Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! Remember a few crucial lessons from the show. Everybody lies, symptoms lie, and things aren't always as they seem... basically, anything is possible :) enjoy!

You Only Live Twice

Part 10

A Rush Of Blood To The Head

"He could use a haircut", a grumpy authoritative voice let out.

As House slowly stirred back to consciousness, he recognized the voice next to him, though he couldn't exactly place it.

"Oh John, stop it. He's perfect just the way he is."

Blythe House. His mom- that voice he knew anywhere.

"This is what I'm talking about Blythe, that's why the boy's the way he is- because you've always let him do whatever he wants."

A slow uncomfortable feeling filled the pit of his stomach, realizing they were there.

"Well it's better than trying to shape him up like one of your privates. Oh look, I think he's waking up-"

Indeed, House was awake, though he was disappointed his parents had noticed, because the idea of talking to them was right up there with getting a colonoscopy and working at the clinic the rest of his life.

He also noted a strange feeling coming from the bottom half of his body, and realized he'd been cathed.

"Greg? Honey can you hear me?" His mom called out, while holding his right unbroken hand tightly.

House slowly blinked his eyes open, to see both of his parents hovering over him.

"Hi mom-dad", he let out a little unenthusiastically.

Blythe House put a hand over her mouth, and tried swallowing a sob, "Oh honey, I'm so glad you're awake."

House closed his eyes again, and tried hard not to show his annoyance at his mother's irrational emotions, "I'm fine."

"That doctor friend of yours called us yesterday morning. It was nice of him, since you never let us know how you're doing. Half expected him to tell is you were dead." let out his dad with bitterness laced in his voice.

House smiled through his morphine mush of a brain, because now he knew it was Wilson he had to kill later on.

"John! What a thing to say", House's mother scornfully yelled at her husband. She looked back at an unmoved House and smiled, "We just worry about you honey, that's all. And we're staying until you're all better."

"I'm fine. Wilson shouldn't have worried you guys, and you didn't need to come all the way here-"

John laughed, "You're our only son. You can hate us, but we will still worry, and we still care."

House momentarily frowned, taking in what his father had just said. It was a very uncharacteristic thing for him to say.

"Well I'm sorry you wasted your time coming here. They're letting me-" but as House pulled his arms up to sit up, he realized his arms were chained to the bed.

"What the hell?"

"That's so you don't try leaving again", he looked up to see Cameron at the frame of the door with her arms crossed.

She smiled at his parents, and walked in with a chart, "Would you mind giving me a moment with your son? We just have to do some routine stuff."

"There isn't anything I haven't seen before", Blythe said running a hand over House's hair.

He groaned, "Mom- please."

"Alright, alright- come on let's leave the boy alone Blythe, can't you see he wants time alone with the pretty girl."

House opened his mouth to redute what his dad had said, but he caught the way Cameron was biting her lip from laughing.

Blythe kissed House on his forehead, "We'll go grab lunch, and I'll bring you a Reuben honey ok? You look like you haven't had a decent meal in ages."

He merely smiled politely at his mother, and kept his mouth shut, afraid she'd see through anything he tried to say.

When they were out of view, House immediately dropped the smile and turned to Cameron, "Why am I cathed?"

"Because you were unconscious? Don't worry I'm here to take it out", she said with a tiny smirk.

He rolled his eyes, "As much as I know this is all a turn on for you, I can take it out myself. Unchain me."

With a glint in her eye, Cameron shook her head. She pulled up his bed sheet and left her hand on him for a moment too long, before removing the catheter, "No can do. You'd just leave again, and rip out your stitches- again."

House winced in pain, and inhaled deeply, sending a shooting pain through his entire chest, which made him groan in agony again.

He reached for his morphine drip with his unchained arm, and attempted to up it, but Cameron caught his hand.

"Also, Wilson wants you to think about letting him change your drip to tramadol instead."

He flicked his eyes to her, "Yeah, let me me think about that. Hmm, no."

She sighed, "We're just worried that you'll get addicted again."

"I'm in pain. And my parents are here, believe me, I need the morphine."

"They seem really nice", she said changing out his IV line to a fresh one.

House threw his head back in pain as she missed his vein, "They're nice- caring, attentive, that's the problem."

When Cameron was done, there was another knock on the glass and House looked up to see Wilson.

"Oh goody, my day just keeps getting better." He said as she walked out and his friend walked in.

Wilson took a deep intake of breath and raised his eyebrows, "Well it's certainly comforting to see you're still yourself. I'm sure Cameron's filled you in on the switching of your meds."

"She told me that you were thinking about it. I told her no, naturally."

"Of course you did. House, you're completely stoned right now, we're switching the medication."

House let out a singular sarcastic laugh, "Obviously I'm stoned. I have ripped stitches, broken ribs, a broken wrist, and I have to deal with my parents because you kindly let them know that I was in an accident. I deserve to be stoned. Leave the morphine, or I'll get Cuddy to do it."

"Cuddy- is taking a couple days off." Wilson let out rather slowly.

House tried masking any concern on his face, "She ok?"

His friend laughed bitterly, and shook his head along with a shrug of his shoulders, "I honestly do not know. She was hysterical when I got to the hospital after she told me what happened. What's honestly going on between the both of you?"

"Nothing."

Wilson rolled his eyes, "Right. Well Cuddy told me about your moment of passion in Vegas. I never pegged you as the discreet type."

"I hardly think making out counts as anything. I've had deeper connections with hookers." He let out closing his eyes and letting his head fall back, feeling a particularly nice hit of the morphine flow through his veins.

"Oh cut the crap House, I know what really happened between the both of you while you were there. You've been unhinged since the day you caught them kissing- maybe not in the Vicodin and booze bender type way, but it's obvious that her kiss with Atticus upset you. You like her House, and you're upset that she might choose Atticus over you, but you know she can't, not now."

House breathed in deeply, "What are you even talking about? There's no choosing, because there's no me liking her. Now, can you leave me alone? I'd like to try and enjoy my buzz before my parents get back."

"No. I won't leave, not until you promise to have an adult conversation with Cuddy. She's been stressing out about your condition, and in her condition- it's not advisable that she gets stressed."

"So I'm guessing it's official that she's knocked up?" He asked bitterly, moving his jaw to the side. All at once, the pain in his chest magnified to an insurmountable level. He winced, and Wilson noticed.

"Yes, she is. Which is why you need to speak to her. You guys aren't sixteen and in high school, you need to handle this in a mature way."

House scrunched up his face, "What? It's not my fault she went and got herself knocked up- she asked for it."

"It takes two to- tango House. Just because she's the pregnant one doesn't mean, you're cleared of any blame."

He frowned for a second, before cracking a smile and letting a painful laugh out, "Wait. You think Cuddy and I?...We never consummated anything- I told you. I didn't get her pregnant. That was all her blond lover boy's doing."

"Atticus? She got pregnant with Atticus?"

"Yep."

There was a growing silence, and after a while House opened his eyes to look at Wilson, who in return was looking at him. His expression had softened, and he was frowning, "I'm- sorry House."

He internally fought himself as he looked away from Wilson. House could generally push down anything that came at him. He had the world's best poker face, and it was effortless- most of the time. This time was no different, he knew how he felt, but it was easy to portray the contrary.

Which was why he surprised himself when he swallowed a lump in his throat, and softly answered back, "Yeah, me too."

xxxoxxxo

Much to their promise, House's parents had stayed and were bent on nursing him back to health. His mother had been very attentive in making sure he ate whatever they brought him, took not of every shift change, dosages of painkillers and medicine administered, and questioned every decision- like any overprotective mother would.

His father didn't but in as much, only made comments from his seat on the other side of the room.

Two days had passed, and the only reason he had been able to keep his sanity with his parents being there, was because he'd upped the dosage on the morphine drip when no one was looking.

House had tried convincing them multiple times of going back home, and insisted he was fine, but his mother refused to leave. It actually surprised him, because most of his life she'd been very respectful of his personal space.

There were a few times where even his father took orders from her, without question- and that befuddled him more than anything. His entire life, it had been clear to him that his father ran their relationship and household. Yet, there in his hospital room, he would never have believed it.

In a way that didn't pertain to him, House felt slightly proud of his mom. She was an intelligent woman who had always deserved the respect, that his father seemed to be displaying now.

Every now and then she would comb his hair with her hand, attempting to tame his unruly bed hair, but to no avail.

He tried squirming out of her touch, "Mom, please. I'm not five."

"Honey, it doesn't matter if you're eighty, you will always be my little boy." She smiled at him.

As he opened his mouth to respond, Cuddy's frame came into view.

"Lisa", exclaimed his mother.

"Hi Mrs. House", she said walking to his mom and giving her a hug, "it's been so long- how have your been?"

His mother exchanged a look with his dad and responded, "Oh we've been wonderful darling. You look stunning, how have you been?"

She smiled meekly, looking a House for a moment, "I'm great. Thanks. Would you mind giving me a moment with your son? Case to discuss- he's the only one that can help."

"Of course! Come on John, Greg needs to work, let's give him some space." She said pulling her husband's arm, and leading him out of the room.

Cuddy smiled at them, and closed the door after they'd left. She turned back to House, and let her smile disappear.

House took her in, she didn't look like the well put together Lisa Cuddy he knew. She was wearing black leggings, sneakers and an oversized sweater from Hopkins that looked vaguely familiar. Her face looked like she'd been crying, and like she had been battling morning sickness. Though he pretended to ignore all of it, and looked up at the ceiling instead.

"You lied. You're not here to discuss a case, Wilson said you took some time off."

She took a deep breath and swallowed, "I know. I came because I need to explain the kiss with Atticus."

"No, you don't."

"I do. I know you saw us, Wilson told me. And I don't have an excuse, I kissed him back. For a moment I thought maybe I should explore both of you and see what my options were-"

House snickered and shook his head, "Seriously, you don't need to explain. I'm not interested. Especially now. I'm not into pregnant chicks- just not my thing."

He knew what he said had stung, he could see it in the way that she momentarily flinched, but Cuddy was nothing if not resilient.

"I love you House. And I'm sorry it had to take you almost dying to admit it to myself, but I don't want to be without you anymore. I want to be with you, and you can't tell me you don't feel the same way", she let out, walking towards his bed, trying to take his hand- though he moved it away.

He couldn't lie to himself, he mirrored her feelings. He knew that, and it would have been stupid to pretend to feel otherwise. What he could do though, was not admit it to her.

"But I don't. I liked you, but I don't love you." It was the right thing to do- for himself, he heard a voice in his head assure him.

"I know you don't mean that. Stop trying to block me out."

"Do you? Vegas was fun, and yeah I wanted to get to smother my face in between Thelma and Louise again, but it was just all fun." He said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Cuddy's eyes had filled with tears, "House, please just-"

"What did you think was going to happen? I was going to turn into your own version of Mcdreamy? And we'd ride off into the sunset together? That I'd want to be some sort of father figure to your fetus? Tell me in which alternate universe does any of that make sense to you?"

Her tears were rolling down her face now, but House clenched his jaw and remained unmoved. The ache in his chest kept growing, the pain was intensifying, and he struggled not to let it show.

"Please", she insisted swallowing back a tiny sob.

"Just so you know, all this you're feeling is just hormones. You're going to feel really embarrassed when you're back to normal."

Cuddy give him one last pleading look, and nodded resolutely- wiping her tears, and laughing bitterly, "Ok- you're right. I'm sorry, I forget you don't feel. This was a mistake."

She turned and walked out, without a second look, and seemed to slide the door a little harder than necessary.

Once she was gone, he took his broken arm and hit his forehead with his cast, sending not only searing pain through his arm, but hot, pain-induced tears to his eyes, holding back an inaudible scream.

It hurt like hell, to hit his wrist roughly on his head, but it released some of the ache in his chest, and he felt like he was finally able to breathe.

xxxoxxxo

"Greg, sit still. The doctor said you can't stand up until we get to the car", Blythe let out pushing his shoulder back down as House tried getting up from the wheelchair.

"I'm a doctor too mom. And I say it's fine." He said trying to stand up.

His father was the one to push his shoulders back down into the wheelchair this time, "Listen to your mother."

House clenched his jaw, and felt like saying something back, but sat still- mentally beating himself for not taking another Vicodin pill before leaving his room. He had a brand new filled prescription, thanks to his renewed enabler- Wilson.

He had finally gotten the ok from him to go home after being at the hospital for nearly a week.

House sighed deeply, and let Cameron push him into the elevator, "You're enjoying this aren't you?"

She didn't say anything, but he knew that there was a smile growing on her face.

"So are you guys going to be in town for a while longer?" Cameron asked his parents as the elevator went down.

"No." House answered for them immediately, "They have to get back home."

Once they were out and down at the lobby, House finally took the chance to stand up before anyone could push him back down, and gave Cameron a look letting her know she could leave.

She said goodbye to his parents, and pushed the wheelchair away, leaving the three of them to walk outside.

He looked at his mother, who smiled sadly, "Honey don't you think we should be here just a couple more days to make sure you're ok? Who else is going to take care of you?"

His father gave a singular nod, and looked at Blythe with support, "I think your mom is right. She really misses you."

"Cameron and Wilson will take care of me, believe me I'm doing them a favor. They eat up neediness. Anyway, I need to get back to work, there's at least fifty files stacking on my desk by now of people about to die because I'm not there to save them."

Blythe House frowned a bit, "it's just that we hardly get to see you Greg. When was the last time you came home?"

House scratched the back of his head, "Look I promise to go and visit soon, ok? It's just not a good time. Around December it gets hectic."

"Do you promise to come home for Christmas? We're having your aunt Sarah come down too."

He inhaled deeply, and winced- he kept forgetting about his broken ribs, "Fine. I'll be there."

John House raised his eyebrows, "Now son, we'll be expecting you. Don't let your mother down."

House kept his mouth shut, but nodded once- promising he would. Though ultimately, the three of them knew he'd never make it.