Title: How To Save a Life

Series: I Believe in Love, Anything You Want

Rated: PG-13

Author: Megan Faye

Disclaimer: Fox owns House

Sarah was finally asleep. The boys were all at the hospital, still, and would be spending the night with Kutner.

"You okay?" Lisa gasped at Wilson's voice. She'd forgotten he was there. "Time to switch to decaf."

"Decaf is just useless, warm, brown water."

"Nice." James dropped onto the couch and let her rest on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"No."

"You feel like you're holding your breath." Lisa nodded. "You feel like if you move in any direction that everything will collapse." She nodded again as her eyes pooled with tears. "You can lean on any one of us."

"I can't even think about losing her, Jimmy."

"I know. I was here once. It was for a day, but I was here."

"I'm completely exhausted. The kids need me every second that I'm home, and I can't sleep. Its been over a year since she and I slept in the same room. I should be able to sleep, but I need her. I need her to hold me and to tell me she still loves me."

"Why don't you go lie down, and I'll make you some tea? Okay?" he said gently. Lisa nodded and went back to her bedroom. Not long after, James was there, with the tea as promised. He sat patiently while she sipped at it, and took the cup as she finished. "Better?"

"You didn't drug me, did you?"

"No, just tea."

"How did you get through losing Amber?"

"This is totally different. We weren't married with children. Although House was involved."

"I know you blamed him."

"Actually, I tried like hell to blame him, but he didn't cause the accident. He was just a guy on a bus. Amber took the pills, and the garbage truck hit the bus. House did everything he could to save her. It was not his fault and I couldn't blame him." James stretched out on the bed next to her and toed his shoes off.

"He blames himself."

"Do you blame him?" Lisa thought for a moment. "Do you blame yourself?"

"Yes. If I had been a better mother and wife, House and Anna wouldn't have been fighting."

"Or, you'd have driven house, and it would be you and Anna there instead of Allison and Anna there."

"I'd rather it be me than her."

"If she hadn't seen the truck drifting, Anna wouldn't have slowed down. They'd have been killed. You'd have been killed, leaving Allison alone with your children, Trent, and a kid that shares House's DNA."

"Frightening."

"You look like you need sleep."

"Stay a while?"

"Of course." Lisa snuggled into her pillows and let Wilson pull a blanket up over her. He pushed a curl from her face and kissed her forehead. "Sleep."

It was dark. There were flashes of a van, Anna screaming, Lisa's voice. She knew House's voice was there often. She even felt that she could see people there sometimes.

"David's going to be here soon."

'David. I want my son. I want to see David.'

"Hi Daddy," David said. Allison could hear him, clearly. "Daddy, wake up! Uncle Greg said you gotta wake up, so wake up, Daddy!" Allison fought to open her eyes, but they wouldn't budge on their own.

"Allison, your son needs you. Wake up and hold your kid." David's hand slipped into hers and squeezed it.

"Please wake up, Daddy." House lifted him up onto the bed. David touched her face and snuggled into her. She could hear House telling him what to say, but David was still saying it. "I miss you, and I'm scared. Please wake up." She fought as hard as she could, and opened one eye. "DADDY!" She worked and fought and struggled. Both eyes opened.

"Cameron," House said, getting her attention. "David, keep talking to her."

"Daddy, mommy's sad," David said softly. "She misses you, so you can't go back to sleep. Okay?"

"Keep her up. I'm calling Mommy." David looked at his uncle, who was holding his cell phone.

"Daddy," David said, gently turning Allison's face toward him. "Can you come home and read to me now?" Allison struggled to move her arm to hold him up, but managed to wrap her arm over hi back. "I missed you so much." He hugged her and snuggled into her chest.

"Cameron, say something."

'David, that's too tight, sweetie. Where's you mom?'

"Can you say anything? Anything at all?"

House listened carefully as Allison breathed out one word, slowly, and carefully.

"Lisa."

Anna looked over at the young man sleeping in the chair. He looked like he'd had a hair cut recently, and was dressed well. She knew he was Trent, but he looked so different than she remembered. While things were coming back, they were coming back slowly. This kid was taller than her kid, and much thinner.

"Hey, Trouble," she said, waking him.

"Hi, Mom," came a very groggy response. "God its good to hear your voice."

"No school?"

"Well, its 7:30 at night, and Greg pulled me out to home school me. I meet with a tutor here." Anna nodded. "You were out for a really long time."

"How long?"

"Just about 2 months."

"Wow."

"When you and Dad are better, I want us to move out of the condo, and get a house with a yard. No more Army, and no more crowded condo." Anna sighed. "Dad didn't tell you how bad he really is. He's not going to get better, Mom. Spinal chord is cut. He's got wheels for the rest of his life. The condo is impossible for him to live in."

"We'll talk more later, son."

"I know you love the condo. But the yard sucks, the schools suck, and Dad needs something bigger now."

"Did he tell you to talk to me?"

"No."

"Then we'll talk later."

"No. We'll talk now. I'm going to be 14 in a month and a half. When you and dad come home, I'm going back to 8th grade. You and Dad need to work out what ever isn't working that had you headed for Germany-"

"We already did," she informed. "I was working on a transfer to Fort Dix. But now that I'm here, I should get a nice retirement."

"Don't promise unless you mean it," he said softly.

"I mean it."

"Good." Trent climbed up onto the bed and laid next to his mother.

"You look great, Mr. Tall and handsome."

"My woman thinks so." Anna's eyebrows shot up. "Kidding. Greg let me cut my hair really short."

"Looks good."

"Tattoo was my idea."

"Washable."

"Totally, but cool enough for now." Trent sighed contentedly. "Glad you're back."

"Me too."

"About that house; dog included."

"Okay."

James had seen his boss in nearly every emotional state that exsisted. Or so he'd thought. Since they were woken by his cell phone a few minutes earlier, she'd gone through several states of panic and excitement he'd never before seen in this woman. She was laughing, crying, dressing, and falling over herself. He had to grab her to calm her down. He handed her the clothes she had been wearing before changing into her pajama bottoms and Allison's tank top, and excused himself from the room to wake and dress Sarah.

The hospital was 14 minutes away from Lisa and Allison's home.

They drove it in 6.

"Allie, baby, look at me," Lisa said touching Allison's cheek. Allison opened her eyes and looked into Lisa's.

"Lisa."

"Oh God," Lisa choked. Her smile couldn't have gotten any wider. "You have no idea how good you sound, Allie."

And then Allison spoke again.

Lisa's world crashed around her as her wife spoke two words, only two words, but the two words that broke Lisa's heart.

"Where Lisa?"

"She has no idea who I am."

"She's been in a fucking coma! Give her a while to wake up! She had severe head trauma, and she's not supposed to be alive, let alone awake and asking for you!" House yelled after her. Lisa paced the hall way, tears flowing freely, hands shaking. "Do I need to sedate you?"

"You need to help her! Bring back my wife, Damn you!" Lisa wanted so badly to slap him, anyone at this point, but instead, she hit the wall.

"All she said was 'Where Lisa.' She could have been asking where were you when this happened, or, 'Where am I, Lisa?' Or maybe she was saying something about your damn Wonderbra! You're reading way too much into two little words."

"What did Anna say when she woke up?"

"Oddly, the first thing she said was your name. Granted, it had been the last thing I'd said."

"My hand hurts."

"Let me see." He pulled her hand down. "That happens when you beat up on a wall. It wasn't doing anything to you, by the way."

"How'd you get her to wake up?"

"Put David on the bed, fed him the raw material. He said what she needed to hear to open her eyes. They have a genetic bond that all mothers have with their children. I had him beg her to wake up, and I was going to make him cry if that hadn't worked." Lisa snorted and leaned back against the wall. "It worked."

"Technically, I'm his mother."

"Biologically, you ain't nothing to the kid. Cammie's little egg, in your little belly doesn't make it your little egg. You were an incubator. A Rent-a-womb. Twice."

"Mommy?" David's little voice called from the door. "Daddy wants you." Lisa lifted the boy onto her hip and made her way back in.

"Lisa," Allison said, smiling. She looked so fragile and ghostly white. Being in a hospital bed had a tendency to make the person you love look so small. Lisa tucked Allison's light-brown hair from her face. The scar on her forehead looked good; Taub ad cleaned her up very well.

Her hand was still bad, and her leg was gone below the knee. But she was ailve, and she was awake.

"Hi, baby."

"Happened?"

"Well, you were in a car accident. You're doing better now, and we'll run some tests and we'll know more. Now that you're awake, we'll know how badly you're injured."

"Oh." She held tightly to Lisa's hand and closed her eyes. "Love you."

"I love you, too, Allison."

"I know it hurts, baby, but you have to try." Allison narrowed her eyes at Lisa.

"Don't call me that."

"You loved it-"

"No, you loved it. I like Allie, or Love. You always called me Baby, and I have always hated it."

"Just pay attention to your physio." Lisa guided her wife along the two bars that had been lowered to where her cruteches would hold her. "Your muscles need to rebuild."

"I went to medical school."

"Jesus, Allie, bitter much?"

"I'm sorry. I'm just...so ready to go home. I've been up for a week-"

"And you can't go a single step without getting stitches, Hop-a-long." Allison narrowed her eyes again.

"I didn't account for the muscle loss."

"Sure, 'I'm an old pro at crutches, I was accident-prone in high school.' Falling off the top of a cheer pyramid-"

"I was shot in school. ROTC gun mishap. Caught my knee. I was on those for 12 weeks." Lisa nodded. "Pay attention to my physio and stop stalling?" Lisa nodded. "Yes, Master," Allison taunted. Lisa ducked under the bar to stand between them in front of her wife. Allison grinned and leaned in for a kiss.

"Not so fast," Lisa taunted, she moved back a step. "I've booked the room for the day, I have the only key, and you, my sexy wife, need cardio workout."

"You are bad, Lisa Cuddy."

"I know. Kiss me." Allison pushed herself forward and hopped on her right foot. "Good. One more." Allison did one more and started to stumble. "One more, and I'll take off my shirt."

House sighed and looked around the dusty condo. He expected it to smell much worse than it actually did. "You cleaned." Wilson rolled his eyes and pushed his friend through the door. The couches and chairs were covered by old sheets, and everything was neatly packed into boxes.

"I knew it would be a while before you guys were back here, so, yeah. I cleaned."

"Hm."

"I've been packing everything up over the last couple of months. I knew you wouldn't be able to live here anymore." House sighed. "Its not too bad, House. You are getting a place with a nice yard for the kids, and its closer to the hospital."

"Great, now I can jog there. Oh. Wait."

"Nice."

"I am looking for something specific. Bedroom."

"I haven't gone in there."

"Good. Anna wanted her 'special toys' while she's at the hoapital, and you're too weak to move them without a crane." Wilson moaned. House pushed himself down the hall to his bedroom. When he picked up the things his wife wanted he handed them to Wilson.

"Picture of you and the boys?" James asked, cocking his head to the side.

"There's a nude one of me behind that. She's fond of it." Wilson rolled his eyes again. "She misses them when they aren't there, so she asked me to grab it for her." House stared at their bed. "She might leave me."

"I don't think she will."

"I can't......" he started, and gestured to the bed. "We actually broke the last bed frame. How can she stay with a man who can't....?"

"She didn't marry you because of your bedroom skills."

"Don't know that for sure."

"She loves you, Greg. She loves your fucked-up sense of humor, your way with the kids that none of us expected. She loves that you are over-protective of Lisa and Allison. She loves that you are crazy about her. You two don't need sex to have a really great relationship." House thought for a minute and pushed himself out of the bedroom. "Is that everything you need?"

"For now."

"Oh my god, Greg," Anna gasped and tried to catch her breath. "You are one daring son-of-a-bitch. My sister could have walked in."

"No, she and Allison are getting to work in the physio room again." Anna smiled at her husband. "So, would you like a ride in my new set of wheels?" He turned his chair so shee could get a better look. It was Fire Engine red, with flames painted on the tubing, and silver Skull brake handles. "Its pimped out. Wilson had it done for me."

"Wilson's insane."

"And you haven't left this room in two days."

"Well, I got my discharge papers a few days ago, and I don't really feel like doing much." House frowned.

"Depression-"

"Vacation."

"Vacation?"

"I was in the military for 23 years. I have been answering to oerders being barked at me, stood at attention until I sprained something, and been in unifom for far too long. I am taking it easy. Besides, my knee and hip haven't healed well enough to run any marathons." House eyed her. "I do my physical therapy. I just got a good work out here, didn't I?"

"No, I got a work out, you just enjoyed the benefaits of it."

"My abs flexed. It was a work out." House laughed. "Physio room?"

"In one hour. Your sister is making up for lost time with Allison. While I would love to watch, I don't think my wife would love it so much."

"Your wife would, in fact, not like it at all. Now, about that workout. I think we need to try a few other things. Can you actually lock that door this time?"

Thanks for reading. There's one short chapter left.