There were certain advantages to being Dean of Medicine, one of which was that if you wanted to know something right away, it was pretty much a given. Of course that was a double-edged sword, which Lisa Cuddy was never more aware of than when James Wilson's lab results came across her desk. As she read over the report her heart sank; this would take all of her resolve, and maybe more than she had. She quickly regained her composure, however, and made her way swiftly to Wilson's room. She wanted to be sure that he at least found out this news from a friend.
As she walked into Wilson's room everything seemed ordinary enough, and she tried to keep her expression as neutral and professional as possible.
"Hi, James," she said, taking the empty seat next to Wilson's bedside.
Wilson looked at Cuddy for several long moments, the brown eyes seeming to dissect her.
"I know that look," Wilson said finally, his voice laced with suspicion, "that's the Dr. Cuddy look. Spill, Lisa. Now."
Cuddy nodded.
"Okay. We just got the results of the biopsy and it's, um…" Cuddy's voice faltered at that point, and Wilson took charge.
"Lisa, it's okay. Just let me see," he said, holding out his hand for the file.
Slowly, Cuddy handed over the results, watching Wilson carefully. Wilson's eyes scanned the report, seeming to take everything in with the meticulous oncologist's care. Gradually, though, his face seemed to harden, taking on that closed-off expression once again. Cuddy broke the heavy silence, the tension seeming to hang in the air.
"This is going to be okay, James. It's in the curative stage, and that's-"
"I know, I know, Lisa. I know the regimens, I know what I'm in for. Several rounds of lovely, powerful, chemo followed by even more pleasant radiation. It'll be a blast-"
"James-"
"Oh, no wait," Wilson went on, snapping his fingers as if he had forgotten something, "it's going to be weeks of pure hell, I clean forgot." Wilson shook his head, seemingly overwhelmed. "I know you're just trying to help," he went on quietly, "but I just can't deal with the pep talk right now."
"I understand," Cuddy said, leaning back and simply watching Wilson for several moments. Finally the silence was broken once more.
"Where's House?" Wilson asked.
"I haven't seen him since earlier today," Cuddy said, wondering where the older man was now herself, "he was supposed to touch base with me earlier, but-"
"He found out," Wilson said, the brown eyes now unfocused, staring into space.
"What?" Cuddy said, now confused.
"You know House," Wilson said, now looking Cuddy in the eye, "if you just got my test results, how long do you think House has known?"
Cuddy stopped in her mental tracts, wondering if Wilson was right.
"Lisa, would you call him at home? There's something wrong, I know it."
Cuddy stared at Wilson, stunned. After learning news that could change his life, Wilson was still worried about his friend.
"James, I'm sure he's fine-" Cuddy began, but Wilson cut her off.
"Lisa please," Wilson said, holding up a hand to stop her protests, "don't patronize me and don't try to protect me. Please just find out where House is."
Nodding numbly, Cuddy nodded, making her way to the door. Taking one last look at Wilson and that closed-off expression Cuddy made her way out of his room. Taking aside a nurse who was standing outside Wilson's door, she put on her Dean of Medicine voice once more.
"I want you to check on James Wilson in ten minutes. Take his vitals, check his I.V., I don't care, just don't leave him alone."
"Certainly, doctor," the nurse replied, her manner professional and competent.
Satisfied, Cuddy nodded to the nurse and made her way back to her office. She had a certain diagnostician to find, and if he wasn't in trouble already he was about to be.
A/N: I feel like this story is going really slowly, but ideas for new scenes keep coming into my brain, so I hope you all will bear with me for now... :)