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?

11. Chapter 11

Life and Limb

Chapter Eleven – "Life Could be a Dream"

By: purpleu

"Get the team," House said to Thirteen. "Time to stop playing nice and gang up on the patient."

"I'm going to go for a little bit; that way your parents can come in," Annie said to Wilson.

"Oh, please don't leave me alone with them; I can't deal with them right now," Wilson pleaded.

"Stop being a baby," House said to Wilson. "She can stay. I'm going to be talking with my team over at the nurses' station; Fraulein, since he's unofficially your patient, you should be there, too," House said as he tapped his cane handle into his hand. He was leaning against a wall, so there was no danger of him falling; he'd take all the support he could get right about now.

"Greg, there's a limit on the number of visitors a patient can have in I.C.U….you know that as well as I do," Lydia said.

"Sorry, following rules and regulations was never one of my strong points; or did I forget to tell you that when we first met?"

"No, it was quite easy to figure out on my own," she said in reply. Lydia looked to her left and saw that almost all of House's team was at the nurses' station. House saw them too and left the room silently.

"This is the last thing he needs," Lydia said shaking her head.

"Has he heard anything else about his mother?" Annie asked. Lydia took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"You two didn't hear the news he got last night. You were with James' parents," she said indicating Annie. "And you hadn't come out of the anesthesia," Lydia said to Wilson. She explained how House found out that John House had tried to kill him and his mother and that his mother was victim of domestic violence.

"You're right…I always remember Blythe in pants when she came to visit, even in the hottest weather. I can't swear to the long sleeves, but…" Wilson shook his head. "So House…is the offspring…of a religious man? Ho Ho! That is the biggest oxymoron I've ever heard of."

"James, we don't know for sure yet, and I don't know how Greg wants to handle it," Lydia said. She related the possibility that Blythe had been raped at a party she went to; the question of who House's father was lingered and hovered in the back of his mind.

"He didn't take it well, I'm sure," said Annie looking at Wilson who was shaking his head.

"I…feel so damn helpless just…being stuck like this. I can't even say to him, let's go grab some wings and a few beers at lunch. Not that it's something I would normally do," Wilson explained. "But in this case…I would make an exception. House needs a break."

"He…became physically ill," Lydia said, making sure she kept her voice low enough that House couldn't hear her. She had told the team in the middle of the night about House's mother; she didn't tell them his reaction to it. That she wanted to keep between the four of them.

"House still looks like hell, just like I said earlier," Wilson began, "His leg is really killing him, isn't it? I can tell by the look on his face, the way he's leaning on his cane. I saw the palm of his hand was beet red when he was waving it aroundouse House couldn't hear herHHBH

. House is wearing down…mentally as well as physically. He's…" Wilson took a deep breath. "He's going to reach a breaking point," he said to Lydia. "It's going to come sooner rather than later…and it won't be pretty."

"I know," Lydia said looking out to where House was standing waiting for all of his team to show up. "I'm trying to prepare myself for it when the time comes. Let me go out to the team and see what I can do." Lydia turned to Annie. "Why don't you get James' parents so they can spend a little bit of time with him before he goes for the MRI? Tell Slick and Tom they can come in too. We'll figure out a way to rotate everyone around." Annie nodded, gave Wilson a quick kiss and scurried out the door before he could once again protest his parents coming in. Lydia got over to House just as Chase joined the group; the team was all there.

"So, the patient doesn't want us to go into his house; which means he's got something there he doesn't want us to find," House said frowning. "His secret stash of fill-in-the-blank is there somewhere and we've got to find it before it takes all of his leg and more."

"House, you're still working on the theory that this guy took something that made his immune system crash," Foreman said. "What if that's not the case?"

"All the more reason to find out as quickly as possible," Lydia said. "His wife is four months pregnant; if this is some kind of genetic disorder…

"Or something communicable…" interjected Taub.

"All perfectly insane choices," House said interrupting the chain of theories.

"Why are they insane?" Chase asked. "If the wife says he won't even take vitamins, why are you assuming that he's self-medicating?" House looked away and let out a deep breath.

"For now it's just a hunch," he said wearily. Lydia saw that the fight, the spark that House usually brought to a case just wasn't there; he was too tired to try. She looked down the hall and saw the Wilsons approaching with Annie; Slick and Tom were behind them. They were all good hearted lovely people, but Lydia knew they were the last thing that House needed right now.

"Why don't I try to talk to Mrs. Sheeler again? I got on with her well when I met her in the middle of the night. And I did get her set up in her husband's room when the nurse wouldn't let her stay. It might be worth a try." The team looked at House for confirmation that this was a good idea.

"Five minutes of honey," he said. "Then out comes the vinegar." The group headed into Kevin Sheeler's room; Susan Sheeler looked startled and scared when she saw the number of people coming into her husband's hospital quarters.

"He's…he's going to die, isn't he?" she asked as tears formed in her eyes. "No, please…help him…I don't want my child to grow up not knowing his or her father." She broke down crying as she watched House pick up the sheet and take another look at Kevin's leg; in just the hour since House had been in the room, the two toes that showed a little discoloration had turned darker, and the top of the foot from side to side was starting to discolor, too. Things were moving along too rapidly.

"I can't prevent your husband from losing some part of his foot or leg; but I might be able to give you some peace of mind," House said as he replaced the sheet. "If we can know for sure that your husband was a moron who tried to solve his problem by himself, I can at least assure you that it's not something that you or your baby will be in danger of contracting or inheriting." House knew there wasn't a chance of that, but he threw it out there to rattle the wife.

"How can I do that?" Susan asked.

"By letting us find the one thing he doesn't want us to find," House said. "His stash." Susan started to shake her head.

"When he woke up before, he specifically said no doctors poking around in the house," she said sniffling. "I have to respect his wishes."

"Even if his wishes are incredibly stupid?" Chase asked. "If we can't define what's happening to your husband, we won't be able to help him."

"Besides, your husband seems very adamant about hiding something from you," noted Taub. "Wouldn't you want to know what it is? Especially if it could save not just his leg but his life?" Lydia had been standing behind Susan Sheeler who sat in a Geri-chair by her husband's bedside.

"Susan," Lydia said crouching down next to her. "I know this baby means the world to you and Kevin. You told me earlier you've been dating since seventeen, married at twenty-one and you two have always talked about having a family. It's very important to the both of you. I also understand that you want to respect his wishes. But he doesn't know how adversely his refusal to let us help him is going to be for you and the baby." Lydia opened her mouth to continue, then thought of another approach to the situation. "What exactly did Kevin say to you before?" Susan shrugged her shoulders.

"That he didn't want any doctors poking around in his house." Lydia tried not to smile too obviously as she looked over at House and the team.

"Susan…I'm not a doctor. I'm the head of the insurance billing department. I do work with Dr. House and his team in the clinic so I can complete my Bachelor's degree, but I'm not a doctor; you wouldn't be ignoring your husband's wishes if I went over and took a look around." Susan Sheeler looked confused and upset as she looked back and forth between her husband and Lydia; she knew that what Lydia was saying wasn't really what Kevin wanted. She also knew, however, that she had no other choice.

"The big, round key is for the front door, the smaller, round key is for the side door facing the driveway." Lydia reached over and squeezed Susan's hand.

"I'll bring the keys back as quickly as I can," Lydia said trying to reassure the woman. She stood up and headed out the door; Lydia stopped briefly at the nurses' station to get the Sheeler's address from Kevin's chart.

"I don't believe what you just did," Foreman said as he watched Lydia go behind the counter and retrieve the information she needed.

"What? Prove once again why Greg likes to keep me around?" Lydia asked as she put the address into her Blackberry. She looked over at House with a twinkle in her eyes; not only had she found a way to probably get what they needed to help the patient, but she did it in perfect Housian style. She was also glad to see House look a little less stressed out.

"Your body is why I keep you around; your mind is why I bother to actually talk to you," House said. His back was to his team, so he blocked their view of Lydia as she stuck her tongue out at him. "Promises, promises," he said in reply to the gesture.

"I'm going to get over the Sheeler's to see what I can find. I just have to get my pocketbook out of your office," she said to House.

"Since this is your deflowering when it comes to search and seizure in a patient's house, I'll take a walk with you so I can explain proper procedure." Lydia rolled her eyes.

"There's actually a procedure on how to break into someone's house?" she questioned.

"You're not breaking in; you have the keys. Think of it more as a list of suggestions on where to look for pills that someone doesn't want you to find."

"Hmm…think I've taken that seminar already," Lydia said as she winked at the team and took a few steps down the hall.

"Hold the elevator; I'll be right there," House called out. He stepped into Wilson's room.

"Did I hear you say that you're sending Lydia to break into someone's house?" Wilson asked incredulously. "I swear, House, you're going to ruin that woman."

"On the contrary…I'm giving her the time of her life." House saw Chase come in carrying a clipboard.

"I have the paperwork here for you to sign, Wilson. We're doing an MRI with contrast…"

"Yeah, yeah, I know the routine; hearing you say it with your Aussie accent isn't going to make it any more pleasant," Wilson sniped as he took the clipboard.

"Get him set up; I'll be back in a few minutes," House said to Chase. As House was about to leave, he stopped and looked at Tom. "Thought you had patients to see this morning."

"I did; my appointments start at eight remember? Saw three patients, one cancelled." House shook his head.

"People who are willing to get up at that hour to have you torture them, need therapy of a different kind." House left Wilson's room and hurried as fast as he could to the elevators. Lydia was still standing there, tapping her foot impatiently.

"I swear the more I roam around this hospital, the more problems I find with things," Lydia said as the elevator finally arrived and they stepped in. "I saw this yesterday. Look at the maintenance record for this elevator car. It hasn't been checked in two months. State safety requirements say once a month." She looked at House and saw he was looking at the floor and suppressing a smile. "Don't you dare say a word about me running the hospital or anything else like that. I have a hard enough time dealing with my life the way it is." The elevator doors opened allowing House and Lydia to step off; suddenly, Lydia heard a thud. When she turned to see what the noise was, she found House on the floor, cursing under his breath. She saw the door was about to close on House's foot, so Lydia ran over and quickly put her hand in the way of the door sensor to prevent it from closing, She crouched down, grabbed a hold of House's pants leg, and moved his leg away from the opening.

"You need any help?" a passing orderly asked.

"I'm fine!" House said harshly, waving the young man away. He looked at Lydia. "You been working out or something? You stopped my foot from being eaten by the elevator pretty easily." House got to his knees, leaned on his cane, and stood up.

"I work out with you each time you have therapy," Lydia reminded him. "Adrenaline helped in this case, too." She sighed as she watched him go down the hall to his office; to those who didn't know House very well, he looked like a man with a limp. To those who knew him and had actually been aware of the progress he had made with Tom, he looked like he took a few hundred steps backward. They reached his office; Lydia decided she'd risk pissing House off and try once again to make him get some rest. "You're lucky I was with you just now…when you fell."

"I would have gotten back up on my own," House said, refusing to look at her as he headed out of his office, his red mug in hand.

"Where are you going?"

"To the little boys' room…want to help me hold anything?" House asked. "If you must now, I'm going to pee, and then wash out my coffee mug. Figured I might as well kill two birds with one well thrown rock." Lydia wanted to make one last try to get him to realize the position he was in: near exhaustion.

"If the elevator refused to let go, you would have had a problem," Lydia noted. House stopped, turned and gave her a hard look.

"I've dealt with my leg and the problems it causes in my life on my own for years; I don't need any help." House pushed open the door and disappeared inside the rest room. Lydia turned back to House's office. She knew he was right, at least partially. He had dealt with the leg on his own for years. It was the alone part that led to so much of the anger and bitterness that House held on to. As far as not needing any help? There he was wrong…very, very wrong. It was the fact that he had started to learn how to open up and accept help that was allowing him to enjoy the people and things in his immediate surroundings just a little bit more. Lydia took her pocketbook out from under House's desk; she was startled to see House standing in the doorway.

"Hey…sorry if I came on a little heavy before," House said quietly as he stepped inside of his office. "I'm…" Lydia came over and stood close to him without making it look like any funny business was going on.

"Greg, you're reaching a breaking point. If you don't take a step back, a significant one, somewhere along the line, you'll be lying in one of the beds around here as a patient. It's going to take a little while to get the saline into James for the MRI; you don't have to keep him company while all that's happening. The little bit of rest you get could get you through until later tonight when you can get a good night's sleep."

"Tonight's not going to be any better," House said as he crossed through the conference room to get some coffee. "No matter how tired I am, I can never sleep in those damn Geri-chairs."

"By tonight, you'll know where James stands with the frontal cortex issue; I'm hoping that it's just swelling, and then you can get some sleep at home." House shook his head as he poured his coffee.

"Even if it's just swelling, there's still danger to his brain until it goes down," House said as he put his cup on the table. "And why do I have the feeling that idiot firefighter is going to give us and his wife a hard time once we find the hidden relic and save his life?" House picked up his cup, returned to his office, took his mail and threw it in his waste basket.

"Is he still in danger of dying? I thought…"

"His life, meaning his livelihood is already trashed; I don't think the wife realizes that the fire department is never going to let him climb a ladder or man a hose again. Right now, he's probably going to lose his foot through his ankle; if we keep it below the knee, he'll be lucky. As far as actually being alive…he'll make it as long as he doesn't waste his time arguing and yelling at us and his wife." Lydia shook her head.

"I'm going to get out of here; the sooner I can come back with something, the faster we can move forward to help him." She laid the Sheeler's keys on House's desk and took out her own. "Promise you'll try to close your eyes for a little bit; and eat something." Lydia gave House a quick peck on the cheek. "Oh, I almost forgot." Lydia reached into her bag and pulled out a small plastic bag of pills. "I realized you didn't take your medicine last night or this morning…maybe that will help a little." House took the bag; he hadn't asked for them, although he meant to. Lydia was amazing as usual; she just noticed things and took care of what was needed to be done.

"Thanks. They'll get me through an hour or two," he said opening the bag, spilling the pills into his hand and downing them all in one gulp. He washed them down with a drink of coffee. Lydia laughed and closed her eyes.

"Most doctors would disapprove of the way you take your pills," she noted as she picked up the Sheeler's keys.

"Most doctors have their heads up their asses when it comes to pills," House noted.

"I'll be back soon," Lydia said as she ran out of House's office. He didn't dare sit down; he was afraid he wouldn't get back up. House wanted to give Lydia a few minutes to get downstairs and out of the building so she wouldn't see him park himself back in Wilson's room. Taking her advice, he went over to the last of the food from Cherry Valley Deli and grabbed three mini muffins that were there. He couldn't tell what flavors they were and he didn't care; they were food. He took several large gulps from his mug, and then headed out to go back to Wilson. When House got down to the second floor, and nearer Wilson's room, he realized there were more people in there then would normally be allowed by the nurses; a lot more. He stood in the doorway and saw that Lydia was in there along with the Wilsons, Annie, his team, Slick and Tom.

"What the hell is going on?" All turned to look at House. "I thought you were leaving to go the patient's house," House said to Lydia in an annoyed voice.

"I ran into Mr. Wilson in the elevator…" Lydia started to explain. House saw by the look in her eyes that Wilson's dad had caught her off guard and for once her diplomatic skills didn't work. "He invited me to be a part of this special prayer service for James." House did nothing to hide his distaste for the concept; he rolled his eyes and shook his head with no attempt at concealment.

"I was just about to have Annie or Lydia call you," Henry Wilson said. "I know that doctors aren't necessarily men and women of religion; you put your faith in science."

"With good reason," House said. Henry nodded.

"We are not a religious family, but our parents were and raised us with a good understanding of Hebrew," Henry said indicating his wife and himself. "Many years ago when my father was very sick, he asked that I read this prayer at his bedside," Mr. Wilson said holding up a piece of paper. "I wanted to read this now…for James…and give any of James' friends who would like to share this with us, a chance to be here. If anyone is uncomfortable with this, and would like to leave the room, we understand completely." House could see that Wilson had a funny look on his face; he couldn't tell if he was annoyed by his father's intention to pray for him or if he was OK with it. "This is a prayer that is always said in Hebrew; I'll give you a rough English translation afterwards." Henry Wilson looked around at everyone. "Greg, forgive me if I'm being presumptuous, but if you'd like to leave," he looked over at his son. "I'm sure it would be OK."

"I want to leave," House said as he leaned against the wall. "But at the risk of being shunned for life…I'll stay put." He looked over at Wilson and saw the wide-eyed shock written on his friend's face. "Just don't expect me to lead the chorus of 'huzzahs' at the end of everything." House was becoming more uncomfortable by the second. "Come on, let's get this going; she has a house to break into," House said indicating Lydia. She smiled and moved next to House; she reached down and took his hand. Henry Wilson nodded and began:

"Mi sheberech avoteinu vaemoteinu Abraham Itzhak VeYaakov, Moshe VeAharon, David VeShlomo, Sara Rivka Rachel VeLeah, Hu yevarech Vayerapeh et kol holeinuJames Evan Wilsonben Henry Samuel Wilsonhazkookim le'refooah shlema, ba'avoor she'anachnoo mitpalelim le'hachlamatam. Besahar ze ha'kadosh baruch hu, hu yemaleh rachamin aleihem lehachliman velerefooatam ulehachzikam ulehachyotam va'yishlach lahem mehera refuah shlema min ha'shamaim, im kol holei Israel, refuat ha'nephesh u'refuat ha'guf, heshetah be'aglah u'bizman kariv va'nomar Amen." House looked over at the bed; Wilson's parents were holding his right hand, Annie his left. All were crying.

"I remember when you said that for Grandpa," Wilson said. "I…I never thought you'd be saying it for me." House went back to staring at the floor; he understood none of what Wilson's father just said. He understood even less his friend's emotional reaction to it…Wilson had tears coming down his face as his parents and Annie each gave him a kiss.

"Mr. Wilson, could you please tell us the translation?" Lydia asked. She was at once, both curious and anxious to get going.

"Oh…oh yes, I'm sorry," Henry Wilson said as he wiped his eyes. "The one who blessed our fathers and mothers…Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Moses and Aaron, David and Solomon, Sarah, Rachel and Leah…he shall bless and heal all of the ailments of James Evan Wilson son of Henry Samuel Wilson who needs healing. In exchange, the blessed holy one shall…show mercy on them and shall heal and give strength… bless all of the ill and sick in Israel with a healthy soul and a healthy body. And we say Amen." While House couldn't agree with the idea of praying to…nothing…he couldn't dispute the sentiment of wanting Wilson to get better and get back to being Wilson. Although watching him kick himself in the ass over his truthful outbursts was worth the price of admission.

"Mr. Wilson, that was beautiful," Lydia said as she went over and gave a kiss to Wilson's parents. "I know that between the great care and smart medicine being given to James," she said as she looked at House and his team. "And your prayers to heaven, he'll be up and around very soon." Diplomatic skills back in full gear, House noted.

"I…I have to admit I'm more than a bit…nervous…over the thought of standing on this thing," Wilson said indicating his hip.

"Wilson, I'm going to give you a couple of hours, maybe a little more," Tom said. "We won't do anything until you get back from the MRI. Since that's non-invasive it won't stress you out and you'll be able to stand up and sit a few times; then you'll take some steps." Tom saw the terrified look in Wilson's eyes. "You had damage to one artery and you're missing equipment from your left leg," Tom said referring to the saphenous vein removed to patch Wilson up. "We've got to get you up and moving to keep the blood flow good. They did an x-ray on you while you were in recovery; your hip couldn't be any more perfectly placed. I'm not surprised considering you had Ellis doing the operation; he is amazing with what I've seen him do with hip replacements and other orthopedic work, too. But you have got to get up and moving."

"Just because you can run with those things," Wilson said indicating Tom's legs. "Doesn't mean I can walk with this." Wilson pulled the sheet back to try and take a look at his hip, but his medical gown covered it.

"Yet," Annie said. "Lydia goes to Greg's therapy workouts, I can go to yours, too." Wilson smiled and nodded.

"Well, let me try one more time to get out of here; I'll call if I find anything," Lydia said. She left the room, determined not to let anyone slow her up. Taub had left the room to get Wilson's first bag of saline. He now hung it up on the rolling IV pole, set it into the pump mechanism and removed the hook up that was already there. He started this one fresh, so that the volume of fluid could be accurately measured.

"You going to stay here, House?" Chase asked.

"Yeah. Leave the other bag with the nurses. I'll hang it when this one empties," he said.

"One of us will be floating around here to keep an eye on the other patient," Foreman said. "Although, at this point there's not much to do for him."

"I sure hope Lydia can find something over there," Taub said. "I know she's trying to help the wife out, but as we always say about a second set of eyes…"

"She'll be fine. She's got two kids and she deals with me; handling deceitful behavior is second nature to her," House said as he sat down in a Geri-chair and closed his eyes.

"Her children seemed lovely," Claudia Wilson said. "And if you're lying to her, you ought to be ashamed of yourself." House reached behind his back and pulled out the blanket that had been left in the chair. He spread it out over himself all the way to the top of his head.

"Yes, I have lied to the fair and beautiful Fraulein; sometimes that's the only way to win a poker hand," he answered without moving the blanket.

"You've lied to her about plenty of other stuff I'm sure," Wilson said. House pulled the blanket down; he thought for a moment.

"No…no I haven't." House almost seemed disappointed by his truthfulness. It was contrary to his favorite theory; everybody lies.

"You must have lied to her at some point when you were at Mayfield," Foreman said. Annie was shaking her head.

"One of the things that Lydia told me when she decided to join me in coming back to New Jersey," Annie said. "Is that Greg never lied to her about anything serious. He would joke around, but after what she had been through, it was very important to her that he gave her the respect of being honest. Even when he 'stole' her car to take Steve out to have some fun, he told her exactly what he intended to do; didn't lie, didn't try to fake her out." House realized that everyone was looking at him. He threw the blanket back over his head.

"Time for my nap," House said as his mind wandered back to when he and Lydia had been together at Mayfield. Hidden under the blanket he started to smile at the memories from back then; without a doubt, she was the only thing that kept him sane…then and now. Just as he was starting to relax, the image of that SOB holding a gun to Lydia's head wavered before him. House closed his eyes, hoping that he could make it stop. The horrific sight eventually faded, but not before it scared House, scared him as much as if he had been standing there next to Lydia. And that was at the heart of why this was all replaying in his mind. He could have told his team to do the initial work-up on the fireman; if anything was unusual, they would've called him. He could have left with Lydia, been there with her, protected her, helped Wilson protect Annie…but instead he let what always took priority for him get in the way: House let the puzzle take his attention, front and center, and let human contact and interaction take a back seat. Only this time, it wasn't that he was late to meet them, or that they chose the bottle of wine without him…this could have taken either Lydia or Wilson away from him. Annie, too. She had a soft spot for House and tried to understand him from the beginning because he helped to bring her back to the living. In spending time with her over the past few months he found her to be as smart and fun as Lydia. The four of them had become very close, closer than House thought he could ever be with people. And they were the only ones he knew he could trust. House shook all these thoughts off and forced himself to try and get some rest. He hoped that Lydia could come back with some kind of clue to help the patient…

Lydia let herself in through the driveway entrance of the Sheeler's house; it was a little more secluded, partially hidden by bushes. She was about to put her purse on the counter, but thought better of it in case she had to make a hasty exit; Lydia realized that thought was ridiculous. She was here with the Sheeler's permission, so there was no problem…in theory. All she needed was for some nosy neighbor to call the police. Lydia shook her head; she really wished she had Taub or one of the other team members with her right now. They were used to doing this after working for House for so long; she was not. Lydia tried to shake off all other thoughts and concentrate on why she was here. Her first thought in searching out the medicine, was to look where anything else, even over the counter meds might be kept. The best place to hide a tree was in a forest, Lydia thought. Knowing that she kept vitamins and a small bottle of Advil in one of her kitchen cabinets, she began there. Opening door after door, and finding nothing, she was discouraged thinking that she had wasted her time which right now was precious to her. The longer it took to find what Kevin Sheeler had been taking, the more his leg would deteriorate. Finally, she opened the cabinet door closest to the hallway, and found several bottles inside. Lydia quickly looked through the content of the cabinet: Natalins pregnancy vitamins, a prescription for folic acid issued to Susan, a bottle of Tylenol. Nothing for Kevin, no mystery pills.

Next Lydia looked through the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, but there was nothing exciting there. Some Band-Aids, some first aid cream, toothpaste, mouthwash, razor blades…nothing outstanding. She went to the night stands in Susan and Kevin's bedroom and looked through them; again no luck. Lydia started to look in some of the places House told her he used to stash his Vicodin: shoes, sock drawer, underwear drawer. She checked all the pockets of the duffle bag that held things that Kevin took to work with him…zilch, zippo, nada. A thought suddenly occurred to Lydia and she went back to the bathroom. When House was delusional after the crane collapse, he imagined that he had hidden some Vicodin in the wall behind the medicine cabinet. She certainly wasn't strong enough to pull the cabinet down, nor did she want to cause that kind of damage to the Sheeler's house, but maybe…

Lydia opened the door to the sink cabinet; there were mainly just cleaning supplies and sponges under the sink along with the pipes that brought in the hot and cold water, and drained out the sink. She felt all around, getting more discouraged by the minute…until finally, her hand touched something. She felt around the back of the sink bowl that extended into the cabinet; there was a plastic box and what felt like tape. Lydia pulled the tape away, and the plastic box fell onto the base of the cabinet. She quickly opened it up, and was puzzled by what she found. There were three brown glass bottles with droppers; two were sealed, one was almost empty. Lydia opened the unsealed bottle, and took a whiff; nothing distinctive to her about the smell. She took a tissue from the box on the sink counter, and place a drop on it; again nothing out of the ordinary in appearance. Whatever this was, someone didn't want it to be found. Lydia decided to make a call to House; if he thought this was just strange, rather than an answer, she'd keep looking. As she took out her phone and hit speed dial, she remembered something that Susan said, that made her all the more sure she had found something important.

House was in a deep sleep; it was good, something he needed. But he didn't get nearly enough when his phone started to ring. Recognizing that it was Lydia by her ringtone "Edelweiss," House quickly pushed the button to answer the call.

"Did you have to call just now? I was having the naughtiest dream about you and me; you'll never guess what we were doing." House flipped the blanket off his head and was startled to see he was in Wilson's room. Wilson's parents were there as was Annie; they had all fallen asleep along with Wilson. House blinked his eyes a few times and focused on the IV bag of saline; it was almost to the end, but not in danger of emptying.

"I can imagine what we were doing; maybe in a day or so, we'll be able to actually put those thoughts into action." House had started to stand up, but stopped when he heard Lydia's words.

"What did you find?" he asked quickly. Lydia told him about the secret stash hidden under the sink cabinet.

"But they're not pills; it's liquid. A slightly sweet odor and a clear appearance; but with three bottles…"

"He probably had more than that. He bought it in quantity, and in case it worked he'd have back up. What does it taste like?" Lydia took the phone away from her head and looked at it as if House was crazy.

"You want me to put this stuff in my mouth when I don't even know what it is? Your team is right…you are insane!" House was glad they were talking on the phone and not in person; if she was with him she'd see him chuckling.

"My team does what I need them to do to solve a case," House said, his stern voice hiding the look on his face. "You do want to become a part of my team, don't you?" Lydia sighed.

"I want to live to see my kids grow up," she replied.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you do. Put a drop on your fingertip and put it on your tongue." Lydia did as House directed.

"Like the aroma, slightly sweet; no discernable medicinal taste or smell. It's not altogether unpleasant." House thought for a moment, the smile disappearing; but a sly, wicked grin came over his face the more he thought.

"Get back here with it as fast as you can so we can run it through the lab. Bring all the bottles," House said energized by Lydia's find. "Fraulein?"

"Yes?" Lydia questioned as she put back the items from under the sink that she had moved out of her way.

"Wilson and everyone else around here are right; you hang around me too much. You never should have found that so quickly," House said as he made his way to the nurses' station.

"But isn't helping the patient and figuring out the puzzle what it's all about? Besides, by finding this, I may have removed one of the obstacles preventing us from having some time to ourselves," Lydia said.

"Leave it to you to put a positive spin on things," House said. "I'll see you in a little bit." He got to the nurses' station and saw Wilson's second saline bag on top of his chart. "I'm here to claim ownership of that IV bag and make note of it in Dr. Wilson's chart," he said to the nurse sitting behind the counter.

"I was told to give this to a member of Dr. House's team," the nurse replied, eyeing up House suspiciously. House knew she was in for a surprise.

"I'm not a member of Dr. House's team; I am Dr. House," he explained. "Now let me have the bag and the chart so I can hook Dr. Wilson up before he runs dry." House made a move to go behind the counter; the nurse stood up to block House's way.

"I can't let you just take this; if you're Dr. House, where's your ID?" House gave the nurse a look; she was young, probably on the ICU floor for the first time. In all his time up there, he had never seen her before.

"Page Dr. Chase to come to the floor; you'll thank me later." The nurse kept her gaze on House as she looked up Chase's pager number and put the call in. In a few minutes, Chase appeared in the hallway.

"House, what's going on?" he asked as he neared the counter. House turned to the nurse, who looked completely flustered. Whether it was because she was embarrassed at not believing House or the wonderfulness that was Dr. Robert Chase, House neither knew nor cared.

"I'm sorry, Dr. House. You really should have your ID badge with you," the girl said handing him the saline bag and the chart.

"And he should dress more like a doctor…like I do," Chase said giving the girl a smile. House rolled his eyes as he notated Wilson's chart.

"Despite my appearance, I'm going to go do medical stuff to Wilson." Chase barely noticed what House said as he turned on the charm and engaged the young nurse in conversation. House went back into Wilson's room and tried to plan the best way to approach the IV hook-up. The Wilsons were asleep in chairs at the end of Wilson's bed; Annie had moved her chair alongside Wilson's bed. She was resting her head on a pillow draped over the side rail of the bed with Wilson's hand resting on her head. Best thing to do, House decided was to step over the Wilson's legs, and gain access to the IV pole that way. He didn't really trust his legs to be steady enough, but going slowly and carefully, he made it over to the right side of Wilson's bed. He unhooked the nearly empty IV bag, set up the new bag to filter through the pump, and checked the flow of the fluid in the tube.

"So, am I going to make it?" Wilson's voice startled House; he thought he had been quiet enough not to wake any one.

"You've made it through the night; why break your winning streak now?" House asked. "How long has Medusa been like that? She's going to have a real pain in her neck…and I don't mean you."

"Why do you always call Annie, Medusa?" Wilson asked. "Medusa wasn't portrayed as being very nice."

"When I first met your girlfriend at Mayfield, her hair was stick straight; the mass of curls always amuses me."

"The curls are her natural hair," Wilson said fingering her locks as her head was on the pillow. "They made Lydia get her hair straightened, or they said it would have to be cut off; too hard to take care of."

"There were a lot of things that happened at that place, things they gave you no choice about, that never should have happened," House said disgustedly.

"Well, at least three good things came out of there; Annie, you meeting Lydia and you giving up Vicodin." Wilson looked at House when he didn't respond. "You have stayed away from Vicodin, haven't you?" House made a face.

"Yeah; wish I had one right now. Wish I had several; my leg is killing me. I missed my sleepy time pills and my hello sunshine pills as well," House looked at his watch. "Lydia brought them to me earlier, but nothing much is touching the pain."

"Have you talked to Tom? Maybe there's something he can give you just to take the edge off until you can get back on schedule."

"He's making rounds now; texted me that he'll be a little late getting to you," House said looking at his phone. He saw that Lydia left a message saying she was on her way back to the hospital. "Pretty soon we can get you back on your feet and get you home. Thanks to what Fraulein just found, I think we'll have a handle on Fire Marshall Bill; then I can pack my dark suit and head for Virginia." Wilson looked at House sympathetically.

"Things are that bad?" House put his phone back into his pocket and nodded.

"Besides the initial stroke, she's had a series of TIAs. That in combination with cardiac arrhythmia…she already told me she's hanging on until I can get down there. I told her that we needed to talk, that I needed answers. She swore she would wait for me," House said looking down at the floor. He had been very good at preventing anyone from reading his emotions over the years; but now it was so clearly written on his face that the situation with his mother was eating him up. Wilson felt sorry for his friend.

"Realistically, how long could she really have? House, I'm cranky and unfiltered, but I'm fine. Your team knows how to handle the other patient." Wilson fiddled with his bed controller. "You've waited for answers your whole life…getting to the bottom of a mystery is what you live for. You've got to go; I'm not going anywhere." Wilson was about to argue with House when he felt movement under his left hand. Annie turned her head and blinked a few times.

"Hi, Sweetie," Annie said, raising her head up and taking Wilson's hand. She saw that House was by the other side of Wilson's bed, right where she knew he would be. "How's he doing with the IV fluid?"

"He's on his second bag; just started it. About an hour from now, we'll take him down for the test, tell all the other patients that we have a priority appointment, and get him in there to get the MRI done," House said.

"It seems like it's taking forever," Wilson complained.

"First bag took an hour, maybe a little more, to go in," House said. "If I push it any faster, you and your arm will hate me more than you already do."

House, I don't hate you; in fact if you let me have some more juice, I'll…give you a box of chocolates on Valentine's Day." Wilson said. House looked at Annie and shook his head.

"The box had better be heart-shaped," House said. "I'll see what's around that won't kill you; which in this place would be a rare find." He carefully stepped over the Wilson's legs once again, and geared himself up to deal with the novice nurse at the desk. As he left the room, and turned toward his left, he saw Chase standing in the hall, talking with the fireman's wife. Since House had his cane with him, he wished he could turn and run; the wife was crying.

"Mrs. Sheeler, I'm sorry," Chase said. "Whatever he took, where ever he went, whatever he ate…it has done an extreme amount of damage to his immune system. While eventually he will heal, right now, it is leaving him in a dangerous position; Kevin has nothing to fight with. If we don't get him into surgery soon, things may not go well."

"Your husband is a third generation fireman," House said as he approached the two. "Has his prior ancestors worked in the same departments?"

"Yes, both his dad and grandfather were stationed at the same firehouse in fact," Susan said. "What…"

"Ever hear the phrase 'grandfathered in?'" asked House. "Your husband's job is the personification of that." House saw that Susan was shaking her head, about to disagree with him. "I'm not saying that Hubby didn't pass his training and earn the right to wear the uniform; I'm just saying the familial situation is where the phrase came from. He must have enough connections to be accepted as a trainer or instructor at the academy or something along those lines. But he'll only be able to do that if he cuts the BS, tells us what he took and make the decision to amputate the smallest part of his body possible."

"Dr. Chase was just saying that there's no way to save any part of his foot; is that really true? That…there's nothing you can do to let him…keep all of his parts?" House could tell from the way she was talking she was not thinking clearly. He was about to lay it out in the bluntest terms possible, when a voice came from the hospital room.

"Susan?" Kevin Sheeler was awake. House was hoping that he could talk some sense into the guy. Susan stepped into the room ahead of House and Chase.

"Hi, Honey," she said taking her husband's hand. "Kevin these are some of the doctors taking care of you."

"I'm Dr. Chase, I work for Dr. House in the Diagnostics Department. How are you feeling?" Kevin shook his head.

"Lousy. All I want to do is sleep. I hurt all over. My left leg is killing me," Kevin responded weakly.

"You're wanting to sleep is the body's way of trying to fight off the infection. Only you don't have an immune system left to fight this with," House said as he stepped over to the bed and drew back the sheet on Kevin's leg. He was concerned by Sheeler's choice of words in describing where the pain was. "How far up your leg does the pain go?"

"To the poison ivy wound; I know where that is all too well," said Kevin as he closed his eyes and winced in pain.

"Kevin, if you had stopped…picking at it so much, you wouldn't have had an open wound to get infected," Susan said.

"It doesn't matter how big the cut or wound is," House said. "All the bacteria needed was the smallest fissure to enter the body." House moved the sheet a little more. "Can you see down here?" asked House indicating Kevin's toes. Kevin picked his head up to get a look.

"Oh…no, NO! NO, PLEASE!" Kevin sounded pathetic as he begged. "I know who you are; you and some other doctor took care of my buddy's kid when he had cancer…"

"Dr. Wilson," House responded. Kevin shook his head.

"You helped him with cancer…you've got to be able help me! Please! We...we're having a baby," Kevin said softly, starting to fade again. "I want to be able to run and play with the kid. I can't if…if you…" He looked at House. "Do you have any children?" As House was about to answer, he became aware of Thirteen, Annie and Lydia standing in the doorway of the room. Despite the presence of two of his team members, he answered honestly.

"Yeah. My girlfriend has two kids," he quickly added on.

"Wouldn't it kill you if you couldn't run around at a playground with them, or play soccer or baseball? Wouldn't that eat you up?" House looked across the room to the window; the blinds were open and the sun was streaming in. Ben and Elise have soccer practice later, and even though he could move around the backyard a little with the kids, when he was down at the soccer fields, all he could do is sit by and watch.

"It does," House said flatly holding up his cane. "I got a major ouchie in my thigh about fifteen years ago. My days of being an All-American are long gone."

"With physical therapy, you'll regain most of your use in the leg." Thirteen said to Kevin. "There are several excellent therapists we can recommend to you. Tom Wilkinson, in particular, is excellent. He's worked with Dr. House." House shot her a look. "I'm trying to be encouraging," she said quietly.

"If the guy is so damn good," said Kevin as he tossed his head back and forth in pain, "Why does he still need a cane?"

"Because my boo-boo is that big," House snarked. "Way to go Barbie Cheerleader," he said to Thirteen as he passed her by. He got closer to the door and realized Annie's presence there must have something to do with Wilson. "What's up with your boyfriend?"

"I figured you were busy, so I went to the nurse to ask for something to drink for James, but she said his orders read NPO…and she wouldn't give me anything," Annie said looking confused.

"NPO just means he can't have anything to eat or drink," Lydia explained to her friend.

"Go tell her I said it was OK for him to have liquids," House said. Annie left the room and House turned his attention back to Kevin Sheeler. "Hey, you still with us?" It took a second, but Kevin opened his eyes. "The important thing right now with your foot and leg is to get you into surgery as quickly as possible. The faster we can get you in there the more of you we can save. Keeping it below the knee is the optimum goal. It makes the recovery infinitely smoother." Kevin took a moment then finally agreed.

"Please, leave as much of me as you can…" His head fell off to the side, and he obviously fell back asleep.

"Step one done; he agreed to the surgery; not only that, he agreed to it in front of his healthcare proxy." House looked at Susan Sheeler. "You are his healthcare proxy, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am and so is his best friend that he works with, Jose Menendez. All of the firefighters are required to have two healthcare proxies in case one can't be reached in the aftermath of a call."

"Great. We'll just need a copy of your healthcare certificate," Chase said. "And then I'll page Ellis, see who else he wants in on this."

"He hasn't come up to see Wilson that I know of," House said. "So…"

"Excuse me, Dr. Chase?" Susan said. "I don't have the healthcare certificate on me. I don't carry it round with me…"

"No one does," Chase admitted. "Where is it?"

"At the house," Susan and House said at the same time.

"Too bad we didn't have this conversation a little bit sooner," Lydia said as she took the Sheeler's house keys out.

"You don't have to go back there. Copies are kept at the firehouse. I'm texting Jose to see if he can stop in and pick it up or bring his copy over." House looked at the key ring that Lydia twirled in her hand.

"Are these your keys?" he asked Mrs. Sheeler.

"No they're Kevin's"

"Did his buddy Jose go with him on the training trip?" House asked as he started to get that look in his eyes. There was noise coming from the hall; House could see Annie looking upset and gesturing to House and the nurses' desk. She was talking to Taub and Foreman who had come onto the floor. House had the feeling he knew what happened.

"Yes, Jose went with him…Why?" Susan said as House left the room.

"Wilson get his juice?" he asked as he came up to the group. Lydia, Thirteen and Chase were right behind him.

"No, she said that someone from your team or you had to change the order," Annie said. House was in no mood for bureaucratic bull. He went around the corner of the nurses' desk, back into where the refrigerator/freezer was; he yanked the fridge door open and found no juice. Slamming it shut, he opened the freezer and found a lemon ice. He removed it, found a spoon, and headed back to the desk.

"Dr. House, I just explained to the woman that Dr. Wilson couldn't have anything until the orders were changed; but if it's OK…" House grabbed Wilson's chart, quickly flipped through the pages until he found the one with the NPO instruction written on it. He ripped the page out of the book, crumpled it up and threw it in the trash.

"Order's been changed," he said as he handed Annie the ice, and she hurried away to feed Wilson the treat. House joined the others by the patient's door. "Let me see the key ring the patient's wife gave you." Lydia handed him the set of keys. House held it up for all to see. "OK boys and girls, what is this?" House asked indicating the ring.

"It's a sombrero," Taub said, still startled by, but not surprised at House's actions.

"Right. And what's written on the sombrero?"

"Greeting from Mexico," Lydia said.

"Right. Let me see the bottles of medicine you found," House said to Lydia. She handed House the collection bag she had brought to the Sheeler's house. He set the key ring on the counter, and looked the bottles over before taking the open one out of the bag. There were no labels on the bottles, except for the price stickers. House was smug as he passed the bag back to Lydia. "What's unusual about the price labels on the bottles?"

"They don't look like price labels," Foreman said.

"Not for the US of A; but since our patient had obviously been south of the border…" House said holding up the key ring with the sombrero. He laid the keys back down, and opened the almost empty bottle. House squeezed the top of the dropper, threw his head back and placed several drops into his mouth. He brought his head forward to look at the group with a pleased smile.

"Mmm…the Nectar of the Gods," House proclaimed sarcastically.

"House, what the hell is it?" Foreman asked.

"It's...Metamizol."