Occam's Razor - House M.D.

Part 9- Always a Gentleman

"James, hi." Madelyn said smiling, with surprise in her eyes that glistened over at the sight of him. He returned a sweet smile, and cutely handed her the bouquet. "They're so pretty, thank you. Daffodils?"

"They're a symbol of new beginnings and renewal. I thought it might bring you some good luck with the new job and all." James admitted, his cheeks slightly blushed. Madelyn eagerly smelled the white flowers, and turned to set them on the little marble table by the entranceway. She tinkered with the arrangement just a little, wanting to make sure all the flowers were balanced between the accompanying greenery. 

"Thank you, really that's so thoughtful." She replied, escorting him into her living room. James took a seat in her leatherback accent chair, 

"So, how was the first day?" Madelyn was now in the kitchen, filling up a glass of water before handing it to Wilson.

"It went really well, I'm delightfully surprised. The team seems really great." 

Wilson swallowed, and was silent for a moment. Madelyn watched his light brown eyes starring awkwardly at the floor. 

"You can be honest with me, Madelyn." Wilson admitted sincerely. Madelyn held her gaze to his and said, 

"I am? Really, I had a good day." 

"So, House didn't give you too much grief once I left?" Wilson asked, his attention piqued. Madelyn shook her head, somewhat confused why House had such a sketchy reputation. 

"Not really. He's definitely not what I expected," she snickered, "but, he knows what he's doing. He's sort of mysterious too, which I thought was weird, but he was pleasant, and gave me a lot of opportunities for only the first day!" 

Wilson rolled up the sleeves of his sweatshirt and rested his elbows upon his thighs, appearing to be pondering Madelyn's words. Wilson couldn't deny that he and House were best friends, but that would never erase the fact that House was generally a selfish asshole, especially to newbies on his team. Still, Wilson had hoped Madelyn would challenge his friend. 

"Well, consider me delightfully surprised too." Wilson replied finishing the last of his water. "Speaking of surprises, you're probably wondering why I'm here." Madelyn forced a little smile and raised her eyebrows confirming Wilson's assumption. "I wanted to take you out to celebrate your new job. I know it isn't easy when you're first starting out in the field". 

Madelyn stood up and grabbed her little black bag from the coat hook, 

"I would love to." She smiled. Wilson couldn't help but smile back, and he followed her out the door. 

---

The two old friends went to dinner together at one of Wilson's favorite pubs not too far from his apartment. Early on in their relationship, they usually ate here together and would spend the night at his place afterwards, however, tonight would not end the same. It was the perfect place to celebrate; nothing too fancy, but a fun-loving environment with music that wasn't blaring nor littered with college students. 

A pitcher of beer arrived at their table, followed by a couple of sandwiches and chips. The two of them chatted, ate, and simply enjoyed each other's company as it had been a long while since they've crossed paths. 

"Thank you for suggesting this, I've missed you." Madelyn confessed before taking a sip of some hard cider. Wilson sort of clapped his hands in a swipe motion to dust the crumbs off from his extra toasted rye bread. 

"I've missed you too. Clearly a lot has happened since I last saw you. So, you stuck with Dartmouth?" 

"Yeah, I had to after everything that happened with my mom. Well, you remember how she was abusing her prescriptions after that surgery?" Wilson nodded his head while biting off more of his sandwich. 

"She's abandoned any and all advice I've given her." Madelyn sighed, slightly shifting in her chair

"But at what cost?" Wilson added, his eyes gleaming with sincerity. 

"She has even more medical bills now. Her opioid addiction is ruining her kidneys, so she has an in-home nurse that has required so much of my money. I obviously couldn't take that gap year, and had to slam a full-time job between my last three, 18-credit hour semesters."

Wilson let out a heavy sigh of defeat, "I'm so sorry. I had hoped for a better turnout from the rehab facility you sent her to. But, I get it. As doctors there's only so much we can do, and as people there's even less sometimes." 

Madelyn crunched on some chips and sat quietly for a moment. The ambience in the pub was calming in the sense that there was life happening all around her, but many different lives meshing all together. Taking a second to notice little things like that helped keep Madelyn's spirits afloat, as she often found herself fixated on the less-than-lovely experiences in life. 

"You always understand." Madelyn admitted happily, looking into Wilson's eyes that were always so welcoming. 

"I really am here for you. I know things got messy back then, but I value you as a person and as a friend. Please don't forget that." Wilson said, extending a hand over hers that lay on the table. Madelyn felt her eyes well up a little, and she quickly replied, 

"I feel the same way. I'm sorry for all that, by the way." Wilson gestured with his hand that Madelyn not worry about it. 

"You can make it up to me by coming out with me again some time." He responded. Madelyn clasped her hands together nervously, feeling her heart begin to beat a bit harder.

"I would love to." she smiled, the apples of her cheeks blushing as she felt herself becoming enchanted by Wilson's beautiful, soft smile... the smile she had once fallen in love with. 

Just then, the check had come around to the table and Wilson got his wallet out to pay. While Madelyn didn't want him to, Wilson was and wanted to be a gentleman, so she surrendered. Putting her wallet back into the sleeve of her purse, she felt her phone vibrate. Madelyn retracted her hand to pull her phone back out and turned it on to reveal a new text message. Her eyes scanned her screen, 

House> "You're welcome. See you tomorrow, Gilmore."