Other Fan Fiction ❯ A House Fic ❯ Prologue ( Prologue )

This fanfiction is floating around somewhere in the third season, I'll say. The pairing shall remain a mystery, for a while anyway. Hope you enjoy it.

 

disclaimer: HOUSE MD does not belong to me, unfortunately. HOUSE is held proudly in the hands of the lucky fool who came up with it. I can only stand in the dark and worship House's loveliness with a smile.

 

Enjoy the occasional, annoying medical term that I place here. I'm learning as I go. So long as you're reading this, why not learn a word or two?

 

intravenous - within a vain

 

Prologue

 

Lilian Baxter smiled at her Aunt. Since her mother's passing, Lilian had experienced a new side of life. She who had once been a meticulous prat, was now an independent, proud young woman with promise beyond her years and education. Now, however, she had fallen into debt and needed more help than she could ask of any friend, so she had turned to Cuddy, her aunt, and her only trusted family member.

"How have you been doing, Lily?" Cuddy asked, smiling pleasantly at her only niece. Inside, her curiosity was boiling at a disasterous level. Lily had been fifteen when her mother, Cuddy's snooty sister, had died. Since then, no one had seen head or tail of the notorious Lilian Baxter. Jacob Baxter had been her father. He was 47 and living in Japan. Lilian hadn't seen him for eight years. Cuddy, who had once adored the attentions of her favored niece, now itched for information.

"I've done alright, I suppose. Aunt Cuddy, I'm here...for a favor." The twenty-three-year old brunette bowed her head in shame. Traces of red brushed her features as she asked the dreaded question, "Can I have a job?"

Cuddy was shocked. This was not precisely what she had been expecting. A hug, some tears, and maybe a loan...the older woman bit her lip guiltily. She felt bad for assuming the worst from this girl, her sister's daughter, who had treated her with nothing but respect during all of their lost years.

But a job? What did she have for the girl to do? Certainly, not cleaning duty. She didn't have a medical degree, which put off most of the working possibilities for a job of any sort. Cuddy thought hard and asked regally, "Well, what sort of things are you good at?"

"I have a memory for useless information. I worked at three fast food joints, two gas stations, and a library, until I finally started getting somewhere with a career. I met the son of a big corporation, Chanters Inc. was the name. He helped me out by setting up a meeting with his father, who immediately accepted me as his own personal assistant."

"So what happened?" Cuddy was waiting for the girl's story to hit a sore spot. Undoubtfully, something had gone wrong. Otherwise, Lilian wouldn't be here in Cuddy's office, begging for a job.

"I borrowed David's-that's the President's son's-car. It was a brand new Corvette. You know, it was one of the really really nice, really expensive ones. I didn't have a license, but I needed to go get something from home. David's father said it was fine, so I drove to my little apartment and....on the way back, a pick-up rammed the left side of the car."

Cuddy frowned and crossed her arms. Her voice was sympathetic but stern. "Whose fault was it?"

Lily turned an even darker shade of red. "The truck's, but when David found out, he was furious. I wasn't hurt, but the other guy was beat up pretty badly." She ran a hand through her hair.

"What did David do?"

Lily sighed. "His father lied and told him that I stole the car. I argued with them for a while, but they wouldn't cave. They didn't call the cops on me, but they did made me swear to pay them 70,000 dollars."

"WHAT!" Cuddy exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!"

"I signed a written contract," the girl remarked bitterly. "There's nothing I can say for it. Rich men like the Chanters get everything they want. Money speaks louder and stronger than words."

Cuddy scowled in no particular direction. Men, she thought, are such jerks! She started muttering darkly to herself, until she noticed that Lily was sobbing. Cuddy suddenly felt helpless. Nearly crying herself, she embraced her only niece and whispered fiercely into her ear. "Don't worry, Lilian. I'm going to help you."

"How? HOW! My life is over! I'll die before I pay them back!" The girl jerked away from her beloved aunt and glowered.

Cuddy, unphased, smiled warmly, causing the girl's glower to be replaced with shame. "Sorry..." she whispered. "I didn't mean to get involved with such jerks...I really thought they were good people."

Cuddy gently grasped Lily's hands. "Listen, now. You're going to pull through this. I have an idea, but I don't know how you'll react to it."

A glimmer of hope flickered through Lily's dark blue eyes, making Cuddy feel proud. "Well, speaking of really big jerks..."

 

* * *

 

Doctor Gregory House sat in his office, staring at the world outside his window, thinking about all of the horrible things he could say to piss Cuddy off today. He hadn't seen her yet, but he assumed she was wearing the usual, low cut blouse which was always a good place to start. House didn't really need to think about picking on Cuddy, such playful banter came naturally to a man as good looking, intelligent, well payed, and miserable as himself.

House's biggest problem in life was boredom. When he wasn't working on a case, he became aware of the pain in his leg more so than ever. It seemed that during his free time, his leg decided that it should remind him that it was never going to stop hurting no matter what he did. Sometimes he wondered if he ought to just cut it off. However, without his leg he would change. No more solving miraculous cases. No more challenges. No more picking on Cuddy, Wilson, Foreman, Cameron, or Chase. No more of anything interesting ever again. To put it simply, no more fun. The pain, however horrible, was everlasting. Even if he decided to have his leg amputated, he wouldn't be able to walk. He still wouldn't be normal.

This train of thought was not going anywhere good, he realized. It needed to be stopped immediately. Sighing, House started spinning in his chair, whirling in circles and making himself dizzy. Boy, life was great. House stopped when someone pounded on the glass door of his office. Feeling a little lightheaded, House didn't bother trying to say come in, seeing as everyone did whatever they wanted whether he told them they could or not.

As expected, one man pulled the office door open so the other two could haul in an immense wooden desk. House grabbed his cane and got to his feet. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He snapped.

Cameron followed the men into the room, raising a brow at them as she did so. "New desk?" She asked dumbly. House rolled his eyes. "No. I didn't ask for a new desk. My old one's fine. Seeing as I wasn't informed of this new arrangement, I am going to find Cuddy and find out what's going on." He walked out the door, using his cane for balance, as Wilson flew around the corner. "House, what's-"

"Go check out the dead tree they're hooking up in my office and you'll know."

"Dead tree?" Wilson squinched up his face in confusion as he turned to walk with House to the elevators. "Why would Cuddy arrange to have a dead tree put in your office."

House barely resisted the urge to comment on his friend's idiocy. "It's not a tree, per say, it's a desk."

"Oh, sooo Cuddy arranged for you to get a new desk and you're complaining? This isn't going to turn out like the bloodied carpet incident, is it?" Wilson crossed his arms and played at looking as stupid as he sounded. House retorted mildly, "That depends. Am I going to get shot on the desk, then have to fight for my right to keep it?"

"Um...House, you've lost me."

House cracked a smile and stepped into to the elevator.

 

* * *

"I was expecting you," Cuddy said as House barged angrily into her office. An embarrassed young woman was sitting in a chair in the corner, but House barely registered her presence. "What the hell are you trying to pull?"

Cuddy raised her brows at him and then at Wilson as he too came into the office. "You haven't touched your paperwork since God only knows when, House, but unfortunately, you're too great an asset for me to fire. That being the case, I've found you an assistant to do that work for you." Cuddy gestured towards the dark haired girl in the chair. The older woman stood and said flatly, "House, this is my niece, Lilian Baxter."

"Hi," Lilian said, shyly. "I'm Lily."

"I'm Wilson!" Wilson remarked happily. Lily giggled when House turned and whacked him with his cane. "Keep it in your pants, Wilson," he snapped.

Cuddy gave her an apologetic grin. "So House, what do you think?" The boss asked cheerfully, not really caring about his opinion.

House thought carefully. An assistant...hm. That had possibilities. It would eliminate several boring aspects of his time, not to mention he'd have someone new to figure out and tease. Swallowing a grin, he nodded and spouted off grumpily, "Sure. Let the twelve-year-old do my paperwork."

Lily glowered at him. "I'm twenty-three. Don't push it, grouch."

Cuddy chuckled and Wilson frowned worriedly as House spat back a retort. "Twenty-three. Wow! You must be the wisest old fart that I know. Also, I'm not grouchy, I'm just-"

"-in pain." Cuddy and Wilson said in unison. Lily cracked a grin as House rolled his eyes. "Careful, Wilson. Cuddy's just trying to steal your sperm. She'll do anything to get it." Cuddy gasped as House walked by her. He whispered where only she could hear. "He's gay, by the way. I wouldn't ask."

Cuddy kicked his good leg, not phasing House a bit. As he left the office, he could be seen pulling an orange bottle out from his shirt pocket.

 

* * *

End Prologue.

 

Thankyou for reading and please leave reviews. I rather enjoy them. Still not really in the hang of this fanfiction. Give me some time and I'll catch on. Ideas are welcome.