"That's awesome, PJ," Teddy said excitedly as she gave me a hug. "Well, I have to go write a letter to Ivy. She's going to go crazy over the new baby," Teddy continued, still very excited, as she headed to her room.
"What?" I asked, bewildered.
"Oh, you don't know?" Bob asked, "Teddy has been writing letters to her friend Ivy in Colorado" he explained relatively simply.
"No, not that, about Doctor House," I quickly said.
"Yes, I was also surprised when he offered it. Isn't it incredible?" Mom said with a big smile. "he said it would be something like a residency for you before your actual studies. He even said he would lend you all the medical books you want for free," Mom continued, very excited. "I couldn't believe it, but he assured me that he had already talked to the hospital director, and she doesn't have any issues as long as you stay with House," Mom happily concluded.
Completely surprised by the news, I didn't know what to say, so I remained silent.
Noticing my silence and probably worried about my lack of response, Mom asked, "What's the matter, PJ? I thought you'd be excited."
"No, I am excited," I lied, "it's just that I thought you didn't like Doctor House. It surprises me a bit that you want me to study with him," I lied again after thinking for a moment. The truth was that I was scared. A few words with the man, and I was at risk of revealing my secret.
"Oh, PJ," Mom said as she came closer to give me a hug, interrupting my train of thought. "Don't worry about that. Yes, Doctor House is bitter and egocentric," she criticized the doctor's name. "But that doesn't take away from the fact that he's a great doctor," she continued more calmly, giving me a strong hug. "He has a great reputation in the medical world. This might even help you get a spot at a good university," she finished, stepping back from the hug and gently stroking my arm with a reassuring smile.
"I don't like Doctor House either," Bob suddenly said, furrowing his brow. "I mean, with everything your mom has told us, how could I possibly like him?" he asked, jokingly. "But if he's giving you this opportunity, I say you should take it. Learn everything he has to teach you, use all the resources he has to offer, and learn how to be a great doctor despite dealing with not such a great man, i say, do it if you really want to be a doctor," Bob said seriously, still with his hand on my shoulder.
"You know what, why don't we go to the hospital now? You talk to Doctor House, and if you don't like his proposal, we won't mention it again," Mom suggested with a supportive smile, encouraging me to go.
After thinking for a moment, I nodded. I had to see what House's true intentions were.
"Alright, that solves it. While you two go do that, I'll start preparing dinner," Bob said cheerfully as he bid farewell to his wife with a kiss and a playful tap on my shoulder. "Doctor Duncan sounds good," he added lightly as he headed to the kitchen.
"Well, there's no better time than the present, right?" Mom said with a smile as she grabbed her bag and left happily.
Leaving the house, we got into Mom's car and headed to the hospital.
Throughout the drive, Mom chatted happily with me about things related to her pregnancy. I couldn't really pay attention because my curiosity about House's intentions wouldn't let me think about anything else.
The journey, with my mind preoccupied, was relatively short. Before I knew it, we were at the hospital.
Entering the hospital, Mom approached the nurses behind the reception desk. "Oh, Amy, what a surprise! I thought your shift ended half an hour ago," said an older nurse.
"Hi, Florence. I'm just here to bring my son with House, remember?" Mom proudly explained, pulling me forward. "This is PJ, my eldest son," she continued even more proudly. "Nice to meet you," I greeted the nurses. "Oh, yes, the boy who caught House's attention," Florence said. "I'm sorry, kid," she continued with sympathy in her voice, placing a hand on my shoulder.
Chuckling nervously at the last part, Mom asked, "Do you know where House is? PJ wants to talk to him about his offer."
"Yes, he should be in the outpatient clinic," Florence replied with annoyance. "He's been holed up in the office all day and hasn't seen anyone. If you want to talk to him, I suggest you go quickly because he's about to leave," she finished, glancing at a large clock above the reception desk.
"Okay, PJ, I have some things to discuss with my friends here. You can go on your own, and when you're done, come back. It's down that hallway to the end, you'll find another desk there, that's the outpatient clinic," she said, pointing down one of the corridors and then turning to chat with the other nurses. "Oh, and remember, there's no pressure. If you don't want to do it, your dad and I will understand," she added, suddenly remembering and coming back to talk to me.
"Yeah, I'll be right back, Mom," I responded as calmly as I could. "It was nice to meet you, Nurse Florence," I bid farewell.
On my way to the clinic, nerves grew with each step. The fear of House discovering my secret made me hesitate with every step I took. Just a few meters from the clinic, I saw him. He was standing with his back to me, leaning against the desk Mom had described, talking to an irritated doctor in a lab coat.
"You enjoyed that. I brought a reasonable case to your attention, and you shoved it in my face just to humiliate me," the angry doctor said.
"You're an only child, aren't you?" House petulantly asked in response.
"Why would you say that?" the perplexed doctor asked in response to the strange answer.
"Everything is about you. This may seem incredibly controversial—" House was saying sarcastically until the doctor noticed my presence behind him, distracting House from his punchline and making him turn.
"Oh, Wonder Boy," he said with a smug smile. "No, that nickname isn't for you, I'll come up with another one," he said, losing the smile and grimacing. "What brings you here? I told your mother I'd call you when there's an interesting case to discuss." He finished, intrigued. "I thought there was one, but no," he said, focusing on the doctor beside him. "Quick question, what could cause night terrors in a teenager your age?" he quickly interrupted the doctor, who seemed to want to say something.
"Hi, Doctor House," I said emphatically. "Yes, I know. Mom told me you offered to give me free medical classes. I just wanted to know the real reason. You don't seem like a big-hearted type," I continued tersely, ignoring his question, a little tired of his games.
"I'll tell you if you answer," he said petulantly.
"Sorry, who is this House?" the angry doctor asked intrigued by our interaction.
"Oh, just a somewhat interesting kid. We'll be seeing more of him if he answers the ques—" he was saying, but a loud sound of something hitting wood caught his attention.
Turning toward the sound, I also saw a teenager sitting on another desk. He was talking to two adults beside him, possibly his parents. At one point, his leg, which was hanging off the desk, had a sudden nervous twitch.
"That kid—" I managed to say.
"Yes, come with me," House interrupted, striding into the clinic.
Without much choice, I followed House.
"What's going on?" the doctor asked behind us, but no one answered.
"Don't move. Did I bore you in there?" House said when he was close enough to the young man.
"What? Ah, no, not, not really," the startled boy responded to the sudden approach of the doctor.
"Are you tired?" House asked presumptuously.
"Sometimes," the teenager responded, not really sure what to say. "He never sleeps! Of course he's tired," the man next to the teenager affirmed, somewhat annoyed.
"Right now, at this moment, are you tired?" House continued, ignoring the annoyed adult.
"No, no," the teenager responded again, feeling a bit cornered by the doctor's questions.
"Good," House said as he nodded slowly. His eyes swept over the three people in front of him and then landed on me. "This is PJ Duncan. I'm sure he'll tell you why I asked all those questions of your son," he said, taking a small step back, symbolically giving me all the attention.
"What? Who is he?" the teenager's father asked, annoyed.
"PJ Duncan, didn't I just say that?" House said with feigned intrigue towards the doctor.
I didn't know what to do. Of course, I understood what House was implying. The involuntary movements in the leg were symptoms of myoclonic jerks, and not being able to sleep or being tired could be symptoms of various neurological disorders.
But I couldn't say anything. That would only increase House's suspicions. I was prepared not to say anything or to lie and say I didn't know, but my eyes met with the face of the teenager sitting on the desk. He looked worried, completely focused on me with fear in his eyes.
"It's clear this kid doesn't know—" the teenager's father was saying.
"Myoclonic jerk," I interrupted, "what?" the man asked angrily, thinking it was some sort of insult.
"It's a mild, involuntary muscle contraction. It often happens as you're falling asleep. The respiration rate falls, and the brain interprets this as the body dying, so it sends a pulse to wake it up," I quickly explained to calm the man's annoyance.
"So?" the man asked, a bit less annoyed and clearly more concerned, turning his attention to House.
"So, he's not asleep, he's awake," House said sarcastically with a smile directed at me. "Admit him," he continued, now addressing the doctor who was staring at me intently, clearly shocked.
"And you, come with me," House ordered me, heading out of the room.
"House, House! Wait a damn minute!" I said as I tried to catch up with him. For a man with a cane, he walked pretty fast. "Answer my question, what's your real intention in offering me to come?" I nervously asked when I managed to stop him.
"Answer my question, and I'll tell you," he said, still smiling and enjoying himself.
"Just answer me. What do you want from me?" I asked again, now even more nervous and annoyed by his attempt to change the subject.
"He's your age. Three weeks ago, he started having night terrors. What could the reasons be?" he said, losing his smile and asking the question harshly.
Annoyed by his games, I fell silent for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and gathered my courage to respond. "Post-traumatic stress, trauma, or sexual abuse. But considering his involuntary nervous movements, it could be a movement disorder or degenerative brain disease."
House nodded slowly, his smile fading slightly. "Either way, this kid's gonna be picking up his diploma in diapers and a wheelchair," he said with a furrowed brow. "Follow me," he continued, turning around and starting to walk quickly again.
"You didn't answer my question," I raised my voice with annoyance, refusing to follow him and standing still.
Stopping, House slowly turned to face me again, looking at me for a moment. He pursed his lips, presumably thinking about the answer he would give. "Kid, you're an experiment," he said after a few seconds. "You remind me of another young man who had grand aspirations of being a highly respected doctor," he continued seriously, lost in memories. "So, you're here because you're interesting. Even though you're obviously not a genius, you know more about medicine than you appear to. I want to see how far you can go with proper guidance, mine," he said with a smug smile as he turned around. "Now, are you coming or what?" he asked, this time walking more slowly.
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Author Thoughts
One more chapter, obviously I'm not a doctor, and as I always say, I'm not American.
Surely it goes against American laws for House to invite a minor like this to learn in the hospital or even to have that minor interact with patients or patients' relatives. But it's House, and this is just a fanfiction. I hope that if it bothers anyone or if it diminishes their interest in the novel, I apologize.
I have decided that unless a special case arises, I will upload one chapter per week. Thank you for understanding my decision (although I might possibly ignore this self-imposed schedule and upload chapters whenever I finish them, we'll see).
Things I want to clarify:
1. I will use cases and the way they solve them from the shows I will borrow for the construction of this fic. If you recognize any of the cases, it's because obviously they are not my own work. They are the same cases, only with the introduction of my MC.
2. This week, the novel reached 250 power stones and almost 600 collections. I thank you very much for the support for this story. If next week we reach 300+ power stones and 1000 collections, I commit to having 2 chapters per week in August.
I believe that's everything. As always, if you find any errors, please let me know, and I will correct them immediately.
Thank you for reading.
PS: Someone deleted their review :C. I remember there were 14, and now there are only 13. Please leave your review to know how I can improve this story, or just to tell me what you are liking about the story.