Note: Thanks to atavares for whipping me into shape again!

Chapter 26: 51 and 1

You knock on the door frame, more than a little early, but since his door is open, you assume his last appointment ended early or was a no show. Glancing in, you see Nolan at his desk and upon hearing your knock, he looks up and motions you in with his hand and turns back to his screen. "Have a seat, House. I'm just finishing up an email, I'll just be a minute. Glad your early, my last patient canceled at the last minute and you are my last appointment."

You have a seat, pour yourself a glass of water and take a sip as you look around his office for any changes. He did get some new art in the lobby, and you wondered if there was anything of note here.

It's been almost a year since you checked into rehab at Mayfield. Sunday, the day after your birthday, marks the official date. You stopped thinking about your birthday years ago and so no one around you ever does, so not even Wilson seemed to make a big deal of your spending the day before your birthday crazed out of your mind; the actual date believing you had slept with Cuddy, and your own warped mind enjoying the idea of it as a little birthday present. Turning the half century mark and changing your life, finally hooking up with the woman you thought you loved, but were too strung out to want to pull into your fucked up life.

For the better part of a day, you really believed it, only to have your whole world crash as you hit rock bottom. The day after your birthday, Wilson drove you to Mayfield. That day changed you nearly as much as the infarction. Thankfully pushing you upward again. Back toward happy.

It seems like a lifetime ago. But only a year.

Nolan gets up from his desk and walks over to sit again in front of you, across from the round glass coffee table. He picks up the yellow note pad and pen, crosses his legs and sits back. "You look good, House."

"I feel good." You confirm.

"You're coming up on a year clean. That's a big landmark."

"Yeah, this time last year I was high as a kite in an imagined detox and about to have sex with an hallucination of my boss. I'd say getting clean for real and getting regular sex with a real woman is definitely a step up."

"So things are still going well with you and Allison?"

"They are. We've decided to buy a house together and make things official."

"Wow. That is a big deal. What's the big hurry?"

"She was going to start looking for a house anyway, even before we started dating. Her place was a temporary solution and barely works for one person over the age of 22. Two grown adults with two lifetimes worth of stuff is just too much. I've barely been back at Wilson's apartment since Allison gave me a key. I don't want to move back to my place and I don't want to live with Wilson once Sam moves in. I figured if we are living together anyway, why not do it right. Sell my place, which I don't need or want to go back to, put our money together and get a really nice place, instead of me just coming along for the ride again. It's one thing to do that with Wilson, but it seemed all wrong to take that route with Allison."

"So, this is definitely more than a sexual attraction then?"

"Well, she is hot as hell. And there is this thing she does while she is on top that is just…"

"After all of this, why can't you just admit how you feel about her? Why do you have to side-step expressing your feelings verbally? Obviously you enjoy expressing them physically." He sits back with a cocky grin. "Or maybe, there are problems there you are trying to avoid facing."

"Hey!" Sitting up, you look him in the eye, knowing the last part was a tease, but you play along. "There are no problems with the sex. In fact I am rather proud of how well Little Greg is performing at his age. Just this afternoon, he did a double."

Serious again, he continues to work you "Last session you said that you weren't sure whether you loved her or were reacting to the honeymoon phase. Has that changed?"

Always needing to evade before you really open up with him is a defensive mechanism you can't seem to break down. It's a comforting routine. After a little dance, you become more comfortable and start to open up and decide to recount the trip. Laugh about Tommy's kissing question. Explain the whole traumatic deal with your mother's secret marriage to the guy you were sure was your sperm donor, only he wasn't and how expertly Allison manipulated the entire situation.

You tell him how comfortable you've become with her now, outlining the little things like how easy it has been to migrate your things to her place and how well you seem to fit together. You tell him how proud you are of her, how she solved your last case. She has learned to think like you now, but reacts so differently and you respect that she hasn't lost herself after everything she has seen and been through. She calms you. You tell him you've decided to let yourself love her. And he grants you a real smile.

"Actually, I think buying a house together is a good thing. It shows you are ready to really commit to something and someone other than Wilson or your medical puzzles. Fast as it is, it might be one of the more healthy decisions you've made. As far as selling your place, the longer you keep your old place, the greater the odds you'll end up living there again and there is a reason they tell addicts to stay away from old geography. Again, a good thing."

"Okay. Well, I didn't expect that." You say, surprised with his acceptance of everything.

"Everyone's needs are different. There is no one right path when there are so many factors at play. A lot of things are lining up for you. Ignoring them because of some sort of arbitrary waiting period is no better than trying to force things to fall into line."

Sitting up, he puts down the note pad and starts talking more with his hands.

"Wilson is moving on. If you were still completely dependant on his sole support, Sam moving in could be a major setback for you. But you aren't. You are in a relationship with a woman who, at least by your accounts and from what I've observed, loves you and supports you and isn't in the dark about your struggles or your personality. You know her well and care deeply for her. In other words, you are in a healthy relationship."

He's right. You don't understand it at all, but she does love you, but so much more than that, she understands who you are. She loved you at your lowest before you could love her at all and she loves you now as your life seems to be finally righting itself. You do love her now and you get her, even though you don't always understand how she can be so nice and caring. You understand that is who she is and you respect it now because you know it isn't the easy path but she chooses it eyes wide open over and over again.

Feeling a little giddy you tell him about all the house, even tell him he should come visit once you are settled in, maybe you'll have a house warming party.

The year anniversary makes you wonder about the other patients for the first time in forever, and Nolan tells you what he can legally, which isn't much, but you get a good idea about who is making it and who isn't at least.

You tell him the rest of the Alvie story and he is amused and relieved. It's a good session.

You drive back to Princeton feeling high as a kite. It's been almost two months since you decided to just give the strange connection between you and Cameron a chance to become something more. The ride back tonight flies by just as fast as the night you decided to give this thing a shot. You are only moderately surprised to find yourself back at the little bar on Nassau Street.

As you walk up to the window you look in and see, in the same little nook, your lover and her friend laughing and drinking. It feels like you are in sync. It's supposed to be her girls' night out, but you are overcome with the need to be near her. So you walk in, buy a beer at the bar and head back to join the two women.

"Wanna get a table, ladies?" You ask.

Looking up, Allison flashes you a surprised smile. "Fancy meeting you here. Your session end early?" She says glancing down to her phone for the time.

"Yep. Hey Rebecca. On parole tonight?"

"More like an escape. Tyler is distracting the guards with cookie baking and movie night."

"That's very domestic of him."

"He's a way better girl than I am. He bakes, I play with power tools, it's a win win. Plus he doesn't seem to mind getting stuck watching Monsters vs Aliens again. I mean, it was great... the first fifty times I saw it." She rolls her eyes and takes a drink.

Smiling, you lay your Dr. Cockroach impersonation on her. "Oh, Rebecca. Might you happen to have a little uranium on you? Just a smidge."

"Man, if the Doctor thing stops working out for you, you've got a real future working kids' birthday parties. That was pretty dead on. And at this point, I think I qualify as an expert. So anyway, let's get a table."

The place is packed, but you luck out as a group of four leaves, allowing you to snag their table. Maybe you shouldn't be busting in on their girls night, but you can't stand the idea of going home alone right now for some reason and neither of them seem to mind. In fact you have found a surprise friend in Rebecca. She's smart, has a razor sharp wit, and a mind as deeply entrenched in the gutter as yours. Her social filter is better than yours, but only just. She's blunt, but not an asshole. Basicly a lot like you minus the misanthropic bastard part. Apparently Allison has a type.

You've been impressed with her at work as well. Normally you don't give nurses the time of day, but she is a rule breaker and a keen observer of medicine. She often times, and rightfully, corrects ER doctors, takes risks, and oversteps her bounds and she is usually right. She's also only about six credit hours shy of being a practitioner. Having kids pushed that career milestone back indefinitely, but it wouldn't take much to finish it. She'd be fucking great on your team, though you might have to fight your girlfriend to get her, if there was ever the opportunity to hire her.

It doesn't take long for the conversation to go completely south. Rebecca relays college sex stories freely and boisterously. You're amused at how animated she is, currently mimicking a man by air jacking while she gives you a detailed account of a particularly funny come shot.

"So he pulls out and is finishing himself porn style and two seconds later he shoots his load right into my ear! Totally by accident, I mean he's doing well to hit the boobs normally. He turned white and was terrified I was going to yell at him, because I don't do come shots to the face. It's silent for a few seconds while I process what the hell just happened then I just start laughing my ass off! Told him 'You wouldn't've been able to do that on purpose in a million years so you totally get a free pass.' Because honestly, it was a fucking epic distance and a total bullseye in the center of my right ear!"

Yeah. Your kind of person.

Allison is crying she is laughing so hard, and you are torn between laughing and being turned on by the mental picture, but mostly you are laughing.

Rebecca is hot, but doesn't primp, it's definitely tomboy hot. With little makeup and her dark hair nearly always pulled up in a ponytail, she puts off this air with you and other men that lands her in sister territory more often than not. Not that all those men don't still think about fucking her, men are men, yourself included, but it is clear, despite her openness about sex, that she is a one man girl.

"So what the hell was up with the mid-day booty call today? I want details and I expect favors in return from both of you." She tells you both, tossing the conversation ball in your court.

"Well, Allison has my permission to give you sexual favors anytime so long as I can watch." You wiggle your brows at her.

"Well it's only fair if her husband gets to watch too." Allison responds seriously enough that your dick pulses, but your chest feels a strange heaviness. Oh yes, the two of them would be lava hot in bed together, but fuck any other man getting to see Allison naked and coming. Yeah, you guess Rebecca's husband would probably want to punch you for bringing it up too.

Then again, she's pretty open minded, maybe he is too.

Nope, there'll be no opening that pandora's box. Not when you have low maintenance professionals you can call.

"Way to kill the mood." You play it off, and take a big drink of your beer. But you are having a hard time shaking the sudden jealousy.

"As fun as that sounds, I was thinking more along the lines of a guaranteed four day weekend next month for our anniversary. Ten years. And, if you you really appreciate me, you could toss in babysitting so we can remember what it is like to actually have uninterrupted sex."

Normally you'd run, well limp quickly, from the idea of being strapped with someone's kids for four days, but you suddenly really want to play house with Allison and see how it goes. As much to see if you can do it, as to prove to her that you can.

"Well the vacation days I can do, but we won't be in the new house by then, so the babysitting is going to be a challenge." She expertly deflects, and you are sure for your sake.

"Not if we house sit for them too." You chime in.

Rebecca eyes you with surprise, raising a single eyebrow. "You'd seriously do that? Because I was mostly joking about that part. Not the days off part." She looks to Allison and points. "You are totally giving me those, but yeah, if you really want to, I'll totally take it. If not, I completely understand." She finishes, providing you a door to back out. But you want to do this.

You look over at Allison and she knows you're serious. She raises her eyebrows and gives you a lopsided grin before looking back to her friend. "Yeah. We don't mind."

Quickly feeling emotionally exposed, you joke "Mainly because we are going to need your services again down the road." dancing around any real reason you have for acting so far off character.

"God, I miss sex." Rebecca laments as she drinks the last of her beer and signals to the waiter for another round. "I'll just have to be happy living vicariously through you guys for a while. You probably have at least another year of mind-blowing sex until all the newness wears off and sleep becomes more important. And if you decide to have kids, you'll get to learn about the real meaning of 'having a quicky.'"

There, she did it. Brought up the 'K' word. You avoid Allison's eyes now, out of fear of making the situation suddenly awkward.

"You should have your husband come by for lunch some time. I'd run interference for you if you happened to need to give him a tour of the supply closet." You offer, honestly happy to help most anyone get laid. Especially if they are breaking lots of rules to do it.

"Yeah. I'd be down with that, but Tyler is, well, he'd be mortified that I am talking so bluntly about our sex life. I mean he knows I do. He married me, but he gets more conservative about sex talk the longer we are together and I just keep not giving a shit who knows I like to fuck my husband. Or how I like to fuck him, for that matter. So as fun as it sounds to me, I don't think having a sex hook-up, at work, with someone knowing we're in there fucking, would sit well with him. But it was sweet of you to offer." She says sincerely as if you were offering to water a plant for her or something.

Now that is a fucking waste, you think, but to each their own. She loves him, you can tell by the way her eyes light up when she talks about him. That look gets lost so many times that you find it hard to even believe in marriage. Being around someone who seems to be happy and making it work, gives you hope. But damn, the sex thing blows.

The night ends fairly early for a weekend, since having kids works that way, and you each head your separate ways around ten thirty. Allison had rode to the bar with Rebecca, so you give her your helmet as she hops on the bike behind you. She feels so good wrapped around you, your mind starts to drift toward thoughts of being naked, but your dick says, 'Sorry dude, no more fun today. I'm 51 fucking years old in a couple of hours and you abused me this afternoon.'

You talk her into staying up and watching some classic spaghetti westerns on Netflix. You love Clint Eastwood and you are in the mood for some reason. She lies with her head in your lap and you stroke her soft hair. "I think Clint Eastwood is sexy. Actually, I think you look like him a bit. Maybe he's your dad?" She teases. "Same eyes. Similar nose. He rocks the unshaven look. I mean, who could blame your mom if she hit that."

"As cool as that would be, I'd rather not think about Mom 'hitting' anyone."

"I'm going to talk to her about it. You have a right to know who your father really is. I know you, and if I leave it to you, you'll either chicken out or make a scene. So just leave it to me, okay?"

"Knock yourself out. Just please don't share if she gets all misty eyed and relays some sort of Bridges of Madison County love affair story to you. There are some things a son should never know about his mother."

You lie awake and watch her in the soft light that bleeds through the window shades from the street lamp outside. Lying on her side facing you, she looks so impossibly young. No makeup, not that she wears a lot in the day, but with none, you see every little freckle, the soft pink color of her lips. The softness of her features in sleep make her look far too young and you suddenly feel like a really dirty old man.

'Stop it!' You mentally scold yourself. 'She's nearly 31. There is nothing dirty about it.'

You reach out and tuck a strand of hair that has fallen across her face behind her ear. A thousand emotions seem to be plaguing you tonight and disrupting your sleep. Love. Protectiveness. Fear. Jealousy. Pride. Curiousity. For once, lust isn't among them.

Maybe it's because she looks so young, you begin wonder what your children might look like. Would they have her fair skin and adorable freckles? Would they have your blue eyes or her chameleon hazel? The soft curves of her little nose or the harder lines of yours? Your dark hair or her fair? Would a daughter end up looking naturally like the young Dr. Cameron who dyed her hair darker, probably because she thought it would make people respect her more, or more like grown up Allison, blond and confident? Maybe they'd pick up a ton of pass through traits and look more like one of your parents.

It occurs to you that you don't even know what her parents look like. She never put up photos here and apparently left her albums in storage. You have yet to figure out her phone's pass phrase so no snooping there either. Maybe you should actually friend her on Facebook. Wonder if she has even told them about you?

You'll ask her about it tomorrow, well, today. Closing your eyes you try again to quiet your mind and wait for sleep.

When sleep comes it is filled with vivid dreams. A recurring theme of late, they seem to include a mix of Cameron, your young employee, and Allison, your girlfriend and lover. Tonight you are in your new home, cooking for her. She sits watching you. It is domestic and comforting. You serve her and you are back in the DDX room. She sits at the head of the long table, dark hair down, in her red dress from the fundraiser and her lab coat over the back of the chair. Placing the food in front of her, she looks up and smiles, but then looks confused when she meets your eyes.

You look outside to the hallway and see a man. You know him from somewhere, but you can't seem to place it. Turning back around, you write symptoms on the board:

Insomnia

Anxiety

Abnormal Dreams

Agitation

"So which of you is Dr. House?" A man asks from behind you.

Allison, who is standing right beside you at the board, answers as you turn around to see who is asking. "I'm Dr. House."

In a flash you see him raise a gun, hear the bang and smell the power. You whip your head to Allison. You ears a ringing from the sound. Where is she? Looking down you see her surrounded by a pool of red, lying in the floor. Your heart starts pounding and your mouth feels dry. Her beautiful blond hair is laying out peacefully around her head, but no life is in her eyes.

"No! Allison!" You awaking sitting up with a start, breathing hard and fast, shirt soaked with sweat.

"Are you okay?" Allison sits up and puts a hand on your arm. "Jesus, Greg! You're soaked."

The dream was so vivid, you are overwhelmed with surprise when she touches you and then flooded with relief. You try to explain, still panting. "I'm okay. I dreamt… I dreamt you were shot… because of me… because you took my name."

She works her way to sit behind you and wraps her arms and legs around you, not caring that you are drenched. "Shhh, babe. I'm not dead. I'm right here. You're fine. It was just a bad dream."

You wrap your arms around hers, effectively hugging yourself and the two of you stay like that for a long time until your breathing regulates. Slowly untangling herself from you, she sends you to shower while she changes the sheets.

The cool water helps calm you and settles your mind. Going through the cabinet, you grab the melatonin she uses to help her day sleep when working the night shift and pop three in your mouth and chew. Maybe that will help you sleep.

Back in bed, you pull her to you and hold her tightly, kissing her gently, terrified with of the idea of being without her now. "I'm here, Greg. I'm fine. You're fine. I love you." She tells you between kisses.

A restful sleep finally takes you and you wake up with her still in your arms. A wave of relief floods over you. What a fucking night!

"Hey there." She calls to you quietly, snuggling up to you even more. "Happy birthday."

"It is now." You tell her, then plant a kiss on top her head.

"Wanna go get breakfast?" She asks you as she trails her fingers lightly over your chest. "I heard that place on the corner, The Roundabout, started having a weekend breakfast/brunch menu. It's getting good ratings on Yelp."

"Sure. Sounds good." You tell her, but don't make an effort to move for a long time. She feels too good right now, and she seems to feel the same way you do.

You do finally rise, both getting dressed in jeans and tees, and take a short walk to The Roundabout. It is a beautiful warm and sunny day for your birthday. So much so, you don't need your jackets. You beat the brunch rush and are able to get a table quickly and the food comes out nearly as fast.

"Your mom called me yesterday and asked if we could pick her and Thomas up at the airport. They decided to take a trip to Scotland after they visit, so it doesn't make sense to drive now, since their connecting flight would end up being out of Newark anyway. It was going to cost an arm and a leg to rent a car for the weekend, so I told them to just use mine and we'd drive yours."

Rolling your eyes, you pretend to be annoyed with her kindness, but it actually makes you very happy to know that your mother and girlfriend seem to be getting along and have been planning your birthday together. "When do we need to be there?"

"Their flight gets in at one thirty." She answers and takes a bite of a short stack of pancakes that you ordered for her. You'll be damned if she eats a bunch of fruit and granola at your birthday breakfast and you use the holiday to your advantage telling her as much.

You dip a finger in her syrup and suck it slowly off your finger while she watches. "Mmmmmm. But not nearly as good on pancakes as it is your tight little ass cakes."

"Or as it is on Not-so-little Greg." She agrees, licking her lips.

Oh Wilson would die if he knew how you laid her across his counter. Topped her ass cheeks with strawberries, powdered sugar and maple syrup and licked it all off, in between bites of french toast, then drizzled the syrup on your cock so she could suck it clean right before you sat her on the counter, fucked her and filled her with a special cream of your own.

It was after your third night together. Wilson probably never came home, but you had assumed he'd just left early for work, since you had no idea he was with Sam at the time. Once you had confirmed Wilson wasn't there, Allison was happy to parade around naked with you for breakfast.

"In our new house, I think we should have one day a week dedicated to naked breakfast." You tell her.

"I think that can be arranged." Smiling, she returns her focus to eating. And you take a drink of your coffee, before sopping up your runny eggs with french toast and stuffing your mouth with a bite you can barely chew. Breakfast really is the best meal.

You get home to find a package dropped at the front of the apartment door. Smirking at one another, you unlock the door as she bends down to pick it up. The box is void of any branding simply marked for shipping. Sex toys. Has to be.

Heading straight to the kitchen area, Allison deposits the box on the counter. "Looks like you have your first present. Gonna open it now?"

"I dunno. Shouldn't I open all the presents at the party?" You tease.

"Sure. And your mother and I can discuss anal and maybe that will open the door to ask her who your biological father is."

"Hey. I was not conceived in my mother's ass! You're a doctor, you should know that."

Leaning forward on the counter, with a sly grin on her lips, she counters "Yeah, but maybe that's where John House got it all wrong."

Damn, she has been spending way too much time with you. You visibly shudder. "Wow. I don't think I've ever been this turned off in my life, much less while opening a box of sex toys." You dig into your pocket, retrieve the small pocket knife, sit down on a bar stool, then open the blade and cut the tape sealing the box.

Yep. A box full of fun. You take out the cop outfit and toss the package to your girlfriend. "Go try it on, make sure it fits and looks hot on you. If it doesn't, we can return it."

You pull out the purple double penetrator cockring next, while she heads to the bedroom. Damn. This is going to be fun. Placing it on the counter, you take out the last package. The vibrating butt plug with double cockring. The thought occurs to you that, the way these things are made, you could use them both at the same time. Fuck. Tonight is going to be the best birthday sex ever.

You open each package and inspect the toys while you wait for Allison to return.

A few moments later she stands beside you, not in her new outfit, and you have to say you are disappointed. "Not fit?" You ask.

"Oh, it fits and it looks hot. But it needs to be ironed and when I let you see me in it, I'm going to want to have plenty of time to properly interrogate you." Shooting you a very naughty look, she adds "It came with a set of handcuffs."

"I came with a set of handcuffs once. Fun times." You wink. She smiles back, then picks up the butt plug.

"I think a body cavity search might be in order later." She beams as she holds the toy up. Then placing it back down she take the double penetrator in hand. "And this. I can't wait for you to fuck me with this."

"See, this is why you shouldn't be so nice. I could go fuck you with it right now if you hadn't decided you just had to save my mother a couple hundred bucks on a car rental. She can afford it, by the way." You pull her into you by her belt loops.

Placing her arms around your neck, toy still in hand, she replies "Yeah, but the anticipation will just make the sex better." then kisses you.

After dropping your car off at your apartment, you and Allison head to the Newark Airport to pick up your mother and Thomas. Meeting you at the curb, Allison jumps out and greets your mother with a hug, then grabs her bags and heads toward the trunk. You wait behind the wheel, so you can make a quick retreat as Thomas and Allison pack away the luggage and then exchange a hug of their own.

Your mother gets in the car behind you and Thomas behind Allison, and you head back towards Princeton.

"Happy birthday, Greg! I can't believe my baby is turning 51!" You mother sighs as she reaches forward in seat and gives your arm a little squeeze.

"You guys hungry?" Allison asks. "We had a late breakfast, so we'll probably grab a light lunch somewhere if you want to join us."

"That's nice of you dear," your mother replies "but we had lunch at Logan before our flight. I think we'll just get settled and see you at the restaurant. Are we still meeting at six at the Blue Point Grill?"

"Yep. That's still the plan. You need directions? I can program it into the GPS before we leave. It'll pick back up when you turn the car on and start driving."

"Thank you, Allison, that sounds fine."

Allison keeps the small talk flowing as you make the hour long drive back to Princeton. You drop them off and see them into your old apartment where you give them a mini tour and find out that Allison has already stocked the fridge and marvel at how neat everything looks now that it is straightened and free of boxes.

You leave your company in the bedroom to unpack. passing by the bookshelf and desk that flanks the entry way you see Approach to the Acute Abdomen laying out on the desk. Picking it up you flip through the pages.

"I came across that last night." Allison informs you. "Is Ernest T. Cuddy any relation to Lisa?" She asks you.

"Yeah. He's her great-grandfather. I bought this to give to her; it's a really rare publication. Just never had the right moment." Your voice seems far away as you think about Cuddy. You need to just close the book on the thing between you. You still aren't sure why it is so hard. You don't want her now, but you do care. You don't want to hurt her and some part of you knows that, despite everything, she will be hurt with your moving on.

Closing the book. That's it. "You know, we should give this to Cuddy and Lucas as a housewarming present. From both of us."

"I think that sounds nice." She says and stands tip toed to kiss your cheek. "Take it back to my place. We'll inscribe it later. Maybe we can talk to her when we go back in on Tuesday. Just get it over with already and move on."

With that you snap the book shut, nod, yell a "see you later" to your mother and Thomas, and head home.

Your birthday dinner is actually turning out to be fun. Allison surprised you by inviting not only Wilson and Sam, but also Gabe and his family as well as Rebecca and hers. It was a sort of surreal family experience that you have only ever seen on TV or in the movies, your own family being on the move far too often for this sort of extended family birthday.

Christmas was a big deal, but thanks to your father, you barely knew your aunts, uncles and cousins; certainly weren't friends with them and never found anything of substance in common with them.

But this, a table full of people here for you. People who like you, even love you, that is something you'd never thought was in your cards.

You sit in the center of one side of the wide side of the table. Tommy, apparently your new best buddy, takes the seat to your left and Allison sits on your right. Your mother and Thomas across from you, Mariana, Gabe their right. Jon sits next to Allison, confirming your observation that he has the stronger bond with her between the boys. Wilson and Sam sit to the left of Tommy. To the left of your parents and the right of Allison, wrapping around the head of the table are Rebecca, Tyler and their two kids, a daughter 7 years old and a son 4 years old.

Allison stands up and gets the attention of everyone at the table. Being tucked against the back wall of the restaurant gives you a little privacy, but she still has to raise her voice to speak over the bustling noises of the restaurant. "I'd like to propose a toast. To Greg, 51 years old today and one year vicodin free tomorrow. I'm really glad you've let me be a part of your life and I hope to get to spend many more birthdays with you."

She drinks and everyone follows with applause and here heres as she sits back down, and plants a kiss on the scruff of your cheek. You aren't one for this sort of display. It makes you uncomfortable really, but as always, her open love for you chips away at the wall you've built, letting more light in a crack at a time. Still you feel you need to break up the mood and add "And now, let's move on to the birthday loot!"

Everyone laughs and Allison starts gathering up the cards and packages from the others. Tommy leans over and whispers in your ear. "Geez, House. I knew you were old, but 51? You could totally be Aunt Allison's dad… Stud! Your advice worked by the way. And you're right, French kissing isn't gross."

With that, you belly laugh and noogy his head. "Damn straight, kid."

You aren't a read your cards aloud kind of guy, so you just open each and read them to yourself with a nod each of givers. Then you take the first of the packages. It's from Wilson and Sam. "I… um, I didn't know there were going to be kids… so um… maybe you should open that later." He says, fumbling embarrassed now that he realises you are actually going to open the gifts publicly. Yeah, you are as surprised by it as much as he is, but now, after that comment how can you not open it!

"Oh, now I have to see! Pst. Tommy. Close your eyes." You wink at him and he rolls his eyes back to you. Ripping the paper off, you find a cookbook. An erotic cookbook. Fun! You are even more amused at his comment now, given the ages of the kids at the table. Two are too young to get it at all, and the other two are old enough to know about sex. Maybe if Allison's family were super Jesus freaks, it would be weird, but as it is, it is just funny to watch Wilson squirm.

Tommy looks over your arm at the book and reads "The New InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook."

"Yep. Cook your girl one of these dinners when you want to french kiss her." You waggle your eyebrows at him.

He leans in and whispers to you again. "If I have to cook, she'd better do more than kiss."

"Down, tiger." You tell him. "It's not all fun and games." Yeah, totally needs the sex talk yesterday.

Wilson is still beat red. It's adorable, really, especially since he did it to himself. Allison hands you the next present, from your mother and Thomas. It's a heavy present for it's size. You rip off the paper to find a large book inside. An album by the looks of it.

"It's a scrapbook I made of your childhood." Thomas pipes in. "I thought you might like to have those memories as you start making new ones in your new home with Allison. The second two thirds of the book is still blank. So that Allison can add her childhood memories and then you both can start adding things as a you spend your lives together."

Wow. He's a romantic. So incredibly different from the man you called Father. You again have a twinge of regret that this man wasn't your dad. You always liked him growing up. Maybe being around a man who can freely share his emotional side would have made it easier for you. It bothers you your mother hid the marriage from you, but you haven't been any better sharing the rest of your life with her. You need to change that.

"Thank you." You say sincerely and start working hard to recover your game face. Allison saves you.

"Here. Last one's from me." She shoves a small gift into your hand with a wink and you rip into the paper to find an iPhone 4.

"But there is nothing wrong with my phone." You whine to her. Teasing of course, but yet there is a part of you that hates throwing out something that works just because it is old.

"Nope, but with this it's one less thing to carry since since you can put plenty of music on here as well. I got the 32gig just for that. I already migrated your iTunes library from your Mac, added your contacts and programed your speed dial. All you need to do is take it by your carrier and get an updated sim card and you are good to go."

You pull it out of the packaging and start playing around with it. "Oh hell yes. You added Angry Birds already too!" Now that earns her a kiss. Putting the phone down you lean over and kiss her. Slowly, with a publicly acceptable amount of tongue, you think. If not, you don't really give a shit.

Your moment is broken a few seconds later by a familiar voice. "House?"

Cuddy.

Damn. You think as you pull back an inch and open your eyes to look into a pair that is filled with a matching dread.

"Hey Lisa." You uncharacteristically use her first name, hoping that will somehow soften things. Turning your head finally, you see her standing behind your mother, with Lucas beside her, holding Rachel on his hip. A picture of a family man.

"Lucas." You continue.

"Hey House." He answers back with his goofy smile.

"We're having a little birthday shindig. Wanna pull up a chair and join us?" You invite, with a smile, completely as a bluff. The look on her face makes it clear, they won't be joining you.

"Allison." She nods to your girlfriend, still with a controlled look. But you know her. She's shocked and pissed. Obviously she has been left out of the loop. A loop that involves at least two of her other employees sitting at the same table. Wilson makes awkward eye contact with her, looking guilty as sin. Rebecca, just raises her glass to the intruders with a smile, then takes a swig of beer.

"Hey Lisa! Lucas." Allison replies, remaining outwardly cool, despite your knowing better. "Wow, Rachel has really grown! Yeah, Greg's right. You should pull up a couple of chairs and join us. You know Greg's mom, Blythe." She raises a hand toward your mother and Cuddy shakes your mother's hand followed by Lucas.

"It's nice to see you again Lisa. This is my husband, Thomas Bell." She introduces and Cuddy puts her game face fully on, shakes his hand and exchanges pleasantries. Continuing Allison moves on to her family "This is my brother Gabe." They nod. "His wife Mariana." More nods. "And their two boys, Jonathan and Tommy." She continues on, "You know Rebecca, and this is her husband Tyler and their kids Abby and Dylan." More curt nods and handshakes are exchanged.

Putting on the same professional face she uses on rich donors, Cuddy politely answers "Thanks for the invitation, but we just ate and we're beat. We just moved my stuff from my old place to our new house and decided to take a break from unpacking and have a dinner out to celebrate. I happen to see you out of the corner of my eye as we were leaving, and thought I'd come tell you Happy Birthday."

"I dunno, Lisa." Lucas chimes in for the first time. "It looks like a fun party to crash. You sure you don't wanna stay for a little while?"

"I'm really tired, Lucas. I think we should just head back home." She gives him the Cuddy look.

Well you know who wears the pants in that family. As if there was any doubt. Lucas concedes, obviously a little disappointed. "Okay. I guess I'll catch you later House. Allison. Everybody else, it was nice to meet you."

With that they turn to leave. Wilson lets out a breath he must have been holding. "Oh, boy. That's not good."

"She'll get over it." You say coolly. But inside you're not so calm. The air is palatable and though not everyone at the table knows your history, they all can sense the tension that was generated by Cuddy's intrusion.

You feel a hand on your knee. "You okay?" Allison asks.

"Yeah. Just peachy." Making no effort to bite back your sarcasm, you start scanning the room for a waiter. Fuck beer. You need a real drink.

"Hey, buddy, can a guy get a drink in this place?!" You yell across two tables to your waiter. Allison's hand tightens a bit around your knee and you shoot her a warning glare. You see the hurt expression there, but she says nothing. Fuck it. You'll deal with the fallout later.

The waiter approaches. "Scotch. Neat." you bid him and he retreats to fetch it.

Mind still racing over the hurt you saw in Cuddy's eyes and unsure about the feelings that look has dredged up in the pit of your stomach, you command yourself to put your game face back on. Five minutes ago you were having fun at the first real birthday party you can remember having in forever.

Your drink comes and you chug it back, turning back to Allison with a sly grin. "So anyway, where were we?" You ask and then lean in to kiss her again, hoping the act will bring you some sort of relief. She tilts her head to allow you a peck on the lips but, though you try to deepen the kiss, she pulls back just slightly.

So much for your perfect birthday night.

You open your eyes to find hurt in hers. But she quickly put on a smile that doesn't reach her eyes and turns back to your guests. "So, Thomas, tell us about the trip you're planning to Scotland."

Fuck.