On being insane in sane places
(Just realised that I've been forgetting to stick disclaimers on my work, so- House M.D, all it's characters and ideas etc. don't belong to me. Also, the name of this fic was taken from a study performed by Rosenhan (1973) named 'on being sane in insane places.')
House has gone insane.
The words whispered through the hospital, jumping from mouth to mouth like the sparks of a wildfire.
House has gone insane.
It echoed quietly off the walls, seeping through the building like rising damp.
House has gone insane.
Cuddy heard it, rippling along the corridors. The whisper in stereo was enough to let her know there was fact behind the rumour. She barely even registered her own reaction before she was striding towards the clinic, where he was meant to be doing a shift, but was more likely to be skiving off. Oh well, start there.
House has gone insane.
In her life at the hospital, she'd seen many strange things, but as she stood dumb stuck just inside the double glass doors to the clinic, she couldn't think of a one that would top this.
House has gone insane.
'Get me 2ccs of tranquillisers, stat.' She ordered a gaping nurse, and he blinked at her once before dashing to obey, but she was already striding forwards, to the heap of twitching humanity piled in the middle of the clinic floor. Patients lining the walls were staring, and a cane lay off to one side, a few new scars in its woodwork.
It was taking seven people to hold House down- two nurses and five patients that had been on the ball enough to help. Even so, he was still managing to heave them around as he attempted to violently fight the restraint, laid flat out on the floor. Incoherent noises escaped his throat- more like the growls of an animal than anything else- as drops of spittle gathered on his lips and he flashed the whites of his eyes to the room.
'Dr. House!' Cuddy stood over him, trying to get a coherent reaction. Everyone was watching her now; the slightly desperate people holding him down sensing her authority. The only response she got was a snarling heave that nearly threw a couple of people off.
'Gregory House,' she tried again, although she could see clearly by now that no one was home. He continued to struggle, managing to shake off a lighter man who was holding down one arm and claw violently at another of his captors before being re-restrained.
The nurse trotted up with a hypodermic syringe, and she didn't hesitate to grab it off him, kneeling beside the thrashing body and ordering two of the helpers to concentrate on holding an arm still. She injected him without injury, and bit her lip as she waited for it to take effect. His struggling rapidly abated, limbs stilling and warily, his human restraints began to relax. His eyes rolled further back, and his head lolled limply as he let out a final sigh and ceased to move.
Cuddy waited another ten seconds just to be sure he wasn't playing possum, then nodded that they could back off him. Even so, he was released slowly, with caution, and Cuddy wondered just what the hell had happened. Visual memory of the scars on his cane made her stomach twist in nervousness as she started giving orders to get the scene cleaned up.
oo00OO00oo
'What the hell is going on?' Demanded Wilson, storming into House's room. The man in question was deeply under, but just to be safe, he was in four point restraints as well. Only Cuddy was there to do any answering.
'I honestly don't know.' She replied, which seemed to deflate Wilson slightly.
'What happened?' He asked, lifting a hand to the back of his head, then dropping it anxiously and warily stepping slightly closer to Greg's bed. He needn't have bothered. House well and truly dead to the world, his stats slow and steady.
'All reports from the witnesses say that he simply went insane and started attacking anything in sight, living or otherwise. I had to do some hasty negotiating to stave off legal action from one of the patients he went at.'
'He attacked people?' Repeated Wilson dubiously, not moving his eyes from the still form.
'Apparently.'
'But…' Wilson blinked a couple of times and seemed to pull himself together, turning to look at her directly. 'Have you told his team yet?'
'They're on their way up here.'
'They shouldn't have to see him like this,' commented Wilson, meaning; House would never forgive us if they saw unconscious and strapped to the bed. Cuddy nodded in understanding, drawing the blinds in the room before leading the way out so they could meet the three younger doctors outside in the hallway.
…
'He what?' Questioned Foreman in disbelief.
'Can we see him?' Cameron asked concernedly.
'He's sedated, there wouldn't be much point.' Replied Cuddy. Cameron acquiesced to the clear 'no.'
'Why'd he do it?' Frowned Chase, feeling strongly the complete absence of sense in the situation.
'We don't know.' Answered Wilson helplessly.
'From what I saw, he wasn't exactly aware of his actions.' Filled in Cuddy sombrely.
'What, like he'd gone berserk?'
'Exactly like he'd gone berserk.'
'What would make House go berserk?' Pondered Chase, although the question was loosely directed at Wilson.
'I've seen him lose his temper before… It involves some yelling, and less of the actual physical violence.'
'Yes.' Cuddy agreed. 'Meaning something external is causing this. Sign him up for a PET scan so we can see what's going on in there.'
His team nodded and dissipated, going to sort out the paperwork before they could do her bidding. Cuddy and Wilson looked at each other for a moment longer.
'Any other ideas?' She asked him, essentially questioning if House had been doing anything to bring this on. If anyone knew it would be Wilson.
He just shrugged. 'I've no clue. Here's hoping he actually trained those three between snarking at them, because this looks like an infectious disease being ironic.'
'Yeah,' sighed Cuddy, seeming slightly at a loss for once.
'I'll watch him. You better go.' Offered Wilson. She nodded. 'If he wakes up and he's still foaming at the mouth, sedate him again. He'll only hurt himself, not to mention the hospital doesn't need the scandal.'
'I will, but I think they're used to Greg causing a scandal by now. They'd be scandalised if he didn't.'
Cuddy bit out a bitter bark of laughter and strode off, still having damage control to do after House's fit, never mind finding out what the hell was wrong with him.
To Be Continued...