Disclaimer: I do not own House MD or any of the characters, but I sure as hell wouldn't mind owning Hugh Laurie! (Oh, and I, OVIOUSLY, don't own Toys 'r' Us either)

A/N: Ok, so I REALLY have to apologise for the wait. SORRY! I've just been up to my neck (sometimes eve past) in exams and studying and my brain has been completely dead afterwards. This chapter isn't as long as the previous ones, and it may not be particularly exciting (I dunno) but it'll get the story into the perfect set up for some potentially great fun :P

I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to update again … but I'm done with my exams on Friday morning … so next weekend would be the safest bet.

Also, one reader expressed some concern that this troy might be getting to sweet and sugary. Let me reassure you guys that there is a purpose to building up a really nice, comfy atmosphere now … it'll be used later when … well … later (Insert evil laugh)

Anyways, Enjoy!

"Morning" said Wilson as House swiftly entered his car which was parked outside Cuddy home.

Upon receiving a wake up call from Wilson, one that Wilson seemed to think of as less of wake up call and more of an "I'm arriving in five minutes, you'd better be ready" call, House had slipped from Cuddy's grasp, replacing his shoulder with her pillows, and had taken his time in the bathroom, washing his face and … well … that was about it. Finally, after realising that he really needed to go home at some point, stealing odd bits of food from Cuddy's fridge and popping a few Vicodin, House made his way outside where, inevitably, Wilson was already waiting for him.

"So, when I called to tell you I was arriving …" began Wilson

"Oh! That's what it was" replied House sarcastically "Sorry, you sound so much like those chicks from the wake up call service. I got confused"

Shaking his head, Wilson merely started the car and headed off in the direction of the closest "Toys 'r' Us", the best and, frankly, only, shop he knew where everything for a baby could be found in the same place.

For the first few minutes, there was nothing but silence. That was pretty much what happened whenever Wilson hoped House would take it upon himself to talk about something and House hoped Wilson would get bored of waiting and move on. Apparently, neither was getting what he wanted. So, shaking his head slightly as he brought the car to a stop at a red light, Wilson took it upon himself to start the inevitable conversation.

"So, care to explain you're text?" he asked, looking, his head tilted at an odd angle, at the traffic light above.

"I wasn't aware that it was cryptic," said House really not wanting to have his feelings analysed "thought it was pretty straight forwards, actually" pulling out his phone, he pretended to search for the message "'At Cuddy's, be here at 11, H' … yea" he nodded "Oh, right, 'H' … that's short for House" he added placing the phone back in his pocket.

Sighing, Wilson looked out of the corner of his eye at his friend and, again, shook his head.

"Sorry, I wasn't blunt enough," he said nodding and motioning with his hand over the wheel "what the hell were you doing at Cuddy's over night?" he asked, this time looking at House.

House didn't answer. Not right away. He was faced with two options: make Wilson believe he'd slept with Cuddy in a different sense than the one he had, or tell him the truth and risk analysis.

"What do you think I was doing?" he asked looking straight ahead, not choosing path a or b but deciding to sit on the large rick between them and wait for the trees to move and show him a path c.

"House …" Wilson spoke looking at him warningly "… she's pregnant"

"I'm aware" said House nodding "but see, you may have missed that lesson in med school, but knocked up women, they also need sleep"

"You're saying you just slept with her?" he asked

"Wait … in which sense of the words? I'm confused" said House looking over at Wilson with a mock confused face "Oh, right, the one where I just slept there"

"You just stayed there, in the same house as the woman you're in love with and you want me to believe all you did was lie down on the couch, close your eyes, snuggle into the pillows and sleep?" asked Wilson, his voice as sceptic as ever.

"Woman I'm in what?" asked House now looking over at Wilson, not liking the fact that his friend was casually using the words he, himself, couldn't say "those are some heavy words …"

"Fine" said Wilson closing his eyes momentarily before continuing "the woman you like" he emphasised the last work with a particularly childish tone before adding "God, you're such a 13 year old"

Grinning House happily moved on "no, that's not what I'm saying at all"

"Wait? So you did more than just sleep there?" now Wilson was confused

"No …"

"Then what are you saying?"

House was silent again. He needed someone to talk to. Wilson was the one person he had. But he'd find his plan stupid. He'd tell him that there was absolutely no way he would be able to walk away once the kid was born. He'd do everything in his power to stop him. But, then again, he didn't have to know the whole plan.

"I just slept there, but …" he stopped again. Why the hell did he find it so hard to voice something as simple as 'I slept in the same bed as the mother of my child?'.

"You know what? Forget it, I don't want to know" said Wilson raising a hand in a resigned fashion and setting his focus back on the road ahead of them.

James Wilson was a smart man, and House knew that. He knew this'd eventually work. House'd get bored of being ignored and would talk.

For a few minutes, Wilson actually thought his tactic was going to fail. But it hadn't.

"I slept with Cuddy" said House, not bothering to fill in all the facts.

"What?!" asked Wilson "But you just said …"

"No, you idiot" House sighed "I 'slept' with her. In the same bed. Sleep"

Wilson frowned for a few seconds and pondered this.

"Wait. So, what? You're a couple now?" he asked tentatively, hoping the answer would be a yes. It wasn't.

"What? No!" then House thought again "I don't think so" did she?

"Wait? So you slept in the same bed, you've been spending all your time there, and you aren't a couple?" asked Wilson trying to get his facts straight.

"Yea" nodded House processing the information as he moved his head.

"And that's all you've done, just, been there … ?" asked Wilson trying to read his friend's face which, for once was showing a little more than just a brick wall.

Well, no, he'd done more than that. They'd made out, twice? Three times? He forgot now, but they had. And it'd been great. And he desperately wanted an excuse to do it again, preferably not one that involved thinking the baby was dying, but an excuse would be …

"House?"

"Yea, that's it …" he said nodding, thinking he sounded pretty unconvincing, but, judging by Wilson's nod, figuring he had succeeded in his little lie. Sure, they'd kissed, and he liked it, but there was no need to go telling Wilson that. No need for him to tell him what that meant, or what it could mean to her.

"So … why does she think you're there?" asked the Oncologist as Toys 'r' Us came into view two blocks from where they were.

This one he could answer, it wasn't his fault. So House proceeded to tell him that Cuddy had called him in a panic, expertly dodged Wilson's question of why she'd called him, of all people, and concluded with a simple 'I needed a place to sleep' just as Wilson pulled into the parking lot.

The inside of the store, while most kids would describe it as 'heaven', House felt it was something more akin to the fiery pits of hell. There were kids everywhere, particularly the small kind. The ones that hold onto your hand and ask 'why' all the time. Looking around, House couldn't possibly understand why he wanted this. Why some part of him was elated at the fact that there was a little kid with half his DNA on the way. But he did. God, that was screwed up.

"So … this shopping for a baby thing," began House as he eyed the gigantic stuffed giraffe that stood by the entrance suspiciously "what exactly does it entail?"

"It's pretty simple, I helped her out before with, uh …"

There was a pause where House rolled his eyes

"She's not here" said House frowning "you can say it …"

"…Joy" finished Wilson with a disapproving look at House "Crib, changing table, a few paintings to decorate the room, some toys … and that's it …"

"Fun!" said House in his high pitched mock tone as Wilson started to head towards the Baby's 'r' Us section of the store.

TBC

Also, for those of you who've seen the promo for this week's eppie, The Social Contract, where Cuddy walks into the MRI room and the patient makes a pretty hilarious comment … you know how she says "House paged?" … think or favourite diagnostician planned that one? ;)

Thank you for reading!

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CJS-DEPPendent