Insert all my usual disclaimers and stuff here. Don't own House. Never have, never will.

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An unfamiliar vehicle was in the driveway when he arrived. House assumed it was Celia. He couldn't imagine who else it could be.

House hopped down from the truck and made his way into the house, where he was greeted by the familiar Baxter. Elsa had decided to make an appearance as well, hanging back almost shyly as Baxter almost knocked House over.

"Okay, okay, you're glad to see me." He muttered as he gave each dog a Milk-Bone. "Rob? You around?"

House could hear murmuring and shuffling, followed by a girlish giggle. He couldn't help but smirk a little. "Just let me know when you're decent."

Rob soon appeared, looking slightly disheveled as he tucked his shirt back into his jeans. "Somethin' you need?"

"A ride back to the repair shop." House answered. "The bike's ready."

Rob nodded. "Give me a minute. Celia and I were about to take off."

"Yeah, I could tell." House mocked.

Rob flushed slightly, throwing House a sharp look before disappearing again. House followed, making his way through the house to the bedroom, running into Celia along the way. She smiled shyly and scooted past into the living room.

House smirked as he picked up his jacket and helmet. Clearly things had gone a little farther than he'd initially thought. He almost felt bad for interrupting.

The three of them piled into Celia's truck for the drive into town. It was virtually silent except for occasional small talk between Celia and Rob. Before long, Celia pulled into the parking lot, where House's bike was parked out front.

"Thanks for the lift." House nodded firmly and hopped down from the seat, making his way toward the office. He stopped when he heard an arrhythmic gait behind him, turning to see Rob behind him.

The other man looked a little awkward, shifting the weight off his right leg and shoving his hands in his jeans pockets. "You gonna be gone a while?"

House studied him carefully. "Do you need me to be?"

"Nooo…" Rob glanced down at the ground. "But…I don't know how long I'm gonna be." He looked up with a slight smile. "Might not make it home at all."

House suppressed a smile. "What are you really asking me?"

"Just make sure you check in on the dogs." Rob finally blurted out. "They ain't used to someone not bein' around, you know?"

House let out the chuckle he'd been holding in. "Got you covered. Your furballs are in good hands."

Rob's shoulders dropped slightly in relief. "Thanks, man. See you around." He started to turn to walk away before he stopped suddenly. "Don't forget to go see Caroline."

House huffed and rolled his eyes. "You take care of one sister. I'll worry about the other."

He heard Rob chuckle all the way back to Celia's truck. The truck started and drove away, leaving House alone in the parking lot with his bike.

"Hello, beautiful." He murmured as he smoothed his hand over the seat. "I've missed you."

"You're back!" An excited voice pulled him away his reunion. "You gonna talk to Dad now?"

House huffed, meeting Tyler's hopeful face with a slight frown. "You're just going to hound me until I do, aren't you?"

The kid shrugged and shoved his hands back into his pockets, and House started toward the office.

Mike looked up when the bell rang. "Hey, Doctor House. My boy naggin' you?"

"A little." House took a deep breath. "Got something to ask you."

"Sure." Mike nodded. "Ask away."

House glanced over at Tyler, trying for a warning look before facing Mike. "You know your kid's a little bike-crazy, right?"

Mike let out a short chuckle. "Yep, I know. It's all he's been talkin' about since his last birthday."

"I was thinking…maybe, if it's okay with you…I could let him kind of get a feel for riding one. Using my bike."

Mike's bushy eyebrows shot up so far that they nearly disappeared under his baseball cap. "Tyler, you done cleanin' up the garage?"

"No, sir."

Mike gestured to Tyler with his head to get him moving. After the door closed behind him, Mike took off his baseball cap and rubbed his balding head, cringing as he did so. "The boy's obsessed, Doctor House."

"He's a teenage boy in a small town." House countered. "The need for speed is kind of inevitable."

Mike sighed a little. "Boy was born that way. I think he went straight from crawlin' to runnin'. Been unstoppable ever since."

House drummed his fingers on the table. "Look, I've been driving this thing for years. I can show him the ropes…how to handle it, how to shift, and most importantly…how to lay it down."

A worried frown crossed Mike's face. "Yeah, that layin' down thing is the part I have trouble with."

House shrugged. "He's going to fall off the thing eventually. Might as well learn how to do it right."

Mike looked thoughtful, finally nodding firmly. "Alright. He gets out of school at three tomorrow. Come on down to the high school and once the lot clears out…he's all yours."

House scribbled down the address that Mike gave him and took the keys that he had left behind earlier. "See you tomorrow."

"Yep." Mike nodded. "Good luck with him."

House nodded and left, swinging his leg over the back of the bike and tugging his helmet over his head. It was good to be back on the old girl again, and he started it, revving it ever so slightly.

It appeared that Tyler had done a damn good job. If anything, the thing ran better than it had before. Maybe the kid would do okay riding his bike. House still shuddered at the thought, but shook it off.

He finally dug into his pocket for the scrap of paper containing Caroline's room information, staring at it with a huff. It wasn't as if he could put this visit off much longer. He didn't even know why the idea bothered him so much. Nothing was going on between them. He was just going to check in on her. Nothing more.

House shoved the paper into the pocket of his jacket, slamming down the visor on his helmet and taking off from the parking lot, kicking up a bit of gravel behind him as he did so. The sooner he got there, the sooner he could get this visit over with.

# # #

House could hear voices from Caroline's room as he approached, and he knocked on the open door with his cane to get their attention before poking his head inside.

Marge and Caroline both fell silent, and something akin to a conspiratorial smile crossed Marge's face. She patted Kieran on the back. "Say bye-bye to your mama."

The little boy threw his arms around Caroline and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye-bye."

"See you when I get home tomorrow." Caroline hugged and kissed him in response. "You be good for your granny, now."

Kieran slid down from the bed and took his grandmother's hand, and the older woman lightly squeezed House's arm as she passed. "I'm glad you made it." She whispered.

House groaned internally. All he needed was for Marge to start running her mouth about the stranger who had come to visit her daughter. No, that wouldn't bring Kevin out of the woodwork to kick his ass.

He shook off the thought and eased himself into the chair next to the bed. "So…"

"Yeah." Caroline glanced down at her hands. Obviously this was as awkward for him as it was for her. What the hell were they supposed to talk about?

House huffed and thumped his cane between his legs. "I don't have a goddamn clue what I'm supposed to say to you. I can guarantee that whatever I say will be stupid, offensive, or a lie, and I'm fairly certain you don't want to hear any of the above."

"It's okay, Greg." Caroline managed a weak smile. "You're here. That's good enough for me."

House gave her a skeptical look. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." She told him firmly. "I've only known you a few days. It's not like we've had a chance to talk all that much, you know?" The smile grew a little wider. "Not that I'd mind talkin' a little more."

"About what?"

"I don't know…I guess anythin'."

House debated on where to start. Finally he decided to start with his bike. "That Tyler kid finished working on my bike today. Did a damn good job with it, too."

"Tyler's a good kid." Caroline nodded her head. "He's a wild one, but he's got his head on straight. Mike makes sure of that."

House chuckled a little. "He wants to learn to ride a motorcycle."

"Ain't no surprise." Caroline laughed. "That boy lives for anything with a motor and four wheels. He'll even mow lawns just so he can drive the tractor."

"Yeah, well…I might have offered to let him learn on mine." House thumped his cane of the floor. "Not sure if that's a mistake or not."

"I think that's wonderful!" Caroline exclaimed. "So you ain't leavin' right away, then."

House twisted his mouth. The more he thought about leaving, the more anxious he got. "No, probably not right away. I do still have to go back to Jersey, but…I guess it can wait a few days."

"That's good." Caroline smiled. "It's nice havin' someone new around. We don't get that much around here."

"Yeah, I kind of gathered that."

"Don't get me wrong. It's a nice little town, but…" Caroline shrugged.

"You're thinking about leaving."

"That's about all I'm doin'." Caroline admitted. "Don't know whether I will or not."

"If you did, what would you do?"

"Well…I'd go back to school, I'd find a job, find a little place for me and Kieran to live…just…start over." Caroline sighed a little.

"Funny." House muttered. "I'd been thinking about the same thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah." House shifted in his chair. "I started out taking this big road trip. Didn't know where I was going, wasn't worried about it. I just figured I'd go until I was ready to go back." He huffed a little. "Now…I'm not so sure I'm ready to go back. Not even sure if there's anything worth going back for."

Caroline tilted her head curiously. "Then why not stay?"

House snorted. "All my stuff is still there. Can't just leave it."

"True." Caroline nodded, a thoughtful expression taking over her delicate features. "But it's just you, right? You can't possibly have that much stuff."

"Wanna bet?" House chuckled. "I've lived in that apartment for over ten years. Accumulated a lot of crap in that time. And then there's my piano and my guitars. No way in hell I'd leave those behind."

Caroline's eyes lit up. "You play piano and guitar?"

House shrugged casually. "Yeah."

"Yeah." Caroline teased gently. "Like it's no big deal, like everyone plays two instruments."

House could feel his cheeks warm slightly, and he dropped his head, tapping his cane on the floor again. "It's not like I do it for a living. It's just a hobby."

"It's still pretty impressive." Caroline's expression sobered slightly.

An awkward silence fell between them again, and House didn't know what else to say. Caroline's eyes dropped to the bed covers, toying with them between her fingers.

"Dancing queen…young and sweet…only seventeen…" Caroline lifted her eyes, regarding House with a questioning expression.

"It's my phone." House quickly explained, digging in his pocket for the offending device and opening it, almost grateful for the distraction. "What?"

"House!" Wilson's voice was tinged with relief. "Where have you been?"

House took a deep breath, not sure how much he wanted to share with Wilson. "Here and there. And you?"

There was a brief silence on Wilson's end. "Okay, so I haven't been around much since Sam and I got together. That still doesn't answer the question."

"I took off for a while." House finally answered. "Decided to take a little bike ride."

"I see." Wilson seemed to choose his words carefully. "So…where are you, exactly?"

That was a good question. House wasn't exactly sure. He held his hand over his phone and glanced over at Caroline. "Where are we again?"

"Not too far from Nashville." She answered with a slight smile.

House nodded firmly and returned to his call. "Somewhere around Nashville."

"Tennessee?" Wilson sounded incredulous.

House rolled his eyes. "No, Nashville, New Jersey. Of course Tennessee."

"But…" House could already see Wilson's gaping expression in his head. "Why there?"

"That's where the bike croaked." House replied casually.

"And where were you planning on going?"

The question gave House pause. "I…didn't really have a plan."

"Well, that's just fucking brilliant, House." Wilson snapped. "And what were you going to do when this non-plan failed? Oh, wait, it did. You're in some godforsaken town with a dead bike, with no way to get hold of anyone. Just what the hell were you thinking?"

House was tempted to hang up on his friend, but decided to let Wilson wear himself out. After a few minutes, Wilson finally took a long breath. House took the opportunity to jump in.

"First of all, I'm fine, the bike's fixed, and the town's…not so bad." House gave Caroline a slight smile. "I kind of like it here. Been thinking about staying."

Wilson let out a short laugh. "Right. And what are you going to do there?"

"Haven't got that part figured out yet." House answered with a casual air he didn't quite feel.

"So it's another non-plan." Wilson snorted derisively. "That's great, House."

Wilson had a point, but House was loathe to admit it. "I've got a plan…sort of."

Wilson was silent again, and House thought the other man had hung up on him. "Well…I guess I'll see you when you get back. Whenever you manage to make it back." He paused briefly. "You are coming back eventually, right?"

"Right." House let out a resigned sigh. "Got things to deal with before I think about making a permanent move."

There was another long pause before Wilson spoke again. "My God. You're serious. You're actually seriously considering this."

"Gotta go, Wilson." House replied quickly. "Got a friend waiting for me."

Wilson was nearly spluttering as House closed his phone and shoved it back in his pocket. He looked up to see Caroline regarding him with a curious look.

House merely shrugged in response. "Friend of mine from Princeton."

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Sounded like he was kinda worried about you."

House snorted. "He's not worried. He's just pissed because I didn't give him a typed itinerary."

Caroline shot him a skeptical look, and House huffed irritably. "Fine. I didn't want to tell him where I was going because I knew how he'd react. And I was right." He shook his head. "And you wonder why I'm not dying to go back."

Caroline smiled slightly. "Still, he called you. He must care a little bit about you."

"Doubt it." House muttered, glancing at the floor. "Probably just his conscience bothering him."

He pushed himself out of the chair and limped toward Caroline's bed, trying to avoid her eyes. "Guess I should go. Rob wants me to check in on his beasts."

"That's right. He and Celia are goin' out tonight, aren't they?"

"Yep. And he seems to think he might not make it home tonight." House allowed a small smirk at that, raising his eyes to meet Caroline's.

Caroline covered her mouth, a soft giggle bubbling out. "Sounds like me and her are gonna have a lot to talk about tomorrow."

"If you even see her." House chuckled in response.

"I'd better!" Caroline's smile grew wider. "She's supposed to take me home."

"Well…if she bails on you…" House couldn't seem to stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. "I…could come after you. If you really needed me to, that is." He internally cursed himself for the impulsive move. "I'm sure she'll show up, though. Just…you know."

Caroline reached out and touched House's hand. "I'll keep it in mind. Like you said, just in case."

"Right." House froze at the feel of her soft hand over his, a flash of panic going through him. "I should go."

"Sure." Caroline's voice was soft as she withdrew her hand. House almost immediately turned away, grabbing his helmet and jacket and heading out the door.

"Thank you." Caroline's voice caught him before he could leave.

He turned back ever so slightly. "For what?"

"For everythin'." She smiled slightly at him.

House shrugged. "I didn't do that much."

"I don't just mean all the medical stuff." Caroline told him. "I mean…you comin' to visit. You didn't have to, but you did anyway. It means a lot to me. So thank you."

House huffed, feeling distinctly awkward again. "Don't go into that crap again about what a nice guy I am, because I'm not." He shook his head. "Definitely not."

"I'm not gonna argue with you on that." Caroline replied. "Pretty pointless, since you don't wanna believe it."

"That's because it's not true." House answered sharply.

"I already told you, I'm not gonna argue about that." Caroline told him firmly. "I'm just sayin' that I appreciate everythin' you've done. You're a good-hearted man. Anyone who don't see that is a dummy."

House couldn't help smiling, just a little. "Guess there's a lot of dummies out there, then."

Caroline shrugged. "That's on them. That ain't on you."

The simple words struck House. Maybe, just maybe, the woman had a point. He wasn't sure he wanted to admit it just then. "I'll see you around."

"Bye."

House limped out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him before finding his way out of the hospital. As he put on his jacket and helmet, he found the conversation with Wilson working at his mind.

If returning to Princeton meant returning to that, House wasn't so sure he wanted to go back. He would have to, of course, but it wouldn't have to be permanent. He'd already been spending some time on Rob's computer putting together his CV. Might as well finish the damn thing and start sending it out to see who might bite.

It sounded like the beginning of a plan to House. Wilson would be proud. That is, if Wilson weren't so upset with House.

He would get over it eventually, House decided. He usually did. And if he didn't…that wasn't House's problem. As Caroline had said, that was on him. It would pain him to lose Wilson, but it wouldn't be the end of the world. Would it?

House decided not to give the notion any further thought, simply enjoying the ride between the hospital and Rob's place. For the time being, he was right where he belonged, out here on the open roads. Nothing else mattered.

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