Fic: Second Time's the Charm (The Who and M7:ATF Crossover Fic, PG-13)
Title: Second Time’s the Charm
Series: Second Chances
Author: Sparrow
Co-Author: Enola Jones aka jennytork
Fandom: Magnificent Seven: ATF, The Who
Characters: JD Dunne, Buck Wilmington, Vin Tanner, Keith Moon, rest of the M7
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own The Who or M7: ATF
Author Note: I had a lot of fun stepping into this fic and without my wonderful co-author this fic wouldn’t be possible. Thanks to my wonderful beta, sierraphoenix.
Spoilers: um, John Entwistle I have kept alive? :D
Summary: When you dream it can seem real, but is reality only a dream? JD Dunne is soon to find out.
Every story you’ve heard about Keith Moon is absolutely true. - Alice Cooper
A primal sound echoed around him; bass, guitar and vocals joined in.
~“Whooooo, are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?”~
Hands with drumsticks flashed in front of him as they hit snare and cymbal. The bass drum was furiously pounded upon by feet and stick.
~“Whooooo, are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?”~
JD watched as a tall, dark-haired man seemed to defy gravity and leapt straight up into the air holding a guitar.
A microphone with a cord danced in the air and returned to the curly haired stranger.
The dark-haired bassist just stood still amidst the chaos as his fingers danced up and down on the strings.
As one, they turned towards JD and chanted at him, “Whooooo, are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?”
JD, still holding the drumsticks, felt himself being pulled backwards into darkness.
“I don’t know who I am! Help me!”
“Whooooo, are you? Who? Who? Who? Who?” The three continued to chant at JD as he spiraled into darkness.
“I DON’T KNOW WHO I AM!! HELP ME!!”
*THUD*
Falling out of bed with the sheets tangled around yourself was not good in getting your bearings. JD blinked furiously in the dark as sweat clung to his face.
The door swung open with a bang as Buck Wilmington silhouetted himself in the doorway.
“JD! Kid, you alright?”
Still confused from the dream, JD just looked at Buck as he tried to comprehend the sentence.
Sighing, Buck untangled JD from the sheets and helped him sit back on the bed.
Head in hands, JD shook slightly as he tried to comprehend the dream that was already fleeing from his memories. A damp cloth was dangled in front of him. Taking it, JD wiped the sweat away from his face.
The bed dipped slightly as Buck sat down.
“Same dream?”
JD could only nod, still shaken.
“That’s the fifth one this week kiddo.”
“I know Buck. Still can’t remember them either. It’s there, but not if that makes sense.” JD chuckled.
“It does in a way.”
Rubbing his forehead with a free hand, JD calmed down. Sensing that JD needed to be alone, Buck left his friend to his thoughts.
Settling back down onto his bed, the young ATF agent tried to go back to sleep.
~~~
JD shuddered as he sipped at Vin’s coffee; he needed something to keep him awake.
“Hitting the sauce a bit early in the day there JD?”
Sleepily turning around in his chair, JD blinked at Buck. “It’s only Vin’s coffee Buck.”
Buck chuckled, “Exactly.”
“Need something to keep me awake right now; Vin’s coffee seemed like the safest bet.” Putting the coffee to the side, JD turned back to his work.
Sighing, Buck ran a hand down his face in frustration. Catching Vin’s eye just as he walked into the office, Buck gave a jerk of his head to the conference room.
Nodding slightly, Vin set his stuff down at his desk and joined Buck in the conference room.
“What’s going on Bucklin?” Vin asked as he sat in the chair opposite of Buck.
Buck groaned, “It’s JD, he’s been having these weird dreams for the past week. He can’t sleep. He also can’t remember the dreams, just fleeting images. I have no idea on what to do.”
“Hmmm, the dreams could be trying to tell him something.”
“Yeah, on how not to have a good night’s sleep.”
Vin leaned forward on the table, “Did you think about taking JD to a dream interpreter? It might help.”
Buck pondered the question. “Of course, JD would have to agree to it. Although, I think at this point, he might try anything.”
Vin chuckled, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink it.”
Buck just gave Vin a look, “Right. You up to helping me out on making JD drink said water.”
Vin grinned, “I got a friend who does dream interpretation. She might be able to help out.”
Just as Buck was about to reply there was a commotion from the desk. Both shot out of their chairs and made their way to where JD seemed to have fallen out of his chair and was breathing harshly.
Buck made his way to help JD up, but JD pushed his hands away and slowly got up himself.
“You okay JD?”
Sweat beaded on JD’s face. “I’m fine Buck.”
“Now look kiddo, I don’t think you are fine…”
Anything else Buck was going to say was cut off as JD exploded. “I. AM. FINE. BUCK!! I am twenty-nine years old; I can take care of myself! I don’t need your help for every little bad dream I might have!!”
Growling in anger Buck started to reply, but Vin squeezing his hand on his shoulder stopped him from saying anything he might regret.
Eyes narrowing, JD grabbed his jacket from his chair and stalked out of the office.
Buck sighed, “That could’ve gone a bit better.”
“Ya think?” Vin retorted.
~~~
JD had returned to the office half an hour later and avoided Buck for most of the day.
The ride home for both of them was in silence.
At home, silence seemed to be the theme of the night as JD holed up in his room and ignored any attempts made by Buck to make peace.
Buck grumbled to himself, “Right, that’s it. This has gone on long enough.”
Barging into JD’s room, Buck asserted himself.
“Look JD, I understand you’re old enough to look after yourself, but sometimes it’s good to have a friend to help out as well. I’ve been worried about you! These dreams, you not getting enough sleep. I was talking to Vin and he suggested a friend of his that does dream interpretation, and I think you should go.”
“All right.”
“Now I know…I’m sorry?”
“I said ‘all right’ Buck.”
“Right, I’ll um, just let myself out then.”
JD weakly smiled at Buck from his bed.
~~~
The pretty receptionist reminded him a little of Casey -- if Casey stuck her finger in a light socket and then dyed it all a shocking pink in her tangled mess of hair. "Mister Dunne?" At least her attitude was all professional. "Doctor Reger will see you now."
JD gave a nod of thanks as he put down his magazine, got up and made his way to the doctor’s office.
Buck and Vin settled down in their chairs for a long wait.
Back in the doctor’s office, JD settled himself onto the sofa like chair and watched Doctor Reger warily.
“Now Mr. Dunne…”
“Call me JD.”
Doctor Reger smiled, “All right, JD. Now as I understand it, you’re here about some dreams that have been bothering you.”
JD weakly grinned, “You could say that doc.”
“Why don’t you tell me about them?” Clipboard was in hand, pencil raised.
JD stared at the ceiling. “It’s a little hard to. Every time I try and remember them, it’s like sand falling through my hands.”
“What can you remember about them? Impressions? Images? Any type of sound?”
“There’s three other guys, I remember that much. And some sort of chanting of the same words over and over again. Um, I get the feeling I’m suppose to be remembering something, but it happened so long ago that it’s there but not there for me to grasp.”
“Hmm, that is interesting. Repetitive words by three men could have any number of meanings. I would like to explore…”
Anything the doctor was going to say was cut off by a ring tone.
~Whooo are you, who, who/Who who...whooooo are you, who, who/who who/ whoooo are you, who, who, who who....~
Eyes narrowed in annoyance, the doctor shut the phone off. “I am so sorry about that JD. I thought I had turned my phone off before we started our session.”
JD meanwhile was caught in a swirl of images and sounds as that ring tone had triggered a flashback to one of his dreams.
Doctor Reger frowned in concern at JD. “JD? Mr. Dunne?”
Gasping in shock, JD surged forward. “That’s it doc! That’s the sound from my dreams!”
"The Who's 'Who are you'?" she asked in confusion. "You're certain?"
“Dead certain doc.” JD said with a seriousness that was rarely seen on his youthful face.
"Do you recall any other details?"
“I, I think The Who are the ones chanting those words at me, but only three of them.” Brows furrowed in concentration. “I think, I-I-I’m behind the drums.”
The doctor's lips parted. "You're dreaming you're Keith Moon."
“Yeah, that feels right, like something just clicked into place.”
She thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Perhaps you would benefit by seeing a hypnotist friend of mine."
“Why? I thought this was supposed to fix me?” Grumbled JD.
"I can help you with your dreams. I'm starting to wonder if these are dreams."
JD scowled, “Whatcha’ mean by that? What else could they be?”
She met his eyes. "As clear as they are? As persistent as they are? ...memories."
Shooting up from the sofa-chair, JD backed up slightly. Hazel eyes went huge, “Yer lying. They’re just dreams. Bad dreams keeping me from sleeping.”
"That's why I want you to see a hypnotist. If these are just dreams, I can help you. If they're memories -- as I suspect -- there's nothing I can do."
JD trembled slightly, fingers clenched into fists. “I don’t want this to be real. If these are memories, will I even still be me if I recover them?”
"I don't know."
“Great, just great.” JD laughed a little hysterically. “Come in for bad dreams and find out I might be the reincarnation of Keith Moon.”
"I didn't say that. I said you could be remembering things. You could be parroting things you saw and forgot, only from his point of view."
“Do you really believe that? I believe your original diagnosis doc was ‘memories’.” JD snarled slightly, the hysteria out of his voice.
"Memories can be memories of things you've seen. Combined with a good imagination, it's not that far a stretch to see from his point of view. I really want you to see him."
Emotions all over the place, JD sat back down on the sofa-couch. “Why? What good will it do for me to see ‘him?” The fight seemed to have gone out of JD.
"Then you won't doubt. You'll know what's going on.”
Snorting in disbelief, JD rolled his eyes. “Right, so we gonna get to these dreams or we going ahead with the hypnotist?”
"I'll call him right now."
“Fan-freaking-tastic.”
A few moments later, a man who looked like a slightly younger version of Chris walked in. "Mister Dunne? I'm Doctor Monahan."
JD started to laugh, “Oooh, sorry. Don’t mind me, it’s just *giggle* you look like a younger version of my boss.”
He grinned, showing he even had the dimples. "You wouldn't believe how many times I hear that.”
Settling down, JD wiped away the tears streaming down his face. “Get a lot of people mistaking you for Chris Larabee, huh?”
"And several others."
JD winced at that tone. “So, how are we gonna do this?” Hoping to get off the look-a-like topic as quick as possible.
“You just sit back and listen to me and do what I say.”
Taking a deep breath, JD nodded. “Right. See ya on the flip side.” The grin that was given almost seemed Keith Moonish.
He smiled and drew him down into trance. Once he was there, he asked, "How old are you, JD?"
“Twenty-nine.” Came a sleepy reply.
"I'd like you to go back in your mind ten years. You're nineteen. Now we're going back ten more.... How old are you now, JD?"
“Nine silly!” came a childish reply.
"Good. Now, it's time to see if there's anything lurking in your past. I'm taking you back ten more years now. Before you were born. You’re in your mother's womb." He took a deep breath and let that sink in. "Now -- we're going to go back five more years."
Silence.
"Can you hear me?"
~*Inside JD’s Dreamscape*~
JD whirled around, trying to gain his bearings. Twisting around, he came to a circular mirror, but it wasn’t his reflection he was staring at in the mirror, it was Keith Moon’s.
Pete Townshend dressed in white stepped out of the darkness and touched JD on the shoulder. “Touch me.”
Roger Daltry also in white stepped to the left of JD. “Feel me.”
John Entwistle clad in white completed the trio. “See me.”
JD turned back towards the mirror as Keith Moon stepped forward and touched the surface of the mirror from the side he was on. “Heal me.”
“Touch me!” “Feel me!” “See me!” “Heal me!”
Spinning faster and faster, JD was spun in circles. It finally settled to JD on one side of the mirror and Keith Moon on the other side.
The rest of The Who was in the background chanting these four phrases over and over again.
Keith Moon’s eyes went huge as he took in JD. “Do I smash the mirror? Do you smash the mirror? The mirror dear boy! The mirror!”
JD trembled, “How can the mirror affect you? Do you hear or fear or do I smash the mirror?”
~*Back in the Doctor’s Office*~
"You're safe here. Nobody's going to hurt you. He'll remember like a dream, I promise. Are you there?"
JD’s body trembled as he whispered out, “Do I smash the mirror?”
His eyes widened. "Yes. Yes, smash it." He assumed the mirror was a metaphor -- never guessing it was reality.
~*Back in JD’s dreamscape*~
JD squawked in surprise as Pete, Roger and John picked him up and spun him around to face them. With surprising force, the three tossed him through the mirror.
JD Dunne and Keith Moon merged as they fell into a pool.
Rising JD/Keith broke from the surface and landed on the ground.
“I’m free! And freedom tastes of reality.”
~*Back in the Doctor’s Office*~
"That's it; I'm bringing him out of it. Mister Dunne, come forward now. Back through your mind--"
JD’s eyes shot open, flickering to the doctor, he rolled backwards and landed in a crouch. “Who the bloody hell are you and where the hell am I?” The voice that came out was English-wembley accented.
The doctor gasped, his hand flying up. "Now, stop. You're safe. This is a doctor's office. I'm Doctor Monahan."
JD eyed the doctor. “Sure you are and I’m Ringo Starr’s sainted aunt.”
"I don't know who you are, but JD has to come back."
JD inched along the wall, “Look you quack, I don’t know who JD is, but what yer doing right now is technically kidnapping! Taking me out of me own home! Putting me in some farce of a doctor’s office. I think I’ll just be leaving boyo.” JD’s hand found a hat rack.
And as he turned his head to pick it up, he found himself looking into a mirror.
And it wasn't his face.
Touching the mirror, JD/Keith traced the reflective surface and then brought his own fingers up to meet flesh and reality. “Wot the bleeding fook did you do to me face?!”
"Who are you?" the doctor ordered.
JD/Keith snickered, “Only one outta four there dear boy. Might want to brush up on your current events, you quack.”
"What year is this?" He asked firmly. "Humor me."
JD/Keith snorted, “Right, I’ll humor ya doc. It’s the year of our lord Nineteen-hundred and seventy-eight.”
"Do tell." He pointed at the calendar on the wall.
2008.
JD/Keith stared. “Either a faulty calendar or someone is having a good joke on me.”
"You are John Daniel Dunne. You are 29 years old. You are a computer and surveillance expert for the ATF." And it was then that the man's flawless American accent struck JD/Keith's ears.
JD/Keith brought the hat rack closer; ready to defend himself is necessary. “What’s with the American accent doc? England too good for the likes of ya?” He was more than ready to get out of this rabbit hole.
"This is Denver, Colorado."
“Had a little extra drink with your brekkie this morning doc? This is Curzon Palace, London, England.” He was almost ready to knock the doctor out and make his escape.
"And you haven't answered my question. If you're not JD Dunne -- WHO ARE YOU?"
JD/Keith gave a pure cheeky grin, “Like I said before doc, one outta four ain’t bad. Use that big quacky brain of yours and you’ll get it, right as rain.” Almost there, gotta keep the doctor off balance more.
The doctor’s eyes narrowed and moved forward.
Smiling triumphantly, JD/Keith let the hat rack swing and knocked the doctor out.
JD/Keith tossed the makeshift weapon to the side. “Name’s Keith Moon you tosser.”
Inching his way to the door and opening it as wide as a crack, he took in the two gentlemen on the seats and the receptionist was gone. Excellent.
Opening the door further, JD/Keith walked out and past the receptionist’s desk. His plan was thwarted when someone called out.
“JD? Kiddo, where ya going? Session already over?”
That was the second time someone called him by that name, he had to get out of here. Still walking forward, JD/Keith was startled by the unexpected touch on his shoulder.
Reacting, JD/Keith jabbed his elbow into a stomach and started to run forward.
Slamming into the fire exit, JD/Keith flew down the stairs. Taking two steps at a time, he nearly fell a few times trying to escape.
There’s a bike, in the parking lot across the street. Take it!
JD/Keith shook his head a few times as he ran. “Great, hearing voices in me head now.”
The bike!
“Will you bleeding shut up if I do?”
Yes.
Exiting the building, across the street, there was a black motorcycle, just like the voice said. Dodging traffic, JD/Keith made it.
Keys in back jeans pocket. Blue-ringed one starts the bike.
Patting himself down, he found said keys and the blue-ringed one. Settling himself down, he stared at the vehicle very confused. “Would be great if I knew how to ride this beast.”
Pain suddenly flew through his head as images and instructions grabbed his attention.
Sorry. You CAN ride this. Because *I* can ride this.
JD/Keith growled as he grabbed the helmet from the back of the bike, settled it on and started the bike. Checking traffic, he peeled out of the parking lot.
His body knew what to do.
~*Back in the Doctor’s Office*~
Buck groaned as he righted himself up.
Vin shivered as he did the same. "The hell was that?"
“No idea pard, but I have a feeling who does.” Turning on his heel, Buck marched into the doctor’s office with Vin trailing behind him.
The doctor was picking himself up too.
Vin hurried forward to help the doctor up. Buck growled, “What the hell did you do to JD? He was only coming in for a few bad dreams and he ran outta here like a bat outta hell.”
"I'm a hypnotist..... We-we aren't dealing with nightmares."
Buck eyed the hypnotist up and down. “What else could they be? He woke up screaming sometimes doc. If that isn’t a nightmare, I don’t know what is.”
Vin laid a hand on Buck’s shoulder, “Easy Bucklin. Man’s just doing his job.”
“His job was to help JD.” Buck jabbed his finger at Vin as if to emphasize a point.
"He's not having nightmares. It's a past-life breaking through. And it's consumed him."
“You mean like reincarnation? That kind of hocus pocus?” Buck asked confused.
Vin crossed his arms and eyed the doctor this time.
"It's not hocus pocus. It's real and it's happening to him. Right now."
“If I understand this correctly doc, JD thinks he’s someone else. Any idea who he is right now?” Vin asked quietly.
He thought about everything and his eyes widened. "...one of the Who."
“I’m sorry; did you just say ‘one of the Who’?” Buck asked, disbelief crossing his face.
"He's British. He thinks its 1978 -- when he died." He sat right down, hard.
"Oh, God."
“What makes you so sure he’s one of The Who? Many people died in 1978 and I sure it’s probably right that a few of them were British.” Vin asked.
"As I was passing out from him hitting me with the stand, he said he was Keith Moon."
Buck sat down hard on the sofa-chair and said the one word that seemed to sum up the entire situation. “Shit.”
~*Back with JD and Keith*~
Turn right. .....and left.
Maneuvering the bike along the twisting paths, Keith came to a clearing. A tall tree stood proudly near a river. Getting off the bike, Keith marched himself towards the reflective water and stared.
He didn't look....all that different, really. Impossibly young. But the eyes were the same.
Sitting down, knees drawn up, Keith stared out. “Oi, voice, you there?”
My name is JD, not Voice.
Keith chuckled slightly, “So you’re the JD everyone keeps asking for. Whatcha' doing in me head?”
I am you. I'm what you became.
“You sound like Pete on one of his spiritual kicks.” Snorted Keith.
Cept this is real.
The drummer of The Who rubbed his face wearily, “Could really use a drink right now.” Keith sighed and questions poured out. “So what exactly is all this? You’re what I became, right? I’m not suppose to be here, am I?”
Nope. I was born September 7, 1979. One year to the day you died.
And I'm nearly twenty-nine.
“I’m thirty-two, three years apart you and I. I don’t wanna be dead. Is this some kind of hell for all the stuff I’ve done? I’m a murderer you know. You don’t want to be sharing a body with a murderer.” Keith at this point was babbling, anything to stave off from accepting the trust.
I see your memories now. Hardly a murderer. It was an accident.
“Liar.” Keith kept staring, eyes huge and wide in a different, yet almost the same face. “So now what? You can see my memories; apparently I’ve been dead for thirty years almost. Anything interesting happen while I’ve been away?”
Several wars. Elizabeth is still Queen.
“Wonderful. Figured the old bird would’ve croaked by now.” Keith’s body twitched at a thought. “And the rest of The Who?”
Alive and well. There was a scare with John Entwistle six years ago, but he's okay now.
“What happened to John?” Keith demanded.
His heart gave out on him. Cocaine and a bad valve.
“Bloody hell. You think me death would’ve…dead, ha. I guess I really am dead…” Keith clutched his head in his hands and moaned. “Pills, it had something to do with pills. Everything is fuzzy. I think someone kept handing me them.”
You were murdered?
“No idea. Can’t really remember too much of that night. I remember Eric, a hug from him. Paul and his wife. Annette was there! I remember that. She came home with me, a fight, maybe. Me poor brain is addled enough, without all this memory tripe.”
I think -- from what little I see -- it was an accident.
Keith smiled wearily, “Good. If I was murdered, they would’ve pointed the finger at Annette and I wouldn’t wish that on her. She was a sweet girl. Deserved much more than me.” Keith lay back onto the grass. “So now what JD?”
I have a life, Keith. I can't just abandon it.
“And me, just a ghost in the machine, right Johnny?”
Well, at the moment, you're fully in control!
“Well, hardly my fault dear boy. Yer the one who decided to smash that blasted mirror! Hey, I remember that!”
So do I. The doctor said to.
“That doctor was a bloody quack. Look where it got us, me dead on pills and you trapped in your own body.”
Look at it this way -- you've a second chance at life now. As an ATF agent, no less. A computer genius.
Keith snorted, “Was happy when I drummed with me brothers. Miss them muchly, I do. I don’t know too much about this life. You can access me memories, but I can’t access yours. Although, the genius thing isn’t too bad. Always told Pete I was one.”
I AM one. On record.
“Don’t get yer knickers in a knot boyo. Guess we’re both geniuses if I am you and you were me. Computer slash drumming wizards we are!” Keith grinned.
I can drum....always could.
“Guess you got that from me then. Some sort of echo that passed itself onto you. By the who,” Keith grinned at his pun. “What is an ATF agent?”
And again, his mind was flooded with information.
Keith rolled over onto this belly and dug the heel of his palm into his eyes. “Bugger it that hurts. Almost as hard as one of Rog’s punches. We get shot at! Gotta learn to duck a bit better.” The young Englishman babbled.
Your knife-throwing skills seem to have survived intact as well. Peek out from time to time and shock even me.
“Glad to hear me eclectic learning habits have paid off in the next life.” Came a good natured grumble.
I think so. Your skills have saved my life and my friends' lives more than once.
Keith had a warm happy feeling from that sentence. It was a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. “Probably asked this already, but now what? Where do we go from here?”
I don't know. Hellfire, there's two of us living in one body now. A deep, pained sigh. I don't even know how this is going to work yet.
Scratching the top of his head, Keith pondered. “I dunno JD, maybe we can try switching again? Maybe another symbolism is somewhere in our ‘ead to switch us back.”
John Daniel is my name, if you're more comfortable calling me Johnny. I like JD best, but-
Keith grinned and rolled different names off the tip of his tongue, “Johnny-boy. JD. Danny-boy? Jon-Jon? I’ll probably switch back and forth between Johnny and JD. Cripes I miss John. He’d know what to do. Like a big brother he is to me.”
He keeps recording songs about you. About missing you.
Smiling watery, Keith wiped away some tears. “It feels like I was just alive yesterday, ya know? I know I’m dead, like something has clicked into place, I get it, but still unbelievable Johnny. Know what I mean?” A moment of silence surrounded the normally talkative drummer before he asked another question, “Did they continue with the band?”
Off and on. More off than on. They're on again right now. But they never, ever have stopped being brothers.
“Good. I’m happy they continued with it.” Keith nodded. “I don’t think I’ll be taking our body for a spin across the pond then.”
No?
“No. Can you imagine if someone popped up after thirty years and proclaimed they were their long lost dead band mate reincarnated? Would you believe them? They’ve mourned me for thirty years, no need to give them anymore pain.”
Even though we still look about the same.
“Might’ve been given a reputation for doing crazy things, but giving three old men heart attacks. Might be entertaining at first, but a bit too much for me. And that’s all we need.” Keith stood up and waved a hand in the air, “I can see it now ‘ATF Agent Gives The Who Heart-Attacks!’”
Especially since John's already had one.
“See! Exactly!” Keith whipped his body around to point at nothing. “So, now that we’ve established not seeing The Who, I guess we tackle the rest of your teammates.”
A sigh. I suppose. Let’s head back to the CDC -- that's where they're most likely to congregate.
Keith winced as more information flew into his brain. “Oooh, that’s gotta stop. Hopefully as I get more of your memories it’ll be less painful. Right, one Control Disease Centre coming up.”
Keith maneuvered their body back onto the bike. Putting the helmet on and starting the engine, they tore out of JD’s thinking spot.
~*Back at the CDC*~
Chris and Ezra looked at each other, and then back at Vin and Buck. "Run that by us again," Chris said as Josiah and Nathan walked in.
Buck sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Look, JD went to see a doctor about some bad dreams. Only the doctor called in a hypnotist because the dreams were apparently past memories. The hypnotist did his shtick and it turns out JD might’ve been Keith Moon in a past life.”
"WHAT?" they all burst out, and then Ezra broke into laughter.
“You find this funny?” Buck hissed. “I don’t believe this! Vin, they find this funny!”
Vin arched an eyebrow. “The aftermath was quite funny too I reckon. After we picked ourselves up from being elbowed and then helped the poor hypnotist up after getting knocked out by a hat rack. A hat rack that JD used to knock the doc out. Oh yes, real hilarious.”
"Come on, Vin," Ezra laughed. "Keith Moon? REALLY?"
“So hard to believe in past lives Ezra? The doc himself heard JD declare he was Keith Moon as he passed out.”
"There’s no such thing."
“How do you know?”
"There just isn't!"
The door opened.
There stood JD, helmet under arm, looking little worse for wear and grinning. “’Allo gents.”
"JD! Where have you BEEN?" Nathan bellowed.
JD looked slightly confused, before his face grimaced in pain. “Right, yer the doc.” JD declared as he pointed at Nathan. “And thinking, now, outta me way quacky, I want a shower.”
No name-calling. Apologize.
"No, that was pain. Shower in a minute. Where are you hurt?" Nathan asked.
JD scowled and rolled his eyes, “Sorry for calling you quacky and me head Nathan.” Said JD as he emphasized the medic’s name. He turned his head to the side. “Happy now?”
Yes.
Hands were on his head, examining him.
JD batted the hands away, “Will you bloody well stoppit! I’m fine now!”
"Your voice is completely different," Josiah said. "Your body language is different."
JD grinned, “Just noticing that now, eh ‘Siah.” Turning his head, JD’s eyes found Buck’s.
“Didn’t you tell them what’s going on Buck? I know you know. You did after all accompany us to that quack’s place.”
Vin strode up to JD and looked him in the eyes. “Where’s JD?”
JD tapped his head, “Up here. We can’t switch back for some reason. I’m merely a ghost in the machine at the moment mate.”
"How do we know you're not faking this?" Ezra asked.
“’How do we know you’re not faking this?’” JD parroted and laughed. “How do I know I’m not faking this? How do we know we’re not all faking this?”
Ezra's smirk faded.
“Ever the disbeliever undercover man.” JD retorted and stopped short when Buck walked forward.
“Is JD alright? You said you can’t switch back.”
JD’s smiled faded, “He’s as right as rain can be like this mate. And yeah, we can’t switch back. Something t’do with smashing a mirror in our head.”
He paused, then squeezed Buck's wrist. "He says t'tell you t'stop with the mother hen routine." Pure JD.
Buck sighed in relief.
JD turned to head for the shower, but then locked eyes with Chris Larabee. “You look like that quacky doc that started this whole mess. Any words from you whiskey man?”
His eyes narrowed. "Don't call me that."
Brown-coloured eyes twinkled with amusement. “And why not…whiskey man.”
Stop it. He lost his wife and son to a car bomb and crawled into a bottle. It took him years to get out. This isn't teasing to him, its torture.
Chris's fists clenched.
JD seemed to turn inward on himself and then shook his head. “Right, sorry mate. Never had much of a filter between me head and mouth.” Patting his hand on Chris’s shoulder, he walked past and headed towards the bathroom.
"He definitely sounds British," Ezra muttered.
Josiah suddenly bellowed behind his back, "OY! WILD MAN!"
JD paused and spun on his heel grinning at Josiah, “Finally, someone recognizes me!” JD's body gave an elaborate bow. "Keith Moon. Of neither here nor there. At your service."