Cure- House, MD

chapter 3: all in the family

It's my third day at Princeton-Plainsboro.

Originally, I was counting down the days until I got back to Orlando.
Now, I'm contemplating everything I know.

Last night, I went home and I stared at the ceiling until my alarm rang this morning. I thought about every single pro and con to each decision I could make.

Commute part-time? Hell no. I'd have to catch a plane every other day.

Turn the offer down and go back to Orlando? I'd see my mom and Dr. Tillsbury, but I'd still be paying almost a half a million in student loans.

Take the offer and move to New Jersey? I wouldn't ever see my family. I'd be all alone. But... money.

We'll see if I can even do these four more cases correctly and then that will be my ultimate decision.

I walk into the hospital and sit my things down, per my usual routine the past two days.

I go into the lounge to make a cup of coffee. I open the cabinet and grab a mug and pour the coffee into it.

I go back to my desk and sit down, reading through research on Narcolepsy.

"You must be the one that House is hiding all of us from?" A voice says from the side of my desk.

I glance over and see a taller man with blonde hair.

"I'm Dr. Robert Chase." He holds out a hand. It's hard to ignore the Australian accent.

I smile and shake his hand. "And you must be a member of the team he's kept under classification from me?"

"You aren't missing out on much. Foreman and Cameron are nice and all, but they aren't as outgoing and smart as me." He shrugs, smiling.

"I bet they're not nearly as humble either, huh?" I laugh.

"So... are you here temporarily? Or are you staying? I'm just trying to find out if I even need to remember your name." He asks, sitting at the chair in front of my desk.

"I am not sure. It's a test run for right now." I stop myself from talking about the situation with House, considering it's a situation where he is offering me half a million dollars. That could get out quickly and cause some sticky problems between him and his team.

"Well, I feel that it's easy to get accustomed to the lifestyle here. If you can get past House's childish tantrums and sarcasm, you'll find he's one of the better doctors to work for here." Chase explains, standing back up from the chair.

I nod softly as I think about what he's saying.

"Well, I just wanted to pop by. If you do decide to stay, you can just find me and the others around here somewhere." He shrugs and waved goodbye, flashing one last smile.

After maintaining my composure, I lay my head down on my desk and groan loudly after he shuts the door.

"Preaching to the choir." I hear another voice.

I look up to see House. He's putting his weight on his cane with a hand on his hip.

My face flushes for a moment at being caught acting like an idiot.

"I have a case." He plops down a chart on my desk.

"What is it?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," He laughs giddily. "You'll enjoy this one. Patient thinks that he's Ryan Gosling."

I raise an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

"Mm. That's what I said." He sits down on the edge of my desk, looking over at me.