Chapter 2

Rehab

At approximately 5:00AM, House crossed the threshold into Cuddy's office, stomping his feet a bit. He wanted to not only vocalize his disapproval, but to physically show it. However, by now Cuddy was used to his dramatics. So she didn't bother to look up from the file she was studying.

"Why does this reek of your involvement?" He asked as he sat down and propped his feet up on her desk. "did you even think of the possibility that I may actually have to live there for a month? That I wouldn't be working for four weeks. How the hell am I going to bug Wilson about the cut throat bitch?"

Cuddy sighed and set the file aside. Then she allowed herself to look at him. "Actually, I suggested it." She admitted softly, "Greg, you need help, and I need assurance that you're not going to kill one of my patients because you were high when you treated them."

House mentally gave her props. She had left him in the dark on this one, and he supposed that deep down that he did need help, maybe even wanted it, but he wasn't the admittance type of man, so instead, he tried a different approach. "And my cases? How can my patients go a month without seeing me?" He cleared his voice and added, "Not that I care, but hey, maybe there's someone waiting to shoot me again! Wouldn't want to deny someone that chance, now would we"

"That was a weak attempt, House," she said with a roll of her eyes, " Dr. Foreman will take over for you. Look, Greg, you have no choice if you want to keep your job, so just go, annoy the other patients in treatment, and in a month this will all be forgotten."

House grumbled under his breath. She was right, she hated it when she was right. But he wouldn't be House if he didn't leave here with one last smart ass remark. "You're right, in a month this will all be over, and so will the sex-capades you're having with Chase." When her face revealed shock, indigenization, and amazement, House knew he had guessed right about her latest boy toy. Too bad for Cameron, though. "oh, and just as soon as I find a rehab for sluts posing as hospital administrators, I'll be sure to add your name to the list."

An hour later….

House sighed, and looked out the plate glass window of The Java Café, staring at St. Josephs with apprehension. He didn't want to be locked up in some wing of a strange hospital, with strange people that he didn't know, but, as Cuddy said, he didn't have much of a choice. How was he going to be able to stay there for a month? He would either end up going crazy from being locked away and end up in the hospitals psych unit or he would end up leaving and losing his rights to practice medicine. He was so not a people person, didn't everyone understand that? Even his own staff hated being around him for more than say, ten minutes. And he couldn't stand them even two minutes, so how the hell was he going to survive here?

Groaning inwardly, he paid for his coffee and hobbled across the street, to a month of lock down. The rehab center was on the 6th floor and even the elevator was key tagged so if one did manage to make it out of the wing, they weren't going anywhere. He had arrived, via security guard, in the middle of a shift was about to change.

There was two registration windows. At one sat a woman whom house imagined that JK Rowling had met and named "the fat lady" portrait for in her famous wizarding books. At the second, the woman House never knew existed until then. House almost laughed at the irony. The woman who had finally made his heart leap into his t throat was off limits, at least for thirty days, not to mention a good 10-20 years his jr. She was petite, probably 5'4 at the most, and stunning. Her long blond hair was natural, and her eyes, were so blue they seemed to glow. She even had perfect heart shaped lips. She had ample breasts for a woman who was otherwise small. House consulted his wristwatch. He had five minutes, left. He could either approach her and begin his registration, or he could observe her a little longer. He chose the latter, and as the shifts began to change he could see that she wasn't a receptionist. She was actually either a nurse or doctor, if her scrubs were any indication. A few seconds later, a tall brunette took the blonde's place.

"Thanks, Dr. Brady," the leggy brunette said, "I owe you one."

"No problem, Sylvia." The blonde beauty answered, and House was aware of how seductive her voice was. He wondered if she had worked as a phone sex operator to help pay her tuition bills. If she hadn't, she certainly could have. Either way House was determined to solve the mystery that was Dr. Brady. And deep down, part of him hoped that she would be attracted to him, maybe even fall for him, despite the fact that she was definitely closer to twenty years younger than him.

Quickly tucking away his romantic interests in her, at least for now, he mulled away to learn more about her, and then break here, make her his second little Cameron. Then, if he was inclined to still be attracted to her, maybe, just maybe he would pursue here. Even if at the end of this forced vacation he found he no longer wanted to ravish Dr. Brady, he would have one use for her. He'd simply flaunt her in front of Cuddy, and Cameron.