Foreman was the first to react. "Shit!" he launched out of his seat, heading for the door to House's office. Foreman grabbed the old man's shoulders and he pulled the ex marine from his unconscious son, fist still trying to connect with House's still body.
"Hey!" Foreman yelled, "Get off him!" He grabbed House's father round the neck and pulled, dragging him off of his boss. "Call security!"
"House?" Cameron asked kneeling next to her unconscious boss sprawled on the floor. She pulled out her penlight from her lab coat. "Pupils are normal and reactive to light."
"Hi, this is Dr Chase in the diagnostics department," Chase said into the phone. "Yeah I need someone up right away," he said calmly. "Yes, we've had an assault up here." After a brief pause Chase snorted in amusement. "Yeah, on Dr House." He hung up and redialled.
"Mr House, calm down!" Foreman shouted as the old man fought against him. Foreman pushed him roughly through the door, and out into the corridor.
"House, can you hear me?" Cameron asked as she checked his carotid pulse. "House, I need you to open your eyes," she demanded, pulling her stethoscope out her pocket.
"Hey! Calm down Mr House!" Foreman shouted as the old man managed to smack him across the forehead. "Need a little help here!" he forced the old man against the wall, Mr House's fists still flying wildly.
"Yeah, Hi it's Dr Chase up in diagnostics we need a neck brace, backboard and a gurney up here. Poss head and neck injuries on 47 year old male."
"Breathing and pulse are good." Cameron called from the floor, pulling the stethoscope out her ears.
"Yes, vitals are stable." Done with the conversation, Chase slammed down the phone and rushed over to help Foreman. The message about the assault on House must have spread quickly, because two security guards sprinted down the hall within two minutes of Chase's phone call.
"Damn it! Foreman get over here!" Cameron shouted through the open door. "You're the neurologist!"
Foreman left Chase and the guards to deal with Mr House. He hurried around the desk, nearly tripping over the cane that was left abandoned on the floor. He knelt down beside House, pulling out his penlight and began a full neuro exam.
Suddenly there was a shriek from outside. "John! Oh my god, John?" Blythe House came running from down the hall from the elevators to see her husband being manhandled by two big security guards. "What's going on?" she demanded of one of the security guards.
"He assaulted a doctor, ma'am."
Blythe looked into her son's office, two of his team members were knelling behind the desk. She gasped as she caught sight of Greg's legs sticking out from behind it. Without looking at her husband, she turned and walked straight into the office and to her son.
"Mrs House, wait," Chase tried to stop her from entering his boss's office.
"No, blood in ear canals," Foreman announced as Mrs House pushed past Chase.
"Greg?" she gasped at the sight of her son unmoving on the floor between his young employees. Blood spilled to the floor from two fair sized cuts on his face. "Is he okay?"
"We'll know more when he regains consciousness," Cameron replied, looking up at the worried mother, who had positioned herself by House's head to hold it still. "I'm sure he'll be fine, Mrs House."
"Yes," she said, still a little shocked, "He normally is."
Cameron looked at her confused, "What do you mean?"
Blythe took a deep breath; it was no secret that father and son had spent most of Greg's life at each other's throats. "Unfortunately, John and Greg have never got along, and this is the only way John feels he can win an argument."
"To knock him out?" Cameron gasped in shock.
Foreman shook his head. He knew House's family was backward but this was abusive. He made a metal note to get a CT; there was no telling what kind of damage House's father had inflicted before.
"They are both very stubborn."
Foreman and Cameron exchanged looks. They couldn't disagree.
"Genes are a bitch aren't they?" House said rhetorically as he pulled himself up into a sitting position, startling everyone. His hand explored his face, measuring the damage. Blood smeared onto his hand from the lacerations. He looked up at his mum, "He hasn't taken off that ring then."
A small smile appeared on Blythe's face, a mixture of amusement and relief. The one thing that they both hated about John House was that awful ring he got from West Point that he wore religiously on his right hand middle finger.
"Whoa! Take it easy, House," Foreman held his boss' shoulders trying to prevent him from moving any further.
"Get the hell off me!" House growled at his employee. He pushed himself to his feet by leaning heavily on the desk, trying to stay vertical with the sudden wave of extreme dizziness.
"House, look," Foreman tried to reason with him, "You're concussed, you could have a fractured skull. Just take a seat and relax for a while." The last thing he wanted was House collapsing from a haemorrhage and having to drill a hole in his skull to relive the intracranial pressure.
House completely ignored him as he looked round for his father. Swaying slightly, he picked up his cane and limped into the corridor. John House was pinned against the wall by the two security guards, sweating and breathing hard. The old man had mostly given up the fight, exhausted.
Slowly House limped up to his father, and looked down at the old man's right hand. Feeling angry, House was pleased to see that two of his father's knuckles had been broken. He was livid, how dare his father come into his work place and hit him! Blue eyes silently engaged in battle.
But something made House curious. He looked over his father, taking note of everything. No one spoke. The only sound was from Mr House's heavy breathing.
Suddenly, a loud ding at the end of the corridor interrupted the standoff. The doors opened, and the familiar sound of high-heeled shoes walked determinedly up to the scene.
"House? What's going on?" Cuddy asked, trying to break up the tension between him and his father.
Neither looked away, both determined to be the last one standing. Blood soaked House's t-shirt. They both looked a mess, but not ready to give in to each other.
"House, I got a message that said you had been assaulted, what happened?" Cuddy persisted. The Colonel looked like he had just been for a 10-mile jog, sweat soaked his shirt, and his breathing was laboured. Slowly he gave up his fight with the security guards and let himself be supported by them, too tired to continue.
House watched his father. The man had fear in his eyes, no kind off fear that his son could inflict.
"Dr Cuddy, what do you see?" House asked. He did not look away from his father, his face was contorted, running theories through his mind at lighten speed.
Cuddy snorted in surprise at the sudden question, unsure of what he meant.
It didn't matter, he wasn't really looking for an answer. House hopped one step closer to his father, and reached out with his left hand to his father's neck.
After a moment he pulled away and smiled. He had always wanted to do this, but something had held him back.
He swung his left hand back, and then propelled it forwards, hard. 165 Newtons of force rammed straight into the temple. The ex colonel dropped like a stone into the guards' arms, unconscious.
House grunted in pain as he over balanced. Canes and concussion don't mix, he decided. He hit the cold, hard floor for the second time in ten minutes.
A/N: Okay this is a new and improved, edited version of the 2nd chapter. I hope it it's better than the first and second attempts. Thank you for all the support that everyone has given me, you have been a huge help especially from Padawan Jan-AQ who's been absolutely fantastic.
PH