A/N: Thank you all for your comments… you inspire me. Please continue to review as I love receiving them in my inbox.

Chapter 4

House walked slowly to the elevator leaning heavily on his cane. The agility he experienced earlier in the day had abandoned him. Apparently, the previous sleepless night along with the pressures of a difficult case on top of his argument with Wilson had taken its toll. He had downed a Vicodin shortly before he left his office and hoped it would kick in before the elevator reached the lobby.

As the elevator door was sliding closed a hand appeared in front of it halting its progression. The door slowly opened to reveal Dr. Wilson standing behind it.

Shoot me now, House thought to himself, shaking his head slowly.

Wilson's attention was focused inside his briefcase as he rifled through it searching for something, most likely his keys, House surmised. As the oncologist stepped onto the elevator, he found what he was looking for…his keys... and put them into his jacket pocket. He turned to face the front of the elevator, glancing over to his right where he noticed House staring at him blankly.

"Great," Wilson mumbled under his breath.

House couldn't contain himself. "You had to go running off to Cuddy, didn't you?"

Wilson rolled his eyes. How the hell does he find out everything? He looked at House, eyebrows raised into a question.

"She came to see me," the older doctor snapped. "You ratted me out."

Wilson shook his head in annoyance and turned to face the front of the elevator.

The other doctor didn't let up. "That's just like you, Wilson, running off to Mommy when things get difficult. What did you say to her? " House demanded.

The elevator door started to slide open. Wilson looked at House.

"If you must know all the details, why don't you just read the minutes of our weekly 'House' meeting," he said, his face serious. "By the way, we decided you should add bran to your diet."

He turned away from House and quickly got off the elevator, leaving House in his wake. The older doctor snickered. Wilson might not be very trustworthy, but he certainly was entertaining.

House slowly got off the elevator and limped over to the nurse's station. The Vicodin was just starting to do its job. He checked over a few charts and initialed them, tossing them into the nurses' file box one by one.

As he walked out of the hospital, the cool autumnal air felt refreshing against his face. His leg was feeling a lot better; he picked up his pace. As he approached his car he realized that he didn't feel like going directly home. Usually on Friday nights, he and Wilson would have a few drinks before the young doctor would go home to Julie for dinner. And on the nights Julie had one of her meetings, the two friends dined at a restaurant or they would pick up pizza or Chinese food and bring it to House's apartment. He wondered if they would ever be doing that again. Well, that was up to Wilson. He had the option of making things right but so far had chosen not to. Wilson may be entertaining, but he was also as stubborn as a mule. House contemplated whether he could ever trust him again.

When he reached his car he tossed his gear into the passenger seat and slowly sank down into the driver's seat. He started the car, slid an Aerosmith CD into the player and took off, deciding at that moment to stop at a local bar for a drink… or two. He just wasn't ready to go home yet.

House walked into the dimly lit tavern and made his way over to the bar. He sat down and motioned to the bartender who came over and took his order… scotch straight up. As he waited for his drink he glanced over his shoulder to check out the patrons. His eyes came to a familiar face in the corner of the room. It was Julie. She was with a man, but it wasn't Wilson. He tried to get a better look at him…maybe it was Julie's brother; he hoped it was Julie's brother. It was dark in there, but he was pretty sure he didn't recognize the guy. Jesus, she was cheating on Wilson…again.

A year earlier Julie had had an affair with some guy… he couldn't remember who…it may have been the ex-husband of one of her friends. Wilson had found out and spent a lot of time at House's apartment. House was there for him allowing the young doctor to vent, but never offered advice. Julie had hurt Wilson terribly, but House knew that he still loved her.

House had decided back then that he didn't like Julie, but Wilson loved her and she had seemingly made him happy, of course that was before the affair. Wilson and Julie had gotten over that very rough patch and this past year their relationship appeared to be going strong, at least that was the impression he got from Wilson. House figured that any man who says he loves his wife as often as Wilson probably really loves her.

And now here she was with another man.

House didn't realize he was staring at Julie until she looked up and their eyes met. He could see the panic on her face. He quickly looked away and turned back to the bar where his drink was waiting for him.

A few moments later, he saw Julie's reflection in the mirror behind the bar as she sat down next to him. He didn't look at her.

"Obviously I never expected to see you here," she said, leaning close to him so he could hear her over the jukebox.

"Obviously," he said as he lifted his glass, almost finishing the drink in one swallow.

"Greg, this isn't what it looks like," she said, desperation apparent in her voice.

"What does it look like?"

She sighed. "I'm breaking up with him."

"With James?"

"No, no, with…. him," she said as she tilted her head towards the man she was with.

"So… if this was a few weeks ago, it would be what it looks like," House said. He took another swallow, finishing his drink and signaling the bartender for another one.

"Look, Greg. I know I made a mistake and I'm trying to fix it. I love James and I don't want to lose him." Her whining voice was getting on his nerves.

"And you're afraid I'm going to tell him," he said. He looked at her, his eyes expressionless.

"Please, Greg, please don't tell him," she begged. "He'll leave me if you do."

"He loves you; he'll forgive you." House turned away…he couldn't look at her anymore.

"No, he won't. He told me the last time that he would leave me if I ever…." Her voice trailed off.

"Things happen," House quipped.

Her eyes widened in fear. "No, you can't tell him! Please, Greg. I'll make it up to him, I will. I'll make him happy. You won't regret it… I swear to you." She grabbed his arm.

House glanced down to his forearm where she was tightly gripping him; then looked back up at her with an icy stare. She let go of his arm and started to cry.

He slowly shook his head… he needed to get away from this woman. He took a handkerchief out of his jacket breast pocket and handed it to her.

"Spare me," he said, his voice indifferent. "I'll keep your secret."

Julie stopped crying. "Oh god, thank you. Thank you, Greg."

"I'm not doing it for you," he said, finishing off his second drink.

She wiped her nose with his handkerchief. "I…I know you're doing it for James. You're a good friend to him," she sniffled. "I'll make it up to him, you'll see."

"I'm counting on it," he said, his voice cold and emotionless. Standing up he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his wallet. He took out a twenty dollar bill and tossed it onto the bar. Julie offered him his handkerchief back.

"Keep it as a memento of our little discussion tonight," he said, "so you'll never forget."

He turned his back on her and walked out of the bar.

A/N: Chapter 5 isn't written yet, but I'll try to write it this weekend. I'd love to know your opinion so far. Thanks, everyone.