"Life and Limb"
Chapter Five – "Tripping Over Your Own Two Feet"
By: Purpleu
"How could you even think that this was Annie's fault?" Lydia exclaimed. House had stepped back into the observation room, but came out when he heard Lydia's voice raise in volume.
"I don't know who you are, but we spoke directly to James' best friend, Dr. House," Claudia Wilson said looking at him. "He told us exactly what happened." House quickly realized there was no rock big enough on the face of the earth for him to crawl under.
"How he could since he wasn't even there?" Lydia questioned. House took a deep breath and turned to to Wilson's parents.
"I think it's time for a visit to an ENT to clear out the wax and replace the batteries in your hearing aids. Maybe a cognitive ability test might be in order, too." he said. "What I told you was that Wilson and the songbird were mugged on their way into a restaurant. The guy who mugged them was pissed that she didn't hand over her necklace fast enough; so he went after her, and Wilson jumped in to defend her. They struggled for the gun, that's when he got shot," House concluded. "How that led you to think that I said this was Medusa's fault, I don't know." The Wilsons looked both upset and embarrassed.
"I…I'm sorry. We get a call from Annie, crying hysterically…we could barely make out what she was saying, other than James was shot and we should get to the hospital immediately. We…we didn't know what to think…" Mrs. Wilson started sobbing. Her husband put his arm around her.
"Calm down, Claudia, calm down," he said rubbing her shoulder. He looked around at everyone. "Where is James now?"
"In surgery," Lydia answered. "Dr. House has been observing the operation and talking to the surgeons. Two of his team members are down there as well."
"Three," corrected House as he watched the activity in the O.R. "Taub just walked in with Ellis."
"You can see him being operated on from there?" Mrs. Wilson said indicating House's position by the window.
"Every bloody second." Mrs. Wilson began sobbing again; at this point, there wasn't one person in the group who didn't want to stuff a gag in House's mouth, even Lydia.
"Why don't we have a seat in here?" Annie said guiding Wilson's mother to the waiting room. "Do you want something to drink or eat?"
"Just some water, thank you," Claudia Wilson said.
"I'll take some coffee, if you don't mind," Henry Wilson said. "Light, no sugar."
"I'll get that," Lydia said. As she passed by Wilson's mother, she reached out to Lydia.
"I'm so sorry for my tone with you before, but…that's my son," Mrs. Wilson said dropping her head. "My only son."
"Liar, liar, family history on fire," House said walking back into the room to grab a few cookies. "You have a pair of spares; they just don't write home as much as you'd like them to." The Wilson's looked mortified. "You must have some kind of magical power; the two of you show pity for the sons that ignore you and run away. Jim-Bob falls all over himself to make sure he stays in your good graces, and all you can do is heap on guilt." Henry Wilson had sat down next to his wife; he now rose up and faced House.
"I think now is neither the time nor the place to discuss any personal business of my family," he said firmly.
"Yeah, well, as I was saying to Fraulein before, I'm not really good at caring about the rules of time and place," House said popping another cookie in his mouth. He turned to Thirteen who had gone past him and was in the observation room. "Any change?"
"Vitals are still good, Rayner's still working."
"It wouldn't be very sporting of him if he took a coffee break in the middle of things." House looked at Wilson's father. "Terribly sorry if I'm upsetting you; not feeling like my usual perky self," he said sarcastically. "You know what the problem is? Goes back to that whole proper time and place thing. Fraulein and I should have taken advantage of the fact that we were both naked in the shower before; I'd probably be in a better mood right now if we did." Lydia closed her eyes and visibly cringed. She was in the process of giving Mr. Wilson his cup of coffee, and as his hand touched hers, she felt the need to explain things.
"The four of us, James, Annie, Greg, and myself, were supposed to have dinner together. Greg was delayed because of a patient that was just admitted. James picked up Annie, I drove myself over to the restaurant." Lydia felt herself beginning to tear up and did her best to keep things under control. She finished the rest of the story of the shooting and their arrival at the hospital, as well as House's and his team's efforts to save Wilson's life. She explained that she couldn't get the bandages wet, so House helped her take a shower to clean up. "He's my boyfriend," she quickly added.
"Now I understand who you are; you're Annie's best friend," Claudia Wilson said nodding her head. "You…you got hurt helping James; you helped save his life." Claudia shook her head back and forth. "You're Linda?"
"No, Lydia."
"Linda was my sister," Annie said. She sat down next to Wilson's mother and reached over for her hand.
"Yes, I remember you telling me that," she said squeezing Annie's hand. It was clear to see the Wilsons were very fond of Annie; Mrs. Wilson's earlier outburst was that of a scared and desperate mother. She looked up at Lydia. "I'm so sorry you got hurt, but I'm so grateful for what you did." Lydia hesitated for a moment.
"James is the love of Annie's life, Greg's best friend for over twenty years…and he's my dear friend, too. There was no way I was going to let him die. Not if I could help it."
"Your hands," Henry Wilson said, sitting back down and ignoring House. "They got hurt when you tried to stop the bleeding?"
"The bullets were still very hot right after being fired; I made contact with them when I put pressure on the femoral artery. Greg got hurt, too; he was in the lobby when the ambulance got here and he ran to the E.R. He got cuts and bruises from falling as he went along. He was so upset, he forgot his cane at the reception desk." Lydia thought she should try and do something to resurrect House's reputation with the Wilsons.
"Your head?" Mr. Wilson asked. "How…" Lydia thought she had said what happened enough times to enough people to hold it together, but that was not the case.
"He…the guy…ran into me after shooting James. He…he put the gun to…my head and…" House had moved to Lydia, looking over his shoulder quickly at Thirteen who gave him a thumbs up.
"He asked her if she was ready to die," House said quietly putting his arm around her.
"What?" Slick said. "You didn't tell us that part!"
"That son-of-a-bitch! That mother…" Tom began to say, then realized the Wilsons were there. "Sorry."
"No need to be," Henry said. "You poor thing," he said placing his hand on Lydia's arm. "The burn on your forehead is from the barrel of the gun, I take it."
"Luckily, the gun either misfired or he was out of bullets, we don't know which," Lydia said as she sniffled. House reached for a napkin and gave it to Lydia.
"So, James was shot in the…femoral…artery?" Henry asked.
"Same artery you had your catheterization in," Lydia explained. "He has two bullets in there, and one in his hip. He will most likely need a hip replacement."
"Oh, my God…he's such a…a young man to have that!" Mrs. Wilson exclaimed.
"Which gives him the best chance to make a complete recovery," Tom said. "He's young enough, strong enough, and motivated enough," he said stroking the top of Annie's head, "To do the therapy with the needed strength."
"This is Tom," Annie explained. She then went into detail about Tom's disabilities and his work as a therapist and physician's assistant. Annie wanted the Wilson's to understand that Tom was not only good at his job, but sympathetic enough to handle Wilson gently, but firmly.
"So, you'll be able to help him get full use of his legs back?" Mrs. Wilson asked. Tom looked away.
"After the traumatic injury he's suffered in the leg as well as the hip, it will take a while and it will never be perfect. But, if Wilson's willing to put in the work, I'll do everything I can to help him feel that it's as good as can be." The flow of conversation was interrupted as House loudly cleared his throat.
"Fraulein, I've got to get to the blood lab so I can become one with Wilson. If you don't get a Skype call from me in five, ten minutes….we'll have to come up with some other way to communicate." Lydia wiped her face.
"You and Wilson have the same blood type? He must love the irony of that," Slick said.
"The irony is, he's the universal donor; I'm the universal recipient when it comes to whole blood. With plasma, nobody checks your ticket before they let you in the gate," House said.
"Don't they have any plasma for him here?" Tom asked.
"I've seen some of the donors…not too inclined to trust where their last cheap thrill came from."
"I'll walk with you to the elevators. Be right back." Despite her bandaged fingers, she reached for House's hand as they left the waiting room.
"Still good?" he asked Thirteen.
"Looks like he did a nice, small keyhole to pull out the saphenous vein. Can't be absolutely sure from up here, but…so far, so good." House nodded.
"I'm going to be attacked by vampires disguised as phlebotomists; she'll be back in a few minutes to help me play candid camera."
"Lydia, have you eaten yet?" Thirteen asked. "I don't remember seeing you with anything to eat or drink."
"I had some water and a slice of pound cake," Lydia said. "I haven't seen you eat either."
"Make you a deal: when you come back, I'll get something for both of us." Lydia smiled.
"Thanks. Please make sure Annie eats, too. I don't think she's eaten a thing."
"Tom and Slick are playing mother hen to everyone in there," House observed as he watched the activities in the waiting room. "She'll be fine." He started leading Lydia down the hall to elevators that were nearest the blood lab.
"Hon? Why do you keep calling Annie Medusa? She had snakes for hair and could turn people to stone just by looking at them. That's not very nice," Lydia noted. House sighed.
"With that wild mass of curls, they look reptilian sometimes. As far as turning people to stone? I'm sure there's one part of Wilson that she has that effect on." Lydia smiled a little, but it was less than the reaction House expected: no jab back at him, no playful reprimand. Despite the fact she was the one who initiated the hand holding, he knew her well enough by now to know that there was something bothering her. "Can I ask you to do me a favor?" House asked.
"Of course."
"Whatever bug you have up your butt, be it ant or dung beetle, could you put it back in its cage until all of this is over? Because I don't have time to exterminate random emotions right now." Lydia was taken back.
"I wasn't aware of the fact that I was doing anything that could be described as having a bug up my butt. What did I say or do?" She was neither mad nor hurt; she just didn't know where House was coming from.
"Didn't say you did or said anything; just that someone's got your knickers in a twist, and I don't want to deal with it right now." House glanced at Lydia. "Although I have a feeling it was me that caused this lovely mood that's written all over your face." Lydia stopped walking just short of the elevators; she stared down at the floor and took several deep breaths.
"When we were alone in the shower, it was very…comforting to me; not just because the water felt good, or that your hands felt good on me, which they did, believe me. It was the fact that without saying a word, you let me know how much you were concerned for me, that you loved me. It was a very intimate moment in a non-sexual way and in the midst of all this madness, it was wonderful. It was just what I needed." Lydia looked up at House. "I thought…I hoped…that you felt calmed, at least for a few minutes, too." House looked away from Lydia.
"I was; if it wasn't for the industrial design of the room, I could have relaxed even more, forgotten where we were. I felt you relaxing, and I'm glad that I'm the one to blame for that. So, since we're all loosey goosey…what's wrong?" House was trying to read her face, at the same time he was trying to turn around to face the elevator which was only a few feet away.
"When you made the comment to James' father about our being in the shower, it was crass, it was crude…it was you," Lydia said with a smile. "But when you…blabbed it out there for everyone to hear, it lost its intimacy. I felt like it was just a joke or something…" Lydia put her hands up to her head. "Oh, God, I sound like an idiot. I'm sorry, everything is just getting to me." She looked up at House. "When I think about what it would mean if anything happened to any one of the four of us…" She shook her head. "The other three would be devastated." Lydia reached up with the back of her hand and wiped away the tears. "I just feel so lucky that we have each other…" She saw the look on House's face, and knew she had already spent too much time explaining herself. "Come on, you need to get to the lab." She took a few steps toward the elevator and pushed the call button. House came alongside her; she was staring up at the floor indicator for the elevator.
"You call it lucky to have your guts ripped out and shoved back in your throat as one gelatinous mass? I can think of a few other descriptions for it starting with 'sucky.'"
"It's the chance you take when you open yourself up to other people and let them inside. Most of the time, life doesn't happen the way it has tonight. Tonight has just been…" Lydia started to tear up again. House reached over and turned Lydia so she faced him.
"You didn't sound like an idiot before. You sound emotional; which, like I said, is something I can't deal with right now. I usually can't deal with it too well even if things are good; right now…" He looked at the still closed elevator doors. "The thought that I could have lost either you or Wilson tonight is unnerving enough; both of you?" House shook his head and looked at the floor. The elevator hadn't arrived yet, so he pushed the call button again.
"Aren't you the person who scorns the 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' approach to things?" Lydia asked.
"Yeah, but since when do I ever follow my own advice?" replied House. Lydia put her hands on his shoulders.
"I'm here, and in a few days I'm going to be fine," she said. "James is going to be OK, too. He has the best possible doctors available to help him, including yourself and your team. His road to recovery is going to be a bit longer than mine; but he'll be OK. With Tom as his therapist and you as his practice buddy? He can't lose." House nodded his head as he looked at the floor. Finally, the elevator arrived.
"Are you up to walking with me to the lab?" House asked as he entered the elevator.
"Sure." Lydia entered the car; House hit the button for the floor the lab was located on.
"There was something that happened before that I didn't understand," Lydia said. "Why were you so nasty to James' parents? I was under the impression that you got along well with them. What was that all about?"
"Obviously the songbird didn't mention this to you; according to Wilson, she knows about it." House sighed. "I'm sure he won't mind if you know. He was warm for your form when he first met you, so a few secrets shared among almost daters is OK." Lydia gave House a look.
"James wasn't ever interested in me," she said dismissively.
"Oh yes he was. He asked me for your phone number in case things didn't work out between the two of us. But then I made it clear that I had already branded you," House said with a smile, which quickly faded as he saw that Lydia appeared to be pleased that Wilson had a thing for her. "Wishing you had a chance to walk on the mild side?"
"No; not used to have two men after me at once," she teased. "But he didn't stand a chance." Lydia reached up and gave House a kiss. "You still haven't told me why you were mad at James' folks." The elevator arrived at its stop; as they stepped into the hallway, House looked around to make sure no one was within earshot. He told Lydia what Wilson told him at the pizza place: the abuse by the family friend and the blame assigned him when it was discovered his brothers were also victims of abuse.
"This was the first time that I had seen them since the big reveal," House said. "I had time over the last couple of days to think about what I had witnessed at his parents' house when I traveled with him back to the old homestead. I also thought over the incidents he had told me about when he went back by himself. Why continue to bash the one kid who didn't blame you for bringing Mr. Touchy-Feely into the fold? He's the best and brightest of the offspring. Why make him bend over backwards for your approval, which never did really come; why push him further away?" Lydia looked down at the floor.
"Are you asking that question about James…or yourself? Maybe you two have more in common from your childhood than you think." House stopped walking and looked at Lydia.
"It's why he never wanted to talk about the crap I went through as a kid; he was afraid I was someone's boytoy. I never asked him about anything because I recognized the signs." House began walking again. "I could tell he knew what it felt like to be pushed around and blamed for every little thing that went wrong."
"So that's the big break though that happened Monday night when you two went out. He told you about the abusive situation he dealt with, which confirmed your suspicions. And he admitted it's why he could never talk to you about your problems," Lydia said. "I guess the two of you must feel better now that you've talked things out." They had reached the door of the lab; House reached for the handle.
"No, all it did was make Wilson feel worse; it was the open acknowledgement of the guilt he carried for both situations."
"Didn't you tell him you forgave him for not being there for you?" House hung his head down.
"No, I didn't." Before Lydia could say anything else, House entered the phlebotomy lab; Lydia stepped in behind him.
"Dr. House?" A woman wearing a white lab coat came over to them. "We had gotten a call from Dr. Foreman saying that you would be coming up to donate plasma for Dr. Wilson. How is he doing?"
"He'll be doing a lot better once we get my plasma into him," House said in a curt tone. He surveyed the scene in front of him; there were stretchers everywhere, some next to machines, some not. "Which bunk is mine?"
"This one here will be fine," the tech said. "My name is Helen, and I'll be…"
"I'm not interested in the niceties; I'm a doctor, I've seen this done before, I've done it before. You're not going to faint from amazement when giving me a bed bath; that's not on the program. Just get me hooked up to the damn machine or there won't be a Dr. Wilson to give my plasma to." The tech was about to question House's directive, when Lydia interrupted her.
"I'd suggest you hurry and get things going," she said. Lydia held up one bandaged hand and pushed aside her bangs with the other. "You have no idea what he's like when he's angry." Helen, the tech, looked wide-eyed, back and forth between Lydia's up-held hand and House's stern face.
"Come on, chop-chop! Let's get a move on!" House said. Helen was completely rattled.
"I'll be right back to set things up." She hurried away to a supply closet across the room. There were two other techs in the room; they went over to talk to Helen in whispered tones, with nervous glances over their shoulders.
"You do realize that you've probably opened us up to a visit from Social Services wanting to investigate domestic abuse," House said as he settled his head back on the pillow and placed his cane between his legs. Lydia shrugged.
"Maybe; but I can get rid of them easily. I'll just tell them that's something from my past that I know I'll never have to deal with ever again." She leaned over and gave House a gentle kiss. Sensing his being uncomfortable, she said quietly, "Don't worry; I made sure no one was looking. Let's check out your Skype connection." House fiddled with his phone until Skype came up; Lydia did the same with hers.
"Looks good to me," House said "Step away and make sure the speakers work." Lydia opened the door to the lab and stepped outside.
"So tell me, Boris: Where are Moose and Squirrel?" Bending his head down so the tech wouldn't see him laughing, he looked into the camera of his phone.
"Natasha, I didn't know you had interchangeable nationalities," House said faking a bad Russian accent and smiling. Lydia had caught him completely off-guard.
"They sound close enough to the untrained ear; only a cunning linguist like you would know the difference."
"If I didn't have company…" he threatened.
"Promises, promises," Lydia said with a smile. "I'm going to head back down to the observation area. Try not to be too hard on the woman, Greg. She's just doing her job."
"Yeah, and I'm doing mine," he replied. "See you later." Lydia could sense House's mood changing back to somber. She knew he would feel better once she was set up to send him a view of what was going on in the operating room; there was no point in trying to offer any more words of comfort. She hurried down the hall to the elevator. Fidgeting back and forth as she waited for the car, she suddenly heard a voice.
"This is tough on a body to start with; are you trying to make me seasick?" Lydia looked down; she forgot that she and House were hooked up and her nervous dance could be seen.
"I'm sorry, I just want this damn elevator to get here," Lydia said closing her eyes. At last, there was a "ding," and the doors opened. Lydia hurried inside. "Which floor were we on?"
"Fifth, in the Gardner Pavilion. Make the first right after you get out of the elevator, the second left, and you're in the right hallway." Lydia did as House directed and found herself in the long hall that led to the observation area. She was surprised as she got closer, to see that Marianne was there. The last thing Lydia knew, the kids were with her…
"Mommy!" Lydia didn't even have time to react, when House spoke up.
"What the hell are they doing here? They're the last things we need right now!" Not thinking that his voice could be heard by all, House did nothing to control his tone or his words. Luckily, the kids were so overjoyed at seeing their mother, that they paid no attention to the voice coming from Lydia's phone.
"Sweeties! I'm so glad to see you!" Lydia said as she repeatedly kissed and hugged her children. She tried her best not to cry, but it was no use.
"Mommy, are you OK?" Elise asked. The child's face was tear-stained. "The man on TV said you got shot." The little girl started to cry.
"They said that Wilson got shot, too." Ben said. "But they didn't say anything about Aunt Annie or House; we got scared."
"Television is called a medium because it is neither rare nor well done," House said. "I forget who said that but boy, did they get it right." House let out a sigh. "Fraulein, give the phone to Thirteen," he shouted as loud as he could. Sounds of the tech admonishing House to calm down and hold still could be heard through the phone.
"Lydia, I'll take it," Thirteen said as she came out of the observation room. Lydia handed the phone over and went back to comforting her children. "I'm here, House. Everything is going well. Dr. Ellis should be taking over in the next half an hour to an hour. Being Wilson's healthcare proxy, he wanted to go over something with you."
"Let me have a look at the O.R. and then put the phone up near the speaker. You'll do the button pushing," House said.
"Hmm," Thirteen said. "Button pushing is usually your department."
"Be kind to me; I'm having the life sucked out of me and shoved back in again. That won't make for a very happy person."
"You mean everything will go back to normal," Thirteen said as she put the phone up to the window in the observation room. House could see that Rayner was finishing the placement of the saphenous vein. Everything looked good, everything looked under control.
"Let me talk to Ellis," House told Thirteen. She pushed the button on the intercom and held Lydia's phone up to it.
"The disembodied voice you are now hearing is that of a brave man slowly turning a whiter shade of pale." Foreman looked up.
"House? Where are you?" he asked.
"Phlebotomy lab. And if I get any more blood sucked out of me, my brain will function at the level of the rest of you mere mortals," House replied. "They've got me hooked up and the draining process has started. My donation toward turning Wilson into Superman should be there in a little while. Dr. Ellis, Thirteen tells me you have the $64,000 question to ask me; although I would think with inflation we could push that up to at least an even $100,000." Ellis was obviously a very mellow person; there was a definite hint of amusement in his response to House.
"Yes, Dr. House, I might even have a bonus for you if you get this next question right." House had only worked with Ellis a few times, but he had a reputation as a straight-shooter and good at what he did.
"What's going on?" House asked.
"Dr. Rayner is going to be finished with his handiwork soon. I just want you to be aware that I will be placing a titanium/polymer composite replacement unit in Dr. Wilson. There is the possibility of a titanium/ceramic unit, if you prefer; but my recommendation is for the first one. It's the most durable, and since Dr. Wilson is a young man…"
"He's not that young; there are plenty of gray hairs if you know the right places to look. Or so his girlfriend tells me." Dr. Ellis chuckled.
"I'd hate to think it would be first-hand knowledge," he said. "So, I have your agreement and consent to place the titanium/polymer unit into Dr. Wilson's right hip."
"Wouldn't it be a lot cheaper if we just took the hip from one of those plastic teaching skeletons? My son has one hanging in his bedroom and it looks pretty good to me." You could hear a pin drop in both the O.R. and the observation room.
"Dr. House, I wasn't aware you have a son," Dr. Ellis said cautiously.
"I don't think he knew he had a son until a minute ago," Chase quipped.
"Very funny," House said, the annoyance in his voice coming through loud and clear. "I'm getting woozy from having my blood sucked out and rammed back in. I meant to say my girlfriend's son." Ellis could hear that House's voice sounded strained; he decided it was best not to bust chops.
"It would be a lot cheaper and easier if we could use the throw away parts the students work on, but the more developed model would be best. And I know you want the best for Dr. Wilson," Ellis said.
"Yeah, obviously," answered House. "Although I am looking forward to actually having some competition in the hospital's annual 'Gimps with Canes' marathon."
"If you would have the operation that Tom recommended for you, neither one of you would be walking with canes," Foreman noted.
"Can I deal with just one of the problems in my universe at a time? I'm good, but I'm not at the top of my game at the moment." House's voice was sounding weaker by the moment.
"Greg, are you sure you're OK to do this?" Lydia asked. She had been wafting back and forth between the waiting room and the observation area. She heard how the strength of House's voice was changing. "We could call over to Princeton General or the county blood bank…"
"No! I'm…I'm fine. It's been awhile since I've done this; I'm out of practice." Lydia took a piece of paper and wrote the words, "When did he last donate plasma?" on it, and showed it to Thirteen. She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. Lydia made a mental note to ask House about that later on.
"Mom?" Lydia turned and saw her son at the door to the room. "Can I come in and say hello?"
"Tell him Wilson won't be very talkative; anesthesia's got his tongue. And the rest of him, too," House said. Lydia laughed.
"I think it's you he wants to talk to," she said. "I'm going to keep an eye on the O.R. while Thirteen gets something for us to eat. Ben will have my phone; if there's anything you need to see, I'll take it back right away." House was not going to argue; he trusted Lydia's judgment, and he was too worn out to disagree. Lydia handed her son the phone and had him sit in a chair that faced away from the viewing window. Thirteen saw that everything was good, so she left the room to retrieve some food and drinks.
"Hi, House," Ben said. The boy felt a little awkward; it had been decided recently that Ben and Elise could simply call him House, that the formality of "doctor" was not a necessity; they were told they could just say "Wilson," too. But Ben thought that just "House" lacked the respect he felt for him. It should either be Dr. House or something else that Ben would really like to call him…
"Hey, Doogie. What are you doing here? It's past your bedtime," said House. Ben could see by the picture that was coming through his mother's phone that House was in definite discomfort.
"We were watching the Scooby-Doo movie on TV, and they broke in with this story about there being a shooting at the restaurant that you guys were going to tonight," the boy explained. "They said that Wilson was shot, and Mom was shot, and that there were other people who were hurt. They didn't say it was you or Aunt Annie, but we bugged Aunt Marianne to bring us here; we wanted to see you guys. We were scared," Ben admitted.
"Well, I wasn't even over there when all hell broke loose; there was a clinic patient that came in with an infected leg and a high fever; he decided to code on top of everything else. Because the nature of the infection was unusual, he was admitted under my team. He's actually your mom's patient." Ben turned to his mother with widened eyes.
"Really? You have your own patient? That's so cool! What caused his infection?"
"That's what we have to figure out," Lydia said. "There are many places he could have gotten…"
"Did you break into his house yet? That's the way Dr. House's team usually does it." House realized that one day the kid was actually going be able to see something on a case that his team couldn't, simply for the fact that the kid came in with an unclouded point of view. But for now…
"We haven't had a chance to do much of anything. He just came in this afternoon, and this whole little cops and robbers thing kinda got in the way. I was going to have your mom go over to his house tomorrow..."
"Can I go with her?" House let out a sigh.
"Got a little too much happening around here, kid. Maybe on the next search and seizure." Ben saw House change position and wince in pain as he did.
"Are you alright? You said you weren't at the restaurant, but you look hurt." The boy's concern for House was apparent and genuine; even House felt it.
"I'm OK. I'm busy donating plasma for Wilson…you remember what we talked about with different parts of blood, right?"
"Yeah, red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, plasma…."
"Right. General rule: for every two units of blood, you give a patient one unit of plasma. Wilson's already had two units of whole blood, so…"
"How does getting the plasma out of you happen?" Ben asked. House proceeded with explanations for all of the boy's questions, and they were many. He never minded taking to the kid about medical topics especially, but many other things, too. The child was bright enough to absorb both the simple and not so simple answers that House gave him. It made Lydia feel very good to hear how they got along. Amazingly, House did well with Elise, too, mainly on the topic of music. So it didn't surprise her that House referred to Ben as his son or Elise as his daughter. She found out about the supermarket incident from her little girl; unbeknownst to House, Elise heard what he said and told her mother. House was a better father figure than even he realized, but Lydia knew he wasn't necessarily ready to accept the role formally. All in due time, she said to herself crossing her fingers, all in due time. Now, as much as the two were obviously enjoying their talk, Lydia began to hear in House's voice that he was getting tired. She had finished eating the food that Thirteen had brought in to her, and felt she had more energy to keep going.
"Honey, why don't you go back into the waiting room and check on Aunt Annie? I think House needs to rest a bit," Lydia said as she took her son's hand. He looked down at the bandages around her fingers; she sensed his hesitation in leaving her. "Ben, I'm OK, sweetie. Go back to Aunt Annie." Ben nodded.
"Bye House; I hope everything goes OK."
"Bye," House said wearily. As Ben exited the room, Elise appeared in the doorway.
"Can I say hello to House?" she asked in a small voice. "I wanna make sure he's not hurt." Lydia smiled at her daughter's concern, but she knew House was in no mood to deal with any more questions or small talk.
"Baby, he's fine. He's just a little too busy and tired right now…"
"Let me talk to her." Lydia was startled to hear House make the request, but she handed the phone to Elise. "Hey, Curly Top; I hear you're worried about me."
"Yeah, me and Ben were watching a movie with Tommy and Shelly, and a man came on the TV and said a bad man shot Mommy and Wilson, but we didn't know if you and Aunt Annie were OK." The little girl's eyes began to water. "I was scared I'd never see you again." House closed his eyes.
"Well, as you can see, I'm here, and I'm fine. Besides, I haven't finished teaching you your part on 'Muddy Chopsticks.' How could anything happen to me?" Elise smiled at the mention of the blues version of chopsticks that House came up with for the two of them to play together.
"I know, and I'm getting really good," the girl said happily.
"Eh…you're not there yet. Why don't you go back and make your Aunt Annie feel better and let me talk to Mommy?"
"OK." Elise started to hand the phone to her mother, but then took it back. "I'm glad you're OK and I hope Wilson is alright, too." There was silence for a moment; Lydia thought maybe House had dozed off.
"Thanks," he finally said. Lydia took the phone and watched as her daughter went back to the waiting room.
"That was very nice of you to talk to her, Hon; I know you're in no shape right now…"
"To be nice? No, not to the general population, ever. I'm willing to make an exception with your kids; don't ask me why." Lydia heard the grunt of pain come through the phone.
"You're hurting from all the falls you had earlier," Lydia noted. "Do you want me to see if Tom has something that you can take?"
"Yeah, a handful or two of Vicodin would be good right now." House saw Lydia's phone turn away from the window and come to face her.
"If I thought for one second you could really just take it once and then never again, I'd ask him for it, but…"
"No," House said quickly seeing the look on her face. "I wouldn't trust myself in the current mental state I'm in. See what he thinks I can take, though; I'm going to need something." Lydia nodded.
"I'm going to give him the phone to hold up to the window for a bit. I want to try and convince the kids to go back home with Marianne. It did me a lot of good to see them and hold them, but I want them to go to school tomorrow."
"Come on have a heart, Mom," House said in a whinny voice. "It's late and they're yards ahead of the rest of the class to start with. You don't really think they'll be able to concentrate, do you?" Lydia smiled.
"So, you're taking their side in this argument? Even after you made it loud and clear you didn't want them here?" House realized he probably sounded like a jerk yelling out that they shouldn't be there; but he was glad they were. Lydia hadn't said a word, but he knew she wanted and needed to see them, so it all worked out for the best.
"I said that as the needle was piercing my skin. Besides, I wish I could curl up and stay in bed tomorrow; especially with the right company. Namely you."
"Well, it better not be anyone else. Let me go talk to them, I'll get Tom in here."
"Fraulein?"
"Hmm?" House winced inwardly so she wouldn't see it. He really didn't want to ask this question, but knew he had to.
"Where were you when I was talking to Ellis before?" Lydia knew exactly what he was getting at.
"I was in and out of the viewing room mainly in."
"So you heard…"
"Yes; you have a son…and a daughter." There was silence from House's end. "Elise heard you when you were in the supermarket."
"Crap!" House spat out. "Did the boy hear…"
"No. But you have nothing to worry about. I've talked to them about this subject. They know you're not ready for certain titles or to say certain things, like 'I love you.' They also know that you slipping and calling them your son or daughter…well, that's your own way of saying you care about them." House sighed.
"How do you get all of that out of two simple words totaling eleven letters? You ever consider trying out for 'Wheel of Fortune?'"
"You just keep in mind: that little slip of the tongue meant a lot to the kids," Lydia said gently. It was times like this when she saw him slowly giving in to idea of loving her kids that Lydia fell even more in love with House.
"Funny, my slips of the tongue usually mean a lot to you," House said, licking his lips as he knew Lydia was looking at the phone. Lydia bit her lip.
"Let me get Tom." Lydia called out his name, and he came out of the waiting room.
"What's up?"
"Greg wanted to talk to you," Lydia said handing him the phone. "He's hurting badly and wants to see what he can take." Tom nodded and took the phone.
"Hey, House. How's the blood sucking going?"
"I'd be a lot more pleasant if I didn't have an up close look at your ear canal." Tom had forgotten that the phone was set up on Skype.
"Whoops! Sorry about that." Tom pulled the phone away and saw House's face in the screen. "Want me to hold this up to the window? Or just give you a play by play like Elise does in the backyard?" The kids had taken to draping a tarp over the back fence, setting up a table and their karaoke microphone, and Elise did her best impression of Al Michaels, sportscaster par excellence, while the boys played soccer and Shelly played the part of referee.
"Has Rayner finished yet?" House asked.
"Looks like he's just finishing up; Ellis seems ready to dive in. Wilson's vitals are good, not great. At least his O2 sats are up to ninety-three, BP is on the low side, but steady, pulse is seventy." Tom heard a groan come through the phone, he looked down and saw the pain on House's face. "Once you get back down here, I'll get you something to help deal with the pain. It'll be a temporary fix to get you through till it's time for your regular pills."
"Taub had gotten Fraulein and Medusa some fast-release six-hundred milligram Motrin earlier to help them deal with their wounds. Maybe I can snag one of them. He brought them six pills; unless they're taking them the way I used to, there should be some to share."
"Yeah, that should hold you until it's time for your Celebrex and Cymbalta. What were you going to give the ladies after the first dose of Motrin?"
A regular regimen of eight-hundred milligrams extended release for a few days. If they still have pain they can use the over the counter stuff. Unless the wizard of all ways to relieve pain and suffering has a better idea." Tom laughed.
"Works for me. So, tell me…how did it feel to run again?"
"The reason sucked and I stumbled along like a raging drunk without any of the benefits." House paused and closed his eyes. "But it felt good."
"Now, if with the little bit of work I've done with you, and the proper meds in your system, you were able to do that…"
"We are not going down that road right now," House growled. "There are too many other chain saws I'm trying to juggle to be thinking about me and my mangled limb. I've got too many other lives in my hands."
"OK, not a problem," Tom said quickly realizing House was in no mood for the subject. "But, I gotta tell you: I'm really thrilled that you did that."
"Yay for me," House said. Tom saw him look up and over to his left. "I think I should be finished here in fifteen minutes." Tom turned the phone around and put it up to the window.
"Perfect timing," Tom noted. House looked and saw that Rayner had left the O.R. and Ellis had just started to work. There was a marked difference in the atmosphere in the operating theater. The tension felt with Rayner was gone, and a casual, yet still professional feeling took over.
"This should take about two hours. Then the waiting game starts again outside of recovery," House said.
"Are you going to put Wilson in Surgical I.C.U., or regular I.C.U.?"
"Regular; the patient we admitted through the clinic is there already. Be easier to keep an eye on both this way."
"Yeah, Lydia was telling me about that; a deflated calf? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were yanking my chain."
"It almost became a deflated body when he coded. Fraulein handled it pretty well."
"House?" Tom dropped his voice. "She was saying she made the wrong call about something with Wilson? She seemed really upset. What happened?"
"Is her needle still stuck on that?" House told Tom about Lydia calling out for the wrong blood type and that he had reassured her multiple times that it was no big deal.
"You may have to keep telling her it's OK; you know how her ex used to belittle her for every little thing she did or said that was wrong. I know you're not him, she knows you're not him. It's just hard to shake off years of abuse."
"I'll deal with that when all the rest of the B.S. goes away." House cringed as he changed positions on the stretcher.
"Do you want me to come up with a wheelchair and get you?" Tom asked. "You're going to feel weak besides being in pain."
"Not unless you can get me the one I had years ago."
"Was it motorized?" Tom asked.
"No, it had a bumper sticker that said 'I'd rather be walking.'" Tom started cracking up.
"I love it! I don't think I know where that one is, but I'll bring up what I can find."
"Don't bother; I'll be down there before you can gimp your way up here." Tom could hear the tech in the lab telling House he should rest for a few minutes. "I'm done. Unhook me from the damn machine, before I do it myself!" Lydia had re-entered the viewing room.
"How are things going? Or shouldn't I ask?"
"House is trying to make his escape from phlebotomy. He's refusing a wheelchair, but I think I'll meet him down over here with one," Tom said quietly. "He's in too much pain and too knocked out from the procedure."
"And too stubborn to do the sensible thing," Lydia noted. "The best place to find a free chair would be down in the I.C.U.; the elevators right here will take you down to it." Tom nodded and left to get the chair.
"Greg, are you there?" Lydia wasn't sure if they were still connected as all she saw was a white screen. She listened carefully and realized that she heard labored breathing and identified it as House trying to get back to the elevators up by phlebotomy.
"Dr. House, you really should rest." Helen's voice came through the phone.
"I will after I see Wilson again," House replied.
"Greg, Tom's gone to get a wheelchair; he's going to meet you by the elevator," Lydia said.
"I'm not getting in it unless it has balloon tires and a banana seat," House said as he pushed the call button. "How's Wilson?" Lydia turned the phone to the window so House could see.
"Ellis is working on the hip. There looks to be a lot of small pieces that he's removing…Oh God! He …I think he just took the bullet out and there's a lot of bleeding." The sight upset Lydia greatly. More for the fact that it was Wilson, rather than the surgery in general.
"If he was taking a lot of bone fragments out, then the head of the femur probably was shattered," House said. "There was no choice but to go with a replacement." Lydia heard that House's breathing was sounding more labored.
"Greg…Greg where are you? Greg, can you hear me? Greg?" Lydia ran out of the observation room and down toward the elevators when she heard a voice come through her phone.
"Lydia…Lydia, I've got him. He's weak, but OK." Lydia breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that Tom was with House. She waited in the hallway until Tom rounded the last corner pushing the wheelchair he borrowed. "He needs something to drink and eat. Start him off with some juice or soda and go from there."
"I want to go to the observation room," House said groggily.
"No, you are going in the waiting room until you get your strength back," Lydia insisted. Slick had come out of the waiting room and heard the end part of the conversation.
"I'll take Lydia's phone back into the viewing room," he said. "You stay in there and rest."
"Things will be pretty routine from this point out, House. There's really nothing you can do," Tom said as he pushed the chair into the waiting room.
"House, are you OK?" Elise asked coming over and patting his arm. "You don't look so good." House rolled his eyes and looked at Lydia.
"I guess they're not going to school," he said.
"They didn't want to leave until they could see you and James," Lydia said as she crouched down next to House. "I'm too worn out to argue." House turned to look at Lydia; he saw how pale and tired she seemed.
"Have you eaten?" he asked.
"She has, and now it's your turn," Marianne said handing House a plate with food on it. She leaned down and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What can I get you to drink?"
"I'll take a Coke for now. I can switch to coffee later to keep me awake." As he took the first bite of his sandwich, House had the uncomfortable feeling of being stared at. He glanced to his left and saw Wilson's parents looking at him.
"Greg, are you OK?" Claudia Wilson asked. House didn't feel like staring into pitiful eyes, so he looked down at his food.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he mumbled. Henry Wilson stood up and came in front of House's slumped form in the wheelchair.
"House," he began. "You are the most difficult, the most infuriating, the most confusing piece of work I have ever met in my life. And I am eternally grateful that you're James' friend." Henry Wilson extended his hand to House, who took it with a forced effort. He quickly put the Coke bottle to his mouth and took several large sips, so he wouldn't have to answer Mr. Wilson.
"Um, excuse me?" Everyone's attention turned to the door where Detective Williams stood. "I understood you were here waiting for Dr. Wilson to get out of surgery."
"We're observing the surgery now," Lydia said, indicating the room where Slick was standing.
"Ah, I see," Williams said nodding. "I was just told by one of my detectives that they've retrieved the bullets. We only need them as a mere formality since the guy is dead."
"The mugger? The mugger is dead?" Mrs. Wilson asked.
"These are Dr. Wilson's parents," Annie said handling the introductions.
"Yeah, Shawn Gwaltney, was the guy's name and he shot it out with some police officers several blocks away from the initial crime scene. You," he said looking at Lydia, "Are extremely lucky. He had several more rounds in his gun. It just happens that the chamber was empty when he pointed it at you."
"Mommy…Mommy?" Elise may not have understood the words but both she and her brother picked up on the looks on everyone's faces, especially House's. He and Lydia exchanged looks right after Detective Williams spoke; both were too weary to hide feelings at this point.
"Kids, I think the adults need to talk in here. Why don't we make a pit stop at the rest rooms and then you'll be more comfortable; maybe even fall asleep," Marianne suggested. The children reluctantly went with her.
"I'm sorry, I had no idea they were in the room. It's a good thing they've left. I've gotten some more information on the perp. After you told me that the gunman said to you, 'Are you ready to die?' I recognized it as a signature of someone we were familiar with," Williams said looking at Lydia.
"So this bastard has robbed people before?" Henry Wilson asked. Williams put his head down.
"Robbed and killed. His street name, is 'The Executioner.'"