Chapter 15: Left Alone
House sat at his desk while his team stood around before him. Chase and Foreman were still with House, along with two new people, Reynolds and Morgan. Doctor Reynolds was a middle aged man, medium built, and in good shape. He had dark brown hair that was parted off to the side, hazel eyes, and grin that never seemed to leave his face. This time around, Reynolds was the one with the conscience, the one who usually urged House to do the right thing and tell the truth. On the other hand, there was Morgan. She was a younger woman, fresh out of residency. She herself had no regards for morals. She figured that as long as they got the patient better, everything was fair game. She was a petite blonde, slender body, piercing green eyes, her face making her seem like an innocent young girl, and she knew exactly how to use it to keep from getting into trouble.
House admired her. This woman knew how to lie, how to cheat, and most importantly, how to not get caught. Better yet, she was always quiet, so you never knew quite what was going on in her mind. She could be the one planing something, and no one would ever know. He needed that on his team, as far as he was concerned.
"Would any of you like to explain why the hell you find it necessary to gather here before me?" House asked, keeping his attention on the game that he was playing on his computer.
"We don't have anything better to do," Morgan softly answered.
House paused his game and turned to look at the group. "Well, since the four of you are still five years old, I'll tell you exactly what you're going to do. Foreman, you go down to the ER and see if there's something there, and then Chase, you go down to Cuddy and ask her if she has anything. Then you two," he said, stopping on Reynolds and Morgan. He opened his desk drawer and searched through it for a moment and then pulled out an old magazine. "This is my daughter's, she left it here a while ago. Take page twenty nine and arrange it into a creative ransom note," he instructed.
No one moved as he held the magazine out. "What?" he asked, seeing the confused looks from everyone. "Are all of you too stupid to understand what I said?"
Chase and Foreman exchanged looks and left the room, leaving Reynolds and Morgan. Reynolds, continued to look at the man as if he were insane while Morgan smiled and made her way to his desk. "I guess I'll do it," she offered.
House watched as Morgan took the magazine off to the conference room and then looked over to Reynolds. "Too good to share an assignment?" he questioned.
"No," Reynolds quickly answered. "I just think," he started.
"There!" House exclaimed. "You're doing that too much. Now go and join Morgan before I find something worse for you to be doing right now," he ordered.
Reynolds sighed and swallowed his pride. Although he knew that he could be doing something more productive, something more useful, he went along with it and left to go with Morgan. This was what he was told to do, so he did it.
"God you need to grow a pair," House mentioned as Reynolds opened the door, causing him to stop.
"What?"
House stood up and started for the door. "You heard me. You were also just there when you couldn't even stand up for yourself when you wanted to tell me that having you cut and paste things out of a magazine was ridiculous. You do the same thing when I question you on patients," he told him, stopping right before he left. "I know you can think on your own, I just have yet to see it," he said and then left.
ooo
"How could there be nothing?" Chase implored, standing in the middle of Cuddy's office.
Cuddy sighed as she searched through her filing cabinet. "I'm sorry that no one is dying of something interesting at the moment," she responded.
Chase looked over and saw a file laying on her desk. "You mind if I check this one?" he asked, moving towards it. "We're so bored right now, I'm sure that we'll accept just about anything."
Cuddy wheeled around and froze as she watched him pick up the file and read it. "That one's reserved for another doctor," she informed him. Her eyes closely watching his expression as he ignored her and went on to read the file. She had considered going over and snatching the file from him, but that would only cause a conversation that she did not want to have and unneeded suspicions. Besides, she was sure that he would agree with her as soon as he saw the case.
Chase scanned through the file and then looked up to her. "A fifteen year old girl suddenly has decreased lung capacity. No signs of infection, no history of asthma, no nerve problems," he started.
Cuddy stood there, placing her hands on her hips, waiting for him to say something. Her eyes glued to him. Once the silence had lasted too long, she went ahead and dropped her arms as she headed over and too the file back. "You really think that House could handle this one right now?" she asked. Yes, this was typically the kind of thing that she would save for him, but not this one. Not now.
Chase wanted badly to tell her that she couldn't coddle him. She could never protect him from what was going on with Elisabeth, but at the same time, their daughter was dying. He might have been a little irritated, but he wasn't about to rip her head off over it. "Yeah, I guess so," he replied, disappointed.
"I just don't want a patient to have to suffer because House decides to lose it over on person. If he does solve this young girl's case, he might lose it and try to help Elisabeth. He's just too fragile right now," Cuddy explained. "As soon as something else comes in though, I promise, you can have it."
"All right," Chase responded and then left the room.
Cuddy stood there and looked down at the file, studying it. She felt bad about restricting the patients that House could have, but at the same time, she felt that she had to look out for him. As bad as she felt knowing that he would push her away, leave her when she needed him, she still had to look out for him. She loved him and wasn't about to sit there and watch him fall apart before anything even happens. She needed him around, and so did the kids. Breaking him before hand would only hurt everyone around him.
ooo
That night, Cuddy sat on the edge of her bed, with Elisabeth sitting in front of her. She was fixing her hair for her. "Are you excited for tonight?" Cuddy implored, brushing the young girl's hair back.
Elisabeth smiled and gave her a thumbs up. She was getting to go out on a date, something that she honestly thought she would never get to do. That was also something on her list, to get her first kiss. That might not happen tonight, and she was okay with that, but this was a step towards getting kissed.
Cuddy smiled and pulled back half of her hair. "You like that?" she questioned.
Elisabeth looked at herself in the mirror and nodded. It was neater than she had ever been able to get it. She then turned and watched as Cuddy went and grabbed her make up. This one really surprised her. Cuddy spent most of her time telling Rachel, her older sister, that she could not use make up yet, not until she was older.
"I'm not going to use much, just a tiny bit," Cuddy assured her.
Elisabeth sat still as Cuddy applied a little bit of eye liner, some mascara, and light lip gloss. Nothing too noticeable, but it did make a little bit of a difference. "And what do you think of that?" Cuddy inquired, standing back up off the bed.
Elisabeth got up and really studied herself in the mirror. With a huge smile on her face, she turned back and hugged Cuddy. When she pulled back, Elisabeth reached up and kissed her on the cheek.
"You're welcome," Cuddy replied. Looking at her little girl, she looked so grown up. For the first time, she had noticed how much she had grown up, she had recognized that she did have the chance to grow up a little bit, and was grateful for that. She just wished though, that she had the chance to grow up completely. At least make it to her teenage years.
Rachel walked into the room carrying a necklace, a silver chain with a small red rose on it, one that matched the red sweater dress that Elisabeth was wearing. "You wanna borrow this?" Rachel offered.
Elisabeth nodded and then took the necklace and put it on herself. As Rachel stood there, her mouth fell open in shock. "You're wearing make up!" she accused.
Elisabeth stuck her tongue out at Rachel and then told her that's one of the advantages of being ill, she gets to break all the rules.
Rachel huffed and rolled her eyes. "Well, it looks cute on you. Congratulations," she said and then left the room to go continue getting ready.
Elisabeth went back to looking at herself in the mirror. This was the first time that she had gotten dressed up like this. There was a few years ago for Gabrielle's wedding, but that wasn't the same. This was for a boy. This was for a date. For Gabrielle's wedding she wore a light blue strapless gown that was picked out for her, and her hair style was picked out for her. The only thing she got to choose was her shoes. Now, she got to pick what she wore, and how she looked.
"I think it's about time you two headed over to Gerald's house," Cuddy announced.
Elisabeth took one last glance at herself int he mirror and then headed downstairs, leaving Cuddy there alone in the bedroom. She was on her way out, but stopped as soon as she stepped on a ribbon, the blue ribbon that ELisabeth used all the time to pull her hair back with. Slowly, she picked it up off the floor and played with it between her fingers. Just one simple little thing that would always remind her of the little girl.
After she had examined the item, she set it on her dresser and headed down the stairs to send Rachel and Elisabeth off across the street.
Downstairs, House stood there, watching the two girls as they stood at the door, double checking their appearances and grabbing their things. "You know the rules right? Always say no, the earlier you get home the better, but no later than ten. If anything happens, you call me right away. If either of those boys makes you mad, you call me. If either of those boys make you uncomfortable, you call me. If either of those boys slightly annoys you, you call me," he instructed. Watching them go out, was not what he wanted to do, but at the same time, he couldn't tell them not to.
"And you thought that I was over protective," Cuddy remarked as she got to the bottom step.
"It's fine," Rachel replied and then turned and said good bye to each of them.
Elisabeth waved to Cuddy and then went up to House and gave him a hug and kiss. She thanked both of them before leaving.
The door closed, and the girls were no longer in their sight. Cuddy looked over to House and saw him just watching the door. "I remember when they were still babies," Cuddy mentioned and then looked down to the floor. It was just weird to see them going out, after so many things had happened around there, one normal thing was happening, and it was bittersweet.
"I think most of us remember how things were when Elisabeth was a baby," House responded and then turned and limped towards the kitchen. Right now, he was in no mood to sit there and listen to Cuddy talk about Elisabeth and how she used to be and what was going to happen. He knew that she had been thinking about her a little more than usual lately, and he just couldn't deal with the constant reminders.
ooo
Cuddy sat by herself in the kitchen. The case, the one that should have gone to House, was still on her mind. In a way, she felt like she was betraying him. She was lying to him and keeping secrets. It was really her choice though, there was no reason why she should feel bad. She did though. And with the way that House had been acting lately, she would have thought that she would feel decent about it, feel like she was doing him a favor, feel good about it. Maybe there was a reason that she felt so bad about it, maybe there was some sort of selfishness behind it all. The fact that she knew she would be losing House along with her daughter, she wanted to hold onto him as long as she could, she wanted him to be there up until he absolutely felt that he had to run away. At the hospital, she was able to convince herself that it was for her family, and for the patients that he would be trying to help, but the more she thought about it, this was all for her. She was scared, and hurt, and she needed someone that kept pushing her away.
While she was sitting there, she could feel herself getting sick. The occasional flare up, of course at one of the worst times. Her temperature was starting to spike, and the dull pain in her abdomen was gradually getting sharper. While it was still somewhat manageable, she carefully stood up and headed for the doorway. House was out in the living room, so that was as far as she had to make it.
Holding onto the table, she steadied herself and cautiously started towards the doorway. The room was beginning to spin, so she planted her hand onto the wall beside her and used it to get her to the doorway. "Greg?" she called out, leaning against the door frame.
House turned back in the chair and widened his eyes as soon as he saw her. He didn't have to ask though. He stood up and grabbed her arms, lifting her up and supporting her as he walked her over to the couch. He sat down on the couch and helped her to sit down next to him. Once he spotted his coffee on the table, he leaned over and grabbed it to pass over to Cuddy and then took out one of his Vicodin for her. "There you go," he stated, holding out his hand.
Cuddy took the pill and swallowed it with the coffee. "Thank you," she said, setting the cup back down on the table.
House sat back and grabbed the pillow, placing it on his lap so that she could lay down on his more comfortably. Once she did lay down, resting her head on the pillow in his lap, he started rubbing her side, trying to get her to calm down and go to sleep.
( Cuddy stood there in her office, and just looked up to see House emotionlessly standing there. Sighing, she left the room. House just stood there and stared for a moment.
Cuddy walked down the hall and found Gabrielle. She was fifteen years old, her now sandy blonde hair was pink. She was sitting there, against the wall and Cuddy sat down beside her. "Sorry about what your father said back there. I guess I should have emphasized jerk before you met him."
Gabrielle looked up and wiped her tears as she began to softly smile. "It's alright. He's a doctor, he deals with death everyday. Why should he react any differently to this?"
Cuddy just raised her eyebrows. "So, he didn't offend you in any way?" she asked.
"No. If anything I thought that you would be offended." Gabrielle stood up and made sure that she was pulled back together. "I mean, it was your daughter that died." She looked down and saw the confusion written on Cuddy's face and softly laughed. "I know you think I'm crazy right now, but really, it doesn't matter. Elisabeth was going to die whether or not he was there."
Gabrielle sympathetically looked down to Cuddy who was still down on the floor and held her hand out. "Let's go back," she said as she helped her up.
"Are we going back to see Greg?" Cuddy asked as they started walking back down the hall towards her office.
Gabrielle stopped and looked to her as if she were completely out of her mind. After a minute though, that very expression turned to one of pity. "You really don't know?" she questioned.
Cuddy remained stoic as she awaited her answer.
"He's not here," Gabrielle informed her. "He left. He freaked out and just couldn't take it anymore, so he abandoned you. After that, I broke down and my marriage to Andy is starting to fall apart because I was too busy trying to keep you two together. You have started ignoring the other kids, so Rachel is acting out, you know, resorting to the stuff I used to do like drinking, Jessica is depressed and never leaves her room, and finally, Tommy is taking daddy's left over pills that he neglected to take with him."
Cuddy gasped, she had nothing to say. There was nothing to say. Instead, she turned to run, but saw a casket with Elisabeth laying in it, Dead. Pale.
Looking around, she was all alone. She reluctantly stepped up to the coffin and peeked in. One of her tear drops fell off her cheek and landed on Elisabeth's face, making it look like it was Elisabeth who was crying.
Cuddy covered her face with her hands and fell to the ground, sobbing. "No!" she cried out.)
Cuddy's eyes opened, and looked around the room. She was in her living room. Good. Right after that, she discovered that she had been crying, and then it hit her, House had been trying to talk to her the entire time.
"Lisa?" he tried again.
Cuddy slightly trend and looked up to him. "Yeah?" she asked, wiping her eyes.
"Do you need another pill?" he offered, wondering how bad she was hurting.
Cuddy stared up into his eyes, pleading with him. Her lip was quivering. "Don't leave me," she softly cried out and then turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his waist. His face was buried in his shirt, her tears leaving wet spots.
House looked down to her with confusion and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her. It had to have been a bad dream, most likely something format he Vicodin, he figured.