Title: The Test
Chapter Title: Dismissal
Author: Haley Starlight

Setting: I actually don't have a particular setting in mind... It could go just about anywhere, actually.

Pairing: JD/Cox (established relationship)

Summary: When tragedy strikes JD and he refuses to talk to Perry about it, will the older doctor allow himself to change who he is to please his partner?

POV: Perry/Dr. Cox.

Warnings: SLASH. Don't like it? Don't read.

Author's Note: This is my first Scrubs fanfiction. That being said, the characters might be a little OOC. Bear with me, people. And if you think I could do something better, please point it out in a review, and I promise I'll work on it!

It's funny the way life works out sometimes. One moment you're complaining to your wife that you don't see your friends enough, and then you get a call from your babysitter, offering to work more nights because she needs the money. Or maybe you start getting annoyed that the hospital you work at doesn't serve anything that isn't healthy garbage, and that night a pizza delivery guy mixes up your apartment with your neighbor's and you get a few slices out of it. Then there are those moments in life that just take you by surprise. Like when the dog you've only had for a week suddenly runs off and gets eaten by a coyote. Or when you come home to find the bicycle on the porch that you didn't realize your parents saw you eyeing every time you went to the toy store. Whether good or bad, life doesn't seem to stop thinking of ways to surprise us all, no matter if they're big or small. Sometimes they can be a blessing, sometimes they can be a curse. And then there are those defining moments that are both; they leave you stranded, but closer to your loved ones at the same time. While most people wish for blessings, it's the blessings in disguise that shape who we are as human beings, and open our eyes to the world. Those can be common, if you just learn to look at them right.

I walked towards the on-call room, rubbing my eyes, a large yawn trying to find it's way to the surface. Glancing at the clock, I saw that it was only half past two in the morning, and already I was so tired that I swore the next intern who decided to ask me a stupid question about one of the many patients in ICU was going to be thrown into the elevator and forced to stay there until they successfully managed to go up and down without urinating all over themselves and/or getting sick on the floor. Granted, I had been working a 30 hour shift, which was coming to a close in the morning, but I had spent the better part of the evening resting… A lot of good that did me.

It wasn't that it was a bad night; no, no, not at all. In fact, I was just oh so enjoying the fact that Newbie had been crankier than he usually was during his time of the month, and Carla seemed to get angry at me every time I called him a girl's name. It was obvious that something was going on with him—any idiot could guess that much—but the only problem was that I was emotionally crippled and he wouldn't just spit it out. It seemed he wanted to me sit down and talk with him about his girly mood swings and act like a good partner. Has he met me? That was ne-he-ver going to happen. So what did I earn for my efforts of actually trying to be a decent human being with him? Nada. Zip. Zilch. In fact, he had been doing a pretty good job of avoiding me the whole night, which only increased my annoyance at the situation. I'm sure you're asking how that could possibly be, considering who I am. Well, it all started about, oh, an hour and a half ago…

One A.M.

Walking over to the nurse's station, I couldn't help but allow a small inner smile wander its way towards me as I saw my Newbie standing there, talking to Carla. In the years that he had been working at the hospital, he had actually turned into a decent doctor; not that I would tell him as much directly to his face. No, I preferred much less conventional tactics. "Hey there, Janice. Just a quick question. Do you actually plan on getting some work done tonight or are you just going to stand here and gossip about the latest going-ons of Barbie and Gandhi until you get off?" I grinned mockingly, leaning close to them, pretending to be eager about Blondie and his black wife.

Instead of smiling at me in that way he has been since we've been starting to see each other, he turned to me, his eyes cold. Well, that was a new one. He had his moments—like everyone else, I suppose—but never has he seemed so honestly angry about my typical remarks.

"Dr. Cox, can't you see that we're having a discussion here?" Carla asked, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. The Latina nurse actually seemed tense, and her eyes kept glancing towards Gladys.

"No, Carla, it's fine," Newbie said, grabbing a chart off the counter and standing up straight, looking me in the eye, unblinking. It was the stance he usually pulled before he was about to stand up to me. Was someone playing a prank on me? Gee, if the kid starting showing any more balls, I might have had to stop calling him 'my little wife' to Jordan. And, really, while I was slightly proud of him, that's not something I really wanted; it was oh so fun to torture the Ice Queen in all her glory.

"You see, Dr. Cox here is just making sure that we don't lose any patients tonight. Apparently talking is getting in the way of that." Ah, I knew Newbie would understand. "But I think he's missing something. While talking is a nice way to pass the time, it also allows us to be in view of the patients and enables us to be at their side at a moment's notice. So, while he was conveniently napping, I was the one who caught Mr. Dunham's shortness of breath before it became more serious." He tilted his head slightly at me, and I found myself suddenly thinking that I was sleeping on the couch that night. "Apparently kicking people while they're down is just something Dr. Cox does to help him sleep at night. While he's being useless in the on-call room, we're doing our jobs. And you know what? I think that drives him crazy. Funny how things work out sometimes." With that, he walked past me, making sure to bump my shoulder as he did so.

I stood there dumbfounded for a moment. Sure, it wasn't unlike Brittany to act like a man occasionally and put me in my place when I'm being a total jackass, but what just happened there? That was like watching a rabid dog save a small kitten from a tree. Newbie knew how I acted, how I showed my—dare I say it—affection, and for the most part he usually just smiled, rolled his eyes, and let well enough be. He knew how I felt about him, knew the things I said to him when no one else was around. So why in God's good graces would he suddenly turn on me like that, for the simplest little thing? It was just so un-Newbie-like.

"I should warn you that tonight's not a good night to get on his bad side." I tore my gaze away from the place that Newbie had just currently been standing in and looked over at Carla, who gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Well, gee whiz, d'ya really think so? While you're having certain revelations, do you think you could possibly reach into that brain of yours and tell me why the hell he's acting like I threw away his favorite toy?"

Carla rolled her eyes, sighing. "Something happened."

I stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to continue. When she didn't, I leaned against the counter, closer to her. "Care to elaborate?"

The nurse glanced in the direction Newbie had left in, seeming to contemplate whether she should tell me or not. Really, the suspense was killing me. Well, not so much killing me as re-he-he-ly annoying me. If something was going on with my Newbie, then shouldn't I have a right to know about it? I was the one who had to sleep in the same bed with him, after all. When he was in a bad mood when he fell asleep, he had bad dreams, and that meant he kicked. As soon as I had learned that, I inevitably made sure to brighten his spirits before we fell asleep, lest I want to either A) have bruises on my legs the next morning, or B) be kicked out of my own bed in the middle of the night.

"It's not my place to say," Carla said, looking a bit guilty. Well, I hope she was; she may have just signed my death certificate. "If Bambi wants you to know then he'll tell you. And don't you dare push him into talking about it."

"Then how the hell am I supposed to find out what's going on in that thick skull of his?"

"Trying asking." She then gave me a look. "Nicely. Don't be mean to him, because that may just be the reason he isn't talking to you. Look, he's coming back. Just be nice."

I turned and found Newbie walking back over to the nurse's station, ignoring my presence as he forced a small smile at Carla. Wait, forced it? Newbie barely ever had to force a smile. Shoot, the kid was so full of them that I thought that whatever rainbow was shooting out of his ass was a permanent thing. Guess it was the unicorns' day off.

"Hey, Bambi," Carla said in that overly-motherly way of hers, putting a hand on his arm. "How are you doing?"

"Good," he said, not the least convincing.

"Sasha, I was just wondering something. What in the hell is going through your head that you actually thought you could speak to me that way without dire consequences? Is all that product in your hair finally seeping through and killing mass amounts of brain cells, or did you actually grow a pair since the last time I've talked to you? Because, really, I think I deserve to know if it's the latter, considering it's going to vastly change our sex lives." I raised my eyebrows at him as he stared at me, his eyes once again cold. I felt like he was staring through me. Honestly, it was kind of giving me the creeps.

"Go to hell, Perry," he said before setting his chart down on the counter and walking away.

"What the hell was that?" Carla asked, swatting me on the arm. "I told you to be nice!"

I blinked. "I tried. It just didn't come out the way I planned."

"You're impossible." With that, she walked away.

Present.

I was no closer to finding out what the hell was going on with Newbie, and it was driving me crazy. I kept trying to think back on that day, trying to figure out if I said something I shouldn't have, or did something that created this she-devil that I was currently dealing with. But each time I went over everything that happened, I was still no closer to figuring it out. On top of that, five patients had coded in the last hour and a half, and I had only been able to save three of them. This just wasn't my night.

Walking over to one of the flat, bumpy mattresses that they called beds, I sat down, running a hand across my face, completely unaware that there was someone else in the room with me until a second later. I heard Newbie's voice from the bunk bed next to me. "Is it that hard to just ask?"

I looked over at my Newbie, sighing. "We've been over this before."

I saw the kid sit up on the mattress, his shoulders tense from what I could make out in the dim light. "Yeah, you're right. We have. So much for you being there for me." He stood up, walking over to the door. I quickly followed him out of the room, grabbing onto his arm.

"How the hell am I supposed to supposedly 'be there for you' when I don't even know what's going on? I know you thought that I may be cool if I were but honestly, JD, I am nawt psychic. That being said, until you tell me, I'm left completely oblivious and in the dark to what it is that I'm supposed to be helping you with."

Newbie stared at me for a long moment, before he swallowed hard. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe I haven't told you because you're so bad at being anything but sarcastic that I'm afraid you'll end up doing more harm than good?"

I sighed at this, running a hand through my hair. "I'm there when it counts. Haven't I showed you that much since we've known each other?"

"Sure you are. But somehow you always manage to point out how girly I am or put me down in the process of being there for me. And while I could usually handle that, I can't do that this time. I just need you, Perry. I can't handle anything else."

"Then why don't you just tell me what's going on and we can move towards that?" I leaned in to give him a small kiss, but he turned his head, forcing my lips to connect with his cheek. Not once has he ever denied me a kiss in such a way. Sure, there were times when he was annoyed with me and refused to kiss me, but he always showed me that he loved me with his eyes. This time? Well, his eyes were blank, as if his very soul was numb.

"I don't want to 'move towards' it. I want it to already be here, to be sure that I can count on you. And until then… Forget it." With that he walked down the hallway, leaving me standing in front of the on-call room, a look of defeat upon my face.