Alright chapter 2, here we come. Now, guys, bear with me because I had to do a lot of research to get this right. I want it to be as realistic as possible. Thanks to Kiwi-Satsuma, HouseOfScrubs, Peedi, izzabella11 and Faust's' Oblivion for nice reviews : ) Enjoy! xxxNTxxx

John Dorian

JD could do nothing but stare down at the sleeping beast. The breathing was almost rhythmic in his ears; it was suddenly the only noise he could hear in the entire hospital. All beeping, coughing, talking and footsteps were muted so that the only thing he could concentrate on was the sound of Dr Cox's breath, in and out, like a lullaby. During this strange day dream, JD found that his own breathing became in time to that of his mentor's, so that he may feel the pull and strain it had on his own lungs. It wasn't until Elliot snapped her fingers in his face that he began to get back into his normal system, and hear the hospital noises once again.

"What... what happened?" He whispered, unable to take his eyes off of the body before him. Dr Cox looked old now, old and tired. His arms were straight by his side, one hand with a needle poking through the veins and clear liquid feeding through the tube. His eyes were closed, but underneath they were moving constantly. This was a relief – most people's eyeballs move whilst their sleeping, and the common, naturalness of this made JD almost smile. So things weren't completely at a loss, right?

"We don't know for sure," Elliot began to explain in her low voice, which indicated that bad news was about to be delivered. "Someone found him in the cafeteria, and it turned out he was sleeping. When they woke him up, he didn't know where he was so they paged me. JD, he was slurring, and he couldn't even stand up."

"I don't understand." JD swallowed. He glanced up at Elliot for a split second and then continued to stare at Dr Cox's chest as it moved up and down. "Was he drunk?"

"He got really aggressive when we asked him how he was," She croaked. "He said that he was just tired and that he was drowsy all day, and that we should just leave him alone. When we wouldn't, he got depressed and angry. He threw up all over the table and then..."

"Then what?" JD asked quietly. When no answer was conceived, he looked up sharply and raised his voice. "Then what?"

Elliot's brow furrowed and she bent her middle finger back in nervousness. "He went into Cardiac Arrest so I gave him CPR and put him on Basic Life Support. We can tell now that he also has hypotension."

JD's face fell slightly. He was hoping that it wouldn't be as serious as this. "I see. Well... thanks, I guess. But why did you page me?"

"Because you kept making his beeper go off, I couldn't just ignore it." She shrugged. "And you were really worried about him before, it's the least I could do to let you know that he was okay."

"Okay?" JD spluttered. "Elliot, the man nearly died!"

"And I'm sorry!" Her forehead creased, yet she stayed focussed. She came round to JD's side of the bed and grabbed his hand to squeeze. "We've sent his bloods down to the lab, so we'll get a clearer picture soon but, JD... it sounds like signs of an overdose."

"Overdose?" JD snatched his hand away from her at the sound of that word. "Overdose of what?"

"I don't know. The results will reveal any foreign substances in his body, you know that."

"Well, you must be wrong." He stammered, the words cutting into each other with every syllable. He looked down at Dr Cox again, and remembered how snappy he'd been with him and Turk when they were on the Name Meanings site. He'd seemed fine. "He wouldn't do that, I know he wouldn't, and he hasn't shown any signs of-of-of- of depression, or-or anything."

"I'm just telling you how it is." Elliot shrugged and wrote on the chart before placing it on the end of the bed. "You can ask him when he wakes up. Until then, don't shoot the messenger. And check his chart if you want to, maybe you'll find a history or something?"

"Nah, nah I-I can't." He bit his lip. "I need to talk to someone about this, someone who doesn't know so I can get a better diagnosis."

"JD, I-"

"No, Elliot, just no!"

JD stormed out of the room. He didn't want to believe that Elliot was right in thinking that Dr Cox had overdosed on a drug, because that wasn't in character. Just this morning – this morning! – he'd been his perfect self. He's shouted at him for being a girl, even nicknamed him and mocked him in front of the nursing staff. And Turk! That's it. JD just needed to find Turk and Carla, and they could vouch for him that Dr Cox was fine before. Then Elliot would have to believe him, and they could all get on with finding out what was really wrong with their beloved leader.

JD took a right at the nurse's station and tried to act casual. He couldn't let them know that something was up yet, otherwise they wouldn't give a straight answer. Turk was there with Carla, as usual for five o clock on a Friday, doing their ritual kissing session and nose rubbing.

"Hey, guys..." JD's voice wobbled and he cursed inwardly for lack of control. Turk didn't seem to notice and Carla wasn't even looking in his direction, so all was good for now.

"S'up V-Bear?" Turk asked him.

"Ah, nothing. I've just got this p-patient in the ICU, got some, err, symptoms, there..." He needed to keep it together, he couldn't blow this. "...I was wondering if you could help me diagnose?"

"You know I don't know a thing about medical stuff, man." Turk shrugged. "Ask my lovely woman."

"Yeah, nurses know some stuff, y'know." Carla breathed. "C'mon, Bambi, spit it out. What's your patient presenting?"

"Erm..." He tried to think. He hadn't been listening properly whilst Elliot had been talking because of his intent staring into Dr Cox's soul. "Drowsiness, hypotension... um, I think balance loss... amnesia..."

"Anything else?" Carla inquired.

"Nausea?" JD half asked. "He also went into Cardiac Arrest but it was treated quickly so... everything's fine now, I guess. There were loads of other stuff I can't remember."

"Hmm, professional of you. Let's see," Carla nodded, whilst filing, and frowned. "Sounds to me like your patient overdosed on their meds."

"No!" JD shouted; several doctors and visitors turned to see what the fuss was all about. "No, Carla, you're wrong. He did not overdose, because he wouldn't do that! He's got nothing to overdose about, he's fine!"

"Do you mind not shouting at my woman?" Turk hissed. "Don't be so pissy with her just because she got something wrong, dude."

"Why are you so uptight about this anyway?" Carla complained, moving her head in the typical attitude-soaked tradition. "Is it someone you're close to?"

"Yes." He breathed, giving her a hard look. "Yeah, we're all pretty close to him."

And then cogs in Carla's brain clicked into place; the result of this was visible on her face as it dropped into a state of denial just like JD's. "Not him. JD?"

JD nodded. "I told you guys something was wrong with him."

"Who?" Turk moaned. "I'm not getting this!"

"It's Dr Cox, idiot!" Carla snapped at her incompetent husband. "Oh my God, Perry, why?"

"That's what I was thinking!" JD sighed.

"Well we've got to visit him now, right?" She looked about the place as if she'd lost something. The damage that this new information had caused was spreading further. "Come on, Turk, you too. He needs us right now, and we've got to be there for him."

"He's not awake yet," JD looked to the floor and began to fiddle with his scrubs top. "He's always so sleepy, Elliot says. I guess that's what happens when you... y-you..."

"He did not overdose on any medication." Carla butt in. "We can't go assuming these things. It must be a mistake, unfamiliar symptoms of something else, but not that. He wouldn't! We need to ask him when he wakes up, is all. He'll tell us the real problem, and then we can deal with it."

"Denial looks pretty on you two, really." Turk commented. "Dude, the guy is so messed up! Baby, I'm not fooling around, but I can see it, I really can. That guy hasn't exactly had the best childhood."

"That's behind him now!" Carla insisted. "Now, he has friends and a loving family – he has a son, Turk. You really think he would do that to Jack?"

"I don't know." Turk shrugged. "You won't agree with my so why don't you just go on and ask him."

"It's what we're gonna do." JD narrowed his eyes, suddenly feeling incredibly hostile towards Turk, this man who assumed that their friend would try to commit suicide. "Anyway, overdosing doesn't always point to... you know... the obvious. It could've been a mistake."

"It's not even to do with that, Bambi." Carla raised her brow. "Honestly guys, don't think the worst. Dr Cox would never do that to us."

XXXXX

All through the rest of the workday, JD couldn't stop thinking about what Carla had said. She was right, wasn't she? Dr Cox is a strong person and no matter what life throws at him, he bounces back. Or at least he tries to drink himself into an early grave, but that's different, he knows what he's doing then. Last time he got depressed, there was a reason too. This time, there's no reason and so there can't be any fatal thoughts involved. This idea was the only thing to keep JD sane whilst he waited for Elliot to page him. When she finally did, he was looking at an ex-ray of a torso with an intern.

"Damn it, perfect timing, Perry." He hissed, and broke off the annoying beeping sound. "Lonny, could you just... err, wait right here?"

"Why should I?" Lonny frowned.

"I've got to be somewhere! Try and figure this one out on your own."

"What if I figure it out before you get back?"

"Find Dr Wen and tell him!"

Interns could be so annoying; at this epiphany, JD thought about how irritating he must've been to Dr Cox during his internship. All of those times that he yelled and yet he never gave up on his favourite little protégée... the tears were welling up inside of JD and he knew that if he didn't stop remembering stuff soon, he'd be in bits. By the time he got to Cox's room, he was pretty sure he'd not be able to talk for fear of erupting into a pathetic breakdown. Elliot passed him on his way through.

"You're leaving?" He asked.

"You wanted to see him on his own, at least that's what I assumed." She shrugged, smiled and walked away. JD watched after her. He dared not turn to see the wide eyed man laying on the hospital bed. This was way too weird.

"Oh now, what the hell do you want, Marigold?" The unforgettable voice broke through the silence. JD looked to the floor, took a deep breath, and turned around.

I was thinking, as an added challenge, that whoever reviews this chapter will get their pennames hidden in the next one. I won't make them bold, so you can't just filter through it! You have to read carefully :D Until then, reviews make me happy! xxxNTxxx