A/N: We had a 6-hour power failure today due to high winds and rain. So, I sat in the dark and wrote this and the next two chapters long hand. I now realize how much I totally love my computer.

I know there's not as much humor and snark in this story as in the previous one, but it's difficult for me to write snark with the current subject matter. Thank you for the very helpful reviews. You have no idea what they mean to me. I'm glad you're enjoying and I'll try not to disappoint.

Sorry to ramble, but one more thing. I know my fics are dialogue heavy. The main reason I write this way is because dialogue is pretty much the only part of writing that comes easy to me. The rest is amazingly difficult. I envy the writers out there who can write a beautiful chapter of descriptive prose without batting an eye. So, forgive me if dialogue is not your thing. I hope I'm able to move the plot along and convey emotions with mainly voices.

Chapter 7

"When did Dr. Roth say he'd be here?" Wilson asked, rubbing his tired eyes. He had been in his hospital room for two hours and was growing restless.

"He had rounds…said he'd be here before noon," House said, lightly stroking his friend's hair. "You okay?"

Wilson looked up at the other doctor, his eyes automatically drawn to the bruise on his lip. He looked away.

"Stop doing this to yourself," House said, his voice low. "You have to let it go."

He slowly shook his head. "I wish I didn't remember."

House was relieved to see Cuddy walk into the room. She was smiling. He knew her well enough to realize it wasn't a real smile.

"Dr. Cuddy…nice to see you and your entourage," he said, eyeing her blouse. She ignored him.

"How're you doing?" she asked the patient, walking to the other side of the bed.

"I'm okay." Not very convincing, she thought.

"Dr. House." She greeted him with a small nod of her head. She turned her attention back towards Wilson. "The nurse will be in shortly to set up a line."

James glanced at his friend, then back to Cuddy. "Is that necessary?"

She looked a bit flustered. "Well… it is standard procedure with all admitted patients."

"I'll do it."

Surprised by the offer, she looked at House who was watching her from the other side of the bed, apparently ready to take her on if she objected.

"That's fine." She frowned. "What happened to your lip?"

"Wilson decked me. He really has a problem with my cooking."

Smirking, she glanced towards the other doctor expecting to see him in on whatever joke they shared. She was surprised to find him staring blankly towards the floor.

"I'll be in later to see how you're doing," she said. Wilson nodded absentmindedly not really hearing what she had said.

"Dr. House," she said, turning to leave. He gave her a small smile, noticing the apprehension in her eyes. When she reached the door, Nurse Jackson came in with the medical supplies for Wilson's IV.

"Just give everything to Dr. House. He'll set up the line." Nurse Jackson nodded curtly to Cuddy as she walked into the room.

As she handed the supplies to House, he smiled wickedly at her. "Wilson here is too sick to give me any…you interested? I'll buy you dinner first."

She responded by flashing him her standard professional doctor smile, which then morphed into her standard professional patient smile as she glanced over to Wilson.

"I spoke to Dr. Roth. He said he'd be here within half an hour."

"Thanks, Mary," Wilson said quietly.

House watched her walk out of the room. "She still scares me."

He got to work setting up the line. Even though he hadn't done it in many years, he worked proficiently, quickly finding a vein in the patient's hand and inserting the needle virtually without discomfort.

"Thanks," Wilson said as he leaned back against his pillow. He looked at his friend.

"Are you going to tell Dr. Roth?"

House could see the trepidation in his eyes. "No reason to. We'll tell him what he needs to know." He squeezed his hand. "It'll be okay."

Wilson smiled sadly, rubbing the back of his neck. He closed his eyes.

"Don't let me fall asleep."

"I'll wake you when Dr. Roth gets here."

"Okay, thanks." He fell asleep almost immediately.

He awoke to the sensation of pressure on his shoulder, his eyes fluttering open. "Jimmy."

Glancing to his side, he found House gently squeezing his shoulder. He blinked a few times, taking several seconds to focus his eyes on another man…a doctor….standing next to House.

"How are you feeling?" the doctor asked.

He frowned, peering up at his friend who was watching him.

"I'm…I'm okay." He slowly shook his head. "Who…."

He stopped talking as he saw the doctor exchange glances with House.

"Do you know who I am?"

He stared at him without answering.

"Dr. Wilson?"

"You're…. Dr. Roth," he said, his voice unsteady.

"You're not sure."

"No, I am. You're Dr. Roth."

The doctor furrowed his brow. He picked up the bed control, pushing the 'up' button. "I'm just gong to sit you up so I can examine you."

Wilson shifted to get more comfortable as the head of the bed slowly lifted. Dr. Roth retrieved a pen light from his pocket and shined it into his patient's eyes one at a time. He proceeded to conduct his standard neurological exam, testing for coordination, sensation and concentration, finishing with the usual questions.

"Can you tell me what year this is?"

"Two thousand five."

"Month?"

"April."

"Do you know where you are?"

"Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital."

"Who am I?"

"Dr. Roth."

"What's my first name?"

Wilson stared at the doctor, his eyes blinking.

"Do you remember my first name?"

He didn't reply.

"Dr. Wilson?"

"No."

"Alright. We're almost finished."

"Where did you sleep last night?" A momentary flash of anger flickered in Wilson's eyes. Dr. Roth saw it. He was trained to see it.

"Dr. Wilson, where did you sleep last night?"

"I slept at Dr. House's apartment," he said with impatience.

"Is something wrong?"

Wilson caught himself. "No. Are we done?"

"For the time being, yes." Dr. Roth started writing something on his chart, speaking as he wrote.

"I'm scheduling you for another MRI this afternoon. My colleague, Dr. Jensen, won't be able to see you today, but he'll be here tomorrow afternoon, which is actually better as we'll have the MRI results by then."

"I don't know him," Wilson said, his voice short. Dr. Roth stopped writing and looked at his patient.

"That's right, you haven't met him yet."

"Why do I need to see him?"

"Dr. Jensen is a neuropsychologist. He needs to evaluate you to determine and evaluate the presence of any impairment."

"Fine."

Dr. Roth put his chart under his arm. "How are your headaches?"

Wilson wanted the exam over. "I get headaches. You know that. I'm sure Dr. House has been feeding you information." He fired an angry glance towards his friend. House didn't react.

"Do you have one now?" Dr. Roth asked, his voice calming.

He sighed. "Yes." He didn't look at him.

"Okay, we'll take care of it." He smiled. "Thank you, Dr. Wilson. We'll talk again after we get the results of the MRI."

He didn't respond, glancing blankly at the doctor. Dr. Roth turned towards House, nodding as he left the room.

Wilson sighed again. "He is an idiot." He looked at his friend who was staring at him with a bemused expression on his face.

"What?"

House scratched his head. "I think this concussion is turning you into me." Wilson smiled, unable to hide the pain on his face.

"I'll get your medication," House said as he limped out of the room and towards the nurse's station. As he walked back to Wilson's room with the syringe, he stopped at the counter where Dr. Roth was writing his instructions.

"He's not like that," he said.

Dr. Roth looked up placing his pen back into the pocket of his lab coat. "I did notice some agitation and it's clear he has anger issues. That's atypical behavior for him?"

"Profoundly atypical."

Dr. Roth shook his head. "Sounds like classic PCS."

"What do you expect to see on an MRI?"

The neurologist shrugged. "Nothing really. But sometimes anomalies show up later. His initial MRI was clean so we have a baseline to compare it to."

House signed, nodding his head.

Retrieving his pen, Dr. Roth returned to writing his instructions while House limped back to Wilson's room to administer the medication.

tbc