Chapter 2 An hour later

A/N: This might seem OOC for Cuddy but even an administrator will stand up to someone when pushed far enough. Inferred from her reactions to Vogler in Season 1 and this is how the scene from the other night should have gone.

Cuddy managed to get through half of the paperwork stacked in her inbox, carefully reviewing each document before signing off on it. Much to her relief, none of it concerned lawsuits or complaints. Rather, she had three grant applications, a donor news update and a compliment from a patient on his care. "Normal and no problems. Perfect. If only it could last." Hearing a knock at the door, she looked up. "Yes?"

"I need a minute with you, Dr. Cuddy. Can we talk now?" Tritter insisted while standing in her doorway; his expression demanding that she let him in.

She frowned, knowing that her moment of bliss was over. In fact, she had anticipated—dreaded actually—this encounter. "I have a few minutes, Detective. Actually, this saves me from having to track you down."

"A busy woman such as yourself wanting to track me down?" he inquired; her choice of words clearly intriguing him. "And why would that be?"

She locked eyes with him. Perhaps, she preferred playing a safe form of politics but there was a line where she was concerned.

And that was her hospital, staff and the patients.

"Do you remember the last time you were in here, Detective? I tried to broker a truce between you and Dr. House," she reminded him.

"One that he refused to take…and you didn't order him to do," he countered dryly while looking at his notepad. "How many pills does he take a day? Do you have any idea?"

"His prescriptions are legal," she indicated.

"And you've prescribed pills for him?" he asked expectantly.

"I have on occasion. Detective, House is in constant pain. If the Vicodin helps him to do his job, then fine. He's not high on them," she answered half-truthfully.

"And yet he's popping them right in front of patients. Not exactly the most ethical thing to do, is it?" he queried. "I wonder how you can allow that to happen in your facility?"

"Detective, I am well aware of what happens here. Thank you," she retorted firmly, locking eyes with him. "Speaking of which, perhaps, you might answer some questions for me? Why are you impeding our abilities to care for our patients?"

"I'm just doing my job, Dr. Cuddy," he stated.

"Interesting tact. Well, while you dance with House and drag the rest of us into it, Mr. Tritter, you're harming the patients. As the Dean of Medicine here, I have to put a stop to that. Questions are fine. The pressuring is not. Besides, you've been seen in the lobby by several individuals," she pointed out.

He chuckled at her gamesmanship. "I'm not going to get into grey areas with you." Then his eyes went cold. "I want House. In any case like this, I do what I have to but I always get what I want. I wonder what your Board of Directors would think if they found out how you're letting House get away with whatever he wants?"

"House solves cases that nobody else could even get close to. The Board is well aware of that," she declared.

"Then the end justifies the means?" he sneered.

"Doesn't it for you?" she queried. "You just said as much. Look, Detective, I let you question my staff but there are laws against harassment, loitering and stalking. It's called due process."

"I've done everything by the book and you can't prove otherwise," he countered.

"Maybe. Meantime, Detective, I'm going by my book. Please leave before I call security," she directed.

He clapped his notepad shut, feeling angry at being one upped at his own game. "This isn't over, Dr. Cuddy. Mark my words." With that, he left the suite.

Terrific. She slumped into her chair, trying not to tremble. You did what you had to, Lisa. You know that! She went over to the cabinet and pulled Tritter's initial complaint. As she reviewed it, she quirked an eyebrow. Granted House is an ass but why would he have left Tritter like that unless he were retaliating for something? She noted the form's date, writing it down on a small sheet of paper. Then she called security. "Yes, this is Dean Cuddy. Do we still have the Clinic tape for October 14th?"

"We should, Ma 'am. Hang on please," the guard replied before going to retrieve it. After he returned, he added, "I have it right here."

"I'll be right down to get it. Thank you," she concluded before hanging up and grabbing a folder from her bottom drawer. "Here goes. I hope I'm right."

Security Viewing Area—seven minutes later

After getting off at Sublevel 2, Cuddy walked into the department with a sense of urgency. While she wasn't sure about having the Clinic visits taped at first, now she was glad that she did it. What happened between them in there? She walked up to the counter. "I'm Dr. Cuddy. I called about a tape?"

"Yes, Ma 'am. I have it right here," the guard, a recently hired cadet, indicated while handing her a pad. "Sorry. I just need to sign it out to you. Procedure and all that." He squirmed.

"That's fine," she assured him while scribbling her signature on the form.

"I'll set you up on the viewer down here," he told her, leading her to a private room where a TV and a VCR were set up. The machinery was already on.

"I can take it from here," she noted. "Thank you."

He nodded nervously and headed back for his post.

She looked both ways to make sure Tritter wasn't watching. Now I'm getting paranoid! Calm down, Lisa! She cued the tape to the appropriate time and watched the interaction between House and Tritter unfold.

No surprise to her—House was being typical House at the start, barely giving Tritter the time of day.

However, what unnerved her was what happened next.

She heard Tritter's assessment of House to the latter's face.

And then she saw Tritter kick House's cane away, sending him to the floor.

She shut the VCR off, realizing what had happened. No wonder House left the thermometer there! She ejected the tape and walked over to the cadet. "I need to take this. Is there a form I can sign?"

"Sorry, Ma 'am. Let me talk to my supervisor," the cadet told her before heading for the back room. A minute later, he rushed back out with an orange form. "Can you sign this? We just need a record."

"Certainly." She signed the form and complimented him, "By the way, thank you for being so thorough." She glanced at his name tag before smiling at him. "Have a good day, Mr. Richards." She headed upstairs.

Now she had what she needed. She made a quick call and then another to her assistant. Finally, she headed for her Lexus.