Chapter Five is up... I wanted a slow story. I don't know what author really wants a slow story, but I want one; I decided this as I was writing this chapter. I don't want to cram things. Instead, I almost want it to drag on and on, but not in the boring sense. I just don't want to push the plot. This is just not a story that can stand to be pressured into a few small chapters. So, I am going to make people wait for what happens next!

Flowers

"How are you doing, Joseph?"

"It's Mr. Deleyney."

"Excuse me, sir."

House snorted over in his corner of the patient's room, watching Foreman apologize and the patient's nose rise haughtily into the air. Mr. Deleyney needed a reality check.

The room was full of flowers, all of them bright and fragrant. Bouquets sat on the floor, on the nightstand, on the windowsill. Foreman was taking a small blood sample and House, bored, took a petal from a nearby basket of roses.

Roses. How cliché. House felt the velvety smoothness on his fingers ans saw the deep wine-red of the petal disappear as he pulled it into his palm, crushing it. He could feel the velvet crunch with the pressure and opened his palm to reveal a bruised rose petal: nothing more.

Flowers were so useless. Yes, some people liked the way they smelled and looked and how they could be arranged so easily. But they didn't last for long. Flowers always died too soon. For a few days, they sat wherever you put them, doing nothing, just sitting until you noticed they were dying. That was when they were thrown out. Sure, sometimes people pressed the petals and leaves of the flowers, saving them for the memories they brought, but that was a rare person indeed.

House heard the medical machines go off, signaling the patient had gone into cardiac arrest, but he didn't look up until the crash cart was brought in and Foreman shook House's arm. Chase and Cameron had taken over the job of trying to start the patient's heart. Cameron brushing the hair out of her eyes carelessly as she set the machine to deliver the needed bolts of electricity to start the heart. Chase placed the paddles on the patient and the man shook with the power being forced through his body, his heart regaining it's steady beat after the second jolt of electricity.

The nurses took over from there, two of them staying at Mr. Deleyney's side while another tried to take away the crash cart. Cameron shook her head no, however, and pulled the cart back, placing it in a corner. Chase, wiping his brow, stepped away from the patient, supervising the nurses as they secured the stability of the patient for the moment. House could see their mouths move, but heard no sound. He saw the concern on Foreman's face, but it didn't make him move any faster.

As House started to walk away, turning the colors of the flowers into shades of grey, taking careful observation of the patient before hobbling out the door. He passed Cameron on his way out and could faintly smell the scent of flowers. The bruised rose petal fell from his hand and drifted to the floor. No one took notice of the petal, but if anyone would have paid attention, they would have seen the vibrant red petal, looking like a neglected bloodstain on the cold tiles.


I admit, this was a bit melodramatic, but I don't think I want this to read like an exact story, either. I want people to read between the lines and figure out what everything means. If you read every word directly and not think, then you might not enjoy it... But, I hope to get a review from you! Tell me what you think! Happy reading... Thanks!