A/N: Another short-ish chapter but worth reading. Thanks for the reviews. I've tried to respond to them all. So sorry if I forgot. Please keep reviewing and let me know I'm doing well!

Disclaimer: I made up the name of the knife company... otherwise... none of it is mine.


My house was big and empty. It felt more like a dungeon then a neatly laid out home. Honestly, I had only come here because that's what everyone else did at nine o'clock at night. House had told me that if he had to watch me sleep for one more minute in that awful looking chair he'd have to knock some sense into me. I'd agreed to come home. He'd called me a hypocrite for forcing sleep on him and not getting any myself. I wasn't the one with the brain injury.

There was a small stack of mail in my mailbox and three newspapers on my doorstep. I threw the newspapers away and absently looked at the mail without reading it. They were all bills anyway, they always were.

I flipped the television to some infomercial and opened the bills, reading them and throwing them on the coffee table. When I was done with that I watched some airbrushed model chop asparagus with the precision only a set of Ford 2000 Knives could give you. I wondered what James was doing. I thought about calling him and then decided not to. I didn't know what to do with myself. My whole world was getting smaller.

Everything changes when someone dies. It doesn't even have to be someone close. After all, I didn't even know Amber. I had seen her quite a few times. She had come to me multiple times to try to get around House – or to try to suck up to him – and after being fired she had come to me as a mediator for her relationship with Wilson and Wilson's relationship with House. Amber and I had a sort of unspoken friendship after she stopped working for the hospital. I always sided with her on matters of the Wilson nature, since she was almost always right, and she kept coming to me every time. The only thing I could never figure out about her was what she really wanted. Then again, I'm sure she didn't really know either.

The phone rang and it scared me. I was jumpy lately. At least, jumpier than usual. I thought about letting the machine pick it up and then decided that it could be an emergency and that I should probably answer it. The only people I knew who called me after nine o'clock were my sister and House, and I was pretty sure House wasn't going to be calling me.

"Hello?"

"Lisa! How are you?" It was my sister. How did I guess? It must be her uncanny way of being able to tell when I am most miserable and then coming around to spread her disgusting cheer.

"I'm okay, Melissa, how are you?" It wasn't that I didn't love my sister. I just didn't love the way she liked to spread her joy in my face.

"Oh, we're doing alright. Just making it, I'm afraid. Adam lost his job, his company went under." Melissa had the perfect life, really. She had two kids, an engineer husband, a dog, and a two story house in the suburbs. Well, it was the perfect life for someone.

"That's too bad. I'm sure he'll get back on his feet." I don't think I was really listening to her. The model was still cutting vegetables but this time it was with a bigger knife. She looked excited. The model, that is. I'd be excited too if all I had to do was cut vegetables all day.

"You sound tired, Lise. Did I call too late? You know I'm terrible with the time difference. You really should come visit us in California. You'd love it here and Jack is dying to see you again. He's completely obsessed with that anatomy book you sent him. He idolizes you." Jack was her eight year old son. Jack wanted to be a doctor like aunt Lisa. I hoped to God Jack realized my mistake before he became a doctor like me.

"It's just been a long couple of days, no problem. I'm glad Jack likes the book. He'll have to come out here so I can show him the hospital." My sister hated the east coast and I could already hear the venom before it even appeared in her voice.

"Oh, I don't know Lisa. You know, all those bad things happen out there. Ever since nine eleven. I just can't imagine taking my children to that part of the country. I don't know how you live there." Sometimes, Melissa made me want to vomit.

"Somehow, I manage." I flipped the television to a different channel, the news was on and a building was on fire. This was quality television.

"Well let me know when you can take a vacation. We'd really like to see you." Melissa was tired of talking to the disappointment of the family. Hell, I was tired of living with the disappointment.

"I definitely will. You know how hard it is to get time off, being the dean. But I'll let you know as soon as I do." I wondered how many fires a fireman – or firewoman, I guess – has to put out in a day. I wonder if I put out more proverbial fires than they do.

"Alright, well, I just wanted to call to see how you were. I had a feeling that things weren't good but I guess I was wrong." She paused and I could swear she was caring – maybe not, "You call us if you need anything, okay?"

"I will, Mel. I promise." I thought about crossing my fingers like a child would. I felt childish with everyone worrying and fussing over me. Even the man in the hospital bed was telling me to get some sleep.

"Alright, I'll talk to you soon. Love 'ya sis." I heard a child yell in the background and I envied her. I wanted her life, more than usual.

"You too. Bye." I hung up before she said goodbye and tossed the phone down on the couch.

I should have let the machine get it.