Greetings, earthlings. Chapter 2 alterations are finally complete. Please review, and tell your friends.

Dr. Percival Cox woke up to the sound of JD's groans.

"Perry?"

Dr. Cox sat straight up, blinking rapidly. He did not remember falling asleep here. But he immediately realized there were more pressing issues to tend to. JD's face was shifting to an alarming shade of white that Perry recognized all too easily. He abruptly stood up and leaned over his protégé. "You feel dizzy, Newbie?" the older doctor inquired, concern flooding his tired eyes.

"Not so much… dizzy… more… nauseous." JD whispered, clutching his abdomen.

"Oh, shit." Perry lifted JD into his arms and hurried across the hall to the bathroom, ignoring the curious stares of passing hospital employees. He gingerly placed JD in a kneeling position in front of the toilet and sat down beside him.

JD's back arched and he retched violently, his head dipping out of visibility. His body convulsed and he gripped the rim with quaking fingers.

The older doctor's eyebrows furrowed together, and he clasped a strong hand around JD's shoulder, squeezing gently. He waited patiently until his companion let go of the toilet bowl and slumped onto the floor, shivering and moaning.

Perry's Adam's apple bobbed visibly in his throat as he gazed down at JD. He ran his left hand through his hair before leaning over to lift the young doctor into his arms.

JD rested his chin in the crook of Perry's neck and wrapped his arms around his mentor's muscular torso.

The two men remained on the floor until JD's tremors ceased. Perry gently rocked his Newbie back and forth, reminded of the countless nights he had spent with his restless baby son. And the brunette in his arms smiled contentedly through stomach pains as his dream of nearly two years was fulfilled; JD got his hug.

"You want some water?" Perry inquired, pulling away from the embrace.

"That'd be great." JD slowly climbed onto the floor and propped himself up on his elbows, still to weak to sit up unsupported.

Dr. Cox got to his feet and started towards the chipped porcelain sink. But one glance down into the toilet bowl stopped him in his tracks.

Scarlet liquid.

Blood.

His Newbie was vomiting blood.

Perry swore under his breath and suddenly bent down to scoop JD into his arms once again, pulling his protégé's frail being close to his chest as he scampered into the hallway. Darting past giggling nurses and supply carts, Dr. Cox spotted an empty room in the ICU. He pushed the door open and shifted JD's position in his arms so he could turn down the pastel cotton bed sheets.

At this point, JD's curiosity was climbing. "Dr. Cox, what are we doing here?"

Sighing heavily, Perry lowered his passenger onto the mattress. He pulled up the covers and sat down on the edge of the bed. Only one word escaped his lips. "Hematemesis."

JD's sagging blue eyes widened as he processed this information. Through squinting eyelids, he had assumed that the red pigment was the ketchup that he used to drown his scrambled eggs that morning. But hematemesis meant he was vomiting blood. Vomiting blood meant serious problems with his GI tract. And serious problems meant…

He took a deep breath and halted his train of thought. Rest now, worry later.

Perry remained on the bed for a moment. He looked down at his Newbie with eyes empty of hatred and annoyance. And he abruptly stood up, startled by his own emotions. "I'll page the reception desk, send a nurse up here with the paperwork," he informed the younger doctor.

Nodding sleepily, JD leaned back into the pillows. And despite his dismal situation, a smile crept onto his face as he looked up at his mentor's profile.

Unaware of JD's gaze, Perry ran his fingers through his hair and turned towards his protégé. "I have… patients, Newbie. I'll be back as soon as I can."

JD nodded and watched Dr. Cox grasp the door handle. "Hey, Perry?"

The older doctor peered over his shoulder. "Yeah?"

"Thanks."

Perry half-grinned. "Don't sweat it, Audrey." He stepped out of the room and walked purposefully down the hallway, white lab coat flailing behind him.

Relaxing into his pillows, JD inhaled deeply. Every ounce of optimism had vanished along with his mentor, every bit of energy gone. All he could do now was close his eyes, burrow deeper into his bed covers, and try to block that word from his mind. At least for now.

If you click the green button below, something magical will happen-

Someone somewhere will smile.

~JD