Roommates

By Carla Fox

Chapter 1: All gone.

Disclaimer: I don't own House M.D or their characters or stories or anything really, just my cats.

It was probably the best sleep he'd ever had in his life… so deep, so relaxing, almost feeling as though he were out of his body. He felt oddly content, no worries, no nothing… nothing at all.

"C'mon people, move! Move! Take him out of here!" he heard from far, far away. He didn't care… he was getting numb.

"Sir… sir, can you hear me?" asked a male voice a little closer than the other. House tried to open his eyes, but couldn't. He felt so tired.

"There's no time for this! Put the oxygen mask on and move him out of here! NOW, NOW, NOW PEOPLE!" another man commanded.

House tried to open his eyes, but still he couldn't. He tried to move, but it was impossible; his body was set heavily against the mattress. He couldn't think straight, then he felt a mask on him and the desperately needed oxygen got into him like a slap on the face, but the only thing he was able to do was barely open his eyes, and then all he could see was a blurry picture. There were people in his room, in his apartment, and a man was running around opening doors, asking if there was someone else inside. They were dressed in strange uniforms, all covered up with huge oxygen masks on their faces. One man grabbed House's left arm and another his right. They moved him quickly out of his bed, his body not responding. The firemen moved him harshly through the apartment, passing by even more people. House blinked once or twice, feeling sick and on the way out of the building into the chilly winter air, he saw more firemen carrying people out of the building.

The cold air hit his skin strongly and painfully, but helped him clear his mind a little. He was barefoot and was only wearing a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. House tried to move his foot but there was no time for it. The firemen dragged him quickly to a nearby ambulance and left him there in the care of a paramedic, who put a blanket over his shoulder and kept the mask on him.

"W…what…?" was all House could ask, trying not to fall from his sitting position and focused his eyes on the woman who was attending him. She flashed a light into his eyes and he almost lost his balance.

"A gas line ruptured in the building…" said the paramedic moving quickly from one side to the other, keeping an eye on him. "One of your neighbors made the call and we found out that most of the building was affected. There is the risk of an explosion" said the blond girl giving him a paper cup with some liquids. "Drink this…" she commanded and House took it.

"What's your name?" she said, once again flashing the light into his eyes. This time House was able to push her away. She frowned.

"Gregory House" he said feeling a lot less dizzy. The paramedic opened her eyes in awe.

"Like in Doctor Gregory House?" she asked.

"Yes, like in that. I want to go to bed, how long is this going to take?" he complained still not quite out of the gas induced intoxication and trying to take the oxygen mask away.

"As long as it takes" she answered sharply, moving around looking at the other patients after making sure he wouldn't take the mask off.

"We are done Michael. Move the ambulance, we are taking them to the Princeton-Plainsboro now" she said closing the doors with the four people inside. House looked around with his unfocused eyes and thought he recognized the gay dude from the second floor, the piano teacher from across the hall and some… guy from whatever apartment.

"I don't need to go to the hospital, I am fine" he said trying to take the mask off again. This time the young woman slapped him softly on the cheek. Well, maybe not exactly softly.

"Stay still. You are going to the hospital like everybody else. The police are closing the area off because of the risk of an explosion, so shut up and stay STILL" she commanded.

"Did you just slap me?" asked House feeling his cheek sore. "Naughty…"

"Michael! Call the hospital and inform them that we are bringing them their prodigal doctor… and tell them to inform the Dean of Medicine. She is going to be thrilled to have him as a patient… again" she commented with a smirk and House looked at her with hate.

House sighed and muttered as he closed his eyes, "Now THAT was naughty!"

"What happened?" asked Cuddy running into the E.R. where more than twelve people were been attended to by the personnel.

"Gas line rupture. Two people died; the rest are in different states of intoxication, including House" informed Cameron running from one place to the other attending people.

"House?!" said Cuddy as she finished putting on her white coat and began helping Cameron with one of the patients while the nurses ran back and forth between patients.

"Yes; it was in his building. He is being taken in an ambulance" said the young doctor, then everybody turned around to see a new ambulance bringing more people in.

"I said I'm fine!!" shouted House as he fought with the paramedic who was trying to put the mask back on his face.

"It's ok…" said Cuddy getting between two's arm wrestling match. "I'll take care of him from here" she said with a fake smile, pushing House's wheel chair away from the angry woman who murmured something to him.

"Back at ya! You sadistic shadow of a doctor!" shouted House at her, but Cuddy placed the oxygen mask on him hard, shutting him up.

"Now I understand why they paged me in the middle of the night" said Cuddy pushing the wheel chair outside the E.R. before House stressed out the other patients. She moved him into the elevator and went upstairs.

"I said I'm fine" said House taking off the oxygen mask and trying to stop his head from spinning around.

"Whatever… do you realize that you are so annoying that you need your own doctor to pick you up?" she asked, one hand on her hip and the other holding the chair.

"Really? Where is it? Because you are hardly a doctor anymore" he fired back at her. She rolled her eyes and didn't reply.

The elevator stopped and Cuddy pushed the chair to an empty private room, and then called on the nurses to help her put House on the bed.

"I am not a baby."

"Then stop acting like one" said Cuddy as she began examining him. His eyes were still slightly dilated and he still had some problems breathing.

"Ok, put in a saline IV and…"

"No, no! You are not treating me. The last time you did I lost my muscle, remember?" he said still fighting all the fuzz around him.

Cuddy looked at him angrily, but then looked at the scared nurse who ping-ponged between the two.

"As I said, connect the IV AND sedate him…" she commanded and the girl moved to pick up what she needed.

"You are mean" he said childishly, but thankfully for her he was too weak to fight her.

"And you are a royal pain in the ass" she said taking the sedative and injecting him with it before he could protest.

"That must be quite a nice pain then" House remarked, feeling how he was slowly starting to relax.

"Sleep House, I'll take care of you" said Cuddy before his eyes slowly closed and his breathing became steady and rhythmic.

"It's so odd looking at him in there" said Kutner as he watched House in his bed.

"It's quite nice actually… having him silent for a change" commented Thirteen smiling at him.

"His vitals are fine" said Taub, taking the chart from the bottom of his bed and showing to the other two.

"Of course I'm fine… bad weed never dies… you are the ones who should be worried. Why are you wasting your time here?" murmured House coming out of his sleep, feeling a lot better.

The three of them looked at each other not sure how to answer him. House looked at them and frowned.

"What?" he asked worriedly. His first reaction was to touch his good leg and make sure it was there. He sighed with relief and looked at them. "You know, Cuddy has a thing for my legs…well, with all of me actually" he said resting back in the bed, but the three new members of his team just looked at each other.

"How do you feel?" asked Cameron from the door, followed by Chase who just looked at him and nodded shortly.

"Peachy" said House trying to sit up a little more in an effort to look less pathetic.

Cameron walked in with Chase and they looked at the three new doctors there, ending up in an uncomfortable silence.

"All we need is Foreman and all my kids will be together…" said House and then Foreman looked in from the edge of the door.

"It's getting crowded in here. Go away, people will think you actually care" House said, a little bothered with the excessive attention. Chase was reading his medical chart, and Foreman and Cameron smiled.

"So, you don't know…" said Kutner, but Thirteen elbowed him in the ribs causing him to bend over in pain.

"Know what?" said House worriedly, looking to everyone. The smiled faded and the lip biting began.

"Er… I think…I, yeah, I got a page" said Foreman walking quickly from the room.

Cameron tried to say something, but kept looking at the ceiling trying to find the words. Chase grabbed her and pushed her outside, not even looking back. House looked with his piercing blue eyes to his new team and they shivered in their place.

"So? Am I getting an answer or do I start firing people!" he threatened.

"No one is going to get fired" said Cuddy as she walked into the room smiling calmly. The three doctors looked at her with hope. She moved and showed the door to them and they walked out fast, though not before Kutner waved bye at House who just rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"What good is going to come if they don't fear me?" House complained and Cuddy smiled at him uneasily. She closed the door and slowly walked next to him. House began to get really worried.

"What the hell is going on?" he said trying to stand up from the bed. Cuddy put a hand on his shoulder, calming him.

"Nothing bad… to you" she assured him. He sat there, question blazing in his eyes. Cuddy bit her lower lip and wondered if there was an easy way to tell him the news, but there wasn't any. She sat on the bed next to him, and his eyes automatically fell to her cleavage.

"I… well, the thing is your building blew up", she said quickly. House couldn't process the information at first.

"Come again?" he asked honestly.

"Your building… it blew up. Three was too much gas, and basically it exploded… it's all over the news. The whole block was compromised and a couple of people died."

"Screw the dying people, I have no apartment?!" he asked her, not believing what was happening.

"Yeap, and no bike either. It was destroyed in the explosion." She told the brutal truth, the way he liked it. But right now, he didn't like the information at all.

House sat there in silence, feeling weird. He was attached to things the way he didn't like to be attached to people, or animals. But his old guitar was in the apartment, and the new one which he hadn't even started paying for was in there too. His piano, his pictures, his medical journals, his t-shirt, his records, his cane… everything was lost. He felt like he was going to throw up.

"House, are you ok?" Cuddy asked worriedly, looking at his blank expression.

"Move" he said with a deep voice, trying to stand up. Cuddy quickly moved out of his way. He was still weak from the gas inhalation and his legs gave way, but she caught him in time.

"What are you doing?" she asked trying with all her strength to keep his weight on her.

"I need to see it" he said not caring about her pain caused by her holding him up. He walked using her as support.

"It's all in ashes, House…" she said walking next to him, her arm around his waist, keeping him balanced.

"I don't care; I need to see it… take me to my office. I have clothes in there… and a cane" he commented, making sure that he didn't get stuck in a wheel chair anymore. She looked at him and rolled her eyes, wondering why the hell she let him get away with everything.

TBC

Thanks Dwparsnip for beta me, as always!

Thank you for reading! see you in the next chapter!