Title – My Happy Ending
Author – JubilationLee
Summary – A devastating illness to one of their own causes mixed reactions from the staff of Sacred Heart.
Authors Notes – Sorry I took me a while to update, I just finished my holidays and I realized I hadn't done any homework that had been set.
Confession – I didn't really have a dentist appointment when I didn't go to IT class today.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything to do with Scrubs! But Scrubs sort of looks like Crabs and i do own crabs
Chapter 7
Outside, the day was clear and fresh and the oncoming spring season had brought with it, a clean feeling to the air, as the scents of flowers and new life wafted through the crisp afternoon. This was a day for celebrating life, even St Lukes Hospital, which usually stood tall, stoic and imposing had a feel of contentment floating around it, the countless deaths that haunted its hallowed frame were momentarily forgotten.
From a distance, a lone figure could be seen half walking, half stumbling out of the automatic doors of St Lukes, a dazed expression covering his face, not at all fitting into his cheerful surroundings. The blank face, gave passers by no clue as to the storm raging inside JD's mind, a storm that threatened to spill out at any moment.
JD was going over the recent conversation in his head…
"John, this is Dr Lorenzo, he's the neurologist that diagnosed you" Dr Robert said to JD beckoning to a man entering into the room, for once not rambling on in a string of nonsense sentences.
The man was younger than Robert although older than JD and he wore a look of phony cheerfulness as he spoke to JD.
"Hello John. You're a doctor I've been told. That should make this a lot easier to explain"
Dr Lorenzo paused and looked at JD momentarily, as though expecting him to argue.
"I'm afraid the news isn't good;so I'll get straight to he point, you have a grade 3 anaplastic oligodendrogliomas situated within your temperal lobe. This means that you probably started feeling the symptoms the last few weeks, am I correct in assuming this? Headaches? Moodswings? Nausea? You may have even suffered a loss of hearing or sight."
JD nodded, almost imperceptivly, still numb with shock as Dr Lorenzo continued.
"The best course of action and my highest recommendation is that we operate as soon as possible because it's such a fast growing tumor. And depending on the outcome of the surgery, this will proably be followed up with a few months of chemotherapy."
"Surgery?" JD said confused, in the wake of the news, all of his doctor knowledge had seemed to leak out of his mind in a slow trickle, that now left him numb.
"Yes, surgery. I will be able to ge you booked in next week at the earliest. But," he paused looking for the right words, " I'll be honest with you JD, without the surgery, you will die, wheather its in 3 months or 3 years, the outcome will be the same, surgery is the only chance you've got at beating this thing.".
"Die?"
"I know that this is a lot to take in at the moment John-"
"Call me JD" JD cut in, unsure why he was offering this stranger the nickname that was usually reserved for his friends.
"Ok, JD", he began again." I know this is a lot to take in but its imperative that you let me know your decision as soon as possible. I suggest that you talk to you family and close friends and get back to me ASAP"
The thoughts were still swirling around in JD's mind as he slowly walked back to his car. HIs hands were shaking uncontrolably and he fumbled to open the locked door, after a few minutes he dropped the keys and punched the metal vehical in a bout of pent up frustration and self pity.
Shit.
-
JD pulled up out the front of his apartment without even remembering how he had gotten there, the trip had been a blur of colorless colors and indiscernible noises, he could have hit thirty pedestrians for all he knew. As he made his way up the stairs to his apartment his mind was once again waged in the throws of an internal battle.
Brain tumor? This must be a dream, another one of my stupid little fantasies. Stuff like this doesn't really happen to people like me. I'm healthy, I'm young! Just a delusion. Time to wake up JD; wake up JD, wake-
"-UP JD! Geez man, I knew you daydreamed, but not that deeply. What were you thinking about? Naked people?"
The voice belonged to Turk, whose face, when JD actually concentrated and looked in front of him, was inches away from his own, peering into his eyes, as though he was checking to see if anyone was inside.
"Oh, sorry Turk" JD apologized, weakly.
"Hey man, whatever. It's the Todd's birthday. We're goin out of drinks and no, I don't wanna hear your excuses this time, you're comin".
"Bu-"
Not giving JD time enough to finish the single syllable word, or make up an excuse, Turk grabbed JD by the arm and dragged him out of the apartment before he'd stepped more than two steps inside the apartment.
-
"…Happy Birthday to the To-odd, Happy Birthday to meeeeeee…"
Todd was singing the birthday song to himself in a drunken roar for the third or forth time that night. The fact that no-one had joined in the first time had not seemed to bother him and each version was at least 10 decibels louder than the previous. The dozens of empty bottles that littered the table of the small booth was evidence of the large amount of alcohol that had already been drunk, by the small group of people occupying the table.
A mass of conversations flew back and forth across the table and it would have been impossible for an outsider to understand the gist of any of them. When at last a brief moment of silence fell over the group, a nameless surgery buddy of Turk and Todd spoke up.
"Yo man! Where are the women?" he shouted, fighting to be heard over the loud music playing in the pub.
Todd halted in the middle of beginning the first verse of Happy Birthday again and managed to slur out, "They're comin' man, I toll 'em all tonigh' at 8"
"It's like 11.30, where are they?" pushed the unsatisfied man.
"Hey! They"ll be here, no-one ever miss a chans wiv The Todd" garbled Todd, sounding indignant at the thought any woman could possibly resist him.
JD sat at the edge of the cushioned booth paying no attention to the passing conversations going on around him, staring blankly into space and his first bottle of beer still sitting untouched in his chilled hand. But when the tinkling of smashed glass sounded next to his ear, he raised his head in confusion. Turk was standing, barely, and proclaiming to the bar that he wanted to make a toast, half a beer glass still held in his hand, he other half spread across the table from where he had hit it to hard with his spoon.
"Happy Birfday T-man"
A chorus of "Happy Birthdays" followed Turks lame toast and a dozen bottles were chinked and raised to waiting lips, JD's included.
But as the bitter taste hit JD's taste buds, the bile that had been threatening to show its face all day suddenly rose to the top of his throat. Within seconds he had sprinted out the front door of the bar and was hunched over the bushes lining the sidewalk, losing all of the food he had eaten that day. He could faintly feel a hand slapping roughly on his back, in what he supposed was supposed to be a soothing gesture. JD fell to his knees and hunched over, clutching is stomach, dreading another oncoming bout of sickness.
"Now, here's a man who can't hole his licar" he heard a drunken Turk intone. "You awright there, buddy? You ownwy had one dwink."
JD looked up into the bleary-eyed face of Turk and though he was obviously completely drunk, he had still come out to check on JD.
"It wasn't the beer that made me sick, I've got a brain tumor" JD said dismally, unable to keep the news to himself any longer.
"Wot?" Turk blurted out, momentarily stunned before he burst into a fit of laughter at the absurdity of JD's statement. "Man, you weally are drunk, don you reawize you haf to work tomorrow?"
"I'm not joking Turk, I could die" JD said desperately, wanting comfort more than ever before.
"Yea? Okay man, I bewieve you "Turk blurted out, still amused. "Less get you home to slee' it off"
"But-" JD cut himself off, not bothering to finish. What was he doing anyway? Confessing his problems to a drunken man who wouldn't remember anything in the morning anyway. Stupid.
"Yeah, let's go home"
-
JD awoke the next morning, and was immediately flooded with the thoughts of yesterdays events, but hoped desperately that they were just apart of last nights dream. But thinking about them more as he rose and led himself to the shower, he knew that he was just fooling himself.
I have to face facts. I cant go around in a state of denial for the rest of my life.
JD walked into the lounge after dressing and found Turk laying half on the sofa, half off, drooling profusely into one of the cushions. Not wanting to wake him, JD skipped breakfast and left the apartment, noiselessly.
I need somebody to confide in. I need a friend. Turk or Elliot maybe? No, they'd get too worried and freak out all over the place. I need someone wise. Carla? No, hello doting mother. A mentor. Janitor? WHAT! This brain tumor must be getting to my head. Not funny JD. Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood.
The fact was, JD knew exactly who to talk to, the person he could always depend on.
-
"Uhh, Dr Cox? Can I talk to you about something?"
"Depends what that "something" is Nancy", Dr Cox said, gesturing his fingers in quotation marks. "Because your mother really should have told you about the birds and the bees a loooonnng time ago"
"What?" JD asked, confused for a moment before continuing. "No! It's just that…" JD trailed off.
""That?" That what, Newbie, spit it out I cant stand around here all day waiting for you to grow enough brains to string together an entire sentence" Dr Cox taunted, though the unnamable look on JD's face made him shorten his rant. He had seen that look before, on the faces of his patients when-
"CODE BLUE! CODE BLUE!" The nurse's call came from a room just doors away from where JD and Dr Cox were standing and it forced the two of.
"This'll have to wait, Newbie" Cox said quickly, covering his worried expression with a blank one, before rushing to help the flat-lining patient.
Yea ,I'll wait. JD thought miserably, hurrying after him. His spirits lowering, ever further into the hard earth beneath him.
procrastinator-99 and Miranda15 – Don't worry, I love Dr Cox too and there will be a ton more than him, I just couldn't work out where to put him in the last few chapters. Thanks!
mugglewolf – You're very strange, but i love you.
sausuge – I couldn't work out whether you were laughing or crying, but thanks anyway.
And thanks to Elli, UberWicca (are you really a witch?), Sky Spade, DannyBoy13 (the pipes, the pipes are calling), bingaling3, Unconventional, Unconventional(peace to you), AnCa, DryMartini, NarfOnABiscuit (sounds yummy), Leoloco, Sickle Sword, Night Wolf Vixen. You are all kind people. You are all kind people who warm the cold recesses of my frozen heart. What the hell am i talking about?
New chapter soon!
I am toastie.