Title: My Bus Stop Gal Pal
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Warnings: N/A.
A/N: Written for impromptu50. Part 2/3. The blocks of text that are in italics are flashbacks to the time gap that occurs between the first and second chapters.
Summary: Waiting is the hardest part.
The sun was setting. JD watched it through the window.
Dr. Cox entered the break room and dropped unceremoniously next to JD. He leaned back against the couch and covered his face with his hands. JD asked, " -
"Don't."
JD stared at the man. "I didn't even -"
"Just . . . Don't."
JD sighed and leaned away from Dr. Cox, placing his weight on the armrest. He cupped his chin in his hand and stared out the window at the rapidly darkening sky. He heard Dr. Cox drop his hands from his face into his lap. Otherwise the man made no sound.
There had been complications. That's what the attending OB/GYN had told him. Because the amniotic sac had been ruptured by the force of the contractions they had decided to go ahead and deliver the baby. When its heartbeat had suddenly gone tacky they discovered the umbilical cord had been wrapped around its throat.
Well, JD thought, it could be worse.
"Okay, look, just don't panic!"
Julianne stared down at JD. "JD," she said, "stop shouting."
"Right," he nodded. "I'm sorry."
The bus driver leaned over in his seat and stared at the couple on the bench. "You guys coming or what?"
JD whipped around to face the man. "Excuse me, sir, I'm attending to a woman in labor here!"
"I thought you said I wasn't in labor!" Julianne cried.
JD turned back to his friend. "Look, this is no time to panic!"
JD slouched down and rested his head against the back of the couch, turning his eyes up towards the ceiling. Dr. Cox sighed. "Rough day."
JD sat up a little and turned to the other man, eager to spark conversation. "Yeah, it has been," he murmured.
Dr. Cox growled and eyed the boy in the fading light. "I wasn't talking to you."
JD took a moment to discreetly glance about the empty room. "But I'm the only one here."
"No," Dr. Cox corrected. "I'm the only one here. I'm busy imagining you don't exist."
JD frowned and leaned back against the couch, mimicking Dr. Cox's relaxed posture. "Just as well."
"Weren't you going to call an ambulance?"
JD shot a final glance at the bus as it drove down the road. "What?"
"The ambulance," Julianne said. "You said you were going to call an ambulance!"
"Oh!" JD looked down at the cell phone in his hand. "Right!"
"God," Julianne griped, her voice cracking with worry and barely restrained fear. "I thought you were a doctor!"
"I am a doctor," JD stated, his voice hitting a higher pitch than he normally used. "Just not this kind of doctor."
"Oh, God," Julianne moaned. She began to cry. "This isn't happening. I'm not ready . . ."
JD reached up and grabbed her hands. "Everything is going to be fine, alright? You're going to be fine, your baby is going to be fine . . . Trust me?"
She watched him through her tears. With a soft sniffle, she nodded.
"You're going to make a wonderful mother," he said. "Anyone who looks at you would know that."
"Really?" she asked, her voice trembling.
JD nodded as he lifted the phone to his ear.
"You came in with the pregnant woman?" Dr. Cox asked. "Move." JD stood up and moved to the smaller couch as Dr. Cox swung his legs up into JD's vacated seat. Lying back, he draped an arm across his eyes.
JD sat down, careful to avoid the loose spring sticking up through the cushion. "I thought you were pretending I don't exist."
"I am. But listening to your voice helps me fall asleep."
JD chose to ignore that particular comment. He figured there would be others later for him to analyze and dissect for their various non-hate filled components. "Yeah," JD said. "She went into labor at the bus stop. I'm worried about her. They sent her in for an emergency cesarean section almost forty minutes ago and I haven't heard back from the nurse yet."
"Well, I'm gonna take a wild shot in the dark here," Dr. Cox mumbled, "but I'm guessing she's probably a little busy right now. Don't get your panties in a twist."
"She was only thirty weeks along. What if -"
"No no no, Newbie. No 'what if-ing'," Dr. Cox stated. He propped himself up on his elbows and stared across the darkening room at JD. "Look," he said. "Things will always go wrong, whether it happens now or later. There's nothing you can do about it. You just accept the problem as it comes, deal with it when it does, and thank your lucky stars when you get a reprieve. But no what if's. They're a pointless waste of time and energy."
"What if there's something wrong with my baby?" Julianne asked. She lay across the bench seat, her head resting on a pillow fashioned out of JD's back pack and extra set of scrubs. JD sat on the ground beside her. He held one of her small hands in his. The other was stroking the hair back from her forehead.
"I mean," she continued, "it's so early. I've got more than two months to go. What if he's not finished developing? What if her hands are still stubby little clubs? What if . . . " Her voice dropped off as the tears began again.
JD gently brushed them away, but said nothing. He was out of his element. He didn't know how to answer her questions because they were the same he had been mulling over only moments before. "The ambulance will be here soon," JD said softly, brushing aside another deviant tear that dared slip from her eye.
"I wish Gary was here," she cried. "He should have come home. The moment I told him about this he should have come home. What if something happens and he's not here?"
JD brushed away another tear. "Just hang on," he whispered. He could hear the sirens approaching.
"She was going to see her doctor today," JD said, imagining the irony if the baby had waited only an hour to begin its shenanigans.
"Mmm," Dr. Cox murmured.
"You know," JD continued, "she never found out the sex. She wanted it to be a surprise. I'm kind of excited to see what it turns out to be. I'm hoping for a boy. Those anchor booties were killer."
"Mmm."
JD stared at the older man stretched out before him. "Does my voice really help you sleep?" Dr. Cox didn't reply.
JD waited. Still nothing.
"Dr. Cox?" Dr. Cox started, and opened his eyes.
"What's that? Oh," he said, shaking his head. "Sorry there Newbie. Must have dozed off for a second." JD smirked as the other man lay back down and closed his eyes. He should have expected that.
An older woman dressed in pink and purple scrubs stepped into the break room. Her eyes searched out JD in the dim lighting. JD immediately jumped to attention. "Is she okay?" he asked.
The nurse stated, "It was a little touch and go there for a while, but she's resting now. Her boy is in the NICU." She waited for JD's response.
JD couldn't help it. Grim as those words were, they brought a smile to his face. "It's okay?" he asked. "The baby is okay?" The nurse nodded in the affirmative. "Alright," he murmured. Then with a surge of renewed energy, he leapt to his feet. "I knew it!" he shouted.
"For the love of God, people!" Dr. Cox shouted back, sitting up and glaring daggers at JD. "I am trying to sleep here. Now either sit down and talk like a normal person or get the hell out of here!" The nurse, not having realized there was another person in the room, turned tail and fled. JD continued standing, his grin lighting the dark room. Dr. Cox groaned and flopped back down.
Quickly, JD grabbed his bag and followed the nurse into the hall. He needed to know what room Julianne was in so he could personally give her the good news.
Well, the story ended happily. Oh, no wait - I've got one more chapter left. :)
A/N2: Feedback is appreciated!