Wilson and House walked down to the lobby. House leaned over and scribbled his name on the sheet. "5:30, Dr. House signing out!" He turned to go and noted that Wilson was taking his time.

"Move, she might see us!" He said in a stage whisper.

Wilson eyed House. "She's been nice to you today. You have nothing to complain about."

House rolled his eyes. "All the more reason to flee before she changes her mind. Dammit… here she comes!"

Cuddy strolled up to them. "You boys going out?" She said, smiling. In the background a small clot of nurses snickered.

Wilson looked at Cuddy for a long time without speaking. And then he opened his mouth and said "Would you like to come and have dinner with us Dr. Cuddy?"

House's jaw dropped to the floor. He sided up to Wilson and clamped his hand over Wilson's mouth. "He's delirious. I'm taking him to see a specialist."

Wilson pried House's hand off of his mouth in annoyance. "Seriously, why don't you come with us?"

House groaned in the background.

Cuddy smiled. "It's a bit early in the week for that, don't you think?" She said, ignoring House's moaning.

"It's just dinner," Wilson said again, smiling encouragingly. "Come on."

Cuddy eyed the pair for a moment. "What the hell," she said with a shrug. "Let me get my coat."

She disappeared and House pinched Wilson's arm fiercely. "What the hell did you do that for?"

"Ouch, dammit. Because she's nice. And she was very sweet to you and Cameron today. And she looks really tired."

House stared at Wilson with piercing blue eyes. "Oh dear God," he said. "Not Cuddy."

Wilson looked at him questioningly. "What? Oh… no, not Cuddy."

House narrowed his eyes. "Good. She's far too old for you."

Wilson opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it.

Cuddy walked towards them, purse in hand. "Who's too old for whom?"

House sneered and Wilson closed his eyes, awaiting the worst. "My car," House said. "She's too old and too delicate for Wilson to drive."

Wilson opened one eye and looked over at House. He exhaled slowly. Crisis averted.

"Fine," Cuddy said. "I'll drive." She walked in front of the two men.

House glared at Wilson, and then paused to admire Cuddy's ass. "For this," he hissed, "you're paying!"

Wilson shrugged helplessly. At times like these he wondered if people's actions weren't outside of their control sometimes. He had no idea how close this thought was to the musings of a young female doctor who just reached the lobby.

Cameron met up with Chase and Foreman. "I've called a cab," Foreman announced. "So where are we going?"

Cameron pursed her lips. "How about Bennigan's?"

Chase and Foreman looked at each other and then laughed. "Bennigans?" Chase said. "The restaurant?"

"No, the shoe store," Cameron said sourly. She didn't really know any other place but the bar they frequented. "I'm hungry. We can't just go drink."

"Oh, but we can," Foreman said with a grin. "Cameron's right. We can't get wasted today. We'll save that for Friday."

Chase sighed. "Fine. But we can't go to Bennigan's tonight. They have some special deal or something. It will be packed. Besides, it's all the way in New Brunswick."

Foreman nodded. "Good point." He studied Cameron for a minute. "Do you like chocolate?"

Cameron broke into a smile. "That has to be the stupidest question I've ever been asked," she laughed.

"So you don't like chocolate?" Chase said, puzzled.

"I take that back." Cameron said, rolling her eyes. "Of course I like chocolate."

"Let's go to Friday's. They have this drink called an ultimate mudslide." Foreman said with a smile.

Cameron looked intrigued. "You've captured my interest, go on."

"Imagine the best milkshake you've ever had…"

"Okay…"

"Then add vodka, irish cream, and coffee liqueur…" Foreman said grinning.

Cameron closed her eyes. "That's good enough for me. Let's go."

Chase looked over at Foreman. "You know for a second when you asked her if she liked chocolate…"

Foreman snickered. "Had that been the case, I would have told you to meet us in the conference room."

Cameron looked back at them. "I can still hear you guys, you know."

Foreman and Chase grinned. "Cab's here," Chase said.

They got inside the cab and drove off.

"So where are we going?" Cuddy asked as the two men got into her car. There had been an awkward moment when no one knew who was going to get in the front seat. House finally shoved Wilson out of the way and pushed the seat all the way back. Wilson sighed and got into the back on the driver's side.

"Bennigan's," House said emphatically.

"That's all the way in New Brunswick!" Wilson said.

"It's fifteen miles you baby," House grumbled. "I want a monte cristo."

Wilson rolled his eyes. "Of course. It must be that time of the month." He then realized that he was in the same car as the Dean of Medicine. "Sorry about that," he said hastily.

Cuddy looked into the rearview mirror and winked at Wilson. "Now I understand all of the gossip about you two at the nurse's station."

House smiled and Wilson blanched at the same time. "What gossip?" Wilson said weakly.

House rolled his eyes. "Oh like you don't know. For weeks I kept hearing 'separate or together' behind my back. Let them have their fun." He settled back into the seat of the car. "Turn on the stereo Cuddy."

Cuddy smiled and complied. Somehow it didn't feel as awkward as she had anticipated. Granted there were some things she would never understand, like the dynamic between House and Wilson, but they were comfortable together, and she understood and respected that.

"So, what on earth is a monte cristo?" She said curiously.

House snorted. "Figures that you wouldn't know."

"It's a sandwich," Wilson said apologetically.

"Of course," she smiled. "That's all you eat isn't it House?"

"Less speculating on my eating habits and more getting into the left lane. We need to go left on Route 1." House said.

Cuddy nodded. The rest of the drive over was mostly silent, the three of them content to sit back and listen to music on the radio.

She pulled into the parking lot and the three got out. House walked up to the door, not waiting for Wilson or Cuddy. Cuddy looked over at Wilson with raised eyebrows and Wilson responded with a weak smile.

The pair caught up to House as he was verbally assaulting the hostess. "I can see tables in there! Why on earth is there a five minute wait."

The hostess smiled as gently as she could. "Those tables haven't been cleaned yet. We'll do our best to…" She looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment.

Wilson grabbed House's arm. "Five minutes is great, we'll just sit here." He led House over to the bench by the front door.

Cuddy looked at him and shook her head. "You really are a bastard aren't you?"

House shrugged. "I didn't get to make anyone cry at work today. People might say I'm getting soft."

Cuddy opened her mouth to retort, but the hostess came back. "This way please," she said softly.

They sat down at their table and Wilson prayed that the waiter or waitress was of the understanding sort. He had a feeling that House was in the mood to prove something.

"Hey, I'm Dan, and I'll be your waiter this evening," said a young man that looked to be about 22 years old.

"Monte cristo and a cutty sark and water. Easy on the water," House barked.

Cuddy and Wilson froze and looked at the waiter. The waiter smiled. "I like a man who knows what he wants." Dan grinned. "I'll get your whiskey and give your friends a chance to figure out what they want."

House eyed the waiter, and nodded.

Dan smiled and surveyed the table. "Can I start anybody else out with something to drink?"

"A pint of guinness," said Wilson.

Cuddy looked at the drink menu. "What do you recommend?"

Dan closed one eye and stuck out his tongue, feigning intense concentration. "I'm going to go out on a limb here, but you look like a lady who would appreciate a 'death by chocolate' martini."

Cuddy flipped to the page that it was on and nodded in satisfaction. "Sounds great, thank you."

Dan winked and walked away.

Cuddy picked up the menu. "My god. You ordered that?"

House smirked. "Yeah. It's worth it."

"It's like a… doughnut with meat inside…" Cuddy said.

"And cheese," Wilson said.

"Two kinds of cheeses." House pointed out. "It's turkey. That's healthy."

"Somehow deep frying it and putting powdered sugar on top outweighs the fact that it is lean turkey and ham," Wilson said.

"How's the calamari here?" Cuddy asked.

"Never order Italian food at an Irish restaurant." House said. "That's a known fact."

Cuddy nodded. "I can see that." She flipped through the menu. "I think I'll have the bleu cheese burger.

House brightened. "Thank god. I thought you were going to order a salad."

Wilson smiled. "Fish and chips for me."

"A solid choice," House said.

The waiter came back with the drinks. They each placed their orders.

House sipped his whiskey appreciatively. "Ahhh… nice."

Wilson smiled and sipped his beer. "With our powers combined, we have a boilermaker."

House grinned. "No way, you need to add some Baileys and make an Irish car-bomb."

Cuddy sipped the martini and closed her eyes. "Oh my god," she said with her eyes closed. "I think I'm in love."

She opened her eyes when she felt House's hand on hers. "Gimme," he said. "I want to try."

Their eyes met for an instant, and she released the glass. House took a sip and made a face. "Wow," he said. "Two more of those and we'll have you dancing on the bar topless."

Cuddy nodded. "I already feel light headed."

Wilson looked at her with mild concern. "Have you eaten today?"

She shrugged. "I had something… sometime. I think."

The waiter came with a plate of potato skins. The three of them looked at him in confusion.

"On the house," he said with a smile. "You guys enjoy."

Wilson took a potato and bit in. "These are good. That was weird."

House shrugged. "You don't recognize him?"

"Should I?"

"He worked at Lahiere's for 6 months. Bartender. Used to make a mean white Russian."

Wilson nodded. "Right… I remember now. Nice guy. Ex navy."

"Is that where you usually go?" Cuddy asked, picking up a potato.

"Don't answer that," House said. "She may try and follow us."

Wilson nearly choked on his potato skin.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "Right, like I don't have enough to worry about without following you two around."

House grunted and they continued to eat.

The entrees arrived and the waiter brought a diet coke for Cuddy without asking. She made a mental note to leave him a huge tip.

She gingerly cut into the hamburger with a knife and fork.

House rolled his eyes. "For godsakes, pick it up." He grabbed a piece of sandwich and dipped it in the raspberry sauce and took a bite.

"That smells really good," Cuddy said, eyeing the plate.

"Then you should have ordered one," House said, shielding his plate with his arm.

She smiled and shook her head resignedly. After one bite from the burger she sighed contentedly. "This is nice. I can't remember the last time I didn't have a meal that wasn't prepared in the microwave."

Wilson opened his mouth to say something, but House interjected. "As I recall," he said casually, "you were a very good cook."

Cuddy shrugged. "Who has the time? You know the nurses have this casserole exchange. Might be worth a try."

"What the hell is a casserole exchange?" House asked.

"They make enough food for however many are on the shift. Then they each bring in individual portions and trade. They freeze it or something. That way everyone only cooks once a week. Seems very popular."

"Sounds great," House muttered. "Till someone leaves the chicken out overnight accidentally, and then the entire floor has food poisoning."

A flash of panic crossed her face for an instant, then she smiled. "I'll be sure to send them all to you. I know how much you and the nurses love each other."

House glared at her for an instant, and then went back to his food.

Wilson observed the entire scene silently. House has eaten Cuddy's cooking… he thought. Interesting.

House noted that Cuddy kept stealing longing glances at his sandwich. With a sigh, he cut a triangular wedge off of the remaining piece and handed it to her. "Here," he said with a sigh. "I can't stand to see you moon over it. You're worse than Wilson's dog."

She accepted the piece of sandwich and dipped it in the raspberry sauce. "This is good. Wait, you have a dog?" She turned to Wilson.

He shrugged. "Yeah. My wife bought it."

She nodded. "How is she doing?"

Wilson smiled lopsidedly. "Oh, fine, fine… you know… the usual."

Cuddy got the distinct impression that everything was far from fine, but she nodded and smiled.

"Gentlemen," she said with a smile, "I think some dessert is in order."