A/N: Update, I dont care much for this chapter, It was a hassel to get through. Promise the next will be full of House-ism and the familar humor!
"I don't want you to touch anything..."
"Okay, you don't have to tell me twice."
"You can't talk to any doctors, I don't want you to interrupt what they're doing."
"Okay mom, I won't."
"They have very important jobs to do, isn't that right Doctor House?"
House had been trying to ignore the rather irritating nurse in the elevator as she talked loudly to who he could only imagine was her daughter. He opened his mouth to shoot back a bitter and witty reply, but the girl spoke first.
"Noo mother, they only save lives. That's not important. I heard the evil corporations of America are working on creating a giant super bot to deal with all the cases so the doctors can be fired."
"That would make Cuddy's life a lot easier." House muttered with a smirk.
The nurse must have either not heard him or simply ignored the comment of which she was used to hearing. Everyone knew the horror stories of Doctor Gregory House and his attempts to escape clinic duty.
"And I don't want you to get in anyone's way, if I get a SINGLE complaint about you, so help me Jennifer you will..." Her voice trailed off as she spoke, it was clear to House that she either didn't know what she wanted to say or she didn't want him to hear it. Either way, he didn't care.
The Elevator doors slid open and the nurse glared once more at her daughter, "I don't want you wandering... I know you don't like the pediatric floor but so help me you will put with those screaming children..."
"Can't I just find some quiet corner somewhere to hide and be an angsty teen?" The girl asked with a monotonous voice as her mother stepped out of the elevator and turned to glared at her once again.
"Fine, but so help me Jennifer-."
The girl shrugged her shoulders as the elevator doors slid shut and the mechanical box began to lurch once again. It was only House and the young girl standing at opposite ends of the elevator waiting for the very awkward silence to cease, whether it would be broken by one of them or not.
"Did you spit in her cornflakes this morning or is your mother always so happy?" House asked suddenly.
"Both." The girl replied simply, "It's like living with freaking Ronald McDonald."
"I love it when teenagers display such care and concern with their parents and authority figures," House said wistfully, "It's so refreshing to see so much respect in today's society."
"I can't help it, comes with age."
"Strange, I think I made a diagnosis of something like this earlier today, a-something, ang... angst, that's the one."
The young girl glared at the doctor from her corner and opened her mouth to snap a reply when the doors once more slid open, House simply shrugged as he hobbled out into the bustling hallway of the hospital without turning and giving the girl a second glance. In an instant he was hit by the familiar antiseptic smell of the hospital, it never ceased to amaze him that he continued to work in a place full of idiotic people he really couldn't stand day in and day out. He hated clinic duty, and was quite certain that if he didn't have a cane, he would probably smack quite a few of the stupid people up the side of the head.
House quickly checked his surroundings, all clear, and began hobbling down the hallway towards his office where he had full intention of hiding until the sick people came and found him. It was only when he turned the corner and saw Cuddy standing guard in front of his office door, arms folded in a defensive manner and a bitter look on her face. He turned on heel and tried to go back to the elevator when a voice shot out through the crowd.
"DOCTOR HOUSE!"
He winced and slowly turned, only to find himself face to face with an irate looking Doctor Lisa Cuddy.
"Doctor Cuddy, how perfectly wonderful to see you today! Have you lost weight? Is that a new hair style? That colour blouse is wonderful on you-."
"Stuff it, you're a half hour late, the Clinic is waiting for you."
"You see, as much as I'd love to work in clinic duty today, I'm afraid I have a cough..." House forced a cough out, not really trying to convince Cuddy of his 'illness' but instead buy a little more time away from the clinic. "And as a doctor I'll have to be near patients, its really not even safe for me to be here today. I'm not even sure why I am, I guess I'm just that dedicated to my profession and I know I can't leave the poor, poor sick people alone without any help-."
"Nice try." Was all Cuddy said before thrusting her finger over House's shoulder towards the elevator, "I'm going down to the Clinic, if you aren't down there dealing with a patient who has a raging case of syphilis, I will give every nurse you've ever insulted a tranquillizer gun and let them hunt you down."
House held up his fingers and began counting slowly, "One... two...three...four-Okay, I guess it would be in my best interest to go. But..." He coughed again, "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"Good morning all you sick people and their nosey and irritating, slightly less than loved-ones!" House hobbled into the centre of the clinic, "I am Doctor Gregory House and because I like to avoid communicating with patients at all cost, I already don't like you and you can probably go home if you have one of the following symptoms... If you have a cough, take some Motrin and skip work. If you have a runny nose, buy some Kleenex, I recommend the Soft and Soothing. If you are simply trying to get the most out of your health insurance than just go away, I have no pity for you here. And yes, I walk with a cane, if you press the subject then we'll be transferring you up to emergency so you can have it removed from a very dark and lonesome place."
The clinic was dead quiet.
'I love my job.' He thought with a small smile, "Alrighty then, Deborah Masters, you're patient number one, lucky you. I'll meet you in examine room one, I need more drugs first."
Deborah Masters was a middle aged woman who looked fairly intimidated by House, she meekly stood up and followed a nurse towards the first exam room, looking fairly unsure about her own symptoms. House pulled out his bottle of Vicodin and popped a pill into his mouth, he felt even more irritated that for some reason or another, he hadn't had a run in with Foreman yet, Chase was off that day and Cameron was probably busy being too caring with a patient. He wouldn't have minded a little company...
House sighed and was about to head off to the exam room when something caught his eye. He saw the young girl from the elevator earlier, being pulled off to the side by a young man. He was a nosey person, he had admitted it on several separate occasions, so he felt no guilt in sneaking over to where the two youths had hidden themselves just to listen in on parts of their conversation.
"...Spencer, no, it's not right." The girl whispered as she looked over her shoulder to make sure no one had followed them into the shadows of the Clinic.
"Jenny, do you think what they're doing to you is right? You can't live like that..."
"If you and I go together then they'll know you had something to do with it!"
"Jenny-..."
"I love you Spencer, but you know my dad'll freak out if I go. He'll hunt you down and we'll have to get you sewn back together limb by limb."
"Listen, I have two bus tickets..."
"So use one and give the other to a hobo on the streets... I can't go with you."
"Take it, Jenny." He said forcefully.
There was a pause while Jenny considered her situation. Spencer's green eyes bore into her soul, begging her to take the bus ticket he held out to her. She heaved a sigh and nodded, "Where?"
"New York, Danny talked to his mom, she's agreed to take us in until we can get on our feet."
"You go..."
"Jenny, no!"
"Listen to me Spencer, you go, okay? I'll follow in two or three days. Long enough for people to know you're gone, then it'll look less suspicious when I go."
Spencer heaved a sigh and brushed back his brown hair, "Jen..."
"I'll follow, I promise, we'll do this last set tonight, then tomorrow you get on the bus and you go to New York. I promise I won't be far behind."
"Are you going to be okay by yourself?" He asked quietly.
"I'll be fine, what can go wrong in two days?"
"Because you've been looking really pale lately, you haven't been eating properly and all those dizzy spells you have... You should see a doctor."
"I'm surrounded by doctors," Jenny smiled gracefully, "I'm sure if something is desperately wrong with me, they'll notice it right off the bat."
"Jenny, you..."
"Don't say anything, okay? You should get out of here before someone finds you, we don't need my mother prancing around, asking what you were doing here..."
"I'll tell her I sprained my ankle and needed to see a doctor."
"You're a terrible liar, and you know it!" Jenny laughed, "Go on, I'll be fine."
"Okay..."
"See you tonight." She leaned up and kissed the young man on the cheek before stepping out of the shadows, and walking back towards the waiting area of the clinic where she sat in a chair, placed the small envelope into her backpack and pulled out a book.
Spencer stayed there for a moment and pondered what had just happened, he couldn't suppress the worrisome feeling in his stomach that told him it was a mistake to leave Jenny behind. After a few seconds he left the shelter of the shadows and walked out of the clinic, not passing Jenny another look.
House raised an eyebrow in question and walked back to exam room one where Deborah Masters waited to be treated for whatever life threatening illness she thought needed immediate attention. He payed no attention to Jenny as he walked by her towards the room, still, something bothered him about this girl. Something familiar, a sort of bitterness he recongized in himself, it was a feeling that was dangerous for a child her age to have.