Thank you for the lovely reviews. I just hope House's antics will, in time, live up to your expectations!

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When the ducklings came back down for the last time after having taken Cuddy's presents upstairs they found that House, Aiko and Dr Higa had gone into House's flat.

"I think they both have had enough company for one day," Blythe explained on her way to the kitchen. "They are actually rather solitary men, both of them."

"Besides, they want some time alone with Aiko," Kasumii observed. She, too, was leaving the room only not for the kitchen but upstairs – to make Aiko's room ready. "House promised that Aiko will sleep in her own room tonight."

"You think he will keep that promise?" Chase wondered.

"Why not?" Foreman queried. "I'm surprised he hasn't moved her in there sooner."

"You still don't get it, do you," Cameron shook her head at Foreman.

"Get what?" Foreman asked her.

"Nothing!" Came the chorus of answers from everyone.

"If Greg was Aiko's mother, would you wonder at his reactions?" Wilson pointed out.

"Well, no," Foreman shrugged. "But he isn't. He is... He's House."

"And you still cannot see past your prejudice to the real man, can you?" Chase mused.

"Are you telling me he isn't a selfish jerk?" Foreman challenged.

"Sure he is, but there is much more to him, too," Chase responded calmly.

"Really," Foreman sneered. "And is it that much more that made him fire us?"

"What!" Cuddy sat up in attention. "What are you talking about?"

"He didn't fire us," Cameron insisted. "He just told us that if we are not gone or ready to go in six months time then he will fire us."

"Ok, explain!" Cuddy demanded.

"We don't really know how to explain," Chase replied. "He told us yesterday that we are ready and that we need to start thinking of our next move. That when you come back to the hospital, we better have our next step planned or he will push us out of the nest without a plan."

"He didn't think I was ready, though," Foreman still felt the sting.

"You have been with him the shortest time," Cameron pointed out.

"Besides, he did say that you would be ready in six month's time, too," Chase said. "By then you either have learned everything he thinks you need or you are never going to learn it."

"Says the blue-eyed-boy," Foreman with some belligerence though he didn't really direct it at Chase.

"Hey, I know I'm not your favourite person in the world, but my blue eyes have nothing to do with the fact that House thinks I've learned everything he can teach me," Chase insisted.

"What I really would like to know is what have I failed to learn!" Foreman exclaimed. "He hasn't exactly been teaching us anything; just expecting us to act as his audience."

"And learn from what we see," Cameron stated.

"No," Chase recognised. "He hasn't expected us to learn from what we see; he has expected us to learn how to see."

"You mean his insistence that you learn to see outside the box," Wilson caught on to Chase's meaning.

"Among other things," Chase nodded. "Also to see what is important."

"But how does that make him fire you?" Cuddy wanted to know.

"Maybe he is teaching us yet another, mysterious lesson," Foreman suggested.

"No," Chase decided. "I think he doesn't need us anymore. We are superfluous to requirement, now. We have actually shown him that we can make a diagnosis on our own; that we can go against his orders; against the obvious answers, against odds and stay with the patient and his symptoms until we are satisfied that everything has been done. Sure, we did it for the wrong reason but we did it."

"You are talking about the brain cancer case, aren't you?" Cameron asked.

"But it wasn't even him! He lied to us, to us all," Foreman exclaimed.

"That's why I said we did it for the wrong reason," Chase nodded. "We didn't stop until we had explored all options because we thought it was House! He does that for his patients no matter who they are just because he wants to be sure he has found all the answers that are there. We have shown him that we can do it, too. So there is no point in us staying with him anymore."

"You are making no sense," Cuddy maintained. "You are telling me that now that you can really contribute to the diagnosing process, now that you really know what you are doing and can actually help him, he wants you gone?"

"I don't think we can help him," Chase denied. "He doesn't need help. Now that we really could help him he probably sees it as a waste when we should be out there working on the people that don't get to him. We were a great sounding board for him, but he can do all the diagnosing himself. The only point of having us around was to teach us things. If it wasn't for the teaching aspect, we could be replaced by trained monkeys as far as he is concerned."

"You're not objecting to that analysis?" Foreman stared at Cuddy who had nodded ruefully.

"Can't," She shrugged. "I've seen him do it. Well, not trained monkeys, but a twelve year old boy, a man who knew only enough English to tell him that he didn't understand any and a randomly chosen woman who hated his guts on sight."

"Oh," Foreman didn't really know how else to react to that piece of information.

"So fine, we don't need his teaching anymore," Cameron admitted. "But we are a good team; why break us up? Couldn't he just ... I don't know, make us take all the cases he doesn't want and get new fellows to teach. Why tell us to go?"

"You know, when I was watching the DVDs of The Lord of the Rings I was puzzled at something they said in the extras. I think it was one of the actors who said that Jackson believed that the Elves were leaving because the human experiment had failed!" Chase mulled over. "I found that totally incompatible with my own reading of the book. I had always seen the Elves as Guardians of man. And you don't need a guardian anymore once you become of age. And sometimes, if the guardian is a very authoritative figure – either because you fear him or because you respect his knowledge and wisdom too much – he can prevent you from becoming ... well you! The Elves had to leave or Man would have been less; would never have found his own way. I think House feels that way, too. That he has to kick us away or his guardianship will stunt our development; perhaps even make us into his clones or mindless minions. We won't grow into the doctors we can be."

"You're right," Wilson said after a short nearly stunned silence. "You need to get away from him before you turn into his clone."

"What?" Chase hadn't expected quite that reaction.

"That was a very House-like thing to do," Cuddy agreed with Wilson. "Tell a story that at first seems to have nothing to do with the subject at hand, but then tie it up so that it illustrates your point exactly. Mind you, House would never have used that particular story, but that is just a detail."

"I'm not the one everybody worries is turning into House!" Chase exclaimed. "Foreman is the one who is afraid of that!"

"Which is why I have managed to avoid it," Foreman noted. "But apparently it has been sneaking up on you unnoticed."

"You say it like it's a bad thing?" Cameron frowned. "We were here to learn; in fact we came here to learn to be like him as doctors. But we can pick and choose and if Chase can pick the good and leave the bad then more power to him. Besides, I've done my share of storytelling, too. Why doesn't that turn me into House?"

"Because your stories are personal stuff," Foreman pointed out. "You talk about your aunts and brothers and such. Things House would never share with anyone." Foreman paused and thought for a moment. "Though he did once tell me that he had a funny uncle."

"He did?" Wilson was all ears. That House had shared something like that with Foreman was astonishing.

"Mind you, it was only in passing," Foreman shrugged. "We were treating that supermodel whose father had ... well, you know. Anyway I wondered why he jumped to that conclusion and he said it was because he used to have a funny uncle. I naturally assumed he, too, had been abused but he shot that idea down fast enough. Turned out that the uncle wasn't sexually abusive just full of dirty jokes."

"All of which he apparently learned by heart," Cameron sighed in disgust.

Chase didn't comment, but he gave Cuddy and Wilson a searching look. He thought that something had passed between them when Foreman had mentioned abuse in connection with House. It had been fleeting, but he was sure it was there. Only he wasn't sure if he wanted to know more about it.

"Whatever," Chase shrugged after a moment. "There is more to House than telling stories."

"Yeah, there is breaking every rule of ethics or morals known to man," Foreman was still in a grumpy mood.

"He may be unconventional," Cuddy admitted. "But he does put the patients first. Everything he does he does to get to the right diagnosis as soon as possible. Sure it seems to be all about the puzzle, but he wants to solve the puzzle before the patient dies! That is why it's so urgent to him."

"Besides, it's not only for the purposes of the diagnosis that he can risk everything," Chase pointed out. "Even once he knows what is wrong with the patient he still goes all out for them."

"What are you talking about," Foreman doubted.

"If you don't know, then I'm not telling you," Chase stated. "I ratted him once to Vogler; once he was gone I was sure I would be next. Only I wasn't. Sure House tortured me, but he kept me on. I'm not ratting him to anyone again."

"I may have an idea of what you are talking about," Wilson mused. "But even if I'm wrong about that particular case, I've seen him do it for others. He does care about the patients – in his own peculiar way. And it really isn't enough for him to save their lives; he wants to improve their quality of life, too, if possible. And it may be because he doesn't care too much, that he can see so clearly. Who else would have thought that giving up an amazing musical talent in order to be able to button one's own shirt was a fair trade? But it was."

"Eric," Cuddy turned to Foreman. "There are worse things than to turning into House."

"I don't think I like the price, though," Foreman said. "I don't think it's worth it. He does save lives others don't; even can't. But he also risks them in ways I'm not sure I can live with."

"Are you sure it's House you are afraid of?" Wilson mused. "I mean, you don't really see him clearly. You still don't see how Aiko has affected him; brought things to light about him that nobody – except his mother – suspected he had. Have you asked yourself why you are so blind to him? In some respects, I mean. What is it about turning into him that you fear?"

"He is a selfish jerk!" Foreman exclaimed feeling a little cornered. "Who wants to be that!"

"According to every one of your ex-girlfriends those words describe you to a T," Cameron observed dryly. "So if that is what you fear; too late, I'm afraid."

"I think Wilson may be right," Cuddy agreed. "You really need to sit down and think what it is you fear. I don't think it's House – or becoming him, if you want to be accurate. It's something that he seems to represent to you. And that might be what prevents you from learning – whatever it is House thinks you still need to learn."

"Had I known I would end up being psychoanalysed I would have stayed in the hospital," Foreman huffed. "I'm sure there are plenty of patients waiting to be treated on the clinic."

"Psychobabble is a risk you run in this Household," Wilson pointed out. "Or why do you think House has a flat of his own where he can hide behind locked doors and no trespassing signs?"

"It's just that we do care," Cameron sympathised with Foreman.

Before the conversation got any further, Cuddy's cell phone peeped to tell her a message had arrive. She read it and started to laugh: "Oh, I so agree with you Anna!"

"What?" The others wanted to know.

"Anna thinks that attaching a camera to the phone was the best invention since sliced bread," Cuddy explained turning her phone so that all could see the photo that had accompanied the message.

Ms Forbes had apparently found the slice of cake Anna had planted in the office – and apparently it had been quite a large piece, since Janelle's face was nearly covered with ugly blotches and she was obviously trying hard not to scratch them.

"Oh, this is just too perfect!" Cuddy laughed – as did everyone else, too.