The Ghosts of the Past

by purpleu

That which haunts us doesn't exist only in our minds. As an image on a screen preys on House's psyche, he learns that some who have touched upon his life are in pain, too. When they come knocking, seeking his help, will he slam the door on them, or will he relent and let in "The Ghosts of the Past."

14. Chapter 14

"Ghosts of the Past"

Chapter Fourteen – "A Haunted House"

By: purpleu

House put his key into the lock and opened the door to his apartment, an action he had performed countless times over the years. He tossed his keys onto the desk in the vestibule, dropped his backpack on the floor, hung his cane up on the overhead hook in the same place he always had, and walked into the living room. House set the bag of Chinese food he had picked up down on the coffee table, and started to take account of what the room looked like. Most of the books that had lined the shelves were packed up, as was the sheet music that used to sit on top of the piano. All but a few video games were gone; they, too were boxed up, but at least the TV was still there. Heading into the kitchen to get utensils to eat with, he found a bare minimum of plates, forks and knives that had not been wrapped up and placed in a box along with pots and pans. Looking inside the refrigerator, he saw it was nearly empty. After laying the items he had retrieved from the kitchen next to his food, House made his way down to the bedroom and looked in. Lydia had changed the sheets and neatly remade the bed after they had spent a fun, intimate weekend at the apartment; the stained glass candle holders that House had given her were still on their respective nightstands, and the cork from the champagne bottle had rolled onto the floor. The open closet door caught his eye; inside, a few pieces of clothing remained. But most noticeable were the empty hangers, taunting him as they hung devoid of another's presence.

The entire place was a silent reminder of a life in flux, a transition half-way between two worlds; and as he looked around, it smacked House right in the face. For the first time since he had moved in all those years ago, he felt like he didn't belong here. Then again, he wasn't sure he had the right to assume he belonged anywhere else.

Shaking off the feelings given him by his once and possibly future home, House returned to the living room to make an attempt at eating his dinner. Glad to see there was still some Macallan's left in the bottle that sat on the bookshelf, House took a glass from the kitchen and poured himself a drink. He had stopped at the liquor store and picked up a bottle just in case, but it was good to have the extra whiskey available to him. Forcing himself to sit down in front of his food, House took a seat on the couch and began to unpack the paper bag; an egg roll, moo shu pork, and extra pancakes for the moo shu. Why he bothered to order the extra, he didn't know; he wasn't hungry. He nibbled on the egg roll as he flipped through the television channels for something to watch. After a while, he gave up and put the radio on. His favorite jazz/blues station offered familiar tunes that House found soothing and comforting; with them playing in the background, he actually managed to do a decent job of eating his food.

After cleaning the dishes and storing away the leftovers, House returned to the living room, and settled in on the couch. He knew he should be thinking about his issues in regards to his relationship with Lydia, but the confrontation that awaited him tomorrow with Stein also nagged at him. One misspoken word, and the man would get away with murder… literally, it would seem after a patient under Stein's care died at the facility the state was investigating. At least Arlene had been insistent about seeking another opinion for her daughter. House knew it was just delaying the not-too-distant inevitable conclusion, but Cuddy's Health Care Proxy did designate that all means should be taken to keep her alive, not be slowly and painfully killed like Stein had been doing. House sighed. At least he had Kyle James' guidance to keep the case against Stein on the right track.

In the case of his worn and battered psyche versus his future with Lydia, he had no one to guide him. Of course he had Wilson's and Annie's opinions, and he could only imagine what Bell would have to say; but they did not hold unbiased thoughts on the subject. They all liked Lydia, liked House and Lydia as a couple. House smiled; he liked her, too. That was one of the things eating away at House the most; he liked and respected Lydia as a person as well as being in love with her as a woman. That was a huge plus too many people forget when they think about their future with someone. He never forgot what one of his fellow residents said about his own fiancée way back when; "I don't like her, but I love her and we have good sex, so it'll work." The marriage didn't last two years.

Lydia possessed all the qualities House would want in a woman to share his life with, and more. He never felt she was using him; in fact one of his concerns was that he was using her. She had a protective, nurturing quality about her, yet she never made him feel like there was anything about him that needed "fixing;" he felt better about himself and the person he was by just being around her. No one ever brought those qualities out in him like this, probably because he never let anyone else try. There was a trust with Lydia he never had with any other woman. In thinking through so many things, he revisited his relationship with Stacy in his mind many, many times recently. If it weren't for his damn leg, they would have had a real chance at something long term, maybe permanent. But even disregarding the leg, he could never fully open up to her. Maybe if he had…

House had no interest in sorting that out right now. His behavior with Stacy and the end result, hurt both of them; he would regret that for a long, long time to come. But now he was with Lydia; he was in love with her, and wanted to work out his demons so he could stay with her. He just had to settle down his questions and doubts, all directed at himself. For instance, he thought perhaps he was taking advantage of Lydia's good nature and kindness… and her love for him. Was he in this relationship to avoid being alone? He accepted the idea of being solitary, and thought it was the best way to be until he met Lydia. Then, without doing anything except being herself and falling in love with him, she changed his mind. What happens if he goes forward with her, and then finds out that he was wrong to believe that he could handle being with someone; that he really was better off alone? Or worse, that he did something to alienate and push away Lydia and was alone not by choice? He had visions of how both of them would feel, not to mention how it would devastate the kids if things didn't work out. He didn't know if he could take that kind of hurt again and he certainly didn't want to hurt Lydia; like Stacy, she didn't deserve it. So had Sara, Stacy, and Cuddy even, all just been the means to plug in the hollow spaces one feels inside when they're alone… and now it was Lydia's turn? Or had he allowed himself to genuinely fall in love with her because he knew he could trust her, love her and have this relationship work out for once? You know what your problem is, House? You have everything you've ever wanted… and you don't know what to do with it. Wilson was right… he did have what he wanted. But what people on the outside looking in fail to realize, is that as much as having those things brought happiness, for someone lacking it in his life for so long, it was overwhelming, too.

Of course, as there always was with anything negative in House's life, there was John House. He knew Flyboy's opinion of his long-ago engagement, remembered all too well the nasty, cutting remarks made toward him and Sara. There was something else, too, that House had just discovered when cleaning out his mother's home. It cast a glaring, negative light on both Sara and John and he probably would never be able to get it out of his head; the only thing that he knew would help him deal with it, would be talking to Lydia… as always.

Turning off the radio and rising from the couch, House took the bottle of whiskey from the bookshelf and emptied it into his glass. He then made his way over to the piano; the tunes that had played on the radio inspired him to produce some music of his own. Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters and more flowed from his fingers, as his facial expressions changed with his delight at the music he played. Annie often commented that she was surprised he never became a professional musician; he certainly was good enough. House responded that he enjoyed it strictly as a hobby; he wasn't willing to rip off the mask that far. After playing the works of others, he started playing a few riffs of his own composition, something that always brought a smile. House hit upon one that he played over and over; he reached for the blank music staff that sat on top of the piano and retrieved a pencil from the coffee table. He played the notes again and nodded. He had written out sheet music for Elise that he named "Muddy Chopsticks;" it was a simple variation on the well-known tune that helped her learn how to read the various notes. Now this one needed a new name… "Dr. John's Twinkling Star," House decided with a smirk. Elise wouldn't get it, but he would, and… House stopped writing the notes and threw the pencil down. As he placed his head into his hands, and rubbed his face, he realized he could be doing something that he and the kid would never get to share; what was the point? House reached for his drink, and took a large gulp. The point is the girl would enjoy it; it would continue what you started with her, he reminded himself. Whether he shared it with her, or Annie taught it to her niece, he had to acknowledge that the kid would be thrilled. He picked up the pencil, and finished the piece of music. Placing the sheet on the coffee table, he put a memo into his phone to remind him to take it with him tomorrow. Having enough of the piano for now, House looked at his watch. It was almost nine, and he still had a phone call to make. He didn't know how successful he would be at reaching the person, but it was important that he tried. Looking through his phonebook in his cell phone, he found the number, and pushed the button.

"Your caller ID must not be working, or you never would have answered," House said to the responder. "Yeah, still kicking… unlike some people we know. Which brings me to the reason for my call… " So began a fairly long and somewhat heated discussion between House and the person on the other end of the phone; the two clearly had very different opinions on a certain subject. House was not happy with the other person's attitude, which he demonstrated by taking his cane down and leaning on it while he paced around his apartment as he spoke. He only stopped to take out the new bottle of Macallan's he bought from his backpack; he had a feeling he was going to be needing it by the time the call was over. It took a while, but finally both came to a satisfactory compromise, which as Lydia always said, left both parties angry. House ended the call, glad the cantankerous discussion was over. He had cracked open the new bottle of Macallan's as he was on the phone and had topped off his glass. House was going to sit on the couch again, but knowing that tomorrow was a painfully early day, and that he had enough to drink, he headed toward the bedroom. Grabbing a pair of PJ pants and a t-shirt, House sat on his side of the bed and changed. He had considered sleeping on the sofa so he wouldn't have to look at the empty space on the other side of the bed, but his leg was bothering him enough as it was. He took another drink from the glass he had brought in from the living room, then emptied the contents in one more big gulp. After just sitting and staring off into space for a few minutes, House opened the drawer on his nightstand. He reached into the back and pulled out a faded and worn envelope. He studied it for a moment, then removed the contents. He was surprised at how easily his hands began to tremble as he examined what the envelope held. It didn't have to happen this way, he thought to himself. Why… He shook his head, returned the items to the envelope, and replaced it in his nightstand. After avoiding it for as long as he could, House realized it was time to gear himself up to do something he hadn't in quite a while; sleep alone…

House signed in at the reception counter in the lobby of the hospital, and headed for the elevators. He was considering whether to drop his backpack off first, but knew there would be plenty of time before Stein got here. He held a cup of coffee from Dunkin' Donuts, and a bag containing a bagel; typical of the morning after a Chinese take-out dinner, he was hungry. Kyle James and his crew would have to put up with his munching while they briefed him on how they wanted him to approach the inquisition of Stein.

"Good morning." House didn't even bother to turn to his left; he recognized the voice as Lydia's.

"I'll reluctantly acknowledge it's morning, but that's about it," he said. Finally taking a look at her, he saw she had several piles of papers in her hand. "If those are for me or my team, we're going to be a little busy this morning. The assistant DA is going in for the kill on Stein."

"No, these are papers concerning possible care facilities for Cuddy to be transferred to. Marcia, the social worker helping Arlene, had to go out into the field. She dropped these off to me, and asked if I'd bring them up to Cuddy's room. And yes, I know what's going on with Stein; Mr. James has asked me to be there." House gave her a quizzical look.

"Why does he want you there?"

"As he was interviewing you and your team, you all kept mentioning my part in taking care of Cuddy when she came in to the hospital on Saturday. He thought Stein might find it strange that I wasn't in the room when this questioning is going on, since the rest of your team will be there. I told him that I don't even know if the man realized I was around that day, but he wanted to err on the side of caution." House nodded as he took a sip of his coffee.

"The state's been waiting for something to nail this facility on; the fact that they hired Stein to medically attend to patients, which neither is licensed to do, is the double whammy they need," he said. "All the other times they've tried, these guys have managed to slither out of the noose." House suddenly let out a loud yawn, which he made no attempt to hide; in fact, if anything, he made it sound more obvious.

"I take it you didn't sleep well either," Lydia said as the elevator finally arrived.

"I never sleep well; you of all people should know that." He wanted to take the statement back as soon as he said it. Being snarky to others is one thing; when teasing or joking with Lydia, it's OK. But he realized it wasn't right under the circumstances, circumstances that he created. "It was more difficult than usual," he admitted as they stepped into the car. "A lot more. Kids alright with the excuse you gave them?"

"Yes," Lydia said as the doors closed. "They asked how long you would be working extra hours; I told them we weren't sure. It was Thomas I had to dance around the most. He knows the distances in town, and he came out and said it didn't make sense that you weren't coming home." The doors opened at the second floor and the two of them stepped out. "Luckily, he didn't say that in front of the children. I made it sound like you would be working until two or three in the morning, but I still have a feeling he has his suspicions." House scowled.

"I'll deal with Gandalf when or if the time comes," he replied as they entered the lounge. The room was buzzing with activity. Several men were behind a privacy screen setting up some electronic equipment, while others were laying out small bundles of thin wires on a table; yet another fellow was up on a step ladder, placing what House assumed was a small camera. Kyle James stood in the middle of it all conferring with his assistant, Paul.

"Morning, guys." House and Lydia turned around and found that Slick had entered the room behind them. He wasn't in his usual EMT uniform or even casual clothing. Instead he was attired in a suit with a dress shirt open at the neck.

"Morning!" Lydia said giving him a hug. "We haven't seen you in a few days. And certainly not looking this spiffy!" Slick laughed.

"Yeah, I've been busy with a bunch of stuff for the new club." He turned to House and extended his hand. "How's it going, House?"

"It'd be better if they had given the sun a chance to rise before demanding my presence here," House replied, shaking Slick's hand.

"So what's going on with the club?" Lydia asked.

"Meetings with financial people, lawyers, town officials. Over the weekend, Scotty, Misty and I hit New York with my partner and his nephew. The nephew's going to oversee the kitchen and we were scoping out some potential new hires."

"Sounds like more trouble than it may be worth," noted House.

"No, not at all; as a matter of fact, we tasted a lot of really great food," Slick said emphatically. "I'm ready to start piano shopping and I was hoping you were still interested in giving me a hand picking one out. I want to make sure we get the right look and sound."

"In tune is usually the preferred setting," House said. Slick laughed and raised his coffee cup in a toast to House's statement.

"I'm glad to hear everything's going well," Lydia said.

"Everything is moving along beautifully," Slick replied. He reached into his pocket and brought out a small box. "Don't look," he said to Lydia. "Here's a bribe to motivate you to help." Slick handed House a pack of Dunhills, English cigarettes that he always brought back from Manhattan.

"There's no point in hiding them; I can tell when Greg's been smoking. Prior experience has given me a nose for it," Lydia said with a laugh. House wondered if that was a bit of a dig in his direction; Lydia's ex-husband was a smoker. Or was it a literal smoke screen so that no one would pick up on their situation? Maybe you're just being paranoid, he thought.

"I actually have a few left in a pack at the house… " House started to say.

"Keep them on you. They may come in handy here for many reasons and I don't blame you for any of them. After what you told me yesterday about the deal with Stein, and then what DA James told me… man, this guy and that facility has to pay the price for what they've done. Practicing medicine without a license, hurting Cuddy the way he did, and now killing a patient? I don't mind helping out, that's for sure," Slick said.

"What exactly is your role in this?" Lydia asked. "How did you get involved? You weren't here at all on Saturday when Stein accompanied Cuddy to be admitted."

"That's exactly the point; I'm going to play the part of a researcher that's been studying patients at the end of life and the ethical dilemmas their choices present to caregivers and medical professionals. I'll get to ask questions that may not seem normal coming from House or the team. The legal eagles may be recording him, but everyone else in the room gets to play witness. And how I got involved was a call from House."

"The last thing we want Stein to do is clam up by becoming suspicious," House explained. "He's a ceaseless fountain of information, not only about his own actions, but about the nefarious activities at Shady Acres."

"You have to stop calling it that!" Slick exclaimed. "I was talking to someone from the DA's office before and called the place by that name; they looked at me like I was nuts." House ignored Slick's complaint, and took out his bagel.

"Hello, all," Chase said as he, Thirteen and Taub entered the room. House was about to take a bite, but stopped to give them a look.

"Why did I have to be here before the three of you? Pulling rank comes from my carpetbag of tricks."

"We've been here for over an hour," Thirteen said. "First we checked on Cuddy, then Alvie, and lastly Carmen." House nodded as he took a bite of his food.

"How is Prego?" he asked with a full mouth. "Have we pulled any labs yet on her?"

"We did it this morning," Taub replied. "Carmen slept in a Geri-chair in Alvie's room last night. She complained about edema in her lower legs as well as her feet when she got up to use the bathroom, which was frequently. Her shins didn't look too bad when we saw her a little while ago, but there was some evidence of swelling."

"Has the calcium and selenium been started?" House asked.

"Yesterday afternoon," Chase confirmed.

"Get the name of her OB from her; make a call to them when the circus is over," House said indicating the activity going on in the room. "Find out if there were any concerns prior to her leaving the sunshine state. What about the other two?"

"Cuddy's numbers are continuing to improve and wound care is pleased with how well the sacral area is responding to treatment," Thirteen reported.

"Is Arlene in her daughter's room now?" Lydia asked. "I have to give her these papers about proper facilities that Cuddy could be discharged to."

"Wilson saw her when she came back from taking Rachel to the day care center," said Taub. "He was trying to convince her to eat. Don't think he was having much luck; she's too nervous."

"And Grand Master Flash-in-the-Pan? How's he doing?" House asked through a mouthful of bagel.

"Stable, with good numbers," Chase said. "Fever's staying down below 99, and the bleeding from his gums and nose seems to have ended." House nodded.

"Looks like he's made it through hitting bottom. Let's see how he handles the climb up out of the pit."

"Greetings," Kyle said as he walked over to where the group had gathered. "Are you ready for a brief overview on how to conduct an interrogation?"

"Considering we had all gone forward in life with intentions of being Dr. Kildare and not Perry Mason or Dick Tracy, this will be a unique experience for everyone," House commented.

"House, you've done this before with Malcom Hunter; but this… is going to be a bit different. You have no idea what lies ahead. I…" James said.

"Sorry we're late," Foreman said as he, Wilson and Arlene walked into the room.

"We were busy persuading someone to eat," Wilson said looking at Cuddy's mom.

"I don't need any persuading," House said taking another bite of his food. He got several disapproving looks, but not from DA James who laughed.

"Why don't we sit down here while I go over things," he said directing them to a group of chairs. Once everyone was seated, Kyle took a deep breath and began. "Stein is a real SOB. While that should come as no surprise, even I was taken aback after I did some digging. I accessed the file on his testimony before the state medical board when they pulled his license, both the video and the transcript. Not only is he good at re-directing the conversation to take the focus off himself, he makes jabs at both the personal and professional lives of those questioning him. The thing that rattled people the most at his hearing, was the fact that he knew very private information."

"How the hell does he get his hands on that?" Chase asked. Any time there was a chance of someone poking around in his past, Chase nervously remembered his actions in the case of the brutal, murderous dictator, Dibala. As far as he knew, Foreman and House were the only two people who knew the details of the incident… well, and Cameron, too. But the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

"The internet tells far more that it should," James said shaking his head. "And don't forget… the Steins and the Cuddys are good friends… "

"Were good friends," Arlene said correcting the statement.

"Were good friends," Kyle said. "Since Dr. Cuddy and Stein were both in the medical profession at one point, I'm sure she had many a tale to tell about the goings on here at the hospital." The team squirmed a bit in their seats. Lydia and Slick had no reaction as did House, who kept his poker face on. "But I wouldn't worry about anything individually. My feeling is he's going to go after you all as a team, finding fault with your methods and care decisions. House you're the one he's most likely to pick on since you've had your license suspended more than once. You've dealt with the state board, and he'll probably question why you're not sympathizing with him, since he was called up before them for his unorthodox medical practices."

"The information highway drives both ways," House noted. "There were a few things I was able to find on him as well. He wasn't just nailed for unorthodox medical practices; he did things that were dangerous to the point that he killed three people, possibly two more before he was stopped. How he never wound up in jail is beyond comprehension; then again, plea bargains have a magic all their own. It seems as far as he was concerned, the Hippocratic Oath was written in Pig Latin."

"The thing you all have to keep in mind," Kyle said standing up. "Is that he is going to try and bait you into going after him… verbally and physically. You have to keep your cool and ask general, open-ended questions."

"So asking him when he first took up murder as a hobby is out, I take it," House said.

"That's definitely off the table," DA James said. "Something along the lines of… 'What were you hoping to achieve by the course of treatment you used for Dr. Cuddy?' or 'What led you to believe that this was the right thing to do?' We don't necessarily want an exact answer; we're just looking for him to use language that shows he was practicing medicine without a license. If we can get him to talk about the care facility, too… great. If not, he'll have nothing to lose by giving evidence against them later on."

"He also won't have anything to gain," House noted stretching his legs out. "Buried somewhere behind his AARP card is a 'Get out of Jail Free' card as well."

"That's a chance we may have to take," James replied grimly.

"Mr. James?" Arlene said. "What do I say if Richard… I mean Dr. Stein questions why I'm here in the room?"

"Richard is more appropriate since he's not really a doctor anymore… " James started to say.

"And it would figure that he's a Dick," House said as he sipped his coffee.

"Look, you all have a right to be here," Kyle said. "You have a right to know what the hell he was trying to do to your daughter," he said to Arlene. "You and the team have a reason to question his actions as Dr. Cuddy's doctors and her colleagues," Kyle explained pointing to House and the team. "And you two are representing the administration of the hospital," he said to Wilson and Foreman. "Keep the focus on him; don't let him question any of you."

"Kyle, you said something about me wearing a wire?" Slick inquired.

"Yeah, you'll have a wire, and Dr. Hadley will have an earpiece so we can tell her how to direct the conversation if things go off-kilter. Her hair is long enough to hide it." Thirteen reached behind her and took her hair clip out, demonstrating Kyle's point. "So, Arlene, you'll be in your daughter's room when Stein gets here, Drs. Foreman and Chase will be hiding in utility room behind the nurses' station. They will go in, remove him from Dr. Cuddy's room, and bring him in here. Everyone good with that?"

"Where will you and your people be while this is happening?" Lydia asked.

"We'll be in the lounge across the hall, listening and watching," Kyle said. "When the time comes to move in, we'll be in here in seconds."

"Do we get to ride in the police car, flash the lights, wail away on the sirens and run some stop signs when all of this is done?" House asked sarcastically.

"I'll see what I can arrange," Kyle said chuckling. "But I wouldn't count on it."

"Geez, I deserve some kind of reward for disrupting my internal clock." House stood, and tossed his empty coffee cup and bag into the trash.

"I know this may not count for much, but I am so grateful for what you've done to help Lisa," Arlene said. "I… I know I'm going to lose her before too long, but at least I'll know when all of this is over, I did my best to honor her wishes, and kept her safe as I could." Lydia came over to Arlene and crouched down next to her.

"Marcia gave me some paperwork for you to look over and fill out. Without a doubt, your daughter will be much better off in one of these facilities than where she had been. And you'll be able to go see her in any one of them knowing that she's being well-cared for."

"Thank you, thank you so much," Mrs. Cuddy replied.

"OK, everyone, you're free to go take care of whatever you need to do," Kyle announced. "It's about a quarter to nine right now; see you back here about ten-fifteen." Arlene quickly left the room to go to see her daughter; DA James started a conversation with the tech people setting up the camera. House, the team, Wilson, Lydia, and Slick all stood around looking at each other.

"I hate to say this, but if this didn't involve Cuddy, I'd be a lot less likely to want the hospital to be a part of this," Foreman said.

"Just the way Kyle was talking about this guy gave me the creeps," Slick said. "Getting information on people, then throwing it in their faces as your means of a defense? Pretty rank if you ask me."

"Well, we at least have the element of surprise on our side. I'm sure he's not expecting this," Wilson said gesturing at the room and the surveillance equipment.

"We don't have anything on our side," House said flatly. "If this guy is as devious as James painted him to be, and I'm guessing he is, I'll bet as soon as he hung up the phone Friday night, he put together a complete profile of each one of us. A guy like him goes by the philosophy keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer."

"Let's just hope we nail this bastard," Wilson said. "And hopefully the facility with him." He looked at Foreman. "Want to grab a cup of coffee before we hit those reports again?"

"Sure," Foreman responded. "See everyone later."

"Actually, a cup of joe sounds good about now," Slick said.

"Come on up to the conference room," Taub said. "We put on a fresh pot this morning."

"Thanks, think I will." As House's team and Slick exited the room, Lydia and House were left standing by the door.

"I have to get back down to my office. I'm still trying to reconcile that massive explanation of medical benefits notice we received about that fireman your team treated. I finally reached a section where they're willing to pay for things, just not at the price we billed out. And our numbers were usual and customary," Lydia said shaking her head.

"If anyone can make sense of it you can," House said. Lydia smiled.

"Thanks; see you back here in a little while." She turned and took a few steps.

"Fraulein," House called out. Lydia stopped and turned to him. He walked over to her, and took a large manila envelope out of his backpack. "I had mentioned this to Curly Top. Told her that I would write it out for her. I figured even if I can't go to the house to show her how to play this, Songbird would enjoy doing it." Lydia took the envelope, opened it and pulled out the sheet music. She remembered House and Elise talking about this; it touched her that he thought to write up the music for her daughter.

"Greg, you can come over any time you want; it's your home, too. Right now, the only thing keeping you from it… is you." House frowned.

"I can't imagine that if I said to you right now that I want to come back home that you'd say yes, no questions asked," House said.

"Of course I have questions," Lydia said quietly. "I hope that whether you decide to come back or not, you'd give me the benefit of explaining what you've been thinking about." She looked down at the floor. "I'd like to think I deserve at least that." House nodded.

"You deserve that and more," he replied. Lydia picked her head up and met his eyes. House quickly looked away. "I'll see you later." With that, House walked away to the far end of the hallway, entered the room for patients' families at that end of the ward, and took a deep breath to clear his mind before anyone saw him….

The next hour and a half passed by quickly as everyone kept busy with work and other endeavors. House was hopeful, but not disappointed when he didn't receive an e-mail from the person he spoke to last night. He was promised the message by a certain time; there were still a few hours left. Before he realized it, it was almost ten-thirty. He got down to the lounge just as they were finishing up the wire on Slick.

"Arlene just got a call from Stein," Chase said, coming over to House as he entered the room. "He was just getting on to the state highway about five minutes ago."

"He'll be here in twenty minutes, maybe less," House noted. The sooner they got this over with, the happier he'd be.

"Ok, everyone, almost show time," James called out. "Arlene is in her daughter's room; Dr. Chase, Dr. Foreman… if you would head out to your place behind the nurses' station. The rest of you wait quietly behind the privacy screen so that Stein doesn't see you when he comes off the elevator. Dr. Hadley, you'll hear in your earpiece when he's arrived and you can tell the others so they can take their seats." Thirteen, Taub, Wilson, Slick, House and Lydia made their way behind the screen. Everyone was fidgety, waiting for Stein to walk in; they all put their phones on silent, but that didn't stop any of them from repeatedly checking them.

"I wished they'd hurry up," House said quietly. "Or I'm going to miss my soap opera." He was quickly hushed by everyone. "You do realize you're making more noise trying to keep me quiet than you would if you just said nothing." He glanced over at Lydia; he saw her mouth the word, "Behave." He said nothing more, but stared down at the floor while twirling his cane.

"He's pulled into the parking lot," Thirteen said listening to the investigator's voice in her ear.

"Here we go," Wilson said sounding nervous. A few minutes later, they could hear Arlene's voice through the open lounge door; it sounded like she had stepped into the hallway.

"Richard, so glad to see you got here safely," she was heard to say.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Arlene. I'm afraid I don't have very long to stay. Let me just do what I have to for Lisa and I'll be on my way… "

"What… what can you do to help her?" Stein pushed past Arlene and walked over to Cuddy's bedside. He pulled two syringes from his pocket.

"These will take care of everything," he reassured her. As Stein started to remove the cap from one of the needles, Chase and Foreman entered the room. With a gloved hand, Foreman grabbed the two syringes and replaced the needle cap.

"Dr. Stein, will you please come with us?" Chase asked.

"Lisa is my patient," Stein said indignantly.

"You have no privileges at this hospital," said Foreman, trying to avoid discussing Stein's license status away from the microphones. Stein was realizing what was happening, and turned to Arlene.

"You did this… you called them out on me. You are a stupid, cruel woman," he spat out.

"Come on, let's keep walking," Chase said. Foreman placed the syringes into a plastic bag that he had been given and removed his gloves as the two men escorted Stein into the lounge with Arlene walking behind them. When they came into the room, everyone who had been waiting behind the screen, had taken a seat in a chair.

"Well… hail, hail, the gangs all here," Stein said looking from person to person. The phony smile that was on his face disappeared as he saw Slick; he didn't recognize him, and therefore he was unsure what to make of him. But Stein saw an opening to start off his pointed, distracting comments, and he took it. "Look… even the donut lady is here," he said looking at Lydia.

"I'm an intern with Dr. House's team," Lydia said with a slight edge to her voice.

"Oh, an intern," Stein said in a patronizing voice. He moved a few steps over to where House was seated. "You know, back in my day we used the term 'secretary' for our tramps we kept on the side. My how the times have changed."

"House!" Wilson called out the warning as he saw his friend lock eyes with Stein. He could see House's hand clenching and unclenching on his cane handle. "House, don't bother… he's not worth it." Wilson wanted to go over and deck Stein, as did everyone in the room, but cooler heads prevailed, and House took no action. He glanced at Lydia and saw she kept a stone-cold expression on her face; Stein had no idea how lucky he was that he didn't have to deal directly with her.

"Dr. Stein? My name is Dr. Espy," Slick said extending his hand as he put on his fake persona. "I'm a gerontologist and psychiatrist doing research into end of life care and the difficulties it presents to the families and medical staff trying to honor the patient's wishes. I've been observing here in the hospital, and with Dr. House and his team in particular since Dr. Cuddy's case came in. She presents an anomaly to the typical patient who's dying of a long term illness in that she's a bit younger than most. I'm sure Dr. House and his team have many question about your decisions in reference to her care at…" Slick looked at the paperwork in front of him. "Southern New Jersey Assisted Living, and I have a feeling questions I would have for my work would overlap with theirs. Would you mind answering questions from me as well as them?" As Stein gave Slick a wary look; it seemed at first he was going to be reluctant to cooperate. Then he apparently changed his mind.

"Ask away," Stein said adopting a smug attitude. "Unlike some people, I have nothing to hide." No one was willing to give the man the satisfaction of a reaction; thanks to DA James' warning, they knew he was trying to provoke them.

"Have a seat," Slick said. Since the court order to conduct the surveillance had been obtained, they no longer needed House's pocket recorder. "Let me just start with the basics; your name is Richard Stein…

"Dr. Richard Stein."

"I'm sorry, but my understanding is that the state medical board took away your license… " Slick began.

"Those who were not fit to pass sentence on me tried to stop me from my work," the man said harshly. "And the only person in this room whom I would consider competent to pass judgment on me, sits there with an attitude because of my actions."

"You must be referring to me; attitudes are my specialty," House said.

"Of course I'm referring to you! How many times did you have to make an appearance before those people and beg for your license back?"

"Pick a number between one and infinity," House replied. "The difference between the two of us, is that I always got mine back."

"And how many times did Dr. Cuddy lie in order for you to achieve that goal? Or for you to stay out of jail during the days of your stealing Vicodin to feed your addiction?" The gloves were clearly coming off and it wouldn't take too much more to make things go askew.

"Dr. Stein," Thirteen said using his undeserved title to placate him. "Can I ask what you hoped to achieve with the treatment plan you laid out for Dr. Cuddy at the care facility?" She had received a message in her earpiece to move things away from individual attacks.

"What did I hope to achieve? I hoped to finish what was started with that building collapse; her death."

"YOU BASTARD!" screamed Arlene as she jumped up and started toward Stein. Taub was closest to her, and he managed to stop Arlene from getting too near.

"Dr. Taub… why don't you take Mrs. Cuddy out of the room for now," Slick said. Her outburst was very understandable, but not what they needed for their purposes right now. He looked back at Stein and saw him shaking his head.

"She doesn't understand," the former doctor said. "She doesn't… but all of you should have."

"Understand what?" Chase asked.

"That Dr. Cuddy was dead before they even put her on the stretcher. She had no chance of having a normal life, of returning to medicine… but you all treated her after the accident. You saw the extent of her injuries and yet you patched her up and sent her out to linger in hell."

"Dr. Cuddy's Heath Care Proxy specifically stated that she wanted… all means possible used to save her and keep her alive," Wilson said defensively.

"And what would she say if she could look at herself lying in the state she's in right now? She's unable to speak or communicate… "

"Funny, she did a good job of faking it," House said. Stein looked puzzled.

"We recorded familiar voices speaking to her, giving her updates on what's been going on since she's been gone… " Foreman said.

"And her blood pressure, which you artificially lowered down to near death, suddenly rebounded," explained House as he leaned forward. "I wonder how that happened." Stein looked surprised at first, but he quickly regained his composure.

"I'm not sure. But I do know with the drugs I had both given her and withheld, she should have drifted off to a peaceful death."

"One that no autopsy would find suspicious," Thirteen noted.

"Autopsy? The woman was crushed by a building! She was, for all intents and purposes, dead! There would have been no autopsy. I know Arlene well enough to know she wouldn't have allowed it."

"So you counted on no one finding out that you were practicing medicine on Dr. Cuddy by using the fact that there would be no autopsy," Slick said.

"I don't care who knows what I'm doing," Stein said defiantly. "What I failed to consider is that she still had the fight in her to stay alive for a while longer."

"Sounds like a form of communication to me," House noted.

"Perhaps she's fighting to stay alive for as long as she can for the sake of her daughter," Lydia said. "No one should ever underestimate the power of a mother's love." Stein narrowed his eyes at Lydia.

"Yes, yes… being a single mother of two young children you have to protect, you would think that. Especially since there's no white knight around for you. You can't possibly be counting on a man with a physical deformity to rescue you, can you, Fraulein?" If not for Slick jumping up in front of Stein that remark would have been the last one he made. Everyone, with the exception of House and Lydia, got to their feet at the utterance of the nasty comment. Lydia was in too much shock that Stein knew such personal things about her, including House's nickname for her; House was so mad, he was afraid of what he would do if he moved.

"Let's settle down, shall we?" Slick said. "Could I ask you please to keep the conversation to the subject at hand and not make it personal?" he said to Stein.

"Oh, but it is personal," the man said. "Arlene wanted to have her daughter's decline in health placed in slow motion so that Lisa could sit like a worn-out rag doll in the corner at celebrations and parties. She," he said gesturing to the door through which Arlene left the room. "Could not understand that she couldn't say, 'Stop what's going on, it's not time for her to die.'" Stein shook his head back and forth. "Nature takes its course; it doesn't listen to the pathetic pleas of anyone."

"Except when nature's helped along the way with ego-driven medical care," House noted.

"Dr. Espy asked you not to make this personal, and yet you continue to do so," Stein said pounding his fist on the table. "This isn't about just Lisa. Rather it's about all the other doomed souls I've met along the way."

"Are you saying you've engaged in assisted suicide?" Thirteen asked, prompted by DA James' voice coming through her wire.

"That and more," said Stein, his voice rising. "When these poor folks were no longer able to communicate their wishes and had families crying for 'just one more day'… " Stein shook his head. "When I knew it was cruel to just keep them around while they suffered, I quietly ended the patient's pain without fanfare, without making a fuss."

"An 'Angel of Death'," Wilson said tersely. Stein remained silent, not commenting on the statement.

"Is the care facility you're working with aware of your actions?" Thirteen asked. Stein started to laugh.

"Those greedy bastards don't care what I'm doing as long as they make their money. The patients' families pay them for their family member to live there and receive medical care from me. I get my necessary supplies at a vastly reduced rate from a young man who works there; he has a connection to a local hospital where things somehow walk out the door and disappear. The facility owners get their money, and I get what I need to take care of the patients my way." Suddenly, there was a commotion by the door; three men and two women in dark suits step forward into the room.

"Richard Stein, you're under arrest for the attempted murder and assault of Dr. Lisa Cuddy and the murders of Susan Norris and Joseph Hayes, as well as practicing medicine without a license," one of the men said.

"There are numerous other charges pending further investigation by the DA's office," said a woman who had accompanied a man with handcuffs to the front of the room.

"No, no… this is wrong. Very wrong. Susan Norris is still alive. I saw her this morning; I hadn't finished evaluating her for treatment yet," protested Stein.

"I guess nature went ahead and decided to take its course without checking with you first," House said leaning back in his chair. The man and woman who stepped forward each took Stein by an arm and stood him up; the woman started to read him his rights as the man placed the handcuffs on him. Stein continued to protest his arrest as they led him out of the room, and down the stairway. As everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief, Kyle James, Taub and Arlene walked back into the room.

"Is everyone in here OK?" Kyle asked right away. "I'm so sorry that went down the way it did, with Stein hitting the two of you with so much personal crap," he said to House and Lydia. "As you know, that is not what we intended."

"As they say, the best laid plans," Lydia said with a shrug; but it was clear she was still upset.

"We managed to go around the far end of the nurses' station and sneak into the other lounge," Taub said. "We pretty much heard everything."

"It sounds like Lisa wasn't the start of him killing or trying to kill patients," Arlene said sadly. "It seems like he's been doing this for a while. And the fact that another woman died just this morning… "

"Probably losing his medical license made him snap," Thirteen said. House shook his head.

"I have a feeling there are going to be a lot of bodies exhumed in the state of New Jersey in the coming months; and some if not all are going to bear Stein handiwork."

"My office and the coroner's are going to be extremely busy," Kyle said. "On a lighter note, Slick I have to thank you for the great job you did. Stein looked suspicious of you, but never questioned who you were."

"Thanks," Slick said with a smile. "It's been a long time since I did anything like that… nice to know I haven't lost my touch."

"Done what? Interviewing? Were you a reporter at one point?" Chase asked.

"Nope. At Tulane, I was a pre-med major and a theater minor. I think I did as many plays as I did biopsies," he said with a laugh.

"That's why Greg called you in; he knew you had experience with playing a role," Lydia said. Slick smiled.

"We talked about it one night during a cigarette break at a poker game. I guess he remembered I was a theater geek."

"Why theater?" Wilson asked. Slick smiled and spread his hands apart.

"No better way I know of to meet girls. The odds in the theater were definitely in a guy's favor."

"And here I thought you were being altruistic," Thirteen said pretending to scold him. Kyle James laughed at her comment and looked around; his eyes fell on Lydia.

"Are you alright? You still look kind of shaken up. Do you want to sit down?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine," she said with a wave of her hand. "I have to get back down to my office. A lot of work is piling up."

"OK, if you're sure," Kyle said. Lydia nodded. "My office will be in contact if we need any kind of statements from you. Thanks for your help," he said. Lydia turned to Slick.

"It was good to see you," she said giving him a hug. "Let me know if there's anything I can do to help out with setting up the club."

"There is something… let me kidnap your boyfriend so I can have some decent music in the place." Lydia didn't react to Slick's use of the phrase, "your boyfriend."

"Whenever he's ready," she replied. "I'm heading back to my cubby hole. Bye, all!" Lydia turned and walked toward the door.

"House, is she really OK? She looks ready to burst into tears," Thirteen said. House said nothing, but headed off after Lydia. She had gotten out of the room, and fairly far down the hall before House even came through the doorway. Walking as quickly as he could, he almost caught up to her as she opened the stairway door.

"Fraulein." She didn't turn around. "Fraulein!" House knew Lydia well enough to recognize her drooped head and shoulders meant she was either crying or about to start. He stepped into the stairwell at the same time as she did; he put his hands on her shoulders, and moved her over to the corner, so no one could look in through the window on the door and see them. He wasn't sure what to say to her.

"I feel like my privacy is… non-existent! How did he know… all those things about… the children… and me?" she asked between her sobs. "He even knew that… you call me 'Fraulein!' How…."

"Simple. We had put Wilson's phone on speaker when we talked to him and Cuddy's mom on Friday night. I'll bet their phone was on speaker, too. I'm sure I called you Fraulein at least once, and you told Mama Cuddy that your two kids would be available to keep Cuddy Junior occupied. The fact that you're single is easy to look up in public records."

"I… I must have said my name at some point."

"You did, when you introduced yourself to Grandma," House said referring to Arlene.

"And how did he know… that we… " Lydia pointed back and forth between the two of them.

"I think our invisible 'His' and 'Hers' t-shirts are more apparent than we think; they're a dead giveaway," replied House. Lydia laughed, and pulled a tissue out of her pocket.

"I'm sorry, but I have enough nightmares… literally… about my ex coming back and trying to take the children from me; I don't need or want any other safety concerns for them."

"Your ex was stupid enough to give up the three of you once; he's not going to have a sudden awakening that he's made a mistake." House's and Lydia's eyes met as he realized what he said. "As far as Stein, you have nothing to worry about," he said changing the subject. "He'll be too busy keeping his cellmate Bowser happy." Lydia rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Very true," she replied. Things were starting to feel a bit awkward, so Lydia said goodbye and returned to her office. House walked back down the hall, looked in at both Alvie and Cuddy, and went over to the elevators. He took one up to his office, sat down at his desk and checked his messages. A slight smile came over his face as he saw the one he had been waiting for was in his inbox.

At least he'd have something to do tonight besides think about his troubles.