"House? House!"
House abruptly snapped out of his daze. "What?"
Taub rolled his eyes. "I said I wanted you to look at this file for me." Taub handed him a file.
House accepted the file guiltily. His imagination seemed to be on overdrive today. As soon as the file was in his hands he realized he was acting out of character. He wasn't supposed to accept the file.
He opened to file, glanced at it quickly, and then closed it again. "There, I looked at it." He started to hand the file back to Taub.
Taub wouldn't have any of that and quickly shoved the file back at House. House responded in kind and what resulted was a shoving match between the two of them. Wilson was soon backed up into the corner of the elevator to escape the flailing of limbs as House and Taub tried to shove the file onto each other.
Suddenly, a light bulb went off above Wilson's head.
"Oh my God!" He pointed at the two of them, looking a bit scared.
The other two paused to stare incredulously at Wilson.
"What?" House asked.
Wilson was saved from having to answer as the doors to the elevator swished open. He made his escape quickly and efficiently, dancing around Taub to avoid the file still clutched between the two of them.
They watched Wilson run off and the elevator doors closed once more.
House frowned and looked back at Taub, who was looking at him strangely. He dropped the file.
"I'm not looking at it."
Taub took a step forward, then another, and then another until House was pressed against the wall of the elevator. House raised his hands in defense and Taub deftly slipped the file between his fingers. House had no choice but to take the file.
"Whatever," he said. He opened it and scanned the file quickly.
House sighed. The file actually looked vaguely interesting. Vaguely being the key word.
He slammed the file shut and looked up. Taub was still just inches away. He didn't comment, simply frowned at the shorter man.
"Run a CT on her lower abdomen and you should see the problem." He handed the file back.
"Thank you."
The both stood perfectly still, staring at each other. House wished desperately for Taub to take a step back. By that same note, he wished desperately for Taub to take a step forward. He was feeling very conflicted.
They stayed like that for a long moment, neither willing to exit or enter the others personal space any further, until the elevator doors opened. Taub gave a ghostly smile and disappeared through the doors with one last fleeting look at House over his shoulder. Someone else, a nurse, walked through the doors and pressed a button.
House managed to wait until the doors closed before sinking to the floor.
He ran a hand through his hair. The nurse gave him a funny look. He ignored her in favor of wallowing in self pity.
Why couldn't life just be easy for once?