Disclaimer: I don't own House M.D., nor the characters. I don't own Beauty and the Beast by Disney either. I make absolutely no money from this.
Author's Note: This came about after listening to the soundtrack of Beauty and the Beast A LOT. The parallels between House and the Beast are uncanny. Really. So, here it is. Take it as you will. It's a bit mystical, magical, selfish, and crude. We have the best of both worlds. ;o)

Prologue.

As the years passed, he fell into despair and lost all hope for who could ever learn to love a beast?

"What are you doing in here?"

House stared across his desk at his team. Cameron looked to Chase, who gave a small, confused shrug. Foreman kept his eyes on House.

"The patient isn't doing any better," Foreman said.

"Then you need to do more tests," House replied. "Scan his brain and get a lumbar puncture."

Foreman sighed and led the way out of House's office with Chase and Cameron following after. House turned off his desk lamp before maneuvering around his desk. He headed for his office door as he tiredly rubbed his eyes due to the late hour.

House reached for the door handle and pulled it open. He froze when he saw a figure standing in his way, cloaked in a long dark robe. The face was concealed in shadow. House frowned.

"Who the hell are you?"

"We should talk," an old, quiet, wheezing voice spoke.

"Isn't there some sort of Stars Wars convention you should be attending?" House tried to pass the figure, but it didn't move.

"We should talk."

"Go away, Jedi Master Jinn," House replied rudely.

"If I gave you this..." A thin, frail hand clutching a single rose emitted from the oversized sleeve. House cocked an eyebrow as the rose was offered to him, "...would you speak with me?"

House eyed up the suspicious figure. "Did Wilson send you because I stole his lunch from the staff room?"

"No. I came to see you, Gregory."

House shrugged. "Lose the robes, try a shower, and then-"

"You shouldn't put me out because of my appearance, Doctor."

"Right." House gave a short nod. "And you shouldn't wear Star Wars costumes while forgetting to bathe."

"Very well."

The robe began to vanish as the ragged figure transformed into a young blonde woman in a long sparkling dress. House's mouth fell open, transfixed by her beauty and her act of revealing herself to him. He took his bottle of Vicodin from his pocket and looked down at it.

"How many of these did I take?" House asked himself, believing he was going crazy.

"Will you speak with me now?" the woman's smooth voice said.

House ogled her. "As long as you bring those breasts with you."

"I was deceiving you, Gregory, and now I see who you really are," she told him.

"So, you're not coming in then?" House leaned forward slightly.

"No." She shook her head. "And I am so sorry."

House's eyebrows drew together as the hospital began to grow brighter and brighter until he was blinded by a white light as if the sun had consumed him. When the light faded, House's eyes adjusted themselves. It was then that he knew something was wrong.

Looking down at himself, House suddenly realized that his body was not his body anymore. He examined his hands, large, hairy, with thick, sharp nails. He brought his hands to his face. Hairy, scarred, a short snout instead of a nose. And his teeth were larger, slightly sharper.

"What the hell is going on?" House's words echoed off the hospital walls and came growling back at him.

"I give you this rose, Gregory." The woman extended the rose.

House snatched it, planning on tearing it to bits.

"I would be careful with that," the woman warned. "If it's destroyed, you'll be a beast forever."

House raised his snarling face to her. "A beast?"

"That is what you are now," she told him, unafraid. "Funny about appearances, huh? I placed a spell on this hospital. This floor is yours. And your team's."

"What the hell are you talking about?" House demanded, clenching his two oversized paws into fists.

"Careful of the rose." The woman looked at the rose and House loosened his grip. She brought her sparkling blue eyes to him. "I told you. Beast forever. It will bloom for the next five years. If, in that time, you learn to love and earn love from another in return, the spell will be broken. You'll return to your former self, limp and all. If not... you'll be a beast forever."

"I'm tripping." House shook his head. "I must have OD'd."

"No, Gregory," the woman replied. "This is real. You'll see."

As mysteriously as she had appeared, she was now gone. House looked around, and then back down at himself. His shoes were in pieces, his feet much larger, covered in fur. He swallowed hard. He was on his 'hind' legs. The seams of his clothes were practically ready to burst from his transformation.

House looked to his large paw and the rose within it. He reached for it with the other hand, preparing to crush the petals, but he stopped himself. Instead, he moved quickly across his office, feeling every muscle, all the power. He swiped everything off his desk in one quick motion, accompanying it with a growl. Breathing heavily now, he let the rose fall simply to the desk.