When a Trembling Hand Reaches

Chapter Eight:

It's already seven o'clock at night and House is still cleaning his home. He managed to clean the kitchen and a part of the living area. All he had to do to finish is to clean his bedroom, the bathroom,clear out the guest room for Amelia and finish the living area. He made sure most of his Vicodin are in good hiding spots and everything in the kitchen looks nice. It was hard for House to make his house spotless, for one he had a cane, and two it hurt every single time he took a step. Once he finished cleaning his living area and the bathroom he walked to the guest room. He never has guests so this room was pretty dusty. House ended up getting an old sock and dusting spray he didn't know he had. After dusting off the dresser, bed side table, and bed frame her emptied out the drawers. Inside were some of his old clothes from college and high school. He pulls out several old college shirts and hoodies and tosses them to the side. Then he comes upon an old navy hoodie that has his college's logo on it and decides to leave it in the drawer. The rest of the shirts and other things he folds and puts on the top shelf of his closet. After full finishing cleaning his house he sees it is eleven o'clock. He grabs his phone and calls his team.

"How is our patient," House asks through the phone.

Cameron answers, "She had fluid in her lungs. We drained it, we will keep draining it as much as we can."

"She had fluid in her lungs and you didn't tell me," shouts House through the phone.

"No, we thought it could wait. All we had to do is drain it," Chase answers.

House responds, "It's a new symptom. How could we wait for that? It won't wait so neither do we. Foreman add fluid in the lungs to the white board."

House can hear Foreman get up from his chair to go write it on the white board. How can his team be so stupid? Now he doesn't know what it is. Deep down in the back of his brain he knows what it is but he pushes it back.

"Treat for Pulmonary Edema," House says before hanging up angrily.

That whole night Amelia was on his mind, and the inspector. He was just hoping she was going to be okay and that the inspector will approve of him. If the inspector didn't he honestly would be devastated. House couldn't sleep because he couldn't stop thinking about Amelia and about the fluid in her lung, how much he wanted to be there with her right now.

House's alarm clock goes off at seven o'clock. He grumbles and rolls over turning off his alarm and stretches rubbing his leg. Swinging his leg off of the beg and grabbing his cane and a handful of Vicodin he gets up throwing the Vicodin in his mouth. He instantly feels the relief and goes to take a shower. He hums as he showers, once he is done he puts a towel around his waist and manages to comb his hair. After brushing his teeth and combing his hair he gets dressed in simple dark jeans, sneakers and a button up baby blue shirt. By the time he was done it was eight-thirty. He walks around the house making sure everything is in order before the inspector is there. He checks himself in the mirror quickly and walks to the door when the door bell rings.

When he opens the door it revels a stern looking woman. Her hair is tied back in a tight bun and she is wearing a white blouse and a black skirt with black flats. She is holding a clipboard with papers on them.

House looks at the woman, "Good morning, I am Doctor House."

The lady looks at him, "Good morning Doctor House. I assume that you know what I need of you?"

House looks at the lady inviting her inside, "Yes m'am. You will interview me and inspect my home where hopefully Amelia will be living."

The lady begins to walk around the house and look through things. She stops once in a while to ask questions.

"How did you find Amelia," the lady asks.

"She is one of my patients at the hospital I work at," House replies.

"Why do you want to adopt Amelia," she asks looking in House's bathroom.

"She is really the only person I've connected with in along time. She reminds me of myself when I was her age. She's very interesting, she has a soft side and a stern side. She only revealed that soft side to me."

"Why did she open up to you?"

"I think she feels a connection with me, I'm not actually quit sure. She told me she trusted me."

"Did you ask Amelia about adopting her? If so what did she say?"

"I did ask Amelia about adopting her. She said yes when I asked. I was shocked at first but she explained that if she didn't trust me or want me she wouldn't have opened up to me."

The lady walks around in silence for a while looking in House's bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, the living area, and the guest bedroom. When she gets to the guest bedroom she looks under the bed, though the drawers and in the closet. She notices the hoodie but leaves it there. House was thinking about giving the hoodie to Amelia for when she got cold, that's why he left it in the room. The lady comes into the living space next to the door when she is finished inspecting the house and asks.

"Do you take any drugs, or abuse alcohol?" she asks.

"I do not abuse alcohol. The only drug I take is painkillers I use for my leg," House responds.

"Why do you take the painkillers?"

"For my leg, I had an infarction in my upper thigh a few years ago."

"Do you have any significant others," she asks checking off stuff on the clip board.

"No," House says starting to get nervous. He quickly adds, "But my best friend lives down the block, he works with me. So if I'm not home she will either be at work with me after school or with him."

"What is your friend's name?"

"James Wilson. He is the Head of Oncology in the hospital I work at."

"Who is your boss?"

"Lisa Cuddy."

"Okay. Thank you Doctor House. After looking at your house, your applications and your answers to the questions I've asked. You------"

{Cliffhanger! What do you think the inspector will say to House? What do you think will happen next? What do you think of Amelia and House's relationship? Comment what you think!}