Chapter 53.

Jess walked out of my office with a look of concentration on her face, as if she were rehashing our entire conversation. She didn't even notice Wilson, or hear him call after her.

He stormed into my office. "What the hell did you say to her now?"

I shrugged. "We just had a little contretemps about the data for the study."

"I'll bet you did! House, you can't treat her like that!"

"Why not? I treat everyone like that. I'm an equal opportunity curmudgeon." It was hard restraining the laughter that was threatening to explode. This was better than anything we'd planned.

He started to say something. I'm sure it would have been quite scathing if he'd been able to get it out, but all he did was wave his forefinger at me and open his mouth, then close it again.

My phone rang and I held up my own finger. "Hold the thought." Then I answered the expected call from Bonnie. How could I phrase what I had to say without Wilson finding out what we were talking about? Or would it be better if he did know? "You again," I finally said.

Bonnie informed me of the counteroffer.

"Two sixty," I told her.

"You'd better be serious about this," she said.

"Of course I am. Two sixty."

"I'll let you know what the other bidder says." She ended the call.

"Two sixty?" Wilson asked. "Oh, wait. Two hundred and sixty thousand? Was that Bonnie? Are you making an offer on one of the places she showed you?"

"I knew she told you about that."

"Well, she...I...what place are you talking about?" He stopped and stared at me. "Don't tell me you're bidding against Jess!"

"How should I know who I'm bidding against?"

"Don't you care?"

"Do you know me? And what right do you have to berate me? Remember, it was you who stole the loft right out from under Cuddy's nose." I had him there and I could see from his frown that he knew it.

"There have to be other places," he countered lamely.

"Not with a jacuzzi tub, hardwood floors, and real oak trim. You should be happy that I want to make a change, move into a place that's bigger, lighter and airier than my apartment."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times again, like a fish, and nothing came out, also like a fish. He'd been giving up too easily in our little chats lately, but I just accepted that and watched as he walked away. His annoyance with me showed that he hadn't noticed any of the body language when Jess and I had been talking earlier. I'd been afraid it had revealed our relationship.

It was a little annoying that Bonnie was being so efficient in getting back to me and Jess after each of us made an offer. She seemed to be anxious to make this sale, more than I'd ever seen her in the past. I wondered how much she knew about my professional relationship with Jess. She had to know that Jess worked at PPTH, since Wilson had sent her to Bonnie. Well, I certainly wasn't going to tell her any more. She'd only go running to Wilson with whatever I said.

I wasn't alone for long. Taub entered without knocking and told me, "We've got a case." We'd all been afraid that might happen, cutting into the team's time for the study, but I knew it couldn't be helped. I reached out for one of the files he held. "I think we can continue to examine the subjects and collect data while we diagnose this one," he said, but he didn't look so certain.

"We can only do that if everyone's on board."

"House, this study has become important to all of us, but we won't neglect the patient. Should I get the others?"

"I'll page them."

Foreman was the first to show up. "This better be as important as you say. I was down in the lab, trying to speed-up the analysis of the latest samples."

"We've got a case," Taub repeated as he handed over a copy of the file.

Foreman grimaced until he took a look at the patient's symptoms. Then he began to nod, sighing deeply.

Thirteen arrived with Chase. "What's up?" she asked.

"New case," I said.

They also examined the information in the folders Taub gave them.

"What about the study?" Chase asked once he'd read it through.

"It goes on. We do both at the same time."

"It shouldn't take long to find out what's wrong with her," Thirteen guessed.

"You think?" I challenged.

They began throwing out possible diagnoses: sarcoidosis, amyloidosis, meningitis, and leukemia seemed the most likely.

"Check the spleen and biopsy the bone marrow and a sample from the salivary gland," I ordered.

"What about blood tests?" Foreman asked.

"Weren't those already done?" I examined the record again. "It looks like there's a high platelet count," I pointed to the most recent results, obtained earlier in the week.

"It can't hurt to repeat," Taub said.

"Why don't the two of you start the tests while Hadley and I finish up with the test subjects for the day?" Chase suggested, but then looked at me to gage my reaction.

"That'll work." I watched my team troop out. Less certain than Thirteen that this would be an easy solve, I went to my book shelves and found one of the texts I'd consulted often before. The patient's symptoms sure looked like amyloidosis, but that could only be confirmed if they found evidence of amyloid deposits. Of course, the disease took different forms, depending on what organs were affected.

I could speculate, but it would be a waste of time unless I knew for certain what we were dealing with. So I just sat back to wait.

I was no longer surprised when suddenly efficient Bonnie called fifteen minutes later to tell me Jess' latest offer. "You know, House, there are other places I can show you."

"Did Wilson tell you to dissuade me from bidding on the place?"

"Well, I..."

"Yeah, I thought so. Sorry. It won't work. That's the one I want."

"But the other bidder is looking for a place for herself and her boyfriend and she's not going to be able to go much higher than this." She hesitated. "She works at the hospital, too. Very nice woman."

"Don't care. Two seventy." I closed the connection. We'd gotten close to our limit much quicker than I'd expected. Now what would we do? I had to talk to Jess without arousing suspicion.

The best excuse I could think of for approaching her was to demand that she tell me what progress she was making on changing the metrics of the study. It was pretty lame, and I hoped it wouldn't lead to a discussion like our last one. I didn't know why, but that one left me feeling a little unsettled.

Luckily Jess was alone at her computer, intent on the screen in front of her. I watched her fingers fly over the keys, her mouth set in a firm line. The furrow in the bridge of her nose deepened, and she stopped typing momentarily, then resumed.

"Is there a problem?" I asked.

Her entire body jerked as her eyes swiveled to me. "Not a problem, it just needs a systematic approach. What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk."

"What is it this time?"

"We're getting too close to our maximum offer. I didn't think Bonnie would move this quickly."

"She does seem rather eager." She paused. "Do you think I can put her off by saying I've decided I need my boyfriend's opinion on the place before I go any higher?"

"That's an idea," I said.

"And, of course, it won't be easy for me to arrange for 'him' to see the place."

I nodded. "That might buy us a day or two."

"Greg, we're going to have to come clean at some point, you know. We can't play this game forever."

"But we have to pick the time, place and way that people find out."

She grinned. "I'm sure you'll think of just the right way to do it."