Author's Note: My Colts made it and so did I. Here's our next installment. I do not own House, blah blah blah. Remember - Pathetic Review Junkie here, so let me know what you think!

"Todd Jeffries is dead." Sarah stared at the detective for a moment, trying to process what she'd just heard. Todd was dead? She felt something welling up inside of her and burst into hysterical laughter. The detective just stared at her. Dr. Hadley looked concerned.

"Sarah," she said quietly. "Sarah." Sarah choked back another laugh, putting her uninjured hand over her mouth. She could feel tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she said, gasping for air. "I… I'm sorry."

"You hit Mr. Jeffries over the head with the lamp," said the detective.

"Yes," Sarah said quietly, starting to feel sick. "Is that… is that what killed him?"

"Our medical examiner hasn't determined what killed him yet." Sarah felt her nausea increase. She was going to throw up. Dr. Hadley moved quickly, bringing over a basin just in time.


House was still sitting up in his bed. It was after 1:30 now but he still didn't want to go back to sleep until he'd seen Sarah. He didn't understand why Thirteen hadn't brought her up yet. What could be taking so long in the Emergency Room?

The door to his room slid open and he looked over to see Chase coming in, carrying Maggie. He brought the dog over to the bed and set her down beside House. Maggie promptly climbed into his lap, leaning on his chest. Her tail wagged sleepily and House put his arm around her as she laid her head on his shoulder. He caught the smile on Chase's face and scowled at him.

"Nurse Baker says you won't go back to sleep," Chase said. "I figured we could keep you company while you wait." Chase dropped into the visitor's chair.

"How'd you get the dog past her?" Maggie moved to lie down alongside House's right leg. The warmth felt good. He put his hand on her back.

"Ignored her and came in anyway." House smiled for a second before taking another look at the clock. What could be keeping Sarah and Thirteen? "I could go down to the Emergency Room, check on what's going on." Chase offered. He didn't wait for House to respond but got to his feet and started for the door.

"Thanks," House said quietly. Chase didn't look back; he just nodded as he went through the door.


Sarah retched for several minutes. Thirteen kept one hand on the basin and put her other on the woman's back, making small circles in an effort to soothe. Graham had backed away so that he stood against the curtain, looking green.

When Sarah finally stopped, Thirteen took the basin away and brought back the box of tissues from the cart. Sarah leaned back in the gurney, her eyes shut. Thirteen wiped off her mouth. She looked over at the detective.

"Are you done?" she demanded. She wanted to get Sarah some water to rinse out her mouth but she wasn't going to leave her alone with this man.

"You think that I killed him?" Sarah asked softly.

"I don't know what killed him," the detective said. "How did he seem when you saw him?"

"What do you mean how did he seem? He was attacking her. I don't think she had time to do an exam of him," Thirteen snapped.

"He was sweating, and shaking," Sarah said, her voice still quiet.

"We found a large quantity of drugs – amphetamines – on him and in his car," Graham said. Thirteen stared at him.

"That's it," she said. She snatched up the basin and moved toward the detective. He eyed the basin and took a half-step back. Thirteen kept moving straight toward him, the basin in front of her, until he backed out of the curtained area.

"What are you doing?" he asked, trying to divide his attention between Thirteen's face and the basin.

"You came in here and let that poor woman think that she'd killed him when all along you really thought it was a drug overdose?"

"I'm doing my job, Dr. Hadley. People's reactions to my questions tell me more than their answers."

"Even if getting hit with the lamp is what killed him, she was acting in self-defense. She's been hiding from that man for two days."

"We only have her word about what happened since Mr. Jeffries is dead."

"You have got to be kidding." Thirteen glared at him. "You saw her reaction." She shoved the basin at him and the detective took another step back, swallowing nervously.

"I'm just doing my job," he repeated.

"What's going on?" Chase came into view, approaching from behind the detective. He spotted the basin in Thirteen's hands. "Is Sarah alright?"

"She's in there," Thirteen jerked her head toward the curtained area. "I was just going to get her some water."

"Ok." Chase looked from Thirteen to the detective and back again. "I'll stay with her." Graham's cell phone rang and he moved away from them to answer it.

"The man who attacked House is dead," Thirteen said quietly. "Sarah hit him in the head with a lamp. She's pretty shaken up."

"Ok. House is still awake. He refuses to lie down until he's seen her."

"I'll be right back," Thirteen said. "Don't leave her alone with that jerk." She hurried off to dispose of the basin's contents and get Sarah some water.


House sat in his bed, watching the clock. It was almost 2 am. His eyes were burning and the lids felt heavy but he was determined to see Sarah. Beside him, Maggie slept. Nurse Baker had gone past the room and glared in through the glass wall but so far she hadn't tried to evict the dog. He had a sneaking suspicion that the nurse was actually afraid of the dog.

Maggie moved beside him, making little yelps as she dreamed. House put a hand on her and she stilled.

"I told you we'd find her," he murmured, petting the dog. "She's downstairs. They'll bring her up here soon. She's going to be ok." He thought about Sarah smashing a lamp over the psycho's head. He hoped the creep hadn't gotten away before the police got there. He looked at the clock again. It was now two minutes after the hour. What could be taking so long?


Sarah's head was spinning. Todd was dead and she might have killed him. There had been no witnesses to their struggle in the hotel room. The police only had her word about what had happened. Even in her near panic, the irony of the situation didn't escape her. She was finally free of the man who had menaced her for years, only to face the possibility of being locked up for his murder.

She could hear Dr. Hadley arguing with the detective outside the curtains surrounding her gurney. The doctor sounded outraged; the detective was calm. She could've made out their words if she'd tried, but she wasn't capable of that level of concentration right now. An Australian accent joined the discussion and a moment later the curtain moved aside as he came to join her.

"Hey," he said. "Thirteen's getting you some water. She'll be right back. Ok?" Sarah nodded, not trusting her voice. If she opened her mouth right now, she didn't know what would come out. She felt like she was on the verge of something but she wasn't sure if it was sobbing or more hysterical laughter. Dr. Chase stood near the foot of the gurney, trying to watch her without staring. He looks tired, she thought.

The curtain moved again and Dr. Hadley came in, carrying a paper cup. She brought it straight to Sarah.

"Here," she said, holding out the cup. Sarah swirled the water around in her mouth and spit it back out into the cup. It was a relief to get that taste out of her mouth.

"Thank you," Sarah said. They all started as the curtain moved and the detective came back. Sarah felt sick again and her heart-rate picked up. Dr. Hadley put a hand on her shoulder.

"I just spoke to the medical examiner. He completed his preliminary exam," Graham said.

"Did I… did I kill him?" Sarah asked.

"The preliminary exam suggests it was his heart. Considering the drugs we found, it's not surprising." The detective kept talking but Sarah didn't hear anything else that he said. All she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. I didn't kill him, she thought. I didn't kill him.


Sarah had gone pale when Detective Graham entered the curtained area and Thirteen had put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

"I just spoke to the medical examiner," Graham told them. "He completed his preliminary exam." Thirteen wanted to hit him when he stopped talking. Was the man trying to be cruel?

"Did I… did I kill him?" Sarah asked, sounding very small.

"The preliminary exam suggests it was his heart. Considering the drugs we found, it's not surprising. We'll know more after the autopsy is completed of course."

"Do you have any more questions that she has to answer tonight?" Thirteen asked. She just wanted the detective to leave so she could take Sarah to House and then get them both to sleep.

"I guess not. I'll catch up with her tomorrow." Graham held out one of his cards and Chase took it.

"I'll make sure she has this," he said, taking the detective's arm and steering him away. Thirteen looked back to Sarah.

"Do you think you can stand?" she asked gently. The woman looked ready to collapse but she nodded, swinging her legs over the side of the gurney. Chase came back and stepped up on Sarah's other side, ready to offer support if needed.

"We can get you up to see House now," he said. Sarah went completely still and Thirteen gripped her elbow, afraid she was going to faint.

"I can't," Sarah whispered.

"Can't what?" Chase asked. "Should we get you a wheel chair?"

"I can't see him," Sarah said. "What would I say to him? He's hurt and that's all my fault. I can't."