Hi everybody! I know it's been forever since I last updated this but the wait is over! This is Chapters 9 and 10, and in a couple of minutes, I'll post Chapters 11-12! And that's it! My story will be finally complete! God, you have no idea how happy I am about that! So this has been written a couple of weeks ago but I wanted to post everything at the same time. So here it goes and I hope really hope you'll find it was worth waiting so long...
Disclaimer: I wish!
In chapters before: You know...Wilson wanted to tell his wife, but then he changed his mind and on his way to the hospital, something really bad happened!
Wilson came back to himself to the sound of female voices speaking in hushed tones somewhere above him. His throat burned, his head hurt like when he'd had his first hangover after having too much punch at a family Christmas party when he was fifteen years-old to the great amusement of his uncles and older brothers, and his whole body felt as if he'd been run over by herd of over-excited and overweight middle-aged women at the opening of doors on Boxing Day.
Deciding regaining consciousness hadn't been his greatest idea, he tried to at lest go back to sleep but to no avail. His head just wouldn't let him. He was quickly reconsidering his swift judgement of House's use of ecstasy to rid himself of his self-induced migraine. Not that he would ever do such a thing himself! Oh no!
Resigned, he blinked his eyes open. Immediately, the three women turned their attention toward him.
"James! You're awake!", Julie exclaimed as she rushed to his bedside with a huge smile on his face. "I was so worried about you! Your doctors", she made a sign in the general direction of Dr.Cuddy and Dr. Cameron standing a bit behind, "said you would be alright, but you just wouldn't wake up...Oh honey, you have no idea." She bent to give him a quick kiss on the forehead and ruffled his hair slightly.
"It's okay, I'm awake now." He smiled weekly up at her. Yes he was awake, but how he whished he wasn't!
Julie smiled brightly again and nodded. "I'm so glad to have you back," she said, taking a deep calming breath. "If you don't mind, I'm just going to get a drink of water downstairs, alright, Honey? I'll be right back." With one last relieved look at her husband and a smile to Cuddy and Cameron, she left.
Wilson turned to them. His two friends also looked relieved to see him back, if only slightly less hysteric than his wife.
"So...what happened?" he asked them. He could remember driving to the hospital and than the horrified look on the other driver's face, and than waking to a blinding headache in this hospital room. What was odd was that apart form a general weakness and a headache, he didn't seem really hurt.
"You suffered from food poisoning," Cameron announced matter-of-factly.
What? "What?" Now he was confused. "But I thought..."
"You were on your way to the hospital when a car coming from another direction missed his stop and almost hit you. Fortunately, the driver reacted fast enough and missed your car by a hair. When your car didn't move, he got out of his car to check on you, and found you passed out in your seat. That was yesterday."
Wilson just nodded, brows furrowing. What a plot twist!
"As we had no idea of what could've made you sick," continued Cuddy, "we gave you some Ipecac to make you throw up. Your vitals seem pretty good but we'll just keep you overnight to make sure. You should be out of here tomorrow afternoon."
Wilson nodded. Everything turned out well in the end. Except...
"Hum...where's House?" He tried for casual and unconcerned, but Cameron's light blush and barely-concealed smile told him he didn't need to. Of course, everybody knew now! Except Julie...
But Cuddy just shook her head. "Last time I saw him, you were lying across his naked chest," Cuddy said with a smirk, making Cameron blush even harder.
Wilson nodded, apparently unconcerned. After a few more minutes of chit-chat, the two women said goodbye, and Wilson was left alone with his thoughts.
He hadn't been prepared for the pang of pain that flashed through him when he'd learned that House hadn't come to his bedside. Of course, he was aware that it would've been completely out-of-character for House to come here and hold his hand while he was unconscious. And Julie would've noticed something. But still, he'd hoped...He didn't know what he had hoped, but that wasn't it.
Life as a hospital patient was pretty dull. Wilson finally understood why so many people fled from their room. The sheer boredom of it would drive any sane person crazy. But James Wilson wasn't completely sane. Proof: he was seriously considering a long term romantic relationship with Gregory House, diagnostician extraordinaire and most obnoxious bastard in the whole great state of New Jersey. So instead, Wilson just became incredibly bored.
Idleness wasn't good for Dr. Wilson. It provided him way too much time to think about things he would rather not think about. Like the fact that he really had to tell his wife he'd cheated on her with another man who also happened to be his best friend. Cheating with a woman, that he was used to. But with a man...that was brand new!
So the afternoon went by and soon the sun was going down. Julie went back home – it wasn't like there was anything she could do for him at that point. Wilson went to sleep early; not because he was tired – how tired can you get from lying in bed all day? –, but because there was nothing else to do.
He woke from his restless sleep a few hours later to find the hospital absolutely quiet. While reaching for his glass of water on the bedside table, Wilson realised he wasn't alone in the room anymore. He stared, a trifle shocked, at House's dark silhouette leaning against the wall opposite his bed.
"Ah, Sleeping Beauty is finally awake," House commented dryly from across the room.
Despite the cold tone and more than safe distance between them, Wilson felt a huge grin spreading on his face.
House snorted. "You look like a puppy whose master just came home." Hum, master...that's an interesting idea. The rosy blush on Wilson's boyish cheeks seemed to indicate he also thought so. But now wasn't the time for that. "From the way your devoted wife spent hours and hours gazing lovingly at you while you were unconscious; I gather you didn't tell her."
One eyebrow rose, waiting. Wilson felt like a guilty young boy being grounded by his father. "Well, I would've, but I was busy being unconscious. I'll try to do better next time," he replied irritably. House had no right to demand explanations like that! But deep down, he also knew that House was right. If they wanted that – thing – between them to work, Wilson would've to be completely honest and exclusive, because House wasn't going to risk their friendship for anything less.
"I didn't find the time. But I will tell her, don't worry...It's just...it's not so easy, you know. She really loves me," he conceded as an apology for snapping at House.
House nodded sagely. "And I know that you don't want to cause her pain." He paused, seemingly thinking. "Maybe I could tell her. Just to spare you, of course," he said with innocent doe eyes that wouldn't have fooled even the most credulous person. And Wilson, who knew him very well, could even see the smirk hiding behind the compassionate air.
"Thank you so much for that generous offer, but I think I'll pass." He made a face at House, showing he had not been fooled for a second. "But House, be careful! If you keep insisting and wanting to be with me as soon as possible, people will think you really give a crap about something else than yourself! They may even think," lowering his voice, eyes simmering, "that you loooooove –"
"No, they will not!" Wilson started laughing. House sounded so utterly affronted by that idea. Like it would the end of the world we know if someone – else than Wilson – realised he was capable of human feelings.
Coolly, now. "And it's not like I'm pining for you, or anything. I just don't want to waste those precious moments. I'm in my prime-time, the unshaved look has never been sexier..." He nodded to himself, completely serious. "You better hurry, Jimmy, because we both know for a fact that I could have Cameron, Cuddy and probably even Chase in my lap if I asked for it. Not Foreman, because, well, I don't do blacks...But you've got to admit it: I've become quite the all-around hunk," nose in the air, battling his eyelashes: trying to look pretty and failing abysmally.
Wilson snickered. But even as he laughed at House's girlish demeanour, he recognised the truth in his words. There could be no wasting time with House. Gregory House only gave you one chance, and Wilson had no intention of wasting it. He nodded, serious again, showing House he'd understood.
Having said what he'd come to say, House pushed himself from the wall and headed for the glass door, taking Wilson by surprise.
"Wait! Where are you going?" he asked, surprised.
House turned around and raised an eyebrow. "What, did you really think that I would stay here all night and hold your hand while you slept?"
And he left without waiting for an answer, leaving Wilson feeling quite a bit foolish for indeed having hoped what House had so promptly ridiculed.
