Chapter 12

The next day came all too soon, House had stayed over and they walked into the hospital together, united.

House bleeped Wilson and he called almost immediately.

"Nicky wants to start her treatment today," House said quietly. He put the receiver down, "he's on his way," House said to her.

Nicky grabbed the waste paper bin and retched into it, although she hadn't eaten this morning, she felt sick to the pit of her stomach. Her head obviously didn't realise that there was nothing to bring up.

House handed her some tissues and noted how ill she already looked. He knew she'd slept fitfully which was understandable, she knew what was coming.

Wilson arrived and saw how washed out she was, her eyes were still watery from throwing up.

"I take it Greg has told you everything?" Wilson said gently.

Nicky nodded. "Let's get this done," she said defiantly.

House's bleeper went off and he read it irritably. "Perfect," he said. "One of my patients has just crashed."

"Go and deal with him then, I'll see you later," Nicky said calmly.

"But…"

"No buts, just go," Nicky said and smiled softly.

All three set off down the corridor, House had to change direction when they got the elevator. "See you later," he said quietly and kissed her softly on her head. "Look after her, Wilson," he added.

"I'll show you what I've found," Wilson said to her as she lay on the bed, the ultrasound machine was next to her. He ran the probe over her chest pointing out to the lymph nodes and finally the lump.

"What are my chances?" Nicky asked quietly.

"I'm going to put you on a course of chemo and then do a lumpectomy," Wilson replied.

"I'm going to lose this breast too, aren't I?" she asked.

"Not if I can help it," Wilson replied gently. He handed her a box of tissues, grabbing one to clean up the probe. "Come on, let's get started, we've got lots more tests to do today before we start the chemo." He smiled at her what he hoped was reassuringly, but she was still as white as a ghost.

Wilson stayed with her the whole time she had her treatment, they chatted about why she didn't have a breast reconstruction and he understood her reasons. At the end of her session, he wanted to hug her tight but wasn't sure how she'd take it.

"How are you feeling?" Wilson asked as she walked out of the treatment room and into his office where he waited for her. He wanted to take her stitches out today.

"Okay, I think," Nicky replied, "a little shaky, but that's to be expected, right?"

He nodded his head and smiled, getting down to work. Once finished, he dressed the wound up.

"Here's a script for some anti-nausea medication, take one every twelve hours for the next three days and you should be fine," Wilson said. He handed her the prescription. "Any problems, you call me straight away, all right? There's no need to suffer in silence."

"Thanks, James," Nicky said and awkwardly hugged him.

Nicky made her way back to House's office. She knew he'd have come down to Oncology if he could have got away, he wasn't the type to let her get on with it. He'd proved that twice already. She smiled as she thought of him.

She called to the Pharmacy first though. As she waited for her turn, she leaned against the counter, her thoughts drifting. She felt a little surreal at the moment, she stared into space, still lost in her thoughts and didn't realise that House was practically standing on her feet by the time she noticed him.

"You were watching me the whole time I was walking towards you," he grinned, then gave her a peck on her head.

"I may have looked like I was watching you, Greg, but rest assured, I wasn't seeing you," Nicky smiled, as she dragged herself back into the present.

"What's this?" House asked, taking the prescription from her lightly.

"My anti-sickness medicine," Nicky replied.

He loved the way she said 'anti'. She said it the British way. The more he listened to her, the more he noticed that she had kept her British traditions, unwilling to change her language to American.

He remembered how it grated on him at first, she spelled everything her way and spoke correctly. The only thing she'd bent to was the date, and only because she had to given that if she didn't it caused total confusion. She must have taken a while to get used to it herself though.

He noticed that while he was thinking, she was staring into space again. He handed the Pharmacist her script and touched her face tenderly to bring her back.

"You were daydreaming," House said quietly.

"Sorry," Nicky said a little confused. "I think I was like that before too."

"I'm really sorry I couldn't make it to your chemo," he said as he grabbed her pills and headed towards the office.

"Don't worry about it," Nicky smiled, "I was in good hands, and besides, it's not as if it was unavoidable now was it?" She looked straight at him, her eyes starting to sparkle again.

House smiled down at her and shook his head. "Did Wilson stay with you?"

"Yep," Nicky said with a look of pleasure on her face, "we talked."

"Oh yeah?" House said, "About what?" He couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy.

"This and that, nothing deep," Nicky reassured him and smiled inwardly to herself. "You shouldn't have missed it if you are going to get all touchy about it."

He looked into her playful eyes, "I don't intend to miss any more, trust me."