Title: Chippies and the Men Who Love Them

Rating: PG

Pairing: Wilson/House friendship

Word Count: 497

Spoilers: Love Hurts

Summary: Wilson tries to explain his own good intentions concerning
his best friend to his wife.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Howard Shore.

"So, the only way she'd come back is if House agreed to go on a date
with her?"

Wilson stared at his wife for a moment, thinking. Then he nodded,
reached for the wine bottle and poured himself another
glass. "Apparently he'd asked her two other times to come back and
she'd refused, so finally he asked her what it would take. She said
a date and so… now that's where they are."

"And so you were over there tonight helping him get ready for a date
he shouldn't even have accepted, came home late – this dish, by the
way, is only mediocre because I had to heat it up for you. When it's
hot? It's amazing."

Wilson rubbed the bridge of his nose, the guilt heavy in his
chest. "I'm sorry. Again. I just… wanted to make sure he looked
nice. You know… was ready. This is a big thing for him. I talked her
today, too, so she knew what a big deal this was. Didn't mean to
stay so late, but… I did the dishes and picked up a bit in case
they… came back to his place."

"You…"

And that's where it went to hell. Sure, he was flawed. He cheated on
all of his wives at some point, but lie to them while face to face?
He was a good guy. And Good Guys – according to House - didn't do
that. They tried to be honest, even if they often failed at it. And
tonight, all he got for his trouble was the sound of crystal hitting
wood, the scrape of her chair as she pushed away from the table and
the sound of their bedroom door slamming. Through, that, however, he
got an earful.

"You won't even do the dishes in your own goddamn kitchen. Or pick
up your own ironing. Or put together the goddamned bookshelf I
ordered that are for your goddamned medical books. I swear to God,
James, as much as you claim to care about your precious House? You
let him go out on a date with a manipulative little….. Chippy? …who
blackmailed him into giving her her job back? Anyone a foot away
from that situation could tell you it's going to end badly for both
of them. You know how he is. And she sounds even worse…"

Wilson just rolled his eyes and drank more wine.

"If he wanted to date her? He'd be dating her already. If he asked
her to come back to a job she left of her own volition and she said
no… Twice! Girls like that... all those well-intentioned…"

He could hear her trail off, ending in something about the likes of
Cameron setting the women's movement back about a hundred years. He
could also feel tomorrow's stiffness in his back settling in
already. Sure, his couch looked great, but was it comfortable? Next
time, he was going for comfort. Maybe he'd go for comfort in his
next marriage, too.