AN: #7 in The Great One-Shot Expulsion series. Warning: Character death.
Disclaimer: I do not own the television show Scrubs. I do not own the characters of the television show Scrubs.
No Wonder I Don't:
JD wakes with the headache of all headaches, a throbbing and aching that puts any past traumas in his life to shame. He groans in protest to the pain, attempting to open his eyes and whimpering when light sears and slices its way past his eyelids.
"Bambi?" a soft voice breathes into his ear, the smooth and soft tone easing some of the pain.
"Carla?" he rasps, coughing against the dryness of his throat. The gesture agitates his headache further, and he moans, holding back a sob.
"Lie still," the nurse instructs him, and he feels gentle fingers on his shoulder.
"Where—" he starts but can get no more out as another bout of coughing starts, leaving him feeling exhausted and boneless.
"Take it easy, JD," Carla soothes, nimble fingers running through his tangled hair. "I'm going to go wake Perry. Just relax."
The lights dim, and the young man hears the sound of worn sneakers squeaking towards the door and down the corridor.
Familiar sounds of the hospital fill his ears—the beeping and droning of machines around his head, the medical chatter of passers-by, the wet slap and squish of a mop against tiled floor. A minute ticks by on the clock across the room before feet scuffling against tile draw JD's attention.
"Newbie!" a frantic voice calls as the noisy feet enter his room.
"P-Perry?" he whispers, his head lolling towards the voice. He tries to life his hand, but it's heavy, so heavy. "Perry, please...Please."
"I'm here," Perry says, and the bed sinks with his weight as he settles beside the younger doctor. "I'm here, JD."
"Hurts. Everything hurts."
"I know," Perry replies quietly, and JD feels trepid fingers ghost across his left cheekbone. "Do you...remember what happened?"
"My head," JD groans, twisting from the other man's touch. "My head is on fire."
"JD, you have a concussion," the older doctor explains, his voice shaking as he tries to hold JD still. "There was...an accident." JD's back arches, causing all kinds of new pain. "The woman in the other car," Perry continues, gritting his teeth and holding the young man down as best he can, "she had a seizure while she was driving. She ran the light and..."
JD cries out, screaming, "Why is this happening?"
"Hey!" Perry shouts back, giving the young man's shoulders a good shake. "I need you to listen to me for one god-damn second!" JD, finally, seems to settle some, panting hard and sweating profusely.
Perry slowly, hesitantly, releases him, sitting back and closing his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he says, "JD...Sammy was in the car with you." His eyes open, and tears track their way down his cheeks. "he didn't survive the crash."
There is a disturbing moment of silence, wherein Perry doesn't so much as breathe. Then, JD's eyelids flutter, cautiously sliding upward to reveal blue slivers of defeat, of sorrow, of...confusion.
"Perry..." JD whispers, his brows furrowing as something heavy settles in the pit of the older man's stomach. "Who's Sammy?"