House Fan Fiction ❯ A Christmas Story ❯ One Day Until Christmas ( Chapter 15 )

One Day Until Christmas

 

House walked towards Katie who was sitting on a picnic table in a jogging park. It was late spring and everything in the park was green and in full bloom. She sat out here sometimes to draw the runners, walkers, skippers, and trees to fill in her landscape pictures. He went up next to her seeing her hand shade in the shadows and also somehow making corrections to the picture.

 

He jumped up onto the picnic table next to her. “Having fun?” he asked grabbing her charcoal from her hand.

 

Katie flashed her smile at him and grabbed the charcoal back. “Professor Bitch decided that everyone needed a charcoal picture of their favorite place. So I'm sorry for missing your skate boarding presentation of you falling down.”

 

“It's a hell of a lot easier than ice-skating,” stated House. He watched two girls in short-shorts and a tank top run by. “Maybe I should start running.”

 

Katie frowned at House playfully. “Ha. Ha. While you run after your dreams I'll be skating towards my rich doctor.”

 

House hugged her head tightly. Katie lightly pounded his back. “Like hell I'm going to stand on ice while you skate towards me at high speeds!”

 

“Greg! I need air!” Katie squirmed out of House's grip and kissed his cheek. “So how was your skate boarding performance?” She began to draw once again.

 

“Horrible, but I didn't fall down like I do in ice-skating though.”

 

Katie flipped her hair back. “I'm proud of you. Do you think this picture is done?”

 

“And you're asking me why?”

 

“The bitch said to ask an idiot, someone who knows all the colors of the rainbow, or a truthful ass. I asked someone who has all three of those traits.”

 

House rolled his eyes. “Fine, but the next time you fall down almost breaking your ankle again I'm not saving you.” He glanced down at the picture. It was perfect just like her other drawings. “It's okay. Doesn't really do anything for me.”

 

“So otherwise it's amazing,” she said with a smile. She moved the hair from her face showing off the plain ring on her left finger. It was just a simple silver ring with a small diamond that she joked was fake to everyone else.

 

“No, it's okay. If it was amazing you wouldn't be asking me.”

 

Katie smiled at him. She nudged him with her knee. “I just love hearing your opinions. I know how much you like your art, too.”

 

“Fine. It's horrible and you should defiantly teacher kindergartners instead of high schoolers. They might get confused between finger painting and regular art.”

 

“But then you wouldn't know if they were my pictures or my students or our children.”

 

House smirked. “Children will ruin my great figure though.”

 

Katie giggled and kissed him.

 

House opened his eyes lying in his own bed. He blinked a few times wondering how he got into his apartment. He sat up and looked at his clock. The alarm had been turned off which read eleven o'clock in the morning. He looked down at himself: his shoes had been removed along with his suit jacket and long sleeved shirt he wore yesterday. His cane was by the door.

 

“I'm going to kill Wilson,” he muttered and grabbed his Vicodin bottle. He popped a few into his mouth before the pain woke up fully.

 

He sat up swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He grabbed his phone that they had left by his bed. He called Foreman.

 

“Dr. Foreman.”

 

“When did you schedule Lilly's surgery?”

 

“This morning at eight-”

 

“How's she doing?”

 

“Fine. She hasn't woken up-”

 

“Did you hotwire my bike and bring it back or do I have to call Wilson to come get me?'

 

“Your bike?”

 

“Never mind.” House hung up on Foreman. He stood up and limped out the door grabbing his cane.

 

House limped into the hospital looking for Wilson or his team. He didn't see any of them as he made it to the elevator. He pushed the up button with his cane when he heard Cuddy talking to him.

 

“House you're late.”

 

“Blame Wilson. He's the one that sent me home asleep.”

 

Cuddy raised an eyebrow. “He did what?”

 

House smirked. “Well-if you must know. Yesterday I ran saving a patient-”

 

“The guy escaped.”

 

“-and, of course, my bum leg hurt so much Vicodin wasn't going to help-”

 

Cuddy rolled her eyes. “And you OD on something else?”

 

“See this is why no one likes you,” said House. “You keep interrupting. That's why no one wants to have save sex with you either because you'll interrupt it.”

 

Cuddy frowned as the door opened and House limped inside. “Well are you going to finish telling me why you're late?”

 

“Nope except that Wilson knocked me out and apparently dragged me home.”

 

The elevator doors closed and went up. House limped out from the elevator towards his office. His team was already sitting at the table eating candy canes and drinking coffee. He went into his office tossing his bag to the floor and throwing his coat and scarf to the chair.

 

House went into the other room. They looked up at him. “Has everyone finished their clinic duty?”

 

“Yeah,” said Chase.

 

“Good. Chase go cover my clinic hours. Foreman make sure the patient's lungs and heart don't collapse. Check it every hour. Cameron go buy mint flavored candy canes.”

 

Chase stood up rolling his eyes and left to go to the clinic. Foreman frowned at House. “She's fine. If there's any problem they'll page us.”

 

“Don't make me get a whip. Get going.” He looked at Cameron before she could say anything. “Don't worry you'll get reimbursed by Cuddy. Don't forget. Mint.”

 

Cameron sighed. “It's Christmas Eve. The stores will be packed-“

 

“Go to Wall-Mart,” he said. “Both of you go.”

 

Foreman left without saying another word and Cameron went to her desk. She tossed off her lab coat and grabbed her coat, gloves and hat. She looked up at House who was staring at her.

 

“I got it,” she said annoyed. “Mint candy canes. Want anything else?”

 

“Nope. Go to the corner right down from the hospital. They sell the best.” House limped out of the room and went towards Wilson's office. He opened the door seeing Wilson with a sickly cancer patient.

 

Wilson glared up at him. “With a patient.”

 

House looked at the girl. “She's not dying right now. I need to talk to you.”

 

Wilson glanced between House and the patient. “In five minutes.”

 

House closed the door behind him. “Fine. She can listen.” He paused for a second. “How dare you drug me! Can't you read labels between morphine and sedatives?”

 

The girl blinked a few times glancing between Wilson and House. “Is that true?”

 

“No-“

 

“Uh YES it is! I've been sleeping for over twenty-four hours. I could've gone into a coma.”

 

Wilson stood up, grabbed House's arm, and pulled him outside. “More like you're sleep deprived and you caught up with your sleep. You told me that you haven't been sleeping for the past few days.”

 

“Yeah. But I didn't say give me a sedative to make me sleep. Next time give me morphine for an early birthday present. Now you can get back to your dying patient.”

 

House limped away back towards his office. Wilson heavily sighed and went back into his office.