Title: Mentor
Chapter Nine: Lisa Cuddy
"Dr. Lisa Cuddy." Cuddy tried to sound perky despite the fact that she was going on very little sleep, and House's early morning antics involving a wheelchair and a first year resident, mummified in gauze, hadn't made the day any easier.
"Hello, this is Allison Cameron." Allison's voice chimed in over the receiver, "I got a letter today, and... Is this for real or is House messing with me?"
Shocked at finally hearing this girl's voice, proving her existence, and also proving that she had apparently gotten to know House very well. Not many would think that he was capable of that extreme of a shenanigan, but truth was; he was more than capable of doing something that childish. "Y-yes! About the internship?"
"Well, I'm not eligible for the internship. I haven't even finished pre-med yet, but there's an inclusion in this letter about observations? I am definitely interested in that if it'll help me get an idea of what to expect in the future." Allison was trying to repress any amount of nervousness from her voice, and that came through very clearly to Cuddy.
"Yes, we did invite you to observe the internship program. Are you accepting?"
"YES!... I-I mean... Uh... Yes, I would like to accept."
Lisa laughed, well, at least she was enthusiastic, "Okay, do you have a pen and paper so that I can give you some additional information?"
"Yes."
"Okay, your program begins the third week of June. So, you may wish to arrive sooner to find a place to stay and get settled in-"
"There aren't any dorms or housings?" Allison was alarmed, "I don't mean to be a pain, Dr. Cuddy, I know this is a great opportunity, but I don't know if I can afford rent anywhere in that area for the length of the program."
"I apologise, but a special spot in this program has already been made for you, but unfortunately our housing program could not be altered to include you." Cuddy couldn't see doing any more special favors for this girl, but she didn't want to seem cruel, "I'll ask around and see if anyone in the hospital is looking for a temporary roommate." She sighed, rubbing her eyes.
"I'm sorry." Allison mumbled, "Oh, um, I had a question. Who is Dr. Wilson? This letter says that he was one of the doctors who recommended me."
"He's a close friend of Dr. House and runs the oncology department." Cuddy explained.
"Oh! Is that "Jimmy"?" Allison asked.
"Yes, Dr. James Wilson." Lisa laughed a bit and then thought for a moment, "You know Dr. House pretty well by now, don't you?"
Cuddy heard the pause in Allison's response, "I like to think that I do. I've only seen him in person once back in August of my sophomore year. But I talk to him a lot, and... Yeah, I'd say I know quite a bit about him. Wow, I can't believe I haven't seen him in nearly two years!"
"Well, Dr. Wilson and I are very close friends to Dr. House. We've known him quite a long time, and we both put in a good word for you with our medical director without even meeting you." Lisa was trying to choose her words carefully, "We know next to nothing about you; so, if I may, I'd like to request that you arrive here at least a few days before you intended so that Dr. Wilson and I might meet you."
"I-I understand that you don't want to put all your money on a girl you've never met, but don't you trust Dr. House's judgement?" Allison asked meekly.
Lisa didn't know how to reply. Of course she trusted House's judgement! She knew he was brilliant and a great judge of character, in the sense that he could see talent, lies, and honesty. But she wasn't sure that in this case, House was looking with entirely focused attention. "We trust Dr. House's judgement, however, both Dr. Wilson and I don't commit to anything without seeing with our own eyes. Trust can make you or break you in any situation. We put enough trust in him by extending you the invite without meeting you, but actually letting you attend before an introduction is pushing it."
"Again, I understand."
"All right then. Your involvement with the program begins on June 19th and will run until July 28th. We'll see you then and please have your transcripts sent before boarding your flight. We would also like at least two letters of recommendation from your professors. Any other questions?" Lisa asked.
"No, that will do it. Oh, wait, you said I'd be receiving this same information in the mail?" Allison asked.
"That's right, however, we like to give a heads up over what it pertains to." Lisa checked off Allison's name on the list that she'd had to dig through her drawers to find. "And we look forward to seeing you this June."
"Thank you." Allison replied politely.
"You're welcome." Lisa hung up and rubbed her hands briskly over her face before getting up and strolling to the oncology department. She found Wilson at his desk, "Well, I talked to her."
"Ah, the infamous Allison." Wilson leaned back into his chair, "Does she sound cute?"
Lisa rolled her eyes, "She sounds hot." She said sarcastically. "Actually... In a way she sounds a lot like opposite House."
"Opposite House?"
"Yeah, apologetic, sweet, courteous. You know. Everything House isn't?"
"Why are we talking about me?" House slid in through the doors on Wilson's balcony.
"I just got off the phone with your girlfriend."
"Not my girlfriend." House growled, knowing exactly who Cuddy was referring to.
"Anyway. She's coming to the hospital this June." Lisa supplied.
"What!?" House froze.
"Internship program." Wilson supplied.
"She-"
"Can't intern. Yes, yes. We know. But since I had to make up an excuse for all those damned phone calls you've been making; the medical director is overly intrigued by her. So he had me- ME HOUSE!- had ME make up a position for her in the program just so she could attend! All because you said that she impressed you."
"The Medical Director of this hospital is trying to condition a pre-med student just because I said she impressed me?" House leaned against the wall. "Well hell. I didn't think my opinion was that influential. I still can't get those women in the cafeteria to stop putting pickles on my reubens."
"Damn it, Greg!" Wilson shouted, "If this girl is anything less than fucking spectacular, Lisa and I are going to burn for it. Don't you get it? Our names are right next to yours saying that this girl's a fucking genius. And if she isn't, then we lose credibility." The oncologist looked both nervous and furious.
"Relax, Jimmy." House walked to the couch and flopped onto it. "You'll be fine."
"Just, please tell me that you judged her by her brain and not by her body." Lisa finally spoke again, her own anxiousness making House uneasy.
"She's got the brain." House said firmly, "She's got the ability, but Wilson, I'm gonna need your help on the other part."
"What other part?" Wilson snapped his head up, afraid of the "other part" House referred to. "Not that other part... Greg, you can't... Teach people to cope with death. Everyone does it in their own way."
"That's just it... She never has, and I need you to show her some dying people."
"WHAT!?" Wilson stood up.
"Oh, come on Jimmy, you can do it! Just give her the tour, introduce her to a few of the terminals and gage her reactions based on remaining shelf life!" House provided.
"How a sweet girl like her can like someone like you, is beyond me." Lisa groaned, flopping into a free chair.
"Ha." House rolled his eyes, "She likes me for the fact that a letter of recommendation can get her into any medical school-"
"Besides Johns Hopkins." Wilson interjected.
"Besides Hopkins." House agreed.
"If I remember correctly, didn't she tell you to shove that letter up your ass?" Lisa leered. "Apparently she's not as sweet as she sounds."
"Depends on how angry I get her." House shrugged as he stood up, "By the way, when you talk to her, don't sound in the least bit condescending. She apparently takes offense to that." He slid back out the balcony door and left Lisa and James to their conjoined thoughts.
"How fucked do you think we are?" Lisa asked.
"Extremely." Wilson replied with his own worried sigh.
-----------------------------------
For some strange reason, House wasn't surprised to return to his office and find a ringing phone. Picking it up, he greeted, "Ally?"
"How'd you know it was me?"
"Just a feeling." House leaned against his desk, "I heard about the invitation. Congratulations."
"Thanks, but I don't think Dr. Cuddy likes me."
"Nah, she's just cautious. You'll be fine." House assured. "So, have you talked to your family yet?"
"Yeah, I called them before calling Dr. Cuddy. My mom's going to drop me off at the airport." She took a deep breath, "Dr. Cuddy said she'd be talking to some doctors about putting me up for a couple of months. I'm kind of nervous about living out of state with someone I don't know."
"You're not getting any housing agreements?" House thought about it for a moment, "Well, that figures, doesn't it?" He rolled his eyes, "Well, I've got a pull out couch if it comes down to it."
Allison laughed, "Yay, a pull out couch! I'm sure my lumbar vertabrae will be very pleased after two months of sleeping on springs."
"Well, it's actually kind of comfy." House thought for a minute before shaking his head, "Anyway, I'm sure Lisa will figure something out."
"I hope so." Allison sighed, "Can you tell Dr. Cuddy that I'll be arriving the first weekend of June? She asked me to appear earlier because of boarding, and because she wants to meet me before letting me appear at the hospital."
House rolled his eyes; leave it to Cuddy to be paranoid about his judgement. "Unfortunately for you, Cuddy believes I have been blinded by a beautiful woman and my judgement has been left impaired." He grabbed his bottle of water.
There was a long string of silence before Allison spoke again, her voice was uncommonly husky with a edge of sultry heat when she finally spoke, "And were you?"
"Was I what?" House took a swig from his water bottle, ignoring the tone in her voice and the shivers it sent down his body.
"Impaired by a beautiful woman?"
House choked on the gulp of fluid and started hacking, "Wrong pipe." He wheezed. That question had thrown him off guard. In the long time they had been talking, their conversations had never implied anything deeper than an increasingly growing friendship. Now, out of the blue, Allison had just implied... House hacked again when his heart pounded furiously.
"Are you okay!?" Allison's voice went back to its usual pitch as she could still hear him coughing.
"Fine." House cleared his throat, "It's been a long time since I've done that." He could still feel water rattling in the back of his throat, so he coughed again to dislodge it. "Hey, I've got to go. I think I've just water logged my lung." House coughed again to avoid answering her question.
"Oh, okay. Bye-" House hung up and began pacing before he ran to his balcony door and ran to Wilson's office.
"EMERGENCY!" House shouted, surprising Wilson and Cuddy, who was still chatting with the oncologist.
"Woah, what's going on?" Cuddy shot up from her perch in the overstuffed chair.
"I think Allison's flirting with me." House's eyes were big.
"Well, duh." Cuddy rolled her eyes.
"What do you mean, "duh", oh Countess of Cleavage?" House glared at Cuddy.
"I mean, of course she's flirting with you. She likes you, House." Cuddy smacked him upside the head.
"Why would she like me like that!? I'm not even that likable. Ask anyone!" House ranted, starting to pace in Wilson's office.
"We know this, Greg." Wilson assured, "Just wait until Allison sees how you interact with the hospital staff. I'm sure her little crush will disappear after she realizes just how much of a bastard you are." He saw House's expression falter for a split second, "Unless, you don't want her to stop crushing on you."
House paused.
"Oh hell. We knew that you had a crush on her too, but House, come on! Do you know how much trouble you're going to get us in!?" Cuddy lashed out. "God damnit, House!" She whacked him with one of Wilson's patient files. "Do you realize that if the medical director finds out that you've got a crush on this girl, he's going to drop her like a rattlesnake!?" She placed her hands firmly on her hips, "You're not just risking mine and Wilson's careers. You're risking hers too!"
"He's not going to find out, because this isn't getting any further." House grunted, pacing with an increased anxiety.
"Greg-"
"No! It's done. It's over." House flung his hands outward.
"She will be here in a few months, what do you plan to do? Run the other direction when you bump into her in the hallway? This isn't high school, House." Wilson pointed out. Though the oncologist was worried about his credibility being questioned, he knew from House's behaviors over the last year, that he had deep feelings for this girl. And despite wanting to save his own ass, Wilson wanted to see his friend happy.
"Well, then what do you suggest, Jimmy!?" House shouted at his friend.
"We can keep this under wraps." Lisa threw in breathlessly. "You two just need to stay away from each other near and at the hospital. Anywhere that someone might recognize you." She clasped her hands together for finality.
"You two are... Do you realize... This is crazy." House finally muttered. "It's not like we're lovers. Or even seeing each other or... There's nothing to hide!"
"Yes, there is something to hide. The fact that you have a thing for this girl. Sorry to say it, House, but no one's going to take her seriously if they think you helped her in hopes of eh... You know." Wilson gesticulated wildly with his arms.
"I believe the word you're looking for, Jimmy, is "fucking". Don't worry, we're all grown adults. And hell, you've been married twice, so you must have gotten laid at some point." House supplied his friend.
"What I'm getting at is... Just don't do anything around the hospital that may discredit you or your opinion of her. You have to be the same bastard to her as you are to anyone else." Wilson finally managed to spit out.
"Then we have a problem already." House flopped into his chair.
"What could you possibly have managed to fuck up in the last 5 minutes!?" Cuddy shouted disbelievingly.
"I invited her to stay with me during the duration of summer quarter." House rubbed his eyes.
The three occupants of the room went completely silent. "She can stay with me." Cuddy threw her hands in the air.
House stood up and resumed his pacing. "This is getting out of control very quickly." He muttered, jumping when Cuddy's pager went off.
"It's the director." Cuddy said, clipping her pager back onto her waist band. "We'll talk about this later." Lisa walked out the door.
"Yay, just what I always wanted, Cuddy lecturing me." House grumbled, "If she ever becomes the medical director of this hospital, remind me to resign."
TBC
A/N- Yay plot conflicts! They make it more interesting, don't they?... Review si'l vous plait! -Andi