A/N: Hey, guys! Hopefully I'm getting this up here in a decent amount of time, seeing as how the last chapter ended on a bit of a rough note, so I hope this makes up for that. I know I probably sound like a broken record, but I'm completely sincere when I say thank you for all the lovely reviews you guys send my way. They're all very much appreciated and really keep me going. :) Well, that's about it from me. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own a very large nothing.

Chapter 11:

Dr. Cox could only stare back, speechless, the words that just left her lips not making their way into his head. Then, quite suddenly, it hit him.

JD's lost, JD's lost, JD's lost, JD's lost, JD's lost.

He was up from his chair in seconds, ignoring the searing hot sand that met the bottom of his bare feet painfully. "You lost him!?"

"I didn't, I – We were down by the ocean, but then he said he wanted to go back to our spot and play with the beach toys, so I pointed out where you were in the crowd and he said he could see you and that he'd go straight there, so I let him, and I just…we both saw you! How did you not see him?"

"I was sleeping, Carla! Sleeping! Sleeping under the impression that you were watching him."

"Well, I didn't know you were sleeping!"

"I've been wearing sunglasses since we got here! Why would you go ahead and assume I wasn't sleeping!"

"I'm sorry! Dr. Cox, I'm really –"

But Perry wasn't paying attention to her anymore. He was staring at the distance between their set up and the ocean. There were so many people, so many crowds, that JD would've had to maneuver threw in order to get to him. It was such an easy place to get lost, and with Newbie's five year old attention span, it was an even easier place to get distracted, especially if the kid had never been to the beach before. God, anything could have pulled his attention away. And anything – anyone – could have swayed him away from the path to where he himself had been sleeping.

Dr. Cox swallowed. He had to keep on reminding himself that JD wasn't five physically; that someone wouldn't see him and take advantage… But what if, somehow, they figured out his predicament? And if that happened…

Perry hadn't realized he'd been running till he heard the worried nurse call after him, but he wasn't going to stop. He passed Gandhi in a blur, who was busily looking for his Vanilla Bear. Carla would realize in two seconds that Perry was doing the same, and would continue on searching herself. Three people. That was good.

But three amongst thousands?

The first place he'd go was the information booth. This wasn't a mall, and he knew they wouldn't have an intercom to call JD's name with, but if they had a description – no, he couldn't do that either! Damn it! He'd been thinking of JD physically five again, but if he were to give a complete stranger a description, how would that sound? "Brown hair, blue eyes – oh, and he's thirty. Thought you should know." Dr. Cox grit his teeth in annoyance. Think, damn it, think!

Okay. First, he'd go to the board walk. With so many colors and flashing lights, not to mention the thousands of arcades and gift shops, it was a good place to look for a wandering five year old.

He stepped into the first one he saw, where thousands of claw machines aligned the walls with toys that wouldn't last. A track hung from the ceiling, the toy train following its path continuously through out the whole arcade. There were a million things in there that could've caught JD's attention, but no matter how hard he looked, he wasn't able to find him.

The next place he stepped into was a room full of ski ball machines. He didn't have to stay there long before he realized there was no way Newbie would've stayed long himself. The sound of all the various balls being thrown was deafening, and he knew something like that would most likely scare JD in his current state of mind.

After that he came across a gift shop. This, he thought to himself, wouldn't have been able to hold JD's interest either. Besides the cage of hermit crabs in the front, the rest was just beach clothes.

After another five arcade rooms, two more gift shops, and about two dozen board walk games, Perry's panic was reaching an ultimate high. He'd been looking like mad, and there was no way Carla or Milk Dud had found him either. He knew without asking that they would've called him instantly if they had.

A restaurant with glowing letters caught the older man's attention. The inside was pretty bleak, but maybe the light outside would've been enough to pull Newbie in. It didn't take long to realize that he wasn't in there either, but just as he was getting ready to leave, he overheard one of the waiters talking.

"Did you see that freak before?" he asked a fellow co-worker.

"What? What happened?"

"Some dude came in here asking for his 'Daddy." I was just like, 'Listen, man. There's no way you're here with your old man, and if you are, then you're damn sure old enough to go find him yourself.'"

"That's really bizarre."

"Tell me about it."

"I don't think so," another waiter suddenly cut in.

"You don't think that's abnormal? What are you on?"

"Did you even see the guys face when he asked if you knew where his 'Daddy' was? He seemed really serious, man. I mean, he could've had something wrong with him, you know? I didn't get the whole nut job vibe when I was looking at 'im."

"Whatever. All I'm saying is that someone needs to keep these freaks on a leash. I know this is California, but –"

The waiter didn't have a chance to finish his sentence. Two very large, very tight hands were suddenly gripping his collar, pulling and shaking till his complete and utter attention was focused on the owner of that angry grasp.

"WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!?"

"DUDE, WHAT THE HELL!?"

"TELL ME! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN!?"

"Like…I DUNNO, OKAY!? Five minutes ago, maybe?"

"And where did he go? Which way? TELL ME, DAMN IT!"

The waiter held up a shaky finger to the right. "That way, alright? Now let me go or I'm calling the cops!"

In actuality, Dr. Cox had let the guy go the minute he saw which direction he had pointed to. He was running so fast that if it was possible to get a ticket for doing so, Perry would have a large sum of money to pay for breaking the speed limit.

And then, up ahead, he saw it. The large, multi-colored, checker covered house: The Fun House. It stared down at him, mockingly, and Dr. Cox could've sworn he heard the beast of a thing whisper a cynical, "Want him? Come get him."

Perry growled angrily as he marched towards the house's entrance, ignoring the puzzled look from the man who ran the chaotic monstrosity. So help whoever messed with him right now.

--

The first thing Dr. Cox noticed upon stepping inside was how cold it felt. For the tiniest of moments, Perry relaxed. He'd been running under a blazing sun, complete and utter panic swelling in the pit of his stomach all the while, so to feel cool air surrounding him was definitely refreshing. But then he suddenly thought of Newbie lost in one of the Fun Houses' rooms; in just his bathing suit – wet from the ocean – shivering.

Dr. Cox swallowed, forcing the panic back down, as he continued to walk through the house.

Besides the fact that he hadn't found JD yet, Perry was undoubtedly angry that he was no longer able to run. The space was limited, not to mention it was pretty dark, and little kids would randomly pop up from whatever corner of the place they'd been exploring. Some, he noted, had been giggling. Others looked more than just a little worried. Maybe JD would've enjoyed something like this, but if he'd already been lost to begin with? No way.

After the maze of mirrors and the room of different patterned spirals, Dr. Cox stepped into the darkest room he'd been in so far. A quick observation told him that it was supposed to be a jungle. Plastic gorillas sat in the corner, while vines (more like green rope) hung down from the ceiling. The speakers, wherever they were hidden, blasted with various animal sounds. They were all so loud and high pitched that, for the life of him, Perry would not have been able to identify which animal was making what sound. The noise, however, was inconsistent. There'd be a good full minute of screeching, and then it would settle back into something that sounded faintly like crickets. It was during that quieter time, right when he was getting ready to leave the room for the next one, did he hear it. A very small, very scared whimper.

Dr. Cox whirled around immediately, ears perked at the sound. His heart raced wildly at the familiarity of what he just heard, hope rising in him so fast that he had to remind himself that it could've just been his mind's desperation to find JD playing tricks on him.

But the whimper came again, and he knew it wasn't just his frazzled nerves.

Very slowly, very cautiously, Perry approached the hollowed out log he had bypassed before. He'd taken it for decoration, but upon closer inspection, it was big enough for a kid – an adult, even – to hide in. With his heart still hammering against his chest, Dr. Cox bent down to look in the hollow's opening.

Never in his life had he felt such an odd mixture of relief and pain.

There was JD, curled up tighter than he had ever seen him before. He lay on his side, face pressed against his knees, back turned towards the outside world. He remained absolutely silent, only the occasional whimper escaping him.

"Newbie…?"

He watched, now completely crouched at JD's level, as every muscle in the kid's body tensed. He could tell he was waiting, listening, but he could also tell he didn't feel safe enough to come out. It was dark and loud. He'd been lost for a fairly long time now, and if that asshole waiter really yelled at him the way he said he had, then he couldn't particularly blame JD's lack of trust.

That didn't mean it didn't hurt though.

"JD? It's me. It's Dr. Cox. It's safe now, Newbie. You can come out."

"Really you…?" he heard him ask quietly, an obvious tremor in his voice.

Perry nodded, forgetting that the young doctor was currently turned away from him. "You bet, kiddo."

He didn't see JD get up, nor did he see him crawl out of the hollow, but a sudden weight pressed against him so hard and so fiercely that he was sure he must've. Two arms circled around his waist, clinging there tightly. Dr. Cox did the same, ignoring anyone who passed by. He didn't care. He was far too relieved to care.

The body that pressed against him was shaking now, the head buried in his chest shedding tears upon tears as the minutes passed on. "Lost you!" JD cried helplessly into his caretakers grasp. "Lost you. Couldn't…couldn't find you. Really tried. Really, really tried. So scared...I was so scared…"

Perry hadn't expected the sudden swell of emotion he could feel threatening to rise within him, but he successfully held it together as he drew comforting circles into his Newbie's back. "I lost you too, kiddo. Believe me when I say how hard I tried to find you, and how I…I was scared too, Newbie."

JD buried his face even deeper into his mentor's frame, but his hold on his caretaker relaxed a little as he began to sniffle. "Found me," he muttered quietly, the worry and fear in his voice slowly leaving him.

"I did," Perry agreed. "I found you, and you are never leaving my sight again."

This didn't seem to bother JD in the slightest, as he continued too further nestle into the older man's hold.

--

The walk back to the beach was something of a blur. JD had clung to him so tightly the entire time that it was becoming a little hard for Dr. Cox to stay up right, but he was in no way getting ready to complain.

It wasn't until they reached their spot on the beach did Perry snap out of his relieved sort of trance. He felt JD being pulled away from him, but relaxed when he saw it was Carla. She held him so tightly, apologizing over and over and asking if he was okay. JD seemed confused as to why she would be apologizing, but he hugged her back all the same and told her it was alright.

Turk was laughing out of shear relief over seeing his Vanilla Bear untouched and unharmed. He hugged JD tightly before letting him go. He was still laughing, unable to form the right words. It was one of those few moments in which Dr. Cox saw Turk as much more than just a scalpel jockey.

When JD told the surgeon how hungry he was, Turk took him over to where he had put the food he had gotten for all of them earlier. As the brunet went about eating his burger, Carla approached the older man slowly. "Dr. Cox, I'm –"

Perry shook his head. "It's fine, it's – he's back, alright? It's fine."

One side glance at the nurse told him that, that wasn't enough; the look on her face of pure misery and defeat. Dr. Cox inwardly sighed. Almost anyone else, and he would've just blown them off, but – "Listen, Carla, it was a mistake. You know how many times I had to remind myself that Newbie wouldn't be able to do certain things by himself because of the hypnotism? Took me long enough to get it through my head, and I spent more time with the kid than the two of you have. And c'mon…I've made my fair share of mistakes with Jack too. It's fine now though, so stop with the look."

Carla's shoulders eased as she looked up at Perry, grinning slightly at the older man's teasing. Her grin faltered, however, when she looked towards JD, who was still eating his burger under the umbrella, ketchup splattered across his face. "Where did you find him?" she asked quietly.

"In the Fun House."

"Was he okay…?"

She knew his answer before he even got the chance to speak. His eyes had filled with an emotion that not many saw in the older man, and his jaw clenched tightly. "No. He was really freaked out. Wouldn't even turn to see me until I assured him it was actually me. He cried for a pretty long time…"

"Oh, Bambi…" she whispered sadly.

A moment of silence passed before both doctor and nurse walked over to where JD sat finishing his meal. Turk's gaze scarcely left his friend, clearly afraid of losing him all over again. "Hey," he said as the two approached.

"Hey, baby," Carla answered, sitting down next to him.

"I was thinking," Perry suddenly cut in, "that after Newbie here is done with his food, we should probably start heading home."

The couple was getting ready to nod, but JD had just finished swallowing his last piece, eager to respond to what had just been announced. "No! Let's stay! We don't have to go, do we? They got lots of things here, and I heard someone talk about fireworks later. Can we stay? Please?"

It was the first time since finding him that JD seemed enthusiastic again, and while Perry's reasoning for wanting to leave early had been for Newbie's sake, he didn't want to deprive him of something that made him seem so happy, especially after everything that had gone down so far. "Alright, Newbie, we can stay, but you stick to my side the entire time, understood?"

JD nodded vigorously, not at all enticed by the idea of getting lost again either.

--

At first, JD seemed a little afraid to venture back onto the board walk, but once Turk drew his attention to the various claw machines, his fear was soon forgotten.

"Look it, look it!" JD jumped in place, pointing to a machine that held an abundance of fluffy zoo animals. "Can I try and win one?"

Carla was the first to hand him her quarters while Turk explained the workings of the machine. After three different tries, JD pouted, clearly disappointed over not being able to win. "I can't do it," he mumbled quietly.

"I'll try," Dr. Cox said casually. The couple stared at him, surprised, but Perry ignored the looks as he grabbed the droid stick. He held out his hand towards Carla, palm up and waiting, while his eyes remained glued to the inside of the machine, scanning the various toys for the best one to go for. He felt two coins being put in his hand and inserted them into the slot quickly.

The crane jerked to life, shaking a little as it did so. Right, left, budge a little here, over that one there, a slight shift towards the center – click! Perry's thumb hit the droid stick's button, while the three watched on, undoubtedly impressed, as the crane came back up with a stuffed giraffe in its hold.

JD was jumping up and down excitedly, arms flailing wildly as Perry opened the small door at the bottom, pulling out the toy. "You did it, you did it!" he exclaimed happily.

Dr. Cox handed him the giraffe, but not before ruffling the kid's hair. "There ya' go, Newbie. All yours."

He smirked a little at the two stunned faces still watching him. He'd offer no explanation. It was just too damn funny.

--

The rest of the day had gone by smoothly. JD was no longer scared, but absolutely thrilled at all the things he was being given the opportunity to try; things that, according to his five year old memory, he'd never been able to try before.

Despite Perry's protesting, Turk would not stop giving the kid sweets. "Living vicariously through Bambi," Carla had said with a wink. They had to go back to their spot on the beach to allow Newbie to calm down a little, what with caramel popcorn, funnel cake, and cotton candy flowing through his system.

Later, when the room with all the ski ball machines was mostly empty, they had taken JD to play a couple of rounds. He was surprisingly good at this, which surprised Turk the most. He'd seen JD's regular bowling skills, and they hadn't been what one would call impressive.

JD had wanted to go on the rides, and while both Dr. Cox and Turk had assured Carla he would be okay – even volunteering to go on with him – the nurse wouldn't budge. "These rides aren't like amusement park rides. They're ready to fall apart!" The only ride she said was safe enough was the Merry-Go-Round, which was absolutely fine with JD. Perry had practically shoved Turk on the ride to accompany his protégé. Sitting in a cart, no matter how fast it was going, was much better than sitting on a colorful pony.

After that little experience, one that Dr. Cox would never let Milk Dud forget, they headed for the beach again. A calm seemed to settle over the young doctor as he watched the sunset, and even Perry – though he wouldn't say it out loud, no matter how many times Carla elbow bumped his ribs – had to admit it was pretty beautiful.

Finally, it was time for the fireworks. A fair amount of people had already gone home by now, and the area around their setup was pretty vacant, giving them the privacy they'd been craving since JD had gotten lost.

The first firework shot up in the darkened sky, and Perry couldn't help but grin at Newbie's awed expression. JD watched in silence, eyes alight with the magnificence of it all. Only the occasional, "Ooooh!" left his lips as he took in all the various colors and effects.

"I'm glad we stayed," JD said when it was over. "That was fun."

Dr. Cox turned to answer, but JD was still staring at the sky, blue eyes calm and peaceful. There was, however, a definite sleepiness within that look, and Perry actually smiled a little when JD let out a quiet yawn.

"Tired, kiddo?"

"Mmhmm," he answered while rubbing his eyes.

Dr. Cox turned towards the others and nodded, indicating that it was finally time to leave.

--

JD had fallen asleep almost instantly upon reaching the car. The three talked softly amongst themselves. Well, Turk and Carla mostly. Perry, whose attention was on the road, had been thinking about the day's events as a whole. He doubted that he would ever forget how petrified JD looked when he first found him in that Fun House. But he would also never forget how relieved the kid had been; how equally relieved Perry had felt himself.

But besides all that, the day had gone over well enough. JD had bounced back once he was given the chance to settle down, and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy himself for the rest of the day.

Dr. Cox peeked in the rear view mirror, sneaking a glance at Newbie, whose head was pressed against the window. A serene expression was painted across his face. It was a nice image, but something still nagged at him; something he had pushed aside when first he heard it, too rushed and too worried to give it much thought. But now that all was said and done, the words he couldn't let go of seemed to replay over and over in his memory.

"Some dude came in here asking for his 'Daddy.'"

Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy.

JD had only called him that once, and that had been an accident. The subject had never been brought up again, but if the kid was referring to him as his father to people he didn't even know…? Maybe Newbie called him Dr. Cox to his face, but he wasn't thinking of him like that in his five year old mindset. What bothered Perry the most was his indecisiveness on the matter. Last time, it had scared him, no questions asked. But this time his thoughts on the topic were jumbled. He couldn't pin point how he felt, how he'd taken it, but he did know one thing for sure: It hadn't scared him the way it had last time.

So…what did that mean?

Perry pulled up to his apartment. He'd been getting ready to drop Carla and Turtle Head off first, almost forgetting that it wasn't his car he'd been driving.

"Thanks for agreeing to do this, Dr. Cox," Carla said softly as Perry picked up JD from the back seat. The hypnotized doctor let out a content little sigh before burying his face into his caretaker's neck.

"Besides the whole getting lost thing, it was a blast," the older man answered sarcastically, but the nurse could tell he wasn't labeling the day in it's entirety as a complete failure.

"Thanks for finding him," Turk cut in. Perry looked surprised for a moment, but nodded soon after. Even he couldn't deny how much Gandhi cared for the kid, five year old mind or not.

A small sound emitted from JD's sleeping form, catching all of their attention. Perry nodded one more quick goodbye before heading towards the apartment. It had been a long day, and JD wasn't the only one who could use a good night's sleep.

A/N: I hope this made the cliffhanger worth it! Oh, and the reference to Turk having seen JD's unimpressive bowling skills was taken from a Scrubs episode. JD and Turk go bowling, and when JD reads off the scores at the end of the game, he says he scored, "A gentleman's forty." (LOL, that part always makes me laugh) Anyway, that's about it from me. I hope you guys liked it! Until next time! :)