no idea why." Smiling, he said, "Trust me, he hates nearly everyone."
"Then there's Dr. Cox. I mean, he's so cold and unhelpful that I honestly am scared to go to him for advice. He pretty much told me today that if I asked him for help he would hurt me."
"Really, that doesn't sound like Dr. Cox…maybe he was in a bad mood…"
"What is it now Newbie and if you say 'I need your help' I'm gonna hit ya, I'm gonna hit ya hard." Dr. Cox glared at him.
"Well I was just wondering if…" JD was interrupted as Dr. Cox shook his head and let out a low growl.
"What did I just say Newbie?" Raising an eyebrow, he waited.
"But I just…" The death-glare he received for trying to initiate conversation made him stop dead.
"Good Newbie." With another smirk, the older doctor walked away.
"Although, I suppose sometimes he has a very short temper." JD Snapped back to reality and looked at Virginia before smiling.
"Exactly." Sighing, she shook her head.
"Don't worry, I can give you advice if you prefer." He knew all too well that Dr. Cox wasn't the best person for personal advice and although he admired the older doctor, he knew that if Virginia needed help with personal problems, she should steer clear of him.
"Thanks." Smiling, she nodded.
The rest of the night was spent discussing Virginia's first day and she was surprised when it ended in laughter after JD told her all about his first day and the crazy problems he had encountered.
Letting out a small yawn, Virginia shook her head in amusement. "So, it all started over a penny huh?"
"Well I think so…I don't really know to be honest." He mirrored the yawn and looked down at his watch. "God, it soon got midnight."
"Yeah, I'd better get off home and let you get some sleep…we both have work in the morning." Standing up, she smiled at JD and added, "Thanks for tonight…it was just what I needed."
Standing up, he held his arms open to her and nodded. "You're welcome…anytime."
Giving him a quick hug, she pulled back and nodded. He then led her to the door and after an argument about him walking her home, he agreed to let her go on her own but demanded that she call him as soon as she got in. She gave him another hug and left the apartment but as soon as she took her coat and shoes off in her own apartment, she called and told him that she was home safe and she would see him at work the morning after.
Although her first day hadn't been as planned, she hoped that she could make this work…a new start was just what she needed, she could only hope that her past would stay buried.
A/N:
In the next chapter: Virginia struggles to understand and connect with Dr Cox.
