Chapter 12: It All Goes to Hell

December 15th

Lisa Cuddy was late for a meeting. As she hurried to the elevator, she looked around and then turned to her assistant. "Why are there so many children around here? It's a hospital for goodness sake!"

"It's a teacher in-service day for most of the schools in the district, so all of the kids are out for vacation a day early," her assistant explained. "It was such a pain to find a babysitter today. Luckily the high schools were off as well, so the neighbor kid could watch Becky." She handed her boss a sheaf of papers. "Here are the latest donor numbers." She was about to say something about the kids running around, but just then the elevator arrived.

Two hours later, the hospital was $500,000 richer, and Lisa was heading back to her office. She watched as House and his team were walking towards an exam room. She noticed that House's underlings were ambling along, trying hard not to overtake their boss, and that House seemed to be hunched over his cane just a bit. She made a mental note to check in with Wilson. If there was anything seriously wrong with House, she could probably tell by how stressed his friend was.

It was one of those moments when time seems to stand still, when every detail is noticed and remembered in excruciating detail. She saw the two boys playing tag, and her brain computed the trajectory of the younger boy and saw that he was headed directly toward an unsuspecting House. She was opening her mouth to shout a warning when the kid swerved, and she thought that disaster was to be avoided, but his foot clipped the cane. The kid was behind House, who never saw it coming. The cane went sliding, and House seemed to fall in slow motion. He landed hard on his right side, and then she saw his body curl in pain.

When she got to his side, she could see he was pale underneath the stubble that covered his face. As she knelt down, she could hear him whispering "please don't let her die. Oh God, don't let her die."

She looked up at Dr. Cameron, who shrugged in confusion. "House. You have to tell me what's wrong. Is it the leg? House!"

Without opening his eyes, he whispered, "get Wilson."

"I don't know where he is," Lisa replied, feeling helpless. She looked up, and like an answer to an unspoken prayer, she saw Wilson sprinting across the lobby. "Hold on, he's coming."

He knelt beside House, instantly taking in the pallor and House's arms that were wrapped around his stomach. "Abdomen?" House nodded. Instantly, he stood up and began giving orders. "Chase, Foreman, we need to get him into a trauma room. Cuddy, we're probably going to need get him into surgery ASAP." He handed her a notecard. "Page these doctors. Tell them it's House and that we are probably going to need to do surgery." As she hurried to the nearest phone, she heard him say, "Cameron, I need you to get an ultrasound and a fetal heart monitor." Cameron must have questioned the order, because he snapped, "just get it, OK!"

When she arrived at the trauma room, House was curled up on his side on the exam table, and Foreman and Chase were in the process of cutting off his clothes. She moved to hook House up to oxygen. When the right arm was free, Wilson slipped on the BP cuff. "76 over 43. Damn." He looked up at Lisa. "Cuddy, can you start a line?" She nodded, and he picked up the phone. "I need 2 units of B positive in Trauma 2, and more standing by."

"What the hell?" Foreman's voice was confused. They had removed House's clothes, and were both staring in shock at his slightly protruding belly, which was really at odds with the thinness of the rest of his body.

"Cushing's?" Chase suggested.

Wilson ignored the irrelevant conversation because Allison was coming in with the equipment he had requested. He waited until the nurse delivered the blood, and then moved to hook up the fetal heart monitor. He sighed. "Baby is showing some signs of distress." He looked over where Cuddy was setting up the blood on the rapid infuser. "House, we need to locate the source of the bleed; where does it hurt?"

"Lower right quadrant."

He moved the ultrasound wand across House's belly, and the room grew silent as everyone realized what they were seeing on the screen. The only sound was a muffled "damn" from Foreman.

Finally he thought he could see it. "There it is. Cuddy, what's his pressure?"

"105 over 67." She looked over at the fetal heart monitor, and in a state of shock, she then stated what she saw on the screen. "Baby is doing a little better."

"Only because we're pumping in fluids." He looked up at Cuddy. "Where are they? Did you talk to them?"

"Richard is currently doing anesthesia for a liposuction, and is getting another doctor to take over the case for him. Janet was doing a D&C, and is scrubbing out. Barry was off campus, and is driving in and should be here soon. OR 3 should be available in another ten minutes."

She had barely finished speaking when Janet Larson hurried into the room. "What's the situation?"

"He fell hard on his right side, and is bleeding into his abdomen. Pressure is 105 over 67 after IV fluids and almost two units of blood in." Janet picked up the ultrasound wand and located the bleed.

She turned to House. "OK, House, we need to go in and stop the bleeding. I think we can do it with a laparoscopy. Try to do it minimally invasive. We need to keep your pressure up, so that we keep the stress on the baby to a minimum."

House spoke for the first time, "don't take the baby. Only if that is the only way for her to live. She's only 21 weeks. Too small."

She reached down to take his hand. "Don't worry. We're all on board. We've talked about this possibility, and we all know how you feel. Only if there is no other choice." After he nodded, she released his hand. "We need to get him up to get prepped for surgery."

The next few minutes were spent getting everything ready to transport House up to surgery, but Wilson just held on to House's hand and let everyone else do the work. Lisa could see that he was working hard at keeping his fear from showing on his face, and was only partially succeeding.

"It's time for him to go up," Janet said, gently.

Wilson tried to untangle his hand from House, but House was holding on to Wilson's hand for dear life. House looked up into Wilson's eyes. "I love you," he whispered.

Wilson smiled, but Cuddy could see that it wobbled a bit at the corners. "I love you too." He leaned over to brush his lips against House's. He moved to whisper something that only House could hear.

Cuddy watched as House closed his eyes and nodded, and then House was being wheeled off to surgery. She looked around at House's team, who were looking a little lost after seeing their boss being taken away. "What's the status of your patient?" she asked gently.

Cameron answered for the group, "we had just decided to run some more tests when he fell."

"Why don't you all continue on with the tests, and I will make sure that someone keeps you informed." They all nodded. "I think it would be best to keep Dr. House's condition just between us, all right?" Again, they all nodded their agreement and hurried away.

The only other person left in the trauma room was Wilson, who was looking a bit disoriented. "Do you want me to walk up with you?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I need to call his parents."

"Why don't you use the phone in my office," she suggested, leading the way. When they arrived, she stopped off at her assistant's desk. "I need you to arrange for plane tickets for Dr. House's parents to get here on the first flight you can get them on. They will be flying in from," she trailed off, and allowed Wilson to supply, "Atlanta." Her assistant was picking up the phone as she ushered Wilson into her office.

She was about to leave him alone, but he shook his head. "Please stay." So she sat down in one of the chairs facing her desk. She watched him pull another notecard out of his jacket pocket and begin dialing.

"Hello, John. It's James Wilson, Greg's friend. There's been an accident and Greg's been hurt. He's bleeding into his abdomen, and they've just taken him up for surgery."

She could not hear the other end of the conversation, but she guessed that the other man asked how bad it was. "It's pretty serious. I think you need to get here as soon as possible. Dr. Cuddy has started making arrangements." He handed over the phone, and she transferred House's father over to her assistant before hanging up the phone. Wilson stared at the phone for a moment before he picked it up again and began dialing from memory.

"Hi, mom. I need you and dad to do something for me. I need you to come to the hospital."

He listened for a minute before he continued. "I wouldn't be asking if it wasn't really important. I need you here as soon as possible. Please." She watched the expressions play across his face as he listed to the person on the other end of the line. "No, I'd rather just explain once you get here." He paused. "Thank you. I'll see you in about an hour. Have the front desk page me when you get here."

As soon as he hung up the phone, Wilson seemed to deflate. Now that he was no longer managing the crisis, he seemed lost, bewildered. He sank into the chair and buried his head in his hands. "I'm so afraid I am going to lose him."

Cuddy moved so that she was sitting on the edge of her desk, and reached out to rest her hand on his shoulder. "You've got some of the best doctors in this hospital making sure that he will be all right."

"But if he loses the baby, I don't know what will happen. I am so afraid that if she dies, he will retreat so far into himself that I will never be able to reach him. I'm afraid that it could kill him." He looked up, and she saw tears running down his face. "After I did all of the blood tests, I was so sure it was cancer. At least I understand cancer. I know the risks, the treatments, the odds, but I was devastated to think it was advanced testicular cancer. When I first saw the baby's image on the ultrasound, I was so relieved. But then he refused to terminate the pregnancy, and we stepped into the unknown. We have contingency plans, and we fooled ourselves into thinking that would keep anything bad from happening. Well look at what happened today."

He sighed. "We just tried not to think about all of the risks. We've been so happy lately." He looked up at Cuddy. "A week ago he felt the baby move for the first time. And then a few days later we found out that we are having a girl." He smiled weakly. "Two men, and we're having a girl. I remember thinking, do we have any clue what we are getting in to?" He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "All of a sudden, it all seemed so much more real. If he loses the baby now, it is going to be even worse." He wiped the tears from his cheeks, and pushed himself out of his chair. "I need to get upstairs."

"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked.

"Please. I think I'll go crazy if I have to sit up there with only my thoughts for company."

When they got to the observation deck, it was obvious that the surgery had just begun. The intercom was silent, so he could only judge how well things were going by looking at the body language of the people below him. He watched as they hung another unit of blood. He finally forced himself to look at House, with all of the tubes and lines running into him. He couldn't bring himself to look any further. He turned away and looked over at Dr. Cuddy, who was looking at him with concern in her eyes.

She tried to think of something to distract Wilson. "Do your parents know about the baby?" she finally asked.

His laugh was grim. "They don't even know about me and Greg, let alone the baby. We were planning on telling our families at the end of the month. Hanukkah dinner with my family, Christmas with his family. Now I get to do it all by myself. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the bastard planned it this way."

"So his parents don't know either?"

"Nope, but at least I get to practice on my parents first, right?" He sighed. "I have a feeling this isn't going to go well."

She gave up trying to distract him, and they turned to watch the surgery below them. For Wilson, time seemed to lose all meaning, and he could only keep track of the passage of time by counting the number of units of blood that were hung. He took comfort in that it seemed to be longer since the last unit was needed. His pager went off, and he looked at the message.

"Your parents?" Cuddy asked. He nodded. "I can bring them up here," she offered.

"Thanks."

She left, and he was alone. He tried to think of what to say to them. The door opened, and Dr. Cuddy escorted them in. She nodded towards the door, and he knew she would be outside if he needed her. He walked over to embrace his mother. She was dressed in a tailored suit that was both expensive and tasteful. Her hair and makeup were perfection itself. His father was in a suit. They were both carrying their coats. He gestured at the bench behind them. "Why don't you have a seat."

"James, what's going on?" his mother asked. "Why did we need to come here?"

He turned back to look through the glass. "Do you remember my friend House?"

"Of course. How could we forget him?" His mother followed her son's gaze. "Is that him?"

"Yeah. There was an accident. He's bleeding into his abdomen."

His father spoke for the first time. "I'm sorry your friend is hurt, but why do you need us here? I was in a meeting when your mother called."

"Because he isn't just my friend." He took a deep breath and prepared to tell them the truth. "I love him, and he loves me." Wilson saw that they were looking at him in confusion. "We've been living together for four months." He waited for his words to sink in. "We sleep in the same bed."

Surprisingly, it was his mother that spoke first. "You're gay?" He nodded; now was not exactly the right time to explain bisexuality. "What did he do to you? I know this isn't something you would do on your own."

"Mom! It isn't his fault. If anything, I kissed him first."

She was looking absolutely appalled. "I can't believe that you and that man," her voice trailed off in indignation. "Do you know what he said to your Aunt Sylvia at your wedding?"

"Probably something completely inappropriate that you've always wanted to say to her yourself."

He watched as she folded her lips together in disapproval. He turned to his father and waited for his opinion. "Dad?"

"No son of mine will be a fag. I can't believe that you would do this to your mother. I thought you had outdone yourself when you married Julie, but this is completely unacceptable." He turned to his wife. "I think we need to leave."

Wilson watched as his parents turned to leave. Maybe it had been too much, too fast, but his parents were walking away as his life was falling apart. The hell with them. "If you leave, you are not only walking away from me, but you're walking away from your granddaughter as well." He saw his mother pause. "I know you think he's a selfish bastard, but he's risking his life so that our child will have a chance to live." His father had paused. "I love him." His father seemed to flinch, and then he looked back at his wife, who had paused and was looking at her son in confusion.

"Jane, let's go," said her husband, but she only shook her head and stood firm.

Wilson and his mother watched as his father walked out the door. He turned to look down into the operating room, where another unit of blood was being hung.

"A grandchild? I don't understand. What are you talking about?" His mother's voice held a mixture of hope and confusion.

He gestured to the bench at the back of the observation deck, and they both sat down. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but it's the truth." He briefly explained about seeing Kayla and the night their daughter was conceived. "The fetus implanted in his abdomen, with the placenta attached to his internal organs."

"That makes it dangerous?"

Wilson nodded. "Just look at today. He fell, and the placenta pulled away from one of the places where it was attached. He was bleeding into his abdomen and the baby was showing some signs of distress. If it hadn't happened in a hospital, he could have bled out, and would probably have lost the baby." He turned to look down at where the doctors were operating. "They're trying to repair the damage and save the baby. I just thought that if something happens to her, you deserve to know." He swallowed, and then continued, "the odds are against her surviving to term. Even is she's OK after today, the risks just get bigger as she grows. The body is just not designed to carry a child outside of the uterus. There's a chance he could die as well."

"If it is so dangerous, why is he doing it?"

Wilson shrugged. "He said that you can't give back a miracle. Maybe that is the reason, but I think he just couldn't get rid of our child."

She reached over to take his hand. "Can you tell how it's going?"

"I don't know. They haven't taken the baby, which is a good sign." They were staring down at the operating room, not speaking, when Janet looked up and gave the thumbs up sign. He nodded before he sagged against the wall in relief. "I need to tell Dr. Cuddy." He stood up and found his boss waiting outside the door.

She looked up in concern. "Any word?"

"They're closing. Looks like it went all right."

"How did it go with your parents?"

"About how I expected it to. My father walked out. I don't think my mother is comfortable with the whole thing, but at least she stayed. Why don't you come on in and meet my mother."

They went in, and Dr. Cuddy made small talk with his mother. It was quite a while before Janet and Barry entered.

"Barry, Janet, I would like to introduce you to my mother, Jane Wilson. How are Greg and the baby?"

It was Janet who answered. "Both of them came through surgery really well. We were able to stop the bleeding. There were two major and three minor bleeds. We had to use another five units of blood during the surgery. The baby is doing fine, but we will be monitoring her very closely for the next few days."

Barry then took over. "I know we have been optimistic about his carrying the baby and continuing on as if everything is normal, but I think we need to be realistic here. He's just had abdominal surgery, and the baby is getting bigger and putting more strain on his body. I was hoping to put this off for a little while longer, but we have no choice but to put him on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy."

Wilson nodded. "I know, but he's going to go crazy, having to lie there and think all day. He'll go nuts in less than a week!"

Cuddy spoke for the first time. "Leave it to me. I have an idea how to handle this."

Wilson smiled gratefully. He looked over at the two surgeons and his smile faded. "There's something you're not telling me."

Janet was serious. "While we were in there, we were able to visualize almost all of the abdominal cavity. The placenta has spread throughout his abdomen."

Barry interrupted, "The good news is that there should be an adequate blood supply for the fetus as it grows."

Janet continued, "The bad news is that when it comes time to take the baby, it is going to be tricky getting in and leaving the placenta intact. It's nothing we can't handle, but we just need to be prepared."

Wilson nodded. "Can I see him?"

"You can come with me to recovery, but everyone else will need to wait until he's in a room, and then, I'd like you to keep it short. I want him to rest."

They were about to walk away when Lisa remembered something. "House's parents made the earlier flight from Atlanta. The plane is landing in an hour. I've got a meeting I can't reschedule and House's patient just had a seizure, so his team is busy."

"I can do it," suggested Jane, "except that I don't have a car."

James smiled gratefully. "You can take mine," he said, pulling his keys out of his pocket. "Their names are John and Blythe House." His smile faded slightly. "All they know is that he was bleeding and had to have emergency surgery."

"You mean they don't know about the baby?" His mother looked shocked.

"They don't even know about us." He sighed. "They're going to have a lot to deal with on top of the fact that their son just had major surgery."

"I'll just let them know that he came through surgery all right. That's the most important thing."

He smiled down at her. "Thanks mom."

"I can show you where the doctor's parking lot is," Lisa offered, leading his mother off.

Wilson followed Barry down to the recovery room. He stood by as House was extubated and awareness returned. He watched as House's right hand moved to his belly and fear crept into his eyes. Aware of the other people in the room, Wilson leaned down to whisper, "she's OK. Both of you are going to be fine." He watched as House smiled weakly and closed his eyes.

TBC