As usual, I don't own any of the House characters.

Avery left the hospital that night, Wilson accompanying her. Ever since the parking garage attack, Wilson had insisted on escorting Avery to her car. Surprisingly, House not only went along with this plan, he fully endorsed it, even when she had argued against it.

They walked and chatted, a friendly rapport between them. Wilson noted the pendant around her neck.

"Hey, you weren't wearing that this morning. Not that I was looking."

Avery chuckled. "House gave it to me over lunch. Lovely, isn't it?"

"Very." Wilson squinted as a thought occurred to him. "That's not a…Valentine's Day gift, is it?"

"Believe it or not, yes."

He raised his eyebrows and blinked in surprise. "Wow. That's…wow."

"I know." Avery lightly smacked Wilson in the arm. "You told me he didn't 'do' Valentine's Day."

"He doesn't. Never has in all the time I've known him. Not even with Stacy." Wilson shook his head and rubbed his arm where Avery had smacked him. "What have you done with him?!"

Avery smiled widely. "I didn't do anything. This is all him."

"He's a different man because of you." They separated at Avery's car. "Have a good night."

"Same to you." Avery climbed into her car and contemplated the evening ahead. House's case had gotten complicated, and she hadn't really seen him since returning from lunch. Chances were good she wouldn't see him until much later. She decided to make it a quick meal and headed to her place.

# # #

She didn't know what time it was when she felt the mattress sink next to her. House curled up around her, kissing her neck.

"Mmm…what time is it?"

"You don't want to know." House yawned and tucked in closer behind Avery. "Good news is that the guy's finally stable. Still don't know what's wrong with him."

It was silent, and Avery knew that House wasn't asleep yet. He was shifting, as if he couldn't quite get comfortable.

"Foreman popped the question to Thirteen today."

Avery shifted to face House. "Seriously?"

House chuckled. "Yep, right when I was leaving. I don't think they knew I was there."

"So what did she say?"

"Hmm…she kind of looked stunned, then hugged him and started crying. I think that means 'yes' on her planet."

A wide smile crossed Avery's face. "That's…amazing. Wow."

They were silent for a moment, and House fell deep into thought. He wanted to test the waters without saying too much. House couldn't believe he was thinking what he was thinking. In his fifty-plus years on this planet, he had only briefly considered the idea of marriage, and that had been years ago. Stacy never would have gone for it. When she did show up years later with that husband of hers, it had stung.

Stacy had wanted marriage. She just didn't want it with House.

When House had pushed Stacy out of his life the first time, it had been largely unintentional. His life had changed so drastically, so quickly, that he just couldn't adjust. He didn't know what he needed from Stacy, and if he didn't know, there was no way in hell Stacy could have known. It was just as well they hadn't been married. The marriage wouldn't have survived.

That second time, though…they were so close. Stacy was that close to leaving Mark. It sounded good at the time, and House had been riding high on their reunion. Ultimately, House had to do 'the right thing'. As painful as it was, he had to send her back to Mark. If she were that willing to give up Mark so easily, who's to say she wouldn't have done the same to House?

He huffed softly in frustration, causing Avery to stir slightly next to him.

"Something on your mind, old man?"

Busted. "Maybe."

"Care to share with the rest of the class?"

House debated with himself. He would be opening himself for a world of hurt if she wasn't on his wavelength. "Don't know. Foreteen kind of got me thinking."

Avery could guess where this was going, but she wanted to hear it from House. "Thinking about what?"

House shifted, pulling Avery a little closer to him. "You ever think about getting hitched?"

She shrugged. "I suppose. You?"

"You're making this difficult. Knock it off." House kissed Avery on the forehead. "Of course I do. Wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't." He turned over onto his back. "Never mind. Go to sleep. It's late."

Avery sighed. The personal would always be a touchy subject, it seemed. She recognized that House was reaching out, trying to make emotional connections, something he had next to no experience with. He was making it up as he went along.

She turned on her side, laying her head on House's chest, trying to find the words that would draw him out again.

"I never said I didn't want to get married, okay?" Avery placed a hand on his stomach, and he covered her hand with his own. "I guess I just never thought of it as an option for us. You don't exactly seem like the marrying kind."

"Maybe I just never ran across the right one. Ever consider that?" House's tone was still tinged with hurt. "A woman like you should have been married already."

"Hello, you've met me, right? Forty-six and still single. That should have sent up a few red flags."

"Didn't really care. You're one of the few women who could tolerate me for more than five minutes. Don't tell me my reputation didn't precede me." House's arm snaked around Avery's shoulders, pulling her close once again. "Being an over-fifty solo act doesn't exactly land me on anyone's hot list."

"Except mine." Avery stretched up to brush her lips against House's rough cheek. "Look, it doesn't matter to me whether we move in together, get married, or leave things as they are. As long as we don't end, I'm fine, okay?"

"Okay." House's voice seemed far away, as though he was still preoccupied. He wasn't sure what kind of answer he expected, but he didn't expect Avery to be quite so easygoing about things. Eventually he drifted off to sleep, somewhat mollified, the unfamiliar idea of a permanent bond still rattling around in his head.

# # #

Wilson heard House before he came crashing into his office. He was so used to the interruptions that he barely raised an eyebrow anymore. House plopped down on the couch, bouncing his cane between his legs.

"She doesn't care if we never shack up or get hitched. What am I supposed to do with that?"

That did make Wilson arch an eyebrow. "I assume you're talking about Matthews again, right?"

"Yes." House looked exasperated. "So how am I supposed to take that?"

Wilson slowly put things together. "Oh…so you proposed, and she turned you down."

"Don't be an idiot." House snapped. "Why would I do something stupid like that?" He hopped up from the couch and started pacing in front of Wilson's desk.

"I don't know." Wilson shrugged. "You tell me."

"I didn't ask her to marry me…not really." House stopped and puffed out his cheeks. "I told her about Ebony and Ivory, and I was just…curious. Kind of wanted to see what she thought."

"So you…proposed to her about proposing. Interesting."

House glared at Wilson. "And she laid that line on me. What the hell does that mean, anyway?!"

"It means…stop obsessing about it and enjoy things as they are. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, I guess." House glanced at the floor, tapping his cane, deep in thought. "Guess I'm the idiot for even thinking about wanting more." He turned and left, the office door banging behind him.

Wilson sat back in his chair, rubbing the back of his neck. He thought dealing with lonely, miserable House was stressful. He didn't quite know what to do with crazy-in-love House.

# # #

Avery found House on his office balcony that evening, sitting in his chair, puffing on a cigar, a Coke can dangling from his hand. She carefully slid the door open and stepped outside.

"So, what's the story?"

House shook his head. "Another one for the unknown pile."

She slipped up behind him, gently stroking the back of his neck. "Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, well." House flicked the ash off his cigar, an unreadable expression crossing his face. "What brings you out here?"

"Just checking in before I left. Anything you're in the mood for?"

"Nothing in particular."

Avery rubbed the back of House's shoulders, feeling the tension that was built up there. "Okay…my place or yours?"

"How about ours?" House said quietly.

Avery sighed loudly, moving in front of House to face him. "Why are you so hung up on this? Why now?" She bent down in front of him, placing a hand on his knee. "Have you even thought about why you want this so badly?"

"Not really." House twirled the cigar in his hand, avoiding Avery's gaze.

"Thoughts and feelings don't occur in a vacuum. They come from somewhere."

"Dammit, I don't know." House finally met Avery's eyes. "Why does it matter?"

"I don't know."

"Well, that's just great. We seem to be at an impasse." House stubbed out his cigar. "I'm going home. Do what you want."

Avery was baffled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

House shrugged. "Exactly what I said. Show up, or don't." He heaved himself out of the chair and headed into his office, shutting the balcony door behind him.

Avery was stunned. She tried to remember the last time she had seen him like this. It was obvious he was trying to push her away, but she wasn't quite sure why. If he thought he would get rid of her that easily, he had another thing coming.

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