Title: Helplessly Hoping.

Pairings: JD/Cox.

Disclaimer: I do not own Scrubs.


The loud shrill of the telephone penetrated through the hazy subconscious of one Perry Cox. He whipped his hand out towards the bedside table with a grunt, knocking the cordless phone out of its cradle. Perry opened his eyes, hearing the object clatter noisily to the floor.

Perry heaved a sigh as he stared up at the ceiling, patches of blue and red light flickering against the walls as a police vehicle passed outside.

The phone continued to ring, mocking him.

The middle aged man sat up finally, running a hand through his unruly curls as he turned on the lamp and got out of bed. He snatched the offending object from the floor.

"This better be good," he warned the person on the other line, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"You left your pager in the on-call room," Carla's irritated voice emitted through the earpiece. "You're needed in the ICU. We're short-staffed."

"Wonderful," Perry huffed, pushing off the bed and shuffling towards the closet. "I'm on my way," he muttered, pressing 'end'. He tossed the phone onto the bed.

He pulled on some scrubs and pocketed his keys on the way out of the bedroom, toeing on the first pair of sneakers he came across before leaving the apartment.

As soon as he pulled onto the road, he heard the piercing wail of sirens behind him. Someone's headlights blinded him through his rearview mirror, and Perry kept a hand on the wheel as he turned his head back to look. His eyes widened in disbelief. A black car was on his ass and with no signs of slowing down, the driver flashing his high beams at him.

Perry switched lanes and stopped at a red light. He watched as the black car zoomed past, two wailing police cars following soon after.

When Perry arrived at the hospital, he spotted the two police vehicles double parked a few feet from the parking lot entrance, their sirens turned off but their lights still flashing. A trail of shattered glass, a lone tire rim, and chunks of the black car's polycarbonate exterior were scattered on the pavement. Perry pulled into the first available parking space he saw before stepping out and following the trail of debris. He found the black car askew on the sidewalk and halfway into the hospital's boxwood hedges, tire marks visible under the light of the street lamps. A few feet up was a familiar blue scooter, lying lopsided on the ground.

"Sir, you have to step away from the scene," a voice came up behind Perry, startling him.

"I'm a doctor," he countered with a scowl.

"Do you work at this hospital, Doc? I'm afraid he might've hit one of yours…"

Perry nodded stiffly, a sense of dread creeping over him as he stepped over the police tape. His eyes widened as a body - clad in blue scrubs - came into view among the debris, his face turned away from Perry's line of sight. He rushed to the man's side, fear gripping the older doctor as he gently tapped on his shoulder.

"JD," he said, raising his voice with the intention of pulling the younger doctor from his stupor.

The several seconds it took for the younger man to carefully turn his head and moan left Perry on edge. JD's eyes were shut tightly as he grimaced, a short gasp escaping his lips. "Doctor Cox…?" he rasped weakly, his eyes fluttering open.

"Don't move, Newbie," Perry told him gently, "I'm going to send for a gurney."

The younger doctor barked out a humorless laugh, cocking his head towards his mentor's voice. "I just can't get away from here, huh?" he chuckled, then winced as he took a shuddering breath. "My thirty-six hour shift just ended…" he went on, his voice tinged with amusement.

"JD, do me a favor and shut up," Perry growled. "Don't move and don't talk," he said curtly, rising to his feet and storming towards the hospital.

As soon as he was within two hundred feet of the double doors, four ER techs burst out of them, one pair wheeling two gurneys down the handicap ramp while the other two stepped forward with bright orange duffel bags and two spinal boards. A policeman who Perry suspected to be the other's partner followed after them.

"About time," the older doctor snarled, stalking after them.

He watched in uncharacteristic silence as the ER techs disentangled the other man from his vehicle. The remaining two lowered a gurney next to JD's recumbent form, sliding a neck brace around the young man's throat with practiced ease. They transferred him onto the stretcher - JD's face contorted in pain during the process - one tech checking his vitals as soon as he and his partner raised the gurney to its full height.

Perry followed after them as they started to wheel him into the building. His cell phone rang just as he passed through the double doors.

"Doctor Cox, where in the world are you?" Carla's strained voice said on the other line.

"I just got in," he replied, a muscle in his jaw ticking as he fought to push down the anger that was coiling through him. "JD got into an accident. Give me a couple of minutes." He hung up and shoved the phone into his pocket, following after the gurney.

One of the techs whipped around just as they were approaching the ER. He held his hands up in a halting gesture and Perry stopped before him, a menacing glare on his face. "The ER's crowded, Doc. You're going to have to wait until they assign him a room." He left no time for Perry to snark at him, turning around and pushing past the swinging doors.

The older doctor inhaled sharply, watching through the door windows as the techs wheeled JD further into the room.


JD opened his eyes, feeling numb and disoriented as he took in his unfamiliar surroundings. He began to sit up until he felt a sharp pain in his ribs, and took notice of the brace on his left shoulder.

"Rise and shine, Princess Aurora," a familiar voice said to his right.

"You so avoided calling me 'Sleeping Beauty' just now," JD accused his mentor wearily. He frowned, wondering why Doctor Cox would know anything about Disney movies in the first place. "Hey Doctor Cox, why would you--"

The older doctor grimaced, following JD's line of thought. "Newbie, I'm glad you think I popped out of the womb looking as dashing as I do, but do I really have to remind you that I had somewhat of a childhood?"

"Well no, but it's just hard to imagine Sleeping Beauty fitting somewhere in it," the younger doctor replied sheepishly. "You know, between scaring little girls with your Creepy Crawlers and pretending you were James Bond…"

"I may not acknowledge it… well, at all, but I do have a sister," Doctor Cox said, irritation creeping into his voice. He gave an exasperated sigh. "Listen, Aurora, I'm not the one with possible head trauma, m'kay? So just humor me here: what is your name?"

JD rolled his eyes. "John Dorian."

"Who's the best attending physician in the God damn world?"

The younger man blinked. "Doctor Cox, I--"

"Walked right into that one," the older doctor said with a smug grin, shaking his head as he made for the door.

"Um, wait--" JD called out, abruptly aware of his full bladder. "I just need to go to the bathr--" Suddenly he found himself falling to the floor, a yelp escaping his lips as the IV needle in his arm was yanked off in the process.

Doctor Cox whirled around, crouching down before JD as terror filled the younger man's eyes. "JD, what's wrong?" he asked in alarm.

"Doctor Cox," he murmured, hands gripping his right thigh, "I can't feel my leg."

JD's breath hitched as the older man wrapped an arm around his waist, tears blurring his vision as he wrapped an arm around Doctor Cox's shoulders. His mentor hauled him back onto the bed, paging the nurses' station before pulling out a set of latex gloves from a cardboard box mounted on the wall. He took an alcohol pad from his front pocket, ripping the packet open.

Carla opened the door and poked her head in, her face marked with concern. "Bambi?" She laid eyes on the older man beside him when JD didn't answer. "Doctor Cox?"

"I need a bed pan, a new IV needle, and a wheelchair," he said quietly, wiping the open wound on JD's arm.

She nodded, her eyes downcast as she left the room.

JD frowned as Doctor Cox placed a gloved hand on his right thigh, applying gentle pressure.

"You can't feel that?" He moved his hand down, touching the sole of his foot.

JD swallowed his tears. "A little," he rasped.

"Push against my hand, JD," he told him.

"I can't," he whispered, staring blankly at his feet.

Doctor Cox nodded. "Do you have feeling in your left leg?" he asked him.

JD nodded, uncurling his left leg from under him and experimentally wiggling his toes.

"And the rest of your extremities?" Doctor Cox held out his hands, careful not to jostle the younger man's injured shoulder.

JD took the older man's hands, squeezing his fingers lightly.

A sob escaped him as he felt the older doctor gently squeeze back.


A/N: I'm fairly new to the fandom, so any and all advice is appreciated. TBC. Reviews are nice. :)