A/N: I get the feeling November may have not been the best time to post this. Either that or it just really sucks. :\

2004

Doctor Eric Foreman began to grow frustrated with House, his endless mocking and refusal to follow hospital procedures. Things came to a head while they were treating renowned jazz trumpeter, John Henry Giles. When House disregarded John Henry Giles' Do Not Resuscitate directive, Foreman told Chase and Cameron he wanted to resign. Giles' doctor was Marty Hamilton. Foreman did his residency with Hamilton and respected him immensely. When Hamilton offered him a job in Los Angeles, Foreman resigned and took the job. House saved Giles and relieved the swelling on his spine allowing him to walk again. Though Hamilton's diagnosis of ALS was wrong, Foreman still left.

House sat at his desk reading a medical journal. Cameron entered and placed several resumes in front of him.

"These were the best," she told him. "Just like you wanted."

"Got it," House said dismissively.

Cameron turned and left. House put down the journal and flipped through the resumes. His breath left him when he looked at the last one. Reilly McGrath. All her qualifications were listed along with a New Jersey address. She hadn't worked for fourteen years. House stared at her resume for a long time, then slowly reached out and picked up the phone. She answered after the third ring.

"McGrath residence," she said.

"Reilly."

He heard her gasp. "Greg?"

"Yeah. I got your resume. When can you start?" he asked.

"Monday," she said. "How are you?"

"Be here at eight," he said and hung up. He put his head in his hands. She was coming back and she would see his cane. She would learn about his leg. She would see how much he changed and that terrified him.

Monday morning Reilly dropped her daughters off at school and then drove to Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. She parked in the visitor's parking lot and walked into the main lobby. It was bright and orange. She looked to her right and saw the entrance to the clinic. A representative from Human Resources called her on Friday and told her to report there first. She crossed the lobby and entered the elevator. She walked down a long hallway to the HR department where she filled out endless amounts of paperwork, got her picture taken for her ID badge, got her radiation monitoring badge, a lab coat and finally her ID badge. She was then given a tour of the hospital and assigned a locker. Her tour guide left her on the fourth floor and wished her luck. Reilly smiled and walked down the hallway until she saw the door to Greg's office. The room was dark but the conference room next to it wasn't so she went in there. There was a white board propped up on an easel. A small kitchenette was in one corner and a desk with a computer sat in another. Reilly looked at the books on the bookshelf next to the desk.

"Good morning."

Reilly turned to see a very beautiful young woman with long silky brown hair, blue-green eyes and a sweet smile. She hung up her bag and put on her lab coat.

"I'm Allison Cameron," she said crossing over to where Reilly stood.

"Reilly McGrath. It's nice to meet you," Reilly said taking Allison's hand and shaking it.

"Welcome to Diagnostics," Allison said with a smile. "Doctor Chase will be here shortly. Doctor House usually arrives about ten."

"It's just the four of us?" Reilly asked her as they moved to sit at the long glass-topped table.

Allison nodded. A young man with thick blonde hair and green eyes entered. He smiled when he saw Reilly.

"Morning," he said. He was Australian and had an easy going smile. "I'm Chase. I see you've met Cameron."

"Yes." Reilly was confused. "Um, you call each other by your last names?"

"Yeah," Allison told her. "It's a habit we picked up from House."

Reilly nodded. "What do you usually do while you wait for him to arrive?"

Chase took out a paper and opened it to the crossword puzzle. "Pretty much anything we want unless we have a patient. Can you make coffee? Foreman did it but he's gone and Cameron can't make a decent cup to save her life."

"Neither can you." Cameron shot back.

"I can make coffee," she assured them. She got up and walked over to the coffee maker. Within minutes the smell of freshly brewed coffee filled the conference room.

"There are snacks in the cabinets," Cameron told her. "If you eat all the animal crackers you have to replace them. They're House's favorite."

Reilly suppressed a grin. So, he still loved animal crackers. He used to eat them all and then she carried the box around like a purse.

"I'm going down to the cafeteria," she said. "Would either of you like anything?"

"I'll take a bagel with cream cheese and tomatoes if you're buying," Chase told her with a cheeky grin.

"I'll go with you," Cameron said.

When they returned from the cafeteria with food, another doctor sat at the conference table talking to Chase. He had neatly combed dark hair, thick eyebrows and warm brown eyes that widened when she walked in with Cameron. Reilly looked at him and smiled.

"Wilson," Chase said. "This is Reilly McGrath, Foreman's replacement. McGrath this is Doctor Wilson. He's the head of Oncology and House's best friend."

Wilson looked at her with sympathy when Chase said that. He stood and walked up to Reilly.

"It's nice to meet you," he said and the word finally hung unspoken in the air between them. Reilly looked at him. They were nearly the same height so she could look him in the eyes. He looked like a good man. Reilly was glad Greg had Wilson in his life.

"Nice to meet you, too." she said. She smiled at him. "Have you had breakfast?" she asked.

"Don't feed him. He's like a stray cat. Feed him and he'll never leave."

Reilly slowly turned to face Greg. He had a scruffy beard, his hair had some grey in it and he looked tired. He leaned heavily on a cane.

"You fed the kitten in Portugal," she told him. "It left."

"Just like you did," he commented as he limped into the room and threw his backpack into his office.

"Unlike the kitten, I came back," she told him.

"I see you're using your maiden name," he said looking at her from beneath lowered brows. "I bet Smug loves that."

She shrugged. She knew the others were watching them closely. She could feel the shock and curiosity radiating off Chase and Cameron.

"I changed it back after the divorce," she told him looking at him steadily.

"How'd you manage that? Catholics don't get divorced."

"I did."

"Why?"

"He cheated on me."

"Did you grow to love him?" he asked with a slight sneer in his voice.

She laughed ruefully. "No."

"Told you not to marry him. I love being right."

"Glad to see that hasn't changed. What happened to your leg?"

"Infarction. You're still wearing the necklace I gave you when we graduated."

She touched the caduceus hanging on its thin silver chain around her neck. "I've never taken it off."

House nodded and limped into his office. He sank down in his Eames chair and lifted his legs up on the foot stool. Reilly followed and sat down next to his feet.

"Why didn't you tell me about your leg?" she asked.

He shrugged. "There wasn't anything you could do about it." He looked away. "How about getting me some coffee and then finding us a patient."

Reilly stood up and looked down at him. "You still belong to me, Greg," she whispered. "And I belong to you." She walked back into the conference room, got a red mug, filled it with coffee and plenty of sugar and carried it back to him. Once he took it, she walked out of his office toward the elevator. Cameron appeared at the door.

"You know her." It wasn't a question.

"Good guess," he answered. "What gave it away?"

"You've known her a long time."

House sipped his coffee and finally she went back into the conference room. Wilson walked in and turned one of the chairs in front of House's desk around. He sat down and looked at House.

"So, that's Reilly," he said as he leaned back in the chair. "She's gorgeous."

"You're married and not her type," House told him crossly.

Wilson began to laugh. "She owns your ass!" he crowed. "She knows all your little secrets."

"Don't you have some dying people to hover over?"

Wilson got up. "This is going to be interesting."

House rolled his eyes.