Fic : Thirty Days of Solitary 4/30
Jun. 30th, 2012 06:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
menolly_auTitle: Thirty Days of Solitary 4/30
Characters: House with small bits of Wilson, Foreman, Adams, Chase, Cuddy, Park and Taub
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For everything up to and including Twenty Vicodins
Words:
Summary: House was sentenced to thirty days of solitary confinement for his actions in Twenty Vicodins. This is the story of his time in solitary, and what was happening back at PPTH while he was there. Story will mainly focus on House, but there are segments featuring the rest of the cast. Starts just before the end of Twenty Vicodins.
A/N : Many, many thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
damigella_314. Without her constant help and encouragement this story would be called 'Five Days of Solitary'.
Click for previous part
Day 4 Monday 10th October 2011
He eats breakfast alone, of course. It's one thing he doesn't mind about being locked up here. Mealtimes in the general prison were always tense affairs. Hundreds of bored and miserable men eating bad food in close proximity was a riot only waiting for a spark. Meals were eaten quickly, with one eye on the activity around you. Here he could at least eat his bad food in peace.
His thoughts briefly go to life on the outside, to his fellows, his former fellows now he guesses, and what they're doing. Whether they're still at the hospital, still solving cases, or trying to solve cases at least. Without him he knows that the success rate of diagnostics will go down, he's been accused of being a narcissist, but he knows his own skill, he's not falsely modest. With an effort he wrenches his thoughts away, he cut ties to Princeton when he fled the country, he won't ever be going back, and he’ll probably never see his fellows again. As he told Nick those people have moved on with their lives, he's surely dead to them now.
He gets up and paces the confines of his cell, it's not more than 4 or 5 paces from one end to the other, even with the lurching, unbalanced strides he has without his cane. He runs his hands along the walls just for something different to do; peers at the sink and toilet for about the twentieth time. In Prison Break Schofield had dismantled the toilet to do...something... to help him escape but House is pretty sure he can't replicate whatever the thing was, and it's not like he can throw himself over any prison walls. The last thing he wants is to be stuck here without a working toilet so he leaves it alone.
After he gets tired of pacing he sits back on the bed. Then he lies down and clutches his thigh. Wonders how long it is until lunch. Looks at the painted over window, at the wall, at the door.
Just as he thinks he'll get up and pace for a bit more there are heavy footsteps and his name is called, along with the usual order to 'cuff up'. He's getting better at the procedure by now, though he still hates having his hands confined, and he is soon being moved along the corridor with the usual leg chains on. The officers, Martinez and Anderson this time, have informed him that he is going to exercise and he feels a brief ray of hope. It's now been four days since he's seen even a glimpse of sky, let alone sun, and he's eager to feel the fresh air in his lungs and to see the outside world.
'Exercise' turns out to be a fenced in run, a bit like a dog run, about fifty feet long, there's a covering over the top of the run and heavy wire mesh on either side, so his view is fairly limited but at least it's outside. There's no equipment of any sort, so 'exercise' consists of pacing up and down the ground instead of back and forth in his cell but hey, it's a change. He wishes he had his cane though, walking without it is fun for only a small amount of time, after that it's a lurching struggle.
There's a run either side of his, a couple of feet away from his with a prisoner in each one. He doesn't recognise the men, and they're both black so prison culture means he's expected to have little, or nothing, to do with them. It's not like they can have a conversation anyway so he leaves it alone. They look at him, but then turn away, being no more excited to see him than he is to see them.
And that's about as exciting as it gets. By the end of the hour he's bored of his little pen and can't walk any further but he still doesn't want to go back inside when they come back for him. The guards aren't interested in his suggestion that they install a heated pool and a Jacuzzi and instead load him back up with the cuffs and leg chains and march him back to his cell.
Once he's alone again he realises there's a small pile of stuff on his bed. Further investigation reveals a pad of writing paper, a pen, and two cheap paperback books - both thrillers with a dashing hero holding a gun on the front cover. Cool, not the books he had in his cell but still, books. He's so happy to see them that he's annoyed at himself for that happiness, has he really fallen so low that a couple of books are all that is needed to make him happy? He thinks of those rats in their cages, excited when they uncover a stray pellet hiding in their bedding. He wonders if he should ring Nolan up when he gets out and tell him he's discovered the real secret to being happy, take everything away from someone and then give them back one little thing. He figures that Nolan wouldn't be impressed by that insight, or by him. He can see the man's disappointed face now, when he hears House has been in prison. Well, fuck Nolan, House tried it his way, and look where it got him.
There's some shouting outside in the corridor and he limps over to the door, peering out of a small crack where the cuff port doesn't quite shut properly. He can't see much, but he gets an impression of officers in heavy gear, dragging someone between them. There's cursing and screaming and all the other inmates of the tier start yelling until there's a wordless, angry, cacophony of sound. House thinks it sounds much like feeding time at the zoo.
Retreating from the door he picks up one of the books and lies back on the bunk with it, trying to ignore the sounds all around him. It's got nothing to do with him.
Eric Foreman had never realised just how much PPTH needed Greg House. House was the star performer, the headliner who could draw in the crowds, and the money, despite his temperament and total disdain for playing any sort of role in fund raising. Foreman had known how good he was of course, hell, he wouldn't have applied for a fellowship here if he hadn't realised that, but he'd had no idea of the extent of the interest in him. He had been lulled by Cuddy's attitude – that she was doing House a favour by hiring him, that House couldn't hold down a job anywhere else, that she got him dirt cheap. Now he realises that this was Cuddy at her finest, downplaying the value of the hospital's asset, getting into House's head and persuading him that he had no chance of employment anywhere else. Undoubtedly some of it was true, as Foreman found out himself, it could be difficult to find a hospital willing to take a chance on a maverick, but House had, in the time he had been in charge of diagnostics at PPTH, surpassed his own reputation as a total ass to become a huge drawcard.
In his first mistake as Dean Foreman had let Diagnostics be disbanded easily. Chase, never fond of responsibility, had slipped away, and the others had followed. Foreman had thought it wouldn't matter. As the donors faded into the woodwork, and the hospital started falling off everyone's radar Foreman had come to realise that Diagnostics had been PPTH's 'thing'. The mentions in the press, and even the national news, had come from Diagnostics. As their profile declined so did the quality of job applicants to the rest of the hospital, and some of the people they already had were beginning to look elsewhere. He needed House back.
It won't be easy; he knows that, there will be resistance from some of the staff, and the Board. Foreman also knows that House will not accept having Foreman as a boss without a struggle, he will be fighting the man every step of the way. Despite the difficulties he knows he needs to do it, or at least try; he starts making plans to make it happen.
Click for next part
Characters: House with small bits of Wilson, Foreman, Adams, Chase, Cuddy, Park and Taub
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For everything up to and including Twenty Vicodins
Words:
Summary: House was sentenced to thirty days of solitary confinement for his actions in Twenty Vicodins. This is the story of his time in solitary, and what was happening back at PPTH while he was there. Story will mainly focus on House, but there are segments featuring the rest of the cast. Starts just before the end of Twenty Vicodins.
A/N : Many, many thanks to
damigella_314. Without her constant help and encouragement this story would be called 'Five Days of Solitary'. Click for previous part
Day 4 Monday 10th October 2011
He eats breakfast alone, of course. It's one thing he doesn't mind about being locked up here. Mealtimes in the general prison were always tense affairs. Hundreds of bored and miserable men eating bad food in close proximity was a riot only waiting for a spark. Meals were eaten quickly, with one eye on the activity around you. Here he could at least eat his bad food in peace.
His thoughts briefly go to life on the outside, to his fellows, his former fellows now he guesses, and what they're doing. Whether they're still at the hospital, still solving cases, or trying to solve cases at least. Without him he knows that the success rate of diagnostics will go down, he's been accused of being a narcissist, but he knows his own skill, he's not falsely modest. With an effort he wrenches his thoughts away, he cut ties to Princeton when he fled the country, he won't ever be going back, and he’ll probably never see his fellows again. As he told Nick those people have moved on with their lives, he's surely dead to them now.
He gets up and paces the confines of his cell, it's not more than 4 or 5 paces from one end to the other, even with the lurching, unbalanced strides he has without his cane. He runs his hands along the walls just for something different to do; peers at the sink and toilet for about the twentieth time. In Prison Break Schofield had dismantled the toilet to do...something... to help him escape but House is pretty sure he can't replicate whatever the thing was, and it's not like he can throw himself over any prison walls. The last thing he wants is to be stuck here without a working toilet so he leaves it alone.
After he gets tired of pacing he sits back on the bed. Then he lies down and clutches his thigh. Wonders how long it is until lunch. Looks at the painted over window, at the wall, at the door.
Just as he thinks he'll get up and pace for a bit more there are heavy footsteps and his name is called, along with the usual order to 'cuff up'. He's getting better at the procedure by now, though he still hates having his hands confined, and he is soon being moved along the corridor with the usual leg chains on. The officers, Martinez and Anderson this time, have informed him that he is going to exercise and he feels a brief ray of hope. It's now been four days since he's seen even a glimpse of sky, let alone sun, and he's eager to feel the fresh air in his lungs and to see the outside world.
'Exercise' turns out to be a fenced in run, a bit like a dog run, about fifty feet long, there's a covering over the top of the run and heavy wire mesh on either side, so his view is fairly limited but at least it's outside. There's no equipment of any sort, so 'exercise' consists of pacing up and down the ground instead of back and forth in his cell but hey, it's a change. He wishes he had his cane though, walking without it is fun for only a small amount of time, after that it's a lurching struggle.
There's a run either side of his, a couple of feet away from his with a prisoner in each one. He doesn't recognise the men, and they're both black so prison culture means he's expected to have little, or nothing, to do with them. It's not like they can have a conversation anyway so he leaves it alone. They look at him, but then turn away, being no more excited to see him than he is to see them.
And that's about as exciting as it gets. By the end of the hour he's bored of his little pen and can't walk any further but he still doesn't want to go back inside when they come back for him. The guards aren't interested in his suggestion that they install a heated pool and a Jacuzzi and instead load him back up with the cuffs and leg chains and march him back to his cell.
Once he's alone again he realises there's a small pile of stuff on his bed. Further investigation reveals a pad of writing paper, a pen, and two cheap paperback books - both thrillers with a dashing hero holding a gun on the front cover. Cool, not the books he had in his cell but still, books. He's so happy to see them that he's annoyed at himself for that happiness, has he really fallen so low that a couple of books are all that is needed to make him happy? He thinks of those rats in their cages, excited when they uncover a stray pellet hiding in their bedding. He wonders if he should ring Nolan up when he gets out and tell him he's discovered the real secret to being happy, take everything away from someone and then give them back one little thing. He figures that Nolan wouldn't be impressed by that insight, or by him. He can see the man's disappointed face now, when he hears House has been in prison. Well, fuck Nolan, House tried it his way, and look where it got him.
There's some shouting outside in the corridor and he limps over to the door, peering out of a small crack where the cuff port doesn't quite shut properly. He can't see much, but he gets an impression of officers in heavy gear, dragging someone between them. There's cursing and screaming and all the other inmates of the tier start yelling until there's a wordless, angry, cacophony of sound. House thinks it sounds much like feeding time at the zoo.
Retreating from the door he picks up one of the books and lies back on the bunk with it, trying to ignore the sounds all around him. It's got nothing to do with him.
Eric Foreman had never realised just how much PPTH needed Greg House. House was the star performer, the headliner who could draw in the crowds, and the money, despite his temperament and total disdain for playing any sort of role in fund raising. Foreman had known how good he was of course, hell, he wouldn't have applied for a fellowship here if he hadn't realised that, but he'd had no idea of the extent of the interest in him. He had been lulled by Cuddy's attitude – that she was doing House a favour by hiring him, that House couldn't hold down a job anywhere else, that she got him dirt cheap. Now he realises that this was Cuddy at her finest, downplaying the value of the hospital's asset, getting into House's head and persuading him that he had no chance of employment anywhere else. Undoubtedly some of it was true, as Foreman found out himself, it could be difficult to find a hospital willing to take a chance on a maverick, but House had, in the time he had been in charge of diagnostics at PPTH, surpassed his own reputation as a total ass to become a huge drawcard.
In his first mistake as Dean Foreman had let Diagnostics be disbanded easily. Chase, never fond of responsibility, had slipped away, and the others had followed. Foreman had thought it wouldn't matter. As the donors faded into the woodwork, and the hospital started falling off everyone's radar Foreman had come to realise that Diagnostics had been PPTH's 'thing'. The mentions in the press, and even the national news, had come from Diagnostics. As their profile declined so did the quality of job applicants to the rest of the hospital, and some of the people they already had were beginning to look elsewhere. He needed House back.
It won't be easy; he knows that, there will be resistance from some of the staff, and the Board. Foreman also knows that House will not accept having Foreman as a boss without a struggle, he will be fighting the man every step of the way. Despite the difficulties he knows he needs to do it, or at least try; he starts making plans to make it happen.
Click for next part
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-06-30 09:13 am (UTC)I liked your comment about House not being falsely modest. I agree. He isn't and he shouldn't be. So many little things in this series remind me of the old House.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-30 12:19 pm (UTC)Thanks for reading and commenting :)