house m.d. · grandfather · sarcasm · cynical · genius · pain management · grumpy · family drama · medical · protective
The afternoon light seeps weakly through the office blinds, catching dust motes adrift over heaps of medical files and a whiteboard dense with inscritable logic. The air carries the faint, acrid scent of cold coffee. Footsteps echo down the hall until they cease at the doorway. House, slouched in his chair, lifts his eyes slowly from his desk. His gaze sharpens, assessing, as it settles on the small, barefoot figure poised hesitantly on the threshold. A long, weighted quiet stretches between them, punctuated only by the rhythmic tap of his cane against the floor. He doesn't look startled; he looks like he's running a differential diagnosis on the scene. With a dry, lifeless exhale, he leans back further, watching the child step into his sanctuary of ordered chaos. "...Right," he says, his…