Chapter 17
JD skipped around the hospital, in a mood so happy and cheery it seemed to spread all around. With the few grumpy exceptions being Janitor and naturally Perry. As far as he was concerned, it was a good day to be alive. Leaning against the nurse's station and holding a patient chart to his chest, JD basked in the gloriousness of it all.
"So Bambi-"
JD stopped Carla before she could complete her sentence. "Hold that thought for about twenty three seconds." Holding up his hand, JD stood still for a few moments while Carla watched on in fascination.
Taking a running start and diving into the nearby hallway, JD hit his mark. He squeezed a stunned Todd's waist. "Sneak hug!"
Dropping his gym bag momentarily, Todd returned the hug. "So are you going to meet me at Coffeebucks later?"
JD nodded in reply and kissed Todd on the nose. Smiling, he tried to pick up Todd's gym bag to hand it back to him but was unable to. "How do you carry that, it's so heavy? I don't want you getting a hernia."
"Maybe you should come to the gym with me, build up your strength." Todd twined his fingers with JD's. "Come on, I'll spot you."
"No thank you, but one o'clock at Coffeebucks I'll definitely be there."
Todd picked up the bag with ease and laughed. "I'll see you later." As JD turned away from him he raised an eyebrow. "Butt five!" Playfully he smacked JD's ass.
"Hey! Not so hard." JD held his backside. "Bye Angel Cat."
As if by magic, Turk was suddenly at the nurse's station when JD turned back around. His eyes narrowed slightly and he spoke to JD seriously. "What did I tell you about that nickname?"
"Never call your mucho, football watching, gym buddy surgeon by that nickname in your presence." JD recited, remembering the speech Turk had given him.
"Knock it off Turk. He can't help it if he's in love." Carla said without a hint of sarcasm.
Both JD and Turk turned to her in confusion. "What!?" They both cried out in unison.
"Come on Bambi. Have you told Todd that you love him yet?" Carla sat on the counter top, desperate to hear the latest news.
"JD's not in love with Todd, it's too soon." Turk looked to his friend for reassurance, but as his sixth sense kicked in he realised that his wife was right. Apologetically, he turned back to Carla. "Baby, I stand corrected."
"What are you talking about, I'm not in love." JD scoffed and shook his head at the husband and wife team who now stood opposite him with knowing looks. "I'm having a good time and I don't want it to end, but it's not quite love yet."
"Please, you're totally in love." Carla stated in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone.
"Who's in love?" Elliot piped in as she joined her friends by the nurse's station.
Of course wanting to be the first one to spread the news, Carla jumped in before any protest could be made on JD's part. "JD is in love with Todd."
"Awww that's so cute. Have they said it to each other yet?" Elliot gushed at the news.
"Stop it! No meddling. I'm not in love." JD sputtered, trying to stop the spreading of the rumour.
"Dude, you're a little bit in love at least." Turk gave him the look which never failed to wear JD down, even with his strongest defences up.
Putting his hands up in a time out, JD addressed his friends. "Okay, so maybe I'm a little tiny bit over that bridge from likey-ville into love-town." He made a motion with his fingers to imply a small amount. "So what if I don't really care that no matter how tan Todd gets his thighs always stay creamy, or if I'm kind of flattered there is a picture of me sleeping on "The Todd Time" website or if I so badly want to follow him to the gym just to get a peek at him pumping those strong-"
"Point taken!" Turk cried out so no further detail could be spoken.
"-it doesn't mean that I want to spend the rest of my life with him."
"Yeah, because I am not wearing a banana hammock to your big gay wedding." Turk shuddered at the imagery he put in his own head.
JD couldn't help but imagine a beach wedding, with him and Todd hammocked-up like Turk suggested. "We could ride dolphins into our new life together."
"Oh my god, he's talking weddings." Elliot commented, while she and Carla looked at JD like they'd seen a ghost.
"No, it was just a…Look, I've moved too fast before. I don't want to scare Todd off by confessing that I may have some particularly deep feelings for him." Looking at the accusing eyes around him, he couldn't hold it in anymore. JD snapped "Okay! I admit it, I love him. Stop with the eyes."
Carla put a reassuring arm around JD. "You're going to have to tell him that. Not telling him is worse than telling him too soon. Besides, it's obvious he loves you too."
"You think so?" JD drifted into another fantasy, his mind screaming with extreme happiness and joy that only upped his mood.
Placing a hand firmly over Turk's mouth so he couldn't comment, Carla answered his question with a raised eyebrow. "Only one way to find out."
"Carla said this was simple, you can do this." JD said to himself as he stepped into Coffeebucks that afternoon.
Todd waved him over to a table by the window, motioning that he'd already bought JD a coffee. Such a simple gesture, yet one that reminded JD of the reasons he did in fact love Todd.
"Here you go." Todd handed the smaller of the two cups to JD. "A small latte with low fat milk because you said at breakfast you were trying to watch your figure. I still think you should come and work out with me."
'Maybe next time." JD took his seat and leaned forward eagerly, grinning almost goofily. "So tell me boyfriend, how's your day been?"
"Consultation, workout, surgery, shower and now here." Todd stated. "There was a chick who wanted to thank me by spanking me, you know. But I had to tell her The Todd was taken."
JD wondered for a moment if Todd was lying. Since only signs of truth were found, JD was sort of flattered. "Thanks I guess."
"Unless you're into threesomes, because this chick is up for anything. I could go back and tell her if you're interested." Todd figured he should ask, just in case.
"I think I'll be okay." JD patted Todd's hand gently. Somehow it didn't seem like the most romantic time to say the three words.
"That's a relief because I don't want you doing that trick with your tongue to anyone else." Todd replied a little too loudly that a passing nurse overheard. "The Todd likes it when it's just the two of us. In fact no-one else seems as hot anymore."
JD's heart melted. It wasn't like Todd to be the more reluctant one to have a threesome. Maybe Carla was right and the surgeon really did love him in his own unique way. Mentally preparing himself, JD took a sip of his coffee. The whole time he didn't take his eyes off Todd, to the point where he was sure it fazed him a little.
"Something on my face?" Todd asked of JD's staring.
"Yeah, my lips." JD quickly leaned over and kissed his boyfriend. It bought him a little bit of time to calm his nerves. JD figured it was a quick and smooth move.
After the kiss broke apart, JD felt ready to just blurt it out. However one of the Coffeebucks servers came to their table with a slice of chocolate pie. Two forks sat on the side of the plate.
"I know you're trying to watch your bod, but just one bite of pie won't kill you." Todd picked off a forkful and motioned it towards JD.
JD licked his lips, but found the strength to refuse. "No, I will not give in."
"More pie for The Todd."
JD watched as Todd proceeded in devouring their pie. He couldn't stop looking at his boyfriend throughout. Since when did Todd look so damn sexy when he ate? Licking stray bits of cream from his lips, lapping every last bit of chocolate from the fork, even the way his cheeks puffed out when his mouth was full. JD chuckled at the adorable sight in front of him.
Todd swallowed a mouthful of pie, wondering what was so funny. "Dude, what?"
"Nothing it's just that. I love-"
Before he could complete the words, JD felt himself being watched. Taking glances out of the corner of his eyes, he realised that it wasn't just paranoia. It seemed a lot of Sacred Heart employees were anticipating the declaration of love.
It wasn't hard to spot Carla and Elliot, no doubt the two that spread it around. Their smiles were wider than the others. JD wondered why everyone at the hospital felt the need to watch them like a soap opera, until he remembered that he himself did the same thing to others on many occasions. It was just the Sacred Heart way.
"You love what?" Todd roused JD from his distraction.
The mood just didn't feel right. JD wanted to tell Todd in a more romantic way, maybe with some doves and definitely no people watching. The last time he'd said the words, he'd been left beaten up on a bathroom floor. This time he wanted it to be perfect.
"Pie! I love pie. Screw it, I'm having some." JD grabbed the extra fork and attacked the pie with a fierce hunger. "I love pie so much. I want my life to be filled with pie. Pie is just amazing I needed to say that."
"Yeah it is pretty good pie." Todd replied, but still sighing at his boyfriend's weirdness.
All JD had to do now was replace the word 'pie' with 'you.' He smiled to himself. The way he saw it, he was one step closer to showing how he really felt. Around him he could hear some people groaning at the false alarm. Nosey Sacred Heart employees would have to look for their gossip and entertainment elsewhere.
Todd's face fell slightly as he watched JD devour some of their dessert. He was secretly hoping JD was going to say "I love you." They were in fact the very three words Todd wanted to say himself. However, he shrugged it off and took another forkful of the chocolaty goodness.
"I love pie, too."
Janitor roamed the halls, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. However, having new pieces to his puzzle, the smug smile could not be wiped off his face. He pretended to clean for a few hours. Watching as the happy couple loved up in the hallways. Spying Perry looking angry and frustrated, especially when he coincidentally caught the lovers together. It wasn't hard to see that Perry was close to breaking point and was barely holding back from throttling Todd, or anyone for that matter.
Janitor knew that he had to be patient for the right moment. Wait until they all were so wrapped up that none of them would suspect the tornado that he could cause. Figuring he'd been patient enough, Janitor headed towards the chief's office with an envelope in hand.
Not even bothering to knock, Janitor burst through the door. This much annoyed Perry who was absorbed in some medical textbooks, trying to figure out a complicated patient diagnosis. Not even bothering to put down his current book, he sneered.
"What do you want Jumpsuit?"
"First of all, it's a pants and shirt combo. Notice the belt." Janitor set that aside for the moment and brought himself back to the reason he was there. "I thought you and I could do a little business."
Finally putting down the book and unsuccessfully trying to hold in laughter, Perry looked at the large man at his desk. "What the hell could I possibly need from you?"
"I see the way you look at 'Dorian the Annoying' with sexual deviant surgeon, who I might add is also equally annoying."
Building up his defences, Perry's sneer returned. "Is that so?"
"Who could forget your little display at the hospital picnic? Almost missed it with those trees in the way." Janitor let out an apathetic laugh at the thought before putting on a strange accent. "I tell ya, that there was a kiss that could set the Pacific Ocean on fire."
Standing up from his desk and slamming his hands down, Perry's anger rose. "How the fuck do you know about that?"
"Do you really want to know?" Janitor asked.
Figuring that anything the tall man said would just be a load of crap anyway, Perry sighed. "What the hell do you want?"
"Well with what Dorian's written in that queer little journal of his, I figured nothing would torture him more than to break up his relationship." Janitor let out a few mocking sniffle, wiping at a pretend tear before throwing the envelope to Perry. "What you have there is the tools."
Perry opened up the envelope, fuelled by curiosity and the slight desire to see JD single again. For a moment a half-smile came to his face at the possibility of everything going back to what he believed it should be. However, hope was lost when inside the envelope he found pictures of his kiss with JD in the park. Perry pinning him against the tree, with JD gladly returning the affections.
"You do realise that these getting out would also mess up my life too?" Perry asked, scrunching the photos. His eye was twitching rapidly.
Janitor had expected this response. "Yeah I did. Which brings me to my business proposition, or rather blackmail proposal. I'd like a new wonder mop, a six pack of beer and a sash that says "Emperor Fear" or "King Jan Itor" why don't you surprise me."
"Is that all?" It seemed simple enough, Perry almost laughed. It was tame for such an insane man. But if that's all it took to get back some control, he didn't care.
Unfortunately, Janitor wasn't done. "I also need six dozen bottles of wine, imported from Italy, to get the mafia off my back. For the same problem, I'm going to need one of your kids for a day, maybe a weekend. A brand new set of golf clubs, not to play just to smash stuff. And a machine gun."
Going from one confusing thought to another, Perry sputtered before managing to find words. "A machine gun?"
"You don't have to load it. It's just to scare people. Stop those kids in paediatrics puking all over my floors. They're no longer scared of the ghost that hates spills, but they'll see." Janitor sat down on the chair in front of Perry's desk. "So do we have a deal?"
"Get out of here!" Perry put his hands behind his head in annoyance. "This is really one of the stupidest ideas I've ever heard. Which when I think about it shouldn't be surprising coming from you."
"Fine, last time I try to reach out." Janitor went to snatch the crumpled pictures, but Perry swiftly got them first.
"Too slow!" He mocked the Janitor, ripping up the pictures in front of him. "Did you re-he-hee-healy think I was going to let you walk out of here with these? Thanks for the entertaining show Sasquatch, now get the hell out of here. "
Janitor sighed and made his way out. Once he shut the door behind him, his grin returned along with a mocking tone. "Did you re-he-hee-healy think that those were the only copies?"
TBC