House awoke feeling pretty damn good about himself and his life. He'd done the right thing, he'd been worthy of her trust, and he no longer felt like an idiot about his own meltdown because now they were even.

He also awoke alone, which troubled him for only the few minutes it took for him to find the note taped to the bathroom mirror. "Went to church. Back before noon; want to go out for lunch? Thanks for last night. xoxo" Feeling REALLY damn good about his life. Whistling, he stepped into the shower.

A half an hour later he was clean, dressed and ready to go. At 11:45 he went out onto the porch to wait for her. The weather was hot and sunny, but he didn't mind. He surveyed the yard and the neighbourhood with new eyes and whistled some more.

She drove up at 11:50. Seeing him waiting, she parked along the street and got out of the car to meet him, leaning against the passenger door as he approached much slower than necessary. "Hey, stranger."

"Hey yourself." She looked very pretty in the airy floral print skirt and white shirt she was wearing, and he expressed that to her; his language was characteristically crass but she recognized the genuine sentiment.

"Thanks. I almost never dress up for church, but every once in awhile I like an excuse to be a girl."

He stopped about three feet from her and waited.

"Greg... About last night..." She blushed and looked away. "I just...I feel kinda ridiculous about the whole thing..."

He shrugged and said casually, "Seems to me everyone should be entitled to an emotional crisis every once in awhile. I've had mine, you've had yours. Life goes on."

What had she been afraid of? She stepped easily into his arms. "You really suck at being a 'mean bastard', Greg House. You may just have to turn over a new leaf when you get home."

"Not bloody likely." He took her face in both of his hands and gave her a small, tender smile before releasing her and accepting the car keys. "So, where are we going?"

"It's only a few blocks over. And I should warn you we're meeting a friend of mine from my high school days who's been up for the week with her husband. I saw her at church and she suggested we all do lunch. I hope that's okay. I haven't seen her since the funeral, and we hadn't had a good talk for about 6 years before that."

It might NOT have been okay if he wasn't feeling so damn good about his life. But he was, and so it was, and so they went.

Danny and Erica McPherson were nice enough by House's estimation. Young, to be certain. Not all that interesting in the way that he liked people to be interesting. But he did like watching Kelly interact with her friend, animated and relaxed and occasionally resting a hand on House's thigh between bites.

During most of the meal, the women caught up on their lives and the men listened politely, interjecting when the mood suited them but focusing mostly on their food. They had nearly finished up dessert when Erica's husband asked, "So Greg, how long have the two of you been seeing each other?"

The question didn't phase him in the least. "We're actually not together."

"Oh, I'm sorry... I just assumed... Sorry." House suspected he'd just remembered Kelly's recent widow status.

"No problem," Kelly assured him. "Greg and I just met a few weeks ago out east. He needed some time away, and I needed someone to drive home with after a recent surgery out there, and the rest is history."

The cheque arrived and House grabbed it before anyone else had a chance. "I'll take care of it," he said as he stood and followed the waiter to the cash register. Danny excused himself to use the washroom.

"Your friend seems nice," Erica broached, hoping for the real story.

"Yeah, Greg's a sweetheart." In his own way. When he wants to be. In small doses. If you like the tall, crippled, asshole type. All could have been added but did not even cross her mind.

A pause. "Too soon?" Erica hesitantly questioned.

"Most definitely," Kelly told her, not at all offended that she would ask. "He actually has a woman he's interested in back home, though he keeps trying to convince me he doesn't. I've met her; I think they'll be great together if he'll just do something about it." She took a thoughtful sip from House's iced tea, which was only half empty. "But he's been a God-send these last few weeks. Just what I needed."

Erica grasped her hand. "I'm really glad you're alright. You ARE alright, aren't you? This isn't just some elaborate act you've got down to perfection."

Kelly laughed. "No, I'm alright. Finally."

The men returned and they all walked together to the parking lot.

"You guys want to come over for the afternoon?" Kelly asked.

"We'd love to, but vacation's over; we both have to be at work in the morning, and we have almost a seven hour drive ahead of us." They lived outside of LA and worked in the city. "But I hope we can do this again next time we're in town," Erica added sincerely.

"Actually," Kelly told her, "I'll be living back in Sacramento, but I'm in LA on business all the time. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

The strangers shook hands, and the old friends embraced. And then House and Kelly were alone.

"Moving back to the shelter?" he asked.

"Yeah. I can't stay away. And I know that now, thanks to you."

"What can I say? Doctor, guru... I'm a man of many skills."

"So I've heard." She took his hand and walked with him toward the car, throwing him a coy look as she continued. "Maybe I'll let you try out a few more of your 'skills' before you leave..."

Damn, DAMN good. "My God, woman, you must have had a hell of a time in confession this morning."

"I'm Baptist, Greg; we don't do confession."

"Well then, maybe you'd better convert. It seems I've corrupted you." He opened the passenger door for her. "And it's about time; with only three days to spare!"

She touched his arm and said, "Thanks for lunch," before taking her seat.

"Well, it cost me about 60 bucks... which brings my grand spending total for this whole trip up to..." He paused dramatically. "60 bucks. I'm expecting to be paid back with sexual favours."

Even as he continued to outline just what forms of payback he would consider equitable, she couldn't help but smile to herself. Her breakdown had proven cathartic and healing. Her morning in worship had affirmed that her faith was strong and she was not alone. And like House had just pointed out, she still had "three days to spare" with the doctor/guru/friend sitting next to her.

She was feeling pretty damn good about herself and her life. And for the first time in a long time she felt like things could only get better.