Dark Redux, Part 1.4 -- Maternity

[darkdreamer]

Okay, this one was slightly tougher to do :P though I enjoyed it, I look forward to the challenge of translating these episodes into this verse :P Hope you enjoy reading it, too :)

*hugs*
DoS

Title: Dark Redux
Episode: 1.4 -- Maternity
Beta: misanthropicobs
Disclaimer: House, Wilson, and all other characters/ideas taken from the show are not my own, and I'm making no profit from the writing of this fiction -- just for fun, I promise. :P (Some dialogue this chapter taken directly from the episode.)
Pairing: House/Wilson
Rating: PG
Author's Note: In this particular 'verse, I've changed one thing about the canon timeline. At the beginning of the story, when House and Wilson first get together, Wilson is already recently divorced from Julie.
Story Warnings: slash, dark Wilson eventually -- specific warnings for each chapter as necessary
Chapter Warnings: possessive!wilson, mild sexuality
Story Summary: A darker version of how canon might have gone, if House and Wilson had entered into a relationship from the start -- and if that relationship took a gradually dark, disturbing turn.
Chapter Summary: Wilson wrestles with his own jealousy and insecurities, as House struggles to deal with the epidemic that breaks out at PPTH, and through that struggle comes to be a little more dependent on Wilson.

 

"Baby girl Hartig. Term baby, forty-two hours old. Went into seizures six hours ago, brought into the intensive care, diagnosed the obstruction in the small bowel."

Wilson stared back at House's expectant look, unsure what exactly was supposed to catch his attention from House's description -- especially when the only thing really catching his attention at the moment was House himself.

Wilson managed to bring an affectionate smirk to his lips. "I'm still amazed you're in the same room with a patient."

House shrugged. "People don't bug me until they get teeth."

Wilson was only half-listening as House described the second toothless patient that had managed to gain his attention that day, bored and distracted and only partially taking in the point House was getting at.

Finally, House just spelled it out for him.

"We have an infection spreading in the hospital."

Wilson stared at him in disbelief. "These kids have totally unrelated illnesses."

House continued his argument, explaining to Wilson why the seemingly unrelated illnesses of the two babies were in fact related, and that PPTH was facing a potentially serious epidemic in their neonatal unit.

To Wilson, it didn't seem to make sense.

To Wilson, it sounded like nothing more than an excuse to visit Cuddy.

Again.

"House... this is nothing. You're getting all worked up over nothing," he insisted, a bit impatiently. "Maybe you're... bored, or... well, pretty much 'bored' is all I've got for why you're inventing epidemics to pass the time." Wilson let out a rueful laugh, shaking his head in rather terse amusement.

"This is serious, Wilson," House insisted. "And it could get a lot more serious, if we don't do something to stop it now."

"House..."

"Later," House cut him off, abruptly losing patience with Wilson's attempts to change his mind. "I've got a hospital administrator to freak out."

"House... wait..."

Wilson protested, turning toward House as he limped quickly away in the direction of Cuddy's office. Wilson's voice trailed off in frustrated defeat, and he simply watched his lover disappear down the hall, something dark and suspicious and unpleasant boiling up within him as he considered House’s possible motivations.

He just wants an excuse to talk to her... just wants a reason to continue this disgusting game they've been playing lately... that's all this is. She's tempting him, teasing him, laying out the bait... and he's playing right into her hands...

Wilson's footsteps were hard and angry as he stalked back down the hall in the opposite direction from the one House had gone, toward his own office.

Well, it's not going to work. She's not going to get her claws into him. I'm going to make sure she doesn't get the chance.

****************************

"And you're the only one who put this together because...?"

"Because I'm the only one who looked at both kids. I want them isolated. I want the maternity ward shut down."

House made his bold declaration with an almost defiant air, silently daring her to contradict his conclusions. Unfortunately, she didn’t seem to have much trouble meeting that dare. House watched in irritation as Cuddy bustled about behind her desk, nervously gathering papers and other supplies as she hurriedly prepared to leave her office -- all without paying very much attention at all to his rather serious concerns.

Cuddy offered a distracted, token argument while making her way toward the door, pausing long enough to give House her own theory on why he was "inventing" an epidemic to alleviate his own boredom – which was annoyingly similar to Wilson’s theory.

"See, this is why I don't waste money on shrinks," House retorted, irritated that both Cuddy and Wilson seemed to think they knew him so well, and that neither of them was taking this very serious situation seriously. "'Cause you give me all these really great insights for free."

"Shrink," Cuddy echoed with a nearly silent laugh, shaking her head. "If you would consider going to a shrink, I would pay for it myself. The hospital would hold a bake sale, for God's sake." She paused, her expression darkening as she pushed the door open and added under her breath, "Maybe I could get a two-for-one deal, if the two patients' mental issues are closely related..."

"What?" House frowned, shaking his head slightly to indicate that she had lost him.

"Nothing," Cuddy sighed. "Never mind."

House frowned, turning to watch her go, wondering about her cryptic remarks, the lack of her usual playful banter, and why she had seemed to be in such a hurry to get away from him all of a sudden. Shaking his head, dismissing those relatively trivial concerns, House made his way back toward the pediatric ward in search of additional cases to prove his theory.

He had more important concerns at the moment than Cuddy and her strangely shifting moods.

***************************

It didn't take House long to prove his theory, and within the next hour, Cuddy, Wilson, and the rest of the hospital was engaged in the desperate search for the source of the epidemic he had predicted.

Cuddy spent a good deal of time close to House and his team, trying to help with the diagnostic effort -- and naturally, Wilson did the same. He stayed close to House's side most of the day, offering advice and suggestions, trying to help find the elusive answer -- and trying to keep Cuddy from finding the chance to be alone with House, as well.

Wilson felt a perverse sense of relief in the knowledge that House's concerns had been genuine, and not merely a ploy to spend time with Cuddy again -- followed by a sense of guilt for that relief.

After all, six babies were dying.

And for all House's general lack of affection for the rest of humanity -- that knowledge seemed to be pressing down on him hardest of all. During the course of the day, Wilson noticed with concern that House seemed to grow gradually more tense, weary and agitated, as each attempt at finding the diagnosis ended in yet another frustrating failure.

When the search turned in the direction of an ethically unclear decision which was almost sure to result in the certain death of one of the infants, Wilson was alarmed to notice that House's limp became more pronounced, and there was a heavy weariness around his eyes, as he refused to rest for a moment, doing everything in his power to find the solution before the other babies met the same fate.

Wilson was as supportive as he could be, staying close to House's side and offering him whatever encouragement and comfort he could -- and House seemed genuinely grateful for his presence. Wilson was pleased that House seemed to want him around, and it eased some of the uncertain, jealous feelings that had motivated his actions in the first place -- but not all of them.

Every time Cuddy made her way into House's office, Wilson couldn't help but notice her every move, watching closely for any signs of the flirtations that seemed to characterize every communication between Cuddy and House lately.

Fortunately, they had little time for such frivolity.

And then, despite their best efforts -- baby boy Hausen died.

Again, trying his best to make things easier on his stressed, exhausted lover, Wilson accompanied Cameron to break the news to the family -- and ended up doing her job for her and telling them himself, when she couldn't find the words to do so.

Unfortunately -- House did not appreciate the extra effort.

"I asked you to make sure she does her job, not do it for her."

Irritated by House's ingratitude, but suppressing it for the moment, reminding himself of the immense pressure he was under, Wilson explained, "She froze up..."

"She felt sorry for the patients so she shut up. You felt sorry for her so you opened your mouth."

"She has a problem," Wilson insisted, though Cameron's problem was the least of his concerns, and utterly unrelated to his reasons for taking up the slack she'd left and informing the family for her.

He simply had not wanted the burden to come back onto House's over-worked shoulders.

"Yeah, and she needs to deal with it," House snapped at him irritably as they reached his office. "If you hadn't bailed her out, she would have done it."

"Great, then she wouldn't have slept for two weeks. Maybe she should think about a different specialty. Lab work, research?"

Wilson was still attempting to be diplomatic, to shift the conversation in a direction that was less likely to result in House's continued irritation -- and Wilson's increasing desire to hit him out of frustration with his ungratefulness and irrational irritation.

Calm down, he told himself. He's under a lot of stress... got a lot to worry about... can't expect him to think much about your feelings now... not when he doesn't even usually think much about them during the best of circumstances...

"Yeah," House sneered, still clearly agitated. "Or, she could focus on getting halfway decent at the specialty she's already chosen. Unless every bleeding-heart, well-meaning do-gooder she crosses paths with insists on coddling her and making sure she stays a useless waste of a position on my team."

Wilson's good intentions to remain patient vanished into frustration, as he stopped, turning toward House with a resentful glare.

"Look," he snapped. "I was trying to help you. The least you could do is show a little appreciation..."

"For what?" House shot back with a derisive laugh. "For subverting my authority with my team? For ruining my attempt to make her better at her job? Yeah," he sneered with a soft huff of mockery. "Thanks."

Wilson felt that tense, angry resentment that had been settled in his chest all day, fed by his jealousy over Cuddy's constant nearness, boiling up into a slow-burning fury. His fists balled at his sides, his eyes narrowed, jaw clenched in anger, as he followed House into his office, opening his mouth to respond.

Before he could, Chase hurried into the room, the urgency of his purpose clear on his face.

Without noticing the change in Wilson's demeanor, House directed his attention toward Chase, asking impatiently, "Yeah, what is it?"

The revelation that the other baby was getting sicker as well sort of took the steam out of Wilson's rising rage, and he repressed it with an effort, dutifully trying to focus on helping House again, before the other five sick babies joined the little Hausen boy.

****************************

By the end of the day, as usual, they had found the solution, and managed to save the lives of the endangered children -- but at a great cost mentally and emotionally. House was exhausted and drained, aching from head to toe, as he walked slowly from his office into the conference room to find Cameron, seated and working at his desk.

His voice was weary and flat as he asked softly, "They all gone?"

Cameron nodded. "The Hartigs are checking out right now."

House glanced at Cameron with a sort of distant scrutiny. "You look tired," he observed.

"Thanks."

"It's no wonder. You've had a hard time the last couple of days."

Cameron looked up at him, concern subduing the sarcasm in her expression. "And you haven't?" she pointed out.

"Not like you," House countered, watching as she rose to her feet and retrieved her jacket from the coat rack. "Anyone who's that awkward either has no experience around death, or too much... and I'm pretty sure it's not the former. Chase told me about that idea you had: the parents holding the baby. Where'd you get that?"

Cameron did not reply as she made her way toward the door, apparently determined to shut out his increasingly invasive questions.

"Did you lose someone?" House persisted thoughtfully. "Did you lose a baby?"

Cameron froze in the doorway, finally turning to cast a look of quiet disgust and anger over her shoulder in his direction. "You can be a real bastard," she stated as she walked out the door.

The quiet words stung more than House liked to admit.

House lowered his gaze in weary, defeated resignation as Wilson stepped out of his office, where he had been waiting, and into the conference room, placing a supportive hand on House's shoulder.

A sad smile formed on House's lips as he stared at the place where Cameron had been.

"Funny thing is," he remarked softly. "I wasn't actually trying to be that time. I was... trying to be... concerned."

Wilson was quiet for a moment, considering. Finally, he spoke in a quiet, cautious tone. "Medically, House... your instincts are right on. Ninety-nine percent of the time. You saw this thing coming, before any of us were willing to even consider it -- and based on the timeline as it played out, you probably saved all of those babies' lives just by insisting that we see it as well, before it was too late to help them – not to mention the diagnosis itself."

Uncomfortable with his praise, House kept his gaze downcast, not responding, simply quietly taking in Wilson's words.

"Emotionally, though," Wilson continued with a soft sigh. "House... that's one area where you should listen to me. It's... not exactly your strong suit."

"Well, that works out well," House replied with a careless shrug that was not at all convincing. "Since those things don't really matter to me, anyway. You need that to be your strong suit. All your patients are dying, anyway. The least you can do is be their temporary therapist while you watch them die."

The slight tremor Wilson heard in House's voice -- the exhaustion around his sad, expressive eyes and the rare vulnerability he exuded -- took the sting from House's words, and all Wilson felt, at last, was sympathy and compassion.

Slowly, he walked around to face House, taking House's hand gently in his own and waiting patiently until House reluctantly met his eyes. Ignoring House's attempted jabs, Wilson gave him a soft, affectionate smile, raising a hand to rest at the back of his neck, tugging him slowly, insistently closer.

"Yeah," Wilson observed gently, a knowing expression in his warm, dark eyes. "I can see how very much you don't care, House. You've made that perfectly clear all day today."

House lowered his gaze, not bothering to argue with Wilson's astute observation, yet unwilling to face the intimate knowledge in Wilson's eyes. Refusing to let him escape so easily, Wilson pulled House close and kissed him, his tongue edging insistently past House's parted lips, enticing him into a deep, lingering kiss that swiftly became a release for the desperation and need House had been warring with all day.

When they finally separated, gasping for breath, House was leaning unconsciously closer to Wilson, his eyes closed, but the desperate ache of his need for comfort and reassurance etched in the tired lines of his face.

"You don't have to keep up the act for me, House," Wilson whispered, his breath warm and sweet against House's skin. "There's no point. I see right through it. Let me see through it. I can be... exactly what you need..."

House did not respond to Wilson's breathless words, his eyes still closed, his breath quickening with desire. Wilson's hand massaged slowly at the back of House's neck, slowly and insistently kneading the tension from the taut muscles, as Wilson's free hand slid around House's waist, pulling him close to him and holding him in an embrace that was comforting, affectionate, and yet subtly possessive.

"Let me," Wilson urged him in an intent whisper, his fingertips caressing through the short hairs at the back of House's neck as his lips brushed tenderly against House's jaw. "Let me..."

Slowly, as if no longer possessing the strength or will to hold it up, House allowed his head to drop forward and rest on Wilson's shoulder, his trembling hands rising to return Wilson's embrace -- and Wilson just stood there, holding him, whispering silent comfort with soft fingertips and gentle breaths of kisses on his skin.

TBC...