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Something House never had was what others would call a home, an odd thing, he grew up locked under one, well it's called a House if it isn't a home. Since the definition of home is a place where you are needed, and House isn't needed nowhere there, well maybe he is needed in a hospital, he's a doctor. But anywhere else, it's hopeless, no one would want a jerk like him, to which he agrees, he wouldn't like himself either if he were them. But living a life like this was lonely, well House is mostly surviving not living, which is another term for something else, something that House could never have, he knows that.
Making his way through the crowds, the bustling busy city of New Jersey, walking to work was something House would've loved to avoid, but since his car decided it was a great time to breakdown, he had to walked there instead. Annoying cabs were useless to catch in these busy streets, especially when others could possibly steal your ride. But ohh the joys of walking is like the sweet bitter feeling of a squeezed lemon to the eye, except for House it was in his leg. And trying to fish out some Vicodin from his pocket was hopeless enough as it is, House just kept walking. Cane steps on forward from him as he made his way through, cutting through short by passing by a park to head to Princeton Plainsboro teaching hospital, the fresh breeze coming in, as sweet and warm, spring just happened to swing by. Walking in the snow was already lots of trouble, lucky for him had it was now spring time.
"dad!"
Looking over, House glares at the sweet sight of a family, the parents were happy and young with their kids, the mom had her daughter on her shoulders as the little girl watched her brother try to climb their father's arm that was stretched out for the boy to swing and hold onto, all while the parents held hands, watching their kids as they made their way through the park. It was disgusting, a bitter, sour sight in the eyes. House looked away and continued on his way.
____
Once at Princeton, House had soon been informed for some athlete with a bizarre case of bone loss, as the athlete's bone broke and and the bone is too thin, bla blah blah. Boring. That was just some simple case of an athlete on steroids to which the poor kid denies, but indeed the kid had some history of drug abuse. Making his way down the hall to the front desk, as he finished his phone call.
"5p.m. dr. House checks out"
To which, there Cuddy with a tired expression, holding a file, turns to him, "it's 4:45."
" I was rounding up"
Cuddy sighs as she turned to a patient waiting by the chairs. "Carol Moffatt. Please see Dr. House in exam one".
Just as the patient slowly got up, House quickly turned to her, "whoa, whoa, not so fast. Cathy."
"It's Carol." The patient corrects House.
"Uh- uh, trouble with the leg?" then the patient nods. As House then recommends for the patient to buy new shoes to help, while also giving a quick pep talk to the other patients there and quickly diagnosed them. But just as he was done, a paramedic wheels in a stretcher with a kid, House barely gave a second glance til he over heard the paramedics saying something about the Patient had overdosed on some diet pills, to which then caught his interest.
"How old?"
"About seven years old" the paramedic quickly answered House, as she tells the nurse to go grab the needed equipment. The kid was small and frail, their skin pale and ashen gray against the white sheets of the stretcher, the kid was just seven? And yet they were already downing pills. The nurse then wheels the stretcher over to an empty bed to move the kid into.
"How long has he been out for?"
"The parent said she found him unresponsive this afternoon in their room," Now this is just plain stupidity or negligence right there.
"Now, How on earth would a seven year old get their hands on diet pills?. Unless they wished to be as slim and pretty as their mommy, or just thought it was a bottle of candy." House scoffed, as he checked over the kid himself, pulse was shallow and fast, their breathing too shallow even with the oxygen mask. "Shouldn't meds like those stored out of reach of children?"
"The parent claims that they have no idea how the child gotten their hands on the pills, she had just said she came home-" the paramedic told House, as then the old cripple looked at the paramedic with a raised brow.
"Oh. So they're playing the stupid game. What luck" he says as the nurse comes in with the equipment to intubate the kid, he turns on his pen light and checked the kid's eyes.
"Pupils are pinpoint—classic OD symptoms. Alright, let's get him prepped for intubation"
The nurse made quick work already, as they got the kid intubated, fixing up the IV line to get a bit more fluids going, which then afterwards the nurse hooked up the kid to a couple of monitors, checking over the kid's vitals.
"Vitals are stabilizing," a nurse reported, checking the monitors one last time. "Heart rate is 65, blood pressure is 120/76, oxygen saturation is finally rising from 89% up to 95%, temperature 32°C"
House nodded in acknowledgement, eyes scanning over the kid. It wasn't everyday you get a kid this young overdosing, especially on something as stupid as diet pills. "Run a drug screen," he quickly instructed a nurse.
"I want to know exactly what's running in his system" to then the nurse nodded and fetched a syringe to draw blood for the test. "Let me know when the test results come back," he said sharply, before turning towards the door.
"In the meantime, I'll have a little chat with this kid's mother." Storming out there like a haunting presence, scanning the place for the mother. There House sees a woman talking by the paramedics, making his way over, he then asked.
"Are you the mother of the kid that just got wheeled in?"
"Oh, yes. I-" the woman turned to House, she was a blonde with light blue eyes, neckless bright and shiny of pearls, earrings probably pure gold, her outfit matched just as bright and pink that it was starting to hurt House's eyes to even look at.
"Tell me where the hell you placed those meds before you left?" Blunt and simple, House was in bit of a rush, and he wanted answers now.
"I.. I only left it in the kitchen, where all the other medicine is"
"Okay," House clicked his tongue against his teeth as he stared her down. "So You left it in the kitchen, where possibly a child could easily reach in and have their grubby little hands into things they shouldn't be indulging in-"
"Are you saying I'm being ignorant that caused all this?" The woman scoffed, offended by what House meant. Blond, blue eyed bitch, of course. Blondies that are rich and pretty ass white are dumb, probably as stupid as a worm, no wait, he takes it back, worms are much smarter than rich blondies with their brain up their asses and riches.
Then House beamed. "Oh! No. That's not what I meant. No, not at all. It's not like some ignorant adult thought to leave out medicine where a child could easily reach and happen to possibly down the whole thing. Yess. No, not what I meant at all."
Just then Cuddy intervened before anything else escalated any further, "ma'am, are you the parent of Adam Edward?"
"yes. I am." The woman then turned away from House with a huff, jaw clenched. Still pissed from House's words, much to her obvious, House was also pissed at her. "How is he? Is he okay?"
"We managed to stabilize him, tho he will be kept here for further observation.." as Cuddy says this, she eyes House who was still glaring daggers at the woman.
"Wait, so that means-"
"Yes. We will keep him for further tests, better off from your clumsy habitat, isn't that great?" House adds, cutting off whatever that woman had to say, nodding along. As he then turns away to go back and check on the damned kid, see if they hadn't already gone into respiratory distress.
As he walks down the Hall, he sees Wilson talking with another doctor, probably a new one by the looks of it, polished and bright, unlike the others all tired with circles under their eyes and messy hair.
Then dragging him by the forearm, Wilson quickly tries to explain to the other doctor, then waving bye as he was inevitably dragged by someone grumbling about needing to call CPS.
"What's got you up and grumpy? Forgot your coffee?" Wilson asked, trying to keep up with the fast and stomping steps House made, looking a bit worried as House was walking more on his right leg again.
"No. Apparently I hit a jackpot and got caught in a Miss pretty dumb blondie and her child eating forbidden candy" to then Wilson looked a bit confused. "Forbidden candy? Drugs?"
"Yes, jimmy, it's drugs. Some silly diet pills the kid took, and gotten admitted. How lucky"
Wilson sighs at House's same old same old sarcasm, tho today it has an unusual bite of frustration and annoyance more than it should.
"Oh no, and when did you get so interested in this case now?"
"Well that's simple. Why would a seven year old finish a whole bottle of diet pills?"
"Ahhh, yes. A simple overdose. Just like another case you found boring..." Wilson nods, raising a brow. "But this one interests you more, why?"
"The kid's seven, and it's diet pills. Those things aren't as pretty as it tastes. " House simply says as he enters the room the kid had been placed in.
____
By the time the kid woke up, it was around the time House had been trying to figure out the diagnosis for the athlete, while thinking was great back at his office, he had lingered too far out and had found himself at the pediatric wing, and now he was in the kid's room. It was weird, creepy even to be watching a kid sleep while House stayed by the shadows, but it was a perfect place to hide from Cuddy and the agonizing time for clinic duty. But something about the atmosphere felt serine here, and House needed a clear place to think. After the nurse had checked over the kid and had gotten the kid extubated, House was already there by the wall near the door.
House watched the kid for a bit, as they started blinking and slowly became more aware of his surroundings, with the meds still lingering in his system and its side effects. With a soft huff, House pushed himself off the wall, and limped over, grimacing at the ache that was starting to settle up his leg. "Tell me. How disappointed were you when you woke up an realised you were alive"
The kid blinks, confused, and a bit upset he woke up to this. Maybe kid didn't expect to wake up at all by the seems of it, by how upset the kid looked. Or was just ruffled by how House was already questioning them when their barely awake. "Well... I.. I dont know...?" By now, House could see the the kid face, pale as bleached sheets, freckles now clear without the makeup it seemed that the kid to have been wearing before, deep sea blue eyes, his voice was also horse and weak that matched his body language, tired. House had always noticed little things, details about a person to know more about, hints just scattered around, waiting to be seen and solved, the sweet mysteries and puzzles that House dearly loves.
"How much did you take." It wasn't a question, it could've been one without the gruff and firmness of his tone. And for a moment, the kid was quiet. Bet he didn't expect that question, House wasn't some goddammed therapist or some counselor, he wasn't up for this kind of thing. But here he was.
"The... The whole bottle..?" Quiet and fragile, just like their frame.
"And how'd you get the bottle? Find it lying around mommy's kitchen and thought it was tasty enough?" House gave an even more stern glare at the kid, as they looked down and fiddled with their fingers.
"Uhm.."
"Kid. Just spit it. It's as simple as that" House crossed his arms as his eyes narrowed at the kid, as the kid tensed under the cold gaze.
"I... Found it... In.. in the kitchen by the counter... I-.."
"Why'd you do it."