HIS BABY BOY
Author's Notes: At the time of this writing, the last new episode of "Scrubs" was the birth of Jordan's baby. However, they didn't say if the baby was a boy or girl (or maybe I just wasn't paying attention), so I'm going to assume it was a boy but I won't give him a name. That, and we'll flash forward into the future about three months.
Disclaimer: All characters from "Scrubs" are owned and created by Bill Lawrence and NBC. I'm just doin' this for fun!
"So you're good to go?" Perry Cox asked his ex-wife/quasi-girlfriend, Jordan Sullivan.
"Yeah," Jordan answered as she put on her coat. She watched Perry as he picked up her 3-month-old son from his swing. She smiled and walked over to them. "Mommy's going out for a little while tonight, but she'll be back. Honestly, if Mommy has to change another diaper she'll scream!" She tickled her son's stomach and he gurgled a little bit.
"Come on, Mistress of the Dark, you'll be late," Perry said, lightly patting the boy's stomach.
"His next bottle's in half an hour, I just changed his diaper 15 minutes ago, and he needs a bath before you put him to sleep," Jordan reminded him as she picked up her purse.
"Yeah, Jordan, I got it! I am a doctor, you know. Taking care of people is what I do," Perry retorted.
"You don't take care of people," she shot back with a smirk. "You throw medicine at them and walk away. You'll see what taking care of someone is all about with this one." Perry rolled his eyes.
"I think that the harpies you call your friends are waiting for their leader."
"You're right. Be good, you two." She gave her son a light peck on the nose, and a soft kiss on Perry's lips. "See you in a couple of hours." She turned and headed towards the door.
"Don't worry, sport—you're in good hands with Uncle Perry," he said. Jordan paused at the door. "Uncle Perry." She felt guilty and anxious that she still hadn't told him the truth, that her baby was indeed his son. But she was testing him, making sure that he naturally bonded with the baby instead of being forced to do so. She walked out the door. Before and after their marriage had ended, Perry and Jordan knew nothing but bitter resentment toward each other. Her tryst with J.D. had complicated matters between them. Jordan would have been content had she and Perry gone on battling each other. Perry was probably more furious than he cared to admit when she callously told him the truth about J.D. Maybe she liked it that it made him jealous. Maybe she was the jealous one when she found out that Perry had feelings for that nurse, Carla. In any case, somehow they ended up back in each other's bed… er, arms. Then they split again. And then they were back in each other's arms when she got pregnant. Jordan shook her head; she didn't want to overanalyze this. All she wanted was to have a fun night out with her friends.
*~*~*~*
"So, sport, what do we do tonight?" Perry asked the baby, who sat on his lap facing him. The boy stared at him blankly, his thin little mouth set firmly. Perry squinted at him. That look is familiar, he thought. Jordan makes that face, right? The boy then smiled. Must be my imagination. He turned the baby around to face the television set. He grabbed the remote control, turned on the tv, and began flipping through the channels. He stopped as a commercial for Mercedes-Benz came on.
"I used to own one of those," he said to the baby. "Then your mother demanded it in our divorce settlement. She got that and both my balls. But that last part's our little secret." Perry kept switching the channels until he caught the last half hour of a basketball game. "That's more like it." As the game progressed, Perry explained the game and strategy to the baby. The small child seemed mesmerized by the flickering colors from the television only. The basketball game ended at 8 o'clock. "Time for your bottle, sport." Perry got up, baby still in his arms, and headed for the kitchen. He put the baby in the carrier and buckled him in; the child fussed after being put in a seat and started crying.
"Don't worry, I won't leave you in there for long," Perry reassured him. He grabbed a clean bottle, cap and nipple from the dishwasher. He took out a plastic bottle from the refrigerator that contained breast milk and filled about four ounces' worth of it in the baby's bottle. He set the baby's bottle in the microwave oven to warm it up for a few moments. The baby continued crying. The microwave beeped; Perry removed the bottle, put the cap and nipple on, and shook it. He squirted a few drops of milk on the back of his hand—it was tepid, not too hot and not too cold. He set the bottle down on the table, unbuckled the baby and picked him up. The baby still cried, indignant that he'd been put down instead of resting in a pair of reassuring arms.
"Come on, sport," Perry said as he stuck the nipple in the baby's mouth. It instantly calmed him. "You see? Uncle Perry's not so bad after all." He went back into the living room and sat down on the couch. The baby drank hungrily. Perry rested his head back on the couch as the baby continued drinking. A few minutes later, Perry looked down and saw that the bottle was empty. He removed the nipple from the baby's mouth and got up. He made his way into the nursery and took out a small towel from a drawer. He placed the towel on his shoulder and began patting the baby's back. Moments later, he heard a satisfied burp.
"Good one, sport," Perry smiled. Suddenly, he smelled a faint odor. He sniffed the baby, then pulled away quickly and made a face. "Oooh! Kid, you are ripe! Well, time for your bath anyway." He lay the baby down on the changing table and began to undress him. He opened a box of wet wipes, removed the soiled diaper, and wiped the child's bottom. The he opened another drawer, took out a bath towel, and wrapped the baby in it. "Bath time, sport."
In the bathroom, Perry squeezed a small amount of baby shampoo into his palm, rubbed his hands together, and gently scrubbed the baby's head. Perry smiled. This kid's easy to take care of, he thought.
"You know, sport, you're starting to turn into a cute kid after all," he said. As if understanding, the baby smiled at him. "Yeah! You're not bad." Perry's smile froze—something about the baby's face seemed familiar again. He rinsed the baby's hair thoroughly but gently. He then picked him up and quickly wrapped him in the towel. Back in the nursery, Perry lay the baby on the changing table and patted him dry. He rubbed the towel on his head; when he removed the towel, he noticed the baby's hair had curled. Perry was puzzled; no one in Jordan's family had curly hair. Maybe he got it from the father? Perry put a fresh diaper on the baby, dressed him in an undershirt, clean pajamas, and put a pair of socks on his tiny feet. He picked him up and ran his hand through the baby's tuft of curly, brown hair. He stopped in front of a mirror and looked in it. He looked at his own mop of curly, brown hair. He turned the baby around in his arms to face the mirror. He saw it; he realized now why the baby's features looked so familiar.
"Oh my god," he whispered. "Why didn't she tell me?" He held his son closer and gently kissed the top of his head. "Time for bed, son." He turned the baby around again in his arms and let him rest his little head on his shoulder. He began to walk around the room, gently bouncing him. Minutes later, the child had fallen asleep. Careful not to wake him, he placed the baby in his crib and covered him with his blanket. "Daddy loves you," he said quietly. He turned off the bedroom light and walked out.
*~*~*~*
Later that night, Perry heard the doorknob rattling. Jordan walked in. She saw Perry sitting silently on the couch and smiled.
"Hi," she said cheerfully. "Where's the baby? Is he asleep?"
"Yeah," Perry answered sullenly.
"Thank God," she said as she removed her coat.
"Yeah," Perry retorted. Jordan raised an eyebrow.
"What's wrong? Wait—he wasn't acting like a little brat tonight, was he?"
"No, he behaved perfectly." He paused. "Considering what a lying, manipulative shrew his mother is."
"Excuse me?" Jordan asked sharply.
"Jordan, I know. I know he's mine."
"Crap! Did that little bigmouth at work tell you?"
"What little bigmouth?" Jordan froze. "Jordan, what little bigmouth? Carla? Gandhi? Barbie? J.D.?" At J.D.'s name, Jordan pursed her lips and averted her eyes. "You told J.D.?! Why?"
"Well, I was in labor, I was in a lot of pain, and you sent him to check on me!" she explained nervously. "I just sorta blurted it out! I told him not to tell you!" Perry sighed.
"OK, fine. I understand that. But why didn't you tell me I was the father?"
"Well, because… I didn't want to force you to be with me. I needed to know if you'd be there because you wanted to, not because you had to." Perry looked at his feet. "But I guess now we'll never know," she added, crossing her arms in front of her. Perry looked up.
"No, Jordan, now you do know. I'm going to take care of both of you because I want to," he promised. Jordan's mouth opened. She covered her face with her hand and turned away. She didn't want him to see her cry. Perry went to the closet, grabbed his jacket and put it on. He put his hand on Jordan's shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "It'll be all right," he whispered to her, and went home.
*~*~*~*
The next day at the hospital, Perry was looking for J.D. He saw J.D. coming out of an exam room looking over a patient's chart.
"Martha!" Perry called out. J.D. looked up.
"Oh, hi Dr. Cox," J.D. responded pleasantly. "Do you need anything?"
"Walk with me, newbie," he commanded. J.D. quickly followed. They walked together in silence until Perry stopped in front of the lounge. He looked around to make sure there was no one in sight.
"Now listen, Rita," Perry began. "I know all about Jordan's baby."
"Know what, sir?" J.D. asked, squirming nervously.
"I know he's my son, and I know Jordan told you that."
"Look, Dr. Cox, I can explain—"
"I know she also told you not to tell me, and I understand that put you in an awkward position. But it's OK and I forgive you, newbie," Perry said somberly. J.D. heaved a sigh of relief.
"Oh, thank God! Dr. Cox, you have no idea how this was eating me up, keeping this secret from you!" J.D. exhaled happily. "So when did she tell you?"
"She didn't tell me," Perry answered.
"Oh?"
"No, I sorta figured it out myself when I realized who the baby takes after." Perry grinned, gritting his teeth. "Which brings me to my next point." He put his arm around J.D., who chuckled nervously.
"Um, Dr. Cox?"
"I seem to recall making a comment when the baby was born. Wasn't it something about the baby's father being butt-ugly?" He tightened his grip on J.D.'s arm.
"Dr. Cox, you're hurting me…"
"And I also seem to recall that you didn't disagree with me," Perry continued.
"No, Dr. Cox, I didn't mean—" Perry cut him off with a glare straight in the eye.
"Run, Lola. Run."
THE END