Thursday

House woke up alone to bright sunlight streaming into his bedroom and groaned. Eyes closed, he rubbed his hands over his face and tried to piece together the later hours of the previous evening. He glanced at the clock, hearing movement and the clatter of pans in the kitchen on the other side of the wall and wondered how Wilson could possibly be awake and functional at six in the morning. Then again, Wilson had been a morning person for as long as House had known him. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. The guy couldn't sleep in if his life depended on it.

"Wilson! Enough of the banging in there - sound carries, y'know!" House's head was pounding and the sound somehow seemed amplified.

Stacy walked into the bedroom grinning at him, still wearing his t-shirt. She held out a coffee mug.

"Such a lightweight," she chuckled. House scowled at her.

"You look like you could use this."

House sat up and took the mug from her gratefully, sipping at the hot black coffee. A small sound of contentment escaped him as the cobwebs in his brain slowly began to clear.

"What are you doing here?"

"Sudoku. You?"

"Pie eating contest." He took another sip of coffee. "Where's Wilson?"

"Still passed out on the sofa."

"Really? Wow. He's going to be insufferable when he wakes up. He gets bitchy when he's hungover."

Stacy looked him over. "I thought you said you weren't going to stay up all night drinking."

"I seem to remember you telling me not to stay up all night drinking at the piano. Which I wasn't. Wilson's wife threw him out again last night. He needed somewhere to vent and I couldn't let him drink alone, could I?" House set the coffee cup on the nightstand, scooting back to lean against the headboard and held his hand out to Stacy, who came over to sit on the edge of the bed.

"When did you become Rationalization Man?" she joked, gazing at Greg fondly.

"Since Wilson became my best friend. Usually that's his job, but I have been known to rationalize things from time to time." House moved to the center of the bed, giving Stacy room to curl up next to him as he wrapped his right arm around her.

"I need to go get ready for work." Stacy glanced at the clock before turning her face into the hollow of Greg's neck. He smelled faintly of cigars, scotch and coffee. She thought the smell suited him as she kissed him there, nuzzling the sensitive area. Greg hummed appreciatively and kissed the top of her head. She kissed her way up his neck, across the unshaven jaw until she reached his mouth, where she proceeded to kiss him thoroughly. Stacy slipped her tongue into his mouth, savoring the intermingled flavors there and he let out a small groan in return, gathering her into his arms. She allowed herself to get lost in what they were doing until that one responsible brain cell made her reluctantly pull away. She ran her fingertips down his jaw, enjoying the feel of his unshaven face and watched Greg close his eyes at her touch. It's almost like he's trying to commit it to memory, she thought. He opened his eyes, gazing intently at her and, for a brief moment, she considered calling in sick. He lazily traced fingertips up and down her arm while he watched her internal struggle. Stacy patted him on the chest, uncurled herself from him and stood up. "Gotta get up, get going. In as much as I'd love to, I can't just call in sick. I've got to be in court at 10."

"But it's only 6:30!" House protested.

"And I still need to go home, take a shower, put on some clothes that don't smell like I spent the night in a cigar lounge and try to look like I know what I'm doing when I face the judge."

House gave a slight nod, looking thoughtful for a brief moment before it was overtaken by an impish look. "That's not fair. The judge gets to stare at you all day, and all I get is my imagination. And a sock."

Stacy laughed, turning to leave the room at his expression. House felt his grin fade back into thoughtfulness as he listened to her moving around the apartment, the sounds comforting in their own way. Sliding back down the headboard into the pillows, he laid back and drifted off in a rare state of contentment.