House returned to his own apartment late the next afternoon. He had a lot to think about and wanted to do it in the privacy of his own home which Marius and Lucius had easily agreed to. The first thing he did was go to the bathroom to check out the tattoo on his chest. He studied the symbol carefully, memorizing it as he traced it lightly with his fingers. It was at least sixty percent made up of Marius' tattoo and the rest was a unique design that Marius had drawn specifically for him. He'd never wanted a tattoo, but this one wasn't too big and easily hidden at work. He did some treatment to encourage it to continue to heal and returned to the living room to lay down on the couch and relax in front of the TV.

Getting the tattoo shouldn't have been as big a deal as he made it, he guessed. It wasn't big; he had seen everyone else in the group had one and he had agreed to join Marius group. He couldn't say that Marius hadn't explained what that meant before he agreed to join. He hadn't mentioned the tattoo but with the way tattoos were becoming mainstream he probably hadn't thought it would be an issue. The bondage and domination crowd weren't shy about tattoos, he'd seen that for himself long before meeting Marius. It wasn't even the risk of disease; he knew Marius wouldn't use a tattoo artist who was lacking in equipment hygiene. It had to be a leftover from his father who associated tattoos with street gangs and hooligans. You'd think that would make me want to get one, he thought wryly. Well, it was there now so there was no point dwelling on it anymore. Now it was just a matter of taking care of it so it healed up right.

But the big issue he had to wrestle with was the solitary room and what happened after he had been released. He wouldn't admit it, but he had been scared after Sidney turned off the light and left him in the room like that. It rang too close to the kind of things his father had done to 'discipline him' when his mother wasn't home. Not having any reference for how much time had passed made it so much worse by tapping into his deepest childhood fears of being forgotten, unwanted and left like so much trash. He didn't believe that Marius would do that to him, not at all, but it just hit so close to home he couldn't think or feel around it.

Lucius left him completely unnerved, although the past few days had been enough for him to see that Marius trusted him even though he'd been nervous before Lucius arrived. Marius had insisted that Lucius wouldn't pull them apart and Lucius had done the same when he'd come and picked him up from the hospital that night. Even with that reassurance, he kept wondering when he'd be cut loose. He couldn't shake the feeling, it had happened so many times in his life. Especially when he compared the way he'd behaved with the way Timmy and Sidney behaved. He was hopeless, he thought with groan, leaning forward to pour himself a finger of bourbon. Why Marius wanted him was still beyond him but he knew that he still wanted Marius, wanted him more than anyone else in his life, even Wilson and he never thought anyone would ever pass Wilson.

Fact was that Lucius put the fear of God in him and he didn't even believe in God. It was more than just the certainty that his orders would be obeyed. He understood that attitude, he had the same feeling with his ducklings and was equally outraged when they didn't obey his commands. When he looked into Lucius' eyes though he saw a definite dark streak there that left him in full flight or fight mode and yet part of him was drawn to Lucius for that very reason. Marius trusted him completely, as did Timmy and Sidney, so that dark streak couldn't be as bad as House's imagination made it out to be. After a little more thought, he realized that it was the authoritarian way Lucius held himself and gave orders with. In his head, all he heard was his father's voice and it made him want to resist every time.

House shook his head and reached for his cell phone to call Wilson. He needed something 'normal' to take his mind off things. Too much self-analysis for one session. Anymore and he might wind up drinking more bourbon than he'd planned to.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Wilson asked. "Look, I'm sorry about the way I went off on you that night."

"Forget about it. Any other time, you'd have been right," House answered. "You busy tonight?"

"No, no, Sam's filling in for someone tonight. What did you have in mind?"

"How about some drinks and pool?"

"Sounds good. Should I meet you or pick you up?" Wilson asked.

"Pick me up, I'll show you where the place is," House answered. "About an hour? Need to shower."

"Sure, see you in an hour," Wilson replied happily and hung up the phone.

One hour later, Wilson arrived at House's apartment and knocked, coming in as House called out to him. House came out of the bedroom, carrying socks and shoes with him.

"Just need another minute," he commented. "Decided to soak in the tub instead of a shower."

"No rush," Wilson shrugged, plopping down in the armchair to wait for him, watching to judge how much pain his friend was in and pleased to see that he seemed to be mostly pain free.

"What?" House asked as he looked up and realized that Wilson was watching him.

"Just happy to see you not hurting," Wilson replied with a sunny smile. "Seeing Marius agrees with you."

"Yeah it does," House acknowledged as he finished tying his shoes and stood up. "Getting a thorough massage a couple times a week makes a big difference too."

"Still having Brandy come over?" Wilson asked with a grin.

"Sometimes," House admitted. "But Marius has a guy that works for him as a servant that gives deep and punishing massages. He's got out knots that Brandy could never touch."

"Yeah but does he give you a happy ending?" Wilson joked.

"No, but Marius sees to that part," he answered with a grin.

"Okay, too much information." Wilson held up his hand to stop that line of thought. Not that he had any problem with House being bisexual but it bothered him to think of him with Marius. Some small part of his mind accused him of being jealous but he drove that down fiercely. He had Sam; he was happy. Wasn't he?

House said nothing more, though he saw that there was more to the request than just to leave out the details. He grabbed his coat and Wilson followed him to the car.

"Okay, where to?"

House gave him directions and a few minutes later they pulled up in front of Marius' pub.

"This is way different a place than you normally haunt," Wilson remarked as he parked the car. "Looks respectable."

"Har, har," House sniped but chuckled as well. "I'm raising my expectations now that I'm clean."

"Hey, you won't see me complaining," Wilson shot back, locking up the car and following House to the door.

The bartender greeted House by name and got them both a bottle of beer and within moments House was racking up the balls for them.

"This is really a nice place," Wilson commented as he chose a pool cue.

"Marius owns it," House answered, figuring he'd just get that fact out in the open right away.

"Is this where you met him?" Wilson asked, curious in spite of himself to find out more about the relationship House had hidden for so long. "It doesn't really seem like the kind of place that uh… sort of thing would happen," he finished lamely.

"What bondage and domination?" House asked, grinning at the blush that Wilson was now wearing. "It isn't, don't worry."

"How did you meet him?" Wilson asked as House broke and sunk the first ball.

"I was bored and seen the place a couple of times. Thought I'd check it out. Got some food and sat in a booth to watch the game. He came over and sat down. Told me some shit about looking for a companion and thinking we might meet each other's needs. I told him I wasn't looking for a blowjob. He said neither was he. Yet. Anyway, I left right after that. He had charged my bill to the house." House missed and stood back as Wilson stepped up to take his turn.

"So when did you get together with him?"

"The night of the tower collapse," House answered, growing serious and quiet. Wilson glanced up and saw grief on his friend's face and was surprised to see it displayed so openly.

"What happened when you left the hospital?" Wilson asked softly.

House looked up sharply but took a breath and reined in his emotions. "I was a wreck after amputating Hannah's leg and then watching her die in the ambulance. When I went home that night… no one tried to stop me but Foreman and he didn't try hard enough. Not as hard as it would have taken in the condition I was in. I went home and pulled the medicine cabinet off the wall. That's where I'd stashed those Vicodin bottles. I was going to take enough to numb all the pain and emotions away. Maybe even enough to OD on," he admitted. "But I couldn't decide if I wanted to throw away sobriety and my license. I remembered Marius had said something about us being each other's anchors. So I called the bar and all I could say was 'I need an anchor'. He never hesitated. He got my address and was there in what seemed like seconds. Told me to pack some things and leave a note for you and took me to his house."

"That's… wow. A lot for someone you'd only met once," Wilson replied, feeling guilty about not seeing how badly House had been affected by that patient.

"Yeah, it was. I asked him why he was doing it. He said, because he wanted to help me," House answered, stepping forward to take his turn again.

"So you spent a couple of nights there, if I remember right," Wilson prompted, wanting to know the rest of the story.

"Yeah. He helped me shower then put me in a hot tub to soak for a while. I fell asleep but found out the next morning that he'd made arrangements to have the apartment fixed and got an assortment of canes that I could pick one from. I think I left mine in the wreckage," he explained. "Then he put me in his bed to sleep. When I woke up the next day and called in, he told me he didn't want me to go home until I was stable. I argued a bit but… I didn't really want to leave and be alone with the Vicodin and booze."

"So what did you do that day? Rest?"

"A bit. He left to go do some business. I searched his whole house while he was gone."

"Of course," Wilson grimaced, shaking his head. "Some things never change."

"Hey, he told me later he expected it. I didn't find anything that he hadn't told me except for a trunk of bondage equipment in his closet. I was holding up a leather collar when he got home. He just smiled and said I was welcome to wear it but there were conditions I might not be ready for. I decided he was right and put it back in the trunk. He brought me here that evening. Told his staff I could only have one drink per hour and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them to budge on that. First time I'd ever been to a bar and went home sober," House said, looking up at Wilson penetratingly. He wasn't sure if Wilson would like the idea or not. Usually Wilson got just as drunk as House did when they went out together.

"Wow. Did you enjoy going home sober?" Wilson asked, frowning just a bit as he wondered the same about House.

"Yeah," House answered, still with an air of disbelief. "I did. I still do. I watched some of the game, played darts, pool and cards, had a few drinks, dinner and some snacks. I was hoping you'd want to do that tonight," he asked tentatively.

Wilson smiled and put his hand on House's shoulder. "I'd love to," he answered honestly.

After a round of pool and a game of darts with a couple other patrons House had met before, he and Wilson were seated in a booth eating dinner.

"So when did you actually get together with him? Did you… you did decide to be his sub, didn't you? I mean, he didn't force it on you or anything? In repayment or something?" Wilson asked, still worried about how this master thing worked.

House chuckled and shook his head. "No, he didn't force me and it wasn't in repayment for anything. Remember the weekend I spent with him in New York City?" Wilson nodded. "That was when I decided to become his sub. But it's more than just bondage scenes. It's always in place, all day, every day. The only time he won't call me away is when I'm at work with a patient. That nightmare a few days ago was an anomaly."

"See this necklace? He gave it to me along with the traditional leather collar. When I'm at home or with him, I wear the leather collar. The rest of the time, I wear this necklace, even at work. It's a reminder that what we have isn't just a scene. It's for real life, 24/7." House studied Wilson's face carefully, desperate to know whether this would drive an even bigger wedge between them, one that might just snap what little was holding them together apart.

Wilson cocked his head to the side to study the necklace then nodded. "I wondered why you'd started to wear it every day. I thought maybe your mother had given it to you. So… how much control does this arrangement give him over you? I mean, do you still have your own money?"

House grinned and chuckled. "Yes, I still have control of my own money, he doesn't interfere at all with my job, I have my own place. What it gives him is the ability to call me to come to his house any time I'm not at work. It can be just for a few hours or a whole weekend. He's forbidden me from getting drunk anymore, which should be good news for everyone. He can ask me to do things that I normally wouldn't."

"You mean… sexual things?" Wilson asked in a whisper, leaning forward with an alarmed look on his face.

"You know, maybe this shouldn't be a public conversation," House remarked, feeling uncomfortable as he glanced around the busy pub. "If you still want to know, I'll tell you when we get back to my place."

Wilson agreed, really not wanting to talk about it in public either but he did plan to learn more tonight. It would be incredibly awkward to talk about it but he wanted to make sure House wasn't into something he'd get seriously hurt by whether physically or emotionally.

They spent another hour or so in the pub, enjoying a game of cards with two other guys before returning to House's apartment.

House hesitated a moment as Wilson closed the door and hung up both their jackets but decided 'in for a penny, in for a pound.' He removed the necklace, putting it in the dish by the door he kept for that purpose, and put on the leather collar while Wilson watched wide-eyed.

"Like I told you, when I'm at home, I'm supposed to wear this one," House explained, going into the kitchen to grab a couple of beers and handing one to Wilson on his way to the couch. Wilson followed and sat down next to him.

"I remember," he commented. "It just seems surreal to me."

After a few moments of silence, Wilson found his courage and turned to face House. "So… tell me about the things he can ask you to do when you're with him."

"Sure you want to know?" House stalled.

"Positive. I'll probably turn three shades of red but I want to know what you're into. I'm worried that you're in danger with him," Wilson answered.

"I'm not in danger with him," House answered firmly, meeting Wilson's eyes. "Really."

House took a deep breath to steady himself. "All right. So, one of the first things he did was make me depend on him to walk instead of my cane. Told me he wanted me to trust him at least as much as I did a piece of wood," he said with a shrug as Wilson chuckled and nodded. "Every time I'm at his house, he has me sleep in his bed with him, not in a guest room. The other thing he did first was break me of not wanting anyone to touch me."

"Really? How did he do that?" Wilson asked, surprised since House was notorious for disliking being touched, backing away or even blocking anyone from approaching with his cane.

"He took off all his clothes and then told me to take off all of mine. The first time, he didn't touch me at all, just made me sit next to him in front of the fire for a couple of hours," House admitted, looking toward his own fireplace but sneaking glances at Wilson to judge whether to continue. Wilson was slightly shocked but nodded.

"So when did he start touching you?"

"The next time we were together. He was slow and gentle but he touched me everywhere. Everywhere," he emphasized and Wilson blushed. "But he then told me to touch him everywhere too. It was weird but… it made it easier to take and made me curious. He isn't at all self-conscious to be seen or touched. It took a couple more times and then he started with sexual touch. A blowjob, a handjob. It wasn't until just recently that he actually fucked me. My request, before you ask. It just built to a point that I was finally ready."

Wilson nodded, brows furrowed at the idea but not shocked to know that House would enjoy men as well as women. "Does he ever used bondage items on you? Or, uh, discipline?"

"Just started in the last week or so. He's pretty good with it. No welts left, a little bruising but not bad. Gags, blindfolds, straps, paddles, crop, flogger. It was a little harrowing, given my childhood years but after it was over and I had some time to figure it out, it was okay," House said.

"Wow," Wilson said after a moment. "I just never figured you'd go for something like that after all the pain you've had with your leg."

"Fair assumption," House admitted. "I don't know. It's different when there's sex involved," he added, smirking at Wilson's red faced discomfort. "Hey, endorphins override the pain, you know that."

"But you're adding more pain, doesn't that… I don't know, cancel each other out or something?"

"No, because it's combined with arousal and done in such a way to keep building arousal so the endorphins keep coming."

"That really works?"

"If you're into that sort of thing. If you aren't, then no it won't work. But me… I've always had a masochistic streak," House answered with a shrug.

"You've also got a sadistic streak," Wilson shot back, but his face showed he was relieved to finally have House open up about his relationship with Marius.

"So then, you and Marius. You're a couple then?" Wilson asked.

"Well, no, not a couple," House answered slowly, frowning as he wondered how to label their relationship. "I don't know that he thinks of me that way. He has a couple of servants that I know of and I know they're in the same master/sub relationship with him. I'm supposedly low man on the totem pole but he has them serve me like they do him, so I'm not really sure what all that means."

"So what happened that night you got picked up in the park? You said you were going to meet with him and something upset you. What was it?" Wilson asked, meeting House's eyes, still a bit concerned for him.

"His master was coming in that night and wanted to meet me. I didn't know that he even had one and I thought – I thought that maybe his master would make him get rid of me. Marius said he wouldn't but he seemed really nervous and uncomfortable. I went to the park to think what it might mean and whether I'd go back to meet his master. I got picked up instead."

"So, you're master has a master too," Wilson repeated, to make sure he was following this correctly. "I can see why you thought that. Did you meet his master?"

"Yeah. His master, Lucius is his name, picked me up from the hospital once my patient was stable because Marius was sleeping. He's still in town, staying at Marius' place. In fact, Lucius was the one who arranged for the lawyers that cleared that whole mess up. He's really intense. Makes me really nervous like he can see right through me."

"Well," Wilson began, pausing for a minute. "I'm really glad you finally told me about all this. I can't say I understand the attraction for it but I can see that Marius has been really good for you."

House and Wilson watched another movie before Wilson headed for home and House went to bed. He was truly relieved and glad that he'd been able to talk to Wilson and didn't lose his friendship over it.

He woke up around 4 in the morning and couldn't get back to sleep. Settling on the couch he channel flipped to find something to watch. Around sunrise, he had a sudden shot of clarity about the tattoo. He'd been so consumed in fighting against getting it that he'd failed to extrapolate what it meant. A tattoo was permanent. Ordered by Lucius, marking him as one of Marius' clan and by extension Lucius' greater clan. Duh, he thought. Lucius would never have done anything permanent if there was the chance he'd separate him from Marius. Why hadn't he been able to see that before? It meant he'd been accepted and approved of, that he belonged to their group as a 'family'. That comforting realization allowed his mind to finally relax and he drifted to sleep to the drone of the morning news.