-1"House…" sighed a very weak and very pale Wilson. "What's going to happen now?"
"I don't know," House replied and rolled a Vicodin between his thumb and forefinger. "I don't know. She's got cancer, and plans to do nothing about it. I am still in love with her. And, I think I have some sort of feelings for this Rosemary, who, by the way, I just stood up yesterday, to go to dinner with Stacy." House put the Vicodin in his mouth and swallowed. Wilson studied him from the hospital bed. "So, who do I choose, the woman that I am sure I love and who is going to die in a matter of months, maybe weeks, or the crazy lady I just met and suspect I might have feelings for?" Wilson's face looked strained, and very contemplative.
"I would go with Stacy," he said after a while. "Go with Stacy, get over her death-" House winced at the mentioning of Stacy dying. "-and then, give this Rosemary a call. You know, like a reserve, or a back up," he concluded. House snorted.
"I didn't think anyone could be that cold hearted," he said. "Not even me. Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy… it's either one of them, 'cause whichever one I don't choose will hate me for all eternity and rather see me dead than go on an actual date with me."
"This Rosemary would probably have you killed, that's for sure," Wilson said. House shook his head, trying to sort out his thoughts. "What does your gut tell you?" Wilson asked.
"Stacy loves you, Stacy's not a lunatic, go with Stacy," House said without a doubt.
"Your gut is usually right." There was a long pause, Wilson carefully sipped some water. "You understand what I'm trying to tell you, right?"
"But she's going to die. I don't know if I could handle that."
"She's going to die even if you don't proclaim your love for her," Wilson stated. "House. She's going to die either way, and you'll hurt for a while, but you will get over it, either way. And you know why?" House shrugged. He knew the answer to this question, but let Wilson make his point. "You love her more than you could love anybody, ever." House stood up from his chair, his eyes flickering towards Wilson.
"Get some sleep," he said and left the room.
"Where are you going?" Wilson asked.
"I have to go let somebody down."
---
Crap, I hate answering machines, he thought as he heard Rosemary's recorded message and cleared his throat. Ok, here we go.
"Rosemary? Hi, this is Greg House. Listen, I know we were supposed to meet yesterday, but I was held up at the hospital. It was this kid, his legs were purple and… never mind, it's not very important. I was wondering if we could have dinner tonight instead? Uhm, I… Well, call me when you get this message, bye!"
He slammed the receiver down, and looked at it as if it were a poisonous snake. Suddenly, the poisonous snake started to ring. He jumped. Surely, it couldn't be her? He cleared his throat again and picked up the poisonous snake, to put it against his ear.
"House," he said brusquely. "Rosemary, hi. Oh, I see, no problem. Yes, eight is fine, I'll pick you up… Yeah, see you later." He hung up again. He felt strange, like he had just had a conversation with the devil. How much could he get for his soul? he wondered and barely managed not to shudder. Next phone call… he dialled Stacy's number. She picked up after two signals.
"Hey, it's me," he said when she answered.
"Hey, you," Stacy said and sounded happy.
"I… Listen, I can't come over tonight," he said. She sounded disappointed when she replied.
"How come?"
"Just before, well, last night, I… Well, I met someone, and now I'm going to tell her not to get her hopes up." There was a pause. "Stacy?"
"Yes?"
"You know I love you, right?" Stacy sounded relaxed this time, and even happier than when she picked up.
"I know," she said and House could hear her smile through the receiver. He started thinking about dogs marking their territory, and sort off hoped Stacy wouldn't start peeing all over him as soon another woman was near.
"I might come over after that, depending on how long time it takes for her to get the message," he said instead of telling her about his dog theory. Stacy agreed, and they hung up.
---
"Why?" Rosemary looked panic stricken, and tears threatened to flood any moment now. House tried hard not to tell her they had only been on one date.
"Well…" House tried to figure out a less painful way to tell her this.
"Are you gay?" she asked him out of the blue. "Is that why you wouldn't have sex with me?" House snorted.
"I am not gay," he said a bit too loud. "Actually…" he paused. "There's another woman." Rosemary's chin dropped.
"Who?"
"Her name is Stacy Warner," House told her, not sure why he did so. "We were engaged a long time ago, actually. And now she's back," he finished.
"Stacy Warner…" Rosemary mumbled. "Uhm, listen, thanks for telling me this face to face, but I really have to rush," she said and got up. Without another word she rushed out of the restaurant and left House with a puzzled look. He shrugged, asked for the cheque, and left the restaurant to meet Stacy.