Everyone else was doing it, so...
Some House MD drabbles dealing with the aftermath. SPOILERS for the finale. Here there be angst.
1. Lies we tell each other
Cuddy fusses over House until he loses the battle with consciousness and falls into what might actually be natural sleep for a change. She makes herself leave the ICU, walks down stairs and corridors, and lets herself into Wilson's office. Wilson never looks up as she closes the gap between them, touches his shoulder, tries to send him home or to a friend's. "I think he'll be okay, "she says suddenly. "I thought you'd want to know." Wilson doesn't say a word, and she tells herself that it doesn't matter. Cuddy's an administrator; she'll lie when she thinks it's appropriate.
2. Lies we tell ourselves
House drifts as Chase stammers through yet another apology. His accent is giving House a headache. Or that could be the head trauma. He's got plenty of reasons to hurt right now; Chase's apology is the one he can almost focus on. He's not up for coherence yet, and blinking is a one-trick pony. He gives glaring a shot, which seems to make Chase nervous until Cameron shows up to scold… someone. He's not sure who is frustrating her the most right now. But she makes Chase stop apologizing and they leave him alone, which is good. And he drifts.
3. Little white lies
Cuddy's hovering, Chase is hiding, Cameron flits between them trying not to lecture, and Foreman is wherever Foreman goes to avoid the rest of them. People offer help or comfort, but nobody asks how he's doing, so Wilson doesn't have to lie. House will be alright. Cuddy said so. Amber, and by extension, everything else, will never be alright again. If anyone asked, he'd say that he never thought of it as trading one for the other, or that he could have lost them both, or that he still might. Nobody asks, and that's fine by him. Wilson hates to lie.
1. Lies we tell each other
Cuddy fusses over House until he loses the battle with consciousness and falls into what might actually be natural sleep for a change. She makes herself leave the ICU, walks down stairs and corridors, and lets herself into Wilson's office. Wilson never looks up as she closes the gap between them, touches his shoulder, tries to send him home or to a friend's. "I think he'll be okay, "she says suddenly. "I thought you'd want to know." Wilson doesn't say a word, and she tells herself that it doesn't matter. Cuddy's an administrator; she'll lie when she thinks it's appropriate.
2. Lies we tell ourselves
House drifts as Chase stammers through yet another apology. His accent is giving House a headache. Or that could be the head trauma. He's got plenty of reasons to hurt right now; Chase's apology is the one he can almost focus on. He's not up for coherence yet, and blinking is a one-trick pony. He gives glaring a shot, which seems to make Chase nervous until Cameron shows up to scold… someone. He's not sure who is frustrating her the most right now. But she makes Chase stop apologizing and they leave him alone, which is good. And he drifts.
3. Little white lies
Cuddy's hovering, Chase is hiding, Cameron flits between them trying not to lecture, and Foreman is wherever Foreman goes to avoid the rest of them. People offer help or comfort, but nobody asks how he's doing, so Wilson doesn't have to lie. House will be alright. Cuddy said so. Amber, and by extension, everything else, will never be alright again. If anyone asked, he'd say that he never thought of it as trading one for the other, or that he could have lost them both, or that he still might. Nobody asks, and that's fine by him. Wilson hates to lie.