Chapter Text
A fire. Everything, gone.
Miraculously, Rowdy survived. He’d been in Turk's car since last Thursday, on his way to one of those gas stations that had high powered vacuums.
They liked to keep their doggie clean.
Turk kept forgetting to actually vacuum Rowdy and bring him back home, but hey, that had apparently worked to their advantage.
Because...fire.
“Started in some tenant's kitchen,” the fire chief had said. Turk, Carla, JD...they'd all been at work.
No one had died, thankfully. A few tenants had first- and second-degree burns. Many were being treated for smoke inhalation.
As for their stuff...
"Some of it may be salvageable," a firefighter told JD, as he stood in the street, transfixed by the few flames still making an effort to shoot for the sky. "But as for livin' in it, well. I suggest you find another spot, son."
JD still couldn't wrap his mind around it.
A fire.
In their apartment.
Everything.
Gone.
**********
"I promise, Mrs. Baker, once Nurse Roberts whisks you away, you won't feel a thing, you hear? Alright then."
I watch as Newbie sees Mrs. Baker off in her wheelchair, headed down the hall to the OR with Laverne.
Watching Newbie isn't anything new, but the slump in his shoulders and the lack of chipper notes in his voice sure as hell is.
"Newbie!" I double whistle.
He makes his way over to me. Not skips, not rushes, not trots...just, dejectedly makes his way over to where I'm standing.
"Yes, Doctor Cox?" It sounds robotic, and not at all Newbie-like, and I hate it.
"Who popped your birthday balloons, princess?"
"Lay off him, Perry."
I whip my head around, my mouth halfway open in surprise. Sure, Carla is a damn good friend, but she never uses my first name at work.
"I'm serious," she scolds me. "JD has..." I see her glance over at him. He shrugs, like nothing in the world matters.
My stomach flips.
"There was a fire," she says, still looking sympathetically at JD. "At their apartment. No one died, but-"
My hand instantly flies to JD's face. I tip his chin up, my eyes roving over every inch of him. "Are you hurt?"
He blinks.
It takes me a second to realize why, and fuck him and everyone else, because is it really so off-putting for me to give a damn?
Okay, fine. Maybe. But back to more pressing matters.
"I’m fine, Doctor Cox." JD pulls away from my grasp, and I miss it a little. "But all my stuff..."
There's a dampness in his eyes that breaks my heart. "Where are you staying?" I ask him.
He looks up at me, finally, and he looks so damn lost that it amazes me I don't scoop him up right then and there.
"Turk and I are staying with my mom," Carla quietly interjects. "But it's barely even big enough for one, and..."
"So…” Ah, hell. “Stay with me."
"What?" They say at the same time.
Wait, what? Did I just say that?
Well, where the hell else is he gonna go? I ask myself. I say it again. "You can stay with me."
Carla and Newbie exchange nervous glances, and I walk away, the matter concluded as far as I'm concerned.
And again, fuck them and everyone else, because is the idea of me having a teensy eensy maybe-a-little-bigger-where-JD-is-concerned heart really that goddamn off-putting??
Christ.
***********
"Uh, dude? For real?"
I shrug, even though no one is as surprised as I am. "I mean, yeah, I guess. What else am I supposed to do?" I ask Turk.
"Well, yeah, but...dude, it's Cox."
"I know, right?" A dozen and one scenarios of Doctor Cox and me sharing a living space have run through my mind ever since he'd told me to come stay with him. Not one of them makes sense, but I think I'm still a little in shock at losing my entire life in one night, so I forgive my subconscious for not being up to our usual fanciful standards.
"Look, let me talk to Carla. Maybe we can-"
"Turk, man. It's fine. You're the one always making fun of how much I love the guy."
Turk's face twists. "Yeah, but this is like, for real for real."
I watch Doctor Cox move briskly past us, on his way from one room to another in his usual blinders-on manner. "Keep to the side, there, princess."
Turk makes wild gestures, silently trying to emphasize his point.
"Uh," I look around, because there has to be an explanation here somewhere. "Stranger things have happened?"
Turk frowns.
I shrug again, then head off to rounds.
********
“Guest room is this way.”
I heft the bag I carry to and from work higher onto my shoulder as I follow Doctor Cox down the hall. His apartment is nice, and just like him – sleek and minimalist.
“Bathroom here.” He flips on the light switch. “Don’t spend too much time enjoying the eight-setting showerhead, princess.”
I try for a smile, I really do.
Clearly, I fail. “Hey,” Doctor Cox says, his voice softer now. “It’ll be okay, JD. There’s no pressure, alright? Stay as long as you need.”
“Thanks,” I manage. What else can I say? How else am I supposed to repay my boss and mentor for literally giving me a roof over my head?
My eyes drop to his crotch, completely on their own and against my will. Stop thinking of thank-you blow jobs, this is crazy, you just lost your entire life’s belongings, now is not the time for-
Doctor Cox clears his throat. I’m not sure, but when I snap my gaze back to his, there’s a kind of heat there.
Or maybe he’s just trying to refrain from kicking my ass.
“Thank you,” I say again, firmer this time. “I’ll look for a place as soon as I can.”
“Like I said,” Doctor Cox – am I allowed to call him Perry now? – calls over his shoulder as he wanders back to his own room. “No rush.”
And just like that, I’m living with Doctor Cox.