A/N: Is anyone actually reading this? LOL. I'm going to keep posting it, but I'm just curious. Shoot me a DM and say "heyyy"

Chapter Eight

"Now what did you really want to show me?"

"A friend of mine, who's a historian, found some info on your family and we might have figured out a time that's safe for you to go back to."

"Oh?"

"The next question is whether or not you want to stay there."

"I…I don't know anymore. Because I know you won't want to stay there with me."

"I can't Althea. The consequences could be disastrous."

"I know. House explained that before. And I know I belong there but I like it here much better."

"Your being in this time doesn't seem to have any ill-effects on the spacetime continuum."

Althea smiled up at him. "I love when you use big words and go into…Science mode."

Emmett chuckled. "I'm glad someone does."

He laid out a map. "I wish I'd had this last time. It shows the land back then. So I know where I can land the DeLorean without hitting anything."

"Is that what happened last time?"

"Yes. Computer chip malfunction. I typed in 1066 but the computer changed it to 1666."

"Maybe it was meant to be," Althea smiled. "Because if you'd have gone to 1066 you wouldn't have met me."

He smiled back at her. "That's true."

They spent the rest of the day looking at the maps and books before calling it a day and going back to his place for dinner.

"I can make some spaghetti," Althea told him as she went through the fridge.

"Sounds good. I'll get you some wine."

"For someone who claims to have an intolerance to alcohol, you sure have a lot of it."

"Wine doesn't bother me for some strange reason. It's the hard liquor and certain beers I can't tolerate."

"I see, well I'm glad you keep some on hand, even if I'm the only one who drinks it."

After dinner they cuddled on the couch in front or the TV until she dozed off.

"Althea," he whispered in her ear.

"Mhmm?"

"Time for bed."

"But I'm so comfy right here," she murmured.

Without a word, he picked her up and carried her upstairs to his room.

"Mmm House could never do this."

Emmett snickered as he gently laid her down on his bed and helped her get under the covers. She was already asleep by the time he put his shirt and PJ pants on and got into bed next to her.

XXX

Morning came and Emmett woke up with Althea snuggled up against him. "Morning," she said with a smile.

"Morning. How did you sleep?" he asked her.

"Like the dead. This is a nice bed."

"You can sleep with me anytime you want," he said with a wicked grin.

"Maybe I just will. I could get used to this." She stretched luxuriously, like a cat while Emmett watched her. "I'm hungry," she yawned.

"I have an idea, let's go out for breakfast. There's a great cafe in town."

"Mmmm that sounds good. I'll just go to the guest house and change clothes. I don't have anything here."

"Alright."

When she left the room, Emmett stayed in bed for a few minutes, waiting for that mischievous tent in the sheets to go down. Once that had subsided, he got dressed and went down to wait for her. The sun was just starting to come up and the sky was full of reds and pinks. When he felt Althea's arms slip around his waist from behind, he placed his hands over hers.

"Red sky in morning, sailors take warning," he said softly.

"Does that go with red sky at night, sailor's delight?" Althea asked him.

He turned around and wrapped his arms around her. "Yes it does. Ready to go?"

"Yes, I'm starving."

They drove into town and found a booth in the corner of the cafe, and Emmett made an effort to sit across from her.

"Is it me or are people looking at us?" she asked him, trying to be nonchalant.

"They're looking at us. Try not to notice. I'm sure Bartender Bud told everyone what I told him, that you're staying with me, so try to keep your hands to yourself," he said with a cheeky grin and a subtle wink.

Althea acted extremely put out. "You mean I have to behave myself? You know how much of a strain that puts on me," she sighed.

"That sounds like a Houseism."

"What's that?"

"Something House would say."

"Oh, yes it is."

They enjoyed breakfast, managing to ignore the stares of the other patrons and then quickly left.

"Well, I was going to suggest taking you out to dinner on your birthday but now I don't know about that," Emmett said as they got into the truck. "It seems we have no more privacy than a goldfish."

"We could go somewhere out of town, couldn't we?"

"Perhaps. That said, is there anything else you want to do?"

"You mean besides you? No."

Emmett glanced over at her and realized she was being serious and he started imagining all kinds of scenarios. Most of them included him making mad, passionate love to her in a king sized bed in some quiet cabin in the middle of nowhere.

"You're very quiet all of a sudden," she said as he drove, still lost in his thoughts as he tried to keep his eyes on the road.

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"This and that," he said as he pulled into the driveway. They got out of the truck and he headed to the lab. "What are you going to do today?" he asked her.

"I don't know. What are you going to do?"

Emmett glanced at his watch. "I have a conference call in twenty minutes."

"Oh, okay then. I guess I'll see you later."

"You will," he nodded and was about to walk away but she grabbed his hand and tugged him close.

"Emmett," she whispered as she softly stroked his cheek. He loved it when she did that and he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. "Don't let those people in town get to you. They're insolent and rude."

"I know, it's just annoying."

"I know, but they'll get over it soon enough and find someone else to gossip about."

"I hope so."

Althea hadn't ever seen him look so defeated and she hugged him close. That seemed to cheer him up a little, as he wrapped his arms around her in return. They stood there like that for several minutes until he heard the phone ringing inside the house. "I should take that. I'll see you later."

XXX

The sun didn't last for long and it soon clouded over and began raining. Althea sat on her bed with her book as thunder rumbled and shook the house. When the wind started picking up, the lights flickered and she began to get nervous. She picked up her book, grabbed a few things and ran across the lawn to Emmett's.

The house was empty and a little chilly, so she put on the gas fireplace and curled up under a blanket with her book.

Meanwhile, Emmett began to shut things down in the lab once the lights started flickering. It was only a matter of time before the power went out and he hoped Althea was okay. Storms always made her nervous and he didn't want her to be alone.

He shook his head at that idea. She had completely bewitched him and he was most certainly in love with her. He had everything in place for her birthday and he hoped she'd be as excited as he was. He wanted it to be as memorable as possible.

He locked up the lab and went upstairs to discover Althea wasn't there. Figuring she was at the main house, he put on a raincoat and dashed across the lawn. The rain was really coming down and when he got inside his house, he was soaked and resembled a drowned rat.

"Emmett? Is that you?" she called out.

"Yes, it's me. Are you alright?"

"Yes I'm fine. The lights were flickering in the guest house."

"Since the power is out, and I can't make you any tea, how about some wine?" he called to her from the kitchen.

"Yes please."

Five minutes later, he came into the living room with her wine and set it down on the coffee table.

"Are you okay? The storm seems worse than it is, but it'll blow over soon."

"That's good," she said, and he noticed her hands were shaking as she took a sip of the wine and placed it back on the table.

As if on cue, there was lightning and then a very loud crack of thunder which shook the house, and Althea covered her head with the blanket.

"You were saying?" she said, her voice muffled under the blanket.

Emmett chuckled and pulled the blanket off. "Now you're just being silly. There's nothing to be scared of."

"Why does it have to be so loud?"

"Because it's close. Stay here, I'll go get some candles. Can I get you anything else?"

"Some Xanax would be lovely."

Emmett laughed. "When did you have Xanax?"

"House gave it to me a few times when things got too…what's the word…overwhelming."

"I see. Well I don't have any of that here. I'll just have to find another way to relax you," he said and gave her a devilish grin and a wink.

"What did you have in mind?"

"I'll get the candles first."

"How long do you think the power will be out for?"

"It could be awhile. At least the fireplace is still working so we can sleep down here if necessary. The rest of the house will get cold fast."

Emmett returned a few minutes later with some candles and more blankets.

"What's all this?"

"I thought we could take the cushions off the couch and make a pallet on the floor?"

"A pallet?"

He cleared his throat nervously. "A bed."

"Oh! Okay yes, that's a good idea."

He lit a few more candles around the room and they took the cushions off both couches to make a nice wide bed, and then covered it with the blankets.

"Go ahead, try it out," Emmett said as he lit another candle and placed it on the table.

Lightning struck once again, followed by more thunder but it wasn't as loud.

"See? It's moving away from us, now."

"I hope so."

They stretched out on the bed, facing each other in the dark candle lit room and she grinned.

"You really are a romantic, Emmett."

"Guilty as charged," he said as he took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Feeling better now?"

Althea nodded. "Yes."

"Looking forward to your birthday tomorrow?"

"Yes, but I don't get any hints?"

"Don't you like surprises?"

"Yes of course."

"Do you trust me?"

"Implicitly," she said with a nod and he chuckled. "What? Why are you laughing?"

"I believe I'm rubbing off on you."

"Good. Better you than House."

"Quite so."

She sighed as he turned her hand over and kissed the inside of her wrist and continued to kiss his way up her arm like he'd seen in old movies, wondering if she would like it. It turned out she did, if her quick pulse was anything to go by.

"This week has gone by so fast," she sighed.

"A lot has happened," he said with a nod.

"It's like a whirlwind."

"A whirlwind romance?" he smiled at her.

"Most assuredly. House never did anything like this."

"Never?"

"No. He wasn't much of a romantic. He had a much different seduction style."

"Were you happy with him, at least?"

She nodded. "Happy enough, I suppose. He wasn't around very much. He spent most of his time at the hospital. I think he would live there if he could. So I decided to get a job so I could have something to do. I love books so I got a job at the campus library and then they built a Starbucks coffee shop next to it and trained me to work in there too, since they were connected. So I did that. I think House was happy. He didn't have to give me money all the time. He's a bit of a…what's the word? Skinflint?"

Emmett laughed. "Yes, that's one word for it. Is that why you don't have a lot of clothes?"

"Yes. He hated to go shopping and I didn't like going alone. I had a uniform for work so I didn't need many things. The clothes here are so different in this time. Do you have any idea how much of a production it was to get dressed….and undressed, every single day in 1666?"

Emmett nodded. "I've heard."

"Right, so that's why I just wear simple things. It's much easier to get dressed."

"Or undressed."

Althea blushed and looked away. "Yes."

He reached over and gently stroked her cheek. "You are a beautiful woman, Althea."

"Really Emmett," she giggled, clearly embarrassed.

"Hasn't anyone told you that?"

"A few have, yes."

"I'm sure House did."

She nodded. "Yes. At least at first. After the infarction, we became more like roommates."

Emmett frowned. "Sorry to hear that."

"I don't want to talk about House anymore."

"What would you like to talk about?"

"What we're doing tomorrow."

"Oh no you don't. You're just going to have to wait."

"Oh, Emmett," she pouted. "You're a tease."

He laughed. "Pout all you want. I'm still not going to tell you. What would be the fun in that?"

She moved a little closer to him and placed her hand on his cheek. "Your skin is so soft. And your eyes…"

"What about them?"

"They're such a dark brown, it's hypnotic. I could easily get lost in them. Sometimes I do."

He took her hand again and their fingers interlaced. "Flattery will get you nowhere."

Althea giggled. "Damnit. Oh well. I tried." They lay there in silence for several minutes. "I feel very close to you right now, Emmett."

"I'm very happy to hear that," he said and leaned over. She did the same and their lips met. It was just a soft kiss, lips brushing against lips. At least, at first.

Her lips parted and she pulled him closer, her fingers running through his hair.

When the kiss ended, his lips hovered over hers. "Althea…"

"Mhm?"

"You know, there's nothing I wouldn't give you. I just want you to be happy."

"I am, Emmett."

"If there's ever anything you want, all you need to do is ask."

"I know. And right now I want you to kiss me again."