Different kinds of Pain

Chapter 3: Waiting

By Candy aka Solarsun

Disclaimer: Is it weird to wish you were dating a man twice your age and is a fictional character? I thought so...anyway I don't own House.

A knock on the door always came when he was with a patient. Sometimes the oncologist wondered if it was some sorta curse that he'd have to live with for the rest of his doctor career. Glancing up he saw a familiar ER doctor poke her head into his door noticing he was with one of his patients.

"Sorry Dr. Wilson, I'll come back another time," She said quietly gazing toward the woman sitting in the chair across from him.

"It's quit alright," Wilson said standing up. "We were just finishing up anyway." Cameron's eyes gazed at the woman for a moment, taking in the fact she had looked like she was crying just a few moments ago. The woman in question stood and walked out the door, stopping for a moment and giving Wilson a quick hug.

"I don't know what I'd be doing now if I didn't have a Oncologist as nice as you," She wept then walked out the door past Cameron, paying her no mind. His eyes settled on the ER doctor once more as she stepped further into his office closing the door behind her.

"Miss Cameron, it's a rare thing indeed when you come to visit," Wilson said motioning toward the now empty chair by his desk. "And I'm sure it's not just a friendly visit either."

Shaking her head she took the chair for the moment gazing up at Wilson who looked like he had seen better days. Of course the oncologist had seen better days. It wasn't a normal thing to have your current love of your life die and someone you considered a best friend laying in the intensive care unite only to be ignoring him. Cameron could understand why Wilson was avoiding that area of the hospital but it wasn't helping either of them.

"You're here about House, aren't you?" Wilson then broke breaking her thought process walking to his side of the desk and sitting down looking at the younger coworker fully. She didn't seem to be taking this whole situation very well either.

She also noticed the rings around his eyes and how puffy and red they were. Wilson had always been House's emotional support, she understood. Where House was logical and about numbers Wilson was emotional and thought about the patient. It was their friendship, she realized early on, that made both of them good doctors.

And it was their friendship now that would have to get both of them out of what was going on.

If, that is, there was any friendship left after it had all settled down.

"You should have taken a few weeks off," Cameron began. "I know I'm not Cuddy and I'm not House and we're only really associates because of House but with what happened a few days ago…" She started to explain.

"I cannot undo," Wilson said taking a deep breath. "I know you're concerned for your ex-boss and you should very well be but people grieve in different ways. My line of work I see the angry and I also see the oddly happy. This is my way of grieving for everything that has happened."

"…by ignoring it? That's what you're trying to do. Yes I agree with you on how different people grieve differently. Working with House I also saw a wide range of habits different people pick up to deal with life BUT most of them would take at least a week off to work through all this before coming back to a job that in itself is very stressful." Cameron leaned forward on his desk then quietly adding, "Why haven't you visited him yet?"

A look of sadness filled his face as he gazed down at his hands quietly taking in the abruptness of the question. He had known that she was here to ask that. He had been wondering when someone would come out and ask him that question. Wilson had figured it would have been Cuddy to be the one to ask it. After all, Wilson figured, that the only reason Cuddy was allowing him to work right now is for emotional support for the man laying in the Intensive Care unite. She had been against him coming back so soon, calling him a 'mini-house' as a joke.

Again, he knew that this was the exact same thing House would have done, and had done, to ignore the painful reality that was settling upon his shoulders.

"…that is…difficult to explain…" He said slowly taking a few more deep breaths only staring at his hands.

"He needs you." Cameron said sounding so surely of herself.

"He needs to stop his self destructive behavior," Wilson quickly snapped back at her, not meaning to actually say what was on his mind. "I mean…"

There was a look of shock on her face now that settled into a sad pitied expression, but she never looked away from him, which bothered Wilson greatly. He didn't want those eyes on him anymore then they had been with the nursing staff that had heard through the grape vine what had happened and with Cuddy who had come to talk to him right after it had happened.

"I know what you mean," Cameron said quietly. "You out of all the people here know him best, and at the same time I don't think you know him very well either. Once you realize a few things about him, he's easy to read. You're the more difficult of you two to read."

That statement Wilson never thought he would hear in his life shut his mouth instantly as he was about to say something. The look of shock was now all over his face.

"..how…how can you say that?" Wilson then stammered out. "He is the most difficult doctor to get along with in this hospital…no probably this entire state. Every hospital in a 100 mile radius knows the name Gregory House! Cuddy was thought to be insane for defending that man time and time again."

"The same man you defended risking your job," Cameron said quietly. "I know things between you probably won't be the same after this. No matter what the friendship was before a tragic event like this it would be shaken afterward. You're blaming him for her death, at least partially, because maybe he is partially to blame for her death BUT you also need him like he needs you."

"House doesn't need anybody…" Wilson tried to explain away. "He said so himself."

"Everybody lies, even the great Gregory House," Cameron said standing up. "It is something that came from his mouth time and time again and has been proven time and time again. I found it shocking when he proved it to me almost every case we worked on and it made me depressed but what I did learn with working with House is that yes 'everybody does lie' but it's our actions that count."

"Then his actions killed Amber and he has to account for them!" Wilson stood up not wanting to hear this anymore! He wanted to hate House right now! It was better to deal with House this way then to have to deal with a best friend in intensive care and his love dead being prepped for burial.

The outburst from Wilson startled Cameron as she stepped back giving the grieving man some space. Tears were pouring down his face now as he took his hand and wiped them quickly trying to regain control over his emotions. It made her heart want to break for the man who was in the middle of this all.

Taking a deep breath Cameron walked over next to the oncologist and put her hand on his shoulders bringing him into a hug.

It shook him a little but he didn't fight the hug and returned it slowly.

After a little bit Cameron pulled away from him, a very serious look on her features as she finally saw what Wilson had been dealing with.

"You need to take a few days off," She said quietly. "And you need to visit House before you leave this hospital now. I do understand why you want to feel this way but if you don't say something to him you'll end up loosing him as well."

"He's not…" Wilson began trying to excuse his way out of the situation.

"He's awake and from what Foreman told me he asked if you had visited. He's too stubborn to say anything outright, you know that, but he wants to know that you don't hate him." She said turning toward the door. "You are the only person that could be considered a friend of his and he needs you."

With that last statement Cameron walked quietly out of his office leaving a shell shocked Wilson standing there unsure of anything anymore.

That woman said that House only considered him a friend but would just anybody come risk their job for House like she just did?

Sitting back down Wilson looked over his calendar for that day and sighed rubbing a few more tears from his eyes. Picking up the phone he called his receptionist and asked her to cancel or reschedule all of his appointments for the next week. Cameron was right about giving himself time to grieve over all this. She seemed to be right about a lot of things.

If she was right about this, then if Wilson didn't act soon, she could be right about him loosing House. He didn't know what to do still though. There was a part of him that wanted to hate him for a while but another part of him that told him that if he didn't do something soon that there would be another grave in that cemetery that he would have to visit.

House was a very broken man, and like Cameron had said, once you realize that about him he was easy as a three year old to read. Both Cameron and he knew that House wouldn't come to him for forgiveness either. That man would try and walk away from it like he did his first marriage.

Though it won't be necessarily walking but a body bag that House would be leaving in.

So he'd have to somehow be the better man, like time and time again. It seemed like this was all some sorta waiting game with him. Everybody around House was waiting for the day when the man would finally ask for help.

Would finally wake up and realize what was going on around him.

The day of House would be reborn.

And Wilson, like many others of the hospital staff, had been waiting to see what House would become in his rebirth….

A Corpse

…or a Phoenix?

: - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : - : -

(authors notes)

And another chapter done in 2 days. If I keep this up my other fanfictions will be jealous! In the little time between chapter 1 and 2 I want to thank i luv ewansmile for their review! I'm trying hard to keep them in character, so very hard.

I also never realized how active House fanfiction was on till I started writing/reading it there. It's crazy!

Anyway please review before you go and as always thanks for taking the time to read one of my stories.