He stared at that threshold for a long time. Well, in hindsight, it must have been only for a few fleeting seconds, but it was long enough. Long enough to scare him out of his mind.
There she was awaiting before it, all covered in white, her bare shoulders practically glowing. The depths of her eyes shone with her happiness. House dulling wondered if she'd felt as happy at her last wedding.
He averted his eyes back to that doorway. It was entrance to their new life, the beginning of their contentment, and he was going to mess it up. Nothing new there; in twenty years he'd sneer about it, add it to the list of his jokes. But for once, Gregory House was living in the moment.
He bent down, ignoring his body's violent protests. With one sweeping motion he gathered his new wife up in his arms.
God, was he going to feel this tomorrow.
"Greg! What are you doing?" Her shock and concern was evident in her voice. House silenced her with a whirlwind smirk.
"Quiet now, Mrs. House, or there won't be any fun tonight!"
It was awkward and it was painful; the doctor who had once held himself high was leaning like a crumpling mountain. Pieces of him had broken off long ago, plummeting through a sea of Vicodin and misery. But today was new and different. Today he was going to pick up the shattered remains of his past life and throw them in some inner-city dumpster. Today had been a good day, and it was going to stay that way.
House became aware of his bride kissing him on the cheek. "Good job."
He didn't look back on his accomplishment. He just carried her to the bedroom, throbbing leg be damned.