"Exam room 4. 23 year old woman with back pain"

House sighed, rolling his eyes as he snatched the file folder from Cuddy. "So prescribe her some pain pills and send her home, I've got a-"

Cuddy gave him her signature look of disdain and shook her head. "Just do your job House, it isn't that hard. You've done it before, I would know, I've seen you do it"

He gave her an icy look and snatched the file folder out of her hand begrudgingly.

She gave a curt smile as he hobbled away, mumbling something under his breath. His clinic duties had slipped to an all time low, she thought with a grimace. Though he thought he was slick, she would be sure to keep a better eye on him to make sure it didn't continue to happen. She watched with a satisfied smirk as he entered the examination room.

*****

With a deepening scowl, House flipped open the folder and kicked the door closed, not bothering to glance at the patient. Still stewing about the annoyance of simply being in the clinic, he thumbed through the sloppily written chart.

"You were in a car accident two years ago?"

"Yeah."

He flipped the chart closed. "You had surgery to fix fractured vertebrae. Chronic pain from nerve damage. Says here you've been taking pain medication. I'll write you a prescription for a higher dosage and-"

He glanced up and was met by a shocking pair of mismatched eyes, one a deep emerald green, one a light sky blue, wide set in a oval-shaped face. House smiled, feeling suddenly intrigued. Her gently curved eyebrow arched suddenly upward when she noticed him staring at her. Her hair was a vibrant, chestnut brown and was chopped mid throat level. Her skin was pale, smooth and seemed to glow from the inside.

Her heart-shaped lips turned up in a beguiling smile.

He felt an electrical jolt from her megawatt eyes, and cleared his throat. "I'm gonna have to check for infection"

Thankfully a nurse had already had her prep by being topless underneath a gown.

Her lips curled into a wider grin and she uncrossed her legs, hopping down from the table. House noticed she was short and glanced at her chart again.

Aurora Neal

5 foot 2 inches tall.

110 LBS

23 years old

House flipped her chart closed and looked up at her with a mischevious smile. He threw the chart onto the counter with a flick of his wrist. He watched closely with a smug smile as she laid face down on the table, glancing at him over her shoulder. He must've looked slightly surprised. She chuckled.

"Ive done this so many times in the last 2 years"

He smiled understandingly and stepped forward. He knew that sad, knowing smile all too well. He understood her exasperation, and her loathing of going through the same embarrassing and painful examination time after time. Leaning his cane gently against the table upon which she laid, he looked down at her. She gazed expressionless over her shoulder at him as he approached her, and he felt her odd colored eyes boring a hole in the side of his head.

He avoided her gaze and reached forward, his skeletal fingers grazing her skin as he pulled the gown down over her shoulders. His eyebrows shot up and a sly smile
folded his features when a pair of scarred and faded wings were revealed.

"Your chart doesn't say anything about a tattoo"

"I could've sworn i wrote it down"

Finally, his eyes met hers and he felt that familiar jolt to his spinal cord. Her eyes were shocking and intense. Almost frightening. Mentally, he shook himself, and looked away, retraining his eyes upon the series of scars on her back, along with a scar running 6 inches down her spine.

He ran his fingers down her spine, reeling at the feeling of her smooth skin beneath his rough, calloused hands.
The tattoo extended down her lower back and disappeared beneath a pair of red lacy panties. Forcefully tearing his eyes away from the gentle curve of her rounded buttock, he looked back to her spine. He noticed then that she was still watching him. He flashed a fake smile, feigning innocence, and pulled her gown back up over her shoulders.

"No infection"

She chuckled, "I could've told you that"

He grinned and grabbed her chart. The tone of her voice and wild, cat-like look of her eyes grabbed his mind in a strangle hold and refused to let him go. His intrigue at her sarcasm and the unusual beauty of her eyes startled him. he had met plenty of women, but this one seemed different. She gave him a half sneer and he cleared his throat to speak.

"Your chart mentions minor head trauma and broken ribs."

"And a broken leg. Shattered patella, fractured tibia, and my fibula was snapped in 4 places."

He glanced down at the chart and nodded. He would be lying if he had said he wasn't surprised. "Dr. Google tell ya that?"

She threw her head back and laughed, a deep, yet musical sound, and House shivered. Her smile and her laugh were amazing. He looked away, into a corner.

"I was on my way to graduation. Medical school. I'm currently in fellowship training under the supervision of a forensic pathologist."

He blinked rapidly and his grin widened. "Autopsies?"

She smiled a crooked smile, nodding "yeah. You seem surprised"

He shrugged, "You don't seem like the type"

She sighed and shook her head, "Why, because I'm a girl?"

"A hot girl"

Her head shot up and her jaw dropped open,"...what?"

House looked at her and grinned, and then looked back to her chart.

"You take medication for your back?"

"uh...uh, yeah. The dose keeps going up. It stopped working again."

House ran his eyes down the page, and suddenly his brain picked out a single, very familiar word, "Vicodin"

House looked up at her and studied her face. She avoided his gaze, seemingly embarrassed. He smiled. He knew her pain, both mentally and physically, all too well. He understood how she felt.

He took a deep breath and sighed. She was currently taking the maximum safe dosage for someone her size. He couldn't raise it without risking her life in the process.

"I cant increase your dosage, but i can give you another medication to help with any pain the Vicodin isn't taking away."

She nodded, but showed no other emotions. He watched her as he flipped her chart closed. Her demeanor had changed. She seemed quieter, almost as if her mind was somewhere else. House took a step closer to her as he leaned down, snatching his cane from the table she sat on. He watched her face. Her eyes were dazed, glazed over as if in deep thought.

House said nothing as he straightened up, the normal dull ache in his leg throbbing quietly. With a wince, he gave her a nonchalant nod and made his way towards the door.

"You can pick up your prescriptions on the way out."

"Wait"

Leaning heavily on his cane, he turned to glance at her, only to find her on her feet, standing behind him with a hopeful look on her face.

"Did you mean it?"

It was House's turn to look confused. Limping, he turned to face her, "Mean what?"

He couldn't help but notice the way her chest rose and fell as she drew her breath. The way her uncommon eyes darted across his face as she stood before him. The way her plump lips parted when she opened them to finally speak.

"You said..."

He raised an eyebrow at her, completely perplexed as to what she could mean. He ran through the past few minutes in his head, replaying his script to see what he had said that could've possibly been upsetting to her.

She took a deep breath, "You called me a hot girl..."

He let out the breath he didn't even know he had been holding, and chuckled, "Yeah, I did. So?"

"Did you mean it?"

His brow furrowed, House narrowed his eyes. He felt like he was standing on the rim of a volcano. One step forward, he was in trouble, yet stepping back would cause equal trouble. He was stuck. In a corner.

"Yes. You're gorgeous. Why do y-"

"No one has ever said that to me before."

He blinked. "No one has ever told you you're beautiful?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because it's true"

"You seem to be the only male who thinks so"

"I disagree"

"Why?"

"Look at you!"

He hadn't meant to raise his voice. She flinched away from him, looking hurt. He suddenly felt like the biggest asshole... He sighed and looked away, "You were abused...which caused low self esteem and lack of trust in men..."

"Yea..."

"That doesn't make what I said not true. You are beautiful"

"I'm scarred..."

He looked back at her, feeling slightly offended. "Scars don't make you ugly."

"I disagree. No one wants a medical examiner that's addicted to pain killers and looks like a monster"

"Bullshit!" He thumped on his bad leg with his opposite hand, narrowing his eyes at her.

She jumped back as if pushed. His hostility must've stung. He powered forward, his eyes narrowed, his breathing catching. He saw a drastic change in her eyes, and her mouth screwed up into a smirk. She straightened, thrusting her chest forward. The sudden change in her demeanor was dramatic and seemingly unprovoked. She was suddenly no longer small and shy. Her strength was like a tidal wave, washing him in its power. The fire behind her gaze was unstoppable and couldn't be ignored. She looked him up and down like she was an alpha female stalking her prey. House had never felt vulnerable at the hands of a female, but she seemed more than capable of owning him at that moment.

"Show me. If I'm all that special, you should have no problem."

A light of mischief flashed like lightning in her eyes, and he felt as if 10,000 volts surged through him.

"I never said you were special. I said you were beautiful"

She raised an eyebrow, and heaved a deep sigh. As she crossed her arms in front of her chest, her hospital gown slipped down from one shoulder. The smooth, creamy skin of her shoulder exposed to him, he hobbled forward. He placed a hand on her shoulder and pushed the gown down slowly. As the soft curve of her breast was exposed, he felt a shiver shake her. He leaned down to her as he pushed the gown lower. He looked into the depths of her eyes and his voice was low when he finally spoke.

"I can, however, prove THAT to you..."

With a gentle whoosh, her gown dropped to the floor, and she stood before him in nothing but her crimson lacy underwear. She let out a small gasp, and stared tauntingly at his face. She seemed to he searching. Though she said nothing, she made no move to cover herself or pull away from him. She gulped nervously, and pulled in a rattling breath.

"Do you want me to?"

She nodded, and without another word, House laid his cane on the table behind her. Still watching her face, he grinned. With a cocky and maniacal grin, he reached down towards his zipper.

A sudden rapping at the door rang out, and Aurora let out a small squeak. Before she could move or cover herself, the doorknob turned and the door swung open.

"Hey House. I was looking at these tests and I...uh"

House snatched up his cane and turned towards the figure in the doorway, his face full of untold secrets. Wilson stood baffled, a file folder in his hand, his eyes darting back and forth between the figures before him.

"House? Whats going on?"

Aurora let out an inaudible mumble and snatched her hospital gown from the floor, holding it against herself in an attempt at modesty that was in vein. She clutched it to her bosom, and seemed to be unable to look Wilson in the face.

House cleared his throat, and reached inside of his jacket pocket. He pulled out a pen, and swiped a pad of paper from the counter behind him. His first attempt at speaking failed, so he cleared his throat and tried again.

"Just an exam. I'm referring her to my private office"

"But House, you don't-"

House flashed him a look that could've shot daggers over his shoulder and almost undetectably shook his head at his long time friend in a look that said he would explain later. He scribbled a few things down on the paper, tore a sheet off and handed it to her.

"Tomorrow at 4. I'll help you fix your problem."

With a slight nod in her direction, he turned and followed Wilson from the room.

AN: Let me know what you guys think. I have this about half written and I'm trying to decide if i should continue.