"No you don't." I sighed and pressed the heel of my hand against my forehead, wondering how the fuck I got to this point in my life. "You've manipulated your feelings into something you think I want to hear."

"I—"

"Think about it. At any time, have you ever felt anything foe me like you did for Cameron?" I watched him ponder over the question, his blue eyes staring at the dips and folds in the sheet.

"You're right."

"I'm always right." I replied sarcastically.

"And you're wrong." He gave a smile somewhere between mocking and sympathetic. "I'll admit that I don't feel for you the same way I did for Cameron but I do love you."

"Spare my feelings. I know you don't."

"Can you shut up and listen?" He paused, waiting for me to respond.

"You know, I'm waiting for you to continue." I said when the silence stretched on.

"I was making sure you wouldn't interrupt again. Now, I want you to know that you have been the biggest pain in my ass. You were always at my shoulder ready with insulst or throwing my ideas back in my face and telling me to come up with something better. I hated coming to work because I couldn't stand you sometimes."

"Please, stop. I think I might cry." I said deadpan.

"And over the last few months I realize that I hated coming to work because all the belittling comments you yell at me only made me feel like I've disappointed you somehow. I realize now that you were always at my shoulder, making sure I didn't screw up or when I did you corrected it and, in a completely insane way, helped me grow as a person. After a year with you I found that I thought outside the box more and I looked at everything differently. From day one, you did for me what my own father never did. I love you for that."

I don't think I could've responded if I wanted to. Maybe I didn't love him like a son, hell I probably wouldn't even know how to love my own child, but I did want to see him develop and stop conforming to what everyone wanted or thought he should be. I could've told him that I was almost happy about the changes he made and how he perceived life. I should've told him that all I ever wanted was for him was the capability to stand on his own two feet without needing anyone behind him. I should've told him thanks. I didn't. I never said a thing because Wilson appeared in the doorway, sporting a bruise on his jaw and cheekbone.

"Hey." He said breathlessly as if he had just come in from a run. "Can I talk you? Alone?"

All eyes were on me, waiting for the answer with almost comic tension. I shrugged indifferently. Chase rose from his seat and touched my shoulder.

"If you go anywhere, try not to forget you stuff." He said with a smile. He brushed past Wilson as if he weren't there on his way out.

"Do you mind?" Wilson asked after Chase left, gesturing to the blinds.

"Go ahead." I refused to look at him as he closed and instead picked up the remote to flip idly through channels.

"Hi, House." He said wearily as he sat down on the chair Chase had previously occupied.

"Bye, Wilson."

"Can I just say that I'm sorry?"

I glanced over the see him rubbing the side of his face gingerly. "You really are." I turned off the television and turned to face him. "Why are you even here?"

"I get direct pages now from the nurses whenever you end up here."

"You can go back to your girlfriend. There's no need to pretend anymore."

"I don't have a girlfriend and I don't want one." He replied. "Would you believe me if I said I got scared?"

"Scared of what? We were in this for two months, Wilson; two fucking months. The most you had to be scared of was me slipping my colored clothes in with your whites and I think we already covered that."

"I was afraid you'd get tired of me."

"So you cleverly did what you were afraid I would do. Genius, pure genius."

"I never got tired of you." His voiced rose in frustration and he quickly quieted himself, rubbing at the side of his face as if he could rub out the tension. "What do I do for you? Why am I here? Support? You never needed it. A listening ear for your problems? No because you hate talking about your problems. I feel like the only thing I'm giving you is regular sex."

"Not lately."

"So tell me; what is it that your getting out of this? I don't want to be in this and feel like I'm just taking from you."

"Go home, Wilson." I said, turning my back to him. "We'll talk about it tomorrow when neither of us feels quite so pathetic."

"No, let's talk about it now. What are you getting from us being together?"

"At the moment; a whole lot of useless grief." I felt the bed dip under his weight when he sat beside me.

"House, I'm sorry about what I did. I told her everything."

"Too bad she didn't hit you. You deserved it."

"I know."

It was silent for a moment, deep and cataclysmic. It seemed to swallow up all other sounds but that of the breath leaving my body in a quiet exhale.

"Just about every day is miserable." I said suddenly, without thought, without warning. "With you around it not as miserable. I feel like maybe someday it won't be miserable at all. And I like when you know when to talk to me and when just to be there." I turned and saw him staring at me with complete focus. It seemed every molecule in his body was focused on me. "I'm afraid some times that you'll get tired of me. Every wrong move or word makes me think that that's it; you'll walk away and leave me alone. I've tried to make myself indestructible but I'm not and I can't be. I need you. Even if you don't voluntarily spend time with me it's better than a miserable day without you."

He reached out tentatively to touch my arm, stroking it with his fingertips and leaving slight trails of water. "I didn't mean that, you know. I was afraid and angry. It doesn't make it right but I didn't mean it."

"Maybe you did, maybe you didn't but it doesn't matter anymore." I laced my fingers in his. I was always one for holding a grudge but now I didn't want to. I wanted to move forward and have this all behind us because, really, that's all we can do.

"We're two screwed up people aren't we?" He asked, half-jokingly.

"Maybe someday we'll get it right."

AN- It's come to my attention that some of you may want an alternate version (Chase/House) so I'll post it and be finished. Thank you for all your reviews they make me feel loved