A/N: Thanks, loyal readers, for your patience and for your wonderful reviews. If I haven't replied to you personally, it's just that time doesn't always allow it. But I do appreciate it. I'm going to try to be more prompt with updates. Thanks again!

Chapter 41: A Tentative Trust

After visiting with Kate, House and Monica headed home. Monica wanted to stay, but House convinced her that it wasn't necessary. Kate would be fine and they had things to do at home before Kate was released from the hospital.

Driving home, House glanced at the girl who was sitting very quietly beside him in the car.

"Are you hungry?" he asked her.

She looked up at him with a strange expression.

"Hungry?" she replied.

"Yeah, hungry. You know, food, eat. I'm sure you've heard of it."

Monica bit her lip. She was beginning to believe she could trust him, but sometimes he was hard to understand.

"It's okay," she said, "I don't need to…you don't need to…uhhh…"

House sighed. This wasn't going to come easy. But what did that was worth a damn? "Look, I'm starving and I'm stopping for a cheesesteak sandwich. Do you want one?"

"Cheesesteak? What's that?"

"You've got to be kidding me! You don't know what a Philly cheesesteak is? How long have you lived here?"

"About three years. We moved from Connecticut. And this isn't Philly."

"Close enough. I'd rather have one from South Philly, Pat's or Geno's. But there's a shop not too far from here that's pretty good. Guy used to live in South Philly, so he knows his stuff."

"But what is it? Is it like a sirloin steak? I don't…"

"Not a steak like that! " House couldn't believe the kid had never had one of the best sandwiches on the planet. He let out a breath and started to explain. "It's thin slices of beef on a long Italian roll with lots of melted cheese and fried onions. You can add ketchup too if you want, that's not required, but it is allowed, not to mention delicious."

"I don't know." She said dubiously.

"Look, I can't explain it. You have to taste it. Do you like onions and cheese?"

"Yes."

"Good, then we'll both get the works. You'll understand when you taste it."

He stopped the car in front of a small sandwich shop called Rocco's. When he entered, the dark-haired man behind the counter smiled at him and called out, "Hey, doc! How's it hanging?"

"Just the way it should, Rocco."

"What do you need?"

House inclined his head toward Monica. "My young friend here has never had a Philly steak."

"No! What planet did you come from little lady?"

"I…" she began, but was immediately cut off.

"Don't worry, we'll set you up good. You're about to taste the best sandwich you've ever had. You want the works?"

"Yeah, Rocco," House said. "Two with everything."

"Got it."

Monica stood by the counter and watched the man put meat on a grill. He proceeded to use a metal tool to alternately cut it up and turn it over and around. He also put onions on the grill and did the same with them. Then he scooped up the mixture and put it into two long rolls, adding a large scoop of melted cheese. He brought the sandwiches to the counter and, taking a large knife out, cut each of them across the middle. He then wrapped them up in white paper and put them in a brown paper bag.

"I wish I could see your face when you eat it, but I'll know when you come back for another one." Rocco said to Monica.

House paid for the sandwiches and they returned to the car. In a few minutes, they were home.

Joanne had fed Emily and put her to bed and was dozing in front of the TV when they came in. House had called her to tell of Kate's condition, so now she just smiled at them and asked, "How is Katie doing?"

"She'll be okay. Probably needs to stay in the hospital a few days to get fed and get her strength back. The ER doctor treated her today. I'll get one of my team to check her out tomorrow and figure out what the best course is for her. She'll also need to work with a nutritionist to get a good diet planned."

Joanne shook her head. "That girl is just so hard-headed. I told her to slow down, that she didn't need to do everything all at once, but she was just so determined. Maybe now she'll listen."

"Oh, she's going to listen. If I have to tie her up to get her to stop and force feed her, she's going to eat right and stop this crazy running around." House said emphatically.

Joanne smiled again. She had no doubts that Gregory would do whatever needed to be done to make sure his wife was healthy. He might be insecure in many areas, but when it came to medicine, he knew the score. She hugged him and Monica and went home.

They took their sandwiches to the kitchen. House went to the fridge and pulled out a beer for himself. He looked at Monica with a questioning look. "Coke okay?"

"Sure."

He handed her the can and sat down beside her. They unwrapped the sandwiches. House was about to bite into his, but hesitated to watch her. She picked it up gingerly and took a small bite at the end. She really only got bread.

"You need to take a larger bite than that. You can't really taste it when all you've got is bread." He complained.

Taking a deep breath, she took a larger bite and chewed it slowly. Then her eyes got huge. She swallowed the food and said, "This is great!"

"Told you. You can trust me when it comes to food." He smiled and took a large bite of his own cheesesteak. They ate in silence for a while, enjoying the greasy, but delicious meat and cheese.

When she had finished half of the sandwich. She wiped her mouth with a napkin, took a drink of her soda and looked at him. He was still happily munching on his food.

"I'm sorry that I thought you would hurt Kate."

He looked up. 'Understandable. Growing up with that bastard in your house would cloud anyone's judgment. And trust isn't easy for some people. I know about that."

"Still, Kate told me you wouldn't hurt her, but I didn't believe her."

"Hey, she's got a gun! I'm not stupid. If I even tried anything, she'd shoot me in the …uh, head before I could blink."

Monica laughed. "I don't think that's the only reason you wouldn't hurt her. I don't know too much about this, but I'm thinking that not everyone shows love by hurting people."

"Most people don't. What your father did wasn't love. It's not love when you hurt someone. He was into power. It was all about him. He had to be in charge, the top dog. If your mother showed any independence, if she made more money than him, the only way he knew how to get back on top was to hurt her. You too, I'm guessing."

Monica nodded, her head down. "Whenever I got good grades or any award at school, he never acted like he was proud of me. He just tried to humiliate me. He wouldn't let my mom praise me either." She looked at him, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. "What does it feel like to have parents be proud of you?"

"Damned if I know, kid. Didn't get much of that myself. You know, neither Kate or I had great childhoods. You really picked two winners to live with."

"I think you're both pretty cool. Maybe, if you had a hard time too, you and Kate can help me a little better than someone who didn't."

"Guess we're gonna find out, huh?" he asked, then looking at the untouched half of her sandwich, added, "You eating the rest of that?"

"Are you kidding? I'm full. It's really good, but it's so big! I can't eat another bite."

"Fine with me." He said, as her reached for the food.