Chapter 4

Cotton Mather's Warning

After the nurse left Mrs. McCormick, House stood against the wall and stared intently at Teagan while she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. After a minute of peace she opened her eyes and looked at House. "I'm starting to get use to your presence. I'm able to tune you out now if I want to."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I need something to drink, let's leave my cousin alone and go down and get a drink."

House followed her and after they each got a soda, Teagan chose a booth as far from everyone else in the cafeteria that she could get. "You have questions and I didn't want to bother my cousin. She's heard the questions and the answers a million times and it always upsets her. I have a degree in behavioral psychology from Berkeley. I trained at Quantico too. I wasn't officially FBI but they invited me to be a guest in their program. I spent a year training and then I worked with the FBI as a civilian advisor for five years. Now I only work with them on rare occasions."

"Why would they let a civilian in the program?" he asked her suspiciously.

Leaning forward with mock seriousness, she whispered, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you. So you see Dr. House, I reviewed her file and maps and gave them ideas on where to look and how it happened. It's that simple." She took a drink and then smiled at him, got up and went back to her cousin's room.

xxx

House had been in and out of trouble with Lisa Cuddy for the last few years. Several years ago he had dragged her, Wilson, his team and the hospital through several agonizing months of a criminal investigation into his addiction to Vicodin. Despite entering rehabilitation, he had managed to bribe an orderly into giving him Vicodin while he was in the unit. As a result of his years of abuse and at the demand of the New Jersey Medical Board, House had gone through the newly established pain clinic which had managed to wean House's use of Vicodin down through exercise and biofeedback. His days of indiscriminate dosing were over. In addition to the New Jersey authorities, the PPTH Board of Directors had come down hard on him, demanding random drug tests which measured his intake.

The Board had also tightened their leash on House, placing him on probation when he refused to teach courses for the hospital. After a month of no work, House craved the puzzles and work, finally returning after he agreed to teach a short course in the diagnostics of zoonotic diseases. As a result, Cuddy had she granted him the luxury of taking the summer off from teaching.

Just when he thought he was home free, Cuddy informed him that he was scheduled to give a three hours of presentation at a medical seminar in San Francisco on July 31st , ruining his planned trip to the World Poker tournament. It sucked. House wondered when he would be able to go back to making Cuddy's life miserable as usual. But, despite his desire to run roughshod over Cuddy, House had to admit that she had been a great supporter of him in rehab.

House saw Cuddy walking to Pediatrics and stopped her. "You never told me what my topic is for this seminar in San Francisco."

"They want you to do half the seminar on changes in diagnostic tools and half on emerging diseases and how to recognize them."

"You really like to test me, don't you? Could they pick anything more boring?"

"Something tells me you'll spice it up." Cuddy smile and walked away.

House watched Cuddy walk off and he thought to himself, "Man I don't know how I let that slip through my fingers. What planet was I on?"

The discussion with Cameron had House in a retrospective mood. His leg, losing Stacy, the addiction, the criminal investigation, his relationship with Thirteen and Cuddy had all added up to a lot of negatives in his life. There had not been a lot of positives in the last eight years. But House was no fool; he knew that this emotional pain was his own Frankenstein's monster. In some ways he was punishing himself. For what, he didn't know, but he had never felt that he deserved to be happy. The only shining light in his life was his work and his ability to solve problems and save lives. Frankly, solving the puzzle was what gave him the high, the saving lives was just a fringe benefit.

House went back to his office and was surprised to see Maggie Malone from the CDC in his office. "Maggie Malone, I see you're back for more. You're insatiable. I know the sex was good, but you've got to let me go."

"Are you done Greg?" She looked mildly amused.

"That's what you always ask."

"Greg, I need your help. We need to find out what's causing the deaths in this cluster just outside of Philadelphia. I've brought you the lab tests and the MRIs of three of the patients. Don't worry, we're willing to pay PPTH well for your services."

"Maggie, I'd service you for free."

"And if we had time, I might let you. Now come on Greg, we're losing a lot of people rather quickly. We don't want word to get out."

"Why?"

"It might be a biological weapon. The cluster is taking place in a government facility, a post office that sorts mail for Washington D.C."

House became serious. "Let me see the files." He started looking through them. There were17 files, "Pneumonia, hepatitis. Petechial rash, normal white blood cells, mild thrombocytopenia, elevated transaminases, elevated alkaline phosphatase. Have you checked for Osteomyelitis?"

"No."

"Well, while you're at it, I'd also check this guy, this Wilfred Mason, for chronic Q fever. Besides the blood tests, check for endocarditis, another indication of chronic Q fever."

"I'm going to transfer Wilfed Mason to your care, you run the tests and let us know."

"Why don't you come over to my place for a drink tonight?" House suggested.

"Very, very tempting but I don't think my boyfriend would like it."

"Damn, he keeps getting in the way."

"I know...I'll have to do something about that." She smiled.

House enjoyed the banter, but he wasn't really kidding. He'd love to screw Maggie; she was hot in a feisty way and since they had roomed together when he was doing his residency, he knew that the spark between them was too hot. But, since they had gone their separate ways, no matter how many times their paths had crossed, she had resisted him, except once. One night at his apartment they had most of their clothes off when he received a phone call from Cuddy with an emergency. He begged her to wait for him to get back. By the time he got back the bed was cold and she was gone. He knew that their chance to hook up had passed him by.

House thought back to Maggie and wondered why he hadn't hooked up with her? There was an obvious attraction between the two of them. He thought that she could have handled the hurricane known as Greg House. She had backbone but she also had patience. House was starting to see a pattern to his life and it wasn't pretty.

Wilfred was moved to PPTH and within twenty-four hours Thirteen had run the tests that confirmed chronic Q fever.

Maggie and House were flirting over the salad bar. Finally Maggie turned serious as they sat down. "What are we looking at Greg?"

"It had to have been purposefully induced and unless you have a genius post office worker who's gone postal, this had to have come from someone with an excellent knowledge of zoonotic diseases. Look back at the attendance records. There were probably a lot of absences about four months ago due to what they probably thought was the flu. Many of the people recovered, maybe a quarter of them went on to develop chronic Q fever resulting in a cascade of organ involvement and then death. Whoever did this did it 3-6 months ago."

She shook her head acknowledging what he said was probably true. House looked around and saw Teagan reading and eating her lunch. House started to think that she was looking tired and haggard. Wilson had told House that the protocol wasn't working for her cousin and she had gone from Stage III to Stage IV. Wilson didn't understand how the treatment had failed, but it had.

I know he is watching me and thinking about how tired I looked. I am exhausted. I'm watching my only living relative die in front of my eyes; it's hard work. I could feel that he is very attracted to the woman he is sitting with, but she is ambivalent. She is preoccupied with Q. What is Q? House is also worried about Q. But not I'm the center of his attention and he's not satisfied with my explanation of my work with the FBI and wants to know exactly what I do and what I did the other day. He can't have her and so thinking about me is safe.

Maggie turned around to follow House's gaze. "House, she's very pretty. Do you know her?"

"Don't worry Maggie, we haven't had sex, I'm still a virgin. I'm saving myself for you."

Maggie chuckled as she started gathering her things, "I've got to get going. I'll do the write up; just send me the results and your file." She patted his hand and then put her trash in the bin before coming back to pick up her satchel.

"Maggie?"

"Yes, Greg?"

"It was good seeing you."

"It's always great seeing you." She reached over and gave him a peck on his cheek and then took off. Maggie was a reminder to him that he had screwed up one more time. He knew that if he had made a move when he first met her, they would be together, but their opportunity to hook up was gone now.

"Bye Maggie." He said quietly under his breath.

I felt his sadness, his desperation and his anger. He was angry at himself. I felt sorry for him; there was a lot bitterness inside him. Strangely, there was also some hopefulness buried deep inside too. The part of him that was still a little boy was still hoping that everything would eventually work out. I hope it does.

Xxx

Teagan went back to her cousin's room, took one smell and wanted to puke. No one else claimed to be able to smell it but her. It was a bitter smell, it smelled like the illness was winning and Teagan knew from reading Wilson that it was. She had to leave and get out of the hospital for awhile. She told her cousin that she would be back the following day.

Teagan hadn't brought her car to the hospital that day. It was in the shop being serviced for the drive back to California. She began the four mile walk to her hotel deep in thought when House pulled up next to her on the street. He took off his helmet.

"Do you walk every day?" House asked.

She shook her head, "No, my car is in the shop."

"Get on, I'll give you a ride."

Teagan hesitated for a moment, but realized that something was drawing them together.

She climbed on and he asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm hungry, can you drop me off near my hotel. There's a little coffee shop near the Washington Square Resident Hotel, do you know it?"

"That place is crap, you'll either get botulism or shot if you go there. I'll buy you dinner but, in return, you have to have a pleasant conversation with me." He said.

"I'm really not up to being interrogated and I can tell your curiosity is overwhelming. Are you always this curious?" She asked, but knew the answer. House was curious all the time. He was never satiated with what he knew. He gathered information like a farmer harvests corn. It was his job and his life. He was filled with information and opinions.

"Ok, you can ask me questions too." He promised.

Reaching around his chest, she held on tight, yelling when they came to a stop light, "Where are you taking me? It can't be anywhere nice, I look pretty tacky."

"There's a pub at the Alchemist and Barrister downtown. We could get drinks and a bar meal."

He took her to the rather cozy and intimate pub so that she would feel more like talking. House didn't know that Teagan was used to curious people. Questions about what she did always popped up. All her pat answers were ready for just about any question. She had heard them all.

They walked in and took a seat at the bar. House thought that if they were at the bar she might feel less like she was being interrogated and more like they were just having drinks and talking. They both ordered the Shepherd's Pie and drinks from the bartender.

Calmly crawling up into the corner of the booth so she could lean back against the wall, Teagan sighed, "Ok Dr. House, start asking."

"Has anyone told you that you're odd?" He asked.

"No one has told me different. I've been a freak all my life."

"As a behavioral psychologist trained at Quantico, what are you doing living n Aspen Valley, California, a backwater spot on the map?"

"I like living there. I don't have to deal with death and pain all the time. I know you and Dr. Wilson do it on a daily basis, but in my case I constantly deal with the most despicable acts that one human can inflict on another. It starts to get to you." She took a drink and studied him, "My turn. Tell me about the decision over your leg."

He was taken aback, normally people asked, "What happened?" They didn't ask about the actual decision surrounding the surgery. "I don't follow, what do you mean? The decision?"

"You do know what I mean. If you're going to be coy, then we'll have our dinner and leave, no more personal questions."

He looked at her and wondered what the nurses and Wilson had been telling her. "I told the doctors not to operate, but my girlfriend told them to do the surgery."

"You felt betrayed, unable to trust her anymore. It upset you that she wouldn't trust your decision on this matter, a medical issue. In essence, she didn't believe in you in the one area that you excel at?"

House grit his teeth and squeezed his lips into a thin line, debating on what he should say. He was uncomfortable with prying so deeply into his feelings. Who was giving her this information? Then he realized she was a behavioral psychologist and this probably fit a profile. After all, he was no longer with his girlfriend, so something had to have happened between them. She probably deduced from what he said that the leg was the largest catalyst in their demise. She was right, Stacy's decision had felt like a huge betrayal to him. Stacy didn't have faith in his decision, the fact that he knew what was best for him. He made medical decisions every day that were edgy and he knew the risks. He took the risks for his patients all the time so he had expected her to trust him, trust what he knew about his body, about medicine. But instead she chose the conventional method, she trusted the other doctors over him.

Teagan was feeling and hearing all of this. His emotions were so strong over this issue he was like a tall broadcasting tower beaming it straight at her. Of course he had no way of knowing this, but the pain she was feeling from him touched her. She looked at his face, hardened and fixed and she realized that it was just a cover. Underneath was a man full of fear, sadness and anger but also hope. He spent most of his energy keeping the hope buried, but it was still there simmering on a back burner. She wanted to touch him and take the pain away, but she didn't dare. The strength of House's personality would be difficult for her to handle, hard for her to control inside of her. She would just have to settle for being a sounding board.

"My girlfriend believed that she was saving my life. She let Cuddy and the surgeons talk her into operating on me. She had hoped I would be pain free afterwards, but I wasn't. On top of it, I lost so much muscle that my life, my very active life I might add, was over. I could no longer ski, golf, rock climb or any of the activities that I enjoyed doing. I blamed her. It was too much for our relationship, she left."

Teagan looked down at her drink and shook her head, "She didn't leave the relationship, you did. You left it long before she actually walked out the door."

She could see his nostrils flare and jaw tighten; he was pissed. She had hit a nerve. Now he wanted answers from her, "Alright, my turn. What were you telling them at the crime scene the other day?"

"I simply told them my theory of the case based on my intuition, experience and training. I told them that he killed her in the layby and then buried her in the woods, in a shallow grave so that the animals would find her and destroy the evidence."

"Why did they call you?"

"The FBI keeps tabs on my whereabouts. It was one of the trade offs for going through the program at Quantico. They would train me if I made myself available for consults. I did that for five years and finally said enough was enough. They agreed to use other profilers unless I was within one hundred miles of the investigation. Unfortunately, I was here so they referred the police to me."

"But Quantico is fairly close; they could have sent someone up from there. Why you?"

"They love to save money and they don't have to take an agent out of the field if I do the consult."

House thought this was a plausible answer.

Their meals arrived and they started to eat. The Shepherd's Pie was delicious and she seemed to be gobbling it up with glee, "Wow, it sure is nice to have food that isn't from the cafeteria. It's getting old. If I have to eat one more rubber cheeseburger I think I'll scream."

House realized this was a good time to say something, "I heard about your cousin. It looks like she'll probably die soon." As he said it he waited for an emotional reaction, but her reaction was one of resignation. It was as if she had known this for quite awhile. He was a little surprised, "You never thought she had a chance to start with, did you?"

"It doesn't matter what I thought." Teagan sighed, "I'll be leaving soon, driving back to California."

"By yourself?" He asked.

"I was going to drive back with a friend who was going to move to California, but she met a guy and her plans changed. So I'll be making the trip by myself."

A brilliant idea flashed through his brain. He didn't know why he said it, but it just came out, "I'll help you drive. I have to be in San Francisco at the end of the month anyway."

"Oh, I don't think so Dr. House. I hardly know you." She straightened up, eyes wide, head shaking vigorously.

"You know me well enough. It's settled. When are we leaving?"

"I'm leaving after my cousin dies, alone." she emphasized.

"Look, I'll share the cost of gas and do half the driving. It will be fine, besides you could use a man to protect you."

"I didn't have a man on my way out here."

"Well, going west is always trickier, you're driving into the sun. I thought you said you would be leaving in less than a month about a month ago?"

"I did and I will, my cousin's not going to last much longer."

"You don't know that! She could last weeks."

But she did know that. Two days later Teagan's cousin died quietly, the morphine making the transition easier.

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