I've actually nearly finished writing this story, although I do still have quite several chapters to put up. I'm glad people still like it.

I watched from a distance as JD made his goodbyes to his friends. All four of them looked like they were about to cry or something. For a tiny moment, I desperately wanted to be there with them. Not the hugging or the crying, but to be in a position where it was really appropriate for me to say goodbye and wish him luck. But it just wasn't something that I could do, especially not in front of people. I was about to walk away when I saw him looking over at me. I saw him say something to his friends and then jog towards me.

"What say you, Newbie." I greeted him in my usual way.

"Hey. Look, uh… I just wanted to say that it's been great working with you for the last three years." I knew what I should say. I should agree with him, tell him that he wasn't that bad really, shake his hand. I opened my mouth, still mentally preparing myself for what I was about to do-

"So what got your brother?" What?!

"What?!" He frowned.

"Uh…" Dammit! Why the Hell had I said that? God, I really was useless. "I was just…well you never said why he…so I thought…" He looked at me weirdly.

"Ok…" He cleared his throat. "Well if you want to know…There was a fight in the bar he worked in. He went into break it up and.. Well, one of the guys had a knife, so..." I frowned.

"Did they get him?""

"What?"

"The guy who with the knife. Have they got him yet?""

"Oh. No. It's... It's not really that uncommon where they...where I used to live. The police just aren't...I don't know, interested? They don't really ever bother looking into it." This really wasn't the direction I'd had in mind for the conversation. I really had no idea why I'd asked about this anyway. All I could think was that I wanted to know the details of why he was leaving. Why, though, I didn't know.

I really did need to say something else now, preferably something that I'd planned on saying earlier.

"So, look, Newbie-"

"Bambi!" Carla appeared at his side and put an arm around his waist. "You… You need to leave now if you're going to get there in time." He nodded.

"I guess I'll see you around." Then he turned and went with Carla for one last tear-filled goodbye with the others, before finally leaving the hospital.


I knocked on the door in front of me, thanking God that interns everywhere were frightened of me. Getting this address from that intern (I thought he was called Graham) had been too easy. If I'd been into utilizing overused and clichéd phrases, I might have described it as being like taking candy from a baby. Thank the lord I never talked like that. It would be Hell.

I took a step back and looked at the house. It was spread over three floors and was actually surprisingly ugly, though I guessed the neighbourhood didn't do much for it. The whole place looked rough, unexpectedly so, and I wondered if this was where JD had grown up. If so, his childhood had been very different to how I'd imagined.

The door opened and a middle aged woman came into view.

"Mrs. Dorian?" I asked.

"Can I help you?" She asked. There was a slight waver in her voice as if she was nervous.

"I was wondering, does John Dorian live here?" You couldn't always trust interns. It was best to check these things. There was an almost unnoticeable change from nervous to what I thought was relief on her face.

"Yes, but he's not in right now. I'll tell him you came." She made to shut the door, but I stepped forward and put a hand on the wood, effectively stopping her.

"Actually, it was you I came here to see." She froze.

"Oh. Well, er… Excuse me, but who are you?"

"My name's Dr. Cox. I worked at JD's old hospital?"

"I remember him mentioning you." She moved to the side "Come in then." I walked past her. She shut the door and led me to the lounge. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?" I shook my head and turned my attention to the photos lining the walls. There were a couple of ones with four people in them, presumably the whole Dorian family, but most of them were of JD and Dan at various stages of their lives. Mrs. Dorian sat down on the sofa, and I followed suit, taking a seat in an armchair. I took a deep breath, preparing myself to have a conversation without being rude to or insulting the other party.

"First of all, I'm sorry for your loss. I know it's been a year, but…" I could tell she was uncomfortable with the topic. More than uncomfortable. Her eyes kept flickering away from me and even from where I was I could tell that she was breathing faster.

"Yes. Well, uh… Like you said, it was a year ago." She let out a short, high-pitched, fake laugh. What a great start. I rapidly changed the subject.

"I was here visiting JD." I informed her.

"Oh? Catching up on old times?" She asked with false airiness.

"Not so much. That's actually what I wanted to ask you about. He's different to how he was when I last saw him. In a… Well I guess in a bad way. I was wondering, has he…has he said anything to you about…?" I could tell that she was still trying to compose herself. It was a little odd that she was so worked up about this still, but then it had only been a year. It was entirely understandable that she was still upset.

"No, he hasn't said anything to me…about that." She laughed the same put-on laugh as before. "Actually, he doesn't talk to me much anymore." I frowned. How could she not know? She was the kid's mother, for Christ's sake.

"Well, has he said anything at all that might suggest…?" She shook her head.

"No, you don't understand. He doesn't talk to me anymore. At all." I was taken aback. I supposed this must be part of the whole change thing. I looked back over at the photos on the wall, all filled with the exact same goofy smile. The old Newbie. And by God, I wanted him back. I glanced back over at Mrs. Dorian. Silent tears were rolling down her cheeks.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry that this is upsetting you. But I must know. Do you have any idea, at all, what changed?" She let out a sob.

"I-It's my fault." She whispered. "I… I said... And Dan!" She gave another sob. "I-I didn't m-mean to-to… God knows I didn't… But he just... And now I may as well have l-lost both my s-sons! " I shifted awkwardly in my seat. What was I supposed to do? Go over there and comfort her? Offer kind words from here? Leave?

"I…I'm sorry, Mrs. Dorian. I didn't mean to upset you." She shook her head.

"No, I…" She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you more. I suppose you'll want to leave now?" I nodded, seeing as she didn't seem to be offering me any other choice.

"Thank you for your time." I followed her back to the front door and gave her a nod in parting. I walked slowly back to my car. I was sure this all came back to JD's mom. I just didn't know if I would ever find out how.