A/N: Sorry for the delay guys. I've been sick and it's hard to write when your head feels like it's going to explode from sinus pressure. When I get sick, I don't kid around haha. Anyway, thanks to those of you who are still reading, and to the new readers who've put this on story alert. I hope you continue to enjoy.

Chapter 10

It was turning out to be a hot sunny day, but very humid, thanks to the rain the night before. Lexi was restless and so was House. She was still hurt by his dismissal of her that morning and spent the rest of it on the patio by herself while House stayed inside working on his laptop. Finally, he snapped his computer closed and limped outside to the patio where Lexi was sitting.

"I'm really not good at this," he said as he stood, looking out at the lake. It was calm, and the fish were jumping. When she didn't answer, he glanced back at her. She didn't look pissed off anymore and he let his guard down.

"I don't have a problem taking things further," he went on. "I just don't think it should happen while we're here. You only have a couple of weeks left and there's a lot about each other we don't know."

Lexi nodded, listening. "Let's get to...know each other then," she said as she stood up. "Let's take the...boat out."

House grinned at her. "Got some cabin fever, do you?"

"...You have...no idea."

X X X

Lexi changed into a pair of Greg's boxer shorts and a T-shirt and she helped him down the hill that led to the dock. Over her shoulder she carried a small cooler filled with Coke, bottled water and snacks, and some towels were folded over her other arm. Once in the boat, she pushed off from the dock and Greg began rowing.

She leaned back, sitting across from him at the bow and watched him row. The muscles that rippled beneath his snug fitting T-shirt were turning her on.

"Why are you looking at me that way?" Greg inquired, looking rather curious. He had a slight grin which just barely showed off his straight white teeth.

"What way?" she asked innocently as she squirmed on the bench, clearly not lost on Greg.

"Little vixen," he teased, but continued to row, albeit a little quicker. Where he was headed, she didn't know until they reached a clearing further down the lake. It was bigger than it looked; at least another few miles long. From the cabin it did not look that way.

He stopped rowing and then reached for the cooler to grab a coke. "Water?"

Lexi nodded and he passed her one. As they sat quietly, he absent-mindedly rubbed his thigh.

"Is it hurting...bad today?" she asked, bringing him to look at her.

"It hurts bad every day."

"...What happened?"

"Infarction."

"...What's that?"

"Sort of like a blood clot one would get in their heart, but mine was in my leg. I told them what it was, but they took too long before they made up their minds that I was right all along and then it was too late. They wanted to amputate, and I wouldn't let them. They put me in a coma so I could basically sleep through the worst of the pain. While I was asleep, Stacy, my girlfriend at the time, and medical proxy, gave them the okay cut out the dead muscle."

Lexi frowned. "Oh Greg," she sighed.

He looked away, refused to meet her eyes. "Don't look at me like that. I don't need your pity."

"I'm...not pitying you, Greg," she said quietly. "It's just...crappy that you've had to...live with that. Isn't there anything else they...can do?"

"Other than cut the leg off? No," he said, in a sharp tone that she caught on to. Clearly he wasn't comfortable talking about it, if his body language and tone were any indication. Looking out, she saw the clouds coming in, but they were a ways off.

"I...don't know what I'd do if I...couldn't dance anymore. Dancing is...my life." she said softly. "So I can understand some of what you might be feeling. You look like an athletic sort of guy. Did you play sports?"

Greg shrugged. "Lacrosse when I was in school, I joined the cheerleading squad to impress a girl. I played Golf, which is what I was doing when it happened. Those days are gone with the wind, I guess."

Lexi decided to let the subject drop and let her hand glide along the side of the boat in the water. "It's not very cold."

"Jump in then," he grinned. "In that white T-shirt you've got on, it would be a treat. You can swim, can't you?"

She nodded.

"There's a raft over there in the middle of the lake. You swim, I'll row."

"If you insist," she grinned and then without warning, dove into the green water and came back up. Then she squealed. "D-damn it's c-colder than I thought!"

"No surprise. It hasn't been all that warm here lately. Not warm enough for the water to be warm. So get swimming before your heart stops," he laughed and began rowing toward the raft.

Lexi swam, long, powerful strokes, over to the large raft and climbed up onto it via the attached ladder. It was about twelve feet by twelve feet square and made of smooth, sanded wood. Someone clearly built it to be used for recreation and kept it maintained.

Greg pulled the boat up to the side and tied it to the ladder before climbing out with Lexi's help. He handed the towels to her and watched her lay them side by side. Then she stretched out on one of them, letting the hot sun beat down on her.

X X X

House sat and watched her for a few minutes. She looked so calm, so peaceful. Her long black hair was fanned out on the towel and her olive skin was glistening in the sun. He thought back to that morning and smiled to himself. She had completely taken him by surprise in the kitchen, that was for sure. And if that weren't enough, her body was to die for. She was very limber, there wasn't an ounce of fat on her, and her breasts were perfect.

"Amazing," he whispered.

"Hmm?" she murmured, eyes still closed as she lay on her back.

He grabbed another Coke from the cooler and snapped it open. It was quite hot, and still very humid, but it felt good to be outside. He could tell from the clouds that they didn't have a lot of time. In another hour it would probably rain again. It was the season for storms, after all.

Once he finished his Coke, he tossed the can into the boat and stretched out next to her, gently gliding his hand over her arm. She was still wearing the T-shirt and he could see her pert nipples through the wet cotton. He felt a stirring in his shorts and grinned as he looked around. Not a person in sight. And if there were, they were far enough out that nobody would be able to see them without binoculars.

House continued to stroke her arm, his mind working overtime. He knew he shouldn't be doing anything. But seeing her that way was tempting him to throw his better judgment out the window. He wanted so badly to touch her, kiss her amazing mouth, taste her just once, to tide himself over for awhile.

He leaned over and placed kisses on her face, her neck and then her lips. His hand slid over her shirt and gently over her breast, toying with her nipple. "Greg!" she shrieked, suddenly feeling bashful, and covered her chest with her hands.

He laughed even harder. "Take a look around, Lexi. There's NOBODY for miles. We're in the middle of a lake."

His lips captured hers in a searing kiss. She was resistant at first, still looking around, paranoid that someone might be watching. But when she sighed, and her body went limp, he knew she had relaxed.

"That's my girl," he murmured between kisses as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry about this morning," he said as he stroked her cheek. "Honestly though, you said it yourself the other day, when two people spend a lot of time together and are attracted to each other, romantic feelings can evolve. Seems to be the case. And while I'm all for that, I think it's better that we take this slow, or wait until you're done with rehab."

"...Whatever, Dr. House. You k-know best," she grumbled and moved away from him. "I told you...before, Greg, I'm...not as fragile as...you think."

"I know," he sighed. "I just...don't want to ruin what we have going here."

"How would you ruin it? We've probably already broken the rules by kissing each other."

House shrugged. "I don't think there are any rules that say we can't. I just don't think it's wise to do much else, if anything, from now on."

He could tell that wasn't what Lexi wanted to hear, and he didn't like saying it. But really, it was for the best. If they took things slow, it would be better for her, wouldn't it?

"Then what was this?" she demanded, gesturing between the two of them.

He shook his head. "I'm just a man, I have weaknesses," he grinned, somewhat charmingly. "Listen, Lexi," he said as she moved away from him. "It's not that I don't want to. You're just not ready."

She opened her mouth to protest but he held up his hand. "Physically and mentally yes, emotionally, no. You still have a lot of things to work out in there," he said, pointing to her forehead.

Lexi was still pouting, but she nodded her head anyway. "...Maybe you're right."

"I'm always right," he smiled, trying to lighten the mood."

"Do you always have to have the last word?"

House chuckled and playfully tapped the end of her nose. "Always."

Thunder rumbled in the distance and House frowned. "Let's get out of here. The last place we want to be in a thunder storm is in a metal boat. Come on."

They gathered up their things and House used the motor to get them back quickly, rather than rowing. As they tied up the boat, the rain came on as a downpour and Lexi helped House inside as quickly as she could. Another rainy afternoon was had, Lexi was upset and House knew that it was going to be another long day.