Author's Note: I don't own House, yadda, yadda, yadda. You know the drill. We're almost there - just a few more speed bumps remain.
Sarah woke up feeling confused. She wasn't in her own bed and it took her a minute to remember coming across the hall to Greg's apartment. His pillow was still crushed up against her. Sunlight was streaming through the window and the clock showed that it was almost 10 am. She felt something bump against the side of the bed and looked down to see Maggie there, standing on her back legs with her tail wagging. It was awkward with her bandaged hand, but Sarah managed to scoop her up and spent a few minutes just hugging on her little dog. It was so good to hold her again.
She thought back to visiting Greg in his hospital room. She hadn't known what to say to him but it hadn't mattered. He'd just held her tight with his good arm and murmured reassurances to her. She knew she'd cried like a baby and hoped that she hadn't made too much of a fool of herself.
Todd is dead, she thought, going still. The police no longer thought that the blow to the head that she'd delivered was the cause and Sarah fervently hoped that was true. All she'd ever wanted was for him to leave her alone. The idea that he was gone, that he would never be back, was something she couldn't comprehend yet. She wondered how long it would take her to accept that he was truly gone.
Sarah's injured hand was itching and throbbing and her stomach was growling. She hadn't eaten regular meals for the last few days. She also wanted to take a shower. At some point, she needed to retrieve her things from the hotel, assuming that the police hadn't taken them. Her car also needed towed. Thinking of the two flat tires made her groan. She sat up in the bed, wincing as she put weight on her injured hand.
In spite of the late night, House woke up early. It was before 8 when he opened his eyes. Something felt off and he looked around, trying to identify what it was. He spotted someone standing outside the room, staring through the glass wall at him. It was Wilson. Their eyes met for a moment before Wilson turned away. He strode off and House watched him go.
House looked back to the ceiling. For some reason, seeing Wilson walking away didn't bother him. There was only one person that he really wanted to see right now and that was Sarah. He told himself to be patient; she was hopefully still sleeping. He closed his eyes, intending to go back to sleep himself.
House dozed off and on throughout the morning. He thought he caught a glimpse of Wilson retreating out in the hallway once more but he couldn't be sure. No one else came to see him.
When Sarah came out into Greg's living room, she found Dr. Hadley curled up in a chair. Dr. Chase was stretched out on the couch, snoring softly.
Dr. Hadley opened her eyes as Sarah came even with the couch.
"Morning," she said. "How are you feeling?"
"Better than last night," Sarah said. "You didn't have to stay…"
"Yeah, we did," Dr. Hadley said.
"I think I'm going to go back to my place. I need to feed Maggie and I want to take a shower."
"The dog got up a couple of hours ago. I took her out and got her some food. C'mon, we'll put a bag around your hand to keep it dry. How's it feeling?"
"It itches and it's sore," Sarah said.
"When we get to the hospital, I'll take the bandage off."
They'd gone across the hall and Dr. Hadley had taped a plastic bag around Sarah's injured hand. Showering with a bag on one hand wasn't easy but Sarah felt more human when she got out of the tub.
When she came back out to the living room, she found that Dr. Chase had joined them. He was sitting on the floor, playing with Maggie, while Dr. Hadley sat on the couch. They both smiled when they saw her.
"Morning," Dr. Chase said.
"Thank you," Sarah said. "I really appreciate you staying with me. Both of you."
"We should get back to the hospital," Dr. Hadley said. "We can take a look at your hand and check on House."
"I… ok." Sarah looked at her dog. How could she explain that she didn't want to leave Maggie behind?
"Want to sneak Maggie in to visit House?" Dr. Chase asked, getting up from the floor. Sarah nodded.
"I think he'd like that," Dr. Hadley said, smiling.
Thirteen heard the water start for Sarah's shower and then the apartment door opened. Chase came in, rubbing the back of his neck.
"How is she this morning?" he asked.
"She's not as shaky as she was last night. The dog seems nervous though. I had a hard time getting her to go with me this morning. She's sitting outside the bathroom door right now." Chase moved down the hall and came back a second later with Maggie.
"Let's play," he said to her, finding a toy in a box under an end table. He coaxed the dog into playing tug-of-war with him. Thirteen dropped onto the couch.
When Sarah came out to the living room, she looked nervous. She smiled for a second when she saw Chase playing with Maggie.
"Morning," Chase said.
"Thank you. I really appreciate you staying with me. Both of you." Sarah gave Thirteen a tense smile.
"We should get you back to the hospital. We can take a look at your hand and check on House," Thirteen said. Sarah nodded, her eyes back on Maggie.
"Want to sneak Maggie in to visit House?" Chase asked, getting up from the floor. Sarah nodded.
"I think he'd like that," Thirteen said, smiling.
They'd made the drive to the hospital in silence but once they got out of the car, Maggie started to squeak and dig at the door to the carrier.
"I think she needs to do something," Sarah said.
"I'll take her. Go on in and see House," Chase said. Sarah hesitated. Thirteen put a hand on her arm.
"They won't be long," she said. "C'mon, let's go and see House."
It was after 11 when House came fully awake. His stomach was rumbling and his teeth felt fuzzy. He hit the call button to summon a nurse so that he could brush his teeth and get something to eat. Once that was done, he sat in his bed, watching the clock. He was growing more and more impatient to see Sarah. He wanted to know what had happened. She'd smashed a lamp over the creep's head. Was he in jail or had he escaped from the police? Once again he reminded himself to be patient. Thirteen had told him to go easy on the questions. As hard as it was going to be, he would have to wait and let Sarah tell him what happened when she was ready. Right now he just wanted to see her again.
The door to House's room slid open and he looked over to see Cuddy walking toward him. She froze when she saw him looking at her.
"I thought you'd be asleep," she said, coming to stand by his bed.
"Then why did you come?" Cuddy seemed flustered by his wakefulness.
"Lucas said he found your friend. Did you get to see her?"
"Briefly," House said. Cuddy nodded, looking away from him for a moment.
"House," she said finally, looking back to him. "What do you really know about this woman?"
"Don't," House said, feeling his temper flare.
"I'm just concern…"
"Stop," House said firmly.
"House…"
"You have no right to pry into this. It isn't hospital business."
"You were attacked in the hospital. I just want to make sure that this woman doesn't have any other exes who are going to come in here…"
"He wasn't my ex." Sarah's voice startled them both. Neither of them had heard the door to the room open.
