Suddenly, the phone ran and Hailie snatched it from its perch on her books, knocking half of them onto the floor in the process. She cleared her throat and waited for two more rings before she pressed the button to answer it. ‘Hello?’

‘Hailie? It’s Lisa,’ the voice on the other end said and Hailie deflated slightly.

‘Oh, hi Dr Cuddy.’

‘Listen, I know you were hoping this to be House, but you need to forget about waiting for him to call you and get yourself down here now,’ Cuddy said, sounding rushed. A frown creased Hailie’s brow.

‘Why, what’s happened?’

‘A nurse just told me two new interns have already come in within the last twenty minutes,’ the Dean of Medicine explained. ‘If you want a shot at this, you have to come now.’

Hailie hesitated for only a second. ‘I’m on my way.’

She ended the call and ran into the bedroom, startling Jason who was getting ready for work himself. In a mad rush, she pulled on a tailored pair of black pants, a professional looking shirt and a pair of moderately-heeled black boots. On her way out of the wardrobe, she grabbed her white lab coat and kissed her bewildered fiancé goodbye. As she hastily got into her car and began to drive toward Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital, she decided House wouldn’t need to know she’d been tipped off by Cuddy. She knew it definitely wouldn’t help her if he found out.

Parking her car in the carpark set aside for the staff, Hailie made her way into the building, pulling on her lab coat on the way. As she approached the front counter, the nurse behind the desk smiled at her. Returning the gesture, Hailie asked for directions to House’s office. The nurse obliged and the young doctor was soon navigating her way through the halls of the hospital. At one point she saw Dr Cuddy in a patient’s room and she gave her a small grin as she walked past. When she turned into the hallway that housed Dr House’s office, she saw the infamous diagnostician talking to who she assumed were the two other interns. Taking a deep breath, she approached the group, tyring to exude confidence, but not sure if she was pulling it off.

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