Molly Harris stepped into Princeton Plainsboro and felt a little of her life return to normal. It had been seven months since she had been there to work. Since then, she had undergone surgery and lost a hundred and thirty pounds, saving her life. She went from a tall overweight brunette who's blue eyes were the only thing people looked at to a healthier woman who felt more like she did when she was first practicing medicine. She tugged at the sleeve of her jacket and made her way to Lisa Cuddy's office, passing by the clinic and catching the eye of Dr. Foreman who gave a shocked look at her new appearance.
Cuddy rose to her feet as Harris walked in, her smile reaching her eyes. "Molly!" she exclaimed as she rushed around to greet her friend and co-worker with a hug. "It's so good to see you."
"It's good to be back. I just want to get working again." She sat in front of her boss' desk. "Did House replace me yet?" she chuckled.
Cuddy sat at her desk with a smile. "Nope. You know he likes his team the way it is."
"I saw Foreman in clinic. I take it we're between cases?"
She nodded. "Yes. But that gives you time to ease back in."
There was no ease. But Cuddy didn't need to know that yet.
()
Changed into her lab coat, Harris still couldn't quite make it to House's office. So a quick side step to Oncology landed her into a hug with Dr. Wilson. "You look wonderful," he smiled.
"I feel so much better. I didn't really realize how much I was hurting before."
"Are you back to full duty?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Everything is good." The lie was coming easier. "I got the flowers you sent. They were lovely."
"I figured some brightness would be in order. Why didn't you have the surgery done here?"
She scoffed. "Right, with House in the hospital?"
Wilson grinned. "You have a point."
()
House was bent over his laptop when she walked in. "You know, they say you'll get hairy palms and go blind."
He didn't even look up to her. "Not from reading your medical chart from the surgery."
She wasn't surprised. "I actually had brought you a copy so you wouldn't have to dig."
"This is the illustrated version. Before the boobs disappeared." He finally looked up, as if comparing her to the pre-op pictures. "Your lab coat fits looser." His version of a compliment.
"Good to see you too." Although she'd seen him a month and a half ago. While they were sleeping together. But that was past. And since no one else knew about it, they would carry on business as usual. And speaking of, she glanced over to the differential room and smiled at her two teammates. Chase and Foreman stood with smiles as she walked in and did a little turn. "Here's the finished product! Well, not really but…"
Foreman hugged her first. "It's good to see you."
Chase was close behind with the next hug. "We missed you." He was good at lies too.
House limped in with a file folder. "Now that the vacation is over, let's get to work."
()
In the MRI room, Foreman finished hooking up the contrast dye to the patient while Harris punched up the program on the computer. Her stomach ached and it wasn't from the fact that it was now the size of an egg. Her secret could kill her, literally. That's why it was being taken care of tomorrow. Her appointment was early in the morning. She just had to make it through today. Just one day…
Foreman stepped into the control area with her. "We're ready." He glanced at her. "Harris, you okay? You look a little green."
She swallowed thickly. There was nothing for her to throw up but her stomach wasn't caring. "I'm okay." She forced a smile and punched the start button for the machine.
"Do you need something to drink?"
"I said I'm okay. Just drop – " her sentence stopped short as she hopped up an ran quickly to the women's restroom to heave. But with her tiny tummy, she had nothing to throw up. Sipping water, she stepped out a back door for air, not ready to be in that booth again. She closed her eyes when she heard the door open behind her. It was one of two people and she didn't want to talk to either.
"I thought that you weren't supposed to try to conceive for at least two years." He knew. Of course he knew. He was House.
"It'll be taken care of tomorrow. I'd appreciate if you didn't tell anyone." Her voice was soft, which was odd coming from the queen bitch.
"Not that I'm looking to be parent of the year, but I'm actually surprised you didn't tell me."
She winced. "That's because I'm only four weeks."
He could do math. He wasn't the father. "Still surprised you didn't tell me." He leaned on the wall. "And you want me to keep it a secret because the father doesn't know which means I know the father."
She cursed under her breath. Rookie mistake. Should have just denied it all. "I just don't need any more of a sympathy vote here at work. Being post-op is enough." She pivoted to face him, resolve face. I have to get back to MRI."
"Chase is finishing up with Foreman. You can run labs." He pushed off the wall, close enough to her to kiss her, which she almost thought he would. His blue eyes studied hers for a moment, then he turned back to the door and left.
()
Slipping a vile into the centrifuge, Harris sighed. She hated that House had something on her. She hated not knowing how he would use it. Had he already figured out who the father was? And if he did, would he tell him?
Chase slipped into the lab with two cups of coffee. "You can still have coffee, right? Black."
She nodded and took a cup. "Yeah the sugar is bad for me right now. Thanks."
"You're looking well." He sat beside her. "And you haven't called."
"Robert…" She sighed heavily. "I told you, it wasn't going to be something." She set down the cup.
"That didn't mean that you had to cut off all communication, Molly." He sipped his coffee. "We could still hang out."
"I had to work on my physical therapy and my last two appointments…"
"I could have still come by with Chinese after. Even if you could only eat a couple of bites."
She slipped the sample out and began to spread a slide. "Can we talk about this when we're not working a case?" She slid the slide into the microscope and peered in. "Negative for endocarditis."
"Molly…"
"I said not here. That's final." She turned her sharp gaze to him. "Dr. Chase."
He took a deep breath and stood. "Very well, Dr. Harris."
()
Having seven months off also meant that she could get hooked into a new book series. Sitting in the cafeteria, she propped open "For a Few Demons More" and poked at her salad. Biopsy results were in the works and that meant a few minutes to eat. Or a few minutes to have it all hit the fan.
Wilson slipped into the booth across from her. "Harris…" His caring tone made her eyes narrow.
"That son of a…"
"House wasn't the one. This time."
This took her aback. "What do you know?" While his heart was in the right place, Wilson's mouth could open to House when needed.
"Foreman mentioned the sickness. But you didn't go back to the surgeon to report the vomiting because you knew it wasn't a complication of the surgery. Which means you know why you're sick."
"I do." But did he? That was the question at hand.
He dropped his voice. "Do you want to talk about it?"
She grinned. "House was probing you for info but when he didn't get specific you came to see what he already knew."
"If you're sick, I really do care." It was true. But the less people that knew, the better.
"I'm not sick. It's something simple that will be taken care of tomorrow. I promise." She flashed a reassuring smile.
Foreman strode up. "The patient went into v-fib after the last treatment. Sarcoidosis is off the table."
()
She hated that damn ball. House bounced it off the wall as the rest of them combed through the charts. Three hours till she could leave. She'd take a sleeping pill and wake up, get her little problem taken care of and…
"Harris?" House had stopped bouncing the ball.
She shook herself. "Sorry."
"Pregnancy hormones can lead to daydreaming," House mused.
She rolled her eyes. "Infections caused by mycoplasma bacteria can lead to severe arthritis including joint swelling and pain. We could be looking at Agammaglobulinemia." The sidestep seemed to work for Foreman but Chase had caught her eyes.
"Agammaglobulinemia can fit," House continued.
"The administration of intravenous gammaglobulin replacement therapy is a standard treatment," she finished.
He nodded. "Get the treatment started." He pivoted and went back to his office.
Foreman stood. "I'll get it started."
Harris shifted papers around the file as he left. Chase hadn't moved. She kept her head down, feigning reading over notes. Damn House and his meddling. He was trying to fish for the father. And baiting people was his specialty.
Chase closed the file and stood while letting out a deep breath. "I'm going to check on the progress of the antibiotics." He quickly left the room.
Had he really caught House's suggestion or was he still tense about the conversation in the MRI?
()
One more hour to go.
Harris checked on the patient's vitals, jotting down her notes. The treatment was working. She wasn't going to have to stay late. She just had to avoid everyone and their questions for one small hour.
So of course that wasn't going to happen.
Chase slipped into the patient's room and slid the door closed behind him. "You're pregnant?"
She was so glad the patient was asleep. "Chase…"
"For Christ's sake, Molly, were you even going to tell me?"
"No. Because I can't keep it." She swallowed. "If I attempted to keep the child, it would possible kill me, the child, or both of us." She sat in a chair. "I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to have to feel what I feel."
He leaned back on the door. "You're getting an abortion."
"Yes. Tomorrow morning." Lies were so much easier. Damn House to all eternity.
He took a moment to process. "Do you want me to go with you?"
She blinked. "You're not going to try and talk me out of it?"
He pushed off the door and kneeled in front of her. "You're right. The risk to you and the fetus would be severe. You can't take in enough nourishment. And your digestive track is going to need more time for full reorientation. You've thought this through."
"Does it violate any of your beliefs?"
"Do I think God will punish you?" Chase shook his head. "No. Not for this."
She smiled. "For what else then?"
()
Harris hung her coat in her locker and slung her purse on her shoulder. She had survived the day. And the truth didn't hurt as much as she thought. Survival was possible. Smiling, she shut her locker and turned right into House. "Jesus!" she gasps.
"I can barely walk up stairs, but walking on water… No, I can't do that either."
"Ha. Ha."
He tilted his head. "Is it the new body? Trying it on various age groups for quality control?"
"You got me. Next on my list is whether or not I should add women to the test group." She attempted to pass him but he blocked her with his cane.
"It's not in your nature to swoon over the dashing blonde foreign type."
"Do I only go for abusive and addictive with a hint of sarcasm?"
"You don't 'go' for anyone. You only slept with me because we were convenient and you knew that no feelings would get in the way. So why Chase? He's easily obtainable. No challenge. And he gets emotionally attached. You are none of those things. So I ask again: Is it the new body? Or something else?" He peered into her eyes.
She peered right back. "Why do you care?"
"Relationships on the team will cause turmoil."
"Ours didn't." She grinned. "Or did it? Are you jealous of Chase?"
"I'm jealous of you," he jested. "I've been trying to get into Chase's pants for years."
"Get out of my way, House."
"Is he the reason you stopped sleeping with me?"
"You were the reason I stopped sleeping with you." She shoved his cane hard, forcing him to counter balance and move out of her way. "Goodnight."