My Warrior Angel
Disclaimer:
As always, I own nothing but Britny Cox. Scrubs and all its affiliated characters, etc, do not belong to me.
Rating:
T
Genre:
Romance/Hurt/Comfort (with of course a touch of angst)
Pairing:
JDox (JD/Cox)
[Past]JDOC (JD/Michael)
Lyrics Used:
Jennifer Lopez "Alive"
Author's Note:
I'm putting my own personal touch on this fic and honoring my best friend by incorporating the story of her death into this story. The picture Britny shows JD can be found here:
facebook{dot}com{slash}annielevin21
click on photos
find the album labeled "Brittany Linton"
Alive
I guess I've found my way
It's simple when it's right
Feeling lucky just to be here, tonight
And happy just to be me
And be alive
JD's POV
The drive felt like it took forever. It was...not entirely uncomfortably silent. Dr. Cox's face was...unreadable. It was like a storm of emotions was washing over him. From what I could tell, I saw a cocktail of guilt, concern, fear, anger and...something else I couldn't quite figure out. The woman with him had an equally stoic expression on her face. I noticed she also looked a lot like Dr. Cox. I wonder if they're related? I don't know. Her face looked like she could instill the fear of God in somebody if she really wanted to, but, I got a sense that she was on my side. So, I wasn't too concerned. Finally, after what felt like forever, we pulled up in front of a modest looking apartment building. The woman shut the car off and I watched her get out of the car. As soon as she had gotten out, she and Dr. Cox helped me out, as well. Still without saying a word, she lead myself and Dr. Cox up to a maroon colored door with the number 2110 printed on a sign above it. Inserting the key, she turned the lock and opened the door which revealed a white carpeted staircase. Before I could register what was happening, Dr. Cox had draped my right arm across his shoulder and wrapped his own left arm around the small of my back, allowing me to lean on him. I gave him a brief appreciative glance and gripped the railing in my left hand to use as additional support. Once we reached the top of the stairs, Dr. Cox lead me into a small living room and sat me down on a plain black sofa while the woman broke off into the even smaller kitchen. I watched as she opened the freezer and filled a Ziploc bag with a couple of ice cubes as-what I can only assume was-a make-shift ice pack when she wrapped it up in a paper towel before handing it to me. After situating me with my ice pack, she sighed softly as she sat down next to me on the sofa.
"So, you're probably wondering what the hell's goin' on here? Am I right?" She asked, half-jokingly as she turned to look at me, resting her head on her hand and elbow on the back of the couch.
"What, this?" I asked waving my hand back forth between her and Dr. Cox. "Nah. My co-workers are always bringing strange women to kidnap me from my apartment." I tried to joke the tension away. But, one look between her and Dr. Cox and I could tell it wasn't working.
"Newbie, Britny's trying to be serious here." Dr. Cox's voice was firm and yet gentle all at the same time. It was strange. I wasn't used to seeing this kind of emotional display from my mentor. It was...different. It wasn't unnerving but it definitely would take some getting used to.
"JD." The woman Dr. Cox referred to as Britny addressed me gently. I was a little startled, to say the least, to hear her use my name. Who was this woman and how the hell does she know my name? "Look, I know you must have a million questions for myself and Perry, and, I promise to do the best that I can to help answer at least some of them. First of all, my name is Britny Cox. Perry, here-" She paused briefly to indicate Dr. Cox. "is my brother. He came by here, earlier, this evening to ask for my help."
"'Your help'?" I ask, more than a little confused. "What exactly did he need your help with?" The question immediately sounds rude and offensive so I ammend it. "If you don't mind my asking."
"JD..." I turned to Dr. Cox. The tone of his voice startled me. It was a tone I had never heard him use before. It was...firm. But, it was also kind and...concerned? What was he worried about. "I gotta be honest. I don't know if everyone at the hospital knew-though, if they didn't I'd almost be willing to bet they'd gone completely blind-but, Carla and I for sure could tell what...Michael was doing to you." That was new. I could hear the venom dripping from Dr. Cox's voice when he mentioned Michael's name. But, I can't say I was so surprised to learn Carla had figured it out. I knew I couldn't hide from her for long. Though, I was quite surprised to learn that Dr. Cox had put the pieces together. Honestly, I never thought he ever really paid that much attention to me. "We couldn't-more specifically, I-couldn't let him keep...doing those things to you." Wow, that statement really surprised me. I never knew Dr. Cox actually cared that much.
"That's why he came to me." I turned back to face Britny. "He knew I had a...unique perspective on this type of situation." I was lost. But, then, I watched as Britny stood up off the couch and moved over to the fireplace where she removed a picture from the mantle. After staring at the picture for a moment, stroking it with her fingertip, she returned to the couch and handed the picture to me. "You see that girl?" She asked me, pointing to a tall young woman-about sixteen or seventeen, I'd guess-wearing a black top with some rock band (I'd never heard of them) logo on the front and white denim pants with long brown and blonde hair. She was actually very pretty. Very slighlty heavy, but, it actually looked good on her. Though, I have to admit, she would look even prettier without the eyebrow ring. I could tell the uniformed young woman was clearly a young version of Britny. To be honest, the two young women looked a lot like sisters. I wondered briefly if they were. "Her name was, ironically enough, Brittany, too. Brittany Linton. She was my best friend." Britny's tone was somewhat wistful.
"'Was'?" I wondered, curiously. I wondered why Britny spoke about this girl in the past. What had happened between them? "What happened? Did you guys have a fight?" I wasn't sure if that had been a good question to ask or not, but, I really was just curious.
Britny chuckled softly. Was it something I said? "No. God, if only it were that simple." She sighed lightly before continuing. "No, see...When we were in high school, she got involved with this...asswipe...Zachary McGowen. God! I'll never forget that name as long as I live." I could already tell this was a sore subject for her. "Look, while we were in high school, Brittany and I were inseperable." Britny started. "But, as soon as we graduated, he talked her into moving in with him. Once they moved in together...it was like she had completely dropped off the face of the Earth. She didn't answer calls...texts...emails...voicemails...Hell, I even tried getting in touch with her on MySpace to no avail. Finally, it got to a point where my dad and I went to go talk to Brittany's dad, Phillip, and even he didn't know how to get in touch with her." Wow...That surprised me. What kind of asshole takes a young woman like that away from her father? "I'm ashamed to say that was where my dad and I gave up." Britny hung her head in shame like she felt guilty of some wrong-doing of her own. When she looked back up at me, I could see a few stray tears streaming down her face. When she spoke again, her voice was thick with emotion. "A couple years later.." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes before composing herself to continue. "My dad was up early getting ready for work and listening to the news on the radio. They were revealing the names of a young couple that had been killed in a murder-suicide on the south side of town." That was when I saw all of Britny's walls completely crumble to the ground. The tears streamed freely and her voice broke entirely as she added "JD...he KILLED HER!" I watched as Perry looked down at his lap, knowing that there was nothing he could do to placate his sister. "He waited until she fell asleep and he put a fucking BULLET in her head!" I was almost terrified when she jumped off the couch. "And do you KNOW what he DID after he killed her? DO YOU? Well, I'll tell you...He took the coward's way out and blew his own fucking brains out!" That was when Dr. Cox rose from the couch and grabbed Britny by her upper arms. "I'm fine-I'm fine!" She insisted. Dr. Cox finally released her after she took a deep breath and calmed herself. With a deep breath, Britny and Dr. Cox rejoined me on the couch. "Look, JD...The point is, after I learned of Brittany's death, I swore to myself that if I could just prevent...even...one person-just one-from going through what Brittany went through...Then...Well, then, Brittany's death wouldn't have been in vein."
After Britny's story, the room fell silent. I took in everything she was telling me. Deep down, I knew that what happened to that Brittany could easily have happened to me. Hell, it probably would have had Britny and Dr. Cox not intervened when they did. I was really grateful to both of them, I really was. "Look, Britny...I just wanna say that I truly do appreciate everything you-and Dr. Cox-have done for me. I truly do believe you two have saved my life. I really do." And, I absolutely meant every word that I was saying. "But, I just have one question."
"Of course, sweetie." Britny really did remind me a lot of Carla. She was sweet and oddly mothering even though she looked a fair amount younger than Dr. Cox. "What's on your mind?" She asked.
"Well, I think we can all agree that I can't go back to...that place." I watched as Dr. cox and Britny nodded their agreement. "So...my question is...Where exactly am I supposed to go?" I asked. I didn't want to sound ungrateful or selfish but it did concern me. Where was I supposed to go?
"Well, obviously you can't stay with any of your friends from the hospital." Britny started, as if it were obvious. Watching as she looked from me to Dr. Cox, I could tell that I wasn't the only one concerned by her remark. "Look, I'm not trying to cut you off from everyone. All I'm saying is that that bastard knows where all your friends and colleagues live." Now, I think I see where she's coming from. "He could easily find you at any one of their places. It would be way too simple for him to track you down and take you right back to square one." Once she said it, it seemed incredibly obvious. I knew she was right. AS I tuend to look at Dr. Cox, I could see he knew it, too. "You need to find a place to stay that he doesn't know about. You need to stay with someone he's never met and doesn't know anything about, where he won't be able to track you down." I thought about that. This wasn't going to be easy. I couldn't think of anyone Michael didn't know about where I could hide. Then, I noticed Britny and Dr. Cox share a knowing look like they knew something I didn't.
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin', Brit?" Dr. Cox asked. I looked from back to Britny and back again. What was this big secret they weren't letting me in on?
"Way ahead a ya." She replied with a knowing smile and a wink before turning back to me. "JD, you're more than welcome to stay here as long as you need to to find another place of your own." She replied, smiling a warm and comforting smile. I couldn't believe she was just opening up her home to me. Me. A person she had just met. She didn't even know me yet she was still willing to let me stay with her.
"Britny, that's incredibly generous of you." I replied. I sincerely appreciated the generosity of Britny's offer. "But, I don't want to impose." I couldn't just invade her apartment like that. I just wouldn't feel right.
"Nonsense." She replied dismissively. "You're not imposing at all. I've got a spare bedroom with your name on it." She explained. I still didn't feel right just coming to live with her, even on a temporary basis. "You are always welcome to stay with me. Hell, you're practically family." Her smile really was comforting and even inviting.
"Really?" I asked. I couldn't believe she would say that about me. I was really very touched by the sentiment.
"Of course." She replied. "JD, you are important to my brother." That statement surprised. I'm important to Dr. Cox. That didn't make any sense. Then, again, it didn't make any more sense for him and his sister to have come to my rescue, this evening either. Nothing about this entire situation made any semblance of sense at all. I looked back at Dr. Cox who seemed to be blushing ever so slightly. Weird... "That, in turn, makes you important to me." She added. "So, of course, you will always be welcome, here."
"Okay..." I began slowly, not entirely sure of myself. But, then again, I don't really see how I have any other options. "Okay, well...Thank you, so much, again. I really can't tell you how much it means to me-everything you and Dr. Cox have done for me."
"Anytime, JD." Dr. Cox replied, gently patting my knee. For an instant, I could have sworn he actually...caressed it? I don't know. Maybe I'm just way more tired than I originally thought. I don't know. But, I appreciate the softer gentler side of Dr. Cox.
"Absolutely, JD." Britny smiled. "Perry and I are just glad to see that you're...for the most part okay." I think this could be the first step down the road to a much better place than where I was before. With Britny and Dr. Cox in my corner, I finally felt safe for the first time in a long time.