My sincere apologies for the lateness of this update. My wife's terminal cancer is swiftly progressing and the stress is causing me severe writer's block. This is shorter than usual but I don't want you to think I've abandoned the story.
Saturday morning, Lucius had rented a vehicle that would be easier to carry Marius home in than the Jaguar. He and House completed the discharge papers and drove Marius back to his home. Sidney and Timmy were waiting at the door and helped to get him in and settled in the master suite, per Lucius' orders. Marius was relieved to be back home, in his own bed.
"Do you want anything to eat for lunch or should we just have an early dinner?" Lucius asked.
"Let's just have an early dinner," Marius answered. "I'm a bit nauseous from the movement."
"How about a ginger ale? Or a cup of tea?" Timmy asked.
"Ginger ale would help, I think. Thank you, Timmy," Marius said.
Timmy quickly brought back a glass of ice with a straw and a liter bottle of ginger ale, filling the glass and setting the bottle on the bedside table. Marius took a few careful sips and set the glass down with a nod that it would settle.
Lucius called Sidney and Timmy to come out of the room with him and left House with Marius. Although the other two wanted to spend time with Marius, House desperately needed to reconnect now that Marius was home.
"House, come here," Marius said quietly. "Come lie next to me."
"I don't want to hurt you," House said, although he came up next to the bed.
"I know you won't hurt me. Please, lie down next to me. I've missed having you close."
House had missed being close to him, even though he had slept with Lucius every night, so he carefully got into the bed and lay down next to him. "Is this all right? You tell me, if it's too uncomfortable."
"It's fine and yes, I'll tell you if it gets uncomfortable. How did you get along with Lucius this week? Did you get to know him better?"
"Yeah, he's… he's a lot different than I thought he was. I knew he was protective but it seemed kind of just possessive before. When he went after Wilson in my apartment though it was the first time I realized that he actually cared about me. I mean, I knew he cared about you, but I didn't think he cared about me. He hasn't known me long enough to care about me."
"You may have noticed that within this clan that when we choose to care about someone, we do so very deeply," Marius reminded him. "The amount of time we've known the person or how well we know them at the moment we decide to care about them is inconsequential. We find out about them while spending time with them."
"But how do you make that kind of decision?"
"Intuition, what I think of as spirit communication." House snorted lightly at the idea of spirit communication. "I know; you don't believe such nonsense. When I looked at you that first night in the pub, I knew we would be good for each other. I cared about you from that moment. When did you feel it?"
House was quiet, remembering that first night and the unease he felt at Marius' attention and offer. "It wasn't that first night. You came across kind of creepy that night. It wasn't until the day after you picked me up from my bathroom floor, when I realized how much you had done to take care of me, a total stranger, overnight. That's when I started to care about you. So you think Lucius had a moment like that? When was it?"
"I'm certain he did. Think back. When did you feel a difference in him?" Marius asked, looking into House's eyes.
House focused inward, thinking back over his interactions with Lucius. It didn't take long to pinpoint the moment. "It was after your accident. He made me go home after you came out of OR and were in ICU. I was in some kind of emotional shock by the end of the night. He… he held me in the hot tub and then afterward in bed. That was the first time I felt like he actually cared about me, not just was taking care of me."
"I think in that moment Lucius saw your spirit, saw how much you cared for me and how wholly committed you were. That moment made his decision. Now that he cares for you, he'll do so for life, just as I do. I'm afraid you're stuck with him," Marius teased lightly.
"Yeah, well. He's stuck with me too so, I guess that's fair," House responded with a chuckle. "I like him now that I've gotten to know him."
"I had hoped you would, since he means so much to me," Marius admitted, though his eyes were beginning to get heavy. House noticed this and gently stroked Marius' arm in companionable silence until Marius fell asleep. House remained in the bed with him, dozing at times, finally releasing some of the stress and fear he'd been so tightly held by since Marius had been injured.
They were woken a few hours later when dinner was ready. Timmy and Sidney brought a small dining table into the master bedroom and set the food out on it while Lucius and House helped Marius into a padded chair. The table was moved so that Marius would be able to easily reach it to eat and the other three men took their seats.
"So how are you both doing," Marius asked Sidney and Timmy. "It was a great comfort to have you both with me overnight in the hospital."
"Glad to have you home with us," Timmy answered. "We've been really worried about you and for House as well."
"I'm happy that Lucius was here," Sidney added. "I don't know that we would have been able to take care of everyone without him."
"You mean take care of me," House interjected with a grimace. "You two take care of each other pretty well."
"We needed a master's care too, House," Sidney said. "But yes, we were really worried about you and I don't know that either of us could have pulled you out of that shock reaction, even if we'd worked together to do it. I'm sorry about that. No, really, because I think you could probably figure out a way to help us if we were in a state like that," Sidney said, stopping House from interrupting.
"Well…don't sell yourselves short," House muttered, uncomfortable with the praise, as he focused on his meal.
"I had a conversation with House on that subject, Marius, and I think it would do well to introduce a couple of other masters to the clan. This accident reminded us all how quickly things could change and how much out of our control things can be," Lucius said.
"I agree," Marius answered soberly. "After your master passed and so did Charles, we lost the extended clan stability. Do you have masters in mind to see who is compatible?"
"I do have a couple of candidates in mind," Lucius nodded. "I'm going to invite them over next week, after you've had some more recuperation time."
"How does that work then?" House asked after a moment. "Don't they have subs too?"
"Yes, they do," Lucius answered. "That's why we all need to meet and be sure that Marius and I could help their subs and they can help ours."
"Are you talking about long term help? Because it seems like a master ought to be able to help just about any sub on the short term?" House asked.
"Yes, we're talking about long term help," Marius answered. "I do think that in an emergency, any master could help a sub. In the short term, most masters could help a sub. Personalities and spirits have to mesh."
House nodded, not willing to get into any talk about spirits and the group passed a quiet evening together in Marius' suite. Lucius called House to come with him for the night and the following night as well, so that Sidney and Timmy both got one on one time with Marius over the weekend.
Very early Monday morning, House's phone rang with news about a case just turned over to diagnostics from the ER. Lucius listened to his sharp questions and oddball noises as House pulled on his clothing while on the phone. "Get initial labs run, I'll be there as quick as I can."
"Give me a minute and I'll drive you in," Lucius said as he tried to wake himself fully.
"No, get some sleep. I'll take a cab," House responded. "I'll call or text you later on."
"If you're sure," Lucius said. "I just need some coffee."
"I'm sure. Go back to sleep," House assured him. Lucius looked him in the eyes and read his body language; all intense interest and eagerness to go to the new puzzle.
"Don't forget to get something to eat sometime while it is still morning," he said, pulling the covers back up around his shoulders.
House went out into the main part of the house, calling a cab and then grabbing a bagel from the kitchen before stepping outside into the pre-dawn air. He felt good to be back at work again and reassured with Marius home under the care of the other three. The cab arrived in just a few minutes and carried him off to PPTH. There, the team looked up with clear surprise to see House there already.
"What? I told you I'd be here as quick as I could," he asked, exasperated.
"Well, as quick as you can usually isn't in 45 minutes or less," Thirteen observed. "Marius had a good weekend then?"
"Yeah, he's good; happy to be home. Labs back yet?"
"Just starting to come back now," Chase said, passing down copies of the reports to the others. They spent a couple of hours running ideas then the team headed off to begin testing. House went to his office and powered up the computer to pull up journal articles that might relate to their diagnosis. After some time, he pulled off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, a headache building behind them. He glanced at the clock and realized that it was already 10:30 a.m. The bagel he'd grabbed had worn off long ago. Time to heed Lucius' advice and get some food.
He headed down to the elevator bank and decided to shock the team by texting them to make sure they grab something to eat while he was waiting for the car to arrive. That will give them plenty to gossip about, he thought with a smirk.
The cafeteria was pretty empty when he got there; only the late breakfast group as it was too early for lunch. Grabbing a tray, he got some eggs, toast and bacon along with a large coffee.
"Dr. Wilson cancelled your right to use his account, Dr. House," the cashier said, preparing himself for the skirmish.
"It may come as a surprise to everyone but I can fend for myself," House snapped, brandishing his wallet and handing over a twenty-dollar bill. He pocketed his change and sought out a booth in the back of the room so that he could people watch. It surprised him that Wilson had gone so far as to make their issues public. In all the times they'd had a rift, only twice Wilson had ever pulled back on paying for House's meals or writing scripts. This disagreement didn't seem to be on the same level as Tritter or the aftermath of Amber's death; at least, not in House's mind.
He'd only been sitting there a few minutes when Cuddy came in for coffee. She spotted him while paying and made her way to his table.
"May I join you for a few minutes?" she asked with a smile.
"Sure," House answered, pushing out a chair with his foot.
"I'm happy to see you actually eating a meal instead of raiding the vending machine," she said as she settled into her seat.
"I was all out of quarters and singles," he shrugged.
"Right. Is Lucius staying with Marius? And his two, what are they, servants?" she asked.
"Yeah, they're his servants and yes, Lucius is staying with Marius indefinitely. He was anyway, he wanted to reconnect with them because he's been overseas for quite a while. Now he won't leave until Marius is well again."
"Good. Your little 'family' group can use another strong lead to help," she commented, smirking when House frowned in surprise at her deduction. "What? I might not have been sure before the accident but seeing you five together during his hospital stay confirmed it for me."
"You mean Wilson confirmed it for you," House muttered, certain that Wilson had gone gossiping to Cuddy.
"Wilson told me you and Marius were together and that Marius had some kind of relationship with Lucius," she admitted, "but the rest I got by watching you guys. So tell me, is this an all males club or do some of the groups have women in them?"
House was shocked, mouth open and silent in mid-retort, struck into curiosity by her question. "Actually, I don't really know. Lucius is going to introduce us to some other groups. I'll get back to you on that," he added conspiratorially.
"Be sure that you do," she chided with a grin. "And don't forget your clinic hours this afternoon."
"Yes, Mistress," House intoned seriously. Cuddy laughed and left the cafeteria after wishing him luck on the case.
"Luck has nothing to do with it!" he shouted after her, getting a little finger wave in response as he settled back into his seat with a smirk.