House groggily opened his eyes as the unmistakable sounds of Wilson in the kitchen echoed through his bedroom. A sharp pain shot through his leg as he shifted his weight, sitting up stiffly under the blankets and sliding to the edge of the bed.
House grabbed the bottle of Vicodin off his bedside table and popped several into his mouth before getting to his feet and slowly limping to the bathroom.
"You up Wilson?" Greg called from behind the closed door.
"Yeah, coffee's on too" he called back, folding the blankets on the lumpy couch that was now his home before stepping back into the kitchen.
"I'm making eggs, do you want me to make you some or are you just going to steal mine while I get dressed like usual?" Wilson commented, pulling the carton from the fridge.
"Stolen eggs are all the sweeter" House replied in his typical wit.
"Figures" Wilson chuckled, whisking the eggs and cream together before pouring them into the hot frying pan.
"Smells good, what's in it?" House asked gruffly, slowly making his way towards the kitchen.
"Red onion, fresh spinach and a bit of blue cheese" James replied, hiding the look of amusement quickly spreading across his face.
"I need to get ready, don't eat this. I mean it House" He warned, trying to sound stiren as he placed the plate on the counter under a lid.
"Would I eat something you worked so hard to make without your express permission?" House asked in mock horror.
"No, no it must be our other invisible roommate I'm thinking about" He replied with a chuckle, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, yes I would" House thought deviously, waiting for Wilson to close the bathroom door before cutting the warm omelet in half.
"I don't know why Wilson can't keep a wife, his cooking skills alone should be enough to make up for any other shortcomings" House thought, stuffing another bite of stolen omelette into his mouth.
House couldn't help but smile as the sound of Wilson's blow dryer filled the room.
"The man spends more time on his hair than most women" he thought, amused by the absurdity of the whole thing.
Wilson was just opening the bathroom door as House slid his plate into the sink and poured himself a large mug of coffee.
"How was my breakfast? Satisfying I hope" Wilson mused as he pulled the lid of his plate and discovered half was missing.
"What? Was I not supposed to eat that?" House retorted, feigning innocence.
"At least he left me half this time, he's getting better" Wilson thought with a smile as he popped a forkful of warm eggs into his mouth.
"By the way, I'm making lasagna for supper so if you want to steal half of that you'll have to be home by 6" He added absentmindedly.
"That sounds delicious" House thought, his mouth already watering.
"Damn it! I'm taking Cameron out tonight" House realized, groaning internally.
"That reminds me, I have a date tonight" He commented while pulling on his blue sneakers.
"Date?" Wilson repeated the word in his mind, it sounded foreign coming from Greg, the man hadn't been near any woman that didn't require payment upfront since Stacy.
"Oh? Who's coming this time? Sapphire, Candy or Cinnamon?" Wilson replied with an anxious chuckle, tossing his tie around the back of his neck.
"Cameron actually" House replied quickly, an amused grin stretching across his face.
"Cameron? That's an oddly tame name for a hooker, she must be new" Wilson mused as he fought with his tie.
"Not a working girl tonight, Cameron, you know the tall brunette that's always at the hospital. I think she's a doctor or something" He clarified, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Cameron as is Dr. Allison Cameron? House she's half your age" Wilson scolded disapprovingly.
"Don't look at me like that, it's her condition for re-joining my team, not mine" He snapped, fishing the pill bottle from his pocket and tossing another tablet in his mouth.
"Her condition? She forced him into a date?" He thought, his mind reeling at the statement.
"Doctor Cameron is forcing you into going out with her?" He breathed, steadying his voice.
"I know that tone, stop judging for ten seconds and listen to me would you?" House growled, his muscles tensing.
"Fine. I'm listening" Wilson snapped back, fidgeting with his tie.
"I didn't agree to the date for Cameron. I did for my team because they need her. Chase is the doctor you do go when you need something questionable done without argument or hesitation, a good doctor but useless to bounce diagnoses off of" He started, carefully keeping his words calm.
"Foreman fights me. Foreman listens to what I say and then questions everything, he won't do a damn thing I say unless he's absolutely certain there's a reasonable chance I'm right. He's my sounding board." House continued, pacing the length of the apartment slowly.
"But Cameron.. Cameron is the heart of the team. Cameron is sympathetic, she's kind to the patients and everyone trusts her so she's who I send in when I need consent forms signed or stupid people to take the medication I've prescribed them" He explained, staring down at his shoes.
"Wilson. I'm not equipped to do things she does for the team, Foreman sure as hell isn't and Chase.. he's pretty but he's about as sympathetic as a stump. Cameron is the only one who genuinely gives a crap about the patients we deal with, she's the human part of my team" House murmured, meeting Wilson's softened gaze.
"House I.. I'll help you pick out a decent outfit after work" Wilson breathed softly before picking up his briefcase and stepping out of the apartment.
Wilson slowly made his way out to his car, his mind racing with every step.
"He was.. vulnerable, human.. I haven't seen that side of him in years" He thought to himself as he fished his keys from his pocket and slid behind the steering wheel.
Soft music flowed from the speakers as he turned the key in the ignition, pulled out of the parking lot and started towards the hospital, barely aware of his surroundings.
The hospital waiting room was already filled with people, both young and old when Greg arrived.
"House!" Cuddy called as he limped towards his office.
"House I know you can hear me, you might as well stop running away" She added her voice high and irritated.
"If you wanted my opinion on your practically non-existent blouse.." He started, his mind alive with sarcasm and wit he saved especially for these encounters.
"Yes, because I base all my fashion decisions on the opinions of a man who's worn the same t-shirt for a decade" She scoffed, rolling her eyes.
"You have clinic duty this morning and you know it" Cuddy stated, standing with a hand on her hip.
"I have a patient, asian guy, likes pain as much as you like flashing your breasts to patients, remember him?" House shot back, a crooked grin on his face.
"You have a team that's more than capable of handling him for a few hours. Clinic. Now." She ordered sternly.
House sighed in defeat and began hobbling awkwardly towards the free clinic filled with people who would inevitably bore him to tears, lie to the nurses that were taking their history and force him to swab their inflamed, itchy and probably infected genitals.
Wilson couldn't focus on anything today, his thoughts were still stuck on that genuinely raw moment he had with house that morning.
"Hello Doctor" a frail looking patient softly called as he walked through the cancer ward.
"Hello Wendy, how are we feeling today?" He asked, mustering as much cheer as he could for her.
"I'm okay.. tired" She breathed.
Wendy had been under Wilson's care for almost a year now, they were brought to together by a lump in her breast. It metastasized a four, five months ago and went ramped, moving into her lymph nodes and lungs.
Wilson observed her laboured breaths, the clammy dampness of sweat sticking her gown against her sallow, sunken skin and the faded look in her pale brown eyes, it wouldn't be long before he would present her with stronger meds, the kind that lull you to sleep while you die. Soon he'd be able to stop her suffering but she's a fighter, she isn't ready to let go of her life yet, no matter how painful it might be.
"How is your pain level? I can adjust your medication if you like" He asked softly, focusing on the numbers on her chart.
"No.. I don't want more medication, I'm sleeping too much as it is" She protested, shifting her tiny frame under the blankets.
"Okay, the nurse has my pager number. If you need anything tell her to use it and I'll be here as soon as I can" He smiled warmly, trying to sound as soothing as possible.
"Thank you Doctor.. You always take such good care of me" She murmured, drifting back to sleep.
Wilson's heart ached as he walked out into the waiting area of the hospital, Wendy was always such a positive person, even when the cancer advanced and she knew she was terminal, she still had a smile on her face at the start of every treatment.
Wilson caught a glimpse of Dr. Cameron disappearing through the door to the stairwell, in a rush to get somewhere for House no doubt.
"I need to talk to her" He thought, already moving faster to catch up with her.
"Doctor Cameron" Wilson called down the stairs.
"Wilson? is that you?" She replied, stopping in her tracks.
"I heard about your.. condition for coming back to the team" He started, trying to make his voice even.
"House told you did he?" She sighed, a small smile pulling at her lips.
"Cameron you need to be careful-" he replied softly before getting cut off.
"I'm a big girl, I'm not worried about him hurting me" She groaned, rolling her eyes at his concern.
"I think you misunderstand my concern, I'm not worried about House hurting you" He replied, trying to clarify.
"You're worried about me hurting House? Seriously?" She shot back, confused and irritated.
"You don't know him the way that I do, you weren't here when he had the infarction, you weren't here when Stacy signed the papers that crippled him and then divorced him while he was still in recovery" Wilson paced on the small landing while he spoke.
"What does any of that have to do with us going on a date, that all happened nearly a decade ago-" Cameron protested.
"And he hasn't been with anyone who isn't paid by the hour since! when he married Stacy he was planning on spending his life with her, he didn't want the divorce. He was angry and in agony but he still loved her, even though she gave the surgeon's permission to cripple him. You're half his age and you have no idea how damaged he really is. He's not a hurt child, he's not a project for you to work on. You can't fix him but if you're not careful with him, you can absolutely make him worse. Don't make him worse Cameron." Wilson burst, the words poured out of him like a water through a broken dam. It was draining and emotional but it was the truth.
Cameron stood in dumbfounded silence before finally drawing a deep breath and wrapping her arms around him.
"The last thing I would ever want to do is hurt him, I promise Wilson" She whispered softly while she held him.
"Thank you" he breathed, a tear slipping down his cheek before he quickly wiped it away.
The sound of their beepers going off echoed through the narrow room, breaking the tension of the situation as they fumbled to find them in their pockets.
"Wendy" he thought, quickly pushing the beeper back into his coat and racing back towards the cancer ward.