I HOPE THIS EXPLAINS THE SIGNIFIGANCE OF THE INTERSECTION WITH THE CASE; MORE WILL BE EXPLAINED LATER. THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS:o)

CHAPTER ELEVEN – Chinese Food in Heaven

House didn't say a word as he walked to the empty double bed and put his duffle bag on it. The woman sat on the other bed and watched him silently, pretending to be reading as he walked to one of two chairs by a round table and sat down, looking out the window.

His mind was racing at this point, trying to figure out how it was possible they'd put a man and woman in the same room; he didn't think that was allowed. But he wasn't really pissed at that – he was more pissed because he would have to be more discreet when he needed to take a shot of morphine in the mornings to curb the pain during the trial.

"In case you're wondering, I have clout," Kathi told him as if reading his mind. She finally peered up from her book and acknowledged him; he met her gaze.

"That's not contagious, is it? You should see a doctor for that," he told her with a sly grin on his face.

"No, I mean I pulled some strings for us to share the same room. And aren't you a doctor?"

"I don't play doctor on the second date."

"Oh, I can tell this is going to be fun," she said with a laugh. "Don't you ever get serious, Greg?"

"Yes, but only when I'm having sex."

"Oh, then I take it you haven't been "serious" in a while?"

"Is that an offer?" House asked flirtatiously. Kathi made a face that covered 'I'm really thinking about it!' when she suddenly broke out laughing.

House joined her in the laughter. Instantly the tension in the room subsided and he felt his shoulders relax. He wasn't quite sure what it was about this woman that he liked. Could it be she met him full circle when he was being a smart ass? Was it that she was so unlike Stacy that she was a breath of fresh air? Was it that maybe he was ready to open his heart to someone new? No, maybe it was pure ego on his part - she actually went out of her way to be with him in the same room. After all, no woman can ever go out of her way to get a man, according to House's Rules of Women book.

Kathi's smile disappeared and she asked why House had chosen the restaurant at that intersection since he knew it was the scene of the accident. "You really put yourself in a bad position, not to mention me …" she started to say but he cut her off.

"Wait a second. You knew where the intersection was. You could have suggtested some place else. I just happened to take advantage of the situation."

"I could have, too, but I didn't," she answered, almost angrily. "Oh, well. I guess something good can come out of something stupid," Kathi said, set the book on the bed and stood up, stretching. "I'm going to take a bath before I order Chinese for dinner – I hope you like Chinese, not that you have a choice." She grabbed her own overnight bag, went to the bathroom and closed the door, slamming it a bit harder than necessary.

House sat in silence, staring at the bathroom door and the duffel bag. The pain in his leg was slowly increasing, ebbing on a pain scale of an eight out of ten. A nine for more than an hour was the ultimate of absolutely needing the morphine. He decided to save the morphine for the next day's trial and took two of his trusty Vicodin, knowing he had the morphine if he absolutely needed it, but also knew that he'd have to limit himself to the amount of morphine he took because he wouldn't be able to leave and get more.

When he placed the bottle back in the bottom of the bag and didn't immediately feel the cold, comforting glass of the vial of morphine at the bottom, a stirring arose in the pit of his stomach; like a child going into a panic when his mother was leaving him alone with the babysitter. He hated that feeling; it was almost an admission that he did have a problem. But the great Dr. Gregory House would never admit to such a thing. Besides, he had it under control, no problem. House's chest rose with a heavy sigh as he heard the running water of the tub 'schloosh' down the drain and continued to day-dream.

The next thing he knew and felt was a pillow thrown on his face and chest, almost making him jump out of his chair. He looked at Kathi furiously, but that soon abated when he saw her standing by her bed with her long, blonde hair wrapped in the towel and wore a lavender, strapped summer-type dress that accentuated every curve of her hour-glass shape, her long, luscious legs disappearing into under the material.

For a moment, and just a brief moment, House forgot where he was, and exactly who he was with, and why he was alone with her.

"Hey, you need the towel?" she asked, putting her toiletries back in the bag and threw it between the bed and the wall. House didn't answer; he didn't even really hear her. All he could do was mumble unintelligently.

"No," he finally mustered.

"Good, okay, because I think you need to get that drooling under control," she said as she sat on the edge of the bed, grabbed a menu from Chang's Dynasty Restaurant and looked it over. "Did you ever decide what you wanted, Greg?"

House didn't answer at first but Kathi swore she heard him say, "You," but there was no way she was going to ask him to repeat it. She smiled, a huge, hidden smile, because she knew what she heard; she didn't need him to repeat it.

HOUSE MD HOUSE MD HOUSE MD

An hour or so later House and Kathi were sitting at the table by the window and eating their Chinese, hungrily and happily.

"How can you eat that stuff? It looks like worms that just came from the garden and covered with dirt!" House muttered between mouthfuls.

"How can you eat that mono sodium glutamate soaked rice?" Kathi retorted, biting into her spring roll.

"It is not, it's brown rice."

"Greg, how do you think it got brown?"

"By playing with the worms in the garden?"

Kathi laughed so hard she thought she was going to shoot her noodles across the room. House handed her some napkins but she waved them away.

"Ok, all joking aside – what about the intersection?" Kathi asked House.

"Oh, I thought you, Ms Perfect and Holier than Thou, wouldn't want to know."

"Then I guess I surprised you, didn't I? The only thing holy about me are some of my socks."

House put down the fork, took a sip of the coke and leaned back in the chair. "He didn't do it."

"Oh, Petros didn't purposely run the red light, hit the plaintiff and crippled him for life, eh?" Kathi asked incredulously.

"Nope. You gonna finish your spring roll?"

"I've eaten half of it, so that's a yes," she answered. "What made you come to that conclusion?"

"The timing of the lights."

"Oh, so there was more yellow than red than green? Or more green than yellow than red?"

"Well, after an enjoyable dinner with you, a few drinks and enlightening conversation, I was so mesmerized by the pretty blinking lights that it just came to me," House told her.

"Greg?"

"Hmmph?"

"You are so full of crap, you know that?"

"Yep," House said with a smile as he reached over, grabbed her spring roll and put the remaining two-thirds into his mouth.

Kathi smiled at him; House smiled back as he thought to himself, "'This is going to be a fun night."