Friendship

Confusion

As Wilson woke up, the first thing he heard was the silent rustle of a magazine and the soft but steady sound of a wooden cane clapping nearly coincidently against the plastic bed foot. A smile crept on his face.
'You know if you want me awake you could just say something.'
He opened his eyes and turned his head towards his best friend who put on a surprised face.
'Oh you mean... Oh no I didn't even notice I was doing that. Sorry I didn't want to wake you up.'
'Sure.'
Wilson grinned and looked around for a bathroom.
'Have you even slept at all?'
'Wasn't tired. How do you feel?'
'Surprisingly okay. Except that I really need the loo.'
He got up and slowly made his way to the bathroom. Entering the little room he asked over his shoulder:
'Would you get us some breakfast? And please leave something for me, too. I'm starving.'
Seeing House grinning in the corner of his eyes as he closed the door was enough for an answer. Being alone he leaned on the basin and stared into the little mirror. It's been four months since he and House had started their motorbike trip, which had led them across the whole continent until they found themselves in this little hospital in Santa Barbara. Initially he had just wanted to get perscribed some Morphin as the chest pain had increased in the last weeks and sharing the Vicodin wasn't doing it any more. Also the cough started to get worse. But without further tests the hospital had refused any kind of perscription, so they stayed the night at the hospital, waiting for the results to be presented this morning.
When he got out again House was already back, throwing him a bag with sandwiches.
'The nurse didn't want to pay for more.'
Grinning he sat down on the bed, making room for Wilson beside him. He took the invite and, trying to ignore the pain, sat down beside his friend.
Despite his pretended good mood, House looked wornout and worried. Seeing his friend in the hospital seemed to have really confronted him with the truth that they wouldn't have much longer together. But he didn't say a word.
Since giving up his life to spend the time with Wilson House really had changed. Not that his selfishness had really gone away but he had learned to show that he cares. That you can't just drown emotional pain in pills but that you have to be there for someone instead of running away. It was still hard to believe but all these months he had actually been there for him. It comforted Wilson a bit that he could leave House with a chance to actually get along with other people, too.
But watching him, silently eating his sandwich, with some snappy comments about the service now and then, he felt sorry for his friend. He didn't want to, he wanted to be selfish, he wanted this to be about him for the first time in his life but... He couldn't help it. That was just who he was.
Once again an idea crept into his mind, an idea that had persued him for a good while now. He knew the chances of it working out weren't that high but what did he have to loose?
Suddenly the door opened and a doctor entered the room. Followed by a second and a third one. Confused Wilson tried to read their faces but they seemed inconclusive. He felt himself trembling, but his friends arm softly held his down. The touch comforted him a bit.
'Dr.Wilson?'
'Yes?'
'My name is Dr.Shore and these are Dr.Milton and Dr.Gregson. Dr.Milton ran the tests yesterday, I'm sure you remember.'
'Yeah sure. Do you have any results? How bad is it? Please just tell me the truth.'
'The thing is...'
He changed a quick look with his colleagues who nodded approving.
'You don't have cancer.'
'What? But how... That can't be possible, you have to have done a mistake.'
'That's what Dr.Milton thought as well and that's why he consulted me and Dr.Gregson but we had to confirm. All tests were negative for any cancer indicators. We ran the tests five times.'
'But on his last scan the tumour had already started growing into the sorrounding cells and his whole body was full of small masses. Also he's still getting worse. Sounds a lot like cancer to me', House interrupted, giving the doctors an angry look as if he accused them of playing with them.
'Well the tumour is still there and it's still growing. The MRI yesterday showed that it has grown far into the sorounding cells but it hasn't reached any important organ yet. Whyever the tumor grew so fast in the beginning, it must have slowed down tremendously during the last months. And if it ever had been cancer, it's not anymore. However that is possible.'
The men looked just as confused as the two friends.
'What about the masses then?', Wilson asked, trying to keep a clear thought.
'They're still there. But they must be unrelated to the tumour. They have to be something different than cancer.'
Wilson turned his eyes on House, hoping he could help him making any sense out of this. But his face showed no sign of emotion. He seemed to be lost in thoughts.
'With your permission Dr.Wilson - we'd like to remove the tumour first thing tomorrow before he grows further and causes irrevitable damage. Of course there are some risks, also we have to remove the entire Thymus which has quite a big impact on your immune system. But I guess you already know that.'
Wilson nodded, unable to say anything.
'But what about the masses?'
House finally seemed back, now having an interested look in his eyes.
'We have to run more tests after the surgery. Do we have your concent Dr. Wilson?'
Wilson couldn't even think clear about what to say, he just nodded hesitantly.
'Yeah...yes of course. I'll sign the papers.'