Guess What? It’s Yours
DJ Dubois
September 2006

Spoilers: Last half of House Season 2 and thus far for Season 3

Rating: T: Teen (Language; reference to adult situations)

Pairings: Cuddy and Cameron; Cameron/Chase; House/Cuddy

Notes: The characters from House MD belong to Universal, David Shore and FOX. Please send comments to dante0220@yahoo.com



Chapter 1 [One day after House Eppie 3.02]
[Dean’s Suite--Noon]

Cuddy frowned while going over her paperwork for that day. With the caseload piling up around the hospital and especially in the Clinic, she had more than enough headaches. She scribbled a couple of signatures and almost flung them listlessly into her “Out” box. I wish I hadn’t listened to Wilson. She shook her head while thinking of House’s Addisons Patient once again. After years of doctors’ attempts at fancy yet futile surgeries and treatments, they had “collaborated” on a cortesol shot, getting almost instant results.

The phone rang; the caller ID saying it was the Clinic.

He has a shift this morning. She picked up the phone. “Dr. Cuddy.”

“Ma ‘am, this is the Clinic. Guess who didn’t show up for his shift?” the charge nurse replied with an extra bit of sarcasm.

Cuddy glanced again at the pile of paperwork on her desk and bit her lip. “I’ll cover it. Be there in a couple of minutes.” She set the receiver down and got up from her chair. This is his way of getting back at me. She sighed while hanging her blue blazer on the hook and donning her lab coat.

As she headed out the door, she found Wilson approaching her. “Sorry. I’ve got clinic duty.”

That made his eyebrow arch. “You have clinic duty? Funny, I don’t recall seeing you there.”

“I’m covering House’s shift. It’s the least I can do,” she admitted.

“Least you can do for what? For trying to help him? Cuddy, come on!” he protested.

She rolled her eyes and counted to ten. Then she smiled at him. “I appreciate the sentiment of trying to help House. Really I do and you know I’m right with you in that regard. Some times though, we need to learn when to back off.”

He shook his head. “He told you off too?”

“In the parking lot. Wilson, we did more damage than good.”

“Come again?” He looked at her in a perplexed manner. “We were trying to help him be normal.”

“The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.” She took a deep breath. “I really appreciate where your intentions are in regards to House. But he’s established in his own way that he doesn’t want any more help. Besides, have you ever thought that our meddling is making his leg worse?”

“Phantom pain. Cuddy, we’ve been through this,” he countered.

“And I have Clinic duty. Thanks, Wilson,” she concluded before stepping on the elevator and letting the doors effectively shut down the conversation.

The more things change, the more things stay the same. He pressed the button waiting for the next car down, knowing full well that their friend would soon be his old self--even if he didn’t want to let go of trying to change him in the process.


****

[Clinic--two hours later]

Cuddy endured her part of the public drop ins, examining several cases of strep throat, scribbling out prescriptions and dealing with a couple of hangnails in the process. He should be here today. Then again, we’d be hearing about the hypochondriac of the year award or something. She headed to the nurses’ station and signed out.

“Any word on when we’ll see him?” the nurse asked.

“I don’t know. I’ll check with his department though,” the Dean replied. Seeing Cameron passing through the lobby, she excused herself and headed out there. “Cameron?”

Cameron turned to see her superior approaching. Granted, given the way the latter had been treating House over the past week, she couldn’t say she was happy to see her. “Is there something I can do to help you, Cuddy?”

“I just wanted to say thank you,” Cuddy expressed with some effort. She set her jaw before admitting, “I told him.”

Cameron nodded. “And?”

“And what?” Cuddy inquired defensively, wondering where the younger doctor was going with that question.

“He blew up,” Cameron presumed.

“No actually, he didn’t--other than calling me a liar which….I deserved.” Cuddy looked around to see who was overhearing.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad you told him,” Cameron expressed. She glanced around as well before admitting, “I…owe you an apology too.” She grimaced. “I should have been more discreet yesterday. It’s just that seeing you and Wilson talking about House. Well…”

Cuddy narrowed her eyes. “Cameron, Wilson and I talk about things other than House, you know. That aside, if you want to talk with me, you know my door’s open. Speaking of House, I figured he was hiding out upstairs.”

Cameron shook her head. “That’s just it. He’s not. He called in.”

That got Cuddy’s attention. As miserable as House was, he almost never called in. Then again, he often treated the job as a paid ‘call in’ anyhow. “How’s the caseload?”

“We can handle it. But…can we page you or Wilson if we need a consult?” Cameron queried.

Cuddy smiled. “Of course. Just let me know.” As she said that, her beeper went off. Glancing at it, she noted, “I have an urgent call upstairs. Thanks again, Cameron, for the reminder.”

Knowing the last part wasn’t the easiest admission, Cameron simply smiled supportively at the older woman. “You’re welcome.” After the other left, she mused, Glad the whole mess with House is over. We hope. She headed for the Clinic and her own shift.





Chapter 2 [Dean’s Suite]

Cuddy hustled into her office and closed the door. Another look at the pager’s display told her that it was the in-vitro clinic calling. What would they want? She had been taking the treatments for the past three months. Only in the past couple of weeks had she started noticing the signs of its success.

And it took House all of five minutes to file those in his ‘jibe-file’ starting with the “underwire discussion” in his office from two days earlier.

He can deal with the fact that I’m having my baby this way. I just can’t deal with a relationship right now. She ran her hands anxiously thought her dark black hair. Okay, take it easy, Lisa. You don’t know that there’s a problem. Just call. She dialed the number and waited for a response.

“Riverside Clinic,” a male voice answered.

“Yes, this is Lisa Cuddy calling. Is Dr. Masterston available please?” she requested.

“Of course. He’s waiting for your call, Dr. Cuddy. Just a minute please,” he informed her while transferring the line.

“Lisa, this is Dr. Masterston. Glad you returned my call. How’s everything going? Any progress?” Masterston wondered.

“It’s working. I missed my last cycle and…well, the other signs are showing up too. Everything seems to be moving ahead,” she told him.

“That’s great.” He hesitated. “I guess we should be happy for that at least. Are you sitting down?”

“No but I can. What’s going on?” she queried; her administrative sixth sense knowing that when a doctor hedged like that, it meant trouble--as in House litigation level. “Barry, what is it?” She sat down even as her upbeat mood melted away into a panic.

“There was a mix up with your procedure, Lisa. Somehow, the tech got the test samples mixed up.” He took a deep breath.

“So do we know who?” She covered her face with her hands, trying to digest this information. “Sorry after all of my research, I need to know who the donor is.”

“I understand. Yes, we know the actual donor’s identity. Can you come in or would you rather I fax the information to you?”

“I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Barry, how could this happen? There are safeguards against this type of thing!” she demanded, trying to wrap her head around that fact.

“Again, I’m sorry. The tech’s been terminated. We’ll talk further when you get here. Thank you, Lisa,” he concluded before hanging up.

How could this happen? She thought about all of her research into the perfect donor and what she wanted in her child. And in spite of all that, some jackass screwed it up! Terrific. She threw her blazer and overcoat back on and called downstairs. “I have an appointment in Piscataway. Wilson’s in charge until I get back.” She hung up and headed toward the elevator, wondering how she would get through this one.


****

[Piscataway--Riverside Clinic]

Cuddy sat in the Lexus’ front seat trying to catch her breath. Calm down. Ranting at them isn’t going to change anything. I can call the lawyer when I get back to the office. She looked down at her stomach. Besides I can’t change it now. Not that I would anyhow. Time to face the truth. She got out of the car and headed into the clinic. Walking up to the admitting window, she greeted, “Good afternoon. Lisa Cuddy here to see Dr. Masterston please. He’s expecting me.”

The young sandy haired man in back of the window nodded. “Yes indeed! Just a minute.” He pressed a button, unlocking the door to his left. “Go right in.”

“Thank you,” she expressed while heading into the suite. Seeing the open door, she rapped her knuckles up against it.

Masterston looked up from the file folder in his hands. “Come in, Lisa. Shut the door please.”

She did so and took the seat in front of him. “Thank you for not faxing this information. I’m sure you understand why I agreed to come over.”

“Of course.” He handed the file over to her. “The name’s in there.”

She took a deep breath and opened the file. As she scanned the name, her eyes went wide. “Him? Are you sure?”

“We ran the paternity test four times just to be sure before I called you,” he indicated somberly.

She nodded while considering the possibilities for a minute. “I guess it could be worse.” She stared at him. “I can’t believe this though.”

“Neither can I. He came in here while you were doing your initial procedures and donated a sample. Then he changed his mind and asked us to dispose of it.” He looked expectantly at her. “You could still have an abortion.”

“No. Out of the question,” she denied pointedly. “I want this baby.” She got up from her chair somberly. “I need to think about this though.”

“Certainly. Again, I don’t know what to say. It’s never happened before, Lisa. I hope it never does again,” he apologized.

She nodded before walking out somberly to her car. Sitting there for a minute, she shook her head. I’ll never live this down. I could keep it from him. Then she recalled the previous mess from that week. No I can’t. He needs to hear this from me. He wants to stay home sick. Fine! She gunned the motor and took off toward Princeton.




Chapter 3 [PPTH]
[Cafeteria]

Cameron sat in the corner eating a ham sandwich and wondering what was going on with her superiors. After dealing with her round of Clinic Crises, she only wanted some peace for a couple of minutes at least. I hope House is okay.

“Got room for one more?” Chase asked while sitting down across from her.

“I might,” she teased, knowing full well she wouldn’t deny him the seat. “What’s your take on House’s being out?”

“I don’t know. The leg’s bothering him, I guess. Maybe it’s a soap marathon? I’ve stopped trying to figure him out,” he replied while spearing his salad. “Maybe it’s your mothering.”

She furrowed her brow at him.

Sensing that he had just ended up in the doghouse, he shrugged. “Or not. Cameron, you know how House is. He’s set in his ways.”

“Very diplomatic, Chase,” she complimented, offering him a conciliatory smile. “I can’t help it especially when Cuddy and Wilson are ganging up on him like that.”

“Yeah. Best to focus on the patients when that happens. Let them work it out,” he advised.

“Even if there’s an ethical issue involved?” she countered. “At least Cuddy told him.”

“She did?”

She nodded, allowing herself a satisfied grin in the process. “Last night.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s good. Maybe life can get back to normal--or whatever passes for it in our neck of the woods.” He sipped on a soda while considering his next move. “You need to get your mind off of things. How about Carmelina’s tonight?”

She grinned, recalling how well their last dinner there went. “Careful, Chase, I might consider that a date.”

He grinned at her, letting his eyes sparkle at her. “That works for me. So let’s say about six?”

“Or when we finish this case?” she reminded him. “I was hoping to get Cuddy to consult with us but she’s gone for the day.”

“She was here this morning. I saw her in the Clinic,” he recalled. “I guess Foreman’s going to call Wilson.”

She frowned.

“Cameron, this is different,” he argued.

She snickered incredulously. “Wonder if he’s going to keep anything back from us? Wow. Think he might pump us for info and take the credit? Maybe he might ask Foreman for pointers in that regard?”

“Remind me to list you first on that article,” he cracked.

“Stop!” she directed, trying to keep a straight face.

“Made you laugh, didn’t I?” He grinned triumphantly before finishing what remained of his lunch. “Let’s dump this stuff and then head upstairs.”

She led them over to the trash bins and then toward the elevators.



****

[Diagnostics Department--Five minutes later]

Wilson walked toward Diagnostics, trying to focus on the details of the consult case. He walked through the open glass door to find Foreman sitting in the corner reading a journal. “Where are Chase and Cameron?”

Foreman shrugged. “Lunch time. I ate up here.”

The oncologist pondered that thought. “They do that a lot?”

“Once in a while,” the neurologist replied while finishing his sandwich. “What’s going on with Cuddy?”

“Don’t know. All I know is that she had a big appointment,” Wilson told her.

Foreman looked at him pointedly. “Yeah right.” Seeing their colleagues walk in, he motioned with his eyes in their direction.

“How’s it going, Wilson?” Cameron asked, wanting to get a reaction out of him.

Wilson shook his head at her, not really wanting to deal with her jabs. “We have the Yarlowe case.” He opened the file and scanned it. “Seems pretty cut and dry to me. Bone cancer.”

“That’s what I was telling them,” Foreman indicated. “Let’s cut to the chase and get through the case.”

“Seems fine to me. Not everything has to be a mystery,” Wilson concurred.

“And that’s it? Seems that House thought there was something more….” She looked around the room at the three guys looking for some support.

“I’m in charge. I say it’s closed,” Wilson noted definitively. “Patient’s family wants to bring her home today.”

Cameron frowned sourly. Although she would get her dinner with Chase earlier than expected, she hated how Wilson had cut off the discussion. Even at their most cynical, House and Cuddy would at least hear us out.

Foreman looked at his watch. “Clinic time for me. Then I’m heading home. See you both on Monday.” He threw on his lab coat and walked out of the room.”

Once they were alone, Chase assured her, “It seems pretty cut and dry, Allison.”

“I know. Doesn’t it seem to you like Wilson’s being heavy handed?” she asked.

“Maybe. Cuddy did put him in charge for the day. We dealt with it. Let’s get that glass of wine and dinner, all right?” he replied.

She gave his hand a quick squeeze, conceding the point yet in a warm manner. “Thanks, Robert. Let’s get that meal.”

“Then follow me,” he agreed, holding the door open for her.




Chapter 4 [House’s Apartment]

While the rest of the world dealt with its crises on that Friday afternoon, House sat on his couch, trying to figure his leg out. For the previous two months, the ketamine had worked wonders, eliminating the pain in his leg and allowing him to walk and run normally. He didn’t need the Vicodin nor the cane to get around.

He felt whole for the first time….

Reality, however, had something different in mind.

Dealing with Wilson and Cuddy’s heavy handed jabbering over his procedure with the Addison’s patient.

The doubts caused by his apparent ‘failure’.

Most of all, however, the Pain was back, ripping through what remained of his thigh. It forced him to use the cane again.

He guzzled a beer and crumpled the can. Since he had already fed Steve McQueen, he couldn’t think of anything else to do that day. While he hated himself for staying home (and thereby admitting weakness in the process), he couldn’t deal with the world seeing him limp around just yet.

He didn’t want anyone having any pangs of sympathy for him.

I don’t need Cameron gushing on me, Wilson telling me I told you so or Cuddy bitching at me about therapy. “Stupid crap,” he groused while getting up to get another cold one from the fridge.

Through the pain, he still felt satisfied about turning the lecture around on Cuddy and Wilson the night before. Despite the cane and pain, he could almost smile at the whole scene especially in deflating Wilson’s ego. Boy thought he could get one over on me, did he? He knows better now. For that and trying to turn Cuddy against me, he deserves to wallow a bit.

He heard the beer can crack open with a hiss. He drank the soothing brew down, mellowing himself all the more. Even with the Escort tapping their way back toward the couch, he could almost see Cuddy’s fretting over the situation; her guilt eating her alive and drowning her. I’ll bet Wilson strong armed her. But she should know what works! Safe sucks! Period! He thought about the last remark to her--about Mommy being the liar. Kid should get the truth about the world now. Maybe Cuddy might think twice before trying that crap again.

And of course, Cuddy’s attempts to get pregnant ate at him too. While he had scoffed outwardly at her doing that in her desperation to be Mommy Nature’s body clock, he wished she’d realize that his office is so close by hers….

…that and the sex would’ve been so much better than sticking that stupid needle into her rear end…..

…of course, since helping her meant twice daily showings, he wasn’t complaining.

He recalled how in a momentary fit of insanity, he’d gone to that so-called clinic and donated--hoping through some perverse turn of Fate, she’d use his stuff.

Once he came to his senses, he told them to dump it.

He eased himself onto the couch, trying to think what he wanted for dinner. Gotta be delivery cuz I sure as Hell ain’t going out there amongst the whiners. He scratched his head, pondering the important choice over pizza or Chinese food.

Then came a knock at the door.

“Go away!” he growled.

“House, open up!” Cuddy countered.

“H’re we go,” he groused while forcing himself off of the couch and limping over to the door. He opened the door and let her inside. “Whoa!”

“What?” she asked, looking around.

“Must be a new top,” he indicated as his mind started to shake off the booze. “Really shows off the fun bags.”

She grimaced. “You’re drunk, aren’t you?” She looked him up and down. “Damn it!” She slumped into a chair in the corner and shook her head. “Can’t I EVER have a serious conversation with you?”

“Sure when we’re about to go to court….Gee, that might be because Stacy would hiss, growl and make fun of me. I’d have to pout to make you feel all guilty,” he countered. Even buzzed, he could see the worry lines clearly defined on her face. “Lighten up, Cuddy. It isn’t good for Junior.”

She glared at him; the steam clearly spewing from her ears.

“Ooh yeah! Boss is pissed now! Must have been my insight to the kid,” he jabbed before letting off a belch.

“You forget that I came clean,” she argued.

“After the guilt trip. Then again, you do that anyway, don’t you? Kind of like Julio and the Hand last year,” he retorted, staring at her through the wide eyes.

“His name was Manny and I think I should feel that way,” she argued pointedly.

“Yeah. Kind of helps when you hit that court room. Jurors love the guilt thing. Stacy taught you that?” he queried.

“Unlike you, some adults actually take responsibility for what they do, House.” She rubbed her forehead, trying to deal with the headache forming there. Her other hand held the file which tapped against the end table. “Case in point. Tonight, I need to talk to my donor about some things.”

He snorted while fixing her some coffee. “You mean Chuckles the Wonder Nerd from your office? Real stud there, Cuddy. You‘d better get right over there. Mommy probably has an early curfew for him.”

“There was nothing wrong with him, House,” she retorted, squirming at the thought of the slightly overweight guy. “He had a lot of redeeming qualities too.”

“Like ensuring that Little Cuddy’s going to be a butterball. That’s really going to suck for the kid in school. But if your heart’s set on him….” he started.

“He isn’t the father, House,” she revealed, squirming again. “Nor…is the donor I picked.” Her eyes dropped to the floor sullenly.

He stared at her incredulously. While he thought the whole thing was a load of crap, he did want her to be happy. Still, he thought it had served her right. “They screwed up the sample?”

“It isn’t funny, House!” she snapped while resisting the urge to smack his head with the file.

“They actually screwed it up? Kind of says something about this whole deal, doesn’t it? Figures when a guy has to do something like that. Real man all around,” he retorted while covering himself from any suspicions on her part.

“Yeah, House. You’re right. Real men don’t do things like that,” she indicated while peeking into the folder. “Want to know what my real donor’s like?”

“Let me guess. Super geek. Can’t wait to help every old lady across the street. Probably some boy scout troop leader who plays the violin, never misses a PTA meeting and is really good to Mommy too. All because he‘s a man,” he declared sarcastically while rolling his eyes.

“You’re way off, House,” she indicated while fighting to keep a straight face. Inwardly though, she was grinning from ear to ear because she had him dead to rights. I am so going to enjoy this! He’s a man of many talents. Quite impressive, I’d have to say.” She got up and paced the room a bit.

His curiosity piqued sufficiently, he took the bait, “Name one.”

“He’s a real genius. Just loves to take things apart and put them back together. You’d love this too, House. He plays the piano just like you do. I’m impressed with how he gets to the heart of the matter, you know?” she suggested, luring him in.

“Know him that well, do you?” he queried; the jealousy starting to eat at him.

“His profile and write ups are quite detailed,” she declared, peeking really quickly into the folder to get his goat. “Of course they’re in his master file back at the office.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah…whatever!” He poured them each a cup of coffee. “Is that it?”

She peeked in the folder again. “Something else you’d like about him--he doesn’t put up with whining. Loves to get a rise out of people.” She hesitated for a second. “Something wrong, Greg?”

He turned his back. “Just an itch that needs scratching.”

I’ll bet! “And this doesn’t bother you at all?”

“Nope,” he lied.

“Look me in the eye and say that,” she challenged.

He set the coffee cups down on the table in front of them. As he did, he looked her in the eye and said, “Nope.”

“Now who’s the liar, House?” she jabbed.

Now it was his turn to grimace. “Cut the crap! Let’s see the damn thing already!”

“I haven’t finished yet,” she insisted.

“Let’s ask Junior. Hey, Squirt, Mommy’s done, right?” he asked her stomach. When she was distracted, he grabbed the folder and jumped back across the room.

“Hey! Give that back!” she retorted even though he did exactly what she had wanted him to do. “Fine! Go ahead and look, House!”

“Yeah. Let’s see who this nerd is,” he cracked while opening the folder and glancing at the paper inside, doing a double take as he did so.

She folded her arms and glanced sarcastically at him. “Something the matter?”

“This is so full of crap,” he denied even if he wasn’t going to mind the so-called consequences.

“You’re the only one here who’s full of it, Greg.” She took a saucy sip from her cup. “You can call the clinic. They’ll collaborate the whole thing.” She looked at him expectantly. “I know you went there.”

He ground his teeth while feeling the thigh burning. “Weak moment. I told them to throw it out.”

She shook her head. “Well they threw out the other sample. You hit the jackpot! Imagine what’s going to happen when this comes out.”

“I want to watch Wilson dealing with this,” he told her, almost seeing his friend’s shock in his mind’s eye.

“You can watch when he goes to the Board.” She walked over to him. “Greg, it shouldn’t have happened but it did. I came over because that’s what I wanted to talk about.”

“Knowing you, you’re having the kid,” he presumed. “And I’ll be there too.”

“You want to be a father? Right,” she retorted.

Now it was his turn to glare at her. “I’ve seen enough garbage from bad daddies over my lifetime! I’m not promising you perfection, Cuddy, but I’ll be there. About us though?”

She hesitated for a minute, realizing that she had dug too far. “Sorry about that. I forgot about you and your father. Still what about us? House, we can’t….” she protested.

“We’re having a kid together, Cuddy,” he argued. “They say we’re already like that anyway.” He went into the other room.

“House! Get back here! What are you doing?” she yelled, rushing after him.

“Keep your bra on! Some people….” he retorted before coming back out. He held up a ring in his hand.

“I must be hormonal because that can’t be what I think it is,” she denied.

“Don’t worry. It’s real, Cuddy. It was Stacy’s but I kept it around,” he explained while limping over to her. “Well? If I have to deal with your bitchiness and morning sickness over the next six months, I can put up with you for a while at least.”

“I’m sure that’s really tough for you. Either way, you’d be stuck with babysitting and diapers,” she suggested, getting one more rise out of him before exhaling deeply. “Fine, House, I’ll take the ring and put up with you.”

He slid the ring on her finger. “How about that?”

She looked at the ring and recalled that Stacy had smaller fingers than hers. “I don’t suppose you know why this fits as well as it does?” Her eyebrow arched knowingly at him.

“Why? You don’t think I was waiting for you all of my life, do you?” he jabbed.

“Perish that thought, House,” she cracked while kissing him. “Besides you need someone to keep you in line.”

“Wow! And here I thought I had a mommy already!” he retorted.

“I’m already your professional keeper. Might as well do it full time,” she noted wryly.

“How about we forget about the in-vitro stuff and do the real thing? That way, we won’t have to deal with your mother,” he proposed while making a face.

“Cut that out!” she lectured even if she knew he was dead on with that assessment. “Let’s take care of that issue so I can call the clinic. I might have to sue them over this arrangement.” She saw the cane leaning against the couch. “It’s that bad?”

“I’ll deal with it,” he insisted. As she put her arm in his, he yelled, “Hey!”

“For better or worse, House.”

“Already pushing your luck, aren’t you, Cuddy?” he jabbed.

“I learned that from the master,” she countered.

He was going to retort but her grin and the sparkle in her eyes cut that off at the source. Besides, he wanted to save the energy.




Conclusion [PPTH--Monday]

House limped into his departmental suite; his cane making a tapping noise on the linoleum floor. While he had wanted to avoid using it, Cuddy had talked him into it. He grimaced at the sight of the Ducklings’ expressions. “Whoa! Such attention!”

“House, you’re using the cane,” Cameron noted.

“Hey, Chase, notice how observant she is?” House asked. “Must be Hell on dates.”

The Aussie frowned but remained silent, not wanting to antagonize him or Cameron for that matter.

“Can’t stand someone be nice to you, can you?” she insisted.

“Not when it’s so gooey sweet! EWWW!” House countered.

“Attention to detail is a good thing, House,” Chase argued.

He looked at the couple and then at Foreman. “Hey, Foreman, too bad you can’t get some like that, huh?”

The neurologist shook his head, not wanting to take the bait in that case. “I’d say the same about you, House.”

House smirked. “You think so, don’t you, Foreman?”

That got the trio’s attention.

As he said that, Wilson knocked on the door.

“How was the Board meeting, Wilson? Hope you taped it. I SO want to see the play by play!” House supposed.

“You knew about the meeting?” the oncologist asked. “Cuddy called it on Saturday.”

“I know everything that goes on in my domain, Jimmy Boy. Haven’t you figured that out yet?” House countered sarcastically, adding an almost punitive glare at the end. For emphasis, he slapped a file down on the table. “Patient’s case is reopened. You missed the blood clot in her head.”

“That wasn’t there on Friday!” Wilson insisted.

“Symptoms said differently, Wilson,” House disagreed.

“House, what did you do that they called a meeting?” Foreman groused.

“Ask Wilson,” House urged while watching his friend carefully. “I’m sure he’d love to gossip all about it.” He sat down behind his desk and whacked the tennis ball against the wall three times.

“And I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too,” Cuddy interjected while entering the room and shutting the door behind herself. “It’s not a big deal.”

“The Board saw it differently. You both got lucky, Cuddy, with the votes,” Wilson groused.

“You got so lucky. Oooh!” House imitated with a sarcastic twist. “Funny, isn’t that what you said about Addison-guy too, Wilson?”

Wilson shook his head. “One day, House, your luck’s going to run out.”

House glanced at Cuddy and chuckled. “In your dreams. Now don’t you have some whiny cancer patient to see? Hey you know, there’s that pretty blonde intern downstairs. Why don’t you try out some of your philosophy on her, Grasshopper? Wow her and the folks back home.”

“House, that’s enough,” Cuddy chided before turning to Wilson. “Clinic needs covering. It’s yours.” She motioned with her head toward the door.

“Sure.” He locked eyes with the others before leaving the room.

“Wow. Glad that’s over!” House cracked before looking at the file. “Seriously though, you did good by really looking this file over. Chase, Cameron, just don’t get a swelled head over it. Let me guess, Cameron, you wore him down with it while you two were mamboing, right?”

“House!” Cameron protested.

“Oh all right. So you let him have a free pass in the cookie jar if he backed you?” he supposed.

“Actually,” Chase interjected. “We talked about it for most of Friday night, House…on the couch. You’re rubbing off on us.”

“Hear that?” House smirked at Cuddy. “I’m a role model.”

“Oh yeah. Watch out on Bosses’ Day,” the Dean retorted while rolling her eyes. “Meantime, I do have another meeting to get to. As for your question, Foreman, I can show this now.” She put the engagement ring on her hand.

“She wore me down. Came over to my apartment and blackmailed me into it,” House added.

“Call it what you want, House,” Cuddy countered while considering the diamond’s sparkling in the light.

Cameron got up and walked over to her. “Congratulations are in order then.”

“Thanks. We appreciate that,” Cuddy told her.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now I’m going to have to get this place disinfected from all of the nicie cooties! Bleck!” House complained, sticking his tongue out for emphasis.

“Don’t mind him,” Cuddy assured her. “House just isn’t used to getting a nice reaction. He might try it more often. I’ll let you get on to your next case.” She headed back out of the department.

“Don’t get any ideas from that,” he told the Ducklings firmly. “Meantime, let’s get the next case. Johnston. Differential diagnosis.”

Chase and Cameron exchanged warm glances before turning their attention to the case at hand.

Even if his leg hurt, House had his puzzles, crew, his love and soon--a kid to figure out. While these were all challenges, he would meet them head on.

After all who’s better at solving puzzles than House?

Who indeed?


THE END



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