Yay! Chapter three is finished! Took long enough XD Yeah I know you all think this is moving at a steady pace, but for me, personally, this chapter took some time to write. Especially the last part. But here it is, finished and I hope you all enjoy it!

Janitor's POV

Okay, he went in there about ten minutes ago. That means if you time this just right, you can pull it off.

I'm currently standing a few feet or so away from the men's room, mop in hand and pretending to work—I say pretending, because the majority of the people here know I spend a typical 'work' day doing plenty of other things, instead of cleaning the hospital.

Mainly, torturing Dorian.

Of course, it's a lot more difficult than people think—that is, if you want to do it just right. Ask anyone in the Brain trust; they'll tell you. Sure, some of the stuff I do is a spur of the moment kind of thing—keeps him off guard, if you know what I mean. However, there are some pranks I've done that require quite a bit of planning. I've even got a few of them drawn up on some of Kelso's personal documents….but I burn them after—can't have other people taking credit for my work—so he'll never know.

I lean forward onto my mop, and subtly glance at my surroundings, making sure everything's in position. Hm….yep….yep….aaaaaaaand yep. Perfect. All that remains now is for the mouse to take the bait.

Like so many times in the past, I seem to have once again accidentally predicted the future, because as soon as I finished my last thought, the door the restroom opens, and out walks Dorian. A very defeated looking Dorian. That's unusual. What, did some guy get to him first? Is there someone else out there taking hits at him now? I swear, when I find out who did I'll—what are you doing?! He's going to walk right into your trap any minute! Pay attention so you can enjoy it!

I keep my mouth shut, but watch him carefully. That's right….I inwardly encourage, just a little further….

Suddenly, he screams, and goes flying into the air, landing with a thud on his back. I look down. Well, that wasn't supposed to happen.

"What the hell?!" He shrieks, his face clenched together in what I imagine to be some kind of pain. "You do realize the floor is wet, right?!"

I blink a few times, wondering how to react to this unexpected situation. "Yes." I say, in a matter-of-fact tone "yes I do."

Dorian's jaw is still clenched together, but now he's glaring at me. "Then where is the caution sign?! You know, the one that says 'caution; wet floor?!' Or is this some lame-ass attempt at pissing me off because I gotta tell you, I've already managed to get there today without your help!"

My eyelid twitches, but other than that, I contain my irritation. His outburst annoys me for two reasons: first being that I rarely ever use a caution sign—people should be able to look out for themselves without a handicap—and secondly, he accused me of not being able to read.

However, can't let him know he got under your skin, so just say something to shift the attention back to him. "Well, you complain too much." I state, my voice just above a monotone, "but I don't see you walking around with a "caution; I complain" sign." Nicely done, plus you've added the unusual imagery so he'll be forced into one of his day dreams, giving you enough time to readjust your trap.

Without much thought, I step over him, mop still in hand, and start making the proper corrections to my latest piece of work.

"Ow!"

I feel a tug on my mop and look down once more. Dorian's staring up at me, holding the bottom half of my cleaning device just a few inches away from his dripping face. "You're not fantasizing?" I question, though it's phrased as more of a statement. That's weird. Usually, he's always lost in some crazy daydream.

But anyway, he ignores my last phrase—that's pushing it—and snaps back, "you should watch where you put that thing!"

By 'thing', I assume he's referring to my mop. Poor Steve. He doesn't like people calling him genderless. Well old buddy, Dorian's already on my nerves, and now he's on yours….that is if mops have nerves; I'm not really sure….anyway, he's still lying on the floor, pretty defenseless. So let's make him—

"Oh, Janitor! There you are!"

Uh oh. That's Blond doctor's voice. Instantly I freeze. I don't want her knowing that I'm actually mean to people when she's not around. Okay….keep a clear head, put on a smile—no not an evil one—and act normal….

….right….Dorian's still on the ground….but she's coming closer! Quick, pretend he's part of the floor! Without much thought, I plant the bottom of my mop firmly on his face, and move it slightly back and forth, giving the illusion that I'm actually cleaning something.

"Hey!" Blond doctor exclaims, "You're actually cleaning something."

I nod. "Yep. Figured it was about time I did some more work around here." She's standing behind a counter, so she can't see the crazed man pinned to the ground. Or hear his muffled protests against me. I quickly press down harder with my mop. Quiet. Floors don't talk.

I turn back to Blond doctor, "you wanted something?" I inquire, in my best gentleman interpretation.

"Right! Right!" She answers, remembering, "One of the patients down the hallway threw up. It's all over the floor and really creating a problem. I was wondering…." She glanced at Steve "….and seeing as to how you're already mopping your way there" she laughs—It isn't funny, but I humor her anyway, "do you think you could clean it up for me?"

I pause—only for dramatic effect—before increasing my false smile. "I'd be happy to." I say, making sure to sound sincere, "Just let me finish cleaning this spot." I hear Dorian make a noise, and jab him again.

But Blond doctor doesn't seem to notice, and she too, grins. "Thanks, Janitor!" She chimes happily.

"Hey, no problem."

She nods this time, and turns to go. However, before she does, she says, "You know, I don't know why JD says you're so mean. You don't seem that way at all to me."

I shrug. "Ah, he's just jealous. They all are."

A confused look "Who are—" She starts, before thinking better of it. "Oh never mind." Now she really is leaving, "thanks again, by the way."

I watch her go, all the while throwing small looks at Dorian, to make sure he stays securely on the floor, until Blond doctor's out of sight. When the coast is clear, I remove my mop and let him up.

"Jealous?! Are you serious?!" He shouts, wiping his face. Wow, he's annoying today—I mean, more than usual.

"I call them as I see them." I state simply, using my free hand to point in a random direction. "Now go."

"What?"

I sigh. Nothing's getting through to him is it? "Go. You're no fun to tortu—bother when you're in a bad mood. Kind of ruins my job."

"Oh really?! Then what would you like me to do, huh?! Walk in through the entrance, a big ol' smile on my face, completely content with the world around me, until you come and ruin my fun with whatever damned scheme of yours you happened to come up with that day?!"

I pretend to think about it. "Yes." I say after a moment.

Dorian glares at me, and it's then that I notice something….different….in his eyes. "Well guess what! He cries, visibly shaking now. "I'd sooner kill myself then give you the pleasure of doing it for me!"

His voice dies then, and his eyes widen; pure, undoubted fear crossing his face. I have to admit, I'm shocked as well. Kill himself? He can't really mean that, can he? I mean, yes I enjoy tormenting him—I wouldn't actually go so far as to kill him. Then all my fun would be over. And I'm pretty sure, despite all the grueling situations I put him through, that he knows this. If he didn't, you can bet he would have stopped coming to work a long time ago. Still….

….why say something like that? What's going on in that head of yours, Dorian?

Apparently, he doesn't know either, because, without second thought—or a wary glance at me—he turns around, and begins hurriedly walking in the opposite direction.

JD's POV

I can feel my heart hammering in my chest as I head down the hallway, each thump punctuated with a stab of fear. I didn't mean it, did I? What I shouted at the Janitor….I didn't….I'm not actually thinking about that….am I?

I come to a stop, clutching at my chest, as I try to calm down….try to think rationally about this. Okay, so I did say I'd kill myself. I was just mad at the Janitor—I lost my temper—he was mopping my damn face, after all. I wasn't actually thinking about it….I mean….even with the state I'm in….things aren't so bad I'd consider taking my life….

….right?

Now hold on a minute JD—don't go giving up hope yet. Let's see what the odds against you are. Well, for starters, my body's a total wreck. I haven't been sleeping….eating….and now there's a sharp pain in my back from where I fell earlier. Second, the people around me are either too busy, too oblivious, or just flat out don't care to notice something's wrong with me. Plus, I'm currently trying to avoid one of them—because I know what's going to happen if….

"Well there, Nancy, what brings you to this side of the hospital, hmm?"

Oh no.

I drop my hand and bring it up instead to massage my temples—still have that damned headache—and draw in a breath. Maybe if he sees that I'm distracted, he'll walk right by and leave me alone.

Instead, he whistles. "Newbie, I'm talking to you."

"Yes, Dr. Cox," I snap bitterly, turning to face him, "I hear you. Loud and clear, actually."

He at first remains quiet—a bad sign—before an expression of mock surprise flashes across his face. "So I wasn't imagining things this morning." He observes, and my free hand curls into a fist at my side, "you really have grown a pair over night. Impressive."

"What do you want, Perry?" I ask sharply, trying my best to restrain myself from hitting him, "I'm busy." Okay, so that last part was a lie; I just don't feel like dealing with him at the moment—too many things on my mind.

Unfortunately, Dr. Cox can see right through me. "If by 'busy' you mean trying to relearn putting in an IV and all those other re-heally easy things you learned back when you were an intern, hell, even before, then by all means, Alice, go right ahead."

Dammit, so he heard about this morning.

"However, if not, then you'd better have a damn good reason to be sitting around when there are patients around you that need treatment." The sarcasm and mockery is gone, and Dr. Cox is now stone serious.

Well, serious or not, I do have a reason…. "Actually," I start, dropping my other hand "there is—"

Suddenly, he's right in my face. "Listen here, newbie," He hisses, his voice dangerous but low so the patients can't hear, "I don't know what issues you may have in your life right now, but the fact remains that, no matter what the circumstances are, you're a doctor. A professional. And you do not let your personal problems get in the way of your work, understand?" His eyes are cold and menacing, full of a kind of dangerous power. "Now put your fist away, and get the hell over here." He concludes, beckoning for me to follow him.

My shoulders sag, my hand unclenches, and though I'm still angry, I trudge after him. Because he's right. I should be putting my patients first. Even if my life sucks, even if I feel like everyone's abandoned me….and even if I'm starting to mistrust my own rationality, I need to remember—to take care of—my patients. They are the sole reason I even bothered getting out of bed this morning.

But as I continue to follow Dr. Cox, I'm starting to wonder if I really can put my personal problems aside this time. He said so himself—despite the fact that it was an insult—that my skills are off today, and if rounds are any indication, then I believe him. So if I can't pull off even the simplest tasks, then what happens when I have an emergency on my hands?

"….Megan, didja hear me?"

Crap. Daydreaming or not, I managed to somehow miss whatever it was Dr. Cox was saying.

But, as always, he picks up on it, and after making an abrupt hissing sound, he says, "I just asked you if you happened to have that paperwork I specifically asked you to do."

Oh shit. The paperwork. I completely forgot about that. Dammit. It's still lying around my living room, untouched—a few pages; left over from another emotional outburst last night. Shit. Shit shit shit. That same, uncomfortable lump is back in my stomach now, and I'm faced with two options. Either answer Dr. Cox—which I really don't want to do—or just walk away. Whatever I decide, he's still going to come after me, insult me, crush that one final thread of self-confidence I have in myself.

"Brittany," he says in an aggravated tone "when I ask you a question, I expect you to answer me. Now, let's try this again; do you or do you not have those papers?"

My mouth opens, but all that comes out are a few sputtering noises—my eyes are darting frantically around the room, looking for any possible distraction to separate me from my current situation. Anything that doesn't risk—

"Ah Perry! There you are!"

Oh thank goodness, it's Dr. Kelso. I've never been so glad to hear his voice. However, I can't say the same for Dr. Cox. Uttering an elongated sigh, his jaw tightens, but he remains looking at me. Dammit.

"Bob, can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"

Typically, this would be where any other doctor would have taken a moment to consider their response. However, Dr. Kelso wasn't any other doctor. "Perry, as much as I enjoy watching you torture other people, there's an important matter I need you take care of." He pauses, then makes a swooping gesture with his arm, "shall we step into my office?"

Dr. Cox growls, his eyes narrowing in my direction as an unspoken promise of "finishing this later." Yay. Can't wait.

I must have let some unusual expression show on my face, because suddenly, Kelso says something I don't expect. "As for you, sport…."

"Y-Yes sir?" I'm stuttering now? The hell is that about?

"….why don't you take the rest of the day off? We're already over-staffed as it is, and besides, I'm sure your patients will be fine for a day without your care."

What? Is he serious?! A day off?

….a day off….

"Actually, Dr. Kelso, sir….I, uh—"

"Dammit, Dorian! I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. You're clearly in no condition to work and the hospital will not be responsible for any screw up you happen to make just because you think it's your 'duty' to come in every morning. Now get your ass out of here before I have to throw you out."

I don't know if he was trying to do me a favor, or trying to protect the hospital from another lawsuit. Either way, I ended up with words stuck in my throat as I gradually began inching away from him. I'm not really sure if Kelso cares or not, I was just relieved to get away from Dr. Cox.

JD's POV (continued)

Except I didn't go home.

I went to Sacred Heart's cafeteria.

Sure, I don't really want to be at the hospital right now….but for some reason, I don't want to be alone either.

I don't….I don't trust myself enough to be alone. I mean, yeah, what I said to the Janitor was probably spoken out of anger….but, as this day continues, I've noticed myself getting progressively worse—hell—I was so close to crying earlier—multiple times, actually—it was kind of alarming. And when even the slightest thing seems to go wrong, there's this….this sort of….compressing feeling in my chest….like everything I keep to myself keeps building to the point where I just want to….well, it feels like it's going to explode. And if it gets bad enough….

….well, an unstable doctor unsupervised and with access to potentially fatal materials isn't exactly going to end well.

My head lowers then, falling into my hands—elbows resting on the table—as I stare at the tray before me. There's nothing on it, but it's there just in case I manage to convince myself to get up and get some food.…

….like that's going to happen. Despite my protesting stomach, and the constant nausea….I just….I just don't have the energy to eat. Hell, I hardly have any energy at all.

I lean forward then, to the point where I'm almost literally laying on the table. This sucks. I'm on the verge of I don't know what, and even though people around me should be doing something to help, I've never felt more alone in my life….

"….Hey Carla, have you seen JD today?"

"Only this morning, Elliot. But if I were you, I wouldn't bother looking for him. He's a little…."

"What?"

"….what I mean is, he seemed distracted this morning."

Elliot? Carla?! Instantly I sit bolt upright, startled by not only their voices but their choice of conversation topic. Turning my head in the direction of their voices, I'm hit with a severe shock when I see them sitting only two tables away from. Just two tables.

"Distracted?" Elliot continues, "you mean, more than usual?"

Oh thanks, Elliot. That's real nice.

"mm, more like a different kind of distracted." Carla corrects, pointing her finger at her for emphasis. "you should have seen him during rounds"

Elliot nods, "oh yeah. I heard about that." Dammit, her too?

"Yeah, but that wasn't nearly as weird as what happened in the bathroom."

Hold on. That's Turk's voice. What's he doing over there? Didn't….didn't he notice me….?

I continue to sit at my table, watching them, but now my shock is replaced by a painful stab of betrayal. Betray and anger.

"Why, what happened 'in the bathroom?'" Elliot asks hesitantly, one of her eyebrows raising. Turk's expression flattens.

"Nothing like that, woman!" He articulates. "I'm trying to be serious here."

Elliot holds up a hand in apology. "Turk, I was kidding," She confesses, back to being serious "now, what's going on with JD?"

"Right." And now Turk's serious too. "Well, I went in there, right? Preparing to you know…. 'refresh myself' and go back to work. But when I get in there, I see JD standing by the mirror, and he's got this really scared look on his face—wide eyes, jaw dropping—know what I'm saying?"

"Yes, Turk, I know exactly what you're saying!" They all jump, and their heads snap my way. That's it. I have had enough of this. "What you're all saying!"

"JD! How long have—"

"Oh just shut up!" I shriek, standing up so fast that I don't even realize my knee rammed into the table, "shut up all of you! You think I don't get it?! That I don't see what's going on here?!"

"Dude, what are you—"

"Save it, Turk!" I scream, thrusting back my chair and knocking my tray to the ground. "I know exactly what's going on here! You think you're all so clever—going about your lives, pretending everything's just perfect. "Nothing's seems wrong, so why should I care?—what the hell are you, blind?! Are you honestly telling me that's how you all see yourselves?! That if you ignore everything it will all be okay?!"

"JD, we don't—"

" 'Don't don't'—don't what!? Don't think there's anything wrong?! Yeah, apparently!" They look scared now, but it doesn't affect me. I'm done caring. About them….about everything. "You embarrass me….brush me off….and now this! You completely ignore me even though I'm sitting right here. Right where everyone can see me! What is this to you, huh?! Some kind of game!? "Hey, let's toy with JD's emotions and make him believe we don't care" Well here's a news flash for you, assholes—it isn't a game, okay?! And I'm not just some toy you can play with! I'm human too, I have problems too! And whether you think I'm complaining, or trying to compete….or just wasting your time then fine!"

My body is shaking again, so badly I can hardly stand up, and there's now a searing pain in my knee. But I don't care. Not anymore.

I glare at them—hard and long—feeling the swell of contorted emotions boiling within me. "I'm done with this." I snap, tears stinging my eyes, "and I'm done with you!"

Without waiting around for their answer, I bolt out of the room so fast the only thing I can hear is my pounding heart, and short, punctuated breaths as that last shred of self-respect, of self-confidence….of any hope I had at all….finally cracks.

Wow.

That's really all I can say about this last part…..that, and I think I may have rushed it juuuuuuuuuuust a bit. Or not—I mean, this chapter IS a few pages longer that the other two. But considering what I have planned for the next few chapters, I wanted to get all of this in one chapter.

That aside: I had sooooooo much fun writing as the Janitor XDDDDD I'd done it before, just not in the 1st person before, so it was interesting and amusing to do.

As for JD, well, I feel so bad for him, especially the way this chapter ended….

Oh yeah, and the reason I did the "JD's POV continued" thing, was cuz I wanted to stay in his POV, but do a brief time skip.

Well, that's it!

Don't forget to review, and stay tuned for the next chapter!