My Brother's Keeper
A House Fan Fic
Disclaimer: I own no characters of House. Only the story is mine.
Chapter One
Stranger from the Past
The woman walked into Princeton Plainsboro teaching hospital with a purpose.
She was petite, wearing jeans and a brown button down khaki shirt. To anyone else, she looked as if she'd spent her time at the beach. Her skin was tanned and her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
She was just about to ask the nurse behind the desk where she could find Dr. Lisa Cuddy, when a little boy bumped into her.
"Hey. You okay?"
"No! That doctor wants to give me a shot!"
"You must not like needles."
The woman looked around, noticing a bank of chairs near the exam rooms.
"Here. Let's sit down."
The woman set her bag on her lap.
The little boy noticed that the bag was moving.
"What's in your bag?"
The woman smiled. This little boy melted her heart with his two front teeth missing and his natural curiosity.
"I have a great white king tiger cub in my bag. I smuggled him out of India."
"Can I see?"
"Well, he's invisible."
"How do you know he's there?"
The woman opened her bag and pulled out a leash that was connected to a harness. She set the harness on the floor. The harness seemed to move on its own.
"Hey! He's real!"
The woman smiled. "He's really shy. He doesn't have a name though."
The little boy was so wrapped up in the invisible tiger cub, he never felt the sting of the needle going into his arm.
"Okay, Marcus," the doctor said, "You're all done."
The woman looked at the little boy.
"Marcus is your name? My name is Georgia."
"Hey! That's where my momma's from! Savannah!"
"Marcus! Please don't do that again!"
Marcus ducked his head sheepishly at the chiding of, who Georgia assumed, was his mother.
"Sorry. Here's your invisible tiger, Miss Georgia."
Georgia smiled. "You know what? I found out I can't have pets in my apartment and..." she faked a sneeze. "I think I'm allergic to him. Do you think you can take care of him for me? He needs a name."
Marcus scrunched his face. "Bob."
"Bob the Tiger. I like it. Take care of him. He likes to be read to at night."
Marcus waved goodbye to Georgia.
The doctor shook Georgia's hand. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. I'm looking for Dr. Lisa Cuddy. Do you know where I can find her?"
The doctor smiled. "That's me. And you are?"
"Dr. Georgia Thomas. I have an interview with you this afternoon."
"You're early."
"I know. I'm sorry."
Cuddy smiled. "Don't apologize. I'd rather you be early than be late. Unlike some other doctors I know. Follow me to my office."
Georgia followed Cuddy to her office.
"So, how did you calm Marcus down?"
Georgia laughed. "Oh the invisible tiger? The trick is in the leash attached to the harness. It gives the appearance that whatever is in the harness is invisible. I have a box of those."
Cuddy smiled. "Where were you before?"
"In New Delhi, India. I was with the Doctors Without Borders program. I treated underprivileged children there."
"What took you there?"
"My idiot ex fiance. He slept with my maid of honor the morning of the wedding. My brother thought it would be a good time to get away. I used our honeymoon tickets, went to India and stayed there for ten years."
Before Cuddy could ask Georgia why she was applying for the pediatrician job, the door opened. A dark haired man peeked around the corner.
"Dr. Cuddy, I know you're busy but could I borrow you for a few minutes?"
"Please come in. Dr. Thomas, this is Dr. James Wilson. Head of Oncology.
Dr. Wilson laughed and walked over to hug Georgia.
"How are you, Jimmy?"
"Georgie, you haven't changed."
"Geeze, see one Stephen King movie and I never hear the end of it."
Cuddy was dumbstruck. "Wait. you two know each other?"
Georgia smiled. "Dr. Cuddy. Jimmy is my twin brother. And he was also best man at that ill fated wedding."
"I don't understand. Your last name is Thomas."
"My ex fiance is kind of relentless. Thomas is Mom's maiden name. Eddy, my ex fiance, borders on psycho and stalking. He was furious that I called everything off." Georgia looked at Cuddy. " I'm sorry. I'm so nervous I just blurted out too much information."
Cuddy smiled. "No apology needed. Welcome to Princeton Plainsboro. You've got the job."
Wilson spoke up. "I can show her to her new office."
"Wilson? What did you need me for?"
"It can wait." He turned to Georgia. " Ready?"
As Wilson and Georgia walked towards her office, She said, "How are you really, Jimmy?"
His puzzled look wasn't lost on her.
"What do you mean?"
"I know about Amber. I'm really sorry."
"Look, I know we're twins. But how did you know?"
"Greg called me. He thought you might need a shoulder."
Wilson sighed. Why wasn't he surprised?
"Well, here we are. Meet me for lunch?"
"Yeah. When was the last time I had lunch with my brother?"
Wilson left Georgia to get settled. He walked to Greg's office.
Wilson opened the office door.
"Okay, House. You win. As if I had nothing else to worry about, You call Georgia and tell her what?"
"Besides the fact that your ties never match?"
"Did it ever occur to you that she has enough to worry about with Eddy looking for her?"
House sighed. What he was about to say was out of character for even him.
"I called her for two reasons. One, I thought she could help her brother, my best friend, grieve. Secondly, I called her to make amends."
Wilson had forgotten that House was trying to get his act together.
"Fine. Just don't do anything stupid."
"Me? Stupid? When was the last time I did anything stupid?"
Wilson gave House a go to hell look.
Later that afternoon, Georgia found herself trying to find the cafeteria. She literally bumped into House.
Her eyes went wide. "Greg? I didn't realize you were a doctor here."
House smiled. "Hey Pretty Lady. Congratulations on becoming queen of the Rugrats."
"Listen, I have a lunch date with Jimmy, But I'd really like to talk to you. Can we meet somewhere?"
"Sure. Here's my phone number and my address if you'd like to come by. I'd like to talk to you as well. We have a lot of catching up to do."
Georgia smiled. "Yeah. We do."