018. Consequences

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Fury bubbled inside House as he pulled out of the car park and gunned the Corvette down the road. Cuddy had placed him on administrative leave for a week because of the complaints of his latest patient's family. He'd denied them access to his patient's room because their constant twittering had been agitating the young woman and it was vital that she remain calm. When they'd complained about that he'd been quite caustic but in his opinion perfectly justified. When they'd subsequently complained he'd expected Wilson, who had been present during the verbal altercation, to back him up but instead the oncologist had reluctantly taken the family's side much to his utter surprise.

Cuddy's decision had been an even bigger surprise; he'd expected her to overrule his decree and had been plotting ways to keep the family from agitating his patient when she'd dropped her bombshell. He'd been so shocked at what he viewed as a complete overreaction that he hadn't even argued. He'd just turned on his heel and limped out of her office. He'd headed straight back to his own office and packed his bag. When his team had questioned him, he'd refused to answer, only telling them to keep the girl calm and continue the treatment. He'd then stalked down to the car park, ignoring Wilson when he called his name.

He pulled into his car park in front of his apartment with a screech of tires and grabbed his cane and bag. He threw the door open and hauled himself out, slamming the door behind him. He stalked as best as he could towards his apartment, forgetting that the path was icy and that he'd had to almost edge his way to the car this morning.

His cane hit a patch of ice and slid, slipping out of his grasp. His leg, now lacking the support it needed, crumpled underneath him with a sudden searing stab of pain. His right knee struck the path with an audible crack as he reached out with his hands to brace his fall. Unfortunately they too hit the ice on the path and he was not able to gain any purchase. His right elbow thumped into the concrete, jarring his shoulder, then his head struck the ground and he blacked out.

He came round to the feeling of hands gently turning him onto his left side and bracing his bad leg.

"Goddammit, House," a voice muttered; it sounded like Wilson.

House groaned and tried to sit up, his eyes slowly opening to find it was Wilson crouching next to him.

"Don't move," Wilson said, holding him down.

"Cold," House murmured as he struggled with the sudden nausea and pain that had surfaced at the small movement he'd made.

"I know," Wilson said soothingly as he kept House still. "I've called an ambulance. They'll be here soon."

"No," House muttered, trying to move again in his agitation.

"Dammit, House! Don't move!" Wilson said, his hands tightening their grip. "I could see you lying here when I drove up and that was ten minutes ago. You've probably got a concussion and who knows what damage you did when you fell. You're going to hospital to be checked out. What happened?"

"Ice," House said. "Cane slipped."

Wilson glanced at the path then down at his friend. "I don't understand. You're more careful than this."

House was silent as the nausea rose again and he battled it down. "Angry. Forgot it was there."

Wilson sighed and shifted slightly. "House, you can't accuse patient's parents of trying to kill their own daughter. You explain things to them or in your case you get one of your team to explain things. People can be reasoned with. And then you refuse to apologise." He sighed again as they heard the sound of sirens approaching. "You left Cuddy with no other options. They were ready to sue."

The ambulance pulled up at that point and the paramedics jumped out and hurried over. Wilson had a quick conversation with them about House's pre-existing problem then one of them dropped to one knee next to House.

"Dr House?" he said briskly. "Other than your leg, where does it hurt?"

"Knee, arm, shoulder, head," House listed as the pain and nausea threatened to overwhelm him.

"Do you feel nauseous?" the paramedic asked as he slid a collar around House's neck.

"Yes," House replied as he started to shiver, the cold starting to penetrate the pain and nausea.

The paramedics quickly lifted him onto a gurney and covered him with a blanket before taking his pulse and blood pressure. They loaded him into the ambulance and told Wilson where they planned to take him. House let the trip pass in a haze, barely acknowledging the actions of the paramedic. When they got to the hospital, Wilson was at his side before they got through the doors and he tried to say something as he felt consciousness leave him once more.

He woke up again to the beeping sound of a heart monitor and he spent some time in the process of prying his eyes open. He mildly surprised to find that he was relatively pain free then he saw the IV drip in his arm and that question was answered. He then tipped his head back slightly and saw the heart monitor he could hear was indeed attached to him. Another shift of his head showed him Wilson sitting next to his bed, caught up in a file.

"So I'm still alive," he said in a croaky voice.

Wilson jumped and dumped the file on the floor next to him, looking over at House with relief.

"It's about time," he said. "You had us worried, House."

"I'll bet," House grumbled as he tried to push himself slightly more upright.

Wilson leaned forward and grabbed the controls for the bed, adjusting it so that House was sitting.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he put the control down again.

"Great drugs you've got me on," House grunted. "How bad?"

"Concussion though you've probably slept that out," Wilson replied, his lips thin with worry. "You've got a hairline fracture in your kneecap and a hell of a lot of bruising. You were lucky."

"Depends on your definition of lucky," House said sourly. "When can I go home?"

"You're in here for another day," Wilson said firmly. "Then I'll take you home. Cuddy's given me the time off."

"I don't need a baby-sitter," House snarled. "Besides, I thought you were on her side."

Wilson gave him an exasperated look. "I'm not on her side. She asked me if you really did say what the family reported. I was there, House, I couldn't lie to her right in front of them. Besides, you do need a baby-sitter. Those bruises are going to hurt once they take you off the drugs."

"Going to soothe my aching body?" House said starting to settle into a churlish mood.

Wilson froze for a moment then decided to try a tactic he'd often thought might be useful with House when he got into one of these moods.

"Why? Do you want me to?"

House gave him a startled look that quickly settled into a speculative one. "Now are you saying that because you mean the innuendo or are you just trying to shock me into behaving?"

Wilson cocked an eyebrow as he made a frantic decision in his own mind. He got to his feet and took the few steps that brought him right next to the bed. House's eyebrows shot up at this and Wilson was relieved to see the slightly hopeful expression flicker through his eyes. He gave House a warm look full of all sorts of promises and leaned forward.

"Bit of both really," he said with a smile before pressing a kiss onto House's lips.

House was still long enough to make Wilson wonder whether he'd made a horrible mistake then a hand suddenly gripped the back of his neck and House opened his mouth, turning the kiss from something tentative into something hot and wet.

"While I'm sure Dr House appreciates your bedside manner, Dr Wilson, I really think you should leave this sort of thing for when you're at home."

Lisa Cuddy's amused voice had Wilson pulling back, his eyes wide. He glanced down and wasn't overly surprised to see House smothering a laugh. He tried to glare at the injured man but the humour of the situation was too much even for him.

"Just as well he doesn't do this for anyone else," House said with a quick flick of a look at Wilson. "You'd never get patients out of the hospital."

Cuddy's still amused gaze drifted between the two men. "I'm sure," she said dryly then she turned to go. As she walked out of the room they heard her mutter, "Damn! I missed by two weeks."