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: So sorry about how long this update took me. I've been working on school work. My English professor is a NIGHTMARE! (But I do like her) We're doing this thing on a poem called Ithaca and I think I've finally got the answer to the riddle. Okay, now that I've finished my rant, I hope you'll enjoy. You can actually thank itisntme, Rennie51, and Leyna for the update because they brought my muse back with their reviews. Sorry this chapter is so short!
Chapter 14: Parents
That evening Wilson had started to put some of his things into a duffle bag. He'd spoken to his parents and they had said they would love to get a visit and he was welcome to stay as long as he wanted. It had been a relief to hear that they were doing well and were thrilled about becoming grandparents when Hannah had her baby. His mother had scolded him a little for not coming to see them at Chanukah but she hadn't been angry. His mom had asked him how things were and he said they would talk when he got there. When his parents were convinced he was fine they had let him go pack.
Before he'd called his parents he had called a rent-a-car place and had had them reserve a Honda Civic. He didn't want to drive anything too flashy and Hondas were reliable so he'd told them to choose any color they wanted and he'd pick it up that evening. He only had two hours before the place closed so he called a cab to pick him up.
Once he got the car he'd head over to the mall and get himself a new phone. He'd need one when he was gone because his pager wouldn't suffice. He couldn't take two weeks away from work and expect for everything to go smoothly back at the hospital. If he had a phone then his people would be able to get into contact with him if something was going on.
He'd finished packing when the taxi driver rang his doorbell so he threw on an overcoat, grabbed his house keys and wallet, and headed out the door.
---
House left work at nine that evening with a mostly-full bottle of pills in his pocket. Chase had written for him without batting an eye; handing over a script as though it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Take it when the pain is bad," Chase had said when he gave him the piece of paper.
House had taken it from the outstretched hand with a nod and Chase had headed off to the lab. House had always respected Chase as a doctor – he was perhaps the brightest of his team – but when Chase had betrayed him to Vogler he'd been not only angry; he'd been disappointed. Sure, Foreman had a similar personality to House's, not to mention Foreman was incredibly smart, he just didn't have the sort of character House admired in Chase. Perhaps it was because Chase had been his first duckling and he had spent more time getting to know the young man, but Chase's betrayal had hurt.
Shaking his head, he got his prescription filled and went about his normal day.
He got in his car and considered heading over to Wilson's house. Wilson was starting to worry him but House wasn't sure how to express that. Whenever he tried to feel sympathy for anyone, including his best friend, it always seemed like it would have been better if he kept his mouth shut. He'd manage to piss James off more in the last few days than he had in the last few years. It was probably better if he just headed home.
He knew James was probably going to go visit his brother and sister-in-law and if he knew James as well as he thought he did then James would go to him before he left. Nodding because he knew it was probably best to let James work things out for himself; he went home and didn't glance back when he passed the street that would take him to Wilson's.
---
Wilson made himself cereal for dinner and then went to bed. He'd picked up his rental car – a silver Civic – and had gotten himself a new flip-phone at a store in the mall. It had taken a while to get everything sorted out and more than once he had wanted to snap at the teen working with him but he kept his temper to himself. Yelling at the girl wouldn't have sped things up it would have only made her think he was a jackass and he didn't want that.
He was going to leave for Hamburg in the morning and it wouldn't take him more than two hours to drive up there to his parent's house. His brother lived about ten minutes from his parent's house so he'd probably see David and Hannah every day if he didn't get around to staying with them.
Sighing, he pulled his shirt off and undid his jeans before climbing into bed wearing his boxers and an undershirt.
Thoughts ran through his mind but they were jumbled and he couldn't quite control what they were about. Mostly he thought about Julie and the divorce hearing. He'd been through that twice and knew it was a simple procedure but he couldn't help but wonder if Julie would bring her boyfriend. He was pretty sure she wasn't evil enough to bring him but he wasn't positive. She'd been nice to him at the lawyer so anything was possible.
He shifted under the blankets, wishing he could get comfortable but not quite finding the right position.
After an hour of tossing and thinking about Julie he got out of bed and decided to watch TV. He figured that watching TV would get his mind off of things and that was exactly what he needed.
---
Wilson woke at four in the morning with a horrible pain in his neck. He had fallen asleep on his couch in an awkward position and he now had rigor mortis of the neck. Wincing, he tried to rub the kink out of his neck but knew it wouldn't really help.
"I better take a shower," he muttered to himself. "I'll head out early."
Still rubbing his neck, he walked into his room and grabbed a fresh change of clothes. When he got into his shower he let the warm water hit his tired muscles and just savored feeling clean.
When he stepped out of the shower he made himself breakfast. He wasn't a great cook but he could make scrambled eggs and toast. He had to; it was about the only thing he'd eat for breakfast and if he didn't know how to make it then he'd be grumpy all morning.
After doing his dishes he grabbed his keys, wallet, and the bag he was taking with him. He felt comfortable in his jeans and t-shirt. It was still too early so he hadn't bothered with contacts and was wearing the glasses that he normally didn't let anyone see.
Checking to make sure everything was locked up and all of the lights were off in his house, he locked the door behind him and took off.
When he got in the car he was overwhelmed by the feeling of loss. He wasn't sure why it hadn't hit him before but as soon as he got in to a car that wasn't his and he saw the cast on his arm he felt tears run down his cheeks. He reached in to his bag and pulled out the bottle of antidepressants House had prescribed for him and fingered them as he drove, the tears still silently rolling down his cheeks.
"I should say goodbye," he muttered to himself and turned off the highway and towards House's place.
---
When he knocked on the door to House's place he forgot that it was only half past four in the morning and he was crying. It just didn't dawn on him until he was greeted by a furious House whose expression immediately changed from incredibly angry to incredibly concerned.
"Come in," House said, stepping aside to let Wilson in the house.
Wilson walked in the house and stumbled over to the couch. "I couldn't sleep."
House yawned. "I could until I heard pounding on my door." He leaned heavily on his cane and eyed Wilson. "Why are you here?"
"I was getting ready to go visit my parents and I just wanted to say hello," Wilson muttered, a hand over his face because he just realized he was crying. He saw that the antidepressant bottle was still in his hand and threw it at House. "Take these."
House caught the bottle and raised an eyebrow. "I think it's probably best if you take them. There might be some weird side effects if I take them with Vicodin."
He limped over and dropped them on Wilson's chest. "I know you don't want drugs, but it might be a good idea to take those."
Wilson sighed and popped open the top. He'd never taken an antidepressant before but he knew how they worked. After a second he shook his head and closed the top. "No." He looked up at House. "I don't want it to be drug induced. I want to handle things on my own."
House's mouth quirked a little and he headed to the kitchen, only to emerge a few seconds later with a glass of water. "Take a pill, James. I'm not trying to satisfy myself because I don't want to be alone with the pill popping habit. I think you need them." He held out the glass of water.
Wilson sighed again but he took the water with his non-broken arm. After a second he put a pill in his mouth and swallowed it with the water. "Speaking of pills, did you get the Vicodin script filled?"
House nodded. "Chase did it."
"Okay," Wilson said. "Good." He eyed House seriously for a moment. "You'll be good for two weeks."
"I better be," House muttered.
Wilson smiled slightly and lay back down on the couch. "I need a nap."
House nodded. "Get some sleep and then head out to see your family."
---
When Wilson woke it was past ten and House had left for the hospital. Wilson smiled a little and grabbed his keys. After a second he grabbed a pen and scrawled 'thanks' with his right hand, not caring that it looked like a two-year-old had written it.
He took one last look around House's place, feeling like he ought to just stay there. It was probably more peaceful than his parent's house was going to be. His mother loved to invite people over so there would probably be some sort of weird reunion.
---
The drive to his parent's house went faster than he had expected and he arrived just in time for lunch.
"Jimmy!" his mother cried when she answered the door, pulling him in to a tight hug. "Come in, I've made lunch."
James smiled a little and followed his mother, his duffle bag in his hand.
"Hey, Jim," his father greeted when he walked in.
"Dad," James said, going over to give his father a hug. He suddenly felt like he had just come home from med school because of the way he was dressed.
"Come on, Jimmy," his mother called from down the hall. "I've got your old bed all made up and you can stay in your room. Hannah and David are coming by for dinner so save some stories until then!"
James smiled and gave a contented sigh. Maybe getting away from everything was just what he needed.
Fingering the antidepressants that were still in his pocket, he walked down the hall to his old bedroom.