Chapter Two

House looked at Wilson as he walked in the following afternoon, turned from the nurse's station, heading right for the elevator. Glancing up and seeing him, Wilson handed the file to the nurse and followed behind him.

"House!" House climbed into the elevator, pretending to ignore him, but as the doors started to close, Wilson grabbed them and climbed into the elevator with him, shaking his head.

"Darn. Almost missed you." Wilson glanced up at him, and rolled his eyes as he looked back towards the door.

"Yeah, but see, almost doesn't count…"

"How's your new roommate?" he asked, leaning on his cane and looking at the doors.

"What do you care?" Wilson countered honestly.

"She seemed to enjoy popping pills when she came for her keys," House replied, walking out of the elevator and heading towards his office.

"What are you talking about, House?" He stopped at his office, turning to look at his best friend.

"Was it the popping pills part that you didn't understand? Cause, Jimmy, after being my best friend I thought you would understand at least that by now," House said, shrugging and walking into his office.

"What kind of pills, House?" he asked, exasperated.

"Don't know, but I'm guessing painkillers of some form," he said, shrugging as he set his cane down and sat on his chair.

"Why don't you come right out and say you want me to find out?" Wilson questioned, hands on his hips.

"Its much more fun to watch you try and figure it out yourself," he smirked. Wilson shook his head, groaning, and turned for the door.

"I'm going back to my office, you play your mind games on the others," he said, walking out to the hall and over to his office. House gave a chuckle, and stood, moving off into the next room.

Lily sat on her bedroom floor, kneeling over her humidifier as steam rose up and right into her face. She shook slowly, breathing in the air to calm down. A gentle knock sounded at her door, and she sat back, turning her head.

"Yeah?"

"Lily? Hey, I'm home…" She nodded her head, and turned back to the humidifier.

"Okay!"

"Can I come in?"

"…Alright…" she said, but didn't move. He hesitated, and opened the door, peeking inside at her.

"You okay?" he asked, his hand on his hip. She moved around, so she was facing him, but her face was over the opening.

"Coughing fit…this helps," she said, not looking up. "What's up?"

"Dinner…you hungry?" She shook her head.

"No, not right now…You can have something, though, I can make myself something to eat…" He smiled.

"Well, if you get hungry, you know where everything is." She smiled softly at him, and nodded her head.

"Thanks, James," she replied, taking in another deep breath of the humidifier air. As she closed her eyes for a second, Wilson saw the orange bottle tipped over on her nightstand, but said nothing as he walked out, closing the door behind him. After a second, Lily gasped into the moist air, and fumbled at her cell phone, dialing in the pharmacy number, refilling her prescription before moving to get a glass of water.

Wilson pushed open the door to House's office, and looking in as he leaned back in his chair, tossing the ball into the air and catching it repeatedly.

"Okay, so she's on meds…Who said their painkillers?"

"It just crawled on your skin till you looked, didn't it?" he asked, not looking up.

"No, I just happened to see she was on meds…" House chuckled, and looked at his best friend, tossing the ball at him without hesitation, making Wilson jump as he caught it.

"Why didn't you just ask? You are a doctor – you could be curious," he said. "Although I'm not seeing any lies." Wilson groaned.

"I am not asking my new roommate to tell me what kind of medication she takes – I may be a doctor, but she isn't my patient, I don't have a right to know these things."

"House!" a stern voice sounded from the hall, and House stood up, moving towards the next room.

"Quick! Hide me from Cuddy…" he said, pushing against the door to move into the room.

"House, you are supposed to be in the clinic…" Cuddy said, shoving open his door before he could hide in the room.

"I was telling Wilson how to trick his roommate…"

"If you aren't down there in five minutes, I will start making you pay for their visits," she threatened, turning and storming off. Wilson chuckled.

"Good luck," he said, walking from the room.

Lily smiled at Jimmy as he walked her up to her front steps.

"Well, Lil…I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay?" he asked, smiling. She nodded, and leaned over, hugging him.

"Right…and in case I don't see you before the play, break a leg, alright?" she asked chuckling. Jimmy grinned, and patted her back gently.

"Thanks, Lil. You be careful…" Lily looked at her best friend for a second, and leaned over, kissing him softly. His eyes went wide, and she pulled back, blushing.

"S-Sorry, Jimmy…" He hesitated, and smiled softly.

"It, uh, is okay…" She mentally kicked herself, and he kissed her cheek,

"Bye, Jimmy…" she said softly, opening the door and heading inside.

"Bye…" She closed her door and whacked herself in the forehead, muttering to herself as she headed up the steps to her room, dropping onto her bed and falling asleep quickly.

She sat up straight, jostled awake, and looked around in confusion. The world whizzed by out her window…Wait. Lily spun, looking around her, and saw the steering wheel, the road…she was in a car. Lifting her head, she saw her stepfather driving, his eyes glued on the road, and when she glanced behind her, she saw boxes filling the backseat.

"Where are we going, Father?" she questioned. His hand shot out and he knocked her back against her seat.

"Shut up and go back to sleep. We're leaving, that simple," he snapped, making her wince and curl up in her seat, making sure her seatbelt was on. Her breathing was soft, but shallow, and she kept her eyes on the road, waiting for him to pull off somewhere – anywhere.

Soon they arrived at a diner, where they were going to stop and get something to eat before going on. She excused herself to the restroom, but instead of going all the way to there, she stepped into the small booth for the payphone, knowing he couldn't see her. Frantically, she shoved in change and dialed Jimmy, her hands shaking. It wasn't until then that she realized how late it was – the hands on the clock over the windows ticked to midnight, and she sighed, hating herself but knowing she had to make the call. After a number of rings, a sleep-laced voice answered.

"Mmmm-hello?" he asked.

"Who…who is this?" she asked, sniffling.

"Jimmy…"

"It's Lily…" He lifted his head, looking at the clock.

"Lily? It's late, what's going on?"

"I'm not going to be there tomorrow." He rubbed at his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Lily explained what she woke up to, the boxes in the backseat. Jimmy's eyes were wide and he was awake as she spoke.

"You…he…gone?"

"Yeah…Jimmy, I'm so sorry…" she whispered, sniffling. "I want to be there, I don't want to be here."

"Where are you? We'll come get-"

"I don't know…I woke up in the car, I have no idea where we are, or how we got here…I…don't think I'm coming back. Jimmy?" she asked, peeking out to make sure he was still sitting.

"Yeah, Lil?"

"Break a leg tomorrow…I love you, for everything…" she said softly, letting out a quiet sob as she moved and hung up the phone.

"Li-Lily? Lily?!" he asked frantically, as the horrid sound of the dial tone filled his ears. She moved into the bathroom, and scrubbed at her face with the water and soap, drying it and waiting a minute before moving back to the booth with her stepfather.

House made his way to the clinic, pushing open the door to Exam Room 1. Her head was in her hands, and her hair was fallen around her hands, so House couldn't see the patient.

"Breathing problems…" he started, staring down at the chart in his hands as he put his cane on the counter. A groan passed her lips, and she sat up, looking at House.

"I know I have breathing problems, Dr House. I have a lot of problems, that's just one of them. I'm not here to hear that, I am here to see if it's gotten better or worse or stayed the same," Lily replied. House looked at her, a little surprised, but shrugged.

"Lift your head, let me check…" Lily cleared her throat, and sat up straighter, poising her head so he could feel her neck, or rather, just below. When he pulled his hand back, she sighed.

"You need to do a scan, don't you?" He nodded.

"Can't tell anything here. We'll get you in for an MRI, if nothing shows, then we'll do something else," he said, leaving it just that vague and walking from the room. She sighed, and got her jacket, climbing from the table and heading out, too. After getting the appointment set with the nurse, she nodded in House's direction and headed off, not even noticing Wilson moving up to him.

"Hey, was that Lily?"

"Yeah…I cut out her tongue and served it in your lunch."

"I haven't had lunch yet, House." House snapped his fingers.

"Damn, I ruined your surprise."

"What was she here for?" he asked.

"A check up. Why else does anyone come to the clinic?" he asked, shrugging and closing the elevator doors before Wilson could get on.