And here's the next one.

Chapter 7.

House had decided to spend some time in his office at the hospital, planning out the contest he'd present to the two couples vying for the apartment in his office/house. He thought about the personalities of the four, their strengths and weaknesses. He didn't want to set this up to favor one couple over the other, and he didn't want it to be too easy for anyone.

He scratched his head with one hand as his pen scratched a few possibilities with the other, and then scratched each of them out. Maybe he shouldn't have announced the contest before he knew what it would be.

His phone rang. Caller ID said Diane. His stomach suddenly clenched. What if he'd lost the office/house? He was counting on it. "Diane, what's the word?"

"The owners were happy with you offer and the bank agreed to the terms, especially since you're paying cash." Diane laughed. "Now you'll have to find tenants for the apartments."

"Oh, I already have. Just have to decide who gets the second floor and what has to be done on the third." He made three check marks on his pad. "When do we close?"

"Again, since you're paying cash, we can accelerate the process. What are you doing on Friday?"

"Closing on the Burberry house, of course." If he was the type to cheer, he would. Instead he just grinned.

Cameron finally had a chance to sit down at noon. The deluge of patients had subsided, at least temporarily. Her phone jangled. It was Anita.

"Your hunch paid off, Dr. Cameron."

"Oh, please. Allison. If you're going to be living in the building where House will have his office, we'll probably see even more of you than before." She smiled. "So what did the lab find?"

"The vaccine manufactured by Marshall's is missing one of the strains that's supposed to be in vaccines this year. It has to be deliberate. I didn't mention this to Chief Anderson when I saw him earlier out at your home, though."

"The chief was there?" Cameron stood. "I'm not too surprised. Has he found anything?"

"Not yet. He was lamenting not catching the attackers over the weekend." Anita paused. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, although I can't promise to answer." She guessed what Anita wanted to know.

"Has Dr. House said anything about the contest?" Anita had never sounded so tentative.

Cameron mentally patted herself on the back for being right. "No, not to me. But even if I knew something, you realize I couldn't tell you."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Anita sighed. "It was worth a shot."

Cameron chuckled. "I'm not even sure he knows himself what the contest will be."

"Oh." Her voice changed again, rising an octave.

Cameron wanted to ask about another subject. "Did you talk to Anderson about working for him once this case is over?"

A resounding "Yes."

Wilson was too busy at the hospital to think about House's contest, but just before noon he was able to get away for some lunch. House appeared in his office doorway as if he was summoned. "While I'm still here, you can buy me lunch."

"Is this part of the contest?" Wilson asked.

"Why? Do you want it to be?" House countered.

"Sure. I'd win hands down. I've bought you more lunches that everyone else in the universe combined!"

"Call it part of your bribe."

"You're going to get the most out of this that you can." Wilson had to laugh. "C'mon." But once they were on the elevator, House punched the button for the garage rather than the first floor where the cafeteria was.

"Where are we going?" Wilson studied him through narrowed eyes.

"Le Garçon. Best restaurant in Snow Hill."

"Most expensive, you mean." Wilson rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that too." House strode toward Wilson's car. "It's not far, but I prefer to ride in comfort."

Wilson clicked the doors open and they got it.

"Onward, James," House said.

Wilson shook his head. The things he was willing to do to get the apartment.

Hadley found the team with their latest patient. "Thought I'd find out what you were doing since I'll be your new boss."

"I expect you'll be more involved in the diagnosis and treatment of the patients than House ever was." Simpson grinned at her. "At first, he participated in the differential diagnosis, but not lately."

Jacobs showed her the latest results from their tests on the patient. "We think we know what it is, but I'd be curious to find out what you think."

Hadley smirked. "This isn't part of House's contest, is it? Because I wouldn't put it past him."

Jacobs placed the results on the table. "What was it like, the contest he ran before?"

"It was more than one contest, whittling the numbers of candidates down to a team." She thought back to those days that seem so long ago. "He split us into teams to compete on diagnosing a series of patients. Among other things. But that won't work in this case, not with Wilson, Jessica, Anita and me. Guess we'll see."

"How many were there?"

"Lots at first, a hundred I think, but he quickly eliminated all but ten, and then split us into males and females."

"And he wound up with three?"

"Yes. Me, a plastic surgeon named Taub and Kutner. Poor Kutner." She hadn't though of him for a couple of years, but still missed him, maybe more now than ever. "There were others over the years, almost like musical chairs. I think Chase came back first, then Foreman. It was tiring and disconcerting." No sense thinking about the past. "Let me see those results again."

Jacobs handed them to her.

"Something familiar about this. Give me a minute." She sat down to study the file and the test results.

Jessica's mind was on the contest too, but the animals she treated took the most of her attention. She was surprised to see Edna McClellan come into the veterinary office carrying the cat. Jess recognized it as the one that had been roaming the yard of the Burberry Street house.

"Is something wrong with him?" Jess asked, taking the animal from Edna's arms. She smiled. "Sorry, her."

"I think she may be pregnant."

"Well, let's take a look." Jess placed the cat on the exam table and gently examined her all over. "Her belly's swollen and her nipples are dark, but we should do an ultrasound."

"Whatever she needs." Edna petting the animal fondly.

"Are you going to keep her?" Jess positioned the cat on the table, applied the gel and ran the wand over her stomach. She chuckled when she saw the screen. "I'll say she's pregnant." She showed Edna the sonogram, indicating three, possibly four babies. "And the kittens?"

"I think House wants to keep Twinkle around the house in town but until he moves in, he wanted me to take care of her." Edna grinned. "And I'm happy to do it. We'll see about the kittens once they're here."

"You know, Jim and I may be living in the house."

Edna nodded. "And I'll be a kind of den mother for everyone living there. Oh, I won't be leaving my house. It would be great if you lived there."

"Well, put in a good word with House for us, okay?"

"Of course I will, Jessica. I'm looking forward to spending time with young folks."

"You're not old."

Edna smiled. "You're sweet to say it. But I'll be seventy-four next Tuesday."

"Well, you don't look much over sixty. And you act like a woman much younger."

"Still, my friends are mostly my age. Allison is the youngest. And I love when my son comes to visit, but that's not the same thing."

Jessica made a mental note to include Edna in whatever she and Wilson did when they move. Then she crossed out whatever in her mind and changed it to some of the things.

House decided to set the stage for the contest by keeping the contestants guessing. He planned to arrive late at the diner that evening, and not stay long. He said he'd tell them what they had to do but keeping them in the dark was part of the test. Let them find out for themselves.

Still, he didn't want Cameron to wait. He knew she could keep quiet, but the best way of making sure she didn't blab was to convince her to arrive with him. He called her and explained what he planned.

"Will you at least tell me what the contest involves?" she asked.

"Truth is, I'm still working out the details myself." He paused. "Couldn't be a medical case to solve. It should involve the house. I want to know who's worthy of living there."

"I thought you were going to rent the third floor to the loser." She sounded confused.

"Yes, but they don't know that. They might guess that's the case, but they can't know for sure."

"And when do you plan on telling them?" she asked.

He chuckled. "When the contest is over. Meanwhile, let 'em sweat a little."

"Glad you're having fun with this. Will it involve the cat?" She was laughing too. "Because Edna just called to tell me that she's pregnant. Jess confirmed it."

"How many?"

"What?"

"How many kittens will she have? I may make them guess that, but I guess Jessica has an advantage there."

"You can have them bet on when she'll give birth."

"That's an idea." He stopped to write it down. "Okay, since you're being clever today, what else?"

"You really don't know, do you? You've dangled this contest thing under their noses but you're as clueless as they are what it'll be about."

"Well."

She laughed again. "How about this?" and she went on to describe a thought she'd had as she was examining the Quincy twins.

He was silent for almost two minutes after she finished.

"You don't like it." He heard her disappointment.

"No, I like it. In fact, one could say I love it. I'm just thinking about the logistics of doing it."

Hours later, the usual group without House and Cameron sat in the booth at the diner. The team was still congratulating Hadley on coming up with the diagnosis for the their patient. But they hadn't missed the fact that House and Cameron weren't there.

"Where do you think they are?" Jacobs asked. "They're not usually this late."

Simpson laughed. "House's love of eating wouldn't let them."

"More important, what kind of contest could House have come up with?"Anita sipped her iced tea and glanced through the window at the parking lot.

"This is part of it," Wilson said. "A way to keep us guessing."

Magnani glanced at his watch. "Well, I'm ready to order." He waved for Linda's attention.

She took their orders, mostly for the special, Hungarian goulash, although Hadley and Jessica each asked for grilled tilapia.

"I guess it wouldn't be too bad living on the third floor," Jess said. "There's lots of potential to make it as great as the apartment on the second."

Wilson groaned. "Except for all those stairs."

"Maybe you can get House to put in an elevator," Simpson said.

Six pairs of eyes stared at him and six voices said, "Never."

They laughed, easing some of the tension that had built.

Jessica twisted her fork in her hand. "I suppose I should tell everyone that Twinkle is pregnant. In case it's part of the contest to guess, she'll soon have four kittens."

"Twinkle?" Wilson asked.

"The cat. The one that came with the house. Or rather attached herself to it." Jess grinned. "She's quite sweet."

"And you think House will somehow involve her pregnancy in the contest?" Anita asked.

"When he learns about it. Sure," Wilson said.

Hadley nodded. "I can see that happening. So, four? And when is she due?"

"Sometime in the next two or three weeks." Jessica put her fork down.

Anita squinted at her. "Can you be more precise? If we're going to have to guess, we need more information."