Well, we made it! This is the end of the road for this story. I just want to thank everyone who stuck with me through this experience. Your support meant a lot!

I do not own any recognizable characters. Only Shelly and Deidre are my own.

.::13

Three Months Later

Shelly smiled to herself as she listened from the kitchen to the animated discussion going on between daughter and father on the front porch. She added a few ice cubes to the two glasses of iced tea and made her way to the porch just as a car turned into the drive and honked for her daughter.

"Mom, that's Vivian. I'm leaving!"

"I'm right here. Give me a kiss before you go," Shelly answered as she pushed through the screen door, careful that Deidre didn't spill the iced teas she was holding as she hurriedly gave her mom a peck on the cheek and flew off the porch down the driveway. "Back after the fireworks, remember?" Shelly yelled after her daughter, and Dee waved to let her know she had heard as she climbed into the car.

Shelly sighed as she settled onto the porch swing next to House and handed him a drink. The two watched silently as the car pulled out of the drive and headed off, and then Shelly could feel House's eyes on her.

"So what do you usually do on the Fourth of July?" he asked.

Shelly leaned her head back on the swing before answering. "The VNA where I work has a barbeque every year that's pretty painful to sit through, and when Dee was little we used to catch the train to Camden to see the fireworks across the river at the Philly Art Museum. We haven't done that in years, though. Ever since she was in junior high she's been going with Vivian to Great Adventure since their family has season passes. Why?"

House just shrugged as he sipped his drink and pushed the swing into motion, the movement creating a welcoming stir in the hot air of the July afternoon. "I usually stay indoors in the air conditioning watching television," he answered, and Shelly laughed.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments, just the humid buzz of the day and the rhythmic squeak of the porch swing acting as a backdrop as they both ran away with their thoughts.

"So..." Shelly said and nervously swirled the ice in her glass.

"So?" House responded, his eyebrows raised in question while he took a sip of his iced tea.

"I'm assuming you didn't call to come over just to melt here on my porch," Shelly said with a smirk. She could see something flicker in his eyes, but he turned away to put his glass down before she could identify what it was. Leaning back he reached into his jeans pocket and withdrew an opened envelope. He silently held it out to her and she just sat for a moment regarding it before she reached up and took it from him.

"What is it?" she questioned. But House just shrugged and leaned down to retrieve his drink. Shelly started to tremble a little as her mind raced with possibilities but she drew out the two sheets of paper and managed to unfolded them without incident. She recognized that it was his bloodwork results and immediately scanned down the page to find the liver function panel. As the numbers swirled on the page, Shelly was grateful for the last column on the sheet that listed the summary results;

AST (U/L) = within normal range, ALT (U/L) = within normal range, ALP (U/L) = within normal range

Even as she started to shake, Shelly welcomed the feeling of peace that draped over her. The lead ball that she felt in the pit of her belly was starting to dissolve for the first time since that awful phone call from Wilson so many nights ago.

"Greg," her voice faltered a little with emotion and she covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh, God, Greg. It worked."

Before Shelly could help herself she leaned over and hugged him. Hard. All the while biting back the tears that she knew were going to leak out and mark up his shirt anyway. One deep sob escaped before she could help herself, and she felt House's hand come up and rub a few slow circles on her back. Closing her eyes, Shelly had to concentrate on controlling her breathing before she could pull away.

"I'm sorry," she murmured as she wiped the wetness from her cheeks. "I didn't mean to blubber all over you. It's just...it's all so..." taking a deep breath she swiped again at her eyes and finally met his gaze. "I feel like we've all been stuck in a time warp since the diagnosis. With all the uncertainty and lack of a concrete prognosis. This is just real, you know. Proof that we did the right thing." Then realizing how that might sound to him, Shelly looked down at her lap. "Well, maybe not everything right. But at least about your liver."

"Hey," she heard House say, and then watched as his hand moved onto her lap and grabbed onto her fingers. "Look at me, Shell."

She complied and felt herself being drawn in. His eyes were so tender and soft.

"It might not have been the best choices we've made, but look how it panned out." He gave her a small smile and then looked down at the iced tea in his other hand. "And besides, I can't guarantee that any of this would have turned out better if I had known sooner about Diedre." Meeting her eyes again he continued, "When I was in the detox facility, the therapist there said something that got me thinking about how I got to where I was, and," House paused for a moment as if to say something, but ultimately changed his mind. "Let's just say its better I'm in her life now, after I've grown up a little bit."

Shelly managed a smile and squeezed his hand. A truce. It was more than she ever hoped for.

"She's a great kid, Greg. And you've been doing great with her. I think the two of you bring out the best in each other."

The smile he returned was crooked, placating. Shelly could tell he didn't fully agree with her assessment.

"C'mon, Greg," she teased softly, tugging on his hand. "You're not that bad. And now you guys really have some time to get to enjoy each other. A real beginning this time."

His eyes met hers again, and Shelly tried to keep up with the swiftly changing emotions surfacing in the liquid blue pools. Remorse, uncertainty, doubt, hope, and then an unfamiliar intensity. She had to fight against the urge to let herself be drawn in.

"And what about you, Shell?" he questioned in a low voice. The intensity was too much and she had to look away, down at their joined hands.

"What about me? I'll be right here, Greg. I've always been right here. It's not like we'll never see each other. I'm sure Deidre will come up with plenty of venues for 'family outings' just to torture us both." she attempted a half-hearted laugh.

"You deserve more than that. I owe you more than that. I owe you, well, my life, for one thing-"

"Listen," Shelly said straightening up at his morose tone. "We both know how I've always felt about you, from the very beginning. Now I appreciate that your near death experience is giving you new perspective and all that, but if you think I'll cave into a relationship because you think you owe me, then you're right. I deserve better, Greg. I'm not worried that I won't be able to control myself around you, and you shouldn't be worried that you can hurt me. The only way you could hurt me is by hurting Dee, and I swear, right now, that if you EVER make her hurt for some selfish reason, so help me - "

"I get it! I get it!" House pulled away to throw his hand up in surrender to try and calm her increasing agitation. There was a beat of silence and then they both broke into laughter over her near ultimatum.

"Don't tick off the momma bear. Got it," he repeated again. Then he flashed her a small grin.

Shelly moved to fold back up the bloodwork results and replace them in their envelope. Passing it to his upturned hand, she hesitated, biting her lip.

"So, the results. Have you told anyone else yet?" She heard, rather than saw House draw a deep breath and hold it for a moment. "Coward," she teased as he failed to respond, and he suddenly blew the breath out in a swift gust before joining in on her quiet laughter.

Grabbing the envelope he stuffed it back into his pocket and then rubbed his forehead.

"Well, I'm sure Wilson knows already," he replied tentatively. "He hasn't given me puppy eyes in the last two days, so I'm assuming he found out."

Shelly gave an inelegant snort at his answer and retrieved her drink to take a sip. "Because it wouldn't be so much easier to just tell him straight out."

House looked at her in mock horror "And have him blubber all over my shirt?"

They both laughed again, but Shelly still shook her head at him. "What about Blythe? What about your daughter? You're not shoving off the duty of telling Dee about your results on me, buddy."

House just looked uncomfortable.

"GREG!" Shelly was incredulous, and he had the grace to look a little sheepish. "I think I've had enough fun being a messenger for one lifetime." She eyed him from the corner of her vision as she took another sip of her drink.

"I was planning on calling Mom tonight. She has this cookout she goes to with a bunch of the other Marine wives she knows, so I figured I'd catch her when she got home from that. Dee, I..." and he trailed off.

"You were supposed to tell us both before she left and you chickened out?"

House grimaced, then smirked. "Have I always been this transparent to you?"

"God help you, Greg," she teased back, and he smiled.

They both relaxed into the swing again, and House pushed against the porch to set them back in motion.

Lulled by the movement and the heat, Shelly's voice sounded low and thick to her ears.

"You're telling her first thing tomorrow." It was more of a statement than a question.

House turned his head to hold her gaze for a moment, then nodded. "I promise," he replied.

They both continued to swing in silence, both contemplating the past and the present. And the future.

There was a future, and now Greg House would still be in it.

For Shelly, that was enough.

-The End-