Chapter Twelve

Wednesday morning dawned bright and early in the Cuddy house hold, it was the first time House had stayed over on a work morning, he heard Cuddy get up, he had thought it was still the middle of the night and that she was checking on Rachael, but when he went looking he found he doing yoga in another room, she had her ipod in her ears so didn't hear him, he watched in amazement as she bent in half, he walked up so his large feet were in her view. He saw her face break into a smile and knew she had seen him.

'What are you doing up? This is the middle of the night for you' she smiled as she continued to do her workout. She looked at him from upside down as she folded herself; she noticed the effect she was having on him.

'House are you fifty or fifteen?'

'Definitely fifteen around you' he answered ruefully

'I'm on a tight schedule but I might be able to cut my workout short and come back to bed for 10 minutes' she said as she straightened and locked eyes with him.

'I feel anything less than 20 minutes would be an insult to my lady'

'Fifteen take it or leave it, final offer'

They never made it to the bedroom; the yoga mat was where they lay breathless twenty five minutes later.

'I'd better get showered and do my final packing before Rachael wakes; I like to have her dressed before Marina arrives' Cuddy said as she sat up and started to gather her clothes. 'Do you mind if I give Marina your number in case of any emergencies while I'm gone?'

'That's fine, I can call round and check all is well on my way home from work each day if you'd like.' He replied.

'That would be great, thanks' she said as she made her way back to her bedroom with House a few steps behind.

Cuddy showered while House packed his clothes and made the bed, he could sense that Cuddy was nervous about the trip and he knew she had a lot on her mind; she worried about leaving Rachael and her beloved hospital, he wanted to reassure her but he sensed that she needed a little space, it was times like this he felt inadequate. Cuddy came out of the bathroom dressed only in a deep purple bra and matching thong.

'The woman certainly has great taste in lingerie' House thought

'Thanks for making the bed' she looked at the perfectly made bed 'you certainly have hidden talents' she joked

'You should see me iron a shirt, you'd be really impressed'

'Truly?' she asked surprised 'How come you always wear wrinkled shirts?'

'Cause I can' he shrugged wishing he'd never mentioned shirts. He enjoyed watching her dress and apply her makeup, he wanted to stay there, but he didn't want to get into the whole "why he preferred to be scruffy" debate he'd had enough of that with Stacy. He wondered how long it would be before Cuddy started to give him a hard time about his appearance. Cuddy sensed his withdrawal so she turned and went over to him where he lounged on a chair in the corner 'I was just curious, I'm not criticizing' she said gently, she turned to go back to her mirror when he stopped her.

'My Dad was military and everything had to be done to military precision, he would stand over me while I made my bed and pull it to bits until it was perfect, he was the one who taught me to iron shirts, once I left home I never ironed another shirt, but I do like well made beds'

'Thanks' she said giving his hand a squeeze.

'Want me to make some coffee?' he asked

'That would be great' she said. Rachael could be heard talking to herself 'I'll get Rachael dressed'

House was making coffee when a woman whom he presumed to be Marina let herself in the front door. Cuddy appeared with Rachael, who seemed thrilled to see her nanny, Cuddy introduced House to Marina and told her she could contact him if she needed anything, House ate breakfast while Cuddy and Marina went over things for the next few days, then Cuddy and Rachael joined him at the table for breakfast, all to soon it was time for House to take her to the airport.

'I'll ring you tonight?' she said 'If your not going out, that is'

'I'll be at home, or work if we get a case' they called her flight. She hugged him, he hugged her back.

They said their goodbyes and then she was gone. House told himself it was only two nights; how bad could it be! Little did he know what lay ahead!

Chapter Thirteen

House called quickly into his place on the way back from the airport so by the time he got to work he was barely late. The first thing that struck him was the panicked look on the face of the usually calm, unflappable Brenda, he tried to sneak past without her noticing and had nearly made it to the lift when she saw him.

'Dr House'

'I'm not down for clinic, and I'm not late' he threw over his shoulder not intending to stop.

'Do you know if Dr Cuddy's flight has left' Brenda asked arriving at the door of the elevator effectively cutting him off.

'She flew out just after eight, why isn't Wilson handling what ever crisis you have?'

'The teaching department had their annual dinner last night, and everyone who attended has food poisoning'

'Wilson was there, wasn't he?' said House rolling his eyes

'He's been vomiting all night, like half the doctors on the staff' Brenda replied. Relief washed over her as House turned back toward reception.

'Give me a run down on what you've done and what needs doing'

They spent the next twenty minutes assigning people to cancel appointments, for the various clinics that day and the following.

'That just leaves the students' Brenda said

'Who's got what and where' said House 'You sort that and I'll page my team' Houses team covered the clinic while he and Brenda worked on the teaching part of the hospital.

They worked together to cover the lectures scheduled for that day and the next, House was on the phone, bribing blackmailing and just plain bullying doctors to cover clinic hours and lectures.

'What have we got left?' he asked Brenda, who went over the remaining things to be covered.

'Taub' House called as the doctor was picking up a chart 'At10.30 2nd years need a lecture on anything you feel comfortable giving, you up for it?'

Taub was actually impressed House had asked instead of demanding, he replied 'Would the treatment of burns and best outcomes for plastic surgery be all right? The way burn victims are looked after in the first 24hrs has a huge impact on reconstructive surgery'

'Sounds good to me, what do you think Brenda?'

'Great'

'Give them homework, you've got them tomorrow morning too' said House

'3rd and 4th years can be combined and Chase and Forman can do a case study in the main lecture hall. Where are they?'

'Chase is stitching a hand Forman's just taking blood and swabs'

'Tell them to come see me when they're finished, I'll notify Mrs. Johnson to put out notices redirecting students'

'OK, but what about the 1st years?' Brenda asked

'They are on clinic duty with me'

'They can't see patients without supervision'

'That's why they are doing it with me'

Foreman and Chase discussed with House what case would the students benefit from most, it was decided Chase would go and get the notes organized while Foreman went to the lecture hall to start. House would have the 1st years for the whole day.

'Do you think you'll be able to cover clinic tomorrow?' he asked Brenda

'I just need one more doctor to cover the afternoon, but I think I'll be able to do it'

'Good' he replied 'I can do diagnostics with 1st years tomorrow, and hopefully we will have some doctors back on deck Friday'

'Yes I've managed to get someone to come in; they should be here in half an hour to help with clinic today, so that should ease your load'

'Let's hope nothing else goes wrong' he sighed as sixteen fresh faced petrified students arrived in the foyer.

'I'm Doctor House you will be working with me here in the clinic today. I want you to split into four groups and I'll give each group a chart you will go find your patient, explain that you are 1st years who will being doing a pre-exam, I want you to list symptoms and possible diagnosis, when your done open the door to the exam room and I'll come confer. Any questions? No! good'

He flicked through the charts and selected problems that a student near the end of their first year should be able to handle and gave each group one. He noticed a tall skinny sickly looking student that didn't look like he'd slept in days, he noticed that no one wanted him in their group, as he handed the chart to the group the young man was in, he realized why, the kid smelt of stale fat obviously he was on fries at some burger joint.

'Anything interesting for me?' he asked Brenda

'A woman rang for you wouldn't leave a message, said she been trying to get your on your cell, sounded urgent' House quipped back something smart and suggestive that earned him dirty look from Brenda and a blush from the young nurse helping in the clinic. He pulled out his cell which had the sound turned off and saw there was several missed calls from a number he didn't know, he nearly ignored it but something made him return the call. A woman answered.

'Hi it's Greg House, you've been trying to reach me?'

'Oh Dr House, thank goodness, it's Marina, Dr Cuddy's daughters nanny' Alarm bells went off in Houses head.

'What's the problem? Marina'

'Dr House I went to my Doctor with a pain in my side on Friday, he said it was a pulled muscle, but It has got so bad I can't lift Rachael and I have started to feel like I will be sick, I would not drive with the baby in the car to go to my Doctor, so I need someone to watch Rachael'

'Marina cough for me'

'I don't have a cold Dr House'

'Just do it' he ordered. The woman coughed then cried out in pain

'Your Doctor is an idiot. Put Rachael in a safe place I'll be right there'

He turned to Brenda and told her he thought Rachael's nanny had appendicitis and he was going to get them.

'I'll see if the Daycare has room for Rachael' she called after him, wondering what she was going to do with the poor patients' still being interrogated by the students.