Title: When Life Gives You Lemons

Relationships: All friendship

Rating: T/M

Warning: Nothing too bad. Mild language I guess…

Spoilers: Season 1

Disclaimer: I am not making any profit from this fan fiction, all recognizable characters belong to FOX and all of the others belong to me.

A/N: Please forgive me for my limited medical knowledge. I haven't every broken a bone but my cousin did and I had to have him tell me what they did. (He was twelve when it happened and now he's seventeen so I doubt I'm very accurate.) Once again, I'm sorry for messing up but read for entertainment value and not my stupidity.

Chapter 3: Idiot

I think I'll go home and mull this over,

Before I cram it down my throat,

At long last it's crashed,

This colossal mass,

Has broken up into bits in my moat

- The Shins

Wilson lay on the couch after House had gone to bed and was contemplating what he was going to do. Going home didn't sound like fun but it was the only thing he could think of that he actually wanted to do. He knew going home would only depress him more but it was probably the only thing that would settle his restlessness.

'Greg'll understand if I'm not here in the morning,' he told himself.

He kicked off the blanket he'd been using, got up from the couch, put his jeans on over his boxers, and grabbed his keys. Before he walked out the door, Wilson scribbled a note for House just incase.

I went home.

See you later,

James

He left the note on the couch and let himself out of the apartment.

As he drove home, he tried not to remember that it was four in the morning and he couldn't sleep because his wife had left him. Thinking of Julie only depressed him and he did his best to focus on the road; but of course he couldn't. His concentration was slipping and he didn't notice when his right foot pressed the gas peddle a little harder than it should have, he didn't realize that his grip on the wheel was slipping because his hands were sweaty, and when the car crashed into a wall he didn't even feel the impact…

"Ow," Wilson moaned when he came to. He could see paramedics standing over him and he cursed inwardly.

"Don't move his arm, Linda," one of the men said, "it looks like he broke it."

"Sir," the woman named Linda said, "Sir, we're taking you to Princeton General Hospital. You've been in a car crash."

"I know," Wilson replied. He didn't feel too bad for being in a car crash; his airbag must have saved him from most of the impact. Going to Princeton General was probably a blessing. If he went to Princeton-Plainsboro Cuddy would find out and fuss and then call House who would bitch at him for being so stupid. Besides, if he had evaluated his pain correctly the only thing he had really hurt was his left arm. He was left-handed but he could make due with his right arm for a few weeks.

"Can you tell us your name?" Linda asked.

"James Wilson," Wilson replied, knowing she would ask him a bunch of questions to check for a concussion.

"When were you born?" she asked.

Wilson answered, knowing she had his driver's license and was checking to make sure he was correct. He answered all of her questions correctly and then had to endure a quick flashlight check in his eyes. That had always been his least favorite part because his eyes were sensitive and he would tear.

"We're here," the driver called from the front.

Linda nodded and she and the two male paramedics opened the door and pulled the stretcher that was Wilson was lying on out of the ambulance.

"You seem to be fine," Linda told him, "but one of our doctors will examine you to see how you're doing. We're going to X-ray that arm because it looks like you broke it. Just lie on your back while we wheel you in."

Wilson sighed. He knew this was all standard procedure but he wished they would just get a wheel chair. He wasn't allowed to walk in under his own power because if he fell he could sue for malpractice.

"Would you be more comfortable in a wheel chair?" Linda asked when a nurse came out to meet them.

"Yes," Wilson replied. His arm was hurting but the rest of his body felt allright; they would probably clear him and tell him to call someone to pick him up after they set his arm in a cast. He wasn't too sure how he'd broken his arm but he figured it had to be the way his car had crashed and his arm had gotten smashed in the door or something. It didn't really matter to him how his arm had been broken, all that mattered was that it hurt like hell.

Linda nodded. "Susie will help you in to a wheel chair once you get into the hospital and get an X-Ray."

Susie, the nurse, walked with the paramedics into the hospital. "Do you have an ID for him?"

"Yes," one of the male paramedics said, handing Wilson's driver's license over.

Susie took the ID and went to admit Wilson to the hospital as Linda passed the stretcher off to another nurse who took him to get an X-Ray.

"I'm Li Mei," the woman told him with a slight Chinese accent that made Wilson look at her and decide she was a very pretty woman. "Dr. Laski will be with you in a moment." She stopped pushing the stretcher when they got into the room and pulled up a chair that rolled. "Do you need help?"

"No," Wilson replied and pushed himself up, hugging his left arm to his chest because the slightest movement hurt it.

Li Mei held the chair for him and did actually help him to sit down. "Put your arm on here." She put a lead block down on the table and indicated for him to rest his left arm on it in a certain way. "This will hurt," she said and adjusted the way his arm was on the block.

Wilson winced and bit his tongue so as not to cry out or mutter an obscenity. "How long have you been a nurse for?" he asked, trying to get his mind off of everything.

"About three years," she answered. "I'm going back to medical school to become an ER doctor." She got up and went over behind the machine. "Now don't move."

Wilson closed his eyes because of the X-Ray and waited as she unloaded the X-Ray machine and then took the lead block.

"I'll be right back, I need to develop these," she told him and walked out of the room.

Wilson leaned back against the chair and called himself every stupid name he could think of. It wasn't even six in the morning and he had been in a car accident and broken his arm. 'At least it wasn't anything serious,' he told himself.

"I'm Dr. Laski," a man said from the door. He was much older than Wilson and Wilson guessed him to be in his late fifties. Dr. Laski looked like a very happy man who had seen many tragic things, Wilson decided. His blue-green eyes had a very old look to them and his face told the story of hardship even though he had lots of laugh lines around his mouth and crow's feet by his eyes.

"Nice to meet you," Wilson replied courteously.

Dr. Laski pinned up Wilson's X-Ray and switched the light on. He studied the X-Ray and Wilson did the same.

"Shit," he muttered. "I really did break it." He saw that he'd snapped his wrist. "At least it's a clean break."

Dr. Laski gave Wilson an amused look and said teasingly, "You've got some medical knowledge I see."

Wilson blushed. "I'm an oncologist."

"Ah," Laski replied, a smile on his face old face. "You're right about the arm. You'll need a cast for about the next six weeks or so. It should heal well, you're pretty lucky. The medics said your car is totaled."

Wilson closed his eyes. "Wonderful."

Dr. Laski chuckled. "Is there anyone you'd like us to call?"

"No," he replied, not wanting to bug House or alert Cuddy. They'd find out soon enough.

"All right," Laski said. "Well, I'll send a nurse to take you so that they can get a cast on that arm, but you're free to go when they're done. The police have alerted your insurance company and everything else seems to be checking out. Just go home and get some sleep."

Wilson nodded, thinking that sounded like a good idea. "Thanks, Doctor."

Laski grinned at him. "Have a nice night and take some Ibuprofen if your arm starts to feel really nasty."

Wilson smiled back and said goodbye as Dr. Laski left the room.

Li Mei, the Chinese nurse, came back into the room with a wheelchair. "Dr. Laski said you need a cast. I'll take you down there and set the broken bone." She reached her hand down to help him up and into the wheelchair.

"I've got it," Wilson said, and pushed himself to his feet and then sat down in the chair.

Li Mei started to push him out of the door and down the hall. "So what do you do?"

"I'm head of oncology at Princeton-Plainsboro," Wilson replied.

"Wow," Li Mei said. "That must be a tough job; being around people who rarely live long." She headed him over to the elevator and pressed the button for the fourth floor.

"It can be," he answered, trying not to be rude. He bit his tongue to keep from saying, 'it's hard to watch someone die in the ER too'. He didn't want to discourage her from becoming and ER doctor even though nurses saw plenty themselves.

They didn't talk much for the rest of the trip to the room where the plaster was kept. When they entered the room, Li Mei had him sit in the corner. She had the X-Ray and looked at it so as to see how the bone needed to be set.

"This will really hurt," she told him.

Wilson nodded and gritted his teeth. "I know."

Setting the bone took only a few seconds but Wilson yelped a little.

Li Mei smiled at him and Wilson blushed. "Do you want white or another color? We've got blue, green, purple, orange, and black. We even have one with teddy bears."

Wilson chuckled at the thought of going to work with a teddy bear cast or even a purple one. "White is probably the best."

She laughed a little herself and nodded before setting to work.

The whole process of making the cast took quite a while but Wilson's arm felt much better when it was done. He was grateful that it had been his wrist because it meant the cast didn't go over his elbow and he had the use of most of his arm.

"I'll take you to the front where you can sign the forms and call someone to come pick you up," Li Mei said. "You were an easy patient. I've found doctors to be the worst."

Wilson smiled at her. "I know my place."

She chuckled and pushed him to the front before saying goodbye.

He got out of the wheel chair and signed the forms after calling a taxi to pick him up from the hospital.

"We have your wallet and other items," the nurse at the front said, handing him the keys to his ruined car, his wallet, pager, and broken cell phone.

"Thanks," he said, and walked out of the hospital, feeling a little weak, so that he could meet his taxi. It struck him as a little strange that they didn't keep him for observation, but he was fine and it was probably for the best that he was discharged.

The taxi ride was boring for Wilson since the driver was an older woman with limited English. When they reached his house, he paid her and got out of the cab.

The keys to his house were on his car key ring so he let himself in. It was nearly nine and he just wanted to sleep. He knew it was probably best if he called Cuddy and decided to do that before falling asleep.

House looked at the clock in his office and sighed. It was after eleven and Wilson still hadn't come by. He was used to his friend coming by in the morning to chat a little but didn't pay much attention to him not being there. He just figured Wilson had had a patient to see or was in the clinic.

Muttering to himself angrily when he saw his ducklings were in the conference room, he got up and went to sit with them so that they could talk about their newest case.

Wilson had called Cuddy when he'd gotten home from the hospital to tell her he'd be in around twelve because he was caught up. She had replied that he could take all the time he needed so he'd taken a nap. He felt bad because he knew she thought something had happened with Julie. She was bound to notice the cast on his wrist so he'd go to her as soon as he got to work and tell her what happened, knowing she would probably want to get an X-Ray of it herself.

He'd woken up at eleven fifteen and had called a taxi to take him to work before he hopped in the shower, figuring it would take about a half hour or so for the cab to come.

'I need to call Julie to tell her about the car and everything,' he thought as he got out of the shower and changed his clothes. Deciding that he would call her from work, he went out to wait for the taxi since being in the house depressed him.

He had a bag with him, his pager was in it and he was surprised it hadn't been damaged. He also had a change of clothes and his lab coat. He didn't know why he had taken the coat home when he could have just left it at work, but he didn't bother thinking it over too much.

"Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital," he told the cab driver when he pulled up.

"'K," the guy said and drove off.

As the guy drove, Wilson wondered how much money he'd be spending on taxis if he didn't rent a car or just buy a new one. From what he had been told, the car was totaled and it had been hauled off to a dump. If that was the case, he didn't want to get it fixed since it would cost too much to get it repaired and the car wasn't worth what he would be paying.

'I guess I could always bother Greg for a ride,' he thought.

When Wilson finally got to the hospital – the taxi driver had taken the longest way possible so as to get more money – he headed straight for Cuddy's office to tell her he was there and see if he was needed in the clinic. He knew he had patients to see later that day, but he was free until six.

Donning his lab coat, he walked in to Cuddy's office. "'Afternoon," he greeted her.

"What's up?" she asked, looking up from her desk to smile at him.

"What time do I have clinic duty?" He settled for something easy, something that probably wouldn't make her wonder too much about why he'd come to see her.

Cuddy frowned, knowing that wasn't what Wilson had wanted to say. "One of the other doctors did it for you but you could take his shift. It's three until five."

Wilson nodded and took a seat. "Sorry I took so long."

"It's fine, I understand," she said. She looked at him. "What is it?"

"Nothing," he replied waving his left arm and forgetting about the cast.

"What did you do?" Cuddy asked, her eyes growing wide. "Who put a cast on that and why wasn't I alerted?"

Wilson smirked a little but didn't make a comment about how Cuddy didn't need to know every little thing about the hospital. "I crashed my car and was taken to Princeton General."

"So that is why you weren't here," Cuddy stated but frowned when she realized that he'd just broken his arm a few hours before. "Aren't you in pain?"

"A little but I'll be all right. I had a long nap." Wilson grinned at her.

Cuddy sighed a little in a way that said she clearly thought he was being stupid. "Well, tell me if you need anything. I'll be here."

"Thanks," he told her and left the room. It was past twelve and he was getting hungry. Deciding he'd better go get something to eat, he headed to the cafeteria for something that resembled food. He didn't think too much about her being all right with the fact that he'd just been in a car crash and was going to work.

House left his office and headed to the clinic when he'd finished looking over the chart of his newest patient. He'd given his ducklings a few things to check for and had Foreman doing and MRI. He cursed Cuddy for making him work in the clinic from two until six and was grumpy when he called his first patient.

"My ankle hurts," a man in his early twenties, told him when they reached Exam Room 2.

"Did you fall?" House asked.

"Yeah, I was in the park with my girlfriend and I tripped over a tree root," the man told him.

"Nice way to end a crappy date," House said sarcastically.

"Can you do anything for it?" the man asked. "It really hurts."

"It can't hurt too badly, you walked in here under your own power," House pointed out.

"So? That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt," the man replied.

"Get on the table," House commanded, "and stick your leg out."

The guy did as he was told and yelped when House grabbed his left foot.

"Well, you're not faking it. It's a little swollen. Just go home and ice it. Twenty minutes on and twenty minutes off," House informed him in a bored tone.

"Can you wrap it up?" The man was looking at his swollen ankle.

"Would that make you feel better?" House asked, an annoyed look on his face.

"Sort of," the guy answered with a shrug.

"No," House told him. "I don't need to wrap it. Go home and ice it, maybe your girlfriend will massage it."

The man glowered but left the room with an obvious limp.

House grinned as the man limped out and went to call his next victim.

Reviewer Responses:

Ivory Novelist: SQUEE! Sorry, you're my favorite 'House M.D.' writer and I bounced up and down when you reviewed. Thank you soooo much for the compliments, they mean a lot. I totally agree with "House and Wilson friendship forever!" You're right about Wilson, the man is totally awesome and it my second favorite on the show (well, perhaps he ties with House) Oh, and if you really want friendship interaction, wait until the next chapter. There's plenty of it to make you laugh and go "aw…" Once again, thanks for the review, it made me feel really good.

Princess Squirrel: I'm glad I had you laughing; it's always nice to hear that sort of thing. I do apologize for the mistakes but I don't have a beta for this fic. It's hard sometimes to proofread your own writing. I went over this one a few more times and I found everything I think is noticeable. Thanks for letting me know that you found the link on the site, I'm happy to know people read that I posted it! Thanks again!

Longing4house: lol! You're review was innocent but perfect. I know how you feel about people updating. I hope this was soon enough. Expect the next chapter on Saturday or so.

Thanks again to all of my reviewers; please review again!