Wow, if I had known all it took to get reviews was a cliffhanger...lol I'm just kidding. First of all, thank you all so much for the reviews, I love reading them and I try and respond to all of them that I can. I guess I can tell you now that this won't be fluff, there's going to be a LOT of drama and a LOT of angst. But hang on, because I swear, it'll all be worth it. Before y'all panic too much, no one will die. I don't like death!fic so this won't be one. Please keep reading and reviewing....and please, please don't kill me!!!!!!!!
Beep. Beep. Beep. The insistent beeping was the first thing that Chase became aware of. He felt as if he were floating. He wasn't quite conscious, but he wasn't unconscious either. He was vaguely aware that something was wrong, that something had happened, but his brain couldn't quite piece it together.
Then the pain started. It was a slow blaze that fired up quickly. It felt like his whole body was on fire. He tried to scream, but was unable to do so. Then he heard voices talking quietly. "His blood pressure is rising." He knew that voice, but couldn't place it. He just wanted the scorching fire to stop.
"Push more morphine." Came another voice. That one was familiar, too.
"We can't...we're going to-" The first voice was cut off by an angry growl from the second one.
"Just push the damn morphine! He's in pain, that's why the BP is rising." There was a little scuffle sound and suddenly, relief flooded through him. He slipped back into unconsciousness.
* * *
Chase was aware that time had passed when he came back to awareness. The fire wasn't there like it was the last time, but he was aware of an aching throughout his body. As he tried to assess what had happened, it all came back to him. The semi, the car, the collision...House! Where was House? Was he okay? He had to find him so he pried his eyes open was immediately aware that he was in the ICU.
Seconds after his eyes opened, House was in his line of vision. Chase felt a deep sense of relief. House had cuts and scratches on his face, but he seemed generally okay. He was there at least, so that was a good thing. He tried to ask what happened, but quickly realized that talking was impossible. He had a tube down his throat.
His eyes felt swollen and he looked up at House, hoping that he would know what he was asking. House did, House always knew. The relief in House's eyes was evident. "Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty." Chase's eyes just bore into House's. He needed to know what happened. "We were in a car accident. Do you remember that?" Chase nodded, barely. The movement caused his aches to intensify. "You're in the ICU...you've been out for two weeks."
Two weeks? No wonder House looked so relieved. "I'm glad to see your eyes, but you need to go back to sleep and get stronger, okay?" Chase wanted to shake his head no, wanted to stay awake. He wanted to know how bad the damage was, if he had been out for two weeks, it must have been bad. But House pushed the magic button which made his body start floating again and within seconds he was out.
* * *
House watched his eyes drift shut, fighting the medicine that he was helpless against. It was so good to see those beautiful blue green eyes, he hadn't been completely sure that he would ever see them again. Now he was dreading him waking up again because then he would have to tell him everything that had happened.
House sighed deeply, shifting on the uncomfortable chair when there was a knock at the door and he looked up to see Cuddy standing there. "He woke up." House said and Cuddy's eyes went wide.
"How was he?" she asked.
"Confused. I pushed his morphine pump and put him back out." he said, looking back down at his unconscious lover.
Cuddy's voice was cautious as she placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're going to have to tell him eventually." Both their eyes settled on the space where his legs should have been. The legs House had to authorize the amputation of. He felt sick every time he saw it.
"I want him to be at least a little more with it before I tell him. I don't want it to make him worse." he said, in a hollow voice.
"You did the only thing you could do, House. You didn't have a choice and we both know that. He would have died." House shrugged off her hand and continued to stare at Chase. She sighed and headed out to spread the word that Chase was out of the woods.
It was much later in the night when Chase finally came to again. He opened his eyes, turned his head and saw House sitting there. Chase raised his hand to touch the tube in his throat. House knew what he was asking. "Yeah, we can pull the tube." House told him. He got up and gently removed the tube, causing Chase to cough violently. Once it was out, House handed him a glass of water, which he sipped gratefully. "Sore?" House asked, as he winced.
"Yeah." he rasped out, trying out his voice.
"Milk might help, it's a little easier to swallow after a tube." House pressed the call button and a kind looking nurse poked her head in. "Can we get some milk?" House asked. She nodded and left, returning quickly with a small carton of milk, a glass, and a straw.
House took it and poured the milk into the glass and held the straw up to Chase's lips. Chase sipped it and then smiled at House. He was right, the milk felt good and he let the straw go and smiled up at House. "Thanks." he rasped. "How are you?" he asked.
House let his head drop a little. "I'm fine, much better than you. I can't believe your first question was about me and not about you." He felt horribly guilty.
"I...I'm so sorry, Greg. I don't know what happened, that semi came out of nowhere. There...there was nothing I could do." He choked. House grabbed his hand.
"I know. The driver of the semi was drunk and on drugs. He's in jail and can't even get bail. It was a second offense." Chase felt a prick of anger. "But, Robert...you aren't so fine. I have something to tell you and...it's not good news." he managed. This was harder than he thought it was going to be.
Chase just looked at him patiently, trusting him. "I was okay, you managed to swerve the car far enough that I didn't get almost any of the impact. But you, you got a lot of it. You got most of it. There was extensive damage and they told me you weren't going to make it. But you know me, I don't accept that answer and I insisted that you be transferred back here, to PPTH." House took a breath. "The damage to your legs was much worse than the idiots at the Emergency Care Center we were first at even thought. Robert, we had to amputate." He finally said.
Chase felt his heart stop then start thudding wildly. He noticed the beeping of the monitors picked up as he raised his head and looked down. There was nothing were his legs should have been. "Amputate?" he choked out. "B-Both my legs are...gone?"
"There wasn't a choice." House defended. "It was your legs or you."
Chase looked up, the look of betrayal on his face. "YOU made the call? YOU told them to amputate my legs? You're House, for God's sake! How could you? How could you not look for another answer? How could you just accept a diagnosis? How could you do that to me?" He sobbed, his hands reaching for the limbs that were no longer there. It was as if he had to feel it for himself.
"Robert..." House began, trying to placate him.
"Get out!" He screamed. "OUT!" The nurse who had brought the milk came rushing in then with a needle filled with a sedative. She stuck it into his IV line and House left, watching him succumb to the medicine.
House left the ICU and headed down to Wilson's office. He entered without knocking and was glad to see Wilson was alone. "He woke up." House said.
"Cuddy told me. She also told me that you didn't tell him." Wilson sounded slightly disappointed.
"He woke up again. I told him this time." House said, his voice tired and dejected. "He flipped out, screamed at me to get out and finally they gave him a sedative."
Wilson moved across the room, sitting down next to his friend. "It's just shock. He'll calm down." Wilson reassured him.
"You didn't hear him, he's livid. Not that I blame him." House said. Wilson wasn't really sure what to tell him.
"Just make sure that you're there when he wakes up. Whether or not he's mad at you, he's going to need you there." Wilson paused. "Have you called Rosie?" he asked.
House hadn't planned on telling Rosie about the accident, but by the second week, when he had missed the first visit since she had been there and hadn't called her in days (he usually called her every single day) he finally had to cave and tell her. She had handled it well, she knew that he was hurt and he was sleeping. She also knew about his legs. It had been one of the very few times he had left Chase, to go over and talk to her about what was happening.
House had also talked to the center about what would happen to Rosie if Chase didn't make it. He was told that guardianship would pass to him, which was a shock. He didn't know that Chase had done that. "No." House answered. "I haven't told her yet."
Wilson handed him his cell phone. "Call her now." House nodded and dialed the phone number to the home that Rosie was in. Kelly answered, put him on hold, and then got the little girl to talk on the phone.
"Hello?" she said, her soft accent making his heart hurt.
"Hi Rosie, it's Greg." he said.
"Robbie?" she asked, fear making her voice tremble.
"Robbie is okay. He woke up." House assured her.
"Can I see Robbie?" she asked him. House sighed.
"Not yet. But soon, okay Rose? I'll come by and see you tomorrow." He promised her. She told him that she loved him and to give Robbie a hug for her and he promised. Then they hung up and House handed Wilson back his phone. "Maybe I didn't make the right call." House finally said, after a long silence.
"Don't start that again. You know that there wasn't a choice." Wilson told him, firmly.
"He's right, though. I'm the doctor that looks for every option, I don't just settle. Maybe I just made the call because I..." he trailed off, unable to say what he was thinking. Maybe he made the call because he was afraid of losing him and it was the safest way.
"There wasn't another option to look at. It was amputation or death. Chase will come to see that, he's just in shock right now." House nodded, so tired he couldn't even argue. He would check to see how much medicine the nurse had given him to see how much time he had before Chase woke up again.