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Double Jeopardy
by Belladonna
Tritter slammed his hand down on the desk with a vengeful smile. "Yes! Dr. Wilson will fold now, especially since Dr. House's accounts are next. A doctor and his money can't be parted," he gloated, sure that he had that bastard that humiliated him in his grasp.
~
Wilson closed his phone with a set expression, leaning on the ATM.
"What?" House demanded.
"My funds have been frozen because of an ongoing police investigation," Wilson answered. "I thought this was over," he added with resignation, and to House's eyes his lover suddenly seemed tired of it all. Tired of him and his baggage.
Tritter. It was like a curse. Before House had left for Atlantis he'd pissed off the cop and the man had hounded him and everyone he knew. Unfortunately House ~had~ been guilty of addiction, and forging Wilson's signature, though not the distribution that Tritter suspected. With his disappearance for the 15 months he'd thought the case had been dropped.
"I'm sorry, Jimmy," House said softly.
Wilson, whose head had been down, lifted it to stare at his lover. "C'mon," he said abruptly. "You're buying me dinner."
Over the next couple of days their relationship became strained to the breaking point, House letting his stress out in some of the worse sarcastic nastiness he'd ever let pass out of his mouth. Wilson just pulled into himself, sleeping in his office and generally looking pale and washed out enough that House was starting to get frantic with worry.
~
"Colonel?"
Paul Davis glanced up from his paperwork to see his secretary in the doorway. Sheila was old enough to be his mother and the best secretary he'd ever had. "Sheila?"
"There's a Dr. House here to see you," she said disapprovingly. She also didn't like her schedules to be interrupted; so that she was doing so now meant that it was important.
"Let him in," he said and stood, smiling at the man he'd recruited into the Stargate program. "Dr. House, you look better than the last time I saw you," he said, even as he saw the lines of stress around the other man's eyes. Which gave him a clue as to why Sheila had let him in.
"Call me Greg," House said and shook Paul's hand. "I need a favor and to make a confession."
"Sit down," Paul said mildly. "The favor is possible but I'm not a priest."
House laughed sharply. "Before you recruited me I was under investigation."
Paul nodded. "I know, for drug possession and intent to distribute. My own investigator said that you had drugs but you had prescriptions for them, and you'd never sold them for profit."
"I did however forge my friend's signature," House said without blinking. "And he lied for me."
Regarding the man across his desk, Paul wondered how much it cost for this man to confess to something like this. It wasn't the breaking the law, his investigators showed that the man staring at him had skirted or had outright broken a number of laws to get results for his patients, and had been sued an almost equal amount of times.
"I know," he said simply. "And since your friend didn't go to the police, we understood that the two of you had worked it out since he was still your friend, and no one except you suffered."
"What?" House blurted in surprise.
"We knew that if we hired you we could take the reason for your need for Vicodin away. Dr. Beckett agreed to keep an eye on you to make sure you didn't backslide, and you didn't so we considered the subject closed," Paul said matter-of-factly.
There was a short silence as House absorbed what the Colonel had said. "Thanks," he said shortly. At the other man's raised eyebrow, House shrugged uncomfortably. "Thanks for making sure I didn't hurt anyone else with my idiocy, and for giving me the benefit of the doubt."
Paul picked up a pen and tapped the file he'd been working on earlier. "Dr. Beckett is a good judge of people, but it was your behavior that decided us, Dr. House. You did a good job in Atlantis, by the way."
House snorted. "It was easy, except for that bleach blonde bimbo shrink. I would've done it without pay, just to work with Carson again."
"Ah, Dr. Heightmeyer," Paul said with a grin. "She had such nice things to say about you, too."
"I'm sure," House said with a smirk.
The door opened and Sheila came in and set down a tray with coffee and cookies. "This doesn't mean you can sit here and chat all day. The Colonel has a schedule," she scowled at House. "I'm just being polite."
Paul covered his amusement while House took a cup of coffee. "Don't worry, I won't be much longer, then you can throw me out on my ear."
"Don't you worry, I will," she threatened, though Paul caught the sly smile on her face as the door shut. She always liked an adversary; it's what made her so good at her job.
"So, what's the favor?" Paul asked, getting down to business.
House grimaced and set the coffee cup down. "Tritter, the cop who was doing the investigation, has popped back up. He froze Wilson's assets, the man just got divorced and now this."
Now Paul knew the real reason House was in his office. "Hmm," he said and pulled out a piece of paper. "Tell me everything," he ordered, and House did.
*~*
House was in his office, writing on his whiteboard when Tritter stepped in. He stiffened and set down his pen. "Go forth and heal," he ordered the Ducklings. He knew that it was showtime.
"No, no, let them stay," Tritter said jovially. "This will be an object lesson for them." He pulled out his cuffs and walked over to House and using his larger body mass slammed him into the wall, ignoring the gasps from the younger doctors.
"Gregory House, you are under arrest for forgery and distributing narcotics. You have the right to remain silent, though I doubt you'll use it, and anything you say will be used against you in a court of law..." he continued even as Chase grabbed the phone and made a hasty phone call.
"Do you understand these rights as I have spoken them?" Tritter finished as he jerked House sharply back, causing him to hiss as his shoulder protested.
House remained silent, face impassive as the policeman spun him around. "Did you hear me, Junkie?" Tritter snarled.
"I think we all heard you," Wilson said sharply from the door, Cuddy behind him.
"I wasn't asking you, Dr. Wilson. Though I'll make sure you have a nice ride when we bring you in for obstruction of justice," Tritter replied with a manic smile.
Lisa scowled, even though House had prepared her for this. It still shook her up to see this policeman, someone who was supposed to uphold the law, bend it for his own revenge. "If needed, our lawyer will bring Dr. Wilson to the police station, Officer Tritter."
"Your call," Tritter said and shook House again. "I didn't hear your answer."
"I understand my rights," House answered, just shy of insolent but the detective only smiled as if he expected it.
"House," Wilson said, fear in his brown eyes and he made to step forward but when Tritter's hand went to his weapon, House stiffened.
"I'll be fine. Take my case," House said, willing Wilson to back off so it wouldn't get any worse. Cuddy helped by gently drawing Wilson out of the doorway so that Tritter could march House out of the hospital in the most humiliating way possible.
*
As the men turned the corner, Wilson spun around to Cuddy, about to demand she do something when he noticed her eyes. "What? You know something, Lisa. What's going on?"
"House is doing the right thing," Lisa said softly, then she saw the real fear in Wilson's eyes and took him into his office, closing the blinds before taking him by the shoulders. "He'll be fine. He told me this might happen and he doesn't want you involved any more than you are."
"Of course I'm involved," Wilson said indignantly. "I love..." he trailed off and closed his eyes in pain. "I love him, and I showed him how much, didn't I? Letting that bastard get to me, get between me and House when we should've stood shoulder to shoulder. I am such an ass."
"I don't doubt that House shares more blame in this than you," Lisa said tartly, then her face softened as Wilson's honest distress. "Trust him. He doesn't want you to attract Tritter's attention."
"Why does he hate House so much? I can't imagine that it's the first time someone has been insulting to the man. For God's sake, he's a cop. I'd bet he gets insulted every day!" Wilson protested.
Lisa sighed. "I don't know. What I do know is that you need to stay here. Help out the Ducklings and when I find out something I'll let you know, okay?"
Wilson knuckled his eyes, then let his hands drop wearily. "Okay. Thanks, Lisa."
*
Jack finished his phone call and gently shook his seat partner. "Danny, hey. We're getting close. Time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty," he said as he moved the file he'd been reading.
Daniel, groggy from a rough mission, lack of sleep and jetlag, opened his eyes. "We're almost where?" he croaked, then smiled as Jack handed him a large cup of Starbucks.
Jack smiled back as Daniel ignored the heat of the coffee and slugged it down like a whiskey for a seasoned barfly. "One of our people is getting harassed by the local constabulary. We're gonna go in and disabuse them of the notion."
Eyes rounded, Daniel made an awestruck sound. "Ooh, Jack General! Jack use big words now!"
"Shaddup," Jack said affectionately. "And fix your shirt, looks like you've been sleeping in the car or something."
Daniel snorted and tucked his shirt back in, slipped his blazer back on and ran a quick hand through his hair, asking Jack silently if he met approval. He pointedly ignored Jack's leer. "Where are we?" he asked with a frown as he caught sight of Revolutionary War era buildings.
"Princeton, New Jersey," Jack replied, tossing the file over.
Opening the file, Daniel's eyes widened. "Greg? Greg's getting harassed? Why didn't he call me?"
Jack frowned. "You know Dr. House?"
"Yeah, I was the one to do his orientation," Daniel said absently as he quickly read through the pages.
"Well, this asshole has been using his cop-like skills to make House's life miserable and we're going in to make it stop."
Daniel's eyes flicked up and he watched, not with a little lust, as Jack straightened, making sure his uniform was up to military standards, and became `General O'Neill'. There was an aura of power that Jack, as a General, had in spades.
The staff car pulled to a stop, Jack grabbed his uniform cap and smirked. "You can stop drooling, Danny. We're here."
~*
House licked his split lip as he pulled back from the tabletop his face had just `fallen' in to.
"Oh, sorry about that," Tritter said insincerely. "Drugs shoot your equilibrium to shit, don't they?"
"I would totally agree with that if I were still taking them," House said as he sat in the chair, without `help' this time.
"Oh yes, the mysterious trip just when I was about to get you the first time," the policeman said. "What I can't understand is how you got everyone to actually believe that you were out of the country `working'," Tritter held up fingers to indicate quotes.
"Hey, what can I tell you? Most people consider medicine work," House shrugged.
"Everybody lies," Tritter quoted mockingly.
"Well, yeah. But in this instance I'm not."
~*
Jack stood and glanced around the busy bullpen. He ignored the murmurs and curious looks and turned to Daniel. "Stay out of trouble. I'm going to speak to the Lieutenant."
"Fine," Daniel said. He'd finally caught sight of House and he was beginning to be pissed off.
"I'm serious, Danny," Jack said sotto voce as a big, burly cop came towards them.
"What can I do ya for?" the man asked with a thick Jersey accent.
"I'm General Jack O'Neill. You're holding one of my people so I need to speak to your Lieutenant."
Big, burly Jersey guy looked impressed and said, "Yeah, okay. Follow me."
*~
Daniel waited for all of about two minutes then ignored Jack's orders and went over to what was obviously the interrogation room, knocked once and opened the door. "Well, I see that our justice system is in full swing. I could've swore it said `innocent until proven guilty'."
House smirked. Dr. Daniel Jackson, pissed off, large and in charge. If he wasn't in love with Wilson, he would've liked a piece of that thang. "Hey, Daniel."
"Who in the hell are you?" Tritter barked, quickly walking over and using his bigger bulk to intimidate like the bully cop he was.
Except Daniel, who'd faced down Goa'uld, Replicators and the Orii, was not intimidated in the slightest. "I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson. I'm here to make sure Dr. House is to be released."
"Not going to happen, Dr. Jackson," Tritter said confidently.
Daniel eyed House, ignoring the cop. "Are you okay, Greg?" His blue eyes were honestly concerned for him.
House nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little police brutality."
"Yeah, I'll make sure that the General knows," Daniel said, pulling out a handkerchief, about to go to blot House's bleeding lip when Tritter moved between them and grabbed the front of Daniel's blazer.
"You will let go of Dr. Jackson or I'll make sure you see the inside of a government prison for a very long time!" an icy voice declared from the doorway.
Daniel smirked as Tritter looked up in startlement, noticing the Air Force General and his own boss standing in the doorway. "He's interfering with my suspect."
"He's not your suspect any longer," Jack snapped. "And I'm not going to tell you again. Let. Dr. Jackson. Go."
"Do it, Tritter," the Lieutenant ordered.
Tritter did, not so gently shoving Daniel back which would've made him fall if he hadn't had 10 years of running and fighting for his life under his belt. He rocked on his heels instead and glared, straightening his clothes and brushing them off like he'd gotten dirty.
"He's got charges pending for intent to distribute drugs! He's a junkie, test his blood!" Tritter spat.
"We have. He's clean," Jack said icily. "All charges have been dropped against Dr. House. You will be served with a restraining order, for Dr. House, his associates and Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital. All blocks on Dr. Wilson's finances will be lifted effective immediately. You will send me everything that you have on this case and it will be expunged from your records. Is that understood?" he asked, tossing the sheaf of paperwork at the dumbfounded and furious cop.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Tritter demanded in outrage.
Jack smiled his razor sharp `I'm not fucking around, I'm going to cut off your head and shit down your wind-pipe' smile that he reserved mostly for Ba'al, the Tok'ra and certain Generals in DC. "Who we are is so classified that you'll never have the need to know. Now get those handcuffs off of Dr. House." He turned to the Lieutenant. "Be prepared to hear about Dr. House's face as well. Your bad cop has fucked with the wrong government agency."
"I understand," the Lieutenant said tightly and when Tritter didn't move fast enough for him, stepped into the room and not so gently shoved his subordinate out of the way and unlocked House's handcuffs. He winced when the tall doctor hissed out a breath when his over-extended shoulders fell back to their normal place.
"C'mon Greg," Daniel said gently, helping his friend out of the room and through the crowd of interested cops.
Jack ignored the cops in the small room and stepped out. "It's a damn shame when someone who has served his country honorably gets treated this way," was all he said to the room at large and he marched out.
Daniel jerked his head towards the door. "Go on, Greg. I'll be there in a minute."
House opened his mouth but Daniel shook his head sharply, so he sighed and obeyed. He was ready to get out of there, and he wanted to see Wilson.
Turning to face Tritter, Daniel eyed the furious and humiliated cop. "I know that House can be a bastard. But despite his faults he helps save lives. And if this is the way you treat all of your suspects then maybe you should find another line of work, because you've acted worse, using your hurt pride to twist what should be a position of trust," he told him evenly and left without a backward glance.
Tritter's Lieutenant turned and stared at the red-faced man. "Come to my office with all of the records. We need to talk." He then turned, only to stop and stare at the cops who'd been unabashedly listening. "Don't you people have cases to solve? Get the hell out there and do it!" he barked and the crowd scattered.
~
House rubbed his wrists absently as the staff car drove him back to the hospital. "I appreciate the save," he said quietly, not proud of the behavior that had led up to this.
"Don't be an ass, Greg," Daniel said impatiently. "We take care of our own."
Jack tapped the files he had. "You shoulda let us know how bad it was, Doc. This is harassment."
House let a sigh out through his nose. "I'm insulted him, I..."
A hand slashing through the air interrupted his mea culpa. "You screwed up, big deal. So have we all. What Tritter was doing was criminal. Get over it, House."
"Yes, sir," House answered mockingly, making Daniel snort.
Jack chuckled. "Yeah, you probably follow orders as well as Daniel," he said, then pointed at Daniel. "And you! What part of `Stay out of trouble' did you not understand?"
House fake coughed. "All of it?"
This made Daniel roll his eyes at the men. "Please, like he was any kind of a threat. I just wanted to make sure that Greg wasn't going to have any more `accidents'."
The staff car pulled up and House held out his hand. "Thank you. If you ever need anything you call. Anytime."
Jack shook it. "Same goes."
Daniel gave his friend a look. "You've got my number. Call me, you jackass. I don't want to hear about something like this when it's too late."
House grinned. "One of these days you're going to have to meet Wilson."
"I'd like that," Daniel replied with a smile. Once the door shut and they saw House head into the hospital, he turned in his seat to face Jack. "Tritter is going to be a problem," he said with certainty.
And Jack, who knew he wasn't a student of human nature like Daniel, but did recognize the enemy when he saw him, nodded ruefully. "I'm already on it, Danny."
~
Wilson sat in House's chair, brooding while the Ducklings took care of the patient. He'd been at sea with House taken away so brutally, and with the knowledge that he'd alienated the man he loved.
It wasn't about the money, if he needed money he could borrow some from his folks. It was the situation which brought up the memory of House's betrayal, and his own, that hurt so much. And predictably, he'd run instead of facing his problems head on. His one saving grace was that this time he hadn't slept with a patient or a nurse to forget his troubles.
Movement at the door made him look up, and his jaw dropped. "House?"
"Hey honey, I'm home," House quipped nervously, unsure if Wilson wanted to see him.
Wilson launched himself from his chair and threw himself at House, wrapping his arms around him. "Ohgod, are you okay? What happened?" He leaned back and stared at House. "What happened to your face?"
"It ran into a table," House said, trying to be droll. "It's fine."
"That bastard!" Wilson spat, his anger at odds with the gentle touch, fingers trembling.
"Jimmy, it's over," House said gently, noticing the trembling and taking them in his own hands to get Wilson to meet his eyes.
"I don't understand," Wilson said, forehead furrowing.
House gently squeezed Wilson's hands. "I called in a favor and it's over. Over, to the point that there is a restraining order against Tritter. He can't bother us anymore."
Wilson stared. "You're sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," House said, remembering Tritter's reaction to the General's announcement.
"Okay," Wilson said. He awkwardly stepped back. "Foreman and Cameron are with the patient. You were on the right track with your diagnosis and he's doing better. I..."
"Hey, do you forgive me?" House asked seriously.
"Forgive you?" Wilson asked incredulously. "I'm the one that screwed up!"
House snorted. "Hardly, but that's neither here nor there. Are you coming home?"
Ignoring the probable imminent return of the junior doctors, and anyone else on the other side of the glass, Wilson stepped up to House. "Only if you've forgiven me," he asked, his brown eyes serious.
House smiled, tilted his head and kissed Wilson softly.
~
House didn't realize how seriously the SGC took their people's security, or how important he was. Colonel Ferretti could've told him, but he was too busy coordinating House's security in the van down the street.
And Jack could've told him when Tritter had snapped and taken his personal weapon, driving to House's home to attack him, and how Ferretti's team had taken him out.
And later Daniel could've told him when he received the phone call about the fatal accident of some cop in Jersey, which didn't make the news cycle. But he didn't.
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Legal Disclaimer: The authors published here make no claims on the ownership of Dr. Gregory House and the other fictional residents of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Like the television show House (and quite possibly Dr. Wilson's pocket protector), they are the property of NBC/Universal, David Shore and undoubtedly other individuals of whom I am only peripherally aware. The fan fiction authors published here receive no monetary benefit from their work and intend no copyright infringement nor slight to the actual owners. We love the characters and we love the show, otherwise we wouldn't be here.
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