Insert usual disclaimers and stuff here. Now we're going a bit AU (yes, again!) from the season finale. Just a different POV, that's all.
# # #
A couple of weeks went by, and Jason nodded in passing to House a few times, but didn't see much of him otherwise. The man kept strange hours, sometimes coming in just as Jason was leaving for work.
He came in late after doing working on some sets for the upcoming production of 'Oklahoma'. Jason hadn't gotten so much as a callback, but he wasn't quite the nervous wreck that he had been the first time he'd auditioned either. Still, Jason had pretty much decided to leave the singing and dancing for those far more confident than him.
Jason grabbed himself a beer from the refrigerator and sat down at his drawing table. The deadline was fast approaching, and he still had some fine detail work to finish. Tonight was going to be a late night.
He wasn't aware of how much time had passed until he heard the outside door open and slam shut, followed by a jangling of keys and a few not so softly uttered curse words. Jason glanced at his watch. Nearly three in the morning. It was late, even by bar standards. Most of them closed up at two.
Jason drained the remains of his now warm beer before putting away his supplies. Now that he was aware of the time, he found his energy gone. He could work on it when he got home from work tomorrow.
He was locking up his apartment when he heard a crash that sounded like breaking glass, freezing at the sound. Was it possible that someone had broken into House's place, and he had confronted the intruder? That didn't seem likely, but House was a pretty good sized guy. Jason guessed he could take down someone if he really needed to.
After a few minutes debate, he opened up his door and glanced around the entryway. House's door was open just a crack. Silence reigned over the space now. Whether that was a good thing remained to be seen.
Jason didn't want to run into the possible intruder, but he wanted to make sure the neighbor guy was okay. He didn't seem to have a lot of visitors or anyone else living with him. It only made sense to check in on him.
He closed his door behind him and quietly made his way to the door, nudging it open with his elbow. "Greg? Are you in here?"
No response was forthcoming, so Jason moved further into the apartment. The layout was similar to his own, but House's place definitely had a lived in vibe as opposed to Jason's more meticulously organized space.
Nothing appeared out of order, not that Jason would have known otherwise. He had maybe exchanged five words with the guy over the last couple of weeks, most of them on his end.
Jason continued on through the living room to look in the kitchen. Nothing there except a coffee cup, a glass, and a bottle of something or other, and definitely no neighbor.
He decided to search the rest of the apartment. If it was anything like his own, it wouldn't take long. "Greg! If you hear me, sing out!" Jason paused briefly. "It's Jason from across the hall. You okay?"
The first door off the hallway would be the bathroom, most likely. Jason swung the door open and nearly jumped back in shock and surprise. House was covered in dirt and dust, a long scratch down the side of his nose. He was slumped against the bathtub that held the shattered remains of a mirror, his eyes closed, his breathing labored, something clutched in his hand and a hand gripping his right leg.
"Shit." Jason's hands shook as he knelt down to investigate further, not entirely sure what he was looking for. "Greg." He shook the older man's shoulder. "Wake up, man."
A bit of panic started to overtake him when he realized there was a possibility that the man wasn't sleeping. "Shit. Shit, shit, shit." He muttered to himself as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed 911.
"Hello? Yeah, I need an ambulance to 221 Baker Street, Apartment B." He listened while the dispatcher asked him a few questions. "I'm not sure. I found him in his bathroom with some pills. He's breathing, but I can't tell if he's sleeping or unconscious." He huffed irritably. "I don't know…he's got some scratches and stuff on him, and he's all dirty." He sighed, nodding at the dispatcher's response. "Okay, I understand. Thanks."
He let out a hard sigh as he shoved the phone back in his pocket. Suddenly he heard House shift and groan, his eyes fluttering open and staring at him. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I heard glass breaking…your door was cracked open…thought maybe someone broke in." Jason gestured to House. "Found you unconscious in here and called an ambulance. It's going to be a while, though. I guess a lot of the ambulances are tied up with some disaster in Trenton."
"I know." House growled. "I was there."
"Seriously?" Jason eased himself onto the bathroom floor across from House.
"Yes, seriously." House mocked him, rubbing at his leg.
Jason fell silent, not sure what else to say. Finally he spoke again. "Is your leg hurting?"
House threw him a glare that would have packed a lot more punch if it wasn't filtered through glassy eyes. "Been crawling around in rubble for hours. Of course it fucking hurts." He closed his eyes and continued rubbing, clutching the object in his hand.
Upon closer examination, Jason noticed it was a prescription bottle. He nodded toward it. "How many of those things did you take?"
"None of your damn business." House growled again, moving his hand further up his leg. Under his breath he muttered, "Jesus fucking Christ."
"Hey, I'm just trying to help." Jason answered sharply. "You could have taken a bunch of pills because of the pain or because you were trying to kill yourself. I don't know." He tilted his head at House. "Were you going to kill yourself?"
"I wasn't planning on it." House snapped. "I might change my mind if you don't shut the hell up."
"Sorry." Jason mumbled, shifting so that his knees were bent, his hands folded together with his arms resting on his knees.
House fixed him with what should have been a withering look. "Go home. I'm sure Superman and Batman miss you."
Jason smiled a little at that. "I think they'll be okay for a while."
"Well…I don't need you hanging around." House grumbled, his eyes dropping to the floor as he played with the prescription bottle in his hand.
"Is there someone else I should call?" Jason asked.
House merely shook his head in response. "No need."
Jason realized he wasn't going to get anywhere on that front. "How about I just hang out until the ambulance shows up?"
House looked up again. "Don't you fucking listen? I don't need a babysitter, I'm not going to pop more pills, and I don't need you sitting there waiting like some pathetic idiot." He let out a quiet sigh. "Just…go home."
Suddenly someone was banging on the apartment door. "Ambulance!"
Jason hopped up to answer. "Back here by the bathroom!" He turned to House, holding out his hand. "Can you get up?"
House looked thoughtful for a moment before reaching out to take the hand that Jason offered. His grip was surprisingly strong, and it took everything Jason had to pull the older man to his feet. Once there, he wasn't so steady, nearly crumbling the moment he put weight on his right side.
He clutched at Jason, and Jason quickly slung House's arm around his shoulders and wrapped his own arm around House's waist. "I've got you, Greg. No worries. Can you walk?"
"Sort of."
"Okay, let's give it a try." Jason encouraged him. "I've got you."
"You already said that."
"Yeah, I know." Jason was a little embarrassed. "Guess it bears repeating."
House paused for a moment, closing his eyes. Finally he opened them again, staring down at the bottle in his hand. He suddenly pressed it into Jason's hand.
"What's this?" Jason was confused.
"Vicodin." House told him softly, taking a deep breath. "Took three of them. It wasn't suicide. I just needed something…more. Advil wasn't cutting it." He jerked his head back toward the bathroom. "There's one more bottle in there somewhere. Give it to these guys."
Jason nodded firmly. It looked as if House was going to pass out any second. "I will. Come on, let's get you taken care of."
House nodded slowly, and the two of them made their way out of the bathroom and down the hallway to the waiting stretcher. Jason deposited him there and lifted the older man's legs onto the stretcher while the EMTs strapped him in.
"Where's he going?" One of the EMTs asked Jason.
Before Jason could answer, House spoke up. "General."
The EMT nodded firmly, and he turned to Jason. "You mind meeting us down there? The ER folks are probably going to want to ask you some questions."
"Sure, I can do that." Jason nodded.
The EMTs rolled the stretcher out of the apartment, and Jason could hear the two men talking as they placed House in the ambulance and pulled away.
He stared down at the bottle in his hand, thinking what might have happened had he just ignored the sounds of crashing glass in the night. Would House have kept taking pills to kill a pain that wouldn't go away? If that were the case, would anyone have found him before he took too many?
Jason wasn't sure. He curved his fingers almost defiantly around the prescription bottle, clutching it almost as tightly as House had. Sometimes, it paid to be a nosy neighbor. House might not fully appreciate it now, but perhaps he would appreciate it sometime down the line. Even if he didn't, Jason was somewhat comforted by the idea that he had done the right thing. Right now, that was good enough.
# # #
And it's all yours, readers. Read and review.