Hi, guys. Listen, I know it's been a while, and I know this is a rather short chapter. I'm just getting caught up in real life issues here, not to mention band camp. Updates will come, but they might be a bit fewer in between. Sorry!

Chase looked up briefly at Kutner as he entered the lab, then back down at the test he was performing. He idly wondered what Kutner had had to tell House, but at the moment he was otherwise occupied.

Foreman noticed what Chase hadn't. "Kutner, did House saddle you with the kid?"

Kutner sheepishly grinned at is two fellow teammates as Jacob hovered around all the lab equipment. His eyes were as big as saucers, taking in the various machines. "Sort of."

Jacob met their eyes briefly. "I'm Jacob," he offered, still looking around in silent wonder.

The three doctors blinked. "Uh, I'm Kutner, this is Foreman, and that's Chase," Kutner pointed out.

Foreman was totally distracted from the results he'd been looking at. This kid was the one that House had called in CPS for the other day. What was he doing back here?

"Jacob, why were you with House?" he asked after a long moment.

Jacob twisted his mouth, leaning against a cabinet. "He picked me up from the courthouse."

The three doctors looked at each other in astonishment. "Wait, am I missing something here?" Kutner asked, still not having been clued in about the earlier drama.

Jacob looked pained. "I was in the clinic the other day with him. He called CPS."

Kutner immediately looked sympathetic. "Oh. I'm sorry."

Jacob shrugged, but his face was full of sadness. "Yeah, me too."

"But why did he get you from the justice building?" Chase interjected, setting down his pipette and pushing his goggles up above his eyes.

Jacob met his eyes, a fierce look on his face. "Dr. House is going to foster me."

Foreman just about choked, and Chase nearly fell off the stool. Kutner grinned like a mad man.

"Wait, what?" Chase demanded. "Are we talking about the same man here?"

Jacob blinked, his left eye still slightly bruised where he'd taken his dad's punch. "How many other Dr. Houses do you have?"

Foreman laughed. "Is he paying you to say this? I bet he is. Come on, spill it."

Jacob snorted. "Man, you people don't believe he has an ounce of humanity, do you?"

Kutner was still grinning. "I think it's great. House branching out, doing nice things."

Foreman still looked incredulous. "So, wait, why did he call CPS?"

To answer, Jacob merely pushed up the sleeves of his hoodie. Healing bruises decorated his pale-ish skin.

Chase whistled lowly. "Damn."

Jacob nodded, pushing back the memory of his dad's dark, angry face. "I had a concussion too."

Chase shook his head. "I'm sorry, man. Your dad?"

Jacob blinked and nodded, feeling subdued. He was still getting used to the whole 'telling people' thing. It'd been (literally) beaten into him so much to keep his mouth shut that he found he was fighting panic.

And that's exactly why he wanted to tell them. He could now, without fear of bodily harm, and he was reveling in it.

"So how did House figure it out? I mean, I don't guess I'm surprised, but still. Him actually giving a crap is a new one," Foreman stated.

Jacob felt anger rising in him, but he quashed it quickly. These men had known Dr. House for a lot longer than he had. Based on his experiences, the man had a good heart. But according to his underlings, the man was an ogre.

"He just…" Jacob hesitated. He very much doubted any of them were privy to House's colorful past, and he was sure that House wanted to keep it that way. "I don't know. He saw right through my bullshit."

Chase twisted his mouth, as did Kutner. They shared a look over Foreman's head. "Yeah, we're pretty familiar with that. So no mom?" Chase asked.

Jacob swallowed. "No. Breast cancer. I was seven."

Kutner blinked, full of empathy. "I'm sorry, man. Your life seems to have been crap up till this point."

Foreman barked out a laugh. "Hell, if he's going to be living with House, it might get worse!"

This time, Jacob couldn't quite hold back a glare. Foreman was surprised at the angry look on the kid's face.

"Look, he's been nothing but… nothing but good, the past few days, alright? I don't really care what you think of him, but he's helped me."

It was true. The man had taken him out of a horrible domestic situation and was giving him a chance at a life where he wasn't constantly forced to hide his bruises. It was a relief. An enormous, scary relief.

Foreman scoffed, but he stayed silent.

"Anyway. His boss asked him to come down to her office so now I'm stuck with you guys." Jacob said, feeling suddenly awkward for telling the doctor off.

Chase looked gleeful. "Great. I bet Cuddy's giving him hell for skipping out without telling her. Four hours, we were looking for him. I bet he'll be on clinic the rest of the day."

Jacob suddenly felt guilty. It'd been for his sake that House had left the hospital. And, from what he could garner, being up and about for clinic wouldn't help his leg at all. He'd noticed him limping more heavily on it.

"Won't that hurt his leg?" he asked them, innocent.

Chase was stunned. "Uh… I don't know. Yeah, I guess. Would it?" he directed at Kutner, the specialist in the area.

Kutner nodded. It'd been one of the things he'd been surprised about, when he'd first landed the fellowship with House. Why was a man with such a severe disability being forced into so many hours of walking from patient room to patient room? But House had never complained (about leg pain, anyway), and Kutner had eventually let it go.

"Yeah, it would. But he's never used that as an excuse."

Jacob looked physically sick. "He looked like he was in more pain than the first time I saw him."

Chase and Foreman exchanged a look. This was the first patient they'd seen in a while that didn't think House deserved every bit of pain he ever experienced.

"I'm sure he's fine," Foreman reassured him, feeling awkward.

Jacob nodded after a moment, and the three doctors resumed their tests, unsure of how to think of their boss in light of the recent turn of events.

A young mother and her child were sitting in a clinic room, awaiting a doctor. Unfortunately for them, they were unlucky enough to draw Dr. House.

House limped in and sat down heavily on the stool, rubbing his leg. He gave the woman an expectant look.

"Well? What's wrong with him?"

The kid was maybe three or so. The woman frowned indignantly. "Her," she stressed.

House rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, next time, give it a bow. They all look the same at this age."

This woman decided she didn't really like her doctor, and apparently, neither did her daughter. The child began to cry loudly at its mother.

House gave it a glare that could have killed small mammals. "NO!" he barked, and the girl stopped crying immediately, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Your kid has a cold, ma'am," he said apathetically, diagnosing the child quickly. "Take it- her," he corrected himself, at her glare, "home, and give her plenty of fluids. She'll be fine in a day or two."

With that, he got up, wincing, and exited.

House sighed as the door closed on the young child and her mother. Parents should really give children of that age more defining clothing… it was hard to tell their sex, they all looked the same.

He smirked at what Wilson's expression would be at that thought. The man already thought he was cold, that particular sentiment would only confirm his suspicions. It was something everyone noticed, but no one said out loud.

Well, that was just House. He said things that no one else would, and he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the shocked expressions on peoples faces that accompanied his statements.

His smirk melted as his leg twinged angrily. He was ready to sit down. Hell, he was ready for a hot bath and a bottle of scotch. But that wasn't exactly an option, not with Cuddy breathing down his neck. She was watching him closely as he went from patient to patient, and he had no doubt he wouldn't escape for quite a while.

He bit back a groan as Cuddy strode out of her office towards him. "Mommy, I'm doing my punishment…" he whined, leaning to his left. "Don't spank me, please."

Cuddy rolled her eyes. House had worked for an hour and a half, consistently, and with little complaining. What was more important was that no one had barged into her office complaining about him, at least not yet.

She couldn't deny it, she felt for him. She'd watched his uneven gait carefully, alarmed to see it even more slanted than usual. He certainly hadn't been play acting in her office- it really was hurting more than usual today.

She sighed. "You're free to go."

His eyes lit up, then faded with suspicion. "Wait, why?"

She gestured to the practically empty waiting room vaguely. "Not that much work load. And so far, no one has come to me complaining about you."

House's eyes flickered to the woman and her child, relieved to see them exit the clinic without making a detour. "Well, that's just me, the nicest doctor on the floor."

Cuddy smirked. "Yeah, yeah. Go up to your office and take a nap or something, you look horrible."

He arched a brow. "Gee, thanks. You look smokin' yourself."

She smiled at him as he exited the clinic as quickly as his leg would carry him, and went straight to the elevator. No doubt he was going to take her suggestion to heart.

Ok, so next chapter is House and Jacob going to pick up his things. Definitely going to be angst filled, but it may be a while in coming. Sorry for any typos, I'm exhausted from band. Four hours in the Texas sun takes it's toll, you know. So just know that any mistakes come from 'sun fever'.