Surprise Patient at Princeton

🔹Robert's POV🔹

It's almost eight and somehow, I'm already tired and desperately need sleep. I guess if I want to be able to function tomorrow, I should leave now...if the lab results were already in. Gathering my things after closing the folder, Allison walks in the room, hands in her pockets.

"It's your turn, this year?"

"Yeah, I'm coming at eight in the morning to start the shift."

"Good luck, then. Will House be there?"

"No, but he'll be on call." Breathe in, breathe out. Regulate your pulse. "Anyway, thanks Cameron, and have a merry Christmas," I reply with a knot in my throat. I wish I could hold this conversation longer, I wish I could hold all conversations with her longer than I actually can.

"Merry Christmas, Chase." She smiles one last time before turning back and walking out of the office. Locking the door behind me, I head for the lab with all my things and open the doors to check on the machine. Logging in the team's account, I open the results -

"Are you kidding?" I sigh, shutting off the computer after seeing the pop-up message and the details. Test failed.

Because a barely a teaspoon's worth of blood was missing. How could I be so stupid? You know very well why, dumb piece of crap. When will you learn to take your eyes off her? Oh right, never, because you're too chicken to even try to deepen your relationship with her. Boo. Hoo.

I'm a failure. Just like father has been telling me all his life.

Deceived, I shut the door and pass by the patient's room to redraw the right amount of blood and tell her I will pass by her room first thing tomorrow to give her the results. Wishing her a good night and making sure she took her pills, I walk out of the hospital after passing at the lab again, feeling hopeless and incapable of doing anything.

🔹

"What seems to be the problem today?" Sitting in that plastic chair, I realize how much I would rather be in bed than anywhere else. Preferably with Allison by my side.

"I tried to cook breakfast for my wife and...well, this happened." He turns his hands over, showing burns.

"Okay, I'll bandage you that." Going in the drawers, I search for the antiseptic, the tissue, the tape and the scissors. I whistle the tune of Last Christmas, my eyes almost glued to his burned hands when I notice something. "Nice tattoo, by the way."

Blowing silver hair out of his face, he smiles. "Yeah, it's the date of my wedding. The Ferris wheel is where I proposed." Taping the last bandage in place, I let another patient in.

"Didn't you just...come in?"

"Me? No, not at all." The man, now elderly, pulls up his sleeves to reveal the same Ferris wheel tattoo before passing a hand in his long, silver hair. He tells me what he has - to no surprise, back pain due to shovelling snow - but what he tells me as I'm about to make his prescription is what intrigues me most. "Tell me, do you love someone?"

Why would he need to know that? "Yes..."

"She has brown hair, right? Doctor Cameron?"

"How would you even know that? You know her? She told you? She doesn't even love me back anyway."

"I know you, Robert. Come with me, I want to show you something." He stands up and extends his hand, smiling suggestively and as if he hasn't came in for rate-ten pain.

"There are other patients, I can't...I can't leave with some random man! What are you going to show me anyway?"

"Your future if you don't make the first move. But whatever floats your boat." He shrugs, and leaves me even more confused than when he came in.