Like Father, Like Son

Chapter 12

"Wilson, need you in clinic. I have someone here - alone, pretty, probably dying, just your type. Her lungs sound like an OCD convention at a bubble wrap factory. One last thing, as terrible as she sounds her pilot light is still lit. There could still be hope. I'm not interested, it's too mundane, but I thought you might be. Oh, and did I say she's pretty?" House disconnected before Wilson could reply that he would be right down.

Without looking at her file, House asked, "Do you have a name?"

"Jewell" she replied in a breathless whisper.

"…first or last name?"

The woman slumped back onto the exam table and House called for clean-up on aisle three as he left the room. He grabbed a file and headed into the next room. Good thing Wilson was on his way down.

Of all the days for House to foist his clinic patients off on Wilson, he couldn't have picked a worse one, as far as Wilson was concerned. At this very moment, he was supposed to be meeting the new intern and taking him off Cuddy's hands, but instead he was arranging a room for one of House's castoffs. He met his assistant, Sandy as she was supervising the patient's move to intensive care. As long as he was there, he decided to make his newest patient's acquaintance, so he stopped the gurney.

"I'm Dr. Wilson…um…" he checked the chart, "Jewell. I will be in to check on you shortly. Sandy will get you all set up in the meantime."

The woman looked up at him with deep brown eyes and nodded. "Thank you," she whispered.

Despite her illness, Wilson saw the same light burning within the woman that House had. Suddenly, he had an intense desire to cure this woman. "I'll see you soon." Wilson nodded to Sandy and watched as she left with his newest patient.

As he was headed to Cuddy's office, Wilson noticed House saying something to Nurse Brenda as he handed her a file. House was acting almost…professional. Maybe he was actually recovering from the events of the past year and finally moving on. The men made eye contact and nodded to each other, and then Wilson turned and headed into Cuddy's office.

Greg and Cuddy looked up as Wilson entered the office. Greg thought the man looked a little harried and apparently Cuddy did too.

"What's House done this time?"

"Remarkably enough, aside from his timing, he's been good. He presented me with an interesting patient and he's being kind to Brenda. Who could ask for more? All we need to do now is get the new intern passed him without incident and we'll have it made!"

As far as Greg could tell, these doctors thought of House as a child that needed careful management. He knew that his father needed special handling, but Wilson was his best friend and it seemed odd that even he seemed to tiptoe around him.

Greg felt an intense desire to take the focus off of his father and so he thrust his hand toward the doctor. "Hello, Dr. Wilson, I'm Greg Dubois. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

"It's nice to meet you, Greg. You may call me Wilson. We have a strange sort of casual formality around here," he chuckled. "You picked a good day to start. I have a new patient. I don't believe that she's a cancer patient, but if House sent her to me, she must hold some sort of interest for me. House doesn't usually gift me with patients so I'm rather curious about her."

Greg started to comment about his dad when he realized that if he did he would blow his cover. Had he opened his mouth, he would have been safe though because there was the slamming of doors and yelling in the clinic.

"I want to talk to whoever is in charge. I have never been treated so rudely!" screamed the clinic patient.

As Cuddy exited her office, she asked rhetorically, "tell me again why I insist on House doing clinic duty?"

Fortunately, the conversation remained loud enough for Greg and Wilson to hear.

"He wants to remove my brain!"

House argued, "Only the part she doesn't use - a total brainectomy."

"House, what have I told you about making outlandish comments like that to the patients?"

"But Cuddy, she doesn't use it and I would be making the world a better place! Seriously, she wouldn't miss it and nobody would notice a difference!" House whined.

"House, apologize," ordered Cuddy.

"Alright," he replied petulantly. House turned to the patient and began. "I'm sorry that you haven't the brain God gave a rubber ducky."

"House!"

"I'm calling my lawyer!"

"Don't worry, Cuddy, dialing a phone takes higher level thinking skills, we're safe."

Curiosity got the better of Cuddy and despite the fact that she knew she shouldn't ask, she couldn't help herself. "House why is she here?"

House smiled. "The impact is greater when said with a straight face." House motioned to the woman to tell her story.

"My hand was stuck in the jelly bean jar."

"Why didn't you just open your hand?" ask Cuddy.

"I would have dropped the jelly beans!"

"House, you win, schedule your surgery!" said Cuddy as she turned to go back into her office.

The woman fled in terror and House went to eat a few jelly beans and take a nap in the exam room.

Cuddy returned to Greg and Wilson rolling her eyes. "Seriously, how does he manage to get these patients?"

Wilson shook his head. "He does seem to have a knack when it comes to getting the idiots!"

"You need to leave now while House is napping. I won't bother him until you're gone"

"How do you know he's napping?" asked Greg.

"He went into an exam room without a file in his hands."

Wilson looked toward the exam room and seeing that House was still there motioned for Greg to follow. "We need to be quick. He has a nose for sneaky behavior, too!"

Once they were on the elevator, Wilson heaved a sigh of relief. I think we'll go check on Jewell first. Then, we'll go to my office and I can answer any questions that you might have.

As they entered the ICU, Wilson stopped by the nurses' desk to get verbal input on Jewell and then they went to her room. A little rehydration had helped Jewell's lucidity considerably and she was alert when Wilson and Greg entered her room.

Jewell looked at Wilson with curiosity as he checked her file. In a barely audible voice, she asked, "Have we met?"

"I introduced myself downstairs in the clinic," responded the doctor. "I'm Dr. James Wilson and this is my trusty sidekick Greg."

The levity of Wilson's comment made Jewell smile and nod. "I remember now. You know, I'm feeling better, now. I think that I just have the flu or something. I really need to go." Jewell started to get up from her bed, but in her weakened condition, all she could do was lift the covers off of her frail body, then lie back down. "But then maybe not…" her voice trailed off as she sank back into a light slumber.

Finally, Wilson took Greg to his office and offered him a seat on the couch. In an effort to determine Greg's powers of observation, Wilson asked, "What do you think of Jewell?"

"She seemed a little preoccupied; like she had someplace else she needed to be. Even though she is so sick that she can barely lift her head off the pillow, she tried to leave. That tells me that she has something or someone to get home to."

"I agree," responded Wilson. "I bet if we're patient we'll find that she has a secret. House seems to think that I have the ability to draw people out, so maybe that's what he saw, too. He doesn't like to get involved with patients, but he can always read them when he does. People think he doesn't get involved because he doesn't care, but I'm inclined to believe that he doesn't get involved because he's prone to care too much."

Greg nodded his head as he absorbed this information about his father. He, too, wondered the same thing. House had certainly been more than generous with him, even though, he had arrived on his doorstep a total stranger. His father hadn't doubted for a minute that Greg was who he said he was.

Wilson and Greg chatted a little longer about privacy issues and other hospital protocol, and then they said their good-byes. Wilson walked Greg to one of the many sets of hospital doors and suggested that these would be the best to use if he were to avoid a certain cranky doctor. They also agreed that Greg's name would be used as little as possible. Wilson suggested it believing that if House has less information about him then he would be less likely to try to intimidate Greg into leaving before it was his turn to take the intern under his wing. Greg, of course agreed because he wasn't interested in his father knowing about his presence in the hospital, just yet.

After his nap House wandered down to the cafeteria and discovered Wilson entering at the same time. House smiled at Wilson as he greeted his meal ticket. They went through the line and as Wilson paid for his lunch, as well as House's Reuben, he thought what he always did, "Tomorrow I'm making House pay. Yeah, someday pigs will fly, too!"

The two men enjoyed their lunches and discussed their mornings. It was determined that Jewell mostly needed rehydration, then once the labs came back that House had ordered, they would decide what to do next.

"Tell me again," Wilson inquired, "Why did you give me Jewell?"

"She looked like she needed someone who cared and your name came to mind. I also thought that you might like a break from cancer."

"House, do I actually hear you caring?"

"Oh, God no… alright, you caught me! I have a hot little number I'm doing and I wanted to distract you so I could take her to the loft and jump her bones without having to put the stethoscope out. It might ruin the impression that everyone in the building has that we're gay!"

"Fine, I'll accept her as a strange sort of gift."

"Consider it the booby prize for letting Cuddy stick you with an intern."

"You're real funny, House. You'll be please to know that the intern seems to have some skills. He's intuitive and that's unusual for an intern. Usually, they are so busy trying not to be wrong that they just defer, but this one has a mind of his own."

"We'll see…" House responded distractedly. As they had been talking and eating, House had been glancing over at a small child sitting alone at a table. She didn't have food in front of her but wasn't watching the line for someone to bring her anything, either. From three tables over, House heard her stomach growl and Wilson even turned in response to the noise.

"I bet she wandered off and someone is looking for her," commented Wilson.

"Security hasn't been notified, though, so no one is missing her, yet." House saw the most mundane situations as potential puzzles and this was no exception.

The child must have felt eyes on her, because she made eye contact with the men and then looked away. She gave no evidence of intending to move, though. Apparently, she had faith that whoever she was waiting for would make an appearance.

After saying good-bye to House, Wilson bussed their tray and headed back to his office to get some work done. House stayed behind and pondered the child for awhile longer. Finally, he made a decision and moved with determination to the cafeteria line. He grabbed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple and a container of chocolate milk. House passed the cashier and ordered her to put it on Wilson's tab. As he was leaving the cafeteria, House tossed the food onto the table where the little girl was sitting and then continued on his way.