Intuitive

Chapter 16

Trouble in Dodge City

It was Thursday, the night when most of the conference attendants registered. On Friday, House was scheduled to give his lecture on emerging diseases. Searching through the badges that remained at the check-in table, he noticed Lisa's badge had not been picked up. Having spoken to the team that morning about a new patient,no one had mentioned a problem with Cuddy being able to make it. House mentally shrugged, she was probably held up and would fly in this afternoon. He called her assistant, but there was no answer, the call was redirected to Nurse Catalina.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Nurse, it's Dr. House, can I speak to Cuddy?"

"Dr. House, Dr. Cuddy flew to San Francisco for a conference."

He was relieved to know she would be here soon and he would have a diversion from his thoughts about Teagan, "Okay. If she calls in, tell her I'm in room 553." He also decided to leave a note in her mailbox telling her what room he was in so she'd touch base with him immediately, he wanted to yell at her for scheduling his talk at 8:30 in the morning. It meant he couldn't sleep in.

House took the trolley down to Union Square and ate dinner there. When he got back to the hotel there was no message waiting for him. Cuddy was probably tired and went straight to bed. I'll catch up with her in the morning.

The next morning House was running late. He grabbed his handouts and ran for the conference room, took the stage and gave the audience an insightful presentation on infectious diseases. People were laughing at his witty remarks and caustic humor. Despite the fact that House hated to do it, he always received high ratings for his presentations because he was so irreverent and the doctors loved it. He was just about to go to the handouts when everyone heard noises coming from the lobby outside the room. The door burst open. House looked up and immediately tensed, his mouth dropping open.

There was a tussle between her and two guards who were yelling, "Lady, you need help, let us get you some help."

"Let me go, let me go. Greg, Greg!" Teagan struggled down the aisle to reach him on the podium. Drenched in her own blood, she looked scared to death. Staring up at him from just below the stage, she cried out in a voice full of terror, "He's got Lisa, he's going to kill her...Greg!" Teagan hit the floor with a resounding thud and started to convulse. House jumped down and reached her side as fast as he could.

The moderator yelled, "Call an ambulance!"

One of the doctors dialed 911.

House knelt down and grabbed her head, putting it on his knee to elevate it. He held her hand, thinking as loud as he could, "Teagan calm down, I'm here, you need to calm down and tell me how to help you." He couldn't feel anything at first but he could see her body relaxing and the convulsions stopping. Her eyes flew open.

"Greg, no one is looking for her, no one. He's got her in his basement and he's going to kill her. She knows too much."

Greg looked around, "Ok folks, I know her and she has a special condition. She'll be fine in a few minutes, please relax and let 911 know that she doesn't need an ambulance."

The moderator shook his head, "Are you crazy House, she's bleeding like mad!"

"I know her! I'll assume responsibility for her. Now someone please give us both a hand to get up."

Teagan and House were both helped up. Teagan was woozy, but worried and wanted so badly to hold House, but he was in his nice suit and she was covered in blood.

She was unsteady on her feet, "Lisa is in trouble. She found out something about this guy, a doctor and he wants her dead. He's a sadistic, unfeeling man. He wants to punish her."

House was beginning to understand. He needed to check Teagan over but he also needed someone to look in on Lisa. He directed Teagan into an empty conference room where he took out his cell phone to call Wilson.

"Wilson, I have Teagan here. This is going to sound crazy, but Teagan is a psychic, the FBI knows her and knows she is a psychic, so I want you to start by calling them. She says that Lisa was kidnapped and is being held by someone that is going to torture and kill her."

"What do you mean? I saw Cuddy Thursday, she was going home to get her luggage and then fly out there."

"She's not here!"

"House! A psychic? Come on, is this a joke?" Wilson chuckled.

"Wilson, call..." House turned to Teagan, "Who should Wilson contact at the FBI that knows you?"

"Agent Nick Milan or Auri Ferrell. Either one will believe Wilson if he tells him it's from me. Let me talk to him."

House reluctantly handed her the phone, she didn't look as if she were in any condition to talk to anyone.

"Dr. Wilson. I can feel your confusion and disbelief but when we hang up, call agent Nick Milan in Philadelphia at the FBI. Tell him Teagan had a remote viewing of a man who has kidnaped Dr. Cuddy from her house and is holding her in a basement. She is drugged and he plans on torturing her and then killing her. Milan needs to start an investigation right now. I will try to contact Lisa, but if he has questions, have him call Greg's cell phone. Ok?"

Wilson was skeptical but she sounded so sincere it was the least he could do for her. "I will, I'll do it right now."

House looked at her and said, "Let's get you up to my room."

House propped her up with his right side as he managed to get her into the elevator. People stared at the bleeding woman and steered clear of her. Once inside his room House took her into the bathroom, retrieved the bathrobe and hung it up on the hook on the inside of the door. After running the water, Teagan climbed in and washed her hair and her body. House took off his suit coat and tie while waiting for her to finish. When she got out he was standing by the sink, holding out the hotel robe which he wrapped around her little body.

He pulled her to him and hugged her. She started crying, sobbing. Waiting until she was composed, he walked her out to the bedroom and sat her down on the bed.

"How did you get here?" He asked.

"I drove my truck...I parked it in the building, was that ok?"

"Yes. Tell me what happened."

"I woke up last night after hearing someone crying. Obviously they weren't in my little cabin so I focused and I could see this man, he was a doctor--" House went over and retrieved a yellow tablet to take notes. "This doctor had been waiting for her at her house. Waiting inside. He entered after breaking a window in the back to get in. She was picking up her luggage when he grabbed her and held a knife to her neck. He took out a syringe and told her to give herself the shot. When she refused,he stuck the knife into her neck until she was bleeding. He assured her it was just a narcotic to put her out. She gave herself the shot. Lisa knows him, not well, but she found out something about him and she was having someone at work review his files."

Teagan was crying again. House got up and poured her some water, "Here, drink this and then continue. I need to know as much as possible."

She sighed, took a long drink and then nodded that she was ready to continue. "Q, I keep thinking 'Q'. Does that make any sense?"

House shook his head no.

"Well, he took her, but I don't know where because she was drugged when he moved her. I'm getting the images from her when she is awake enough to send them. She is targeting me, trying to send the visions to me because of my work on the Temple case. She's hoping I am a real psychic. He's constantly drugging her, keeping her around simple to torture her. He enjoys it. She's groggy most of the time so it's hard for her to send messages. I do know that she's in a basement chained to a pole. He comes down sometimes and taunts her. I have to push because she's so groggy. I'm having a hard time getting through the haze. He knows that, as soon as they realize she's missing, he's going to have to kill her and dispose of her body."

The phone rang. It was a confident, authoritative voice, "Dr. House?"

"Yes."

"This is Special Agent Nick Milan from the FBI filed office. May I talk to Ms. Furey?"

He handed the phone to Teagan. "It's Elliot Ness."

"Nick?"

"Teagan. How are you?"

"I'm okay. What are you doing about the vision?"

"We've verified that her home was broken into and that her luggage was still in her house. We know she didn't get on any planes so we are going on the assumption that what you are seeing is correct. We need your help. Please tell us everything you know."

She recounted what she had told House. Whenever she left something out, House would remind her from his notes. House realized that Cuddy had someone at the hospital working on this guy's files which meant someone at the hospital knew who he was.

"Teagan who at the hospital is working on his files. Can you see that?" House asked.

"Yes, Teagan that would help us." Nick had heard House ask her the question.

"I need to push it, so can I call you right back?"

He gave her his direct cell phone number and she hung up.

"I'm going to have to try and contact Cuddy. If she is groggy or asleep, I don't know if I can get the information. I'll have to really push. I need to know, how much blood can I lose and not die?"

"Don't worry; you probably haven't lost as much as you think. But it's your blood pressure that worries me. Your bleeding is a result of the pressure in your body and brain. You could stroke out on me."

"I tell you what, think my name really loud like you usually do. Come on, think."

He closed his eyes, "Teagan, Teagan, Teagan!"

"Alright! Alright, that's good. Now if I start to convulse again, you do that. I'm probably more likely to hear you that way than if you communicate in the physical world. Ok?"

"If you say so." House didn't like this.

"Let's go into the bathroom, I'll do this in the tub."

She stripped off the robe and sat naked in the empty tub, "It's was very cold. Could you give me a towel to wrap up in?

He handed her a couple and draped them over her to warm her up. She closed her eyes.

It was early afternoon on the east coast; she suspected the kidnapper would have Cuddy drugged pretty heavily during the day when he was at work. She closed her eyes and put her head back, trying to follow the last message she had received and find her way back to Cuddy.

Lisa, Lisa it's Teagan. It's Teagan and Greg. Lisa, I need your help. Please respond, just say yes, or hello or something I'll recognize as you. Lisa, answer me, answer me. She paused and received nothing. Lisa, let me know you're out there... please give me a signal.

She heard a faint voice, Greg House is a jerk.

Teagan laughed. I know, I know. Now you have to ... She felt a void again. Lisa? Lisa?" Teagan knew she was on the right path to Lisa because Lisa had just responded but she couldn't figure out why it had stopped.

House waited and sat down on the toilet lid. He jumped up when he saw Teagan's eyes fly open and her hands come up in a defensive pose. She screamed bloody murder and started flailing. The blood was dripping out of her nose and ears. House didn't know if he should stop her or not.

Teagan began yelling, "Get away, no,no....oh, God please don't, please don't!

Aahhhhhhhh!" He watched as Teagan tried to fight off an imaginary assault. She was scaring House. Whatever was happening was terrifying because the look in her eyes was one of sheer terror.

I couldn't get anything and I thought I had lost her. I hadn't, she had just gone quiet when she heard him come down the stairs. He took the blindfold off and the image in my mind was clear and frightening. I could see him; I could see the surgical knife coming at my hands as I held them up to keep him away. He was laughing. "I became a surgeon to cut people, because I like to cut people Lisa. I like to watch them bleed. I like to feel the pieces of flesh that I cut off. I rub them in between my fingers, like this." I saw the flash of the knife as it came down and sliced a piece of my skin the size of a dollar bill off of my forearm. I felt it sting, I felt the blood. The pain was horrible, excruciating. He had exposed and cut part of the muscle underneath. I couldn't do anything but raise my hands up in front of my face. I was chained by both my feet and my hands and I was standing there in my bra and panties. I was feeling faint, this was too much. "Let's take a look at that thigh, maybe we can do a little shaping without the lipo suction. I can see he no longer has any humanity left in him, he's pure evil now. The knife is cutting my thigh. I must ask her before we lose consciousness...Lisa, who is he? Who has his file at the hospital? Who is reading his file? Who is he? I am slipping away from her, Lisa, tell me now! She says nothing but I can see a woman, a beautiful, young woman and the number-- Thirteen.

Her scream as she grabbed her thigh was all House could take. He thought hard, "Teagan, Teagan, Teagan, Teagan, Teagan, come back to me. Please come back..."

Her eyes opened and she looked at him shaking her head. "He's carving her up alive! They have to get there quick. I saw a beautiful woman reviewing his file and the number, Thirteen."

House pressed the reverse dial on his phone and Agent Milan picked up. "Teagan says that he is carving her up alive and that Dr. Remy Hadley at PPTH has the file. Yes, I'll call Hadley and have her call you." He hung up and pushed the quick dial for Thirteen's cell phone.

"Dr. Hadley." she sounded bored.

"Thirteen."

"House! We were just going to call you..."

"Shut up and listen to me. Cuddy is in danger and you need to call FBI Agent Milan at 209 547 1292 and tell him the name of the doctor who Cuddy wanted you to review...you have his files."

"You mean Dr. Griffin?"

"Yes, call that number now!"

He hung up. He had all the faith in the world that Thirteen would do what he asked. She knew when he was serious and he was serious now. He went back to Teagan. "What do you want to do?"

"Before I get out of the tub I want to go back and tell her that help is on the way...I don't want to leave her alone, but I'm so afraid Greg. It was so painful and so horrible."

"Maybe you should just let the police do their job now. You've done enough."

"No. I can't leave her, she was so scared. I'm going back." Teagan closed her eyes and opened the gate to Lisa, the pain coming through was overwhelming. She now had pain in her forearm, thigh and oh God, he was sticking the knife in the bundle of nerves right next to the armpit. Lisa was passing out from the pain.

Lisa, we told the FBI who he is; they are going to find you. Please hold on, it will be over soon. Lisa hold on. (The pain from him twisting the knife in the nerves was making us feel nauseated. She's going to throw up...ughhg. She vomited all over herself. She's trying to hold on. I don't know if I can keep the connection. I want to hold on.) Lisa, no, stay with me. Stay with me.

Lisa wasn't sending signals and Teagan wasn't sure what that meant. She hoped it only meant that she had passed out, but she couldn't tell.

Teagan came back to House and realized that she had vomited all over herself in the bathtub. House was using the towels to try and clean her up. He looked at her as if to ask what happened?

"I don't know, she went dark. The pain was so bad, she either passed out or...or she's gone. I just don't know."

Teagan took another shower and once again put on the robe. House put her to bed so that she could take a nap, she was exhausted. He sat on the bed and stroked her wet hair until she was asleep. He was worried. Her poor little body had taken a beating lately. She had been forced to march out her talents a lot lately and it was taking a toll on her. He was beginning to understand why she needed to go to her cabin to heal. He turned on the television, turning the sound down a little. It didn't seem to disturb her. He had been watching television for two hours when he got a call, it was Agent Milan.

"Dr. House? May I please talk to Teagan?"

"She's taking a very needed nap. Do you need her help or can she call you back when she wakes up?"

"I want her to know that we found Dr. Cuddy in the basement of a surgeon, Dr. Harold Griffin. She's been cut up. He removed portions of flesh from both forearms and thighs and he was torturing her with a knife in her upper torso near the armpit. But she's going to live and for the most part, she'll be alright. Unfortunately, he had fed two of the slivers to his dog before we got there, but we were able to save the other two. They've reattached them and the doctors are hopeful. The only thing she said to us was to thank Teagan."

"Thanks, Dr. Cuddy is a friend of mine and I'm grateful for the update. I'll have Teagan call you when she wakes up."

House wanted to wake her so that he could catch a flight back to Princeton to check on Cuddy, but he also wanted to make sure that Teagan was going to be alright. He made calls to Wilson and was kept posted on Cuddy's condition. House figured he couldn't really help much if he did go home, so he decided to let Teagan sleep. He went downstairs and bought her some clothes in the hotel boutique. He picked her up a pair of small sweat pants that had the Francis Drake emblem on it and also bought her a matching t shirt. He went to the parking garage and checked on the truck which was still there so he went up to the desk and paid for two days of parking for the truck. They gave him a receipt to provide when she exited. He found out that he could catch a flight from San Francisco at 8:12 in the morning, so he booked a seat on it, then ordered a light meal in the bar before going back up to the room. She was still asleep. He undressed, crawling in next to her, remembering how good it felt to be with her. House was in limbo--he was here with her, but he wasn't really here with her.

The wake-up call buzzed in at 5:00 a.m. Teagan sat up in bed and watched as he got up. Apologizing to her he said in a soft voice, "I have to go. My flight is at 8:12 and I need to get back to check on Cuddy. They found her, she was alive, they performed surgery and she's doing well. She wanted to thank you."

Teagan didn't say anything; she just got up and went pee.

As she was washing her hands, House said, "I bought you some clothes for your ride home, they're on the bed. I threw your bloody clothes away and I paid your parking. Here's the slip to get out of the garage."

Her voice was still hoarse from sleep, but she managed to say, "Thank you."

"Are you hungry, do you want room service?" I could arrange for you to stay in the room until noon if you want?"

"No, I'm ok. I'll get going and eat when I've on the road for awhile. Thanks though."

"Damn it, Teagan, this feels like a repeat of the other day. I feel like crap."

She walked over to him hugged him and looked up into his blue eyes. "I know. I know. We just have to deal with it...again." She gave him a sweet kiss and a smile.

Walking back out to the bedroom, Teagan dressed in her new clothes, removing the tags and smiling at how luxurious they felt.

House was in the shower thinking about her, hating the thought of leaving her. When he got out he yelled, "Why don't I postpone my flight for a few hours and we have a proper breakfast?" He walked out to the bedroom but she wasn't there. She was gone, the only sound was coming from the music on the television. He looked at the door, frowned, and went back into the bathroom to get ready.

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