Disclaimer: I don't own House M.D., or any of the House characters used in this fic. They all belong to David Shore: the genius behind the fantastic medical drama that has grabbed my attention. I only own any of my original characters that I choose to include, as well as any of my own original plot ideas.

Don't Let Go

Prompt: Stolen away...

A/N: Prompt 4 written for 5_prompts on LiveJournal. Reference made to Season 4 Episode 16, "Wilson's Heart."

Not even "horror" was enough to describe how he felt. All at once, and not at all, he was lost and alone, open and shut, alive and dead. Even after the reality had set in, he still had been unable to let her go. The end had drawn near slowly, gently draining her life and, at the same time, stirring something within his heart. A sharp, unrelenting pain that ravaged his body, sending tremors through him as he had held her in his arms for the last time.

"Everybody dies," she had said. That much was true, but words alone, even from her, were not enough to quell the ache.

Now, even after several days of mourning, the hole within him was still open and bleeding, crying out for something to end the pain. Despite his efforts, they were all in vain. The wound remained, torturous, vile, a constant reminder of the life that he would never share with her; of the soft smile that she held in reserve for him; of all the countless hours he would spend begging God for one more night with her in his arms.

Even after a tearful farewell, he found that he had no regret. He had offered her everything he had, and she had accepted, drowning him in elation that he had never once felt before. Amber had been his everything, and she would remain as such. After all that he had shared with her, he doubted that his heart would ever truly forget the warmth and light which she had brought back into his life.

The beautiful white cross, now sitting among the rain-soaked grass, that marked her grave had started to fade with the constant assault of the sun and the changing of the weather. Even so, he found it to be a perfect representation of her life, at least until her stone was completed. The muddied ground easily stained the knees of his pants as he knelt in the rain, trembling as he whispered gentle words and promises.

Regardless of who he spent the remainder of his days with, he had genuinely convinced himself: "Don't let go..."

I only recently saw this episode, and I just cried so hard for Wilson and couldn't stop. My heart just broke for him.