"Broken" post-ep drabbles.
Title: Days of Absence
Author: dominus_trinus (
lit_luminary )
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Cuddy, Wilson, Chase; House/Wilson friendship (or pre-slash, if you prefer), House/Chase mentorship
Summary: Snapshots of an empty space in three lives.
Cuddy:
She’s not going to lie and say the peace isn’t a nice change. For the first month, it’s a relief not to have House storm into her office demanding kill-or-cure procedures. No interrupted phone calls, no patient complaints of broken social rules, revealed infidelities or House’s particular brand of genius/insanity.
It’s a restful month-and then she starts to miss him.
He drives her crazy, but without him around, hospital administration is undeniably bland a lot of days. Verbal sparring with him is a game; keeping him in something resembling check is a challenge that lends much-needed spice to her routine.
She attends meetings and benefits, does paperwork and political liaising with donors; goes home to Rachel at night. It’s all smooth and sedate as clockwork, and she’s learning that she doesn’t like the peace as much as she’d thought she would: she’s gotten used to having House as her personal cuckoo to punctuate the hours.
Wilson:
He’d felt guilty, denying House what he’d asked for when he was sure House had pulled some absurdly complicated Machiavellian scheme to get to the phone. But Nolan had been right: the only way House was going to heal was if he stayed in Mayfield long enough to get help.
He didn’t visit because his presence, his history of enabling House, the possibility of an accomplice wouldn’t be to House’s benefit (although he’d have paid good money to be a fly on the wall and watch the spectacle of House versus the Mayfield staff). Daily-usually over lunch, when it just feels wrong not to have House there stealing half his food or firing off speculation about his latest patient-of-the-week-he wonders if House will admit to needing help; if he’ll put real effort into getting better.
If Nolan can succeed where Wilson’s tried and tried and failed.
When House leaves Mayfield-when, not if; he’s not Danny, he can heal-maybe there’ll be room for more between them than lectures and pasting-back-together and worrying House’s next crazy stunt will kill him.
Maybe.
Chase:
He hasn’t seen House every day since it’d been “time for a change” and House had kicked him out of Diagnostics, so it’s not really House’s literal presence he misses, although it’s never the same when Foreman’s the one demanding his peripheral involvement in a case.
He refuses sometimes: Foreman may like to think he can step into House’s shoes while he’s gone, but he’s not as good as House is and the risks he wants Chase to take in the O.R. are less certain to pay off. He doesn’t command the same respect or the same loyalty.
Chase doesn’t try to visit, because House would hate to be seen in that place, but as the months pass, he prays sometimes for House to regain his sanity and all possible health. Honestly, he’s not even sure he believes anymore that prayers are heard, but acknowledging the wish behind the words counts for something.
He lets himself hope for House’s return, and tries to believe that (unlike his mother, unlike his father) House won’t disappoint him.
Author: dominus_trinus (
lit_luminary )
Rating: G
Characters/Pairings: Cuddy, Wilson, Chase; House/Wilson friendship (or pre-slash, if you prefer), House/Chase mentorship
Summary: Snapshots of an empty space in three lives.
Cuddy:
She’s not going to lie and say the peace isn’t a nice change. For the first month, it’s a relief not to have House storm into her office demanding kill-or-cure procedures. No interrupted phone calls, no patient complaints of broken social rules, revealed infidelities or House’s particular brand of genius/insanity.
It’s a restful month-and then she starts to miss him.
He drives her crazy, but without him around, hospital administration is undeniably bland a lot of days. Verbal sparring with him is a game; keeping him in something resembling check is a challenge that lends much-needed spice to her routine.
She attends meetings and benefits, does paperwork and political liaising with donors; goes home to Rachel at night. It’s all smooth and sedate as clockwork, and she’s learning that she doesn’t like the peace as much as she’d thought she would: she’s gotten used to having House as her personal cuckoo to punctuate the hours.
Wilson:
He’d felt guilty, denying House what he’d asked for when he was sure House had pulled some absurdly complicated Machiavellian scheme to get to the phone. But Nolan had been right: the only way House was going to heal was if he stayed in Mayfield long enough to get help.
He didn’t visit because his presence, his history of enabling House, the possibility of an accomplice wouldn’t be to House’s benefit (although he’d have paid good money to be a fly on the wall and watch the spectacle of House versus the Mayfield staff). Daily-usually over lunch, when it just feels wrong not to have House there stealing half his food or firing off speculation about his latest patient-of-the-week-he wonders if House will admit to needing help; if he’ll put real effort into getting better.
If Nolan can succeed where Wilson’s tried and tried and failed.
When House leaves Mayfield-when, not if; he’s not Danny, he can heal-maybe there’ll be room for more between them than lectures and pasting-back-together and worrying House’s next crazy stunt will kill him.
Maybe.
Chase:
He hasn’t seen House every day since it’d been “time for a change” and House had kicked him out of Diagnostics, so it’s not really House’s literal presence he misses, although it’s never the same when Foreman’s the one demanding his peripheral involvement in a case.
He refuses sometimes: Foreman may like to think he can step into House’s shoes while he’s gone, but he’s not as good as House is and the risks he wants Chase to take in the O.R. are less certain to pay off. He doesn’t command the same respect or the same loyalty.
Chase doesn’t try to visit, because House would hate to be seen in that place, but as the months pass, he prays sometimes for House to regain his sanity and all possible health. Honestly, he’s not even sure he believes anymore that prayers are heard, but acknowledging the wish behind the words counts for something.
He lets himself hope for House’s return, and tries to believe that (unlike his mother, unlike his father) House won’t disappoint him.