On Saturday, Wilson sat in House's office where the interview was to take place. House had eventually told him it was scheduled for 12:15. He drummed his fingers impatiently; the clock read 12:25, but he was the only was in the room. A moment later, he heard swift feet in the hallway, the sound of someone running. A young woman with short, somewhat spiky blonde hair stepped inside.
"Sorry.. I'm late.." she panted between breathes, "Heavy traffic.." She straightened herself up, quickly ran her hand through her hair to try to coax it into lying flatter, then held the hand out to Wilson. "You must be Dr. House." She spoke in a thick accent.
"Not exactly," Wilson chuckled, "I'm Dr. Wilson. Dr. House seems to be running late. Get used to it; House is rude and likes to make people wait." He accepted the lady's small hand, shaking it with his large one.
"Oh, he can't be that bad," the lady laughed, swatting her other hand through the air to say "no big deal". She smiled warmly, then added, "I'm sure he's just stuck in traffic, like I was."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Wilson warned. The two spent the next thirty minutes discussing House and "personality quirks" as Wilson called them. Finally, at 12:55, House limped through the doorway.
"Sorry I'm late," House said, then paused. After a moment of thought, he said, "Actually, I'm not sorry. I didn't get out of bed until noon." He turned to the woman. "Dr. Gregory House."
"You slept until noon?" Wilson asked, as if shocked that it was humanly possible to sleep past seven. House laughed to himself before explaining what was so funny.
"Did I say that?" said House, "No, I didn't sleep until noon, I said I didn't get out of bed until noon. I woke up at eight, but I didn't feel like getting up. Leg pains, you know how it goes." Wilson rolled his eyes at his friend as House took his seat.
"So, now that we're all here," said Wilson to the woman, "What's your name?" House shook his head at the generic beginning question Wilson always started with. How House wished he would change it up once in a while!
"Riley," answered the woman, sitting as still as she possibly could, but it seemed she'd drank too many coffees before coming this morning, and the less movement, the more difficult it became. House looked over her every detail, trying to size her up.
"I'll ask the next question," said House, and Wilson mouthed, "Oh, God." With a look that claimed he was concerned, House asked, "When did he leave you? Your husband, I mean."
"E-excuse me?" Riley stuttered. "First off, that doesn't pertain to the interview at hand, because this is about my job, not my personal life, Dr. House. Secondly, how on Earth did you..?"
"House, you can't ask things like that!" Wilson hissed, "Ask her about her qualifications, not her personal life." He glared at his friend, but House shook it off. House never listened to Wilson, so why start now?
"Well, you have circles around your eyes, suggesting you don't sleep well. You're hyped up on caffeine, also suggesting you don't sleep. Your eyes are red and puffy like you've been crying, possibly why you haven't slept. But you have a wedding ring," House explained. "So you've been crying at night instead of sleeping, but what kind of wife does that? Obviously, he's either just left you, or he left a while ago and you're still hoping he's coming back." Riley opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, House spoke again. "He's not coming back, is he?"
"You listen here!" Riley shouted as she stood up, anger overwhelming her judgment. "I did not come here to face a barrage of questions about my personal life! I came here for a job interview, so if you could, stay on task!"
"All right, I will. Sheesh," said House as Riley took her seat. He turned to Wilson, who was glaring at him. "What? I was just trying to evaluate her mental ability. It seems our friend has a temper."
"I would, too, if you probed my personal life on the first day we met!" Wilson whispered fiercely, "Ask questions about her qualifications!" He seemed sincerely peeved.
"Fine, fine. Have kids?" House asked, then quickly added, "This is a question about qualifications. It could determine how dedicated you are to work."
"Two, and if you ask any more questions about them, I swear I'll mess up your other leg," Riley retorted, sensitive about her children. House didn't so much as listen to her response as he did her way of talking; her accent was oddly familiar. Suddenly, he put it together.
"Riley what?" House wondered, "What's your last name? Maiden name, if you changed it, preferably." Wilson looked at him like he was crazy, but House gave him a confirming look to show he knew what he was doing.
"It's Chase. And I didn't change it when I got married. It's Riley Chase," said Riley, confused why it would matter and why he would specifically ask for her maiden name.
"And how many families of blonde doctors named Chase are there in England?" House asked with a grin. Wilson had a look of utter discovery, as if he had himself just found the cure to a terrible disease.
"I'm Australian, actually," corrected Riley, "I'm from Australia. My brother and father are doctors, however. How did you know?"
"I'm just that amazing," House replied. "You can go now; you've got the job." Wilson silently stared off into space.
"What? So easily?" Riley puzzled, "You didn't even ask about my real qualificati-.." House cut her off before the word could be finished.
"Those don't matter," House said, "This interview didn't even matter. You're the only person who wanted the job, so it's yours. Actually, this interview did matter. I just wanted to see if you were amazingly gorgeous. You start tomorrow. Wear scrubs."
"Thank you so much, Dr. House," said Riley, rising and walking over to shake both his and Wilson's hands. "I'll be here on time, I promise." She turned and exited, leaving the two men alone in House's office.
"Why scrubs?" Wilson asked, "None of your team members were scrubs." House began to chuckle evilly a little to himself before replying.
"It's her initiation. I've never had a new team member before," House smirked. "Let's see what happens. After all, Chase never told us he had a sister, and, boy, does she have issues!"