A/N: Not anything really long, it was just stuck in my head after the last episode and I needed to get it out.
Disclaimer: House, Wilson, Cuddy and the duckling aren't mine. As much as I might wish it.
It hurt. Just where it hurt he couldn't say; the place wasn't listed in any medical books that he had read, but nevertheless in that unnamed place was a deep, aching hurt.
The realization that he didn't know how to help her had come swiftly on the heels of the knowledge of what had happened to her. It was with relief that he handed her off to someone who could – or if they couldn't, at least they wouldn't do more damage. His blunt, sarcastic manner would be of little use there.
It had proven handy when he needed to force crucial information out of someone in order to help a patient, and more than once it had served to make someone see what had been staring them in the face all along. Perhaps on occasion they would be a little shaken up, but in the long run it was for the better and he'd been able to solve the problem.
This was completely different. There was no crucial information to find – no big picture to see – no physical ailment to cure. And he had no desire to do any further damage.
Cuddy had sensed something different in his manner when he asked for a different doctor to cover his patient. She was surprised to find that he seemed almost humble, although she hadn't been ready to let him off without a valid reason. His team wondered why he was actually listening as they gave their opinions, instead of blowing them off with a derogatory remark as usual.
Wilson saw the truth in his friend's look. In the normally piercingly blue eyes, which were now clouded with absolute confusion – almost helplessness – and a touch of humility, Wilson saw the deep, long-abiding pain that this patient had brought closer to the surface than it had been in many years.
He was frustrated with himself for not having the solution to her problem and he was frustrated that she insisted on having him as her doctor no matter how often he explained that he wasn't able to help her.
He was certain of this because if he had known, his own hurt would have disappeared long ago. Instead, that unnamed place continued to bear its own deep, aching hurt.
A/N: Well, now that you've read it, please let me know what you think. I live for reviews!