Gentle Knock - Part 25
Title: A Gentle Knock at the Door, Part 25
Author: zeppomarx
Characters: House, Wilson, Cuddy, Chase and Foreman, and new folks.
Warnings and So On: NC-17 for concepts. H/W friendship (perhaps slash if you wear slash goggles)
Summary: A sequel to Priority's Exigencies, which is a sequel to DIY Sheep's The Contract, which has now spawned an incredible number of offshoots. The short version: House is a physical and emotional mess, having been wrongly imprisoned and tortured and all sorts of nasty stuff. It's about what happens next, and how House deals with it.
Timeline: Set nearly a year after the beginning of Exigencies.
Earlier parts here: Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 , 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,
Comments: Be gentle. Flamers begone. Thanks to AW, GM and my medical guru TD, who tells me the medicine is okay, but the procedure is all messed up. Drama trumps medicine, or so I've heard.
Oh, Yeah, the Disclaimer: I certainly don't own House or any of the characters therein, although it would be nice if I did. They belong to David Shore & company. It's just that they waltzed into my head and wouldn't leave until I told their story.
TEASER: A Visit From the FBI...
___________________________________________
A Gentle Knock at the Door
Part 25
“You’re kidding me,” said Cuddy, although she knew he wasn’t.
“Not at all,” said Wilson. “According to Jacey, they had simultaneous nightmares, and the nurses couldn’t bring either one of them out of it until Rainie accidentally hit House in the face.”
Cuddy cringed at the thought. “Oh, my god. Is he okay?” she asked anxiously.
“He’s fine. Apparently, once he woke up, he insisted that they move the beds together and leave the room. We may never know exactly what happened in there, but I can tell you what I saw-the two of them holding each other tightly and sleeping peacefully.”
A sudden knock at the door startled her. She looked up to see Joe Roberts coming in. Shaking her head slightly at Wilson as she refocused her thoughts, she extended her hand to Roberts.
“Joe, good to see you,” she said.
“Dr. Cuddy. Dr. Wilson,” said Roberts. “I was hoping to talk to Dr. House, if he’s up to it.”
“Not sure,” said Cuddy. “Let me check.” She buzzed her assistant. “Could you check with the nurse in room 304 and tell me if Dr. House is okay to have a visitor? If House asks, it’s Joe Roberts.”
“What’s up?” asked Wilson, offering Roberts the other chair.
“Mostly, I just wanted to check in on him,” said Roberts. “I can’t help but feel this is our fault somehow, that we should have known Pevey was there or been able to get in sooner, before so much damage was done.”
I know the feeling, thought Cuddy.
“I really need to see for myself, to know he’s going to be okay. The last three years of my life have been bound up in House’s case, and I… well, to be honest, I haven’t been able to sleep much worrying about how this is going to affect him.”
“You said ‘mostly,’” Cuddy pointed out. “Why else do you want to see him?”
“Much as I’d like to avoid it, I ought to let him know that Pevey’s arraignment is coming up soon. We’ll need to talk about the trial.”
Cuddy nodded. Wilson just stared at the floor, remembering the last time House had been brought into a courtroom. Of course, that was more than a year ago, and House had still been pretty out of it. But he’d never forget finding House wedged into a corner, shaking with terror as the courtroom descended into chaos.
“Yes…?” said Cuddy, answering the buzz of her phone. “Okay, I’ll tell him. Thanks.”
Turning to Roberts, she said, “You’re good to go. House is expecting you. Check in with the security guards on the third floor. Would you like one of us to go with you? He tires very easily and it might help to have one of us keeping an eye on how he’s doing.”
Roberts agreed that might be a good idea.
Realizing she was going to have to see him sooner or later, Cuddy volunteered. Wilson bowed out, saying he really needed to get some work done.
Silently, Cuddy and Roberts rode down the two flights in the elevator. As they approached the guard at the door of 304, Cuddy gave her okay to allow Roberts into the room.
The two beds were still side by side, but now both patients were awake and sitting up. A rolling tray was hovering over Rainie’s lap, and she was attempting to spear some scrambled eggs with her fork, not an easy task for someone whose hands were as mangled as hers, even with the stress-free grip attached to the fork. When the door opened, she looked up, startled.
House, who was staring at the muted television, glanced at her, and put out his left hand to pat her arm reassuringly.
“Cheese it. It’s the cops,” he said, his left eye displaying a hint of a twinkle, almost like the House of old. “Stash the dope. Or is it dope the stash? I always get those mixed up.”
Her mouth smiled tentatively; her eyes continued to look wary.
“Really. It’s just the boss lady and the FBI. Hi, Cuddy… Roberts.”
“Hi, Dr. House. Ms. Adler. It’s good to see you both.” No one had mentioned to him that they were sharing a room-and apparently a bed-but if the FBI had taught Roberts anything, it was how to keep his emotions from showing on his face.
Rainie dropped her head and looked up at them through her lashes. With another reassuring pat from House, she returned to her struggle with the eggs.
The two pulled chairs up to House’s side of what had become, in essence, a double bed. Unfortunately, this was his injured side, which made it upsetting for them to look at and difficult for him, since he couldn’t really see them through his swollen right eye.
Scowling, House attempted unsuccessfully to shift his position and turn his head in their direction. “Urggh!” he grunted.
“Here, let me help you,” said Cuddy, jumping to her feet and reaching out toward him.
Her sudden movement surprised him, setting off a Rube Goldberg chain reaction. House flinched, his good left arm flying up toward his head for protection, his elbow knocking Rainie’s tray along the way. Her plate of scrambled eggs flew off the tray with a clatter and onto the floor on the other side of the bed, bits of egg raining down on her side of the bed, some landing in her hair. The noise startled Rainie in turn, causing her to recoil and cry out. She tossed her fork up in the air as she grabbed the blanket and dove under it. The fork came crashing down on the tray, and both patients jumped at the sound.
“Oh, my god!” cried Cuddy. “I am so sorry!” She’d taken three quick steps and then stopped herself just in time-she was about to run to the other side of the bed to help with the mess. Taking a deep breath, she stood completely still until House settled down and Rainie came back out from under the blanket.
“I’m such an idiot,” said Cuddy.
“Yes,” agreed House, “you are.” He glanced at Rainie; she seemed to be holding her own.
After an orderly cleaned up the tossed scrambled eggs and brought Rainie another plate and fork, they tried again. This time, Cuddy asked a nurse to help her adjust House’s position so he could see them more clearly.
Once he was situated, House tried turning his head a little further in their direction. Nope. Too painful. The exertion and the stress had tired him, and he rested his head back on the pillow, fighting to keep his eyes open.
“Dr. House, I just wanted to check and see how you were doing,” said Roberts, deciding he wasn’t going to mention Pevey after all.
“So you brought Cuddy the Wonder Klutz with you just to liven things up?”
House heard a small titter near his left ear. He looked over with his good eye and, out of the corner of it saw Rainie stifling a laugh. Very good, he thought. Very good indeed.
Cuddy hung her head. “What can I say?” she asked. “You don’t get to be the dean of medicine because of your bedside manner. You get to be dean of medicine because you’re a bulldozer.”
“You must do your job awfully well, then,” said House. He heard another titter in his left ear.
“Well, I think we’ve given you enough excitement for one day, Dr. House,” said Roberts, rising slowly. He reached out as if to shake House’s hand, realizing as his hand was in midair that House couldn’t possibly shake hands-his right arm was incapacitated. Instead, Roberts carefully bypassed House’s right side and softly patted him on the left arm. “Good to see you again. I’ll be back soon.”
House nodded, suddenly relieved they were leaving. As the door closed, so did his eyes.
NEXT: House Confesses…
Author: zeppomarx
Characters: House, Wilson, Cuddy, Chase and Foreman, and new folks.
Warnings and So On: NC-17 for concepts. H/W friendship (perhaps slash if you wear slash goggles)
Summary: A sequel to Priority's Exigencies, which is a sequel to DIY Sheep's The Contract, which has now spawned an incredible number of offshoots. The short version: House is a physical and emotional mess, having been wrongly imprisoned and tortured and all sorts of nasty stuff. It's about what happens next, and how House deals with it.
Timeline: Set nearly a year after the beginning of Exigencies.
Earlier parts here: Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 , 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24,
Comments: Be gentle. Flamers begone. Thanks to AW, GM and my medical guru TD, who tells me the medicine is okay, but the procedure is all messed up. Drama trumps medicine, or so I've heard.
Oh, Yeah, the Disclaimer: I certainly don't own House or any of the characters therein, although it would be nice if I did. They belong to David Shore & company. It's just that they waltzed into my head and wouldn't leave until I told their story.
TEASER: A Visit From the FBI...
___________________________________________
A Gentle Knock at the Door
Part 25
“You’re kidding me,” said Cuddy, although she knew he wasn’t.
“Not at all,” said Wilson. “According to Jacey, they had simultaneous nightmares, and the nurses couldn’t bring either one of them out of it until Rainie accidentally hit House in the face.”
Cuddy cringed at the thought. “Oh, my god. Is he okay?” she asked anxiously.
“He’s fine. Apparently, once he woke up, he insisted that they move the beds together and leave the room. We may never know exactly what happened in there, but I can tell you what I saw-the two of them holding each other tightly and sleeping peacefully.”
A sudden knock at the door startled her. She looked up to see Joe Roberts coming in. Shaking her head slightly at Wilson as she refocused her thoughts, she extended her hand to Roberts.
“Joe, good to see you,” she said.
“Dr. Cuddy. Dr. Wilson,” said Roberts. “I was hoping to talk to Dr. House, if he’s up to it.”
“Not sure,” said Cuddy. “Let me check.” She buzzed her assistant. “Could you check with the nurse in room 304 and tell me if Dr. House is okay to have a visitor? If House asks, it’s Joe Roberts.”
“What’s up?” asked Wilson, offering Roberts the other chair.
“Mostly, I just wanted to check in on him,” said Roberts. “I can’t help but feel this is our fault somehow, that we should have known Pevey was there or been able to get in sooner, before so much damage was done.”
I know the feeling, thought Cuddy.
“I really need to see for myself, to know he’s going to be okay. The last three years of my life have been bound up in House’s case, and I… well, to be honest, I haven’t been able to sleep much worrying about how this is going to affect him.”
“You said ‘mostly,’” Cuddy pointed out. “Why else do you want to see him?”
“Much as I’d like to avoid it, I ought to let him know that Pevey’s arraignment is coming up soon. We’ll need to talk about the trial.”
Cuddy nodded. Wilson just stared at the floor, remembering the last time House had been brought into a courtroom. Of course, that was more than a year ago, and House had still been pretty out of it. But he’d never forget finding House wedged into a corner, shaking with terror as the courtroom descended into chaos.
“Yes…?” said Cuddy, answering the buzz of her phone. “Okay, I’ll tell him. Thanks.”
Turning to Roberts, she said, “You’re good to go. House is expecting you. Check in with the security guards on the third floor. Would you like one of us to go with you? He tires very easily and it might help to have one of us keeping an eye on how he’s doing.”
Roberts agreed that might be a good idea.
Realizing she was going to have to see him sooner or later, Cuddy volunteered. Wilson bowed out, saying he really needed to get some work done.
Silently, Cuddy and Roberts rode down the two flights in the elevator. As they approached the guard at the door of 304, Cuddy gave her okay to allow Roberts into the room.
The two beds were still side by side, but now both patients were awake and sitting up. A rolling tray was hovering over Rainie’s lap, and she was attempting to spear some scrambled eggs with her fork, not an easy task for someone whose hands were as mangled as hers, even with the stress-free grip attached to the fork. When the door opened, she looked up, startled.
House, who was staring at the muted television, glanced at her, and put out his left hand to pat her arm reassuringly.
“Cheese it. It’s the cops,” he said, his left eye displaying a hint of a twinkle, almost like the House of old. “Stash the dope. Or is it dope the stash? I always get those mixed up.”
Her mouth smiled tentatively; her eyes continued to look wary.
“Really. It’s just the boss lady and the FBI. Hi, Cuddy… Roberts.”
“Hi, Dr. House. Ms. Adler. It’s good to see you both.” No one had mentioned to him that they were sharing a room-and apparently a bed-but if the FBI had taught Roberts anything, it was how to keep his emotions from showing on his face.
Rainie dropped her head and looked up at them through her lashes. With another reassuring pat from House, she returned to her struggle with the eggs.
The two pulled chairs up to House’s side of what had become, in essence, a double bed. Unfortunately, this was his injured side, which made it upsetting for them to look at and difficult for him, since he couldn’t really see them through his swollen right eye.
Scowling, House attempted unsuccessfully to shift his position and turn his head in their direction. “Urggh!” he grunted.
“Here, let me help you,” said Cuddy, jumping to her feet and reaching out toward him.
Her sudden movement surprised him, setting off a Rube Goldberg chain reaction. House flinched, his good left arm flying up toward his head for protection, his elbow knocking Rainie’s tray along the way. Her plate of scrambled eggs flew off the tray with a clatter and onto the floor on the other side of the bed, bits of egg raining down on her side of the bed, some landing in her hair. The noise startled Rainie in turn, causing her to recoil and cry out. She tossed her fork up in the air as she grabbed the blanket and dove under it. The fork came crashing down on the tray, and both patients jumped at the sound.
“Oh, my god!” cried Cuddy. “I am so sorry!” She’d taken three quick steps and then stopped herself just in time-she was about to run to the other side of the bed to help with the mess. Taking a deep breath, she stood completely still until House settled down and Rainie came back out from under the blanket.
“I’m such an idiot,” said Cuddy.
“Yes,” agreed House, “you are.” He glanced at Rainie; she seemed to be holding her own.
After an orderly cleaned up the tossed scrambled eggs and brought Rainie another plate and fork, they tried again. This time, Cuddy asked a nurse to help her adjust House’s position so he could see them more clearly.
Once he was situated, House tried turning his head a little further in their direction. Nope. Too painful. The exertion and the stress had tired him, and he rested his head back on the pillow, fighting to keep his eyes open.
“Dr. House, I just wanted to check and see how you were doing,” said Roberts, deciding he wasn’t going to mention Pevey after all.
“So you brought Cuddy the Wonder Klutz with you just to liven things up?”
House heard a small titter near his left ear. He looked over with his good eye and, out of the corner of it saw Rainie stifling a laugh. Very good, he thought. Very good indeed.
Cuddy hung her head. “What can I say?” she asked. “You don’t get to be the dean of medicine because of your bedside manner. You get to be dean of medicine because you’re a bulldozer.”
“You must do your job awfully well, then,” said House. He heard another titter in his left ear.
“Well, I think we’ve given you enough excitement for one day, Dr. House,” said Roberts, rising slowly. He reached out as if to shake House’s hand, realizing as his hand was in midair that House couldn’t possibly shake hands-his right arm was incapacitated. Instead, Roberts carefully bypassed House’s right side and softly patted him on the left arm. “Good to see you again. I’ll be back soon.”
House nodded, suddenly relieved they were leaving. As the door closed, so did his eyes.
NEXT: House Confesses…