Lucky

"I take it that you have now resigned from your job," Nyx observed dryly as she sat down next to House on the beach.

"I rather believe I have resigned from the whole state of New Jersey," House didn't sound too concerned as he watched the moon reflecting on the water. "I'm fairly sure Cuddy has a state-wide restraining order on me by now."

"You sound rather detached," Nyx decided.

"I feel detached," House agreed. "Probably because I'm dreaming."

"That could be it," Nyx nodded. "Or there could be a psychological reason for it."

"Don't you start," House groaned.

"Start what?" Nyx asked.

"The reason I'm here right now is because they wouldn't stop analyzing me and pushing me and telling me what to do," House stated.

"Yeah, I know they pushed you too far given your mental state," Nyx said. "But don't you think you still over reacted? I mean, you didn't have to drive through the house to return the brush."

"No," House sighed. "I didn't. I just felt like it and so I did it. Not one of my best decisions, even when I could be sure that they weren't going to be in the room anymore."

"And how could you be sure?" Nyx demanded. "Anyone could have come back to clear the table or to get something they had forgotten."

"I know Cuddy," House replied. "She is very set in her ways and the way her dinner parties go, nobody would have dared to go back to the dining room once she had shooed them into the living room."

"Rachel could have," Nyx pointed out. "Kids aren't that good at obeying."

"Rachel was with Arlene," House reminded her. "Cuddy would not have introduced her to another man this soon again. Not after both Lucas and me. Of course the new guy might not have got the rules down yet, so he might have returned."

"Would you have cared?" Nyx wanted to know.

"I didn't want to hurt anyone physically when I drove through the window," House insisted. "I just wanted to smash something and Cuddy's wall and window happened to be conveniently there. But I don't know what I would have done had he been in the room. I think I had a vague idea that I could still veer the car and hit the steps if someone had done the unexpected and returned to the room, but I'm not sure how I would have reacted to him. Fortunately we'll never find out now. Though in retrospect I do have to say I was lucky nobody got hurt."

"Except Wilson," Nyx inserted. "He broke his wrist."

"Maybe," House accepted. "It could be just a bad sprain, too. But he'll live and since it was his right wrist he'll be ok."

"Cuddy won't be in a hurry," Nyx stated.

"Won't be what?" House frowned.

"Ok. Or even close to ok," Nyx said.

"Once she is over the shock and anger, there really is no reason why she shouldn't be just fine," House was sure.

"Come on!" Nyx laughed incredulously. "Don't you think this could affect the way she relates to men or how soon she will be willing to start a new relationship?"

"Nope," House stated immediately. "She knows me and when she thinks about it she can figure out well enough how this came about and she can leave this behind her. We have always had a strange way of dealing with each other. There is no chance that she will ever meet anyone like me again, and definitely not to date. Mind you, she hasn't been that successful in her relationships with regular guys either."

"And that makes it all ok?" Nyx demanded.

"Not 'all' ok," House admitted. "But it's not like she'll think that I will stalk her or do anything more to her. Sure she will want my head over this, but she's not afraid of me or anything."

"How can you be so sure?" Nyx asked.

"She knows me and I know her," House shrugged. "Besides, she didn't have any fear in her eyes when I faced her after the crash. In fact had I given her any more time to recover from the shock, she would have killed me right there and then. If looks alone could kill, I'd never have walked out of there at all."

"You don't think that anything you say will make me believe it was just a prank and an ok way to react?" Nyx challenged.

"No, I'm not that stupid." House replied. "I know there are consequences that I will have to face eventually. I just see no reason to speed up the 'eventually' right now."

"They probably want you for attempted murder," Nyx stated.

"That rap I can beat," House said. "Nobody got hurt and as the room was empty the best they can do is simple assault."

"Wilful damage to property?" Nyx suggested. "Assault with a deadly weapon?"

"Mental patient?" House countered. "Temporary insanity? It won't be too bad. I just need a good lawyer."

"Even with a good lawyer you can still end up serving time," Nyx pointed out.

"Either in jail or a mental institution," House said. "I know."

"Not worried?" Nyx ventured.

"Not yet," House uttered. "I'm sure I will when the time comes, but what can you do? I can't just wave a magic wand and erase the past. I did what I did. I may be ok with it, apart from knowing that I really lucked out there, but that does not mean that anyone else is ok with it."

"Aren't you sorry at all? "Nyx was curious.

"At all?" House repeated. "Yeah. There are many things we should have done differently, both of us, and so much hurt. I wish things had been different and I wish I had snapped some other way. Though I do suspect Cuddy would have been a lot worse off had I killed myself and not her dining room. But that doesn't mean that killing her dining room wasn't a bad idea."

"Why did you get that idea in the first place?" Nyx was shaking her head at him.

"Both Cuddy and Wilson kept telling me to express my anger," House sighed. "To show them how I feel, so I just didn't really think at all just 'expressed' as required."

"Well you definitely made your point," Nyx agreed. "But …"

"Yeah, but," House confirmed. "Not one of my brightest moments."

"But you still felt good afterwards?" Nyx wondered.

"Apparently they were both right: I really did need to get all the anger out in the open," House sighed. "Though I do think they would have preferred yelling."

"There is no doubt about that," Nyx affirmed. "I think even throwing the brush through the window would have been just about acceptable. But throwing a car through it was definitely too much."

"True. Though their faces were something to behold," House couldn't help it; he just had to smile a little.

"Especially as they were all alive to gape at you," Nyx observed dryly.

"Yes, that is an important point," House accepted. "I was lucky, I do know."

"How long do you think your luck will last?" Nyx asked.

"Don't know," House muse. "But as I'm back to just hurting myself, it won't matter that much."

"It might matter to those who care about you," Nyx pointed out.

"And who might those be?" House asked simply.

This is the end of this story. Depending on how Season 8 goes, I will start Nyx III, but for now, this is it. Thank you for reading and for the reviews. :)