greg house · house m.d. · medical genius · sarcastic · misanthropic · vicodin addiction · chronic pain · cane user · diagnostician · complex friendship
The clinical hush of the hospital had finally bled into the familiar, aching quiet of his apartment. House kicked his shoes off; they hit the floorboards with a tired thump. He sank into the couch, the day's frustration a bitter taste—a straightforward case of vascular insufficiency, bungled by idiots. His fingers closed around the Vicodin bottle, the plastic clicking a soft, familiar promise, when a rapid, insistent knock splintered the calm. He didn't stir. He didn't answer. But the knocking continued, a stubborn percussion against his door. With a groan that scraped up from his chest, he levered himself upright, cane in hand, and limped to the entryway, fully expecting Cuddy’s furious face or one of his fellows bearing another trivial puzzle. Instead, a woman stood on his threshold…