Author's Note: Wow, I am thoroughly embarrassed at all of the grammatical errors that were present in the last chapter. I greatly apologize for not proofing it enough before posting it. Part 2 will definitely be much better in that respect.
I also made another silly error in my previous chapter. As it turns out, this episode is becoming more developed than I thought. So instead of two parts, I'm afraid it's going to have to be three parts.
Anyway, thank you to all who left me kind reviews! I absolutely love hearing my readers' input. Anyway, here's part two of "My Wake-Up Call." Continue to enjoy…and reviews are always welcome! (hint-hint)
=)
PS. – I forgot to mention in Part 1 that Dr. Kelso is still going to be present in this episode, despite the fact that he retired during the original Season 7 finale. So, this one is meant to take place well before he leaves.
I just wanted to clear that up.
J.D. sat at his usual table by the window in the cafeteria, absentmindedly stirring his Coffee Bucks coffee. He had already changed into normal clothes and was currently waiting for Elliot to meet him for lunch.
After working at the same hospital for seven years, I was finally beginning to notice the different things that were happening around me…
J.D. takes in his surroundings, taking note on who was sitting with who in the cafeteria, and trying to hear little snippets of conversations.
Whether it was the Janitor taking a giant step in his current relationship…
The custodial worker sat at a table for two, fiddling with a small ring box. He scanned the large room, as if looking for someone, before lowering his head dejectedly.
A few nervous interns sharing their horror stories over the soup of the day…
A table of newbies babbled on amongst themselves. The leader of the table suddenly said something that got a bad reaction from all of them.
Or the simple fact that Dr. Cox was actually being nice for a change.
J.D. shook his head, trying to erase that absurd thought from his memory. He turned back to where Dr. Cox was standing in the lunch line, and watched in utter shock as the curly-haired man smiled at the person in front of him and then laughed at something one of the cafeteria workers had said.
In truth, I really never could figure this place out.
Suddenly the chair across from J.D. was pulled away from the table, making a suitable seat for Elliot. She placed her water bottle down next to his coffee, and met his eyes with her icy blue ones.
"So, what did you wanna talk about?" She asked.
J.D. shifted nervously in his seat, suddenly feeling very intimidated by this girl.
"If this is about what happened last night…and this morning - don't worry about it. I've accepted it, and am now ready to move on. And I think you're ready, too."
His face fell. Although J.D. had expected what was coming, rejection still never hurt him any less. He started to get out of his seat, before Elliot stopped him.
"J.D. – where are you going?" She asked.
He shook his head. "I'm moving on. You've made your point and I understand you don't feel the same way about me, so I'll let it go. I just hope we can still be friends."
Elliot's confused expression said it all. "Friends? What are you talking about?"
"Okay, I guess the friend thing isn't an option then," J.D. said.
"J.D., of course I don't want to be friends. I want to have a relationship with you!" Elliot cried out.
J.D. furrowed his brow. "But you just said -."
Elliot cut him off. "This morning you told me you loved me – and it made me realize that I loved you, too. And I know our past is a little confusing, but -."
This time it was J.D.'s turn to cut her off. He leaned over the table and pressed his lips gently against hers.
"But nothing," He said when the smooch had ended. "As of right now, our past is nonexistent to me. I'm putting it completely out of my head this time."
Elliot grinned. "So we're starting fresh? As if none of those other times ever happened?"
"Exactly."
She kissed him again, this time not holding back.
Before long, Dr. Cox had made it over to their table, casting a dark shadow over J.D. and Elliot. They ended their kiss and gazed up to meet his eyes.
"I don't mean to burst the giant bubble that is your newfound feelings for one another – but," Dr. Cox paused, "Oh, what the hell? I might as well skip the bubbling-bursting for today and just be honest about how I feel." He stopped for a short breath, "I like you…two…together."
J.D. and Elliot's mouths fell open. It had obviously been hard for Dr. Cox to admit something like that out loud.
This was definitely a journal-worthy moment!
"And even though I think that Kim was a good catch for you there, Phoebe. And Keith was always ready to bend over backwards for you, Barbie, I really think this was a match made in heaven," He smiled, and pointed to the two of them as a couple.
Oh, it was getting better by the second!
"Why, you guys must be the next Brad and Angelina!" Dr. Cox gushed.
Okay, now things were starting to sound a little rehearsed.
Elliot beamed at her higher-up and sighed peacefully. "Thank you for saying those things, Dr. Cox. It's taken you seven years to come around, but the wait was well worth it."
Dr. Cox's smile faded. "God, haven't you met me before? You know my tiny spurts of kindness are few and far between – and more importantly, they only last a maximum of, oh let's say, forty-five seconds. So you've got exactly three point two seconds to book it out of here or to prepare yourself for a serious verbal lashing."
Her eyes grew wide and she scampered off, clearly not wanting to be around when he exploded.
Dr. Cox settled down into Elliot's abandoned seat and sighed to himself. J.D. remained motionless, just staring at the angry man with large pupils.
Dr. Cox soon noticed that he was still there, and made a shooing gesture at him. "That means you, too, Francine!"
J.D. jumped to his feet and started to head off, coffee in hand.
Cox whistled, signaling for him to come back.
J.D. groaned, but retreated back to the table. He met the greedy man's eyes and slammed the coffee back down on the table in front of Dr. Cox, before heading off again with a grimace on his face.
"I really appreciate you tagging along to keep me company," Turk said.
J.D, who was sitting beside him in the waiting room looked up from his magazine and grinned. "Oh, no problem. I totally understand how you're feeling, C-Bear."
Turk's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You do?"
"Yeah! I mean, when Kim was staying at the hospital after giving birth to Sam, she wouldn't let me within ten feet of that baby for an entire week. And I can imagine Carla is feeling the same way about Izzy and her skin condition. It's just a motherly instinct to protect her child," J.D. explained.
The two guys turned their heads towards Carla, who was curled up in the corner of the room, with the baby in her lap. The crazed woman had bundled her offspring in a thick ski mask and full winter gear, despite the fact that it was the middle of spring.
Turk shook his head and gestured towards his silly wife. "Look at that, J.D! She might as well have our daughter in a plastic bubble!"
J.D. titled his head to one side and slipped into another one of his day-dreams.
Turk enters the empty waiting room outside the dermatologist's office. The door quickly slams shut behind him, causing a safety lock system to activate. A woman's voice sounds over the hospital's loud speakers.
"Attention, attention!" The raspy voice calls over the PA system, "An intruder has been detected. This quarantined area will undergo an emergency decontamination in thirty seconds. Twenty-nine, twenty eight -."
"Carla!" Turk squeals, noticing his wife in the center of the room.
She is seated in a rocking chair, dressed in what appears to be a space suit and helmet, directly outside a large plastic incubator. Inside the contraption atop a soft blanket sits baby Izzy, surrounded by toys. The small child notices her father's presence and claps her hands excitedly.
Carla immediately jumps up from her seat and yanks off her helmet. "Turk!" She beckons, "Do you know what you have done?"
Turk starts to back away, fearing his angry wife. "W-What, baby? What did I do?"
"Ten, nine, eight, seven -," The recording continues.
Carla tosses her head back and lets out a ferocious cackle, monsters and demons spilling from her open mouth.
"Dude?!" Turk cried, desperately trying to shake his friend out of his dream.
"W-What?" J.D. stammers, looking around the room with confused eyes.
Suddenly, the door to the waiting room jerked open, revealing a pale-faced nurse. "Isabella Turk?"
Carla sprang from her nest in the corner and races for the door, cradling her child in her arms.
Turk started to get up, but is stopped when his wife puts up a finger.
"Stay here, baby. I'll be right back with Izzy," Carla said, before disappearing into the back hallway with the nurse.
Turk turned back to J.D. "See what I mean? That woman won't let me do anything with our child. She always has to be the one to take Izzy to her appointments, drop her off at daycare -." He counted each thing off on his fingers.
J.D. rolled his eyes at his friend. "I'm sure that's not entirely true."
"She takes the baby shopping, goes with her to play group," Turk continues, despite J.D.'s comment, "And get this – I'm not even allowed to take Izzy to the park, unless Carla's there!"
Turk sighed, taking a break before continuing. "You're so lucky, man. At least Kim trusts you alone with your son."
J.D. nodded and put his arm around his buddy's shoulders. "I wouldn't worry about it, Turk. Carla's just going through a phase. I'm sure she'll stop being so protective by the time Izzy turns two."
Turk shifted out from under J.D.'s arm. "I seriously hope you're right."
Carla sat inside one of the exam rooms with Izzy on her lap, anxiously waiting for Nurse Rotunda to return with the baby's file.
She had stripped off her daughter's heavy outerwear, leaving Izzy in her diaper and undershirt. Carla lifted the thin material to quickly peek at the rash on her baby's belly. She gently ran her finger along the inflamed red skin and kissed her daughter on the forehead, silently praying to herself that everything was going to be okay.
The nurse reentered the room, wielding a clipboard and manila folder. "Well, here we are. I've located little Isabella's file."
Carla smiled appreciatively and gently bounced Izzy on her knee, trying to calm both her and the baby.
Nurse Rotunda sat down on the swivel chair, and rested the file on her lap. She scanned the documents inside, nodding her head at the information she saw. "The last time the baby was admitted was when she was just four weeks old. Can you confirm that Ms. Espinosa?"
Carla nodded. "Izzy had a terrible diaper rash that wouldn't clear up with over-the-counter ointment. So Dr. Hale prescribed a special medication for her," She explained.
The nurse nodded. "That was before Dr. Buttons took over the office?"
"Yes."
Nurse Rotunda flipped through a few more papers and jotted something down with her ballpoint pen before turning back to Carla.
"So baby Izzy is being seen today for a fresh adnominal rash," The nurse said, as more of a statement than a question.
Carla nodded again, the baby starting to fuss a bit in her arms.
Nurse Rotunda smiled and closed the baby's file, before placing it on the counter behind her. "Alrighty then. If you'll just remove Isabella's shirt for me, I can begin the examination."
She wheeled herself and the chair across the room to the desk and pulled open one of the drawers. She carefully slipped on a pair of latex gloves before turning back to the mother and child.
Carla was just placing a bare-chested Izzy on the cushioned baby exam table, gently guiding her into the head rest, when Nurse Rotunda scooted over to proceed with the examination.
She squinted down at the suspicious rash, and gently probed at it with her pointer finger, much like Carla had done earlier. "Hmm," She whispered to herself.
"Hmm?" Carla questioned, "What does that mean?"
Nurse Rotunda ignored her. "This is interesting."
She signaled for Carla to take a look at her baby's rash. The mother obeyed and focused her eyes on the blotchy redness.
"Do you see the pattern of the red bumps? It's shaped like a zigzag and runs right along the beltline. Which can only mean one thing -," The nurse trailed off, backing away from the child.
Carla's eyes grew wide. "What does it mean?"
Nurse Rotunda ripped off her gloves and tossed them into the trash. She removed her thick-rimmed glasses and sighed. "Scabies."
"SCABIES?" Carla shrieked. "My daughter has SCABIES?"
"We can't know for sure without a closer look, but the symptoms are all here," The nurse informed her.
"I-I wanna see the doctor," Carla demanded.
Rotunda quickly put her glasses back on. "Absolutely. I'll send him right in," She agreed, before disappearing into the hallway.
J.D. was snoring contentedly and Turk had nearly drifted off when a very frazzled Carla emerged from the back hallway.
Turk jumped up from his comfortable seat and hurried over to her. "What is it, baby? What's wrong with Izzy?"
She was breathing heavily as she tried to explain to her husband what was going on. "Scabies," Was all she was able to mutter before breaking down.
He carefully cradled his wife's head in his hands and stroked her hair, trying to comfort her. "They're positive that's what it is?"
"The doctor is in there right now, testing her," Carla answered. "Oh, Turk! I'm so scared!"
Turk pulled away, looking his wife directly in the eyes. "Izzy's going to be just fine. It's just a common bacterial infection that can be easily treated. Don't worry, baby."
Carla's face was streaked with tears. "That's not what I'm worried about!" She protested.
"Then why are you so upset?" Turk asked.
"I'm upset because as we speak, Dr. Buttons is taking a sharp scalpel to the delicate skin on Izzy's belly!" Carla said in between sobs.
"Carla -," Turk began, his voice soothing, "Again, it's just a simple procedure that doctors must perform, sometimes multiple times a day. And in order to correctly diagnose our daughter, they need to take a sample of her skin rash. Izzy's a tough little girl. She'll be fine."
Carla continued to sob. "You think so?"
"Baby, I know so."
J.D. suddenly awoke to the noise and confusion. "Hey, what's going on?" His voice was choked with sleep.
Turk ignored his friend and turned back to his panic-stricken wife. "Now do you wanna go back there with Izzy, or should I?"
Carla wiped a few tears from her eyes and touched her husband's cheek. "I don't think I could bear to see her in pain. I really think you could handle it much better than me. Would you do it?"
Turk grinned, silently thanking God for finally letting him be a part of his daughter's life. "Of course I will."
He turned back to J.D. "Take care of Carla for me, will ya?" And with that, he was off, a father on a mission.
Turk felt totally lost as he ventured throughout the endless hallways. He passed about seven empty exam rooms before he decided that he was going the wrong way.
He was just about to turn around when the faint sound of voices behind a closed door alerted his instincts.
Curious, Turk crept across the hallway and pressed his ear up against the oak door. At first, he couldn't make out any of the words, but immediately recognized the female voice. However, he couldn't exactly remember who that voice belonged to.
"Well, are you absolutely sure this is the correct diagnosis?" The woman asked.
"I suppose I could always take another sample to be sure," The other voice said.
"Fantastic. Why don't you get on that, Doc?" She ordered him.
There was a long pause and then footsteps drawing near.
Turk instantly jumped back, fearing he was about to be caught eavesdropping.
"Very well, Ms. Sullivan. I'll be right back with the results," The doctor announced, before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway.
He eyed Turk suspiciously, but said nothing. After a few seconds of lingering, the doctor spun around on his heel and headed in the direction of the lab.
Once the doctor was out of sight, Turk pushed the door back open and gasped when he saw a familiar person lying on the exam table in a hospital gown and black shades. It was Jordan Sullivan, Dr. Cox's infamous ex-wife.
"Jordan?" Turk closed the door behind him as he stepped into the room.
"Excuse me, sir? I don't believe we've connected on a personal level just yet." Jordan spat.
"Huh?"
"Please call me Ms. Sullivan."
"Jordan, it's me! Chris Turk?"
She gave him a quick once-over and nodded. "Oh, so it is. I'm very sorry – I just had laser eye surgery, and I'm only slowly getting my vision back." Jordan pointed up to her sunglasses.
"So what brings you into my room?" She asked. "I don't suppose there's a big sign on the door that says 'Come on, in!' now is there?"
Turk shook his head. "Forgive my intrusion, but I couldn't help overhearing your conversation with the doctor."
"Yeah, so? I have scabies. What's the big deal?" Jordan wanted to know.
"It's just that – my daughter Izzy was just admitted with a rash, too, and it's been confirmed that she may also have this condition," Turk explained.
"So what? It's a highly contagious infection. She could have picked it up from anywhere."
"I understand that – but don't you find it weird that both you and my daughter have the same skin rash?" Turk asked.
"Not at all."
Turk groaned and took an advancing step toward Jordan. "Let's face it, Jordan. This is WEIRD!"
She tittered, and pushed herself upright on the exam table. "Okay. Let's just pretend that this isn't just coincidence. What does it prove?"
Turk pondered over that for a moment before responding. "It proves that both you AND Izzy must have come into contact with the infection at some point. But the question is, was it from the same source?"
"Who's Izzy?"
"My daughter!"
"Oh – right, right."
"I'm sorry to have bothered you," Turk apologized, "But I must be on my way now.
Jordan rolled her eyes. "Thank God."
The next day at the hospital, Carla sauntered through the ICU, visually checking on each of her assigned patients. She made sure old Mrs. McGrady was still in her bed and that Mr. Oakley was still fast asleep.
By the time she made it back to the nurse's station, she was swarmed by Dr. Cox, Dr. Mickhead, Elliot, and a few others, who all handed her separate files that she was ordered to keep track of. After the majority of the doctors had left, Elliot put her hand on Carla's shoulder.
"What's wrong, Carla? You've seemed so stressed lately. Are you still fretting over Izzy's infection?" She asked.
Carla averted her gaze. "Well, not exactly," She admitted.
"Then what's bothering you?"
She sighed. "I guess I just don't understand how both Izzy AND Jordan contracted the disease. It just doesn't seem so coincidental."
Elliot nodded.
"And the weirder thing is that Jordan couldn't have given it to the baby, because they are never in contact with one another," Carla explained.
"So what you're saying is that someone else might be carrying this infection, and not even know it?" Elliot asked
"Could be."
J.D. suddenly made his first appearance of the morning by sidling up next to his girlfriend and handing her a warm cup of coffee.
She graciously accepted the steaming beverage and gave J.D. a quick peck on the lips.
"Morning, Carla," J.D. greeted her.
She nodded in response and headed off with her paperwork, leaving the happy couple.
Elliot wrapped her hands around J.D.'s neck. "So what brings you into work today? Isn't it your day off?"
J.D. shook his head. "Yesterday was my day off. I have to work today to make up for yesterday," He explained, "But even if I was off, I would still come in just to see you."
She smiled and kissed him again.
J.D. smiled back at her once the kiss had ended.
I wasn't sure if I was imagining it or not, but this time around, I had a feeling that my relationship would Elliot would somehow work out. Even though I had never expected for us to date again, after our previously failed attempts, I was starting to think that this was like my own, personal wake-up call.
Elliot leaned in closer, pressing her breasts against his chest.
After all, here a beautiful woman was, literally 'mushing' her boobs against mine, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of ease. For the past few days, my life was actually starting to make sense. I was already a father, the mother of my son was tolerating me for once, and here I was, about to begin yet another new relationship. And unlike the other times, I couldn't be happier.
J.D. leaned in for another kiss, but Elliot pulled away. "I'm sorry, but I really have to get back to work. I'll meet you for lunch, as usual?"
"Sounds great," J.D. agreed.
As soon as Elliot had left the area, Carla poked her head over the half-wall of the nurse's station. "Hey, Bambi!" She whispered.
J.D. nearly jumped out of his shoes at the sight of her. "How'd you do that?"
Carla grinned and walked around to meet him in the middle of the hallway. "Don't worry about it," She explained, "I let you and Elliot have your lovey-dovey time, and now I need your help."
She grabbed onto his arm and began dragging him down the hallway.
"Now listen very carefully," Carla began, "As the best damn doctor in this dump, I need your expert spying skills to be put to work."
J.D.'s face lit up. "Best damn doctor? Really, Carla?"
"No, not really."
His face fell.
Carla stopped walking and met his eyes. "Look, J.D. – you are just one of MANY talented doctors in this place, okay?"
J.D. frowned. "I don't even make top ten?"
"Oh, alright," She gave in, "You're nine."
He pumped his fist. "Yes!"
Carla narrowed her eyes at him, very impatient.
"Sorry, Carla. I needed a moment," J.D. explained. "Now what's the plan?"
She looked both ways down the hallway before smiling at him devilishly. Then Carla leaned forward to fill him in on the details.
To be continued…
