Hear No Evil

by Jazelle1996

An adventurous story with lots of suspense, twists, love, cliffhangers and surprises. Lots of medical drama and plenty clinic patients for House to diagnosis. COMPLETE

5. Chapter 5

Lots of time flies here in this chapter. But what kind of adventures does House get in THIS time?

CHAPTER FIVE

Two weeks had gone by since Dr. Greg House left the hospital to enter Princeton-Clarkston Rehab Center, involuntarily. He had spent the past two days in bed with straps on his wrists because earlier he tried to knock a nurse down and run out. At the time, House was so out of it he'd forgotten about the pain in his leg until he took five steps then collapsed on the cold, hard tile floor. He had an I.V. in his arm for fluids and intravenous feedings because he refused to eat or drink anything for almost a week. He was hysterical and hallucinating, and his body was constantly drenched from the sweat of his body flushing out the Vicodin.

The rehab's psychiatrist, Dr. Stafford, had little faith that House would pull through. He had attempted counseling House on more than one occasion, but those turned out to be nothing but hour-long sessions of Stafford being cursed by, threatened by and humiliated by House. He was even refused his cane to walk with because that was considered 'a deadly weapon.' In the hands of any recovering alcoholic or drug addict it was. So, House didn't walk around at all.

The others at the hospital were doing the best they could with House gone: Dr. Cuddy hadn't been by to see House at all. She didn't think she could handle seeing him like he was when he tried to detoxify himself earlier in the year. But it was hard for her. She cried every night and held the pillow he'd used the last night they were together.

Chase and Cameron had been out a few times, but there didn't seem to be much working between them, in the relationship department. The sex department was a different story. She liked that he supported her, but he was a little too 'serene' for her. She liked unpredictability, and she knew him a little too well now. Chase loved everything about Cameron, and it took a few days for him to realize how quiet she had gotten since House had been away. He thought maybe it was just because of the loss of their baby, or worrying about the HIV test, but that was Chase's style. Stay calm, panic later.

Foreman and Michelle, on the other hand, were doing fabulously! Michelle moved in a week prior and everything was going smoothly. He loved having Michelle in his bed when he woke up in the mornings. Life couldn't be better than this.

---Wilson and Sarah were doing great, too. Sarah did a lot of rearranging of their furniture and such while Wilson slowly recuperated. Little Charlie was at his Grandma Laura's house for the first weekend they were together. Wilson hadn't mentioned the divorce to Julie and Sarah never asked any questions. She liked it better that way. She knew he would come around when he was ready.

---Mom and Dad House, of course, went back home because Dad had stuff to do. Mom wanted to see her son before they flew back out but Dad refused. Mom didn't talk to her husband for two weeks. Her husband had finally pushed her too far.

---Christmas and New Year's came and went, with not much change to anyone. Well, there was a little change in House. He had started to eat, which was a good thing. He had started to talk to the counselor, his attitude improved greatly and he stopped threatening other patients, which were also good things. But he wasn't resolving any issues about his Dad, which was a bad thing. Dr. Stafford thought it would be a good idea to get House into a group therapy meeting. He thought by hearing others' issues it would help him come to terms with his own.

It was a Monday afternoon in Dr. Stafford's office. There was a 21 year-old, overweight woman who slit her wrists, a thin, bald man about 55 years old, a 26 year-old male with tattoos up and down his arms then there was House. He sat in the back behind the others, looking at the back of a chair and not saying a word or looking at anyone.

"Melissa, why don't you start?" Dr. Stafford asked her.

"I'm here because I…uh…tried to slit my wrists. My parents were alcoholics, and I moved out when I was 16 into my boyfriend's house. He was 26, we did cocaine, my boyfriend ended up in prison and I was raped. I'm HIV positive now and I just did it. And it didn't hurt. I saw the blood ooze from the vein in my wrist but I didn't feel it. How's that, Dr. Stafford?" She said fast as the syllables ran into each other.

"Pretty good, Melissa, but you never said why you did it."

She sat and stared at him, trying to think of an answer that would appease him. "Because I wanted to see if I could."

"Could what? Cut yourself just to feel pain or bleed to death?" House found himself saying.

Melissa quickly turned around and glared at him, but noticed there was something there…in him…about him. She turned back around at Dr. Stafford and looked at the floor.

"Bleed, but not to die. I wanted the cocaine out of me. I wanted to start over. I didn't want to end up like Jack." She finally admitted.

"Good, Melissa, very good." Dr. Stafford said.

"Kyle, what about you?" Dr. Stafford asked the younger male with the tattoos. He sat in his chair with his arms crossed and stared at the clock. He seemed oblivious to the Dr. He decided it'd be best to skip Kyle for now.

"David, would you like to talk now?" The Dr. asked the older man.

"I have a drinking problem, on top of gambling, and sex." David stated as if he'd practiced the line over and over in his head.

"Wow, I'd be in seventh heaven if I have your problems." House blurted.

"Ok, Greg, why don't you share something about yourself with us, since you seem to like everyone else's problems so much." Dr. Stafford said impatiently. The others turned around to look at him except Kyle.

"I don't have any problems." House said. He shot a look at David who grunted under his breath.

"What's wrong with you? Have a hot date you need to get to?" House said sarcastically.

"Greg, that's enough." Dr. Stafford warned House. "I will not tolerate this in my office with other patients."

"Ok, then how about this?" House said as he stood up, leaned against the back of Melissa's chair, picked up his own and threw it out the window. Dr. Stafford quickly pressed a button as House hopped to the wall by the door and stared at them. Two medical guards came in to sedate House and send him back to his room, which was no easy task.

"I want to apologize, David, Melissa, Kyle. I guess I should have known better than bring him in." Dr. Stafford said then continued with his meeting. As the patients left Dr. Stafford's room, he sat down behind his desk and opened Dr. Greg House's medical file. There was a lot to read and catch up on, but when he did, he thought he finally got a handle on where House was coming from. He picked up the phone and dialed Mom and Dad House's home phone number.

Two weeks went by and House still spent a lot of time in his room, in bed. He couldn't stand the pain in his leg, on top of the chills and his body shaking so badly. One day, Melissa stopped by his room.

"Hey, thought you'd need some company, Greg." She said. House didn't respond. "I'll play a round of golf with you when you get out of here. I know you doctors have lots of free time on your hands."

"What do you want?" House snapped.

"I told you, for company. You got a problem with that?" She asked as she sat on the bed opposite House.

"Yeah, I got a problem with that."

"Well, tough. Because I ain't got nuttin else better to do, and apparently you don't either." House rolled over so that his back was to her.

"You got a girl?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He mumbled after a few minutes.

"Cool. She been to see you yet?"

House sighed. "No."

"Why not?" She asked.

"You ask a lot of questions, LizBeth." House heard himself say 'LizBeth' and froze. He had never done that before. Sure, he'd called out the wrong hookers' names but with hookers being hookers they don't usually care.

"Who's Lizbeth?" Melissa asked. House was quiet for a moment.

"My sister." He said.

"Oh, cool! I'm an only child. Has she been here to see you?"

"NO! Now go away." He barked.

"Uh, well, no, because dinner ain't for like another two hours and I don't wanna hang out in the lounge with those nerds. They're watching sports, and I hate sports. Well, except golf. And I like birds. Know what my favorite color is?" She asked excitedly. House didn't say a word.

"Hey, you want some chocolate?" She asked. The word 'chocolate' got House's attention, and he slowly rolled over and looked at her, really looked at her for the first time. By the look in his eyes she could tell he wanted a chunk. She tore away four blocks and handed them to him. He nodded his head when he grabbed them.

"NO! Not yet! What do you say?" She teased.

"Uh, gimme?"

"Ok, close enough. But the magic word for today is, 'thanks!'" She said as she laughed. He put in two blocks at a time and let it melt in his mouth slowly. He'd never tasted anything as good as what he had in his mouth at that moment. He growled from his throat without realizing he did it.

"You welcome!" Melissa said. "So, when is your sister coming to see you?"

"She's not." He said as the last of the first block dissolved.

"Why not? She's not a very good sister, is she?"

"She's dead." He said solemnly. He was about to put the second block in his mouth when he seemed to lose his appetite when he mentioned his sister.

"Greg, I'm sorry. I just dunno when to keep my big mouth shut." House shook his head and handed the chocolate back to her.

"No, no. You keep it, in case of emergency, ok?" She said as she bounced up from the bed and headed for the door.

"Melissa?" House asked.

"Yeah?"

"What's your favorite color?"

"Purple!" She said with a smile.

"Ok, thanks." House said.

"Sure. Later, dude."

And House was left alone once again, to think. House knew there was a lot of anger he had toward his dad about the way he dealt with LizBeth's suicide. But he didn't know how to deal with it with his father.

FLASHBACK OF FIGHT WITH LIZBETH AND DAD --- Liz is 12, House 18... In the words of House

'Man! I've got the prom with Peggy next week...haven't got a tux yet...the corsage...and I've got to study for finals. Oh, the heck with it for now.'

Greg pulls out a Playboy from under his mattress, lies on the bed and starts flipping pages, until he starts to smell something funny coming through the open window, then hears his father's voice.

"Elizabeth Ann House! What in God's name are you doing?"

"...nothing to do...the matches...counter...Greg left his model plane...yard."

"We've raised you better than this! There are plenty of things you can do: Clean your room, do your homew…Don't you dare roll your eyes at me young lady! Go to your room, NOW!"

Greg hears the front door close, foot stomps coming up the stairs and Liz slams her bedroom door. He sits quietly for a second then hears soft sobs coming from her room. He closes the magazine, slips it under the mattress and heads off to Liz's room. He stands outside the door and was just about to knock when his father comes up the stairs.

"Don't waste your time going in to talk to her. She's on restriction for 2 weeks, and you have a mess to clean up outside. And don't forget to cover the spots where the grass was burned away..."

His father walks back down the stairs, while Greg just stares at his back. He heads outside, cleans up and heads back to his room, quietly closing the door and sits at the chair facing the window.

'When is Dad gonna loosen up on Liz? She's just doing it for attention because he never pays any attention to her. I can't really blame her. Dad's gonna just LUV it when I tell him I'm going off to medical school. With all that dough I've earned throwing those newspapers on people's front doors, mowing lawns and raking leaves I don't need anything from him anyway. Man...I've gotta go rent a tux...'

FLASHFORWARD TO THE PRESENT

That time wasn't when he started hating his dad. It was something he'd always known since he was a kid. His dad was tough on him. Always telling him what to do: make a grilled sandwich this way; make a PB&J sandwich this way; go clothes shopping that way; pack the grocery bag with food this way…it was enough to drive any man to drink, or take drugs, as was House's case.

'It's not my fault I'm screwed up. Why am I the one being punished for his lousy actions?' House thought to himself.

"God, my leg hurts!" He said out loud.

"Pssst, come here." House heard a man whisper out in the hall.

"What do you want?"

"Heard you need something for pain, buddy. I got something. Come here." The man said.

He thought he was hallucinating until he heard something hi-pitched roll across the tile floor toward his bed. He looked at the floor and there it was….oh, another one rolled toward him. He knew he was hallucinating now. But he didn't care if he was. He slowly got out of bed, got down on his good leg and picked up the pill. It looked like a Vicodin, smelled like a Vicodin, and had "Smithers" on one side. It was a Vicodin! He grabbed the second one and popped both of them in his mouth. He sat down on his butt and laid his head on the back of the bed post leg until the pills kicked in. A tear rolled down his cheek when the pain in his leg slowly ebbed away. He was free…for now…for a while…a very short while.

House was able to get up and go to the cafe for dinner that night, but it wasn't as pleasant as he'd hoped. He had been on his best behavior, well, for House, which is good. He followed along in line like the mindless children going into the underground building in The Time Machine movie. When he got the nasty looking-smelling food on his tray, he walked to a table that had the least amount of people and sat at the very end. He was content until Kyle showed up.

"Hey, buddy. Mind if I join you?" Kyle asked.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do." House answered looking at his food, debating whether he really wanted to eat it.

"Great, thanks!" Kyle said as he put the tray on the table and started to eat. House rolled his eyes. "Wanna know why I'm here?" Kyle asked with a mouthful of food.

"No." House answered.

"I'm addicted to Vicodin. My sister had some for her back problem and she gave me some. Did you like?"

"Like what?" House said sarcastically. Then he recognized his voice. "Uh, yeah, thanks."

"Hey, no problem, man. That's why I'm here. Anytime you need more, you just let me know." Kyle said as he stood up and joined another group at another table.

House was feeling bad for taking the pills. He had been clean for almost four weeks and he was starting to feel better. Well, his leg wasn't. It still hurt like hell. And he'd begged Dr. Stafford for his cane, and he seemed to see the improvement in House and told him he'd do what he could about getting it.

The next morning he had a meeting with Dr. Stafford. As House walked into his office, he saw his cane against the back of a chair.

"Have a seat, Greg." The Dr. said. House walked to the chair with the cane, caressed it with hand, picked it up and used it to sit in the other chair. Dr. Stafford picked up the phone..."You may bring her in, now."

House was afraid to turn around to see who it was. He thought it was his 10th grade girlfriend whom he poured chocolate milk over her head then ran off, though he had no clue why he thought of that.

"Greg..." She started to say. His head flew around to look at her then he jumped up and walked to Dr. Lisa Cuddy. He threw his arms around her waist and hugged her, tightly. She had her arms around his neck and buried her face. He could feel her cold tears fall onto his shoulder and he held her even tighter.

"Oh, Leeesaaa..." He said. He'd never felt so happy in his life.

"Please, you two, have a seat." Dr. Stafford said. They did so while holding hands across the space between the chairs. House couldn't stop staring at Cuddy. To him, it seemed she'd aged tremendously. And, to Cuddy, he looked like he'd aged, but for the better. The sparkle was back in his eyes as they had been when they dated.

"Greg, I felt it was time to reward you by inviting Dr. Cuddy to have some time with you. And thank you, Dr. Cuddy, for sending the check to cover the window he smashed previously." Cuddy nodded her head, and Greg couldn't hide his grin.

"I was having a bad day, Lisa." House said. She squeezed his hand and winked at him.

"You have made great progress, Greg. You two may peruse the grounds for as long as you need in 30 minutes, but there is one more private meeting with Greg that must be done first. Dr. Cuddy, would you mind stepping out into the hallway? He'll join you shortly."

"Of course not. Thank you, Dr. Stafford." Cuddy said as she stood, extended her hand to the Dr. and gave

House a kiss on the cheek. She walked out of the office. Dr. Stafford picked up the phone again and said, "You may bring them in, now."

For some reason, House got a knot in his stomach. A few minutes later, Mom and Dad House walked into the office. Mom went straight to her son and gave him a hug while he still sat.

"Hi, Mom." House said.

"I'm so glad you are doing bet..." She started to say.

"This is totally unnecessary and a complete waste of our time. Not to mention the money we spe..." House rolled his eyes and put his hand to his temple as he blocked out his father's voice. He felt the migraine come back. Or, was it the pain from his father's constant belittling?

"Mr. House, Mrs. House, please, sit." Dr. Stafford said. Mom sat in the chair next to her son while Dad sat on the couch, seemingly 20 miles away.

"I'd like to start by saying Greg has made tremendous progress. But there are a few more matters that must be addressed. I understand you are a retired Colonel in the Army, correct Mr. House?"

"Yes." Was all he said.

"Dr. Stafford, we raised Gregory the best we could, and I think he turned out to be a great man." Mom House said.

"Yes, he is, except nothing pleases that boy. I gave him everything I never had, and he never appreciated any of it." Dad House said angrily.

"Greg, how do you feel about that statement?" Dr. Stafford asked House. House just shrugged his shoulders. "Greg, you have to learn to speak up and tell them how you feel. The animosity you have toward your father is keeping you from dealing with the pain you feel." Dr. Stafford said.

"Oh, he isn't in pain. He makes himself live the most miserable life he can, and make those around him miserable, too." Dad said. House grabbed his cane, stood up and went to the window. It was beginning to snow, and it actually looked pretty good to him.

"Honey, stop it." Mom said to her husband.

"Oh, right. You did a pretty good job of making my childhood miserable! And after what you said about LizBeth!" House yelled. He caught a glimpse of his mother shutter when she heard the name of her only daughter.

"I'm sorry, Mom. But it's his fault! That girl wanted nothing but love from you he pointed to his father but she was never good enough. I was never good enough. Why do you think I wouldn't let them amputate my leg, huh? Do you?" House screamed, challenging his father to answer.

"I'll tell you! Because if I didn't have my leg, I would be more imperfect. Plus, you'd have a field day finding more ammo to criticize me. We're soooooo sorry we aren't as perfect as you are!" House blurted out.

Later that morning, House and Cuddy were walking the grounds of the rehab center in the snow, bundled up in coats and scarves.

"Greg, honey. Are you ok?" Cuddy asked House as she put her gloved hand out to catch the falling snow.

He stopped and turned to look at her. "Lisa, I don't know. That Dr. Stafford cornered me with bringing in my parents. That was low."

"No, it wasn't. That was something you would have done."

"No, I wou...well, maybe I would have. But still, why does he have to be so damned judgmental of me? And of LizBeth. God! That man!"

"Who's LizBeth, Greg?" Cuddy asked.

House hesitated for a moment. "She was my sister, Elizabeth. But I called her LizBeth. Dad was always rough on her, too strict. She wasn't a cadet, for Pete's sake! She was his daughter!"

"Was his daughter?"

"She committed suicide wh..." He closed his eyes as if the words he was about to speak would tear his tongue out.

"She sat in the car in a closed up garage with the motor running. She called me, from there, in the car. But I didn't go to the house. It's MY fault she's dead! I should have gon..." His voice trailed off as he collapsed in the dusting of snow. Cuddy sat down next to him and put her arm around him.

"Oh, baby. Don't do that to yourself." She tried to comfort him as the tears rolled out of his eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?" Cuddy asked affectionately.

House shook his head, 'no.' then after a moment he said, "She was pregnant. She knew Dad would kill her so she did it. And since then we never talked about her, never. I hated them for that. And Mom, well, I guess I didn't hate her. She got stuck in the middle, but she allows herself to be. Since then, I've hated him. And he doubled up on me because he didn't have LizBeth to attack. Lisa, that's why I couldn't let you cut off my leg. I was never perfect in his eyes in the first place. If I didn't have my leg..." Cuddy cut him off.

"Oh, Greg. I'm so sorry. Oh, baby." She said as she rocked him. She held him until his tears stopped and he could talk again.

And they did. Talk. One of the things was he told her how much he appreciated her putting up with his ass and he'd do the best he could to be good to her.

"How is the gang?" House finally asked after they got up from the cold, frozen grass and walked among the bushes and trees.

"Great. That Rog, you know, the klutz? I've hired him full-time. There was a patient he diagnos..."

"I meant the other gang." House cut her off with a grin.

"Oh!" She laughed. "Let's see. Wilson is starting back to work next week, but only part time. He, Sarah and Charlie are very happy together. And Chase and Cameron have been kind of funny with each other. I mean, it's apparent they try not to talk to each other, other than about medical issues. I tried talking to Chase about it but he didn't tell me anything.

"Foreman has been working in the E.R. for the past two weeks, but he'll still be working with you four days a week, and in the E.R. on Fridays and Saturdays. Right now he and Michelle are in the Bahamas."

"Who's Michelle? House asked.

"His girl. They've been seeing each other for a while now."

"Lisa, can we go back? I'm getting cold." House said as he turned around to retrace their steps.

"Ok, but there's something you need to see, first." Cuddy said as she took his hand and led him around a tree.

There, on a thick, plaid blanket was a wicker basket. "What's this?" House asked.

"Lunch." She simply said.

She pulled him by his hand and they both sat on the blanket, under a tree providing them shelter from the lightly falling snow. They ate fried chicken, potato salad and the like. House actually laughed out loud a few times, as Cuddy told him of Rog's fumbling incidents.

"Lisa?" House asked as he put his mug of hot cocoa on the blanket and looked at her.

"Hmmmph?" She said as she sipped her hot tea.

"Do you love me?"

"Hmm. I don't know." She answered with a serious face then smiled at him. "Yes, I do. I think I always have. That's the only way I could put up with you." She teased.

"Then, uh, guess I should tell you something." He started to say.

"I love you, too, Lisa." House said.

TWO MONTHS LATER…

Dr. Greg House walked into the clinic of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. It was a Friday and he'd just been released from the rehab center. He really didn't want to go home, yet.

"Welcome back, Dr. House...Hey, Dr. House...Glad to see you, Dr. House..." Nurses and Doctors greeted him as he walked toward the elevator.

He really didn't want to hear all of that. He stepped off the elevator and headed to his office. Well, he really just wanted his t.v.; it was almost 3:00 and he had General Hospital to catch up on. He opened the door to his office and noticed Chase, Cameron and Rog sitting at the table in the conference room.

They'd seen him walk in and Cameron's face lit up. Chase caught her expression change then looked away quickly because Cameron noticed him staring at her out of the corner of her eye. Cameron stood up and walked to the coffee pot, grabbed his mug.

As she poured she thought to herself, 'Wonder what he wants now? Cream? Sugar? Black? I can never tell how he likes it from day to day.' She thought to herself as she walked to his office and put the mug on his desk. He didn't look at her.

"Thanks, Cameron." House said. She didn't know what to say to him.

"Where's Foreman?" House asked.

"He's in the E.R. I thought Cuddy told y..."

"Yeah, yeah, that's right." House interrupted her.

"We missed you, House." Cameron finally said. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Thanks. I actually missed you guys, too."

Cameron walked back into the conference room. She hoped he didn't know about Chase and Cameron going out a few times. She wouldn't know how to face him if he knew. She felt like she cheated on him, even though they weren't together. One date, that's all it was. But she had to know how to get to that man. She knew there was something more to him, and on more than one occasion she'd lay awake in bed trying to figure him out.

'Figure him out? That was like trying to figure out if there really wasa Loch Ness monster. You know something's there, even though you don't see it; but every once in a while, you see a glimmer of something.' She thought to herself.

An hour later, after G.H. was over, House walked into the conference room where the gang had been sitting around doing nothing, like they'd been doing the past few months.

"Hey, you guys up for dinner tonight? I haven't had a half decent meal in months." House asked, while they all gave him a surprised look.

"Uh, I can't. I have some papers to work on." Chase said.

"I can." Cameron chimed in.

"Rog, what about you? I haven't gotten you drunk yet to spill all your secrets...I mean, taken you to dinner." House said.

"Yes, Sir, I can make it." Rog answered. House noticed the look of disappointment on Cameron's face when he said he'd join them.

"Let me go call Foreman, too. That ok?" Cameron asked.

"Fine." House answered. "I need to get all the dirt on his new girl."

"Is Lee..Cuddy here today?" House asked.

"Yes, Sir. She's in a meeting." Rog said.

"Ok, good. Meet you guys at Gerald's at 8? I want to go home and change." House said as he walked out. He didn't even wait until they'd answered him.

House had been home for a couple of hours. He'd made arrangements to have Cuddy watch little Stevie McQueen, but he still looked for him when he first got into his apartment. The first thing he did was head for the shower; he had a nice, long, 30 minute shower. He'd never felt cleaner in his life. Then he went to the mini bar and poured a tall scotch. He walked to the hutch, pulled it out a little bit and pulled out a bottle. It was his Vicodin; his secret stash. He'd been clean the past two months, since he'd taken the Vicodin from Kyle at the rehab center. So, he just made himself be on his best behavior to get him out as soon as he could get out because he knew he had some here.

He looked at his GameBoy but wasn't in the mood to play. He couldn't stand anymore defeat at the moment. But his piano.

'Ahhhh, my keys! Come to dad-eee!' House thought to himself as he put his drink on the table next to the piano. And played and played, for hours. He hadn't even paid attention to the time until he heard the doorbell go off.

'Du duh duh duhhhhhhhh' He piped in real quick before he answered the door. He looked in the peep hole and saw Cameron standing there carrying a food bag.

"Oh, I didn't know Gerald delivers!" House said as he opened the door to let Cameron in.

"House, I'd ask what happened to you but I heard you play your piano. I've been hitting the doorbell for five minutes!"

"What time is it?" House asked, looking at his wrist at an imaginary watch.

"It's 9:30. We were supposed to meet at 8, remember? Well, I brought you a cheeseburger and fries." Cameron said as she walked to the kitchen table and put the bag down.

"What? No Reuben? Thanks. That smells good." House said as he tore into the bag and stuffed a big bite into his mouth.

"How are you and Chase doing?" House asked between bites.

Cameron was shocked he knew about them. She was sorry he did, though. "We're not. I don't see us going anywhere."

"Cameron, you know he likes you. Give the Aussie a break, will ya? You want something to drink?"

"No, thanks. Had enough at the bar." Cameron answered. "I've thought about being with Chase, but...I don't know. I feel badabout what I did to him."

"Bad? Really? I heard it was pret..."

"Shut up, House." Cameron snapped.

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry." House said sincerely when he took the bag of fries to his recliner and sat down. Cameron just stood and watched him. She wanted to stay, but she was so confused.

"House, look, I know you've been gone for so long, and I hope it's helped you. Has it?" Cameron asked as she sat down.

House shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so." He answered.

"House, um, do you still have feelings for me? Since you've been away?"

'Not that again. Geez.' House thought to himself.

"Cameron, I've got someth..." Just then the doorbell rang.

"Wow, I've never had so many visitors in one night. I don't think I'll ever go away again!" House said as he stood up to answer the door.

"Hi, baby! I heard you weren't at Gerald's and...oh, hi Cameron." Cuddy said as she walked through the door. House looked at the floor like he was a dog that just got busted for pee'ing on the carpet.

"Hi, Dr. Cuddy. I was just leaving." Cameron said as she stood up.

"Cameron, thanks for the burger. I really appreciate the thought." House said as he put his hand on her shoulder as she walked out.

House quickly closed the door and held Cuddy. "Oh, woman, you smell sooo good." He said as he planted a kiss on her lips.

She broke away from him, stepped to the couch and unbuttoned her winter full-length coat, took it off and put it on the couch. She was wearing a lacy, black, thigh-high negligee along with a welcoming smile. He limped toward her, without his cane, and held her. He pulled her into his bedroom and they made love all night long. Sweet, passionate love. He knew he was... in love...with Cuddy.

---When the door closed behind Cameron, she took a few steps and leaned against the wall. Tears swelled in her eyes when it dawned on her that House and Cuddy were together. She'd lost. Lost House. Forever. Cameron went home that night and laid in bed, thinking about Chase.

'Am I being too hard on him?' Then she thought about House. 'Well, I guess it's for the best. House and Cuddy do seem good for each other, and she certainly can put up with him better than I can.'

"Oh, stop it!" She said out loud, and reached for the phone.

---Chase just put his key in the door when he heard the phone rang. He quickly unlocked the door and ran to answer the phone.

"Hello?" Chase asked as he threw the keys on the table.

"It's Cameron. I just wanted to make sure you got home ok." There was silence. "Well, did you get home okay?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah. Just walked in the door. What are you doing? Thought you'd be asleep by now. How did House like his burger?" Chase said as he sat on the couch after taking his coat off.

"He ate it in two seconds flat. Chase, did you know House and Cuddy are, uh, dating?" Cameron finally blurted out.

"No, I didn't. How do you know?"

"She came to his place shortly I got there. She knew she was going over there when she heard he was back. That's why she didn't come to dinner with us."

"Allison, does it matter?" Chase asked.

"Well, no."

Early the next morning, House and Cuddy lay in bed in each other's arms. House woke up first and was just watching her sleep. He loved doing that.

'She can't order me to clinic duty when she's asleep.' House thought to himself and grinned. He reached out his hand and softly ran his thumb over her eyebrow, brushed it against her eyelash, her cheek, her bottom lip.

"OW!" House screamed when she bit his thumb. She grinned.

"Mornin', baby." She said as her eyes fluttered open.

"Want some coffee?" House asked her.

"No, I want to lay here with you for a while. That okay?"

House picked his head up off the pillow and kissed her lips. "Does that answer your question?" He asked. She nodded her head, and they made love again.

House rolled over and looked at his clock; it read 11:45. "Lisa, I'm going to make coffee, sweetie. You want tea, right?" House asked as he slid out of bed and slid his boxers on.

"Yes, please. And I love your golfing boxers!" She said with a smile.

"Thanks. And I don't have any tea. You'll have to have coffee." He said as he bent down and kissed her. He walked out into the kitchen and started the coffee brewing. He opened his refrigerator and realized he didn't have anything to make breakfast - rather, lunch with.

"Lisa! I don't have anything to make for breakfast. I can order a pizza?" House asked loud enough so she could hear in the bedroom.

"You don't have to scream at me, dear." Cuddy said as she peered over the opened refrigerator door. He looked up and saw her standing in her negligee.

"You know, you should wear that every day, sexy!" House said with a smirk.

"Well, you know, I like to keep my 'fun bags' hidden away to leave some to the imagination." She teased. Just then the phone rang.

"Don't answer it! It might be someone important!" House said.

"Well, if it's someone important then you should answer it."

"But I don't wanna!" House whined.

The answering machine picked up. "House, it's Foreman. I know you're there...anyway, there's a patient that was just brought in and she's asking for you. Her name is Melissa...it's nothing serious but she really wan...BEEEEEEP"

"Who's Melissa? I thought you got rid of your hooker list. Tsk, tsk."

"She wa...is a patient at Princeton-Clarkston. She's just a kid. Sweet."

"Oh, I see. You hit up on another patient?" Cuddy teased as she pulled two coffee mugs from the cabinet and handed on to House.

"Stop, Lisa." House said with a smile. He walked into the living room and dialed Foreman's cell phone.

"Hey...yeah, I was sleeping. What's up with Melissa?...oh, ok...do an upper G.I. endoscopy to look for an ulcer an...yeah, yeah, right. Ok. Tell her I'll be there soon." House hung up the phone.

"Lisa, do you min..."

"Of course not, Greg. I have to run home anyway."

"Can't you stay? I won't be long. I can get some foo..."

"No, no. Tell ya what. While you're gone, I'll run home, change, get some food for dinner, maybe a movie or two. How's that?" She asked.

"Yeah, get 'Bambi Does Birmingham,' ok? I've been wan..."

"Greg, go change!" She said as she kissed his cheek.

When House changed clothes and Cuddy was in the shower, he went to the closet and grabbed the bottle. 'Damn, only six left! They'll last me only a day or so, depending on what kind of day I have...er, the pain is killing me.' He thought to himself as he swallowed two and put the bottle back in the closet.

House walked into the E.R. about 45 minutes after Foreman called him about Melissa. House met him just outside the nurse's station.

"What's up with Melissa?" House asked as he reached for her file from Foreman's hands. He flipped through a few pages to see what had been done to diagnose her. "Bloody diarrhea, stomach pain, mild fever, no hemorrhoids."

"We did an upper G.I. endoscopy for ulcers, negative. But there was evidence that she had them in the past. Her esophagus, stomach and duodenum are also clear. She's having a CT scan right now. As a matter of fact they should almost be done." Foreman said as he reached for the phone and dialed a few numbers.

"Ok, great. Thanks." As he hung up the phone he told House, "She's on her way back up." House nodded his head as he reached for a chair and sat down.

"It's good to see you back, House. A lot has happened since you've been gone."

"Yeah, so I've heard." House said accusingly. "What made you come to the E.R.? You never mentioned it before." House asked.

"It's been in the back of my head for a while now. I just never thought about pers...here she is." Foreman said as he looked at two attendants wheeling a gurney into an exam room. House stood up and they went into her room. Melissa was getting into the bed and lay on her side, holding her stomach.

"Hey, girl! Heard you are having some stomach problems. How are you feeling?" House asked as he popped in the scan films on the lighted white board to examine the results.

She didn't answer. House turned around to see Foreman at her side and a nurse inserting an I.V. for fluids because she'd lost so much from the diarrhea. The nurse put the thermometer in her mouth as House walked to her bed. She didn't look at House at all but her eyes were open.

"Melissa, I heard you asked for me. Is there anything I can do for you?" House asked softly. Foreman looked at House with a fascinated expression.

'Whoah! Looks like that rehab center worked for him. That's great.' Foreman thought to himself.

"No." She barely whispered.

"Is the pain that bad? We can get you something for that. I hear Vicodin is terrific for pain." Foreman snickered and shook his head. House looked up at him with a death glare.

"Foreman, I'll take care of her now, if you don't mind."

"Actually, I do. She's my patient." He said rather short.

"May I see you outside, Dr. Foreman?" House asked. "I'll be right back. Hang in there." And they walked out into the hall.

"Foreman, I understand your situation. But we were in rehab together. I'd really like to take care of her." House asked as nicely as he could.

"House, things are different down here. You can't jus..." House interrupted him.

"Look, I know things have been a little strange with you being my boss for a while but come on!" House snapped, about to take Foreman down.

"Dr. House, I can't. You'll have to talk to Dr. Cypher. She's head of th..." Foreman was saying but House was already walking down the hall.

House walked into Dr. Cypher's office. She owed him a favor anyway. After a few minutes explaining the situation, Dr. Cypher shook her head. "Fine." She said. He thanked her and headed back to Melissa's room.

"Melissa, have you ever been treated for ulcers before? Or had bloody stools? And have you been taking Immodium A.D. or anything like that for the diarrhea?" House asked her as he stood by her bed. All she could do was shake her head 'no.'

"Ok. First we're going to sedate you for a barium enema then an X-ray; that'll show us if there's any problem with your colon, or large intestine. I also want an MRI, which will show any polyps or tumors. And if that doesn't show anything, we'll do a colonoscopy tomorrow." House said as he looked at her more closely.

"Melissa, what's wrong? I've never seen you quiet for more than two minutes."

"Doc, does this have anythin' to do with my HIV?" She finally asked.

"No, sweetie. I think maybe you do have an ulcer, which takes nothing to treat. Ok? Is there anyone I can call?" She shook her head 'no.'

"Ok, you get some rest. I'll be back in a few minutes to be with you during the procedures, ok?"

"Uh huh." She answered then closed her eyes.

House walked into the hall and saw Foreman treating another patient. House didn't know if he called Dr. Stafford or not, or who even brought her to the hospital. He walked to his office to call him.

"Dr. Stafford, this is Dr. Greg House. I've got Melissa Fitzhugh here an...yes, about two hours a...I don't know. Dr.

Foreman first treated her then he called me." House was silent for a moment as he listened to Dr. Stafford.

"Ok, I'll call you when we know what's wrong with her. Can you please wait on that?" House asked urgently. "Great, thanks...you're welcome."

House sat in his office for a few minutes thinking about what he'd just heard. He never asked himself why he took such an interest in Melissa, besides she seemed like a cool kid. She reminded him of his sister, LizBeth. Maybe that was why he was 'drawn' to her. He walked back down to LizBeth's room. There were two nurses getting her ready for the enema.

"You better take good care of this woman, you two!" House chimed as he walked into her room. She looked a little pale but at

least she wasn't grabbing her stomach anymore.

"Do you two mind if I chat with her before we go down?" House asked as nicely as he could. One of the nurses looked at him suspiciously then they left.

"Melissa, why didn't you tell me you skipped out of that place? And where is your boyfriend? Is he the one that brought you here?"

She looked up at him and knew immediately that he had called Dr. Stafford.

"You traitor! Why did you call him?" She shouted at him then grabbed her stomach.

"Now, you know I didn't...I had to ask Dr. Stafford what medications you were taking." House lied.

"Yeah, Jack brought me here. He picked me up at the center. It was his idea to get me outta there. It was sooo easy gettin' outta that place." She tried to laugh.

"Melissa, this is no joke! You could have bled to death! You might even be anemic. I can't help you if you don't tell me what's going on. Wait...wasn't Jack in prison for coke possession?"

"Yeah, but he got out a few weeks ago. He came to see me. I didn't wanna to do it bu...oooooooohhhhhhhhh." She moaned.

"Your stomach? House asked as he threw back the covers and tapped her stomach.

"Don...God it hurts!" She screamed. House hollered for the nurses.

"I think she has a blocked colon. Get an O.R. ready!" House shouted as nurses came into the room. House looked up at her vital readings and her blood pressure had dropped, which wasn't a good sign.

"Get some morphine for her, please. Melissa, I'll be in the room with you during your surgery, ok? Trust me, you'll be fine." House said as he winked at her.

"I trust you, Doc Greg." She said then screamed in pain again.

House left her room and went to the phone at the nurse's station to call Cuddy about Melissa's condition.

"Hey, babe. Where are you?" He asked when she answered the phone.

"Just walked in the door. How's Melissa?"

"She's on her way to surgery. She has a blocked colon, I think."

"Greg, do you want me there?" Cuddy asked.

"No, no. Why don't you stay there and I'll call you when she's out?"

"Actually, what I'm making will take a while. Do you like chicken and linguini? I make it from scratch. It's an old family recipe."

"Yeah, that sounds great."

"Hey, where's your spare set of keys? You ran out so fast I forgot to ask for them." Cuddy asked.

"Look on your keychain, darlin'." House said then hung up before she could respond.

He thought he was being so sneaky when he put his spare key on her ring when she was in the shower. He worked quickly like that. They wheeled Melissa into surgery and he changed into a mask and surgical gown. House watched the procedure intently. They did find a tumor on her colon and had to remove about 2-1/2 feet of her large intestine because it had swollen so much it was beginning to cut off the blood flow.

"Ok, get her started on sulfasalazine. She did fine." The operating doctor told House. House smiled underneath his mask and nodded his head. Then he walked out to call Wilson. During the surgery, he realized he hadn't called him yet.

"Herow?" A little voice asked on the other end of the phone.

"Hi, Charlie! Is your Daddy home?"

"Uh huh." There was silence.

"May I speak with him, please?" House asked with a little grin.

"DAAAAAAAAAD!" He screamed into the phone so loud House had to pull the ear piece away from his ear.

"Hello? Go play with Mommy, ok?" Wilson said through the phone.

"Oh, I can play with Sarah! Wow, Wilson, thanks!" House teased.

"Hey, House! When did you get home? Cuddy said you got out yesterday."

"Actually, I'm at the hospital, with a patient."

"Oh. Back so soon? Does that mean you have more clinic duty?"

"Not if I can help it. I just wanted to call you. You up for dinner later? Or lunch tomorrow?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. Charlie's been wanting to go sledding. I tried telling him there wasn't enough snow, but he wouldn't listen. He takes after you, House."

House laughed. "What can I say? Okay, I'll call ya later."

"Glad you're back, House." He thanked Wilson and hung up the phone.

House sat at his desk waiting for Melissa to be wheeled back into her room. He knew it'd be a while before she came out of the anesthetic, and the clock said it was 5:45. He was tired and hungry. He'd forgotten all about eating anything.

'OH! Lisa's making dinner!' He thought to himself as he dialed his home number. There was no answer. He hung up and dialed her cell phone.

"Hello?" Cuddy said.

"Hey, where are you?"

"At your front door." She answered.

"You're still at the house! It takes you that long to make the linguini?"

"No, but it takes a while to pack it and bring it to you." She said as she pushed open the door to his office. She had the cell phone in one hand and the wicker basket in the other. House smiled then hung up the phone. He stood up and limped to her, in obvious pain and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"You are a life saver, Lisa. Thanks!" House said as he grabbed the basket and took it to the desk.

"How's Melissa?" Cuddy asked as she took the food out of the basket. House told her everything she'd been through and that he thought she'd be fine. He also told her he called Wilson, and 'Charlie sounded like the sweetest little boy.'

"He really is. Julie is being difficult, though. That's a long story and I really don't want to get into it." Cuddy said as she dished the chicken and linguini onto the hard plastic plates; it was still warm.

They ate and House even had seconds. "This is the best meal I have ever eaten! Well, the cheeseburger was pretty good, well, the second best meal I've eaten." Cuddy threw her napkin at him and smiled.

"Greg, I found something that I wished I hadn't." House leaned back in his chair and rubbed his full stomach.

"Is it contagious?" House asked.

"Seriously, Greg. You spent, what? Almost three months in rehab and you're still taking the Vicodin?" Cuddy said perturbed.

"Ah, you went snooping, huh?"

"No. I was looking for a hand towel to wrap some of the food bowls in. What has gotten into you? You know, I don't know if I can do this." Cuddy sighed.

"Do what?" House asked, playing stupid.

"I am not going to have a relationship with you if you continue to abuse that Vicodin."

"Lisa, I did learn something at rehab. I realized that my father is a real ass, there's nothing I can do about it but watch how I react to his negativity. Yes, I admit I did more than I had to at times, but I kept hearing my dad's voice and nothing would make them stop. But I do need something for my leg. Nobody seems to understand that."

"How much have you taken since you've been home?" She asked.

"I took two when I got home last night and two before I left to come here. And I haven't taken any since I've been here." He said honestly.

"I'm just concerned about you, Greg. I know a little of what you've been through in the past, and what you are going through now. I'm trying to understand, I really am. But I don't understand your addiction."

"Lisa, it'll be fine. I really am going to do the best I can to take as little Vicodin as I can."

"How are you going to manage that? You can't self-prescribe that."

"I have my connections."

Lisa's eyes burrowed into his. "Oh, really? How's that?"

"Don't you bother with that, Lisa."

"Greg, I have to! Don't you get it? You are on probation until your actions have proved that you indeed have beaten your addiction. If I, at any time, become aware of you continuing to take them, I have no other choice but to fire you. And I don't want to have to do that." House stared at her intently, as if she were challenging him.

"Ok, on Monday, I'll check into pain medication alternatives."

"And you'll join a pain management class with Dr. Parker." Cuddy said.

House rolled his eyes, stood up and walked to Cuddy. "Babe, for you, I will try." She smiled at him as he bent over and kissed her.

"Eeew, garlic breath! Nasty." House teased.

"Shut up and kiss me, fool!" Cuddy said. Just as House reached up to her chest his cell phone went off. Cuddy grabbed it off his belt and looked at it. "Melissa's out of surgery, Greg."

House reluctantly stood up. "Lisa, seriously, thanks. For everything."

House walked into Melissa's room and she was still asleep. He sat and watched her, and thought. He didn't know why he lied to Lisa about the pills. He didn't know why he even got Kyle's sister's number so she could get his pills. He still didn't understand why he did the things he did, even. But he knew one thing. He loved Cuddy. And he wasn't going to lose another good thing in his life. A few minutes later Melissa started coming around from the anesthetic. She opened her eyes slowly and smiled when she saw House.

"Hey, Doc. How'd my plastic surgery go?" She muttered.

"Well, the bad news is you no longer look yourself. The good news is you now look like Angelina Jolie."

"NO! I don't like her lips. They look fake." She teased back sleepily.

"Seriously, Melissa, they did find a tumor on your colon but they removed it. The doctor said it looked benign. But he's concerned a little because the aminosalicylates doesn't seem to be working. We can't put you on AZA or mercaptopurine because they both suppress your immune system. With your HIV, it might cause complications. We'll have to keep a close eye on you."

"Doc?"

"Yes?"

"Can ya keep Jack 'way from me, please?" Melissa begged. "I can't...back...him...done...wanna...go..."

"Melissa, you can count on that, I promise. But, you've got to be strong, too. We found traces of Cocaine in your system." Melissa frowned at him and looked at his leg.

"Ah, don't tell me Mr. Perfect Doc hasn't been doin' his 'drug-a-choice' since you been out. I can tell, Doc. I only saw that look in your eyes when you first got to rehab. Yeah, I noticed you...it." House shook his head and grinned a little.

"We still have a long road ahead of us, Melissa. But you have to hang in there. You're going to have good days and bad days. I'll help you if you help me?" House asked, hopefully. She nodded her head in agreement.

"Just a few more things. You are anemic, but that'll be corrected with the Iron supplement we have you on. We'll try corticosteroids for the inflammation as well as Asacol, but you let the nurse know if you have any nausea, heartburn or headache."

"Okey dokey Doc-a-rokey! I'm gonna sleep now. Thanks for checking up on me." She said as she closed her eyes. House walked out of her room feeling pretty good about himself. Either he was in extraordinary pain from his leg, or the Grinch in him was slowly dying.

"Pardon me!" A woman said when House turned a corner and ran right smack into her.

"What? Why? You ran into me!" House snipped then kept on walking. No, the Grinch was still there! He walked away with a grin on his face. When he walked back into his office, Cuddy was still there waiting for him.

"Hi, babe. You look tired." She said to him as he walked to the couch and sat down.

"I am." He said, putting his head on her shoulder and closing his eyes.

"You have an hour to sleep before we are due at Wilson and Sarah's." Cuddy told him.

"Aw, man! What for! I wanna go back and play! Do I have to?"

"Yes, and stop whining! It's not very becoming of a Doctor." Cuddy said as she put her arm around his shoulder and let his head rest on her chest. She kissed the top of his head and she could see his cheeks come up close to his ear in a smile. He reached out for her right hand and held it to his heart.

---In Cameron's apartment, she had just gotten out of the shower to get ready for the evening. Chase invited himself over to take her to Wilson and Sarah's. She sat at her makeup table drying her hair and thinking. About what, in particular, she didn't really

know. She noticed Chase sounded funny on the phone and said he was going to be at her place an hour early before they left so they could hang out. The doorbell rang but Cameron hadn't put on clothes yet. She quickly threw on a red and gold glimmering sweater and black jeans. She opened the door and he walked in, not looking too happy. He walked directly to the couch and sat down.

"Uh, what's up with that? You're ear..." Cameron stated to say.

"Allison, we need to talk." He interrupted. Cameron walked to the chair in front of the couch and sat down.

"I don't understand why you haven't been talking to me. You won't even look at me, and when you do it's a nasty look. It was my baby you lost, too."

Cameron just stared at him. She wasn't used to his bluntness, or anyone being blunt. Well, aside from House.

"Robert, you're right. I've just been so confused trying to deal with everything. I thought I could handle it myself but apparently I'm not doing a good job. And I have been trying to block you out, and I'm sorry for that. But this is so different than when I lost Emma. At least I held her, touched h..."

Chase stood up and got on his knees in front of Cameron. "I know it's been difficult for you. I've been waiting for you to come to me to talk but you never did. I didn't want to make things worse. What is it I'm doing wrong?"

Cameron sighed. "Nothing, nothing. Really. It's just...when I saw Cuddy walk into House's apartment last night it just hit me, hard. You know, I didn't fall asleep until 4:30 this morning. Maybe it just isn't meant to be. And I'm sorry if I made you feel used that night and..."

"Allison, you didn't use me. And I didn't use you. I care about you, and I did want you that night. I knew how upset you were and that's the only reason why I came over. I thought you really did change your mind about that drink. But I'm here for you now; you don't have to go through this alone." Chase could see the tears swell in Cameron's eyes and he stood up and put his arms around her.

"It'll be okay, really. I won't hurt you. I have a lot of patience, Allison. We've been working together for almost three years. So, yeah, I'm patient." Chase said. Cameron smiled a little and put her arms around his neck.

"I'll try, Robert, I'll really try." Cameron said. He put her face between his hands and kissed her softly.

---"Come on, Greg! It's not like you're going to the dentist." Cuddy fussed at House as they slowly walked up to Wilson's house.

"I think I'd rather be going to the dentist." He said. He thought he recognized Foreman's car down the street but he couldn't be sure. There were pink beads hanging from the rear view mirror and knew it couldn't be his. Cuddy knocked on the door and they could hear little feet running to the door. They heard a thud and then saw the door handle jiggle.

"Charlie! Wait! I'm coming!" Wilson said behind the door. The door slowly opened. "Hey, guys! Come on in!" Wilson said cheerily as he shook House's hand then took their coats. "Go on into the living room." Wilson said as he disappeared into the dining room.

House was really dreading this whole evening. He was still worried about Melissa, and his next pills. He'd started to get a headache but to make Cuddy happy, we went, reluctantly, but he went. They walked into the living room and there were no lights on. It was pitch black. Someone said, 'ok' and lights on a decorated Christmas tree lit the whole room. In the corner was a Menorah. Standing around the tree were Foreman with Michelle, Rog, Cameron with Chase, little Charlie standing in front of Cameron, Wilson and Sarah by the kitchen doorway.

"You have got to be kidding me!" House said surprised. Cuddy had known the whole time and she kissed him on the cheek.

House's neck turned beet red.

"Come 'er, Uncle Grag! I got somting for ya!" Charlie said as he ran to take House's hand. He hesitated a moment, then took it. Charlie led him to the tree, bent down and grabbed a blue and silver wrapped box.

"Open!" Charlie begged. House smiled down at him then took the box, but he didn't open it right away.

"I...I..." House stuttered.

"Oh, go on!" Foreman egged him on. He slowly pulled at the ribbon then tore the paper off.

"Huwy up!" Charlie said with an urgent look.

He pulled the top open and pulled out an orange ceramic cup with lid with "House Improvement" on it. He smiled and looked at Charlie.

"Pict it 'ow mysef!" Charlie said with pride. House bent over and patted him on the head.

"I love it, Charlie. Thanks, buddy."

"You welcom! That's for quarters 'cuz Daddy said he was tired of buying you lun..."

"Greg, we left the tree up for you until you got back." Sarah interrupted her son.

"This...I...too much. Thanks, guys." House said. Wilson brought out wine and appetizers and they ate and got caught up while the roast was taking its last 30 minutes to bake.

Everyone ate in the dining room like one big happy family. So far, Rog hadn't broken anything but he did spill his wine on the tablecloth. House thought he was a cool guy, though, sort of. Michelle seemed really sweet, but there was something about her he couldn't put his finger on. Cameron and Chase seemed a little 'off' with each other. House noticed Cameron picking at her food and Chase was talking with Foreman most of the time. Wilson and Sarah seemed really happy. It was great seeing Wilson happy for a change.

'Guess I'll never figure out which nurse he was with.' House thought to himself.

"Uncle Grag! I wanna do sumtin for ya! I been pwakticing for two whole monts!" Charlie said as he tugged on House's shirt.

"After everyone is done eating dinner, sweetheart." Sarah said.

"Aw, Momm! Don't call me dat!" Charlie said a little embarrassed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetheart. How 'bout I call you Bubba?" Sarah asked playfully.

"MOMMM!" He said. Everyone couldn't help but smile.

When everyone had finished eating, Charlie led his guests into the living room. But poor Charlie had to wait until his Mom made coffee for those that wanted it. Charlie waited by the Menorah until his Dad carried in a 36 key electric piano he'd gotten for the Holiday and Sarah passed out the coffee. Sarah sat down on the coffee table and started to play. Little Charlie straightened his collar on his t-shirt like he was a famous tenor singer, and he started a note too late in the song, but he belted out the Dreydl Song like a pro.

"I have a widdle dreydl, I made it out-a clay. And when it's dwy and weady, then dreydl I shall pway.

Oh dreydl dreydl dreydl, I made it out-a clay. Oh dreydl dreydl dreydl, now dreydl I shall pwaaaay.

It has a wovwey body, wiff legs so short and thin, and when it is all tired, it dwops and then I win!

Oh dreydl dreydl dreydl, wiff legs so short and thin, oh dreydl dreydl dreydl, it dwops and then I win!

My dreydl...pwayful, it wuvs to dance and spin. A happy game-a dreydl, come play wiff me. Let's begin!

Oh dreydl dreydl dreydl, it wuvs to dance and spin. Oh dreydl dreydl dreydl, come pway nowwww let'sss beginnnn!"

Everyone applauded and Charlie took a long, deep bow. He ran over to House and jumped on his right leg. House's face contorted in pain and he pushed Charlie off him. He landed on the carpet on his butt. He wasn't hurt, but he went crying to Sarah. House rubbed his leg and he tried to keep the tears from falling. Everything had been so nice up until now. No one said anything; no one really knew what to say.

"Char...Charlie...come here, buddy." House said in obvious pain. Charlie just buried his face in Sarah's shoulder, but she walked over to the couch with Charlie kicking and screaming and she sat him next to House.

"Come on, you lazy doctors! Help me in the kitchen, will ya?" Sarah said as she walked into the kitchen with the gang behind her.

"Charlie, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" House asked. Charlie just sniffed and wiped his eyes.

"I really did like the song! You did a fan-tabulous job!" House said, trying to cheer him up. Charlie wiped his nose on his forearm and just looked at House all big-eyed.

"Hey, can I have an encore?" Charlie hesitated a moment then jumped to the floor.

"I canned pway pee-ann-oh." Charlie said disheartedly.

"Don't worry! I can. Come on." House grabbed the keyboard, put it on his lap and turned it on.

"Do you know Woodolph the Wed-Nosed Deer?" Charlie asked.

"I sure do! How does it go, though? I just wanna make sure I play it right for Master Charlie." Charlie's faced beamed with a huge smile. House started the song, and when they were done, there was a round of applause coming from the kitchen doorway. Everyone of the gang was standing there clapping with huge smiles that matched Charlie's. House grinned innocently and shrugged his shoulders.

For the next half hour, they sang Christmas songs and had a great time; until Sarah said it was time for Charlie to go to bed. He pitched a fit until House surrendered to his pleas of reading him a story. Sarah carried Charlie upstairs after he got a hug and kiss from his 'fans.'

"UNCLE GRAG! I'm weady!" Charlie called down from the top of the stairs. House walked upstairs and Sarah quickly tucked him into bed. House sat on the bed and started to read him 'Twas the Night Before Christmas,' which was his favorite at the moment. He was asleep by the time House got to 'mouse.'

House slowly stood up and walked to the door, where he was surprised to see Sarah standing there with a sweet smile on her face. House walked through the door and she closed it quietly behind her.

"Sarah? Why did you put Charlie on the couch after I'd just thrown him off?" House asked curiously.

"Because LizBeth told me to." She replied.

"Woman, if you don't stop..."

"Hey, it's not me! Blame your sister!" Sarah said with a laugh. "She's persistent, that girl, isn't she?" Sarah said as they walked back downstairs. With little Charlie tucked up in bed upstairs, the gang sat around and finished getting caught up with what they had been doing in House's absence.

"Uh, I guess this is the perfect time to make an announcement." Foreman said as he stood up. "I've asked Michelle to marry me on Christmas Day. That's why I've been working in the E.R. two days a week. Someone isn't paying me enough to afford a ring." He said proudly, then gave a little grin to House.

"Uh, you've just lost 10 of your pay." House teased but didn't smile.

"Dr. Cuddy, may I have a 10 pay increase?" Foreman asked her.

"Of course you can!" She said with a smile and hit House's shoulder with her elbow. Then they all laughed.

Everyone stood up and gave them congratulations and hugs. Chase noticed the look on Cameron's face: She was thinking to herself, 'He's getting married before me? At least it isn't House and Cuddy.' She gave Chase a quick glance then looked away.

An hour or so later, the party wrapped up and everyone said goodnight. House thanked everyone for being there and they walked out into the snow-covered night. House tried to pay attention which direction Cameron went, and was a little shocked when he saw Chase open the door for Cameron and she got in his car.

"Wow, seems Chase and Cameron are getting along. That's great." House said insincerely. They walked to Cuddy's car, but he grabbed the keys out of her hands, unlocked the driver side door and opened the door for her.

"Why, thunk ewe kind sur!" She said as she sat in the seat and he closed the door. He walked around to the passenger side and tapped on the window to get her to unlock it.

"What?" Cuddy asked.

"Unlock the door, Lisa!"

"I'm sorry! I can't hear you with the radio on!" It wasn't turned on.

"Lisa Deborah Cuddy! Open this door right now or I'll..." He heard the door unlock and quickly jumped in and slammed the door.

"So, you'll do what?" Cuddy asked House with a smirk on her face.

"I don't know, but I'll think of something...good."

"Greg? Is your leg hurting you that bad?"

"Yeah, it is, Lisa. I felt terrible I threw him off."

"I'll see what I can do about that. You were so sweet when you played for him."

"Thanks, but don't let that get around the hospital. I have a reputation to keep up." He said as he leaned over and kissed Cuddy.

There was a honk outside the window and they both looked out the window to see Chase waving and Cameron sitting next to him. As soon as she saw House look in her direction she quickly looked out the front windshield. When Cuddy and House got back to his apartment, he asked her to stay with him. But it was late and she had to go into work that Sunday to prepare some papers for a board meeting on Monday.

"But you can come in late! You're the boss, boss!"

"I know, bu..." She was forced to stop talking because House had planted a big, long kiss on her lips. She melted in his arms but she wasn't deterred.

"I'm sorry, baby. Really. Maybe tomorrow?"

"Oooh, ok, fine. Whatever." House whined and walked Cuddy to the door. "Night, baby. Thanks for tonight. I really enjoyed it."

"You did? You mean you actually enjoyed something nice that was done for you?" Cuddy said cutely.

"Goodbye, woman!" House said as he gave her one more quick kiss and closed the door behind her.

---Chase drove up to Cameron's apartment and turned off the engine. She gave him a wicked glance.

"Robert, it's late and I'm ready for bed." Cameron said as she went to open the door. There was a loud 'click' as Chase hit the 'lock' button that locked her in.

"Chase, I'm not in the mood for this."

"Allison, you haven't said one word to me since we left Wilson's house. What's the matter with you? Oh, wait! It's House kissing Cuddy, isn't it? Oh, you have got to be joking." Cameron didn't say anything.

"You'd better get used to that, girl."

"I don't have to get used to anything! Now unlock the door!" She screamed.

Chase unlocked the door and Cameron stepped out. She walked in a huff to her apartment door. Chase sat in the car and watched her to make sure she got in ok. When the light came on in her apartment window, he shook his head then started the engine and left. Chase was in a sour mood. When he got to his own apartment, he put on sweats and a t-shirt and lay in bed. The clock read 11:45. It had been an hour since he'd dropped Cameron off at her place. He was just about to doze off when his phone rang.

"Halo?" Chase said a little irked.

"Hey, did you get home okay?" Cameron asked.

"Uh, no. I missed my turn and right now I'm in Kalamazoo, Missouri." He said nastily. "Allison, this is twice you've called me to make sure I've gotten home safely. You know what that tells me?" There was silence on her end.

"It tells me that you care about me. But, the question is, do you like me?"

There was silence for a moment, then, "yes." Cameron immediately hung up the phone. Chase put the phone in the cradle. And smiled.

---Dr. Lisa Cuddy walked into PPTH around noon that Sunday, which was late for her. She thought about calling House earlier but decided against it because she knew he hadn't had a solid goodnight's sleep since he'd been home. She sat down at her desk and noticed the message light was blinking on her phone. She knew she'd regret listening to it but she'd address it tomorrow morning.

BEEEP 'Dr. Cuddy, this is Foreman…it's 10:20 on Sunday morn…tried calling House but he isn't answering and I didn't leave a message. There's been a complication with Melissa…thought you'd be able to tell h…' BEEEP

'They need to make longer messages with these machines.' Cuddy thought to herself when she dialed House's number. It rang a few times before the machine picked up.

"Greg, it's Li…" Cuddy started to say but House had picked up the phone.

"Hey, wanna come over to my apartment and play house?" He asked teasingly.

"No, I'm at the office. Foreman left a message about Melissa Fitzhugh; he said there's a problem but I didn't call him back yet. Thought you would want to do that."

"Yeah, ok. Actually, I just got out of the shower. I'll be over in a few." House said and hung up.

House walked into Melissa's room about an hour later, and she didn't look too good. She was pale and her eyes were sunken in, like she hadn't slept in a week.

"Hey, kid. How's it going?" House asked, trying to sound upbeat.

"Not good, Doc." She answered as she grabbed her stomach.

"I warned you not to be chasing down the single docs around here, didn't I?"

"Yeah, well, you weren't here, so what's a girl to do?"

"I looked over your chart and it seems you have a bacterial infection. Did Dr. Foreman explain everything to you?"

"No, uh-uh…well, he did, but I didn't get everything he said."

"Ok, basically you got a bacterial infection, more than likely in the small intestine that caused an Enteroenteric fistulas. That's just a fancy word for saying 'you've got an abscess which burst and it needs to be taken care of surgically.' We need to catch it before the infection attacks any major organs. I see here you're down for surgery at 3:15. Great." House said with a smile.

"Doc, Jack came by this morning. I begged him to leave but he wouldn't." She told him, sounding rather scared. "He said he'd be back. He accused you and I of sleeping together and I tried tellin' him you were like a big brother I never had but he didn't buy it."

"Melissa, when I talked to Dr. Stafford he wanted his staff to come and get you but I convinced him to let me treat you first. If he finds out Jack is aft…"

"He already knows. Dr. Stafford already called me. He said they could send someone to keep him away from me but I told him not to bother."

"Under the circumstances, I don't think it's a bad idea." House told her.

"Doc, look in the top drawer. Take it away, ok?" Melissa asked and closed her eyes. House walked to the drawer, opened it and stared at a bag with sugar in it; well, it looked like sugar but House knew it was cocaine.

"Did he bring this in?"

"Yeah, and I couldn't get up to dump it in the toilet. Please take it." House looked at the bag, looked out the glass panel to see if anyone was looking then put the bag in his back pocket. The last time he had a bag of cocaine in his hands he was 21, and cramming for finals. It was the only way he ever got through them. He passed, but barely.

"Melissa, I'm proud of you that you didn't do any. I will take care of this. And I'll be here when you get out of surgery, just to make sure you are okay."

"Thanks, Doc. Brother doc." She said with a grin on her face.

He didn't know what to say. He reached his hand out and patted the back of her hand then he went to Cuddy's office. She greeted him at the door; she was just on her way back from the bathroom. They embraced and kissed briefly, in case anyone saw them together. She felt Cuddy tap his back pocket, and he thought he heard the bag crinkle and prayed Cuddy didn't hear it. But he felt her fingers slide into the pocket and pulled out the bag.

"What the hell? No…no. What were you thinking?" She screamed at him with the bag of cocaine in her hand, stepping away from him.

"Lisa, it's...it's not…it's…shit. Chase gave me the bag. Said he confiscated it from a patient." House lied.

"Yeah? And I'm just supposed to believe that? Just like college! I found it then, too! Get out." Cuddy yelled as she pointed to the door.

"Cuddy, listen to me, please!" House pleaded.

"Ok, this is what I'll do: I'll call Chase and ask him myself. If he says it's from a patient, I'll believe you and flush it

down the toilet. If he denies knowing anything about this, you are fired." Cuddy said as she walked to the phone on her desk. She punched a few numbers, put the receiver against her shoulder and waited for Chase to answer.

"Sorry to bother you, Chase. It's Cuddy. Have you recently found anything in a patient's belongings over the past week…what?" There was quite a long moment of silence. "Ok, thanks." Cuddy hung up the phone, took the bag and walked to her private bathroom in her office, leaving the door open. House waited outside anxiously then heard the toilet flush. She walked back out and sat down, not saying a word.

"Uh, Mrs. Trump? Am I fired?" House nervously asked Cuddy, knowing Chase knew nothing about the coke.

"No. Now, go home."

"I can't. Melissa's having surgery and I promised I'd be here when she wo…" House's pager went off, and he looked at it. It read: "911-Mel". House left Cuddy's office without a word and rushed to her room.

When he got there, a man was leaning over Melissa's body on her bed with a bloody knife raised in his hand. Melissa had her eyes open in horror as she met House's gaze; he also noticed the ride side of her hip was bleeding, but it wasn't gushing. 'Thank God! She's still alive.' House thought to himself.

As House slowly approached the bed, the man cast a glare as if daring House to step closer. The man's eyes were bloodshot, swollen; his facial expression was animalistic and his hands were trembling. Instantly House knew it was Jack, and he was high on cocaine.

"Jack, you don…" House started to say.

"SHUT UP!" Jack shouted.

A second later he plunged the knife down at Melissa's throat, but mostly got the gown and pillow, although House did notice a little trickle of blood on her gown. Melissa groaned under her breath as she looked at House, pleading for help; she dare not speak. House was never the brave sort of person, although he had punched a patient's father and a few kids in school, but those were out of necessity, as was this. But, there was never anyone caught in the middle that might be injured due to his actions.

"Jack, I've got what you're looking for. It's in my office! Don't you want it?" House tried to bribe him away from Melissa. Jack looked at him suspiciously and brought the knife up again.

"I'll do it! I swear! It's your fault she doesn't want me anymore!" He said slurring his words as he tried to stay on his feet.

The past few minutes House noticed he'd started to sway a little, which might be a good thing. House slowly limped toward Jack, the whole time Melissa watching House's every move.

"Get rid of the cane! NOW!" Jack screamed.

"Ok, ok." House said as he grabbed the end of the bed with his hand and tossed the cane to the floor. Just like House hoped.

The syringe with the tranquilizer was in his right shoe and the cane would make it difficult to get it in one swift movement. He made sure he kept his foot steady, although it crossed his mind to inject himself on purpose. But for the first time in his life, he wasn't going to let someone down like he did LizBeth. He owed his sister that much and he made a promise to Melissa.

"You know, I've got all night, dude. I don't want clinic duty tomorrow, anyway. You're actually doing me a favor." House said as he walked closer and closer to Jack.

What Jack hadn't noticed, but House did, was that Melissa was slowly bringing her left foot out from under the blanket. Jack kept a keen eye on House and no longer paid her any attention. As House was just two feet from Jack, House looked at Melissa and she winked. Then, quicker than he expected, she brought her foot out toward Jack and side-blinded the left side of his face, while she let out a fairly loud scream. Jack twisted around and flew to the nightstand.

House quickly limped to Jack and pulled out the syringe, but before he knew it Jack had already turned around and tackled House to the floor. The impact forced the syringe out of House's hand and they struggled for a minute or so with Jack wildly punching at House's face and chest. But he was helpless; he didn't have the strength to fight him off.

Cuddy had been watching the scene from the hallway after she'd call the police, and when she found an opportunity she came into the room, grabbed the syringe and plunged it between Jack's shoulder blades. It took a brief moment for the tranquilizer to kick in, and Jack collapsed on top of House. Several attendants came into the room and took Jack off of House and escorted him out of the room. Cuddy kneeled beside House and looked over his bloody nose and a few cuts.

"Are you hurt? Where do you hurt? House, talk to me!" Cuddy begged.

House whispered under his breath and Cuddy had to bring her ear to his mouth to understand him. The next thing she knew she felt his warm lips against hers, and instantly tears of relief dripped down her face.

"Woman, you're getting me wet! Would you stop!" House teased as he tried to sit up.

"No, wait. Let them bring in a gurney to check you out. Your nose might be broken 'cuz there's a lot of blood."

"I'm fine…fi…" House said while he tried sitting up, but the fists at his chest left him short winded.

"Melissa? You okay up there?" House asked.

Several nurses were checking her out to see if the stab wounds were serious. The wound on her right side was only a half-inch deep, but it would need stitches, while her neck wound was really just a scratch.

"Yeah, terrific. I'm ready to run the marathon now! Wanna join me?" Melissa laughed but then gasped for breath and moaned.

"What is it, Melissa?" A nurse asked.

"My side, back..here." She said as she pressed her hand at her back side on the left.

"We need to get her into surgery NOW!" A nurse screamed.

"Wha…what is it? Lisa?" House pleaded, but he already knew what it meant. She overexerted herself when she kicked Jack in the face and the bacterial infection must have shot up to her kidney. Cuddy turned around and nodded her head.

"It looks like the infection spread to her kidney." Cuddy confirmed.

"Shit…Melissa, I'll still be there when you get out, ok? Melis…" House started to say.

"She's out, Dr. House, but she heard you. She nodded her head before she passed out."

Dr. House allowed two attendants to get him onto a gurney and took him to an exam room. He was fine, though bruised, and his nose wasn't broken, but his eyes would be black and blue for a while. House lay on the table alone for a moment when Cuddy walked into the room. She took out a syringe and started to insert it in his left forearm.

"What is that?" House asked, hoping for the right answer.

"Morphine, but if you tell anyone I will fire you!" Cuddy said.

"Thanks, Lisa. Thanks." House closed his eyes and let the morphine do its job. Cuddy leaned over him and spoke softly in his ear until he fell asleep. Then she kissed his lips and rubbed her nose against his, very softly, but lovingly.

"I love you, Greg." She said.

---House woke up on the couch in Cuddy's office, although he didn't remember how he got there. He thought he was just waking up from last night's nap before they went to Wilson's. But when he tried to move his head, pain went searing into his nose, and his chest felt tight. 'Ok, I don't remember getting in a fight with Chase, but I fought wi…oh, hell!'

"Melissa!" He said her name out loud.

"Greg, she's in surgery. She's fine." House heard Cuddy say from her desk, although her voice did get louder as she spoke. He felt the middle cushion sink in as Cuddy sat beside him.

"You sure she's ok? I saw the blood, an…" House said.

"Yes, baby, she's fine. Just a few stitches and they stopped the infection from spreading. It only slightly affected her kidneys, but antibiotics will take care of that."

"Good. When will she be out? I want to see her before I leave tonight." House asked.

"Who said you're going to leave tonight? There are leftover patients from Friday that haven't seen…" Cuddy teased.

"Shortly. We can stay 'til she gets to recovery. Then you are all mine! How's that knocker of yours feeling? It looks pretty bad."

Cuddy asked him.

"Uh, how are your knockers, Ms. Cuddy?" Cuddy smacked him on his chest and he groaned in pain.

"I'm sorry! I meant your nose! I forg…" She started to say but he grabbed her and pulled her down on top of him. Cuddy tried to be careful not to kick his leg as she positioned her hips beside his.

"Are you ready to go home?" Cuddy asked him.

"It depends. Are you coming staying with me?"

"That depends." Cuddy answered.

"Oh, here we go with the 'talking in circles' again! I'll play along. Depends of what?"

"It depends on whether or not you make love to me." Cuddy said with a sly grin.

"Hmm, wow, now let's see. That's a real tough decision. Hmmm, let me think. Well, I do have a headache and my nose hurts and my leg hur...OW, woman! Are you trying to kill me?" House screamed.

This time when she smacked him on his chest, she didn't apologize, but kissed him. And held him, until a nurse came in to tell them Melissa was out of surgery. They both slowly sat up and Cuddy helped House to Melissa's room. She was still out, of course, but he could see that indeed she was ok. Her B.P. and heart rate were fine, and she had a rosy blush to her cheeks.

"Lisa, it's amazing how much like my sister Melissa is." House said as they stood beside her bed next to each other.

"It's been a long time since I've put so much trust in someone, and let someone trust me. Well, five years isn't a long time. But, still, I'm trying. And you know what? I like it." Cuddy placed her lips on House's cheek and they heard Melissa groan.

"Melissa...hey, girl. I'm here, like I promised. You're fine." House told her as he leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"Jus' like ewe promisss…" Melissa said before she went back to sleep.

House felt Cuddy's hand against his back and he straightened up and smiled at Melissa, smiled at Cuddy. Smiled for himself, for a change. Because House was still under the influence of the morphine, Cuddy drove him back to her house that night and they made love. It was passionate, loving, sweet, erotic.

In the morning, she dropped him off at his apartment so he could change for the day at the clinic. She thought about taking it easy on him, but she knew she couldn't let that happen. Besides, he still had obligations to the hospital. Until 2042. That was plenty of time for them to grow old together.

'We'll both be walking with canes, hunched over and snapping at anyone who got in our way. Pure heaven.' She thought to herself as she pulled into PPTH.

A little later that morning, House stopped in to see Melissa before he started his shift. 'Anything to keep me from that place of horrors.' House thought to himself.

Melissa was sitting up and reading the February Issue of Cosmopolitan when House walked in and she looked up.

"Did ya know you can burn almost 1,000 calories just by having sex! Well, of course you need to have an hour of foreplay, stand on your head for two hours and then have sex for three. I'm gonna have to try that."

"Yeah, I know. It works, too. Why do you think I'm so lean and trim?" House answered with a grin.

"Are you...holy cow! Did he do that to you? I really am sorry for yesterday."

"I defended myself pretty good, you know!" House chided then pointed to his eye. He touched his nose on purpose then let out a yelp.

"So, how are you feeling this morning?"

"Great. I mean, I'm sore from having my guts ripped out and splayed all over the floor, but other than that, great." She said, but there was something in her eyes that bothered him. He thought he'd seen them before. In LizBeth. He lowered the bedrail and sat on the foot of the bed.

"When did the Dr. say you can go back to rehab?" House asked. He thought maybe that was what was bothering her.

"He said I can leave on Thursday, but I don't want to go back."

"Why not?"

"Because, Jack is out of my life now and I only got the coke from him. I can see a therapist anywhere." She said, sadly.

"Did Dr. Stafford agree to that?" House asked.

"Well, he doesn't quit know yet. You can just kinda forget about calling him when I'm released."

"Melissa, you know I can't do that."

"Yeah, well, I tried." She said, throwing the magazine on the nightstand.

"So, you like her, huh?"

"Who?"

"That lady that was here yesterday. The one that rescued you."

"She most certainly did not rescue me!" He laughed.

"You two make a nice couple." House didn't know what to say.

"Greg?"

"Yeah?" House said as he stood up.

"Thank you for everything you've done for me. It's nice to know there are people around that do keep their promises." She said with a smile.

"Sure." He said humbly. "Here, I want you to take my cell phone number. I don't give it out to just anyone, so make sure you don't lose it." House said teasing her then left her room.

House walked into the conference room with a pep in his step and a smile on his face. Cameron looked at Chase, Chase looked at Foreman, and Rog continued to read the '1,000 Symptoms to Diagnose.' House chuckled under his breath as he poured coffee.

"What's so funny?" Foreman asked.

"Nothing. Ok, we're back to normal. Well, whatever normal is considered to Denise the Menace here." House said pointing to Rog. He looked up from the book oblivious that House had even walked in.

"Good morning, Sir!" Rog said as he closed the book, but the book was so thick that when he closed it, his forefinger was caught in the pages and he smashed his finger. The doctors snickered and House shook his head.

"Okay, then. Let me go over a few rules you all may have forgotten since I've been gone." House started to say. Rog pulled out a notepad and pen to start writing what House said.

"Rule #1: I like Reubens for lunch, dry. You will take turns buying me lunch, and occasionally dinner." He said, staring Rog down while he wrote it on the paper.

"Rule #2: Never disagree with me. I am always right. Well, except for when I'm wrong, which has only been once in my life."

"Rule #3: Never lie to me, because I have a lie detector device here on my belt." He grabbed his pager.

"Rule #4: I am open-minded in hearing your diagnose hypothesis, unless it is completely stupid. Then, I shall tell you. And you may not speak for 10 minutes.

"Rule #5 Never, ever address me as Sir. Address me as Dr., Master, Your Royal Highness, but never Sir."

House tried to think of some more but couldn't at the moment. He walked over to Rog, stood over his shoulder and was shocked at watching Rog writing every rule he'd said. House looked at Foreman and shook his head. Chase tried not to bust out laughing, but Foreman chuckled.

"Ok, I have to head downstairs for Dr. Cuddy. I mean, for clinic duty. I'll be in exam room #3, but tell patients I'm in room #27."

"Excuse me, Sir...your roy...Dr., we don't have a room #27." Rog said.

"Yes, we do. Refer to my rule # 2. I'm sure Rog here can keep you all busy by reading from the book. Cameron, make sure you take notes. I'm reviewing them later." He said as he walked out the door. Dr. House walked down to the clinic and signed in at 11:10.

"Dr., you're late." House heard that familiar voice behind him. He turned around to see Cuddy standing there looking absolutely beautiful. But, she always had been. 'She just looks that beautiful after I ravaged her for hours...' He told himself.

"Get that grin off your face. There's a patient in room 1." Cuddy said, then turned on her heels and walked back to her office. But not without turning around and winked at him as the door closed behind her.

House turned to the nurse at the station and realized she had seen the wink. "Uh, Dr. Cuddy watched Stevie for me. Do you want to watch him next? He gets a diet of cheeeese." The nurse wrinkled her nose and went back to typing in the computer.

House opened the door to the exam room and saw a woman of about 17 sitting on the table. Her shoes were on the floor and she was swinging her feet.

"Uh, are you letting your feet dry out? It's better if you blow on them, if you can handle the stench." He said as he opened the file.

"I-em Landa." The woman said, with an obvious Australian accent.

"No, it's Greg. Dr. Greg. You know, like Dr. Phil, but I have more hair and I'm sexier than he is. Are you Australian?" He asked while she just looked at him blankly.

"Nao, I-em Canadian. We just sound Australian." She answered back, quite amused at herself. House cleared his throat.

"So, you went shopping, huh? You should have been shopping for shoes. Ok, let me see your foot." She crossed her leg over her knee to show the inside of her foot, where the blister was on the side.

"Yeah, that's a blister, alright. Do they have blisters in Canada?"

"Yah, buut we call tham oozing so-ares."

"I like you." He said with a grin. "Ok, put some antibiotic cream on it with a band aid. And for Pete's sake, buy sneakers. Pay the bill on your way out." He said as he headed for the door.

"Asn't this a free cleenik?"

"If you can afford to go shopping, you can afford to make a donation."

"Oh, and Dawk, my-ah feet dawnt stink." She snapped.

"They dawnt now!" He said as he closed the door behind him.

The next patient was one for the record books. House walked in to see a man in his early 20's holding a bloody towel to his chin.

"I'm Dr. House. Let me see your chin." The man removed the towel to show a 2-inch gash right below his lip. "Tell me how you got this."

"Well, I made a bet with some of my buddies that I could jump off the roof carrying an umbrella and fly like Mary Poppins."

"Yeah, ok, that's what the form said. I just needed to make sure I read it right. I have two questions. Were you drunk, and did it work?" House asked.

"Yes, and uh, I don't know. But that's the umbrella." He said, pointing to something that was fabric and metal spikes that was ripped to shreds.

"I'd say that was a 'no.' I'll send for a Doctor to stitch you up. And dude, stay away from Walt Disney movies, will ya?" House said as he walked out.

'Man, I need a vacation.' House looked at his watch; it was almost 3:00. He still needed to figure out how Herman got Herpes from Henrietta. He had to think of which room Coma Guy was in, and it finally dawned on him.

He walked into the room, and sure enough, there was Coma Guy. He switched on the t.v. and waited for the show to come on. Just then, his pager went off. 'Conf Rm, 911-Cuddy' He ignored it. The show came on.

His pager went off. 'ConfRm911-4Man' He ignore that. Commercial came on.

His pager went off. 'ConfRm-911me' He ignored it. The show came back on.

His pager went off. 'ConfRm911-CarmenElec'. He quickly stood up, turned off the t.v. and headed to the conference room.

He walked into the conference room. "Ok, 'me' paged me. Who are you and what do you want?"

Everyone was in the room, including Wilson, and they all had gloomy expressions on their faces. "Hey, Wilson." House said as he grabbed a chair next to Chase and sat down. House did notice that Chase and Cameron were sitting together.

Cuddy stood at the head of the table. "Ok, I've brought you all here to give you some good news and bad news." She said as she looked around at the Doctors. Even House didn't know what Cuddy was up to. "The good news is I have a cabin in upstate N.Y. that I have for a few days. There are 6 bedrooms, 5 baths, a hot tub and a deck overlooking a valley with a lake. I spent my summers there. It's beautiful." They all looked at each other bewildered. House turned his head quickly to look at Cuddy because she'd never mentioned the cabin before.

"But Dr. Cuddy, we can't leave the clinic for that long." House protested.

"Uh, I'd have thought you'd be the first to pack, House!" Wilson said.

"Dr. Johannsen is bringing in a crew of interns for the week from Princeton General. We are freee!" She said with a laugh.

"Uh, Cuddy, will there be skiing?" House asked. "Because, you know, I'll be skiing on my butt all the way down the mountain." Everyone laughed.

"No, not where the cabin is. But there's an area off the lake for ice skating. You can put skates on your tushie and we can push you around, how's that? Trust me, it is beautiful. The place is fully stocked with sheets, towels and food."

"Ok, now the bad news. Uh, you have four hours to pack because we are leaving tonight. Foreman, you may bring Michelle; Wilson, Sarah already has her mom lined up to watch Charlie so she can come, and Rog, you may bring a guest if you'd like."

Rog shook his head. "I don't know anyone." He said meekly.

"That's fine. You can still have your own room." She told him.

"Now get home and pack! I'll meet everyone back here at 8pm."

The gang left the room and just left Cuddy and House. She walked over to him and put her arms around his neck from behind him. "Surprise, baby." She whispered in his ear.

"Why did you have to invite everyone, Lisa?" House whined.

"Oh, stop. They all worked very hard the time you were gone, and I told myself when you got back that I'd get the cabin."

"Ok, but I get your room!" He said with a grin.

"No. I'm really putting you in with Rog." She replied.

"You have got t..."

"Oh, calm down! I'm just teasing you."

"But Lisa, Melissa is being released Thursday. I want to be here when she leaves."

"I've got that covered, too. I talked with her doctor and he gave his approval for her to be with us. She'll have her meds and we can teach her how she needs to start eating right. She's all ready to go. Dr. Stafford is bringing her extra clothes from the center."

House turned his head around to look at her. "You are amazing, you know that? I'd really like it if she came before she went ba..." Cuddy gave him a real quick kiss.

"Now, go home and pack!" Cuddy barked at him.

"Lisa, can you bring that black, lace negligee you wore the other night?" House asked excitedly as they headed for the door.

"Uh, no."

House made a childish expression and stomped his foot. "Whhyyy?"

"Because I bought a new one." That brought an immediate smile to his face and they both walked through the door.

"Lisa, I think you're forgetting something." House said as they walked down the hall toward the elevator.

"What? I only bought one negligee."

"I'm talking about something for my leg, the pain. You said you'd check into an alternative for me. It's beginning to bother me."

"Oh, yeah. I've consulted with Don, the new hospital lawyer. He phoned Dr. Stafford to discuss your situation, and we have a meeting lined up for next wee…" Cuddy was interrupted by House.

"Next week! Don't make me throw another chair through a window!"

"You didn't let me finish. In the meantime, an acceptable daily dosage has been agreed upon, and I am to provide you 20mg per day."

"That's not enough! Fine, I'll get Wil…" The elevator door opened and they both got on.

"No, you won't. He has already been instructed that if he prescribes you Vicodin he will be liable and possibly lose his license. He's not about to jeopardize his career for your habit."

"Ouch, that hurt! Ok, but, you're easy to sweet talk so that's not a problem for me."

"Oh, try me." She warned as the elevator door opened and they walked out to her office.

"You know, I only like you bossy in the bedroom, Cuddy." House teased as Cuddy reached for her office door.

"Oh, and another thing. A woman has the power over the man." She said as she narrowed her eyes and walked through the door.

"What the hell does that mean?" House screamed through the door but Cuddy didn't answer. He just stood at the door glaring at her. He sighed and walked out of the hospital.

Will House be able to cope w/out his Vicodin? What will happen with Melissa?