Reluctance
Chapter 9 – Dr. Dumbo
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Doubt thou the stars are fire,
Doubt that the sun doth move.
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When House arrived at work on Monday morning, two hours late, no letter of resignation rested atop the pile of mail on his desk. House found that strange; if Cameron was so hell-bent on quitting, he assumed she wouldn't waste any time. Actually, he knew she wouldn't waste any time. He stared at his desk for a minute, thoughts churning in his head. With a sigh and a tap of his cane on the linoleum floor, House set out on a mission.
Five minutes later, he stood across from Wilson, giving his friend the death glare of the century. On the short walk from his office to Wilson's, House had formed a coherent hypothesis.
"Did you know Cameron was going to quit?" House accused.
Wilson looked up from his paperwork, raising an eyebrow as he tried to appear clueless.
"Cameron was going to quit?" he asked with mock ignorance.
House sighed deeply, sinking down into the chair closest to him.
"Don't play dumb. You knew," House stated.
Wilson nodded abruptly. It was no use lying to House once you'd been caught.
"She gave her resignation letter to Cuddy two weeks ago," Wilson replied, careful not to let the sympathy show in his voice.
Ah, that would explain him not receiving such a letter.
House was surprised to find that he wasn't angry with his friend for keeping that bit of information from him. Of course, anger was his shield against Wilson and all his questions about his feelings. Sending a last icy look at the oncologist, House stood and limped from the room without another word.
Wilson watched him go, shaking his head. He saw right through House's façade.
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"CUDDY!" he yelled her name as he limped through the glass door to her office.
She was sitting on the sofa, across from a young man with a large nose and rather ugly pair of ears. House scrunched up his own nose at the man and prepared a sarcastic comment, but he was cut off by Cuddy.
"Dr. House, what can I do for you?" she asked.
House looked from her to the man and then back to Cuddy's waiting eyes.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" he joked.
Cuddy sent him a look that made him shut up. Standing from the sofa, she smoothed her skirt and motioned for the young man to stand as well.
"Actually, no you aren't. I have someone to introduce to you," she paused. "Dr. House, this is Dr. Bernard Dubois."
"Bernard? Wow, your mother must have really hated you," House quipped, eyes widening in mock surprise. "How about I call you Dr. Dumbo?" House said, gesturing to the man's rather large ears.
Dr. Dubois frowned and gave House a strange look, which only earned him a sarcastic grin. Growing bored with Dr. Dumbo when the man gave him nothing more to insult, House fixed an intense gaze on Cuddy.
"As nice as it was to meet your little friend, I need to speak with you about something," House said.
Cuddy shook her head.
"Actually, I needed to talk to you," she replied.
At House's inquisitive look, she continued carefully. She knew she was treading on thin ice.
"As you probably know by now, Dr. Cameron has resigned," she paused to gauge House's reaction.
His face darkened and he gripped his cane tighter, but responded with a short nod.
"The vacancy in your staff needs to be filled as soon as possible, so I thought I'd spare you the pain and hire someone myself," Cuddy said.
House sighed with exasperation. That woman could draw out sentences forever!
"How nice of you, Dr. Cuddy! I don't know what to say! I'm in awe. Usually you go out of your way to be a pain in the ass," House jibed.
Cuddy took a deep breath and went in for the kill.
"Dr. Dubois will be replacing Dr. Cameron on your team, starting today," she finished.
House gave her a baffled look. Damn, she sure knew how to kill a mood! His eyebrows rose to his hairline, but he quickly covered his surprise with sarcasm.
"Thanks for the warning, Dr. Cuddy. I could have been more prepared; it's not everyday that I get to break in a new duckling," House said, with a glance at Dubois.
Dubois swallowed and House tapped his cane on the floor. With a glare in Cuddy's direction, he spun as quickly as possible and limped from her office.
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The rest of the day passed in a blur. There weren't any cases to solve, and for once in his life, House didn't have clinic duty. His reasoning was that Cuddy was afraid of him; she should be, after springing Dr. Dumbo Dubois on him this morning!
He sat in his chair, legs propped up on his desk. Ingeniously, he discovered that if he put his cane through the two handles on the glass doors, nobody could open them from the outside. He didn't talk to anybody, even when Wilson and Foreman came and rapped on the glass. He just turned up his IPOD louder and ignored them.
At five in the afternoon, House checked out and headed home. He drove like usual, reckless and fast, and was there in twenty minutes. He was fumbling with his keys, leaning on his cane, when he noticed a suspicious looking envelope taped to his door. He reached out and tore it down, very nearly crinkling it up and tossing it to the side. However, something caught his eye.
'Greg House', in Cameron's handwriting, adorned the front of the envelope.
When he saw this, he almost crinkled it up anyways. But he was curious, so he opened the door and stepped inside to read what she had written.
Dear Greg,
It takes two to speak the truth – one to speak and the other to hear.
He stopped reading. Apparently she remembered their discussion of Thoreau. He had to smile at that. Taking a deep breath, he continued.
I'm going to speak now, or rather write, and I want you to hear me out. Obviously, I still quit my job, regardless to whatever happened or didn't happen between us. I want you to know that it wasn't anybody's fault – things happen, people change. I changed. I needed to get away from everything; the hospital, my life, you.
To quote Thoreau once again – "a man cannot be said to succeed in this life who does not satisfy one friend." You satisfied me.
Goodbye House.
Love, Allison.
P.S. My new job is at St. Joseph Medical Center in Seattle, Washington. I'm starting as the assistant head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. You taught me well! I gave all my flight information to Wilson, but in case you wanted to know… Newark International Airport, Flight #382, gate B-19, departs Monday at 7:30pm.
House read the letter again and again. He had to hand it to her – Cameronhad guts to leave him a note like that. He sighed and leaned slightly, his back resting against the closed door. House's eye scanned the living room, searching for something that would give him a clue as to what he should do next. His gaze landed on the phone.
House limped across the room, folding Cameron's note and putting it in his jacket pocket as he walked. He dialed a familiar number, waiting impatiently and counting the rings.
"Hello?" Wilson said.
"Call Cuddy and tell her I won't be at work for the next few days," House stated.
"House, is that you?" Wilson guessed.
House rolled his eyes.
"Of course it's me. Now will you please relay that message?" House asked.
"Only if you tell me why you're skipping out," Wilson reasoned.
"I'm going to Seattle," he slammed the phone down before Wilson could reply.
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Doubt truth to be a liar,
But never doubt that I love.
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A/N: Wow, didn't see that coming. Yeah, he's going to Seattle. Humph. Oh well. Please review! The 90th reviewer gets House's cane! Whoot! Oh, and a big prize for the longest review. Cackle!
And now, a special thanks to all of my followers: The Lilac Elf of Lothlorien, Val'istar En' Alu, peraevum, Asano, Pheonix's5, fuzzhead1424, orangeangel, jeevesandwooster, ClampLover, Regina Halliwell, RaeAnne, rochel, Randa05, Red Maridia, goodgirl81, a, Mrs Boyscout, sarah, Rain, Jessica S, SP'sGirl, sidleidol03, Belligerent-road-pylon, Mollisk, Oracle Phoenix, HouseNCameron, KatelynnLynn, Ellie, Avril13, Moonstruck88, sgr11, Avelynn Tame, podgirl, Verity Kindle, Teenwitch, JessiBel, Mishelle20, Nikelodean, A. Heiden
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