3
"Well, it doesn't seem to be a heart attack."
House was lying in a hospital bed, eyes drooping like he wanted to sleep but couldn't for some reason. Stacey was holding his hand. She looked gravely concerned, as many non-doctors do when faced with a loved one in the hospital.
Without opening his eyes, House muttered "Told you so…"
The doctor ignored him. "It could be a DVT, or a pulled muscle, or possibly just psychosomatic."
"Psychosomatic's a cop-out…" House murmured.
Again, the doctor ignored him. "I'd like to do a CT scan, but the wait for the machine is a little long so I'm going to schedule it for tomorrow."
Stacey and Wilson both nodded.
Suddenly, House arched up in the bed and moaned horribly. Stacey squeezed his hand.
"Greg…? Sweetheart are you OK?"
He squeezed her hand back and shifted in the bed, nodding.
"Could you get him something for the pain?" Wilson asked the doctor.
"Well, I am concerned he may be drug-seeking. Why don't we wait a few hours and see if the pain subsides."
Wilson nodded reluctantly.
Stacey went to get coffee and Cuddy left to get some work done, and Wilson was left with House.
House, who seemed to be getting worse by the minute. By the time Stacey came back, he was curled on one side, holding the offending leg and moaning. Wilson had tried to figure out what's wrong but House refused to let him do any kind of examination.
When Stacey arrived, she panicked. "Greg?!"
"He's OK," Wilson attempted. "It's just a little pain. He's getting a CT in the morning."
"He's not OK! He's hurting! Greg?"
House moaned in anguish.
"He needs a CT right now! Not in a day; right now!"
Wilson sighed. "I'll see what I can do." Wilson knew she was right. He'd never seen House like this.
"Wilson…?"
Wilson answered quickly, concerned. "Yeah? What do you need?"
From his curled position, House raised his head to look at Wilson. "I-it's a clot…"
"What's a clot?"
"I-in my leg...causing muscle death...need surgery…"
The older man looked afraid, wincing with the effort it took to raise his head.
"Can I take a look at your leg? If that's the case, your pedal pulses would be decreased and there would be a colouring change."
House looked like he was about to shake his head, but at the last minute he nodded reluctantly. Wilson moved the sheets and felt the bottom of the older man's foot. House stopped him before he got to his thigh.
"Don't...hurts too bad…"
"Your pedal pulses are a little weak...We'll get a CT for you first thing in the morning. It'll be OK. Just breathe, OK? Do you want me to stay tonight?"
Reluctantly, House nodded. Wilson was surprised with his response as House never asked for help. This must be really bad, Wilson thought as he rubbed House's arm.
"OK. I'll stay."