Written for the letsdiscover community challenge over on LJ
Title: I'm So Lost
Rating: R for language
Prompt: #1 Go Somewhere New
Disclaimer: I own nothing, characters belong to Bill Lawerence
She wakes up to the sound of someone stomping around in the living room and frantic muttering. It's six in the morning on her day off, and she is NOT amused. She throws open the door to the living room, preparing to give Turk or JD a piece of her mind.
"Dr. Cox!?"
The red headed man turns and stares at her like a deer caught in the headlights. He's only wearing his boxers, a t-shirt clutched in one hand and his sneakers in the other. She's so surprised at his presence that she can't find anything to say.
Fortunately she's saved from having to formulate a response when Perry bolts out the door as if his feet were on fire.
She marches over to J.D.'s room and throws open the door.
"Bambi, you've got some explaining to do…"
She gives Perry a few hours to stew in his own juices (or more likely pickle himself with all the alcohol he apparently drank last night) after she wrangles the story from J.D. She takes her time washing up before she borrows J.D.'s car and heads to the hospital.
There's always the possibility that Perry's at his apartment, but she doesn't think so. As much as he says he hates his job and the hospital, it's the first place he runs to when he can't cope with something. He practically lived in the hospital those first few weeks when he and Jordan split.
"Don't go in there…" Doug hisses in her ear.
"I can handle Dr. Cox," She assures Doug, who gives her a doubtful look before scampering down the hall, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and the beast in the on-call lounge.
She knocks quietly on the door, mindful of the headache that Perry's probably nursing after his latest binge. She doesn't wait for a response as she slips through the door and locks it behind her.
At least Perry had the common sense to commandeer an IV and start pumping fluids back into his system. By now he should at least feel human. Thank god he's also managed to find a set of scrubs…
She sits beside the ball of human misery curled up on the couch and waits. If she pushes him right now all she'll get is a verbal beating. He'll talk when he's ready, she knows she just has to be patient.
She barely suppresses a yawn as she opens the door to the on call. She starts a little in surprise when she sees Dr. Cox sitting quietly on the couch. Normally when he's in here he's watching some soap opera, but the TV's off. Odd. She grabs her packed lunch from the refrigerator and starts towards the door…
She can't shake the feeling that there's something wrong with Dr. Cox though. He's so still --- it's just wrong. She doesn't know him very well, they've bantered a couple times while they've treated a patient, but nothing more.
The mother hen in her won't let her leave, so she takes a seat in the chair next to him. Bloodshot blue eyes flick up to meet hers ---
"Petey slept with Jordan,"
"I slept with Newbie," he rasps out.
"I heard."
"Oh Jesus ---" Perry groans, and Carla feels her cheeks flush as she realizes what she said.
"I heard about it from J.D., this morning after you left," She cuts in before he can continue.
"I'm never drinking Jagermeister again," Perry mutters as he runs his fingers roughly through his hair.
"So what are you going to do?"
"Do? What the fuck am I supposed to do? I slept with one of my residents --- and not just any resident; noooo --- I have to go ahead and sleep with the most girlish hero-worshipping one of the lot. And—and---" He looks at her helplessly.
"And he's a guy?"
"Why couldn't it have been Barbie," Perry asks in a smaller voice. "Hell, even a return visit from Satan's mistress herself would be better than this…"
"So you had one homosexual encounter, no big deal. I'm sure that if you explain to J.D. that you're just not into that sort of thing he'll understand---"
"But I liked it," He says with an agonized whisper. "I liked it, what the fuck is wrong with me," he groans, pulling on his hair. Carla scoots away from him, recognizing the warning signs for an eruption from Mt. Perry.
First there was the lowered voice, followed by hair pulling. Next came the rising flush and a low growling, then…
5…
4…
3…
2…
"God DAMMIT," Perry yells, jumping to his feet and kicking the coffee table into the wall. Carla winces at the new decibel levels Perry's reached since the last freak out she witnessed.
She waits out the storm quietly, ducking the fluttering magazines. Perry burns out fairly quickly, even for him, and eventually slumps to the floor.
She finds the first aid kit under the sink and pulls out a set of rubber gloves and disposal bag, before kneeling in front of Perry. She gently extracts the I.V. needle from his bruised vein, then begins to clean and bandage it. He sits quietly as she goes about her work, back to staring sullenly at the floor. When she's finished, she strips off her gloves and sits in front of him.
"I'm too old for this," he mumbles, clasping his hands together tightly.
"Was it why you didn't go out with me," he asks hoarsely after another long moment moment.
It takes her awhile to realize what he's asking her. She leans forward and runs her fingers through his curls gently. It's a sign of how distressed he is that he leans into her touch, instead of tensing or jerking away.
"No, you definitely didn't set off my gay-dar; and I'll have you know it's pretty good at picking up on that kind of stuff. I mean, upon reflection the obsession with working out, the tight shirts and the curling iron suddenly make a lot more sense…" She trails off when he gives her a half-hearted glare.
"Look, maybe you've been gay your whole life and you've just been in serious denial; maybe you're just gay for J.D. He's a good guy, even if he is a little weird, and if you tell him that you're not interested, I'm sure he'll respect that." She pauses, trying to find the exact words for what she wants to say next.
"You can either try to pretend that the whole thing never happened, or you can pursue it and see where it takes you. The last long term relationship you had was with Jordan, and she's a sociopath. Most of the other women you've been with since her haven't lasted past date two. Maybe it's time you went somewhere new with your life."
Perry is apparently thinking about it, because he doesn't say anything.