SCENE 1:
"Those bastards!" House shouted after Cuddy told him what happened to Rachel during the inpatient program. "Those fucking bastards. I am going to drive down there and shove my cane where the sun don't shine!"
"House, getting into a fight with the hospital isn't going to accomplish a thing except maybe getting you thrown in jail" Cuddy told him. "If you truly want to help, I need you to talk with Rachel and help her get through this while I take care of all the legal stuff. Can you do that for me?"
"What's in it for me?" House slyly asked.
"Why do you have to be so obstinate about everything? I mean, come on! We both know you love Rachel!"
"Because it's more fun this way. I love annoying you."
"Well you've succeeded, so you can stop now" Cuddy said, shaking her head. "Anyway, she's in her room now. Get going!" So House headed to Rachel's room and knocked on her door. When he didn't hear a response, he barged right in.
House felt stomach acid climb up into the back of his throat. Thank God he walked in when he did. Rachel was lying in the middle of her floor having a full-fledged seizure.
"Cuddy!" House called out. "Cuddy! Get the hell in here now!" he screamed even louder, the sense of urgency evident in his voice. Cuddy came running down the hall.
"What's going on?" Cuddy asked as she reached the bedroom door.
"She's seizing" House stated. "Call 911!" Cuddy immediately pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and called. Meanwhile, House kneeled down next to Rachel and placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to steady her. His thigh protested in agony, but he ignored it.
"They'll be here within ten minutes" Cuddy told House after hanging up. She too then kneeled down next to Rachel, but on the opposite side. "Rachel, sweetie. Listen to me. You're going to be just fine. I promise!" Tears were falling down Cuddy's face at this point. She was terrified that she was going to lose her only daughter. She couldn't let that happen. No! She wouldn't let that happen.
After about a minute, Rachel's tremors began to slow down and then stopped all together. Five minutes after that, the ambulance arrived and the paramedics put Rachel on a stretcher and carried her into the back. Cuddy went in after her and House followed close behind on his motorcycle. While in transit, Rachel's eyes fluttered as she slowly came to.
"What…what happened?" Rachel asked as she placed her hand on her aching forehead and attempted to sit up. Cuddy immediately looked up, a smile appearing on her face.
"Rachel, honey, you had a seizure. We're on our way to the hospital." Rachel tensed up when she heard that. "Don't worry, we're not going anywhere near the Psych Ward" Cuddy assured her. "Plus I'll be with you the entire time. I promise."
"I don't know what happened" Rachel told Cuddy. "I was sitting on my bed and suddenly I felt myself go crashing into the floor before everything went black. I can't even control my own body anymore!" Tears began to fall down her face. "I'm so scared. What if I never get better? Am I going to die? I'm not ready for…"
"Shh, calm down, Rachel" Cuddy said as she walked over and placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder. "We're not even at the hospital yet. Let's not make any assumptions until we hear what the doctor has to say, ok?" Rachel nodded as she wiped away her tears.
"Ok, mommy. I'll try my best to stay positive!" Cuddy smiled.
"That's all I ask!"
SCENE 2:
House arrived at the hospital, parked his motorcycle in a handicapped spot and sprinted into the lobby. "Where's Rachel Cuddy?" he yelled at the receptionist.
"Doctor House, you need to calm down!"
"Don't you dare fucking tell me to calm down! This is my daughter that's in the hospital. Now tell me where she is, God Damn it!"
"Doctor House, please, you really need…"
"That's it! Since you're too incompetent to do your job, I'll find her myself!" He went on the other side of the desk, pushed the woman aside and began to type something into the computer.
"Doctor House, you can't do that!" she said, but House ignored her. Once he was logged into the nurses' log, he saw that Rachel had just been assigned a bed in the ER and was still waiting to be seen by a doctor. House brushed past the woman and headed over to the ER.
"House, what are you doing here? I thought you were off today." Cameron asked him, once he had arrived there.
"Which bed is Rachel in?" he yelled at her. However, unlike the receptionist, Cameron wasn't fazed at all by his yelling.
"You mean Cuddy's daughter?"
"Our daughter!" House yelled. "Get that through that pretty little head of yours!"
"Hold on a sec. Let me check" Cameron said as she flipped through the papers on her clipboard. "She's in Level 1 of Critical Care, bed 3." House began to walk away.
"I don't even get a thank you" Cameron called out after him. House turned around and made eye contact with her.
"Thank you for doing the job that you're already being paid to do" House said in a sarcastic tone. He then turned around and headed over to where Rachel was.
SCENE 3:
Cuddy was sitting by Rachel's bedside, checking her cell, when House came strolling in. "Where is she?" Cuddy looked up.
"They took to get a CT scan done a couple of minutes ago. The scan itself should take about 15 minutes and then it'll be about another hour or so after that until we receive the results" Cuddy explained. "For now, though, they gave her some anti-seizure medication just to stop the seizures until they can get a proper diagnosis." House simply nodded and took a seat next to her. "I can't help but to think," Cuddy continued, "if you hadn't walked in when you did, she might…well, she might be dead right now. I can't lose my daughter, House." Tears began to fall down her face.
"Get a hold of yourself, Cuddy! She's here now and she's going to be just fine. So stop getting upset over what could have been!" House told her.
"I know, but I care about her so much. I can't stand the thought of losing her." House was about to respond when a doctor walked into the room.
"Are you the parents of Rachel Cuddy?"
"Yes we are" Cuddy responded.
"I just wanted to update you on your daughter's condition. I see in Rachel's records that she has recently undergone deep brain stimulation for her psychosis. Due to that, we couldn't perform the CT scan, but were able to get an X-ray. It appears that the device has shifted and that's what is causing her sudden onset of seizures."
"Wait! What device?" Cuddy sternly questioned.
"For the DBS, the doctor cut open her skull, made an incision in her brain and planted a device there in order to help manage her Bipolar Disorder." Cuddy turned white as a ghost.
"You mean that these psychos cut into her brain and stuck an electrode in there? That's it! I'm paying the 9th floor a little visit!" House got up and started to walk away when Cuddy grabbed his arm and sat him back down.
"So, what's the treatment plan?" Cuddy asked the doctor.
"The only thing we can do is surgically remove the device."
"No!" Cuddy adamantly stated. "I am not having my daughter undergo a second brain operation.
"If we don't do this and the device shifts and tears a vein or an artery, she can very well die." Cuddy took a deep breath, desperately trying to hold back tears. "When do we have to let you know by?"
"I'll bring Rachel back and then I'll give the three of you an hour to decide." The doctor then turned around and walked away.
SCENE 4:
"No!" Rachel said. "I don't want to go through that again!" Cuddy got up and put her hand on Rachel's shoulder.
"Rachel, I am so sorry you even had to go through that in the first place. It must have been terrifying and I can understand you not wanting to go through that again. However, if you don't get this surgery done, the doctor said that you could very well die." Cuddy's eyes started to tear up at that point. "And I don't want to lose you. Please do it!"
"I don't know" Rachel muttered. "What if something goes wrong and I never wake up?" Cuddy sighed.
"What if your device shifts further and you get a brain aneurism?"
"What's that?" Rachel asked, tilting her head like she always did when she was curious about something.
"It's where an artery in your head gets torn and you bleed into your brain and skull. It's very deadly, Rachel, and there's a much higher risk of that happening than you experiencing a complication from the surgery, even a minor one." Rachel thought for a moment.
"You sure about this?"
"Positive!" Cuddy responded. Rachel took a deep breath.
"Ok, I'll do it" she said, her voice shaky.
"Great! I'll go let the doctor know" Cuddy said, getting up and walking away. Rachel looked over to House.
"House, do you think I made the right decision?" Rachel asked him. He looked up, startled that she was asking him such a deep and personal question. He wasn't sure how to answer that, so he did what he always did when he wasn't sure what to do or say.
"Of course! This beats creepy hallucinations, seizures and exploding blood vessels in your head any day of the week . We wouldn't want your brain to turn into mush, now would we?" House joked.
"I'm serious, House!"
"Fine, you made the right decision. Happy now!" Rachel sat up and looked him straight in the eye.
"You sure about that?"
"Positive" he responded.
"Were you scared when you had to get surgery on your leg after the accident?" House felt a lump in his throat. How did Rachel know about the accident and how much did she know? He thought back to Stacy and how she had unrightfully authorized the removal his thigh muscle while he was in a medically induced coma. He had never forgiven her for that. He also remembered the role Cuddy played, but wasn't about to say anything to Rachel in case she didn't know about that. The last thing he wanted to do was taint the image of her mother, especially during such a critical time.
"Well, were you?" Rachel asked again, breaking his thoughts. Before House could answer, Cuddy walked back in.
"Thank God you're here" he exclaimed. "I've got to go. See you guys later on!"
"House wait!" Cuddy called out. House stopped and turned around. "The surgery is scheduled for 3pm this afternoon and the prep starts at 1pm. It should be about 2 hours long. I hope to see you both before and after the surgery!" Cuddy said with a stern look upon her face.
"Of course, Cuddles!" House said as he quickly walked away.
SCENE 5:
"She asked me about my leg" House told Cuddy while Rachel was in surgery. "She asked me if I was scared about my leg surgery after the accident. Now how would she know about it unless you told her?" House pressed. "And exactly how much did you tell her? I want to know!" Cuddy sighed.
"She doesn't know any of the details" Cuddy assured House. "When she was eight, she found a photo of you and asked who it was. I told her that you used to work for me. She then asked about the cane and I said that you had hurt her leg. Now being the curious child that she is, she demanded to know what happened to your leg. I didn't want to say anything, but she wouldn't let the subject go. Finally I just said that you were in an accident and had to have surgery. I told her that the surgeons were able to save the leg, but that you still walked with a limp and thus needed the aid of a cane. I swear, House, that's all I said. She doesn't know about Stacy or my involvement in it or even what kind of an accident it was. For all I know, she thinks it was a car accident and…"
"Cuddy, stop talking already!" House interjected. "Do you always ramble endlessly when you feel guilty about something? Because it seems to me that either you're trying to defend yourself or you're begging for forgiveness. Either way, I don't need a novel of an answer."
"You said you wanted to know, so I told you" Cuddy mumbled as she turned her back to House. "Not everything is meant to be read in between the lines because sometimes there's nothing more to be read" Cuddy added before she sat down and buried her face in her hands. It was then that House knew that he had hurt her, really hurt her.
"Cuddy, I'm sorry!" House said as he sat down next to her. "I wasn't thinking. It just slipped out." Cuddy glanced up at him, but didn't say a word.
"That's your problem. You never think about the consequences. You just do whatever you please and leave the rest of us to clean up your damn mess. I'm tired of it, House. I have no fight left in me. I just can't do this anymore!" Her hands began to tremble. House took one hand in his and began to stroke it lightly.
"I can't think about the consequences because they're always bad and because I fail at everything I do. Ok? Then I met you and I realized that I finally did something right. But all I've ever done is ruined your life. I'm sorry."
"You know that's not true" Cuddy said, shocked by this sudden confession of his. "I'm upset with the situation, not with you. I have a short-fuse when I'm stressed. I guess our character flaws mix like oil and water" she added with a quick chuckle. "Though, you are not a failure and I want you in my life. I want you in Rachel's life. Ok?" She looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
"You'll get tired of me and my ways" House said. "I know it. As much as I want to be with you, I know you'll be better off without me."
"Wait? Are you breaking up with me?" Cuddy asked, feeling deeply hurt.
"I don't want to"
"But…" Cuddy interjected.
"I've already screwed things up and I'm going to keep screwing things up. You like both order and discipline in your life. I fit neither label."
"House, if I wait for the ideal man to come, I'll be waiting my whole life. Yes, you've made some pretty bad mistakes, but so have I. So has Rachel. Everybody has. Ok? It's up to you, but I want you to be a permanent addition in my life."
"You really mean it?"
"I do" Cuddy responded with a smile. House leaned in and gave Cuddy a kiss. She leaned in, deepening the kiss. Finally, they pulled apart. Not even two minutes after sitting down, a doctor came rushing out of the OR.
"Dr. House, Dr. Cuddy, I need to speak with you for a moment."
"What's going on?" Cuddy asked, quickly standing up and walking over to the doctor.
"I'm afraid there's been a complication."