Note: This takes place mid 2nd season for both shows. Don has been in the witness protection program for two months or so.

Don sighed as he saw a man, who used a cane and stood next to him in the hospital cafeteria line, purchase a salad with a steak hidden underneath. He wanted to say something, but he was in no position to do so. The last thing he wanted to do was draw attention to himself by ratting on people for petty stuff.

House, told his friend, when they were seated. "See that guy with the goatee?"

"The one who runs the gift shop? On this floor?" Wilson asked.

"He knows"

"Knows what?"

"That I stole the steak"

"Are you going to kill him?" Wilson asked ironically as he bit into the so called chicken

"He 's very observant" House commented. "And too smart to be at a register"

"Cuddy seems to like him." Wilson cleverly said, as she noticed her coming up to him.

"How are you?" she asked casually. On an impulse, the woman had gone some days ago to the gift shop to get something for her office, and had found Don to be smart, and good looking.

"Great, sales are pretty good" Don told her, fighting the temptation to flirt back.

"Thanks to your efforts!" she complimented him. "I noticed that you rearranged a few things"

Don shrugged and felt a bit uneasy. She seemed nice, but the woman was a hospital administrator. So he had mixed feelings about her attentions.

As they made more small talk, House told his friend "He's uncomfortable"

"He doesn't look uncomfortable"

"He's just hiding it pretty well" House said. "Her attention seems bother him. Why?"

" Maybe He doesn't want people to get the wrong idea, and accuse her of favoritism." Wilson commented.

"He works in the gift shop! That's not even Cuddy's territory!" House rolled his yes. "If I were a cashier, and some pretty doctor with well endowed fun bags came to talk to me, I'd be as happy as a lark, wouldn't you?"

"You really need to get a new case!" Wilson rolled his eyes.

A few hours later, House went into the gift shop to see Brian.

"Brian?" The man had read the name on the name tag a while ago.

"Yeah?" Don said. House noticed that it took a few milliseconds longer than it should have for the man to answer.

"Do you have any of those shirts that say.. 'I survived Cancer and all I got was this lousy tee shirt' ? "House loved to provoke people, and he could tell that he succeeded with Brian.

" No I don't" Don hated that someone would trivialize cancer like that, given that his own mother had died from it. "But I do have a shirt that says "'I'm an insensitive Jackass' "

"Did I strike a chord?"

"Would you quit bothering Brian?" Cuddy scolded House as she came in. "He's trying to work here!"

"Buying more stuff for your desk?" House asked, tongue in cheek.

"I just wanted to get some teddy bears for a couple of kids who are getting transplants" she informed him.

"Yeah sure" House thought.

"We just got these in today" Don showed her a bunch of blue teddy bears.

Cuddy lingered for a while, and House left, with some food for thought.

Soon, she told Don "Doctor House, enjoys provoking people. Don't let it get to you"

"Sure...thanks for the advice." he nodded.

He finally got to close the shop around five, went home. watched a game, and drank beer. Somehow, it just wasn't the same without his dad and brother. The agent had gotten used to having them around when off duty. Now he was stuck at a boring job, with no one to talk to. While it was hard to have a relationship as an agent, it was impossible as someone in the witness protection program. People liked to get to know you on dates, especially after a few of them. You have to lie all the time. It didn't help that damn Doctor house put salt on an old wound. What a bastard! Reluctantly, he went to bed around eleven, so he could get up and do the same old routine again.

Meanwhile, House and Wilson had watched T.V together

"The gift shop guy's using an alias." House told his friend.

"What makes you say that?"

"It took him too long to answer when I called him by the name on his name tag." House explained. "Answering to your name is instinctive. He hesitated a little."

Wilson shook his head, knowing that his friend wasn't going to lay off the gift shop guy until he found out everything he could about him.

The oncologist thought "I'd hate to be in your shoes"

TBC