Chapter 12
At War

October 17th, 6:57 am

As the pale light of the morning sun gently bathed New Jersey, Dr. Gregory House stood outside his office on his balcony, contemplating his team's latest goose-chase idea. While he had been attempting to track down files on Ted Gray, trying to dig up anything and everything of use, his team had decided to formulate their own ideas. When they met again after the onset of Aiden's latest symptom, the three bombarded him confidently with it: a brain tumor. And not just a tumor; they were convinced he had brain cancer, despite the fact that his MRI had come up clean save for the abnormal massing that had been present since his birth (believed to be the area that allowed his telekinesis). He let them do their testing anyway. He needed more time to unearth Ted Gray.

As the serenity of the nearly painting-perfect scene shattered with the click of a door, House turned to see Wilson emerging from his office. Quietly, the oncologist slowly stalked toward him, glancing about as if wary of watchful eyes. "There's no cancer," House said.

Wilson nodded. "He came up clean." His voice sounded as soft as the morning light.

"Tumors?"

"None."

Nodding himself, House glanced over at his friend. "You're not surprised I know this."

"No, I've gotten used to the fact that you always seem to know things." He paused for a moment. "Now a days, I just try to figure out why you know them." As House looked down and away, he continued in the same hushed tone. "You never actually thought it was cancer, so you let them poke around for what? For fun? That certainly does seem like you, but we both know that isn't the case here. What are you chasing after?"

"We know everything about this kid: schooling, hobbies, dreams, everything. The only thing we don't know much about is his father: no pictures, no files, no nothing."

Wilson placed his hands on his hips. "Did you request any information from the mother?"

House nodded. "It should be here within the hour."

"So, you think Aiden's illness has something to do with his father?"

"The man didn't want kids, we know that now. Shortly after Aiden is born, the guy snaps: instant schizophrenia…like he bought it in a can at a local grocery store. He practically waited for it to hit."

"Yeah, I'm sure he was just copping out of being a parent by waiting for the 10:00 schizo-train. Come on, House-"

"But he didn't cop out," House interrupted. "His wife says that he doesn't show any recognition of them because if he did, they would get them."

"So he's paranoid, what does that prove, other than he has paranoid schizophrenia?"

"He's at war with himself, and he's fighting to protect his family."

Staring silently at him for but a moment, Wilson broke out in laughter. "What are you trying to get at?"

"What I'm getting at is up until he was diagnosed with schizophrenia, he didn't want a family. Then, once it hits, he automatically starts protecting them from his fantasies. Something happened between Aiden's birth and his diagnosis to cause that change of heart."

Wilson gaped. "Sure, he saw the light or something and changed his ways, how does that relate to Aiden's previous condition in any way?"

House leaned against the railing. "I have no idea." He glanced up at his friend, blue eyes shimmering slyly in the sunlight. "I just know it does."

Both men turned as Foreman cracked the door open. "He's started seizing," he said, looking House straight in the face. As Wilson and House exchanged unreadable expressions, Foreman disappeared within the shuttered office.

"And now it starts to look like cancer," House said.

"But it isn't, we've already ruled that out," Wilson replied.

House picked his cane off the railing. "Yeah." Almost unwillingly, he limped back into his office.

9:34 am

By the time "within the hour" had been long gone, Ted Gray's file finally arrived on House's desk. The team, in the middle of a heated theory discussion, migrated over to House's office as the diagnostician limped to retrieve it. He settled in his desk, and he grasped the file, flipping it open to survey.

"We could do an LP," Cameron said to House from the chair in front of his desk.

Perched on the edge of a far bookcase, Chase groaned. "Last time we tried to do that, he started seizing."

Foreman, who was standing next to the doorway they had recently passed through, fixed Chase with a credulous glare. "It's a shame some form of anticonvulsant hasn't been discovered. Oh wait! It has!"

Chase shot his own dirty look back in his colleague's direction. "We don't even have a shred of proof that it's necessary-" "Then why were you performing a lumbar puncture before?" House asked, brow furrowed in concentration as he skimmed over the countless pages of scribbles.

"We-" Chase started, but he stopped short. Both Cameron and Foreman were casting cautioning glances at him. "What's the point in hiding it?!"

Foreman looked back at House and replied, "It's not a big deal."

Tearing his gaze from the file, House stared at the neurologist. "Sticking needles into someone's spine isn't a big deal?! That's fantastic! Wait till I tell Dr. Cuddy!"

Foreman rolled his eyes. "What I meant was the reason why we were doing it wasn't a big deal."

Chase scoffed.

Nodding, House returned to his file. "You were looking for a tumor."

The three exchanged more glances. Cameron leaned forward. "Well…" But she froze as House glanced up from Ted Gray's file.

In an instant, Foreman took charge. "Wilson may have concluded it wasn't brain cancer, and we may not have found tumors in his brain-"

"Or anywhere for that matter…" House mused, looking back to the file.

"Right, but the symptoms still fit perfectly for a spinal cord tumor."

"You're right," House said as he flipped a page. "They do fit on a tumor like a glove, don't they?" Suddenly, he stopped glancing through the file, fixed on one page, eyes narrowed as he studied it.

Chase's eyebrows raised. "I'll say. The random firings of pain, the changes in his character…"

As he dragged on with the similarities, House rose from his chair and headed back into the adjoined space--file in hand--to where Aiden's sketchbook lay forlorn on the table. He snatched it, flipping through the pages to the back.

Now, Foreman's voice made the white-noise. "Well…some of his symptoms were better explained by a brain tumor, but there are still a lot of similarities with a spinal cord tumor…"

The shape of the face, the highlights of the hair, and the rendering of the eyes of "The Dark Priest" all caused House's mind to halt. For within the file, a picture of Ted Gray smiled back at him whereas the same man, wrought from ink by his own son's hand, stared coldly up from the sketchbook. Suddenly, it seemed so clear: the peripheral neuropathy, the neck and chest pain, the deadening sensation of the "Darkness", all of it. All of it could be explained.

As the external conversation died down, House ordered, "Do the LP."

The three doctors stared at him silently. "You think it's a spinal cord tumor?" Foreman asked, shocked that he might actually be agreeing with them.

He shook his head. "No, something else."

"What?" Chase inquired.

House tapped the sketchbook. "A brain aneurysm."

Now wide-eyed, Cameron ventured, "But his symptoms…"

"Fit," Foreman cut in, head hung down. "At least, for a ruptured aneurysm."

Chase remained solely dubious. "Yeah, his symptoms fit, but they occurred over a period of time. If it was a ruptured brain aneurysm, he'd be dead by now."

"Unless these are only mild ones," House answered.

The shocked silence spread like wild-fire. "Mild ones?" Foreman asked, voice pitched high.

"Yes," House answered. He turned, meeting them all faces to face. "Multiple brain aneurysms."

This time, Foreman scoffed. "That's ridiculous! It's never been heard of!"

"Doesn't mean it's never occurred."

The two men reeled, pacing about. Cameron glanced between them and their boss. "Foreman's right, this is ridiculous. Even if he did have multiple brain aneurysms, by now he'd be dead-"

"Not necessarily. He's a strong kid. Why couldn't he-"

"And how did he magically get multiple brain aneurysms? Family trait?" Cameron asked sarcastically.

"Something like that," House said, gathering the file and sketchbook and heading toward the door.

Cameron spoke for all of them. "Where are you going?"

House didn't bother glancing back. "To get Mummy's consent."

"She already consented to the LP, which was why we were performing one when the seizures hit," Chase cut in.

House paused, and turned. "I never said I was going to get her consent on an LP." As he left them in the hands of silence, the three needed only to share their looks of fear, doubt, and anger, and they stormed off together to requisition the aid of the one person in the hospital who could stop their boss.

10:49 am

Mrs. Gray stared straight faced, but with horror in her eyes at the face of the Dark Priest. She reached out, taking hold of the book. "Aiden drew this?"

"Yes," House answered.

"Oh my God…" Her face metamorphosed into the very mask of solemnity. "That's Ted. But, he looks so young! He looked like that right before…" The words died on her breath.

"Your son is suffering from multiple brain aneurysms," House broke to her.

Her gaze shot up to him, her sobs choked back and stilled. "What?"

"Typically, there's only one brain aneurysm, but when they rupture-"

"I know what a brain aneurysm is. Ted's father almost died of one. We rushed to his bed side at two in the morning. I…remember…but multiple brain aneurysms?!"

House nodded. "It's never technically been diagnosed, but that doesn't mean that he can't have it. New diseases are being discovered all the time."

She glanced from him to the book in her hands. She touched the face of her son's drawing. "I believe you," she said after a moment. She looked up to find the man's eyes as unreadable as always. "If the answer to all of this had been easy, it would have been found long ago. So what do we do about it?"

House paused, giving a short nod of acceptance. "I think you had better understand why I think he has them first."

Mrs. Gray's face wilted slightly. "What is there to understand?"

"I think the reason he has these multiple brain aneurysms, the trigger of his telekinesis, and your husband's paranoid schizophrenia are all involved."

"What?"

House took in a breath. "I think, when Aiden was a baby, before your husband was diagnosed, that something happened between the two that sparked how they are now. Was there ever a moment when the two were alone, and when you came back that Aiden seemed different?"

"N-no…wait…yes…one time. But I just went out to the mailbox. Aiden was unusually quiet, but Ted was acting strange. He kept fretting over Aiden's quietness, asking me over an over again if he was ok. That was when I first thought something was wrong with Ted, but I never suspected that…Aiden…"

"I think your husband shook him."

Mrs. Gray was motionless. "What?"

"I think that Ted shook Aiden at that time, which caused weakening in the blood vessels in his head, which, when he suffered his first mild brain aneurysm sparked an area of his brain to develop telekinetic powers. The quietness could have been an aftereffect, one that still lasts, but as he aged, the weakened blood vessels disappeared. But, having had a brain aneurysm before as well as swelling in the telekinetic area of his brain, he developed many more aneurysms which encircled the swollen area. Being as physically fit as he is with the astounding mental capacity to deal with these sort of events, he survived several aneurysms where one should have killed him."

Sensing the hesitance in his voice, Mrs. Gray ventured fearfully, "But?"

House sighed. "But these are just the brunt of the storm. I think he has many more aneurysms, and if we don't stop them, they will kill him." Tears invaded the corners of her eyes, but Mrs. Gray brushed them off. "What do we do?"

A strong feminine voice stopped them both cold. "We don't do anything."

House turned to see Drs Foreman, Cameron, and Chase being led down the hall by an enraged Dr. Cuddy, complete in a stunning khaki suit with a skirt bottom and a rather revealing jacket. "Dr. Cuddy!" House shouted. Although it was a deserted hallway, he still spoke as loud as if it were crowded. "You're all looking stunning today!"

"For the last time, stop talking about me as if I'm three people!" she barked as she closed in on him.

"I'm sorry. It's just so difficult with three of you trying so hard to fit into one shirt."

Confused, Mrs. Gray glanced between the two. "What's going on here?"

"What ever it was he was about to mention is not going to happen," Cuddy answered.

Angrily, House shouted, "This is the kid's only chance to survive, and you're turning it down?!"

Cuddy rounded on him. "I'm not turning it down! I'm banning it!"

"You don't even know what it is!"

"Precisely!" she retorted. "No one has ever even heard of multiple brain aneurysms; so what makes you think you can just do whatever to want to get rid of them?!"

"My insane crazy plan is surgical clipping: the standard procedure."

From out of nowhere, Wilson's voice contributed, "That's a rather practical notion, Lisa."

For a moment, Cuddy said nothing as all eyes went to Wilson as he joined them. She turned her attention back to House. "Surgical clipping is the more dangerous of the "standard procedures", and you want to do it on multiple brain aneurysms?" she asked cockily.

House scoffed. "What is it with you? I can perform the procedure, but not because of how many aneurysms there are?"

Cuddy cut him off. "I never said you could!"

"Yeah, it's dangerous, but that procedure is the only way-"

Cuddy shook her head, holding up a hand. "You can proceed with it after you get consent and it's proven he actually has multiple aneurysms."

House paused to recompose. "We both know there's no way to prove it! They're hidden from scans by the swollen matter they surround, and an LP would only show one not several!"

"Well, you pulled this diagnosis out of your hat, I'm sure you'll think of something," Cuddy replied. "And until you do, you don't touch him!" As she said this, she pointed a finger at his dark scowling form.

"I want you to do it," Mrs. Gray's quiet, strong voice said from behind the pair. All eyes went to her confident form. "I don't care if it's never been done, or if it's dangerous. I believe that this is his only chance, and I believe that this could save him."

Cuddy looked solemnly at her. "But, while it may seem like a good idea now, this is a dangerous procedure, especially given your son's current condition. You might want to consider-"

"I've had years to consider it!" Mrs. Gray interrupted. "I'm ready to accept that this is the only chance he has."

Cuddy's almost hopeless gaze dropped to the floor. Sensing a victory, House cast a glance over to his team, who met his eyes as timidly as guilty puppies. "I'm sorry," Cuddy said at long last, searching out Mrs. Gray's decided eyes. "Given the seriousness of the situation, I can't let it happen." Turning, she headed back down the hall.

House didn't move. "Why don't we let Aiden decide?" he asked.

Cuddy halted, and she turned to consider him. "You think it makes a difference who says yes or no? I'm not going to change my mind."

"We're at war," he said coldly. "He doesn't trust me, and I don't trust him. In fact, I'm afraid of him." House directed the last part to Wilson, who accepted the knowledge with a straight face. "He has a beautiful mind, and it's my belief it should be preserved. But, the thing with his mind is it's quick to judge and assess. It would take a lot for me to convince him of anything."

"So what?" Cuddy asked, speaking calmly now. "You want me to say that you can do it if he believes you're right?"

Shifting his gaze to Mrs. Gray for a moment, he replied, "Yes."

The hard-cored Cuddy slowly melted away before their eyes until all that was left was a weakened, defeated creature. "Fine," she said, releasing a heavy sigh. She gave Mrs. Gray a look of pity, and she turned and retreated down the hall. Glancing between Cuddy and House, Foreman shook his head and stormed off, Cameron and Chase following blankly behind. Even Mrs. Gray turned and headed for the nearby bench.

Finally, House and Wilson made eye contact. "Are you ready for this?" Wilson asked. "To face him like this, I mean."

With a quick downward glance at his watch, House replied, "As ready as I'll ever be."

11:03 am: he had under three hours and twenty minutes to convince Aiden that he knew how to save him.