Surviving Misery

Chapter 2

House sat their in silence for a few minutes as he thought about what had happened. He debated telling her then finally decided he might as well tell her. He could use someone to talk to.

" About three days ago, I got a phone call. My parents were both admitted in a hospital in Baltimore after mysteriously becoming sick. So I drove down there on my day off, and found out that they had symptoms exactly like Foreman had a few years ago. Giddiness, loss of sight, severe pain, all signs of parasitic ameba Naegleria. The doctors down there however, thought it was Atropine poisoning. I refused to believe it, I mean Atropine poisoning is extremely rare. Well I told them to start treating for the Naegleria. My parents health began improving, so I came back here. I couldn't miss a day of clinic duty, it would ruin the rest of my week. Well, yesterday I got a phone call from one of the doctors down there. My parents had died from a severe case of Atropine poisoning. By the time they had found my number, the autopsy had been performed. I killed my parents because I was too selfish, too prideful to accept another doctor's opinion. So in order to keep my from constantly reminding me that I was a murderer, I went to the nearest bar I could find to get wasted. About two hours later my pager went off, telling me to go back to the hospital. Without truly thinking it through, I began to drive back to my apartment to shower first. The end of the story about how an egotistical bastard killed his parents." House explained.

By the of the story House's eyes were watery, but he refused to cry, especially in front of Cuddy. She was shocked for a few minutes, but immediately grabbed his hand. Her touch was comforting, but it couldn't absolve him of his crime.

" It's not your fault. Greg, it's not your fault. Any doctor would have made that call." Cuddy said trying to relieve him of his guilt.

Regardless of her attempt, it didn't change anything. There was still guilt, and his parents were still dead.

" If any doctor would have diagnosed them with parasitic ameba Naegleria, why didn't the doctors in Baltimore? It was my narcissistic pride that blinded me and told me to show them up. Diagnosis it with a disease instead of a mere poison. I -" he started but just fell silent, noting that he had explained his judgement once.

He noticed that Cuddy was silently crying as she squeezed his hand. She was either crying because she felt sorry for him or because she knew he couldn't and was crying in place of him.

" It wasn't your fault. You made the call you thought was right. You said it yourself, the symptoms all pointed to parasitic ameba Naegleria. People make mistakes. It's what defines our humanity. Quit blaming yourself. Aren't you miserable enough? You don't have to blame yourself, trust me it's not worth it. I never told you about what happened to my brother, did I?" she asked him trying to take his mind off of his own guilt.

" No, I didn't know you had a brother. I thought you only had a sister."

" Well, he was my younger brother that had asked me for a ride to the store. He was only twelve years old. So I took him to the store, he bought a new pair of shoes and some gum. Anyway on our way back home, my cell phone rang. I answered it and wasn't paying attention to the I looked up there was a tractor trailer coming down the road on his side. I couldn't move fast enough, so it hit us at 60 miles per hour. By the time our car had stopped spinning, he was dead. My parents blamed the other driver, but I always blamed myself. Still blame myself actually. It's not a good idea to put all the blame on yourself. I know better than anyone. I know you like to be miserable, but please don't become that miserable. It changes you beyond your control, and will slowly eat at you until there is nothing left." Cuddy explained.

They sat in silence for a while, nothing that one could say would truly help the situation. After a while Cuddy decided to speak.

" I didn't tell anyone about your BAC level, and I won't. It's not something they need to know. And I won't tell them about the circumstances that led up to your accident. It's not my story to tell, and because I don't want to tell it." Cuddy said as she wiped her eyes dry.

" Thank you," House replied softly.

" Your welcome. It wasn't your fault. Find some distractions to take your mind off of it, it helps more than your vicodin can." Cuddy said before she left the room.

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James Wilson walked into House's room and sat down beside him.

" How are you feeling?" Wilson asked him concerned.

" I'm great for another three hours, then they decrease my morphine intake. I thought hospitals were supposed to keep patients comfortable." House replied.

" Unless of course they knew that the patient had an addiction to pain killers. So what happened? Cameron told me you hit a car head-on."

" Yeah I hit a car, after I lost control of my vehicle. Rain kills."

" I don't believe you just lost control of your vehicle, that's not like you. I do believe however that your leg may have caused you more pain than usual, so you took extra vicodin. Got stoned then lost control of the vehicle, and hit another car. All because your judgement was impaired." Wilson explained.

House figured that was as good as explanation as any. And it sounded like him, so he went with that.

" Doesn't sound any better though, does it? I woke up yesterday and could barely move. So I took a couple of shots of morphine, then went to work. About eight hours later, it began to wear off, so I popped a few extra vicodin. I didn't realize that this would be the result," House lied, not wanting to tell Wilson what really happened.

" At least you're still alive. You can continue your search for the noble prize."

" I wouldn't want that thing if it was the last thing on this planet." House replied happily.

" The driver you hit is alright by the way. She didn't suffer anything more severe than a concussion." Wilson stated.

" Good." House replied.

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A few hours after Wilson left, Cuddy came back.

A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed the latest chapter. I wonder what Cuddy wants to talk about? I'll post the next one after the holidays. Please continue to send me reviews, I love feedback (the good and the bad). Thanks.