"What do we do now?" Taub asked. Thirteen glared at him incredulously.
"We continue with our lives," she snapped.
"But it's just the three of us!"
"No," Foreman cut in, entering the diagnostics office. "We have an entire hospital behind us."
"But without House..."
"Shut up," Thirteen groaned, massaging her temples. She couldn't help but wonder as to why her co-worker was always so willing to give up. Before, she was the one who had given up, on work, on relationships, on herself, on life in general. She had bounced back, the doctor with the fatal prognosis. Why couldn't Taub just get over his petty fears of loosing his job? It's not like it would happen without House around. Her boyfriend approached her from behind and allowed his hands to occupy the job her fingers were currently tending to. She leaned back in her chair and sighed contentedly. "Thank you so much. This head ache is killing me."
Foreman's eye's shot up, remembering that the last time she had a head ache, it turned out to be a brain tumor. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.
She smiled. "I'm fine. I drank a lot last night. I'm probably just a bit hung over or something. That's all."
Taub frowned. "If you guys could take a minute to stop being lovey-dovey, them maybe we could figure out what to do about the absence of our boss."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Thirteen replied. "We promise not to care about each other in your presence, right Eric." She emphasized his name, knowing that using first names in the workplace drove Taub crazy. He was almost as impersonal as she was.
"Exactly, Remy," Foreman added catching on to her game. Taub rolled his eyes.
"He's in rehab, Taub. It's not like he's dead," Thirteen pointed out. "It's about time he went, too. Wilson said he was hallucinating Amber."
"Since when?"
"Since a few days before Chase's bachelor party."
"Damn."
"Yeah."
"You guys have a case," Cuddy said as she strode into the office. Thirteen could tell that the Dean was uneasy about the lack of House around the hospital as well. The older woman handed each team member a copy of the case file and left quickly, far too quickly to feel normal.
"Wow," Foreman said as he viewed the patient's symptoms. Taub simply stared wide-eyed at the list.
"Maybe we need House after all," Thirteen mumbled, almost regretting what she had said earlier. "This is going to be a tough ride."