2dozenowies: 09. drowning (slight cox/jd, PG)
Title: Drowning
Rating: PG, maybe.
Pairings: Cox/JD-ish.
Notes: For 2dozenowies.
Word Count: 1181
Warnings: Uh, near death experiences?
Spoilers: None.
Summary: When he falls in, it takes a moment for him to realize.
When he falls in, it takes a moment for him to realize. Some part of him knew, some part expected this, and took a deep breath before he broke the surface of the water. He hit a rock on the way in, smashed his head right against it but he knows better than to cry out in pain, not when he's going deeper and deeper into the freezing cold bay.
And it's been such a perfect day. All the colors are super-saturated, so bright it hurts his eyes a little. He can still see it above him, a few friendly clouds floating across the sky. The water around him is clearer than he expected it would be, but though it's stinging his eyes he doesn't dare close them. He can feel his clothes billowing around him, brushing against the bare skin underneath.
It's getting colder and darker around him before it occurs to him to struggle, but his arms and legs don't quite seem to know what's going on, either. He can't move, and he realizes it's getting colder and darker because he's passing out. Underwater.
The worst part of that, other than the fact that he's probably going to die, is that he knows how this is going to work. He knows that the carbon dioxide levels in his bloodstream will get too high and eventually he will have to breathe in, but there will be nothing but water. He'll choke and cough and breathe in more water, until his larynx seals itself shut so no water will get into his lungs. And then he'll become hypoxic. And then he'll pass out. His airways will open again, letting water into his lungs. Then, cardiac arrest will follow pulmonary arrest. Then he'll die.
He doesn't know if anyone saw him fall in and his lungs are burning but he doesn't want to let go of any of the air he's holding because he doesn't know when he'll get more. He imagines Dr. Cox coming down to save him, a choir of angels and holy lights singing and shining around him, hauling him to the surface and snapping at him, "Christ, Ginger, you've gone and ruined your pretty dress." Anything. He'd suffer through anything right now if it meant he didn't have to be here anymore.
He tries again to make his limbs move, to push himself to the surface which is rapidly receding, but he can't do anything, and of course he can't stop his lungs from pushing the old air out and trying to bring fresh oxygen in. The water stings his nose and his throat and his chest and his eyes close and the last thing he sees is that blue sky above him, wavering and shaking.
What a freak accident, Perry thinks, watching the bicyclist push himself up off of the ground. Brake failure, probably. Unfortunate for Newbie, since the bay water is still cold even in late springtime. He'll come up, coughing and spluttering and whining, dripping wet all over everyone and everything, demanding everyone's attention and Perry will call him Carlotta or Madeleine and -
Several moments pass before Perry hears the bicyclist calling for someone to help, and realizes that JD still hasn't surfaced. "Someone help!" the bicyclist calls, "He's still underwater!"
No one else has seen the accident, the cyclist losing control of his bike and ramming straight into JD, standing at the water's edge, from behind. Perry is running toward the shoreline, and jumps into the water, the shock of the cold hitting him but somehow not slowing him down. With the stinging saltiness of the water it's hard for him to see anything at all, but he keeps swimming downward, and there is JD, drifting slowly to the bottom and not seeming to notice at all. Perry's lungs are already screaming, but if he surfaces for air he'll never be able to find JD again, so he tries to ignore it, keeps swimming after JD.
JD's eyes are closed and his lips are parted, and he's dead weight. Perry grabs him by the hood of his sweatshirt and begins clawing his way back up to the surface as quickly as he can, lest they both drown.
Drowning. There's water in JD's airways and his lips and fingertips are starting to turn blue. This is bad. This is so bad, he thinks, and turns JD on his back.
There's a crowd now, people from the hospital and people who just happened to be in the park today. Perry checks JD's neck for a pulse - it's weak, but it's there. There's nothing to do but artificial respiration, get the water out of his lungs and get air in.
Pinch the nose shut, incline the chin. Two breaths. "Christ, Newbie, how bad could it have been?" he mutters as he counts to himself, one-two-three-four-five, "You could have chosen a different way to make a splash at the ball, Cinderella." Everyone is listening, he knows, so he shuts up and continues, sighing in relief as JD finally coughs up the water in his airways, able to breathe on his own again. He's still unconscious, shivering a little, still pale but the blue tinge is leaving his lips and fingertips.
An ambulance comes shrieking up to the park, paramedics pushing through the crowd. Perry watches them lift JD onto the stretcher, wrapping him in a couple of blankets. He's breathing. His heart's beating. He'll be fine, it just looks like he's a little hypothermic. The doors on the ambulance close and they take him to Sacred Heart.
When he wakes up he's on a hospital bed, monitors beeping around him and Dr. Cox in the chair next to his bed, chin resting on his hand. "What - " he croaks, and clears his throat. "What happened?" he asks.
Dr. Cox glances over at him, eyes shifting but otherwise completely still. "There was an accident."
"Yeah, but - last thing I remember I was ... " JD trails off lamely, somehow afraid to put words to what happened. There is nothing like a near-death experience to make you afraid to move, or even speak.
"Drowning, Natasha," Dr. Cox finishes for him, "And Barbie was too busy with her mirror and Gandhi and Carla were too busy giving each other the googly-eyes to see you go down."
"So who -?"
"I did, Carlotta."
The first thing JD thinks when Dr. Cox tells him that he saved his - Newbie's - life is, Great. One more bullet in his arsenal. Then he comes to his senses.
"You?" He expects another girl's name, another sneer and another well-placed acidic comment, but Dr. Cox, strangely, doesn't seem up to it. He only nods, and JD lies back on his bed, staring fixedly at the ceiling, wondering blankly if he missed the choir of angels and the holy lights when Dr. Cox came after him.
Rating: PG, maybe.
Pairings: Cox/JD-ish.
Notes: For 2dozenowies.
Word Count: 1181
Warnings: Uh, near death experiences?
Spoilers: None.
Summary: When he falls in, it takes a moment for him to realize.
When he falls in, it takes a moment for him to realize. Some part of him knew, some part expected this, and took a deep breath before he broke the surface of the water. He hit a rock on the way in, smashed his head right against it but he knows better than to cry out in pain, not when he's going deeper and deeper into the freezing cold bay.
And it's been such a perfect day. All the colors are super-saturated, so bright it hurts his eyes a little. He can still see it above him, a few friendly clouds floating across the sky. The water around him is clearer than he expected it would be, but though it's stinging his eyes he doesn't dare close them. He can feel his clothes billowing around him, brushing against the bare skin underneath.
It's getting colder and darker around him before it occurs to him to struggle, but his arms and legs don't quite seem to know what's going on, either. He can't move, and he realizes it's getting colder and darker because he's passing out. Underwater.
The worst part of that, other than the fact that he's probably going to die, is that he knows how this is going to work. He knows that the carbon dioxide levels in his bloodstream will get too high and eventually he will have to breathe in, but there will be nothing but water. He'll choke and cough and breathe in more water, until his larynx seals itself shut so no water will get into his lungs. And then he'll become hypoxic. And then he'll pass out. His airways will open again, letting water into his lungs. Then, cardiac arrest will follow pulmonary arrest. Then he'll die.
He doesn't know if anyone saw him fall in and his lungs are burning but he doesn't want to let go of any of the air he's holding because he doesn't know when he'll get more. He imagines Dr. Cox coming down to save him, a choir of angels and holy lights singing and shining around him, hauling him to the surface and snapping at him, "Christ, Ginger, you've gone and ruined your pretty dress." Anything. He'd suffer through anything right now if it meant he didn't have to be here anymore.
He tries again to make his limbs move, to push himself to the surface which is rapidly receding, but he can't do anything, and of course he can't stop his lungs from pushing the old air out and trying to bring fresh oxygen in. The water stings his nose and his throat and his chest and his eyes close and the last thing he sees is that blue sky above him, wavering and shaking.
What a freak accident, Perry thinks, watching the bicyclist push himself up off of the ground. Brake failure, probably. Unfortunate for Newbie, since the bay water is still cold even in late springtime. He'll come up, coughing and spluttering and whining, dripping wet all over everyone and everything, demanding everyone's attention and Perry will call him Carlotta or Madeleine and -
Several moments pass before Perry hears the bicyclist calling for someone to help, and realizes that JD still hasn't surfaced. "Someone help!" the bicyclist calls, "He's still underwater!"
No one else has seen the accident, the cyclist losing control of his bike and ramming straight into JD, standing at the water's edge, from behind. Perry is running toward the shoreline, and jumps into the water, the shock of the cold hitting him but somehow not slowing him down. With the stinging saltiness of the water it's hard for him to see anything at all, but he keeps swimming downward, and there is JD, drifting slowly to the bottom and not seeming to notice at all. Perry's lungs are already screaming, but if he surfaces for air he'll never be able to find JD again, so he tries to ignore it, keeps swimming after JD.
JD's eyes are closed and his lips are parted, and he's dead weight. Perry grabs him by the hood of his sweatshirt and begins clawing his way back up to the surface as quickly as he can, lest they both drown.
Drowning. There's water in JD's airways and his lips and fingertips are starting to turn blue. This is bad. This is so bad, he thinks, and turns JD on his back.
There's a crowd now, people from the hospital and people who just happened to be in the park today. Perry checks JD's neck for a pulse - it's weak, but it's there. There's nothing to do but artificial respiration, get the water out of his lungs and get air in.
Pinch the nose shut, incline the chin. Two breaths. "Christ, Newbie, how bad could it have been?" he mutters as he counts to himself, one-two-three-four-five, "You could have chosen a different way to make a splash at the ball, Cinderella." Everyone is listening, he knows, so he shuts up and continues, sighing in relief as JD finally coughs up the water in his airways, able to breathe on his own again. He's still unconscious, shivering a little, still pale but the blue tinge is leaving his lips and fingertips.
An ambulance comes shrieking up to the park, paramedics pushing through the crowd. Perry watches them lift JD onto the stretcher, wrapping him in a couple of blankets. He's breathing. His heart's beating. He'll be fine, it just looks like he's a little hypothermic. The doors on the ambulance close and they take him to Sacred Heart.
When he wakes up he's on a hospital bed, monitors beeping around him and Dr. Cox in the chair next to his bed, chin resting on his hand. "What - " he croaks, and clears his throat. "What happened?" he asks.
Dr. Cox glances over at him, eyes shifting but otherwise completely still. "There was an accident."
"Yeah, but - last thing I remember I was ... " JD trails off lamely, somehow afraid to put words to what happened. There is nothing like a near-death experience to make you afraid to move, or even speak.
"Drowning, Natasha," Dr. Cox finishes for him, "And Barbie was too busy with her mirror and Gandhi and Carla were too busy giving each other the googly-eyes to see you go down."
"So who -?"
"I did, Carlotta."
The first thing JD thinks when Dr. Cox tells him that he saved his - Newbie's - life is, Great. One more bullet in his arsenal. Then he comes to his senses.
"You?" He expects another girl's name, another sneer and another well-placed acidic comment, but Dr. Cox, strangely, doesn't seem up to it. He only nods, and JD lies back on his bed, staring fixedly at the ceiling, wondering blankly if he missed the choir of angels and the holy lights when Dr. Cox came after him.