Greetings, people of Earth! I finally cranked out the second chapter. There's only one more to go, because I don't want to drag out this story. So why don't you take five minutes of your life to read and review this chapter? It's an excellent way to kill five minutes, if you ask me. Which you didn't, I suppose. So do whatever you want.


Jordan clenched her jaw as hot tears welled in her eyes. Her entire body shook violently as she burst loudly through the unlocked door.

Perry and JD broke apart instantaneously. They threw themselves in opposite directions and stifled their panting, attempting to look as innocent as possible.

JD, of course, was the first to speak. "Hey, Jordan." He had an adolescent tinge to his voice, like a twenty-seven-year-old who had never quite reached the final stages of puberty.

Perry almost smiled, but then Jordan's stormy brown eyes met his own. He could physically feel the guilt pressing down on his chest, could no longer bring sufficient air into his lungs. All he was capable of at that particular moment was blinking, and even that occurred sparingly.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Jordan stood silent. She clenched her jaw and closed her eyes. There weren't many times that this sarcastic, witty woman had been left speechless. But every attempted word stuck firmly in her throat.

With a frightened look glistening in his cerulean eyes, JD got to his feet. He walked cautiously over to Jordan and extended his arms. "Want a hug?" he inquired hopefully.

"Get away from me, Sally," she snapped. A tear dripped off her eyelashes and rolled down her cheek.

JD made his way back to the couch and positioned himself as far away from Perry as humanly possible. The three of them wordlessly remained statue-still for several moments, listening to each other breathe.

Reluctantly, Jordan opened her eyes and cleared her throat. "So this is why you left," she whispered. There was audible pain in her voice, as if someone was severing her vocal cords as she spoke.

Perry held up his hands. "No, Jordan, I swear. I went to the bar, and it just happened. Nothing pre-meditated." He glanced over at JD, who was staring intently at the carpet.

Nodding solemnly, Jordan pursed her lips. She proceeded to the armchair opposite her ex-husband and sat down, clasping her hands firmly together in her lap. "Okay," she whispered.

Jordan had always ignored that nagging voice in the back of her head. The one that nudged her every time Perry pulled a Baby-Gap tee-shirt over his head. The one that whispered in her ear when he avoided her eyes during sex. She had never wanted to acknowledge that voice, but now it was screaming at her. I told you so!

JD crossed his legs and sat up. "Look, I've got an idea. We have to get everything out in the open." He looked over at Jordan and cleared his throat. "Tomorrow I've got the day off. I was going to head over to the beach, get my tan on." Glancing briefly down at his pale forearm, JD continued. "It's gonna be a beautiful day. I'm sure Perry can get someone to cover for him. How about we all get away, have a picnic, and talk… about this?"

Dr. Cox sprung spontaneously to his feet. "No, Newbie. I'm not ditching my patients to make sandcastles and eat cucumber sandwiches. No way, no how." He rested his hands on his hips and stretched his upper lip across his teeth.

Meanwhile, Jordan remained quiet for a moment. As much as she wanted to sprint out of this apartment and never look back, Jordan knew that JD was right. They needed to get everything out in the open. She stood up and sighed heavily. "If you can convince Perry, I'm willing," she deadpanned.

JD resisted the urge to grin like an idiot. He scooted closer to Dr. Cox and peered up at him with doe-eyes. "Come on, please? It'll be fun." He paused for a moment, waiting for Perry to respond. "I'll coordinate the whole thing. All you have to do is come and talk." The older doctor remained statue-still. "We can take separate cars..." JD bribed.

Perry hesitated for a moment. It wasn't until JD's lips parted in a smile that Dr. Cox realized that his own head was subtly bobbing up and down in agreement.

JD stood up. "Okay then. Sherman Beach, ten o' clock sharp." He extended a hand.

Dr. Cox gripped his protégé's fingers and pumped slowly up and down. "I can't believe I'm doing this, Newbie."

JD released his hand and stepped toward the open door, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. He looked over at Jordan, then tipped his chin up in Perry's direction. "See you tomorrow."

Eyelids drooping, Dr. Cox watched JD disappear into the hallway. He walked slowly over to his liquor cabinet, flipped one crystal glass over, and filled it halfway with scotch. Perry hesitated for a moment before glancing over his shoulder at Jordan. "Can I, um… get you anything?" he queried in an uncharacteristically polite tone.

Jordan stood up and shook her head. "No, thanks." She smoothed her navy-blue slacks, made her way to the threshold, and gripped the door handle. "See you tomorrow," she mumbled, then pulled the door closed behind her.

Breathing deeply, Dr. Cox set his glass down on the coffee table. He lowered himself onto the couch and pulled his knees to his chest, whispering a goodbye to the empty air.


Yes, that's it. But I promise, Chapter 3 is going to be one helluva day at the beach. So stay tuned. Oh, and a nice ten-second trip to ReviewThisStoryLand probably wouldn't hurt, either.

~JD