JD POV
Dr. Cox was waiting for me with his muscular strong arms crossed in front of his chest, glaring me down from several feet away as I neared him. He looked even more like a superhero than I already naturally thought of him as, because of his stance and the EMT jumpsuit we both were sporting. I imagined him as Batman (instead of Turk in my previous Batman and Robin fantasy), waiting outside his Batmobile to whisk us off to fight crime. "Morning sunshine!" I greet him, but in my mind, Catwoman greets him. As he grits his teeth at me and turns on his feet to step into the ambulance, I ponder briefly at my fantasy in confusion. I gaze at him as he turns the ignition. Mmmm he smells like fresh body wash and subtle though expensive cologne. "Let's just get this over with," he mumbles and starts to drive. Maybe he didn't miss me, I thought, looking out of the window. He turns on the sirens after getting the first call.
After a few moments of silence, other than the wee-woo, he groans. "Urgh…my head is pounding." He is nearly slumped over the wheel, his tired eyes in a squint. Concern catches in my brow, "…Are you hung over again?" Maybe I should drive, I thought….Although he was doing a pretty good job getting there in a hurry. Dr. Cox briefly glances at me at back at the road, "Is that a problem, Oprah?" His voice was gruff and more tired than his eyes. "You drunk texted me?" I blurted out, immediately mentally slapping myself. No, bad Dorian! He's not going to like that. Just as I thought I had ruined our little reunion excursion, all he said was, "Do we have any Tylenol in this screaming honky van?" Normally, he never missed an opportunity to berate me after such a question. He must've been really hung over, I thought, so I began rummaging around. The rest of the ride to our destination I decided to stay quiet so his head could get some peace.
We were headed to Rellington Elementary School. A second grader just had a seizure and the teacher was so hysterically upset that that's pretty much all of the information that was given to us. We arrived, I grabbed the gurney and Dr. Cox rushed to the playground. A little girl in a pink sweatshirt was lying next to the swings, flat on her back as the other little kids and a few teachers were crowded around her, unsure of what to do. "Alright people, get out of the way. Give her some room," Dr. Cox demanded, at her side in a flash. She was heaving pretty harshly and he secured her airway and I helped provide supplemental oxygen. The kids were watching in horror, some cowering behind the adults, a few were crying, and some just staring with wide eyes.
There was one curly haired boy there who looked like the blood had drained from his face and instead shock filled his features. He was standing the closest. Dr. Cox checked her vitals after her breathing was stabilized. Knowing he could handle the rest, I got up to speak with the teacher with the phone clutched to her shoulder. "Hello, ma'am. I'm Dr. Dorian. What happened here?" The petite red head was visibly shaken, no doubt the hysterical caller. "I thought it was harmless…I thought-I mean it's never gotten this far before," she stuttered. Just as I was about to urge her to give me details, she continued, "She-her name is Jennifer Nguyen. A boy who has been teasing her for weeks pushed her sideways on the swing and she hit her head on the rail a-and started having a seizure. Thank you for getting here so fast, doctor." Dr. Cox was checking her level of consciousness as I continued to speak with the woman about her condition.
"Ms. Jarrett?" The curly haired boy had tugged at her blue blazer sleeve, avoiding eye contact with her. "Is she going to be okay?" he asked. Ms. Jarrett's mouth was in a stern line as she replied grimly, "I don't know, Harold. I hope so. Why would you do such a thing to your classmate?"
Harold looked down at his torn up converse, "She's always being such a girl. I was just messing with her. I didn't mean to hurt her…" I gawked at him in disbelief because he struck a chord with me. It's Dr. Cox as a third grader! "Harold, do you think this is funny? She could die from this! Do you realize what you've done?" she exclaimed. I briefly wondered if just a hysterical straight shooter should be teaching children. Tears began falling out of the little boy's eyes, but his face was scrunched up and angry, clearly trying not to cry and failing. He was ashamed of hurting her and ashamed of crying. I felt a little bad for him. "Newbie!" Dr. Cox called me over, urging me to get the gurney. As we lead her to the ambulance, Harold came running over to us.
"Wait! Jenny, I'm sorry! I'm sorry Jenny, I didn't mean to hurt you!" the kid still had an emotionally constipated look on his face. Before lifting her into the back, Harold grabbed her hand and gave Dr. Cox a pleading look. He flicked his nose and crossed his arms. "You did this?" he asked Harold. "I'm sorry Jenny, please be okay," he cried, ignoring his question. "Harold she needs to go to the hospital right away, you can make up to her when she gets back," I tell him patiently as we get her loaded into the back.
"W-What if she doesn't come back? Jenny, I like you! I really like you! I didn't mean to push you that hard. I-I was just teasing you!" he cried, furiously wiping the tears from his eyes. I shot a wide-eyed look at Dr. Cox. What? He has a crush on her? That's messed up! Dr. Cox glared back at me, "What are you doing, Dr. Dorian?! Get in and close the doors!" I quickly snapped out of it and did as he said. What was wrong with me? I can't let my thoughts get in the way of someone's well-being! Disgusted with myself, I made sure she was doing okay for the moment as I heard Harold follow Dr. Cox around the ambulance, to the driver's side. "She's just such a girl, you know? B-but I really didn't mean to hurt her! Honest!" he proclaimed. Dr. Cox swung the door open and climbed inside. He didn't respond to the kid, he just put the sirens on and drove away. I watched the sad boy watch us leave, and couldn't help but notice the strange stillness in the air.
I stood outside of Jennifer's room in pediatrics, where I usually didn't go. I watched her sleep soundly from the window, deep in thought. Could that be me one day? I mean, could things with Dr. Cox just escalate to the point where he hurts me physically? Wait…I can't really be considering that. He would never to do that to me. I mean, I guess I wouldn't put it past him to punch me in the face. And did I just compare this situation with mine and Dr. Cox's? It's not like he has a crush on me and pushes me on swings. He's childish but he's not a child that much I knew. Why did Harold decide to tease her so harshly when he liked her? It didn't make any sense to me. When I really thought about it, that's not how you're supposed to treat someone that you care about.
Whilst talking to myself back and forth in my head, I hadn't notice Dr. Cox arrive at my side. "What do you say there, Julianne, should we go back and push the kid around?" I slowly turned to face him and glared. I glared at him with anger pouring from my baby blues, prompting him to look back at me with icy crazed eyes, crossing his arms.
"Whaaaat is it, Trish?" he asked. That's it. That did it. "You know, Perry, abuse goes in cycles. We wouldn't be helping the situation by beating the crap out of a third grader," I snapped. His frown intensified, "Margaret, it's called a joooke. Aaand what did you just call me, Newbie?" Now I was beyond pissed. "I called you by your name, Perry. Something you should try sometime. And every joke has a little bit of truth to it so don't give me that…Why do you treat me like this? Constantly berating me and calling me girl's names. What are you going to do next, push me and give me a seizure? Because I gotta tell you, that's not how you should be expressing you care about someone. I care about you and I deserve some respect, doctor," I accused, feeling my face get hot from anger and embarrassment. Much to my surprise, Dr. Cox's face softened a little and just when he opened his mouth to speak, I jolted in the other direction, storming off for the second time.
He must've followed me because in the hallway not three minutes afterwards, Dr. Cox came up to me and patted me on the shoulder, "Sorry kid," he grumbled and left. I grinned. I knew how hard that was for him. So, I forgave him.