Allison squints at the file, her hand rubs her temple as she tries to focus on her notes.

Ok, Allison this is the last one of the day, then you can just…what the hell?

She feels her cell phone vibrating in her coat pocket. Her hand reaches in and pulls it out. It's House, or Greg as he now wants her to call him, and this is the third time in the last hour he's called her.

Sighing she flips her phone open and answers, "What is it Hou…Greg?" She feels herself swallow slightly nervous, the name itself still feeling extremely foreign to her own ears.

"Wow, someone sounds like they woke up on the bitchy side of the bed today."

She stops tapping the pen she had been using for her medical notes and rubs her forehead.

"Look, Greg, I've just finished up with a very heavy case load and I'm in no mood to fool around with you right…"

"So when will you be in the mood?"

His question stops her short. Her grip on the pen tightens and as much as she wishes she could help it, she feels the blush on her cheeks as her face heats up.

Damn it Allison, he's just messing with you. Remember he wants you to feel uneasy, he likes having the upper hand.

His chuckling brings her back to the moment and she finds herself laughing slightly as well. It really had been a long day, she needs to get out of the hospital soon.

"Ok, Greg what do you want? What could possibly be so important that you've called me three times in the last hour?" She asks making her final notation and closing the file.

"Pizza."

For a moment she's unsure of what he means.

"Beer." He adds before she can speak. "Oh! And Porn."

It hits her, dinner. Rolling her eyes, she moves to hand the last of her files over to the nurse. Waving goodbye she speaks to Greg. "Ok I can do the pizza. The beer is a no go, sorry that's the deal, and you can just forget the porn…"

"You're such a kill joy, you know that? I guess I can live without the other two, but so help me God if the pizza isn't covered in greasy cheese, massive amounts of meat, and absolutely no veggies…you will pay, oh yes, you will pay."

Shaking her head while being unable to suppress her smile Allison pulls on her coat and walks out of the hospital.

"I'm sure I will Greg, I'm sure I will."

A short time later…

She knocks on his door holding the pizza in her hands. It isn't long before he's ushering her in, shortly after taking the pizza from her.

She watches as he takes the box to the coffee table, slumps back into his couch, and grabs a piece out for himself. Allison hates to admit it, but she feels awkward standing there, in his apartment. This is the second time she has been there with him, alone. This thing between them still feels strange and she's trying to get use to it, after all this is the opportunity she's wanted to have for years.

"So, care to join me or are you just going to stand there and play up the whole 'lobby art' thing?" he asks in between bites.

Allison slowly unbuttons her coat, removes it, and places it on the back of one of the chairs in the room. She walks over to the couch and takes a seat beside him. Her leg brushes up against his as she leans over and takes a large slice of the pizza for herself. She refuses to look at him, though she can feel his eyes on her. Instead, her eyes look up and at the tv, curious as to what he's been watching.

"Monty Python?" She asks giving him a quick glance. "Good stuff." Allison takes another bite as she continues watching the screen.

"I never would have thought you to be a fan of English comedy."

"There's a lot you don't know about me…Greg." She says softly while placing the half eaten piece of pizza on the top of the pizza box.

The room is silent, except for the sounds of the television. Taking a breath she looks over at him. She's right, he's looking at her; in a way that reminds her of how he looks while figuring out one of his medical mysteries. His head is tilted slightly and his hand is at the side of his face. Allison hates feeling as if she's being examined, and she hates the tension from the knot in her stomach. The knot he is ALWAYS able to cause, just by simply looking at her. She can note however, there's a softness in his look, and that in and of itself makes her feel more tense.

"I can't do this."

Allison stands and walks around the coffee table quickly, she wants to put a good amount of distance between herself and him.

"I'm sorry Greg, I just can't do this. I thought I was able enough but I don't think…"

"Then don't think."

She watches as he stands, brings himself slowly and with an obvious limp over to where she's standing; he keeps his distance though.

"Greg look the last several days have been a rollercoaster and I…I'm trying to keep it together, but this whole situation it…I…"

He just watches her, waiting for her to come up with whatever it is she wants/needs to say.

Stopping herself she gathers her thoughts and her hands curl into fists. Allison looks up and right into his eyes.

"You like me."

It's a deceptively simple statement, and one that is far too familiar between the two of them. At first it seems he plans to remain silent, but surprises her when he begins to speak.

"If you want to play state the obvious I…"

"Why?" She asks quietly cutting him off. Her arms fold in front of her and she defiantly holds her stance with him.

With a smirk on his face he moves just a step closer, "That's a sad question actually."

She knows he's throwing out her previous words to him, after he'd gone to her asking the same thing, but she has to know. Allison needs to know that he wasn't just stringing her along, that everything they had shared the last several days truly did mean something for them, for whatever it is that exists between them.

"Greg, don't. I need to hear it from you. Why?"

A moment of silence passes between them, one that feels the length of an eternity. She can't help clenching, and has to look away from his intense stare.

"I was wrong."

She hears his words, and feels somewhat at a loss hearing them. She looks up with a million questions reflected in her eyes.

"Greg I don't understand."

Slowly he moves closer, and she feels herself involuntarily move back.

"I was wrong, Allison, about you. I thought I had you all figured out, but at every given opportunity you would always surprise me. I had convinced myself that you were this needy, love sick, confused woman who saw me only as her next charity case, someone she could work on and fix. I thought you wanted to change me."

He moves closer to her with each sentence he speaks, and Allison finds herself against the wall with Greg barely inches from her.

"But I was wrong. If I'm honest at all, you're the only person who hasn't tried to change me, and even though I am unable to understand that I respect you more for it. I never told you this, but when I was shot, while I was unconscious, the one person by my side, in my mind, was you. You were the one constant, and when I heard you speaking to me in my hospital room a few days ago telling me you missed me and that I had been right…"

"You heard that?" Allison asks quietly, her pulse quickening with each word he speaks.

"Going through what I have in the last several days, I realized a lot about what I want and what I need."

He moves even closer to her. She can feel his chest touching hers.

"And you want me." Allison knows she's stating the obvious but she wants to hear him say it.

He pauses just a moment and smirks while placing his hands on each side of her arms.

"And that's why I like you, Allison, because you are so quick to state the obvious." His voice is barely above a whisper as he slowly leans in.