Us Against the World, Chapter 20

[sydpenguinbunny.livejournal.com]

Title: Us Against the World
Author: sydpenguinbunny
Rating: R
Pairing: Wilson/Amber, House/Cuddy, Wilson/House, Tritter/OC, maybe House/Amber
Spoilers: Up until the end of Season 6.
Summary: Wilson is kidnapped by someone who holds a grudge against House. House is told to come out and play, and Amber refuses to stand by. Time is running out...

Chapter One: A Shot in the Dark
Chapter Two: Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
Chapter Three: Photograph
Chapter Four: Private Eye
Chapter Five: Purity
Chapter Six: Nowhere to Go
Chapter Seven: Nightmare
Chapter Eight: Throwing It All Away
Chapter Nine: Anyone for Tennis?
Chapter Ten: Turn the Page
Chapter Eleven: The Game
Chapter Twelve: Domino
Chapter Thirteen: Runaway
Chapter Fourteen: Dreaming While You Sleep
Chapter Fifteen: Mama
Chapter Sixteen: Handle This
Chapter Seventeen: If I Needed Someone
Chapter Eighteen: Only You
Chapter Nineteen: The Virus of Life




Chapter Twenty: Just a Job to Do

“The harder you run,
Then the harder you’ll fall,
I’m coming down hard on you…
I’m hoping that my aim is true!”

“Detective Tritter. Detective Bennett.” The two looked up at the voice and instantly, both knew that it wasn’t good news. Then again, Tritter considered, when had it ever been good news when Alvarez had poked her head into his office?

The woman had hated him on sight, ever since she’d met him, and the feeling had been pretty mutual. Alvarez had chalked it up to an inability for Tritter to take orders from a woman and a belief in police work being an “old boys club”, but Tritter chalked it up to Alvarez being a raging bitch who had it in for him.

Both theories may have had some degree of truth to them.

They were guided to Alvarez’s office, though Tritter would have made the analogy to a dog being led along on some kind of choker chain.

They sat.

“It has come to my attention that you’ve been looking into Gregory House, off the books.”
Tritter chewed on his lip a moment, trying to come up with the best way to explain it. It turned out that he didn’t have to, as the next voice he heard was Miranda’s.

“Lieutenant Alvarez.” Miranda leaned forward and gave a winning smile. “Dr. House actually came to us for help.” She proceeded to shoot Tritter a look that clearly read, Please do not say anything, or I will kill you. “You see, a friend of his had gone missing… But there wasn’t any proof that it was, well, any kind of foul play. He asked us to look into it, off the record.”

Alvarez smiled back, but it was an icy smile, and she leaned forward as well, locking eyes with Miranda.

“And why, may I ask, would he come to someone who tried to put him away in prison?” she inquired.

Miranda opened her mouth a moment, then closed it again.

Tritter cut in, “House likes mysteries. He’s interested in people even if he doesn’t like them. He came to us because he knows that he and I… well, we have some stuff in common.”

Alvarez coughed.

“Hmm. I wonder what that could be?” she retorted.

Tritter couldn’t stop himself from shooting her a glare. Wilson was out there getting tortured, and she was sitting here playing with the two of them like a cat playing with a ball of yarn! What the hell did Alvarez know, anyway? Nothing about real police work! She just liked to sit in her nice cushy office and give orders.

Tritter wished with all his might that he could tell her that.

“I’ll make it clear to you, Detectives,” Alvarez told them, “If I get a whiff of either of you looking into anything to do with Greg House again, you’re off the force. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars.”

“You can’t do that,” Tritter protested.

“Yes, I can. I have cases for the two of you to address.” She handed them each a folder. “I expect that you will handle them with all the… enthusiasm you seem to have mustered up for your little trip down memory lane.”

***

Miranda swung her legs over the wooden edge of Tritter’s bed.

“So, what would the station say if they knew we were in bed together?” she commented dryly, grabbing a pillow and putting it on her lap.

He smirked and rolled his eyes. Tritter was off to the far edge of the bed, his legs hanging over the edge and lying on an ugly yellow-and-brown toadstool, while Miranda was next to him.

“So we’re not actually going to listen to Alvarez, are we?” he replied, “We’re not actually going to get off the case.”

She put a hand on her chin and seemed to consider the pros and cons.

“So, worst case scenario, we never work in this or any other town again,” she pointed out.

“Best case scenario,” Tritter countered, “We save a man’s life.”

Miranda threaded her fingers together and sighed.

“So that decides it. I think we can both agree that a man’s life is worth our jobs. But what if we cut Alvarez in on it? Told her why we couldn’t tell her before and let her throw her weight around and see what she can find out? She’s got connections everywhere, after all.”

Tritter shook his head.

“We can’t trust her to not make a scene; in fact, we can trust her to make a scene. The woman needs her face plastered on the news all the time – and if Douglas means what he said about getting the police involved, well, we don’t want to be receiving pieces of Wilson in the mail.” He shuddered. “We have to try and handle this on our own as best we can. With House’s help, as much as I’m hesitant to say so.”

“And Dr. Volakis,” Miranda pointed out.

Tritter nodded.

“Okay, and Dr. Volakis. But,” he started, then sighed, “We have to be in all the way. We can’t half-ass this and then screw up the case and lose our careers, too – then everyone loses.”

“Well, don’t you know me by now, Detective?” Miranda retorted, leaning in to look him straight in the eye. “When have I ever been any less than all-in on anything?” She gave him a cocky smile and moved her hand to his knee. “I give one-hundred percent.”

“Even if it costs us everything?”

She shrugged.

“If it’s not worth risking everything for, then what’s the point? There are,” she paused and leaned in a little closer, so their faces were inches apart, “Things that are worth it?”

“Like?” Tritter prompted.

She pushed her lips against his in a fell swoop. He was too shocked to respond.

When she pulled away, she was still looking at him. She didn’t blush or look embarrassed; instead, she shrugged it off and continued her thought.

“Like being a hero.”

* “Just a Job to Do”, Genesis, Genesis, 1983.