A/N: Rating has been changed to M for violence, language, and adult situations. This chapter's a bit short because so much happens in the next one. Aww, just mean, isn't it?

I would also like to clarify, just for the people who were curious, that neither Dr. Cox nor JD are gay in this story. Not that I don't like a good JDCox slash...it's just not here.

Thank you for the wonderful reviews, and happy holidays!

Raising a Hand

by LQ Aredhel

Chapter 10

When JD woke up again, he was on his back, and his entire midsection felt like it was on fire. He let out a strangled groan and managed to roll onto his side, curling up into a ball and holding his stomach. He didn't know whether to pass out again or throw up.

He was vaguely aware of feet moving around him: Daniel's shoes. The door to the apartment opened and closed behind him, and he did pass out again.

The next time he awoke, JD was in a bed. There was a blanket over him, but he felt way too warm. His nose was stuffed up. JD slowly rose a hand, wincing when his stomach clenched and ached, and touched his nose. His hand came back covered in dried – and fresh – blood. He coughed, sending his entire body into spasms; it hurt so much! He curled onto his side again, trying to ease his aching stomach and sides, but they still burned like he was being stabbed. Tears were rolling down his face.

After several moments of sitting as still as he possible could (still rolled up into a ball) and hardly breathing at all, the pain began to subside and he could see and hear clearly again. The door to the bathroom opened.

"You're awake," Daniel said. He was completely nude, using a towel to dry his hair and arms. "You've been asleep for hours and hours...it was so boring..."

He was slurring his words; he was probably drunk, but JD had a hard time concentrating on anything except breathing as shallowly as possible as he watched Daniel saunter across the room and climb onto the bed.

"I'm glad you're up now." He kissed JD softly on his open, tense lips. "Glad you're feeling better." Daniel caressed JD's shoulder and ran a hand down his side and up his shirt. When pushed against JD's chest, JD failed to suppress a strangled scream as he fell onto his back.

Blinded by the pain, JD subconsciously attempted to curl back onto his side, but Daniel's strong hands stopped him. He looked up into Daniel's confused eyes.

"I—I think--" It was so hard to speak when he couldn't even breathe. Daniel was starting to look annoyed; JD could still feel tears running down his cheeks. "I think I should ...maybe go...to the hospital," he finally breathed out.

Daniel was starting to look angry. "Why? You're not sick. You're not bleeding. You'll be fine, just a bloody nose." Before JD could pull together the energy to speak again, he continued, "You know I don't mean to hurt you; I just want to protect you. From yourself, from the careless people around you. I just don't want to see you disappointed by them."

JD nodded as best he could; his whole body was starting to shake from the pain in his chest that still hadn't subsided. "I think...my ribs..."

Daniel gently pulled up his shirt and he no longer looked angry. "It's just some bruises," he explained. JD couldn't see what he saw, but he felt like one or more of his ribs were broken.

Broken ribs could mean respiratory problems, could mean sharp edges cutting vital organs, the heart, lungs, could mean death. Death is a lot, death is a big thing, death is enough to go to the hospital.

"I could die," JD gasped out after debating with himself. It was worth it for people to see him hurt if it meant that he wouldn't die, right?

Daniel didn't look convinced. "You'll be fine, you just need some rest." He shook his head and rose fro the bed. "Tomorrow is Sunday. You don't have to work right?" JD shook his head. "Just stay here. I'll bring you some soup. You'll be fine by Monday."

JD closed his eyes; why wasn't the pain going away? He held his breath for as long as he could, and it helped a little. But when he finally gasped for air, a terrible stabbing pain ripped through him and blinded him again. Daniel returned a few minutes later (fully dressed) with a bowl of soup.

"Here, I'll help you," he offered, setting the bowl on the side table and gently pulling JD into sitting position. JD bit back a sob and allowed Daniel to move him. By the time he was aware of himself again, he was pretty sure he'd blacked out, because Daniel was sitting next to him offering him a spoonful of soup. JD was, of course, in no way hungry, but Daniel was in a good mood and he didn't want to ruin that. His ribs and stomach screamed as he maintained his sitting position while Daniel fed him half the bowl of soup. He passed out as Daniel helped him to lay back down.

JD woke often during the next 24-hours; any shift in position would send shock waves of pain through his ribs.

Realizing that Daniel wouldn't be taking him to the hospital was almost a relief; the decision to reveal their situation had been taken away from him. Suddenly his mind took on an alternate opinion:

It's just bruises, you're not used to pain, it feels worse than it is. Sleeping helps, sleeping cures all. Daniel knows what he's talking about.

JD dreamed as he slept about his friends. He dreamed his memories, things that really happened; but the events were bigger, exaggerated. He dreamed of being mocked, ignored, hated, abandoned by Elliot, Carla, Turk, and Dr. Cox. He dreamed of the day that Turk admitted to avoiding him because he was annoying, and when Elliot ditched him to hang out with an old friend. His unconscious mind remembered again and again Carla telling him that his abandonment was for his own good.

And every time he woke up, Daniel would be standing above him with smiling eyes, or sitting in a chair across the room reading a book. He was always somewhere nearby as if waiting for the moment when JD felt better so that he could help him out of bed and to the couch so that they could watch another scary movie.

Instead, JD slept more and woke less. When he was conscious, he felt miserably hot; his entire body ached and his mind was fuzzy and unclear. Eventually, he was completely embedded in his memories, left alone to be torn apart again and again with Dr. Cox's personalized glare. The last thing he remembered about the real world was Daniel's kind eyes flooded with worry and concern.

When JD awoke next it was morning. Panic ripped through him when he thought for a moment that it was Monday morning and time for work, but he soon realized that he was already at Sacred Heart.

He was in a hospital bed, and Elliot was bent over him, flashing a light in his eyes.

"JD, you're awake," she said, obviously choked up. "I'm so glad. I thought I'd have to go home without talking to you."

JD opened his eyes wide, confused. He suddenly realized that he wasn't in any pain. He tried to sit up, and —ah, there it was— fire shot through his chest and sides.

"No, you can't get up," Elliot squealed, holding her hands out as if to keep him down. He dropped back onto the bed, groaning. "You had three broken ribs. JD, how did this happen?"

He opened his eyes, which had been pinched shut from the pain, and was unable to clear his head long enough to come up with a good excuse. Luckily, she kept talking, her voice wavering.

"You had three broken ribs, a broken nose, a ridiculously high fever from an infection...you were bleeding internally. You had to have surgery last night, and--"

"Last night?" JD demanded. He immediately regretted it when the words sent him into a coughing fit, which sent jolting pain through his ribs. Elliot gave him a sip of water and watched as he panted, calming. She looked like she was going to cry.

"How long have I been in here?" JD finally asked when he could breathe with relatively little pain.

Elliot took a deep breath. "Only about eight hours. Some guy found you on the street and carried you in. I've been on call all night waiting for you to wake up, but my shift ends in half an hour. JD, what happened? Did you get jumped? Why didn't you call one of us? This infection has obviously been in your system for days, and...you could have died."

Now she was crying.

"Days?" was all JD could focus on. What day was it?

Elliot nodded, wiping her eyes. "Everyone was livid when you didn't come in for your shift yesterday morning, but they just figured that you were with your new friend...whatever his name is. We didn't know that you were hurt, I swear."

JD shook his head, trying to sooth her without actually using his scratchy throat.

"Did someone kidnap you?" Elliot asked, obviously becoming hysterical. "Did they hold you hostage or drug you or threaten you? JD, tell me what happened!"

He cleared his throat and winced at the resulting jolt of pain. "I fell," he croaked, licking his chapped lips. "I fell down the stairwell...in my friend's apartment building." It wasn't your fault. It was a lot of work to talk, to think.

"I'm so sorry, JD," Elliot promised. "I wish I'd been there to help you." She looked as though she would start crying again, but then she stood and wiped her cheeks. "I have to go check on my other patients, but I'll come back and say goodbye before I leave, okay?"

JD carefully nodded. "Thank you." He winced; she noticed and turned up his morphine drip. Then she kissed him on the forehead and said, "Feel better, JD." He drifted back into sleep.

"There haven't been any problems so far with his recovery. He had some trouble talking when he woke up a little while ago, so I'd watch out for breathing complication--"

"I'm aware of what to look out for, Barbie, so you can be on your way now."

Dr. Cox. Oh God.

Just what he needed; Dr. Cox to come by and see him beat to a pulp. At least he didn't hurt right now.

"Right, I'll just..." Elliot's voice trailed off and there was silence for a moment.

"I'll take care of him." It was whispered, but JD thought it sounded like his mentor's voice. Was that right?

When JD finally opened his eyes, Dr. Cox was staring down at him, his arms crossed and his face whiter than usual. There was a familiar glare plastered across it.

"What happened here, princess?" He returned JD's clipboard to the end of the bed and moved around to stand next to him. "You fell down a flight of stairs and miraculously landed on your face and chest...over and over again."

JD closed his eyes again. Why couldn't he just go away? Why did this have to happen? He and Dr. Cox had been doing so well before this...

You don't care what Dr. Cox thinks, he reminded himself. It was far from the truth, but Daniel's words echoed in his mind: Dr. Cox despised him, used him, watched him squirm under insult after insult.

"What really happened, Newbie? Another bar fight? New boyfriend get his panties in a twist? Don't tell me: you tripped over that inanimate dog of yours. Give me a break."

"Dr. Cox?" Carla's voice broke through JD's misery. "JD has a visitor, the man who brought him in. He wants to see how he is." Carla looked pale as well, watching JD with concerned eyes the entire time she spoke.

JD gave her a small smile, then his eyes fell on the figure standing in the hallway near the door. "Daniel?" he muttered, though he soon realized that he shouldn't have been surprised; of course Daniel brought him in.

But then Dr. Cox's head whipped around to look at Daniel, then back at JD. He maintained his composure even when his eyes filled with shock and he swallowed thickly. JD blanched when he recalled Dr. Cox overhearing his phone conversation, saying the name 'Daniel', saying that it had been his brother.

Dr. Cox was suddenly gone from the room; even Carla looked surprised. Then she entered and ran her hair through JD's hair, asking, "How are you feeling, Bambie?", and making small-talk with him as Daniel followed her in and looked around the room.

"I'll leave you two alone," Carla finally decided. She patted JD's arm and left the room, closing the door behind her.

JD visibly sank deeper into the mattress, finally able to relax. He hoped that Dr. Cox wouldn't start in on him again about who Daniel was...it was tiring enough for JD to simply stay awake when his whole body felt numb and comfortable.

Daniel smiled down at him. "Feeling better?" JD nodded. "I would have brought you more soup, but I figured they probably fed you here." He sat on the edge of the bed; JD winced when the movement tightened the blanket across his body. "So...that's Dr. Cox, huh?"

JD swallowed and nodded again, afraid of how his voice would sound. Daniel thought that he had some sort of ... crush on his mentor. He wracked his mind for ways that he could convince him otherwise.

"He's pretty hot," Daniel finally admitted, to JD's shock. "I mean, he's not my type, but I can see how he would be competition."

"H-He's not competition," JD choked out, his throat raw. "I don't like him..."

Daniel just snorted good-naturedly. "Like I can't tell." He was suddenly serious. "You know I'm only trying to protect you, right?" One hand spread against JD's chest and put the slightest pressure on his ribs. JD choked on a cry. "Because I care about you, and I love you. And when you get out of here, I'll keep you away from people like that." He was leaning in close; JD could feel his breath on his face. He wanted to tell Daniel to back away, he didn't want people to see...but it was all he could do to keep himself silent from the pressure on his broken ribs.

But Daniel didn't kiss him; he backed away, and removed his hand, and JD looked up to see Dr. Cox watching them through the window.

"I'll come back tomorrow; in fact, I'll visit you every day," Daniel promised. "I'll prove to you that you don't need them."

He left, and all JD could think was, I already know I don't need them.

Dr. Cox entered soon afterwards, just as JD was beginning to drift off. He just wanted to fall asleep; his chest was starting to hurt again and the last thing he wanted was to be made fun of again by his mentor.

But the older doctor just pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and sat, rubbing his hair, until he finally looked JD in the eyes and, pale-faced, whispered, "We need to talk."