Yep, back again. Don't own House, only the O/Cs, so on and so forth.
# # #
Caroline was scared. She was in trouble, again, and she was sure he would come back and beat her, again. God, what was wrong with her? Couldn't she do anything right?
The figure loomed over her as she sank to her knees, trying to choke back the tears that threatened to spill over. If he saw her tears, she would be in even more trouble, and he would hurt her even more.
"Look at me." The figure's voice rumbled, low and threatening. A rough hand took her chin and jerked it upward. "I said look at me, goddammit!"
She refused to meet the figure's eyes, even as she thought her neck would break from the strain. The hand moved down, curving around her throat, a thumb stroking lightly.
"Now look here." The voice continued. "You're just gonna have to get a hold of yourself. Can't have you throwing a fit. It ain't ladylike. Now stand up."
Shaking like a leaf, she stood to face the figure, but she couldn't make out the face. The figure let out a low, menacing chuckle. "That's my girl. Knew you'd come to your senses eventually." It sighed, a clearly recognizable sound that sent shivers of fear down Caroline's spine. "Why you always got to fight me, girl? Don't you know I love you?"
"You don't love me." She answered, tilting her chin defiantly. "If you did, you wouldn't whoop on me."
The hand around her throat tightened, and the figure leaned in. "If you'd act right, I wouldn't have to whoop on you. You're hardheaded, real hardheaded." The figure leaned in to whisper in her ear. "Don't you know you'll never do no better than me? That old cripple ain't gonna do shit for you. He'll just use you and throw you away like the trash that you are."
"You're wrong." She managed to gasp out. "He's a good man, better than you'll ever be."
"You cheatin' slut!" The figure hissed, the face coming into focus. "I shoulda killed you when I had the chance. If I can't have you, ain't nobody else gonna have you either…"
Caroline flailed uselessly as the hand gripped tighter, slowly cutting off her air supply until the darkness started to overcome her. It didn't stop her from fighting harder and harder. He could try to hurt her all he wanted. She wasn't going down without a fight this time.
"Let go of me!" She choked out, kicking and flailing. "Let go, let go, let go…"
"Dammit." The voice grumbled, but the voice had changed. "Wake up."
Caroline's eyes flew open, and she found herself surrounded by darkness. She quickly sat up, gasping at the pain in her ribs that had been temporarily forgotten.
The figure next to her shifted and pushed itself to a sitting position, muttering and grumbling. Caroline could hear the sounds of rustling fabric, and she could just make out the movement in the darkness.
Suddenly everything clicked. Caroline reached over to turn on the bedside light, turning back to see House sitting up on the bed next to her, rubbing his leg with a grimace on his face.
"Oh my God." She blurted out. "Are you okay?"
"As okay as I can be." House grumbled. "You should have that knee registered as a lethal weapon."
"I'm sorry." Caroline shifted closer. "Anythin' I can do?"
"No." House snapped softly. He turned his head to study her. "What about you?"
Caroline shook her head. "I'm fine. Bad dream, I guess."
House huffed and rolled his eyes. "I meant the pain."
"Oh." Caroline rubbed at her ribs lightly. "It's nothin'. I'll be alright."
"You should take something for it." House told her.
"I'm tellin' you, I'm fine." Caroline answered firmly.
House shifted and pushed himself out of the bed with a grunt. "Guess I'll take your share, then."
With that he limped heavily out of the room, and Caroline eased herself back onto the bed with a sigh, rubbing at her taped ribcage again. It hurt far more than she let on, but she wasn't going to let House know that. It was her fault that he was hurting in the first place. Surely he wouldn't be that concerned with her pain.
House soon returned, circling the end of the bed and placing a prescription bottle and a glass of water on the bedside table. "Just in case you decided to stop being a stubborn idiot." He explained roughly.
Caroline couldn't help but smile a little, though she made every effort to suppress it. She had a feeling House wasn't in a humorous mood right now, and she didn't want to do anything that might upset him further. "Thank you. That's very kind."
House shrugged and leaned heavily on his cane, glancing around awkwardly before looking at his watch. "Look, it's the middle of the damn night, and I don't think your mom would appreciate some old cripple snuggling up with her daughter. I should go."
"You don't have to go." Caroline told him. "Mom likes you."
House snorted derisively. "She won't like me so much if she finds me here. Probably get your neighbor guy to come after me with a shotgun."
"I doubt that." Caroline laughed, even as a little twinge of sadness coursed through her. She extended a hand to him. "I promise not to kick you around no more."
"That's mighty kind of you, lady." House affected a slight twang as he stepped forward to take her hand, awkwardly bending down on one knee so that he was eye level with Caroline. His expression sobered, his bright blue eyes almost penetrating her very soul. "However…this is a bad idea for so many reasons that I can't even begin to list them all."
"I suppose you've got a point." Caroline finally conceded. House was right. She was a walking train wreck. A man would be a damn fool to get tangled up with someone like her.
She could feel the lump growing in her throat, and she fought the tears that she knew would spill over any minute. Don't let him see you cry, she told herself. You'll just make things worse for yourself if he sees you cry.
The first tear fell over and rolled down her nose, and she jerked her hand away to wipe at it furiously. House regarded her with a curious expression. "Is it something I said?"
"'Course not." Caroline rolled to her back and quickly brushed at her eyes.
"Then what's the problem?"
"Ain't no problem." Caroline turned over so that her back was to House.
"Obviously there's a problem if you getting all choked up over there."
Caroline sighed heavily, forcing herself to calm down before turning back over to face House. "There's no problem. You're just right, that's all." She forced a smile. "Wouldn't want to do nothin' foolish."
House's expression seemed to soften slightly, and he pushed himself to his feet, gesturing for Caroline to move over. He eased himself on the bed with a wince. "If you're serious about leaving that jackass husband of yours behind, then you need to focus on that. You don't need any…distractions."
Realization started to dawn on Caroline. She carefully pushed herself into a sitting position on the bed. "You ain't a distraction, Greg. I'm real glad we met, you know? If we hadn't…maybe none of this would be happenin' now."
A slight smile spread across House's rough face, but it didn't seem to reach his eyes. If anything, it seemed to be a sad smile. He reached out to cup Caroline's face, stroking her temple with his thumb.
He let out a short sigh before pulling her head toward him, leaning forward and pressing a firm kiss to her forehead. Caroline closed her eyes, barely daring to believe what was happening.
House's lips lingered for just a moment before backing away, his rough hand brushing against her cheek as he pulled away. On impulse, Caroline grabbed his hand and placed a quick kiss into it before letting it go.
A startled expression lit House's face, and Caroline feared that she had been too impulsive. The expression smoothed out into a real smile. Barely noticeable, but real just the same.
He quickly glanced away and pushed himself off the bed, rounding the end to find his shoes and cane. When he reached the doorway, he stopped, dropping his head and turning it ever so slightly.
"I'm glad we met, too." House spoke so quietly that Caroline almost missed it.
With that he was gone, closing the door quietly behind him. Caroline hugged her knees to her chest, feeling the smile that threatened to split her face.
She reached over to the bedside table to take one of the pain pills, swallowing it down with the glass of water House had so thoughtfully provided for her. As she turned out the light and settled back into bed, the pain pill taking its effect, she let her mind drift a little bit.
Caroline was in no rush to start over with someone new, especially since there was still so much unfinished business with the old one. Still, House had shown her more kindness in his short time here than Kevin had in the many years they had been together.
Honestly, Caroline had trouble remembering a time Kevin had shown her much of anything better than indifference. The only times he had said he loved her was when he had wanted something for her, or was trying to make up for yet another round of abuse.
Her tears started again, this time tears of anger. So much time wasted, and for what? Nothing, that was what.
She angrily brushed the tears away and turned over in the bed, wishing that House hadn't felt the need to leave. But it was just as well, Caroline knew that. No sense causing trouble if they didn't have to. Besides, if things worked out the way Caroline planned, there might be a good chance that she and House could get to know each other much better.
The thought calmed her, and eventually sleep overtook her. If she really concentrated, Caroline could almost imagine House next to her again, his long arms around her, his breathing deep and even, his heartbeat strong and steady in her ear. It wasn't as good as having him right there, but it was comforting enough to allow her to drift off into a dreamless sleep. It would do until things changed, if they ever did.
# # #
House pulled into the driveway after taking an extended ride in an attempt to clear his head. Rob's truck was still there, but House hoped there was a possibility he was still out with Celia. After the night he'd had, House needed some time to himself to think.
He slipped quietly into the house to be greeted by two sets of clicking toenails. Baxter let out a short bark, pushing his nose against House's leg to get his attention. Out of habit, House grabbed the Milk Bones off the counter and offered one to each dog, bending down to scratch them behind the ears.
"No Rob yet, huh?" House asked. "Hope he has a good reason."
The dogs ignored him in favor of their late night treats while House limped into the living room and turned on a lamp before powering up the computer. He still had a good deal of work to do on his CV before he considered it ready to unleash on the world. Might as well work on it, since it didn't seem as if he was going to go back to sleep anytime soon.
He started typing away, his night with Caroline still working in the back of his head. Despite his doubts, lying in that bed with her slight body curled up against him felt like the most natural and comforting thing in the world. Whatever small comfort she might have drawn from him was returned at least twofold, if not more.
Was it Caroline herself, or was it simply that it had been so long that any woman would have done? House couldn't say for sure. All he knew was that he hadn't slept so well in a long time, at least until she had kneed him directly in his scarred thigh.
The spell had broken then, and all of House's doubts came rushing back. Sure, they were both adults, but one of them was a married adult, and House was damn tired of throwing himself at women who would never be willing or able to love him back.
The thought hit him like a flash of lightning. Surely he wasn't looking for love here, was he? No, he couldn't be. Gregory House did not do love, or relationships, or anything that resembled either. He was just leaving his old life behind and starting over. That was all. Love was not part of that picture.
Why would Caroline be interested in him, anyway? He was far too old for her, and he was such a wreck himself that he would be useless to her, despite her claims to the contrary. There were other people who would be far better for her, House was sure of that.
Still, the memory of holding her close refused to leave him. He huffed irritably and turned his attention to his CV. The sooner he got this thing done and submitted, the better.
He kept plowing through the project, pushing thoughts of Caroline to the background every time they threatened to take over. Finally, as the morning light started to creep across the room, House called the thing done.
House started to read over it, surprising himself at everything he had done over the course of his long medical career. Even his time at Princeton-Plainsboro had been remarkably fruitful, having managed to get a few papers published based on several of his team's most unusual cases.
It hadn't been all bad there. Running the diagnostics department, for the most part, had kept his mind engaged as each case rolled in. Not all of them had been mind-boggling, but enough of them had been to hold his interest.
And then there were the people. His fellows both old and new, Cuddy, Wilson, even the clinic patients. He wondered what the fellows were doing now that he had left. Would someone else take over Diagnostics? House would hate to see it shut down, since it had become such a unique teaching opportunity. On the other hand, who would be qualified to run such a department?
There were times when he missed it all, just a little. He missed stomping into Cuddy's office on a regular basis to demand…anything. He missed his almost daily lunches with Wilson, stealing his fries or whatever else he could get away with from his friend's plate. He even missed the discussions and debates with his fellows over symptoms and treatments.
And he was giving it all up for what? A small town practice that was tantamount to non-stop clinic duty, far away from everyone he knew. What the hell had he been thinking when he signed that lease?
House's mind flashed back to that conversation with Wilson. His friend had been less than supportive of the idea as well, and House found himself wondering if Wilson had a point underneath the hostility.
He sighed heavily and clicked the print button, watching as page after page of his professional life churned out of the printer. His eyes were burning and gritty from lack of sleep. Time to put on some coffee while the thing printed.
A bedroom door opened and closed down the hall just as House started a pot of coffee, and he turned to see Rob enter the kitchen. He looked sort of like House felt, but with a slight smile lighting his scarred face.
House was genuinely surprised to see him. "Didn't think you were here."
"Been here all night." Rob answered as he eased himself into a chair at the kitchen table. "What about you?"
House didn't answer, grabbing two mugs from the kitchen towel next to the sink. Suddenly Rob spoke again. "You alright, man?"
"Fine." House's voice came out clipped. "Late night. Finished my CV."
"CV?"
"It's kind of like a resume, only it covers everything I've ever done in my entire career." House explained. "Thought I'd send it over to Vanderbilt University, see if anyone bites."
"Someone's bound to." Rob answered. "You gonna keep the office goin' in town if they snap you up?"
"I don't even have the office going yet." House snapped. "Getting a little ahead of things, don't you think?"
Rob shrugged. "I don't know nothin' about that sort of thing. I was just askin'." He paused again. "You sure you're alright?"
House huffed irritably and turned to lean against the counter. "I said I'm fine. Just let it go." He decided to change the subject. "What about you?"
Rob looked thoughtful, then nodded his head. "I'm good. We had a real good night. Went down to the bar, shot some pool, played some darts, danced a little. It was good, man, real good."
"So…?" House poured two mugs of coffee and carefully brought them to the table before easing into a chair himself.
Rob sighed heavily, taking a long drink of his coffee before continuing. "So nothin'. That was kinda it."
"You mean to tell me she didn't make any kind of move on you?"
"Jesus, Greg, why are you so goddamn obsessed with my love life?" Rob snapped.
House cringed inwardly. He hadn't intended to find Rob's limit, but apparently he had. "I'm not obsessed. I'm just curious. A little too curious for my own good."
Rob softened slightly at that, leaning forward slightly and curving his hands around his coffee mug. "Look…I don't really talk about this stuff with no one, alright?" He stared down into the mug. "I ain't let no one get near me in a real long time. It ain't like I don't want Celia like that, but...I don't know, every time we get real close to doin' somethin', I kinda freak out a little." He shook his head. "Don't matter anyway. She's headin' back to Memphis next week. Probably won't see her again for a while. By then she'll have found someone better."
"She will find someone else if you don't man up and put it all out there." House told him.
Rob snorted in response. "Probably better if she does. I shouldn't be with no one anyway. "
A pang of recognition went through House. "You're kind of young to have that attitude, don't you think?"
Rob looked up with a hard glare. "Go through what I did. You'd probably be the same way."
"Already did." House snapped, rising to pour a second cup of coffee.
Silence fell between the two men, and House attempted to calm himself as he stirred sugar into his mug.
"Most of my right side is nothin' but one big scar." Rob broke the silence. "I don't sleep more than an hour or two at a stretch. When I do manage to sleep, I don't have nothin' but nightmares. I usually wake up screamin'. You're tellin' me that I should inflict all that mess on someone?"
House turned around and leaned against the counter. "The only thing I'll tell you is to tell Celia everything you told me. Let her decide." He shrugged. "You might be surprised."
A worried expression crossed Rob's face. "If she's smart, she'll run back to Memphis and never come back."
"Does that mean she's an idiot if she decides to stick with you?"
"Maybe." Rob toyed with the coffee mug. "Hell, I don't want me around half the time. Why the hell would she want me around at all?"
"If you talk to her, maybe she'll tell you." House answered, well aware of the irony of his own words.
Rob drained his coffee mug and rose from the table. "Think I'll sleep on it before I make any sudden moves."
House made a soft clucking sound, and Rob threw him an exasperated look. He huffed irritably and dug into his pocket for his keys. "Fine, I'll track her down now."
The screen door slammed behind him, and House heard the small truck start up and back out of the driveway. House couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"Damn, that was like pulling teeth, wasn't it?" He bent down to pat Baxter on the head when the dog suddenly appeared at his side. "This must be what Wilson feels like every time he tries to talk to me."
The thought sent a little pang through House. Suddenly he reached a quick decision.
He limped into the living room and found the cordless phone, opening his cell phone to find Wilson's number before dialing.
"Wilson."
"It's House." House blurted out. "I think I'm heading back on Monday. Expect me sometime Wednesday."
"That's…good." Wilson seemed to stumble over his words. "Have you changed your mind?"
"Nope." House answered. "Still getting the hell out of Jersey. I just finished up my CV this morning. Getting ready to send it over to Vanderbilt."
"Wow. That's…wow." Wilson was silent for a moment. "So I guess you've got a plan now."
"It's getting there." House told him. "We'll see if Vanderbilt wants anything to do with me."
"They'd be lucky to have you." Wilson's voice held a note of sadness. "I'm sure Cuddy would be glad to give you a letter of recommendation."
Something froze in House at the mention of her name. "Yeah…not so sure about that."
There was a brief silence. "She broke things off with Lucas, you know."
"No, I didn't."
"Does it change anything?"
House paused briefly, his mind automatically drawing the comparison between the tough, fierce, and beautiful administrator and the soft, gentle Caroline. He was pretty sure it would never occur to Caroline to pull some of the stunts on him that Cuddy had. Of course, House was equally sure he wouldn't hound and harass Caroline the way he had Cuddy.
"Doesn't change a damn thing, Wilson." He finally told his friend. "Matter of fact, I might have my own thing going on down here."
Wilson laughed a little. "Going native already, House?"
House smiled slightly, but didn't answer the question. "See you soon, Wilson."
He ended the call, turning the phone over in his hand. So he had exaggerated the nature of his relationship with Caroline. Big deal. It would be enough to keep Wilson guessing until House returned to Princeton.
# # #
You know what happens from here. Read and review.
