Disclaimer: I own nothing and claim no affiliation.
Set between seasons 3 and 4, prior to introduction of new leading cast.
I Should Tell You
Dr. Allison Cameron considered herself a generally "nice" person, and those that knew of her would attest to her amiable demeanor. However, even she was finding it difficult to talk the mother of the Diagnostics team's most recent patient.
"You are the worst bunch of useless people I've ever met! I want my daughter out of this hospital right now! You are not-" Sarah Levinson was cut off by Cameron's interjection.
"Ma'am, at this time, we are not able to state whether an alternative to the treatment we've prescribed is available. If you feel the service you've received has not been satisfactory, here is the contact information for Dr. Lisa Cu-" Dr. Cameron was, in turn, cut off by the irate mother.
"Save it, girl. I'm done talking with all of you. Where is Dr. House?"
At that moment, House was sitting in his office, legs propped up and feet crossed on his desk with the computer keyboard in his lap. He was in the middle of counting his winnings from his latest victory at online poker when an angry Mrs. Levinson flung his door open without regard that it was fashioned of glass, and with such treatment, the bottom corner of the door shattered upon impacting the doorstop.
"So you're Dr. House? You look more like a slothenly homeless man." She commented loudly, as Cameron, Chase, and Foreman rushed to catch up to her.
"Judging by the negative personal remark and the sour expression on your face, I'd say you were a relative to our patient." House smoothly stated, sitting up but not moving to leave his seat.
"I demand to know why you think you have the right to have my daughter's arm cut off without even setting foot in the same room with her!" Mrs. Levinson nearly screamed.
"I have the right because, at the moment, I am her doctor, and it is not necessary to be in the same room, or even the same state, to have the correct diagnosis." House responded, even-toned and not fazed by her behavior.
Displeased and fueled by House's passive display to meet her fury, she engaged him with c the question "How can you have no sympathy at all, you unfeeling, nasty crippled mon-" what happened next was enough to send the angered woman into full retreat.
Finally, outraged with her latest attack, House shouted back. "Fine! Take her to wherever it is you think is better, I don't care. I've gotten the answer, now YOU get out of my office. NOW!" House stalked out of his own office as quickly as his limping gait would allow.
He didn't stop until he was at the office door of his best friend. After opening and slamming the door behind him, he realized that he was alone in Wilson's office. He sighed heavily and lay down on Wilson's couch.
Meanwhile, Wilson was doing rounds personally amongst his terminally ill patients diagnosed with various forms of cancerous poison. "Dr. Wilson, do a lot kids have the cancer when they're growing up?" asked a young boy named Tommy.
Wilson paused at the uncomfortably awkward question before sitting down next to the sick child and carefully answering "Some do, yes." Wilson hoped that would be the end to this line of questioning.
Unfortunately, Tommy continued "How come doctors help some kids get better and others don't?" At this point several other children were paying close attention to the conversation.
Wilson sighed, "I don't really know, Tommy. Sometimes, it's just out of my...our hands." Wilson got up and made as quick an escape as possible. He moved with purpose toward House's office, and, on the way, was met with the sight of the weary looking trio of Drs. Cameron, Chase, and Foreman as they were exiting the elevator on their way home.
Wilson stopped and acknowledged them "Hey guys, tough day?"
Foreman answered, "You could say that." The others simply nodded. Chase added, "If you're looking for House, we haven't seen her after this raging bitch barged into his office."
Wilson looked like he was about to question them about what happened when Cameron beat him to the punch. "We thought he was with you."
Wilson frowned, "I haven't seen him all day. Maybe he just went home early. I'm about to do the same, and I'll let you guys get back to it. Have a good night all."
House's fellows gave varying goodbyes and were soon on their way. House pulled out his cell phone ready to text House as he entered his office to collect his things before leaving. He was surprised at the sight of House passed out on his office sofa, but he smiled. Quietly, Wilson walked over to House's sleeping form and gently stroked his arm. "Hey, House. Wake up."
House blinked at the intrusion, "What? Oh it's you, Wilson."
"Well hello to you to." Wilson said as House sat up. Wilson seated himself next to House on the couch and oriented himself to face his friend. "So what's going on with you, House?"
"Oh the usual, patient's family getting pissy with my methods, blah, blah, blah." House said, hand waving dismissively. "I just needed to get away for a while." He added, looking down.
Wilson smiled knowingly. He took secretive pleasure in the fact that House sought refuge with him.
After a brief silence, House turned his attention to Wilson and asked, "What about you? How was your day?"
Wilson took a long breath and let it out saying, "It gets really sad sometimes you know. Nothing "new" for you to analyze, but today was one of the sad ones. Pathetic actually."
House furrowed his brow, but waited patiently.
"I'm sick of not being able to save everyone, House."
"You're not supposed to save everyone Wilson. As shitty as that is for a doctor to say, it's true and you need to believe it. Or else you'll drown." Wilson closed his eyes listening to the painful truth from House.
"That just...Doesn't make it ok…So tell me about this, to quote Chase, raging bitch." Wilson said, shifting back to House's stressors.
"She was just being ridiculous. Nothing I couldn't handle." House said, still not meeting Wilson's gaze.
"Well, that doesn't sound anything new either. Nothing about it got to you?" Wilson asked, not entirely convinced.
House paused, not sure if he wanted to go there, but, what the hell. "She called me a nasty cripple or something like that, it set me off.."
Wilson put his arm around House and said, "Yeah House that is setting me off. That's just about the worst thing I've heard in a long time. Don't get me wrong, you can be an ass, but you never deserve to be treated like that."
House didn't so much need the words Wilson was saying, even though they were nice to hear. Rather, it was the close physical contact that House absolutely soaked up because they so rarely shared any.
They sat there for a while, Wilson gently stroking House's back with House's hand resting on Wilson's thigh. House finally spoke up, "Did you want to go eat?"
"We can if that's what you want to do." Wilson responded.
"If it's all the same to you, I just want to stay here a little longer." House said.
"I'd like that." Wilson said, leaning his head on House's shoulder.
They stayed that way for the better part of twenty minutes, and they might have stayed longer but the Sun was coming close to setting for the day. House waited at the door while Wilson got his coat and briefcase. They walked wordlessly until they got into the elevator. House had known that he preferred Wilson's company to that of anyone else in the world, this was not new. However, he realized that he wanted to come home to that kind of relief every day. So, now that he acknowledged this to himself, now what?
Do something.
Ask him.
"Wilson, I…" House started.
Wilson looked up at House questioningly, "What's up, House?"
They got off the elevator and started walking through the lobby, and the public atmosphere, even though it was less crowded than it was during the day, was still stifling to House's confidence.
"I think we should get pizza instead of Chinese." House said.
Damn.
"Oh, that's fine. Like I said, I'm up for whatever." Wilson said, and they continued on into the parking lot.
Seriously disappointed with the results of what just happened, or lack thereof, House stopped Wilson before he could get into his car, "Hey, Wilson, would you like to stay with me."
Wilson regarded House's invitation with a smile, "Yeah, House that would be nice not to have to drive all the way to my hotel after we get dinner."
"No, I meant, do you want to stay at my apartment? Permanently?" House asked, looking at his car keys intently before looking back up to gauge Wilson's reaction.
"Whoa, ok. How about we talk about that when we get there? Just give me a few extra minutes and I'll be by with the pizza." Wilson responded setting his thing in the back of his car before getting into the driver's seat.
House drove home regretting having dumped such a heavy question on Wilson so fast after the kind of day they'd both had. He had done it impulsively because he'd wasted a lot of time without Wilson, and, when he wanted something, he wasn't the type to just sit around waiting for it to happen.
When House got to his apartment, he cleared the magazines and leftover take out from the coffee table and placed two beers on it, one for each of them. He seated himself at the piano to relax himself, and continued to play through Wilson's arrival. Wilson placed the pizza box between the two beer bottles on the coffee table, and patiently waited for House to finish.
Once they were both on the couch eating and drinking, Wilson broached the topic they'd left on the backburner at the hospital. "So, you really want me to move back in with you?"
House took a long swallow of his beer before answering simply, "Yeah."
"Why? I thought I was driving you crazy." Wilson pointed out, looking at House directly now.
House met his gaze. "I should tell you..you never drove me crazy. I was trying to convince myself that you were unbearable to live with so that I wouldn't need you. You want another one?" House got up to head to the kitchen. Wilson followed him.
"So that you wouldn't need me? What does that mean?" Wilson asked.
"Wilson..I can't just be dependent on you. You're going to leave. Eventually, you'll find someone, get married a fourth time, and you'll leave. And I want you to come back so that…" He wasn't sure if it was because he couldn't bring himself to admit something so intimate or because he didn't even know what the ending should have been, but, regardless, he couldn't complete his last thought.
"You want me to come back so that, I won't need to find someone and leave?" Wilson asked, calmly.
"Yes." House said simply, tossing the bottle cap in the trash.
Both of them were silent because now they were on dangerous new ground with the implications of what House's admission meant.
"I'd like to move in with you." Wilson said, reaching in for House's beer and placing it on the countertop.
"Really?" House said, expecting an unfavorable outcome.
"Yes. And I should tell you something. I don't want to go off and find anyone else. I want to be right here." House just stared stunned at what he was hearing, and Wilson continued.
"In fact, the only reason I've ever tried to find anything else apart from you, is because I was under the impression that you didn't want me…here." Wilson finished.
House and Wilson were only a foot apart now, each standing before the other. "Well, I'm glad that you're staying." House said slowly.
"Just say it, House." Wilson said, plainly without irritation or excitement.
House couldn't even pretend that he didn't know what Wilson meant, and he knew Wilson wouldn't reject him, however, it was still not the easiest, but he'd come this far.
What the hell.
"I love you." House whispered.
"I love you, and I want you to be with me." House said, more definitively.
"I love you, House. And I want to be with you." Wilson said.
House picked his beer back up and took another sip, and motioned for Wilson to follow him back to the couch.
"So, what now?" House asked.
"Well, first we'll finish dinner, and then we'll go to bed. Then tomorrow, I'll go and get my things and move in with you." Wilson said matter of factly.
"OK, that sounds good." House said, wanting more to progress with them personally.
But, they did just what Wilson had laid out for them. After finishing the pizza, they cleared the table of the plates and bottles, put the leftovers in the refrigerator. House went to the linen closet and got out the spare sheets and quilt and was about to put them on the sofa for Wilson when Wilson came up to him and said, "Oh, I was thinking that, um…"
House froze and looked up at him. Their eyes connected, and House nodded once and proceeded to put the guest bedding back into the closet. Wilson followed House into House's bedroom. They both disrobed to the point that they both still had underwear, but both felt completely naked anyhow.
They lay next to each other and the tension had begun to dissolve after the lights were turned off. They each lay on their sides with House behind Wilson. Tentatively, House put his hand on Wilson's waist and lay his head directly behind Wilson's. Wilson move his hand to interlace their fingers together and he closed his eyes when he felt House's mouth placing kisses so lightly on his bare shoulder that it was almost as if it wasn't happening.
It was not going to happen overnight, but they had begun a new chapter in their lives which would drastically change. There would be a lot of new experiences and more memories to make, but, in this moment, they had both found a sense of peace, comfort, and home.