Sometimes life throws you lemons, so you make some lemonade. But what do you do when you run out of sugar?

***

Chapter 1

Stacy Hamilton was happy. At 33, she had landed a great job as an attorney at a medium sized law firm and a few years back she had met a man. Actually, she had shot him in a game of paintball. Her firm had set up it up one afternoon with a hospital they had just started working for. The idea was to informally strengthen the ties between both parties and build a mutual trust. Stacy wasn't one for violent games, but the minute the doctor she had shot went down and she rushed over to see if he was alright, she changed her mind.

"Damn it, woman! Are you trying to get me killed?" The actual shot hadn't taken him down, but because it had been unexpected, the doctor was caught off guard and had tripped. But she was glad he had, because the minute her hazel coloured eyes met his blue ones, she knew she was in trouble.

3 weeks later, she moved in with him.

Dr. Gregory House was everything she had ever looked for in a man. Smart, handsome, talented, funny. He was the head of the Department of Diagnostics at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and was referred to as one of the best in his field. His often blunt and cold way in dealing with patients and people in general also gave him a reputation of being an ass.

Greg was definitely not your average doctor and Stacy soon realised this was what she found to be most attractive about him. That and his incredibly blue eyes and deep voice. He also had a way of bringing out the best and worst in her. She knew Greg was the man for her, but his behaviour could aggravate her to the point where she would nearly lose it. Most often, she would just slap his arm or shoulder out of frustration, something she had never felt the need for before. He just knew how to rub her the wrong way, sometimes. But he also knew how to make it up to her, and he always did.

About a year ago, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine at Princeton Plainsboro and a good friend of Greg and Stacy's, had offered Stacy a job as a consultant. Stacy would be working for the hospital instead of the law firm and she would be visiting other hospitals in the area and work together with the other attorneys on some of the tougher cases. This meant Stacy would sometimes be working at the same hospital as Greg, so naturally she wasn't sure if she wanted that, knowing this could put a strain on their relationship. But after having discussed it with Greg, they agreed that they were both professionals and they would try to minimize their interaction. This didn't need to be a problem. In fact, they were both excited about it.

***

Stacy really was happy and everything was working out well, until one afternoon in March.

Greg had taken Stacy for a game of golf. It had been a favourite pastime of his and even though she didn't really care for the sport, she was happy to spend the day with him. Both their jobs were so demanding that they would only really see each other late at night and early in the morning, despite the fact they were both working for the same hospital. Even the weekends weren't a sure thing, because of the nature of Greg's specialty he was almost always on call. And calls in the middle of the night were not uncommon.

During the game, Greg had felt a sharp pain in his right leg. A pain so intense and paralyzing, that he had asked Stacy to call an ambulance. Upon arrival at the hospital, the doctors were unable to diagnose him and Greg injected himself with Demerol to kill the pain and he was discharged. But the pain returned, so Greg went back to the hospital.

At first the doctors at Princeton Plainsboro were unable to find anything and Greg was put on antibiotics and bed rest. But soon enough, he had blood in his urine and his urine turned brown. Greg himself diagnosed his pain as a result from muscle death. But the pain had gone untreated for three long days, and the damage had been done. The doctors advised him to amputate the leg, but Greg had insisted on bypass surgery to restore the circulation. The death muscle cells would release cytokines and potassium. If the circulation was restored, the cytokines and potassium would end up back in his bloodstream and they could cause organ failure and cardiac arrest. But Greg would rather take that risk than lose his leg.

When Greg had gotten out of surgery, he was in more pain than ever, but he refused an amputation. Dr. Cuddy had told Stacy about a third option, some middle ground, but Stacy knew Greg wasn't big on middle ground, so she had dismissed the possibility. She hated seeing him in so much pain, knowing there wasn't anything that she could do to relieve it. All she could do was sit by his bed side and remind him that she was there for him.

That night, Greg went into cardiac arrest. Dr. Cuddy had told her House had technically been dead for a minute. And although Stacy wasn't scared of death, the thought of losing Greg terrified her. As soon as the doctors had stabilized him, Stacy had taken up residency next to his bed and didn't move for the longest time. She would stroke his arm, hold his hand and tell him how much she loved him and wished that things would soon improve with his condition.

But as the pain became even more unbearable, Greg had asked to be put into a chemically induced coma, so he could sleep through the worst part. It was then that Stacy made the decision that would change her life and Greg's forever.

As Greg's medical proxy, Stacy decided Greg should undergo the 'middle ground' surgery to remove the necrotic tissue. There was a chance he would be in pain for the rest of his life. But the surgery would also save his life and his leg, even though it meant risking their relationship. She knew Greg would possibly hate her for doing this. He was a proud man and if she undermined his judgment and overruled his decision, she would break his trust. But she'd rather live with the fact that he was still alive and hating her, than with him dead.

***

Lisa Cuddy was in the room with them when House awoke from his coma. It had taken two excruciatingly long days for House to come out of it, but Lisa had insisted they wait that long to be sure everything was okay. The surgery had gone well and the doctors had been able to remove all of the dead muscle tissue, but the infarction had caused permanent nerve damage and the operation had left a 4 inch scar where his thigh muscle used to be.

Stacy was holding Greg's hand, slowly stroking his arm when she saw him open his eyes. "Greg? Hey." She smiled at him and hoped he would be able to answer her.

His voice was hoarse and his mouth was dry, so the spoken 'hi' was almost inaudible. It didn't take him long to notice that his leg felt different and Greg soon started asking questions about the second surgery. 'Had he gone into cardiac arrest again?' 'What had been done exactly?'

Cuddy knew Greg very well and she knew that the decision Stacy had made, had possibly damaged their relationship beyond repair. She was willing to help out her friend. So, when Greg had started asking question about his surgery, Cuddy had focused on the facts. The surgery had been necessary in order to save his life and he would be able to get some use of his leg back with intense physical therapy. But she never said who ordered the surgery, even though Greg kept pressing her.

After a while, Stacy couldn't take it any longer and she cut in, saying it had been her and her alone that had ordered the surgery.

The room fell silent. Cuddy moved over to the bed and took House's hand. "She made the right call." She squeezed his hand and gave him a weak smile before leaving the room and giving the couple their space.

Stacy couldn't tell what House was feeling. Was he upset? Angry? Mad? So, she cautiously asked him if he was okay. "Of course I'm not okay! Part of my thigh muscle has been removed and it hurts like hell! I'll be lucky to ever get the use of my leg back."

"I'm sorry." She apologized, although she was only partially sorry. She knew she had made the right decision, but seeing him like this made her question that notion.

"Why did you do it, when you knew I didn't want it?" Greg's tone had changed and Stacy soon realised the pain was too severe and it made him give in, succumbing to the reality that he didn't have the strength to put up a fight with her. But he wanted to know. He needed to know.

"You had already had a heart attack. And you were in so much pain. Lisa told me this was the only way we could save your life and your leg."

"But I told you I didn't want the surgery."

"I know, but you weren't thinking straight. And you know it. You were in so much pain, it was clouding your judgment."

"I knew what I was doing!" His voice was louder now.

"You were risking your life trying to save that damn leg!" Stacy was getting frustrated with him. How could he possibly think that his leg is more important than his life and expect her to feel the same way?

"It's my leg, it was my decision!"

"You made the wrong one."

"And since when did you become a doctor, huh? You had no right to overrule me."

"Actually, I had every right, legally, since you were in a coma and you couldn't make any decision yourself."

"Damn it, Stacy!" The frustration was clearly audible in his voice, because Greg knew she was right. She was his medical proxy, after all. But he had suggested the medically induced coma himself.

Greg turned his face away from her and Stacy withdrew. "I'm gonna get some water. I'll be back later." She left the room and closed the glass door behind her. And then she cried. Stacy hadn't cried much since it happened, mainly because she wasn't one to cry easily, but also because she felt she had to stay strong for Greg. But things had gone so damn wrong and now he hated her on top of all the rest he was dealing with. So, she cried, afraid that this decision might have been the right one for Greg, but the wrong one for their relationship.

***

In the days following the surgery, it became clear that the pain Greg was in was not diminishing in the slightest. As soon as the doctors had tried to lower the dose of morphine, Greg had yelled out in pain, trying to convince the doctors to up the dose again. Cuddy decided House should be on a different kind of medication, because of the addictive nature of Morphine. So, House was put on Percodan, but that didn't relief the pain enough, so Cuddy finally settled on Vicodin, knowing the drug might still be addictive, but at least it helped House with managing the pain through normal dosage.

Stacy was by his side every day. The first few nights after Greg had woken up from his coma, she had spent her nights at the hospital and Greg had started to notice the bags under her eyes. And while he was still very mad at her, somewhere in the back of his mind he knew she had done it just to save his life. She had done it because she loved him. But could he really ever trust her again?

"You should go home and get some rest." Greg suggested. Stacy looked up from the chair she had been sitting in, realizing she had fallen asleep.

"No, I'm okay." No matter how mad he may have been with her, she wasn't going anywhere.

"Stacy, you look like hell. You haven't slept in days." His tone was soft and gentle. "I'll be fine." He looked at her with worry on his face. She really did look like hell. Stacy got up and sat on the bed.

"Are you sure?" She took his hand and stroked the back of it.

"I'll be fine. I've got Cuddy and every other doctor in this hospital looking after me."

"Okay," she finally relented. "I'll be back in the morning." She leaned down and gave him a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Greg squeezed her hand a little.

Stacy felt some hope. Maybe things weren't as bad as they seemed, after all.