House had been right. Cuddy did cry. Not all over Wilson, that part House got wrong, but she got most definitely teary eyed when she saw what House had done for Andie. She had to retreat into Wilson's office to compose herself.

"Thanks James," Cuddy said taking the tissues Wilson offered her. "I'm sorry about this, but I was so all fired up to yell at House for ... well whatever it was he had been up to again, only to find out he has done something like this!" Cuddy nodded outside towards the party that was on the balcony.

Cameron had got hot chocolate for everyone – except Blythe and John who had already returned to Blythe's room; the surgery had been just yesterday, after all. They had all found blankets to wrap around themselves to keep warm and were telling Andie about the setting up of her surprise – well the censored version of it, anyway. Even Andie's mother looked happy for the moment.

"I know the feeling," Wilson agreed. "I couldn't believe my eyes when we saw it. Can you believe he even got his Father to help with it all?"

"But he hardly speaks to his father!" Cuddy exclaimed.

"I know," Wilson said. "Yet they were in on this together. Granted, John House worked mostly with Foreman, but still, they were in on this together."

"I really cannot make my brain accept this," Cuddy kept shaking her head. "I know I have on occasion seen a different, almost caring side to Greg – even after Stacy and the leg – but I would still never have expected him to do something like this!"

"He did try to make me believe his only motive was to find an acceptable way to have a nice chair and electric blankets for his own use," Wilson revealed.

"Oh, that would be just like him, I accept that," Cuddy mocked. "However, I find it very hard to believe he would have done it all in pink for himself! Which reminds me, I didn't know we had two electric blankets in pink? I could have sworn the only pink one we have is in the clinic!"

"You would be right," Wilson pointed out. "The blanket is from the clinic."

"But I asked Brenda if anything was missing from the clinic and she said no!" Cuddy claimed.

"Well, perhaps she doesn't consider it to be missing as she knows exactly where it is," Wilson said. "According to Foreman House charmed Nurse Brenda into giving it to him."

"Charmed Nurse Brenda?" Cuddy repeated. "Which universe do you think you are living in, because in this universe: not gonna happen!"

"Cameron and Chase confirmed the story," Wilson insisted.

"That son of a..." Cuddy tried to get angry, but then just sighed. "I was sure Brenda was incorruptible, I was sure she would never, ever, ever fall for any of House's tricks, but I should have known better. House has more tricks up his sleeve than a cartload of monkeys! If he doesn't scare them into doing what he wants, or to get out of the way so he can do it himself then he charms them in to doing what he wants. Oh, my kingdom for a nurse who can say no to HOUSE!"

"Come on Lisa, it's not that bad," Wilson said. "So House told Brenda that a dieing girl needed the blanket, is it a surprise she gave in. She is a nurse, after all. Her mission in life is to care for people."

"Her mission in life was supposed to be to thwart House," Cuddy grumbled, but very half-heartedly.

"No, that is your mission in life," Wilson pointed out. "Now if you are yourself again, shall we join the party? That hot chocolate looks quite tempting."

------------

House had been in the clinic for nearly an hour before Cuddy finally felt composed enough to go and confront him. As expected he found House without a patient.

"I got all the paperwork done on the items that went missing last night," Cuddy opened the conversation. "It's all yours till the end of the month. After that, if you don't return it all yourself the maintenance will remove it, and I will bill you for their work."

"That's harsh!" House whined. "I want to bring some joy to the last days of a dieing little girl and you make me pay for it?"

"Yes," Cuddy confirmed. "Had you asked for permission first, I might have let you get away with it, but you didn't."

"And how many days would it have taken you to give me that permission?" House asked. "You would have wanted to run it by the board first and you would have negotiated with the maintenance about the extra work and you would have needed to fill in at least a dozen applications and what not, and by the time you got it all sorted out, Andie would have been dead! Of course, I would then have had my balcony and all the new goodies on it to myself, so maybe I was wrong in not asking you first."

"Nice try, House," Cuddy said. "But I think the secret is out now. You do care."

"You have been talking to Wilson!" House accused her.

"Indeed I have," Cuddy confessed. "And I totally agree with him!"

"Fine, whatever you say," House rolled his eyes. "Just don't say I didn't warn you when you get disappointed again."

"All I'm saying is that you can be a nice man when you want to," Cuddy claimed. "Where is the harm in that?"

"No harm, as such," House agreed. "Just one problem: I don't want to."

"Whatever you say," Cuddy smiled and sauntered out of the room.

----------------

Later that day Cuddy had to deal with no less than five patients who claimed that House had insulted them – and they all were right! Even if Cuddy had to agree with House that they all had deserved to be insulted, drat the man.

--------------

That evening House was sitting at the piano again just testing the keys and wondering if he felt like ordering Chinese, when there was a knock on his door. He was pretty sure it was going to be Wilson; he just hoped the man knew better than to try and thank him again. House opened the door and it was indeed James on the other side of the door, with food.

"I know you don't want any more thanks," Wilson said straight away. "But I also know you never, ever turn down food, so I brought some with me."

"Well, Jimmy, I have to tell you, you do know the way to a man's heart," House stated and took one of the containers leading the way to the kitchen. They took out what they needed to eat and then moved to the couch in the living room. House turned the TV on and they ate in companionable silence watching sports.

"So how was Andie at the end of the day," House finally asked.

"Tired, but in a good way. And happy, well, all things considered." Wilson answered.

"How is her mother holding up?"

"She could use a lot more rest and food than she is currently allowing herself, but there is very little anyone can do about that," Wilson revealed with a worried frown.

"She probably feels that she'll have time to rest and eat later," House agreed. "If she ever feels like doing either ever again, that is."

"Loosing a child is probably the hardest thing of all," Wilson said.

"Especially when you are alone," House added. "Do you know anything about Andie's father?"

"He couldn't handle Andie's illness, so he left them soon after the diagnosis was confirmed," Wilson said with some anger. "I believe he remarried, but they don't really talk about him as he has shown no interest in them for a long time."

"Sounds like a really charming individual," House mused.

"Yeah. And his desertion means that Andie and her mother need to deal with all this alone."

"And once Andie is gone..."

"Yeah."

"How is Andie's doctor handling all this, then?" House asked next.

"Not as well as he wishes he could," Wilson sighed. "Though support from friends is appreciated."

"He has many such friends then?" House asked, "Because if memory serves me his best friend was not the supportive type at all."

"Maybe not the type, but he can shift himself when necessary."

"Hmm, ever the gullible optimist I see," House thought for a moment. "I really don't see why you haven't tried to hit on Cameron as you two have so much in common."

"I think we have had this conversation before," Wilson pointed out. "And nothing has changed since the last time: she is not available. She wants you."

"Not anymore! We only dated once and that was no big deal," House tried to deny.

"Maybe not for you, but she is still hung on you," Wilson insisted. "Mind you I don't get how and why, but that is the way it is."

"If – and I would stress that if – she still has feelings for me," House nearly choked on his words, "they are not real. She has this totally unrealistic idea of me which I just cannot seem to shake! I'm not nice deep down. I'm not a wounded beast she can heal and tame. I'm not tameable! She ought to know that by now."

"Maybe she likes wild beasts," Wilson suggested.

"Maybe," House acknowledged. "But if you get too close to a wild beast you are bound to get hurt!"

"You would not hurt her," Wilson tried to defend his friend, even against the said friend himself.

"I hurt her constantly," House said ruefully. "Think what it would be like for her if there was more between us than her imagination?"

"Don't you think she is old enough to make her own decision about that?" Wilson asked.

"Maybe old enough, but lacking in experience. She is basically a fluffy toy with made by grandmother stamped all over her. I grant that she is tougher, or maybe more resilient than I gave her credit for at first, but that does not mean she can tangle with my beasts. I leave even you bleeding on occasion and ours is just a friendship."

"You just scratch me sometimes," Wilson said.

"What to a friend is a scratch is a mortal wound to a lover. Just ask Stacy." House claimed.

"Maybe, I'm not too good with lovers either, or wives."

"Yeah, we really are a sorry pair!"