House and Wilson exited the clinic.
Glancing towards the elevators they could see Blythe, William and Martha chatting as they awaited the arrival of the elevator.
The soft bell of its arrival was lost in the in the hustle and bustle of the hospital lobby, but there was no mistaking its single occupant as the doors slid slowly open.
John House was still livid but at the sight of William and his wife talking and smiling a fresh fire of anger sprouted in his body.
House could feel his rage from the reception desk as he picked up his pace drawing closer to the growing rage and tension.
Martha, William and Blythe fell silent as John stepped out among them.
"Blythe." he said in a low growling tone.
The elevator closed behind him, the three who had awaited its arrival no longer wishing to use it until the business with its only occupant was settled.
"John, you have to calm down." she said quietly.
"Do not tell me to calm down!" he hissed.
House moved almost reluctantly forward but his pace was fast,
"Well I'll tell you then." William said stepping towards John slightly. "Calm down."
"You!" He sneered, "You don't even talk to me."
"You're lucky you can still talk after the shit you just pulled upstairs." William threatened his fists clutching at his pants. "You might be able to shoo other problems away with this macho-I-was-in-the-army bull..."
"Marines." John said normally as his face became an example of seething anger.
House resisted the urge to leave as soon as possible as he stood next to his mother and watched the drama enfold between his father and Allison's.
"Even better," William said with a smirk, "I was in the Army and that crap isn't going to work on me."
House could feel Wilson at his side, he could almost feel his sympathy radiating in powerful waves.
"You have no idea..." John started.
"No you have no idea!" William shot back, "What you did was unforgivable."
"What I did was teach my son a lesson." he replied venomously.
"What lesson did you teach him other than it's not right to love?"
House cringed but stayed silent as William continued.
"Why should he follow your rules anymore?"
"Those rules work for me and they work for thousands of others. They even worked for you once."
"Not for the last thirty years." William scoffed.
John House looked angered and horrified.
"You abandoned the service of your country?"
"I served my country by raising my three children, to teach them right from wrong, let them grow up to chose their own path and make their own decisions. I had once been selfish; I never knew how much they meant to me until I nearly lost my life. After that I gave everything for them. Something you obviously couldn't understand."
"Hazards are part of the job description." John House barked.
"They didn't put POW in my brochure." William snarled, "I almost wish you were there with me so you could know how precious family is, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone, even you."
House could feel a ripple through the group as the absorbed the information, his mother and Wilson shivered. A steely look spread across Martha's face and she caught his eyes briefly. He could tell she knew that he knew, she smiled softly and he returned it before both their eyes were drawn back to his father and William.
"My family is important to me." John replied in a bland voice.
"Apparently." William said, that one word dripping with sarcasm, "I can't believe such an amazing man came from you, all I can do is praise Blythe here for the fantastic job she did raising him because it's all to apparent that your hand in raising him wasn't required or wanted. You just wanted the perfect spouse and son to show off at military balls, well guess what they are perfect without you!"
"This is my family." John said vehemently.
"Greg is now part of my family too, regardless of his intentions towards my daughter."
"Ah yes your daughter," John said in a haughty tone, "No doubt using any means to further her pathetic career."
John House was expecting an explosion of anger from the man before him, the last thing her expected was for his own son to take him by surprise and pin him to the wall with his forearm pressing against his larynx, anger blazing in his eyes and lifted by that one arm so much that he stood on his toes.
"Put me down." he gasped.
"No." House growled.
Two security guards drew carefully closer, the nurses calling them at the first signs of trouble. Wilson told them to keep back with nothing more than a look.
"Greg, let me go." John ordered breathlessly.
"What are you going to do about it?"
John House kicked and punched out, his fists hitting everything including his broken hand, his foot finding several targets but his knee hit House directly in the centre of his right thigh.
House faltered for a moment as he switched all their weight to his left leg.
John squirmed in his grasp, but House pressed him harder to the wall, his eyes blazing hotter than ever before contrasting with their cool blue color.
John House gulped.
"That's enough." House growled, "That's enough. You have no clue what she or I have been through this week! You haven't even taken the time to ask so don't you dare suggest her reason's for wanting to be with me are anything but pure, I'm just glad she even wants to talk to me after the shit I've put her through. As for you I've had enough, had enough of your words and had enough of your fists. I don't need you. I don't want to ever, ever see you again."
House turned and threw him from the wall before leaning subtly against it himself.
"Leave." House commanded darkly.
"Blythe." John said turning expectantly to his wife.
"I have to stay with Greg; I can't leave him now." Blythe said almost pleadingly.
John glowered and turned on his heal heading towards the door.
"James, could you follow him out to the car and get my bag please." Blythe ask Wilson as kindly as possible with a glance in the direction of the awaiting security guards.
Wilson glanced at House.
House nodded, the pain growing in his thigh and hand as adrenaline and rage poured from him.
"Sure."
He left them drawing the two security guards to his side and following John into the car park.
"You can stay at my apartment if you want mom, I'm not really using it just now."
His vision began to blur slightly.
His hearing becoming muffled as if he were underwater.
"Okay." Blythe said with a soft, reserved smile.
A ringing sounded in his mind.
His vision blurred further.
"That's a good idea," William started, "Allie isn't really using..."
At which point House lost consciousness and fell to the ground in a heap of limbs, his head smacking heavily against the solid floor.
House woke slowly, a groan on his lips at the brightness of the light but happily, he thought there was little pain just discomfort.
Ah the blissful haze of morphine he thought to himself.
"Greg."
His eyes weren't fully open but he recognised the voice.
"Hey, William."
"Your mom's with Martha and Allie, she seems pretty happy to have some female company and girly chat." he said rocking on his heals slightly, "So I thought I'd better leave them to it."
"What happened?"
"You passed out, too much pain and too much stress." William said softly, his voice full of compassion distinctly lacking in judgement and pity.
"Where am I?" House said squinting up at William.
"Sorry there isn't enough wrong with your head to get you in neurology." he joked, "You're somewhere in the Witherspoon wing."
House nodded, not pain but definitely discomfort.
"Foreman did mention you might have a mild concussion after the way you hit your head against the ground. Bounced a couple of times from what I saw. You're going to be pretty sore for a while."
House groaned, trying not to imagine such an impact after his world went black.
"When can I see...?"
"When Foreman gives the okay."
"Then where is he?" House very nearly demanded pulling himself up slowly to a sitting position.
"I waved to the nurses to page him when you woke up, he should be here soon."
William looked around the room almost nervously before meeting House's gaze; House so an emotion in his eyes he'd rarely ever seen in his life.
"You showed a lot of courage back there."
Pride.
House nodded once.
"Have you ever noticed how easy it is for you to save other people but how hard it is for you to save yourself?"
House stared at him with wide eyes.
"I only say that because the same is true for Allie, I noticed it when she was 14 and called an ambulance for her friend whose head was gushing while her own ribs were cracked and broken and blood poured from her knees and elbows. Everyone else was always first, though you hide your true motives well. I'm glad you found each other, I'm glad you'll be first in each others lives and finally have someone to take care of you."
Foreman hurries in clearly some what stretched between his two patients and colleagues.
"What did the scans say?" House asked instantly, moving so that his legs hung over the side of the bed.
"We didn't give you any scans." Foreman said with a frown.
House rolled his eyes.
"Cameron."
"Ah, I'm not supposed to tell you," he said slightly nervously as he checked the responsiveness of House's pupils and moves on to taking other observations.
"I'm fine just a headache," House grumbled pushing Foreman's hands away. "Give me the all clear and I can go find out what you're not telling me."
"House, you're on a low dose of morphine," he said indicating to the IV drip at his side, "If you have a headache, however slight, through that then I'd definitely say you have, at least, a grade 2 concussion."
"Give me my Vicodin and let me go." House ordered.
"House..." Foreman sighed.
"Foreman, please," House said in a softer and almost vulnerable tone, "I'll be with a doctor at all times and nurses will be checking on us both all the time. I need to know what's on those scans."
"Fine, but I'm getting you some Ibuprofen to help with swelling."
"Great." House said almost hopping from the bed.
His legs very nearly collapsed beneath him, luckily William was on guard; almost expecting such a reaction. He quickly caught House and set him on his feet once more and handed him his cane.
Foreman shook his head slightly at him and left to get the correct dose of pain killers.
"Do you know what the scans showed?" House asked William.
"Not enough to satisfy your curiosity." He replied good-naturedly.
House nodded, he closed his eyes and groaned as the movement made his head thump harder.
William drew closer resting his hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?"
"Hmm, yeah." he answered with his eyes still closed.
"Are you sure, I don't mind you passing out again just do it where I can catch you."
"I'll be fine."
House answered opening his eyes and removing the IV.
"That means you're not fine now." said in a calculating tone.
"I just need to see her." he said conveying that if Foreman knew he wouldn't be able to see Cameron until he'd been through more tests for the same diagnosis. "I need to know she's going to be okay."
William cast a critical eye over him.
"Fine," William said giving in, "But I'm keeping an eye on you and you have to tell Allison."
"I will." House agreed to his conditions.
"Tell her everything." William said with a piercing look.
"Okay," House said as Foreman appeared two phials in his hands - one grey, one orange - and a candy bar.
He laid all three on the bed at House's side.
"Your Vicodin and Ibuprofen; one or two every six hours with food."
House grabbed the candy bar, "Yeah, yeah I know I'm a doctor too. Can I go now?"
Foreman poured water into a glass, "As soon as you take your pills."
House took a single bite of the candy and as he chewed he tipped two of each type of pill on to the mattress.
He lifted all four to how mouth and swallowed them with a gulp of water.
"Can I go now boss?" House asked impatiently.
"Yes, just take it slow and I'll be checking on you later." Foreman said as he exited the room shaking his head lightly.
"Professional, isn't he." William said more as a statement than a question but House answered anyway.
"Yeah." House grunted picking up his cane and moving towards the door glad that William was at his side all the while hoping Cameron's scans were clear.
