"Run, run, run, you can't run any faster, run, run, run, you're dyin' of laughter--!"
"Newbie?" Perry interjected, and JD saw that one vein that always pulsed so visibly when the redhead was none too pleased, "I ra-heely feel that I have to advise you to shut the heeell up."
And the demon did just that. With an audible clacking sound, too, as his mouth snapped shut. The vein was warning enough.
"…What the hell kind of a song was that, anyway?" The hunter/doctor asked after a second.
"It was 'Run' by the Naked Brothers Band." JD told him blandly.
Perry blinked at the name, "…Better than that Journey crap."
"HEY! Don't diss the--"
"Shaddup." Perry snapped and the demon did just that, sinking into his seat on the couch beside the Irishman. With an audible clacking sound, too.
"Guys?" A new voice ventured and JD twisted his head around to look at the newcomer.
It was Carla. She looked more than a little wary and he swore she had bags under her eyes.
"Carla…" he began slowly, "…how long have you been working." He figured he already knew the answer but he still felt the need to ask.
"Twenty-four hours." The answer was small, like a child who knew they had done something wrong. But JD knew that Carla Espinosa-Turk was no child, and was just devoted to her job, but still… he bet she hadn't had a wink of rest, let alone sleep during that time. Turk was flooded with surgeries that day and really didn't have the time to check on her, as much as he wanted to. And JD knew he wanted to, he could feel and sense the surgeon's worry and longing even from here.
Perry decided to throw in his two-cents, "Carla, you seriously can't be working so long; I mean, you're pregnant, the stress is bad for both you and your little hellspawn," he winced when the Dominican nurse shot him a look at the last word, "Mm'kay, not the best word to use…"
Just then, a sparrow flew into the lounge and landed right on Carla's right shoulder. JD thought she must have leapt at least ten feet in the air. Peering closer at the sparrow, JD noticed it was no ordinary bird. It was all brown, a shade of brown that greatly reminded him of the hair of a certain someone, and it's eyes were an electric blue.
So the Janitor had found him after all. The tall man was a Shifter, therefore he could morph into any animal he so wished. From the smallest fieldmouse to the largest elephant and everything in-between, really.
Pity he couldn't do dinosaurs, JD thought disappointedly. He'd asked once and all he'd gotten in response was a face full of mop. He'd taken it as a definite no.
Elliot burst in shortly after, panting. "Janitor?" She called, and when she caught sight of the bird on Carla's shoulder she grinned. "There you are!"
The sparrow took flight again and Carla cringed back instinctively, wide-eyed, when there was a bright yellowish-white light and suddenly instead of the sparrow hovering in the air, it was the Janitor, for once in casual clothing instead of his suit.
His hair was all brown and his eyes were an electric blue.
JD gave a small nod to himself. Definitely, definitely a Shifter.
As if just now realizing there were other people in the room, Elliot blinked at JD, Carla and Dr. Cox. "When did you guys get here?"
Perry rolled his eyes. "We came in through the couch-door, Barbie."
Elliot said, "No, seriously."
Dr. Cox stared at her, "Seriously." He loved his ability to keep a straight face while screwing around with someone. Elliot didn't seem entirely convinced by his claim but by how serious his expression was there were some traces of doubt on her face.
The Janitor piped up, eager to impress his date, "Actually, I can make an actual couch-door with the proper spells--"
"Cut it, Jumpsuit," Perry growled.
If JD didn't know any better, he would have said that the Janitor nearly wailed, "But I made a knife-wrench--!"
"I said quit."
Carla said something then, but JD didn't catch it. In fact, he suddenly couldn't catch anything.
It was sudden, the telepathic pull that only demon siblings could share. He found himself surrounded by darkness, similar to when he and Dr. Cox had been in the Gateway, and for a fleeting second he almost thought he was back there again, waiting for the clawed, fire-consumed hands to reach out of nothing and drag him back to that place again.
But that didn't happen, and he thought himself foolish for thinking it would.
He realized he was staring at the nonexistent ground-- which was also black so it was just a bit difficult to tell up and down from left to right-- and his head shot up at the sound of clothes rustling, in that way they did when someone moved.
And his heart stopped beating for just a second in shock, before kickstarting again in what could only be described as stunned joy.
"DAN!" He cried, and rushed forward to latch onto his elder brother.
He nearly tripped on his feet when he went right through him.
Turning around to face his little brother again, Dan smiled sadly, "Yeah, not exactly strong enough at the moment to be solid…" he muttered. "But if I were I'd so totally be bear-hugging you right now, bro."
Tears pricked at JD's eyes, "You're out?" he whispered.
Dan nodded quickly, "Yeah, a demoness named Molly Clock helped us. She's a former human-- if you couldn't tell by her name." Demons usually had names like Grafgor or Tahlbuf or something freaking weird like that. Which explained why Artik was… well, Artik. No last names, usually abandoned at birth. Life as a natural-born demon sucked royally.
JD had to ask, "And L-Lucifer?" Damn it all, he shouldn't stutter anymore!
Dan's silver-blue eyes, contrasting drastically against JD's bright pure ice-blue ones, hardened immediately, "He's still going to try and damn if he doesn't give it his all, the slimy bastard." He said with a tone like a butcherknife cutting into steel.
JD nodded stiffly. He really hadn't expected anything less.
The younger brother rubbed away his drying tears, and Dan started a little. For a second he thought he'd been looking into the eyes of a life-weary ancient old man who just wanted a rest. Someone very not the John Dorian he was accustomed to.
He realized, with a pang, he had seen what was buried underneath all of his brother's silly behavior and quirkiness, and it made him hate Lucifer all the more, because it was his fault, dammit, that his little brother's soul (what was left of it) was so tortured.
He never once thought that he was exactly the same, because that was just Dan Dorian. Coddled his brother to a point where it blinded him. Ben thought the same way too, towards Jordan. She always told them it would get them killed someday, though she never denied that she'd die for them, as well.
But he couldn't help but smile when tears threatened to spill over his Johnny's eyes again, and hell, he thought he might've cried himself when his brother said a bit shakily, "I miss you, Dan."
His smile turned sorrowful again, "Miss you too, man… Ben does too. And Jordan-- oh don't give me that look you know she does!" He chuckled suddenly at JD's incredulous look and the entire mood seemed to lighten. Even the blackness around them seemed to lift a few shades. It almost looked like a dark, dark gray.
Shades of gray. They both thought simultaneously. The world is full of shades of gray. There was no true evil and no true good, no pure black and no pure white, just a million shades of gray, some lighter and some darker than others. So what point was there in having a Heaven or Hell, anyway? Everyone's sinned, everyone's done a good deed, just that some people did one more than the other.
So why, why had they gotten caught up in the damned Apocalypse, when there was no point to it? Most everyone would end up in Purgatory, the place in-between Heaven and Hell, because both sides couldn't decide where to put them. It was rather vain. At least the Dorian brothers thought so.
And hell, they were Jewish by blood, too. Non-practicing, but still. The irony. There had to be some irony in there somewhere, anyway…
Perry waved a hand in his Newbie's face, almost frantically, but still got no reaction. The demon's eyes were clouded, as if he wasn't really there, or anywhere, and he seemed as if frozen in time.
"What do you think happened?" Carla whispered, running a hand through JD's black locks. Her dark eyes shone with worry.
"I'm guessing he's having a telepathic connection with someone, though I can't really see how, since it's usually familial…" the Janitor mused, resisting the urge to doodle on Scooter's face with a marker while he had the chance.
Elliot's head whipped around to look at him, "Familial? As in his brother?" She shrieked and Perry covered his ears a bit overdramatically.
The Janitor nodded, "Yup."
"So…" Perry started, "they… the Others… they escaped?" He looked completely and utterly flabbergasted.
The Janitor nodded again, "Yup-yup."
Elliot's jaw went slack and Perry just stared.
Carla wished her husband were there. How could she explain all of this to him?
A/N: SO NOT DEAD. Just being given hell by life. Please, please forgive me? I kept drawing blanks for this for quite a while, and I'm sorry. Please review to show you haven't given up?