"Puppet Master"

Chapter Sixteen – "Dropping the Curtain"

By: Purpleu

Lydia stood dumbfounded at House's words.

"You…did you just say Wilson and your team? Hunter filed suits against them?" Lydia asked in disbelief. House nodded as he walked over to the chair behind his desk. He sank into it and slumped over.

"When he had the bimbo from medical records pull files, she wasn't pulling just mine," House said flatly. "She was removing theirs, too. His plan is to start the process against them; he's already filed three suits against each of them. Next, it will be my turn with a full barrage of ten against me to take me out right away; then slowly, one by one he'd file additional suits against them, until each one would be barred from practicing medicine. Wilson would lose his position as head of Oncology, my department would cease to exist." House was staring straight ahead, not focusing on anything in particular. "And I wouldn't be able to do a damn thing except sit back and watch as everything I give a crap about fell to pieces."

Moving over behind House's desk, Lydia knelt down on the floor; House had assumed a deeply hunched position, his head touching his knees. She ran her hand over his head, pausing slightly at the spot where he sustained a wound from the crane accident; the past few weeks had been hell for him physically and emotionally. Now this…

"Greg, is there anything I can get you? Something to drink?" He shook his head.

"What I'd want to drink, I don't have in my desk drawer anymore," he said ruefully. "The only other thing I want right now, I don't think you'd approve of." House picked his head up slightly and turned to his right where Lydia was kneeling. Looking into her eyes, he was trying to see her reaction to what he said. She didn't flinch.

"I assume you're talking about Vicodin; no, I would not approve at all." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "But, you are an intelligent, grown man; you know what options are available to you to help you deal with this and you can choose what you please. I would be more disappointed, than anything else, that you so easily gave in and chose one of your weaknesses over one of your strengths to help you and Wilson and your team." House straightened up and looked away from Lydia.

"Why would they want my help? Their association with me is what's causing them grief; only they don't even know that little tidbit yet."

"They don't know that Hunter's filed suits against them? How do you…?" House sighed and leaned all the way back in his chair.

"It's complicated," he said rubbing his hand across his forehead. Lydia leaned on his desk to stand up.

"I'm going to get a cup of coffee; after that, we're going to sit down over there," she said pointing at the chaise lounge, "and you are going to tell me what happened after I left; I need to hear what went on." It wasn't a request, it wasn't a command; it was a statement of fact. House looked up at Lydia; she knew just what to say and how to say it to get him to respond. He forced himself to stand up and he handed her his coffee mug.

"You know how I like it."

"Yes, I do," she said with a smile. Lydia stepped forward and gave House a very gentle kiss. Their eyes met as she pulled back away from him; she could see the hurt, pain and confusion there. What she wouldn't give to take that all away from him…

"Go sit down," she said. House followed her directive as she went into the conference room to get the coffee. "I see there are a few Munchkins left; do you want any?"

"Yeah. They brought in pizzas for lunch, but there was no true break or anything." Lydia was confused.

"Who brought in pizzas? And no break from what?" House, who had moved over to the couch, shook his head.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting you don't know what's happened here." He looked up at Lydia as she brought in the coffee and donut treats; he was actually able to pay attention enough to note how beautiful she looked. It was then he remembered her interviews, "How did your inquisitions go?" Lydia laughed.

"You mean my interviews? I wouldn't think you'd want to talk about that right now." House took his mug from her and stared at her as she sat down; oddly enough, he felt slightly hurt that she thought he didn't care about her job search.

"I may be a total ass, but I'm not a complete dick; yes, I want to talk about your interviews." House looked at his watch. "You have five minutes," he said looking back at her.

"You don't even let as person get some coffee into them," she said taking a drink. "They went well, both of them; I think they are each are interested in hiring me. However, one…I don't think I would want to work for them. They are making a change in their employment policy and rather than grandfathering existing employees in, the changes are going across the board effective in September. They are now making a mandatory retirement age of sixty-five; which they have every right to do, I suppose. The problem is that it is forcing the retirement of several employees including the school nurse, which is how that job would become available. Even the position of full time teacher in the music department would open up only because the woman currently in the job reaches sixty-five next year." Lydia took a sip of her coffee and shook her head. "I don't believe in forced retirement; I think if you're capable of doing a job and still want to do it, you should be allowed."

"Isn't this the school that had the really great benefits and higher salary?" House asked.

"The salary would be higher in the higher position, like nurse or full-time teacher; but yes, the benefits were more extensive." Lydia sighed as she looked into the box of Munchkins and pulled one out. "I can't bring myself to work at a job where I would have to compromise my principles. And if I took a job there, it would be like I'm condoning their policy; if I have to work a little harder somewhere else or cut back on something…I'll do it. The other school confirmed all the contact information I gave, so it looks like something may come of that one," she said as she smiled. House was actually able to smile a bit, too; it took a lot of guts to stand up for your principles and not take the easy way out. After everything Lydia had been through, no one would blame her for taking the money and running with it. Just one more thing to love about her, thought House. Lydia noticed the smile on his face and reached over for his hand.

"Are you OK?"

"No; but better than I was," House said squeezing Lydia's hand. She looked at him with pity in her eyes.

"Please tell me what happened."

House started with The Four Tops rolling through his head right on through to encountering Malcolm Hunter, the confrontation in Tyler's room, the secret recording and Tyler trying to "speak" to House. Next came the meeting with Kyle James, the testimony he gave and finally, James pulling him aside to tell him about the suits filed against Wilson, Taub, Chase, Foreman and Thirteen.

"So here we sit," House said. "Poised to watch that bastard finally win a fight I started almost twenty years ago."

"Greg, you didn't deliberately start anything; he…"

"Stop being so freakin' naïve," he said loudly. House suddenly stood up and put his mug on his desk. "I didn't agree to testify to defend Cuddy's honor; I could see from the paperwork that she screwed up. I was trying to get into her pants, plain and simple. I found the error she made and was just trying to keep Hunter from making things worse for her. I was hoping she'd be so grateful, she'd let me give her one last joyride before her career went kaput. Instead of just going with what he had, which would have nailed her, he tried to outsmart himself and lied." House walked around his desk and sat back in his desk chair. "That slime ball has never forgiven me for putting a…a bump in his career. Now he's going to wreck mine. If he wasn't going after Wilson or anyone else, I would still have an outlet for my diagnostic skills through them as a consultant or something; with Wilson being taken out and losing his department, and my department wiped out, I'll have nothing left. Damn it!" House yelled and threw his cane at the wall adjoining the conference room. House turned his chair toward his desk and put his head into his hands.

Lydia stood up and walked over to the credenza that House threw his cane at; she began to straighten things up, retrieving things from the floor and putting things right. Lastly, she picked up House's cane and brought it to his desk. Sensing the movement, House looked at the cane and then up at Lydia. She was trying desperately to maintain her composure.

"I'm going to go get something to eat; I haven't had any lunch and although I have no appetite right now, I should go…"

"No, don't," House said jumping up from the chair. He reached out and grabbed her by the arms; quickly realizing by the look in her eyes that the gesture may have been too rough and stirred bad memories, he let go of her. "Lydia…I'm confused, I'm scared. I'm standing here, not just watching the department I started fall apart, but people's lives, my best friend's life, as well and there's not a damn thing I can do about it. It pisses me off, it makes me angry. Whatever my motivations were for testifying, I was doing the right thing…and this is what comes of it." House winced and reached down for his leg.

"Come, sit back down," Lydia said ,grabbing him and taking note of the pain he was feeling.

"No, I'm OK," he said holding on to her. House looked at Lydia's face and knew he had hurt her with what he said about Cuddy. "Look, I'm…sorry for what I said before; I know it got you upset." Lydia shook her head and refused to look at him.

"It's alright…"

"No, it's not; I know it bothers you when I talk like that about Cuddy." House ran his hands up and down Lydia's back. "I don't want you to have this image of something I'm not. I wasn't a pimply-faced teen-ager trying to score with a girl; I was a thirtysomething year old man willing to play a game with someone's career to get a piece of ass. It's the way I operate, it's who I am." Lydia nodded; she didn't want to ask this next question, but she had to know.

"Did you ever cheat on Stacy?" House took a deep breath.

"Yes, toward the end when things had gone bad. I think there was some screwing around on both sides. I was looking for an excuse to break things off other than 'I've become a real bastard and I can't trust you anymore now that you've crippled me.' She was looking for some comfort from someone not acting like a jerk." Lydia looked at House and reached up to smooth out his hair.

"I understand why that happened and I'm the last one who should be pointing fingers at anyone, but…please…I could try and deal with the physical betrayal, though it would still be hard for me; but if I ever thought that you felt you couldn't come to me and talk and…" The words just came pouring out of Lydia so quickly that House wasn't sure he heard everything she said, but he caught the gist of what she was trying to say.

"Hey, slow down," he said stroking her cheek. "I know I can talk to you; I find it even easier to talk to you than it is to Wilson sometimes. You're definitely less judgmental than he is. I'm more honest with you than I've been with anyone in my life." Lydia swallowed hard a few times; she knew House's emotion were feeling raw right now, she didn't want to add to them with her own tears.

"I know it's foolish, but I can't help but think about the fact that you've been with a lot of women and you told me that you gave Cuddy everything she asked for that night and…"

"Stop!" House said half laughing. "I've got to give you a quick lesson in the male ego and locker room talk. A lot of the hookers…I had over just to have someone to talk to; yes, I got my rocks off, but not always to home plate. Then there were times I wasn't in the mood to talk, did the deed and showed them the door. Stacy...it was two people who loved each other, having fun; we each had our own things that turned our cranks and we made it work. Cuddy…" House saw that Lydia was biting her lip. "I get more turned on by a simple kiss from you than anything that happened that night with Cuddy." He pulled her in closer. "To be honest with you, she sucked. Well, actually that's not true; maybe if she did, it would have helped matters…" Lydia quickly pulled back, her eyes wide.

"I don't want to hear it, I don't need to hear the gory details," she said throwing up her hands and closing her eyes. When she opened them, she saw a wicked glint in House's eyes; she couldn't help but to start to laugh. "Why is it that every time I get upset, you always manage to find a way to make me laugh?" House shrugged.

"Glad I do; it's the best defense mechanism I've got." Lydia continued to laugh as House pulled her in and gave her a long, passionate kiss. "I love you."

"I love you, too. I'm sorry I took thing off on a tangent about relationships and things, but the subject just sort of presented itself."

"That's OK; I'm more relaxed now than I was a little while ago," said House. He held Lydia tighter and pressed his body firmly against hers. "Almost relaxed."

"Hmmm, yes I can tell," she said smiling. House lightly rubbed her back and returned her smile. He saw a sudden change in her facial expression. "Oooh, my stomach's cramping up because it's so empty," she said grabbing her abdomen. House took a step back and grasped the edge of his desk.

"Go take the last of the Munchkins and get them into you; that'll hold off the hunger pains until we can get to the restaurant." Lydia moved back over to the chaise lounge and picked up the box.

"There are five left; are you sure you don't want one?" she asked.

"Nah, you need them more than I do." House moved a few things around on his desk and started to shut down his computer. "If nothing else, Hunter's made everyone more aware of security in this place. Let me just log this off and then we can get out of here."

"Greg, are you sure you're going to want to go out and eat? I'd hate to see you order something you want and then not touch any of it." House made a final tap on his keyboard and stood up.

"You need to eat and by the time we get to the restaurant, I'll be getting hungry. I told Wilson I was getting out of this place to spend some time with you; I choose to do so at Shiro's of Japan." Lydia smiled as she wiped her hands on a napkin.

"You know, it really is overwhelming to think about the amount of crimes Hunter has committed is such a short amount of time; hundreds of felonies through the HIPPA violations, bribery, coercion, falsifying documents, forgery, child abuse, spousal abuse if you ask me, and on top of it all, his wife is going to divorce him." Lydia shook her head as she put her bag on her shoulder. "If I were Hunter, and was hit with all of that, all at once, I'd fold like a house of cards." She started to head to the door of the office. House picked his cane up from his desk and started forward, when he froze; he got a certain look in his eyes that those who worked with him for years knew all too well. Lydia knew it, too. When House wasn't following right behind her, she turned to look at him.

"Greg?" she said as she walked back to him. "What are you thinking?" When he turned to look at Lydia, she saw a familiar gleam in his eyes and a smile on his face; it made her feel good to see them both.

"I'm going to say to you the three words a woman most wants to hear," House said. Lydia looked confused.

"You've already said 'I love you' to me." House shook his head.

"Nope. 'Let's Go Shopping.'" He walked past a stunned Lydia. "But first I have to talk to the A.D.A.," House said. Lydia quickly turned and followed House out the door.

"Of all the men in this world that I would expect to want to go shopping, you are the last one that comes to mind. And why do we have to talk with the Assistant District Attorney before we can go shopping?" House was making his way rapidly down the hall to the elevators.

"Assistant District Attorney Kevin…or Kilroy... whatever his first name is…James is the husband of the patient I was treating on Monday, when you came wandering in like a little girl lost; he's eternally grateful I helped his wife and he's my biggest cheerleader within the legal eagle sect downstairs. I trust him the most to run any ideas past." House pushed the call button. He stared off into space, his brain still processing the thoughts that came to him in his office.

"So what is this nefarious plan you have devised? I take it's something that will bring Hunter to his knees," Lydia said as she stared up at the display panel enumerating the floors as the elevator passed them by; a ding signaled its arrival at their floor. House looked cautiously inside the car as the last time he used this mode of transportation, he encountered Hunter. They stepped inside and Lydia pushed the button for the lobby.

"You didn't answer my question," she said. "What's the plan?" House looked at her and smiled.

"I'm going to make arrangements for Malcolm L. Hunter, esquire, to go to jail, to go directly to jail, he's not going to pass 'Go' and he sure as hell is not going to collect two-hundred dollars."

A couple of hours later, House was feeding Lydia a piece of his lobster with chopsticks as they sat in Shiro's of Japan hibachi restaurant. After meeting with Kyle James and running some errands, not the least of which was buying Lydia a new bedroom set, they had finally made it to the restaurant. A couple of Auntie Anne's pretzels and some lemonade from the stand at the mall helped to stave off their hunger.

"Oh, that lobster is out of this world!" Lydia said savoring the bite. "Do you want another shrimp?"

"Sure, why not?" House leaned forward and Lydia placed the prawn in his mouth with her chopsticks; House was really enjoying the meal. He found that there was something very sensual about feeding another person and being fed. They were seated at a community table which was the norm in a hibachi restaurant, but they were at the end near the wall; their table wasn't full and if House angled himself the right way, they had a certain measure of privacy. He was surprisingly happy at the moment.

"How is your food?" The waiter had come over to remove some plates.

"Everything is good. Another glass of plum wine," House said pointing at Lydia. The waiter bowed and backed away from the table.

"You ordered me more wine?" Lydia asked. "That will be my fourth glass."

"Relax, you're not driving for once," House said as he played with her hair. "Now maybe I can see what you're like when you're a bit tipsy." Lydia sat up a little straighter.

"I'm the same as I always am; I just giggle a little bit more," she said with a smile.

"I suspected as much." He picked up his glass of wine; normally it wasn't House's sort of drink, but it had been quite a while since he last had plum wine and decided to give it a whirl. He found it wasn't bad. The waiter returned with Lydia's wine and they clinked glasses before taking a drink.

"I loved what you told me, about how you realized you wanted to be a doctor. How seeing the buraku be the one everyone went to for help with medicine, but in social situations, they just shunned him. You were so young when you encountered him; did you really relate that much to him?" House looked into his glass and swirled the wine around a bit.

"He had no choice but to be shunned; he was born into an untouchable caste. By the social order of things, his brilliance could only be used, never truly acknowledged or appreciated." House took another drink. "I was a bastard since the beginning; I knew that even though my parents tried to pretend I wasn't. I always felt somehow people sensed it, that they knew I was different. Back in those days, it was still the child who was considered illegitimate, not the parents; so I guess I felt the need to carry the burden of guilt, felt that I didn't deserve things like happiness, even though I hadn't done anything to make me unworthy. Like the buraku and Lady Gaga, I was born this way." Lydia reached over for House's hand. He was staring down at his drink, not returning her gaze.

"I think I can see now why you felt such a connection with the buraku; but his society was wrong to judge him and ostracize him for something that was no fault of his own. From what you've said, he held himself with a dignity that the world denied him." House looked away from Lydia.

"I only said I saw some similarities between us; I never said I carried myself through life with the same grace that he did." Lydia tilted her head and moved it until she caught House's gaze.

"I think you're doing fine."

"Yeah, which is why I'm in the predicament I'm in; emphasis on the 'dic.'" She gave him a disapproving look.

"I think you've come up with a very creative way to stop Hunter from hurting you or anyone else; and it's going to take a lot of guts to pull it off." House shrugged.

"I wouldn't go polishing up any medals for me yet; we'll find out tomorrow." Looking at his watch, he said, "We still have a few more creative things to do tonight." He moved his eyebrows up and down in a lecherous manner. "Want to get out of here and get back to my place so we can continue our night's work?" Lydia smiled.

"That's a wonderful idea; I can't wait to get out of these clothes." House was taking his last drink of wine and almost choked when she uttered those words; he started laughing.

"I love it when great minds think alike," he said wiping his mouth. House saw their waiter passing by and gestured to him.

"Can I have the check?"

"I meant I've been all dressed up and with these heels on since early this morning. These clothes aren't uncomfortable; I just feel like wearing something a little less restricting." House looked her over quickly as she stood up.

"Yeah, there are way too many zippers and buttons on there for an easy escape." He stood up as the waiter brought the check over. "Thank you." He looked the bill over and took money out of his wallet and placed it in the leather folder the waiter had brought, "I'll say one thing though; you look beautiful no matter what you wear." House gave Lydia a kiss, grabbed his cane and started over in the direction of the waiter. "Thank you," he said again as he handed the folder to the waiter. The waiter bent at the waist as Lydia and House left the dining area.

"I don't think I've ever heard you be so polite," she commented.

"It's a part of the culture; verbal acknowledgement of a job well done is just as important as whatever monetary reward you leave." Lydia started to rummage through her messenger tote. "Do you want me to bring the car to the door? It looks like it's still raining."

"Nope; I came prepared." She pulled a small umbrella out of her bag.

"Just what I love: a woman who's ready for anything." Lydia gave House a look.

"I'm dating you; I have no choice." House gave her a hurt puppy dog look as he opened the door. Lydia laughed, opened the umbrella and they walked to House's car.

As House neared his apartment, the rain had let up slightly, but there were no parking spots particularly close. Rather than make Lydia walk too far, he let her out by the entrance to his building so she could open the doors; after parking the car, he pulled his suit jacket over his head as he exited the car and made his way quickly down the sidewalk to his front door. Thanks to Lydia, he was able to step directly inside with no hesitation. Despite all their efforts, the two of them both got more than a little wet; the wind had picked up and was blowing the rain sideways at some points. As House hung up his cane and looked over his mail, Lydia changed out of her wet clothes and threw on a light cotton dress, very much like a beach cover up. She emerged from the bedroom, came down the hall and started to fiddle with some of the boxes the movers had stacked up yesterday.

"Hey, no fair!" Lydia looked around from the corner of one of the stacks of boxes to where House was standing.

"What's the matter?"

"You got naked without letting me watch," House complained in a whiny voice.

"And I'm standing here in dry clothes and you're not. I can't help it if you found your mail more interesting than me. Is that a Victoria Secret's catalog?"

"Yeah," House said as he flipped through the pages. "It's cheaper than Playboy, but not as fulfilling." Lydia had walked over and took the catalog out of House's hands. "You know, I should pick out an outfit from there for you."

"No, we should pick out two outfits: one you want to see me in and one I want you to see me in." She moved in closer to him and gave him a lingering kiss.

"That sounds like a great idea," he said moving to give her a hug.

"Stop! You're wet and we have work to do; go get changed and we'll concentrate on fun stuff later." She gave him a peck on the cheek and went back over to the boxes. He smiled as he watched her walk away.

House made his way to the bedroom; he took off his jacket and hung it up behind the door. He noticed as he came down the hall that Lydia already had some of her things drying in the bathroom; no biggie, it will still dry hanging here. He thought about what to put on as he unbuttoned his shirt and took off his pants. No point in putting on jeans or another pair of pants; they weren't going back out tonight. Too warm for sweatpants. House shrugged; might as well leave it as boxers. He took off the ones he had been wearing all day and put on a fresh pair; the rain hadn't soaked him, but this just felt more comfortable. He slipped on a t-shirt and headed back into the living room.

"I hope you don't mind, but I decided to go for the casual, stay-at-home look," he said walking over to Lydia. She had opened one of the moving boxes and was pulling a few things out and placing them on top of the items they bought at the stores earlier in the day. She looked up from her work and smiled as House came to her.

"I don't mind the look in the least," Lydia said as House wrapped his arms around her. He smiled and brought his hand around and ran it down her cheek; Lydia tilted her head up and House gave her a kiss; gentle at first, but with each one a greater sense of urgency.

"Hmmm…Greg, we have some things that have to be taken care of for tomorrow. Those things can't wait," Lydia managed to say as House kissed her neck.

"Yes, they can," he said as he moved to the other side of her neck and left trail of kisses there. He felt Lydia pushing him back and knew he had to allay her fears. "I know there are things that we need to do for tomorrow; but I need this right now, too." He ran his hand down her arm and took her hand in his. House started to lead her to the hallway, but Lydia paused as they passed the end of the couch. She backed up a few steps and pulled House with her to the couch.

"Umm…the bedroom is the room with bed," House said a bit unsure of what she was doing. Lydia smiled as she gently pushed him into sitting on the sofa.

"I know; but it seems to me that this worked very well back at Mayfield. And with a lot more clothes on back then." With one swift movement, Lydia straddled his legs and sat down on top of his lap, a move which took House totally by surprise. He looked up into her eyes and saw the perfect combination of love and lust there; the ultimate turn on. Lydia ran her hands down his chest to the edge of his t-shirt; she grasped the edge and pulled it over his head.

"Hey, I just put that on," House half protested with a smile.

"And I just took it off," Lydia said as she leaned forward and began to kiss and nuzzle the crook of his neck. He breathed more heavily as he slid the straps of Lydia's dress off her shoulders; he figured out the other night her shoulders were one of those unexpected erogenous zones and it drove her crazy when he lightly ran his fingers over them like he was doing now. The small whimpering sounds she was making let him know it was working. He moved his hands down to her thighs; he ran them upward and was surprised when there was nothing there to give him resistance. House started to chuckle and Lydia stopped what she was doing to look at him.

"You're commando," he said in an amazed voice as he moved his hands around to her tush. "I'm going to stop calling you my naïve little vixen and just call you my vixen." Lydia leaned back into him and nuzzled his ear.

"I thought you'd like it," she whispered as she moved her hands down past the waistband of his boxers and wiggled her hips slightly. "Plus, it makes it easier to do this." House dropped his head back, closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath as he realized what Lydia had done. Damn, she was full of surprises; maybe the reassurance he gave her today that she should stop worrying about his past did some good. He leaned forward and sat up a little more as the two slowly began to make love.

He needed this tonight; not just the sex, although he would never say no to that. He needed the comfort of feeling this much caring, this much love. This whole scene reminded him so much of that night at Mayfield; there he was at rock bottom and despite that she wanted to be with him, not just physically, but emotionally as well. He realized that she was moaning and he kissed her neck and ran his hands over her shoulders. Now here he was at the bottom again it would seem, thanks to Hunter, and here she was supporting him, even with his plan for tomorrow. He became aware of both their bodies trembling and louder moans coming from her and himself as well; she finally fell against him, limp in his arms. And as he held her, just as at Mayfield, a tear rolled down his cheek….

"Hon, it's after nine; do you want to leave soon?" Lydia called out as she washed the breakfast dishes. House looked up from the papers he was reading as he sat on the end of the bed.

"My meeting with the ADA is at ten and I've already checked in with Wilson to see how things are going with the kid. We've got some time." He stood up, put the papers on the bed and came down the hall. Lydia emerged from the kitchen wiping her hands on a towel.

"How is Tyler today?" House shrugged.

"Things seem to be stable; he had about five hours straight sleep, which was an accomplishment. His mother got a decent night's sleep, too as did Davidson which is good; they'll both be ready for things later today."

"The question is, are you ready for things?" She tossed the towel onto her shoulder and walked over to him. House nodded.

"Sure; I love slaying dragons. Or fighting windmills whichever is most appropriate. Besides, I had the breakfast of champions; I'm ready for anything." Lydia smiled.

"I guess you liked the French Toast," she said.

"That was incredible. What did you say was in it?"

"A little brown sugar, a splash of vanilla and a bit of cinnamon along with the eggs and milk."

"Rachel Ray, look out. She's smart, she's beautiful, she's talented, she's the hottest woman I have ever known…and she can cook. I think we have an applicant who can fill the job." Lydia gave him a puzzled look.

"What job?" House smiled and put his arms around her

"The job of turning me into a human being." Lydia made a face.

"Stop it; there's nothing wrong with you that some good loving couldn't fix." House smiled.

"You gave me plenty of that last night."

"Where? On the couch or in the bed?" Lydia asked.

"Both. You…very pleasantly surprised me last night. You definitely were more aggressive, adventurous…than you had been before; should I be chalking that up to the plum wine?"

"A little, I guess. I…I'll explain it to you later."

"You don't have to explain it, just give me a repeat performance." Lydia looked at him quizzically.

"I have to admit, I'm a little surprised with you; from what I've read, many men your age need a little…help to have as much stamina as you. And I know you don't take a little blue pill."

"Men my age?" House asked, taking a step back; he was genuinely wounded by her comment.

"Well, men in their…very early fifties. You are ten years older than me you know."

"Yeah, we established that the other day. Look, just because there's snow on the rooftop, doesn't mean there isn't a fire in the rumpus room." Lydia threw her head back and dissolved into helpless laughter; she wound up falling into House's arms so as to not crash into the wall.

"Oh, that is especially true in your case," she said continuing to laugh. She glanced at her watch. "Greg, we have to get going. Let me just brush my teeth."

"OK, I'll take some things out to your car since you dropped it off right outside my door yesterday and is the reason I couldn't park closer last night."

"You're the one that told me to park there; I wanted to drive."

"I wanted to get you drunk; it was worth it." Lydia shook her head as she walked away. "I'll get this stuff into the car."

"Thanks; at least I'll be able to put some towels in my bathroom at the house. What time do you want me over at the hospital?"

"Around three," House said as he picked up some shopping bags. That, he thought, is when the battle begins.

House's meetings with Kyle James and some of the other people involved in Hunter's take down went well; everyone was on the same page and knew their part to play. House was too wound up and antsy to even sit and play some video games over in the pediatric area; instead, he wandered around and visited Bonnie James to check on her bedsore that wasn't healing. He was disgusted when he was told that wound care only ordered an egg crate mattress to relive pressure on the wound and not anything topical. House stopped by the nurses' station and wrote an order for Curasol, a gel wound care aid; Bonnie was staying in PPTH another day since her husband was busy with the case against M&M, but she had been moved to a private room at House's insistence and the hospital's expense.

House stood by the elevators and looked at his watch: ten minutes to three. Zero hour was fast approaching. He pushed the call button and waited rather impatiently, pacing back and forth; he jumped when his cell phone rang.

"Hi, are you here?" he asked as he answered.

"Yes, I'm down in the parking garage; I'm just pulling into the spot you told me to go to," Lydia said.

"Meet me in the lobby." The elevator arrived and House cautiously stepped in; he was still taking no chances. The car made no stops on the way down and House found himself in the lobby. He spied Lydia standing by the reception desk and hurried over to her.

"Come here," he said walking toward what had been Cuddy's office. He opened the door and the two quickly stepped inside. House gave her a kiss.

"Now, remember: stay in here, don't open the door, don't take any chance of Hunter seeing you."

"I know, Greg; we've gone over this. I promise I will stay put." Lydia could see an uneasy look in his eyes. "You can trust me." House nodded, gave her another kiss and left the room.

When he stepped out into the lobby he could see that all the players were gathering: Wilson, his team, Jeanne Hunter, Jeffrey Davidson and other assorted people mingling in with the regular hospital visitors.

"OK," Kyle James announced, "everyone knows what they have to do?" There was a general chorus of yesses. "Good; here's hoping." He looked over at House and crossed his fingers. House had moved to the back of the lobby where he wouldn't be seen from the front door, but he could still see out. Several minutes later, he saw a black limo pull up outside.

Showtime, he thought.

Malcolm Hunter came striding through the door, full of his usual bluster. He began to walk around the reception desk, when a security guard stopped him.

"Excuse me, sir; you have to sign in."

"What? I've never had to do that before," he said indignantly.

"Sorry, sir; there was an incident here yesterday within the hospital. You have to show ID and sign in." Hunter was clearly not happy at the inconvenience. He pulled his license out of his wallet and handed it to the receptionist.

"Hold on one moment Mr. Hunter," she said.

"Excuse me." Hunter's head turned to his right; there stood an attractive blonde in a rather short skirt.

"Yes, can I help you?" he asked as he looked her up and down.

"I'm a law student and I thought I recognized you and…well, then I heard the woman say your name. You are Malcolm G. Hunter, the famous attorney?" Hunter frowned.

"No, I'm Malcolm L. Hunter, the famous attorney." He turned so that he faced the young woman

"Well, Mr. Hunter," the woman said as she pulled a packet of paper out from under her blazer, "You've been served," she said, thrusting the papers into his hands.

"What…what the hell is this?" he demanded.

"Divorce papers, along with an order of protection for Mrs. Jeanne Hunter, your wife and your son Tyler Robert Hunter."

"My son?" he yelled, "Look, she's got no right…"

"I'm afraid she has every right, Mr. Hunter." He looked to his left and saw Susan Lewis, the woman from the therapists' office walking toward him. "You have denied your son proper health care for years; my office, Dr. Wilson and Dr. House's team have reported this to Child Protective Services," House's team and Wilson moved forward into Hunter's view as Mrs. Lewis spoke. "They have already begun an investigation." Hunter began to get flustered.

"You have no proof…"

"Oh, we have all the proof we need on a lot of things," said Kyle James as he stepped up. "We have you on tape saying you refused your son medical therapy and that your wife was willing to have treatment continue, but you stopped it."

"You bastard!" Hunter yelled. "You bugged my son's room?"

"No, it seems Dr. House forgot to shut his cell phone off when I called him yesterday and fortunately, the recording equipment we were setting up on her phone," he said pointing to Cheryl Cooke, "picked up on everything you said. Oh and don't bother trying to go to your office. It's been sealed off and my office has possession of the contents including the copies of all the files you had Ms. Cooke steal for you. Looks like there are hundreds of HIPPA violations there; and since you were going to use the information for malicious purposes, namely ruining the career of Dr. Gregory House, they are all felonies. " Hunter began to sweat.

"She's a liar!" he shouted pointing at Cheryl Cooke. "This is ridiculous!"

"As ridiculous as forging my signature on your incorporation papers." Retired Family court Judge Harold R. Carmichael, father of Jeanne Hunter came forward.

"And my signature as well," Jeanne added in as she and Davidson walked into Hunter's view.

"Don't even bother trying to deny it," Judge Carmichael said. "We've already submitted handwriting samples to prove the fraud." Hunter was red in the face and nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other not knowing which way to go; no matter where he turned, there was someone accusing him of something. Even the visitors to the hospital who had stopped to wonder what was happening appeared to be accusing him.

"Malcolm, Malcolm, Malcolm," said a loud voice from the back of the crowd. House made his way to the front of the reception desk. "Feel like the world is ganging up on you? Look at this: your wife, your father-in-law, your accountant, random people who work in the hospital. Seems like it's a 'Let's get Malcolm' convention."

"This is your doing," Hunter said pointing a finger at House. "You're still pissed that I went after Dr. Cuddy years ago and this is your revenge."

"As I seem to recall, you lost that court fight to the point that you were almost disbarred for lying and submitting false evidence to the court; then again, some things don't change," House said as he looked over his shoulder at Dr. Murphy, the doctor from St James Hospital. Hunter began to visibly shake.

"You son-of-a-bitch, you are not going to get away with this," he raged.

"There's nothing for me to get away with; these nice people found enough evidence of your lying, cheating, child abusing unscrupulous ways. I just pointed them in the right direction with a little help from my friends." A sudden flash of lightening and roll of thunder startled Hunter and he looked out the door as the rain began to fall.

"You know, Malcolm, old buddy, you were right about what you said yesterday: On a day like this, a cardboard box would get wet very quickly; looks like I'm not going to need it. You, however are going to jail to spend a long, long time there. Looks like I win again." House twirled his cane in the manner of Charlie Chaplin, turned his back to Hunter and began to walk away.

"You bastard! You son-of-a-bitch!" Hunter rushed at House, who still had his back to him, and body checked him while pulling his cane away from him. House crashed face down on the floor while screams filled the lobby. Hunter, who was still holding House's cane, began swinging it wildly at House as he lay on the floor, striking him repeatedly in the head.

"YOU BASTARD! YOU BASTARD! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"

pouse who hadn't answered her.