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Wilson was lying in bed when Amber got out of the bathroom in her nightgown and started to brush her hair. She saw no reason not to go through her normal night routines. Besides Wilson liked watching her, he said it gave him a feeling of belonging that she could be so herself even when he was around; a feeling that she was comfortable with him. Strangely enough, Amber knew exactly what he meant by it because she liked watching Wilson cook or iron his shirts or even blow-dry his hair for the same reason.
"You know," Wilson said sifting a little on the bed trying to find a comfortable position. "This is really silly. You living in your flat and me living in a hotel. We spend most of the nights together now and I have quite a lot of my things over at your place and the only reason you don't have more of your things here is because you just have this thing about hotel rooms. We really should move in together."
"Really?" Amber set down her brush and turned to look at Wilson. "But you keep complaining that my flat is too little."
"I was thinking that we should get a bigger place together," Wilson started to look a little sheepish.
"You haven't talked to Bonnie about it by any chance?" Amber glared mildly at Wilson.
"No, of course not, not really," Wilson muttered. "I just talked with her the other day and since she does know that I'm seeing you and I have been seeing you for some time now she just pointed out that if we wanted to move in together and wanted to get a bigger place than you probably had – obviously I haven't told her where you live or anything but she just assumed that as a single woman you might have a smaller flat than you might want as a part of a couple – anyway Bonnie said that she would be happy to help us find one."
"And you said what?" Amber asked.
"I said that I would talk with you and then let her know," Wilson nearly stammered.
"You do know how unnatural it is for you to be on such good terms with your ex-wives," Amber pointed out to him. "Especially since all your marriages ended because of cheating."
"I don't know why one should hate the exes!" Wilson defended himself. "Sure, at first there was some bad blood between us, but we're all adults. Once we got all the issues settled there was no reason to be on bad terms. Besides, it's not like we socialise or anything, we just keep in touch like any old acquaintances."
"Only you don't normally pay alimony to any old acquaintances," Amber observed dryly.
"I'm not paying anything to Bonnie anymore," Wilson was quick to insist. "She wants to be independent and now that she has her job she doesn't want to be beholden to me anymore."
"And that is why you make sure that when you recommend her as the realtor to people you make sure they don't mention that you were the one who sent them to her?" Amber pronounced.
"How…?" Wilson was startled.
"Like it's any secret to anyone but Bonnie," Amber scorned. "You really are too nice for your own good sometimes."
"I'm not," Wilson pouted. "But it's Bonnie! Even you liked her when you met."
"Actually," Amber sighed and made her way to bed next to Wilson. "I didn't really like her that much, but to be mean to her – well it falls into the same category as being mean to dumb animals. She is so bloody defenceless. Even House tones down his nastiness for her."
"House has never been nice to her," Wilson exclaimed. "They never got along. The only time he did anything even remotely nice for her was when he took Hector for a week when Bonnie was making arrangements for taking him with her to her new flat. And even then he spent half his time trying to kill the dog."
"I didn't say House was nice to her," Amber clarified. "I just said that he tones down his nastiness for her. You know he could pretty much destroy Bonnie with two words if he so wanted. Grief! So could I! But it's just not done."
"Oh," Wilson needed some time to process this new view of things. "So I'll just call Bonnie and tell her that you want to find your own flat, if we decide to move in together?"
Amber stared at Wilson's brown puppy-eyes for a moment and just gave in. It wasn't that important after all: "No, don't do that. You can tell her to start looking for something suitable. You can narrow it down to one or two and I'll come see those with you and we'll decide. But you will deal with her. I don't really want to get that friendly with any of your exes."
"Are you sure?" Wilson asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Amber sighed. "And once you turn off the light and get down to convincing me, I'll be even surer."
"My pleasure," Wilson leered.
"Better not be just yours," Amber warned him with a matching smile.
"So what happened to your backbone?" Chase asked smugly.
"Nothing happened to my backbone," Amber insisted. "What are you talking about?"
"So you see it as perfectly normal behaviour for you to meekly agree to move in with him and even let his ex-wife find you a place?" Chase teased her. "Nothing to do with a sudden loss of a backbone? Doesn't make you a pushover for a pair of puppy-brown eyes?"
"You know," Amber glared at Chase. "Keep talking like that and I will start suspecting that you're jealous and the reason you let Cameron get away with anything is because she is your beard!"
"Ouch!" Chase laughed. "Straight for the jugular. So if you weren't blown away by his manly charms, what got into you? It isn't that long ago that you turned him down!"
"I refused to marry him," Amber reminded Chase. "That wasn't the subject this time. We have been seeing each other for quite some time now; we spend most of our free time together – unless he is with House. It makes sense to move together at this point. It was a mutual decision and has nothing to do with my backbone, thank you."
"And Bonnie?" Chase wasn't going to give any quarter.
"Well, she is a realtor," Amber muttered.
"Even Wilson calls her the worst in the area," Chase pointed out.
"Fine, maybe I did let James influence me a little," Amber was practically dragging the words out of her mouth. "But in a relationship you are supposed to make some compromises and have consideration for the other person's … Oh shit!"
"Girl you have it bad," Chase laughed out loud.
"I know I love him," Amber said. "That is no news. I have even told him that I do love him. I just didn't think I was one of those women."
"And what women exactly are you talking about?" Chase wasn't above rubbing it in – after all Amber had told him often enough what she thought about his lack of backbone, and his relationship with Cameron.
"Who let men talk them into anything," Amber sighed. "Who have no opinions of their own, the yes dear –women."
"Well it is a dirty job, but somebody's got to do it," Chase smirked earning a deathly glare from Amber. "Of course you only agreed to move in with him and to let his ex-wife find you an apartment, so it really isn't a big deal. But it is a start. The beginning of a slippery slope. Before you know it you will agree to marry him and have his babies and stay at home …"
"Shut up!" Amber ordered Chase. "That is not going to happen. Yes, maybe he did influence me a little against my better judgement, but it wasn't over anything that important. Some compromises are, after all, necessary if you want to have a relationship with anyone. It's not like he walked all over me or talked me into anything that I really don't want to do."
"So you're sure you want to move in with him," Chase asked seriously.
"Yes," Amber stated. "I am sure of that. He didn't talk me into that. Just into the Bonnie part of it."
"Ok," Chase smiled. "In that case I don't really think you are on your way of becoming a yes dear –woman. And even if Wilson can, once in a while, talk you into things against your better judgement, that's hardly a big problem. After all, you will talk him into things, too, sometimes."
"I suppose," Amber muttered. "And, as I said, we do need to compromise if we are going to live together. I just hope neither one of us ends up sacrificing our principles and real needs and desires."
"That sounded heart-felt?" Chase queried.
"My Mommy did just that and look what it got her?" Amber reminded him. "Helena did a lot of sacrificing for her marriage as well and is now regretting it. Or actually, it's more a case of seeing how futile and pointless her sacrifices were for this marriage she is having. So she is reconsidering her position."
"She is thinking of divorcing your Father?" Chase realised.
"It is under consideration, yes," Amber nodded. "She is not sure yet, but she does know that whatever she does she needs to get at least some of her old life back. I'm trying to keep out of it, since it really has to be her decision, but I also want to let her know that I support her, no matter what she does decide."
"As long as you don't delegate it to Wilson," Chase advised.
"And what is that supposed to mean?" Amber challenged him.
"Just that Wilson and needy women – or women who are in a bad relationship – don't mix that well," Chase shrugged. "Or do I mean that they mix way too well?"
"You've been talking with House, haven't you?" Amber accused him.
"No I haven't," Chase denied. "At least not about this. But I'm not surprised to find out that he, too, has warned you against leaving Wilson unsuspectingly alone with your step-mother."
"It does take two to tango, you know," Amber huffed. "Even if, based on his previous misjudgements, I might not be able to totally trust James – and I'm not saying that I don't trust him, just that there may be some precedents that merit some caution – but no matter what the situation with James is, I can definitely trust Helena. Besides, I think her character is too strong for Wilson."
"Like yours?" Chase asked.
"Yes, like mine," Amber agreed. "Only I just happen to suit him. But anyway we are both outside his normal pattern so he will not behave like that with us."
"You know," Chase mused. "I think you might even be right."
"And at least he will be busy with that apartment he wants for us for now," Amber continued. "So there won't even be time for that sort of thing since Helena is staying only for a couple of days."
"You're seeing her tonight again?" Chase wanted to know.
"Straight from work," Amber nodded. "Wilson has a poker night with House anyway, so we weren't going to meet tonight anyway. And I want to spend as much time with Ari as I can."
"Well at least he isn't likely to have the same effect on you as he has on Cuddy," Chase smiled.
"Does House still fear that Cuddy will drag him into some dark corner and have her way with him?" Amber laughed.
"Frankly, I think it may be more a case of wishful thinking on his part," Chase mused. "Or not. I have never been able to quite figure out those two. I do suspect they have slept together at some point, but if it was once or if it was an affair and when – beats me."
"Judging by the petting pools on them, it beats most of the hospital," Amber observed. "I just can't see Cuddy wanting House as the father of her baby! I mean, ok, if you could be sure that only the brilliance gene got passed, but there is also the jerk-gene."
"True," Chase nodded. "I think that would scare most women."
"Of course," Amber suddenly got all innocent and bright. "You have a brilliance gene, too, and no jerk-gene in sight!"
"You are forgetting my Father," Chase prompted her. "He had a sizeable jerk-gene."
"But he didn't manage to pass it on," Amber stated. "I'm actually surprised Dr Cuddy hasn't asked you for a donation."
"Very funny, ha, ha," Chase scoffed. "Besides, it would be too weird. I mean knowing about the kid but still not being any real part of anything. I don't think I could do it. In fact, that was one of the reasons why I didn't do any donations during med school though others did. Of course, there was also mother's alcoholism, but even so. Not for me."
"Fair enough," Amber accepted. "Sorry about teasing you."
"It's ok," Chase allowed. "So, what are you planning to do with Helena and Ari tonight?"