Chapter 57

Cuddy and Wilson watched House sleep for at least fifteen minutes before either said a word.

"Did you know he was taking that much?" Cuddy wiped a tear away from her eyes. No more crying, he'll be fine.

"No. I suspected he was taking more than he let on, but I never knew for sure" Wilson walked up closer to the bed.

"It'll be better now. He can't abuse the patches as much as the Vicodin. And this stuff's stronger, so he won't need to" Cuddy nodded trying to convince herself more than Wilson.

"You know he won't change overnight. This is going to take time. Let's go talk with the doctor and see what he thinks." Wilson put a hand on Cuddy's shoulder.

"Give me a minute and I'll be right with you" Wilson nodded and walked out of the room leaving Cuddy behind. Composing herself, she bent over and whispered softly in House's ear;

"You were surprised to hear me say it weren't you? Well there it is. I know you're not one for affection, but I needed to be honest with you. Especially now, when I know you need me, whether you'll ever admit it or not. I'm here House."

Cuddy gave House a quick kiss on the forehead and headed out of the room, her eyes now dry and her shoulders back. She was ready to face the music.

"Doctor Cuddy" Brighton greeted Cuddy with a warm smile. "I was just telling doctor Wilson that given the amount of pills doctor House has been taking and his history, we figure it'll be a good four hours before we awake him."

"Okay, so what happens now?" Cuddy muttered in a barely audible whisper.

"Maria is gone to administer the Naltrexone as we speak, and then I'll make hourly checks to make sure his condition stays stable. One of the nurses will be in his room at all times."

"How will you know when all the drugs are out of his system and his addiction is terminated?"

"We have a timetable for this sort of thing doctor Cuddy. A person with about six to eight pills in their system daily will take three hours to have the drugs out of their system completely. A person who has nine to twelve pills in their system daily will take about four hours. A person with thirteen to fifteen will take between four and five hours, and a person with sixteen or more will take five to six hours, depending on the circumstance of course. You understand? So, given that he has admitted to nine or ten pills a day, we'll probably leave doctor House under Anesthesia for four hours."

"Thank you doctor Brighton" Cuddy turned around and headed for the door. "I'll be in my office; doctor Wilson has my pager number if you need me."

…

Chase, Cameron and Foreman sat in the conference room discussing a past patient, until they could no longer put off the urge to discuss their boss.

"So, did you guys hear about House?" Foreman smiled and the two others turned to look at him curiously.

"What now?" Cameron was nervous. She didn't want to hear that he quit or that something had happened to him. Chase was just curious.

"He's been admitted. He's going through a rapid detox and then he's ditching the Vicodin for god knows what" Foreman sat back and watched in satisfaction as his two colleagues stared each other.

"He's going off the Vicodin? It's about time" Chase crossed his arms and Foreman nodded in agreement.

"So, what's he going to take for the pain?" Cameron was surprised that Foreman knew all this.

"I don't have a clue"

"And this makes you happy? Takes away the guilt of taking his job right from under him?" Foreman lost his smirk.

"I didn't take his job."

"You're right. You'll just be running the department. Which was coincidentally his job!" Cameron glared at Foreman. Chase just watched.

"No what I meant was, I didn't take the job" Cameron stared at him in amazement.

"You didn't?" Chase looked at Foreman in surprise.

"No, I didn't. You happy?" Cameron didn't look happy.

"It was the right thing to do Foreman. He didn't deserve to be demoted without being told." Cameron looked at Chase for support.

"Right. Because he's such a nice guy. I'm going to the clinic." Foreman got up and walked out.

"Well, I didn't think he would ever give up such an opportunity" Chase headed over to the coffee pot.

"Neither did I."

"I can't believe House is going off the Vicodin. Cuddy's doing no doubt."

"House is capable of making his own decisions Chase"

"You think he would ever willingly go off Vicodin?"

"I…really don't know" Cameron turned towards Chase.

"He's changing, I didn't think it was possible. Just for her." Cameron's eyes held a small tear.

"Your really that upset because he wants her and not you?" Chase gave up on coffee and dropped his mug onto the table.

"I'm going to see a patient." Cameron hurried out as Chase stared, disappointed.

"Ya, later" Chase frowned as he watched Cameron leave the office. You don't get it do you? I love you.