Fic : Thirty Days of Solitary - 9/30
Jul. 5th, 2012 06:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
menolly_auTitle: Thirty Days of Solitary 9/30
Characters: House with small bits of various others
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For everything up to and including Twenty Vicodins
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 9 Saturday 15th October 2011
He gets to hand in his two battered books today and get another two – which will have to last him another week. For a man whose apartment was crammed with books even when he didn’t have all day to lie around and read, having two books for a week is nowhere near enough, still it’s better than the nothing he’d had for the first couple of days.
When he comes back from his shower the books are on his bunk. He feels a brief moment of annoyance at the idea of someone coming into his cell when he's not there but he still picks the books up eagerly; keen to see what he’s got this week.
One of them is a John Grisham thriller, the other is an old science fiction novel, with the pages yellowing and the book looking in danger of coming apart at any moment. He flicks through it but puts it aside. He'll save that one for later, when he’s really bored.
He picks up the Grisham book and lies back on his bunk, studying the back cover carefully. It's about a man falsely accused of a crime. He almost laughs; it seems a strange choice for a prison full of jailhouse lawyers. House is yet to meet anyone in here who admits that they should be in here. Either they didn't do it, or it was someone else's fault, or they're just poor misunderstood crims with a lousy childhood.
Well, House knows what he did, and although he could blame his addiction, or his pain, or his miserable life, or his fucked up childhood he knows that the only one responsible for what he did is him. He made that choice, to go to Cuddy’s when Wilson urged him to forget it and go out drinking with him. He made the choice to order Wilson out of the car, and to drive to the end of the street and then turn back. He made the decision to drive through Cuddy’s front window, regardless of any consequences. Yeah, he was on a nice dose of Vicodin at the time, and he was angry at Cuddy, but none of that excused what he did.
It had felt great at first. Crashing through the house had given him a nice gut wrenching jolt of pain, for a moment he’d hoped that the damned house would collapse on the car and that would be it. When it hadn’t he'd had the satisfaction of handing her the stupid hairbrush, the hairbrush he’d been keeping at his place, hoping that she’d come back for it one day. Then he’d walked off, leaving her open-mouthed behind him, her new boyfriend forgotten.
He'd even brushed past Wilson, telling him that he felt much better, now that he’d let them all know how he was feeling . Wilson had been on his case since the breakup, harping on at him to talk about it, to talk about he felt about the breakup, about Cuddy dumping his ass. Well he'd shown Wilson just how he felt when he'd driven the car straight through Cuddy's house. Stupid sap hadn't the sense to get out of the way and had gotten hurt. Wilson had said many times that House hurt everyone around him. Well he was right. He’d broken Wilson’s wrist and he didn’t even notice that either.
It had been a catharsis of sorts. He'd been in a state of blissed out peace when he'd gone to Fiji and for the first few days there. It was as if he'd cut all his ties to his old life, to all the old baggage, all the mistakes and all the regrets. He had been intending to stay where he was for a long time; he’d had no plans to go back to the States, ever.
He’d been happy, for a while, but the only constant of the human condition is that something always changes, and he'd woken up one morning and the full impact of what he’d done had hit him. He starting seeing her ; the way she'd looked when he gave her that hairbrush. Her hand had been shaking. He was sure of that. He'd thought that he'd rendered her speechless, but now he realised she was in shock. He’d started seeing Wilson , his loyal friend for over twenty years, cradling his wrist, stunned and shocked. He'd walked off and left him like that, he'd hurt him physically and walked away – and he hadn’t cared.
He'd hurt two people he cared about deeply and he needed to pay for that. For every action there is a consequence, John House had pounded that into him. He'd tried to dodge consequences most of his life but he couldn't dodge this one, he didn’t want to. He had to pay for this. For what he'd done to the people he loved.
When he'd walked off the plane in New York the police had been there to take him away in handcuffs. That had been his last day as a free man. He’d been taken to Mercer County Jail, and held without bail. He’d taken the first deal that was offered to him and accepted serving twelve months in jail to pay for his crimes. He’d intended to do his time, and then leave the country again, for good this time. He had never intended to practise medicine again.
Diagnosing Nick and working with Adams had woken up the old excitement in him, the thrill of chasing down a puzzle and finally being right. Just like after Mayfield he doesn’t know now whether he’ll be able to stay away; he needs the puzzles, as much as he needs Vicodin. Going back to his old environment was out; there was nothing there for him anymore, even if the hospital would take him back – which seemed unlikely with Cuddy in charge. The trouble is that he is no longer sure that studying dark matter will be enough.
He starts reading the book, hoping that the mindless thriller will take his mind from the endless cycle of thinking about the past, which he can’t change, and the future which is uncertain, all he can do for now is live in the present, and try and get through this one day at a time.
Foreman receives an application for a position at the hospital from a Doctor Jessica Adams. A quick perusal of it reveals that she's not quite suitable for the position she's applying for. He's about to put it aside when he glances at the employment history again. New Jersey State Prison is listed as her last place of employment. No reference listed so her leaving there was not mutually decided, no matter what her resume declares. He picks up the phone and calls for her to come in and interview on Monday. When he hangs up he feels a brief twinge of remorse, now she will be hopeful of gaining employment here when Foreman has no intention of offering her a job. But he needs to see if she has any knowledge of House. It's a long shot, the prison houses hundreds, if not thousands, of men. But House is capable of creating chaos wherever he goes. Foreman has a hunch that it's not just coincidence that drove young Doctor Adams to apply for this particular hospital.
When he goes online and finds a photograph of her he raises his eyebrow at the screen. House once referred to Cameron as 'lobby art', and the young woman looking back at him from the screen fits that description exactly.
Characters: House with small bits of various others
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: For everything up to and including Twenty Vicodins
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 9 Saturday 15th October 2011
He gets to hand in his two battered books today and get another two – which will have to last him another week. For a man whose apartment was crammed with books even when he didn’t have all day to lie around and read, having two books for a week is nowhere near enough, still it’s better than the nothing he’d had for the first couple of days.
When he comes back from his shower the books are on his bunk. He feels a brief moment of annoyance at the idea of someone coming into his cell when he's not there but he still picks the books up eagerly; keen to see what he’s got this week.
One of them is a John Grisham thriller, the other is an old science fiction novel, with the pages yellowing and the book looking in danger of coming apart at any moment. He flicks through it but puts it aside. He'll save that one for later, when he’s really bored.
He picks up the Grisham book and lies back on his bunk, studying the back cover carefully. It's about a man falsely accused of a crime. He almost laughs; it seems a strange choice for a prison full of jailhouse lawyers. House is yet to meet anyone in here who admits that they should be in here. Either they didn't do it, or it was someone else's fault, or they're just poor misunderstood crims with a lousy childhood.
Well, House knows what he did, and although he could blame his addiction, or his pain, or his miserable life, or his fucked up childhood he knows that the only one responsible for what he did is him. He made that choice, to go to Cuddy’s when Wilson urged him to forget it and go out drinking with him. He made the choice to order Wilson out of the car, and to drive to the end of the street and then turn back. He made the decision to drive through Cuddy’s front window, regardless of any consequences. Yeah, he was on a nice dose of Vicodin at the time, and he was angry at Cuddy, but none of that excused what he did.
It had felt great at first. Crashing through the house had given him a nice gut wrenching jolt of pain, for a moment he’d hoped that the damned house would collapse on the car and that would be it. When it hadn’t he'd had the satisfaction of handing her the stupid hairbrush, the hairbrush he’d been keeping at his place, hoping that she’d come back for it one day. Then he’d walked off, leaving her open-mouthed behind him, her new boyfriend forgotten.
He'd even brushed past Wilson, telling him that he felt much better, now that he’d let them all know how he was feeling . Wilson had been on his case since the breakup, harping on at him to talk about it, to talk about he felt about the breakup, about Cuddy dumping his ass. Well he'd shown Wilson just how he felt when he'd driven the car straight through Cuddy's house. Stupid sap hadn't the sense to get out of the way and had gotten hurt. Wilson had said many times that House hurt everyone around him. Well he was right. He’d broken Wilson’s wrist and he didn’t even notice that either.
It had been a catharsis of sorts. He'd been in a state of blissed out peace when he'd gone to Fiji and for the first few days there. It was as if he'd cut all his ties to his old life, to all the old baggage, all the mistakes and all the regrets. He had been intending to stay where he was for a long time; he’d had no plans to go back to the States, ever.
He’d been happy, for a while, but the only constant of the human condition is that something always changes, and he'd woken up one morning and the full impact of what he’d done had hit him. He starting seeing her ; the way she'd looked when he gave her that hairbrush. Her hand had been shaking. He was sure of that. He'd thought that he'd rendered her speechless, but now he realised she was in shock. He’d started seeing Wilson , his loyal friend for over twenty years, cradling his wrist, stunned and shocked. He'd walked off and left him like that, he'd hurt him physically and walked away – and he hadn’t cared.
He'd hurt two people he cared about deeply and he needed to pay for that. For every action there is a consequence, John House had pounded that into him. He'd tried to dodge consequences most of his life but he couldn't dodge this one, he didn’t want to. He had to pay for this. For what he'd done to the people he loved.
When he'd walked off the plane in New York the police had been there to take him away in handcuffs. That had been his last day as a free man. He’d been taken to Mercer County Jail, and held without bail. He’d taken the first deal that was offered to him and accepted serving twelve months in jail to pay for his crimes. He’d intended to do his time, and then leave the country again, for good this time. He had never intended to practise medicine again.
Diagnosing Nick and working with Adams had woken up the old excitement in him, the thrill of chasing down a puzzle and finally being right. Just like after Mayfield he doesn’t know now whether he’ll be able to stay away; he needs the puzzles, as much as he needs Vicodin. Going back to his old environment was out; there was nothing there for him anymore, even if the hospital would take him back – which seemed unlikely with Cuddy in charge. The trouble is that he is no longer sure that studying dark matter will be enough.
He starts reading the book, hoping that the mindless thriller will take his mind from the endless cycle of thinking about the past, which he can’t change, and the future which is uncertain, all he can do for now is live in the present, and try and get through this one day at a time.
Foreman receives an application for a position at the hospital from a Doctor Jessica Adams. A quick perusal of it reveals that she's not quite suitable for the position she's applying for. He's about to put it aside when he glances at the employment history again. New Jersey State Prison is listed as her last place of employment. No reference listed so her leaving there was not mutually decided, no matter what her resume declares. He picks up the phone and calls for her to come in and interview on Monday. When he hangs up he feels a brief twinge of remorse, now she will be hopeful of gaining employment here when Foreman has no intention of offering her a job. But he needs to see if she has any knowledge of House. It's a long shot, the prison houses hundreds, if not thousands, of men. But House is capable of creating chaos wherever he goes. Foreman has a hunch that it's not just coincidence that drove young Doctor Adams to apply for this particular hospital.
When he goes online and finds a photograph of her he raises his eyebrow at the screen. House once referred to Cameron as 'lobby art', and the young woman looking back at him from the screen fits that description exactly.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-07-04 08:42 pm (UTC)I had to laugh at the lobby art comment. I love how you had her put in her vita that she'd decided to leave as opposed to being fired, which is of course what would have happened.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-04 09:18 pm (UTC)Thanks for reading and commenting :)
no subject
Date: 2012-07-04 09:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-04 09:21 pm (UTC)The idea that if you did something wrong you should be punished, and that prison is punishment for wrongdoing, is one that is very unfamiliar to me. In this sense I found this fic very enlightening, after the very big help of readingrat's fic and in-comment analysis. Of course that's the way House has been raised, that's the culture he's immersed in; there's no reason to expect him to be different.
Fascinating.
Loved the idea that House had purposefully kept Cuddy's brush, that he was happy to see her focus on him and forget the new guy, while ultimately it;s his sense of guilt towards her and Wilson as people who loved him and not, say, the concern for the property damage that drives him to go to jail.
Moving on still doesn't make any sense to me, but you really make the best of it.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 08:51 am (UTC)I think supposedly prisons here are supposed to be for 'keeping the public safe' and for rehabilitation, or maybe a deterrent, but I think most people see it as punishment. You break a law, you get punished (by prison, or fines, or community service or whatever). What would you see it as?
I got the idea of House purposefully keeping Cuddy's brush from someone in the post ep discussions, but I can't remember who - also I think their theory was that he was returning it as a sign that he was 'moving on' from their relationship after finally telling Cuddy how hurt he was by what she had done. Makes sense to me.
Thanks for reading, again :)
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 09:22 am (UTC)What you said, with the rehabilitation of the criminal being (according to the Italian Constitution) the primary object and the protection of the community the secondary one. Whether Italy's overcrowded, underfunded prisons serve their official purpose is doubtful to me. For societal protection longterm use of anklets would be cheaper and more efficient. Plus, being an ex con makes it hard to ever get a job again, which in turn leads to further crime. That would be in Italy, of course.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 09:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-04 09:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-05 08:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-07-06 05:23 pm (UTC)I think you've pretty much hit it there. House was as much in a daze as Cuddy, but he's not the sort to try to escape the consequences of his deeds. When treating patients he crosses boundaries knowing that if anything goes wrong no one will cover his ass. But if 'Twenty Vicodin' showed anything at all, it was that a prison sentence in a case like that is an exercise in futility. Seeing House in prison didn't give satisfaction on any level - it helped neither Cuddy nor Wilson, and it certainly wouldn't deter House from repeating his deeds if he felt so inclined.
no subject
Date: 2012-07-07 12:29 pm (UTC)