Chp. 10
Lisa was in a quandary. House had named her as his next of kin. Therefore, the decision as to what to do about the infarction in his leg that had put House in the hospital was left up to her. She'd been given a choice: amputate his leg and save him, or do a bypass and restore circulation. However, House wanted to have the dead muscle bypassed to restore circulation. Lisa knew that whatever she decided, whatever chance she had with House was dead in the water. She and Max had been at home when the call came. Max had insisted on coming and as a result, was now sitting in the waiting room with Wilson, Stacy and Luke. Lisa was tired of seeing the man she loved in pain and went to the waiting room to check on her brother.
She found him staring out the window. Stacy saw a question in her eyes and came over to her. "How long has he been like that?"
"Since we got here."
"Thanks for staying with him."
"No problem. How's Greg?"
Lisa smiled. Stacy was the only one she ever heard call him Greg. "He's fine."
"Good." Stacy said and, sensing that Lisa wanted to check on her brother, went back to James and Luke.
"Hey, Max, you ok?" Lisa asked, coming over to him.
He turned to her and tears were streaming down his face. "Is Greg gonna die?"
"Oh, honey." Lisa said, taking him into her arms and hugging him. She sat down and rocked him, whispering words of comfort.
"You know what Max?" Wilson said, seeing that Lisa was getting nowhere.
"What, Uncle Jimmy?"
"House can't die because he's too mean."
"Too mean?"
"Yeah, he's too mean."
"You sure?" Max asked, skeptical.
"What about the time he made Lisa cry?" Luke said.
Max grinned. "Our finest hour."
"I beg to differ." Stacy said.
"Yeah, same." Lisa said.
"Come on, Uncle Jimmy back us up."
"Yeah, dad, it's three against two."
"Guys, I'd like too, but I'd prefer to remain on speaking terms with your aunt." Wilson said.
"That just means she won't let you kiss her if you side with us." Luke said.
"Who wants ice cream?" Stacy asked, deflecting the conversation away from Wilson. If only for the moment. When the boys both agreed, she took them to the cafeteria.
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"Fine, take the leg. Not like I needed two anyway." House grumbled, then grimaced in pain. Lisa sighed and followed his doctor out of the room.
"Is there anyway to save it?"
"We could remove the dead muscle. It would allow us to save his leg, but still treat the infarction."
"Do it."
"Do you want to tell him?"
"I guess." Lisa said.
"Don't look so down. You're saving his life."
"I know. But he won't see it that way."
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