I know this is another short one but I wanted to get it out here and off my mind so I can keep going mentally. I own nothing, please R&R!
House's good leg was jumping nervously. Part of his brain was screaming at him that he shouldn't be here, and that part of his brain was probably right. Currently, he sat in a clinic room in a hospital in upstate New York, waiting for an appointment with one Lisa Cuddy.
He wasn't even sure she would actually come in, she may pawn him off on someone else. He thought, though, that being honest about his identity would make her curious enough to show up, if only to see why he dared seek her out. He had almost made the appointment under Wilson's name, but had changed his mind at the last moment. He needed her to pay attention.
Just as he was considering all of this, the door opened and Cuddy walked in, dark eyes reserved and suspicious. "House. Why are you here?" She asked after closing the door with a sharp snap. In response, he pointed to the file in her hand, which she glanced down at.
"Chest pain," she read off. "Now I know that's not true. What do you want, House?"
"Well first off, it is true. I am having chest pain. Right here," he said, placing his hand directly over his heart. Cuddy scoffed.
"Oh, God, don't even tell me this is you trying to win me-"
"And second, I need a consult."
Cuddy froze at those words, leveling her gaze at him, before taking the file he now held out to her. She took it, but did not open it. "You need a consult?" She asked in disbelief. "You, Greg House, diagnostic genius, need a consult, from me?" Sarcastic disbelief laced her tone heavily, and he simply nodded at her. She heaved a sigh and opened the file she'd been handed, glancing at the scans and information for approximately ten seconds before snapping it shut. "Is this a joke? My intern could figure this out. Now why the hell are you here?"
"Look at the name," He told her quietly. She gave him a strange look, and he met her eyes and nodded.
Somewhat reluctantly, she opened the folder again, this time looking at the name on the scans. "Wilson, James Ev…" she trailed off, and met his eyes once more, silently asking for an explanation.
"He's not satisfied with what the other doctors suggested. Already did a chemo regimen that nearly killed him."
Cuddy gave him a sad look. "House, I don't think there's anyth-"
"There has to be," House said in a desperate tone. "I know there is, but neither one of us can make that kind of a call. His ideas are too harsh and I'm too damned afraid of hurting him."
Cuddy gave him a disbelieving look. "Wait, are you actually admitting that you're too emotionally invested?" She asked in disbelief.
House knew he was letting his guard way down, and it made him uncomfortable, but sometimes it was necessary. He met her eyes for a moment before dropping his own, and nodding at the floor.
"Why come to me?" She asked.
The words escaped his mouth without his permission. "Because I trust you," he said softly. She stared at him, obviously not expecting him to be as open as he was being. If he kept letting his armor down, he swore he wouldn't be able to find it when he really needed to. Letting it down around Wilson was one thing, but Cuddy was a completely different story. But he hadn't been himself since Wilson had been diagnosed.
After a long moment, she nodded, obviously feeling bad for him. He hated pity more than anything, but if it got Wilson better, he'd swallow the lemon. "Why are you going so far for him?" She asked softly.
House figured he'd go for broke, maybe try to get some sort of amusement out of this fiasco, so he picked the answer that he knew she would interpret correctly. He met her eyes with his own, and in a sad, hopeless tone simply said, "because I can't live without him." And he had been right, he could almost see the puzzle piece fall into place in her mind. 'There,' he thought viciously, 'how does that feel, knowing I was in love with someone else?'
Her mouth had dropped open a bit, but she collected herself quickly. "Okay then," she said, clearly still surprised. "I have other patients to get to right now, but I'll give you a call later, just leave me your number," she said in a rush. He scrawled the proffered information on a scrap of paper, which she slipped into her pocket before hurrying out the door.
House took a deep, steadying breath as he got up. He'd done it. He finally had someone's help, and he wouldn't have to do this alone. Because this was one thing he just didn't think he could manage on his own. Wilson just meant too much to him.