House tossed and turned most of the night, his mind not allowing him to sleep. How was she? Was she awake now? Was anyone going to keep him updated on her condition? He let out a sigh as he realized that he may have outlived his usefulness. he was nothing but trouble to her and anyone that he cared about, and maybe it was best if they all just forgot about him. But still...he needed to know that Cuddy was all right.

"Time for breakfast." a guard announced at his cell door.

"Not hungry."

"Don't make trouble."

"And how exactly is my lack of appetite making any trouble for you?" House snapped.

"Let's go."

House opened his mouth to continue the banter, but then stopped short. Suddenly, he was hit with the realization that he just didn't have it in him anymore. He had lost everything that mattered to him, and the fight that used to boil inside of him was gone. He threw up his hands in mock surrender and silently followed the line of prisoners heading to the chow line.

Foreman had a lot of arrangements to make before he could just leave Princeton Plainsboro. He knew there was also a distinct possiblity that he wasn't coming back, at least not to this job. How had he allowed himself to get into this mess, he would never know. Usually he was almost robotically logical about things, not letting emotions getting in the way. Yet he had basically risked his career for two of his former bosses. As he tossed the last shirt into the suitcase, he smiled and shook his head. It was time to admit they were not just bosses, but friends.

It was almost afternoon before he finally found his way to the hospital. He had tried to make phone contact with Dr. Ramsey, but he had refused to take his calls, probably since he was ordered off the case. He was, however, able to keep up on her condition through the nurses and the on call doctor. When he walked into Cuddy's room, he was met with a rather agitated Arlene Cuddy.

"Where the hell have you been?"

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, "All things considered, I had to get some things in order. Not sure what's going to happen now."

Arlene looked at him and her facial expression softened. She clearly got the message in between the lines.

"And I'm sorry that I got you into this. I should have known this wouldn't end well, but I thought I was doing the right thing."

Foreman crossed the room and picked up the chart at the foot of the bed. This wasn't the time to discuss any of this. He looked up to see that Cuddy's eyes were fluttering open and closed, as if she was trying to fight sleep. She was also coughing a bit, as if fighting the ventilator. He reached down and untied the wrist restraints.

"Was she combative when she woke up?"

"Somewhat. House had her calmed down and then the police came in and took him away..."

"Let's not talk about that right now." he said, quickly cutting her off. "Has she made any effort to communicate?"

"Not really, but they've had her so doped up she's hardly been awake. That can't be good, right? I thought the idea was to get her off the drugs and wake her up?"

"I called in before I left PPTH. Had them stop the sedatives, so she should be coming around by now."

She made eye contact with him, but there was no indication that she recognized him. She moved her fingers a bit, as if trying to work the stiffness out, and it gave him hope that maybe she was somewhat coherent.

"Cuddy, can you hear me? Do you know where you are?"

The lack of response was upsetting to Arlene.

"Oh how do you expect her to answer you with that tube down her throat!"

"Well if you hadn't fired her doctor, he probably would have taken it out by now." he remarked, pressing the call button for the nurse. "She's fighting it, a sign that she's ready to breathe on her own."

Foreman rolled up his sleeves and moved closer to the head of the bed. He heard the nurse come up behind him.

"Something you need, Dr. Foreman?"

"I'm going to take her off the ventilator now."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? Dr. Ramseys' orders were to..."

"I didn't call you in here for a second opinion! Just be ready in case we need to intubate her again."

" Of course." she stammered, "I'm sorry."

Foreman took a deep breath, readying himself to remove the tube. This was a procedure that he had done so many times before, yet never had he felt like he had so much riding on it. Never had it been someone that really mattered to him. The anxiousness in Cuddy's eyes brought him out of his thoughts, and he reached for the tube. She was getting restless.

"Ok, you know the drill right? I'm going to pull this, and you're going to cough. Just try to relax."

He thought there was understanding in her eyes, but he wasn't sure if it was just wishful thinking. Slowly he removed the tube as she coughed and gagged. After the initial discomfort, she seemed to calm down and breathe on her own. A glance at the monitors told him that so far, all was well.

"Lisa," Arlene whispered, leaning in, "Lisa, it's Mom. Can you hear me?"

They noticed it at the same time. Just a slight nod of affirmation, but they both let out a loud sigh of relief. Clearly, she wasn't in any way out of the woods, but it was an encouraging sign. Foreman took a small light out of his pocket, shining it briefly in each of her eyes, testing the reaction.

Cuddy raised a hand to her forehead, feeling the bandage covering the wounds. Her eyes took in the room around her, and she seemed to be trying to make sense of it. She glanced at Foreman and back to her mother, when suddenly her eyes widened. She appeared to be trying to speak, but couldn't form the words.

"Nurse," Foreman said "Please get her some ice chips."

"Don't try to talk, dear, just take it easy for now." Arlene said, reaching up to brush a hair out of her daughter's eyes. "I'm just glad you came back to us."

Cuddy was clearly anxious at her inability to get out the words that she so desperately wanted to speak.

"You need to calm down, and I'll try to explain what's going on." he reassured her. "There was a car accident. You had had a head injury, and they had to do surgery for a bleed in the brain. Do you understand?"

Once again, she nodded, but the explanation didn't seem to do much to calm her.

"If you're worried about Rachel, she's fine."

As soon as Arlene said it, she regretted it. While she wanted to reassure her about Rachel, she definitely didn't want to do anything to make her remember Julia right now. It was obvious that she was upset enough as it was.

The nurse brought in the cup of ice chips, and Arlene tried to put it up to her daughter's lips. Instead, Cuddy pushed it away, forcefully, sending it flying part way across the room. The quick movement caused her to moan in pain, as she quickly became aware of the fact that she had broken ribs.

A look of concern crossed Foreman's face. He really didn't want to sedate her again, but at this rate, she was only going to hurt herself. He looked over at the nurse, who was still watching from the doorway.

"2 mg of Ativan."

Cuddy's eyes got wide and she shook her head, getting more upset by the minute.

"I'm sorry," Foreman said sympathetically, "But you're not doing yourself any good this way. It will just help you relax. "

The nurse returned to the room, and Foreman held out his hand to take it from her. He stared at it intently,as if he couldn't decide whether to use it or not. Finally he reached up towards her IV bag. When he did, Cuddy reached out and grabbed his coat, pulling him down to her.

"Cuddy, what..."

Finally, she found her voice, if only for one word.

"H...H...HOUSE!"