By the time Thomas arrived, Cuddy was feeling better. Also like her brain was wrapped in a blanket, but she was feeling better. The pain was still present but had had the volume turned down some, especially if she kept still.
Thomas entered the room walking quickly, then looked at her and took a deep breath. "Are you all right?" he asked.
"I'm fine except for my ankle," Cuddy replied. "Really, Thomas."
He came up to the side of the bed to give her a ginger hug, careful not to jolt her, but he did seem to accept the answer more than he had on the phone. House, watching, was abruptly reminded of that night in Lexington when Thomas had turned up at the airport to meet their flight. He'd explained later that he had had a nightmare the night before that their plane crashed, and he hadn't been able to shake loose of it all day, so he came down to see them as soon as possible, knowing that would reassure him. Just like that night, getting the actual evidence of his own eyes helped steady him here. "I'm sorry, Lisa," he said, "but thank God it isn't worse. Blame the ice."
She sighed. No, she didn't even have that much excuse. House answered for her, saving her having to say it herself. "It wasn't the ice. She fell on the stairs in the lobby, apparently was in a hurry and missed one."
"Should have been more careful," she stated.
Thomas gave her a sympathetic grin. "We've all been guilty of that at times, Lisa. The important thing is you're going to be all right." He turned to face his son, more ready to hear the medical details now that he could see her. "It is a simple fracture?"
House nodded. "It's got a little displacement to it, which is why we're going to do the ORIF. That's open reduction, internal fixation," he filled in, seeing Thomas' brief puzzled look as he wondered what an "ore-if" was. "Really, this is a borderline case to need it, could just go with closed reduction and it would probably heal up all right without hardware, but it will improve a lot faster with it, and she'll have quicker return to function. It's a simple operation with this fracture. Won't take much work to get things all fixed and straight." Which was true. He still felt a tightening in his stomach at thinking of this simple operation being performed on her, but it was a quick, easy procedure.
Thomas accepted it, still tense himself but looking a lot better than he had sounded on the phone. "Have you told Rachel and Abby yet?"
"No," House said. "One family member at a time, old man. Or at least one set at a time."
"I'm honored to be first. About them, though, may I make a suggestion?" It was a genuine question. He and his son were slowly settling into a good relationship, but Thomas still made efforts not to get his back up, because it still was possible at times to do it.
House considered. "What is it?" he asked.
"I think it would be better to tell them in person, not on the phone. As young as they are, having you there to reassure them directly would go a long way."
"I can't leave -"
Cuddy cut him off. She might feel a little gauze wrapped at the moment, but even so, she thought that was a good idea. "Yes, you can. I'm perfectly fine, Greg. Just going to lie here and ice and elevate my ankle for the rest of the day. And - and I don't feel like doing anything else. You don't have to stay here every minute. But Thomas is right; they'd take it better from you in person. They are awfully young to get this over the phone."
"They'll want to visit, of course," Thomas added, "but they won't be nearly as scared that way. Having you there would calm them down. Then you can all come to the hospital for a brief visit, and then they can go back home. I'd be willing to stay over at your place later tonight with them while you're here."
The assumption that House would be staying at the hospital tonight was automatic, and none of the other two challenged it. Cuddy knew that she might convince her husband to take a break here and there for an hour or two during the day, but there was no way he would leave her alone all night. He had as many worries about losing his family as Thomas did, though for different reasons, and the dreams would be bound to accept the invitation for him tonight in their bed alone.
"I want - I need to be here tomorrow, though," Thomas added. "During the surgery. I don't know if I could take waiting for a phone call on that in front of them."
"Marina can keep them tomorrow," House said. He debated. Really, the plan was a good one, the only problem being that he hesitated to leave Cuddy even today, even for a few hours. Which was illogical, and it got him annoyed at himself. He knew medicine, could trust medicine, and here, medically, he was sure. She was perfectly stable. There was no reason why he needed to be glued here for the next 24 hours. And the girls - Thomas was right. They would handle being directly informed much better.
"One more thing," Thomas offered. House raised an eyebrow. Thomas continued, walking carefully now. "I'd wait until mid to late afternoon to tell them at all."
Cuddy and House both started to object there. Thomas looked at his daughter-in-law, knowing that she would be the quicker ally on this point. "That ice. It's still pretty slick, not as bad as it was an hour or two ago, but the temperature is rising. It's supposed to be above freezing by 1:00. It would be - easier - to handle the girls with -"
House couldn't help getting annoyed a little there at the obvious concern for his leg, even though he had to admit that it was no doubt justified. Handling both daughters and walking across that parking lot again would be challenging. He'd had a hard enough time this morning with Cuddy acting as a second cane. With the girls, unavailable for physical support and worried besides, the walk would be an adventure. Marina could come along to ride herd on them, but even so, there was no way that he could avoid a laborious trip in this morning's conditions, and seeing that would worry the girls even further at a point when they already were on edge about their mother.
Cuddy bailed out Thomas by switching sides. Even through narcotics, she grasped - and accepted - that as a valid point. "That's a good idea, Thomas. They don't know anything is wrong now, and the weather will be a lot better this afternoon." She would be worried herself about her husband going back out there in the slick conditions this morning.
House sighed. Thomas looked from one of them to the other and relaxed a little. "Besides, Lisa, it will let you rest some before seeing them. That would only help."
It was her turn to sigh, again aware of her current status - and of the fact that it was totally her fault. No preexisting condition in her case to contribute to her fall, no bad weather playing a role. She simply hadn't been paying as much attention as she should.
"All right," House agreed. "We'll wait for mid afternoon to tell them."
Thomas gave him a smile. "Thank you, Greg."
With that settled, the morning wore on slowly. Word was getting around the hospital grapevine, and Wilson and Sandra both came by to check on them. House had a cell phone consultation with his team. He knew that he would have to cancel both his appointment with Jensen and Cuddy's with Patterson for tomorrow afternoon, but he saved that, not quite wanting to do that in front of his father yet. He'd make those calls later, maybe during his absence to go break the news to the girls.
The three of them talked about everything except the current situation, and it did help calm everyone down. Cuddy found herself getting drowsy, fighting the narcotics.
"You could take a nap, you know," House told her.
"I don't like -" Taking a nap in the middle of the day at the hospital she was administrator of seemed like a failure on the job somehow.
He heard the thought. "You're a patient at the moment, Lisa. Nobody is marking all this on your annual evaluation."
Thomas looked at his watch. "Tell you what. Why don't you and I go down to the cafeteria, Greg, and beat the lunch rush? We can give Lisa a chance to rest. She wouldn't be eating much anyway. And we'll still be in the hospital if she needs anything." He had seen enough by this point that he was feeling a lot better himself, though still on edge about tomorrow's operation.
Cuddy quickly grasped that suggestion. Her husband could use walking around a little and stretching his leg, anyway, and somehow, taking a nap while not in front of witnesses seemed better than taking one right under their noses. "That's a good idea, Thomas. You two go ahead and take an hour or so, and I'll just rest a little." House looked dubious. "Go on, Greg."
A little reluctantly, he stood, and then he realized just how long he had been sitting. Cuddy and Thomas carefully didn't watch while he got himself balanced and stretched a few kinks out. "I'll have my cell phone with me. Come on, old man. You're buying."
"I don't remember saying that," Thomas replied. He was joking; both of them knew he would wind up paying. Cuddy smiled to herself as they left the room together, father and son. Life was good at the moment. Well, apart from this morning, but in general, life was good at the moment. She gave up the fight to stay alert and let herself drift off into sleep.
House and Thomas walked down the full length of the hall to the far elevator, and if the old man noticed their lengthened journey, at least he didn't say so. They were deposited on the ground floor and started the walk back across PPTH, heading for the cafeteria, moving slowly but in companionable silence. As they crossed the lobby, House paused, turning to look at the guilty stairs, and Thomas followed his gaze and shuddered. They had just resumed their progress when a voice arrested them.
"Greg! Wait a minute." He turned in disbelief and stared. Yes, his ears weren't deceiving him. Here, walking toward them from the main doors, came Stacy.
