Cuddy handed a file back to a nurse and looked over in annoyance as House walked into the lobby and saw her. He quickly turned to leave but she ran over to him and commented sternly, "House, you have missed 11 hours of clinic duty."

House looked uncaring as he replied sarcastically, "And you missed the memo informing you that I wasn't doing clinic duty." He looked smugly at her upset look, "Small detail."

She glared and handed him a pair of rubber gloves, "Clinic. Three hours. Go." She turned to leave.

She ignored his calling after her, "But, mom! I promised Jimmy I would take him to the arcade!"

*********

At the lobby, the front doors opened and a young blond walked in confidently. She stopped in front of the doors and glanced at her watch. She seemed satisfied and walked over to a nurse station. She pulled out an ID and spoke to the nurse, "Hello, I'm starting today at 5."

The nurse glanced at the ID and sighed in relief, "Thank goodness. We've been short handed for months since Kensington was let go. Poor man, he loved this place. We really hated to see him leave."

The woman nodded in understanding and commented worried, "Must be hard to see a stranger replace someone you've known forever. I promise I won't take it personally if the people here are upset with me taking over his job."

The nurse looked at her seriously, "Oh, please honey. You may be young, but the Board doesn't let just any one join the staff here."

She looked nervous, "Well, actually, Doctor Fontana made a call to push my candidacy."

Instead of the smug expression she expected, the nurse looked impressed, "Wow. You must be good if a former Board member is recommending you. Welcome to PPTH." She handed the woman a card and a folder of paper as she commented, "This is a temporary access for the hospital until HR sends you an official one and these are some technical forms you need to read and fill out for any doctors you wish to have on your staff."

The woman looked at it surprise, "My staff? I thought this was just until the hospital found a replacement."

The nurse frowned in thought as she pulled up some data on the computer. She shook her head and showed her the screen, "Nope. You are the replacement. You have a budget for two doctors of your choosing."

The woman inhaled and looked somewhat overwhelmed. "Okay." She composed herself and asked, "I believe that I am scheduled to meet the Dean of Medicine?"

Cuddy had walked up behind her and agreed, "Yes. I just took care of another matter; I apologize for being late."

The woman shrugged it off, "Oh, Doctor Cuddy, that's unnecessary. You have an entire hospital to run; I can't penalize you for being busy!" She introduced herself, "I'm Zoë Carter."

"Lisa Cuddy." Cuddy smiled pleasantly, "Well, I appreciate that." She muttered to herself, "Finally someone understands that." She looked over the woman and looked surprised. "You're very young to be a doctor."

Zoë smiled, "Yeah, I know. According to all my professors, I took to medicine as easily as birds take to flying." She shrugged, "I think they were exaggerating."

Cuddy scoffed, "Don't be so modest. From what Tess told me, you graduated top of your class in four years. The best doctor we have didn't do that."

She inhaled and commented, "Dr. Cuddy, I am wondering why the records are indicating I have authority to form a team. I thought I would be working with the staff as equals. I don't want to cause problems with the people here who may be better qualified for such a privilege."

Cuddy replied, "Dr. Carter, I was told by Tess and the Board you were extremely reliable and an exceptional doctor. A company called GD has authorized a substantial annual fund to the hospital, a percentage of which is allocated to your salary and the salaries for two additional doctors assigned under your supervision." She smiled sincerely, "Now, from this encounter, I can tell you are very unassuming, which will give me a measure of relaxation. God knows I've wanted a doctor like you for years. From my guess, I'd say you're House's polar opposite in regards to your personality. If your medical knowledge is as good as they say, he'll be in for a surprise." She smirked, "As a matter of fact, why don't you head down and pay him a visit?"

Zoë followed Cuddy to the clinic where she instructed her to handle some patients. She worked for the next few hours, walking into the lobby after diagnosing a patient with a simple stomach ache. She was reaching for a patient's file when she jumped a foot as a wooden stick slammed down on the counter. She looked to her right and glared at the older man holding his cane over the file. She yanked the file free and walked up to him. She opened the file and read the name, "Are you Denis Reed?"

The man shook his head. Zoë closed the file and walked past the man, causing him to become confused as she called out to the room, "Denis Reed, I will see you now."

A man stood up and started forward. The man from before smirked at her evilly and asked Reed, "Do you really want to see her? I mean, she thinks she's a real doctor. Which she isn't; because a real doctor wouldn't be so young and could diagnose a patient just from the chart."

Reed hesitated and glanced at Zoë. She sighed annoyed and opened the file as the man watched playfully. She read over the charts for a minute. She looked at the man closely and exhaled. She walked to the pharmacy and ordered, "I need 150 ml of promethazine-codeine." She glanced smugly back at the man and announced, "The patient is suffering a mild throat irritation after his trip to Reno. The dry air caused his throat to lose moisture and became inflamed." The pharmacist handed her the bottle and she gave it to Reed.

Reed nodded and turned to leave. The man spoke up, "Wait. Come here, let me double check." Reed looked annoyed but stopped. The man picked up a tongue depressor and a flashlight and looked at the man's throat. His face fell and he nodded to the man. "Take that every 5 hours, once in the morning, once at night until it's gone. By then the throat will have had enough time to regain moisture."

Reed nodded and left. The man glanced at Zoë as she signed off the pharmacy call sheet and the patient file. She walked by and dropped the file into the outbox. She glanced sternly at him and eyed him carefully. He looked uncomfortable with the scrutiny and looked away. "So, you're new."

Zoë raised an eyebrow, "And what makes you say that?"

"Because I've never seen you around the hospital."

Zoë counters, "You only say that because you've never seen me work the clinic. Because that's where I am assigned, and Dr. Cuddy told me you rarely come to the clinic."

He looked genuinely surprised and queried, "Cuddy hired you?"

Zoë deadpanned, "What if she did?" She smirked, "If she had, does that mean that Gregory House is no longer her go-to doctor?"

He looks even more surprised, "You know who I am? Well, that gives me a huge disadvantage."

She turned away and went back to the counter and picked up another file. She opened it, "Eve Williams?"

A blonde woman with a kid stood up and walked over to House, "I believe House is my doctor." House looked somewhat worried and quickly snatched the file from Zoë.

He nodded, "She's right."

They started to leave but Zoë heard him say to her comfortingly, "Eve, good to see you again." He looked at the kid, "Timothy, how are you doing this month?"

She smiled and turned back to see Cuddy walking up to her while she looked at House as she asked surprised, "Did he just take a clinic patient?"

Zoë nodded, "Yeah. He seemed very happy to see them."

Cuddy asked, "Them?"

She nodded, "Yeah. A blonde woman and a young boy. I think he know her somehow."

Cuddy raised an eyebrow and sighed. She inclined her head, "Dr. Carter, I wanted to introduce you to House's staff. Since you'll be working closely with diagnostics, it will be good to know them."

Cuddy took her to an office with House's name on it. She opened the door and showed her in. As they entered, four people looked up in confusion. Cuddy commented, "Doctor Carter, this is Dr. House's team. You can take a few minutes and get acquainted."

Zoë nodded as Cuddy left. As the door closed, the single woman there asked her alarmed, "Are you here to replace one of us?"

She shook her head, "No. I just started today and Doctor Cuddy was showing me around. I'm apparently going to be working with House closely. So, why don't we all introduce ourselves? My name is Zoë Carter."

The men seemed unsure but a black man spoke first, "I'm Dr. Foreman."

A British man nodded in greeting, "Robert Chase."

The third man sighed impatiently, "Dr. Taub."

The woman said, "I'm Thirteen."

Zoë narrowed her eyes and asked, "Doctor Thirteen?"

She replied, "No, I go by Thirteen."

Zoë now looked skeptical, "I've read about some of House's antics. Is that one of his pet names for you?"

The woman looked uncomfortable, "Well, no. I actually came up with it…"

Zoë held up her hand and Thirteen became quiet. Zoë walked over and held up her ID badge, "Doctor Remy Hadley." She looked pleasantly at her, "Good to meet you."

Thirteen looked somewhat insulted, "Good to meet you." Zoë walked over to House's desk and looked it over. Thirteen eyed everyone in the room suspiciously.

Foreman asked her, "Dr. Carter?"

Zoë turned around and asked calmly, "Yes, Dr. Foreman?"

"I just wanted to know why you're here. If you don't mind?"

She nodded calmly, "Of course not." She leaned on House's desk and replied, "As you know, Dr. Kensington retired a few months ago. The hospital needed a doctor and I was recommended. Dr. Cuddy informed me that I would be collaborating with Doctor House. She felt I should come down and get to know the people I will be working with."

Taub asked her sarcastically, "So what did you find out about us?"

She turned to him and said evenly, "That all you have House's suspicious nature and believe everyone has to have a hidden agenda." She glanced at Thirteen, "And you seem to be very easily intimidated. I won't be bullying anyone if that's you guys are all concerned about."

Taub looked at her and commented coldly, "Then I guess we'll see you around then."

She raised an eyebrow and shook her head, "And I won't be bullied, either. I was hired by the Board and as such, am here to stay. Seriously, I am not here to intimidate anyone, but I don't want to be the person who will cause problems. I want to work with you in a professional manner. If you don't want to do that, just let me and I will make adjustments accordingly." She smiled and excused herself, "I'll see you around."

Chase looked shocked, "Oh, my god." He looked at the others and chuckled amazed, "I think we just saw a civil version of House."

Thirteen smirked, "Definitely has his attention to detail." She stood up and walked over to the window.

Taub continued, "Without any of the verbal or mental abuse."

Foreman looked suspicous, "I'm not so sure. I think she's putting up a front. You don't try to cozy up to people you'll be working for if you don't plan to push your way through the ranks."

Thirteen had been watching Zoë and looked intrigued, "Guys, check this out." They all went over and watched as Zoë stood in the center of a group of nurses. She was smiling as she talked with the nurses. "I don't think House tried to make friends with the nursing staff when he joined the hospital."

Foreman rolled his eyes, "She probably knows someone would spy on her and is keeping the bluff going."

They watched for a couple more minutes until Zoë picked up a cell phone and a looked of excitement crossed her face. She looked apologetic to the nurses and turned to leave. As she did so, she stopped short when she noticed all four of them watching her. They all turned away instantly and returned to the seats.

******

Zoë's cell phone rang and she grew excited as she saw her dad's number come up. She excused herself from the group and turned to answer it. She stopped in alarm when she noticed all of House's team were standing and staring at her appraisingly. She eyed them as they quickly returned to their previous activities. She shook it off and opened her phone and replied happily, "Hey, dad! How are you?"

"It's okay. You know, just having to deal with another weird day in Eureka."

She rolled her eyes, "What did Fargo do this time? He hasn't turned on another missile has he?"

"No, just some algae experiments that are growing all over town and eating all the trees."

She looked thoughtful, "Well, Jo said there had been a shipment of starfish for the new aquarium last month. Starfish are voracious algae eaters; maybe they could just eat it all."

Jack sounded amazed, "That's brilliant! I'll run over to Henry and see if they think could work!" He added slyly, "Why don't you come to GD and apply? Allison would love to have to have someone as brilliant as you working Section 5."

She smirked coyly, "Good try, dad. Tess had a friend who needed help here in Jersey and I agreed. Don't worry about your little girl. She's going to be fine."

He sounded sad and proud at the same time. "I know you are. I can't believe that 5 years ago, you went to Harvard Medical. Now you're at one of the best hospitals in the country excluding Global."

She wiped a tear off her cheek, "Yeah." She commented, "And besides, I've seen GD solve medical problems this hospital will never have to deal with. SynWater; Reverse Evolution." She laughed out loud, "Not to mention you and Allison getting linked through the baby monitor! That was some funny stuff!"

Jack sounded uncomfortable, "I thought we agreed to never talk about that."

She put on a serious tone, "You're right. I promise never to mention again."

She could tell from his tone he had rolled his eyes, "Yeah, whatever." He grew serious, "Zoë, I want to you to know how truly proud I am of you."

Zoë jumped slightly as she felt a light jab in her back. She turned around and sighed in annoyance. Jack must have heard and he stated, "Zoë, I mean it."

House smirked at her she glared back. She spoke quickly, "No, dad, it's not you. I know you're proud of me. It's just one of the doctors here. He's a jerk."

House raised his voice, "A jerk that could make her stay here very unpleasant."

Jack scoffed, "Well, it seems that you will have your own Stark to deal with."

Zoë shot a glare at House as she replied, "Trust me on this, dad. Compared to this guy, he was an angel. I'll call you after my shift ends. Give my regards to Jo and Zane."

Jack agreed, "I will. Love you, Zoë."

She smiled despite herself, "Love you, dad."

She hung up as House mimed her mockingly, "Love you, daddy!" He smirked, "I knew I could find something to use against you."

She shot him an even glance, "What? My healthy respect for my father or the immense pride he has in knowing that his daughter is a doctor with Harvard credentials?"

His arrogant expression briefly faltered, "Harvard?" He recovered and countered, "How about the fact that he still checks up on his little girl?"

She replied evenly, "Some families like to keep in touch once in a while. He called me two months ago, and I'm sure you'll say that he doesn't love me enough to call me more often; but being the sheriff of an entire town can be time consuming."

"I'll bet when he became sheriff, he had to leave you alone in a small room with nothing but TV dinners and a pile of old VHS tapes to keep yourself busy."

Zoë began panicking dramatically, "Oh, you're right! He was a terrible role model. After all, working through my teenage years as he continually tried to connect with a rebellious young girl must have been a complete failure. It has to be seeing as though we are closer than ever and I've worked my way though Eureka High School and Harvard Medical School…"

House looked at her carefully, "Wait? Did you say Eureka?" She paused and eyed him cautiously as he asked, "Did you know a man named Nathan Stark?"

Zoë grew serious and replied softly, "Yes, I did. My father had to tell his finance when he died."

House looked troubled and was quiet for a moment. He sighed, "Maybe I'm asking the wrong person, but I could never get a straight answer about his death."

Zoë looked apologetic, "Unfortunately, you will never get one."

House nodded solemnly, "But I'm assuming…" He gestured at her.

Zoë looked down, "Yeah." She took a breath, "But I can tell you, it wasn't meaningless. His death saved the lives of a lot of people." She asked interested, "How did you know him?"

"He was one of my tutors in Med-School. He was an excellent doctor."

"He taught you most of what you know?"

House nodded, "Yeah, but he could come off a bit rough."

Zoë gave a small smile, "No kidding?"

House rolled his eyes and changed back to his usual self, "Whatever."

He began limping away, but stopped when Zoë commented, "You know that Stark and my father never got along."

House smirked, "Well, it seems that will be another thing I learned from him."

Zoë countered calmly, "Maybe. But no matter how they felt about each other, when things were on the line, they worked together pretty well."

House considered it seriously before denying, "I doubt we'll have the same dynamic."

Zoë tilted her head and sneered, "You're probably right." House nodded and left. Zoë watched him leave and looked confident as she whispered, "I guess we'll see."