Chapter Twenty-one: It Ain't So Bad

Disclaimer: Dude, SOOOOO SORRY for the wait. AGAIN. :[ (David Shore owns [H]ouse)

Dinner went by as one would expect it, with House and Lisa at each other's throats in an almost flirtatious manner, and Stephanie and Wilson giving each other knowing looks the entire time they watched the ongoing battle of wits between the two. The rest of the evening had much of the same feeling, even during their viewing of Wicked in which House choose, oddly, to sit beside Lisa as opposed to his best friend. Not that Wilson minded terribly, after all he was sitting by Stephanie, and most of the night he was able to shrug off the feeling that something wasn't quite right with her and enjoy himself.

The group walked (or hobbled) down the street slowly once they had finished with the musical spectacular, laughing and expressing their favorite parts of the show. Even House seemed to have enjoyed it, though that didn't stop his snarky comments.

"So my darlings," Lisa laughed as they neared the street where they had decided to head in the direction that best suited them, whether it be home of hotel. "Do you want to go get some drinks before we part ways?"

Steph looked at her sister hesitantly before she shook her head. "I uh, no. Not tonight, Lisa."

"You haven't had one drink tonight, love." She replied, a knowing look in her eyes. "Sobriety something you picked up in Jersey?"

"Not the only thing she picked up in Jersey." House mumbled, shoving a cold hand into his pocket. Before Steph's glare could become anything more, he quickly added, "I'm up for a drink."

Lisa smirked and nudged him playfully, "That all you're up for?"

"You have to buy me dinner first to get an answer to that sort of question."

Wilson blushed slightly and shook his head at his friend and gripped Steph's hand tightly. "Um, wow, well, Stephanie and I are going to go turn in… We'll uh… See you tomorrow?"

"Unless you want me to check in with you when I get home, Mommy."

Steph rolled her eyes and tugged Wilson towards the cab she was flagging down, "That's ok darling, Mommy and Daddy trust you completely. Be good and don't do anything we wouldn't."

"Um, ew, I'm not sleeping with Wilson."

Wilson whined softly, now uncomfortable with the situation as the others giggled. "I'll see you tomorrow, House."

"Have a good night you two." Lisa smiled, waving at her sister as she and Wilson slid into their cab. After they had peeled away, she turned her attention to House. Smiling up at him and smoothing out his tie, she raised an eyebrow and asked in an oh too appealing voice, "So, Doctor, what's your poison?"

Two hours and a few scotches and bourbons later, House found himself making the trip up the four flights of stairs to Lisa's apartment with surprising ease.

"Why in the hell are there no elevators in your building?" He asked, panting slightly from the trip up as he wobbled up to her door.

Lisa grinned and unlocked the door, sliding against it so that the tired doctor could make his way passed her. "Old building. I kind of like it."

A scoff escaped him as he looked around the spacious apartment, his eyes falling on an old, dusty baby grand. "That makes one of us."

Making his way over he glanced behind him to look at her, "You play?"

"My ex-husband did." She sighed, making her way towards the kitchen after depositing her purse on the coffee table. "I have no talent for music, unlike the rest of my family. Want another scotch?"

"On the rocks, please." His reply was soft as he was focused on the piano, and he sat and lifted the cover to find the keys in the same unused condition as the outside of the poor instrument. He smirked and placed his hands on the keys, playing softly, "Your siblings are musically inclined? Didn't know that."

"Oh yeah." Lisa laughed, walking into the room and seating herself next to him on the bench and sliding his drink in front of him. "I should give you Stephanie's demo CDs she made while she was in college. She would have gotten a record deal if she hadn't decided to get engaged."

House raised an eyebrow at this but continued to play as the tipsy girl next to him revealed delightful secrets about his best friend's girl. "Jungle bunny was engaged? She has demo tracks? So much useful information in one night."

"Oh yeah, but she broke it off with whatever his name was and went to nursing school to please my parents. They didn't care for her theatre… stuff… as a career anyway. That's why all of us are professionals instead of rock stars."

"I know the feeling." He nodded, lifting a hand to grab his drink.

Lisa looked up at him, a small smile on her face as she leaned in to him, "What are you playing."

With a shrug of his shoulders he mumbled, "Just something I wrote for someone."

"You wrote it? It's beautiful."

He closed the lid, hiding the keys and stopping the music and his thoughts quickly. "It isn't finished."

"It's still beautiful." She smiled, looking at him a moment longer. "Anyway, did you want to watch a movie, have another drink, sleep on the couch… Sleep in the bed?"

"Boy you're subtle, aren't you?"

"I wouldn't have to be in the bed if you wouldn't want me there, Dr. House."

He gave her a half smile and finished the rest of his drink, "Why would I come back here if I didn't want you in the bed, Ms. Perry?"

Wilson and Stephanie had a wordless ride back to their hotel, and for many reasons neither of them was saying aloud. Wilson was concerned for his friend, of course, because he knew that he would most likely be making some mistakes that would deter his… relationship with Cuddy, but primarily he was concerned with Steph's odd behavior over the past few days. Stephanie couldn't help but be overwhelmed with thoughts of how on earth she was going to explain everything to Wilson.

And, after an also silent ride up to their room, Wilson sighed and decided he had had enough of the quiet.

"So, I don't know if it's just me, but the last few days I've sensed that you're… Kind of… Not yourself… And I was wondering if it was something I did or said and I just… I want to talk about it."

Steph turned, a tad shocked even though she shouldn't have been, and looked at him. "I- no! Why would you think you've done something?"

"Because… Well you've never been like this before and I just am really concerned. I don't want to be left in the dark, and if there's anything I can do to make you feel better I want to. I want to fix… this?"

She smiled slightly, laughing quietly as he stood there nervously. "Baby, you haven't done anything wrong."

"Good… So what is wrong?"

"I've just been… Thinking, a lot."

"About?"

"Well…" She licked her lips softly and looked down at the floor, trying to focus on what House had told her earlier. "How to… How to tell you that I'm pregnant."

Wilson looked at her with the same gaze he had held for their entire conversation, slowly allowing her words to sink in. "You're… Pregnant?"

As she nodded and slowly began to cry, Wilson's brain began to unfreeze and he scooped her into his arms. "Stephanie, don't cry… Why are you crying anyway?"

"Because I know that you don't want kids and I don't know how this happened."

"It's ok…" He smiled, softly running a hand through her hair. "It's ok. I love you… And I love any baby that we have together."

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes and on her cheeks, "Really?"

"Of course, Steph… I… I love you. Everything is fine. It's better than fine, it's… Really great."

He wiped at the tears running down her face as she smiled up at him, leaning in and kissing her softly. "We should probably get out of the hallway now."

"We probably should." She agreed, laughing slightly as she kissed him again.

A/N: Muhaha you have to wait to see what happens with House .

Also Sorry for my absence and Happy Thanksgiving!