FALLING FURTHER

by

SANDEFUR

This is fanfiction just for fun. I have no claims.

SPOILER ALERT: This story is based on the HOUSE episode, "Fall From Grace". If you have not seen the episode stop reading if you don't want it 'spoiled'.

Okay, we begin where 'Fall From Grace' ended. Medical student Martha M. Masters (Amber Tamblyn) has just learned that Dr. House's patient, a homeless man, has disappeared from the hospital. The F.B.I. has arrived because the patient's D.N.A. matches that of a wanted serial killer. The part of the homeless man was played by Chris Marquette. Joe Mantegna plays the part of Agent David Rossi on Criminal Minds.

3-21-11/Monday morning.

Martha is escorted to House's office by a man wearing a jacket labeled: F.B.I. She is still in shock at the news. The man they struggled so hard to cure, the one whose true name they never learned, has slipped away undetected from Princeton Plainsboro Hospital only hours before federal agents showed up to arrest the guy. The same guy Martha has been feeling sorry for and trying so hard to help. A serial killer – with 13 known kills! And…a cannibal. How ironic considering the successful diagnosis they had all been so proud of: Adult Refsum Disease – an extremely rare medical condition involving the body's inability to properly metabolize certain foods…

"Dr. Reid will be with you in a moment." The unnamed agent remarks before leaving.

Martha goes to the conference table where this 'Dr. Reid' is busy looking at something on his laptop. Martha takes a seat opposite him and waits patiently. She has to admit that Reid goes against her assumed idea of what an F.B.I. agent should look like. He seems more like a young professor who has never strayed from university life than like a federal agent who deals with dangerous serial killers. No doubt he is a profiler from the agency's famed Behavorial Analysis Unit.

Reid completes a notation and begins a routine greeting. "Sorry to keep you waiting…" (He gasps.) "Joan?"

Martha smiles and points to her i.d. badge. "Sorry, no one here but us 'Marthas'. I'm Martha Masters and you are…'Doctor' Reid?"

"Er, yes. I have a doctorate in psychology. Excuse me for staring, but you look remarkably like a young woman I use to date."

Martha smiles again and wonders if this is the start of a pickup line. Even though Dr. Reid is definitely not her type, her ego could use the boost. "So, I have a doppleganger somewhere?"

"Not exactly, but the resemblance is very close. You're not by any chance related to a family named Girardi who live in Arcadia Maryland?"

"Sorry, never heard of either one. Is it really that close of a resemblance?"

"At a casual glance, you could be mistaken for sisters. Joan is probably a year or two younger than you, has dark brown hair instead of reddish brown and is more physically fit…"

"Are you calling me fat? I'll have you know I fall exactly in the normal weight range for a woman my height."

"No, no – I just meant that Joan is more the athletic type. At least she was the last time I saw her…"

"Your tone tells me it didn't end well."

Reid nods sadly. "We had one formal date, and yes, it ended badly. I'm sorry for this personal tangent, Miss Masters or may I call you Martha? I'm Spencer, by the way."

Martha shrugs. "No problem. Did you want to discuss our missing patient, Spencer? We don't even know his real name."

"Sadly, nor do we. It was only when your Dr. House began a data search for matching D.N.A. that we became aware that our unknown serial killer was here. He has killed and partially devoured 13 women across 10 states – that we know of. To date we have no idea of his identity, and have found no matches to his D.N.A. on file. In questioning other members of Dr. House's team, we have been told that you had the most interaction with this young man?"

"Yes, originally he was admitted to the E.R. as a burn victim when his arm was set on fire by accident by a couple of kids playing with a rocket in the park. I was the one who first brought his case to the attention of Dr. House."

"As to that, we are still trying to get up to speed on the arrangement here between Dr. House and the hospital. He normally sees only one patient at a time and completely of his choosing?"

Martha nods. "I know that sounds odd, but Dr. House is a genius who takes only cases that intrigue him. He receives dozens of requests for his services every day, but he gets to choose whom he will see."

"And to do this he has a staff of three doctors and a medical student for only one patient? How can his department possibly turn a profit?"

"It doesn't. The hospital maintains Dr. House's department for the prestige he brings. House has a nationally, even internationally known reputation for being the court of last resort. Other doctors send him the patients they have been unable to successfully diagnose. His record speaks for itself, and even though the department loses money, the prestige brings in large donations from contributors."

"Who no doubt hope their contributions will bring them favorable status should they ever need Dr. House's services. The rest of his staff has been fully cooperative, but we have been unable to reach Dr. House. Isn't that unusual for such an important doctor?"

"Dr. House is usually available, but at the moment he is on his…honeymoon."

Reid detects the disapproving tone in Martha's voice, but makes no comment. "How did an ordinary burn victim, a homeless man, become a patient of such a famous diagnostician?"

"Partly it was due to his distraction while making plans for his wedding. I doubt he wanted to be tied up with an unusually difficult case. Our patient, in addition to his burn, was displaying symptoms of dysosmia, which can have several neurological causes."

"Dysosmia is a medical condition where someone is unable to correctly differentiate smells?"

"Yes. 'Ferris' claimed his burning flesh smelled like licorice, and antiseptics in the E.R. smelled like blueberry muffins."

"Ferris?"

Martha blushes a little. "I've devoted almost my entire life to study, so I am not always aware of certain cultural references. At the time I didn't realize the first name he gave us, Ferris Bueller, is the title character from a movie made the year I was born. My colleagues…found that amusing."

Reid suppresses a smile. "He then gave other names?"

"Yes, Peter Johnson and then Danny Jennings, which is what we called him most of the time he was here. We did think the Jennings i.d. was correct because we found his backpack in the park, and he had several books with that name in them."

"How did you come to spend more time with the patient than the other members of the team?"

"I felt sorry for 'Danny' because he had such a hard life. We found numerous old burns and scars on his body which he claimed came from being abused as a child by his father."

"That may be true. Abuse is a common factor in the personal histories of many psychotic killers. As I understand it, there were signs of heroin use?"

"In his past. We tested Danny's blood and it came back clean, but a test of his hair showed he had been using heroin at one time. Danny told us he kicked the habit in a state rehab facility after he briefly died from an overdose. He expressed it as God giving him a second chance at life, and he was determined to make something of himself. He said he wanted to go to medical school."

Reid smiles. "It may be that he was just telling you what he thought you wanted to hear."

"Dr. Taub thought so too because I'm a med student and because Dr. Chase is rather religious, despite his hedonistic lifestyle. Taub thought Danny might be a schizophrenic who adapted to those around him. He tested that theory by pretending to love hockey, but Danny surprised him by saying he hated hockey."

"Your 'Danny' might have easily seen through such an obvious ruse. He seems to be quite intelligent."

"He did claim to have received a scholarship to study pre-med right out of high school. But I suppose we can't trust anything he had to say."

"On the contrary, there may have been an actual blending of truth and fiction in all that Danny had to say. Our task is to sift through his statements and try to find the truth, which may lead us to him."

"I wish I could tell you which is which, but I'm completely thrown by all of this."

"You didn't notice anything unusual in his behavior? For instance, in reviewing the hospital's security coverage, Danny always had his face turned away from the cameras, or hid his face with his uninjured arm."

"He was homeless, and many of our homeless patients are a little paranoid about their pictures being taken. There are no usable images?"

"None. We have his fingerprints and D.N.A., but nothing to match those to. We were hoping he might have mentioned something that could give us a lead as to his next destination?"

"Sorry. I don't even know how he got out of the hospital undetected."

"Apparently he broke into a locker assigned to your Dr. Taub and stole a spare suit of clothes as well as some money. We only have a picture of his back as he leaves out a side entrance. Will his medical condition make it easier for us to catch him?"

Martha shakes her head. "His burns were healing well, and he only needs to maintain basic first aid to take care of his arm. As for his Refsum Disease, we fully briefed him on the foods he needs to avoid to prevent another flare up."

"Would human flesh be included in that list of forbidden foods?"

"I'm quite sure the ingesting of human flesh has never been tested on its' effect on Refsum's Disease. You must think I'm terribly naive in not detecting something...odd about Danny."

"On the contrary, in what we know of this man's killing habits, gaining the trust of his various victims before he turns on them is an important part of his ritual murders. He is very adept at fooling people."

"He certainly fooled me. I even researched for him homeless shelters that offer psychiatric services. I gave him a list."

"Do you remember which ones? It's a long shot, but we have to try every possibility."

Martha removes a notepad from her pocket and quickly writes down five names. She passes them over to Reid, who notes that she is using her own personal stationary. As Reid reviews the list, Martha begins a sketch on the next page of the notepad. Reid watches with interest.

"You are very skilled."

"I took an art degree and briefly considered being a professional artist. I'm trying not to let my revised personal feelings about Danny influence this sketch. To me he seemed a sad, repentent person who was worthy of a second chance despite..."

"Despite what?"

"I'm...an idiot. Danny actually confessed to me that he once attacked his college girlfriend. That he snapped one night and began beating her."

"And you didn't report that?"

"It was said in confidence, and...he seemed genuinely remorseful. He blamed himself for turning into the same sort of monster his father was, but thought his second chance from God meant he was forgiven. That he had a clean slate to start over. I believed him. Pretty dumb, huh?"

"No, you were just being compassionate and empathetic. You are obviously a kind person."

"Dr. House thinks I'm too trusting to be a good doctor. His personal motto is: Everybody lies. He lives his life accordingly." Martha says as she slides over her completed sketch. She fails to mention that House's methods often include breaking into patient's homes because he didn't trust their denials of any toxic substances being in their houses.

"This is an amazing sketch. We will be distributing it to the media right away."

At that moment an older man with a goatee enters the office... "Reid, we just got a report that our Unsub was spotted on the riverfront."

"I'll be with you in a moment, Rossi."

Martha stares at the newcomer with obvious interest. "Excuse me, but you look very familiar. Have we met?"

Rossi looks at the young medical student and shakes his head. "I don't think so."

Reid says, "Excuse my manners. Martha Masters, this is Agent David Rossi."

Martha snaps her fingers. "David Rossi, of course. Your photo is on the back of your book on hostage negotiations. I read it for my psych class, but it said you were retired from the F.B.I."

"I found retirement too dull, so I came back. Reid?"

"Meet you out front in two minutes."

Rossi nods and hastily exits. Reid begins gathering up his papers and shuts down his laptop.

"Martha, thank you so much for your help - especially the sketch. I was wondering...would you like to go to dinner sometime?" Reid asks with a shy blush.

Martha hesitates. It has been a long time since a man has asked her out, and Spencer seems like a bright, interesting guy but...not her type. When she was earning her mathematics degree, Martha was surrounded by scrawny, brillant geeks like Spencer Reid and none of them ever appealed to her. Martha has always found herself attracted to the muscular macho type. Her brillant mind has argued logically against this inclination for years, but to her chagrin, Martha has learned that the hormones want what the hormones want. Her last 'crush' was on a rodeo bull rider!

"I'm sorry Spencer, but it seems a really bad idea to go out with a guy because you remind him of an ex-girlfriend."

Reid nods. "You're probably right. Uh, I have to go..."

Spencer Reid makes a hasty exit, only partly due to the demands of his job. Martha sighs, feeling a little guilty. A nice man. She hopes she didn't hurt his feelings. Anyway, she will probably never see him again.

X X X X X

Agents Rossi and Reid sit in an unmarked black SUV - standard issue for the BAU. They are parked half a block away from Martha Masters' apartment, which is logically located halfway between the university and the hospital. As the sun is setting, Martha parks her compact car in its' assigned space and hurries into the apartment building.

"Well, she made it safe and sound." Rossi dryly comments.

Reid notes the tone. "I want to thank you again for indulging my...hunch."

"Reid, since when do you have hunches?"

"Never. It is a non-empirical practice that defies rationalization."

Rossi chuckles. "Then I guess you're overdue. But answer me honestly, do you really have a hunch or are you just attracted to this girl? I saw the way you were looking at her."

"Then honestly, I admit I'm strongly attracted to Martha - Miss Masters."

"Wouldn't it be easier to just ask the girl out?"

"I did. She...shot me down."

Rossi sighs. "So, depending on how you look at it, we're either protecting this young woman from a potential attack by a serial killer, or...you're stalking her."

Reid frowns. "Do you actually think the other members of the team might believe I'm stalking Martha?"

"As a man who has parked outside the homes of various ex-girlfriends and three ex-wives, I would call it a grey area. Hotch might not see it that way."

Reid thinks of their team leader Aaron Hotchner, a rather humorless, by-the-book type of man. Reid nods his agreement and responds...

"I do have reasons for my hunch. From talking to her colleagues, and from my own brief time with her, I would have to agree with the prevailing view that Martha is a remarkably naive and trusting young woman. If you will, an innocent lamb in a world filled with wolves."

"Exactly the sort of woman our profile says the Unsub would seek out."

"Then there is the note. Martha supplied me with the same list of homeless shelters she gave to the Unsub. She has a rather firm handwriting and I noticed the indentations left by whatever she wrote on the previous page. When I held it to the light I could see it was the same list in a slightly different order. It is on her personal stationary, which includes her home address."

"And she gave that to a homeless man she met only a couple of days before? That pushes trusting to the point of stupidity. Okay Reid, if it comes down to it, I'll back your hunch with Hotch."

The two agents resume watching the second floor balcony of Martha's apartment.

X X X X X

Martha enters her apartment carrying her laptop, a huge pile of research material and a small sack filled with Thai food. She is glad to have the apartment to herself for a change since her room mate is out of town for a couple of days, and she can use the peace and quiet in which to study. This semester of independent study has been the busiest and most challenging of her academic career. Not only is she gaining practical experience at the hospital, but she is also expected to keep up with her third year studies all on her own - complete with tests and performance reviews. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for House...

As much as their personalities clash, Martha has formed a grudging respect for her genius boss. Unfortunately House has no respect for anyone on his team. Eighty hour work weeks are common, and since she is a medical student, all of her work has to be supervised by another doctor on the team. So far neither doctors Foreman, Chase or Taub have complained (at least to her face). Not that House cares. Only solving the latest medical mystery seems important to him.

But for how much longer? Ever since Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the hospital's administrator, broke off her relationship with House, he has been in a rapid downward spiral. Drunkeness and prostitues were quickly followed by a return to a vicadin drug habit - something House managed to kick two years ago. Martha has been alarmed by House making medical decisions in this condition, and her conscience has been urging her to report him, but a sense of loyalty and the lack of concern by her colleagues has deterred her. Apparently the rest of the team grew use to House's drug use in previous years and judge that it does not affect his skills as a doctor.

But his personal life is another matter. In a crazy attempt to hurt Dr. Cuddy, House has entered into a green card marriage with an attractive young woman. If he gets caught in this phony marriage to a Russian immigrant, House will go to jail. Martha sighs. At least House has someone. Martha reconsiders Spencer Reid's invitation to dinner and wonders if she should have accepted - just to keep in practice, if for no other reason. Martha begins counting back the number of months it has been since she was last on a date and moans when it goes beyond a year. Maybe it is time to go against her 'inclinations'...

A slight breeze. The drapes covering the sliding door that leads to the balcony definitely moved, and since Martha lives only on the second floor, she always keeps that sliding door locked. The bedroom doors are closed, and there are only two other doors in the small apartment that can be opened and which would cause such a crosswind. She just locked the door to the hallway - that leaves the bathroom door.

Martha turns and sees a smiling 'Danny' standing in the bathroom doorway. She bolts for the front door, but Danny is quick. Her escape blocked, Martha backs away. Danny has a knife.

"Martha, don't spoil our date. If you scream or struggle, I'll hurt you in ways you can't imagine."

"I'll...be good." Martha manages to reply, her breathing already becoming labored from fear. Oh God, he is going to kill her and (gulp) eat her. 'My poor family...'

"I'm guessing you now know about me?"

Martha nods. "The F.B.I. showed up at dawn looking for you."

"I knew they would once you began that D.N.A. search. I told House I didn't want that."

"We wanted to find your father to see if you had any inherited neurological conditions. After you explained to Dr. House that you feared you would kill your father if he showed up, we stopped looking, Danny."

"I told you, that's not my name! My real name...is Alan."

Martha tries not to groan. She feels this time he is telling the truth - further evidence that he doesn't intend for her to survive this encounter.

"Alan, please remember that I helped cure you. I cared about you. Doesn't that count for anything? What about the second chance you said God gave you? Would he want you to do...this?"

"God did give me a second chance, and I've been waiting on a sign as to which way my life should go. You were that sign, Martha."

"Me?"

"For years I've preyed on trusting women like you, and I always felt guilty about deceiving them so much. But you Martha, I was honest with you. I told you I was evil. I told you I am a monster, and still you trusted me." Alan says as he holds up Martha's list of homeless shelters. "It's a sign from God to continue my work."

This time Martha does groan. Stupid, stupid, stupid! House is right, she is too trusting to be a good doctor and now it is going to get her killed.

"Alan...please, please don't do this."

In response, Alan moves closer with his knife raised. He licks his lips...

"F.B.I.! Open this door!" Agent Rossi shouts from the hallway.

"Martha, are you okay?" Reid calls out.

"Help!" Martha shouts as Alan closes the gap between them...

Out in the hallway Rossi and Reid throw their shoulders against the door. It has a very strong lock and it takes two more tries before the door bursts open. The two F.B.I. agents enter, guns drawn. They find an empty apartment. It takes them only a moment to locate Martha. She is on the balcony, pressed tight up against the railing. The Unsub is precariously standing on the outside of the railing with his knife jammed against Martha's throat.

Rossi takes aim. "Put down the knife."

Smiling, Alan replies, "No."

"Please don't hurt her." Reid adds.

"Don't make me shoot you." Rossi snarls.

"Go ahead, old man, pull the trigger. When my body falls the knife will rip her throat wide open."

Rossi hesitates, recognizing the truth of that. "Back up is already on the way. How long do you think you can stay like this?"

"Not long, which is why you two are going to do exactly what I say. Holster your weapons and step back into the hallway, closing the door behind you. Give me a ten count and I'll jump down. It's only a ten foot drop, and I figure I can outrun either of you any day of the week."

"Not going to happen, kid."

"You sure? Because at the first sign of a flashing red light, I'll kill her and take my chances."

Martha, being very careful not to move, pleads, "Spencer, please..."

Reid hesitates a moment and then holsters his pistol.

"Reid, what are you doing?"

"Rossi, we can't just watch him kill Martha. We have to take this chance."

Rossi sighs and also holsters his pistol. "Okay kid, a ten second head start, but hear me good. If you hurt the girl, you'll never be taken alive. My personal guarantee on that."

Watching the Unsub carefully, Rossi and Reid exit the apartment, and from behind the closed door they began a slow, loud count to ten. Martha tries not to tremble. She can already feel a thin trickle of blood running down her throat. This is it. Will he keep his word or is she going to die? Alan leans closer and whispers into her ear...

"I think the skinny one likes you."

With that, he is gone.

"Spencer!"

Rossi and Reid rush back in. Rossi goes to the balcony railing and looks down - cursing when he sees the Unsub has already disappeared into the darkness. He pulls out his cell phone to alert the rest of the team. Martha automatically goes into Reid's arms...

"I-I was so s-scared!"

Reid holds her tight as Martha cries on his shoulder. He tries not to notice how good it feels to have this lovely young woman trembling against him...

"You're safe, Martha. I promise, he will never come near you again."

As her adrenaline rush begins to wane, Martha notices how close Reid is holding her. Without thinking, her hormonal side evaluates how this would feel under better circumstances... "Thank you Spencer, but...I'm still not going out with you."

Meanwhile, in the darkness...

Alan runs with surprising speed for a man one day out of the hospital. He zigzags his way between buildings, over fences and through dark alleyways. He has always had this uncanny ability to evade pursuit. It is one of the reasons the police have never captured him. Alan pauses to catch his breath and ponder his next move. The cops know what he looks like now. He has to find a place where he can lay low for awhile. But where? There's only one chance. The last place where someone might still be willing to take him in.

Arcadia.

To Be Continued. Please Review.