Chrysalis Part IV

by gorblimey2

***

As far as Greg knew, Wilson and Jordan had slept together and they were an item. Jordan stayed away from Wilson's office but eventually he came up to see her. "Are you okay? You were crying pretty hard the other day. Is there anything that I can do?

"It's not what you think. I was crying because he's given up. Not just on me, but more importantly, on himself."

"What do you mean?"

"I saw his thigh. He was in pain. I asked to see the wound. He showed it to me and it was horrible. I saw it as a friend and as a neurologist and after seeing it I felt sick to my stomach. The pain he must be in has to be intolerable. The leg is getting worse...because he won't exercise it. I was pretty vulnerable at that point. He knew it too. He could have made a move and I probably wouldn't have resisted. But he didn't make the move, he just let me go. As far as Greg is concerned, you and I have already slept together. I told him when I went over that I was going straight to your apartment. That's why letting me go meant so much. He knew he was sending me to you."

Wilson thought about it and had to agree, House had given up. He wasn't much into self-sacrifice, so to let Jordan go to him was huge. Wilson wasn't sure what to do next. "Jordan, now what?"

"If you'll give me a third chance, I'd like to make it up to you, maybe cook you a meal? I'm a pretty good cook."

"At your place?" he asked.

Jordan grimaced, "Uh...I was hoping we could do this at your place. I'll buy the groceries and we cook it at your place."

"Ok, Friday night?"

"Sounds great. Anything that you don't like?"

"Liver."

She laughed, "Ok, not a problem. Pick me up at 6:00 p.m., ok?"

"Sounds great."

Jordan kept her eye open for Greg, she wanted to encourage him again to start working out and getting his leg in shape, but he stayed low key that week. Still for her plan to work, she needed House to get in shape. She found out on Tuesday that Greg had an interesting case. An adult who had returned from holiday in England had experienced a grand mal seizure lasting about five minutes. He was taken to the E.R. in a post-ictal state. Greg's team was called in when no one could figure out what was causing his symptoms. On arrival at the emergency department the patient was conscious but vomiting and experiencing visual hallucinations. Upon transfer to the third floor, the he was agitated, tachycardic, but blood pressure and oxygen saturation were within normal limits. He was hyper-reflexive with dilated pupils, but there were no focal neurological signs. He had one further subsequent grand mal seizure.

House called me. "I need a consult down in 322." I was surprised since I was sure that Foreman could give him a neurological diagnosis. When I got there I walked in and saw House leaning on his cane standing at the back of the room. I walked over to him and smiled, he looked me up and down and then introduced me to a young female doctor and a blonde Australian doctor, Cameron and Chase.

"Where's Foreman?"

"Vacation, cousin's wedding." he said without missing a beat.

"Oh. What about Dr. Jackson?" I knew that Dr. Jackson was the neurologist on call.

"You're here, there's the patient."

I read the chart and examined the patient. "Increased muscular activity and damage resulting in metabolic acidosis. Acute renal failure secondary to rhabdomyolysis... hmmmm."

I went over to Greg and handed him back the chart to him, "It's not a chronic neurological etiology. What do think it is?"

House gave me one of those looks he always gets. His eyes would scrunch up and his lips would get tight and he would turn his head to the side and look in the air as if he wasn't sure. "I'm leaning towards poisoning but I'm not sure what poisoned him."

"What did he ingest in the last 36 hours?"

"He started feeling sick on the plane back from Edinburgh, Scotland. He ate a curry just before he left."

"Well curry is pretty common in England. Where did he have the curry?"

"A family friend prepared it."

"He had a homemade curry near Edinburgh? You know this is a long shot but you should call the friends, ask if they used small water parsnips in the curry."

House didn't hesitate, "Cameron, get on it." He looked back at me, "Why? "People in England like parsnips and water parsnips grow wild there. There have been cases where people have been known to mistake hemlock water dropwart for water parsnips. Hemlock is extremely toxic. But the treatment is symptomatic and supportive. I suggest that if it is hemlock that you control the seizures using intravenous diazemules. Phenytoin would be the second line drug of choice. I take it back, I'd use Thiopentone sodium for seizure control because of its faster action. Treatment for resistant seizures may necessitate intubation and ventilation."

House started smiling at her, the biggest, broadest smile. He turned to Chase and told him to start treatment because by the time they made contact in England it might be too late. He jumped to it. House turned back to Jordan, "Lunch?"

I had so much to do but I wanted to talk to him about his leg, "Sure."

****

They went down to the cafeteria and sat down with their lunches at one of the tables. "You were hot."

She hadn't expected him to say that, "I assume that's a compliment."

"If you weren't boinking Wilson," he looked around the room, "I'd jump you. You nailed that diagnosis. You were excited about it too, weren't you?"

"Yes, it was fun. Greg, I need to ask you again to start working on your leg, will you promise me?"

"Why is it so important to you?"

"I know the treatments coming down the pike and if you don't have a good, strong remaining thigh, you'll be rejected for any studies. So please start building it up, PLEASE."

He looked at her and slowly chewed his food. "What do you want me to do?"

"I'll give you a work out program that will be tailored to getting the thigh muscle back in shape. I have a notebook of exercises designed to build the proper muscle mass. Stop by and pick it up some time."

He didn't say anything but he nodded, "yes."

"Great.."

They looked up to see Cameron coming towards them, "The police just broke into the house in Scotland. The mother and father were found dead, the baby is sick because she must have ingested some of it from the mother's milk. They aren't sure yet whether it's hemlock but they say it won't be the first time for hemlock poisoning in that area. Wow, that was a good call. How did you know?"

"When I practiced in Cambridge I had a case come in, it sticks with you." Jordan continued to eat her lunch while House and Cameron discussed a journal article that she wanted published. It was a somewhat heated exchange with Cameron with her telling him to just sign the damn thing when he got back to the office, she didn't care if he read it or not. It was a strange exchange but Jordan was too busy thinking about what was happening in the lab. "Greg, I have to get back to the lab...I'll see you later."

Friday came and Jordan purchased the makings for Chicken Cordon Bleu and Mississippi Mud, Jordan's favorite desert. She was running late and just about to get in the shower when she heard a knock on the door. She ran out to the front in her bathrobe. It was House.

"Oh, Greg...what are you doing here? Come on in." She opened the door and let him inside.

He walked in and looked around. There was very little furniture. There were a a few kitchen chairs in the living room and dining area. A stool at the counter and a card table. There were several unpacked boxes around.

"Make yourself at home, I just have to pop into the shower. I'll be out in a few minutes. I think there's beer in the frig."

"You don't drink beer."

"No, but I had some for my friends who helped unload the truck when I moved in. You're here for that book, right? The exercise book?"

"Yeah, and to see if you wanted dinner."

She yelled as she ran into the bathroom, "Sorry, I have plans with Jim. I have to get that shower. The notebook is in one of the boxes. It's a bright red three ring binder. Can you start looking for it? I'll help when I get out."

House shook his head in acknowledgment but she was already in the bathroom. He looked around. You would have sworn she moved in yesterday. The apartment couldn't have been more than 500 square feet with very few amenities. The kitchen was straight out of the eighties and the carpet looked like it had gone through several tenants. There was nothing on the walls, nothing personal sitting out. When he looked in the bedroom there was a bed and an LCD television and DVD player, but they weren't even hooked up. She had an alarm clock and glass of water sitting on top of a box next to the bed. He took a quick look in the closet and there were clothes, but they all had new tags on them, except for maybe a dozen pieces which he recognized as the clothes he always saw her in at the hospital.

He started to open boxes and wasn't surprised to find that most of them contained books and papers. He opened one and sitting on top was a photo album. He flipped the cover and found that half of it was filled with photos of her family and their farm and the other half filled of photos of them together in Baltimore. He looked around for another photo album but instead came to a box filled with loose photos taken over the years after they parted. There were two framed photos, the one he recognized of her family that used to sit in her room and the other a framed photo of them in New York for her 22nd birthday. He looked at the photo and quickly put it away. It was hard to look at it, he looked healthy and happy.

He continued to look for the notebook and finally found it at the bottom of the fifth box he opened. He pulled it out just as she came out in her jeans and a little white pullover. Her hair was wet and her face scrubbed clean. She looked 22 again. He smiled.

He shook his head, "You haven't changed."

She looked at him as if he was nuts, "What do you mean? I'm eight pounds heavier, my hair is blonder and there are a lot more wrinkles."

"You call those wrinkles? HA!" He held up the red notebook, "I found the book. I better go so you can get ready."

She grabbed the notebook out of his arm and a photo fell out of it. It was of her when she was 22, House had taken the photo of her still in bed asleep. She picked it up and looked at him with curiosity. Why was he stealing photos of her? She said nothing. Instead she opened the notebook, put the photo in a pocket and showed him the exercises she wanted him to do and how to measure the muscle density of the thigh to get the optimum result.

She heard the motorcycle take off and went back into the bathroom to get ready. Jordan packed a little backpack with a large t-shirt, toothbrush, hairbrush, makeup remover and she went into the closet where she kept her underwear in basket on the floor. She looked at the clothes hanging in the closet. She hated unpacking so whenever she moved she'd give all her stuff away, including most of her clothes. She found that Ralph Lauren fit her body fairly well so whenever she arrived at a new city, she'd walk into a store and buy the entire spring, winter or fall line and take it home, hang it up and use it as she needed it. She'd been in Princeton three months and still hadn't had time to shop for furniture.

Wilson walked up to her apartment and was a little mystified, the apartment building was one of those that poor starving students try to rent. It was close to campus and PPTH, but it was really run down. He knocked on the door and she answered.

"Hi, come on in. I need your help with my stuff." When he walked in he did a double take at the condition of the room. She was drinking a diet coke and watched him look around. She knew he didn't understand why. She didn't either. She never felt like she had a home, that she was safe enough to buy things for the home or decorate. Everything in her life felt temporary and that was fine with her. It meant that she didn't allow herself to grow too fond of anything because she knew it might not be there tomorrow.

"Do you need help unpacking?" he asked.

She giggled, "You know, maybe I need someone with a cattle prod to make me do it. I just use the place as storage and somewhere to sleep. My television isn't even hooked up. Come on, grab the six pack of diet coke and a couple of bags, I'll get the rest."

She unpacked the food in his kitchen and saw that he must like to cook because he had the kitchen of her dreams...every pan, skillet, utensil or appliance you could want to do your job. She took a few minutes to acclimate herself and started.

Wilson threw her an apron and she smiled as he put one on too. He asked, "Can I help?"

"I love a man who knows his way around a kitchen. Yeah, can you cut the mushrooms?"

"Your wish is my command." He pulled out a Kershaw Shun knife and began cleaning the mushrooms.

They talked about a lot of things, food, cooking, dairy farming and medicine. The dinner was ready an hour later. Wilson was impressed, it was absolutely delicious even if it wasn't kosher. He wondered if she knew he was Jewish or if it mattered?

"You took the ham out of your chicken...don't you like ham?"

"Actually I love ham, but I'm Jewish."

She started laughing, "Oh no! I am so sorry."

"No, I should have told you. Are you ok with that?"

"With you not eating the ham, sure."

"No, me being Jewish?"

She looked at him like he was insane, "Why wouldn't I be? Sure. It just means you'll be circumcised." She smiled up at him.

He laughed, "Is there any other kind these days?"

"Most of Europe doesn't circumcise. House isn't you know. He was born just outside Holy Loch naval base in Dunoon, Scotland. His mom didn't make it back to the base in time and the British don't snip..."

"TMI."

She started laughing...she wanted to tell him that because House was her first, she thought there was something wrong with Doug and had to eventually ask House why there was a difference. But she held her tongue. Actually, because of her time overseas, Jordan had probably had more un-circumcised men than those that had been snipped.

They did the dishes together and had a few laughs and then sat down on the couch to finish their wine. Within minutes they were making their way into the bedroom. This time there were no interruptions. Wilson was as considerate in bed as Greg was. Maybe not quite as exciting, but certainly more romantic about sex. Wilson was a little off his game because he kept wondering if she was comparing him to House. And he wondered whether House had been good in bed? He wasn't too worried, he had always been complemented on his skills in bed, but still it did make him feel a little awkward.

Jordan turned to him, "That was great...wow, I haven't felt that good in a long time."

Wilson wasn't concentrating on her words right now. He was watching the rise and fall of her breasts as they lay there. They were round and topped by some of the prettiest nipples he had ever seen and he had seen a lot. Breast cancer was one of his least favorite diseases to treat because of all the emotional attachments women and their spouses placed on breasts. He also loved her hip bones and mound of Venus. She had light reddish pubic hair and gorgeous legs. She was compact but very symmetrical and in just the right proportions. Just laying there looking and touching her had aroused him again and once again they made love.

After they were done Wilson smiled and shook his head, "It's been a long time since I was ready again that fast. Whew."

They lay in each other's arms and Jordan played with the hair on his chest. He couldn't resist it so he asked, "What's going on with your apartment? You've been here several months."

"I really am so busy at work that I just use the apartment to sleep. I don't like to get too comfortable because I'm always moving, so I don't buy too much in the way of furniture. That way I don't have to move it."

"That's actually pretty sad. Why do you keep moving, any hospital in the world would let you stay forever?"

"I stayed on our farm growing up. I felt like a prisoner. I was weird, being that intelligent no one related to me, so I had no friends. Now I have friends and I have the ability to pick up and leave when I get bored. I find I get bored about every two to three years. So I move somewhere new."

"But then, when you get there, you work so hard you don't have time to enjoy it."

She turned over so she could make eye contact, "Oh, I eventually find some time to explore my surroundings. It's not all work and no play."

"What are you working on right now?"

"I have so many projects but my favorite is the GDNF project."

"What is it?" he asked.

She looked at him, wanting to tell him everything, including her plan, but decided she couldn't, she didn't really know Jim that well, "I can't tell you much...proprietary information, but its about the potential anaglesic effects of GDNF on nerves."

"Sounds promising."

"It's very promising."

The next day, despite Wilson's protests, Jordan went to work, although she promised to spend Saturday night with him. After work, she went home, cleaned up and then he picked her up for a movie. They came home after the movie, picked up some clothes at her apartment and then spent the night at Wilson's.

Wilson was captivated by her. She was so interesting, having had numerous experiences all over the world. She had been a real risk taker, something he wasn't. Whatever risks Wilson took were mostly due to his liaison with House, the ultimate risk taker. Before the surgery, House would drag Wilson on trips to raft, rock climb, surf, sky dive...just about anything that meant you could end up dead.

They started spending a lot of their free time together and half of Jordan's wardrobe ended up in Wilson's closet. Wilson felt guilty that he didn't have much time to spend with House who kept insisting Wilson bring in the leftovers when Jordan cooked.

House would look inside one of the containers Wilson would bring him and Wilson would watch House smile, "Ooo, yeah, this was one of my favorites, chicken and dumplings. It was the first thing she ever cooked for me." House threw it in the microwave and began heating it.

Wilson felt awkward around House because of moments like this. It was clear to him how much House had cared about Jordan. House knew and loved every dish that Wilson brought him and sometimes when he would sit and eat his mind would go off somewhere else as if the food brought back memories.

"Jordan wants you to come for dinner on Friday. We're having some of her staff over."

House thought about it, "What is she making?"

"Beef Wellington."

"Cor...she knows how to get me there. Ok, what time?"

"7:00 p.m."

"I take it from seeing her apartment, it will be at yours."

"When did you see her apartment?"

"When we did the nasty on the living room floor...didn't she tell you? We meet there every Saturday and take our clothes off, rub up against each other and call each other dirty names. Boy that girl has a mouth on her, she swears like a sailor."

Wilson wasn't taking the joke well and House could see he better explain. "I went over to get an exercise manual from her."

Wilson looked more relaxed, "I was going to ask if something was going on with your leg, you're walking a little better."

"I've been working out. Still hurts like hell."

Wilson shook his head to acknowledge House's pain and then left.

Saturday House showed up in a t-shirt and jeans. Everyone else was dressed in nice but casual clothes. Jordan opened the door and he handed her flowers and a bottle of wine. She stepped aside so that he could enter.

"Thanks for inviting me."

"I knew you'd come for Beef Wellington, you're so predictable."

He smiled at her as if they shared something bittersweet. "Go in the living room, Sandy is here, keep her company."

House grimaced, "Oh God, this isn't a setup is it?"

Jordan laughed, "I'm not an idiot, I wouldn't fix you up with anyone I actually liked. No, Sandy's husband is in Iraq, so no political crap from you, do you hear?"

He frowned and nodded yes.

Jordan went back into the kitchen and by 7:15 all the guests had arrived. Jordan put House by her because she told Wilson, "You can't control him, I can."

The dinner was going well and even the conversation was interesting. House told everyone stories about Wilson, including when Wilson sawed part way through his cane causing him the cane to snap and House to tumble to the ground. Jordan roared at that one. No one else at the table laughed because they thought it was cruel, they didn't know House. Jordan looked around and realized that they were all thinking she was pretty callous.

But then House said, "Jordi used to do cruel things to me too. She was my tenant and one day she got mad at me for something I did in...well, she got mad. She put sliver nitrate on a bar of soap. Let's just say that when I washed my hands they turned a silver black, my screams could be heard all over the neighborhood."

The whole table laughed at that one. Wilson asked, "My God, what did you do to get her mad at you?"

Jordan went white and looked at House. Her eyes were begging him not to tell anyone that she had been upset because he had screwed her from behind and kept calling her his "little bitch."

"I refused to take the trash out and it was trash day. She had to drag the cans to the curb and she wasn't happy."

Wilson had seen the exchange of looks and knew that House had been easy on her. That was a first, usually he went for the jugular no matter what the fallout. She was right, she could control him. By the end of dinner, House had seemed almost charming to everyone. The other guests were all from the University lab and knew little about House's true "charms." They didn't know they were in the presence of Lucifer himself.

Jordan didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. When they lived together, House and Jordan had friends and when they were over he usually behaved. She didn't know just how mean and cruel he could be in situations like this. House had a hard time governing his caustic wit.

After they all left Jordan was in the kitchen with Wilson cleaning the dishes, Wilson said, "He's different around you."

"Who?"

"House."

She stopped, thought about it and shook her head, "He's always like that, isn't he?"

Wilson laughed, "No, if you hadn't been here he would have made fun of the cherry wine birthmark on Calvin, you know it does look like a map of the United States; he would have criticized Janet for thinking Stephen King was a great writer; and he would have told everyone what really made you mad enough to put silver nitrate on the soap."

Jordan looked at her feet and laughed. Wilson asked her, "Do you want to tell me?"

"You don't want to know."

"Ok, fair enough. But you have a calming effect on him. It's strange to see him actually laugh like he did tonight."

"Jim, where is this conversation going?"

He put a glass up in the cupboard and then turned around to her, "I think he's still very much in love with you."

Jordan threw the dishtowel on the counter and walked out of the kitchen.

Wilson chased after her, "Jordan, don't get me wrong. I'm just making an observation, I'm not accusing you of anything."

Jordan looked at him and could see the question in his eyes, "WHAT?"

"Are you in love with him?"

Was she? What did she feel when she saw House? Maybe a longing for the happiness they had, but did she long for him? Now when she saw him it hurt to see the anger, bitterness, the pain and the desperation in his eyes. Did she love him? She didn't know but she knew she had to give Wilson a quick and firm, "No. I care about him, but I don't love him."

Wilson exhaled, "Good, because I think I'm falling in love with you."

Jordan pictured herself running from the apartment screaming, "Nooooooooo..." Instead she looked at him and said, "Jim, I'm a vagabond, don't fall in love with me. Please."

He swallowed hard, "I take it that you don't love me."

"We've been going out six weeks. That's just too soon for me. And love? Each time I think I love a man it feels different. So I never know how to define love. I just know that I end up leaving them behind because they want more than I can give them. They want time, they want companionship, they want kids...they want, they want, they want."

"Ok, I get it. I'll slow down. Let's go to bed, I do know that's one place we're on the same page." He smiled at her. He loved the fact that she loved sex, loved it. Oh she wasn't a nympho, there were plenty of nights when they would just hold each other and fall asleep. But when they did have sex she was inventive, fun and very sexy.

"I'm up for that!"

****

I knew it was coming, a woman can tell when a man is falling in love with them. I wasn't sure whether I was falling in love or not. I just knew I really enjoyed Jim and had a great time with him. But we both had such a history with House it was like he was the 800 lb. Gorilla in the room. I know that Jim was worried that I was comparing him to House. The truth was that I compared everyone to House and sometimes that was in favor of the guy. House is such a huge force in the universe, comparisons to him were easy. Either someone did it better than House or he didn't, there was no grey areas with House.

I thought about breaking it off then with Jim, but I really didn't know how I felt. And sometimes I didn't realize how much I loved someone until much later, including House. I had only recently allowed myself the luxury of admitting that I might have been in love with House. I could deal with it now. I was so much stronger than I had been at 22 when he left me.

***

House started doing things with Jim and Jordan. He seemed to have accepted that they were a couple. They invited him for Thanksgiving and he got a little drunk. He had a few mean things to say about some of the guests, but not so mean that anyone wanted him to leave. By this time Jordan had given up her apartment and was living with Wilson. She bought a tree for Christmas even though Jim was Jewish. He and House came home to pick up some gym clothes for Jim so they could go work out and sitting in the living room was a nine foot tree, complete with all the decorations.

"My God, you've gone goy! Didn't you give her the spiel you always give me, trees are pagan ritual that Christians adopted to get the Germans to go along with Christianity, blah, blah, blah. Well Jimmy old boy, it looks like you have a pagan living with you."

Wilson was looking distressed, "Did she do this when you lived together?"

He laughed, "We really only had one Christmas together, she went to Oklahoma the next Christmas. She was too poor to buy a tree but she did hang a drawing of one in her room. We hadn't started living together. I had to take care of her that Christmas, she was pretty ill with Scarlet Fever." House shook his head while snickering, "Now what do you do?"

"Well it must mean a lot to her because here it is. I think I'll keep my mouth shut."

House nodded as they both looked at the tree, "Wise choice, wise choice."

***

I was spending a lot of time in the labs at the University. We were at a crucial step in the research and I was sure a break through was imminent. I had a lab in Mexico that also had experiments going at the same time and we were both seeing exceptional results. I started flying down to Merida in the Yucutan, at least once a month. My plan was still on course.

After a year of living with Jim, he was starting to get tired of the weekends alone and all the time I spent in the lab. We were fighting over it and I knew that I had to make some decisions soon. I was making progress on all levels except my love life which was starting that slippery slope into the ashes.

It was September and I had seven months left on my two year contract. There had been enough progress on several of my minor research projects that we were able to patent certain uses for genes that would give temporary relief for sufferers of carpal tunnel. The patent was licensed to Merk for a total of $3.2 million dollars plus 10% of the revenues. Cuddy had let out a huge sigh of relief since the hospital was to reap a good chunk of money. Over the life of the patent the hospital would probably get $5.0 million. I had another smaller patent that was also going to be a gold mind, but the big one, the one that would give Princeton Plainsboro a windfall profit was coming up.

I started the last phase of my plan. I began my treatments the second week of September. In order to prepare a proper environment to increase the chances of recovering several healthy and mature eggs, I had to undergo about two weeks of intensive preparation. This included hormonal therapy with "fertility drugs." Blood tests and ultrasound scans of the ovaries were used to determine the optimal time to retrieve my eggs from my ovary. This optimal time is just before ovulation when the oocytes are almost ready for fertilization.

At the proper time, an outpatient procedure under local anesthesia was perform to allow my eggs to be visualized by ultrasound and retrieved from the ovary by placing a needle through the vaginal wall. There was mild discomfort similar to a Pap smear or endometrial biopsy. Once retrieved, I examined the fluid from the follicles under the microscope and located the eggs. I kept them in the laboratory under physiologic conditions. Later, the embryologist would place the sperm with the eggs when they were ready for fertilization. Usually, the eggs develop into cleaving pre-embryos, whose cells divide 2 or 3 times to become pre-embryos. They are maintained in laboratory dishes, in a nutrient mixture which acts as a substitute for the environment that would otherwise have been provided by the fallopian tubes. Now I just needed the sperm.

I know I sound devious but you have to understand, what I was planning was illegal in the United States and I had to be careful. When it was ready I put the plan into motion. It was Friday night and I told Jim I had to work late. I scheduled use of the MRI for midnight and a PET scan for 2:30 a.m. so that we wouldn't be interrupted. I drove to House's apartment. I could hear him playing piano, I paused to listen and realized just how good he was. I banged on the door and he answered it with a snarl which was replaced with curiosity when he saw it was me.

"I need your help Greg. It has to do with your leg, but you have to just do what I ask without any questions. Just know I would never hurt you but you would be pushing the science of neurology to the next level. Please come with me."

"No, it's almost midnight. I'm not going anywhere." He paused, looked at my face, saw my desperation and said, "I won't go until you tell me what it is about."

"I can't tell you right this minute, but I can tell you that all I want from you tonight is an MRI and PET scan, nothing invasive. If the scans show what I think they will show and we get to the next level, I'll sit you down and tell you everything. But I need to know first if you are a candidate. The tests tonight will give me the answer. Please?"

He had to trust me and trust wasn't something that House was good at. He finally agreed and I almost cried I was so happy, I had been planning this for five years and it was starting to fall into place.

We drove separate cars to the hospital and then walked from the parking lot in silence to the MRI. "We have to take several of them. I first need small cuts of your legs, both of them. Then I need to take one of your brain and then we have to take 3 different PET scans of your brain. When was the last time you took Vicodin?"

"About four hours ago."

"Alcohol?"

"I had was nursing a drink when you arrived...maybe two ounces in the last two hours."

"Good. So do you feel pretty sober? It's important because we need to get you as sober for your PET scans as possible. I'm not worried about the MRI. Get into a gown."

"I'm sober enough that my leg is killing me after walking in here from the parking lot."

"That's good. We need a map of your pain." He undressed completely and got into a hospital gown. I looked at him with his hairy butt hanging out the back, "Now get your cute ass in the MRI."

"Jordi, what's this about?"

I grabbed his hand and looked into his eyes. I couldn't tell him or he'd stop me. He'd know that everything I had worked for in my life was on the line, that I was rolling the dice here. "TRUST ME."

He looked in my eyes for what seemed hours but then he finally said, "If it were anyone but you..." and then he climbed into the MRI. I spent an hour scanning his legs and brain, making sure I had everything I needed.

It was the PET scan that I knew was going to be interesting. I hid the sample jar in my pocket. "Are you in pain?" I was hoping he was in terrible pain. The Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine medical imaging technique which produces a three-dimensional image or map of functional processes in the body. PET is both a medical and research tool. It is used heavily in clinical oncology (medical imaging of tumors and the search for metastases), and for clinical diagnosis of certain brain diseases such as those causing various types of dementias. PET is also an important research tool to map normal human brain and heart function. I wanted a three dimensional picture of the pain in his head.

"I'm in a hell of a lot of pain, a lot."

"That's good, I need to get some pictures of it...hold on, it will be another couple of hours, I'm really sorry." I gave him a radioactive substance which I administered as an intravenous injection. We waited approximately 45 minutes for the substance to travel through his body and accumulate in the brain.

I started the scan of his brain while in pain. I saw his limbric area, which was lit up like a Christmas tree...a sign of chronic depression. I had also injected him with radioligands that bind to dopamine receptors, serotonin receptors and opioid receptors (mu). He was in so much pain, I could see it in Technicolor on the screen. The PET scan images revealed the activity of the brain's natural painkilling endorphin chemicals, also called endogenous opioids. I saw his brain trying desperately to quell the pain but it was having little effect.

"I need the next PET scan to be of you feeling some relief but we can't give you any opioids. You need to think of something that brings you comfort. Try a special night with Stacy or music or anything that you can use to calm the pain. Can you do that? When the pain lessens, let me know and I'll start the scan."

I waited but he finally shook his head and said it wasn't working. "Ok, let me tell you a story." I began to tell him of our weekend in New York including describing the sex scenes in detail.

"Yes, it's working, start it now."

I began the PET scan and saw that the red and orange had dulled. I was seeing more blues and greens. "Now for the last one, it is crucial that you not move your head and torso. That's going to be hard because I will be moving your thigh and you might experience pain. So I'm going to have to strap your head down, ok?"

He was propped up on his elbows looking at me with suspicion. "There's something you aren't telling me."

"Greg, there's a lot I'm not telling you. Let me strap you down, ok? You have to remain still and it may be physiologically impossible to do that in response to the stimulus. OK?"

He reluctantly shook his head yes. The straps were there for patients who moved a lot, including children. I strapped his head, his chin, his chest and his arms. I went and locked the doors. I started the machine and took out the sample jar. I grabbed the step stool that children use to get up on the table and kneeled on the top step. I had the remote in one hand and the sample jar in the other. I put the vial down. He mumbled, "When are you going to start?"

"Now, I'm going to start now." I put the sample jar down on his stomach and reached under the gown and grabbed his penis.

"Jordi, what are you doing?" He was very apprehensive and his shoulders went stiff.

"I had to strap you down because for the last scan I really need you to release as many endomorphins as you can. It's important that I map both pain and pleasure in your brain without drugs. So, the only way I could think of to make you release endomorphins without drugs was this way. So sit back and enjoy this Greg." And with that I began to fondle his balls and start licking him up and down and rimming him until he was at full salute. I went up and down with my tongue, circling the top, making sure to string it out as long as I thought he could take it. He was straining against the straps, involuntarily trying to thrust with his body. I could see he had his eyes closed. When I could feel that he was going to ejaculate, I started the scan and grabbed the sample jar in my hand. I used my hand to make him ejaculate...it was a glorious sample, quite a lot. I took the sample, put it into my pocket.

When the scan finished he simply said, "Damn, are you going to tell Wilson or should I? Now let me up."

"No one's telling Wilson, that was just "medical head." We both laughed, "Just a minute." I couldn't let him up just yet. I grabbed the tapes of the scans and put them In the plastic bag I had. I made sure everything was clean and shut down before I let him up.

He sat up and looked at me, I already had my jacket on, the plastic bag in my hand and was ready to make the run to my office where the cooler was. "Goodbye Greg." I ran. I ran to my office, opened the little cooler and put the semen in. I packed the MRI tape and scans in the suitcase and took off. He was quicker than I thought. I was putting my suitcase in the car when I heard him yell, "Jordan, where are you going?"

I took one look back at him trying to get to me, waved, jumped in the car and took off for the airport.

*** When she started stroking me I was confused, I had no idea how to react but her mouth on my organ sent all the confusion to the back of my brain and my primal needs took over. Damn that woman is good with her tongue and mouth. She would tease me to just the brink of coming and then take me down. She did this until it was just too much. What made it odd was that Jordan she brought me to climax with her hand. I couldn't raise up to see what she was doing but something was going on. The whole thing was bizarre.

She wouldn't let me up after it was over until everything was shut down and she could make a clean getaway. I saw her with the suitcase in the parking lot but she wouldn't stop, she just took off. It was 4:00 a.m. Where was she going? She had me worried. Everything was so clandestine.

I was even more concerned when she didn't turn up for work on Monday. Wilson was going crazy, saying she hadn't been home since Friday morning. She had just disappeared. I accompanied him to Cuddy's office.

"Cuddy, Jordan has disappeared, I don't know where she's gone. Have you heard from her?" Wilson was pleading.

Cuddy gave us both looks of puzzlement, "Jordan requested the next two weeks off over a month ago. I thought you knew?"

"Two weeks?" Wilson was shocked and confused. "Did she say why?"

"She said she had some important personal business to deal with. I don't know where she's gone."

***

I had chartered a plane to take me to my lab in Merida, Mexico. I tried to sleep a little on the plane. I had ten viable eggs. I would soon be combining each of them with Greg's sperm. It made me smile. Greg would have been mortified.
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Legal Disclaimer: The authors published here make no claims on the ownership of Dr. Gregory House and the other fictional residents of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Like the television show House (and quite possibly Dr. Wilson's pocket protector), they are the property of NBC/Universal, David Shore and undoubtedly other individuals of whom I am only peripherally aware. The fan fiction authors published here receive no monetary benefit from their work and intend no copyright infringement nor slight to the actual owners. We love the characters and we love the show, otherwise we wouldn't be here.

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Chrysalis Part IV