Chapter 4:

Dr. Lisa Cuddy sat in her office doing her best to get through her emails so she could go home to her fiancé and daughter. Unfortunately the darn things kept coming and she began to feel like she would never get through them.

It didn't help that her mind kept wandering to her head of oncology lying in his private hospital room with his leg partially shredded.

It hurt to know that her friend was in a lot of pain and, with the exception of giving him more drugs, there was nothing she could do about it.

A knock sounded at her door, bringing her from her thoughts and her computer. "Come in."

A blonde woman in her forties and a teenager with long brunette hair entered. Both of their eyes were red though the teenager was making an effort to hold them in. "Dr. Cuddy?"

"Yes?"

"I am," she paused, "was Tucker's wife, Melissa. This is his daughter, Emily."

"Oh, I'm sorry, yes, please come in." Cuddy stepped forward and ushered them to the couch to sit down.

"I asked to see Dr. Wilson and the nurse told me to come see you," the woman explained though her sentence was more of a question.

"Yes, I'm sorry. Dr. Wilson isn't available right now but he told me to let him know when you arrived and he'd see you."

Melissa wrinkled her brows, "I'm sorry, I don't understand. You say that he isn't available but yet you say that you will take us to him."

Cuddy nodded her head, trying to figure out how best to explain without actually explaining. "Dr. Wilson was in an accident while on the same trip as your, ex-husband."

"Is he alright?"

"He had to have surgery on his leg but he's resting comfortably." She paused in her explanation, standing, "I'll take you to him if you like."

Confusion was still written on the woman's face but she reluctantly stood and followed Cuddy to Wilson's room.

Cuddy turned around, stopping short just before they reached the room, "Wait here. I'm going to wake him and let him know you're here."

Melissa nodded, her face a mask of grief, confusion and dumbfounded.

Wilson lay on the bed, restlessly sleeping. His body twitched and his face creased in pain, his hands clenching the blankets furiously.

"Wilson," she called lightly.

Wilson jerked awake, brown eyes looking around for whoever called his name. "Cuddy?"

"Tucker's family is here," she said as her brows wrinkled in concern.

Wilson raised himself in the bed, groaning with the movement. His leg burned with throbbing pain, sending shards of it stabbing throughout his entire leg. "Go ahead and send them in."

"Do you want some pain relief first?" she asked hoping to God that he did.

Wilson nodded, "Just to take the edge off."

She wanted to do so much more than "take the edge off" but she respected his wishes and did as he asked. She waited until he relaxed a little before she asked, "Do you want me to get you some ice?"

"Is there a t-shirt around here somewhere? Maybe some pants that would fit over, that," he said pointing towards his heavily bandaged leg.

"Wilson, they aren't going to care what you're wearing. They know you've had surgery."

Wilson's eyes sharpened on hers, "What did you tell them?"

"That you were involved in an accident and had to have surgery on your leg. I didn't tell them anything specific. I left that up to you if you wanted to." Cuddy answered softly. Despite medical knowledge, she looked around the room for clothing rather than the gown that Wilson currently occupied.

She found a set of scrubs and brought them over to her friend. "Do you want me to help or would you rather that I get someone?"

"If you don't mind," Wilson said, figuring it was easier just to have her do it.

"Bottom to top?" She asked as she moved down to his feet. She'd grabbed a bottom set that would easily fit two of him since she knew that a normal pair wouldn't fit over his injured leg.

Bracing himself for what he needed to do and how much it would more than likely hurt, Wilson nodded.

Cuddy slipped the pants partially over Wilson's good leg before she gently lifted his injured one and slipped the other leg through as quickly as she could. She worked hard to ignore Wilson's gasp and groan of pain when she lifted the leg and worked harder still to pretend indifference to his quiet whimpers and the sweat forming on his brow the longer she kept it raised or moved it.

"Okay, ready for the shirt?" She asked, hoping to convey her apologies with her eyes.

Wilson nodded unable to say anything right now while he waited for the agony in his leg to calm to tolerably excruciating.

She snapped the buttons of his gown and slipped it off then slipped the top scrub over his head and turned around to toss the gown in a bin while he finished dressing. "Are you sure you don't want an ice pack?"

"Now that you mention it," Wilson answered tiredly, "that sounds fantastic."

Cuddy smiled then nodded. "Do you want me to send them in while I get it?"

Wilson leaned his head back against a pillow. It was really surprising how much energy it took to get dressed! "Yeah," he replied, not wholly certain that he was ready, "go ahead and send them in. Thanks Cuddy."

Cuddy offered a nod before exiting.

"Is he alright? We heard him groaning."

The Dean of Medicine turned towards the woman after requesting that a nurse get an ice pack for Wilson, "He'll be okay. He wanted to get dressed for your arrival."

The nurse had placed an ice pack in her hands while she was talking so when she finished, Cuddy turned on her heel and went back in to Wilson's room. The woman and her daughter followed, albeit hesitantly, behind.

Cuddy saw, with amazement, how Wilson's face went from pure exhaustion to chipper in milliseconds.

"Melissa," Wilson called out while holding out his hand for her to grab, "I'm so sorry about Tucker."

Melissa walked over to Wilson, grabbed his hand and leaned in for a gentle hung. She pulled back, tears streaming down her beautiful cheeks. "I didn't even know he was sick?"

"We didn't know what was wrong when he came in. Dr. House figured it out a couple of days ago. I didn't know he hadn't called you," Wilson replied almost apologetically.

"I know, it's okay. Besides, I hear you were quite busy yourself," Melissa said, a small spark of humor lighting her eyes.

"Yeah, what happened?" Emily spoke up, curiosity nudging her along.

Wilson sat quietly, wondering what all to tell them. "I broke my leg while running in the forest."

"Why do I sense that there's more to it than that?" Melissa asked slyly.

"Probably from spending a lot of time around doctors," Wilson laughed warmly, hoping he hid the wince behind it. When Emily's face wrinkled in concern, he guessed he hadn't done so well a job.

"Jim," Melissa said, half pleading to hear the truth.

"I stepped in a bear trap while trying to get to Tucker. The Leukemia was in his brain and had hit a part that controlled his arm – it had been paralyzed and he was scared. I didn't even see the trap until after it had clamped on." Wilson explained quickly, offering smiles often in an effort to soothe.

Melissa gasped, horrified. "Is your leg alright?" She knew the amount of damage a trap like that could do and she worried for her friend. When she saw a sadness pool in Wilson's brown eyes, she had her answer.

"Alright enough," he answered knowing that she'd seen close to the truth.

"Which means no," Emily said as she walked closer to his bed.

Wilson offered a tired, pained smirk. The girl was just as sharp as her mother. "I may not be able to run a track," he said giving Emily a warm smile, "but I'll still be able to walk which was the main worry."

He shifted again to try to get comfortable. He'd done his best not to move his leg but it hadn't worked and eventually he'd ended up turning it slightly, dumping the ice pack and sending white hot pokers of pain searing through his leg. He hissed and grimaced when the pain registered in his nerves.

Emily, having been closest to the ice pack, grabbed the fallen ice pack and gently placed it back on top of the hurting limb.

She hadn't been as close to her father's oncologist as her mother had, she never needed to. He'd grown close to the family during her father's illness, often providing a comforting shoulder or a willing ear when her mother needed it. He tried to help her as well but being a child, she didn't fully understand what was going on and therefore didn't feel that she needed it.

Dr. Wilson had come to Thanksgiving Dinner and sometimes Christmas Dinner as well, helping to grow closer to her family as a whole. He'd helped support her mother both financially and emotionally through the separation and eventually the divorce when it had happened.

Emily had often thought of him as more her mother's friend than her father's. She knew him as a kind, decent, sweet man and it saddened her to see him in this much pain.

Melissa also saw that he was in a lot of pain despite acting like he wasn't and it hurt. "Should I get a nurse? It looks like you could use something for the pain."

"I'll be okay in a bit," Wilson assured her with a slight smile. Weariness was pulling on him, urging him to go to sleep and it was getting harder and harder to fight.

Melissa gave a soft snort. "I'll let them know on our way out," she assured, giving his arm a slight pat.

"You're leaving?" Wilson asked, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Yeah, you need the rest and we have some arrangements to make before we head home. Call me and let me know how you're doing," she instructed softly. "Did you want me to call you and let you know about the funeral?"

"Yes, please. I'd like to be there." Wilson said earnestly. Yes Tucker had shown his true colors but that didn't mean that Wilson shouldn't be there to pay his respects – even if Tucker didn't have any.

Melissa spared a quick look at his bandaged leg, "Would you be able to get around?"

"One way or another," Wilson answered, his eyes open to slits.

Melissa bent down and gave a soft kiss on his forehead while Emily had given his hand a squeeze good bye. "Sleep well. I hope you heal quickly," Melissa said as she and her daughter made their way to the door.

"See you later Melissa. Bye Emily. Thanks for the help." Wilson greeted shortly before falling into a deep, pain free sleep.

Cuddy sat on a bench outside Wilson's room, waiting for the pair to come out.

Melissa and her daughter walked up to her, sad smiles on their faces. "I think he needs some pain medication," Melissa told her.

"I'll make sure he gets it," Cuddy assured her.

"He said that he'd gotten his leg caught in a bear trap. Will he regain full use of his leg?" The blond woman asked, concern in her eyes and voice though her body radiated strength.

Cuddy gave a quick look at Wilson's room then at the teenage girl. She let out a heavy sigh. "He will end up having to use a cane, like Dr. House, in order to get around but essentially yes."

Melissa knew of Dr. House by reputation (via Jim) alone. She knew that he needed a cane to get around because his right leg couldn't hold him. She also knew that he was in pain daily, a lot of pain. "Will he be in pain every day like Dr. House?"

"It won't be as extreme, but yes." Cuddy answered honestly. She saw the concern go deeper in the other woman and felt the need to assure her. "But I think that will only be when he's forced to be on his leg a lot which won't be as much as he is normally."

"You're going to cut his patients?" Melissa asked curiously.

Cuddy smiled, "No, he's going to learn how to delegate."

Both Emily and Melissa laughed at her joke. "Well," Melissa began after she'd calmed down, "we'd better go. Thank you for being honest with us. I'd managed to get the truth about what happened but he was vague on the prognosis."

"He probably didn't want you to worry," Cuddy admitted with an adoring look in her eyes. "Have a good night."

Melissa gave a nod of acknowledgement then gathered her daughter and left.

Cuddy watched them go with the feeling that she could be friends with that woman. She waited a few more minutes before she quietly made her way into Wilson's room, sitting down in the hard chair by his bedside.

She studied him for a few minutes before she pulled out a syringe of the rest of the dose of pain meds and administered it. She brushed a few hairs off his forehead before she bent down and gave him a sisterly kiss then walked out.

A part of her wanted to stay with him and make sure that he didn't wake up in pain or alone but she knew she couldn't. She did have a fiancé and a daughter waiting for her after all.

Thanks for the reviews so far. Please keep them coming - I really appreciate them!

I'm so glad that I have described how Wilson's feeling with accuracy. I always worry that I won't since I'm absolutely clueless as to how my character's feeling.

Cookie - Me too! I love protective!House. Caring!House and protective!House are my favorite ways to write him. :) Not very IC but oh well.