house_bigbang | [round one] Artist: wihluta

Title: Untitled
Subject: A collage of various aspects that feature in the story.
Pairing/Rating: Gen; House, Wilson, Cuddy, G
Medium: Cover art
Artist:

wihluta

Title: My Brother's Keeper
Author:

shutterbug_12
Pairing: Gen; House, Wilson, Cuddy.
Rating: R
Length: 24 500 words
Spoilers: None.
Summary: An on-the-job incident forces House to experience his life beyond the visible spectrum; Cuddy and Wilson struggle to guide him through a darkness that neither of them can see and preserve the world that House remembers.
Excerpt:

Cuddy shouted at a wide-eyed nurse. "I need a bottle of Alcaine and four--" Her order broke off with a hiss as House stumbled and forced her to brace herself against the wall. "--four liters of saline in exam room one, and page Dr. Wilson. Tell him it’s an emergency."

With the strength worthy of a linebacker, she muscled House towards the door and threw it open. Inside, a patient sat on the exam table waiting to be seen.

"Out!" she demanded, maneuvering House to the counter to bend him over the sink.

The patient stared dumbly at her.

"Now!"

Cuddy ignored the patient’s disgruntled murmurs as he scuttled from the room and, with near-superhuman speed, stripped House of his stinking, saturated jacket, turned on the tap, and pulled on a pair of gloves. As she guided his face towards the water, she drew measured breaths, mentally reviewing procedure, the medical mechanics.

"Okay, House," she said, adopting a tone of cool professionalism to cover the panic racing up her throat, flooding her mouth. She forced a swallow. "I need you to open your eyes as wide as possible."

A pained grunt slipped between his lips as his eyelids blinked open. The first vibrant, fury-red flash of sclera shocked her. The blue clarity of his irises, however, pulled a tiny sigh of relief from her mouth as she laid a hand on the back of his head to urge him into the water.

House flinched at the water's contact and shut his eyes. "Fuck. It hurts."

A pang of sympathy rippled through her. "I know, but you have to keep them open."

"I can’t. It hurts."

"Then hold them open. We need to flush your eyes and restore the proper pH balance to prevent any permanent--"

"Let’s pour industrial chemicals into your eyes and see if you can keep them open! We'll have a staring contest!"

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