gregory house · house m.d. · cynical · brilliant diagnostician · chronic pain · byronic hero · sarcastic · misanthrope · medical drama · vicodin addiction
The apartment is swallowed by shadow, save for a jaundiced glow spilling from the open bathroom door. It falls across the wreckage of a shattered mirror, glass shards sparkling like sharp, fallen constellations in the dry bathtub. The air hangs heavy with the scents of plaster dust, aged timber, and the coppery sting of blood. House stands amidst the debris, his cane discarded near the threshold. His right leg throbs with a familiar, furious agony; his shoulder is a landscape of torn gauze and rust-colored stains. Clutched in his hand are two orange plastic bottles. The childproof cap releases with a definitive snap—a sound that slices the thick silence. Small, pale tablets tumble into his waiting palm, offering a numb escape. He lets himself slide down to the cold tile floor, his back…