"But there's a warning sign on the road ahead. There's a lot of people saying we'd be better off dead." Neil Young

House enjoyed watching Joaquin squirm. Jesse picked up on the game soon enough and she happily played along. It was a win-win situation and House actually had something to look forward to at the end of his day. While they lingered on the phone to further agitate her brother, Jesse cooed and giggled and carried on as long as she dared.

But there were things to do and other phone calls to get to and House let her escape after making all sorts of promises for later in the evening. House gave Joaquin a smirk as he flipped his phone shut. Joaquin looked less than amused as he continued to wait for House to regroup and get back to the topics at hand.

But House was reveling in his moment of glory and decided to lay it on as thick as he could while the opportunity presented itself.

"She misses me." House announced as he settled back in for another round.

"My sister needs her sleep, Dr. House."

"Yes she does. And she sleeps much better after some quality time on the phone with yours truly. Now, we were saying good-bye?"

"Actually we weren't. I have business to discuss with you."

"We've discussed everything but." House said as he rolled his eyes. "So if you're here on business let's get on with it?"

Joaquin scowled. "It seemed there were more pressing matters which needed to be dealt with first. Better to get any undue hostilities out of the way first, don't you think?"

"We've covered this before. It doesn't matter what I think. It only matters that you get your way in the wonderful world of Joaquin. Make it snappy. I have a hot date lined up for later this evening and I want to get out of here."

Joaquin nodded. "As I was saying when the phone rang Avian has recently been detected in upstate New York. It seems with the flight patterns and the recent changes in your weather here there will be little we can do to stop its advance at this point. We are considering other plans of action at this time."

"Such as?"

"I've given your boss a tentative schedule. There will be things to look out for and possibly in a worst case scenario some changes made in the daily routine at your hospital as well as others if it continues to advance at this rate."



"And you decided to stop by and personally deliver the same speech? Cuddy can take care of your needs. She's good at that. She has years of experience handling men like you." House announced doing his best to tweak Jesse's brother to the very end.

Joaquin showed no expression as House got his digs in. He waited patiently as House basked in his moment of glory before trying again. "It would be good to know with your vast knowledge of diagnostics and your years of experience that I could count on you in my absence to assist in certain areas if the situation becomes serious. I wanted to ask you personally." Joaquin said, trying to bring the conversation back to the topic at hand.

They stared at one another across the desk as Joaquin waited and House tried to second guess the situation. Joaquin was asking for help. He'd come in looking for a fight and sought to clear the air between them before getting down to business. In House's eyes, Joaquin obviously wasn't coming clean on everything or he wouldn't be putting up with such behavior while waiting for an answer.

"Your people aren't so certain of their abilities anymore? Or did the situation suddenly change?" House began his barrage of questions. "You're down here well ahead of it looking to enlist all the help you can get? What went wrong, Joaquin? What aren't you telling me? Does Cuddy know?"

Joaquin hesitated but nodded. "She will be calling one of her board meetings and then she will be down to talk to you later I think."

House waited. There was no elaboration. He was becoming impatient. "Joaquin? What happened? What's changed? Out with it." House demanded.

Joaquin sighed heavily. "There's evidence of recombination in several sporadic cases that have come to our attention as it continues moving south."

House raised an eyebrow as a chill went through him. "Recombination?" The term brought all manner of possibilities to the surface, none of them good. "And what does Joaquin define as sporadic?" How out of control did you people let this get without warning anyone?"

Joaquin nodded. "We have been anticipating such an event as Avian broadened its horizons and came into contact with similar viruses. There has always been this possibility." Joaquin continued. "As far as alerting the population at large we have been told to do nothing that would incite panic." Joaquin sighed.

House shrugged. "There's a possibility you and I will become good friends someday. It doesn't mean it's going to happen." House grinned as he watched Joaquin adjust his tie. Jesse's brother was obviously agitated. Nervous perhaps? Scared? House wondered what might send Joaquin scurrying south and well ahead of the virus' advance. "What have you found that's brought you so far from the front lines Joaquin? What new properties has it acquired?"



"This is the first incidence of dealing with Avian in a highly populated area." Joaquin hesitated searching for the right words. "That isn't exactly true. We have dealt with it in highly populated areas but not with a government such as yours breathing down our necks about proprieties."

House sat unmoving as he waited. There was silence. "Joaquin, you're leaving a lot of unanswered questions here. What's going on? Out with it."

"It is very easy to deal with quarantine in other countries. It is not so easy here."

House raised an eyebrow. "Are you finding it difficult to function in a society where people don't simply disappear?"

Joaquin gave House a sheepish look and nodded. "With the recent turn of events I think I would be better suited at this point to concentrate my energies on finding the vaccine. There are a number of treatments available if it is caught in the early stages."

"But people won't be looking for it if they're not warned."

"And if they are warned there will be a panic." Joaquin argued. "I do not fare well in these situations. I have been struggling with the fine points since we arrived in Canada."

House shook his head feigning pity. "Poor Joaquin can't play by his rules in a civilized society." The dirty look he got gave House no small amount of pleasure. "We're dancing around the issues here." House said glancing at his watch. "Let's try this again? What aren't you telling me, Joaquin? Besides a really screwed up attempt at kissing and making up, why are you here?"

"When we first arrived in Canada there was only one strain of the virus present. Now there are three. We believe this most recent variation is a product of recombination and we have to concentrate all of our energies on finding a vaccine at this point. It is pointless for my people to waste anymore of their time researching or trying to contain this." Joaquin sighed in frustration. "With a government such as yours containment is not possible. If there is an attempt it will be too late."

House's eyes glanced around his office. Perhaps it was one last look before the inevitable question. One last look at things while life as everyone at knew it at PPTH was normal. "This recombination you speak of, this new and improved version, you're leaving because it's airborne, isn't it Joaquin?"

Joaquin sighed and finally nodded. "Yes, yes it is."

Chapter 11