Chapter 3

Elliot babbled on and on for a solid one hour, explaining everything that had happened, before Perry's voice came through the phone.

"I'm on my way," he said and hung up the phone. Elliot smiled to herself. She slipped her cell phone into her bag and skipped off down the corridor.

JD exited his hiding place looked from the left to the right. He sighed and stepped outside the door, closing it after him. He then simply stood there, looking sorry for himself. He knew the reason why what had happened did. It was because he was ignorant; he didn't care about anyone else other than himself. You could say that JD was an exact clone of Doctor Cox. But at least Perry knew what was right and wrong and he was usually there to keep JD on the straight and narrow. JD always respected that and never for one minute questioned him because he was right... Dr Cox was always right.

To JD, Perry Cox was father figure. Not the kind of father that would pick you up and sing lullabies until you fell asleep. More like the kind of father that, if he saw you in a fight, would beat the other person up. But now that he was gone JD felt as if he was without oxygen, without reason. He didn't know how to function...

He understood that he couldn't carry on like this. He was going to kill someone. He was lucky Carla had saved him back there, but she wouldn't always be there to save him. That he had learnt the hard way recently. You couldn't get too comfortable, because if you turned away for a second, the person you didn't even realise you needed so badly would be gone.

He was almost half expecting Elliot to tell him she was leaving too. Or Carla… What if they hated him for what had happened with the girl? He'd shouted at Elliot. He was angry. But what if they were both leaving him too?

He felt as if someone had sucked all the breath from him. As if someone had pulled away the ground from under him. Everyone was going to leave him. There was nothing he could do.

All these thoughts were rushing around JD's head at once and soon enough it gave him a headache.

"Good," he mumbled to himself. He deserved the headache. After all, he did stand there and watch as a little girl died in front of him, and he did nothing. He deserved to die after what he did. JD stopped in the middle of the hallway for a minute, staring at the ground below. The words 'to die' rushed through his mind at a million miles an hour. Maybe that is a good idea, he thought. Maybe then everyone could continue on with their lives without him dragging them down…

To Carla and Elliot he was simply a liability. Just someone they had to keep an eye on, to check he wasn't doing something he shouldn't be. He'd seen the look they'd given each other when that little girl had died. Carla wanted him out of the way; he was a burden to both of them. They didn't need that. They had their own lives to worry about. They didn't need to be responsible for him.

He knew what he had to do. Putting his head down, he walked through the hospital, ignoring anyone who tried to talk to him as he passed. The doors slid opened and he stepped out into the cold. The rain had stopped but the floor was still littered with puddles.

He glanced across the car park, drinking in the sights. If this was the last time he was going to see this place, he was going to make sure he remembered it. But as he looked across he saw him.

Dr Cox was here. He was back.

JD blinked slightly. Were his eyes betraying him? Had Doctor Cox really come back?

He shook his head, sighing to himself. Even if he did come back there was nothing he could do for him now. JD put his head down, walked out of the hospitals car park and kept walking. However, unbeknown to him, Perry was following his every footstep. He was trying to keep as silent as possible as he watched his Newbie turn around a corner and then another one, and finally watched him walk up some stairs. Perry strained his eyes to try to see where he was going but it was no use. He couldn't make out the building at all.

Almost instinctively Dr Cox felt his body pick up speed, trying to catch up with JD. But he was taking so many twists and turns that Perry could hardly keep up. It didn't take long for him to realise that he couldn't see JD anymore and he didn't know where he had gone. Suddenly he heard a voice behind him. He turned round to see Carla running out towards him.

"Perry!" she shouted, coming to a halt in front of him. After a second's hesitation he reached out and she flung her arms around him.

"I thought you weren't coming back!" she said.

"Elliot called…" Dr Cox told her, "She said JD was in trouble…"

Carla caught her breath again. Her hair was all windswept because she had run the entire way.

"You're damn right he's in a mess!" she said, looking around. "Where is he anyway?" she asked, spinning around on the spot to see if she could find him.

Dr Cox shrugged, "I dunno, can't find him anywhere." They both sighed.

"Bambi better not do something stupid," she said, eyeing a person who walked past.