Old Friendships, New Beginnings
Disclaimer: no I don't own House M.D. or any of the characters on it. You can't believe it? Neither can I. Small idea borrowed from Grey's Anatomy and I don't own Grey's Anatomy either :( but I'm planning to buy them as soon as I can ;)
Its set sometimes after House was shot and recovered but he's still obsessed with Stacy, but that won't last long ;) And umm I'm not too sure of the medical terms, so give me a break, I found most of it on the internet :P Be nice it's my first! Please review!
House sat in his office tossing his ball against the wall. She was gone, that was it, yet she wouldn't leave him alone in his thoughts.
Five years gone to waste because of my drug problem and my leg, he thought as he stared at it and cursed. I should have just let you back into my life, I loved you and still do, but I know I can't change, I am who I am. He sighed, got up picked up his cane, and started tossing the ball against the wall, catching it with his cane. It had been some time since the ketamine had worn off.
"Seriously House, you could find a hobby or something it would be good for you. Instead you spend so much time learning useless talents, like that one," said Cameron pointing at his cane and ball. House raised his eyebrow.
"I don't remember letting you in," he said dully. Just as he finished his sentence, Chase came in, followed by Foreman, and Chase said:
"House, we have a new case 15-year-old girl rushed into the hospital with 5 nails in her skull, she's still conscious and responding. Foreman threw the folder to House.
"Hmmm, the last time I checked nails through the head isn't something that is difficult to diagnose. While you're at it why don't you head to the hardware store and see what they can do, maybe a refund or even better, check to see if they have a guarantee on those nails," sneered House.
"It's not the nails that are interesting," said Cameron. "She had a seizure and fell down the stair with a nail gun. She also claims to have hallucinations too."
"Benign occipital epilepsy, again no effort. She lost muscle control on one side fell down the stairs. Did you check her blood sugar levels? Hypoglycaemia can also cause seizures. She didn't eat so her blood sugar was low, now go test her," he said in a bored voice. He looked at the three while still fumbling the ball and said,
"I said go didn't I?" Chase and Foreman slowly left but Cameron stayed behind.
"What is it with you lately? It's because of Stacy isn't it? What happened between you two anyway?" House twitched slightly. "None of your business what happened between us," snapped House, "now stop playing psychologist and go do your job!" As Cameron walked out the door she turned and said:
"By the way, her family history has no epilepsy or seizures." House got up as Cameron went out of view.
Might as well go check it out, it will keep my mind off Stacy for a while.
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House was headed to the girls room but decided to go to the cafeteria first, to get a Coke or Pepsi.
What's the difference anyway? He thought when the three young doctors caught him.
"The blood sugar came back normal," said Foreman.
"So what do we do now, any ideas? No one? Lucky you Chase, you won the lottery," said House as he poked him in the leg with his cane. "What do we do next and don't do anything stupid."
"We could do a MRI and a CT scan," said Chase. House sneered.
"Here I tell you not to do anything stupid and here you are saying you are going to stick a girl with metal in her head into a huge magnet. How did you pass medical school anyway? Let your brilliant girl friend do your homework and have someone else write the exam for you?"
"I meant after the surgery, House," snapped Chase. "Putting her in there now would just be… stupid."
"Did little Chase think of such a big word by himself? I think he deserves a lollipop," said House in a mocking voice. He could see Chase's temper starting to flare. "So what should we do until metal-head gets out of surgery? Oh, I have an idea, clinic hours!" said House cheerfully. "I'm off to see what Cuddy would say to a brain biopsy."
"What?!" the three young doctors exclaimed but House was already down the hall out of ear's reach.
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Cuddy was in her office working on multiple reports at the same time,
As usual, thought House. She was wearing her signature low cut top with a skirt and heels, she hardly wore anything different.
"Good morning Dr. Cuddy," said House. "Beautiful day isn't it?"
"The answer is 'no' House," Cuddy replied quickly without even looking up.
"But you haven't even heard what I was going to say," winced House with a puppy dog face. "You've done enough in the last week, harassing a patient, amputation and over dosing another patient on morphine," said Cuddy.
"You know it does get lonely being the only drug addict in the building, I need someone who will get high with me."
"I don't care if you want a drug buddy, you aren't making one of our patient's a druggy, besides I still have those lawsuits to take care of. It has been hard finding a lawyer since Stacy quit, every time they hear you work here they run like whimpering hounds," said Cuddy. She looked up to see House's eyes glistening in hurt.
"Damn," he mumbled, his heart was torn open again.
"Oh, House, I'm sorry, I just sort of …forgot," apologized Cuddy; she didn't mean to hurt him.
"Easy for you to forget," he mumbled as he headed toward the door.
"House… wait," Cuddy shrugged. "How about lunch? On me? We have a lot of catching up to do." Cuddy saw the corner of his mouth curl into a smile.
"Why not, it's not everyday your boss offers to buy you lunch."
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Lunch with Cuddy was one thing that day House was looking forward to. Well, actually, he was looking forward to not having Jimmy irritating him to pay him back for all the other lunches he still owed Jimmy. He kept glancing at the clock, 10am, 10:10am. Time was passing as slowly as ever. As he pulled out his PSP from his pocket, Foreman came it and said
"The MRI revealed a small benign tumour-" Foreman was cut off as both pagers went off at the same time and they headed toward the ICU. The room that the girl was in was packed with nurses; Cameron emerged from the large group and came outside.
"She just suffered a stroke, if this continues, she's not going to last the night. We had to put her in a chemically induced coma," said Cameron.
"Put her on some blood thinners and then we just wait until she stabilizes and you can take her out of that coma, there was no need for it. She's Wilson's after that," said House blankly. "Well that was a boring case."
"Who's all mine?" came in Wilson with a smug look on his face. "I don't suppose it's that hooker of yours House?" House chuckled, "You wish, she's way too sexy for you." Foreman interrupted their conversation,
"A 15-year-old Girl with benign tumour."
"It's benign, it's not causing her any harm," said Wilson. House threw her charts to him. "Oh, the tumours pressing on vertebral artery not allowing her brain to get enough blood," commented Wilson simply. "Alright, as soon as we take her out of the coma we start her on blood thinners and we can operate on her as soon as possible."
House turned to Cameron,
"Any more cases?" asked House. "Sorry not today," replied Cameron.
"So that means time for Clinic hours," House spun around to see Cuddy standing there with her arms crossed.
"Good morning, Dr. Cuddy-"started House. "Go House," said Cuddy simply.
"But, but, Dr. Cuddy," winced House. "NOW, or I'll triple those hours," said Cuddy threateningly. "What about our meeting?" pleaded House with large puppy dog eyes. Cuddy's eyes narrowed, "Last time I checked that was at 1pm, two hours, plenty of time." She turned and headed back toward her office with the only sound being heard was the clicking of Cuddy's heels and the beeping from the teen's monitor.
Everyone except House rushed back to House's office, he seemed to be taking his sweet time. As soon as he reached his office he was attacked by the young doctors:
"What meeting?" said Cameron sharply with her eyes narrowing. House could tell she was jealous. House knew she still liked him, even almost a year later.
"Your stare won't pierce me, Chase over there is another story…"said House as he glanced over at Chase who whimpered slightly. He was a pretty boy but when it came to showing courage, well lets just say it wasn't his department of expertise.
"Is it a date?" asked Wilson with gleaming eyes. "It's about time." "No, it's just a get together between old friends," replied House starting to get annoyed.
"But you and Cuddy have never been friends, you two fight like an old married…" trailed off Foreman as his eyes grew to the size of oranges. "Before you even say anything the answer is 'no.' Besides it shows what you people know about me," sneered House as he left through the door and headed to the cafeteria to avoid clinic hours.
His luck ran out pretty quickly as he bumped into Cuddy the next floor down. "The clinic is the other way," said Cuddy with her temper rising. House took note that his lunch could be on the line, spun around and slowly headed to the clinic. Cuddy was left standing there shocked. She was expecting some kind of argument from House but one never came. She felt slightly disappointed as she watched him limp to the elevator. She realized in that second that she enjoyed sprawling with Gregory House.
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The two hours in clinic passed quickly, this was only because House had lunch on his mind. This lunch he didn't have to have the Jimster nagging him to pay him back for all the other lunches. It was quarter to 1pm when House decided it was time to head toward Cuddy's office. He watched her write and shuffle folders as he entered, then the phone rang.
House picked it up before Cuddy could even react.
"Cuddy's busy right now; call her back when she has time for you. Oh, wait, you say you're a donor?" He glanced at Cuddy who was now madly trying to get the phone from House but gave up. She leaned back and watched as House frightened another donor away. What could she do right now? He was a lot taller and even with his cane; he was a good deal stronger than her. "Well, if you're wondering I'm the ass of a doctor that will waste half your money on lawsuits. Oh, you're withdrawing your offer? That's fine, we don't need another ass-of-a-donor around the hospital…" he pulled the phone away from his ear and spoke to Cuddy. "Can you believe the nerve of this guy? He hung up on me!" Cuddy just glared at him, that phone call could have been an important donor. On the other hand, it could have been someone who wasn't even really interested in donating. It could have tied her up for at least an hour but getting the money might have been worth it, especially since she employed House.
House noticed that she was staring angrily at him. "Don't worry he'll call back, from what I heard on the other side of the phone, he can't live without talking to you, you should have heard him stuttering," said House with a smirk. "Ready?" he asked.
'Ready as I'll ever be, how did I get myself into this?' she thought. "Alright let's go but you owe me three clinic hours for that stunt." She heard House groan, she smiled to herself, she knew House hated clinic as much as being interrupted while watching "General Hospital," possibly more. As they headed toward the cafeteria, many nurses looked at them blankly and then whispered something to another nurse.
"You know, now they'll think we're having hot steaming sex," said House jokingly.
"You'll never change, will you?" said Cuddy slightly irritated. "So what do you want for lunch?" "Mmm, maybe a slice of pizza and a drink," said House. "And the entire McDonald's food chain." Cuddy stared at him for a short while, "What? I might as well take advantage of your generosity, you offered to buy lunch, but you never said how many times." Cuddy's eyes narrowed, "Last time I checked 'lunch' meant once, not the rest of your life and not making this hospital go broke. I have enough problems with your lawsuits."
"Ouch, a guy can't defend his pride?"
"Not when it comes to having the hospital lose a good $100,000 a year." Cuddy stepped into the line and ordered,
"Salad and juice is good," said Cuddy to the employee. After waiting for their orders, they sat down at a table. "Have we ever just talked?" asked Cuddy. "No, with all the kisses, I don't think there has been time." House grinned, "In all the years we have known each other and we never sat down and just 'talked' because I know you can't resist me. Might as well let the whole hospital know." Cuddy sneered thinking there was going to be another sex joke but to her surprise he started some small talk.
Wow, well this is awkward, thought House. He thought back to the days of medical school…
Flashback
There stood a young House leaning against a wall watching a young Cuddy. Cuddy was sitting alone at a table surrounded by text books. She looked tired and weary but worked continuously without glancing up. She still looked the same except she wore her hair in a bun which was quite rare for today's Cuddy. The clothes she wore were casual, jeans and a t-shirt.
"Shouldn't a hot chick like you be doing something, um I don't know, interesting? Asked House smugly as he approached her.
"Well I'm sorry I'm actually trying to get somewhere in life unlike you," she snapped without even looking up.
"Shouldn't you be with your friends at least?" asked House. Cuddy paused for a second. "They're busy, why am I telling you this?" she asked as she continued working with even looking at who she was talking to. "Why don't you leave me alone, you're being a pain in the ass."
"Let me think about that… No. Anyway you don't have any real friends; they're all "study buddies" since they only come to you when they need help."
"Who the hell do you think you are judging me?" said Cuddy, she could feel her anger rising, she was tired and hungry and that didn't help the situation at all. She finally looked up to see who she was talking to. Her jaw fell to the floor. He smiled and said
"Hi, my name is Gregory House, but you can call me Greg." She sat there in shock with her cheeks turning 100 tones of red; she had just called the smartest guy ever to study here an asshole and a slacker. She turned back to her textbooks and waited until she calmed down.
"You know it would be polite to introduce yourself here," said House with one eyebrow raised. Once Cuddy calmed herself, she turned around and said:
"Nice to meet you Greg my name is Lisa, Lisa-"
"Cuddy, yes I know who you are. The girl at the top of her class, always working," he said with a smile. "Who wouldn't know you?" A look of shock came over her face; Gregory House knew who she was? He was a legend even back then. There was no one better in the school but he was still a jerk.
"What was the point of asking my name if you already knew it?" House smirked, "It's all about the fun. Speaking of fun, why don't I treat you to a coffee and lunch, you look hungry." It was as if he had read her mind, she couldn't turn down a free lunch. An hour or so of no work wouldn't kill her so she just nodded her head.
"Great, finish off what ever your doing and lets head to Ronnie's Hot Shack, sound good?" asked House. "Ronnie's Hot Shack, the name sound repulsive…" "Ah, don't judge a book by its cover, besides their sandwiches and coffee are only second to Starbucks," said House. "Why not, if you say it's good," said Cuddy with a smile, she finished a sentence on her report and headed off with House.
End of flash back
"House, House, HOUSE," yelled Cuddy so loudly that everyone around them looked. "Hmm… oh sorry," said House while she apologized to the surrounding tables. "You know this reminds me of the first time we met? You know the time you called me an asshole and a slacker?"
"Oh that, I didn't mean it, I didn't know who I was talking to-" "Therefore you are telling the truth," smirked House. "Admit it, you would still call me an asshole, but now since I know you, I can call you a whore for calling me an asshole. It's only fair" Cuddy glared at him. "You're right, I would still call you an asshole but I don't approve of me being a whore. Plus I am your boss and I could fire you." House looked at her questioningly, "If you wanted to fire me, you would have done it years ago. Admit it; you can't go a day without looking at this gorgeous bod." Cuddy shook her head and started to eat her salad, trying to ignore the rest of House's inappropriate comments.
"I am who I am and I'm not going to change for anyone, not even Stacy." The sentence made Cuddy look into House's face which was now smirking its trademark smirk. Cuddy stared at him and waved her hand in front of his face.
"What?"
"Do you have a fever or something? I heard you say Stacy."
"So?" asked House with an eyebrow arched.
"I expected you to be bawling by now," said Cuddy.
"So now you're saying I'm a cry baby?"
"You always were." House frowned to the comment,
"Thanks, I really appreciate that."
The hour passed surprisingly fast, the two decided to head back up to their offices, Cuddy at least, you never really knew where House was going.
"Thanks House, as surprising as it is, I enjoyed lunch today. It has been a while since lunch was just food," said Cuddy with a sigh. "I would like to do it again." House
"Sorry Cuddy, everyone gets one date from me, so now, Cameron, Wilson and you have had your dates," said House. She was slightly disappointed, but laughed that Wilson had been included among the women. House leaned toward her and whispered into her ear so that only she could hear,
"That counted as a quarter, next Tuesday, see you then," smirked House. He turned and headed down the hallway leaving Cuddy speechless for a moment. She stood there watching him pull out a familiar bottle out of his pocket. Cuddy shook her head, sighed and headed to her office; she had a lot of work to finish.
Hope you enjoyed it, it's my first so please be nice. I know this chapter seems like fluffiness is coming up, there will be some but the drama will prevail! And what is drama without Stacy? Yes she will return, when and how, don't know yet, but eventually she will be back. Sorry for all those StacyHouse shippers, they won't get together for this one. Update should be up soon but don't yell at me if its not! I have a busy schedule.
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