Ch 51: Bottom of the Barrel

"What the fuck is so special about her that she wouldn't try to poison him?" Cuddy asked when Wilson stated that he didn't think Sundai was culprit in House's drugging. They were sitting with Thirteen in Cuddy's office eating Chinese and going over possibilities for the guilty party.

Wilson shrugged uncomfortably under her fierce gaze. "I dunno. She just doesn't seem like the type."

"She's new and has as much access to him as everyone else. And she was at the party," Thirteen said, weighing the possibilities.

"She was there, but I don't think she'd try to get onto House's team to try and get him to slip up. She's too good. She worked in the morgue for nearly a year trying to get an interview with him. What's the motive?" Wilson asked. Both women looked at him scrutinizing him and trying to determine whether or not they could believe him.

"What if Taub was onto something?" Cuddy asked suddenly, her face contorting slightly as she thought about the idea of her fiancé with another woman. "House told me he threatened to stir up trouble…what if the trouble is the truth?"

"Do you seriously think House would cheat on you?" Thirteen asked. "He's more likely to relapse than to cheat. He loves you."

"Love doesn't mean you don't cheat," Wilson said sadly, then noticing the horrified looks on the women's faces he quickly continued. "Not that House would. And I'm over that…you know I am." He looked pleadingly at Thirteen who was biting her bottom lip.

Cuddy sighed. "I just don't know who would want to screw House over…"

"Wait…was Taub at the party?" Thirteen asked, searching Wilson's face.

"No…he wouldn't have." Wilson swallowed."He was off by himself the whole time."

"What do you mean?" Cuddy asked. "Are you suggesting that Dr. Taub…that he drugged House? For what? To get back at him?"

"I don't know why…but he's definitely a suspect. Or he should be," Thirteen pointed out. She looked once again to Wilson for some kind of confirmation. He nodded.

"So it's either Sundai or Taub," he said with a sigh.

"Or Sundai working with Taub," the Dean of Medicine suggested.

"Either way we're going to have to find some defining evidence," Thirteen stated, standing. The threesome finished dinner quickly, then went back to House's room to check on him. He was under careful supervision by Cameron alone, no one else was to know he was in the hospital until things were straightened out. He was therefore, not allowed to leave until things were fixed. And he wasn't allowed to eat anything not brought to him by Cameron. He was therefore not very happy when he had discovered that his best friend, his future wife, and his employee were eating Chinese food together behind his back.

"So you traitors decided to take pity on a poor man in the hospital?" he asked, sniffing around hopefully for some excess food that they may have been kind enough to bring him.

"Sorry," Wilson replied sheepishly. "I'll get you some next time."

House rolled his eyes. "What good are you three? Maybe I should get Foreman in on this…he might get me some Lo Mein!" House looked pointedly at Thirteen, hoping that she would be offended at the comparison to her former boyfriend. She simply rolled her eyes, however.

"You'd get less sympathy from him," Cuddy told him, bending to kiss him chastely.

"Dammit, you taste like Chinese!" he complained. "If I can't eat it at least brush your teeth before you kiss me…taunting me isn't nice!"

Cuddy patted him on the head patronizingly. "Cameron should be in shortly with your dinner," she told him.

"Oh good. I was hoping she'd bring me more soup and jello." He groaned and threw himself back into the pillows. Had his clothes not been confiscated and his room locked up properly, he would have escaped by now, not caring about the consequences. Wilson and Cuddy with Thirteen thrown in made for a hell of an opposition, however.

"We'll be back tomorrow," Wilson told his friend. "Remy wants to check on the baby."

"She should. She's a mom now…not just some snotty kid doctor who wants to starve her boss." She didn't respond and he stuck out his tongue.

"Goodnight, House," Wilson said before following her out of the room.

Cuddy sighed. "As soon as there's either a suspect that we can put this O.D. onto or everyone's ruled out you can leave," she told him.

"I'd rather leave now."

"How about I keep you entertained?" she asked with a smirk.

"Does it involve your clothes coming off?" he asked hopefully, sitting up again. She locked the door, then crossed the room, drawing closer to him.

"You'll just have to wait and see," she said huskily.