House

[london_spy]

It was a strange series of events that had led him here, and as he sat in the waiting room of the local A&E, Danny went back through it all hour by hour.

6PM: With class out Danny was back to hunting for the lunatic who'd been targeting fellow students, drugging them and then dumping them at home with no sign of sexual or physical assault. He'd stopped home, changed into club clothes, and set out.

7PM: he'd been walking from the tube to the club when a car started driving along side him- A familiar car. Rich's car.

The window came down, and Rich leaned out. "Get in," the man said, prompting Danny to flip him off. 

Rich laughed, then spoke again. "I know who you're after- If you want them, get in the damn car, Danny."

8PM: Rich had dumped him down the block, having given him a list of what he knew. Apparently he wasn't a fan of this guy either, and while Danny wouldn't consider him a trustworthy source, it wasn't like he had much more to go off.

9PM: He'd headed into the club, spoken to someone Rich had suggested might be in on it all, and had let himself have a drink or two so he didn't stand out like a sore thumb.

10PM: Okay, maybe a drink too many.

11PM: He'd called a car, apparently now was the prime time. He'd used the correct service and rejected drivers until he found one who seemed to fit the bill.

11:15PM: The man had complementary water. It was sealed, and so he took one.

11:30PM: Everything was slow. Fuzzy. 

<i>I warned you. STOP. FOLLOWING. ME.</i>

Was it midnight now? Danny squinted at the clock. He was still drugged, not bleeding, but he was certain his ribs were broken and his left eye was struggling to focus. But he had to wait. They said he had to wait.

His hand was shaking as he pulled out his phone. The screen was shattered but it was still working. Should he call someone? Text someone? No, best not. Best to just go it alone.

Comments

[drfeelbad]

House had been in the clinic when he overheard someone say that some guy had just come into the ER who looked kind of like Finlay Flynn, don't you think?

So when House went down there, he'd been expecting to see Fin - and found Danny instead. Which was just as concerning.

He went over to his bed and, without saying anything first, picked up the chart hanging from it.

[london_spy]

Danny watched him, but he wasn't really looking at him.

"I'm hallucinating. You should write that down. I should write that down," he said, moving to rub his face and then wincing in pain.

[drfeelbad]

"What are you on?" House asked, as he flipped through the chart to see if a tox screen had come back yet.

[london_spy]

"Dunno. Clear, slipped in bottled water, no taste," Danny said, listing it off as though he'd forced himself to memorize those facts the moment he'd realized he'd been drugged. ...Because he had.

"How did the bottle look sealed?" he asked, though he wasn't asking the figment that looked like House so much as he was asking himself.

[drfeelbad]

"Lighter," said House without thinking. "You can reseal it."

He put the chart back in the slot on the bed, and then walked closer to Danny. "Who did this to you?"

[london_spy]

Reaching out, Danny tried to touch Greg's face, though he couldn't quite reach.

"He has a partner. One guy drives, the other- I don't know what he's doing. Photos? Are some targets not being dumped? Are they being taken? It must be bad, even Rich seems to want him to stop. ...Unless he's the one who set me up," he babbled.

He still didn't believe Greg was there. He wasn't even sure he was awake.

[drfeelbad]

"Danny, I have no idea what you're babbling about, but I'm going to assume it's at least real and not hallucinations," said House. Then, after a hesitation, he put his hand in Danny's.

[london_spy]

Danny seemed startled by the touch, and he squinted slightly as he looked at House again. He was tired though and it was a struggle to focus.

"I'm really tired, Greg," he said quietly.

[drfeelbad]

"They're not going to let you sleep it off here," House said. "I saw the waiting room, they need to bed. They're going to ask for an emergency contact who can come pick you up, and I'm guessing you don't have one - so why don't you let me sign you out and I'll get you home.

[london_spy]

Danny seemed unsure, then nodded. His emergency contact probably wasn't home or sober right now anyway. If he even had the right number listed.

[drfeelbad]

Plus this way House could keep an eye on him as he came down off of whatever it was. "I'll be back in ten minutes," he said, and he saw. "Ready to go? I called a car. Don't trust you to hang on on the bike right now."

[london_spy]

Danny was bandaged up and holding a prescription- Which he handed to House.

"They said I have to pick those up before I go. Pain killers. Two broken ribs."

He was still a bit off, but he seemed to be sobering up slightly, bit by bit.

[drfeelbad]

"Okay, two more minutes," House said, and went to grab the prescription (noticing that the pharmacist double checked it as soon as he recognized House), then came back to Danny. "Come on," he said, holding out a hand for him.

[london_spy]

Danny stared at the hand for a moment, but eventually took it, following Greg out.

"I'm not stalking you. I didn't go get beat up so you could ride in and rescue me," Danny said- Mostly because that is the sort of stupid thing he'd have done once upon a time.

[drfeelbad]

"I mean, it was kind of a coincidence I ended up down here so if that was your plan it could have failed miserably," House said as they made their way out of the hospital and into the uber that had just arrived.

[london_spy]

Danny climbed into the car and curled up a bit on the seat, looking sore and tired.

"I just don't want you to think I'm obsessed with you. I'm not. I'm over it," he huffed. "...I mean, I'm not, that's a shitty lie, but I'm not about to get the shit kicked out of me for it."

[drfeelbad]

"I don't think you're obsessed with me," House said. "Believe it or not, I am not self absorbed enough to think this has anything to do with me."

[london_spy]

"Good," Danny replied, closing his eyes.

"Where's your cane?" he asked.

Even drugged, Danny was sharp.

[drfeelbad]

"I told you, new meds," House said. "So what we were you doing with people who associate with Rich, anyway?"

[london_spy]

Danny groaned, rubbing his face. "I wasn't. I mean- Fuck, okay..."

He told the whole story, starting with how people at his school had been drugged on the way home from the club via a ride service, only to find they'd suffered no sexual or physical assault. He talked about how he'd cornered the guy once, months ago, but the man had gotten away. Then he talked about tonight, how Rich had tracked him down and offered him a lead... Then the bar, the drinks, and finally the ride service.

"The bottle of water was sealed, and I had a drink so I wouldn't raise any suspicion. I didn't know you could reseal a bottle. ...He dumped me at this- I think it was a warehouse? I dunno, I was gone by then. When I came around I managed to get a cab to the nearest hospital."

[drfeelbad]

House thought the uber driver must have been more entertained by this than anything all day, and he was a little relieved when Danny wrapped up just as they were arriving at his house.

"Come on, let's get you inside," he said, after climbing out of the car.

[london_spy]

Danny followed, a little unsteady as he headed up to the door- Which was open.

"I locked this," he said quietly. "I always lock it."

[drfeelbad]

... shit, thought House.

"Maybe we should call the police," he said.

[london_spy]

Danny was already heading inside though.

"Hello?" he shouted. "The police are on their way," he lied.

There was no response though, no sound of anyone in the house.

There was something though. Red spray paint on the living room wall.

STAY AWAY OR YOUR NEXT

"Gentleman and a scholar," Danny muttered, reaching to touch the paint and finding it dry.

[drfeelbad]

House walked in behind him. The first thing he did, before even noticing that Danny had done the same, was check to see if it was dry.

"This is fucked up, Danny," he said.