A/N: Hey, guys! Well, I'm back with another story and really stoked. (Nervous, but stoked) So, alright – I recently held a poll on my profile as to what story you guys wanted to see from me next. Out of the whole selection "Surprise me," won. And then right after that "Another AU." Since another AU could also qualify as "Surprise me," I figured I'd go with that one. Never fear though – I will be doing a sequel to "My Captain," (and more future!fics as well) I thought I'd play in another universe and explore some dynamics a bit before diving back into that one though, but I can assure you it's being worked on. Anyway, as mentioned in the above, this is definitely going to be AU. The idea is…different, to say the least, but I'll let you guys tell me if it's peeked your interest enough to keep on going, sound good? Also, I'm going to try very hard to update once a week, hopefully every Monday, but I am hesitant to make anything official this time, since school is around the corner. I feel it's only fair to tell you guys that beforehand.

Anyway, enough out of me. Hope you enjoy the beginning! (And hope that you guys have had a good summer so far!)

Disclaimer: I own a very large nothing.

Prologue:

He enjoys playing doctor.

It's his favorite imaginary game ever, and he plays it when Mommy is out with one of her new playmates, or when Dan is out with his cool friends from school, leaving him completely alone.

He hated it in the beginning, being left alone like that, as he was always more of a social child. And okay, maybe he still hates it a little, but he's learned to entertain himself; to partake in his crazy fantasies and make them become his own reality.

But as he wraps the toilet paper around his teddy bear's leg, he has to wonder – is this really such a crazy fantasy? Why can't he be a doctor? Wasn't it possible? Just the other day, his teacher was telling him and the rest of the class that they could grow up to be whatever it was they wanted to be. Didn't that make being a doctor a possibility as well?

"Medical school is really expensive," his mom had told him the night of his teacher's proposal.

"But I really want to be a doctor, Mommy! I'll study really hard. And I'll save up too! And I'll even –"

"None of that matters, Johnny. We wouldn't be able to support you and you wouldn't be able to support yourself. …Sweetie, I'm sure you'd make a great doctor, but it's just not a realistic idea. Think of something else you'd like to do when you grow up. You still have time."

But as young Jonathan Doris gave his GI Joe a fake shot, he decided, for the first time ever, that his mother was wrong. It wasn't impossible. It wasn't unrealistic. He could be a doctor if he wanted to. He would make it happen.

He would grow up and help save lives.

--

John walked through the hallway, hands stuffed in his pockets and trying not to trip over his own two feet. He was nervous, very nervous, but he managed to only stumble once, causing a fellow co-worker to give him an eye roll. Of course, no one ever said anything about his clumsy nature. It was odd to come by, given their profession and all, but John was good at what he did, often referred to as the organization's "Golden Boy." So really, there was no need to make mention of his awkward personality. As long as it didn't affect his work, then what did it matter?

Of course, for as good as he was, he was still, no matter what anybody told him, human. Every person, assassin or no, had their flaws. John's flaw was one he had tried over and over to not let get to him; a flaw he had tried over and over to diminish. But during his last assignment, like the many, many ones before it, he had managed to once again get too close to those he had befriended in the process of his under cover mission. He was missing them already, but he was used to having to get over people. Still, it appeared the Superior had picked up on his sullen mood, not to mention the obvious mumblings that always circulated throughout the building whenever he returned from a mission. "Did you see John yet? Yeah, got back a while ago. Damn, he's good. Wasn't that supposed to be a six month mission? And how long did it take him…two and a half? Well, shit. At least I don't get so drawn to the people around me. Seriously, can you believe that guy? As talented as he is, he always comes back to this place sporting a full on pout. Kid's the golden boy around here, yet he can never seem to grasp the concept of not getting too close."

John swallowed. Oh yes, there was just no way the Superior had not heard those rumors. Still…it was odd that he was getting summoned so soon after his return. After all, they only got called in if they were being given another assignment, but this didn't usually happen so quickly after one was completed. The only other reason a person was called by the Superior was to be lectured on something they'd done wrong. Since John just got back yesterday, he had to assume it was the latter of the two, and while he had completed his last mission with ease, he was betting on being scolded for the sour look he'd been wearing since returning to their group.

The dark haired assassin stood quietly in front of his boss's door way, swallowing hard. He knew he wasn't in trouble, trouble, but the man was still his superior, and no matter what the situation, a tongue lashing always made him feel ashamed of himself, especially when it was about things he should've been over by now.

John inhaled slowly before finally bringing his hand to the door and knocking "Sir…?"

"Come in, Mr. Doris."

Quietly, John opened the door, taking a look around the office he hadn't seen since departing for his last mission.

No matter how many times he entered the Superior's bureau, the setting never failed to creep him out. Books, all leather bound, lined the many ember cases that stood against the walls. This wasn't a particularly unusual thing to find in one's office, but the marionettes that hung from the ceiling or sat lifelessly on a shelf or two, all of them monstrous looking, always sent a small shiver down his spine.

Dear God, he killed people for a living, yet here he was: Afraid of puppets.

"Please have a seat, Mr. Doris."

John sat at once, nodding politely to his boss as he did so. "Thank you, Sir."

"Tell me," the older man started up, never one for beating around the bush, "How did your last mission go? You're back much quicker than expected. Not by me, of course. I always assume your return quicker than the given date. So there were no complications, I take it?"

"Not at all, Sir."

"And the pilot…did he suffer?"

"…I never make my target suffer, Sir. Even if they…even if they 'deserve' it. I just…I won't."

"It's not a matter of won't. It's a matter of can't. And I never said to make them suffer, did I? My point though is this: If you had no choice in the matter – if you had to either fail your mission or kill the target in a way that they would suffer – I often wonder what you'd do."

"I mean this with no disrespect, Sir, but does it matter? I've never gotten myself into such a position before. I may not like what I do, but I'm fairly good at it."

"'Fairly?' You're quite good at it, Mr. Doris, which is why it grieves me so to say what I'm going to say next."

John swallowed. Here it was. The tongue lashing. He was surprised he hadn't brought it up yet, to be honest. He'd asked him about the pilot, of course, seeing as how he had been the target, but he hadn't asked him about his fellow flight attendants; about the people he was already missing; the people he had saved, along with all of the plane's passengers, by assassinating the man who had planned on sending them all to the bottom of the Pacific.

"The reason I called you in here today, Mr. Doris, is to hand out your new assignment."

John's eyes popped. A new mission? Already? "Well, um…okay then. If that's all."

"Aren't you curious as to why I'm giving it to you so promptly after your return?"

"I – well, yes…I am. But I figured I'd just read it in the file, as always."

The man before him smiled; a smile that John had never been a fan of. "Mr. Doris; believe it or not, the details to this particular under cover mission is not what has led me to summon you in here today. It is the fact that it is your last mission; the last one you will ever have to complete."

If the brunet thought his eyes couldn't possibly get any wider, then he was definitely proven wrong. "S-Sir? Are you…are you serious?"

"Yes, Mr. Doris, I am absolutely serious. As much as it pains me to let you go, you have reached your one hundredth mark."

John hoped he did not openly shutter upon hearing the older man's last comment. Ninety-nine. He had killed ninety-nine people…

"And as you know," the Superior continued, "All assassins have the option of leaving after their one hundredth kill. Most of them stay, of course, but since you have obviously not been happy since the moment you've started here, I can only assume that your absence after said mission will be immediate."

"I… Yes, Sir. Yes. Immediately after. I won't lie to you."

The older man smiled again, and John could've sworn he detected a hint of bitter resentment there. "Very well then… Anyway, here – your last file. You complete this and you are free of the organization. Free to go and be whatever it is you want to be; whatever it is you want to do."

John's hands openly shook as he reached out, grabbing the file and flipping it open immediately. It was something he normally waited to do once he was out of the office and settled back into his own private head quarters, but the idea of being free of the organization, once and for all, had the brunet so excited and, for the first time since joining, eager to begin.

It wasn't until he saw where his new location was did his jubilant emotions come to an abrupt halt. Was he…was he happy about this? Or was it a bitter joke; an awful reminder of what he had never been able to accomplish? The irony that was his current life in comparison to the one he had always wanted. "A doctor…" he finally started. "I'm going to go under cover as a doctor…?"

"It seemed the most logical choice. You've never been to med school, but I've seen your room, Mr. Doris. You have almost every medical book known to man, and you read these for fun, am I correct?"

John nodded.

"And even if you do mess up at the hospital itself, it will be excusable, as you will be going in as an intern, not a fully trained doctor. In fact, it will be expected of you to mess up. So you see? You and this mission are the perfect match."

"I…yeah. Yeah, okay. Thank you, Sir. I'll…I'll leave immediately, then."

"No, not immediately. Your internship begins tomorrow at eight, and I want you rested up. You will spend the night here, sleeping, while we have someone rent an apartment for you near your new 'place of work.' I assure you, as always, that your personal belongings will be there after work tomorrow. Yes, even that creepy dead dog…"

John tried not to grin at his Superior's latest comment, more amused that anything dead would bother him, and oddly satisfied that something he did creeped him out.

Still, as the younger of the two was dismissed, a question he had always wanted to ask began to plague him yet again. If this was his last mission, then there was a chance he would never be able to ask the older man what it was he wanted to.

Almost at the doorway, John stopped and turned, voice hesitant as he began his query. "Sir?"

"Yes, Mr. Doris, what is it?"

"I…I've always wondered – why am I the one sent out on all of the under cover missions? Besides the fact that I'm good. I mean, if it was solely because of skill, then I'd be given a variety of assignments, right? But they're always the under cover ones, and I wonder why because, well…you know my, um…you know my short come. You know I get too close. I thought after the first couple, I'd never be given a mission like that again, but that's all I've gotten, since day one. Can I…can I ask why?"

There was a moment of silence before the Superior finally answered, his voice laced with the barest hint of mockery. "Do you really have to ask? Mr. Doris – you are awkward, you are clumsy, and you are, without a doubt, a very likeable person. While this sort of personality doesn't lure me in the slightest, it seems to work in your favor as the perfect disguise. Mainly in that it's not a disguise. No one in their right mind would ever suspect you of being what you really are.

"So you see, Mr. Doris, I could not have picked anyone better than you for these under cover assignments. You are perfect for them; a rare find, to be frank, since a life such as ours usually tends to harden our kind by now. But not you, Doris. For one reason or another, it hasn't done that to you. And for that reason, you are the perfect candidate."

John could only blink. Rarely was he at a loss for words; his mouth always eager to partake in conversation. But to his Superior's latest remark, he could not find anything to say other than a meager, "Oh." And with a simple nod, he departed, heading to his room for the night in preparation for tomorrow.

Tomorrow…the first day of his last kill, and his first day as a doctor.

A/N: So…is the premise too out there? Feel free to tell me what you think. The feedback is always appreciated. Anyway, I promise that the chapters to come will be longer than this one. It just seemed appropriate to end it there. Well, that's it for now. I hope the beginning managed to peek your interest a little. Until next time!

Side Note: John Doris is the name of the man that Bill Lawrence based JD off of. The name "JD Dorian" will come in later.