Candeh – I'm sad because I think I'm loosing reviewers (
Aqua Mage – House was choking, which was why Cuddy had to slice the hole in his throat. Sorry if that was unclear. xx
Chapter 4 –
"See?" Cameron said as she walked into the door on a particularly rainy day. "Staying at the hospital for one night wasn't so bad." She made her way over to House's bedside, a look of satisfaction on her face that she had convinced him to stay. However, House did not return her smile. He stared at her harshly and hardly in the eyes and made her look away.
"You knew," he simply said.
Her face went pale, "Knew what?"
"That I would have to stay here," House said.
"What are you talking about, House?" Cameron said accusingly, "You're sick. Of course I knew that you had to stay here. Better safe than sorry, right? And I definitely would want –"
"You knew," House continued, interrupting Cameron, "that I would have to stay here. Tonight."
Cameron flushed. It was true that she knew that House would have to stay longer than one night, and if she convinced him to stay here one night, alone, realize how sick he really was, than maybe he would get the point. Although guilt swept through her, Cameron broadly smiled. "It's not my fault you fell for it. Now," she said fully sitting on House's bed, "what happened last night?"
House reluctantly spoke, leaning his head far back on the pillow. He moved, made himself more comfortable and watched Cameron eagerly take out a pen and paper. Letting out a temperamental sigh, House spoke.
"Pains," he said, "in my arms, knees, legs. Headaches. Cramps and temporary paralysis." Cameron turned paler.
"You're paralyzed?"
House gave her a cross glare, "I said temporary."
"Oh," Cameron said, writing down the word, "Right."
"Anything else?"
"Nightmares, hallucinations…I think this is a job for my handy-dandy Vicodin."
Cameron glared, "Yea, right after we smuggle them past the handy-dandy Cuddy." House snorted and Cameron, for a second pleased at her remark, exhaled.
"Your hands are misleading," House said, turning to the window.
"Excuse me?"
"Dandy. Adjective. Meaning 'very good, excellent, or in some situations…cool."
"My hands never told you that they would go get your Vicodin," Cameron said. "And neither did I." She started to walk away, but quickly added, "Or Chase. Or Foreman. Or Cuddy. Or Wilson. Or…"
House raised an eyebrow.
"Or…any of their handy-dandy hands," Cameron spun on her heel, silently reading the clipboard on House's symptoms, underlining the word 'temporary' exactly three times in a bright, green marker.
- - - - - -
Wilson, Cameron, Chase, Foreman and a hesitant Cuddy came into House's room; their shoes echoing their footsteps. Heel toe, heel toe. House looked up, let out a long impatient sigh, "What – dare I ask?"
"We need to give you a shot," Chase said, handing Foreman the needle.
"Why?" House said, flatly.
"It's just morphine," Cuddy said, clearly with a headache from her hangover. "Don't be a freaking baby, House."
"You're deciding to inject it?" House said. "I have the controller right…" He looked to his left; the controller to the morphine box had been covered with a seal.
"This way we can control how much you take, House," Wilson said with a jab of hatred in House's direction. What Cuddy had said had haunted his dreams, made him churn and tumble under his covers. It had kept him up when he woke up and made him thirsty when he drank.
House shrank, surprised at his friend's sudden jeer, but quickly recovered. He extended a hand, "Give me the needle," he said, leaning towards Foreman.
"It only has to be ¾ of what's in here," he said, driving the needle away.
"I promise," House said with a pleading tone, "I'll only give me the right amount."
"Yea," Foreman said, "Sit still."
House growled.
Foreman stepped forward, and quickly, sharply stuck the needle into House's right arm where he stood. He looked at Chase for only a second, when House grabbed the shot out of Foreman's loose enough grasp and plunged the rest of the morphine into his arm. When it was done, and Foreman and the rest of them had realized, House threw the needle on the floor and waited patiently for the pain to go away.
They all stood patiently, amazed at what House had just done. Cuddy, in her bright red heels strode over to him, throwing his blankets off in a heated rage. In a second, Wilson was satisfied with the angry tone she was giving him, and then stood, worried, yet stone faced.
"House!" Cuddy said, still clutching her head. "I can't believe – actually, you know what, I can. This is so like you! Holy crap, House! Why can't you let the other doctors do their job for once in your life? - "
House opened his mouth to speak – but stopped, looking with his eyes at his hands. "I can't move my hands."
"What?" Cuddy said, her yelling ceased and her face turning pure white. Her stomach flipped ad her guts churned and she and the other did their best to stay calm.
"I can't move my hands," House said, "or my legs."
"Can you move anything?" Chase said, coming towards him beside Cuddy.
"No, I – " House started to say, but the pain overtook him, spiraling up and down his nerves and muscles. He lay, perfectly still, on his bed, letting out exasperated breaths and screams of ache.
"Stay still, House," Wilson said and House gave him a sharp glower from the corner of his eye and continued to scream, penetrating the ears of panicking Cameron, Chase, Foreman, Wilson and Cuddy.
"House," Chase said, noticing House's blue eyes turning dim. "House." He turned around, his heart pounding, facing the terror-stricken others, "He's hallucinating."
