This is where I insert the disclaimers. I'm sure you know them by now. House doesn't belong to me, Avery does.

House shut off the lights and locked up the conference room and his office. As he was leaving, he ran into Wilson, greeting him with a nod.

"Heard you and Foreman out on the balcony. Everything okay?"

"Yeah…he was just kind enough to remind me about some things."

Wilson nodded in understanding. He had overheard Foreman's speech. House certainly wasn't the only one struggling with the aftermath of the shooting. House pulled an envelope out of his jacket and handed it to Wilson.

"Check out the love letter I got from Bryan today."

Wilson looked it over, stunned at the vindictive tone and language. "Damn. Does Matthews know about this?"

"Nope, and she's not going to."

"You're not going to tell her?"

"Why should I? It would only upset her. She's stressed out enough without having to deal with more of my drama."

Wilson rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Uh, how about…because she'll be mad as hell if you don't tell her."

"It's for her own good."

"Why don't you let her figure that out?"

"Figure out what?" Avery walked up and joined the two men at the elevators.

House brushed his hand against hers. "Nothing." He glared at Wilson. "I'll tell you later."

Wilson chuckled. "Have a good night, you two."

He split from the pair, leaving them in the parking lot. They stopped by House's car, parked in its usual spot. Avery leaned against his car, arms crossed across her chest.

"So…what am I supposed to figure out?"

"Damn, woman, you just won't leave it alone, will you?" House growled in mild irritation. He really wasn't planning on saying anything about the letter, but she was about to leave him no choice. "It's not important. Don't worry about it."

Avery laughed. "Now see, that will make me worry. Makes me think you're hiding something important." She reached up to kiss him on the cheek. "I'll see you at your place."

"See you later." He felt a twinge of guilt for keeping secrets from her. She trusted him, and he didn't want to break that trust. This was different, though. She didn't need to know about an overdramatic death threat from a locked-up ex. It would probably come to nothing anyway.

# # #

Something in House's tone raised suspicions in Avery. She was sure he was hiding something, but damned if she could figure it out. Eventually he would come clean, she was confident of that. But in the meantime…his secretive demeanor worried her.

She pulled up in front of House's building, still pondering what she overheard between House and Wilson. What the hell was he trying to protect her from, anyway? Normally she wouldn't pry, but if it was about her, that made a difference, didn't it?

The smell of Thai food hit her nostrils as she entered the apartment. House was opening containers on the coffee table.

"Hey, babe. Pick a container." He passed her a set of chopsticks with a flourish. Avery grabbed the chopsticks and a container of Pad Thai and settled in on the couch next to House. Soon they were relaxed, chatting over their food, stealing the occasional bite from each other, mock fighting with their chopsticks.

Avery laid her head in House's lap while House mindlessly channel surfed, playing with Avery's hair. So far, so good. House was still debating whether to tell Avery about the letter. They were having such a great night that he hated to ruin it. On the other hand, Avery was remarkably astute. She was already suspicious, and it wouldn't take her long to figure out that House was hiding something for her. Better to just get on with it, consequences be damned.

"Found something interesting in my office mail today."

"Really…" Avery's voice had a sleepy edge to it. "Do tell."

House leaned over slightly and reached into his back pocket for the letter. "Sweet little love note from your ex."

Avery immediately sat bolt upright. "I assume it wasn't exactly a friendly note?"

The fearful edge in her voice made House pull back his originally planned flippant response. "He threatened my life if I testified against him."

"Jesus." House could see Avery's breath shorten and her eyes go wide. "What are you going to do?"

"Um, hello, this is me we're talking about. Obviously I'm going to testify. What else am I supposed to do?" He took Avery's hand in his, squeezing firmly. "He's not going to scare me off. I'm done with that."

"If that's what you need to do…"

House nodded firmly. "I do. Somebody's got to put that son of a bitch in his place. Guess you could call it fighting fire with fire."

A slow smile crept onto Avery's face. She was proud of House for taking a stand, even if it made her nervous. "Now that's the Greg House I know and love."

House twisted his mouth in that familiar half smile. "It's not that big a deal, you know."

"Yes it is. This whole thing hasn't been easy for you. You think I haven't noticed?"

He rolled his eyes and sat back on the couch, pulling Avery close to him. "Okay, okay. Are we done now?"

"For now." She gestured toward the letter House still held in his hand. "Mind if I read that?"

"Hell yes, I mind. You don't need to see this. He's clearly insane."

"I suppose that's a medical opinion?"

"Totally." House shoved the letter back in his pocket. "Now leave it alone for tonight, okay?"

"Okay." Avery curled up close to House, inhaling his scent. She found it so comforting to be right here, right now, with this man. It made her think back to House's earlier comments about moving in together. She wondered if he might even consider marriage eventually. It wasn't a question she would spring on him right now, but she would keep it in the back of her mind.

# # #

House was feeling more relaxed now that he had just fessed up about the letter. Avery had taken it better than he thought she would, and now he felt a bit foolish for not having more faith in her. Feeling her curled up to him, her scent wafting up to him, ranked right up there with the best things on earth. House felt himself turn a corner, emotionally speaking. He had already expressed the idea of moving in with her. Now he allowed himself to start to think about the next step. The ultimate commitment, no turning back, signing his life away.

It felt like he was standing on the edge of a canyon, and he couldn't see the bottom. House was equally scared and exhilarated at the idea. He had a feeling that he wouldn't have much trouble convincing Avery to come along for the ride. Once they got through the trial, he'd get a better read on what was going through her head. By then her lease would be just about up, and they'd be discussing the whole thing again anyway.

"A lot could happen between now and then."

Avery lifted her head. "Did you say something?"

"What?" House hadn't realized he had spoken out loud. "Must have been thinking out loud. Don't mind me."

"Hardly ever do, baby." House smiled at Avery's sleepy voice. He had to admit, he had been called a lot of names over the years, mostly rude ones. Avery was the first one to call him 'baby'. At first it was awkward, but he kind of liked it now. It threw him when she called him that at Foreteen's. He was pretty sure he would never live it down, but Blonde and Blonder had the good grace to not mention it since.

"Come on, woman. I can't hang out on the couch all night. Let's get you to bed." He nudged Avery off him and popped a couple of his meds. The med ritual was a little harder to keep track of than his old Vicodin thing, but it seemed to be working out for him. He'd had to get together with Rodriguez to make some adjustments since going back to work, but he was noticing a difference. House hadn't realized how much his pain had affected his personality. He'd been concerned about losing his edge, his sharpness, his passion. None of that came to pass. It just…hurt less, that was all.

House finally pushed himself off the couch, limping off to the bedroom, where his woman waited in bed for him. He was still nervous about what was to come, but it was out of his hands. It wasn't easy to for him to accept that, but it was the best thing right now. Right now, all he wanted to do was wrap himself around Avery, comforting himself with what had now become familiar and safe.

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