Late Night Cha Cha…

It's said that 75-90% of people visit doctors due to stress which makes me wonder whether it's logical for a doctor to seek out another during their own time of need? You see, at the moment I'm torn. I could effectively follow Dr Bruce's orders and have all those who witnessed the events of the previous night write witness statements and while all these may be glowing in appraisal for Dr Anderson there's the distinct probability they'll be ignored anyway. I could also march right into Dr Bruce's office, tell him to go stick his witness statements where only Dr Roberto the resident proctologist has the unfortunate pleasure to look and demand that Dr Anderson be taken off suspension. Either way, I think he's screwed and I'm going to end up rocking back and forth in the corner.

"Everything all right Bambi?" Carla asked sidling up next to J.D.

"Which corner do you think would be best to have a breakdown in?"

"What?"

"Dr Bruce wants me to get everyone to write witness statements about the other night."

"God he's such a jerk!"

"I know," J.D nodded sadly. "He'll probably ignore them anyway."

"He'll probably read them and laugh."

J.D let out a huff. "I wish there was something more I could do you know?"

"I know Bambi," Carla soothed. "I guess all you can hope for is that the board takes Dr Anderson's side and not Bruce's."

"It's so not fair," J.D sighed looking at his hands; his knuckles were white from being clasped so hard. "So why are you looking so troubled?"

"Me?" Carla said surprised. "I'm just tired."

"Carla."

Carla let out a hiss of breath. "I don't like how close Dr Cox and Gina are getting. It's not right, he's got a family, he doesn't need that little blonde harlot ruining everything he's worked so hard for."

"Don't you think that's kinda his decision?" J.D asked gingerly. "I mean they're both adults and everything."

"You can't tell me you're condoning what he's doing."

"Well as far as I know he hasn't done anything."

"You men are all the same," Carla spat. "I wouldn't be surprised if Gina wasn't really mugged at all."

"Gina was mugged?"

"She twisted her ankle and got a black eye," Carla groused. "I'm starting to think it all seems a little convenient."

"That's a bit harsh don't you think?" J.D frowned. "I mean any doctor could have seen her."

"But I told Dr Cox," Carla said sheepishly. "I'm such an idiot."

"I think the word is hypocrite."

"Bambi!"

"What," J.D shrugged as Carla snatched up a pile of paperwork and stormed off. "It's true," he added.

"What's true dude?" Turk asked, appearing with the Todd.

"Your wife is clearly insane," J.D replied.

"Yeah, I knew that before I married her," Turk chided and then looked around quickly to make sure Carla wasn't it hearing distance. "So what you doing now?"

"Avoiding patients," J.D shrugged. "I'm building up the enthusiasm to visit Mr Mills."

"Is he really sick?" Turk asked curiously.

"No, he just refuses to wear any clothes," J.D winced. "He was even admitted naked."

"So, you've seen naked people before," Turk laughed.

"He's 300 pounds," J.D said blankly.

"Dude!" Turk and Todd said together.

"And hairy," J.D continued. "Like a camel."

"I so did not need that image," Turk mumbled as his beeper went off. He let out a groan. "Later," he nodded and hurried off.

"Looks like it just you and me Todd," J.D said, trying to hide the sarcasm in his voice.

"Hey Todd," perked a pretty looking, dark haired nurse as she walked past the two men.

"Sorry dude," Todd grinned and turned away from J.D. "Hey Sofie, wait up!"

Wait a second the Todd has a girlfriend! Oh my God when did that happen? That means I'm the only single one out of all my friends here. That can't be right. Why do I suddenly feel very alone?

"Hey there pumpkin, it's time to get you home," Dr Cox declared waltzing into the private room where Gina was still waiting.

"What? You think I need assistance?" Gina countered sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

"As your doctor I'm categorically telling you that you not only must keep off that ankle for a couple of days but you're also likely to be suffering from shock."

"I drove myself here Perry," Gina scorned. "I'm quite capable of driving myself home."

"Fine, if you can walk to your car you can drive yourself home," Dr Cox nodded. He crossed his arms and watched her slide off the bed onto her feet. Gina winced but stoically started taking very slow, limping steps. "Just so you know I'd like to get some sleep before I have to come back to this hell hole."

"No one is asking you to be here," Gina breathed still not even at the door.

"I can't possibly take any more of this," Dr Cox declared as he stepped forward and swept Gina up into his arms. He threw her over his shoulder and marched down the corridor.

"Perry!" Gina groused, feebly slapping his back. "I'm not an invalid."

"Shuddup," he chided, glad she couldn't see the smirk on his face. In fact he was enjoying the moment so much he didn't even care that Carla was standing there glaring at him - he took the pleasure to smile and wave at her.

They reached Gina's car and he demanded her keys before unlocking the vehicle and plopping her onto the passenger seat.

"You do know how to drive on this continent right?" Gina asked as he kicked the engine into gear.

"Nope," Dr Cox mused. "But I'm sure as hell gonna find out."

"I suppose on the upside when we crash you can administer medical attention."

"Thatta girl, think positive," Dr Cox smirked and tore out of the car park.

"Hey Elliot," Dr Noll called as he strode out of a patient's room and caught Elliot in the corridor.

"Dr Noll," Elliot said half-surprised, half-ashamed because of her mini breakdown earlier.

"Please, Stu."

"Sorry, Stu."

"Much better," Dr Noll smiled. "Anyway I meant to ask you before, what're you doing after your shift?"

"Sleeping," Elliot replied without thinking. "I need eight hours or I start to crave sugar, and when I eat sugar I get like a wave of pimples and my whole head turns into like one big puss ball."

"Sleeping is good," Dr Noll said blankly and then shook his head. "Or we could do something."

"Doing something is good to," Elliot agreed. "Doing something like what exactly?"

"I'm not sure but I think it might involve sleeping," he said cheekily.

"Huh?" Elliot said, thought a moment and then her eyes went wide. "Oh!"

"Think about it," Dr Noll smiled, stepped forward and brushed his lips against hers. By the time she opened her eyes he was gone but her lips hummed.

"Thought about it," she peeped and smiled giddily.

"Dr Dorian," Dr Bruce announced coldly as he walked up behind J.D who was washing his hands after dealing with Mr Mills.

"Dr Bruce," J.D replied and rolled his eyes.

"How are the witness statement coming along?"

"Y'know sir, I've been kinda busy and haven't gotten around to them yet."

"Well if it helps I can get someone to cover the rest of your shift…"

"That won't be necessary."

"Oh so you'll start straight away?"

"No, because I won't do something I don't believe is right," J.D declared. "If you believe Dr Anderson did something wrong then fine but don't ask me to help you because I don't think he did anything wrong. You're going to have to find your evidence somewhere else," he finished, turned on his heel and walked away leaving Dr Bruce speechless.

"So, are you gonna tell me why you quit?" Dr Cox asked as he piggybacked Gina up the stairs to her apartment.

"Not that it's got anything to do with you," Gina replied. "But I'm not going to be part of something that ruins Ross's career. I figure if I stayed I'd be part of that select group that would destroy him."

"Call me crazy if you want Blondie but surely in that position you could also help him."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, couldn't you make it so he comes out looking like a hero rather than a villain? I mean you control the way everything is perceived and I'm sure as hell that you could convince those people to drop the lawsuit."

"I did try Perry," Gina sighed as they reached her apartment. "And they said that I'm just a face at that I don't actually know anything."

"What?" Dr Cox said shocked and narrowed his eyes. "I bet Bruce had something to do with it."

"No doubt," Gina sighed looking over Dr Cox's shoulder as he fumbled with her keys to open the door. "What are you doing?"

"I'd like to see you open a door with a person hanging off your back."

"You offered."

"I'll drop you if you're not nice," Dr Cox declared and tilted back quickly. Gina squealed and gripped him more tightly.

"Bastard!"

"Eh, you love it," Dr Cox chided finally getting the door open.

"And you're not enjoying showing off your muscles by carrying me about everywhere?"

"I'm just sorry I couldn't take my shirt off," Dr Cox mused. "I know you prefer it that way."

"My god could you have a bigger ego?"

"Could you have bigger thighs," Dr Cox gasped. "I mean really, I'm struggling to hold on."

Gina let out a gasp and attempted to strangle him. He tried to prize her off but she clung to him like a monkey. Eventually he lost balance and they both landed on the couch in fits of laughter.

"Are you ok?" Dr Cox chuckled as he sat slumped down on the couch.

"Yeah," Gina nodded breathless. She leaned in closer to him. "You?"

"No," he smiled and realised their eyes were locked on one another. He let out another laugh and forced himself to look away. "You're so bad for me."

"Sorry, didn't mean to strangle you," Gina breathed.

"That's not what I meant," Dr Cox countered. "You're bad for me because you're the only person on earth who gets me. Back home I see two shrinks, one that tries to avoid me frequently," he paused lost in thought a moment. "Here, I've not even thought about therapy because for once in my God damn life I don't have to explain myself."

"And that's bad?"

"Yeah it means I could do all kinds of stupidly aggressive, idiotic things and you're not going to pull me up on it."

"You like strong women don't you Perry?" Gina mused, enjoying the vaguely embarrassed expression on his face.

"I thought I did," Dr Cox sighed and found himself reaching out to stroke her arm. "But then it could've just been my way of avoiding having to show too much affection. Most of my relationships have been based on sex, fighting and then make up sex."

"It's a viscous cycle," Gina agreed looking down at his fingers that were tracing lines down her forearm. She looked back up with a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "It doesn't have to be like that though."

"Yeah," Dr Cox breathed and then winced and pulled away to look at the roof. "I should leave."

"You don't have to," Gina pouted instinctively grabbing his hand.

"I know," Dr Cox agreed getting to his feet. "That's the problem."

"Hey Turk," J.D perked, hurrying to catch up with his friend as he was heading out of the hospital. "Whatcha up to buddy? Fancy heading to a bar or something to wind down?"

Turk winced. "Sorry dude but I kinda promised the Todd that Carla and I would go on a double date with him and Sofie."

"Great," J.D pouted. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Wrestle a crocodile."

"What?"

"Isn't that what Australians do?"

"No that's just Steve Irwin," J.D frowned and then brightened a little. "I wonder if he's home…"

"Baby you ready?" Carla asked as she sidled up to the in thought pair.

"Always," Turk replied sharing a quick kiss with his wife.

"Poor Bambi," Carla cooed smiling at J.D. "You should enjoy having a night to yourself though."

"Yay," J.D said sarcastically.

"Baby are you saying that you want some alone time?" Turk asked as he escorted Carla out of the hospital.

"No baby," Carla replied. "I love spending time with you…mostly."

"What?"

J.D rolled his eyes and tried to convince himself that a night in alone was a normal, healthy thing to do and he shouldn't be feeling abandoned and needy. He brushed off his disappointment and strode out into the cool evening air.

"Hey J.D," Elliot perked, straightening up as she leant against the railings.

"Hey Elliot," J.D half-smiled, thought a moment and then asked. "You wouldn't want to go get a beer or something would you?"

"Oh sorry," Elliot soothed. "I'm going out with Stu."

"Oh great," J.D said, feigning enthusiasm. "You have a fantastic time now."

"Please, he's already propositioned me," Elliot grinned.

"Go you," J.D chided and headed off through the car park. His smile falling into a deep frown as he disappeared into the shadows.

Elliot was checking her reflection in the door for the twelfth time when Dr Noll appeared. Gone was his white coat and scrubs. Now he was sporting a nice pair of butt hugging jeans and a t-shirt making him look not only younger but also the tanned, surfer boy Elliot had been looking for.

"I wasn't checking my reflection," Elliot said quickly and then pouted as she wondered why she said it.

"Even if you were I'd be jealous of the door," Dr Noll replied.

"What?"

Dr Noll shrugged. "I just said the first thing that came into my head."

"Oh," Elliot smiled and then laughed. "So, Stu what've you got planned for me?"

"Well, there's a little ritual I have," Dr Noll declared. "Something I do after every late shift. Would you like to share the experience with me? I promise it's a great way to chill out."

"Sure," Elliot beamed. "I could really do with ah, chilling out, I mean I'm still trying to refrain from crying uncontrollably after a nurse pointed out the skin on my nose is peeling."

"Right," Dr Noll nodded slowly and then laughed to himself. "You're gonna love this," he added taking Elliot's hand and leading her toward his car.

"You betcha!" Elliot agreed as she ignored her mother's voice in her head lecturing her about getting into cars with strange men.

Dr Cox arrived back at the shoebox apartment and was pleased to find it vacated. He sunk down onto the couch, and then realised Todd slept there and leapt up with a yelp. He looked around generally annoyed a moment before stalking into his bedroom and stretching out on the bed.

Dr Cox stared at the ceiling fan that was spluttering its circles. There were three things clawing inside his head for attention. (1) Should he call Jordan, (2) Should he have stayed with Gina and (3) Why in God's name was there a series of shrinking circles drawn on the ceiling fan?

He decided that despite his aching desire to find out how his son was, there was no way in hell he was calling Jordan. The parts of him that wanted to go back to Gina were going to be ignored or satisfied (reluctantly) with one of Todd's videos and he really didn't want to know the answer to the circle thing.

"So how long have you and Todd been friends?" Sofie asked as she sipped her glass of wine.

"Three years," Turk replied. "We met the first day we started as interns."

"Turk's my best friend," Todd perked nodding and then grinned. "I know what I'd like to intern."

"Todd!" Carla gasped as Turk's eyes went wide with shock.

"High five!" Sofie giggled and she and Todd high-fived.

"Oh my god," Carla breathed. "There's two of them."

"This is either a proud day for Todd," Turk gasped. "Or really disturbing."

"The second one," Carla mumbled before grabbing her own glass of wine and sculling half of it.

"I'm gonna need something stronger over here," Turk declared motioning to a nearby waiter.

J.D sat on a barstool, propping himself up at the counter in the first pub he'd come to. Usually the raucous bikers, half-tanked yobbos and loud music emanating from the array of poker machines would put him off but he was feeling so low that he didn't notice any of it and was just concentrating on working his way through a bottle of whatever was cheap.

"You are going to be so sick in the morning," a voice declared.

"Doesn't matter," J.D huffed. "I'm a doctor I'll prescribe myself something."

"You're never a doctor."

"Am too."

"Hell, if you were my doctor I'd be breaking down your door for a physical."

"I don't work in an office I work in a…" as J.D looked up his voice trailed off. On the barstool beside him was a stunning looking girl. Skin tanned from the sun and hair bleached from the same. She was toying with a half-drunk beer and she had the brightest blue eyes J.D had ever seen. "Hospital."

"Are you Canadian?"

"American."

"Eh," the girl shrugged. "Same thing."

"I'll have you know we're very different missy."

"Well so are Aussies, Brits and Kiwis and you lot can't tell the difference."

Damn, she's right! But she's beautiful and I can forgive her.

"So what's your name Mr Very Cute American Doctor?"

"Well there's that," J.D nodded. "Or people call me J.D."

"Well people call me Sandy…"

"Like the beach?"

"More like from Grease."

"I love that movie," J.D perked. "When I was in high school we did a rendition of it and I was Frenchy."

"Frenchy's a girl."

"I know," J.D said sadly. "So, Sandy what're you doing all alone in a place like this?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"But my name's not Sandy."

Sandy looked at J.D strangely a moment and then giggled. "You're such a dag."

"A dag? Should I be offended?"

"Same as a dork but more endearing."

"Oh, ok."

J.D took another drink of whatever it was he was drinking while Sandy finished her beer. "So, Dr J.D would you be up for giving me that physical?"

"We're not supposed to administer medical assistance under the influence of alcohol."

"Then we'll just have to sober you up then," Sandy smiled wickedly, grabbed J.D's arm and escorted him from the pub.