046. Life

Meet Death

Wilson had been facing the nurses' station when the gunshot rang out, shockingly loud in the quiet clinic. He felt something shove him forward then his knees went out from underneath him. It was only when one of the nurses, her face distorted with horror and fear, screamed his name that he felt the pain. He slumped to his knees then he found himself greeting the floor and when he managed to look down, he saw blood spreading on his white shirt. He barely had time to acknowledge what had happened when everything went black.

When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in the middle of the deserted clinic and there was a man dressed all in black, leaning against the nurses' station, examining his fingernails. The man had pale, white skin, a shock of thick black hair and, when he looked up, Wilson could see he had black eyes.

"Ah, you're here," the man said, pushing himself off the counter and tucking his hands behind his back.

"Uh, where am I?" Wilson asked carefully as he looked down to find the blood gone.

The man frowned slightly. "Well, you lot have a lot of names for this place but limbo will do for now." He smirked. "Or you could just call it the clinic."

"Okay," Wilson said slowly, ignoring the other man's sudden resemblance to House. "Why am I here?"

"You have to make a decision," the man replied, cocking his head slightly to one side.

Wilson resisted the urge to sigh; getting answers from this man was like pulling teeth. "What kind of decision?"

"Do you want to live or die?" the man replied then he held a hand up to stop Wilson from answering. "It's not as easy a question as you might think. You've been shot in the chest. You're pretty badly injured and right now the whole thing could go either way. It's entirely up to you. If you choose to live, there'll be some pretty evil days ahead. Lots of pain, lots of hard work getting back on your feet. You'll lose some things, gain others but it'll be up to you whether the gains outweigh the losses. If you die…well, you avoid all of that."

Wilson hesitated. "What…what kind of gains and losses?"

"Well, I can't be too exact," the man said with a shrug. "The future's not set in stone but if you choose to live, you'll be a long time recovering. You'll lose your position as Head of Oncology though you'll eventually return to medicine." he gave a quirky smile. "You find love though. The person will be so shocked by nearly losing you they'll finally get their head out of their arse." He shrugged. "Up to you whether you think the gain outweighs the loss."

"If I die, I lose both," Wilson said logically.

"Well, true," the man conceded then he gave Wilson a long look. "I can show you the possible future if you die, if you like."

"Okay," Wilson replied before he could really think about it.

The man smiled then in a flash they were standing in what Wilson suddenly realised was House's office. There was no sign of House but Cameron was sitting in the chair behind the desk, her face buried in her hands and her shoulders shaking. Wilson started forward but was stopped by the man's hand resting on his shoulder.

"You can't do anything," the man said calmly. "They can't see you or hear you."

Wilson's reply was interrupted by the arrival of Foreman. The neurologist hesitated for a long moment before walking over and placing a hand on Cameron's shoulder.

"There's nothing you could have done," he said heavily.

Cameron raised her head and Wilson saw the tears her hands had been hiding. That was when a very unpleasant suspicion started to flood through him.

"Why didn't we know?" she asked, her voice shaking as she looked over at the only piece of paper on the desk.

"How often did we know anything about House that he didn't want us to know?" Foreman asked practically. "Besides, I don't think he ever did anything about it. I think that's why he was so upset when Wilson died."

Cameron was silent for a moment. "He thought he always have a chance," she said softly.

Foreman nodded. "I guess he never expected to outlive Wilson." He snorted. "I never expected him to outlive Wilson. He had a…self-destructive lifestyle."

"Two months longer," Cameron whispered and Wilson winced.

He walked over to the desk and looked down at the piece of paper, ignoring the continued conversation between Foreman and Cameron. Once he'd finished reading, he leaned wearily on the desk and looked over at the black-clad man.

"Is this what you wanted me to see?" he asked.

The man smiled thinly. "I'm technically not supposed to let you see this much."

"Then why?"

The man shrugged. "Every now and then I feel like meddling. Besides he makes even me wince and I've never really cared how long or how soon people get to me."

Wilson was silent for a long moment. "And if I live?"

"He'll get his head out of his arse," the man said with another careless shrug. "Then it'll be up to you two to make it work. It won't be easy but when is something worthwhile ever easy?"

"Death's not worthwhile?" Wilson asked.

The man chuckled. "No, that why it's so shockingly easy to die at times."

"I would have thought you wouldn't care."

"I don't," the man replied. "But you people occasionally interest me and as I said, every now and then I like to meddle." He took a deep breath then let it out. "So what's your decision?"

Wilson snorted. "What do you think? I'll live."

The man gave him a sardonic grin. "Good. Enjoy your life. I'll see you again…eventually."

Before Wilson could say anything, everything went black again. The next time he woke, it was a slow process and he felt sluggish and thick. Pain flashed across his chest every time he breathed and he could feel something uncomfortable down his throat. He was in the process of prising his eyes open when he realised someone was holding his hand and that was all the motivation he needed to get them open the rest of the way.

House was sitting beside his bed, sprawled with his head resting on one arm while the other was the one holding his hand. He was asleep and Wilson winced when he realised how much House was going to hurt when he woke. He gently squeezed House's hand and watched as House slowly blinked awake. He looked blearily over at Wilson then his eyes widened. As Wilson watched a myriad of emotions flowed through House's eyes, finally settling on relief and something that looked like carefully hidden love.

"'Bout time you woke up," House said gruffly.

Wilson smiled around what he now recognised as a respirator and let sleep claim him again. House was here and he'd had certain promises made to him about the future. He looked forward to making them come true.