Chapter One
The freezing rain chilled her to the bone as she stood outside of a posh condominium complex in the better part of Princeton, New Jersey. Her black canvas sneakers were soaked through, her footsteps making a faint squishing sound as she walked up the steps to the intercom by the front doors. Pulling her backpack more securely over her shoulder, she trailed one pale and delicate finger down the list until she came to 4C. She pressed the button and waited as it buzzed the inhabitant of that particular condo. She shuffled nervously, unsure and a tad uncomfortable about having to do this. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of an alternative. It was either this or continue to be taken advantage of for the rest of her young life until she eventually broke.
About a minute passed before there came a groggy response.
"He- hello?"
She bit her bottom lip nervously before replying. "Hi, is this the residence of Dr. James Wilson?"
A pause. "It is. May I inquire as to who's asking?"
Sighing, she pressed the button once more, pulling her dark hoodie closer to her shivering body. "My name is Lucy. Lucy Wilson. I'm your niece."
"And you just let her in?"
Doctors Gregory House and James Wilson sat across from each other at a booth in the bustling Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital cafeteria, the latter enjoying a Reuben sandwich while his colleague and friend occasionally stole a handful of french-fries.
"I didn't really feel like I had a choice. She's my niece, my brother's daughter. My flesh and blood-"
"Oh spare me that idiotic family-comes-first crap," House interrupted, waving a lone fry in Wilson's general direction. "You basically let a stranger waltz right into your home without a single question in your mind."
"That's not necessarily true," Wilson defended softly. He wore a serious expression as he fiddled with a ketchup packet. He had opened the door last night to find a petite and almost sickly looking young woman with wavy auburn hair standing on his threshold, somber looking and completely soaked through. He'd invited her in and given her a towel and a cup of coffee to warm her up. Once the niceties had been observed, he'd sat across from her in an armchair in his living room, running a hand tiredly through his gray-flecked brown hair and sighing deeply.
"How- why are you here? How did you find me?"
She'd set the steaming mug down on the glass coffee table and unzipped her hoodie, revealing a faded Pixies t-shirt that clung to her skin. Tossing the jacket to the floor, she avoided eye contact as she spoke.
"Something… happened to me back in New York, and it… was sort of the last straw. My mother had walked out of my life a few years ago when she'd decided her welfare wasn't worth spending on me anymore, so I got a job as… a waitress. I started saving so that I could come here and maybe try to find my dad." She hadn't really meant to share this much with him; he might as well have been a stranger.
Lucy paused, feeling her uncle's concerned gaze boring into the top of her head. He had the same eyes as her father, a warm and inviting chocolate brown. Eyes she could trust.
"I really wasn't planning on coming until I'd saved a little more, but… I felt hopeless and I had no one else to turn to. I'm sorry if this all seems sort of… suspicious and hokey, but it's all true." Another pause as Lucy collected her thoughts. The coffee had helped to warm her insides, but she hoped she would be able to get out of these wet clothes soon. "As for how I found you… I knew your first name, and I knew you were a doctor. So I called every hospital in Princeton and asked for you by name. Eventually, I got lucky."
"And you just believed her?" House stared incredulously at his friend as he chewed another french-fry. Wilson sighed exasperatedly. "House, I'm not like you, I'm not under the impression that every single person I meet is lying about something."
House scoffed and frowned, getting up from the booth with help from his dark wooden cane. He stopped and turned to snag one last fry from Wilson's plate, dipping it in ketchup and popping it into his mouth. "Everybody lies, even Little Orphan Annie," he said as he limped away, leaving Wilson even more confused than he had been before.