Thanks to both of my reviewers- I hope that I don't disappoint.

OoOoO

Taking a moment to appreciate the tranquil atmosphere of the small park beside the hospital, Elliot inhaled the fresh air and considered the phrase 'everything looks better in the morning'. It was a warm, sunny day, which had automatically put her in a good mood, something that wearing light summer clothes complimented- looking good was always fun. Dr Cox would have slept off the scotch and would be back in the hospital, unflappable and invulnerable as always, perhaps with a headache induced temper, but even that wouldn't be too different from everyday life. Feeling especially optimistic, Elliot decided to ask Keith for lunch. Their relationship had become quite tense, but she knew that most relationships had their rough patches.

Elliot caught sight of Carla chatting with a group of nurses on their break. She dashed across the car park towards her friend.

"Carla, hey. Can I talk to you for a second?" The thought that Laverne had a sixth sense for fresh gossip sprung to mind once again as the older nurse fixed her with a curious stare. Elliot shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, but still Laverne did not relent. "What are you looking at? Is it that strange that I want to talk to my friend? Because I do have friends and I don't care what you think about me."

The group of nurses looked at Elliot as though she had gone completely crazy. Perhaps she had overreacted a little. She had become so shrill that the last few words had bled into one another.

"Woah, Elliot you need to calm down." Carla patted Elliot's back and propelled her into the building, whispering something that pacified her co-workers. Once they were out of earshot, Elliot allowed herself to ask the question that had burned through her thoughts since she had woken up.

"So, where's Dr Cox at?" After seeing him in such a dreadful state, Elliot was eager to see him restored to his former glory. She remembered referring to him as Perry yesterday and told herself off for the bizarre wish to do so again.

"He... he isn't here yet." From Carla's tone it was clear that she didn't expect to see him at all, but nevertheless Elliot was shocked.

"What do you mean? His shift was supposed to start over an hour ago." Elliot kicked a Hazmat bin in frustration. She had thought, for some reason that no longer seemed logical, that her intervention would be enough to get Dr Cox back on track. "Frick!"

"Why are you so angry, blonde doctor?" The Janitor rounded the corner and folded his arms in exasperation. Elliot floundered under the intensity of his gaze, but a sharp prod from Carla reminded her to speak.

"Uh, because... JD stole my... my lunch yesterday, and I'm really, really hungry because I haven't eaten since." The Janitor's expression became altogether more menacing, and Elliot immediately felt guilty.

"Who does that mousse-haired little nuisance think he is? Don't worry, blonde doctor; I'll take care of this." Lifting his trusty mop, the Janitor continued in the direction of the exit. Elliot fleetingly wondered if he was going to JD's house and felt a twinge of guilt. Who knew what the Janitor was thinking.

"Oops?" Elliot bit her lip and Carla shrugged in response.

"So if Dr Cox isn't here...?" Following her morning routine, Elliot lifted the first clipboard from the mountain of charts in her inbox. She would also need to check up on Karen.

"He's at home and he's still drinking. Jordan went over this morning to see if he could take Jack to playschool. I've got to go and check up on the interns now. I honestly don't know why they think oranges are a good enough substitute for veins- Rex was just ramming it in, yesterday." Elliot made a sympathetic noise that died in her throat when she saw who was now standing in front of the.

"Do you ladies know who else was ramming it in last night?" The Todd winked and had it not been for the Hippocratic Oath, Elliot would have killed him then and there. He held up his hand in anticipation, "Up high for the Big Dog."

"No, Todd." Before he could argue, she had stepped behind the nurse's station and logged on to her computer. One of the many benefits of being friends with Carla was that she was capable of giving a simple, no nonsense refusal when Elliot found herself about to give in. "Elliot, can you be in the cafeteria in about two hours?"

"Sure Carla." Trying not to let her disappointment at Dr Cox's absence show, Elliot forced her demeanour to remain decidedly upbeat as she did her rounds.

When she had seen all of her patients, Elliot realised that someone would have to take responsibility for those officially under the care of Dr Cox. Since she was private practice, it was no longer strictly within her purview, but equally her superiors could do little to punish her for bending the rules. Knowing that it was the right thing to do, Elliot made her way towards the first bed.

"Yes, dear?" An old lady ceased knitting and focussed her attention on Elliot, who realised that she needed a plausible excuse for Dr Cox's absence. Her mind went blank. Frick.

"Hi, I'm Dr Reid and I'm going to be covering for Dr Cox, who is... um..." Elliot coughed, and decided to try and distract her patient. "Say, have you by any chance seen... my stethoscope?"

"It's around your neck, Dr Reid." The patient, Mrs Murphy, did not look amused.

"Oh, so it is! Imagine that..." Elliot waved her hands in a dismissive gesture and laughed, although the sound was far too high pitched to seem even slightly genuine.

"If it's all the same to you dear, I'd rather have Dr Cox back." The patient continued knitting, a clear dismissal, and Elliot felt her heart sink.

"Actually, that won't be possible because he is in Acapulco." Mrs Murphy's eyebrows rose in disbelief, and Elliot cursed herself for being so unimaginative. "Now, I have to go and see another patient but if you need anything at all then... I'm your girl."

Elliot turned on her heel and walked away as quickly as she could without losing her dignity and made sure that all of Dr Cox's patients were doing well before heading for the cafeteria. JD came out of a patient's room just as she passed it, and Elliot remembered her earlier dealings with his arch-nemesis, the Janitor.

"JD, hi. How did things go yesterday with Mrs Black?" She fell into step beside him, his familiar presence somewhat soothing after the stress of spreading rumours about Dr Cox's whereabouts.

"She's doing okay. Her test results were sent up to the lab last night and you should have them back by tomorrow morning. She was a little freaked out by getting her blood taken, but an appearance of multi-ethnic Siamese doctor sorted that out." JD grinned, and although his cheer was usually infectious, Elliot was determined to find out what he was going to do to help Dr Cox.

"Cool- thanks, that's great, JD. Is there anything you want to ask me?" Elliot remained outwardly nonchalant as she checked another chart, but she was worried that JD was going to abandon his mentor during his time of need.

"Yeah, there's something quite important actually." JD ushered her into an empty room for privacy and Elliot wondered how she could have doubted his devotion to Dr Cox. "Do you think that they'll ever give out banana milk and strawberry milk in the cafeteria? I thought about putting in a complaint, but doesn't that seem a little extreme to you?" He continued, oblivious to Elliot's shock. "Maybe they could make a delicious fusion of the two..."

With that, JD left for his fantasy world, a rapt expression on his features. Elliot had no idea how to set about fixing his priorities, or his relationship with Dr Cox. She felt woefully inadequate as the realisation that her to do list had grown spectacularly in the space of one morning.

"And they'd start an adorable little mutant army..." JD blinked as Elliot snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Come on- we have to go to the cafeteria and work out what we're going to do to get Dr Cox back on his feet." Sounding altogether more confident than she felt, Elliot marched out of the room. It didn't look like JD was going to be much help.

OoOoO

After an extremely busy morning, Elliot was more than ready for a nice, relaxing lunch with her boyfriend, Keith. She placed the red plastic tray on the table, beside his, and attempted to push her many stresses to the back of her mind and focus on him for a little.

"Hey Elliot, how are you?" He flashed a perfect white smile that made Elliot's heart melt a little. She had expected superficial conversation, but now it seemed that Keith was perceptive enough to know that something was bothering her.

"Oh, you know. It's been hard covering for Dr Cox, and I'm pretty worried about him to tell you the truth." She sighed and stabbed her baked potato with the fork. It made her so sad to think of Dr Cox sitting around and drinking in his apartment all day long. "Will you come with me to check up on him tonight?"

She hadn't planned on requesting Keith's company, but doing this alone was a little overwhelming. His grin faded a little, and Elliot instantly regretted asking.

"How come? I mean, can't Dr Dorian or someone else do it?" Keith began eating his macaroni with gusto, no longer interested in the topic of conversation.

"You know what? Just forget I said anything." Elliot picked dejectedly at her salad, looking over to the table where her closest friends sat. She was glad that Carla had organised a rota and taken such a keen interest, and that Turk was fully involved too. Why couldn't Keith ever support her like that? Lifting the apple from her tray, Elliot stood and decided to go and see Karen.

OoOoO

Her journey to the apartment was much quicker without having the drunken weight of Dr Cox to half carry, and Elliot knocked smartly on the door. All day she had wanted to visit Dr Cox and see him with her own eyes, but now that she was here, Elliot found that she wasn't certain that she could achieve anything for him. The door opened, and Carla gave her a sad smile.

"Hey Elliot. He's still drinking." She looked past Carla and saw Dr Cox sitting in almost exactly the same spot she had left him in the previous night. The only difference was that two empty whisky bottles now rested on the tabletop. "Want me to stay with you?"

"No, I'll be fine. You go and spend time with Turk, and rest, because my little niece or nephew needs a nap." The two women hugged, and despite her brave words, Elliot didn't want to let go of Carla, who was always so fearless.

"Thanks Elliot. Give JD a call later at the hospital." With that, Carla left Elliot alone with Dr Cox. Elliot adjusted her skirt awkwardly before sitting down beside him.

The silence in the apartment was oppressive. Dr Cox drank deeply from the glass in his hand.

"So... do you want to talk about it?" As unlikely as it was, Elliot felt that she ought to try the direct route. Dr Cox didn't respond, staring blankly ahead. "Are you hungry? Cause I know that I am, and if you've been drinking that all day then you will be too."

Elliot went into the kitchen and, thankful for something to do, made a simple meal of spaghetti Bolognese. Cooking passed the time, and every few minutes she'd check to see that he was still there. Elliot put two portions on plates, one for her and one for Dr Cox, and put the rest in a Tupperware she found so that if he got hungry there would be something decent to eat. Carrying the steaming plates into the lounge, Elliot noticed a dim flicker of curiosity behind his eyes.

"You've got to eat something, Perry." She balanced one of the plates on his lap and watched as he began to eat, made slightly clumsy by the large quantity of alcohol working its way through his system.

They finished the meal in silence and Elliot took the plates back through to the kitchen. He continued to ignore the glass of water she had pointedly placed before him. If anyone could get Dr Cox to stop drinking, it was JD. She pulled her phone from her pocket and dialled the number for the nurses' station.

"Hi, it's Elliot speaking. I'm over at Dr Cox's and he's had dinner, so all you need to do it keep him company for a couple of hours." There was a tense moment in which JD didn't speak. Elliot watched as Dr Cox refilled his glass for the third time since she had arrived. Don't let him down, JD.

"Elliot, I can't do it. I'm not okay with Dr Cox showing up drunk." The line went dead and Elliot wanted to cry. What was she supposed to say to Dr Cox- the guy who worships you is completely pissed off, so you should get even more upset? She sat back down beside him.

"JD can't make it- he's... he can't make it." Tentatively, Elliot took Dr Cox's free hand between both of her own. "But I'm going to stay with you, Perry."

Elliot rested her head against his shoulder, determined to let Dr Cox know that he could depend upon her.

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