New House Fic: Changes
Title: Changes
Author: Megan M.
Rating: PG-13 for semi-graphic detail
Summary: Changes happen in Wilson’s life after accidentally stepping into a bear trap.
Spoilers: None, really.
Disclaimer: Not mine, just borrowing.
Author’s Note(s): Retelling of Season 6’s “Wilson”. I got the idea from a MacGyver episode where he stepped into a bear/wolf trap and wondered “what if that had happened in “Wilson”? So here it is.
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Part One
Wilson whirled angrily on his friend and previous cancer patient, Tucker. “What the hell?!” he asked, his voice gravelly with annoyance.
They were out on their annual hunting trip and had just finished stringing up and shooting a chemo bag. Wilson had walked on ahead with the turkey caller when he heard a gunshot and felt a whizzing pass his head.
Tucker was on the ground, gun next to him, with his arm spasming uncontrollably. Wilson immediately ran to the other man, not looking where he was going. He had just reached Tucker when he finished his stride and a loud, metal SNAP was heard, echoing through the forest.
Blinding, excruciating pain was the immediately next thing Wilson was aware of. Fiery tendrils of agony snaked through his left leg, burning so deep for a moment Wilson swore his bones were charred and would be nothing but ash before long.
He cried out, loudly, in agony, gripping his leg, clenching the thigh because any more movement renewed the excruciating, tearing pain.
“Jim,” Wilson heard Tucker call, “what’s going on? What happened?”
After House’s conversation with him this morning Wilson was almost glad to hear the concern in the man’s baritone voice. It was at this question that Wilson realized, he didn’t actually know what had happened.
Hesitantly he looked down at his foot. His expression turned from wary to horrified when he saw that he’d stepped into a bear trap. “Tucker,” he replied, his voice strained with pain and control.
He proceeded to pull out his cell phone, doing his best to refrain from moving his trapped leg. With trembling fingers, Wilson dialed 911.
After he relayed his information to the person on the other end, Wilson kept the phone open but set it on the ground and proceeded to try to crawl towards his friend who wasn’t more than a couple feet away.
A nearby chain rattled and the trap pulled on Wilson’s leg, tearing flesh and muscle as it moved. Wilson roared in pain, holding furiously to his leg.
Unnerved and worried by the amount of pain his friend was in, Tucker did his best to move toward the trapped man. “Jim, what’s wrong?” he asked.
Wilson was in too much pain to do more than whimper and try to keep his breathing even but the closer he got, the easier it was for Tucker to see what was wrong. “Christ,” he breathed softly.
“Hang on Jim,” he called hoping that his voice brought some form of comfort to the pained man. In the distance the whir of a helicopter could be heard, “help’s coming, just hang in there.”
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“-does not excuse you from being in embarrassed by what I’m about to say,”
Cuddy walked in on the end of House’s statement to his patient. The man lay on the table, groaning in agony and holding his stomach. “House,” she called hoping her voice was louder than the groaning, this could not wait.
“Busy,” House called back, annoyed that he’d been interrupted.
“Now,” Cuddy commanded sternly, turning the heads of all in the room. There was complete silence for a few seconds as the groaning man grew quiet upon noticing her presence.
House gave a long suffering sigh and an eye roll then exited the room, leaving his staff looking at him in confusion. “What?” he asked, “you ruined a perfectly funny moment.”
Blue-grey eyes turned hard as steel, “Well I’m sorry for interrupting you humiliating yet another person but I thought that you’d want to know that Wilson and his friend Tucker were being brought in via medi-vac.”
For a moment House thought the floor had fell out from under him as the hallway began to spin. “What happened?”
“They aren’t totally sure what happened with Tucker-“
“I don’t care about Self-Important Jerk. Tell me what happened to Wilson.” House snapped, his self control all but disappeared.
“The EMT’s think that he had been running to help Tucker when his foot got stuck in a bear trap.” Cuddy announced, her tone even despite the raging emotions running through her like the rapids.
House winced. If it had been a wolf trap, Wilson would have been relatively okay. Sure he would have been in pain but the damage would have been less since the spears weren’t as big and his boots would have reduced much of the bite.
A bear trap on the other hand was meant for a much larger animal and therefore the spikes went in deeper and depending on the maker, may be barbed.
“How long til he arrives?” House asked gravely.
“They’ll be here in the next five minutes,” she whispered.
House turned on his heel and waited in the Emergency Room where Wilson would be immediately brought; he couldn’t make it up the stairs that were required for helicopter arrival.
Several minutes later, chaos in the ER announced the arrival of Wilson and his “friend”. SIJ was the first to get off helicopter and House ignored him, his eyes searching for one and only one person.
In a quick flash of camouflage and chestnut hair, House saw Wilson pass him via gurney and he followed quickly as he could.
Strong hands held him back from entering the examination area that Wilson had been wheeled to but just as he was about to snarl at the person to let him go, his mind registered that he was still close enough to see what was going on.
Blonde hair crossed past his vision briefly before it walked into the area, expertly barking out orders in a very familiar Australian accent. Somewhere in the back of his mind, House registered that it was Chase but his focus was currently on the prone figure on the bed.
The trap, boot and sock had been stripped and the pants had been split up the side revealing a mangled leg full of exposed bone, ligaments and muscle in one bloody mass.
For a second House thought he might vomit but he stoically held it back. He’d seen much worse than this in his lifetime but this wasn’t just anybody - this was Wilson. Things like this weren’t supposed to happen to Wilson, they just weren’t!
His mind raged at fate before turning to someone he could actually take his anger out on - Self Important Jerk.
With the speed not often attributed to a crippled, House spun on his heel and stormed furiously towards SIJ’s bedside.
“House, no!” A deep bass voice called while strong, chocolate hands restrained him. Foreman was deceptively strong and held a snarling House against his chest to prevent the diagnostician from committing murder in the Emergency Room. “This won’t help Wilson,” he reasoned into the scruffy doctor’s ear.
“House,” a strained voice called loudly, pain filling it and breaking his heart. House stopped fighting Foreman, broke free and walked hastily to the one voice that could command him to do anything right now.
“Easy,” he soothed, grabbing Wilson’s hand and brushing strands of hair off his wrinkled forehead, “Chase will get you taken care of.”
Tears streaked down Wilson’s cheek and the sheer agony in those lovely chocolate brown eyes threatened to be House’s undoing. “Hurtss,” Wilson cried through clenched teeth.
“I know it does. How about some more pain meds huh? I’ve got some Ibuprofen handy.” House joked, wishing his friend didn’t have to try so hard not to scream in agony.
A strangled laugh escaped Wilson’s lips but he made no answer. House looked to Chase, pleading the intensivist to help him.
Chase stood still for a second, shocked by just how much House looked like he could cry, before he nodded silently and grabbed another syringe of morphine. Like House, he hated to see the oncologist in so much pain and even though he’d almost maxed out on the amount of morphine that was safe to give one man, he administered more without hesitation. He knew he was pushing the limits but he also knew Wilson was strong and could take it.
The deep lines of pain on Wilson’s face relaxed exponentially but they were still there. Wilson opened his eyes to thank House, his eyes cloudy with pain and drugs.
“Sleep Wilson,” House interrupted, “I’ll take care of you.”
Chapter 2