A/N: Back with chapter ten! As always, thanks so much for all of the support and reviews. They mean a lot to me, and never are they unappreciated. :) Well, here's chapter ten for ya'. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own a very large nothing.

Chapter 10:

"On the tenth day of Christmas,
My true love sent to me,
Ten lords a-leaping."

JD, who had just come home from work, threw himself down on the sofa with a thud. His day had been absolutely insane.

His "favorite" hypochondriac, Mr. Myrtle, had come back due to what he thought was liver disease, when really, it was just the lighting from his bathroom that had made his skin look a tinted yellow.

The Janitor had dubbed the day "Jump out from behind the corner every time Scooter passes," day, which wouldn't have been as bad if it really had been, as quoted, "every time." At least he would've gotten used to it and it wouldn't have fazed him much. But the Janitor was inconsistent with his surprise attacks, and so JD never knew when it was the taller man would come out and startle him.

Elliot, for one reason or another, had asked him at least a dozen times when it was he planned on going home. He tried asking her if she wanted a ride back to the apartment, or if she was trying to ask him if he could possibly stay and help out with one of her patients, seeing as how she had quite a number of them today. But she would always shake her head and say, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just frazzled today, you know? I'm just trying to plan the rest of my night according to everyone else's schedule, that's all. So…when are you leaving again?"

Both the Janitor's behavior and Elliot's had made the young doctor a little frazzled himself. He thought he'd been hiding it well, but when he started stumbling over simple little things like IV drips and even bandages, Dr. Cox had given him one of his longest rants to date, telling him he might as well just go home.

And, on top of all that, not a single present from his admirer.

JD was suddenly aware of just how heavy his eyelids really felt. He stole a quick glance out of the window from where he lay, the sunlight still shining in through the blinds. Just a quick nap. He'd be up in half an hour. Just a really quick nap.

--

JD walked through what felt like a maze of red and green, wondering where on earth he was or how he even got there. He knew he ought to feel more nervous – scared even – but as far as mazes went, it was actually rather comforting.

The walls of the maze were constructed of bushes of holly and ivy, and all around its leaves and branches, beautiful, white lights hung glistening. The air smelled of warm vanilla sugar, and the stars above him were shining brightly in the darkened sky.

Up ahead, JD finally noticed, was the very tip of a Christmas tree, its star in place; glowing. He knew that was where the end of the maze was. He just had to get there, but how?

Getting ready to make his way towards the ever glowing star, a series of hushed voices came from somewhere nearby. JD turned around sharply, eyes wide. "Whose there?" he called out, voice shaking.

The voices stilled, but something was still amiss. Hadn't he'd gone to bed alone?

Right! Bed! He'd been sleeping, which meant this was a dream, which also meant that none of this was real!

This new realization calmed him some, and while the voices hadn't been what one would call threatening, he was now ready to wake up. Yet, just as he was getting ready to blink or pinch or whatever it was that needed to be done, a gentle warmth took over him. JD couldn't help but sigh. He'd been getting cold in this maze of his, and the sudden warmth felt good.

Still, he couldn't help but squirm a little. He needed to wake up, didn't he?

"Shhh…Go back to bed, now."

JD opened his mouth to retaliate, or to at least ask who it was, but fingers were suddenly brushing through his locks, combing away his nerves. "Go back to bed, alright? It's okay."

The brunet suddenly found himself lying on the ground, the vibrant, silk like grass making for a good pillow. Was it wise to fall asleep in the middle of such a place? But he felt safe; protected. If something did happen, someone would surely be there to make sure he was okay.

--

"Bambi's so cute when he sleeps."

"Pft, you should've seen him in college. If he was tired enough, he'd fall asleep in any corner he'd been studying in. Funny, yeah, but it was a good thing I was there to save his ass. People there were more than up for picking on him while he was out."

"That's horrible!"

"Nah, nothing extreme. But I still didn't want to see my buddy's fingers get dipped in warm water, you know what I'm sayin'?"

JD blinked, suddenly aware he was being watched, and also aware that we was, in fact, the topic of conversation. Rolling onto his back, JD stared up at the two smiling faces. "Turk? Carla? W-What time is it?"

"It's ten o' clock, Bambi."

The brunet's eyes widened in shock. "Ten o' clock!? I fell asleep around 4:00!"

"Don't feel bad, dude. You needed to catch up a little anyway. And besides, it's not too late. We can even watch another Christmas special, if you want to."

"Oh, is Elliot here then?"

Carla shook her head. "She tried to be, but the girl's been running around like crazy all day. By the time she was done with her patients and whatever else, she was exhausted. Anyway, she decided it would probably be better to just go home and get some rest. She says 'hi' though."

JD nodded, stretching his limbs and nodding as he did so. It was true. He'd seen Elliot earlier that day; frazzled and running from one patient to the other. She probably needed to catch up on sleep just as much as he did.

Or rather, had. His nap had done wonders.

JD went to stand from the couch, but stopped when he realized a notable difference from when he'd first fallen asleep. "Oh! Did one of you guys bring me this?"

JD held up the large comforter that was usually splayed out across his bed, waving it a little to catch his friends' attention.

"Your comforter?" Carla asked.

"Yeah, did you put it on me while I was sleeping?"

"Not me. Turk?"

The surgeon shook his head. "Nope. Why? What's the big deal?"

"I…don't remember taking it before falling asleep earlier. I sort of just, you know, plopped down on the couch.

Turk just shrugged. "You got me, man."

"Alright, let me just go put this back on the bed and I'll be out in a second."

JD walked over to his room, mind busy pondering over the blanket, so it was safe to say he was in absolutely no way prepared for what he found upon opening his bedroom door.

JD yelled so loudly that Carla, who had been unpacking the dishwasher, dropped the plate she'd been drying. Turk had actually pounced into a fighter's stance, JD's scream of surprise brining him to attention.

But it wasn't a robber or a madman or whatever else his two friends had automatically expected. Upon opening his door, JD had, had a swarm of men burst out and into the living room. All were sporting tights while leaping, one by one, over the living room couch and right out of the apartment door.

The tenth one, however, stopped before JD, who was still sitting on the floor from where he'd fallen, shock all over his face. The man in tights bent down to his level, extending his arm to present him with ten, long stemmed roses. He bowed politely before joining his fellow dancers in leaping over the couch and out of the apartment, closing the door behind them.

The three were silent for what felt like forever, the sudden but not-long-lasting intrusion having frozen them on the spot. Finally, Turk spoke. "What the hell just happened!?"

"T-Ten Lords a-leaping?" JD questioned shakily, voice still a little hesitant from the scare.

"I'd say that's a pretty good guess…" Carla finally intervened while silently thanking whoever made "unbreakable plates."

Turk walked over to JD then, helping his friend get back up on his feet. "Thanks, Chocolate Bear. I just…wow! I mean, I wasn't expecting it, but now that I'm thinking about it…wow! How long do you think they've been waiting in there?"

"Who knows? Carla and I just got home five or so minutes before you woke up, and you've been sleeping all afternoon, right?"

"Wow…I really am a heavy sleeper."

Turk laughed, patting his friend on the shoulder. "Yeah, man, you really are. At least for as long as I've known you."

"Bring those over here!" Carla called from the kitchen, and suddenly JD remembered the ten roses he'd been presented with. He'd given flowers as a gift a multitude of times in his life, but never had he received any.

JD walked over to the counter, placing them in the delicate, glass vase that Carla had pulled from under one of the cabinets. "They look beautiful," she commented softly.

"Yeah," JD replied, "they really do."

"Hey, man! Look at your room! Those 'Ten lords,' must've cleaned it while they were waiting!"

JD ran over to the doorframe, laughing when he saw how neat it was. Man, they even dusted! "Do you think it was part of the gift, or do you think they were just bored and wanted something to do while waiting for me to wake up?"

"I don't know, man, but I bet whoever your admirer is was the one to also put your blanket on you. Makes sense, right?"

JD looked down at the comforter he'd dropped on the floor in his surprise, bending over to pick it up and place it on his bed. Turks theory made sense, and JD found himself both touched and annoyed.

It was sweet of whoever was doing this to have made him more comfortable, but part of JD was mad at himself. His admirer had been right in his apartment with him, and yet he hadn't even stirred!

The blue eyed doctor took a long, cleansing breath. No. He'd decided earlier on that he'd wait for whenever his admirer was ready to come out and reveal who they were. It was a good thing he hadn't woken up. It would've ruined all the hard work of whoever was going through all of this to impress him.

"V-Bear?"

Oh, right! He hadn't answered his friend's question. "Yeah, C-Bear, it does make sense. Can you believe whoever this is was actually here with me and I didn't even know it?"

Turk shook his head. "Just barely, V-Bear, just barely."

JD turned and followed his friend out of the room, closing the door behind him. Just two more days till Christmas. Two more days till, hopefully, his admirer would reveal who they were.

A/N: Eleven pipers piping is tomorrow. See you all then! :)