A/N: Here's the first of two chapters I plan on posting today. Also I want to say "HI!" to my new readers of late. I love seeing new faces!

Chapter 19

House moved back up to lay beside her and propped his chin up on his hands. Angela's eyes flipped open and she stared at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I should be asking you that. You're clearly not in the same place I am."

"House...it's not that I don't want to..." she said as her voice trailed off.

"What is it then? As soon as I touched you there, you completely closed up. So what's the deal? Did this last guy rape you?"

"God, no! It wasn't like that."

"Then what was it like? Start with the first guy."

"He was a bit younger than me and we were both virgins. We met on the first day when we arrived in Saskatoon and ended up in the same group so we became friends right away. We were inseparable throughout the whole time. When it got near the end of the program, we realized we probably wouldn't see each other again and I was sad. He tried to comfort me..."

"A hug turned into a kiss..." House added, to which she giggled.

"Yeah. Anyway, it was pretty bad. He had no clue what he was doing and I didn't know any better, either."

She suddenly became quiet and House nudged her. "Okay what about the second guy?"

"He was an asshole. His idea of making out consisted of him trying to get me wet with his hand. It was horrible because it obviously wasn't working but he didn't seem to care or notice that I wasn't turned on."

"Was the sex as horrible as the foreplay?"

"Yeah, if you could call it sex."

House chuckled along with her. "That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. And of course, there was the time when I was fifteen. The..." she swallowed hard, "night of the dance. The one I went to with Geoff."

House sat up straighter. He'd almost forgotten about that night. How could he have forgotten that night of all nights? It was his turn to swallow hard.

"What happened?"

She gave him a knowing look. "You mean you don't know? You were in the ER."

"Yeah but they didn't tell me anything. I saw the bruises and hand prints and came to my own conclusions. I was relieved that it wasn't as bad as I imagined, but you didn't mention that night again and so I guess I pushed it back into my mind and forgot about it. So what did happen?"

Angela propped herself up against the pillows and House did the same, preparing himself for what he thought would be a long story.

"Geoff and I went outside for some fresh air. He wanted to make out but I said no. Then Tim, the guy from Carl's Jr. that one night, showed up with his friend Dave. They'd been drinking and started saying all this nasty stuff. Then the three of them basically ganged up on me. Geoff and Tim held me down while Dave got on top of me and..." she swallowed again and shut her eyes. "Then...I don't know what happened. I just snapped, managed to get away from them..."

"After beating them to a pulp," House added, looking proud.

Angela nodded. "And I just wanted to run. Unfortunately I don't remember anything past that. But it really pisses me off."

"What does?"

"That I have all these hang-ups about sex, when nothing actually happened."

House frowned. "You might not have been raped, per se, but it was traumatic. Have you talked to anyone about this?"

She shook her head. "I was seeing someone but then she had a baby and never came back to work. We had barely touched on what happened. And I didn't find anyone else I cared for so I just didn't go at all."

"It's not too late, you know," he said, his voice was suddenly much quieter.

She shrugged and then stroked his chest with her fingers, playing with the strands of hair, "It's funny."

"What is?"

"You're so mean and gruff with everyone else, including Uncle Jim. But when you're with me...you're like this other person."

"I can be mean and gruff with you too, if that's what floats your boat," he smirked as he enjoyed the feel of her fingers on his chest.

"I prefer you this way. It's like a secret side of you that only I get to see and I like it. I like you like this," she said softly, still stroking his chest hair gently.

"Half naked on your bed?"

"Well yeah, that goes without saying. You're in great shape."

"All those weeks of physical therapy. Made me buff."

"Wow, just a few weeks? Amazing."

House narrowed his eyes at her. "That's you being snarky, right?"

"Absolutely."

"I like that. A woman who can hold her own with me. It's a rare find."

"I'll take that as close to a compliment as I can get from you."

"Good. Now, where was I? Oh yeah, orgasms. Have you ever had one?"

Angela blushed a becoming shade of pink and looked away from him immediately. "I'm going to take that as a definite...no."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because if you've had one, you'd probably be quick to tell me about it." Then he smiled, somewhat wickedly. "Why are you blushing?"

"I..."

"Look, we can do one of two things. I can get dressed and go home and we try this again next time. Or two, I can stay and we can discuss this issue some more."

"If I opt for number one would you be mad?" she asked, her voice was quiet as a mouse and she was fidgeting. She wouldn't even look at him.

"Hey," he said, placing his fingers under her chin and tilting her head up so they were seeing eye to eye, "I'm not mad. It's no big deal."

"House, like I said, it's not that I don't want to. We just...haven't officially been together that long. And as much as I believe that you can bring me to the point of no return, repeatedly, I think it would be best to take it slow."

House nodded. At least she was honest and up front with him. He would have been pissed had she just gone ahead because it was what she thought he wanted.

"Fair enough."

He pulled his shirts back on and got up off the bed. "Next weekend. My place. Bring food."

Angela giggled as she walked with him to the door. "Any preferences?"

"Whatever. I'm easy."

She arched an eyebrow at him and leaned against the wall. "Are you?"

House leaned in close and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her up against him. "Very."

He then softly brushed his lips against hers as his hand slid down to her ass and pressed her even closer to him. "One of these days you'll find out just how easy I am."

Angela wrapped her arms around his neck and let her fingers bury in his hair as she kissed him back. "I'm definitely looking forward to that."

X X X

"House, don't hate me," Angela said, her voice somewhat frantic.

"What did you do?"

"Well, I didn't do anything. But I've been asked to attend a conference in Vancouver and I have to go."

"Oh. No problem then."

There was silence on the other end of the line, but she was still there. "Is there something else?" he asked her.

"Well, sort of."

"What is it?"

"I'm allowed to bring a guest. Everything is paid for. It's just for the weekend but I thought...I feel really bad about the other night and bailing on you this weekend so...maybe I could make it up to you."

"You don't have to."

"Well, there's something else."

"What?"

"He'll be there."

"He as in..."

"Asshole ex boyfriend."

"Oh, now you've got my attention."

"So you'll come with me?"

"Let me clear it with Cuddy and I'll call you back."

"Okay. Great. Thanks, House."

"Okay."

He hung up, grabbed his cane and limped down to Cuddy's office where she sat at her desk.

"I need Friday off. Good? Thanks," he said briefly as he turned around to leave, hoping to make a clean getaway. Of course he wasn't going to get off that easy.

"Hold it! What? Why? You never take time off."

"Yeah, so now I am. It's just one day. Don't get too excited."

"Do you have a case?"

"Nope. And if we do, I have my cell. My team can call me."

"Where're you going?"

"Does it matter?"

"No, I'm just curious."

House tapped his cane on the carpet a couple of times. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Of course."

"You can't tell Wilson."

Cuddy grinned almost wickedly. "This must be some secret. Who is she?"

House pretended to look surprised. "What makes you think there's someone else involved?"

"Oh come on, House. What other reason could there be? My lips are sealed."

"That's what I'm afraid of. I'm going to Vancouver. I'll be back to work on Monday. And that's all you need to know."

"Well then...have fun."

House nodded and returned to his office to call Angela back.

"Sorentis."

"You don't have to answer the phone like that when I call."

She laughed. "Habit. Did you talk to Dr. Cuddy?"

"Yes. And we're good to go."

"Great. I'm actually leaving tomorrow night but I'll be there to meet you at the airport on Friday afternoon. They've asked me to give a presentation because someone backed out at the last minute. I'll email you all the details and I'll see you Friday at YVR."

"YVR?"

She giggled again. "Code for the Vancouver airport."

House shook his head. "Oh yeah. See you Friday then."

"I miss you, House."

He smiled, in spite of himself. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm hoping this weekend we can..."

House didn't hear the last few words because his team came into his office and Foreman tossed a blue folder at him. "We have a case."

"I gotta go," he said quietly and snapped his phone shut, cutting her off.

Angela sighed and put the cell phone down. House was never one for saying goodbye on a call so she didn't give it a second thought. Instead, she grabbed her purse and her jacket and headed to the mall for some last minute shopping before her trip. She had every intention of making it the best weekend of her life, and hopefully an amazing weekend for House as well. As nervous as she was about being away with him, she was also very excited. He obviously wanted to be with her or he wouldn't have consented to come. She just hoped there wouldn't be a scene with Chad.

X X X

According to some of her old friends, Chad still carried the torch for her, even though he was the one that ended things, claiming that she was the worst lay he ever had and that she was very inexperienced. While some of that might have been true, she planned on showing him that she was doing just fine and having House with her would hopefully give her a dose of bravery she wouldn't have otherwise.

And of course there was the issue of House. She always knew she had some deep feelings for him hidden in the back of her mind. From the first day she saw him, she felt safe with him, even though he treated her like she didn't exist to him. That was him and she understood him. Maybe even more than his best friend, her uncle, did. From the first moment he came to her rescue at the Carl's Jr. to when he gave her a ride on his motorcycle, they formed some kind of connection.

She had no doubt that she was in serious danger of falling in love with him. She suspected she might be already, which was another reason she asked him to come with her. What better way to consummate a budding relationship than by going away together? Being away from everyone and everything familiar might be a good thing. Also, there was no chance of her uncle interfering.

When she told her father she was going out of town, he wished her the best and helped her put together a presentation for the conference.

Her Uncle Jim seemed happy that she was going because it meant she wouldn't be around House. Why would he care? House was his best friend. He should be happy for him if nothing else. He actually seemed to be encouraging it in the beginning. Why? And what changed all of a sudden? She didn't care anyway. She was an adult, she could do what she wanted and with whomever she pleased. She didn't want or need his approval. He wasn't her father. If she and House were going to get serious with each other, her uncle would have to learn to accept it. Because as far as Angela was concerned, she was in it for the long haul. House's intentions, however, were unclear.

"Sorentis!"

The voice was familiar and she closed her eyes, wishing for it not to be who she thought it was, even though she knew damn well.

She opened her eyes again to see Chad Michaels in her face, and smiled as politely as she could.

"Hi, Chad. Long time no see."

"You look great, Ang," he smiled and pulled her to him for a hug. Not wanting to ruffle any feathers, she hugged him back.

"You look the same," she said.

He cocked his head to one side. "Is that good or bad?"

"Good."

"I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"They called me and asked if I'd do the presentation on school bullying. Someone got sick and had to bail."

"Ah, well if anyone's an expert on that topic, it's you."

Angela frowned. "Meaning what?"

"Didn't you say you were a victim of bullying?"

"Wasn't everyone?"

"I wasn't."

"No, you were probably the bully." Angela checked her watch. She had to get away from him or she'd say something nasty that she would not regret. "Anyway, I gotta check into my suite. I'll see you later maybe."

"Maybe we can do lunch later...or dinner...or.."

"Maybe. I've got kind of a full schedule, and my boyfriend is flying in on Friday."

"Boyfriend?" Chad repeated the word like it was a foul taste in his mouth.

"Yeah. Sorry, Chad, but contrary to what you might think, I am capable of being in a relationship."

"Who is this guy? Would I know him?"

"I doubt it unless you read medical journals."

"So he's a doctor, then?"

"Yep."

"How long have you been together?"

"Not long. But we've known each other for years. He's a friend of my uncle's."

"So he's older."

"Yeah."

"How much older?"

"Older than you. Look, I really have to check in. I've been on a plane all day and I need to sleep."

"All day? Aren't you still living in L.A.?"

"Nope. I moved. Nice seeing you." Angela couldn't get out of there fast enough. After only five minutes he had already gotten on her nerves. Why she dated him, she still didn't know. She assumed it had something to do with being on the rebound from the first guy whom she genuinely liked and had lost her virginity to. She just hoped that she could avoid him until House arrived in two days.

A/N: Fun times ahead, kids! Stay tuned! I so love conflict! ;)