House as a friend

[deelaundry]

I feel like there've been a lot of posts, comments, and fics lately about how Wilson is not a very good friend to House. In the spirit of positivity, let's turn this around and list all the things House has done to be a good friend to Wilson.

I've got:
- House let Wilson stay with him after the Julie break-up
- House didn't turn Wilson in for sleeping with a patient

What else? The S4 season finale is fresh in all our minds, but things that happened in canon or were referenced in canon before then would be great.

(PS. Hi, I'm back.)

Comments

[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

In "Histories," he tracked Wilson down and talked to him about his missing brother. (For House, stalking equals caring.) And, also in S1, he bought $1,000 worth of monster truck tickets to treat Wilson to a night out.

[dreamsofspike.livejournal.com]

House has on several occasions taken patients just because wilson wanted him to take them...hmmmm....i'll see if i can think of more...

[nuclearfootball.livejournal.com]

I love you Dee please excuse my psychoses. <3

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Prodding Wilson to share about LLB is a good one. Wilson initially said it wasn't ("Didn't we have a conversation about friendship?" House: "I had some follow-up questions."), but by opening up, Wilson showed that it was.

I'm still pissed at Wilson for not rescheduling his dinner with Stacy to go to the Monster Trucks with House. >:( House wanted to go so badly. I think choosing the Monster Truck show was for House's own benefit, but getting a ticket for Wilson too was definitely a good friend move.

Thanks!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Wilson almost always has to make a strong case for it, though. Have we ever seen House take a boring patient just because Wilson asked?

From "Histories":
Foreman: Okay. Why are we on this case – just because Wilson asked?
House: Do I need a better reason?
Foreman: Most people wouldn’t, you do.

Hee!

But House does take patients more frequently at Wilson's urging than anyone else's (I think) so we can probably count that.

[dreamsofspike.livejournal.com]

yeah, house wouldn't be house if he didn't make wilson work for it...though i kinda feel like if wilson shrugged, said "okay" and turned to walk away -- house would likely follow him and grab the chart, you know? :P or maybe that's just me :P hehehe

[bell]

Don't know if this counts, but in "Insensitive," but House listened to Wilson when he warned House not to due a potentially dangerous procedure on the patient for his own benefit. And listening = good quality in friend.

And he apologized to Wilson in... "Family," I think? Right before buying the flame-cane. :D

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I love you too, Jane, and I don't think you're psychotic. : )

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Ooh, that moment in Insensitive is one of my favorites! If the writers had had Wilson use that technique (pointing out the facts, and then asking House to re-think and make the best decision ("Wilson: Are you sure? Are you sure that you’re the right one to be making this call?")) instead of the interminable lecture method, early Season Three would have been a lot more pleasant. In general, though, I don't think listening to sense about your own rash actions counts as a gesture of good friendship.

The apology to Wilson in "Family" definitely counts, though. Even though House tried to say he was lying and immediately called Wilson pathetic, it was clear that the apology was meant. : )

[bell]

I don't think listening to sense about your own rash actions counts as a gesture of good friendship.

Yeah, it's pretty dubious! But I thought it was a step up from the usual You're An Idiot reaction House throws around; it made me happy because it was a clear moment of him taking Wilson's words seriously~.

It should not be this hard to think up moments in which House has been a good friend. D: [...Inviting Wilson to watch the L-Word? That is, before he sabotaged potential Cuddy/Wilson.]

[perspi.livejournal.com]

OH, I would love to see this on the show...

[shutterbug-12.livejournal.com]

Hmm. How interesting. To me, being a good friends isn't exactly about doing things for the other person, at least not exclusively. I think House is a good friend to Wilson in general, because of how he seems to get him, most of the time. Sure, he pries. Yes, he stalks. And, of course, he sometimes treats Wilson like a lab rat in an experiment. But he doesn't speak to Wilson like he's an idiot, for the most part, and he trusts him, confides in him. In general, I think, he keeps Wilson's secrets, even if he does use them as ammunition against him sometimes. Even though he wasn't happy about it, House didn't really try to sabotage Wilson's relationship with Amber. It just seems to me that they way they operate, even though it's a dysfunctional at times, points to 'House is a good friend" to me, despite that he doesn't make many gestures that say he is. If that...makes sense.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

And he fed the dog human-sized dosages of Vicodin. And yelled at Wilson about the dog's behavior, even though Wilson never asked him to take Hector in. (Or, really, showed much love for or interest in the dog at all. Hmmm.) But, yeah, for House it definitely counts. : )

PS. I know you don't like the slash, but this little exchange in the intro of Hector made me laugh:

Wilson: She wants me to take Hector.
House: Pool boy?
Wilson: Dog.
House: No longer interested.

[chippers87.livejournal.com]

Not telling Wilson that Cuddy had only asked him out to dinner to ask him to be a donor and then wimped out. I know that seems like it's more of a gesture towards Cuddy, and usually I would argue that it is, but I also think that it could be played in Wilson's favor. Knowing Wilson, he probably would have been hurt in some way that Cuddy didn't feel that she could trust him with that kind of responsibility. So, House was being good to both of them. *dreamy sigh*

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

I feel like there've been a lot of posts, comments, and fics lately about how Wilson is not a very good friend to House Hee, this is why I'm friends with you - you make things positive (when has House been a good friend?), while I want to tell everyone to shut up, already! *g*

[dangomango.livejournal.com]

Of course, I am not trying to imply that House isn't a good friend D: (I just realized it sounded like I was)

Stupid complicated show.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a good example! It definitely would've been been unsurprising for House to taunt Wilson over that, and he didn't.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Inviting Wilson to watch The L-Word was a friend thing to do, but IDK if it was a good friend thing to do, if that makes any sense whatsoever!

It is hard to think up unequivocal moments, which is why I asked the f-list for help. With House, it's more shades of gray, probably... he is marginally less dismissive of a friend than of everyone else, and etc.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

HEE! ♥

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Very true that friendship is not a tote board of things done for one another, not at all. And House is a complex, complicated individual, so sometimes gestures that look mean or impersonal are actually intended to be helpful. People have cited the practical jokes House played on Wilson during the "Odd Couple" arc as an example: the tricks were highly annoying to Wilson but House was trying (at least in part) to provide some humor and levity to keep Wilson from getting overwhelmed in negativity about the end of another marriage.

[shutterbug-12.livejournal.com]

...the tricks were highly annoying to Wilson but House was trying (at least in part) to provide some humor and levity to keep Wilson from getting overwhelmed in negativity about the end of another marriage. And that is a totally logical conclusion. I completely agree. House knows well that distractions of any kind can help relieve the burden of almost overwhelmingly tough situations, or hell, even mildly tough ones.

[taiga13.livejournal.com]

Yeees, but I would call those moments where House was just being a decent human being. The fact that Wilson is one of the few people who can get House to act like a decent human being is a sign of friendship, but I wouldn't say that the behaviour proves House is a good friend. I would also say that it's not proof of friendship that House didn't turn Wilson in for sleeping with a patient, since House doesn't strike me as the type who would do that anyway (he wasn't interested in turning in PedoDad in 'Skin Deep'), but maybe he would have been in trouble if it came out that Wilson had done this and House had known and hadn't said anything. So yes, it counts. I'm not so sure about the prying into Wilson's life, since he does that to people he doesn't consider friends and it's not as if it HELPS Wilson any.

I would say that 1) letting Wilson stay with him, 2) making Wilson face up to the failure of his marriage, 3) not ratting on Wilson sleeping with a patient, 4) taking in Hector, 5) always forgiving Wilson for crap like The Big Lie, and 6) undergoing the DBS are proof of House being a good friend to Wilson.

Otherwise he's a terrible friend, there's no point denying it.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

The best thing about the show is how complicated it is, don't you think? Things that seem one way on the surface are another way underneath, and maybe a different way underneath that. : )

[topaz-eyes.livejournal.com]

In "All In," Wilson was regaling House with how he won the tournament. House looked, IMHO, genuinely pleased for him.

PS. Welcome back! :-)

[timbershiver.livejournal.com]

House is a delicate little precious snowflake and everyone else is a big old meanie-pants, you know that, Dee.

(and, what Topaz said: That look House gave when Wilson was telling him about winning the tournament was a moment of forgot-what-he-was-pissed-off-about-just-for-a-second-total-love, and Wilson didn't even see it! He was off in how own little poker-winning world! It was a totally off-guarded moment between House and the audience.)