The Luckiest One

Chapter 1

Greg House was pissed. Royally pissed. Scratch that. He was beyond that. He had reached his boiling point 30 minutes ago and was now in a stage of complete and total fury.

He had woken that morning at around 4.30 a.m. with a horrible, very intense ache in his damaged thigh and no matter how he tossed and turned in his bed or how many pills he took, the pain just wouldn't go away.

So, at 8 o'clock he had already swallowed 5 Vicodin (which he considered a new record for this early on in the day) and drank 3 cups of coffee, because at the beginning he was still under the illusion that the caffeine might help. Get his head clear, so that he may actually forget about the pain for a while. Unfortunately, all it did was make him walk down the hall to his bathroom every 5 minutes, which didn't really help his leg either.

When he arrived at the hospital at around 9 o'clock, which was really early for him, because he usually slept in and didn't bother to show up before 11 a.m., he was already in a cranky mood and Dr. Cuddy's annoying voice did nothing to improve it.

"HOUSE! You will do as I tell you, or I'm going to fire you! And this time I am not kidding! If you don't start right now doing the 5 clinic hours you still owe me, I promise I will" Cuddy said in a very stern tone walking towards him.

House instantly made a beeline for the elevator ignoring her completely. His morning was bad enough as it was. He certainly didn't need her crap right now. Just when the doors had opened and he stepped in Cuddy managed to reach him, having finally battled her way through the overcrowded hospital lobby.

"House! Did you even hear me?! I said that…"

"Yeah, yeah I heard what you said, oh goddess-of-the-annoying-administrator-species, one that is hopefully soon to be extinct, I might add ". Cuddy sent him a disapproving look.

"But I am not going to do them. And not even this 5inch piece of fabric you call a blouse can convince me otherwise" House stared pointedly at her breasts.

"And you are not going to fire me!" he continued "You've been saying that since the very first day I started working for you and accidentally set fire to the MRI machine and it still hasn't happened and never will. You just love my verbally expressed appreciation of your fun-bags too much. Oh, Dr. Cuddy, if you had only the courage to tell me, I'd be more than happy not to just leave it at that. I am more of a physical person anyway…." He suggestively wiggled his eyebrows.

Cuddy frowned. She had been surprised to see House walk in this early. She had hoped that it was a good sign, that for once he had gotten a good night of sleep and was now in a tolerable mood. She figured that now might be a good time to remind him of his missing clinic hours. Standing in front of the elevator facing an overly tired and exhausted looking House, she now realized that her hasty assumptions had been false.

But he had started it and there was no going back now. She couldn't let him win all the time.

"Don't flatter yourself, Dr. House. I could have sworn that with that leg of yours, our physical activities would be limited anyway. I bet the only position you are able to perform is with me on top which would only mirror the relationship we already have here at the hospital. And you wouldn't want to drag all the work stuff back home with you, would you?" she sent him a flashing smile.

House at the beginning lewdly smirk had very fast turned into an irritated frown. He looked like he was about to retort something, but before he got the chance, Lisa Cuddy quickly continued.

"Speaking of work, your paperwork was due about a month ago and if it isn't on my desk by tomorrow 5 o'clock sharp, I'll charge you with 10 extra hours of clinic duty. And you can't get any of your new employees to do them. I've already filled them up with some of their own."

House looked clearly aggravated now, but before he had the chance to open his mouth and sent and angry remark Cuddy's way, the elevator doors closed and the car began to move upwards.

By the time he reached his office, word had already gotten around that Dr. House was in early (which surprised everybody greatly) and that he was really, really angry and absolutely not to be messed with (which didn't surprise people that much).

Unfortunately for House's new ducklings the rumour mill hadn't reached his office, yet where they were all sitting reviewing a chart from their newest patient that came in about 30 minutes earlier.

When House limped in he was greeted directly by Cuttner's eager voice: "Dr. House. We have a new patient. She presents with fever, headache…" at that House cut him off.

"Hold it right there. Has not your Mommy taught you any manners? How about a 'Good morning, Dr. House. Yes, your coffee will be right there for you'? I can't diagnose people this early in the morning, especially not without having had any coffee, and with a bunch of over-motivated second-class doctors all trying to get in my good books."

At that Cuttner sprang up, went over to the coffee maker and quickly poured House a cup. It wasn't until his new duckling had handed House the mug with the steaming beverage that the brilliant diagnostician remembered that he had already had 3 of them this morning and that neither his bladder nor his sensitive gustatory nerves could tolerate another one. This realization brought yet another angry scowl to his face and made Cuttner make a run back for his chair and hide behind his file.

After putting his red mug none to gently down on the glass table, House finally looked at his new fellowship members, which he had chosen only a few weeks ago.

They were all seated around the rectangular glass table next to the white board and had each a file in their hands, which Taub and 13 had put down on the table upon House's arrival.

Both were now eagerly looking at him while Cuttner was still hiding behind his file pretending to read the symptoms which he had already known by heart 10 minutes ago, but not daring to look or speak up.

He had already realized that his boss was not in the bestest of moods today and decided to wait till House's attention had shifted to someone else. This sure didn't take long.

"You, 13. You gotta do my paperwork", House barked.

"It's over there in my office. Second drawer from the top. But don't you dare touch the third one. My private porn-collection is off limits, especially to such a little, insecure gal like you. Wouldn't want your whole world picture to fall apart upon seeing Pam and Tommy doing the nasty"

At first 13 looked annoyed, which quickly upon House's remark about her being insecure turned to embarrassment and then to anger.

"Excuse me, Dr. House" she said with a very frustrated undertone in her voice

"I do believe that I was hired as a medical fellowship member on your team. The job description said nothing about secretarial duties OR having to be the target of your sexual assaults on a daily bases."

Having said that she craned her chin up high and said up a little straighter.

Taub and Cuttner just stared open-mouthed at her and unconsciously both scooted a little back with their chairs in preparation to the outburst that was about to follow from the rather shocked looking House who at the first moment after her statement just stared at her with a very surprised look on his face. It didn't take long for him to recover, though and the incredulous look was soon replaced with a rather nasty smirk.

"Well, aren't we a little feisty today? Whatever got your panties in a knot? Didn't get any last night? I wonder why ever not. With a rack like that guys must be standing in line. Well maybe you're just a little bit too tight up for them. I mean just look at your clothes. They practically scream "oh, I am hot but I don't want anybody to notice, because I am such a little prude with a self-esteem of about the size of li'l Taubs little toe here", hearing House's words, 13 began visibly to pale and sank back in her chair.

House realized that he was exposing and hurting her but he was on a roll and in a bad mood anyway so he just blew all caution in the wind and continued his tirade: "but you know, if you're so desperate you could always try your luck as a working girl. Some guys actually like the little 'miss-I-got-a-stick-up-my-a'-number. Not me though, but I'd probably do you out of pity so you'd shut up and be actually useful around here. Boy, I really should have kept Cameron. She was not only nice to look at", he let his eyes roam up and down her body, stopping twice at her breasts. 13 looked like she was about to start crying any moment "but also knew when to shut up and always did her job, MY paperwork that is. Now go what you are supposed to or you're fired!"

After House had ended his little speech, 13 stood up shakily and made her way over to his office. House was really exhausted now. He let himself sink in the nearest chair.

"Was that really necessary" Taub asked with a disapproving look on his face, "we are all used to making blunt jokes but that was just cruel".

"Hey, if you want to work for me, you gotta live with what comes out of my mouth. If you can't, you'd better quit right now. Because I don't have time wiping you whinny noses every time I say something you consider insensitive. Suck it up or leave, because there's no time for your self-righteousness either. We have some actual work to do here. Just ask the dark one." At this House let his eyes travel questioningly about the room, expecting to lend them on a affirmatively nodding Foreman any second.

But he was disappointed. Besides Taub, himself and Cuttner the room was empty. The latter took House's last statement as his cue to re-emerg from behind his file.

"About the actual work, Dr. House. We still have our newest patient here."

House looked at him for the first time since the very beginning when after coming in he had automatically dismissed his ranting down a few symptoms. But now, after a horrible morning which was toped by insulting his new female employee and almost making her cry, House was really exhausted and ready to take his mind of. And what was better for that than a good medical mystery.

Besides Vicodin, booze, monster trucks and porn of course, but since he had already taken a lot of Vicodin today - after the 7th this morning in the shower he had lost count – and the other few things weren't close at hand Greg House had to settle with his 2nd favourite past time (after Vicodin and porn) - solving a medical problem.

"Okay, what do you got there" he addressed Cutter, who quickly picked his file back up and began reading "Patient, Jupiter Meyers…"
"Don't care about the name" House interrupted him "unless it is medically relevant". He put his finger on his chin, rubbing it thoughtfully and pretended to think for a moment.

"Do you think a name like Jupiter could hint to a disease? Maybe a mental illness she could have inherited from her parents. Everyone who names their child after a planet can not be right up here", he taped with his finger to his forehead.

"Yes, eh anyhow" Cuttner coughed a little "Patient" he didn't repeat her name this time "presented to the emergency room last night with fever, nausea, a headache, pain in the joints. Blood work showed elevated…" House put his hand up as a sign to stop Cuttner from listing all the symptoms.

"Ho, ho, hold it again. That's what you are bothering me with today? Do you have nothing better to do? All the symptoms you just read indicate a common cold. The guy has the sniffels. Prescribe some aspirin, a hot cup of tea and 3 days of bed rest and send him home. Boy, and you all want to be doctors! It does indeed take a bunch of high qualified specialist to figure that one out. I just wonder how we managed that all alone. Didn't even need a neurologist to assist us. Bummer!" House looked first at Cuttner and then at Taub with a bemused grin on his face. Cuttner opened his mouth about to say something, but before he got the chance, House already went on: "Where's Foreman anyway?" House brow furrowed.

"He's consulting on a case with Smithson from Memorial General." Taub piped up "Has been the whole week by the way, since we hadn't had any case for the past 6 days and Cuddy grew bored of us just sitting around doing crossword-puzzles and the clinic hours you ARE actually supposed to do". He leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah, well we have a case now and who authorized this little vacation trip anyway?" House asked. Taub relaxed even more. He felt on safe ground now. "Well, Foreman is not your employee anymore. Remember? Dr. Cuddy put him in the same position you are in, thereby making him your partner".

"Okay, listen up little stud", some of Taub's face muscles visible began to flex "firstly, Foreman may not be my underling anymore – thanks to the she-devil herself - but that doesn't mean that he's in my position. Nowhere near it. For one he doesn't have all the wood I got. And I'm not just talking about the cane here" at that House lifted up his walking stick and pointed it at Taub "and secondly" House continued "he ain't my partner either, because I can tell you exactly why he went over to General Memorial. Not to kiss Smithson's a. That guy's a bastar who doesn't know sh about diagnosing an illness, even if it was Lupus and bit him directly in his pompous butt. No, Foreman is over there because his ex-girlfriend is working as head nurse in their pediatrics department. With all the resigning and finding himself crap he apparently hit kind of a dry spell. Not much time for banging when you suddenly realize that you don't want to become like your evil boss, until you figure out that you already are. In fact Foreman has been like me since he was about 5. Well, that's what I told him right before he quit. Had he actually listened he wouldn't have had to go through this whole self-finding process just to end up where he started and might have actually gotten some. Maybe even on a regular basis. If that were the fact he didn't have to be over at this crappy hospital kissing some even crappier doctor's a just to get in the pants of his ex-girlfriend and could actually be helpful with this new case we got. I mean, we need all the help we can get here, right guys? A patient with the flu is quite a challenge and not to be taken lightly."

All three of House's underlings rolled their eyes and Cuttner once again looked like he was about to say something, but before he could as much as open his mouth, House went on: "And this by the way proves my other point. Do you really think that if Foreman WERE indeed my partner, the correct term is 'life partner' by the way, he really needed to find his satisfaction elsewhere thereby breaking my poor, little oh so fragile heart" at his last sentence House made a puppy dog face and pretended he was about to cry. Cuttner just looked confused while Taub relaxed back in his chair.

The following moment two things happened at once: 13 opened House's office door. She looked very much composed again but if you looked closely you could still see the hurt in her eyes. House didn't miss that. The same time 13 walked back into the conference room balancing a pile of folders, hers, Cuttner's and Taub's pager went off.

They looked at it and than all hurried quickly outside. House scowled. He was interrupted in the middle of giving them a lecture on the nature of people.

And while Dr. Gregory House made a sport of interrupting people every chance he got, he didn't really appreciate if someone didn't let him finish. Because one of the things the brilliant diagnostician actually enjoyed, was the sound of his own voice.

So, turning from the whiteboard and limping towards his office to enjoy at least a few minutes of peace and maybe some jazz music till his ducklings would return undoubtedly with a whole list of new symptoms and the insistence that their patient with the stupid name had indeed a more severe illness than the common cold, Greg House decided that this day had taken yet another turn for the worse.

HOUSEMDHOUSEMDHOUSEMDHOUSEMD

Two hours later found House and his team back in the conference room.

House was writing all the symptoms the file was telling them on the whiteboard.

The page had indeed been for their newest patient, whose symptoms had suddenly had worsened and who, for no apparent reason, had slipped in a coma just half an hour ago.

House was in his element. He was scribbling in full speed while at the same time yelling at his team for suggestions just so he could degrade them as pointless the second they had left their mouths.

His ducklings were slowly beginning to get frustrated. They had dealt with House's bad mood and even snarkier than usual comments this morning.

After that they had spent almost an hour trying to save their patient, just to have her slip in a coma at the end of it, and now they were sitting here around the conference table trying to come up with a diagnosis. But no matter what they suggested, everything was shot down by their cranky boss whose spectrum of insults seem to have expended vastly since the last time they had seen him.

Taub was the first one to master the courage and carefully give House contra, ever one of the latter's tirades about how useless their comments were and what crappy doctors they made, had just ended.

"Yes, well maybe Dr. House, if you would actually listen to what we have to say instead of just shooting it down, you might find one or another useful medical comment. And if we are indeed such bad doctors, maybe you shouldn't have hired us. Do your diagnosis all alone right now. I am just wondering if you could have come up with anything better.

I bet not, because your brilliant mind might not be so brilliant after all when you need a team to help you. Seems to me that all it is good for is producing sexual comments and insulting people"

House stopped writing and slowly turned around. His brows knitted together and a very furious look entered his eyes. 13 and Cuttner looked like Taub had just pronounced their death sentence.

Both of them seemed to be thinking the same: I haven't gone through weeks of nerve-wrecking elimination games, finally beat out all the other candidates, to be fired now, just because Taub can't swallow his pride once and keep his mouth shut.

But to their sheer and utter amazement nothing of that sort happened. House just stared at Taub for a moment, his eyes unreadable. Then slowly a smirk began to form at the corner of his mouth "Well Taub, I am surprised that such a little guy like you had so much in his pants", with that he turned around again and continued scribbling away on the whiteboard.

Taub looked smug while 13 and Cuttner let out a breath they weren't aware they had been holding.

Suddenly female voice sounded from the door: "8 years and you are still the same obnoxious a, who doesn't care for other peoples feelings and treats everyone like crap." Her tone was soft, but when she spoke a slight foreign accent seeped through her words.

Everyone except House turned around to see who had just been speaking.

They saw a strange woman standing in the door of the conference room. She was wearing a pink tank-top and a white skirt that came down to her knees. Her feet stuck in white sneakers. The woman was maybe 5 ft. 5" tall and looked pretty young, in her mid to late 20s probably. Her light-brown, slightly wavy hair was cascading down to her shoulders. It made a perfect contrast to her alabaster-coloured, very even skin. With her high cheekbones and her slim body that was rounded in just the right places she could only be described as beautiful. Her hazelnut eyes were fixed on House's back.

"Yeah" House finally said, still not turning around. His voice was neutral, not giving anything away. "That might be because contrary to popular believe, people don't change. At least not in a way that really matters. They might change there eating habits or their style of clothing, but really important things stay the same."

The strange woman began to smirk. "Oh, you mean things like your favourite colour or all-time favourite TV-show?"

"Exactly" House finally turned around now, seeing the woman for the first time. He studied her intensely. Apparently he liked what he saw, because his eyes lit up. And not just for the briefest moment, like House usually displayed his emotions: only for the very attentive observer to notice, before it was gone, hidden behind a mask of indifference. No, this time, there was a glimmer in Dr. House's eyes which made them an even lighter blue. If his ducklings hadn't known better, they would have said he was actually happy to see this woman, But that was not possible, because Greg House was never happy.

He nodded his head towards the woman's top "Your favourite colour is still pink, I see, and you still got that annoying accent of yours"

"Well, that might be because I am still German and as you said, most people don't change and I can't change my birthplace, I don't want to change my nationality and I won't change my favourite colour. At least not in the near future, because I like all three of them."

By now the woman was not just smirking anymore, but had a bright smile plastered on her face which made her look even more beautiful. House was not the only one to notice that. Cuttner and Taub were staring open-mouthed at her, while 13 was just curiously watching the whole scene playing out in front of her.

Hadn't House been this engrossed in the conversation with the strange woman himself, he would have probably told his two male employees to watch the drool that was about to drip out of their mouths.

But for once such a little fact went unnoticed to him and so he continued talking to the German woman "I had no clue you were coming. Why didn't you call? I could have picked you up at the airport!"

"Well firstly, my visit was supposed to be a surprise. Wouldn't have wanted to miss the look on your face when I walked in. And secondly, I have a couple of suitcases and I am not riding on this death machine you call a motorcycle with you! I took a cab, it worked just fine. I also know that you have to work"

House frowned and suddenly looked rather upset. "You didn't even see my face when I walked in, because I was facing away from you and I could have taken my car, you know. If you had told me you were coming I could've taken the day of and we could have spent more time together. Besides, I don't even have a lot of food at home. Certainly not your favourite chocolate milk."

The woman rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. "Greg, I appreciate your" she hesitated, "eh, niceness, but I'm here now. So why don't you stop complaining about things which we can't change now and which don't matter anyway and come over here and greet my properly?"

House considered here for a moment and then his face began to light up again. He put the marker he had been fiddling with ever since he had stopped writing, down, crabbed his cane which was leaning next to him on the table, and slowly began to make his way over to the door where the woman was standing. She hadn't moved an inch ever since she entered the conference room. 3 pairs of eyes were following their boss making his way over to her.

House stopped about a foot in front of her. It was now even more apparent how tall he was, since he was looming over her by at least 1 1/2 head lengths. They looked at each other for a moment, both grinning widely.

Suddenly House did something everybody in the room (including 2/3 of the rest of the hospital staff) thought they'd probably never see. House dropped his cane, crabbed the strange woman by her shoulders, pulled her towards him and enveloped her in a big bear-hug. As soon as he embraced her, the woman put her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder.

House held her very tight. They stayed like this what seemed like at least 2 minutes. Finally House pulled away and looked down her, directly into her eyes.

"It's so good to see you again, Anna. I've really missed you." With that he leaned forward once again and planted a light kiss on the top of her head. The woman had the happiest look on her face.

They were both so engrossed in each other that they neither noticed the ducklings shocked faces, mouths agape, nor Dr. Cuddy, who had just walked in with the firmness of a woman on a mission to yell some more at House for still not having done his clinic hours, and who was now at a complete loss of words upon the sight of House hugging and being nice to this strange woman.

Everyone in the room wondered who the heck this woman was that got the great misanthrope Gregory House not only to show his rarely displayed emotions, but what is more, do so in a public place where everyone that knew him could see. They all concluded for themselves that this must either be one of House's many jokes or that he must really care for this woman when he was willing to risk his reputation as the biggest bastar of the entire hospital, New Jersey and probably even the United States.

A/N: That's the end of Chapter 1. What do you guys think? Reviews are greatly appreciated!