Guess what I found!
Old post is old. Here is my long overdue halloween fic. hahaha
Just figured I'd post it, better than just letting it sit here :\
Title: The Five People Who Came to Wilson, and One Who Didn't (Have to)
Fandom: House, M.D.
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,110
Summary: Something's missing; can you figure out what it is? Written for karaokegal’s "Come As You're Not" Halloween party.
Notes: Thanks to arhh, savemoony, and srsly_yes for the beta and suggestions :)
Used a song lyric provided by karaokegal:
All my love, came to nothing at all my love.
When I woke up to find, you were no longer mine.
All my dreams, thrown away after all this time.
Now there's no hope for me. In the future you see.
Why it's a costume: I'm writing without a major ingredient I always use. :)
---
"Good morning." Chase greeted Wilson as both men walked through the closing elevator doors.
"Morning" Wilson replied with a polite smile.
The atmosphere was cool between the two men as they found themselves alone in a busy hospital's elevator. Wilson decided to fill the silence with polite conversation.
"So how are you? Things going well in the surgical department?"
Chase stared ahead blankly for a moment before he realized Wilson was attempting conversation with him. "Huh? Oh, oh yeah. Everything's great."
Not believing the half-truth Wilson asked another question. "How's Cameron? Everything going well?"
As Chase flinched out of the corner of his eye, Wilson knew he had hit the source of Chase's current mood. "Things could be... better."
"Oh?"
"Took separate cars to work, she didn't even stay for breakfast. She doesn't make an effort to talk about things." He shook his head, "I don't know what she wants from me."
"Do you know what you want from her?"
"An actual relationship for one," Chase embarrassingly rubbed the back of his head, "I don't really know actually. I mean, we don't fight, much, and we don't do much more than that." Chase sighed, "I just don't think a relationship should be this lonely."
Wilson nodded. "So what have you been doing to change it?"
Chase failed to come up with an answer and just stared at the ground in thought.
Wilson pressed his lips together and uttered a low sound of agreement. "Things can change Chase; but only if you want them to. Sometimes it’s for the better, and sometimes it can feel like it was for the worst, but you shouldn't feel like you have to constantly chase her." Wilson looked up as the elevator rang signaling the end of the ride. He gave a small wave to Chase, "Thanks for the company."
Chase simply nodded with a smile. "No problem."
---
Wilson immersed himself in the towering pile of unfinished paperwork. Within a couple of hours he forgot about the surrounding world outside his office until a sudden opening of his office door startled him. Wilson instantly looked up in annoyance at the surprising intrusion. "Try knocking?"
Kutner realized his error as he saw the annoyed look in Wilson's eyes. Trying to quickly amend the situation, he swiftly closed the door and stood in front of Wilson's desk fumbling with his words, trying to regain his train of thought.
Wilson sighed as he covered his eyes with his right hand in slight frustration. "You needed something?"
"Oh! Umm...Yes!" Kutner handed Wilson a case folder. "It looks like cancer, but we want to biopsy to be sure."
With a quick glance at the file Wilson nodded in approval. "That's fine. Go schedule a liver biopsy." Wilson handed the folder back to him as he tried to return to work, failing to realize that Kutner had yet to leave his office.
"Ever wake up to find things change right under your nose?"
Wilson gazed up in curiosity when he realized Kutner beginning to engage in a conversation. As the question slowly began to sink into his brain, Kutner sat in the chair across from Wilson's desk and he made himself comfortable.
"Well, things don't usually change that fast..." Wilson moved his head in a series of slight nods and hand gestures, "Things have probably been changing little by little and you only noticed much farther along the path."
Kutner listened as his attention was slowly re-directed to the window leading to the diagnostics office. "Mmm..."
"This... doesn't have to do with your case, does it?"
"Are Thirteen and Foreman dating?" Kutner suddenly interjected.
"Uhh... I haven't heard any rumors about it" Wilson blinked.
"Oh..." Kutner slowly turned away from the transparent door and faced Wilson again. "They should. They seem really into each other."
Wilson attempted to turn back to his work,. "Just leave them alone, if it's meant to happen it'll happen."
Kutner let his gaze wander to a vacant corner of the room, his tone become unsure and hesitant. "What if...you don't want that to happen?"
For the second time Wilson put down his pen and looked at Kutner, wondering if he was always as awkward as a preteen girl when it came to his feelings. "Are you saying you like Thirteen?"
"Uhh....W-Well... Umm..." Kutner stuttered incoherently with no success towards forming real words.
"You could try taking her out; that way you can be sure."
With that Kutner began to laugh softly. "Have you seen her Dr. Wilson? She's an... exciting person. She knows what she wants and how to get it. Why would she go for someone who isn't ashamed to be called a Sci-Fi geek and is proud of his complete first-edition box set of Star Trek DVDs?"
"I don't know; try asking her?"
Kutner's pager started going off and he leapt to his feet and made a run to the door. "Thanks for your time Dr. Wilson." Kutner smiled and remarked politely right before he closed the door.
"That's what I'm here for." Wilson answered to no one as he resumed his task of completing paperwork.
---
Wilson fell in line at the cafeteria as someone else quickly walked up beside him and began loading his tray as fast as he was. Wilson attempted to pay the other person no mind and he continued to slide his lunch to the register and made his way towards a vacant seat. However, the other person followed and took a seat across from Wilson.
"Something up? Case take a turn for the worse?"
"Biopsy is scheduled sometime this afternoon; we'll know then," Taub answered Wilson in a serious tone and then looked up to face him. "I need some advice."
Wilson looked up to meet Taub's direct gaze as he slowly nodded in amazement. "Advice...?"
"Yeah. We're both doctors. Both have great taste in ties. Both Jewish. ...And we both have quite the experience getting a nurse in bed."
Wilson cleared his throat as he suppressed a slight smile. "Not one for tact are you Dr. Taub?"
Taub chuckled. "Nurses love to talk don't they? It seems you're still at the top of the gossip chain." He stared at his drink as he began to absently stir it with his straw, "Heard you've had three wives."
Wilson chose to ignore the obvious invasion of his personal life and responded to Taub's inquiry, "Yes I have."
"And you're still on good terms with all of them?"
"That is true, yes."
Taub stopped stirring his drink and looked at Wilson seriously, "Was it worth it?"
"I'm ok with the decision if that's what you're asking."
"So you wouldn't choose any differently if you had the choice?"
Wilson looked away in thought; he failed to give an answer.
"I gave up my entire career to save my marriage, and I often wonder if it was even worth it. What lengths would you have gone through to save your marriages?"
"...If there was any way to save my marriages I probably would have done it." Wilson crossed his arms in resolve, "But there wasn’t and they were over."
Taub nodded in understanding, but kept his grim demeanor.
"What did you want to hear from me? That I regret everything, my life is irreparable, and that my choices were wrong?"
"Maybe I do."
"Just because I didn't make the wrong choice doesn't mean you did Dr. Taub. Maybe if you admitted to yourself that you're actually enjoying how everything is working out for you, you wouldn't feel like you're missing out."
Taub sighed as he got up from the table. "Thank you for your time Dr. Wilson."
---
Wilson stood in the OR gallery observing the biopsy taking place. He failed to notice the other figure standing beside him until one of the younger doctors nearly dropped the biopsy sample and a sharp sarcastic remark was heard through the OR intercom.
"Bad day Foreman?" Wilson asked holding back a smirk.
Foreman merely crossed his arms and kept his eyes on the OR despite the doctors cleaning up and getting ready for the next scheduled surgery. He refused to answer.
"Any reason why you suspect it's a hepatoma?"
"Hadley suggested it; and at this point the only other thing it could be is cholangiocarcinoma."
Wilson looked down. "Cancer of the bile ducts; by then it'd be too late to do anything. I hope the biopsy goes well."
Foreman grunted. "It probably won't go well if they're letting clumsy residents handle the samples."
"Did you just refer to Thirteen as 'Hadley'? That's a first." Wilson remarked changing the subject.
"So?" Foreman tried to sound like he didn't care, but the immediate denial in his tone signaled otherwise.
"I've heard rumors that you two were dating?" Wilson inquired curiously.
"Complete lie." Foreman replied flatly. "Her type doesn't go for my type."
"What do you mean?"
"She doesn't settle for plain, safe, boring; she goes for unpredictable things." Foreman chuckled to himself. "If she did, we would be farther than where we are now."
Wilson rubbed his chin in thought. "It never occurred to you to try and be daring? It's not like you're the shy 'type'."
"Whatever the issue is it's not from my lack of trying." Foreman crossed his arms in confirmation.
"No; but if she doesn't even know you're out there for her then none of your efforts matter at all." Wilson replied as he walk out of the gallery.
---
As Wilson walked down the hallways leading to his office he realized that he was being followed by a pair of persistent footsteps. He quickened his pace and ducked into narrow passages hoping to either discourage his pursuer or his paranoia. After a while, Wilson's hopes failed to come to fruition and he swiftly turned around to face the follower.
"Are you having fun stalking me-" Wilson cut himself off when he realized who it was, "Oh... Can I help you Dr. Cameron?"
Cameron looked at him in surprise, "something wrong Wilson?"
"No, no, nothing. I was just overreacting to you following me; I wasn't thinking clearly, that's all."
"Oh; who did you think it was?"
Wilson shrugged his shoulders. "Did you need something from me?"
Cameron cleared her throat. "Have you seen Chase? He isn't scheduled for any surgeries and he's not in the locker room, but he's nowhere to be found. Someone mentioned they saw him walking with you this morning?"
"That's right, but I haven't seen him since."
Cameron sighed in loss. "Guess he probably left or something."
Remembering his conversation with Chase that morning Wilson became curious. "Why are you looking for him?"
Cameron glanced back up at Wilson. "Did he say anything about me this morning?"
"Nothing in particular. Are you suspicious?"
"No." Cameron asserted. "It’s not like it would change anything anyway."
"What do you mean?"
"It's always been like this since we started dating. Petty fights, running to other people, and then making up and starting all over. It's only a matter of time..."
"So you like where everything is now?"
"Of course not! It's just..."
"It's just that everything's safe right now, isn't it?" Wilson finished her statement. "It can't end if it stays the same, but it can't move forward either."
Cameron simply shook her head and began to walk away.
"If you want to have anything of a future with him something has to change you know."
Cameron already turned the corner as she heard Wilson's final words. "I know."
---
The day was finally over as Wilson finished up the last of his paperwork and packed everything away in his briefcase. Before he left however, he stepped out onto the conjoining balcony and stared out into the sunset. He reflected on the day and the memories of the other doctors' problems surfaced in Wilson's mind.
"It's funny how they all came to me with their relationship problems; like I'm an expert when it comes to these things." Wilson leaned back on the wall as he stared up at the pink and orange evening sky. "Am I missing something?"
Seemingly on cue following Wilson's thoughts, he heard footsteps scuffling across the diagnostics office. Wilson quietly laughed to himself as the obvious realization washed over him as the adjacent door opened and a pair of long legs swung over the dividing ledge.
"Missed you today."
Wilson smiled at the lack of sentimental tone in the words. "Sorry, I had a case."
"So you just forgot about me then?"
"No one could forget about you." Wilson moved in closer and softly kissed the figure on the lips. "Amber; let's go home."