A/N: Sorry for the delay. We're having our third heatwave of the summer and it's been too hot to do much of anything, let alone sit at my computer for very long. So here's a nice long chapter for ya :) Enjoy!

Chapter Six

The next day in town, Nicola heard her name being called as she browsed the local mall. Finally, she turned around to see a very familiar face coming towards her. Buck was the one person she hoped to never see again; The lowlife who lured her into the porn industry. He told her he was a talent scout looking for models. He paid for a complete makeover on her, and got her some modeling jobs. Once she was indebted to him, he forced her to do things she would never do. He was, quite simply, the most horrible, evil man she ever met. He was also part of the reason she became a police officer. She wanted to keep perverts like him from preying on desperate people. Unfortunately, she had been unable to have him arrested. He kept a team of lawyers on retainer who kept him out of jail.

"Buck?"

The man smiled. She knew that smile. She hated that smile. "Yep. When did you get into town?"

"Just yesterday. I'm visiting my dad."

"I heard he's been sick for a while. I'm sorry," he said insincerely.

She shrugged and went back to window shopping.

"So what are you up to?" Buck asked her.

"Not much. Lots of new stores here."

"Yeah. Wanna grab lunch? Catch up? I know a great place." He winked at her and it took every ounce of willpower to keep from beating him senseless. From past experience, she knew the great place was often an out of the way seedy motel and lunch usually meant non-consensual sex.

She glanced at her watch and tried to control her racing heart. "I really should get back home. I'm not in town for very long," she lied. "So I want to spend as much time with Dad as I can while I'm here…"

Buck took both her hands in his and gave her the sexy smile that used to make her melt. However, the only man able to do that lately was House, and she was more than happy that Buck didn't have that effect on her any longer. She wondered if he knew she was a cop, but she decided to keep it on the down low for the time being. She didn't trust him as far as she could throw him. She withdrew her hands from his and stepped back. "Gotta go. Nice to see you."

XXX

"Please tell me you're calling because you're coming to rescue me," Nicola said when House called her.

"That bad, huh?"

"That's an understatement."

"How's your dad?"

"Not so good. And my mom is driving me nuts."

"Well I guess I'll just have to come out and rescue you."

"Really?" she asked as a genuine smile spread across her face.

"Yep."

"You're awesome. Let me get things rolling and I'll call you back when I have the details."

"Okay."

An hour later, Nicola called him back and gave him the details. "So you're all set. I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Being my knight in shining armor in all this."

"I just can't stand the thought of you living in squalor when you don't have to."

"I've talked to Dad and I told him everything. He said he's going to talk to his lawyer."

"Well, that's good."

"I also told him about you and he said he's heard of you. How crazy is that?"

"Not too crazy. My name is a noun," he joked.

"Very funny. Anyway, I gotta go. I'm wiped out. It's been a long day and I need to sleep. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yep. See ya."

XXX

House was very pleased but surprised to find a first class ticket waiting for him at the airport and he took full advantage of the free booze on the flight. When he landed, he looked around the terminal for Nicola, but she was nowhere to be found. Once he grabbed his checked bag, he saw a chauffeur holding a white card with his name on it.

"I'm Dr. House," he said as he limped forward.

"Excellent. Follow me, please, Doctor," the man said as he took House's bag from him and proceeded to the exit. "I'm Joseph, and I'll be your driver."

"Do you work for the Browns?"

"Yes, sir," he said as he led House to a black Mercedes sedan and opened the door for him. "I'm their driver, assistant, bodyguard..whatever they need."

It was about forty minutes to the Brown Estate and House was amazed. It was a large Tuscan style ranch sprawling over many acres, on the outskirts of Colorado Springs.

"Wow, this place is huge," House commented. So this was what Nicola meant by a ranch, he thought with a slight grimace.

"It's fifteen acres. Not huge, but big enough. How do you know Miss Brown?"

"She pulled me over at a roadblock."

"I see. It was good to see her. It's been quite a few years. I can't blame her for leaving."

"I'm sure you've seen more than your share of family drama," House said.

Joseph snickered and looked at House in the rear-view mirror. "You have no idea."

House nodded and the car pulled up at the front door and Nicola came out to greet him.

Joseph came around to open the door and when House got out, Nicola practically jumped into his arms.

House leaned against the car for support, laughing as she threw her arms around his neck and held onto him.

"Hey...what's all this?" he asked, unsure what to do.

"I just missed you," she murmured against his jacket. "I'm glad you're here."

"Well...I'm glad you're glad," he chuckled. He looked over her shoulder at the enormous home behind her. It was not like any ranch he'd ever seen. It bordered on being a McMansion. "So do I get the ten cent tour, or what?" he asked after a couple of minutes.

Nicola smiled up at him and stepped back. "Of course. Let me get you a drink first. It's hot out today."

"Yeah it is," he said as he followed her inside while Joseph took care of his luggage.

"What do you think so far?" she asked as she opened the fridge and grabbed a couple of frosted glasses. Then she poured them both a beer from a tap.

"I think I could get used to this," he smiled as she handed him his drink.

"I'm sure anyone could. Come on, I'll show you your room."

"Sweet."

She led him down a long hallway to a suite that had a huge king sized four poster bed, floor to ceiling windows all around and a large spa-like bathroom.

"Holy crap. I'm staying here?"

"Is it too small?" she asked, and he wasn't sure if she was kidding or not.

"It's rough, but I'll make do," he said, playing along.

He went over to the bed and tested it out. "Nice bed."

"Yes it is."

"Use it much?"

"No, I have my own room."

"And where is that?" he asked as innocently as possible.

"Follow me," she grinned as she left the room. He went with her around the corner to another suite slightly larger than his. "This is your room?"

"Yes."

"Right next to mine? How convenient."

Nicola walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I thought so." House smiled down at her.

"So when do I get to meet Mommy and Daddy?"

"Soon. Mom's out playing tennis and Dad is in his office on a call. He's…" she trailed off and looked down. "He's not doing well. He's starting to tie up loose ends and get his affairs in order. There have been lawyers and business partners here for days. You'll meet them at dinner. You did bring a nice suit, I hope, because we dress for dinner."

House nodded, "I did, so don't worry. I won't embarrass you."

"I'm not worried about that. It's my mother. She has certain… expectations." She waved her hand. "Not that I care what she thinks. It will just be easier on all of us. In the end, it's my dad's money and she has no say on whether or not he writes me back into the will."

"Nice. I can't wait to meet her. She sounds like a piece of work."

"You have no idea. Or maybe you do."

"She can't be any worse than my father."

Nicola didn't press him for an explanation, and he didn't volunteer one. She continued on with the tour, showing him the home theatre, and then outside to the gorgeous pool and the ice rink.

"You have an ice rink?" he asked, surprise edging his voice.

"Yeah, my brother was a hockey player."

"But he's not now?"

"No, he's a lawyer in New York. He had a bad injury years ago which ended his career."

"It's always sad when that happens."

"Yeah," she said and jumped when her pager went off. "Feel free to make yourself at home. I'll be right back."

House wasn't sure where to start, but since it was a nice day, he took his beer and went outside to check out the pool. It was an infinity pool with an invisible edge and the water was an amazing royal blue color. It was just screaming for him to dive in and he decided he'd do just that. He went to his room, changed into his board shorts and dove in.

The water was the perfect temperature and he swam several laps before climbing out. When he did, there was an older woman standing near the edge holding out a towel for him.

"And who might you be?" she inquired. Her voice was deep and husky and sounded a bit like Kathleen Turner's.

He took a good look at her. She was a tall, regal looking blonde dressed in a designer tennis outfit with a mini skirt that showed off her long tanned legs. Obviously he realized she must have been Nicola's mother and he immediately turned on the charm.

"I'm Gregory House. Nicola invited me. I hope that's okay," he said with one of his sexy smiles.

The woman cocked her head to one side. "Oh, you're that doctor she's been gushing about since she got here."

"Gushing, huh?" he grinned as he toweled off and limped over to the lounge chair.

"I'm Barbara, Nicola's mother."

"Oh, I thought you were her older sister. My bad."

Barbara smiled, quite pleased at the compliment. "Can I get you another beer?"

"Only if you'll have one with me."

"Of course," she said and happily took his empty glass back into the house.

House closed his eyes and laid back against the lounge chair to relax.

Meanwhile, Nicola entered the kitchen to see her mother filling two beer glasses. "Double fisting?"

Barbara glared at her. "I'm entertaining your guest since you disappeared somewhere. As usual."

"Work beckons."

"Aren't you on vacation? They shouldn't be calling you at all."

"I run the department, Mother. Who else are they going to call?"

"I'm sure there are other officers.."

"I'm a Lieutenant, not a uniformed officer."

Barbara waived her hand in dismissal. "Officer, Lieutenant...what's the difference?"

"Rank. But then I wouldn't expect you to know anything about that."

"She's one rank below a Captain," House said from the doorway before coming inside.

Barbara's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at her daughter. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. Lt. Kenda taught me well."

"Then why aren't you a Captain?" Barbara asked with an edge to her voice.

"I like running my department. Once I become Captain, I'll end up riding a desk and that's not what I want to do."

"But the money…"

"What do you care about money? You've never had to worry about money your whole life," Nicola ground out.

"And if you'd gone into law like the rest of your family, you wouldn't either."

"I did go into law. Law enforcement. I arrest the kind of people Mike prosecutes in court. Surely you can appreciate that."

"Please, you do traffic stops," Barbara scoffed and glanced over at House who was leaning against the counter, sipping his beer as he watched the drama.

"Traffic stops are part of it sometimes, but I actually enjoy them. There's something satisfying about taking a drunk driver off the road for a while."

"And speaking from experience, I've seen what victims of drunk driving look like when they come into the ER," House pointed out. "You should be proud of your daughter. She's the youngest Lieutenant they have and that's no small feat."

Barbara looked at her daughter. "Really?"

"Yep. Which I've tried to tell you many times but you only hear what you want to hear."

"But you wear a uniform..."

"I haven't worn a uniform in four years, Mother. One of the perks of being in charge of my own department. Unless I'm at a traffic stop, then yeah, I have to dress down but I don't do those very often." She glanced over at House and smiled. "But that's how we met, isn't it?"

He grinned back at her and winked. "And I wasn't even drunk!"

"Lucky for you," Nicola giggled.

*To see the inspiration for the Brown Ranch, go to Youtube and do a search for 12795 Oak Cliff Way. Some details were changed to suit the story.