After they finished eating and had taken their dishes into the kitchen, House playfully cornered Stacy by the window against the glassed-in bookcase that held his large pots and spices, blocking her escape at every turn. She laughed at his antics, and her laughter did something to him deep inside.

He backed her deeper into the corner until his body pressed against hers, his hands sliding around her waist and down to her ass as he pulled her closer. She feigned trying to get away, but only briefly, the feeling of his hands pulling her to him had her hands moving to the back of his neck to pull his mouth down to hers. She felt him resist ever so slightly as he slowly brushed his lips against hers, much like he'd done the first time he kissed her and she wondered when the mood shifted. Not that it was a bad thing. Every time she tried to pull his mouth closer, he resisted, continuing to cover her mouth with feather-light kisses.

Suddenly he stilled, his mouth a hairs-breadth from her own, his eyes searching hers. Those eyes will wreck me for the rest of my life, Stacy thought as she tried to read what was going on behind them. She opened her mouth to say something only to be silenced by Greg's insistent mouth, his tongue seeking access that she more than willingly granted, her mind reeling. She pressed her hips into the erection quickly growing through the thin fabric of his pajama bottoms and he groaned into her mouth as he pulled her closer.

They stayed that way, tasting, hands roaming, until they were forced to separate enough to breathe.

Catching their breath, Stacy's hands on his biceps, House leaned his head forward until his forehead rested on hers, his eyes closing as he took in her scent. He found himself dreading the next day, when Stacy would leave to get back to her life in the courtroom and he would have another week of suspension to deal with. He had no idea what he would do with himself. Stacy would be mired in work, Bonnie was likely to take Wilson back one more time, and he would be alone.

After long hours of immersing himself in diagnostic puzzles at the hospital, House relished the time he spent in his apartment, losing himself in music and books and scotch and the occasional hooker when the need arose. When the self-doubt crowded his brain as it always did, he ran until he was able to push the thoughts back into place. But over the past week things had changed, and for once it wasn't a bad thing.

Stacy ran her hands up Greg's arms to his shoulders and back down again, his forehead against her own a comforting presence. She could almost hear the thoughts she envisioned going through his head and tried to think of something to say that would help calm them. And then she heard the words, so soft that at first she thought she might have imagined it.

"I need you."

Her hands stopped in place and she pulled her head back, looking into blue eyes that had suddenly turned anxious and uncertain, as if he couldn't believe he'd actually uttered the words aloud. House searched Stacy's eyes and waited for her to drop her hands and walk away. To his unending surprise, her gaze softened and she brought her right hand up to his face, smiling gently.

"For someone who is so incredibly brilliant, you really can be a world-class idiot sometimes. Don't you get it? I need you too."

House's eyes grew wide and his jaw slackened as Stacy's words sank into his brain. She needs me?! She can have anyone she wants and she says she needs me?

"That doesn't make any sense. What could you possibly need from a guy as screwed up as I am?"

The question made Stacy a little sad. She wondered what had happened in Greg's life that would make him question his worthiness when it came to relationships. She considered her answer carefully, looking down at the floor, knowing that what he needed in that moment was to hear absolute truth rather than mere platitudes.

"I need...what I didn't know I needed until now. I need to be challenged by your intelligence. I need to be reminded that it's okay to be a child sometimes. I need to feel the music that comes from your soul. I need to be able feel you next to me while I sleep." She looked back up at him, into eyes that searched her own for some kind of tell, eyes that made her want to take the suspicion and hurt away, eyes that she simply wanted to lose herself in forever.

"I need to know there's more to life than just work," she continued. "And I need to not be lonely anymore."

House watched the emotions that crossed Stacy's face as she spoke. They regarded each other for a few moments when she finished.

"I don't want you to leave," House said, breaking the growing silence.

"I don't want to leave. But I am going to have to go home at some point tomorrow. I didn't bring any clothes for work."

House shrugged. "So bring them here."

Stacy looked at him. "Here?"

"You said it yourself, your office is closer to here than to your place. You don't have to bring everything all at once or anything, just what you're comfortable with." He watched her face as realization dawned.

Stacy was at a loss for words, her mind overwhelmed with the weight of what Greg was suggesting.

"Are you sure about this?"

He pulled her closer. "As sure as I've ever been about anything."

It took Stacy all of 5 seconds to make her decision. "Okay."

"Seriously?"

"No." Stacy heard the hopefulness in Greg's voice and couldn't resist teasing him just a bit, although she did feel a twinge as his face fell at her response.

"Seriously?" he repeated, dejected.

"What do you think?" She pulled him down and kissed him soundly. "Of course. Jerk."

House gathered Stacy into his arms and said, "I know," before deepening the kiss as his mind breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't walked away, hadn't even flinched at his words. And she had decided to stay.

They made their way into the bedroom, where they took their time peeling the bedclothes off of each other before falling onto the bed in a jumble of arms and legs, secure in the knowledge that they had just committed to something huge and they were okay with that.

Late in the afternoon, as they lay in the bed they hadn't left except to use the bathroom or answer the door to get the food they'd ordered, House felt more at ease with Stacy than he did even with Wilson. They talked about everything and nothing, about whatever came to mind, in the way you do with only your closest confidant. They decided that Stacy should keep her place. Between the two of them they made enough to cover both rents, and that way she would still have a space to call her own.

It only made sense to House, who knew there would always be times when he needed to be alone, to play music and drink scotch or read up on an unusually complex case, or to sit in his underwear and watch reality TV and soaps all day.

Stacy lay curled under Greg's left arm, her head on his chest over his heart, his fingertips absently tracing lines up and down her arm. She thought about what it was going to be like to have this every day and every night and she smiled against his chest.

House felt the movement of her face against his body and leaned over to kiss the top of her head, smiling to himself as he thought about what it was going to be like having her in bed with him like this every night. His last thought before allowing himself to sleep was, I wonder how I'm going to break the news to Wilson.

FIN