Chapter 3: Cuddy's Conundrum
House stood in the middle of the hallway staring through the glass of the ICU room at the diva who had only hours before been filling the world with glorious song. She had looked larger than life on the stage and now she laid still, hooked up to machines that were breathing for her and nurses came and went from her room without paying much attention to the sullen doctor that watched from the shadows as he was used to doing.
"Why are you still here?" Cuddy asked, startling House out of his thoughts.
"I'm a doctor, this is a hospital, it's kinda where I belong," House stated.
"No I mean why you are here, in the middle of the hallway when there is nothing you can do for that woman," Cuddy stated.
"I was one of the first responders," House stated.
"No you weren't," Cuddy practically laughed, "you sat in your seat and watched while Chase, Cicciliano and Wilson did all the word and I was trying to calm the Dean of the music school down enough to get access to his files and the young woman's records.
"I noticed her first symptom," House said, "therefore I was the first to respond to her illness."
"House, honestly, she's probably not going to make it through the night, if she does, then you can stalk her and poke and prod at her, but for now, please go home, get some rest." Cuddy said and practically dragged him away from the fallen diva's room.
"There were cameras filming parts of her performance tonight, were there not?" House asked as he took another fleeting glance over his shoulder toward the room.
"Yes there were," Cuddy answered, "but why is that relevant?"
"I saw the deviated septum from my seat; I was wondering which other symptoms the cameras picked up. You'd be the greatest girlfriend ever if you got me that performance on DVD," He smiled playfully.
"What good are they if she's dead by morning?" Cuddy asked.
"I need to figure out what is wrong. I need the symptoms to tell me what is making her sick and therefore I need the videos to watch. I need to solve the puzzle." House stated. "If she lives or if she dies is irrelevant if I don't know what is going on. Let me do my job. Get me those tapes."
"Fine, I'll see what I can do," Cuddy sighed, "but on one condition."
"I don't do well with demands," House stated.
"I just want you to go home, because I can't and I need you to pay the babysitter." Cuddy stated and placed a wad of cash in House's hands.
"How much are you paying the girl," House asked looking at the money mysteriously, "how much does child care cost these days."
"Oh House, please, she wasn't supposed to be there all night, I'm paying her extra because of the emergency, please, before I have to sign over my house to her, just go and pay her and make sure Rachel is alright." Cuddy stated as her pager began to buzz again.
"And you'll get me the tapes?" he asked with a sly smile.
"I'll get you the tapes," Cuddy promised, "and an autograph if she wakes up."
"Alright, I'll go," House smiled, passed Cuddy and hobbled off toward the elevator.