Two Words
He slowly became aware. First the pain, the overwhelming pain. He could feel the old pain, the familiar pain in his leg but there was more pain, his stomach was on fire and his neck throbbed. He bit off a groan as he moved to try and ease the discomfort.
Keeping his eyes closed, he struggled to remember why he was in so much pain. He heard the beeping of a cardiac monitor above his head, the clicking of an IV pump beside him. There was an O2 probe on his finger. One small portion of his mind recognized the sounds of the ICU . He moved again, trying to ease the pain but the movement caused more pain to shoot up his leg into his abdomen. This time the groan made it all the way out. He heard a soft voice above him.
"Dr House, are you in pain?" She asked.
"What gave it away?" He snapped weakly opening his eyes a slit.
She patted his arm and assured him. "You have a morphine drip running but I'll see if I can turn it up."
"Don't ask just do it." He tried to snarl but it came out little more than a whisper. He closed his eyes again.
She was back quickly, dialed the pump to deliver more medication and muttered some reassuring words as she patted his arm. He pulled his arm back and turned his head away from her.
He willed the morphine to work. He could feel the sensations in his head as the increased drug spread through his body. But the decrease in pain was only minimal. He shifted again trying to ease the pain. His whole body was on fire. He moved his legs, he pulled at the bedrails but nothing eased the agony. He tried to sit up but this brought the nurse back to his side again.
"Lie still, try and relax and let the drug do its job." She said soothingly.
"Get me something that will take this pain away." He pleaded through clenched teeth, the sweat breaking out all over his body.
"You have to let the morphine work. You're fighting it." She tried to reason with him.
House batted her hand away from him. "Get the hell out of here. Get me something for this pain. NOW!" He demanded.
She backed away, went to the desk and picked up the phone.
He continued to move restlessly trying to get away from the pain. He could feel reality slipping away as he drowned in the agony. He tried to think of something else, but nothing would stick long enough to wrap his mind around it. He felt like screaming but clenched his teeth tightly together so only harsh groans escaped. His hands clutched and pulled at the blanket that covered him until he had the blanket up around his chest. His bare legs moved convulsively as if trying to run away from the demon that had taken over his body.
Then there were hands on his; soothing him before gently taking the blanket from his clawed hands and spreading it over his legs again. Not the nurse, these hands were male. He knew these hands. He opened his eyes and found himself looking into concerned brown eyes. He tried to say something sarcastic but all that came out was a groan. Wilson placed a cool hand on House's sweaty forehead and whispered. "I'm here."
House closed his eyes as the pain retreated into the background.
fini