Chapter 1
It was another cold day the, wind was whipping through the trees, blowing them from right to left, making a spooky groaning sound. JD's face felt as if daggers had been stabbed into him. He blinked. Once, twice, three times, and watched in dismay as hoards of people rushed in the same direction as him; Sacred Heart.
In horror, JD realised today was going to be another busy day. It was the last thing he needed today. He was already in a bad mood. He had had almost no sleep last night and he had woken up late this morning and didn't have time for breakfast. Suddenly, with no warning, rain began to fall heavily around him. He cursed softly under his breath, realising today wasn't going to be a good day. And all the people rushing were not a good sign either.
JD stepped through the hospital door and into the hustle and bustle that was Sacred Heart. He watched as Elliot and Carla looked at each other panic, written on each of their faces. If he could've laughed he would've by now but his face was too cold so moving it was a tough job. JD scanned the busy crowd for Doctor Cox, not seeing him at all he found himself starting to panic.
There was no way he could survive today without him. Despite Dr Cox being sharp and often rude to him, JD had developed a reliance on him. He shook his head, Dr Cox would probably just be late or something, nothing to worry about. He glanced back at Carla and Elliot and caught their gazes, he then glanced round at everyone else and back at them to indicate that he was distinctly not pleased about all the people. Carla and Elliot both gave him small smiles.
He started to walk over to them both, squeezing between the flocks of people and small children that were in the hospital. He was mind boggled, 'how can such a large amount of people fit into a tiny little space like this' he asked himself, shaking his head. He managed to squeeze through the enormous crowd and stood in front of Carla and Elliot, giving Elliot a small smile.
"So... What's all this then?" he asked Carla.
She merely shrugged. "I suspect someone saw something on the news about cow flu and almost immediately thought to themselves; I have that!"
Elliot giggled slightly.
Despite trying to resist, JD found himself laughing too.
Elliot rolled her eyes, "Stupid newsreaders. I bet if they were the ones working in the hospitals they wouldn't be telling every single member of the American public to come wandering through these doors the minute they got a sniffle!"
"Dr Cox won't be pleased when he sees all these people," JD laughed. "I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't straight on the phone to ABCNews to ban them from ever mentioning the words 'cow' and 'flu' in the same sentence ever again!"
Carla and Elliot both felt silent and their smiles slipped away.
JD looked from one to another, puzzled.
"JD," Carla began softly, "Haven't you heard?"
"Heard what?" He replied, even more confused.
"Dr Cox quit, he's moved away. He isn't coming back," Carla replied gently.
"What?" JD shot back, eyes wide.
Elliot breathed in slowly and deeply.
"JD," she said, finally breaking the silence. JD looked at her; his face was awash with emotion. The sight of it broke her and Carla's hearts.
"Doctor Cox had... Family trouble... He had to move to be closer to his parents," she said, looking at Carla who nodded.
JD's face slid into a frown. "He left because of me... Didn't he?" He said looking at them both.
Carla shook her head. "No! Why would you think that!" she asked, shocked.
"Well… I'm not exactly Doctor Cox's best friend, as you may have noticed."
Both Carla and Elliot looked at one another and nodded, both saying "Yeah that is true..."
"But he wouldn't leave just because of you, JD," Elliot said.
"Yeah," Carla agreed, "I spoke to him before he went, he came round to tell me. It's not your fault, JD."
"Did he say that?"" JD replied. Carla opened her mouth to answer but JD didn't even wait for it. He turned round, pushing through the people, away from the girls.
"JD!" Elliot shouted, hurrying after him. "Wait!"
