Lisa had been talking to him for at least 10 minutes. Telling about her day, what had happened at the benefactors meeting, growling, laughing and muttering. Greg wasn't listening though. He sat at the kitchen counter, watching her stacking food he would never eat in his fridge, hoping that was a promise for her staying the weekend. Twirling his cane he thought about Wilson's words. Was Cuddy still so vulnerable that she would believe anything Stacy would say?

'And then I jumped Atkins and did him on the conference table...'

He kept staring ahead mumbling a 'yeah', Lisa raised a brow and stopped unpacking the Deli bags.

'Greg...House!'

Pinching his arm, she finally got his attention.

'Ouch! What did you do that for?'

'Did you listen?'

'I have things on my mind, ok?'

'Those would be?'

Raising the other brow to accompany the first one and damn she really wanted a qualified answer.

'Just a patient.'

Lisa dropped her hand and nodded. She knew not to say a thing. He hated interfering or comfort words whenever he wasn't able to find out what was wrong.

'I can leave if you'd like to be alone.'

'No! Don't...I'd like you to stay.'

She nodded and then kept stacking, then cooked, while he sat silently, pondering. An hour passed which felt to him like minutes, watching her every move. Analyzing what she did in his home, how she fit into his kitchen perfectly, how somehow she made his apartment look lively just by walking through it.

'Do you trust me?'

'Where does all this question asking come from suddenly? Usually you're content with things the way they are.'

Cuddy put a plate of Chicken breast and vegetable rice in front of him and then took her place across the counter. House frowned down at his plate.

'That, I'm not happy with. Did you lace my rice with veggies?'

House muttered and made a 'yuck' face before pushing the rice around on the plate.

'Eat it or don't House.'

She wasn't even a bit put off by his comment. He usually took seconds even if anything was laced with veggies.

'Stacy came to me to apologize today... .'

House's fork hit the plate.

'Really..?'

'Ok...what is it? You never act this...this way. And now that...?'

'Just don't trust Stacey.'

House stood up and left for the living room, seconds later she heard the faint piano music wafting over to the kitchen. She sighed and decided to give him some space while she busied herself cleaning the dishes and pans. She was worried by his behavior, the whole Stacy thing had him walking on a tightrope emotionally. He avoided talking anymore about the past between them, flat out refused any cooperation with Stacy in legal aspects so that she had to delegate between them. It had left her almost as tired and cranky as he was tonight.

After she finished with putting everything away she followed him to the living room. House made space for her on the piano bench and kept playing. For awhile she sat and listened content with the silence, but soon questions kept rising in her head. His behavior was odd, even for his standards.

In the middle of the piece she stilled his hands with putting hers on top.

'What made you say that I shouldn't trust her?'

House pulled his hands away and rubbed them over his face.

'When she came to your place, she threatened me that this wasn't over yet. She won't attack me since she knows she won't get to me like that again...'

'And so you figured she'd go for me and weakling that I am, I would succumb to her and leave you so she can win you back?'

Cuddy said that in her sickening sweet voice, adding a lash flutter for show.

'Do you trust me at all Greg? Have I ever let you down?'

His hand landed on her knee, rubbing softly to make some of the anger vanish.

'I sometimes don't trust myself so it's hard to ask that from someone else and see it in someone else.'

She sighed warily and pecked his cheek.

'I'm off to bed. At least join me at a reasonable time ok?'

Woohoo finally got it done. After sitting on it for months. Writers block has lifted and thats just an interrim chapter, so it's a little shorter. Enjoy and comments are looooooooooove.