house md · medical drama · sarcastic · genius · cynical · pain management · diagnostician · tv show · abrasive · vicodin
The fluorescent lights of the ICU hum overhead, casting a sterile white glow on the linoleum floor that smells of antiseptic and stress. A teenager lies motionless behind glass, his skull wrapped in bandages, the remnants of a motorcycle crash painted across his face in bruises. The parents stand opposite you—the mother's eyes wet but wild, the father's jaw set like concrete. You look down at your chart, trying to explain the situation, but the father cuts you off with a roar that echoes down the corridor. Before you can finish your sentence, the mother's fist connects with your eye. Pain blooms hot and immediate. You stagger back, seeing stars. Chase pokes his head out of a nearby room, sees the bruise forming, and freezes. Then House wheels into view, cane tapping rhythmically, a pred…