Author's Note: Here we go again! Still own nothing related to House. Many thanks for the kind reviews!

Monday morning was cloudy. The skies looked ominous and threatening. Sarah hurried Maggie through their morning walk, expecting rain to start at any moment.

"If the weather is going to keep matching my moods, then I am going to have to cheer up," she told the little dog. She was still thinking about her conversation with Val and Tony the night before. Tony's disapproval annoyed her, even though she knew he had a valid concern. She'd had the same thought herself on Friday night. She could imagine how Tony would've reacted if she'd told him about going into Greg's apartment and flushing away his pills.

She thought back to Greg's embarrassed thank you as he left on Saturday night. It had had a finality about it, as if it was a good-bye in addition to a thank you. He probably doesn't want to see me again, Sarah thought. He's probably embarrassed. She was surprised at how sad and disappointed that thought made her feel.


Sunday evening had been interminable for House. He had stood on the sidewalk as Sarah had gotten into the car with her friends and they drove away. It wasn't until someone brushed past him that he came to himself and went on to his building.

His apartment was dark and felt chilly when he entered it. He turned on the lights but the living room still felt gloomy to him. He moved to his piano, dropping onto the bench and lifting the keyboard cover. The keys felt right under his fingers but he couldn't shake the horrible feeling that if he looked up, he'd see Amber leaning across the piano, smiling at him. He played a few notes, but the piano was out-of-tune. He forced himself to look up and exhaled a sigh of relief when Amber didn't appear.

House moved to his couch, but sitting there reminded him of his imaginary de-tox. He'd thought that he was shivering on the end of the couch, telling Cuddy where all his pills were hidden. The bathroom and bedroom contained more memories of hallucinations.

House wound up sitting at his kitchen table for most of the evening, playing games on his MacBook. The kitchen was the only room in the apartment that had no memories of hallucinations associated with it. When he finally went to bed, sleep did not come easily.

He woke up late on Monday morning. It was almost 9, which was when he usually arrived at the hospital. He'd showered and dressed as quickly as he could before heading out to his car. The car, which had behaved perfectly the previous day, was hard to start. It also stalled once on the drive to the hospital. It was after 10 when House pulled into his parking place.

House had expected to find Cuddy lying in wait for him when he entered the hospital, but the first person he saw was Wilson. The oncologist was standing by the reception desk, talking with a red-haired woman. His eyes met House's for a second before sliding away, back to the woman. He smiled, laughing at something the woman said. House went past, feeling stung. He wanted to stop and ask Wilson how he reconciled flirting with this woman when he was still talking to his dead girlfriend each night.

Upstairs, the conference room was empty. House hung up his coat and slung his backpack into a chair before making his way to the coffee maker. There was no coffee brewing and the sludge-coated pot was still in the sink. House gave a sigh of disgust and went into his office, intending to call the man who kept his piano tuned.


Sarah's morning at the office was frustrating. She had several things that she needed to accomplish but it seemed that some of her co-workers were conspiring to make it impossible for her to do her job. First there was an issue with a copier, then the secretary had a list of complaints about one of the student employees, and finally there was the professor who couldn't figure out how to turn on her new computer and docking station.

Sarah was feeling irritable when she left for lunch, and things only got worse when she reached the food court. There were long lines, and the seating area was crowded. She finally found a table and sat down at it. Unfortunately, the seating was close together so she could hear the entire conversation going on at the table behind her. Two women were complaining about their children's illnesses. Sarah tried to tune them out and concentrate on the newspaper she'd brought with her but one of the women's voices carried very well. Its nasally-tone got on Sarah's nerves. She was complaining about taking her child to a clinic and as she talked, Sarah realized it was the free clinic at the Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital.

"This doctor, he was such a jerk. Acted like it was beneath him to see us, that I was an idiot, and that there was nothing wrong with Parker. I wanted to take his cane away from him and hit him with it. I mean, honestly, what do we pay these people for?" Sarah froze. How many doctors with canes could there be working at Princeton-Plainsboro, she wondered. The woman's companion asked a question and the nasally voice went on.

"Oh, he said it was just a cold. Like I wouldn't know a cold when I see one! I told him he'd better run the tests to be sure."

"Yeah. What happened?"

"He ran the tests and of course he said they showed it was a cold, but I don't believe him. I know it's this swine flu. I'm taking Parker to the clinic over on Roosevelt if he isn't feeling better tonight." The women got up from the table and Sarah put down her paper, thinking about what she'd just over-heard.

The woman's description of Greg seemed totally out of character to Sarah. She couldn't see the shy, vulnerable man she'd met on Friday night inspiring anyone to violence. She shook her head. Clearly this woman was one of those people who was only happy when they had something to complain about.


House was dismayed to discover that the old man who tuned his piano had retired. He had just pulled out the phone book to see if he could find someone else when his team entered the conference room. Foreman was carrying a stack of blue file-folders, while Chase, Thirteen, and Taub were passing around a print-out. Chase put the print-out face-down on the table as he took his seat. House moved to his seat at the head of the table, taking a file folder from Foreman.

"What have we got?" he asked, flipping open the folder. Foreman started to go through the case and House moved to the white-board to write up the symptoms. As he passed by Chase, he reached over and snatched up the paper.

House hadn't been sure what he'd find on the paper – a joke Chase had received in his email or possibly even a message from Cameron. Instead there were a dozen small pictures of dogs, reminding him of mug-shots, with names and ages listed beneath each one. He stared at the pictures for second before looking up at his team and arching a brow.

"One of the nurses is considering adopting a rescue dog. Now that your curiosity is satisfied, can we get back to the medicine?" asked Thirteen, rolling her eyes. House nodded, setting the paper back down on the table. They went on with the differential.

House ended their discussion by sending Taub, Foreman and Thirteen out to run more tests and check out the patient's home. He told Chase to clean out the coffee-pot before joining the others.

As soon as the Australian's back was turned, House picked up the paper again, studying the dog's faces. In the center of the page was an image of dachshund, with the caption "Sally, female, aged 2." He looked up guiltily as the door to the conference room swung open and Thirteen came in. She froze, staring at him in surprise and he dropped the sheet back to the table.

"I forgot my stethoscope," she said, moving to retrieve it from the table. House nodded, and started for his own office. He still needed to find a piano tuner. He didn't see the puzzled looks that Chase and Thirteen exchanged behind his back.


The skies had threatened rain all day without following through. Sarah was returning from the park with Maggie when there was a crack of thunder and the skies opened up. Rain came down in sheets. She scooped up the dog and ran for the apartment building.

She was soaked by the time she reached the front steps, her clothing clinging to her. She hurried in to her apartment, struggling to get out of her wet shoes before making her way to the bathroom for towels.

Sarah had just finished drying herself off and was pulling on dry clothing when she heard a knock on her door. She made her way there, throwing down a towel on a puddle by her front door before opening the door. She was surprised and pleased to find Greg standing there.

"Hi," she said, feeling her heart rate increase. He held out an envelope to her.

"I got your mail today," he said.

"You're kidding," she said, taking the envelope from him. "Thanks for bringing this by."

"No problem," he said, starting to turn away. Maggie began to bark from her place behind the baby-gate. Sarah turned to see that she was standing on her hind legs, her front feet on the baby gate and her tail wagging furiously.

"Do you want to come in for a minute?" Sarah asked.

"Ok." His voice was calm but Sarah swore his eyes had lit up at the offer.


House's breath had caught when he'd seen the envelope amongst his mail. He'd spent most of the day trying not to think about Sarah, without much success. The print-out with the dog pictures on it had remained on the conference room table, and each time he'd caught a glimpse of the dachshund's face, he'd been reminded of his neighbor and her dog. Now he had an excuse to go see them. He dropped his coat and mail in his own apartment and went across the hall. His heart was pounding when he knocked on the door.

It had only taken her a minute to open the door. Her hair was wet, curling about her face. She was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt, knit pants, and her feet were bare. She'd seemed surprised to see him. He'd felt elated when the little dog started barking and Sarah invited him in.

"Be careful," she warned him, sweeping aside a towel on the floor with her foot before moving the baby-gate. "We got caught in the rain and I'm still mopping up puddles." The dog danced around his ankles, making it difficult to know where he could step without landing on her. Sarah reached down to scoop her up, and he moved to the couch, stepping around another towel.

As soon as he sat, she put the dog down. Maggie immediately ran to the couch and leapt up beside him, her tail a blur. She was wagging her entire back end. House reached out to rub behind her ears, smiling. Sarah moved around quickly, scooping up towels. She took them down the hall, returning a minute later and dropping into one of the chairs. Her face was flushed.

The silence hung heavily between them and House could feel himself growing tense. Say something, you idiot, he scolded himself.

"So…" he began.

"How…" she started. They both stopped, staring at each other. Then Sarah laughed, and he felt himself smile.

"You go first," Sarah offered.

"Do you like Thai food?" House asked. "I know a place that delivers."

"I've never had Thai before," Sarah said. "You'll have to tell me what's good."

House made some recommendations and then placed their order. Sarah started up the music again and took Maggie to the kitchen to feed her. House went to the window to look outside. The rain was still coming down hard.

"It looks nasty out there," Sarah said, coming up beside him. "I hope the delivery guy can park somewhere close. We're going to owe him a big tip for coming out in this."


Greg had insisted on paying for their dinner. Sarah had told him it wasn't necessary but he'd remained firm and she'd backed down. The food was spicy and delicious. She'd been feeling chilled from her dash through the rain but the meal warmed her. She cleaned up the kitchen and Greg went down the hall to her bathroom. She was just coming out of the kitchen when she heard a pounding sound from out in the hallway. Curious, she went to her door and looked through the peep-hole. Someone was pounding on her neighbor's door.

"What's going on?" Greg asked from behind her.

"A blonde man is knocking on your door," she said, turning around. Greg made his way quickly toward her door and she moved the gate aside for him.

"It's one of my fellows," he said. He opened the door and went out into the hallway. The blonde man turned as the door opened, and for a second their eyes met. Greg stepped between them and she heard the younger man ask,

"Who is that?"

"My dance instructor," Greg replied, pulling the door shut behind him. "Tonight we're learning the mambo in three easy lessons. What are you doing here?" The door shut with a click.


"You didn't answer your phone," Chase said. "We called Wilson but he said you weren't living there anymore."

"I'm assuming you didn't come here in the pouring rain just to confirm that Wilson and I aren't room-mates anymore. What's going on with the patient?"

"He's spiking a fever."