Secrets || Lisa Cuddy x M!Reader

1

Albert James Atkinson had been working for House for more than two years now. He was the first to be hired on House's team as a Cardiologist and a Trauma Specialist.

He is also the only one that hasn't quit ever since he's got hired. He attended Johns Hopkins University with the intent to participate in the competitive internship at Mayo Clinic the year before House got kicked out for cheating and had been acquainted with him ever since.

He is eleven years younger than House and was a Mensa member and had managed to get a place in House's team the moment House became the Head of Diagnostics, leaving Johns Hopkins and continuing his residency at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

Now, after a month of well deserved vacation, he finally gets to meet House's new team that he's been talking his ear about for the past weeks.

Albert met up with House outside the hospital.

"Welcome back James, ready to meet the new scooby gang?"

Albert laughed as he and House started to walk towards the hospital. "Yeah, can't wait to see how long this batch will last. I'm thinking maybe half a year? Considering so far, you haven't had any severe complaints about them."

House shook his head. "Wanna bet on that? These ones are tough, none of them have cried because I gave them a heartless order. Unlike the recent ones." House muttered the last part.

"I've known better than to bet against you. I'm not taking my chances. I just spent half my debit card during my vacation." Albert complained.

As soon as they entered the hospital, Wilson immediately approached them. "Hey, I got a case for you." He told House before looking at Albert.

"Welcome back, I thought you'd start again next week?" He asked as House looked at Albert questioningly.

"I, uhh, wanted to meet the new team. House has been talking about them the whole time I was in vacation. I got curious." He shrugged.

While Wilson seemed to have taken the answer, House wasn't convinced but let it go for now.

"Anyway, back to the case. 29 year old female, first seizure one month ago. Lost the ability to speak. Babbled like a baby. Progressive deterioration of mental status."

As Wilson began to brief him about the case House was looking around them as they walked.

"See that? They all assume that I'm a patient because of this cane." He muttered.

"So put on a white coat like the rest of us." Albert said as he scrolled through his phone as he walked. His right hand was clutching his phone while his left was clutching the back of Wilson's coat.

Wilson noticed and immediately snatched his phone. "Who the hell are you texting?" As he and House tried to see the conversation but Albert quickly snatched his phone back and put it back in his pocket.

"None of your business." He muttered.

"I don't want them to think I'm a doctor." House argued. "You see where the administration might have a problem with that attitude." Wilson told him.

"People don't want a sick doctor."

"Well, that's fair enough. I don't like healthy patients." Wilson sarcastically said as Albert chuckled.

"The 29 year old female-" Wilson tried to go back to topic. "The one who can't talk? I like that part." House told him.

"House." Albert scolded him.

"She's my cousin." Wilson told them as they stopped walking. "And your cousin doesn't like the diagnosis." House said.

"And I wouldn't either. Brain tumor, she's gonna die. Boring." House told them with an eyeroll.

"House, it's his cousin." Albert argued.

"So? What does that have to do with anything?" Albert only sighed in defeat as House kept walking.

"No wonder you're such a renowned diagnostician. You don't actually know anything to figure out what's wrong." Albert muttered as they followed House.

"Wilson's the oncologist. You're a cardiologist and I'm just a lowly infectious disease guy." House pointed out.

"Haha, yes, just a simple country doctor." Wilson said sarcastically. "Brain tumors at her age are highly unlikely."

"She's 29. Whatever she's got is highly unlikely." House argued as Albert sighed at his bluntness.

His phone rang which stopped all three of them from walking to check their own phones.

"It's mine." Albert announced as he checked his phone and saw the message. "Who is it?" House asked.

"Cuddy. She wants me to meet her at her office. I'll meet you at yours with the case." He told them as he started to walk back.

"What makes you think I'll take the case?" House asked. "Because Wilson knows what tickles you. He's not gonna come looking for you if it was just a simple brain tumor. There has to be a twist." Albert yelled back.

"Hey, good morning." He greeted Cuddy as he entered the room. "Hey." She greeted back tiredly.

"Uh, what do you need?" He asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah, right. I need to know if you can cover the clinic. Robbin took a last minute sick leave." She said, not looking up from her paperwork.

"Well, House just picked up a case and I haven't met the team yet, so I can't. Sorry." He explained as Cuddy sighed in exasperation.

"Uh, everything okay?" He hesitantly asked her. "Yeah, I just, I'll just ask Edwards to do it. He's been behind clinic hours like House so I-"

"I was actually asking if you were okay." He softly told her. Cuddy finally looked up at him and her demeanor softened.

"Yeah, I've just been stressed. Even taking just a week off, being the Dean of Medicine really has a lot of paperwork." She chuckled. Albert then noticed her necklace.

"You actually wore it." He told her as he gestured at her anatomical heart necklace.

"And you're wearing yours." As she smiled and gestured at the stethoscope pin on the breast pocket of his white coat.

"You think they'll notice?" She asked as Albert smirked.

"Not a chance. The team hasn't met either of us long enough, House will be too busy with the new case and Wilson will be too worrying about his cousin's safety at the hands of the sadist, Gregory House." He laughed.

"Yeah, I heard about that. 29 year old had a seizure, right?"

"Yeah, she-" Albert was caught off by his pager beeping. He looked at it to see House paging him back to his office.

Albert sighed. "Gotta go, I'll make sure Edwards says yes to clinic duty." He said as he opened the door.

"And how are you going to do that?" Cuddy asked him as Albert smirked. "He owes me." He grinned before leaving.