In Your Place (G)

[deelaundry]

posted to housefic

Title: In Your Place
Author: Dee Laundry
Pairing: Gen (background OC/OC het)
Rating: G
Words: 638
Summary: Dr. Wilson's assistant calls you.
Notes: Set the day after episode 5-24. One non-specific spoiler for that episode. Thanks to Early Readers for support.

That nice young woman whose name you can never remember calls you to cancel your appointment with Dr. Wilson. “Family emergency,” she says, and offers to have you meet with another doctor.

Tears are lumping in your throat, hot pebbles. You don’t want another doctor. You’ve had cancer for more than six months, been to more offices and centers and hospitals than you want to remember, and Dr. Wilson is the first oncologist who really looked you in the eye. Not that the others weren’t competent, weren’t nice. But cancer was their job, and you sensed that, and Dr. Wilson is different.

Alan takes the phone from your hand as you try to remember who Dr. Wilson’s family is. You’ve chatted; he knows about your daughters, your husband, your cat who won’t ever shut up. He’s told you about... nobody. No wife (you asked), no kids (you didn’t have to ask). Maybe it’s his mother.

“Is it his mother?” you ask Alan, who’s still on the phone. “Ask her if it’s his mother.”

Alan smiles at you, chuckles almost silently. “She’s not going to tell me, hon. It’s none of our business.”

It isn’t any of your business, true, but you want to know. You want to know who could be so important as to take your place. If it’s not his child or spouse, if it’s not a parent, then who? Who?

“I re-scheduled for later,” Alan says. The phone’s back on the hook. Your cheeks are wet, but your eyes are dry. “With a Dr. Fitzgerald.” His hand is heavy on your head, loud over your ear where it’s rubbing.

“Get off me!” you bark, and take off for the bedroom.

He’s kind to you, your husband of fifteen years, but he still doesn’t know when not to touch you. He can’t see when the air around you is charged and simply having clothing and air on your skin is almost too much for you to stand.

Dr. Wilson seems to know. Dr. Wilson doesn’t grab you, the way Alan does at all the wrong times. He doesn’t do the bear hug thing that Dr. Thray did, doesn’t do the concerned cluck that Dr. Corrigan did, always in your space, in your face. Dr. Wilson lets you breathe. He’s just there. When that’s all you can stand, he’s just there.

You thanked him when he said the cancer hadn’t gone into remission the way they’d hoped it would. Obviously you weren’t grateful for the cancer, for this thing that’s taken over your life, the thing that might take you from your girls, but you thanked him. Because he seemed to know who you were and what you needed.

You think you might be in love with him a little. In a movie-star kind of way. It’s stupid. You’ve only met him twice.

“Hon,” Alan says from the doorway of the bedroom, quiet with a hint of sadness, so you apologize. “I just –” he says, and stops.

Your heart swells, the burn of muscles stretching, because he tries. Alan tries, and even when he gets it wrong, when you get it wrong, he loves you.

Hands to his shoulders, to the back of his neck, to his hair. “I love you,” you say. “Thank you.”

His smile is just the right amount of bright. His arms are too tight around you, laying across your ribs at the wrong angle, but that’s OK. He tries, and he loves you, and he’s there. He’s scared, for himself, for you, but he hasn’t left yet.

He can make you laugh when you’d rather scream. He holds your hair when you vomit, and listens to every scary thought you’ve ever had, and doesn’t mind that you’ve always been a mess.

You hope Dr. Wilson’s family feels the same way about him.

Comments

[blackmare.livejournal.com]

I just have to repeat that this is so original, and deftly done -- a few strokes to give us this whole character and her life and her fears.

Oh, and Wilson's family does indeed feel the same way about him. Very much so; I think of what House said to Chase earlier this season. We know perfectly well who was the one friend who'd put up with it all.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Season Five has definitely been the season of House realizing what Wilson's friendship means to him. I hope Season Six he can hear more from Wilson about what the friendship means to Wilson.

[zulu.livejournal.com]

This is lovely. Nice touching on the finale's issues without being heavy-handed. If I may ask--why the second person instead of the third? It's a good choice but I'm wondering what your thoughts were when you were making it.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I hate to be so vague as to say, "That's the way it came out," but that's the way it came out. Looking back, I think it's also about us as fans, what we get from knowing these characters, even though they're not a part of our real life.

[warmdarkwoman.livejournal.com]

*checks memory* Yep, been there, or somewhere close to there.

So much history in so few words. I am still in awe of the way you're able to do that.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. I've had two friends go through cancer treatment in the past few years, and it's such a scary time.

[photoash.livejournal.com]

Really interesting premise for a fic :) I really liked it!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

[taiga13.livejournal.com]

I like this a lot, it's original and your protagonist feels so real and vulnerable.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thank you. She was inspired by many things, including some experiences of a friend who has had cancer. (Two years cancer-free now, thankfully.)

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

I was just curious to see what this was about, and it was so well done. Both from the point of view of giving us a character, but also of doing some very subtle exploration of what House means to Wilson, and the other way around as well. Very cool.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. This came out quite layered for such a short piece.

[layne67.livejournal.com]

Beautifully written, and I really feel how that woman felt towards Wilson.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Secret: How that woman feels toward Wilson might not be something I had to stretch to imagine. :D

Thank you.

[hwshipper.livejournal.com]

That was lovely and surprisingly moving. Much kudos for a great idea!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. : )

[jonne17.livejournal.com]

Such an original angle! I love it.
And aren't we all just a little in love with Wilson or House?

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I will say it wasn't very hard for me to imagine the "in love a little" part at all. : )

[alemyrddin.livejournal.com]

very original and moving.
It's nice to see how much House matters to Wilson, even from aside.
And I always love whenever House is being called "family" for Wilson - I strongly believe he is. In some ways, he is even more, because you don't choose your family (though Wilson said you don't choose your friends either, but I think he meant a different thing).

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

House is absolutely Wilson's family. It's sad (for everyone) that Wilson has such a hard time articulating that.

[hibernia1.livejournal.com]

Oh, so beautiful, so sad - again, as always, you make me like Wilson. Thanks so much for sharing.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Making you like Wilson is one of my highest pleasures. *hugs* Thanks.

[hibernia1.livejournal.com]

Well, believe me not many people succeed in doing that, so you're quite special! *hugs*

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

*hugs back* Thank you so much. I'm really glad you liked it.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

this was amazing. I've lost a lot of people I loved to cancer too (most recently, an aunt I was very close to). This was beautifully written.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

My condolences on losing your aunt. My mother had cancer, and a few friends have had it as well.

Thank you.

perfecto

[charmywater.livejournal.com]

I think I luv you Dee. This works so beautifully with the end of ep24; how Wilson holds so much back personally and even physically but still in his way is such a comfort to this patient (and to House too, of course). <3

Re: perfecto

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I suspect that Wilson is of such comfort to his patients because he holds so much of himself back. He has a professional style that he's refined over the years, and then he personalizes it for each patient, focusing on him/her instead of himself. (It's why Foreman wasn't able to use Wilson's advice very effectively in that one episode with the "bra clasp infection" patient. Foreman can't seem to remove himself from the equation/conversation. It doesn't make Foreman a bad person; it just explains why he didn't have an effect like Wilson seems to have.)

Then when it comes to personal relationships, where he has to put more of himself forward, Wilson is far, far less polished. He makes a lot of mistakes. But, like Alan, the strength of his love can shine through, and the things he does that are right can balance out those that are wrong.

[daisylily.livejournal.com]

*still working my way through my f-list*

*mems*

XD