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And here's the next chapter, a little bit shorter than usual.

Enjoy.

"Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, "I'm going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that's tough. I am going to snow anyway."

Maya Angelou

Chapter 3

"So when's the last time anyone saw Isabelle?" He demanded, arms crossed and his face showing the signs of a badly disguised fury raging in his head.

"Isabelle?" Elliot asked, confused.

Dr. Cox raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! I… I saw him at the clinic. He said he needed a breath of fresh air." She stammered.

"And when would this delightful little interaction have taken place?"

"Well, it was before I started my shift here, but after I got that slushie from the second floor sluhsie machi—"

"Just the time, thank you, Barbie. I think if I hear another unnecessary word out of your mouth I might faint from the amount of Not Caring being transported through my system." Dr. Cox cut her off.

"Er, at least an hour ago. Maybe two."

Dr. Cox growled, making several interns shiver and scamper off in wild attempts at self-preservation.

---

"You coward! Come out!" The man yelled, searching the tree line with his frantic eyes, holding the gun loosely by his side.

He grunted and wiped his bloody nose with the back of his hand. "You think you can get far like that?" His words echoed through the clearing but seemed to dampen as soon as they reached the dense forest line.

"There's no one around for at least five miles!" He approached the tree line, looking down at the carnage on the ground. Below his boots the snow had turned from a brilliant white to a bright red.

The wind whipped at his jacket and he looked up at the cold, ominous grey sky, heralding a snow storm. He grinned.

He wouldn't get very far. The cold would take care of the rest.

He made to turn, but stopped when he noticed something from the corner of his eyes, seemingly out of place in the mess of snow and blood. He kneeled down and plucked the offending object off of the ground.

Sacred Heart Hospital

John Dorian MD

Attending

From the nametag, JD's face smiled up at him.

---

A long line of curses escaped my lips as I finally collapsed onto my knees, gasping for air. I sat there, dizziness claiming me and I looked up. Staring at the black branches of the spooky trees against a background of the grey and stormy sky. Pain shot up in waves, each one crashing over the other as they radiated through my arm and shoulder, demanding attention.

He fucking shot me.

I looked down again and saw the dark red blood, my blood, staining the clear white snow, monetarily captivating me in some kind of morbid fascination. I snapped back to reality and pulled away part of my shirt to look at the damage.

"Please. Please. Come on. Come on... Come on!" My feverish mantra helped my hand find a way to the bullet's exit wound, clearly big enough that I knew the bullet hadn't shattered, unlike my collar bone. I breathed a big sigh of relief but stopped immediately when pain shot again through my shoulder and arm at the unexpectant movement.

Aargh.

Even though there wasn't a bullet in there anymore, didn't mean the shards of bone couldn't pose a problem inside my body.

And it was so damn cold.

I didn't even have my jacket with me, I was still in my scrubs for god's sake.

The blood kept coming as I tore of a piece of my scrubs and tried to tie it around my shoulder, at least applying some moderate pressure against the wound.

"Fuck." I said matter-of-factly to the eerily silent white world around me. I wavered slightly when I made to stand up again. I looked down at the snowy ground.

Jeez, that was a lot of blood.

--

Dr. Cox was not worried.

Dr. Cox didn't get worried. That was something that was simply not done in this version of his reality, which he had carefully constructed for himself and those around him.

Dr. Cox certainly wouldn't get anxious.

He was just very, very mad. Who the hell just disappeared in the middle of their shifts? What a completely irresponsible thing to do!

Barbie had said he had walked out the hospital.

In his scrubs.

He stared at the contents of the locker.

Jacket, scarf, wallet, keys to that ridiculous scooter of his. Even his phone was in here, which explained why he hadn't returned any of the calls they had made.

Dr. Cox didn't get worried.

A cough behind him made him snap back to reality and he idly wondered how long he had been standing there, just staring.

He slammed the locker closed with a lot more force than was strictly necessary.

"And?"

"And what?" He snarled.

"Found what you were looking for?"

He grunted and turned around.

The janitor shrugged, swinging an out of proportion couple of cutting pliers in his hand. "I could still, you know, jam his locker for you."

Dr. Cox eyed the pliers. "I'm sure I'm going to regret asking, bu-ut... Why did you take that thing with you if you knew you weren't going to use it anyway seeing that you, for some disturbing reason, know his locker code?"

"Oh, this thing? I've been wanting to use it for ages! I've got all of these useless tools lying around, never used them once. That's why my offer for jamming his locker still stands." He made a few 'snip-snip' movements.

Dr. Cox growled and strode out of the locker room.

He couldn't possible walk home without a jacket in this weather, right? Maybe he had taken the bus.

Dr. Cox didn't get worried.

Dr. Cox only got more angry.

Wait till he got his hands on Newbie.

---

I didn't even know where in the woods I was. I had run blindly away from the car before getting shot for my trouble. I had scrambled back up and ran on, ignoring the pain as the adrenaline coursed through my body.

I had heard the screeching of tires after a while, though. I guess that bastard just left me here to die.

I was in the middle of nowhere now and I didn't even have a cell phone or anything. God. Why hadn't I just listened to Dr. Cox and taken that break?

And left that guy to kill someone else instead of me.

No.

And come on! I'm not dead yet. Keep being positive here, brain!

I stumbled through the vegetation, hopefully out of the woods and towards where I thought the dirty rocky sand road that led us here had been. My right hand was on my shoulder, pressing against my make-shift bandage that was already soaked through. My breathes were short and rapid, my skin clammy and I was sweating profusely.

Sweating!

I was freezing and sweating. And I was tired… My heart hammered in my ears, and I felt like sitting down to rest for a bit…

My head shot up. Shock. I had to get to the highway before I lost consciousness.

I wavered from tree to tree, painfully aware that I wasn't walking in a straight line as my dizziness overwhelmed me. The only thing I could hope for was that I had chosen the right direction. I hadn't gotten that far into the woods and if I could just get to the sandy side road, I could track it back towards the highway.

For miles…and every mile is two in winter... A mean little voice inside of my head whispered to me.

"Shut up." I mumbled, while continuing my way.

"Well that's not very nice."

I looked up.

"Sorry, Turk." I mumbled, looking up through unfocused eyes at my best friend, who mockingly looked hurt at my exclamation.

"Hey, don't sweat it!" He said with a laugh, but then stopped and eyed me critically. "You don't look too good there, vanilla bear."

"Yeah, well… that happens when people get shot, I guess." I muttered.

"What did I tell you about getting shot?" Turk said, hands on his hips in a not even that bad of an imitation of his wife.

"Don't?"

---

"You think he's all right?" Carla asked, concern written all over her face.

"Well, if he is I'm going to make sure he won't be." Dr. Cox snarled, fighting to get his coat on.

"I'll go! I can check the apartment to see if he's there!" Turk exclaimed, running up to them and skidding to a halt.

"I know you're absolutely terrified something might have happened to your boyfriend, Ghandi, but you've got some important surgeries up ahead. As much as this pains me to say, my shift is over anyway and I'll check his place and make him understand what I think about this little stunt he pulled."

"Don't you dare touch him! I'm sure he had a good reason to leave!" Turk yelled after Dr. Cox. He had looked like a hurt little puppy when he heard he couldn't help search for JD, but now he looked like an overprotective and mostly angry mother hen.

"Oh, he better have." Dr. Cox grunted as he passed the exit doors into the snowy weather outside. He popped up his collar and tightened his scarf against the cold.

Damn, Newbie. You better have a really good one.

---

"-and those little toys you get out of those little eggs of chocolately goodness…" I mumbled feverishly.

I stopped.

I stood there silently staring numbly at my feet, which were slowly being covered by the snow that had started up again a few moments ago. My right hand dangled uselessly by my side, any attempts to keep pressure on the wound long forgotten. It had kind of stopped bleeding, anyway. Extreme cold will do that for you.

I stared silently, my head swimming with images and feverish hallucinations. Half an hour ago…or had it been an hour? I didn't even remember. I remembered happily talking to Dr. Cox at some point, who had been trudging towards the sandy road with me when I had finally discovered it through the trees. I had been so glad to see it, because it meant I had a way back to the highway…towards help.

I had exclaimed my joy and Dr. Cox had patted me on the back, telling me 'Well done!' and that we were going to be saved.

At that moment my subconscious kicked me so hard and I realized in shock that he couldn't be there. A hallucination.

Dr. Cox never told me I did a good job.

Now the hallucination was gone, and I almost felt sorry that my fever and blood loss induced daydream had faded away. I had enjoyed the company.

I had stumbled on, following the road towards the highway. I didn't even know how far I had gotten so far, but finally I had come to a standstill. Taking another step was unbearable.

And now I stared down. Down at my feet, and the small black object that had caused me to stop in the first place. Slowly a thought dwindled to the surface of my consciousness and I waited patiently as the firing synapses in my head gradually formed a coherent thought.

Pager.

Huh. Look at that.

I bent forward, a movement so deliberate and clumsy I was surprised I made it all. Finally my numb hand closed around it and I picked it up. I didn't have the strength to get back up though, so I let myself fall back onto the snow. Kelso would probably have docked the pager out of my pay if I had requested a new one. It was a good thing I had it back. I felt happy about it.

I smiled faintly.

I didn't even feel the bitter of the snow anymore as it seeped into my clothes and made everything that hadn't gone numb yet (admittingly a very small percentage of my body) go lifeless while I sat there staring at the sleek and marvelous little thing in my hands.

Somewhere, I felt a little gloomy I wasn't continuing my walk. Even though at the moment I couldn't recall where I had been going anyway, or why it was so important to be on foot at all.

Another thought drifted lazily up from the depths of my mind towards the clear sky that was his consciousness.

Pager.

I giggled slightly. Silly mind. You've already had that thought.

I stared.

And there it was. A wave of lucidity washed over me as I looked at the object of my affection and suddenly I felt the cold of the snow, the ache in my shoulder and I knew the implication of the pager in my hands.

It was a two way pager.

The only time the message 'out of range' would appear on it, was when I went into the densest and most inaccessible forest, far, far from civilization. It would certainly be in range when I was so close to the freeway.

It had a small keypad and everything.

Oh god. I could page them. I could page for help, tell them where I was.

My frozen hands had trouble with the small keys and I was sure I misspelled every word, but who the hell cared. Halfway into the message, I drifted off to lala-land again for a while, but when another wave of clarity passed over me, I send the message and stared off with unclear eyes at the horizon.

So now I should wait. I could just wait for help. I was at least glad I didn't have to walk anymore, I hadn't felt any sensation in my feet for ages.

And I was drained.

So sleepy…

In the distance, the wind picked up and the snow fell heavy.

TBC

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