THIS IS A SPOILER FOR EPISODE SHOWN NOV 14TH, WHERE HOUSE CURES 'VEGETATIVE STATE GUY' (NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH OUR BELOVED COMA GUY) AND THE TRIPLETS ARE INTERVIEWED BY TRITTER.
I'M SORRY TO EVEN HAVE TO MENTION TRITTER, BUT THAT IDIOT MORON BRINGS OUT ANGST IN ALL OF US. AND DON'T WORRY, HE HAS NO SPEAKING LINES. HE'S JUST PUT IN FRONT OF A FIRING SQUAD AND SHOT! Ok, not really.
MORE IMPORTANTLY, THIS CHAPTER/REST OF STORY IS SET ONE YEAR LATER DURING THE TIME HOUSE WAS IN ALL THE TROUBLE WITH TRITTER. WHILE PARTS ARE INDEED SPOILERS, ALL BUT THE ABOVE DETAILED INFORMATION IS MADE UP BY ME.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR – The Critter Formerly Known as Tritter
A few minutes later Cuddy left House's room and headed to Kathi's to check on her condition. It was only after she took a step into her empty room that she remembered Kathi was still in surgery. Two vertebrae at the L-4 were fractured and parts of them were compromising the spinal cord. Undoubtedly, paralysis would be devastating to anyone. But that was just one of Kathi's problems.
The most life threatening problem was to find a liver donor for a transplant due to her severed liver, which had to be secured within the next 12 hours, the most critical. Cuddy picked up the phone in Kathi's room and called the Transplant Committee to schedule a meeting later that afternoon to consider bumping Kathi up on the list. If that was successful, she could only hope to find a compatible liver in time, but realistically, she couldn't be sure.
As she hung up the phone, she suddenly realized how tired she was – no, exhausted: she was both physically and emotionally drained. And she was terribly hungry. But she still had a hospital to run. She considered her options and worked on several plans to work around the coming weekend for people to be with House while he recouped, if he was able to return home for the weekend.
Cuddy knew House had a certain attachment to Kathi, although she couldn't pinpoint the reason why. As usual, he kept his 'love interests' to himself. The urgency in finding the liver wasn't really for Kathi's benefit, but for House's. She asked herself why she let that bother her, but there was no magical voice that whispered the answer into her ear. All she could do was do the best that she could and hope for better.
"Cuddy?" She heard her name being called from the door and only then realized she had been staring blankly out the window. She turned around to see Wilson standing in the doorway with a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich. "I hear you don't like burnt sandwiches. I hope this is good," he said as he nodded his head towards the hallway and took a few steps out.
A few minutes later the pair was seated in Cuddy's office.
"Thanks. I was hungrier than I thought."
She ate her sandwich in silence as Wilson watched her until she was finished and threw the cling wrap in the trash. "Well, I just wanted to make sure you did eat that. I'll go check on Kathi's status in surgery," Wilson said as he attempted to stand.
"Wilson, stay," Cuddy asked as she leaned back in the chair and Wilson sat back down. "Has security checked the surveillance video in the parking garage of the courthouse?" she asked hopefully.
Wilson could only shrug his shoulders because he did not know anything. He knew the security team was not obligated to provide anyone outside the police department any information on the case. What they both needed was an answer as to who it was that had attempted murder and the reason why.
Could it have been Moriarty, the man that shot him almost two years earlier? If it was him he would have had to be tracking House, known his every move at all times. But if it was him, why hadn't he killed House? Isn't that what all deranged homosapiens feel the need to do? House only got a pipe to the head, which was found discarded several parking spots away. But Kathi took the worst of it. Was it to destroy anyone that meant anything to House? And if so, why? Was it instead someone Kathi knew that had a personal vendetta against her?
After Wilson's thoughts settled he said, "Do you think Tritter had anything to do with it?"
"It's possible. If the person was looking to scare either one of them, they did an excellent job," Cuddy said.
"Well, consider how pissed he was after what House did to him last year."
A YEAR EARLIER:
"I want to speak to Tritter, now," House demands of the man behind the front desk at the police station on Elm Avenue.
The man behind the desk gives him a puzzled look before he picks up the phone, speaks a few words, smiles and tells House that Tritter will be out shortly and to have a seat, which he does.
An hour passes.
Another hour passes. House becomes more agitated and wonders if maybe he's made a bad mistake by coming to confront Tritter.
"Dr. House?" the clerk calls out. House stands and approaches the desk. "You may see him now. He's in conference room 136 – down the hall, room is on the left."
House nods his head and heads down the hall. He sees the room number on the wall by the door and walks in, only to find Tritter sitting smugly in a chair and grinning devilishly.
"You know I waited two hours out there for you," House says angrily and in the same tone Tritter used only a few short weeks earlier. He doesn't sit in a chair, as he feels he has more control and power over Tritter by standing and staring down at the moron.
"And as I recall I waited two hours for you when I had that infection," Tritter snips.
"You were lucky it was only two hours. People have died waiting to be seen after seven – eight hours. And like I said, it wasn't an infection. It was the nicotine gum. You might have been better off not quitting. You're more pompous when you aren't smoking."
"What do you want?" Tritter asks angrily.
"I want you to lay off Wilson and my team," House orders.
"Okay, fine. I'm done with them anyway."
House is surprised he's given in so easily. After a moment of thought he says, "And lay off my boss, too." That seems to strike a nerve in Tritter.
"Oh, she was the easiest to manipulate. She gave me lots of answers that I wanted to hear. Why do you think she didn't allow you to use that man's heart for his son? She had to follow the rules. Oh, and me being in her office when you called had something to do with it, too."
House feels his cheeks become red hot, as if he is a giant, walking, talking, breathing thermometer. "What is your problem and why are you targeting me?"
"I'm not attacking you. I'm simply doing my job," Tritter replies.
"Then why haven't you found the guy that shot me?"
"Oh, we know where he is."
House frowns. "And?"
"And, what?"
"Why haven't you gotten him, yet?"
"We will."
"What does that mean?"
"I don't have to explain a damned thing to you," Tritter says as he stands. The two men are now on equal ground.
"You've frozen Wilson's bank accounts and he has no where to live; Cameron and Foreman's accounts were also frozen and there is absolutely no reason why. What have I done to you to make my life a living hell?"
"Didn't you think you were already in hell?"
"Cut the crap, Tritter! You think that being more than a pain in the ass to me will make me crack and get on one knee and make all my confessions to you? That won't happen," House says as he takes one step closer to him.
"You and I are a rare breed, House. We are more alike than you'd like to think. That gives me an advantage over you. I'm one step ahead of you, and I will bury you," Tritter says, not moving an inch.
House narrows his eyes and says, "You may be one step ahead of me, but trust me, I may have this cane but I will catch up sooner than you think. And you won't like where the cane ends up."
House angrily turns and walks out the door before Tritter can respond. House has the last word. He always has to have the last word. He feels his heart beating hard and heavy in his chest as he walks out of the police station after the altercation. As he approaches his bike he sees a small slip of paper taped to the seat. He picks up the paper and reads, then curses out loud. It is a ticket for an expired county sticker, and no wonder-he already knows who signed it before he looks at the issuing officer's name: 'M. Tritter.'