Life and Limb

by purpleu

As House deals with learning that his leg was deliberately maimed by a doctor seeking revenge for House blowing the whistle on him, he must also deal with his patient, a firefighter with a leg problem that may also cost him his life. Lydia tries to help House handle these problems, but when a crisis occurs to two people close to him, will she even be able to help?

2. Chapter 2

"Life and Limb"

Chapter Two – "Shooting from the Hip"

By: Purpleu

The rain pounded down on the roof, and in the distance a roll of thunder could be heard. It was unusual, but not unheard of for there to be a thunderstorm in early October in New Jersey. Whether it was the echo of the thunder or the pouring rain, Lydia slowly woke up and became aware of the unsettled weather. She picked her head up and looked at the clock; it was almost four A.M.

"Storm wake you up? Or did you suddenly become aware of my manly presence?" Lydia smiled and turned from her left side to her right to face House.

"Well, since I'm always aware of your manly presence, it must have been the storm," she said. "I'm sorry I fell asleep before you finished taking your bath. Then again, I'm not so sure you wanted me to be awake when you were done." Lydia sat up, moved her pillows over closer to him, and nestled herself into his body. House put his arm around her; he was always glad to have their bodies touching, he just wasn't sure he was going to be happy about the ensuing conversation.

"So what did Wilson tell you when you two were gossiping about me in the kitchen?" House asked. "I know it was about me, because a certain part of my anatomy was burning."

"And I missed it," Lydia said, pretending to pout. House glanced over at her; even the most difficult of subjects was easy to discuss with Lydia. He might as well dive in head first.

"Wilson told you we talked about my leg, I'm sure."

"Yes, and I have to admit I'm confused. Sunday night, you hadn't made up your mind; you wanted to take your time thinking things over, which I thought was a good idea. Monday…there's no way in hell you're having the operation. What changed?"

"The day of the week, the weather," House said flippantly. "I don't know why I said what I did to Wilson. Or why I said what I did to you. I haven't had sufficient time to consider how my leg came to be in the state it's in, never mind what future mayhem may come to it."

"I think the important thing to remember is that you're in charge of what happens to it this time," Lydia said, placing her hand on his right shoulder and massaging it gently. "It's your call."

"Funny, I thought I was the one making the decisions last time."

"I know this is hard for you. Hearing what happened to your leg, having fairly definitive proof that it was deliberate…I can't even pretend to say that I understand what it feels like. But you've got to try and let go of what people did to you in the past, focus on what's happening now, and the possibilities for the future," she said.

"Really?" House asked, his voice taking on a bitter tone. "Because it seems to me what happened in the past has a direct correlation to the hell I'm going through in the present. And have been going through for the last fifteen years or so."

"If it will make you feel better, I'll say again what we've both said before: Cuddy and Stacy had no right to wait until you were in the medical coma to make any decisions for you. Even ignoring the fact that the information they had was a lie, you had been out for less than ten minutes. They could have awakened you, and you could have made the call. As far as the surgeons are concerned, I'm not sure what could have been done about them."

"Let's see…maybe Cuddy should've been a better administrator and kicked their incompetent asses out to the street sooner so I wouldn't have gotten on their bad side. Oh, yeah, maybe I could've pointed out to her that she was looking at a scan of a left leg, not a right. And no matter what, it wasn't even my leg," House said, calming down now that he had blown off some steam. "Mine are prettier." Lydia had to look away from House so she could keep her reaction to just a chuckle, and not a full blown laugh. When she finally did look back, she was pleased to see a slight smile on his face. "Are you telling me you disagree?" he asked pretending to be insulted.

"Quite the contrary. You have extremely muscular, sexy legs; even your right one."

"Thanks, I guess. Somehow including my right leg in a sentence that has the words 'muscular' and 'sexy' seems to be an oxymoron." Lydia let her hand drop down from House's shoulder and ran it along his torso to his leg. She began to lightly massage his leg around the scar area without touching the center. Tom had worked House hard on some new exercises that morning, and he told her on the QT that this was the best way to ease the pain for House.

"If you ask me, I think that all of you is muscular and sexy; but I suppose my opinion doesn't count." House reached over with his free arm and brought it around Lydia. He pulled her in closer, kissing her gently as he did.

"Your opinion means everything to me." House let out a disgusted sigh. "Sorry if I got intense before." Lydia gave him a kiss, and brought her hand up from his leg to his cheek.

"Greg, I don't blame you for feeling hurt, angry, betrayed…but you can't keep your feelings bottled up and let them eat away at you, any more than you've already done all these years. You've allowed those bastards to keep…crippling you, physically and emotionally, the longer you allow their damage to fester. It's only been a few weeks, but you are a stronger person than those cowards. They hid from what they did and ran away. You've fought it every day." Lydia took a deep breath. "I'm sorry; I guess I'm the one being a little intense now." She dropped her head down, and fought back tears. "The fact that there's something that can be done to bring you significant relief from the pain…more strength and freedom of movement…maybe even some peace of mind…I just want you to have the chance to take advantage of all resources available to you."

"The only things I have available is a hop up on the O.R. table and a surgeon's scalpel." House closed his eyes. "I'm afraid to go down that road again, afraid of what it would do to me…and to us if things don't go well." House glanced at Lydia and saw the hurt on her face. He knew she was the best resource he could have. There was a certain calmness that had settled on him since he started staying at her place, even with the kids around. Actually, he had begun to enjoy their company. They were smart, fun, thoughtful, and pushed the boundaries on things just far enough. Things were going pretty well, House admitted to himself…until, of course, he found out the truth about his leg. "Hey," he said placing his hand under Lydia's chin and bringing her head up until their eyes met. "You know if I didn't have you, I would have done something stupid to help me deal with this," he said indicating his leg. House looked away from Lydia as a flash of lighting lit up the room. "I shouldn't waste time figuring out the how and why of my leg, but it's what I instinctively do." House kissed the top of Lydia's head. "I'm trying to convince myself that it'll be OK to do the procedure; I owe it to you and the kids if we're going to have a chance at a future together."

"No, no," Lydia said pushing away from House slightly. "You owe this to yourself, first and foremost. We had time together at Mayfield, we've had the past couple of months here; but you're the one who has had to handle this emotionally and physically for years. It's time to have a break from the suffering." She moved back into House and nuzzled into his neck.

"I don't know why the hell you believe in me the way you do, but…I'm damned lucky that you do," he said. Lydia picked her head up and smiled.

"Well, that makes two of us; I think I'm pretty damned lucky, too." House got a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Since we've been…oh, let's use the term intimate…for a while now, think you can let me in on how you work some of the magic you do?"

"And what magic would that be?" Lydia asked as more lighting and another roll of thunder filled the room. House glanced at the window.

"Take the thunderstorm and your kids' lack of reaction to it. Most ducklings would come running in here crying 'Mama'; yours don't." House looked at Lydia curiously. "What's the secret?"

"You don't want to know," she said waving her hand.

"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked," House replied. Lydia moved away from him so she could see his reaction.

"I told them thunderstorms were the angels bowling." House gave her a horrified stare.

"No, you didn't. Your son, at least, is way too bright to buy into that load of hooey."

"Aahh! We've agreed to disagree on the subject of religion," Lydia said waving a finger at him. "And as far as the kids are concerned, thunder is the ball rolling down the alley, and the lightening happens when the angels get a strike." The room once again brightened.

"Talk about being high rollers," House quipped. Lydia started to giggle, and it got House to smile, too. He went to reposition himself to bring their bodies closer again, when a shot of pain went through his leg. Lydia saw him wince as he rolled back over on to his side of the bed.

"Greg," she said gently as she began to rub his leg again the way she had earlier. "I know Tom did some new work with you. He said you could take some Advil if you really needed it."

"I'd call this really needing it," House said as he swung his legs off the bed. "By the way, the bath earlier wasn't an avoidance tactic; he also suggested that to ease the aftereffects." He gingerly walked toward the door of the bedroom. "Your handy work helped, too." Lydia smiled; she was happy she was able to make him feel better.

"We have Advil in the bathroom, Hon; you don't have to go to the kitchen."

"I want something cold to drink; I'm killing two birds with one slingshot," House said continuing to make his way out of the room. "You want anything?"

"Are you getting water?" House nodded. "I'll just take a few sips of yours."

"Swap spit? Share our bodily fluids?" he said making a face.

"It's not like we haven't done it before," Lydia said as she went to pass him on her way into the bathroom. House reached out for her as she came near, and put his arm around her waist.

"While we're on the subject of wanting anything…" he said pulling her into him. House bent his head down to kiss Lydia, then snuggled into her neck. "I love you," House said quietly. Lydia pulled back a little so she could look up at him.

"I love you, too," she said stroking the back of his head.

"Lydia, it's not you I ever doubt…it's myself," House noted.

"Do us both a favor: don't," she said as she gave House another kiss. "Go get your Advil." House nodded and headed down the hall to the kitchen. He took two Advil out of the bottle, and reached into the refrigerator to grab the water. After downing the pills, he began to think over his conversation with Lydia; when the time came to do something about his leg, he knew she would be the major force behind his decision. House turned to make his way to the bedroom; a few steps down the hall, he became aware of a phone ringing. He reached the doorway just as Lydia was coming out of the bathroom.

"It's your cell," she said making her way to House's side of the bed.

"It's probably some drunken moron butt dialing," House said with a scowl.

"A long distance moron," Lydia said looking at the phone. "It's a seven-oh-three area code." House froze at the end of the bed.

"Answer it." Lydia was confused.

"What…"

"Answer it!" House barked. Startled, Lydia pushed a button on House's phone.

"Hello?" she said hesitantly. There was silence for a moment, then a male voice began to speak.

"Hello, dear. I'm sorry for a call at this hour, but I'm trying to reach Dr. Gregory House." The voice was of an older man with a thick Scottish brogue.

"May I ask who's calling?" Lydia normally wouldn't question any phone call House got; then again, she never usually answered his phone.

"Reverend Thomas Bell; I'm a friend of the family." This could not possibly be good, Lydia thought.

"Reverend Bell," she said quietly as she handed the phone to House. He closed his eyes and nodded as he sat down on the bed.

"Yeah," House said curtly.

"Greg, lad…this is Reverend Bell, your parents' friend."

"I think you were a bit more my mom's friend than my dad's," sniped House.

"Yes, that would be true," Bell said with some reservation. "Son…I've been wanting to call you for a while now. I know you called a month or so ago and your mother never called you back. Don't feel bad; she's done that to me many a time over the years."

"I don't feel bad at the lack of communication between my mother and me. That's been an ongoing issue that at this point in my life, I couldn't give a crap about." House took a deep breath. "I don't think you're calling at this hour to beg my forgiveness for my mother's lack of social graces…what's going on?"

"I had to call nine-one-one to take your mother to the hospital. I'm afraid she's had a stroke." House hung his head down, and looked away from Lydia who had sat down next to him on the bed.

"I'm putting you on speaker," he said. "The feminine voice you heard earlier was that of my girlfriend. She's not a doctor, but she should be." House turned on the speaker and put the phone on the bed.

"Hello, Reverend Bell…my name is Lydia Strohman. It's nice to finally speak to you; I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"Thank you, dear. I detect an accent; are you from Germany, Austria…?"

"Germany. I was born there, but traveled around the world much like Greg did."

"Was your father in the military?"

"No, he was part of the diplomatic offices."

"I hate to interrupt this little getting-to-know-you," House said, "but I actually would like to ask a few questions about my mother. What side of the brain had the hemorrhage?"

"The right has an aneurism, I believe they said," Bell said. "There was some very minor leakage on the left, but that's not the doctors' main area of concern."

"Is she conscious?"

"She drifts in and out, but more often than not, no. She responds to nothing on the left side. The dear was able to mouth the words 'call Greg.'" The last thing House expected was his mother to even think of him.

"What hospital is she in?" Lydia asked.

"Arlington Medical Center," Bell replied. "Luckily her primary care doctor, cardiologist, and neurologist are all located here."

"Why does she have a cardiologist and neurologist?" House asked a bit annoyed. "What's gone on in her life in the past fifty years or so that I don't know about?"

"Two years ago, she had some shortness of breath and some chest pains when we returned home from a meeting…"

"Meeting? You mean a protest of some kind. I assume that's still a biggie with her," noted House. He got up from the bed, and despite the discomfort in his leg, he began to pace.

"Yes…yes, that is still her passion; fighting for the ones who can't speak for themselves." House scoffed.

"Couldn't have proven that by me."

"What did the cardiologist find?" inquired Lydia. She could tell House was more interested in dredging up the past; she thought it best that someone got the important information out.

"He found minor blockages in two arteries; no stents were necessary. She's on medication for it."

"And the neurologist?" House asked.

"A month or so ago, she started having sharp pains in her right temple. I forget what the doctor suspected it was…"

"Tri-gametal neuralgia," Lydia interrupted.

"Yes, that's it," Bell said quickly. "Never did say if that was related to the stroke, but I must say dear, for someone who's not a doctor, you surely know your stuff."

"A first year med student would know that," House said coldly.

"Which I practically am," countered Lydia. She wanted to kick herself for bothering to answer House's comment. He was upset; this news coming on top of the revelation about his leg was the worst thing that could happen. He was going to go into "push away" mode, for sure.

"The doctors say she is stable; I heard her fall on the floor in the bathroom and called for help as soon as I got to her. She never stopped breathing or lost her heart beat, so they say things are as good as can be expected. Your mother did tap her head off the sink; they're keeping a close eye on that." House looked grim as he paced the room. The situation wasn't immediately life threatening, but for a woman in her seventies, it wasn't good news.

"With all the privacy laws on the books today, I won't be able to talk to her doctors without your approval. So, I'd appreciate it…"

"Dr. Selby, her primary and Dr. Borden her neurologist, knew your name right away. They said they'd be happy to…"

"Look, you don't get it. If they don't want to find themselves wasting money on lawyers rather than making money in the hospital, they can't talk to anyone but her health care proxy…"

"And that's you, son. After your father died, she changed her papers to have your name on them." House was surprised by the news.

"My head was a little foggy back then," he admitted looking at Lydia. "But I would have thought that your name would have been on the important things by now, whether living in sin or burdened by the yoke of matrimony." Reverend Bell let out a sigh.

"Greg, your mother and I got married…two months after John died. I…"

"Wow, so you waited until the body was cold, but the worms and maggots hadn't feasted yet. Tell me, why did you buy the cow when you were getting the milk for free?" Lydia reminded herself that House was very upset.

"I begged your mother for years to leave your father," Bell said his voice rising. "I wanted her to take you out of that environment the two of you were in and I wanted to give you a better, kinder life than you had." House was quiet as he sat back down on the bed.

"What the hell stopped you?" he finally asked.

"She did. I don't know what he had over her, but she wouldn't leave him. Blythe was miserable and she buried her pain in her activism."

"Leaving me to fend for myself against him. Even when I did exactly what he wanted, it wasn't good enough for him," House said staring down at the rug. "I was All-American in soccer and lacrosse; I was in the top one-percent of my class through high school, college, med school…yet he wouldn't come to any of my graduations…"

"I was there," Bell said. "I was there when you graduated all three."

"Did you have your invisibility cloak on? Because I don't remember seeing you there."

"I stayed out of sight at your mother's request. There were several of the other Marine officers around; they also had kids graduating. She didn't want any talk," Bell said, his voice cracking with emotion, "Why, when John could have made an appearance, at the proudest moments for you, he declined to be there, I will never understand."

"Maybe because I wasn't his son," House said.

"Greg, I know you've thought that for years, but he…"

"He was incapable of procreating. He had the mumps when he was twenty; it left him sterile."

"What? No, no, Greg; you've got it all wrong, lad. You were premature…."

"No, I was not. You've probably never seen my mother's medical records, but I showed up exactly forty weeks after her last period." Bell was heard taking audible breaths through the phone.

"How…how could she do this? How could she lie to me? To you?" House looked up at the ceiling as the rain began to pour again.

"Because despite the lustrous black hair and porcelain skin, she ain't Snow White…except maybe for the part about the seven dwarfs." House let out a tired sigh. "Is one of her doctors there that I can speak to?"

"Both Selby and Borden are here," Bell said in a weary voice. "They said to call them at any time." Lydia crawled over to her side of the bed and grabbed her phone off the nightstand.

"Give me a moment, Reverend Bell," Lydia said. "I'll copy them down, and then send them to you," she said to House. He nodded without returning her gaze. "Go ahead, Reverend." Bell read off the numbers to Lydia; she read them back for confirmation.

"I'm just outside your mother's room right now. It seems you can have cell phones almost anywhere nowadays. Did…did you want to talk to her? She might be awake."

"No, I don't think that would be a good idea," said House. "I don't know that your profession would approve of what I'd have to say. Especially my opinion of the phrase that says, 'Honor thy father and thy mother.'" There was silence in reply from Bell.

"Alright; I'll let you go and call the doctors," he said sadly.

"Reverend Bell, thank you so much for calling to let Greg…and me…know what's happening. I hope you'll keep us up to date. And please don't mind if," she looked quickly at House, "I call you once in a while."

"I don't mind at all," Bell said quietly. "That would be very lovely. Good night, dear." He paused. "Good night, Greg."

"Good night, Reverend Bell," said Lydia. House reached over and ended the call. She watched him as he sat hunched over, not looking at her. "I'm sending you the doctor's phone numbers now," she said. He nodded blankly as Lydia fiddled with her phone. "You've got them." House picked up his phone and rose from the bed. "At least it sounds like your mother is doing OK," Lydia offered. He looked down at her.

"D.I.L.L.A.G.A.R.A." Lydia didn't know how to react.

"Excuse me?"

"D.I.L.L.A.G.A.R.A. Do I look like I give a rat's ass?" House started to walk toward the end of the bed.

"Yes," Lydia said standing up. "As a matter of fact you do." House didn't move as Lydia came over to him.

"I'm going to call the doctors from the kitchen. Who knows how long I'll be on with them," House said looking at Lydia. It broke her heart to see the pain in his eyes.

"I'll wait up." House shook his head.

"You have class after work tomorrow; better get some sleep." He went to leave, when Lydia gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He left the room without returning the gesture. Lydia went back to the bed, and crawled under the covers. She very softly began to cry; not for House's lack of response to her kiss. Rather, she was upset at the conflict she felt over House's mother. On the one hand, Lydia wanted Blythe to quickly recover; maybe there was some hope of salvaging the mother/son relationship. On the other hand, if Greg's mom quickly passed away, perhaps he'd finally be able to move on; maybe even establish a relationship with Reverend Bell. Somehow Lydia knew, no matter what she hoped for, House would only get hurt more. Lydia readjusted her pillows and fell into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, the sky was still gray, but the rain had stopped. House turned over several times trying to find a comfortable position, but to no avail. He heard Lydia and the kids in the kitchen having breakfast. The kids had to be at the bus stop at eight-fifteen; since it was now seven-thirty, he didn't have long to wait until he had the house to himself. This was one of the times he was grateful that the school district had all day pre-kindergarten. His plan to stay in bed and avoid everyone was quickly unraveling, as the smell of freshly brewed coffee pounded at his olfactory senses. With great reluctance, he got up, and headed into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Lydia said quietly.

"Good morning, House," Elise said.

"Morning, House," Ben chimed in. Lydia still wasn't used to her children calling House by his last name. It was something she would have never been allowed to do in her youth, but these are different times, so she agreed to let them do it. It was less formal than "Dr. House."

"Morning," House replied without much enthusiasm. Elise climbed down from her stool by the counter extension and came over to House. She hugged him very gently around his legs, and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry your mommy is sick and in the hospital," she said. "I hope she gets better soon."

"Me, too," Ben said. Elise saw her mother, standing behind House, gesture for her to go back to her seat.

"What's the matter? No fascinating medical insight into my mother's medical condition?" House asked Ben. The boy was startled by House's tone; it was sarcastic in a nasty way, not the usual teasing banter that he and House exchanged.

"Well," Ben said hesitantly, "A stroke involves the brain and bleeding and people have trouble talking and moving after they have one." House nodded.

"If the bleeding is on the right side of the brain, what side of the body is effected?" Ben tapped his fingers on the counter as he thought about House's question. "Come on, you have a fifty/fifty shot at it," House said sharply.

"The left side," the boy answered quickly. He didn't know for sure, but felt he had to say something, or House would become even more annoyed with him.

"Lucky guess," he said dismissively as he reached for his coffee mug.

"House, are we going to make tacos tonight for dinner?" Elise asked. "Because you said last night…"

"I don't know if I'm even going to be in the mood to eat, never mind cook a meal," he snapped.

"But…we have to eat," the child replied. House closed his eyes. The tacos were a quick, easy meal, and the kids did enjoy both making and eating them. Besides, the girl was right.

"Yeah, sure. We'll time it so it's ready when your mom gets home from school." House realized he was out of line for acting the way he was toward the children. He was in a completely lousy mood, but it was wrong to take it out on them. He remembered it happening to himself way too many times.

"Are you guys finished eating?" Lydia asked looking at the clock on the microwave.

"I am," Elise said.

"Almost," Ben responded before putting another piece of waffle in his mouth.

"Let me have you dishes," Lydia said to her daughter. "Then brush your teeth. Are you wearing your hair in a ponytail or loose today?"

"Loose," the little girl replied.

"Alright, but you'll have to have someone help you put it up before soccer practice."

"I know," Elise said as she skipped down the hall to the bathroom.

"Wilson up yet?" House asked Lydia.

"Yes. He left early today since he and Foreman have to look over the quarterly figures I sent them last night. Plus, he's cutting out of work to see Annie when she gets home." House rolled his eyes.

"He's ridiculous," muttered House under his breath. Lydia shot him a look as Ben brought his dish and utensils to the sink.

"Thank you," Lydia said as Ben disappeared into his room to put his sneakers on. "What's wrong with James wanting to see Annie right after she gets home? This is the first time they've been apart overnight, and I guess he realizes just how much he misses her."

"Give me a break," House snapped. "If you and I were apart for a few nights, it wouldn't bother me." Lydia paused as she was about to close the dishwasher door.

"Thanks for the heads up," she said quietly, rinsing her hands and drying them on a towel. House walked over to one of the kitchen stools and sat down.

"So, how long?" House asked.

"How long what?" Lydia asked without looking over at him.

"How long are we going to last now that you're seeing the real me when things don't go well. And I'm not talking about misplacing my car keys." Lydia raised her eyebrows as she walked over to where House sat.

"The question really is: how long before you drive me crazy with your forgetful memory?" House gave her a puzzled look. "You know, the one that keeps forgetting that I said you were stuck with me until you callously toss me aside?" Lydia reached out and put her hand on his shoulder "This isn't the first time things have gone awry, and it won't be the last. We made it through Malcolm Hunter when we were still getting to really know each other, and lots of smaller things in between. This is a double whammy, but I have no doubt we'll get through this, too. I just hope you realize that the kids are doing and saying things because they truly want to make you feel better, not because of anything I told them to do. Elise wanted to make your mother a get well card this morning, but I told her there was no time now; maybe tonight." Lydia saw that House appeared to be less tense than when he entered the kitchen. "She was very surprised to find out your mother's name was Mrs. House, not House's Mommy."

"Think how surprised I was to hear it's Mrs. Bell," House said. "And that I have a stepfather."

"I forgot that Reverend Bell surprised us with that tidbit. I'll have to explain things to her tonight."

"Don't bother," House said as he took a sip of his coffee. "Just because my mother is her half step-grandmother once removed and never replaced, doesn't mean she has to make her a card." Lydia took the hand she had resting on House's shoulder, and moved it around to his back to embrace him in a hug. She was laughing as she replayed the title House gave his mother in her mind.

"I love it when you talk like that; it lets me know you're in a better mood."

"You sure about that?" House asked as he put his coffee cup on the counter and put his arms around Lydia. "There are many who would disagree," he pointed out.

"Oh, to hell with them," she replied. Lydia leaned forward to give House a kiss; unlike a few hours ago, he responded in kind. Happy to be making up for last night, they lost track of the time.

"Uh…Mom?" Ben asked reluctantly.

"Shhh! Leave them alone; they're kissy-facing," Elise said in a loud whisper.

"Oh, brother," Ben said shaking his head. Both Lydia and House had to laugh at the kids' different reactions to catching the adults "in the act."

"I know, it's time to head to the bus stop," Lydia said turning away from House. "You can wait in the driveway while I get my bag and keys; then I'll walk you to the corner."

"Bye, House," they said together. The two ran down the stairs, opened the front door and headed outside. Mere seconds later, Ben came running back in.

"Forgot my library book," he said running to his room.

"Another medical book?" House asked as Ben rushed past the kitchen. The boy stopped and backed up.

"Nope; a Sherlock Holmes book," he said holding up "A Scandal in Bohemia." "I'm going to take out 'The Red-Headed League' next."

"Good choice," House said. Ben smiled at House's kinder tone.

"Ben, get back outside to your sister, please; she's too little to be outside alone," Lydia noted. Her son raced downstairs and rejoined Elise. Lydia walked into the dining room and grabbed her purse and laptop carrying bag from the table. "Are you up to coming into work today?" she asked House.

"I might as well; I can be miserable here or miserable there. There, at least, I may find a new case to distract me."

"Very true," Lydia said as she fished out her keys. "I guess I'll see you later." House looked out the dining room window; despite the circumstances, he felt the calmness that had come to him more and more frequently. Damn! How does she do it?

"I love you," he said as he looked back to her. He thought she was absolutely beautiful as she smiled.

"I love you, too," Lydia said as she gave House a kiss. She hurried down the stairs and joined the kids in the driveway. House went to the living room window and watched as the three of them headed to the corner. See how good it feels when you open up and let people in; think about how much you've been hurt when you have opened up to people in the past. It was a dichotomy that was never going to leave him alone. House looked down and saw Lydia wave to the bus; she got in the car and headed over to the hospital. He wasn't ready to go there just yet.

Around ten, House finally showed up at work. In one way, he hoped Lydia had clued in the usual suspects about the situation with his mother; the other part of him didn't want to talk about it. As he stopped at the reception desk to sign in, he cringed as the first salvo was fired.

"Hey, House." House turned and saw Wilson and Foreman approaching him; if Wilson knew, Foreman knew, owing to Wilson's inability to keep his mouth shut.

"Sorry to hear about your mother. Any news?" Wilson asked.

"I spoke to her primary and neurologist around five; caught up with her cardiologist around eight-thirty," House replied as they moved away from the desk. "Things appear to be stable for now. They're doing an assortment of tests and scans during the course of the day. I'll get a call when they have a more cohesive picture and treatment plan"

"A cardiologist and neurologist?" Foreman questioned. "I wasn't aware that your mother had any health issues in those areas."

"Neither was I. I also didn't know I had a stepfather."

"I know you were probably very taken back," Wilson said, "but you've got to admit, it is sort of sweet that after all these years…"

"You mean after all these years of sneaking around, they can finally hold hands in public? They waited only two months after my father died to get married." Wilson and Foreman looked shocked.

"Lydia…didn't mention that," Foreman said uncomfortably.

"Normally, I wouldn't either; I'm trying Fraulein's suggestion of not letting things eat me up, which in theory, would make me a happier, kinder, gentler person." House started to walk to the elevators. "I didn't have the heart to tell her, 'In your dreams and not even there.'" Foreman and Wilson exchanged looks as House pushed the call button for the elevator.

"House, do you want to head down to her? You know you can take all the time you want. Most of your absences have been for medical reasons, so you have plenty of time due you," Foreman pointed out.

"I'd take all the time I wanted whether it was due me or not. However, I have no plans to go down to see her. She's got the dear Reverend to pray for her recovery." The elevator doors opened; the three men stepped aside to let out the passengers. "Besides, she never ran to my side when I needed her; I plan on responding in the same manner." House entered the elevator and found he was quickly joined by Wilson.

"I'll meet you in the conference room in a few minutes," he said to Foreman as the doors closed. House let out a sigh as he pushed the button for the fourth floor.

"You're not going to follow me all the way to my office are you? Because I think that would be more than a little awkward for both of us."

"No, I have to get something out of my office up here," replied Wilson. He looked over at House with concern. "Are you sure you're OK? Because, you know if you need anything…"

"Please don't start with a torrent of emotions on this subject; I think we did enough of that last night," House said as he stepped off the elevator when it reached their floor.

"And you're complaining?" Wilson asked. "House, if you need to talk, just let me know. I mean anytime…" House looked down the hall to his office.

"Does that 'anytime' include…oh, say an hour or so after Annie gets home today?" Wilson opened his mouth, then closed it and smiled.

"Yeah, as a matter of fact it does." House was now the one who smiled.

"Thanks, but Lydia seems to have me under control."

"She's…very good at that," Wilson said. "By the way, did she show you the numbers the billing department brought in last quarter?"

"No, that wasn't part of our pillow talk last night; how did she do?"

"Phenomenally. There was a twenty-one percent increase in payments, including accounts that were written off long ago. It…it was very impressive." House smirked.

"Foreman turn white when he saw the numbers?" Wilson gave House a look.

"Foreman was blown away. I think coming up, the board is going to have quite a problem on its hands. From a couple of things he's said just today, I'm getting the feeling he wants to go back to being just a doctor, the way I do." House nodded.

"Think he wants back on the team, or is he going to try and be me at another hospital?"

"I'm pretty sure he wants back in with your team. All we'd have to do is justify the cost of another person," Wilson pointed out.

"If Fraulein keeps going the way she is now, finding extra money in the budget won't be an issue," House said with a smile.

"Very true." Wilson looked at his watch. "I've got to get downstairs; we're presenting Lydia's numbers and a bunch of financial reports to a few of the board members." Wilson turned and pushed the call button.

"Wilson, aren't you forgetting the 'thing' you needed to get from your office?" House questioned. Wilson gave House a smile.

"Nah; somehow I don't need it anymore. I'll talk to you before I leave for the day," Wilson said as he stepped into the elevator. House shook his head as the door to the elevator car closed. He headed for his office dreading the next group of inquisitors: his team. As he glanced into the conference room, Chase, Thirteen, and Taub were ready to pounce.

"Good morning, all," House said as he put his backpack in his office. "Let's play a game of Mad Libs." He walked over to the white board and picked up the marker. House wrote a series of words and phrases on the board, then turned to his team.

"My mother had a…" House pointed to the word "stroke" on the board. "It was on the …" He once again pointed to the board and the phrase "right side."

"House, this would be a lot easier if you just gave us the condensed version of what happened," Chase said.

"But it's so much more annoying to you guys this way. Which delights me to no end."

"House, come on," said Thirteen.

"OK, but you're taking away a wounded man's bullet to bite on." As he got a cup of coffee, House filled in the appropriate details on his early morning phone call, including the fact that he wasn't heading down to Virginia.

"You know we can handle things here if you wanted to go see her," said Chase.

'Why would I want to do that? It's not going to make me feel any better. Finding a new case, now that's the cure for what ails me."

"We haven't finished opening the mail for the day, but so far, no letters making a desperate plea for our help." Taub said. "The E.R. and the clinic didn't have anything happening in either place this morning. We were going to check again after we finish the mail and have lunch." House considered the options, which were few.

"Lydia's busy most of the morning and early afternoon, but she texted me to meet her in 'Sloppy Joe's', otherwise known as the cafeteria, for a late lunch. You take the early afternoon sweep, I'll take the late day run at our usual sources for fun patients with weird diseases." The team agreed, and House went into his office to look over the mail from yesterday. He was always a minimum of a day behind with it, but it didn't matter since he threw most of it out anyway. There were a few items of interest to him; the monthly news bulletin from the CDC among them. Surprisingly, the hours went by quickly, and soon it was time to meet Lydia. House headed down to the lobby and found Lydia waiting for him outside the cafeteria.

"Do you really want to eat something from this advertisement for ptomaine poisoning? We could take a walk and get something that would actually pass for food," House suggested.

"I can't," Lydia said, looking disappointed. "I have a conference call with a former patient and their insurance company in half an hour; I'd never make it."

"OK, I'll suffer through this just for you," House said. "Now if only a case would come rolling in here, I'd actually be doing something to help distract me." Lydia looked at House sympathetically.

"Have you heard anything from the doctors?" she asked as they walked into the cafeteria.

"Not since earlier this morning; they…"

"Hey, guys!" House and Lydia turned around to see Wilson running toward them.

"Quick, hide!" House said as he stood behind Lydia and ducked down.

"Very funny, House. I bet you did that to the other kids all the time in school," Wilson said as he shook his head.

"Yeah, but at least the other kids laughed at the joke," House said putting on a puss.

"What's up?" Lydia asked Wilson.

"Annie just called and said she's getting home earlier than she thought, so I'm getting out of here now. Oh, did she text you about dinner tomorrow night?" House looked more than a little unhappy as Lydia glanced at him.

"Yes, she did, but I haven't had the chance to talk to Greg about it; I've been busy this morning."

"Busy doing great work," Wilson noted. Lydia smiled and turned to House.

"Annie wanted to try that new Thai restaurant that opened last month. We've all talked about it, but we've never gotten over there. She…she thought you'd might enjoy the place and it would give you a little break. She was thinking about going tomorrow night."

"Are we talking about the Thai restaurant that opened on Franklin Avenue and very boringly calls itself, 'Frankly Thai?'" House asked.

"The one in the same," Lydia answered. House looked away from Wilson and Lydia for a moment.

"Tell the songbird, if it wasn't for her excellent taste in cuisine, the answer would have been no. But what the hell…I'll get the chance to let someone else play designated driver again." Lydia was about to say something, when House interrupted her. "Don't; he already lectured me last night," House said indicating Wilson.

"I'll see if we need reservations," Lydia said. "Is around seven good?"

"Sounds great," Wilson said. "I've got to go; I want to pick up some flowers. See you tomorrow." Wilson turned and practically ran out of the building. House gave Lydia a look.

"Don't you dare make a comment," she said to him warningly. "I think he's being very sweet."

"You would," House countered. Lydia, who had been walking in front of House, turned around and very quickly stuck her tongue out at him. She turned back around and headed for the food line. When they got there, House very subtlety put his arm around her waist. "What have I always told you? Don't stick that tongue out unless you intend on using it." Lydia grabbed a salad from the display and turned to look at House.

"And as I always say, I just did." Lydia saw the slightest smile on House's face as she reached for a bottle of water; that and the salad were the only two things on her tray. House's, of course, was piled with food of all sorts.

"Boy, you're a cheap date," he said as he paid for their food.

"I'll make up for it tomorrow night," she promised. Glancing at her watch, she made a face. "I've got to get back to my office; I'm sorry."

"You need help with that?" House asked as he set his tray down on a table.

"No, I'll be fine." Lydia gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be home about six-thirty," she said.

"Go make this place some more money so I can hire Foreman back," he said. Lydia gave House a puzzled look. "I'll explain it later," he said. Lydia shrugged and left the cafeteria. House glanced at his watch; it was a little after three. At this point, he wasn't sure he wanted to get involved in a case. He was picking the kids up from soccer practice at five-thirty; a case right now would be a problem. House decided to take his time eating, maybe close his eyes and take a nap. In a bit, House arose and took a quick walk through the clinic and the E.R.; no promising signs anywhere. At five o'clock, he left to pick up the kids.

'Hi, House," Elise said as she got in the car. Nancy, one of the coaches for the soccer club came over with Ben.

"Hello, how are you?" she asked.

"Fine," House replied, not looking to get into a long conversation.

"Good, good," Nancy answered. "Ben had a fall during practice and scraped his knee up a bit. We washed it out and covered it, but he reassured me that you'd know best how to handle it," she said with a smile.

"No problem, thanks," House replied. When they got home, he saw that the scrape was nothing, not even the size of a half dollar. After washing up, the kids set the table while House prepped the vegetables for the tacos. He had the kids place each item into a compartment dish that Lydia had, and with their "super-duper teamwork" as the kids called it, everything was ready when Lydia came home.

It was a quiet evening, just what House needed. Elise and Lydia finished the card for his mother, and Ben asked House to listen to him read the new Holmes book out loud. House had done this before, and never minded the activity; Ben changed his voice for the different characters which made him entertaining to listen to. After the kids were in bed, House and Lydia sat on the couch, each with a glass of wine. Lydia found a Muddy Waters concert on the radio that had the Rolling Stones as special guests. It was the perfect thing to get House to relax. By eleven-thirty, they were both in bed and asleep.

Hump day proved to bring not even a hint of a new case for House and his team. He resorted to helping the team go through the mail to keep his mind occupied; the news from his mother's doctors didn't thrill him. Around ten-thirty, Wilson stopped by the conference room.

"HI, how's everyone doing?" he asked, his happiness at having Annie home more than a little evident. "How's your mom, House?"

"They confirmed the aneurism and a few small vessels that ruptured bilaterally. The pressure on her brain has increased, so they're going to be placing a shunt in her head to relieve it," House answered as he opened some of the envelopes with far more force than necessary.

"House, are you…sure you don't want…"

"Don't even bother," Thirteen said. "We've been trying to talk him into going down there all morning." Wilson dropped his head down and threw his hands up in the air.

"You're sure…" he began to say. House suddenly rose from the table.

"Like Thirteen said, don't even bother." He grabbed his cane and stormed out of the room.

"We may have been a little too insistent with him before you came in," Chase said "It's strange, but…it feels like we're deal with the House we knew before Lydia came on the scene."

"You can't expect her to fix everything," Wilson noted. "Imagine what she's dealing with right now." Surprisingly, Lydia wasn't getting too much flak from House; probably because she knew not to push too hard. At lunchtime, Lydia managed to convince him to take a walk with her, and sit on a bench in one of the more park-like settings on the hospital property.

"I forgot to show this to you last night. I found it Monday when I was straightening things up," Lydia said. She took out her phone, pushed some buttons and handed it to House. As rotten as he felt, he managed a smile when he saw the image. It was a head shot of the two of them, taken when House was still at Mayfield.

"Did you ever think things would turn out the way they have when you took this?" House asked handing the phone back to her. Lydia smiled.

"I hoped." House was going to argue her statement, but he didn't have the energy. He just put his arm around her, and rested his head against hers. In a little while, they started to make their way back into the hospital.

"Well, at least in a bit, you'll have something to keep you amused," Lydia said as they entered the lobby.

"Yeah, you on clinic duty is always amusing. Mainly because you're still amazed at the idiots we get in there. I look at it as proof that IQ tests should be required before anyone can breed." Lydia shook her head and gave House a quick kiss. Clinic time came up quickly for House, Taub and Lydia. There were two other doctors, besides the three of them, handling the afternoon shift; Wilson was there to oversee things. Most of the cases were of the usual variety; gallbladder attack, premature labor. But there were also a share of oddball cases, and somehow, Lydia seemed to wind up with all of them.

"I swear, you do this to me deliberately," she said returning a patient's folder to the department desk.

"What's the matter?" Wilson asked, obviously trying not to laugh. House was standing next to him, doing his best to look innocent. "As you can see, the waiting room is empty, and the honor of the last patient is yours."

"Get this guy to leave ASAP and we can head to dinner. The other two docs are gone and Taub is finishing up with his last dingbat," House said as he handed her the file.

"What's this guy's problem?"

"His left calf is deflated." Lydia did a double take.

"Deflated?" she questioned. "Oh, you are going to pay for this."

"Marianne and Tom have the kids tonight; I'll make it up to you later," House said with a wicked grin. Lydia headed to the room where the man was waiting as Taub stopped by the desk.

"Did you give her another weird case?" he asked.

"Only because she knows it means I think she can handle it," replied House.

"I'm glad you're so sure she thinks that way," Wilson said. "Because if…" There was a loud bang as the door to the room where Lydia was slammed open.

"Code Blue! I need a crash cart and a cooling blanket, stat!" Lydia yelled.

"I'll get the crash cart," Wilson said.

"I'll get the cooling blanket," Taub said. House set off Chase's and Thirteen's beepers and hurried into the room where Lydia was; he saw the patient convulsing, with Lydia doing her best to keep him on the table.

"What happened?"

"He's running a one-oh-four point six fever. I was trying to take his blood pressure when he seized. The leg must be infected." As House helped her control the guy, he looked down at the leg; there was nothing there but what appeared to be a healing sore from poison ivy. Wilson and Taub came running into the room with Chase and Thirteen right behind them.

"His brain is frying," House called out. "Get the blanket on him." Everyone rapidly worked together, each taking care of a different thing to keep the man from dying. Thirty minutes later, things had calmed down, and the patient was sent up to I.C.U. with House's team in tow.

"In the conference room in five," House called after them.

"Well," Lydia said, "I guess you've got your case." House nodded.

"We've got a case; he's your patient. Were you able to get anything out of him before he seized?"

"Not much, but it might help." House looked at Wilson, who had given Foreman a quick call to let him know what was going on.

"Let's do it this way; you go pick up Annie and get a table at the restaurant. Since we didn't need reservations, who knows what we'll hit." Wilson nodded. "You," House said to Lydia, "Come upstairs with me, tell the team what you know. They're going to be doing blood work and scans the rest of the night. You can go with Taub tomorrow to check out the guy's house. You'll only be stuck here ten minutes or so, then you can join them," he said indicating Wilson. "I'll stay just a little longer to see if anyone claims this guy. Family can be helpful, or the biggest obstacle. I want to see what this one is."

"Sound like a plan," Wilson said. "Oh, Foreman says the restaurant is great."

"A valued recommendation," House said. Wilson left to get Annie, while Lydia went upstairs to tell the team the little she knew; the man is both a professional and volunteer firefighter, and a month ago, he had poison ivy. One week ago, his calf started to lose strength and tone. They got a call from the I.C.U. that the man's wife was there, so Lydia left to meet Annie and Wilson while House got a feel for how the case would go. Twenty minutes later, House was heading for the lobby; his team could handle things for now. He wanted to get to the restaurant and enjoy it, since he had the feeling he was going to be busy in the upcoming days.

House stopped to sign out; he put his backpack on the floor and rested his cane against the counter. He was about to pick up both items when…

"HOUSE!" He turned to see Foreman running from his office. He didn't stop, but continued to move as he spoke. "There's been a shooting outside Frankly Thai. An ambulance is bringing in a man and two women." House watched as Foreman disappeared, stunned by what he said. Not even bothering to grab his cane, House did the best he could to run. He fell, and cursed as he got himself back up. House continued stumbling along the hall, becoming angrier by the minute that he couldn't run at full tilt.

House fell again as he crashed through the doors of the E.R.; he pulled himself up and looked to the ambulance bay. He saw Foreman helping Annie down out of the vehicle. There was blood splattered all over her, and she was yelling.

"NO! NO! OH PLEASE, GOD, NO!" Annie screamed. There was a stretcher out of the ambulance, but with the crowd around it, House couldn't see who was on it. As he limped closer, he realized there was one person lying down, and one person on their knees between the prone person's legs.

"BP is sixty-four over thirty four; we need two units of O positive blood stat!"

As House's brain processed things, it all became painfully clear…

The voice he heard was Lydia's.

Wilson was the one who was shot.