Managed to get another chapter knocked out before the end of the weekend. Once again, I don't own any of them but Anthony.

# # #

House had no sooner settled in behind his desk that morning when Taub entered his office, a case file in his hand. "Cuddy sent this up with me. Oh, and apparently you have one of those department head meeting things that you never bother to attend."

House fixed the plastic surgeon with a glare as he took the file from his hand. "Too bad. Pretty sure I've got clinic duty scheduled during that time."

Taub's lips quirked in an almost imperceptible smile. "I'm sure Cuddy will let that slide for a change."

House seemed to ignore Taub as he pored over the file, letting out a low whistle as he went through the thick stack that comprised their new patient's medical records. "Actually...I think I'm about to be up to my eyeballs in patient." He handed the thick file back to Taub. "Go forth and copy. I do believe we have ourselves a case."

He turned back to his computer as the plastic surgeon left, opening his e-mail. When nothing of interest presented itself, he opened up a game of solitaire while he waited for Taub to return with the file.

His phone started chiming in his pocket, and he dug it out of his pocket to check the Caller ID. He flipped it open to answer. "Don't tell me you miss me already."

"You wish." Jake laughed heartily on the other end. "Actually, I just called to extend an invitation to you."

"Really." House was immediately interested. "Do tell."

"I've been throwing this big New Year's thing for the last few years. Thought I'd invite you and your guy, if you're interested."

House leaned back in his desk chair, pondering the idea. "I don't think I have any big plans. I'll have to run it by Tony when I see him later." He frowned thoughtfully. "Thought you didn't want to see me for a while."

"I changed my mind." Jake answered casually. "Truth be told...I guess I kind of miss you."

"Aw, how sweet." House snarked in response.

"Yeah, well, I also wouldn't mind meeting this man of yours." Jake replied. "So just get back to me and let me know, okay?"

"Will do." Taub was returning with several copies of their case file. "Gotta fly. Just got a new case in."

"Cool." Jake grinned on the other end of the phone. "Have fun. Talk to you soon."

"Bye." House snapped his phone closed, turning it over in his hand before shoving it back in his pocket. Jake's phone call was not only completely unexpected, but unusual, too. He wasn't so sure about a face-to-face meeting between Jake and Tony. The last thing he wanted was a confrontation between the two men. He'd probably just skip the thing entirely. It just didn't seem worth the drama.

He pushed the thought to the back of his mind in favor of the medical mystery that lay in front of him. This would be plenty to keep him and his team occupied for the rest of the day, at the very least.

House pushed himself out of his desk chair and followed Taub into the conference room. "Morning, kids. I trust everyone's had a minute to look over the file? Great, let's get started." He started scribbling symptoms on the board, Jake's phone call running in the background of his mind.

His team started throwing out ideas, casting aside the most obvious causes. Finally they had a small list to work with, and House sent his team off to test. No sooner had he done so than his pager went off at his hip. This patient was wasting no time in presenting a challenge, and House was almost grateful for the distraction.

He made it down to the patient's room just in time to meet up with Foreman just outside. "Patient's stable for now." The neurologist reported. "She went into cardiac arrest almost as soon as we started pulling blood for the tox screen. We got that handled, and her blood pressure shot through the roof."

Thirteen and Taub exited the patient's room to meet the other two men in the hallway. "She's got a rash on her back. Looks almost like a butterfly rash, but not quite."

"So almost, but not quite autoimmune. Interesting." House frowned as he leaned on his cane, deep in thought. "Okay, everyone back upstairs. Looks like we've got a long day ahead of us."

House and his team returned to the conference room, spending the day running back and forth between running tests and keeping their patient from crashing. They managed to rule out more causes, but their treatments weren't doing anything. If anything, she was getting worse.

Late in the afternoon, it became clear that House was going to have to stick around, as the patient presented with more symptoms than the team could keep up with. He pulled out his phone and speed dialed Anthony.

"Hey, hon." The word slipped out automatically before Anthony could catch himself. "What's going on?"

House couldn't help but smile a little at Anthony's endearment. "I'm going to have to cancel tonight. Damn patient won't quit trying to die on us."

"That's okay. Some other time." Anthony was disappointed, but knew it came with the territory. "Tell you what. Come on over when you're done. Don't worry about the time. I'll just leave the door unlocked for you."

House's lips quirked upward in a small smile. "You sure that's a good idea?"

There was a brief silence before Anthony spoke again. "I'm just giving you the option. It's up to you whether or not you want to take it."

"I'll see how things go here." House answered, still considering things. "Call you later?"

"Sure." Anthony was oddly disappointed that House didn't immediately jump on the offer. "Bye."

House snapped his phone closed and shoved it back in his pocket. While the offer was tempting, House wondered if it might not be better to back off and have some...'space'. He couldn't believe he was even considering such a thing.

His pager went off again, and he met up with his team and headed down to the patient's room. There would be plenty of time for internal debate later.

# # #

House leaned on his cane, staring out of his balcony door, pondering both his case and Anthony's words. It was getting late, even by his standards, and he considered not going over at all.

The patient was still giving them problems, her symptoms leading he and his team on a wild goose chase all through her body. House was starting to lose what little patience he had left when his pager went off again. Just as he started to leave his office, his cell rang.

"Don't bother coming down here." Foreman informed him. "We lost her."

House sighed heavily and turned back to his office. "You know what to do from here. I'll be in my office when you're done."

Within the hour Foreman returned with the patient's chart, handing it to House. "She's scheduled for an autopsy in the morning."

House nodded as he looked over the chart and signed off on it, tossing it on his desk. "See you in the morning."

The office grew quiet as his team prepared to leave for the night, soon leaving him alone, once again staring out the balcony door. He opened his bottom drawer and took out a cigar, stepping out onto the balcony.

It was chilly, but not unbearable, and House clipped the end of his cigar, lighting it and taking a contemplative puff. Now the only decision that lay before him was whether to take Anthony up on his offer or not. It was still tempting, no question, and he could use the company and comfort he knew the younger man would be only too happy to provide.

House had fully intended to slow things down. He wasn't sure what had come over him last night when Anthony had admitted his jealousy toward Jake. Some other instinct had taken over, some need to prove to Anthony that his jealousy was somehow unjustified. Words would have done, he supposed, but expressing himself in words was still something that didn't come easily to House.

He huffed in frustration and took another long puff off his cigar. Finally he came to a decision, and he pulled out his phone to call Anthony.

"Hello?" The younger man's voice had a distinctly sleepy tone.

"Hey, you." House replied, a slow smile crossing his face. "Just seeing if your offer was still open."

"Of course." Anthony answered, pushing himself into a sitting position on the couch.

"Good." House took a deep breath. "Just so you know, I am not staying the night."

"That's fine." Anthony agreed. "I just...wanted to see you, that's all. It's okay if you don't really feel like it. What time is it, anyway?"

"You don't want to know." House hurriedly answered, butting out his cigar. "Maybe I should just go home."

Anthony sighed heavily. "I'm already awake. You might as well stop over."

House nodded firmly, turning to enter his office. "Leave a light on and the door open. I'm on my way."

"I'll see you when you get here." Anthony laughed softly.

House closed his phone and shoved it in his pocket, grabbing his coat and backpack before heading out of his office. There was no need to stop at home, since he wasn't planning on staying over at Anthony's.

His nerves were jangled for the entire drive, still not sure how he wanted to handle things. Finally he made his way up the stairs to Anthony's apartment, knocking on the door with his cane.

The door flung open, revealing a sleepy looking Anthony, dressing in a long sleeved Henley shirt and plaid flannel sleep pants. "You made it."

House nodded, and Anthony stepped aside to let him in. He was moving like a caged tiger, and Anthony didn't know what to do to ease his nerves.

Anthony decided to return to the couch, sitting with his elbows on his knees and his hands clasped together. "There's beer if you want it."

House toed off his shoes and slowly limped into the kitchen, returning with a beer. Anthony pushed back the coffee table and gestured to House. "Have a seat."

House looked skeptical, but eased himself down between Anthony's legs, and Anthony placed his hands on House's shoulders, gently rubbing, feeling the tension that was stored there. The older man let out an appreciative rumble and took a long drink of his beer. "I'm still not staying, but that feels damn good."

Anthony laughed gently. "I wasn't trying to get you to stay. Tough night?"

"Lost my patient." House grumbled. "All that time spent working on her, and she died anyway."

Anthony continued working on House, moving to the spot between his shoulder blades, letting the older man talk about whatever crossed his mind. He mostly talked about his case, the ups and downs in dealing with the patient, the frustration over the multiple wrong diagnoses, the sense of defeat when they got the right diagnosis too late.

Finally House seemed to relax and he leaned back against the couch. Anthony leaned over House, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "Is there something else on your mind?"

House groaned inwardly. This thing had worked at his mind the entire drive over, and he still hadn't figured out a way to word it. He placed one hand over Anthony's two that were crossed across his chest. "I think we need some...ground rules for this thing."

"What did you have in mind?" Anthony was nothing if not curious.

House sighed heavily. His mind was muddled from his difficult day, and he wasn't sure they should be talking about this right now. On the other hand, if he didn't get this out now, he might not ever. "I don't know. I still want to dial it back a bit, I guess. We're doing a pretty crappy job of that right now."

"True." Anthony laughed. "Maybe we could just save the sleepovers for the weekends, and find some time to go out during the week."

A slow grin crossed House's face. When Anthony got it, he really got it. It was one of the things he liked best about him. "I could go for that." He lightly squeezed Anthony's hands. "I've missed our Sundays."

A shot of something went through Anthony at the thought. "I think I've missed that more than anything." He leaned down to kiss the top of House's head. "Okay, so weekends are on. I know your weekdays get crazy. Maybe we'll take the weekdays as they come. You get free, call me."

"I don't want to leave you hanging." House's voice took on a note of concern. "I mean, don't you have a life?"

"Hmm...okay, how about Tuesdays and Thursdays? That frees me up to do other things, and gives you some space if you need it."

"Think I could handle that. My place or yours?"

"Doesn't matter to me." Anthony pulled himself a little closer to House, taking in the scent of his now faded soap and his own scent. "We'll figure it out as we go."

House slowly nodded, tilting up his chin to look up at Anthony. "Are you really okay with this?"

"Yes." Anthony placed a gentle kiss on House's lips. "I seem to remember telling you something a while back. This thing is going to move at your pace. If it's not right for you..."

"...it's not right for either of us. Yeah, I remember." House regarded Anthony with a serious expression. "You're alright. Mind if I keep you?"

"I'd love that." Anthony laughed softly and squeezed House tightly. "Anything else on your mind?"

"Sleep." House answered in a half-yawn. "I'm beat."

"You're welcome to stay here." Anthony offered. "I won't molest you...if you don't want me to."

House snorted. "You're funny." He managed to push himself to his feet, wincing slightly as he leaned on his right leg.

"Thank you. I do try." Anthony offered the older man a hand, but House waved him away, limping down the hallway toward the bedroom.

He was already curled on his side, the covers wrapped around him like a cocoon when Anthony entered, and Anthony almost hated to disturb him. Anthony eased his way into the other side of the bed, startled when he felt an arm snake around his waist and pull him close.

"Thought you were already sleeping."

"That's what you get for thinking." House chuckled and curled closer to Anthony.

They were silent for a long moment when something occurred to House. "So Michaels is having some big Christmas thing on Saturday."

"I know. She invited me a couple of weeks ago."

"I knew it." House snorted. "That woman's got issues."

"Why? You don't think..." Anthony turned to face House. "There's no way."

"I don't just think, I know." House kissed the tip of Anthony's nose. "Way."

"That's hilarious." Anthony stretched an arm across House's waist. "So, you going?"

"I guess. Especially now that I seem to have a date for the thing."

"That's nice how you just assume I'm going." Anthony chided House. "How do you know I don't have other plans?"

"True." House tilted his head. "So, want to go to this thing with me on Saturday? I think I can get the car."

Anthony snickered in response. "I'd love to go. Got to have a Saturday night before you have a Sunday morning, you know."

"I like the way you think." House pulled Anthony close to him. There was something else he was going to mention, but his tired brain wasn't coming up with it at the moment. No matter. If it was important, he'd remember it in the morning. Right now he just wanted to curl up against Anthony's warm body and sleep like the dead. Anything else could wait.

# # #

House's eyes flew open, his body jolting in response to a dream that was already fading from memory. He was somewhat disoriented until he calmed enough to take in his surroundings. Anthony still snored peacefully next to him, and House huffed softly, curling himself around the younger man in the hopes of falling back asleep.

After half an hour with no success, House gave up and threw back the covers, finding his clothes from the night before and quickly putting them on before the cool air got to him. He limped down the hallway to the kitchen, finding everything he needed to start a pot of coffee. House had to admit that his coffee wasn't as good as Anthony's, but he didn't feel like waiting for the younger man.

He was relieved that he and Anthony had somehow been able to come to some agreement about the direction of their rekindled relationship. If he had to be honest with himself, the whole idea of moving forward in an open relationship with a man still scared him a bit. Hell, relationships period were difficult for him.

So why Anthony and not one of the women he had met during their time apart? It wasn't for lack of trying on House's part. The women he met were interesting in their own way, but none of them had quite captured his mind and heart like Anthony had, and he wasn't sure what the difference was.

Ultimately, it didn't really matter, House supposed. All that mattered was that he had somehow developed a very real connection with this man, and that this was the man he wanted to spend a good deal of time with, if not his life.

The coffeemaker spluttered to a stop, and House filled a mug with sugar and coffee, making his way out to the living room, digging his phone out along the way. He had a new voicemail, and he pushed the button to connect him.

"Hey, Greg." Jake's deep voice carried into his ear. "Thought you might want some details if you decide to come to the New Year's thing..." He listened as Jake rattled off his address and time for the party.

He groaned internally as he saved the message. That was the other thing he was going to mention to Anthony last night. While he wasn't sure Anthony would want to go, he did finally decide to put the idea out there. Failing that, maybe he and Anthony could figure out their own New Year's thing.

As if on cue, Anthony appeared in the living room with his own mug of coffee in his hand. "Your coffee's improving." He nodded towards House's phone. "Somebody call?"

House's mouth twisted as he turned the phone over in his hand. "Jake called yesterday. He's having some big New Year's thing and wanted us to come."

Anthony frowned. "Did he really invite us both?"

House shrugged as he took a long sip of coffee. "He said he wanted to meet you."

"I don't know." Anthony had a momentary flash of how that meeting would go down. "How do I know he doesn't just want to kick my ass or something? I'm too damned old to get into catfights."

"If you don't want to go, we won't go." House told him. "We can do...our own thing."

Anthony blew a silent sigh of relief. "I'll think about it. No promises."

House glanced down at the floor with a pensive look. "He really is a good guy. I think you'll like him if you get a chance to meet him."

"I believe you." Anthony assured him. "I'm just not sure I'm ready to meet him."

"I thought insecurity was my thing." House rolled his eyes and took another drink.

"You hooked up with someone younger and cuter in my absence. Yeah, I'm feeling a little insecure. Forgive me." Anthony snapped a little, almost immediately cursing himself for it.

House sighed and sagged slightly. "Come here."

Anthony shook his head. "You're not going to seduce me into not being jealous. It really doesn't work."

"Not what I had in mind." House answered sharply. "Now get over here."

Anthony took a seat next to House, a bit on edge. House huffed in frustration and ran a hand over his head. "Look, I suck at words, okay?" He turned slightly so that he faced Anthony. "I don't know what the hell I'm doing here. All I know is that I chose you, not him. I like him, but I love you, and I want to make us...work."

Anthony blinked in mild surprise, then set down his coffee mug, placing one hand on House's cheek to pull him in for a long, sweet, gentle kiss. "For someone who sucks at words, you sure managed to put together a few good ones."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it." House grumbled, glancing away, suddenly embarrassed by his outburst.

Anthony laughed gently, lightly stroking House's cheek. "So I suppose I don't have much reason to be jealous."

"I didn't say you didn't have any reason." House pointed out. "It's just that your reasons are bullshit."

"I know, okay?" Anthony replied defensively. "I'm the one who found you in that bar, I'm the one who built you up, I'm the one who thought the world of you first." He sighed heavily, letting his hand drop. "Now that others have come to...appreciate you, I'm having a hard time. You've changed, and that's not a bad thing. It just means some adjustments on my part that I wasn't quite ready for."

House's mouth twitched in a slight smile. "A little jealousy is kind of cool. More than that is just plain creepy." He reached out and wrapped a hand around Anthony's neck. "Just remember who I chose, okay?"

Anthony closed his eyes at the feel of House's warm hand. He responded in kind, touching his forehead to House's. "I keep reminding myself of that." He sighed a little. "I'm really proud of who you've become. I don't want you to go back to the way you were. This...new you is just going to take some getting used to, that's all."

House could feel the lump rise in his throat. He tried to remember the last time someone had expressed pride in him and failed. "Seriously? You're proud?"

"Damn right." Anthony grinned and lightly kissed House. "Has no one told you that?"

"Can't remember the last time."

"Well...I hope this won't be the last time you hear it."

House quickly captured Anthony's lips in a firm kiss, pushing his tongue forward to tangle with the younger man's. His emotion was starting to get the better of him, and he broke away nearly as quickly as he had started, leaving Anthony a bit breathless. "I should go."

"Probably." Anthony sighed, only cursing House's determination to attempt to stick to their agreement slightly.

Within a few minutes House had his coat and shoes on, keys in his hand. He paused before he opened the door. "You want to try that dinner thing again tonight?"

"If you're free." Anthony didn't want to get his hopes up again.

"I'll make it happen." House limped over to the couch, bending down for a brief kiss.

"Then seven it is." Anthony answered, returning the kiss. "I'll see you then."

House nodded, a slight smile on his face as he left the apartment. Suddenly he was feeling a hell of a lot better about things. Maybe there was something to this talking thing after all.

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