disclaimer: i don't own House or any of the characters except for Caroline.

Summary: Caroline comes by to yell at House and trade loverly sarcastic comments with him. YAY!

i fixed this because Merrie pointed out to me that I had gotten the title of the song wrong. whoopsies...

The clock in his office read 9:27. That meant he was closer to gong home than he was the time he got here. House sighed, spinning himself around in his chair, iPod comfortably resting in his lap and the earpieces snug in his ears. Normally, he'd be blasting it through the speakers, but somehow he doubted that Cudy would allow him to listen to Eminem. Plus, after Vogler had turned off The Who ("Baba O'Riley", for the love of God!), he had come overly protective of his small device. The only thing that was keeping anyone from attacking Slim Shady was a glass door, a wooden cane, and House.

And he'd be damned if anyone was going to touch his iPod again.

This small factor may have had something to do with the fact that he didn't notice when Foreman walked into his office, rolled up newspaper in hand and threwsaid rolled up newspaperat House's head. "Hey!" he snapped, looking up at Foreman. "What the hell?"

Foreman said something, but due to the rather loud volume of "Without Me", House couldn't hear it. Rolling his eyes, he paused the song and removed the ear pieces. "Repeat that, I had a small problem with A) Not caring, and B) Not hearing."

"You know," Foreman seethed. "I realized that you piss off doctors, you piss off nurses, you piss off patients and adults, but I never thought you could piss off a teenager."

House frowned. "What are you talking about? I don't know any teenagers."

"Really?" Foreman crossed his arms over his chest. "Then why is Cameron's niece stalking around front, demanding to see you?"

House's eyes widened, and for a second he actually looked afraid. "Really?" he stammered, sinking lower into his chair. "Well...tell her I'm not here."

A rather loud snort sounded from the doorway, where Caroline stood with her arms crossed and deadly intent in her eyes. "Yeah, right. Which is totally why you're sitting in a chair. In your office. Dumbass." She turned to Foreman and flashed him a grin. "Hey, Foreman. Can you leave Gregory andme to talk for a few minutes? Thanks."

"No problem," he said, heading for the door. Before he stopped, he leaned towards her. "When you kill him, give me his Game Boy." He winked at her, and left the room.

She turned around to face House, a chilling grin lighting up her face. "House," she said in a loud,falsely brilliant voice. "How have you been? Good? That's nice. Hey, have you spoken to my aunt lately?" She made a face at him when he didn't answer. "No? Oh, see I would've thought that when you sleep with someone, you tend to talk to them afterwards. But then, my image of people has been warped since I met you."

"Caroline." He gave a strained grin. "How's the foot? Any swelling? Leaking pus? Tell me, is this rather massive pissy mood an after affect?"

"No," she said, crossing her arms across the familiar white sweatshirt. "But I'll tell you what it IS caused by! It's caused by bitter old men who break peoples hearts. Now," she tapped her chin with one finger in mock thought. "Who do I know who fits that description...Oh, my God! It's you!"

House winced. This was getting to be a bit much... "Listen, midget, I would understand a bit of testiness, but you're taking this too far..."

"Too far?" she said in a deadly low voice. "Too far?" she shrieked. "You went too far when you broke your promise to me! You swore that you wouldn't hurt her, and then you slept with her and just...disappeared! You said to me that you would make sure that she would be okay, and you just..." She closed her eyes, a tear making it's way down her cheek. "You are such a jackass, you know? Do you even remember what I asked you?"

Three Weeks Ago...

"Well," he said brightly, knocking her hat off her head. She glared at him."You know what they say when you assume something." Her eyes glittered, and she opened her mouth and said, at the exact same time as he did, "You make an ass out of u and me." Caroline grinned, picking her hat up and placing it backwards on her head again. "So...why would it be me?"

"Please." She rolled her eyes. "I've met Chase. He's a jerk; too obsessed with his hair. It was weird. And I doubt it was Foreman, since he so doensn't have a cane." She shook her head. "We're soooo off topic right now. The point is..." She looked towards the kitchen, then dropped her voice to make sure that her aunt couldn't hear her. "Can you do me a favour? Can you please be careful with her? She's all I have left, and if something happens to her...I don't know what I'd do. She needs a chance to be happy, and this place has made her, like, massively so." She glanced down at her foot. "And you can let go of that now."

"I remember," he assured her. "I normally don't remember things like that, but you said it with just the right amount of scariness that I was ensured to remember it."

She sat down in the chair across from him, exhaustion overwhelming her anger. "I don't understand," she whispered, looking up at him with those heartbreakingly teary green eyes. "Why you didn't keep your promise. I mean, I think you drove my aunt insane. She doens't stop crying, and she doesn't talk anymore...she's just not herself. You weren't careful with her...you broke her." She stood up, shoved her hands into the conjoined pocket at the bottom of her sweatshirt. "You know what? I don't care anymore. We're gone in two days, and we won't have to be around you anymore." She made her way towards the door, paused, and said, "I hope you're satisfied."

And, ten minutes after she was gone, he was still leaning back in his chair.

And no...he wasn't satisfied. Not at all.

Caroline was in her room, sketching out evil doodles of House when she heard a knock on the front door. She heard her aunt cross the room and open the door, and heard the sharp intake of, "House..."

She heard him say, "I'm sorry," in a way that made it seem as though he was in great pain to admit it.

She smiled softly when she heard a few soft words, before there was a muffled 'thump', and she knew that House was ultimately forgiven by her aunt.

And, on her little sketch pad, she drew a cartoon of her aunt, holding hands with House.

Juvenile, yes...but hey. If House could get away with it...

Why couldn't she?

THE END