-1THIS IS SOMEWHAT A SPOILER FOR THE FINALE OF SEASON 2...just a warning.

I want to thank AtreidesHeir for realizing my punctuations have been poor, so I hope I meet with his satisfaction.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

CHAPTER ONE - Coming Out of the Dark

There's a steady rhythm coming from somewhere…

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…

'Sounds like a heartbeat.'

A pounding from within, at any moment there might be an explosion.

DUNNDUNN…DUNNDUNN…

There is silence all around, just the sounds of…what?

No pain; there's no pain.

'Waiting…waiting for it.'

Spinning, thoughts are foggy…

'Face feels numb…ears ringing, loud…'

A gurgle resonates within the room, muffled by something.

'There it is…the pain…in the…no, not the leg…swallow…can't…'

'Move your fingers…are you alive? Can't be hell, just came from there. Toes? Are the toes working? God, my head hurts.'

'Tired, so damned tired. Sleep…just need sleeeee.'

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

Dr. Lisa Cuddy sits in her office and stares at the clock. There's no sun streaming in her window from the cheeriness of a bright day, only darkness. She hasn't bothered turning on the lamp, no need to; there's no reason to be bright and joyful.

'Almost 12 hours si…when is he going to come around?'

Her thoughts drift back to the clock, which reads 11:13 pm. She takes off her reading glasses and pinches the corners of her eyes, at the bridge of her nose, with her thumb and middle finger.

"Cuddy?" A voice suddenly screams at her. She jumps in her chair, which forces the chair to skid back a bit.

"Wilson," she says, finally relaxing and leans forward, her elbows on her desk, her chin in her right hand. "Why are you still here?"

He sits in the chair across from her desk. "Can't go…"

She nods her head in complete understanding. "Have you eaten?"

He shakes his head, not looking at her but at the back of her desk. "Not since breakfast."

"Me, either. Skadoodles is open 24 hours. Want to go get a bite?" She asks.

"No," he simply says.

"We've got to eat, James."

"Not hungry."

She sighs and sits back in the chair. "James, I know you're worried, we both…all are," she stops talking and sighs again.

"You're not going home tonight, are you?" She asks him. He doesn't answer, but she already knows the answer. She stands, walks to her sideboard in the corner of her room by the door, opens it, reaches in for something and walks back to Wilson. She hands him a blanket. "Here."

He looks up at her and her heart breaks. From the corner of his eye a tear falls, runs down the outside of his cheek and rolls to his chin. With the blanket in her left hand she reaches out with her right and affectionately and caringly wipes the tear from his chin.

"He is an ass, Cuddy, but he's our ass. That bullet…knicking his kidney, which was already damage from the morphine…" he stops talking and looks away, almost ashamed to be crying.

"James, come home with me," she tells him. He shoots her a look of surprise. She can't help but crack a smile.

"Shut up, House," she says, making Wilson also crack a smile. "I've got a spare bedroom, you know that."

"I don't know…"

Cuddy throws the blanket on her desk, grabs her duffle bag and stands next to Wilson, waiting for him to stand. When he doesn't, she forcefully grabs his elbow and pulls him up. He reluctantly stands to his feet.

They walk side by side toward the door, she reaches to push it open when Nurse Lucia meets them and screams, "Dr. Cuddy! It's Dr. House!"

Cuddy feels the pit of her stomach drop to the floor as she glances at Wilson. A split second later, the two doctors are racing down the hall toward House's room.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

To be Continued………Any thoughts are always welcome