Fic: Second Best
Title: Second Best
Author: Nemesis (Nems)
Pairing: House/Wilson
Rating: PG, if that.
Warnings: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR HOUSE'S HEAD (EP 4.15)
Summary: Amber can't stand being second best anymore. Not after, well, the events in House's Head.
Disclaimer: Okay. *munches some popcorn*. I'm watching the credits now... Wouldja look at that! They don't say "Nemesis" anywhere near there. Not even in the random tech stuffs. Guess it's not mine then!
A/N: Okay. Number one -- betaing done by the incomparable benjimmy. Many, many, many thanks and cookies and whatever else you want for that. And he helped pick out a title. Much love for that.
And, as usual, dedicated to my lovely (and currently sleeping) wife, Cris. Lots and lots of love for putting up with me (really, not as easy as some may think it) and for feeding my House addiction. And my need to randomly share lines from fics I'm reading addiction. For this, she gets fics and undying love. Fair trade-off, I think.
Dr. House is being forced would like to take this time and space to remind you that "puppies shouldn't be kicked, Chase is a whore, and reviews are love. Can I have a week off Clinic duty now?" Dr. Wilson would like to add, "Favorite lines are much appreciated, I'm told. Ditto for concrit." Nems likes reviews, they keep him writing lots and lots!
“Amber, please!” Wilson pleaded. “How was I supposed to know…”
“Exactly! You didn’t even try to find out if I was okay!”
“I didn’t know you were on the bus! You were Jane Doe #2! You didn’t tell me you were going to take the bus, so why would I have been looking for you among the victims?”
“You didn’t think there was something wrong when I didn’t answer your call?”
Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose. There were many, many things that he should’ve done those couple of days. “I… Amber. House was crazy those couple of days. We were all worried sick, taking care of him.”
Amber raised an eyebrow. “Right. Because House is usually the poster-boy for sanity.”
Wilson’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have any idea what he did? It was about you, you know. All about you. He nearly killed himself over you. Because he forgot it was you. He forgot that it was you and his subconscious nagged at him. Do you have any idea what he did to regain his memories? He had Chase hypnotize him. He took a complete sensory depriving bath. He ignored a skull fracture until it worsened and he passed out completely. He took Alzheimer’s drugs like it was candy and blew out his heart - he was technically dead. Cuddy had to do mouth-to-mouth and I was pounding on his chest. When he came out of it, he at least remembered what he’d seen. You. With a pole through your leg.”
Amber was a cross between impressed and disgusted. “So. House nearly killed himself trying to remember me. Heroic. Noble. Not things I’d associate with House - but then again, he didn’t know it was me, did he? It was a damn puzzle. And I can see him early killing himself over his puzzle. He’s done it before. Never mind. Still, it’s noble enough. Certainly for House.”
She paused. Wilson felt a slight glimmer of hope. “But we’re not talking about House’s actions, are we? We’re talking about yours,” Amber continued mercilessly. “There were moments you didn’t have to actively babysit him, weren’t there? You didn’t look for me then. You didn’t call me again, or call our apartment, or hospitals. You didn’t even look at the damn files. Had you, you would’ve seen that bit about a birthmark - known it was me. No. Nothing.”
“Amber… I thought you were at work. Had a case. Got swamped and just didn’t get a chance to call back. I’m sorry. I’ve never dated a doctor before. The only doctor I call consistently is House, who never returns a phone call if he’s deep in a case. It was wrong of me and I should’ve looked for you, but I didn’t think anything was amiss.”
“Oh please. You didn’t even realize I hadn’t called back until House said he’d seen me on the bus. That I was the one dying. That’s when you realized I hadn’t called back yet.”
Wilson scowled deeply. “He was… insane! We were all worried sick about him - because we knew something was wrong with him.”
Amber scoffed disgustedly. “You know, I really thought you’d be different.” A sad little pause. Her voice softened, saddened, lost some of its anger as she said, “I really thought I’d be different.”
Wilson was puzzled by this. “Wha…”
“I really thought you’d treat me differently. That you wouldn’t treat me the way you did your wives. I really thought you’d put me above House.” Amber snorted. “He was right. You’d never choose anyone over him.”
“I… Amber, no. I love you. I care very much about you.”
“I’m sure you do. Or, at least, I’m sure you think you do. But you love and care about him more. Your first concern will always be House. Your first thought will always be House. If he and I called you within seconds of each other saying we need help… you’d go to him first. You wouldn’t even think about it. You’d go to House first. You always will.” She shook her head sadly. “I don’t know why I thought I’d be any different.”
Wilson blinked in confusion. “I knew he was…”
“James…” Amber groaned. “Don’t you see? It’s over. I can’t… I can’t be with you. I can’t be second best to House. Third best. Because after House comes your job.”
“Now, wait!”
“Don’t deny you put House above even your job. You would drop everything if House paged you with your emergency code - including your job. I can’t be third best, James. I’d be fine coming after your job. But not after House. You let him get away with everything. You… no. This isn’t a time to pick apart your relationship with him. I’m sorry, James. I really… I really do care for you. Love you, even. But I can’t do this. It’s over.”
***
Wilson stood outside on the step, trying to figure out ‘what now?’ He had a suitcase of essentials; he could move out properly once he got another apartment. Now what?
He got in his car and drove on autopilot to House’s.
House opened the door within minutes. He was in pajama bottoms. “What?” he asked blearily, rubbing sleep from his eye with his left hand.
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
“Yes,” House answered shortly. He was not at his sharpest when woken from a deep, relatively pain-free sleep. “What are you doing here?”
“Amber dumped me.”
“You need a place to crash,” House guessed. He stepped out of the doorway. “Come in.”
Wilson entered and left his suitcase by the door. House shut the door and turned to Wilson.
“Why’d she dump you?” House asked, yawning widely: a loud, baritone aria.
“Said she couldn’t stand coming after you anymore,” Wilson muttered. “She was upset about the whole not-looking-for-her thing. When I told her I had been worried about you - when I told her you’d blown your heart out with Alzheimer drugs…” Wilson shrugged. “At least it happened before I married her.”
House looked at him suspiciously. “You’re looking awfully not-upset, for having been dumped by your girlfriend, whom you presumably love.”
Wilson shrugged again. “I… don’t quite know yet what I feel.”
House nodded in understanding. “I felt the same way when Stacy left. Well, you know where the blankets are, the couch is yours, please, for God’s sake, be quiet in the morning. I’m going back to bed. Shit, skull fractures are painful.” He limped back towards his bedroom.
***
“You’re still not upset,” House pointed out at breakfast. They both had a free day, for which they were both very thankful (House was on enforced sick leave (healing skull fracture, heart failure, etc. House still wasn’t quite sure why this stopped him from being able to diagnose, but Cuddy had threatened nine-to-five Clinic duty), Wilson just had a day off). He began fixing coffee and toast.
“She’s right,” Wilson answered with a small shrug. He seemed to be shrugging a lot in the past twenty-four hours. “I do put you before everything.”
“Right, and that somehow makes up for you losing the woman you love.” House shook his head. “You are a weird guy.” He buttered his toast.
“I realized last night why I’m never happy with the people I date.”
“Oh, God, you’re gonna talk to me now, aren’t you?” He took a gulp of the slightly-less-than-scalding coffee.
“It’s because I love someone else more.”
“I told you you were sleeping with me,” House pointed out, taking a big bite of his toast.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t.”
“So, what? You want to date me? Sleep with me? Live with me?”
Wilson gave an apologetic smile and shrug (again with the shrugging). “Yeah.”
“Okay,” House answered.
“Okay?” Wilson repeated. “I just… I tell you I want to date you, and you say okay?”
House looked thoughtful for a moment. “You’d prefer it if I said no? I mean, I can, but I do try to make a habit out of telling the truth.”
Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose. “No! You… er… you don’t need to think about this or anything?”
House shrugged. “Nope, I’ve known for ages.” He limped over to Wilson and said affectionately, “Silly idiot. Thinking you could replace me with anyone.” His breath ghosted over Wilson’s face, reeking of coffee and toothpaste.
His lips met Wilson’s, his tongue darted out to tease Wilson’s lips, and it was seconds before Wilson’s tongue decided to join the fray. House tasted sharply of strong, black coffee, overriding everything else. His lips were soft and smooth, the stubble, no matter how sexy and rugged it made him look, was irritating, and his tongue was slick and smooth and oh so skillful.
House pulled back and smiled. “What’s there to think about?”
-- End
Author: Nemesis (Nems)
Pairing: House/Wilson
Rating: PG, if that.
Warnings: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR HOUSE'S HEAD (EP 4.15)
Summary: Amber can't stand being second best anymore. Not after, well, the events in House's Head.
Disclaimer: Okay. *munches some popcorn*. I'm watching the credits now... Wouldja look at that! They don't say "Nemesis" anywhere near there. Not even in the random tech stuffs. Guess it's not mine then!
A/N: Okay. Number one -- betaing done by the incomparable benjimmy. Many, many, many thanks and cookies and whatever else you want for that. And he helped pick out a title. Much love for that.
And, as usual, dedicated to my lovely (and currently sleeping) wife, Cris. Lots and lots of love for putting up with me (really, not as easy as some may think it) and for feeding my House addiction. And my need to randomly share lines from fics I'm reading addiction. For this, she gets fics and undying love. Fair trade-off, I think.
Dr. House is being forced would like to take this time and space to remind you that "puppies shouldn't be kicked, Chase is a whore, and reviews are love. Can I have a week off Clinic duty now?" Dr. Wilson would like to add, "Favorite lines are much appreciated, I'm told. Ditto for concrit." Nems likes reviews, they keep him writing lots and lots!
“Amber, please!” Wilson pleaded. “How was I supposed to know…”
“Exactly! You didn’t even try to find out if I was okay!”
“I didn’t know you were on the bus! You were Jane Doe #2! You didn’t tell me you were going to take the bus, so why would I have been looking for you among the victims?”
“You didn’t think there was something wrong when I didn’t answer your call?”
Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose. There were many, many things that he should’ve done those couple of days. “I… Amber. House was crazy those couple of days. We were all worried sick, taking care of him.”
Amber raised an eyebrow. “Right. Because House is usually the poster-boy for sanity.”
Wilson’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have any idea what he did? It was about you, you know. All about you. He nearly killed himself over you. Because he forgot it was you. He forgot that it was you and his subconscious nagged at him. Do you have any idea what he did to regain his memories? He had Chase hypnotize him. He took a complete sensory depriving bath. He ignored a skull fracture until it worsened and he passed out completely. He took Alzheimer’s drugs like it was candy and blew out his heart - he was technically dead. Cuddy had to do mouth-to-mouth and I was pounding on his chest. When he came out of it, he at least remembered what he’d seen. You. With a pole through your leg.”
Amber was a cross between impressed and disgusted. “So. House nearly killed himself trying to remember me. Heroic. Noble. Not things I’d associate with House - but then again, he didn’t know it was me, did he? It was a damn puzzle. And I can see him early killing himself over his puzzle. He’s done it before. Never mind. Still, it’s noble enough. Certainly for House.”
She paused. Wilson felt a slight glimmer of hope. “But we’re not talking about House’s actions, are we? We’re talking about yours,” Amber continued mercilessly. “There were moments you didn’t have to actively babysit him, weren’t there? You didn’t look for me then. You didn’t call me again, or call our apartment, or hospitals. You didn’t even look at the damn files. Had you, you would’ve seen that bit about a birthmark - known it was me. No. Nothing.”
“Amber… I thought you were at work. Had a case. Got swamped and just didn’t get a chance to call back. I’m sorry. I’ve never dated a doctor before. The only doctor I call consistently is House, who never returns a phone call if he’s deep in a case. It was wrong of me and I should’ve looked for you, but I didn’t think anything was amiss.”
“Oh please. You didn’t even realize I hadn’t called back until House said he’d seen me on the bus. That I was the one dying. That’s when you realized I hadn’t called back yet.”
Wilson scowled deeply. “He was… insane! We were all worried sick about him - because we knew something was wrong with him.”
Amber scoffed disgustedly. “You know, I really thought you’d be different.” A sad little pause. Her voice softened, saddened, lost some of its anger as she said, “I really thought I’d be different.”
Wilson was puzzled by this. “Wha…”
“I really thought you’d treat me differently. That you wouldn’t treat me the way you did your wives. I really thought you’d put me above House.” Amber snorted. “He was right. You’d never choose anyone over him.”
“I… Amber, no. I love you. I care very much about you.”
“I’m sure you do. Or, at least, I’m sure you think you do. But you love and care about him more. Your first concern will always be House. Your first thought will always be House. If he and I called you within seconds of each other saying we need help… you’d go to him first. You wouldn’t even think about it. You’d go to House first. You always will.” She shook her head sadly. “I don’t know why I thought I’d be any different.”
Wilson blinked in confusion. “I knew he was…”
“James…” Amber groaned. “Don’t you see? It’s over. I can’t… I can’t be with you. I can’t be second best to House. Third best. Because after House comes your job.”
“Now, wait!”
“Don’t deny you put House above even your job. You would drop everything if House paged you with your emergency code - including your job. I can’t be third best, James. I’d be fine coming after your job. But not after House. You let him get away with everything. You… no. This isn’t a time to pick apart your relationship with him. I’m sorry, James. I really… I really do care for you. Love you, even. But I can’t do this. It’s over.”
***
Wilson stood outside on the step, trying to figure out ‘what now?’ He had a suitcase of essentials; he could move out properly once he got another apartment. Now what?
He got in his car and drove on autopilot to House’s.
House opened the door within minutes. He was in pajama bottoms. “What?” he asked blearily, rubbing sleep from his eye with his left hand.
“Sorry, did I wake you?”
“Yes,” House answered shortly. He was not at his sharpest when woken from a deep, relatively pain-free sleep. “What are you doing here?”
“Amber dumped me.”
“You need a place to crash,” House guessed. He stepped out of the doorway. “Come in.”
Wilson entered and left his suitcase by the door. House shut the door and turned to Wilson.
“Why’d she dump you?” House asked, yawning widely: a loud, baritone aria.
“Said she couldn’t stand coming after you anymore,” Wilson muttered. “She was upset about the whole not-looking-for-her thing. When I told her I had been worried about you - when I told her you’d blown your heart out with Alzheimer drugs…” Wilson shrugged. “At least it happened before I married her.”
House looked at him suspiciously. “You’re looking awfully not-upset, for having been dumped by your girlfriend, whom you presumably love.”
Wilson shrugged again. “I… don’t quite know yet what I feel.”
House nodded in understanding. “I felt the same way when Stacy left. Well, you know where the blankets are, the couch is yours, please, for God’s sake, be quiet in the morning. I’m going back to bed. Shit, skull fractures are painful.” He limped back towards his bedroom.
***
“You’re still not upset,” House pointed out at breakfast. They both had a free day, for which they were both very thankful (House was on enforced sick leave (healing skull fracture, heart failure, etc. House still wasn’t quite sure why this stopped him from being able to diagnose, but Cuddy had threatened nine-to-five Clinic duty), Wilson just had a day off). He began fixing coffee and toast.
“She’s right,” Wilson answered with a small shrug. He seemed to be shrugging a lot in the past twenty-four hours. “I do put you before everything.”
“Right, and that somehow makes up for you losing the woman you love.” House shook his head. “You are a weird guy.” He buttered his toast.
“I realized last night why I’m never happy with the people I date.”
“Oh, God, you’re gonna talk to me now, aren’t you?” He took a gulp of the slightly-less-than-scalding coffee.
“It’s because I love someone else more.”
“I told you you were sleeping with me,” House pointed out, taking a big bite of his toast.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t.”
“So, what? You want to date me? Sleep with me? Live with me?”
Wilson gave an apologetic smile and shrug (again with the shrugging). “Yeah.”
“Okay,” House answered.
“Okay?” Wilson repeated. “I just… I tell you I want to date you, and you say okay?”
House looked thoughtful for a moment. “You’d prefer it if I said no? I mean, I can, but I do try to make a habit out of telling the truth.”
Wilson pinched the bridge of his nose. “No! You… er… you don’t need to think about this or anything?”
House shrugged. “Nope, I’ve known for ages.” He limped over to Wilson and said affectionately, “Silly idiot. Thinking you could replace me with anyone.” His breath ghosted over Wilson’s face, reeking of coffee and toothpaste.
His lips met Wilson’s, his tongue darted out to tease Wilson’s lips, and it was seconds before Wilson’s tongue decided to join the fray. House tasted sharply of strong, black coffee, overriding everything else. His lips were soft and smooth, the stubble, no matter how sexy and rugged it made him look, was irritating, and his tongue was slick and smooth and oh so skillful.
House pulled back and smiled. “What’s there to think about?”
-- End