A/N -
Here's the next chapter! I hope you like it!
Also, I don't own House, DS does (lucky bastard), but I thank him for sharing his toys :-)
~ Chapter Two ~
Packed and Ready to Go?
(Later that evening)
Before House even entered their new loft, the smell of Asian cooking assaulted his senses. He had to admit, having a roommate again was really convenient. He'd been alone for so long, he had thought it was going to be hard to adjust,, but it had actually been Wilson that had the hardest time adjusting to the situation.
He sighed as he opened the door. He must be getting old.
He dumped his bag on the floor of their mostly empty living room. Wilson had been hounding him about furniture, but he had also disagreed with everything House had picked out, mostly because House had intentionally picked the ugliest furniture that he could find. He shrugged out of his heavy coat, happy that Wilson had the heat turned on. Winter's grip on Princeton hadn't eased up yet, and the short walk from his car to the front of the building had been bone-chillingly cold. "Honey, I'm home!" he called, limping in the kitchen.
"Hey, House," Wilson greeted him dully, spooning Asian-style noodles on a plate.
Christ. It's orange chicken, House thought, cringing. It was Wilson's break-up food. "So, the new E.R. Doc...?"
"Lasted just one date." He pulled a beer from the fridge, then moved to the living room, sitting on the ugly orange reclining sofa. He turned on the T.V., without another word.
House fixed himself a plate, then sat next to his friend, who was morosely channel surfing. "Me?" he asked, watching his friend repeatedly press the channel up button on the remote.
Wilson sighed, and he leaned back in the chair, crossing his legs at the ankles. "Apparently, she didn't understand how my best friend could be such an asshole." He picked at the chunks of chicken on his plate with his chopsticks. "Then she dumped me, after I defended you." He fell silent, waiting for House's excuses.
House smirked. "You're looking for love in all the wrong, blond faces, you know." He rolled his eyes, not indulging in Wilson's pity party.
"Of course it's never about you!" Wilson shook his head. "This isn't about you insulting her in the E.R. in front of half her nurses." He chuckled bitterly, sarcasm dripping from every word.
"First, I insulted her because she deserved it." He answered back. "Cameron may have been obnoxiously sincere, but she was at least intelligent enough to let me root through E.R. cases for my amusement. Kelly had to interfere, and she had to have an issue with me browsing through the new arrivals." He paused. "And she broke up with you for something insensitive I said?" He grinned. "Just imagine the fun I'm gonna have with her, now."
Wilson gave him a wide-eyed look, still fuming, but he let House's words sink in, then he sighed, sinking back in his seat. "She dumped me," he mumbled, his argument losing some of its bite.
"Maybe it was for the better," House mumbled, aloud. Wilson raised an eyebrow, giving him a puzzled look. House shoved a piece of chicken in his mouth. "She's been sleeping with the chief of radiology."
Wilson was stunned. "But, he's married."
"Never stopped you." House chewed thoughtfully for a moment, then he picked up the remote that Wilson had laid down, and he changed the channel.
"Hey!" Wilson looked up. "I was watching that!"
"You were watching that." He gave his friend a look. "Now I'm watching this." He turned back to the T.V., which was playing a reality show with lots of glamorous girls standing around a pool.
Wilson sighed. "You're an ass."
I just don't hear that enough," House muttered. "You know where my passport is?" he asked, suddenly changing the subject.
"I'm not your secretary. She quit, remember," Wilson retorted.
"Damn, I knew I should have hired Chase for that," he muttered. "Seriously, have you seen my passport. I'm gonna need it."
"Shoved in your History of Civil War Medicine book, I think." He frowned, his eyebrows knitting together. "Why?"
"Cuddy has me going to a Swine Flu conference in London." He kept his eyes on the T.V., trying to keep his face blank. "She's riding along. To keep me out of trouble," he allowed himself to smirk
"Bad idea," Wilson said quickly. "Not able to worm your way out of it?"
He shook his head. "Can't." In a high pitched voice, he unflatteringly mimicked Cuddy. "I have to prove that I'm an asset to the hospital to the Board."
Wilson snorted. "Like the Board's stopped you before."
House leaned back in the sofa, propping his feet up on the recliner. "Normally, they don't. Unfortunately, after my little excursion to the funny farm, I sorta have to toe the line. As much as possible, anyway."
Wilson groaned. "Which team members are you screwing with?" He closed his eyes, already having a good idea what the answer was.
House's face broke out into a grin. "Chase and Foreman. And I have five days to mindf*ck them until I leave."
"You do know that this will not end well, don't you?" Wilson asked, a pained expression on his face.
"You'll keep an eye on the children for me, right?" His grin grew wider.
Wilson sighed. "Yes. Which one did you leave in charge?"
"The prettiest one."
Wilson nodded. "Teaching Foreman a lesson?"
"I prefer to think of it as leadership training," he smirked.
"Well," Wilson paused, thoughtfully, "this will be interesting."
"That's the spirit!"
They sat back, and they watched T.V. It wasn't until much later that he realized that Wilson hadn't said anything about Cuddy. The man was up to something, he thought, right before he went to sleep.
(At the hospital)
"There is nothing that I can do." Cuddy looked right into Foreman's eyes. "It's his department."
"But, he picked Chase on a completely arbitrary basis!" Foreman was upset, but he knew that he was going to lose this argument.
That didn't stop him from trying, though.
"It's his department," she repeated sharply. "And was he wrong?"She saw the look on his face, and she felt a throbbing headache form behind her temples. Doctors could be arrogant babies, and they were always in need of being placated and reassured.
"Eric," she began, carefully, "He has every right to put Chase in charge."
He began to open his mouth to argue, but she held up a hand, and she held firm on her thoughts on the subject. "You're a great neurologist, but, you've failed as a Diagnostic Department Head, several times." She kept her voice calm, and her eyes locked on his. "There's nothing I can do."
He frowned, then got up and left, still fuming.
She pulled a bottle of Tylenol out of her drawer, and she dry swallowed two of the little tablets, wondering what mess her hospital was going to be in when she got back.
She packed up her briefcase, and she pulled on her coat. She was ready to go home to Rachel, and after the baby was in bed, she planned on getting caught up on her paperwork. She had a lot to get done before she left on Friday.
