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"Oh where, oh where can my baby be..."

House trailed off in his singing, listening hard. Nothing. He continued on.

"The Lord took her away from me."

He paused again, recalling the words. "She's gone to heaven, so I've got to be good. So I can see my baby when I leave this world."

House tried to shift himself, but to no avail. The weight of the debris was really getting to him. He shook Cuddy's hand gently, missing her presence.

"When I woke up, the rain was pouring down," House began to sing again, his voice low. "There were people standing all around... Somethin' warm goin' through my eyes, but somehow I found my baby that night."

"House."

Her voice startled him, practically making him jump out of his skin—which he figured, at the given time, wouldn't necessarily have been a bad thing.

"Cuddy," House responded to her.

"Are you singing?" she asked.

"No," he lied.

"It's nice," Cuddy commented, her hand moving slightly against his.

"How are you feeling?" House said.

"Awful," she answered. Her head was still bleeding.

"Yeah," House agreed.

Cuddy placed her head down. "I want to sleep."

"No," House quickly interjected. "No, stay with me. Squeeze my hand. Come on."

Cuddy gave a light squeeze to his hand.

"You can do better than that," House told her.

She gave another, firmer squeeze. House smirked and squeezed back. Cuddy didn't say anything and House instantly grew concerned.

"Cuddy?" he asked.

"Hm?" She opened her eyes, but her head still rested.

"You're going to stay with me, right?" House shook her hand slightly.

"I'll try," Cuddy replied, but she sounded defeated.

"'To be, or not to be, that is the question;'" House quoted. "'Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer—the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune—or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them...'"

He paused.

"Your turn."

Cuddy lifted her head, eyes still open, and looked toward the direction of House. "What?"

"Shakespeare, Cuddy," House spoke as if he hadn't been obvious enough by the chosen quote. "Give me a quote."

"I can't..." Cuddy shook her head. "I can't think of any."

"Try harder," House insisted.

"Um..." Cuddy thought a moment, becoming focused. "'What's in a name? That which we—'" she drew in a breath, "'call a rose by any... other name... would smell as sweet.'"

"Romeo and Juliet, Cuddy?" House asked, noting that she was still having trouble breathing. "Really? Should I drink the poison now?"

"You asked... for a quote." Cuddy's tone indicated anger. "And we are no... Romeo and Juliet."

"Says you," House said. "Two tortured souls—"

"They were merely kids," she cut him off.

"Split apart by clear hatred from either family," House went on. "The Montagues and the..."

"Capulets," Cuddy finished for him.

"Right," House agreed. "Torn apart by hatred, but—"

"They were stupid," Cuddy interrupted him again and then drew in a breath. "Romeo was too... brash, he acted—"

"Like a man in love," this time, House cut her off.

"Like a teen boy," Cuddy finished her thought. She swallowed hard. "Why are we debating... this now?"

"We're discussing," House clarified.

"I'm tired," Cuddy told him, all spark over the Shakespeare conversation gone.

"Too bad," he replied.

Cuddy squeezed House's hand as she let her head drop. Her eyes closed and her grip loosened with House.

"Don't leave again," he whispered.

It was quiet. House figured Cuddy slipped back into unconsciousness, which meant he was alone. He thought of something else to sing, to do, to keep himself sane.

"'Why, then, the world's... my oyster,'" Cuddy quoted, her voice very low and tired. "'Which I... with sword... will open.'"

"What was that?" House asked, relieved she was still with him.

"Shakespeare," she answered.

House squeezed her hand and she gave a weak squeeze back.

"We're going to get out of here," he assured her. "So, you have to stay with me."

Cuddy groaned slightly. "It's not like... I have a choice."

"I know," House agreed.

The quiet overtook them once more. House wondered if maybe they both just couldn't hear any rescue due to the explosion and the collapse damaging their ears. However, those thoughts didn't hold up long as he identified the sound of Cuddy's shallow breathing.

"Cuddy?" House spoke up.

"Huh?" Cuddy mumbled.

"Just making sure you're still there," he said.

"I am."

A sound that was a mix of a gasp and a choke escaped from Cuddy's mouth before she broke out into a coughing fit. Once the gasping cough subsided, she swallowed hard against a sore throat.

"I can't breathe," she croaked.

"Well, try." House's words came out harsher than he meant them to be due to his worry.

"If I..." Cuddy swallowed hard again. "If I don't... don't make it..."

"You'll make it," House insisted.

"I don't know," Cuddy replied, a lump forming in her throat as her eyes watered.

House squeezed her hand. "Don't think like that, okay?"

"How else... am I suppose to... think?" Cuddy demanded, wishing she could get out a full sentence. "My head... is bleeding and I... can't breathe!"

"Calm down," House told her.

Cuddy felt the tears falling from her eyes. She held onto House's hand tighter. House, in return, held onto her hand tighter, wishing it would comfort her. Her crying made it even harder for her to catch her breath.

"You've got to calm down, Cuddy," House said.

She began to gasp for breath through her tears.

"But, somehow I found my baby that night," House continued singing the song from before. "I lifted her head, she looked at me and said 'hold me, darlin,' just a little while.'"

House listened, knowing Cuddy was starting to calm. He continued, "I held her close, I kissed her our last kiss. I found the love that I knew I'd miss. Well, now she's gone even though I hold her tight. I lost my love, my life, that night."

House paused for a second time, Cuddy's crying reduced to labored breathing.

"Oh where, oh where can my baby be," he sang on. "The Lord took her away from me. She's gone to heaven so I've got to be good."

Cuddy's hand went limp again within his own. His voice dropped down into a whisper as he finished the song.

"So I can see my baby when I leave this world."

House let out a groan now that Cuddy was out. The pain was really getting to him. He almost wished his lower half was numb. His thigh felt like it was burning. He was just glad he had taken Vicodin before this happened. He couldn't imagine what it would be like without it.

A voice caused House to snap to attention. He squeezed Cuddy's hand as if he thought it would wake her. It didn't.

"Help!" House called out in a hoarse voice. "Over here! Help!"

"Here." A muffled male voice in close proximity spoke. "We have someone over here!"

"Be careful," a deeper male voice replied to the other. "Careful!"

"Help!" House shouted again.

"We're getting you out," the muffled male said. "Just remain still."

"I'm being crushed," House snapped at the man. "I'm sure that won't be a problem."

"Stay calm," the man assured him.

"You need to get her first," House told the man, wondering where, exactly, he was.

"Who?" a different male's voice spoke up.

"She's here." House shook Cuddy's hand. "I have her hand."

"Hold on, all right?" the first male spoke up.

There was a shift of pressure and House wasn't staring at black anymore. A slit of light crossed over his eyes.

"Okay," the first man said. "We see you. Hold it." His voice got farther away. "Stop. We stable?"

"Yeah," the deeper male voice replied.

"Okay."

There was moving of materials, more pressure being taken off of House. It was suddenly bright above him.

"You have to get her," House insisted.

"We'll get her," the man assured him. "Don't worry."

"Just be careful," House told him. "I think she has a spinal cord injury."

"We'll be careful," the man replied as he placed a neck brace around House's neck. "Just stay calm and don't move."


Cameron hurried around a corner as she speed walked down a hallway in the hospital. She pushed open the door to the employee break room and scanned for Wilson. He was making himself a sandwich in the kitchenette.

"House was just brought into the ER," Cameron called out to him, holding the door open.

Wilson dropped his sandwich to the counter and headed toward her.

"How is he?"

"Don't know." Cameron waited for Wilson to cross through the doorway before following him.

"What about Cuddy?" Wilson asked, glancing over at Cameron.

"Don't know," Cameron said again, keeping up with his fast pace.

They reached the Emergency Room in record time. There were bleeding bodies, busy nurses, and tired doctors crammed into the space, working towards a common goal of ending the chaos. Wilson spotted his friend being examined behind a half pulled curtain.

"House." Wilson gave a nod in the direction of House and tapped Cameron on her arm.

Cameron followed Wilson over to where House was being examined by Doctor Markus. Wilson remained by the end of the bed while Cameron moved toward House's side, examining every bleeding cut, every bruise, every mark of dirt.

"What happened up there?" she asked, her eyes meeting his.

"The walls came tumbling down," he told her and then looked to Wilson.

"Where's Cuddy?" Wilson demanded. "Was she with you?"

House nodded. He let out a cry of pain as Dr. Markus fastened the last strap on a splint around his left leg. He glared at Dr. Markus.

"That hurt," House snapped through gritted teeth.

"You'll be all right, Doctor House," Dr. Markus replied and began to walk away. "I'm going to get you more pain medication."

"We've got another!" a male paramedic's voice rang out as the doors to the Emergency Room flew open.

"Cuddy," House spoke, knowing.

The paramedics moved Cuddy to the free bed next to House. Cameron and Wilson stared while House's eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.

Cuddy's face was covered in blood and her eyes were closed.

"We need an IV and oxygen," the paramedic told whoever had come to help. "Blood pressure's eighty over sixty."

"Is she conscious?" Wilson asked, watching as they cleaned a spot on her arm before inserting the needle for the IV.

"No," the paramedic told him. "And we need to get her to X-ray."

"BP rising," a young female nurse announced.

"Let's move."

The paramedics and several nurses wheeled Cuddy out on a stretcher. Wilson turned to House, a frown on his face.

"I'm going with them," he said.

"Tell them to be careful." House looked to Wilson, locking eyes with him. "Her spinal cord could be damaged."

Wilson gave a short nod and took off out of the Emergency Room. Cameron remained at House's side. She looked him over again.

"You look terrible."

House glanced at her. "Thanks."

Cameron picked up a towel set alongside of a basin filled with water. She dipped the towel in and began to clean the dirt and blood from House's face.

Dr. Markus walked back over to them, his eyes on House. "We're waiting for a free X-ray machine to make sure there aren't any problems with the break in your leg." He injected House's IV with more pain medication. "I'll be back."

He walked off again while Cameron continued to wipe House's face clean. House closed his eyes, letting her take care of him while the drugs did their work on his pain.

"What happened?" Cameron asked softly as she swiped at the dried blood on his neck.

"Something crashed into the hospital," House answered, his eyes still closed. He was thinking of Cuddy.

"It was a small plane," Cameron told him. She dipped the towel into the slightly dirty basin water. "Why were you and Cuddy up there?"

"Had to take a drug test." He opened his eyes and directed them to her.

Cameron froze, mid-wringing of the towel. "What?"

"For insurance," House said. "Don't worry, I passed." He shut his eyes again. "Although, I guess it doesn't matter since my piss got blown to pieces."

"There's been sixteen casualties so far, including the people on the plane." Cameron ran the wet towel gently over his throat. "About twenty others injured. They're still searching the area."

"Cuddy said she couldn't feel her legs."

Cameron stopped cleaning him and set the towel in the basin. She wasn't sure what to say to that, or even if it meant anything as serious as she thought it did. She took a step back.

"I'll get you a hospital gown."