Disclaimer: I most certainly do not own any of the characters or basically anything affiliated with "Scrubs", whatsoever.

Oh boy. Ok. We're not going to be irrational here. You just have absolutely no idea where you are right now, JD. Ok, there's the skyline of Chicago. Well, at least I know that I am in Illinois after all. A long way from what once was my home.

I glanced at my phone - 8 messages. Well, I guess everyone finally figured out that I left. I wasn't worried though. I was going to miss everyone so much, especially Elliot and Turk. As much as I didn't want it, I couldn't help but feel guilty about not telling Turk. We've been so close since school, and now, I won't be able to see him or any of my old life anytime soon.

On the plane, I was attempting to make up my mind whether or not Chicago was going to be permanent. Hell, I had about fifteen hours till my first shift to worry about, but those hours were going to be used to figure where I was and where I was to live.

In retrospect, it was probably not the best idea in the world to come in to town so last minute, to not have one single aspect of my life planned. I was officially by myself for the first time in a long time - no Turk, no Dr. Cox, and no Elliot. No one.

I walked on over to grab my extensive pyramid of luggage from the pickup area. Midway Airport wasn't making that too easy for me. I had four bags and had absolutely no idea as to where that last suitcase was. I needed that one though because I was pretty sure that it was, of course, the one suitcase that I had put all of my transfer papers in. Without that, I was sunk. I had no home, no friends, and, as of this moment, no job.

I'm just hoping that this right here is no omen.

"Sir," A voice interrupted after waiting for twenty minutes, "are you by any chance John Dorian?"

I turned about to face a young brunette, and answered cautiously, "Yes I am. I'm sorry may I ask why?"

She smiled yet another fake grin and with hollow newscaster voice said, "Hello, I'm Tricia with Southwest Airlines. It seems as though there was a bit of trouble with your baggage. Could you please follow me?"

There was no way this was happening. It could not get worse - or could it?

I followed the young woman to a back room of the airport. Tension in the air, all I wanted to know was where my last suitcase was. That box held so much of my life compressed into a tiny piece of luggage. And there it was, on an empty table, lying taped up in two pieces.

The girl spoke again, "There was a mishap while unloading the plane. One of our workers dropped the case and it sort of, well, it exploded."

I was in shock, "Exploded? Is that a technical or a professional term here for an object being torn apart into pieces spewing fifty papers into the surrounding area!?" Ahh, the old JD came back for a fleeting moment.

"Please, sir," she interrupted before I could finish with my burst of awkward confusion, "We did notice the papers inside, and felt that we should notify you of our mistake. Everything is back in the case, and if not, here is a personal support number if you ever need to be in contact with us concerning this issue. Out of courtesy and for your trouble, is there anything we can do for you at this moment, Mr. Dorian?"

She handed me the information card, and I thought for a moment before I looked up, "Yeah, can I have a hotel room and a taxi?"

She smiled graciously, and nodded her head.

Well, maybe things weren't going to be so bad after all.

Southwest put me up in one of the downtown Hilton Hotels for three nights, and I wasn't complaining. That took away the immediate housing issue. Now, all I had to do was sift through the muddled pile of papers which the airport had oh so conveniently mangled until I could find my hospital transfer.

I had no idea where the hospital I was going to be working at was located. It could be downtown or the suburbs, but I began to piece together an idea:

"Palos Community Hospital a.k.a. Palos. Yet another town in the gravitational pull of Chicago located in the middle of south suburbia-land - Palos Hills, Illinois."

I had no idea why I felt like I had to speak to myself. Maybe it was because there was no one else to talk too, so I thought it was necessary. It did wind up reminding me that I was alone. Ever since the daydreams left, I always felt solitary even when I did have my friends around me.

I glanced at my watch. My shift was only 5 hours away. Time does fly.

I figured I could walk downtown for a few hours before I was supposed to get to work. It would be definitely calm me down from the past insane twenty-four hours, so I dropped in the elevator to Michigan Avenue, the Magnificent Mile of Chicago. Moving from the west coast of our great U.S.A. to here was definitely different. Now I understand when people say, "If you can handle a Chicago winter, you can handle anything," only because its mid-November and it's about twenty-five degrees.

Oh, and I only had a hoodie on, so needless to say, not only was the weather past the freezing point, I was, too.

Chicago was a different speed, though. People were friendly, the town didn't run too fast. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing, but I was really beginning to see myself here. It was a place where I could settle down and have the normal life that I never had, even growing up.

I gathered from the Christmas decorations that Chicagoans loved their holiday season, and milked it for all it was worth. There were lights on the trees, ornaments on doors, and Santas on street corners. I wasn't going to lie, I was excited for snow. I hadn't seen any for a long time. It's not like it snows every day in southern California.

I was thinking that come the end of the year, maybe I'd have something tangible to show for my work as a doctor. A home maybe? Or more fitting, an actual life? I didn't want to sit around watching horrible made-for-television movies for the rest of my days. It was the reason I left. I want more and here is where I might be able to find it.

Even when I hopped a cab into the suburbs, things were so different. I guess I liked it.

I don't know why I even picked Chicago. The movies always made this city to be beautiful: the skyline, Lake Michigan, the suburbs, the millions of things that could happen if you give them a chance. Come to think of it, there was that one time two months ago - I was having a John Hughes marathon with Turk, Carla, and Elliot: Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Pretty in Pink, and Weird Science. I mean every one of the movies take place in Chicago or the suburban area nearby. They make Illinois look so easy. It might not be true, but I just have this feeling that if John Hughes had a relatively indisputable fondness for the north eastern tip of Illinois, I might pick up the same affection for the area.

It lead me to realize that I don't know a lot a lot of things: I don't know if there's a God, I don't know if fate exists, I don't know if my life belongs in Chicago, I don't know if anyone will ever love me, but I do know that I am on my way.

Palos Hospital was in a suburb no different than any other suburb in Chicago. There were neat little lined up homes, shopping malls, street lights on every corner, forest preserves wit actual trees, a Starbucks or Walgreens every 5 blocks, families living the middle-class American Dream. There it stood: a tan slew of buildings pushed together adjacent to a freshly re-paved parking lot. A lot larger than Sacred Heart, but I could tell that it just wasn't as busy.

Well, it's definitely about a forty-five minute drive from here to downtown. I'd have to find an apartment nearby because there was no way I could drive this far every day and when I was on call, it would just not be practical. But for the first few days, I'd manage. Well, JD, tomorrow you're going to start looking around the neighborhood. Gotta find a home or a vehicle.

I arrived at the hospital entrance, and tipped the driver. No taxis out in the 'burbs, so I'd eventually have to call one when I had to leave. At least my shift ended at 5 p.m., so it wouldn't be an unreasonable time to find a possible place to stay before I went back to the hotel. It's not like I needed anyplace that huge. I only took my basics from my old apartment. There would be time later to go shopping and fill my new place with the necessities.

Walking up to the hospital, I saw the traditional sliding glass doors. Sure, it made me a little homesick for a moment, but got over it soon enough. I thought for a moment I was having my first daydream in quite a while, but nope, the voice that interrupted my thoughts at that moment was definitely very real and definitely right behind me.

"Ya know, there's no point standing in front the doors. People come and go, and I just assume you're coming. Slowly. But most definitely coming, right?"

I turned around to see a short woman with long wavy hair. I laughed, "Yeah, I am coming. It's my first day, so I'm just taking my own sweet time."

She smiled and said, "Well, don't take too much time. I think we both have jobs waiting for us."

I nodded my head, and held out my hand, "JD."

She took it, "Stephanie. Nice to meet you, JD. Maybe I'll bump into you sometime around here."

I let her pass and mumbled something about how given the size of this place, I'd never see her again. Just my luck. The first person I meet has to be incredibly nice, and I assume that I won't see her ever. Whoa, that was far too pessimistic, JD. Let's be positive here. It's your first day. I'm going to assume in advance that this time, my first day today will go better than the last.

I walked through the doors, head held high, spring in step. It looked like a typical hospital scenario: nurses, patients, doctors, paperwork, and - wait - no Janitor in sight!? Right then and there, I decided that today was going to be a great start of the rest of my life.

The whole sight of the hospital gave me some excitement. I called the hospital a few weeks back to confirm my position and where I'd be working at.

I strolled up to the main desk and said cheerfully, "Hi, I'm Dr. John Dorian. I'm the new doctor you're expecting. Today's my first day here. Oh, Here are the papers the hospital faxed me to fill out."

The nurse spoke up as I handed her the pages, "Yes, Dr. Dorian, we have been expecting you. There are a few papers and other technicalities we'll need you to fill out, but that you can do later. For now, you can head upstairs for your department and change. It's on floor - wait - I'm sorry, it's not listed here what department you're working in. What department may I ask?"

To which I gladly replied, "It's no problem; I wouldn't have an idea either if I saw me." She laughed at my terrible attempt at a joke before I continued, "Anyways, I'm going to be working in the emergency room."

"Ahh, well that's easy - you're just down the hallway to your left."

I began to walk down the corridor all the while repeating to myself, "The ER. The ER."