Occam's Razor - House M.D.

Part 38- Stuck on This Carousel

Snow sprinkled down from the twilight sky on this particular evening at Princeton-Plainsboro. Tonight, the hospital was hosting their annual charity gala ridden with exquisite entertainment and luscious amenities like the ridiculously posh auction. 

Under gorgeous strobed lights, and acrobatic performers, were hundreds and hundreds of attendees all dressed up to the nines, with their pockets ready. 

Stepping  up to the stage at this moment, was Madelyn Gilmore: her hair sleeked back and cascading down in curls upon her ankle-length, scarlet ballroom dress. Having prepared for this performance for about a month now, Madelyn knew she was ready. With one look at House, who sat at the poker table with Wilson and Cuddy, Madelyn's heart trembled. She was making a last minute change: 

"Hello. My name is Dr. Madelyn Gilmore from the diagnostics department, and I will be performing I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston." 

The sudden change of heart, she attributed to the fact that while she was scared shitless in her life right now, the one thing she felt grounded her was the insatiable, magnetic love she felt for Greg House. 

It was, however, when she had finished her breathtaking performance, that she saw his piercing eyes tell her that he loved her just as much. It was noticeable to all that were around him, that House felt something for Madelyn bigger than himself which was made obvious not just from the single tear that fell from his eye, but from his ability to make himself vulnerable to her. The standing ovation was just the icing on the cake. 

As she made her way back to House, all her friends applauded her talent. 

"Madelyn, I can't believe it!" Wilson gushed. 

"I know, I probably shouldn't have changed it." Madelyn replied, a half guilty expression on her face.

"You changed your song?" House asked, unaware. 

"Yeah, I just thought it summed things up for me--for us-- better than the other song." Madelyn confessed, leaning a little against House's chair and giving his forehead a peck. 

"I had no idea you had so many talents" Cuddy agreed, raising her glass in the air slightly. 

Little Rachel who sat beside her mother, had a baby Yoda doll in her lap which she made clap its hands. Madelyn giggled, thinking it was adorable. 

"You were even better than I remember," Wilson said, "congratulations." 

Wilson reached to embrace Madelyn, warmly. The two of them had made up, and this was now made very obvious to House who began to feel a bit jealous. In response, House snaked his arm around Madelyn's waist and placed her on top of his lap. He kissed her shoulder, and kept his hands rested on hips. While unnoticeable to others, Madelyn's body suddenly felt as if it were covered in scales–her skin grew chilly too. Above all else, she felt uncomfortable with House touching her even somewhat intimately because she still needed to tell him about the pregnancy. 

Folding in some cards and shuffling through them, the gang was invested in the poker game. House took a second to sip his bourbon, and silently offered some to Madelyn who pushed the glass away. 

"Not feeling it?" House inquired further. 

"Nah," Madelyn admitted, "but I will have one dance." 

The dance floor had opened up while the jazz band was on stage for their half-hour-long performance. Even though Madelyn knew this wouldn't be tempting for House, it was an opportunity to get him alone. 

House groaned a bit, "Eww, seriously?" Madelyn nodded cutely. "Fine, for you. One dance." 

As they paved their way through the crowd towards the open floor, many of the lyrics from her performance were still fluttering around in her head.