"And the Children Will Lead"
Chapter One-"The Path Begins"
By: Purpleu
"The red one or the navy blue one?" Wilson asked. House looked over at him.
"Depends; do you want to look like a politician or the Secret Service agent protecting him?" As usual, House was doing what he was good at: busting Wilson's chops. "Why are you even wearing a tie? If you want to get anywhere with Annie, you really should consider showing a little skin; the poster boy for L.L. Bean look isn't going to get you what you so desperately desire." Wilson rolled his eyes as he walked to his desk. Foreman was holding a meeting in the office they now shared and he retreated to his Oncology office to make the big decision of what to wear on the double date he and House had with Annie and Lydia; House, of course immediately sensed his presence on the floor and appeared in Wilson's office.
"This is my first official date with Annie and I want to make a good impression," explained Wilson as he held the ties up and examined them. "Maybe the navy and gray striped one." House shook his head.
"You are pathetic; you're like a teen-ager going out his first date where he has a chance of getting laid and he's forgotten the condoms. You've been with Annie a bunch of times making the same fashion statement: boring. Annie saw you in a suit when you met. You just spent the weekend with her in polo shirts and khakis when you helped move the ladies in; and then what…four or five hours at Otto's last night with my team and her having wings, beer and whatever. Then when you brought her home, Lydia and I had already left, giving you two a chance to get better acquainted," House turned and looked at Wilson. "And I'll bet you twenty bucks you're no better acquainted now than you were when you first met outside the realtors."
"HA! That's where you're wrong! I kissed her, I kissed her directly on the lips and she kissed me back," Wilson said with a certain air of smugness. "And we kissed more than once. You owe me twenty bucks." He extended his left hand. House looked at it with disdain; he was definitely less than impressed.
"I see why your porn career went nowhere. I can say with utmost certainty, that I am able to count on one hand the number of times you kissed and that there was no tongue involved." House looked up at Wilson; he withdrew his out stretched hand.
"Weren't you the one telling me not to rush things?" Wilson asked as he laid the three ties out on his desk. "That after what Annie had been through she needed time to learn to trust someone again?"
"Yeah, but watching you suffer is annoying the hell out of me. I feel like I should be walking behind you with a mop to wipe up the drool. And picking the right color hangman's noose isn't going to make a damn bit of difference." Wilson sighed and rubbed his hand across his forehead.
"Annie and I had a great time last night; we talked about a lot of things, we laughed, picked songs out together from the juke box, we even started dancing together to "Build Me up Buttercup." House sat there slack jawed and with a horrified look.
"No…. no; tell me you did not do that. Tell me you dirty danced to 'Start Me Up' by the Stones. I can deal with that; but the concept of anyone dancing to a song that has the word 'buttercup' in its title, has more saccharine in it than most diabetics consume in a lifetime."
"NutraSweet is what most sugar free foods have in them now," Wilson pointed out. "Saccharine is passé."
"So is dancing to a song with the word 'buttercup' in the title," House replied. Wilson sat down at his desk.
"She is a sweet, intelligent woman who has a wonderful sense of humor, is immensely talented and has a great view of the world despite what she's been through." Wilson picked up a pen and began tapping it on his desk. "Someone made a recording of the rehearsal session that Annie did last week for the concert on Thursday and she had the CD in her pocketbook when we went out last night; I had her pop it into the player in my car so I could hear it." Wilson shook his head. "I'm not a classical music fan by any means, but I got goose bumps from hearing her play. It was beautiful." House smiled.
"When she emerged from the aphasic state, the first thing she asked for was Lydia; the second was her cello. She needed a few notes from the piano to retune it, rosined her bow and began playing like she had never been away from it. I'm sure she's put in countless hours of practice, but playing the way she does…that passion is something you're born with."
"One more amazing thing about her: her resiliency. Not only to physically come back from the damage the beating left her with, but the psychological damage from that and what her ex-fiancé pulled." House looked surprised.
"I'm out of the loop on this one; I knew about an ex-boyfriend, but ex-fiancé?"
"One in the same person. You know Annie had been seeing someone for about three or four years before they broke up and she met the guy who attacked her." House nodded. "Well, she and Rob were not just dating, but actually engaged; they had met when he was hired by the Philadelphia Philharmonic, also as a cellist. There were a lot of comings and goings at the Philharmonic in the late nineties as they were undergoing financial problems. The position of first chair, the best player in a particular group of instruments, opened up a couple of years after Rob joined the orchestra; guess who got first chair?"
"Annie," House answered with a smirk. "I can see what happened next." Wilson nodded.
"Rob's ego couldn't take the fact that Annie got the position even though she had been there longer, and more importantly was the better musician. He started saying things along the lines of, she got the job because she was 'friendly' with the conductor and musical director. Things got really stupid when he came out and blatantly accused her of sleeping with them; that happened when Annie was selected to play with a guest artist: Yo-Yo Ma. Annie tried to reason with him, but she broke off the engagement after Rob wouldn't stop making the accusations."
"Lydia told me Annie had been tapped to play with Yoga-Man. I'm not a longhair fan either, unless it's Professor Longhair; but I know that name and the prestige that goes along with being selected to play with him." Wilson was about to say something, then stopped and gave House a puzzled look.
"Who's Professor Longhair?" he asked.
"Great blues musician," House answered. "I wouldn't expect you know him since his music doesn't have the requirement of donning a polyester leisure suit before you can warble a note."
"You make it sound like all the music I listen to is nerdy and outdated; I'm aware of modern music." House tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling.
"Name one song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers." He dropped his head forward and turned to Wilson, who sat there trying to speak, but to no avail; his lips moved but no sound came out.
"Can you name a song by them?" he finally sputtered out.
"Californication," replied House without missing a beat. Wilson threw his hands up in the air.
"You would know a song with that word in its title." House reached back behind his head, interlaced his fingers, and rested his head on his palms; he had a look of satisfaction on his face.
"Tell me one thing that's wrong with it," he said as he closed his eyes. Wilson let out a deep sigh.
"Absolutely nothing," said Wilson wistfully. House glanced over at him and realized it would be a good idea to change the subject.
"So what kind of music did Annie pick from the nickelodeon?" Wilson laughed.
"Nothing costs a nickel any more. I don't know how much money we pumped into the machine, but between all of us, we kept it going all night. Her tastes were…eclectic, really spread out all over the place. She played everything from 'Edge of Glory' to 'Jailhouse Rock' to 'Hot Stuff' to 'What a Wonderful World' by Louis Armstrong. When I asked what type of music was her favorite, she said good music."
"Spoken like a true musician," House said. Wilson rapped his knuckles on the stack of paperwork occupying the corner of his desk.
"You really think I should go without the tie?" House's eyes flew open and he leaned forward toward Wilson.
"Let's see how many more ways can I tell you not to wear a tie? I know…Don't wear a tie!" he said firmly. Wilson eyed him suspiciously.
"What are you wearing?" he asked.
"No tie, if that's what you're worried about," said House. Wilson continued to look skeptical; House caught sight of his expression and decided to just give in. "I am wearing one of two suits I own, the black one; a blue shirt, socks, no underwear and these babies." House swung his left leg up and placed his foot on to Wilson's desk; there on his foot, was a black dress shoe. Wilson did a double take.
"What the…that isn't a sneaker," Wilson noted.
"Really?" House said as he looked at the shoe. "I hadn't noticed."
"I've never seen you wear anything but sneakers and motorcycle boots. Oh, and hiking boots when we went camping. So what's with this?"
"Lydia made a comment that she's never seen me wear anything except sneakers and that the only other footwear in my closet were the aforementioned boots. I told her that ever since my leg happened, I've never worn anything that didn't have a rubber sole; mainly for the purpose of avoiding winding up on my ass. She pointed out that lots of dress shoes have rubber soles; she didn't get all 'Let's go shoe shopping' but I figured it would give her a cheap thrill if she saw I bothered to get a pair. And her cheap thrills would then lead to my cheap thrills later on."
"In other words, you're manipulating her," Wilson said. House looked wounded.
"I don't need to manipulate her to get her into my bed, if that's what you're implying. She's very happy with what happens there." House stared off. "We both are." Wilson smiled.
"A lot better than the hookers, I would imagine." House shot him a look.
"How would you know? You've never been with a hooker in your life except when you were too drunk to remember what happened."
"I've slept with women I've barely liked, and I've slept with women I've been passionately in love with; while the love didn't last," Wilson said sadly, "I remember the feeling; being passionately in love with your partner is a hell of a lot better." House nodded.
"And dangerous," he noted as he stood up. Wilson looked surprised.
"Dangerous is not a word I would associate with being passionately in love." House began to pace.
"It is if your mind starts wandering to places and things you've never considered before." Stunned, Wilson waved a finger at House.
"Don't even joke about this; there is no way you are even remotely considering the 'M' word." House winced.
"Of course not; why would I even consider Mattafattafortasite?"
"Matta…what? What the hell is that?"
"The stuff that, according to my grandfather, could fix anything that was broken around the house; I was six or seven before I found out the rest of the world referred to it as duct tape." Wilson now also stood; he moved around the side of his desk to where House was standing.
"House, don't make light of the subject; that's not fair to play with Lydia's feelings like that." He put his hands on his hips and gave House a stern look.
"I'm not trying to play with Lydia's feelings or my own; I'm not joking." House continued to fidget nervously while Wilson regarded him in disbelief.
"What prompted this?" Wilson asked.
"The fact that I'm confused as hell," House said as he plopped down onto Wilson's sofa. "Let's assume that we regard dreams the same way that we do hallucinations from a barb coma; that they represent your inner hopes and fears. Well, I had a dream on Friday when I was recovering from my encounter with Hunter: a suburban street, same as you see hundreds of times in hundreds of towns across the country. Right out of "Father Knows Best," noted House. "I pull into the driveway, get out of the car….I'm still limping, I still have my cane; but I'm not in pain. These two rug rats run up to me, they're Lydia's kids and they say 'Hi, Daddy' and give me a hug. The next thing I know, Lydia comes out of the house, holding a boy about two years old. She says, 'Look, Daddy's home' and hands me the kid; she gives me a kiss, tells me to take 'little Greg' inside because dinner's ready…then I woke up." House had been staring at the floor while relating the dream to Wilson; now, he looked up at his friend for a reaction and some reassurance. For Wilson, it was startling, a lot to take in; he could only imagine how House felt.
"I…I don't even know where to begin. I would think this is all in response to Lydia's kids coming in to start living with her on Friday. I know you're more than a little uncomfortable with the idea of meeting them," Wilson said.
"I'm terrified; this is a make it or break it deal for Lydia and me. We've gotten through a bunch of crap this past week, dealt with a lot of issues from the past; we've got a long way to go…and damn it, I don't want to screw this up. But I can't see myself dealing with all the responsibilities that go with kids."
"You can't even be responsible for yourself half the time," Wilson chided. House shot him a look, but didn't respond.
"I'll probably get along better with the boy than the girl. Monster trucks and booger jokes I can deal with; Barbie dolls and tea parties are outside of my realm of expertise."
"Look, let's start with the basics; what are the kids' names? Because you'll stand a much better chance of winning them over if you actually know their names," Wilson pointed out. House let out a long sigh.
"I know her son's name is the same as her ex's; but since I like to refer to the ex as jerk or douche bag, I know that's not the kid's real name. That wouldn't be in keeping with Lydia's more conservative nature; not to mention that the cretins in his class may give him a name similar to that depending on how he handles being the new kid in town. And I know what that feels like." Wilson jumped off the edge of his desk and moved toward House.
"There's a starting point, something you can help the kids with. God knows, you probably haven't told me everything you went through as a kid; maybe you haven't even told Lydia. But you can tell the kids how you felt. You don't need to relate specific events; just enough of the general feeling you had so they can see that…you're one of them." House nodded his head slowly; he knew Wilson was giving excellent advice, but he still felt troubled.
"So why, Dr. Freud, am I dreaming about domestic bliss and white picket fences?" House thought for a moment. "Unless the pickets are phallic symbols," he said hopefully. Wilson sat on the arm of the couch at the opposite end of the sofa from House.
"Do you think you could concentrate for a moment on what's important?" asked Wilson.
"I am," replied House.
"I meant the kids; because if you don't win them over, you and Lydia will have reached an obstacle that you may not be able to overcome."
"Yeah," House said dejectedly. "The little nippers are the key to this whole thing working." Wilson's eyes opened wide; he was having a House-like epiphany.
"Keys," he said looking at House and smiling. "You're the guy that got their piano back for them; didn't Lydia say how upset they were that she sold it?" House considered Wilson's words as a slight smile formed.
"I don't know if she told them yet that it's back; I think she's keeping it a surprise for them. I guess knowing I had something to do with its return should score some points. I've also gotten them each a new soccer ball since their sperm donor lost both of theirs. He didn't see the point to getting them new ones since they were moving here; he figured Mommy could take care of it. Of course he lost them three weeks ago."
"How did he manage to lose both at once?" House shook his head.
"He got pissed off at something they did when he took them to a park; he grabbed one ball and punted it out of sight and then grabbed the other and did the same. Luckily he didn't try and do that to the kids," House said wryly. Wilson looked at House cautiously.
"I know Lydia said he never hit them; he threatened to, which was bad enough. But you don't think…."
"No, Lydia would have told me about that. I think he roughed her up more than she's letting on." House squeezed his eyes shut. "Judging by her reaction to certain things, I'm sure he raped her more than once." He looked over at Wilson. "Let's face it: no means no whether you're married or not. Unfortunately, I think the kids must have heard what went on." Wilson stood up and moved toward his desk.
"Those poor kids have a lot of emotional and psychological damage to overcome; that in and of itself is going to be a handful, but maybe you can use it to your advantage," said Wilson.
"You know, for a guy who was ragging out on me before over the fact that I was supposedly 'manipulating' my girlfriend, you are forthcoming and masterful with suggestions on how to be manipulative," House replied.
"I was merely going to point out to you that when the kids see how well you treat Lydia, how happy you make her, it is definitely going to work in your favor." Wilson picked up the water bottle on his desk and took a swig. House was leaning forward, his hands folded in front of him, his gaze fixed on a spot in the floor; Wilson knew what was on his mind and he figured he might as well address it.
"As far as the 'why' for the whole domestic image you had, haven't you always wanted the chance to see if you were a better parent than your father was? Here's the perfect opportunity coming your way," Wilson pointed out.
"Yeah, but if I screw it up…"
"You're not going to," Wilson interrupted. "Lydia won't let you. She protective of her kids and she's protective of you. She'll guide both sides to the right meeting point." House continued to look down at the floor. Wilson rolled his head and let out a big sigh. "House, what is it?"
"I don't think anyone who's ever dealt with me would confuse me with Ward Cleaver," House said referencing the old television show "Leave it to Beaver." He stood up and started to pace as he did earlier. "Why was I thinking about getting married and moving into some cute little icon of suburban life? I've lived the same way, in the same place, doing the same things for years; why would I think about changing it now?"
"One word," Wilson said, "Lydia." House stopped and turned to look at Wilson. "I know she's just asking you to be more open to other ways of looking at and dealing with life; she's not trying to change you. But there was a very subtle change when you came back from Mayfield. You kept drifting off into your own little world and all of a sudden, you'd smile; now, of course, I know you were thinking about Lydia. Usually around those times, you were calmer, happier, you joked around more; the signs of change were all there, I just didn't know what to make of them."
"Neither did I; that was part of the problem. I knew being with Lydia was what made me realize I wasn't better off alone; that I wanted someone I could open up to and trust and share things with and have fun with. But since Lydia wasn't available and Nolan pushed me to actively pursue Cuddy, I did," House said with a shrug. "You and she had been the only two constants in my life besides pain; it seemed like a good idea. Now I'm glad it didn't work out, that we didn't try and make a go of it except in my delusions from the coma; I think I would have been too afraid to fall in love with Lydia again." Wilson laughed.
"What do you mean, again? I don't think you ever stopped loving her, even after you parted company at Mayfield." Wilson thought for a moment, his eyes darting about. "That's why you dreamt about being married to Lydia; for the first time in your life, you have someone you can actually see it working with." House hung his head as he walked back to the chair in front of Wilson's desk.
"This shouldn't be the first; I should have seen it with Stacy and I didn't. I don't know why not," he said as he sat down.
"No, not should, could; but you didn't and for a good reason. She waited until you were placed in a coma and made a decision that she knew went against your wishes because she was desperate to make sure you stayed alive. As much as I disagree with the way she went about it, I'm forever grateful for the end result." Wilson sat down in the other chair by his desk. "After the way she went about things….House, you could never trust her again. Believe me, you can't be in love and try to build a life with someone you can't trust." House smiled a little.
"Lydia said the same thing to me the other day; we were talking about trust issues and she pointed out I couldn't trust my parents the way a child should be able to. And I couldn't trust either Stacy or Cuddy for the way they handled things with my leg. She said their actions showed no respect toward me and my intelligence, and you can't trust someone who doesn't respect you." Wilson reached for his water bottle.
"You have a very wise and lovely lady there," he said as he took a drink.
"My best friend is just as wise and lovely," answered House sarcastically as he glanced at Wilson. "I came in here just to BS and yank your chain a bit and I turn it into a therapy session."
"That's OK; I'm sure I'm going to need plenty of them down the road if things work out between Annie and me." Wilson looked at House and could see that he was still rolling things around in his head. "Look, I'm not telling you to go ring shopping tomorrow; take your time, see how things work with the kids, make sure that things really are that good with Lydia. Although, honestly, from the first time I saw you two together…I just had this gut feeling that you'd finally found the right woman, someone who could handle the uniqueness that is Gregory House," Wilson said with a teasing tone. "You two just look like you belong together."
"That's sure as hell what it feels like," said House as he let out a sigh.
"Then for now, just enjoy the feeling and see where things lead. What time is our reservation?" asked Wilson.
"Eight. I told the femme fatales we'd pick them up at seven thirty."
"That will be fine; I've got some paperwork I've got to do. I'll work a little here, go home, get ready…the timing should work out great." House headed to the office door with Wilson right behind him.
"I want to see what kind of cases my team is looking over; their idea of interesting and mine usually exist in two different spheres of thought."
"Hey, I was thinking maybe we should show up with something nice for the girls," Wilson said.
"Why?" asked House as he reached for the door knob. "They have us." Wilson gave him a look.
"I was thinking flowers." House thought for a second.
"Roses?" Wilson nodded. "Fine. We can meet at Country Arts and Flowers at seven and pick something out together; don't want one of us to outshine the other. This way we can make sure we're even." Wilson shook his head.
"That is so…high school."
"Yeah," House said as he opened the door. "And you're acting like a kid on his first date. I swear if your voice cracks at dinner, I'm going to start calling you Andy Hardy." Wilson laughed; he could tell by the way House was cracking jokes and busting his chops that he was in a much better mood than before. There was, however one more subject he need to bring up….
"House," Wilson called to him as he had started to walk away.
"Yeah?"
"What are Lydia's kids' names?" House looked down the hallway toward his office, then down at the floor.
"Ben and Elise," he answered. House started to walk again, then turned back. "Thanks, Wilson."
"No problem. See you at seven so we can sweep a couple of ladies off their feet." Chuckling to himself, House continued down the hall to his office….
It was seven o'clock on the dot and Wilson sat in his car, nervously drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He was parked a few doors down from the florist, waiting for House to arrive. This is so stupid, he told himself. I spent the evening with Annie last night; I kissed her, although according to House it barely counted. Why am I so nervous? Then he realized that last night wasn't a matter of him actually asking Annie out; it was part of a great conspiracy to surprise Lydia with her repaired rocker and retrieved piano. This was them going out as a couple, with another couple, who just happen to be House and Lydia. Wilson smiled; he and House were going on a double date. If anyone had ever mentioned that to him, even as just a possibility, he would have told them it was a joke. And yet, here he was, waiting rather impatiently for House who was now four minutes late; suddenly, his cell phone rang.
"Where are you?" Wilson asked; he recognized House's number as soon as it came up.
"Sick as a dog," House answered in a nasally, scratchy voice. "Working in the pediatric ICU all last week, God only knows what I was exposed to from those little brats." Wilson's eyes bugged out in horror.
"You never get sick; are you sure you didn't just have something temporarily irritate your sinuses?"
"I'm a doctor, in case you forgot; I think I'd know when I'm sick."
"Did you take anything? Did you try drinking some tea? Maybe take a spoonful of honey? A shot of Brandy?"
"Slow down; the next thing you're going to suggest is peyote."
"If it works, fine. House, you are coming out to dinner tonight. This was supposed to be a double date…I can't do this alone."
"Yes you can it's called…a date. What is wrong with you?" Wilson let out a sigh.
"I don't know, I'm just…I had this vision of us taking the girls out together and I liked the idea that my best friend and I were getting the chance to do something that…I never thought we'd get the chance to do and…"
"Look in your rear view mirror, moron." Wilson, startled at hearing House's voice sounding normal, slowly lifted his eyes to the mirror and watched as House hit a button on his cell phone to disconnect the call.
"Son-of-a-bitch!" Wilson muttered under his breath as he hung up his phone and got out of the car. House was already on the sidewalk when Wilson caught up with him.
"I suppose you think that was funny? Scaring me half to death, making me think I was going to have to face this alone?" House was smiling.
"What I think is funny is the fact that you, who have been married three times, are actually afraid to go out alone with a beautiful woman. I find that absolutely hilarious."
"Oh, yeah?" Wilson said, waving a finger at House. "Well, let me tell you something, that…that was…" As Wilson spoke, House's expression changed from smiling to a smirk, with a "give me a break" look clearly written on his face. "That was…funny as hell," Wilson said as he started to laugh. "Why did you do that?"
"Cause you're more nervous than a male dog who's figured out that this vet visit is going to be different from all the others." House looked at Wilson and frowned.
"What…what's the matter?" Wilson asked.
"You're the first guy I've ever met who's managed to use his shirt as a chastity belt," House said. "It's great that you're not wearing a tie; but you also have to undo a couple of buttons, too." Wilson looked down at his collar.
"I did."
"No, you left open one button; the one every guy with an ounce of sense leaves open cause they know the tie knot will hide the fact that it's not buttoned. You need to open a few more than that if you want this evening to end in ecstasy." Wilson rolled his eyes.
"Alright," he said as he fiddled with his shirt. "There." He had undone one more button. House shook his head.
"You've been willing to take the chance three times on having a lasting relationship with a woman, but you're afraid to do what's necessary to get this one started." Reaching over, House undid the next button on Wilson's shirt; Wilson tried to squirm away, but he didn't want to hurt House. "There. Now you're sending the proper message." Wilson walked over to House's car and looked in the side view mirror.
"I…I'm not very comfortable with this," Wilson said, checking out his new look repeatedly.
"You will be. Think of it this way," House said. "You're being nice to Annie; you're giving her a head start." House started walking toward the florist as Wilson stood there considering what House said. Wilson slowly began nodding his head in agreement as he followed House into the store.
After looking around for a few minutes, each had made their decision: Wilson selected white roses with a touch of hot pink running along the edge of each petal. House picked a combination of roses in three different colors: lavender, a soft pink and ivory. Once they were done up with baby's breath and greens, both bouquets looked spectacular. House saw the assortment of cards to include and grabbed one on which he wrote, "Fraulein, Ich Liebe Dich. Greg." Not to be outdone, Wilson took a card and after thinking for a moment, wrote, "Annie, Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel. James." It was the title of a song they had both selected from the jukebox the night before.
After paying and returning to their cars, House and Wilson drove off to pick up Lydia and Annie. As House was about to make the left onto Lydia's block, he gave her a quick call.
"Hi, hon." House couldn't help himself; he smiled as soon as he heard her voice.
"Hi, Fraulein; we're turning onto your block now."
"Great. Annie and I are upstairs; the front door is open."
"Good. You get the elevator put in yet?" Lydia let out a sigh.
"No, new tenants just moved in and they are being a pain in the butt about getting anything done around here." House smiled.
"I'll see you in a minute." He ended the call as he pulled up by the house; Lydia had parked in the driveway, but there was enough room for him to pull in behind her so he wouldn't have to walk very far. Wilson parked behind Annie, in front of the house. The guys met at the bottom of the steps and House started what seemed to be the endless trek up the stairs.
"Are you going to be OK with this?" Wilson asked.
"Yeah. Peachy." House slowly navigated the stairs and made it to the front door. Pausing for a second to take a deep breath, House opened the door and climbed the rest of the way into the house; if it weren't for his injuries from last Thursday, he would have had no trouble dealing with the climb. When he and Wilson reached the top of the stairs, both broke into huge grins at the sight that met their eyes.
Lydia and Annie were standing by the rocker; it would be hard to argue which one looked more beautiful. House and Wilson would never be able to describe the clothing in any detail, other than they were both showing a nice amount of leg and cleavage, but nothing too flashy. House did note however, that Lydia was wearing an off-the-shoulder top, showing off her very sensitive shoulders; it was an open invitation for fun later in the night. What topped off the ladies look the best, was the expressions on their faces as the guys walked toward them with the roses.
"Good evening, ladies," Wilson said as he handed the flowers to Annie.
"Oh…James, these are just beautiful! You didn't have to do this."
"No, I didn't have to, I wanted to," Wilson said as he looked into her eyes. "There's a card there, too." House and Lydia smiled as they watched the scene between their best friends.
"There were some extras lying around the flower shop, so I told them to wrap them up, rather than throwing them in the trash," House said as he gave the roses to Lydia.
"How very, very green of you," she noted with a smile.
"Yeah, well green is your favorite color." House reached over and lightly ran his fingers along the edge of her blouse, up over her shoulder and along the edge of the blouse on her upper back. He had to hold himself back from doing more as he saw her visibly shudder. "There's a card for you, too." She looked at him with such a devilish twinkle in her eyes, he wasn't sure if they were going to make it to dinner or not.
"Thank you," Lydia said. She leaned in to give him a kiss and whispered in House's ear, "Right now, I'm hungry for food, but later on will be a different story." She looked down as she moved back away from House; he saw from the expression on her face, that she had spotted his shoes.
"Those are very nice shoes you have on," Lydia said. The tone in her voice showed she was clearly impressed.
"Yeah, this beautiful woman I know tried to tell me that dress shoes came with rubber soles; but I was sure she was lying. So I checked it out and sure enough, she was telling me the truth." Lydia gave him a look.
"And why would you think she was lying?" House ran his fingers along the top of her shoulder.
"Cause she's a big fan of the movie 'Pinocchio.'"
"They look very nice on you," said Lydia. She moved forward to put her lips near his ear again. "And I suppose you're going to tell me that I help make things grow bigger." She gave him another kiss, more lingering than before; House closed his eyes and found his imagination running wild. He knew exactly what he wanted for dessert. As Lydia backed away, she turned to Annie.
"Can I see your…?" She was about to ask Annie if she could see her roses, but Annie and Wilson weren't standing where they had last been seen. House looked into the dining room and kitchen, but there was no sign of them.
"Annie?" Lydia called out.
"Wilson?" House joined in.
"We're…just putting the flowers in water…we…we'll be right up," Annie called out from downstairs. House and Lydia gave each other a look.
"They're putting the flowers in water," said Lydia with more than a little note of sarcasm in her voice.
"Right…." she and House said simultaneously. They both laughed as Lydia picked up a vase that she had set on a table next to the rocker.
"I'm going to put these in water," she said as she headed to the kitchen.
"For reals?" asked House, somewhat disappointed.
"For reals," Lydia confirmed.
"Damn," House said snapping his fingers. He heard the sound of movement from downstairs and in a moment, saw Wilson with a somewhat flushed face coming up the stairs and Annie right behind.
"Oh, I forgot my pocketbook! I'll be right back," Annie said as she ran down the stairs. House walked over to where Wilson was perched near the top of the steps.
"Was I right?" House asked. Wilson gave him a look.
"I am never doubting you on the subject again." House smiled and made his way down the stairs as he saw Lydia was ready to go.
They arrived at The Italian Gardens with plenty of time to spare; the valets handled the cars and the two couples went inside. House and Wilson had chosen the restaurant wisely; it was romantically lit with a small candle arrangement on each table, plush comfortable chairs and the sound of live piano music coming from the corner of the restaurant. They were quickly shown to their table on the opposite side of the room from the piano which would make conversation easier; once seated, everyone started looking over the wine list. While wine wasn't House's usual poison, he chose not to be odd man out. After a few moments, they decided to get one bottle of red and one of white to suit everyone's taste. House called the waiter over.
"We'll have a bottle of Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio and a bottle of Coppola Claret."
"Certainly, sir," the waiter said and gathered the wine lists from the others at the table.
"How did you know which wines we wanted?" Wilson asked. "You didn't give us a chance to say which ones we liked."
"You said plenty; the two of you," House said indicating Lydia and Annie, "Mentioned the Claret several times. And all three of you mentioned the Pinot Grigio." House shrugged. "Majority wins."
"That works fine for me," Wilson said. "I was just worried we wouldn't get something that everyone would like."
"Wilson," Lydia said. "Be not afraid." The instant look of horror on Wilson's face was more than Lydia could handle; though she tried her hardest not to laugh, she had to put her hand in front of her mouth to hide her smile and her upper body began to shake with poorly concealed laughter. Wilson, who hadn't said a word, finally managed to speak.
"I don't believe he told you." He turned to House. "I don't believe you told her." Annie could see that Wilson was getting agitated but couldn't understand why; she was very confused.
"Told her what?" House asked innocently. At that moment the waiter arrived with the wine; he opened both bottles, poured one glass of the white and one of the red. House sampled the Claret and nodded in approval; Wilson took a larger than was appropriate drink of the Pinot Grigio and managed a feeble nod of consent.
"What may I pour for the ladies?" the waiter asked.
"The Pinot," answered Lydia.
"The Claret," said Annie. As the waiter went through the motion of pouring the wine, all Wilson could do was stare down sadly at the table. Once all the glasses had been filled and the waiter left, he quickly began to speak.
"Look, I was young, I needed some money; I had no idea that the footage was going to be used in a porn movie."
"You were in a porn movie?" Annie didn't even try to conceal her reaction: utter disbelief. Lydia was laughing so hard, she had to set her glass of wine down on the table.
"I didn't…actually do any of the parts that would be considered porn; the guy who was making the movie tried to make it look like I was a participant in the acts, but it wasn't me." Wilson looked at Lydia who laughing so hard, she had tears coming down her cheeks. "I don't believe he told you," he said shooting a glance at House.
"I didn't," House said. "You just did." Wilson closed his eyes and shook his head.
"You sneaky bastard," he said. House spread his arms apart.
"Hey, why should I do all the dirty work around here? You stuck your foot in your own mouth just fine." The girls meanwhile had managed to calm their laughter.
"Greg just told me in the car that at some point during dinner, I had to say to you, 'Be not afraid' and watch your reaction," Lydia said.
"It's OK, James," Annie said. "When you're young and stupid, we all do things we regret."
"Yes, we do," Lydia said pointedly as she looked at her best friend. Annie was now the one to look horrified.
"Lydia…I wasn't ready to talk about that yet." Lydia looked at her with narrowed eyes.
"It would seem to me that this is the perfect time." Annie let out a sigh.
"OK," she said with great resignation. "When I was in college….I was a lingerie model." Wilson looked puzzled.
"What's wrong with that? Victoria's Secret has made lingerie modeling quite respectable," Wilson said. House was smiling; he had caught on right away.
"Wilson, I think the type of modeling Annie did was a little closer to…oh, I don't know, Frederick's of Hollywood?" Annie put her head down and nodded as she bit her bottom lip and Wilson could see she was getting embarrassed; his situation was funny, hers, considering what she had been through for ten years was not.
"I'm sure you didn't show anything more than ….what could be seen at the beach. And I'm sure you looked wonderful doing it," he said as he took her hand to reassure her that it was OK. Annie looked at Wilson gratefully for not being judgmental.
"How about a toast?" Lydia asked, sensing it was time to move things along. "To ancient secrets," she said as she raised her glass, "shared only among best friends."
"Here, here!" Wilson said.
"Cheers!" Annie said.
"Prost!" House added in, which made Lydia smile. They all clinked glasses and sipped their wine as they laughed over the shared confessions.
"Are you ready for menus?" the waiter asked as he returned to the table.
"Yes, please," House said smiling as he reached for Lydia's hand and took in the happy scene before him.
The food for the evening was scrumptious; the company and conversation was even more fulfilling. Shrimp Fra Diavolo, veal Sorrento and lobster ravioli were accompanied by talk of best friend adventures, mistakes made and lessons learned. Even House and Wilson had to admit, they learned a little bit more about each other than they knew before.
"Anyone want anything else?" House asked. "Amaretto, Biscotti, Zepoles…everything from A to Z."
"Not for me," Lydia said.
"Me either," said Annie. House looked at Wilson who shook his head.
"Then let's snag the waiter and settle the bill; I've got an idea for a good follow up to this," House said looking at Wilson.
"Well, I'm just going to use the ladies room before we leave," Lydia said as she stood up.
"I'll join you," Annie said.
"You ladies go flock; we'll be here," House said with a smile. The two women left for the ladies room and as soon as they were out of earshot of the table, they began to talk.
"Are you having a good time?" Lydia asked.
"I…I am having a wonderful time. The card that James put with the flowers, said 'Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel'; that was the name of a song that he kept playing for me last night. I know it might seem a bit corny, but I thought it was sweet; he's trying to be so gentle and caring with me…I love it. I feel like I'm actually being romanced."
"You are," said Lydia. My card said 'Ich Liebe Dich'; I feel so lucky and I think it so amazing that I wind up falling in love with someone who speaks German." Annie stopped walking and turned to Lydia.
"I'm so glad you have Greg; you deserve so much happiness after all my idiot brother put you through. It looks like he's the one to bring it to you." Lydia nodded and smiled.
"He is. And how do you like James?" Annie looked away from Lydia for a minute, but Lydia could still see the tears welling up in Annie's eyes. Lydia reached out and touched her on the arm.
"I think…no, I know," Annie said as turned back to Lydia with a smile, "that I'm falling in love with him."