AN: This chapter's kind of short, but I figured I should update...that was a kind of evil way to leave everyone hanging. I'm just trying to do a bit of research so I don't sound like a complete idiot when it comes to medical related things. I'm having a lot of fun scouring my Emergency Medical Technician book in the process (back from the days when I thought I'd like to be an EMT...I'm now pre-med)! As usual, thanks for reviewing (and letting me know I had anon-review blocker on, it's fixed)!

The Road Home - It Can't Be

The whine of the heart monitor broke the silence.

My mouth dropped open as I stared at the portable monitor. I know I should have been more help, but I couldn't stop staring.This was something straight out of a nightmare -I was waiting to wake up and see that it was all nothing but a dream.

Of course, it wasn't a dream. It wasn't more than a moment before I wasthrown backinto reality. I realized in the midst of my staring, the paramedic had secured her airway, and her o2 sats had risen slightly - the monitor had gone back to the steady rhythmic pattern of normalcy. She opened her eyes for a few brief moments, staring directly at me. An obvious head injury brought her back into unconsciousness not five seconds later. Despite the blood loss that was increasing every minute, I thought there was a slight possibility that she MIGHT be alright.

Right now it was just too soon to tell.

I had called Cuddy from my cellphone, in the ambulance after frequent tries to get ahold of House. As we pulled into the ambulance bay, things went haywire. Her heart monitor started beating out of control - tachycardia. The paramedics wasted no time in rushing her through the doors and into the ER. I followed closely behind and stopped when I saw Cuddy approach me.

She asked me what was wrong. Why did I page her to get down here ASAP? Who was that I came in with?

I tried to control my hysterics and sank down into a chair. How did I even begin to tell her what had happened? I grabbed her arm and rushed with her into the trauma room. She was going to see for herself. I needed somebody else to confirm what I was now doubting to myself - I needed to know I wasn't insane.

The doctor on call in the ER approached us as we entered the room. She'd gone into ventricular fibrillation, he said. She flatlined for a minute and a half before they regained a normal heartbeat. She'd come to briefly and started to struggle against the restraints of the backboard, freaking out over her surroundings. Her lung had collapsed and they'd had to put in a chest tube. The list of injuries went on and on and on. I was half listening as I pulled Cuddy over to the stretcher. They were getting ready to transport her upstairs for surgery, so I only had a minute.

As Cuddy approached her, she too paled. She looked at me, and back down at the girl on the stretcher. "It can't be," she said in complete shock. I nodded at her as the doctors rushed in to take her up to the OR.

We just stood there staring at each other when she finally spoke.

"We need to find House"