Chapter Text
My Unorthodox Treatment
by RumCove
Prologue
When I first read an A/B/O fic a couple of years ago (I know, I was quite late into it) I had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on for a while. So I’ve done a little preamble of what the groupings I’ve created for this story mean so it isn’t completely dropping anyone new into this sort of AU in at the deep end.
An explanation of the Alpha-Beta-Omega dynamics in this specific universe (some of this has my own tweaks):
AΑ
Medical terminology: Dominant alpha
Colloquial: “Pure alpha”, “true alpha”
Both male and female dominant alphas are capable of impregnating female betas and omegas. Have a shifted internal biology, with adapted vocal chords, scent glands and genitalia, with both genders capable of “knotting” omegas. Capable of producing strong pheromones. Viewed as being the pinnacle of evolution and often idealized and romanticized in literature as strong, heroic figures. Tend to be successful in careers, although it has been argued that this is due to the inherent societal bias towards them rather than any additional capability through their secondary gender. Excel in all fields, but particularly in politics, business and medicine. Males are idealized whilst females are often shunned and ostracized as "unnatural".
Tend to be large, strong and independent. Can be volatile and violent, particularly when younger and with limited self-control. Can be pushed into ruts by omega pheromones. Capable of bonding with omegas, resulting in both partners being considerably less affected by other pheromones and becoming extremely physically attuned to their partner. Both recessive and dominant alphas have enlarged canines (known as fangs) that can produce mating venom to bite an omega and bond with them.
- 15% of the population is AΑ: 10% male, 5% female
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αΒ
Medical terminology: Recessive alpha
Colloquial: occasionally known as beta-dominant alpha, but generally not used
Males are capable of impregnating female betas and omegas, females are not. Females have low fertility rates for carrying a child, but are capable of doing so. Have a similar physical biology to AΑ, although less pronounced. Knotting can occur with males, although this is more difficult to achieve than with AΑ. Produce pheromones, but these are weaker than AΑ pheromones and they are not as attuned to omega pheromones as AΑ are. Still large and powerful individuals with a biological advantage and a strong societal bias towards them. Less volatile than AΑ and less likely to unexpectedly go into rut. Female αΒ are considerably less likely to be viewed negatively by society compared to female AA.
Bonding with omegas can occur, although the bonds are viewed as less strong than those of AΑ.
- 20% of the population is αΒ: 12% male, 8% female
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Ββ
Medical terminology: Beta
Colloquial: “normies”, “non phero”, “humans”
Individuals with normal human biology, non-responsive to pheromones and most are not even able to detect them. Males can impregnate beta women and omegas, females can carry children. Despite being overwhelmingly the largest sub-group, they tend to be sidelined and limited in truly exceeding in their careers due to societal alpha bias. A very rare sub-group of betas can weakly identify pheromones (although do not respond to them) and generally are taught not to acknowledge this as it makes alphas and omegas uncomfortable to be "caught out" by a beta.
- 45% of the population is Ββ; 23% male, 22% female
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Βω
Medical terminology: Beta dominant omega
Colloquial: “omega recessive”, “semi omega”
Female beta dominant omegas are capable of carrying children, whilst males are not. Male Βω are capable of impregnating beta females and omegas, but have heavily reduced fertility. Have adapted vocal chords and scent glands. Capable of releasing weak pheromones and reactive to alpha pheromones, although not as heavily affected as dominant omegas by them.
Βω go into heat c. once every six months, females can be impregnated by alphas and male betas (and potentially male Βω, although this is not well documented), whilst males have a mating drive during heat but no capability of becoming impregnated. Βω heats result in the Βω losing their inhibitions, with many describing it as being similar to being heavily drunk. They do not go through the dramatic heat cycles that dominant omegas are renowned for and are capable of controlling themselves and can usually fight off any unwelcome alphas.
Can bond with alphas and have significant societal disadvantages. As a rare group, they are often dissuaded from pursuing careers by alphas and encouraged to focus on finding an alpha mate. Βω who do pursue a career face significant difficulties, but there is no inherent structural blocker to them following any career they choose. In reality, they tend to become stuck at lower tiers of organizations and find themselves unable to obtain promotion, even with strong records of performance. Often viewed as empathetic and introspective; they tend to be pigeon-holed as carers, teachers or in any profession which involves dealing with children.
- 15% of the population is Βω; 10% female, 5% male
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ΩΩ
Medical terminology: Dominant omega
Colloquial: “pure omega”, “true omega”
An extremely rare group, both males and females can carry children. Have adapted vocal chords and different internal organs to betas and beta dominant omegas that allows them to be knotted without causing significant internal damage. Highly attuned to pheromones from both alphas and omegas, with scent glands that regulate their internal omegan biology. Capable of releasing extremely strong pheromones, particularly when distressed, contented or in heat.
Go into heat c. once every three months, when they are capable of being impregnated by an alpha. Technically dominant omegas can be impregnated by betas but very rarely are so; most dominant omegas in heat will reject a non-alpha mate. Lose all control and logical thought during the peak of heats and will become highly distressed if not mated during this time. Dominant omegas have been known to go into toxic shock if not mated during a heat and can die. Produce extremely strong pheromones during heats that can send alphas within the immediate area into rut. As a result, unbonded dominant omegas are viewed as a public menace and are in the care of the closest alpha relative. Can bond with alphas. The strongest bonds are colloquially between dominant alphas and omegas, but due to the small population of dominant omegas there is not enough evidence to substantiate this.
Dominant omegas have enlarged canines that produce mating venom for bonding; these are generally smaller than alpha “fangs”, although sharper and theorized to be adapted for self-defense due to how vulnerable dominant omegas can become when in heat. Dominant omega venom can cause serious injury and even death in less dominant counterparts.
Female dominant omegas are characterized as smaller, attractive and delicate or “dainty” in appearance; male dominant omegas are so rare that there is limited study of them but are generally assumed to be similar in appearance to females. The most telling feature is the dominant omegan irises, which appear to glow, a change which comes about during presentation, usually at around fourteen years old.
Usually not seen in society and under the protection of a close alpha relative or their mate. Occasionally seen as artists or poets, but otherwise no real career options. Viewed as temperamental, hysterical, unintelligent and impractical, although since the majority of the population have never met one this is an unsubstantiated assessment.
- 5% of the population are ΩΩ; 4% female, 1% male
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“Presentation” occurs during the onset of puberty, with alphas and omegas going through biological changes. Dominant and recessive alpha subsets are assessed some years after initial presentation to confirm their grouping. Omegas are immediately identifiable, as only dominant omegas develop the distinctive irises. If a child has not presented by the age of sixteen then they are confirmed as beta.
As the statistically smallest group, female alphas and male omegas have a particularly complicated biology, with both groups having to support two sets of reproductive systems, albeit with their “primary gender” reproductive system essentially being sterilized during presentation. As a result, they are considerably more likely to suffer from medical complications and mental health issues.
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There is an increasing public hostility towards what is viewed as the automatic privilege of alphas and the draconian treatments of omegas and the deprivation of their civil liberties. However, since alphas hold 90% of the world’s wealth, there is little being done, apart from occasional marches against the status quo and an increasing usage of social media to create platforms to speak out.
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The beginning of this fic is set somewhere near the end of season 5. Doctor Cox and Jordan are fully broken up and Jack Cox has not been born in this universe (you’ll see why relatively soon in this fic). Also, JD never slept with Jordan (again, you’ll see why relatively early on). However, it’s set in the present day, as I’m too obsessed with things like smartphones now and forget how we used to cope. There’s no COVID though, as it’s bad enough living through this, I don’t hugely want to write about it currently. I feel there’s probably some amazing Scrubs-COVID fic that would be really thought-provoking and deep, but I’m not feeling up to it…
There are no links or crossovers between this fic and my “My Captive Audience” series, although if you’ve read those then you might notice a few correlations (I'm well aware that there might be a few MCA-isms sliding in over time and there will be a brief guest appearance of one MCA character - not Steve Gourley). Ironically, despite this fic being way more AU than MCA, the characters seem a bit more cheerful and canon than the rather miserable MCA cast.
This work is written in the first person, with the POV flip-flopping between JD and Doctor Cox. I’ve tried to make it as clear as I can about who is narrating, so hopefully this won’t cause much confusion.
As far as I can see, nobody has written an A/B/O Scrubs fanfic before, presumably because no one wanted to write or read that. However, I had the idea for this and then it got stuck in my head and... well, here it is.
If you’re wondering, I don’t know why I write “Doctor” instead of “Dr”, I don’t seem to be able to stop myself. I'm particularly perplexed by the fact I write “Mr” rather than “Mister”, but who knows? Anyway, on with the show…