Author's Note: Here we go again. I still own nothing related to House. For the purposes of my story, I am assuming that House's attempt to break up Cuddy and Lucas fails. We'll find out tonight if I'm wrong. :)

Sarah was surprised when there was a knock on her door. It had only been five minutes since Greg had gone out into the hall to talk to his fellow. She'd assumed that he had a case and would be on his way to the hospital. Instead, he was standing in the hallway, cell-phone in hand.

"You're back," she said. "I thought you had to leave."

"Nope. This is the waiting to see what happens part."

"So, your patient?"

"There are four doctors monitoring him. One of them will call me the second anything changes." He held up his cell phone. "The thing about waiting is, I can do it just about anywhere." Sarah felt herself smile. He was choosing to do his waiting here, with her. She opened the door wider and stepped back to let him into the apartment.

"Ok," she said. "Now, about those mambo lessons…"


House woke up early on Tuesday morning. He'd been dreaming and for a few minutes he lay in his bed, trying to remember what the dream had been about. The details were fading fast but he realized that, whatever the dream itself had been about, he now had an idea about what was wrong with his patient.

He looked at his clock, moaning when he saw that it was only 6:30, and got out of bed. He wanted to get to the hospital and present his solution to his sleep-deprived team. Watching their reaction would make getting up this early worthwhile.

House's car didn't seem to like the early start any better than he did. The engine refused to turn over. He was just getting out of it, debating on calling his team after all, when Sarah came down the front steps.

"Good morning," she said, coming over to him. "Was it you I heard arguing with a car?"

"Yeah." House hesitated. Should he ask her for a lift to the hospital? "Would you mind…"

"Do you need…" They both stopped and Sarah laughed. "There we go again. C'mon, I'll drop you off." He followed her down a few spots to a small red car.

"I'm not taking you out of your way, am I?" he asked.

"Nope. I drive right past the hospital on my way in to work." She unlocked the car door for him before going around to her side. House was glad to have the chance to get himself into the car without her watching. It was always awkward, maneuvering the leg.

They were silent on the drive. The car radio was playing quietly, tuned in to an oldies station. House glanced at Sarah and saw her tapping the steering wheel to the beat. He leaned over to turn up the music and she looked over at him and smiled.

When they reached the parking lot, Sarah drove up to the entrance, pulling in close to the sidewalk to let House out. As she came to a stop, he glanced out over the parking lot and spotted Cuddy walking in from her car. Their eyes met for a second before she looked away, no doubt taking in House's chauffer.

"Thanks," House said, looking back to Sarah. He wanted to get out before Cuddy reached them.

"I can come by this evening, around 5:30?" Sarah offered.

"I… I'll have to see how my case goes."

"Ok. Here," Sarah handed him a slip of paper. "That's my cell number. Give me a call if you need a ride."

"Thanks again," House said. Cuddy was getting closer and he wanted to get away. He got out of the car as fast as his bad leg would allow him and hobbled toward the building.


Sarah had heard the car refusing to start from inside her apartment. When she got out to the sidewalk, she saw Greg, standing next to a battered grey car. The hospital was right on her way to work and she was leaving early so she decided to offer him a lift.

They didn't talk on the drive but Sarah didn't feel awkward. The Temptations were singing on her radio and she smiled when Greg reached over to turn up the volume. When they reached the hospital, she drove up to the entrance to let him out. She turned to offer to pick him up at the end of the day but he was staring across the parking lot and she followed his gaze. A brunette woman was making her way toward them. Sarah looked back to Greg and winced at the raw hurt she saw in his face. She looked back to the woman, wanting to see her reaction. The woman had stopped her walk and was frowning at Sarah. Their eyes met for a second before the woman looked away. Wow, thought Sarah, she doesn't like me being here. I wonder who she is, and what she's done to Greg. She turned back to him.

"I can come by this evening, around 5:30?" she offered.

"I… I'll have to see how my case goes." He clearly wanted to get away before the woman caught up to him. Sarah grabbed a slip of paper and scribbled down her cell phone number.

"Ok. Here. That's my cell number. Give me a call if you need a ride."

"Thanks again." Greg took the paper and moved his leg out of the car. He hobbled toward the building. A second later the mystery woman passed in front of Sarah's car, shooting another glance at her as she did. Sarah smiled at her. Let her wonder, she thought. Once the woman reached the sidewalk, Sarah drove away slowly, thinking over what she'd seen.


The elevator doors shut as Cuddy entered the lobby and House felt relieved. He didn't want to explain who Sarah was. When he reached his floor, he found the halls dim. He passed the conference room without going in, noting his team sitting around the table, shoulders slumped. He went into his office to hang up his coat and heard them talking.

"So, House isn't living with Wilson anymore?" Thirteen was asking.

"Apparently. He was back at his building last night, but he wasn't in his apartment. He was with some woman, across the hall," Chase said.

"Who is she?" asked Taub.

"He said she was his dance instructor," Chase replied. "I don't know – maybe he's got a hooker for a neighbor. That'd be convenient." House froze. He wanted to storm into the room and tell Chase to shut up. He didn't like hearing his team speculating about Sarah. He moved, flinging open the door into the office and was pleased to watch everyone around the table jump in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Foreman asked. "It's not even 8 am yet."

"I've solved our case," House replied. He started out of the conference room, turning at the door to see them all staring at him. "C'mon. This will be much cooler with an audience."

Once House had finished revealing the solution to the case, he left his team to start the treatment. He returned to his office and called a tow truck to get his car and take it to a shop. Then he called his mechanic to let him know the car was coming. The shop was backed up and the mechanic didn't think he'd even be able to look at the car until the next day. House grumbled, but there was no budging the man. He hung up, feeling exasperated. It seemed he was going to have to continue to rely on Sarah, or start taking the bus.

Three of his team returned to the conference room. Foreman, House noted, was missing. The other members of the team looked exhausted. House sent Taub and Thirteen to grab a nap. He told Chase to complete the patient's chart; he was still annoyed at him for his comment about Sarah.

Foreman came into the conference room a few minutes later, just as the phone on House's desk rang. Cuddy was on the other line.

"My office. Now," was all she said. House got to his feet, noticing that Foreman was speaking quietly to Chase. Neither of the fellows would meet his gaze as he made his way across the conference room and out into the hallway.


The office was quiet. The department chair was out in meetings and the other faculty seemed capable of taking care of themselves today. Sarah knew she should take advantage of this quiet time to work on the projects she hadn't been able to deal with the previous day, but she couldn't seem to concentrate. Her thoughts kept turning back to what she'd seen that morning in the hospital parking lot. There had been a lot going on in those looks between Greg and the dark-haired woman. Who was she? She'd been well-dressed, in expensive clothing. The skirt was cut a bit tighter than Sarah would have chosen for office wear but the woman wore it with confidence. Maybe it's some feminist thing, Sarah thought. One of those I'm still a woman even if I'm the boss things. She had definitely moved with authority. She hadn't seemed pleased to see Greg in Sarah's company. Sarah couldn't decide if the frown was one of jealousy or suspicion.

A student employee came in, chatting in excitement about something that had just happened in class, and Sarah put aside her speculations to listen. The quiet of the office was shattered and Sarah moved on with her work.


Cuddy was on the phone when House entered. She waved him toward a chair in front of her desk.

"I've got to go," she said. "I'll talk to you later. Kiss Rachel for me." She hung up the phone as House took a chair. He was working hard to keep his features composed. She'd obviously been talking to Lucas.

"You wanted to see me," he said. The small smile she'd had on her face dropped away, her expression turning to a mixture of anger and concern.

"You aren't living with Wilson anymore," she said.

"Foreman told you," he said. Now he knew what Foreman and Chase had been discussing so quietly.

"It doesn't matter how I found out," Cuddy said dismissively. "Is it true?"

"Yes." Cuddy stared at him, clearly wanting to hear more. When he didn't offer anything else, she pushed on.

"When did this happen?"

"I moved back to my old apartment on Friday."

"What happened?"

"I'm 50 years old," House replied. "I think I'm a bit old for a baby-sitter."

"What happened?" Cuddy pressed again. Her eyes narrowed. "What did you do to Wilson this time?"

"He was jealous that I didn't bring home a hooker for him too," House said. Cuddy glared at him.

"House, this is serious. Your therapist wanted you to stay with someone…"

"He knows that I've moved," House replied. "Are we done?" He started to rise from the chair. Cuddy glared at him.

"Yeah, we're done," she said. House continued to his feet and left her office. No doubt her next step would be talking to Wilson. Then she'd call him again, try to play mediator the way she had after Amber died. With a sigh, House turned around and went back into her office. She looked up in surprise, putting down the phone she'd just lifted.

"Wilson is an oncologist at this hospital, not my keeper. He's not responsible for me." Cuddy stared at him.

"What happened?" she asked again, her tone gentle this time.

"Just leave him alone," House said.

"Are you using again? Is that what this is about?" Cuddy's tone turned angry. "If you're…"

"I am NOT using again."

"Then what happened?"

"Wilson asked me to leave. I left."

"And that's all there is to it? You didn't do anything…"

"I didn't do anything," House insisted. He didn't do anything but know about Amber. He couldn't tell Cuddy that. He hadn't told anyone that, not even Nolan. It was Wilson's secret.

"Right." She shook her head at him in disgust. "I don't know why I'm surprised."

"Neither do I," House said quietly. He turned and left her office.


Sarah was just locking the office door behind her when her cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse, frowning at the unfamiliar number. It was a local number so she went ahead and answered it, finding Greg on the other end.

"Could I have that lift?" he asked quietly.

"Sure. I'll see you shortly."

The traffic leaving campus was bad, as usual. Sarah drummed impatiently on her steering wheel. She hated stop-and-go traffic anyway, but knowing that Greg was waiting for her made her more impatient.

It was just after 5:30 when she got to the hospital. He was waiting outside the entrance, leaning against the building. His head was down and his shoulders were slumped. He got into the car without saying anything, sinking back into the seat.

"Long day?" she asked.

"Yeah." There was something wrong; he'd had that same slump to his shoulders Saturday afternoon. What would be the best thing for her to do, she wondered. Should I try to get him to tell me what's wrong, or should I offer him another distraction? Neither idea seemed like a good one. They made the drive home in silence.

Sarah parked the car and walked with Greg into the building. He went straight to his apartment door. She stopped in the hallway, watching him. He turned before he entered the apartment.

"Thanks for the lift," he said. He went inside and shut the door. Sarah stared at it for a moment before going into her own apartment. He was definitely upset, but she didn't get the feeling that it was aimed at her. She took Maggie for her walk, wondering the whole time if there was some way that she could help. She was half-way back to the apartment when she had an idea.

"Maggie, I'm going to go out for a few minutes. I'm going to try to get Greg to come stay with you while I'm gone. You've got to be good for him; he's had a bad day. Ok?" She hurried up the steps into the apartment and put Maggie into her apartment before heading across the hall to knock on Greg's door.

"I need some help," Sarah said immediately. He stared at her for a moment and then nodded.

"What can I do?"

"I have to go out and pick up some things for a reception at work tomorrow. I completely forgot to do it this weekend. If I leave Maggie now, she'll be so hyper by the time I return that I'll never get her calmed down in time to go to sleep. Could you please stay with her? I won't be long." Again he stared at her. She was afraid he was going to say no, or tell her to go away.

"Ok."

"Thanks," Sarah said. "I really appreciate this." She led him across the hall to her apartment. "I'm just going to get her dinner for her and then I'll run." She hurried into her kitchen, measuring out the dog's food, and then came back to the living room to get her coat and purse. Greg sat down in one of the chairs. "I won't be long." She put the baby gate back up and hurried out. She hoped she wasn't making a mistake.