ohmygod! ohmygod! ohmygod! i skipped a chapter! noooo! ugh, i feel so stupid. well, here's the right chapter, sorry for any confusion. oh, i'm so embarrassed! thank you to the people who politely informed me of the situation. i'm gonna put up the next chapter since everyone's read it already now...

Summary: JD, after disappearing for weeks, is found with the strangest new appearence. He can't 'fix' it and no one but Dr. Cox can know about it, So, can JD hide his big secret or will it leak out? And if it does, will it end up doing more damage than he ever imagined possible?

Rating: I'll stick with the T rating just so I have room to stretch my imagination. No rated M moments, though I might put those parts in a serperate fic so I can keep this one available to the the majority of the fanfic readers.

Regular text.

"Speaking."

Thinking.

(Author's notes within story.)

JD didn't object to being led away from the couch. It seemed that somewhere, deeply imbedded in his brain, he needed to be directed since he himself was not so assertive. Perry couldn't remember if JD had always acted this way but he didn't question the strange obedience, assuming that it was Newbie's nature and shock causing it.

Pushing JD into the bathroom, Perry stepped out and pulled the door shut just before calling in, "Take a shower. I suppose I'll let you borrow some of my clothes..." His voice trailed off as if he were walking away.

The young doctor looked around for a second. It was a small-ish room, with the regular sink-and-counter, toilet and shower/bathtub with a curtain. JD shivered and, since the pipes would be ice-cold, turned on the hot water so it could warm up. After pealing off his ragged clothes, JD slipped into the shower. His ears twitched as water drops pelted them, his wolf-like curling in agitation.

Gradually, JD felt his shoulders relax and he let the hot water soak his pale skin. How long had it been since he'd had a descent shower? JD hardly remember what his old apartment looked like, but at the moment it didn't matter. Ears back to prevent water from dripping in, JD decided to use the generic-brand shampoo that was three, knowing his hair was probably beyond damaged from his near month of captivity.

After scrubbing his skin till it was a near-pink color, JD felt satisfied that all traces of his imprisonment were washed away and that his hair was as clean as it would get with the products Perry had around, he stepped out. Unable to resist the opportunity, JD tossed his head and sent a spray of water off his hair and upper body, then subconsciously whipped his sodden tail to the side, bothered by how heavy with water it was.

JD fished around the closet and retrieved two heavy, blue towels, draping one around his waist and the other over his head. He didn't feel up to wrapping his hair up like a girl but rather let it fall limply over his forehead and shoulders while rubbing the sides of his head.

"Hey, Newbie!" Perry called from outside the door, his voice warped and muffled but still understandable. "If you're done, crack the door and I'll pass you a change of clothes." JD's gray ears twitched, rotating towards the sound.

There was silence from within the room then JD pulled the doors inwards slowly. Perry's hand shot in, gripping the clothes that he knew would be too large for JD but the younger man took then anyways.

As Perry began to walk away, annoyance punctuating his stride, a tentative voice called out. "Uh, Dr. Cox?" Perry stopped and went back close enough for JD's vice to be clearer.

"What?"

JD swallowed in embarrassment. "Uh, can I, um, cut a whole for my ... tail?"

The notion sounded absurd to both JD and Perry. For a second, Perry was furious at the prospect of his pants being ruined but then dropped his head in defeat. There was really no other alternative.

"Alright!" Perry rasped agitatedly but resignedly. "Just don't ... ruin'm too badly."

Moments later, after a bit of a scuffling sound, JD emerged slowly with his now-black hair still dripping. A slightly drooping-with-water tail swayed slowly behind him and his dark ears flicked down embarrassedly. JD felt oddly exposed without the long sleeves clinging to his arms like his old shirt did but it was rather comforting to have the short sleeves draping down to his elbows. Kinda reminded him of a cloak almost...

Shifting uncomfortably, JD passed him dirty clothes from hand to hand. His original nature was quickly returning, along with many basic memories, one of which reminded JD of Dr. Cox's short fuse. But Perry scoffed and signaled towards the bathroom.

"There's a basket in there. I suppose you're going to be hanging around here for awhile so you can put your laundry there too." Perry watched as JD hopped to it, reappearing as Perry walked away. JD followed without question once more. A familiar scent crossed JD's nose and his ears shot straight up as his mouth watered.

Perry directed JD to sit on the couch as Perry went around to the kitchen. While JD had been showering, Perry had taken it unto himself to make food. He would have never admitted, but a thousand red flags went off in his head that night before when he'd carried Newbie inside. And just now, as the large shirt had moved against JD's chest, Perry had glimpsed his ribs sticking out as if he were anorexic or had intestinal parasites or something...

"Come 'ere, Newbie!" Perry barked suddenly, causing JD to jump, ears folding back warily. But some unseen force seemed to push him to his feet and follow the sound of his mentor's voice.

On the counter in the kitchen, were two mugs of coffee, one creamier-colored, and two plates with bacon and scrambled eggs. Perry almost laughed at the light shining in JD's eyes and the childlike smile plastered across his face.

The older doctor tossed a fork to JD's plate, which clattered to stop on its white surface. "Well, Anna, what are you waiting for? Dig in."

JD could hardly contain himself with joy. Having the sense to pull one of the bar-stool style chairs closer to the counter, JD lifted the fork and wolfed down nearly half the contents of his plate before he looked up to an odd sound.

Perry's eyes were almost watering as he bit back quiet laughter. "Kid, kid! Slow down or you're gonna choke!"

Nodding as a red flush crept up his face, JD swallowed once and sipped his coffee, for once relishing the delicacy that was cheap coffee with a bit of milk and sugar. Perry hadn't been sure how or what they'd fed the kid but he was sure that JD hadn't tasted sugar in a long time. Plus, he had no idea how much of either Newbie put in his coffee so he just went with about 'a lot' of each.

Tearing through the meat like a feral dog, JD bit through it with the side of his mouth, not caring or not noticing the greasy texture on the surface. All he could think was how lucky he was to actually have food again! And meat at that. He couldn't remember if he'd had particular liking for that certain food group or if he'd somehow gained it while imprisoned but it sure as heck tasted good.

After the full meal, JD felt drowsy and filled up and would have been content to curl up into a ball on the couch and sleep but Perry felt that there were more pressing issues to attend to.

JD sat on the couch across from Perry, who was currently reclined in an armchair, running a hand over his hair, a bothered look on his face. JD struggled to keep his eyes open as Dr. Cox leaned forward.

"Now, Newbie I know how much you just want to sleep right now," Perry kept most of the scorn out of his tone, the doctor side of him knowing that JD's body must have been put through great amounts of strain and needed to recover, "I have to tell the police that a missing person's been found so they can possibly find who took you away."

Ears tensing forward at the notion of his tormentors being locked away, JD became more alert. He then blinked as he felt an anger rise from his gut. Immediately, JD knew he'd tell the police he'd been found, and yes, he'd give them as much information as possible. Why? JD wanted justice, but he didn't recognize that his passionate feeling was borderline lust for revenge.

"But-" Perry cut into JD's thoughts, "We can't have them know about this, this dog situation."

"Wolf," JD suddenly put in. He looked bewildered at his own words once more but in his gut, he knew that there was wolf DNA entwined with his own. Perry rolled his eyes at this though he wondered how Newbie had figured this out.

"Whatever, but we can't have this situation getting out. You'll be rejected for sure, and they'll be TV reporters around every corner, as well. But worst of all, the government will find some justification for taking you and figuring out how this all is possibly working. I actually am a bit baffled."

Perry wouldn't ever admit this either, but the idea of a wolf person made from science was confounding. There were just so many complications that would arise from such a creature. And now that he thought about, so many complications that could arise in JD.

But Perry shook off the notion as JD began to speak. Newbie's eyes looked away uncertainly, knowing that his idea was half-formed and even less tested.

"There is something that I think I can do," JD began hesitantly, "But once, when I was in that cell early on, I tried to distract myself by remembering some of the best times I'd ever had. Ya know, kinda relieve them in my head so I wouldn't dwell on ... how much it hurt ... "

For a second JD choked up and he almost moved to cover his ears like he had earlier. Perry didn't interrupt him and, as he'd assumed, JD recovered quickly. He simply shook his head and cleared his throat as if nothing happened.

"Anyways, when I started to remember those good times I'd had with Turk and occasionally Dan, or when I'd done something really well at Sacred heart, my ears and tail would get this tingling feeling and then, I just felt they were ... Gone. There was absolutely no light most of the time, so I couldn't see that they were gone, but I couldn't sense them anymore. And it felt like my regular ears were back ... "

Perry caught on instantly. "So if you just feel secure and content, they'll go away, for awhile at least?"

Faltering slightly, JD make an odd face. "I don't know. I'll try it though..."

JD trailed off and closed his eyes. He focused on how warm he felt, how safe he felt in a familiar apartment and on how not empty his stomach was. He focused also not on the physical comforts, but on how 'warm and fuzzy' feeling he'd felt when he realized how genuinely concerned Dr. Cox had been upon finding him.

Suddenly, Perry saw a brief glimmer of silvery-white light that seemed to emanate from the wolf ears and tail, causing his eyes to narrow against the glow, and just like that- they vanished. Appearing instantly, JD had normal ears, human ears, and there was no tail to speak of. He looked perfectly normal.

And, just as suddenly as the light had appeared, there came a knocking at the door. JD leapt up in a panic, eyes bright with terror. And just as the terror filled his stance, there was yet another flash of light, and the wolf features reappeared.

Perry gave a growl of annoyance as he rubbed his eyes, "Well, at least we know how the hide-dog-features mode works now."