Are you ready for some House hijinks?

Ten: House Looks for Isabella

House was hiding in the hospital basement, around the corner from the research lab that was in room B049. There was a corner mirror near the ceiling so he could see who entered and who left the department. House had been waiting for two hours. It had been a week since he had seen Isabella and he was worried. She had been upset when she left his apartment. It was five o'clock. He would wait another half hour for Isabella. He popped two more pills and dry swallowed them. He played with his cane, and a rubber band. He pretended to play the piano on his left leg. Isabella didn't show up. Most research employees worked until 3 or 5 pm. He waited until nearly 6pm before going home.

The next day House waited outside of the Pediatric Oncology floor. All the pediatric units were locked down for the safety of the patients. Everyone had to be buzzed into the units or had to have an employee ID card with a special access code on the metal strip on the back of the badge. House didn't have an access badge, and had no reason to be buzzed in. There was a comfortable waiting area just outside the ward and House made himself at home on the couch. He was able to see the TV as well as the entrance to the ward. Most employees started work at 7 am, so House arrived early. He didn't know what days his wife worked as a volunteer. Isabella never showed up.

House stalked the lab and the Pediatrics unit for several days with no luck. He finally hacked into the work schedules of the two departments and saw that she wasn't scheduled to work in either place. Awww, why didn't he check before he spent so many hours stalking her work places? Maybe she took vacation after graduation.

House hacked into the human resources computer records. Lucas hadn't found an address for Isabella when he made his report. Isabella listed a post office box for a mailing address in her current records, but House found an address listed on her six year old application for work. Maybe she still lived there. He made a note of the address.

While he was already in her file, House snooped around. Her ID from her employment application listed her age as 14, but that was 6 years ago and that would make her 20 years old, now. Her ID picture was cute. No way was that little girl 14. She had to be 12 when she started working here like Lucas had said. But if everyone thought she was 20 House would go along with it. Isabella had told him that she just had her 18th birthday. Being married to a 20 year old sounded just slightly better and less creepy than being married to a teenager. The false ID with the application was very well done. Why did a 12 year old child want to work? Did it have something to do with the jailed foster parents? Seriously, couldn't human resources tell that she was just a little kid when they hired her? Her application listed "college student" under current position. Maybe that was why they didn't do a better job checking her age. How many 12 year old college students were there? Isabella had listed Danny Phelps, brother, as her emergency contact. They shared an address, but not a last name.

House closed out the computer and grabbed his cane and backpack. He was going hunting.

The neighborhood wasn't the best, it wasn't even good. There were old cars parked at the curbs, a few were up on blocks. His car fit right in. This was a large, rundown apartment complex. There were several identical buildings. The "lawns" were dirt with some weeds. House found the right building; the one marked with a large "D", found a parking space and approached the building. There was no elevator and House had to make his way to the second floor. He stopped to let his leg settle down. Apartment 204 was at the end of the hall. House heard a baby crying inside the apartment.

When he knocked a woman who was about eight months pregnant answered the door. She had a child who looked to be about 2 years old riding on her left hip. The crying came from a second child who was sitting on the floor with a third child. The oldest child looked no more than 3 years old, if that. Four children in three years! Someone had good swimmers. A man was reading a book to two of the babies and he held one of the children on his lap and gently rubbed the back of the child who was sitting beside him, crying. Everyone was on the floor because there was no furniture in the room, only sleeping bags, pillows and a few blankets. Clothing was placed in stacked laundry bins in the corner of what should have been a small dining area, but there was no furniture in that little room, either. One laundry bin held clean diapers. The only furniture in the apartment was an old, small, tube TV which was connected to rabbit ears like House's family had used when he was a kid. There were a few toys scattered around, and several children's library books stacked neatly on the kitchen counter. Clean dishes and pots rested on a kitchen towel, beside the kitchen sink.

"I'm looking for Isabella Tobin, is she here?" House asked, peeking in and looking around the small apartment.

The man put the child he was holding on the floor, stood up and held out his hand, "Hi I'm Danny. This is my girlfriend, Irene. You must be Gregory House, Isabella's husband." he said.

House was taken by surprise. He hadn't told anyone about his surprise marriage and he hadn't thought about Isabella telling anyone, either. He wondered how many people knew about his fuck up. "Yes. I'm House; is Isabella here?"

"It's nice to meet you. No, she's not here, she's on vacation." Danny said and put his offered hand into his pocket. He didn't know what to think about this man who had changed his friend's life. "Her friend gave her a vacation for a graduation gift. Would you like something to drink? We have milk, water and apple juice." His speech was a little slow.

"No, thank you. Do you know when Isabella will be back? Does she…does she live here?" House tilted his head to one side. House hoped the answer was no.

Danny replied, "Not so much anymore. She just stays once in a while now we have the kids. There's not much room. I think she'll be home in a week or so."

Now that House was inside the apartment he could see that it contained only the tiny kitchen and eating area, the room he stood in with the sleeping bags on the floor and a bathroom with the door open. Two adults, three kids and one more on the way lived in a space smaller than a one car garage. The entire apartment was about the size of his living room.

"You know, I was supposed to call her, but I lost her number. Do you happen to have it?" House lied.

"Sure." The woman said. She wattled into the kitchen to get a pen out of a drawer. She tore the corner off a diaper box, wrote the number on it and handed the piece of cardboard to House. "We're almost ready to eat. Would you l like to stay for supper? There's plenty."

The food did smell good, but House only wanted to leave the small, crowded space. They must all eat on the floor, too. "Maybe another time, I have an appointment I need to keep." he lied.

"It was good to meet you. Come again, come over anytime." Danny invited. Everyone came to the door to see him off.

"Thanks." said House as he started back down the stairs. He stopped and turned around. "Isabella's address was on the same paper as her phone number, the paper I lost. Do you have her address?"

Both adults looked confused. "Isabella doesn't have an address, she uses this one." said Danny.

"You said she didn't stay here often. Where does she live when she's not here?"

"She did stay at the hospital."

"Yes, she works at the hospital; but where does she live when she's not working?" House thought they were a little slow.

Danny said, "She used to stay at work. She said it's easier since she just had to go back in the morning."

"She used to stay at work?" House picked up on the past tense.

Danny knew Isabella hadn't told Gregory about the baby, yet. Apparently Gregory House also didn't know that Isabella used to live in the lounge in the lab at work. She didn't work there anymore, so she didn't have a place, right now; well she had this place this was her home and she was welcome, but it was full. They could all move a little closer together and make room.

Gregory House also didn't know about Isabella's vacation or anything else for that matter. It wasn't his place to spill the beans. Gregory House wasn't getting any more information from him. It sounded like House didn't know Isabella at all. "She's on vacation."

"Huh." House thought, Danny was hiding something. House's mind had already started working on the puzzle. He struggled down the stairs, walked out to his car and drove back to work. If Isabella was on vacation she was probably safe, but he wonder if she had taken the pregnancy test. The thought of a child left him with surprisingly conflicting emotions. He tried the phone number that Danny's girlfriend had given him. His phone call went unanswered and he didn't leave a message.

He had received a text while he was at Isabella's brother's place; they had a new case.