I don't know what's going to happen myself until I write it so I'm as eager lol. Thanks for all your comments once more! Last chapter was action filled, this one is less but hope you still enjoy it, it explores House's brain a tad more. It does makes sense for someone to die... but I can't kill off Wilson, Cuddy or House... or could I...


The riot team could not see easily into the office. However they had noted the three people still standing seeing the silhouettes projected onto the blinds. From the shadows it wasn't too hard to figure out who was who. Two shadows merged together with one holding what looked like a gun to the others head. The far shadow looked to be cramped over a desk.

The team raised their guns ready to aim at the figure holding the gun to someone's head. They knew full well they could easily hit the other person, but it was a risk they had to take. Suddenly they saw two of the shadows full to the floor. The combination of shock as well as the realisation an open shot on who they assumed was Phil, was now present, the team immediately broke fire onto the office.

Cuddy pulled herself into a ball as small as she could on the floor. She clasped her hands over her ears as the sudden impact of bullets was deafening. She desperately wanted to crawl over to House and Wilson. They needed medical attention now! Both had been shot!

What seemed an eternity, but in reality was only a couple of seconds, the bullets ceased and Phil came crashing down to the floor next to Cuddy. She gasped when she saw him. It was an ugly sight and she had to turn away.

Suddenly she felt a strong hand on her shoulder.

"You ok?" A policeman asked.

Cuddy could only nod at first. She was still in shock.

"The... others, House and Wilson. They've been shot." She informed.
"They are being looked at. Come on, I'll help you up."

The policeman grabbed her hand and she stood to see more police looking at House and Wilson. House was unconscious. Had a bullet hit him? She thought. Wilson then called out in pain, he had come back around. But it still didn't change the fact that he had lost a lot of blood. Suddenly an ambush of doctors and nurses stormed the office and attended the two doctors lifting them gently to the beds. As they were wheeled out and towards the operating rooms, Cuddy tagged along.

"House has been shot just above the hip. It also looked like he had internal bleeding and with the amount he got kicked around, I wouldn't be surprised if his healing ribs are broken again. I worried about a head injury when he fell to the floor. Was he shot again?"

Cuddy felt her eyes well up, but she wasn't going to cry. She was his boss and he needed medical attention. Crying isn't a cure! The nurse had checked him over as he was being wheeled.

"It doesn't look like it."

"Wilson was shot also at the top of this thigh, he has lost a lot of blood."
"Cuddy?" Wilson groaned hearing her voice.
"Hey James, I'm here." She said and squeezed his hand.

Both men had reached the OR rooms and Cuddy let the doctors wheel them in to start the procedures.


"I'm sorry ok! I'm sorry!" House screamed.

Phil stared at him with a gun pointing at his head.

House was in his own office standing by his desk when Phil had stormed in.

"No you're not! Gregory House sorry?"
"Yes, I'm sorry ok."
"How do I know you are, and not just saying it to prevent your death."

House sighed putting his raised arms down by his side, where was his cane?

"You just have to trust me."
"Everybody lies." Phil spat his catchphrase back.
"Yes, they do. So do you trust me..."
"I don't think so..." Phil raised the gun and shot House directly in the chest.

House looked down and saw a reddening mark on his shirt. He pulled it up and noticed a hole straight through his heart. Why didn't it hurt?
Suddenly he felt himself falling and everything going dark.


"I'm sorry ok! I'm sorry!" House screamed.

Cuddy spun round and stared at him. Cuddy was in her own office standing by her desk when Phil had stormed in.

"No you're not! Gregory House sorry?"
"Yes, I'm sorry ok."
"How do I know you are, and not just saying it to prevent being fired!"

House sighed putting his raised arms down by his side, where was his cane?

"You just have to trust me."
"Everybody lies." Cuddy spat his catchphrase back.
"Yes they do. So do you trust me..."
"I don't think so..." Cuddy raised her hands to grab her hand and coat and walked past House and out of her office.

Suddenly House felt an awful pain in his chest. He grabbed the area as he fell in a heap to the floor. He looked back at his hand that was covered in blood; there was a hole in his heart.


"He's flat lining!" A nurse called out.

Cuddy turned around looking away. She was up in the observation room looking over House's operation. All had gone well so far. They stopped the eternal bleeding caused by a broken rib and removed the bullet. They were just about to sew him up when...

"Quick, paddles." A shaggy haired doctor called.
"Shocking, 200."

Nothing.

"Again, 200!"

Nothing.

"360!"
"You sure?" A nurse hesitated.
"I said 360 didn't I."

Thank god it was Chase operating, thought Cuddy.

Nothing.

"Again!" Chase almost screamed.


A bright white light shone and House opened his eyes. He was back on the bus. Yes, the bus of the fatal accident.

"Oh, you got to be kidding me."
"Why were you apologising?"

House was sat on a seat near the front of the bus and spun round when he heard a familiar voice.

"Oh, you really have got to be kidding me!" He said with extra emphasis when he saw his company.
"It's your subconscious."
"I'm pretty sure it's my nightmare."
"Why did you say sorry?"
"Sorry CB but I have no idea what you're chatting about."
"Even after killing me you can't call me Amber."

House looked down towards the ground and back to the front of the bus.

"Hey, why you feeling sorry for yourself?" Amber sat down next to him. "I didn't think that, I'm you. You're thinking it. Meaning... this is guilt. You feel guilty about killing me... cool."
"On what planet is guilt cool?"
"Don't ask me. Maybe you were unsure you could actually feel guilt. Now that you know you can, that's pretty cool. You can still be classified as human."

House didn't respond.

"So for the third time, why did you say sorry?"
"Actually second time. The first you asked me why I apologised."

She rolled her eyes and looked at him waiting for an answer.

"To who?" He asked.
"To Phil, and to Cuddy."
"How do you know..."
"God House, I thought you were smart. I'm your brain. I know because I'm you! Your favourite colour is orange, no matter how much you try to deny having a favourite colour and follow the trend of such a pathetic question. Favourite drink is Jack Daniels, favourite possession is your piano although you brag about it being your bike, you love nothing more than to spoon next to a gorgeous woman, again we won't hear you saying that one out loud anytime soon nor will we hear who the gorgeous woman is even though everyone knows it's Cuddy."

"Wait a second..." House tried to interrupt. It was as if his own brain was teasing him!

"And..." She said forcefully as to say she wasn't finished. "You're not afraid of dying, but you're afraid of the loneliness and dying alone, along with spiders." She half giggled. "Spiders really, that is such a mainstream phobia. Not original at all."
"I don't give a dam, spiders are fucking creepy."

Amber laughed.

"Well thanks for the useless information of things I already know."
"Well I, your brain, is obviously reminding you of them for a reason." Amber suggested.
"Of what, I need to paint my house orange, get smashed, tell the world I play piano and spoon Cuddy?"
"The last one is the best suggestion out of the lot. I really don't want an orange house."
"No me either." House pointlessly agreed. "Get smashed, is a good point though."
"What and trash your liver sooner so you die alone quicker?"

The two of them feel silent after that for what seemed an eternity. House didn't need to lie here. He was effectively talking to himself. He did it all the time in his own head but actually having someone to talk to within the form of his brain made it seem a little easier.

"I was apologising to Phil for his brother's death. It's the one thing I've regretted all my life. One part of my past I wanted dead and buried, not to be dug up and shot literally back at me."
"And Cuddy?"
"I don't know. Maybe for not being there, for not being able to help her when Phil attacked her."
"You couldn't do anymore than you did."
"I could have. I could have got up the courage to stay with her that night we kissed. Even just to comfort her. I could have cared for her. Not acted like an arse and pushed her away at every opportunity. She would have been with me instead of Phil. But then she can do so much better than me."
"What Phil?"
"Good point. I guess I was apologising for everything. Something I would or could never do in reality."
"Why not?"

House fell silent once more, he looked deep in thought.


"Do you think we're dead?" Amber asked.
"You are."
"You know what I mean."
"I don't think this would be happening if I was. I guess I'm stuck here until I either black out or wake up."
"Doesn't look like that is going to be long." Amber vanished as a darkness surrounded House. Suddenly an overwhelming pain struck his stomach, thigh and head. He began to hear something, it was muffled at first... but he could swear he heard... was that the wombat he thought?

"Well done guys, now can we stitch him back up before anything else goes wrong. After that it's straight to the neurology. He needs a full work up, Cuddy's worried after he fell hitting his head."

Cuddy's worried about him? House thought. Suddenly a more pressing matter hit him. As his pain hit 10/10 on the scale he thought, stitch him up?!? Was he... no... he couldn't be...

"Wait what's this..." a nurse began.

A tear fell down House's face out of the corner of his taped eye.

"That's a tear," Chase began. "Shit! He's awake. House is awake."

Cuddy suddenly shouted over the telecom device. She was still watching.

"Who the fuck administrated the dose to put him under."

A nurse slowly raised her hand.

"You're fired!"

Go Cuddy, House thought still suffering through the pain. He was unable to move, he was grateful that someone had seen the tear that he didn't even realise he cried. It was just a reaction to the amount of pain he was in.

"For fuck sake he's not on any pain medication yet! Put him back under!" Chase shouted.

House heard Cuddy mumble something just as he fell back into unconsciousness, but he could have been mistaken.