A/N: This chapter takes place after Cuddy's suspension.
Chapter 7

"Open wide," House said for the third time to an 11-year-old boy sitting in the clinic. He looked over at the mom for assistance. "He's deaf," she said without looking up from the magazine she was reading.

"Well she could have told me that to begin with," House signed to the boy who smiled. House then signed, "Open wide"

House stuck the tongue depressor in the boys mouth, and saw two swollen tonsils.

"You have tonsilitis," House signed

"What's that?"

"Your tonsils are big, that's why your throat hurts. We have to take them out," House noticed the boy's alarmed look. "You won't feel it"

House then checked the boys ears then turned to the mother, "I think your son is a prime candidate for a cochlear implant"

"And that is?"

"Well basically electrical pulses stimulate the auditory nerves so that Jimmy-"

"Andy"

"-so that Andy over here will be able to hear"

The mothere raised her eyebrows, "You can make him hear?" she said slightly choked up.

House nodded, "Yup"

Andy tapped his shoulder and signed, "What's up?"

"How would you like to hear?" House signed back. Just as the boy gave an ear to ear grin Wilson stepped into the clinic.

"You have a patient?"

"I do occasionally see patients and Tommy-"

"Andy!"

"-Andy is one of them. He's going to get a cochlear implant"

"Your helping a patient? Are you sick?"

"Hey Andy do you want to see the universal sign for 'Go Away'?" Andy nodded, and House gave Wilson the finger. Andy's mother was horrified, but Andy laughed out loud. Then Andy spoke, "You're funny"

"Thanks," House signed. Then he turned to the boys mother, "I'll send in a nurse to tell you about the reat of the procedure, " he and Wilson then left the exam room.

"You can sign?"

"Well my dad made me learn sign language to communicate with my deaf brother, and I became clsoer to him than ever"

Wilson raised an eyebrow, "Is any of that true?"

"Well mostly. My dad died when I was very young"

"But I met your dad!"

House raised an eyebrow, "You met a man," he then walked in the direction of Cuddy's office leaving Wilson in the middle of the clinic.

"One day I'll stop talking to you!," Wilson called after him.


Cuddy's Office

"Hey Cuddles wanna hear about the great thing I did today?"

"Can it wait?"

House pretended to be hurt, "But I actually did something good!"

Cuddy raised an eyebrow. "Okay, this I have to hear"

"Because of me, a deaf child is going to hear. Aren't I awsome?"

"I didn't know you had a case"

"I didn't I was in the clinic"

"Well now I am genuinely surprised"

"Ha. Ha," House deadpanned. "So I don't get a reward?" he said suggestively.

"Remember what happened last time?"

"We'll tie him up and put him in a closet. I'm sure he would fit," just then Houses pager went off. "Sorry gotta fly," he got up and headed to the door.

"What happened?"

"Some sort of inter-office drama. See ya"


Diagnostics Office

When House entered the breakroom he saw the ducklings sitting grumpily at the table. Cameron was pouting while Chase and Foreman held icepack to their faces.

"You guys get into a rumble or something?"

"They accidently got beat up"

House laughed, "How do you accidentaly get beat up?"

"This guy thought I was the guy his girlfriend was sleeping with," Chase mumbled.

"And I like an idiot tried to help," Forman said.

"Well that will teach you," he pointed to Chase,"to stop being so damn pretty, and you," he pointed to Foreman,"to never help your fellow man. You paged me for that?"

"I thought you should know"

"Well I didn't. I suppose you guys can go home now, don't want you scaring any patients," House walked over to his office while his minions gathered their things.

He tapped his fingers on his desk. 'I bored,' he thought. He contemplated bothering Wilson but he didn't feel like getting up again. So he turned to his computer and indulged himself in his latest hobby: digging up dirt on his competition Dr. Butler. Part of him knew he had nothing to worry about but the other part was insanely jealous that that stupid Russian could make Cuddy blush like that. He hadn't actually found out anything about Butler yet but it was only a matter of time. Just as he logged on to Google his phone rang.

"You've been Googling Butler," said a rather annoyed Cuddy.

"No-"

"Don't bother lying I'm looking at you computer history right now"

"You're spying on me?"

"Firstly, I'm administration so I can do whatever I want and secondly, I do this every couple of months to make sure you don't do anything stupid on the hospital's server."

"I'm shocked that you don't trust me"

"I think you don't trust me," Cuddy said seriously

"Oh I trust you. It's the Muscles from Brussels I don't trust"

"He's from the Ukraine," Cuddy immediatly regretted saying that.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't"

"Yeah, that's why you go weak in the knees everytime he's around"

"I do not! House you have no reason to be jealous!"

"What about the fact that you call him by his first name and me, your boyfriend, by my last name"

"Do you want me to call you Greg?"

"I don't really care," he said bluntly.

Cuddy sighed into the reciever, "I'm not even going to bother arguing with you. Come to my office and we'll leave together okay?"

"Fine," he hung up. House gathered his stuff and headed down to Cuddy's office. As he walked out of the elevator he saw Cuddy waiting for him with none other that Dr. Butler.

"Hey there," he growled behind her. She spun around and House saw that she was blushing. That pissed him off.

"Ready to go?" he asked with clenched teeth.

"Um, yeah," Cuddy quickly began walking toward the elevator. House gave a dirty look to Butler and started after her when a voice said into his ear, "You don't have a chance with her," House spun around to see Butler grinning at him.

"What did you say Van Damme?"

"You don't have a chance with her and you know it. You've seen how she blushes when she's with me. I make her happier than you ever could. She's better off with me," Butler was now grinnig evilly at House. That was when House lost it.