Ch 35: A New Face in the Old Crowd

House was a bit more agitated than normal when he arrived at Princeton Plainsboro on Monday morning. Of course he had had mind blowing sex with Cuddy all weekend while his best friend and Thirteen enjoyed practicing for parenthood, but something in his subconscious kept niggling at him. He felt as though there was something he was forgetting and he hated that feeling more than any other feeling in the world. He didn't respond to the greetings of his two employees when he entered the office and logged on to his laptop instead.

"There are a few interesting cases from the E.R. that you might want to check out," Thirteen suggested, holding up a stack of files. Her baby bump was more prominent that ever, House noticed and indicated for her to put the files on his desk. He had to admit that she looked adorable pregnant, even if the child inside her would most likely end up having Wilson's ears.

Taub looked aimlessly around the room making strange shuffling noises with his shoes until House looked up and rolled his eyes. He remembered then what was bothering him and stood up. "Where are you going?" Taub asked.

"Well I wanted to fire you, but Cuddy bargained for your job, which had better mean that you owe her huge…but I'm still only working with two doctors…I need to hire someone else."

"Did Cuddy ask you to hire someone else?" Taub asked.

House narrowed his eyes. "You'd better watch your ass…it's not too late to bargain with Cuddy…" Taub at least had the sense to close his mouth.

"Do you have any prospects?" Thirteen asked as she and Taub followed House down the hall to Wilson's office.

"Not yet…I haven't consulted my secretary yet," he told her. Taub quirked an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Wilson was a bit confused to see House, Thirteen and Taub standing in his doorway at 10 in the morning. "I need your expertise…"

"Hiring strippers for your own bachelor party?" Wilson asked.

"Not until next month," House told him as though he should know these things. "Your other expertise."

"Oh, you want me to sit around with you while you make fun of people! Right…well I'll be down to your office when I finish up this paperwork."

"Now! I'm calling in potential new fellows!" House whined.

Wilson looked up and grinned. "Great. This stuff can wait a few hours. Are you going to let them watch too?" he asked indicating Taub and Thirteen. He stood and grabbed his coffee.

"Good point," House said. "You two can go to the clinic or something…"

"There's a forty year old woman in the E.R. with twitchy eyes and anal bleeding," Thirteen said quickly.

"Well don't just stand there, go get her full workup," House replied. When they scurried off to do his bidding he turned back to Wilson. "I am so glad I kept the hot one…" Wilson rolled his eyes and followed House down to his own office to start calling in interviewees.

Two hours and a plethora of Chinese food later House had lined up six interviews for the afternoon. He and Wilson chatted for a bit about the legitimacy of the anal bleed patient while they waited for the first applicant to show up. He was right on time, of course and Wilson stood to shake his hand as he took a seat in front of House's desk. "Tell me something personal about yourself," House said, dismissing the young man's greeting.

"I've got three goldfish at home named Chopper, Neon, and Peanut," the kid said hopefully.

"Boring," House replied. "I want something juicy…"

"I made out with my first cousin at the senior prom."

"Gross!" he replied, exchanging a shudder with Wilson across the room. "Out!"

"How was that supposed to be interesting?" He demanded when the kid was gone. Wilson shrugged, still attempting to shake the visions of incest out of his head.

The next applicant was a middle aged lady who had gone to med school after having two kids. She was neither smart enough or attractive enough for House to consider her, though he did manage to get a peek at her tramp stamp as she was leaving. A kid still in school, a plain looking, neurotic girl, and a set of twin dieticians later, House was no closer to finding someone to fill the spot he had available.

"We could try again tomorrow," Wilson suggested.

"No. I want a new team member today," House declared.

"You could be here all night with the likes of the crazies that have shown up so far…"

"I'll see if Cuddy wants midnight office sex," House told his friend.

"If you do that I'll observe the interviews from the safety of the differential room."

House laughed. "Fine…we're going to see more people today, though." As the evening wore on, House came to regret that particular idea. He had seen people of all types with very little potential to help him out. The most promising applicant had been an ex-stripper named 'Charmette' with huge implants. It was nearly 11 p.m. when House stood up to leave. "This is ridiculous…"

"Are the interviews still open?" a voice asked from the doorway. House sighed. "Fine…this is the last one though," House replied, looking to Wilson for support. The girl stepped into the light and House was a bit taken aback. She had long dirty blonde hair and chocolate eyes and the sexiest body he had seen outside a porno. She was all curves and creamy skin and he cleared his throat, settling back into his seat.

"Take a seat," he instructed, sharing a look with Wilson. "Why are you so late in showing up? Most people are getting ready to settle into bed or something by now."

"I work the night shift in the morgue," she responded. "I didn't even know you were hiring until I came in a few minutes ago."

"You work in the morgue?" House studied her. "Why do you want this job?"

"Well you're the best, and I've got a degree in medicine with a double specialty of endocrinology and hematology."

"How old are you?" House asked.

"I'll be 27 in December," she responded. "And before you ask, I know I'm young…"

"What's your name?" Wilson asked her.

"Sundai Bailey," she replied.

"Can I ask why you were working in the morgue with that kind of training?" House asked, impressed.

"Well it was the only job open at the time and I wanted to work here. I've been dead set on meeting you since Hopkins…"

"Thanks for coming in," House said, standing. "I've got to get some sleep though.

"Right. We'll thanks for the interview," she said, sticking out her hand. "And it was good to meet you."

He shook her hand. "You'd better get some sleep too if you plan on being here at 8."

"You mean I got the job?" she asked excitedly.

"Yes. Don't get all giddy on me though…I've still got to face the boss when I get into bed and I can't have your perfume all over me."

She beamed at him. "Too bad…" She walked out without another word and left both House and Wilson staring after her.

"This might not have been the best hire for my position," House said after a moment.

"She's good," Wilson argued.

"Too good…that's the problem."

Wilson laughed and clapped his friend on the back. "Well at least you've got your team…"