The man strode purposefully through the doors, stopping to ask the woman at the front desk where he could find his target. She shrugged in reply and suggested he try the clinic, drawing snickers from the other women. He continued into the clinic, ignoring the giggles. Reaching out his hand, he grabbed a nurse's arm.
"I'm looking for Gregory House."
"Good luck," a frazzled nurse answered, brushing past him.
He spun around slowly, searching for someone who looked the least bit helpful. A limping man clutching a wooden cane made his way out of one of the nearby exam rooms.
"Are you Dr. Gregory House?"
The limping man studied him shrewdly. "Nope. I'm Dr. McQueen." He turned away only to be stopped when a hand grabbed his arm.
"Do you know where I can find him, Dr…McQueen?"
"Shana Martin," the doctor called. Turning to the other man, he repeated, "Nope," before leading Shana Martin into the exam room.
A nurse walked up, looking puzzled. "Did he just take a patient without being forced?"
The man shrugged in reply. The nurse glanced at the clock and groaned. She picked up the phone and asked for a Dr. Cuddy.
"Please, do you know where I could find Dr. Gregory House?"
The nurse rolled her eyes and pointed at the exam room the crippled man had just disappeared into.
The man started to protest but stopped himself. Dr. McQueen. Of course. His first name was probably Steve, too. He walked up and rapped sharply on the door.
"Busy!" a gruff voice called.
The man entered anyway, receiving an annoyed glare from House and a helpless shrug from his patient.
"Dr. House."
House glanced away from the television screen where some mindless soap opera was playing. "Who ratted me out?"
"The nurse at the desk."
House craned his neck and swore when the nurse hung up the phone and gave him a smug look.
"Now look what you've done!" House exclaimed. He sighed and shook his head. "So who's suing me now?"
"Miss Marcia Lawrence."
House thought for a moment. "Short, blonde lady? Kinda scrawny?"
The other man nodded curtly, handing the papers to the doctor.
"Took her long enough," House declared, taking the papers and tossing them onto the counter. He spotted the angry brunette who had just entered the clinic and added, "Man, do those things jiggle when she's angry."
The man turned and hightailed it out of there. He had had enough. The last thing he heard before the glass doors swung shut behind him was an angry yell that he was quite certain had been uttered several times already that day.
"House!"