Hey! I feel soooooo behind! I've been so "busy" and BUSY! Yes – those are two different excuses. I haven't been able to reply to any reviews like I try to do usually and I'm sorry about that but hopefully, I'll try and keep up. Here we go!

Chapter 10

"You will not believe who's down here-"

"Tony Stark is about a block away from where you are now, I know. But please keep in mind I sent you down there to pick up your papers, get your license back in order and get your ass back here all in three days. I don't have you covered for any more and if you miss your flight, all expenses are coming out of your pocket."

"Oh, come on! It's Tony Stark! And he's barely a mile away from the agency! It's practically fate calling out to me…"

"If I hear a story about how some crazy doctor barged into his room and nearly killed him-"

"I never kill my patients – that's just rude. I'm rude. But since when was that a crime?"

"It's not your hospital, he's not your patient. You have no right to-"

"Like that ever stopped me."

"If I hear one thing, get one complaint from anyone - I swear to God I'm going to give you clinic duty for the next five years!"

Clinic duty – this was serious. "Relax. I'm only going to take a peek-"

"Like hell, you will!"

"He won't mind. He's paralyzed, isn't he?"

"Why are you even interested, in this guy? There's no medical mystery here. He's screwed. Have you checked any of the papers recently? Read it and weep."

"Because his doctor is an idiot."

"Oh, right, I'm sorry – that excuse totally went over my head, how could I forget?"

"Come on, you're a doctor. How the hell do you say someone's brain dead and a few days later they wake up? I think I'm entitled to say his doctor is a moron."

"So you want to right the wrongs-"

"And in essence, make the other guy look like an idiot, yes, that's exactly what I want to do. You should know me by now."

"It's not your hospital, it's not your call, he's not your patient and it's not your say. You're going to back off and watch everything unfold on the news reels like everyone else. Embrace normalcy. It should be a nice change for you."

"That was just uncalled for."

"Really? I thought you'd consider it a compliment."

"Whatever – I'll call you back from the Santa Monica hospital."

"No you will not. In fact – I'm going to move your flight up a day."

"But that's not fair! You're only doing that to keep me from saving an important man's life."

"Your goal was never to save a life – you're just looking for a puzzle."

"You're right. Saving lives is just collateral damage."

"Your flight is tomorrow at three. Let's see how much damage you're capable of now."

"Is that a challenge, Dr. Cuddy?"

"Just get your ass in here in one piece. And no funny business!"

Pepper had gone down to the cafeteria to get something to eat before rushing back up again. She tried not to think about what she had heard, Tony locked in a useless body, but it was virtually inevitable. And she found herself faced with question she hated herself for even bringing up.

Should I have let him go when I had the chance?

If she had agreed they pull the plug even if he was in there, neither of them would be facing this new nightmare. She knew Tony – his genius was in the hands-on work of his workshop. He was an inventor by nature and by heart. Running a company and becoming CEO? He had only taken the job because there was no other option; there were too many formalities and strings attached. No, he was a creator and an architect. And now, though he retained his genius IQ, he now had no medium. So what was the point in being who he was? He was now left a prisoner of his own body.

And then afterwards, she would despise herself for thinking this way. She shouldn't be thinking like that, contemplating the way things might have been had he died. All she had wanted was for him to be alive, and now he was…and she thought it was better had he died.

Now she was being selfish.

And over and over the cycle continued in her mind; a war within her soul, and a guilt she could not appease.

She didn't want to stay in the cafeteria to eat. Reporters had nearly run over the hospital boundaries and the last thing she wanted to do was attract someone's attention. So instead, she grabbed a sandwich and made her way back towards the ICU. But before she could enter Tony's room, she found her mother waiting for her near the lobby.

"I thought you went home," Pepper said, her voice hoarse.

"I did, but I came back because I need to talk to you."

The way she said, "I need to talk to you" already got on Pepper's pissed off side. She didn't need to hear this; she didn't want to hear this.

"Mom, not now, please?" She said, about to go around her.

"Ginny, just give me a minute-"

"I have to go," Pepper tried to explain, mostly to get rid of her.

"Go where?"

"I have to go to Tony-"

"I mean to what?" She asked. "What's your plan now? You heard what the doctor said."

"Mom, stop-" Pepper knew where this was going – and she didn't want to hear it. She never wanted to hear it.

"Honey, this isn't because I don't like him, or I'm angry," she tried to explain and Pepper for the first time could sense sincerity. "I'm saying this because I'm worried. For you. Because I want you to be happy and do the right thing."

Pepper was silent for a moment before saying, "Which is what, Mom? What do you think is the right thing?"

Vanessa sighed. "It's not…your job to be watching him like this. You're not his guardian."

"He's sick."

"No, he's paralyzed," her mother clarified. "And he's going to be paralyzed forever."

"You don't know that-" She tried to defend. Yes, I do. I know he's stuck like this forever. And I know it's my fault.

Vanessa sensed the hesitation and just about pounced. "Ginny, you…what do you plan on doing now?" She asked carefully. "You…you want to take care of him?"

"What are you trying to tell me?"

"That you need to accept what's happened…and move on."

"No, Mom, I'm not-"

"Ginny, what happened isn't your fault and I don't want to see you…tied down-"

"You're saying I should leave him? And do what? What does that say about me? I didn't feel like taking care of him, so I decided to just drop him in a facility, is that right?" She was angry, and frustrated, and quite frankly, she couldn't believe her mother was even suggesting it. Actually, yes…yes, she could. But not because she wanted to get back at Tony or because she hated the man. This time, she had a legitimate reason – but it still angered Pepper that it could even be suggested. This is my fault, I love him, and I'm going to stay with him. "If it was me on that bed, he wouldn't even think about leaving."

"Honey-" Vanessa tried to reach for her daugher but Pepper quickly backed away, resting her face in her hand.

"Can you just…give me a minute, okay? Alone?"

"But, Ginny, I-"

"Can you leave?" Pepper asked more honestly, a pleading look in her eye. I can't deal with this…and you…not now.

For a moment, Vanessa considered protesting. But after a said sigh, she said, "Let me at least stay. I'm worried-"

"I'm fine-"

"I won't say anything."

Pepper really wasn't in the mood to argue. Not anymore, anyway. She just nodded to herself, agreeing half heartedly as the two of them walked into Tony's room.

The next man who walked into Tony's room, no one recognized. He was tall, well over six feet, with unruly gray-brown hair. His shirt was hopelessly rumpled and he wore a loose fitting sports jacket over it. But what made him even more identifiable was the cane he carried, complete with flames at the end of it.

"Who are-" Vanessa started.

"Where's his doctor?" the intruder asked, completely cutting off Vanessa. He turned around, as if to make sure he wasn't being followed.

"Excuse me!"

"Listen, I'm kind of in a hurry so if you could just answer the question, we'd both be happy and I can get on my way. "

Who is this guy? Tony thought to himself, watching him carefully.

"He's not here," Pepper answered.

"Oh, good," he said, relaxing a little. "Then this shouldn't take very long. And why exactly can't they perform a CT or MRI again?"

"Are you a doctor?"

Good question. Now answer it.

"Nope. Patient," he lifted up his cane as if that was proof but something else caught his attention. He used his cane to lift up Tony's blanket and for the first time saw the glowing arc reactor. His eyes twinkled curiously. "Very cool," he muttered to himself as he reached over to lift Tony's gown to get a better view.

Hey, what's he doing…?

Pepper panicked and quickly attacked, slapping his hand out of the way.

You go, Pepper.

The intruder quickly withdrew his hand; he hadn't expected that. He smiled a little – a devious and scheming grin and his smile reminded her of Tony's smirk when he was about to do something he knew she wouldn't like. And it saddened her once more to know that she would never see that smile on Tony's face. That she was no only left with the memory.

But the man who had just entered didn't know what was going on in her head. He rolled his eyes and said, "If I say I'm a doctor – do I get to touch it?"

No, you may not…even if you are slightly amusing.

"No!" Vanessa screeched.

"Are you a doctor?" Pepper asked instead. He seemed insane, but he also had that look in his eyes that said, "I know something you don't know."

"Coccidioidomycosis," he blurted suddenly. "Convincing enough?"

No, not really.

"No," Pepper answered honestly.

The man scowled. "Tough crowd."

"Who is this?"

Dr. Cowley startled everyone in the room, especially the stranger who had just walked in. The unruly looking man turned to face Pepper, exclaiming, "I thought you said he wasn't here!"

Wait, don't get rid of him yet, don't make him leave.

Pepper didn't say anything. She was sick of answering his questions – it was about time he started answering theirs. Who was he? Was he really a doctor? Or a reporter looking for answers? And if she wasn't sure, why was she still looking at him expectantly, as if hoping he would pull of a miracle?

"He just barged in here and-" Vanessa was already about to rattle a list of annoyances and Pepper, breathed in and out of her nose slowly to keep herself sane. Why did her mother even care what he was doing in here? She was the one who wanted to get rid of Tony, forever if possible.

"I so did not barge in here," the man argued childishly.

"And he's rude-"

"See, that I'm not going to disagree with-"

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step out of the room, please," Dr. Cowley spoke up.

No, wait, don't make him leave yet. Why does he look like he knows something that the rest of us are clueless about? He's so confident that he knows something…

"I'm a doctor," the man said. "And I have-" he checked his watch. "About twenty three hours to prove you're an idiot. Otherwise I'm going to have to pay for my flight."

He's a doctor?

"I don't care if you're a doctor," Dr. Cowley said angrily. "This isn't your hospital and you're not licensed to practice here."

"If she agrees, that I can practice here," he said haughtily and Pepper's eyes widened. Why would he think she'd let him practice here?

"You haven't examined him."

"I will in a minute." The just announced doctor said, grabbing Tony's chart and looking through it quickly.

"This is ridiculous." Dr. Cowley stepped out the room for a moment and yelled, "Security!"

NO!

"No, wait!" Pepper spoke up and Dr. Cowley stared at her in disbelief. The other doctor just looked at her from over the chart, eyebrow raising slightly. There it was again – that same look she was so used to seeing on Tony's face. Maybe that was one of the reasons she trusted him – because he reminded her of Tony. The spontaneity, how he purposely ignored rules … she recognized it.

"Can you give us a minute?" Pepper said quietly, waiting for the room to empty completely.

Oh, thank God…

"That was a lot easier than I expected," the man said smugly once they were alone. But Pepper could tell he wasn't just smug, he was actually intrigued by her. "Usually I have to do something relatively impressive before I get someone to agree with me….but you…you actually trust me…Why?"

Why are you psychoanalyzing her? You're just as nuts yourself.

Why was he questioning her like this? And why did she find herself willing to answer his questions? Why was she willing to be honest with someone she had never met? "You…remind me of him."

Tony focused his gaze on the stranger. I'm like him? Oh, shit, this isn't a good sign…

The doctor frowned, examining her closely. He hadn't expected an honest answer. He sighed and sat down, tapping his cane on the ground a couple times before saying, "I have a theory that I can fix your boy toy."

"How?"

Boy toy!

He twisted his lip to the side before saying, "That's the only part I don't know yet."

Seriously?

"It's a pretty important part," Pepper said sarcastically, but her heart swelled. So there was a chance…recovery was possible…She tried to hide her excitement, she needed to look serious. She needed to know if this man really knew what he was doing or if it was just a sham.

"And it's my job to figure out that part, as well as what's missing."

"What do you mean; what else is missing?"

"His attending doctor is a moron. Brain death doesn't just disappear – so obviously, he wasn't brain dead to begin with. Which means," the doctor stood up, taking a look at Tony's chart. "We're missing something. And Doctor Idiot is too lazy or doesn't realize that figuring out what we're missing is part of the job description. That or he just couldn't figure it out because, as I've already said, he's an idiot."

I kind of like this guy, I vote we keep him.

"But you think you can figure this out."

The doctor smirked. "I know I can."

"What makes you so sure?"

"I practice medicine in a very…specialized field. My job is to figure out what everyone else can't. So we've got two options – I take it you're his legal. No family, no long lost cousins hiding in Alaska…? Keep in mind I don't actually work here and I don't want to deal with liabilites. Not that I do even if it is an issue, but this way looks better in court."

What?

"None," Pepper answered.

"So it's all up to you, then. I can treat him here – as long as Dr. Idiot doesn't mind. Or…I can leave, head home and face clinic duty back in Jersey." He grimaced at the last part of the sentence.

Say yes.

Pepper looked at Tony, her eyes pleading. "Is that what you want?" she asked him.

Yes, yes, yes that's what I want.

The doctor nodded as soon as he saw Tony blink in agreement. "You better get out there and sign some papers." He pulled out his cell phone and added mischievously. "Excuse me – I have to gloat." And with that, he left the room.

Before everyone else could file into the room, she took Tony's hand. "Are you sure this is what you want, Tony?"

Yes, yes, yes, Pepper. This is what I want.

"Alright," she said, weaving her hand through his hair. "Alright….I want this too, okay? We're going to figure this out, I swear. You're going to be okay, Tony." She nodded, as if trying to reassure herself. He had to be okay. "You're going to be okay…"

Dr. Cowley barged into the room, red as a ripe tomato. "Ms. Potts, I highly suggest you to not go through with this."

Oh, shut up – you're the guy who said I'm stuck like this and he's the guy that's going to do something about it. Take a wild guess as to who I'm going to like better. Even if he is crazy.

"We've already decided," Pepper said with a sense of finality.

"We?" Dr. Cowley asked.

I'm right here, you moron!

"Tony and I," Pepper said. "We've decided that we want him to treat Tony. Now, what papers do you need signed?"

"I assure you Dr. House motives in itself are questionable at best-"

So his name is Dr. House, huh? That's...kinda catchy…

"I don't care about his motives," Pepper spat. "I want him to get better and I don't care why he's doing it. I'm Tony's legal and if you refuse to allow me to make this…Dr. House…his attending, I swear I will simply transfer him to New Jersey and then I will ruin you!"

Amen!

Dr. Cowley was powerless. He sighed, obviously aggravated beyond words, but marched out of the room. Pepper turned and gave Tony a reassuring smile before following Dr. Cowley out. We'll fix this, Tony. We'll fix this.

While Pepper was getting the paper signed, House was on the phone with his favorite boss and dean of medicine at PPTH. He was already on his way back to Tony's ICU room when she picked up.

"I'm glad you're calling from your cell phone and not a hospital, House. Or a jail cell," Cuddy said. It sounded like she was busy working on something else.

"Yeah…" House said obnoxiously. "About that…"

"You're in jail! What did you do!" she demanded suddenly, already about to jump into screaming mode.

"Are you serious? I've only been in a jail cell once..actually, twice, I think.."

"What," Cuddy repeated carefully. "Happened?"

"I have a new patient."

"House…"

"Want to guess who it is?"

"House, I told you that he is not your patient and it's not my hospital! You can't take up his case, you have other patients here-"

"Clinic patients don't count, Cuddy."

"If you screw something up, it's all coming out of the hospital's pocket – and it's going to be expensive…and I'll take all of it out of your paycheck and-"

"When was the last time I screwed up?"

"Forget the case and stop creating hell for -"

"Too late. I already took up his case. Papers have been signed without you. Apparently you're signature wasn't needed and for that, I'm grateful."

"You did what!"

"But that's not why I called," House said, beaming childishly. "You think you can move my flight up a couple days? And pay for my hotel?"

"NO! That was not in the budget!"

"So close your eyes and stick your fingers in that money you set aside annually for my lawsuits. Actually, that's not a very smart move. Stick your fingers in Wilson's money. He never uses it anyway. Besides, I'm still here for medical reasons. You're expected to pay for it."

He could practically see her close her eyes and curse him. He was right, and he was gloating. "House, I want you to get in and get out and come home all in less than a week, do you understand? And when you get back, I am making your life hell."

"Right, because I haven't heard that one before," he said, hanging up just as he entered Tony's room. Immediately, he dialed another number, putting his phone on speaker. Then to Tony he raised an eyebrow. "Ready to meet the four idiots that are going to play a role in your saving your life?"

This doesn't so good.

"House? You're on speaker."

"We've got a patient."

"No, we don't."

House rolled his eyes and then muttered to Tony. "I've got three guys – good hair, dark and darker – this one's darker, and he gets really touchy about the whole Civil War deal so he's always disagreeing with me."

What the hell does that mean?

Then to the guy on the phone, House yelled, "Yes, Foreman, we do. Who's in charge here?"

"Are you back yet?"

"Will you guys shut up? I'm in the same room as Tony Stark and you guys aren't making a very good first impression."

There was silence on the other end. Then, "Iron Man?" A different voice.

House rolled his eyes and to Tony whispered, "Taub's kind of slow…" Then he yelled, "Yes, you idiot!"

You seem to like that word. I think I'll adopt it…

"Are you serious?"

A female voice and House smiled. "That's the hot one – she's also sexual confused – or lenient, either one…Thirteen, why are you always so suspicious?"

Her name's Thirteen?

"It's a habit."

"Thirty five year old male – diagnosed as brain dead and magically wakes up two days later."

"Oh my God, he's serious?"

"Still waiting for something relevant…" House said impatiently

"We're going to need a file, House."

"It should be waiting for you in the printer."

There was some shuffling of papers on the other end. Finally the one with the accent said, "This is impossible."

"Well obviously not," Thirteen answered. "Does anyone know where he was the night before he was admitted?"

"Nope."

"Have you thought about, gee, I don't know…asking him?" Taub asked.

"Are you reading the file?"

The team was quiet until Foreman said, "He's only able to communicate through blinking."

"So he's got locked in syndrome," Thirteen announced. "Either it was caused by being in a coma for too long or there's an underlying condition."

"And they thought he was brain dead?"

"What causes a false reading of brain death?" Chase asked.

"And why did no one bother with an MRI or CT?"

"The ultimate question," House said dramatically. "He's got device in him that makes that impossible."

"So take it out."

No!

"Uh…he's telling me no," House said, noticing Tony blink twice.

"We're going to need a better history-"

House rolled his eyes. "You're right, let's ask him. Oh, wait, I forgot… he can't talk. I'm sorry, haven't I already mentioned this?" He mumbled to Tony, "Honestly, what the hell am I paying these people for?"

"It says he had alcohol poisoning…"

No! No, I don't have alcohol poisoning that's impossible!

House said nothing, watching Tony. "You don't agree with alcohol poisoning?"

No.

"What did he say?" Chase asked.

"I think our history is wrong…" House sang.

"They ran a tox screen and it says the amount of alcohol in his system was through the roof. Numbers don't lie."

No, I can't have alcohol poisoning.

"Stark doesn't agree," House said.

Thank you.

"House – I'm telling you right now, he had alcohol poisoning."

No, I didn't!

"He's very stubborn," House repeated.

"Reminds me of you," Thirteen said, annoyed. "Now can we move on?"

I'm not really like this guy, am I? Why does everyone think I'm like this guy?

House looked at Tony's file. "It says the night before he was at a party."

Well…I don't like following instructions, but I mean, come on…who doesn't?

"And there had to be alcohol at the party…"

But House ignored them. He nodded at Tony. "Is that true? Was there alcohol at the party?"

Yes.

"Did you drink at the party?"

Yes.

"Here's the fun part…how many drinks did you have? Did you have less than ten?"

Yes.

"Less than five?"

Yes.

"He's telling me he had less than five drinks," House said to the phone.

Foreman sighed. "It depends on what drink! Besides, he was also in a coma for the last three days. No offense, but I don't think his word is the one we're supposed to be trusting."

Okay, I get that. But I did NOT drink myself to alcohol poisoning! I'd remember. It sucks – hangover to end all hangovers. Ask someone else – whatever that paper says is wrong.

"Was your girlfriend with you for at least part of the night?"

Yes.

"Most of the night?"

Yes.

"All of the night."

Damn it. No. But I was only alone for an hour!

"Girlfriend was with him – let's go find her." House limped towards the doors and peeked around the corner. "Hey! Your boytoy demands your presence."

Why are you being so rude? You don't have to be rude to her.

In an instant, the two of them were back by Tony's side. "I need to know how many drinks he had last night."

"Um…three or four, maybe?" she said, not entirely sure what his point was.

"Are you sure?" House asked, completely sure.

"Yes, but then they told me he had alcohol poisoning-"

"So what causes alcohol poisoning?" House interrupted, asking his team.

"You mean besides alcohol?" Foreman asked sarcastically.

"Well, otherwise, it would be a relatively stupid question."

Everyone was quiet on the other end. Finally, Taub said, "Alcohol."

"Are you not listening, I just said-"

"Yes, but that was before we jumped into alien medicine. House, the only thing that can cause alcohol poisoning is, pause for effect, alcohol!"

"Unless he was dosed," Thirteen suggested. "What if he didn't voluntarily take it?"

"You mean like an alcohol pill?" Chase asked.

"Or powder…it was invented by some Russian scientist. Pretty much, you can get drunk out of your mind without drinking at all. It's just condensed alcohol."

"How do you know about it?" House asked, intrigued.

"Well, obviously because I've tried it. Multiple times."

"Isn't that illegal?" Chase asked.

"Not in Russia," she said simply. "And hopefully not in Thailand."

I have the most psychotic doctors I've ever seen in my entire life.

Pepper had a wild look in her eye, as if she was already wondering asking House to treat Tony was such a good idea after all.

"If it's really just alcohol in a pill, then we can't trace it at all," Taub said. "And we won't be able to tell."

Wait, so I was drugged? By who?

"So…he was drugged?" Pepper asked.

"It would explain why no one seems to agree with the alcohol poisoning," House said, answering Peper and Taub.

"So what, who cares?" Foreman declared. "Alcohol is alcohol - it's either relevant to this case or not."

"The point was to prove our history is crappy," House said. "And alcohol is still unrelated – it can't cause false brain death."

"It can cause locked in syndrome."

"In which case he either gets better himself or stays the same, either way, we can't do anything about it," House said. "I need new ideas! New theories! And a white board…" He looked around, as if expecting one to appear out of nowhere.

"Damage to myelin sheath?"

"His sensory nerves are still intact, they should be affected as well."

"Aneurysm?"

"It could cause the false brain death but not the locked in syndrome."

"We need to do a biopsy."

Wait, you want to cut into my head?

"Hemorrhaging of the basilar artery?"

"That's locked in, not brain death."

"House," Chase said suddenly. "Nothing explains all these symptoms. We're still missing something."

"Or we need to tear what we have apart, split it in two," House thought aloud while twirling his cane. He was leaning on one of the walls, thinking to himself – completely ignoring both Tony and Pepper. House's head tilted to the side as the thought and drew a vertical line in the air with his cane. "Who says we need a single diagnosis?"

"Medicine, House – it's part of the job description. You need to diagnose the patient."

"But why we do we need just one diagnosis? Why just one reason?"

"You think there are two separate causes for his symptoms?" Foreman asked skeptically.

"Occam's Razor," House said. "Simplest explanation is the answer. Two separate diagnoses."

"That hit this close together? That's too coincidental."

"But it's still simpler," Thirteen disagreed. "So one reason for the brain death and another for locked in."

"Both of these issues are in the brain, it doesn't make sense for there to be two reasons if-"

"Did he hit his head that night?" Chase interrupted.

House looked at Pepper, waiting for an answer.

"What he really means is, where the hell was he for the rest of the night?" House clarified.

"Papers say he was found in New Mexico, is that right or is The New York Times making shit up?" Thirteen asked.

"He crash landed in the suit," Pepper told them, agreeing.

"And he was drunk," House checked. Pepper nodded her head once, unable to meet his eyes.

"Sounds like something you would do," Chase said off handedly.

Seriously?

"Oh, ha ha ha, you're a comic genius. The point is an aneurysm is likely."

"Or we still can explain the symptoms with one diagnosis," Taub spoke up. "Brain stem lesion – it would cause both."

"In which case a biopsy is still necessary," House decided with a tone of finality.

"On his brain stem? House, that's risky."

"So is flying in an titanium alloy suit while you're drunk. Apparently risky isn't an issue."

"Now, wait a minute-!" Pepper started angrily.

"Time to talk to the DA," House said quickly. He wasn't in the mood to listen to another woman screech and rave at him. First Cuddy, then Pepper's mother – no, he was done listening to yelling. Even he had his limits.

But Pepper wasn't done with him. She quickly grabbed his arm. House stopped, looking at her, again surprised. This woman seemed to be doing that a lot to him recently – and being surprised wasn't exactly House's forte.

"How dangerous is it?"

Oh, so no yelling, House realized. "It's his brain stem, it's risky not matter what or who we're treating-"

"His last doctor said a biopsy could kill him, that he had a chance of dying on the table-"

House didn't look even slightly impressed. "He'll die in a week if we don't find the lesion. He doesn't have much of a choice here."

She slowly withdrew her hand. "Alright…alright, he'll do it."

He didn't even wait for another moment. He was immediately out the door, about to harass the DA into doing what he wanted.

Pepper turned around to face Tony. His eyes were looking up at her and even if he couldn't move, she could see the worry…and the hope.

I have to try it anyway, I need to try it…

"Oh, God, Tony," Pepper said as she sat down beside him, looking at him. She held his hand. "Where the hell were you last night?" she whispered.

"I don't love you," she told him. "That's the difference. I'll be here in the morning with my resignation, Mr. Stark."

She had walked out on him, and he was left alone, sitting on the floor with his back against the front door – hating himself. Hating himself for screwing up his chance, and for being unable to explain what had happened – because he didn't know what had happened.

He remained where he was for over fifteen minutes until he received the call from General Fury. And even though he was drunk and dizzy, he left anyway, because he wanted to forget. Because he wanted to escape – even if it was only for a couple of hours.

Coordinates indicated Santa Fe, New Mexico, and without paying much attention to what he was even doing, he donned the Iron Man suit and was off – all in under ten minutes. He just wanted to get the hell out of the house. There were too many memories there, too many things to face.

He didn't remember landing. He remembered JARVIS telling him about his vitals being off, that his heart rate was slowing down, but by then it was too late. He blacked out before he hit the ground and was unconscious well before Rhodey found him.

Some notes I need to make:

Yes - I have turned this into a crossover - but it's not going to stay like that. Only for a few..*cough* "2" *cough*...chapters or so. If you don't like it, sorry and if you do, PRAISE APPLE PIE! - I was inspired ;)

For any other avid House watchers that are reading, HOLLA! Do you, by any chance, recognize the episode I stole/borrowed some ideas from? Kudos to you, but I AM adding my own decent amount of craziness. That's all I can say for now. JUST KEEP READING!

And of course - don't forget to review! I know, really long wait and all but it's a long chapter! That makes up for things, right? ;) BYE!