Chapter IV
Remember, Remember
"You caught them what?" Wilson asked obliviously.
"Snogging," House said impatiently. A quick glance to the cancer specialist told him that Wilson still didn't know what he meant. "Don't you watch 'Blackadder?' That comedian…what's his name uses the word all the time."
"You don't talk like a British comedian around your staff, do you?" Wilson asked. "It'll rub off on them."
"Too late," House said nastily. "Chase already sounds like somebody out of a Charles Dickens novel."
"So why do you want me to test your patient?" Wilson changed the subject. "Vomiting and psychosis aren't your usual symptoms of cancer."
"The vomiting was caused by the steroids. Psychosis was caused by something else." House spoke like he was still lecturing his team, a fact Wilson ignored.
"So you automatically thought cancer?" Wilson asked in a cautiously skeptical voice.
"I didn't automatically think anything." House replied emphatically. "I've got Chase taking a family history, see if this kid's naturally whacko."
"I've always admired your natural empathy for the patient." Wilson said dryly. "I'll schedule Jason's tests for later today, but right now I've gotta get a cup of coffee. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night."
"More 'playing doctor' with the cancer patients?" House jibed as reached for the bagel on his desk.
"No…more time with Cuddy convincing the insurance companies not to drive up your premiums." Wilson sighed as he said this, then turned and left the office, just as Chase entered the room.
"I questioned the patient's mother. She said there's no history of mental illness on her side of the family."
"What about the father's?" House asked, his curiosity peaked.
"She's a single mom. She was never close enough to Jason's Dad to know the particulars."
"Only close enough to sleep with him," House sighed bitterly, annoyance now clearly audible in his voice. He pressed on. "Grab a medical dictionary from the shelf. Look for anything involving psychosis."
The room was quiet as they all sat around the table the next morning. With the lights off it was difficult to see the heavy eye lids on Chase's face, which threatened to close at any minute. Sitting next to him Cameron eyed her exhausted boyfriend with pity while Foreman and Wilson glanced at each other with boredom. House, meanwhile, was conspicuously absent.
Finally, the door to the common area swung open and the crippled doctor strutted into the room, his limp barely noticeable.
"Where the heck have you been? It's almost eleven o'clock." Foreman said, exasperated.
"Sleeping." The diagnostician said, as if the answer was obvious. "Where were you?"
Before Foreman could open his mouth, Chase interjected. "Looking up every reference to Psychosis in your medical library," he moaned. "All 739 of them."
Ignoring Chase's obvious exhaustion, House pressed on. "Any that fit the symptoms?"
"63." Chased nodded blearily.
"Good." House replied, still seemingly oblivious to Chase's need for sleep. "Start testing him for each one. What about the Cancer tests?"
"All negative," Wilson replied dutifully.
"How many does that take off the list, Ch…" House's eyes fell on the golden-haired doctor, only to find him sleeping soundly, using his notes as a pillow.
"Maybe," Cameron began tentatively, glancing at Chase, "we should continue this at lunch. Dr. Chase looks like some fresh air might help him, and I know a nice little outdoor restaurant on the college town."
House eyed her suspiciously, as though at any moment she might pull a knife on him. On the other side of the table, he noticed Foreman nodding, a hungry glimmer in his eyes. "Oh all right." He said with resignation.
"Pickles." House complained to no one in particular, as he opened his sandwich. "They didn't leave out the pickles."
"So?" Foreman glared at the diagnostician with almost a fed-up look. "Take them off yourself."
"Oh, but Mom, it doesn't taste the same!" House retorted mockingly to his neurologist.
Unlike Foreman, the others had deliberately avoided responding to their colleague's complaint. Cameron was trying to convince a half-asleep Chase to drink some coffee, while Wilson ate his tuna sandwich, occasionally glancing around nervously.
Making very little headway in his argument with House, Foreman finally sighed with resignation and took a large bite from his meat pie. The diagnostician, meanwhile, smiled triumphantly and brought the conversation back to business.
"So it's not cancer. But what is it?" He thought aloud. "Something's missing." The diagnostician went silent for a few minutes, struggling to find the answer that seemed to be just beyond the realm of his perception. Unconsciously House turned partially around in his chair; driven by the feeling that someone was approaching him from behind.
Her raven hair, her mischievous yet loving eyes dragged him out of his introspection. Despite his arrogance and his staunchly isolated lifestyle, House was captivated.
"Hello, Greg," Stacy pronounced his name with her own charming drawl, a soft smile on her face.
Realizing that his mouth was gaping slightly, House quickly regained his confident composure. "Stacy," he said as he turned and glared at Cameron. "What a coincidence running into you here." He said sarcastically.
"I see you haven't lost your endearing hospitality over the past two weeks," she responded smartly.
Glancing at her colleagues, Cameron cleared her throat. "Well it seems like you two have a lot to talk about, so I think we'll be going back to the hospital." She motioned for Wilson and Foreman to help her escort the half-asleep Chase to the car.
"Wait, you can't just leave me here!" House's voice was almost panicked as he struggled to get out of his chair. "Jeffrey back at the hospital needs…"
"Goodbye Dr. House," Cameron cut him off with a knowing smile. "Have fun."
As they got into the car and drove away, betrayal could be seen written on the diagnostician's face. "This is abuse of a handicapped person!" he yelled after them.
"Yeah," Stacy said as she sat down next to him. "You are such a victim."
Strangely, House broke into a smile as he looked into her eyes.
"So…what have you been up to lately?"