House had fallen deeply asleep after soaking in the tub from the morning's exertion which Cyrus was happy about. He'd been worried that his leg would be acting up but disaster seemed to have been averted. The trail hike had been a great success, far better than he'd imagined it would turn out and the camaraderie the team had built up had been restored. He couldn't help but wonder what Wilson would do next but at least they had Cuddy as an ally now. He had seen the warm approval and the forehead kiss she had given House when she'd seen the picture of the trail hike. Any attempt by Wilson to run House or their team down would be very unwelcome now. He could only hope that Wilson would see where he was misjudging House and the whole situation. He wondered if there was anyway for the men to seek some real reconciliation with counseling or if they would follow their usual behavior and sweep it all under the rug rather than deal with it. Although, if House retained any of the friendships he had made this weekend on any level, that could put some pressure on Wilson to deal with his conflicting emotions on his friendship with House.
Cyrus woke House up an hour before dinner was to start, figuring that he'd need some time to stretch out his leg muscles, which House gave a silent nod of appreciation for. Once his leg felt as good as he thought it would get, House went in to get tidied up a bit for the show.
"Ready for our big debut?" Cyrus asked with a grin when he came back out.
"Yep. Looking forward to it," House replied with an answering grin.
"So am I. This is going to be a lot of fun."
They left the cabin and started down toward the dining hall together at a slow pace, enjoying the early evening air.
"I, uh… I just want to thank you for this weekend," House said quietly. "If you hadn't have intervened that first night, this whole thing would have sucked. I probably would have gotten into a huge shouting match with Cuddy and Wilson and be trying to figure out where to look for another job right about now. I sure as hell wouldn't have been able to get along with Parks, so… thanks."
"You're welcome. I've enjoyed the whole weekend and something like this always has the potential to be a drag," Cyrus grinned. "We have a good team once we got over the initial bumps."
"Yeah. We do," House agreed after a moment. "You think it will last?"
"Not without trying to make it last, but yes, I think it could last."
"Wilson will try his best to break it up."
"Will you let him?" Cyrus asked curiously.
House shot him a sharp look but then looked away in acknowledgement of a fair question and shrugged. "I don't know. I can pretty much depend on Wilson if something really goes bad. His need to mother and help people kicks in. I can get pretty needy and not in a nice way. So I don't know if Parks or Simmons… or even you… are up to the challenge of being friends with me yet."
"Will you let us try before you decide?"
"If you want to," he said cautiously.
"I can't and won't speak for the others, but I would like to try."
"Okay then. Poker is Thursday night at my place 7pm if you want to come."
"I'll be there with a six pack. Any beer or something specific?"
"Nah, any beer is fine. There'll be pizza, chips, that sort of thing."
"Sounds good."
"Think Simmons and Parks will mind that I invited you and not them?"
"I think we can explain it as wanting to take things slow. Maybe you three can come up with something else. Meet for a drink after work. Lunch out of the hospital. There are lots of options now that we know a little more about each other."
House nodded and gestured for Cyrus to go first as they had reached the dining hall, then followed him to their table.
The meal was great that night, a buffet full of old standby favorites like lasagna, plenty of finger food appetizers and munchies that were clearly meant to be enjoyed all through the variety show. Everyone loaded up a plateful and the room was filled with excited chatter for the final event of the weekend. House didn't say much during the meal, thought he was paying attention to their conversation and chipped in occasionally. He was content to just sit amazed that three people were actually including him, having fun, relaxed and being themselves after a whole weekend spent with him. He couldn't remember the last time that happened, if it ever had. Usually his blunt sarcasm chased them all away. But this weekend he'd seen the difference between bluntness and honesty and how they affected people. It was giving him a lot to think about. Finally dinner was cleared away and the coordinator picked up a mic to play emcee for the evening.
"Alright everyone, I hope you've enjoyed your meal. Plenty of snacks and desserts left so I hope you aren't full yet," she said with a smile. "Now to the opening act of our variety show and remember, there are prizes for the the best acts, judged by secret ballot. Forms are at your table and no, you can't vote for your own team."
This announcement was met with groans.
"Table one, come on up!" she said and with that the show began. There were eight tables and House and his team were sixth in the lineup according to the little program of events. There were little comedy skits, a mime act, a dance group, even a rap number that reminded House of his stay in Mayfield when his roommate made up a rap and needed a few cues from him. They all laughed and did a little friendly booing and mocking of some of the poorer acts and soon it was time for their song.
They all put on feather boas and House had oversized sparkly glasses on as he sat down at the piano. Parks was also wearing a rainbow gauzy tutu to top it all off. After everyone nodded they were ready, he began to play the introduction and they launched into a medley of songs each one taking the lead on the lyrics they changed, including "Please Dr Simmons" (Please Mr Postman), "My Eye" (My Guy), which was Cyrus' song, "It's My Body" (It's My Party) from Parks, and House finished off their medley with "Nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide. Got nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide. It's not Cuddy, I'm a running from, It's the Clinic Duty I know will come." He finished with a riff on the piano as they all took a bow to lots of applause and took their seats again for the final two acts. All four of them were wearing matching grins as they high-fived each other then helped themselves to dessert while the votes were being counted.
"That went fantastic," Simmons said with a grin. "We should win, I don't think any other team beat our performance."
"True, but remember this is also part popularity contest," House cautioned, worried that Wilson's weekend long ranting would throw the votes.
Simmons and Parks acknowledged that with grim nods but then broke into smiles again, still feeling like they had had the best act in the show.
House stole a peek at Wilson and Cuddy's table. It looked like Cuddy and Wilson were arguing and he sighed, thinking it was probably over him again.
"What's wrong?" Parks asked.
"They're at it again," he said, gesturing with his head toward the two.
"Still is more like it," Simmons said, shaking his head at the spectacle they were making as more and more people were noticing the argument.
The room fell silent as the emcee stepped back up to the mic and Wilson's voice rang out stridently. "I can't believe you're actually on his side! You're never on his side! That's my job!"
The emcee gaped at Wilson with everyone else in awkward silence before several other doctors started calling for him to sit down, shut up, and stop spoiling the weekend for everyone. He looked around in shocked dismay then wildly pointed at House.
"He's the one who spoils everything for everyone, not me!" he shouted.
"Not this time! This time it's been all on you!" Simmons snapped as he jumped to his feet with Parks close behind him. Cyrus and House remained seated but turned to lock eyes with Wilson.
"This whole weekend you've been doing nothing but causing trouble and trying to drum up support for your wild claims and it damn well almost worked," Parks chipped in. "Sit down and mind your own business for once. Is this what you do at the hospital too?"
"Parks," House said quietly and firmly. "Don't go there. Please," he added when she seemed about to object.
She nodded and both she and Simmons took their seats again, leaving Wilson standing alone, flabbergasted at being called out. Cuddy seized his elbow and pulled him back down into his seat, hissing at him to drop it and shut up.
After a moment, the emcee cleared her throat. "Okay. The votes are counted and by the slimmest margin of one vote, Team Four won with their parody of The Office. In second place, Team four, with Girl Group Medleys, and in third place, Team Two with the Achy, Breaky Heart parody."
House nodded and applauded the wins, satisfied with second as he'd thought the first place winner was hilarious. One of the staff brought each member of the winning teams a little trophy and a $25 gift card.
"Now onto this weekend's achievements. Team Three is the winner of Most Organized. Team Four gets the Master Puzzler award," she said, smiling when House said 'yes!'
After a few more awards she held up gift card envelopes. "We don't always have occasion to use this award but all of my staff agree that one team has definitely earned it. Each team member gets a $200 gift card as a prize. Here's a little clip of the winning team."
The lights dimmed and a slide show came up, detailing the weekend journey of House's team from the somewhat hostile first night, through some of the activities, including the win for pizza and wings, and some of their rehearsals. There were candid shots of them sitting and talking seriously with each other, the three men playing cards, Parks and House reading in amicable silence. It ended with a video clip of each one ziplining down to the end of the trail and the triumphant picture taken at the bottom.
"The award for Most Improved Teamwork goes to Team Four, Drs Blackburn, Simmons, Parks, and House."
Everyone in the room applauded, Cuddy jumping to her feet followed by a few others. Wilson sat staring at the screen in stunned silence before slowly clapping along with the rest as the gift cards and another little trophy were handed out.
"Everyone have a good night and a safe journey home. Thank you for your attendance and all your efforts this weekend," the coordinator said and left the stage as some music came on in the background.
Cuddy came over and laid her arm across House's shoulders. "Congratulations, all of you! And for the record, I think you should have won the variety show too," she confided with a grin. "All those feather boas, you with the Elton John glasses. It should have been a shoe in."
After a minute or so of banter with the team she leaned down and whispered in House's ear. He met her eyes seriously and nodded. She patted his shoulder and wished them all a good night heading on to talk with each of the other teams.
"What did she say?" Cyrus asked, having an idea but looking for confirmation.
"She said it might be better if I can catch a ride home with someone else," House sighed.
Cyrus nodded, it was just as he'd suspected. "You came with Cuddy and Wilson didn't you? You can ride with me," he offered.
"Thanks. I appreciate it."
The rest of the evening was spent chatting with the other groups, enjoying the snacks and desserts, and a few dancing to the music before everyone returned to their cabins to sleep and get ready to head home in the morning.
