"Very close," said House. "Just other side of the tree."

He slid off of the chair, grabbing his cane. She must have seen him walk before. If she didn't care that he was a cripple old enough to be her father then he wasn't going to emphasize it.

He was glad he'd been drinking, but the reason he was here in the first place was that his leg hurt, and even now he was putting barely any of his weight on it.