A/N: I just want to say thank you to all my readers out there. I'm glad you're enjoying this story. I still don't see an end in sight yet. That could be good or bad, haha. I'm not sure which just yet. Anyway, thanks again :)

Chapter 25

Quantico, Virginia

It was a grey day as everyone gathered around the gravesite. Cory stood in front while Greg and Dave lurked in the back. A friend of the family gave the eulogy for her parents and some of the models Michelle worked with spoke about their friend whom they'd only known a short time.

When it was over, a band played Taps while people passed by the caskets and placed a flower on each of them. Cory was the last to go, and she looked hopefully at Greg, reaching her hand out for him to take.

He hesitated at first but then he sighed and gave in. As they stood together in the rain, Greg holding the umbrella over them, she looked up at him with sad eyes.

"I guess we have to...go to the wake," she mumbled.

"We don't have to, but you should. Thank everyone for coming and all that."

"Will you come with me?"

It wasn't his scene, and they both knew that. But he agreed anyway because it was Cory, and because he knew she needed him there.

"Fine. Let's go."

They stayed an hour, and then she excused herself. Greg had his bike and they took off toward the beach. The wind on her face as she sat behind him felt good and she held onto him tightly, leaning into the turns with him.

It was still grey when they arrived, but the sun was trying to come out, and the waves were powerful, sounding like thunder as they crashed against the rocks.

They walked together for awhile until Greg couldn't stand the silence. "I've been thinking about what you said."

Cory glanced up at him. "What about?"

"A relationship won't work...not yet."

When he saw her frown, he held his hand up to stop her from speaking. "Just hear me out before you go ballistic on me. Right now, my job is insane. You'd never be able to get a hold of me and you'd see even less of me. I sometimes work three or four days, sleeping at the hospital when I'm on call, which is most of the time. It wouldn't be fair to you. What if you met someone else? What if I did? That's not to say I want to see other people because I'm not even looking to date anyone. I barely have time to myself, let alone to share with someone else. So here's what I think we should do. Wait until Lisa makes Dean of Medicine and hires me at Princeton Plainsboro and my schedule is more normal and I'm making more money. Right now I'm making peanuts and it sucks. My mom is secretly paying my rent and hiding it from my father. How, I don't know. If he finds out, the shit will hit the fan. But that's another story. We're in two separate states. Let's just keep things simple and wait it out. You know what they say, good things happen to those who wait. Nothing worthwhile is easy, all that crap. There is some truth in it."

Cory sighed. "You're right. As always. And I agree. If we jumped into something now, it would only make it that much harder. I really want a relationship between us to work, and if the timing is off, it won't."

Greg took a step closer and brushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ears so it was off her face.

"I have to go tonight."

"Already? You just got here yesterday."

"I know but if I'm not back in the hospital by 8am tomorrow, Reynolds will have my ass and then he'll never let me go away for a mini vacation again."

"This was hardly a vacation."

"I know. But those were his words, not mine."

Cory sighed. "Now I'm even more depressed, if that's even possible."

"This wasn't what I planned to happen when I came out here. Everything's different now. You're different."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes you are. The Cory I knew wouldn't hop into bed with my best friend."

"Oh please! Are you going to hang that over my head forever? I made a stupid mistake. It'll never happen again. I don't even like Dave...like that. I never did. I had too much to drink and it clouded my judgement. That's all. I wouldn't hang it over your head if the roles were reversed and you know it. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone deserves a second chance."

Greg shook his head. "I can't get the image of you two out of my mind. It's going to take some time."

"I understand. I just hope you'll realize we did have a good thing going. I'd hate to see it end badly."

"Everything ends badly. Otherwise it wouldn't end."

They walked back to the motorcycle and he took her back to her parents house. "I need to sell this place. I don't need a home this size for myself and staying here brings back too many memories. Good and bad."

Greg nodded his head and glanced up at the sky. It was starting to clear up a little more and for that he was grateful. Riding a motorcycle on the highway in the rain was not his idea of fun.

"I need to get back." He turned and climbed onto the bike.

"Call me when you arrive. Let me know you arrived safe."

Greg nodded but didn't say anything else. He could feel Cory's eyes on him as he rode off.

What could he say? He was still deeply hurt. He hoped being on the road for awhile would allow him to process everything. His hands gripped the handlebars tightly until his knuckles were white and he roared through town. By the time he got back to the hotel it was still early so he packed, took a nap and then hit the road before midnight.

XXX

Princeton, NJ, 1995

Greg entered the clinic and grabbed the first file on the desk. "Tina...Reid. Come on down," he called out to the girl and her father as he headed toward the exam room. They followed him in and Greg closed the door.

"What're you in for, Tina?"

"She has a sore throat," her father said, looking just as unimpressed as Greg felt. Tina looked all of fourteen and was quite developed for her age. Her chart didn't say much of anything else.

"Great." He grabbed his penlight and a tongue depressor. "Open up and say ahhh."

"Ahhh."

After a look down the girl's throat, Greg winced. "You have tonsillitis. They'll have to come out. We'll admit you and you'll have surgery in the morning. Then you can have all the ice cream you want."

"Do they have to come out?"

"'Fraid so. They're swollen and full of pus. Which is toxic. You've had a fever, haven't you?"

She nodded.

"You're swallowing the pus instead of coughing it up. That's bad. And that's why they have to come out. It'll be easy, don't worry. I'll have the nurse come in with the forms."

"What forms?" her father asked, looking suddenly worried. Normally Greg would have dismissed it as an over-anxious parent, but there was a feeling that something was off.

"Well, there's no medical history here. We need to know if she has allergies and all that fun stuff. It won't take long. If she has records from a regular family doctor you can just call and have them sent over."

"We just moved here so we don't have a family doctor."

"Yeah, and that's why they invented fax machines," Greg shot back. "Call her old doctor and get her records."

"Will...you be doing the surgery?" Tina croaked.

Greg shook his head. "I'm not a surgeon. Nor am I a pediatrician." He could tell the girl was scared and he let his guard down for a brief moment. "I'll come by and see how you're doing tomorrow. Okay?"

She nodded, but she still looked nervous. Her father even more so.

XXX

It was after midnight when Stacy came home from work. It wasn't unusual for her to pull long hours at the office if she was in court and Greg often waited up for her. However that night he was tired and fell asleep on the couch. He was slowly roused awake when she gently touched her lips to his.

"Mmm...what time is it?"

"A little after midnight. Coming to bed?"

Greg rubbed his eyes and stood up. "Yeah. I'll be right there."

He grabbed the remote and was about to turn the TV off when something caught his attention. It was the evening news showing the latest missing teens. Of the three girls pictured, the one on the left was the most familiar. He didn't know why, but he shook his head to clear it and shut the TV off before joining Stacy in the bedroom.

They hadn't been together that long. Only a few months. Their whirlwind courtship was just that. She moved in with him within a week of their first date.

Cory, to him, was a lost cause. She didn't even try to reach him five years ago and he didn't make an effort to do the same. Why should he? She hurt him in the worst way possible, so he wanted to hurt her back. Abandoning her might've been harsh, but if she really wanted it, she would have sought him out. She didn't. She had the means to find him wherever he was. She didn't do that either.

Stacy's hands all over his bare chest brought him back to the present as he smiled down at her. "Good day in court?"

"Oh yeah. I feel like celebrating."

"Mmm...sounds good to me. Carry on."

XXX

Tina had her surgery and was resting in her bed. Her father was nowhere to be seen when Greg entered the room. He didn't make it a habit of following up on patients, but for some reason, he felt compelled to check on her.

"Where's your dad?"

She looked around frantically and then made a motion that she wanted a pen and paper, which Greg provided and sat down next to her bed as she scrawled something on his script pad.

He's NOT my dad!

"Okay...brother? Uncle?"

NEITHER.

Greg frowned. "So who is he?"

Someone I met on the IRC. I thought he was younger. I ran away from home to meet him. I haven't seen my parents in weeks. Please help me!

The pieces suddenly fell into place and he realized why there was something off about Tina. She was the face he saw on the missing persons bulletin the night before. And there was only one person that came to mind who could help. He nodded as he took the paper and shoved it in his pocket. "I'll take care of it."

"Take care of what?" her "father" inquired as he let himself into the room.

"Your daughter has quite the sweet tooth. She's demanding more ice cream. I'll have a nurse bring some in."

He quickly left and headed down to Cuddy's office. "We have a missing girl upstairs."

Cuddy furrowed her brow and stared at him. "What do you mean, missing? Missing as in kidnapped? Or missing as in lost?"

"Both. I need to call Cory at the FBI. This is her thing. And I don't want this guy, who claims to be her father, knowing that we're onto him."

She rose from the desk and faced him. "Are you sure, House? And why do you have to call Cory? Surely there's someone else who can take this."

"She's the best. Why? What's your problem with Cory?"

"I don't have a problem. But Stacy might."

Greg scoffed. "Yeah right. She knows about Cory. She knows we had a falling out when she slept with my best friend. That ship has sailed. I haven't seen or spoken to her since then. But I don't know who else to call about this and this is her field of expertise."

Cuddy knew he was right, and she knew how good Cory was at her job. "Call her, and tell her we'll help out with anything she needs. Do you need security outside her door?"

"No. She just had surgery. She's not going anywhere for a couple of days at least. If we put a man at her door, the guy will get suspicious and they'll be gone. If Cory's still in Virginia, it won't take her long to come out here."

"Fine. For now we won't say anything and go about business as usual. I just hope you're right and she's telling the truth."

Greg nodded and left her office to go to his. He opened his desk drawer and took out his 'little black book' that had Cory's contact info in it. With a heavy sigh, he picked up the phone and dialled.

"Federal Bureau of Investigation, Quantico. How may I direct your call?"

"I need to speak with Special Agent Corinne Wallace."

"May I ask who's calling, sir?"

"It's Greg House."

"And what's this regarding, Mr. House?"

"It's Doctor, and it's about a missing girl."

"Hold please. I'll transfer you immediately."

His heart was literally pounding in his ears as he drummed his fingers on the desk. Two minutes later, which seemed like two hours, he heard her voice.

"Greg?"

"Hi Cory."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But I have a situation here. Can you come out to Princeton? Like...now? I don't know how much time we have."

"For what?"

"A missing girl."

"I'll be on the next flight out. Whereabouts are you?"

"Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. New Jersey."

"Right. I'll be there as soon as I can. Can you keep her in there awhile longer?"

"She just had her tonsils removed this morning so she can't be released for another day or two. Just hurry up and get here."

"See you soon."

Short and sweet. And for that he was glad. His heart was still racing and his mouth had suddenly gone dry. If he was that bad from just hearing her voice, how was he going to handle seeing her in person? He didn't want to think about it for the time being so he focused on the charts in front of him and went to work.