Thanks to all of you who reviewed the last chapter! Made me afraid to step foot here without another part!
Couple quick notes to a few reviewers:
Buzzkill Bunny—I tried once to read The Cat Who series a long time ago. I work at the library and I do see them go out quite often. Maybe in a year I will get my reading all caught up :P
G--Sorry if this disappoints. There is a twist. Hope that makes up for it :)
I wish I could add in some more comments, but I do hope thatno one fell from the edge of theirseat and hurt themselves, glad I have gotten little Wilson's behaviors down, and I laugh at Sydedalus' story! And abig hug to the rest of you!
I am doing something a little different with this part and the next--mainly making it first person.
Chapter 7
My head hurts. Funny how pain is one of the first senses to return. Panic overcomes me as I go to rub a hand over my face and find I can't move my left arm. Opening my eyes is difficult. I turn, wanting to see what is wrong with the limb, but I can't seem to open my damn eyes!
My hearing returns to me next in the form of the blips from the heart monitor and the oxygen pump, both soothing and yet annoying at the same time.
I feel a pressure on my chest. It moves. A growl of "Wilson" perks my curiosity. This curiosity overpowers the stubbornness of my closed eyes and I manage to crack them open.
"Why is there a cat on me?" I ask, voice scratchy and dry from disuse, not realizing that I had heard the same words spoken to me before less than a month ago.
Turning my head to the right, I see a man. He had been in the process of grabbing the little kitten off of me, but now he has stopped in mid-grab upon hearing my voice. He looks like he hasn't slept in several days, the look oddly suiting him. His face cracks into a relieved smile. "You're back!" he exclaims. "Why did you have to bring Wilson with you?" He pauses to jab a finger at the kitten still sitting on me. "He always manages to get himself in trouble!"
His smile leaves at my next words…I speak them without thinking: "Who are you?"
A/N: I really wanted to end the chapter here. Thank me for being nice :P
"Please tell me that you are just trying to give me my second heart attack in less than a week," he says leaning in, eyes searching mine for something, or maybe someone.
I look away, the openness of his gaze unsettling.
He mumbles a curse and stands up, reaching for a cane propped up against my bed. "Be right back," he mumbles, hurrying from the room as fast as his handicap would allow.
"Who was that?" I wonder aloud, getting the kitten's attention to turn to me.
"Woaww," it says, sounding sad.
I start to reach out to pet it, and am suddenly reminded that my left arm refuses to obey my commands. I finally turn to get a look. The arm is wrapped in a thick bandage from wrist to elbow. It is tied to a stiff board. I try again to move it and can't tell if it is tied down or if what little strength I have left is absent.
A doctor enters. "House is freaking out. You seriously don't remember?" His accent is thick. Australian.
"Am I the type to make a joke out of something like this?" I answer.
"If you spend too much time with House, maybe." He notices the kitten on my stomach and leans close to have a look. "Whose cat?"
The kitten tries to answer the question by swatting at a strand of the Australian's long hair, giving him cause to back up a step. He finds that more cute than annoying.
I don't know who the cat belongs to, so I ask a question of my own. "What happened? To me, I mean."
"This psycho shot you in the arm."
"And I lost my memory?" The thought is ridiculous.
"And you fell," he explains. "No skull fracture. Surprised 'cause you smacked into the gurney and floor pretty hard." He holds out his hand. "Robert Chase."
I shake it, wishing I knew my own name to tell him, though I have a feeling he already knows it. Before I can ask him, a beeping sounds and he checks his pager. "Sorry," he apologizes and heads for the door.
No sooner than he is gone from sight does the man from earlier enter. He sits down like he had never left. Was this the man that Dr. Chase had said was freaking out? You couldn't tell from looking at him.
"Who are you?" I ask him again. Might as well pick the conversation up from where we left off.
The kitten mews and jumps over to his lap.
"Dr. Gregory House," he finally answers, stroking the kitten fondly.
"And I am?"
"Dr. James Wilson. And, while we are playing 20 questions, this," he points to the cat, "is Wilson."
"Is…he related to me?" My headache sadly makes that question make sense.
The doctor cracks a smile. "You are smarter than that question," is all he says.
The Australian steps back into the room. He looks quite annoyed with Dr. House. "You paged me?"
"Me? Must have been that other Doctor House that I keep hearing all these nasty things about."
"I saw Julie while I was searching for you. Should I send her in?" His crossed arms are the only sign that he is still annoyed.
I notice they are both looking at me, waiting for me to speak. "Who's Julie?"
"The Missus, the no-longer blushing bride, the sweet with out the sugar…"
"I'm married?" I interrupt him.
"Didn't I just say that?"
"Sure. Let her in." I catch sight of Dr. House limping towards the far side of the bed, near the still-beeping monitors, which put me between him and the door. It doesn't take me long to wish I could do the same…
TBC
A/N An hour til work and a half hour after I am home until the next episode! I can't wait! Guess I will go kill some time writing up the next part :D