AN: Loving the love! You guys are great. Thanks for the suggestions, but to be honest, I have no idea where this story is going. I write as it comes to me. Write and run it's what I do. In other news updates may be a little longer in between, as I am now planning a wedding. Even though I've been married for 3 years, the hubby and I never had an actual wedding. So on our four year anniversary we will be renewing our vows, having a love fest, professing our undying emotion in front of a lot of witnesses, eh however you want to put it. It won't be weeks between updates or anything, but maybe a few more days in between.

So, read on, enjoy, and hopefully you will get your fix of JDA, at least for today.

Chapter 3

Perry woke up a few hours later and looked around. "Newbie?" He questioned into the blissful silence of his apartment. "Newbie are ya here?" Again nothing, so he gave a sharp whistle. "Yo, Anita, my leg is throbbing and the bandage needs to be changed." The comforting silence tightened his chest in hope.

He pulled himself up and grabbed his crutches. It was only noon, but hey it was five o'clock somewhere. He hobbled over to his bar and poured a drink. Just as the glass touched his lips his front door opened.

"Hey there temporary roomy!" JD walked in carrying a brown paper bag. "Thought you would be hungry so I went out and picked up some tacos."

Perry groaned and finished his drink in one gulp. Smacking his lips he said, "Yeah, not really hungry there, Chloe, but thanks for the thought." He poured another drink and headed back to the couch. Grabbing the remote he turned on a Red Wings game. They were ten minutes into the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers, so he settled in for the onslaught.

He didn't noticed JD's slight frown before the kid put a smile on his face and sat down next to him. "No problem." He pulled a taco out of the bag and started to eat. "How's your leg feeling?"

Perry pulled moved his robe and lifted the his boxers up a little. "Needs to be changed, and since I'm in the middle of a game, you wouldn't mind getting the necessary provisions there, would ya Patrice?"

JD held the taco half way to his lips. "Yeah, no problem B...err Perry." He put the taco on the table and headed for the bathroom.

His heart was sinking and for the life of him, he couldn't understand why. His mentor was the same ol' mentor he'd always had. Tough love and all that good jazz, but something felt different. JD found himself alone more often than not. At least when he was off.

Turk was married to Carla and they had a beautiful baby girl. Elliot was dating Keith. Dan was up to his usual antics, living in his moms attic and such. JD had almost made things good again with his dad, but Sam Dorian had died before things had truly gotten anywhere. JD didn't blame his dad, not really. It was just his luck. At the end of every day he acted like he was okay with the way things were, but in reality he was the one alone. He was the one trying to figure things out by himself when everyone else had someone to go to.

Turk was still his best friend. The brother he wished Dan could be. The family he'd had since college. They were still close, but things weren't the same. JD was used to things not being the same, especially growing up with so many different step fathers in his life. It was disorienting and never safe and in the end he always wound up hiding in his room for hours on end.

That's what JD had been doing lately. Hiding in his own apartment, not going out. Things were familiar. The furniture didn't move unless he moved it. It was his choice when things changed in his apartment. Well for the most part. He couldn't stop a leak from happening, but he could fix it. He had some sort of control. Unlike his life.

He went back to Perry and changed the bandage, still lost in thought. Perry had his eyes glued to the TV barely noticing what JD was doing.

"All finished," The younger doctor said with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks," Perry replied half heartedly. "Oh come on!" He griped. "That was so not hooking!" He slammed his drink on the table.

"So not hooking!" JD mimicked, throwing his hand out for exaggeration. He got a sidelong glance from Perry and gave an embarrassed smirk.

The whistle blew and the first period was over. Perry leaned back in his seat and threw his arm on the back of the couch.

JD clasped his hands together. Despite how much he adored his mentor and was quick to be able to come up with something, he found himself having a hard time thinking of conversation topics. "So do you need anything?"

"Besides you leaving me alone?" He shook his head slowly. "Nooo, really that's all I need. So if you have some weekend errands to run don't let the door hit ya where..." He glanced behind JD. "Well you don't really have an ass, so just don't let the door hit ya."

"No, no, I don't have anything to do." He pursed his lips and looked back at the TV. It was the truth. JD had volunteered and while part of it was that he always wanted quality time with his mentor, the other part was because he had absolutely no social life to speak of anymore. He hung out with his friends on occasion outside of the hospital, but most nights he was alone.

Perry started to look back at the TV, but stopped when he noticed something. The kids eyes had dark bags and were slightly puffy. "You know you might want to look into some Preparation H, Dorothy."

"Ha, you're funny." JD replied with a half smile.

"Seriously Newbie have you been getting any sleep?" He held up his hand before JD could talk. "And I'm not asking because I'm worried or being sentimental, but because if you're not getting any sleep than the patients are the ones who suffer and if you kill anyone, well let's face it I'm going to be frowned upon more than I already am, and then I would have to make what's left of your life, well miserable, and while that might be extremely entertaining, I would lose time with my kids and I like my kids, Newbie."

JD kept quiet for a moment. He hadn't been sleeping well, but he never expected his mentor to notice. Even after he fell asleep earlier he only got about fifteen minutes before he jerked awake and went out to get food. It wasn't unusual for him. An old past time as a kid, but after he'd gone to college and found a new crowd, after he'd found Turk really, things had changed and he found himself sleeping through the night for the first time in a long time.

"Pshaw," JD mocked. "Sleep and I, we're good buddies. We've been getting along great lately."

Perry crossed his arms over his chest. "Really, than you're pillows must be made out of rocks so that when you're sleeping on your girly belly they press into your eyes and leave dark bruises underneath."

"Look, I told you I'm sleeping so get off my case, all right?" JD snapped. He picked up his taco and took another bite.

Perry stared at his protégé for a moment. The kid rarely snapped, and usually when he did, JD was either really hurting, or really didn't want to talk about something. Every so often it was both.

Perry felt the nagging pang of guilt settle into his chest. Groaning he rolled his eyes. "Look, I don't know if you're PMS'ing because it's that time of the month, but you did..." Suddenly his mouth was very dry.

JD smiled and talked through a mouthful of taco. "Save your life, I know so cool right!"

"No, no," He said shaking his head vigorously. "You did not save my life. You just...postponed my death."

Swallowing his food the younger doctor's smile turned into a full blown cheesing grin. "So, by postponing your death, I..."

There was no way in hell Perry was ever going to say it out loud. Nope, just not going to happen. "You infected me with your feminine DNA which can be the o-ho-nly reason I'm even going to ask you this question, because Newbie, I'm just not a sappy bastard. It goes against everything I believe in, and yet, I'm still going to give you this once in a life time opportunity to tell me about your..." He shuddered. "Feelings."

JD balled up the empty taco wrapper and threw it in the bag. "Look, thanks for the concern, but I'm fine." He gave his mentor a false smile. "You just have to put up with me until Monday when Jordan gets back. I give you back to her intact, I leave, and our lives go back to normal."

Perry raised an eyebrow. "How can it be that something rational just came out of your mouth? You John Sally Rosita Michelle Angela Dorian's mouth? Please tell me that they did not put my blood in your body because," He grabbed his stomach. "I think I may just have to be sick."

"I like how you incorporated all the girls names in there," JD replied his anger starting to bubble again. "And no, you don't have to worry. You got my less than manly blood, but I didn't get any of your superior Perry Cox blood." Standing up he grabbed the bag and started for the kitchen.

"Sherry, darling the tampons are in the bathroom!" He called after him. "Oh and there's some midol in the medicine cabinet, you might want to take some for the rapid mood swings you're having!" JD continued into the kitchen and Perry wiped his face. "Damnit, I still can't stop."

He realized something was eating at JD, but the kid wasn't talking. Normally you didn't have to pry anything out of Newbie. He just talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and it was as annoying as the last part of this sentence. It didn't really matter if you wanted to hear it or not, because he would still tell you. So what the hell had happened in the last few days that had made the kid so damn touchy?

TBC

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