"Ghosts of the Past"
Chapter Thirteen – "Digging Up the Truth"
By: purpleu
Carmen was sitting in one of the chairs in the lounge just down the hall from Alvie's room. She had her arms wrapped around herself, rocking slowly back and forth in a daze; Lydia was gently rubbing her back. She had tried to rush into her boyfriend's room when she heard Thirteen's and Taub's words; she knew what they meant from when her grandfather had been dying. Fortunately, Lydia and one of the nurses grabbed a hold of Carmen and stopped her before she got too close to the room. Leaving her in the care of the nurse, Lydia stepped into the doorway just in time to see House kneeling over his friend and performing the tracheotomy himself. The site broke Lydia's heart, but she quickly pulled herself together, not wanting to frighten Carmen any more than she already was.
"Why hasn't Dr. House come in yet to talk to me? He knows I'm here." Carmen shook her head back and forth. "No, no… " she cried out in despair.
"Both the patient and the doctor who performs the tracheotomy need to clean up afterwards," Lydia said reassuringly. "Dr. House wants to make sure everything is right before he leaves Alvie to come speak to you. His team… is incredible, the best. But he's taking this somewhat personally."
"Dr. House did the procedure?" Carmen asked as she wiped her face.
"Yes, he did; I saw him kneeling over Alvie doing the work," responded Lydia. "That took a bit of extra effort since Dr. House has a bad leg." Carmen smiled weakly.
"Alvie always said that he knew he drove him crazy; but he had the feeling that Dr. House was willing to put up with him because they were both outsiders, in a way." Lydia slowly nodded as she thought about the two of them back at Mayfield, starting phony fights and cheeking pills as a part of one scheme or another.
"That's an excellent assessment," noted Lydia as she reached for Carmen's hand and gave it a squeeze. As if on cue, House entered the lounge, spotted the women, and came over to join them. Lydia noticed that his limp was much more pronounced than usual; he must have hurt himself climbing over Alvie onto the bed.
"We managed to dodge the bullet on that one," House said, the strain showing on his face and in his voice. "We're going to place an external defibrillator on him and start him on a course of Furosemide to keep fluid accumulation down."
"Is something wrong with his heart, too? Or is this all part of the virus?" The fact that the young woman was asking reasonably intelligent questions made it somewhat easier for House to answer her without his usual biting comments.
"This virus is a bastard to deal with," he explained. "It attacks all parts of the body to varying degrees. He should have sought medical help sooner than he did and we might have been able to get the upper hand with this. "
"But he thought he just had a bad cold or the flu… " Carmen began.
"Which is one of the problems; common symptoms masking a more serious condition," House said looking at the floor as he rolled his cane between the palms of his hands. "I also suspect that he had this virus once before… possibly twice. Each successive time, the body is more vulnerable to effects that the virus carries with it. That's why he has the hemorrhagic form." Nodding slowly, Carmen fought off tears as she asked an inevitable question.
"Is… he going to be alright? Is he going to make it?" House closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he answered.
"We're doing everything we can, trying to anticipate which symptom might rear its ugly head next. The real question, even if he survives, is what if any damage has been sustained by the organs. So far, his kidneys are doing well; but this latest incident raises doubts about his pulmonary functioning. The placement of the defibrillator should ward off any cardiac issues." She had been doing well, holding back her emotions as House spoke, a fact that he was immensely grateful for; but now Carman began to cry again.
"Alvie… he was so pleased with himself… that he was pulling his life together. Me, the baby… his job. I just finished some courses at a local college… I want to become a paralegal. I've even gone on an interview already to work as a law clerk," Carmen said proudly. "Everything was going so well… and now… " she hunched over and began to sob.
"You'd be surprised what a person can do when they have someone and something worth fighting for," Lydia said, turning the young woman toward her and giving her a hug. "He'll fight to make it so he can take care of you and the baby." Carmen leaned into Lydia, still sobbing; looking over Carmen's head to her boyfriend's grim expression, Lydia hoped her encouraging words would prove to be true.
"Carmen?" The three of them turned to the doorway of the lounge. A man about forty years old entered the room; he was wearing a denim jacket, a sweatshirt, jeans and heavy work boots.
"Jason!" Carmen exclaimed as she rose to hug the man. The two clung to each other silently, the man clearly not sure of what to make of Carmen's tears. She pushed back from him and faced House and Lydia. "Dr. House, this is Jason Suarez, Alvie's cousin." House simply looked up at Jason as the man nodded toward him. "Dr. House and his team have been taking care of Alvie. Oh, and this is Lydia Strohman; she's in charge of the insurance and billing department, but she also works with Dr. House's team."
"Dr. House… Ms. Strohman… I have to thank you so much for trying to help my cousin; he's like a kid brother to me, a very important part of my life." He glanced at Carmen's tear-stained face. "Please tell me he's going to make it."
"Still working on that detail," House replied.
"Alvie had difficulty breathing; Dr. House had to perform a tracheotomy a few minutes ago," Carmen informed him. Jason closed his eyes.
"If any sort of transfusion is needed, I can donate," Jason offered. "Alvie and I are the same blood type."
"We won't have to play vampire with you just yet; I'll have my team verify that and get back to you if anything is needed," House noted as he rubbed his eyes.
"Um… House?" Chase was poking his head into the room. "Alvie can see his girlfriend for a few minutes before we set-up the defibrillator. He's opening his eyes every so often," he said to Carmen. "But with the trach tube in, he won't be in the mood to talk."
"Can he write a note, maybe?" she asked.
"As long as it's not a rap, or we'll be waiting around all day," quipped House. The comment got a little laugh from everyone.
"I think we can undo the restraints long enough to let him write a note," Chase said.
"Restraints?" Jason asked.
"Most patients with tubing, whether it be a tracheotomy or anything else, have a tendency to want to pull the tubes out even if they're not fully conscience. It doesn't hurt him," Chase explained. "Are you ready to come with me and see him?" he asked Carmen.
"I'm coming, too," Jason insisted. Chase hesitated and looked at Jason as he approached the door.
"Jason is Alvie's cousin," Carmen said, seeing the look on the doctor's face.
"Let him in," House said without turning away from staring at the patterned tiles on the floor. Chase nodded and led the two to Alvie's room. There was an uncomfortable silence in the lounge as neither Lydia nor House moved to leave. Never, in all the time that they had known each other, had Lydia felt like House would be just as happy if she weren't there. This is ridiculous, Lydia thought to herself. One of us has to talk.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Yeah… mainly because I'm not the one who had the tracheotomy," House replied dourly.
"No, but I did see you kneeling over Alvie, doing the procedure," noted Lydia. "You could have had someone from the team do it; you know they're more than capable."
"Of course they're capable," House said sounding annoyed. "They wouldn't be working for me if they couldn't do a simple trach insertion." He realized that Lydia was waiting for an explanation of his actions; either he'd say it or she would. "It was a gut reaction. I wanted to make sure he was OK."
"You hurt your leg climbing up onto the bed… "
"Needed to do that to get the right angle." House wasn't aware that he had begun to massage his leg intently as he and Lydia spoke. "It'll be fine." Lydia opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again; the absurdity of the strained formality that they were trying to maintain was getting to her already. I'm not going to avoid offering help to Greg just because of our situation; the space and separation was his idea, not mine.
"If you want, after your meeting is over, we can go out to the car and I can massage some of the tea tree/lavender lotion into your leg." She saw by the look on House's face that he didn't seem to react well to the idea. Frustrated, she added on, "Or is that against the rules for us now?" House rolled his eyes.
"I never said there were any rules… " he began.
"I know; what I don't know how we're supposed to act toward each other."
"The same way we always do when we're at work," House said struggling to his feet. The conversation was clearly making him uncomfortable.
"Really? Because normally when you're leg's bothering you at work, you ask me to give you a hand… literally," Lydia pointed out.
"Or a mouth… or any other of the various parts of your anatomy depending on how quickly we have to get back from lunch." House's shoulders slumped as he stood in front of Lydia. "Fraulein, you know this has nothing to do with any physical aspect of our relationship. I still think you're the sexiest woman I've ever known." Lydia wouldn't return his look.
"I don't know at this point if it's reassuring to hear you say something complementary like that… or if it's frustrating because I once again ask myself, 'Well, if I'm so damn wonderful, then what the hell is wrong?'" She shook her head. "You tell me you're happy with me, that… you feel proud to tell people about my work, that I'm going to college…" She dropped her head down. "That you love the home life we have with the kids, with the time that we make for each other and spend with each other… " Lydia looked up at House. "I make you happy emotionally, intellectually and physically… so what's wrong?" she said quietly, but very intently. "You know if you asked me to marry you the answer is a resounding yes; and unlike Sara, I would really mean it. But… I don't need that to be happy with you. I just want us to be an important part of each other's lives… I thought that's what we were." Lydia looked up at House; understandably, he wasn't happy discussing the subject. "I'm sorry… I know this is neither the time nor the place to talk about this. I'm just overtired, and therefore overemotional right now. If you want some help with your leg later, my offer still stands." She rose from her chair, and started to walk past House.
"Fraulein." Lydia stopped and turned back to face House. "Do me a favor; get it through your head that this is not about me doubting you or how I feel about you. The problem is about me and my messed up mind. I've said in a hallucination to Cuddy, it's been said to me by various people… Wilson among them; I'm the most screwed up person on the face of the earth. Give me some space and time to try and deal with…" House let out a deep breath. "Me, myself, and the ghosts of my past that I've been dragging around with me for too many years." Lydia looked down at the floor.
"I will, I promise. It's… it's just that I'm scared." House looked at Lydia in surprise.
"Of what?" She brought her head up and met his gaze.
"Despite the fact that you are most screwed up person in the world, you also make me the happiest person in the world. And damn it, call me selfish, but I don't want to lose that." House felt an ache, an emptiness as he processed Lydia's words. He didn't want to hurt her; that was the whole point of him having some time to himself to think things over. He never cared so much about another person's feelings in his life; he also never allowed himself to feel so loved… and it all was scaring the hell out of him.
"Believe me, Fraulein, I'm working on it. I'm not too keen on the idea of losing it, either," he admitted. House looked at his watch. "You'd better get going; you're going to be late for your meeting."
"My meeting was cancelled," said Lydia as they walked to the door. "It took the IT department until an hour beforehand to figure out that they hadn't met the requirements for my department that I laid out for them in a previous meeting. They're being bullheaded; they don't want to admit that a program package already exists that meets our needs perfectly and would recoup the initial outlay within the first twenty-two months. I already did the research." House hid a smile as he listened to Lydia talk; he loved it when she showed her flare for spotting stupidity. She'd make her case to have things done her way without insulting people; one of the differences between them. But when she got home, in private… he sat back and enjoyed it when she managed to reduce these fools to the equivalent of a maggot on a dung heap. Just one of the many things you love about her, he reminded himself. Yep, her brain was as beautiful and sexy as the rest of her.
"I assume you're going to check on Alvie," Lydia said when they got into the hallway. "Would you mind if I went with you? I want to see how Carmen's doing." House nodded and Lydia followed along. It was a much more pleasant sight than what they saw earlier as they got to Alvie's door. Jason was holding up a clipboard that someone from the team must have brought in, and Alvie was "talking" away to his cousin and girlfriend with note after note.
"Obviously you didn't believe me back at the hellhole when I said that I really was a doctor. You had to come here and start all sorts of trouble to make me prove myself," House said, glancing up at the monitor as he approached Alvie's bedside. The numbers were some of the best Alvie had since showing up at PPTH. House would have discounted the effect being caused by the presence of his girlfriend and cousin, if it weren't for the fact he witnessed what voice stimulation did for Cuddy. Which reminded him of something else he needed to take care of. Alvie wrote something on the paper Jason was holding and had his cousin turn it around to face House. "'Am I going to be able to talk again?' Not if it means you're going to start rapping." Alvie was too weak to argue right now, but House was sure he'd have something to say about it when he was stronger and the trach tube was out.
"I was going to get some breakfast for us while your team did the next procedure on Alvie," Jason said. "They suggested I walk to the local deli rather than ordering from the coffee shop here. Can Carmen stay in the lounge while I get the food? Her ankles are swollen and Dr. Chase suggested she keep them elevated." House looked down at Carmen's feet and frowned.
"Your OB have you on any vitamins or supplements?" he asked.
"Natalins and folic acid," she replied.
"Get her some calcium and selenium supplements," House said to his team. "We may want to check and see if she needs a low dose of aspirin." House saw Alvie had a questioning look on his face. "If you're so damn serious about this fatherhood thing, the least I can do is make sure the kid doesn't come out with a third arm." Alvie gave House a smile. "She can stay in the lounge. Just don't get startled if a bunch of strange men come in later checking the room out. It's if they start checking you out that you have to worry." He looked at Alvie. "Behave yourself while my team continues to help you along the rocky road to recovery." His friend gave him a weak nod.
"We might be a bit late down to the meeting because of this," Thirteen said. "Do want all three of us there together, or should we come down as each of us finishes up?"
"Wilson, Foreman and I have plenty to relate to our special guest to keep things going until you three can get down there."
"You're still not going to tell us who this 'special guest' is?" Taub asked.
"No, because secretly you three still seem to think that I've enlisted the help of a former girlfriend. I'm tacky and inconsiderate, but even I have limits," House said giving all three members of his team a look. "Get down to the head honchos office when you can." He turned to leave.
"This is my card," Lydia said reaching into her blazer's pocket and handing it to Carmen. "You can use any of the phones on the wall and dial my extension directly if you need me." Carmen smiled.
"Thank you so much. You've been very kind," she replied.
"My pleasure," Lydia said. "See you all later." She met House by the doorway and they left Alvie's room together.
"Is there anyone you're not nice to?" House asked as they arrived at the elevators.
"Insurance company reps and members of the IT team in general," Lydia said. "Everyone else I take on a case by case basis." They were both quiet as they watched the numbers descend, indicating the approach of the elevator.
"I just might take you up on that offer to work on my leg," House said without looking at his girlfriend.
"Fine. Just let me know when you're ready. You did take your medicine this morning, didn't you?" she asked never taking her eyes off the elevator doors.
"Yes, mother." Lydia couldn't help herself; she gave House a quick glance and a smile. He always liked to bust her chops about something. The elevator came and took them down to the lobby.
"Good luck at the meeting," Lydia said as they were about to walk their separate ways.
"We don't need luck; we've got the evidence and testimony we need to nail Stein. I'm especially counting on his over-inflated sense of self to work against him. It's the bigger fish that they're trying to hook that may complicate things," House noted.
"You've been down this road before with Malcom Hunter," said Lydia remembering the corrupt lawyer that tried to ruin House and his team. "And with the same help. If there's anything I can do, just call me." House gave a brief nod, and watched as Lydia turned and walked away. He wished he could tell everyone else to go to hell, take care of Stein and the other problems yourselves; he had more important things to do. House knew, though, that he wasn't the only one with work to do. Heading over to Cuddy's old office, House didn't bother to knock when he reached the door; he merely opened it and stepped it.
"Still just his majesty and the court jester, I see," he said making his way over to the leather couch and sprawling out on it. "Wilson of course being the monarch, and you, the jester." Foreman narrowed his eyes as he scowled at House.
"No, your mystery person isn't here yet. And I have to say, I don't appreciate being kept out of the loop on the subject when this hospital is part of a team that will be prosecuting people who have broken the law."
"Relax, Black Jack," House said closing his eyes. "You know this person and if you'd use the limited amount of brains you've got, you'd be able to figure out who it is. I'm surprised your roommate didn't spill the beans."
"I've chosen to believe you when you said you would reveal unpleasant past events that you had first- hand knowledge of," Wilson said. "My greatest fear is that I wouldn't be able to remember the details, and therefore not be able to defend myself."
"Which is exactly what I was counting on," House said with a smirk.
"How's Alvie doing?" Foreman asked, glad to change the subject back to something that had to do with the hospital. "I heard his girlfriend came in to see him."
"Yeah, and walked straight in to him getting his throat cut open," said House rather unhappily.
"You had to trach him?" Wilson asked. "What the hell happened?"
"Chest pains led to his breathing ceasing and desisting. He's trached, being put on an external defibrillator, and administered substantial amounts of Furosidmide. By the time I left him, he was writing love notes to his girlfriend and his cousin."
"I thought the girlfriend lived in Florida," Wilson said. "Or did I misunderstand him in the ER?"
"You heard him right. It turns out grandma gave her the money to fly up here to check on him. Which may not have been the smartest move considering her ankles are doing a good impression of Dumbo."
"I take it she's pregnant," said Foreman. Wilson nodded. "How far along?"
"Didn't say. I thought it'd be rude if I asked how knocked up she is with her half-dead boyfriend's baby," House snarked. "I'd say about five or six months based on appearance."
"I can't believe Alvie has gone downhill this quickly," Foreman said. He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, House."
"About what? All the paperwork that's going to have to be filled out? Like I said yesterday, it's what I have a team for."
"House, he was your roommate, your friend when you were in rehab. This has got to be upsetting… "
"Gee, I wonder where you heard all the juicy details about my time at the anti-Hogwarts establishment," House said giving Wilson a death stare.
"Foreman asked me what the deal was with you two at Mayfield," Wilson began, knowing no explanation was going to thrill his friend. "I said Alvie wasn't just some random person you knew; he and Lydia were the only two people you were friendly with, that you could trust."
"Until I got your wife-to-be to turn into Chatty Cathy," said House. "Once I helped her set up her instrument, she was all over mine." Wilson tried to bite his lip, but House was offering too great of an opportunity.
"Annie was never interested you," he said. "Lydia's much more your type." The two friends rarely got into any sort of physical confrontation over the years, but if Foreman wasn't in the room at the moment…
"Did Lydia say how her meeting went?" Foreman asked. Both House and Wilson were happy to focus in on another topic.
"IT cancelled on her," House said closing his eyes again.
"What? Why?"
"Because they can't figure out how to do a job that Fraulein's already figured out three steps ago," House said, being careful to use his nickname for Lydia. He didn't want Foreman to pick up on anything the way Thirteen did earlier.
"Why are they wasting time if there's a solution readily available?" Foreman asked.
"They don't want to admit that a lone girl knows more than an entire team of guys. Look, you want any more info, direct your inquiries to the woman in charge around here." With that, House settled back down on to the couch and closed his eyes. He didn't have long to rest before there was a knock at the door. Foreman stood up, went over to the door, and opened it. A broad smile came over his face as he recognized one of the two men standing in front of him.
"Mr. James," he said extending his hand. "Nice to see you again."
"Likewise," Kyle James said as he responded in kind to Foreman's gesture. Mr. Kyle James was an assistant DA, as well as special counsel to the New Jersey State Medical Board. He was also the husband of Bonnie James, the first patient House treated when he came back to work after the crane collapse. "This is my assistant Paul Garrison," he said indicating the young man standing slightly behind him and looking nervous. "Paul, this is Dr. Eric Foreman and Dr. James Wilson who are running PPTH since Dr. Cuddy was rendered incapacitated from the crane accident downtown." Wilson had stepped forward; Paul shook both men's hands.
"Incapacitated? More appropriate phrasing would be left for dead," House said as he slowly rose from the couch.
"And this is the person I warned you about; the one and only Dr. Gregory House," Kyle said with a smile. He extended his hand which House took without any hesitation. They had a rough beginning when House was first taking care of Bonnie James, but after healing her and then getting the attorney's help with Malcolm Hunter, the two men had come to understand and respect each other. Paul also offered his hand, which House took weakly as a courtesy to Kyle.
"Can we offer you some coffee?" Wilson asked. The two men took him up on the offer and engaged in small talk while they set up their drinks.
"I didn't get the chance to thank you yesterday when we talked; the recommendation letter you wrote for my son's admission into NYU's Pre-Med program was incredible. Bonnie and I appreciate it so much."
"No problem. He's bright and curious in the right ways to be a success. I could tell from how he responded to the articles and medical journals I was sending him," House said before taking a sip of his coffee.
"He sounds like someone else we know," Foreman said, adding sugar to his cup. "House's girlfriend, Lydia has a son who's also very interested in medicine and very smart."
"That's great. By the way, how is Lydia? She stopped by the DA's office last week for a deposition about medical records and billing procedures around here in reference to Hunter's case. I said a brief hello, but that was it."
"She's fine," House said quickly, not wanting to linger on the subject of his girlfriend. "How's your wife feeling these days?" The jovial expression on James' face disappeared.
"Not too good. Her cardiac and diabetes issues are under control, but her Rheumatoid Arthritis has flared up badly. Her doctor has suggested a few meds to her, but they all suppress the immune system. Obviously, we have to deal with Dr. Stein and the facility he's working at first and foremost, but I would like to have your take on what the doctors are suggesting for Bonnie." House nodded.
"I'll need to see some paperwork detailing what secrets her body holds at the moment."
"I've got copies of her latest lab work with me." House gave James a slight smile. One of the things they had clashed over when they first met was Kyle's intense protectiveness over his wife. Not that in her medical condition it wasn't warranted, but House had admired Bonnie; she also walked with a cane and wouldn't let House get away with any self-pity when they talked. She was a feisty lady and House liked the way she did things.
"Where's the rest of your team?" Kyle asked.
"Busy saving someone's life," House replied. "Shouldn't take long."
"We can get started and they'll come in as they're able to," Foreman said.
"Fine," Kyle said as they all had a seat. House returned to the couch to rest his leg, the other four men sat around the desk. "Now, I understand you're in possession of the chart used for Dr. Cuddy at Southern New Jersey Assisted Living?"
"Yeah, it has multiple layers of fingerprints all over it, but we hermetically sealed it for you anyway," said House. Wilson handed James a large binder that had been placed in a plastic bag.
"Even more important than the fingerprints at this point, is Stein's handwriting in the book listing orders to be carried out by the staff," Kyle said. "Since he wasn't licensed… "
"Since he wasn't licensed, he covered his ass by doing everything for Cuddy himself. Yet he presented himself as a practicing doctor taking care of Cuddy and several of the other patients in Happy Acres," noted House.
"Did he ever come out and actually say that to you, or was it implied?" Paul asked.
"He said it himself when Arlene called and asked us to take a look at Dr. Cuddy; he got on the phone with us… " Wilson started to say.
"Excuse me… who is 'us?'" Paul asked. He had opened up his laptop and was making notes.
"Myself, Foreman, House, House's team… several other people who are not associated with the hospital directly… oh, and two doctors associated with PPTH, but not involved in her current or prior care," Wilson said. He was thinking of Tom and Slick.
"Quite a crowd," Kyle noted.
"We were at House's place; Lydia was throwing a Halloween party for everyone. Scariest moment of the night was when my phone rang and the caller ID came up with Cuddy's name on it," said Wilson shaking his head at the memory.
"So members of your team who had treated Dr. Cuddy and knew her condition before she entered the care facility were there and heard his statement," James reconfirmed with House who nodded in reply.
"They're also the ones who started treatment when Cuddy returned here on Saturday," he said.
"With your supervision, I'm sure," Kyle said to House with a smile. "Good. Let's go over things from the beginning; from when Dr. Cuddy was brought in here after the crane collapse and what transpired from that point forward." At first Foreman and Wilson provided most of the information; House had been in the medically induced coma and had no idea what had gone on. Going from the point where Arlene called seeking their help, the three men together told what state they had found Cuddy in when she was brought to PPTH and the steps taken by House's team to try and prevent her from immediately dying. As they spoke, House's team came to the office; they were surprised and pleased to see Kyle James. Each related their opinion on Cuddy's condition and their role in aiding her. Then Arlene arrived and offered some perspective on the process of choosing Southern NJ Assisted Living for her daughter. She explained that Stein had urged her quite strongly to put Cuddy there, even though she knew little of the facility; he reassured her things would be fine. Several areas were gone over ad nauseum as far as House was concerned, particularly by Paul, James' assistant, but he knew James had his reason for being so focused on certain points.
"Now the next thing is to get Stein on tape, incriminating both himself and the facility. The chart from Southern Jersey, your statements, are all good… but there's nothing like getting it directly from the horse's mouth." House made a whinnying sound and received a mixture of smiles and dirty looks. "Since we've had the facility in our sights for a while, we can go before the judge with what we've got and request an order to secretly record Stein talking. The trick is going to be getting him to talk without him being aware that we're present," he said indicating his assistant and himself.
"I think we can count on his ego to help us along on that account," Chase said. "For him to have the balls to think he can ignore the wishes of the patient or their proxy because he disagrees with them is pretty nervy. We can get him talking." Thirteen and Taub both nodded their heads in agreement.
"And this sneaky piece of equipment might help, too," House said. He reached into his pocket and held out the mini-recorder they had used to stimulate Cuddy's senses and raise her blood pressure. "If you set up your devices in the lounge, then we bring him in there and make him think he's making the tape for our own personal amazement… "
"You'd have to be very careful on the way you lead your questioning," remarked Paul.
"I'm not worried about that," James said to is aide. "This is the man who helped us bring down Malcom Hunter. If he can handle that, he can handle anything." House's phone began to ring; he hadn't bothered to put it on silent mode. It was obvious that it was Lydia calling by House's current ringtone for her, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schon" by the Andrew Sisters.
"I told you never to call me at work," House said trying to sound like he usually would with his girlfriend. "People might think there's something going on between us." Wilson and Lydia, each at separate ends of the phone, bit their lips to keep from saying anything that would give away what was happening at the moment.
"Sorry about that, but this has to do with work. I was just up by the nurses' desk in ICU… Stein called looking to speak to you. When they said they'd have to page you, he said he wanted to speak to Arlene. I had them tell him to call Arlene's cell phone."
"Thanks for the heads up," House said becoming serious. "Talk to you later." He ended the call and related the information to the group.
"He's hard to figure," Kyle said. "Why ask for you first, and then Arlene? He has to know by now that you've figured out what he was doing to Dr. Cuddy. I'd think he'd want to avoid you like the plague."
"Because he no longer cares, which makes him dangerous. He knows he's going to get nailed simply for not having his medical license. But he's in his seventies and in ill-health; any smart attorney will be able to have him avoid jail time," observed House.
"That's only because you people were able to save Dr. Cuddy's life. If she had died, even with those factors of age and health, he'd be looking at doing time," noted James. "My fear right now is that he may realize it's best for him to stay away from here and not do any further damage. It won't make it impossible to go after the facility that's illegally employed him, but it will be more difficult."
"He seems hell-bent on ending my daughter's life," Arlene said sadly. "He didn't want me to call Dr. House in the first place, and then when he and his team started working on her, he took off. The only time we heard from him was when he called yesterday afternoon and threatened her."
"And what exactly did he say?" asked Paul.
"That he was coming back to finish what he started," said House staring off into space and looking very thoughtful. "What if he thought the job was almost finished?" Kyle James looked puzzled.
"Where are you going with this?" The team had picked up on what House was implying.
"If he thinks he only needs something simple to inject into Cuddy's IV to finish her off, like Lasix to mess with her potassium or even potassium itself which would alter her heart function, he might be more inclined to come back here," Thirteen said.
"That way if he's caught with it, it's not an obvious dangerous substance with possible lethal implications," added Taub.
"And it's most likely in ready supply over at the facility where he's working; it wouldn't be unusual to use on the patients he's illegally treating," concluded Chase.
"Sounds reasonable to me," James said. "I guess we'll try to lull him into a false sense of security when he calls in."
"You… you mean when he calls me?" Arlene said, quite startled by the thought. "I… I don't know what do… "
"Your mission, Mr. Phelps, should you choose to accept it, is to make him think we haven't been able to do diddly for your baby girl," House said in a deep, mysterious voice. Arlene looked at him as if he were crazy.
"Express your concern to Stein that Lisa has barely improved from when she came in here the other day," Wilson said, jumping in to calm Mrs. Cuddy down. "Tell him that you overheard House and the other doctors saying she doesn't have much time…" Wilson stopped for a moment as he saw Arlene's eyes fill with tears.
"I'm sorry," she said as she fiddled in her pocket for a tissue.
"It's Ok," Wilson said gently. "House and his team were, in reality, able to help her somewhat, but unfortunately … I can't say that anyone would describe it as miraculous."
"I would," House said jumping in. "The condition that bastard left her in was the best impression of death without actually being dead that I've ever seen." Arlene was struggling to control herself.
"House, could you please cut the woman a break? She's been through enough," Foreman said. "The last thing we need right now is for you to make her more upset."
"Actually, that's exactly what we need right now," Kyle James said with a sly grin directed at House. "When Stein calls in, we need Arlene to sound upset. Sorry that Dr. House was so blunt," he said offering some sympathy. "But you sound appropriately… 'sniffley' right now." Arlene managed to laugh as she wiped away the tears from her eyes.
"I understand what you're saying," Wilson said. "But we don't…." He was interrupted by Arlene's phone buzzing.
"It's him; should I put it on speaker?" she asked. House rose from the couch where he had still been reclining, came over, and stood behind Arlene.
"No," James said. "If we want you ask him anything or if you have a question write it here." He placed a yellow legal pad in front of her. She nodded her understanding, and answered the call.
"Hello? Oh, Richard! Oh, Thank goodness it's you. I've been wanting to talk to you, but I've been too upset. What's that? No. No, Lisa is not doing well. Dr. House and his team… they've tried so many things but, I heard them talking… " She gave a loud sniffle as House grabbed the legal pad and wrote the words "end of life." Mrs. Cuddy nodded. "They were saying they didn't know how much longer she had, something about 'end of life'…" Wilson nodded his head and gave her a thumbs up; she really was doing well so far. "I don't know… You're what? Oh, thank you. Richard, I'll feel so much better once you're here… Tomorrow?" Kyle began to nod. "Wonderful! I appreciate you're coming here..." James quickly scribbled on the pad "what time?" "What time were you going to be coming by? I have to take care of Rachel, you know... Between eleven and noon? That sounds perfect," Arlene said checking with Kyle who nodded his head. "Thank you, Richard; thank you so much. Goodbye." Arlene ended the call and let out a deep breath. "How was that?"
"Meryl Streep couldn't have done it better," House said. "You sounded properly verklempt."
"I agree," James said with a laugh. "Ok, next step would be to check out the room where we're going to be setting up."
"I'm sending the information from the initial interviews over to the office so they can prepare our request to the judge," Paul said to his boss, looking intently at his screen.
"Excellent. Where is the interrogation room located?"
"The lounge nearest Cuddy's room. I'll give you a guided tour," House said to James.
"We'll show Paul where it is when he's done," Wilson said. House and Kyle left the office and headed over to the elevators.
"How bad is your wife?" House asked as he pushed the call button.
"Still able to get around with her cane, but I don't know how much longer that's going to be the case. She spends most of her time in bed. Bonnie knows that's not the best thing for her, and she does go to therapy, but the pain is exhausting her." Kyle looked down at the floor. "I hate seeing her like this; she was such an active, vibrant woman. She never let any of her ailments get her down."
"I'm going to hazard a guess and say that Tom Wilkinson is not her therapist," House replied as the elevator car arrived and the two men entered.
"No, he's not. Why? Do you recommend him?"
"Highly. He's helped me out by giving me some relief with a change in medicine and different therapy. He listens to the patient, but isn't afraid to push if he thinks you're wimping out." James nodded his head.
"I'm going to have to get his info from you. Maybe just the change in a therapist might do Bonnie some good." The doors opened at the second floor and they made the hard right to the lounge. Neither Carmen nor Jason was there; House assumed they were in with Alvie. Kyle began to look the room over and take several pictures with his phone. "Considering Stein's showing up fairly early, I may have some of my guys come in tonight to do a preliminary set-up. Is there a way to lock this door to keep it secure?"
"That's a Dark Knight question," House replied. "Ask either him or the Brooks Brothers poster boy."
"Is… is Dr. Cuddy next door?" asked James with some hesitation.
"Yep. Step this way to see my team's handiwork." House led Kyle to Cuddy's room. He was only a few steps in when he gasped.
"My God; she doesn't look anything like the person I had met a few years ago," he said. "She really came close to dying, didn't she?"
"Multiple times. And she's not all that far away from it now. If Mama Cuddy hadn't expressed an unrealistic desire to have her daughter live long enough to see the New Year, maybe Stein would have continued to engage in standard care practices for Cuddy. But once she set a timetable, he freaked and began treatments, or lack thereof that were slowly and painfully killing her."
"I assume Arlene is Dr. Cuddy's Health Care Proxy," James said as he turned to leave the room. House slowly nodded as he followed the attorney.
"And her wishes were to try everything to keep her alive for the sake of her kid. Although if you ask me, it's of no benefit to the girl to constantly see her mother in this condition."
"But I'm sure Cuddy never anticipated anything like this…" House turned and looked at him.
"Tell me who ever does," he replied. James nodded and stepped over to the counter by the nurses' station.
"Well, we can charge him with practicing medicine without a license. Of course if he had a license, you could also add on malpractice. Without one, we could try for attempted murder…"
"How about outright murder?" The two men looked to their right at the sound of Chase's voice and saw House's team, Wilson and Arlene approaching. Paul was trailing a bit behind them, talking on the phone.
"Arlene just got a call from the daughter of one of the patients Stein has been taking care of; her father died this morning," Wilson said grimly. Arlene had left the group and gone straight into her daughter's room; her sobs could be heard out in the hall. "She's a basket case right now. It turns out the daughter of this man said she hoped he would make it to see his first grandchild. The daughter's due in February."
"A bit too much of a coincidence. We are going to nail this guy and this facility," Kyle said in a determined voice.
"I checked with Dr. Foreman," Paul said. "He's going to make security aware that our team of specialists will be coming in after we get the warrant from the judge. I was going to head back to the office and see about moving things along there." James nodded and Paul left to accomplish his work.
"Tell me the truth; does that guy get any? Because he's wound tighter than a dreadlock on a Rastafarian. A little release might do him some good one in a while," House said as he watched the young man shift his weight back and forth nervously while waiting for the elevator.
"I don't know… you'd have to ask his wife," James said with a laugh. He extended his hand to House. "Hate to say this, but I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." House shook his hand.
"I'd be a lot brighter if mornings had a later start time. At what hour does the torture start?"
"About seven-thirty. We're going to need to do a run through in the room with the equipment before Stein gets here." James looked into Cuddy's room. "I don't want to disturb Arlene, she's too upset right now. Could you let her know what time we need to meet?"
"Of course," Wilson said. He and Kyle shook hands as did House's team with the attorney. Kyle James then left to make sure everything was in place to bring down Stein.
"What'll happen if the judge doesn't agree to the taping?" Thirteen asked.
"He'll make sure they say yes," House commented as the man disappeared behind the closing elevator doors.
"We haven't even finished with testimony in the case against Malcom Hunter, now we're dealing with this," Chase said in amazement. "I don't think I've ever spent this much time in court."
"Yes, you have; when you got divorced," House quipped. He looked at his watch; it was almost one o'clock. As much as he didn't want to, he was going to see if Lydia was still willing to massage his leg for him. He started to walk away from the group and head to the elevators. Wilson had wanted to talk to him, and managed to catch up just beyond the nurses' desk.
"You doing anything for lunch?" he asked. House continued to walk to the elevator; he pushed the call button.
"Hopefully going to have Fraulein massage my leg." House turned and saw the incredulous look on his friend's face. "She offered. I need it. Depending on how things go, I might as well enjoy it while I can." The elevator arrived, House stepped in, and let the doors close without another word to his friend. Wilson felt bad he didn't say anything to House; he was letting his mean streak come out. Wilson gave him no warning that by going down to Lydia's office at this point, he'd be walking straight into the buzz saw known as very upset Annie…..
House rounded the corner to go down the hall to Lydia's office. In a way, he did feel badly about taking her up on the offer she made, but he didn't want his leg to be bothering him any more than usual while he tried to have some quality alone time to do some thinking tonight. House kept his eyes on the floor as he walked, not taking the chance on running into anyone looking to engage him in idle conversation. His eyes were still downward when he arrived at the glass-walled office of his girlfriend.
"Hey, Fraulein… I was wondering… " It was at that point he looked up and was greeted by the sight of Lydia sitting behind her desk and a perturbed Annie in the chair opposite her. House looked back and forth between the two women for a moment before he choose to speak again.
"I didn't know you were stopping by," he said, avoiding Annie's hard look.
"Funny, my fiancé knew. I'm surprised he didn't mention it to you," she said sarcastically.
"Must have slipped his mind; a point I'll take up with him later," House replied.
"Greg, do you need me to take care of your leg for you? I can do it after I get back from lunch with Annie," Lydia said. Her friend shot her a look; clearly, she wasn't on board with the idea.
"No, it's fine. The bed wasn't that high and Alvie's not exactly a bulky guy for me to climb over. I'm good."
"Lydia was telling me about what's been happening with him," Annie said. "Is he getting any better?"
"He seems to be doing better since his girlfriend showed up here to check on him," House noted.
"Hmm… yes. Having the person you love by your side during difficult times does seem to do wonders," said Annie. Lydia looked away from her friend and boyfriend; she knew how they could be sometimes.
"The only time you had a handle on subtlety was back when you couldn't open your mouth to talk," House sniped.
"Alright you two… go to your corners and stay there; I'm not going to have a fight break out in my office," Lydia said standing up. "I have to drop off these papers to someone, then I'll be ready to go," she said to Annie. "I'll just be a minute." Lydia walked past House and left her office to deliver the paperwork she held in her hands. House was about to follow her out the door, when he found a roadblock in the form of Annie.
"Your friend just told us to play nice; it'd be better if you moved so we could accomplish that," he said locking eyes with her.
"I'm not going to yell at you, Greg," Annie said quietly and calmly. "I yelled and screamed enough with my poor fiancé last night when he told me what was happening. I think I broke James' ear drums."
"Yeah, I've heard you sing; with your kind of lung power, you probably did," said House. Annie sighed and looked away.
"James told me about Sara; that's one of the things I was yelling about. Call me naïve, but I don't know how a person could be that cruel and hurtful to anyone… especially you." House scowled at her. "I'm sure that back then, you carried a lot of the personality characteristics you do now. But I'm also sure you were a nice, thoughtful, caring person to someone you loved enough to marry. I see how you treat Lydia; you're a good guy." House made a face and looked away. "I know about Sara, and Stacy and Cuddy… but what you have with Lydia is different… "
"I'm aware of that," House said cutting her off. "The problem is what we have is so different and so good, it scares me. Before we get in any deeper… "
"In any deeper?" Annie exclaimed. Now it was her turn to interrupt him. "You two are already in up to your eyeballs!"
"And I want to make sure she's not just the next one in line for the throne. After the crap I, and other people have put me through, I want to make sure that she's the last one in line for the right reason; that I've found the right person, not that it's time for me to give up and forget about ever being a part of the human race."
"Greg, this isn't something you figure out with your head; you feel it in your heart," Annie said sympathetically. "But even if it was strictly a cerebral matter, that brilliant mind of yours should be able to figure this out." Annie reached out and touched his arm. "I wasn't much of a talker back at Mayfield; well, in the beginning, I wasn't too good at listening either. But then I got better at it thanks to you coming over and talking to me about everything and anything; but mainly about Lydia." Annie looked downward. "Lydia is my best friend; she's my sister. But you're my friend, too. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have the life I do now." She moved her eyes back up to House and smiled. "I'm still a pretty good listener. Let me know if you need me." House was taken back; her reaction was not what he had expected. But he was grateful for her offer of support.
"Thanks," he said quietly. "I'll keep that in mind. In the meantime, do me a favor?" House glanced down the hall in the direction he heard Lydia's voice come from. "Make sure she's OK." Annie closed her eyes and nodded.
"Ready for lunch?" Lydia asked as she got to her doorway. Annie shook her head.
"Enjoy," House said and silently walked away. He had forgotten to grab the lunch Lydia had made for him, so his choices were to either get something at the hospital, or leave and search out something else. House wasn't necessarily hungry; more precisely, he had no appetite. He sought out the vending machines, grabbed a soda and a bag of chips. He was then presented with the issue of where to eat. In the end, as much as it hurt him physically as well as emotionally, House went to the place where he always used to hide when he needed to do some intense thinking about his personal life. Not that he had ever had much of a personal life, but when matters needed to be considered, it was his go to spot. As he labored up the stairs, and pushed opened the door when he got to the top, he wondered how long it had been since he was here. House took several steps until he reached the edge of the rooftop of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, a place he had been to many times before. He cracked open his bottle of soda and took a swig; he considered the chips, but then shoved them back into his jacket pocket. He leaned forward onto the ledge with his forearms, and looked out over the scene before him.
And as he did, House remembered what it felt like to be alone…..