Chapter 22
House returned to his office after his appointment with Quig and Cameron. He needed some time to think. As he limped down the hall, his mind was reeling with questions that Cameron might ask him. He knew she would only be asking him one at a time, but which one? There were many things House hated, and among them was being unprepared.
House entered his office and sank into his chair, lifting the gray and red tennis ball deftly from the desktop and rolling it between his hands. As he contemplated all the possible questions that Cameron might ask him, an even more disturbing thought occurred to him. What was he going to ask her? Now utterly distressed, he began tossing the tennis ball against the wall and catching it.
House wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there when he heard a light tapping on his glass door, followed by a nervous little cough. He looked up and saw a nurse from the clinic, what was her name? Katie, right, the one Cameron said was checking out his assets.
"Dr. House, excuse me, but Dr. Cuddy sent me up here to get you," Nurse Katie said nervously.
"I'm not working the clinic today," House said impatiently. He had more important things to think about, and how dare Cuddy send a proxy to irritate him about the clinic.
"Not for the clinic, Dr. House. She just wants you in her office," Nurse Katie replied quickly.
"Oh for love of … Look, I'm busy here. I'll come down and see her later," House said dismissively. Nurse Katie, however, wasn't to be dismissed.
"Dr. Cuddy told me if I came back downstairs without you I'd be out of my job," she said.
House caught the tennis ball and let his chin drop to his chest. Sometimes he really despised that woman. Placing the ball on the desk, House grabbed his cane and heaved himself out of his chair, muttering obscenities under his breath. As he passed by Nurse Katie, who had been standing expectantly in the doorway, she caught a taste of what he was muttering and blushed wildly.
Not bothering to knock, House sauntered into Cuddy's office and took a deep breath to begin the tirade he had been planning on the elevator ride down. One look at Cuddy's face, panic evident in every pore as she sat hunched in her chair, and he let out the breath in a rush.
"What's wrong?" he asked, limping hurriedly to her side. He knelt down awkwardly to get a better look at her. She wasn't pale or flushed, no sweating. All good signs.
"Sharp pain, starting around my belly button and radiating down toward the pelvic area," Cuddy said. "Constant, but fluctuating in intensity."
House nodded. Constant meant it wasn't premature labor, another good sign.
"Scale of one to ten?" House asked her. As he did, he reached his hands out hesitatingly to touch her stomach. He met her eyes quickly and she nodded her permission.
"Five at the worst," Cuddy said. House pressed a little around her abdomen.
"Worse?" he asked. Cuddy shook her in the negative. House nodded. He thought she'd probably be alright. Of course he wasn't an obstetrician and for something like this he would take no chances. "Who are you seeing?"
"Huntley," Cuddy replied. House reached across her and picked up the phone. He dialed the extension for the OB department and spoke briefly to the nurse who answered.
"Okay, we're going upstairs and get you checked out," House said. He helped Cuddy to her feet and offered her his free arm for support. "Where's Wilson?"
"I don't know," Cuddy said as she walked slowly with House out the door of her office. Cameron had been called away for a consult in immunology when she'd returned from her excursion with House, and Cuddy hadn't know who else to call.
"I can stay," House offered. Cuddy just nodded. He was being extremely nice right now and she wasn't about to scare him off by saying thank you. "Huntley could probably use a hand with the pelvic exam anyway."