"Carla, you're nawt going!" Perry exclaimed. "You're pregnant! There's just no way!"

Elliot may have let that little tidbit of information slip just a few seconds ago.

Carla gave him a slight glare, "But you need me there!" she insisted.

Perry sighed and crossed his arms behind his head, in that way he always did when things went wrong, "We want you there," he told her softly, "but we don't need you there. Barbie knows just as much as you do." His eyes were pleading. "Carla, please. Do you want your baby to die?"

Carla winced. "N-no. Of course not. All right, I-I won't go." She gave in finally. Turk hugged her tightly, mumbling his thanks into her neck.

Perry felt pity for the Dominican nurse. He'd never seen her so torn.

"We'll be fine, Carla," JD comforted, edging closer to her, "I promise. I can handle pretty much everything they can throw at me." Maybe even Lucifer, if I have the Others with me. He glanced at Perry who was watching him. Elliot patted Carla's shoulder in an awkward attempt to make her feel better.

Carla nodded slowly.

The Janitor's voice entered their ears, "So… about getting to Hell…"

All eyes landed on him.

Laverne made a hmm sound, sensing her cue. "If that's it for today, huns, I think I should go. But I will come back, whenever you need me." There was a small flash of white light, and she was gone. To Heaven? JD wondered. He doubted if he'd ever know.

"Whadaya have in mind?" Perry asked gruffly, this time crossing his arms over his chest and flicking his nose.

The Janitor grinned, "Oh, I know a few tricks." He glanced at Carla. "Scary Nurse over here can even help get you there, too."

"This is insane is ya ask me." Perry growled.

Carla elbowed him sharply in the ribs. "A lot of ceremonies sound insane, Dr. Cox." She said sternly.

"Well, duh." Perry retorted, then hissed in pain as he was elbowed again, this time harder than before.

"No, no, Blonde Doctor," the Janitor said to Elliot almost gently, "you put it like this." He took the palm-tree branch and jammed the leafless end of it securely into the ground. By it were several others, all meeting at their tips like some kind of primitive teepee. It was made in such a way that two people could stand underneath it without much difficulty.

They were in a grassy field, out of town and actually not all that far away from the cathedral where all of this had started. At least two miles away, JD observed, surveying the trees that surrounded the field. He guessed it was probably no coincidence. Where did the Janitor get palm-tree branches in the middle of a forest anyway? It didn't make sense.

And as JD watched the Janitor work, throwing odd-smelling powder on the branches as if in some kind of trance (the powder itself coming from some kind of secret compartment in his janitor cart, which he had insisted on bringing along to the middle of a freaking forest…), he also guessed that the Janitor himself didn't make much sense, either.

As the Janitor tried to open another… thing on his cart, he called out, "It's jammed!"

"Maybe a twig got stuck in there?" JD offered, trying to be helpful. He wasn't about to admit he had messed with the cart when the Janitor wasn't looking.

There was a pause and time seemed to slow down for half a second. Slowly, the Janitor turned his head to glare intensely at JD, "Why a twig?"

"N-no reason!"

Perry cleared his throat. "What's the problem?" He demanded, giving the uniform-clad man his best warning glare, which the Janitor had to admit was a pretty good glare.

The Janitor looked at Perry contemplatively. Hmm. Not now, not when Angry Doctor was sure to kick his ass for messing with Scooter… Scooter? Where had that come from? Oh well, it sounded good. "Nothing. It's all good." He assured the Irishman.

Perry nodded, his eyes disbelieving.

"Well, since I can't get the stuff I need," the Janitor gave JD a pointed look, said demon blushing a little in embarrassment, "we're gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way."

"And that would be?" Turk asked.

"Well, first of all," the Janitor made a gesture between Perry and JD, "you two c'mere and stand underneath the branches."

Perry did as he asked, but JD hesitated a little, before following the bigger man, stopping beside him and looking up curiously at the bright green palm-tree leaves.

"Face each other."

JD and Perry turned face-to-face; or at least black hair to nose, since now it was quite obvious just how shorter the youthful demon was compared to the redheaded human. "Now what?" Perry barked. JD blushed again as he felt the doctor/hunter's breath blow into his hair.

The Janitor paused for dramatic effect. "Now kiss."

Turk choked on his own spit from his spot beside Carla, who, like Elliot, looked stunned.

"WHAT?!" JD and Perry screeched (except for Perry. He'd die before he admitted that his voice could reach such a level) at once, leaping away from each other. Both of their faces were flaming red.

The Janitor shrugged, "What? I told you we'd do it the old-fashioned way."

"But we're both guys!" JD yelled, flailing his arms around wildly. Perry couldn't help but find it amusing, underneath all the… well, freaking out.

The Janitor raised an eyebrow, "So what? I mean, Heaven wouldn't be Heaven if they were judgmental, now would they? I mean, you're a demon, I thought you'd know that?"

JD's blush got even deeper as he realized the Janitor was right.

"But what the hell does a kiss have to do with anything?" Perry found it difficult to keep the stutter out of his voice.

"This particular way of getting to Hell was created by angels, so of course it has something to do with true love's first kiss." The Janitor explained nonchalantly. "There was another way to do it, but I can't do it now that my cart's jammed."

"I beg your pardon?" Perry's wide were wide. JD looked frozen to the spot, his pale-skinned face a bright crimson. "What the hell do you mean, 'true love's first kiss'?!"

This was either the best thing that had ever happened to Perry, or it was the worst. He was shocked to find that he couldn't decide which it was-- even if it did seem to lean towards best. He looked at JD, whose expression was baffled, and swallowed a little. Now or never, he supposed. This was either the stupidest or wisest decision he'd ever made... maybe the dumbest, because he didn't seem to realize how impulsive his thinking was right now.

"What does it sound like? Which part is hard to understand, true or love-- hey! Wait! Don't kiss now--!"

But it was too late, as Perry grabbed JD's chin and captured his lips with his own.

A/N: One hell of a cliffhanger, I know, but I felt it was a good spot to leave it at, and keep you on your toes. I promise I'll update as soon as possible! And you guys were asking for a kiss, so... yeah! xD Review, please?