Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, only the ideas...

They finally managed to get a ride to a nearby gas station from a truck driver. It had taken a long time. Five cars had driven straight by them, and because four of them were driven by women, House didn't miss the chance to push Wilson's buttons.

"You know, Wilson, I am starting to see the flaw in this plan."

"Which plan?" Wilson asked distracted, opening the first button of his shirt.

"The 'let's get a ride' plan. You see, it seems would rather die than get inside the same car as you."

"House, they probably are just scared to offer a ride to a stranger while they're alone."

"Yeah! I would be afraid too if the stranger looked like you! You have cheater written all over your face."

Wilson sighted. Then he started signalling that they needed a ride to the truck that was the first to stop so they could come up.

"I bet he doesn't have a problem with the way your face looks," House whispered, and Wilson ignored it.

It wasn't such a long drive to the next gas station, but it was not much fun either. The truck smelled like sweat and mould, and the driver probably had not showered for days. As if that wasn't enough, Wilson had the seat in the middle, and he and House were elbowing each other the whole way, with the Diagnostician trying to push Wilson against the driver.

As soon as they got to the gas station they jumped off the truck, as relieved for leaving as the driver was to see them go. Wilson took a moment to look around. It was just like most road gas stations, with four pumps, to be operated by the drivers themselves, and an old caretaker in the back, from whom Wilson hoped to get a bottle or a gallon of gas. There was also a small convenience store/restaurant and a bar.

House was walking to the bar. Wilson held his arm to stop him.

"House, what do you think you're doing?"

"It looked a lot like walking."

"We are here for gas, not for you to go and get yourself drunk!"

"Why? It's not like I'm driving, is it?"

Wilson let go of his arm, looking defeated.

"You really are unbelievable," he said simply.

"Oh, relax, Wilson. Think about it. Even if we have the gas, we're going to need someone to drive us back to the car. And what's a better place to make friends than a bar?" He asked, and they walked in.

Wilson glanced at the place... It was not as empty as he would have expected it to be, even though it was, after all, far from everywhere else. There was a pool table and a bunch of guys playing badly, close to another group playing poker. In the corner there was a strange figure, the kind of mysterious guy who talks to no one and looks at no one, whose attitude does not constitute a problem until the cops come by for a visit... The bartender, however, looked like a lumberjack with no problems to keep the police away from his bar with his fists. He was "cleaning" the glasses with the same filthy piece of tissue, apparently unaware that germs have been known by mankind since before he could put two words together, but then again, maybe he couldn't do that just yet.

Wilson walked after House into the bar and they sat next to each other on the high benches, looking at the lumberjack.

"Two beers," House ordered, pointing at the bottles he preferred. The guy gave them to him with an expression of admiration. He would not have imagined that people who dressed like him would ever walk into his bar, not to mention Wilson, whose ironed social outfit made House look a lot like a homeless drunk.

Wilson looked at him admiringly, as well.

"Yeah, I know my way around," the diagnostician smiled, opening his bottle and sounding very full of himself. Then he realized that Wilson's beverage was still untouched. "Oh, I know what a drinker you can be, Wilson. Are you shy?"

"I am driving!"

"Come on! A couple of milligrams of alcohol in your bloodstream won't make the cops stop us!" House drank a bit, talking to the oncologist with a mocking tone.

"Could you be any more irresponsible?"

"Sure I could! I'm just not trying hard enough! For example: I could suggest you challenge those guys over there," he indicated the pool players. "They really do suck! You could beat them!"

" Why would I do that? Listen, do you realise I'm in the middle of something here? That this trip is something serious and I don't need one of your twisted "adventures" right now?"

This time House rolled his eyes before saying, "Yeah, it has occurred to me."

Wilson breathed deeply, looking at his untouched lagger. Before he could even realise that House had given in too soon, he heard the Diagnostician yelling, "Yes, James, you are right! I've never seen a worse pool game before!"

The level of conversation in the bar diminished abruptly. People started looking at them.

Wilson said in a whisper, "What the heck do you think you are doing?"

"We need a ride. Or do you expect us to go with those guys?" He indicated what appeared to be a young couple, leaving the bar discreetly, the young husband so pale that he looked like he didn't know what they were doing in the bar to begin with.

Wilson opened his mouth. Those were exactly the kind of people he hoped to get a ride from.

"Well, even if you did, they just left," House smiled and finished his beer before saying out loud. "They suck? That's a little hard Wilson!"

The silence was absolute now. Even the creepy mysterious guy in the corner seemed to be paying attention. One of the guys, an old, tall, gray-bearded guy with plenty of tattoos on his right arm, walked towards House and Wilson. Wilson knew he had to do something, "Do not listen to him, he's an idiot."

"So you ain't talking about us?" he asked Wilson. Obviously, he had believed House.

"Absolutely not. All we need is a ride to-" Wilson tried to explain before being interrupted again.

"We don't need a ride from a guy who has a teddy bear tattooed on his arm," House stage whispered, loudly enough for the other one listen. "He's certainly gay!"

"Are you taking to me?" the bearded one asked.

"I don't see anyone else here," House said looking at him, and others in the bar laughed. Wilson looked paralyzed.

"Oh, funny boy, aren't you?" the guy asked and looked at the others for a second.

House pointed out his cane.

"Hey, you wouldn't hit a cripple, right? Besides, my friend here is a black belt in karate and state champion in the amateur boxing league!"

"House!" Wilson protested.

The tattooed giant studied Wilson for a moment. When he turned back to face House again, he hit him hard and fast on the face with a right cross.

"House!" Wilson gasped.

House had been pushed back strongly, breaking some glasses. He touched his bleeding nose and grabbed his cane.

Others were laughing.

"Not so funny now, are you?" the one who had punched him asked.

Wilson walked forward to intervene. He touched the guy's arm to make him look back, and House used that moment of distraction in his favour. He hit his opponent's stomach with his cane and a second later hit the front of his blue jeans. The guy yelled in pain, screaming curses and threats, but House had knocked him down already.

"Guess what: I wasn't trying to be funny. The blue mark on your neck tells me you are HIV positive, and since you use sleeveless shirts to expose your teddy bear tattoo I can see you didn't get it by injecting drugs. That's how I knew you were gay!" He hit the guy on the chest with his cane once more. "Have fun explaining that to your macho pool player friends." He looked at Wilson and they both left the pub.

Wilson waited till hey were outside to explode, "Making friends? Do you call that making friends?"

"He's my younger brother. He wants to be just like me when he grows up," House explained Wilson's yelling to a couple of people who had been standing just outside the bar and now stared at the two of them. Then he swallowed a couple of Vicodin pills.

Wilson seemed to have calmed down.

"Here, let me fix this," he started to inspect up House's wound. "I have a medical kit in the car but of course we can't get there because instead of a ride you managed to get a bar fight!"

"Would you stop? The lecture almost makes all of this unworthy! Besides, we will get the ride!"

"I'd like to see how!"

But not one minute after Wilson saying that, a young guy got out of the bar and walked directly to them. He looked like a college geek and was wearing a Monster Trucks T-shirt.

"Hey, I saw what you two did back there, man, it was amazing!" he smiled, a very shy smile. "Those big guys think they can intimidate anybody! And you're so right, their game did suck, it's like they never had a lesson in geometry all their lives! I'm Stephen, by the way. Heard you needed a ride..."

Wilson's face fell and House explained their situation to the boy, telling him Wilson needed to get some gas before leaving. Stephen said he'd be waiting in the car. When Wilson was alone with House again, he asked, "What just happened? How did you-?"

But before he could even finish the question House answered, "You need a little more faith, Wilson. When have I even let you down?"

Wilson decided not to dignify that question with an answer.