Hi everyone,

Thank you, JLCH, freeasabird14, Abby, HuddyGirl, azes, lenasti16, guest, guest, Ladytrad, Amandak82 for taking the time to read and review the last chapter of this story.

And thank you to all of you who have stepped in to read…

On to the next chapter.
I hope you'll still enjoy it.

"I saw you in Endocrinology class..." – Gregory House (S06E07 Known Unknowns)


** THE FIRST TIME **
- Chapter 3 –

Third week of the semester.

House already feels tremendously bored. But he still needs to attend a few classes, though. At least pretend that he does, if anything to give the impression that he's taking his situation seriously, and is willing to be a 'good' student.

Sadly, he can't keep spending all of his time in the bookstore. The place is nice, though, quiet most of the time, and it gives him free access to an infinite number of books that he reads, in a secluded little spot he's fitted out just for him behind the counter. The problem is, even the bookstore is sometimes annoying. It could be the perfect place – even better than the library – if he didn't have to help Carrie every now and then, when it becomes too crowded and it's obvious she can't handle everyone's request at the same time.

So he had to find an alternative; which is why he divides his time between the bookstore, and a selected numbers of classes that keep his intellect stimulated.

Endocrinology is one of them. He's not particularly fond of the specialty, but he enjoys going there just for the pleasure of messing with Fillmore every time he gets a chance. Actually, come to think of it, he mostly attend classes to mess with his Professors, and he really doesn't care what it makes him look like – probably a jerk – because he's going to receive a call from Johns Hopkins' Dean very soon, who will tell him his appeal has been granted, and he'll go back to the logical course of his life, which means: get the Doyle internship at The Mayo Clinic, as he deserves it. And Weber, that little bastard who ratted on him, can go fuck himself!

He arrives late in class, as usual, and takes a seat in the back. As usual. Everyone is already scribbling down notes, bent forward to their tables. Some of them still straighten up to look at him when he crosses the room to find his spot. Some others shoot him a half-glare because he makes a table squeak, or bumps into the back of a chair on his way.

"Mister House," Fillmore says as he sits down, "May I remind you that class starts at nine. Not nine fifteen…"

House shrugs, but doesn't answer. A few more students turn around to look at him. Some smile emphatically, some smirk judgmentally. He doesn't pay attention to them, though. He doesn't care, anyway.

Fillmore has already moved on, carrying on with whatever topic he is discussing today. House gives a quick glance at the board to catch up. There're mostly numbers written down, which look like lab results, more specifically hormone panels, if the different acronyms are any indications.

Fillmore is finishing writing a few more data on the board.

"So," he says, turning around and looking directly at House, "for the latecomer, today's topic is—"

"Hashimoto's thyroiditis," House says, completing Fillmore's sentence. "Yeah. Seems pretty obvious to me from TSH and T4 levels written down there…"

Fillmore's mouth falls agape for a brief instant, but he quickly pulls himself together.

"Yes, of course," he says, addressing the entire class again. "As I was about to say, the lab tests for Hashimoto's thyroiditis are quite self-explanatory. Clinical features, however, are a little trickier. Why?"

"Because Hashimoto's thyroiditis is often asymptomatic in the early stage of the disease."

The voice is feminine. And it's just come from somewhere in the front rows. House's curiosity is instantly piqued. Every student perfectly knows that Fillmore's questions are usually purely rhetorical, and don't call for an actual answer. Amused, he tries to locate where the girl is, and then he sees her, more precisely her back: A petite brunette, with long curly hair, seated in second row.

"Yes, you're right," Fillmore says, taken a bit off guard by the interruption. "Some symptoms are, however, very much observable, which is what we're going to focus on right now."

He closes a section of the board and uses his overhead projector to display a picture of a patient on the wall.

"As you can see," he goes on, "there is a goitre which is firm, slightly irregular, and usually painless-"

"Not in about 10% of the cases," brunette girl interrupts him again.

Fillmore conspicuously clears his throat and shoots a pointed look at the girl.

"Yes, which is why I said usually

The girl remains silent, apparently nodding in agreement.

"Please note that the enlargement of the thyroid is due to lymphocytic infiltration and fibrosis rather than tissue hypertrophy," Fillmore continues. "Definite diagnosis is made by detecting elevated levels of anti-thyroid peroxidase antibodies in the serum."

"What about patients that have none of these antibodies?" the girl asks.

Oh God, House thinks, watching the scene with utter fascination, that girl is going to get crucified if she keeps making comments like that.

It's sassy, he thinks right after.

And he likes that…

Which is why, for an inexplicable reason, he feels the sudden urge to intervene.

"I think the real question here is, what about Subacute thyroiditis?" he says, catching Fillmore's attention just as – he's sure of that – he was about to shut brunette girl up with an acerbic remark.

"Excuse me?" the professor says, looking up in House's direction.

"Subacute Thyroiditis," House repeats smugly. "Some studies show Hashimoto's thyroiditis can, in fact, occur after a viral infection, most likely of the respiratory tract—"

"Mr. House, I know your interest in infectious diseases, but this is not the subject," Fillmore says dismissively, visibly embarrassed by the question. "Hashimoto's thyroiditis is a well-documented autoimmune disease, which underlying cause is hormonal—"

"Sure," House replies sarcastically. "You teach an Endocrinology class so, of course, it means the cause has to be hormonal."

Fillmore's cheeks become slightly flushed with anger.

"I'm not overlooking other possible diagnosis, Mr. House," the professor says louder. "What I'm saying is the debate amongst physicians regarding Subacute Thyroiditis hasn't been settled. All signs point to it being hormonal, the viral explanation rather inconclusive so far—"

"Well, actually," brunette girl in second row says, "several documented studies published in Endocrinology report cases of patients who suffered from De Quervain's thyroiditis as a complication of mumps."

Geez, that girl is unstoppable, House thinks. And, as it turns out, not a complete moron either. Calling Subacute Thyroiditis De Quervain's shows she knows her subject, for sure.

He stares intensely in her direction and, as if on cue, she turns around and flashes a mischievous smile at him.

Consequently, and for the first time since he's noticed her presence in the class, he sees her face. A pretty face, undeniably: pulpy, rosy lips, light-blue eyes – or so it seems – distinguished little nose, high cheekbones...

Pretty and smart?

Interesting, to say the least…

He doesn't really pay attention to Fillmore's vexed reaction, but assumes he's probably trying to save face as he announces shortly after that they will focus back on the matter at hand, moving on to the hereditary risk factors, and illustrating his point with mentions of HLA-DR5 gene, and CTLA-4 gene polymorphisms in various scientific data.

The hour flies by without any more interruptions from brunette girl. She seems to be focusing on writing down notes for the remaining duration of the class. House can't help but look at her. She's not seated at an angle that allows him to see her face properly, but he can make out her profile, nonetheless, by the way she tilts her head to the side to write. Left-handed, he notices, and smiles.

When Fillmore dismisses class, instead of being one of the first to leave, like he usually is, House stays seated in his chair, observing brunette girl while she's gathering her stuff. John, the guy next to him, seems to be doing the exact same thing, as House isn't long to find out.

"Sexy, uh?" John says, talking to House even though he doesn't look at him.

"She's a baby," House says, shooting him a side glance.

"Hmm, I wouldn't say that," John replies, conspicuously checking brunette girl out as she stands up and reveals a short skirt, barely covering her toned legs, and perfectly enhancing her curvy ass.

The girl starts to head out. Leaping to his feet, House quickly follows suit, but not before he's stopped long enough to send a warning glare to John.

"Leave it," he says.

He vaguely hears John protest behind him, but doesn't pay attention to what he's saying, as he strides towards the back door to leave, hoping to catch up with the girl who just exited through the front door.

And, indeed, he does. With a perfect timing, he almost bumps into her in the hallway as she's actually walking in his direction, her bag on her shoulder and a lollipop in her mouth.

Just as she walks past him, her chin high, and her gaze everywhere but on him, he takes a step aside to get in her way and force her to stop. She comes to an abrupt halt and locks eyes with him.

"I don't think I've seen you before in that class," he says, looking down at her with a smart-ass grin.

She pops the lollipop (cherry lollipop, he instantly notices) out of her mouth with too much of an unnecessary loud, sucking noise for it not to be deliberate, and stares at him with arched eyebrows.

"Maybe you just don't remember," she says.

She pouts for a second, her lips shaping into an adorable "O" and then flashes an amused smile at him.

"Doesn't seem to me like you're very good with faces," she adds, and her voice takes on a slightly challenging tone.

He frowns, intrigued, and then shamelessly plants his gaze on her cleavage for a while before returning his attention to her face.

"Oh trust me, I'd have remembered," he sasses. "I have an excellent memory."

She rolls her eyes in obvious disapproval but House doesn't fail to notice how flush invades her cheeks at the same time.

"I'm Gregory House, by the way" he says.

"Well, that'd have been pretty hard for me not to know that already," she says with a throaty laugh. "What with you interrupting Professor Fillmore every two seconds."

For a split second, House's eyes widen in stunned surprise at her sassy comment.

"Hum, hello pot, this is kettle," he says, shooting her a genuinely amused smile.

"I was barely making observations," she says, wiggling her shoulders a little.

"Oh, you were, uh? Well, in case you haven't noticed, Professor Fillmore isn't exactly keen on interacting with students. His questions are more, like, of the rhetorical kind, if you see what I mean."

"Then why did you ask him about Subacute Thyroiditis?" she asks challengingly, and in that instant, it's impossible to miss the little sparkle of mischief in her eyes.

"Because that was a perfectly valid observation," he says, with a 'duh' face.

"And what? Mine weren't?"

"I didn't say that. I'm just saying, don't try too hard to outsmart him. He's not going to like it."

"As opposed to him enjoying your observations, of course?"

House rolls his eyes dramatically, but can't repress the smile that draws on the corner of his lips in that instant.

"Anyway!" he exclaims brushing the topic aside with a wave of his hand. "Are you going to be a regular in Endocrinology, or was today just a one-time thing?"

"Huh? Why would it be?"

"Don't know. Like I said, I'm pretty sure you weren't here the other weeks."

"And, like I said, you're terrible with faces, Gregory House, because you've seen me before..."

House frowns dubiously, but still nods.

"If you say so. Now, does that mean I'll have to endure your meddling presence on a regular basis?"

She shakes her head and laughs.

"If I have to endure yours, I don't see why you wouldn't mine," she shoots back.

"Oh, this is going to be fun!" he exclaims with a beam.

She shoots a quick glance at her watch just then.

"I'm late for my next class," she says. "I need to go."

"No you don't."

"Huh, why?"

"Because you still haven't told me your name."

"Lisa Cuddy," brunette girl says, looking him straight in the eyes, and pushing the lollipop back between her lips.

Before he can say anything, she turns on her heel and starts sashaying away – her hip sways the most riveting pendulum move he's ever seen in a long time. He tilts his head to the side and stares at her for a while, then feels the sudden need to see her face one last time before she will disappear behind the next corner.

"Hey, Cuddy!" he calls after her.

She looks above her shoulder, only slowing down her pace, but not stopping.

"Next class is Grave's disease," he tells her with a smile. "You'd better start getting your annoying questions ready..."

She swings round and walks backwards for one or two steps, rolling her eyes at him, and throwing her head back to laugh, and then she turns her back to him once more and walks away.

She's already disappeared behind the corner at the end of the hallway now, but House still stands, rooted to his spot, with a goofy smile on his lips.

The image of brunette girl – no, not brunette girl... Lisa Cuddy – sucking on that cherry lollipop and sashaying away is still imprinted in his mind. Out of instinct, House licks his bottom lip, and then he turns on his heel as well and begins striding in the opposite direction, feeling quite happy with himself.

(...)


A/N

I'm on vacation. But I have internet access, though, so don't worry: I'll post the next chapter soon. Sometime this week.

In the meantime, I'd really like to hear from you… :)

NB: I've deliberately chosen to have Cuddy "tease" House with a cherry lollipop here. She's a nineteen year-old girl. He's a 28 year-old guy. In my mind, it's more likely, she'd be the one indulging that 'girlish' sugary addiction. Plus, I'd like to think that this would be the reason why, many years later, House would be the one sucking lollipops teasingly in PPTH, in a sort of "in memoriam" habit, somehow… especially since the way he looks at her in the show every time he sucks on a lollipop is suggestive enough to imagine there's more to it than just what appearances show. You'll see more of that next, and along the story…

Have a nice day ~ maya