elmo-doodle: Didn't leave you waiting for too long this time, did I? =) I'm finally settled down enough to start updating again, but the updates will be spontaneous-- don't think I could manage to keep to an update scheduele this year, too much to focus on at the one time . Anyway, enjoy chapter three! I made it for you!

DISLCAIMER: hahahahahah *starts coughing* esh, flu. Anyway, Scrubs isn't mine =[ The puppy is, though! =]

Chapter Three

The next morning, JD woke up to the sound of barking in his apartment. He frowned as he pushed himself out of bed. He pulled a hoodie on so that he wasn't top naked and made sure his pyjama bottoms weren't falling off him as he walked out in to the living room. What he saw there almost made him laugh.

Turk was there, standing against the front door, looking down in confusion as the puppy barked, growled and pulled at his trouser leg.

JD whistled to catch the puppy's attention. "Here, boy!" he called, and the puppy confusedly scampered over to JD. "It's okay," he said to the animal. "He's a friend." The puppy looked between his new master and the person who just walked in. He went back over to Turk, sniffed his leg for a moment and then began to bark and gallop playfully about the man's feet.

"Dude," Turk said, giving JD the biggest look of confusion he had ever seen. "When did you get a dog?"

"Last night," JD said, walking in to his kitchen. "I saw him outside the building where those thugs from the hospital were hiding. I overheard one of the men saying that he was going to be used as a drug-mule, and the pup did help me by distracting one of the idiots who was going to shoot me."

"So you brought him home with you?"

"I checked him over last night," JD continued as he went about making some coffee. "There's no trace of the thugs putting anything toxic in to him, and he doesn't have a microchip. Plus, he's very intelligent."

The puppy barked as if to prove his point.

Turk looked thoughtful and then shrugged. "Okay, fair enough. Have you named him yet?"

"Turk, I haven't even had him for 24hours and you expect me to have given him a name?"

"I was just saying, dude," Turk said. "You'll want to give him a name soon or else he'll think his name is 'boy' or 'pup'."

"Good point," JD said, turning around and leaning against the counter. He looked down at the puppy who looked back up at him. "I'll need to name him something original, and something that fits his personality."

"Well, we both know that Rowdy is out of the question."

"Totally," JD agreed. "I dunno. There's no name that I can think of that suits him."

"Well," Turk said, thoughtfully, "what did he do last night that caught your attention?"

"Lots of things," JD said, thinking back to the previous night. "He showed me how to get in to the thug's hide-out without being detected... and when I was lying on the floor, he just seemed to swoop in like an eagle and attack the thug's trouser leg without us noticing..."

Turk clicked his fingers. "How about that?"

"What?" JD asked, frowning.

"Eagle," Turk said. JD looked thoughtful before nodding. Even the puppy tilted his head to the side. "It's original," Turk continued, "and it commemorates the moment he 'swooped' in and saved you."

"Yeah, I like it," JD said, grinning. "What about you, pup?" he said, crouching down and looking at the puppy. "You like the name, Eagle?" The puppy barked and bounded towards JD. "Alright, that's that settled," he said as the puppy, Eagle, licked his hand. "Eagle it is."

Eagle barked.

**

Three days later, JD was convinced that Eagle wasn't an ordinary dog. He was very intelligent for a puppy, and he also seemed to be very empathic towards JD's moods. He got Eagle a red collar and leash, but soon found that he didn't need the latter. Eagle wasn't too keen about straying far from JD's side. So, it was on JD's next day off work that he took Eagle to the park.

"Fetch!" JD said as he threw the ball across the park. Eagle barked happily and bounded after it, tumbling over the ball when he didn't stop in time. JD had to laugh as Eagle struggled getting the tennis ball into his mouth, gave up, and settled for nudging the ball back towards his master.

"Don't worry," JD said when Eagle was back in front of him. "You'll get it someday."

"Well, well, well, Newbie, isn't this a pleasant surprise?"

JD yelped in surprise at the voice behind him. Why is he the only one who I can't sense with my awareness? JD asked himself, not for the first time. He spun around to face his mentor standing behind him, dressed in casual clothes. "Doctor Cox!"

"Fantastic diagnosis there, GI Jane, although I gotta say-- I'm surprised you have even half a social life outside of Sacred Hell," Perry said. "I thought you were working today," he added.

"What, so now you know my schedule?" JD asked, at which Perry rolled his eyes. "Elliot and I swapped shifts, so I thought I'd take my dog to the park."

Perry quirked an eyebrow. "Dog?"

"Yeah, I adopted him after he followed me home one night," JD lied, and Eagle came out from behind his owner to gaze up at Perry with big, puppy-dog eyes.

"So, you finally gave up on finding that guy who was just so right for you, and you settled for spending the rest of your life looking after some animal?" Perry asked. "I was right-- you really have no social life at all."

JD was about to reply when Eagle suddenly started to growl at Perry. He looked down at the puppy in surprise, as did Perry. Eagle was jumping backwards and forwards, growling and barking at the older man. It was obviously meant to be frightening, but JD thought it was cute.

Perry found it amusing. "That's a feisty one, there," Perry admitted, surprised that a little puppy would challenge him. "Can I growl back?"

"What are you doing here?" JD snapped in defence of Eagle.

Perry raised his eyebrows as a voice behind him said, "Daddy! Can I go play on the swings?"

Jack Sullivan came running up to Perry, stopping at his side. "Hiya, Aunt Carol!" Jack chirped when he saw JD. He then looked at Eagle, who had stopped growling. "A puppy!"

"Don't touch that thing, Jack," Perry warned as Jack made a move to pet Eagle. "It's feral." But Eagle barked playfully and bounded towards Jack who giggled as the puppy rolled on to its stomach to be petted.

"Does he fetch?" Jack asked JD, spying the tennis ball nearby.

"Yeah, but he can't carry the ball back," JD said, bending down to Jack's height. "You wanna play with him?"

"Really?" Jack asking, gasping. "Daddy, can I play with..."

"Eagle."

"Can I play with Eagle? Pleeeease?" Jack begged, pouting at Perry.

He tried to resist, but Perry Cox could never deny his son anything. "Fine," he said, sighing. "You can play with the dog, but not for long." Jack cheered and went over to an empty area of the grass, beckoning Eagle over with him. The puppy bounded after Jack and obediently chased after the tennis ball when it was thrown.

"What breed of dog is that?" Perry asked, wanting to say anything to fill the silence.

"He's a Bernese Mountain Dog," JD replied. "I found him abandoned just a few days ago. The vet says he's only about four months."

Perry frowned. "You've only had him a few days, and he's not even on a lead?"

JD shrugged. "Why should he be? He hasn't strayed from my side once and he's pretty intelligent for a dog." The two men watched as Jack bent down and attempted to lift Eagle up, resulting in them both tumbling backwards. "So," JD began, trying to make conversation between them. "Do you have Jack all weekend or just for today?"

"Just today," Perry grunted in reply. "The she-devil is taking him to his grandmother's for the weekend. They're going to be staying there for a while."

JD frowned a little. "You haven't been seeing him much lately, have you?"

Perry sighed. "No. Jordan doesn't bring him by often. Don't know if she's doing it on purpose or not." He stopped there, obviously not wanting to go in any further.

JD felt sorry for Perry. Jack was a great kid, and Perry wasn't seeing him much lately-- Jordan wasn't always prepared to make the journey from her mother's house to Perry's on a weekly basis, so the trips had been narrowed down to once a fortnight, and JD could tell that they were about to get less frequent.

JD decided that he should make an excuse for himself and Eagle to go, so that Perry could spend some time alone with his son. He whistled, and Eagle looked up at JD. "C'mere, Eagle!" JD called out, and the puppy obediently bounded over to him, Jack following close behind.

"Do you have to go now, Aunt Carol?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," JD said, bending down to Jack's height again. "I gotta get a lot of work done for tomorrow. But I promise that you can play with Eagle next time you visit, okay?"

"Okay!" Jack agreed, beaming. JD reached out and ruffled his hair, making Jack giggle. When JD looked up at Perry he saw an odd emotion in his eyes. It wasn't something that he would usually see on Perry-- it looked almost... affectionate?

Stop it, JD told himself, standing up straight. He's probably just watching Jack. "I'll see you at work," JD said to Perry. "You're on tomorrow, right?"

"What, so now you know my schedule, Shirely?" Perry asked, grinning.

JD rolled his eyes. "See ya," he said walking past them. "Come on, Eagle-- home."

Eagle barked and trotted off after JD, but not before stopping to let Jack hug him. The boy giggled when the puppy licked his face, and before Eagle followed JD, he paused to regard Perry and then just walked straight past him.

"You're a weird one," JD said to Eagle once he was trotting alongside him. "You'd make a good partner, though, if you were trained enough... I'll have to think about that one!"

**

"Hey, Elliot, have you got anything planned for your birthday yet?"

Elliot looked up at Carla and smiled. "I was just gonna invite you all around to my place, maybe have dinner and some wine."

Carla nodded. "That sounds great. Ooo, how about I bring a movie?"

Elliot smiled. "Perfect! Also, I--" Elliot was cut off by her pager bleeping. "Frick! I hate these interns!" She turned and did her angry-quick walk on the way to the ICU.

Carla was just getting settled to do some paper work when someone she didn't expect to see turned up at the nurses' station. "Doctor Cox, what are you doing here? Don't you have Jack tonight?"

"Jordan came to pick him up and I got paged by Beelzebub," Perry said, obviously not too happy. "Have you seen Satin?"

Carla shrugged. "Check his office."

Perry nodded and stormed off to Kelso's office, where he entered without even knocking. "This better be good, Bobbo, because you just cost me quality time with my son," he growled, standing in front of Kelso's desk, crossed his arms, and glared at the man.

"Save it for the racket-club, champ," Kelso said, unaffected by Perry's words. "I've got something that will hold your attention for a few days. One of the board member's daughters is sick and they're bringing her here for treatment. I want you to give her your undivided attention and ensure that she is brought back to full health, so that the parent will see it fit to reward the hospital."

"Bob," Perry said, lowly, "you are aware that you are sinking so low that eventually you'll be nothing more than a head that slides around on the floor of this hospital?"

"As long as it gets done," Kelso said, still not looking up at him. "Oh, and you'll be working on this case with Doctor Dorian-- I want this girl to get the best of the best."

"Aw, come on, Bob," Perry complained, uncrossing his arms. "It's bad enough you give me this case but to make me have to work with Newbie?"

"Perry, I haven't got time for this," Kelso said, standing up. "Just be ready to take care of this girl. She will be arriving tomorrow morning."

Perry growled and stormed out of the office, leaving the door open as he left.

**

"Alright, Eagle, I have to go out tonight." Eagle whined as he watched JD tying the mask around his head. "I can't help it, buddy. I haven't been out since I adopted you, and I need to patrol every now and then. I won't be long, okay, pup?" Eagle whined again, but stepped forward to be stroked by JD. "Watch the house while I'm gone."

JD grinned when Eagle barked, and then he left the house through the back door, running out under the cover of the trees that were in the garden. He ran for about five minutes before coming across the back of a building complex. He climbed up the fire escape which took him up to the roof. JD then proceeded to jump from roof to roof, relishing the feeling of soaring through the air, until he landed on top of a building which was near the busiest part of the city. JD sat down on the roof so that he was looking down on the streets and sighed with satisfaction.

I love sitting up on the rooftops, he thought, watching a small crowd of men milling around the streets. It makes me so giddy... it must be the high altitude. JD chuckled and settled himself in to focusing on everything going on around him. He could hear the murmuring voices of the men down on the sidewalk and a few streets away, someone was trying and failing to restart their car.

As much as JD would prefer to tune out his super-hearing, he knew that he wouldn't. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if someone was hurt when he could have prevented it. As if to prove this point, JD caught a few of the words passed between the men down in the street.

"...she's the one. Real nice. Weak, so it'll be easy."

"Cash?"

"In the handbag."

"Let's get her."

JD narrowed his eyes and watched as the three men took off running down the street. JD looked up and saw that the street was on the main road to Sacred Heart. JD rolled his eyes. He seemed never to escape the hospital for long. He stood, then, and stalked the men as they headed down the road.

Another gang assault, JD guessed, frowning. I can never understand how some people can be so cruel.

The men seemed to slow down, and up ahead JD could see a lone woman walking along the sidewalk. JD was right above them at this point, watching the men's every move. The three men were right behind the woman now, and one of them grabbed her, covering her mouth with his hand and dragging her in to an alley. She struggled as best as she could but the three men overpowered her.

"She's pretty," one of them said, running a finger down her face. The woman visibly shuddered. "I want a go first."

Alright, time's up. JD leapt off the rooftop, landing behind the men in a crouch. They turned at the sound of the impact and JD straightened up. "Can I help you?" JD asked, his voice easily slipping an octave lower.

The men looked at each, and then one turned and glared at JD. "You have no business here," he said, his hand going to his belt where JD was certain where a knife was.

"That's funny," JD remarked, "it seems to be my business as to whether or not vicious crimes like this happen. And right now, this one isn't going to happen."

The three men tensed. "You can't stop us all."

JD rolled his eyes. "Don't you know who I am?" He took the whip from his belt and unfurled it with a crack! The men hesitated before all moving at the same time-- the one holding the woman immediately let her go and he drew a knife from his pocket. The other two mirrored his movements, and the one closest to JD took the first lunge.

JD easily dodged and punched him in the jaw, temporarily knocking him to the floor. As he was blocking the second man's attacks, he said to the woman, "Go! Now!" The woman hastily picked herself up from the ground and ran out of the alley and back to her home. JD made sure she was well out of sight before knocking the second man unconscious. The third man looked at his fallen friends and then up at the Masked Knight. He gave JD a nervous smile. JD grinned in response, and then punched him. The third man fell to the ground unconscious.

JD sighed and relaxed his muscles, unaware that the first man was up on his feet, knife held high. As soon as JD sensed the movement he spun around, just at the same time that the man brought his knife towards JD's body. He couldn't dodge quick enough, and the knife slashed along the upper part of JD's left arm. JD quickly kicked the man in the groin. The man fell to his knees and JD brought his leg up, kneeing the man in the chin and knocking him unconscious.

Then JD felt the pain in his arm. He hissed and took a moment to asses himself. The cut was fairly deep, and it was already bleeding quite a bit. He wasn't far from the hospital, and JD knew that he was going to need stitches and that he couldn't do them himself.

Oh well, he thought, exiting the alleyway and running quickly towards the hospital. I'd better get Turk to see to this.

**

Perry scowled as he left the hospital, still angry that Kelso was pawning some patient off on to him just so that the hospital could get a better spending budget. That man sure was an insensitive, selfish bastard. Perry decided he would say that to Kelso, the next time he sees him.

As he passed an alleyway, Perry heard a strange hissing noise, like someone was in pain. Looking in, he saw a figure crouched on the ground and hunched over. The man had his sleeve rolled all the way up and there was a pretty deep cut running along his upper arm. It was bleeding almost heavily.

"That's going to need stitches," Perry said, casually. He had expected the man to jump in surprise from being spoken to.

He didn't even flinch. "I know," the man said in a low voice, nodding.

Perry sighed and stepped in to the alleyway-- he started in surprise when he realised who he was talking to.

The man crouched in front of him was none other than the Masked Knight. Perry had never seen the man in the flesh before, but it was easy to tell who it was-- the cape and the whip were a bit of a give-away.

"The hospital isn't far from here," Perry said once he got over his initial shock.

The Knight shook his head. "I can't admit myself," he said, standing up from his crouch. "Secret identity and all that-- I wouldn't be able to give them medical details and such."

"You can't just leave it, either," Perry stated, scowling. The Knight opened his mouth but then closed it again. Perry rolled his eyes. "Come on," he said, as if what he was about to do was going to strain him. "I'll patch you up at my place."

"Sir, I really don't--"

"Look," Perry said in a tone that indicated that there was to be no arguing, "if that stays open for much longer it'll probably get infected, and then you won't have an arm to use for flying about the place and rescuing cats from trees."

The Knight sighed. "Fine, but I'm travelling by roof."

Perry rolled his eyes again. "As you wish, Batman."

elmo-doodle: I know it's shorter than the last chapter -_-; but sometimes I feel like I just start rambling when I try to make the chapters longer. Anyway, the plot thickens... Please review! I have cookies and Baileys sitting nearby me for all kind reviewers!