Title: What If

Chapter: 1/? My Screw up

Rating: PG

Pairing: Jonathon and Percival [Eventually

Summary: What if Ben had lived?

Warnings: None now.

Disclaimer: Scrubs and its characters do not belong to me. This is strictly for my own entertainment.

Author's Notes: Chyeah. More than one chapter! So this one's kinda boring, but it'll get better. Hopefully.

Jordan walked up to Perry, shoving her hand out.

Perry looked at the hand, then Jordan. "Aren't you going to do a trick first?"

"Alright. This one's called 'Everyone Loses Respect for Perry Cox While I Publicly Describe Our Sex Life'."

Perry reached into his pocket and put a few twenties in the outstretched hand. "Do I get to know what I'm funding?"

She put the money in her pocket. "Pretend it's for your kids." She walked away with a smile.

Perry groaned and closed his eyes. He was happy, wasn't he? Two kids, Jordan. His family.

"Dr. Cox, look out!" Perry looked over and saw JD rolling towards him, loosing control on what looked like a pair of sneakers. Before he could move, JD had already collided with him.

But JD wasn't going fast, so Perry stood his ground, only stumbling back a step.

JD had his hands on Perry shoulder, Perry had his hands on JD's scrubs to keep him from falling.

There was a moment where Perry felt his breath caught. He quickly looked away.

"You're like a solid wall of muscle!" JD proclaimed, finding his balance.

What?

"What the hell are you doing Newbie?" Perry snarled, letting go of JD.

"I was trying out my new Heelys that Kim got for me" JD found support on the wall beside him.

"Move Newbie, this is a hospital." Perry pushed JD slightly, then watched him fall. "Pathetic."

"Honey, I'm home," JD called out as he opened the door to his apartment.

"Hey JD," Kim smiled, holding a small child in her arms.

"Oh," JD started, sounding surprised, "I thought you had a doctor's appointment." He kissed Kim's cheek.

"Then who's Honey?" she asked.

"Turk said he'd be here."

"Oh." And Kim smiled. "So, how was work?"

JD took his child from Kim. "Good, but I couldn't figure out how to work my Heelys. And Dr. Cox was in an extra pissy mood."

"Dr. Cox is always in an extra pissy mood," Kim offered. JD sat on the couch with a pout.

"It's been almost seven years and he still treats me like it's day one," JD tilted his head, "But I know he cares about me. I'll get that hug."

Kim sat down next to him. "I used to think your obsession with him was unhealthy, but it was quickly cast aside when I saw how close you and Turk are." She laughed, and the baby started to cry. "But still, you named our baby after him."

JD smiled and took Sam Perry Gilligan Dorian from Kim. "I just like the name"

"Uh-huh."

His life was perfect.

So why didn't he feel happy?

About four years prior.

"So, is their brother Ben coming to this thing too?" JD asked Perry, walking in the hospital parking lot.

"Oh yeah," Perry started, "He always has to make some grand entrance, then he just winds up getting depressed afterwards."

As they stop next to a car, JD asked, "Why is that?"

And Ben jumped down onto the hood of the car. JD screamed, falling into a bush. The rest unimpressed.

"'Cause he never surprised us," Perry answered.

"Even a little bit?" Ben almost pouted, sitting on the hoot of the car.

Perry, Jordan, and Danni replied with a bored, "No."

Ben then just took pictures of JD, still in the bush.

"I'm a prickly pear," Ben giggled in a strange voice, holding a picture of JD in the thorny bush.

"Can I see that for one second?" JD took the photo from Ben, "Thanks." He then attempted to rip the little photo, very unsuccessfully. Hey, it was harder than it looked.

"Not a strong moment for you, Polly," The familiar voice of Dr. Cox said.

"I need to get it started first."

Perry switched his attention over to Ben "So, you still doing the whole kooky guy who brings his camera everywhere thing?"

Ben slid over to his best friend and held the camera up.

"Till the day I die."

They both smiled as the camera flashed.

"You know something," Ben started, "You have slept with both of my sisters. That means you and I something in common."

JD laughed. Perry and Ben did not. Things quickly became awkward.

"I have to get going." And JD left.

And when he was out of ear shot, Ben turned to Perry. "Too weird?"

"Nahh." When they walked into the lobby, he continued, "What's weird is that it's taken my best friend so long to come and see my son. I mean you get diagnosed with leukemia and then you disappear for two years. What is that about?"

"Well, it went into remission and I wanted to see the world in all its splendor and
glory."

"How'd that go for you?" They stopped at elevators, no one else around.

Ben shrugged in response. "Ehh. Got some good pictures though. Here, check it out." He pulled a few pictures from his pocket. "Look, Here's me at the Great Wall of China," it looked to be just a picture of himself taken in front of what might have been a hospital window. "This is me at the pyramids," with the same nothingness in the back round. "What is this? Oh yeah, this was you and me, like eight seconds ago."

Perry interrupted. "So Jordon tells me that while you were on your 'World Leukemia Tour', you neglected to visit a single doctor, medicine man, or scary shaman with the giant saucers in his ears," his voice turned to that of a whisper, "Psst, Ben, turns out cancer's the kind of ailment that you occasionally want to check up on."

"Fine, I'll get the exam."

"Tell you what," Perry started, "I missed the hell out of you. I did."

Ben smiled softly. "Thanks Perry. I missed you too."

And they looked at each other, the space between them diminishing, their lips only inches apart.

Perry turned away right before their mouths met. "Damn!" he laughed.

Ben raised his arms in triumph. "Yeah! I am the king of gay chicken!"

"Ah Newbie, perfect timing." Perry started, handing a file over to JD, " I have to run a hundred fifty dollars down to the police station 'cause Mr. Jinkies the Juggler, who Jordon just has to have to for Jack's birthday party, just got a DUI.

Ben raised his fist in praise to Mr. Jinkies. "Yeah!"

"Only me. Long story short, your new job is to take young Ben here by the hand and run every hematological screening test that we have."

Ben held his hand out for JD, a goofy grin on his face.

"Dr. Cox I can't. I'm already covering for Doug. He's on a His-and-Her-Spa-Day with his mom," JD explained.

"What?!" Ben and Perry asked in unison.

"Don't ask. The point is, I'm swamped," his voice turned to that of a whisper, "And I'm a little worried about Mr. Taylor here"

Mr. Taylor waved to the three men. They smiled and waved back. Ben took a picture.

"For the life of me, I can't figure out his irregular heartbeat."

"I already looked at his EKG, Newbie, and trust me. He's not going to die in the next thirty minutes. Now, goooo!"

"I'm sorry Madeline. I hope we didn't wake you. It's just that I have fifty
patients and I," JD's pager went off, and he looked at it.

"That's a code."

"What's the matter with you there Sheila? You look like Maybelline just went belly up."

"Twenty minutes after you left he went into cardiac arrest."

Perry felt like someone was tearing his heart from his chest. He couldn't believe it.

"We tried to resuscitate him, but there was nothing we could do."

He grabbed the chart from JD. "This shouldn't have happened. Kid screwed up."

"Twenty minutes after you left he went into cardiac arrest."

Perry felt like someone was tearing his heart from his chest. He couldn't believe it.

"He's okay though, we used the AED to resuscitate him."

He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

"I ordered the medication for him and-"

Perry made his way to Ben, done listing to JD.

all credit for that line goes to neek-love on LJ