I'll Give My Life for Her

by Rondabunny

Part 7

Dr. Cuddy came into the House's office that very evening. House was watching something on his computer but he noticed Cuddy entering the room.

"By what chance did you come here?" he asked his boss looking up at Cuddy.

"I need to know how's Thirteen doing." She told him, sitting right opposite House.

"Thirteen is great. Solved the case and saved me two hours of porn-watching." He replied starring curiously at Cuddy.

"House, I mean her physical condition."

"Oh… Today she blabbed about winning a running contest. I think it's true, 'cause I couldn't keep up with her today. You know, she scampered with the light speed." He said studying Cuddy's expression.

"Yeah, right. I better take a look at her medical card." She stood up ready to leave.

"Why are you son interested in Thirteen's condition? Do you know something I don't? Like she is not a bisexual but also a zoophile?"

Cuddy just shook her head and left the room without answering the question. It alerted House. Why his boss would be interested in his co-worker? Maybe Cuddy started to notice the symptoms. Yes, Hadley showed some symptoms like being a little bit edgy and it became a habit for her to twirl something in her hands, but she was reasonable, she did her job well as usual. Sometimes her hands became shaky nevertheless, she seemed fine.

Next morning. House's office:

"Taub and Chase, you're doing clinic work. Foreman, go find a new patient. Thirteen, you are making paper-work." House told and put a huge pile of files at the table in front of Thirteen. Three men left the office. Thirteen rolled her eyes and grabbed the file at the top of the mount. Dr. House sat at his place at the head of the table and watched Thirteen doing her job. Three minutes passed and House's gaze finally pissed her off.

"What are you starring at?" She picked up her head from the file.

"Trying to figure out what Cuddy is up to." He said looking at Thirteen with great attention.

"Uh-hu. You know, you're in the wrong office then. Cuddy's is the three floors down." She said sarcastically turning to the pile of papers.

"I'm curious why Cuddy is interested in your personality." He watched Thirteen's reaction.

She looked at him: "Don't know. I haven't seen her for two weeks. Yes, I saw her two days ago but we didn't talk or anything. Why? Did she ask you about me?"

"She is concerned about your medical condition." House answered simply. Thirteen stirred on her chair. It wasn't great news for her. She sighed and looked back in the file.

"Don't worry too much. When you kill a patient I'll make sure for you to be fired." He approached the younger doctor and patted her on the shoulder. "I go keep an eye on Cuddy." House left the room.

In the afternoon Roxie entered Cuddy's office. They went somewhere together in a couple of minutes. It intrigued House who saw them from the nurse's station. In fifteen minutes Cuddy returned to her office where House was already sitting at her table.

"What's Thirteen light doing here?" he didn't give Cuddy to take a breath.

"House, to my mind you had to be somewhere doing clinic duty." She said heading to her table.

"Ok, I'll go and find out. Maybe it'll be good to tell Thirteen after all. She is surely her foster parent." He replied standing and walking to the exit.

The girl wants to study nursing care.

And of course you said "no".

Today she starts her education.

How could you? She's a child. Yes, I know she becomes appealing and hot, and I guess every boy at school has her photo at his private moments. You know what I mean, but you can't hire a child to do the medical work.

I didn't hire her, House. I enlisted her as a volunteer and if she fails she fails.

Does Thirteen know about it?

No, she doesn't and you don't tell her either.

Or what?

Nothing. I think Thirteen has a lot of problems besides Roxie right now. Her last tests showed state is unstable. That is why she runs to extremes. I want you to keep an eye on her… Poor kid…

House nodded and left the office.

The week was like hell for Roxie, who mopped floors, made beds, took dirty clothes to the laundry. She fed kids with paralysis. She entertained kids with cancer. She was everywhere at the same time and she was exhausted. The nurse, who was supposed to teach her, hated her and pushed her to the limits. She asked the girl to clean the toilets, to change diapers to children with incontinence and do a lot of dirty works. Every time when the girl did this kind of work she hurried to the lavatory and vomited. So, she refused to eat before coming to her torture place. This day wasn't easy at all. Roxie came and stepped into somebody's puke which spread all over the floor in the toilet. She took the mop and cleaned it. Two kids got a fight in the corridor and one of them smashed his chin. The floor was covered in blood and Roxie was the one who had to clean the mess. After that ugly fat nurse called her names and said that she's a dunderhead and she can't do anything right. At the end of the day when she counted the minutes to go home a nasty boy emptied his bedpan on Roxie. An episode with the bedpan finished Roxie off. She ran into the lavatory and started to cry. She didn't even notice Dr. House walking down the corridor.

She sat on the toilet sink and cried silently. Her scrub suit was covered with urine and it didn't smell nice at all. She was lucky that she had her underwear and a T-Shirt under the scrubs. All other clothes were in the closet. It would have been hard to explain her sister why she smelled like a dirty tramp.

"Are you all right in there?" the girl heard a familiar voice. She nearly jumped. Did she mix up the doors? Of course not, the men's room was at the opposite side of the long corridor. She sat silently and waited for him to disappear.

"I know you're there." House said and knocked the door with his cane

"You made a mistake. It's the ladies' room, the men's is down the hall." The girl answered trying to make her voice sound normal.

"Roxie, I know you're crying there. There is no reason to play this comedy. You're predictable like your sister."House retorted.

"She doesn't cry. She's stronger." Roxie opened the door and brushing away her tears.

House looked at her: "Wow, how did you manage to pee on yourself? Even I can't do that."

The girl smiled: "You're a silly hedgehog, Dr. House"

"Nobody called me like that before. Why am I a hedgehog?" he asked curiously.

"Because you show prickles but in your inner side you care a lot." She explained.

"It's because you don't know me. So, how's you study at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital?"

"Can't you see it?" She showed him her wet scrubs.

"Do you want to quit?"

"No, haven't learned anything yet. I've just studied how not to vomit when you're in a deep doodoo and it's not a euphemism."

"It's a big start and you owe me 100 dollars." He said as a matter of fact.

"What for?" she was discharged by his impudence.

"I bet that you'd quit within a week. I've lost."

"You've known that I'd be working here since the very beginning?! Does my sister know too?" Roxie was astonished that Cuddy told everything Remi's boss.

"Thirteen doesn't know anything, but if you come home with such a smell, she'll notice. I think you have to take a shower before you go home."

"Thank you, Dr. Hedgehog!" She stood a tiptoe, kissed him on the cheek and went out off the lavatory. House stood in the middle of the room smiling…