GRAVE

"House," Wilson called out, just as House stopped in front of the rose. "Just wait a minute, okay."

Wilson joined House by the plant, as did Foreman. All three men looked down at the large dirt covered ground. The dirt had been disturbed and the rose plant was only just sitting on top, making it easy to see that the ground had only been disturbed recently. At least the men hoped that it was recently.

"Oh, crap, House the message," said Wilson suddenly, turning his head sharply towards House.

"What?" Foreman asked.

"She's buried near you," Wilson replied, quoting the message on the whiteboard. "She could be under there."

"We haven't got any proof." Foreman argued. "We should wait until-"

"And if we stand here and Cuddy is down there we're just wasting time," said Wilson.

"I still think we should-"

"I don't care what you think." House snapped. "She's down there and we can't just stand here."

"What can we do?" Foreman demanded.

"Get! Her! Out!" House shouted. "We have no idea how long she's been down there. Remember she was taken a day ago!"

House threw his cane to the ground where it fell by his feet, almost hitting Wilson's. House dropped onto his knees with enough force to cause him to wince. He bit down on his lip and hisses loudly. He placed his hands into the dirt and began to shift large amounts of it into a pile, creating a small hole. The soil wa somewhere between soft and hard and was irritating his fingers where the small grains caught deep under his nails.

Wilson grabbed hold of one of House's arms and tried to pull him up.

"House, come on man." Wilson hissed "You can't stay down there, your leg-"

"If you don't want me down here," House hissed, through clenched teeth as he yanked his arm back, "get on your fucking knees and help!"

Wilson looked bewildered for a moment and turned to Foreman who also looked quite shocked. Together they each nodded and quickly joined House on the ground. Together the three men used their hands to shift through the dirt.

Time seemed to pass slowly and by the time they were about half a meter down, House felt something under his fingers that was different than the feel of dirt. He looked down and pushed the dirt out of the way. He paused and looked down and saw a very pale, feminine hand. Cuddy's hand.

"Shit!" He yelled.

He moved up a bit to where Cuddy's head would be. Almost pushing Wilson in the process. His hands moved with such speed and force that he hardly recognized it as his own.

"Holly shit," Wilson gasped.

All three men looked down at Cuddy's face, pale and covered in dirt. Her hair matted and sticking to the sides of her face.

"Hurry up, we need to get her out of there." Foreman said.

They managed to dig her up and House pulled her against him and moved her away from the hole. He laid her down onto the ground. She was dressed in a long, silk, white dress. The material clung to her curves but House didn't notice. All he did notice was that her skin was almost as white as the dress.

TBC

Next Chapter - NO LONGER BREATHING