It had been a day since I spoke to him and I missed him already. I knew it wasn't his fault but in private, I blamed him more than anybody else. He should have told me. He was my friend.

Was he just a friend?

I told myself that he wasn't worth it, and that it was his fault that my hair was an uneven mess, but my thoughts kept drifting back to his apology.

I missed him more than ever.

I pulled out my phone and looked at the text he had sent me.

"Meet me tonight at 10:00. Please."

I knew he meant in the roof terrace, and I wanted to let go, smile at him, and be his.

There I was again. Was I his?

I looked at my watch. It was 10:01. On an impulse, I stuffed my phone in my purse and made my way to the terrace. He wasn't there. Disappointed, I turned to make my way back-

"I thought you wouldn't come."

I jumped, startled.

He almost merged with the shadows, his warm black jacket far too big for him. I remembered that he'd had a cold.

I ran to him; all my anger gone, and hugged him.

When we pulled apart, he looked positively shocked.

"Its fine," I murmured and took his hand.

Overhead, thunder rumbled. It was going to pour.

"This isn't fair. We're so tired and stressed out. Let's go away; just for tonight," I said, a hopeful expression on my face.

"He looked at me strangely. "I'm really glad you're not mad at me anymore, but are you okay?"

I laughed. "I'm okay. But I won't be if you say no."

It began to rain hard.

He looked at me for a split-second before agreeing. It was all too easy. We slipped out of the gates. Both of us were drenched, but I didn't care, and I don't think he did either.

Once outside, the rush of adrenaline had gone and I had begun to realize how stupid I had been.

I mentioned this to Robert. "I'm glad we did it," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. I've never seen you go wild."

Our stroll had taken us to the public park near Princeton Plainsboro, and we sat on the cold and wet swings.

The park was blissfully empty.

It didn't feel real anymore.

I don't remember getting up, or walking towards him.

I remember the look on his face.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen, and in that moment, I knew I was his.

Our lips met, and I felt elated, excited, uncontrollable, and special.

We paused, and I smiled at him.

His arm, which was wrapped around my shoulder, shuddered, and I turned. Too late, I realized he was shivering. His forehead was unnaturally warm in the bitter cold.

We had returned to the hospital several hours ago, and dawn was fast approaching. I tossed and turned around, unable to fall asleep. My guilt was as heavy as the rain had been; perhaps more.

I was the one who had forced him to go. It was my fault. My vision blurred with tears of guilt, worry and fear. 'What was I thinking?'

I had tried to convince him to wake a doctor, but he was stubborn. Perhaps I shouldn't have listened to him, but I thought I'd done enough damage.

Deciding that I couldn't lie in bed any longer, I got up and dressed silently. I didn't turn on the lights for fear of being seen.

I walked to House's empty office. I had no idea where the others slept. I don't know what I expected but what I saw shocked me.

Robert was kneeling over House's desk, looking extremely pale. A small bottle was open next to him.

"Vicodin?" I gasped, unable to believe that he'd do something like that.

He tried to stand up, but a wave of nausea pulled him down. He moaned, making no further attempt to move.

"It hurts."

It was barely more than a whisper, and it took all my self-control to remain calm.

"Where?"

"Everywhere," he choked out before he collapsed.

Dr Cuddy was well-dressed even at that time of the night. She somehow understood from my panicked blather that Robert was sick, and sent the paramedics to help him. We followed, and as I thought of the incident later, I marvelled at how clam and composed she remained while assessing his situation. At that moment, however, I couldn't think straight. Once he was stabilized and I regained my composure, I knew it was time for an explanation.

She listened with an impassive face as I explained.

"I'm so sorry, it was a stupid thing to do; it's entirely my fault," I finished, close to tears.

Once I was done, she remained silent, which I found very unnerving.

"I'm sorry" I repeated, to which she replied, "You're shaking."

I looked down to my hands which were, indeed, shaking.

She felt my temperature, and I heard her call the code again as everything around me went black.