Taub answered the door at the third knock, cursing whoever was interrupting his night with his daughters.
"Quiet! I just got them... " He trailed off as he saw who was standing there.
"Wilson," he said, taking a step back. Wilson smiled at him and entered.
"Doctor Taub," he said smoothly. He was dressed as immaculately as always, and he projected his usual air of affable amiability. Those who didn't know him would think he was a family friend, dropping around to see the babies. Taub knew better.
"House said you declined his kind offer of a position working for him in diagnostics. I'm sure I can persuade you otherwise. You know how much House values your input."
Yeah, thought Taub. I can tell that by the way he mocks me relentlessly. The only thing House values is having an audience for his genius and insanity. He knew better than to voice his opinion to Wilson however. Instead he fell back on practicalities.
"I'm back in cosmetic surgery now. With the babies I need more regular hours."
"Of course, now that you have these delightful babies to care for." Wilson crossed the room to the double pram where Taub had just managed to get both girls to drop off to sleep. Wilson bent down to look at them, gently rocking the pram. "Beautiful girls, a credit to their mothers no doubt."
"So I can't go back to diagnostics. I'm sorry Doctor Wilson, but I'm sure you understand. Under the circumstances. They are just babies you see." He was aware he was babbling, and that worse – Wilson wasn't listening to him.
"House asked for you. He needs you to start tomorrow at eight."
"Doctor Wilson, I can't..." Taub protested, moving over to the pram. "I have the children for the next two days, even if I wanted to go back to work for House, I can't tomorrow. I'm sure he can find someone else." Anyone else, he added to himself. When House had been thrown in prison Taub had seized the opportunity to leave. I should have taken the children and fled the country, he thought.
"He wants you." Wilson said, leaning over the pram again. He picked Sophie up out of the pram, cradling her in his hands. Taub made a move towards him and then stopped himself.
"Such a lovely child, it would be terrible if anything happened to her. If anything happened to either of them, don't you agree, Doctor Taub?" Sophie started crying, setting off her half-sister and Taub cringed at the noise. Wilson kept stroking the fine hair on Sophie's head. "You'll be at the hospital tomorrow at eight."
Taub slumped in defeat and nodded. Wilson smiled and handed him in the screaming baby.
"Excellent. Maybe you can bring the children with you? I'm sure House will be delighted to see them. He loves children."
"Hey boss, cool collar," Chase said, coming into the conference room and slinging his case down on one chair. "I like the shirt too, very fetching." He looked around the room. It was empty except for a handful of chairs, a small table and a couple of women. "What happened to our stuff?"
"If you idiots had stuck around instead of going to convict country, and playing Mister Mom, it would still be here. That's your job, surfer boy. Go and find some furniture and whatever else you think we'll need. Don't screw anybody to get it, that's Taub's job - if little Taub is still working after Rachel got to it."
Taub shifted uncomfortably, squirming in his seat. He had been months recovering from Rachel's frenzied attack. Trust House to know all the gory details, even though he'd been rotting away in prison for a year.
House waved at the two women who were sitting at the table. "Park, Adams. Stay away from Park, Taub, the last guy who messed with her is still in recovery, and I'm sure you don't need any more damage down there."
Taub crossed his legs and inched away from Park, only to be caught staring at Adams who was wearing a Community Service Offender badge - a freebie then, no wonder House had snatched her up, cheap bastard.
"Watch out for her too. She's into pain, giving it, not receiving it, in case you were wondering, Chase. Chase likes to burn people, Adams - maybe you two could double date some time."
House stared at them all and then broke into a wide grin.
"What a delightful group of perverts. This is going to be fun."
"What happened to Morgan?"
"What happened to Morgan?"
Foreman had caught up to Wilson as he was moving through the lobby of the hospital. Wilson looked at him blandly.
"I believe he moved on to another hospital."
Foreman scowled. "You can't just run off every doctor who has a problem with House, there'll be no-one left by the end of the year. You can't indulge him like that. The man's a criminal degenerate who assaulted his boss. He's here for punishment, not to have his every whim catered to."
"The hospital needs him and we need the money he can bring in. Cuddy never interfered with the way I handled him, and I don't expect you to either. I backed you for this position; I can withdraw that backing at any time."
Wilson turned to leave and Foreman put a hand out to stop him. Wilson glanced down at the hand on his sleeve and Foreman hastily let go.
"There's something you should know, Wilson. Morgan didn't attack House. House staged that - he got Adams to beat him with a belt and then truss him up for you to find. He played you. He knew that if you thought Morgan had done it you'd take care of Morgan for him, and House wouldn't have to get his hands dirty and risk going back to prison."
"How did you find out?" Wilson asked.
Foreman stared at him. "You knew?"
Wilson smiled. "Of course I knew. You think Morgan didn't deny doing it? If you put someone under enough pressure, it's not hard to tell if they are telling you the truth."
"But you still got rid of Morgan? Wilson... "
"House needs that space and he needs his team. You brought him back here, why? You wanted to humiliate him? To get revenge for how he treated you? Well, fine, you can do that, but if he's here I'm going to make sure he can do his work. If Morgan had stayed in that office sooner or later there would have been a situation which would require you to make a decision about whether House stays or whether he goes back to prison. House is worth ten Morgans, and you know that."
"He can't be allowed to get away with these sorts of things, otherwise I'll be Cuddy all over again."
Wilson smiled at the image, smoothing the crease out of his sleeve where Foreman had grabbed him. "What makes you think he's going to get away with it?"
"I can shave myself, you know." House complained as he sat on a stool in front of the bathroom mirror, watching Wilson tidy him up.
Wilson didn't stop moving the shaver over his chin, cutting his stubble down to a much neater appearance. "I hadn't noticed," Wilson said drily.
"My patient needs a liver," House said, giving up the shaving argument.
"I thought your patient had half of Pleasantville lining up to give him a liver?"
"The 'volunteers' sadly started disappearing when Bob hit a streak of honesty and declared that he'd been fucking half the town, and screwing the other half over."
"Too bad."
"Yeah. So, liver?"
"I can't just produce human organs out of my ass, House. Those are expensive, even for me. Is Bob rich?'
"No, but he's interesting, I'd like to keep him alive for a little longer."
"Well you'll have to think of another way. I got you Taub, Chase and your old office back, I'm not getting you a liver."
Park chose that moment to tentatively peer round the bathroom door. "Um, Bob's liver is regenerating."
"Too bad, we were going to give him Morgan's." House said, getting up off the stool.
Park's eyes went wide and she looked around the room as if she might see Morgan's body lying in the shower cubicle.
"Just kidding, Park. It wouldn't be any good by now." House left and Park stared at Wilson who was calmly putting away the shaver. He raised one eyebrow at her and followed House out the room.
Park found Taub in the lab, going over the patient's lab results. Despite the regeneration of his liver the guy was circling the drain. They needed to find an answer quickly. She had other things on her mind however. She couldn't get the image of that skeleton hanging from the ceiling of the old orthopedics office out of her mind. She'd asked around and no-one had seen Doctor Morgan since that day, and several staff gave her a strange look when she asked. No-one wanted to talk about it. She'd thought she'd escaped a bad situation when she got away from her old boss Andrews but now she was wondering if she hadn't jumped out of the frying pan into the fire.
"Why did you come back here?" Park asked Taub. "You have two children. You're an experienced plastic surgeon, why would you want to come back here so you can be kicked around by House and paid a fraction of what you could earn in your own specialty? It doesn't make sense."
"Let's just say Wilson made me an offer I couldn't refuse." Taub replied, peering at a set of scans.
"I think I should quit." Park said abruptly. She'd been thinking about it all morning and had finally reached a decision.
Taub put down the scans and checked his watch; his daughters would be back with their mothers by now. He'd had to get emergency babysitters for them, something neither mother had appreciated, but there was no way he was bringing them into work with him.
"It's already too late. Have you seen the way House looks at you, at all of us? He doesn't let people go, not voluntarily. Not until he's finished with them. And if House doesn't want you to leave, well, you don't leave."
"There's no way out?"
Taub shrugged. "There's always a way out, one of his fellows blew his brains out one morning. I'm guessing you don't want to do that."
Park stared at him in horror. "Not really, no."
"Well, the work's not bad, so there is that. And sometimes there's donuts."
"Great."
Wilson took House to the oncology lounge for the night after feeding him a good dinner.
"You'll sleep here tonight. I'll lock the door so that no-one disturbs you. I don't want you going near your office until eight tomorrow."
"Not that this couch doesn't look comfortable, but why not?"
"I'm having some work done to the office. A surprise for you. They're doing it at night so your work won't be interrupted."
"I don't like surprises."
"Oh I'm sure you'll like this one," Wilson said with a smile.
House grunted and laid down on the couch. He put his hand on his groin suggestively.
"You joining me?" Wilson hadn't touched him that way since he'd come out of the prison. Punished him, yes, but not fucked him. House knew Wilson didn't like to do it on the hospital grounds due to some bizarre idea of professionalism; but it wasn't like they could go back to Wilson's place for a quick round or two, not with this collar tight around his neck. House was anxious to replace the unpleasant memories from prison with the sensation of Wilson doing it to him, filling him, owning him. He wanted to give what was taken from him in prison.
"Remember what I said about paying my price for what you did?"
House nodded glumly. He hadn't forgotten although he had wished that Wilson had.
"When I take you again, it will be special, for both of us, and it won't be in the oncology lounge."
Wilson leaned down, taking House in a long kiss, his hands slipping inside House's prison shirt to tweak at his hard nipples. House groaned in pleasure, his body arching up to meet Wilson. Wilson pulled back and House slumped back onto the couch in frustration.
"I will, however, continue to punish you when you need it. I suggest you remember that," Wilson said, smoothing down his dress shirt. He took his keys out of his pocket and went towards the door.
"Good night, House, " he said, and then he left, shutting the door behind him. House heard the key turn in the lock. He was locked in until Wilson came back for him.
"Doctor Park!" Park turned apprehensively. Wilson was coming up behind her as she walked towards the conference room. "I believe you've diagnosed your patient?"
"Chase and House did," she said. She knew that if she'd been the only doctor on the case Bob would be dead.
"House is a good teacher; Chase has been with him a long time. After you've been here a while your skills will improve."
"I was thinking... I was thinking I might go back to neurology." Park gulped nervously.
"That would be... unfortunate. House thinks you will work out well here. I suggest you give it some more time. How are your parents?"
"Um... they're fine." Park replied, her insides twisting nervously, remembering the visit her dad had made, in her first week of working for House. Had Wilson seen him then?
"Excellent. I'm sure you remember what I said about loyalty? I trust you will be loyal to Doctor House." Wilson glanced at the conference room. "Get the other fellows and meet me in the conference room in ten minutes."
"Doctor House as well?"
"Doctor House is otherwise occupied at the moment, he'll join us shortly."
The fellows sat on the couch in the conference room, which was now facing the wall where some mysterious construction had been taking place. Strangely enough the wall looked exactly as it always had.
Wilson entered and four pairs of eyes watched him curiously. He smiled at them all, his gaze lingering on Adams who shifted nervously in her seat.
"Thank you for coming. I'd like to welcome the newest members of the diagnostic team – Doctors Park and Adams. It is an honour to work for Doctor House, as I am sure Taub and Chase have told you. This is a great opportunity for both of you and I am positive you will do well - as long as you remember where your loyalties lie." He eyed each member of the team in turn and then gestured towards the wall.
"I imagine you've been wondering what work has been taking place at night. As you know your last patient gifted the hospital a considerable amount of money, some of that has been used to fund diagnostics. With the rest I have had some modifications done."
Wilson pulled a remote control out of his pocket, pointing it towards the wall. At the touch of a button an entire section of the wall slid neatly upwards, revealing Wilson's office.
At the front of the office, his back facing them was House. He was kneeling over a high padded bench, stripped to the waist. His arms were held along the top of the bench by a series of straps and cuffs, his legs were spread widely at the base of the bench, his ankles cuffed to either end of a spreader bar. There was a gag in his mouth and his prison shirt was wrapped around his eyes as a blindfold. His collar stood out starkly against his bare skin.
The fellows all stared as Wilson went over to him, running his hand along the nearly healed welts on House's back. House twitched under his touch.
"Your work I believe, Doctor Adams?" Wilson's voice was cold as he continued to caress the welts.
"He ordered me to!" Adams replied defensively.
"If he gives you any further such orders you'll come to me. I'll excuse this once, never again. None of you will ever touch Doctor House in that way. That privilege is mine."
Wilson reached around House to lift a curled up belt off his desk. The same belt that Adams had used. He shook it out. "Adams, you'll do House's clinic hours for him this week, starting now. Go."
Her face fell and her eyes flickered between the belt in Wilson's hands and House's naked back. She made to protest but then paused as she saw the steely gaze Wilson was levelling at her. Without another word she got up and left.
Park started to get up as well but Wilson skewered her with a look. "Sit. You need to see this."
She sat back down between Chase and Taub, staring at her hands. Chase nudged her on one side, offering her a crumpled bag.
"Have a donut."
She took it because she didn't know what else to do. As she took a bite she heard the belt whistle through the air and land on bare flesh. There was a muffled grunt from the bound man.
One.