Visiting Hours

Thirteen's vigil in the ICU was uninterrupted boredom. House slept while she wished she could. Foreman came in and drew a blood sample for analysis. That was the highlight of her shift.

The attending nurse on the ward entered the room to perform her routine checks and charting. House was barely aware of the procedure. His body maintained a level of unconsciousness equal to that of deep sleep.

Wilson's watch was less humdrum. House was set up on dialysis. With his blood being cleaned, the medication that kept him sedated would wear off sooner unless they kept pumping it into him. And that would be a dangerous thing to do. As it was, they weren't sure if the various drugs they were using to keep him comfortable were contributing to the kidney problems. Stopping them altogether seemed like a bad idea. So his team of doctors were at an impasse.

Hours into the process, Greg stirred again. Wilson stood by his bedside, holding his hand, talking to him about their adventures together. He hoped it was comforting to his friend. He knew it was comforting to himself.

Greg's mind didn't fight the ride to consciousness. The voice calling to him was like a lighthouse, guiding him through the dense fog. He was aware of his body this time. At least he thought he was. The fog seemed to envelope him in a wooly comfort that shielded pain without numbing being. He struggled to push through the misty veil, but then the beacon went dark.

"I'm going now, House. Cuddy's coming. I'll be back tomorrow."

Another ICU nurse did the routine checks and charting. At one point the patient's eyes fluttered open. Then he was out just as quickly as he had come to.

It was Lisa Cuddy's turn to sit watch. She hadn't wanted to. And yet she knew she had to. House's friends and colleagues had volunteered to spend time with him until he awakened. She took the last slot, hoping not to have to spend time away from her daughter while waiting for the man she hopelessly loved to wake up and move on without her. Sure their relationship was over, but that didn't mean she didn't still have feelings for him. It was a love-hate relationship now. She loved working with him, his brilliant mind, and the banter; but now she hated having to hide how she felt about him. He wouldn't change for her. She was wrong to ask, but she couldn't have that influence guiding her's and Rachel's life. So they agreed to remain friends. Friends without benefits, per his request. It would be the only way he could move on.

"I miss you, House. No one's barged in my office in over two weeks to ask for anything off the wall." Wilson had asked her to talk to him and not just sit there waiting. She'd feel better for it. Lisa wasn't so sure. What could she say to him other than to talk shop?

"Foreman's good, but he doesn't have the balls to ask to cut off a patient's head to look down his throat for nodules on the vocal chords." She laughed at her own joke. This was nerve wracking. She was saying stupid stuff just for the sake of talking. Surely he wasn't listening.

Greg stirred. He was closer to the shore. A woman was talking now. Was it a siren waiting to pull him overboard? Dare he look over the boat into the waters?

"I'm sorry," she continued. "I wish we could have gone somewhere other than the bedroom with our relationship. I realize how wrong I was to want to change you."

The siren was luring him in, to his destiny. His heart said to look, but his brain shouted NO!

"Even though we won't ever be together, the thought of losing you is more than I can handle. More than any of us want to face."

Maybe his brain was right. She was calling to him. Without him the siren was lost. By going to her, he'd lose himself, but THEY would, somehow win.

"We didn't tell you. It wouldn't have been fair, but it's been over a year now. That time you spent at Mayfield. We were all lost. Sure the hospital continued to go on and function, but each of us, me, Wilson, your team, we all moved as if nothing much mattered. Waiting, hoping, counting away the days until you'd return."

The fog was clearing. She was telling him he needed to return. They were waiting for him. The shore was in sight. He just needed a little more wind to push him through.

His eyes fluttered and his hand flexed in hers. Lisa's eyes welled with tears of joy.