Yeah, I thought I'd give the whole House goes to therapy thing a try. If you guys have any advice or legitimate information on psychiatry you would like to offer that I could use in the story, it would be appreciated. I do have some vague idea of where I want this to go but for now it's a slow start with them gradually building a kind of friendship or trusting relationship. Please review and remember that this is only the beginning.
Mia couldn't help the large grin that tugged at her lips as she set her last personal effect on her office desk. It was a picture of her twins, a boy and a girl. Cecilia and Al themselves were unpacking back at their new house only fifteen minutes away from the hospital under the careful watch of her older sister, Addison.
She let the grin stretch across her cheeks as she turned to survey her office. There wasn't much: a few books on psychology and therapy, a few of her old textbooks that she liked to look through for inspiration, a new computer, and a cup of pens sitting on the edge of the desk. She frowned and moved it closer to the center.
It wasn't much, but it was where she would be working for the next few years, at least if she was feeling optimistic. At that moment, she was.
The door opened and her new boss, Lisa Cuddy walked in with a tall man trailing behind her. There wasn't anything impressive or striking about his appearance save for his eyes and his cane. But it was the eyes that caught Mia's attention. They were familiar...
And within fifteen seconds of seeing him and nothing said, a distant memory from fifteen years ago came back to Mia. To her, it had just been another night with a stranger. She'd been drunk and she could tell that he was high from the moment she'd seen his eyes. They had known what they'd wanted from each other. It had felt amazing even through her haze of drunkenness. He'd been gone before morning and she'd believed that he'd only left her with a pleasant memory.
He'd left her with more than that.
"Dr. Adler?" Lisa's voice broke through Mia's revery. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Dr. Cuddy," she said, speaking a bit too loudly. She quickly covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, I just remembered something that made me panic and, well–"
"Don't worry about it," Lisa quickly reassured her. "I just wanted you to meet Dr. House."
"Dr. House?" Mia knew that Cuddy had mentioned somebody by that name during the interview.
"I didn't know that you'd hired another idiot," House said, speaking up for the first time as he scrutinized the tall, slender woman in front of him. "Me, House. You, Adler."
Mia quickly shook her head and shot him a glare. She did vaguely recall his sharp wit. "That's Dr. Adler to you," she snapped, raising her chin defiantly and immediately feeling ridiculous for it. She was in her thirties, for Christ's sake! She had a medical degree and two kids, why did she have to defend herself to some guy who didn't even have the decency to wear a suit let alone his lab coat?
He didn't seem too taken aback by her outburst. Instead, his eyes were fixed on her chest. She was just about ready to snap at him again when his eyes met hers again. "You're Christian."
Oh, he'd been looking at my crucifix, she thought in relief. "Yes, I'm Catholic actually."
"Great," he muttered. "Another nutcase, just what we need in a psychiatrist."
"Excuse me?" Mia's brow furrowed in some confusion.
"He's an Atheist," Cuddy said rapidly as if saying the words fast enough could avoid the result.
"Oh," Mia said blandly. "My cousin was an atheist."
"Oh, did you make him see the light?"
"No, he died," she said bluntly. "We weren't all that close, I'd only met him once, but that's all I remember about him."
"Well, now that we've discussed religion and death, would you like to move on to politics or can I get to the main reason why I brought you here, House?" Cuddy asked.
"Just testing her, go on."
"Dr. Adler, I hired you because you were the best applicant for the job, but I'm hiring you only on one condition: I need you to see House at least once a week, preferably while he's working on cases."
"Why?" Mia asked already knowing there was a catch to all of this.
Lisa sighed. "He's the best doctor here, but he's also the most difficult to deal with. He tends to take his frustrations out on others, he has a substance abuse problem, and I think it would be helpful if he had someone to talk to. You don't have to prescribe him anything, I'm just hoping that you can help him vent his frustrations out in some healthy way. Talking might not do the trick but it's worth a shot."
"Hello? I'm right here," House called from the doorway. "And I do not have a substance abuse problem, I have a pain problem."
Mia nodded absentmindedly and examined him. He seemed so much older than when she'd last seen him. Fifteen years, had it really been that long? It had only been one night but it had changed her life. Something about him had changed. She'd seen it before in men in similar situations. Normally, she would agree to it simply because she needed the money and she really did want to help. But did she really want to help the man who didn't even know he was the father of her children?
What the hell? It's not like he'll ever find out, she thought. She kept a very thick line between work and home. Her children knew never to come to her job and she never made close friends with coworkers. Somehow, she doubted she could ever be close to House.
"Fine, I agree," Mia said. "As long as I don't have to prescribe him anything and it doesn't interfere with me doing my job."
"You'll do it?" Cuddy asked surprised. "Just like that."
"I have two kids at home, Lisa, I need this job. And if that means I have to see that guy once a week," Mia pointed at him and snorted, "I don't care what I have to do as long as it's not illegal. As long as he feels like talking, I'll listen. I can't make him."
"I understand," Cuddy nodded and pressed her hands together in front of her, pleased. "I suppose I should leave the two of you alone now to get to know each other and set up some kind of appointment since you don't start until Monday."
She left with only one backward glance nearly sashaying down the hallway.
"Interesting," he murmured.
"What's interesting?" Mia blinked.
"You took my case with hardly much thought. Either you really are an idiot, you really are desperate, or I intrigue you."
"I'll go with the second option," Mia said, reaching for the journals she'd forgotten to organize on her shelves.
"Well, that's boring," he said, wrinkling his nose.
"Well, you can believe what you want to believe," Mia said with a cheerful smile. "I'm just happy I got the job."
"What happens if I don't come to our sessions?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye that Mia immediately hated.
"I hunt you down, drug you, bring you back here, and record some kind of evidence that you were in this room."
"That's unethical. And fairly illegal. Wouldn't you have to go to confession for that?"
"I would, and I would still keep my job."
House paused to take the pill bottle out of his jacket pocket and poured a few pils into the palm of his hand before quickly swallowing them. Mia wasn't even able to guess what they were.
"Vicodin," he explained. "Want some? I brought enough to share."
"No thanks," Mia said with a sardonic smile. She slid a few journals onto the shelf. "I barely drink these days let alone take drugs."
"You were an alcoholic?"
"At one point in my life," Mia muttered. "I guess this is going to be the time you use to juice me for information you can use against me later. Perhaps to get out of our sessions."
"Ah, mon amie, you see so well through me," he said with an awful French accent.
"This is going to be fun, I can tell," Mia said with a false smile as she snatched her planner from the desk drawer she'd left open. She flipped to the current month and marked her first day of work on the Monday of the next week. "What day's good for you?"
"Whatever's most inconvenient for you."
"I'm not doing this cause I want to, you know," she said with a brief glance up at him. His attitude was reminding her of Cecelia. "I need this job."
"You could work for me," he suggested.
"No thanks."
"You're not even gonna think about it? Most would kill for the job."
"Would I rather be your employee or your therapist?" Mia pondered aloud. "Would I rather work under a misanthropic ass with a drug problem or listen to him complain about other people? I think I'll choose the latter. At least then I could tune you out whenever I feel like it."
"I thought you were supposed to listen to me."
"What was that?" Mia joked.
"Ah, I see what you did there," he grinned and tapped his cane against the edge of her desk. She nearly jumped but regained her composure before he could notice. "I'll get back to you on the day."
He started to walk out. Mia panicked and called out, "Wait! Can you possibly get back to me by Tuesday? See, Monday, I'll be settling in, meeting a few clients..."
"Not my problem," he said before continuing on his merry way.
Damn, Mia thought, settling into her chair. Would her kids be like that eventually? God, Mia hoped not. She didn't remember him being this bad, though the few hours she did remember were foggy at best and he barely resembled the man that he used to be.
Mia groaned and picked up her cell to call Addison.
"Mia?" she said. "Are you getting home soon? You told me this would only take a few hours! Charlie just called and–"
"I'll be home soon," Mia said softly and lost the nerve to tell her sister about House. He was undoubtedly the father. She saw those eyes staring back at her whenever she looked at Al. Cecilia's were brown like her own but there was no doubt about it.