Hey, sorry it took me so long!! Now that I FINALLY have vacation, maybe I'll update more...sorry if it's short, hope you like it, though. --VFD

Interrupted

"Whose?" Keira asked, beginning to get wary. Cuddy took a deep breath, and Keira thought she was welling up a little. "Mine," she said.

Keira's mouth dropped open. "But… you… you're…" she stammered. Cuddy looked up at her, and Keira saw that Cuddy had been welling up, but she was very serious now. "I've enjoyed working here," she said quietly, "but…I want to have a family. A husband, children, grandchildren… I'm not as young as I used to be, you know." Now Keira was getting a lump in her throat. "But, it's my first day. I don't deserve to be in your position, maybe in a few years, but not on my first day!" she said. Dr. Cuddy laughed. "You think," she said, "that I hired you—the world famous Keira Olivieri!—to work for House? Keira, I want you to have House work for you."

"Me? Work for her?" a voice hissed from behind Keira. House was standing in the doorway, his eyes narrowed at Dr. Olivieri. "What are you talking about, Cuddy?" Keira became even more emotional at the sound of House's voice—it was icy, filled with cold hate. Cuddy scowled. "What do you want, House? Is there something you need Dr. Olivieri for? We were having a private discussion," she said menacingly.

It was Chase who interrupted them this time. "House," he said impatiently, "we need you in the ER." The emergency room. Whatever House was needed for, it wasn't good. "All right," House snapped. Chase started, then shrugged and strode of to the ER. House's eyes turned back to Keira, penetrating her with a hostile glare. "Come on," he said, and limped out of Cuddy's office.

Keira glanced at Cuddy one more time, then followed House tentatively. To her surprise, she had to walk quickly to keep up with her boss. She tried multiple times to make eye contact, but he refused. House kept his eyes, which were now a stony, hard blue, straight ahead, not daring to look at the begging traitor next to him. How dare she, he thought, how dare she! His rage boiled up inside of him until they reached the Emergency Room, where a car accident victim was being prepped for surgery.

"What's up?" Keira asked as she barged ahead of House. "He's going under for internal bleeding," Chase responded to both House and Keira. He handed Keira a clean cloth and she continued to mop up blood, along with several other nurses. Keira noticed that he gave it to her rather forcefully, and then focused his attention on his boss. Well it's not hard to tell where his loyalties lie, she thought, and then wondered why she thought it. Shaking her brain out of its trance, she tossed the bloody cloth in a wastebasket and grabbed a fresh one.

Then Keira noticed something about the patient: he wasn't screaming. In fact, he looked quite calm. But he couldn't be in shock, he'd be unconscious… right? "House," she said slowly. The older doctor ignored her, pretending to pay attention to Chase, who was babbling on about the accident. "House!" Keira said loudly this time. "He's not doing anything." Now House paid attention to her. "He's what?" he asked as he made his way through the bustling nurses, who were causing all of the noise.

"He can't be in shock, right? So why isn't he reacting to this? He has to be in pain!" she said, beginning to get very frustrated.

"Unless," she added quickly, "he doesn't know he's hurt."