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House sat in a hard plastic chair and propped his leg up on the windowsill. His hated crutches lay across the room, where they had skittered after he threw them away.
He had closed the door to his room earlier, despite the explicit instructions of the duty nurse not to, and locked it for good measure. If anyone tried to bother him - not that anyone should - they would have to break the door down to get to him.
It had been snowing earlier; the windows were frosted and a thick layer covered the ground, but it had stopped and now the clear, star-filled skies looked down on the white world. House glared at the snow, hating what it now represented for him.
A slipping hazard.
One more thing in this world that would attempt to bring him down. One more change.
House refused to glance at the swath of white bandages wrapped around his right leg from hip to toe. If he did not look at them, perhaps they would go away. Perhaps if he did not acknowledge the missing chunk, he could go back to a time before the infarction.
House frowned up at the gorgeous starry sky. He used to love nights like this. Used to love tromping through the snow and seeing his breath freeze in the crisp night air.
But now, winter was just full of things he couldn't do. Skiing, hockey, and ice skating were now lost to him. He couldn't even walk beneath the stars alone as he so often had.
House didn't know how long he sat there, unable to sleep, but eventually a quiet presence behind him brought him out of his troubling thoughts.
"Break down the window, Jimmy?" he asked quietly, knowing who was hovering silently behind him. "Or did you shimmy down the chimney like old St Nick?"
"I took the key from the Nurse's station," Wilson admitted.
Greg hated to hear the sorrow in his best friend's voice, so he chose to ignore it. "Resorting to thievery now, are we?"
"Desperate friends call for desperate measures," Wilson replied levelly.
House frowned and twisted back to look at James. "I am not desperate."
"I didn't say you were." Wilson pulled the other chair up and sat in it, carefully avoiding the leg. "Beautiful night."
House looked back at the window and frowned, his earlier thoughts returning. They sat together in silence for at least an hour before Wilson spoke again. "So, what's the specific reason behind this particular vigil?"
That was something that House loved about Wilson; he always assumed that Greg had a reason, and asked to be let in on it, rather than asking if there was one. "Masochism, probably," he replied.
They both knew that it wasn't the whole answer, but Jimmy allowed it to settle between them for a few moments before asking again. "What's so important about this night sky?"
"I'm looking for Santa's sleigh." Another cover, and another silence. This time, though, Wilson did not ask again.
Against his will, House began to hum the song that his mother had always sung. It was one of her favorite carols, and it had become a favorite of his because it meant so much to her.
"Sleep, my child, and peace attend thee
All through the night
Guardian angels God will send thee
All through the night
Soft the drowsy hours are creeping
Hill and dale in slumber sleeping
I my loving vigil keeping
All through the night"
To his great surprise, Wilson knew the song, and he joined in on the second verse. Quietly, together, they finished it.
"Hark, a solemn bell is ringing
Clear through the night
Thou, my love, art heavenward winging
Home through the night
Earthly dust from off thee shaken
Soul immortal shalt thou awaken
With thy last dim journey taken
Home through the night"
"While the moon her watch is keeping
All through the night
While the weary world is sleeping
All through the night
O'er thy spirit gently stealing
Visions of delight revealing
Breathes a pure and holy feeling
All through the night"
"Though I roam a minstrel lonely
All through the night
My true harp shall praise sing only
All through the night
Love's young dream, alas, is over
Yet my strains of love shall hover
Near the presence of my lover
All through the night"