FIC: The Culmination
Title: The Culmination
Author: serotonin_storm
Fandom: House
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: gen
Warnings: apocafic, deathfic
Word Count: 1000 words
Summary: It's the end of the world, and everyone spends it their own way.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Notes: For housefic_au. Edited 12/9/08.
Cuddy died wearing her best red heels and sipping a glass of wine. The fuck if she'd go down crying and begging; if the world was ending, she would watch it all crash down upon her.
There were many things she hadn't done. She'd never gotten married. She'd never brought a baby into the world and cradled it in her arms and cried. She had to admit she'd wanted those things. She'd wanted them so badly that sometimes it had ached. The fact that she didn't have them was not for lack of trying.
But she'd kicked ass at what she had done, that she knew. She'd been House's only keeper and Wilson's strongest ally. She'd been a daughter that any mother could be proud of. She'd been a role model. If medicine was her lover and the hospital was her baby, then that was good enough for her.
Cuddy went out with a grin.
--
Foreman died cursing the end from the rooftop of his apartment building. They should have stopped it - they could have stopped it, but fear had paralyzed their government, and no other action had been taken. It was no accident that it was all over now. There was someone to blame.
There'd been so many fucking wrongs committed against him in his lifetime, because of his color, because of his intelligence, and even sometimes, he could admit, because of his ego. It was just the final injustice that it would all end like this. Just the period at the end of the proverbial sentence.
He'd put his life on hold one too many times for education, for money, for House, and now he'd run out of time. They'd forced him to run out of time.
Foreman went out with an angry shout.
--
Chase died with his eyes squeezed shut and his arms wrapped around his knees. He wasn't the man he wanted to be. He'd been so busy making ends meet that he'd forgotten no end had a guarantee. He'd turned his back on God, on his family - Christ, how he wished he'd been able to have one last moment with his father. To say what had always been on the tip of his tongue, but had been bitten back in anger. In fear of offending acceptable behavior.
He wished for one last conversation with House, too, to be able to offer an apology that he realized would never be accepted. He admired and hated House for his inability to feel remorse, but more than anything, he wanted to say that these years had been some of the best of his life, and that he was sorry for all the times he'd tried to screw it up. But what was done, was done.
It was the end, and he was ready for Heaven.
Chase went out with a prayer.
--
Cameron died making the sign of the cross. She didn't believe, certainly not like Chase did. She'd lost her faith the first time she'd seen a good person die of an illness they didn't deserve to have. No god could be that cruel, and so she chose to believe that there was no god at all. Only one of the many sacrifices she'd made just to function.
House said she cared too much. A lot of people had said that, actually, in sympathy and in anger. But that was the way she wanted to live. She wanted to heal. She wanted to protect. She wanted to make the world a better place, even if it was only in some small part.
The sign of the cross, it was a gesture of farewell. To her mother, who would always believe. To her father, who valued tradition. To House, for teaching her that first assumptions weren't always correct. To - to Chase, who had been the only one to teach her that sometimes, it's okay to give in.
Cameron went out with tears in her eyes.
--
Wilson died lying on House's couch paging slowly through a scrapbook of pictures. His mistakes didn't matter, his regrets had no meaning - the people and places in that book were technicolor and bittersweet. They were the only things that counted.
There were his wives. Jen, with her bright smile and playful eyes, toasting something long forgotten. Bonnie wrapped around him shyly as they posed for the camera. Julie caught in mid laugh, forever frozen in her exuberance. Then there was his family - his father ducking away from the camera self-consciously, his mother giving a warm smile and a wave. His older brother and his family squabbling over the last piece of pizza. That last picture of his younger brother with his face hidden from the camera. All the people that mattered.
And then there was House.
House in a tuxedo with a wicked smile. House hunched and scowling in the corner of the room. House on Stacy's arm. House telling him a joke and laughing along. House, pensive and open, when he didn't realize anyone was watching.
There was always House. No matter how far he strayed.
Wilson went out with a name on his lips.
--
House died watching the sky darken. He died without his Vicodin or his cane, because he didn't need them anymore. What he needed was knowledge - to know why this was happening, why now, why it couldn't be stopped. And so he watched, and he waited.
If he had known of the others, he would have returned Cuddy's grin with a leer, laughed at Foreman's shout, mocked Chase's prayer, rolled his eyes at Cameron's gesture, and teased Wilson about the name on his lips. But he didn't know. All he knew was that the wind was picking up, that the sky seemed to be folding in on itself, that the sun had been snuffed out. He knew that the temperature was dropping and his excited breaths were beginning to frost in the air.
He knew that the world was ending. And as the end washed over them all, he finally understood. All at once he knew why.
House went out with an answer.
Author: serotonin_storm
Fandom: House
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: gen
Warnings: apocafic, deathfic
Word Count: 1000 words
Summary: It's the end of the world, and everyone spends it their own way.
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Notes: For housefic_au. Edited 12/9/08.
Cuddy died wearing her best red heels and sipping a glass of wine. The fuck if she'd go down crying and begging; if the world was ending, she would watch it all crash down upon her.
There were many things she hadn't done. She'd never gotten married. She'd never brought a baby into the world and cradled it in her arms and cried. She had to admit she'd wanted those things. She'd wanted them so badly that sometimes it had ached. The fact that she didn't have them was not for lack of trying.
But she'd kicked ass at what she had done, that she knew. She'd been House's only keeper and Wilson's strongest ally. She'd been a daughter that any mother could be proud of. She'd been a role model. If medicine was her lover and the hospital was her baby, then that was good enough for her.
Cuddy went out with a grin.
--
Foreman died cursing the end from the rooftop of his apartment building. They should have stopped it - they could have stopped it, but fear had paralyzed their government, and no other action had been taken. It was no accident that it was all over now. There was someone to blame.
There'd been so many fucking wrongs committed against him in his lifetime, because of his color, because of his intelligence, and even sometimes, he could admit, because of his ego. It was just the final injustice that it would all end like this. Just the period at the end of the proverbial sentence.
He'd put his life on hold one too many times for education, for money, for House, and now he'd run out of time. They'd forced him to run out of time.
Foreman went out with an angry shout.
--
Chase died with his eyes squeezed shut and his arms wrapped around his knees. He wasn't the man he wanted to be. He'd been so busy making ends meet that he'd forgotten no end had a guarantee. He'd turned his back on God, on his family - Christ, how he wished he'd been able to have one last moment with his father. To say what had always been on the tip of his tongue, but had been bitten back in anger. In fear of offending acceptable behavior.
He wished for one last conversation with House, too, to be able to offer an apology that he realized would never be accepted. He admired and hated House for his inability to feel remorse, but more than anything, he wanted to say that these years had been some of the best of his life, and that he was sorry for all the times he'd tried to screw it up. But what was done, was done.
It was the end, and he was ready for Heaven.
Chase went out with a prayer.
--
Cameron died making the sign of the cross. She didn't believe, certainly not like Chase did. She'd lost her faith the first time she'd seen a good person die of an illness they didn't deserve to have. No god could be that cruel, and so she chose to believe that there was no god at all. Only one of the many sacrifices she'd made just to function.
House said she cared too much. A lot of people had said that, actually, in sympathy and in anger. But that was the way she wanted to live. She wanted to heal. She wanted to protect. She wanted to make the world a better place, even if it was only in some small part.
The sign of the cross, it was a gesture of farewell. To her mother, who would always believe. To her father, who valued tradition. To House, for teaching her that first assumptions weren't always correct. To - to Chase, who had been the only one to teach her that sometimes, it's okay to give in.
Cameron went out with tears in her eyes.
--
Wilson died lying on House's couch paging slowly through a scrapbook of pictures. His mistakes didn't matter, his regrets had no meaning - the people and places in that book were technicolor and bittersweet. They were the only things that counted.
There were his wives. Jen, with her bright smile and playful eyes, toasting something long forgotten. Bonnie wrapped around him shyly as they posed for the camera. Julie caught in mid laugh, forever frozen in her exuberance. Then there was his family - his father ducking away from the camera self-consciously, his mother giving a warm smile and a wave. His older brother and his family squabbling over the last piece of pizza. That last picture of his younger brother with his face hidden from the camera. All the people that mattered.
And then there was House.
House in a tuxedo with a wicked smile. House hunched and scowling in the corner of the room. House on Stacy's arm. House telling him a joke and laughing along. House, pensive and open, when he didn't realize anyone was watching.
There was always House. No matter how far he strayed.
Wilson went out with a name on his lips.
--
House died watching the sky darken. He died without his Vicodin or his cane, because he didn't need them anymore. What he needed was knowledge - to know why this was happening, why now, why it couldn't be stopped. And so he watched, and he waited.
If he had known of the others, he would have returned Cuddy's grin with a leer, laughed at Foreman's shout, mocked Chase's prayer, rolled his eyes at Cameron's gesture, and teased Wilson about the name on his lips. But he didn't know. All he knew was that the wind was picking up, that the sky seemed to be folding in on itself, that the sun had been snuffed out. He knew that the temperature was dropping and his excited breaths were beginning to frost in the air.
He knew that the world was ending. And as the end washed over them all, he finally understood. All at once he knew why.
House went out with an answer.