Tangled Web, CH's 3-11
Okay, so I'm an idiot. My formatting was wrong on the stupid LJ thing. Mah badz. Here's the rest of Tangled Web. Posted in several different posts.
Title: Their Tangled Web
Author: Elise Davidson
Rating: M
Warnings: Slash, Femmeslash, Angst
Author’s Notes: Gotta print a retraction ‘cause it’s driving me bananas! I meant that Perry broke three metacarpals, not metatarsals XD Perry tends to be really introspective in this fic, as well, with JD kind of taking over the usual role of “angry” for some reason, but I’m just going with it. Also, as long as the chapters stay getting written so regularly, updates will probably be on Sundays and Wednesdays, EST. Okay, so let’s get this show on the road!
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JD quietly knocked on the door of Perry’s apartment, stomach still twisting and heart still aching.
A young woman with dark, auburn hair answered the door with a pleasant smile. “Dr. Cox said you would be by. JD?”
“He said my name?” JD asked with a shake of his head as he entered the room.
“Well…he did at first, but then he called you Janna, so I just thought-“
“Enough said. How’s Jack and Jen?”
“They’ve been feeling better. They ate same cheerios earlier.” The woman, who looked to be in her late twenties, gathered a bag and her keys. “I’m Ivy, by the way. The kids are still lying around, just watching some television. They’ve been holding down some Pedialyte, and seem to be okay now.”
JD nodded his goodbyes, and shut the door behind the nanny. He approached the couch, where Jennifer was looking at an upside down book and Jack was kneeled in front of the television, looking for something.
“Hey guys, how ya feeling?” JD asked as cheerfully as he could manage, sliding a hand over Jennifer’s forehead and inspecting Jack’s coloring.
Jack sent a withering glance over to JD. His dad had always told him to only address this particular man by Janice, but he was obviously a guy. Finally, Jack shrugged and held up a DVD of “Cars”.
JD took the move from him and slipped it into the DVD player. “Are you guys hungry?”
Jennifer looked up from her book. “Where’s Mommy?”
“She’s busy today, Jen,” JD replied absently as he fiddled with the remote. “She’ll be home tonight. Your daddy sent me over to watch you guys.”
“Is Daddy coming home tonight too?” Jack asked warily as he climbed back onto the couch beside of JD, who had taken a seat in the middle.
“He will,” JD promised. “I’m only here so you guys have something to play with.”
Jack finally grinned. “Do you like Cars, Janice?”
JD winced at the nickname. “Yeah. Why not?” He hit play, having finally figured out the multi-function remote and settled back on the couch to concentrate on a childish movie and two sick kids lying on either side of him.
Jennifer clambered beside of him at one point, leaning her head into the nook of JD’s shoulder and chest.
Feeling vaguely uncomfortable, JD pulled a blanket over her to insure she stayed comfortable, and made sure there were sippee cups of water nearby. He saw that there were a couple of bottles of grape-flavored pedialyte instead.
Jack didn’t move nearer to him, but sat stock still beside instead, clearly engrossed in the movie.
JD sighed and leaned back, letting the situation in front of him distract him from everything else. He still had to move at the end of the month; his lease was up and he had already denied a renewal. He couldn’t stick around just because Perry’s marriage was breaking up to.
He had his own kid to take care of next weekend.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jordan sat against her car outside of the hospital, fingers ticking across her collarbone and starting to redden the skin a bit where her nails hit. Perry hadn’t called again, and she hadn’t seen him leave the hospital yet. Elliot had come out yet either though.
The sun was dipping low in the sky, turning the blues into pinks and oranges against the line of buildings. The air was turning cooler in the late fall, and the leaves had already fallen from the majority of the trees.
Jordan glanced at her watch. It was just after six, which made it slightly late for Elliot. She hadn’t seen JD leave either and wondered if maybe Elliot hadn’t stuck to the plan. The ugly doubt made her shake her head.
She wouldn’t leave her for DJ. No way. Not after everything they’d risked and everything more to come after.
Elliot finally emerged from the west exit of the hospital, white coat draped over her arm and looking distracted and lost.
Jordan reached in through the window of her car and beeped her horn once, grinning a bit when Elliot jumped and looked furiously for the offending horn.
Elliot slapped her lightly on her shoulder. “Don’t scare me, you know I don’t like it.”
“How’d it go, Stick?” Jordan asked carefully, though she could read the straight weariness on Elliot’s face.
“Not well. I told him I wasn’t sorry.”
“Probably not the best thing you could’ve said under the circumstances.” Jordan smirked. “Points for ballsiness.”
Elliot huffed in her seat as she pulled her seatbelt over her silk top. “I’m tired of playing the Romeo and Juliet thing here. I shouldn’t have to be sorry because I fell in love with someone else.”
“I surely hope you didn’t just call one of us a pre-pubescent male with family issues.”
“Why not? Describes you to a tee,” Elliot remarked back without missing a beat, and took her light slap to her arm with not a shred of remorse.
“We’re going over to my place to get Jack and Jen,” Jordan finally said after a moment of silence.
Elliot flicked her glance over to Jordan. “I thought they’d been sick.”
“They have been. But I’m not letting them stay in that bachelor pad of Perry’s when your house is closer.”
“My house isn’t exactly kid-proofed yet. We’d only just talked about this what, a few months ago?”
“Stick, if you’re getting me, you’re getting the kids too. I’m getting tired of reminding you that we’re both giving stuff up here.”
“I know that,” Elliot retorted. “But we’re all angry right now, don’t you think we’re rushing into decisions without taking into account the way Jack and Jenny might feel about it?”
“Maybe so,” Jordan agreed slightly. “But I’m the one who spent a cumulative total of 43 hours in labor with them.”
“Perry’s their father.”
Jordan sighed. “I still have to go over and talk with him. You’ve got the weekend to kid-proof your house.”
“I really hope you’re going to help, because what’s kid-proof to me might be something completely different to you.”
“You really are the weirdest person I’ve ever met sometimes,” Jordan said earnestly as she stopped at a red light. She leaned over and kissed her quickly on the cheek.
Elliot’s face went a bit pink. “Is that bad?”
“You might be a weird, crazy mountain of blond-haired cuckoo, but you’re my weird, crazy mountain of blond-haired cuckoo,” Jordan replied, but the sting wasn’t all together in her voice.
Elliot smirked. “Emotional cripple.”
“Pot calling kettle.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Perry entered the apartment quietly in case the kids were sleeping. It was nearly eight, and he’d had a hell of a time getting out of the hospital with JD having gone home early and Elliot sneaking out around six. Keith had come in early, as well as Lisa, but Dr. Travis, a new attending, had been late.
The room was dim when he entered, and Perry feared immediately that JD had been no match for Jordan and Elliot double-teaming him.
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time two women had gotten the better of him.
As Perry entered the main living room, however, JD was on the couch, head at an odd angle against the back of the couch, with Jack and Jennifer asleep on either side of him. The menu from Jack’s favorite movie, Cars, was on the television screen, and JD had Jennifer’s favorite book, The Places You’ll Go, lying lopsided on his lap.
Perry picked up the empty bottles of pedialyte sitting on the end tables, throwing them away methodically as he turned off the television and flipped on a soft lamp in the livingroom. He started to maneuver Jack first from under JD’s arm, but the six-year-old woke immediately under the sudden movement, which made JD awaken as well. JD’s arm tightened immediately around Jack’s shoulders, as if to protect him and keep him exactly where he was at.
“It’s Daddy, Jackster. Ready for bed?” Perry asked quietly, hoping not to wake Jennifer as well.
Jennifer didn’t show any indication of awaking.
Jack gave a bleary gaze to his father before allowing himself to be walked to bed.
JD yawned quietly, scooping Jennifer easily into his arms and lying her down in her own small, toddler bed as well. He hadn’t been in Jennifer’s room yet, and in the soft glow of a pink Hello Kitty lamp, appreciated the style Jordan had put on the room. The majority was done in bright pinks and purples, with slashes of black and blue. It was, all in all, obviously a girl’s room.
He lay her down and smoothed clean, cool blankets over her, patting her hair before he shut the door quietly, flipping an aquarium nightlight on before he left.
Perry met him in the hallway and jerked his head toward the kitchen. “I figure I owe you a cup of coffee.”
JD stared at his retreating figure, struggling to read behind the indefinable tone Perry had just used with him. Something lay underneath it, but whatever it was, it was tired and it was just as hurt as JD felt on the inside.
Instead of turning it down (like he should have), JD followed him into the kitchen as Perry made a pot of coffee.
“Talk to Barbie today?”
JD shrugged. “You heard the whole of it before I left.” He looked up when Perry sat down in front of him, fingers tapping on the table in an unknown rhythm. “She’s leaving, I would imagine.”
“Still taking that residency director position at St. Vincent’s?”
“I can’t back out now, not without trashing my record,” JD replied. “You should know that.”
Perry nodded, though he didn’t say he was looking for the same position at Sacred Heart. “Seems like Jordan should apologize to you for dragging our marital problems into your life.”
JD shrugged. “Seems like it wouldn’t have happened if I’d been loving Elliot the way I should have from the beginning.”
“Newbie, you can’t blame yourself,” Perry responded in a deadpan tone, struggling to take on the role of teacher throughout the pain in his chest. “All you can do is bury it, chuck it to the life experience bin and remind yourself you’re still alive.”
JD picked at a loose thread in his long sleeved shirt in silence as the coffeemaker burbled and filled the kitchen with the aroma. He stared at his hands, which felt restless and jumpy. He really wanted a shot of liquor so big that his throat never stopped burning.
However, the kids were still asleep in the other room, and even JD couldn’t talk himself into drinking around them. Instead, JD busied himself by standing up and searching for coffee mugs and getting out creamer and sugar.
Perry watched his anxious movements and frowned, knowing full and well what was going on. He didn’t move to stop him or say anything to calm him down. There wasn’t anything he could drag out of himself this time around, not when his own heart felt like it had been put through a grinder and served on a lo-carb bun.
“No pearls of wisdom from the cynic then?” JD asked deprecatingly, plunking a mug of coffee in front of Perry. He sat down at the adjacent side of the table.
“What do you want me to say, Newbie? That it’s gonna be okay? That you’re gonna wake up tomorrow and she’ll still be there? That your girlfriend didn’t leave you for my ex-wife? That’s not the way this works.”
“You’ve usually got something up your sleeve. You don’t have anything?”
JD’s tone slid from angry to pleading in a millisecond, a change that didn’t go lost on Perry. However, the older man maintained a hard gaze at his coffee and leaned back in the chair.
“It’s gonna suck. And it’s gonna hurt. But you’re gonna get over it eventually.”
“I could’ve read that from Seventeen magazine.”
“How befitting that you know that,” Perry muttered. He sipped from his coffee and grimaced. “This tastes like acid.”
JD shrugged. “You made it.”
“And you know my creamer-sugar ratio.”
“I can’t fix stupid,” JD quipped without a second thought and braced himself for the verbal beating.
It never came, however, and JD looked up cautiously to see a smirk on Perry’s face.
“Touché.”
“So what now?”
“Now we wait for the she-devil and her newest piece of ass.” Perry didn’t sip again from the coffee.
“If that’s the case, I think I’m just gonna go then. The kids are asleep and I need to call Sammy and tell him his story.”
Perry glanced witheringly over at him, wishing he could find the words in him to ask him to stay, not sure why he felt he needed him to. He could call Bob; Bob had plenty of experience with unhappy marriages.
Something caught in his throat. In the end, it was the history that stopped him from calling him. The last thing Perry wanted at this point was for anyone at all to know what was going down.
So Perry sighed hard. “Call him from here. If the kids wake up sick again, I’m gonna need your help.”
JD looked at him warily. “If you want me to stay, it’s just as easy to ask me.”
Perry snorted. “Barbie and Jordan could eat you alive; I don’t need support to watch my wife leave me.”
“I’m out then. Call if you need something.” JD picked up his backpack and headed for the door.
“Christ,” Perry muttered. “Fine. Would you please stick around?” he forced out between gritted teeth, as if it were the last thing on he could possibly want.
JD stared at him carefully. “Yeah.” He dropped his backpack again and pulled his cellphone out. “I still have to call Sammy.”
“Fair enough.” Perry left the room to give JD privacy and also to change from his work clothes.
JD flipped his phone open, seeing that he had several missed calls and texts from Turk and Carla both. He decided not to deal with it right now, preferring more to isolate himself and concentrate on his son instead.
“Hey, Kim. Sammy still awake?”
“He thought you weren’t gonna call,” Kim replied over the phone in a voice she used around Sammy. “He’s just about asleep and waiting for his story.”
JD smiled. This he could do, he could focus on this just as he had focused on the DVD earlier with Jack and Jennifer. He could concentrate completely on his son, on anything that made the pain go away.
“So there was a unicorn, and his name was Gerald.”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jordan rode the elevator up in silence, glaring at Elliot and daring her to cop out of this visit. Elliot fidgeted nervously beside of her, restlessly moving about in a way that Jordan hadn’t seen since the whole thing had started over a year ago.
“Do I really have to be here for this?” Elliot whined again.
Jordan sent her a sharp glare that clearly told her not to ask again after this. “I’m going to say this once, Stick. If we’re gonna do this, if this,” she gestured between the two of them. “Is going to happen, then you’re damn well going to help me through this. I shouldn’t have to go in there alone while you hide away like the mistress.”
Elliot looked indignant at the term. “I’m not your mistress,” she snapped.
“Then you’re going to grow a pair and come with me.” The elevator doors swooshed open. “Too late to back out now anyway.”
“Are we taking the kids tonight?” Elliot asked anxiously.
“No. Not until I’ve had the chance to proof your house for Jennifer and Jack both.” Jordan pulled her keys out, pulling one of them off the key ring so she could leave it with Perry. “Be prepared to dodge, Blondie.”
Elliot gave something that sounded like a squawk and a whimper mixed together as she entered the apartment with Jordan.
Jordan glanced at the livingroom, which still had toys littered here and there and miscellaneous movies sitting in the floor. It looked normal, save that the kids weren’t in there. The only lights on were the lamp on the end table and the kitchen lights.
“Per-bear! Come to discuss our impending custody suit. Have a moment?” Jordan asked breezily, hoping that the nastier she was about it, the quicker she could get Elliot and get out.
Perry looked up from the kitchen table and patted JD’s shoulder in a rare show of support. He stood and met Jordan in the living room.
“Oh, Jordaroo. How pleasant. Oh, look! You bought Jennifer a new dolly to play with,” Perry remarked snidely, looking at Elliot.
“Don’t even go there,” Jordan replied. “Let’s make this as painless as possible.”
“Too late,” Perry interrupted before she could go on. “If you were going for a smooth transition from hetero to homo, you’ve seriously missed the mark. I mean, honestly, did ya really think this was going to be easy for you?”
“No need for you to make it any harder,” Jordan snapped. “Maybe if you’d been thinking about that six years ago instead of with your other head, we could’ve made it.”
“I didn’t do the cheating, Jordan. You’ve done it this time again and you’re the one doing the walking this time again. So get your shit and get out,” Perry retorted. “Kids are mine on the weekend, every weekend. Halloween and Christmas eve are mine.”
Jordan seethed and prepared to snap back when Elliot lay a hand on her arm.
The simple motion nearly undid JD, who had stood to watch quietly from the kitchen. The way Elliot lay her hand there so familiarly, the way it seemed to calm Jordan down even a little. The little glance that went between the two of them that told JD just how long it could’ve been going on.
Elliot glanced over Perry’s shoulder, noticing JD finally. “JD, what are you doing here?”
“Keeping me from going on a homicidal binge. Other than that, it’s none of your business,” Perry snapped. “Now stay out of it. Dollies don’t talk.”
“You keep that up, you’ll see your ass booted out of Sacred Heart so fast, it’ll make your head spin and float into space,” Jordan said, struggling to keep her voice calm. “You want to leave her out of it, then leave her out of it. Just because I’m not on the board anymore doesn’t mean I can’t get those old farts to do anything I want them to.”
“I can hear you both, you know!” Elliot finally piped up defensively.
“Mommy?” Jennifer’s voice came calling down the hallway.
Jordan glared at Perry, and walked down the hallway into Jennifer’s room, Elliot tagging along. Elliot sure as hell didn’t want to be left alone in a room with Perry or JD right now.
JD kicked at the ground childishly, wanting nothing more at the moment than to grab Elliot around the waist, knock her out against a wall and drag her back to the apartment with him. He was, however, fairly certain that it wouldn’t go over well.
And the last thing he wanted was Jordan feeding him his kidneys.
He shot a desperate glance to Perry, who only stared back at him as if to say “Well, what the hell do you expect”.
Perry felt his chest squeeze a little at the absolute hurt and hatred on JD’s face. The kid was normally cheerful, almost annoyingly so, and it was awful to see such burning pain on his face. It wasn’t his fault this time, which didn’t explain why he felt like he should say sorry (yuck) or try to help him out somehow.
Jordan emerged from Jack’s room after several minutes, glancing from JD to Perry and back and forth.
“We’ll be over after the weekend to pick them up,” Jordan said as unemotionally as possible. “DJ, someone will be over for Elliot’s things.”
“She can’t come get them herself?” JD asked defensively. “And since you’re sleeping with my ex-girlfriend, the least you can do is call me JD like everyone else.”
“You don’t want to get into it with me, DJ,” Jordan replied, injecting steel into her tone.
JD, however, didn’t back down, and kept his gaze as full of rage as he could. “The least you can do, Elliot, is come and get your own damn stuff like an adult. Or do you want Jordan to fight that battle for you too?”
Elliot glared at him. “There’s no need for you to be spiteful about this.”
“Like hell there isn’t!” JD snapped. “You cheat on me, you leave me and then you tell me you’re not even sorry. Let’s also not forget you blew off Sammy so you could go parading around with her instead of helping me out like we said we’d do for each other!”
Elliot felt hurt swirling around her chest. However, she’d been hurt by JD before, and was long-used to his propensity for low-blows.
“Don’t pawn your problems off on me,” Elliot replied, though the guilt shoved a hard tunnel through her throat. “We’ll be back Monday, Perry. Later.” She turned on her heel and took Jordan by the hand.
JD felt the ugly anger encroach his stomach again, threatening to make him queasy and vomit all over again. Jordan gave them both a condescending wave that suggest she didn’t have a bit of remorse for everything going on and left the apartment with Elliot.
Perry watched with morbid interest as JD seemed to shake with rage. He had never seen the kid this mad before, had never seen the kid look as if he were going to shatter into a screaming rage, complete with throwing whatever was closest.
He wasn’t disappointed.
JD looked around as if he were going to explode into a million pieces, and picked up a pillow only to throw it as hard as he could into the wall.
“You alright there, Newbie?” Perry asked, keeping his tone as monotonous as possible.
JD whirled. “How the hell can you possibly ask me if I’m alright?” he asked shrilly. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Hey, I’m not the only one who got left here,” Perry snapped back angrily. “Don’t act like this is only your problem. For the love of god, would you keep your voice down?”
JD glared down the hallway and glanced around the livingroom and kitchen. “Where do you keep your liquor?”
“You don’t drink scotch.”
“I could learn.” JD stalked into the kitchen, only to walk straight back out. His movements were jerky and anxious, and he paced restlessly. “You can’t deny me the alcohol tonight, not after…” He didn’t seem to finish, and could feel emotion backing up behind his eyes.
Perry sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I’m going to have to just because the kids are home, Newbie. Go home and sleep. You need rest.”
JD didn’t seem to be satisfied with the answer, though he could feel his system jittering with too much coffee and too little sleep. He hadn’t eaten anything today either. He sighed and flopped on the couch with a wariness that had Perry sighing again.
“You can stay here if you want,” Perry finally muttered, though he knew he’d kick himself for it later.
JD nodded, though he didn’t respond verbally.
Rolling his eyes, Perry sat down on the couch with him. “You’ll be alright, Newbie. So she left you.”
“I love her.”
“And you’ll love someone else eventually,” Perry replied immediately. “But right now, you’ve got to look out for Sammy, look out for yourself so Sammy’s got someone at all.”
JD nodded. He didn’t have to like the advice being thrown his way, but he did have to acknowledge that Perry was right.
“What about you?” JD finally asked, realizing that he hadn’t once asked Perry if he was okay yet. “Jordan left you again.”
Perry rolled his shoulders, having hoped that JD wouldn’t ask. “I’ll live.”
“The least you can do is be honest with me about this.”
“I’m not a touchy-feely kind of guy, Erica. She left me. I’ve got two kids to look after and a hospital to run. I’m also getting ready to lose one of the best doctors we had in the ICU. How do you think I feel?” Perry finally asked bluntly.
“I think you’re going to drink yourself to the pavement when she picks the kids up for the weekend,” JD retorted just as matter-of-factly.
Perry didn’t reply right away, knowing damn well where he kept his scotch. “Fair enough.”
They sat in silence after that, neither wanting to admit just how hurt or upset they were. Still, the comfort of sitting together and knowing that both of them were going through the exact same thing was enough to keep them from getting up too soon.
JD seemed to want to say something at one point, but when he saw the silence in Perry’s eyes and hands, he opted to stay quiet and keep the spell of the hushed screams that struggled to pour through them both.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jordan pulled down the covers on Elliot’s bed. The house was fairly empty, since Elliot had slowly been moving things into storage here and there.
When they had arrived, Elliot had immediately retreated into the privacy of the shower.
Jordan had called the moving company to have them start moving Elliot’s things back in, and had also started a list of child-proofing mechanisms to install around the home. She quickly shucked her clothing in favor of loose pajama bottoms and an old tee instead. She was sitting in the bed when Elliot trudged back into the room, steam pouring from the bathroom.
“Hot water in this place is awesome,” Elliot mumbled, looking and feeling refreshed after the tense conversation at Perry’s. She dropped her towel with little modesty, pawing around in her dresser until she turned up a pair of tight short-shorts and a white cami.
Jordan quirked an eyebrow. “First night in this house together, and you’re already stripping for me.”
Elliot snorted as she pulled the tank over her head. “Like I’ve never stripped for you before.” She slid in the covers beside of Jordan, inching down until she could wrap her arms around Jordan’s waist and bury her face into the other woman’s rib cage.
“You alright, Stick?”
Elliot shrugged. “Long night.”
“For both of us.”
“I just didn’t think it would-well, I thought it might go smoother than that.”
“You thought breaking up with them like that would be smooth?” Jordan asked incredulously. “What delusion are you living in?”
Elliot’s arms tightened around Jordan’s waist. “We don’t have to worry about them anymore. It’s not a delusion.” She sat up to begin toweling her hair dry. “The delusion doesn’t matter anymore. I have the real thing.”
Jordan mussed Elliot’s damp hair, which was starting to curl. “You really are a piece of cheese sometimes.” She kissed her forehead. “Tomorrow’s a new day, Blondie.”
Elliot grinned unexpectedly. “First day of the rest of our lives?”
“Oh my god, will you stop?” Jordan muttered. “Don’t make me go back to Perry.”
The look that crossed Elliot’s face was a mixture of horror and anger. She began to sputter and squeak in a high-pitched tone.
“God, Stick, I was kidding. Do you really think I’d up and leave you like that?”
“We almost ended it once,” Elliot pointed out.
Jordan snorted and turned off her bedside lamp. “And you see how that turned out.”
“Hey, I’m not the one that showed up at the house, banging on the door at three in the morning.” Elliot glanced over at Jordan. “Not to mention I had to pay your cab fare.”
“Never gonna let that one go, huh?”
“Never ever,” Elliot replied absently, folding both towels she had used and placing them neatly on a chair that she had pulled up from the kitchen. She slipped back into bed with Jordan and pulled a thick text book from the nightstand. “We’re going to be okay, right?”
“It’s not us with the problem, Stick. We just have to make it through whatever Perry’s going to dish out.”
“What about JD?”
“The worst DJ can do is make you feel like you’ve kicked a child who just found out he wasn’t getting that bike for Christmas,” Jordan replied, turning around in the bed. “Can we please just sleep now? It’s been a long day, and I have to start redecorating your house.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Elliot asked defensively.
Jordan snorted. “If you have to ask, you’ll never know.”
Elliot rolled her eyes and wormed her way under the covers so she could wrap her arms around Jordan’s waist.
“I love you.”
Jordan opened her eyes again and brushed a lock of Elliot’s hair from her face. “You have to. Who else would go to this much trouble for you?”
Elliot didn’t respond and only turned over so she could feel Jordan pressed against her back.
Sleep wasn’t easy coming, but once she had finally drifted off, Elliot slept like a rock.
Jordan, on the other hand, stayed awake a good while after. She only lay in the bed, cradling Elliot against her chest and breathing in the lilac smell of her hair. The overwhelming relief that they had finally gotten to this place in their relationship made her feel nervous and unsure. She hadn’t loved anyone like this since the first time she and Perry had gotten married.
And when the hell had she turned into a lesbian anyway?
Jordan snorted and buried her face into Elliot’s hair, enveloping her senses in the younger woman. The more she could push away the tension and fear, the more comfortable she would become. And maybe, just maybe…
Maybe for once, she would be happy. And let herself stay that way.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Perry awoke early the next morning with a horrid crick in his neck. The television played in the dim lighting of the early morning, a football game from years back on the classic sports channel. He frowned, raising his head from the couch and glancing at the three empty beer cans sitting on the table.
He groaned and slowly sat up. He remembered now that he and JD had spent the night on the couch, opting out to simply watch television and find something with boobs or sports (JD had found figure skating, but Perry had flicked his ear).
They had ended up with a beer and a half between the two of them, and passing out from sheer exhaustion on the couch.
JD had ended up leaning on him at some point in sleep. Perry nearly shook him off in disgust, but something in him made him stop. Maybe it was the finally calm look on JD’s face, or maybe the fact that the kid had finally stopped moving around.
Perry sighed. Wrong direction. Never, ever. It was always the wrong direction. How fucked up was it to think anything like that, ever, ever, eh-heeeever…Sure shooting, it meant absolutely nothing. He felt bad for the kid; hell, he felt bad for himself. They were just going through the same situation, playing all the same music from before.
It didn’t stop him from half-reaching to brush JD’s limp hair out of his face before he pulled back with confusion.
Perry shook his head and pushed the blanket down. He did jerk at that. Who the fu--?
“Morning, Daddy,” Jack said cheerfully. “I gots up early, and so’s I covered you and Janice up like you and Mommy do for me. Can I have some cheerios?”
Perry sat up, nudging JD sharply in the side to awaken him. The younger doctor gave a squawk and jerked straight up.
“You will not put your talons in me!” he snapped, and stared blearily at his surroundings. “Jack?”
Jack frowned at him. “I want cheerios, Janice.”
“You heard the boy. Get him some cheerios. I’m going to go check on Jennifer. If the nanny knocks, let her in.” Perry stood up, throwing the blanket over JD’s head and leaving the room.
“Alright, Jack-jack. Race ya to the kitchen!”
Jack whooped and took off for the kitchen. JD lagged behind purposefully so that Jack could get there first. The six-year-old boy whirled around and grinned widely.
“What do I win?” he asked excitedly, practically jumping up and down in his spiderman pajamas.
“You win an airplane trip!” JD gave a whoosh of air as he scooped Jack up and swung him into his booster seat.
Jack giggled and banged on the table as JD pulled out a bowl and a box of cheerios.
Perry watched from the kitchen with Jennifer sitting on his hip. She peered at JD carefully, as if sizing him up. She looked at her father with a questioning look in her eyes that was all Jordan.
“Don’t give me that look,” Perry said amusingly as he tapped her on the nose. “Breakfast, Jenny?”
Jennifer nodded in an almost regal fashion (something else Perry assumed she had gotten from Jordan), and allowed to be slipped into a high chair.
JD set a plastic bowl before Jennifer as well before filling their bowls with cereal and milk, handing a spoon to both children.
Perry flipped the coffeepot on to reheat the coffee from last night. It would taste awful, but it would have to do.
“Thanks for staying, Newbie,” Perry finally muttered out as JD took a mug of coffee.
Before JD could respond, however, the doorbell was ringing and Perry was off to let the nanny in.
JD stared at the two kids, who munched happily on their cereal, and wondered just what the hell had been going on seconds before. He steered his thoughts back to Elliot and Sammy as he absently rubbed the scruff on his chin. He needed a shower, a clean pair of scrubs, and he’d never gotten to be trashed last night like he’d wanted.
It would have to wait. Something bigger was going on right now, and he wasn’t sure what it was or where it was headed. He sighed and sipped the coffee, grimacing in appreciation at the thinly acidic liquid.
Just like the hospital made.
Perry sat back down at the table as Ivy busied herself around the kitchen, staring inconspicuously at JD. She remembered him from the day before, but wasn’t sure who he was or why he was still here.
Still, she wasn’t being paid to ask questions. She watched the two men leave, and rubbed Jack’s head affectionately.
“What on earth is your daddy up to, Jacky-poo?” Ivy asked. When Jack only scrunched his face at her, Ivy laughed and helped him down. She retrieved Jennifer, who was quieter than normal this morning. “Well, let’s get you dressed!”
Jack and Jennifer shared a private look around Ivy’s middle.
Ivy stared curiously at that. Children always seemed to know the big stuff before even the adults knew.
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Author’s Notes: There we have it. The ending went a bit wonky there, honestly. I’m just writing this as it comes, and will keep going until the inspiration peters out, lol. I’m still editing and beta’ing chapters 4 and 5; Quaxo is helping me immensely with that! Hope you enjoyed, folks!
Reviewer’s Corner
: Aw, thanks! I’m glad to be writing them again ::grins:: Aw, thanks for the reassurance! Sometimes I wonder if my JD is a little too OOC or something, so I try to watch it, lol. My Dr. Cox tends to be introspective a lot more than normal too, I think…but I’m glad you enjoy!
Snow887: Thanks! Next update will probably be Wednesday ::grins::
Prettypriestess: lol, thanks, Quaxo was the one called it that. I don’t know how much I was going for darker…I know I was going for brutally realistic in a way. Lol, you didn’t miss anything with Seasons 6 or 7 ::winks:: But season 8 rocks the house; they totally captured the original aspect of the show. LOL I love your description! I’m trying muchly to keep them as in character as possible…like I said above to , I think my Perry tends to be really introspective, more so than he would be in the show. Interesting theories on that. Lol, it IS spaced out to me; back in the old days of the Control Arc, I was updating like…every day XD I’m trying to space them out a little because I don’t want to burn out and stuff. This one is rolling in kicking and screaming. Thanks for the review!
Jean kitsune: lol, she’s not gonna take the kids. She’s just very…aware of her wants and needs, lol. Thanks for the review!
Quaxo: I think Elliot, in all of her bumbling foot-in-the-mouth glory, was saying exactly that. She’s not sorry she fell in love with someone else, but she is sorry she hurt him as a result. Elliot’s not the most tactful character sometimes XD Oh, I should’ve worded that better…she was thinking of JD when she said “I bet he’s fantasizing”. That is true of my Jordan; her needs and wants do trump all else’s except for the kids. She’s like that because I wanted to give her an air of…desperation, I suppose, that she’s finally found someone who can make her happy and she doesn’t want to lose that. Perry is still running on animal instinct, as you know since you’re the beta ::wink:: I think JD will have his moments. Thanks for reviewing even though you already told me what you thought of it!
Exangeline: Your review? A thing of beauty. Thank you soooo much! The slash is going to be coming, as is the angst, lol. I really was trying to get everyone to feel equally for both couples, though I think it’s going to be leaned a bit more into JD and Cox’s favor after the next chapter or so. Thanks for your wondermous review!
Thunder-kun: Thanks! I was trying to make JD a little colder and angry in this fic. Glad you enjoy!