A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Work's been hell the last couple of weeks. Now it's settled down so I have time to breathe again, and of course, write :) So here we go :) Thanks for the reviews, too. If I missed replying to some of you (and I'm sure I have) I'll get you next time, I promise :)

Chapter Twenty-Five

In Princeton, Wilson was sitting nervously on Joely's couch while she puttered in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. It was later than he usually liked to eat, but they did have a date, and an emergency at the hospital caused him to stay longer. It was after seven when he finally arrived, holding a bouquet of red roses and a bottle of fine wine to go with the dinner. The smell of pot roast wafted from the kitchen and made his mouth water as he sat and listened to the easy listening station she had on the stereo.

"Want to come pour the wine?" she called to him, startling him out of his reverie and he quickly got up. He didn't know why he was so nervous. He felt like a teenager again, being invited over by a girl whose parents were away. The only thing was, they weren't teenagers anymore and there would be no parents coming home to catch them doing...whatever.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she pointed to the wine glasses on the counter and the open bottle of wine.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. It was a long day."

"Yes it was. For me too. Dr. Foreman is a bit of a slave driver."

Wilson just laughed. "Be thankful you're not working for Cuddy."

"The lady who came to see Greg the other day?"

"Yep. She used to be the Dean of Medicine at PPTH."

"What happened? Why did she leave?"

"It's a long story, and not my story to tell. I'm sure you could find out if you asked around. Gossip and scandal spread like wildfire in that place." He handed her a glass of wine and they clinked their glasses together, neither of them taking their eyes off each other.

He'd been looking forward to this night for a week, once she told him she was all moved in and wanted to christen the kitchen. He wasn't sure exactly if she meant what he thought it meant and he didn't ask. Instead, he simply chalked it up to her wanting to cook for him in her new place for the first time.

A chime from the stove let them know that dinner was ready. "Have a seat," she said.

"Need any help?"

"Oh, sure. You can bring in the mashed potatoes and carrots. Thanks." She handed him the dishes, and their fingers lightly brushed against each other as he took them from her. She gave him a shy smile and once the other dishes were brought in, they sat down for a quiet dinner by candlelight.

"That was amazing," Wilson sighed as he sat back in his chair and patted his stomach. "Who taught you how to cook like that?"

"My mom. She loved to cook."

"Oh. Where is she now?"

Joely stared off into space. "She died five years ago from pancreatic cancer."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. You didn't know. I guess that's why I kind of latched onto Kat the way I did. She was the next best thing to my own Mom."

"I can see that. You two seemed close."

"We are. And I am glad she met Greg. He makes her happier than I've ever seen her. I hope she's doing okay back home. Her family...they're a piece of work."

"I'm sure she's fine."

"It's not Kat I'm worried about."

Wilson chuckled. "House can hold his own with just about anyone."

"I suppose."

"Don't worry about them," Wilson said as they got up and moved to the couch in the living room.

"I won't. I'm an independent woman now," she said as she scooted a little closer to him so their knees were touching. "I can do whatever I want."

Wilson smiled at her and extended his arm across the back of the couch, a silent invitation to move in even closer, which she did.

After a few light kisses back and forth, Joely was practically in his lap, the kisses getting deeper and more feverish. Fingers began exploring, buttons came undone and before Wilson knew what was happening, Joely was kissing her way down his body, her fingers making quick work of his belt buckle. That is, until he stopped her.

"Hey...slow down a little."

She glanced up at him, her eyes dark. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just...like to take things slowly."

Joely sat up and moved away from him. "It's okay. I get it."

Wilson looked confused. "You get what?"

"You don't want me because I'm tainted goods."

He blinked. "What gave you that idea?"

"Why did you stop me? Most guys would be unbuckling their own belt and pushing my head down there."

Wilson placed his fingers under her chin and tilted her head up so he could look her in the eye. "I'm not most guys. I also don't put out on the first date," he grinned and pulled her back onto the couch next to him. "There's no rush, you know," he said to her.

"I know but I like you. I just thought..."

"Stop thinking so much about what you think I want. I'm happy enough to just sit here in the dark and make out," he grinned and then pulled her in for another kiss.

X X X

The incessant beeping of his cell phone kept on until House woke up and reached blindly for it on the side table. He hit the button and mumbled something of a hello while Kat began to awaken next to him. She slowly ran her finger around his exposed nipple as he talked to the other person, presumably Foreman, and he gave her a look that told her "Stop, I like it." So she kept doing it, leaned over and used her tongue, causing him to jump a little.

"I'll be there when I get there. Have the team run tests and get a history. It's a long drive back. Try not to kill the patient before I get there." He snapped his phone shut and groaned.

"Should I call Chet, tell him to bring the car around?" Kat asked him.

"Yeah." Then he sighed. "Sorry."

"It's fine, Greg. I figured you wouldn't be able to stay the entire time, and I don't know how long I'll be here. They need you."

"You need me, too," he said, his voice was quiet as he brushed the hair out of her eyes.

"I'll manage. Go, it's fine."

He didn't look convinced but Kat gave him one of her reassuring smiles and he sighed. "I'll be thinking about you."

"I'll be fine, Greg."

"It's not you I'm worried about. It's them."

"I can hold my own."

"And with Charles?"

"Definitely with Charles. Don't worry about him."

"It's hard not to. The minute I'm gone he's going to hover over you like the vulture he is."

She smiled and placed her hand over his. "I can handle him. I've done it before, I can do it again. Now get dressed and get out of here. And say hi to Joely and James for me. From what I hear, they had a date last night so I'm anxious to hear how it went."

He chuckled. "I'll get the goods and I'll call you tonight when I get in," he said as he got dressed and tossed the other clothes into his suitcase. "I'll leave the toys with you," he grinned. "You might need them when you're lying here at night...all alone...thinking about me."

Kat shivered with thoughts of the night before. The look in his eyes as he made love to her and made her cry out several times.

"You're thinking about last night, aren't you?" he asked as he gently stroked her nipple through the thin fabric of her camisole.

"Mm...Greg..." she sighed as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensations he was giving her. She then found herself back in bed within minutes, giving him a send-off that would hopefully satiate both of them for awhile.

An hour later, House was gone and Kat sat at the kitchen table nursing a coffee and reminiscing their recent lovemaking. It was soon shattered when Charles came in and looked annoyed. "Did you get any sleep last night?" he asked her, somewhat accusingly.

"Some."

"Lucky you. I don't think I got more than an hour."

Kat simply shrugged. "I told you to switch rooms. Not my problem if we kept you up. You were warned."

"You never made those sounds with me," he said, looking indignant.

"Yeah, I wonder why? Maybe if you concerned yourself with something called foreplay. Or made sure I was actually ya know, enjoying myself, things might've been a lot better in our personal relationship."

She actually saw him wince and then chuckled. House had rubbed off on her. She surely would never have said that outright before. And then, not wanting any further interaction, she picked up her coffee mug and left the room.

X X X

"Back so soon?" Wilson inquired when he happened to be passing by House's office and saw him sitting at his desk, throwing his red and grey ball in the air.

"Got a case."

"Where's Kat?"

"Still in the Hamptons. Holding a bedside vigil for her brother. From the looks of him, I'd say the end is near. Which, between you and me, isn't a bad thing. The man is on his deathbed and still feels the need to intrude on her personal life. His bitch of a wife took it upon herself to invite Kat's ex to dinner the other night."

"Oh no she didn't!" Wilson said as he sat down.

"Yep. But revenge is best served cold. Jeeves, the butler, who looks nothing like Stephen Fry but more like a crazy Doc Brown type, put him in the room next to ours and we kept the poor man up all night, according to Kat." House was grinning widely and Wilson just stared at him. It had been a long time since he saw his friend smile in such a way.

"Wow. You guys are busy bunnies."

"Speaking of busy bunnies...I hear you and Joely had a hot date."

Wilson shifted his position in the chair and smoothed out his tie, a sure sign that he was uncomfortable with the statement, which was like ammunition for House. "What's wrong? She wouldn't put out?"

"More like I wouldn't. If you must know."

"What happened?"

"I just wasn't feeling it."

"I'm sure she loved that."

"Hardly."

"So are you gonna go out again?"

"I thought I'd cook for her this time," Wilson nodded.

"Ooo third date. You know what that means."

"Yeah yeah. I'm not getting my hopes up. It was a nice evening aside from that. We talked about stuff. She's certainly feeling a lot better than she was a month ago. The therapy is helping. Hell, she practically jumped me."

"Is that why you turned her down? You prefer to be the one to do the jumping?"

Wilson shrugged. "I guess I was just blown away. I wasn't expecting it."

"Expect the unexpected. It's been awhile since you've been with anyone that young."

His team returned and House's attention was drawn to them and the news of his patient. After a few theories thrown back and forth, he got up and went with them to meet the patient himself, convinced she was being an idiot. On his way out, he called out "see you at lunch. You're buying."

"Of course," Wilson muttered and then returned to his own office.