Author's Note: Still don't own House. If I did, I would be in California and it wouldn't be 11 degrees outside either. And I'd get to work with Hugh Laurie.... Anyway, here's the next installment in our little adventure. Someone (thank you again Brighid45) gave me the title Queen of Cliffhangers and I like it. :) It's far more dignified than Pathetic Review Junkie. Tell me what you think!
Chase returned with the dog food a few minutes after Lucas left. Thirteen was holding House's cell phone, pacing the office. Chase set down the dog food bag on the conference room table.
"I just passed Lucas in the lobby. What's he doing here? I thought Cuddy went home."
"House has asked him to find Sarah," Thirteen said.
"Wow. He really is worried." Chase nodded at the phone in her hands. "What are you doing with his phone?"
"I was wondering if I should call her, let her know that Lucas is looking for her."
"That might make her run."
"It might make her understand how worried House really is," countered Thirteen. She would have gone on but Maggie spoke up, barking at the bag of food on the table.
"Someone's hungry," laughed Chase. "Do we have some paper plates around here?" Thirteen put down House's phone to help him find some.
Once the dog was eating, Chase and Thirteen took seats across from each other at the conference room table.
"You aren't falling for House, are you?" Chase asked. Thirteen just stared at him for a minute, completely stunned by the question.
"Why would you ask that?"
"Cameron had a crush on him for a long time. I don't know that she ever really got over it."
"I do not have a crush on House," Thirteen said firmly. "I just think dismissing him as a misanthropic ass is over-simplifying." They both fell silent for a minute and then Thirteen spoke again. "Why are you here tonight? I said I would stay and monitor the patient."
"I want to find out what's going to happen next, with House and his dance instructor," Chase said, getting up from the table and going to retrieve the empty paper plate. Thirteen shifted in her chair so she could follow him with her eyes. She wasn't buying his explanation.
"Curiosity is keeping you here," she said skeptically.
"House let me hit him," Chase blurted out. "That time, a few weeks ago, when he made the crack about calling Cameron. I wasn't really mad at him, I just couldn't get the rest of you to leave me alone. Taub wanted to have me over for Thanksgiving, you were recommending a shrink, and Foreman wanted to go drinking and commiserate about the perils of dating doctors." Chase did a fair impersonation of Foreman on the last bit and Thirteen laughed.
"Foreman would want to make it all about him," she said wryly.
"House knew, when I told him why I hit him. He understood exactly what I'd been trying to accomplish."
"Yeah, that sounds like House." She gave Chase a small smile.
"I'm going to take the dog out," he said, moving to get his coat and the leash. Thirteen nodded. He probably wanted a few minutes to himself; she could respect that. She looked at House's cell phone, resting in front of her on the table, and resumed her internal debate.
House lay in his hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. Asking Cuddy and Lucas for help had been the last thing he'd wanted to do but he'd been so worried for Sarah. He hoped he hadn't made a mistake. Lucas was a thorough investigator. He'd learn as much as he could about Sarah to help him in his search. House didn't think she'd appreciate the invasion of her privacy. He'd told Lucas that he didn't want to know what he learned; he just wanted Sarah back safe.
The door to his room opened and he looked to see Thirteen coming in, followed by Chase who was carrying Maggie. The dog's tail started wagging the second she saw him. House was amazed by how pleased that sight made him feel.
"What are you both doing here?" he asked with a pointed glance at the clock.
"Monitoring the patient," Thirteen said.
"It takes two of you to monitor one patient?" House frowned.
"It takes two of us to monitor one patient and one dog," Chase replied, setting Maggie down beside House. The dog promptly leaned into him again, her tail wagging faster. House petted her automatically, not looking at his fellows. He was grateful for their help but saying thank you had never been easy for him.
"I saw Lucas," Thirteen said. "He came to get your keys."
"He's looking for Sarah," House said, glancing over at her before turning his eyes back to the dog.
"You're really worried about her," Chase said, sounding almost surprised. House looked at him sharply for a second before turning his gaze back to Maggie.
"Yes," he said.
Sarah slipped out of her hotel room. She made her way down the hall to the vending machines, watching warily. She hadn't wanted to leave her room but she knew that she needed to eat before she wound up feeling sick again.
The vending room sat behind and to the left of the reception desk. When Sarah entered, she saw that the door between the desk and the room was open. A man stood at the desk, talking to the clerk. He had dark hair going every which way on his head. He showed something to the clerk. Sarah caught part of what he was saying.
"Her…Sarah…missing. …trying…find…" Sarah sucked in a breath, feeling her heart start to race. She backed away from the room, not taking her eyes off of the man at the front desk. She backed into the hallway and turned to go back to her room. She needed to get out of here.
House had fallen asleep about half-an-hour after Thirteen and Chase arrived in his room. Maggie had gone to sleep beside him. Chase smothered a yawn and Thirteen frowned at him.
"You don't have to stay," she told him. "I can monitor the patient."
"Go monitor him," Chase said, dropping into the room's chair. "I'll stay here with House and Maggie."
"We could bring in a cot for you…"
"I'm fine. Go check on our patient." Thirteen smiled and he stared at her. "What?"
"You sounded just like House," she told him and her smile broadened at the way his jaw dropped. Chuckling softly, Thirteen left him sitting there.
The patient was asleep. His vitals were improving. The treatment was working. Thirteen was relieved to know that the man would recover, but wished that it hadn't been Foreman who'd gotten the diagnosis correct. He would be insufferable until House could find a way to remind him that he wasn't as smart as he thought.
Thirteen went back to the diagnostics office. House's cell phone was sitting on the conference table where she and Chase had left it. She walked over to pick it up, wondering again if she should call Sarah. The woman couldn't keep hiding. Not only was the crazy man hunting for her, but now the police and Lucas Douglass were looking for her too. She found Sarah's number in the contacts listing again and hit "Send." The phone rang twice.
"Hello?" The voice was shaky. Thirteen was so stunned that someone had answered that for a second she said nothing. "Greg, is it you?"
"Sarah, it's Dr. Hadley. Are you ok?"
"No. There's a man here looking for me."
"Mussed up dark hair, scruffy face, light blue eyes?"
"Ye…yes."
"That's Lucas Douglas. He's a private investigator. House asked him to find you."
"Greg did what?"
"He's worried sick about you. He asked Lucas to find you and get you somewhere safe. Sarah, please, go with Lucas."
"I… I have to go. There's someone at the door." Sarah disconnected the call. Thirteen gave a sigh of frustration. She didn't know if she'd gotten through to her or not.
"Sarah, please go with Lucas," Dr. Hadley pleaded. A knock sounded on Sarah's door, derailing her train of thought.
"I… I have to go. There's someone at the door." She ended the call and moved to the door, expecting to find the man from the front desk on the other side. She didn't put the chain on but just opened the door.
"Hello, Sarah," Todd said, stepping forward to clamp a hand over her mouth before she could scream.
