part 4

Schaub's Coffee Café wasn't exactly busy when they got there, which was no doubt a good thing since Madeline had explained she only had an hour before she had to get back.

As they found a table, House placed his backpack onto the floor and commented, "Must be stressful having to work so much."

"I seem to recall you promised me a lunch between friends, not a diagnostic differential," Honors said as she took out her purse and got some prescription stress meds out and then added, "And if you must know, yes it is. Ever since Ron and I divorced, it's been hard to make ends meet."

"I'm sorry," Wilson instinctively said to which House said, "Careful, you might get him to give you a hug."

Madeline looked at the two of them and then smiled softly as she said, "It's fine really. I'm still trying to even deal with the reality of it all. Guess my mom was right and I should've dated you." House looked down at his coffee and then remarked, "Wouldn't have worked. I'm a bit committed to my job myself. Ron wasn't an ideal match, but you had a few good years with him."

"So how long have you worked at East Hubert?" Wilson asked as she placed the medicine on the table and she sighed, thinking and remarking, "I'd say about two to three months. I'm not chief resident or anything, but I think in a year or so with my skills I'll prove myself."

"Not if you're dead before that," House commented.

"Look," Madeline said angrily as she glared at him and placed her hands on the table before stating, "What happened yesterday was clearly me working too much. I told Sarah I'm cutting down to five days a week instead of six, does that make you any happier?"

"No, but then again nothing does," House quipped, to which Wilson remarked, "Maybe he's right, maybe the ER did miss something."

"Oh not you too," she said rolling her eyes. "If there weren't any tests run, it could happen again," Wilson explained to which she remarked, "I told you I'm fine."

"You're also stubbornly clinging to the idea that you're fine when you know that you aren't," House paused and then added, "And that scares you. Yet instead of looking that fear right in the face, you choose to hide from it. Not realizing all the while that like a predator, it will strike again." For a moment it looked at though she was going to cry and then she nodded and said, "You may be right House. But I've got a child now."

They both looked at each other and then back at her and she nodded and said, "Ron and I divorced because I wanted to adopt, and he didn't. Christie is almost one now. And that sick…" she paused, wiping tears from her eyes and then standing and stating, "I'm not going to let him take her from me like he did everything else."

As she walked off to the bathroom, Wilson said softly, "Wow." "That's one way of putting it," House said as he reached into his backpack and took out a small bag that appeared to be filled with white sugar.

"House, what're you doing?" James asked in surprise, to which he explained, "You heard her, she won't go back to the hospital herself."

"Are you… is that, lisinopril?" Wilson asked in surprise.

"Or it could be splenda," he said as he reached for her coffee and James growled, "You could give her a heart attack!"

"Think she'll come back to the ER then?" House countered and then glared at his friend and stated, "I'm not stupid. This is just enough to give her low blood pressure. Dizziness, and maybe fainting, that's it."

"You could get fired," Wilson argued, but then spotted Madeline returning even as House doused the coffee and the remnants of the ACE inhibitor disappeared entirely. "I'm sorry I blew up on you like that," she admitted.

"Madeline," Wilson began as she reached for her coffee and she paused and asked, "Yeah?" House gazed at him for a long moment and he shook his head softly and sighed saying, "Promise me that if you do have another reaction, you'll let us check you over, for real this time."

She sipped the coffee slowly and then nodded before answering, "Hopefully that won't happen anytime soon, but yeah; I don't see why not. Maybe Greg can put that brain of his to good use." "Always good to feel needed," he said with a nod as he drank his own beverage and she sat back down.

The following day as he stepped into the clinic, Doctor Gabe anticipated the inevitable.

He wasn't sure why he had agreed to side with Natasha yesterday, especially since he knew the results could cost them all of their jobs. Yet Vale had somehow convinced him that staying out of House's way was the only solution to moving forward. Even so, Gabe was positive that their boss had probably done something unethical by now.

The question was, how seriously would it affect his career? Before he'd come to Princeton Plainsburo, he'd been specializing in the field of oncology under Yasmin Dukar from Old Creek Medical Plaza, which was farther to the south shores of Jersey.

He'd met Doctor Wilson at a convention there, and if he wasn't mistaken a much younger House. But the good doctor had been too busy flirting with some chick by the salad bar to be concerned with him.

And Wilson and he struck up a friendship. Had I known it would involve being his lackey, I wouldn't have signed on for this position, he thought as he glanced at the chart and prepared to speak to the patient. As he about to do so, Doctor Cuddy knocked on the door softly and remarked, "Excuse me, can I have a moment?"

Pausing and politely excusing himself, Jason followed her outside where she asked blandly, "What are you doing here?" "Doctor Vale said that the clinic-" "Doctor Vale is not your boss, House is your boss and I'm House's boss. You're supposed to be working on a case," Cuddy said cutting him off and remarking, "Despite the fact that this clinic is short staffed right now, our board members seem to think that House is a ticking time bomb."

He looked at her inquisitively to which she replied, "I can tell in the few weeks you've worked here that you might consider that opinion as well. Yes, he is reckless and ultimately selfish; but he does good. He saves lives. Believe me, once this whole issue concerning his medical license is resolved there will be plenty of time to come down here."

"What I think the board of directors is failing to realize is they are giving him way too much credit," Gabe remarked.

"Maybe so," Cuddy conceded, and was about to say something else when a woman approached her and explained, "Lisa… is Greg in today?" "Madeline, I thought we released you yesterday," Cuddy said in surprise to which the young veterinarian replied, "I think… there's something wrong with me."

Her eyes were droopy, possibly due to the stroke or whatever House had done and Jason narrowed his gaze, thoughtfully considering what sort of reaction House was trying to set off. "Nurse, get this woman to a room right away," he told one of the staff and then added, "And once she's set up on some stimulant I'll need a stool sample."

The nurse brought Madeline a wheelchair, which she gratefully excepted and Cuddy asked, "How do you know what to look for?" "I don't," Jason lied as he shrugged and watched her go before adding, "But it's like you said, I have to stop wasting my time here."