PATIENT - Chapter 9: Waiting for Cuddy
Title: Patient
Author: zeppomarx
Characters: House, Wilson, Cuddy, plus the characters created for Priority’s Exigencies and zeppomarx’s A Gentle Knock at the Door.
Summary: House’s minions find a new patient, one who is reluctant to allow House to treat him. Begins three months after the opening scene of A Gentle Knock at the Door. Part of the Contract universe, which includes DIY Sheep’s intense and angsty The Contract, and Priority’s sequel Exigencies.
Thanks: To priority and houserocket7 for encouraging me to writing this side story to A Gentle Knock on the Door, and for their faithful diligence in copy editing my sloppy prose.
Disclaimers: You know the drill. Don’t own `em, never did, never will. Wish I did.
Warnings, etc.: Generally safe, but references to torture, rape and major character death that has happened in the past. Some chapters are pretty angsty.
This Chapter: Suddenly, his office door swung open wide... he saw three large, uniformed men rushing toward him. His heart began beating wildly and he opened his mouth in a silent scream.
Chapter 8
Chapter 7
Chapter 6
Chapter 5
Chapter 4
Chapter 3
Chapter 2
Chapter 1
_________________________________________________
Chapter 9: Waiting For Cuddy
While Chase and Devi paced in Cuddy’s office, waiting for her to return, House sat quietly in his own office, poring over Tritter’s case notes, trying to fit the pieces into some kind of pattern that would help him solve the mystery of what was making the detective weaker and sicker every day.
Suddenly, his office door swung open wide. For a second, he expected Wilson or Chase to come barging in, having forgotten that they should open his door slowly to keep from startling him. Instead he saw three large, uniformed men rushing toward him. His heart began beating wildly and he opened his mouth in a silent scream.
* * * *
Pleading a hospital emergency, Cuddy hurried back to PPTH as soon as she could. When she came through the main door, she saw nurse Brenda Previn trying to flag her down.
“Later, Brenda,” she said, almost running across the polished marble floor. “I’ve got a crisis.”
Previn followed her through the lobby toward her office.
“I doubt you’ve got a bigger crisis than this,” she panted, hurrying to keep up with the hospital administrator, who was click-clacking across the floor. “Wait… Wait, Dr. Cuddy… Lisa… please. You’ve got to listen to me.”
Reluctantly, Cuddy slowed to a walk and then stopped, turning to face her head nurse.
“What is it?” she asked irritably, pretending to pay attention, but really hoping to get out of the conversation and into her office. Chase’s call had disturbed her greatly, and she was eager to follow up on it. “What’s going on?” Usually, Brenda Previn was taciturn, but right now, she seemed flustered, determined to force Cuddy into listening to her. Suddenly, Cuddy’s heart sped up as she realized that the normally unflappable nurse Previn was shaking. “Come on, Brenda?! What’s happened?”
“It’s about House,” said the nurse. “You have to do something fast. It’s… it’s horrible.” Her face was contorted with alarm.
Cuddy froze. What could have occurred? Had House suffered a breakdown? Was he injured? She knew he shouldn’t have come in today.
“What? What is it?” Anxiously, she scanned the nurse’s demeanor for clues. Nurse Previn, who had once viewed House with disdain and impatience, had become Cuddy’s scout, quietly watching out for House, surreptitiously reporting on his wellbeing to Cuddy. If Brenda Previn thought something horrible had happened to House, then she deserved to have Cuddy’s full attention.
“The police-three of them-barged in here… they arrested him. Y-you just missed it.” Previn was trembling, perhaps in fear or perhaps in anger… or perhaps both.
Cuddy felt her pounding heart stop beating altogether for a second.
“Oh, dear God! Why?!”
“I-I don’t know,” said Previn, bent over, hands braced against her thighs as she struggled to catch her breath, to force the unwanted words out. “I-I c-couldn’t stop them. They stormed into his office before I had a chance to do anything. Next thing I knew, they dragged him through here. In handcuffs.”
“Shit!” said the Dean of Medicine under her breath. “Where did they take him?”
“Don’t… know… they wouldn’t tell me anything. They just… Oh, God, Dr. Cuddy, he looked so terrified. He was… struggling… crying. He kept yelling, ‘No… not again, not again!”
Cuddy saw a solitary tear slowly spill out of Previn’s left eye and make its way down her cheek. As she pictured the scene, Cuddy’s own emotions about House threatened to immobilize her. She stood motionless for what seemed like an eternity, before her adrenalin kicked in. No time to panic, she thought, finally realizing she had to take charge. “Where’s Wilson?” she asked, urgently. “Someone needs to tell Wilson.”
“I paged him, but he hasn’t responded yet. I-I don’t think he knows.”
“Stop whatever you’re doing and go find Wilson. I’ll see what I can do.”
She turned toward her office, taking three quick steps before she halted again, turning back toward Previn, who was pointed toward the elevator. “Thanks. Thanks, Brenda.” Previn nodded a brusque acknowledgment, jumping into the open elevator and poking vigorously at a button until the doors closed. Cuddy headed as fast as she could toward her office. When she got there, she found Chase and Devi Rajghatta waiting for her.
“Why did they do it?” she asked as she flung open her office door, startling Chase and Devi, who were pacing inside. They looked confused.
“Do what, Dr. Cuddy? What are you talking about?”
Clearly, they hadn’t heard.
“The police…” She tried to slow her heart rate with a couple of deep breaths. “Nurse Previn says Dr. House was just arrested. The police dragged him through the lobby in handcuffs.”
Without warning, Chase leapt to his feet, his face flushed and angry.
“That son of a bitch!” he yelled. “I’ll kill him!”
“What? Who? Tritter?” asked Cuddy. Devi just stood, her mouth agape.
“Yes, Tritter,” said Chase bitterly. “It’s got to be Tritter. He’s been making threats.”
* * * *
When the three uniformed policemen barged into House’s office, he immediately began to quake. It was worse than yesterday, worse than having his own employee wish he were dead. It was his deepest fears coming true. He didn’t know how or why, but the whole bloodcurdling ordeal was starting all over again.
“Dr. Gregory House,” said one of them, looming over him, “you’re under arrest.”
House couldn’t breathe. He felt himself growing faint.
“W-what?” he whispered, gasping for air. “Wh-why?”
“We have evidence that you have been mistreating a patient. You are under arrest for assault. You’ll have to come with us.”
In this panic, he couldn’t think. Could he have done something wrong? His mind raced, retracing his methodology. He couldn’t-could he?-have done anything wrong? Anything that wrong? He’d been so careful in his approach to Tritter’s case, so why would this be happening? He’d never even been in the man’s room. The closest he’d come was when he looked through the window. He’s a bully, said the small voice in the back of House’s head, following by Rainie’s voice saying, Bullies don’t like it when someone stands up to them. But he hadn’t stood up to Tritter this time. He was trying to cure the man. And this wasn’t Tritter come to arrest him-at least not directly. This was three monster-sized uniformed cops, with tasers and guns and clubs. He couldn’t stand up to the police. He looked down and saw his hands trembling wildly.
Even to these hardened policemen, House’s panic was obvious.
“N-No. That’s not possible,” he said, starting to lose control. Desperately, he clung to the logical part of his mind, the part that said this had to be some kind of terrible mistake.
“Yes, sir, it is possible,” said one of the policeman, looming over him, holding out a pair of open handcuffs. “According to the complaint, you’ve mistreated a patient to the extent that it falls within the purview of assault. You’ll have to come with us.”
As the uniformed man came closer, House shrank away involuntarily, scooting his chair backward as fast as he could until he collided with the wall behind him.
“Now, now, Dr. House,” said the cop in a low, menacing voice, an eerie smile on his face. “We don’t want to add resisting arrest to the charges, do we?”
As House saw the handcuffs come closer, he closed his eyes, trying to swallow his dread. Suddenly, his years of torment came flooding back. He envisioned himself returned to that prison hellhole… once again sentenced to spend the rest of his life being beaten and raped and tortured.
“Oh… God, no…!” said the doctor, his voice quavering.
The cop saw House’s head roll to the side as tears began to stream down his face.
One step behind his fellow officer, Det. John Hershey felt a pang of something akin to pity. He was just there to do his job, but like everyone else with a television or a newspaper, he knew who Gregory House was and what he’d been through. For a long moment, he was tempted to just turn and leave, hating himself for what he’d been sent there to do. But a policeman’s lot is not always a happy one.
Reluctantly, he joined his colleague in cornering the petrified doctor, grabbing his flailing arms and pinning them behind the back of the wheelchair before snapping on the cuffs.
“Dr. Gregory House, you have the right to remain silent…”
Chapter 10: Under Arrest
Author: zeppomarx
Characters: House, Wilson, Cuddy, plus the characters created for Priority’s Exigencies and zeppomarx’s A Gentle Knock at the Door.
Summary: House’s minions find a new patient, one who is reluctant to allow House to treat him. Begins three months after the opening scene of A Gentle Knock at the Door. Part of the Contract universe, which includes DIY Sheep’s intense and angsty The Contract, and Priority’s sequel Exigencies.
Thanks: To priority and houserocket7 for encouraging me to writing this side story to A Gentle Knock on the Door, and for their faithful diligence in copy editing my sloppy prose.
Disclaimers: You know the drill. Don’t own `em, never did, never will. Wish I did.
Warnings, etc.: Generally safe, but references to torture, rape and major character death that has happened in the past. Some chapters are pretty angsty.
This Chapter: Suddenly, his office door swung open wide... he saw three large, uniformed men rushing toward him. His heart began beating wildly and he opened his mouth in a silent scream.
Chapter 8
Chapter 7
Chapter 6
Chapter 5
Chapter 4
Chapter 3
Chapter 2
Chapter 1
_________________________________________________
Chapter 9: Waiting For Cuddy
While Chase and Devi paced in Cuddy’s office, waiting for her to return, House sat quietly in his own office, poring over Tritter’s case notes, trying to fit the pieces into some kind of pattern that would help him solve the mystery of what was making the detective weaker and sicker every day.
Suddenly, his office door swung open wide. For a second, he expected Wilson or Chase to come barging in, having forgotten that they should open his door slowly to keep from startling him. Instead he saw three large, uniformed men rushing toward him. His heart began beating wildly and he opened his mouth in a silent scream.
* * * *
Pleading a hospital emergency, Cuddy hurried back to PPTH as soon as she could. When she came through the main door, she saw nurse Brenda Previn trying to flag her down.
“Later, Brenda,” she said, almost running across the polished marble floor. “I’ve got a crisis.”
Previn followed her through the lobby toward her office.
“I doubt you’ve got a bigger crisis than this,” she panted, hurrying to keep up with the hospital administrator, who was click-clacking across the floor. “Wait… Wait, Dr. Cuddy… Lisa… please. You’ve got to listen to me.”
Reluctantly, Cuddy slowed to a walk and then stopped, turning to face her head nurse.
“What is it?” she asked irritably, pretending to pay attention, but really hoping to get out of the conversation and into her office. Chase’s call had disturbed her greatly, and she was eager to follow up on it. “What’s going on?” Usually, Brenda Previn was taciturn, but right now, she seemed flustered, determined to force Cuddy into listening to her. Suddenly, Cuddy’s heart sped up as she realized that the normally unflappable nurse Previn was shaking. “Come on, Brenda?! What’s happened?”
“It’s about House,” said the nurse. “You have to do something fast. It’s… it’s horrible.” Her face was contorted with alarm.
Cuddy froze. What could have occurred? Had House suffered a breakdown? Was he injured? She knew he shouldn’t have come in today.
“What? What is it?” Anxiously, she scanned the nurse’s demeanor for clues. Nurse Previn, who had once viewed House with disdain and impatience, had become Cuddy’s scout, quietly watching out for House, surreptitiously reporting on his wellbeing to Cuddy. If Brenda Previn thought something horrible had happened to House, then she deserved to have Cuddy’s full attention.
“The police-three of them-barged in here… they arrested him. Y-you just missed it.” Previn was trembling, perhaps in fear or perhaps in anger… or perhaps both.
Cuddy felt her pounding heart stop beating altogether for a second.
“Oh, dear God! Why?!”
“I-I don’t know,” said Previn, bent over, hands braced against her thighs as she struggled to catch her breath, to force the unwanted words out. “I-I c-couldn’t stop them. They stormed into his office before I had a chance to do anything. Next thing I knew, they dragged him through here. In handcuffs.”
“Shit!” said the Dean of Medicine under her breath. “Where did they take him?”
“Don’t… know… they wouldn’t tell me anything. They just… Oh, God, Dr. Cuddy, he looked so terrified. He was… struggling… crying. He kept yelling, ‘No… not again, not again!”
Cuddy saw a solitary tear slowly spill out of Previn’s left eye and make its way down her cheek. As she pictured the scene, Cuddy’s own emotions about House threatened to immobilize her. She stood motionless for what seemed like an eternity, before her adrenalin kicked in. No time to panic, she thought, finally realizing she had to take charge. “Where’s Wilson?” she asked, urgently. “Someone needs to tell Wilson.”
“I paged him, but he hasn’t responded yet. I-I don’t think he knows.”
“Stop whatever you’re doing and go find Wilson. I’ll see what I can do.”
She turned toward her office, taking three quick steps before she halted again, turning back toward Previn, who was pointed toward the elevator. “Thanks. Thanks, Brenda.” Previn nodded a brusque acknowledgment, jumping into the open elevator and poking vigorously at a button until the doors closed. Cuddy headed as fast as she could toward her office. When she got there, she found Chase and Devi Rajghatta waiting for her.
“Why did they do it?” she asked as she flung open her office door, startling Chase and Devi, who were pacing inside. They looked confused.
“Do what, Dr. Cuddy? What are you talking about?”
Clearly, they hadn’t heard.
“The police…” She tried to slow her heart rate with a couple of deep breaths. “Nurse Previn says Dr. House was just arrested. The police dragged him through the lobby in handcuffs.”
Without warning, Chase leapt to his feet, his face flushed and angry.
“That son of a bitch!” he yelled. “I’ll kill him!”
“What? Who? Tritter?” asked Cuddy. Devi just stood, her mouth agape.
“Yes, Tritter,” said Chase bitterly. “It’s got to be Tritter. He’s been making threats.”
* * * *
When the three uniformed policemen barged into House’s office, he immediately began to quake. It was worse than yesterday, worse than having his own employee wish he were dead. It was his deepest fears coming true. He didn’t know how or why, but the whole bloodcurdling ordeal was starting all over again.
“Dr. Gregory House,” said one of them, looming over him, “you’re under arrest.”
House couldn’t breathe. He felt himself growing faint.
“W-what?” he whispered, gasping for air. “Wh-why?”
“We have evidence that you have been mistreating a patient. You are under arrest for assault. You’ll have to come with us.”
In this panic, he couldn’t think. Could he have done something wrong? His mind raced, retracing his methodology. He couldn’t-could he?-have done anything wrong? Anything that wrong? He’d been so careful in his approach to Tritter’s case, so why would this be happening? He’d never even been in the man’s room. The closest he’d come was when he looked through the window. He’s a bully, said the small voice in the back of House’s head, following by Rainie’s voice saying, Bullies don’t like it when someone stands up to them. But he hadn’t stood up to Tritter this time. He was trying to cure the man. And this wasn’t Tritter come to arrest him-at least not directly. This was three monster-sized uniformed cops, with tasers and guns and clubs. He couldn’t stand up to the police. He looked down and saw his hands trembling wildly.
Even to these hardened policemen, House’s panic was obvious.
“N-No. That’s not possible,” he said, starting to lose control. Desperately, he clung to the logical part of his mind, the part that said this had to be some kind of terrible mistake.
“Yes, sir, it is possible,” said one of the policeman, looming over him, holding out a pair of open handcuffs. “According to the complaint, you’ve mistreated a patient to the extent that it falls within the purview of assault. You’ll have to come with us.”
As the uniformed man came closer, House shrank away involuntarily, scooting his chair backward as fast as he could until he collided with the wall behind him.
“Now, now, Dr. House,” said the cop in a low, menacing voice, an eerie smile on his face. “We don’t want to add resisting arrest to the charges, do we?”
As House saw the handcuffs come closer, he closed his eyes, trying to swallow his dread. Suddenly, his years of torment came flooding back. He envisioned himself returned to that prison hellhole… once again sentenced to spend the rest of his life being beaten and raped and tortured.
“Oh… God, no…!” said the doctor, his voice quavering.
The cop saw House’s head roll to the side as tears began to stream down his face.
One step behind his fellow officer, Det. John Hershey felt a pang of something akin to pity. He was just there to do his job, but like everyone else with a television or a newspaper, he knew who Gregory House was and what he’d been through. For a long moment, he was tempted to just turn and leave, hating himself for what he’d been sent there to do. But a policeman’s lot is not always a happy one.
Reluctantly, he joined his colleague in cornering the petrified doctor, grabbing his flailing arms and pinning them behind the back of the wheelchair before snapping on the cuffs.
“Dr. Gregory House, you have the right to remain silent…”
Chapter 10: Under Arrest