Just before sunrise, around five o'clock, House's phone rang. Without even fully waking up, House's hand shot out and grabbed the phone. "Chase?"
"Yeah, it's me. Marius' vitals are better and he's coming up from unconsciousness. He should wake up in two or three hours."
"What about the intracranial pressure? Any signs of another bleed?"
"Pressure is coming down, his pupils are more equal than they were and there's no sign of any bleeds, cranial or abdominal. We've got a CT scan scheduled in 40 minutes. Foreman's here and ready to do neuro checks as soon as he wakes up," Chase told him.
House noticed Lucius was awake next to him and quickly relayed what Chase had reported. "I want to go there right away," House added. Lucius agreed, much to House's relief.
"Chase we'll be there in an hour. Maybe less. If Marius wakes up before we get there, tell him…uh…tell him…"
"I'll tell him," Chase interjected, saving House from having to find words to convey the feelings he had for Marius. "And I'll give him a scolding for worrying you."
"Thanks," House said, his anxiety easing slightly with Chase's tacit understanding. He hung up the phone and swung his legs off the bed, waiting to feel whether his leg would bother him this morning. Lucius had risen to brew them some coffee and was surreptitiously watching House until he'd been able to rise and head into the bathroom to shower. Lucius took that moment to go speak briefly with Sidney and Timmy, passing on the news about Marius and giving them a couple of instructions for the day.
By the time House was out of the shower, Timmy and Sidney had assembled a light cold breakfast in the master bedroom for the four of them. Sidney met Lucius' eyes when House sat down with a cup of coffee and sweet roll, giving a slight nod. Lucius had asked his opinion on whether House could handle the day, or at least a good share of it, without intervention from Sidney. Lucius knew it would take him exerting a lot of authority to force House to accept a delay in getting to the hospital and would rather save that effort for getting House home to rest at the end of the day. Sidney's nod was a welcome release of that worry.
Forty minutes later, Lucius used House's handicapped tag to park and both headed directly for the ICU. Chase was waiting for them and nodded good morning, knowing better than to say anything beyond what pertained directly to Marius' condition.
"He's not quite awake yet but stirring," Chase reported, more for Lucius' sake as House had snatched Chase's stethoscope and was conducting his own examination of Marius. "He's been responding to commands and starting to acknowledge being called by name."
"Thank you for your vigilance and promptness in making us aware of changes in his condition," Lucius answered, holding up his hand when Chase was about to shrug it off. "I know that House demands and expects nothing less. There is a large difference between compliance and a true understanding of the need to comply for another's sake. For that, I thank you."
Chase nodded and looked back at House with Marius, a little unsure of how to respond, since compliments from an authoritative male had been exceedingly rare in his life.
Marius' eyes finally fluttered open though it took a minute for them to focus. Lucius had stepped up on the other side of the bed and both he and House were holding one of Marius' hands. Marius registered that someone was there and made eye contact, first with House and then with Lucius, immediately tears started to flow down his cheeks. House was unnerved by this but Lucius calmly pulled out his handkerchief and wiped the tears away without releasing Marius' hand.
"Shh, we're both here with you, Marius," Lucius soothed quietly. "One of us will be with you until you are stronger and ready to come home to us. Sidney and Timmy will be here as well."
Marius swallowed and nodded slightly although it took a couple of minutes for his tears to stop. He was so relieved to see them, to be alive. All he'd had were dreams of the car coming straight at him over and over again and the terrible sensation that he was about to die. All he could think the moment he saw House standing next to him was what would happen if Marius had died. He shifted slightly and felt the cast on his broken limb and knew it would be awhile before he could master House properly.
"House," he rasped out. "Sorry."
"Sorry?" House repeated, confused. "For what?"
"Almost left you alone," he managed to say over the pain in his throat. Chase stepped forward and handed House a cup with some ice chips and a spoon then moved back to his place at the door.
House scooped up an ice chip and set it on Marius' tongue. "Let it melt, don't swallow," he warned softly. "Just get better. I wasn't alone. Lucius was here." Marius started to shake his head, thinking House didn't understand, but House gently stopped him. "I get it. Lucius explained a lot to me. But it didn't happen, Lucius took care of me. You helped me when I needed it, now let me help you, me and my team."
Lucius nodded, reaching out to stroke House's face before gripping his shoulder. "I'm going to call Sidney and Timmy to let them know he came out well. I'll bring back some tea for you." He trailed his hand up Marius' chest to stroke his face as well before leaving the ICU room to call from the waiting room.
Sidney and Timmy came to the ICU in the late afternoon to stay with Marius while Lucius made House go home after his normal working hours, although House did no work at all that day. Chase had gone to get some sleep, while Foreman, Thirteen and Taub took turns caring for Marius and working clinic hours, their own, as well as House and Chase's hours. Wilson had stopped in to check on how Marius was doing and how House was doing. He was pleased to see House doing as well as he was but quite jealous that he wasn't needed to be the glue that held House together. He stopped in Cuddy's office and curtly filled her in before heading home for the day.
Cuddy showed up at the ICU just as Lucius was packing House up to leave for the day. House looked up sharply at her then firmly announced that Marius was diagnostics' patient and he wouldn't be taking another case or doing clinic hours until he was much improved.
"I've already listed him as Diagnostics' patient," Cuddy responded calmly. "Chase sent the referral slip to me last night. And I wasn't trying to get you to work clinic right now. I came to see how Marius is doing."
"Oh. Thanks for that," House mumbled, a bit surprised that Cuddy went along with it. It wasn't like Marius needed to be diagnosed after all, they knew exactly what was wrong and how to treat it. But he was grateful enough to keep his mouth shut about it; he knew he couldn't concentrate on another case until Marius' brain injury was improved and stable.
"He's doing okay; Foreman is still worried about some patchy memory and his intracranial pressure is still elevated but coming down from the level it was when he was admitted yesterday. We think he's going to be all right though."
"I'm glad to hear it," Cuddy said sincerely. "I can cover for him being a diagnostics' patient until he's been stable 24 hours in a regular room. After that, I have to insist you return to your clinic duties and are open to take on another patient. Deal?"
House scowled, not liking the idea of doing any other work while Marius was still injured but he realized that Cuddy was offering a good deal. He nodded after a moment and agreed. "Deal."
"Keep me posted on how he's doing. And try to get some sleep and food into you, okay?" she urged, getting another nod from him. She brushed his arm with her fingertips and wished him good night.
"That went well," Lucius remarked blandly.
"A bit too well, if you're asking," House commented, still staring up the hallway, though she was no longer in sight. "I wonder why she went so easy on me?"
"Perhaps she can see how much you care for Marius. It is hard to concentrate on anything else when those that we love are in grave condition," Lucius offered, handing House his jacket and gesturing for him to put it on.
"We could stay longer," House said, trying to bargain with Lucius to remain in the hospital, even though Marius was doing much better now.
"But we will not. You have barely eaten all day, nor given much thought to the comfort of your leg. We'll return home and remedy both of those issues this evening and return again first thing in the morning. Sidney and Timmy will stay here with him overnight and your staff are remarkably well trained to contact you immediately on his condition. Come, all will be well," Lucius coaxed, placing his hand on his shoulder and getting him moving toward the elevator.
Once they were back home, Lucius followed House into the master suite and ordered him onto the massage table. Lucius wasn't as masterful at massage as Sidney but he was good enough to loosen the worst of the knots threatening to send House's leg into spasms and the neck muscles that had already caused a fierce headache. Once he had House soaking drowsily in the hot tub, Lucius went into the bathroom and took a long, scalding hot shower, trying to wash away the fatigue and worry of the day. Marius would recover, of that he was sure now, but he needed to make plans to introduce House to others of their circle, to try to find one or two that could take up mastering House should he or Marius die or be killed. Not tonight, he thought with a sigh as he got out of the shower and went to check on House. Tonight, food then rest. Tomorrow he would make some calls and set up meet and greets.
Lucius roused House and told him to put on some sleep pants and they both went to the kitchen to put together some dinner. House followed Lucius into the garden where they sat down to eat a hearty meal of steak and eggs with a bowl of fresh cut fruit. That was at Lucius' insistence.
"I'm pleased that Marius' injuries have thus far resolved themselves without issues," Lucius commented.
"Yeah, it could have been far worse. Chase is one of the best surgeons in the area, the only one I'd trust with his life or mine," House agreed. "Not a diagnostic level case like we normally take, but I always make exceptions for friends and family. Of course that's totally against protocols but if I don't trust the other doctors' level of care, then then the protocols can go fuck themselves."
Lucius chuckled darkly in full agreement with that opinion. "I am well impressed with Dr. Chase, both his care of Marius and his care and loyalty to you."
"Yeah. There was a time that Chase was looking like he wanted me as a master but it was like he flipped a switch and suddenly denied it, but he got better after that denial too so I didn't press him for reasons."
"Hm. Perhaps for the moment, all he really needed was your willingness to step into the role. He may yet come to you and ask again or present an opportunity for you to offer again. He may not want to interfere in your need to be mastered until he feels you are secure and stable in it. That is responsible on his part, especially if he has, as you said, taken steps to care for himself better. But you should still watch out for warning signs with him. You are highly observant and deeply involved with his life and you know the signs all too well from your own difficulties."
"Tonight, since it has been a long and trying day, I thought you and I could relax watching a game on TV. Come," Lucius urged with a smile, leading him into the media room and putting a basketball game on the large, plasma TV on the wall.
House settled on the couch with a grin which became a bit uncomfortable when Lucius settled in right beside him and through an arm over his shoulders. He tried to inch away from Lucius but only made it an inch before being given a look that ordered him to cease and desist.
"While Marius is hospitalized, you and I will use this time to establish a secondary mastery relationship," Lucius informed him. "I thought we would start with the same basic trust exercises that Marius used in the beginning."
House grimaced as he remembered how awkward those first few times were and knew beyond doubt they would be even more awkward with Lucius. Marius was the calm, teacher persona. Lucius was the demanding taskmaster persona.
"Tell me what you're thinking. You look as if I'm sending you to the gallows," Lucius asked lightly.
"It's… you and I don't have the trust Marius and I did when he did these exercises. I mean, I trust you, just not as much as I did Marius. He picked me up off rock bottom and helped me before I decided to be part of this lifestyle with him," House explained slowly, looking straight ahead at the TV. "Plus, you've already been there and pushed past the beginning exercises. Way past."
"Yes, I can understand how that action would let you have more trust in him, especially combined with our style differences," Lucius agreed. "What I've been present for was with Marius also present, not just you and I alone. I think that it would be good for us to go through the basic trust exercises. So, step one. We'll both disrobe and watch the game together before going to bed."
Lucius stood and stripped out of his clothes then sat on the couch again, close but not touching House. After a moment's thought, House pulled off his sleep pants and put them aside, settling uncomfortably back into his seat. Lucius returned his attention to the game and House did the same.
At the halfway point, Lucius went to the kitchen to get them both something to drink and came back with a bowl of popcorn as well. House smirked a bit at Lucius.
"What's so funny?" Lucius asked as he took a handful of popcorn.
"Just comparing you and Marius," House answered, also grabbing some popcorn.
"And what are your observations so far?"
"Well, Marius, when he's naked, it's like he doesn't even notice. He carries himself the same whether he's clothed or not, graceful like a dancer or a martial artist. You on the other hand, you carry yourself very erect, proud, when clothed but naked… when you're naked you strut," House chuckled.
Lucius glared at him half-heartedly and broke into a laugh himself. "I believe I can say without bragging that I am sufficiently endowed to strut a bit," he said breezily.
House guffawed at that and took a drink of the soda Lucius had brought with the popcorn.
"You hold yourself very withdrawn and curled inward," Lucius commented after a moment.
"Yeah, well. Not much worth looking at here," House mumbled.
"You are also sufficiently endowed, you know," Lucius reminded him.
House blushed a bit and shook his head. "It's not that. It's the scar. It's hideous."
"Yes. The scar is hideous. That doesn't automatically mean that you are hideous. I'm quite certain that Marius doesn't care about its appearance, nor do I. That scar is not who you are. If affects you but don't let it become you," Lucius remonstrated firmly. "On the contrary, it marks you as a very strong willed man, to have fought through the crisis and continue to fight against the pain and difficulties that it causes you."
"Everyone tells me that being strong willed is a bad thing," House answered.
"Since when do you care for everyone's opinion?" Lucius asked.
"It was being strong willed and resisting the clan tattoo that got me held down and punished," House returned.
"That wasn't being strong willed. That was fear, nothing more. You feared to lose Marius, you feared to commit to a greater clan because you still feel I may at some point reject you. I would not have taken you as clan if that had been a possibility. Many people in your life have misunderstood you, what you need to feel secure and what it truly means to be strong willed. It's not a character deficit. It is a trait to be sought after. I think of that scar more as a battle scar. You were ambushed in a war you didn't know you were fighting in, horribly wounded, mistreated by the physicians tending to you and still, you fought and clawed your way back to walking, back to working, driving, even riding a motorcycle. You've done all this while in pain. Only a strong willed man could do that. It's nothing to be ashamed of."
The game came back on and Lucius returned his attention to it, leaving House to think on what was said for now. It would take a long time to overcome the voices of the past, he knew and they were only at the beginning now.