A/N: After a crazy week or so, I'm finally back with a new chapter. I know I told you guys this one would probably take me longer than usual, and I thank you immensely for all your patience and understanding. Still, I am sorry about the wait, so go ahead and double that thank you. lol Anyway, enough out of me. Onto the story!

Disclaimer: I own a very large nothing.

Chapter 10:

Dr. Cox was relieved the next morning when JD woke up just fine, happily making his way over to the couch and asking for a bowl of Fruit Loops. Perry watched as Newbie continued to eat his cereal, humming to each and every song that Sesame Street began playing. Sure, a hyper JD could be a challenge sometimes, but he'd much rather see the kid up and going than down and sick.

A sudden knock at the door made the both of them jump. Milk spluttered down JD's chin in surprise as Dr. Cox made his way over to whoever it was who had decided 9:00am was an appropriate time for a visit…

He swung the door open, annoyed, but stopped short when he found Carla and Gandhi at its entrance. The nurse's attire definitely screamed beach, while it appeared Milk Dud still had to change out of his scrubs. But why were they here?

"Can I help you ladies?"

Turk rolled his eyes as Carla went about answering the question. "We thought that JD could use some fresh air and exercise, seeing how most five year olds don't enjoy being cramped up in one place all the time."

Perry frowned. "Newbie happens to like it here, and don't go acting all accusatory. I took him out last time and a stupid dog bit him. And besides…my reasoning for not taking the kid out more isn't because I don't want to, it's because, if you haven't noticed, he's not a five year old physically. Kinda hard to find a place where he can act the way his mind is currently telling him to without getting stared or pointed at, and I don't think adult JD would appreciate being in that particular case scenario either."

"Not if he was surrounded by people who'd never see him again, or if they did, probably wouldn't remember him."

"If you're implying what I think you're implying, you're out of your mind."

"Dr. Cox, listen! I know last time you tried to find a place with as little people as possible, but how about a place with so much people to the point where no one would even give Bambi a second glance? The beach is packed right now. He can be a kid all he wants to, but he'll have us there to pull on the reigns if he gets too out of hand. And no one will even be paying attention to him. They'll be sunbathing on the sand or taking care of their own kids, not looking at someone who they're going to assume is another adult."

Dr. Cox growled. Newbie did need to get some fresh air, he knew, but last time hadn't gone over very well. Still, both Carla and even Turtle Head would be there, and while Perry didn't like the idea of five year old JD surrounded by people, he knew the nurse was right in a way: It'd be like hiding in plain sight.

And besides, the older man did enjoy the beach…

"Alright, fine. But we're not inviting Barbie."

Carla held up her hands. "I didn't, Dr. Cox, don't worry. I figured I owed you one."

"Damn right you do. Alright, well…get in here then. If we're honestly gonna go do this, me and the kid need to get ready. Though I don't know what you plan on dressing Newbie in. I didn't see any swim trunks in that duffle bag of his, and mine aren't going to fit him."

Turk held up a plastic bag at the older man's words, grinning triumphantly. "Brought him a bathing suit. Carla wanted to go out and buy him a new pair, but after she told me what kind of pajamas she bought for him, I decided to just bring him a pair he already owns."

The two men glanced at Carla, though Dr. Cox couldn't help but smirk a little as he did so. The pajamas were amusing, even if he wouldn't say it out loud.

"What?" she finally asked, clearly feigning innocence. "Now are you going to let us in or what, because Turk still needs to get changed too, and I'd like to see how Bambi's doing if you don't mind."

Perry rolled his eyes as he stepped away from the door. "Fine. In. Just no getting the kid all riled up. He was sick yesterday."

"Oh yeah!" Carla responded, looking a little guilty. "I forgot about that. Is he okay to go to the beach then?"

"Wouldn't have let you in if he wasn't. So yes, he's fine. It was just a twenty-four hour bug like I suspected. Yes, yes, I know – I'm an amazing doctor. No need to shower me with compliments, unless you really want to."

Carla grinned at his teasing as she stepped inside the apartment, while Turk just shook his head, giving him a look that clearly said "Get over yourself." Perry inwardly grinned. It was still so easy to work the surgeon up.

When the three finally stepped inside, they found JD still sitting on the floor, staring at the TV, attention span easily distracted from whatever had been going on at the door. He sang softly to the songs on the show, rocking back and forth happily, still decked out in his pajamas.

Turk let out a small laugh while Carla did everything in her power to prevent an elongated, "Aw," slip out of her mouth. Perry just shook his head. He sometimes forgot that he was more used to seeing JD this way than the rest of them. Not that the kid never came off as cute – even if he did have trouble admitting it – but moments like these were perfectly normal.

"We have company, kid," Dr. Cox finally said.

JD turned around quickly, surprised by the sudden interruption. He smiled broadly when he saw who it was, bouncing up from his position on the floor to wrap his arms around a startled Carla. "Bambi Lady!"

"Hi, sweetie. How are you?"

"I'm good. Hi Turk!"

The surgeon stepped forward and threw his arms around the mini version of his best friend excitedly. Five year old mind or not, he still missed him. It was strange not having him live with them, and even stranger was not seeing him at the hospital on a daily basis. "Hey, buddy. You doing okay over here?"

Perry scowled, wondering why there'd be any reason that Newbie wouldn't be doing okay here, but whatever he'd been getting ready to throw at Gandhi was cut off by JD's enthusiastic reply. "Uh-huh! Yesterday, I got sick, but Dr. Cox watched The Lion King with me and made me chicken noodle soup; the star kind! And then – you know what else? I had coffee. It was fun but I'm not supposed to have it again. And, and there are no monsters in my room either. There's not, really! Dr. Cox made sure they were all gone."

Turk blinked, not expecting the long and rather hyper reply, but he patted his friend on the shoulder nonetheless, happy that he was at least doing okay under Perry's supervision. He never thought Dr. Cox was a bad father, at least not from the little he saw of him with Jack, but he still worried about JD sometimes, even if the curly haired man had been treating him better since the first hypnotism.

Perry had been watching this of course, inwardly relieved about how happy his protégé honestly seemed to feel over their current living arrangement, but an exasperated whisper broke through his train of thought.

"You let him have coffee?"

"He took some while I was in the shower, but he's cla-hearly fine, so if you could tuck those maternal instincts of yours back inside that thing you call a purse, I'd appreciate it."

"It's a beach bag, and don't even talk to me about my maternal instincts, because your parental ones are already too out in the open to deny."

"And how's that?"

"The Lion King?"

"It's his favorite."

"Star chicken noodle soup?"

"Wouldn't eat the regular."

"Checking for monsters?"

"Wouldn't go to sleep unless I checked."

Each answer was carefully laid-back; too laid-back, and Carla was no fool. She could hear the underlying tone in the older man's voice, the care it held. She was right, and he knew it too.

Turk's voice cut through the half whispered conversation, as so did JD's. "Where's your bathroom, dude? I need to change."

Perry pointed to the door down the hall, still having trouble believing he was actually getting ready to do this.

"What about me? Do I get a bathing suit too?"

Carla picked up the plastic bag her husband had placed on Dr. Cox's table, handing it to him delicately. "You go get changed, alright? We'll be out here waiting."

JD nodded excitedly before running off to his room.

Perry threw himself on the couch, not bothering to flick on the TV. Carla was bound to start a conversation with him, whether he felt like talking or not. This wouldn't have normally bothered him, seeing as how he'd usually let his customary pet peeves slide if the Latina was involved, but he had a feeling what topic she planned on discussing, and after last night's revelation, he really wasn't sure how much more he could take right now.

The beach was suddenly looking better and better.

"So," Carla started, "have you had any luck figuring out what the trigger was that caused Bambi to think he's five again?"

Perry grit his teeth. He knew she would bring this up. "No, no I haven't."

"Dr. Cox, there's only two more days until Jordan comes home…"

"I'm very aware of that, Carla…"

A silence encased them both, until JD burst out of his room, all pearly whites showing as he practically skipped to where they were seated. Dr. Cox took in the red trunks with the white Hawaiian flowers on the side. Alright, that wasn't too bad for going out in public. If the nurse had gotten her way, he was sure the suit would've been covered in little, cartoon dolphins.

"Look at my shorts, Dr. Cox!"

"I see them, Newbie."

"Do you like them?"

Perry nodded, getting ready to get up and get dressed himself. He was abruptly cut off from standing, however, when JD took a seat on his lap. The older man froze, eyes going wide. JD had never just openly sat on his lap before, even when the two were alone, but now somebody, the mother hen of all people, was watching them. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell she was waiting for how he'd handle the situation. Would he push him off? Tell JD to take a seat on the floor? Act like he wasn't even there?

The answer came when the brunet turned his body in an excited manner to tell Carla whatever it was that had just popped into his head, but because the turn was so abrupt, Newbie almost fell off of Perry's lap, his face heading straight towards the floor. Without a second thought, the older man's arm found its way around the young doctor's middle, pulling him safely back into his lap. "Steady there, Newbie."

JD nodded, wriggling a little in his comfortable position. Carla, not wanting to test the waters, simply smiled. They were all anxious to get their friend into his right state of mind, but he was undoubtedly endearing like this, and the affect he had on Dr. Cox, well…it was a very pleasant transition to observe.

--

Turk had emerged from the bathroom shortly after the lap incident, in which Perry had gotten up to change as well. Soon after that, they were on the road, heading straight for the beach.

The car ride had definitely been an interesting one. Perry had to once again remind himself that both Carla and Gandhi weren't as used to five year old Newbie as he was. Things the nurse cooed over or things the surgeon laughed at were all so normal to him, like JD's insisting that they listen to the Wiggles on the way, or how he sang to every chorus in since he wasn't too sure about the verses yet. Or how when Turk referred to a passing driver as an idiot, JD gasped, telling him that, that was a bad word. The surgeon had stuttered before managing an apology, while Dr. Cox grinned behind the wheel, already having been given that same "scolding" from Newbie before.

Finally though, they were there, and while JD was beyond excited at this point, Dr. Cox still couldn't help but worry.

There were a lot of people at the beach. Families, sun bathers, ocean dwellers – all of them. Yet as they made their way onto the soft sand with Newbie running around them in circles, no one paid them attention. Sure, the occasional glance was thrown their way, a curious eyebrow lift as they took in what they thought was a very hyper adult, but two seconds would pass and the on-lookers attention would be turned to something else. Perry gave a quick sigh of relief. It really was like hiding in plain sight.

Turk and Carla set up the beach chairs, though JD seemed much more inclined to sit in the sand and "dig for treasure" with one of the toy shovels the couple had brought along for him. After Carla covered the hypnotized doctor with the spray on sun screen, JD's interest was already on something other than the large hole he'd been working on just moments ago.

"Dr. Cox? Can we go see the ocean?"

Perry, who had been sitting in one of the fold out chairs, nodded and stood from his seat. There was no way he was letting the kid go all the way in, but standing ankle deep was no big deal.

Mentor walked protégé to where the waves met the shore, picking a spot that wasn't insanely covered by surfers and swimmers while still keeping the "hiding in plain sight," concept in mind.

A sudden shriek of surprise startled him, making the older man look up sharply. JD, who had been a few steps in front of him in his excitement to see the ocean, had very carefully approached the water, but of course the waves ascended towards him, sliding over his feet and sending cold shivers through the brunet, who hadn't prepared himself for how chilly it would undoubtedly feel.

JD's laugh was high and even more childish than usual as he ran back to Perry's side, giggling like a kid on Christmas. "Dr. Cox, did you see me? I touched the ocean! Did you see me?"

Perry rolled his eyes playfully, ruffling the young doctor's hair as he did so. "I saw you, Newbie."

"The ocean is so big! I knew it was because of all the pictures, the ones we saw in Kindergarten, but it's a lot bigger than I thought it would be."

Perry's eyebrows shot up at this. He had completely forgotten that, in JD's current state of mind, this could very well be the first time he'd ever seen the ocean, or any beach for that matter. Apparently, this was the case. That would explain the kid's behavior from this morning. He had taken JD's excitement at the idea of going to the beach as simply a kid being eager to go out for the day, but if the hypnotized doctor could never recall going to the beach, than that certainly must have added to his enthusiasm.

"You ready to go back to Carla and Milk Dud, then?"

"Dr. Cox?"

"Yeah, Newbie, what is it?"

"Why do you call Turk Milk Dud?"

Perry smirked. "It's a nickname, kid. Don't worry about it."

"'Mkay…"

Once they made it back to the spot where they had set up their stuff, JD insisted that they make a sand castle. To take some attention away from adult JD sitting happily amongst the castle structured buckets while giggling in the sand, Turk decided he'd help him. Then, if people did happen to look over, they would think they were just two kind of odd adults. And if people were actually bold enough to start asking questions, Dr. Cox and Carla were right there, ready to intervene.

As JD went about patting the sand so that his part of the castle stayed up right, he noticed a bucket sitting by the surgeon's knee; one that would look really good with the rest of his castles.

"Can you pass me that bucket, Milk Dud?"

Perry, who had been talking amiably enough with Carla, looked over abruptly at the sound of Newbie's words. Turk looked stunned, with a bit of exaggerated hurt. Two seconds later and both Irishman and Latina were hysterical with laughter, while JD just looked on at the three of them, clearly confused by what was taking place. "What'd I do?" he finally asked, sounding a little alarmed.

"You called me Milk Dud!" Turk answered, just a little more loudly than necessary.

"But Dr. Cox said it was a nickname! Newbie's a nickname too, right? But I don't mind that, so why - ?"

"Don't worry, Bambi, you just startled him. Turk, put that look away. You know he didn't mean it the way Dr. Cox usually does."

Perry was still grinning broadly, even when the surgeon turned to glare at him. The curly haired man couldn't help it though. God, he so wished he could've recorded that.

--

A half hour later and the sun's rays were shining much more persistently. Not wanting to freckle, Dr. Cox stood up to adjust the umbrella. He caught site of Carla, way ahead of their little set up. She had taken JD down to the ocean, after he kept on begging to see it again. "I'll go up to my knees this time!" he had proclaimed happily, but one look between the nurse and the older doctor said that, that wasn't going to happen. They weren't sure how well he'd be able to fend for himself in his current state if a wave, just a little too big, decided to come crash down on his fun.

Now Dr. Cox was alone, stretched out on the beach chair, sun glasses in place. Gandhi had gone to the board walk five or ten minutes ago, saying that he was going to get lunch for the four of them. That was fine, seeing as how he was pretty hungry, but suddenly, he was feeling pretty tired as well. With last night's revelation, Carla's reminder about the trigger word that he had yet to figure out, the time limit he had to figure it out by - it was safe to say Perry's mind needed some time to rest. And with the suns warm rays beating down on him, he found his eye lids drifting peacefully closed behind his shades.

Sleep came easy.

--

"Dr. Cox? Dr. Cox! Wake up!"

A hand shook his shoulder roughly, and Perry jolted. He was used to waking up in an instant, what with being a doctor and all, but when he blinked enough times to take in his surroundings – sand, sun, ocean – he realized he was not in the on-call room, but at the beach. He was at the beach because it was good for JD to get out; five year old JD, that is. And because Newbie was currently hypnotized, both he and the young doctor had taken off from work for a week, which led to a very obvious question: Why in God's name was he being waken up like it was the freaking apocalypse if he wasn't currently sleeping in the on-call room?

Dr. Cox whipped off his sunglasses, annoyed. He held back a frustrated growl, however, when he saw the look of panic that had taken hold of Carla's expression. He had just only registered Gandhi's voice in the background, calling desperately for his friend with a very obvious tremor in his tone.

"Don't say it…" he managed through the ever swelling ball of worry that seemed to be dwelling in his throat.

Carla swallowed, tears forming in her eyes. "JD's lost, Dr. Cox. He's lost, and we have no idea where he is."

A/N: I don't do cliffhangers too often, do I? I hope not. Not that they aren't good sometimes, I just don't want to over use them, nor do I want to make you guys worry too much. lol Oh, my reasoning for thinking Dr. Cox likes the beach came from Season 5. When Elliot's talking to Jordan, Perry decides to go to his "Happy Place," and the sounds we hear that he hears are ocean waves and seagulls, so I just went with it. lol Anyway, I apologize once again for how long this chapter took me, but now it seems I'm back on track. And guess what? Only five more chapters to go! A little sad, I know, but also a little exciting. (Or at least in my mind anyway. lol) Well, that's about it from me. Hope you guys enjoyed it, and until next time!