The excerpt is from my oneshot in this 'verse, My Morning After.

Elliot looked beautiful as she walked down the aisle. Her long white dress suited her perfectly - I was so glad she hadn't let me see it - and Carla'd done a dynamite job on her hair. We were both grinning when she reached me and I couldn't help but think how lucky I was as we said our vows.

I lifted her veil to kiss her, only to find Dr. Cox's murderous expression underneath.

I screamed and jumped back - Carla and Turk caught me. They looked at me confusedly, saying something, but all I could hear was "remember."

Remember, remember, remember.

The walls melted away and the room changed - I was sitting in front of the wedding cake with an empty chair by my side. Only it didn't look like a wedding cake; it was small and chocolate. Everyone I knew was there, except my dad. I asked the cake where he was and it told me he was on a business trip. A business trip, on my wedding day? Well, you can't trust cakes, really.

Then the empty chair started talking.

"Why did you make me do this, JD?" it asked. "I never wanted this. I never wanted you."

"I don't know," I responded. "You're a chair."

"Why did you make me do this?" it repeated. Its expression was downright resentful. For a chair.

"I'm sorry," I tried to say, but my voice sounded far away. The cake started speaking again, but I couldn't hear what it was telling me. If I could just reach out… and grab it…

My eyes opened slowly. That was the third time I'd had that nightmare.

The cake was new.

Dan and Dr. Cox said it would be best if they didn't tell me that… bad thing… I couldn't remember, so I wouldn't get unnecessarily upset. They were right, of course. But it was killing me.

I rolled over to face the other side of the bed. It was completely unruffled because Dr. Cox said he felt like he'd be taking advantage of me. Even after I insisted it was okay, and it was only sleeping, after all. I knew he was only trying to be thoughtful, but when I went to bed alone I couldn't help feeling like… never mind.

I sat up slowly, trying not to jostle my injuries too much. I was about to call out to Dr. Cox for help getting dressed when I heard the murmuring outside the door. I tiptoed to the door, hoping for some answers.

"...damn lucky, really," Dr. Cox was saying. "Believe me, what he's got is a relief after seeing all the blood."

"Pretty bad, huh?" Dan answered, sounding more serious than I'd ever heard him.

"Gotta be honest with ya, Danny, it scared the shit out of me." A cupboard opened and closed, then a drawer.

Dan chuckled. "Johnny does like his pancakes."

Dr. Cox must've been getting out pancake mix. Aww.

Dan started talking again. "Really, when Christopher called, my first thought was that you lovebirds were getting hitched. But I knew it couldn't be, 'cause you never asked my permission."

Dr. Cox scoffed. "If I wasn't busy with your brother's breakfast, you might be running for your life, kid."

"Aw, I'm just joshin' ya. About the permission, anyway."

A low sizzle started to block the conversation and I could barely hear Dr. Cox's response.

"Could you just… mentioning that… pretty sensitive right now… screw things up… soon, hopefully."

Soon! What?

"Well, Coxie, you old sap!" Dan could always be counted on for a loud voice. And if I couldn't hear Dr. Cox talking, at least I could definitely hear him shushing. Any intern could recognize that shush from a mile away.

Figuring I couldn't get much else out of eavesdropping, I opened the door. Dr. Cox turned from the stove and grinned like he'd just won a million dollars.

"Hey, you're up!" Dan exclaimed. "Thought you'd be married to that bed by now." Dr. Cox glared at him and I choked down a giggle.

"Got some pancakes almost ready for you, Princess," Dr. Cox informed me. "How's the brain?"

I shrugged. "Things look a little more familiar now, but that might just be from… existing."

He nodded. "Did you have a nightmare or something? You kept saying 'remember' in your sleep, I could hear it from out here."

"Oh, yeah," I said nonchalantly. "Just a weird dream. I've had it a couple times. Carla and Turk kept chanting it at me." I purposely left out the wedding part.

"You okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Jeez, you'd think the kid can't take care of himself," Dan interjected. Dr. Cox just rolled his eyes and tried to act gruff. He was really softened up.

He flipped a finished pancake onto a plate and handed it to me with a fork. I went to sit at the counter to eat while Dr. Cox and Dan talked about something inconsequential. Dr. Cox kept flicking his eyes at me, but didn't say anything. I must usually be more talkative during breakfast. When I finished, I got up to put my plate in the sink.

"Hey, could you put this over there, too?" Dr. Cox asked, handing me a battered-looking frying pan. I put the plate down and took the pan from him by the cracked rubber handle. What I felt when I grabbed it was like an electric shock.

Dr. Cox was standing there, staring at me. I couldn't decipher his poker face. Couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't tear my eyes from his because I knew somehow that this was not a staring contest I could lose. It must have been for thirty seconds that we stood there, mentally daring each other to make the first move. I knew my pancake was cooking too long, but I was still frozen. Finally he cleared his throat.

"Say, Newbie, I think you're burning there," he said without a hint of emotion.

The clang as the pan hit the floor was my only indication that I'd dropped it.

I barely registered that fact, only able to stare ahead. That one detail from that one morning, after we - what was it? Slept together for the first time, right - that detail kept opening more doors. It didn't all come flooding back like in the movies, more like a trickle. I could remember our first date, sneaking around, him making fun of my "catsuit," but not the movie we saw. I could remember writing in my diary about our first "I love you"s but I couldn't recall the actual event.

It was enough, though.

In the time it took to process that, Perry had crouched down to pick up the pan and was right in front of me. Looking at me, alarmed. Him opening his mouth to speak was all it took to snap me out of it.

"I remember," I breathed. "Not everything. Just some stuff. But that's good, right?"

A blizzard of emotions went across his face - relief, shock, happiness, love - and finally he just grinned at me.

"Of course that's good, Newbie. Jesus, it's like you didn't go through med school at all."

I laced my fingers together behind his neck and tentatively pressed my lips to his. I could tell he was holding back, but I didn't care. It was exactly how I'd imagined it. My new memories hadn't done him justice, and this was a million times more real than our supply closet incident.

I pulled away and opened my eyes. Perry smiled softly at me - I'd had no idea how much I'd missed that - and I suddenly remembered Dan. I turned my head to his seat, but he was gone. Thank God he picked now to learn some tact. Not like when he just showed up at my door to tell me about Dad -

Oh.