Your Wife

by gorblimey2

Your Wife

Wilson heard the piano and knew he was in. He knocked on the door and the old familiar voice yelled, "I know that knock, come in..."

House looked up from the piano, took a drink of his Grey Goose, and asked "I don't remember inviting you for a slumber party, so why are you here?"

"Golf Clubs. My ex sold mine. I'm playing in the hospital tournament tomorrow and need a set. I figured since yours were getting dusty and moldy in that closet you could loan them to me." Wilson said.

"Is it the tournament already?"

"Yep, it's always the last Friday in May...you do remember, don't you? The last time you played in it you were caught throwing Cuddy's ball into the rough. Remember?" Wilson laughed.

"Ah, yes. That was the first time she kicked me and threatened to rip those walnuts off that you call balls'." House nodded in the direction of the closet and Wilson went over to it.

As Wilson opened the door he tried to back up to avoid the shower of boxes and other items that were free-falling towards him. The impact on his head was painful and he received a small cut on his cheek. He looked for the clubs and had to literally crawl through a mass of clothes, books, appliances, posters, shoes and other items to get to the back where he could barely see the golf bag peaking out from several jackets draped over it.

"Jesus House, don't you EVER clean up?"

House just continued to play, "A Man of Constant Sorrow."

It took Wilson ten minutes to dig the clubs out and another five to put everything back in the closet. He didn't take the time to organize the closet, it would have meant actually sorting through things and getting rid of half of it.

"Since you fired the housekeeper your apartment is looking like a frat house. You need to get a new housekeeper." Wilson looked around and realized there were dirty dishes in the sink from at least four days; ants running down the counter towards a...well, he wasn't sure if it was a food source or not; bills that weren't open; towels and clothes strewn on the hall and bathroom floor; caps off the toothpaste, shampoo and other personal products; no roll of toilet paper on the holder - it was sitting on top of the stack of Hustlers; in short, the place was a pig sty.

"You know, not even frat boys live like this. What's gotten into you? Even you didn't use to be this bad?"

"I'm bored and cleaning bores me even more." House had stopped to watch Wilson dive through the closet. It amused him.

Wilson knew that it was true, the diagnostic team hadn't had a case in a week and House was sinking fast into his own misery. "Well, find a conference in Fiji or Brazil and go take a holiday."

"My passport has expired. You know I'm not big on travel."

Wilson did know this. House had traveled around so much as a military brat that travel was old hat to him. Occasionally he enjoyed the odd trip, if it had something novel about it. Once he dragged Wilson on a Star Trek cruise, mostly because House wanted to torment the Trekkies. He kept telling everyone that Janeway was the best Captain; Jean Luc was still a Borg; Spock was gay; Bones was a drunk; Kirk was suffering from syphilis; and a whole list of insults that created dissension all over the ship. They were asked by the sponsors not to come back, and it was suggested that they try the Battlestar Gallactica cruise that was taking place the next month.

Wilson came out of the kitchen and House handed him a short glass of Grey Goose. Wilson wasn't sure about the cleanliness of the glass it was in, but he figured the alcohol would kill whatever might be on the glass. Wilson and House spent the next half hour dishing the dirt and talking shop. They were both plugged into the hospital gossip and enjoyed swapping stories. They were like two girls, occasionally relishing in the downfall of one of the doctors or laughing at the antics of the staff.

"Well, I'm afraid if I stay here the roaches will carry me off to their lair under your bed, so I'm off. I'll get these back to you soon." With that, Wilson got up and grabbed the clubs.

"You can keep them. I'm not using them." House started playing Chopin.

"Come on House, you could still play if you'd keep up with that physical therapy. You know, with a cart and lessons they could teach you to play even with your bad leg."

"Scoot."

Wilson knew he was being dismissed so he left House to enjoy languishing in his self- pity. ***

It was 8:00 a.m. on June 2nd and Wilson was surprised to see that the entire Diagnostic Team was in, including House. They must have gotten a case the night before. Wilson popped his head in, "Any bagels?"

House nodded towards his office and Wilson rambled over to find a bag of bagels on House's credenza. He walked back to where the team was sitting and looked at the white board, it was filled with symptoms. Wilson waved goodbye and toddled off to his own office with his strawberry bagel.

"Come on folks, you're suppose to be earning your paycheck. Work with me." House was baiting his team. "High fever, arthralgia, purpuric lesions on the legs, headache, anorexia and conjunctivitis."

"Sounds like garden variety influenza." Foreman said with a dismissive air.

"How do you explain the lesions?" House asked.

"An allergy, people CAN have two illnesses at one time." he replied. "Why are we wasting our time on her? Her GP could take care of this."

House tilted his head and squinted his eyes, "I don't think so. This smells different...I don't think we have the flu here. She had a flu shot in January. I know it doesn't necessarily cover all the influenzas floating around out there, but she was very healthy prior to this. Chase?"

"Malaria? Encephalitis? It says that she just got back from the Seychelles. Boy, I wish she had taken me with her, she's hot...AND SINGLE."

"Calm down Johnny Holmes, she's a patient." Cameron admonished.

Foreman had arrived later than the rest of them and hadn't been able to examine the patient. Now it was making sense to him why House took a case of influenza, House had a weakness for hot women. Sometimes, although rarely, he would take a case just based on how hot the patient was.

Well, Malaria might be it so get a spinal tap and a CT, run a PR for West Nile and Herpatic Encephalitis and check for Malaria."

The team wandered off down the hall. House went over to his desk to review the current JAMA and the WHO online newsletter. He could feel the black lifting as he started to work on diagnosing the patient. He hadn't seen her yet, but he would make an appearance just to see how hot she really was. He hadn't known she was hot when he had accepted the case, he just knew he needed a patient, even an easy to diagnose patient, to get him out of his hole.

At one, Wilson and House took the elevator to the first floor where the cafeteria was. House was in the mood for a cheeseburger and fries. When they got in line, House purposefully left his cane at the beginning of the line. When he and Wilson got to the cashier, he abruptly excused himself to go get the cane, leaving Wilson with the two trays. Wilson turned around to see the glare of everyone waiting for him to pay. Embarrassed for holding up the line, Wilson begrudgingly paid for both lunches. House magically reappeared and said, "Oh, has this been paid for?" Wilson gave him a disgusted look and turned to find a table.

"House, your birthday is not until next week but I am going to give you your gift early. So, I want to take you out to dinner tomorrow night to celebrate." Wilson offered.

"Not really excited about birthdays." House warned.

"I know, but it's "futile to resist." You know you always moan, I always take you out, you always complain about singing Happy Birthday" and we always have a good time. So I will pick you up at 7:00 p.m. and we'll go to your favorite restaurant."

"Hooters?"

"Yep." Wilson smiled. They ate lunch and then went back to their offices.

House had been sitting at his computer working on "MySpace", when his pager went off. He looked at it and it referred him to the 3rd floor, room 341, the room of his patient. House quickly finished his new profile he had just created, he had put up fuzzy photos of Wilson and marked that he was gay and looking for a relationship. House had already set up a hotmail email address, JimmyW@hotmail.co and had it forwarded to Wilson's hospital email. He then invited everyone on the phoney myspace who wanted to get to know him to send him a private message. House snickered and then grabbed his cane and took off.

Outside of the room House could see his team administering drugs and applying an oxygen mask indicating that the patient was in respiratory distress. Cameron stepped out to talk to House. "Her Osats dropped below 95, so we've started her on oxygen. Looks like encephalitis."

"Do we have any blood-work back?"

"Not yet."

"Well, let's start her on acyclovir just in case it is herpatic encephalitis and ampicillin just in case it is bacterial ." House told her.

Cameron nodded and went back in the room.

The next day the patient's fever had reached 104 F and most of her symptoms had gotten worse. Her CSF was 400, with a predominance of lymphocytes indicating a form of viral encephalitis. But House was convinced that the encephalitis was secondary and not primary. The blood tests for malaria came back negative. House decided it was time that he examined the patient. He grabbed his cane and made his way to room 341.

She was incredibly gorgeous. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, tall, thin and large breasts. House was pretty sure the breasts weren't designed by God but more likely by Dupont, but still, she was a knockout.

"I'm Doctor House, I'm in charge of your case. I need to examine you." He was terse and abrupt. She looked up, obviously in pain. The conjuctivitis in her eyes was getting worse and it appeared to him that there was slight bleeding of the eyes. He put on gloves and then took his stethoscope and listened to her lungs. She had rhales and rhonci, indicating that she now had secondary pneumonia. He realized they better get a test of her sputum to see what type of pneumonia they were dealing with since it was not responding to Ampicillin. Her heart sounded healthy but he could feel by touch that her fever had not abated with medication. This was not good.

Cameron, Chase and Foreman came into the room. House looked up, "Get a sputum test, let's see what we are up against." Chase handed him the latest x-ray showing that the lungs were cloudy and the liver appeared enlarged, a new symptom.

House continued with the exam and removed the sheet, she had her hand resting on the saline line and so House picked her arm up by the wrist to move it. She screamed in agony. House set her hand back down gingerly. He then picked up the other wrist and again the patient screamed. House manipulated the other joints. The patient expressed pain but nothing like the pain in her wrists. House abandoned the examination and hobbled as fast as he could back to his computer. Cameron, Foreman and Chase looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. They took a sample of her sputum and sent it to the lab to test for bacteria.

House called down to the Team, "Test for hemorrhagic dengue fever. Cameron, I need for you to come up to my office, there's a new test I want you to run and you're going to need the protocol."

Cameron walked into the office and House handed her a printout from the Institute of Medical Microbiology. It was a reverse transcription-polymerase chain test with a special RT-PCR assay. The test was for Chikungunya and this test provided results in 48 hours rather than seven days with the old test. Cameron immediately went to the lab to get started.

House called down to Chase and Foreman who were done with taking the samples for hemorrhagic dengue fever. "Take her off antibiotics until we get the sputum test back. Start her on 250 mg. per diem of Chloroquine Phosphate for the arthralgia and arthritic symptoms. Give her ibuprofen for the fever and inflamation. Keep her on the acyclovir for the encephalitis. I think she'll test positive for Chikungunya. But we have to make sure it's not hemorrhagic dengue fever. Once the test is back, if it's positive, report it to the CDC. In some cases meningoencephalitis, hepatitis and pneumonia are a complication of the virus and can result in death, but I think we caught this in time."

"How did you know it was CHVK?" Foreman asked.

"I've been reading about it in the journals. It's an emerging zoonotic disease in the islands off of India including the Seychelles. It presents with extreme pain in the wrists. The disease usually self-resolves if there are no complications like here, but even if it resolves, it can take up to a year before the joint pain subsides. However, the chloroquine has been shown to help resolve residual joint pain. Get her started on those meds."

"Ok, we're on it." Foreman hung up.

House was hoping the team didn't tell Cuddy about his examination of the patient. He'd hate it if Cuddy found out that he had actually solved the case by a direct examination.

***

House took a shower, trimmed his beard and brushed his teeth. He slipped on a pair of levis and a blue rumpled shirt. While looking in his closet it dawned on him that most of his shirts were blue. He wondered if that had any psychological meaning?

He had a quick single malt whiskey while he waited for Wilson to pick him up. There was a knock on the door and House got up, grabbed his keys and opened the door. Without a word he closed the door locked it and they walked to Wilson's car.

"No singing." He admonished.

"Singing and embarrassing you is half the fun of taking you out for your birthday... besides, do you really want to miss ten Hooter girls bending over to give you a song and a kiss?"

"I'll think about it." House hated to admit it, but Wilson was right. Hooter birthdays were sweet.

As they sat drinking beers out of the bucket, Wilson cleared his throat," Here's your present." He handed House an envelope.

Inside was a card with a picture of a guru on the front. It said, "I was channeling Swami Nahani who lived 1200 years ago and he wanted to know...." House opened the card, "If you remembered him from high school." House grinned and said, "Ha, ha."

There was another, smaller envelope inside the card and House opened it. The card was plain except it said, "One month trial...Your Wife. (609) 258-3444." House looked at Wilson, "What is this suppose to mean?"

"Ok, hang in there. It's a one month trial of a service called, Your Wife'. I heard about at a party from some of the faculty at Princeton. This woman comes in and organizes your life. She cleans your house, makes your meals, takes the dry cleaning to the dry cleaners, does your laundry, irons, buys your sundries...in essence for this month you will have a wife except for the carnal pleasures and wiping your butt. It's not cheap, but I figure, even if you don't continue to use her services after the month is up, she'll be able to get your place in shape during the trial period." Wilson said optimistically.

House gave Wilson a look of disapproval, "You are joking, right?"

"Nope, she's coming by early tomorrow to see you and to set up the schedule and plan. So expect her at 8:00 a.m." Wilson smiled.

"No, I don't think so." House said sternly.

"Too late, I gave her the key you gave me when you were in the hospital and I've already paid the first month. It's non-refundable." Wilson said.

"Well, instead of me doing this, why don't you use the service and I'll even reimburse you. How much was it.?"

"$1600" Wilson said.

House just stared at him with a look of disbelief. "You paid $1600 for a gift for me? Are you trying to get in my pants?"

"It's worth it, if you are well fed and happy at home, maybe you'll be easier to deal with...you've been crabbier than usual. Cuddy is starting to get fed up with the black cloud that's been following you. Come on...try it for one month, just one month. It actually works out to be four days...you can handle that." Wilson didn't want him to know that the first month was half price or he be more tempted to turn it down.

"You are going to pay for this." House shook his head

"I already have."

House was unsure of all this. He was very private and it had taken a lot out of him to let a maid touch and clean his things. He wasn't sure if this was a good idea. But, as long as she stuck to cleaning and cooking it might work.

*** House was dreaming of Carmen Electra when he felt the hand on his shoulder. "Dr. House? Dr. House?" The female voice pierced his reverie.

He opened one eye.

"I've been knocking and ringing your doorbell for the last ten minutes. I let myself in with the key Dr. Wilson gave me."

"House rolled over onto his stomach away from her and closed his eyes."

"I tell you what, I'll go out and start cleaning up while you figure out how to put both feet on the floor and join me." She chuckled and turned to leave.

As she was leaving, House lifted his head and snuck a peak. From the back she didn't look very formidable, whoever she was. In his waking state he was trying to remember if she was a hooker, a neighbor or what she was. Then he remembered Wilson, the key and the birthday gift. "Crap." He got up, put on a t-shirt and went to the bathroom to take a leak. He could hear dishes clinking in the sink.

House was a little hung over from the Hooters birthday celebration. He managed to bring home Tiffany, a very buxom Hooters girl, and have his own private party. He then got a her a cab back to her place around 1:00 a.m. Looking at the clock on the desk, he saw that it was 8:20 a.m. He could kill Wilson.

House walked out to the kitchen, his hair was tussled and he was in his boxers and the t-shirt. Her back was to him as she rinsed the dishes to put in the dishwasher. He went over to the refrigerator, pulled out the milk and chugged it from the carton. He noticed numerous cartons in the refrigerator with markings on them, the one on top read "sauce for chicken, 2 min, pour over chicken."

She turned around when she heard the refrigerator door open. He looked back at her while he continued to chug.

"Hi. My name is Jordan Morgan, but my clients call me Danny." She was talking while she dried her hands on the dishtowel. She extended her hand to House who shook it while looking at her disdainfully. "Would you like me to explain how this works?"

"How this works?" He asked incredulously.

"I do and don't do certain things so I usually go over this with clients at the beginning. Shall I begin or do you want to get dressed first?"

He sat down on a stool and pretended as if he was an overeager student ready to listen. He looked at her and noted everything he could. She was in her thirties. She was blonde, she was petite, she was pretty and she looked very perky. And she was giving him a cheerleader smile.

"Ok, your day, Dr. House, is Thursday. Each of my clients has an exclusive day except for when they have an emergency or special event that requires my attention. If you need a different day, I will arrange to switch a day with another of my clients. I just ask that you give me as much notice as possible.

I will prepare your meals for five days because I assume that you will be eating out on the weekends. I will put your meals in colored disposable containers. Each color will be for a specific day. So, for example, all containers with a blue lid will be for a specific day. Each individual container will be labeled as to what it is and how long you should microwave or prepare it. I will leave you a list of your meals and if you find that you don't like one or you really like another, you can make a note of it and I will work around it. Since you will get your food on Thursday, I will freeze three of them. The other two will be in the refrigerator and should be eaten first.

I noticed you keep your dirty clothes in a pile in your bedroom, hall and bathroom. I will buy you a hamper and you can then reimburse me. In fact, I will make an inventory of your home and determine what, if anything, you need or should replace. I will leave you the list to approve. Once you approve it, I will buy the items and then give you a receipt for reimbursement.

All my clients so far have asked me to make out the checks for their bills. If you want this as part of your service, leave the bills and the checkbook. I will make out the check, address the envelope, put the stamp on the envelope and all you have to do is sign the check and mail it. If you don't want to mail it, leave it for me and I will do it the following Thursday.

If you have any dry cleaning, leave it on the couch Thursday morning and I will pick it up, take it in and pick it up the following week. I will leave the receipt to be reimbursed. If you need any mending, leave it on the couch with a note and I will mend it or have a tailor do it. If you have pornography, marital aids or anything of a private nature that you do not want me to see or touch please place them in a drawer or cabinet and mark it with a sticky note and I will not open the cabinet or drawer while I am providing my service.

If you have a dinner party and need for me to cook, please give me a week's notice so I can do the shopping and make arrangements for the afternoon and night off. As part of the service I will cook the meal and serve it for you to your guests provided you do not have a dinner party more than once a month at which you need my services. I do not work on Saturday nights. However, if you need service on a Saturday night, I will arrange for it for an additional $100.

I will clean, cook, organize, wait for service vendors and provide any service a stay at home wife would provide except of course, I will not be having sex with you. I need to make that clear because I have had clients who thought different.

Do you have any questions so far?" She stopped her spiel to address him.

"No...I'm just taking it all in." He smiled widely.

"Now, do you have any allergies to cleaning solutions or food?" she asked seriously.

"No."

"Well, is there any service you want performed today?" She asked.

House thought about asking for a service but then she said she did not provide that.

" I can see that it may take the entire trial period to get your home organized. I'll make sure your wash gets done and the apartment cleaned up today, but I won't have time to do all that really needs to be done." She stopped.

"You do what you want to do today, I have no special requests. Now this is only for the month of June, right? Then you're gone, right?" He asked adamantly.

"It will depend, you may find you want to continue the service, it is $1600 a month. I take a two week vacation but I will have someone cover the cleaning and food while I am gone. I have only five clients so my service is fairly exclusive. If you need anything before Thursday, you just need to call my number to speak with me or leave a message. Ok?"

"How many of the people have continued the service after the trial period?" He asked.

"All of them." She smiled. "The only reason I had an opening was because one of my clients got married last week. I only work for bachelors. But all of my trial months have resulted in permanent clients. Not one has stopped the service."

He wasn't expecting that, "Well, there's always a first time."

"Yes, that's true." She smiled confidently.

House found her annoyingly happy and chirpy. It was too early in the morning to be this awake.

"Here are cards for your wallet, your office and for here at home. Call me if you need anything. Now, I'm going to get back to work, please leave me all the clothes that you want washed in the hall. I assume the washer and dryer for the building is in the basement?"

He nodded yes and looked at the cards. They simply said "Your Wife" and the phone number. "Ok, then, if you don't have any questions, I need to get to work."

House grabbed the dirty clothes from around the apartment and put them in a pile in the hall. He grabbed some clean ones and took a shower. When he got out of the bathroom he noticed that she was not in the apartment and the dirty clothes were gone. He grabbed his keys, his cane and he was gone.

He confronted Wilson in his office. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?"

Wilson gave him a look and said, "What are you talking about?"

"Your birthday present."

"Oh, you mean Your Wife? Is she ugly, old ... I heard she was very pleasant."

"Yeah, if you want Debbie Reynolds, Katie Couric and Pollyanna all rolled up in an early morning enema, then she's pleasant. You have to stop this...I won't last long and I'm afraid of what I'm going to do to that woman if she smiles one more time."

"Just give it a chance."

House shook his head. " You have no compassion for what you are putting me through! Ahhhhggg." He threw his hands up in the air and walked out.

***

Chase and Foreman were studying the file of the newest case when Cameron came in and confirmed House's diagnosis of CHVK in the previous patient.

"I'll call the CDC." Cameron said.

House turned to the new case, "Folks we need to move on this. I don't like how fast this patient is deteriorating. A previously healthy single woman aged 52 years with no children, no pets, who visited our emergency department last night with a 2-day history of headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, lethargy, right axillary lymphadenopathy, progressive myalgias, and pain in her distal extremities. She was admitted last night and at ten o'clock this morning she was transferred to intensive care. They handed the case off to us at noon."

"The chart says that on physical examination, she was afebrile and hypotensive with a blood pressure of 82/40 with left-sided abdominal tenderness and scleral icterus; no rash was noted. She did have mild thrombocytopenia. She's disoriented now and in and out of consciousness. Let's get our own bloodwork. Get a CBC, a CB4 and run the other tests again, stat. Let's check both the alanine and asparte transferase levels. In the meantime, anyone have any ideas?" House asked.

"This sounds zoonotic again. It's moving so fast, that's usually the result of a tick or flea borne disease. Something bites and someone gets sick real fast." Chase opined.

"I'd have to agree. Check her for bites again and don't forget her special flower..." House raised his eyebrows up and down to indicate a gynecological exam. He then indicated with the toss of his head that they could all leave.

Within four hours they were back and worried. "She's going downhill quick." Chase said.

Foreman complained, "Her Osats are falling fast. Her fever is 104 F. She has an elevated white count, elevated alanine and aspartate aminotransferase, elevated bilirubin, elevated blood urea nitrogen of 55, and elevated creatinine of 2.9."

"On top of it she now has marked anemia and increasingly severe thrombocytopenia." Chase added.

"What do you suggest minions? Come on, ideas." House snapped his fingers.

"Sarcoidosis?" Cameron suggested.

House thought about it for a few minutes, not all the symptoms fit, but enough did to at least rule it out, "Alright, check for Sarcoidosis and throw in Scepticimic Plague, it would also explain most of the symptoms."

Two hours later the Team was in the lab and looking at negative results for each of the diseases.

"Well children, this one is going fast, we need to make a decision. Let's look at her history again. She's a substitute teacher. No husband, no children. No pets. No pets. No pets. ... She was brought in by a friend. She's allergic to Penicillin and was put on a prophylactic sulfur based antibiotic which obviously hasn't worked. She's had mammograms, pap smears, this woman obviously takes care of herself. We need more information. What about bites?"

"None, all three of us looked. Remember, no pets?" Cameron volunteered.

"If it isn't responding to the Sulfur based antibiotic, it is probably viral." Foreman said.

"Not necessarily, they don't always have the same efficacy." Chase retorted.

House shook his head and looked down in thought. This one was going too fast. "Do you have her friend's phone number?"

"Yes, here it is." Cameron gave him the sheet with the phone number.

House dialed. A woman answered, "Hello?"

"Hello, this is Doctor House, I'm treating Charlotte Churchill and I need some answers about her history."

"Well, I'll try Doctor, but I don't know if I'll know."

"Your friend's life may just rely on your answers." House threatened.

"Oh my God, is it that bad?"

"Yes, it is. Now has she had a substitute job in the last week?"

"I don't know, but her friend, Janet, is a teacher in the same school district, she would probably know. Just a minute and I will get her number."

The woman gave him the number and he dialed it. "Hello."

"Janet, Doctor House, did Charlotte Churchill have a substitute job this last week?" He asked quickly.

"Who?"

House sighed impatiently, "Charlotte's doctor, Doctor House, please answer."

"Yes, she had one. It was Candy Whitaker's fifth grade class."

"Does Candy have animals in the classroom?"

"Yes, a Gerbil. How is...." Click, House had hung up on her in mid-sentence.

"Gerbil...she's got Rat Bite Fever - let's get her on Penicillin."

"She's allergic to Penicillin." Chase reminded him.

"Damn, that's why she's sinking so fast. The antibiotic she is on doesn't work well on Tularemia. Get her on chloramphenicol at 100 mg intramuscularly. Monitor and if it isn't working in an hour, let's go with clindamycin." House barked orders to his Team.

House waited for an hour, it was touch and go. Charlotte's organs had started to shut down. Foreman popped his head into House's office, "Good news, her fever is down and her transferase levels are close to normal. Her blood pressure is 100/65. She's turning around."

House shook his head in acknowledgment. Around 7:00 p.m., House was on his way home. He was still thinking about the cases this week when he opened the door to his apartment. He looked up and stepped backwards. The smell was what he first noticed. It was baked cookies. The living room was straight out of Architectural Digest, the leather couch was clean and conditioned, the piano was gleaming, the books on the bookshelves were stacked in horizontal and vertical piles that were aesthetically pleasing, not to mention that the dust bunnies were all gone and the windows were clean. His artwork actually looked like art and not coat hangers. He heard a sound from down the hall. It sounded like drawers being opened and closed. He looked into his bedroom.

There she was, folding and putting his clothes away neatly into drawers that were now organized and color coded. On the floor was a pile of clothes.

"Oh, Doctor House! Is it that late? Gosh, sometimes when I get started the time just flies. The pile on the floor are clothes that are out of style, torn, worn, stained or faded. I've culled them out and will give them to charity or throw them out unless there is something in the pile you really want." There was that smile again.

He looked down and there was nothing in the pile he was attached to so he shook his head no.

"Great. Well, I left you the list. I'll go get it and we can go over it while I heat up your dinner. I might as well do it while I am still here. Normally, I won't be here when you get back, but sometimes during the first month it takes me a little longer to get everything done." She almost skipped out to the living room.

Ugh...he just wanted to kick back, have a bite to eat and be by himself. He followed her into the kitchen. "Look , its great that you want to "fix me" but right now I'd like to just be alone." He told her.

"Doctor House, just let me go over this and I will be out of your hair, ok?"

He acquiesced mostly because he could smell the cookies and he was afraid if he said no, she would pack them up and take them.

"I need to buy you new towels and sheets. Your towels are frayed and your sheets are polyester blend 180s. Who in the world bought you 180s? You're a doctor, you should be sleeping on 600 Egyptian Cotton at the very least. You need your sleep."

"What has Egyptian Cotton have to do with sleep?" he gave her a look like he didn't believe her.

"You know, it's better for me to just buy the sheets, put them on your bed and then you tell me the next week if you want me to take them back. Ok?

"Ok, whatever makes you happy." House shook his head.

While she had been talking to him, she took out all the blue containers from the refrigerator. She grabbed a bowl and a plate off the shelf. She took the container with the long grain rice and put it on the plate. She began to heat it. Then she took out the second blue container marked Chicken Tikka Masala and poured it into the bowl. She began to heat it too. All the time she was doing this she was talking to House who was now seated at the table on the kitchen stool.

"I need a new scrubber, toilet bowl cleaner, hamper and vacuum. Your vacuum is not only full, but the bearings are bad. You need a hepa vacuum. I also need to buy you new socks and boxers and some food."

The smell of the dinner heating up was incredible. He tried to concentrate on what she was saying but his stomach was starting to gurgle in anticipation. House could only think of the last time he had Indian food. It must have been more than a year. It had been too long, he loved Indian food. He heard someone talking to him...

"...Dr. House?? Did you hear me? I wanted to know if you approved the list. It's going to be about $600-700, ok?"

"Yes, ok..." He watched her pull down another bowl and start heating a vegetable biryani. He would have approved anything as long as she promised him that the dinner and the cookies would remain when she left.

She dished out the dinner and it looked as if it had come from a five star restaurant. She pulled out a fork from the drawer and grabbed him a beer out of the refrigerator. She gave him a kind, sweet smile, handed him the dinner and said, "Bon appetite Dr. House."

He tucked into the meal. As he ate he stared at her but he didn't really see her, he was concentrating on the smell and taste of the food as he chewed it. The chicken was not mild but it wasn't a vindaloo, it was just right. The rice was perfect and the vegetable biryani had lentils, potatoes and string beans. The only thing that was missing was some nan. Danny snapped her fingers, "Oh, I forgot. She pulled a large nan out of a paper bag and handed it to him. What's Indian food without nan?"

He took a swig of beer and almost let out a belch. He allowed a small one to escape and apologized. "It's very good. You can mark this on your list as one I like."

"Good, I love Indian food too. I'll remember that." She patted his hand and said, "Well, I am off. Please feel free to call Your Wife' if you need anything. Good night Doctor House." She picked up the charity clothes, her cleaning equipment and was out the door.

House finished the meal and rinsed his plate, finished his beer and then sat down on his couch. He looked around and admitted it was nice to come home to a clean house. He thought about Jordan Morgan and wondered how she got into the business. He walked back into the kitchen, grabbed the plate of cookies, grabbed the carton of milk and sat back down to watch "Faulty Towers." The chocolate chip cookies and milk reminded him of being a kid again. He smiled to himself and relaxed. He was going to enjoy his month while it lasted.

*** Wilson came over the next night to pick House up for the first night of the Princeton Film Festival. When he walked in he was impressed. House's apartment was squeaky clean except for an empty plate on the arm of the sofa and an empty milk carton.

"Wow. This looks great. What did you think of her?" Wilson asked.

"If I could get her to shut up, not smile and work in a teddy, I'd marry her."

Wilson laughed out loud. "Well that's a good recommendation. Are you going to keep her?"

"No, but she makes excellent Indian food! Her chocolate chip cookies were delicious too. And as if she knew what was important to a man, she served it to me with a beer and Nan. The only thing she forgot was the blow job."

"Well, there's always Paula." Wilson offered

"Do you know how she got into this business?" House asked.

"I know that two of her clients are physicist from the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton. They were at the party the other night and someone was teasing them about Your Wife'. Since most of us hadn't heard of it they gave us some background. They've known her for years and one of them was her first client. When their friends saw what she did and tasted her food, the word got out and she had people lined up for her services. The only reason she put you at the head of the list is that I had treated another physicist at the Institute for cancer and she was grateful. The physicist I treated was either her best friend or her boyfriend, I'm not sure. If you don't keep her service, the next person in line is the Dean of Computer Sciences at Princeton."

House picked up his keys and started to turn out some of the lights. "Well, the food is good, but it is still disturbing to have someone come in and go through your drawers."

"She went through your drawers?" Wilson was amused.

"My drawers are now color coordinated." He winced. "It's rather sad, I don't know if I can live with white socks all staring at me from one side of the drawer. They keep saying...we're lonely for our brown brothers. But the brown brothers have been banished to the second drawer. The only thing that has not been cleaned out is the hall closet and the linen closet, but I think she is going to do that next week because she is buying me new linens." House opened the door for Wilson and they exited.

"She buys you new linens?"

"Yes and apparently I have been sleeping on the wrong sheets."

"Really?"

"Really."

They spent the night going to the film festival and listening to the various directors and producers talk about the process. House was actually interested in what the second director had to say because she happened to be Brooke Shields, a Princeton alumni and still great looking for her age.

*** DANNY'S TURN

I'm 36 and I got my first gray hairs last month. I am 5'4" and I weigh 118. So I'm not fat but I'm no longer the 104 I weighed when I was in University. I was too skinny then. I've found that, despite Vogue and People, my men have like me better when I have more meat on my bones. I read somewhere that it has to do with looking fertile. Children are skinny, boney, but when a woman goes through puberty she fleshes out and it signals fertility. Men are hard wired to look for flesh, round bottoms, round pert breasts, any thing that signals, "I can have your babies."

If men really knew what went through our heads they would go back to bed and never get up. They say men have a sexual thought every five minutes or less. They seem to be very proud of this feat But a study just came out that says women have sexual thoughts just as often. Hell, I knew that. We're just suppose to keep shut about it.

When Dr. Wilson called me, and boy does he have a kind, sexy voice, he begged for me to take on his friend. I mean begged. If he hadn't saved my ex boyfriend's life, I probably would have said no. But, I still remember how kind he was to me when my boyfriend was sick. What is it with men? They get a second chance at life and they decide to dip their wick in everything with two legs, including my now ex-best friend.

I had already heard about Dr. Gregory House. At Princeton, it's hard not to. He's been a legend here for quite awhile and after he was shot last year, his reputation for being incorrigible just grew. From what they said, I wasn't sure I wanted to take on the man who was known for hiring young prostitutes, popping vicodin and creating havoc wherever he went. It didn't bode well that it was one of his own patients that had shot him. But, I must admit, I'm a curious creature and love adventure. Besides, I could always quit since I had several prospective clients waiting in his place for my services.

When I couldn't get him to answer the door I figured he would turn out to be one of my late sleepers. I get a few of them and I just have to work around it. I opened the door, called out his name but got no reply. I wasn't surprised, I hadn't been gentle when I banged on the door and rang the doorbell a dozen times. If he hadn't answered after that, I knew I was probably going to have to physically wake him.

I went into his bedroom and there he was. I could smell sex in the room and knew right away that he had probably had a late night. There was a glass on both nightstands but I didn't see the woman so it meant that he was the kind that liked to get rid of you rather than face you in the morning. He was prostrate on his back with no sheet or blanket over him. His arms were off to his sides and I could see a small portion of a scar peeking out of the leg of his boxers on his right leg. It looked pretty bad. He had a man's face and a man's smell. But luckily, it was pungent, just musky. His beard was closely cropped and going gray, as was his brown hair. His hair was also thinning so I figured he was close to fifty.

I had a chance to observe him closely because there was no way this guy was going to wake up without help. I liked his nose, it was aquiline. His lips were wide enough, but not thick. His body was thin but not skinny and he had some muscle but he wasn't what I call "buff". Frankly, "buff" turns me off. He also had some hair on his chest, most of which was gray. I like a little hair on a man's chest, it says, "I'm male, you're not." I liked his long, beautiful hands. But then, when I saw the baby grand I knew he would have beautiful hands, they always do. He was snoring a little, but what man doesn't? Especially after a heavy night of booze and sex.

Now, and this is what I mean about women and sex, I stood there and couldn't help but stare, he had a nice morning salute. I thought of how many ways there are to wake a man. You could turn the alarm on, you could physically shake him, or you could put your warm hand down his boxers and trace the little strip of hair from his belly button to his penis and stroke it until he woke up. All these options seemed equally available to me, but being the consummate professional, I shook him to wake him up. I don't regret it, I don't like sloppy seconds. But I was tempted. The only problem is that I have a strict policy that I can fantasize but I can't jump my clients.

When he opened his right eye and looked up I knew he was having trouble focusing. I was shocked by how blue that eye was. I am a sucker for men with dark hair and blue eyes.

He made it clear from his body language that I wasn't really welcomed. Well, that's happened before. I had parents hire me for their thirty year old son so that they could get him to move out on his own. He was not happy about being on his own. He didn't want me around so that his mother would feel sorry for him and let him move back home. Well, I was with him for two years and he adjusted nicely to living on his own. I eventually weaned him off of me and he functions as a real adult now. Every now and then he calls me up and begs my for beef stroganoff. I take it to him and we sit and talk, he's a great guy.

I just made sure that I ignored all of Dr. House's non-verbal messages and kept on track with my speech. Dr. House is sure that he is going to let me go at the end of the month, but after he ate my Chicken Tikka Massala, I knew that the Dean of Computer Science was going to have to wait for my services until another opening came up. I usually lose one client every six to eight months to either marriage, live-in girlfriend or they move. No one has ever fired me.

Before I let you go, I want to let you in on a secret about the name of my company. I thought hard about it but I finally settled on "Your Wife" for one reason. Can you imagine the confusion when someone takes a message for one of my bachelor clients and they have to tell him, "Your Wife called?" I get a secret little pleasure out of that each time it happens. *** It was a bright, sunny Thursday. Chase was in the office when the phone rang, "Dr. Chase."

"Is Doctor House in?" Danny asked.

"No, I am afraid he went to lunch, may I take a message?" He asked.

"Tell him Your Wife called."

"I don't have a wife." Chase said innocently.

"That's nice, but just tell him that "Your Wife" called anyway, he has my number, ok?" Danny smiled and hung up.

The Team was around the office table when House and Wilson came back from lunch. Wilson was still arguing with House about the meaning of "V for Vendetta" when Chase butted in.

"Your Wife called." everyone paused to see what House would say. Wilson just chuckled.

"What did she want?" House asked without batting an eye.

"She wants you to call her." Now everyone was confused.

House took out his wallet, grabbed the card and started dialing the number. He turned around and saw three very stunned doctors and one laughing his butt off. "Whaaat??? Haven't you ever seen anyone return a call?"

She saw the caller I.D. for Princeton-Plainsboro Hospital, "Hello Doctor House, thanks for calling back. I wouldn't normally bother you for something so trivial, but this is special so I had to ask. Do you prefer chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or banana?"

"Chocolate."

"Do you like Coconut?" she asked as she wielded the cart down the aisles of the grocery store.

"Yes. "

"I'm at the grocery store, is there anything you want or need?" She asked.

"I need shaving cream." he said.

"I already have that in the cart. Anything else?"

"I am having some guys over tonight to play poker, could you pick up some snacks?"

"Ok, take care." Danny hung up.

House put the receiver down and looked up. You could hear a pin drop. They stared at House as if he had just announced he was quitting to become a monk. House went into his own office and started working on the computer. Wilson left to go to his office.

Cameron immediately jumped up and followed House, "Are you...."

House cut her off, "I don't want to talk about it, end of subject. Go back and run those tests I asked you for two hours ago."

Cameron was like a puppy with her tail between her legs. She made her way to the lab but not without first stopping into Wilson's office. "What was that about?"

"What did House tell you ?" Wilson asked.

"He wouldn't say anything."

"Oh, it was a birthday present. I won't say anymore, but don't worry, he's not married." Wilson said.

Cameron was obviously relieved. She started thinking about the cd she had given House this morning for his birthday. It was Muddy Waters and he seemed to really appreciate it. It was hard buying for him, he didn't need or seem to want anything except maybe a bottle of single malt whiskey and a hooker.

***

House walked in around 4:30 pm and came up behind Danny. She had her IPOD on and was dancing about. He asked in a very loud voice, "Did you get the snacks?"

He had taken her by surprise and she jumped a foot and screamed a blood curdling scream that frightened even House. When they both gathered their wits, House apologized between gales of laughter. Danny's heart was racing so hard that she had to sit down.

"Oh Lord, you scared me....Yes, I got the snacks, bought some extra beer and a new bottle of your favorite whiskey...oh, man...I think I just aged a decade."

House admitted to himself that she was good. She even got the booze. Wow. "What was the chocolate, coconut about?"

She grabbed his hand and took him into the kitchen. Her hand was tiny in his, like a child's. She pointed to the counter and there was a homemade German chocolate cake with Happy Birthday G.H. on it. Next to it was a wrapped gift. "Happy Birthday Doctor House."

He was embarrassed, but touched. He wasn't sure what he was suppose to do. He really didn't know this woman so he didn't know what was expected of him.

"Open it."

House could feel that it was a book. It was a signed first edition of the British author, Terry Pratchett's "Going Postal." He enjoyed reading Terry Pratchett and found him to be extremely funny. He was touched. She must have noticed that he had several of his books but not this one. The fact that it was a signed first edition just made it evident that she had taken time out of her day to hunt one down for him. He looked down sheepishly, "This is too much. Thank you, thanks for the cake too."

"I figure you can share it with your poker buddies. I made some snacks, some are there on the counter and the rest are in the oven on warm. Is Dr. Wilson coming tonight?"

"As a matter of fact, I gave him a special invitation and he said he would come. " House didn't want to go into details about what happened the last time Wilson came over to play poker.

"Well, please tell him hello for me. Before I go, do you want me to heat up your dinner?"

"I'll do it."

"I bought the new sheets and they are on your bed, if you don't want them just leave them on the sofa next week. I got around to your ironing today and the closets are cleaned out. I left the receipts on the counter. Well, I'm sure you want some time to get ready so I will skidaddle. Happy Birthday again." She reached over and pecked his cheek and grabbed her things to leave.

"Good bye and thanks again for the gift." He watched her disappear out the door. She hadn't been nearly as annoying as last time. He spent some time setting up the poker table and then went in to the frig to find the orange colored containers. Tonight's meal was a delicious beef stew with homemade biscuits and a salad. All of the meals had been great and he was starting to put on weight. He had lost a lot when he was bored and depressed so he was happy to see he was gaining again.

He went into his bedroom and on the way stopped to look in the closet. He had never seen it so organized. He looked up and on the shelf was the photo album he had been looking for a few months ago. In addition, there was a new vacuum sitting there. He peeked into the linen closet and saw new, earthy green towels with the Christy of England Logo. It said they were 100% combed Egyptian Cotton 800 GSM. Huh? He also saw a set of new sheets, the tag said Frette, 100% combed Egyptian Cotton 640 threads per inch. He wondered what the big deal was.

The night was a success. House shared his birthday cake with everyone and it was a hit. Wilson won some money and so did House. While everyone was expecting the Fritos, dip and pretzels that House usually put out, they were shocked when two trays of Fried Mozarella, Buffalo Wings and various pizza bites were placed on the table along with chips and a delicious chipotle dip. Wilson could see Danny's hand in all of this. After the others left, Wilson and House kicked back on the sofa. "Happy Birthday." Wilson raised his beer in salute to House. House raised his back.

"You know, after having that cake and food and seeing how clean this place is, I wish I had taken you up on your offer to let me use her services. I can't believe what a difference a week has made. I'd really like to meet her again. I don't remember what she looks like" He said.

"Well show up on Thursdays and you can. Maybe you can talk her into wearing that Teddy for me." House took a swig of beer and belched loudly. "Ahhhh, I needed that."

Of course, being male, Wilson reciprocated which led to a belching contest between the two.

House let Wilson out and locked the door. He dragged his butt to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, had a pee and took his levis off. He threw them on the floor and then spied the new hamper. He almost left the Levis where they were but instead he picked them up and put them squarely in the hamper like dunking a basketball. He did the same with his T-shirt. He even took off his boxers and threw them in. It was a warm night and he liked sleeping Commando.

He sat down in bed and set the alarm for 8:30 a.m. He shut off the light and laid back. When he pulled the covers over him he felt a ticklish feeling go through his body. The sheet below him was smooth and gentle. The sheet above floated like a cloud and hovered lightly on his body like a feather. He started to get arouse, the feeling was delicious. When he moved in bed it was like a gentle kiss going all over his body. He enjoyed rubbing his foot back and forth against the fitted sheet to feel it. It was so soft, so smooth. He was never going to change his sheets again...ever.

The next day he went into his drawer to get clean underwear and discovered not only did he have new boxers but there were jersey boxers, silk boxers and cotton boxers. He had a choice. Sitting on top of all of the boxers was a note, "You have now slept on 100% Fine Combed Egyptian Cotton sheets, milled at 640 threads per inch. Welcome to heaven." Yours Sincerely, Danny.

He smiled. She had been right about the sheets. After he used the long double looped towels he also realized he couldn't part with them. He wondered why he hadn't discovered this before. *** DANNY'S TURN

Dr. Chase sure was cute on the phone. I loved when he said so sweetly that he didn't have a wife. And Dr. House played it so straight when he called me back. It was funny.

I knew it was his birthday only because when I first go into a client's house I do a little snooping. I need to if I'm going to make sure he has everything he needs. I was surprised to find that he was turning 48 the very week after I started. I also found several bills that had not been paid, a couple of parking tickets, a warrant for his arrest (because of the unpaid parking tickets) and several vials of Vicodin and something that I am sure was morphine, among other personal things, especially these photo albums, but I'll tell you about them later.

Drugs don't surprise me. I once found a very large baggy of cocaine in one of my bachelor's apartment, which explained how he could afford me. Besides, I couldn't have gotten through grad school without Ritalin. I had to work, go to school and do all the projects I was assigned. I found a little stimulant helped me concentrate. Ok, maybe it helped me concentrate because I probably have ADHD...but still, I didn't have a prescription for it.

But I digress. When Dr. House got home and came up behind me I had just been thinking about the campus rapist that had been terrorizing the town. When he yelled I thought for sure I was being attacked. I'm pretty sure I had a wet spot on my knickers. I have a pretty good scream and I could tell Dr. House had been frightened because he turned white and his eyes grew huge. Should I tell you once again how damn blue those eyes are? Whew. Thank God he found it so funny. Otherwise I think I would have been calling a cardiologist for him.

When I took him to get his birthday gift and cake, I impulsively grabbed his hand. I try not to have too much physical contact with my clients but I couldn't resist those lovely fingers. His fingers were so long that they wrapped completely around mine with some left over. More importantly, he actually HELD my hand. He didn't grip it like a wet fish. He applied a firm pressure. You can tell a lot about the way someone takes your hand. He had confidence and knew what he was doing, even if he didn't know where I was taking him.

As soon as I saw his collection of Terry Pratchett books, I knew what to get him. I have a book dealer that I work with to buy special books. When one of my clients needs a special gift to give, I always suggest a first edition book. They become more valuable as time goes by and a gift of literature is special because you are acknowledging not only the likes of the person, but the intelligence it takes to read and comprehend literature. He seemed very touched and I was surprised by that, especially after my less than warm welcome the week before.

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when he crawled in bed (or better yet a bed bug.) The Frette 640s are some of my favorite sheets for daily use. Of course, I have Frette 1000s but they cost well over $600 and that's too much to spend for a males and their bedroom activities. The 640 Frettes cost $250 a set through my wholesaler. I went way over budget this week, but I saw House's bank account statements and the guy is flush with money. So, I spent $1,112 on everything over the last week. I know I won't be taking back those sheets. They're better than sex. Well, almost. And if there is one thing that I can tell Dr. House likes, it is decadent pleasures.

I can also tell he still thinks I'm some sort of Doris Day figure. But I always let them think that at first, it makes the journey more interesting.

*** The Team had worked hard all Wednesday and into Thursday on a case involving a little boy. By 9:00 a.m. the boy was starting to get better and House's work was done. He packed up to go home and get some sleep. He knew that it was his day for Danny to come but he was beat and needed some sleep. He'd just have to interrupt her.

When he walked through the door he could smell something cooking and he found Danny sitting at the table filling out checks for bills. "Dr. House? Did you forget something or can I do something for you?"

Every time she asked him if she could do something for him, he wanted to suggest something lewd and lascivious. But she was so clean and squeaky that he didn't want to embarrass her. Plus he was too tired to be funny.

"I worked all night so I came home to get some sleep." He said. He could tell that this bothered her so he asked, "Is that a problem?"

"No, of course not, it just means that I need to get in gear and change your bed and make sure I don't disturb you today. I was going to vacuum your room thoroughly, but I can do that later or next time. I am cooking tonight's meal, Chicken Korma, so that it will be fresh for tonight. Is there anything I can get you for breakfast?"

"I am a little hungry, how about a bowl of cereal." he said.

"Oh, we can do better than that. I can whip up an omelet. I already have the vegetables chopped for Friday's quiche lorraine so it won't take long. What do you say?"

"Sure, sounds good."

"Well then, go take your shower and I'll get it started."

He grabbed his things and went into the bathroom. It had already been clean and was shining. He was getting used to a clean home and a good meal. He realized that he was being seduced by all of this. He had to admit, it was working. He was finding it harder each day to think of going back to a dirty house and peanut butter sandwiches.

He was very tired. He dragged himself out to the kitchen and sat on the stool. She gave him a cheerleader smile and handed him a plate with a fluffy cheese and vegetable omelet and a large glass of mango-orange juice. He started to eat.

"I'll go change those sheets." She started to leave but he put his hand on her elbow to stop her.

"Stay and talk to me."

Boy, he was tired. He was letting his guard down. "Ok, what do you want to talk about?"

"Why do you do this?"

She chuckled. "I guess because I don't have to think too much while I'm doing it. I just react to the needs of five men and then go home at night. I don't have to worry if I'm doing it right or if I am letting a team down or if I am bright enough. I just see what people need and I make sure they have it. Plus, I see results by the end of the day."

"Do you enjoy it?"

"Immensely. I mean, look at you. I came in and you had huge bags under your eyes, you're clothes were starting to hang on you. You had peanut butter jars all over the refrigerator, but nothing else. You're a brilliant and important doctor, you save lives, you should be taking care of yourself. We both know that the fuel you put into your body dictates what your body and your mind can do. Crap in, crap out, in more ways than one. You look much healthier now. The bags are clearing up, your clothes are fitting better. That's what I like to see. I also enjoy making sure you look good and have nice things because you...hell...everybody deserves a little TLC."

"Who gives you TLC?"

She gave a nervous giggle, "Well, lately its all been self-gratification."

"Really? I thought Wilson said you had a boyfriend."

"Oh, that was last year. We had been together four years, he got cancer, he got better, he got a new girlfriend, I got screwed."

House gave a nod of acknowledgment but didn't offer any words of encouragement of sympathy. She saw he was almost done with breakfast.

"I'll go change those sheets now. Today you get the light blue ones, aren't you special?" They both smiled.

He followed her into the bedroom and he watched her strip the dirty sheets and start to put on the clean fitted sheet. He was horny and watching a he make his bed was slightly erotic. He decided he better do something to get his mind off of the image of her bending over to tuck in the sheets, so he helped her. The bed was made and ready for him to go to sleep. She closed the drapes to darken the room and turned down the left side of the bed for him to get in.

"Before I leave you, do you want some water or anything else? I'll try to be quiet but I'm going to have to run the vacuum in the living room, unless you don't want me to..."

"Water would be nice, but don't worry about the vacuum, I'm a deep sleeper, it won't bother me once I get to sleep."

They were looking at each other across the bed and she felt awkward. It was so suggestive, so sensual.

She went to get the water. When she got back he was sitting on the edge of the left side of the bed. She came over and put the water on the nightstand. She turned and found herself directly in front of him. He looked up and for a few seconds they just stared at each other. She turned and left. He followed her with his eyes until she closed the door.

He smiled to himself. There was something about her. He couldn't help but feel there was a whole other side to her. He didn't know, right now he was so tired he just wanted to sleep.

She finished the meals, dusted, cleaned the windows, ran the vacuum, went out to pick him up some toilet paper and paper towels and then came back to finish up the clothes. They were ready to be folded and put away. She took his folded clothes into his room, it was 4:30 p.m She tip-toed in and saw him laying in bed with just the sheet over him. She saw his boxers on the floor and new he must be naked. She opened up the drawers and started putting the clothes away. When she was done she turned around to have one last look at him only to discover that he was up on his elbows watching her. When she saw his blue eyes in the semi-dark room, it shocked her.

Oh! I see you are awake. Did I wake you?" she sounded apologetic.

"No, I was drifting in and out. What time is it?" he asked looking towards the alarm clock, "Hmm, 4:30 p.m. that's good, I didn't want to sleep too late because then I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight." He looked at her again and this time it was primal. Nervously, she transferred her weight to the left foot and then back again. He wanted her and she wanted him.

"Like the sheets?" She managed to say.

"I haven't slept in my boxers for a week, I can't get over how cool and smooth they feel." He started to sit up on the edge of the bed and so she figured it was her cue to get out before they both got in trouble.

"Are you hungry?"

"Just a little. I could really use some coffee."

She laughed out loud. "You've just discovered my Achilles heel. I make a lousy cup of coffee. I've tried but I only seem to do well when I have to make it in large batches for groups or parties. I've lost all confidence in my coffee making abilities for one."

He briefly shook his head in disbelief. "Well, I can make it. Don't worry."

"I mean, I can make it, but you'll probably wish I didn't." she backtracked.

"Well, why don't you go ahead and I'll get dressed. Who knows, maybe you'll surprise us both." He started to get up and the sheet started to fall away. Danny bolted out of the room. House smiled to himself.

When he got to the kitchen there was a sandwich sitting on a plate and Danny was looking nervously at the coffee pot. "Do you like drinking coffee?" She asked.

"Isn't it a little obvious, I just asked your for some? Is it ready yet?"

"I just wondered if you were addicted to it, my ex used to say that you know you're addicted when instant coffee takes too long." She tried a feeble smile.

He watched her closely, she was nervous. How bizarre, she was afraid of failing at making coffee. He couldn't help but find it amusing that anyone would be that nervous over making the perfect cup of coffee. She handed him the cup and he added his milk and sugar. He took a tiny drink and then scrunched his face and spit it out. Her face crumbled and he could see she was on the brink of crying.

"IT WAS A JOKE...THE COFFEE IS FINE. See." And he took several big drinks. Actually the coffee was fine, neither bad nor excellent, but definitely drinkable.

She ran out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. He got down from the stool, grabbed his cane and went down the hall. He could hear the faucet running. "For God Sakes, it was a joke...do you really think the universe revolves around your coffee? Get ahold of yourself." He had no sympathy for something so trivial.

"I KNOW what the universe revolves around. I just wish people wouldn't tease me about my coffee. I feel like everyone in the world can make coffee but me." and then she opened the door. She gave him a defiant look.

"Ok, just come back into the kitchen...no coffee jokes."

She followed him back into the kitchen. He ate the sandwich and finished the coffee. "Can I have another cup?"

"You're just being nice."

"No, I really want another cup. I need to wake up, Wilson is coming over tonight to go to a movie." He said.

She poured it for him and he gave her a look of thanks. She rinsed the dishes and put them in the dishwasher.

"Is your house this clean?" He asked.

"Oh, hell no. I'm a slob. I just don't have the energy to go home and clean. I have a maid that comes in every week to clean." She paused for a second, "Well, your bills are made out and ready for you to sign and mail. You have that outstanding warrant. I went down and they said that if you pay the tickets and a $50 fine, the warrant will go away, so that's why the check for the parking tickets is for $50 extra. The check on top is to reimburse me for the vacuum, sheets, etc. All of the receipts are attached. The rest are just normal bills."

He took the one for her, signed it and handed it back. She thanked him. He asked her more questions and was surprised to find that she had lived in Cambridge, England for four years. They talked about traveling around. She had been a Navy brat and had also moved around as a kid. But unlike House, she still enjoyed travel. They talked for an hour about Terry Pratchett, Clint Eastwood, soap operas and family. He learned that her parents were both dead and she was an only child like him. Eventually, she said her goodbyes, picked up her things and left. He was sorry to see her go.

*** Wilson got the call Friday afternoon. It was up to him to tell House and he was dreading it. House was starting to act normal, for House. He was sarcastic, mean and witty but he was no longer downright cruel and depressed. Wilson knew that House would not take this news well and he wondered if it was going to set him back.

"Hey, are you up for a drink after work?" Wilson asked spritely.

House gave him a look that said he knew something was up, "What is it?"

"Just thought we'd get a drink...but if you don't want to..."

"I can see I won't get it out of you until we go for a drink' that neither of us wants, so, stop by and get me at 8:00 p.m. I have some errands to run after work."

They went to the Tiger's Tale and sat at one of their favorite tables near the bar. They liked it because when the barmaid had to bend over to get extra napkins they always got a good view of her breasts, it was sweet. Wilson noticed that House's shirts were ironed these days, making him actually look like a professional. Cuddy had asked Wilson about it and Wilson warned her that in another two weeks it might all go back to the way it was. When Cuddy asked why, he just said, "It depends on whether he gets a divorce or not." and then walked away. Cuddy was completely baffled.

"You know, I keep getting the strangest spam. It seems personal but I'm getting too many so it must be some spam service. They are coming from these gay guys who claim they want to hook up with me and see if we will hit it off. Some of them claim to like my looks and the cute smile. It's really bizarre, I don't know how to block them, they keep getting through."

"Realllly? House asked sincerely. They sat for a few moments in silence.

"Well, are you going to keep her? This is your last Thursday coming up."

House winced, "Oh, it is tempting. I still don't like someone pawing my stuff, but I love the food. She cooks better than you. And she was right, I was sleeping on the wrong sheets. Since she got me the right ones' I've been sleeping like a baby."

"Well that's great, you always did have trouble sleeping straight through unless, of course, you were drunk, drugged or laid."

"Well these sheets are almost as good as sex. Almost."

"Ooh, I need these sheets..." Wilson said eagerly.

"How do women figure these things out? I mean, who would know that nice sheets could improve your entire outlook on life?" He said with an air of incredulity. "Well, enough of the small talk, why have you dragged me here."

Wilson paused, knowing this would hurt his friend, "Stacy's pregnant. I got a call from her yesterday and she told me. She wanted me to tell you."

House was visibly shaken. But he tried to put a brave face on it. "Well, I'm surprised her old eggs are going to hatch."

"It was IVF, they've been trying for a year now." Wilson said.

House shook his head in acknowledgment and watched as the barmaid bent over for napkins. Wilson just kept quiet, he knew that House needed a moment to digest this. House immediately changed the subject and Wilson decided to humor him. After an hour House went home.

*** It was Saturday night and Danny was going to go to a barbeque at John Tarkington's house. John and Danny knew each other when they were in the doctorate program at Cambridge. John had fallen in love with Danny but it was never reciprocated. Eventually he moved on and found the real love of his life, Carol, but he had managed to salvage the friendship with Danny. They were close friends, having suffered together under Stephen Hawkings.

A party at John and Carol's was always fun. John was pretty much a straight arrow but Carol was a wild card. She loved to stir things up. Danny knew there would be a lot of grad students, faculty and townies from Princeton at the barbeque which meant a lot of single guys. She picked out a very pretty halter dress and cute slings. She styled her hair and even put on makeup, something she didn't do during the week. She thought she looked ok as she got in her Classic 1964 Plymouth Belvedere Max Wedge with the beautiful red interior and bench seat and left for the party at about 6:00 p.m. It was suppose to have started at 5 p.m. so Danny would get there just about the time the party really got started.

She pulled into the long drive and parked where she could easily get out if she wanted to go home. She could hear the music and voices in the back yard so she went around the side and saw John talking to another very attractive man who was about forty or so.

"Well, speak of the devil. Chris, meet the beautiful Danny, my very best friend." John was slightly tipsy and grabbed Danny by the shoulders to give her a hug. "Danny, this is Dr. Chris Parkington. He just arrived at the Institute."

"It's an honor to meet you Dr. Morgan. I wish you were still at the Institute, I would have loved to have worked with you." He said politely.

"Well, thanks, that's very kind. Luckily you will have the privilege of working with John so you won't miss me." She shook his hand.

"Can I get you a drink?" He motioned to the tubs of beers, sodas and the table with the hard liquor.

"Sure, it looks like they have a blender of Margaritas, I'd love one of those."

He went to get her one and she gave John a mean look. "John, please stop trying to hook me up with another physicist. I'm burned out on them."

John laughed. "Give Chris a chance, he's a good guy."

"Ok, but in the future...."

Chris came back and they talked for at least an hour before getting their food. John had been right, Chris was a nice guy and not as nerdy as most physicist. He could actually hold a conversation on movies, books and music. He had even seen Donny Darko and had loved it. That was plus in her book.

It was about 7:15 p.m. when she got the call on her cell. "Hello?"

"Hello, excuse me but are you Gregory House's wife?"

"Who is this?" She asked.

"I'm the bartender at Bayside Bar' in Long Beach, New Jersey. Mr. House is down here and let's just say I can't let him drive. He's pretty drunk and he's starting to cause some problems. I took his wallet and found a card in it that just said, "Your Wife" and this number. I assume you are his wife?"

Danny was shaking her head, she knew where this was going. "I take it you want someone to come down and pick him up."

"It's that or I call the police. I'd prefer not to get the police involved. Some of the people in the fight are my best customers."

"Is he hurt?" She started to get alarmed.

"He's more drunk than hurt, but he does have a bloody nose. Are you going to come and get him?"

"Yes, but it's going to take me a couple of hours, I'm up here in Princeton."

"Oh, I didn't realize you were so far away. Well, I can put him on the couch in the office until you get here."

"Fine, I'm on my way." She hung up and made her excuses to Chris. "Sorry, but one of my clients needs my assistance, I have to go. But, here's my telephone number, give me a call sometime."

He promised to call and Danny started her two hour journey to the New Jersey shore to get the drunk Dr. House. When she arrived at the seaside bar she saw his motorcycle parked outside. She went inside and spoke to the bartender who unlocked the office and flipped on the light. There was House on the couch passed out with blood caked around his nose. She went to the bathroom and got a paper towel and cleaned off his nose. He woke up while she was doing this.

"DANNNNYY."

He was still drunk. She wondered how drunk he had been three hours ago when he got into the fight. "Yes Dr. House. Let's get you home."

"Did you come to drink with me?"

"No, I came to take you home." She smiled at him and he smiled broadly back.

His cane was missing and so she had to have him lean on her. She poured him into the car and then went back into the bar. She asked the bartender, "I'm going to give you $100 to make sure nothing happens to that motorcycle out there. The Honda. We'll pick it up tomorrow or the next day. I'll give you $50 now and $50 when we pick it up. Do you think you can do that?"

"Sure, I'll move it to the gated area next door, it will be safe. Oh, here's his helmet and his bar bill is $327.00. He was buying a lot of rounds for everyone."

She handed him her credit card and after settling the bill, went out to the car. She asked about his cane and discovered it was in pieces. House was snoring in the front seat. She buckled him in and then started the trip home. About fifteen minutes into the drive his snoring woke him up. He sat up and looked around.

"DANNNNYY." He smiled sweetly at her.

"Yes Dr. House?"

"Have my babies."

"Excuse me?"

He took his seatbelt off and scooted into the middle next to Danny. "Have my babies."

"Uh, sure Dr. House, as soon as we get back to Princeton."

He was drunk. "You think I'm joking, but I'm not. I've got great genes, I'm educated and I have money. You've got a nice body and even if you aren't educated, well you seem smart. I'm good in bed so I could make sure you had a good time." His head was weaving.

"Well, that's quite enticing. A girl would find that hard to turn down. Let me think about it." She looked at him and he was fast asleep again. She couldn't help but think something must have precipitated this. She wish she had Dr. Wilson's phone number so she could call him."

Fifteen minutes later his head popped up and he looked around again. "Well?"

She started laughing, "Well what?"

"Babies. Are you going to have my babies?" he asked.

"Like I said, just let me get you home and then we can get started, ok?" she said.

"No. Let's get started now."

"Kinda hard with me driving..." She turned to look at him and his face was about six inches from hers with a sweet, sweet, sad little smile.

The next thing she knew there was a hand going up her right thigh and a face nuzzling and kissing her ear. "This is all very pleasant Dr. House..."she said as she removed his hand, "...but I have to concentrate on driving."

"Pull over and concentrate on this." he said as he stuck his hand into the left side of her halter and fondled her breast.

"Whoaaaaa." She pulled over to the side of the road. She grabbed his hand and forcefully put it in his lap. "Ok, that's it. Do NOT touch me. Get back over to the other side and buckle up. NOW." She was very stern.

But he didn't move. She looked at him and said, "Dr. House, we're never going to get home if you don't behave."

"Ok." He put both of his hands in his lap and sat up. She put the car in gear and continued down the road.

Ten minutes later she felt the hand going up her dress again. She had to admit, the way he caressed her thigh she knew he was probably right. He probably was good in bed. She was making a turn and couldn't grab his hand until he had already breached the panty line. She pulled over again. "Dr. House, I know you think you want this. But you REALLY DON'T want this. You're drunk and well, you've obviously had something happen and you want to forget it, but this isn't the way to do that."

"I'll stop if you give me one kiss. I've wanted to kiss you ever since I saw the back of you leaving my bedroom. Just one kiss." He said and crossed his heart.

"I hope you're too drunk to remember this tomorrow. Just one LITTLE kiss. No tongue."

She stopped the engine and turned towards him. Amazingly, he was very steady and very serious. He took her chin on his finger and then leaned in. His lips parted and so did hers. She could feel his warm breath in her mouth and the warm tongue as it darted between her lips. His hand came down and went into her halter and caressed her breast again. This time she was too paralyzed to stop him. She wanted this. When he pulled back she still had her eyes closed. She could feel the kiss all the way down deep in her groin and she ached. She opened her eyes and grabbed his hand and pulled it out of her halter.

"Oh boy, that was better than it should have been. Now will you please get over to your side and buckle in?" He did as she asked and they drove back to Princeton in silence. House slept most of the way.

*** DANNY'S TURN

When the bartender called I was really pissed. Chris had been the first good prospect in over a year since I broke up with my cheating ex. He was good looking, like an American Collin Firth. He was obviously bright. You don't get to the Institute if you're dumb. And he was funny. I was having a great time.

I was so tempted to tell the bartender that I couldn't help him. After all, it was Saturday night and I DON'T WORK ON SATURDAYS. But I just couldn't leave Dr. House in that predicament. I could just see the police hauling his butt to jail and me having to go down on Monday and bail him out. It was better to avoid all of that. I knew one thing, I was going to charge him for my gas and my services. I figure the drive down and back was worth $400, another day's wages.

When I got there about half a dozen very buff looking guys gave me the evil eye when they found out I was there to pick him up. The bartender told me that they were still itching to take a piece out of him. The bartender had locked Dr. House up to keep these guys from tearing him a new orifice. He said that he had to use Dr. House's cane to get them off of him and it broke into pieces. Apparently, Dr. House was asking several of their girlfriends to have his babies.

I felt sorry for him. He looked so adorable and vulnerable laying on that couch. He gave me such a happy smile when he woke up and saw me. I managed to get him cleaned up and pay that bar bill. I wish I could have stayed and given those jerks a taste of their own medicine. I mean, six against one? How manly is that?

That car ride home was horrible. It was horrible because I was having a hard time saying no. After that kiss if he had asked me to have his babies again I would have said, Let's jump in the back and get started.' Luckily, he behaved and I was able to cool down. I don't know what caused this, but I do know when a guy is trying to forget something that's painful. I wish I knew what it was.

I am concerned. He has to let me know this Thursday if he is going to continue my services. I'm afraid he may feel too embarrassed to keep me on. I hope he keeps me on. He's a challenge and I love a challenge.

***

House hadn't blacked out, he remembered everything about the ride home including the feel of her breast in his hand and the warmth of her tongue in his mouth. Even now it made him hot to think about it. It took the sting out of the news about Stacy. But he was left with a dilemma, should he or shouldn't he keep her services?

Danny had left him a bill for $900 for the trip to the beach. It included a bar bill that he was pretty sure wasn't really his, but how could he argue? Wilson had driven him down the next day to get his motorcycle. Wilson was more than amused at what the bartender had to say. Especially the, "...have my babies" part.

Thursday morning Danny arrived at House's apartment at 8:00 a.m. as usual. He had already left for work. She didn't know if he had gone in early because he had to or because he wanted to avoid her. She felt a sinking feeling, there was nothing in the apartment to inform her as to whether he was keeping her services or not. She fixed the meals for the upcoming week and stripped the bed. She continued her work and tried to focus on what it would be like to work for the Dean of Computer Science. He seemed kind and he held a very important position. Princeton was promoting their computer science department throughout the USA and the Dean had informed her he needed someone to help give frequent dinner parties. It would mean extra money so that would come in handy.

The day dragged. She spent the afternoon in his bedroom cleaning it. She washed the walls, windows and mirrors. She dusted and vacuumed everything. She straightened his drawers and she cleaned out the air conditioning duct. She went to hang a jacket in the hall closet. She saw the photo albums and pulled them down from the shelf. She opened them and saw photos of House with his parents in Egypt, Italy, California, and several other locations. House looked comfortable with his mother but not with his Dad. There was always a gap between them in the photos, no arm around the shoulder, no closeness. It made her sad. The boy in the photos with his Dad was angry and miserable. She wondered why.

The next set of photos were of friends, university, med school and various trips. The last set was clearly taken before House's problem with his leg. In one of the photos he was golfing with Wilson; the next he was swimming in the ocean; in another he was rock climbing; and still another he was rafting. She felt so sad and so angry over his leg. It wasn't fair. He looked healthy and happy in these photos.

It was the second photo album that she was most interested in. It showed him with a woman about his age and very beautiful. Danny thought about how plain she must look to him in her standard uniform of black slacks and white shirt. She looked back at the album. The woman's name written on the back of the photos was Stacy and she wondered why Stacy wasn't still with Dr. House? Dr. House and Stacy looked very much in love. The photos spanned several years. What happened to them?

She heard the front door open and she jumped up to put the photo album away. She just managed to get it on the shelf of the closet when Dr. House came up behind her. "Hello Dr. House, how are you today?"

"Fine." He handed her his jacket and helmet which she hung up in the closet.

"Can I get you something?" she asked.

There was that question again. He held his tongue and said, "No, I think I'll grab myself a drink and maybe watch a little television. I need to relax, we had a rough day today."

"Well, I'm almost done, so I will be out of your hair soon."

He said nothing. He grabbed a whiskey and decided to play the piano for awhile. He sat down and started playing some tunes from the fifties. When she was about ready to go he motioned to the desk.

"I signed the checks and they are on the desk. Can you mail them?"

"Sure."

She picked up the stack of mail. She noticed two checks on top was made out to her, one was for $900 and the other was for $1600. It said, July, in the memo section. She smiled at him but he kept a poker face. "See you next Thursday."

"Next Thursday." and he held up his whiskey glass in a toast.

*** It was Friday night and Chris had asked her out for drinks and dinner at the Tiger's Tale. She needed to get her mind off of Gregory House and that kiss. She decided that tonight she was going to get laid. She put on a short skirt that showed off her very shapely legs and a top that was low cut and clung to her figure. There was a built in bra that helped create cleavage. She swept her hair back behind her ears and put on just enough makeup to make her look young and bright. She put on some strappy high heels and was ready for bear.

Chris showed up looking good enough to eat. He was dressed in nice slacks and a lovely silk shirt that showed off his lovely blue eyes. What was it with all these men and their lovely blue eyes? He brought her flowers and she put them in a vase. He opened the door to the new corvette stingray and she slipped inside. The car was a masterpiece.

The conversation on the way to the restaurant was flirtatious and fun. They arrived at the Tiger's Tale in good spirits. The restaurant was full and their reservation wasn't for another half hour. They checked in and went to the bar for a drink. They were sharing a joke when she saw them. Dr. House was standing at a table near the bar with Dr. Wilson and two others. One was a woman with dark hair and an air of authority and the other was a young man with blonde hair. Danny didn't know what to do. Chris chose chairs just two tables away from the group. House, had not yet spotted her. She thought if she had her back to him, he wouldn't see her.

House, Wilson, Cuddy and Chase were all celebrating Cuddy's birthday. They were on their second round of drinks and were sharing stories about med school. Wilson saw a woman at another table that looked vaguely familiar. She was gorgeous and she kept sneaking glances his way.

Wilson couldn't figure it out. He leaned into House who had his back to the woman's table. "I know that woman, but I can't figure out from where."

"What woman?" House asked and then turned around. He looked over to the table where she sat. House smiled. She snuck a glance back and their eyes met. He was amused. Who was she with?

"That Wilson, is "Your Wife." He smiled at her.

"Really, that's Your Wife?" Wilson said it loud enough that Cuddy and Chase heard it.

"Yes."

"Ok you guys, what the hell are you talking about?" Cuddy asked.

"The woman at that table is the woman who is responsible for House looking like he does. She's been doing his wash and ironing and she's been feeding him. In essence, she's been like a wife to him." Wilson told them.

"You mean a housekeeper?" Chase asked.

"Yes and no. She does the housework, she cooks AND she organizes his life." Wilson said.

House was ignoring the conversation and was watching Danny and Chris.

Danny was trying to be charming and witty, but she could feel House's eyes on her. She finally broke down and told Chris, "I'm sorry if I seem a little jumpy, one of my clients is sitting behind me and it's a little awkward if I don't go over and say hello. Would you mind?"

"By all means."

Danny got up and turned around. House was facing her. She walked directly to him and the table. "Good evening Dr. House, Dr. Wilson." She smiled at the other two. Chase was trying desperately not to drool. She was hot. He couldn't imagine her cleaning house. But then, leave it to House to hire the hottest maid in town.

"Danny Morgan, it's good to see you again." Wilson put out his hand to shake hers. Since House was doing the introductions, Wilson took over, "Danny, let me introduce you to Dr. Lisa Cuddy and Dr. Robert Chase."

"Oh, Dr. Chase, I spoke to you on the phone."

"Yes, I remember! You said you were my wife." he laughed.

"I guess you could look at it that way." She smiled back.

Lisa cut in, "Did you say Danny Morgan? That name sounds so familiar. Have we met?"

"I don't remember meeting you, but maybe we have met. I've lived in Princeton for ten years now."

House said nothing but he was staring at her with great interest. He finally broke his silence, "Are you going to sleep with him tonight?" The whole table went quiet. Danny turned bright red. House noticed all the stares, "Whaaat?" He stared back at them and then turned to Danny, "I just ask because you're dressed like someone who wants to get laid."

"Well, good night Dr. House, I'll see you next week. It was nice meeting all of you." She turned around and went back to the table.

"Are you an idiot?" Cuddy said, "Why would you want to insult her like that?"

"He doesn't want to insult her, he wants to screw her." Chase said matter of factly.

The whole table turned and looked at Chase, including House who started to smirk. "Out of the mouth of babes...you may not be as blonde as we thought."

"Come on House, you're kidding, right? Please don't screw the help, we want her to keep working for you...you're so much better when she's taking care of you." Wilson was pleading.

"She's over there with the sexiest guy here, I don't think you have to worry." Cuddy said. "I know if I was with him I wouldn't be thinking of anyone else."

House thought about what it all meant. Why did he even care that she was going to go home with that guy tonight?

Danny was even more determined to go home with Chris. She needed to get laid, she needed to get over that kiss, she needed to re-establish the client relationship with House. She needed to have something else to think about.

Danny didn't have to try too hard. The minute Chris saw her he was dreading having to spend two hours in a restaurant. He would have rather have spent the two hours in bed. While they were in the booth, he started making his moves. He held her hand, played with her hair and kissed her neck. House was watching this from the bar and decided to make his move. He took out his cell phone and dialed his wife.

*** Danny's Turn

I like Corvettes, but they say something about the guy who drives one. It almost screams, "I'm insecure, if you can't love me for me, love me for my car." But I tried to put that out of my mind as we drove to the Tiger's Tale. I was going to nail him tonight even if his car did scream, "I'm insecure." Chris himself was attentive and funny.

Isn't it just my luck that the very b@stard I was trying to forget turns out to be standing at the table ten feet away. I couldn't believe it. I almost got away with it, but then Dr. Wilson recognized me.

I thought I could diffuse the situation by going to his table and saying hello, but he just stood there and undressed me with those blue eyes. I tried hard to be professional and meet his colleagues, but it was next to impossible when there he was obviously imagining me naked. I couldn't believe what he said to me about going home with Chris. I wanted to beat the living crap out of him, not because he said it in front of others, but because he actually read me like a book.

I thought I could erase it all by letting Chris maul me in the booth. I just wanted a man to want me and Chris was doing a great job at that. Then my cell phone went off indicating a text message. I politely apologized to Chris about the interruption and pulled out my cell. There was the message, "Go Home With Me, Greg." My stomach knotted and I started to sweat. I couldn't breath. Chris asked me if I was ok. I told him I just got a message that there was an emergency and I needed to reply to it. Would he mind if I went outside and made a call. I got up, grabbed my purse and went outside as if I was going to make a call, but really I was really going out to get some air.

I was standing out in grass area by the parking lot with my hands on my knees to try and get some blood to my head when I felt his hands on my waist. I turned around and my knees buckled. He held me up and I grabbed onto him just to keep from falling down. I only remember that his lips were warm and his arms were steady and I was in trouble.

It was several minutes of deep kissing before we said anything to each other. "This isn't going to end well." I told him.

"You don't know that." He answered. He then kissed me on my neck and then down to my cleavage. I tried to pull away but it was no use. He wasn't letting me go so I stopped fighting it.

"Let's go." He said.

"Where?" I asked.

"I know this place where they have great sheets that feel like clouds floating on your body. I want to wrap you in them after I devour every inch of your body."

"I should go back in and explain things to Chris."

"Don't worry, in about five minutes Wilson is going to go over to him and tell him that you got called away on an emergency."

"You're pretty confident that I am going to go home with you."

"Here's the helmet, you wear it."

I put the damn thing on like a child being told what to do. We took off and when we got to his apartment I took the damn thing off.

*** He held her against the wall and started to give her deep, intense kisses. He then grabbed her hand and lead her down the hall to his bedroom. He sat down on the bed and pulled her down next to him. He kissed her and pushed her down so that she was laying on her back looking up at him. He put his hand under her blouse and started to feel her stomach and then up towards her breasts. He laid his right leg over hers pinning her under his weight. He continued to give her deep kisses and then gently kissed down her neck and into her cleavage. Her hands were equally busy, going up the back of his shirt and tracing the spine down his back. He rolled back, reached up and took his shirt off over his head rather than unbutton it. She felt his chest hair and he helped pull her top off. It came off easily over her head. He looked down at her breasts and kissed her gently. Then he stood up and unbuckled his pants. The pants dropped to the floor. He then lifted her skirt and grabbed one side of her panties with a firm hand. He yanked them quickly and they tore off in one swift motion. She inhaled deeply. The boxers dropped and he lowered himself back down. When he entered her she was ready for him.

The sex was exhausting. They had several rounds before they fell asleep in each other's arms. Sometime during the night she rolled away from him and his arm reached out and pulled her back, close to his naked body. The sheets caressed them both. It felt like heaven.

She was still asleep, tucked in the spoon position when he wanted her again, waking her. It was easy lovemaking, no athletics. After it was over he just held her for a few minutes. She got up to take a shower. Her panties lay ripped and useless on the floor. So she picked up her skirt and top and went into the bathroom, House followed her into the shower. They kissed and washed each other, enjoying the discovery of each other's body.

She went into the kitchen and made them breakfast. He ate voraciously, enjoying every bite of his meal. She ate sparingly, enjoying watching him tuck into the eggs and bacon.

"Well, I guess I better write you a check for the $1600." She said.

He tilted his head and said, "What do you mean?"

"Well obviously I can't work for you." she said.

"Why not?" he seemed surprised.

"How do you think I am going to feel if I come in on a Thursday and you have a girl over or I find evidence of you being with someone else? It would be very awkward." She said.

"Who said I was going to have another girl over? Why would I?" He asked.

"Well, I don't like to read anything into the first...God, I wouldn't call it a date...what would you call this?"

"The start of something nice?" He offered.

She shook her head. "Look, what happened last night was unprofessional of me and I just don't think I could continue to work for you and remain objective about what I am doing for you. "

"I'm not asking you to be objective, but I don't see why you need to quit. If it gets too awkward, we can make adjustments or you can quit then. Look, I don't have any plans for bringing other women home right now."

"But I know you like your hookers."

He laughed, "Who told you that?"

"Campus gossip. I actually know a few of the girls who work Princeton. There's Meghan, Paula and Chelsea. I think all three of them have rotated through your bedroom if I remember correctly." Danny looked up at him.

"That doesn't mean they are going to continue to rotate through. Sometimes it is easier to pay for it than to go out, pretend that you are interested in someone and then deal with their emotions afterwards."

"Is that what this is?" she asked delicately.

"No, I would have sent you home last night if I didn't want to deal with your emotions. I don't want you to stop working for me. I hate to admit it but, I really enjoy having you around. Sounds pathetic when I say it, but it just makes my whole life easier. Now how do you know Meghan, Paula and Chelsea?"

"Oh, you aren't the only one of my clients they service. The other clients actually let them stay until morning. I told Paula I had baked a birthday cake for you, she mentioned that she knew you well as did her co-hookers..."

"So much for privacy." He said with a grin.

"Oh, she keeps it a secret except from me. She knows that I can grease the wheel for her at times and sometimes she helps me out with things, so we talk."

She cleaned up the kitchen and turned to him, "I either need a ride or a cab."

I'll take you home." He offered.

"Ok, but before we go, I need to tell you about my past..." But her confession was interrupted by a telephone call. House didn't pick it up but listened to the machine when it picked up.

"House , Cuddy here. We have a 32 year old male who has blood coming out of every orifice but no fever. We need you to get down here stat to tell us what it is and whether we need to call in the CDC." The voice sounded panicky.

House gave Danny a look of annoyance and said, "Sorry, but she doesn't sound like that very often, I better go in. Here's $20 for a cab, will that be enough? I don't know where you live."

"Yes, and I'll write down my address for you." She took out a folded piece of paper from her purse and wrote down the address. He stuck it in his pocket.

***

Later during the day as he was waiting for lab results, he started thinking about what had happened that morning. He thought maybe he could go by her house this afternoon when he was done here. He pulled out the paper and noticed that there was writing on both sides. On one side was an address, on the other was:

Dear John,

Hawking showed that you can assign a finite 'temperature' to a BH due to the fact that it emits particles and radiation by the quantum tunneling process.

That 'temperature' is given by: T = h(kappa)/2pi(k)(c), where 'kappa' is the surface gravity and the others are the usual constants... Planck's, Boltzmann's, and c. In terms of mass the 'temperature' (in *K) of a spherical BH of mass M is: T = 10^-7[M(s)/M] *K , (where M(s) is a solar mass). Quite low.

Hope this helps. Yours, Danny

At first he didn't know what it meant. But he could tell it was her handwriting because it both matched the address handwriting and the handwriting on the checks. He called Lisa Cuddy.

"Lisa Cuddy." She answered.

"Hey, does your cousin still work in the physics department?" House inquired.

"Yes, why?" she asked, skeptical.

"I have something that looks like a physics formula that Danny wrote and I was wondering if he could decipher it?"

"Danny, you mean, Danny Morgan, the woman that we met last night? The one you left us for?" She accused.

"Yes, yes, yes. Come on, you were headed out to your party anyway. Well..."

"I can give you his phone number...OH WAIT! That's where I met her...Jesus, House, your maid is Dr. Jordan Morgan. THEEE Dr. Jordan Morgan." Cuddy was obviously excited, "What is she doing working as your maid?"

You've lost me. Dr. Jordan Morgan?"

"She's a famous physicist. She once held the Lucasian Fellowship and was employed in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics in Cambridge...you know, the next step is chair, Stephen Hawking's chair, the one held by Isaac Newton. But she left the Fellowship and Hawkings and came back to the USA to the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton. My cousin said it created a huge rift between Cambridge and Princeton. It got so heated and derisive that she quit under the pressure about five years ago. That created even more problems because the rest of the physics world held Cambridge and Princeton responsible for losing one of the best Astrophysicists in the world. She just walked away. I knew I had met her, she came to one of my cousins parties about six years ago."

House was stunned into silence. It started to make sense. She told him that she liked doing something where she wasn't letting the team down, didn't have to worry if she was smart enough and could see immediate results. He chuckled recalling that he told her that the world doesn't turn on whether she made coffee and she had replied, "I KNOW how the world turns." By God, she did. It also explained her physics contacts and her anxiety over having everyone in the world criticize her for her coffee. She equated making coffee with everything that had happened to her.

House didn't know if he should be angry for being duped or sympathetic for everything that she had gone through. Imagine having the whole world weighing in on where you should work, who you should work for and how good you were? He certainly understood the pressure of being at the top of your game, but turning down the steps leading to the chair that Newton held, that's weighty stuff. He wanted to know more.

"Can I have your cousins phone number?" He asked.

She gave it to him, but before he dialed it he looked up Jordan Morgan on Google. Her biography came up on Wikipedia. She had graduated from Cornell with a Bachelor of Science, MIT with her Masters and Princeton with her Doctorate. Her honors included:

MacArthur Fellowship, 1992 Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1994 Einstein Medal, Einstein Society of Berne, Switzerland, 1995 Dirac Medal, International Center for Theoretical Physics, 1995 Invited Address, International Congress of Mathematicians, 1996 and 2000 Colloquium Lecturer, American Mathematical Society, 1997 Fellow National Academy of Sciences, 1998 Fields Medal, International Union of Mathematicians, 1999 Madison Medal, Princeton University, 2001 Klein Medal, Stockholm University, March 1998 Lucasian Fellowship 1995 Fellow Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Cambridge 1995

He felt so strange. He had assumed that, because she was a glorified maid, she wasn't educated or very smart. It made his heart sink to think he had probably implied at least more than once that she was ignorant or uneducated or less intelligent than him. He also implied that his genes were superior to hers. What a joke. Still she wasn't what you expect from a physicist. He had expected all physicists to be nerdy and to look like a pocket protector. Danny was neither. His whole thought process was in chaos.

House called Cuddy's cousin and got an earful. He called Danny and left a voice message, "I'm coming over this afternoon at 3:00 p.m. to talk."

*** DANNY'S TURN

I screwed up. I let my desires get in the way of logic. It wasn't logical to give into Greg House. Once you do, you are forever in his power. Since you cannot create energy, he had to have taken that power from somewhere and that somewhere was from me...if you get my drift.

I must admit, the sex with Greg was everything I wanted it to be. We taught each other some new tricks and it kept the evening quite exciting. I found it interesting that he doesn't close his eyes when he climaxes. He keeps his eyes focused on yours even though they squint with that pleasure-pain feeling of an orgasm. It was entrancing each time it happened. It makes you think you are the center of his whole sexual universe. But I really think it comes down to the fact that Greg House is an observer and he wants to see your reaction to everything, even to his pleasure.

I give him this, he knows how to make a girl wriggle. My toes ached all night from curling so often. I think I gave as good as I got because he finally threw in the towel the fourth time I started to make my moves. He just said, "You're going to kill me" and then kissed my mouth and turned me over to spoon with him.

The actual act of sleeping with a man can be so comforting. Having their arms around you or just having their bodies within reach is a wonderful feeling of being connected with each other. He is much more affectionate than I would have imagined, especially from all I had heard. The call girls had told me he was a slam, bam, thank you m'am' kind of guy. Once he was done, he wanted you gone. I didn't find that at all. He wanted me close and then closer. I slept with him breathing on my neck all night. I loved it, except when he would shift, it would tickle. I had to orientate my neck so that it wouldn't hit that one spot that caused chills down my body.

After breakfast, I thought it was time I told him about my background. Of course, I had just screwed my courage to the bedpost and was ready to spill my guts when he gets that damn call and he's out the door.

He thinks I'm a simpleton that just cleans his apartment. I guess the fact that we have discussed Sartre, the mathematics of Mozart, the works of Seutonius, Caesar and Plutarch never made a dent in that impression. It just goes to show you how ingrained labels are in our society. To Greg House I was a maid so I must not be too bright or educated.

When I was fourteen I was already in University. I didn't want to be, I was still pretty fragile from having lost my parents two years before to a truck driver who fell asleep trying to beat a deadline on a long haul. But my aunt and the counselors thought I had just sailed through their deaths and was dealing "really well" with it. I was good at giving people what they wanted. So I gave them the brave, brilliant girl with the head for math.

By the time I was at Princeton I was being groomed for the Institute. It was what I had wanted. I had always hero-worshiped Einstein and so I was hoping I would follow in his path. But the whole world of physics was stunned when Stephen Hawkings invited me to be his Fellow. The British still don't believe that women have brains. Or at least they make them work twice as hard as men to prove that they do. The Fellowship had always gone to a male, a British male. But Stephen wanted me and who am I to turn down the greatest living cosmologist in the world? I spent four years with him and the Brits working on various theories and feeling like no one believed I was worthy. It really started to take its toll. Every where I went I was made to feel that the only reason I was there was that Stephen liked looking at me. Well, Stephen is a flirt, always has been, but he's also a smart man. He couldn't have gotten the committees to approve hiring me if he hadn't demonstrated to them what I brought to the table.

John had been with me in Cambridge and he had given me the boost in confidence I desperately needed. He had a Fellowship at Gonville, a very prestigious one. It brought him within the umbrella of Hawkings so we often worked together. But his fellowship was up after three years and then I was stuck in Cambridge alone.

Don't get me wrong, Cambridge is gorgeous. The river Cam runs behind the backs of the colleges (hence "the Backs") and punters go up and down drinking champagne and eating strawberries in the summer. It is terribly romantic. I loved Cambridge itself. I loved the marketplace, King's Parade with all the book stores, St. John's gardens, the outdoor Shakespeare theater and the May balls. I always went to Trinity's May ball in June (why it is the May ball, I don't know) and usually I made it to the survivor's photo taken on the front lawn at 5:30 a.m the next morning when the ball was officially over. It was the best fun one could have but it didn't take the sting out of the old male guard who hovered over my every move, theory or postulate that I came up with.

I know I let Stephen down but even he could see what a toll it was taking on me. When I told him I was going back to Princeton he encouraged me to stay, but I was worn down. I wanted to go back to a place where women were, although still second class, given more credibility in my field than in England. I didn't realize what a maelstrom I was creating. As soon as I arrived the fur began to fly. Stephen supported me but the old guard in Cambridge made claims about how incompetent I was. Of course, it didn't make sense that the genius himself was telling the world that I was the next best thing to Newton, the old guard was more than happy to rub in the fact that I couldn't stick it out.

I had been at Princeton about a year when I came up with the beginnings of the theory on the black hole information paradox. It has now been adopted by Hawkings, Peskille and Thorne. I didn't work on it very long because I was put in a tug of war between two prestigious bodies that both claimed it was their influence that had enabled me to come up with the theory. Stephen called me and told me to hang in there, but I finally snapped.

I apparently wandered around Princeton for three days in a daze. The Institute didn't want to call in the police to find me because they didn't want my new theory jeopardized. John was going nuts. He and several of my friends at the Institute spent their days and nights looking for me. John and Carol caught up to me one morning. Someone had seen me wandering near the lake. They found me at the bottom of a racing shell curled into the fetal position just floating on Carnegie lake.

I had to walk away. My life was at stake. I had no way to make a living other than physics but I wasn't even able to teach it. I was too fragile. I wanted order back in my life, I needed some control. I went to live with one of the bachelors at the Institute, Edward. We didn't have an intimate relationship, he just cared enough about me to give me a place to live. I started to take care of him, started to organize him. I cleaned for him, I cooked for him, I did everything for him and when our friend Nathan came over and saw what I was doing, he offered me a job doing the same for him. Edward didn't want to lose me so he also agreed to pay me and the rest is history. Edward and Nathan are still my clients.

Sometimes I get a call from the guys and they beg me to come down to the Institute. I go down, sneak in and help them out. When they hit a block wall, it helps to have a fresh mind work through it with them. Lately, I have been working secretly on several black hole theories. It is quite exciting and there's no pressure when I do because I'm not officially working on it. As long as I don't have to deal with the politics of the August bodies of Cambridge and Princeton, I enjoy it. But Nathan and Edward have expressed concern that I am contributing so much that they will have to acknowledge me on the write up. I try to tell them it isn't necessary but these guys are two of the honest guys I know.

So, you see, I had a lot to tell House. And he had a lot to digest.

*** Danny had caught a cab home and spent the morning doing her own laundry and planning the week's menus. Then she decided to get the grocery shopping out of the way. It was a very hot day and she was thinking that some ice cream would be great. She had just arrived home and noticed that it was 2:40 pm. She got out of the car and she could see someone sitting on the porch of her brick row house. The person was sitting on the chair in the shadow. "Hello? Can I help you?" She was trying to balance the four bags in her hand as she made her way up the steps to the front door.

He came out of the shadow. "Do you need some help?" It was Chris and he was coming down the stairs to help with the bags.

"Oh Chris, if you can take these, I'll go back and get the last four." He did and she went back to the car and grabbed the last of the bags. "What are you doing here?" She asked cheerfully as she balanced one bag and got out her keys to open the door.

"Well they told me you had an emergency last night and I wanted to make sure you were ok." he smiled.

"Oh, you are so sweet. Yes, I'm ok." The door was open and she led him into the kitchen where he put down the bags. She started putting the cold stuff in the refrigerator.

"What was the problem?" He asked.

She thought about lying to him but after what happened last night she decided she better be honest...ok, maybe not completely honest, but somewhat honest. "I received a text message from my client, the one in the bar. He wanted to talk to me and I wanted to talk to him about some issues and so we left and well...I'm sorry, but I should have come back in and talked to you."

She continued to put away the groceries. He was quiet for a few minutes.

"You had issues to discuss?" He sounded sarcastic "So you had to talk to that guy, the one who met you in the parking lot, the one who kissed you and then left with you on the back of a motorcycle?" he looked like he was sweating even thought the A/C was on.

"Oh God, you saw that? I'm sorry. I know you must hate me, I didn't mean for that to happen. It even surprised me, I hadn't expected to see him and I hadn't expected him to behave like he did. I really am sorry." She said sincerely.

"You see that's the problem. I expected behavior like that out of the others. They were all sluts who like to parade themselves through the campus half dressed. But you, you were the great Jordan Morgan, physicist, astrophysicist, mathematician, Stephan Hawkings' darling. You were suppose to be above the others." He started to pace.

"I don't really understand Chris. You seem upset, I get that, but what has this got to do with anyone else on campus?" She asked but he just kept pacing, "Look, I think you better leave. We can meet and have a soda and talk about this some other time. But I'm feeling uncomfortable. And ..." she turned and saw his eyes first, they had no humanity in them at all, they were void of anything remotely comprised of compassion. It was then that she saw the five inch knife, "OH GOD."

Chris whipped around and stepped towards her and put the knife up under her right breast. "Yeah, I bet you would love it if I just left, got out of your hair so you could go screw anyone who rides up on a motorcycle and wants a piece of you. But, you and all the others need to be taught a lesson. This time I'm not going to be Mr. Nice guy. I let all the rest of them go. I even made sure they hadn't seen me so I could let them go. But you, you're different, you have to be the one that teaches the sluts what will happen if they keep parading their bodies around campus, teasing and laughing at us men. You, the great Jordan Morgan are going to sacrifice yourself. Maybe then they will understand that if you act like a slut, you get treated like a slut."

He grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back. She fought and tried to twist away. He threw her to the ground and kicked her in the ribs hard and fast several times. Jordan felt her ribs crack as she tried to crawl away. She grabbed his leg the next time he tried to kick her and yanked it as hard as she could in an upward position. It had the effect she wanted. Chris fell backwards, knocking over the kitchen chairs and some of the bags of groceries. She grabbed her ribs and tried to get up. It was not easy but she started to stumble from the kitchen to the living room so she could get out the front door. He scrambled up and leapt at her, bringing her down with him onto an end table and causing her ribs to crack further. They knocked over lamps and other pieces set out for decoration. She was in excruciating pain. He stood up and grabbed her by the ankles. He dragged her across the floor and into her bedroom where he picked her up by an arm and a leg and threw her onto the bed.

She was kicking and scratching, which angered him. "You sluts just don't know how to behave. You should take your punishment gracefully...STOP FIGHTING." he screamed at her. He hit her in her ribs and she screamed as the white searing pain swept through her. He took the knife and stabbed her through the fourth rib, piercing her lung. The wind escaped into the space around her lung as it collapsed. She had trouble breathing, she was passing out from the pain and lack of oxygen. Then he took the knife and quickly stabbed it under her right arm. The blood started to drain down her arm and off of her fingers to the floor. She realized he had her skirt and panties off and he was raping her. She could no longer feel anything, not the pain in her ribs, not the blood running down her arm, not the pain in her chest and not him pounding inside her. She was losing consciousness as a song played in her head: Hide my head I wanna drown my sorrow No tomorrow No tomorrow And I find it kind of funny I find it kind of sad The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had I find it hard to tell you I find it hard to take When people run in circles it's a very very Mad world Mad world

He got off the motorcycle and checked to make sure he was at the right address. House went to the door and it was partially opened. He heard someone say something but couldn't make it out. He knocked at the door but no one came to answer it. House opened the door and looked inside and saw some of the furniture turned over and several broken items on the floor. He again heard some sound coming from down a hallway. It was obvious that there had been a struggle in the house so he continued towards the back. He raised his cane as a weapon. Then he saw Chris, ranting and screaming at someone on the bed. It was then that he saw Jordan, the blood draining down her arm. House didn't hesitate, he took a swing at Chris' head and landed a direct blow to his temple. Chris fell back, dazed and unsteady. He then got back up, lunged forward and swung around at House with the knife which cut a thin line down through his t-shirt and his chest. House took another swing with the cane, this time hitting his shoulder. House knew he had to take Chris out soon or Jordan would be dead from bleeding out. House took a huge swing and it landed right at Chris' abdomen, causing Chris to crumple over. He didn't want to take any chances so House took one last swing at Chris's head and heard a heavy thump. House was hoping he was dead.

House immediately took out his cell and dialed 911. "We need an ambulance at 2499 Adler Drive. I have a 36 year old woman with knife wounds and a loss of at least two units of blood. I also have a male with multiple blunt traumas to the head and torso. We're losing the woman. We need the police too." The dispatcher repeated the address and House confirmed it, without waiting for any instructions, House hung up. He had been applying pressure to Danny's arm while he spoke on the phone. He noticed she had labored breathing and then noticed the wound near her fourth rib. He took a t-shirt lying on the floor and used it to bind her arm to stop the bleeding. House put his head to her chest and could hear that the labored breathing was coming from the right. He then left the room to find something he could use. He saw the display of dried flowers and reeds and grabbed one of the reeds out of the vase. He broke the reed in half and rushed back to the bedroom. He checked the knife wound in her chest but it had coagulated. So he grabbed the knife off of the floor and slowly cut a one inch incision under her rib cage. He inserted the reed and he could hear the air exit through it. As the air surrounding her collapsed lung escaped, her lung inflated again but he could hear gurggling sounds which meant her lungs and surrounding areas were filling with blood. He needed that damn ambulance. Where was it? As if by cue, he heard the wail of the sirens as they turned onto her street.

Within minutes the police were in the house with their guns aimed at House. At first they thought he was the perp, he had the knife and he was bent over Danny. But one of the paramedics recognized House and told the police that he was a jerk but not a criminal. The paramedics took Jordan first. When they checked for vitals on Chris, they had a weak pulse and so he was loaded in the same ambulance.

House demanded that he go to the hospital with Jordan. The police put him in the back of the cruiser and they drove to Princeton General's emergency room. House kept telling the cops to radio the bus to take Jordan to Princeton Plainsboro but they told him that they had protocols, the victim was to be rushed to the first available emergency room and that was Princeton General.

Within minutes of arriving at Princeton General House was kicked out of the Emergency Room by the doctors. Most of them knew House and most of them took great joy in the fact that he was on their turf now. They stabilized Danny, did the rape kit and then she went to the OR for surgery on her lung. Most of the doctors wanted to keep House in the dark, but one of the young female doctors took pity on him and went out to give him an update. He was calm except for the fact that he kept rubbing his chin back and forth while he stared at the floor. Several police hovered around, one of them looked at her and said, "Can you tell us if she is going to make it?" House looked up and just then noticed the doctor in front of him.

"We aren't sure, between the blood loss and the collapsed lung, she is in real trouble. Are you Dr. House?" When House nodded she began, "Obviously she suffered from pneumothorax but the puncture of the lung was only about one inch so the lung tissue damage wasn't that bad. She underwent an emergency thoractomy, which revealed hemorrhage in the lingular segment of the right lung. We found the bleeding point and controlled the hemorrhage using pulmonary tractotomy by inserting a linear stapler into the stab wound in the pulmonary parenchyma. We did not have to do a lung resection. We've replaced most of the blood she lost and repaired the puncture to her artery. She's in recovery now and should be out for the rest of the day. I suggest you go home, there's nothing you can do right now." She smiled.

"Here's my cell number, would you call me if anything changes or if she wakes up?" He asked.

"Sure."

It was one thing to wait around to see if she would make it, it was another thing to wait until she woke from surgery. He knew the surgeon was right. She would be out most of the day and it would be useless for him to just sit there. He was going to accompany the police to the station to give a statement. As they left there were dozens of reporters outside of the hospital. House looked fairly heroic with the slashed bloody t-shirt. As he was leaving he saw Wilson trying to get through the crowd.

"Hey." House motioned to the police, "Let him through, he's my lawyer."

They let him through. "How is she?"

House gave him the update and Wilson asked if he was ok. "Fine." He turned to one of the policeman and said, "I'll meet you down at the station in an hour, I'd like to go home and clean up."

Since the cops had already photographed House from every angle, they just said, "Bring those clothes with you in a bag, don't wash them."

House nodded in the affirmative. When he got into Wilsons car, he gave a deep sigh. As they drove to his house they talked about the events. Wilson knew more about what had happened from the news than House.

"He apparently had raped a string of women near CalTech when he was there but when he was hauled in for questioning, he stopped. He was one of over a hundred suspects so he went under the radar when he left to come to the Institute. He had a shrine to Jordan in his room, as if she was some physics Goddess. Did you know that Jordan is a world famous physicist? She studied under Hawkings and she...."

"Yeah, yeah I know all that, now can you just get on with the story."

"Well, in short, he moved here to get close to her but he couldn't control his need to punish women so he started raping again. They don't know what set him off with Jordan. But it quickly escalated from rape to mayhem. If she makes it, you stopped it from being murder. They say he is the campus rapist that raped those three women over the last four months. The doctors on the news said he's not in good shape, probably won't make it."

"I wanted him dead. He kept getting back up and I needed to get to Danny, she was bleeding out."

"Well, he's in surgery. I haven't heard anymore but I put in a call to a friend at the hospital, if he hears anything, he'll call me." he paused. "Why didn't you tell me about Danny and Hawkings?"

"I just found out myself."

"Did he...well, did he rape her?"

House nodded yes.

"Damn. Poor Danny."

Chris died Monday morning of massive hemorrhaging in his brain. House stayed home with Cuddy's blessing to avoid a media sensation at the hospital where television satellite trucks took up most of the parking lot.

He occasionally snuck out to visit Danny at Princeton General. She was still in and out of consciousness. She was on morphine for the pain and she looked pretty beat up. House walked in Monday afternoon to find several men standing around her bed. The room was filled with flowers and plants. Cards covered every nook and cranny. They all looked at him.

"Dr. House? I'm Edward Gaines, this is Nathan Cohen, John Tarkington, William Davidson, Gary Richards and Jeff Joplin. We're friends of Danny's and we want to thank you for saving her life. She's very special to all of us." He was so sincere that House was embarrassed. "Danny works for both Nathan and myself. I'm Monday, Nathan is Friday. The rest are just friends from the Institute. Danny told us about you. You're Thursday, right? She said you were very brilliant, caustic and witty. Danny seemed to find that very attractive. She kept saying that if you weren't such an egotist she might introduce you to some of her single girlfriends." They all started laughing except House. "Sorry Dr. House, it's an inside joke. Most of Danny's single girlfriends are hookers. She's lived so long in the world of Physics that she doesn't have a lot of female friends."

"Are you talking about me again?" A soft and raspy voice came from Jordan.

Immediately there was a cacophony of voices directed at Danny all wanting to know if she was ok, was she in pain, did she need anything? Except House, who stayed over by the wall as he watched these brilliant men fall all over themselves to take care of Danny. He smiled when she turned her heads towards him. She smiled back and held out her hand. He walked over and took it in his. It was small, like a child's.

"What happened? I don't remember." she squeezed his hand and then dropped it.

The room went quiet and all the eyes were on him. "You're new client didn't like the Chicken Korma." His attempt at humor didn't go down well with the physicists but Danny was laughing.

"Greg, don't make me laugh, the ribs hurt so bad."

"Ok, I'm sorry. You were attacked by Chris Parkington. He stabbed you under your arm and severed an artery, he broke three ribs and stabbed you in the lungs. It collapsed and you hemorrhaged. You've been in the hospital for two days."

She looked at him and could tell there was more but he just looked down at the floor to avoid her eyes. She looked at John, Nathan and Edward. "What are you guys doing here, shouldn't you be at work?"

They all laughed. John pointed to an obnoxiously large bouquet of flowers. "Guess who those are from?"

She smiled, "Stephen."

He nodded yes. They both shook their heads and Danny started to snicker although the pain went through her face as she did.

"Sorry Danny. Didn't mean to make you laugh." John said.

"It's ok, it's just hard not to laugh when you have a gaggle of nerds in your room."

They all laughed. The nerds stayed for another twenty minutes and then left. House stayed behind. He grabbed Danny's hand again.

"Ok, tell me what really happened." she said sweetly to him.

He sat down in a chair and told her the unvarnished facts and observed that she listened as if he was telling her a story about someone else. She had disassociated from the events. It was to be expected, she needed that distance to heal.

"What about the police? Are you ok?" She asked, obviously worried.

"It was ruled self-defense and defense of others...I get a free pass." He squeezed her hand to let her know he was ok.

"Greg, why did he want to kill me and not the others?"

"I'm not a shrink but the talking heads all say that it was because you were his ideal woman and when you ditched him at the restaurant it triggered a psychotic break."

"What happened in the restaurant?" she asked sincerely.

"You don't remember the restaurant?" he asked, surprised. "Do you recall anything about the night you went to the restaurant with him?"

"Vaguely, I remember getting ready, I remember his Corvette, but that's it. Why did I leave him in the restaurant?" She looked him straight in the eyes.

He was flustered and had a hard time answering this. If she didn't remember the night, then she didn't remember what happened between them. He paused so long looking for the words that he didn't notice the smile at first.

"Was it because I went home and screwed your brains out and left him crying in his beer?"

She had him...she had played him so well. He let out a breath and started shaking his head and finger at her. "You are a minx."

"I know, I just couldn't resist. You looked like a little boy just then, like I had told you there was no Santa Claus."

"Well, if you hadn't remembered it, then all my fancy footwork and special moves would have gone unacknowledged.

"I know this sounds corny, but how could I ever forget that tongue?" she smiled suggestively.

He raised his eyebrows up and down.

"You know, I am so tired. I think I may drift off. Please don't go until I'm all the way out. I woke up before and you weren't here, I was scared, I thought that he had hurt you."

"Do you remember what happened in your house?" he asked tenderly.

"No, I really don't. I bet the doctors have some fancy diagnosis for that."

"Yes, us doctors do. Dissociative amnesia and maybe some traumatic amnesia. One is psychological, your psyche is protecting you from an unpleasant event, the other is the physical disruption of the memory transfer process during a trauma to the brain. You could have one or the other or both." He looked away, intently staring ahead. She knew he was thinking, "Of course it is also Lacunar amnesia because you can't recall a singular event." He looked at her and realized that he was causing her distress. "Don't worry, you may or may not get your memory back of the event, but it won't effect the rest of your memories."

"Well, I was just thinking that I've had a type of amnesia before. They said I was once in a fugue state...I wandered around Princeton for several days...I was going to tell you when you got that call from Cuddy ..."

"You don't have to talk about it. I know about Cambridge, Princeton, Hawkings, the Institute, your breakdown...I was on my way over to discuss it with you when I interrupted the attack. That's why I was there, to let you know how sorry I was. I was such an @ss, anyone with half a brain should have been able to pick up on how smart you are. I can only think my ego got in the way of my perception." he was obviously upset, more with his lack of observation than with the error in judgment.

She looked up at his blue eyes and he saw that her eyes had pools of tears forming. He hated when women cried. It was a secret weapon of theirs, it was so disarming, and so unfair. The tears began to fall down the sides of her face and onto the pillow."

"Tsk. Ohhh, damn. Please don't do this." He begged her.

"I'm, (sniff,sniff) sorry. I've made a mess of things again. I can't seem to stay in control of my life. It seems to be going fine and then it's like a meteor that takes a whole different trajectory and, (sniff, sniff) I don't have the formula to figure out where it is going. It's so frustrating not to have the right formula."

"Sorry, boo hoo, they call that life. I think we all wish we could control our lives. But as the great philosopher Jerry Springer says, "Sh!t happens." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Greg, who's Stacy?" She asked out of the blue.

House was taken aback. He drew in a deep breath and wondered where that had come from...who had she been talking to...and why did she want to know now? "You know, that's a discussion that we need to have at another time. Right now you need to get some sleep. I'll stay until you fall asleep and then I'll come back around dinner, ok?"

"Ok."

He bent down and gently kissed her cracked lips and then her forehead. She looked so small in the bed, so vulnerable. He realized from the last few days that he hardly knew this woman, but despite that he knew he wanted to make her world safe for her.

***

Jordan was about to get out of the hospital and return home but Edward and Nathan refused to let her move back into her place. They had hired a professional team to come and work on getting the blood out of the hardwood floors in her bedroom but there was still a pretty obvious stain. They decided that she should sell the place and move in with Edward again.

House, on the other hand, did not know that all of this was taking place. He was worried about Danny. He knew that she shouldn't be alone but he was not sure if it was too soon for her to move in with him. They obviously shared something between them, but there was a lot they didn't know about each other. Still, he had spent the last two weeks visiting her in the hospital and they had talked quite a bit. She was a very popular person with people from all walks of life coming to see her. He was shocked one day to find Paula in her room. It was very awkward.

"Hello Dr. House." Paula gave him that expensive smile of hers.

House sheepishly smiled back at her and then looked at Danny to see what her reaction was going to be. She was amused. He was embarrassed.

"I haven't seen you for awhile, how have you been?" Paula asked.

"Fine. Thanks. And you?"

"It's been a little lonely." She said suggestively.

House blushed. Danny and Paula laughed. Danny was holding her ribs.

Paula got up to leave. She motioned for House to join her in the hall, "Dr. House, you have a very special person in there. You don't deserve her but for some reason she really likes you. Don't hurt her. If you can't be the stability she needs right now, then you need to back off while you can. Good day Dr. House."

House watched her nice, tight body walk away. He shook the thought of her out of his head and went back into Danny's room. He smiled at Danny who was giving him a look of curiosity. "Don't ask." He said to her.

House went home and thought about what Paula had said. He knew that Danny was going to need a lot of emotional support to get past all of this. He was surprised that she functioned as well as she did considering she lost her parents at a young age, went to college when she should have been going to proms, had the problems with Cambridge. He didn't know how she would deal with all of this, especially if the memories came back. He wasn't sure he was the one who could do it. Stacy always complained that he was distant and cold at times. Even Wilson had looked to him for emotional support and he hadn't been able to give it. Would he be up to the task now?

When it was time to check out of the hospital, Edward, Nathan, John and House were all present. Edward told House of their plans for Danny and House wasn't sure if he was relieved or annoyed. "I assumed she would come stay with me." House told them.

"You don't have anyone to take care of her until she completely recovers. We've all chipped in and hired a caretaker. It seems the most logical thing to do. She is comfortable at my house and we can make sure she's doing her rehab."

House looked at Danny who just shrugged her shoulders. She didn't want to say anything because she didn't want to put House on the spot. Danny owed the nerds a lot. They had called her other clients, including House and each of them agreed to pay her half of her salary for the next two months. This meant she would have an income to support herself. It was bad enough that her medical insurance was going to charge her a $10,000 deductible for her stay.

House quickly acquiesced and Danny went home with Edward. He was right about her being comfortable. Edward's home felt like an old shoe to Danny. She had not only lived in it for almost a year, but she was used to cleaning it every week. She knew it well and she knew Edward. He was a quiet and kind man. A little milk-toast but pleasant to talk to about many things.

Days went by and she was surprised when she didn't hear from House. It hurt quite a bit that he didn't at least try to call to check up on her.

"How's Danny?" Wilson asked.

"Don't know, I haven't talked to her for a few weeks." House was reading a JAMA article in his chair with his feet up.

"What? Why? I thought you two were...close?"

"I've been busy. She's ok, she's with her friends. If something was wrong they would have called me."

"That's crap and you know it. You're pulling away. Why?"

House looked up from his journal and looked annoyed. "How am I going to help her cope with what happened? Remember, we are talking about ME. It will be ok for awhile but then I'd probably say something cruel and then wonder why she's crying. Don't you think it's better that I back out now before we are so entrenched that we have to divide household stuff if we break up?" He was remembering what Paula had said.

"So you think the nicest thing you could do for her is to kick her in the teeth now rather than later. Do I need to remind you that she just went through a terrible ordeal and the logical action is "support" not "abandon"???"

"Look, if I stay in the relationship everyone worries that I'm going to hurt her. If I get out before there is a real relationship everyone is upset because I've hurt her. I can't make a right move here...so I made the one that made the most sense to me."

"Oh, you're a real saint." And Wilson stormed out of the office.

Jordan started going downhill fast. She moped around and wouldn't get up to do her exercises. The physical therapist kept warning that if she didn't start moving she'd get pneumonia in the right lung. She didn't care. What was there to look forward to? Within a month she was in the Princeton Plainsboro clinic with a cough. It was killing her. The cough itself was painful enough, but it also aggravated the broken ribs. She was running a fever.

Nurse Brenda recognized her right away from all of the news accounts. She wondered if Dr. House knew she was here? She called Dr. Cuddy.

"Dr. Cuddy, Dr. Morgan is here in the clinic, she's not looking very good. She pasty, coughing and has a fever."

"Dr. Morgan? I don't know a Dr. Morgan."

"Jordan Morgan."

"OHHH, that Dr. Morgan. Really? Put her in an exam room, I'll be right out." Cuddy tried to call House but couldn't get him to answer his page so she paged Wilson.

"Hello, you paged me?" Wilson asked.

"Jordan Morgan is in the clinic with a fever and cough. Where's House?"

"Probably watching his soap somewhere. Doesn't matter anyway, he stopped seeing her."

"Did they have a fight?" Cuddy asked.

"No, he just thought it was best for her if he backed out of the relationship."

"Oh, how wise and generous of him. What a jerk. Ok, got to go. I'm going to go examine her."

"Let me know how she is." Wilson hung up

Cuddy caught up with Danny in exam room 2. She was definitely ill. Her fever was 102.5 F., she had rhonci and rhales, she was white and pasty, and her blood pressure was elevated. Cuddy was sure that she had pneumonia and that wasn't good when you were trying to heal from lung surgery and broken ribs.

"Danny, we need to admit you and get some xrays and start you on antibiotics quickly. Why didn't you come in sooner?"

"Money, I'm drowning in hospital bills right now." she was sullen.

That would explain why she came to the free clinic instead of going to Princeton General. Cuddy thought that Danny seemed depressed. She wondered if House had anything to do with it.

"Well, if you had come in sooner we might have been able to handle this on an outpatient basis, now we're going to have to admit you. This is pretty serious. Is there anyone you want us to call?" Cuddy asked.

She shook her head no. She didn't want the nerds to be worried and well, House didn't care.

"Before we do the x-rays, I need to know when your last period was?"

"Over two months ago." She said.

Cuddy was alarmed, but considering the trauma she had been through, it wasn't unusual that her cycle would be off. In fact, it would be unusual if it wasn't off.

"Were you on any birth control when it happened?" Cuddy was surprised when Danny answered no. "Didn't they give you the morning after pill when you were admitted to Princeton General?" Cuddy thought that it was standard procedure to offer it to all rape victims.

"I don't think so, but that time in the hospital was pretty much a blur." Danny said.

"Ok, I'll call Princeton General and find out if you were given the morning after pill and in the meantime we need to get pregnancy test." Cuddy patted Danny on the shoulder. She felt sorry for her.

Cuddy had the nurses admit Danny and administer the pregnancy test while she called Princeton General. She spoke with her doctor and discovered that, with all the emergency procedures and blood loss, the morning after pill was never administered. Cuddy asked the doctor to email her all of the files as soon as possible. The doctor asked that she be kept informed.

Wilson came down to see Danny. He picked up the chart and read it. "How do you feel now Danny?"

"Hot. Tired. Like I could go to sleep and not wake up." Danny was pleased to see Wilson, he had always been nice to her.

"Well, as soon as they can get those x-rays, they decide what to do. Are you still living with your friend?"

"Yes, I keep trying to move back home but he keeps nagging me about not being ready."

"Well, it looks like he has reason to worry. How did you get pneumonia? Weren't you doing your exercises?"

"Sure, but I guess I just caught something."

Wilson thought about House's favorite adage, "Everybody Lies." It went quiet. After a brief pause Wilson felt obligated to say something, "Danny, I don't know what to say about House except to apologize for his behavior."

"It's not your position to apologize."

"I know, but I want you to know that I'm very upset with him."

"Did he tell you why he did it?" She asked.

"I think it's best if he tells you." Wilson hung his head.

"That would be great but he's not talking to me." She looked away. It didn't matter, it was done so why worry about it? "You know, I would prefer Dr. Wilson if you don't let him know that I'm here. I don't need any drama right now."

"Well, it's very possible that he'll find out. He's pretty plugged into the gossip and you are front page gossip."

"Well, if he finds out on his own then it won't be your fault, but please don't tell him."

"Ok." Wilson shook his head in sympathy.

Cuddy went to the nurses station before going into see Danny. The results of the pregnancy test were in...

*** DANNY'S TURN

Sorry that I haven't kept you apprized but so much has happened and I've been busy. You know about the assault...ok, the shrinks says I have to start calling it, "The Rape" so that I deal with it. I frankly haven't started to remember any of it yet. I don't think my psyche is ready.

When I was checking out of the hospital I had hoped House would put his foot down and demand that I go with him. When he didn't I knew something had clicked inside of him. I haven't seen him since. That was a few months ago. I think I'm dealing with it well. After all, we only had one night together. Sure we had some great conversations in the hospital, but they were just conversations and obviously he must not have been impressed!

My friends all say I am depressed because he stopped coming to see me. Well, I'm pragmatic. A relationship can only move as fast as the slowest person...and well, House has ground the progress and the relationship to a halt. So that's it. I can't push him or cajole him into liking me. He either wants to be with me or not and obviously, he doesn't. I wish he had the balls to tell me why he doesn't want anything to do with me. But then, I am damaged goods. I mean between my breakdown five years ago and the taint of being a rape victim, no wonder he doesn't want to be in a relationship with me. I wouldn't either.

I wish my parents were alive. They loved me unconditionally. I remember when I was sick my mom would get a cool wash cloth and put it on my forehead. It's funny, I can remember that, but I don't remember what she looks like without looking at a photo. How can that be? Someone you love so much and their face slips away until one morning you can't remember it?

But thank God for my friends. Edward came to me the other night and offered to marry me and support me. He knows I am not in love with him but he still offered. Isn't that sweet? I turned him down. He doesn't need to be saddled with me.

I think I am handling all of this well. I know my physical therapist keeps complaining about me laying around, but I just don't have the energy to get up and move. Come on, if you had lost two pints of blood, had to have your lung stapled together and had three killer ribs...you wouldn't want to move around either.

When I started to get the cough, Edward was upset. He kept nagging me to go in and see my doctors. But if Edward had been getting my bills, he'd understand. I didn't want him to know that on top of the $10,000 deductible, I just got the surgeon's bill, the anesthesia bill, the physical therapy bill and the bill for the medicine...the only was of digging myself out is to sell my house and my car to pay them off. I don't want to think about it right now.

Ok, so I waited longer than I should have to go in and get checked. But I was still walking when I went to the free clinic (held on Tuesdays and Thursdays). I thought that was a good sign. Lisa Cuddy looked pretty upset. All that talk about pregnancy made me nervous. With all that was going on I had forgotten all about my period. I don't know what to do if they find out I'm pregnant from a rapist. Makes my stomach sick to think about it. I don't believe in abortion. I'm not a right to life advocate, it's just a personal decision. I couldn't do it.

Still, I think I'm doing ok for all that's happened, don't you?

***

Lisa saw Wilson when she walked into Danny's room. She was very somber and asked Wilson to leave.

"Danny, you're pregnant. I'm sorry, I know this isn't what you wanted to hear. We need to get the pneumonia under control, so I am going to have them check your sputum and then put you on a wide spectrum antibiotic to start until we get the results. Would you like to discuss your options now with regards to the pregnancy or wait until you've had time to digest it all?"

"I guess I know my options. I need some time, thanks."

Wilson was waiting for Lisa when she came out, "You've cancelled the x-ray order? Christ, don't tell me that on top of everything she's pregnant?"

"You know that with HIPPA I can't share that information with you but let's just say I wouldn't want to be in her shoes."

Wilson understood and debated whether he should notify House. It turned out that he didn't have to notify him that she had been admitted. House's newest patient was put in the room next to Danny. He was waiting for Cameron to come out of the room when he spotted the nurses' chart, "Jordan Morgan, 322." He walked over to the door of her room and looked in...she was in bad shape. He read the nurse's chart and figured from the meds that she had pneumonia. Not good for a lung patient.

Wilson came up behind him. "I see you've found out."

House turned around and saw Wilson with a bouquet of flowers ready to enter Danny's room.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"She asked me not to. Well are you going to go in and see her? Wilson nodded towards the room. House backed away. "Coward." Wilson whispered to House.

Wilson went into the room smiling and handed the flowers to Danny. She was chuffed to see him and the flowers. While he stayed to talk to her she had several other deliveries of flowers. The nerds were calling and telling her that they'd be in after work.

"They really care about you." He was impressed with how many friends she had and how devoted they were to Danny.

"I don't know why. I put them through a lot."

"Well, that doesn't seem to faze them. How are you doing?"

"I guess the fever is down from the Tylenol. So that's good. Did Dr. Cuddy tell you I'm pregnant?" She asked with trepidation.

"No, she's not allowed to give me personal information because I'm not your treating physician. So, how do you feel about it?" He wanted to know what she was going to do.

"I wish I was pregnant under different circumstances. The hospital counselor was in here to talk to me about my options. I can have the baby, put it up for adoption or terminate it. I'm 36 years old. I'm not going to give a baby away and I'm not going to terminate it. So now I have to wrap my brain around the idea that it's father almost killed me. What's a girl to do?"

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, the other two options aren't really options for me." She chuckled, "The only options I see in my future are natural or epideral?"

They both smiled. After a few more minutes of light conversation, Wilson left the room. He wanted to head straight down to tell House, but he couldn't breach Danny's trust. So he went to his office. There was House sitting at his desk.

"Well? What's wrong with her?" He asked.

"What, having a hard time hacking into her file?"

"It's more difficult now to break into the hospital records since HIPPA was passed. All I get is the fact that she's been admitted."

"Well, she has pneumonia in her right lung. She was admitted with a 102.5 fever and an elevated blood pressure. That's about all I know."

House looked Wilson over, "I don't think that's all you know. What is it that you are not telling me? Has she grown a second head?"

"Funny. Well that's all I can tell you, so if you are so concerned, why don't you go up and see her? She keeps asking why you don't have the courage to face her."

House was silent for once. He looked away rather than connect with Wilson's knowing eyes. He knew he owed Danny an explanation, but he also knew that if he saw her he might not have the courage to walk away.

During her time in the hospital she did not see House. He did not come into the room and she never saw him go by. Wilson admitted to her that House knew she was in the hospital. Of course this caused her to cry but she held her tears until after Wilson was gone. There was no getting around the fact that House must have felt nothing for her. Even friends stop by to wish you well in the hospital.

Controlling the pneumonia proved difficult to Cuddy. The best thing for clearing up bacterial pneumonia, other than antibiotics, is to cough or exercise the lungs. Unfortunately, every time Danny went into spasms of coughing she would almost pass out from the pain in her ribs. So they had to give her mild pain relievers in the day so that she would cough and then heavier drugs at night so she could sleep and the bones could knit. On top of it, they had to give her drugs that wouldn't interfere with her pregnancy.

They couldn't give her morphine because of the pregnancy so they gave her Oxycontin. Within minutes of her 10:00 p.m. dose, Danny was out until they woke her at 4:00 a.m. to give her additional meds. By the end of the week they had the pneumonia under control enough that she could go home. Nurse Boiselle came by to help her get ready to go. She removed the intravenous feed and was helping her with the exit forms.

"I thought you only worked nights?" Danny asked.

"Oh, I switched shifts with Linda, her kid was in the softball finals and she wanted to go to the game. Well, happy to be going home?"

"Yes, it will be nice to get out of here." Danny sighed.

"Well, I guess this means that Dr. House is going to have to find some other place to watch The Daily Show and The Colbert Report." Nurse Boiselle chuckled.

"What are you talking about?" Danny asked.

"Each night after you get your meds and fall asleep, Dr. House comes in, sits down and watches television in your room. After the Colbert Report is over he leaves."

"You're joking."

"No, really, every night for the last four nights, like clockwork. He comes in, reads your chart, checks your vitals, tucks you in and sits down to watch tv. It's kind of sweet."

She felt her stomach churn. This was almost worse than him not coming in at all to see her. What did it mean? Why would he do this to her?

"Oh, have I upset you?" The nurse asked.

"No, it's ok...I just didn't realize he was doing this."

"Doesn't he come by during the day to see you?" She asked.

"No."

"That's odd, he's so attentive at night. Well, you're ready, is your ride here?" She asked.

"Yes, he's just gone down to fill my prescription."

Within minutes Jordan was in a wheelchair being wheeled by John to his car. Jordan kept looking around hoping to see House as she was leaving, but she didn't. ***

Jordan handed the realtor the keys. She looked back at the row house and decided it was a good thing to be leaving. She hadn't been attached to the house anyway, it had always seemed a little lonely. She felt good about the fact that she was out of debt. She didn't owe any money to Princeton General or Princeton-Plainsboro. She had even used the equity to pay back her clients for their generous support when she was recuperating. She felt a little sadness when she wrote the check to Gregory House, M.D. for $3,200. She reimbursed him for the July payment and then for the $1600 he had "donated" for August and September. Now she owed him nothing.

She spent the last night at Edward's house. They had a little farewell party and gave her an umbrella and a nice raincoat. The guys had been great about the pregnancy and had pitched in to give her a $500 gift certificate to a website for baby things. They supported her keeping the baby and even pointed out that, even though he was a psychotic, Chris was a brilliant Physicist! They kept joking that the child's IQ would be so high that they would all seem like knuckle scrappers next to it.

The next day she took a shuttle to the Trenton airport and caught a flight to JFK where she transferred to her flight to Heathrow. At Heathrow she waited an hour to go through the passport check. Her passport and work visa were both in order. She grabbed the train into Victoria Station, pulled her luggage to the curb, took a cab to Liverpool Street Station and started the last leg of the trip on the train to Cambridge.

It was the first week of the new year and Cambridge was brisk. A light fleece of snow lay on the ground. Jordan was booked to stay in a bedsit for the first month until she found accommodations. The bedsit was on the edge of Downing College in a lovely Victorian home. She had the downstairs room which used to be the parlor. It was close to the downstair bathroom.

She was just starting the sixth month of her pregnancy and from behind you couldn't tell she was pregnant. It was the 24th week and the doctor had said that her baby was "viable." She was being kicked a lot and sometimes it was her bad ribs that got hammered. When that happened, Danny would let out a yelp that would make everyone stop and stare.

She was relaxing by the fire with a cuppa when there was a knock on her door

"Jordan, it is so good to see you again." the plain middle aged woman gave Jordan an air kiss.

"Gemma, good to see you. Why are you here to see me?" Jordan asked.

"Stephen wants you to come by tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Here's your new mobile phone, it comes with the job. I've programed in some important numbers including Stephen's and mine. I was so glad you took this position. Stephen is usually a Wally when he changes assistants but since it's you, I feel sure the transition will be easier."

Jordan smiled, Stephen was a pain when anything out of the ordinary changed. He liked things to be a certain way at all times. When she received his offer of the position she wasn't sure she wanted to take it. But it gave her a chance to start over and work for someone she liked.

The offer had come at the beginning of November. She originally turned it down because of the pregnancy. She didn't want to tell him that she was pregnant, she didn't want to have to discuss the paternity of the child. Stephen suspected the pregnancy was the reason she turned him down so he arranged for a weblink call. When 8:30 a.m. showed on the clock, her screen lit up and there was Stephen in his wheelchair staring into the screen. The computer was speaking for him.

"If you are turning me down because you do not want to come back to Cambridge, that is acceptable. If you are turning me down because you are pregnant, that is not." the mechanized voice echoed over the web. It was said rather quickly which indicated that he had already typed this in before he called. Stephen didn't type with his hands, they were useless, he typed with his eyes. The program followed his eye movements across a keyboard on the screen.

"Stephen, how did you know I was pregnant?" She asked.

"A very large bird with glasses told me." It took a few minutes for this to be understood and relayed by the computer

"I see." She would have to have a talk with John. "Well, yes, I figured they wouldn't let me have a work visa if I was pregnant. The last thing they would want me to do is get over there and have a baby on British soil."

"Let me take care of that. Then it is settled, you start January 5th. Make your arrangements, we will have a plane ticket waiting for you in Trenton."

She should have known, whatever Stephen wants, Britain gives. If Stephen wants Jordan, Stephen gets Jordan. Jordan and Stephen spoke for another five minutes about the terms of the engagement and then Jordan ended the transmission.

She was going over this time as an assistant, not a Fellow. She would not be expected to do any research, simply assist Stephen in translating his own work. Of course, it required an understanding of physics, but it didn't require any original work on her own.

She received an email that outlined what she would be doing:

Managing Professor Hawking's national and international travel. Expect to spend around 3 months out of the UK Preparation of lecture graphics and public speaking Dealing with the media and press Development of Professor Hawking's computer systems Maintenance of computer and medical equipment Answering inquiries from the public and maintaining the website Departmental and administrative roles

The role of 'Assistant to Professor Hawking' is funded as a research post at the University of Cambridge. Normally it is under a 12 month contract, although sometimes the contract is extended to up to 2 years. Jordan had already been informed that her 12 month contract would be extended if she elected to do so.

She would receive 32,000 pounds a year. Not a huge amount, but it was more than most of his assistants and she could certainly live comfortably in Cambridge.

It was interesting to see the Old Guard. They were as obnoxious as ever but this time Jordan could care less. After what she had been through, they seemed petty and trivial. Stephen found Jordan's attitude amusing and entertaining. One of the famed physicist who was incredibly jealous of Stephen cornered Jordan and Stephen at a reception. He was hoping for a quick jab at Jordan in the hopes of stinging Stephen so in front of everyone he asked, "Well, Dr. Morgan, what does the father of your child have to say about you taking this position?" A clear jab at the illegitimacy of the baby.

"I don't know, let's ask him. Stephen what do you think about me taking this position?" Jordan asked loudly for everyone to hear.

"I am delighted." He said through his computer.

Stephen was clearly enjoying this. Obviously, no one would seriously believe he was the father but it certainly stopped all discussions about paternity.

***

When Jordan was in the hospital, House tried to get the radiologist to show him the x- rays of Danny's lungs. The Radiologist hated it when House harangued him so he usually did what House wanted just to get him off his back. But this time he couldn't help him. "There are no x-rays."

House looked at him skeptically. This could only mean one thing with a pneumonia patient. She couldn't get an x-ray because she was pregnant. House went to Wilson, he would know.

"I just discovered something very interesting." House told Wilson. "I discovered that Danny had pneumonia but no x-rays."

Wilson started to wilt, House knew. "Alright, so you know. What about it."

"She's pregnant. When did it happen?"

"It's pretty obvious isn't it? When she was raped." Wilson said quietly.

House cocked his head to one side and squinted his eyes. "How do you know that?"

"Princeton General didn't give her the morning after pill."

"Was she on birth control?" House asked.

"I don't know, but wouldn't you know that? I mean, you were intimate with her, right?"

"Yes, I was." House sat down and stared ahead.

"House, is there a chance that the baby is yours?" Wilson asked.

"Obviously not or Jordan would have thought of that and mentioned it to you or Cuddy. And you two would have confronted me." he said.

It was in September that House heard that Stacy had her baby. Wilson was worried about him. House was surly and didn't want to go anywhere. He didn't seem to care about anything except work. Even at work he was mean and angry. Wilson knew that Stacy was only a part of the problem. House had been spiraling down ever since he had stopped seeing Danny.

House saw Danny once from a distance. It was close to Thanksgiving. She was at a restaurant with one of her nerds. She was sitting, laughing, obviously pregnant. She looked like she was in good spirits. He was actually comforted by the thought that she looked happy. He ordered his food to go and took one more look at her and left.

Paula "visited" him shortly after that and on the way out asked him what had happened. He told her he would have just made a "balls up" of the whole thing so he took her advice and backed off. Paula turned a little pale.

"I didn't mean for you to dump her, I just wanted you to be careful with her feelings."

"That WAS being careful with her feelings."

"Well, you sure messed with her mind." Paula shook her head and slipped through the door.

On January 4th House received a check in the mail. It was for $3200 and it was signed by Jordan. On it she had written, "Thank you for everything you've done, I hope you are well." He felt terrible. It was such a nice note considering what he had done. He would have felt better if she had just written, "Screw You."

He didn't want the money so he didn't cash the check. He got on his motorcycle and went over to her house to give it back. When he got there he saw a for sale sign on the front lawn with a "Sold" sign attached above it. He went up on the porch and looked inside, it was empty. She was gone.

Over the next few days he called Edward but he didn't return the call. He left a message for Nathan, but it went unanswered. He finally hunted down John Tarkington at his house. He wasn't home but his wife Carol was.

"Oh my God, you are Dr. House, right? I kind of expected you to come with a forked tongue, horns and a tail. Come in... sit down."

"I just want to know where Jordan Morgan is."

"She's with Stephen Hawkings. She went over to Cambridge about three days ago, you just missed her. Aren't you showing an interest a little late? Didn't you have your chance and you blew it?"

House liked Carol, she was blunt and up front. "Yes, I did."

"Well isn't that just too bad?" She said sarcastically.

"I need to talk to Danny, do you have an address?"

"Not one that I can give you without getting in trouble with her and my husband. I've told you enough. Actually, you better get out of here before John gets home. You are person non gratis around here...he is not a fan of yours."

"If you talk to Jordan, please tell her I was asking about her and would like to speak with her."

"Right, you really think I'm going to be the one to open that wound again...sorry, doctor but you are on your own." *** Danny was assigned a midwife by her GP and the midwife made several visits to her in her bedsit and then later in her new leased flat. The flat was small, it had two bedrooms although she wasn't sure you could call the other room a bedroom. It was more like a large closet with a window. She could barely squeeze in the crib and chest of drawers that she had purchased from Mothercare.

Danny was excited about the fact that she would be having her child at "The Rosie", the maternity hospital at Addenbrooks Hospital in Cambridge. The Rosie was known for its great medical care. In fact, each mother had the opportunity to stay in the Rosie for up to ten days after the baby came. The mother made the decision, not the doctor. However, they always advised that the mother and baby stay in at least three days so that the staff could monitor when the mother's milk came in and see if she was breastfeeding properly. Danny advised her midwife that she would stay 5 days and then come home. The baby was due April 4th . Danny's aunt was going to come over to help her with the baby so she made arrangements for her to fly in on April 3rd.

On March 12th Danny went into labor. She was by herself when she had the "show" the night before. By the time she dilated enough to be considered in hard labor, she had already spent six hours on the maternity ward. She was wheeled into the delivery room at 4:00 pm. The labor was hard on Jordan, especially with the newly healed lung and fragile ribs. The first midwife was a sweet older woman. When her shift was up at 8:00 pm, the new midwife came in with a young man. He turned out to be a doctor doing his internship rotation in obstetrics. He was there to observe. Jordan thought he was funny. He was a doctor, but as soon as he saw Jordan's privates he turned his face to the wall as if he was embarrassed. Jordan could care less at this point. She was in pain and exhausted. The USC marching band could have come in for a look and she wouldn't have cared.

At 11:32 p.m. she delivered a healthy baby boy. Danny felt so happy and so sad at the same time. She had never felt so alone as when she was left by herself with her new born son. She named him Stephen Isaac Morgan. He weighed in at 6lbs.8 oz. He had lovely blue eyes, but then so did his father. Luckily, she couldn't remember what Chris looked like so she couldn't see any of him in the baby. She did know that it didn't matter what his father was like, she loved her baby dearly.

Danny was placed on a ward with three other mothers. It created quite a stir when Stephen Hawkings came to see her in the Rosie. People kept sticking their heads in to get a glimpse of him. Stephen was a pretty common fixture in Cambridge around King's Parade but still many of the hospital staff didn't live in Cambridge but came from surrounding villages.

Stephen was honored to find that Danny had named the baby after him. "Well, I figure it will help feed the gossip about us." Danny told him. Stephen grinned widely.

On the fifth day, Danny took Stephen home and they began their journey as a family.

*** House was busy. JAMA had asked that he do the peer review on several articles. He said no at first until Cuddy brought him his contract and showed him that he was required to do certain things including peer review when asked by the Dean. Well, she was asking.

House actually enjoyed it because he loved sending back articles with questions to the authors that made their heads spin. Sometimes he would send them riddles. If they solved the riddle then they understood what was wrong with the article. In one case, House actually proved that the final analysis of the data by the authors was wrong. But the case was still unique so they simply changed the analysis and submitted the corrected paper which House approved for publication.

Cuddy came into his office, "Good news House, the AMA is going to hold their annual conference in London this year and they have invited you, Chester and Wilson to present."

"I don't have a paper to present." He said calmly.

"Yes, that is a problem which is why they want you to talk about peer review and the steps you take to analyze a paper. So you just have to figure out what to say for an hour. I have our tickets, the conference is in late August."

House looked at her like she was demented. "We are talking about me, right?"

"House, we need to boost the revenues in your department and the best way to do that is to present in front of other doctors. Your department always has been in the red, but lately it's getting to be deep red. You have been exceptionally mean lately. It's chased away a lot of doctors who don't want to deal with you so they refer to other hospitals." House argued with her but he lost the battle. He knew that his reputation for being irascible was stronger than ever.

Wilson came in later and reminded him that his passport had expired. "I know this is painful, considering the thinning of your hair since your last passport photo, but you need to have your picture taken. I do too, my passport is going to expire next month. Cuddy has suggested I take you to get one...ok, maybe she had demanded I take you to get one. She doesn't want any excuses from you."

The Passports came just in time. House was annoyed when Homeland Security found the vial of Tomatin Single Malt Whiskey in the hollowed stem of his cane. Luckily, Wilson smoothed it over with the officials, telling them that House had just been in a bad accident and had brain-stem trouble remembering things like "rules."

House got on board and immediately pulled out a plastic vial of Grey Goose from a secret pocket in his jacket. He offered a shot to Wilson who just shook his head in disbelief. They shared a drink and then settled in for a long flight. House took the aisle seat so he could get up and move his bad leg.

"Are you going to go see Jordan?" Wilson was curious.

"No. Single mothers don't do it for me. I hate it when the kid gets more breast than I do." House shrugged.

You know Cambridge is only an hour by train from London?"

"Yes and in one hour I could hire a hooker and get laid."

"Ok, I'll shut up." Wilson raised his hands in surrender.

A few minutes later House asked Wilson, "Do you have her address over here?"

"No, but it shouldn't be too hard to find STEPHEN HAWKINGS ASSISTANT!" Wilson emphasized it.

What makes you think she would want to see me?" House asked.

"She wouldn't...the question is whether you want to see her?"

House kept quiet until the movie came on and then he said, "Oh great, Brokeback Mountain, I finally get to see it with my boyfriend."

*** "There are extra nappies in the cupboard and his binky is in the pan on the stove. If he gets cranky you can give him some gripe water. You have my mobile number, I also left you Anne's number. She'll come over if you get overwhelmed. Oh, and I left his National Health Card on the table." Jordan was nervous about leaving Newt at home for the first time. Normally he traveled with her. But Stephen had suggested that an overnight trip to London was a good place to test the waters and see how he would do without her when they had to go on longer trips.

Stephen had been great and had made numerous accommodations for Jordan and Newt. He enjoyed Newt even though he wasn't that fond of babies. The only other baby he actually enjoyed was his grandchild. Newt was very observant of everything and everyone and Stephen warned Jordan that this was a sign of things to come. Even though she was now a new mom, Jordan had still performed her job above and beyond the call of duty, just like Stephen knew she would. She had even snuck in at night and corrected some of his work. No other assistant would have dared to have done that, but he trusted Jordan and knew that her corrections would save him valuable months in time.

"Stephen and I will be staying at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Knightsbridge near the Albert Hall. If you need to contact me, our code name will be Bradalina. Yes, Stephen picked it. Yes, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie...glad you got it." Jordan was on the telephone with Gemma.

Jordan teared up when she said goodbye to her little baby. Newt was sleeping in his nanny's arms when she gave him a goodbye kiss on his little pink lips. Stephen had given him his nickname. He started calling him Newt because of his middle name, Isaac. Being named after two great physicist was quite a load for such a little man to bear so Stephen shortened it to Newt.

They took Stephen's van into London and arrived in the early afternoon. It was a gorgeous, sunny day in London with no sign of rain.

*** House and Wilson were already checked in and ready to go to the orientation cocktail party at The Imperial College Science Museum which started at seven p.m..

"Let's take the shuttle over."

"I need to walk some. How far is it?" House's leg was acting up.

"About ten blocks. We could take the shuttle to the Victoria and Albert Museum and then walk to the Science Museum from there. They're about four blocks apart."

"That sounds better." They dressed in their suits, grabbed their portfolios and went to the lobby to catch the V&A shuttle. It was still bright and sunny out.

"It's unsettling that it doesn't get dark until 10:00 pm." Wilson observed. "I'm going to leave a message for Cuddy, let her know we'll meet her there." Wilson nodded for House to sit down.

Wilson left for the front desk and House looked around. It was an incredible lobby, very ornate, very Victorian, it reminded him of some of the hotels he had seen in Italy as a child.

"Ok, let's go." They started walking to the shuttle. "You know, I was writing the message when there was a delivery of a huge fruit basket...the guy told the deskman that it was for, Bradalina'!"

"You're joking."

"Kid you not. Bradalina. Do you think maybe they're here?"

"Well, it is a five star hotel. You couldn't get more ostentatious. Keep your eyes open, maybe our dream of a threesome with Angelina will come true..." House smiled.

"Threesome, what makes you thing I'm going to share her?"

"Oh, come on, I saw how you kept looking at me out of the corner of your eye during Brokeback Mountain. Who are you kidding?" They laughed like teenagers.

The reception was over at 9:00 pm, Cuddy, Wilson and House took the shuttle back to the Mandarin. On the way House suggested they grab a drink in the bar at the hotel. Everyone was up for it so when they got into the lobby they made their way to the bar. They were seated so that they could all see who traveling through the lobby. Wilson had shared the "Bradalina" secret with Cuddy and they were all secretly hoping Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had checked into the hotel.

For awhile they kept a vigilant eye on the lobby but then they soon forgot about their prey and concentrated on their gin and tonics. The friends were having a good time "taking the Mickey" out of each other when Cuddy, who was now quite tipsy, raised an excited finger towards the lobby. "THAT is Stephen Hawkings!" She cried out.

House and Wilson looked and there he was, dressed in a tuxedo and sitting in his mechanical wheelchair waiting with two other men who were talking. The men turned around and looked towards the elevator as a beautiful blonde woman, hair pinned up and dressed in a long ball gown floated across the lobby towards the men. Her dress was made entirely out of a powder silver satin and silk with thin straps that came down and barely covered her round breasts. The gown was an empire shape, making her seem even more slim than she was. The way that the dress hung from her waist and hips made it seem like she glided everywhere she went. Everyone in the lobby stopped to stare at her but she appeared oblivious. She went to Hawkings' side and bent down to tell him something. Now the whole lobby was standing and staring as they recognized the famous physicist with the beautiful blonde. Cell phones came out and dozens of amateur photos were taken.

House knocked over his empty glass when he saw her. Wilson looked at him. He could see that House was pale and taken off guard. It was Cuddy who acted. "It's Jordan!" She jumped up and made her way to the lobby. There were hugs between Jordan and Cuddy along with introductions to Stephen Hawkings and the other two physicists. Jordan looked up and into the bar, following Cuddy's pointing finger. She made eye contact with Dr. Wilson and then with House.

Cuddy had Jordan by the hand and was dragging her to the bar. House drew in a breath and simply said, "Sh!t."

As she got closer, House was overwhelmed by how beautiful she looked. Her breasts and hips were fuller and inviting, a result of motherhood, but more important she looked confident and in control.

Wilson stood up and as he hugged her he whispered, "You look stunning."

"Thank You." She turned to face House.

"Cor..." House gave her the British expression for "wow" and emphasized it with a look of amazement. "I'm gobsmacked." He stood politely to give the requisite hug of recognition. She leaned in to hug him and he placed his hands gingerly on both sides of her waist which sent chills down her. His breath was warm on her neck as they quickly hugged.

"It's good to see you...all of you. What are you doing here?" She asked with all the confidence she could muster. Inside her stomach was cramping and her heart was racing.

"AMA convention. What about you?" Cuddy asked

"We've just gotten back from the OBE awards dinner. Stephen always gets invited because he has one." They looked confused. "He has an OBE, Order of the British Empire. They're given out by the Queen. We were just coming to the bar for a drink. Ah, here he comes." Stephen Hawkings and the other two men were making their way into the bar.

"Stephen, I would like you to meet my friends, Drs. Greg House, James Wilson and you met Lisa. Lisa was my doctor when I got pneumonia. Greg is a former client. And James is just a good friend."

The mechanized voice said, "She has a lot of good friends. Pleasure to meet you."

They all grabbed a table with more comfortable leather chairs. House sat across from her giving them both a birdseye view of each other. She tried to avoid his stare but she couldn't help but connect with his eyes. She gave him a sad sweet smile and then turned back to the conversation. She knew that his eyes were still on her.

"Jordan, you must have had your baby...what did you have?" Lisa asked.

"A boy. Stephen Isaac. He's very cute and very observant. He's in Cambridge with his nanny and I already miss him." With that she gave a little pout to emphasize that she missed him. She gave them all a thumbnail sketch of Newt's personality and accomplishments as a four month old.

"Well, I'm glad everything worked out for you." Lisa was tipsy and she started telling tales of funny patients she had encountered in the clinic. The whole table was laughing. Danny could tell that Stephen was enjoying her stories but he was also getting tired.

"Stephen, we need to be up for the OBE breakfast. Do you want me to take you up to your room?" She stood knowing what the answer would be.

"Yes if you would excuse us..." and the mechanical voice trailed off.

Lisa announced, "I've had enough of waiting for Bradalina..."

Stephen and Danny's eyes met and they both smiled, "Bradalina?" Danny asked.

Wilson cut in, I was at the desk and they delivered a fruit basket for Bradalina. You know how celebrities give hotels a code word, well we thought it was a code word for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pit."

"Dr. Wilson, you are looking at Bradalina." Stephen announced. "It's our codeword we used for the hotel staff. I picked it because I think I look a lot like Brad Pitt."

"I guess that makes me Angelina Jolie." Danny mused.

When Cuddy, Wilson and House realized that they had been waiting for Stephen Hawkings, they had a good laugh.

They all said their goodnights and, in light of the fact that Jordan was going back to Cambridge the next day, their goodbyes. Jordan hugged her friends while the other two men steered Stephen's wheelchair towards the elevator. House gave her a kiss on her right cheek and she could smell his aftershave and feel the warm temperature of his skin against hers. She had to swallow hard to keep from getting emotional. She wanted desperately to stay in control. She backed away from them, held up a hand and said, "Goodbye, enjoy your stay and please say hello to everyone at the hospital. Goodnight."

And she was gone.

Wilson looked over at House who gave him a sideways glance and then House stared at the elevator door as it closed. Lisa looked at the two of them, grinned and said, "How cool was that? I just had drinks with Stephen Hawkings? Isn't that cosmic?"

Wilson and House both said together, "She's drunk."

Jordan rolled Stephen into his room on the tenth floor and saw that the bed had been turned down. She called Geoff in from the next room. Geoff was Hawking's personal caretaker and would get him ready for bed.

Jordan, lowered herself to Stephen's level, "Ok, I'll be here at 8:30 a.m., be ready, ok? I want to get back to Cambridge by 1:00 p.m."

"You and Dr. House have something between you?" he asked.

"No. Well, not anymore." she corrected herself, Stephen was too observant to be fooled.

"I am not so sure. He looks at you like he still cares." Stephen said.

"Oh, that's probably just polite concern. He was the one who killed my attacker." She smiled, gave him a peck on the cheek and said, "Goodnight Stephen. By the way, you look great in a tux!"

She closed the door and sighed. She was tired and she felt like she would break down crying any minute. She walked down the hall to 1020, her room. She took out her card and put it through the card reader. She looked around the hallway, in a foolish way she was hoping House would be lurking nearby, ready to grab her. But there was no sign of him.

She entered the room and stepped quickly towards the bed when she caught a glimpse of his leg in the corner chair. She immediately started to give off one of her bloodcurdling screams but House put his hand over her mouth. "It's me, it's me..." She stopped in mid-scream. He looked down, removed his hand and then covered her mouth with his.

The kiss was warm and long. She could feel his hands going down her back and pulling her into him. She dropped all pretense of being in control and grabbed the back of his neck to pull him closer to her. When they finally came up for air she looked at him and said, "You mother f%%king B@st@rd ... is this a game to you? "

He pulled his head back and looked at her with a surprised look. "You can pretend to be mad at me but that kiss said, I surrender Greg.'"

"Everything is about Greg House. What happened when I needed you to be there for me? You ran. You know... just get out. Get out." She pointed to the door.

House laughed and sat down on the bed. "Sit down and talk to me."

"No, if I do that, I might do something foolish like actually forgive you. I can't afford to forgive you and let you back in my life. You're a selfish jerk."

"Sorry, you'll have to do better, I hear that pejorative a lot. Try something with a little more emphasis on my sunny disposition or my aging looks."

She started laughing. "Greg, don't do this. I've just gotten to the point where I will actually allow a single man to talk to me. This game of yours could put me back quite a bit. I'd like to get back in the game, I don't want to end up alone all my life."

He looked at her seriously. "I'm not sorry that I backed away. I did what I thought was best for you. Someone warned me that if I couldn't be there for you through all that you were going to have to deal with, I should get out. You know that I'm not warm and fuzzy. You asked about Stacy, well we lived together for five years. The first two were great, the last three consisted of "me being me" and Stacy complaining constantly about my coldness, by aloofness, my failure to connect to her feelings...I couldn't give her what she needed, so I wasn't sure I could give it to anyone. Am I making sense?"

"I'm an adult Greg, you could have talked to me about it. At least let me make a decision for myself on whether I wanted to take a chance with you. Besides, I didn't want someone who would coddle me, I wanted someone who would hold me when I needed it and then tell me to get a grip and get back in the game. I respond better when someone doesn't patronize me." She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "We had our chance Greg. I had to do a lot to get to a place where I didn't hurt when I thought about you. I don't want to go back."

"I don't want to go back either, I want to go forward. I can't make up for the past, I can tell you that I have missed you, my apartment looks like crap and I've lost ten pounds. "

She giggled. He reached over and put his hand over hers. She stared at it and the gesture melted her heart. He scooted over and put both of his hands on her cheeks and turned her face to look at him. He held her face in his hands and looked at her, really looked at her. His blue eyes were reading every inch of her and it made her feel uneasy. He had to be able to read how much she wanted him. He leaned in and kissed her softly on her lips and then dragged his lips across her cheek, kissed her earlobe and then he traced her neck with his lips down to her clavicle. He took the strap off of her shoulder and kissed her shoulder. Then he kissed her neck and back to her lips where he gave her a deep penetrating kiss. His tongue encircled hers. She leaned closer to him and he pulled the strap down further until he could cup her breast in his hand and then he encircled it with his fingers. She began to untie his tie and then unbutton his shirt. He reached down and kissed her body.

They made love cautiously, treating each other gently and delicately. House had never made love to a woman who had given birth only a few months before and who was still breast feeding. He wanted to be tender and loving with her. The sex was sweet and slow and for the first time in a long time she felt safe, she felt that he cared.

The next morning, Danny was up and gone by 8:30 a.m. House joined Cuddy and Wilson for breakfast.

"After the conference, I'm going to stay over for a few weeks." House told Cuddy.

"Well, you have enough vacation time, but I'm surprised. I thought you didn't like to travel?"

"Does this have anything to do with the fact that I knocked on your door this morning and you weren't in your room?" Wilson smiled suggestively.

"I don't have the faintest idea what you mean."

"Did you hook up with Jordan last night?" Wilson was dogging him.

"Maybe."

"I don't believe it. House, she has a baby now. Babies come first with women. You're going to have to compete with a baby for her attention. You don't like to be second...at anything." Cuddy reminded him.

"Maybe it's a good thing if I'm not the sole focus in a relationship."

"Well, I have to hand it to you, not many men would start a relationship with a woman and a newborn baby. I really hope for Danny's sake that it works out. She deserves a break. How is this going to work with the two of you being separated by the "Big Pond?""

"Look, I'm just staying over to visit for two weeks. It's not like we've picked out the announcements or china patterns. We aren't even sure where to take it from here."

He looked up and saw Danny cross through the lobby with Stephen and Geoff. They were checking out and going back to Cambridge. He got up, grabbed his cane and went out to the front of the hotel where Stephen was being loaded into the van.

"I'll see you Wednesday evening." House put his hand on her upper arm.

"I'll pick you up at the train station at 6:30ish. The train is usually a few minutes late. Stand outside by the newspaper stand and I won't have to park, the car park is usually full." She kissed him quickly on the cheek. He grabbed her and gave her a longer kiss on the mouth. Stephen was smiling in the van.

When she climbed in she saw the smirk on Stephen's face. "I think I am going to lose my assistant in January." He said to Geoff.

"Don't count your chickens Mr. Hawkings." Danny told him. *** Danny was worried about House meeting Newt. House didn't seem to be the baby loving type. She just hoped he didn't flat out ignore Newt since Newt was the most important person in her life.

On Wednesday, she put Newt in his cute little cricket outfit and strapped him in the car- seat to go meet House at the train station. House was already standing by the newspaper stand when she got there. He put his luggage in the back and got in. As Danny pulled out into the traffic House turned around to get a look at Stephen Isaac.

Stephen Isaac was staring straight back at House. House chuckled. "Well, hello. You sure are alert. You remind me of someone. House made a silly face at Newt and Newt simply stared at him, but Danny laughed.

"What are you doing?" she chuckled.

"Haven't you taught him that staring is impolite? He's staring at me."

"Can you blame him, he usually doesn't see men with scraggly beards or someone as silly looking as you!"

House reached back and grabbed the binky that had fallen on the seat and put it in his own mouth. "Does this make me more attractive to you?"

"It would if it were my breast and not a pacifier."

"Oooh mama, let's get home quick."

House enjoyed Cambridge. He seemed to fit in better with the British, who had thicker skins than Americans. When they had dinner with her friends they all teased each other with biting sarcasm and innuendo. He loved the witty humor and the fact that they felt comfortable saying anything, no topics were taboo. If someone was fat, they teased them about being fat. If someone had glasses, then they were called "four- eyes." House felt right at home.

On Friday House and Danny rented a punt while Newt slept at home under the watchful eye of his nanny. Danny warned House, "I don't care if you do have a bad leg, you're going to have to punt. It requires some upper arm strength that I just don't have. So don't think you are just going to sit there on your butt."

House found it easy to punt because he could use the punt itself for balance. Jordan had insisted he wear a boater while he punted. House looked quite handsome in it and Jordan asked him if he would wear it to bed. "Only if you lay back and think of England!"

They punted up to Grantchester where they pulled over and had lunch. After the sandwiches, Danny pulled out the Mumms, two glasses and strawberries. She had also brought a container of clotted cream.

"I take it Newt is going to have his first glass of Mumms' milk tonight?"

"I have some frozen breast milk, I'll just pump this out...besides I can't punt without champagne and strawberries."

They sat on the grass and ate the strawberries. She would take a strawberry, bite the tip off and then hold it to House's mouth for him to eat the rest. She fed him strawberries this way until they both had their fill. Occasionally she would dip the strawberry in the clotted cream for an extra treat. House found this very sensual and wanted to take her on the lawn, but of course he couldn't, there were people punting along the Cam and it would be quite a show for them.

After lunch they laid back on the lawn and fell asleep. After a short nap, they got back in the punt and started back down the river Cam. Jordan was the tour guide, giving him tidbits about the Backs. She explained the Trinity College court, which was where the famous midnight race against the bells was supposedly held in Chariot's of Fire. She talked about the history of the Bridge of Sighs, an enclosed bridge that was very comfortable to travel in the winter. And then she talked about the Mathematical Bridge, designed and built by Sir Isaac Newton. When he built it, no bolts or hardware were used. He had calculated all the stresses so precisely that the bridge functioned without them. In the nineteenth century some structural engineers wanted to figure out how he did it and so they took the bridge apart piece by piece. It was never the same. The bridge now has bolts to secure it. Stephen and Jordan had talked many times about trying to reconstruct the bridge in its original configuration, without bolts.

He was fascinated by the history of Cambridge and how many of the famous had passed through it. His favorite story was of John Cleese who had attended Downing College. Cleese had studied law there but after joining the famous "Footlights" theater group, his fate was sealed. Most of the Pythons came out of that Footlights group. He was now one of England's beloved comedians.

House was even more enchanted by his tour guide. He knew he was falling in love, he had felt similar feelings with Stacy. This time he had more to think about. Jordan came with a baby.

On Saturday they took a hike through the meadows and fields that lined the outskirts of Cambridge. Jordan had the lunch in a knapsack on her back. House had chosen to take Newt on his back. He had observed that Newt liked to look at things and House thought that by being higher, on House's 6'2" frame, Newt would have a better view. House marveled at the fact that English law required that the public have an easement through parcels that were privately owned. To access the easements over the stone walls they had "stiles" Short wooden steps with a pole that you would walk up and then down over the wall.

To the outside world they looked like a family. They stopped at the lock on the river Cam to watch boats make their way through. When they did, a middle aged woman came up and played with Newt. "He looks just like his Dad." She said. House didn't correct her and neither did Jordan. They just said, "Thank You" and kept going.

House was surprised that his leg was in pretty good shape after the walk. He was even able to get down on the floor and play with Newt while Jordan fixed them "high tea." To House, high tea' was just a nice way of saying, light supper.' House liked to watch Newt watch him. They frequently had staring contests and it was usually House that finally looked away.

"I've never seen any baby as curious as yours." House told Danny. "I'm not sure what it means, but he's got an uncanny ability to focus."

Danny was relieved that House had at least found Newt interesting to observe. He had genuinely enjoyed playing with him and carrying him all over Cambridge on his back. She wondered how long that would last.

The sex became more athletic, more like the first time they made love. House would initiate sex as soon as Newt went down for his nap, making it difficult for Jordan to get anything done, including the mounting laundry. The nanny had been given most of the week off but now Danny had wished she had kept the nanny around just so the laundry and flat would get cleaned. Still it was nice to have a man want her, constantly.

House was content, he was being fed and he had sex on demand. What more could he ask for? He did notice that Danny was tired most of the time. It must be the breastfeeding.

"I have to go in to work today and help with some press releases. Do you want me to call in the nanny to take care of Newt?" she asked him.

"No, I can take care of him as long as he doesn't give me the evil eye and vaporize me."

Jordan wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but if she ever wanted to see if House was ready for a baby being around, this would be a good test. "Ok, I'll get dressed and then I'm off."

Stephen was happy to see Jordan. She made his life so much easier. He was also amused by the fact that she had left Greg House minding the baby. "Are you sure you will have a flat to go back to?" He asked her.

At 3:00 p.m. she opened the door to the flat. She looked around and they weren't there, neither was the buggy. House had left his cane behind. The kitchen looked as if there had been a split pea and carrot explosion. At least she knew what Newt had for lunch.

She could tell that House had also given Newt a bath...judging from the kitchen she could understand why. She put on the kettle for tea and started to clean up. A few minutes later, House and a sleeping Newt came through the door. He took Newt out of the stroller and put him in his crib. She could hear House come home but was in the middle of cooking something and couldn't leave the stove.

"I feel as if I've done my first honest day's work in years." House looked exhausted.

"Uh-oh. You look knackered. Sit down and I'll make you tea." Danny smiled, "They are a lot of work, aren't they? Where is he?"

"Sleeping in his crib. I changed his diaper five times! He managed to tag me the first time I did it. Little squirt. He had fun spitting most of his lunch out at me and the walls. I gave him a much needed bath. He didn't want to go to sleep so we went out for a walk so that he could STARE at half of Cambridge. He finally fell asleep on the way home. I need a nap." "Gee, I thought we could have sex. I mean, Newt IS asleep..."

He gave her a silly look of recognition and said, "Oh, I see... you're making a point. Ok, I understand now why you're so tired. So if I only jump you every other day, does that work for you?" He managed a weak smile.

"That would be better. We need to do laundry, including yours or you're going to have to start wearing my clothes and somehow I don't think you'll look good in a bra. The laundromat is a few blocks away. Can you watch Newt while I go do a couple of loads?"

"Oh, no, no, no. YOU watch Newt. I'll do the laundry, you stay here. Just point me in the right direction."

She loaded the laundry trolley for House to push, gave him soap and softener and several 50p. to put in the washers and dryers. He grabbed some newspapers to read and left the flat. Jordan had a few minutes to herself until Newt woke up. She sat down and fell asleep where she sat.

The rest of the two weeks went fast, too fast. They had gotten into a rhythm. Since House was a night owl, he took care of Newt during the late shift, after the last breastfeeding. This allowed Jordan to get some extra sleep. In return, Jordan made sure that Newt didn't wake House in the morning. House turned out to be really good with Newt. Newt seemed to trust House and House had a way of making Newt laugh with his silly looks and funny sounds.

When it came time for House to leave, Danny was both sad and relieved. It had been hard splitting herself between being a tour guide and sex slave to House; a mom to Newt and an assistant to Stephen. However, she admitted that House had done a lot to help out and if the flat had been larger she could have brought in the nanny and she would have had more energy for all of them.

She drove House to the train station and let him off while she tried to find a parking spot. She found one out in the back 40 and then hiked to the station to say the final goodbyes. She had Newt with her. They barely spoke as they stood waiting for the train to Liverpool Street Station. Jordan knew that she would start crying if she did talk. They went into the small sundries store on the platform and bought House a Soduku puzzle book.

He finally broke the silence, "Are you coming back to Princeton in January?"

Only House would ask such an important question two minutes before using his ticket out of here. "No. I'm going to stay on another year with Stephen. I owe it to him. He's been there at every turn for me. Why?"

"I want you to come back...soon. I'd like for us to find a place together."

She was frustrated, "You jackass, why are you starting this conversation now?"

If on cue the stationmaster announced the arrival of the 11:33 to Liverpool Street Station, stopping at Audley End.

"Are you sure you want to take on the responsibility of raising a baby?" she asked.

"I can't promise I will be good at it, but I kind of thought you might want to keep him. I thought you two came as a pair. He is rather entertaining, in a Jackson Pollock way."

"Well, its hard to make decisions like this on the spot. But I don't think I'll be back for another year. I want to do what I can for Stephen. He does have ALS and this may be my last chance to spend time with him. I get a month's vacation. I could come over and stay for a month in the spring."

He got out his ticket and nodded yes. He smiled at her and then gave her a long kiss on her lips and then a kiss on Newt's cheek. He took one last look at her and Newt, as if he was trying to memorize their faces and got on the train with his luggage. Once more, he was gone.

*** "Want some company for Christmas?" House asked Danny over the phone.

"Yes, yes, yes!!!"

"Well baby, get out the KY jelly. I'm buying my ticket today."

This time House hired a cab to drive him from Heathrow to Cambridge, it was much easier. House was surprised at how big Newt had gotten. He actually had a personality now that he was eight months old. And he was grabbing onto everything, pulling himself up and trying to walk. The Christmas tree was his first line of attack. House and Jordan had put it up the night House arrived. By late afternoon the next day they had taken all the ornaments off of the bottom and out of reach of a curious little boy. House had shipped over presents so that he didn't have to drag them. They were also put up so that Newt wouldn't pry them open.

Lovemaking was much more difficult now that Newt was older. He didn't sleep quite as much and he frequently woke at inopportune times. This amused House. On one afternoon House was in the final throes of ecstacy when Newt started to wail. Jordan found it hard to concentrate on pleasure when she could hear Newt howling like a banshee. When House finished, she jumped up and went to Newt's room. House went to sleep. She brought Newt in and laid him between them. They all went down for a nap.

"Well you look handsome." Jordan looked at House in his dark suit and Christmas tie. "Let's just stay home and shag."

"I'm up for it."

"Yeah, you always are. No, we are all expected for Christmas Eve dinner, so behave." The entire faculty and staff always rented the pub at Grantchester for their Christmas Eve meal. It was traditional fare. Goose, duck, roast and turkey. Neeps, parsnips and brussle sprouts. Taties, gravy and Yorkshire pudding. Sherry Trifle for desert. It was always delicious.

Newt looked so cute in his Christmas outfit. He had that wavy light brown hair, the long face, the lovely blue eyes. Everyone wanted to hold him. They also wanted to know all about House. Anyone who wasn't a physicist was of interest to them.

By the end of the night Jordan was feeling a little uncomfortable. Everyone kept remarking to House how much Newt looked like him, right down to the dark blue ring around his outer cornea. It was true, Newt's eyes weren't Chris' light blue but the darker blue eyes of House. People had been saying the same thing all week long whenever they went out. It wasn't until this party that she started to consider the possibility that she had it all wrong about Chris and Newt.

She didn't know how to approach House. She wanted to know if it was true. After they got home they were laying in bed with Newt between them, enjoying watching him sleep. House turned over and looked at her, "I think I'm Newt's father." He said it as if it was a factor in an equation and not a life altering fact.

She smiled and said, "After tonight I was thinking the same thing. Would you mind being tested?"

"If I get tested and he's mine, will you come home?"

"We'll see."

On Christmas they opened presents and laughed at Newt's reaction to the talking bear. He kept staring at it as it talked to him. Then he started spewing jabber as if he was talking back to it. Danny gave House an Italian leather motorcycle jacket. It was gorgeous. House gave Danny diamond earrings. Huge, one carat each, diamond earrings.

That afternoon they joined Stephen and his family for Christmas dinner. Stephen as usual was blunt. "Greg, that baby has to be yours. He doesn't look a bit like Jordan, but he does look just like you. What are you going to do about it?"

The table went quiet. Danny saw Stephen's son shake his head in dismay. House didn't seem to mind at all. "I was thinking of hiring him out to childless couples."

They were at Addenbrooks. The simplest test was the old fashion blood test. It could give them results in a few days. DNA testing was the most conclusive but it took two weeks to get results. House took both tests.

"Greg, I want a serious answer. Are you going to be alright if it is positive?"

"I never wanted to be a father, but then I never wanted to grow up either. It is what it is. Most of the time I enjoy being with Newt. Sometimes I wish I could just be alone with you. I have a feeling most parents feel the same way. How would you feel about it? It means that, no matter what, we will be connected for the rest of our lives."

"Uugh....now that you put it that way. I'm joking. You actually make a good Dad, at least so far. I'm afraid of what you'll be like when he is older. I can see you finding a stash of pot and smoking it yourself...or asking if his girlfriend is up for a threesome, but he could do worse, a lot worse. I hope that he's yours."

Newt was officially the son of Gregory House. Jordan and House went down to the American Embassy with the results and had Newt's birth certificate amended to show House as the father. They did the same at the British Office of Registrations. Stephen Isaac was a dual citizen with both an American and European passports.

"Well, it's official, now will you come home?" House was demanding.

"I can't. I need to find a replacement first and train them. It isn't easy to find a physics assistant for Stephen Hawkings, he is very picky."

"Jordan, this isn't fair to Newt or me. If I'm going to be a father, I need to start being one. Does it help if I admit I love you?"

"It certainly does help, but please don't make me leave Stephen when he has done some much for me. I will be over in the spring, hopefully I will have a replacement by then and we can look for a place. I should be home by summer, ok? And for the record, I've loved you ever since I saw you laying in bed that very first day.

*** Danny got to the airport the obligatory two hours in advance and showed them their passports. Newt looked so cute in his. He was now a year old and walking. The doctor had given her children's Benedryl for Newt to take. It was to help Newt sleep on the trip.

Security in Britain was incredible. The Brits had been pros at it long before 9/11. They had to be because of the IRA. Jordan had to practically strip Newt and his stroller before they would accept it through the security check point.

On the plane Newt started to fuss when they took off. Sitting next to Danny was an Indian woman who was very kind. She helped Danny with Newt whenever Danny had to get something or use the bathroom. It was on one of these excursions that Danny noticed some activity in the back. People were whispering and it appeared that a man was having a heated conversation with one of the stewards. Danny did her business and went back to her seat as soon as possible.

A few minutes later an announcement was made over the speaker. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we are turning around and making an emergency landing at Shannon airport in Ireland. Please return to your seats and buckled your seatbelts."

There was a lot of mumbling among the passengers as they did as told. Jordan saw the same man that had been having a heated conversation move towards the front of the plane where he was met by another man. The plane was starting to descend into Shannon airport. After arriving, nothing happened. The doors remained shut and the plane started to heat up because the air conditioning was off to conserve fuel. After an hour, several passengers started to get heated and there was a lot of loud voices throughout the cabin. Jordan didn't like it, she was scared. She sat and nursed Newt but he was having trouble getting milk because the stress was holding her milk back.

After a few minutes, Jordan took out a bottle and gave it to Newt. She had packed one just in case it was needed. There was a lot of commotion and a Mid-eastern man came to the back of the cabin to talk to the economy class passengers.

"We want all Americans to stay on board with their passports. The rest of you will be getting off in a minute. Get ready to move when we tell you. We will be checking your passport so don't think you can leave if you are an American."

Jordan went white and sweaty. She immediately grabbed Newt's European passport and turned to the Indian woman sitting next to her. "Will you take him with you? He has a European passport...please get him off of this plane, I'm begging you, please." she was shaking and scared.

The woman hesitated but eventually she nodded yes and took Newt from Jordan. The signal was given and the woman stood up with Newt ,his diaper bag and his European Passport. Jordan took Newt's American passport and stuffed it under her seat cushion.

Jordan cried as she watched her son go down the aisle in another woman's arms. She prayed that they would let Newt off the plane. She watched as the woman was stopped at the door and the passports were reviewed. They barely looked at Newt's passport and allowed the woman to leave. Jordan was relieved. She started to breath again.

About one third of the plane's passengers had stayed behind. Jordan wondered if they should rush the men and try to take the plane back. The hijackers came back and took everyone's cell phones. They were not going to allow contact with the outside.

They finally announced, "We have a bomb. It was snuck aboard by a sympathetic airport employee so please do not think you can do anything about it. It is not on our persons, but we have the detonator. If any of you think you can overtake us, we will blow this plane up."

No one moved.

House and Wilson were just coming into work when they saw some people around the television watching CNN's "Breaking News." House wasn't too interested because CNN always had some "Breaking News." But Wilson stopped to see what it was. House continued to the elevator until Wilson yelled for him to come over.

House walked over and Wilson asked, "What airlines is Jordan coming over on?"

"American."

"House, an American Airlines plane out of Heathrow was hijacked. It's landed at Shannon airport. Do you think it could be Danny's?" House watched the screen as it displayed the flight and contact information.

House tried not to panic. He immediately hobbled to the elevator and took it to the second floor and hobbled to his office. He went into his email and found her itinerary. Flight 105 from Heathrow to JFK. Wilson walked in and took one look at House's face and knew.

"Oh Christ, I'm sorry House."

House turned on the television. The flight number and the number to call American Airlines was on the screen again. House dialed it. He waited for thirty minutes and finally got through. They wanted information from him, at first they didn't want to give him information because he wasn't legally related to Jordan. But he managed to convince them that his son was also on the plane. They asked him to fax a copy of Newt's birth certificate. House had it at work because he was adding Newt to his medical insurance and making him the beneficiary of his 401K. He faxed it to them.

The television showed earlier footage of the passengers exiting the plane. It was a short clip. "I didn't see her, did you see her?" House sounded desperate. Wilson shook his head no.

The phone rang and the spokesperson informed House that the hijackers had prevented all Americans from exiting the plane and that they did have confirmation that Jordan had boarded with Stephen at Heathrow so it was assumed that they were still on the plane.

House's heart sank. The spokesperson informed him that they would make travel arrangements for him to JFK or Shannon if he wanted to go. He told them to make the arrangements for Shannon. They called back and said that because Shannon was closed due to the hostage situation, they would be flying him into Dublin and then they would bus him to Shannon. His flight was taking off in less than two hours from Trenton. He was to check into the American Airlines first class desk.

House didn't have his passport with him so he had to rush home. He took a short shower, grabbed extra clothes threw them in his backpack along with Newt's birth certificates and Jordan's itinerary. Wilson drove him to Trenton.

House was on his cell phone the whole time with Cuddy who talked to him about his case and kept him posted on the updates from CNN. The hijackers were demanding the release of Mustafa Setmarian, an Al-Qaeda leader, accused of being involved in September 11 and planning the 2004 Madrid train bombings. It was alleged that he was being kept in a secret prison, but since the USA couldn't publicize that they actually had a secret prison, the USA kept denying that they had him at all. The terrorists were getting angry.

When House got to Dublin, the bus was already half full with family members who were being bussed to Shannon. He got on the bus and sat quietly waiting for the bus to get going. It filled quickly and they left. It took several hours before the bus driver's beautiful Irish lilt announced they were pulling into Shannon. He pointed to the tarmac and about a quarter of a mile away they could all see the plane, just sitting there.

House and the other family members were kept separated from the passengers who had been let go. They were each being interviewed before being reunited with their families. House envied the mothers, fathers, husbands and wives who ran for joy when one of the passengers showed up at the barricade, ready to be reunited.

He kept a vigilant eye on everything around him. Something caught the corner of his eye. It was an airline employee with a baby. She was walking quickly towards a door. House jumped up, grabbed his cane and ran towards the woman. He was stopped by the guard about fifty feet from the woman.

"THAT'S MY SON, THAT WOMAN HAS MY SON. I WANT MY SON." He was banging his cane on the floor. House knew how to make a scene. The woman could hear the commotion behind her and turned around to see House pointing madly at her and the baby. "YOU HAVE MY SON. I WANT MY SON. YOU HAVE STEPHEN ISAAC MORGAN IN YOUR ARMS. I WANT MY SON."

The woman looked at the passport she had been given for the baby. It said, "Stephen Isaac Morgan."

"Let him through. Excuse me Mr. Morgan, could you come with me?" She yelled at him across the terminal. House grabbed his things and then walked as fast as his leg would let him to the woman holding Newt. Newt held out his arms for House. House grabbed Newt, buried his head in Newts little body and started to cry.

"Mr. Morgan, please, can you follow me?"

House composed himself and followed the woman. "My name is Dr. Gregory House, my girlfriend is Jordan Morgan. Where is she?"

"We'll cover that in a moment, please just come in here. We have baby food , diapers and clothing. I think your son is hungry, he hasn't eaten for six hours." They walked into a makeshift room where other mothers and fathers were caring for their children. The woman helped House feed and change Newt. They were then escorted into another room with officials.

"Dr. House? I'm George Johnson, FAA, this is Carrie Mason, Homeland Security and that ugly guy down there is Daniel Wentworth, also with Homeland Security. "

"Where is my girlfriend, Jordan Morgan?"

"Dr. Morgan is still on the plane."

"What?" House couldn't believe it.

"Apparently when Dr. Morgan found out that Americans were going to be singled out she convinced an Indian woman to take your son. She gave her his European passport and she was able to get him off the plane. Your girlfriend did a very smart thing, but then from what we understand, she's a very bright woman. The British government has been making inquiries on her behalf. Apparently Stephen Hawkings is making pleas to the terrorist that she be released. I understand she was his assistant?"

"She still is...unless you're not telling me something."

"No, we believe that they are still alive. The men who took the food aboard the plane say that it is about a third full and no signs of anyone dead."

House relaxed a little.

"Dr. House, do you have any identification that would identify you as Stephen's father?"

House gave them the documentation and they seemed content with it. "Well, you are more than welcome to take your son and relax in the lounge or back out in the terminal. When we have more information, we'll share it with you."

House stood up, took his bags and asked if he could meet the woman that snuck Newt off the plane. They located her and she came over. House was sitting, holding his sleeping baby.

"Your wife was very brave. She didn't hesitate to take action. She begged me to get her son safely off the plane. I couldn't say no, she looked so worried for his safety."

"Was she ok otherwise?"

"Yes, they didn't do anything to us physically. They just seemed to want Americans. Why did your son have a European passport if you and your wife are Americans?"

House didn't correct her, "He was born in Britain and so his mother decided to get him a European passport along with an American one."

"Well, it saved his life. Is there anything....." But before she could finish, the percussion of the plane exploding could be felt throughout the terminal. The terminal was filled with screaming family members. House had fallen out of his seat with Newt safely under him. The terminal windows spewed glass at everyone. Luckily, House and Newt were in the back, next to the door to the lounge. Little of the glass made it back to them.

House got up and looked out on the tarmac. There was no plane, just chards of metal. He picked his son up, helped the Indian woman to her feet and then stood, unable to move or do anything.

"I am so sorry, so sorry..." The Indian woman kept saying over and over.

There was no plane, there was no Jordan. *** When House returned to Trenton, both Cuddy and Wilson met him and Newt at the airport. Cuddy took the baby and Wilson grabbed what little luggage they had. Cuddy had brought a car seat from the hospital. The hospital kept some on hand to give out to the indigent parents in the free clinic. Everyone was silent on the way home.

When they arrived at House's apartment Cuddy asked him if he needed anything?

"Not right now."

"I'll come over and we can go shopping for baby things, get you diapers, a crib, a stroller, you know the routine. I picked up some formula, bottles and baby food. It's in the kitchen. I had your house cleaned, it was a mess...." She paused and started crying, "House, I'm so sorry." She hugged him and for once he hugged her back.

Wilson patted House on the back, "Whatever I can do, you know I'm here."

House nodded in acknowledgment.

When the door closed and he was alone with his son, he looked down and said to Newt, "It is a wise father that knows his own child." Newt smiled at him.

*** DANNY'S TURN

I had finally found a replacement for Stephen and he seemed resigned to letting me go. He liked House and because he was so fond of Newt, he knew it was the best thing for us.

House told me that he loved me. It was said like it was a given. He didn't give me flowers, candy or hold me tight and announce it, it was just a quick statement of fact. But it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was hoping he would say it some day, but I wasn't counting my chickens.

House had started looking for a house (sounds funny, huh?) for all of us. He wasn't having any luck finding what he wanted so he decided to have one built. He sent me an email with the plans and told me to make whatever changes I wanted and get back to him. I didn't change much, the house was going to be beautiful. It was all one story except for a basement. It had three bedrooms and an office/media room. It was a great layout and the photos he sent me of the lot were beautiful. He has been sending me photos of the progress and it is almost done.

The day before I got on the plane he called and said, "Have you seen any china patterns that you like?" It was his stupid way of letting me know he wanted to marry me. I suspect that there is a ring waiting for me at his apartment. He actually asked me my ring size a few weeks ago.

Newt loves him. Whenever he is around, Newt holds his arms out for him. House is a natural with Newt, they relate on some level that I don't. I'm very happy about this. If anything happens to me, I know Newt will have someone in his life that loves him dearly. I can't wait for Newt to meet his grandparents, I bet they are going to love him too.

I got on the plane and was grateful that the person in the seat next to mine was a mother herself. It's always painful to sit next to a man. They always give you the evil eye and make sure you know that they want you to keep that kid's mouth shut. The woman was from Maipur and was going to America to see her oldest daughter. We talked about children and she helped me out when I had to get up and get something out of the overhead bin. She also watched Newt when I went to the bathroom.

I really didn't like the looks of the guy in the back. The steward was trying too hard to remain calm. I was worried that we were under some kind of attack when the announcement came over that we were turning around. As soon as we landed and they said everyone but Americans could get off, I knew I had to get Newt off the plane. I am so happy that I got his European passport and I will be forever grateful to the woman next to me for risking her own life to get Newt off the plane. Seeing him go down that aisle killed me, I didn't know if I was sending him to his death or not. When he got past the terrorists and I looked out the window and saw him crossing the tarmac to a bus guarded by police, I was calm. I didn't really care what happened to me.

My life is now in God's hands. I've been lucky, I've been loved by my parents, I have walked with giants in their fields, I have loved and been loved by an incorrigible but wonderful man and I have given birth to a beautiful child. That child is safely on his way to his father's arms. So I ask, what more could I ask for myself? I consider myself lucky.

The End.

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Legal Disclaimer: The authors published here make no claims on the ownership of Dr. Gregory House and the other fictional residents of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Like the television show House (and quite possibly Dr. Wilson's pocket protector), they are the property of NBC/Universal, David Shore and undoubtedly other individuals of whom I am only peripherally aware. The fan fiction authors published here receive no monetary benefit from their work and intend no copyright infringement nor slight to the actual owners. We love the characters and we love the show, otherwise we wouldn't be here.

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