Woody sighed as he opened his eyes and saw Wilson standing at his bedside holding a chart, "Detective Hoyt, how are you feeling?" Wilson asked in a concerned voice. "You just had surgery yesterday, I…"

"Can I try chemotherapy?" Woody asked in a tired voice. "The thought of radiation scares me."

Wilson looked very anxious at hearing that, "I'm not sure how effective chemotherapy will be, but if you really want chemo, we can try it," he replied gently. "Why does the thought of radiation scare you?"

"I'm slightly claustrophobic," Woody replied in a tired voice, a distressed look filling his tired eyes as he found himself suddenly remembering the reason for his claustrophobia. "When I was younger, I was a little rebel and I would be turned upside down and stuff me into trash cans as punishment and…"

Wilson's eyes widened slightly, but he said nothing, "One time, it was done so forcefully that I ended up with a skull fracture and that was when Social Services and the police got involved," Woody explained in a tired voice as he struggled not to break down in tears. "I was in the hospital for a week before I found out that Annie, Calvin, and I had become wards of the state. When I was 10, House took us all in and treated us like we were his own, but Calvin got kicked out when he was 16 because of habits…"

"If you're feeling up to it, I can see if we can go to oncology and get you started on chemo," Wilson offered, making a mental note to talk to House later about Woody. "I don't know if it'll work."

Woody sighed, "Better to try it and fail instead of not trying it at all," he replied in a tired voice.

"You shouldn't gamble with your survival," Wilson said as he walked over to the phone.

Woody merely made a face and kept silent as Wilson quickly skimmed the list of numbers of various hospital departments, found the right number, and dialed Oncology to discuss Woody's treatment.

"This is the most colorful school I've ever seen," House commented as he followed Annie and Daniel down the hallway of the school where Annie was registering Daniel. "Why'd you pick this one?"

Annie shrugged as she handed Daniel a small backpack that she had found in Woody's closet and filled with as many school supplies as her father had insisted on buying, "I'll get you your own backpack when I get my first check, I promise," she said in a gentle voice as they came to a stop outside of a classroom.

"I love you, Mommy," Daniel replied softly. "Will you or Grandpa House come get me after school?"

Annie nodded, "One of us will," she promised, smiling as Daniel hugged her. "Have a good day."

Daniel nodded as he released Annie and quietly went into the classroom, "I don't want to go to work today," Annie commented as she turned and began to walk away from the classroom. "When you phoned me this morning and told me what Doctor Townsend had done last night, I felt…"

"Horribly exposed?" House replied in a rough tone. "I don't blame you one bit for not wanting to go into work today since Wilson thinks that Doctor Townsend's behavior was creepy, but you get paid at work."

Annie sighed, "I want to at least visit Woody before I go to work," she said in an anxious voice. "Okay?"

"All right," House replied, leaning on his cane heavily as he walked with Annie towards the school exit.

"I got not one, but two calls about your behavior last night and I'm disgusted," Garrett said in a sharp voice as he sat behind his desk, glaring up at Nigel. "I made myself perfectly clear when I told you to stop snooping into Doctor Hoyt's past and you chose to ignore me. Do you value your job, Nigel?"

Nigel nodded and offered the paper to Garrett, "There's a six month gap between her internship and residency, why?" he asked in a curious voice, flinching as Garrett snatched the paper out of his hand.

"That's nobody's business but Doctor Hoyt's," Garrett snapped as he crumpled the paper and threw it into the nearly empty wastebasket beside his desk. "I also heard that on top of trying to phone Doctor Switzer and storming into a strange hotel, you also tried using a computer here to access her resume."

Nigel sighed, "Jordan told you," he commented, seeing no point in lying about what he had done.

"Yes, because she is worried about this sudden obsession you have with Doctor Hoyt," Garrett replied in a less commanding voice as he shuffled papers around on his desk. "I don't want to have to fire you for unprofessional behavior, but I can't really ignore this either. I want to put you on nights for a while."

Nigel scoffed, "Nights?" he asked in a shocked voice. "Nothing exciting ever happens here at night."

"You'll work with either Jordan or Bug, but mostly Jordan because I want to keep Bug on days for a little while," Garrett replied, acting as if he hadn't heard Nigel's protest. "Consider this an official warning."

Shocked by Garrett's anger, Nigel nodded, "Go home and get some rest, Nigel," Garrett said in a voice that dared Nigel to argue with him. "You'll do your first night shift tonight with Jordan."

Swallowing hard, Nigel nodded and stormed out of the office before he was tempted to punch Garrett.

"I hope this old key still works," Calvin muttered as he jammed an old key into Woody's apartment door and grinned as the door opened. "Stupid idiot forgot that he gave me access to his keys last time."

Stuffing the key back into the pocket of his raggedy jeans, Calvin entered the apartment and quickly closed the door so that nobody else in the building would suspect trouble. He saw a sleeping bag on the couch and three bags, two suitcases and a backpack, sitting on the floor by the bookshelf and he quickly hurried over to them, hoping that there were drugs or money that he could get his grubby hands on.

A tag labeled 'Greg House' that was hanging on the handle of the backpack caught his eye, "Ah, daddy dearest brought a backpack and he's obviously staying here!" Calvin said in an excited voice as he unzipped the backpack and found a huge bottle of Vicodin in it that was sealed with a proofed lid.

"Still got your leg pain, Daddy dearest?" Calvin asked in an amused voice as he pocketed the pills and moved away from the backpack to the bedroom. "I wonder if Woody's got any money hidden?"

Knocking over whatever he could as he walked, Calvin entered Woody's bedroom and grinned at seeing the gun on the dresser, "I should finish off that crippled old man," he hissed as he took the gun and put it in his other pocket before leaving the bedroom. "He had no business kicking me out at 16."

Filled with thoughts of turmoil and hate, Calvin stormed out of Woody's bedroom and the apartment, not bothering to lock the door. He would find his crippled old man and make him pay dearly. Since Greg House was a doctor, Calvin reasoned, it would make sense for him to check the local hospital first.

"Now, just lie there and the machine will do the work," the nurse explained in a patronizing voice as she forced a pillow behind Woody's back as he lay on the gurney with a shunt in his right arm that had a tube in it that was connected to a machine designed to administer chemotherapy drugs. "Once you're done this week's session, I'll be back to disconnect the machine so you can have a good sleep."

Too tired to tell the nurse to quit talking to him like he was a child, Woody nodded and closed his eyes so that he didn't have to look at the machine, "How's the chemo treating you?" he suddenly heard a gentle voice ask as footsteps entered the hospital room. "I warn you now that it'll make you sick."

"Doctor Wilson?" Woody asked softly, opening his eyes and seeing Wilson standing at his bedside.

Wilson, who was wearing clean scrubs and sneakers, nodded and offered Woody a bedpan he had swiped from a supply cart, "I thought you could use this," he explained, setting the bedpan in Woody's hands. "That nurse that was just in nearly bit my head off until I told her I'm your oncologist."

Feeling his eyes beginning to droop, Woody nodded and Wilson smiled, "Get some rest and I'll come back in a few hours to check on you," he stated gently, seeing that Woody was tired. "Just know that you probably won't feel like doing much but sleeping, but be sure to drink plenty of fluids."

"Mhm," Woody mumbled sleepily, allowing his eyes to close as Wilson quietly left the hospital room.

"Gregory House, how could you let your son do chemotherapy of all treatments for a cancerous meningioma?!" Cuddy snapped as she saw House and Annie come into the hospital lobby where she was looking through her emails on her laptop before going back up to visit Wilson. "It's irresponsible!"

House frowned, "Chemotherapy?" he asked in a confused voice. "Woody chose chemotherapy?"

"That's what Wilson said and he arranged it," Cuddy snapped. "Chemotherapy won't work…"

Annie's eyes narrowed and she glared at Cuddy, "Doctor Cuddy, I know you're quite knowledgeable and skilled in the field of medicine, but the wishes of patients have to be respected," she stated in a very House-like tone of voice. "My brother is of sound mind to be making his own decisions. Respect that."

"Chemotherapy is only a stopgap measure," Cuddy replied anxiously. "Radiation is a lot more effective."

Annie sighed, "Effective, maybe, but not comfortable for the patient," she snapped. "There's a lot more to medicine than the science; it's about helping patients in a way that they're comfortable with."

Before Cuddy could reply, Annie walked off, but instead of going to the elevators, she turned and went down the corridor towards the Emergency Room, "Where's she going?" Cuddy asked softly.

"Go tell Wilson we're coming," House replied coldly, wondering what had gotten into his daughter.

Cuddy's eyes widened in confusion as she watched House walk off towards the Emergency Room.

Dr. Macy waited patiently in a row of plastic chairs, silently watching as Annie talked to a female doctor at the desk about the bloodwork that had been redone the day before. He wouldn't normally get involved in an employee's business, but he had brought Bug into the ER for a further examination and had spotted Annie there, so he had decided to see if Annie was all right while he waited for Bug.

The doctor handed Annie an envelope and as she turned away from the doctor, Annie froze at seeing Dr. Macy, "Doctor Macy, what are you doing here?" she asked nervously, holding the envelope close as she approached the chairs where he was sitting. "I-I didn't expect to see you here at this time of day."

"That makes two of us, Doctor Hoyt," Dr. Macy replied pleasantly. "I'm here with Doctor Vijay."

Annie nodded, but didn't say anything, "I want you to know that I put Nigel on nights for a while with Jordan, so he should hopefully leave you alone," Dr. Macy continued. "I'm sorry for the harassment."

"It's not a problem you own, Doctor Macy," Annie replied nervously. "No need to apologize for it."

Dr. Macy nodded, "Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently. "It might help you to feel…"

"No," Annie replied softly, clutching the envelope as if it were gold. "The tests were customary…"

Before Dr. Macy could reply, Annie stood up, "Please, Doctor Macy, don't tell anyone about this," she commented nervously. "I've just made a fresh start here and if that were to be taken away from me…"

Suddenly, Bug came out of the exam room looking tired and shaken, "Doctor Vijay," Annie spoke in a respectful voice, recognizing signs in Bug that she had seen in herself following her release.

"Doctor Hoyt, hi," Bug replied nervously, not noticing Calvin enter the ER and walk straight to the elevators, intending to search the hospital floor by floor until he found his dear foster father.

Annie smiled, but didn't say anything, "I'm healthy," Bug stated, gazing at Dr. Macy expectantly.

"Good," Dr. Macy replied in a gentle, reassuring voice. "Would you like the day off today?"

Bug nodded, "I'll drive you home, then," Dr. Macy replied calmly. "See you later, Doctor Hoyt."

Annie nodded and fought the urge to cry as Dr. Macy and Bug left, "Tearing up, dear child?" she suddenly heard her father ask softly as footsteps approached. "Did you get your results back?"

"They were all negative," Annie replied anxiously as she turned to face her father. "All of them."

House nodded and silently pulled Annie into a hug, "Good," he replied calmly. "Very good."

"I need to get to work and pray that Doctor Townsend isn't there," Annie said anxiously.

House blinked, "You have another man harassing you?" he asked in an annoyed voice. "A doctor?"

"He knows about my past and keeps trying to bring it up to Doctor Macy, but Doctor Switzer already told him," Annie replied in a distressed voice. "Doctor Macy and I talked about it before I moved to Boston."

House sighed, "If you feel yourself getting in too deep, call me," he replied gently. "Promise you will."

"I promise, Dad," Annie replied softly, offering a small smile. "Are you going to stay with Woody?"

Again, House nodded, "Your brother's stubborn, but I've worked with stubborn," he replied calmly.

Before Annie could reply, the cell-phone she borrowed from Woody went off in her pocket and she quickly answered it, "Hello?" she asked curtly. "I'm borrowing my brother's cell-phone and…"

There was silence and Annie's eyes widened, "What?" she asked in a shocked voice. "When?"

House frowned and Annie moved the phone away from her ear, "Woody's apartment was broken into and trashed," Annie whispered anxiously. "A neighbor found the mess and called the police about it."

"Calvin," House hissed in an angry voice as Annie returned her attention to the phone. "That swine."

Unbeknownst to anyone, however, Calvin had managed to get inside the hospital and don a pair of scrubs before hiding the stolen gun in the waistband of the pants and covering it with his shirt to avoid scrutiny by Security. He had been going on to every floor in an attempt to find Woody and House, but hadn't seen either of them and was getting annoyed. To him, Woody should be easy to find.

As Calvin wandered into the Oncology unit, however, he spotted Woody in a room with an IV in his arm that was connected to a machine, "Ah haha," Calvin chuckled softly as he approached the glass wall.

"What do you think you're doing?" a shrill voice suddenly spoke behind Calvin. "Get away from there!"

Calvin's eyebrows raised as he turned around and saw a nurse standing behind him looking angry, "This is a private area and you need to get back to work!" the nurse snapped at him. "Go clean something!"

"Oh, I'm here to get some work done," Calvin said coolly as he cocked the gun and aimed it at her.

The nurse's eyes widened as Calvin fired and she fell to the ground with the wide-eyed expression still on her pale face. As blood stained the floor, Calvin stepped over the nurse and entered Woody's room.

"Goody-two-shoes brat," Calvin hissed as he threw the gun on the floor at the foot of the bed before silently leaving before anyone showed up that could connect him to the murder he had just committed.

The sight of police officers combing Woody's apartment frightened Annie as she approached the open door and saw the damage, "You can't be here," an officer said calmly, poking his head out the door. "This is a crime scene."

"My daughter has been staying at her brother's apartment, you condescending pig," House hissed as he came up behind Annie and glared at the officer who had poked his head out. "With her young son."

House's glare caused the officer to nod and House sighed, "What's missing?" he finally asked crossly.

"A backpack was rummaged through and the main bedroom was also torn apart," the officer squeaked.

House's eyes narrowed and he limped into the apartment over to the area where he kept his backpack and other things, "My Vicodin's gone for one," he said, not seeing the bottle. "Any idiot can see that."

There was an uneasy silence and the officer's radio suddenly beeped, "All units be advised that there was a shooting at the hospital and one suspect has been taken into custody," a toneless voice spoke just as House's cell-phone buzzed in the pocket of his jeans. "The suspect is an officer of the law…"

Feeling very uneasy, House fished his cell-phone out of his pocket, "What?!" he snapped as he answered it, only being quiet for a moment before his eyes widened in anger. "Are you absolutely serious?!"

House was quiet for a moment and then clicked the phone off, "Apparently, Woody's nurse was found shot to death outside his chemo room and whoever did it threw the gun at Woody's bed," he snapped as he made his way out into the hallway. "The police, in all their infinite wisdom, decided that since Woody was right there in range of the gun, to haul him out of bed and down to the city precinct."

"Woody's in the middle of chemo!" Annie replied angrily. "He should be resting, not running around!"

As House and Annie hurried down the hallway to the elevator, House nodded, "Wilson's headed to the precinct to see what's going on, as is Cuddy," he explained in an anxious voice. "I'm sure that your dear boss, Doctor Macy, and your other colleagues will be told about the incident soon enough since you all work in a morgue and will need to take care of the body. You don't have to come if it's going to be…"

"Woody's my brother, Dad," Annie interrupted him in a stern voice. "Just try and stop me from coming."

House nodded, stepping into the elevator, "Even so, I think you need to go to work and update your boss on what's going on before the saintly police do," he replied calmly. "Can you please do that?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Annie replied in an anxious voice, quickly joining him. "I'll do it for Woody."

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