You can live with dignity, but you can't die with it. [Semi-closed; complete]

[causticguy]

Who: House and Allen Walker (and Simca if she wants to join them).
What: The aftermath of Cross's death.
Where: Cross's house.
When: Following this log.

Comments

[antiakuma]

Death was a raw and difficult subject for Allen. He knew no-one dealt with death well, however a sting of loss in his relatively short life had left Allen more than a little tender about the concept as a whole.

Cross, despite what on-lookers and the innocently ignorant may assume, was not a segregate father or a guardian. He was his General and Master. He wouldn't go so far as to say "and nothing more", because there it was more complex than that. A lot of words came to mind when thinking about Cross that included drunk, womaniser, jerk, slimy bastard and countless other colourful expressions. It didn't include ideas like carer, honest man or warm-and-fuzzy.

Above all, it should never include the term dead. General Cross Marian was much better than that, Allen had always been confident in his Master's survival technique. Even if they weren't in contact for long periods at a time

[causticguy]

House didn't say, "You're welcome." People thanked him for a lot of things: they thanked him when he solved their cases, when they found out they weren't going to die, when their loved one's treatment first started to take effect. But he wasn't the guy who got thanked for telling people they were dying (that was Wilson's territory), and he wasn't the guy who got thanked for trying so hard, or for all his work, or for how much he cared. He was the guy who patients' families wanted to kick or punch or just plain sue, whose bedside manner was only half a step up from the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket.

Allen thanking him, it didn't make sense. Unless the kid really was so objective that his mentor's death didn't phase him (which House doubted-doctors could work at it for years and still not become that objective with patients they only met a dozen times); or else he was trying to cover something up, shift the focus away from the fact that Cross was dead, feel like he was saying or doing something that mattered by making House feel

[antiakuma]

Of course he was covering it up, and badly to boot. He knew it, but the place they were in was unforgiving and could consume the weak without so much as a brief hint of a warning. He had to keep his back straight, his shoulders back, his head up and the smile on.

That was until House actually replied.

Then he blinked slightly, his head cocking to one side as a moment of heavy silence hung awkwardly. He could feel a tightness in his throat as he swallowed, the sensation feeling dry and uncomfortable.

"Autopsy?" he repeated at length, stepping away from the door then and coming to stand in front of House. While it seemed an obvious move to House, judging by the confusion on the young Exorcist's face it most certainly was not obvious to him "Why?"

The short question seemed silly as he vocalised it, but he had a bad feeling that he and House were somehow on different pages. Before some horrible mistake was made he needed everything to be clear as day for both of them first.

[causticguy]

House was not known for being a man who particularly appreciated the wisdom of catching more flies with honey than with vinegar. It would have been easy-really easy-for him to be snide and condescending. But maybe at the moment it would just take too much energy. Maybe he was tired. Maybe he felt bad for the kid. Maybe

[antiakuma]

The explanation made enough sense as far as answering Allen's question went. However, what was troubling him was the fact House seemed to have already decided on this course of action. Had it been discussed before during the rush and panic? Allen really couldn't remember. That meant one of two things; he was too swept up in everything to recall it or the conversation hadn't happened