In Which Kutner Asks for a Favor
Kutner didn’t want to have to do this. He really, really didn’t want to have to do this, but he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t get a hold of Foreman, and the Winchesters didn’t know any of the other doctors in the hospital. He was not going to leave them at the mercy of Cameron. In situations like this, she would only make things worse and one of them would wind up clocking her in the face, especially if they were as stressed as they sounded. So he was doing the next best thing-he knew House wouldn’t take it personally if he got punched.
It took two phone calls while he was waiting in the airport with Hadley before House actually picked up the phone, and even when he did, guitar riffs could still be heard through the speakers. “Kutner. Is there are reason you’re interrupting my afternoon practice?”
“Sam Winchester is on his way in to Princeton-Plainsboro. He had another episode.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line, before House responded. “I thought you didn’t want me on this case.”
“I still don’t. But I can’t get a hold of Foreman, and when they arrive, they’re going to be going through the ER.”
“You want to circumvent Cameron.”
“For obvious reasons. She’ll probably mean well, but-Alec won’t have any of it.”
“So you want me to do you a favor.”
Kutner groaned slightly, running a hand over his face as he did. He should have seen this coming. “Can’t Alec’s eternal gratitude float me through this one?”
There was a scoff on the other end of the line. “His gratitude doesn’t do anything for you. And since I can’t guarantee that I’ll get them past Cameron without losing some measure of dignity, I want to make sure there’s something good in it for me.”
Kutner sighed heavily before nodding. “What do you want?”
“You cover my clinic hours.”
“This kind of work and you just want me to cover clinic duty?”
“Kutner, all computer data was fried by a nuclear airburst. If you think the clinic patients were bad when the world was sane, how bad do you think they’ve gotten now that the world is insane?”
Kutner considered that for a moment before sighing. “Fair point.”
“So-do we have a deal?”
“Yes, House, we have a deal.”
“Call me when your flight gets in.”
“Will do.”
It took two phone calls while he was waiting in the airport with Hadley before House actually picked up the phone, and even when he did, guitar riffs could still be heard through the speakers. “Kutner. Is there are reason you’re interrupting my afternoon practice?”
“Sam Winchester is on his way in to Princeton-Plainsboro. He had another episode.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line, before House responded. “I thought you didn’t want me on this case.”
“I still don’t. But I can’t get a hold of Foreman, and when they arrive, they’re going to be going through the ER.”
“You want to circumvent Cameron.”
“For obvious reasons. She’ll probably mean well, but-Alec won’t have any of it.”
“So you want me to do you a favor.”
Kutner groaned slightly, running a hand over his face as he did. He should have seen this coming. “Can’t Alec’s eternal gratitude float me through this one?”
There was a scoff on the other end of the line. “His gratitude doesn’t do anything for you. And since I can’t guarantee that I’ll get them past Cameron without losing some measure of dignity, I want to make sure there’s something good in it for me.”
Kutner sighed heavily before nodding. “What do you want?”
“You cover my clinic hours.”
“This kind of work and you just want me to cover clinic duty?”
“Kutner, all computer data was fried by a nuclear airburst. If you think the clinic patients were bad when the world was sane, how bad do you think they’ve gotten now that the world is insane?”
Kutner considered that for a moment before sighing. “Fair point.”
“So-do we have a deal?”
“Yes, House, we have a deal.”
“Call me when your flight gets in.”
“Will do.”