A/N My niece gave me this prompt: What if Lauren was Dr. Gregory House, but with a heart and totally clueless about how wonderful she is? I can never back down from a challenge and this is what I came up with. Read, review, let me know what you think. I have a couple of chapters written, but updating will be a bit slow, this is my busy time of year for work. Provided I get positive responses, otherwise it can stand alone as a one shot.

Disclaimer: I own nothing... the mistakes however, are all mine

Problem Solving

Prologue

Things she doesn't know:

She is beautiful

She is sexy

She is adorable when she geeks out

She makes someone's heart race when she's near

Someone fell in love with her, in the blink of an eye

Things she knows:

She is awkward

She prefers being alone

It's not easy talking to people

She will never be someone's forever

She is smart

She is an excellent doctor

Chapter 1

Lauren's POV

Lauren Lewis, MD

Director of Pediatric Medicine

That's what it says on the door of my new office. I'm used to the MD part, the director title, not so much and it takes a minute for it to sink in, really sink in. Suddenly I find myself full of doubt, why did I leave my lab, my world of research? Sure it was short on real human contact, real actual patients, but it was full of problems to solve. I love solving problems; I love figuring out how they work and what steps need to be taken, its Petri dishes and experiments and microscopes. Now, those problems I need to solve will have faces, they'll be children with parents and families; much more than Petri dishes, experiments and microscopes. And I am terrified. They made me an offer I couldn't refuse, not like in the Godfather, no horse heads in my bed or anything, but an opportunity to make this department the leader in its field and that I could not resist. I'll be taking one patient at a time and solving their problems, I hope so anyway, that's the plan. First things first, unpacking.

An hour later and I have almost completely unpacked, picking up the last items to place on the shelf over my desk, my back to the door and someone taps me on the shoulder. I whip my head up and Bam! Right on the corner of the shelf. Great, just great. Rubbing my head I hear, "Careful there Doc, you'll damage that big bran of yours and I hear it's the biggest since Einstein or something." I turn and see a tall blond standing before me with her hand out, waiting for me to shake it.

"And you are?"

"Tamsin Walkryie, your new admin."

"I have an admin?"

"Uh, yeah. You're a Director; it says so on the door."

Huh, never had an admin before. Extending my hand, "Nice to meet you Tamsin, I'm Dr…." She interrupts, "Lewis, yeah I know, it's on the door remember?"

Mmmm, snarky, do I like that? Maybe.

Rolling my eyes, "Ok, Tamsin, it's still nice to meet you. Umm, I'm pretty new at this, so I uh, am not entirely certain on what to do?"

"No worries Doc, I'm an old pro at this. I have your patient list, your schedule for the next week, the names and bios of the members of your team." As she is listing these items out, she's dropping folders on my desk. "You have a general staff meeting in 30 on the floor, down at the nurse's station. I have a list of things you'll need to go over with all of them" Plop goes another folder, "just fill in the blanks."

Picking up the folders, "I have a team? A general staff? And patients already?" I look up at her, panic written all over my face.

She folds her arms across her chest, "Wow, you are new at this. Ok, so did anyone actually tell you what your job is?"

Rolling my eyes again and tapping my finger on the folders, "Yes, I was told what my job is; I just didn't quite expect it to start so, uh quickly, I guess."

She comes around the desk, takes the folders out of my hand, "I know you're some kind of medical genius Lewis and the reason Dr. Marquis lured you out of the research lab but you are a bit slow on the uptake." Walking away from me and shaking her head, I hear her mumble, "I was expecting House and instead I get the Nutty Professor."

House? What's House? And did she say medical genius? I am known in the realm of pediatric medicine for being an expert diagnostician, but I wouldn't use the word genius. It's all about solving the problem is all. Nutty Professor, I know who that is, did she call me eccentric as well? I look up and she's almost at the door to my office, "Tamsin, why did you say you were expecting House? What does that mean?"

Now it's her turn to roll her eyes, "House, MD. as in the TV show?" I have a confused look on my face, "Let me guess, you don't have cable? You've never had cable?"

"No."

"Oh, boy. Ok, House is a doctor, on TV who is a brilliant diagnostician, he's arrogant, condescending, has an acidic wit and oh yeah, he's addicted to pain killers from some accident or something, I don't remember. What else? Umm, he has some medical students or interns, who make up his team, the dark haired chick is smoking hot, but she's a blond now and on a different show, something about magic and queens maybe? Whatever. Umm let me think," She's tapping her foot and waving her hands around, "What else to tell you." She shrugs her shoulders, "Anyway, that's what I was expecting, an arrogant ass. I was really looking forward to going toe to toe with an arrogant ass; instead it looks like I'll be babysitting." She looks a bit disappointed. "You should totally watch it, for you know, research purposes. You like research right? It might be on Netflix."

"Netflix?"

She looks at me like I've been living under a rock or something.

"Seriously? You really never left your lab did you?" I give her what I hope is a scathing look, like my mother used to give me, the one that can burn a hole in your shirt. Apparently she finds it amusing.

Chuckling, she shakes her head, "Never mind. Come on Lewis, I'll show you around, introduce you to your team, have a staff meeting, maybe get some coffee, come back here then we'll go over your patient list. You'll be meeting some of them and their parents later today." She's waving at me to follow her. "Come on Doc, one foot in front of the other, let's go. Time is money and all of that."

She leads me out of my office and into a world for which I am completely unprepared. Why did I leave my lab, I ask myself for the millionth time?

Several hours and many cups of coffee later I am sitting at my desk, twitching from all the caffeine and trying to eat my healthy, sensible lunch. I can't really concentrate though; my mind is racing trying to put everything into its place. I don't know how other people's brains process information, well, that's not entirely accurate. I know the science behind how the brain processes information, just not how it looks inside other people's minds. In my case, each member of my team has been categorized, memorized, logged and is waiting for me to draw on the information, my own personal search engine. That's how it works for me anyway. I file everything I see, hear, read, experience, away and then look it up when I need it. It's kind of like Google. I have been categorized as having an eidetic memory; I'd rather think I am like Sherlock Holmes. I observe, notice and study everything and then file it away for later use. That's the secret to my ability as a diagnostician and the genius IQ comes in handy too. Neither of those abilities help with my people skills, that's why I specialized in pediatrics; it's ever so much easier to talk to a child than an adult. They have no expectations for small talk; they just want kindness, attention and the truth. Glancing at my watch, I see I have exactly 53 minutes until my first patient meeting in oh, only about 7 years. Great. Wonderful.

Running my hands through my hair, I toss my lunch to the side and pick up the first patient file in the pile and begin reading.

Case history: Charlotte Elizabeth Dennis

Charlotte Elizabeth Dennis, 6 years old, presented at her pediatrician's office 12 weeks ago with dizziness that comes and goes, general fatigue, irritability and a slight decrease in the ability to distinguish notes on both the higher and lower portions of the frequency scale. That last part is curious. She was diagnosed with vertigo as a result of the residual effects of otitis media, given an anti-biotic and sent on her way with a follow up scheduled for the following week. In the follow up visit, no improvement noted. Another round of antibiotics, another follow up. After three weeks, hearing loss increased, vertigo the same, increased fatigue and irritability. She was now getting into trouble in school for not paying attention, not following directions. According to teacher notes included in her file, she did a 180, going from a stand out learner to a troubled child who seemed to hate school. A therapist was suggested, but I see no visits noted, interesting. Ultimately, she was sent to an otolaryngologist: an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist to concentrate on the physical aspect of the problem.

Based on the notes and test results in her file, the ENT specialist ran her through every test imaginable. Ultra sounds, CT scan, a scope, but no MRI? Hmm. All returned no significant results. Anatomy of the child's ear is normal, the slight upward slope of the Eustachian tube, normal in a child her age. She did suffer from an unusually high number of inner ear infections as an infant and toddler. Scar tissue may have something to do with the hearing loss, maybe the dizziness, but why so long to present? According to the child's history, no trauma that would cause these symptoms. The most concerning thing I see is the fatigue, irritability and change in behavior because there is no logical explanation for those. A kid is sick they get cranky, sure, but this little one is not running a fever, looks healthy from the outside and when asked, she says "nothing hurts, I don't know, I feel bad."

I continue reading the notes, the test results, all focusing on the ear itself, the structure, the content. I have a hunch they're looking in the wrong place, for the wrong thing. I continue turning this problem over in my mind, jotting down questions as I go through the file.

I am startled by a knock on the door as Tamsin sticks her head in, "Doc, you ready?"

Not looking up, I respond, "Yes, yes, send them in." I think I might be on to something here and don't want to lose it. I jot down the question as I hear Tamsin usher in my very first patient and her parents.

I look up and into the wide-eyes of a very scared child, holding her, I assume, mother's hand. I smile wide, walk around my desk bending down to her level and address her before either parent, "Hi Charlotte, I'm Dr. Lewis. I hear you haven't been feeling well, is that right?"

She nods, but doesn't say anything. "I'm going to do my best to fix that, ok?" Another nod and a glance up at the woman holding her hand. "Good. I'm going to ask you and your parents here some questions and then I'll do a physical exam and when I'm done we'll talk about what I find. Are you alright with that plan Charlotte?"

Another nod and in her little girl voice, "Everyone calls me Charley. You can too, if you want."

"Charley it is then." I stand up and move to address Charley's parents; glancing at the file on my desk I see their names. Ok, time to talk to adults Lauren, put your Dr. face back on. I hold out my hand as look into the warm, yet haunted dark chocolate eyes of Charley's mother and of course say the obvious, like an idiot, "Dr. Lauren Lewis. You must be Charley's mom, Isabeau Dennis?" She smiles a smile that doesn't reach her eyes, the hint of a dimple in her right cheek, "It's Bo and yes I'm Charley's mom." She turns to the man standing beside her, "and this is Charley's dad, Dyson Thornwood." His face crinkles up into a smile and shakes my hand, "Thank you for seeing us Dr. Lewis. We're at our wit's end."

I nod, move to sit behind my desk, "Sure, sure, take a seat everyone. I have a couple of questions and then we can move to the exam room."

Everyone sits, Charley climbs onto her mother's lap, lays her head on her chest and closes her eyes. Ms. Dennis wraps her arms around her daughter, kisses the top of her head, turns to me ready for Q&A time. It's a simple act of love between a mother and her daughter, an act so touching in its simplicity it causes my breath to catch in my throat. I swallow around the sudden lump, fold my hands and gather my thoughts to begin the quest of solving this problem. I look up from reviewing the questions I had written down, choosing the one I want to ask and see Mr. Thornwood has placed his hand protectively on his child's back and is tapping his foot nervously. The acting out of young Charley in school, the mention of a therapist, could this be a physical response to an emotional problem? I look at Charley snuggled up to her mother, she looks like a very tired, very sick little girl. She's as well dressed a six year old as I have seen, cute little dress, purple with tiny white polka dots, a lavender shawl over her shoulders, black shiny boots on her feet, dark wavy hair pulled back on the sides. I notice the remnants of a rash above her left eyebrow, a little darkening under her eyes. She's tired, yet not really sleeping much I bet. I turn my attention to the parents.

Are they married? Are they not? I see no rings, no tan lines where rings may have been. She's dressed like a modern downtown woman, indigo blue button down, top buttons revealing just the right amount of cleavage, tucked into black pants that ride low on her hips and are tailored to perfection, a black leather zip up jacket and long dark hair pulled back in a high pony. No jewelry other than small diamond studs in her ear lobes. Short, well cared for nails, knee high black boots on her feet. Skin on her hands is a little red, a little rough, works with her hands…..in water or with water, somehow; an artist, a stylist or used to be? He looks like a hipster, super short beard, tight curly dark blond hair, expensive jeans, just the right amount of worn t-shirt under a weathered brown leather jacket, horn rims perched on his nose. Short nails, smooth hands, loafers…desk job of some sort.

I am suddenly very curious about my patient's parental situation. What's the deal with them? Was Charley a mistake and she told him to piss off, she's having the baby with or without his help? Did he leave them for someone else or because he didn't want to be a father? Is he here now only because of obligation? Or are they a happy family going through a rough time? Most importantly, why am I thinking about it? Focus Lauren, focus, you're doing a Sherlock Holmes, save it for the exam, not the parents. There is a problem to solve, a little girl and her mother to save. Curious I only think of the mother.

They are both looking at me expectantly, waiting for my questions. How long have I been lost in my own thoughts? Too long apparently. I nod to no one but myself, clear my throat and ask, "Can you tell me when Charley had the chicken pox? I didn't see it in her file."

My question is met with blank stares. I wait until Ms. Dennis speaks up, "Dr. Lewis, she hasn't had the chicken pox, she was vaccinated, I think when she was about a year old." She turns to Mr. Thornwood, "Dys, do you remember?" He shakes his head, "No. I know she received it, but not when."

I push on, "She clearly has some scarring, right around her brow area and I imagine I'll find more on her belly or back when I do the physical exam. Based on the data in her file, I have developed a hypothesis on what is causing all of these problems for Charley. The answer to my question is vital to my information gathering but I'll know more once I complete the exam and do some additional testing." I stand and gesture towards the door to the exam suite adjacent to my office, "Shall we?"

They stand, Mr. Thornwood taking Charley from her mother and carrying her into the examination suite, looking at each other as if I just grew another head. I am used to that look, I used to get it quite often, that's why I went into research, patients and parents that are numbers on a chart don't look at you like that.

I appreciate any and all feedback, thanks for taking the time to read.