And House's investigation goes on.

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Chapter 122.

"So now I think we'll have a bidding war for that hospital seat," I told Jess that evening over a rare steak and baked potato with everything on it. "I bet that'll make Cuddy happy."

Jess grinned. "She should have known what she was letting herself in for when she asked you to deal with my father."

"The more interesting thing was his reaction to the name Carlo Molino." I scratched just below my right ear, not ready to share my speculations with her. I knew she was over her mother's death, as much as anyone who loved a parent could be. But I wasn't sure how she'd handle the possibility that her father had anything to do with the accident that took her mother's life. An accident that could have killed her, her sister and/or her brother, too.

She shook her head. "I can't believe he's connected to Molino. What do they have in common?"

"They're Italian, and also businessmen. Beyond that, I don't know." I shrugged. Time to change the subject. "I learned something else about Molino, or at least I think I did."

"What's that?"

"I believe one of the reasons Francesca came to the states was to get help with a fertility issue."

Her eyes went wide. "You're kidding. No, of course you're not. You wouldn't have said it that way if you were."

"Cuddy has a friend at a hospital in Palermo who told her Molino made a contribution to their fertility study after his wife died."

"So? That doesn't prove anything." She grinned. "Sometimes your mind makes jumps that are beyond comprehension."

"I think we should prove that I'm right about why Francesca came to New Jersey."

She crossed her arms in front of her. "And how do you propose to do that? Sounds like you expect me to help."

I nodded. "We are going to the fertility specialist at Princeton General."

"Huh? But why? I thought you didn't want kids. And why Princeton General? Isn't there someone at PPTH we can talk to?" She frowned.

"The leading specialist in this area is Paul Jerome. If she came here, I'm sure that's who she went to see."

"You can't just ask him whether she was a patient." The indignation in her voice wasn't a good sign.

"No. But there are ways to get that information."

Her eyes narrowed. "Legal ways?"

I shrugged and smiled.

"So where do I come into this scheme of yours?" Her arms were still folded and the frown hadn't left her face.

I sighed. "We're going to make an appointment to be tested. That's all we'll have to do."

"Famous last words."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I mean every time you say something like that, things seem to escalate exponentially and become much more complicated." She closed her eyes, then opened them again. "I realize how important it is for you to solve this puzzle, but I don't have the time right now to play games, especially with strangers."

I hadn't expected this kind of reaction from her. "I promise. Once we go to see Jerome and get tested, I'll take it from there. You won't have to do anything else." I wasn't going to beg. Worse came to worse, I'd find someone else to do this with me.

Jess sighed. She nodded slightly. "Okay. When do we see Jerome?"

"The sooner, the better. I'll try to make an appointment for tomorrow or the next day."

"Maybe I should do that. Isn't it usually the woman who consults the specialist and the man goes along reluctantly?" She put her hands on either side of my face. "I'll call in the morning and find out whether they can fit us in."

I smiled at her, guessing she was over her original reluctance to pursue this plan.

"Who knows what will come of it, though." She smirked.

I wondered what she meant by that, but hid my confusion by pulling her closer and kissing her. "That's my girl."

In the morning, after breakfast, she made the call. I sat at her side, listening intently to her side of the conversation.

"Yes, we can be there at two." She grinned at me and held up the thumb of her free hand. "Thank you very much." She finished the call and turned to me. "So what's going to happen when they find that there's nothing wrong with either of us?"

I shrugged. I hadn't really thought about next steps. Somehow I thought they'd find something, or at least say they did so they could get us to pay for all kinds of treatments. "If they tell us there's nothing wrong, we'll figure out what to do. But by then, I'll have the information I'm after, so it won't really matter."

"Well, I'd better get over to Nina's. We're still brainstorming on a name. She seems to like Mobile Munchies. I'm leaning toward Traveling Tastes."

"Good luck." But my mind wasn't on the name for her business. "I'll meet you at Trenton General at two." I kissed her goodbye, then finished my second cup of coffee and put the mug in the dishwasher.

There was something else I should check, but for the life of me I couldn't think of what it was, so I grabbed my keys and headed for the hospital. I grinned when it came to me halfway there.

None of the team were in the conference room. I settled into my desk chair and turned on my computer. There had to be records of the accident that killed Jess, Nina and Petey's mother, a newspaper story or an accident report or something. It didn't take me long to find what I was looking for. The headline was "Theresa Giordano Killed in Car Accident." The truck driver who hit them was charged with DWI and manslaughter. A later, shorter article reported that Mike Morgan pleaded no contest and served half of a ten-year sentence before being released on good behavior.

The name Mike Morgan was common enough, so why did it ring a bell? I brought up the articles I'd bookmarked when I researched Francesca's death. Bingo! Mike Morgan was the man whose car hit hers. I don't believe in coincidence, but it could mean so many possibilities, I wasn't sure which might be true. Had Giordano and Molino met because the same man killed their wives several years apart? Or was he a hired gun, or in these cases, driver? Paid to cause the accidents? No, that was nuts. Who would take the job, knowing they could spend years in jail for the crimes? And did, at least for the first one. He was acquitted in the case of Francesca's death.

I wasn't dumb enough to confront Morgan to find out what he'd tell me. Besides, what did I have that I could use to convince him to tell the truth?

I wondered what would happen if I brought it up with Jess' father. He'd probably side-step the truth, although I already knew he wasn't as good at deflecting as the master.

Wilson appeared in my doorway, interrupting my train of thought.

"What do you want?"

"Do I have to want something?" He smirked at me. That meant trouble. "Nina said something about you having dinner with her father?"

"Yes. Jess and I had dinner with him at Johnny's restaurant. It's not a secret."

"What did he want?" His forehead furrowed.

"Didn't Jess tell all to her sister? We sort of made nice and convinced him that Jess and Nina's new business would be successful, so he doesn't have to worry about them."

"That's it? Johnny didn't have a problem with having him there, did he?"

I shrugged. "Why should he? He was able to show off and make sure Peter realized how good the restaurant is. Why? What did Nina say?"

"She's anxious. I think she's getting very nervous about starting this business."

"She shouldn't be. And her father is nothing to worry about. All she has to do is come up with a name for the company."

"Name?"

"Yes. Didn't she tell you? The name they were going to use was taken."

"And you think that's their biggest problem?"

I smirked. "I know it is."

"She's seemed awfully anxious lately," he repeated. "Honestly, House, I don't know what to think about it."

"Relax. I'll have Jess find out for you. Maybe it's something she's not willing to share with you."

"Maybe." He looked upset by the prospect.

"You've got it bad, haven't you?"

"House, she's the most amazing women I've ever met." He held his hands out, palms up.

"More amazing than any of your wives? More than Amber?"

"I...I'm beginning to think so." He half-turned to go. "I don't want to waste any more of your time."

"It 's happened before."

A slight smile crossed his face. "No, you're the one who's always coming by to waste my time."

He pointed both hands to himself. "See you later, House."

"Later, Wilson." I wasn't surprised how his feelings for Nina had progressed. I'd been attracted to her at first myself. But Jess was much better for me. I was amazed that she felt anything for me. I smiled thinking about her.

I'd always thought that caring for someone would take away my edge. I think it was after I was shot, during my hallucinations, that I'd told Cuddy that what I had, what I valued most in myself, was my brain, my ability to connect disparate facts to obtain a diagnosis. That was my gift to the world. I might not care about all of my patients, but I'd always cared about finding the solution to the puzzle of their illness. There was no place in my life for a relationship. That would only distract me. Maybe I was wrong.

I was still able to solve puzzles and, as Jess said earlier, to connect dots that others didn't seem to be able to. And many times the connections I saw helped me solve the mystery at hand. So what was eluding me this time? There was a connection between Peter Giordano and Carlo Molino through the man who killed both their wives, but what I needed was a connection between Molino and the Locarnos. I didn't know of any Locarno wives that had been killed in a car accident. In fact, the only accident I knew of was Ricky's, and that was on the track during a car race.

The people who would know were Tina and her brother, uncle and grandfather, but she was probably the only one I could approach. Would she think it odd if I called and asked her to lunch? The only way to find out was to try.

I found her number and punched it in. "Tina, this is Dr. House. How are you today?" I hate small talk, but sometimes it's necessary.

"Just fine." There was a cautious note in her voice.

"I wanted to thank you for sending us to your brother. You know, he found the perfect property for Jess and Nina for their new business."

"Yes, I heard. That's so cool."

"I wondered if you were free for lunch today."

There was silence on the other end of the phone, but finally she said, "Yes, I'm free."

"Jess and I would like to take you out to thank you." I didn't know whether Jess would agree, but if not, I could always say something came up and she couldn't make it.

"Sure. Where and when?"

I did a fist pump and told her.