Speculative Fiction: "House, MD"

Author: Aquarius Seth

Owned by David Shore

Disclaimers: All characters and legal rights belong to D. Shore, Some Bad Hat Harry Productions, Z Shore Productions, Heel-Toe Productions, Fox Network and syndication rights belong to USA Networks. Absolutely zero monetary profits are being made here. I'm just staying sane and practicing my writing. Thanks.

Rated R: AL, AC

A/N: I started this a long time before "Birthmarks."

Entire Spec Word Count: 23,280

Word Count: 1,881

(Wilson, House)

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Chapter One: Shedding Skin

I had a sudden need to be out in public. I could not stand to be in her apartment anymore. I had already cancelled the lease and I had to be out of there at the end of the month.

I didn't care. I had already packed up all of her belongings and sent them off to her folks. I met them briefly at the wake but how can you really comfort a parent after the loss of a child?

So I left early and came back here to start packing her belongings. I just needed something to do and this gave me a perfect excuse to run away.

I wanted to get away, not necessarily spare her family more painful memories. I packed up my things and had gone back to my favorite motel room.

Part of me wanted to check up on House but I decided that was obscene. He had been responsible for Amber's death, yet I wanted to make sure he was recovering well?

How screwed up can one person actually become? I ask myself that question frequently when I stop to think. I am supposed to be grieving over Amber but I'm thinking about House? It never changes. In between my patients and budget meetings my thoughts bounce back and forth between House and Amber.

House and I haven't spoken in weeks. I miss him at times but I feel wrong about it. Why should I miss him? He's still alive and back on his destructive path.

Damn him.

I'm letting my best friend kill himself slowly for the benefits of strangers. People that don't know his name, people that never see that troubled soul at his weakest. His work is his lifeline and he's mine.

I have always known it; he knows it. That is why we keep coming back to each other. I don't know if he feels like I do. I'm not whole without him.

Sure the entire world knows that we're friends but they don't know how ingrained we really are. At times I know we know each other more intimately that anyone of our lovers ever knew us.

Maybe that's why he freaked out like he did when he found out I was dating Amber.

As strange and irrational his reasoning was at first, I understood it. It took me a few moments to muddle through his thought process but it made sense. My explanation later on made sense.

What I never took into account was his reaction. I never believed that he would go that far to protect me.

Me, the guy who got him sent to jail, the guy who can't find solutions when I need to-the guy who always asks and never gives back enough. Lord, we should become lovers just so I can take his anger, Heaven knows I deserve it.

I used to lay awake next to Amber and think about House. Amber reminded me so much of him before his relationship with Stacey or the infarction. I understood why I had been drawn to her; I just never named it. He gave it a name; a purpose and it had caused him to panic.

Now we have to find our way through the wreckage. Amber did not understand what she had gotten herself into. I was stupid enough to let it go on. House, well House's behavior makes sense to me and I guess that's all that matters but it doesn't justify everything.

It's really all my fault. I changed the silent agreement between us. I had always been there for him and then I disappeared entirely on him. All of my ex-wives never consumed every hour of my day. I always made time for House. He made time for me. All the women I dated always knew work came first and with work, House came along.

With Amber I completely left him alone. I was always in a rush to meet her; I just left House behind.

It was my entire fault. Had I just made time for House, he would have never gone to such extremes to see me.

Shit.

Don't misunderstand me. Amber wasn't a saint in this relationship. She did things or said things to House to set him off. She probably saw more of the House I used to know, than anyone else did. She just never realized it.

Sure she knew how to stand up to him but she did not understand whom she was standing up to.

It wasn't the post-Stacey House she was dealing with. She was dealing with Greg. The guy I'd walk through Hell for.

She never told me about the sweater incident but had written it down on a back of a dermatology textbook. I had to get drunk in order for me to let myself cry over it. I tore it out before I packed up the book, that page was mine now. No one else would ever understand the significance of it.

I hate her. In the wee hours of the night, I know I hate her. House exposed himself to her! To her and she didn't see! She never saw!

I would have give anything to see that side of House but she got to see him!

I flinched as the sound of breaking glass pierced my eardrums. I glanced down to see that I had knocked a flower vase over the edge of the table I had been leaning against for awhile now.

I knew I should clean it up. I had every conscious intention to clean it up but I found myself out of her apartment and driving my car. I could not even pretend I was surprised to find myself traveling to Baker Street. The short trip there soothed my raw nerves slightly but I knew I needed to actually see him before I could feel better.

I pulled into the empty spot next to his motorcycle and tried to rationalize this ridiculous move to myself. I did not want to babble like an idiot in front of him. After sitting in my car for what felt like an eternity-I realized I had nothing to offer him. My survival instinct kicked in and I almost drove away but I realized I would never come back if I left now.

Inhaling the stale air in my car I swallowed nervously and tried to stop the trembling in my hands.

This was insane!

What the hell was I planning on saying to him? Hi House, I'm sorry I've been an asshole? Want to go grab a beer? Let's have a shouting match? Or how about really pushing the limits and asking for sex? Oh god what do I do? I felt my chest burn and I realized I had been holding my breath. I forced myself to exhale and started up my car. I could not face him yet. I was not ready and he deserves better than a half-ass reason.

I pulled out of the parking space and drove back to the motel I was renting from before everything.

--

I tried to look contrite in front of the hospital's head director, Dr. Beck but I could not work up the motivation much less-the actual effort to. He had begun this meeting about twenty minutes ago and I was just dying to get the hell out of there.

He was reprimanding me for missing a budget meeting and all I could do was nod. I had no idea what he actually said but I figured the faster I agree with the man, the faster I could get the hell out of there. I had e-mailed Cuddy and she let me know that the other oncologist had complained to her about House bumming lunch off of him. She wanted me back just to keep the peace on House's lunch raids.

I had smiled afterwards but House's lunch raids were not enough for me to go back to Princeton. The reason I was late to the budget meeting was Blythe's phone call about House's father. She was really worried about his seemingly indifferent reaction to the news. I had stayed up all night looking for car rentals and trying to figure out how the hell I needed to approach this. House was going to be worse than a toddler taking bad-tasting medicine is, I would have to stay on my toes and ahead of him for this one.

"Do you agree with the conditions Dr. Wilson?" Completely blind sided I managed to tune in long enough to Dr. Beck's lecture to realize he was waiting for a verbal response. Noticing my blank stare he cleared his throat. "Do you agree that in order for you to stay in our employment you will have to work residency hours?" Residency hours, God I haven't had to pull those since my last few years in medical school. Hell no.

"I'm sorry Dr. Beck but I'll have to get back to you about that. I have a family emergency I have to deal with and it will probably take me all weekend to tie things up there."

"Dr. Wilson this contract is non-negotiable."

"Then let's end this on a happy note. Thank you for the opportunity here, I needed this job for stability but I'm as stable as I ever want to get. You'll have your office back in about two hours. All of my paperwork is with the floor nurse and yes all of my charts are up to date. Again thank you for the time. Good bye." Before he could continue I was out of his office and on my way to human resources.

Two hours and fifteen minutes later I was in my car and calling Cuddy.

"This is Dr. Cuddy speaking." God the woman sounded like an angel.

"Hey Cuddy, its Wilson. Is there anyway I can come back and work in the ER?"

"Bullshit. The only way you get to work here again mister, is by agreeing to take back your position as head of oncology, I've had a rotating door on that position since you vacated it. Apparently House scares these guys."

"It's a deal just as long as you don't tell House I'm coming back. If he gets a heads up about my coming by he'll be impossible to deal with. Especially with his mother's request I drag his skinny ass to the funeral."

"She called you too?"

"Yeah."

"When can you get here?"

"Twenty minutes."

"Wilson I love you. I've got a clinic patient with what appears to be meningitis. I'll have him all wrapped up and ready to go."

"Then give me an extra fifteen minutes to pick up the rental."

"All ready plotting huh?"

"With House, you're always plotting."

To Be Continued.