"Sorry I'm late! The traffic was-"
"Yes, the traffic was really bad, I know. Funny though, because it was fine when I left."
House's newest doctor, Dr Stokes, had been late to work every day for the last two weeks. And yet, House didn't even try to discipline her.
As Stokes sat down at the large glass desk, House began describing the symptoms of their most recent case.
"32 year old female... arrhythmia... numbness... dizziness..."
All the words were drifting in and out of Stokes' ears, and she was almost asleep.
"Stokes!"
"Huh? Wha- oh right yes. Symptoms. Conditions."
"So? What have we got?"
"Uh, well, those signs seem to point to peripheral neuropathy."
"Good. And what would you do about this diagnosis?"
"Get her tested for alcohol poisoning? And check her vitamin levels."
"Okay. Great. Thanks. Foreman, Chase, you go do that. Cameron and Stokes, I need to talk to the two of you."
The two men left the room, and Allison Cameron and Taylor Stokes were left with their boss.
"Taylor, I'd like to speak to you first. Cameron, can you wait in the other room?"
"Sure boss."
When he was sure Cameron had left the room, House turned to Stokes, and sat down opposite her.
"What's going on?"
"What?"
"Something's going on. I can tell. You're late for work everyday. You can barely stay awake, and you're constantly lagging behind the others. I want to know what's wrong so I can help."
"Nothing's wrong. And even if it was, I don't need your help. I work in a hospital - I can get help here."
"Ah, so it's medical. Right."
"What?"
"I didn't even bring up illnesses, yet you went straight to the idea of hospitals."
"Whatever. I'm fine and I don't need help. Just let me get on with my work."
Before he had a chance to reply, Taylor had stormed out of the room, slamming the glass door behind her.
House winced, then motioned for Cameron to join him.
She came in and sat down where Taylor had been a few seconds earlier.
"What was that all about?"
"I don't know. Which is why I'm asking you. What's going on with Taylor?"
"How would I know?"
"She's the only other girl on this team and we both know you need someone to talk to, and frankly, Cuddy isn't quite cutting it for you. So. Spill the beans. What's wrong with our little Taylor?"
"I don't- I don't know. She won't talk to me about anything. She hardly talks to any of us anymore."
"Well then, what changed? She used to talk to us. What happened? Why is she so distant?"
He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts, then addressed Cameron again.
"I need you to do some detective work. Find out what's wrong with Taylor. Whatever it is, it's preventing her from working properly, so we need to sort it out asap. Report back to me if you find anything."