Dear Readers, As you know, I leave in the morning for a week in the Midwest to attend a film festival. I'm very excited because I am going to this film festival with my sister and two readers who I met through writing House fanfic. I have already met six readers and now I get to meet two more. It's always fun to meet readers and talk "House.". This chapter will be all you willl receive for Wednesday and possibly Thursday. I'll try to post on Thursday, but can't promise. Take care! Gorblimey2

Chapter 10

Pins and Needles

She put down the phone and tilted her head back against the chair. He's a strange man. I feel like I have an onion and I'm just peeling back the layers. For some reason, I don't think I've gotten very far. Should I snoop? He did.

She went back to the bedroom and opened some drawers, looked under the bed and finally hit pay dirt in the closet. He had a box of photos that had just been thrown in and a couple of photo albums. The albums had been made by a woman. She could tell from all the trimmings around the photos. Someone had been into scrapbooking. The photos were of House when he was young up until his graduation from college or maybe med school.

The family didn't look unusual. House was in most of the photos and, as a little boy he was smiling in several of them. As he got older, less of the photos showed him smiling. However, whenever his mother was in the picture, House had his arm around her or she was holding his hand. It was clear that he had an affectionate relationship with his mother. He seemed grim in most of his photos with his Dad, but not in all of them. There were several sailing photos that showed both he and his Dad with big grins. Maia couldn't see any real resemblance between House and his parents, he was more a mixture of both.

Maia looked through the box and found dozens of photos of House with a woman, a tall, lanky, brunette. She reminded Maia of Jennifer. There were photos of him and this woman in the apartment, including photos of Christmas trees with presents under them. They looked happy; he looked happy. She realized that this must be Stacy. The story the photos told made Maia feel inadequate, not up to the task of making House happy.

She put the photos away and decided to clean. She needed something to do and cleaning always helped. She took everything out of his bathroom cupboards and started organizing and cleaning. She found 3 full and 19 partial vials of Vicodin and oxycontin. She sat on the toilet lid staring at the vials all lined up. Her insides were churning. There was no doubt, he was an addict.

Is the pain that bad? Or is he now just hooked on the feeling. I've seen him take four, maybe five since we've been together. Is that too much? Did he take some when I wasn't looking? Maia knew several people at her NA meetings that were addicted to painkillers. She'd have to talk to them.

Maia continued to clean the bathroom, grabbing the vials and placing them all in a plastic bag. She wasn't sure what to do with them so she stuck them on the top shelf, in the back of the linen closet.

When House came home, Maia was reserved, worried about him, worried about being around another addict. House immediately noticed her subdued mood. He helped her dish out the food, sitting at the table to eat it. She perked up a little, talking about the café's customers. When they were done, they cleared the table and stacked the dishes in the dishwasher.

Maia brushed her teeth and started to get ready to go.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"NA meeting. You can come if you want."

He gave her a sideways glance that indicated he wasn't keen to go. "Why are you going now?' he asked suspiciously.

"I'm going now because I missed it yesterday afternoon when I had planned to go."

He narrowed his eyes, "Something's different. You're quiet and now you have an urge to go to an NA meeting. What's up?"

She put her purse down again and looked at him, "I found 22 bottles of Vicodin. Greg, maybe you should tell me what's going on?"

"I'm an addict, I never said I wasn't."

"You never said you were. I don't know if it's a good idea for me to be in a relationship with another addict. Why didn't you tell me?"

He frowned, "I'm not that kind of addict. It's not like I use it to get high. My thigh hurts, it hurts like hell. I can't function without the pain killers."

She shook her head, "You're taking it indiscriminately. You may have started out taking it for your leg pain, but now it's out of control. I need to talk to my sponsor. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"You have to have your temperature taken to find out if you should date me?"

"I want to know why I'm attracted to you, an addict."

He shook his head, "Have I pushed my drugs on you? Have I tried to get you to backslide? You didn't even know about my problem until today."

"Greg, I don't know. I'm telling you that I just don't know. Can I borrow your car?"

"So you can go off to have someone tell you not to come back? No!"

"Greg, don't be like that. I promise to come back…even if it's just to drop off your car." She smiled mischievously.

House looked down at his feet, sober and obviously upset, "I just don't want you to…" His pain turned to anger, "Damn it, take the car. Fine."

Maia wasn't sure how to handle this outburst of fear followed by anger. She wanted to hit him and tell him not to be such an idiot. But she quickly realized that he needed reassurance. She surprised him by grabbing and hugging him. She reached up, grabbed his face and pulled him down to kiss her. He didn't return it at first, but she didn't give up. She kissed him again and this time he wrapped his arms around her and kissed back.

"I'll be home in a couple of hours. Okay?"

He was sullen, but he nodded. Opening the door, she looked back over her shoulder and gave him a warm, loving smile.

Maia usually went to the late afternoon meetings, but because she had spent the day with House, had missed her usual one. She was surprised by the number of people who were present and wanted to share. She didn't feel a need to share that night, but did want to talk to her sponsor who said he would be attending the meeting so that they could talk. She saw the rather tired looking Jamie in the back of the room. After the meeting, she said goodbye to a few and then joined Jamie. They sat on the bench in the empty hall.

"You can't really think this is a smart move?" Jamie asked.

"I haven't had any happiness in over four years. He's funny, brutally honest and great in bed. I don't feel like the world is coming to an end when I'm with him."

"But Maia, he's an addict and he's not getting treatment for it. He's in denial."

Maia breathed deeply, "I don't think he's in denial. He told me he was an addict. He just said that he was in pain. His leg causes a lot of pain."

"Well, maybe you could talk him into seeing a pain specialist. But, until he does, you ought to limit your contact."

Maia was disappointed, not sure what she should do. She wanted to be with House despite the warnings. But she had ignored advice before and lost everything. These issues were swimming, competing in her head, as she walked to the car in the almost empty parking lot. She took out the keys and was opening the door when she felt something in her side.

"Maia, Maia, Maia…you are one hard woman to kill." The voice got closer to her ear, "That's a gun in your side in case you were wondering. You missed your meeting yesterday, tsk, tsk, tsk. We've been waiting for you to show up. Tony and I were about to give up. Then we saw you sitting inside tonight and, well, here we are."

Maia's heart started beating. She looked around the parking lot. It was dark with a few parking lot lights illuminating the area, including one about four spaces from her. But it was mostly empty with only a few cars dispersed throughout the area. There was no one around. Maia knew she was dead.

"See my friend?" He asked as he relieved her of her keys and threw them to another man in a dark trench coat and scarf covering most of his face.

Maia watched as another man opened the passenger door and sat down inside. He looked up through the driver's side window and nodded to the man holding the gun on her.

"Yes. I seem him."

"I want you to get in and do what he says. This can go two ways. You can either go with blood and brains spattered all over the car, or you can go out feeling good. It's up to you."

Maia climbed in behind the wheel and waited. The man had latex gloves on. He prepared a needle full of something as Maia watched. He looked at the needle, holding it up to the parking lot light. He nodded to the man with the gun.

Maia was shaking, "Please don't do this…please. What did I do? What did I do to cause this?"

The man with the gun shrugged, "We were told to kill you. We've tried infecting you, then we tried shooting at you – but that got us into a lot of trouble. Our boss wants this done quietly. So now, he wants it to look like you did it to yourself. That's a needle full of 90 pure cocaine, guaranteed to take you out, but before you go, you'll feel really good."

The man took her arm, but she pulled it away. There was a click of the gun. Maia's shoulders slumped in defeat. The man took her arm again and found her vein. He stabbed her vein and pushed the plunger. Maia felt it within seconds. Her heart started beating wildly, her breathing escalated. The man jumped out of the car and started walking to the sedan several lanes over. The one with the gun stood for a few more seconds, sadistically watching her body react to the drug. He locked the driver side door and closed it. Maia looked up at him, her head flopping back, blood coming out of her nose.

Why? Why now Lord? I had just begun to hope again.

House couldn't stand it. He wanted to know what her sponsor was telling her. Within minutes of her leaving he was on the internet. He found out that there were two meetings that night and unfortunately, he picked the wrong one to go to first. After scouting for his car and not seeing it, House got off his motorcycle and checked inside. When he didn't find her, he went back out and rode his motorcycle to across town to the other meeting. He found the address. He immediately spotted car,pulling into the parking lot of the Salvation Army auditorium. As he parked the motorcycle a space away, he could see she was in the front seat. He got off and walked over to talk to her.

Maia was sitting in the driver's seat, the back of her head resting against the window, but she was acting strange; her head was bobbing up and down at a rapid pace. House shook his head. What is she doing? Knocking on the window, House yelled, "Maia, open the window."

There was no response. He tried the door, but it was locked. He kept knocking on the window as she just sat there, her hair the only thing visible from his angle. Finally, he walked to the front of the car and looked in. He could see blood coming from her nose, her stare fixed ahead and her chest and head heaving. He ran to the passenger side and found it unlocked. He got in and saw the needle sticking in her arm. Pulling it out, House held her head up under the overhead light to examine her. Her pupils were dialated, her breath rapid, her nose bleeding. She was hyperventilating and shaking. She felt warm to the touch. After unlocking the driver's side, he pulled her over to the passenger side. Getting into the driver's side, he pealed out into traffic, racing to the hospital.

House fumbled with his cell phone.

"Princeton-Plainsboro."

"This is Dr. House, give me the Emergency Room."

He was connected to the charge nurse. "I'm bringing in a white female, 37, overdosing on cocaine. Have diazepam and nitroglycerin ready at the door. Bring an epi just in case. I'll meet you at the emergency bay."

He received an acknowledgement and in less than three minutes he was pulling into the back bay to the Emergency Room. House grabbed the diazepam needle out of the nurse's hand and shot it into Maia's arm. House watched as the Emergency team took over and rushed Maia into the emergency ward.

House followed her into the emergency ward and watched as they hooked her up to monitors. Her blood pressure and heart rate were starting to come down as result of the diazepam. House went inside with her. Staring down at her, he realized how angry he was at her for screwing up again. Am I always going to have to rescue her? What if I hadn't decided to spy on her? It made him feel out of control and that scared him.

House was assured by the doctors that she was going to make it, he had gotten to her on time. But she had come very close to dying. The overdose was reported to the police and they showed up an hour later. Sleeping in a chair in the corner, House looked up to see Smithers lurking outside of Maia's room

"Dr. House, why did she go off the wagon?"

"Once an addict, always an addict." He said as he stared through the window at Maia in her bed, "I don't know. Things were, well, they were going better for her. She was going to speak to her sponsor last night at the meeting. I guess we'll just have to ask her when she comes out of it."

But House wasn't sure why, it didn't make sense. Curiosity got the better of him and he went through her purse, finding her address book. Looking through, he finally found a number that she had marked as "sponsor." He called the number from her hospital room.

"Hello?"

"Is this Jamie Lewis?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"I'm Dr. House, Maia's friend. She's in the hospital…apparently you're crap at being a sponsor; she shot up in the parking lot after talking to you and overdosed."

"Wha…what? That's impossible!"

"I found her in the parking lot with a needle stuck in her arm."

"But Maia doesn't shoot up. She's a snorter. She told me that she could never give herself a shot. Has to look away when someone takes blood or uses a needle on her. Besides, she was happy tonight. She'd met someone and said that she hadn't been that happy in years."

"Really? Did she say anything else?"

"Well, she did say he was an addict and wanted my advice. I told her it wasn't a good idea to get involved with an addict who hadn't been to rehab."

"What did she say?"

"Nothing, but I don't think I convinced her. I think she's in love with this guy."

"Hmmm, interesting."

"Which hospital is she in?"

"Princeton-Plainsboro."

"Thanks, I'll come down and visit."

House started thinking about it and realized that it didn't make sense. He called Smithers.

"I don't think she did this. I think it was another attempt on her life."

"Are you sure? What makes you think that?"

He told Smithers what he had discussed with her sponsor.

"Well, let's wait until she wakes up and I'll come back down."

House went back in, bent over and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek, "I'll be back tomorrow morning."

He went home and got some sleep. Around 8:30 am he went back to her room. She was dressed and sitting up on the side of the bed, staring out the window. House came through the door and she looked over her shoulder.

"I'm alive?" she joked.

House raised his eyebrows, "It would appear. You came close to being buried in a pauper's grave."

"Cremated. I want to be cremated."

House chuckled and nodded, "I'll remember that. Now, tell me what happened."

She closed her eyes and then opened them again, "Two men forced me into my car, one shot me up. They knew my name, knew I went to NA there and said I was hard to kill. Greg someone wants me dead."

"Did you find out why?"

She shook her head, "I asked, but they just referred to someone who wanted me dead."

"Well, considering they've tried three times to take you out, they're going to do it fast and quick the next time."

"They're going to let me out in a few hours. I'm going back to the bakery. Can you bring me my things?"

"You can't go back to the bakery, they'll find you there."

"I can't stay with you. I can't let them hurt you."

He shook his head violently, "You moron, they're less likely to find you if you stay with me."

"I can't take that chance."

He took a deep breath and sat down next to her, "I can't let you go back. You're coming back with me. We're going to make love on the piano stool and then eat until we're too full to do anything but sleep in front of the television."

She started laughing, "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"What I want is for you to find a girl for a threesome. But in the meantime, I want you to come home with me."

"If something happens, I don't want you being a hero, okay?"

"I'm no hero, never have been a hero, never will be a hero."

Maia went home with House to his apartment after giving a statement to the police. She seemed frail to him and so he let her sleep. Later that evening he crawled into bed next to her and kissed the back of her head. She turned over and held him, kissing his forehead, then his eyes and then his lips.

Pulling back she stroked his beard, "You have amazing eyes."

"You've got great breasts. Could you take that top off so I can look at them?"

She nodded and removed her top. House reached out for them, touching them as if they were alabaster porcelain. He wanted to make love to her, but first he just wanted to hold her naked body next to him.

"Take off your bottoms."

She did. He pulled her up, partially onto him so he could feel her soft curves and warm skin. He inhaled her, holding her tightly.

Maia felt something different in the way he was holding her. She felt an urgency, a need to be close, as if he wanted them to be one. It wasn't sexual; it was an emotional need. She returned the embrace with the same desire, the same gentleness. She felt afraid and loved and needed all at the same time. She didn't know what to say to him; what did he need to hear?

After ten or more minutes he finally moved, letting her slip down to his side. He spoke to her in hush tones, "Maia, I wish I could make you happy. I don't seem to be able to sustain happiness for very long. I don't seem to be able to tolerate happiness."

"Greg, it's not your job to make me happy. Just being here though, it makes me feel good. It makes me feel appreciated. I haven't felt appreciated in years. I had forgotten that I'm intrinsically a good person. Being with you makes me remember who I am. I wish you could find the same thing -- find the Greg you lost somewhere along the way -- the Greg who smiled when he was a boy. The Greg who knew joy when he was in love."

"I want that. But, I don't know if he's still in here. I've had so many years of beating the crap out of him."

She rubbed his chest and the curly gray hair covering it. Reaching up, she touched the stubble on his cheek. He closed his eyes at the feel of her touch and smiled. Maia dragged her hand down his body to the trail of hair between his navel and his penis. Running her fingers up and down the little trail of hair, she saw things begin to move. She dragged her fingers further down, rubbing and stroking, until he was at a full salute.

Maia cupped his balls in her hand and leaned down to take one of them in her mouth. House leaned his head back on the pillow and let the pleasurable sensations pass through from his groin to his brain. She licked and sucked until he was hard and ready. Maia then grabbed a condom from the side drawer and dressed him.

House stood up and pulled her to the edge of the bed, spreading her legs as he did. He wasted no time, entering her, holding her legs like a wheel barrel. Maia could do little to help pump him except to contract and release her muscles surrounding his shaft.

He nodded, "Yeah, that's good. That's good. Oh, God, yeah. I can feel you, you're so tight." He continued to thrust, his body slapping into her as he did.

She grabbed her breasts and started to play with them, fondling them, pinching her nipples and pushing them together. House watched until the electricity in his balls shot through his erection and back to his spine. His muscles tightened as he ejaculated several times, grunting as he came. It was over. He let out a chuckle, pulled out and started to play with her wet clitoris. Shoving two fingers into her, he manipulated her clit with his free thumb. She concentrated on what he was doing, finding her body tightening and her nipples tingling. Then he kneeled on the floor and took his tongue, circled her clit, sucking it gently. It was already engorged from all the attention and it didn't take long before she was squirming, pushing into his tongue, angling her body for maximum pleasure.

Maia swallowed hard when she felt the pressure building. Little spurts of the coming orgasm surfaced from time to time, causing her to catch her breath and moan. When the waves overtook her, she pushed further into his tongue and curled up to look at what he was doing.

He saw her body flush and her thighs tighten. Maia's body jerked as her shoulders lifted up. The grimace on her face told him that she was coming and coming fast. Her screams were audible all over the apartment, causing House to raise his eyebrows. After several waves of pleasure, she slapped her thighs together and pulled back.

House climbed up on the bed next to her and blew in her ears. She shivered and turned to him. "You're cruel, that tickles. You know how sensitive my skin is after sex, now stop that!"

He kissed her and played with her hair. After a few minutes they got up and went to take a shower. Maia got out, went into the kitchen and realized there was nothing in it to cook. House followed her and saw her sitting in her bra and panties on the stool drinking from a bottle of water.

"We still didn't make it to the grocery store."

"Are you up for dinner out?" he asked.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

He bowed at the waist, "Well, then let's take you to Bella Luna for dinner."

"I've never been there, but I am up for it. I love Italian."

Maia pulled on a denim skirt and a halter top. After she slipped into her sandals, she went over and helped House button his shirt by making sure he received a kiss after every button. They got into the car and drove down to the neighborhood where the restaurant was located. Inside Maia hung onto House's free arm as they walked to the table. They sat down next to each other in the u shaped booth. She put her hand on his thigh and he put his arm around her. It was if they couldn't stop touching each other. The human contact they had both been craving seeped through them like a warm bath.

House teased Maia about her voracious appetite and Maia pretended to be offended. But they ended up laughing and kissing, causing the waitress ask if they were newlyweds.

House dropped his mouth, "How did you know? We were married last weekend!"

She chuckled, "You two can't keep your hands off of each other and you're laughing an awful lot."

"I can't help it, she won't sleep with me unless I laugh at all of her jokes. I laugh a lot…she's that good…in bed that is." He shrugged, "Lousy at everything else, but you can always hire a maid and eat out, right?"

The waitress was dumbfounded. Her eyebrows were raised and mouth wide open.

Maia chuckled, "Oh, don't worry; I don't take umbrage. He's right, I'm not much good except for a good screw. But then, neither is he. I mean look, he can't walk fast, run, ski, hike…but he sure knows how to use that tongue." Maia paused as the waitress blushed, "He can say, "I love you" in seven different languages!"

House kissed her neck, "Nohiboka" He kissed her other shoulder, "Jeg elsker dig!" He kissed her hand, "Ich liebe dich! "

The waitress left as House and Maia snickered.

"My tongue?"

"Yes, you have a very talented tongue." She smiled.

He licked her earlobe, "Ti amo."

She reached up and kissed his lips, "The waitress is gone, you don't have to say that."

"I'm not doing it for the waitress. I'm only doing it to get into your pants."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed.

House winced as she pulled back and straightened her hair.

He realized he should never had said 'I love you,' even in jest, "Maia, don't you think it's a little early for me to be saying it for real?"

She gave him a brave smile, "Yes, of course. It's way too early."

He felt her stiffen and wished he hadn't said it was too early. Is it really too early? I don't want her to pull back, go away. I should just tell her. What would it hurt? Would she say it back? I wonder if she would say it back?

"Maia." He said reaching out and grabbing her elbow, "I—"

"—You two come back now and congratulations." The waitress put the bill down in front of them.

Maia looked at House's hand on her elbow, "I'm going to go to the bathroom, I'll meet you up front." She scooted out of the booth and took off towards the bathroom. House paid the bill and decided that it could wait until they got home. He'd find a way to get her to say it first.

She smiled as she walked up to him at the front door, looking like the leading lady of a Walt Disney movie. He smiled back. They walked out to the sidewalk outside of the restaurant. A car pulled up and a man in a cap jumped out of the back. He walked directly in front of Maia and House. He had his hand suspiciously in the pocket of his suit jacket.

"Maia Connelly?"

She said nothing, but House responded, "Who wants to know?"

"Ms. Connelly, you're going to be our guest. Let's go for a ride."

She looked at the tall man with the strong chin, broad shoulders, thin waist, "I don't think so."

He smiled and nodded, pretending to have a pleasant conversation with Maia and House. "I think so. If you don't get in the back seat, then your boyfriend is getting a bullet through his left knee. He won't be walking at all."

Maia instinctively moved in front of House to protect his legs. She put her arm behind her back and waved for House to run, but he didn't move. She stepped back and pushed him to run. He realized he could do more by getting help than staying around getting killed. He took off down the sidewalk. The man tried to get around her with his gun, but she blocked him. He fired, the bullet zinging past House and striking the brick wall near him. The man aimed again, but jerked as Maia jumped up in front of him, her arm knocking the gun, which went off in his hand. Maia didn't feel anything at first except the force of it knocking her back. She fell, sprawled, her head bouncing on the concrete. She could see the clear night sky above her as it faded to black.

"Get up, get up." The man sneered, "Fine, do this the hard way." He reached down to pull her into the car.

House had ducked into the alley just two doors down from the restaurant and pulled out his phone to call for help. He heard the pop, the same sound Moriarty's gun had made in his office. There was a scream and another pop. He heard a loud report of a shotgun and then there were more screams. He edged his way along the building and looked around the corner to the street. The car was gone, but there were two bodies on the sidewalk, one was the man with the gun, the other was Maia. House saw a man in a t-shirt and apron with a shotgun walk up to the bodies. House hobbled over and looked down at Maia. He wasn't sure if she was alive. He could tell the man was dead, he only had half a head.

House knelt down and felt for her pulse. It was elevated and thready, not a good sign. She had a bullet hole near her spleen. He unzipped and pulled her skirt down so he could see the wound. It was half an inch wide, but not really bleeding. It was the exit wound he was worried about. When he picked her up to turn her over to look at the wound, he heard a moan from her and gasps from the people standing around them. She had been laying in a pool of blood which was pouring out of her back. The exit wound was more substantial, probably an inch in diameter.

He could hear sirens on their way. He took a handkerchief and pushed it up in the hole from where she was bleeding; holding it with his hand to keep pressure on it. The police jumped out and held a gun on House.

"I'm unarmed, I'm a doctor." He yelled and then continued to monitor her as the paramedics pulled up. They took over and House watched as Maia disappeared into the back of the ambulance. House jumped in the back, "I'm coming with you. Take her to Princeton-Plainsboro."

The paramedics called in vitals and received instructions along with the instructions that House was giving them. They strung up Ringers and gave her platelets. When they arrived it was Cameron that took Maia into emergency.

"House, what happened?"

"Bullet wound near the spleen. She's bleeding into the abdominal cavity."

"I'll call surgery."