Chapter 24

"I'm falling in love with you."

House let those words repeat in his head a few more times, but he was unable to respond.

"You're freaked out, aren't you?" Angela asked, her voice sounded sad all of a sudden and then she turned away from him, pulling the covers up to her neck. "Never mind. Forget I said anything."

House stared up at the ceiling and cursed himself. He should say something. Anything. Now she was upset because for once, he didn't have a response.

"Angela…"

"Just go to sleep, House. I'm tired. I just rode you like a dime store pony."

House grinned. "And what a great ride it was."

He wanted to tell her that her words meant something but he couldn't make them come out of his mouth. What was wrong with him? He knew he felt something for her. Was it love? He wasn't sure. There had always been something about her that made him want to protect her, but he wouldn't call it love by any stretch of the imagination.

Eventually he fell into a deep sleep and when he awoke, Angela was packing her suitcase.

"Check out isn't until 11. Get back into bed," he mumbled.

"It's ten. And our flight leaves at two."

"That's not for four hours," he groaned as he rolled onto his back and reached for his Vicodin bottle. "Come on...come back to bed. I'll make it worth your while," he grinned with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"That would take longer than an hour. Now get up and get your stuff together if you want breakfast."

Upon the mention of food, House dragged himself out of bed and got dressed. Most of his things were still in his suitcase so he decided to take a quick shower. When he came out, Angela was staring out the window, completely in a zone. He limped over and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm sorry," she sighed.

"What for?"

"Last night. I shouldn't have said anything."

"It's okay. You were just saying how you felt."

"In a moment of pure post-coital bliss. I lost my head."

"It happens."

"House, look, I realize that's a lot for you to accept. I'm guessing you haven't had many women tell you they loved you."

"Just one. And I don't even know if it was the real thing."

"You mean with Stacy?"

"Yeah. I can't really blame her for leaving after the infarction. I was a complete bastard to her and I drove her away on purpose."

"Because you blamed her for what happened?"

"Yeah, among other things."

Angela kept quiet and let him talk. It was the first time he'd ever actually talked about Stacy or the infarction and she'd always been curious.

"Anyway, it's over and done with."

She looked up at him and placed her hands on his chest. "House, you're under no obligation to love me back. I know emotions are hard for you. Just know that that's how I feel. You can choose to accept it or ignore it. But I'm putting it out there."
He smiled down at her, but it was a weak smile. "You always did wear your heart on your sleeve. It's cute but dangerous."

"Tell me about it. It's gotten me into trouble more times than I care to count."

They stood together, just holding each other in silence until House's stomach rumbled. "I need to eat."
"We can eat downstairs."

"Yeah, sixty dollars later. Why don't we just go to the airport and eat there?"

Angela shrugged. "Sure."

They gathered their things and headed down to the lobby. Angela handed her valet ticket to the doorman and he went off to get her car.

"They're bringing the car around front. Let's go."

House nodded and limped behind her, slinging his duffel bag over one shoulder. The snow had stopped falling by then but the roads were going to be treacherous.

"Want me to drive?" House inquired as they tossed their bags into the trunk.

"I can drive in the snow just fine. Besides, the main roads should be clear. The ones to the airport anyway. I've suffered through many Canadian winters over the years. This is nothing."

"Show off."

"Takes one to know one."

X X X

Monday morning came all too quickly for House. He was not looking forward to going into work and being interrogated by Wilson.

In fact, as soon as he stepped off the elevator, Wilson came down the hall from his office.

"Do you have me on the radar or something?" House snarked as he limped to his office and tossed his things on the floor.

"How was your weekend?"

"Fine."

"Just fine?"

"I don't kiss and tell."

"I think you just did."

House smirked as he dropped unceremoniously into his chair and put his feet up. "Did you talk to Cuddy?"

"Yeah but she wouldn't tell me anything. I did, however, talk to David."

"Great. So you obviously know where I was and who I was with."

"Yes, but what I don't know is why."

"Do you honestly want to know?"

"That depends."

"On?"

"How upset you might get."

"Why do you think I'd be upset?"

House looked at his friend and it was a serious expression. One that basically said "don't insult my intelligence."

"She called me last week and asked me if I'd come out there. Her ex boyfriend was there and we had words with him. What an obnoxious little prick. How she dated him for as long as she did is beyond me."

"What else?"

"She gave an amazing presentation the next day and then some captain from Winnipeg asked her out…while I was in the room."

"Wow."

"She told him no but it didn't help my ego much. We had a bit of a fight about that."

"House…there's something you're purposefully not telling me. Why?"

"I'm not getting into it with you."

Wilson pointed at House and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "You slept with her."

House rolled his eyes and used his cane to propel himself to his feet. "I'm done talking about this. Whatever I say or don't say is going to piss you off and I don't need that."

"She's my niece, House."

"Yeah. Your niece. Not your daughter. Cut the cord already. David doesn't have a problem with us so I don't see your problem. You were certainly encouraging it in the beginning."

"I was not!"

"You told me I should go out with her when she asked me out after your sister's funeral. Now you're acting like some…over-protective and overbearing big brother. She's not a kid anymore, Wilson. She's an adult. The state recognizes it. Why can't you?"

"Because if this…thing you two have going blows up, I have to deal with the fallout."

"It's too early to be thinking about the impending doom of our relationship. Just leave it be and let things develop. I don't know what's going to happen."

"How long have you two been secretly seeing each other behind my back?"

House chuckled. "It hasn't been behind your back. You already suspected."

"The fact that you two have been inseparable this past year should have raised a flag but I guess I didn't want to think of my best friend violating my only niece."

House groaned. "Well, when you say it like that it sounds dirty."

X X X

"So, what are we doing for Christmas?" Angela asked House as she sat on the piano bench beside him as he played.

"We?"

"Yeah. Pardon me if I'm being presumptuous here but it was my understanding that couples spent time with each other on the holidays."

House snickered but continued to play. "What do you usually do?"

"I cooked a turkey last year for Uncle Jim and my Dad. It was nice."

"Gonna do that again this year?"

"If I do, will you come for dinner too?"

"For turkey, hell yeah. I missed the one on Thanksgiving."

"I know," she sighed. "You got that nasty flu that was going around. I spent the night playing Nurse."

House stopped playing and looked at her. "And what a sexy nurse you were. So, what do you want for Christmas?"

"I'm easy."

He rolled his eyes. "Well I know that already. But what do you want?"

Angela giggled and playfully slapped his arm. "What do you want?"

"Surprise me."

"Oh gee. That's about as vague as my answer."

"You get what you give."

"There must be something you want."

He shrugged. "I trust you."

Angela sighed and shook her head. Then her mouth turned into a coy smile. "Would it sound incredibly cheesy if I said all I wanted for Christmas was you?"

House had to laugh. "Very. But I can get down with that. The Christmas tree you put up looks awfully empty underneath it. I think we should fill the void."

"Fill it with what?"

He got up and held out his hand to her. "C'mere and I'll show you."

She got to her feet and he wrapped his arms around her waist, slid his hands down to her ass and pressed her against him.

"My my..." she giggled. "Someone's excited."

"You look good tonight," he whispered before kissing her. It wasn't the passionate kiss she was expecting, but it was still damn good. Was there nothing that man couldn't do? Sometimes, all he had to do was look at her a certain way and she completely melted. All train of thought? Gone. Never mind that when he kissed her, be it a simple peck or a deep, passionate kiss, she felt like she was lifting off.

"You'll look even better naked under my Christmas tree."

"Your Christmas tree?" she laughed. "As I recall, I was the one who put it up and decorated it."

"Yeah but it's in my apartment. Ergo..."

"Are we going to spend the rest of the night arguing about this?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him, to which House looked on the defensive.

"We can if you like."

"House?"

"Yeah?"

"Just shut up and kiss me, already."

"Mmm," he murmured and kissed her again with more heat than before. His lips were warm and soft, and his tongue was hot as it swirled against hers. She barely noticed the way he lowered her to the floor and then found herself laying beneath the tree with him partly on top of her. "Definitely better than arguing," he whispered as he began to unbutton her shirt and slipped a hand inside.

Angela hissed as his hand gently stroked one of her breasts, and then the other. By then, he'd gotten all the buttons undone and was peeling the shirt away from her. She wrapped her arm around his neck and drew him in closer for another kiss, which he was all too happy to reciprocate. He loved the way she kissed.

She began unbuttoning his shirt and then slipped her hands underneath his T-shirt to feel his warmth. He reached around to unhook her bra and slid the straps down her shoulders until it joined her shirt on the floor next to them.

When he bent his head to kiss her breast and ran his tongue over her nipple, she thought she'd die right then.

"Mmm...that feels good..."

Her hand slid down his chest, past his stomach and over the bulge in his jeans, and it was his turn to moan. She gently rubbed her hand over him until she got impatient and unzipped his jeans. House unbuckled his own belt, snapped open the button and pulled them off, leaving him in just his shorts.

"You're a little overdressed," he chuckled as he reached for the tops of her lounge pants and pulled them down her legs.

Angela gave a contented sigh as she lay back and let House kiss her everywhere. His lips and his hands just barely grazed her skin and she felt hot and cold all at once. When he felt her shiver, he stopped and looked down at her. "Cold?"

"A little."

He reached up and grabbed the chenille throw blanket off the couch and draped it over them. "How's that?"

"Much better. I can't think of anywhere else I'd rather be," she smiled.

House returned her smile with one of his own and she felt a flutter inside of her. It was a smile that reached his eyes, a genuine grin that she rarely saw.

"Still in love with me?" he asked.

Angela smiled even wider. "I'm more in love with you than I ever thought possible. You've done something to me, House. I don't know what. I do think it's been building up over time, ever since I was a kid. And I know that even if I never saw you again, my last thought this side of the grave would be of you."

House was a little overwhelmed by that, but he didn't show it. Instead, he kissed her and they made love under the Christmas tree, slowly and tenderly.

A/N: One more chapter, kids! It'll either get posted later tonight or early tomorrow. Thanks again to those who've added this story to their favorite list.