Title: The Plunge

Author: Ryo314

Rating: T

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters nor the concept of Scrubs.

Summary: An accident brings Perry and JD closer...a lot closer.

Note: I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter and this one. My finals are all over, and my break has officially started. Yay for me!

Warning: This is a slash story: JD/Perry. If you do not like these stories, please stop reading because all flames based on the fact this is a slash story will be cruelly mocked along with their flamer in the next chapter.

The Plunge

Chapter XI: The Swing Across

"No man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness." Alan Alda

JD woke up feeling confused; he was in a bed, but it was not his own. In addition to laying in a strange bed, he was still fully clothed, so part of him was sure this hadn't happened of his own accord. JD slowly sat up and looked around; he still wasn't one hundred percent sure where he was and decided that he probably had to leave the room to figure it out. He got up from the bed, which made him aware of several aches in his body, and headed to the door.

After stepping out into the hall, JD knew exactly where he was, and his memory returned of how he got there. He'd gone to Perry's after work with a bag of Chinese food, and if he remembered correctly, he'd fallen asleep on the couch. Why had he fallen asleep on the couch? More importantly, if he had fallen asleep on the couch, how did he get into Perry's room? Stumbling through the apartment, JD found Perry sitting on the couch half asleep, watching TV.

"Um...Perry?"

Startled, the older man sat up straight and looked around for the source of the voice. He shook his head and then turned back toward the TV. "Did you have a nice a nap, Sleeping Beauty?"

"How did I end up in your room?" asked JD, confused.

"You walked," replied Perry. "You didn't walk very well, but you walked."

"Okay." JD rubbed his temple. "Why did I end up in your room?"

"You really have no memory of earlier?" said Perry, flicking off the television and tossing the remote to the end of the couch.

JD thought to himself for a moment. "Kinda?"

Perry rolled his eyes. "You do realize your sick, Newbie, don't you?"

JD scoffed. "I'm not-I'm not sick." He tried to ignore the cough that was building in his throat and the aches all through his body.

"Really? Because the last time I checked on you, you had a fever of 101.2."

JD reached up for his forehead, neglecting the fact he wouldn't be able to tell it he had a fever because his hands would be as warm as the rest of his body. "I don't have a fever." He paused for a moment; obviously something had caught his attention. "Wait! You were checking up on me?"

Perry winced as he realized what JD had just figured out. "No! I wasn't "checking up" on you." JD crossed his arms, but had to immediately uncross them when he began coughing. "You alright, Newbie?" Perry slowly stood from the couch and made his way over to the younger man. He set his hand on JD's shoulder and let out a silent sigh of relief when he found JD's shoulder cooler than it had been earlier. "Newbie, speak! Or at least stop coughing."

JD coughed one last time and then responded. "I'm alright. It's just a tickle."

Perry rolled his eyes. "Don't ever say that again, Lois."

"Why?"

"Because it reminds me that I am dating a girly boy."

For most people, it would have been considered an insult, but JD had grown used to Perry's comments. The fact he used the word "dating" in the insult was proof enough that Perry really cared about him. "Look, I really appreciate your concern, but I'm not sick."

I probably am sick, but I don't want to be sick. I've already missed those four days of work, and with Caitlin and Max...I'm not sick.

"It doesn't really matter whether you believe you're sick or not, Gloria. You are. Think about, most of your patients at the moment are suffering from some sort of pneumonia or bronchitis or some flu. That, coupled with your accident a coupla of weeks ago and the stress from that one boy's case-"

"His name is Max," JD corrected Perry, somewhat angrily.

Perry said something he seldom ever said to anyone, especially JD. "I'm sorry. That, coupled with your accident and the stress from Max's case, has weakened you immune system. You're a doctor, whether you act like one all the time or not, and you know all that. Newbie, you're sick."

JD's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I know." He sat down on the couch and sighed in relief when pressure was taken off his aching body. "I can't not go to work though."

"Yes. Going to work while sick and spreading germs to your patients is the best way to care for people, Newbie. Great thinking."

JD rolled his eyes. "Perry-"

"You're not going in to the hospital tomorrow, Gillian. You're going to stay here and get some rest."

"Who's going to cover my shift? I can't ask Elliot; she already works tomorrow."

Perry rolled his eyes. "I'm going to cover your shift."

JD was shocked. "You can't be serious. You just got out out of the hospital today. You can't be feeling up to working a shift. You need to rest."

"I have had enough "rest", Newbie. I just spent the last two days laying in a hospital bed, and as much as I would like to stay away from the building which contains Bob Kelso, you need to get some rest."

"You're not supposed to go to work."

"I'm not supposed to work my shift," corrected Perry. "No one said anything about me working your shift."

JD rolled his eyes. "I really don't think that is going to work."

"Well that doesn't really matter because you're sick. Don't make me tie you down just so you'll rest."

JD laughed, which turned into a brief cough, before responding. "I didn't realize you liked kinky things like that, Perry."

Perry groaned. "Newbie, I'd go the bedroom and throw you down on the bed if I didn't want to catch whatever you've got."

"What about your shoulder?"

"Screw my shoulder."

JD laughed and then rested his head on Perry's shoulder. "I don't want to catch what you have, Rita."

"Than push me off."

Perry sighed but did not shove the younger man off. They both sat there for close to half an hour before either of them spoke.

"You want some of the food you brought over, Chloe?"

JD, who had apparently dozed off, sat back up and looked around the living room confused. "What?"

"You want some of the Chinese food you brought?"

JD nodded and then tried to get up from the couch. After missing the edge of the couch to push himself up, JD fell back.

"Just stay here, Newbie. I'll go heat up the food."

JD nodded and stayed on the couch while Perry went to the kitchen and heated up the food JD had brought. He mind often drifted to his and JD's relationship whenever he was doing tasks that required little thought. Perry would often struggle to keep his mind from the relationship; he was afraid that if he over though the situation his mind would change. Perry was surprised, however, that whenever he did start thinking about the relationship the more sure of it he was. Normally, whenever he thought about the relationship he was in the more unsure of it he became. Maybe, just maybe, things were going to work out.

XVIIIIV

Perry had woken up the next morning on the couch. His shoulder was stiff, but it was a fair trade, considering he probably would have woken up sick had he slept in his own bed. He'd made JD sleep there because he was pretty sure that if he'd allowed the younger doctor to go home, JD would have found a way to get to the hospital the next morning. Most of the night, JD had tried to convince him that he was fine, but Perry had not changed his mind. The younger man was not going to work the next morning.

The worst part of the night was getting JD to get some sleep. When Perry had told him that he was going to sleep in his bed, a goofy smile had appeared on his face, and JD had asked if Perry would tuck him in. It was bad enough that Perry was allowing the younger man to sleep in his bed by himself, but he was not going to tuck JD in.

The confused looks of all the doctors and nurses who knew he'd just been released yesterday (which was nearly everyone) were beginning to annoy him, and he quickened his pace to make it to the nurse's station. He needed JD's charts, and Carla would know which ones those were.

Upon his arrival at the nurse's station, Perry saw Carla's eyes go wide.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, quietly as if saying it loudly would get Perry in trouble.

"I am covering Yolanda's shift."

"Why? Where is Bambi? He didn't come back to the apartment last night. Turk was pretty worried." Perry didn't have to Carla say that she'd been worried too to know that she had.

"He's sick," replied Perry. "Probably caught something from one of his flu patients."

"So where is he?"

Perry looked down at a stack of charts on the station. "Are these Newbie's charts?"

"Where is he, Perry?" Carla crossed her arms and gave Perry a death stare.

Perry sighed. "He's sleeping back at my apartment. Don't worry; he's got Tylenol and water and juice. He'll be fine."

Carla smiled. "Aaaahhhhh! You're taking care of him!"

"Please be quiet."

"Still, what are you doing here? What about your shoulder? You're not supposed to be working."

"Correction. I'm not supposed to be working my shift; no where does it say that I can't work Newbie's shift."

Carla shook his her head. "Dr. Kelso is not going to be happy about this."

"Bob Kelso can shove it up his ass."

"What exactly is 'it' this time, Perry?" Perry turned around and saw Bob Kelso, giving him a smug smile with his arms crossed. "I believe last time it was your foot. Perhaps this time it is your bad shoulder which you shouldn't be at work with?"

"I'm covering another doctor's shift," explained Perry.

"That's odd. It seems that you're covering one doctor's shift while I have another doctor covering your's. What is wrong with that? Hhhhhmmmm.....Maybe it's the fact that you're supposed to be recovering, and you could cost the hospital money if something went wrong while you were still recovering. Do you want to cost this hospital money?"

"Only if it comes directly from your wallet, Bobbo."

Dr. Kelso glared at him but continued talking. "I am going to allow you to stay considering it will more of a hassle to call another doctor in than to let you stay and because I like seeing you working while in pain, be it physical or mental, but I had better not see you here tomorrow." Dr. Kelso stormed away without another word.

"You're lucky he likes seeing you in pain," said Carla, gathering up a stack of charts.

"Oh yes. I'm so lucky." He turned toward the nurse. "Can I have Newbie's charts?"

Carla handed Perry a stack of charts. "I'd watch out for a couple of the patients. They seem to be Bambi's favorites, and they're not doing too great." Carla sighed. "If you could get that Howards girl to eat, every nurse on this floor will thank you."

"Why isn't she eating?"

"Gallbladder problems and pneumonia; you try getting someone like that to eat."

Perry nodded, gathered the charts and walked away from the nurse's station. His first stop would be Max Cannon's room. If he remembered correctly, Max was the young boy that JD was so worried about. Perry was hoping that he would be able to catch the young boy's parents in hopes of talking to them about the surgery. According to Max's chart, JD had started him on another antibiotic, but from the looks of the other antibiotics, this one did not look promising.

Perry entered the boy's room but was disappointed when he didn't see the boy's parents. All he saw was the young boy laying back on the bed, watching cartoons. His face was pale, but there were red spots on his cheeks; it was obvious the young boy had a fever.

"Hello, Max," said Perry, sounding a little unsure; he seldom dealt with children in the hospital. "I'm Dr. Cox."

"Where is JD?" asked the boy quietly.

"He'd not feeling well today, but he'll be back by tomorrow." Perry looked around the room. "Where are your parents?"

"My dad had to go to work, and my mommy is getting coffee." The boy looked out the window and then back toward Perry. "Dr. Cox, JD keeps telling me I'm gonna be okay, but I don't feel like I'm getting better." Max sighed. "Am I going to be okay?"

Perry suddenly understood exactly what JD was going through; no wonder the kid was so stressed out. Judging by Max Cannon's chart, if they didn't do something drastic and soon....

XVIIIIV

JD was staring at the ceiling of Perry's bedroom; he couldn't really believe this. He was laying in Perry's bed because the older man wouldn't allow him to get back to his own apartment; apparently Perry thought that he wouldn't get any rest if he went back to his own place, which was probably true. Before the older man had left, Perry had brought in some water, juice, and medication; JD was actually surprised by how much care Perry was giving him. The young doctor couldn't really believe that Perry could be quite so "caring." Yes, the man was a doctor, but caring wasn't exactly something that often appeared in the older man's nature.

JD rolled over, feeling whatever bug that had grabbed him renew its hold on him, and closed his eyes. He was tired, and just in the twenty minutes he'd been awake, what little energy he'd gained from his earlier nap was gone. Within a few minutes, he'd fallen back asleep.

XVIIIIV

The day was not going exactly as Perry had expected it to, although he hadn't really thought too much about how the day was going to go. After not finding Max's parents in the boy's room, Perry had gone about dealing with the rest of JD's patients. A majority were suffering from some sort of sinus problem, be it bronchitis, pneumonia, or the flu; in fact, there were only three patients that weren't in the lung problem category, Max, an older woman who was suffering from breast cancer, and an old man who'd had a heart attack.

The next stop on Perry's list was Caitlin Howards' room. According to her chart, her pneumonia wasn't getting any better, which was continuing to postpone her surgery. The only good thing that Perry could say was that her pneumonia hadn't gotten any worse. Of course now that she was no longer really eating, her health would soon begin to decline again.

Stepping into the room, Perry found Caitlin staring up at the TV; she didn't look as though she was really paying much attention to what was on. She sighed when Perry entered the room and turned toward the doctor.

"You're not Dr. Dorian," the girl said quietly. It sounded more as she though she was pointing out a fact than anything else.

"No. I'm covering for him today."

The girl coughed. "Is he okay?"

"He's come down with the flu or something."

Caitlin nodded. "That time of year. Before I left school, it seemed like everyone was coming down with something."

Perry nodded and looked at the girl's chart. There wasn't much new that she could tell her about her health; it hadn't really changed in the last few days. "Um...well..." Perry hated this; he was seldom at a lost for words with patients.

"No change."

Perry looked up at the girl; she looked tired more than she looked sick. "Yes. There doesn't seem to be any change."

"Figures."

"You know, you might start getting better if you ate more."

"I don't really feel like eating...anything." She adjusted herself in her bed.

"I didn't really ask if you felt like eating."

Caitlin turned toward him. "What?"

"I didn't ask if you felt like eating. You're not doing your health any good by not eating, and according to the nurses, you haven't really eaten in two days." Perry looked around the room and saw the touches of a mother trying to make the room more 'homey'. "You're not really helping your parents by not eating either."

"I'm just...I'm just not hungry." She adjusted herself again and turned off the television.

Perry sighed; he didn't really want to deal with a moody teenager. "Look, it doesn't really matter if you're "not hungry." That IV isn't going to give you all the nutrients your growing body needs." The end of his statement got a little sarcastic, and Caitlin looked down at her hands. "Dammit! She's almost as bad as Newbie."

Perry sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Is there anything you can think of that you would like to eat? I can see if someone can get it for you."

The girl sat there for a moment and then looked back up at Perry. "Chai tea."

"Excuse me?"

"Chai tea. It feels great on a sore throat, and..." She looked back down at her hands. "It's relaxing."

Perry sighed; he really was not enjoying today. "If I get you some...chai tea, will you drink it along with whatever else I bring you."

Caitlin sighed, but Perry had a feeling he'd won. "Okay."

Perry left the room, happy that he'd won, until he realized he had to track down chai tea. Carla had better know what the damn stuff was.

XVIIIIV

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I hope that you all read and review.