A/N: A very short chapter. I hope it's not too cliché. The next one's coming soon.

Chapter 15: The Plan

Wilson had a plan. He was smiling to himself. Wilson had a plan. He hurried along the corridor to put his plan into action. Wilson had a plan.

Once he reached Cuddy's office, he slowed down. His step was casual, his face was straight and the bounce in his step was cleverly gone.

"Hey," he said as he entered her office. "Got a minute?"

"Sure," she nodded.

"OK. I need to talk to you about something. So, how 'bout we say… tomorrow, café down the road, at lunch break?"

"Uh…" Cuddy stuttered. "Yeah, I guess so. Why?"

"I just need to talk."

"Not about House, is it?" she asked suspiciously.

"No. I will not talk to you about House," he stated blankly. It was sort of twisting the truth. Cuddy wouldn't know the whole story until she got there.

"OK then."

"Good. See you then."

House and Wilson sat in House's office in silence. House had looked pretty awful of late. He grimaced at every move and sweated and spoke in a congested voice. He was trying to balance his pens upright on the desk. Wilson twiddled his thumbs.

"Hey, House," he said casually.

"Yeah?" House asked, not taking his eyes off the complicated task of balancing pens.

"Wanna come to lunch tomorrow? I'll pay."

"Sure," House agreed nasally. "The café?"

"Yep."

"I'll be there. Don't forget your wallet."

Wilson stood up, sighing.

"Gotta go. See you tomorrow at lunch."

As Wilson left, House reached into his pocket and dry-swallowed a Vicodin. He closed his eyes contentedly and laid his throbbing head back, breathing in deeply.

Wilson was walking back down the corridor, smiling, very pleased with himself.