ATC My Fallen Idol

ATC of My Fallen Idol
Chapter Two

"I think I'm going to be ill," Dr Cox said as his Porsche lurched and jerked once again.

"Shhh, I'm concentrating," JD said as he tried to get his left foot to coordinate with his right, and hit the clutch and gas at the same time. "'Sides, you'll suck it back, you'll do anything to keep from painting the leather interior with vomitus."

"SHUT UP, Barbara!" Perry said, closing his eyes, covering his mouth with his hand. "You said you could drive a stick!"

"Uh, well, I CAN, it's just it's been what? about ten years? Dan made the mistake of teaching me in his 'Stang, and after I burned out the clutch he forbade me from ever touching it again."

Perry's blue eyes went wide and he sharply turned to address JD. "You WHAT? And I let you behind the wheel of my baby?? Pull over!"

"Per-" JD started.

"I said PULL OVER! Right there! I want you to stop BEFORE I smell something burning!"

JD had managed to get the Porsche into third gear and revved the engine, thrilling in the power of the engine. Perry's face turned a vivid red, and JD thought the man was going into apoplectic shock.

A low growl scared JD even more than a scream would have. "Newbie... If you value anything of the miserable existence you call 'life,' you'll pull over and shut this car off within the next minute, or else you're going to rea-HEALEY see what I look like when I'm pissed. If you think you've seen me pissed before, you...."

"Naw, c'mon, Dr Cox, I'm gettin' the hang of it, really, listen to that engine purr!"

For the first time in his life, JD truly understood the phrase, "If looks could kill...."

"All right, all right, I get the picture! I'm pulling over!"

"GENTLY," Perry exhorted, his hand grasping the dashboard as if he could quiet his girl by sheer willpower. "Just put your foot on the clutch to take it out of gear, and hit the brake. Even a spazoid like you can do that."

Dr Cox rolled his eyes heavenward, and muttered, "Help me, Lord."

Even with those simple instructions, JD still managed to make the Porsche come to a jerking halt. He gripped the steering wheel, eyes forward, and sighed.

"Now I know why your boyfriend is the surgeon, and not you. You can't seem to make your right hemisphere talk to the left, can you?"

"Guess I'm verboten from this sweet little machine too, huh?"

"Bank on it, Suzie-Q."

The younger doctor perked up and grinned his toothy grin, turning to Perry. "Hey, you know, Dan had a look like that too, when he screamed for me to stop. 'Course, by then, we could smell something burning."

Perry sniffed the air, sensitive to any sign of unwellness from his car, and the tension poured out of him. "Good, nothing so far. I've gotta look, though. Pop the hood for me."

JD looked down and to the left, but in the dark, even with the dashboard lights, he couldn't tell which of the many levers and switches opened the hood.

"Here, let me," Perry said, frustrated.

He reached between JD's legs, his arm over the younger man's lap, his head turned forward as he felt for the release. JD held his breath, shocked that his body was once again reacting to the older doctor's touch. He froze in place, too terrified to move.

Oh God, find it, please find it, find that switch, Per, find it, find it, JD kept reciting to himself. He looked down at the curly-haired head, Perry's face turned toward the Bose stereo system. He could tell the man's eyes were closed as he concentrated on where his hand was searching, the fingertips finding something, feeling it and judging it as not the right release.

"Damn, it's about time," Dr Cox said as he pulled the lever. The motion made his arm slide up JD's thigh, and his forearm brushed against the hardness in the younger man's scrubs. JD gasped and jerked back as if shocked, and at the same second, Perry sat up.

"I didn't think I was EVER going to find that thing!" he exclaimed.

JD looked at him, begging the question. 'Find that thing'? he wondered. My thing? The release? It seemed to him that Perry had taken an inordinate amount of time to find what he must be intimately familiar with. But he couldn't ask. He also couldn't tear his gaze away from Dr Cox, who had gone very still, looking straight ahead, anywhere but at JD, as if he'd just realized what had happened.

With such fair skin, it was difficult for Perry to hide the flush he felt burning its way up from his chest to his thick neck and high cheekbones. Oh God, was that what I think it was? he couldn't help wondering. He's staring at me. He knows I felt something. Goddamned cardiovascular system any way. And oh God, what I just said... that thing. Finding that thing.

Perry cleared his throat, and made a show of turning away from JD, focusing on the door handle. Naw, Per, he thinks you're still on a buzz, that's why I'm all red. Doesn't take much with me, he knows that.

"C'mon, Pamela, let's see if you've succeeded in sealing your death sentence."

JD hoped and prayed that Perry would deem his Porsche unharmed, thus leaving him unharmed. He climbed out of the driver's seat, and gave the steering wheel one last, loving departing pet, knowing he'd never be behind it again.

"It was nice, beautiful lady," he muttered.

Perry pushed the hood up and asked, "What'd you say, Joanie?"

"Just saying goodbye to your girl, 'cause I know I'll never drive her again."

"Damned right. C'mere, stick your head in there, close your eyes, and tell me if you pick up anything weird in those olfactory lobes. I know you've got this preternatural sense of smell, it's eerie."

"Uh huh," JD agreed. He'd always been able to sense odors from distances farther than his coworkers and friends at Sacred Heart. It was a good sense to have when diagnosing, although it could be unpleasant at times.

"Hm," he frowned, eyes closed as he concentrated.

"What?" Perry asked in alarm.

JD opened his eyes and grinned. "Nothing, I was just scaring you. Smells like a car engine, although it's pretty hot in there."

"Tough. Check the radiator."

"Nothin' doin', Per! That thing'll be HOT!"

"So take your shirt off and use it to take the cap off."

"No way, it's YOUR car, you do it!"

"You're the one who treated her wrong."

"Uh uh," JD insisted. "This is my best scrubs top."

"Oh, puh-uh-LEEZE, Christina! You can trade with one of the girls when we go to work in the morning, now get crackin'."

"Nope."

JD crossed his arms in front of his chest, mimicking Perry's usual stance.

Dr Cox glared at the younger man, amazed to be disobeyed. Kid can do it when he has to, he knew. He's done it before, although it usually took drumming up a large dose of courage before doing so.

"All right, dammit, step aside," Perry said, shoving JD over.

The older man whipped his shirt off, revealing a sleeveless t-shirt underneath.

"I didn't know you wore wife-beaters, Per."

"It's not, it's a Jordan-beater," he said, daring himself to be brave enough to pull off the hot radiator cap.

JD's gasp made him look up. "I'm KIDDING, Karen! Jordan and I may engage in some pretty rough play, but it's always consentual. And knock it off with the 'Per,' I told you."

As Dr Cox leaned in, JD watched him, fascinated more than he thought he would be by the man's muscular body. It always amazed him how ripped Perry was, who was well into his 40s. If only I had a body like that, JD thought wistfully. The play of muscles in the shoulder, upper arm and forearm held his gaze as Perry shielded his hand with the shirt and quickly turned the cap, backing away as steam was released.

"Hm, not too bad," he judged. "It's not overheated, just the usual I think."

JD leaned in, daring to put his hand on Perry's bare shoulder to balance himself. He wasn't sure why he did it, but as the evening had progressed, in his subconscious he was accepting more and more that maybe there was something other than hero-worship for Perry Cox.

When the man was utterly despondent, JD was afraid something had finally happened to break his mentor. But tonight he was relaxed and having fun, and JD was happy to see a side of Perry that he'd rarely seen before: showing his feelings and appreciation for those around him.

He didn't notice the taller man pointedly looking at his soft, almost-feminine looking hand touching him.

"How much do you know about cars, Perry?" JD asked. It still felt odd to his mouth, calling him anything but "Dr Cox."

"Enough to take her to Gunther, my Porsche doctor. First little sign that she's not doing well, and she's in the shop."

"So what do we do now? Give her another few minutes to calm down from me assaulting her?"

"I think that'd be wise," Perry said. He stepped back a little and stretched, lifting his arms up and back, taking a deep breath of the cool air. "Damn, it was hot standing over that thing."

He closed his eyes, revelling in the satisfying stretching and flexing of his muscles. He hadn't worked out since The Rabies Incident, as he thought of the past two weeks, and he could feel it.

"Damn, I've got to get back to the gym." His eyes still closed, he didn't know that JD stood frozen, watching him, his eyes wide.

Oh God, he's got gorgeous nipples, the automatic thought came to JD. He could never figure out why he was so fascinated with nipples, male or female. It was always one of the first erogenous zones he latched onto when he was with a woman. He'd even blurt out about them when he saw a particularly nice set on a man, unaware of the odd looks he'd draw from people nearby.

And his chest, and shoulders, and arms... I can tell he's got strong thighs too... Oh God.

Did he say that out loud?

"What?" Perry asked, coming out of the stretching routine.

JD blushed as he'd done earlier in the evening at that first surprising response to Perry's touch. "Nothing, I, uh..." Should he tell him? He'd said it in the past to guys, Dr Cox had heard him, smirked at him, laughed at him and said things like, "You're such a girl."

Perry crossed his arms over his chest, taking a deep breath. The sight of those arms over that broad, powerful chest... Oh God, JD once again implored.

"Hop to, Helen, spit it out, 'Oh God' what?"

"I was thinking you've got gorgeous nipples, especially through that thin t-shirt."

Perry rolled his eyes and smirked. "Lawdey-May, you're such a girl."