Rating: PG
Chapter One
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: INTANGIBLE SIGNS
It’s been well over two hours since they’ve heard from
And—despite the heavy sedation—Cuddy’s certain that House is somehow able to sense
“It’s okay, House;
Chase and Foreman are studying the monitors, and their concern is growing. “We could try some more diazepam,” Foreman says to Chase. Cuddy overhears him.
“No! He’s already sedated almost past the point of safety, and it isn’t doing any good. Don’t you understand what the problem is? House knows something’s up. And… he knows
Foreman makes a quiet scoffing noise; Cuddy ignores it, and turns to Chase. “How many times have you watched an intubated preemie in NICU, an infant supposedly drugged into oblivion, respond with changes in vital signs as soon as the mother touches him, or speaks to him? Is there a medical explanation for that? Is there a medication that can reproduce that effect?”
Chase shakes his head and turns to Foreman. “Dr. Cuddy may be right. And if she is, it won’t matter what we give him, or how much. We may just have to wait until Dr. Wilson gets back.”
Cuddy nods with satisfaction, but Foreman’s shaking his head.
“If
“You’d be surprised,” she says, “what emotions can do to the body, how they can help or hinder recovery.” She gazes at House. “As a matter of fact, I’ve seen all those messy emotions make the only difference between recovery… and death.”
“Yeah, and I might buy all that if this were any other patient,” Foreman asserts. “But this is House. Emotions don’t mean a damned thing to him; he wouldn’t recognize an actual feeling if he tripped over it!”
Cuddy flares. “And it’s just that attitude that’s put us—and him—where we are now! Maybe some of it’s his own fault; you’re right, he’s quite… skillful at hiding his feelings. But lately, we’ve taught him to hide not only his emotions but also his pain. Negative conditioning. As a neurologist, I’m sure you’re familiar with that. Every time he came to one of us and tried to be honest, we gave him the emotional equivalent of an electrical shock. So eventually… he quit trying. And no one noticed. Or if we did, it was only because we were relieved that he’d started… behaving himself. And we reinforced it by ignoring him every time he slipped up and tried to complain.
Foreman looks thoughtful. “Maybe you’re right. I’m not saying I buy everything you’ve said, but I’ll admit to not bothering to hide my impatience with his… antics.”
“And all that needs to change as he recovers,” Cuddy says adamantly. “We all have to let him see that we respect him and his feelings. That we take his pain seriously. Oh, I’m not saying that we suddenly go all cuddly and concerned on him—that wouldn’t get us anywhere either!” Cuddy smiles dryly at the notion. “What I’m suggesting is that we react to him the same way we’d react to complaints from any patient—just give him the benefit of the doubt, that’s all.”
“You don’t think he’d take advantage of that?” Foreman asks her dubiously.
Cuddy gazes steadily at him. “You don’t think it’s going to be a very, very long time before he trusts any of us enough to even think of coming to us—let alone lying to us?”
Foreman shrugs. “I don’t know. And if
House’s heart rate is above 140; his blood pressure is 174/94. And all three are very much aware that medically, they’re out of options. Even Cuddy falls quiet and grim.
As House’s heart rate hits 150, Foreman moves to mute the shrill cardiac alarm that’s broken their desperate silence. The three look helplessly at one another—and
He takes one look at their faces, and at the monitors, and marches straight to House’s bedside, motioning impatiently to them with his hand to cut off their barrage of questions as he begins to speak to House.
“I’m back, House—you need to settle down. Stop scaring these people, and behave yourself.”
“You’re doing a good job of it, too. But it’s time to stop now. I’m right here, and you’re safe. And I’ve got your magic bullet. I know that these three have questions, and so do you. I’ll explain everything as soon as you get yourself under control—so pull it together right now, pal.”
“Well… I’ll be damned,” Foreman says in a voice barely above a whisper. Cuddy and Chase look away from House, to the monitors;
House’s heart rate is down to 124, and it’s still decreasing. His blood pressure’s already fallen to 130/82. Those are the things these physicians can understand, can quantify—they’re the things that put a quiet smile on Cuddy’s face, as she triumphantly regards the other two. But it’s the intangibles, those variables they can’t even begin to measure, that change the silence in the room from desperation to… awe. If they had to put a name to it, they’d be at a loss.
But all of them know that—whatever word they might choose to qualify what they’ve just witnessed—it goes far deeper than any medical intervention ever could. Apparently, House is aware of that too; his vital signs continue to stabilize. Even the vent sounds like it’s not having to work quite so hard. Finally,
Chapter Thirty-Five