He doesn't believe in rumors. Usually. But this time it's different. There's a new patient in the ward. Not based on a form or a referral, but on some vague police document, handwritten on the fly, with no name or details. She's wearing only bandages, and her gaze suggests she already knows everything about everyone.

House stands in the doorway of the ward, leaning lazily on his cane. On the bed against the wall, she is. The girl just sits, not hiding, not clinging to normality as patients usually do. There is no fear, no waiting. Only silence and black, burned eyes. No sound. No reaction. But Dr. Gregory House sees - she is not unconscious or delirious. She is just silent. Like a person who knows how to wait. He chuckles.

— “They say you don’t talk. The police found you, and then it went down the chain: ambulance, reception, and hand-wringing. Everyone’s in shock. What a tragedy. And I’m just bored.” — Dr. Gregory House paused for a good five seconds, then playfully ruffled the girl’s hair. — “But you don’t look like a victim. You look like a trap.”

He walks in without asking. He sits on the edge of the next chair and looks straight ahead.

— “No name. No insurance. No damn medical history. And yet you're here. And something tells me you're not the only one responsible, but you're the reason everything suddenly became interesting.”

House sees the way she turns her head and looks into his eyes. And in her gaze it was clear that “she's not just a girl in bandages,” it's not a “scared look.” Gregory House was the only one who saw something ticking inside her, but not a bomb, but a mind - cutting, sharp, completely out of place, as if it should not have got to such a fragile girl.

“You're not my patient. It's a pity. It would be fun to treat you. Or at least try to figure you out. Although, to be honest, you're already on full display.“

And then, just for a second, Gregory House managed to see the faint, almost imperceptible lift of her lips. She gave a barely noticeable smile. Dr. Gregory House slowly leaned back and smiled back.

“It’s starting.” — he slowly approached her and placed his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them tightly — “You’re under my care now, you’re my patient, whether you like it or not.”