[network] @hotstud_xxx; Day 314; audio [open] (cw: there may be graphic discussion of illness)

[rubikscomplex]

[This is Christmas. House's idea of Christmas, anyway. Sudden onset of deadly illnesses with disjointed and impossible progression of symptoms, and him not affected? Christmas! Someone out there loves him. Granted, he might not be able to help anyone get better and that's lame, but answers. Answers are something he is particularly prepared to provide. House is also curious if there's some psychosomatic effect at work here that might let him influence people. He goes on audio for this, and someone sounds almost gleeful.]

Hello, sick people! Dr. House here. I am a board certified medical professional and tenured professor of diagnostics at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in Princeton, New Jersey. I have a double specialty infectious disease and nephrology and head the only Department of Diagnostic Medicine in the world in my universe.

All that said... tell me what ails you, Snowhell. Details required. Pics if you need them. Allow me to diagnose you. This service is free of charge for today only! Or however long this whole thing lasts. I'll even prescribe you meds if they're relevant to your condition. Step right up, then! Don't be shy.

It should go without saying, but I am limited to identification and diagnosis of Earth-based diseases. So if you've got a different name in your universe for the measels, I'm still calling them the measels.

((OOC: While House is an ace diagnostician, I am very much not. It would be helpful for me if you could indicate the disease or diseases your character is suffering from for the event or indicate that the constellation of symptoms was pulled at random/non-Earth-based.))

Comments

>private cw: seizure

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ It makes sense, in so much as Will knows anything about medicine, that the fever would be a universal symptom. He knew enough about burning off colds to understand how fevers worked in the body. It had always amused him that people took medicine to relieve themselves of the symptoms of the body trying to heal itself.

Usually Will let his colds and flu run their course. After all, dogs never minded when you sneezed and coughed on them. ]

Fever, nanites and absolutely random beyond that. [ He said. ] You must in be your slice little own heaven.

[ As he spoke, Will felt his tongue starting to fill his mouth in the wrong way, the words were ordered correctly in his mind, but coming out all turned around when he spoke.

Inwardly he cursed, it was his last conscious thought as the tablet began to twitch and then jerk as his fingers clamped down on it but shook uncontrollably. If House still had the video up -though he was on audio only- he might want to disconnect, least he get motion sickness as the ceiling danced around, videoed as Will seized.

Well. That was one way to end a conversation. ]

>private > action (cw: seizure)

[rubikscomplex]

[It's also a way to get a doctor up and moving. House goes in search of Will, leaving his other conversations. He might not have a way of curing Will's encephalitis in the immediate moment, but he can make it more tolerable by just knocking the ex-profiler out for the duration of the day.

When he finds Will, he's going to first make sure that the man is on his side--better not to have him drown in his own vomit--and then use Will's puppy blanket to cover him while waiting for him to swim back to consciousness, if he's going to. If not, then hey! Saves House the medication, but he'll be here, sitting quiet watch over the other man... his patient.]

>action (cw: seizure)

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ At least Will had the wherewithal -after the first two- to ensure he was down on the ground when he'd been talking to House. That way, when he'd been hit by the most recent episode, he had only to slid down, rather than fall.

Still, getting him on his side was appreciated. Luckily for both of them, Will wasn't given to vomiting (or losing bowel control) during these seizures; Hannibal wasn't wrong when he said they were relatively mild.

Mostly they left him physically aching, and mentally disoriented when consciousness returned. The latter was more and more of an effort after each episode, so Will lay quietly for some time, playing possum as he tried to slot together what was going on.

On his side, puppy blanket covering him ... those were new and while his eyes were reluctant to focus, after weeks (years) of traveling together, he knew House's sounds, the unique mixture of multiple fabrics that made up his scent.

Will hadn't expected House to come find him. The doctor was busy, and they both knew that there was nothing really to be done about Will's condition. The seizures were unpleasant but unless Will went climbing up on a roof, relatively non-life threatening.

There was a stirring of instinct; the desire to hide away, where his weakness and vulnerability were not on display for another. But like Hannibal, House had moved past that invisible guard and eventually he lifted a finger, just an acknowledgement of life. ]

>action (cw: seizure)

[rubikscomplex]

[The movement has House setting down his tablet and reaching for his bag. He pulls out a syringe and a bottle of acepromazine he's been holding onto for something like eight months.]

You have two options. Keep burning up and seizing periodically until whenever the Admin gets around to supplementing your nanomachines with an extra dose. Or I inject you with a sedative and you sleep through this while I keep an eye on you to make sure you're still breathing. Preferences? You can just hold up one or two fingers.

>action (cw: seizure)

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Instinctively Will wanted to refuse to be knocked out. Being rendered vulnerable, without control and at risk of being abandoned, punched any number of buttons, all of them bad.

In fact, he began to slowly raise just the one finger, but even as he struggled to coordinate the movement common sense raised its ugly head. House had had any number of opportunities to fuck with him since they started to travel together. To be blunt, the other man had fucked with him already with the whole video situation. If House was going to mess with him, Will expected he'd ... ultimately see the logic behind it.

Even if he didn't appreciate it.

Also, Hannibal was around somewhere close. Between the two of them, oddly enough Will trusted that he wouldn't wake up dead or abandoned.

Slowly the second finger rose to match with the first. He'd like to at least stop being aware of the seizures. Knock his ass out. ]

>action (cw: seizure, injection)

[rubikscomplex]

Good choice.

[He preps the needle and then gets a cotton ball and covers it with hand sanitizer.]

I'm gonna pull down your pants a little. Don't freak out. Goes better in a large muscle.

[Which means Will's ass is one of the easiest options. As long as Will doesn't fight it, House will be quick about his business, pulling away the blanket just enough, pushing down the back of the other man's pants and underwear to where he can swab his skin and inject the medication. He did want his ass knocked out, right?]

That'll take a minute or two to kick in. See you on the other side, Graham Cracker.

>action (cw: seizure, injection)

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ ...

....

If he had the energy, they would be having words about this. As it is, Will is pretty well exhausted enough that he puts up with the ass shot with only a low grumble and when he lifts a finger, it's his middle one.

He might have more to say later, but the Ace hits his depleted system like a mule kick straight between the eyes. With only a few hitches, as he sinks down into the drugged sleep, Will's breathing evens out until he is obviously out for the count.

On the one hand, his last clear thoughts are lingering worries about being left in a vulnerable, unconscious state in this town. But an even louder, more soothing voice -that sounds oddly like Hannibal- coaxes him to let go, wade into the stream, and escape the misery of high fever, headaches and seizures. ]

>action (cw: drug addiction)

[rubikscomplex]

[House sits back once it's done and starts the tedious task of cleaning his syringe. As he reaches for his water bottle, his jacket shifts and there's a soft rattle of pills. He pauses and looks down at Will again, a miserable ball of sickness beneath his dog blanket.

But he's going to sleep this out because House is using the medicine he has on him. It would only be fair to trade. Something House wants for something Will wanted. It would be fair. Nothing comes free in Snowhell. And this isn't a kindness, it's a service. A trade would make it fair.

House sits frozen for nearly a minute, warring with himself on it. He knows what this is really about, but he has the ability to rationalize it, hide it under perfectly logical explanations that have nothing to do with his addiction. One day's worth. One day of relief from his encephalitis for one day of Vicodin. It's so few pills, Will probably won't even notice they're gone. Just eight.

His hands are still tentative when he reaches under the blanket, into Will's coat, to draw out the bottle. House stares at it for a long while, just breathing. It would be so easy to take the whole thing. It doesn't even really belong to Will. It should be in House's possession. He snaps himself out of it, pops the top, and shakes out eight pills before returning the bottle to Will's coat, and covering him with the blanket again.

He tries not to hate himself as he pours six of the pills into his own bottle and pockets that. The two he dry swallows help with that.]

>action Enter the alpha manipulative bastard in his life :|

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ House was rude.

Will was also too unconscious to take note of what happened or react and chances were, even when he woke up, he'd still be too muddled to think to look. At least at first.

In the meantime, when time had passed, enough for the dose House had given him to start wearing off, but sometime before any intervention from whoever liked to paralyse and harpoon them, Will would receive another visitor. Affectionately known as the alpha manipulative bastard in his life.

Though for an alpha manipulative bastard, it was quite possible that Hannibal was not looking quite his usual urbane self. ]

[tablewithoutpity]

[Every animal, predator and prey, hides when they are sick or injured. It's a survival mechanic, concealing a weakness that might otherwise be taken advantage of by others who would do them harm. And there was nothing about their present situation that encouraged Hannibal to abandon that instinct.

He knew what he had. The chest pain with every breath, the cough that left his handkerchief bloody...he could have diagnosed the consumption in someone else with a single sniff, and the scent of his own sickness filled his sinuses. But he hid it, concealing his cough and the blood, not letting on that his strength was draining away, acting completely healthy even as his skin paled.

When he came upon Will, he frowned and knelt next to him, careful not to touch him or breathe on him. Consumption was terribly contagious.]

Will. What happened?

cw drug injection

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Hannibal was lucky that Will did not possess his preternatural nose, or else he might have picked up the scent of sickness on him. Even the doctor's questionable pallor was hard for Will to focus on as he struggled to sit up, wrestling with the combination of a drug hangover and the seizures. ]

The encephalitis. At least, that's what it felt like, complete with the delightful seizures. [ Blue eyes that glittered with the lingering effects of high fever focused on Hannibal for a moment, narrowed slightly, but Will continued to answer the question, even as he stared. ]

House gave me a shot of something with -prozamine in the name, and it knocked me out.

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal avoided that gaze, knowing that his own eyes were bloodshot and glassy. He nodded at the name of the medicine House gave his friend.]

An equine tranquilizer. I saw it in his bag. How are you feeling now?

[That Hannibal wad not touching Will, not putting a hand to his forehead or looking at his pupils, was quite unusual.]

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Will's brain was still a bit befuddled, but he was slowly starting to pick up on the oddities coming from his friend.

Particularly the lack of checking his forehead. Hannibal had always been quick to be handsy in that regard. The lack of eye contact was the next thing Will noted because it was Will who avoided eye contact. Hannibal sought it out with the focused aggression of a classic alpha predator.

Except here ... he wasn't. ]

Like I've had seizures and been tranquilized with a horse sedative. [ He remarked in a flat tone. ] Why aren't you looking at me?

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal took a breath, but didn't answer the question, and kept his eyes lowered.]

The sedative is helpful, but we need to find you antibiotics. If there are any to be had.

[He looked away, scanning their surroundings.]

We should get you somewhere more comfortable.

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ He'd experienced enough of Hannibal's skillful 'non' answers to know one when he heard one.

Leaning forward, Will reached out to touch the older man's arm, trying to draw Hannibal's eyes to his own face. ]

Hannibal.

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal jerked back, away from the touch, rising to his feet...

Then stumbled as a coughing fit hit him. He sank to his knees, what strength he had left insufficient to remain standing. The cough convulsed his body, and as he gasped a rattling breath, blood dripped from between his fingers.]

Don't...don't touch me.

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Will honestly wasn't sure what shocked him the most. Hannibal jerking away, avoiding his contact, or watching the man collapse -albit gracefully- to his knees.

He was no doctor, not even by pretend, but the way that cough caused the large body to jerk, completely at it's mercy, the rattled gasps for air and the blood ...

Aware of the danger, diagnosing myself. Utterly inconvenient, this damn town how dare it presume to exert its will atop my own. Too much still to do, so much at precarious points in the development of my machinations, a weakness is a liability; short term and long term. ] I will not permit such a crass indisposition to be on display.

[ The words fell as a whisper from Will's lips, before he was aware of what he'd done and what he'd just said.

Slowly dragging his own abused body around, until he was able to get his feet under him, he lurched towards Hannibal. ]

No. Don't. [ He scolded the rebuff he knew was coming. ] My own condition is as liable to kill me as anything you're suffering from.

What are you suffering from?

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal slowly wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, then fished a piece of cloth out of his pocket, wiping the blood from his hand. As Will approached he closed his eyes for a moment, fighting the urge to pull away. Will had a valid point. When he answered the question, his voice was soft and strained.]

Tuberculosis.

[He couldn't help a tiny smirk.]

What in the olden days would be referred to as consumption.

[Apparently this place shared his love of cannibal puns.]

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ ...

Will he never escape the cannibal puns?

Still, he didn't let it put him off as he reached his hands around the older man's shoulders, seeking to help guide Hannibal down to sit on the floor, back to the wall. ]

You do enjoy the classics. [ He remarked in a dry tone. ]

[tablewithoutpity]

[This time when Will touched him, Hannibal did not pull back, allowing his friend to guide him, leaning back against the wall. He opened his eyes and looked at the younger man, finally allowing him to see the way they glistened with fever, the way the whites were shot through with red. He smiled faintly.]

Some malady seems such a worthless way to die, but if I had no other choice, I would perhaps have chosen what has historically inspired countless works of art through the centuries.

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Now it was Will's turn to press his hand to Hannibal's forehead, fingers shifting aside tri-toned hair. The touch wasn't nearly as informative to him as it would be to Hannibal, and truthfully Will was simply mimicking what the doctor had done for him in the past, but even he could feel the fever burning. ]

Well. [ He began, frowning as he turned to unwrap himself from his puppy blanket and moving to get it tucked around Hannibal's body. And wasn't that just a picture! ] I'd expect nothing pedestrian from you. You insist on making everything into an art form; your own deadly disease should be no different.

[ The words were rueful, teasing but also tense in tone as Will wrestled with what he was seeing and what Hannibal was telling him. Wrestled with the very real possibility that his friend was going to die ... and that there was no guarantee he'd return.

The prospect of such a thing made Will particularly twitchy, his movements becoming jerky as he reached for his pack, wanting to get some water; try to make Hannibal comfortable. ]

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal lifted a hand to encircle the wrist of the hand Will pressed to his forehead, but he didn't try to pull the hand away. He allowed Will to tuck the blanket around him, watching his friend, seeing how his movements changed, watching as the emotions began expressing themselves through his friend's body. Again, that faint smile. His Will didn't want to lose him.]

Will.

[It was only barely louder than a whisper.]

Come. Sit with me.

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

I wanted to get you some water. [ Will explained, though he didn't have the strength himself to fight that low whisper.

He grabbed the pack, drawing it closer to them both but then moved to sit down beside Hannibal. After an awkward start, stop and the restart, he made to work his arm over the older man's shoulders, wanting to draw him in close to his body heat. Between their fevers it might seem like too much heat, but the chill of the air around them was particularly biting. ]

Come here. [ He invited softly. ] Am I right in the suspicion that you don't want me calling House down here to help?

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal moved closer at Will's invitation, adjusting the blanket to cover them both, settling a hand on Will's knee.]

There is likely nothing he can do. I wish...

[Another coughing fit hit him, and he turned away, leaned away, coughing hard into the crook of his elbow. When he could he gasped for air, and breathed out the remainder of that sentence.]

... to be alone with you.

[For whatever time I have left. ]

cw mention of suicide

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Will could hear the unspoken words in his head so clearly, Hannibal might as well of spoken them. He wanted to argue, to insist they get House down there but as his friend struggled through another coughing fit, Will recognized it was too late.

Hannibal was a skilled doctor, he knew his own prognosis and if the predator was showing this level of declining health ... most other people would already be dead.

The irony of the situation settled on his shoulders, even as he drew Hannibal closer, so the man could rest against his shoulder, or even go so far as to lay his head on his lap if he wanted. Either way, Will began to softly card his fingers through the other's hair. ]

I took us over the cliff's edge [ he began softly ] together. At the time I didn't overthink it ... can't live with you, can't live without you. But as I passed my first few days here, I realized that either result outcome would have suited me, but only if it were both of us; together.

Then I was here, alone ... a lot of the experiments I've done, it hasn't mattered to me if I survived or died, because you weren't here. I didn't have anything to lose.

[ He looked to the top of the older man's head, then bent until he could kiss the soft strands. ]

Now I do, and I don't put it past this place to be getting its pound of flesh back, by taking you away again.