Part 1: While Sitting at the Bar…

"Yeah, my life is a breeze." Thirteen stated with an eye roll as she downed one of her martinis.

"You're successful, smart and you attract everything that moves. If you want to focus on the fact that you're not gonna see 50, that's your choice." House replied as he drank from his scotch. Thirteen smiled wryly at him.

"You're right my self-pity's optional. What about yours?" She asked while giving him a knowing look.

House was taken aback by her question and also impressed. Sometimes he forgot why he hired her and then times like these reminded him.

"Ah, you got me. Look, I know Wilson is behind this little night on the town. How much he pay you?"

Thirteen smiled with a tinge of guilt seeping into her eyes. "He offered me a hundred bucks."

House shook his head and took a last drink of his scotch before standing up.

"It's been fun in the fox hole, but I think I'm just gonna go home." He said as he laid down a five dollar bill and reached for his cane. Thirteen stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"I'm…sorry. I know you'd rather be hanging with your best friend and unfortunately he's preoccupied…"

"He always is, when it comes to women who actually find his boyish looks charming."

Thirteen grinned and handed him his cane. "Let's go get some coffee. I know a good place." She said as she motioned for him to walk with her. He stared at her for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"This place looks small." House said as he walked to sit on a nearby bench.

"It is cozy. There's a difference." She replied as she joined him on the bench.

She knew he needed a moment to rest before walking anymore. She should have thought about how a two block walk would affect his leg. Strangely, he didn't even protest to the walk from the club to the bakery.

He let out a sigh and then stood up. Thirteen stood up and for a reason beyond her she slipped her arm through his. He stiffened and looked down at her in surprise. She only smiled in return.

"Come on, House. This place closes in an hour." She said as she pulled him with her into the building.

They sat at a small table in the far back. The chairs were cushioned with black leather. The décor was black and burgundy. What sounded like Coltrane played out of the speakers. Thirteen was looking at her menu trying to decide what she should try. House left his menu closed and stared at Thirteen.

"What?" She finally asked in irritation.

"Why did you do that?"
She pursed her lips in confusion. "Do what?"

He rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Why did you put your arm through mine?"

She put her menu down.

"I don't know. Who cares. It's not a big deal." She said as she met his analytical stare.

"Accept that you have never done that before with me. Also by holding on to me in such a way, could appear, to an outsider that you liked me or something…" He rambled off his thoughts so fast that she felt a bit dizzy.

"You're my boss... I took your arm because it seemed like one of those moments where you make that kind of gesture…I'll never do it again if it makes you uncomfortable." She finished saying feeling a bit weary of the promise she had just made.

"I didn't say it made me uncomfortable."

She saw a softness form against his facial expression. His eyes seemed brighter than they had been in quite a while. Thirteen wondered when she first started noticing such subtle details about this irascible man.

"It was…nice." He said in what sounded like a whisper.

She was a bit speechless. She wasn't sure how to react to his honesty.

"Are you guys ready to order?" A waitress by the name of Roz asked suddenly. Thirteen and House broke their stare and looked at the waitress.

"I'll have a small decaf coffee with cream and a cinnamon muffin." Thirteen replied.

"I'll take a medium coffee, black. I'll also have a chocolate brownie." House told the waitress in a remarkably relaxed voice. Thirteen felt nervous and wondered why he didn't too.

"Alright. I'll be back with your food in a few minutes." Roz stated before taking their menus and heading toward the kitchen.

"The coffee better be good, Thirteen. I hate bad coffee as you well know." He stated with mock seriousness as he leaned back against his chair. She watched him with a mixture of amusement and confusion.

"Yeah, you always make that clear in the conference room after a batch of Taub's java has been brewed." She said with a coy grin. She felt slightly less nervous now that he seemed to be acting more like himself. They were both good at pretending.

"Well, I think the evening was less sucky than expected." He said as he walked Thirteen to her apartment door.

"Surprisingly, it was a nice night…House you should have this," She said as she pulled out a crisp hundred dollar bill.

His eyes grew wide at the reveal. "You did your job…you earned the money."

Instead of answering him, she took the bill and slipped it into his shirt pocket. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. He stilled at the touch and closed his eyes briefly.

"Goodnight." She said as she turned to unlock her door. House, bewildered, stared as she opened the door and slipped inside. He stood there for a minute just staring at the closed door. Letting out a sigh he started to turn to go, but then he stopped.

Thirteen threw her purse on the coffee table and kicked her shoes to the floor. She really did have a good time with House, and even though she didn't really understand what was going on between them, she was just glad things ended well. She sighed to herself when she heard a knock at the door. "Who could that be?" She asked herself. She opened the door and was startled to find House still standing there.

"I thought I said goodbye to you five minutes ago?" She asked with a coy smile.

"Uh, didn't you know? We fell into a wormhole and now we're repeating that last moment over." He quipped before he stepped forward into her personal space.

"It's late, House…"

"I know…um…thanks for going out with me tonight… (He looked down at his feet for a moment and took in breath before meeting her eyes once more) Maybe we could try it again sometime."

She stood still at his question. Did he really just ask her out? Was he being serious?
"Thirteen? If you don't want to…" He started to say ready to turn away. She laid a hand against his forearm.

"I do…I mean, what do you have in mind?"