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Debt
by Cillian Chase
(Friday Afternoon)
"I owe you.... I. Owe. You." At first, the words sounded strange, almost like a joke but the second time that they slipped from Dr. House's gruff mouth they sounded like poison, a poison that would kill any and all within a 50 mile radius of them. With their pungency invading the air, House shifted his weight from his right foot to his left, adjusting the grip on his cane. "I owe you? Oh do tell, Dr. Cameron. This may actually make this week worthwhile."
"Oh you know exactly what I'm talking about, House."
______________________________
MONDAY
(Monday Morning)
Pushing his way through the glass doors of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital Dr. Gregory House made his way to the same elevator that he took every morning, and just like every other morning, he avoided the overly concerned mothers holding two years olds with runny noses and the men who refused to look at anyone for fear that their "problem" would be read in their pitiful eyes. As always, he was avoiding the Clinic like the plague and if he had his way, Dr. House would NOT be treating any sick babies today. Oh no, he would be locked away with some bizarre case or other, something that would most definitely make the Clinic look like child's play.
Sliding open with an accompanying 'ding', the elevator doors revealed one of the only faces in Princeton-Plainsboro that House actually looked forward to seeing, not that he would ever admit that however. Stepping off of the elevator, he wasn't surprised when the other man fell into step beside him.
"Ah, I see that you're avoiding the Clinic... again."
"Avoiding? Pah! I'm merely running to my office to drop off my... stuff." The words 'running' and 'stuff' were not lost on Dr. Wilson, as he knew Dr. House almost as well he as knew himself.
"Stuff? You have... your Vicodin and you certainly aren't about to leave that in your office if you have Clinic duty." They had both turned the corner and instead of splitting and going towards their separate offices, Wilson followed the other man into his.
While House ruffled through a few files on his desk, James took the seat opposite him. Reaching for the oversized tennis ball that everyone seemed to play with, the oncologist surveyed his friend before breaching the waters of a testy topic, "So... what really did happen with Cameron? I mean, it was a long time ago but you never really told me."
The sound had been sucked from the room, everything stopped, the rustling of the papers, their combined breathing, the rattling of the Vicodin in its bottle. Everything. With his fingers still resting in the pages of some random file and his eyes glued to the manila folder, House paused on the pretext of getting caught up in some medical mystery and while this would always fool Chase, Foreman and Cameron, it never worked with Wilson. "I already told you. Nothing."
"Right... nothing is the reason why you clammed up about her right after your date." From the slamming of the file, James knew that he had indeed treaded into the shark-infested waters of his friend's life and almost instantly regretted it.
"I didn't 'clam up'. To say that I 'clammed up' about her would imply that I was talking about her in the first place. Which, I wasn't." In the few minutes that the two men had been in the office, Dr. House still had not taken a seat, opting instead to stand, as he rifled through his work. The hand that was wrapped tightly around his cane was starting to reveal more than his words were as his fingers started to tap along the wooden handle in a manner that could only mean irritation and inner turmoil. "I told you before. I don't like her."
Pursing his lips together and nodding his head slightly, Wilson realized that pushing the topic would only end in a fight, which was something that he didn't need at 9:00am on a Monday morning. Sighing silently, he decided to change the topic, leaving Cameron for another day. "Since you're obviously not in a sharing mood, what's on your agenda this morning?" He hadn't expected to get an answer immediately but he also hadn't expected for House to just ignore him. Searching the gruff man's face with his brown eyes, Wilson tried to read what was hidden by the cane and the two days growth of beard.
Hanging in the air, the question was starting to feel like a death sentence and deep down, James knew that Dr. House's uncharacteristic silence had absolutely nothing to do with what was on his morning schedule. Dr. Wilson knew his friend and he also knew that despite his adamant protestations of having no romantic feelings towards Dr. Cameron, he was merely being a stubborn, arrogant fool of a man. Preparing to bridge another "off limits" topic, Wilson parted his lips, ready to tell his friend that he needed to move on and forget about Stacey. However, another voice cut through the room before he had a chance.
"Clinic Duty." While the discussion of the date had been no more than a few minutes, it had completely taken over House's thoughts. So much so that he hadn't noticed the arrival of the woman who was now leaning on the glass pane of his office door. Her voice had cut through the silence that was slowly falling between Wilson and himself and even she felt slightly guilty about her intrusion.
He knew her voice and could have told you how low cut her top was simply by her tone but he looked up anyway, an almost confused look in his eyes. "But mommy! I don't wanna. I don't wanna." Stamping the foot of his bad leg in a mock tantrum, House let go of the papers and made his way around the desk. Still playing with the red and gray ball, Wilson had to put on his serious face, one fist balled and pressed against his bottom lip to hide the smile and laugh that had already invaded his sparkling brown eyes and was threatening to take over the rest of his boyish features.
"Clinic. Now." Any feelings of guilt, no matter how slight, had slipped away as soon as the cantankerous doctor turned his eyes on her. Not bothering to wait for the response that was sure to come, Dr. Lisa Cuddy turned on her heel and strode out of the room hoping that House would take that as her final answer but as she got a few feet away from the diagnostics office she heard the unmistakable sound of Dr. Wilson bursting into laughter as House continued on with his "mommy" jokes.
(Monday - Clinic)
"Dr. House will see you now." The short nurse in dumpy purple scrubs pointed towards a door labeled "2" with a heavily marked file folder in her hand. "Yes that's right, right through that door Miss Demonic."
With a confused expression on her face, the short pretty blonde made her way towards the door, looking slightly frightened as a disgruntled looking man with a cane pushed his way into Exam Room 2 before her. With her hand braced on the doorframe, the girl gave a tiny sigh before making her way into the room.
Without looking at his patient, Dr. House began to speak at her as opposed to speaking to her. His back towards the girl, he began rooting around in his pocket as he spoke. "I am Dr. House and I shall be curing you of whatever banal illness that you may think you have. Now tell me, what's wrong with you?"
Slightly confused at being addressed by the man's back, the woman began to speak in a nasally, congested voice that was laced with a hint of British under the phlegm as she took a seat on the exam table. "Well, first I just thought I had a cold but then I got this really nasty rash on my legs and back. And then I fo..." Stopping in the middle of her sentence, the woman jumped in her skin as the doctor yelled.
"AH HA! There you are." Squinting her eyes at the doctor, the woman watched as he began to turn around, a pill bottle in hand. "It's for me. Not you. You can't have any. Please continue." Attempting to pop off the lid, the man made an ushering movement for her to continue.
Resettling herself into the exam table, the girl took a deep breath before continuing, making a mental note about how her doctor reminded her of someone that she used to know. "I, I found this odd scaly patch at the base of my scalp. Under... under my hair. Do you want to see it?" Reaching behind her neck, the girl lifted up the locks of her blonde hair, waiting for House to come over and inspect it.
Not bothering to hide the fact that he was put out about having to lower himself to look at a rash, House limped over to the girl, his Vicodin tucked safely away into his pocket once again as one slipped into his stomach. Ready to prescribe some antibiotic or other before his eyes had even fallen upon the offending rash, the doctor stopped in his tracks when he actually saw what was lying beneath her hair. Mixed among a few strands of blonde was a rash that did indeed look scaly. The scaly texture wasn't what caused House to stop but the tiny black and red dots mixed among it were.
"Stay right there..." Vaguely he searched for the patients file folder, finally realizing that he had left it with the nurse and in fact, new nothing about the woman before him other than that she was British and had some nasty rashes and a cold.
"Nadya. My name is Nayda."
"Right, Stay right there.... Nadya. Someone will be in to take your history in a few minutes." His first thought was to send Cameron. After all, his patient was female and Dr. Cameron with all of her fluffy girly feelings seemed to bond to anything that walked into Princeton-Plainsboro with an "I've just been diagnosed as terminal" look about them. Reaching down to his beeper with the intent to send her a page, another thought crossed the man's mind. It was only Monday morning but already the week was turning out to be less than exciting and in no way was he going to suffer through a boring week. Grinning mischievously, Dr. House made his way out of the room but not before calling back to Nadya. "You'll like him. He's British like you. Plus, the girls seem to find him sexy."
Not bothering to wait for a response, House left the girl sitting in Exam Room 2 as he made his way back to his office. This was news that he would have to deliver face to face. If he was going to torture Chase then he was going to at least see the look on the man's face when he did so.
(Monday - Dr. House's Office)
As usual they were all sitting around the conference table in House's office. Foreman was flipping a pen over his fingers as he scanned a few case folders while Chase scratched his blonde head over some word in his current crossword puzzle. Dr. Allison Cameron seemed to be the only one who was really busy in the group, a small stack of letters in front of her, she sat with her head down, as she read over one of the slips of paper with a look of deep concentration on her face. The depth of her thoughts had left her looking just as vulnerable as the thin rims of the glasses that framed her soft face, and neither Chase nor Foreman had the heart to disturb her.
They needn't have worried, however, for just as their boss made his way into the office she had slipped her glasses in her pocket and made her way over to the coffee pot. Her actions were rhythmical, like she had performed them a million times before and was beyond thinking about the actual movements. Standing near the sink, she grabbed a mug (red and plain) as she reached for two packets of sugar with the other hand from the box in the cabinet. Taking a few steps to the side, Cameron reached out for the steaming pot of coffee and gently bit down on her lower lip in concentration as she poured just enough of the soothing liquid to fill but not over fill the mug.
"Chase. Clinic. Exam Room 2. Go take a history."
The Australian's mouth fell open as if he had just been so completely stumped by six down that he had temporarily forgotten how to close his jaw. "But why me? Can't a nurse do it?" The comment held the tones of a bratty child not wanting to eat his vegetables and was being threatened with the prospect of no dessert. Looking up at his boss for some explanation, Chase gave House a look full of contempt.
"Oh now... it's not that bad. You'll like her. She's British just like you." House had the wide eyed innocent look in his eyes that always meant that he had some trick or other up his sleeve. Talking with Gregory House was like jousting blindfolded and he was the undefeated champ.
Realizing that it would be better to just keep his mouth shut, the young man finished off his display with a roll of the eyes and a small smack as he slammed his crossword onto the glass table.
"You break it you buy it. Now go and take Foreman with you. Make sure you..." A small ripping sound followed by a tiny clinking of metal on ceramic caught House's ear and before he could finish baiting a huffing and puffing Chase the rich aroma of a freshly prepared cup of coffee invaded his senses followed by the warmth of Dr. Cameron standing at his elbow with the cup in her little hands.
The ritual had begun months ago. At first he had thought it was a gesture to help her keep her job but in the intervening months she had quit and reclaimed her job, gone on a date with and fought with House, and yet. she still kept bringing him coffee. Not all of his coffee, just his first cup of the day. It didn't matter what time he came storming into the office for the first time but when he did, she would abandon whatever she was doing and prepare him a hot steaming cup of whatever she was brewing that day.
In the past few weeks Allison Cameron had taken to experimenting with different flavored coffees and despite all of his complexities, House was a simple man. He liked regular old coffee with two packets of sugar and no cream. That was it. It was simple but it made him happy (which was a rare thing anymore). The new fancy flavored coffees confused him and messed with his senses. He could only hope that today as a "regular" day.
As tiny as her hands were, House found it absolutely amazing and nothing short of a medical mystery how she was able to cover the entire outside of the mug with her splayed fingers and flat palms. Even the handle had a long digit draped protectively over it. Eyeing the mass of fingers, ceramic and hot liquidy goodness, the doctor took a moment to think about how he could take the mug without actually touching the young woman. That however proved to be impossible unless he planned on having her stand there giving him the occasional sip (not that that didn't have its perks however.)
Deciding that there was now way around it, House reached out his free hand and took hold of the mug, involuntarily taking note of how smooth Cameron's skin was underneath his own rough fingertips. Out of the corner of his bright blue eyes. he could have sworn that he saw Cameron's breath hitch and he quickly took the mug from her, pushing her fingers away with his own. Not staying to study how the other doctor reacted to this, the man hobbled away sipping at the drink mentally cursing that it was not a "regular" day. It was sweet. Too sweet with the additional two packets of sugar and he had to concentrate on swallowing so that he didn't spit it out. "Ah Dr. Cameron, what are we drinking today?"
"Oh, it's chocolate raspberry. Do you like it?" The look in her eyes was hopeful but not expectant and a pleased smile was beginning to curve the edges of her pink lips.
(Monday - Clinic)
Grumbling to himself about exactly why he had to take a history, Chase checked in at the nurse's station for Miss Exam Room 2's chart before he made his way in to talk to the girl. Scanning through the pages of her medical history, he didn't bothering looking up as he made his way into the room. "Alright Miss... Miss Demonic. I'm Dr. Chase and I'm here to take your medical history. Tell me, have you done any traveling in the past few months?"
"I thought Dr. House said that you were British?"
Looking up from the chart, Dr. Robert Chase merely scowled.
(Monday - Princeton-Plainsboro Cafeteria)
"Well if you aren't going to eat them, can I at least have them?" His brown eyes had been eyeing House's discarded pickles for the past five minutes, and he had finally decided that for once he wasn't going to let them go to waste. Not waiting for an ok, the oncologist reached out and took the slices before his dining companion could say yes or no.
"Why did you even bother asking? It's not like I take your stuff, especially your food, without asking."
Had Wilson not known better, he may have waited for his friend to laugh or say that he was kidding but as it was, James Wilson did know better. Shaking his head at House, he was having second thoughts about the pickles but decided that after all of the chips, salads, sandwiches and whatever else House had pilfered off of him, a few thin slices of pickle was a very small thing. "Right. I'll keep that in mind for next time."
"You better."
Muttered in utter seriousness, Wilson was convinced that deep down, House actually believed that he had committed some heinous act by taking his pickles. Shaking his head, James remembered the day after House and Cameron's date. His friend had seemed slightly sadder than usual but fended off his questions like the pro that he was. There had been one answer that hadn't satisfied his curiosity however. He had asked the man if he thought that they would 'do dinner again.' House had replied simply by saying "I think so," and as far as Wilson was concerned, 'I don't think so' was not 'no' and the look in the man's eyes when he said had said that he 'didn't think so' spoke volumes compared to what had come out of his mouth. Over the years, he had come to learn that despite his almost total verbal honesty, you could always find the most heartbreaking of truths in House's eyes. "So... You never answered me this morning."
"Yes, I did. I said that I had clinic duty." His eyes were light but his voice held traces of warning and normally James would let the subject lie but today he decided to trudge ahead instead, mentally cringing at what the consequences would most likely be.
"You know what I'm talking about House. Don't be stupid."
"Me be stupid? Ha! I'm brilliant and we all know it." Eating his sandwich with one hand, House had taken to flipping through a patient folder with the other.
"Yes, you're brilliant. So much so that you usually manage to outsmart yourself. I don't know what Cameron sees in you." He made his way through half of one of the pickle slices and suddenly found that he just wasn't interested in them anymore. Throwing the dill chunk down, James had half a mind to tell the man that he needed to 1: Get over himself., 2: Get over Stacy., and 3: Admit that he has 'feelings' for Allison Cameron. But in the years that he had been friends with the doctor sitting across from him, he had realized that trying to be completely, honestly blunt with him would get you nowhere. It was like House had some sort of immunity to it and so he had learned how to work him over using poignant logic, a kind voice, and puppy dog eyes.
The light in House's eyes had flickered and died at the words, and Wilson could tell that he struck a nerve. "Look House, I just want you to be happy. That's all. Aren't you tired of being miserable yet?"
"That's touching, really but maybe you should just come to terms with the fact that nothing happened and leave it alone." He had slammed the folder shut but kept his sandwich in the other hand. Of all the topics for Wilson to pick to harp on, he had to pick one that wasn't even a real issue. "Maybe you should..."
"Emus."
"What is she doing with you?"
"Well when she finished your mail, she decided to take her lunch break so we walked here together."
"Well then Dr. Cameron, where is your lunch?" The sight of Dr.'s Chase and Cameron approaching together had caused the older man to sit back, a fact that was not lost on Wilson.
"Umh, isn't the health of Nadya more important than my lunch." It was there, the usual clench of her jaw and the wrinkle of her brow that meant that Dr. Cameron couldn't rest until the situation was stable again. Her arms had flown up and protectively crossed themselves over her chest the moment that Dr. House had sat back and started appraising her with his shocking blue eyes.
"Nadya? Oh you've talked to her! Chase, I told you to do the history. What did you do, send little Cameron here in there to do your work? And what happened to Foreman? Is he off jacking a car somewhere?" His voice was full of disgust and before he could figure out why Wilson cut in.
"Wait, emus?"
The original comment had been lost in the arrival of Cameron with Chase instead of Chase with Foreman but hearing it again, House looked from Wilson to Cameron and then to Chase waiting for one of them to spit out an explanation. "Well?"
"She has Emu Flu. She traveled, ironically enough, through Australia earlier this year. Apparently she was studying emus and now has Emu Flu." Standing in front of Dr. House with Nadya's file folder in hand, Chase smirked slightly. The British girl had ended up with an Australian sickness. It was a small thing but Robert Chase felt as if he had somehow triumphed over the cantankerous man before him.
"I take it you started her on the proper anti-biotic."
Chase pursed his lips together slightly before opening his mouth and preparing to shield himself with Nadya's chart if need be. "Um, no actually. I told her that you would be in to prescribe her medication. After all, you told me to do her history. Not treat her."
"Oh my! I see that you're still throwing a fit about having to take a history. Well, go take your nap. Leave the real work to the big kids." Making a shooing gesture with his hands, House watched as Chase ground his teeth and he could have swore that the Australian man was trying very hard not to stamp his foot in irritation. The next thing he knew, Chase had tossed Nadya's case file onto the cafeteria table and had stalked away leaving Cameron standing there with Wilson and himself.
Wilson could only shake his head but Cameron, despite the fact that the patient would be ok, was still clenched. Her green-ish blue eyes were boring holes into House's face and despite the fact that she had seen this type of behavior many times before from the man; she was still put out by it.
"Oh relax Cameron. Your little boy toy will be fine. He just needs his afternoon nap." In the process of grabbing the girl's file folder and standing up, he reached for the cane that had been laid across the seat next to him, but before her grabbed it, he took one more bite of his sandwich before turning his eyes on Cameron. "You were here for lunch weren't you? I'm sure that Wilson wouldn't mind some company." Without a look at the oncologist, House turned and left, leaving his half eaten sandwich and tray sitting on the table.
Just as the man had left her sight, Cameron unfolded her arms as she heaved a sigh that was full of annoyance and exhaustion. Dropping into the chair that House had just left, the young woman reached forward and snatched a forgotten pickle off the wrapper that had been spread upon the table. She began to munch on the slice when Wilson's voice broke through her thoughts.
"So, what really happened when you and House went on that date?"
Cameron could feel Wilson's eyes searching her face as the question began to seep through her veins like poison. The pickle that she had been eating suddenly lost all of its appeal and she threw it back down onto the paper wrapper on the table. "I'm sure that he already told you."
(Monday - Clinic)
For the second time in a day, Dr. House made his way into Exam Room 2. This time however, he had a heavily marked file folder tucked under his arm. Nadya was still sitting on the exam table but instead of her legs dangling over the edge, they were pulled up and tucked beneath her. The look on her face was expectant and slightly worried.
"Hello Your Emuness. I hear that you've been doing some traveling." House had come to stand next to Nadya and after setting her folder on the table, he flipped his cane over like a baton and used the hook end to reach out and pull the small stool that was reserved for doctors over to himself. Taking a seat he grabbed the prescription pad off of the little counter next to him and began to scribble the name of an antibiotic.
"Um yeah. I was in Australia studying emus. Is that what's wrong with me? Is it something to do with the emus?" Reaching out, Nadya took hold of the slip of paper that House was handing her. "If I take this I'll be ok?" The look in her soft eyes was hopeful and her fingers were clutching the tiny slip of paper as if it alone would cure her.
"Well, it turns out that you have Emu Flu. And... bad you for ending up with an Australian illness. Dr. Chase is never going to let me live it down." Strangely enough, there seemed to almost be a hint of amusement in House's eyes. "And yes, take the medication and you'll be emu free." Pushing off with his good leg, House rolled back a few feet, just enough so that he was able to reach out and take hold of his cane. "Now, no more emus for a while. You are cured, and once again, my day is boring." Walking towards the door, House turned back to Nadya one last time, "Oh, would you mind dropping your file folder off at the Nurse's Station? I'm officially off duty." Nodding slightly, not waiting for the girl to respond, House turned and made his way out of Exam Room 2 and the Clinic, leaving Nayda with a dumbfounded look on her pretty face.
(Monday -House's Office)
Chase, Foreman and Cameron were once again sitting around the small table in House's office, Chase and Cameron had their heads together over a file, as Foreman typed up something on his lap top. For the most part, their jobs were done for the day. They all had a few patients to look in on but they were not needed as a Diagnostics Team again until tomorrow morning.
"I can just tell that this is going to be a boring week." The door closed behind him with a small thud that caused the three other doctors to look up from their work.
"Well, then you'll just have to find another way to amuse yourself this week. Won't you?" Chase smiled smugly. For once he had managed to get back at House. He may not have actually had anything to do with it but the look on House's face when he proclaimed Nadya's illness to be Australian in origin had made his day. And the following remarks about taking a history vs. prescriptions had made the scene that much more enjoyable.
"Yes, I guess I will. I see that your mid-afternoon nap did wonders for your attitude." House didn't even have to look at the blonde to know that he had a tiny scowl plastered on his face. Taking a seat at his desk, the man looked at the three doctors before him as they slowly fell back into what they had been doing before he had made his grand entrance. Cameron was the only one of the group who hadn't stopped looking at him. "Dr. Cameron, is there something that you wanted to ask me?"
"No, not at all Dr. House." A slight pink flush was forming at the base of her collar and though she felt she should look away, she kept her eyes glued on the man before here. "Perhaps it's time for me to go and make my last rounds." Smiling politely, Cameron stood and gathered up a few papers and files before heading towards the door.
"Oh Cameron, why don't you take the other two with you? I've got some very important emailing to do. That and Internet porn. You know the drill." Clicking on something on the softly glowing computer screen, House watched as Cameron followed by Chase and Foreman made their way out of the office.
Once they were gone, house turned back to his computer screen as he rooted around in his pocket for a wrinkled slip of paper. Placing it on the desk he began to type in the email address written on it when he heard the hinges of his office door open once again.
"I forgot my glasses." Running back into the room, Cameron scooped the forgotten item off the conference table before running out again. But before she left, she turned back and placed a slender hand on the doorframe. "Good night House." Knowing that it would be unwise to wait for a response, the young woman turned and took after a waiting Chase.
The interruption had been very brief and House barely registered the fact that Allison Cameron had come and gone in the space of a few seconds. The computer screen was glowing a pale blue on his face as he began pressing the keys with a skill that many would quip belonged to a surgeon.
"Dear Mr. And Mrs. Cameron..."
CILLIAN CHASE'S CHART
- Debt was conceived as a response to the episode "Love Hurts". I was extremely moved and touched and found that I had to respond to it. "Love Hurts" holds some of the most beautiful moments that I have seen on television in a long time.
- No, Emu Flu is not a real illness. I apologize. I thought for sure there'd be some emu related fever/sickness/disease but alas, I was unable to find one. I'd have changed Nadya's diagnosis but... it was a gift. There will be other clinic patients but their illnesses are real. Promise.
- Bear with me on some canon issues. I'm new (-ish) to the show and so if I contradict anything, it's not intentional. Also as the canon is un-finished, I do have to invent a few details.
- Katie, ducks and kisses! Thank you. Just wait till Wednesday. :duck:
- Nadya, thank you. Thank you for listening to me go on and on and on and on about my House/Cam obsession. And thank you for embarking on this project with me. (snugglesnuggle) Your illness is my "thank you". :duck:
Please post a comment on this story.
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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