A/N: I had to do a little research for this chapter. Thank you Wikipedia! Also none of the characters are mine, etc, etc.
ooo
House led his team out of the office. They were all quiet, but did not wear the somber expressions one might expect of people condemned to die. None of them was sure just where House was leading them. Around them the corridors of Princeton-Plainsborough bustled as it always did. Nurses came too and fro, doctors discussed cases with each other as their stethoscopes bobbed, and family members tried to find the rooms of their loved ones.
But Chase, Cameron, and Foreman hardly noticed the motion around them. They each felt disconnected from the world they had inhabited just moments ago, and despite their earlier bravado, the consequences of the plan weighed heavier on them with each footstep toward wherever House was leading them.
The four reached the lobby, and House stopped briefly at the pharmacy before leading them back to the elevator that took them to sub-basement 1. They wound their way through more corridors, these particularly unpleasant in their décor of gray concrete and snaking pipes above their heads.
Then they saw their destination. In large letters lit with red neon, the sign read "Morgue." House pushed through the double doors with no emotion. The others stopped.
"This is really it," said Chase softly.
Foreman nodded. "Always wondered what it was going to be like."
Cameron shuddered for a moment and then looked to Foreman. "Can you go on ahead for a second? I need to speak to Chase."
Foreman shook his head. "We're all about to die together, and you're worried about being embarrassed by what you've got to say to Chase? Really, I think we're all about to become really intimate with each other."
Cameron looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please?" she asked.
Foreman shrugged. "Fine, whatever." He entered the room and left them alone in the cold basement hallway.
Chase and Cameron faced each other, and as Cameron opened her mouth to speak, Chase grabbed her head, pulled her to him, and kissed her violently. She returned that kiss fiercely, a voice in the back of her head telling her that this could be the last kiss she will ever have. His fingers dug into her hair, and her tongue slid into his mouth. She squeezed him against her body as hard as she could, needing to feel him against her for one last time.
She pulled away from him first, and looked deep into his eyes. "Chase, everything I said about not wanting to be with you – it," she paused, and he let her speak. "I was … I don't know what I wanted, but I couldn't really give myself to you emotionally. I wasn't ready to admit it, but I have to now. I love you."
He blinked, a slight smile spreading across his face. She reached up and brushed a single, perfect tear from his eye. "I love you," he said. "Like I've never loved anyone. I've been with a lot of women, but no one like you. God, I wish we had more time, I,"
The doors to the morgue shot open and House stood there glowering at them. "You're going to come back, you morons, there's no need for this melodrama. Chase, whatever she's telling you is nonsense. Everyone lies, especially when they're about to die. If you want to be all googly-eyed and kissy, kissy with her, wait until you're both back. Cameron, for the sake of humanity, stop dragging this out!"
Chase wore a horrified look, and Cameron was steaming with anger. "How dare you! You don't know what we're going through!"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm immortal, can't die, can't relate to your feelings, blah, blah, except, oh wait, I'M A DOCTOR! How many people have I told they were dying? And not just since I got to New Jersey, how about you consider the LIFETIMES I've been dealing with your kind. I'm pretty sure I know more about the emotional fluff you're dealing with than you do!"
Chase now looked more shocked than anything.
Cameron still glowered.
"And if it's such a bad thing, then think about how many billions of people are going to have to go through it too, unless you get in this damn room!"
Chase looked at Cameron. "He's right. Besides, we'll be back."
Cameron scowled at her Aussie love, but gave up and they walked hand in hand into the morgue.
Foreman rolled his eyes when he saw them, but said nothing. House made his way to the end of the corpse lockers and pulled a set of keys from his pockets. He unlocked three of the lockers and drew forth the metal slabs.
Cameron eyed him warily. "Why do you have access to morgue lockers?"
"I bribed somebody. You never know when you'd need something like this. I'll keep the three of you here so no one asks any questions. You have your cell phones?"
They all nodded.
"Good, check your reception. You're going to want to be able to page me when you come back, because it won't do us any good if you suffocate in there. I'm going to have to lock you in so that no one stumbles upon you accidently. Time acts differently in Hades, so it may only be a few hours of real time here, but in any case, I don't want any legal action taken against me for having my team killed."
They did as he asked and everyone's cell phones worked properly.
"Here," House pulled a trio of capsules from his pocket. "Cyanide pills. I got them from the pharmacy."
"Why would the pharmacy have cyanide?" asked Chase.
"Aren't you Mr. Asks-a lot-of questions? Just take the pill."
Cameron couldn't help but speak up. "Some forms of cyanide do have medical uses. Sodium nitroprusside, for instance, can be used in emergency medical situations to produce a rapid decrease in blood pressure. Vascular research also uses it as a vasodilator."
"Thank you Cameron, for reminding us that we were all medical students once, and have learned that valuable bit of information already," said House dryly. "To further tell you things you don't need to know, since you'll all be dead in just a second, the pills in your hands contain potassium cyanide. Once ingested, the cyanide will bind to the cytochrome within your cells. This will prevent the electron transport chain of the cell from functioning, preventing the cell from producing energy. Your central nervous system and heart are particularly prone to this disruption and will cease their operations, rendering you dead. Enjoy the experience; you will be joining Hitler, Rommel, and many other Nazis in the illustrious circle of people who have killed themselves with this little chemical. I always thought Chase hated the Jews."
The three exchanged looks and they all sat down on the steel slabs. "Oh! I almost forgot to give you this." House handed them another tablet. "This is hydroxocobalamin, the antidote to cyanide poisoning. When you get back, be sure to take it, as the cyanide will still be in your system. And if you think about chickening out and take it, remember that you'll be stuck in a metal box, and will suffocate, so either way, you die."
"Cheers," said Foreman, and swallowed his pill. Chase and Cameron exchanged nervous looks and then swallowed their own pills. Within moments they each collapsed, eyes wide open and tongues hanging limply from their mouths.
House closed his eyes tightly and let out a long breath. Meticulously he arranged their bodies to fit inside the lockers, arms folded across their chests. He then took from his pocket three gold coins the size of half-dollars and placed one under the tongue of each of them. And, because he had always thought it looked cool, he did the sign of the cross on each of them as well. He gave his team one final look over, and then one by one, slid them into the lockers and shut the doors.
"Good luck," he whispered and then vanished in a burst of light.
ooo
House reappeared in Cuddy's bedroom.
"HOUSE!" She screamed, grabbing for the sheets to cover herself, and falling off of a very sweaty and surprised Wilson.
"Reverse cowgirl. I'm impressed Cuddy, I always knew you were a tigress in the sack. And you know nobody works harder to please their lady than Wilson. Isn't that right buddy?"
Wilson sighed and pulled the sheets over his lower half and sat up.
"What in the hell are you doing here?!" screamed Cuddy, her face flushed and her hair matted to her. The air had a potent smell to it.
"Well, I was thinking of asking to join in, but no one has discovered a way to pull off double penetration without touching balls, and I think that's kind of gay." House gave his cane a twirl. "But no, I'm here because my team has committed suicide and I still have a patient, which means, I need a new team, and since you two are not preoccupied with anything important, I thought you would be happy to help me out."
Cuddy didn't know how to react to any of this and merely managed to blink and gap at him. Wilson was capable of speech, however.
"Your team committed suicide?!"
"Yes, they decided that the best way to stop Hades' plan was to go to his domain, steal the plans for his secret disease, discover a way to escape, return to life, and give me the solution to this whole thing, so that when Hades finally goes through with it, I can save the day with a miracle cure. Quite literally, since it'll be a miracle if they manage to pull this off."
They both stared at him in horror.
"And no, I didn't con them into this. They volunteered, even Foreman, which is really out of character of him, now that I think about it, because this is exactly the type of thing that he would say is completely insane and there's no way he'd go through with it." House shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, he's dead now."
Cuddy and Wilson continued to stare at him, speechless.
"Hello? Snap out of it! They're dead, ok! It's not like it'll be permanent. The plan calls for them to come back to life. Remember when I said that? Maybe twenty seconds ago?" he snapped his fingers at them.
Cuddy shook her head, trying to clear the shock from her system. "They're dead? They're really all dead? This was Cameron's idea, wasn't it?"
House nodded. "Nobody else would come up with something this stupid, yet heroically self-sacrificing."
"Why didn't you stop them?" Wilson shouted. "You're a doctor; you couldn't just stand by and let them die! And you're a god for Christ's sake, it's not like they kicked your cane out from under you!"
House sighed and looked away from the pair. "It was the only plan with any meager chance of success. The only other one I've got is to keep curing people in the hopes I'll accidently stumble upon what Hades will use." He paced a little bit and stared at the books on the shelf in the corner. "Which is where you lovebirds come in," he said, turning back to them. "I need you to be my team so that we can keep up the backup plan, just in case they don't make it back."
Wilson looked at Cuddy with an unhappy expression. "I'll get my clothes." Wilson swung out of bed and trooped off to the living room, carrying a pillow to cover his privates.
"Nice ass!" called House as Wilson walked past him.
Cuddy was still glaring at him. "Goddamn you House!" she said, throwing a pillow at him. "I was this close to having one of the best orgasms of my life, and you had to ruin it!"
House gave her a sad face. "Maybe the best a mere mortal can give, but trust me, us gods have the love-making field down to a science."
Cuddy growled at him, wrapped the sheets around her, and followed behind Wilson. She also made sure to keep the sheet high in the back.
"Oh come on!" said House. "Aren't you going to ask my how I just appeared in your room? Everyone has been asking me questions about everything I've done all day."
"I don't care House!" yelled Cuddy over her shoulder.
"It's one of your god-powers!" yelled Wilson who was pulling on a sock.
House continued to poke about Cuddy's bedroom, opening and closing drawers until he found her underwear which he began digging through. "This one's important! It explains every time I showed up at your house unexpectedly in the middle of the night to bother you. Did you really think I drove all the way out here? There usually wasn't any time for that."
"Shut up House!" came a unified cry from the living room.
House held up a leopard print thong and tilted his head to study it better. "I never appeared in your bedroom before because it would have made you suspicious. I only ever bothered to knock to keep up appearances. Same reason, even though I can teleport, I drive at all. Plus the motorcycle is pretty bitchin'. You should see the babes – "
"SHUT UP HOUSE!" they both yelled again, this time directly at him, as they were standing in the doorway completely dressed.
"And stop going through my underwear you pervert!" said Cuddy.
"I was just trying to determine if this was yours or Wilson's."
"We share. There, I said it, now can we please go back to the hospital so we can finish your case," said Wilson.
House rolled his eyes. "A little honesty is all I ask. Now come here, I'll teleport you back over there."
They grabbed his hands and in a flash they were gone.
