Fiction # 47
Title: Yellow, Red, and Brown
Fandom: House, MD
Characters/Pairing: House/Cameron
Challenge: hc_challenge : Prompt # 23, housefic50 : 016. Lies
Words: 445
Spoilers: 1x21 Three Stories
Rating: PG
A/N: Words in italics are taken directly from 1x21 Three Stories.
Prompt # 23 : Crayons
Yellow, Red, and Brown
He was coloring on a piece of paper with a yellow crayon. Cameron slipped into the lecture hall and leaned against the wall. She had to see this with her own eyes; House was teaching a class to medical students.
“What do you have to do to get an A in ‘You’re Dying 101’?”
Cameron wasn’t sure where House was going with the question. She cursed herself for not walking into the hall earlier so that the context of House’s question was clear. He continued to color, now with a red crayon, all the while talking about death. Cameron noticed his smirk when a student stopped him to comment on a dying patient who only cared about his dog.
“It’s a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what.”
He was coloring with a brown crayon, only occasionally looking up at the students. Cameron listened intently, trying to pick up the cues on which case he was discussing. It sounded familiar and it finally clicked when House mentioned the words ‘snake bite’. The poor man ended up losing his leg because of necrosis. Cameron wasn’t surprised that House was lecturing about patients and the lies they tell. It was the one thing that was consistent throughout their cases.
He finished coloring and held up the sheet of paper. There was a brown blob in the middle of the page. Another case? House’s artwork didn’t seem to be in line with what he was discussing earlier. Cameron felt her pager vibrate against her hip. She looked at the screen; it was just Foreman wondering where she was.
“What’s the differential diagnosis for urine that’s tea-colored?”
House was relentless. He was staring down at a student, throwing questions at her in rapid succession. Cameron sympathized with the student’s discomfort because she found herself being questioned in a similar manner on a daily basis.
This was different though.
There was something about the urgency in House’s questions that really grabbed her attention. She could see the frustration inside him, growing and bubbling to the surface. Her assumptions were verified when House began berating two other students for their incorrect answers. It was a defense mechanism he used when things got too personal. Cameron sent a page to Foreman, letting him know where she was and that he might want to bring Chase along with him.
“Yeah? You think it’s going to be easier when you have a real patient really dying? What are you missing?"
The lecture hall went silent, the students too afraid to say anything. The answer to House’s question left her lips before she could stop it. He looked up at her in surprise.
She had never seen a look like that on his face before. She had caught him being vulnerable, but what impacted her most was that she was the only person in the room who got it.
House was lecturing to a room full of medical students. And he was discussing his own case.
Fandom: House, MD
Characters/Pairing: House/Cameron
Challenge: hc_challenge : Prompt # 23, housefic50 : 016. Lies
Words: 445
Spoilers: 1x21 Three Stories
Rating: PG
A/N: Words in italics are taken directly from 1x21 Three Stories.
Prompt # 23 : Crayons
Yellow, Red, and Brown
He was coloring on a piece of paper with a yellow crayon. Cameron slipped into the lecture hall and leaned against the wall. She had to see this with her own eyes; House was teaching a class to medical students.
“What do you have to do to get an A in ‘You’re Dying 101’?”
Cameron wasn’t sure where House was going with the question. She cursed herself for not walking into the hall earlier so that the context of House’s question was clear. He continued to color, now with a red crayon, all the while talking about death. Cameron noticed his smirk when a student stopped him to comment on a dying patient who only cared about his dog.
“It’s a basic truth of the human condition that everybody lies. The only variable is about what.”
He was coloring with a brown crayon, only occasionally looking up at the students. Cameron listened intently, trying to pick up the cues on which case he was discussing. It sounded familiar and it finally clicked when House mentioned the words ‘snake bite’. The poor man ended up losing his leg because of necrosis. Cameron wasn’t surprised that House was lecturing about patients and the lies they tell. It was the one thing that was consistent throughout their cases.
He finished coloring and held up the sheet of paper. There was a brown blob in the middle of the page. Another case? House’s artwork didn’t seem to be in line with what he was discussing earlier. Cameron felt her pager vibrate against her hip. She looked at the screen; it was just Foreman wondering where she was.
“What’s the differential diagnosis for urine that’s tea-colored?”
House was relentless. He was staring down at a student, throwing questions at her in rapid succession. Cameron sympathized with the student’s discomfort because she found herself being questioned in a similar manner on a daily basis.
This was different though.
There was something about the urgency in House’s questions that really grabbed her attention. She could see the frustration inside him, growing and bubbling to the surface. Her assumptions were verified when House began berating two other students for their incorrect answers. It was a defense mechanism he used when things got too personal. Cameron sent a page to Foreman, letting him know where she was and that he might want to bring Chase along with him.
“Yeah? You think it’s going to be easier when you have a real patient really dying? What are you missing?"
The lecture hall went silent, the students too afraid to say anything. The answer to House’s question left her lips before she could stop it. He looked up at her in surprise.
She had never seen a look like that on his face before. She had caught him being vulnerable, but what impacted her most was that she was the only person in the room who got it.
House was lecturing to a room full of medical students. And he was discussing his own case.