CHAPTER 10

"Don't tell me you went WITH him…" Cuddy asked. By this time they were sitting on the edges of their seats. Leah nodded. "Why?"

"You hated him!" Jaymie sat, enthralled, listening to the conversation.

Leah shook her head. "No, I didn't hate him. At all."

"So you loved him."

"No Jaymie, I didn't love him. At first I hated him because he made my life a living hell. House was teaching that class more than Farty Arty, and whenever House was there he'd pick on me, from that very first day in class, when we named him 'Monkee Boy'. At first I DREADED going to that class."

"What changed?" Billy asked.

"I started standing up for myself. I knew I couldn't get out of my class since I needed it for my scholarship so I had to defend myself. I wouldn't let him get my goat no longer, and I won the respect of my classmates. They hated him too, only because he basically told them he was better than they were. Sure, he was smarter but he wasn't much older than us. If he had been it might've been a different story. It was when I did stand up for myself that, not only did his behavior intensify but it was like someone had turned on an electrical current between us. It was more intense than anything I'd ever known before, or since. I did, and do love, Jacob. But that passion that was there with Greg wasn't there between Jake and I." Leah sighed and looked at her hands. "In the end, Jayme, I was very attracted but love definitely didn't enter anywhere, at least on my part."

"Yes Leah but…" Billy looked at her. "…you were flirting back. You sent him signals even if you didn't know you were doing it. You loved the back and forth, the volley of words. I saw when you and Jake did it, though he was nothing compared to Dr. House. You really enjoyed it. My guess would be that Dr. House is completely incapable of having a healthy flirting relationship so he resorts to barbs and name calling. And by you sleeping with him it validated his behavior. When you broke off all contact, the guy probably didn't know what happened. If it were me I'd be pretty pissed off at you."

"BILLY!" His wife chastised him.

Leah shook her head then ran her hand through her hair. "No, no, it's ok. He's probably right. I don't know. I'm just as confused now as I was back then, only now he's your doctor, and my actions back then could be effecting your health right now." Leah bent her head and grabbed at her hair, as if yanking it out.

"I don't believe it. You slept with him all those years ago and you didn't tell me??"

Leah looked up. "I know Lisa. It was bad; I was bad for not telling you. Of course, I didn't learn until later just how it had changed my life."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you really want me to finish this?"

Jaymie nodded. "I want to know what happened after you left the lecture hall."

"I think you know what happens next."

"That doesn't mean I don't want to hear it from you."

Leah sighed. "Fine…" She closed her eyes and drifted back, again leaving out some details for them but it wasn't hard since everything about that day was as vivid all these years later as when they actually happened…

*****