CHAPTER FIVE – Call to Court, Part One

The dreadful day arrived and House had trouble slipping out of bed; well, actually it was no different than any other day. He showered, taking 30 minutes longer than he normally did. He ran cold water over his head and let it cascade down his shoulders and back. His leg still hurt, of course, but he'd popped two Vicodin before he even got in the shower. He would pop two more before he left his apartment an hour later.

He arrived at the courthouse 15 minutes late, hoping that maybe he'd missed his appointed time. The clerk at the front desk told him to go to room 215 without any further instruction.

As he opened the door to room 215 he looked at the 30 or so people that were sitting in chairs, looking as forlorn and apprehensive as he felt. He spotted a chair next to a blonde woman sitting in the corner, reading a Cosmo. Undoubtedly he didn't overlook her long, tanned legs that ran up the black, silk skirt and the low cut, lavender blouse with a few buttons undone to reveal a subtle cleavage.

Although he instantly wished he didn't have the stupid cane, he slowly walked over and sat down as coolly as he could without showing too much pain on his face. Without turning his head in her direction his eyes averted to her chest again.

"When I'm done you can read this if you want," she said, without looking at him. "I only read them for the articles anyway." That made House smile and they looked at each other for the first time.

"What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" House said, trying to sound sexy and nonchalant.

"Wow. That was lame. I think you should read the article on page 76, '25 Pick Up Lines to Avoid.' I think you'll learn a thing or two." Her assertiveness caught him off guard, which was rare for him, not that he was complaining.

"What are we supposed to do now?" House asked.

She turned back to her magazine and said, "Well, I'm not giving you my phone number."

Just then a door opened and a man hollered out, "Kathleen Gilmore."

"Well, that's me," the woman said. She stood, handed him the magazine, said, "page 76 – there's a quiz when I get back," and sauntered to the door.

A groan escaped his throat even before he'd realized he was drooling over her 'rear view exit' and the man on the other side of him turned and gave him a dirty look. "What!? She's hot!" House said. The man shook his head and continued reading his newspaper.

About ten minutes later Kathleen came back out and walked straight towards House and stood in front of him for a few seconds.

"Do you want my phone number, now?" House asked, giving a sly grin as if that would impress her.

"Tell you what. If we are both selected on the jury, then I'll give you my phone number after the trial."

"But I'm trying not to get select … oh, how did it go in there?"

"Grueling," she said as she reached out her hand for the magazine. House handed it to her. "I did my best to get out of it, but don't think I did a good job."

"How do you know?"

She gave him a cute smile, which disappeared very quickly and said seriously, "Because I'm psychic. Hope to see you again," she said as she turned and walked out of the room.

House nudged the man sitting next to him with his elbow and said, "Wow, think I scored." Again the man shook his head.

Just as House leaned his head up against the wall and closed his eyes his heard a door open and a man call his name. House didn't budge.

"Gregory House!" the man repeated rather irritated. Again House didn't answer. "By order of the court, if no one claims to be Gregory House he will be held in contempt of court. So, I say once more, Gregory House."

House took in a deep breath before he lifted his head, grabbed his cane and walked to the man. As he got closer he stopped a few feet away and said, "I was asleep. Can you hold a man in contempt if he's sleeping?"

The man stepped aside for House to walk through the door without a word and he did so. He wasn't quite prepared for what he saw but he wasn't too nervous. A judge sat behind a bench and two mahogany tables set up in front of it, with three men sitting at each with a briefcase and several sheets of paper scattered across them.

He was directed to a stand directly between the tables, in front of the Judge.

"Please stand your full name," said a man in the corner of the room.

"Gregory John House."

There was silence in the room for a brief moment before the Judge said, "Mr. Tanner, you may begin." There was the echoing sound of a chair being pushed on the tile and House turned to look at the man who stood and approached him.

"May I have your age and occupation, please?" Tanner asked.

"47 – doctor."

"Doctor of what?" House rambled off his many specialties with an arrogance that seemed to annoy the attorney.

"Mr. House … "

"I just said I was a doctor," House snapped.

"Oh, beg your pardon, Doctor," Tanner replied with a tone of sarcasm. "Have you or anyone in your immediate family ever been in a serious car accident?"

"No."

"May I ask how you injured your leg?"

"Infarction," he simply answered.

"Can you please explain what an infarction is?" House explained the entire circumstances surrounding the incident.

"I see. And do you harbor any anger toward the person who went against your wishes?"

House was silent for a moment. He had to dig deep inside himself to answer the question correctly. "I got over it."

"'You got over it?' How do you mean?"

House swallowed hard, for he wouldn't even admit to himself if he was truly over it or just said that to evade the question. "Wouldn't you be?"

"Dr. House," the Judge interrupted. "Please answer the question directly. There is no need to be defensive."

House turned towards the Judge then back to the attorney. "I played golf. I ran daily. I woke up every morning with no pain. I could climb stairs. I liked my leg; my leg liked me. I was living with a woman who took that all away from me …"

"Dr. House, a simple yes or no will suffice," Tanner said.

After a moment House said, "Yes."

Tanner nodded his head and continued the barrage of questions. House answered all of Tanner's questions as best as he could but the Judge was growing more and more impatient with House's attitude.

CHAPTER WILL BE CONTINUED IN PART TWO SHORTLY