Exam room two. Stupid room really, in a stupid clinic owned by
a stupid woman. House closed the door, not wanting to look at the
patient sitting on the bed. Stupid person had to fall off a roof�
�Well, Mr. � Doe? John, Doe.� He finally looked up, blue meeting green.
House�s eyebrow quirked. John Doe? �As in �I don�t remember my name� John Doe?�
The boy just shrugged, looking away. He was cradling his left arm in his right.
This kid couldn�t be more than sixteen. Typical teenagers� silent and stupid
as a stone; and long hair. This, though, was overkill. The hair had to be past
his ass, tied back, and it looking like it hadn�t been combed in days. Glancing at
the file, he found that it was almost bare. It was a new file� Name: John Doe. Age: 19.
Race: Caucasian. Sex: Male. Hair: blond. Eyes: green. Height: 5�4�� the normal was there,
but nothing else. No medical history, no family listed.
�What�s your name?� The patient quirked an eyebrow back. �Common, your real name.
You know, like mine�s Greg. What�s yours?� The flash of fluorescents over the thick
glasses was his only answer. Not a word� wonderful.
�Alright, we�ll play twenty questions then. Broken arm, Says you fell off a roof.
What were you doing on the roof? Taking down the Christmas lights?�
�It�s J-J-July.� A stutter! Wow, this gets better every minute.
�All the more reason to take them off. What were you doing on the roof?�
�There w-was an l-l-leak.�
�It�s July, we haven�t had any rain. It�s Jersey.�
�P-p-perfect time to f-f-f-ix it it.�
�Can�t a-a-argue with that logic.� Crude, but it was to try to get a
reaction out of the boy. Nothing, didn�t even look up from his shoes� which
were held together with scotch tape� not even the good kind, more like the fake
sticky cellophane kind. �How did you fall?�
�Slipped.� He almost didn�t catch it, he was so quiet. Standing, House leaned his
cane against the counter, and stuck his stethoscope in his ears.
�Chin up.� The boy obeyed, watching carefully as House did the normal. Listened
to his breathing, took his pulse, and checked his eyes and ears, the reflexes on the
knees. Something here wasn�t right� not in the slightest.
�Breathing�s a little constricted, did you pull a muscle?� A shrug. �You�re the one
that fell off the roof, not me. Your reflexes are a little slow, and your eyes aren�t
focusing right.�
�I haven�t had my gl-gl-glasses replaced in aaaalmost t-ten years. They aren�t the rrr-r-right
prescription anymore.� House jotted that down. �I�m not hhhh-he-here for that, just set set
set my arm, and I can g-g-get out of here. You don�t eeeeven have to p-p-put it in a cast, just s-set it.�
�You know what the nurse, at the desk, told me? That you paid without insurance. Which means
you paid full price to see me. She also said that you paid in nickels, pennies, and dimes. No
quarters?� The last one was a joke. No response. �You paid for it; you might as well just let me do
the x-ray and the cast. No use in paying for it and not getting it. Especially since it could have
bought you three meals.�
He waited for something, anything, from the kid. Most people react when House hits the nail on the
head. However, there was nothing. He didn�t even blink. Interesting� this boy clearly hasn�t eaten in
ages. If people like this came in, looking like he did with an injury, they would be begging for drugs.
This one didn�t even mention pain. Just, set the arm, like he didn�t even feel it.
�I have a saying. Everybody lies. Everybody. Even I lie. So how about you tell me what really happened,
I set your arm, and we both get on with our lives. I don�t know about you, but I have such better things to
do.� He looked up now. The eyes behind the thick lenses were blank, almost challenging him. Find out the
enigma. Figure it out House.
�Just set my a-a-arm.� They stared each other down for a few moments, before House picked up his cane,
and �John� sat back against the wall next to the bed, holding out his arm. House handed the boy his cane,
telling him to hold it tight.
�I�ll have to roll up your sleeve.� �John� quickly pulled his arm back.
�Don�t.�
�I have to. If not, I can�t tell where the break is, and I need to know where it is to be able to set it.�
Biting his lip, the boy set the cane in his lap, reaching down, and slowly rolling up the cloth. Greg had to
bite his cheek to keep from saying anything. There were long scars all up and down his arm.
The boy was a cutter. And it looked like he had been doing it a long time. There wasn�t an inch of clear
skin, either on the top, or bottom of his arm. It was narrow, the arm that they were on. The boy was far too
skinny for any age, let alone young adult. Feeling up and down the arm for the break, House held the arm
between his hands, and nodded at his cane.
�You might be used to pain, but trust me; you�re going to want to hold that. Don�t bite it, just� hold it.�
He nodded, and looked away, gripping the wood. House pressed against the broken bone, not even hearing a
whimper as they started to shift. They wouldn�t pop back together. After two tries, House backed up, washing
his hands. Turning back, he found �John� with his arm back in his lap, sleeve covering the scars. He also
looked a lot paler.
�I�m going to need an x-ray after all. Common, I�ll walk you to radiation.� The boy didn�t move. House
tried to pry his fingers from the staff, only to find the knuckles white. He wasn�t letting go. House pushed
his chin up, finding his eyes focused differently, and jaw chewing. He was having a seizure.
