AMBER
And the hope is that it will be a material demonstration of why, when looking for a simile to persuade his listeners that he had really seen the glory of God, the prophet Ezekiel would have picked the image of amber.

He's been struck by her from the start.

When he first glanced in at House's stupid little reality show, his eye had been instantly drawn to her. He'd dismissed it at the time; but the more he heard about her from House, the more intrigued he was. He'd talked to her a couple of times, and his "intrigue" had only deepened.

He had hoped that House would keep her, but no such luck; of course House couldn't tolerate someone so much like him. Welcome to my world.

Now he has to make a decision. She's sitting on a bench outside, clearly upset; her face is wet, but she's not crying, really. Just upset.

He walks over. "Mind if I sit down?" he asks.

She looks up sharply, but he's pleased to see her features soften when she sees who it is. "Feel free," she says, barely scooting over.

They sit for a minute before he speaks. "I'm sorry."

"I don't need your pity," she snaps immediately, then laughs bitterly. "You don't deserve that. I'm sorry. I'm just-I can't believe he would hire-" She takes a deep breath. "Whoops, almost sounded way too bitchy there."

He can't tell if she's being sarcastic. "It's all right," he says in his most understanding voice. "I'm used to bitchy."

"I bet you are." She looks at him, closely, seemingly for the first time. "I would ask you what you see in him, but I fear that would be rude."

He shrugs. "I've been asked it a thousand times before. I'll let you know if I think of an answer."

She smiles. "Are you going to ask me out or what?"

He smiles. "I was thinking about it."

"Awesome." She stands up and grabs his hand. "Let's go now."

He lets her lead him towards the parking lot. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know, you're supposed to decide that," she says, pulling him along. He opens his mouth to reply when she adds, "I want Mexican."

He tries to get the goofy smile out of his system while she can't see his face.

TAKEN
The ancient Lithuanians told their children that amber came from the palace of a mermaid, called Jurate, who was punished for falling in love with a handsome fisherman: she lost him in the same storm that smashed her home into pieces.

He has a history of waiting for the other person to make the first move; even when he knows it's a sure thing, he waits for an unmistakable sign. Usually, though, once that first move is made, he takes over; usually they expect him to take over. Even the ones that liked it rough expected him to be in charge, and he always fulfilled his duty as required.

But Amber is a whirlwind of hands and lips and legs; from the moment she grabbed him by the tie and kissed him to the moment she pushed him onto the bed and straddled him, she was in charge.

She's still in charge now, rolling her hips in a way that apparently makes him hit all the right places, with barely any thrusting apparently required by him.

He would feel superfluous, except she's constantly kissing him, looking him in the eye, moaning appreciatively when his hand roams over her breast.

He's never felt so - taken before, and it's overwhelming him a way he wouldn't quite understand if he could think.

It's threatening to overwhelm him too soon, in fact, and he urges her onto her back. She murmurs a slight protest before he spreads her legs and plants a thumb firmly on her clit. The direct hit makes her back arch and her hips press into the bed, and he swears she seems surprised as he kisses her, devouring her mouth, her neck, her breasts, moving his thumb in perfect rhythm until she gasps sharply.

He pushes back inside of her while she's still shuddering, moaning into her neck as she cries out. She grabs his hair and pulls his head back, sucking desperately at his neck as he thrusts, holding onto him tightly, her thighs digging into his sides, still light-headed from her own orgasm as he stills inside of her with a shout.

He pulls out and cleans up just enough to be decent before he collapses next to her. She's looking at him with eyes that carry a potentially scary message, and he keeps his closed for fear they'll say it right back. He's said it so many times in his life that he doesn't know if he can mean it anymore; and for the first time in a long time, he would mean it.

She doesn't seem too concerned about it at the moment, at any rate. She wiggles herself into his embrace, and he pulls the covers over them both and holds her close.

PARADIGM SHIFT
Nowadays amber is often seen as a poor cousin to the other treasures of the jewel box. ... But accident, history, and some remarkable physical qualities have meant that it has sometimes been valued more highly than gold.

They've been seeing each other for just a couple of weeks when Wilson does something with Amber that he's never done with anyone else.

He tells her about House.

They're huddled under a blanket one night, trying to find something interesting on television, when Wilson's cell phone rings. He tries not to blush as he makes up a reason why he can't bring supper over; Amber's watching him with an amused little smile on her face.

"So how long are you with someone before you tell him about it?" she asks, still smiling.

"Usually right away," he replies, turning his phone over in his hand, "because…" because…it usually doesn't matter? Usually I would be on my way to his house at this point? Usually I wouldn't give two shits about the person I'm with…? There seems to be no non-awkward answer to the question.

He glances at her, and something in her expression moves him. She hasn't once gotten annoyed with him over House - and while it's only been a couple of weeks, there have already been several instances where any other woman he'd dated would have become livid that he wasn't throwing the world over for her.

So he starts talking. He tells her about the dust-up in New Orleans, about the late-night phone calls and weekend road trips; about his divorces, and working together at the hospital, and House's infarction, and Tritter, and everything. All the love and all the frustration must be apparent in his voice, but he doesn't try to hide any of it. He fits two decades' worth of history in an hour, and she listens to it all.

When he's done he's afraid to look at her. He's not sure what he meant to accomplish by telling her all that, but it felt good to say.

She doesn't say anything, but after a minute she scoots closer to him on the couch and wraps her arm around his. "Thank you for telling me," she says softly. He nods, and she smiles that smile again. "You know I'm not out to steal you from him, right?" He must get a panicked look on his face, because she continues quickly. "I mean - he obviously means a lot to you. And I know you mean a lot to him. And I can tell that it's caused…problems for you. In the past. Relationship-wise…

"…And I just want you to know, now, that I won't be like that. I may be a bitch, but I'm not that kind of a bitch. Now, that being said...Well, I can't promise I'll make it easy for him," she adds with a playful glint in her eye. "I mean, I do see some potential for fun here…"

He looks at her in wonder. She's okay with House…? Is it because she knows House, or because she really likes Wilson that much, or because she's that perfect, or…

…or does it not really matter why? Maybe he should just relax and see the potential for fun as well. He's never really been able to do that before, and damn it sounds wonderful…

"I'll tell him…soon," he says confidently, wrapping an arm around her shoulder.

"Wimp," she replies teasingly, resting her head on his.

PROXY GEM
In ancient Lithuania people called amber 'gintaras,' meaning 'protector' - the Russian word янтарно has the same origin...

He now knows it is possible to be sick from realization.

Since House left the restaurant so hurriedly, it's all become clearer and clearer. He watches Amber closely, and in her every movement he sees House. Every time she speaks, he hears House.

He tries to keep a conversation going and rationalize this relationship simultaneously.

He did fall for her awfully hard and rather quickly, but - it's not like he's never experienced love at first sight before…

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

What can he do? It's not fair to her if he stays just because she reminds him of House.

But is it only because she's like House? He thinks about the time he's spent with her, and how he's felt. He's felt damn good, to put it mildly, and he goes for days at a time without serious thoughts of suicide.

That means something, surely…. All these years with House have only made him more suicidal. And still, he doesn't regret sticking by House for all this time...

…They certainly have stuck together, haven't they? For all the shit they've gone through, they're still as close as ever. That must mean something, too.

It could mean that a relationship with a female House might not be such a bad thing.

She's certainly seemed happy with him…. If she wasn't, she wouldn't stick around. He loves that about her…and it truly does feel like love. She's so different from any other woman he's been with; he feels like she needs him, but for nothing more than companionship and affection. And she wouldn't wither away without him - she just likes being with him.

So it seems, anyway. He doesn't presume to know her heart, though she certainly isn't shy about speaking her mind.

She doesn't need him to protect her feelings - hell, she's probably figured it all out herself, and she just has a slight edge over House when it comes to tact.

So…yeah. There's nothing wrong with this. Maybe her House-like qualities are what drew him to her, but he's falling in love with her. Is love any less "real" because of the reasons for it?

By the time they leave the restaurant he feels much better, and a part of him is even looking forward to agreeing with House…

WHITE NOISE

He's developed a bit of a problem since moving in with Amber.

It's a very silly problem, but one that is progressively getting worse…interfering with his sleep.

He misses the hotel air conditioner.

Its noise became comforting, helping to lull him to sleep during many, many lonely nights.

And even though he's not lonely anymore, his mind finds the silence of the night disquieting.

But he doesn't know how to fix it. It's Amber's apartment, he can't just bring in a weird new piece of furniture…a big fan or something.

Wouldn't be the same anyway.

He wonders what he could tell her; what could possibly defend the desire for that noise.

So he tells her the truth.

The next day when he enters the apartment after work, Amber calls from the bedroom. Says she's got a "surprise."

His mind can't help but wander to lecherous things, but when he sees her she's sitting on the bed, fully dressed and smiling.

He turns and sees an air conditioning unit in the window.

It's unnecessary and out of place and he knows in that moment that she loves him.

With the sound of the fan and Amber by his side, he sleeps better than he has in years.

LOVED
Amber is lighter than seawater, but only just.

Life is amazing.

House is flat-out fucking jealous. And what's so great about this jealousy is that Wilson actually loves the person he's using to make House jealous. Actually, no, scratch that - he's not using her for that at all. Never was.

He didn't plan any of this. He just happened to find someone to really love, who loves him and is even willing to put up with House because she understands how much Wilson loves him and - they fight over him.

He's never felt so loved, especially by House.

Wilson has eaten so many canaries he can hardly purr.

NOTE: *All italicized intro text is taken from Jewels by Victoria Finlay.