Chapter 39

House was home that evening waiting to hear from his partners in crime. He knew it was risky working with three crazies who couldn't separate fantasy from reality, but really he had no other choice.

He had continued trying to get in touch with her, but she wouldn't talk to him. He knew that Cuddy had tried to change her mind to no avail. And when the king of compromise, otherwise known as Wilson, had failed as well, he knew the situation was desperate.

Desperate times called for desperate measures.

He'd considered just letting it go. After all, if she didn't want him anymore, why keep beating a dead horse? Just let her go.

Because he'd never felt happier than he did when they were together. He wanted to keep on feeling that way. And he needed to be with her to do that.

He limped to the desk by the bookcase and opened the bottom drawer. It was his 'Bob' drawer. He had all the letters that she'd written him over the years, as well as the birthday cards. He knew it was silly and sentimental to save them, but he had anyway.

He smiled when he picked up the fabric in the drawer. It was her panties, the ones he had taken from her in Tuscany after they'd had sex on the hill. He'd never given them back to her and they were here. He knew that was kind of creepy, but he hadn't wanted to give them back.

At the bottom of it all was a picture. It was of the two of them back in Baltimore. She'd never seen it. He had picked up the photos at the Fotomat. God, how many years since he'd seen one of those little booths in parking lots that developed your pictures.

He had looked through them before bringing them home and when he saw this picture, he had stopped and realized he couldn't let her see it.

In the picture, Bob was laughing joyfully, truly enjoying herself. He was beside her and watching her, but the look on his face was a reflection of her joy as well as something else.

Love.

Because he had loved her back then. It wasn't something he felt comfortable telling her then. Hell, he'd had a hard enough time telling her now. Back then it was even worse.

There was so much he'd wanted. Becoming a doctor was first and foremost. Proving his father wrong was another. Breaking free of the staunch military upbringing and learning who he really was.

All of those things were important to him. He certainly hadn't planned on meeting a woman to love in all of that. And Bob wasn't exactly what he thought of as his ideal woman.

She was too much of a tomboy, too much one of the guys. But slowly, as she began to become more important to his life, he began seeing her as something more. And once she started thinking of herself as a woman, he'd noticed and realized this was a special woman.

But he couldn't afford that complication at that point in his life. So he'd kept her at arms length and stayed friends.

Still, she'd been such an integral part of his life. They lived in the same house all those years and hung out together almost exclusively. She was his drinking buddy, his sports companion, his guide.

And his savior.

Because he knew unequivocally that if it hadn't been for her, he wouldn't be a doctor today.

That day that he'd been caught cheating, he'd been quite ready to throw in the towel, give it all up and play piano in a bar somewhere.

Though he'd often wondered if he would have been able to make a go at that, he knew that even if he became a big star, it would never have brought him the satisfaction that medicine did.

But he was sure he had thrown it away with his stupidity. Bob hadn't believed that. She was the one who wrote the letters and filled out the applications. She was the one who saved his dream.

He'd repaid her by taking her virginity before he left.

Even though the primeval male inside him was stupidly happy that he'd been the first; the rational, scientific man was angry he'd done it at all and the horny teenager still existing in him was bummed that he couldn't remember it.

He'd left for Michigan thinking he should have asked her to come with him. Maybe that was his subconscious trying to tell him what had happened. Maybe it was more than that.

But he'd known what the life of an intern would be. She needed to finish her Masters and he needed to get through his internship. After that, maybe.

Then she'd gotten the Smithsonian job and then gotten married! That had been a real kick in the gut. It made him realize that either he'd waited too long or really didn't deserve her in the first place. Or both.

He'd given up on the idea of him and Bob, which was when he'd met Stacy. It had been good with her for five years. And he really believed that he was over Bob.

Seeing her once more had confused him all over again. When he finally realized that he still wanted her and that he, in fact, loved her, it was like all the pieces finally fell into place and he was where he was supposed to be.

It often made him wonder what his life would have been like if he had asked her to come with him. Maybe they'd have had kids together. He'd never really thought about being a father, not with his upbringing, but Bob would have been a terrific mother. And he wondered what would have happened if she'd been with him when the infarction occurred.

He didn't have answers to those questions. He just knew he liked what they'd found together, liked how he was with her.

Now he was lost at sea again. And he definitely didn't like that.

He'd make a deal with the devil himself to get her back. Looking at it that way, working with the stalkers didn't seem like such a bad idea.

His cell phone rang. He picked it up and heard Stalker Number One's voice. He refused to try to remember their names.

"Did you do what I told you?" he asked.

"Yes." Betty said. "What do we do now?"

"Meet me." He gave the name and address of a diner. "I'll see you in twenty minutes."

He disconnected and smiled. This was his last chance and he was going to take it.

A/N: How many people remember Fotomats? If you do, you're as old as me -- or House! And thanks to my loyal reveiwers. You words always make me smile.