Blythe called House on Saturday morning, and told him she'd stayed at Andy's the night before. She didn't go into much detail, but House got the impression that the visit was going smoothly so far, and as he left for his drive up to Newton, he couldn't help but wonder just what was happening between the two of them. He stopped only once on the way, to get gas, and was listening to CDs and lost in thought for the rest of the trip, forgetting to stop again to stretch and walk. There was quite a bit of traffic this time, so the trip took longer than the first time he'd gone with Wilson, who had done most of the driving that time. He wasn't feeling very well when he finally arrived around two o'clock, but figured it would ease up once he was out of the car and moving around.

He saw two cars near the house as he parked across the street. One was in the driveway, an unfamiliar Ford Focus that was likely his mother's rental. Colleen's black SUV with Rhode Island plates was parked on the road, next to the driveway. So, they were all here already, waiting for him. He limped heavily up to the door and rang the bell. Colleen opened it and greeted him with the expected hug.

"Hi, Greg," she said. "We were starting to worry about you. Was there a lot of traffic?"

"Yes, more than last time," he said. "Hope you didn't wait on me for lunch."

"Well, yes, we did, but we've been snacking a little."

Blythe came up right behind Colleen and hugged him tightly. "It's so good to see you, honey. It's been too long."

"Hi, Mom," he said, hugging her back and giving her a kiss. He walked into the living room and greeted Andy. "You're looking better, Andy. Feeling well?"

"Yeah - very well, in fact. I don't think I'll need the cane much longer."

"That's great. I'm not surprised – you're pretty determined, and I'm sure you've kept up with the PT. Good job."

"Have a seat, Greg," Colleen said. "Lunch will be on the table in a few minutes."

He sat on the couch with Blythe and looked at her intently, trying to decipher from her expression just how things were going, with Andy as well as with Colleen. She smiled at him coyly, and he raised his eyebrows in response. Then he absent-mindedly starting rubbing his leg, and Blythe, ever attuned to his body language, picked up on it immediately.

"Are you feeling okay, Greg?" she asked. "Your leg's bothering you, isn't it?"

"It's okay – just a little sore from the drive."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I've been sitting too long in one position, though. I need to walk and stretch it out. Maybe I'll pace around the backyard for a few minutes before lunch." He stood up to head for the yard, and gasped at the first step, nearly falling. "Damn," he said under his breath.

Blythe went to him quickly, and reached for his free arm. "You're not okay. Andy – do you have a heating pad?"

"Yes," Andy said. "It's in the hall closet."

"That's not necessary," House said through gritted teeth. "Just let me go try to walk it off."

"Okay," she said, feeling helpless as she watched him limp heavily to the back door and go out onto the patio.

"Does this happen often?" Andy asked, once House was outside.

Blythe sighed. "I don't know how often. He never talks about it. But there are days it's just worse than usual, and unfortunately, this seems to be one of them."

Colleen walked in from the kitchen and asked, "What's going on? Where's Greg?"

"He's walking out in the backyard," Andy said. "His leg's giving him some trouble."

Colleen looked out the window and saw him walking back and forth with a determined glare on his face, yet wincing noticeably at every step on his right side.

"Poor guy," she said. "Is there anything we can do for him?"

"I've already tried," Blythe said. "When he's like this, the best thing is just to leave him alone and let him deal with it himself. He doesn't like people hovering. Let's just give him a few minutes."

Out in the yard, House paced, hoping the cramping and spasms would work themselves out quickly. He took his pill bottle out of his pocket and dry-swallowed two, and then glanced back at the house and saw the three of them watching him from the window. Great, he thought to himself - of all days for this to happen. He was here to attempt to move forward with these relationships, and now he'd become the unwitting, and unwilling, center of attention. He truly hated it when everyone was looking at him and worrying about him. But it was better to do this out here, he thought, than to pace around the living room and have to see their faces as they watched him struggle through it. After about ten minutes, the Vicodin was starting to kick in and the pain was ebbing a little, but he kept walking, hoping to stave off another flare-up. Eventually, after another few minutes, Blythe came out of the house and walked over to him.

"Any better?" she asked him softly.

"A little. I'll come back in pretty soon. You can go tell them."

"Don't push it, honey. Take as long as you need."

He stopped walking and said, "I'm sorry, Mom."

"Nonsense. It's not your fault. They understand, Greg."

"But I'm spoiling the visit."

"No, you aren't. Did you really think you could go forever without them seeing you in pain? They're family. It's okay for them to know the truth about what you go through sometimes."

"But I didn't want them to see it."

"I know. It was inevitable, though. Don't obsess about it."

"So, while we're alone out here, Mom – tell me, how are things really going with them? I mean, you've been here a whole day already, and you didn't say much this morning."

"It's going well. Andy and I caught up on a lot of life history yesterday, and then had dinner and a relaxing evening together. He's … well, he's pretty amazing. He seems to have really forgiven me, and that's more than I expected so soon. We're getting along very well."

"So you decided to stay here last night?"

"Yes – in the guest bedroom, Greg."

"I didn't ask which bedroom."

"But you wanted to know."

"So, you see this as just a friendship?"

"I didn't say that. I didn't say that nothing physical happened between us, or won't in the future. We're just taking it slowly."

"And how about Colleen? When did she show up today?"

"Just a couple of hours ago; we haven't had that much time to get acquainted yet, but she's been very cordial."

"Cordial. That sounds rather formal."

"Well, she may be a little wary of my intentions toward her father, which I can understand."

"Yeah. She loves him, a lot."

"I know. And I'm happy for him that he has such a devoted daughter. If I were her, I'd be a little suspicious of me too."

House glanced at the house again. "They're probably wondering what we're doing out here so long."

Blythe shrugged, and said "Let them wonder."

House laughed. "You're getting pretty brave in your old age, Mom."

"It's about time, don't you think?" she said, looking at him with a mixture of guilt and sadness.

"Better late than never," he said. "Come on, let's go back in."

She took his left arm and they slowly made their way back to the house.