Before him, both grey steel doors opened and House tottered from the elevator into the hallway, starting to make his way through towards his office. He would briefly visit the break room for a cup of coffee if someone had been kind enough to make any yet at this ridiculously early hour.
His bright blue eyes calmly perceived Cuddy noticing him, and he continued walking further across the hallway. Apparently, there were other idiots on this earth next to himself, who checked in at the hospital hours before their shift. She would be walking right next to him in less than ten seconds. House started counting within himself. Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven…
"House, what are you doing here?" It hadn't even taken five. Cuddy's high heeled feet fell into the same stride as his, and both doctors continued walking along the hallway together. "You were supposed to have arrived at Vancouver Island by now," she spoke, surprise sounding through her sweet honeyed voice.
"Mmm. I'm not, or am I now?" House sounded in his usual sarcastic tone.
"Why? I actually thought you mentioned needing time off," Cuddy recalled.
"It appears… that I have changed my mind, then."
"Why?" Cuddy questioned again, as both of them walked into the break room, door falling back behind them. It appeared empty apart from them both.
"I guess… I like… bothering you way too much to take time off," House said, suddenly ceasing every little motion and looking into the air as if in deep thought, brows creased. "Yeah, I do," he concluded after a few seconds, as if his answer had been readable within the too familiar smelling clinical atmosphere around them. He went into the direction of the coffeemaker.
House cursed inaudibly. No coffee. He turned back around to find Cuddy looking at him with her arms neatly tucked in front of her. She didn't seem all too happy with his reply. "So what did you do with them, then? I do hope you realize I gave you first class tickets."
"I did," House simply said. "I must say it… touched me how you still consider me – taking into account you actually do have an idea of what kind of person I am – as a first class passenger."
"What did you do with them?" Cuddy repeated.
"I ritually burned them," House answered sarcastically, now slowly starting to totter into the direction of the doorway again to continue towards his office since no coffee seemed to have been made and he didn't feel like doing it himself, as usual.
"You cannot be serious!" Cuddy exclaimed.
"I'm not. I ripped them in two."