Occam's Razor - House M.D.

Part 5- Fresh Meat

"I promise, he's not as bad as Wilson, so bluntly implied." Cuddy insisted as she fidgeted with her necklace as we waited for the elevator to reach our selected floor. Madelyn nervously licked her lips, and looked to Wilson for extra affirmation. He looked over and down at her, 

"Just do what he says, don't question him," Wilson said reluctantly, "Cuddy, don't you think Madelyn should know what she'll be facing?" Cuddy exhaled, possibly annoyed. House will always be one of those topics. The three of them finally exited the elevator, and headed across a bridge-like structure and reached a massive, glass room illuminated warmly by the sun. 

"Oh my gosh, is this a laboratory or something?" Madelyn asked, astonished by the sight. 

"You could call it that," Cuddy commented, "this is your work station." Wilson let out a deep breath and slightly hovered over Madelyn who was on the shorter side, 

"Before we go in, we should probably think of a safe word. 'Help' perhaps?" Wilson suggested, getting a laugh from Madelyn and a scowl from Cuddy. They entered the room. 

Over at a metal table sat a blonde-haired doctor who was seemingly buried in his work, a white board with illegible script, and blaring music from the far, back corner on the other side of the room. 

"Follow me." Cuddy exhaled with a forced grin that seemed to convey a feeling of dread. Madelyn and Wilson followed closely behind her as she brought them to the desk of a salt-and-peppered, scruffy man with his back towards them. The music was ridiculously loud, and definitely not what would normally be heard in a hospital. Cuddy walked up to the man, smacked his back lightly, and flicked his head like a small child. Madelyn and Wilson couldn't help but laugh. Right then, the man turned around and fixed his gaze to Cuddy's who was glaring at him with her hands on her hips. 

"Hey there!" He shouted, hardly above the music. Cuddy rolled her eyes, 

"Turn it down! Right now!" She ordered. The man forced an exaggerated frown, and paused his music. 

"Finally..." said a mumbled voice nearby. It was the doctor sitting at the table. 

"Don't get used to it" spat the man, obnoxiously. He stared at Wilson who stood closely beside Madelyn as if to try and guard her from getting any closer. 

"Hiya Willy!"He chortled, slamming his hands on his desk in delight like a clown. Wilson shook his head and feigned a smile, 

"Hi" Wilson sighed. The scruffy man's blue eyes turned to Madelyn and he looked her up and down before settling on her eyes, 

"New girlfriend?" He 'whispered' to Wilson, who violently shook his head in embarrassment. Madelyn furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. 

"Who are you?" He shouted, pointing the end of his cane at Madelyn. Just as she was about to speak, the man opened his mouth again, 

"Oh! Wait..." he exclaimed, "I know! I'll have coffee, black and more of these".  He picked up a small pill bottle and shook it like some sort of bell. Madelyn had confused written all over her face. 

What the hell?  she thought. Cuddy immediately stepped in before another word was spoken, 

"House!" She snapped, raising her voice, "this is Dr. Madelyn Gilmore, your new team member." Cuddy extended her hand in Madelyn's direction to indicate her presence that was clearly baffling House. He puckered his lips together and shook his head, 

"I don't remember hiring anyone." He replied. 

"Yes, that's because I hired her. God knows I wouldn't leave that kind of thing up to you." 

House stood up, leaning on his cane a little bit for balance, and stopped directly in front of Madelyn. His eyes scanned her, and he even sniffed her a little. 

"Okay, sure. I guess we need a little... fresh meat around here.' House smirked. Madelyn stepped back a little in intimidation. She wondered if this was a joke, if this guy was actually her boss, and above all things, what made him qualified to work here? 

"Ignore him..." Wilson whispered to Madelyn who raised an eyebrow in response. 

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on her. For now. Besides, I'm not the issue here, try dealing with moron subordinates." House admitted, sounding half serious, and meeting Madelyn's stare for a moment. She couldn't help but notice how blue his eyes were. Everything about this man was immediately off-putting to her, but his eyes were different. She saw something genuine there. 

"Give it some time, he's a big softie." Cuddy said in an attempt to reassure Madelyn that her boss was not to be taken too seriously. Madelyn turned to watch as Cuddy made her way towards the door. 

"He'll take good care of you. You know where to find me, if you need anything, and you have my phone number, yes?" she asked Madelyn who still looked a bit timid. 

"Yes, thank you." Cuddy returned a smile, and was off to work, leaving Madelyn with her new boss and Wilson. House circled Madelyn like a shark before asking, 

"How old are you?" 

"30, but about to turn 31". House looked surprised, 

"Wow, you really are fresh meat. Did you just graduate med school?" 

"Yeah, I graduated from Dartmouth this past spring." Madelyn replied nervously, biting her lip a little. House was silent for a moment, he seemed to be contemplating her answer. Maybe thinking that she was lying. 

"Dartmouth, hm?" House asked, "Didn't get into Harvard?" Wilson shot House a look of utter shock with a slightly dropped jaw. Madelyn held still, taken slightly aback by that response. 

"Not really my style," Madelyn retorted with pursed lips, "I'm not very preppy." A small smile crept across House's lips; he seemed satisfied with that answer. 

"Better stay away from Wilson then." House added through clenched teeth. Wilson squinted his eyes walking slightly closer to house's desk which he was now sitting on top of,

"And what does that mean?" Wilson asked, not looking froward to the answer. House bugged out his eyes, and awkwardly looked Wilson up and down between cashmere fabrics, and a satin-looking bow tie,  

"You have mirrors at home, right?" House replied sarcastically, of course. The two of them kept up quite a show of banter, it was almost refreshing for Madelyn especially on her first day of her first professional job. 

"See yourself out, Willy. I'm putting Gilmore here to work." 

"Work?" A voice said from behind them near the entry doors. Behind stood the handsome doctor with a kind smile from earlier that morning, 

"Dr. Foreman!" Madelyn cheered, flashing him a smile. She hoped she'd see him again. 

"H-hi, Dr. Gilmore. Still lost?" Foreman joked. Madelyn laughed, 

"No, no I'm your new team member!" Foreman's facial expression morphed from confusion, to what looked like happiness or at least contentedness. 

"You've met Foreman?" House asked making his way to the coffee machine near the little make-shift kitchenette in the back corner near the windows. Foreman took a seat next to the working doctor at the table who was still reading those files. 

"Yeah, this morning. He helped me to Dr. Cuddy's office." Madelyn responded assuringly. 

"Well, since you've already had the misfortune of meeting him, I guess I'll put you both to work then." House huffed before spitting out his coffee onto the carpet. 

"That, tastes like ass. Hey, you'd know what I mean, right?" House asked Wilson who seemed to be the subject of ridicule and humor today. Wilson rolled his eyes, gave Madelyn a good-luck-pat on the back, and walked straight for the doors. House let out a stupid little giggle and picked up a marker at the white board. 

UGH I can only imagine meeting House!! First 5 parts are officially published :)