Art for Hope

Disclaimer: I do not own House MD or any of it’s characters so don’t sue me dammit! I do however own Hope….lucky bitch…….anywho….enjoy and if it sucks it’s not my fault I haven’t written in about five or six years.

I can’t face you, Because they’ll think me weak, But I love you just the same and you’ll never know. And therein the fault is mine so I think of you when I can’t face myself but this is not easy so all my dreams come from the heart


He rode as if there were no restrictions on his life, the case he had just solved weighed on his mind. It reminded him of someone he once knew and as he raced down that road swerving in between cars he wondered where she was and what she was doing. The woman he had treated had been Wiccan, just like her. It had been almost seven years since he had last seen her, the time when he and Stacey had started dating. He never did know why after all the schooling and how smart and good she was at what she did she had decided to go to art school, she just said ‘I quit’ not even a goodbye, the last conversation could still be replayed in his mind as if an old CD had been put back into the player.

******
It was mid October, hed had been seeing Stacey for going on a month and Hope had become more and more distant in his life. They had run into eachother at the store and immediately upon sight she had turned to leave but he stopped her.
“Got a hot date soon and can’t afford to say hello?” She had stopped but remained with her back to him.
“No, I just have things I need to do.” She only took one step before he spoke again.
“A séance maybe? Or a love spell this time?”
“Drop it Greg.”
“What i can’t be inquisitve?”
“You’re never inquisitve you just want to try and puch my buttons and it’s not going to work.”
“Alright then, why haven’t you been at the hospital?” She went rigid.
“Cuddy didn’t tell you…”
“Tell me what? Are you deathly ill because you look perfectly healthy to me.” He walked over and stood in front of her, she stayed focused on the floor as a heavy sigh escaped her lips.
“I quit, resigned, whatever…I’m going to art school…in Chicago.”
“That’s a ways away. Did you upset your cult leader or did the cops finally catch on to you?”
“I just can’t do it, I can’t stand everything that’s going on, the idea of witnessing what’s evolving kills me and I have to go. It was fun while it lasted but I can’t do it anymore.” He stared at her for a moment.
“You’re lieing, what’s the truth?”
“That is the truth Greg, I quit.” She finally looked up into his face and he saw the tears gathering on the brim of her eyes before she began to walk away but he grabbed her bicept and she stopped.
“Hope.” A soft whisper, not a demand not a criticism but a plea with what sounded like emotion coming from Gregory House, it was almost ironic. She softly put her hand over his and gave it a light squeeze before leaving.

**********

He entered his apartment and threw his backpack and helmet in a corner with his coat before heading to the bookshelf, almost hidden in the masses of books was a small leather bound photo album. The only thing in his entire apartment that contained photographs, no frames, he had never even owend a camera, real or disposable. Upon her first visit to his apartment she had noted right off the bat that he had no pictures nothing to contribute to memories except old school books. She had bought two dispodable cameras and told him to take a picture a day with one of them and she would also. Of course he never told her that the day before she wanted the camera he ran around taking random pictures. She had brought the camera she had with her everytime she was with him. Wilson had even snuck a picture on one of the cameras of the two of them sleeping on the couch after a long night of reviewing a case. Somehow though between working on her art projects, working at the hospital and working her second job to help her father at his resteraunt she had put the album together for him as a birthday gift. The front had a cut out to put a picture in the cover, the picture she had chosen was the two of them sleeping on his couch. Granted he looked horribly dissheveled and there were cheese puffs scattered all across the floor from when she had thrown the bag at him out of frustration. Coke cans littered the table along with files and half empty coffee cups; books were open all over the floor from looking up different diagnosis’. He had fallen asleep with a book on his stomach sitting up on the couch with his arms sprawled across the back of it and his mouth hanging open, she was sprawled on the opposite end of the couch with her feet in his lap. She had curled up with her cheek on the back of her hand which was on top of his. He had never noticed that before and smiled inwardly remembering the argument they had over his bony knuckels after he accidentally hit her on the arm when adjusting his position on the couch earlier that night. He flipped through the pages reading the small quotes she had written on each page describing where they were or what she thought he was doing when he took his pictures. ‘What the hell is that?’ under a picture of the wall and an interesting looking spider…or cockroach….something. ‘Happy times’, a picture of her art studio accompanied by a couple of empty beer bottles and a half empty bottle of scotch. ‘Always remember me’ written under a pictured she demanded Wilson take of the two of them at work, he remembered she made him re-do it about four times simply so she could have a picture where he had a smile on his face, it was forced but it was there and she was happy. She was always happy it seemed, atleast she was until the day she left.
For some strange reason she had chosen him to be her confidant, she never asked him for his opinion, though he often gave it in the form of a sarcastic comment, she just wanted someone to listen to her beef with the world and with him. She had no problem telling him to go screw himself when he was being an arrogant ass and he had no problem telling her she was a pain in the ass when the need be, though it seemed in those arguments she had the upper hand, he was an arrogant ass a lot of the time.
He’d seen her art in a couple coffee houses in the area and heard about an auction that was all her work. He had scowered through google looking at the pieces up for auction before he came across an interview she had done for some photgraphy magazine. He had printed it and stuck it in the back of the photo album, pulling it out he read it over for the second time.
“Art in the past has been signified by the artists signature, flowers, pointleism, winter photography, not many artists take it into their hands to combine most of the mediums all into one production but don’t get me wrong that’s not my signature it’s just a way to combine all of the aspects of one world and make viewable from one standpoint.”
“Is there a certain standpoint you’re aiming at when you create your work, are you aiming at a certain audience or person maybe who influenced all of these creations? In some we see happiness and dancing such as rage of the butterflies but in others we see sadness and betrayel such as tears on petals.”
“I suppose that depends on who’s viewing my art and how they interpret it doesn’t it? But I suppose yes, there is a certain person some of my paintings are aimed at, an old arroagant ass of a doctor.”
“Was this a former lover from when you were a doctor?”
“No! No, no, no, no, no, he was a colleague, one hell of a doctor but one big jerk as a person.”
“So in all of your art you never paint a single person, why is that?”
“I did a painting of someone once, someone dear to me and afterwards I hated it so much it just wrapped in a clothe and threw it in the back of my studio.”
“Were you angry at this person?”
“No. It was the one person I ever truly loved. I think it was a self-healing project, I painted him and then stored the painting away along with my feelings for him and I never reflect on them but they are both always there.”

He sighed before tucking the article back into the album and replacing it on the shelf before going to bed.

*******

He walked into his office and found an envelope on his desk. Opening it he found a flyer to an art exhibit, one of her art exhibit’s on Friday, at the hospital. He went out onto the balcony and into Wilson’s office.
“I’m assuming you’re the flyer fairy.” Wilson looked from the patient he was consulting with to House and back.
“I’m with a patient.”
“I see that, would you mind?” House nodded towards the door.
“What?” The patient looked to Wilson before he sighed and stood excusing himself for a moment. The two exited onto the balcony and shut the door.
“You know you could knock once in a while.”
“But that would take away the element of surprise, there’s nothing better then making a dieing person wait in suspense.” House leaned against the railing and showed the envelope to Wilson.
“I thought you would want to know.”
“So you leave me little clues?”
“It wasn’t a clue it was a full out explenation.”
“Ah, ah, ah. No it wasn’t, the last few days you’ve been dropping hints about Hope, saying things like ‘if Hope were here’ and ‘she reminds me of someone’ or my favorite ‘what would you do if she came back?’”
“Look, the charity that we were supposed to be doing the fundraiser for dropped out so I gave Hope a call and asked her if we could do an exhibit here and a silent auction.”
“You know her number?”
“We’ve talked now and then over the last few years.” House looked at him out of the tops of his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that, she called me first.” House’s eyebrows arched.
“The charity didn’t drop out, charity’s don’t drop out when they have the chance to get rich doctors to contribute to their pockets for free, this was planned all along…”
“It wasn’t…”
“How long?”
“Cuddy and i….”
“How long?!” Wilson sighed in defeat before leaning against the railing himself.
“About two years, she said she had to get up the courage to come back here, her and Cuddy have been going over the finals for the last couple of months.”
“Cuddy huh?” He rubbed his chin. “So was I the only one who didn’t know?” Wilson leaned forward and started back towards his office door.
“You should talk to Hope, not me and not Cuddy.”
“But that would also take away my element of surprise.”
“House you don’t have an element of surprise, the closest you come to suprising anyone is when you put the seat down.” Wilson opened the door to office.
“I thought fairys were supposed to say nice things.” Wilson turned back to him with a hand on the door handle.
“Her number’s on the back of the flyer, just call her.”
“Are you going to hit me with your magic wand if I don’t?” Wilson rolled his eyes.
“Just call her.” And with that he shut the door and locked it. House turned the envelope over in his hand before taking out the flyer and turning it over, there in Wilson’s chicken scratch was her name and a telephone number. He went back in his office and threw the flyer on his desk. He stared at it for a minute before sitting down and picking up his ball to roll between his palms. Setting down the ball he picked up the receiver and dialed, two rings and she answered.
“Hope for art, this is Hope.” He didn’t know what to say so he remained silent. “Hello?” The door to his office opened and Foreman entered with a file.
“We’ve got a case…oh your on the phone…”
“Greg?” His name seemed foreign in her voice and he hung up the receiver.
“Didn’t you see the ‘do not disturb sign?” House stood and walked towards Foreman.
“There isn’t one…”
“Remind me to get one then, what do we have?”

*********

She stared at the caller ID on her cell phone telling her that someone from the hospital had called, someone she thought was Greg. Then again he hadn’t tried to contact her in what? Seven years almost, they were different people, well she was…she hoped. Wilson had told her all about what had happened with Stacey and his leg and his new found friend named Vikidon. She sighed and looked to a covered painting in the back of her studio, she had told herself after she had painted it that she would put it away as she had her feelings. She would never look upon their surface or question their origin or why they still lingered just like she never wondered why the painting still lingered, why she could never bring herself to throw it away.

*********

Another shift, another case solved, another day closer to the auction. Friday was only two days away and yet it felt too long, he would never admit it to anyone but he missed her, he wanted, no needed, to see her. He didn’t just miss mocking her he missed all of her, the way she’d non-chalantly brush up against him, the way she’d lay her hand on his leg when he was confused about a case. She probably wouldn’t want to do that now. He found a longing to see her he never knew was there and it scared him a little.
“Alright no more thinking.” He popped a Vikidon and headed to bed.

********

She tossed in her sleep, memories flooding her mind of her old life, the life when she was a doctor.

“What are you doing in my chair?” House entered his and Hope’s office and stared at her as she perched over files on his desk in his chair.
“I needed more room.” She didn’t look up from the file she was looking at.
“And you’re afraid of the floor why?” He threw his coat on a chair in the corner before sitting in the chair across from her.
“If I answered that question you’d have to answer why you’re always late.” He remained silent and she smirked before standing and retrieving an X-ray from her desk and putting on the bored. She looked back to him before turning on the light. “What do you think?” He stood and looked up at the X-ray and back to her.
“I say we need an MRI of his brain.”
“Well atleast we agree on one thing.”
“We agree on more than one.”
“Like what?” He thought for a moment.
“That hair cut really is awful.” She gawked at him for a moment before smacking his shoulder.
“Jerk.” She spat and then left running her hands through her hair and trying to pull it down and straight, she had gotten a perm and curls just didn’t like her.

**********

She ran around her studio making sure everything was packed and ready for the flight, all her clothes were packed, toilitries, painting, last minute adjustment kit for her art, speech…she was set wasn’t she? Except for the pain in her back, she figured it was a kidney infection and would have it checked out when she got back, she used to be a doctor she knew the risks, it wasn’t life threatening. Her flight left in two hours, she needed to leave. She took one last look at that canvas in the back of her studio shrugging she grabbed it, threw it in her suitcase and headed to the airport.

**********

House sat in his office staring out the window as he rolled his ball between his palms trying to come up with something that could keep him from going to the auction but he had nothing. Turning around he set down the ball and picked up the phone three minutes later Cameron entered his office.
“What’s the emergency?”
“I need an excuse.”
“If you’re trying to dodge your parents I’m not taking you out to dinner.” Cameron crossed her arms over her chest and stared at House.
“No, I need an excuse for tomorrow. What’s a good reason not to go to the charity auction.”
“The fact that you’re a selfish bastard who cares about no one but yourself would probably be suffice.”
“Nah, I’ve used that one too many times, I need something new.”
“What’s this really about House? Are you avoiding Hope?”
“Whatever gave you that idea?” He attempted to look as innocent as he possibly could but still failed miserably.
“I’m not helping you avoid your former partner forget it.” She turned to leave before he spoke.
“She wasn’t my partner, we didn’t rob a bank we worked together.” Cameron turned back to him but he had already turned back to looking out the window with his ball.

*********

“I need to talk to you.” Cameron sat down across from Wilson in the cafateria.
“Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like this?”
“House just pulled me into his office asking me for excuses to use so he wouldn’t have to go to the auction tomorrow.” She leaned on the table as Wilson sighed. “Why doesn’t he want to see Hope?”
“That’s his business not mine Cameron, you know House he has his reasoning to everything.” He took another bite of his salad.
“There’s got to be a better reason then he’s just him to keep him from going, even House isn’t that much of a jerk. What really happened seven years ago? Why did Hope really leave?” She leaned on the table leaning closer to him as if he were about to spill a big secret.
“I really don’t know what happened.”
“You were here though and you’re House’s best friend, he had to tell you something.”
“All I know is it had something to do with him and Stacey. She came into my office the day she quit and said she was leaving for art school, that she couldn’t handle things the way they were going and she needed a change. I tried everything I could to convince her to stay or atleast stay in medicine and transfer to another hospital but she wouldn’t. She was set on getting out of here and the next day she was gone.” Wilson dropped his fork on his plate and leaned back as if he could visualize the day everything happened.
“That’s it, that’s all she said. She didn’t even tell House.”
“I don’t know, he never really talked to me about it. All he told me was she didn’t even say goodbye and that was it, she never came up again until the other day when I told him about the auction.” Cameron looked intriqued at this comment.
“So he didn’t know ahead of time that the auction was hers. You didn’t tell him.”
“I didn’t know either.”
“Liar I heard you and Cuddy talking about it a month ago.”
“Alright, I just didn’t want to tell him. She told me not to.”
“Cuddy or Hope?”
“What is it with you?”
“I just can’t understand why someone who was as good as she was, as good as House, would just walk away from it all.”
“No you don’t understand why she walked away from him. Look the only way you’re going to get answers is from House, I don’t know details, that’s all I know.” Wilson stood with his tray and went to leave.
“Do you think she was a better doctor than House?” Cameron stood as she spoke and Wilson turned back to face her.
“Bedside manner, yes. Overall though they were always thinking exactly the same except for the whole paperwork thing, she did all that, saved House’s job more than once.” Cameron looked contemplative. “If you’re thinking House was jealous of her you’re way off, I think in some way he looked up to her and for that she had more of his respect then any of us put together.” With that Wilson walked away leaving Cameron to wonder about what really happened and where she could get the answers. Cuddy.

********

“Do you have a minute?” Cameron popped her head in Cuddy’s office and she waved her in.
“What is it?” Cuddy set down her pen and looked up to the girl getting the feeling she wasn’t going to like this conversation.
“Why did Hope quit?” Cuddy’s feeling was right.
“Why this sudden need for information?” Cuddy leaned back in her chair.
“House was trying to get me to help him come up with an excuse so he wouldn’t have to go to the auction.” Cuddy raised an eyebrow.
“And you think it’s because Hope will be there and not because he’s a selfish jerk?”
“I know it is, Cuddy why did she quit?”
“I don’t really know, all she told me was she needed a change, she was under a lot of stress you could see it in her face, she needed something different.”
“But she dropped medicine all together why? She had to of told someone.”
“I don’t know Cameron, tomorrow night why don’t you ask her yourself.”
“It had to do with House didn’t it?”
“Yes, now that’s all I know, please go tend to your pateients.” Cuddy leaned back over the papers on her desk and picked up her pen to resume her work and ignore Cameron. Cameron left feeling her questions were unanswered and even more intrigued about why Hope had given up medicine because of House.

*******

She paced back and forth after she had gotten ready trying to get her headache to go away, her vision was blurring and her back was killing her but she had an obligation. After the auction she would admit herself to the nearest hospital except the one she was in. The taxi honked to note it was there and she loaded up with her briefcase and evening bag, hopefully she wasn’t making a huge mistake.

*******

“Well don’t you look snazzy.” Wilson muttered as he stopped in front of House in his tuxedo.
“What no tutu?” Wilson sighed heavily while he grimmaced under his breath.
“Is Hope here yet?” Wislon looked around the room but didn’t see her.
“Yes.” House was looking over Wilsons shoulder at the woman who had just entered to room through a side entrance. She wore her long chestnut hair pulled up into a mass of curls on top of her head laced with small white flowers, her shoulders shimmered slightly in the light revealing her body glitter. The strapless black silk dress she wore complemented her figure perfectly with small white silk flowers embroidered along the bottom and the white ribbon that cinched her waist giving her the perfect hourglass figure, a slit up both sides showed her slender legs and the strappy high heels gave definition to her calves. A small silver chain hung down her neck and was tucked in to the top on her dress, her pentacle hung on the hidden end. She was a vision of a goddess walking among men.
“She looks beautiful.” Wilson whispered when he spotted her as she talked to Cuddy. She laughed at something and struck something deep in House and he smiled inwardly, she had a dainty laugh one you would expect from a victorian woman, atleast until she got laughing hard enough that she snorted. As if on cue he heard a small snort from her direction and he laughed outloud. Wilson looked at him in shock before House colleceted himself and walked towards the bar.
Wilson shook his head and went over to great his old colleague and friend.
“Hope.” He whispered her name as he came to stand beside her.
“Wilson!” She hugged him and squeezed tight. “You look good, how have you been?”
“I’m doing good, you look wonderful and the art is amazing.” She blushed slightly at his comment with a soft smile.
“Thanks.” She scanned the room as if looking for someone and Wilson knew who it was.
“He’s at the bar.”
“Who?” She never could pull innocent off very well but it was cute when she tried.
“You know who.” He gave her a stern but soft look and she smiled timidly. “Are you going to go talk to him?”
“Maybe afterwards…” She trailed off when she finally spotted him leaning on the bar with a cane in one hand and a scotch in the other. They locked eyes and she smiled slightly but he looked away before taking a swig of his drink. “…or not.”
“It’s almost seven we should get started.” Cuddy interrupted before walking over the the podium they had set up at the front of the room.
“Goodevening and thank you for coming. For the first hour of the evening you may all linger and observe the many paintings generously donated by Hope Karland a former Doctor here. As you all already know all of tonights proceeds are going to the West coast cancer research foundation. After you’ve all obsered the art and if you wish to bid you may pick up a numbered paddle from the back table. Again I thank you for attending, enjoy the evening.” Cuddy stepped down from the podium and the crowd once again began to chatter and sip their various drinks. Hope slipped away and made her way towards the bar.
“Martini, dirty, two olives please.” She told the bartender before turning to watch the crowd. She looked over the 25 painting she had donated, it had taken about 15 months to complete them all but it was worth it. The money was going to a charity that offered cancer treatments for financially unstable families, and she was a part of that, in some way she felt gratified but in others she just felt lonely.
“Here you go ma’m.” The bartender set her drink on the bar and she thanked him before turning back to the crowd to observe as she ate one of her olives. She sat down on one of the stools when her back started hurting again, along with her head.
“You don’t look like you’re having much fun.” A familiar voice chimed in from beside her. She looked up and House was standing in front of her, leaning on his cane with a new glass of scotch.
“Backache, I’m fine.” She whispered before sitting up to look at him.
“How have you been House?” He looked her up and down, she had never called him House before, always Greg.
“Oh just peachy.” He moved to stand beside where she sat so he could observe the crowd with her. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye and noticed she was rubbing where her kidneys were. “Infection?”
“What?”
“Kidney infection. Judging by the way you’re sitting and the spot you’re rubbing I’m assuming kidney infection.”
“You always liked to jump the gun, no it’s just a backache that’s it, I’m not your patient don’t try to diagnose me.” She muttered sitting up and wincing as she did so. She blinked a few times to try and adjust her focus but it was still a little fuzzy. She shook her head to try and clear it but it didn’t work, it just made her even more dizzy.
“I think you’ve had too much to drink.” He whispered staring out at the crowd.
“I’ve had one sip House, I’m not drunk now knock it off.” She stood and tripped. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back up accidentally pulling her closer and she stumbled into him. She looked up into his face and those beautiful blue eyes.
“You always were a klutz in heels.”
“And you always were a sarcastic ass.” She pulled away from him, grabbed her drink and walked off into the crowd. Wilson approached House a moment later.
“That didn’t look like it went to well.” Wilson stated as he ordered a drink.
“I don’t think she likes me anymore.” He fake pouted.
“And I’m sure you’re just heartbroken over that aren’t you?” Wilson leaned against the bar and watched Hope as she greeted and hugged a few of the doctors she had once worked with until the founders of the charity approached her.
“Does she seem disoriented to you?” Wilson looked to his friend and then back to Hope.
“No, why?”
“Something doesn’t feel right, she had back pain.”
“And back pain now labels her as ill, she could have pulled a muscle moving all of those paintings, or her suitcase, it could even be from her briefcase.”
“No, then it would be effecting her posture, she still stands straight with no pain, it was the right side of her lower back, right where one of her kidneys is.”
“House there’s nothing wrong with her, the only thing that’s wrong right now is you.” Wilson grabbed his drink off of the bar and headed out into the crowd to mingle.
An hour later everyone was seated with their paddles and awaiting the introductory speech by Hope so they could start the auction. Cuddy was just wrapping up her speech and Hope was sitting in the front row trying to focus her vision and make her back stop killing her. ‘Three more hours.’ She told herself before Cuddy said her name. She stood wearily and made her way up to the podium. House watched her from a distance knowing something wasn’t right.
“Hello, I’m Hope Kar…Karland. Thank you all for coming. Two years ago when Doctor Cuddy called me and asked me if I could do an auction I was all but overjoyed to be considered. As one who used to…to be…” She wiped the sweat from her forehead and tried to focus her eyes once more but the room seemed to be spinning now. “…be a doctor in this very hospital I started on the projects…” She didn’t get to finish her sentence before she began coughing. Looking at her hand she saw blood before looking back to the swirling audience and collapsing into unconsciousness. House went to the front where she lay looking from her hand to her face he shook his head.
“I told her, well are you all going to stand around and stare at her or is someone actually going to do something?” A few doctors got up from the back and went to retrieve a gurny to transport her.
“Her pulse is fine.” Cuddy whispered.
“Well atleast we know she’s still alive then.” House grabbed the small flashlight out of his breast pocket and opened one of her eyes.
“Her pupils are reacting, no concussion.”
“House!” Chase and Foreman came forward pulling the gurny to move her. They transferred her to a room upstairs and had her situated in twenty minutes.
“Get me her medical files.” House told Cameron before leaving her room and entering their office. Approaching the infamous white board he wrote down four things.
“You already know her symptoms without talking to her.” Foreman questioned but House continued to write.
“I talked to her downstairs.” On the board he had written kidneys, bloody cough, nauseau and vision impairment. “Now the question is what causes all of these.”
“Acute Adrenal Crisis, causes the two glands on top of the kidney to produce too much cortisone, side effects can be vision impairment.” Cameron chimed in from behind Foreman.
“Ah, but that doesn’t explain the bloody cough.” House pointed out sitting on the table.
“If it’s advanced and has deteriorated that much of her adrenal gland the deteriorating muscle could have ripped a perferation in her lungs causing the blood in her cough.” Foreman responded as House rubbed the marker on his stubbled chin.
“Chase, Foreman, do a blood test for any medication, check her lungs for fluid, her adrenal glands for deteriorization and do an MRI on her kidneys to check for swollen glands.” House explained before the two left. Cameron remained looking puzzled.
“Did you get her records?”
“They said it would be a half an hour before they could fax them over. Why didn’t you send me with them to do the tests?” Cameron stared at the man as he squinted at the bored.
“Because you get to dig through her purse and see if she’s on anything. Anti-histamines, anti-biotics, Ibuprofin, the pill anything.” Cameron cocked an eyebrow.
“Why don’t you dig through her purse?”
“Casue that would be an invasion of privacy on my part. You on the other hand, you two don’t have any privacy matters as you don’t know eachother, plus I’m not fond of the idea of touching a tampon. It’s just…icky.” House shrugged at her before looking back to the board.


********

House was in his office rolling his ball when Cameron burst in.
“Nothing in her purse, just make-up, her wallet a few brushes and some bottled paint.” Cameron listed off what was in her purse before House stopped rolling his ball and stood up and went back to the board. While everyone had been gone he had written medication next to the symptoms and crossed it off after Camerons explenation.
“Did her records come in yet?”
“I’ll go check.” She left just as Foreman and Chase were entering.
“She had blood in her lungs.” Chase stated matter-of-factly before House looked up at him.
“So that’s where that blood came from, thank you Shirlock, now what else.”
“And the glands on her kidneys were swollen, it’s AAC.” Foreman added.
“Start her on the treatment for AAC then.”
“We can’t.”
“It’s really rather simple, you inject the medicine and she gets better. I don’t have to hold your hand through this do I?” House questioned before Foreman sighed.
“She also has a Baylisascaris Infection.” Foreman looked from the bored to House before he stood and opened the office door.
“Cameron!” Cameron came running from around the corner.
“Here.” She handed him Hope’s medical files and he flipped through them before sighing.
“What is it?” Chase questioned as the others looked at him quizzically.
“Nothing, not even a cold.” House whispered before walking down to her room.

***********

Hope was lying in her bed staring at the ceiling when she heard the door open. She heard something slam on the table next to her and looked over.
“I had your file sent over.” House whispered as he sat down in the chair next to her.
“That’s nice but I don’t see how me never being sick has anything to do with this.”
“I told you it was your kidneys.” He stated before she rolled her eyes.
“So what’s wrong with them? Infection? What oh masterful doctor?” She mocked as he bounced the rubber stopper on the end of his cane on the floor.
“You have AAC and a Baylisascaris Infection.” He whispered.
“So the bugs are eating away at my kidney glands causing the AAC.” She whispered shrugging.
“I don’t think that’s all that’s there but we’re going to start you on the BI medication, when the parasites are dead we’ll start the AAC.”
“That could still kill me, overdose of adrenaline….woohoo.” She spun a finger in the air before he looked up to her from the floor.
“I don’t think it will kill you…”
“But you may need to remove a kidney right?” She questioned, she was always a step ahead of him.
“Yes.”
“Start the meds. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re health isn’t what bothers me right now.” She looked at him with questioning eyes before he grabbed her chart, flipped it open and handed it to her. “September 2nd, 1998…”
“House.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“How do you tell someone that? And why does it matter anyways? It was eight years ago.” She looked at the file and closed her eyes.
“You came to me, in tears, dissheveld and shaking but you wouldn’t tell me why. You just said you couldn’t go home and wanted to know if you could borrow my couch. Why couldn’t you tell me what happened?”
“I just couldn’t alright, it’s my life and if I don’t want the world to know my traumatic experiences then so be it.” She closed the file and tossed it back on the table. “Just start the meds House.”
“No.” She looked at him wide-eyed.
“What?”
“I’m not starting the meds until you tell me why you would keep this a secret from me.”
“Why does it matter so much?”
“Because you did everything you could to hide it from me! You went to another hospital and everything…I just don’t know if I should be tending to you if you don’t trust me.”
“Since when do you care what people think of you or if they trust you? You never cared with anyone else, none of your patients, not even Wilson…”
“He’s not you!” She could tell he was angry but that wasn’t what underlined the reason for how he was acting.
“What is this really about?” She cocked an eyebrow. House stood and looked down on her.
“It’s about the truth.” She blinked a couple of times trying to understand what the hell he meant before looking back up to him.
“What do you want the truth about? Why I didn’t tell you I was a rape victim? Why I really left what!?” He looked to the ceiling as if the answer would be printed on it.
“I just don’t want anymore lies.”
“Then stop asking me questions and do your job.” She crossed her arms before he looked at her again.
“Fine. You know I used to think you were different from the patients I treated that lied and manipulated everyone around them but you’re not are you?”
“When someone tries to protect themselves or the ones around them they will do anything.”
“And you’re protecting yourself from me…it’s disgusting.” She felt him turn cold against as she bit back tears. Once he had left she cried.

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

Wilson entered Hope’s room the next morning to see how she was doing. He walked in but she didn’t move from where she had her back turned to the door, curled on her side shaking.
“Hope?” He worried she was reacting to the treatment and rushed to the other side of the bed but when he looked at her face he knew it wasn’t the treatment and he had a feeling he knew what it was. He grabbed the kleenex from a small table and walked over to sit in the chair next to her bed. “Here.” He plucked a tissue from the box and handed it to her. Hope took it and wiped at her eyes before blowing her nose.
“Thanks.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Just dandy…” She blew her nose again.
“What happened?”
“You know what.”
“Not entirely.”
“Lets just say I’m getting a true House treatment.” She sat up but fell over immediately and grabbed her chest before she began coughing. The tissue in her hand turned red with the blood coming from her mouth. Wilson ran to the door and yelled for a nurse before going back to her side.
“Hope…” She had settled back and stopped coughing for the moment but she was blinking rapidly. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t see…”

*******

House got to work twenty minutes before noon and entered the confrence room where the infamous trio were seated talking.
“How are the meds working?” He questioned heading towards the coffee pot.
“We had to take her off of them.” Foreman whispered before House stopped and turned to face him.
“What?” He questioned.
“Her eyesight’s gotten worse and she started coughing up blood again, she’s been doing better since we took her off of them.” Cameron explained before House turned to the white board.
“Alright, so the parasites are making her better, BI always heads straight for the kidneys….”
“With treatment it could have headed up towards her lungs.” Chase added.
“If it did that means she would have gone into anaphylactic shock.” Cameron argued.
“So it hasn’t moved up, what about down?” House questioned erasing the board.
“Her urination is normal, no lower stomach pain, no cramping, nothing…” Cameron added once more.
“So the creepy crawlies didn’t migrate for the winter which means they’re not attacking the kidney, they’re attacking something around the kidney… do an MRI of her stomach and a glucerin pump to her intestines, look for any abnormalitys.”
“Such as…” Chase led on.
“How about mini bites taken out of them?” House retorted before the three scattered. “Foreman stay, you two run along and play.” Cameron and Chase left the office before Foreman turned to face his superior.
“What is it?”
“Why didn’t anyone call me?”
“Hope told us not to.”
“I’m confused am I your boss or is she?”
“Look she asked him as a personal favor.”
“Who?”
“Uh…” Foreman looked at his watch.
“Unless she was talking to your wristwatch, which I highly doubt as she alson would have been talking to you I’m thinking it was a certain oncologist.”
“Are you saying she wouldn’t talk to me?”
“No, I’m saying she wouldn’t talk to your watch now go help Cameron and Chase before they get all hot and steamy by themselves.” Foreman left and House went to find Wilson.

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

“So she asked that you not call me to tell me she was getting worse. Did she have a dieing wish too?” House questioned as he came up behind Wilson in the hallway.
“I don’t have time for this right now.” Wilson continued walking trying to ignore House but as always, House knew just what to do.
“Let me guess, you went to check on her because, well, you can’t help but wonder what’s always going on, she spilled the beans to you about something cruel and insensitive I said or did because that’s all I do, and you braided eachothers hair and talked about her art.” Wilson stopped and looked up at House.
“I got here this morning and she was crying, I asked her how she was doing and she said you were giving her the full House treatment, after that she started coughing. Now I’m assuming her comment about you meant yes you did say saomething insensitive or cruel and that you were the reason she was crying when I checked on her this morning. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to lunch.” Wilson turned to walk away but House followed.
“I think I’ll join you.”
“Don’t you have a team to pick on or some patient to make cry?”
“Nah, they’re all busy or already crying aparantly.” Wilson glared at him out of the corner of his eye but saw something unusual in House’s eyes, he wasn’t as smug as ususal he actually looked worried.

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

Cameron found House in the cafateria with Wilson after the tests were done.
“There’s nothing in her intestines or her stomach or any organ. We double checked her kidney too.”
“And?” He questioned.
“Nothing.” She sighed, we can’t find anything the parasites may be feeding off of.
“Excuse me do you need your sugar?” A random man in the cafateria came up to question the three.
“No, feel free.” Wilson handed the sugar caontainer to the man as House continued to watch him.
“Alright now check this out, just plain sugar.” The man pulled out a cigar lighter and burned the sugar with it carmalizing it. “Now it’s caramel, try it, it’s harmless.” House stood quickly and approached the man before taking his lighter. “Hey man what are you doing?”
“Sorry, hospital policy, idiots aren’t allowed to play with fire.” House limped off towards the exit of the cafateria and Cameron followed.
“What are you thinking?” She questioned before he entered the conference room.
“Alright, pop quiz.” House grabbed the cannister of sugar and poured a pile on a napkin on the table. “What would happen if I were to light this on fire?” The three stared at him. “Come on, no one?”
“Nothing Sugar doesn’t melt.” Foreman answered before House shook his head.
“Weren’t any of you pyros as children? I would have expected it from you Foreman.” Foreman grimmaced under his breath before House lit the cigar lighter and the sugar began to carmalize.
“What does this have to do with Hope?” Cameron questioned. House blew on the carmal before picking it up.
“How many bacterial size parasites do you think this could feed?”
“If they feed off of sugar a lot but the human body breaks down sugars fast enough that they can’t clump like that.” Foreman explained.
“Ah, not if you’re a diabetic and you’ve been eating too much sugar.” House corrected. “Now my question is, what can cause the sugar granules of blood to clot but not enter the blood stream and protect a kidney?” The room was quiet. House looked at his watch and began counting the seconds.
“Come on people, clocks ticking.”
“Sarcoidosis.” Cameron whispered. “It would explain the problems with her eyes, and her coughing up blood.”
“So the Sarcoidosis she had all along but when she got the BI she started eating more sugar due to stress on her body as all you females do and probably thought she was mensturating but when she didn’t she kept craving the sugar as a happy food and as she ate more of it it caused the granules to build up surrounding her kidney and giving her kidney a nice crunchy candy coated shell for the parasites to eat at keeping them from causing irreperable damage. Give her insulin and the meds for BI again. Once the bugs are gone we can start her on the treatment for AAC.” The three stood to leave but House told Cameron to stay.
“So were there tampons?” He questioned before she cocked an eyebrow.
“Yes…did you know?”
“No she was just crankier then usual and she only drinks martini’s when she has her monthly visitor, she’s usually a whiskey girl.” Cameron looked at him for a moment before turning to walk away.


**********

It was two days before they could get everything taken care of and Hope could be released. Cameron was in starting the last of the AAC meds when Hope woke.
“You’re Cameron right?” She questioned before Cameron nodded.
“Yes.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Wilson spoke highly of you, so did Cuddy.” She whispered still waking up.
“You also, you know you’re famous around here, even to people who have never met you.”
“Let me guess they still call me the better half?”
“Yeah sometimes…can I ask you something kind of personal?” Cameron sat on the edge of Hope’s bed after she nodded. “Why did you leave? You were one of the best doctor’s this hospital has ever seen, what happened to make you leave it all?” Hope looked at her for a moment before smiling knowingly.
“You want to know if I left because I loved him.” Hope shifted so she could sit up and sighed.
“Was that it? Please.” Cameron pleaded and Hope shook her head.
“I just couldn’t deal with it anymore, I couldn’t deal with the stress, I needed change and after my father died I could fulfill my other dreams, I had no reason to stay here.”
“But you had a reason to leave. You left around the same time House and Stacey were dating… was it her?”
“You’re very inquisitve. What do you want me to say? Yes I love him, does that answer your question.”
“I suppose.” Cameron got up to leave but stopped in the doorway. “You said you love him, not you loved him…so you still…”
“So do you.” Hope whispered before Cameron looked to the floor with a smile and left.
Cameron returned later that night before going home to disconnect the IV running the meds.
“Can I ask you a favor Cameron?” Cameron looked to Hope and nodded. “Hand me the briefcase over there would you?” Cameron retrieved it and handed the large case to Hope. She opened it and pulled out a wrapped canvas shaped object and an envelope with House’s name on it. “I get released in the morning, he won’t be in before I go, would you give this to him for me?” Cameron took the two things from Hope before nodding.
“Couldn’t you stay just a few more days?” Hope smiled but shook her head.
“I can’t, I have a life to get back to.” Cameron looked at her solemnly. “So does House.” She looked back up to the woman in the bed before nodding understanding that they had two different lives now whose paths rarely were to cross.

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

The next afternoon House walked into his office to find Cameron sitting in it and a package on his desk.
“Why are you in my office?” He quesrtioned throwing his backpack on a chair.
“Hope asked me to give this to you.”
“And you’re voracious need to fulfill your curiosity means you just have to be here when I open it, doesn’t it?” He stood behind his desk and picked up the envelope. Cameron just stared at him. “Well if you’re that curious, get out.” She stood and headed towards the door but stopped and turned back to him.
“Do you love her?” House remained silent after her question so she asked again. “Do you love her?”
“I thought I said get out.” Cameron nodded solemnly before leaving.
House opened the envelope and found a copy of the interview Hope had done a couple of years earlier, the interview he had printed off of google. He knew without even opening what was in the package, it was a painting…of him. He dropped the paper on his desk and went out onto the balcony, clambering over the wall he opened Wilson’s office door.
“What is it now?” Wilson whispered without looking up from his paperwork on his desk.
“What time does her flight leave?” House questioned but Wilson still didn’t look up.
“I don’t know.”
“Oh come on, you girls love to chat, I’m sure she told you.”
“Why do you care House?” Wilson sat down his pen and ran his hands over his face before looking up to the man.
“What did she say?” House demanded.
“She told me everything as she was leaving this morning. She told me what you said, what you did and how you reacted when you found out what had happened to her. She broke down she said she didn’t want to tell you because she knew you would look at her the same way you did the other night. The look you’re giving me right now just thinking about it. It wasn’t her fault that it happened but you blame her for not telling you. She was scared and she came to you because for some uncomprehensible reason she trusts you.” Wilson explained before House sighed.
“If she trusted me that much then she would have just told me!”
“She didn’t want you to know she wasn’t perfect!” Wilson stood and leaned over his desk towards House, the man just looked back at him unmoving. “In all the time you two were together she always kept everything from you that would make you think that she wasn’t perfectly happy but she could only hide it for so long.”
“So you’re blaming me? Because she couldn’t keep up her little act?”
“She left because she knew you could never love her!” Wilson flopped back down in his chair and rubbed his eyes. “You loved Stacey and she knew you were happy, that’s all she ever wanted was for you to be happy. She left because she knew if she stayed she would have to see you two together and she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up her act, so she left so you could keep your happiness.”
“The word happy occurred way too many times in that statement.”
“Didn’t you wonder why we kept this from you?”
“Don’t think me such an idiot, I knew she left because of me.” House sat down and leaned on his cane. “And I just let her go.” He closed his eyes. Wilson looked at his friend before shaking his head.
“Why didn’t you stop her?”
“You know her, once she’s made up her mind no one can change it.”
“Do you know how long it took me to get her to come back here? How hard it was for her to see you? She knew everything that had happened and she knew how miserable you are and when she saw you the other night…” Wilson trailed off.
“What?”
“She said she knew you would never be happy again and she knew she couldn’t help you, she saw it in your eyes that you didn’t even want to see her. That’s why she avoided you why she was cold and why she’s gone again.”
“Maybe not.” House stood before Wilson looked up to him.
“You’re not serious.”
“What time?”

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

He rode as fast as he could through the traffic hoping her flight would still be there when he got to the airport. He had an hour before it left, security took atleast half of that and parking and finding the gate, if he was lucky he would get there just in time.

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

She was gone, the flight was taking off and she was on it. He hit the window with his fist before leaning his forhead against it. She had left him again. A moment later his phone rang and he answered it.
“House.”
“Did you catch her?” Wilson questioned from the other end.
“No, she’s gone.” He heard his friend sigh from the other end.
“Well you have a case waiting when you come back.”
“I’ll be there in half an hour.” He hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.

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

House entered the confrence room where his entourage sat.
“So what do we have now?” He questioned before he pured himself a cup of coffee. The three explained what was goin on before he ordered an MRI and a blood test and the three ran on their way. House retreated back into his office and stared out the window playing with his ball. It was a good hour before anything would be done.

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

Cameron entered House’s office and dropped the test results on his desk.
“Did you find anything?” He questioned not turning to her but staying pointed at the window.
“No, everything was clear.”
“Do a lumbar puncture.”
“Foreman’s doing it right now.”
“You didn’t talk to me first?”
“I told them to do it after I saw the test results.” Another voice came from the room before he turned in his chair.
“Shouldn’t you be thousands of feet in the air heading back to Chicago?” He questioned before she smiled.
“Well, I was going to leave but I was persuaded.”
“By who?” House looked to Cameron before she left the office and went into the confrence room.
“It wasn’t Cameron. Cuddy actually called me on the way to the airport and asked if I would come back and take my job back.” Hope walked closer and leaned against the side of his desk.
“So all it took was Cuddy calling and you came back?” He stood and moved to stand in front of her.
“Well she also needed someone to keep you inline, according to her you’ve been slacking even more then you did when I was here.” Hope smirked.
“I have not.”
“Uh-huh. So about this pateint I think…”
“Did you really come back just because Cuddy asked you to?” She looked at him out of the tops of her eyes.
“I also talked to Wilson, he called me on my way back.”
“Ah, and what did he have to tell you.”
“Does it really matter House? I’m back either way, if you don’t want me here just say so.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Somebody said something that made you change your mind.”
“No I just realized that I have a job here and I need to do it, admit it you’re happy I came back.”
“I admit nothing.” He leaned back and she pushed off of his desk.
“Same old House.”
“I’d say some thing’s have changed.” He looked to his cane and back up to her.
“Oh?”
“I’m happy you decided to stay.” She cocked an eyebrow.
“Why?”
“I have my reasons.”
“So you can flake even more now that I’m here?” He laughed lightly.
“While that is an upside, no.” She glared at him.
“Then what?”
“I was happy when you were here.” She dropped her arms to her sides before shaking her head with a smirk.
“And you weren’t when I was gone?”
“Not nearly.” He shifted so he could look her in the eye.
“And why is that?”
“Alright I missed you, is that what you wanted me to say.” She leaned back on his desk and laughed.
“No, while it was nice to hear.”
“Then what do you want from me?”
“Nothing.”
“You’re such a liar.” Her eyebrows rose.
“What?”
“You always wanted something from me.”
“Oh did I now? And what would that be?”
“You wanted me to love you.” She looked to the floor for a response to that comment but couldn’t find one. “You want to know the funniest part about that?” She looked back up to him.
“What?”
“I do.” She blinked a few times as he looked down at her.
“You what?”
“Don’t make me say it.” She smiled knowing what he was getting at and tried hard to keep a stern face.
“No I think I need to hear you say it.” He bounced a little in irritation before leaning his cane on the edge of the desk.
“I love you.” She smiled and muffled a nervous laugh.
“Was that so hard Greg?”
“You have no idea.” He rolled his eyes and she laughed. “You used my name again.”
“Yeah well, I’m sneaky like that..” She smiled and he finally understood, everytime she had said his last name before it was cold and had no meaning but when she said his first name she was also saying something else, in her own way she was telling him that she loved him.
“Alright, can we get back to work now?”
“Yeah, I’ll go get the results from the LP.” Hope stood off of the desk but he put his hands on her shoulders before she could leave.
“You’re forgetting something.”
“I am?” She questioned before he leaned down and kissed her.
“Finally!” Chase whispered from the doorway before the two looked up to see Chase with a hand over his mouth, Foreman and Cameron sharing the same goofy smile and Wilson standing in the back laughing to himself.
“You sick bastards.” Hope whispered before House looked back down to her.
“Welcome back.” She smiled before going to get the test results and hitting Chase on the way out.