It wasn't every day that the nurses attending the clinic were surprised by the actions of a certain Dr. House but seeing him walk in on time for his shift with what could almost be described as a smile on his face caused a few raised eyebrows.

"I say he's high" One murmured to the other.

"Nah, even if he was high he'd still be avoiding the clinic like the plague. I say recent events have finally got to him, I mean how many times has the guy almost died in the past month? His brain is probably fried, gone completely insane" The other replied.

"True. Either that or he's got laid" The first shrugged before both seemingly got back to work as the man in question neared the station.

"Gooood morning ladies. Dr. House checks in, on time, please note that down. Which delightful sick person am I curing first?" He asked while fumbling through the pile of folders, looking for something vaguely interesting, consequently knocking the first few onto the floor.

"Patient waiting in exam room 2" The first nurses replied curtly, handing him one of the fallen folders, obviously irritated by his behaviour.

"Well someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning" He answered as he took the file off the nurse as well as fishing out a red lollipop from the pot beside him "and I thought you're job was to create a warm welcoming atmosphere to help reassure the poor little patients" He added before making his way to the exam room receiving a sigh from the nurse.

"So let me get this straight, you came here because your leg bruised up after hitting it against a coffee table?" House asked, staring at the man in front of him in amazement.

"That's right" The patient nodded.

"Did it occur to you that the bruise may have appeared because, wait for it...you hit your leg against a coffee table"

"Well yeah, at first, but then I did some research..."

"Oh god..." House mumbled under his breath as he held his head in his hand. This was exactly why he hated the clinic; too many people convinced that they could play doctor because of what they had read on the internet.

"...and it turns out that unexplained bruising can be a sign of internal bleeding or cancer so I thought I should get it checked out"

"Yes, the important word in that sentence being unexplained."

"Well obviously the coffee table incident could explain it, but what if it was just a coincidence?"

"A coincidence that a small bruise appeared the exact same time and in the exact same place as where you hit your leg?" House's patience was beginning to run thin as he told himself to tell Cuddy that all patients should complete an idiot test before being allowed into the clinic.

"Exactly"

"You know what I think, I think..."

Luckily for the patient Cuddy chose that moment to interrupt, cutting off House's intended insults.

"House, what the hell are you doing?!" She yelled. House looked up at her innocently.

"Why I do believe I'm working my hours in the clinic" He replied calmly. Cuddy stared at him in disbelief, the one time she didn't ask him to do his clinic hours, and he turned up.

"I told you to help out in the ER. They can't cope down there, there's been a major pileup on the highway and you know they're understaffed"

"Well it isn't my problem that this hospital can't sort out staffing issues, that's the job of...wait...I think it may actually be your job"

"House! If you don't get your ass down to the ER now I will shove your cane so far up your..."

"Always with the cane, how am I meant to get over my insecurities if people continuously insist on drawing attention to my crippled status" House replied, faking offence, his bottom lip quivering. "And anyway, if you hadn't noticed, I have a patient who may need serious medical attention"

"What's wrong with him?" Cuddy asked, taking note of the patient for the first time since barging in.

"He has a bruise"

"House..."

"Yeah yeah, got it, the ER needs me and my amazing medical abilities, don't get your panties in a twist" House cut off, irritated, before walking out leaving Cuddy watch him blankly as he headed towards the ER. She had intended to take things easy when it came to House, she knew he was hurting even if he did everything possible to hide it and the last thing she wanted was to help trigger him off into a deeper depression. Letting out a sigh she hoped Wilson would at least talk to him when he came back from compassionate leave otherwise she dreaded to think what state he'd be in.

Making his way to the ER, House was annoyed. Yes Cuddy had asked him to help out in the ER but truth was, since starting work again he had avoided the ER more than the clinic. He had honestly thought that actually turning up on time to complete his hours would shock the hospital administrator so much that she would find some other doctor to help out in the ER instead of him. As it turned out his plan had backfired on him, not only did he still have to go to the ER, he had now spent unnecessary time dealing with idiotic clinic patients when his time could've been much better spent sleeping in his office.

As he neared his destination the sounds of chaos found its way to his ears. He let out a groan, it was too familiar, the sounds of nurses and doctors shouting to each other over cacophony of tears and screams that only a major crash could produce. Visions of that night flashed before him, that night that caused everything in his life to crumble. This was where it had started...well, the bar was where it had officially started, but the ER was fresher in his mind, in his head this was where events had started to take a turn for the worse.

"At least it's not all bad" he said under his breath as his eyes found the blonde haired figure of Allison Cameron rushing around and trying the impossible task of keeping all the patients calm and happy as they waited for treatment. Taking a deep breath he stepped inside, letting himself become enveloped in the madness.