Short chapter to say good-bye to Wilson and Cuddy

Chapter 26. Morning Has Broken

Wilson knocked on the door of Cuddy's motel room at seven the next morning.

"Wilson?" she called through the door, but didn't open it.

"Who else did you think it would be?" he asked. "Are you dressed?"

"Yes, of course," she said, finally opening the door. "Let's get out of this place." She walked past him, dragging her suitcase behind her.

"I thought it was very comfortable," Wilson said, shrugging. "In fact, I slept better than I have in a long time."

"It was OK," she said. "Now let's go."

"Don't you want some breakfast first? Zach threw in breakfast at the diner with our rooms."

"And I suppose if we don't have breakfast, you'll whine all the way back to Princeton."

"You're still thinking of House. Or at least, the House that used to be. I don't whine."

"What did he and Cameron tell you last night?" she asked. It was obvious she was anxious to find out.

"Come have breakfast and I'll tell you." He hefted her case into the trunk to join his, then shut the trunk and got into the car. Once Cuddy got in, he drove off but only as far as the diner.

"You don't think they'll be here for breakfast, do you?" Cuddy asked as they entered. But the booth that House and Cameron had occupied the night before was empty. She headed for the one she and Wilson had shared for dinner and sat down, resigned to eating in the diner again.

"Welcome back," Linda said with a smile, upending their coffee cups and filling them. "I'll bring you some breakfast menus."

The place was pretty crowded. All the booths except for House's were full, and so were the stools at the counter. The older man who'd stopped to talk to House about going fishing was tackling a plateful of eggs, pancakes and bacon.

Linda returned with menus and placed them in front of Wilson and Cuddy. "My brother said that you can order anything you want. It's on the house."

"Thank you," Wilson said.

Cuddy expected the menu to run to carb- and fat-rich breakfast foods, so she was surprised to see how much fruit and low-fat foods were available. "I'll have half a grapefruit and two eggs, scrambled, with dry whole wheat toast," she said.

"I'll have pancakes," Wilson said. "Make it blueberry. And a side of bacon."

"Sure thing," Linda said with a smile, taking the menus back.

Wilson looked around while they waited for their food, but Cuddy seemed to be fascinated by her cup of coffee. So only Wilson saw the older man, Pete, coming over to their table.

"You're the docs' friends, right?" Pete asked.

Wilson wasn't sure how to answer that. He still considered himself House's friend, but he didn't think House felt the same way. Still, Cameron seemed to think of him as a friend. "Yes."

Cuddy looked up from her cup and studied Pete. He was probably in his sixties, with slightly long hair and very worn but clean clothes, and clear blue eyes. It suddenly struck her that he was an older, shorter, and less, well, educated for want of a better word, version of House.

"We're happy to have 'em here in Shelby," Pete said.

"How did you get to know House?" Wilson was curious about House's new friend.

"Well, I'll tell ya. Don't remember 'em takin' me over to the clinic when I come down sick, but he helped Linda and Mo get me there, and then, ya see, he was my roomy at the motel durin' the storm."

"Your roomy?" Cuddy asked, curious despite herself.

"Yeah. Shared one o' the rooms, we did. Man, he's one good poker player!" Pete chuckled as he remembered. "B'sides bein' one top-notch doctor. It was som'pun watchin' him and Doc Cameron workin' on everyone and figurin' out what was wrong and why." Pete shook his head. "He's one smarty."

"Yes, he is," Wilson said.

"I 'magine you'd know," Pete said.

They were interrupted briefly by Linda delivering Wilson and Cuddy's breakfasts.

Before he dug in, Wilson went on, "We've both known House a long time."

Pete nodded. "Well, I gotta go. Been nice chattin' with ya. Safe trip home," Pete said, turning to go.

Wilson stared after him, thinking how much House must like the appreciation he was getting from the people of this town. He'd never showed a desire for that before, but it seemed to have made a difference in his attitude. The longer Wilson stayed in Shelby, the more people he talked to, the more he understood why this place was so good for his friend.

"What a strange man!" Cuddy cut through his thoughts. "I can't imagine why he and House have become friends."

"Can't you?"

"You should resent the fact that House has a new best friend," she said.

"Maybe Pete's the kind of friend he needs right now." They didn't talk any more as they ate. Finally Wilson took a last sip of his coffee. "Are you almost done?" he asked.

"Oh, yes," Cuddy said, dropping her fork on her plate. "Let's get out of here. This place makes me uncomfortable."

Wilson studied her as he slid out of the booth. He'd learned a lot about Cuddy on this trip, almost as much as he'd learned about the changes in House's life. He'd have to think about what difference it would make for him in the future.

They got into his car and headed out of the parking lot, turning north and the long trip home.