Intuitive

Chapter 3

Working with the Feds

On the following Monday House wanted permission from Cuddy to run a very expensive experimental assay test on a new patient that was experiencing hiccups, lethargy and headaches. But he needed Cuddy to ok the test. He looked around and finally found her in the conference room huddled with two men in suits and Teagan Furey. They were all looking at something on the table and talking. He burst in, hoping his dramatic entrance would give him time to get a good look at what was on the table. He could see photos of a pretty college aged student and then a file with photos of various maps of the Princeton area. There was also a necklace sitting on the table. A delicate Celtic necklace made of silver and garnets.

Teagan was shaking her head, her eyes closed, pleading,"No, no...you don't understand, I just can't."

House wanted to know what she couldn't do but Lisa Cuddy had seen him enter and wanted him out.

"House get out of here!" she growled.

"But I need your approval on this—" he waved the request paperwork in front of her, "Aren't those photos of the girl that's missing?" He could tell that Teagan was upset and angry. Cuddy was nervous and wanted him out of there.

"House." Lisa motioned for him to follow her out to the corridor. As soon as the door closed behind them she put her hands on her hips, "What do you want?" She wasn't happy with him and hadn't been for awhile.

"Permission to run this test on my patient." He handed her the written protocol and then glanced back into the room while Cuddy reviewed the protocol. Teagan was shaking her head no while one of the men was on the phone.

"No, you may not run this; it would cost a fortune and it's not even approved by the FDA. Figure something else out."

"What's going on?" House asked. As they were talking, another man and a woman in her fifties walked up to the door and then inside.

"None of your business. Now go take care of your patient."

Cuddy left him and went back into the room. There were obvious introductions between the woman, Teagan and Cuddy. They talked for maybe a minute and the older woman started to sob. Teagan was looking down, unable to look at the woman. Cuddy saw House still lurking out in the corridor and pointed for him to leave. He did.

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I was hoping they wouldn't do this to me. All my life I've dealt with grieving parents, sad spouses, hopeless siblings. All of them looking to me to bring their loved ones home safe and sound. I sometimes don't know where they stop and I start. I feel like I've been grieving all my life. I only find peace at home, in the mountains, in my little insular community. It has let me heal, let me deal with years of the pain of others. And now I'm facing the pain of a mother who still believes her child is alive. One look at the photos of her daughter and one touch of her necklace and I know this mother was going to be grieving the rest of her life.

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The hiccups and the disease had nothing in common, which bored House. He knew that 18% of all Ebola Zaire cases present with hiccups so he thought maybe he had a variant or a new disease. It turned out to be plain old Mononucleosis with a side of meningitis. House was bored again so he went back up to the McCormicks' room to see if Teagan was there. She was, but she was obviously upset and crying, talking to her cousin. The three men and the teary woman were down the corridor waiting for her. Teagan walked out, head down, still crying.

When she looked up and saw him she simply said, "Oh crap."

House shook his head like he hadn't heard correctly, "What?"

"You're going to follow me and you're going to make a nuisance of yourself. I can't stop you, but let me give you some advice; if you meddle in this you're going to end up in jail for interfering with a police investigation."

"You're not making sense. Where are you going?"

"I'm off to try and help out with the investigation of the missing girl. I seriously suggest that you stay here."

"Huh?" But House didn't stay.

One of the men asked Teagan, "Who is he?"

Teagan turned and saw him standing five feet behind her, "Just a doctor here at the hospital. Dr. House meet Detectives Simmons and Bozidar. This is Mrs. Temple. Detective Simmons, could you grab me a towel before we leave the hospital? I'll also need a wet washcloth. And Detectives, I'll need several bottles of water." Teagan took a deep breath, "I don't see her west of here...I think east."

They went downstairs and Simmons talked to a nurse who ducked into a supply room, grabbed the towel and washcloth and then wet the washcloth. They were all waiting outside for Simmons. He handed the items to Teagan and she thanked him. They climbed into the back of a plain blue sedan and the detectives sat up front. House looked inside and saw that she was feeling the necklace in her fingers almost as if she were studying it. Her eyes were closed.

I thought it might have been easier if I could have brought Dr. House along, but he is such a strong presence I'd have a hard time focusing. I can feel him thinking about me and I'm sure he's going to follow anyways, he's too curious. The necklace is helping me to focus. God, I hate this. I hate these men and I hate that they forced the mother to come up and beg me. They don't know what it does to me inside. How painful it is.

Simmons didn't say anything yet, he knew she was concentrating and he knew that if he wanted to keep his job he better be quiet, but he didn't believe in this hooey, this quackery. But, Bozidar really believed in her. He thought she looked almost like an actress in a bad movie. He started to laugh, but she looked at him in the rear view mirror with understanding and sadness. He stopped laughing when he saw her pain.

"I know this is hard for you to believe, but you're making my job harder. Please try to reserve judgment for now, ok?" She told him.

Simmons looked at Bozidar who was giving him the evil eye. He glanced back at her and nodded in the affirmative. She had been genuinely sweet and kind about all of this; the least he could do was to give her a chance.

"We need to be near water and trees...like a park. A park near a small lake. Take a left here. "

They started heading east.

House went back into the hospital and grabbed his helmet and keys. He got on his motorcycle and zipped out of the building. He knew they were going east so he took a stab at their possible route. Racing through Princeton on he his bike, he got lucky; he spotted the sedan.

Bozidar had a map in his hands, "We're going east. What's east of here? There's Village Park? Ah, but it isn't near water. Thompson County Park is near water... a small lake. Let's go there." They sped up and took a right turn.

"Yes, this is the right direction." Teagan sat back, put her head back and closed her eyes. They drove awhile and all of a sudden Teagan shot up and grabbed Detective Simmons. "Stop, stop, stop!!! Did we just pass a driveway or layby?"

"Yeah about fifty feet back." He started to turn around to go back. He turned into the little gravel drive that led to a small parking area hidden from the main road by some overgrown bushes and small trees. To the right were two baseball fields.

Teagan jumped out and walked around. Simmons was amused and thought to himself that this was all a big joke. Teagan started to talk to herself. She walked to the other side of the layby and started flailing her arms and acting as if someone was pushing her. She fell back onto the ground.

House had followed the car into the parking area, but he didn't want to get too close, considering the warning she had given him. He parked behind some bushes several hundred feet away. He could see that she was acting rather bizarre, falling on the ground and flailing her arms about. She was dressed in jeans and a short sleeved summer sweater that looked a little too big for her tiny frame. He was amazed as to how fragile she looked.

The detectives looked at each other and shrugged, walking quietly over to her. She was lying on her back staring straight into the air. Blood was running out of her nose and ears. They went over to help her, but she was already starting to sit up. She took the towel and held it up to her nose and then her ears. She was looking up at Simmons rather sheepishly as she did this. She could feel House somewhere nearby. He was confused and curious.

"Don't come near me." She told them calmly. Then she looked at the detectives with tears coming down her face. "He's smiling, he knows me; we see each other every day. He's nice, he's tall; he's white. We see each other every day. He wants me to go with him to help him pick out something. We're laughing. He takes a turn down the road. Where is he going?" Teagan started to cry harder. She started to breathe in deep heavy breaths, turning in circles as she looked for something. "Where is he going? Where is he going? He won't say. It's late. No one is going to be able to hear me down this road. He slows down and stops in the parking lot. I get out of the car and run. If I can just make it to the road. I trip, he grips my hand and pulls me back, I feel something...oh God, he's stabbed me in my side...no!" Teagan put her hand up defensively." He's stabbed me in my chest...I fall to my knees. He pushes me on my back, I'm bleeding. It hurts; he's pulling my pants and panties off. There's no pain anymore. I'm numb." Teagan looked down, caught her breath and then looked up at the detectives, "She can't believe that this is happening. She's losing consciousness." Teagan pointed about ten feet away, "She was killed there." Teagan started to get up but was disoriented and upset, falling back to the gravel and crying. She looked at Bozidar who came over and helped her up. She was still bleeding.

"Teagan, you're bleeding." Bozidar said.

"I'll be bleeding until this is over." She took the wash cloth and washed around her ears and then took the towel and dried them

House couldn't figure out what she was wiping and finally realized that she had blood coming from her ears and nose. What is going on?

The detectives went over to where she said that Melissa Temple had been killed. Melissa was a beautiful student at Princeton who had gone missing eight days earlier. They had hoped that she was still alive and even now they were hoping that Teagan was wrong. Looking down, she saw a dark patch of earth under the gravel. They were hoping the dark streak was not blood, but the detectives both had lumps in their throats. Teagan was standing up and looking around.

"Her body is not here. She's in the woods, in the park, the park that's by the water, by the lake."

House was watching Teagan as the blood trickled slowly from her ears and nose. He was worried. Her blood pressure must be extremely high. He decided that he ought to make his presence known. He drove his motorcycle over.

"Dr. House, what are you doing here? This is a police investigation, please leave." Simmons blocked House's view of Teagan.

"You moron, that woman is bleeding from every orifice and needs medical attention. And guess what?" He looked around with a silly look, "I just happen to be a doctor. Now I'm going to look her over and you can arrest me if you have to." He walked over to Teagan.

"Dr. House, please, the sooner I get this over with, the sooner the bleeding will stop." She gave him a look, her eyebrows slightly raised and eyes round with sorrow, a look that begged him to keep away. He gave her a look of pure frustration. She reassured him, "It's ok, let me do this and then you can check me out."

I know he wants to do something. I'm not sure if he wants to actually help me or if he is using it as an excuse to find out what we are doing. He still doesn't believe or understand what he is seeing, but that doesn't bother me. Most people have a hard time wrapping their minds around it. Sometimes I do. But I just want to get it over with and if he interferes, tries to examine me, his touch will cause me to lose my focus.

The detectives were calling their forensic department to send a team out to find evidence, if there was evidence here. Teagan gave House another look, one that told him she would be alright, but to leave her be.

"Detectives. I need to get this over with, my head is exploding. Please, can we go to the woods near the lake?

"Sure, but it's a pretty large area." Simmons told her.

"Once I get there, I'll point the area out, but then I want to go back to the hospital."

"Yes ma'am." Simmons nodded.

The three of them got into the sedan, leaving House with his motorcycle. They drove over to Thompson County Park.

"We're nearby, but this isn't it...we need to go south, a little further, away from the lake. We need to park and walk it."

They parked the sedan in a shady area and got out. House followed and parked close to the sedan, watching her as she walked solemnly into the woods.

"Dr. House, this may be a crime scene so please stay back." Simmons warned.

House craned to watch her as she looked around and kept going deeper into the woods over branches, through shrubs, past large oak and maple trees. Then she stopped, the detectives stopped too. House could no longer see them from his vantage point.

"He put the body in his trunk and drove to this area. He didn't park where we parked, but he did bury her body over in that section of the woods. It's a fairly shallow grave, because he wants the animals to dig her up and destroy the body. Now I'm going back to the hospital with Dr. House, you can stay here and do what you have to do."

She walked out of the woods and back to the car. "Dr House, can you take me back to the hospital, I just want to get out of here?" He nodded and handed her his helmet. "My head hurts so much that I don't dare put that on, you go ahead and wear it. I'm just going to trust you and your driving skills."

He straddled the motorcycle and she got on behind him, leaning into his back. She rested the side of her head on his cool leather jacket. It felt good against her head. Both detectives watched, Simon obviously unimpressed, as they took off. The detectives stayed behind to show CSI where to look.

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When they got back to the hospital he helped her off the motorcycle and could see that the bleeding had stopped. He held her wrist and took her pulse; it was elevated, around 104. He wondered what her blood pressure was?

"Let's get your blood pressure." He said as they went into the hospital together.

"I need a shower." she could feel caked blood in her hair.

"You can take one here at the hospital." House said soberly.

He wasn't sure what had just happened. Not knowing what she said when they were in the parking lot and then in the woods, he was curious what she had been doing. Is she a behavioral psychologist? Is she giving them a theory about the case ? What was causing her bleeding? He was more confused than ever.

On the way up to his office he grabbed a blood pressure cuff and made her sit down. Her blood pressure was 189/130. He told her that she needed to lie down for awhile and then he would take it again.

"I will soon, but I want a shower." She seemed out of it.

"You idiot, you need to stay off your feet for a few minutes. Sit here in my office and put your feet up. I'll get you some water." He took his cane and went into the presentation room, got a bottle of water and took it back to her. She sat quietly and drank the water while he took the seat behind his desk.

He narrowed his eyes, "What happened out there?"

"I just gave them some pointers." She put her head back, it was splitting. "Do you have any Excedrin?"

"Are you a profiler?"

"In a way. I sometimes help out. Aspirin?"

"Hell, no. The aspirin will thin your blood and the caffeine will increase your blood pressure. Rest and I'll give you Tylenol."

"Tylenol doesn't work."

"Tough, until you're back to normal for an hour, no Excedrin or aspirin."

He let her rest for half an hour in the dark office and then took her blood pressure again. It was 140/90. It was returning to normal. House pulled out his extra t-shirt and shirt, handing it to her, before motioning for her to follow him to the doctor's locker room and showers.

An hour later House was sitting in his office listening to music when Wilson came in. "Where did you go this afternoon?"

"I'm not sure."

Wilson waited for a wise crack but got none. He waited another minute, "Want to grab dinner?"

"Sounds good, you're driving." House said.

"You're buying." Wilson retorted. House got up to get his cane and keys.

They arrived at the Triumph and had to wait half an hour for a table so they went to the bar. House started to tell Wilson about the afternoon.

Wilson listened and then commented, "She looked pretty worn out when she left today to go back to her room. She said she was going back to sleep."

"It was quite a show, but I didn't see anything like clothing or knives or anything that looked remotely like it was a crime scene. But her bleeding was real."

House went home and took off his shoes to let his feet breath. He grabbed a Negro Modelo from the refrigerator, sat down and turned on the television. The ten o'clock news was about to start.

"We lead with this breaking story, Melissa Temple, the Princeton Student missing for seven days was found tonight in a shallow grave in Thompson County Park. Detective Simmons gave us this update:

We have determined that Ms. Temple was murdered in a turnoff near the park baseball diamonds and then buried in the woods behind me. We have a lead on the killer tonight and are following it up. We will keep you posted."

House had been leaning forward in his chair mesmerized by the news. He watched the eleven o'clock news and then turned to a cable channel to catch the repeating news report. Getting ready for bed, House stared up at the ceiling and thought about the day. As he drifted to sleep House realized that Teagan Furey was the most original and oddest woman he had met in years, maybe ever.

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