Author's Note: I'm back! Almost didn't make it today - love my mother but I can't write when she's in the same room as me 'cause she won't be quiet. :) Anyway, here we go again. Still don't own House - wouldn't it be fun if I did?
It wasn't quite 5 o'clock when Sarah entered the hospital lobby. Her headache had increased throughout the rest of the afternoon until she'd asked to leave early. She didn't know if Greg would be able to do the same but she knew the chair in his office was a comfortable place to wait. She hoped he'd be willing to drive the rest of the way home. She just wanted to close her eyes.
As she crossed the lobby toward the elevators she heard someone call out her name. She turned to see Anna Martine standing with the attractive brunette woman she'd seen in the parking lot Tuesday morning. She forced a polite smile onto her face and walked over to the two women.
"Dr. Cuddy, this is Sarah Kelly, the office manager in the history department. Sarah, this is Dr. Lisa Cuddy, dean of medicine."
"Nice to meet you," Sarah said, holding out her hand. So, she thought, this is Greg's boss.
"Have we met before?" Dr. Cuddy asked, shaking Sarah's hand briefly. "You look familiar."
"You probably saw me dropping Greg off here the other morning," Sarah replied. She looked to Anna. "Did you get the information you need for your paper?"
"Yes. Dr. Cuddy was very helpful. I really appreciate your friend's help in setting up this appointment. Thank you so much for asking him for me."
"I'm glad it worked out for you, Anna," Sarah said, her eyes sliding toward Dr. Cuddy. The woman looked perplexed.
"I've got to run. I have class in half-an-hour. Thanks again for your help, Dr. Cuddy. I'll be sure to send you a copy of the final paper." Anna shook the dean's hand before hurrying away. Dr. Cuddy turned her blue-gray eyes toward Sarah.
"So, how do you know Dr. House?" she asked.
"Haven't you heard? I'm his dance instructor." Sarah smiled before resuming her course to the elevators.
House stood on the second-floor balcony, looking down into the lobby. He saw Sarah come in, heard the young woman with Cuddy call out to her. He watched as the three of them talked for a few minutes before the youngest woman left. Cuddy said something to Sarah and Sarah replied, smiling, before moving away to the elevators. House started making his own way to the elevators. He wondered what Sarah had said to Cuddy to make the older woman look so puzzled.
When the elevator stopped on the second floor, Sarah was slumped against one wall, eyes shut. Her face was even more drawn than it had been that morning. She opened her eyes as he got on and smiled in surprise.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi. You're early. Feeling ok?"
"Just this headache. Would you be ok driving from here? I just want to close my eyes."
"Ok." The elevator stopped at their floor and they walked to House's office together. He was aware of a few people staring as they passed but Sarah gave no indication that she noticed.
In the office she sank into his chair. He sat on the footstool and reached out to lift her wrist, checking her pulse. It was strong and steady, if a little fast.
"Is it a migraine?" House asked.
"No, just tension. If I just lay down for a while, it'll get better," Sarah said quietly.
"Well, let me round up my minions and get them their instructions. Then we can get you home."
"Thanks."
"Is he holding her hand?" asked Taub. House's fellows were sitting around the conference table. Chase, Taub and Thirteen were watching him in his office with Sarah.
"Who holds hands with a hooker?" asked Foreman, not looking up from the chart in front of him.
"He's not holding her hand," Thirteen said. "He's checking her pulse."
"And she's not a hooker," Chase added.
"Right."
"Here he comes," murmured Taub, turning his eyes back to the file in his hands. Chase and Thirteen quickly followed suit.
"Alright, Minions," House said as he entered the room. Thirteen almost smiled. His tone was completely different than what she was used to from House. Instead of snark and sarcasm, he almost sounded… affectionate. He paused, looking at them and the next time he spoke, the sarcastic tone had returned.
House finished giving his team their instructions. They all got to their feet, moving toward the conference room door. Thirteen was the last to stand. The others had all reached the hallway but she hesitated at the door, looking at House. He had started back to his office but, feeling her eyes on him, turned to look at her.
"Is she ok?" Thirteen asked.
"She has a headache," House said, and once again his tone was snark-free.
"Migraine?"
"I'm going to take her home," House said and continued on his way to his office. When he looked back, Thirteen had gone.
Sarah thought her head was going to explode. She wished it would, just to get it over with. She'd had tension headaches before but this was the worst she'd ever experienced. She just wanted to get home and crawl into her bed. Greg had gone to give his fellows instructions; she hoped it would be a brief conversation.
She heard his thump-step coming closer and then he spoke, his voice quiet.
"All done." She opened her eyes to see him pulling on his coat. He collected his backpack, slinging it over one shoulder. She scooted forward in the chair and he stepped over to stand beside her as she got to her feet.
"I'm ok," she said. The throbbing in her head had intensified when she stood but she didn't feel dizzy. "Let's go." He moved ahead of her to hold the office door and they made their way down the hall to the elevator.
Sarah could feel people watching them, just as they had when she'd walked with Greg to the office. No doubt there would be a lot of gossip about Dr. House's new friend once they left. She hoped she hadn't made a mistake with her flip answer to Dr. Cuddy; she hadn't felt that it was any of the woman's business how she and Greg knew each other. She wasn't entirely sure what to call her relationship with Greg anyway. They were more than just neighbors. She hoped they were becoming friends.
As they stepped out of the elevator into the lobby, Sarah caught sight of Dr. Cuddy, standing on the second floor balcony. A man was with her, wearing the white coat of a doctor over a lavender shirt and tie. Sarah could feel both of them watching as she and Greg crossed the lobby.
"You ok?" Greg asked, putting a hand under her arm.
"Yeah. Let's get out of here." Sarah took one last glance toward the balcony. The two doctors were staring intently. Wow, she thought. What's going on there?
House woke up ahead of his alarm on Friday morning. He turned it off and lay in bed for a moment. He hoped that Sarah was feeling better today. When they'd reached her apartment the previous evening, he had told her that he'd take Maggie for her evening walk. Sarah had protested, reminding him that the dog pulled a lot in her race to get to the park, but House had insisted. She'd reluctantly handed him the leash and her keys.
When they'd reached the sidewalk, House had braced himself for the dog to take off. Maggie had looked back at him for a second and then set off at a sedate pace. When they returned to the apartment, Sarah was stretched out on the couch, a washcloth across her face. He'd offered to get, or make, dinner but she had just groaned.
House had gone to the kitchen and found the dog's food. He gave Maggie her dinner before looking in Sarah's cabinets. He'd coaxed Sarah into eating some soup and crackers. She'd been ready to go to bed shortly afterwards, so he'd the taken the dog out one more time and left. There'd been nothing that he wanted to watch on television so he'd gone to bed early himself.
When it got to be five after seven and Sarah still hadn't come to his door, House decided to go check on her. They'd been leaving the apartment building right around 7 o'clock each morning to allow plenty of time for Sarah to drop House off and get on to campus by 8.
He knocked on her door and heard Maggie start to bark. It was a few minutes before the door opened and a bleary-eyed Sarah stood there, still clad in her pajamas. Her face was pale and puffy from sleep and she leaned heavily against the door.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I slept through my alarm."
"Are you alright?" House asked, not liking her appearance. He reached out tentatively to touch her forehead and found it warm. "You're running a fever."
"I know. I've gotta call my boss, let him know I won't be in today. I'll get you my keys; you can take my car today." She turned to go into the apartment and House followed her, catching her arm in time to keep her from falling over the baby-gate. He moved it out of the way and walked beside her as she made her way to the couch. Maggie squeaked at him.
"I'll take Maggie out for her walk while you make your call," House said.
"Thank you," Sarah replied. House collected the dog's leash and harness from the hook by the door and led Maggie out. She was anxious to go and he had to scramble this time to keep up with her.
When they returned to the apartment, Sarah was slumped on the couch. House got the dog her breakfast and then moved to sit beside Sarah. She was shivering.
"Will you be alright? Is there someone I could call to stay with you?" he asked.
"No, there's no one here. I'm just gonna go back to bed," she said.
"I can come check on you at lunch-time," House offered. "You can call me if you need anything."
"I've been sick on my own before," she said, getting slowly to her feet. "It's just the flu. It's been going around on campus." House walked with her to the bedroom.
"You can still call me," he said, watching her get back under her covers.
"Ok." She drew the blankets up around her and closed her eyes.
At lunch-time House returned to Baker Street. Sarah hadn't called him but he wanted to make sure she was ok. He walked Maggie and tried to coax Sarah to eat something. She was still feverish but didn't feel as weak as she had in the morning. House brought a nasal swab from the hospital. He would run it through the lab and confirm that this was just the flu.
House met Taub and Thirteen in the hospital lobby; they were returning from breaking in to their patient's home. He sent them on to the conference room, dropping the swab by the lab before rejoining them there.
The differential discussion was heated. Foreman was convinced that he had their diagnosis and House was equally convinced that Foreman was wrong. Chase, Taub, and Thirteen watched the argument rage. They all knew that there was no point in siding with Foreman; no matter how the symptoms appeared to be in alignment with Foreman's diagnosis, they knew that House was almost always right.
House sent the team out to start the treatment for his diagnosis and picked up his cell phone. He wanted to call and check on Sarah. He dialed her apartment first and the phone rang several times before her answering machine picked up. He hung up and tried her cell phone, fighting down a rising feeling of alarm. Was she unconscious? She'd mentioned taking a bath; did she slip and fall? He moved to grab his coat even as her cell phone continued to ring. By the time it went to voice mail, he had his backpack in hand. He hung up the cell phone and hurried out of his office. Chase was in the hallway, coming back toward the office. He stopped when he saw House charging toward him.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"Home," House said. He brushed past the blonde man on his way to the elevator, leaving Chase staring after him.
