Welcome to My House
Welcome to my house
Baby take control now
We can't even slow down
We don't have to go out
Welcome to my house
Play that music too loud
Show me what you do now
We don't have to go out
Welcome to my house
Welcome to my house
Chapter 1.
Cameron arrived first at the diner that evening and took her usual seat. Her hand went to the vials of vaccine in her pocket. Still there. She smiled at Linda when the waitress arrived to ask whether she wanted coffee or iced tea. "Linda, you have your ear to the ground here in Shelby. What do you know about Diane Bancroft? She's a real estate agent."
Linda nodded. "Yeah, I know her. Used to come in here lots with her husband, but since their messy divorce she hasn't been around. Why you askin'?"
"She's the agent House is dealing with to buy a house on Hanbury St." She debated whether telling Linda about it would lead to a leak to anyone else, but just as Linda liked to collect gossip, she never spread it.
"Whaddya need a house there for?" Linda filled Cameron's coffee cup.
"Don't tell anyone until he finalizes his plans, but he plans to open a doctor's office there."
"You mean the one with the old dental office? Dr. Fitz's place?"
"Yes, that's the one." She clammed up when the team walked in, followed by Hadley. Not long after, House arrived. They didn't wait for Anita, Wilson or Jessica, but ordered their food, mostly the special, lasagna.
Twenty minutes later, Anita came through the door, exuding excitement. "The lab results agree with those Dr. House got at the hospital. The animal medicines contain doses of active ingredients that are too high, especially for small animals."
The others practically cheered at her news.
Cameron reached into a pocket and pulled out the samples of flu vaccine she'd been using. "Hope you can have them analyze these." She handed them to her.
"Will do. I think we'll have enough evidence to at least question Marshall and his staff." Anita finally sat down next to Hadley. "Where are Wilson and Jessica?"
"They haven't arrived yet," Simpson said. "Saw Dr. Wilson at the hospital earlier. Guess he was checking on Mrs. Meisner."
Cameron smiled. "He'll be starting there on Monday, so he probably was also checking out his new office."
"But where is he now? And where's Jess?" Jacobs wondered aloud.
Wilson and Jessica were meeting with Diane in her office. "Every time we increase our bid on the house, the other party raises theirs."
Diane smiled. She loved bidding wars. "I guess he's as anxious as you."
"What are we up to now?" Jessica asked. "Eight ninety was it, or maybe nine hundred? The original price was a million. How about we offer that? Will that seal the deal?"
Wilson tossed her a warning glance, but knew she was thinking that with her old job back, they could swing it.
Diane's smile grew broader. "I think it might. I'll have to check one last time with Dr. House."
"House?" Wilson's mouth dropped open. He took a step backward, not even caring whether anything was behind, and held his hands up in front of him. "Uh, I withdraw my last bid. I'm not going up against House." He shook his head. "Uh-uh."
"Why not?" Jess asked.
He looked at Jessica. "You don't know what happens when someone stands in his way. Remember how he originally didn't want me to work at Snow Hill Mercy, did everything he could to block it."
"But now you'll be working there." Jessica rubbed an ear. "Why does he need this house in the first place? He and Cameron are building a beautiful new one out on Bay Road."
"Didn't we decide the only reason he let me take the job Meisner offered was because he was leaving the hospital and setting up his own practice? This house would be perfect for that." Wilson turned to Diane. "He's planning on using the office out front, right?"
"Yes, and I believe he wants to convert more first floor rooms into examination and lab space."
"See," Wilson told Jessica. He shook his head again. "I won't stand in his way of buying the place."
"But what about us?" Jess asked. "We need a place to live."
Wilson stood stock still for a moment. His gaze followed the stairway from the first to second floor of the building. "We'll have to be cunning about this, but maybe we can rent the second and third floors to live in." A smile finally appeared on his face. "Yeah, that's what we'll do. Diane, please, don't under any circumstances let on that we were the ones bidding against him for this house."
The real estate agent looked puzzled, but nodded her agreement.
"Good. Tell him he can have it. I'm through with this part of the game." He started to walk away and then turned back. "Remember not to tell him I was the other bidder, or that we're interested in renting the rooms from him."
"Yes, yes, I understand." But she clearly didn't.
"Thirteen, I'd like to talk to you about a proposition I have." House would have preferred to do this in private, but Cameron was always around. And his team. And Anita. Wilson and Jessica too, but they just hadn't arrived yet. "Not here though."
"You're propositioning me?" She glanced at Cameron and then Anita.
He chuckled. He could always count on her to respond in kind. "Perhaps if you have a few moments tomorrow morning at the hospital, you could stop by my office." He threw in a leer for good measure.
"Do I need to bring a bodyguard?"
He grimaced. "A lawyer might be helpful."
Her eyes narrowed. She was obviously curious about what this conversation and the later one he was proposing were all about.
Anita snickered. "Mind if I tag along instead?"
House shrugged. "Suit yourself, but I'm sure you have many other things to do to shore up your case."
Anita nodded. "True." She turned to Hadley. "You got this?"
"Sure." A smiled spread across Hadley's face.
The team members meanwhile had been watching with wide eyes and half open mouths. "What's the deal, boss?" Magnani finally asked.
"It's between Thir...Hadley and me." His eyes were locked with hers.
"Does it concern us?" Jacobs had a half smile on her face. She suddenly seemed to understand.
"I'll tell you what concerns you. Sheesh! Not everything's about you." Everyone laughed. They'd all at one time or another said that to him often enough.
"Tomorrow. In your office. Shall we say ten thirty? You can make it to the hospital by then, can't you?" Hadley teased.
House barely suppressed a chuckle that had been building. "Right."
Wilson and Jessica finally arrived, and the conversation ended.
"Where have you been?" Simpson asked his sister. "We were beginning to worry."
"I doubt all of you did." She looked to Wilson to answer.
"We had...stuff to do."
House rolled his eyes. "Wilson, you've never had stuff to do in your entire life. Which begs the question: Where were you?" House skewered his friend.
"It's kind of private." Jessica examined her fingers and cleared her throat. "I don't want to talk about it."
"So what's everyone else been up to?" Wilson asked, obviously trying to deflect.
The others recounted some of what had happened that day, but House watched Wilson and Jessica closely, so he saw their furtive glances his way. His mind struggled to find some explanation, but in the end, he shrugged it off. Still he'd have to keep a close watch on them.
Cameron was in the middle of telling Wilson and Jessica about the flu virus when House's phone rang. He pushed his way out of the booth, nearly stepping on both Anita's and Jessica's toes in the process. He answered the call from a spot not far away.
The call was from the real estate agent. "The other bidder has dropped out, so I'll present your offer to the owner on Monday and let you know what they say."
He smiled as a warmth spread through his body.
Cameron finished what she was saying and looked at him, tilting her head. He held two thumbs up, and she grinned.
Later, on their way back to Edna's, she asked, "Where do you think Wilson and Jessica were?"
"Don't know and don't care."
"If they were off doing...you know what...they would have acted less...guilty."
"You're worried they're up to no good?" He glanced at her then refocused on the road.
"Wilson? Hardly. But it's something he doesn't want you to know about."
"Can't be better than what I'm not telling him." House smirked. "Now all I have to do is get Thirteen and Mortimer aboard."
"How are we going to make sure House doesn't rent the rooms to anyone else?" Jess asked Wilson.
"We'll wait until he announces he's bought the place and casually tell him we're still looking for a place to live. He might not offer, but count on Cameron. She'll suggest it."
"I'm not sure." Jess bit her lip.
"Think I should have continued to bid against him and risked the wrath of House?"
"No, I guess not."
Wilson changed the subject. "Glad to be back working with Dr. Carter?"
Jess relaxed and grinned. "Oh, yes. He's great to work with, and I'm much happier making animals better than testing tainted drugs on poor lab mice."
"Between the samples you gave Anita and the vaccines from Cameron, Anita and her pals will have a solid case against Marshall Pharmaceuticals."
"That's what everyone is hoping." She kissed his cheek.
"You're collecting more and more evidence against the pharma company." Hadley strapped herself into Anita's car.
"Yes. That's what I do."
"I didn't mean it as an accusation." Hadley put a hand on Anita's shoulder.
"You're worried about what will happen when I've pinned Marshall's to the wall." Anita took Hadley's hands in her own and smiled at her. "Well, I am too, you know. I've even considered taking a job in another capacity."
"Really?"
"Of course. There may not be many options, but I'll explore each one and decide." She winked at Hadley. "You're not rid of me so fast."
"Guess the town will soon be overrun with the Federales," Hadley said with a bad Spanish accent on the last word.
"Afraid so. My boss will come down from D.C. and bring a few people with him. Good thing it's the slow season for the motel."
"Won't they stay at the hotel in town?"
"Maybe. As long as I don't have to stay with them there." Her fingers laced through Hadley's hair. "I'd much rather spend my time with you."
House and Cameron were woken the next morning by the shrill sound of his phone.
He tried to ignore it, at the same time that Cameron berated him for not using a more pleasant ringtone. It went to voicemail which caused the phone light to flash.
House groaned as he finally retrieved the phone. "This better be good." He played the message.
"House, this is Will. There's been an accident at the house. Meet me out there ASAP."
They scrambled out of bed and into clothes. Cameron couldn't sit still the entire trip out to Bay Rd. "I thought Anderson had the property guarded."
"Will said an accident, not vandals."
The lane off the road to the house was lined with cop cars, pickups and closest to the structure, an ambulance. They parked where they could.
"What happened?" Cameron grabbed the first person she came to, one of Will's workmen.
"Dunno. I just got here. Boss called me in. Had the weekend off."
They walked together to the knot of people near one side of the house. Paramedics were treating someone. Cameron gasped when she realized it was Seth.
Anderson and Will talked a few feet away. Cameron and House, who finally caught up with her, strode toward them.
Cameron got the contractor's attention. "Will, your message said it was an accident. What happened?"