(1432 words) 

Your POV 

"House, this is your new boss." 

"I guess that means I'm his best friend now." 

Looking at Wilson he gives a slight shrug. House sighs gently, this was going to be an interesting time. House was off at the races, when someone hits the floor having a seizure. Sitting in the office waiting for House, Foreman is talking about being an addict on drugs, alcohol, and gambling lights the same pleasure center in the brain light up. 

Chase makes a comment about how it doesn't take his pain away, only for House to walk in at the same time, saying it does when he wins. Looking up at him he glances away, knowing he doesn't like it when he gambles. 

"Platelets at 89, she's anemic, and her blood alcohol level is .13." 

"A working girl, probably an STD, infection." 

"Alcohol abuse says it all, causes seizures and effects her body's ability to clot." 

"The bruises don't look like DIC bruises," 

"Then she's being beaten by a boyfriend or a pimp." 

The team starts her tests with the one for Cushing's. It would explain both symptoms she has. Foreman steps out to get coffee as I stare down House. 

"You're going to catch me on fire." 

"Good, maybe you'll stay out of the OTB." 

He turns to look at me. "I'm sorry, I was there-" 

"To bet on the race." 

"No, I was getting some extra money for something." 

Raising a brow I look at him as I tilt my head. "Extra money? You're the head of diagnostics, money shouldn't be an issue." 

He nods gently. "It was supposed to have been a surprise, but I found a patient." 

Looking at him confused he sighs gently, rubbing his forehead before going into his office. Getting up to follow him, I cross my arms. "How are you going to surprise me with gambling on horses?" 

He shakes his head. "If I tell you, then it isn't a surprise is it?"

Watching his eyes for a second, he looks away. "If I find out you're lying to me, that cane is going to be your new boyfriend." 

He looks at me before nodding and sitting down. "I told you, the last thing I want to do is hurt you." 

Nodding gently I wrap my arms around myself. "I know, I just worry you'll go into your old habits again." 

Sighing gently, he looks at his desk, before I walk over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Your surprise better be good." Taking my other hand he kisses it gently making me smile. 

~ 

With Foreman in charge, everything goes through him. So if he screws up, it's his he can't hide behind House for the next couple of weeks. Looking at him, he glances at me. "Did you two do the LP yet?"

I shake my head, as he sighs. "Go." 

Getting up House follows me and we get into the elevator. "Do you want to do it?"

"You mean 'it' it, or the LP?"

Giving him a look he smirks gently. "You mean the LP, I can do it."

"It's been a while. Are you sure?"

He nods gently. "Do you think I would forget how to do a lumbar puncture?" 

I shrug slightly. Getting Anika to lay on her side and bring her knees to her chest, House gives her the lidocaine shot and tries several times, to get into her spine. He fails and she has to have meds to keep her heart rate down. Heading back to his office, he sighs gently. 

"At the risk of sounding redundant, I was right. She has cushing's" 

"And the fact you mangled her LP has nothing to do with it?" 

He looks at the candy canes on the desk in the joining office and takes one, tapping it on the table. 

"If he's right about Cushing's it means the LP wasn't his fault. Stress, and Cushing's means hypertensive crisis. So you were right in sending House to do the LP." 

"She's detoxing." 

Shaking my head I stand up to get some more coffee. "Get a pan-man scan before OD's on cortisol." House makes a pleading look to Foreman to get the okay, while I laugh slightly. They look at me and I smirk 

"You better feel lucky, he doesn't even give me that look." 

Foreman shakes his head and walks off as I smile to myself, leaning on the counter. Telling us that if we don't find anything to get her a bed in the rehab clinic, after giving her something for the withdrawal. 

Cameron and Chase come in with the MRI scans that she has a tumor on her pancreas, telling the patient that she most likely had pancreatic cancer. House ended up having to assist with Chase during the biopsy. The biopsy came back to be negative. Cameron thinks she has Munchausen's with how she didn't react when she was told about the cancer. 

Foreman sends House and I to the apartment. Walking by his bike he turns and starts it. "No, we aren't getting on that thing." 

"Why not? Don't you want me to take you for a ride?" 

"House. It just snowed."

"Yesterday, roads are clear." 

He throws the helmet at me and I shake my head. Putting it on and getting on the bike behind him. With my hands on his hips he sits down, wrapping my arms around him as he holds my hands. Looking back at me for a second I shake my head. At least if we crash we both get some time off of work. 

Walking around the apartment, I find House trying on each of the reading glasses next to the bed. "She has two appointments during the week, one for the ophthalmologist and one for a gyno." 

"She has a vagina and three sets of reading glasses, each one with a different prescription." 

"So what you think she has a tumor on her optic nerve?" 

"It's not Munchausen's." 

"Why? Because you're looking for it to be different?" 

He sighs as he stands up, walking out of the apartment. "Have you called the other hospitals?" 

~ 

When we get back to the hospital, Foreman tells us to do the venous sampling, not wanting to send her home and risk her dying, the venous sampling will tell us if there's actually something wrong.  Cameron went to get her consent and it took only a couple of hours before we got a call of her pee turning orange. Not being able to take the sampling we have to post pone it. This confirms her Munchausen's. 

House goes through her files and sees that she has a constant low HCT and thinks she has aplastic anemia along with her Munchausen's. There wasn't enough blood for the test that House needed for the Aplastic Anemia. She was discharged by Cuddy. Waiting for House in the lobby to go home, he pops up next to me. Looking at him I furrow my brows. 

"You were outside." 

"I started the car." 

"Uh huh." 

Getting around the corner and seeing that the car was in fact not started, I stopped and grabbed House's arm. 

"Started the car huh?"

He sighs gently before looking at me. "I gave Anika a mix of insulin, and colchicine." 

"Are you kidding me? You faked the Aplastic Anemia symptoms." 

He nods gently. "I asked if she did anything else than the ACTH, Insulin, and the rifampin Cameron left in the room. She told me no so I gave her the dose. It worked and the aplastic anemia was farther along than I thought." 

Shaking my head I take my glove off. Smacking his arm with it. "Why must you always need to be right all the time?" 

Sighing I rub my temples. Getting in the car we leave and go home. The next day we had started the treatment for aplastic anemia, only for House to realize she had an infection before the treatment destroyed her bone marrow. Starting her on Augmentin, she should be fine. 

Walking into the lobby we find Wilson getting a newspaper. Talking to him House thinks it won't be a bad idea for Foreman to be the boss permanently. Raising a brow he reaches for my hand and smiles gently. Leaving the hospital as it's starting to snow I look at him. 

"We should get home, the cold isn't good for your leg." 

He nods gently, following me to the car. "Are you going to sit on my lap and warm it up?" 

"Only if you've been a good boy this year."