065. Passing

Unexpected

They'd been in the middle of a rousing round of wheel of diagnostics when the phone had rung in House's office. House had tossed the marker he'd been using at Chase and told him to stop sitting on the fence and start acting like a proper doctor then he'd limped into his office to answer the phone.

That had been over twenty minutes ago and it wasn't until the three young doctors had come to a tentative diagnosis amongst themselves that they realised this. They looked around curiously, wondering why House hadn't returned and saw he was sitting frozen behind his desk, looking decidedly stunned.

Cameron got up and opened the door to the office, sticking her head into the office with a tentative, "Dr House? I think we've got it."

He didn't look up; in fact he didn't even seem to hear her.

"Dr House?" she said a little louder.

She got a response this time. House looked up at her, his eyes blank and dazed.

"Dr House? What's wrong?" she asked, starting to get worried and a little scared.

House looked away without a word, staring down at the top of his desk. Cameron carefully backed out of the room and swallowed hard.

"I'm going to get Dr Wilson," she said calmly. "Keep an eye on him."

"What's wrong now?" Foreman said with mild irritation.

"I don't know," Cameron replied. "He didn't say anything. He…he looked drugged or shocked or something."

The two men swivelled around and stared into the office where House was still staring down at the top of his desk. Cameron didn't wait for any response from them; she just hurried out of the conference room. She returned in a couple of minutes with Wilson, who took one look at House and darted into the room. They watched through the glass as he walked over to the unresponsive man and crouched down beside the chair.

"House?" Wilson said gently, placing one hand on House's arm. "Greg?"

House's eyes stuttered over to his and he blinked at the blank look in them.

"Greg, what happened?" he said gently but insistently.

"Dad called," House said in a whisper. "Mom's dead."

Wilson closed his eyes and swallowed hard; he liked Blythe House. He opened his eyes again and gently rubbed House's arm where his hand was lying.

"Oh god, Greg, I'm so sorry. How did it happen?"

"Heart attack," House whispered. "It was sudden. There was nothing they could do."

As Wilson watched House's blue eyes suddenly flooded with grief and tears welled. Wilson quickly stood and propped himself against the desk, wrapping his arms around House as the older man suddenly buried his face into his shirt and wept. He gently stroked House's hair and a few tears of his own fell. House might avoid his parents like the plague on occasion but he loved them, especially his mother.

A soft sound from the doorway made him look around and he saw Cameron had snuck in and was in the process of quietly drawing the blinds. He gave her a small nod and she smiled briefly in reply, her gaze drifting down to the quietly sobbing House. He saw her worried look and mouthed the word 'later' to her. She nodded then silently slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Wilson simply held House, gently rubbing his back and murmuring soothing words. When he felt the other man's shudders start to slow and dissipate, he spoke.

"When's the funeral?" he asked quietly.

"Three days," House replied, his voice muffled by Wilson's shirt. His hands tightened momentarily where they were clutching that shirt then he said, "Come with me?"

Wilson closed his eyes. "Of course," he said softly.

He felt House shudder again and he threaded his fingers through the greying hair of his lover as he mentally sorted out the details of who would take his patients and how they would get to House's parents place. After several minutes, he cradled House's face in his hands and looked down at him.

"Go and lie down," he said, gesturing with his head towards the chair in the corner of the office. "I'll speak to Cuddy and get things organised."

House looked like he was about to complain but when Wilson leaned over and brushed his lips with his own, he subsided and nodded. Wilson handed him his cane and watched with worry as House limped over to the chair, looking like he was an old man. House settled down in the chair and closed his eyes, tilting his head towards the wall and Wilson sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He pushed himself off the desk and with a last worried look, he left the office.

"What's wrong?" Cameron demanded the moment he closed the door. She was standing beside the table with her arms crossed.

Wilson swallowed past the lump in his throat. "House's mother has died."

Cameron paled and covered her mouth with one hand. Chase looked startled while Foreman looked decidedly taken aback.

"I'm going to speak to Cuddy," Wilson continued. "I'll be organising leave for the two of us then I'll be back to take him home. I don't want him disturbed for anything. You three can figure this out for yourselves."

The three young doctors nodded frantically and Wilson strode out of the room. Cameron fumbled her way into a seat, one hand still over her mouth. Chase folded his hands together and bowed his head in what may or may not have been a prayer. Foreman sat stock still for a long moment then he cleared his throat.

"We, uh…we have a possible diagnosis," he said, sounding strangely hesitant. "Let's…go test for it."

The other two gave him a scandalised look and he scowled slightly.

"You heard Dr Wilson," he replied testily. "We still have a patient to treat. You think House would be understanding if we let her die? We have a job to do."

Chase was the first one to nod then Cameron did so as well.

"You two go and run the tests," Chase said firmly. "I'll stay here. Someone needs to make sure he isn't disturbed until Dr Wilson gets back."

The other two nodded and rose to their feet. They spared a glance back at the closed-off office then left while Chase settled in to wait for Wilson, his mind full of thoughts of his own parents and how he felt when his mother had died.