elmo-doodle: uh... hi! Whoa, thanks for the reviews! After your encouragement and um... threats (*coughs* licorice-bear) I have decided to give you the next chapter! Hehe, I kid - I'm really really thankful for your reviews and support and I can't wait to hear what you think about this chapter and the following ones! Ooh, and Lauren? You made me smile =] and I'm talking about a full on break-my-face-and-make-my-cheeks-really-sore kinda smile. Thankies! For the review I mean ... not for breaking my face. ... LOL ^^_
Chapter Two
Carla was pacing the area in front of the couch, while a smaller JD followed her with his eyes. He was dressed in a light blue onsie that Turk had to go out and get along with some diapers and baby formula. Turk was standing behind the couch, also watching Carla.
"Baby," he said gently, "if you don't stop that, you're going to wear a hole in the carpet."
"I just can't believe this," Carla muttered, more to herself than to Turk. "JD, is that really you?"
Baby JD rolled his eyes but nodded. "Me," he said, but it appeared to take alot of effort.
"Dude, you can talk?" Turk asked in astonishment.
JD nodded again. "Little..." he stuttered out. "Diff-cul."
"So... you're normal JD, but stuck in a baby's body," Turk stated. "It could be worse."
"Turk, I don't think it gets much worse than this!" Carla shouted, but she forced herself to calm down when JD winced from the noise. "Okay, we've just got to figure this out." She paced a bit more before she sat down next to JD. "Did you notice anything unusual before you went to sleep last night?" she asked him. JD shook his head. "Something must have caused this... these type of things just don't exist."
JD's brow furrowed in concentration (a strange thing to see on a baby, Turk noted in amusement) before suddenly widening his eyes. "B-box!" he stuttered.
"Box?" Carla repeated, raising her eyebrows. "Bambi..."
JD nodded furiously. "Box!" he said, more firmly this time. "Ooth box!"
Turk snapped his fingers in realisation. "The Youth Box!"
"Yes!" JD chirped.
"Turk, don't be ridiculous," Carla said.
"Baby, I'm not!" Turk protested. "JD, buddy, where did you put it?"
JD groaned when he realised where he had placed the box before falling asleep. "Pil--low"
Turk disappeared in to JD's room for a few seconds before returning in to the living room, box in hand.
Carla frowned. "Is that smaller than it was last night?" she asked, taking the box from Turk. She laid it in the palm of her hand, and tried to remember its proportions the night before. "It was almost twice that size before," she said. JD nodded in agreement.
"Small," he said.
Carla sighed. "This is too strange," she said. "Well, I guess we'll just have to back to the fair and find that 'magic stall'."
"There's no way I can deny magic now," Turk said.
Carla sighed again, and then started as her watch started to beep. "Turk! We have to get to work!" Carla gasped.
"Baby, what about JD?" Turk said. "We can't just leave him here!"
Carla paused before her eyes lit up with an idea. "Elliot's not working today!" Carla said. "I don't think she has any plans either."
"Baby, Elliot?"
"Care to suggest another solution?"
"..."
"I thought so," Carla said. "Right, Turk, you call Elliot and explain the situation to her. Tell her to come over here and I'll get our stuff for work."
"Sure, sure."
* *
"Aw, JD, just look at you!" Elliot cooed as she scooped JD up in to her arms. JD observed her with a bemused expression before looking towards Turk and Carla fearfully.
"I'll be back this evening, Bambi," Carla said. "Elliot, please don't humiliate him. He's still got his mind, so try not to baby him."
Elliot pouted. "Like you wouldn't," she muttered.
Carla responded by rolling her eyes. "We'll be back soon," she said.
JD gave her a sad, and slightly desperate wave at them before they left the apartment. He turned to look at Elliot.
"Hi," he said, cringing internally at his baby-voice.
"Aww!" Elliot cooed again. JD sighed.
This was going to be a long day.
* *
"Laverne, could you find a doctor to check up on these patients?" Carla asked the other nurse.
"Aren't these Doctor Dorian's patients?" Laverne asked, slightly skeptical.
"JD's... found himself in a bit of trouble today, and I'm not sure when he's gonna be able to make it back."
"Mmhmm," Laverne hummed. "Whatever, sweetie. I'll find a doctor."
Carla smiled gratefully and turned around. She almost jumped out of her skin when she saw Perry standing in front of her. "It's rude to sneak up on people," she commented.
"I'm sure it is, sweetheart, but gosh, I just couldn't care less," Perry said, smiling before turning more serious. "Where's Newbie? I have seen neither head nor tail of him today and darn it, it's just a little strange."
"Why should it matter to you?" Carla asked. "It's not like you actually care about him." Her tone suggested that she thought otherwise.
"Don't get sassy with me, sister," Perry growled. "Just answer the damn question."
"JD's just been busy with his patients today," Carla lied, not looking at him.
"Not a single one of JD's patients have seen him today," Perry said, "and yes, I checked," he grudgingly admitted at the look that Carla was giving him, "and the reason I'm here is because it's unusual."
Carla didn't say anything as she cotinued to sort through some paperwork.
"Where is he?" Perry asked, getting frustrated.
"He's... off," Carla almost winced. She could keep a secret when it was serious, but Perry was almost as good as getting secrets out of other people as she was.
"Carla..."
"He's just sick," Carla said, still avoiding eye contact with him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some patients to attend to."
Perry growled as she walked away from him and he took off in the other direction. He paused briefly to take his phone out and scroll down through his address book to land on JD's house number (he would never confess to JD about actually having his number) and he almost pressed the call button.
Then, he didn't.
He snapped his phone closed in frustration and continued walking. "I don't care," he muttered to himself. "I don't care."
* *
Carla was relieved to get home that night. She had spent the majority of the day avoiding Perry and his questions, and the rest of her shift was spent trying not to lose her temper with JD's interns. She reached the apartment and opened the door. When she saw what was happening before her, she couldn't hide her shock, or her smile.
Elliot was sitting cross-legged on the floor and JD was sitting just a few feet away from her. Elliot was covering her eyes with her hands before bringing them away quickly and saying, "Peek-a-boo!". Carla's shock was increased when JD laughed joyously and clapped his hands.
"Elliot," Carla said, making them both jump. "What did I say about not babying him?"
"I wasn't!" Elliot said defensively. "Okay, maybe I was, a little," she added when Carla raised her eyebrows at her, "but we were just making some observations."
JD nodded, "Yep!"
"Observations?" Carla repeated frowning.
"Yeah! Come here," Elliot beckoned her over to sit beside her. "Basically, we were just testing how much this change has affecting him mentally, since it's obvious what has happened physically," Elliot said quickly. "For example: I can have a perfectly normal conversation with him about the disadvantages of jumping straight to surgery instead of considering all the medical alternatives first."
"Was mow ov a de--bate," JD managed to say.
"Well, it was hardly a debate if we were supporting the same side," Elliot said.
"I sh-till won."
"That's not the point," Elliot said, and Carla almost had to bite back her laughter. "As you know, nerdy JD is still tucked away in there."
"Hey!" JD protested.
"I get it, Elliot," Carla said, "but what's your point?"
"It seems like the adult, nerdy JD is conflicting with the brain of a one-year-old," Elliot continued. "Observe." She put her hands over her eyes again and pulled them away. "Peek-a-boo!"
JD laughed again, and Carla couldn't help but smile.
"It's strange," Carla said, "but I guess it makes sense. We can hardly expect JD to be changed to a baby and still act like an adult."
Elliot nodded and lightly tickled JD's stomach, making him squirm and giggle. "I kinda like him better this way," Elliot commented. She grinned when JD made a noise of protest.
"He is extremely cute," Carla said. JD's eyes drooped down as he yawned. "Aw, sweetie, you tired?"
JD nodded. "Ugn," he muttered rubbing his eyes.
"I'll take him to bed," Elliot said. She gently scooped him up in to her arms and carried him in to his bedroom. Carla took out her mobile and rang Turk.
"Hey, baby," she said when he picked up. "Have you found that "magic" stall yet?"
"Baby, you are not going to believe this..."
* *
"Gone?!" JD said, as loud as he could.
Turk winced at the desperation in his friend's voice. When he had come back home he had to explain to Carla and Elliot that the stall was most definately not there anymore. Now that JD had woken up from his nap, he was finding that he was repeating himself.
"I'm sorry, buddy," Turk's voice indicated that he was more than sorry, "but it wasn't there! I even checked the stalls next to it, and the people said that the guy just up and left this morning. He didn't say where he was going."
JD groaned and fought to keep back the tears that the one-year-old wanted to shed.
"Turk!" Elliot scolded. "You're upsetting him!"
"I didn't mean to!" Turk said defensively.
Carla cuddled JD to herself. "It's alright, Bambi," she said, rubbing his back soothingly. "We'll find a way to fix this. Turk," she addressed her boyfriend, "get the laptop out and start searching for anything that might give us a clue as to what we're dealing with. Elliot, there's some baby formula in the fridge- could you get it ready and heat it up?" They both nodded and went off to their assigned tasks.
"Hate this," JD mumbled in to Carla's shoulder, sniffing slightly.
"I know, Bambi, I know," Carla said softly. "We'll get you back to your old self in no time."
* *
Three days later, they were no closer to finding a way to fix JD than they were in the beginning. Elliot, Carla and Turk managed to swap their shifts around so that at least one of them was home with JD. On the fourth day of JD's change, Carla was home with him.
Despite Carla telling the others not to treat JD like a baby, she was finding it hard to obey that rule herself. Her maternal instincts jumped at the chance to look after an infant, and she couldn't help but give JD all her attention. Not that he complained of course. But his infant-mind was definitely posing a problem.
"JD!" Carla scolded him that afternoon. "Where did you get that from?"
JD looked up at Carla with his big, blue eyes. "Table," he said around the pen that he was currently chewing in his mouth.
Carla sighed and bent down to pick him up. "Bambi, you know it's not safe for babies to eat those kind of things," she said while she took the pen away from him and set it in a safe location.
"'M sowwy," JD said, immediately looking guilty. "I coodn' wesist."
"Aw, sweetie," Carla hugged him. "I can't even begin to understand the torture this is putting your mind through, but I really hope that we'll figure out how to fix this soon." JD nodded and wrapped his tiny arms around Carla's neck.
"I'll behave," JD said. "I pwomise I'll twy."
"I know you will," Carla smiled at him. "You hungry yet?" JD nodded. "Okay, I'll get you something to eat, and then it's nap-time for you, mister." JD rolled his eyes but smiled.
Carla was just about to set JD down when there was a knock at the door. "Now, who could that be?" she said, readjusting her hold on JD and carrying him over to the door. She didn't even bother to check the peep-hole.
When she opened the door she almost fell over.
"Doctor Cox!"
elmo-doodle: *squeeee!* Baby!JD in full action! Well, almost! And I ended with a really bad, cliché cliffhanger! Hurrah! Now, go brush your teeth and leave me a review? And threats if you must... =]