Finally I'm back! Now, it should go quiet quickly, my exams are over and I have a month for holidays =p
Rachel tugged House's sleeve. He had this inexpressive face again, which made him so boring, and didn't seem to realize the bus had stop and that it was time to go out.
- Daddyyyy!
Greg raised briskly his head up, disoriented. Without a word, he took Rachel's hand and they got out of the bus .
He had already come here, it was in this quarter he met Rachel. Still holding her hand, they went to the lot. He had to bring back Rachel to her mother.
He would like to have a mom too, she passed away when he was "there".
He had known it from one of the guards, who opened the only letter he received during his committal.
" Eyh! Limpy! Your Mother 's dead! ... Don't look at me like that, it's not my fault! She surely wanted to be sure she would never see your dirty face again!"
He didn't show how much it hurt him.
The voice screamed at him to jump at the throat of this guy, but he knew that if he had done it, he would have been beaten up and would have ended in isolation with the straightjacket.
Monica held him very tight this night.
Finally, they arrived in front of the beautiful house.
- Well... Goodbye... Muttered Greg, hesitantly.
- Wait, you said that we'll ask Mommy to let you come back!
Greg frowned. He didn't remember that. But he would like to... If Rachel agreed to share her mom with him, he would come with pleasure.
- Do you think she'll agree? He asked hopefully.
- We'll see!
Rachel caught his hand and led him to the front door.
Greg stopped in front of the wooden barer then hit gently with his fist.
They waited for two minutes but nobody answered.
- Maybe she's sleepin' suggested Rachel.
She tried the doorknob, the door was closed.
- Nooo! How we gonna do? Whinned Rachel.
- Wait a second, I think I've got an idea ! Whispered Greg.
He headed slightly to the right, lifted a flower pot... And came back triumphantly with the key.
Rachel clapped, laughing, they entered into the house stealthily.
- Mom? Murmured the girl. You here?
Not receiving an answer, she thought her mother was at work and led Greg to her room.
- Look! That's my pirate outfit! And here are my books, my playmobile ship, my puppets...
- You really are a big fan! Exclaimed Greg impressed with all her pirate related stuff collection.
- Ya, but at school there are some who say it's only for boys! Muttered Rachel, pouting a little.
- Really? But don't they know there are great pirate women?
- True? Exclaimed Rachel, eyes shining.
- And Ann Bony, does she count for nothing? And the pirate men were very afraid of her!
- Cool! Ya know, they're a little afraid of me too...
- Sooooo, Rachel Bony Cuddy, I name you new pirate woman! Exclaimed Greg, putting his cane on the little girl's shoulders.
- Yeepeee! She seemed to remember something. Look at what I made!
She caught a sheet of paper hidden under her bed and gave it to Greg, a big smile on her face.
It was the drawing of a pirate with a wooden leg, a saber, a scruff and a twisted thing Greg couldn't identify around his neck.
- That's a handsome pirate.
- Normal! It's you! The pirate-doctor!
Greg looked at it with wide eyes. Except for the wooden leg...
- My tetoscope is good uh?
- You mean your stethoscope? Yes it is.
Rachel made a big smile at him. He definitely made her day.
- Hey, Rachel... Can I keep it?
- Yes, I drew it for you!
The corners of Greg's lips shot upwards, she illuminated his day too.
Cuddy ran to her front-door, surprised to find it open. Wilson came after her, huffing and puffing. The policemen stayed behind, not wanting to afraid the psychotic who was certainly in this house.
- Do... You... Think... They're here?
- I double locked the door. Cuddy said simply. No sign of hacking, so they used the key.
- I hope... This is... Them, I...'m tired of... running... everywhere!
- You definitely have to jog again Wilson. Sighed Cuddy rolling her eyes.
They went to her living-room from where a little light came, praying for House not to have a bad reaction seeing them after two years locked without hearing from them.
They stopped at the door, House and Rachel were both here, asleep on the couch in front of the TV which was on for nobody.
Cuddy approached the couch without a noise, and touch gently her ex's shoulder.
He opened his eyes, disoriented, frowning a little. A blank, again. He looked in front of him, there was a repeat of Brownbeard on TV.
- House.
He jumped, and turned his head to the voice. Joyfully, this one belonged to someone, it wasn't in his head.
- Hmmh? You came back? Rachel and I were waiting for you!
Cuddy frowned, he didn't seem to be nut at all.
- Why did you bring her with you? I didn't know where she was, I was scared! She whispered in a dryer tone than she intended.
- Well... She asked me if I wanted to play with her, and since Monica showed me cool places...
- Didn't it come to your mind you ask me first?
- ... I don't know.
- How that you don't know?
- I don't know!
Rachel moved, woken up by the two adults.
- Mom!
- I'm here honey!
- Mom, that was great with House, we went to the park, to the zoo, to the aquarium, to the pirate-island, to the fair...
- Rachel, don't shout, you'll tell it to me in details tomorrow. You have to go to bed. Whispered Cuddy.
It was nearly 11 p.m, She didn't want Rachel to see the police take House away. She didn't want either House to be taken away by the police.
It became more and more complicated in her head
- But, Mom, we wanted to ask you if Howse can come back to play!
She opened her mouth and turned slowly her head to look at House. He didn't dare putting in her daughter head they could come back together?
Wilson, feeling an imminent explosion, came closer and put his hand on Cuddy's arm.
"Treat him gently" Screamed his eyes.
" Does he seem sick to you?" Retorted Cuddy's.
- Cuddy you're in denial. Sighed Wilson.
- Jimmy?
Wilson's breath cut itself.
His hand was captured between House's long fingers, who begun to study attentively his arm.
His gaze fell on the little scar left by the surgeon when he put back the bones of his wrist at their place.
- Does it hurt? He asked worried.
- N...No, House, it's been three years... It's been a while, it doesn't hurt anymore.
Wilson shot a glance at Cuddy, seeming to say, "I told you".
- I'm sorry, I didn't want to hurt you.
All the anger that Wilson had had fallen by now.
- I should have seen you weren't doing well House. Don't be sorry.
Rachel was getting impatient.
- So Mom? Daddy can come back to play or what? She asked in a whining tone, begging eyes filled with tears on Cuddy.
Cuddy and Wilson opened their eyes as big as flying saucer.
- How did you call him? Exclaimed Cuddy.
- Well... Daddy?
And she found the situation complicated five minutes sooner...
- House! This time, you went too far!
House lifted his hands as if saying "Not my fault".
- She chose all alone! She even made the voice go away!
- Uh?
- What was it saying to you? Asked Wilson sending a meaningful glance to Cuddy.
- It... Told me to do some things... Muttered House shivering.
- Such as?
- Once, it told me to strangle someone... I had a lot of problems because of it, but if I don't obey it hurt me.
Cuddy whispered.
- Do you think about a form of schizophrenia?
- No, as weird as it can seem, House's family is totally normal. And it would have begun when he was at med-school.
- So... Vicodin?
- Probably ... But he didn't take it in the asylum, hallucinations wouldn't have lasted.
- Mom...
- Rachel, House isn't ok, we have to cure him!
- No, I'm okay protested the concerned.
- Give me a number on a scale of 0 to 10 to tell me how much it hurts.
- Zero.
- House, it can't be zero, you have a hole in your thigh!
"Finally somebody notices"
- SHUT UP!
Cuddy, Wilson and Rachel jumped, House looked at them as if nothing happened.
- What?
- Did you just hear it? What did it say? Pressed Wilson.
- It's lying, we must not listen to it. Retorted House. It told me I would feel better, but it didn't even last an hour.
- What are you speaking about?
- What?
Wilson sighed. they were going nowhere.
- Listen. I think if we bring you to the hospital, they could give you medication so that the voice never come back.
- Rachel keeps the voice from coming back very well. Muttered House.
- You can't stay glued to Rachel for the rest of your life, we have to find another solution.
- They already gave me anti-psychotic, it didn't do anything.
Wilson quirked an eyebrow. So, the doctor in him didn't disappear completely.
- Did they try something else?
- Sedatives didn't do anything either.
- Sedatives aren't treatment. Answered Cuddy, mentally breaking Hourani's neck.
- Is there a treatment for nuts?
- If we go to the hospital, we'll see what we can do. Answered Cuddy.
- And after that, can I come back to play with Rachel?
-First, you have to be sure the voice won't hurt you anymore. Wilson answered with an appeasing voice.
Cuddy shot him a glare. Wilson was raising up hope, maybe vain, to two children with one of them was more than fifty years old.
- But, if it doesn't leave?
- We'll see in times. Come on put on your coat!
House stood up slowly and took his jacket which was on the couch.
- Where is the hospital?
- An ambulance will bring you there, you will be there in barely 10 minutes.
House turned his head to Rachel who was asleep again on the couch.
- I will put her to bed.
Cuddy was going to make an objection, but Wilson put a hand on her arm. It wasn't going to hurt somebody.
House carried Rachel to her room and put her in her bed, kissing her forehead in the process.
- Here we go?
- I will follow with my car. Said Wilson. I just have to call the nanny.
It was clear the always matchmaker was trying to give House and Cuddy some time without him.
- Right. Come, House.
House and Cuddy went to the ambulance Johnson had called.
The cops were still in retreat, if House spend a year and a half of his life been beaten up by guys in uniforms, they preferred to show up only if necessary.
An ambulance man and Cuddy helped House to climb in the ambulance, then the siren rang and the ambulance flew in the direction of New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Now that there was lighter, Cuddy had a better look at House's face. He had more wrinkles, the ones around his mouth; his eyes and his forehead were more profound. The same that when he was in pain.
She noticed also a few little scars on his brow; he must have been sutured a few times.
All at once, it hit her how he looked pale. At first she put that on the confinement, but now, she saw drops of sweat beginning to appear on his brow.
- House, does your leg hurts?
- I'm not in pain. He retorted.
She put her hand on his forehead.
- You're warm, you have a fever!
She put her fingers on his lymphatic ganglion, they were swollen.
- An infection! You really aren't in pain, anywhere?
- No.
Cuddy changed of tactic.
- The voice didn't tell you you were hurt.
- It's lying.
- Did it tell you where?
House caught Cuddy's hand and put it on his chest
- Always here, when it wants me to do something and I don't ...
Cuddy frowned; his heart beat far too quickly. She made a sign to the ambulance man who gave her an oxymeter and she put it on House's forefinger.
Immediately, a rapid beep resounded in the ambulance.
- 160? House lay down! Exclaimed Cuddy. Does your head hurt?
- Never hurt... Muttered House, laying down on the stretcher in the middle of the ambulance.
Cuddy opened his jacket, and screamed out of surprise when she saw a red stain stretching slowly on his T-shirt .
Without a word, the ambulance man gave her a pair of scissors, she quickly cut open the cloth, they stayed mouth opened.
It was a real bloodshed. There was no chance House wasn't in agony with that.
The borders of the wound roughly sutured with fishing line were red and swollen, blood and pus flowed slowly from the places where the points had jumped out on her ex's abdomen. Something which looked like cotton was escaping.
House shot a surprised glance to the lint that had become his work.
Cuddy turned teary eyes to him. Just looking at it made her hurt.
- Inject 10mg of morphine. She ordered taking gloves and antibiotic gel.
The ambulance man obeyed, House was too focused on his belly to care about the syringe.
Cuddy began to cut the fishing line, not stopping to talk to House.
- When did you get that? Who?
Two blue eyes went on her.
- I love you, you know?
Cuddy deadened a sob in her sleeve.
- Yes, I know.
- I didn't want to hurt you either.
- I know House, it's my fault, not yours. Whispered Cuddy working on the wound.
- No, I shouldn't have listened to it, it lied, it didn't even last an hour.
"It told me I would feel better, but it didn't even last an hour."
- Are you speaking about my house? Was it the voice which told you...
House nodded slowly.
-Since how much time do you hear it? pressed Cuddy.
- A while. It wanted to kill me too, but ... Finally it decided, revenge was better.
Cuddy swallowed. Wilson was right. They really had been blind.
Wilson ran to the emergency, praying for his friend to be able to talk without nerve crisis.
Cuddy nor House were at his eyesight. He went at the entrance of the emergencies.
It seemed his heart stopped.
The ambulance man held a sobbing Cuddy tightly whose hands were covered with blood.
The continuous beeping was destroying their ears.
Now you can throw me bricks, and you know why I made an alternate ending ^^ There is one more chapter to go, and the alternate ending.