elmo-doodle: Hey guys! Sorry about not updating on Saturday-- I've had a crazy load of schoolwork and I didn't have much time to write, especially with trying to get ahead of my work since I'm going to Venice in approximately 4 hours!! Hurrah! And because of that, I won't have any time to write in the next three days, so the chances of there being an update on Saturday are looking pretty slim, but I'll try for an update on Sunday/Monday. I'm posting this at 1am =s (I'm trying to stay awake so that I can sleep on the two hour bus journey to the airport . ) Thank you to everyone who had reviewed and subscribed to this story! You all make me smile big, cheesy grins =D
Disclaimer: ...it still makes me laugh. There are so many reasons why the fans don't own [SCRUBS], one of them being the absolute strangeness of some of the fanfictions (like this one!!) Also, I'd love to see Zach Braff's face when you tell him that he has a hot and steamy kiss scene with John C Mcguinley.
Chapter Eight
Perry woke up at 7am the next morning. Grumbling, he rolled over in bed and thwacked the alarm clock to get it to stop bleeping. He lay in bed for a moment, just relaxing in the stillness of the morning. There was almost hardly any noise outside his window except for the occasional bird, and it didn't sound as if the neighbours were up yet either. Then he frowned.
Perry didn't have much experience with babies, but he knew that they didn't sleep for eight hours straight during the night. Even if JD was a well-behaved kid that was highly unusual.
Sighing, Perry pushed himself out of bed. He exited his bedroom, almost forgetting to put a shirt on and knocked on the door to the guest room. "Newbie?" he called. When there was no answer he opened the door and peaked inside. "You awake, kid?"
The lump on the bed mumbled and shifted about. Perry frowned as JD stretched and moved about until he was sitting on the bed. "'Morning," JD said, smiling. He blinked in confusion when Perry didn't respond. "What's wrong?"
Where Perry had set down a baby JD last night, there was now a toddler lying in that place. JD had grown maybe three or four years in the space of eight hours. The shirt that Perry had dressed him in last night was still too big, but it hung more comfortably on JD's thin frame. His hair was longer and messier than it had previously been.
Perry took a deep breath. "Oh... my God."
* *
Carla had gone round to Perry's apartment with Turk early that morning. When they got there they saw for themselves that JD had indeed aged again. He was now about four-years-old, a big difference from the baby that he had been mere hours ago.
JD was sitting on the couch, still in Perry's huge t-shirt, when his friends arrived. After both men had attempted to calm Carla down, she flipped out her phone and rang Kevin Walker.
"Hello?" she said when he picked up. "Yes, it's Carla Espinosa. I'm sorry about the early call, but something happened to JD last night." She paused. "Yes, he seems to have aged by about three years." Another pause. "Uh-oh, okay. I understand... I think... Thank you." She hung up and turned around to find three pairs of fixed on her intently.
"He said that he forgot to put "the guard" over the Youth Box last night," she told them, "so some of the energy escaped early and made JD age a bit more. Apparently that's a good sign, so he's certain that JD won't be stuck like this much longer."
"Thank God," JD muttered, relieved. He was taller now, but a little shorter than the average four-year-old, so he was still easily lifted. Some of the baby-fat had left his face and he had a mop of messy, black hair on his head. Along with that, his speech had definitely gotten better. "So, I'll be back to normal in a few more days?"
"That's right, Bambi," Carla said, smiling. "And until then we'll need to get you some more clothes now that you've gotten bigger."
"I can take care of that, baby," Turk said. "You take JD home and I'll hit the shops."
"Thanks, baby," Carla said, kissing Turk on the lips. Turk saluted at them all and ruffled JD's hair before leaving the apartment.
"Did you two have fun last night?" Carla asked when Turk had left. "Do you feel better, Bambi?"
JD nodded. "I slept all day yesterday, and I felt better when I got here," he said, smiling.
Carla smiled in response. "That's great," she said. Then she spoke to Perry. "Do you have his things packed?"
"Yeah," Perry said, walking to the other side of the couch and picking up the bag. "It's all in there."
"Thanks," Carla said. "And thanks again for watching him."
"Really, Carla, it's no problem," Perry told her, honestly. "So, when's my next shift." Carla cringed. "What?"
"Actually..." she began hesitantly. "There's a couple of hours tonight when none of us are available..."
"What time?"
Carla started in surprise. "I'm sorry?"
"I can look after the kid tonight," Perry said. "What time at?"
Carla was shocked. He's willing to look after Bambi three days in a row? She thought. That's unusual even for him. "From 6 until 10."
Perry nodded. "Yeah, I can take him," he said, and then raised an eyebrow at the smirk growing on Carla's face. "What?"
Carla quickly glanced at JD and then back at Perry. "Honestamente, soy sorprendido. Usted siempre insiste que usted no quiera Bambi, y aquí usted ofrece cuidarlo durante su tiempo libre."
Perry looked at her, wide-eyed. "Carla, tanto como yo odio admitir esto, usted es la única persona viva que me puede leer como un libro. ¿Realmente me necesita usted explicar por qué yo quiero mirar el niño?"
"No, but I would like to hear you say it sometime," Carla teased and Perry growled. "Come on, Bambi, let's go home."
"Wait-- what were you two saying?" JD asked, looking about in confusion. "Tell me-- please?" Carla shook her head and smiled as she lifted JD up. Thankfully, he was still small enough to be carried around.
"It was nothing, Bambi, honestly," Carla said, settling JD on her hip. "I'll bring JD by around 5:30. You get off around 4, don't you?"
"Yeah, that's fine," Perry said, and he went to hold the door open for Carla. "See ya."
"Bye, Doctor Cox!" JD chirped, waving. "See ya later!"
* *
"Bambi, I have to do some shopping this afternoon," Carla said to JD, who was sitting on the carpet and playing with a toy engine. "I can't leave you alone, so you'll be coming too, okay?"
JD groaned at the prospect of shopping with a girl. "Okay," he mumbled. "But can we stay out of the clothe shops?"
"It's food shopping, sweetie."
"Awesome!" JD responded, jumping up. "When do we go?"
Carla looked and the clock and shrugged. "We could go now-- I'm not actually doing much today."
"Okay! Um, where are my shoes?"
"They're by the door, Bambi," Carla said. She began to tidy some things up in the kitchenette before getting herself ready to go out.
"Uh, Carla?" JD asked, hesitantly.
"Yeah?"
"Could you... tie my shoelaces?" JD mumbled, blushing. "I can get it..."
Carla beamed and lifted JD up. "Is this very embarrassing for you?" she asked as she carried him over to the couch and set him down.
"Extremely," JD said. "But I'll get over it."
"Just think, you'll be all grown up again in a few days," Carla said, beginning to tie JD's shoes up. His whole demeanour drooped slightly. "What is it?"
"'S nothing," he shrugged. He started to swing his feet but stopped when Carla lightly hit his knee.
"Come on, Bambi, tell me," Carla pleaded.
"I just... I've really enjoyed all the time I've been spending with Doctor Cox lately," JD admitted, "and I'm scared that when I get changed back, he'll change back, too."
Carla smiled at him in sympathy. "Aw, sweetie," she said. Carla moved and sat next to JD on the couch. She ran a hand through his messy hair. "It's going to be difficult when you get back to work. Doctor Cox probably is going to go back to being a bad-ass, but don't you know by now that he at least cares about you?"
"I know," JD said, sighing. "But I like him so much more than that. This whole change has been a gift because I got to be so close to him, and when I'm big again... that's all going to disappear, isn't it?"
Carla's heart went out to JD. He looked so hopeless and lost that she lifted him and set him on her knee. She wrapped her arms around his small body and planted a kiss on her cheek.
"I don't know, Bambi," she said as JD closed his eyes and snuggled his face in to her neck. "None of us will know until you're back to normal. You can only hope that Doctor Cox will show more of his human side at the end of this. Though, if he is mean to you, I'll just kick his ass, okay?"
"'M'kay," he mumbled, giggling lightly.
"That's right," Carla said, smiling. "Okay, come on-- let's get some shopping done."
* *
Perry scowled as he looked at the chart in front of him. "This guy just got out of emergency heart surgery and he's probably going to be unconscious for the next 12 hours because of the amount of sedatives those idiots gave him. And you want me to stay here until he wakes up?"
"That man is a very important board member; he covers the finance of the different hospitals in the area," Kelso said, uncaring of whatever Perry thought. "When he wakes up I want there to be a competent doctor in the room. Sadly, you're about the most competent idiot in this so-called hell-hole and if we take good care of him he might just reconsider the amount of money that this hospital gets every year."
"I cannot stay after my shift ends, Satan."
"That's too bad," Kelso said with fake sympathy. "I guess of you don't stay then I might just have to give you every single late-night and weekend shift for the next month."
Perry growled as Kelso walked away from him. There was no way in hell this guy was going to walk up before the end of his shift, and he had to be home for Carla to drop JD off at 5:30.
He could only hope that the sedative would wear off soon enough.
* *
"Is there anything else we need to get?" Carla asked.
They were in a supermarket getting the food. Carla was pushing the trolley around and she had set JD in the seat in the trolley.
"Mmm," JD thought, tilting his head to the side. "Lollipop?"
"Can I trust you not to choke on the stick?" Carla asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Yep!"
"Okay, we'll pick one up at the counter."
JD did the Victory Dance as best as he could sitting down.
"You're such a dork," Carla told him, and JD giggled.
Once the groceries were paid for (and JD was happily sucking on a lollipop) they went back to the car to put the bags away.
"Hey, Bambi," Carla said, as she locked the car door. "Do you want to go play in the park?"
JD's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really?" he asked. "We can go play in the park?"
Carla nodded and smiled.
"My mom never took me to the park when I was little," JD mumbled, frowning slightly, before looking up and sheepishly asking: "Will you push me on the swings?"
"Sure, Bambi," Carla said. She held out her hand for JD to take hold of and they started to walk towards the park. JD was happily skipped along beside her, humming and giggling every now and then. "Is this really that exciting for you?" she asked.
JD nodded. "Mom was always too busy for this, and I couldn't trust Dan to bring me back from the park in one peace. I think I was the only kid in my grade that hadn't been to the park with his family..."
Carla smiled at him in sympathy. "Well, we'll change that," she said, making JD smile gratefully. "And maybe, before you get changed back to normal, we can all go the park for a picnic."
"All of us?"
Carla nodded. "Even Doctor Cox." JD practically beamed at that, and Carla had to watch the make sure that JD didn't trip over his own feet in happiness.
When they reached the park JD made a beeline for the empty swing set. He had a bit of difficulty getting on to the seat, so Carla lifted him on to it.
"Hold on tight," she instructed and JD obediently gripped the chains. Carla gently pushed him forwards, smiling as he giggled in joy. She continued to push him until she thought he was up high enough, and then she stopped and stepped back to watch him with gentle eyes.
JD had really adjusted to being an infant again. She, for one, knew that if it were her, she would not have been as calm about the whole thing. But JD was so comfortable about it, probably because he was just a big kid at heart. She vaguely wondered if he maybe didn't want to be changed back, but then shook her head. JD wouldn't abandon his responsibilities just to relive his childhood. It would be difficult, especially since his friends would be much older than him.
As Carla had been thinking, JD had slowed down in his swinging. He was going slowly enough to be able to jump off and land safely on his feet. This earned a disapproving look from Carla.
"Sorry," he said, smiling. "I've always wanted to try that."
"You're lucky you didn't fall," Carla said, but she smiled back at him. "Come on." She held out her hand for him again. "Let's have some more fun before going home."
"'M'kay!"
* *
Perry glanced semi-nervously at his watch. It was 4:30, and this unconscious-board-member-patient (Mr Holmes, the chart said) was still that. An unconscious-board-member-patient. Though his vitals were good, Perry would bet that the man wouldn't wake up for another four hours at least, and Carla was meant to bring JD to his apartment at 5:30.
Damn it.
* *
It was 5:45 when Carla stood outside Perry's apartment, knocking at the door. She frowned when there was no answer, so she knocked again. And again.
"Maybe he's asleep," JD suggested, watching as Carla took her cell phone out of her pocket.
She dialled Perry's cell and waited as it rang a few times before clicking. "Hello?" Perry's voice.
"Where the hell are you?" Carla asked with attitude. "It's almost 6pm! You got off at 4, and you're not at home?"
"Carla, I'm sorry, I really am, but Kelso's forced me to stay behind after my shift to be there when this dumb-ass board member regains consciousness."
"He did what? Oh, he is in for a world of pain," Carla muttered.
"Look, Carla, I can't leave until this guy wakes up," Perry said. "Can't you bring Newbie to the hospital? I can watch him, since I'm off duty."
Carla sighed. "I guess that's the only option we have right now," she said. "If anyone asks, he's your nephew, Matthew. Okay?"
"Okay," Perry agreed. "See you soon."
"Yeah," Carla sighed, and she ended the call.
"What's happening?" JD asked her, frowning.
Carla sighed again and smiled at JD. "Come on, Bambi. We've got to go to work."
* *
"Well now, who is this sweetie-pie?"
A handful of nurses had gathered at the nursing station to get a good look at the little boy who was seated on the countered.
"That's Doctor Cox's nephew," Carla explained. "His name is Matthew."
"And how old are you, Matthew?" Laverne asked.
JD beamed. "I'm four!" he exclaimed, but it sounded more like, "I'm fower!"
Some of the nurses cooed over him, while others smiled and patted his head. Laverne, who was giving him the most attention, was continuously playing about with his hair and babying him.
"He is so adorable," Laverne said, gently pinching his cheek. "It's hard to believe that something so sweet could be related to something so cruel."
"Cruel?" JD asked, frowning. "You think Uncle Perry is cruel?" JD saw Carla look up at him and smirk from the corner of his eye. Well, he thought, if I'm going to be his nephew, I might as well play the part!
"Of course not, sugar," Laverne said. "It's just that not everyone gets along with him as well as you do."
"Where is he?" JD asked, looking about for any sign of his mentor. "Carla said he'd be here..."
"Who the hell paged me?" Perry growled, suddenly appearing around the corner.
Carla raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't you take that tone with me," she said warningly. "I paged you, to tell you that I brought your nephew in."
"Oh," Perry muttered. He turned to see JD sitting on the counter, surrounded by some of the nursing staff. "Don't you all have work to do?" he growled. Almost all of them scattered-- only Laverne stayed and she gave Perry a look that told him not to mess with her. Perry scowled and walked past her, to stand in front of JD. "How are ya, kid?"
JD beamed. "'M great!" he said. "Carla took me to the park earlier, and she pushed me on the swings!"
"That's great," Perry said. When he glanced about, he saw that the nurses were watching them and probably wondering how Perry would interact with the infant. He scowled at them. "Come on," he said, grabbing JD around the waist and carrying him. "Let's go find something to keep you entertained."
When they were out of sight of the nosey nurses, Perry adjusted his hold on JD and rested the boy more comfortably on his hip. "Good day, Newbie?"
"Yup!" JD said. "Carla and I went shopping, and then she took me to the park. It was great!"
Perry nodded. "Have you had anything to eat yet?" he asked, and then growled at an intern for staring at them.
JD shook his head. "No, we didn't have time to get anything," he said. "So, what about this patient that you have to wait around for?"
"Just your typical unconscious male."
"Carla said that he had emergency heart surgery."
"Well... that too," Perry added. "He's a part of the finance section of the hospital Board, and Kelso is trying to squeeze even more money out of them."
"That sounds about right," JD said as they entered the cafeteria. Perry walked over to a table and set him down on one of the chairs.
"Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes?" Perry asked.
JD nodded. "I'm not a child," he said, smirking at the irony of his own words. Perry just rolled his eyes and walked away.
While JD waited, he looked about the cafeteria, swinging his legs while he did so. There was a good number of people having their dinner or grabbing a coffee before the late-night shift. JD recognised a few of the faces, but no-one that he knew really well. When he turned around in his seat, he saw a familiar pair of heads just a few tables down. The occupants looked like they were deep in conversation. JD looked over to see how far away Perry was-- he wasn't even near the cashier yet, so JD thought it was safe to disappear for a few minutes. He clambered off the chair and toddled over to the table where two of his friends were sitting.
Elliot and Turk were bent over a textbook and talking in rushed tones. They appeared to be having an argument about something.
"Elliot, I'm just saying that if we did exploratory surgery, we may be able to find out what's causing his internal bleeding--"
"That man is bleeding enough, Turk, without you lot poking about in him even more. Besides, he's too weak for surgery."
"Elliot!" Turk said, indignantly. "This surgery could fix his problem! Why are you so against it?"
"Well, for starters," JD said, climbing up on the chair opposite them, "exploratory surgery involves the risk of him bleeding out and flat-lining."
"Exactly," Elliot said. Then she did a double-take. "Oh my God," she whispered. "JD?!"
JD beamed and said, "It's Matthew." This was the first time Elliot had seen him since he last aged.
"'Sup, Little Vanilla Bear," Turk whispered. "What are you doing down here?"
JD shrugged. "Uncle Perry is getting something to eat," he said, giggling at the look on his friend's faces at his words. "Uh-oh, he's looking for me." JD stood up on the chair and waved to catch Perry's attention. The older man's eyes locked with his, and JD briefly saw the relief flash through them as Perry realised that he hadn't lost JD. He made his way over to JD, growling slightly at Elliot and Turk.
"As if my day couldn't get any worse," he said, glaring at them. But he sat down beside JD anyway, and placed the tray of food in front of him. "Eat."
"Thanks," JD said, and he began to tuck in to his dinner. There wasn't much of a conversation except for the debating coming from Elliot and Turk. Perry would occasionally have an input, but he would usually stick to refereeing the fight.
Just as JD had finished eating, Perry's pager went off. He looked down at it and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Mr Holmes is finally waking up," he said. "You done, kid?"
JD nodded.
"Alright, let's go see him and then get home."
* *
JD ended up back at the nurses' station while Perry went to talk to Mr Holmes. He watched through the glass window as Perry interacted with the patient. One of the nurses reached over JD to lift a pen, and she smiled and patted JD on the head.
After what felt like ten minutes, Bob Kelso walked up to the nurses' station. "Glad to see that you're actually working," he said, receiving seven glares from the staff. "Now that Mr Holmes is awake I want you to make him your top priority. He's a very important board member."
"Doctor Kelso," Carla objected, "you can't expect us to ignore our other patients, just because you want a bigger salary for the hospital."
"Nurse Espinosa, have you learnt nothing since you started working here?" he asked in exasperation. "What I say goes. Are we clear?"
Carla didn't answer, but opted to roll her eyes. Kelso was beginning to walk away when he caught sight of JD. "And who might you be, sport?"
"That would be my nephew," Perry said, having just come out of Mr Holmes' room. "Now that your friend is awake and stable, I'm going to be going home. You see, I was meant to look after my nephew this evening, but thanks to your little stunt with keeping me in after my shift, I had to have him brought to the hospital."
"Perry, I really don't care about your life outside of this hospital," Kelso said with a fake smile. "Now, I hope you said only nice things to that very important man in there."
"You know what?" Perry asked, crossing his arms and glaring at the Chief. "My shift ended over to hours ago, so you can blow it out your ass, Bobbo."
"Yeah," JD said, standing up on the counter. "Blow it out your ass, Bobbo."
Kelso raised his eyes in surprise at the boy (as did the majority of the nursing staff) while Perry just looked at JD. "Outstanding," he said. "Come." He wrapped an arm around JD's waist, lifted him off the counter (making JD giggle) and carried him as he began to walk away. "I'm going home now, Bobbo," he called back, "and there's not a single thing in hell you can do to stop me."
It was hard to hear what he said though, as JD was still giggling.
Translation of conversation:
Carla: Honestly, I'm surprised. You always insist that you don't like Bambi, and here you are offering to look after him during your free time.
Perry: Carla, as much as I hate to admit this, you are the only person alive who can read me like a book. Do you really need me to explain why I want to watch the kid?
elmo-doodle: That Spanish probably isn't acurate, since I got it from one of those online translator. You may have noticed that I borrowed a scene from [SCRUBS] at the end there, mostly because I thought it would fit, and it's just cute =3 Please review! I hope to come back from Venice I find reviews in my inbox XD