Kelly was sitting up on her bed, trying to read but having trouble focusing. Mortified by her own actions, excited by his interest, scared of her own interest, and terribly conflicted overall. And of course, completely unsure about how she was supposed to behave when she saw him again.

Eventually she had to find out the hard way. He walked through her door without knocking.

"Dr. House," she began demurely. "You're looking..." She ducked her head and laughed at herself, at them, at the whole situation. "Yeah, I can't do it."

"I wasn't expecting you to be able to pull off nonchalant, don't worry." House had donned his plaid flannel pajama pants and a worn grey tee shirt. Kelly, on the other hand, was fully dressed and well layered. "What's with the get-up? Are you having a relapse?"

"Trying to make up for 'cruel and unusual', that's all."

Feeling extra bold and very relaxed, House leaned his cane against the wall and climbed up onto the bed. "You could easily turn me on in a parka from 20 paces, so don't even bother." He laid down on his stomach on top of the covers, pulling over a pillow to stuff under his head, which was turned toward her. "So... are we okay?"

She regarded him seriously, a little surprised that he was thoughtful enough to ask. "Yeah. Of course we're okay."

He searched her eyes for a moment before saying, "Good. That's good."

"I'm just... uh... not really sure what happens now."

He paused. "Nothing HAPPENS. I mean, nothing has to happen. Nothing's changed."

"Something has definitely changed," she insisted, blushing. She was certain she had blushed more in the past two weeks than she had over the span of her whole life.

"Not for me." His eyes left hers, darting uncomfortably. "I'm just as attracted to you as I've always been. But I'm also not expecting any more from this than I ever did. We have lots of time."

"We have four days," she corrected bitterly.

"Um, okay, maybe you've forgotten that you're loaded. As in, you can afford to come to Jersey whenever you want. Or bring me here. You could afford to buy me my own damn plane. Hell, you could probably afford to buy the hospital and have it airlifted to your back yard."

She shook her head in mock disgust. "I knew it. It's not ME that gets you hot and bothered; it's my money."

"Nope. Definitely you."

"Flatterer."

"I've heard that flattery will get me everywhere," he said with a harmless leer. "My personal travel goal is first base."

"Well, in that case, 'all aboard'..."

Had she expected him to take her seriously? Had she actually been serious when she said it? It all happened so fast that there wasn't a lot of time to consider.

All she knew for sure was that when he rolled onto his side and snaked a hand behind her head to pull her toward him, she didn't open her mouth to protest. In fact, the only time she opened her mouth was to slide her tongue over his. She waited for the red flags or the familiar refrain, but her conscience was blissfully silent, allowing her to focus instead on the sensations of his lips, his tongue, his hands.

Minutes later they pulled apart, breathless.

"First base. Check," he quipped, wide eyed, after a few moments had passed.

Kelly was in an even deeper state of shock, but managed to come back with, "It's good to have goals."

He rested his forehead on hers and chuckled. "I have more. You want to hear them?"

"Do you want a knee to the groin?"

"Groin, yes. Knee..." He trailed off when he saw her warning glare. "Anyway..." He kissed her quickly and sat up. "I guess I should go to bed. Can you come wake me up for breakfast?"

Before he could move to stand, she sat up herself and grabbed him by the wrist. "Where do you think you're going? You... shower... and suddenly you lose your taste for sharing a bed?"

"Actually, it's more like I've gained a taste for not getting my ass kicked by your father. Nothing sends a good first impression out the window like being found in bed with a guy's only daughter."

"My parents aren't going to come down here."

"What if they do?"

"They're not going to."

"You can't know that with absolute certainty."

"Well, if they do, they'll have to knock on my locked door to get in, and you'll have ample time to hide under the bed."

"What if they look in my room?"

"We're not nine, and they're not stalkers. You're a guest in their home, Greg. Just shut your door and make your bed look slept in and we'll be fine."

"You know, for a girl who didn't get to third base until she was engaged - "

"Greg -"

"- you're awfully desperate to get me into your bed."

"- if you ever want to make it to SECOND base, you'll never mention that again."

"Listen." He lifted her hand to his lips. "It was hard enough to share a bed with you before. Frankly, I can't be trusted."

He was kidding, but at the same time he wasn't. And so when he retrieved his cane and walked away, pausing at the door to say a wistful goodnight, she didn't stop him.