Sunday

Wilson jolted awake the third time the phone began to ring. He looked around, disoriented, and wondered how he'd managed to get from the bar to his room. The last thing he remembered was Bill shooing everyone out of the bar at closing time, and even that was a fuzzy memory. He sat up and groaned, holding his head. The shrill pulse of the phone beat in time to his second hangover in as many days, and he reached over to answer it if for no other reason than to make the noise stop.

"H'lo?" Wilson mumbled into the phone.

"James?"

Sam. Wilson's head shot up, his mind crystal clear and instantly wary. "Sam. Hi."

"Is everything okay? This is the third time I've called."

What the fuck kind of question is that?! You just served me with divorce papers - how is anything supposed to be okay?!

"Yeah. Everything's fine."

"I just wanted to double check when your flight's supposed to get in."

The words left Wilson't mouth before he realized he was saying them. "Why? So you can be sure not to be there when I get home?" he said bitterly.

The stony silence on the other end of the line told him everything he needed to know.

The dueling cacophony of sound that was both the alarm going off and the phone ringing sent searing pain through House's brain as he struggled awake. Rolling over to sit up, he pressed the heels of his palms into his eyelids before yanking the cord for the alarm clock out of the wall as he reached for the phone.

"Somebody better be dying," House growled dangerously into the receiver.

The hotel clerk on the other end was rendered speechless by the menacing voice. After several long seconds, she squeaked out, "Uhm...this is the front desk, Dr. House. You asked for a wake up call," before quickly hanging up the phone.

House stared at the now-dead receiver for a moment, then slammed it onto the cradle. Fuck. He rubbed his hands over his face, getting up and making his way into the bathroom. After relieving the pressure in his bladder, House reached over and turned on the shower. He climbed into the tub, folding himself to fit under the shower head and tilting his face up to meet the stinging spray.

Wilson felt numb as he stood in the shower, trying to wrap his brain around Sam's phone call. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. He wanted to punch the shit out of something. Most of all, he wanted not to care.

House wandered out of the bathroom, toweling himself off and draping the towel around his neck as he rummaged through his bag for clothes. He was looking forward to one last decent relaxing breakfast before getting a cab out to the airport. After dressing, he stuffed his worn clothes into the duffle bag and was pulling on his sneakers when the phone rang again. He glared at it as it rang several times before finally answering.

"What?" House snarled.

Wilson was taken aback by the venom in House's voice. Definitely not a morning person, he thought with wry amusement.

"House. It's James Wilson."

"The fuck d'you want this time of the morning?"

Wilson ignored the vitriol. "I thought maybe we could have breakfast together before heading out to the airport."

House sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I'm probably going to regret saying this but… Fine. 15 minutes. Meet me in the lobby." House hung up the phone without another word.

They walked to the diner in relative silence, Wilson trying to engage House in conversation while House ignored every idle comment and deflected every question along the way.

Lisette was surprised to see the doc and his friend walk through the door as she made the coffee rounds. She was sure they had already left the city. She watched them settle into the same booth they'd sat at the day before. Lisette walked behind the counter, swapped out the empty coffee pot for a full one and grabbed a couple of large mugs on her way over to their booth.

House could tell by the look on Wilson's face that he was trying to process something and needed to vent. Holding the menu up to his face so he wouldn't have to watch the shifting emotions, House tried to decide what to eat. He spotted Lisette approaching the table from his periphery and shot her a sly grin from behind the menu.

"'Mornin', boys. Didn't expect to see y'all back here. Heard things ran late over at Bill's last night." Lisette chuckled as she set the mugs down and poured their coffee.

House snickered while Wilson groaned, reaching for the coffee and taking as large a swallow as the hot liquid would allow. Lisette looked from one man to the other as they placed their orders. She shook her head, grinning to herself as she walked away wondering how two people so very different could be friends.

Wilson could no longer keep the morning's conversation to himself. "Sam called," he said, trying to sound nonchalant but failing miserably at it.

House looked over the top of the menu at Wilson. "The evil bitch who just served you with divorce papers? That Sam?"

Wilson nodded, staring into his coffee cup. "She said she was just double-checking on what time my flight is due in."

House was only half-listening. He put down the menu and didn't think twice before responding. "Yeah. So she could make sure she's not there when you get home."

Wilson looked up at House in amazement. "How could you possibly know that?"

House shrugged. "Why else would she call?"

Wilson thought about it, and had to admit House had a point. While he was considering a response, Lisette returned with their food. She put their plates down and let them know she'd be back with more coffee.

House reached across the table and snagged a piece of bacon from Wilson's plate. Wilson rolled his eyes and his brain briefly flirted with the idea of stabbing House's hand with a fork to teach him a lesson, but instead used his fork to cut into the massive waffle that almost covered his entire plate.

"Is it even remotely possible for you to eat without taking something off of my plate first?"

House grinned, chewing on the bacon. "Nope."

After they finished their meals, Wilson found himself paying the bill yet again. Lisette and House looked at each other for a long moment before she grinned at him and swatted him in the arm with her order pad.

"Y'all don't be a stranger now, Doc. I expect you to come back and visit."

House shot her an impish grin. "Where else am I gonna go?"

Lisette laughed and turned to Wilson, hugging him. "Y'all better come back too. Someone's gotta keep him out of trouble."

House and Wilson made the short walk back to the hotel from the diner, each lost in their own thoughts. Neither man said anything until the elevator doors slid closed.

"Thank you," Wilson began.

House said nothing. Here it comes, he thought derisively. He stopped listening as Wilson went on about how much he appreciated what House had done for him...something...and nodding absently as the doors opened to the third floor. Wilson offered his hand before leaving the elevator.

"Bye, House."

House shook the offered hand. "Bye, Wilson."

It wasn't until a few days later, when Wilson finally had a chance to unpack his things from the trip, that he found the note with the lawyer's name and number written on it. He briefly wondered if he should call the number, see if the lawyer had been able to get the charges dropped. Then he remembered the first words House had said after bailing him out of jail. I took care of it.

Wilson crumpled up the slip of paper and threw it away.

FIN