Hosue was thankful for the vacant road as he barreled Kutner's ridiculous van through the dark. He had to use all of the will-power he could muster to keep his eyes on the road and ignore the screaming coming from behind him. The screaming was being produced by Cameron who was laying in the far back seat of the van with Foreman holding her head in his lap and Chase kneeling between her and the seat in front of them.

"I need a new cloth, this one's soaked through," he announced to the van's other passengers.

"There should be a beach towel on the floor there somewhere," Kutner answered from in front of him.

Chase felt around the floor until his hand came in contact with the soft fabric. In one swift motion he took the blood soaked t-shirt he had been holding against Cameron's leg and replaced it with the dry beach towel. As he pushed it firm against her wound, she strained against him and her screaming intensified.

"It's okay Cameron, you're gonna be okay. Shh, we'll be at the hospital real soon. I promise," Foreman tried to comfort her, stroking her hair gently.

In the next seat forward, Thirteen was frighteningly quiet. They only noise she was making was her quick, short gasps of air as she tried to maintain control of her breathing and the pain radiating throughout every inch of her body.

"You still doing alright Thirteen?" Kutner asked as he held his own t-shirt against the bloody bullet hole he was responsible for.

With her teeth clenched and her eyes wide, she responded with a quick nod and a quiet grunt of pain.

"House," Cuddy said quietly, "if we don't get them attention soon they're not gonna make it. Thirteen's obviously already in shock and it sounds like she's on the verge of an asthma attack." Cuddy glanced at her sympathetically before turning back to House. "And Cameron's back there losing blood by the bucketfuls."

"Well cuddy, believe me, if I could just blink us there I would. But unfortunately, I'm neither a genie nor a magician. So it looks like we'll just have to get there the old fashioned way," he snapped. "It'll only be about ten more minutes longer anyway."

Those ten minutes were the longest ten minutes in the history of the world. By the time the screeched to a stop in the emergency bay, both women had succumbed to their injuries and fallen unconscious.

"Kutner, Taub, go grab gurneys," House ordered before the van's engine was even turned off.

The two doctor's complied wordlessly. As soon as they were out of the van, Cuddy took their spot by Thirteen's side. Kutner and Taub soon returned with gurneys as well as a couple of doctors from the emergency room. Together, they lifted Thirteen's limp body from the van and onto the first gurney. Kutner then grabbed one of the doctor's arms and they rushed her off into the hospital.

Cameron was the next to go. Once she was out, she was whisked away in the same fashion Thirteen had been. After they were all gone, Cuddy glanced into the back of the van. There was so much blood. Soaked into the seats, pooled on the floor, even some smeared across the windows. How could anyone still be alive after losing that much blood? Cuddy was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of House's door slamming shut. He limped around the front of the van and over to Cuddy's side.

"Wow," he whispered at the sight.

"Yeah," she agreed.

"C'mon, let's go make sure they're not screwing anything up in there," he said, turning towards the door.

Sighing, she took one last look at the inside of the van before slamming the doors shut and following closely behind House.

Inside, the two followed the commotion down to one of the large emergency rooms. Expecting to see their two female employees, House and Cuddy were surprised to find the room empty.

"Where are doctors Hadley and Cameron?" House asked one of the bustling nurses passing by.

"They were both taken directly to surgery. If I were you, I'd wait about an hour before checking in. It's a pretty ugly sight," she said before scurrying off in the opposite direction.

They nodded to the now gone nurse and went over to Cuddy's office. Neither spoke as they sat in the office, staring at the floor, the walls, anything but each other. Because when they looked into each other's eyes, they could see the fear and panic so clearly felt by their emotions. The hour ticked by slowly. Neither spoke a single word until House stood from his seat.

"Well, it's been exactly an hour. I'm going to check on them."

"I'm coming with you," Cuddy declared.

They took the elevator up to the operating rooms and climbed the stairs briskly to the observation decks.

"How is she?" House asked over the intercom.

"She's lost a lot of blood. I got the bullet out of her leg and repaired the damage done to her muscles there. I also pulled out the crude stitches in her abdomen and fixed her up in that area. Now I'm taking her down to x-ray," Chase explained.

"Where's Thirteen?" House asked.

"Next room over. She's not doing so great House," he replied solemnly.

House sped back down to the hallway and burst through the doors of the OR next door.

"Dr. House! What the hell!?" the operating doctor exclaimed.

"She's one of my fellows. What's her status?" he explained and asked quickly.

"Well the bullet in her shoulder was easy to remove and repair. The damage done to her abdomen, however, is much more severe. Something slammed into her stomach, breaking multiple ribs. One of the broken ribs then pushed up into her lung, causing it to collapse. Now before you tell me that's easy to fix, you need to know that it collapsed twice. From the damage, I can see that her lung was partially re-inflated after the first collapse but the rib was still jammed up against it, so it collapsed a second time."

"So? Fix it!" House demanded.

"It's not like I can just slap some glue on her and she'll be just like new. I know you know it's complicated. If things aren't done perfectly she may never breathe on her own again."

"And if you just stand there and don't do anything at all she definitely won't breathe on her own again, not to mention she'll probably be dead. So, like I said before, FIX IT!" House shouted the command.

His booming voice startled the assisting nurses and the operating doctor turned back to thirteen's unconscious body. As they went back to work, House just stood there watching helplessly until a warm hand grasped his shoulder. He turned his head slightly to see Cuddy standing beside him.

"We need to let them work House. Why don't you come back to my office with me and we can talk about things," she suggested, gently leading him to the door.

Much to her surprise, House allowed her to pull him out of the OR and down to her office. Once they were in the office, Cuddy shut the door and sat herself back in her chair directly across from House. Oblivious to her presence, his eyes went back to staring blankly at the walls.

"They're gonna be okay House. They're gonna pull through," Cuddy assured him.

"You don't know that," he said, his eyes finally snapping up to meet hers.

"Yes I do. They're both fighter, and you know that. Cameron is one of the most stubborn doctor's I've ever worked with and who could ever forget Thirteen's infamous hostage incident."

"Neither Thirteen's stupidity nor Cameron's stubbornness make either of them death proof! And even if they both pull through and aren't permanently disabled, who knows how they'll be mentally. And it'd all because of me!"

"You gotta quit blaming yourself for this House," she said quietly.

"Why?" he asked.

"Because it isn't your fault!" she exclaimed.

"Yes it is Cuddy! Stop babying me for three seconds and treat me like the arrogant ass I am! Maybe if I showed people a little more respect-"

"Yes, you're an asshole! Everybody knows this! But that guy, he was upset about his wife's death and we both know that if her life could have been saved it would have. Regardless of his reasoning, what he did to Cameron and Thirteen is inexcusable. And for that, Michael got what he deserved."

"No he didn't. His death was quick and relatively painless. He deserved a much slower and much more painful death. If it were up to me, I would have hung him upside-down, cut off his fingers, and let him bleed to death while Cameron and Thirteen beat him with bats," House stated seriously.

"Ah, there's the House we all know and…" she trailed off with a smile.

"Oh you love me, don't even pretend you don't."

"Believe me House, I'm not pretending."

The sudden presence of Kutner interrupted any witty comeback House was planning to make.

"Hey, just wanted to let you guys know Cameron's out of x-ray and awake," he announced before turning to leave.

"Where?" House asked.

"Oh sorry, room 378," he threw back over his shoulder.

"Damn, you would think that this was his first day as a doctor," House said as he rose to his feet.

Cuddy just shook her head and followed him out of the office. Together, they made their way toward Cameron's room. When they got there, they were both surprised to see Cameron sitting up and talking with Chase.

"Hey!" she smiled when she saw House and Cuddy enter the room.

"Hey Cameron! How are you feeling?" Cuddy asked moving to her side.

"Well, not great, but a lot better than before."

"I'm sure that wouldn't take a lot considering your past 48 hours," Chase muttered, adjusting her IV.

"You're lucky," House stated bluntly.

"I know," she whispered.

"I mean you should have died more than once, and-"

"House, I get! I know I should be dead! I know I'm lucky to be lying here in this hospital bed right now. I really don't need to be reminded that I'm fortunate to have lived through my torture!" she shouted, suddenly enraged.

"Cameron, sweety, calm down," Cuddy said placing a calming hand on her shoulder. "House, maybe we should step out and let Cameron get some rest. I'm sure she could use some."

Before House could argue, Cuddy had him pushed out the door and into the hall.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? She just spent two days at the mercy of a psychopath being tortured and the first thing you think to say to her is that she's lucky!? Seriously House, I knew you were mean but I didn't think you were heartless."

"I'm not," he defended.

"Then what was that in there?"

"You think coddling her is gonna magically make her better faster?"

"No, but you could at least show a little compassion," she argued.

"I didn't know what else to say. What do you want me to do – tell her I'm sorry she was tortured because some guy was mad at me? Sorry she was forced to electrocute and beat one of her friends and coworkers? What exactly should I say to her because I'll go back in right now," he said desperately.

"No! She needs to be left alone for awhile. Maybe you should go take a walk to clear your head. Here," she said rummaging through her pocket before producing a $20 bill. "go grab yourself a cup of coffee or something."

He snatched the money from her hand and limped down the hallway. After purchasing a coffee from the cafeteria, House made his way back upstairs and into Wilson's office. He took one look at the empty office chair before flipping himself onto the couch.

"Why do you have to be on vacation at such an inconvenient time for me Wilson? How do you expect me to come to any earth shattering realizations without your moronic banter?" he asked into the empty office.

He fidgeted a bit until he had his body worked into a horizontal position with his coffee resting on his stomach. Once he was adequately comfortable, he closed his eyes and despite all the things racing through his mind, he drifted into a restless slumber.

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House awoke to his name being continuously called by a familiar voice. He reluctantly opened his eyes to see Cuddy standing before him, arms crossed over her chest. Blinking the sleep from his eyes, House sat up and looked at her.

"How long have I been out?" he asked groggily.

"About ten hours," she sighed.

"Seriously? Wow. Has there been any change in Thirteen's condition?"

"That's what I came to tell you House. She's out of surgery finally and is in the room next to Cameron's. She's not awake yet but I thought you might want to go see her," she said before leaving him alone again.

He took a moment to recompose himself after his ridiculously long nap before he got to his feet and limped down to Thirteen's room. When he entered, he immediately closed the door behind himself. She looked so fragile, lying there hooked up to a breathing apparatus and covered in bruises. Venturing in further, House pulled up a chair to her bedside and sat down, pulling her small hand into his.

"I'm sorry Thirteen," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you and Cameron. I'm sorry that Michael used you two to get back at me. I'm sorry you're lying here in this bed unconscious and unable to breathe on your own. And I'm sorry that your life may have been ruined because of me. I saying this all to you while you're asleep because I don't really know how to say it when you're awake. I kind of snapped on Cameron and I actually feel awful about it. I'm not really a heartless bastard, I just don't know how to convey my emotions to people very well. The truth is, you and Cameron are the best doctors I've ever worked with and I'd be completely devastated if either of you were gone. So please, just be okay, alright? I promise I'll take it easier on you. Maybe even stop the lesbian jokes, at least for a little while." Just wake up Thirteen." He whispered his last statement before going silent. Keeping his hand firmly gripping hers, he was totally content with watching her sleep.

Outside the room, Cuddy had the side of her head against the door and a small smile spread across her face.

'He really does care,' she thought happily, leaving House alone with Thirteen.

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Yo, sorry for waiting so long to update. I lost my notebook in the spring and I actually found it today. So I can finally finish this story!

I'd love some feedback on this. It would really help me update faster. So, lemme know what you think. Does this chapter flow with the rest of the story? What should come next? Obviously I have a plan written out but I always love advice and suggestions from my fellow writers.

Thanks again for being so patient with my lame ass self!