Why? - Post ep for 7x23

[damigella]

Title: Why?
Summary and warning: Post Ep for S7 finale, based on spoilers.
Rating: general.
Word Count: 200.
Warning: Mentioned minor(!) character death.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the House, MD characters, which is good since I tend to kill them.
Author's note: I wrote this now because I'll be too heartbroken after the finale.



It felt like déjà vu: the hospital room, the pain, Wilson in the recliner looking at him.

"Good afternoon, House."

"How's Rachel? And Cuddy?"

Wilson walked to the window and looked out in the sun. "Cuddy's fine. Physically. Rachel died at dawn in her arms."

He sat down on House's bed. "It wasn't your fault. It was an accident. Even Cuddy said so."

House breathed hard, as the numbers on the monitor slowly came back down. "She must hate me all the same. I'll resign, Wilson. She can't work with me."

"She was faster than you. She has accepted a long-standing offer in Seattle. She's emptying her office as we speak."

"I'll never see her again."

"No." Wilson didn't offer comforting words, nor criticism. He seemed to be as empty and drained as House felt himself to be: even his tears had stopped flowing.

"There will be changes in my life as well," Wilson added.

"Are you leaving, too? Or did they ask you to be interim Dean?"

"They did, and I refused. I resigned from Head of Oncology and asked to work reduced hours."

"Why?"

Wilson's left thumb traced the life line on House’s right palm. “For you.”

Comments

[luridlurker.livejournal.com]

how you wish, girl!

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't put it past the writers to mangle the finale so badly as to make such a post-ep impossible, so I delivered a pre-emptive strike.

Thanks for your approval!

[justjuly4.livejournal.com]

You wrote something I was thinking about, however in my head Rachel got hurt but alive.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I just listen too much to spoilers for my own good.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you will write a fic with Rachel surviving!

[selkie3.livejournal.com]

Someone has been reading spoilers lately ;)1 I have nothing more to say than if they do this in the finale I am going to be so pissed!

I liked how your Wilson was in this, no empty words for House. Instead of placating it was quiet acceptance.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I've definitely read too many spoilers. And I so much wanted to write a fic with Wilson being there for House without needing to lecture him.
Thanks for commenting!

[srsly-yes.livejournal.com]

Nicely done but so sad. FWIW I don't think this is going to happen, but you wrote a convincing scene.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I hope it's not going to happen either, but just in case.
I tried to make it IC, which is something that (as you well know) I always struggle with. Thanks for your comment.

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

Wow, I hope that this is what happens in the finale--except for Rachel dying (so sad!)--but I doubt it. You could really go somewhere with this if you wanted to continue it. I thought it would be cool to write what I want Season eight to be like, episode by episode, one or two a week over the rest of the spring and summer until the new season begins. It would be a real challenge, though. Actually, it would something that would work well as a collaborative fic, each writer involved writing an episode and then repeating that until 22 eps are written with the finale being written by everyone involved, That would be cool because it would give each writer time to write a decent episode instead of one person being rushed to crank out every episode.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

Thanks for commenting and for suggesting this could be continued.

I think your idea of a collaboratively produced eighth season rocks. Why don't you post a proposal in that sense on hw_req? I remember reading a wonderful Christmas collaborative fic. It would give all of us a nice summer.

[cellista-in-c.livejournal.com]

Just to second, I think the collaboratively-produced Season 8 writing fest also sounds like a terrific idea! Go for it pgrabia!

[coconut-ice22.livejournal.com]

Rachel has been the conclusion I've come to recently with all the spoilers flying around, it gives the writers such a great way out of so much.

Aww Wilson *hugs him* the number of times he's sat by House's bed. He must have stacked up some good bed sitting hours during his life. I wonder, harder for him sometimes to do that then it is for him to sit by a dying patient?

So sad and sweet. Thanks for posting!

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I think having Rachel dying would be a very cheap way out (also like, imho, the way Cuddy came to foster her was completely wrong).

And of course it's harder for Wilson to sit near sick_and_heartbroken!house than near any dying patient. Which is why I make it happen so often in my fics. :-). I like suffering!wilson.

Thank you for commenting!

[coconut-ice22.livejournal.com]

There's probably a book's worth of stuff that can be written about how weird and not correct the way Cuddy went about adopting Rachel was.

Suffering!Wilson is so much fun, be he sick or being made to tend to the sick.

So, question for you, what makes Wilson suffer the most in your opinion?

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

Watching House self-destruct.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

Yes. That. Better and quicker answer than mine.
I hope you will keep thinking about the collaborative fic idea. Pretty please.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

what makes Wilson suffer the most in your opinion?
House doing crazy, risky things like cannonballing from the fifth floor or excising tumors from his thigh in his bathtub. And having to be there and collect the pieces at the end of whatever mad thing House has done. I also hope it makes him suffer to think back of his own faults towards House, especially the throwing him out for Sam, but canon doesn't help much about that.

And I think the converse is also true. I think if someone wants to hurt House, making Wilson suffer is the way to go. At least that's the way I would go.

[coconut-ice22.livejournal.com]

So the guy who tried to shoot House, if he was doing it for revenge the more effective method would have been to shoot Wilson...

I also hope it makes him suffer to think back of his own faults towards House Wilson doing stuff that isn't always going to make House happy is part of why House loves him though, isn't it? If Wilson truly were a pushover would House admire him as much as he does?

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

the guy who tried to shoot House
There's a lovely fic by mer_duff that expands on this concept much better than I ever can. Go read it if you haven't.

I wouldn't want Wilson to be a pushover, but sometimes he hurt House in ways I found unbelievable and OoC. Kicking out your best friend that you just bought an organ for, and that is supposed not to be alone for fear of relapses? That didn't make any sense at all, and imho was only there to pave the way for H/C. But it's canon, so I have to deal with it. Same for Wilson not making sure House is at least fine when he finds him passed out and vomiting in the Tritter arc.

Or Wilson forcing House to stay off Vicodin when he obviously needs painkillers. I think that withdrawing needed medical care is a severe form of violence, and that Wilson should be very sorry about it.

[coconut-ice22.livejournal.com]

Heh, well they are all good reasons for why Dark!Wilson fic exists to deal with these anomalies. Isn't there some sign that Wilson is more messed up than House, but he's able to hide it better, which in a way is what makes him more messed up than House?

One of the other Wilson anomalies they threw in to make H/C work -- where did Wilson disappear to in the second to last episode of season 5? he just let House drive off to the hospital to see Cuddy by himself and didn't check-up on him at all? If I had a friend who was acting like that I would have followed him to Cuddy.

The guy's admitted to hallucinating and you're letting him drive around town on his own, Wilson?

Ahh! I love mer_duff's fics! I have read that one, but it was a long time ago, thank you! Must go re-read now.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

"The guy's admitted to hallucinating and you're letting him drive around town on his own, Wilson?"
Exactly. I didn't know dark!wilson was supposed to be the way we deal with this :-).

And yes, Wilson's as messed up as House is, and better but not so much better at hiding it. I just wish we knew more about his background, but that again is what fanfic is for.

[pgrabia.livejournal.com]

You are a member at sick_Wilson, aren't you? If not, join up quick!

[veta-black.livejournal.com]

Very well done!

I was wondering what the specific spoiler was, cuz I've been hunting through them and sharing with my friends. :)

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

The spoiler, which I've read second hand, is that Rachel may die. No idea whether it's true, and hope it isn't. But if it is, I will not be in a mood to write post-ep fics. I can do it as long as I think it's all in my head and nothing of the kind will happen.

Thanks for the kind words!

[cellista-in-c.livejournal.com]

Oh, I hope nothing's going to happen to Rachel, though I'm hearing a lot of speculation that way - she's too adorable for the kind of horrible fate that regularly befalls people on this show.

Of course, that is exactly why it would happen to her. Curse you, show.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

Curse you, show.
[Takes note: replace 'f_ck' with 'curse' as much more ladylike.]
Otherwise, complete agreement.

[idonmatrix.livejournal.com]

Damn, that was awesome. I haven't read all the spoilers for the finale. Was there anything in the spoilers that led you to believe Rachel would die or did you use her death as the ultimate gamechanger for Huddy? Also, so many people think Wilson will be the new dean of medicine, which would certainly change the House/Wilson dynamic.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I tried not to read spoilers, but I read fics and posts based on spoilers, and there were many voices of Rachel dying. As for Wilson becoming Dean, this would change the House/Wilson dynamic (imho) in a very bad way, and it is entirely possible.

Thanks for commenting!

[ladyinverness23.livejournal.com]

Oh man I really hope they don't kill off Rachel.
The last line is lovely. :)

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

It took longer to write the last line than the rest of the fic by about a factor of three, I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you for your comment.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

this is beautifully written, although i hope they don't kill off Rachel.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I share your hope. And now, in a few hours, we'll know. My plan is to stay up tonight. The one thing I fear more than Rachel dying is Wilson becoming Dean. Yeah, I'm a Bad Person.

I'm glad you liked it.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

i kind of like the idea of Wilson running the hospital. Either him or Foreman.

[damigella-314.livejournal.com]

I used to like the idea, but after what we've seen with House/Cuddy I'm afraid it would threaten the friendship. Foreman would be a great choice, but no way they'll choose someone who has no administrative experience. Unless he can make an argument that he was actually doing the administration for House.