Chapter 52

RING, RING. Dr. Wilson looked up from his latest patient file, a young girl with pancreatic cancer. DR. LISA CUDDY. "Oh crap," he murmured. "What could she want now? And it better not be about Anne and the rapist. I'm not going there."

He picked up the receiver. "This is Dr. Wilson."

"Wilson? It's Cuddy." Her voice sounded far away, is if she were on speakerphone.

"I kinda figured that from the caller ID. What do you want?"

Cuddy flinched at her words. She punched the mute button and looked at Anne. "You're right; he's mad. Are you sure we should do this?"

"Should? Probably not. Do I want to? Absolutely. Dr. Cuddy, he needs to come to terms with this…I'm not just his younger cousin, I'm now his best friend's wife. We've got to do this."

Cuddy nodded and depressed the mute button. "I'm having a meeting with Medicaid today at…" She looked at her clock...10:05 a.m…then at Anne, who indicated 11:30. "…11:30. We need to go over a few of your patient files. Please be here then with your Medicaid files from last year."

Wilson groaned. He hated these meetings but, since Wilson always held Medicaid meetings with Cuddy (given the severity and expense of treating cancer) this was nothing new and he didn't give that a second thought. It was just so last minute. "Fine. 11:30 it is." And he hung up.

"Perfect," Wilson muttered, getting up from his chair to dig out the files he needed. "There goes my day."

*****

At 11:30 Wilson showed up, carrying an armload of patient folders. He was alarmed to only see Cuddy. Setting the folders on the desk, he frowned. "Where's the person from Medicaid?"

"Right here…" House's gruff voice answered from the doorway behind Wilson. Wilson closed his eyes briefly and turned to see both House and Anne standing at the door, each wearing a different look: House was mad; Anne was sad and hurt.

When Wilson saw the hurt look on her face, his steadfast resolve to forever stay mad at her crumbled. After all, he'd never been able to deny her anything…but Wilson also needed to stay focused on being mad. "What do you two want?"

"World peace…a million dollars…" House grumbled then smirked and turned to his wife, who was watching Wilson. "…a vibrating bed?!?!"

"EWWWW!!!" Wilson full-bodied shivered…and after he'd tried so hard to erase the image of his cousin and…that…man…in bed together. Wilson turned back to Cuddy. "Does the RAPIST have to be here?!?"

"I am NOT a rapist!" House growled low and very angrily.

This wasn't turning out well; name calling and accusations weren't going to solve the problem.

Anne realized the intervention approach wasn't going to work so she tried sincerity, finally allowing the things closest to her heart to bubble to the surface. "James," her quiet voice entered the fray, with so much power it physically turned Wilson around to face her. "Please stop this. This is killing me. I know we didn't tell you…and I know it's…GREG…" she said that last portion with emphasis to inform Wilson she knew who she'd married.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" House looked at his wife, a snarky eyebrow raised.

"Shut up honey. You might actually learn something," she winked at him and Wilson rolled his eyes. He did NOT want to see them flirting.

"You're right…you didn't tell me. Why did you spring it on me in front of everyone…and, come to think of it, why did you marry HIM??" Wilson pointed to his best friend.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" House repeated, this time at Wilson.

Wilson shrugged. "She's too good for you."

Now House was fuming…and Cuddy was watching everything with fearful fascination. She'd never seen both men so angry, ESPECIALLY at each other. Cuddy's eyes widened when House's eyes narrowed and he took a step toward his best friend. Whatever he was going to do it wouldn't involve a hug or a handshake.

Anne placed a hand on her husband's arm. "No Greg." He stopped but his eyes were blazing, genuine hurt and anger shooting from each pore. She looked back at her cousin. "What's this really about? It's certainly not just about my choice of husband."

Wilson stared House down, not moving a muscle. "You're my baby cousin; I was there for you when Uncle Dennis and Aunt Selma died, then when John died. You're actually closer than my cousin: you're the sister I never had. I've always watched out for you."

"Just like you've looked after Greg, which was why you sent me to follow him. You've ALWAYS been there when Greg needed you the most, picking up pieces and treating wounds." Wilson nodded then his face dropped, looking away. Anne's eyes widened. "You're not just upset that Greg's dying…you're mad that he's dying on YOUR watch! After all you've done for him, he has to die anyway? You're mad you can't save him so you fight him; but to fight him you have to HURT him, just like he hurts you." Wilson turned away and fell into a nearby chair.

Anne looked at House whose anger had dissolved into wonder. Feeling such an overwhelming urge to encourage House, Anne stepped closer, took his face in her hands, leaned up and comforted him with her kiss. It didn't take long for him to respond but she pulled away before it got too heated. "What was that for?" He whispered, looking at her lips with love.

Anne grinned and whispered just low enough for him to hear: "Because you really are a good man. No matter what is said we deserve to be together. You're also blessed with people that care for you. Greg, James is just as scared about you leaving as I am. Please remember that from now on." She stepped away and turned back to her cousin who'd turned away from the scene. Coming over to his chair, Anne knelt in front of him and placed her head on his knees, looking away from everyone.

"Jimbo? Remember I used to call you that?" Wilson coughed but threaded his fingers through her hair. He was listening. "I was about five and a movie, Billy Rose's Jumbo, came on TV. Remember that movie, with Doris Day?"

"Yes."

Anne chuckled. "You were seven and so full of yourself, even then. I got upset because I wanted to play dolls and you said dolls were for girls. You picked up my favorite Betsy-Wetsy and threw her across the room, hitting my poor Springer Spaniel who, ironically, was also named Betsy." He chuckled himself, a bit of relief in that chuckle. "After you almost maimed poor Betsy (both the dog and the doll), you turned on the TV and there was Jumbo. Like the adoring 5-year-old I was, I forgave you because I wanted you to think I was cool…and what seemed to be cool in my 5-year-old world was watching Jumbo with you."

"I remember that movie," he said, a smile in his voice as he thought about that movie. "It was about a traveling circus, right?"

"Yes and Jumbo was the elephant in that movie. Jumbo was larger than life and everyone loved him. It turned out everyone just wanted him but, to a 5-year-old, when people constantly repeat your name and you are the important person, or animal, that's love. And to me, Jimbo, YOU were my Jumbo." Anne looked up and saw the faintest tears in his eyes. "Do you remember what I said?"

He nodded, coughing to clear his choking throat. "You said, 'I'm gonna call you Jumbo, just like that elephant.' I said, 'My name's Jimmy.'"

Anne smiled, tears forming in her eyes as well. "And I said, 'Then I'll call you Jimbo.' And the nickname stuck."

Wilson rolled his eyes. "Yeah, and you felt it necessary to offer a toast at each of my marriages." He looked at Cuddy, who was wiping tears from her eyes at the scene that unfolded in front of her. "She referred to me as Jimbo at each toast. It was supposed to be a serious moment but everyone was laughing at me."

Anne chuckled. "Aw, poor Jimbo. It was tough, wasn't it?" Wilson rolled his eyes but his tiny smirk told them he was coming around. Anne turned serious. Still kneeling in front of him, she placed her hands on his knees for balance and gave him a long, beseeching look. "Jimbo, please don't ignore us; please don't stop treating Greg. I know that our marriage has helped him feel better longer…but Greg needs you at this moment, now more than ever. And I'm sorry you found out about our marriage the way you did but we couldn't break the news over the phone. That would be heartless and we care too much about you to do that. Jimbo, I need you." She leaned forward and placed her forehead against her hands, still on James' knees. The next words were muffled but comprehensible: "I'm not going to get through this without you…who would be there when Greg…when he…" Anne's voice caught in a sob. "…when Greg leaves me? You can't leave me too." She began weeping and Wilson's hands came to her head, lifting it up to meet his gaze. "I'll…be…all…alone…" she hiccupped.

Wilson couldn't stand it anymore: standing up, he quickly pulled her into his arms and rocked her, whispering reassurances against her hair. Cuddy began sobbing.

And House? House was watching the entire scene with a strange new emotion: sympathy mixed with anger. Sympathy because these were the two people he cared the most about in the world and they were in agony…and anger because HE caused it. These emotions and thoughts were so new to him he didn't know how to process any of it. His brain actually hurt from the stress of the unknown.

For once, House was actually sorry for making someone mad at him. He wanted to cure himself; to turn back the clock; to reach inside and remove what he was feeling…ANYTHING that could give relief to these two.

And it was at that moment House became truly human: he learned how to feel, specifically for someone else. He was so uncomfortable that he quietly slipped out, wanting to get away from that scene that disturbed him…and the reasoning for that scene, which disturbed him even more than the cancer…he caused them pain. And he couldn't reverse it.

He couldn't reverse the clock back…

six months…

*****