[log] Titled [closed]

[rubikscomplex]

Characters: Gregory House and James Wilson
Location: Building 132
Date: Evening of 271
Summary: House meets up with an old, dead friend... who is older and more dying than he last remembers.
Warnings: Probably discussion of torture, body horror, cancer, death, and PTSD.

[Where House has asked Wilson to meet him is little more than a nondescript, empty storage shed with a nondescript, sealed trapdoor. It's the entry point to the underground tunnels, though, which should make their lives easier for travel. The doctor has been pushing himself, so they're just going to have to sleep on cold, uncomfortable concrete for the night, but this certainly wouldn't be the first time for House.

He's there when Wilson arrives, curled up in a corner of the shed, reading over his tablet in the dark. The most immediate thing Wilson might notice about House is that his fashion tastes have taken a turn for the hobo-esque. He's wearing a pink scarf and there are pink gloves at his side. He's wearing several layers of coats, and there's a heavy pack at his side that has a hammer propped against it.

He's actually been maintaining more of a stubble than letting his beard grow out fully, so that's not too different. House is thinner than before, though, his eyes more sunken into dark circles for the lack of sleep.

When Wilson opens the door, House immediately grabs for his hammer and holds it in a way that indicates he's about two steps off from throwing it. He turns the tablet so that the light is illuminating the doorway, though.]

If you start sprouting tentacles, I'm murdering you. [He's joking. Mostly. He's really waiting to see if this an anomaly opening the door or actually Wilson.]

Comments

[rubikscomplex]

Don't care about the lovebirds. And please. You've never had a bad trip? You've been on speed.

[That House gave him... He's getting his breathing a little more under control.]

That's not the end of the case or you'd say it was. What happened next? Patient not responding to treatment?

[onlytwothings]

Yeah, but I never accused someone of stealing their teeth, and never hallucinated that someone was a thieving rabbit.

[ Being on speed wasn't exactly fun, but at least it didn't go to the lengths that Park on LSD did. ]

No, it wasn't. There's still a long way to go. The eye exam confirmed the Behcet's diagnosis, but later on, he suddenly started coughing up blood. The clot from before was starting to break up and getting lodged in places it shouldn't, like the lungs.

[rubikscomplex]

You've led a very boring life. At least your death is ironic. Want me to tell them to play Alanis Morissette at your funeral?

[No. Sniping at Wilson really isn't helping this. He'd been coming out of it a little more, but he falls silent now, head dropping down and shoulders starting to shake as House suppresses sobs. After a few seconds, he settles enough to continue.]

Up the heparin. C-CT scan. Confirmed the clots?

[onlytwothings]

The most boring. Oh, poor me. [ He's resisting the urge to roll his eyes, mainly because it looks to him like House is trying to hold back sobs, and that is a jarring thing to see. ]

I'll just put you in charge of arranging the music, because I can picture all the shocked faces when something incredibly loud and inappropriate blares out at them.

[ What? Doesn't House live for moments like those? Or maybe Wilson's just confused because of the imminent death waiting for him. ]

Upping the heparin risks causing more bleeding, but you did that anyway, and had a CT scan done. But then there was the unexpected snag of the patient developing necrosis on his eyes.

[rubikscomplex]

Definitely getting "The Final Countdown." And "Ironic."

[Laugh because otherwise you're going to cry. Christ, when did he get this freaking fragile? It's infuriating.]

No heparin means stroke. Heart attack. [He has to pause and swallow a few times, his voice thick.] Not Behcet’s... bacterial, viral, fungal. Tests?

[onlytwothings]

Both great songs. People will just love them.

[ He'd prefer House's method anyway. No weepy platitudes and songs meant to get the waterworks flowing. As far as the question of fragility, it's one he asked himself before. That, and when did he become so pathetic? At least House hasn't seen him like that yet. ]

The team treated for bacterial infections early on in the case, and labs showed no viral markers. Still, when you looked at the CT scan, you determined it was actually fungal: mucormycosis. Unfortunately, the recommended treatment had an interaction with the antibiotics he'd previously been given, and the side effect of that was deafness.

[rubikscomplex]

But could this deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure play a mean pinball?

[House rubs his hands over his face.]

He'd be dead without the treatment. He can learn to feel people up if he wants to talk. Sounds like he's already real good at that with two chicks in the bag.

[That sounds like it was a relatively interesting case. Not his most engaging, but enough to keep him mildly entertained.]

What are their specialties? My new team?

[onlytwothings]

Well, he can still talk, so there's that. But yes, he's a pinball whiz.

And actually, he said he'd rather be dead than lose both his sight and his hearing, and it took some convincing, but he eventually went for it. He started responding to the treatment, but he lost his hearing, although I think he'll be fine. There always was a chance that the hearing loss wasn't permanent.

[ It was a relatively interesting case, all things considered. ]

Well, let's see. Before joining the team, Taub was a plastic surgeon. Adams was a prison doctor before she came to the hospital. And Park was in the neurology residence program.

[rubikscomplex]

I'm talking dumb in the more traditional sense. [All of his patients are idiots. More or less.] Especially if he took that much convincing.

[House draws in a few deep breaths.]

Is Taub eye-candy? Can't think of a reason to hire a plastic surgeon either. Unless you're gonna tell me I get hair implants and needed a discount.

[onlytwothings]

It's not that surprising that someone wouldn't want to be both blind and deaf. If I were the patient, I'd have to put in some serious thought before just saying yes.

Not exactly the phrase I'd use, but he's a good doctor, just like all the doctors on your team. [ Some of them might be a little green, but they all have potential in Wilson's opinion. ]

Has it been twenty minutes yet?

[rubikscomplex]

Blind and deaf versus dead. Hmm... lemme think about that. [His tone is pure sarcasm, even though he can see the other side of it... and would have probably chosen death.]

You're impatient. Sorry my physiological reactions are inconvenient. [House is aware he's crested the worst of the panic, though. Things are getting better, not worse in terms of how his body is responding. Mostly.]

[onlytwothings]

The age old dilemma. Still, he recovered, and he even regained some of his hearing, and you know what else? He got the girl too.

[ A pause. ]

One of the girls, not both, since I know how your mind works. [ At least some of the time. ]

I'm not impatient. It was either ask that or play the hovering, concerned doctor who's so worried about the well-being of his patient. [ Never mind that House isn't his patient, not technically speaking. ]

[rubikscomplex]

Are we living in a Hallmark movie now? Blind boy ends up in a love triangle, boy gets sick, hot girlfriends stick with him, blind boy becomes blind and partially deaf boy, hot girlfriends work it out, become friends, one gives up blind and partially deaf boy to the other. And then we have cancer boy who just dies. Horribly. After taking a motorcycle trip with his asshole buddy. Apparently. You hate my motorcycle.

[Just ignoring the concerned, hovering doctor comment.]

[onlytwothings]

Yes, that must be it. We've left real life entirely behind and are just living out our lives in a blissful made for TV movie.

[ Except for the whole cancer boy thing. Wilson just rolls his eyes at the reminder. ]

You weren't being such an asshole then. And I don't hate your motorcycle.

[rubikscomplex]

You freaked out when I got it.

[Possibly because House used the money Wilson had loaned him to buy it. But... Never mind.]

And I find a future in which I'm not a complete and raging asshole impossible to believe.

[onlytwothings]

I think I had a good reason for that.

[ Which apparently House knows and doesn't care about. Surprise, surprise, it's the story of his life. ]

You are a complete and raging asshole, but not to the point that you'd let me ride off into the sunset alone.

[ Except for the brief period when he seemed to want to do just that, and all because Wilson didn't want to pursue treatment. ]

[rubikscomplex]

[House looks up finally and narrows his eyes on Wilson before raising a brow.]

You realize that sounds incredibly gay.

[onlytwothings]

[ Oh, look, it's a reaction that's not panic attack driven or driven by anything else bad that's happened to House around here. ]

And that bothers you?

[ What? House trolls him all the time. He's not as accomplished at it as he'd like, but he still tries on occasion. ]

[rubikscomplex]

[He closes one eye and glances up as if thinking about it for a long moment.]

Nope! So, are you the big spoon or the little spoon? 'Cause you were the little spoon last time we slept together here.

[Don't get into a troll-off with the ultimate troll, Wilson. This was in a bathtub for warmth. But never you mind.]

[onlytwothings]

Well, great, I'm so glad we cleared that up. I'd hate for you to have anything resembling doubts.

[ There's only a hint of hesitation following House's statement, but Wilson just keeps going. ]

Really? Because I'm fairly certain I was the big spoon the last time that happened that I remember. Hey, did I ever tell you I proposed to you in a restaurant?

[ This is all 90% BS, but Wilson's not letting on about that. He'll question the whole sleeping together thing soon. ]

[rubikscomplex]

[To Wilson's credit, House looks momentarily surprised as his gaze drops down to the other man's hand, searching for a wedding ring. Oh, he's good. House shrugs, relaxing a little and leaning back against his corner, rather than hunching over. He can hear normally again and while his pulse is still rabbiting, it's not as bad as before. Nor is his breathing as shaky.]

Boring. The wedding sure as hell better have been more interesting, or I'm divorcing you now.

[onlytwothings]

[ Score! This so rarely happens that when it does, Wilson can't help but celebrate a little. And besides, it looks to him as though House is maybe beginning to relax a little, and that's a load off his mind. Still, he's far from fixed, and he can't overlook that. ]

Interesting? It was the highlight of the year. Don't even get me started on how the bachelorette party went.

[ House is free to note that Wilson isn't saying exactly who was the bachelorette. This kind of trolling is actually amusing. No wonder House does it so much. ]

[rubikscomplex]

Dude, you've had way too many divorces to have a bachelorette party. But I'm glad you had fun. I just hope no one came home missing any teeth. That'd suck for the photos. Did I have to bail you and the Maid of Honor out of jail?

[You're absolutely the girl in this scenario, Wilson. It is decided.]

[onlytwothings]

No, everyone kept their teeth, and surprisingly, no one went to jail.

[ Fine. So his trolling attempt fell flat on its face. But now does seem like a good time to segue into what he's been wanting to mention for awhile now. ]

Do you know what else happened that was interesting? While we're on the subject of weddings and bachelorettes.

[ Strangely, Wilson's liking dangling tidbits of information in front of House. ]

[rubikscomplex]

Cameron and Chase got married?

[He can see the writing on the wall there. They're the right numbers for each other.]