Saturday

House woke up to the sound of Wilson doing his best to move around the apartment quietly. He glanced at the clock, knowing before he even saw the time that it was early. It didn't matter how early it was, only that it was early. Stacy had rolled over onto her left side in the night. House turned onto his own left side and wrapped himself around her, smiling as she hummed appreciatively in her sleep and covered his hand with her own. House buried his nose in her hair and drifted into a light doze.

Wilson was up early, even for him. He was meeting Bonnie for breakfast and as he once again folded the bedding from another night on House's couch, he wondered what they would talk about. Or if they would just sit there in awkward silence like they seemed to do more and more often. He still loved Bonnie, it just seemed as though they were growing further apart. Maybe it was because she didn't seem to need him as much as she had when they first met, maybe it was that cute new nurse in Oncology with the great sense of humor who made him feel funny. He really wasn't sure. He just knew that things weren't right between them and something was eventually going to have to change.

Wilson's idea of quiet kept waking House up. His banging around in the shower and blow drying his hair and whatnot began to drive House mad. After several minutes he knew that any chance of more sleep was futile. The way Wilson was moving around the apartment told House that he wanted to talk but didn't want to disturb him, knowing that Stacy was also sleeping. He carefully pulled his left arm out from under Stacy's head. She stirred slightly before settling back into sleep and House made his way into the kitchen to make coffee.

Stacy yawned and stretched as she rolled onto her back, instantly realizing that she was alone in bed. She lay there and pondered all that had happened to her over the course of the past week and smiled. She had never been more happy about a small rock that twisted her ankle and sent her sprawling to the pavement while running. Had it not been for that, she never would have given Greg House another thought. She would have chalked him up as just another jerk who was cute but too annoyingly abrasive to even consider dating. And now...now there was the potential for something so much more.

The thought of going home the next day to get ready for work on Monday depressed her. She felt like she was living on borrowed time, only to be thrust back into the long hours and mayhem of the legal system in just under 48 hours.

She lay there and thought about the words she'd read from the fortune cookie, words she didn't even take seriously, and once again wondered if they might actually be true.

Wilson came out of the bathroom to the smell of coffee. He briefly wondered when that had happened before understanding dawned that it was House's doing. The guy seemed to be aware of everything, even while he was asleep.

Sometimes Wilson wondered how House was able to sleep at all the way his mind always seemed to be chewing on something, which made him curious as to what was going on that had him up so early. Probably needs to vent about his suspension. Or his patient. Or Stacy. Wilson considered the amount of time House had spent with her over the 5 or so days that he'd known her. He'd never known Gregory House to willingly spend that much time with any human being. Ever. Including himself. She was obviously getting to him, and by the comfortable way he'd seen them the night before, he had made quite an impression on her as well.

House was just pouring the coffee when Wilson walked into the kitchen, taking the mug gratefully from his friend's hand when it was offered. They stood in silence drinking their coffee, House patiently waiting for Wilson to start talking. Wilson gathered his thoughts before speaking.

"Bonnie called me," he said. "She wants to meet for breakfast."

"What're you going to do?"

"I don't know. See what she has to say, I guess."

House sighed to himself. It was so like Wilson. Bonnie threw him out, but he was going to give her the benefit of the doubt. He was about to explain this fact to Wilson when Stacy came into the kitchen. She sniffed the air appreciatively and made a beeline for the coffee pot, dodging the arm that reached out to wrap itself around her waist.

Wilson watched the playful interaction and shook his head. It's almost as though House was a completely different person when he was around Stacy. He knew it wasn't true, he'd seen House retreat into himself during dinner at the sushi restaurant. Stacy might be able to make him forget for a while, but those thoughts and self-doubts that constantly plagued his best friend were never far away.

When Wilson left for his breakfast meeting with Bonnie, Stacy shooed Greg out of the kitchen so she could make omelets. He left reluctantly, but she knew he wasn't sulking. She heard the TV go on and the sound of Saturday morning cartoons drifted into the kitchen as she pulled ingredients out of the refrigerator. She heard that deep and hearty chuckle she'd first heard the weekend before and smiled. He's such a child sometimes. Who knew it could be so infectious? She was surprised to find that she recognized the cartoon from her own childhood and as she busied herself with the omelets, realized that she still remembered a lot of the dialogue.

House drifted back into the kitchen at the commercial, the smell of the omelets cooking making it impossible to stay away. He snuck up behind Stacy and wrapped his arms around her waist, nuzzling her neck. She hummed deep in her throat as she turned the heat down on the stove and turned in his arms, wrapping her own around him and pulling him close. They stood there, enjoying the feeling of just being close.

"Mmm. Fits," he said as their bodies relaxed into each other. House glanced over Stacy's shoulder at the omelets, which were just starting to overcook. "Omelets are done," he said, reluctantly stepping back from the hug.

"Oh, shit!" Stacy turned back to the stove, relieved to find that they weren't ruined. She got the pan off the burner quickly and plated them as Greg moved to refill their coffee mugs and together they went into the living room to eat and watch cartoons. As they laughed at the familiar images on the screen, Stacy was amazed that so many of these programs were still on the air all these years later.