Occam's Razor - House M.D.

Part 13- Butterfly Without Its Wings

"Okay gang, take a seat, take a seat!" House chirped at his team before they've even had a chance to organize their materials for the day. 

Chase, Foreman, Thirteen, Taub, and Madelyn each had a look of disturbance on their faces as they saw House's cheery smile. Not only was it unusual for House to be a in good mood, but he just didn't smile. They each began wondering what was wrong with him, or what he was planning to do as a result. 

The five of them took a seat, while House stood at the whiteboard–probably one of his favorite possessions in his office. He popped off the cap to the dry-erase marker and began writing. The marker screeched on the surface that now read "Team Building". 

"Team building?" Thirteen asked underwhelmed. House feigned a facial expression of disappointment. 

"Need me to extrapolate?" House asked. Thirteen rolled her eyes and said, 

"No, no. I thought you might've been looking for one of us to explain it to you. My bad." She said through a tight-lipped smile, feeling satisfied with her joke. House, on the other hand, didn't seem satisfied just yet. 

"Okay, who wants to start?" House raised his voice and clapped his hands together in anticipation. Everyone looked at each other. 

"Ok. Well, let's start with this new case-" Taub replied awkwardly, confused as to whether or not House was serious. Just then, he was interrupted: 

"That doesn't sound like team-building to me." House said tapping his cane on the desk where his team sat. Taub looked up at his boss blankly. 

"House, we need to consult. A 12 year-old boy is suffering from eczema outbreaks on his lower body, but has no apparent desire to scratch. Could be neurological?" Taub finished his thought.

"I had the same problem when I was 12, of course, it wasn't so much eczema as it was just some inflammation as the result of some willy wonking." House confessed, eager to shut Taub up. 

Foreman shook his head at the ridiculous statement, and Chase tried to refrain from laughing. Thirteen and Madelyn looked at each other knowing they were the most mature doctors in the room, as far as sex jokes go. 

"Now, back to the task at hand." 

House had many icebreakers prepared for his team building day, and while the beginning moments of the games seemed to last forever, the team eventually began enjoying themselves. Madelyn, however, couldn't believe House actually made it happen; she thought he was just bluffing yesterday in his office. She never thought he was the type to orchestrate an exercise like this. 

By the afternoon, Madelyn learned a great deal about her coworkers than she ever imagined to. She learned that Chase and Foreman have been with House the longest, and that neither one of them originally set out to pursue medicine. Chase had actually tried his cards at priesthood, while Foreman grew up as a delinquent with slim to no chances of pursuing higher education. Thirteen had revealed that she has Huntington's disease, and that her fear of death is something she is trying to use as motivation to live better. And finally, Taub had issues with adultery that has left him questioning his own abilities as a doctor. 

"Your turn, House." Thirteen said, turning in his direction. He sat at the head of the table opposite from Madelyn, the only other person left to take part in their current ice breaker: your biggest challenge yet in the medical field. 

"I'm just the proctor," House explained, "I promise, when you are all old enough, you'll hear all about it." 

House then looked to Madelyn who took a deep breath of dread. She nervously brushed her long, glistening hair behind her eyes, and looked at House.