DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION
INTRODUCTION: Inspired by a suggestion by WaqtZaya. Members of House's team don't think he can act as a good and considerate husband. Will they be proven right? Read and find out. Post-canon, AU.
"Let's begin this MRI", Taub said as Adams took a seat next to him. She had a downcast look, her movements betraying conflicting feelings. "It's obvious you don't sympathize with our patient, but let's do our job", the older doctor added. "Who can like someone who cheats on his wife and, on top of that, beats her with the flimsiest of excuses?", Adams protested. "Like him or not, our job is to cure him", Taub replied. "Look here", Adams pointed to a suspicious mass. "It's not a tumor", Taub answered, explaining why. "Do you ever think about how House acts out of the hospital?", the female doctor asked her colleague. "Not really", he answered. "I came here to work with the diagnostician, not befriend the man". "But haven't you ever wondered how he behaves at his home?", she insisted. "Why should I? If it affected his work, maybe it would matter, though", he conceded. "I mean, he knows so much stuff about our personal lives and we know nothing of him except his professional side", she pressed her point. "MRI is finished", Taub interrupted her. "We found nothing. We were wrong", he added, making Adams sigh in disappointment. "Hey, are you done? I'm freezing here", the patient's voice could be heard. The two doctors rushed to their patient, finding him screaming in pain. "We gotta tell House", Taub stated as a matter of fact.
House had sent them both to the patient's home, leaving Park to administer some meds. "Look, how messy he is", Adams remarked. "But, look at how carefully he's arranged his books", her colleague responded. "I'd say the mess began only recently, maybe when the wife left", he added. "Would you say House's apartment is more or less messy than this?", Adams picked the previous thread of conversation anew. "Less. I don't think he's messy in general", Taub answered. "In jail, his cell was always clean", Adams mused, adding, "None of his team fellows has ever been in his home?". "None of us ever got invited by him", he responded. "I bet that, now that he's a married man, his place is surely neat and clean", she said. "That's something I wonder about occasionally", Taub admitted, further clarifying, "His wife. I mean, what's the deal with her? He first introduced her to us as a fake wife, you know. Then, they shoot the fake photos, fool immigration officials and by now are still married, House insisting that it's for true". "I get it. I remember when she walked into his office and I was bewildered. I mean, what would such a young and pretty woman want from a man like House? When Chase told me she's his wife, I couldn't believe it", Adams confessed. ", Wasn't his wife for real back then", Taub replied, "But, the idea of House doing something to help another person without gaining something in return didn't sit well with me either", he added. "On the other hand, he risked much when he cured my patient, back then when he was imprisoned", Adams noted. "That's different. As a doctor, he saw a riddle only he could solve. He'd jeopardized his life once, to find what a patient armed with a gun had", Taub replied, adding, "It's strange that he risked his reputation and freedom to help his wife with the green card". "House being a husband sounds surreal", Adams admitted. "And why on Earth would a young and attractive woman choose to get married to an older man?", she further pressed her point. "It doesn't all boil down to physical attractiveness", Taub snorted. "I'm short, obviously not a heartthrob, but I was married to Rachel for all those years", he mused. "Until your sleeping around became too much for her", Adams retorted, her patience with cheating husbands having run thin due to her own experience. Trying to change topic, she wondered aloud, "You think House cheats on his wife?". "Don't know, but he auditioned for companions a while ago, so it's not out of the question", he answered honestly, adding, "I think we've checked the whole place. Let's go back and update House".
Meanwhile, House was sitting in his office, tossing and catching the familiar ball. He'd just finished checking his patient's file and the correct diagnosis had suddenly dawned on him. That case had been really simple. He'd thought of calling his team and put an end to their wild goose chase, but, reconsidering, he decided to play a bit with them and wait until they were back in the hospital. The sound of footsteps in the conference room snapped him out of his thoughts. He turned towards the source of the sound, on the very instance the office door opened and Dominika stepped in. "Well, I wasn't expecting that", he exclaimed. "Is this your way of greeting visitors?", she asked with a chuckle, cocking an eyebrow at his direction. "Only if they are so hot", he answered, then he noticed that she was holding something. "What's that?", he enquired. "Brought you some lunch", she answered. "Awww, you didn't have to", he replied, obviously moved from the gesture. She strode over to him and massaged his shoulders, declaring, "My husband works very hard and needs something to keep him going". "Mmm, all I need to sustain me is a hug", he replied, rising from his chair and wrapping his arms around her neck. He planted a small kiss on the side of her neck, making her purr in delight. "Sort those papers together in one side and I will set tablecloth", she suggested after he released her. "You brought a tablecloth?", he enquired. "That smells of organized and careful planning", he added playfully. "Or just office picnic", she shot back with a wink. "That's certainly not boring", he commented, helping her spread the cloth over the desk.
She produced some tupperware and some plastic plates, carefully arranging the contents of the former into the latter. "Here we are", she informed him, enquiring, "how does it taste?". "Better than the food I steal from Wilson", he answered after grabbing a small bite, eliciting a laugh from her. "Can I take my shoes off?", she asked. "Yeah, sure, if you insist", he answered, adding, "But better not step on the floor. The janitor hasn't cleaned the office today". "Didn't plan to. Just my feet are constricted, those shoes are too tight", she replied, taking her shoes off and curling her toes, letting a sigh of relief. He cast a downwards glance. Her toenails were painted yellow, making a nice contrast with her blue fingernails. Noticing the look he was giving her, she remarked, "My country's colors", adding, "Take your own shoes off. It's gonna feel great". "We're not at home, it's my workplace", he answered. "This doesn't prevent you from getting into mischief", she responded, adding, "It's more comfortable without your shoes, trust me". He obliged her and let out an audible exhalation, before focusing on the food again.
For some minutes, they ate in silence, looking at each other every now and then, smiling. "It's very silent here", she observed, breaking the silence. "I've sent my team on some errands. Taub and Adams are at the patient's home, Park is checking on him", he informed her. "Better it's just the two of us", Dominika answered, adding, "It makes this look like a date". "Technically, a date requires an invitation", he said in a jest. "Stop it", she replied amidst chuckles. "Want a proper date tonight? I'm inviting you to dinner", he said, surprising her and leaving her speechless for a moment. "Do you accept?", he enquired. "Of course I do!", she said in an exuberant tone.
All the way back to the hospital, Taub and Adams didn't stop thinking about their talk concerning House. "Maybe they're just pulling our leg", Adams suggested. "I mean, still playing their game to gauge a reaction from us", she further clarified. "House likes pranks, but that's too much, even coming from him", Taub expressed his own opinion. "Regardless, we have a job to do, all this is irrelevant. We gotta report what we found in our patient's home", he added, heading towards the elevator. "At this time, he must be in the cafeteria", Adams observed. "Right. And stealing something from Wilson's tray", her coworker remarked.
Meanwhile, the two spouses had just finished eating. "It was delicious", House stated, adding, "And a picnic very different from the norm". "Glad you liked it", Dominika replied, folding the tablecloth. "I'm not done, though. I still haven't had dessert", he remarked. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't bring any...", she began to say, but he silenced her with a passionate kiss. His lips attacked hers, his hands grabbing her, pulling her in. They kissed hungrily, Dominika reciprocating with fervor. Pulling back, he said, "Now you can fold it, I've had my dessert. Mmm, sweeter than anything else I've tasted". "Second helping arrives", she answered playfully, grabbing the back of his head, standing on tiptoes, this time being the one initiating the osculation. "Oh, crap, that's left me hungrier than before", House exclaimed, in between gasps for air. "You know, good thing with this dessert is, you can have as many pieces as you want", she replied, a mischievous glint in her eyes, as they indulged in another kiss.
Taub and Adams found Wilson sitting in his usual table at the cafeteria, with House nowhere nearby to be seen. The oncologist saw them and waved his greetings. "Lunchtime, right? I hope House is not too much of an ass today", he said. "Actually, we are looking for him", Adams answered. "Isn't he in his office? I texted him some time ago and he texted back that he isn't gonna steal my lunch today because he's busy enough in his office", Wilson responded. "We better be going, then", Taub said, a bit uncomfortable. "Enjoy your lunch", they both said to Wilson, heading out of the place.
"Mmmm, that was great", Dominika whispered, after her husband had pulled back, breaking the kiss, in need of air. "Maybe we should hold office picnics more often", he remarked in a playful tone. "What would you fancy doing now?", she enquired. "Play some solitaire on my computer, watch the newest episode of the soap opera, etc.", he replied. "Don't you have a patient to diagnose?", she asked. "I looked through the file just before you came. It wasn't a hard riddle. I just wanted to play it with Taub and Adams", he responded in all honesty. "Then, why not watch soap opera from our TV?", she suggested and whispered to his ear, "Maybe we can find something interesting to do before it starts". "Let me first scribble a note for the team, with the diagnosis", he replied, adding, "then we go home", to which she nodded. House composed the short note and left it on the conference room table. "Let's go", he instructed her, taking her hand in his.
Taub and Adams walked through the hospital reception, heading for the elevator. As they were approaching, the elevator door opened, House and Dominika walking out of it, hand in hand. "You gotta love 'Prescription Passion', the writer has no clue about medicine, but it has a damn rocking plotline. Fit for tender-hearted beings", House was saying, seemingly oblivious to the huge throng of people that had gathered around them. "Is this man supposed to be House?", Taub blurted out, his expression betraying his surprise. "You sure he doesn't have a twin brother?", Adams remarked. "Holy cow, is that House?", one could hear Nurse Jerry's voice. All the nurses in the ER, too, stood where they were, watching the grumpiest doctor they'd ever met, engaging in small talk with his wife, holding her hand and even smiling. "Tender hearts, hmmm... Reminds me of someone", Dominika playfully observed, making House smile again. "If that's not the strangest thing I've ever witnessed...", the janitor was saying, his voice being drowned in the developing hubbub. Walking with a slow and steady pace, the couple reached the main door, both laughing, the result of House imitating the Canadian accent of a bit player in "Prescription Passion". As they were about to step out of the building, Taub finally reached them, saying, "House, the patient...", only to be cut off by the diagnostician, who momentarily paused and replied, "Diagnosis on the conference room table", before turning to Dominika, suggesting, "Keep walking, honey", once more leaving the entire staff at a loss for words. The couple exited the building and got out, as the afternoon sun was shining and a cool wind was blowing, still holding hands.