Present…
He wakes you up at 2am calling your name.
"Jimmy….Jimmy…." His voice is soft and cracking and you could almost believe that you two are back in the apartment and he's calling out to you with a completely different kind of need. But that dream fades as he continues to call to you, each one more desperate. "Jimmy help!...it hurts, it hurts so bad!" You're up quickly and at his side.
"Where Greg, where does it hurt?"
"My leg. Please Jimmy." You hurry over to the other side of the bed and start to massage his thigh like you used to with his bad leg.
"No Jimmy," He grabs your hand to stop you. "My other leg." Your body freezes as you stare at the empty side. Phantom pains. House still thinks that he feels pain in a limb he no longer has.
"Don't just stand there Jimmy. I need you." But you can't move. How are you supposed to help him? Your mouth opens and closes as you try to find the words to tell him that the pain really is in his head. But instead you just stand there looking like a fish.
"Here House, this should help the pain." You look up to find Cuddy on the other side of the bed, pushing meds into his IV. His eyes flutter closed and his mummers of help die on his lips. Lisa comes around to you and takes your hands off his remaining leg. "Its okay, James."
"I…he…his leg…he didn't…"
"I know. Unfortunately it's only the beginning. It'll get worse once he knows that it's gone." She can see the question in your eyes and answers. "It had to be done. He would have died if we hadn't." She's told you that five times since the surgery, but it doesn't help, especially not now.