Silence Games
DJ Dubois
June 2007
Notes: House MD belongs to FOX.
Chapter 1 [West Princeton]
After a night of pouring rain and brisk winds, Princeton lay quiet as the sun crept into the sky on that June morning. A few pets and their owners braved a careful jog around the area. The birds tried a few notes before breaking into song. Once everyone was sure it was safe, it would improve but for the time being, a few explorers tested the waters for the others.
Cuddy whacked the alarm clock with a weak slap and groaned. For the past few weeks, the latest fundraiser had occupied her attention. She'd buried herself in her suite, keeping the door locked (and pissing off a certain diagnostician in the process). Still, with the telethon coming up in two months time, she wanted her peers to see PPTH's donation check front and center.
With the windfall from their efforts, the network folks would be pleased indeed.
However, as was the usual case when her obsession got the best of her, she had ignored her health and regular routines. Sure, she'd kept up her Clinic rotations and lectures to the medical students. She'd continued to keep tabs on House albeit through Wilson and the Ducklings. Yet she hadn't paid nearly as much attention to her diet, cramming a little salad or crackers or a bit of tuna here and there into the corners of her hectic schedule.
And the last two days, she felt drained and listless as if the energy were literally being drained away from her. I really should've stayed away from that patient in the Clinic last week. She set her feet on the floor but they ached in protest.
"Great. Now what?" she said—but the words came out as a hoarse whisper.
Putting her hand to her forehead, she groaned again at the heat under it. "Wonderful." While she knew she needed to get some paperwork done, she knew better than to infect half of the hospital with the laryngitis she'd picked up in the Clinic. She sighed. I hate this! She ground her teeth, knowing full well that it meant at least two days in bed after a trip to the doctors and pharmacy. Better let Wilson know. With that, she picked up the phone and made the sick call.