Cover of a Book

by gorblimey2

A female Navy doctor gets assigned to study under House. He thinks he knows a secret about her, but the truth is much more interesting. Can House fall for someone in the military or doe she remind him too much of his Dad? Love, humor, romance, action.

2. Chapter 2

Dear Readers, Just so you know, this story was written about three months to go. Some of the cannon may have changed (like Cameron/Chase.) Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate it a lot.

On Christmas Murphy was alone and fixed herself a small Christmas lunch of a chicken breast in mushroom soup sauce and green beans. She looked in the newspaper and saw that the movie she wanted to see was out. She grabbed her coat, scarf, hat and gloves and drove down to the theater. She was waiting in line to get in when she felt something poking her butt. She turned around and saw House behind her, poking her with his cane.

"Dr. House, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be with friends or family today."

"My family lives on the west coast and I'm meeting up with Wilson for drinks and dinner after the movies. What about you?"

"No family on the east coast...no friends close enough to drive to in one day. Cuddy begged me to cover the clinic tomorrow so I couldn't fly out anywhere. I'm one pathetic person."

"Which movie are you seeing?" He asked.

"The Matt Damon one."

"I am too. You can sit with me and then you can tell everyone that you went to the movies with a friend."

"I don't think anyone will believe that you are my friend, we haven't exactly been buddies at work Dr. House."

"They don't have to know. And outside of work you can call me Greg."

The theater opened and they went in and grabbed seats. "Would you like anything from the snack bar? My treat for Christmas." She offered.

"Popcorn and a coke?" He asked.

"Ok, I'll be back." She brought back a large popcorn for them to share, a coke and a diet coke. He held the popcorn and she ate out of his lap. He secretly enjoyed the thought of her reaching her hand between his legs. The movie was good but House kept sneaking glances at her profile and wondering whether lesbians could be "turned." It was a real turn on to think that maybe really good sex with a man could make her come over to the straight side. Of course, in reality, he knew it was a joke and lesbians couldn't be miraculously "turned," but in his imagination he had her begging him not to stop. After the movie they said goodbye to each other and Merry Christmas. House went to meet up with Wilson and Murphy went home to an empty house.

In January, the humiliation got back to normal and, in some ways had escalated. It almost seemed that House was making up for being nice during the holidays. Murphy was tired of the long hours she was working between House's patients and the clinic. It was hard keeping up sometimes. House was enjoying the break from clinic and loving the fact that a feud had erupted between Cameron and Murphy. Murphy had accused Cameron of withholding important information about patients that would help Murphy run her tests and reach conclusions. Cameron said that the same information was available to Murphy if she just asked the right questions of the patient and did a thorough examination.

"I share everything with you, everything...even all the information that I know you missed. It's for the patient, not my ego or a pathetic desire to get House's attention. That's why we are a team, we each bring information and knowledge to the table. You intentionally withhold it until you can reveal it to the almighty House and show him how brilliant you are. In the meantime, I'm wasting hours on tests that could have been short-circuited with just a little information from you." Murphy was livid and it was the first time they had all seen her really angry.

House shrugged his shoulders, "Cameron's information is obtained from her history and examination... you don't need her to get the same information from the client."

Murphy looked at House in disbelief and threw her hands up. "Fine...FINE! Just wait Allison, from now on I'm holding my information back and I'll sandbag you with it in front of House. And for the record, why don't you two just get a room and go Fuck your brains out? Maybe when you see he's a pathetic loser and you get your fill of the young sycophant, we can all get back to work like a team." She stormed out the door and House looked at Cameron.

"She's has a point, want to screw?" House waved his hand towards his office.

"Go screw yourself." Cameron yelled and stormed out herself.

House looked at Foreman and Chase and they all began to laugh.

The next week it was late and the team had gone home. The patient was stable so there was no reason to pull an all-nighter. Before going home, House went up to read the patient's stats. He noticed Murphy was in the lab. He strolled into the lab with a coke in his hand.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, I was playing a hunch but I just got the results and I struck out." She looked sad and disappointed. She also looked exhausted.

"You look like shit."

"Well that's rich coming from you. I'm working your clinic shifts, my clinic shifts and then my hours in this department. I'm working 65 hours a week and have been working 65 hours a week since I got here four months ago."

House didn't realize that she had been racking up so many hours. "Boo hoo. Welcome to civilian life."

"Yeah? Well I don't see Cameron working 65 hours or any of the other team members."

"Well, if you had been Cameron you would have gone into Cuddy and complained. But you're military, huh? You wouldn't go to Cuddy until you went to me first and you wouldn't come to me because you wouldn't want me to have the satisfaction of knowing it was getting to you, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes." She said defeated.

He sucked his drink through his straw. "Ok, I'll start doing five hours of my clinic time and I'll get Cuddy to cut yours back."

She looked down and rubbed her forehead. "I didn't want to sound like I was complaining or whining. I'm just disappointed in the results here AND I'm tired."

"Yeah, right." He said sarcastically. He looked at her and thought that he hadn't seen her with any friends or family since she arrived. She seemed pretty much to be alone. "Why didn't you take time and go see your parents over the holidays?"

"Dead."

"Want to grab a drink?"

" What has my parents being dead have to do with getting a drink?"

"Nothing."

He offered no explanation for the jump in topics. She waited, but he said nothing more, "I don't think I'd make good company, I'd probably moan and whine too much."

"I like wine with my meals, we can get something to eat too. Come on, I sense a need for you to tell me where to go."

"You can say that again."

She agreed and they went to the Triumph to have a meal, provided it was Dutch treat. House was happy to share the costs.

She asked him questions about his background, his desire to go into medicine, his desire to be different, and about Cameron's infatuation with him. She was surprised to find that he was fairly candid about all of it.

He asked her a lot about Iraq and then finally he asked about the Navy Cross. "The Navy Cross, what stupid thing did you do to get it?"

"I was hitching a ride with a SAR team..."

He interrupted, "The military and all their acronyms, please interpret."

"SAR, search and rescue team. The PX, post exchange, at our base sucked. It was so small that it didn't carry tampons or kotex even though there were ten female health care workers on base. So whenever we needed those items we would either have to beg family to send them from the States or we had to hitch a ride to the next base over which had a fairly large PX, complete with feminine hygiene and even some make up. The problem is that anytime you go out of your base you risk being ambushed. Four out of five times you're ok, but then there's that one time and something happens. But sometimes you just have to take your chances.

On that day I loaded up my medical bag and M16 and we all hit the road. Ten minutes later an RPG got the Humvee in back of us. The explosion was so bad that the shrapnel went through the back of our personnel carrier where I was sitting and a piece lodged in my leg. I started to administer triage to seven injured soldiers and then we were ambushed again. While we were under heavy gunfire I stayed out in the open to get the guys stabilized. Of course, I had the help of a young marine who shot anything within 300 feet, but it was still scary. I had a scalpel shot out of my hand, that's how scary it got. But we still lost three of the guys. So I didn't exactly feel like I was a hero...you know the old cliche was true, the ones who died were the heroes. While you're in the middle of it all you can think to do is your job. But I owe my life to that Marine who covered for me while I did my job. He was my personal hero."

He looked at her like she was nuts, "I'm the kind that wants an RPG to be a Really Pretty Girl and a scalpel to stay in my hand."

"I didn't realize how badly I was bleeding until we got the last guy loaded on the helicopter and then they made me hop on with him. The corpsman bandaged me so that the bleeding would stop. The wound became infected which meant I got sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The Marine, Jackson Albany, and I both got the Navy Cross. "

They continued their conversation and discussed everything from James Joyce to Muddy Waters. He was surprised as to the depth of her knowledge and varied opinions. She was military but she didn't quite see everything as being black and white like his Dad did.

The conversation slowed after the meal was over and they sat waiting for the bill to arrive. When the bill did arrive, House got out his wallet and put down enough money to pay the entire bill and tip.

"We were going to go Dutch." She said firmly.

"You've got to be kidding...I'm sitting here with a woman who won the Navy Cross while trying to buy tampons and I'm going to let her pay for her meal? Give me a break, I'm a Marine brat...my father would never forgive me."

"You're a Marine brat? My God, I can't believe it. I would never take you for a military brat. Your Dad was a Marine? You know, in some ways it does explain you. Military brats either adopt their parent's lifestyle and manners or rebel against them. I adopted, you rebelled."

They walked out to the parking lot. "Well, Dr. ...I mean Greg, good night and thank you for dinner." She unlocked her car and then turned around only to find House less than a foot from her. She looked at his lips and felt a little unhinged. She could feel his breath and thought for sure he was going to kiss her.

They stood there awkwardly until House finally said,"Good night."

House found himself perplexed. If he didn't know that she was a lesbian, he would have sworn her body language was inviting him to kiss her. As he drove home he wished they could have continued the evening, his time with her had been intellectually stimulating. She had something interesting to say. She talked about places and things that mattered and when she had opinions, they were well grounded in facts and information. It was strange for him. He rarely had conversations with others that he enjoyed so much. It turned out that she was bright, intelligent and funny. He found himself strangely attracted to her and that made him uncomfortable. He was rarely attracted intellectually to a woman. Yet in this case he was not only attracted to her on an intellectual basis but on a physical one too. He liked watching her talk, the way her mouth moved, her voice, the look in her eyes when she disagreed with him, the lines that formed when she laughed. He kept seeing her breasts in his mind and it made him want her even more. The fact that he wanted to dominate her intellectually also made his desire to have her physically more palpable. Normally he would make a move, but it would be ridiculous considering she wasn't even attracted to men. It frustrated him to know that no matter how hard he tried, it would all be futile. It was just his luck that the first woman he found interesting in a long time was a carpet cruncher.

He wanted to ask her about being a lesbian. How and when did she know she was a lesbian? Who was Susan? How did they meet? He found the whole idea of two women having sex fascinating. But he didn't quite feel like his questions about that would be welcomed. He went home and realized he needed a diversion soon. He wanted to take a woman. He needed that release.

All Murphy felt was confusion. She had thought she had Greg House pigeon holed into that of a misanthrope and jerk. But he was more complex than that and she didn't know what to think. She had really enjoyed talking to him...maybe it was just that she had enjoyed having an adult conversation with someone. She was incredibly lonely. She typically had no problem making friends but something had happened at PPTH. She wasn't sure why everyone had been so nice and yet kept themselves at arms length. It was frustrating to her.

Things changed quickly for Murphy. One Friday at the end of January, Murphy had come to work in her service uniform because she was going to drive down to Philadelphia to spend her duty weekend. House looked up from his desk and saw them first. He watched them closely as they stopped in their tracks and snapped to a salute. He saw Murphy return the salute and then walk up to them. There were two of them. One was a young Marine officer and the other was an enlisted Marine in his dress blues. The officer carried a manila envelope. The officer spoke for a minute and then handed her an envelope. It finally dawned on House what was happening and he began to rise to his feet. He grabbed his cane and started as fast as he could for the hall where he could see Murphy turning white, start to crumble and then fall to the floor. The two men knelt around her. House reached her in a matter of seconds.

"Christ, you morons told her someone died in the middle of a hallway? What was wrong, Grand Central Station not available? Is this how they teach you to break bad news...do it where everyone can see it?" House looked around as a crowd started to gather.

"We're new to this sir. I didn't think. We were told that she was both military and a doctor so we assumed it would be ok. Are you a doctor, can you help her?" the baby faced officer was obviously distressed over the developments.

Murphy was already coming through and as she became conscious she realized that it wasn't a dream. She looked around at the crowd. The team had just come back from lunch and saw the three men, including House, huddled around Murphy. They walked up to see if they could help.

House was cradling Murphy in his arms. The two Marines were now standing. Murphy sat up and then looked at the crowd gathered around. "Greg, can you help me into your office. I'd like to get out of the hall."

House barked at the Marines, "Help her into the office."

"Yes sir." They gently picked her up and helped her into his office and sat her on his chair.

The two Marines continued to address Murphy. "Commander, this is the number to contact to make arrangements. If you need anything else, please contact that number. Commander, is there anything we can do for you before we leave?"

She shook her head no while House gave her his water bottle off of his desk. She took a drink.

"Then we will be leaving. You have our sincere condolences." They snapped to attention and saluted whereupon Murphy gave a weak salute in reply. They left the office.

House went to the blinds and pulled them to keep the crowd from peering into the office. The team were all waiting for an explanation but instead House shooed them into the adjacent office as Murphy started to sob uncontrollably. He went and sat down on the ottoman and held her hand. She threw herself forward and grabbed onto his neck out of sheer grief.

As a child House had seen similar visits by two Marines in dress uniform. During the Viet Nam war they would knock on the doors in the military housing he lived in with his parents. The visits always resulted in the same pitiful sobbing. He was often dragged by his Mom to someone's house to offer condolences. His father always made him attend the funerals of any Marine pilots from his platoon that were killed in action. House was familiar with military protocols dealing with death. He also knew that Murphy would need time to cry until she finally went numb.

He took the manila envelope and opened it. Inside was a letter simply stating that Lt. Colonel Susan Morrigan had been killed in Afghanistan two days ago by a single rifle shot from an insurgent. The insurgent was killed in the fire fight.

It hit House like a ton of bricks. Susan wasn't her lover, she was her sister. The affection and desire to share a home was with her sister. Murphy wasn't a lesbian, she was just an older sister. He was trying to wrap his head around it. Her isolation at the hospital was because the straight staff thought she was gay and the gay staff thought she was either denying who she was or knew she was straight. His attempt to be funny about an email had made her life a living hell at PPTH.

Cameron came in and asked if she could do anything. He instructed her to get Cuddy. Cameron left quickly to go get Cuddy. Murphy let go of House's neck and sat back again in the chair. Instead of sobbing her crying had ended in hiccups. He held her hands just as he watched his mother hold the hands of young wives who lost their husbands in Nam.

Cuddy came almost running inside his office and was slightly distracted by the sight of House giving comfort to someone. "What's wrong?"

"Murphy just received notice that her sister was killed in action in Afghanistan. In looking through the documents she is going to be returned to her home town of record, San Diego, for cremation and interment at Rosecrans National Cemetery. She's going to be leaving tomorrow for San Diego and will need at least a week off to take care of her sister's affairs."

Cuddy was shocked by House's businesslike manner and obvious compassion for Murphy. "Of course she can have it off. Is there anything I can do?"

"Call her Commanding Officer, explain the situation and let them know that you have no problem with her taking the time off. I need to make a call." House picked up the phone and dialed. "Hi Mom, yeah, fine and you? Mom, I need to talk to Dad, this is important. Sure, I promise to call and talk to you this weekend." House looked up at Cuddy who was now consoling Murphy. House was waiting for his Father to get on the phone. "Hi Dad. I'm well and you? Great. Dad, I need a favor for a friend. She's a doctor in the Navy...Yeah a sailor...I know, sailors are just Marine wannabes. Dad, her sister was a Marine, her duty station was Camp Pendleton but she was serving in Afghanistan. The sister was killed by a sniper a few days ago. Her body is being flown into Miramar. My friend has no family to help her through this, she's on her own." There was a pause and House was listening intently, "Yeah Dad, that's what I was thinking. Thanks Dad. Ok. I'll email you the information. Yeah Dad, semper fi. Bye."

He went over and pulled up the desk chair next to Murphy. Cuddy was sitting on the ottoman and holding Murphy's hands as she sat in the easy chair. "My Dad was a Marine pilot and the head of his squadron for years. He has a lot of experience with bringing home dead Marines. He's walked a lot of widows through the process and made sure that they were ok. He's going to be with you the whole time, from the minute you get off the plane to the minute you get back on. His name is Major General John House and I just have to send your flight number and time and he'll be there."

Murphy looked at House and on impulse grabbed him around the neck again and hugged him. Between the sobs she managed a clear, "Thank you, thank you."

House didn't know what to do...Cuddy motioned for him to hug her back. House put his arms around Murphy and felt her breasts melt into him as they each embraced each other. He realized he was holding a woman...one that probably liked men and he could tell he was responding in a manner not appropriate for the occasion. He just hoped he wouldn't be asked to stand up soon.

Murphy pulled back and put her hands up to her face to wipe the tears from both eyes. Cuddy asked her some questions, "Murphy, how old was your sister?"

"She would be 33 in two weeks. I went into the Navy like our Dad and she wanted to show me up by being a communications officer in the Marines. My Dad thought it was funny to have two daughters and both of them be in the military."

"So San Diego is where you're from?" Cuddy asked.

"Yes, it was just my sister and I. We have some cousins in the Midwest but we don't really know them well. We have lots of friends in San Diego who are like family. Susan said that if she died she wanted to be interred at Fort Rosecrans. You can't be buried there because they don't have room for burials so she'll have to be cremated and then interred."

"House, why don't you take Murphy to her house, she shouldn't be alone."

"Oh, I couldn't take Dr. House away from his work. I'll be ok."

"No, I'll drive you. I get off on watching misery in action. Let me get my keys."

House drove her to her little home and escorted her inside. The house was small with two bedrooms, two baths and a nice sized back yard but it was hers. She had saved a down payment of $150,000 and taken a mortgage out of $120,000. The house had been built in 1942 and had been remodeled a few times to add certain amenities including upgraded electrical wiring and internet connections. It had a great fireplace with a large mantel and built in bookcases on either side of the fireplace.

House looked at her and asked her, "Do you want some water?"

"Great, I would like that. I need to get on the internet and find a flight home." She said with some anxiety. She had forgotten that she had to find a way to San Diego.

"I tell you what, you get your water and let me work on that."

House picked up her phone and dialed his Dad again, "Dad, my... my friend, Murphy Morrighan doesn't have a flight...what should she do? Ok, let me get you her number." House put his hand over the receiver and yelled to Murphy who was in the kitchen. "Murphy, what's your full name, rank, social security number and phone number?"

"Why, you want to apply for a credit card?" she walked into the living room where he was.

"No, my Dad is going to make arrangements for your transportation home."

"Greg, that's too much to ask."

"He's waiting, come on...here, you talk to him." He pushed the receiver into her chest.

"Major General House?" There was a pause as she listened to him, "Thank you sir, yes she was a hero and a good soldier...Sir I feel strange asking a Major General to do this...ok, Murphy Marie Morrighan, Commander, 555-39-5994, phone 609-258-3000. Yes sir. Yes John. Thank you so much. Yes, thank you." She hung up the phone and looked at House, "Your Dad is going to get someone from McGuire Air Force Base to fly me out to San Diego. Do you really think he can arrange that?"

House started laughing, "He had a widow flown out of Cordoba, Alaska the day after her husband died...I think this will be a walk in the park for him. If he said he would do it, he will do it. That's one thing about my Dad, he's a man of his word. You better start packing."

She nodded yes and walked into her bedroom. It was a nice room, about 14' by 15" with an adjoining small bathroom. "Greg, can you help me get down the suitcase?"

House went into the bedroom and saw the suitcase on the top shelf of her bedroom closet. He poked it and pulled it forward using his cane. It tilted and then fell one foot into his upstretched hands. He brought it down and handed it to Murphy who thanked him and put it on her bed.

"I guess I should take some photos of her for her wake. She went into the living room and grabbed two photo albums off of the shelf and went back to the bedroom. House was already looking at some of the framed photos of Murphy and her sister. There was one on the top of Half Dome in Yosemite where they have their arms clasped and raised together in a salute of accomplishment. Her sister was at least four inches taller than Murphy and she was pretty but not beautiful like Murphy. She was also a little fuller through the hips than Murphy.

"Half Dome?"

"Yeah, we spent a lot of time in Yosemite together. A lot of the photos are from us hiking the High Sierra camps. We also did a lot of white water rafting and traveling. We were best friends and the only family we had." Her lip started to quiver.

House wasn't surprised to hear her start sobbing again. He had seen widows go through waves of grief followed by calm in which they were able to work through the mechanics of death...the ordering of the death certificates, the notifying of branches of the government that the loved one was dead so that the allotments could be stopped, the selection of the funeral music and readings, the decision of what the loved one would be buried in...the mechanics, followed by the waves of grief, the realization that the loved one would never wear the clothes again, hear the music, read the readings, work for the allotment. House had seen it many times. Being the son of a pilot gave him ample opportunity to see grief up close.

He walked over and put his hand on her shoulder and patted it. It was the best he could do. He couldn't bring himself to actually hold her again. It was too awkward for both of them. He was both attracted to her and painfully aware that she reminded him too much of his father and the pain that came with his childhood.

She walked away and grabbed some Kleenex and blew her nose. Then she started to take clothes out of her chest of drawers and closet and put them into the suitcase. She packed a makeup bag and grabbed shoes from her closet, wrapped them in a shoe bag and packed them too. She didn't think she would be able to read but she packed a book anyway in her backpack. House sat on the chair in her bedroom watching her do all of this. They didn't talk but it wasn't awkward. It was if all she wanted from him at that moment in time was to be there, to be present and alive.

The phone rang and she answered it. "Hello? Yes John. Thank You!! Oh, that's great. Sure, let me get a pen...ok, Lt. Colonel David Pratt. Yes, 8:30...thanks. Yes, he's sitting here. Sure and I'll see you tomorrow. Thanks again, bye. Greg, your Dad would like to talk to you."

"Dad? No, I can't get away. I know, but it's bad timing. Yeah, I know it's been two years. Maybe in the fall. Give her my love. Thanks Dad for ...ok, bye."

"You haven't been home in two years?"

"I've seen them for short periods of time and when I was shot my Mom came out and stayed with me for a week to help out. My Dad and I aren't on the same wavelength. He's black and white...I'm a kaleidoscope of grey. He finds me annoying and I find the fact that he finds me annoying, annoying."

"I somehow suspect there's more to this, but it's none of my business and frankly, I can't handle any more angst today."

He chuckled and she smiled at him. "Greg, you really don't have to stay."

"You say that, but this is all going to sneak up and hit you over and over. It's good just to have a warm body around...even if we aren't exactly on each other's Christmas card list."

"I wish I had figured out how to get on your good side. But I guess you're the one that makes that decision."

"Well, take heart. When you started I had decided that you were going to be out of the department within a month but you were pretty good at diagnosing people and you made the department money...so I kept you."

"Gee Dad, thanks for keeping me. Abortions are so messy!" She stopped packing for a second and looked up at him, "If we're going to be frank about all of this, I never understood why everyone seemed to treat me like a leper. I've never experienced that. Usually I make friends fairly easy."

"They thought you were a muff diver."

"Gay, they thought I was a lesbian? I thought that was all a really bad joke on your part. You mean they bought it?"

"I bought it."

"YOU REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GAY?" She started laughing really hard. "That's so funny and sad all at the same time."

"Well, we didn't know Susan was your sister, that email made it sound like she was your lover."

"Oh my God. That's disgusting. You really are a piece of work aren't you?"

"Hey Chase, Cameron and Foreman thought you were a lezbo too!"

"With my sister? You're all sick then." She said, "You know, I'm about ready to take Cameron down...she's really pissing me off. She found out some obscure piece of the patient's history, something by accident and didn't tell me. I spent six hours running an assay that she KNEW would be negative. House, that's not good for the patient and it's expensive."

House put his hands up, "I don't want to hear about it...that cat fight is between you and Cameron. You need to work it out."

"I've tried. I took her to lunch and talked to her about it and she got in my face telling me that if I had better skills as a doctor I wouldn't need her help."

House laughed to himself and Murphy gave him a dirty look. "Don't look at me. You figure it out...you're an adult." Secretly House was hoping to see a real cat fight. Women fight dirty and he loved to see them get down an dirty. But he couldn't see Cameron actually fighting. He could see Murphy doing it...she was a scrapper...the kind that did what was necessary. She'd take Cameron out in less than a minute.

That night House ordered some Chinese from the restaurant a block away and he went down to pick it up with his backpack. When he got back he found her face down on the bed crying. He went to the kitchen and fixed two plates but he doubted she was going to eat. He was right. She took five bites and that was it.

He told her that he planned to stay the night, did she want him on the couch or in the second bedroom. She didn't even fight him. By then she was so exhausted from the waves of crying that she didn't care.

"Take the guest room, there's several new toothbrushes in the guest bathroom, in the top drawer. I'm going to bed...thanks."

"He took a shower even though he had to put on his old clothes. He had clean clothes at work that he could put on tomorrow. He brushed his teeth and went into the guest room. It had a full bed and a night stand, chest of drawers and a television on top of the chest of drawers. He started watching the news at eleven when he heard the sound of crying from her room next door. He turned off the television and laid there and thought how desperate she sounded. The kind of grief that you just have to succumb to, allow it to escape and then fall asleep exhausted. He heard her door open and slow footsteps come down the hall and stop in front of his door. He could see a shadow under the door. He waited and prayed she wouldn't come in. He wasn't sure what he would do with a vulnerable woman in his bedroom. He was praying he would be good but he really didn't want her to test him, he had a feeling he might be more grey than black and white.

The footsteps went back up the hall and the door closed again. He let out a sigh of relief and waited. The crying had stopped and the house was quiet. House thought of her in that red dress and laughed softly when he realized that she was straight and he could have nailed her that night. What a waste.

House drove her the next day to McGuire Air Force Base, about an hour drive from Princeton. House didn't have a base sticker so they had to pull over and get a guest pass at the front gate. It didn't take long since Murphy was a Commander in the Navy. They received instructions on where to go to find David Pratt. Within fifteen minutes House was pulling out of the base, having left Murphy with Pratt. He drove back to PPTH and the prying eyes and ears of the team and staff of the hospital.

When House got to the hospital and informed them that her sister, Susan had been killed in action, there was both sadness and confusion.

"Is that the Susan we thought was her lover?" Foreman asked.

"One and the same."

'So she's not gay?" Chase asked.

"Nope."

"You mean she's attracted to men?" Chase asked.

"Yes, to men, not to little boys with pretty hair."

"Wow, what a waste of time." Chase replied ignoring the insult.

Major General John House and Blythe House met the plane at Miramar Marine Air Base about ten miles from their house in Solana Beach, just north of San Diego but still within San Diego County.

"Commander Morrigan?" He asked as she crossed the tarmac.

"Yes, Major General House?"

"John and my wife, Blythe. We're very sorry for your loss. I've been getting information from your sister's command. Your sister was a very brave woman. They all knew this sniper liked to take pot shots but they were random and he hadn't shot at anyone for months. The communications were down at a small outpost and your sister was worried about the men stationed at it. She and a small group of Marines went out to check up on them and fix the communications equipment. That's when she was hit. Your sister was well liked. The men under her said she was very fair and funny."

"She was. And please call me Murphy."

"Her body has already arrived, it's at the base morgue. Do you want to see her before the cremation?"

"Yes."

"Then we need to stop by and see her now because she is scheduled for cremation tomorrow morning. Are you up for it?"

"Yes I am. And thank you for everything."

Blythe turned to her, "How is Greg?"

Murphy laughed, "He's well but then, he's House."

"Oh dear, he's still creating havoc wherever he goes?"

"I'm afraid that when he has a spare moment he uses it to figure out how to make me miserable."

John looked at her, "He must have some respect for you, Greg never asks me for a favor. In fact, I almost fell off my chair when he did. You have to understand, for Greg to ask me for anything or to even carry on a decent conversation, he has to really want something. We aren't on the best of terms."

"So I gathered. I don't know though. I never got the impression that I was anything more than a target."

Blythe smiled. "Well, you're a beautiful target and that in itself is enough for Greg to want to get on your good side. Is his leg hurting him?"

"It still does, but from what I've learned from others, it's better. He still does strength training on the machines."

"I understand you received the Navy Cross for your action in Iraq."

"It really was just me doing my job."

"It usually is, but it's the fact that you continued to do your job under difficult circumstance."

They arrived at the morgue and John House insisted that he go in first to look at her sister. He did and then came out. "I find that if I describe what you are going to see then it isn't as big a shock and you can start dealing with it before you even see the body. With the exception of an entrance wound on her right temple and an exit wound below her left ear, she looks pretty much in tact. There's some indentation but otherwise, she looks like she's asleep. Sometimes that's harder than if you saw a large wound of some sort. When they look like you could wake them it's harder to believe that they are dead. Are you ready Murphy?"

"Thank you John, I'm glad you told me. Yes, I'm ready."

They took her in and the room was cold. The body bag was unzipped and John was right. She looked asleep with the exception of two small wounds on both sides of her head. Murphy stroked Susan's blonde hair with the loving hands of a sister. She looked sweetly at the child that she had helped nurture, played and fought with. This was the girl who asked a million questions about getting your period, kissing boys and falling in love. She gave Murphy headaches and made her laugh. And now she was a body in a bag, a body count in a war. Murphy's eyes spilled over and over and over. Blythe put a motherly arm around her shoulders and John reached down and held her hand. Murphy was so grateful that the Houses were there. This was so hard.

John and Blythe House insisted that she come and stay with them. Although her friends had all begged her to come and stay with them, she did not want the added burden of having to keep up appearances and make small talk. John and Blythe seemed to anticipate what she needed, when she needed it. She agreed to stay with them.

She ended up in House's old bedroom. He had only stayed there a couple of years before entering college. And although most of the room had been changed into a guest room, she discovered that the bottom drawers of the dresser had items that obviously belonged to House. There was a small baby's outfit of a white shirt, brown vest and darker brown romper shorts and a baseball cap lovingly packed into tissue. There was a scrapbook about odd things, one was an article from England about a cow that fell off a short cliff into the convertible of a passing car, an article on treating blood diseases with leaches, pictures of odd maladies and other interesting information that he had saved for years. She found some photos of House and friends. He looked happy in some and serious in others. He was always somewhat apart from the others in the photo either physically or in some other manner...dress, posture, looks. It was if he was never normal or average, even with his friends. There was a lock of brown hair in the scrapbook that had under it simply, "Greg's." She couldn't resist going through the drawers and snooping. He had collected some of the oddest things and yet as she picked the things up she couldn't help but feel a certain loneliness about the person who had taken time to collect them.

A lot of their friends, many of Susan's friends in the Marines and the necessary dignitaries filled the old mission style chapel on Camp Pendleton. It was a lovely adobe chapel with red tile roof that had beautiful mesquite doors. As always, the sun was shining in San Diego and it seemed strange to have a funeral on such a gorgeous day. The memorial was very moving. Most of Susan's friends from her platoon got up and spoke about what a great leader and intelligent person she was and most of all, what a funny and happy person she was. The memorial lasted an hour and then they all went to Fort Rosecrans for the interment. Murphy was fine until they played taps. Susan and her parents had all gone to the Berkeley Plantation in Virginia where taps was played for the dead for the first time in military history. It brought back memories of her father lecturing her and Susan about Taps. Both girls just wanted to run around the Plantation but instead, they were forced by their Dad to hear the story.

"Of all the military bugle calls, taps is the easiest to recognize and also the one to make a grown man cry. Until the Civil War, the traditional call at day's end was a tune called "Lights Out." In 1862, in the aftermath of the bloody Seven Days battles, Union General Butterfield called the brigade bugler to his tent. He thought "Lights Out" was too formal and he wished to honor his men. The bugler later told everyone how Butterfield had changed some of the notes to make the call more melancholy. After getting it to his satisfaction, Butterfield told the bugler to sound that call for Taps in place of the regulation call. The music was beautiful and was heard far beyond the limits of Butterfield's Brigade. The next day the bugler was visited by several buglers from neighboring Brigades, asking for copies of the music. The call was gradually taken up through the Army of the Potomac." It became standard at military funeral ceremonies in 1891. And girls, when you hear that song, I want you remember all the men and women who gave their lives for this great country." Susan and Murphy nodded solemnly.

Next they went to the Officer's Club for her wake. The wake lasted all evening and consisted of a lot of drinking, swearing, laughter and tears. John House poured a very drunk Murphy into bed that night.

Murphy and the House's went to the Navy Exchange the following day and Murphy bought John House a new Callaway driver and Blythe a Dooney Burke purse to say thank you. She was at a loss as to what to get House for all that he had done. She ended up buying him an IPOD video, the new one. It wasn't very personal but then, she wasn't close to him anyway.

When she left to go back to Princeton the Houses were sorry to see her go. Despite the circumstances and sadness of the occasion, she had been good company and Blythe had especially appreciated the little things she mentioned about Gregory. Murphy was shocked to find herself hugging and crying when she said goodbye to the Houses. She realized that in some ways Greg's parents reminded her of her own. Granted, her Dad had been a Master Chief in the Navy, not a General, but still they were military and it felt similar in structure to her own home.

Wilson picked her up at the base because House had a patient. It took him an hour to get a guest pass to the base and the confirmation of Major General House that he was indeed ok to pick up Commander Morrigan.

On the way home Murphy mentioned that she had spent the entire six days with the Houses. Wilson was not just shocked but curious.

"Is his dad an overbearing ogre?"

"I don't know what he was like when Greg was growing up but he's very nice now. He took very good care of me and whenever he talked about Greg being a doctor he spoke with a lot of pride. I don't really understand what happened between them. But knowing Greg, I suspect him being a military brat is like sending Keith Richards to a monastery for eighteen years."

She talked a little more about his parents and the events and then asked about House and the team.

"They've kind of gotten back into the groove of the old team dynamics. I heard from House that you aren't really a lesbian. You know that's going to change the dynamics of the department again."

"What do you mean?"

"Well when Cameron thought you were a lesbian, you weren't a threat in one way..."

"I get your drift."

"But I'm more worried about House."

"What do you mean?"

"House likes a lot of sexual tension between him and the women he works with...I think as an Alpha male he feels like it keeps the females in control. You're no longer a neutral."

"You think he is going to hit on me?"

"Nothing that blatant, he'll just do that lingering look, brush of the hand, lusty looks...you know. Then when Cameron sees it she'll be really pissed."

"I rue the day I took this job. I don't understand civilians."

"This has nothing to do with civilians, you don't understand House. Neither do we."

Wilson was right. House started throwing out sexual innuendos at Murphy right and left. The relationship between Cameron and Murphy deteriorated to the point where Murphy barely acknowledged she was alive and Cameron was in House's face about her almost every day.

It drove Murphy nuts that Cameron spent a lot of her waking time trying to figure out what House was doing and the motives behind it. Murphy thought that if anyone needed to get laid, it was Cameron. Murphy had to laugh, she and Cameron had one thing in common, the only life they had was PPTH.

At the end of February, Murphy and Cameron had not called a truce but they had reached a certain level of tolerance. This happened because, despite Murphy's threats, she still shared her work with Cameron. During a routine examination of a patient, Murphy found a tick that Cameron had missed. Rather than gloat over it, she told Cameron that she might want to do another examination of the patient's feet. Cameron was no fool and immediately did an examination and found the buried tick between the patient's toes. The patient had plantar warts and bunions and never felt the tick. Cameron reported the tick and the case was solved within an hour. After that, Cameron stopped complaining to House about Murphy except on the odd occasion.

But Murphy was having trouble concentrating and getting back into the swing of things. She was having terrible mood swings. She spent a lot of time at night crying over her sister and drinking alone. She didn't have a drinking problem yet, but she was well on her way. At work she was crabby and having a hard time keeping it together. She was at the breaking point with House and Cameron.

One late afternoon in early March, the entire team plus Wilson were all standing or leaning over the bannister on the second floor overlooking the clinic talking about the day and their plans for the weekend. Wilson, House and Murphy all noticed the Navy blue uniform at the same time. In walked a guy, an older Mark Wahlberg look alike in full Navy dress blues. He stopped at the desk, talked to a nurse who then pointed up to the balcony where they were all standing. Murphy was in a pink sweater, gray flip skirt and black pumps. She gave a slight "woop" and started running.

He looked up and saw her. He came around the desk as she raced down the stairs as fast as she could and at break neck speed jumped into his arms with her legs wrapped around his waist. They had a passionate kiss in front of the entire staff. The nurses were all smiling. House stood up and watched the event unfold quietly.

Wilson asked the team and House, "Do you think she knows him?"

They all giggled, except for House. He went over to the elevator and pushed the button. Wilson and House got into the elevator and it stopped on the first floor twenty feet from the kissing couple.

House and Wilson walked towards them, "House, why not let them just have this time together. We can meet him later."

House kept walking towards them. Murphy stopped kissing him and turned to introduce him. House stuck out his hand, "Tall, handsome, intelligent, charming and well hung. But, enough about me, who are you?"

Murphy rolled her eyes. "This is Captain Anthony Mezzaluna. Tony, these are Drs. Gregory House and James Wilson."

He stuck out his hand and shook Wilson's hand. "Glad to meet you." House didn't offer his hand so Tony didn't bother to acknowledge him. He turned to Murphy and gave her another deep kiss.

"You two need to get a room." House said with disdain.

Tony looked at Murphy, "He's right, I've got us a room. Can you get off now?"

"I'm the only one who can get her off." House gave him a phony smile.

Murphy turned to look at House with a look of distaste. She kissed Tony quickly on the lips and said, "I'll be down in a minute, I just have to get my things."

After she left Wilson asked Tony,"How do you know Murphy?"

"She served under me."

"I bet she did." House remarked.

"Aboard the U.S.N.S. Mercy. I was the Captain of the ship."

House couldn't think of a comeback for that, so he kept his mouth shut. He did take a good look at the Captain and noted some interesting things.

"How long have you been divorced?" House asked him.

Tony was clearly taken off guard and gave House a strange look. Tony didn't have an answer and looked incredibly awkward. Then it hit House, "You aren't divorced, you just don't have your ring on today. Did you take it off for Murphy?"

Tony looked around to see if Murphy was near, "Look...Dr...Dr. House, I married my wife a few months ago when I got her pregnant. I'm going to divorce her and ask Murphy to marry me. I'm waiting for the baby to be born before I ask her for one."

House chuckled delightedly."You are the perfect sailor, a woman in every port and a pregnant wife at home. Does Murphy even know you're married?"

"Not yet, I'm going to tell her tonight. How did you know?"

"Now that's really special, get a hotel room, have sex and THEN let her know you're married. You are perfect." House looked down at Tony's ring finger, "You've got an indent on your ring finger where you usually wear a wedding band."

Tony and Wilson both looked at Tony's hand and realized House was right. "Boy, you are observant. Well...are you going to tell her?"

"Nope. None of my business." House said.

Wilson looked at House in shock. "House!!! You've got to tell her."

"Why? If we tell her now, then she won't have sex and you and I both know if anyone needs to get laid, it's her." He turned to Tony, "I just want to you make sure you have protected sex or I will hunt you down and go to your CO. Understand?"

Tony shook his head yes. Murphy showed up and Wilson began to say something.

House jumped in and said, "Now you two run...go have that conjugal visit...skidaddle..." he started talking over Wilson. Murphy was confused. Wilson was trying to say something but Tony was rushing her out the door and House was going on and on about what a cute couple they made while holding Wilson back.

"What was that about?" She asked Tony outside.

"Who knows. You work with some strange people."

They went to her house instead of the motel and had a night of rather athletic sex. It wasn't imaginative or even erotic, just slammin' sex. But for Murphy, it was a Godsend. Sex always helped her release her anger, anxiety and emotional pain and lately she had a lot of that.

Tony had to be back to Norfolk on Monday so he left Sunday afternoon. They made plans for Murphy to join him in Norfolk in two weeks for a weekend. Tony's ship, a sub tender, the U.S.S. Proteus, was in port for three months of maintenance before going on a Westpac through the canal, San Diego, Hawaii and then it's home port, Guam.

On Monday she went into the office and everyone teased her about having a good weekend. Wilson and House showed up together and Wilson walked into the office in his coat and carrying his briefcase. He looked seriously at Murphy.

"Did Tony tell you?" He was very sober.

She stopped smiling and looked at him questioningly, "Tell me what?"

Wilson looked at House, "You see House? This is why you should have told her."

She looked at House, "See what...told me what?"

"Wilson is referring to the fact that your boyfriend is married and has a pregnant wife."

Something finally snapped in Murphy. "Liar!" She jumped up and gave House a right cross that was as effective as one from a 200 lb. male. House went sailing and Murphy went after him.

Wilson pulled her off of him and said, "It's true, it's true...Tony told us on Friday. That's what I was trying to tell you as you left.'

She relaxed and turned to Wilson. "He really is married?" She asked it like a seven year old who finds out that there is no Santa Clause.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. A few months ago after he got her pregnant." He looked at her and watched as her face slipped from anger to disbelief to devastation.

She grabbed her things, looked down at House, "And so you thought it would be fun to just let me go screw with a married man. You are incredibly callous aren't you?"

House looked up from the floor where he was rubbing his chin. "Oh big deal, you had a good time this weekend didn't you? Who cares if he lied to get you in bed. Welcome to reality. Besides, you needed to get screwed, big time."

She walked over to where he was laying on the floor and kicked him square in the genitals. He doubled over and screamed out in pain. She walked out and Wilson followed her. Cameron ran to House and Chase got up with a smile to get House an ice pack for his nuts. Foreman just watched the circus.

Wilson ran up to her, "Murphy, are you ok?"

She turned and looked at him with tears running down her cheek, "Alright? I've lost my sister, I'm working for Dr. Demento and my boyfriend just forgets to mention that he's gotten married and has a pregnant wife. I'm having a great life."

Wilson looked at her, "House just thought it would be good for you to have a weekend of unbridled sex. He thinks like a man...being married probably wouldn't stop him. Well, I know it wouldn't stop him. He had an affair with his ex-girlfriend while her husband was recuperating from a life threatening disease so I know he doesn't see marriage as a deterrent to having sex with someone."

She shook her head and then smiled at him, "Thanks for trying to tell me. My gut told me on Friday to go back in and ask you what you wanted, but I was so excited about having something fun in my life, that I didn't listen to my gut. Tell House I'll be back tomorrow."

The next day she walked in and House was already in the office. The team wasn't there. She saw a huge bruise on his jaw.

"Where's the team?" she asked.

"Up running tests. We have a patient in serious condition."

"Why didn't you call me in?"

"Right." He rolled his chair back and showed the cold gel pack planted between his legs.

"Oh...I am sorry. That was uncalled for, did you have someone look at it?"

"Chase took a look. Apparently they are still in tact...barely. I threw up a few times."

"Sorry, really...I am sorry. I can get pretty physical when I am angry."

"Ya think? Go on up and help Foreman with the MRI. Stay away from Cameron, she's ready to protect me from the evil Sailor formally known as Murphy."

The next few weeks were strained between House, Murphy and Cameron. The guys were in love with Murphy. She was smart, funny and she could kick ass, especially House's ass. They were getting pretty close to her.

Murphy had finished for the week and was going to take off at 4:00 p.m. At around 3:30 p.m. Wilson stuck his head into the office and said to Murphy, "You better come and see this."

Murphy and the entire office, followed by House, went to the banister and looked down. There were two sailors, four Marines and three Army soldiers downstairs, in uniform with their hats under their arms or in their hands. Cuddy had come out of the office to ask them what they wanted when one of the Marines spotted Murphy. Cuddy opened her mouth to ask when one of the Marines yelled, "Atten-hut."

The group of guys formed a set of three rows of three and came to attention. They looked great in their uniforms. They all looked up at Murphy who was smiling broadly and also had tears in her eyes. The entire clinic and several staff had wandered out to find out what was happening. They all saluted. Murphy saluted back and yelled down to them, "At ease."

She walked down the stairs and paraded back forth in front of them. "I've never seen a sorrier excuse for soldiers and sailors as you guys. Even so, you are all a sight for sore eyes. Dismissed."

They all cheered and crowded around her. Lot of hugging and laughing. One large Marine grabbed her and threw her up in the air. "Nelson, put me down."

"Who are you guys?" Cuddy asked.

"We're back from Iraq and Landstuhl, Germany. Commander Morrigan saved our lives in Iraq. We've come down to thank Commander Morrigan for what she did for each of us."

"Come on guys, let's go get a drink." Murphy offered and they all cheered. She looked back up at the team around the bannister. "We'll be at the Triumph if you guys want to join us."

The team did join them, including Cameron who went along to keep tabs on House. They all had a rowdy time. The soldiers and sailors told House, the team and Wilson how Murphy was the first to work on them after being wounded. One Marine said, "I got hit in the chest with shrapnel and was bleeding out with no plasma or blood on hand. The Commander's CO was a Marine Colonel. He told Commander Morrigan that I was a gonner and to leave me and move on to the next soldier. The guys in my Platoon told me that she yelled at him, "Like hell, this is some mother's son and I'm not giving up on him. She's at home praying that we'll take care of her baby and I intend to honor that if you don't mind, SIR." She asked around and found an O negative Marine and gave me an on the spot blood transfusion which kept me alive. She stabilized me and I was put on the next helicopter out. I heard she got written up for refusing a direct order. She also got a commendation from the General for not leaving a Marine behind. She's was know to us as the "Angel." If you saw her you knew two things, you were close to death and she wasn't going to give up on you unless you were dead."

The evening was laced with enough alcohol to float a boat. The army guys lagged way behind, the Marines could drink seriously, but the sailors had hollow legs. They were able to stay afloat long after the Marines' heads hit the deck. They were all poured into cabs and sent back to their hotel rooms at the Embassy Suites. Murphy was driven home by Chase.

Murphy was on a high for several days after the guys left. Their visit reminded her of what she missed in the military. It wasn't the drinking, it was the comradery. Her high slipped quickly into a depression that she was having a hard time shaking. House began to notice that she didn't say much anymore and she was starting to miss important symptoms and she even screwed up an assay he asked her to run.

Wilson noticed it too. "What's up with Murphy?"

"I think she's drinking. Probably depression."

"Murphy, drinking? Even when the guys were here she only had four drinks all night."

"I think she likes drinking alone." He tilted his head to the side waiting for his reply.

"Well, you would know." Wilson said

House thought about it and one night when the team had gone and Murphy was just getting ready to leave he called her into the office.

"You're Fucking up. I don't really care why, but you need to get a grip. You're turning into a lush and the alcohol is interfering with your performance. If you keep screwing up I'm going to ask that you be transferred."

She looked at him with anger. "Screw you. You're an addict and you're telling me I have a problem?"

"You do have a problem and it's becoming my problem. One more screw up and I'll ask for your transfer. I can't have a screw up on my team."

"So you can be an addict but you won't cut any slack for someone else who has problems?"

"I'm an addict because of physical pain. You're an addict because of emotional pain. And I don't care why you are the way you are, I just don't want a drunk on my team."

A few days later, Murphy received the life insurance on Susan provided by the Corps. She also received a box from Susan's platoon with Susan's personal belongings. Murphy threw up when she opened the envelope. That night she drank herself into oblivion. She didn't wake up the next day until House sent Chase to check up on her. House wanted her in as soon as possible because the new patient had been in Thailand and Murphy had spent a lot of time on the UNSN Mercy off the coast of Thailand.

Chase could hear a television but no one was answering his pounding on the front door. He looked through a window and saw Murphy on the couch ...she wasn't moving. He got in through the window and tried to wake her. He looked over and saw a half empty bottle of Patron Tequila and a partially empty bottle of Grey Goose. She smelled like hell.

"Murphy...MURPHY...wake up." He slapped her cheek lightly and there was a little moan. "Murphy, what's going on with you? Come on girl, you've got to get up and walk this off." Chase's phone went off and he answered it.

"Well sunshine, what did you find out?" It was a very sarcastic House.

"She's here but she's a little under the weather. I don't think she'll be in today."

"She's drunk and passed out." House said angrily. There was silence. Chase said nothing. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yes, but I can sober her up and get her in..."

"Don't bother, let her sleep it off. I need you back here."

Chase looked around before he left and saw the opened box. There was a letter with it which he stopped to read. It was clear from the letter that the contents of the box was her sister's. Chase realized that she had just received the box and this had probably triggered the drinking.

He propped her up on her side so that she wouldn't aspirate if she vomited and then he left to get back to the hospital.

In the meantime, a very angry House was on the phone to Murphy's CO. He told him that Murphy had started to drink and that she was missing work because of it. He wanted her transferred to a different department or hospital. The CO listened and then said he would take care of it.

When Chase got back he said to House, "Murphy just received her sister's personal belongings from her platoon. There was a half finished letter from her sister to Murphy in the box, a very hopeful letter about the future. House, I don't think anyone would have made it in after getting that box and letter."

House felt some remorse for calling the CO. He couldn't imagine receiving the personal belongings of your beloved sister. In addition, Murphy was now totally alone, trying to get through this without the assistance of her friends, her family or even her military support system. She must feel like a fish out of water.

The next day a very sheepish Murphy showed up and when she appeared in the lab to run tests Cameron gave her a tongue lashing. "We could have used you yesterday, Chase said you were passed out drunk. I always suspected you were emotionally unstable. It's obvious you have a real problem with alcohol and I have a hard time trusting you to run any tests. I'm going to ask that House not let you do assays or tests with me anymore, at least not until I can trust you."

Murphy was trying hard to hold back but she finally had to let some steam off. "You want to talk about emotional problems? You seem to be an intelligent woman. Ask yourself why you have spent over three years of your life pinning over a man who, despite the occasional flirting, hasn't made a single move on you. In fact, he ignored your desperate moves and went after his former girlfriend who was MARRIED and had a husband who was chronically ill. I'm not asking you to try to understand House, I'm asking you to try and understand your own behavior. You spend way too much time on a man who hasn't given you the time of day because it's safe for you. You don't have to put yourself out there and get hurt. Better to be hurt and rejected constantly by the devil you know and know won't commit than to take a chance you might get hurt if you go after real love and possible happiness. Now, that's my gift to you Cameron. However, if you ever talk to me like you just did, and I DO MEAN EVER, then you won't have much of that lovely brunette hair left when I get done with you. Do I make myself clear? I will run whatever Fricking tests I want. I have ten more years as a doctor and a lot more experience in the real practice of medicine than you will ever have so just get over yourself sister." She turned to leave but stopped, "Oh and don't worry about telling Cuddy and House what I just said, I'll make sure they're told."

When the team had gone home she went in to House's office. "I just told Cameron to stop needling me and pinning for you. I told her that I was going to separate her hair from her scalp if she didn't behave. Just so you know." She paused, "Now, on another note, I am having some hard times right now and I would appreciate your patience. I need to deal with my drinking. I don't think I am an alcoholic but I think I could easily become one. I'm not sure how I am going to do it, but I plan on dealing with it starting today."

"I guess a shrink would probably tell you to substitute a positive behavior for a negative. Every time you want a drink, do something physical...run, exercise, have sex, clean house...I don't care. I just want to see some improvement real soon."

She said nothing but grabbed her stuff and left. His eyes followed her out the door and down the hall. He was worried about her but didn't dare tell her or anyone else. He had come to admire her for her spunk and backbone. She was no shrinking violet. She went after what she wanted and she stood up to others when she had to. He could still feel the pain in his nuts from her last round with him.

The next day was March 28th and on his way to work he saw her running along the side of the road. She was almost to the hospital so he didn't bother offering a ride. He also realized that a ride would defeat the purpose of running. That night he offered her a ride home, it was still chilly outside.

"No thanks, I'm going to go for a run."

For the next two weeks she ran to and from the hospital in all kinds of weather. She would take her shower after she got to work. She would work out in the gym after work and before going home. She stopped drinking at home by herself. She was still depressed, she just stuffed it down better.

April came and House had noticed an improvement in her work. Things had changed on the team. Cameron was dating a young doctor from Gastroenterology. She wasn't as absorbed with House as usual and this actually aggravated House. One thing House liked was being the center of attention, especially the attention of a beautiful woman.

House aimed his aggravation at Murphy. He decided that he would become the center of her world over the next few weeks. He started by assigning her charting duty, something that Cameron usually did for him. It meant staying in the office near him and writing up the charts from cases. Murphy would occasionally have to ask him a question about a case and so she was in contact more with House than usual.

One afternoon she was writing up a chart from a case that had dropped through the cracks. It had happened while she was in California. House was laying on the floor with his legs crossed and his eyes closed listening to music through headphones. Murphy poked his foot with hers.

He opened his eyes and focused on her looking down at him. She felt strange. In that position he was very vulnerable, at least from a martial arts point of view. She could have him for breakfast and he seemed to read that in her face.

"You're staring at my penis. Normally I'd get off on that, but given your history with my genitals, I'm feeling a little threatened."

"Actually I wasn't staring at the penis. I was thinking how vulnerable you are down there on the floor. I could do some real damage to you and not just to your willy."

"I didn't realize you were into sado-masochism. But whatever floats your boat."

"Is everything sex with you?"

"As a species, everything is sex or leads to sex."

"You should have nailed Cameron when you could have. Now there's no one in the department to drool over you . It must make you sad."

"There's you."

She laughed, "I find you about as attractive as a terrorist attack. I'd have a hard time choosing between fucking you or fucking Bin Laden."

He chuckled. "You don't know what you're missing."

"You are a legend in your own mind."

"You'll never know unless you go for a ride."

Now it was her turn to chuckle. "You'd be a kiddy ride compared to the rides I've been on."

"I know your type, they think that sex is something you endure. You're the kind that lays back and thinks of God and Country. You probably think sexual participation is cleaning up the wet spot." He would have kept going but she turned and went into the other room. The sexual banter didn't stop, it back and forth a few more times over the next few days.

Cameron came in and was in a great mood. "I just bought my dress for the May Charity Ball. I get to go with a date this time."

"I'm taking Nancy Bashears from Otolaryngology." Chase volunteered.

"I'm probably going stag. What about you Murphy?" Foreman asked.

"Not going."

"You should go, it's fun. They set up tents everywhere on campus and each tent has a different type of entertainment. It's great." Chase said enthusiastically.

House and Wilson walked in. "Are you two going to the May ball?" Chase asked.

They both nodded their heads yes. "Why ask?" Wilson wanted to know.

"Murphy isn't going."

"Murphy, you have to go. You'll have fun." Wilson insisted.

She shook her head no. "End of discussion."

"What' wrong Murphy, afraid no one will ask you to the ball or dance with you?" House asked.

"That's it. I'm dateless." She said while she continued to chart.

"There's always George in accounting, he'll screw anything, even if it just lies there and thinks of God and country."

"Gosh, and I thought only you would screw anything that moved. Bet it's nice to know you aren't alone."

"I'd screw anything but a sailor that's drunk or should I say, a drunk that's a sailor."

The team screwed up their faces at the insult. She just said, "I kicked you with my left foot, imagine what damage I can do with my right." Murphy had managed a draw but she was secretly getting tired of the sexual bantering and suggestive language. She wished that for a week she could just do her job without his crap. She kept thinking, maybe if the sexual tension was put to bed (so to speak) he would grow tired of ragging on her.

House went into his office. Later that afternoon the team took off for the weekend. He was still in his office playing a game on his Game Boy and waiting for a phone call. He was trying to buy tickets to the Monster truck rally for Saturday night in Philadelphia. He had a guy who always managed to get him floor passes but the guy didn't get off work until 7:00 p.m. He promised to call House when he got home.

He was sitting in the chair playing his game when he saw Murphy opening the door to his office. She walked in huffing and puffing and bent over to catch her breath.She was wearing jersey shorts, sneakers and a sleeveless gray t-shirt. Her hair was in a ponytail and the sweat was running down her neck from the run she had just finished. He found it incredibly sexy.

"I (puff) want to ..have a talk ...(puff) with you and I ...(puff) ...don't want to be ...interrupted." She closed the blinds and locked the door. She had his attention. He turned off the Game Boy and stared at her. "Ok...(puff)...what do you want? I can't imagine that you want to really have sex with me, so why do you keep teasing and making suggestive remarks? Can't you...(puff) stop this insanity? It's getting old."

"Who said I don't want to have sex with you? I'd have sex with Rosie O'Donnell if she put a bag over her face." He said mischievously.

She pulled her head back in surprise, "You can't be serious."

"About having sex with you or Rosie O'Donnell? Why not? I've never slept with a sailor before." he smiled.

"For one thing, I don't find you attractive so I doubt you find me attractive. And the other is that sex with me is like a Lay's potato chip, once you have one, you want to have another, and another, and another..."

"Now who's a legend in their own mind. Tell me the truth, are you really that hot in bed, or is this your vivid and lonely imagination?"

"You can't handle the truth." She said snickering to herself.

He reached out and tugged lightly on the hem of her shorts. And then, while looking up into her eyes he pulled the shorts and her towards him. "Aren't you just the least bit curious about what it would be like between us? We have been dancing around it ever since that day in the shower room." He ran his fingers along the edge of her shorts with his index finger brushing her thigh. He raised the right leg of her shorts and looked at the shrapnel scar on her thigh. He stroked it softly, thinking about his own scar on his right thigh.

She almost jerked away but the touch was soft and gentle. "YOU'VE been dancing, I've been drinking to forget." She looked into his blue eyes and thought that if she pretended he was someone else, it might just be the release she needed.

She took off her T-shirt to reveal a jersey sports bra. "Let's just get this over with...if we do this, can you promise to leave me alone for awhile...no comments, no mean retorts?"

House was completely stunned, he hadn't expected this from her. His mouth was open in shock as he nodded yes. She was still breathing heavily from the run. She yanked the sports bra off and there were those breasts he dreamed about. She dropped her shorts and walked closer to the chair. He reached up to grab her breasts. They were heaving up and down as she still tried to catch her breath. She knocked his hands away.

"Hold on. I need a minute to catch my breath." As she did she grabbed his belt, undid it and the button. He couldn't wait any longer, he reached up and grabbed her breasts and then with his left hand, reached around and pulled her down so he could lick the sweat rivulet running from her neck, past the shoulder bones and down her left breast. He sat up straighter so that he could reach her lips.

She didn't want him to kiss her on the lips but he did. She straddled his legs on the chair. He pulled her into him so he could give her a deeper kiss and run his hand down her spine, across the curve of her cheek and down her panties. The kiss had been pleasant, more intimate than she wanted, but still pleasant.

She could feel the large bulge pushing up under the zipper of his pants. He brought his hand around and started feeling her skin up her rib cage and to her breasts. He grabbed her left breast and kissed it. He loved the taste of her and how salty she was from sweating. She lifted up and unzipped his pants under her. She took him in her hand and looked down to see whether he was worth all the fuss. She had to admit, it was a nice package. She stood up, took off her panties, straddled him again and then slowly guided him inside of her while she looked into those blue eyes.

She was warm. He was watching her as she used her hips to make circles while she also rode up and down. Her muscles squeezed him with each downward motion. It was too much. He closed his eyes to slow down his response and then opened them again. Her breasts were dancing slowly in front of him. He tried to hold back but he couldn't. He picked up the speed until her breasts were bouncing lightly. He had his hands on the cheeks of her lovely round bottom as it traveled up and down. When he exploded he felt a little wobbly and needed to hold onto something to keep his head from swimming. He grabbed her and rested his forehead just below her breasts. All he could yell was, "Ahhhhhhhhhhh." He didn't breath out until the last of the orgasm swept through him. He grabbed her hips to stop her from moving. He was so sensitive that any movement gave him a sensation of pain and discomfort. She moved and he yelled out, "Ahhh, wait, wait..." She stopped until he nodded it was ok for her to move. He knew it was her turn, that she hadn't come and he should take her to the same place he had just been, but he was so spent he needed some time to get himself together.

When he saw that she was getting up and putting on her clothes he grabbed her wrist. "NO! Don't go...I need to do the same for you." She looked down at him as she wrestled her wrist out of his hand.

"It's alright, I've got to get going. I have a friend making a stopover at Trenton Airport in an hour and we're having dinner." She put on the rest of her clothes and went down to the shower room.

He put his head back and just sat listening to his own pulse pound in his head. He grabbed his willy, put it back in his trousers and then zipped up his jeans. He tried to get up but the room was spinning. He waited a few more minutes and then he was able to stand. The phone rang, it was the guy with the passes. House had to convince the guy that it was him because he kept saying, "It doesn't sound like you."

By the time he was able to walk down to the shower room, she had already showered and gone. He went back to his office, grabbed his backpack and took off. He was haunted all weekend long by what had happened. It was so fast and so intense, he felt like it had all been a dream. He also realized she hadn't lied. She was a Lay's potato chip.

On Monday he said nothing to her about it. He simply spoke to her only when necessary. The whole team was puzzled by their behavior. When he didn't tease or torment her on Tuesday or Wednesday, the team asked her what had happened. She simply said that they had a discussion and he had agreed to give her some space for a little while so she could deal with her sister's death. Occasionally Murphy couldn't contain herself and would hint around about Minutemen. The team had no clue what she meant, but House did.

Cuddy asked Murphy if she would take tickets at the May ball from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Murphy told Cuddy she wasn't going. "I'm sorry, that's not an option. You get a discount on the ticket if you work the hour. It's $150 instead of $250. What will it be, go at full price or work an hour?"

"Ok, I'll work an hour. Is it really a ball, complete with ball gowns?"

"Yes, you can wear a ball gown, a cocktail dress or, in your case, your dress uniform. It's your choice."

She thought about it. Wearing her dress uniform would be the cheapest alternative but it meant wearing the miniature medals along with it and then explaining all night long what they were and how she got them. Each time she wore her medals she spent the whole evening talking about them. She decided she would have to go shopping.