House sat at his desk, throwing his lacrosse ball against the wall and catching it in a smooth rhythm, and pouting. Of course, he would deny it to my dying day, but he was. He could not believe that the girl had been right. Not only that she had been right about the diagnosis, but she won a hundred dollars from him. He never lost a bet, and he was never, ever so far behind someone on a diagnosis. Trying so hard to see the train of logic that led his newest, youngest fellow to such an insane diagnosis, he missed the ball completely. It rolled toward the door, and bumped against Wilson's shoes as he walked into the office.

"Making good use of your time, I see," he said dryly. He had heard all about the situation from Cameron, and figured House would be in a petulant mood.

"Sure. What else am I going to do? Seems I hired a psychic doctor. Makes the job much easier. All we have to do is show her the file, she waves her hand over it and gives us a diagnosis, no matter how improbable. It'll save us a bundle on tests and time on differentials."

Wilson couldn't help but smile at that. "You realize that's how us 'mere mortals' feel watching you work?" House scowled at him. "Okay, but she was wrong about one thing. This guy's got three weeks, tops. Not two months." He picked up the ball and tossed it to House, who caught it easily and tossed it back. Wilson hadn't intended to play catch, but if House wanted to act like a ten-year-old there were a lot worse ways to do it. At least this didn't involve a whoopee cushion. "You said she was brilliant. Maybe she's even your equal…?"

House made a face and threw the ball back a little harder than necessary. "She pulled it out of her ass!"

Wilson dropped his hands, effectively stopping the game when he didn't throw the ball back. "Yeah. She just happened to make up the proper diagnosis for a rare form of lung cancer with a completely atypical presentation that just happened to be right to impress her new boss. Admit it, House. She's that good. That's why you hired her!" He could see that blatant truth wasn't the way to soothe his friend's wounded ego, so he threw the ball back. If House wanted to be a ten-year-old, he would just have to be eight. He screwed his face into his most pitiful expression and forced his voice into levels he hadn't reached since he was little Jimmy Wilson, horsing around with his brothers. "I won't share my lunch with her if you don't want me to…"

House smiled at that, but to Wilson's horror he actually seemed to be considering it. Finally, he said, "You damn well better not! There's certainly not enough for all three of us!" He kept a serious face for a moment, until Wilson finally processed this, then they burst out laughing. Speaking of lunch…"

Wilson nodded. "Come on. I've got an hour. Want to go to the coffee shop around the corner?"

House stood to put on his coat. "Sure. Sounds good."

Knowing it was futile, Wilson tried anyway. "You're buying this time."

"Sorry," House said. "Supergirl cleaned me out. Lost a hundred bucks on your new patient." Wilson tried to suppress his grin. About time someone actually beat House at a bet!

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Cameron, Chase, and Alex left the clinic at the same time, and headed back to the office to get their stuff. Alex was slowly adjusting to the crutches, and had only tripped twice today. Once, Chase had been there to catch her before she fell, and the other she was alone in the exam room so no one actually saw her. That was better. She hated for people to see her be clumsy. It was the worst part of being injured.

Cameron held the door for her and she slipped the camouflage-print messenger bag over her shoulder. First step she took, it swung around and hit her left crutch, causing her to step down on her injured ankle. She gasped in pain caught herself on the table. Cameron was at her side instantly, but Chase (having worked with House for so long) was a second or two behind. "Are you okay?" Cameron asked, helping her upright again.

Catching her breath, she forced a smile. "Yeah, fine. Be better when I can walk on two legs again. Thanks."

Chase took the strap of her bag from her shoulder. "I'll carry this," he said.

The three ducklings left the office, one on each side of the new girl. "So," Cameron asked. "How was your first day? Aside from leaving three hundred dollars richer?" They had each grudgingly paid her earlier when the CT had showed the massive tumor growing on their patient's lungs. "What do you think of House?"

She smiled. "My first day was pretty cool. I did what I came here to do, even though it sucks that the guy is dying. But I solved the puzzle, and that's what I have to focus on. That's the fun part, why I wanted to do this." She paused to allow them on the elevator before joining them. "As for House, he's…" She struggled for words. "Not what I expected."

Chase laughed. "I don't think anyone expected House to be like he is, even those who are warned." He studied the two women beside him. "Hey, you two want to go get a drink or something?"

Alex's eyes lit up. "Sounds like fun."

Cameron shrugged. "Sure. Give us a chance to get to know Alex a little."

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Thirty minutes later, they were sitting around a small table at a place called The Pub. It was a small restaurant/bar with an old English theme. House had taken them there one night to mock Chase, so it seemed appropriate. Three glasses of beer were around the table, and they were laughing like old friends. Chase had left his dress shirt and tie in the car, leaving him in khakis and a white t-shirt. Cameron had also lost her outer layer, leaving her in a tight maroon shirt and her black skirt. Alex, however, hadn't even taken off her lab coat.

Finally, Cameron asked her about it. "You don't have to be a doctor at the moment. You can take the lab coat off."

Alex blushed. "I-I uh…get cold easily. And I didn't bring another jacket with me. Most of my stuff is still packed up in Maine. John's driving down the moving truck Friday."

"You're moving all the way from Maine?" Cameron asked. "For this job? Why?"

Alex looked at her self-consciously. "I wanted to work with House. I wanted to meet him. I never thought I'd actually get the job. I-I…heard he was the best."

Chase processed this. "Boyfriend?" Alex and Cameron both turned to look at him like he was speaking Swahili of something. "You mentioned John. He your boyfriend?"

Alex shook her head. "He's my stepdad. He stays with me. I…uh…well, he took care of me when I was younger, so now I owe him."

Chase frowned. That didn't sound right. "Doesn't he work?"

"Of course he works! He…" She trailed off, uncomfortable. "He builds stuff. It's complicated."

He let it go for now. "I've got a jacket in my car you can borrow until yours gets here."

She smiled at him. "Okay. Thanks!" He slipped outside, leaving the girls to talk. "So," she asked Cameron. "Are you two…you know…together?"

Cameron nearly choked on her drink. "What? Me and Chase? No!"

Alex shrugged. "Okay. Just wondering. He's cute."

"He has his moments," Cameron admitted. "She ordered them all another round, and by the time the beer got there, Chase was back with a soft brown leather jacket.

He looked at her slight frame, then at the jacket. "This is going to swallow you whole," he commented, handing it to her.

"No problem," she said. "That'll just make it comfortable."

Chase sat back down and Alex held the jacket, hoping they would get engaged elsewhere and not watch her. They never turned away, so she finally had to change. She slipped the lab coat off, and quickly pulled Chase's jacket on. But not fast enough.

"What in the world happened to your arm?" Cameron asked, gasping at the huge purple-black bruise that covered most of her right forearm.

Trying to look nonchalant, she said, "Same thing that happened to my ankle."

"You never really told us about that, either," said Chase. "What happened?"

"Street hockey," she said. I was playing goalie, and someone took out my ankle. Fell on my right arm." She took a drink of her fresh beer. "So, who's up for a drinking game?"