"Picking Up The Pieces" by Krissy Mae Anderson
Summary: "The last time you left, I was the one stuck picking up the pieces."
- Wilson, to Stacy, Need to Know
Rating: T
Pairing: House/Wilson
Spoilers: "Three Stories", "Need to Know"
Disclaimer: The guys are not mine, and I am just borrowing them for a bit of angstiness.
James Wilson enters the doors of Princeton-Plainsboro with a tan and with a skip in his step. The conference and the vacation that followed have done him good – he feels almost like a new man. This is the first time since the divorce that he has felt cheerful. He runs through his mental calendar, reminds himself to attend the pediatric oncology lecture and talk to Cuddy about the Chief of Oncology position, since Jack Harrison is about to retire and Wilson knows that he's the perfect candidate for the spot. He's the boy wonder, first in his class in med school, a decent ass-kisser, and looks good on a brochure cover. Everyone loves him, except Greg House.
Greg makes fun of his ties, pokes holes in his articles and calls him Jimmy Howser. Wilson has missed him while drinking his way through the contents of the hotel bar in Kauai and leering at hula girls – his friend has always been good at crashing his pity parties. They had planned to go the conference together, but Greg called him a couple of days before their flight and said that he was not feeling well – something about an old soccer injury acting up. House is a healthy guy, but he's getting older, just as Wilson himself, and broken bones and stretched ligaments that were nothing only a couple years ago are letting their owners know that middle age is just around the corner. Wilson presses the up button on the elevator and rubs his left elbow unconsciously as he waits – he's never had a soccer injury, but years of tennis have left their mark. His wayward thoughts turn from Greg's soccer injury to Greg after a soccer game, ten years ago – Greg in his grass-stained shorts and without a shirt on, a cocky smile on his face –
"Oh, hi!" The nurse who erupts from the elevator is blonde and perky, and her name's Lola- Lilith- Leslie, her name starts with an L, damn it, he can't remember her name but he knows that she wears pink lacy panties and can't carry a tune in the shower. He forces himself to smile at her and mutters something about the sun and the beaches as she asks him stupid questions. He misses the elevator, and is forced to wait for it again as Nurse L runs off wherever she was going. So he waits again, deliberately not thinking about Greg and remembering the pretty Hawaiian tour guide who made his vacation much more satisfying than the tour brochure had made it out to be. He had never met anyone quite like Aolani, and he doesn't think he ever will again, but the memory of her is good, there's nothing bad there – no fights, no harsh words, no break-ups – enough to give him at least a week of good mood. The elevator door finally opens and Wilson thanks whatever higher being there is that the elevator is empty. He doesn't want to face any co-workers just yet – he needs just another couple of minutes of vacation, just another couple minutes of peace.
He escapes any people he knows on the way to his office, and discovers that his inbox is crammed with letters and memos and late papers. Wilson sighs and separates the intradepartmental office supply inventory from someone's misplaced notes on renal cell carcinoma with little dancing kidneys drawn in the margins. After he's done he checks his messages – Dr. Wilson, please call Dr. Morton about the breast cancer seminar; Wilson, your clinic hours have changed; Jamie, I miss you; James, we'll be back from Florida on the 18th; Jimmy, I don't think it's the soccer injury. House's voice sounds strained and a little bit scared, and Wilson dials House's home number and waits. The phone rings and rings until voicemail picks up. "Hi, you have reached Greg and Stacy, please leave a message-" Stacy's voice says impassively, and Wilson bites his lip and hangs up before voicemail-Stacy can finish the sentence. Oh well, he can call Greg at work later in the day to see what's wrong – the department secretary over at Union seems to be the only human being in the state of New Jersey who can track down the elusive Dr. House.