A/N: The response for this story has been wonderful! I really really really appreciate all of the reviews, and I hope that I can live up to your expectations!

Raising a Hand

by LQ Aredhel

Chapter Three

When JD's alarm went off at 8 a.m. the next morning, his mind immediately reverted to thoughts of the night before; the night he'd spent making out with another man. It was the kind of thing that pretty much made sense at the time, but caused more than a little panic eight hours later. Which was why JD immediately jumped in the shower, feeling really gross. He opened his mouth into the stream, allowing the warm water to run over his teeth and lips. Blegh, he thought. I'm never drinking again.

It was sort of his default solution to waking up after doing anything stupid: It's no big deal, I was drunk. But in the back of his mind, something was prodding at JD, trying to get him to admit that he hadn't been drunk. Not at all. He'd been buzzed at best, comfortable enough to go along with Daniel when he'd kissed him, but certainly lucid enough to stop it at any time. It was easier to pretend he'd been drunk.

After dressing and doing his hair, JD wandered out of his room to see Carla sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee.

"'Morning, JD," she greeted him, not even smiling. JD instantly thought of his conversation with Turk and expected the worse from her.

"Good morning, Carla, how are you?" he asked, deciding to show her that he could hold a conversation without mentioning Julie.

Oh great, now he was thinking about Julie. Her flowing hair, her bright eyes and adorable smile.

He snapped back to reality when Carla began talking.

"JD, Turk told me that he talked to you yesterday," she informed him, setting down her coffee. "I'm sorry that he was so harsh with you; none of us meant to hurt your feelings."

JD nodded, but wasn't sure how to reply.

Carla continued, "You really need to understand that it's not that we don't care about you, okay? We just all have a lot on our minds. Turk and I are trying to have a baby and Elliot spends all of her time trying to maintain her control over her relationship with Keith." (I hate Keith, JD added in his head). "We're all in stressful situations, but we're all working our way out of them on our own. You see?"

JD scrunched his nose at her. "Uh, no, Carla. You're dealing with your situation with Turk, and Elliot has Keith, while I, like an idiot, just got rid of my only chance at a happy life. There's quite a difference." She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to reply. "No," JD cut her off, shaking his head to clear his thoughts. "Don't even worry about it, Carla. I made a new friend, so I'll just whine to him from now on."

Carla looked at him skeptically. "You made a new friend?"

"That's right," JD confirmed. "Daniel. I met him in a bar a couple of nights ago and he's been really nice and sympathetic to my problems."

"You met him in a bar?" Now she looked concerned.

"Yup, so you don't have to worry about me complaining to you guys anymore; Daniel's got it covered. He's a real friend." He smiled triumphantly and turned to leave the apartment.

"Bambi, you're never going to learn how to deal with things like this on your own if you keep running to whoever will listen," Carla explained, sounding exhasperated.

"Look, we all deal with problems in different ways, right?" JD asked, recalling Daniel's words the night before. "This is my way." He left the apartment before she could respond.

JD expected to feel better about everything after that; he'd proven to Carla not only that he could stand up for himself, but that he didn't need to run to his friends when something was wrong. But for some reason, as JD pulled Sasha up to the hospital entrance he only felt worse. There was a burning loneliness in the pit of his stomach, and no matter how much he told himself that he had a new friend who would listen to him and be there for him, he couldn't help wishing that his old friends were there for him too. He couldn't help missing watching TV with Turk, shopping with Carla, and painting Elliot's toenails, even the one with the giant calluses. Why couldn't it feel the same way with Daniel? Maybe he just had to get to know him better...

JD worked hard again that day, trying to ignore the fact that Turk and Elliot were in the hospital with him; in fact, he made a point to avoid them the same way they had avoided him yesterday. He walked away whenever they were in the area, and made sure that he ate his lunch late again. It worked like a charm. By 3 o'clock, JD spotted Turk giving him anxious glances whenever he walked by one of his patients' rooms. Turk felt guilty, JD could tell. But JD was disappointed when Turk still never approached him, still kept his distance. It hurt.

So when JD finally shuffled out of the hospital that night, he felt more exhausted than normal: working so hard had taken its toll on his body, and thinking about Turk and Elliot and Carla (and trying not to think about Julie) had taken its toll on his mind. He just felt like collapsing. Into a pair of open arms. He parked Sasha in front of Daniel's apartment for the second night in a row.

Daniel was home again, and it appeared as though he'd been waiting for JD to arrive; his apartment was spotless, and there was a beer and a ginger-ale sitting on the coffee table next to a DVD.

"How was work?" Daniel asked when they'd sat down. JD smiled; now this was more like it. He was being treated like a family member instead of an enemy. He relaxed into the couch and told Daniel about avoiding Turk and Elliot, and Turk's guilt-ridden looks. Daniel listened quietly and comforted JD when he could tell (and he could always tell) that something had really hit JD hard. Then he put in a DVD and the night began.

This is the way things went for over a week. JD would wander over every day after work, or after a particularly lonely day; with his friends avoiding him, JD spend his precious free days playing video games in his room or wandering around town alone. When JD arrived at Daniel's apartment, they would talk about their days, watch a movie (often a scary one that had JD chugging down his beers and moving closer to Daniel for safety), and then JD would spill everything; every secret fear, longing, and wish would come pooring out easily after a few beers and the comfort that Daniel offered through his kind words and friendly touches. Then it was Daniel's turn.

JD always felt a bit apprehensive about this part of the night, but after Daniel began kissing him and running his hands through his hair, all of that went away. It wasn't that JD was particularly attracted to Daniel; it was simply that JD could understand how Daniel would find kissing and holding one another comforting, and it helped him as much as it helped his friend. It felt good to be desired and touched, to be close to someone.

By the end of the first week, JD was pretty sure that Daniel was gay because of the way he spoke; whenever Daniel related a story to JD to explain something about relationships, he would use "they" and "their" in place or "him" or "her" for his significant other. It was something that JD had heard many times with his gay friends in college, and even a couple of male nurses at the hospital (who he had later caught in the closet with each other).

Daniel's orientation didn't bother JD, except when Daniel tried to take their make-out sessions a step further. JD always tried to stop it before it got to that point, but sometimes he would lose himself under Daniel's minstrations (he was a great kisser), and suddenly feel Daniel's hand slide up his shirt and lightly caress his stomach, causing him to shiver. So JD would push away. The soft caress on hidden skin, something so simple yet so intimate, always caused JD's stomach to tighten in arousal, and he had to draw the line there. The next morning, he always told himself that it was because he didn't want to lead Daniel on, but it was as much for Daniel as it was for him; JD wasn't sure he would be able to stop himself if he allowed Daniel to continue. It was the combination of being so close to someone and being sex-starved after breaking up with Julie; the emotion and the arousal would become too much for him, and he just had to stop.

Fortunately, Daniel never complained, and he never looked surprised. He moved his hand from JD's stomach to caress his face and apologize for invading his space. JD would just smile and shrug, a little out of breath. It was moments like that that would make him feel like he was crazy later; waking up the next morning only to recall staring into a man's eyes as he caresses him and apologizes for going too far in a make-out session...a lot of mornings it just didn't make sense. But JD always returned, in the evenings, to Daniel's apartment for the kind of comfort he really couldn't get anywhere else.

About two weeks after he broke up with Julie, JD's friends began talking to him again. JD felt like they'd been avoiding him forever. The first thing they did was corner him in the break room and take turns apologizing for avoiding him.

"It's no big deal, guys," JD told them, trying to look sympathetic. Elliot and Turk looked so sad, pleading with their eyes for his forgiveness. Carla had that 'I-feel-bad-for-hurting-you-but-I-hope-you-learned-something' look on her face. JD couldn't stand that look, and he was filled with a mix of anger and hope at the break in the silent-treatment he'd been recieving; he hoped that life could return back to normal now.

"So are you over Julie?" Turk asked as he sat on the couch next to JD. Elliot and Carla left the break room.

JD thought for a moment. He hadn't really thought about Julie much the last few days. It almost made him guilty, how soon he got over her. He still felt pangs of regret when he thought about her, but he didn't feel depressed about it. The loneliness of losing all of his friends probably overode the depression.

"Yeah, I'm over her," he finally replied. Turk grinned at him and patted him on the shoulder.

"Good, because there's a Gilmore Girls marathon on tonight, and you have no idea how much I had to beg Carla to let me start talking to you again today so that I could watch it with you." They both stood. JD felt that stabbing hurt again; it looked like he'd finally lost his battle with Carla: Turk was her's.

JD nodded as they left the room. "Yeah, sounds good." They split up halfway down the hallway, and JD allowed himself to melt at the thought of hanging out with Turk again. God, he missed his best friend. And nothing could be better than a Gilmore Girls marathon with Turk. JD grinned through his next three patients.

"And what exactly are you so happy about, princess?" a familiar voice muttered as JD doodled a picture of him and Turk (as stick figures) watching TV with happy faces, while Carla stood behind them with her arms folded and an angry face. JD began crumpling the paper to hide the evidence from Dr. Cox, before realizing that it was a patient's chart. He carefully uncrumpled it and turned to face his mentor, who was filling something out next to him at the nurse's station.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Cox. Your hair is looking especially boing-able today," JD greeted him, grin still in place.

Cox sighed. "Why do I bother to engage you?" he asked, mostly to himself, then stopped writing and turned to JD. "First of all, never use the word 'boing' in my prescense, especially when referring to me. Second, I need you to be on-call tomorrow night to help me with research for a case of herpangina."

JD's face lit up even more. "You want me to help?" JD practically squealed.

Dr. Cox grimaced. "I'm afraid so, Amanda. The only other fourth-year residents available are either already working or Barbie, so you see?" He sighed. "My hands are tied. Just be ready to get down to work by 10 and, for God's sake, you've got to stop looking at me like that. It's freaking me right out. It really is."

JD realized that he was now practically cooing at the older doctor, his eyes tearing up and his hands together as if in prayer. He quickly lowered his hands and tried to clear his face.

"I won't let you down, Dr. Cox!" he reassured, attempting to look serious. He refused to let it bother him when Dr. Cox moaned and began banging his head against the counter.

What a great day, JD decided as he walked away.

The next two days were even better.

JD spent all that night hanging out with Turk. They watched six hours of Gilmore Girls, giggling and commenting all the way up until the marathon ended at four in the morning. They were both exhausted when they got up for work the next morning, but JD also felt exhilerated, renewed, after spending so much time with his best friend. Things were beginning to feel normal again.

Work that day went by slowly, especially with JD anticipating working overnight with Dr. Cox; he loved watching his mentor work, and to know that he was helping his favorite doctor, especially when Dr. Cox was the one who asked him to help, was incredibly invigorating. He bounced from patient to patient all day, chatting up a storm (mostly about either Gilmore Girls, which was still stuck in his head, or how great Dr. Cox was). Finally, his first twelve-hour shift ended, and he had an hour before he had to meet Dr. Cox. Normally, this would be time for a good nap, but JD was still too hyped up. None of his friends were on-call, so he finally just went to the breakroom and watched TV.

Sometime during The Simpsons, JD thought about Daniel...well, it was more like the entire idea of Daniel swung and hit JD in the face. He had showed up at Daniel's apartment every night for the past two weeks straight, except last night and tonight. Would Daniel have been waiting for him? Would be think that JD was hurt or sick? Or abandoning him? JD was filled with guilt; how could he have forgotten his new friend?

10 o'clock finally rolled around and JD was forced to push these thoughts aside, along with the thick guilt lining his stomach. He allowed himself to become excited again about working closely with Dr. Cox on a project, and being able to watch him work without being yelled at; it was a rare opportunity, and JD knew it. Anyone would have known it.

Of course, eight hours later, JD emerged from the hospital a withered mass of man. He was physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted. Not taking advantage of nap-time really wore down his body, and working on the difficult herpangina case while simultaneously being constantly berated and abused by Dr. Cox had smashed up his mind and heart. He rode Sasha home and collapsed into his bed.

When JD woke the next morning (glad that he didn't have to work that day), he smelled pancakes. Not just any pancakes; Turk's special chocolate chip blueberry pancakes. JD figured that Turk must still feel guilty about avoiding him for two weeks, because it was tough for Turk to make his special chocolate chip blueberry pancakes: because of his diabetes, Turk wasn't allowed to eat them. But once in a while, when JD felt really bad (or Turk felt really guilty), he'd whip up a batch and watch as JD ate them all. What a great way to wake up.

"Chocolate Bear, you shouldn't have," JD cooed when he exited his room. Turk grinned at him from behind the kitchen island, sporting a pink, foofy apron.

"Anything for my Vanilla Bear after a long night of researching with the devil," Turk replied, ignoring JD's feigned looked of admonition at calling Dr. Cox anything but a genius. "I don't know why you take that from him anyway, man," Turk continued as he piled the pancakes onto JD's plate. "He's always an asshole to you, but you just keep up taking it."

JD shook his head, even as he stared at the pancakes and licked his lips. "You just don't know him like I do, Turk. He's really a big softie on the inside." He took the maple syrup when Turk offered it and coated his plate with the sticky topping. "Besides, he's the best doctor in the hospital, so I can learn a lot from him."

Turk passed him a fork and JD dug into his pancakes; it was sunshine and rainbows in his mouth. "Oh, I don't doubt that he's a great doctor. I'm just saying that he treats you like dirt. You could learn plenty from Dr. Beardface, too, and he'll buy you candy bracelets and call you 'son'." He became thoughtful. "I'm pretty sure he thinks that I'm his grandson. He bought me a Red Sox cap and tried to ruffle my hair."

JD wrinkled his nose at Turk's bald head. "Don't worry about Dr. Cox. He's fine. I'm used to it anyway," JD replied after maneurvering the mushy pancakes just so in his mouth so that he could form words. Turk just shrugged.

"We're both off today," Turk told him after a moment. There was a mischevious grin planted on his face. "We can do whatever we want." JD paused in his chewing and grinned back.

Thirty minutes later, they had JD's old Super Nintendo dug out of his closet and in the living room. They played every level of Super Mario Bros. over and over again until they beat it (neither had ever been good at the game). Then they went through Kirby, Donkey Kong, and finally Street Fighter until their eyes felt like they would explode. They had the Super Nintendo shoved back in the closet just before Carla walked in the door at nine-thirty.

"Welcome home, baby," Turk greeted her. Carla threw her keys down on the counter, and Turk and JD shook hands while she wasn't looking. It had been a successful day.

All three were just getting cozy on the couch, Carla and Turk in their own little world of baby-talk and kissing, when JD realized where he would normally be at that time of night. The guilt at abandoning Daniel returned, and he decided to pay his new friend a visit to apologize. Maybe he could bring Daniel back to his place so that they could all hang out together. JD said goodbye to Turk and Carla, ignoring their curious gazes, and left his apartment.

As he rode Sasha through town, he realized that he couldn't bring Daniel back to the apartment; JD, Turk, and Carla all had to work early tomorrow and Carla certainly wouldn't appreciate that distraction from sleep. They'd meet eventually, JD figured, but not tonight.

When Daniel opened his door and saw JD, his face transformed from its usual friendly appraising look to one of hurt and anger. "Johnny," he said with a withering glare. He moved back to allow JD to enter.

"I know I haven't been here the past few days," JD began, "but my friends decided to start talking to me again yesterday, so I hung out with Turk Thursday night, and last night Dr. Cox asked me to help him with--" he was cut off by a large THWAP, and his head swung to the right. Bright white pain shot through his cheek and he didn't move for a moment, shocked at what had just happened.

JD finally raised his hand to his cheek and flexed his jaw; his skin felt like it was on fire. He raised his eyes and met Daniel's to see fury burning inside of them.

"Why would you just stop showing up, Johnny? Why?" Daniel demanded. JD had still been partially in shock, but Daniel's pain-filled voice pulled him back to reality. "We were helping each other, weren't we? I listened to anything you had to say about Julie, your friends, your co-workers, everyone and everything. Every problem in your life, I listened to it and tried to help you with it. Then you just leave and never come back!" JD felt more confused than he ever had before; Daniel sounded so sad, so pained, but his face didn't emit sadness, only rage. JD wasn't sure how to take it. "You of all people should know what it feels like to be abandoned, Johnny."

JD lowered his hand from his cheek. He ignored the stinging and searched Daniel's face; he felt like he needed to know what was really going on. There was only anger in his face.

"I'm sorry," JD said quietly. His friends words had finally hit him. JD did know what it was like to be abandoned, and he had done the same thing to Daniel. JD still had his other friends, while Daniel had no one. "I didn't mean to make you angry," JD pleaded, trying to calm him down. "It was really selfish of me to not let you know what was going on. I'm sorry, okay?"

Finally, the sadness that had radiated in Daniel's voice showed in his expression. His anger melted into relief and guilt as he stepped closer to JD.

"I'm sorry, too," Daniel said. "I'm sorry I freaked out like that. It's just really tough being alone."

JD nodded. "I know."

Daniel reached up and touched JD's cheek; his cold hand felt good on the hot flesh. "I'm sorry that I hit you."

JD shrugged. "Don't worry about it. No big deal."

Daniel smiled, completely calmed. "I'll make it up to you," he promised, and leaned in to give JD a deep, lingering kiss.