Okay this is my first full length Jalliot fanfic (if you're read My Blonde Doctor then you'll recognise my writing style). I decided that I'd give it ago, so I hope you like it. I'm undecided whether I actually like this starting chapter, so please review and tell me how bad it is! Criticism is welcome if it's in good faith. With every chapter, I give the name of which character's POV it is at the top. It will switch between The Janitor and Elliot. Enjoy! xxxNTxxx
Day 1 – The Janitor
The pulsating sensation that leaked from his heart and seeped into the rest of his body was becoming out of control. The Janitor knew that he had to do something about this feeling before it took over his foremost demeanor; he didn't want to lose his status in the hospital. The Brain Trust were not good a giving advice. None of them had ever been in love before – Ted told him tales about him and his mother that were frankly disturbing; The Todd tried to get in as many dirty metaphors as possible; and Doug's advice was considered too boring and/or fruity to even bother to listen to.
Truth was the Janitor was in a bit of a pickle. Ever since he had met Blonde Doctor, he had fallen for her charm, immaculate looks and big, blue eyes. She was even more adept than that when he spoke to her. Her personality was rosy and upbeat, even if she had been going through a rough time. The best thing was, she had listened to him when he tried to help her, and had gotten a new flawless make-over that caused him to realise the inconvenient truth... he was in love.
The Janitor thought that he could keep it inside, even if it ate him up whenever he saw her with a different man every other day. It was easy to keep Scooter well away from her, but the rest of the world also knew of her perfect face. He couldn't keep everyone from her. Eventually, she would unwittingly break his heart by falling in love with another.
But he would let that go. Today, as he slowly made his way down the corridor with a mop as per usual, he felt like it was a brand new day. He had already tricked Scooter by daring him to fit inside a cupboard and then locking him in, so that was his main job out of the way. He could relax for a while.
Blonde Doctor was proceeding in his direction. He straightened up and moved the mop to lean on it with one arm.
"Hello, Janitor." She greeted him cheerily, making his palpitations increase.
"Hey." He nodded to her and was about to let her pass when he noticed a saddened expression wash over her face. He stopped her with his mop and pushed her back. "What's up with you?"
"Ugh, I've been having a really hard time lately." She began to explain, blowing the fringe from her eyes and putting her hands on her hips. "I don't know if you've heard from the nurses, but JD and I split up."
"Aw, no," He didn't even try to sound bothered by this. "Why? How did that happen?"
"'Cos he's a dumb-frick who thought that it would be okay for me to give up my long-term boyfriend Sean and everything he had to offer just so he could selfishly decide that he doesn't want me anymore." She winced and shook her head. "Sorry, you don't care, do you?"
"No, no, I care!" The Janitor protested. "And don't worry, I got you covered – Scooter is in some cupboard somewhere in the hospital boasting that he was right by thinking he could fit in there. You are correct. He is a dumb-frick."
And then Blonde Doctor laughed, out loud, apparently uncaring that the rest of the hospital could see her associating with the likes of him. She even gave him a friendly nudge to show how much he had made her laugh. He smiled back and gave one nod to acknowledge this, an automatic gesture of his. She snorted at the end of her laugh.
"Thanks, I needed that." She told him, and then walked away.
The Janitor felt a spring in his step as he continued with his mundane job. But he couldn't just keep this news bottled up inside of him, no way. He had to get a meeting sorted with Brain Trust. He reached for his special beeper and headed for the lounge. It wasn't exactly the story of the century, but he had made Blonde Doctor to her snort-laugh that she only ever did with guys. Guys she's with. This had to be something, right? It certainly made him feel more adequate in her life.
"Okay, meeting begins, 9:02 am." The Janitor stated, looking at his watch. "Anyone got any announcements they'd like to make?"
"Well, actually..." Ted began.
"No? Alright then, I'll go." The Janitor butted in. Ted gave his classic 'awww' and put his head on the table. "I was just mopping up, y'know, it's a Wednesday. I was thinking about maybe making a horse-car when I saw Blonde Doctor coming towards me."
"Ooh, what was she wearing?" The Todd gave a slimy smirk, but the Janitor gave him a look that could kill. "It's alright, it's better to imagine."
"One more remark like that, and you're out." The Janitor told him. "I'll get back in touch with Jimmy the overly touchy Orderly."
"Aw, no!" Ted groaned. "Not him!"
"Tell that the Todd over there!"
"Sorry..." The Todd mumbled.
"Anyway, back on subject." The Janitor frowned at them. "She was talking about how crappy her life is cos Scooter ruined everything... and I said that I'd locked Scooter in a cupboard."
"Nice!" Doug laughed.
"No comments." The Janitor said. "I know how good my own work is. So, Blonde Doctor starts to laugh! Can you believe that? She actually laughed at something I said."
"A lot of people laugh at you." Ted gabbed.
"Yeah... but this is Blonde Doctor." The Janitor declared. "And – she snort-laughed."
All three of his Brain Trust buddies gasped in unison, Ted taking in so much breath and leaning back so far that he almost fainted. Doug clutched his head. "She only snorts at guys she likes!"
"I know that, that's why I called the meeting." Irritated, the Janitor put his elbows on the table and used his hands to prop up his head. "I need more advice, but better than last time, yeah? Just on what to do next. I've almost got her."
"You could tell her that her nose is pretty." Ted explained. "My mom likes it when I say that and you could mention Elliot's snort thing too and say it turns you on. My mom..."
"What?" The Janitor cringed. "Stop it there, Ted, I don't wanna know. Todd, you got anything you would like to share?"
"I do but I don't think it's appropriate to get out right now!" The Todd exclaimed. "Boo-yah! Getting-out-my-peeper-five!"
Needless to say, no one was going to high-five his comment, but the Janitor gave Doug and scary look and an indicative nod that told him he must. So he did, and suffered the painful red sore on his hand that came afterward like an award.
"I think you should just tell her how you feel." He was still wincing and rubbing his hand, so that words came out as if he were being forced into saying them. The Janitor shook his head.
"You guys disgust me." He began. "I mean come on; momma's boy over there is just... horrifying."
"Hey!" Ted complained.
"The Todd you, can't stop making smutty jokes and you know Blonde Doctor doesn't appreciate your ideas of a good time. You're out, like I said."
"Damnit! She doesn't know what she's missing." The Todd sulked.
"Guess I'll have to beep Jimmy later..."
"Awww," Said Ted.
"And you, Doug." The Janitor sighed. "You're the worst one of all! Tell her how I feel... yeah right. If I want to be embarrassed in front of all the staff and patients because you know she's out of my league for a start... and then the rest. I'm sorry but this meeting is over. Go back to doing whatever it was you were doing."
"Surgery," The Todd shrugged and went away. They all watched after him, shocked, before the other two also dispersed and left the Janitor sat on his own wondering what to do.
He sat there for a long time, mulling it over in his head until he finally reached the conclusion that he would just have to live the rest of his life without her. She'd only snort-laugh if he told her the truth, and not in the good way. Scooter wouldn't see him as superior anymore, so that would be over. No one would be scared of him. He'd become a loser. He couldn't let that happen.
Dr Kelso entered the room with two muffins in his hands and one stuffed in his mouth. He spat it out so that it travelled towards the Janitors feet, who picked it up to look at.
"Is this your muffin, sir?"
"Well, duh." Dr Kelso rolled his eyes. "What are you doing in here sat down on your ass anyway? I don't pay you to count each worthless second you've wasted of your life being a scummy janitor – i actually pay you to waste each worthless second of your life being a scummy janitor. Now get back to work!"
The Janitor nodded, unable to think of a comeback since all he could muster was something to do with Blonde Doctor's new hair cut and how great it was. As Kelso sat on the couch and began gorging himself on his cakes, the Janitor got up and left to find an odd job to do. He never had much to clean or fix seem as though he had his janitor minions to do all the work for him.
Unfortunately, Poodle-haired Doctor bumped into him on the way to his sanctuary closet.
"You," Mean Doctor pointed into his chest. "Go clean the soupy-custardy mess on the cafeteria floor that once was the delicious combination of Barbie's dinner and desert before she decided that it looked better as a puddle of slush on my feet. And when you're done, clean my shoes will ya?"
He then growled, pushing his shoes into the Janitor's stomach and walking away. The Janitor himself took one look at the shoes before throwing into the trash-can and hurrying to the cafeteria – not to clean up the food mess but to see why Blonde Doctor did it. Something was bothering her, and it was his responsibility to find out what. Maybe this was his chance to make her laugh again.
Poodle-haired Doctor was true to his word – there was a weird orange-yellow gloop on the floor with shoe-shaped gaps in the fluid where he must've been standing. But that didn't concern the Janitor, of course; Blonde doctor was sat by herself at a table with her hands covering her face. He sat opposite her.
"I threw Dr Cox's shoes in the garbage." He told her as a conversation starter.
She removed her hands to reveal streaks of mascara down her cheeks. She gave a small smile.
"He said that he'd get you to clean them." She croaked.
"So what's wrong?" The Janitor pressed. "You were all giggly and happy last time I checked."
"Just frickin' Dr Cox and his oh-so funny rants." She snorted. "He thinks I'm letting my personal life get in the way of work... it's not my fault there's bugs in my apartment building! I'm entitles to a little freak out every now and then..."
"Stop," The Janitor frowned. "There are bugs in your building?"
"Yeah..." She sighed. "Means I've got nowhere to stay tonight... or tomorrow night. All I did was complain slightly to Carla when I was taking my lunch to the table and Dr Cox was all over me like a rash. Some things he says are really harsh, you know?"
"Yeah,"
"So I threw my tray to the ground." Blonde Doctor shrugged. "Hope he wasn't too mad."
"Oh, no..." The Janitor grimaced. "He's totally fine with it."
And there it was. That amazing laugh from her that almost sounded manly – but that didn't matter. She was laughing again, he had done it!
"I just feel like everything's getting on top of me now, 'cos I don't have anywhere to stay for the next couple days and I can't stay at Carla's 'cos he's there..." Blonde Doctor paused for breath and almost choked up.
"Hey, it's not so bad." The Janitor didn't know what or why he was saying this but it came out before he could stop it. "You can crash at mine until your building is safe again."
"At yours...?" Blonde Doctor looked confused. "...you have a place?"
"Sure I do, just 'cos I'm a janitor, you don't think I own an apartment?"
"No, not that..." He could tell that she meant it in every sense, but he didn't mind at all. "Look, I can't push myself onto you like that, it's a big thing. We hardly know each other. I don't expect you to have to put up with me cluttering up the place."
"Cluttering up the place?" The Janitor tried not to chuckle at how wrong she was. If anything, she'd brighten the room right up. "Anyway, I insist. You've got nowhere else to go." He put a friendly hand on her shoulder for reassurance. At this point, The Todd was walking past and stopped to make a comment.
"Man, you're easy!" He laughed. "You'd do anyone! By the way, I've also got an apartment, if you're interested."
"Eww, no, Todd!" Blonde Doctor shrieked.
"Worth-a-shot-five?" The Todd lifted his hand. No one answered it, so he walked away in a mood.
"Ignore him. He'll find some nurse to harass." The Janitor joked. He realised that his voice didn't accompany the air of a funny man, because it was a little flat and... well, evil. But that's what years of ignorance on other people's behalf's did to him, so he couldn't blame himself. At least Blonde Doctor smiled, which suggested that she understood his humour okay.
"So what do you say? I'll sleep on the couch, you can have the bed."
"Well..." She looked about for a couple of minutes before deciding. "Okay, I suppose it's only for two nights. I'll be outta your hair before you know it."
"Oh." He nodded along. "That's great."
It was no wonder that the pulsating sensation was beginning to get harder to keep on the low down, especially as he even offered to drive Blonde Doctor there after her shift. His shift actually ended and hour before, but he hung about for a bit longer just so he could give the lift. This was wrong, he realised afterwards, because he knew that she didn't feel that way about him. Why was he torturing himself like this?
They reached his apartment, and he walked her straight through. It was on the ground floor, so the awkwardness he felt didn't last too long. Finally, they were in his living room, and she was placing her bag (which had already been packed and put in her locker that morning because she knew she had to go someplace else) on the floor by the kitchen counter.
"Take a seat; you don't have to stand about on parade or anything." The Janitor told her, pointing at the couch and flicking the small box TV set on. "I don't know what's on, so here's the control, I'm gonna get you some fresh sheets for the bed."
"That's sweet of you." Blonde Doctor smiled at him, genuinely, as she took the control from his hands and began flicking through the channels. Satisfied that his woman was happy, the Janitor headed for the bedroom to change the sheets, pillows and blankets. He wanted everything to be fresh for his... wait, why was he saying 'his woman'? She wasn't his. He was getting carried away with his fantasies; he should never have brought her here in the first place. Stupid, stupid Janitor.
When he'd finished and brought some covers out for himself, he joined Blonde Doctor on the couch and was going to watch the TV but she cut through the commercial voice-over man with her own beautiful voice.
"Janitor," She half sighed the way she always said that word. "Do you like living here?"
"Yeah, why?" He answered, but he knew why. Because of his janitor's salary, he couldn't afford major luxuries like someone on a doctor's salary could. Blonde Doctor shook her head.
"I was just wondering."
"Okay." He tried to concentrate on the TV screen again but, she cut through once more.
"Do you think I'm being too hard on JD?"
He tried not to appear indifferent upon the topic of his worst enemy and favourite irritant. "What, Scooter? Nah. He'll get over it."
"You really think that?" She was asking for his advice. He couldn't ruin this moment.
"Yeah." He nodded with a frown. "What kind of a man makes a lovely, beautiful woman like you give up everything you ever wanted just to break your heart? If you ask me, he's a crazy man. If it were me... err, no, wait..." He trailed off. "Forget that part."
Blonde Doctor didn't laugh this time. She was looking at him in a strange way, a way he didn't remember from previous encounters.
"What were you going to say?" She asked.
"Erm..." He felt the heat creeping upon him, beads of sweat building on his forehead. His mouth was dry, so when he opened it, no words came out. Not at first – but then he sensed her discomfort and decided that it was now or never. "If you were... were my... err, woman, then I would never... let you, err, go. Not like the way Scooter did. I'd never... never do that... to you."
A silence ensued that made the Janitor want to run away. He'd put his vulnerability on the line, making him less scary and more human. If she were to throw his feelings aside, he'd lose all of his status in the hospital and probably all of the respect he had for himself. She'd never look at him the same way again. He knew that he couldn't live this down.
And then Blonde Doctor said something that he did not expect in a million years.
"That is so hot." She whispered. She then leaned forward quickly, almost like a pounce and eradicated the space between them with her lips. The Janitor, not used to this kind of behaviour from, well, anyone, tried to pull away but she grabbed the back of his head and pushed him in closer. He didn't understand or know what to do.
After a few seconds, Blonde Doctor stopped and looked shocked with herself. The Janitor's face was a mixture of surprise and joy. It wasn't quite a smile and his eyebrows were raised.
"I'm so sorry!" She began quickly, words firing out at a hundred miles an hour. "I shouldn't have done that, that's like taking advantage, and I'm not that sort of person, although I guess you could call me a bit of a tart, it comes from my mum, my mum liked to sleep around and kiss random guys and sometimes the not so random, but that's no excuse for me to do that to you! I'll just leave... I'll go now..."
"No, no, don't." He stood as she stood. "Please, don't. It's my fault for inviting you here, when I've got all these feelings I have no control over..."
"Feelings?" Blonde Doctor looked taken-aback. "What do you mean?"
"You didn't get that from what just happened?" He gulped. "Well this is awkward."
"Just a tad." Blonde Doctor half laughed and then looked down.
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes, shifting uncomfortably on the spot and searching the area for a subject changer. Unfortunately, all the Janitor could find was a few stuffed squirrels on his counter top and he knew that woman didn't find that attractive at all. In the end, he looked at his watch and began to usher Blonde Doctor into her room.
"You gotta sleep, early shift tomorrow, you're a doctor." He told her, words slurring over each other in his over-enthusiasm. "I, err, I'll see you in the morning. Or not. You can leave early if you like, but you don't have to tip-toe around me. I'm a heavy sleeper."
"O-okay," Blonde Doctor tried not to be pushed out of the picture. "But I wanted to say something, hold on."
"What is it B...err, Elliot?"
She fiddled with the bottom of her top and lost eye contact with him instantly. "You're a sweet guy, and I'm in a bad place. I know that it was probably just my hurt that caused that inappropriate gesture before, but there's still something... nagging away in the back of my brain. You're... a good person."
"Thank you, I guess." The Janitor frowned. "You're an amazing woman. It's not easy for me to love, I generally find hate the most interesting of emotions. I hate Scooter's hair, but I don't hate his stupidity; it gives me more of a reason to destroy his life. I hate voles but I don't hate stuffing them into mice occasionally. I hate this moment... but I don't hate you."
"I think I understood that," Blonde Doctor gave a small chuckle. "Well... I've got a lot of stuff to figure out now." She sighed. "I'll be in there. Sleeping. Try to sleep too, yeah? Don't beat yourself up over all of this."
"Okay." The Janitor nodded. "I'll be planning Scooter's demise."
"See you in the morning."
"Yeah... I guess you will."
Next Time: We here 'Day 1' from Elliot's POV. How does she feel before/during/after her first day at the Janitor's? Please review! xx
