Chapter 6

Make Room

Susan didn't show up until noon the next day and from the look on her face, she was a happy camper. Finley was doing her laundry, separating the whites from the darks, when Susan twirled her way into the loft like a punch drunk ballerina.

"So, did you float up the stairs from their apartment?"

"Oh, no. We spent the night at his place."

Finley was confused. "His place?"

"Yeah, he keeps a place on Baker Street, the one he had before he went into Mayfield."

"And?"

"More than adequate for a man of his age-a couple times last night and once this morning."

"No! I mean what does the apartment look like?"

She started laughing. "Goes to show where my mind went. I swear he was one of the better ones I've had."

"I would expect the devil to excel in carnal knowledge."

Susan grinned at her reference. "Oh, Finley. Give him some slack."

"Sorry, I'd rather keep him on a tight leash."

"That's what he said last night."

"Ewwwww…."

Susan giggled and went to her bedroom.

There were times when he was too blunt. Like the time he told the waitress his lunch smelled and tasted like dog food. Sometimes he was vulgar, telling Susan that when he went down on her, she smelled hot and raunchy. And then there were the times when he was cruel for the sake of being cruel, like when he told her that Finley's cleavage was superior to hers. But, despite all that, House could be charming, playful, frank, funny, serious, brilliant and hot…really hot. Susan was smitten, but she wasn't in love yet. There was something that kept her from going over the edge. Maybe it was knowing that Finley hated him or maybe it was just that he was too brilliant, too sarcastic, and too vulnerable in his own way. But then she realized it was probably because he was so damaged. The knowledge that he had so many demons boxing it out inside of him put her off. He seemed to have it under control since being out of Mayfield, but in the back of her head she wondered if he was going to fall into the rabbit hole again. That kind of vulnerability was scary. Her mother was also mercurial, unable to control her own demons. From day to day Susan never knew how her mother was going to react. Some days she would be motherly, playful, loving and then she would plummet off the face of the earth into a dark abyss that led to either total apathy towards Susan and her brother or a pure evil banshee, screaming and punishing them for minor infractions.

Still, Susan was addicted to the fun and the sex. House provided both and since her divorce, fun and sex had not come in the same package until now. The fact that she wouldn't let herself fall in love with him didn't faze her or keep her from enjoying House. There was time and maybe with time she'd feel more comfortable with the idea.

James and Finley began dating and seemed to be enjoying each other's company, but within weeks someone from James's past had come back into his life and he stopped calling Finley. She was disappointed and, from her frequent trips to the freezer to get ice cream, Susan knew she was hurt too. But Finley never said anything uncomplimentary about James. Quite the contrary, when House made a comment about her being dumped she said very calmly, "I know James is a good person and he had to follow his heart. I respect that and hope the relationship works."

"Yeah, right." House said sarcastically.

But Susan knew that Finley meant it. Finley had a bigger heart than most people which was why her hatred of Gregory House made Susan think twice about the relationship. Finley was no saint, but she always tried to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, the second chance, the other cheek. But when it came to Gregory House, her objectivity flew out the window.

"I'm going to look for a place so that you don't have to keep going over to House's to be together. Besides, I've been here for three months; it's time I moved out."

Susan was visibly disappointed. She loved coming home and giggling with her friend over a glass of wine. They had always managed to work, play and live well together. Neither was a Felix nor an Oscar. Chores were divvied up evenly and each accepted responsibility for the home like an old married couple.

"Do you have to move? I really enjoy having you here."

"I know, I do too. But I really do need my space, my things, my décor. I'll try to find something within walking distance so we can still be close."

"Wait! I just saw a note on the bulletin board next to the mail boxes that said a unit is for sale here in the building."

"Isn't that a little too close?"

Susan shook her head. "Not for me. If I had my way you wouldn't move."

"You're a masochist."

"Come on, let's check it out."

"All right."

They took the elevator down to the mailboxes and checked out the notice describing the apartment for sale. It had the unit number, 2C and a realtor's name and phone number. When they went down to the apartment, which took up the south side of the building, they discovered it was open and vacant. Stepping inside, Susan was sadly disappointed. The views, mostly of other buildings, were pedestrian. The flooring was a cold marble, more fit for a manor than a loft. The kitchen was ultra modern, which Susan knew was not Finley's taste at all. It had one large bedroom and one smaller bedroom. There were also two baths that reflected the ultra modern look of the entire flat. Susan knew the décor was not going to be popular with Finley.

"Finley, it has so much potential!" Susan gushed in the hopes of persuading her friend.

"Potential, yes, but definitely not my style."

"Okay, but it's empty and you're staying with me right now. You could renovate it; turn it into what you want while living with me just a few floors up. It's perfect."

"It depends on the cost."

"Most of us in the building purchased when prices in the area were at their highest. I think you can get this for a really good price."

"I guess it will depend on how long it has been on the market."

It turned out that the unit had only been on the market for three days, but the owner, a gay professor at Princeton, had been hit while riding his bike to work and killed. His family was looking for a quick sale to pay off some of the estate debts. However, Finley ended up in a bidding war with another prospective buyer. Finley dropped out at $629,000, nine thousand above the original asking price. The other bidder got the loft for $629,500. After looking at other places for a week, Finley received a phone call from the broker stating that the buyer had been unable to obtain financing and the owner was now willing to sell it to Finley for $629,000.

"I've seen other units I like just as much if not more, but I would enjoy being close to my friend so I'm willing to offer you $590,000."

The real estate market was taking such a big hit, that the comparisons in the neighborhood were falling like paratroopers out of the sky. They eventually settled for $603,000, a good price and one that offered Finley the opportunity to make the improvements that she wanted at some point. In the end, Finley made very few improvements other than painting and window treatments. The apartment, a show place, was not her taste but it was updated and had all the latest amenities. She decided to wait until the real estate market recovered before doing anything that would involve investing thousands of dollars in the property.

"I thought you were going to tear out the kitchen and put in one you liked?" Susan asked when Finley mentioned she had the movers coming.

"Not a very wise move in this market. I can live with it for now."

"Well, Greg is excited that you're moving and is willing to help."

Finley knotted her forehead, "He limps. How is he going to be of any use?"

"Comedy? We could hand him a large box and watch him wobble and eventually fall over."

"That might just be worth it."

On the day of the move, House loaded trolleys and, because he was able to balance using the handles, was of actual assistance to Finley. On his first visit to the loft, he opened the door and whistled. It was a beautiful loft, cold, sterile in its modernity, but beautiful. He was surprised that Finley had chosen it. The large fireplace was framed in multi-colored Italian glass tile. The white marble floor had to have been well insulated to prevent the downstairs neighbors from complaining of the sound, still, there was a hardness to the floor and a hollow clipping sound as they walked across it. House knew that the sound would be muffled as soon as the room filled with furniture, nonetheless, House thought, the sound was cold, uninviting.

Finley could see House's confusion and suspected that it had to do with the décor. "It's not my taste."

"Then why buy it?"

"Location, location, location. I can keep an eye on you and Susan." She said half-jokingly. Finley rarely spoke to House when he came to pick up Susan and rarely saw him at the hospital. Whenever he needed a surgeon, he went to others. For some reason, they had reached a wobbly truce.

"Still, it doesn't really look like you at all."

"I'm going to try and warm it up."

"That's going to be difficult. This is a piece of art, not a home."

Finley actually agreed with House, but was determined to turn it into something livable. "You know you don't have to help me move."

"Are you kidding? This is the best day of my life. I'm moving in with Susan as soon as you move out."

Her stomach knotted. "What?"

"We talked about it last night. I'm going to move in with her."

She threw down the box she was carrying and ran up to the penthouse. Susan was packing up her CD's and DVDs. Finley pushed her shoulder back and clenched her fists by her side. "You can't do this! Don't let him move in with you!"

"He's just moving in while Wilson's family is here. His niece is taking a course this fall at Princeton and will be staying at the loft with Wilson."

"But, he has his own place!"

"His doctor hasn't given him the okay to live alone."

"He's not a child."

"Look, we have a deal… the minute he becomes a nuisance I can kick him out."

"Susan, you're going to regret this."

"Maybe, but he needed somewhere to go."

Susan watched as Finley shook her head and started to cry. "You're making a mistake."

The doorbell rang.

"That must be the movers wanting to know where you want the stuff from storage." Susan said in a harsh tone, still upset that Finley would be so pigheaded.

Finley sighed and answered the door.

Susan heard Finley talking to the movers and then there was silence as they went down to her apartment. Susan closed up the box and looked around the eerily empty bedroom and was more than glad that House was moving in. She really didn't like living alone, especially after her crappy divorce. Her ex had an uncanny way of making Susan feel both unworthy of love and of being unsafe. Their divorce had made a huge splash across the society page when it was revealed that he received so little of Susan's fortune because of the pre-nup. He had retaliated by telling the whole world that she was a cold calculating bitch that frequently ran along Boston's shore to attract men. Although it was true that she ran along the shore, it was simply to clear her mind and keep fit. After seeing the article, her father called and told her that she needed a body guard if she was going to go out and run in public because every asshole in the world looking to make a buck would be out to kidnap her. Susan stopped running and after all the publicity about her net worth combined with her declining ability to handle pediatric oncology, she decided she needed a change. Along came James Wilson and the rest was history.

They spent the day moving Finley in and unpacking. House put on his iPod and helped unpack books, putting them on the deep cherry bookshelves in the second bedroom. He purposefully placed himself out of the line of fire, sure that Finley and Susan would go to war over the fact that he was moving in with Susan. However, instead of arguing, the apartment was strangely quiet. A thick, impenetrable silence hung between the two women. House kept himself occupied reading the titles of the books Finley owned. About half of them were related to medicine. The other half consisted of a mixture of fiction and non-fiction, a lot of titles which he owned. He was surprised that they had so much in common when it came to their taste in literature. In fact, when he opened the box of DVDs to put on the shelf, he had to laugh. It could have been his box that he was opening. There were a few, When Harry met Sally, The Little Shop Around the Corner, Gone With the Wind, which would never be a part of his collection, but still, she owned Donny Darko, Saving Private Ryan, Dirty Harry, The Enforcer and dozens of movies that he owned too.

When she came into the bedroom she caught him studying her photo album. Looking up, he decided not to hide it. "You were a cute kid."

The compliment caught her off guard and, with some fluster, she asked, "Is there anything I can get you?"

"Beer?"

"I bought some Flat Tyre, is that okay?"

He nodded. She brought him the beer and a piece of pizza that had just been delivered along with some napkins.

He held the album up. "Where's this taken?"

She walked around and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, that was taken in Guam."

He nodded. "I thought so. We were stationed there for eighteen months. It's Talofofo Falls, right?"

"Yes! We were stationed on the Naval Base for two years. My Dad was a doctor in the Navy."

He smiled. "Navy brat."

"You?"

"My Dad was a Jar Head…pilot."

"Impressive."

"Not really."

Susan joined the two of them to look through the album as it went chronologically through Finley's life, finally catching up to the college and med school years.

"You two look like sisters…you know the hot one and the nerdy one. Bet you can't guess from this one who's who?" House pointed to a photo where Susan was sunbathing on a balcony and next to her was Finley in a pair of boy's gym shorts and a large t-shirt. Finley rolled her eyes.

House turned to Finley. "Are you still a virgin? Because I—"

"-Have the cure. Yeah, you used that on me when I was a resident. And yes, Susan has always been the hot rich one and I'm the poor ugly sidekick."

"You're not ugly." Susan offered Finley.

House grinned. "And just to prove you're not ugly, I'd like to invite you for a three way with Susan and me."

Now Susan rolled her eyes and slapped House upside of his head. Finley and Susan left to go out to the living room to hang some of the art.

"I told you he was funny."

"Offering a three-way with me is your idea of being funny?"

Susan giggled. "Yes, it is. I mean, you wouldn't do it so we both know it's a joke."

"Maybe I would."

"Right and George Clooney is going to ask me to marry him tomorrow." She smiled at Finley and whispered, "You don't know what you're missing."

"Are you offering him up for a quickie?"

"If she isn't, I am!" House said from the doorway.

"Sorry, but he's all mine." Susan warned.

"Yes, and I think they have an ointment for that." Finley said.