Cover of a Book

Murphy Morrighan had her orders in her hand when she walked out of her detailer’s office in Norfolk, Virginia. The detailer was an old Master Chief, a lifer, about ready to retire with 30 in the Navy. She liked him, he was no nonsense and he was a miracle worker. He had really gone to bat for her and had managed to get her a slot in the military/civilian health care exchange program. The program was new and only the best doctors were being allowed to take advantage of it. Essentially it allowed military doctors to take a one year position in a teaching hospital to study skills the Navy considered important for the ever increasing demands of overseas duty. It wasn’t really a residency, just simply training that would assist the doctor in the field. It counted as shore duty and it was only offered to doctors who had re-enlisted for another tour of duty, or four more years. Murphy wasn’t getting out so she saw this as a great way of expanding her horizons and finding out what it would be like to practice in a civilian facility.

A lot of the doctors in the program had opted for training in orthopedics and emergency medicine. Murphy already had an extensive background in emergency medicine. She had done rotations on the USNS Mercy and in the field in Iraq and realized that she was frequently asked to examine civilians while she was on the Mercy and in Iraq and had to diagnose some fairly strange maladies. She had just finished combat duty with the Shock Trauma Platoon in Camp Korean Village about seventy miles from Baghdad. Her job had been to stabilize casualties and then move them to higher care. It wasn’t easy to do it with RPG’s a dime a dozen and in the hands of so many, but then they did have a platoon of Marines who were kept busy keeping them safe to do their jobs. The best thing about combat duty was combat pay...a little extra moolah in her pocket. She was hoping to put a down payment on a house with both her combat pay, savings and the $35,000 she had received as a re-enlistment bonus. Navy doctors had been jumping into civilian practice by the droves so the bonuses for re-enlistment had gone up substantially.

Murphy was being sent to Princeton. She had asked for UCLA but the last slot there had been taken a week before she applied. The only open slot that interested her was one at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. It had been open for quite awhile and she couldn’t understand why. It sounded incredibly interesting and challenging. It was a position in the Diagnostics department. She would do a a year rotation in the department. It was just what she was looking for. She was going to take some of her thirty day leave at home in San Diego and then use a week of it to look for a place to live in Princeton.

“House.” Lisa Cuddy, dressed in a burgundy tweed suit and matching pumps, tried to get his attention but his eyes were closed and he had headphones on listening to music. She kicked his chair and his eyes flew open. He took the Bose headphones off and looked at her.

“You’ve changed your hairstyle.” he said.

“I got it cut.” she looked at her reflection in the glass and thought that the new cut looked good on her.

“A lot cut for you. You look better with longer hair. Hides that mole on the back of your neck.” House started to put the headphones on again but she grabbed the right one off of his ear.

“House, the new member of your team is starting on Monday.”

He looked at her in disbelief, “What new member? I don’t need a new member. I didn’t ask for a new member.”

“We went over this last spring...when your billables fell. We agreed to join the military’s new exchange program. Remember?” He looked baffled. “The military sends us a doctor. That doctor’s salary is paid by the military so essentially we get a free doctor. She can bill in your department and not cost you a thing. All you have to do is teach her something about diagnosing patients. GET IT?”

“Vaguely. Send her back. My billables are fine now.”

“Barely. House this gives you a chance to get ahead of the game. If the Board sees your billables are up it will take pressure off of both of us. Suck it up. She’s coming tomorrow.”

“I’m not feeling the vibe...I don’t think this is a good idea. I don’t need some snot nosed kid who couldn’t cut it in the real world taking a place at the table with real doctors.”

“I don’t care what vibe you’re getting. Here’s her profile, get used to it. She’s coming in tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. She has some papers to fill out in HR but she should be down here by 10 a.m. And TRY to make her feel ...ok, I know you can’t make her feel welcomed, but try not to make her feel like a caretaker in an insane asylum.”

House gave her an insane look and she closed her eyes in fear and left. House opened the file. Commander Murphy Morrighan, 36, single, no dependents. In the Navy since she was 18. Undergraduate at UCSD, med school at UCLA, residency at Bethesda. Tours of duty included the U.S.N.S. Mercy and recently Iraq. She had also practiced at Tripler Army Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii and Balboa Naval Hospital, San Diego. She had a specialty in infectious diseases. There wasn’t much more given in the profile so House couldn’t tell if she was bald, fat, green or mean.

House didn’t like changes but he did like challenges. He wondered how long it would take to make her beg Cuddy to rotate her into another department? He gave it one month. House grabbed his cane and made his way to the elevator. It was time for clinic. Then it dawned on him, he could have the newbie do his clinic time. Sweet.

It was late September and they had switched to dress blues about two weeks ago. Murphy thought the uniform was a little boring, but she did have some nice hash marks and some service medals and ribbons. She even had a purple heart she got in Iraq in 2003 from shrapnel that flew off of an exploding personnel vehicle during a SAR run. The shrapnel landed in her right thigh requiring some surgery. The incident had also resulted in a commendation and Navy Cross.

She was required to wear her dress or duty uniform to the civilian hospital each day unless she was given permission by the hospital to wear civilian clothes. This would not include wearing her medals but she would be required to wear her ribbons which reflected the medals she had earned or won. She was also required to wear her uniform when she stood duty at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard’s Sickbay once a month.

Murphy walked through the doors into the very modern hospital. She thought back to the seagreen walls of most military hospitals and thought how archaic they were in comparison. She stopped at the front desk.

“Hello, I’m Commander Morrighan, I’m here to see Lisa Cuddy.”

“Her office is in there.” The nurse pointed to some french doors and Murphy nodded her thanks.

Murphy announced to the assistant that she was there and then took a seat to wait for Dr. Cuddy. When Dr. Cuddy came through the door she was spit and polish... manicured finger nails, expensive hair cut, Tahari suit, gold earrings. This woman was beautiful and professional. Murphy already liked her.

“Commander Morrighan, I’m Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine. It’s great to have you aboard.”

“Thank you Ma’m.”

“Oh, please I’m not much older than you, please call me Lisa.”

“Lisa. Thank you. I’m looking forward to meeting Dr. House.”

“Well, before you embark on that journey, let’s get you through the maze of human resource paperwork. We have to get information for your malpractice insurance.”

She and Lisa went over to Human Resources and as Lisa was going to leave she started to feel guilty.

“Dr. Morrighan, can I talk to you over here in private?” She motioned to a quiet corner. “I have to warn you, you are about to enter the Twilight Zone. I need to tell you about Dr. House. He’s...he’s not the easiest person to tolerate. He is not politically correct in ANY sense of the word, he can be crude, mean, rude and judgmental. I’m afraid he’ll make your life in his department a living hell. But if you can get past his personality, he’s absolutely brilliant and the best doctor in the hospital. You can’t help but learn from him even if you’d like to kill him or yourself while doing so. There, I’ve warned you. If you absolutely can’t take it any longer, come and see me and I’ll see what I can do.”

Murphy didn’t flinch. “Lisa, I did my homework, although I did it late. After I got the position I wanted to know why the slot had been open for so long. Usually the slots fill up rather quickly, everyone in the military wants a break from the military. So I started making phone calls and I pretty much gathered from what I was told that I had gotten myself into a hornet’s nest. So be it. I just have to suck it up and try my best. But I really appreciate the warning, it’s kind of you to not paint the position as a bed of roses.”

“Oh, it’s a bed of roses, you’ll just be laying on a lot of thorns.” She smiled. “When you’re done, Dr. House’s office is on the second floor. Good luck.” Lisa took one last look at her. She was a strawberry blonde with a tight chignon under her cap. She had a pert little nose, freckles, small ears, a nice figure and striking legs. She carried herself well with great posture. Her smile was warm and friendly, her voice a little on the high side, but not much. She might have had mascara on, but that was all. But she was pretty. Judging from the rows of ribbons on her, she had a lot of experiences that Lisa couldn’t even begin to relate to. She was Lisa’s height, maybe a fraction shorter. And she certainly sounded smart when she talked.

***

House and the team were in the white board room reading the chart of the newest patient. The patient, a 70 year old man, had been receiving radiation treatment for prostate cancer when he developed a cough and chest pains. His liver and spleen were also enlarged. A cardiovascular event was ruled out so House was brought in by Wilson. House got up and began to write the symptoms on the white board when he saw her open the door to his office next door. He looked around the door jamb and said, “I’m sorry but Foreman is 4F, come back next week and we’ll let you have Cameron.”

She cocked her head to one side quizzically and walked into the room they were in, “Dr. House?” She had her hand out to shake his. He ignored it and went back to the white board.

“Obviously, we have an infectious disease here but no one seems to know which one. He hasn’t been out of the country for centuries and he lives in a home for diapered geriatrics. Any ideas?”

Murphy continued to stand, almost at attention, when House finally looked at her, grimaced and quickly hobbled over to a chair, pulled it out for her and then passed a hand over it to motion for her to sit down. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you needed a formal invitation to the ball or I would have worn my tux. In case you’re wondering what we’re doing, we’re treating a real patient under real conditions found in real places. I know that you’re used to treating the black syph patients or the dreaded gonorrhea riddled sailors but in real places people get real diseases.”

House turned back to the white board after Murphy sat down and started barking orders. “Get a CBC, SED rate and start culturing some of the spew from one of his lungs. Let’s see if we can grow us a zombie. Foreman, get us a CT scan of the lungs.”

The team got up and slowly exited while looking at her with curiosity. She just smiled.

House was looking at the board and then he heard a sound. He turned and saw she was still in the room . “Are you a moron? What part of get a CBC and Sed rate didn’t you get? I recognize that you’re used to attending a brief before you do anything more complicated than wiping your @ss, but you’ll just have to wing it today without one.”

“I didn’t realize you wanted me to join them and frankly, I didn’t think it took four doctors to do that. Usually, a nurse can do it.” As the words came out of her mouth she immediately regretted it. She knew she had just put herself in the crosshairs.

“Oh, well, we wouldn’t want you to get your hands dirty or a little blood on that nice uniform. Forgive me for thinking you were here to actually do a job. I’ll have them bring in a rollaway and you can take a nap.” He raised his voice like she was deaf, “I think that cap is too small for your head, the circulation has been cut off. WE actually do most of our own lab work and analysis. We’re in a department that has the word Diagnostics written on it...that means we D..i..a..g..n..o..s..e.. illnesses.”

“I’m sorry Dr. House, you’re right, I’m wrong. I’ll go find the others and help them.” she nodded her head quickly and left but not before she saw him staring at her chest blatantly.

For once House wasn’t actually staring at breasts, he really was staring at the chest, the chest of ribbons. House’s father had been awarded the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart so House was well aware of what they meant. It both annoyed and impressed him at the same time. It meant she was a hero. His dad was a hero. Crap.

House was curious about the circumstances surrounding her medals but he didn’t want to acknowledge her hero status. She made him uneasy. He wanted to make her life miserable, humiliate her and yet she hadn’t done a thing except show up in that uniform. It was the uniform. It reminded him of the day-in, day-out arguments he had with his Dad on just about every topic under the sun. House’s father was black and white. Your behavior was either good or bad...there was no room in the Marines for grey. No room in his heart for tolerance. Tolerance was for social workers and lefties.

Murphy had no clue where to go or who she was following. She couldn’t even ask someone where they were because she didn’t know who they were. Murphy went up to the third floor and was lucky enough to see the female doctor in with a patient.

“HI! My name is Murphy Morrighan, I’ll be working with Dr. House. He told me that I should assist you and the others in running the tests. How can I help?” Murphy walked over and smiled at Cameron and then down at the patient. She noticed he was sweating even though his fever had abated.

Cameron looked curious. “You’ll be working with Dr. House? Doing what?”

“I’m doing a year rotation under him...trying to pick up some pointers on diagnosing patients. Mind if I examine him?”

“Sure.” Cameron backed off so Murphy could do an examination. “But isn’t that a Navy uniform?”

Murphy put on some latex gloves and began her examination. “Yes, I’m in the Navy but I’ve been assigned this year to this civilian hospital to learn some new tricks.” She tried to be pleasant and kind. She checked the patients legs, forearms and head. She grabbed a few culture tubes and took swabs of various areas on the patient’s body. Cameron ignored Murphy’s exam since she had already performed one herself. While Murphy did the examination she continued to talk pleasantly with the her. She wanted to at least start off on the right foot with this doctor. She took off her gloves and reached out her hand to shake the woman’s. Then she continued to observe the patient who had a productive cough, lots of mucous.

“I’m Allison Cameron, I have a fellowship with Dr. House.” She still looked a little stunned, “We weren’t told to expect another addition to the team.”

“Just for a year! Now, how can I help?”

“Let me show you where the lab is and you can help me run some tests there.” Allison picked up the various vials of blood and cultures and took them with her. “Where were you stationed before this?”

“Iraq. A base outside of Baghdad. Trauma and triage mostly.”

“Oh, you’ll get along well with Chase then. He’s an Intensevist.”

“He would be?”

“The young blonde doctor.”

“Ok...and the African-American?”

“Neurologist. Dr. Eric Foreman.” Cameron said as they reached the lab.

“Are they Fellows?” She asked with an air of respect.

“Yes.”

“I’m impressed, Dr. House is well known, must not be easy to get selected, he must have had dozens of applicants.”

“Yes, I heard there were 432 when I applied.”

“Whoa! Congratulations. You must be brilliant!” She said it earnestly. “You must all be brilliant. I’m afraid I was foisted on Dr. House. The hospital is part of the military program and I took the slot here. It wasn’t as if he had a say in who came, so I didn’t have to beat out anyone. I can tell I’m going to be pretty useless to this team.”

“I’m sure you bring a lot of experience.” She smiled kindly but she was thinking that it must irk House that he didn’t have a say in who would take the slot. She wouldn’t want to be this woman. Life was going to get very complicated for her, very soon.

Murphy thought the young doctor was gorgeous and that seemed to fit House’s M.O. He was known for liking beautiful women. Dr. Cameron couldn’t be more than 28 and she looked so innocent. But Murphy knew that looks could be misleading.

“Can you run the cultures?”

“Sure, I’m faster with blood work but I enjoy cultures more, so anything you want, you let me know.”

“Faster?”

“Well, in the field you learn some tricks on how to speed things up. But it’s nice to be able to do everything by the book and not be in such a hurry.”

After a few hours they were back in the white board room but House was at lunch with Wilson. Murphy was studying the patient’s history. Cameron decided that she would make the introductions.

“Chase, Foreman, this is Dr. Murphy Morrighan. She’s doing a year rotation under House under a new military program.”

Chase put out his hand and his best smile. They shook hands. “Welcome aboard the U.S.S. WhattheF@#k? Hope you enjoy the ride.”

She laughed a little and then turned to Foreman. They shook hands and Foreman said, “I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you. It means you’ll be the focus of the House’s scorn for at least a couple of weeks instead of us.”

“Thanks, I guess.” She looked at them and asked questions about their time with House. They seemed to get along but unlike the military, she knew that there was a lot more competition in the civilian hospitals. Once you had been in the battlefield and had to deal with constant injuries, death and the possibility that you might also die, politics was the last thing you thought about. Oh sure, there was a lot of competition in the military for promotions but there was also a strong sense of family and in the end they all looked out for each other’s back. Murphy had been lucky. She had been in the right places at the right time and had been promoted each time she was allowed to seek promotion.

A few minutes later House strolled in with a sucker in his mouth staring at Murphy. “So children, I assume you’ve met our new student, little Murphy Morrighan. We’re going to call her Murphy or Murph...whichever you prefer. Now let’s make little Murphy welcomed. Just to make her welcomed we’re going to let her go first.”

He sat down and smiled like a overzealous kindergarten teacher. The room went silent and Murphy was uneasy. She wasn’t sure what House wanted from her except her humiliation. Cameron couldn’t stand the silence so she piped up. “He wants you to present the case and findings so far.”

“Oh.” Murphy jumped up and went to the white board. The team cringed when she picked up a marker. House’s cane came slamming down on Murphy’s knuckles. “OWWW...” Murphy jumped back and shook her hand in pain.

“No one touches the markers without my permission first.”

“Sorry Dr. House, I didn’t know. I won’t do it again.” She was obviously angry but kept it in check.

***

“We have a 60 year old Caucasian male with stage II prostate cancer. He has had two unremarkable doses of radiation treatment. He was admitted when he started having chest pains and a productive cough. The patient is obviously immunocompromised from the radiation. He is also allergic to penicillin and sulpha. The Laboratory tests showed the white blood cell count at 18,000/mm3, absolute neutrophil count, 12,780/mm3, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, 75 mm/h; and a very elevated C-reactive protein, 14.2 mg/dl. I noted nodules on the lungs in the CT scan.

Physical examination revealed that the patient was sweating profusely despite a low fever which suggested that I do a physical examination of his upper extremities for possible bacterial infection. I discovered multiple erythematous subcutaneous nodules along the lymphatics extending from a healed cut on the patient’s left hand and up the patient's left forearm. These nodules were tender and painful. There was no regional lymphadenopathy. Debridement of the lesions was performed and the tissue was tested for bacterial and fungal cultures. The Gram-stained smear showed polymorphonuclear leucocytes and Gram-positive fine, branching filaments, partially acid-fast, with a tendency to fragment into coccoid and bacillary forms. It is my opinion that the nomenclature of the bacteria is . It is my opinion that in light of the patient’s allergies we should start him on gentamicin and if it is non-responsive we should move on to Cipro.

The present case is consistent with the classical presentation of lymphocutaneous infection with a primary lesion at the site of injury on the hand and an ascending lymphangitis involving the forearm. The inoculation probably occurred from exposure to the soil after the patient cut himself on the spade he was using in the nursing community’s patient’s garden.”

She looked around at everyone and their faces were blank. She looked at House who was rubbing his upper lip on his cane. She started to get anxious and sweat a little. But to anyone looking at her, they would say she was the epitome of calm and confidence.

House looked at the rest of his team, not sure if they had reached the same diagnosis or not. He was annoyed at them. He had wanted them to show her up, not the other way around.

“Cameron, do you disagree?”

“No, but then I have to admit I missed the subcutaneous nodules and I didn’t observe the cultures under the microscope, I left that to Dr. Morrighan.” Cameron heard House clear his throat. “I mean Murphy.”

House had the habit of referring to all doctors by their surnames. It was a common thing done in the military and so House wanted to do just the opposite with Murphy Morrighan. He would single her out by calling her by her first name, thus letting her know she was not on par with the others on the team and by stripping her of that military formality that helps give officers a sense of belonging to a unit.”

House looked at Chase and Foreman who were studying the table and their fingernails in humiliation. House rolled his eyes and got up. He grabbed the chart and took off out the door towards the elevator. Murphy wasn’t sure what she was suppose to do but the others jumped up and followed. So she took their cue.

House entered the patient’s room, put on gloves and examined his right forearm and cut. He looked at the chart and the CT scan print. He turned to Murphy. “He’s your patient now, treat him. I want the other three of you to follow me back to the office.”

House was not happy with the team. They were getting lazy, not being thorough in their work because they had House to fall back on. They knew House would solve the case no matter what shoddy work they might do. This was common with all the teams he had put together in the past, they just got lax after awhile. House was livid.

“The next time she beats any of you to the punch on a diagnosis, you each get to do a third of my clinic hours and hers too. Do I make myself clear?”

“Look, she was the one who had access to the cultures. Anyone could figure it out if you have access to them?” Foreman moaned.

“Yeah..right. First you have to find the nodules to debride so that you can culture the bacteria and two, you have to put it all together to know which bacteria you are probably looking for so that you can run the right tests to identify it...Norcardosis effects maybe 500 people a year in the USA. Not an easy diagnosis and yet she put the diagnosis together in three hours while you guys played twiddly winks. Go do your clinic hours, I don’t want to look at you.”

Murphy was back within the hour and wondered where everyone was. House yelled out to her from his chair at the computer, “You better hurry, you’re late for your clinic hours, they started ten minutes ago. If you’re five more minutes late they add on a full hour to your time.” She jumped up and ran downstairs to the clinic and discovered House’s name crossed out and hers written over it. The nurses gave her the cook’s tour of the clinic and then she started seeing patients.

When she went home that night to her new house, she was beat. There were boxes all around her and she just couldn’t take it. Murphy laid down on the sofa and didn’t wake up until 3:00 am. She went into her bed and slept some more until her alarm clock went off at 5:30. She got up, put on her running clothes and took off across Princeton on her hour long run. When she got back she did free weights. This would be her routine until the second week when she discovered the staff gym at PPTH. Once she discovered the modern gym and it’s fancy Nautilus machines, she began running to work, doing several cycles of the Nautilus machines and then showering and dressing for work at the hospital. At night she would either walk home or take the bus.

When she got to work the following day the team was silent and she knew she was screwed. “Alright, please tell me where I went wrong. I can feel the tension in here and I suppose I was the cause of it. What did I do?”

Only Chase would be honest with her. “You showed us up in front of House and now he thinks we’re lazy and not doing our jobs. He threatened to make us do more clinic time if we don’t improve.” Even Chase didn’t want to tell her that they had orders to diagnose the next case before she did or else.

“Oh God, I am sorry but it really isn’t fair to you guys. We used to get guys in from southern Iraq and Kuwait that had Nocardia infections. It’s much more frequent over there than here.”

“That doesn’t matter to House, he thinks we should have been more observant.” Cameron didn’t look her in the eye when she said it.

At 9:30 a.m. House walked in and threw his backpack down on the chair. He looked into the team room and saw a very quiet group of doctors.

“Dr. House, may I speak to you?” Murphy asked.

“No...you don’t want to do that.” Foreman advised her. They all shook their heads no.

But Murphy was sure she could make House understand that it wasn’t his team’s fault.

“And what would you like to tell me? You need a pass to the bathroom? Foreman hit you? Chase looked up your skirt? Cameron called you a slut?”

“No, I just wanted to say that I treated Nocardia infections in Iraq at least once a month. It was much more common over there than here. The first time I was presented with a case, I didn’t have a clue what it was until one of the doctors showed me the symptoms, tests and treatment for the disease. So you see, it isn’t their fault...it’s a hard one to pin down.”

“And yet the military seems to have nailed this one on the head. Did you hear that kiddies, Mommy says you shouldn’t be punished for your stupidity. But Daddy thinks you should be punished for missing some very important symptoms. What do you think we should do with you?”

Cameron started to speak, “ We all...”

House interrupted, “aaaaaannnt,” he made the sound of a buzzer, “Wrong answer. The answer is, ‘when I want your opinion, I’ll give it to you.” He then turned to Murphy, “And I don’t want your lame excuses for the team. Who gives a crap what you did in Iraq and how many ragheads you treated.”

House turned around and went back to his computer. The others took off to the clinic. Murphy decided she better go down too and see if she was suppose to be on duty. Apparently she wasn’t but House was and he had just called down to let them know that Murphy would be taking his place...all month. She also found out that Cuddy had put her down for evening rotations which meant that she had two evening shifts each week from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. when the night clinic closed. It turned out that, with House’s clinic duty she was going to be putting in 30 hours a week in the clinic. It wasn’t anything new. Whenever the Mercy went overseas to help out in disasters they would end up serving as a clinic for the civilians day in and day out. She had to admit, the complaints in Africa and Southeast Asia were a little more debilitating than the colds and flu that came through the doors at PPTH. Some of the patients at PPTH had fairly trivial complaints but then Americans were used to health care at the snap of a finger so she knew she would see a lot of ridiculous presentations.

On her way home she met up with Cuddy in the elevator. “Murphy, how’s the spawn of the devil? Ready to run yet?”

“He is different isn’t he? I understand you hired him when no one else would. WHY?”

There was an awkward silence as Lisa looked up into the air as if the answer might be up there.

 “Lisa, if you told me it was because of his sexy blue eyes and long, graceful fingers, I’d understand.”

“It was because I knew how bright he was and I just couldn’t let that mind go to waste.” Cuddy told her.

“I think I liked the blue eyes and long finger excuse better.” They both laughed as they left the elevator.

***

The next day a new patient had been referred to the department and she could tell that the team was happy about it. Everyone in the diagnostics department got out of clinic duty if House had a patient that required immediate attention. Not every patient of House’s was dying, but his patients all presented with a medical problem that the other doctors could not diagnose and therefore, could not treat.

Murphy and the team went up to examine the patient. She didn’t want to touch the teenage boy because she was afraid that the team might think she was an eager beaver. Nonetheless, they looked at her like they expected her to be the first to take a turn.

“Come on guys...please don’t treat me like a pariah. Let’s do this one together...I’m not that good at this, that’s why I’m here.”

They didn’t believe her. Her presentation of findings had sounded like a textbook, almost perfect. They stepped away so she could get closer to the patient. She relented and started examining the patient. Chase did an examination too. The parents answered Foreman and Cameron’s questions on the history of the patient.

The patient, Louis Welsch, was a 17 year old referred to House by a private medical clinic with arthritis in his left knee. He was given non steroidal anti-inflammatory therapy but the arthritis continued and was actually exacerbated by the treatment. Foreman was concerned because the boy was on medications for mini-seizures due to the excision of a cerebral mass when he was eleven.

They met with House in the presentation room. He stood in front of the white board ready to write down the symptoms and the differential. Murphy purposefully came in second to last...not first, not last, in the middle. She sat down as far away from the white board as she could get. Chase sat next to her at the end of the table and Cameron to her right. Foreman was directly across.

Murphy thought the team looked presentable and professional but House was unkept. He didn’t iron his shirts or even take them out of the dryer before they wrinkled. He wore faded t-shirts under the wrinkled shirts and he had worn jeans both days. His beard wasn’t really a beard, it was a three day growth that he obviously spent time trimming to that very length because it never got longer or shorter. His hair had been a reddish brown but was turning grey as was his beard. His face was long and sometimes it looked fresh, other times he looked haggard. He was tall and thin. There were two things that kept distracting her about House. He had gorgeous, long, thin fingers and his eyes were a shameful blue with a dark blue outer circle that emphasized just how blue his cornea was. If he had been her type, she would have eaten those eyes. But then, he didn’t appeal to her.

House wrote seizures and knee-arthritis on the board. He turned and looked at the group. “Come on people, what’s going on with this kid?”

Foreman started, “He had a craniotomy to excise a cerebral mass six years ago and he continues to be on antiepileptic medications. Just two years ago he was treated for pulmonary tbc and he received antituberculosis therapy for one year.” House was writing the symptoms/history as Foreman talked. Foreman paused and Chase took up the mantle.

“He’s not had trauma or surgical intervention in the left knee. His temperature is 103 F., he has mulltiple lymphadenopathy with different sizes at the axillar region, hepatosplenomegaly and arthritis at his left knee.”

“Sounds like a virus, bacteria or critters. Get an ESR, CBC and an IgG.” The team, including Murphy jumped up to leave. House yelled, “Hey sailor, stay behind.” He walked into his office and sat down behind the desk. He looked up at her standing across from him. His face was serious and almost angry. “You will participate. You can’t hide behind silence and your attempts to blend into the wall. If I think you are compromising your contribution to a diagnosis in your hopes to be loved by your peers or tolerated by me, I will get rid of you. Is that understood?”

“Yes sir. I mean, yes Dr. House.” She stayed close to the desk. He started working and then looked up when he noticed she was still there.

“You can go now...oh wait, dismissed sailor.” He chuckled to himself. She turned slowly towards the door as if there was something she wanted to say to him. “WHAT?” he yelled at her.

“His knee was red. Very red.”

“Why didn’t you say this earlier?”

She said nothing but he knew it was because she didn’t want the others to think she was raining on their parade. He took his hand and slammed it down on the desk. “This is exactly what I mean, exactly. DON’T EVER DO THIS.....GET OUT OF HERE...NOW.” As she left with her tail between her legs he yelled, “You are a lousy doctor, choosing popularity over the health of your patient. What are they teaching you in the military?” She turned to say something but he gave her a sharp look that warned her to keep her mouth shut and keep walking, which she did.

“F@#k, F@#k, F@#k,” she said to herself all the way down the hall. She didn’t know that she was being followed.

“You must be House’s new stepchild. My name is James Wilson, head of Oncology.”

“How could you tell?”

“You might remember you’re wearing a uniform in a civilian hospital? Plus, only someone who worked for House would be cussing themselves out as they walked down the hall. What did he do?”

She had completely forgotten that she was the only one wearing a uniform. “He just reminded me what an @ss I’ve been. I was trying to avoid his wrath at the expense of the patient and he called me on it.”

“Wow...you’re pretty honest aren’t you? That’s quite a confession but don’t be too hard on yourself. We’ve all done that. House’s wrath can be pretty painful. What are you doing for lunch? Why don’t you join me in the cafeteria and I can give you some pointers. House is my friend.”

Murphy didn’t want to give out any signals that she was in the least bit interested. “I’m sorry but I better keep my mind on the patient today, I’m already low man on the totem pole.”

“Understood, maybe some other day?”

“That would be nice, thanks.”

“And your name is?”

“Oh, sorry...Murphy Morrighan.”

“Later Murphy.”

“Later Dr. Wilson.”

“Call me Jim.”

“Jim.” Murphy smiled and then took the hall down to the lab where the three minions were waiting.

“Well?” Foreman said.

“I’ve been chastised for not contributing this morning. It’s the damn if you do, damn if you don’t syndrome. But he’s right, I noticed that the knee was red and didn’t mention it.”

“Well of course it’s red, it’s inflamed.” Cameron said.

“Yes, but redness located just near the capella in the knee means an isolated infection. We need to run a culture of the synovial fluid.”

“Did House ok that?” Foreman asked.

“I didn’t ask him. I’m a doctor, do I have to ask permission to run a test?” She looked at him incredulously.

“Yes, you have to ask me ...” She turned around and saw House leaning on his cane and staring at her. “It’s my case, my patient, my @ss.”

“Ok.” She sounded exasperated, “ May I PLEASE run a synovial test?”

He looked at her and with a whiny voice said, “Nooooooo.”

She looked stunned.

“Cameron, run a test of the synovial fluid and Foreman, get an MRI. I’m going to an early lunch.”

“Am I allowed to help run the tests or do you want me out of the loop?”

“You expect me to let you...an adult who has to be inspected to see if they put on their clothes right...do something as important as a synovial test? ”

***

Cameron really didn’t want her help. House had already shown her a lot of attention, sure it was negative attention, but it was attention. House didn’t show attention unless there was something that interested him in the person. She reluctantly let Murphy run back up tests on the synovial fluid. Cameron kept her results close to the vest. Murphy didn’t care who knew her results or when they knew it, she thought the members of the team were all in it together. Her results were posted on the computer as soon as she obtained them. House was receiving email flags telling him that results were available. He started reading them as they came in.

The team met back at the office at 3:00 p.m. with the results. House had in his hands the results from the work that Murphy had posted: SED rate was elevated (ESR) 86 mm/h, hemoglobin 9.5 gr/dl, leukocyte 5900 /mm3, thrombocyte 473 000/m3, CRP 221 mg/dl (normal < 5 mg/dl), Ig G 20.9 g/l (normal 7–16 g/l), Ig A 5.5 g/l (normal 0.7–4 g/l), Ig M 2.8 g/l (normal 0.4–2.3 g/l), albumin 24 mg/dl (normal > 35 mg/dl), PPD 20 mm diameter and HIV, rheumatoid factor and brucella agglutination tests were all negative.

Chase indicated that all the other biochemical tests were normal. Foreman found that X rays and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the left joint showed septic arthritis and patellar osteomyelitis. His cranial MRI was normal except secondary findings due to his previous cranial operation. In the computerized tomography (CT) of the thoracal region, there were multiple lymph nodes at the axillary region and multiple calcified lymph nodes at the hilar region but the bilateral pulmonary paranchimal regions were normal.

Murphy had just handed House the results of her synovial fluid analysis which she had conducted. She had assumed that Cameron had already posted hers because Murphy had performed her analysis after Cameron. The analysis found that the synovial fluid displayed 80 % polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The results of the blood cultures were negative. At the examination of the synovial fluid, AARB was negative.

Cameron realized that House was holding Murphy’s results and that he was unaware that Cameron’s results were in her hand. She spoke up, “I found Aspergillus fumigatus in the synovial fluid.”

“I know, I’m holding the same findings from Murphy. You don’t see it very often but occasionally Aspergillus causes granulomatous lesions and arthritis like what we’re seeing here. Schedule him for surgical excision of the patellar osteomyelitic tissue and switch the antibiotic treatment to Amphotericin B deoxicolate 0.7 mg/kg/day. If we aren’t seeing results in 30 days switch him to itraconazole 400 mg/day. Give him co-trimoxazole for prophylaxis.”

He looked at Cameron and Murphy. “Good work.”

Murphy picked up her stethoscope and started for the door.

“Where are you going?” House demanded.

 “I have night clinic Tuesday and Friday.” She continued towards the door.

House shrugged his shoulders, “And I’ve got a hot date with a lady of the night...” House grabbed his backpack, helmet and cane and went out the door just before Murphy. Murphy followed him to the elevator and waited patiently behind him for the doors to open. They both got in.

He looked at the Navy wool skirt that hung just slightly below the hem of her lab coat and thought that her ugly pumps did nothing to compliment her beautiful legs.

“Nice legs, ugly shoes. Do you have to wear a uniform?”

“Until they give me permission not to.” She said staring at the light marking the floors over the elevator doors.

“Who is “they?”“

“I guess Dr. Cuddy.” The door opened and she walked over to the clinic desk.

“What has she got to do with the uniform?” He was curious.

“I thought your hooker was waiting?”

“I’m paying, she doesn’t care what she does as long as I pay. Answer the question.”

“Some of the hospitals want us to wear our uniforms as P.R. You know, it looks good right now to be connected to or supporting someone in the military. Other hospitals don’t care what you wear. Dr. Cuddy hasn’t said anything so I assume I am to wear my uniform. The documents she received about the program clearly say it is the hospital’s decision. But tomorrow I’ll be wearing my service uniform. I just wore my dress uniform because my service uniform wasn’t back from dry cleaning.”

“Cuddy received those documents last spring...I doubt she remembers the uniform information. Have fun in clinic.” He gave her a silly little look.

“Good night.” she said.

Around 7:40 p.m. Murphy was in with a young college student who had been having headaches when House popped his head into the room.

“What’s with her?” he asked.

“Migraines.”

“Get rid of her, we have a patient.” He turned and walked to the elevator, twirling his cane as he waited for the doors to open.

When Murphy was done with the migraine patient, she went upstairs. It was just her and House. She didn’t say anything but her expression begged the question where were the others?

House chuckled, “Afraid to be alone with the big bad wolf?”

“No, I just don’t want to step on toes.”

He sat down and opened the chart and threw her one of the three he had brought in. She still didn’t know where the others were but she wasn’t about to ask. The patient was a middle aged woman with organs that were shutting down quickly. They went through their steps and put all of the symptoms on the board. Murphy went up to get her history while House did some research in JAMA. Murphy called down to House. “Can I get some bloodwork? A CBC, SED, Liver panel and Creatine?”

“Yeah, but send them downstairs, I don’t want you tied up doing lab work when we have other work to do.”

After getting the lab work going and taking the history from the patient and family, she joined House back in the office. He was on the phone.

“...patient, so get your @ss in when you get this message.” House hung up the phone and looked at her. “I am afraid you are going to be busy tonight. Foreman is gone for the weekend, Chase isn’t answering and Cameron has the flu but said she is willing to come in for my sake. I’m not interested in getting the flu so I told her to stay home. Of course if she knew we were alone she’d be here in a flash.”

“Why?”

He pretended to flip his hair back like a woman and in a high pitched voice he said, “She loves me. She knows I’m just a wounded soul seeking love in this world. It’s my vulnerability and sweet nature.” He walked towards the table and went back to his normal voice, ”So anything in her history that we should know?”

They sat down at the table and started going through her history and medical journal articles which had anything to do with her symptoms. Anything that seemed to fit they shared with the other. Murphy received a page indicating that some of the labs were on the computer.

“We have results.”

House and Murphy went into his office and Murphy put in her information and password and brought up the results. House was standing behind her. He looked down at her neck and hair. He could tell she was a natural strawberry blonde from her roots. He also saw that wisps of her hair at the bottom of the chignon rolled naturally into little ringlets Her hair was either wavy or curly when let down. Her shirt was crisp and clean. He watched her take her foot out of her pump curl it and roll it back out to stretch it. She was probably tired and her feet were most likely swollen and sore. He could smell just a hint of the perfume she was wearing, it was fading as the day and evening dragged on. It had a vanilla note to it. He liked it.

She could smell him standing next to her. It was a nice, musky male smell. He wasn’t pungent or overwhelming. When he bent down to read the screen she had a chance to take a good look at the scar on his neck. She could swear it was a gun wound, she had seen enough of them. Who shot him in the neck? He quickly turned to look at her and caught her staring at him and his neck. He didn’t say anything, just gave her a serious look.

“Any suggestions?”

“Septicemia from some underlying pathogen, but what’s the pathogen? We have fever, headache, light sensitivity, diarrhea and tightness in her chest. Dr. House, we need to start treatment or she’ll die soon, any treatment. We can’t wait until we have a diagnosis.”

“Sure Einstein...but what treatment?”

“I’d hit her with something broad.” Murphy answered.

“This came on like gunslingers...broad may be too weak to knock it down.”

“Then go with Cipro. It’s a heavy gun.”

“I agree.” He picked up the phone and told the nurses to start her on an immediate drip of Cipro and then he turned to Murphy. “Tell me her recent history again.”

“No known colds or flu, has a cat and two dogs. Lives in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Only thing she did out of the ordinary was visit the Grand Canyon two weeks ago. She is a housewife, volunteers at the local library twice a week. No allergies...”

House was staring at the keyboard with intensity. It was obvious that something was clicking in his brain. He jumped up, grabbed his cane and took off. She followed him to the elevator but he said nothing to her.

They entered the patient’s room and House looked at the very distress husband. “Your trip to the Grand Canyon, did you take one of those trips down to the bottom?”

“Yeah.”

“Your wife, on a horse, mule, donkey?”

“Mule.”

House looked for cuts on her legs and found a blister on her foot which looked like it came from shoes, but House was pretty sure it was from bacteria. House turned to Murphy, “Get a sample of the nasal discharge and this blister. Look for Burkholderia mallei.”

The husband asked House, “What’s that?”

“Bad sh!t.” and then he walked out.

Murphy took a sample and while she was doing it said, “It’s a zoonotic disease passed to humans usually through contact with infected horses, donkeys or mules. It’s not typically found in the USA but it is found in Central and South America.”

“Is it fatal?”

“It can be.”

There was no assay test for Burkholderia mallei, also known as Glanders. She had to actually isolate the bacteria and test it. This would take hours, possibly days. She worked as diligently as she could but it had been a long time since she had performed straight microbiology isolation techniques. House came into the lab while she was scoring the agar.

“She’s responding to the Cipro, but I don’t know if she’ll make it. Too much damage to her organs. We’ll see, maybe her kid has an important soccer match she needs to make and she’ll recover in time.”

“That was amazing, if it is Glanders, how did you even think of it? There haven’t been any cases in the USA.”

“I read that Mexico had just reported their first cases in Donkeys and horses. I also read that the Arizona border patrol was having trouble with illegal caballeros bringing in their own horses for working the ranches. A lot of Mexicans work as cowboys in Arizona and in the Grand Canyon for the vendors and it’s possible an infected horse was brought up and it spread.”

A few hours later the woman was still holding her own. House had gone home to sleep and told her not to wake him unless it wasn’t Glanders. After ten hours, she pulled the plate and prayed there had been enough time to get a viable colony.

She ran the Gram stain and other tests and confirmed that it was Glanders. She checked on the patient and continued the Cipro because she was responding to it. She called the CDC and reported the disease. She knew this might get her in trouble with House, but Glanders had been considered as a possible biological weapon and the CDC had a reporting requirement. She packed up at 8:00 a.m. and went home.

Murphy slept most of the weekend.

***

House had to cancel his hooker and he was not happy. It wasn’t that he really wanted hookers in his life, he just needed a release without the complications of social niceties.

House had been licking his wounds for awhile, ever since he sent Stacy Warner back to her husband. A few months ago he had decided it was time to put Stacy behind him and had begun to strike up the obligatory conversation with the occasional barfly. He was just wetting his whistle before getting back in the game.

On Monday Chase and Foreman were shocked and somewhat miffed to hear that there had been a patient and that House and Murphy had diagnosed her without them. Cameron was still ill and had called in sick. House waltzed in at 9:30 and looked at Murphy, Chase and Foreman.

“No patient today, you guys are free to complete your clinic duty or do your charting or write ups. Where’s Cameron?”

“Your girlfriend is sick.” Foreman said with a sly smile.

House shooed them away with his hand to go “play with themselves.” He sat down and began going through the mail that Cameron had set aside for his review. He watched as Murphy, in her service uniform of shirt, pants and cap, made her way to the clinic. House saw her backpack in the next room and knew she kept a laptop inside it. He was about to go next door and crank it up to snoop when Wilson walked into the office.

“I have tickets for tonight’s, “Evening with Dave Chapelle.”

“Sweeeeeet. How did you score those?”

“Pharmacy whore...”

“Oh yeah, the best.” House nodded in approval.

“I’ll pick you up at 6:30 p.m. and we’ll get dinner.”

House again nodded yes.

“Hey, how’s Murphy working out?”

“She’s alright. If someone was able to pull that corncob out of her butt she might be easier to tolerate. She’s too spit and shine for me. You thinking of nailing her?”

“I struck out the other day when I asked her to lunch.” Wilson said with an air of defeat.

“Sadly she’s just waiting for me to ask her out and I just don’t find her attractive.” House answered.

“Really?” Wilson was surprised, she seemed pretty aloof to him.

“No, well no she’s not waiting for me and yes, I don’t find her attractive.”

“She’s really pretty in a spit and polish kind of way.”

“Well the only polishing I want my women to do is polish my knob. I don’t think she’s got her rag out to do that.”

“I thought you’d have her crying by now.” Wilson was sitting across from his at the desk.

“That was the plan but it turns out she’s not bad at diagnosing patients. Kind of makes it hard to humiliate her when she’s scoring more hits than your own team.”

“What does the team think of it? “

“Chase is taking it in strides. Foreman is up for the kill and Cameron is worried that she is going to be usurped as my favorite groupie. I’m actually having fun watching them all position themselves.”

“Now that scares me. What are you planning?”

“I’d like to see what the monkeys do when I make Murphy the alpha female.”

“House. You’ll not only make your team miserable but you’ll kill any chance for Murphy to be integrated into the team.”

“So? She’s only here temporarily. I think it will be good to stir things up and make them sharpen their knives. They’ve been getting rusty and lazy. They rely too much on me to pull their butts out of the fire.”

“Be careful what you wish for House.”

“Lunch?” He asked as he got up.

“You’re buying.” Wilson responded.

“Can you spot me $20 until I get to the ATM?” House smiled.

Wilson rolled his eyes and started walking towards the elevator.

For the next three weeks Murphy knew she was being played but couldn’t do anything about it. When performing the differential House had started asking her first what she thought. If she tried to back off and let the others speak first he would quiet them and wait in painful silence until Murphy said something. She hated everything...the clinic, the humiliation, the competition within the team and House’s games. She had only been there one month and had eleven long ones to go.

House made it a practice to find something wrong with her each day. One day she had dropped some tea on her shoe and House made a big fuss over her failure to maintain the dignity of the U.S. Navy uniform. Another day she tripped and he asked Cuddy to have a discussion with Murphy about her drinking because she was beginning to stumble. Poor Cuddy did talk to her and soon found that House had been playing them both.

House gave her the crappy jobs. She did all the pelvics, colonoscopies, fecal smears, debridement of sores...anything that involved bodily fluid, she got to test or clean it. He wanted to see how long it would take before she went running to Cuddy. It didn’t take much for Cameron to run. But Murphy never said a word and he hated her for it. She was just like his Dad, it all stayed within the platoon or division...you were taught to deal with it, suck it up and get on with your duty. Sure you could moan about it to people in your platoon, or division, or team...but it always stayed inside. To everyone outside the group you were one big happy family.

The day that things turned worse House had was making a derogatory remark about the size of her breasts underneath her uniform in front of several doctors in the cafeteria. “Let’s face it, if someone could have found those lost puppies you might be married today. But when they’re the size of two sunny side eggs, it’s hard to get excited about getting you in bed. Maybe some guy with his own shortcomings, pun intended, will take pity on you.”

She was feeling rather sorry for herself so she sat down in the office to write Susan an email on her lunch hour. She had just finished when House came back from lunch and checked to see if the lab results of their patient were back. The child patient was in no danger of dying, but she was in a lot of discomfort.

The results weren’t back and so House was bored. The rest of the team kept occupied with journals, charts and write ups. Murphy excused herself to use the rest room. When she got back, to her horror House had her laptop.

“Well, well, seems that you’ve been busy writing emails...hmmm, this is interesting. Dear Susan...”

“Dr. House, please give me back my laptop, that’s private.”

Foreman chuckled, “Not to House.”

“Dear Susan,

I’m here in hell, commonly known to most Princetonians as Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital where I have been sentenced to hard labor under the thumbs of the evil and malicious Dr. Gregory House.”

House paused and looked up at her with a smirk on his face. Murphy was looking down at the table and couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Dr. House, please, I’m begging you, don’t do this. Please.”

“Let’s see, where was I? Evil and malicious Dr. Gregory House. I am serving a year of indentured servitude to this misanthrope who enjoys making me the bait to stir up the pot. He loves aggravating the doctors in his department by favoring me in the differential. The truth is that he really doesn’t favor me, he just likes to see the reaction of the others when he shows me preference. Typically, he makes my life miserable by assigning me every crap job that comes down the pike. But, it could be worse, I could be back in Iraq getting my @ss shot at again.

You would laugh if you saw this man. He is disheveled, worse than those photos of Albert Einstein you see in the poster stores. He typically looks like he just got out of bed...his hair looks tossed, his clothes are wrinkled and he has a three day beard that is sprinkled with gray and brown. His saving grace is that he is brilliant and he does save lives. Unfortunately, he knows he’s brilliant so he doesn’t even have the consideration to be humble about his superiority to others. He revels in the fact that he is at the top of the brain food chain and the rest of us fumble through life having to work at being bright. His wit is acidic and he cruelly says anything that comes to the top of his head. There is no governor on his mouth. If he thinks it, he says it. He wouldn’t know a politically correct idea if it kicked him in the @ss.

But to be truthful, I feel sorry for him. Imagine being so far above others that you don’t relate to them on even the most basic level of human needs? I suspect he is an island to himself and I don’t know if he likes that or finds it lonely. I doubt he lets anyone close enough to find out. He can’t even have a normal conversation because it would mean coming down to our level.

I miss you terribly and wish you were here to give you a kiss and a hug. I received the warm throw you sent me. Is that to make up for all the times that you...” and House paused for a second, unsure if he should continue reading it, “Is that to make up for all the times you hogged the covers and I woke up freezing in the night? I wish we were back on Oahu, sharing a hotel room and surfing and diving. Let’s hope that we can get stationed together again and rent a house together. That would be fun.

Well Susan, I can’t tell you how much I love and miss you. I think of you all the time.

Take care and keep your head down. You mean the world to me.

Love,

Murphy

House started chuckling to himself. “So,...a genuine lesbian in our military. Hey, you’re Irish...what do they call an Irish lesbian? Gaylick...” He started laughing, “Guy walks into a bar. Orders five tequilas at once. Bartender asks what’s wrong? He says his youngest son told him he was gay. Next day, same guy walks in and orders ten tequilas at once. Bartender asks what’s wrong? He says his older son just told him he was gay. Next day he comes in and orders 20 tequilas at once. The bartender says, “Christ isn’t there anyone in your family getting some pussy? The guy says, “Yeah, my wife.”

Murphy said nothing but got up and grabbed the laptop out of his hand and put it in her backpack. House smiled at her and said, “I would never have pegged you as a muff diver.” She went down to the clinic.

House was dying to tell Wilson. He ran over and found him with a patient. “I know why you didn’t score with the Commander.”

Wilson looked with disdain at House and then told his patient, “Excuse me, but I have to make sure he has his medication or he starts bouncing off the walls.” He got up and joined House in the hall. “What?”

“You didn’t get to first base with Murphy because she’s a carpet muncher.”

“She’s gay?”

“Yeah, isn’t that hot?”

“How did this come up?” Wilson asked.

“Never mind that...she has a lover named Susan.” House smiled an evil grin.

“But Murphy is in the military...”

“Don’t ask, don’t tell.” He gave a look of disdain. House gave Wilson his best O’Riley voice, “See that’s why this nation is going to hell, the lesbians are taking over the Navy.”

“This is all very interesting but I have to get back to my patient.”

Within days the whole hospital knew about Susan and Murphy. When Cuddy heard she almost ran into House’s office. She found Cameron.

“Is he behaving?” She knew that Cameron would know what she meant.

“No. Every reference aimed at her is about her sexual preference. It’s very painful but she just keeps her mouth shut and takes it.”

“Oh God. We’re going to get hit with a lawsuit. There’s nothing touchier than a lesbian.”

Cameron giggled a little at that statement and then she noticed that Cuddy hadn’t realized what she had said. She asked an obvious question, “How would you know?”

“I know a few lesbian couples and believe me, they are very protective of being lesbian.”

“I don’t think she’ll say anything. If she does and she acknowledges it, then she is essentially “coming out” and the Navy will be forced to boot her. The best she can do is ignore him.”

“That’s true.” Cuddy started to relax. “She has more to lose from a lawsuit than to gain. Still, have him call me when he gets back.”

House was “invited” by Cuddy into her office. “You can’t harass her...stop the innuendos and jokes.”

“You want me to lick this?”

“HOUSE!!”

“I guess you’ll have to put a muff-ler on me.” He snickered.

“I’m not joking.” Cuddy warned him.

The jokes, innuendos and crude suggestions kept coming. House offered to watch Murphy and Susan to see if they were doing it right. He told her, “There’s a new lesbian shoe called Dike. It comes with an extra long tongue and you can get it off with one finger.” Murphy ignored him.

***

At the beginning of December, House had a patient with unremarkable but steadily worsening symptoms including fatigue, diarrhea, fever, vomiting and cough. For days the team ran tests and couldn’t figure out the problem although the CBC showed decreased cellular material in the blood and there was a decrease in serum protein in the blood. The third day they had all come in early as the patient’s skin turned grey. He now had an enlarged spleen and liver. To everyone it seemed as if he had malaria but he didn’t. House came to the realization that the patient was probably infected with a parasite but he wanted to check something out with Murphy.

“Where’s Murphy?” He asked the team.

“She went to work out in the gym.” Chase told him.

House grabbed his cane and took off towards the staff gym. The team followed behind. It was 5:30 a.m. and the gym was deserted. The lights were on indicating that someone had used it earlier. The gym had great equipment but it wasn’t large. It could accommodate maybe twelve people at one time. The changing rooms each had two showers and two changing booths and a toilet. House heard the shower in the women’s changing room and hobbled towards the door.

“HOUSE, you can’t go in there. That’s the women’s changing room...wait until she comes out.” Cameron chastised him.

“Yeah, and do you want to tell our patient that, while he was dying we were waiting for Murphy to wash her hair?” He opened the door and walked in. The rest of the team shook their heads and stayed outside.

Murphy was rinsing her hair. She turned off the shower and opened the door to get out. Her towel was hanging on a peg about ten feet away. House was standing by the peg. At first she didn’t see him because of the water in her eyes. But then she realized he was standing there leaning on his cane and waiting for her. “Ahhhhhhhhhhh........” She screamed loudly and tried to cover up with her arms. House grabbed the towel and handed it to her. When she reached out to get it he playfully pulled it back. She jumped and grabbed the towel out of his hands. She was very angry.

House had heard the water stop as he entered the changing room. He stopped and watched the door to the shower open. He had no intent of actually seeing her naked, he had intended to simply talk to her while she was still in the shower but he considered this development a bonus. When she came out he could tell she hadn’t seen him and that gave him time to check her out. He was struck with what a beautiful body she had. It was pale but in perfect asymmetrical proportions with breasts that sat high and round with perfect pink nipples. More importantly the breasts were bigger than the uniform revealed. She had a patch of dark blonde pubic hair that looked downy and soft. He swallowed hard wondering what her body would feel like next to his. He watched her as she hastily put the towel around her. He sighed and said to himself, “Damn, what a waste.”

“You are the lowest piece of sh!t on the ladder. How dare you invade my privacy like this and humiliate me. Do women find this attractive because I can’t imagine that they do.”

“I AM a doctor. You don’t have anything that I haven’t seen before. Now I need to know, have you treated anyone for leishmaniasis ?”

“Sure, in Iraq.” She paused, looked at the floor and then looked at him. “Oh my God, you’re right. I just never considered it because it’s not Iraq. How would he get it?”

“How long can it incubate?”

“Two weeks to two months.” She said. He watched as a rivulet of water ran from under the towel and down her leg . “Will you leave so that I can get dressed?”

“Meet us in the lab, we’ll have a sample for you to run an assay.” He looked back at her wrapped in the towel which barely touched her thigh, shook his head and said, “Damn, what a waste.”

She ran the assay and felt stupid. It was leishmaniasis, a disease she had seen numerous times in Iraq. But she wondered where he had contracted it. “Dr. House, where did he get the protozoa? Was he in Iraq?”

“We’re going to find out.” They walked to the patient’s room and met Cameron who was coming out of the room. “Cameron, you took the history...what’s his connection to sand flies?”

“Mexico, I just found out that he was in Acapulco two months ago. They forgot to tell us that because he was only down there three days for a wedding on the beach.”

Later that night Wilson and House went to dinner and House ordered a beer. He took a swig and said, “Have you ever noticed that a lot of lesbians have incredibly beautiful bodies?”

“What brought this on?”

“I was looking at Murphy Morrighan’s naked body this morning and thinking what a waste it is for her to be a carpet muncher. It’s a perfect little body with perfect breasts.”

Wilson shook his head in disbelief “HOUSE, how did you see her naked?”

“I went into the women’s changing room in the gym to ask her a question and she was naked.”

“Don’t you have any shame or sense of propriety?”

“I needed to talk to her and she was in the shower. I have seen naked women before, I am a doctor.”

“That’s no excuse.” Wilson paused, “So she was hot?”

“Beyond hot. We lost a great player for our side when the muff divers got her.”

“What a shame.”

“Precisely.”

The following week House and Wilson were joined by Cuddy in the cafeteria.

“I understand you were purposefully in the women’s changing room while Murphy was taking a shower and that you saw her naked.”

“I needed to talk to her. I was going to talk to her over the shower door but she was getting out of the shower and I was standing there. I hadn’t expected to see her naked, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

“Oh House, you really have to stop tormenting her. Why are you doing this? You’re just lucky she keeps her mouth shut.”

“I take it Cameron informed you of the situation?”

“Of course. It wasn’t Murphy.”

“Why are you making her wear her uniform all the time?” House asked.

“What do you mean, make her wear her uniform? She came with a uniform.”

“Yes, but you can give her permission to wear civilian clothes.”

“I can?” She seemed surprised.

“Yeah, if you tell her she has the option to wear civilian clothes, then she can.”

“I don’t care. It’s nice to see her in the uniform but if she wants to wear civilian clothes that’s fine.”

That afternoon, Cuddy saw Murphy starting the night shift in the clinic.

“You can wear civilian clothes although I would like you to wear your uniform once in awhile, it’s good P.R. for us. But do feel free to wear civilian clothes.”

“Well, thanks.”

“I heard what happened in the changing room. Do you want me to do anything?”

“If I thought it would have an effect I would, but there’s no chance of that happening.”

She nodded in agreement. “I wish I could make your life easier. Are you getting anything from your work here?”

“Oh, of course. I have already expanded my thinking when it comes to diagnosing illnesses. He is brilliant and I’ve learned some of the process he uses. You know, I secretly admire his skills and his ability and have been amazed at his work. Despite the crap he deals out, I think I’ll take something back with me to the Navy.”

“Oh, I am so glad to hear you say that. You have made my day. I know what you mean, he has surprised and amazed me for years.” Lisa was about to leave and she stopped, “You know we have a Christmas party at the University Arms each year. It’s going to be the Saturday after next. You are invited along with the rest of the staff.”

“My dress uniform is somewhere buried in my boxes in the garage.”

“Then wear a civilian dress.”

“I’ll think about it. But I don’t know if I fit in with everyone. I’m a little different if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Hey, some of my best friends are a “little different. Feel free to bring whomever you want.” Cuddy wanted her to know that Cuddy was comfortable with her alternative life style. She smiled and left.

Murphy wasn’t sure what to make of that, but she thought that maybe going to the party would be a good way to meet more people and try to make friends. Most of the people at PPTH had been nice but hadn’t been really approachable.

House had a hard time getting to sleep the Friday before the party. His leg was uncomfortable. He had been faithful in doing his strengthening exercises ever since his second round of rehab. The exercises along with new, non-narcotic pain relievers had helped House break his addiction to Vicodin but it hadn’t been easy and there were nights, like this, when the pain lurked in the back and he felt uncomfortable, uneasy and unable to sleep.

He lay in bed trying to think about anything but the discomfort. He thought about music and the various new pieces he was trying to learn. But it wasn’t helping, his mind kept wandering back to the leg. And then he thought about work and the last patient and then that day in the shower. He played her coming out of the shower over and over and over. He was starting to get aroused. In his mind he walked over to her and put his hands up to cup her breasts and then he moved his hand around her and pulled her into him and kissed her, moving his tongue past her lips and exploring her mouth. She pulled down his zipper and she started to rub it. Cameron came in behind him and started to pull his shirt out from his pants. Murphy undid the button on his trousers and the pants fell to the floor. Then Cameron and Murphy kissed deeply. Cameron then undid his shirt and helped him pull the shirt and t-shirt off over his head while Murphy kneeled in front of him. Cameron was now naked and he could feel her small nubescent breasts pressed up against his back while Murphy pleasured him with her mouth and tongue. House pleasured himself with these thoughts until the leg discomfort was a distant thought. He found the release to be almost too pleasurable to bear. He fell asleep soon afterwards.

***

The next night House put on a burgundy silk t-shirt under a black sports coat and grey slacks and drove to the party. He walked in and saw Wilson with a date. She was the English professor he had met at another party. Wilson waved at him and House walked over to him and his date. Chase was also at the table.

“Greg House, Clara Thompson. Clara, House is my friend I was telling you about.” Wilson looked at House, “So, no date tonight?” Wilson looked around although he didn’t expect to see anyone interesting.

“No. I came alone. I don’t plan on staying long.” House looked around for the bar and spotted it. He went and got a gin and tonic. He walked back over to the table where Wilson, Clara and Chase were sitting and talking to each other. He took a chair across from Wilson. A quarter of an hour went by when Wilson looked up and smiled past House towards the front door. House turned to look and there stood Cameron in a slinky green silk dress. Her small breasts and nipples were outlined by the silky fabric. House looked down and smiled so that no one would see how attractive he found her in the dress. House thought that Cameron was lovely, but her breasts and hips were no match for Murphy’s. Murphy’s hips were round and ample but in no way was Murphy fat.

Cameron made her way over to the table and sat down between House and Chase. “Good evening everyone.”

“You look hot.” Chase said.

“Thanks.”

They returned to their talking. Chase brought them all another drink. They were all having a good time teasing House who, for once, was taking it pretty well. Chase looked up and scrunched his face as if he was trying to figure out who had walked in. The entire table turned around to look at the front door. She was in a scarlet red cocktail dress with spaghetti straps that attached to a gathered peasant cut top. The peasant cut revealed the tops of her round, pert breasts. The dress came down in satin skimming her waist and glancing over her round hips and round tight bottom. Her reddish blonde hair was up on top of her head with tendrils of curls hanging down the back of her neck. She turned to say something to Foreman who had stepped in behind her. The tendrils fell down her back. The dress itself was cut low down the curve of her back to just below her waist. All House could think was, “Sweet.”

He looked at Wilson who smiled at House and mouthed, “What a waste.” House chuckled and shook his head in agreement. She walked in and talked briefly with Cuddy. They watched as Carolyn Castle, a known dyke, walked over to Murphy and started to talk to her. Murphy followed Carolyn to a table full of women. The entire group was known as the hospital’s “lezbos.” Murphy shook hands with a few of them, smiled, said a few words and then made her way over to their table.

“Good evening everyone. Merry Christmas.” Murphy smiled at the table.

“Merry Christmas.” They all answered in unison.

“I think I’ll go get a drink.” She stepped away to get her drink.

Chase and the others felt a little sheepish that they hadn’t offered to fetch her a drink. But things were strained between her and the rest of the team. The guys felt uneasy with such a gorgeous and intelligent lesbian on the team. Cameron just didn’t know how to relate to her. Even though she agreed that House was using her to stir things up, it still made her uneasy that she was receiving House’s attention, good or bad. This also made Cameron feel guilty...the fact that she was pissed off at Murphy for something that House was doing. It was illogical but it was the way she felt.

House expected Murphy to go back to her female friends but instead she came over to their table. Foreman got her a chair. She sat down and started to nurse the drink. The conversation became centered around the hospital and things that had happened before Murphy had arrived. There was a lot of laughter about things that were apparently inside jokes and Murphy felt awkward and out of place. She smiled and chuckled but in truth she felt left out. House looked at her and remembered her stepping out of the shower. He compared it to how she looked now, her makeup was perfect, just setting off her lips and eyes. Little diamond earrings dangled from her ears enhancing the fact that her ears were just the right size for her head and perfectly formed. She looked up and saw him studying her. She gave him a slight smile of courtesy.

House leaned forward, “Murphy, do you know why Marine pilots prefer planes to women?” She shook her head no, “Airplanes don’t get mad if you touch and go.”

Everyone laughed. “Airplanes expect to be tied down. Airplanes can be turned on with the flick of a switch.” More laughter, “Airplanes can be flown at any time of the month.” The laughter kept coming and House kept throwing them out, “Airplanes come with strict weight instructions. They don’t care how many planes you’ve flown before.” He finally ended it with, “Airplanes don’t object to pre-flight inspections.”

She turned and said to House, “A man fell asleep on the beach. He woke up several hours later and suffered a severe sunburn to his legs and was taken to the closest hospital, which happened to be a U.S. Naval Hospital.

His skin had turned a bright red and was very painful and had started to blister. Anything that touched his legs caused agony. The lead that night in the emergency room was a Chief Corpsman,. The Chief checked him out and then prescribed intravenous feedings of water, electrolytes, a mild sedative, and Viagra.

Rather astounded, the 3rd class corpsman, who was with the Chief inquired, "What good will Viagra do him in that condition?"

The Chief replied, "It'll keep the sheet off his legs."

House started laughing out loud much to the astonishment of the entire table. Even Wilson could only remember a handful of times that he had heard House genuinely laugh a belly-laugh.

A few minutes later the band began. Everyone at the table was out dancing except the most beautiful woman in the room, Murphy Morrighan. No man bothered to come over to ask her to dance, it would be a fruitless gesture, especially when there were so many eligible straight women present. Even the lesbians seemed to be ignoring her. Of course House couldn’t dance with his leg and cane so he sat at the table with her. She pretended to listen to the music but he could tell she was embarrassed. Embarrassed that no one was dancing with her and that no one was engaging her in conversation at the table. She was an outsider and no one was making any attempt to make her feel a part of the team or staff.

House felt guilty, as much as House could feel guilty. He had made her the subject of ridicule at the hospital. People knew she was a lesbian because of him and the team didn’t accept her because he had set them at odds with her. He watched as she tried to put on a good face. Bobbing slightly to the music and taking too many sips of her drink to fill in the gaps of silence. She finally leaned over to House and said, “I’ve got to go, I have another party to go to.”

He nodded to her and said, “Are you sure you have to leave so soon? I was going to ask you to dance the next fast one...” She laughed an appreciative laugh. She stood up. He grabbed her wrist, “Before you go. Do you like to sing?”

“What?” She was confused.

“There’s a piano in the next room and I was going to play it. I need a singer, I could use your assistance. Come on.” He still had her wrist. He could see her weighing her options, “I know I’m a jerk and the devil incarnate, but let’s call a truce tonight. We’re both alone and we both know you don’t have another party to go to. Stay and sing with me.”

She hated that he could read people so well and was so observant. She shook her head in disbelief. “I’m not a very good singer. I doubt you’ll want my assistance.”

“No one’s going to hear us, we’ll be sequestered next door.” he raised his eyebrows as of he was asking a question.

“Ok. It’s your funeral.”

“He grabbed his cane and then held up his left arm for her to take and she placed her hand lightly on his forearm as if she was being escorted to the dance floor for a waltz. They went into the next room where the grand piano sat almost in the middle of the room and he sat down. He did a few scales to limber up his fingers and then looked at her. What would you like to start out with?”

“Oh my God, don’t ask me...I don’t know what you can play. You pick.”

“Do you know, “Everybody Makes Mistakes?” House started playing the melody to it.

“Lacey J. Dalton, it was one of my favorite songs when I was a resident.”

 House did an intro and then started to sing with her.

When the song was over they were both were chuckling,“I love those lyrics, they are so true. I thought you said you couldn’t sing.” She smiled at him.

“Hey, you said the same thing and you were adequate.” He continued fooling around with the keys.

“Now I can tell you are lying, but thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“How about, “Don’t You Feel My Leg?”

She took a big drink of her third Margarita. “I’m shocked...you know that song? I didn’t think anyone but sailors knew it. Where did you learn it? I love that song...”

“Sit down over here on the piano bench.” He patted next to him. The bench was long compared to most so she just sat on the edge of it. Cameron came in and saw them sitting together.

Murphy saw her, “Cameron, come on over. Help us out. We’re going to sing, “Don’t You Feel My Leg.”

“I’ve never heard of it.” She said.

House smiled at Murphy, “It’s older than she is and so are we.” House started playing the melody, which was distinctly honky tonk.

As House played the great honky tonk melody, Murphy sang the song by herself . She would raise her skirt a little up her thigh whenever “touch my thigh” was sung. About two dozen people had joined them in the room and were sitting or standing near the piano. The crowd clapped their hands at the end. House had been staring at her leg and thigh as she sang the song and having a hard time concentrating on the melody. He took a good gulp of his drink and smiled, “It’s a good thing you’re batting for the other side or I’d be on you like white on rice.”

Murphy shook her head and laughed. “Well, considering I’ve had three strong Margaritas, you might have had a chance. Thank God we have an audience now, maybe you’ll behave!”

House wasn’t sure of what to make of that. He’d never had carnal knowledge of a lesbian before. It made him excited to think about it. He was kicking himself for not locking the door behind them when they came in.

House played some songs which Cameron knew so that she could sing along. They were mostly Broadway songs. She knew none of the honkey tonk songs that Murphy and House knew. House learned a lot of the Honkey Tonk songs from hanging out with his dad in Honky Tonks frequented by Marines when he was a kid. He suspected that Murphy, being a sailor, had experienced the same Honky Tonks.

Murphy was talking with Chase and laughing quite a bit. She came over to House a few songs later and surprised him by kissing his cheek as he continued to play for Cameron. “I’m going to go, but thanks for saving the evening and thanks for the truce. Merry Christmas Dr. House.”

She looked over at Cameron to wave goodnight and was disheartened to see Cameron glaring at her. Murphy realized that she had just kissed House and Cameron wasn’t pleased.

“If you wait, I’ll give you a ride home, you shouldn’t drive after four Margaritas.” House suggested.

“They have a stand of taxis out front, I’m going to take one. You stay and have a good time, good night.” She took off swiftly and decisively.

“Damn.” House said to himself. He had visions of offering her a ride and her inviting him in to her place for a drink. He was sorely disappointed. He looked at Cameron and as much as he would have liked to have screwed her, it would mean having to deal with all the painful emotions in the morning and afterwards. Cameron was the kind of woman that would equate sex with him as an act of love instead of just meaningless but enjoyable sex. He couldn’t get away with the one night stand that Chase had managed to get out of Cameron.

It looked like House was going to go home alone unless he hit up one of the nurses. The alcohol would have softened them up for the kill by now. He thought about it and decided to go for it after the song was over. In the end, House left with two women on his arm and his Christmas wish for a manage a trois was granted. Things were looking up.

***

On Christmas Murphy was alone and fixed herself a small Christmas lunch of a chicken breast in mushroom soup sauce and green beans. She looked in the newspaper and saw that the movie she wanted to see was out. She grabbed her coat, scarf, hat and gloves and drove down to the theater. She was waiting in line to get in when she felt something poking her butt. She turned around and saw House behind her, poking her with his cane.

“Dr. House, what are you doing here? I thought you’d be with friends or family today.”

“My family lives on the west coast and I’m meeting up with Wilson for drinks and dinner after the movies. What about you?”

“No family on the east coast...no friends close enough to drive to in one day. Cuddy begged me to cover the clinic tomorrow so I couldn’t fly out anywhere. I’m one pathetic person.”

“Which movie are you seeing?” He asked.

“The Matt Damon one.”

“I am too. You can sit with me and then you can tell everyone that you went to the movies with a friend.”

“I don’t think anyone will believe that you are my friend, we haven’t exactly been buddies at work Dr. House.”

“They don’t have to know. And outside of work you can call me Greg.”

The theater opened and they went in and grabbed seats. “Would you like anything from the snack bar? My treat for Christmas.” She offered.

“Popcorn and a coke?” He asked.

“Ok, I’ll be back.” She brought back a large popcorn for them to share, a coke and a diet coke. He held the popcorn and she ate out of his lap. He secretly enjoyed the thought of her reaching her hand between his legs. The movie was good but House kept sneaking glances at her profile and wondering whether lesbians could be “turned.” It was a real turn on to think that maybe really good sex with a man could make her come over to the straight side. Of course, in reality, he knew it was a joke and lesbians couldn’t be miraculously “turned,” but in his imagination he had her begging him not to stop. After the movie they said goodbye to each other and Merry Christmas. House went to meet up with Wilson and Murphy went home to an empty house.

In January, the humiliation got back to normal and, in some ways had escalated. It almost seemed that House was making up for being nice during the holidays. Murphy was tired of the long hours she was working between House’s patients and the clinic. It was hard keeping up sometimes. House was enjoying the break from clinic and loving the fact that a feud had erupted between Cameron and Murphy. Murphy had accused Cameron of withholding important information about patients that would help Murphy run her tests and reach conclusions. Cameron said that the same information was available to Murphy if she just asked the right questions of the patient and did a thorough examination.

“I share everything with you, everything...even all the information that I know you missed. It’s for the patient, not my ego or a pathetic desire to get House’s attention. That’s why we are a team, we each bring information and knowledge to the table. You intentionally withhold it until you can reveal it to the almighty House and show him how brilliant you are. In the meantime, I’m wasting hours on tests that could have been short-circuited with just a little information from you.” Murphy was livid and it was the first time they had all seen her really angry.

House shrugged his shoulders, “Cameron’s information is obtained from her history and examination... you don’t need her to get the same information from the client.”

Murphy looked at House in disbelief and threw her hands up. “Fine...FINE! Just wait Allison, from now on I’m holding my information back and I’ll sandbag you with it in front of House. And for the record, why don’t you two just get a room and go F@#k your brains out? Maybe when you see he’s a pathetic loser and you get your fill of the young sycophant, we can all get back to work like a team.” She stormed out the door and House looked at Cameron.

“She’s has a point, want to screw?” House waved his hand towards his office.

“Go screw yourself.” Cameron yelled and stormed out herself.

House looked at Foreman and Chase and they all began to laugh.

The next week it was late and the team had gone home. The patient was stable so there was no reason to pull an all-nighter. Before going home, House went up to read the patient’s stats. He noticed Murphy was in the lab. He strolled into the lab with a coke in his hand.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, I was playing a hunch but I just got the results and I struck out.” She looked sad and disappointed. She also looked exhausted.

“You look like sh!t.”

“Well that’s rich coming from you. I’m working your clinic shifts, my clinic shifts and then my hours in this department. I’m working 65 hours a week and have been working 65 hours a week since I got here four months ago.”

House didn’t realize that she had been racking up so many hours. “Boo hoo. Welcome to civilian life.”

“Yeah? Well I don’t see Cameron working 65 hours or any of the other team members.”

“Well, if you had been Cameron you would have gone into Cuddy and complained. But you’re military, huh? You wouldn’t go to Cuddy until you went to me first and you wouldn’t come to me because you wouldn’t want me to have the satisfaction of knowing it was getting to you, right?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” She said defeatedly.

He sucked his drink through his straw. “Ok, I’ll start doing five hours of my clinic time and I’ll get Cuddy to cut yours back.”

She looked down and rubbed her forehead. “I didn’t want to sound like I was complaining or whining. I’m just disappointed in the results here AND I’m tired.”

“Yeah, right.” He said sarcastically. He looked at her and thought that he hadn’t seen her with any friends or family since she arrived. She seemed pretty much to be alone. “Why didn’t you take time and go see your parents over the holidays?”

“Dead.”

“Want to grab a drink?”

“ What has my parents being dead have to do with getting a drink?”

“Nothing.”

He offered no explanation for the jump in topics. She waited, but he said nothing more, “I don’t think I’d make good company, I’d probably moan and whine too much.”

“I like wine with my meals, we can get something to eat too. Come on, I sense a need for you to tell me where to go.”

“You can say that again.”

She agreed and they went to the Triumph to have a meal, provided it was Dutch treat. House was happy to share the costs.

She asked him questions about his background, his desire to go into medicine, his desire to be different, and about Cameron’s infatuation with him. She was surprised to find that he was fairly candid about all of it.

He asked her a lot about Iraq and then finally he asked about the Navy Cross. “The Navy Cross, what stupid thing did you do to get it?”

“I was hitching a ride with a SAR team...”

He interrupted, “The military and all their acronyms, please interpret.”

“SAR, search and rescue team. The PX, post exchange, at our base sucked. It was so small that it didn’t carry tampons or kotex even though there were ten female health care workers on base. So whenever we needed those items we would either have to beg family to send them from the States or we had to hitch a ride to the next base over which had a fairly large PX, complete with feminine hygiene and even some make up. The problem is that anytime you go out of your base you risk being ambushed. Four out of five times you’re ok, but then there’s that one time and something happens. But sometimes you just have to take your chances.

On that day I loaded up my medical bag and M16 and we all hit the road. Ten minutes later an RPG got the Humvee in back of us. The explosion was so bad that the shrapnel went through the back of our personnel carrier where I was sitting and a piece lodged in my leg. I started to administer triage to seven injured soldiers and then we were ambushed again. While we were under heavy gunfire I stayed out in the open to get the guys stabilized. Of course, I had the help of a young marine who shot anything within 300 feet, but it was still scary. I had a scalpel shot out of my hand, that’s how scary it got. But we still lost three of the guys. So I didn’t exactly feel like I was a hero...you know the old cliche was true, the ones who died were the heroes. While you’re in the middle of it all you can think to do is your job. But I owe my life to that Marine who covered for me while I did my job. He was my personal hero.”

He looked at her like she was nuts, “I’m the kind that wants an RPG to be a Really Pretty Girl and a scalpel to stay in my hand.”

“I didn’t realize how badly I was bleeding until we got the last guy loaded on the helicopter and then they made me hop on with him. The corpsman bandaged me so that the bleeding would stop. The wound became infected which meant I got sent to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. The Marine, Jackson Albany, and I both got the Navy Cross. ”

They continued their conversation and discussed everything from James Joyce to Muddy Waters. He was surprised as to the depth of her knowledge and varied opinions. She was military but she didn’t quite see everything as being black and white like his Dad did.

The conversation slowed after the meal was over and they sat waiting for the bill to arrive. When the bill did arrive, House got out his wallet and put down enough money to pay the entire bill and tip.

“We were going to go Dutch.” She said firmly.

“You’ve got to be kidding...I’m sitting here with a woman who won the Navy Cross while trying to buy tampons and I’m going to let her pay for her meal? Give me a break, I’m a Marine brat...my father would never forgive me.”

“You’re a Marine brat? My God, I can’t believe it. I would never take you for a military brat. Your Dad was a Marine? You know, in some ways it does explain you. Military brats either adopt their parent’s lifestyle and manners or rebel against them. I adopted, you rebelled.”

They walked out to the parking lot. “Well, Dr. ...I mean Greg, good night and thank you for dinner.” She unlocked her car and then turned around only to find House less than a foot from her. She looked at his lips and felt a little unhinged. She could feel his breath and thought for sure he was going to kiss her.

They stood there awkwardly until House finally said,“Good night.”

House found himself perplexed. If he didn’t know that she was a lesbian, he would have sworn her body language was inviting him to kiss her. As he drove home he wished they could have continued the evening, his time with her had been intellectually stimulating. She had something interesting to say. She talked about places and things that mattered and when she had opinions, they were well grounded in facts and information. It was strange for him. He rarely had conversations with others that he enjoyed so much. It turned out that she was bright, intelligent and funny. He found himself strangely attracted to her and that made him uncomfortable. He was rarely attracted intellectually to a woman. Yet in this case he was not only attracted to her on an intellectual basis but on a physical one too. He liked watching her talk, the way her mouth moved, her voice, the look in her eyes when she disagreed with him, the lines that formed when she laughed. He kept seeing her breasts in his mind and it made him want her even more. The fact that he wanted to dominate her intellectually also made his desire to have her physically more palpable. Normally he would make a move, but it would be ridiculous considering she wasn’t even attracted to men. It frustrated him to know that no matter how hard he tried, it would all be futile. It was just his luck that the first woman he found interesting in a long time was a carpet cruncher.

He wanted to ask her about being a lesbian. How and when did she know she was a lesbian? Who was Susan? How did they meet? He found the whole idea of two women having sex fascinating. But he didn’t quite feel like his questions about that would be welcomed. He went home and realized he needed a diversion soon. He wanted to take a woman. He needed that release.

All Murphy felt was confusion. She had thought she had Greg House pigeon holed into that of a misanthrope and jerk. But he was more complex than that and she didn’t know what to think. She had really enjoyed talking to him...maybe it was just that she had enjoyed having an adult conversation with someone. She was incredibly lonely. She typically had no problem making friends but something had happened at PPTH. She wasn’t sure why everyone had been so nice and yet kept themselves at arms length. It was frustrating to her.

***

Things changed quickly for Murphy. One Friday at the end of January, Murphy had come to work in her service uniform because she was going to drive down to Philadelphia to spend her duty weekend. House looked up from his desk and saw them first. He watched them closely as they stopped in their tracks and snapped to a salute. He saw Murphy return the salute and then walk up to them. There were two of them. One was a young Marine officer and the other was an enlisted Marine in his dress blues. The officer carried a manila envelope. The officer spoke for a minute and then handed her an envelope. It finally dawned on House what was happening and he began to rise to his feet. He grabbed his cane and started as fast as he could for the hall where he could see Murphy turning white, start to crumble and then fall to the floor. The two men knelt around her. House reached her in a matter of seconds.

“Christ, you morons told her someone died in the middle of a hallway? What was wrong, Grand Central Station not available? Is this how they teach you to break bad news...do it where everyone can see it?” House looked around as a crowd started to gather.

“We’re new to this sir. I didn’t think. We were told that she was both military and a doctor so we assumed it would be ok. Are you a doctor, can you help her?” the baby faced officer was obviously distressed over the developments.

Murphy was already coming through and as she became conscious she realized that it wasn’t a dream. She looked around at the crowd. The team had just come back from lunch and saw the three men, including House, huddled around Murphy. They walked up to see if they could help.

House was cradling Murphy in his arms. The two Marines were now standing. Murphy sat up and then looked at the crowd gathered around. “Greg, can you help me into your office. I’d like to get out of the hall.”

House barked at the Marines, “Help her into the office.”

“Yes sir.” They gently picked her up and helped her into his office and sat her on his chair.

The two Marines continued to address Murphy. “Commander, this is the number to contact to make arrangements. If you need anything else, please contact that number. Commander, is there anything we can do for you before we leave?”

She shook her head no while House gave her his water bottle off of his desk. She took a drink.

“Then we will be leaving. You have our sincere condolences.” They snapped to attention and saluted whereupon Murphy gave a weak salute in reply. They left the office.

House went to the blinds and pulled them to keep the crowd from peering into the office. The team were all waiting for an explanation but instead House shooed them into the adjacent office as Murphy started to sob uncontrollably. He went and sat down on the ottoman and held her hand. She threw herself forward and grabbed onto his neck out of sheer grief.

As a child House had seen similar visits by two Marines in dress uniform. During the Viet Nam war they would knock on the doors in the military housing he lived in with his parents. The visits always resulted in the same pitiful sobbing. He was often dragged by his Mom to someone’s house to offer condolences. His father always made him attend the funerals of any Marine pilots from his platoon that were killed in action. House was familiar with military protocols dealing with death. He also knew that Murphy would need time to cry until she finally went numb.

He took the manila envelope and opened it. Inside was a letter simply stating that Lt. Colonel Susan Morrighan had been killed in Afghanistan two days ago by a single rifle shot from an insurgent. The insurgent was killed in the fire fight.

It hit House like a ton of bricks. Susan wasn’t her lover, she was her sister. The affection and desire to share a home was with her sister. Murphy wasn’t a lesbian, she was just an older sister. He was trying to wrap his head around it. Her isolation at the hospital was because the straight staff thought she was gay and the gay staff thought she was either denying who she was or knew she was straight. His attempt to be funny about an email had made her life a living hell at PPTH.

Cameron came in and asked if she could do anything. He instructed her to get Cuddy. Cameron left quickly to go get Cuddy. Murphy let go of House’s neck and sat back again in the chair. Instead of sobbing her crying had ended in hiccups. He held her hands just as he watched his mother hold the hands of young wives who lost their husbands in Nam.

Cuddy came almost running inside his office and was slightly distracted by the sight of House giving comfort to someone. “What’s wrong?”

“Murphy just received notice that her sister was killed in action in Afghanistan. In looking through the documents she is going to be returned to her home town of record, San Diego, for cremation and interment at Rosecrans National Cemetary. She’s going to be leaving tomorrow for San Diego and will need at least a week off to take care of her sister’s affairs.”

Cuddy was shocked by House’s businesslike manner and obvious compassion for Murphy. “Of course she can have it off. Is there anything I can do?”

“Call her Commanding Officer, explain the situation and let them know that you have no problem with her taking the time off. I need to make a call.” House picked up the phone and dialed. “Hi Mom, yeah, fine and you? Mom, I need to talk to Dad, this is important. Sure, I promise to call and talk to you this weekend.” House looked up at Cuddy who was now consoling Murphy. House was waiting for his Father to get on the phone. “Hi Dad. I’m well and you? Great. Dad, I need a favor for a friend. She’s a doctor in the Navy...Yeah a sailor...I know, sailors are just Marine wannabes. Dad, her sister was a Marine, her duty station was Camp Pendleton but she was serving in Afghanistan. The sister was killed by a sniper a few days ago. Her body is being flown into Miramar. My friend has no family to help her through this, she’s on her own.” There was a pause and House was listening intently, “Yeah Dad, that’s what I was thinking. Thanks Dad. Ok. I’ll email you the information. Yeah Dad, semper fi. Bye.”

He went over and pulled up the desk chair next to Murphy. Cuddy was sitting on the ottoman and holding Murphy’s hands as she sat in the easy chair. “My Dad was a Marine pilot and the head of his squadron for years. He has a lot of experience with bringing home dead Marines. He’s walked a lot of widows through the process and made sure that they were ok. He’s going to be with you the whole time, from the minute you get off the plane to the minute you get back on. His name is Major General John House and I just have to send your flight number and time and he’ll be there.”

Murphy looked at House and on impulse grabbed him around the neck again and hugged him. Between the sobs she managed a clear, “Thank you, thank you.”

House didn’t know what to do...Cuddy motioned for him to hug her back. House put his arms around Murphy and felt her breasts melt into him as they each embraced each other. He realized he was holding a woman...one that probably liked men and he could tell he was responding in a manner not appropriate for the occasion. He just hoped he wouldn’t be asked to stand up soon.

Murphy pulled back and put her hands up to her face to wipe the tears from both eyes. Cuddy asked her some questions, “Murphy, how old was your sister?”

“She would be 33 in two weeks. I went into the Navy like our Dad and she wanted to show me up by being a communications officer in the Marines. My Dad thought it was funny to have two daughters and both of them be in the military.”

“So San Diego is where you’re from?” Cuddy asked.

“Yes, it was just my sister and I. We have some cousins in the midwest but we don’t really know them well. We have lots of friends in San Diego who are like family. Susan said that if she died she wanted to be interred at Fort Rosecrans. You can’t be buried there because they don’t have room for burials so she’ll have to be cremated and then interred.”

“House, why don’t you take Murphy to her house, she shouldn’t be alone.”

“Oh, I couldn’t take Dr. House away from his work. I’ll be ok.”

“No, I’ll drive you. I get off on watching misery in action. Let me get my keys.”

House drove her to her little home and escorted her inside. The house was small with two bedrooms, two baths and a nice sized back yard but it was hers. She had saved a down payment of $150,000 and taken a mortgage out of $120,000. The house had been built in 1942 and had been remodeled a few times to add certain amenities including upgraded electrical wiring and internet connections. It had a great fireplace with a large mantel and built in bookcases on either side of the fireplace.

House looked at her and asked her, “Do you want some water?”

“Great, I would like that. I need to get on the internet and find a flight home.” She said with some anxiety. She had forgotten that she had to find a way to San Diego.

“I tell you what, you get your water and let me work on that.”

House picked up her phone and dialed his Dad again, “Dad, my... my friend, Murphy Morrighan doesn’t have a flight...what should she do? Ok, let me get you her number.” House put his hand over the receiver and yelled to Murphy who was in the kitchen. “Murphy, what’s your full name, rank, social security number and phone number?”

“Why, you want to apply for a credit card?” she walked into the living room where he was.

“No, my Dad is going to make arrangements for your transportation home.”

“Greg, that’s too much to ask.”

“He’s waiting, come on...here, you talk to him.” He pushed the receiver into her chest.

“Major General House?” There was a pause as she listened to him, “Thank you sir, yes she was a hero and a good soldier...Sir I feel strange asking a Major General to do this....ok, Murphy Marie Morrighan, Commander, 555-39-5994, phone 609-258-3000. Yes sir. Yes John. Thank you so much. Yes, thank you.” She hung up the phone and looked at House, “Your Dad is going to get someone from McGuire Air Force Base to fly me out to San Diego. Do you really think he can arrange that?”

House started laughing, “He had a widow flown out of Cordoba, Alaska the day after her husband died...I think this will be a walk in the park for him. If he said he would do it, he will do it. That’s one thing about my Dad, he’s a man of his word. You better start packing.”

She nodded yes and walked into her bedroom. It was a nice room, about 14' by 15" with an adjoining small bathroom. “Greg, can you help me get down the suitcase?”

House went into the bedroom and saw the suitcase on the top shelf of her bedroom closet. He poked it and pulled it forward using his cane. It tilted and then fell one foot into his upstretched hands. He brought it down and handed it to Murphy who thanked him and put it on her bed.

“I guess I should take some photos of her for her wake. She went into the living room and grabbed two photo albums off of the shelf and went back to the bedroom. House was already looking at some of the framed photos of Murphy and her sister. There was one on the top of Half Dome in Yosemite where they have their arms clasped and raised together in a salute of accomplishment. Her sister was at least four inches taller than Murphy and she was pretty but not beautiful like Murphy. She was also a little fuller through the hips than Murphy.

“Half Dome?”

“Yeah, we spent a lot of time in Yosemite together. A lot of the photos are from us hiking the High Sierra camps. We also did a lot of white water rafting and traveling. We were best friends and the only family we had.” Her lip started to quiver.

House wasn’t surprised to hear her start sobbing again. He had seen widows go through waves of grief followed by calm in which they were able to work through the mechanics of death...the ordering of the death certificates, the notifying of branches of the government that the loved one was dead so that the allotments could be stopped, the selection of the funeral music and readings, the decision of what the loved one would be buried in...the mechanics, followed by the waves of grief, the realization that the loved one would never wear the clothes again, hear the music, read the readings, work for the allotment. House had seen it many times. Being the son of a pilot gave him ample opportunity to see grief up close.

He walked over and put his hand on her shoulder and patted it. It was the best he could do. He couldn’t bring himself to actually hold her again. It was too awkward for both of them. He was both attracted to her and painfully aware that she reminded him too much of his father and the pain that came with his childhood.

She walked away and grabbed some Kleenex and blew her nose. Then she started to take clothes out of her chest of drawers and closet and put them into the suitcase. She packed a makeup bag and grabbed shoes from her closet, wrapped them in a shoe bag and packed them too. She didn’t think she would be able to read but she packed a book anyway in her backpack. House sat on the chair in her bedroom watching her do all of this. They didn’t talk but it wasn’t awkward. It was if all she wanted from him at that moment in time was to be there, to be present and alive.

The phone rang and she answered it. “Hello? Yes John. Thank You!! Oh, that’s great. Sure, let me get a pen...ok, Lt. Colonel David Pratt. Yes, 8:30...thanks. Yes, he’s sitting here. Sure and I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks again, bye. Greg, your Dad would like to talk to you.”

“Dad? No, I can’t get away. I know, but it’s bad timing. Yeah, I know it’s been two years. Maybe in the fall. Give her my love. Thanks Dad for ...ok, bye.”

“You haven’t been home in two years?”

“I’ve seen them for short periods of time and when I was shot my Mom came out and stayed with me for a week to help out. My Dad and I aren’t on the same wavelength. He’s black and white...I’m a kaleidoscope of grey. He finds me annoying and I find the fact that he finds me annoying, annoying.”

“I somehow suspect there’s more to this, but it’s none of my business and frankly, I can’t handle any more angst today.”

He chuckled and she smiled at him. “Greg, you really don’t have to stay.”

“You say that, but this is all going to sneak up and hit you over and over. It’s good just to have a warm body around...even if we aren’t exactly on each other’s Christmas card list.”

“I wish I had figured out how to get on your good side. But I guess you’re the one that makes that decision.”

“Well, take heart. When you started I had decided that you were going to be out of the department within a month but you were pretty good at diagnosing people and you made the department money...so I kept you.”

“Gee Dad, thanks for keeping me. Abortions are so messy!” She stopped packing for a second and looked up at him, “If we’re going to be frank about all of this, I never understood why everyone seemed to treat me like a leper. I’ve never experienced that. Usually I make friends fairly easy.”

“They thought you were a muff diver.”

“Gay, they thought I was a lesbian? I thought that was all a really bad joke on your part. You mean they bought it?”

“I bought it.”

“YOU REALLY THOUGHT I WAS GAY?” She started laughing really hard. “That’s so funny and sad all at the same time.”

“Well, we didn’t know Susan was your sister, that email made it sound like she was your lover.”

“Oh my God. That’s disgusting. You really are a piece of work aren’t you?”

“Hey Chase, Cameron and Foreman thought you were a lezbo too!”

“With my sister? You’re all sick then.” She said, “You know, I’m about ready to take Cameron down...she’s really pissing me off. She found out some obscure piece of the patient’s history, something by accident and didn’t tell me. I spent six hours running an assay that she KNEW would be negative. House, that’s not good for the patient and it’s expensive.”

House put his hands up, “I don’t want to hear about it...that cat fight is between you and Cameron. You need to work it out.”

“I’ve tried. I took her to lunch and talked to her about it and she got in my face telling me that if I had better skills as a doctor I wouldn’t need her help.”

House laughed to himself and Murphy gave him a dirty look. “Don’t look at me. You figure it out...you’re an adult.” Secretly House was hoping to see a real cat fight. Women fight dirty and he loved to see them get down an dirty. But he couldn’t see Cameron actually fighting. He could see Murphy doing it...she was a scrapper...the kind that did what was necessary. She’d take Cameron out in less than a minute.

That night House ordered some Chinese from the restaurant a block away and he went down to pick it up with his backpack. When he got back he found her face down on the bed crying. He went to the kitchen and fixed two plates but he doubted she was going to eat. He was right. She took five bites and that was it.

He told her that he planned to stay the night, did she want him on the couch or in the second bedroom. She didn’t even fight him. By then she was so exhausted from the waves of crying that she didn’t care.

“Take the guest room, there’s several new toothbrushes in the guest bathroom, in the top drawer. I’m going to bed...thanks.”

“He took a shower even though he had to put on his old clothes. He had clean clothes at work that he could put on tomorrow. He brushed his teeth and went into the guest room. It had a full bed and a nightstand, chest of drawers and a television on top of the chest of drawers. He started watching the news at eleven when he heard the sound of crying from her room next door. He turned off the television and laid there and thought how desperate she sounded. The kind of grief that you just have to succumb to, allow it to escape and then fall asleep exhausted. He heard her door open and slow footsteps come down the hall and stop in front of his door. He could see a shadow under the door. He waited and prayed she wouldn’t come in. He wasn’t sure what he would do with a vulnerable woman in his bedroom. He was praying he would be good but he really didn’t want her to test him, he had a feeling he might be more grey than black and white.

The footsteps went back up the hall and the door closed again. He let out a sigh of relief and waited. The crying had stopped and the house was quiet. House thought of her in that red dress and laughed softly when he realized that she was straight and he could have nailed her that night. What a waste.

***

House drove her the next day to McGuire Air Force Base, about an hour drive from Princeton. House didn’t have a base sticker so they had to pull over and get a guest pass at the front gate. It didn’t take long since Murphy was a Commander in the Navy. They received instructions on where to go to find David Pratt. Within fifteen minutes House was pulling out of the base, having left Murphy with Pratt. He drove back to PPTH and the prying eyes and ears of the team and staff of the hospital.

When House got to the hospital and informed them that her sister, Susan had been killed in action, there was both sadness and confusion.

“Is that the Susan we thought was her lover?” Foreman asked.

“One and the same.”

‘So she’s not gay?” Chase asked.

“Nope.”

“You mean she’s attracted to men?” Chase asked.

“Yes, to men, not to little boys with pretty hair.”

“Wow, what a waste of time.” Chase replied ignoring the insult.

Major General John House and Blythe House met the plane at Miramar Marine Air Base about ten miles from their house in Solana Beach, just north of San Diego but still within San Diego County.

“Commander Morrighan?” He asked as she crossed the tarmac.

“Yes, Major General House?”

“John and my wife, Blythe. We’re very sorry for your loss. I’ve been getting information from your sister’s command. Your sister was a very brave woman. They all knew this sniper liked to take pot shots but they were random and he hadn’t shot at anyone for months. The communications were down at a small outpost and your sister was worried about the men stationed at it. She and a small group of Marines went out to check up on them and fix the communications equipment. That’s when she was hit. Your sister was well liked. The men under her said she was very fair and funny.”

“She was. And please call me Murphy.”

“Her body has already arrived, it’s at the base morgue. Do you want to see her before the cremation?”

“Yes.”

“Then we need to stop by and see her now because she is scheduled for cremation tomorrow morning. Are you up for it?”

“Yes I am. And thank you for everything.”

Blythe turned to her, “How is Greg?”

Murphy laughed, “He’s well but then, he’s House.”

“Oh dear, he’s still creating havoc wherever he goes?”

“I’m afraid that when he has a spare moment he uses it to figure out how to make me miserable.”

John looked at her, “He must have some respect for you, Greg never asks me for a favor. In fact, I almost fell off my chair when he did. You have to understand, for Greg to ask me for anything or to even carry on a decent conversation, he has to really want something. We aren’t on the best of terms.”

“So I gathered. I don’t know though. I never got the impression that I was anything more than a target.”

Blythe smiled. “Well, you’re a beautiful target and that in itself is enough for Greg to want to get on your good side. Is his leg hurting him?”

“It still does, but from what I’ve learned from others, it’s better. He still does strength training on the machines.”

“I understand you received the Navy Cross for your action in Iraq.”

“It really was just me doing my job.”

“It usually is, but it’s the fact that you continued to do your job under difficult circumstance.”

They arrived at the morgue and John House insisted that he go in first to look at her sister. He did and then came out. “I find that if I describe what you are going to see then it isn’t as big a shock and you can start dealing with it before you even see the body. With the exception of an entrance wound on her right temple and an exit wound below her left ear, she looks pretty much in tact. There’s some indentation but otherwise, she looks like she’s asleep. Sometimes that’s harder than if you saw a large wound of some sort. When they look like you could wake them it’s harder to believe that they are dead. Are you ready Murphy?”

“Thank you John, I’m glad you told me. Yes, I’m ready.”

They took her in and the room was cold. The body bag was unzipped and John was right. She looked asleep with the exception of two small wounds on both sides of her head. Murphy stroked Susan’s blonde hair with the loving hands of a sister. She looked sweetly at the child that she had helped nurture, played and fought with. This was the girl who asked a million questions about getting your period, kissing boys and falling in love. She gave Murphy headaches and made her laugh. And now she was a body in a bag, a body count in a war. Murphy’s eyes spilled over and over and over. Blythe put a motherly arm around her shoulders and John reached down and held her hand. Murphy was so grateful that the Houses were there. This was so hard.

John and Blythe House insisted that she come and stay with them. Although her friends had all begged her to come and stay with them, she did not want the added burden of having to keep up appearances and make small talk. John and Blythe seemed to anticipate what she needed, when she needed it. She agreed to stay with them.

She ended up in House’s old bedroom. He had only stayed there a couple of years before entering college. And although most of the room had been changed into a guest room, she discovered that the bottom drawers of the dresser had items that obviously belonged to House. There was a small baby’s outfit of a white shirt, brown vest and darker brown romper shorts and a baseball cap lovingly packed into tissue. There was a scrapbook about odd things, one was an article from England about a cow that fell off a short cliff into the convertible of a passing car, an article on treating blood diseases with leaches, pictures of odd maladies and other interesting information that he had saved for years. She found some photos of House and friends. He looked happy in some and serious in others. He was always somewhat apart from the others in the photo either physically or in some other manner...dress, posture, looks. It was if he was never normal or average, even with his friends. There was a lock of brown hair in the scrapbook that had under it simply, “Greg’s.” She couldn’t resist going through the drawers and snooping. He had collected some of the oddest things and yet as she picked the things up she couldn’t help but feel a certain loneliness about the person who had taken time to collect them.

A lot of their friends, many of Susan’s friends in the Marines and the necessary dignitaries filled the old mission style chapel on Camp Pendleton. It was a lovely adobe chapel with red tile roof that had beautiful mesquite doors. As always, the sun was shining in San Diego and it seemed strange to have a funeral on such a gorgeous day. The memorial was very moving. Most of Susan’s friends from her platoon got up and spoke about what a great leader and intelligent person she was and most of all, what a funny and happy person she was. The memorial lasted an hour and then they all went to Fort Rosecrans for the interment. Murphy was fine until they played taps. Susan and her parents had all gone to the Berkeley Plantation in Virginia where taps was played for the dead for the first time in military history. It brought back memories of her father lecturing her and Susan about Taps. Both girls just wanted to run around the Plantation but instead, they were forced by their Dad to hear the story.

“Of all the military bugle calls, taps is the easiest to recognize and also the one to make a grown man cry. Until the Civil War, the traditional call at day's end was a tune called “Lights Out.” In 1862, in the aftermath of the bloody Seven Days battles, Union General Butterfield called the brigade bugler to his tent. He thought "Lights Out" was too formal and he wished to honor his men. The bugler later told everyone how Butterfield had changed some of the notes to make the call more melancholy. After getting it to his satisfaction, Butterfield told the bugler to sound that call for Taps in place of the regulation call. The music was beautiful and was heard far beyond the limits of Butterfield’s Brigade. The next day the bugler was visited by several buglers from neighboring Brigades, asking for copies of the music. The call was gradually taken up through the Army of the Potomac." It became standard at military funeral ceremonies in 1891. And girls, when you hear that song, I want you remember all the men and women who gave their lives for this great country.” Susan and Murphy nodded solemnly.

Next they went to the Officer’s Club for her wake. The wake lasted all evening and consisted of a lot of drinking, swearing, laughter and tears. John House poured a very drunk Murphy into bed that night.

Murphy and the House’s went to the Navy Exchange the following day and Murphy bought John House a new Callaway driver and Blythe a Dooney Burke purse to say thank you. She was at a loss as to what to get House for all that he had done. She ended up buying him an IPOD video, the new one. It wasn’t very personal but then, she wasn’t close to him anyway.

When she left to go back to Princeton the Houses were sorry to see her go. Despite the circumstances and sadness of the occasion, she had been good company and Blythe had especially appreciated the little things she mentioned about Gregory. Murphy was shocked to find herself hugging and crying when she said goodbye to the Houses. She realized that in some ways Greg’s parents reminded her of her own. Granted, her Dad had been a Master Chief in the Navy, not a General, but still they were military and it felt similar in structure to her own home.

Wilson picked her up at the base because House had a patient. It took him an hour to get a guest pass to the base and the confirmation of Major General House that he was indeed ok to pick up Commander Morrighan.

On the way home Murphy mentioned that she had spent the entire six days with the Houses. Wilson was not just shocked but curious.

“Is his dad an overbearing ogre?”

“I don’t know what he was like when Greg was growing up but he’s very nice now. He took very good care of me and whenever he talked about Greg being a doctor he spoke with a lot of pride. I don’t really understand what happened between them. But knowing Greg, I suspect him being a military brat is like sending Keith Richards to a monastery for eighteen years.”

She talked a little more about his parents and the events and then asked about House and the team.

“They’ve kind of gotten back into the groove of the old team dynamics. I heard from House that you aren’t really a lesbian. You know that’s going to change the dynamics of the department again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well when Cameron thought you were a lesbian, you weren’t a threat in one way...”

“I get your drift.”

“But I’m more worried about House.”

“What do you mean?”

“House likes a lot of sexual tension between him and the women he works with...I think as an Alpha male he feels like it keeps the females in control. You’re no longer a neutral.”

“You think he is going to hit on me?”

“Nothing that blatant, he’ll just do that lingering look, brush of the hand, lusty looks...you know. Then when Cameron sees it she’ll be really pissed.”

“I rue the day I took this job. I don’t understand civilians.”

“This has nothing to do with civilians, you don’t understand House. Neither do we.”

***

Wilson was right. House started throwing out sexual innuendos at Murphy right and left. The relationship between Cameron and Murphy deteriorated to the point where Murphy barely acknowledged she was alive and Cameron was in House’s face about her almost every day.

It drove Murphy nuts that Cameron spent a lot of her waking time trying to figure out what House was doing and the motives behind it. Murphy thought that if anyone needed to get laid, it was Cameron. Murphy had to laugh, she and Cameron had one thing in common, the only life they had was PPTH.

At the end of February, Murphy and Cameron had not called a truce but they had reached a certain level of tolerance. This happened because, despite Murphy’s threats, she still shared her work with Cameron. During a routine examination of a patient, Murphy found a tick that Cameron had missed. Rather than gloat over it, she told Cameron that she might want to do another examination of the patient’s feet. Cameron was no fool and immediately did an examination and found the buried tick between the patient’s toes. The patient had plantar warts and bunions and never felt the tick. Cameron reported the tick and the case was solved within an hour. After that, Cameron stopped complaining to House about Murphy except on the odd occasion.

But Murphy was having trouble concentrating and getting back into the swing of things. She was having terrible mood swings. She spent a lot of time at night crying over her sister and drinking alone. She didn’t have a drinking problem yet, but she was well on her way. At work she was crabby and having a hard time keeping it together. She was at the breaking point with House and Cameron.

One late afternoon in early March, the entire team plus Wilson were all standing or leaning over the bannister on the second floor overlooking the clinic talking about the day and their plans for the weekend. Wilson, House and Murphy all noticed the Navy blue uniform at the same time. In walked a guy, an older Mark Wahlberg look alike in full Navy dress blues. He stopped at the desk, talked to a nurse who then pointed up to the balcony where they were all standing. Murphy was in a pink sweater, gray flip skirt and black pumps. She gave a slight “woop” and started running.

He looked up and saw her. He came around the desk as she raced down the stairs as fast as she could and at break neck speed jumped into his arms with her legs wrapped around his waist. They had a passionate kiss in front of the entire staff. The nurses were all smiling. House stood up and watched the event unfold quietly.

Wilson asked the team and House, “Do you think she knows him?”

They all giggled, except for House. He went over to the elevator and pushed the button. Wilson and House got into the elevator and it stopped on the first floor twenty feet from the kissing couple.

House and Wilson walked towards them, “House, why not let them just have this time together. We can meet him later.”

House kept walking towards them. Murphy stopped kissing him and turned to introduce him. House stuck out his hand, “Tall, handsome, intelligent, charming and well hung. But, enough about me, who are you?”

Murphy rolled her eyes. “This is Captain Anthony Mezzaluna. Tony, these are Drs. Gregory House and James Wilson.”

He stuck out his hand and shook Wilson’s hand. “Glad to meet you.” House didn’t offer his hand so Tony didn’t bother to acknowledge him. He turned to Murphy and gave her another deep kiss.

“You two need to get a room.” House said with disdain.

Tony looked at Murphy, “He’s right, I’ve got us a room. Can you get off now?”

“I’m the only one who can get her off.” House gave him a phony smile.

Murphy turned to look at House with a look of distaste. She kissed Tony quickly on the lips and said, “I’ll be down in a minute, I just have to get my things.”

After she left Wilson asked Tony,“How do you know Murphy?”

“She served under me.”

“I bet she did.” House remarked.

“Aboard the U.S.N.S. Mercy. I was the Captain of the ship.”

House couldn’t think of a comeback for that, so he kept his mouth shut. He did take a good look at the Captain and noted some interesting things.

“How long have you been divorced?” House asked him.

Tony was clearly taken off guard and gave House a strange look. Tony didn’t have an answer and looked incredibly awkward. Then it hit House, “You aren’t divorced, you just don’t have your ring on today. Did you take it off for Murphy?”

Tony looked around to see if Murphy was near, “Look...Dr....Dr. House, I married my wife a few months ago when I got her pregnant. I’m going to divorce her and ask Murphy to marry me. I’m waiting for the baby to be born before I ask her for one.”

House chuckled delightedly.“You are the perfect sailor, a woman in every port and a pregnant wife at home. Does Murphy even know you’re married?”

“Not yet, I’m going to tell her tonight. How did you know?”

“Now that’s really special, get a hotel room, have sex and THEN let her know you’re married. You are perfect.” House looked down at Tony’s ring finger, “You’ve got an indent on your ring finger where you usually wear a wedding band.”

Tony and Wilson both looked at Tony’s hand and realized House was right. “Boy, you are observant. Well....are you going to tell her?”

“Nope. None of my business.” House said.

Wilson looked at House in shock. “House!!! You’ve got to tell her.”

“Why? If we tell her now, then she won’t have sex and you and I both know if anyone needs to get laid, it’s her.” He turned to Tony, “I just want to you make sure you have protected sex or I will hunt you down and go to your CO. Understand?”

Tony shook his head yes. Murphy showed up and Wilson began to say something.

House jumped in and said, “Now you two run...go have that conjugal visit...skidaddle...” he started talking over Wilson. Murphy was confused. Wilson was trying to say something but Tony was rushing her out the door and House was going on and on about what a cute couple they made while holding Wilson back.

“What was that about?” She asked Tony outside.

“Who knows. You work with some strange people.”

They went to her house instead of the motel and had a night of rather athletic sex. It wasn’t imaginative or even erotic, just slammin’ sex. But for Murphy, it was a Godsend. Sex always helped her release her anger, anxiety and emotional pain and lately she had a lot of that.

Tony had to be back to Norfolk on Monday so he left Sunday afternoon. They made plans for Murphy to join him in Norfolk in two weeks for a weekend. Tony’s ship, a sub tender, the U.S.S. Proteus, was in port for three months of maintenance before going on a Westpac through the canal, San Diego, Hawaii and then it’s home port, Guam.

On Monday she went into the office and everyone teased her about having a good weekend. Wilson and House showed up together and Wilson walked into the office in his coat and carrying his briefcase. He looked seriously at Murphy.

“Did Tony tell you?” He was very sober.

She stopped smiling and looked at him questioningly, “Tell me what?”

Wilson looked at House, “You see House? This is why you should have told her.”

She looked at House, “See what...told me what?”

“Wilson is referring to the fact that your boyfriend is married and has a pregnant wife.”

Something finally snapped in Murphy. “Liar!” She jumped up and gave House a right cross that was as effective as one from a 200 lb. male. House went sailing and Murphy went after him.

Wilson pulled her off of him and said, “It’s true, it’s true...Tony told us on Friday. That’s what I was trying to tell you as you left.’

She relaxed and turned to Wilson. “He really is married?” She asked it like a seven year old who finds out that there is no Santa Clause.

“Yes, I’m afraid so. A few months ago after he got her pregnant.” He looked at her and watched as her face slipped from anger to disbelief to devastation.

She grabbed her things, looked down at House, “And so you thought it would be fun to just let me go screw with a married man. You are incredibly callous aren’t you?”

House looked up from the floor where he was rubbing his chin. “Oh big deal, you had a good time this weekend didn’t you? Who cares if he lied to get you in bed. Welcome to reality. Besides, you needed to get screwed, big time.”

She walked over to where he was laying on the floor and kicked him square in the genitals. He doubled over and screamed out in pain. She walked out and Wilson followed her. Cameron ran to House and Chase got up with a smile to get House an ice pack for his nuts. Foreman just watched the circus.

Wilson ran up to her, “Murphy, are you ok?”

She turned and looked at him with tears running down her cheek, “Alright? I’ve lost my sister, I’m working for Dr. Demento and my boyfriend just forgets to mention that he’s gotten married and has a pregnant wife. I’m having a great life.”

Wilson looked at her, “House just thought it would be good for you to have a weekend of unbridled sex. He thinks like a man...being married probably wouldn’t stop him. Well, I know it wouldn’t stop him. He had an affair with his ex-girlfriend while her husband was recuperating from a life threatening disease so I know he doesn’t see marriage as a deterrent to having sex with someone.”

She shook her head and then smiled at him, “Thanks for trying to tell me. My gut told me on Friday to go back in and ask you what you wanted, but I was so excited about having something fun in my life, that I didn’t listen to my gut. Tell House I’ll be back tomorrow.”

The next day she walked in and House was already in the office. The team wasn’t there. She saw a huge bruise on his jaw.

“Where’s the team?” she asked.

“Up running tests. We have a patient in serious condition.”

“Why didn’t you call me in?”

“Right.” He rolled his chair back and showed the cold gel pack planted between his legs.

“Oh...I am sorry. That was uncalled for, did you have someone look at it?”

“Chase took a look. Apparently they are still in tact....barely. I threw up a few times.”

“Sorry, really...I am sorry. I can get pretty physical when I am angry.”

“Ya think? Go on up and help Foreman with the MRI. Stay away from Cameron, she’s ready to protect me from the evil Sailor formally known as Murphy.”

***

The next few weeks were strained between House, Murphy and Cameron. The guys were in love with Murphy. She was smart, funny and she could kick @ss, especially House’s @ss. They were getting pretty close to her.

Murphy had finished for the week and was going to take off at 4:00 p.m. At around 3:30 p.m. Wilson stuck his head into the office and said to Murphy, “You better come and see this.”

Murphy and the entire office, followed by House, went to the banister and looked down. There were two sailors, four Marines and three Army soldiers downstairs, in uniform with their hats under their arms or in their hands. Cuddy had come out of the office to ask them what they wanted when one of the Marines spotted Murphy. Cuddy opened her mouth to ask when one of the Marines yelled, “Atten-hut.”

The group of guys formed a set of three rows of three and came to attention. They looked great in their uniforms. They all looked up at Murphy who was smiling broadly and also had tears in her eyes. The entire clinic and several staff had wandered out to find out what was happening. They all saluted. Murphy saluted back and yelled down to them, “At ease.”

She walked down the stairs and paraded back forth in front of them. “I’ve never seen a sorrier excuse for soldiers and sailors as you guys. Even so, you are all a sight for sore eyes. Dismissed.”

They all cheered and crowded around her. Lot of hugging and laughing. One large Marine grabbed her and threw her up in the air. “Nelson, put me down.”

“Who are you guys?” Cuddy asked.

“We’re back from Iraq and Landstuhl, Germany. Commander Morrighan saved our lives in Iraq. We’ve come down to thank Commander Morrighan for what she did for each of us.”

“Come on guys, let’s go get a drink.” Murphy offered and they all cheered. She looked back up at the team around the bannister. “We’ll be at the Triumph if you guys want to join us.”

The team did join them, including Cameron who went along to keep tabs on House. They all had a roudy time. The soldiers and sailors told House, the team and Wilson how Murphy was the first to work on them after being wounded. One Marine said, “I got hit in the chest with shrapnel and was bleeding out with no plasma or blood on hand. The Commander’s CO was a Marine Colonel. He told Commander Morrighan that I was a gonner and to leave me and move on to the next soldier. The guys in my Platoon told me that she yelled at him, “Like hell, this is some mother’s son and I’m not giving up on him. She’s at home praying that we’ll take care of her baby and I intend to honor that if you don’t mind, SIR.” She asked around and found an O negative Marine and gave me an on the spot blood transfusion which kept me alive. She stabilized me and I was put on the next helicopter out. I heard she got written up for refusing a direct order. She also got a commendation from the General for not leaving a Marine behind. She’s was know to us as the “Angel.” If you saw her you knew two things, you were close to death and she wasn’t going to give up on you unless you were dead.”

The evening was laced with enough alcohol to float a boat. The army guys lagged way behind, the Marines could drink seriously, but the sailors had hollow legs. They were able to stay afloat long after the Marines’ heads hit the deck. They were all poured into cabs and sent back to their hotel rooms at the Embassy Suites. Murphy was driven home by Chase.

Murphy was on a high for several days after the guys left. Their visit reminded her of what she missed in the military. It wasn’t the drinking, it was the comradery. Her high slipped quickly into a depression that she was having a hard time shaking. House began to notice that she didn’t say much anymore and she was starting to miss important symptoms and she even screwed up an assay he asked her to run.

Wilson noticed it too. “What’s up with Murphy?”

“I think she’s drinking. Probably depression.”

“Murphy, drinking? Even when the guys were here she only had four drinks all night.”

“I think she likes drinking alone.” He tilted his head to the side waiting for his reply.

“Well, you would know.” Wilson said

House thought about it and one night when the team had gone and Murphy was just getting ready to leave he called her into the office.

“You’re Fu@king up. I don’t really care why, but you need to get a grip. You’re turning into a lush and the alcohol is interfering with your performance. If you keep screwing up I’m going to ask that you be transferred.”

She looked at him with anger. “Screw you. You’re an addict and you’re telling me I have a problem?”

“You do have a problem and it’s becoming my problem. One more screw up and I’lI ask for your transfer. I can’t have a screw up on my team.”

“So you can be an addict but you won’t cut any slack for someone else who has problems?”

“I’m an addict because of physical pain. You’re an addict because of emotional pain. And I don’t care why you are the way you are, I just don’t want a drunk on my team.”

A few days later, Murphy received the life insurance on Susan provided by the Corps. She also received a box from Susan’s platoon with Susan’s personal belongings. Murphy threw up when she opened the envelope. That night she drank herself into oblivion. She didn’t wake up the next day until House sent Chase to check up on her. House wanted her in as soon as possible because the new patient had been in Thailand and Murphy had spent a lot of time on the UNSN Mercy off the coast of Thailand.

Chase could hear a television but no one was answering his pounding on the front door. He looked through a window and saw Murphy on the couch ...she wasn’t moving. He got in through the window and tried to wake her. He looked over and saw a half empty bottle of Patron Tequila and a partially empty bottle of Grey Goose. She smelled like hell.

“Murphy...MURPHY...wake up.” He slapped her cheek lightly and there was a little moan. “Murphy, what’s going on with you? Come on girl, you’ve got to get up and walk this off.” Chase’s phone went off and he answered it.

“Well sunshine, what did you find out?” It was a very sarcastic House.

“She’s here but she’s a little under the weather. I don’t think she’ll be in today.”

“She’s drunk and passed out.” House said angrily. There was silence. Chase said nothing. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Yes, but I can sober her up and get her in...”

“Don’t bother, let her sleep it off. I need you back here.”

Chase looked around before he left and saw the opened box. There was a letter with it which he stopped to read. It was clear from the letter that the contents of the box was her sister’s. Chase realized that she had just received the box and this had probably triggered the drinking.

He propped her up on her side so that she wouldn’t aspirate if she vomited and then he left to get back to the hospital.

In the meantime, a very angry House was on the phone to Murphy’s CO. He told him that Murphy had started to drink and that she was missing work because of it. He wanted her transferred to a different department or hospital. The CO listened and then said he would take care of it.

When Chase got back he said to House, “Murphy just received her sister’s personal belongings from her platoon. There was a half finished letter from her sister to Murphy in the box, a very hopeful letter about the future. House, I don’t think anyone would have made it in after getting that box and letter.”

House felt some remorse for calling the CO. He couldn’t imagine receiving the personal belongings of your beloved sister. In addition, Murphy was now totally alone, trying to get through this without the assistance of her friends, her family or even her military support system. She must feel like a fish out of water.

The next day a very sheepish Murphy showed up and when she appeared in the lab to run tests Cameron gave her a tongue lashing. “We could have used you yesterday, Chase said you were passed out drunk. I always suspected you were emotionally unstable. It’s obvious you have a real problem with alcohol and I have a hard time trusting you to run any tests. I’m going to ask that House not let you do assays or tests with me anymore, at least not until I can trust you.”

Murphy was trying hard to hold back but she finally had to let some steam off. “You want to talk about emotional problems? You seem to be an intelligent woman. Ask yourself why you have spent over three years of your life pinning over a man who, despite the occasional flirting, hasn’t made a single move on you. In fact, he ignored your desperate moves and went after his former girlfriend who was MARRIED and had a husband who was chronically ill. I’m not asking you to try to understand House, I’m asking you to try and understand your own behavior. You spend way too much time on a man who hasn’t given you the time of day because it’s safe for you. You don’t have to put yourself out there and get hurt. Better to be hurt and rejected constantly by the devil you know and know won’t commit than to take a chance you might get hurt if you go after real love and possible happiness. Now, that’s my gift to you Cameron. However, if you ever talk to me like you just did, and I DO MEAN EVER, then you won’t have much of that lovely brunette hair left when I get done with you. Do I make myself clear? I will run whatever Fricking tests I want. I have ten more years as a doctor and a lot more experience in the real practice of medicine than you will ever have so just get over yourself sister.” She turned to leave but stopped, “Oh and don’t worry about telling Cuddy and House what I just said, I’ll make sure they’re told.”

When the team had gone home she went in to House’s office. “I just told Cameron to stop needling me and pinning for you. I told her that I was going to separate her hair from her scalp if she didn’t behave. Just so you know.” She paused, “Now, on another note, I am having some hard times right now and I would appreciate your patience. I need to deal with my drinking. I don’t think I am an alcoholic but I think I could easily become one. I’m not sure how I am going to do it, but I plan on dealing with it starting today.”

“I guess a shrink would probably tell you to substitute a positive behavior for a negative. Every time you want a drink, do something physical...run, exercise, have sex, clean house...I don’t care. I just want to see some improvement real soon.”

She said nothing but grabbed her stuff and left. His eyes followed her out the door and down the hall. He was worried about her but didn’t dare tell her or anyone else. He had come to admire her for her spunk and backbone. She was no shrinking violet. She went after what she wanted and she stood up to others when she had to. He could still feel the pain in his nuts from her last round with him.

The next day was March 28^th and on his way to work he saw her running along the side of the road. She was almost to the hospital so he didn’t bother offering a ride. He also realized that a ride would defeat the purpose of running. That night he offered her a ride home, it was still chilly outside.

“No thanks, I’m going to go for a run.”

For the next two weeks she ran to and from the hospital in all kinds of weather. She would take her shower after she got to work. She would work out in the gym after work and before going home. She stopped drinking at home by herself. She was still depressed, she just stuffed it down better.

April came and House had noticed an improvement in her work. Things had changed on the team. Cameron was dating a young doctor from Gastroenterology. She wasn’t as absorbed with House as usual and this actually aggravated House. One thing House liked was being the center of attention, especially the attention of a beautiful woman.

House aimed his aggravation at Murphy. He decided that he would become the center of her world over the next few weeks. He started by assigning her charting duty, something that Cameron usually did for him. It meant staying in the office near him and writing up the charts from cases. Murphy would occasionally have to ask him a question about a case and so she was in contact more with House than usual.

One afternoon she was writing up a chart from a case that had dropped through the cracks. It had happened while she was in California. House was laying on the floor with his legs crossed and his eyes closed listening to music through headphones. Murphy poked his foot with hers.

He opened his eyes and focused on her looking down at him. She felt strange. In that position he was very vulnerable, at least from a martial arts point of view. She could have him for breakfast and he seemed to read that in her face.

“You’re staring at my penis. Normally I’d get off on that, but given your history with my genitals, I’m feeling a little threatened.”

“Actually I wasn’t staring at the penis. I was thinking how vulnerable you are down there on the floor. I could do some real damage to you and not just to your willy.”

“I didn’t realize you were into sado-masochism. But whatever floats your boat.”

“Is everything sex with you?”

“As a species, everything is sex or leads to sex.”

“You should have nailed Cameron when you could have. Now there’s no one in the department to drool over you . It must make you sad.”

“There’s you.”

She laughed, “I find you about as attractive as a terrorist attack. I’d have a hard time choosing between fu@king you or fu@king Bin Laden.”

He chuckled. “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“You are a legend in your own mind.”

“You’ll never know unless you go for a ride.”

Now it was her turn to chuckle. “You’d be a kiddy ride compared to the rides I’ve been on.”

“I know your type, they think that sex is something you endure. You’re the kind that lays back and thinks of God and Country. You probably think sexual participation is cleaning up the wet spot.” He would have kept going but she turned and went into the other room. The sexual banter didn’t stop, it back and forth a few more times over the next few days.

Cameron came in and was in a great mood. “I just bought my dress for the May Charity Ball. I get to go with a date this time.”

“I’m taking Nancy Bashears from Otolaryngology.” Chase volunteered.

“I’m probably going stag. What about you Murphy?” Foreman asked.

“Not going.”

“You should go, it’s fun. They set up tents everywhere on campus and each tent has a different type of entertainment. It’s great.” Chase said enthusiastically.

House and Wilson walked in. “Are you two going to the May ball?” Chase asked.

They both nodded their heads yes. “Why ask?” Wilson wanted to know.

“Murphy isn’t going.”

“Murphy, you have to go. You’ll have fun.” Wilson insisted.

She shook her head no. “End of discussion.”

“What’ wrong Murphy, afraid no one will ask you to the ball or dance with you?” House asked.

“That’s it. I’m dateless.” She said while she continued to chart.

“There’s always George in accounting, he’ll screw anything, even if it just lies there and thinks of God and country.”

“Gosh, and I thought only you would screw anything that moved. Bet it’s nice to know you aren’t alone.”

“I’d screw anything but a sailor that’s drunk or should I say, a drunk that’s a sailor.”

The team screwed up their faces at the insult. She just said, “I kicked you with my left foot, imagine what damage I can do with my right.” Murphy had managed a draw but she was secretly getting tired of the sexual bantering and suggestive language. She wished that for a week she could just do her job without his crap. She kept thinking, maybe if the sexual tension was put to bed (so to speak) he would grow tired of ragging on her.

***

House went into his office. Later that afternoon the team took off for the weekend. He was still in his office playing a game on his Game Boy and waiting for a phone call. He was trying to buy tickets to the Monster truck rally for Saturday night in Philadelphia. He had a guy who always managed to get him floor passes but the guy didn’t get off work until 7:00 p.m. He promised to call House when he got home.

He was sitting in the chair playing his game when he saw Murphy opening the door to his office. She walked in huffing and puffing and bent over to catch her breath.She was wearing jersey shorts, sneakers and a sleeveless gray t-shirt. Her hair was in a ponytail and the sweat was running down her neck from the run she had just finished. He found it incredibly sexy.

“I (puff) want to ..have a talk ...(puff) with you and I ...(puff) ...don’t want to be ...interrupted.” She closed the blinds and locked the door. She had his attention. He turned off the Game Boy and stared at her. “Ok....(puff)...what do you want? I can’t imagine that you want to really have sex with me, so why do you keep teasing and making suggestive remarks? Can’t you...(puff) stop this insanity? It’s getting old.”

“Who said I don’t want to have sex with you? I’d have sex with Rosie O’Donnell if she put a bag over her face.” He said mischievously.

She pulled her head back in surprise, “You can’t be serious.”

“About having sex with you or Rosie O’Donnell? Why not? I’ve never slept with a sailor before.” he smiled.

“For one thing, I don’t find you attractive so I doubt you find me attractive. And the other is that sex with me is like a Lay’s potato chip, once you have one, you want to have another, and another, and another...”

“Now who’s a legend in their own mind. Tell me the truth, are you really that hot in bed, or is this your vivid and lonely imagination?”

“You can’t handle the truth.” She said snickering to herself.

He reached out and tugged lightly on the hem of her shorts. And then, while looking up into her eyes he pulled the shorts and her towards him. “Aren’t you just the least bit curious about what it would be like between us? We have been dancing around it ever since that day in the shower room.” He ran his fingers along the edge of her shorts with his index finger brushing her thigh. He raised the right leg of her shorts and looked at the shrapnel scar on her thigh. He stroked it softly, thinking about his own scar on his right thigh.

She almost jerked away but the touch was soft and gentle. “YOU’VE been dancing, I’ve been to forget.” She looked into his blue eyes and thought that if she pretended he was someone else, it might just be the release she needed.

 She took off her T-shirt to reveal a jersey sports bra. “Let’s just get this over with...if we do this, can you promise to leave me alone for awhile...no comments, no mean retorts?”

House was completely stunned, he hadn’t expected this from her. His mouth was open in shock as he nodded yes. She was still breathing heavily from the run. She yanked the sports bra off and there were those breasts he dreamed about. She dropped her shorts and walked closer to the chair. He reached up to grab her breasts. They were heaving up and down as she still tried to catch her breath. She knocked his hands away.

“Hold on. I need a minute to catch my breath.” As she did she grabbed his belt, undid it and the button. He couldn’t wait any longer, he reached up and grabbed her breasts and then with his left hand, reached around and pulled her down so he could lick the sweat rivulet running from her neck, past the shoulder bones and down her left breast. He sat up straighter so that he could reach her lips.

She didn’t want him to kiss her on the lips but he did. She straddled his legs on the chair. He pulled her into him so he could give her a deeper kiss and run his hand down her spine, across the curve of her cheek and down her panties. The kiss had been pleasant, more intimate than she wanted, but still pleasant.

She could feel the large bulge pushing up under the zipper of his pants. He brought his hand around and started feeling her skin up her rib cage and to her breasts. He grabbed her left breast and kissed it. He loved the taste of her and how salty she was from sweating. She lifted up and unzipped his pants under her. She took him in her hand and looked down to see whether he was worth all the fuss. She had to admit, it was a nice package. She stood up, took off her panties, straddled him again and then slowly guided him inside of her while she looked into those blue eyes.

She was warm. He was watching her as she used her hips to make circles while she also rode up and down. Her muscles squeezed him with each downward motion. It was too much. He closed his eyes to slow down his response and then opened them again. Her breasts were dancing slowly in front of him. He tried to hold back but he couldn’t. He picked up the speed until her breasts were bouncing lightly. He had his hands on the cheeks of her lovely round bottom as it traveled up and down. When he exploded he felt a little wobbly and needed to hold onto something to keep his head from swimming. He grabbed her and rested his forehead just below her breasts. All he could yell was, “Ahhhhhhhhhhh.” He didn’t breath out until the last of the orgasm swept through him. He grabbed her hips to stop her from moving. He was so sensitive that any movement gave him a sensation of pain and discomfort. She moved and he yelled out, “Ahhh, wait, wait....” She stopped until he nodded it was ok for her to move. He knew it was her turn, that she hadn’t come and he should take her to the same place he had just been, but he was so spent he needed some time to get himself together.

When he saw that she was getting up and putting on her clothes he grabbed her wrist. “NO! Don’t go...I need to do the same for you.” She looked down at him as she wrestled her wrist out of his hand.

“It’s alright, I’ve got to get going. I have a friend making a stopover at Trenton Airport in an hour and we’re having dinner.” She put on the rest of her clothes and went down to the shower room.

He put his head back and just sat listening to his own pulse pound in his head. He grabbed his willy, put it back in his trousers and then zipped up his jeans. He tried to get up but the room was spinning. He waited a few more minutes and then he was able to stand. The phone rang, it was the guy with the passes. House had to convince the guy that it was him because he kept saying, “It doesn’t sound like you.”

By the time he was able to walk down to the shower room, she had already showered and gone. He went back to his office, grabbed his backpack and took off. He was haunted all weekend long by what had happened. It was so fast and so intense, he felt like it had all been a dream. He also realized she hadn’t lied. She was a Lay’s potato chip.

On Monday he said nothing to her about it. He simply spoke to her only when necessary. The whole team was puzzled by their behavior. When he didn’t tease or torment her on Tuesday or Wednesday, the team asked her what had happened. She simply said that they had a discussion and he had agreed to give her some space for a little while so she could deal with her sister’s death. Occasionally Murphy couldn’t contain herself and would hint around about Minutemen. The team had no clue what she meant, but House did.

Cuddy asked Murphy if she would take tickets at the May ball from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Murphy told Cuddy she wasn’t going. “I’m sorry, that’s not an option. You get a discount on the ticket if you work the hour. It’s $150 instead of $250. What will it be, go at full price or work an hour?”

“Ok, I’ll work an hour. Is it really a ball, complete with ball gowns?”

“Yes, you can wear a ball gown, a cocktail dress or, in your case, your dress uniform. It’s your choice.”

She thought about it. Wearing her dress uniform would be the cheapest alternative but it meant wearing the miniature medals along with it and then explaining all night long what they were and how she got them. Each time she wore her medals she spent the whole evening talking about them. She decided she would have to go shopping.

***

She went to Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia and bought a dress off the rack. It was a beautiful long dress designed by Vera Wang. It was a “Lavender label” off the shoulder dress which was gathered right under the bustline and then was fitted all the way down until it flared out at the bottom. It was in royal blue. She wore the sapphire necklace and earrings she had bought in the mideast. Her hair was styled into a loose knot in the back with tendrils coming down the back. Her shoes were 2 ½ inch heels that were comfortable but pretty. She took her black velour stole to keep warm outside. The ticket tent was heated so she didn’t need to wear it to take tickets.

The rest of the campus was set up with tents all over and in-between, in the halls were tables set up with goodies donated from various vendors in Princeton. The goodies rotated on the hour. One minute it would be Dom Perignon and strawberries, the next hours it would decadent chocolate truffles or cheeses. Each of the forty tables offered something different and even that rotated on an hourly basis. The twelve tents offered different forms of entertainment. There was the country western tent with a band, dance floor and broncing mechanical bull. Then there were several band tents with dance floors. One of the tents had comedians rotate on a fifteen minute basis. Another had a karaoke machine set up. There were even boat rides on Carnegie Lake complete with singing gondoliers. It was an incredible setup and well worth the $250 per ticket.

As the members of the team showed up with their dates they all came over for Murphy to put the band around their wrist signifying that they were authorized to be at the ball and receive the goodies. They all introduced their dates and the men complimented Murphy on how nice she looked. Even Foreman, who was going to go stag, had ended up with a gorgeous girl on his arm at the last moment.

The truth was that Murphy did look gorgeous. The tops of her breasts rode high over the top of her dress, the dress had a black ribbon just below the breasts and a second one down a few inches at the empire line. She looked incredibly beautiful with her strawberry blonde hair cascading in tendrils down the back. Even Cuddy came over and told her that no one would believe she was a sailor.

Wilson and House arrived with their dates. Wilson was with Sarah and House had brought Sarah’s friend, Kathy. Both of the dates were young and very pretty. But when House and Wilson saw Murphy they both stopped in their tracks. She looked like a sexy version of a Victorian lady, very romantic. House hadn’t told Wilson of the tryst in the office. In some ways he was embarrassed by the fact that she had made mince meat out of him. When they went over to Murphy to have her put the bands on them they both smiled at her.

“Murphy, you look beautiful tonight. Really stunning.”

“Thank you Jim.”

House came over and even Murphy thought he looked handsome in his tuxedo. “Good evening.”

“Good evening Dr. House. Here are the programs for you and your date and I need your arms so I can band your wrists.”

They held out their wrists and she put the bands on. She could feel House’s eyes on her. She was sure that if she looked up those blue eyes would be focused on her breasts but they weren’t. They were looking her straight in the eye. This made her more nervous than if he had been ogling her breasts. She smiled and then backed off to band the next couple. With her body turned, he could see the deep cut back and the hair tumbling down over the nape of her neck and between her shoulder blades. He quickly looked away so that she didn’t catch him watching her.

After her hour was up, Murphy decided to go into each tent to see what was in them. She stayed the longest in the comedy tent and then went back to the tent where there was a variety show, including a magician and tango presentation.

In the meantime, House and Wilson’s dates were excited about the champagne and the various expensive spirits being served. They were knocking each drink back quickly so that they could taste the next one at another table. House was nursing his first Grey Goose and looking around for Murphy. He tried to be engaging but he just wasn’t interested in his date.

House’s date wanted to dance and so he found a table near the dance floor, parked her at it with Sarah and Wilson and then excused himself to search for the bathroom. If he stayed, no one would have asked her to dance. Within minutes he watched as a young man, close to her age, came up and asked her to dance. She was happy, drunk and could care less where House had gone.

House saw Murphy getting into one of the horse and buggies that were taking couples down to Carnegie Lake for the boat ride. He tried to get to her before she left but he and his cane weren’t fast enough. He had to wait for the next carriage. When he got down to the boat launch he saw she was next in line to get into a boat. He was suppose to wait in line, but he played the handicap card and was moved up to the front of the line just as she was getting into her boat.

“How many in your party?” The boatman asked.

“One.” She said.

A voice behind her said, “Two.”

She turned and saw House. He put his hand on her back and escorted her to the boat. She got in, tucked her wrap around her and sat a little in shock as House got into the boat and sat next to her with his arm around her.

She whispered so that the boatman wouldn’t hear, “What do you think you’re doing?”

He looked down at her face and kissed her. She pulled back as much as she could without giving the boatman the impression she was being touched against her will. He didn’t stop. He put his hand on her chin and kissed her again.

She whispered loudly, “S.T.O.P. stop. Stop or I’ll have this young man beat the crap out of you with his oar.”

“You kissed me back that time.”

“It was a mistake, a reflex.”

He came in for another kiss and she let him explore her with his tongue. She shivered and he quickly took off his tuxedo jacket and put it on her and then kissed her again. The boatman was amused. These two were acting like teenagers. Those kisses were pretty deep and with a lot of tongue. He was pretty sure that he saw the guy reach into the tuxedo coat, now on the woman, and grab her breast although he wasn’t sure since his hand was under the coat and the man had shifted, blocking his view of what was going on. He didn’t blame the guy. When she had said that she was the only one going for a boat ride, he got his hopes up. She was fifteen years older than him but she was incredibly hot.

House gave him a $20 tip and asked that they be let out at a different spot about 100 yards from where they were suppose to be let out. The guy knew what was going on. Every boatman knew that behind the boathouse was a large boat shed where many a woman had been relieved of her knickers. He let them out and House headed straight for the shed with Murphy in tow.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Someplace where we can get in out of the cool air and talk.”

“About what?”

“Anything you want to talk about.”

She laughed, “Why do I get the feeling that you don’t really plan on doing a lot of talking?”

“Perceptive.” He said as he opened the door. There was a pile of canvas covers on the floor and he took the tuxedo jacket off of her and laid it down on the covers. She smiled knowingly and sat down on the edge of the tuxedo jacket. He sat down next to her and kissed her shoulder and then neck. They were so pale and soft. He kissed her ear and then moved across her cheek he connected with her lips. The feel of his warm breath coming up her neck and across her face and the feel of his beard sent shivers down her. The kiss started with him gently sucking her lower lip and then engulfing her mouth and then their tongues met. He reached around and unzipped her dress and pulled it down to the waist, He kissed her exposed breasts and then disappeared down to the hem of her skirt. He pulled the full length skirt up past the thigh high nylons and the silk and lace panties. He pulled the panties down, off her legs and then he tantalized her with his tongue, driving her just to the point of orgasm but not letting her quite ride the peak sensation. Finally he didn’t hold back and she reached out to the sides as she screamed out in pleasure going up and up until finally the sensations became too much and she grabbed his head and stopped him. He looked up and she pulled him up to her and kissed him. He unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and entered her, taking his time and watching her watch him. They started smiling at each other until House could feel the pleasure escalating as he picked up the pace. He buried his face in the crook of her neck as he came. He collapsed onto her and then rolled off.

She started giggling, “Ok...now that was hot. I take it all back. I guess I do find you more attractive than Bin Laden...but just by a little.”

He started chuckling. House put everything back in place and zipped up his pants. She sat up on her elbows and looked at him. He turned over and put a hand out to touch her breast. “These are perfect. Too bad you keep them covered so much.”

“Please zip me up and find my panties.”

“I’ll zip you up but your panties are going in my pocket. I want the pleasure of knowing that you have no panties on as I escort you around the tents.”

“You’re a pervert.”

“No, I’d call it romantic.”

They got up and straightened themselves up but her hair looked wild with hair flying out all over her head so she took it down and let it just flow down her back. House looked at it. The strawberry blonde hair was wavy and curly. It looked soft and shiny flowing down her back.

They walked back to the boat dock and took a carriage back to the tents. When they got out Wilson saw them, excused himself and walked over. Murphy was standing there with her hair down and wrapped in House’s tuxedo jacket. She looked disheveled and the two of them were holding hands.

“Did you forget you have a date?” He said, confused as to House’s actions.

“Do I?” He said in shock. “She’s probably having a lot more fun without me.”

“I have to admit that’s probably true. She’s still inside dancing. I’m confused...in less than an hour you two have hooked up?” They shrugged their shoulders and looked at Wilson innocently. “Actually, something tells me you two have been doing more than just hooking up.”

“I’ll go in and tell my date that I have another date.” House told both of them.

“I think maybe I better go home and let you finish out your date.” She said.

He pulled her to him and put his arm around her. “No,no,no,no.no...you aren’t going anywhere. Wilson, sit on her if you have to. I’ll be back.”

“Hey don’t ruin it for me with Sarah.” Wilson yelled at him.

House went off and Wilson turned to Murphy, “Are you nuts?”

She started laughing, “If you were to tell me just a week ago that this would be happening I would have told you to go see a shrink. I feel like a giddy teenager right now.”

“It’s because you’re at the ball Cinderella. At midnight he turns into the mean ogre. You need to think this through before you let it go any further. I can’t think of two people more likely to start World War III by hooking up than you two.”

“Jim, I do nothing but think. I’m tired of thinking. He just gave me the best present I’ve had since Tony was here and I’d like to have some more.”

“Too much information.”

House walked back up. “Your reputation with Sarah is in tact. When I walked in my date was dry humping a guy on the dance floor. I asked if she could get a ride home and she nodded yes. That was it.”

“Ok, well I’m going to go get Sarah and see some of the shows. Try that table over there, they have Baileys and coffee and Bailey’s truffels.”

The night was so much fun that it went very quickly. At five in the morning House and Murphy joined all those who had made it to the end of the ball for the “Survivor’s Photo” which was taken on the front lawn. Chase and his date joined House and Murphy. Chase was confused, he had met House’s date earlier and here he was lip locked with Murphy. Lucky guy. They each ordered a photo and then went home.

***

“My house?” Murphy suggested.

“I think your house is a great idea.”

They walked into her house and into her bedroom. “I am exhausted.” She started taking her clothes off and saw him doing the same. He was taking the bow tie off and the cummerbund next. He undid the cuffs on his sleeves and then took the shirt off. He threw it on the floor and then sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes and socks. She grabbed a t-shirt that was on the floor and put it on.

She was sure that couples all over the world did these mundane activities on a regular basis but to her it was strange to see House doing something as normal as get ready for bed. He was in his own world, thinking about something and so he didn’t see that she had stopped to watch him. He took off his pants and folded them. Finally the silence from her side of the bed made him look up.

She was standing there in a t-shirt and thigh high nylons watching him. He gave her an elfin look, one that was mischievous,”Did I do something naughty?” he asked.

“No, just the opposite. You were just being human, something you aren’t well known for being.” She smiled at him. He started to get up and come over to her. She could tell from the look in his eye that he was getting a second wind. “Now I told you I was tired.”

“Don’t worry, you can lay back and think of God and Country, I’ll do all the work.”

She let him take her nylons off her thighs and down her legs. He ran his hand up her leg and thigh. He took her over to the bed, pulled the covers back and she climbed in. He climbed in behind her and they snuggled up inside the cold sheets. He realized then just how tired he was and how he would just like to hold her until he got to sleep. That’s what he did. He spooned her with his hands up her t-shirt on her breasts until they were both deep asleep. The next morning she got up and made him some coffee and breakfast.

He went into the guest bathroom, found his toothbrush and brushed his teeth. He looked around and found a large t-shirt from Yosemite in her dirty clothes basket. He put that on and walked out to the kitchen in the t-shirt and boxers.

“Hey Dude, that’s my shirt.” She feigned indignation.

“Yeah I could tell, there were mountain peaks where there shouldn’t be. Come here and let me see you. He grabbed her and put his hands up the back of her t-shirt. Her skin was warm and smooth. He lifted the front of her shirt and kissed her breasts and then pulled the t-shirt down again. He kissed her cheek and then just held her. She didn’t move and neither did he. They were both enjoying just feeling the other breath.

“Before I kick you out, I thought you‘d like to take a look at my sheets again, they’re a lovely color.”

“The color seems to have eluded me, could we go back in and see these sheets again? I may need to buy myself some.”

“Problem with my sheets is that once you get in them, it’s hard to get out...”

“I’ll have to take my chances.”

She grabbed their plates, some fruit and juice and they went back to bed. They didn’t get out of bed until Sunday night, except to get more food and drink. “You have to go home, we have work tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to go home.”

“I wish you didn’t have to go either, but you do.”

He turned over and faced her in the bed. He kissed her lightly on the lips and looked in her eyes. “Why don’t you grab some clothes and come spend the night at my apartment?”

She thought about it, “Ok, but don’t get used to this. “

She grabbed her stuff and was going to take her car but he told her,”I can bring you home tomorrow.”

When they got home to his house he tucked her into bed and grabbed the mail and a glass of water. After brushing his teeth and clipping his beard, he crawled in next to her.”

She was asleep so he just kissed her hair lightly and turned off the light. Around six in the morning he woke up ready to go. She was sliding up next to him and then felt something pushing against her leg, it was his wake up call.

“I can’t think of a nicer way to wake up than you and I making love.” She told House.

“I can. It would be nicer if I woke up, made love to you, got to go back to sleep and someone paid my bills for me.”

She began stroking him and his testicles. She put a firm hand on him and french kissed him until he begged her to let him have her. He climbed on top of her. He was moving slowly in and out and she was enjoying it. He was looking down at her deep pink colored nipples. He reached up and fondled the left one. Then he kissed it as she continued the rhythm between them. She couldn’t resist torturing him a little and she would occasionally stop the rhythm or pick the pace up a little. When he finally came he grabbed under her shoulders and went as deep as he could. With her muscles she pulled him in deeper until he finally yelled into her ear. He rolled over and made sure she came. They waited a few minutes and then got up to get ready for work.

They went into work together, talking and teasing each other. Cuddy caught them as they waited for the elevator. “I need to see the two of you in my office.”

They looked at each other and followed her into her office. When they arrived she told them to sit down.

“You two seem almost nice to each other this morning.”

“We both got laid. What’s up?” House asked.

“Your request came through.” she said to House.

“What request?” He asked.

“That Murphy be transferred.” Cuddy announced. Murphy’s mouth dropped open and she looked at House like he had betrayed her.

***

“Oh crap, I didn’t expect them to believe me!” He looked anxiously at Murphy, “I’ll just call them and explain it was a mistake.”

“I’m not tracking, what’s going on?” Murphy asked House and then looked at Cuddy.

“When you didn’t show up to work the other day I made a call to your CO and told him you had a little drinking problem and he should transfer you out of my department.” House was looking at the floor.

“Why, what did I do to you? I thought we had agreed to give me some time.” She asked.

“Yes, I, YOUR BOSS, would like to know why you did it?” Cuddy chimed in.

“I was angry and thought you had a drinking problem. I told you I didn’t want a lush on my team...but I probably acted too quickly. I’ll tell him it was a mistake.”

“You know the military Greg. The horses are out of the barn, you’re not going to be able to undo this. I’m sure they’ll want to punish me for screwing up the civilian work program.”

“You didn’t screw up the program, they’re not going to punish you. You’ll probably get oncology or orthopedics. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to your CO.”

Cuddy handed her an envelope, “Your CO said that he was sending over your orders, I received this envelope this morning.” She handed the envelope addressed to Murphy.

House was visibly worried. Murphy looked at him and then tore open the envelope. She read the orders and started shaking her head at him and tearing up.

“Camp Baharia, Iraq. Great...I hope you’re happy now. I’m going back to that hell-hole and not just any hell-hole, the hell-hole of ALL hell-holes, Fallujah.”

Murphy turned around and ran out of the office. House gave Cuddy a look that said how sorry he was. Cuddy could feel House’s pain and knew he really was sorry.

House tried to find her but she wasn’t in the office. He was panicking, he thought that if she was transferred it would be to another department or at most, another hospital. He never thought they would transfer her back to Iraq, especially since she had just been there. House was going through the hospital trying to find her. She was in the lab sitting in a corner drinking a coke while Cameron ran a lab test. He was puzzled, he never figured he’d find her like this?

“Murphy, I need to see you in my office.”

“F@ck you...”

House looked over sheepishly at Cameron who had turned around in shock when she heard Murphy’s answer. Cameron was waiting for a witty retort from House but none came. House just stood there shifting his weight back and forth.

“Murphy, I’ll call your CO and we’ll get this straightened out.”

“Oh yeah, I’m sure that you’ll straighten out the Navy...better hurry, once they hear that the great Greg House made a mistake I’m sure they’ll pull my orders and probably bring home the troops from Iraq too.” She paused, “I have one week to report to North Carolina and then I ship out...You better hurry, make that little phone call that’s going to set this all straight.” She sat in the corner and glared at him. He finally left and went to his office. He found her file and called her CO.

“I made a mistake, she’s not a drunk and I want her to stay. So pull her orders, she’s staying here.” House was adamant.

“I’m afraid the military doesn’t work that way Dr. House...you were unhappy with her performance and we can use her in Iraq...it’s a perfect fit.”

“IT’S NOT A FIT...SHE ISN’T GIVING ME ANY PROBLEMS, SHE HAS AN EXEMPLARY PERFORMANCE HERE. Look, I called you on a bad day when I was having a problem. You can’t send her to Iraq because I was having a bad day. Besides, she just got back from Iraq.”

“Look, I’ll tell you what I’ll do, I’ll correct her file and enter that she performed well. But I’m afraid I can’t do anything about her billet now. She’s on her way. The military needs doctors who already know the score over there. Sorry Doctor House.”

The phone clicked before House could get another word out. He went back to the lab but she wasn’t there. He finally found her in Wilson’s office laying down on his love seat and talking to him.

Wilson gave him a look of disgust, “House, you could screw up a wet dream. Did you talk to the CO?”

House said nothing. Murphy started laughing at him, “Did you really think you could get them to pull the orders? Hell. they’re dying to find reasons to send doctors back to Iraq.” She paused, “Well at least you can say that you scored more than Tony, you got a whole weekend of sex out of me before screwing me over. I loved the look on your face in Cuddy’s office. You should have seen it Jim, I bought it at first. I really thought he didn’t know what he had done or about the orders. I tell you Jim, I’m a sucker.” Murphy sat up on the couch, looked into eyes blue eyes and said. “You really had me there, Greg. I was actually starting to feel good about my life again. You have accomplished what you set out to do, get rid of me. And to make me care about you just before screwing me over, that was the icing wasn’t it? You win...you are the king of inflicting pain.” She stood up and went back to the lab.

House looked at Wilson and said nothing. He left and went back to his office. He didn’t know what to do about the situation. He called as many places as he thought to call but he had “no joy” as the British say. That afternoon he found her again running lab tests with Cameron. Apparently when Cameron discovered what House had done and that Murphy would soon be back in Iraq, she felt guilty for complaining so much to House and now she was Murphy’s new best friend.

“Murphy, let’s go, I’ll give you a ride home.” House nodded towards the door.

“Go? Go? You think I’m going to go with you? You just got me shipped out to Iraq and you think I’m going to go with you?” Tears started to well up and they poured down her cheek. “Don’t you have any decency? You can’t really expect me to go with you.” With that she jumped up and made her way down to the shower room and removed all of her belongings from the locker, packed them up and started to walk home like a homeless person with all her possessions in plastic bags. House drove past her and then pulled over.

“Let me give you a ride home. Please? Please?”

“I don’t think so. By the way, I’m not going to be in for the rest of the week. I have a lot to do before I ship out. Ok? You won’t be calling my CO and telling him I didn’t show will you?”

House looked away and then pulled back out into traffic. He pulled into his garage behind the apartment and got out. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do, He just wanted to make it right and he couldn’t.

Murphy packed what she needed in her duffle bag and then hired a property manager to rent out her house, furnished. She was told it would be easy because it was a college town. She packed most of her belongings in boxes, some with moth balls and then hired a truck. She hauled them to a storage facility by herself, unloaded them and packed them away. For the next few nights she slept on the bed with no sheets or pillows, just the throw her sister had sent her. She cried herself to sleep each night wondering how she had managed to screw up her life so quickly.

***

It was sticky and hot when Murphy arrived at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Camp Lejeune is the home of "Expeditionary Forces in Readiness" and the home base for the II Marine Expeditionary Force, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Logistics Group and other combat units as well as the Naval Hospital. Murphy was assigned to the naval hospital’s combat field unit. She renewed her vaccines, updated her will and emergency contacts and then went down to the Officer’s Club for some R&R before she went. She was happy to find that Lieutenant Theresa Moldanado was in the club having her usual gin and tonic.

“Pipsqueek!”Murphy yelled with arms outstretched.

“Angel!” Theresa threw up her arms to hug Murphy.

“What are you doing here?” Murphy asked.

“My shore duty is up. I’m shipping out Thursday for Fallujah, back with the Marines.”

“Camp Baharia?” Murphy asked excitedly. Murphy loved Theresa’s no nonsense attitude, she wasn’t beautiful but she was pretty and she turned heads on base because of her attitude. She walked like a woman who was not just pretty, but beautiful and the men responded.

“You too?”

“Yeah...oh, thank God, I’ve got a nurse who knows what she’s doing. I am so happy to hear that you are joining me. Where did you do your shore duty?”

“Long Beach Naval Hospital, sunny California. It was the bomb...” She smiled and raised her glass.

“Yeah, California. I think I’ll ask for California next time.”

“I thought you’d have more shore duty? Last time you sent me an email from Iraq was back in the summer.” Theresa was curious, it was obvious that something had happened for Murphy to get sent back to Iraq so soon. Theresa could also tell that Murphy had been crying...a lot. Her eyes were swollen and her face was haggard.

“It was a Clusterf#ck. I got this plumb position but under a dirtbag. He complained about me to the CO and here I am!”

“Wait, someone complained about your work? You’re the best, I don’t believe it.”

“It’s a long convoluted story of sex, alcohol and betrayal.”

“Ah, I knew you would liven up my night as soon as I saw you...let me buy you a drink and you can begin your tale of woe.”

They talked all night and by the time Murphy got to her sad ending, she was tipsy and tearful. Theresa patted her hand, “You really cared about him, didn’t you?” With her lip quivering Murphy shook her head yes. “Well, you picked a real winner. You should never trust a civilian.” she took a drink and looked at Murphy, “Boy he played you, didn’t he? You got f#cked coming and going.”

“Yeah, I did. At least my CO apologized...he said he should have contacted the Dean Of Medicine before taking any action based on just one doctor’s word. But he did say that he will work with my detailer to get me a billet wherever I want in two years and I’ll get at least eighteen months shore duty. I’m thinking Tripler or Balboa again. Somewhere as far as I can get from Greg House and still be in the good ol’ USA.”

“There’s always Guam.” She laughed because no one wanted to be stationed on Guam. It was an island, 36 miles long and 8 miles wide at it’s widest point. It was isolated and the native Chamorrans weren’t exactly happy to have the military there.

“I lived on Guam when my parent’s were stationed there...Hafai Dai! “Agana, Guam-where America’s Day Begins!” I was 16 and totaled my Mom’s car. Did you know their asphalt is made with crushed coral and it gets slippier than snot when it rains...and it rains a lot in Guam. The car and I lost a fight with a Dempsey Dumpster sitting next to the road on the base where we lived.”

“Your parents must have been proud...”

“So proud I didn’t get to go anywhere for a month.”

The ladies frequented the bar for the next two nights knowing that for the next year they wouldn’t have any alcohol while they were in Iraq. Because it was a Muslim country the troops were not allowed to have alcohol or pork products. Families were warned not to send their loved ones booze, pork or pornography.

Theresa and Murphy traveled together the whole way. The two had already been friends but by the time they got to Camp Baharia they were inseparable. FOB (Forward Operating Base) Volturno was renamed Camp Baharia when the Marine Corps took over the facility. The facility, specifically named after the Marine Corps, uses an Arabic word for the Marine Corps, 'mushaat al-baharia,' which translates into 'walkers of the navy' or naval infantry. When written in Arabic, it reportedly looks almost like the phrase "with freedom."

The facility is the closest U.S. base to Fallujah and located about 2 miles southeast of the city of Fallujah. Sitting near a palm-tree-lined, artificial lake, the location was once a Ba'ath Party retreat called Dreamland frequented by Saddam Hussein's sons. The lake also sports a waterside amphitheater from where Saadam's sons could reportedly watch boat races. An island connected to the shore by a stone bridge with white lamp-posts sits in the middle of the lake.

Most of the Marine and Naval personnel stationed at Camp Baharia are lodged in cement bungalows fitted with plywood windows; the rest are housed in tents. The facility has 134 portable toilets. Apache Company, 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion is stationed at Camp Baharia. The unit informally renamed its portion of Camp Baharia, Camp Geronimo.

Camp Baharia's Internet café provided Marines and sailors with access to several telephones and computers with Internet, web camera and instant messaging capabilities. On their off time, troops could also attend religious services at the camp chapel, work out in the camp's gym tent, or purchase hygiene and entertainment supplies at the Baharia exchange.

Murphy and Theresa requested and were assigned a tent together. Once a vacancy came up in one of the cement bungalows they would move inside. They weren’t exactly ecstatic about being in a tent because of the vulnerability of a tent and the searing heat, but they sucked it up and made the tent home for the next few weeks.

It was hot...really hot. The temperatures were reaching 108 F. Murphy had forgotten just how hot it got in Iraq and they still had the really hot months in front of them. Their second day in camp, Murphy and Theresa dressed in their uniforms, the new Naval Work Uniform (NWUs). The new NWU uniform is a combat utility-style uniform that uses a predominately blue digital pattern with gray and black serving as the supplementing colors. A replica of the U.S.S. Constitution is embroidered on the left breast pocket on all NWU uniforms. The camouflage pattern was designed to provide tactical properties, instead, it was designed to hide stains that would otherwise show up on previous uniforms. The digital pattern also has the same infrared readback patterns like that of the MARPAT (Marine disruptive pattern-uniform camouflage) pattern that is used on the Marine uniform, thus allowing U.S. Marines to easily identify Naval personnel using IR (infra-red) equipment.

“Well, what do you think of the new uniform?” Theresa asked.

“I like it, I like it a lot. It doesn’t have to be ironed and that in itself would make me love it.”

They showed up for duty in the concrete bunker that was used as a sick bay complete with a dozen beds. It was connected by a series of tarps to another bunker which served as a triage unit. They had two doctors (including Murphy), one physician’s assistant, three nurses, one medic and one corpsman. Murphy had never met Lt. Commander Edward Cramer despite the fact that there weren’t many U.S. Navy doctors and they typically rotated through the same Naval or military hospitals.

“Dr. Cramer?” Murphy stuck out her hand. Here was a rather attractive man, maybe a few years younger than Murphy. She was impressed, he looked like a young Colin Firth.

“Dr. Morrighan I presume?” He saluted her and then smiled. “I’m glad to see that they sent someone with experience. It’s hard handling all the problems here and training someone.”

“Been there, done that.” Murphy smiled.

“We’ve been getting in more and more casualties, they’re thinking about adding another doctor. We have sickbay hours most of the day and we get in a lot of guys from the Forward Operating Bases. We have...”

They were interrupted by a nurse, “Doctor Cramer, we’re getting in casualties, two soldiers from a roadside bomb. One’s not looking good, the other has been stabilized.”

Cramer and Murphy ran to the triage bunker and found their patients. Murphy automatically went to the more injured soldier, as did Dr. Cramer. “Dr. Cramer, I have this one, you work on the other soldier. “

Cramer was a little leery, he had heard that she had been in Iraq before and so she probably had some triage experience, but he was unaware of Murphy’s reputation. He looked hesitant but she did outrank him. Theresa saw his confusion and said, “Dr. Cramer, you’re looking at the best triage doctor in Iraq, don’t worry this guy is in great hands.”

Murphy did her best to save the soldier and even Cramer was impressed with her efforts but he died. “Great....” She threw her gloves down on the ground, “Damn it. My first casualty and I lose him, crap.”

Murphy was unlike most doctors. When one of her soldiers died, after all the triage patients were dealt with, she would stay behind and clean the dead up. She did what she could to make the soldier look good and respectable. She knew that the military had morticians who did this, but it was important for her to honor the kid in front of her. Theresa was used to this and assisted but Dr. Cramer, who was finishing up on the other patient, was again confused. He wondered if they had done this in Iraq when she was here before.

“Dr. Morrighan, you don’t have to do that.” Cramer said kindly.

Murphy smiled at Theresa and then they turned to smile at Cramer, “We don’t have to do anything in this life but pay taxes and die.” She turned and continued. When they were done they motioned for the medics to take the body. They would take him to Baghdad and then fly him home.

“Dr. Cramer, does this sick bay have a diet coke anywhere?”

***

House was enjoying his air conditioned office with his IPOD and Bose sound system playing in the background. It was the Labor Day weekend and even though it was early September, New Jersey was still hot and muggy. He and Wilson had rented a place on the shore for the holiday and so he was just getting ready to pack up and leave for the day. It was noon.

Foreman walked in with a large box of Godiva chocolates.

“I like how you think. You’re bearing chocolates, very expensive chocolates, what do you want from me?” House asked.

 “You know that patient that you and Murphy saved...the one with Glanders? She just showed up at the clinic and dropped this off for you and Murphy.” There was a silence as Foreman let the word ‘Murphy’ hang in the air. House’s face dropped and he grimaced to himself. “Do you know where she is?”

“Some Camp in Iraq...Baharia. It’s near Fallujah.”

“Do you talk to her or write?” he asked.

House shook his head no. Foreman shrugged his shoulders and left the office. House threw the chocolates in the trash and left.

***

The Labor Day weekend found most of the troops out enjoying some tag football and a picnic under the shade of numerous tarps. Since they couldn’t have alcohol, Murphy was drinking a Virgin Mary. It was 110 F and Murphy decided she had better get inside and cool off. She had told Cramer and the Physician’s Assistant, Betty, that she would take the duty watch at the clinic. She walked in and sighed with relief as the air around her cooled her skin. Theresa came into the clinic.

“You took duty?” Murphy asked.

Theresa shook her head and said, “No, but I thought I’d just come in and get cool. I’m gonna buy one of those misters that some of the guys have, you know, the ones that you can spray yourself and get cool.”

“I didn’t see Cramer out there, where is he?” Murphy asked.

“He’s gone to Baghdad for the weekend...young nurse...you know.”

“Oh, good for him. She’s not a civilian is she?” Murphy asked.

“No, Navy.”

They were talking as Murphy gave a Marine a tetanus shot for stepping on a nail while he was playing tag football. A young Marine ran into the clinic.

He snapped to attention and Murphy returned the salute, “At ease, what is it soldier?”

“Commander, we have several injured and pinned down at FOB Laurie. We can’t get them out. We can get you in...we have a tunnel that was built by Hussein’s troops that we can sneak you through.”

“How bad are these guys and how many?”

“One has been shot and one has a shrapnel wound. They’re bad.”

“Christ. Theresa, call this in. Get Betty to take over the clinic.” She started packing up supplies and instruments. Get me some plasma...”

In less than ten minutes Murphy grabbed her flak jacket and helmet and found herself on the way to FOB Laurie, a small forward base that frequently came under attack. It was in a hot zone and that meant that Murphy could be shot, bombed, or kidnaped if she was caught or seen rushing to the area. When she left the clinic, Murphy was really shocked to see that the Lance Corporal had traveled to Baharia by open jeep.

“Jesus H. Christ...you didn’t even come in a Humvee? You really like to cheat death don’t you? Come one, let’s go.”

“Sorry, Commander, but when we found the tunnel we never thought we would really need it so we just put this jeep at the other end.”

They started driving down the road, “Aw Crap, it’s hot. Murphy pulled out some sunscreen from her pocket and lathered up. She also took out a bottle of water for herself and opened one up for the Lance Corporal. “You need to keep hydrated, drink some.”

He gratefully took the bottle and drank half of it down. He kept driving as fast as he could for the roads. Murphy kept playing the day she won the Navy Cross over and over in her head...the humvee getting hit by the RPG. She started to get nervous. She wondered if there were any roadside bombs or snipers. She was starting to feel the signs of a panic attack. She started to breath slowly to calm herself down. She thought about having sex with Gregory House and a smile came over her face. She could feel his beard on her neck and breasts and his tongue in her mouth. She imagined him inside of her and she realized they were close to FOB Laurie. She had managed to avoid the panic attack by screwing House in her head. Well, he was good for something.

As they got closer to FOB Laurie she could see and smell the smoke rising up from the town. The Lance Corporal drove the jeep down a dirt road and through a series of deserted buildings. He stopped, open the door to an abandoned warehouse and drove the jeep into it. They got out and there was a hatch he grabbed her bags to help her and some flashlights.

When she saw how small the hatch and tunnel were she started to panic. She had a touch of claustrophobia and she doubted she would be able to climb through it. She turned to the Lance Corporal and said, “I’m not good in tight places...I can’t take any of the equipment because it will make me even more claustrophobic. You need to take the supplies and go through first and go through all the way. If I see you while I’m in there, it’s going to make me feel like my exits are plugged and it might spook me, ok? How long does it take to get through?”

“About 8 minutes. Ok, you’re going to have to haul all of the supplies so I will give you fifteen minutes to get it all through, starting NOW.”

He grabbed the duffle bags and pushed them into the tunnel. He pulled the rest behind him. Push...pull. Push...pull. He was in the tunnel fifteen minutes and had about a third of the way to go. She had planned to travel fast...the longer she stayed in the small place, the more small places closed in on her. She pushed through as fast as she could, faster and faster. The Lance Corporal had managed to get most of the way through but he could hear her coming up behind him.

“Commander?” He called out.

She stopped and immediately broke out into sweat when she realized that he was still in the tunnel and her “out” would be blocked by him and the supplies. She started to black out from the panic swelling up in her. “Damn! You’re not out yet? How far do you have to go?” she yelled ahead to him.

“Maybe a 100 feet.”

“Ok, I’m moving up to you but you keep going. The only way I’ll be able to do this is if I realize it will be quicker to go forward than to go back.”

She caught up to him just as he was about twenty-five feet from the hatch door. She was trying to keep herself from running back in the opposite direction to the hatch that she knew wasn’t blocked and that she could escape. He looked into her eyes with the flash light and could see she was about to bolt.

“Commander. My friend is up there dying. We need you to focus here. I’m moving forward and you are too. We’re going forward...see how we’re moving here...we are going forward and out...”

He was perfect. He could see that if she was moving towards an exit then she would be fine. So the best thing he could do was to keep reminding her of the fact that they were moving forward. It helped, his words coupled with the fact that they were actually moving forward was doing the trick. Within a few minutes he was banging on the hatch and the door was opened. He jumped out, grabbed the supplies and helped pull Murphy up to the surface. She rolled around on the floor gasping for a minute and then sat up. The troops were looking at her like she was an alien.

The Lance Corporal said, “Claustrophobia...but she made it. Take her to Jeffries and Gunney.”

***

Two soldiers grabbed the supplies and took her inside a quonset hut where a corpsman and another soldier were huddled over a solider. “Hey soldier what’s his stats?”

He snapped a salute to her. She responded and then gave a nod at the Gunney Sergeant laying on the table. “Yes, ma’am, he has sustained a single gunshot wound to the left chest. The entrance wound is 3 cm inferior to the nipple and the exit wound is just below the scapula. He needs a chest tube but I’ve got the bleeding slowed.”

“What about the young Private over there?”

“He’s got a shrapnel wound in his left thigh but he’s stable.”

“Ok, then let’s work on Gunney here. Alright, Gunney, soldier...where are you from?”

She was trying to determine his reaction to stimuli.

He tried to focus on her, “New Orleans, Ma’am...before the Hurricane.”

She first administered pain killers. She started inserting a chest tube which drained 400 mL of blood. “Give him 2 L crystalloid, his bp is low, it’s 70/40.” The corpsman administered the crystalloid and the blood pressure rose to 100/70. She found that the abdominal examination was unremarkable. There appeared to be no free air under the diaphragm.

She started talking to the corpsman who seemed interested in what she was doing. “We’re going to have to give him an exploratory celiotomy. Gunshot wounds to the lower chest are often associated with intra-abdominal injuries. The diaphragm can rise to the level of T4 during maximal expiration. So when any patient with a gunshot wound below the level of T4 should be subjected to abdominal exploration. As many as 25% of patients with negative physical findings and negative peritoneal lavage will have significant intra-abdominal injuries with a gunshot wound like this. We’re looking for injuries to the colon, kidney, pancreas, aorta, and diaphragm.”

She began the celiotomy and discovered a nick on the colon. She was going to have to clean and drain the area, sew up the nick and then buttoned him up. As she was sewing up the colon she said, “Hey soldier, do you know this one?” She began singing to him softly as she continued her work:

“There's a storm across the valley, clouds are rollin' in

the afternoon is heavy on your shoulders.

There's a truck out on the four lane, a mile or more away

the whinin' of his wheels just makes it colder.

He's an hour away from ridin' on your prayers up in the sky

and ten days on the road are barely gone.

There's a fire softly burning; supper's on the stove

but it's the light in your eyes that makes him warm.”

The Gunnery Sergeantgent smiled at her to indicate he knew the song. The corpsman knew it too. “Come on, if you know it, you have to help me...”

There's all the news to tell him: how's you spend your time?

And what's the latest thing the neighbors say

and your mother called last friday; "Sunshine" made her cry

and you felt the baby move just yesterday.

And oh, the time that I can lay this tired old body down

and feel your fingers feather soft upon me

the kisses that I live for, the love that lights my way

the happiness that livin' with you brings me.”

She was done sewing him up, her eyes met his. She stood over him and finished the song,

“It's the sweetest thing I know of, just spending time with you

it's the little things that make a house a home.

Like a fire softly burning and supper on the stove.

And the light in your eyes that makes me warm.”

“Well, Gunney, you’re goin’ home.” She smiled at him and then turned to check on the kid with the shrapnel wound.

While she was giving aid to the shrapnel wound a gray haired Marine walked in and snapped a salute. She took one look at him and blurted out, “Master Sergeant Pickford, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Commander. I just had to see if it was you. When they told me a blond female doctor had arrived, I thought it might be you. What are you doing back in country?”

“Trying to find me a rich husband to take care of me.” They both smiled. “And you? Last time I saw you, you were on a table like this fellow with holes all over you. I thought you had your ticket home. What are you doing here?”

“Volunteered.”

“Jesus H. Christ...you are a masochist. I can never figure out why you Marines feel a need to get back in the fight.”

Pickford turned to the guys in the room and the ones that had just joined him. “Fellows, this here is the Angel I told you about. Commander Morrighan has saved more jarheads than any other doctor I know of...even though she is a squid!”

“Well Pick, we all have our Achilles Heel. “ Murphy joked. “What’s the story, why aren’t we moving these guys out of here?” Murphy had always thought that Pick looked a little like Sam Elliot, only younger.

“We woke up to a barrage of 155 mm shells and RPGs and heavy machine guns.We heard that they had anti-aircraft weapons but we haven’t seen any. I’ve called in some air delivered precision-guided munitions to see if we can get these f#ckers blown to kingdom come but they’re too close to civilians. They managed to target a few places, which is why you see the smoke, but we’re still surrounded. They got Gunney and the kid this morning because they were up standing duty on the roof. Right now we’re pinned down so I won’t be able to get you out of here for awhile.”

“I trust you Pick. Just let me know what you need from me. Everyone knows Laurie is a hotbed. You guys are always hoppin’ up here. Do we have a plan?”

“Gee Commander, I was going to ask you?” he chuckled. “You’re the senior officer here.”

“FUBAR.” Murphy yelled, her eyes wide. She was frequently the senior officer in these FBOs but she had little combat strategy training. She just knew to keep her head down and move quick.

The whole room laughed. “Yeah, FUBAR. Don’t worry, we’ll get through this. How long do we have before we have to get these two to Baghdad?” Pick asked.

“Gunney needs to go soon. He’s going to get infected if we don’t move him. The kid isn’t that bad but he’s probably going to get an infection unless we can get him to a hospital.”

She helped clean up the makeshift sickbay. It was 5:00 p.m., she had been there for two hours and was worried about Gunney. Pick sent a Private over to her with some MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) for dinner. She sat down with beef stroganoff, green beans and another warm diet coke. She went outside to find Pick and eat with him. It was a cool 102 F out. She realized that back in the States people were having picnics and barbeques to celebrate the last weekend of the summer.

She found Pick, “Well?”

“They said they’re sending in troops soon from Camp Baharia. That was an hour ago. How’s Gunney?”

“He’s still stable but I don’t like his fever. We need to move him.”

***

It was so fast it didn’t register at first but the explosion knocked her back against the wall where she banged her helmet pretty hard. She was down on the ground when the second one came through. She realized these were two of the anti-aircraft missiles they suspected the insurgents had. She didn’t dare stand so she crawled part of the way to the sickbay to grab her medical kit and supplies. The corpsman and Murphy went out and started doing assessments. They had three patients and two dead. One patient was mobile and was taken back to the sickbay for attention. The other two needed to be attended to on the spot.

She could hear voices yelling, including Pick’s, but she was only concentrating on her patients and trying to stop the bleeding in one of them while the corpsman attended the other. The wound was pretty deep and she used her fingers to explore it. It had entered under his right armpit and under his flak jacket. She found a piece of shrapnel the size of a book of matches inside. She could feel the ragged edges and was afraid that if she pulled it out it would cut other organs and blood vessels. But if she didn’t get it out then she wasn’t going to be able to sew up the bleeders and see what else was damaged. The great thing about having small fingers was that she could dig easily without doing damage.

She wrapped the shrapnel with her two fingers, cutting herself in the process. She brought it out slowly. She was pretty sure moving it didn’t do added damage. When she opened her hand, there was the piece of metal with rough edges. It was ragged and bloody. She wrapped the shrapnel in gauze and put it in the soldier’s pocket as a souvenir (they always asked for it when they woke up.) She started checking out the bleeders inside of him and found that there were plenty of them. She was sewing, draining and feeling, sewing and feeling. She had stopped the major bleeders. Someone called her, it was Pick.

“Commander Angel, we have a problem over here, he was breathing and now he’s not.”

“Crap.” She turned around, crawled over, looked down at the soldier, the corpsman shook his head. She dropped her ear to the soldier’s chest and she listened. The pupils were fixed and dilated. She looked at Pike and shook her head indicating that he was dead. She looked at her watch and said, “Time of death, 6:23 p.m. I’m sorry Pike.” Pike nodded at her and then signaled for two guys to remove the body. She went back to the first Marine.

Pike came over and crouched next to her, “Can we move this guy now...the wall has been breached and I’m worried about you being out in the open like this.”

“Can’t move him just yet. Give me a few more minutes.”

Pike looked at her and then said, “Hurry up. I’ll be back.”

She worked on the soldier for several minutes and then signaled that they could get him inside. She stood up and looked around to see if there were any other injured. She could see the breach in the wall and was startled to see that there were two insurgents with a large machine gun headed towards the breach in the wall and none of our guys were there to stop them. They were looking straight at her. She screamed at Pick who started pointing wildly to some of the soldiers. She could see that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She tried to dive but the gun got her in her right arm, the right side of her chest under the vest and right thigh. She fell into the dirt and rolled onto her back.

She could feel the blood this time, it was rising in her mouth and out the side of her chest. She was looking straight into the sky when she saw the helicopter guns firing towards the breach in the wall. She could see out of the corner of her eyes that soldiers were running around responding to orders. The wind and dust was whipped up by the blades of the copter but she couldn’t hear anything. At the same time that she watched the soldiers respond, she saw her sister and her playing in the snow in Yosemite. The scene was like an overlay of the current combat scene, she could see both at the same time. They were throwing snowballs and sledding, she could hear laughter and see her parents waving at them. Pick was looking down at her yelling at her but she couldn’t hear, she saw her sister and her in Oahu drinking Chi Chi’s and flirting with men at the Daiichi bar. They were out on the dance floor with two good looking guys dancing and singing to, “Smooth” by Santana. Scenes of the things she had done, moments of happiness and sadness passed through her head at the same time that she could see two soldiers pick her up and load her into a helicopter. The corpsman was obviously yelling at her, screaming his head off, but she couldn’t hear him. She saw her friends and her rafting the Upper Klamath River in Southern Oregon. They pulled over just after one of the rapids and ate blackberries that clung to a rock in the river. They stuffed their mouths full of the berries and laughed at each other as the rim of their lips were stained with the juice. She saw House place the pizza box on her stomach as she lay nude in bed. He was propped up against the bed watching The Daily Show. He grabbed a slice out of the box and after taking a big bite, looked over at her and grinned. She raised herself on her elbows and he fed her the pizza chased with a swig of coke.

The corpsman was giving her chest compressions but she couldn’t feel them or hear him. He stopped after a minute and put on his stethoscope to listen to her heart. She could see his hands were covered with blood and he was hooking her up to plasma and saline. She could hear Greg House snoring in her ear as they lay on their sides, him behind her with his arm around her. It felt so warm and safe. The corpsman was talking to someone else in the helicopter but she couldn’t tell who until a face appeared over her. It was Pick. He was talking but she couldn’t hear him. She wanted to go back to bed with House so she closed her eyes.

She could see an old movie she had watched on television and hear a cowboy singing:

As I walked out in the streets of Laredo

As I walked out in Laredo one day

I spied a poor cowboy wrapped up in white linen

All wrapped in white linen as cold as the clay

"I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy"

These words he did say as I proudly stepped by

"Come sit down beside me and hear my sad story

I'm shot in the breast and I know I must die

"'Twas once in the saddle I used to go ridin'

Once in the saddle I used to go gay

First lead to drinkin', and then to card-playing

I'm shot in the breast and I'm dying today

"Let six jolly cowboys come carry my coffin

Let six pretty gals come to carry my pall

Throw bunches of roses all over my coffin

Throw roses to deaden the clods as they fall

"Oh, beat the drum slowly, and play the fife lowly

And play the death march as you carry me along

Take me to the green valley and lay the earth o'er me

For I'm a poor cowboy and I know I've done wrong"

We beat the drum slowly and played the fife lowly

And bitterly wept as we carried him along

For we all loved our comrade, so brave, young and handsome

We all loved our comrade although he done wrong

***

House and Wilson began the drive to the shore but first stopped for beer and ice for the cooler. Wilson stood in line to buy some twizzlers and House handed him some Ding Dongs for Wilson to buy for him. They got back into the car and played, “Top Ten.” They had to decide the top ten heavy metal songs, top ten guitarists, jazz players, classical composers, movies, songs to have sex to, actors, actresses, tv shows. The game lasted all the way to the shore. They arrived at the bungalow they had rented not too far from Wildwood’s boardwalk. They unloaded the car and enjoyed the evening drinking beer on the porch overlooking the beach.

“Have you heard from Murphy?” Wilson ventured.

House shook his head no, “You’re more likely to hear from her than I am.”

“How are you doing, I mean about the whole Murphy deal?”

“Fine, we were only together one weekend, it wasn’t like we picked out wedding invitations.” House tried to pass it off as nothing.

“No, I was thinking more like, how are you handling the fact that you got her sent off to war?” Wilson asked.

House looked seriously at him and then took a drink of beer before answering. “I feel like crap about that. I try NOT to think about it. It makes me nauseated to know she’s over there again. But I’m sure she’ll be ok. Lightening doesn’t strike twice.”

“Well, sometimes it does. Did you read about that guy who has been struck by lightening seven times?”

“Thanks MORON, it was a metaphor! I didn’t really needed to hear that.” House moaned.

“Nah, I’m sure she’s ok and is doing fine. No new is good news.”

“I wouldn’t get any news anyway. I don’t really know any of her friends over there and I don’t know her Command. I just know the Camp. But it’s unlikely if she was hurt I would find out...I just don’t have a connection. I asked her old CO to keep me informed and he said that she would be under someone else’s command and so he couldn’t help me.”

“Mmm, well there’s probably nothing to report.” Wilson tried to assure a rather pained looking House.

Wilson changed subjects and House gratefully let him. The next day they spent on the beach talking to two brunettes, House talked one of them into letting him spread sunscreen on her, medicinally. They all went out to dinner and then back to the cottage. House had forgotten condoms and had to interrupt Wilson and his “date” to grab one from him. Wilson shook his head in disbelief when House simply walked into his bedroom.

“Hey, you don’t want any little Houses around do you?” He said as he took the condom of the nightstand. He smiled at the naked Wilson laying in bed with a naked brunette. House thought he had gotten the better deal, his “date” had bigger breasts.

The next day Wilson asked House how it went. “Amazing, but the little fella still works after all these years of abuse.”

Wilson rolled his eyes. “By abuse do you mean the hookers or your friend, Rosy Palm? We need to buy more condoms today or we’re both going to have to use plastic wrap.”

“This time we buy French ticklers...they’re better than the English wits.”

Again Wilson made a face.

By the time they got back to Princeton, they were exhausted and hung over, meaning they had a blast. Both had the phone numbers of their “guests” who lived in Camden, not too far away. House’s brunette, Vicki, was a purchaser for Campbell Soup and he had to admit, she had a great sense of humor. He was pretty sure he’d give her a call this coming weekend.

***

At the end of September, House called Vicki to see what they were going to do that weekend. Vicki couldn’t make it up to Princeton. Vicki told him, “I have these third quarter budgets to put together and on the desk of my boss by Monday. You’ll just have to go it alone this weekend.”

“What if I come down there?” He asked.

“I’m not going to be home so don’t bother. Call me Monday night, ok?”

“Yeah, Monday night.” He hung up the phone. He was disappointed. Vicki had been a lot of fun and they had enjoyed seeing each other on the weekends. She usually came up and stayed at Princeton. He went down to Camden once but he wasn’t fond of the city. House enjoyed her, she was a distraction and the anticipation of sex on the weekend had been nice.

Thursday afternoon House was sitting at his desk in his office when the door opened. He looked up and to his amazement his Mom and Dad walked into the room. He jumped up. “Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”

“We’re on the east coast to conduct some business. Greg, can we go somewhere and have a bite to eat?”

“The cafeteria?” House suggested.

“No son, we need to go somewhere else, we need to talk to you about something.”

House was going to just tell them to say it right then and there but he knew better. His parents had a sense of the dramatic when they wanted to make a point. “Let’s go to Palmer’s” He grabbed his wallet, jacket and keys and they left in the House’s rental car.

“Why didn’t you call to let me know you were coming?”

Just as House pulled up to the curb to let his parents out his Dad said, “We got the first flight out after we got the news, we went standby on a flight into McGuire Air Force Base. It was last minute.”

House let his parents out and then parked the car. After he caught up with them at the reception desk, Greg asked, “Why? What news? What’s wrong?”

When they were seated and had ordered drinks John looked at his son and said, “We got a phone call last night at midnight from Baghdad.”

Greg House felt his stomach churn and his muscles tightened. He was even more alarmed because his father was choking up and trying hard not to cry. House had never seen his father cry except after his grandmother’s funeral.

“I don’t know why, but Murphy put me down as next of kin and gave me her power of attorney. Apparently, four weeks ago Murphy was administering aid to a soldier in a FOB when it was overran by some insurgents. There had been a standoff for hours and Murphy had gone to the base to take care of two soldiers. While she was there they launched anti-aircraft missiles, several of them, at the FOB. The wall was completely demolished in one area by one of the blasts. Murphy was giving aid to a soldier on the ground when several insurgents started to come through the wall with heavy weaponry, including a machine gun. She took three bullets.”

He stopped talking while the waitress sat their drinks down and then took their orders. Greg couldn’t think about food. He couldn’t let himself feel anything or he would feel guilty. He allowed himself to go numb. His Dad was choked up again and having a hard time saying anything. House’s mom reached over and patted her husband’s hand.

“Is she dead?” There was no response, “IS SHE DEAD?”

His Dad, still choked up, shook his head no. “She...she was taken to Baghdad and then to Germany. She went to Bethesda yesterday. She’s been in a coma for almost three weeks. The bas#ards got her in the arm, chest and thigh. The doctors want me to pull her off of everything and take out the feeding tube and....” He had trouble saying it, “...and let her go. But I wanted you to go with me to Bethesda. Before I make that decision I want another doctor to check her out. I trust you Greg, I’ll do whatever you say.”

Greg House wanted to go back to bed and find himself in another dimension...one in which this scenario wasn’t playing out. He looked at his Dad and then closed his eyes to take it in. He wondered what his Dad would say if he found out that this was all his fault?

He went to Cuddy and asked for a few days off.

“You have the time but what’s up? You look awful?” He wasn’t his usual obnoxious self.

“It’s Murphy.”

“Oh, have you heard from her?” Lisa perked up.

“My Dad did. She gave him her power of attorney. Lisa, Murphy’s at Bethesda. She was in an ambush and they’re asking my dad to take her off of life support.”

Lisa put her hand up to her mouth in horror and felt a little weak. “Oh, House...Oh, God, you can’t think this is your fault.” She looked into his eyes and could see he did blame himself, “You don’t think this is your fault do you?”

“I’ve got to go. I’m going with my parents down to Bethesda to examine her and help them out.”

Lisa simply nodded yes and watched as Greg House walked out. She was worried. As much as people thought Greg House was heartless, she knew better. House cared, in his on way, House cared. And she knew he cared a lot about Murphy.

House packed an overnight bag and threw it in the back of the rental and got in to drive his parents to Bethesda. His Dad was riding shotgun and his mother was in back. His Dad asked him, “Why did she go back over? Didn’t she have another six months on her shore duty?”

House wanted to be punished, he wanted the pain he knew his father would inflict, “She was depressed and had started drinking. It was affecting her work and when she failed to show up for work one day I called her Commanding Officer and asked him to transfer her. They sent her to Iraq.”

It wasn’t his father who reacted, it was his mother, “Oh no Greg, you had her sent back to Iraq? Why didn’t you just get her help? She was all alone, no family, no friends, just you to protect and help her. I thought she was your friend?”

He couldn’t respond to his mother or the disappointment he heard in her voice. He wished it had been his father who had responded. He hadn’t expected his mother to weigh in like this and it hurt. Hearing her pain was like a knife in his gut.

His Dad spoke up, “That’s the past, we can’t change it. I just want to know if there is anything we can do for her now. Greg, if we pull her off of the feeding tube and oxygen, what happens?

House took a breath and turned to look at his Dad. “It depends on how reliant she is on the support system. If she can live without the oxygen then it could take a week or weeks before she dies of starvation. If we take her off of the saline and liquids, she’ll probably die of dehydration in 4-6 days.”

His Dad took it all in and was quiet. House thought about seeing her in a coma and then thought about the last time they made love. He wanted so much for this trip to be over. He wanted to forget all of it. Forget he met her, he cared about her, he hurt her and forget that she was going to probably die because they had met.

“What was your relationship with Murphy? You told me when you called me after her sister died that she was your friend.” John asked.

“We had a strange relationship. I was her boss and for several months we didn’t exactly get along that well...but towards the end of her time at the hospital we were dating.” he was trying to be as honest as possible.

“You were dating her and you asked her CO to transfer her?” His mother was still trying to figure it out.

“We started dating after I had called the CO. Mom, it was a big mistake...I jumped the gun and I’m sorry.”

To anyone else his voice sounded devoid of emotion but Blythe knew her son and when he spent that much effort trying to control his voice it meant inside he was having trouble controlling his emotions. She could tell that he was having a hard time dealing with this.

***

They arrived at Bethesda and were instructed to go to the fourth floor, west wing. Greg, John and Blythe checked with the Nurses at the nursing station. They paged Murphy’s doctor Dr Kolluro, but were told he was finishing up duty at sickbay and would join them later. They were then instructed to go down the hall to the third door on the right.

They walked down the hall and turned into the door. There were four beds in the room and hers was nearest to the door. Blythe drew in her breath sharply when she saw her. John took his wife’s hand. Greg went up to look at her. Her appearance was devastating but what was even more haunting is that her eyes were open and staring into space, as if she would start to talk to them any minute. However, the pupils were apparently fixed and dilated. Murphy’s tendons were starting to contract and pull into the fetal position which meant she wasn’t getting exercised. She had several intravenous drugs including ampicillin. She was so tiny in the bed, her body wasting away. He could tell that she had lost at least twenty pounds since he last saw her which meant she was probably under 100 lbs.

House pulled the blankets back and saw that she had a Foley tube and that the urine was clear. He could see the entrance and exit wound on her arm. He pulled up her gown and checked the chest wound. The bullet hole and surgical scar was in the side, just under her arm pit. It was seeping and looked inflamed. He looked at her thigh wound and it was a clean entrance and exit wound. He finally looked up at his parents who were staring at her with a look of horror and worry.

“I’m going to go get her chart. I may need your help to get it released to me Dad.”

“Sure son.” They went out to the nurse’s station. It took twenty minutes but they verified that John House had Murphy’s power of attorney and so they released the records to him and he handed them over to his son.

Greg went back into the hospital room and sat down in a chair while his parents went down to the cafeteria for a light dinner. He turned on the light and noticed that her pupils reacted to the light. It took him an hour but he read the chart from start to finish, from the corpsman’s notes of his triage of her wounds, the administration of heart compressions, her surgery to control the bleeding, the pneumonia, the infection and coma. Apparently she did not suffer the coma from bleeding out or apoxia. She entered a coma a week later when she developed septicemia. The surgery was performed to stop the bleeding and re-inflate her right lung but the subsequent infection had caused most of the damage and the coma.

His parents came back into the room with a sandwich for Greg and a coke.

Dr. Kolluro entered the room soon after and asked, “General House?”

John put his hand out to shake the doctor’s. “Yes, this is my wife, Blythe and my son, Gregory. My son is...”

“Gregory House? Dr. Gregory House?” Kolluro acted as if he was meeting a rock star. “Dr. House, I was an intern at Johns Hopkins and you were a legend there.”

Greg ignored his hand and admiration. He immediately asked, “You want to remove her from life support? She’s only been in a PVS for just under three weeks ? She hasn’t received any manual stimulation and yet I just noticed pupil reaction to light. We’re not going to pull the plug on her yet. I want her transferred up to Princeton Plainsboro.”

“Dr. House, I never suggested taking her off of life support, that was the recommendation of the doctors at Landstuhl before she arrived. She may never come out of this but I think she needs a concentrated program of stimulation before any decisions are made about her long term care. With stimulation she may come out of it but we don’t have the staff or time to conduct the stimulation.”

House had been ready to do battle and was taken off guard by the doctor’s agreement with him. He told his Dad that they needed to talk to her CO and get her moved to PPTH. He asked her doctor, “I take it that you will recommend she be transferred? I’ll make sure that she’ll get the necessary stimulation.”

“Yes, not a problem.”

When they were done in the hospital, House and his parents went to a hotel and booked two rooms for two nights. Greg and his parents were going to go down to the bar for a drink and snacks. Greg knocked on his parent’s hotel room door. His Dad opened it and Greg walked in. His Mom was in the bathroom getting cleaned up. Greg’s Dad laid back down on the bed to watch television. Greg did the same on the opposite side of the bed.

“What’s this?” Greg asked his Dad.

“24.”

“The new series?”

“Nah, a repeat. Greg, before your Mom gets out of the shower, what’s Murphy’s chances of actually coming out of this?”

Greg looked down at his hands and then back up at his Dad. He shook his head and said, “Not Good. When they go into a coma and don’t come out in a few days it’s best to induce intensive stimulation right away. The brain takes a long time to heal but without stimulation and the longer the coma, the worse the outcome.”

“What do you mean by stimulation?”

“Bright lights, music, noise, activity, different environmental factors like smells, warmth, cold. Anything that makes the brain react.”

“So all those television programs where the loved ones are talking to the coma victim and playing music is right.”

“Yes...stimulation is key to a coma patient. We’re not sure but it appears that they are more likely to come out of a coma, even a long term one, if they are stimulated. But she’s been out of it a long time Dad. Her odds go down each day. And I don’t know if we can wean her off the ventilator. I want to see if she can be weaned off tomorrow. I’m going to transfer her care to Foreman, one of my Fellows. He’s a neurologist and he’s good.”

“I’d prefer if you were her doctor. I trust you son.”

House smiled slightly to acknowledge his father’s compliment. “I can’t, we were intimate and you shouldn’t treat patients that you are...”

“I understand. Have you talked to Foreman?”

“Yes, I talked to him and Lisa Cuddy and they have agreed to let me bring her to Princeton.”

“Well, all we can do is try our best for her before we remove the feeding tube.”

His Mom stepped out of the bathroom. “Greg, don’t you ever iron anything? That shirt looks horrible. If you’re not going to iron then at least get some perma-press shirts.”

House became a little boy again, “But I like cotton. It feeeeels better.”

“You look like you just woke up. With that beard you look homeless. Come on you two, let’s get some snacks.”

They spent the next day wrapped up in paperwork. Luckily General House still had some pull in Washington and was able to lean on a friend who pushed the paperwork to release Commander Morrighan to General House and PPTH. Greg and his dad spent a lot of time just sitting and waiting for someone to push a paper around and get signatures. There were numerous young men and women with obvious war injuries waiting with them. John House struck up conversations with several of them. Towards the end of the day one of the kids, without a leg, was wheeled in by an orderly. John and the kid talked about how he got his injury. Greg had listened but didn’t join in the conversation. When the kid left John turned to his son.

“What a clusterf#ck. Afghanistan I understood. This war in Iraq was screwed up from the beginning. We keep pouring our troops into Iraq and now the Taliban are making their way back into Afghanistan. What the hell were they thinking? I support the Commander in Chief, but Bush’s planning was flawed and the execution was poor. Our troops are going to be there forever unless someone bites the bullet and does what’s necessary and calls it what it is, a civil war. They need to divide that country up just like they did in Yugoslavia. Give the Kurds the north, the Sunnis the middle and the Shiites the south... and get the hell out of there.”

House was blown away. He had never heard his father say a bad word against any Commander in Chief, let alone a military action. He smiled to himself as his Dad continued to lambast Rumsfield. John House looked at his son who was grinning.

“What are you grinning about?”

“I’ve just never heard you disagree with a President of the United States, it’s oddly out of character and very endearing.”

“Well there’s a lot of things you don’t know about me Greg. Sometimes I feel like you just want to see one side of me, you never wanted to know anything else about me because then I couldn’t be the cause of all your problems or your whipping boy.”

House started getting annoyed, “Yeah, you were so respectful of me. The truth is that you never tried to understand me Dad,”

“Oh, I tried, but Greg, you’re a difficult person to understand and you’re intellect is so far above me that I don’t know how to relate to you or talk to you so that I don’t sound dumb. I see now that I shouldn’t have done what I did to you, but I didn’t know how to handle you. You were so difficult to discipline. When I was away your Mom was always frustrated and tired from trying to deal with you. You ran rings around her and she couldn’t control you. That’s why we never had a second child. Your Mom said she couldn’t take two of you no matter how much she loved you. When I got home she expected me to deal with you. Deal with YOU!!! It was like dealing with a hurricane. A SMART hurricane. I don’t know where you get your smarts but they certainly are in a league above me and I’m no dummy. ”

“Well, 24 genes came from you...you had to have something to do with it.”

“I guess. I think the thing I’m sorriest for is that you don’t think I love you or that I don’t respect you. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Yeah, there’s parts of you that I wish I could change, but you are who you are and if it means taking you with those parts or not taking you at all, I’ll take those parts. I’ve always respected you for saying what you believe, even if it isn’t popular. And I respect you for the decisions you made, even if it wasn’t the life I wanted for you. The only thing that gets to me is that you aren’t happy. I’d like for you to be happy.”

“General House?” a man in his forties, short, compact and smiling entered the waiting room.

John got up and stuck out his hand to the Naval Captain. “Yes, I’m John House and this is my son...”

“Yes, Gregory House, I heard you were in the building. From the scuttlebutt, you’re quite infamous. The brilliant doctor who was wounded in action by friendly fire...his own patient. I’m Captain Heap and I’m in charge of transfers. Here’s the Commander’s orders allowing her to be transferred to PPTH for now. If she doesn’t come out of the coma in 90 days she’ll be discharged from the Navy and be turned over to the VA’s office. By the way General, she’s been awarded the Silver Star. Of course her Navy Cross trumps the Silver Star but between the two she’s one of the most highly decorated sailors or soldiers in the war. We would probably make a big deal out of it if she weren’t in a coma. She’s one hell of a woman from what we’ve heard. Very well liked. Well, all you need is to see disbursements and they’ll give you her paycheck stubs and arrange for you to have an allotment for her personal needs. Take care and I hope she does come out of it.”

“Thank you Captain.”

The mechanics of getting Murphy transferred to PPTH took another day but eventually they got back up to Princeton. She had been weaned off the respirator but House thought that she may need it again because the lung wound wasn’t healing as well as he would have liked. The next day the Houses flew back to San Diego. House met the team and Wilson down in the PSV ward. They were all silent when they saw the shell of a person Murphy had become. Her eyes didn’t follow them but they were open and reactive to light.

***

“Let’s figure out why her wound isn’t healing and I want her out of this ward, it’s too quiet down here. I want each of you to take an hour a day and give her stimulation. I also want PT down with her at least twice a day.”

“I thought Foreman was the doctor in charge?” Cameron asked.

Foreman looked at them and said, “I have nothing to add except let’s get an MRI to see if we have anything else going on.”

House took the first shift and grabbed his knapsack and filled it with things he would need. He made his way into the ward and began by banging a stainless steel table with a bedpan. It was a startling sound and one that even made him jump. He then went over and grabbed a spot lamp and aimed it directly into her eyes, which again reacted. He talked to her about anything that came into his head, the fate of the Yankees, the height of various mountains, the look on her face when she kicked him. He went over and reached down and kissed her on her cheek. He whispered into her ear everything that he wanted to do to and with her in a sexual way. He talked about the shape of her breasts compared to Cuddy, Cameron and Stacy. His hour was almost up and so he took out an old IPOD and plugged it into her ears. He played hip hop and rap...the two types of music she liked the least in the world. The idea was not to make her comfortable but to make her so miserable she would want to come out of the coma and turn it off. He put the IPOD with a note not to turn it off next to her. He kissed her on the cheek and forehead and told her that Cameron was coming in to talk to her next.

Cameron came in and read to her, she took her covers off so that Murphy would get cold. Murphy was skin and bones, the image of a holocaust survivor. Her beautiful hair had been cut and shaved off so that she looked like Sinead O’Connor. In reality, Cameron thought that if she had a little more meat on her, she would be really lovely with short hair. Yet still, when she remembered how enchanting her long strawberry blonde hair had been, it made her sad.

Murphy received four hours of stimulation each day for the next week. Nothing happened. One day House was bored himself and grabbed her, got her into a wheelchair and took off with her saline drip and Foley Tube. He took her downstairs to the outdoor hospital café with no robe or blanket and stuck her in the cool October air facing the campus where people were coming and going. The fall light was directly in her eyes and he started talking to her.

“Look, if you don’t come out of this coma, I’m going to marry this other chick. Her name is Vicki and we’ve been seeing each other on a regular basis. She’s funny, good in bed and she seems to like me. More importantly, she hasn’t kicked me in the balls yet. I’m not going to wait forever. I don’t even know if you’d give me the time of day if you were healthy. I do know that if you stay like this the Navy is going to boot you out and we’re going to pull your feeding tube. You’ll die within a week. So if you’re in there, you need to wake up and wake up fast.” He paused, took a drink and looked at her, “Ok, let’s get you back inside before someone calls Adult Protective Services on me.”

The team was starting to get bored with the stimulation duty and tried to figure out ways to stimulate her without being around. They would take her to lunch in the cafeteria and park her next to the dishwashing door where she would be exposed to all the banging pans and dishes not to mention the yelling from the workers. They would roll her into a cubicle in the ER for an hour...lots of action down there. They even put her in the nursery with all the crying babies. It wasn’t working. She had officially been in the PVC for six weeks and there was no sign of her coming out of it.

John House was keeping tabs on Murphy by making daily calls to Greg. He called one day and told Greg he had just received Murphy’s personal goods.

“Greg, there’s a letter in here to you. I haven’t opened it, I’ll send it to you tomorrow. How is she doing?”

“No change Dad.” They talked for a few more minutes and then said good bye.

“What’s wrong, you look a little upset?” Wilson asked.

“My Dad just got Murphy’s things from Iraq. There’s a letter for me.”

“Oh, great, she’s probably telling you where to go. I wouldn’t read it if I were you.”

“There’s nothing she can say that I haven’t said to myself.”

Two days later the letter arrived by Priority Mail. It was just a regular envelope with his address and up in the right corner was simply written, “Free Mail.” All military personnel in a combat zone got their mail, at least their first class letters, sent home free. House took the letter down to Murphy’s room and sat in the chair next to her. In his mind he could hear her speaking the words:

Dear Greg,

I want you to know that I forgive you. Whether this was what you intended or not, it no longer matters. For the last couple of months I have come to realize that I am where I should be. I am back with my family. Do I wish I could have finished my time at PPTH? Yes, if the rest of the time could have been like our last weekend together. Otherwise, no. I was miserable and despite the fact that I was learning things from you, my talents lie in putting people back together when they get blown apart.

I marked this to be mailed only if I died so I guess I was on the wrong side of the “getting blown apart.” I suppose it’s better me than some guy or gal with kids waiting for them at home. It’s not like I’ll be missed much. I know you don’t believe it, but I think I’ll see my parents and sister again and so I’m not afraid to die. My only regret is that to this day I don’t know if you were for real or just playing me because you knew I’d be transferred soon. On days that I feel good about myself and the world, I try to convince myself that it was real. On days when I lose a patient or I have cramps, then you were just a sh!t playing me.

Thank you for everything you taught me and thank you for a wonderful weekend. I want you to know, I was always honest with you. I think we would have been good for each other. Go find someone else to be good with. You deserve to be happy.

Murphy

House was rubbing his lips with his thumb and trying to not cry. He just kept reading the last sentence, “You deserve to be happy.” He thought to himself that maybe his last chance to be happy was laying wasting away in a bed next to him. He got up and went over to her leaned down and yelled in her ear, “I wasn’t playing, do you hear me? I wasn’t playing.” He turned and left the room.

The next afternoon Wilson wandered quietly into House’s office. He wasn’t surprised to see Murphy sitting in her wheelchair by the door staring out into space. He took a look at her and said to House, “When are you going to let her go?”

“You mean kill her?” He said emphatically.

“Would you want to be like that?” Wilson pointed to her as she sat staring into space with drool coming out of her mouth.

“If it meant I might come out of it, yeah.”

“House, come on. Two months in a coma is bad news. Look at her. She’s a skeleton and even if she comes out of it, who knows what damage there will be and if she’ll be able to function.” He paused. “If she comes out of it, who’s going to take care of her while she recuperates? She has no family and the Navy is going to kick her out in a few months. What are you going to do? Your team is getting tired of this duty and you’d need a whole battalion to take care of her.”

House looked at him and smiled slowly, “You just gave me an idea.”

Two days later there was an article in USA Today about the Navy Cross/ Silver Star recipient who had no family and was left to rot. It talked about how she was receiving stimulation therapy at Princeton but that they needed volunteers to help take care of her. The story was heart wrenching and got the attention of the evening news. House watched as they showed a video tape of Murphy that had been taken by the implanted journalist two weeks before she was shot. She was thinner than she had been at PPTH but at least she was laughing and joking about the heat. She answered several serious questions about being in Iraq. When the journalist found out she was there for the second time in less than a year she was asked how that happened. And she told them, “I guess God wanted me here more than at home.” They ended the segment with that quote.

Within hours PPTH was bombarded with veteran groups, soldiers and individuals all wanting to help Murphy. In fact, several of the soldiers she had saved were at PPTH within days trying to make a difference. House had Cameron coordinating all of it. The hospital was getting positive press for having taken Murphy in and working with her. Of course Bethesda wasn’t happy because it sounded like they were letting the sailors and soldiers languish, but it turned out well for Murphy.

One late afternoon at the beginning of December, House and Wilson were in his office talking when House saw a grey haired man with grey eyes and a large moustache wandering in the hall looking for something. He came to House’s office and knocked on the door. House signaled through the glass for him to come in. He did.

“You’ll have to be quick, I have somewhere to go.” House said.

“You’re Dr. House?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Master Sergeant Stone Pickford, but you can call me Pick. I was with Commander Angel when she was shot. I was hoping I could see her.”

“Commander Angel?”

“In Iraq, that’s what we called her. She was certainly our angel that day and every day I served with her. She was the one who warned us that they were coming through the wall with a machine gun, she also refused to leave a soldier who was injured, that soldier was a good friend of mine and he’s alive today because of her. I’ve come to do whatever I can for her. I took leave so I could help with her recovery.”

“I don’t think she’s going to recover Sergeant. The statistics aren’t good.” House said quietly.

“I don’t believe in statistics. Can I see her?”

***

House nodded yes and grabbed his cane. He led Pick to her room and explained what stimulation did for coma victims. When they went in Pick tried not to flinch but he did. Pick went over to her bedside and started to yell in a drill sergeant tone of voice, “Alright Sailor, it’s time to get your sorry butt back to duty. You’ve had enough of a vacation. I expect you to start making your way back now. DO YOU HEAR ME?”

House looked at Wilson and gave him a look of “uh,oh.” House and Wilson slinked out of the room while Pick kept it up. Over the next few days Pick screamed and badgered and coaxed. He sat her up, pulled her up and pushed her around. There was a stream of people who came and went but Pick stayed almost 24/7. It was mid December, House had gone down to Murphy’s room one Friday night around midnight and sat with them both. Pick began to tell him stories about her.

“The first time I was in Iraq we were stationed at the same base. I watched her work non-stop on guys who were torn apart. The other doctors were great but she was relentless. I think she just couldn’t give up on anyone. Sometimes the staff would have to pull her off of someone when it was clear they were dead. The day my Humvee got hit they were dragging my bleeding butt back to the base and all I said was, “Make sure Commander Angel works on me.” And the guys did. I was awake most of the time, but I could feel her working and prodding with her fingers, sewing me up and the whole time she was doing it she was singing to me. She always sang when she patched people up. The last thing she said to me as she finished working on me was, “Soldier, you’re going home.” Pick looked down at his shoes, “Pipsqueak said that the Commander had a thing for you and you hurt her. Why would you want to hurt someone as sweet and beautiful as her?”

He was going to make a flippant remark but saw that this was a man who really wanted to know. He wasn’t going to take a flippant remark lightly.

“I didn’t intend to hurt her. When she lost her sister she went off the deep end for awhile, she was messing up at work. I told her CO that I wanted her transferred. I thought she’d be transferred to another department. She cleaned up her act, we had a few days together and in the meantime her CO was working on her transfer. I had completely forgotten about asking for her transfer. I didn’t want her to go away. Look, I care, why do you think I’m here? And who’s Pipsqueak?”

Pick looked at him and said nothing but gave him a look that said he believed him. House didn’t know why but he felt that if Pick believed him then Murphy did too. They looked at Murphy and she blinked. She blinked twice in a row and moved her head slightly towards them. House jumped up and without his cane hobbled to her side. He took out his penlight and moved it over her eyes. The pupils reacted and she blinked. He laughed gently to himself and almost cried.

“Doc?”

“I can’t say for sure but this is a good sign.”

House and Pick didn’t leave. They talked to Murphy, yelled at her, sat her up. She continued to blink and then around dawn she started to track them with her eyes. House and Pick looked at each other and grinned.

Over the next few days Murphy came out of her coma but she was by no means herself. Each day she improved a little to the point that by the end of the week she could be fed and no longer needed the tube. She was also making noises, trying to talk.

House’s parents flew out to see her a week later. She was eating with the help of Pick and all the others who had shown up to help. The news media made a big deal over her and the fact that so many had come forward to help. She was the darling of the media. There were interviews splashed all over with soldiers she had saved in the field. Talking heads explained the Navy Cross and Silver Star over and over. The hero was sitting in her room blinking, tracking, drooling and trying to talk.

Foreman was optimistic, he explained it to the Houses. “Her progress has been exponential. She is getting better at a faster rate each day. I can’t say she’ll be able to practice medicine but if she continues to improve like this, then there’s hope that she will.”

John and Blythe walked in with Greg and watched as Murphy looked up from the chair she was sitting in and grinned at them. John grinned and Blythe started to cry while they both hugged Murphy who tried to hold up her arm to hug them back but couldn’t. She made plaintive sounds as they hugged her and when they pulled back she looked up at Greg. She tried to lift her arm and hand to him but it flopped back down. She tried again.

“What? What do you want? Water?” He asked.

She shook her head no and tried hard to say something but the sounds that came out were guttural and incomprehensible.

“She wants you to hug her.” Blythe said.

Murphy smiled and calmly nodded her head up and down. House snickered and went over to hug her, “I’m not sure I want to do this, I’m afraid you’re going to drool all over me.” He reached down and gave her a hug. He whispered in her ear as he hugged her, “You really want me to feel you up don’t you?” she smiled and nodded yes. He stood up and said, “I’ll have my way with you later.”

They spent an hour with her and she started to get tired. Foreman suggested they let her sleep for a few hours.

John asked, “I thought we were suppose to keep her stimulated?”

“No Dad, now that she’s out of the coma she needs sleep when she gets tired so that she can recharge her batteries. We’ll come back later and see her after she has her nap.”

Blythe and John went over and kissed her goodbye. They left to go to their hotel room and told Greg they would return around 6:00 p.m. After they were gone, House snuck back in to see Murphy. She was tired and smiled weakly when he walked in. She was back in bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed her hand. It was the first time that they had been alone since she woke up. He kissed her hand and she weakly pulled him towards her.

“Not very subtle...this dragging me across the bed for a kiss. What makes you think I want to kiss you? You aren’t all that appealing, you have no hair, you’ve got bullet holes, you drool, you sound like a drunk and you’re in a diaper. And now you expect me to kiss you?”

She shook her head yes.

He reached over and kissed her on the lips. “No frenching until you learn how to control that drooling. And absolutely no screwing until you can talk dirty to me.” She actually giggled. He petted her head and kissed her lips again. “I’m glad you’re back.” She squeezed his hand as hard as she could.

***

House’s parents left a few days later and he could tell from Murphy’s reaction that she was sad about it. “Hey, I know they’ll be back in a flash if you need anything. When you are a little more mobile I’ll take you out to see them, ok?”

She gave him a slight smile. She was gaining a little weight although she still had a long way to go. Her hair was now about an inch long on her head and it was still strawberry blonde, more strawberry than before. She was still unable to lift her arms or control the drooling, but with Pick exercising her as much as possible, she was gaining strength every day. Her tendons were lengthening again as she exercised so she was no longer scrunching down when she sat up.

It was Friday and Vicki arrived around 8:00 p.m. House had been distant the last few weekends and had to spend a lot more time at the hospital. When he opened the door he gave her a hug, a kiss and asked her if she wanted a beer.

“I just had a horrible week, let’s just forget the formalities, I want to screw.”

He smiled, “No argument from me.” He put his beer down and they went into his bedroom. Vicki felt great to House, she had a lot more meat on her than Murphy and she felt like a pillow when they had sex. She wasn’t as inventive as Murphy but she was the kind that let you do anything you wanted and House had enjoyed that. When House was done she rolled off to the side and laughed.

“God I needed that.” she said.

House thought the same thing. It had been an emotional week and he just wanted to give in to the needs of his body. “I have to go into the hospital tomorrow for a few hours, but then we can go do something.”

She was disappointed but didn’t want to complain. She liked Greg and had hoped he would be the one. He was funny, sexy and a doctor. Not a bad combination.

The next morning she insisted on going with him to see where he worked. When he resisted she sensed there was more to it than just work. “Come on Greg, I won’t be in the way. I’ll take a book and I’ll be quiet.”

House could tell that he had no choice, Vicki either came with him or she would make his life miserable. “Ok, but I won’t be able to stay with you. You’ll just be sitting in my office.”

“That’s fine.”

It was a Saturday at PPTH and when they got to his office it was dark. He turned on the lights and showed her around the office and presentation room next door. She saw some things written on a white board and a little kitchenette with a coffee pot, refrigerator and microwave.

He told her where the bathrooms were and the cafeteria and then left. A few minutes later a grey haired man pushing a woman in a wheelchair showed up at House’s office. He looked in and asked her, “Is Doctor House here?”

“Yes, he’s here. He’ll be back in awhile. Can I take a message or help you?”

“Nah, I was taking Murphy for a spin and she pointed to the office. She wanted to come in when she saw you sitting here.”

Vicki looked at the woman in th wheel chair and introduced herself, “I’m Vicki, Dr. House’s girlfriend.” She reached down, grabbed Murphy’s hand and lightly shook it.

She looked back up at the grey haired man and he looked nervous and anxious like he had just made a huge mistake. “Is there something wrong?”

“No, we need to go. Bye.” Pick started to wheel her to the elevator as the woman said, “Nice to meet you ...uh sir and Murphy!”

When they were in the elevator Murphy bent around to look at her and she had tears streaming down her cheek. Pick told her, “Commander, we don’t know what that’s about. Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.”

She made noises like she was trying desperately to tell him something. She was very agitated and her arms started flailing around trying to tell him what she needed for him to know. They got back to her room and he put her back in her bed. She started motioning trying to talk. He was able to understand the word House although it sounded like “how” and the word “@ss” although it sounded like “asth.”

Pick looked up and saw House, with a coke in his hand walking into the room. Pick tried to motion for him to get out but House didn’t understand his frantic faces.

“Good morning, how’s the Angel of Iraq.” He started to walk towards the bed and Pick motioned for him to get back.

Pick warned him, “Dr. House, I wouldn’t...” But it was too late. Murphy had knocked the drink up into House’s face and it came down, covering him in coke. She was flailing her arms and legs and connecting with House’s torso every once in awhile.

House backed away and said, “What the hell is this about?”

“She met Vicki.”

House’s face fell and he went gray. “Murphy, it’s not serious...I was going to tell her this weekend...”

Murphy was at high pitch by now...screaming and yelling, “Maaari...Maaari...how...”

Pick shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t know what she is saying.”

House said, “I do.” He started to walk back over to her but she kept trying to hit him. “STOP IT.” He grabbed her arms and held them down. “You remember me telling you about Vicki when you were in the coma, don’t you?” She shook her head up and down yes. “I’m not marrying her. I only said that to make you come out of your coma.” Murphy relaxed. “I just haven’t had the guts to tell her that it is over. I will today, I promise.” He let go of her arms and started to stand up when he saw the bare knuckles come flying at his nose. BAMM!!! “Jesus H. Christ. MURPHY, you have got to stop beating me up! I’m going to start fighting back.” He wiped the blood from his nose.

“Ooo deshrv i.” Murphy said angrily.

House shrugged his shoulders and held his hands out to say, “I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I got that one.” Pick said, “She says that you deserve it. I have to admit she’s right. Dr. House, are you paying attention to Murphy so that she’ll get better and you won’t feel guilty or do you actually care?” Murphy was shaking her head wildly up and down, yes, in support of Pick’s question.

“I don’t have to answer to you or to YOU if you’re going to continue to batter me.”

“Ahhnher daa keshin” she said, drool coming down the side of her mouth.

“Answer the question.” Pike repeated in English.

“Alright, I’ll be back in a minute to answer the question.” House turned and left.

Ten minutes later House was in her room with Vicki. Pike and Murphy looked at each other confused.

“Vicki, this is Dr. Murphy Morrighan and her traveling monkey.” He took a deep breath, “Dr. Morrighan here was just in Iraq fighting for our oil...or freedom, whichever. She played hero, for the second time in her life, and got three bullets. Before she left, we were screwing each other and now she’s back. I’m afraid it’s over between you and I.” he turned to Murphy and said with deliberation, “You see I have a thing for BALD, DROOLING women who like to hit and kick.”

“Uuuu aaashl.” She said angrily.

“Yeah, I know.” he said.

Vicki looked at him and said, “You’re breaking up with me here, in front of everyone. You mean you never really cared?”

“Looks like it. I didn’t expect this blob here to come back into my life. But she has and I can’t help it, she outranks you. Now I’ll take you to your car.” He then turned to Murphy, “Satisfied?”

“Uuuu aaashl.”

“Come on, let’s go.” House told Vicki.

She followed like a kicked puppy and when they got into the car she started to sob. “How can you be so callous?”

“If I’m this callous, it will be easier for you to forget me and move on.”

Vicki grabbed her things and then was out of House’s life for good. House drove back to the hospital.

“Uuuu aaahl, aat ooor oman.”

He looked at her quizzically, “I’m betting you said, you @sshole, that poor woman. Right?” She nodded yes. “You wouldn’t have believed me if I just told you I had let her know it was over. So I thought this was the best way to fix all of it. Vicki gets to think I’m an @sshole and get over me quickly and you get the satisfaction of knowing I’m serious. Now figure out how to stop drooling so that I can get a little action.” He turned and left.

Pick looked at her, “He’s different, but you have to admire his bluntness. Are you sure this is the guy for you?”

“Hooo nose..” she shrugged her little shoulders and chuckled.

The next day Pick came in to say goodbye, he had to get back to the Marines. He was going to be a drill instructor at the Marine Corps Recruit Depo in San Diego and he still had to stop by Des Moines to see his sister.

House and the team were there to say goodbye to Pick, he had endured himself to just about everyone in the hospital.“Commander, I consider it an honor to serve with you anytime, anywhere.” He gave her a salute. She raised her hand slowly and returned the salute. She reached out for a hug.

“I hope this doesn’t constitute fraternizing with an officer.” He reached down and hugged her. “Dr. House, take care of her. Oh, and if you ever do to her what you did yesterday to Vicki, I’ll hunt you down and kill you.” He nodded goodbye and left. House gave a nervous smile.

***

The next day Murphy was transferred to a convalescent home for rehabilitation and physical therapy. House spent most of the evenings with her except when he had a patient. She was improving rapidly mainly because she was so gung ho about her rehab.

Emma Mason was assigned to Murphy for the purpose of getting her up and moving. She soon discovered that she was more motivated when she used sarcasm and called her names than when he was kind and caring.

“Get that scrawny butt of yours in gear. You think those legs are just going to start walking without work?”

“These legs are going to walk all over you.” Murphy managed to get out.

Emma was sure that Murphy would be out of the center in less than a week. She was more determined than any patient she had ever had.

She once asked her why she pushed herself so hard. “I have to get my act together so that I can get back to Iraq.” Murphy’s words were slow and slurred but they were much better than just two days ago.

“You must be joking!” Emma was shocked.

“Of course I’m kidding you idiot. They wouldn’t dare send me back so soon. I’m going to finish out my time at PPTH and keep an eye on Greg.”

“I know I shouldn’t say this, you being a patient and all, but what do you see in him? He’s rude, sarcastic, and downright mean.” Her face was scrunched up in distaste.

“You are right, but he’s also very gentle, generous and loving. Plus he’s damn good in bed.”

“Well then, let’s get you back in shape so you can have some bedroom acrobatics with the acerbic Dr. House. But I still don’t get it.”

Every time House came to visit, Emma would try to imagine him being gentle and kind and good in bed. He was attractive in a homeless looking way. When he wasn’t watching she did see him do nice things for her. He would bring her things like chocolate suckers, magazines, books, Sudoku puzzles. More interesting was the fact that in the last few days his kisses had gone from a peck on the lips to deep french kissing. Very hot. She even saw him cop a feel. Emma was starting to find Dr. House very interesting.

House started to notice that wherever he was in the convalescence home, Emma was there, nearby. She was making a lot of eye contact with him and it was lingering eye contact. He had a way of smiling that acknowledged a woman’s flirting and he couldn’t help but give her that smile. He was curious to see what she was up to. In the meantime, he was starting to get frustrated over Murphy. She was getting her figure back and the heavy petting they were doing made it hard to go home alone.

Greg came later than usual and all of the Physical Therapy staff, including Emma, had gone home. The facility was low on staff because of the holidays. Murphy asked Greg if he could take a walk with her. She was in her little pink nightie and matching nylon robe and fluffy slippers. “I have an early Christmas present for you.” He walked with her while he held her hand in his free hand. She ducked down a dark corridor and into a room that contained extra furniture and equipment. There were wheelchairs, walkers, chairs and...to his delight...an extra bed that had been made up with clean sheets.

He smiled mischievously at her and she gave him a sly smile back. “Put something up against the door. House went over and grabbed a chair which he propped to prevent anyone from coming in. He noticed that there was a piece of paper taped over the little window. She had been thinking ahead.

“Would you get those clothes off.” She demanded.

House turned around and was happy to see that she was standing in just her panties. She looked so beautiful even in the horrible overhead light. He walked over and grabbed her and held her without doing or saying anything. He just wanted to feel her next to him. He leaned in to kiss her. It was Murphy who was impatient.

“Look slowpoke, I haven’t been laid since the last time I was with you. If you don’t get those clothes off, I’m going to call an orderly to do the job.”

He laughed and started stripping while she climbed into bed. He got down to his boxers and then with great fanfare pulled them down and off. Murphy clapped wildly and patted the bed. He did a little hop and jumped in the bed. She actually squealed which made him laugh.

“Oh God you feel good.” Murphy was languishing in his smell and his warm body. “Greg, you better get on this train soon or it’s leaving the station without you.”

House started laughing, “Ok, I’m hopping on but I don’t have a ticket.” House was more than happy that she started to come almost the minute he was in her because he didn’t last long either. They were both moaning, it was getting so loud that Murphy buried her mouth in the crook of House’s neck to muffle hers. Her orgasm took him with her and he rode it for what seemed like the longest climax he ever had. When it was over he didn’t even have the energy to get off of her.

“Greg, you’re going to have to get off of me, I can’t take the weight.”

“Ahh.” He shook his head and rolled to the side and onto his back, “Sorry, I’m a little light headed.”

She rolled on her side and snuggled as close to his side as she could get. She lifted her knee and leg up to rest on his abdomen. He turned his head and they kissed. “What happens after this institution? You seem fine to me, why don’t you come live with me?”

She chuckled, “So we can do this every night?”

He gave her puppy eyes, “Or day.”

“Tempting but it depends on the Navy. I’m getting new orders in two weeks. The only way I can stay here is if you and Cuddy ask that I be given a chance to finish the civilian program.”

“Ok, where do we go to sign up?”

“I’ll give you the information later.”

They snuggled for a few minutes and kissed each other until Murphy could feel that he was ready again. The second round wasn’t so frenetic or exciting but it was satisfying in other ways. It was gentle and loving, with a lot of touching and caressing. She wrapped her legs around him and rocked with him until he was satisfied. He then made sure that she was satisfied. An hour later they dressed and Murphy gathered up the sheets.

“Merry Christmas.” she said sweetly to him.

“Merry Christmas. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, I’m going to spring you from this place and you’ll stay with me for a few days.”

“Do you think they’ll let me leave...I thought this was Hotel California?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll bring a ladder.”

The next day he came for her at 1:00 p.m. and while he was waiting for her to come back from speech therapy, Emma cornered him. She smiled sweetly and said, “Dr. House, I was wondering if you would like to get some coffee while Murphy is having her therapy. I could explain to you what exercises she needs to do to keep getting stronger.”

“Sure.” He went with her to the elevator and they got in. She gave her a sly sensual smile and he returned it. They got their cups of coffee and she went to a booth in the corner away from most people.

“You know, she may never be the woman you knew before the attack.” Was the first volley out of her mouth.

He managed to hold in his laughter, “What do you mean?”

“Well, physically she may never be as flexible as she was before the coma with the shortening of her tendons. It may effect her ability to do a lot of things, for example, ski or rock climb or ...have sex.”

He was having a hard time keeping it in, “You mean, our sex may not be as satisfying as before?”

“Yes, I’m afraid between the emotional damage and her limited flexibility, it may be very difficult for her to give you the sexual satisfaction that you enjoyed before.”

“What do you suggest?”

“Patience and work. Of course, in the meantime you and I have been getting closer and if you wanted, maybe we could start spending a little time together. Murphy may never be the woman you knew. I think I could take help you out.”

“Horizontally?”

She put her hand on his, “That might be fun.”

He had seen her come through the door a few seconds earlier and look for him. So when Murphy walked up and saw Emma with her hands on House, Murphy gave him a look that begged the question, “What is going on?”

“Murphy,” House said as Emma drew her hands away as if House was a hot fire. “It’s very sad dear. Emma says that between the emotional trauma and lack of flexibility we may be unable to have sex like before. She has been comforting me.”

“Is that true Emma, is it possible that I may not have the hot, passionate sex that I had before?”

“It’s possible.” She was getting anxious and started to squirm a little.

“Greg, I can’t hold you back, maybe Emma ...oh God I hate to ask this but Emma, do you think that maybe you could help Greg out, you know, sexually, until I get better? I can vouch for him, he is hot in bed, you won’t be disappointed. I mean just last night when we were F#cking our brains out in the equipment room, I had multiple orgasms.”

Emma’s face dropped and she turned white.

“If you ever, ever, ever come near my man again I will personally pull out every pubic hair in your body, one by one and feed them to you...and then you know all those big Marines who keep coming here to see me? They’ll do whatever I ask, get the picture?”

Emma got up from the booth and almost ran from the cafeteria.

“Am I always going to have to pry you away from women?” she asked.

“God I hope so.”

“Just as long as you look at the menu but don’t order.” she said.

“Let’s get you out of here. This place is depressing.”

***

She grabbed some things and checked out. They went to his apartment and he opened the door. Her mouth flew open and she did a little jump up and down. “Oh Greg, how cool...a tree. You know how much I love Christmas and you got me a tree. And you even decorated it.” She turned and gave him a hug.

“I have to admit that the pansy formerly known as James Wilson bought the decorations for the tree. I strung the lights.” He closed the door behind her and said “Two packages showed up at my door addressed to you. I put them under the tree.”

“I know this sounds lame, but I’m a little tired. Can we just sit down on the sofa and watch television for a bit?”

“Sounds good to me. I’m going to get a beer, you want something?”

“Just you for now.”

He came back to the couch and turned on the television. They watched Eddie Izzard on

the British television channel. House was laughing more than usual and Murphy was enjoying both the show and House’s reaction. They kissed at the commercial and he asked her, “If the Navy lets you stay, will you stay here with me?”

“If I work for you it might present some problems. What if we disagree on something or you call me a moron as usual? Plus, don’t you think you’ll get sick of me if we live together and work together?”

“God, I’m suppose to be the cynic. This relationship can only have one pessimist and I do a better job at it than you do. Let’s try it. If it seems too much then we move you back into your house.”

“I don’t know. This seems to be inviting trouble. Let’s first see if the Navy let’s me finish.”

After Eddie Izzard they ordered Pizza and then turned on the Sopranos to watch. He went into the kitchen and she heard the refrigerator door open. He brought her a glass of real eggnog, complete with brandy and rum. He had gone all out to make her Christmas special. She was really moved by how sweet he was to her at times. She understood how Stacy could have stayed with him for five years. Every once in awhile he would show you just how romantic and vulnerable he was.

They went to bed and just talked for awhile. “You know yesterday when you were having your casual discussion with Emma? I almost busted out laughing when you told her not to come near your “man.” I think that is the first time anyone has referred to me as their “man.” I felt like I was a character in some bad blues song.”

“I’m sorry...I’ve been hangin’ with the sisters. You’re lucky that I didn’t just let her have you. Boy, she would have bitten off more than she could chew.”

“Talk about sex.....”

“Mmm. Can we table that motion until morning. I really am tired. This is a lot of excitement and exertion for me right now, especially after last night’s fun.”

“Spoil sport. Can I still feel you up?”

“Be my guest.” She turned on her side, he turned out the light and his hands came up her pajama top and he got his wish.”

Christmas morning, House woke up and still had his hand under her top but she had turned onto her back. Perfect. He pulled up the top and started kissing and fondling her. She woke up and kissed his head. He reached up and kissed her mouth. She reached down and felt him. Then she disappeared under the covers. He loved the feel of her tongue and mouth and it wasn’t long before he was handing her a Kleenex.

“That wasn’t very bright of me. I was looking forward to a little cowboy action today...me doing a little riding.”

“I think if we just give the old stallion a little rest, you might be able to ride him in a few minutes. And he might just be up for a long ride.”

“Oh Santa..you brought me a pony.” she laughed.

There was no snow on Christmas Day and none on the ground. It was chilly outside but dry. Around ten they finally got up and opened gifts. House gave her a San Diego Chargers Jersey with her all time favorite player, Lance Alworth, aka “Bambi” on it. She had watched old Charger footage and had admired him for his grace and talent. He came down with the ball even when he was triple teamed. The rules protecting receivers changed in the seventies, giving more protection to the receivers. In reality Lance Alworth had played when things were rougher on the field. She thought if he was playing today he would be a real superstar, but then, he was a superstar in the 60s. She was so amazed that House had done this for her. These jerseys were not only difficult to find but extremely expensive. He also bought her some beautiful ruby and diamond earrings, ruby being her birthstone. There were also little gifts like books and chocolate.

Murphy handed him a box, “As you know, I didn’t have a chance to go out and shop for you but I got a couple of gifts online.” He opened the gifts. One was all the dvds of James Bond, which he had mentioned he wanted to get. “It’s as much for me as you...anytime I get to see Sir Connery is a good day.”

 The other box contained a new leather coat and riding gloves. They were made out of kid leather. He was very pleased with them.

He grabbed her off the floor and up onto the couch where he just held her until she finally said. “I’m hungry.

House had bought a honey ham and some vegetables and potatoes. Murphy prepared a nice dinner for them and Wilson who showed up bearing gifts. House gave him the American first edition of the Sherlock Holmes novel, “The Hounds of the Baskervilles.” It wasn’t quite as cool as owning the English First Edition, but it certainly wasn’t cheap and Wilson was very chuffed over his present. Not only did House remember he loved Sherlock Holmes, but he hunted down a first edition for him. Wilson gave House some new sheet music and an autographed record album signed Muddy Waters. House was also very happy with his gift.

The dinner was fun. Wilson and House did dishes (although not without some moaning by House) and cleaned up the kitchen. They sat on the sofa and talked. House played some music for them, including some Christmas music. At 9:00 Murphy excused herself and went to bed. House and Wilson stayed up until midnight talking and laughing. Upon leaving Wilson gave House a quick Christmas hug which surprisingly House allowed and then disappeared into the Christmas night.

House crawled into bed next to a sleeping Murphy and thought that this had been one of the best Christmases ever. He kissed the crown of her head and then fell asleep.

***

Murphy never went back to the Convalescent home. She checked herself out permanently and arranged for Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy on an outpatient basis at PPTH. She had moved into House’s apartment on a temporary basis, or at least that’s what she told him. She wasn’t happy with the closet space. It was hard to fit her uniforms in let alone any civilian clothes. They packed up jackets from the front closet and put some of her uniforms in it.

The Navy brought her in at the end of January for blood, psychological and skills testing before letting her ply her trade on others. Although she had some memory loss around the Laurie event itself, her mental faculties were in tact. She left Bethesda with a manila envelope containing orders back to PPTH for one year. Because of the earlier screw up, the Navy was rewarding their highly decorated doctor with some extra shore duty.

She called Cuddy to let her know that she was coming back on Monday. Cuddy said, “If you had told me just one month ago that you would be back working with us, I would have told you that you were crazy. Are you sure you feel up to it?”

“I am going crazy at home...crazy. I can’t wait to get back to the hospital. Don’t worry, the Navy tested me for six hours to see how fast my reflexes and memory were. I scored very high.”

“Well, we’re happy to have you. See you on Monday.”

He walked through the door and she was jumping up and down waving her orders at him. “I’m back, I’m back, I’m back!!!” I get to join the program. I’m officially released from sick leave and am back on active duty under you!”

“Well let’s get you under me to celebrate.”

She grabbed him and hugged him tightly. “Murphy, for a scrawny thing, you are very strong...please let go, I would like to breath.”

She laughed at him and said, “You want to hear the kicker? They are extending my enlistment four months or the time that I spent on sick leave! Can you believe that? It sucks.”

“Excuse me, but could we get back to the “under me” part of the conversation? I wouldn’t mind later afternoon delight.”

She began taking her t-shirt off, her sweatpants and her socks... “You better catch up, it’s a little chilly in here and my nips are sticking straight out.”

“I see...how charming.” He was taking off his jacket, scarf, gloves, shirt, t-shirt and had started on his belt when the phone rang.

“Oh crap, she was shivering. I’ll get the phone, you turn up the heater.”

“Hello? What?” There was a long pause. “Yes, of course...I’ll be there as soon as possible.” She motioned for House to turn on the television. “I’ll bring him too. Bye.”

House turned on the television and on every station the same scene was being shown. It was the photo of a large building, completely shattered and in pieces surrounded by other buildings, some in tact and some with damage.

“There was an explosion at Fuld Hall at the Institute for Advanced Studies. There are casualties. Lisa asked if I would go to the scene and provide triage. She asked Chase to go too because he’s an intensevist. She also thought you should go because you have ...I don’t know what you have to offer, but she thought you should go.”

House went to the bedroom and started to get dressed. Murphy joined him and they both dressed in very warm clothes, to brace themselves for the January afternoon and evening. Murphy grabbed her triage bag and House his medical bag and they left.

When they arrived at the site, people were running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Murphy went straight to the FBI tent. “I’m Commander Murphy Morrighan and this is Dr. Gregory House, we are here to give triage to victims, where should we go?”

“We’re only accepting people with actual triage experience, do you have it?”

“Two tours in Iraq. I have it.”

“What about you?” He asked House.

“He is my assistant, where I go, he goes.” Murphy interrupted.

“Ok...let’s get you to the triage tent.”

A tent had already been erected to deal immediately with victims who could not wait to be transferred to the nearby hospitals. Murphy looked around and saw several health care workers just standing around waiting for victims. She could see rescue workers out in the rubble searching for what apparently would be approximately 200 people who had poured into the hall to hear a lecture by the one of the foremost mathematicians of the day.

“Screw this.” She started walking quickly to the bomb site. House followed as quick as possible behind her. She saw a cop who appeared to be in charge and pulled him aside, “I was told to get my @ss out there and give triage to the wounded. It’s my specialty. Now Dr. House and I need two of those SAR vests and a couple of flashlights.”

She sounded so authoritative, was carrying a medical kit and showed credentials from the Navy that the cop grabbed two vests and two high beam flashlights. He pointed to a guy in the middle of the rubble. “There’s several people in that pile over there that are still alive but injured. We’re getting the rubble off of them and then we should stabilize them before taking them to the hospital if we can.” House and Murphy started to climb over to them and the cop in charge yelled to another cop, “Hey Dom, we have two triage doctors, they’re coming through.”

As they started towards the cop Murphy turned to House, “Honey, they’re going to want us to step back and be careful. If we do that, we won’t be able to stabilize those that need us ...I know. I’ve had plenty of soldiers tell me to get back and it interfered with what I needed to do to save lives. So follow me.”

They got to the area with what looked like numerous people under various building materials. She started checking pulses and asking questions of the injured. House followed her lead. In one instance she found a woman about 60 under a heap of plaster and a small framing joist. “Greg, let’s see if we can get this off of her ourselves.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I want to get to her leg. If we don’t they won’t be able to save it.”

As he started to lift, it was Murphy who had trouble lifting the obstacle, she still didn’t have the strength. But just when she was about to give up a hand came over and helped lift it. She looked up and saw Chase standing by her. “Come on mate, let’s move this.” The three of them were able to get it off and over to the side. Murphy and Chase started working on the leg and stabilizing the woman for transfer. Chase brought Ringer’s lactate and plasma in a large duffel bag from PPTH. The woman had a large gash that was bleeding profusely now that the weight was off of it.

“Chase, can you patch her? I want to move on. House, you stay here, he’s going to need an assistant. If I need you I will shake my flashlight at you. Chase, let me have one of those plasmas and ringers.” Chase threw them to her and she put them in her bag.

She picked her way through the rubble and found a hand sticking out from under an area that looked like a huge hole. She grabbed the hand and there was a pulse. She took her flash light and looked in and could see the body of a man in his late thirties, with a lot of blood on his shirt which was still seeping through, She looked around and realized the only way she could take care of this guy was to get inside the hole with him. She also realized that she should let someone know she was going in but there was no one nearby.

House followed her with his eyes and his heart went through his shoes when he saw her flashlight disappear into the ruble itself. ”What the F#ck is she thinking?”

“What?” Chase looked up and asked.

“Murphy, she’s just crawled into the rubble itself...I need to get over there, can you get by without me?”

“Just hold the flashlight for another minute and I’ll be done.”

House held the flashlight but was anxious to get over to Murphy. When Chase was done, he called a paramedic and the woman was taken by stretcher to Princeton General. Chase started to clean up so he could move to the next person.

“Murphy, Murphy...damn it Murphy answer me now.”

Murphy was in the hole and had put on a miner’s flashlight that she had in her bag. It wasn’t as strong as the one given to her by the cop but it would have to do. She was busy sewing up the man as fast as she could. A piece of glass had gone straight through into his chest, but it was worse than that, the piece of glass had also fallen back out of the chest, causing him to bleed out. She was steadily working on the bleeder but it was making her anxious, she would just get one section sewn and the artery would blow downstream.

House was still yelling for her but she was concentrating so hard she couldn’t hear him. Finally, House heard her. Her singing got louder as he got closer.

...Hear the mighty engines roar, see the silver bird on high

She's away and westward bound, far above the clouds she'll fly

There the morning rain don't fall and the sun always shines

She'll be flying o’ er my home in about three hours time

This old airport's got me down it ain't no earthly good to me

Because I'm stuck here on the ground, cold and drunk as I can be

You can't jump a jet plane like you can a freight train

So I'd best be on my way in the early morning rain.

He looked inside a hole created by steel framing and saw electrical strands and wiring holding the cement back. It didn’t look stable to him and he was pissed. She was sewing, cleaning and singing.

“Murphy!” House yelled at her to get her attention. She stopped singing and looked up through the hole.

“Greg, honey, can you get a paramedic, this guy needs to be transported. I’ve stabilized him for now.”

“Ahhhhhh.” He threw his hands up in the air in frustration, “Would you get your frickin @ss out of there? It’s not stable. Look, I just got you back, I’d like to have time to fully exploit you before you get another award posthumously.”

“Gregor...I’m ok, go get the paramedic and probably the SAR team. They’re going to have to find a way to get him out of here.” She was running plasma and Ringers into the guy’s arm.

House started yelling and waving for help. “Hey, we’ve got a live one over here ready for transport.”

Two teams of paramedics and SARs teams looked up but just one responded. They came running over and saw Murphy in the hole. They could see the med kit. “Doctor... what are you doing? Please get out of there. This hole isn’t stable, it could collapse at any time. “

“I’ve got the patient stabilized. Send him to PPTH and tell them he’s Gregory House’s patient.”

“He is?” House asked.

“Well, the staff at PPTH don’t know that I work with you yet so if we tell them he’s my patient they’ll go, huh?”

It made sense so he shut up. He reached in and helped her out of the hole. She looked happy and upbeat. She dusted herself off and started to walk around looking for another

patient. Chase called her over to another man, early twenties, who was injured. No outward bleeding, but in and out of consciousness with a large bruise on his abdomen.

“Whoa...” Murphy cried out.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” Chase said seriously.

“You better drain him and find what’s bleeding, that looks like it’s spreading, fast.”

“Would you assist?” Chase asked.

“Sure. Greg, take his bp.” She barked orders. “We need more saline and plasma over here.” She yelled to the paramedics.

“70/40" House said.

“Yikes. Chase we need to do this quick or he’s going to bleed completely out. I don’t like doing a peritoneal lavage here but if you don’t, we’re going to lose him. Greg, look in my bag for some epinephrine to reduce the abdominal wall bleeding. Let me get a Foley tube and nasogastric tube in him before you begin. Chase, you give him a local.”

Chase was impressed with how fast Murphy performed these procedures and almost asked her to do the lavage herself. But he wanted to show House that this was where he excelled so he proceeded to make the incision just below the belly button. House held the flashlight while Murphy inserted a drain for Chase. She drained blood into a sterile bag for later analysis.

“Crikey, I think we have a retroperitoneal haematoma.”

“Yep, you’ve got trauma to a major vessel, you better find it quick, his bp is dropping like Greg’s trousers at the mention of sex.” She smiled but Chase looked at her funny, not getting it at first, and then he chuckled.

Chase started to look for the bleeder while Murphy helped with the traction and draining. She didn’t realize it, but she started singing. House and Chase looked at each other as if to say,”What is she singing?”

“I'm back in the saddle again

Out where a friend is a friend

Where the longhorn cattle feed

On the lowly gypsum weed

Back in the saddle again

Ridin' the range once more

Totin' my old .44

Where you sleep out every night

And the only law is right

Back in the saddle again

Whoopi-ty-aye-oh

Rockin' to and fro

Back in the saddle again

Whoopi-ty-aye-yay

I go my way

Back in the saddle again...

...there it is! There it is!” Murphy dabbed with gauze to reveal the bleeder.

Chase went into action and did an excellent job sewing it up. The patient’s blood pressure responded and Murphy nodded to House to get the paramedics over. They responded and took the guy to PPTH under Chase’s name.

“That was great work Robert.” Murphy said with great sincerity. “We could have used you in Iraq.” House nodded affirmatively at Chase. Chase felt a little high.

They all went on to give first aid and triage to additional patients and by the time the sun came up they were exhausted and ready to collapse. “I guess you can have the day off.” House said reluctantly to Chase.

“I’ll swing by and check on the patients before I go home to get some sleep.” Chase responded.

“I could use some shut-eye too.” Murphy said to House.

“Let’s go home and get some then.”

What the three of them didn’t know was that at that very moment several patients at Princeton Plainsboro were being interviewed and each of them were giving accounts of a several doctors, including a female doctor who saved their lives and while working on them the woman sang. She was dubbed the “Canary.”

***

The press wanted to find her and the two doctors that were with her. It would make an uplifting human interest story, something that was needed to balance out all the horror of the bomb. The patients weren’t sure who the doctors were but the admitting doctors for the survivors were either Robert Chase or Gregory House, but no woman.

Friday morning when Chase showed up, Cameron was anxiously waiting. Chase was immediately escorted into the doctor’s lounge and told not to come out until Cuddy had talked to him. He read magazines, watched television coverage of the events and realized from the reporters that Murphy, House and he were being called the “Three Musketeers.” The three doctors who waded into the rubble to conduct triage instead of waiting safely in a tent. The paramedic who made Murphy get out of the hole was going on and on about her.

“She was just a little thing. I had to make her get out of the hole because it was so unstable. She saved that guy’s life, that guy from England. No doubt about it. He’d be dead. I don’t know who she was but she deserves a medal.”

House made his way in and Cuddy was waiting to grab him. “Come with me.” She called up to the lounge and told Chase to get into her office. “Look you two, you’re the best publicity this hospital has gotten in ages. Murphy too. We need to handle this carefully. The whole world is going to hear about the doctors of Princeton Plainsboro and their fearless triage capabilities. It’s going to be big. So, House, PLEASE let me do the talking. I want you to give short, factual answers at the press conference, which , by the way, is set for 11:30 a.m to take advantage of the noon news. House, can Murphy make it down here for the press conference?”

“Gee, just a second, let me check her calendar, I have it right here. How would I know? You’ll have to call her. I left her at the apartment trying to find room for her pots and pans.”

“Great, our hero is in a pan cupboard. I want you to call her and get her down here.”

“And she always does what I tell her.” House said with a look of mocked sincerity.

“Ok, I’ll call her. And for the record, what is she doing living with you? Don’t you think that’s a little close for comfort when you’ll be her boss.?”

“Boss? Are we talking about Murphy Morrighan. Murphy follows orders...those orders she wants to follow. She reminds me of an old car I had, reliable but hard to steer. I had to get rid of it...got the newer, shinier model.”

“Uh, should I tell Murphy that?” Cuddy responded.

“Not unless you want me homeless.”

At 11:30 a.m. a very smug, disheveled House, Chase and Murphy sat at a table up on the platform along with Lisa Cuddy, the public relations director and a member of the Board of Directors. Murphy had to clear it with her CO before she could give the interview. It was ok as long as she mentioned her training with the Navy and her tours in Iraq. It had been determined that it was a terrorist attack, a bomb that had been placed in the building although no one knew yet which group or individual was responsible for the attack.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, you’ve all been asking to meet the three doctors who gave care to the injured at the bomb site. I’d like you to meet Drs. Gregory House, head of our Department of Diagnostics, Robert Chase, an Intensivist doing a Fellowship under Dr. House and Dr. Murphy Morrighan, a trauma specialist who is on loan to PPTH from the United States Navy. Many of you are aware that Dr. Morrighan is the Navy Cross and Silver Star decorated doctor who received treatment while she was in a coma after injuries she received while on duty in Iraq. I‘m going to turn over the floor to the doctors and they will answer your questions.

“Dr. Chase, we understand that you are from Australia. What does it feel like to be a first responder to a terrorist attack on American Soil?”

“First I would like to offer my condolences to the families of the victims. It’s a shame that we even have to hold this conference. I was honored to be able to help these men and women the other night. Many of them had contributed to the advancement of science for the world and to be able to assist them during this time of need was my great privilege. I deplore violence against civilians anywhere in the world.”

“Dr. Morrighan, are you the Canary?”

Murphy looked at House and Chase with a puzzled look. “I’m sorry, Canary? What’s that?”

Chase interrupted, “Dr. Morrighan has, like the rest of us, been using the last twenty-four hours to catch up on our sleep and I doubt she has heard the news. But I’ll just confirm that, yes, she is the Canary.”

“Dr. Morrighan, is it true you sing to your patients?”

“Oh...” The Canary reference finally dawned on her, “It’s a nervous habit I have. It helps me concentrate and not let my emotions take over. When you are under fire if you have your mind on the patient and you’re singing, it helps you forget about the bullets flying or in this case, the instability of the bomb site. Yes, I do sing to my patients.”

“We heard that you climbed into the rubble to save Dr. Peter Berkshire from All Souls College Oxford. How does it feel to save the next Fields Medal recipient?”

“I didn’t know who he was when I worked on him. He was just someone injured and in need of my training, which I must say I got from my two tours of duty in Iraq with the Navy.” Murphy was grateful to be able to get that in so that her CO wouldn’t hound her.

“Dr. House, you don’t have training in triage do you?”

“No. But I AM a doctor.” He said sarcastically.

“Dr. House was brilliant at the scene. He was a great asset to Dr. Chase and I.” Murphy interjected before House could get going.

“Dr. House, is it true that you and Dr. Morrighan are living together now?”

“Yes, I have a penchant for women with scars, nice breasts and who can take a lot of abuse.”

Murphy turned to Cuddy, “Uh oh. This is going to go downhill fast.”

“Ladies and Gentlemen, that’s enough for now. We promise to arrange individual interviews for you later. But right now our doctors have patients to attend to so thanks for your time and we’ll be talking to you soon.” Cuddy was firm with the reporters and Murphy took her cue to exit. She kicked House to make him follow her.

“Ow, why are you kicking a cripple?” He yelled out in phoney protest so that the reporters could hear.

Murphy whispered to him, “If you don’t behave, I’ll kick something else...with my right foot.” House got up and left with her.

Murphy went up to see how Peter Berkshire was doing. He had gone in for some additional surgery, but was recuperating in the Post Surgical ward. She came up to him with his chart.

“Ah, my own personal angel. I just saw your press conference on television. I am glad that I have this chance to thank you in person. Dr. Morrighan, when I am well I would like to take you to dinner to thank you properly.” Murphy enjoyed listening to his Oxbridge accent. She had heard the Oxbridge accent from several English officers who served in Iraq.

“Dr. Berkshire, you don’t need to thank me for doing my job. It’s what I’m trained to do.”

“No, giving triage is your job not climbing in to rubble to save someone’s life. That goes above and beyond the job. Please do not be modest. I still want to take you out for dinner when I am well.”

“Ok, if you insist. So you are the new Fields Medal recipient?”

“Yes. I did on Group Representation Theory.”

“Sounds impressive, but math was not my strong suit. Blood and guts were.” She smiled.

“Something tells me that you are very modest and are quite intelligent.”

“If you want intelligent, you should meet Dr. House. He’s got a mind like a steel trap. Grant you, I’m bright, but he’s wickedly bright.” She smiled.

He smiled back, “Ah, but can he smile like you?”

“Dr. Berkshire, are you flirting with me?”

“Doctor, I am laying here with a gash in my chest and tubes coming out of every direction, I can not be held responsible for anything I say or do. Besides, you are the most beautiful thing I have seen in this hospital, who could blame me if I was flirting?”

“I might.” They both turned around to see House standing by the curtain.

“Doctor Berkshire, Doctor House. You two have a lot in common. You both have brains.”

“Dr. Morrighan was just telling me that you are a genius Dr. House.”

“Can’t fault her for that.”

“Modest I can see.” Berkshire chuckled. “Dr. Morrighan, I had a pet duck named Murphy. In Gaelic it means “Sea Warrior,” did your parents know you would go into the Navy?”

“My father was in the Navy and he purposefully named me that because he wanted me to go into the Navy.”

“The name suits you.” Berkshire said.

House was looking at the chart and keeping an eye on him and Murphy.

“Thank you, we need to be going, but if you need us, have us paged.” Murphy told him as she grabbed House by the sports coat and dragged him away.

“Remember, dinner!” He yelled as she walked away. She waved back at him with a smile.

“Dinner?” House gave her a silly inquisitive expression.

“He wants to have dinner with me to thank me. But I’m thinking he just wants to jump me, so who need dinner. Is that ok with you or should I at least wait until he’s out of the hospital before I shag him?”

“I don’t do threesomes that involve two males. I’m afraid you’ll have to pass up the shagging part.”

“Too bad, he’s hot and he just won the Fields Medal. I bet he’s got good genes to pass on ...maybe I could just get a semen sample.”

He looked sideways at her, “Do you want children?”

“Yes. And I’m looking for the best sperm donor. Would you like to volunteer? I could take out the ring and we could start tonight?”

House got a little nervous. He knew women were touchy about this. Tell them no, I don’t want kids and they start looking for a new sperm donor. Say yes and you’ve got rugrats. Tread softly... “I hadn’t thought about it. It would depend on how well we get along in a year or so.”

“Oh...good save sir.” she laughed at the very cautious Gregory House. She knew that she was in control of the issue anyway. If she took her ring out, he’d never know anyway. But the truth was that when she decided to have a kid she hoped the father would be on board. She liked the idea of two parents raising the child together. Especially since she could be called to Iraq or Afghanistan or Serbia or Thailand or anywhere at anytime.

***

For the next week there was a media circus culminating in a twenty minute piece on Murphy on Dateline. Murphy was at the hospital running assays for a patient when it aired. House and Wilson were at the apartment drinking beer and watching it. The piece showed Murphy as a young Junior Naval ROTC candidate in high school with long blonde hair and a freckled face to which Wilson stated she hadn’t changed much, except her hair was slightly redder. It went on to show photographs of her as a midshipman in the ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps) program in college and medical school. The announcer said she had exemplary grades, graduated in the top ten of her class in med school and had served on the Mercy.

It showed photos of Murphy after her first purple heart wound. Her leg bandaged and several officers and enlisted standing or sitting near her. Each one accredited her with saving their life in the field. One of them was Pick. Then it recapped her coma from the second injury and after the commercial there were clips of interviews that Murphy had just given after the bombing.

There was a photo of Murphy and House taken surreptitiously. They were having dinner at a local restaurant, both of them laughing about something.

“It’s a good photo of you. People won’t be able to tell your such a jerk from that picture. You almost look human.” Wilson remarked. The announcer said that currently the brilliant but mercurial Gregory House and Murphy were living together in a one bedroom apartment in Plainsboro, New Jersey.

“Dr. House is not only famous for being the best diagnotician in the United States, possibly the world, but is also known for having been shot by his own patient. He’s not known in the medical world for having a great bedside manner. In fact, most people we talked to said they couldn’t stand being in the same room with him but if they were sick they’d want him as their doctor.” Pictures of House and Murphy were flashed on the screen, “Dr. House and Commander Morrighan’s courtship has been rather stormy. In fact, it was Dr. House that had requested that the Commander be sent back to Iraq.”

“THAT’S NOT TRUE. I never asked for her to be sent to Iraq.” House cried out.

“Ohhhh....I’m glad I’m not you. Everyone’s going to think you almost got Murphy killed.” Wilson was chuckling to himself.

“Despite his misanthropic nature and the fact that he was responsible for her being transferred to Iraq, the two seem happy together.” Another photo of them walking hand in hand into the hospital was shown. House was in shades and Murphy was talking to him, her hand extended in a gesture of laughter. The narrator went on to talk about Murphy’s nervous habit of singing to her patients. They interviewed several of the soldiers in Iraq.

 “She sang ‘Streets of Laredo’ to me and made me sing along. It did take my mind off of things. When we were done she told me I was going home and she was right.”

“She sang ‘City of New Orleans’ to me and everyone in ten feet of us had to sing the chorus. It made the time go quickly and when it was done, I got to go home, just like she said.”

There were others and then finally it was Peter Berkshire’s turn. “I had no clue what she was singing to me. But I tried hard to listen to the lyrics and have determined it was a Peter Paul & Mary song from the 60's. I went out and bought the cd of it. It is a sad song but for some strange reason it brings me comfort. I think she is Bril. I just hope Dr. House knows how lucky he is.”

House pointed at the television, “That prat! He’s been making moves on Murphy. He’s been seeing her as an outpatient and whenever he leaves she’s all girlie and high. I know he’s talking trash to her.”

“You better watch out, he’s smart, he’s handsome and he’s got an English accent. You only have one out of those three going for you.” Wilson snickered.

House squinted his eyes at Wilson in a silly gesture. “I know, when he shows up for his next appointment, he’s going to get me.”

“HOUSE...NO THERMOMETERS.” Wilson was frantic.

“You’re taking all my fun away.” He smiled wickedly, “No thermometers. But don’t you think he needs a prostate exam?” House coughed a couple of times to emphasize the matter.

“You’re are incorrigible.”

Murphy found herself daydreaming about Peter and it made her uneasy. She was very comfortable with House and was enjoying living with him. But Peter had a way of looking at her that said, “You are hot and I could really get into you.” It made her melt. He had asked her out for dinner again....just to thank her. She finally said yes, she would have dinner with him on Saturday.

Murphy was home, washing the blankets and comforter when House came in.

“Where are you?” He was sticking his head in the kitchen, the bathroom and bedroom. No Murphy. He threw the backpack down and took off his jacket. He went into the kitchen and grabbed a V8 out of the refrigerator. Murphy came up from the basement where landlord kept the washer and dryer. “Ah, there you are! Need any help?” House asked.

“No, I was just waiting for the bedcovers to dry. When was the last time that you washed that comforter?”

He looked at her and shrugged, “You’re suppose to wash it?”

“Come and help me put it on the bed.” She walked into the bedroom and he followed. They put the blanket and comforter on and while they were doing it she said, “I’m going to go to dinner Saturday night with Peter Berkshire. He wants to thank me for saving his life.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Excuse me? You are joking right?” Murphy put her hands on her hips.

“You’re going on a date and I’m suppose to say ‘fine’?”

“May I remind you of Vicki and Emma...I chose to trust you on those issues. You need to trust me on this. And besides, this isn’t a date, it’s a thank you.”

“You said you would always be honest with me.”

“That’s why I’m telling you. I could have pretended I was going out with Cuddy or the nurses or some other lame excuse.”

“Then answer this question, are you attracted to him?”

“What do you mean attracted?”

“Now President Clinton, are we going to have to get into definitions before you give me a straight answer?”

“Yes, I find him attractive. Did you find Vicki and Emma attractive?”

“Yes.”

“I rest my case.” Murphy smiled.

“I don’t want you to go.” He said it as if that was the last word on the subject.

“Yeah, well I don’t want cramps every month. I’m going to go and if you’re good I’ll even come home.” She turned and went out to the kitchen to start dinner.

He followed her and watched while she got out a skillet and began cooking the hamburger meat, onions and mushrooms so that she could make spaghetti sauce. She pulled out a dutch oven to cook the pasta. She kept sneaking glances of him out of the corner of her eye. He was thinking because he kept rubbing his eyebrow. He tended to rub an eyebrow, his hair, his cheek, or maybe even his lips whenever he was deep in thought.

“Ok, damn it, if you don’t trust me I won’t go.” She was really annoyed at him and wondered how she was going to explain it to Peter.

“I just don’t trust him alone with you.” He was happy and he poured on the charm. He even offered to clean up the dishes after dinner by himself. He was whistling in the kitchen when he heard her make the telephone call.

“Hi, is this Peter? Peter, it’s Murphy, I won’t be able to make it tomorrow. It’s not something, it’s someone. He’s not comfortable with us having dinner alone.” There was a long pause, “Really? Fine then. Yes tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.”

House stuck his head out into the living room, “That didn’t sound like you said no.”

“He’s invited you to go with us. I said yes.”

“No, call him back and say no.” He was stern but he could see he had finally hit the chord in Murphy that usually meant screaming...not quite fists flying yet.

Her voice went to a level 8 on the Richter scale. “I can’t believe you. You don’t trust us to be alone and now you don’t even trust me when I’m with you. That’s it. You can come if you want or you can sit on your sorry butt and mope tomorrow night, but I AM having dinner with him.”

House yelled back at her, “If you go you can sleep on the couch tomorrow night.”

She screamed back, “Forget that, I’ll find a hotel room.”

***

She grabbed a coat and got in her car. She wasn’t sure where to go at that time of night so she went to the cineplex and found a movie to see. House was sure she’d be back in just a few minutes but was alarmed when she was gone for three hours. When she walked through the door he was secretly relieved that she had come back but didn’t let Murphy see it. He continued to play the piano.

She stopped and crossed her arms over her chest, “Am I allowed in the bed tonight or do you want me to take the couch.”

Without looking up he simply said, “Bed.”

About half an hour later he joined her in bed but she was at the far side of it. Murphy was used to sleeping in cramped spaces and military cots so she simply rolled on her side to the edge of the bed and went to sleep. When House came to bed he turned on the bedside lamp (waking Murphy) and saw that she might fall off the bed at any moment. He exhaled in frustration, climbed in bed and turned off the light. Then he moved to the middle of the bed, but his arm around her and pulled her into her normal place, let her go and rolled over to his side of the bed. Murphy pretended to be asleep during all of this and smiled to herself.

The next day was very tense between the two with little or no talking. Murphy went to Costco in Jamesburg about twenty minutes away. She picked up some toilet paper, paper towels, the chicken bakes that House liked, some margarine spread without transfat, dvds and other items. When she got home she didn’t ask for House’s help and he didn’t give it. He simply sat and watched the television while she hauled it all in and put it away. She made him a sandwich and put it out on the counter, went and got her keys and left again.

House went in to the kitchen at noon to get something to eat and saw the sandwich. There was a note on it that said, “Since you’re already full of it.” Inside the sandwich was bologna...something he rarely ate.

She came home with a new outfit. A black skirt with wide bands of cream lace topped with a black form fitting top that had cream lace around the v neck. It looked great on her and as she took her shower, put on makeup, picked out earrings and slipped on shoes, House was boiling. She packed a little overnight bag and put it out in the living room so that he could see she was a “Man of her words.”

At 7:15 she picked up the bag, her handbag and left. He went into the kitchen to fix something to eat and stood at the table for a minute. He was getting angrier by the minute, he didn’t even know where she was going. Wherever it was, it was within 15 minutes of home because Murphy was military and she was NEVER late. He saw one of her matching coffee mugs on the table and as hard as he could he took his arm and in one deliberate move swept it off the table shattering it against the kitchen counter. He walked out to the living room, grabbed his keys, jacket and went to get some dinner.

Murphy arrived at “The Melting Pot” at exactly 7:30 p.m. and Peter greeted her at the door. “Is Dr. House parking your car?”

“He didn’t make it.” She said with a look that said, ‘drop it.’”

“Too bad, his loss. I hope you like fondue.” He smiled at her while he took her coat and handed it to the receptionist.

“It just so happens that I love fondue and rarely get it. This is going to be a real treat.”

They were escorted to a quiet booth with low light and candles. She looked around, “This really is a nice restaurant. I haven’t been here before.”

“Good, I wanted it to be special. I really feel like this is a drop in the bucket compared to what you did for me. I think I will be trying to think of ways to pay you back for the rest of my life. But I do have this,” He reached in his pocket and brought out a box. “Merry Christmas and thank you.”

“Oh dear, Peter, you shouldn’t...I mean Greg will flip if I come home with presents.”

“I would have brought Dr. House something too but he did not save my life, you did. It would hurt me terribly if you did not accept this small, insignificant gift.”

She shrugged her shoulders and took the box. The waitress came over as Murphy opened it, exposing a beautiful diamond and emerald ring, which fit perfectly on her right ring finger.

The waitress squealed, “OH my God, what a gorgeous ring! Are you celebrating getting engaged tonight?”

Murphy panicked, “No! This is a Christmas gift from my friend here, nothing more.”

“Wow!” The waitress turned to Peter, “Can we be friends?”

Peter and Murphy chuckled and then ordered drinks.

“Peter, this is a little much. I honestly can’t take it. It would set off World War III at home.”

“If he is threatened by a ring from a friend, then he is very insecure. You must keep it because I refuse to take it back.” He smiled at her. “Besides it doesn’t fit me.”

“Oh, he’s insecure about everything except his own greatness.”

“He also seems to be rather cruel and indifferent to his patients and friends.”

“Oh, I hear that all the time and if I didn’t know him, I’d say the same thing. But he really is a sweetheart when you tie him down and beat the crap out of him.” They both laughed. “Thank you for the ring...but I think you are giving me more headaches than pleasure by giving it to me.”

“Ah, but such a lovely headache.”

“That it is.”

They spent the rest of the time in the restaurant eating, joking, sharing stories about England, Iraq, the night of the bombing, the Field Medal...his other awards. He seemed more impressed by her medals and Purple Hearts than anything else.

“I just received an invitation to the White House. They want to award the Silver Star in person. I’m a PR princess.”

“When do you go?”

“Next month.”

“That must be exciting for you.”

“I get to take my family but I have none. So I am going to take Greg’s parents and Greg, that is if we’re still talking to each other after this ring.” She laughed.

“He will get over it.”

“You don’t know Greg. But, I guess he’s got to learn that I can be trusted.”

“Can you? Are you sure he is someone who you want to stay with? I am just asking because of his demeanor towards you.”

She knew what he was really asking but she chose to ignore the underlying question. “He drives me nuts, he’s a jerk, he makes me want to kick him in the gonads at least once a week. But when I am not with him, I think about him, I worry about him and I want to be with him. Pathetic, yes, but it is what it is.”

“Well if you ever find that he cannot give you what you want, please feel free to give me a call. I am staying on at Princeton as a guest lecturer for the next year.”

“I’ll do that.”

They spent the rest of the evening talking about odds and ends and when the bill came he paid it, helped Murphy with her coat and then walked her to her car. “Murphy, you are beautiful, delightful, entertaining and incredibly intelligent. Dr. House is a very lucky man. Thank you for saving me.” He gave her a peck on the cheek and they parted for the evening.

Murphy drove to Cuddy’s house. Murphy had called her, explained the situation and she told her to feel free to use her guest room. When she arrived, Cuddy let her in and greeted her with a quick hug. Murphy liked Cuddy a lot. She admired her spunk.

“How did it go?” Cuddy asked.

“Really well...too good. He is so charming, so educated and so handsome. I think I need to introduce the two of you to each other.”

“It sounds like he’s already smitten with you.”

“I don’t think so, but if I were to give him the least indication that there could be something between us he’d be here in a nanosecond. He gave me this for Christmas and to thank me.”

She held the box out Cuddy opened it, “Holy Mother of God. Those are some large diamonds and that emerald is incredible. This has to be worth a good chunk of change.”

“I know, I know. But he wouldn’t take it back. Can you keep it for me? I don’t want Greg to see it.”

“Murphy, you need to get this insured and put in a safety deposit box. I don’t want the responsibility and besides, you need to deal with House.”

“I guess so, I think I can reason with him.”

Cuddy started cackling, “Yeah and the sun will come up in the west tomorrow. Keep dreaming. He’s going to act like a child when he sees this. Be prepared.”

Murphy shook her head yes in acknowledgment. “Well, I better get some sleep if I’m going to face him tomorrow.”

Murphy got up around nine and took a shower, dried her hair and put on her jeans and top. She put the ring in her purse and steeled herself. She went out, left Lisa a note thanking her and then drove to the Westin Hotel to get some breakfast. The hotel’s restaurant had one of the best breakfasts in town. She bought a newspaper and sat down to read it. She just didn’t want to go home and face House yet. She drank her Mimosa and sat back. She finally paid the bill and got up to leave. She looked across the restaurant and she saw Peter trying to get her attention. Murphy smiled and waved back. She walked over to say hello.

“What are you doing here this morning?” He asked.

“Just having breakfast.”

“Alone? Please do not tell me he kicked you out because of the ring.”

She started laughing. She sat down at his table to get out of the way of the waitress, “No, he didn’t, he’s at the hospital and I wanted breakfast.”

He looked at her and smiled like he knew she was lying. She thought to herself, “How come I meet men who can read me like a book.”

“Well, join me.”

“No, I’m already done. I must go...but again, thanks for everything last night. Look, before I go I have your ring in here and I just can’t take it.” She stood up and started to hand the ring box to him.

He took the ring and put it into her purse. “Please, do not do this. I do not want the ring back and if you get it out I will leave it here on the table. It is your ring now.” He was holding his hands up in a stop motion.

“Oh, you do like to make things difficult for me.” She said.

“It should not be difficult. I am sure he will understand.” He stood up and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Across the restaurant was Cameron, out for breakfast with a friend. She wondered what Murphy was doing with Peter Berkshire, the patient they had just released last week? Cameron watched as Murphy and Peter talked and then handed a ring box back and forth to each other and then he kissed her. Hmmm.

***

Murphy drove home and opened the door, she took her bag into the bedroom but he wasn’t there. She took the ring and stashed it away in her bottom drawer. She felt guilty about hiding it but wanted time to think about how to tell Greg about it. She wondered where he was, but then she knew he wanted her to wonder where he was...oh he was such a player. She made the bed and straightened up. She could play the game as well as he could. She took her shower, shaved her legs, put lotion on, brushed her teeth, brushed her hair (which was now about two inches long), put on mascara and dressed in a black lowcut Merry Widow with lacing going down the middle with garters to which she attacked black silk stockings. Over the stockings she put on her french cut panties. She put on two inch feather mules and a see-through black robe. She put an apron over her outfit and went out to make dinner. Once the dinner was made and simmering in the crock pot, she took off her apron and sat on the bed reading a book while waiting for Greg to come home.

Around 5:40 p.m. she heard his key open the apartment door but she didn’t move. When he came in, she smiled to herself. He put his keys down on the desk and started to take off his jacket as he peeked around the edge of the kitchen doorway but didn’t see her. He could smell dinner cooking. She came down the hall and he turned to look at her, he did a double take. She was dressed like she was going to pose for Victoria’s Secret. He wanted to touch but didn’t dare give in to temptation if he wanted to hold the high ground in their disagreement.

She just looked at him but said nothing. She went over to the couch and bent over suggestively to pick up the old newspapers. House, staring at her sweet little behind, smiled and shook his head...he really wanted to touch. She went past him, threw the papers in the recycle bin and then grabbed some plates and took them out to the dining table she had set up. He was blocking her path so she stopped and raised an eyebrow. He slowly started to smile realizing it was no use, he was a pushover for a beautiful blonde in sexy lingerie. He reached out to grab her by the waist but she jumped back.

“Put the plates down, I want to bend you over the table and have you.” he ordered her.

“Get cleaned up, Wilson will be here in about ten minutes.” Murphy barked back.

“Wilson?” He couldn’t believe his ears, here she was dressed and ready to be taken, taunting and teasing him with her body, getting him hot and bothered and Wilson was coming over? Oh, she was good.

She took the plates to the table and went back into the kitchen to get the silverware and napkins. She turned around, looked at him, walked over...slipped her panties off and stuffed them in his pocket. She went into the bedroom, slipped on a skirt and blouse and came back out. She raised the skirt and mooned him while showing him she still had the Merry Widow and garter belt on but no panties. She laughed at him just as the doorbell rang.

“This is not funny.” House shook his head at her.

Murphy opened the door and let Wilson in, “Jim, thanks for coming over for dinner. Can we get you something to drink?”

“Gin and tonic?”

“Sure. Greg can you fix Jim a gin and tonic while I work on the pasta for the dinner?

Greg gave her the most frustrated look in the world and then went to make Wilson a drink. They sat down and Murphy began the meal by serving each their own garlic dripped artichoke. Greg was across from Murphy. He watched her pull each leaf off of her artichoke, dip it in butter, put it into her mouth and then pull it slowly back out through her closed teeth while looking at Greg . She slowly licked her lips after each leaf. House was watching this very erotic dance. Wilson was telling a somewhat convoluted story about the bomb and aftermath of the attack. From time to time Murphy would smile and pretend to be listening but underneath the tablecloth, her foot was finding its way across the table and tracing the seam on Greg’s left trouser leg until she reached the promised land. She chuckled when she realized he was already starting to get hard. He was clenching his teeth and trying to maneuver away from her foot.

She got up and took the remains of the artichokes to the trash and brought in the spaghetti with meatballs and string beans. She dished the plates out and took them to the table and also delivered the fresh grated Parmesan. This time she sat across from Wilson and next to Greg. About half way through the meal, she put her hand on his leg and started to follow it the same way her foot had. When she finally touched his pride and joy, he grabbed her hand and put it back in her lap. She grabbed his hand back and put it up her skirt, resting it on her thigh. He jerked his hand back so fast he hit the underside of the table banging it and causing him to cry out in pain. She let out a quick little snort of laughter and Wilson looked at the two of them like they were nuts.

“What is going on?” Wilson asked.

“Murphy went out on a date last night, I got pissed, she came home and got all tarted up, pranced around getting me hot and bothered just before you got here and now she’s feeling me up with her feet and hands. Oh, and she doesn’t have any knickers on. Honey, does that about sum it up?” He said sweetly to Murphy.

Wilson’s mouth dropped open and Murphy smile and nodded yes in agreement. “Maybe I should leave,” Wilson said.

“Oh don’t leave Jim, he deserves to be taunted and harassed. He was invited on my date with me and wouldn’t go and then insisted I not go either. Then he told me that I could sleep on his sofa. So Jim, you can ignore him, let’s go sit on the sofa and talk. She got up and escorted Wilson to the sofa. Wilson was nervous.

“I think you two should have some time alone to figure this out.” He started to get up.

“Jim, I tell you what, why don’t you and Greg go down to the Triumph for some drinks and I’ll join you in a few minutes?” She really didn’t want Wilson to feel bad about coming over.

“I don’t want to go to the Triumph for drinks.” Greg said.

“Murphy, I enjoyed the meal but it’s gotten a little weird. You need to have some time together. House, you need to get over yourself.” Wilson got up, gave Murphy a peck on the cheek, grabbed his coat and looked at House and shook his head in disbelief. House looked at him, asking with his body language for Wilson to believe in him. “House, come on. We both know you test people until they push back. Stop it.” He closed the door and took off.

Murphy stormed into the hallway and grabbed a blanket and then into the bedroom to grab a pillow. She threw the blanket and pillow on the couch and then looked at him, “Excuse me, but you’re in my bedroom and I’d like to go to sleep.”

He threw up his hands, “Go to sleep? You just made a fool of me in front of my friend and I’m suppose to go off to bed?”

“When haven’t you made a fool of yourself in front of Wilson? So you want to talk? Ok, are you still angry with me for going to dinner?”

“Where did you stay last night?”

“On no, you don’t get to ask. You banished me from our bedroom. I was with a friend.”

“A friend? Is Peter Berkshire a friend?”

“That’s it, I want to go to sleep. We need to talk about this tomorrow. If I talk to you right now we’ll both regret it.”

He didn’t know what to do, but he didn’t want her sleeping on the couch. He collapsed, “Let’s call a truce tonight. We’ll talk about this tomorrow. Come on into bed, it’s your home too. I promise not to bother you, touch you , yell at you ...you’ll get a good night’s rest.”

She looked at him crossly and went over and grabbed her pillow. She went into the bedroom and took off her skirt, her blouse , the nylons and the merry widow. She was standing there naked trying to find a gown in her drawer. He walked over to the chest of drawers and put his arms around her before she could put the gown on.

“I’m sorry.” he said.

“I thought you weren’t going to touch me or bother me?” she said quietly.

“ I lied.” He kissed the crook of her neck and buried his face in her hair. “I’m sorry, I just don’t want to lose you to anyone. He’s younger, better looking, intelligent and has two legs.”

She turned to him, “You idiot. I’ve had lots of intelligent, handsome, young men in my life but I’m living here with you, not them. Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

“That you’ve had a lapse in judgment?”

“I’m beginning to think you’re right.” She said. He was rubbing her back and kissing her ear and cheek.

She was the one who broke away and pulled his hand towards the bed. She pulled back the covers and climbed in. He undressed and then climbed under the sheets. They faced each other and kissed. He slipped his hand down to her bottom and pulled her closer so that she could feel him respond to their kisses. She felt his chest and the little brown and gray hairs that curled up on it. She was enjoying his warm, warm body and breath. He slipped between her legs and felt her welcome him in with a deep sigh. He propped himself up on his elbow so he could watch her as they made love. He was deliberate and slow, enjoying every movement and every reaction of hers. Eventually, he closed his eyes to concentrate on the sensations coming from the thrusts. She watched him as long as she could before the pleasure filled her from her groin through her abdomen and up into her breasts. She started to cry out and he joined her. They both started to laugh as soon as the waves of pleasure dissipated.

He looked down at her, smiled and stroked her hair and cheek. He couldn’t look at her because he didn’t want to see her reaction and then he said, “I love you more than I thought I could love anyone.”

Murphy stopped laughing and tried to make eye contact with him but he kept looking just slightly to the side of her face. “Greg, can’t you look at me and say that?”

“I’m afraid I’ll see in your eyes that you don’t feel the same. And if I do see that you feel the same, that scares me too. It means that I could be happy and that’s not something I’m comfortable with.”

“I love you too. Now you find a way to deal with that Greg, because I do. You’re going to have to learn how to be happy because we are going to be happy. Not all the time, not even most of the time. Most of the time, we’ll just be living our lives and glad we have each other, but there will be enough moments of happiness that we’ll stay together to experience those. Does that make sense to you?”

“In my world, happiness doesn’t make sense, I’m struggling with the idea of it. But if it feels as good as your body, then I’m in.” He said looking straight into her eyes.

“I’m just shocked you said the “L” word first.” She kissed his cheek.

“What? I called you a lesbian a long time ago.” He chuckled.

“Tell me again.” She stroked his chest.

“”You’re a lesbian.”

“Tell me again. This time look at me.”

He looked at her, shook his head, swallowed hard and said, “I love you.”

“It’s about time you said it.”

“That’s your allotment of “I Love Yous” until your birthday.”

He rolled onto his back and grabbed the remote to turn on the television, Murphy fell asleep with her head on his chest.

***

House and Murphy arrived at 9:30 in the lobby. Murphy went to HR to fill out forms again and get the malpractice insurance back on line. House found Cameron lingering in his office. He looked at his messages and waited for her to say something. She had her hands in her lab coat pockets. He could tell she had gotten over the break up with her boyfriend because her eyes were no longer puffy. He wondered if she was going to turn her attention back to him. She cleared her throat and just stood there in front of his desk.

“Are you going to tell me or am I suppose to take my belt off and beat it out of you?” House looked up at her.

“I just wanted to know if everything is ok between you and Murphy?”

“Cameron, I appreciate that you think I’m charming, witty and sexy, but don’t you think it’s time that you moved on?”

“It’s not that! I was at the Westin hotel yesterday morning and I saw Murphy having breakfast with Peter Berkshire. I think he gave her a box. I just wondered if you two had broken up?”

“You saw her yesterday morning in the hotel restaurant with Peter Berkshire?”

“Yes.”

“What did this box look like?”

 Cameron hesitated before saying it, “A ring box.”

House didn’t want to show Cameron how shocked he was to hear that but his face registered surprise. He jumped up, grabbed his keys and left. A few minutes later Murphy showed up in the office and looked for Greg.

“Where’s House?”

“He left. I don’t know where he was going.” Cameron told her.

Murphy picked up the phone and dialed Greg’s cell phone. He either didn’t pick up or he was in an area where he wasn’t getting the signal. She sat down to read about the additional steps the authorities were taking at both Princeton University to prevent another terrorist bomb attach. It had been determined that it was a sleeper cell from Al Qaeda.

House opened the apartment door and thought that the only place in the apartment that she could hide something was either in the closet or her drawers. He went straight into the bedroom and felt around in the top drawer for a box. There was nothing, he went through the next two, nothing. He finally felt around the last drawer and there was something stuck way in the back the size and feel of a ring box. He pulled it out and opened it. It was a very impressive emerald and diamond ring. It wasn’t something you give a stranger. He closed it and put it back.

She had lied to him, she was sleeping with him and now Berkshire was giving her expensive jewelry. So the friend she stayed with was Peter Berkshire at the Westin Hotel. House just kept thinking over and over, “Everybody lies, everybody lies.” And then he heard her voice, “I’m honest with you.” He shook his head, “Everybody lies.”

When he got back to the hospital he discovered that their patient was being checked out, having been diagnosed and treated by House and the team. The next patient was being checked in at that very moment. Murphy was reading the chart when House walked in, he gave her a cold look that took her back. But then, House was different with her in front of people.

He went over to the white board and grabbed the chart out of Murphy’s hands, he wrote

Fever 104

Severe headache

Myalgias

Anorexia

Cough

Sweats

Chills

“Looks like garden variety flu to me.” Murphy said.

“Well then you would be a moron. If we assumed every disease with these symptoms that came through here was the flu most of our patients would be dead. Cameron, get a history. Chase do reconnaissance at his house and Foreman, do a CT scan and screen his blood and kidneys for our usual villains.”

They all jumped up and left. Murphy looked at him but he had his back to her, “Greg, what do you want me to do?”

“Go down and do my clinic hours.” He said abruptly before leaving the office.

She felt like he had just slapped her in her face. She ran out of the office after him. “Why am I going to clinic? Won’t I be more useful if I help Chase or Foreman?”

“Useful? If he gets an RPG in his side, you’ll be the one I call. But the best use for you today is the clinic so that you can free up my time.”

The look on her face was just what he wanted. That feeling of rejection and hurt. Maybe she felt a tiny bit of what he was feeling. He turned and kept walking. She stood in the middle of the hall looking at him as he walked away.

Clinic duty was boring but once her hours were over she went back up to the office and noticed that they must have had another meeting because more was written on the white board.

Lived in mobile home

foundry worker

pleuritic chest pain

Hawaii -two months ago

rodeo-last week

no known allergies

blood count - normal

Murphy looked around for House and the team, but they were all gone. She went up to see the patient. He was a long lanky guy with wavy black hair and nice features like Clint Eastwood or even House. The chart said he was 21. The kid open his eyes and looked at her, “Hi, who are you?”

“I’m Dr. Morrighan, I work with Dr. House. How do you feel?” She noted that the whites of his eyes were yellow.

“Tired, my head hurts and, (cough, cough) I have this dry cough. My chest has pains up here.”

“Yes, that means the sac around your lungs are inflamed, we call it pleurisy. Any nausea, vomiting or diarrhea?”

“No...at least not yet.” he managed a weak smile.

“Ok, kiddo. We’re waiting for some results, we’ll let you know something in a little while. Keep getting some sleep.”

She went to the lab and found the entire team and House inside. House looked up from sipping on his straw to watch her. He told her, “Why don’t you go down and cover Cameron’s clinic duty so she can continue her lab work.”

“But House, I just finished my lab...” Cameron stopped when House gave her a stern look.

Murphy didn’t want to acknowledge to the team that she was being treated like an intern. “Sure, not a problem.” She almost gave House the Nazi salute but held back. “Oh, by the way...has anyone talked to your patient in the last hour?”

They looked at each other and shook their heads “No,”

As she opened the door and began to leave she said, “I ask because he has jaundice, I think your patient has developed hepatitis...gosh, I wonder what that means?” She left the lab, walked down the hall and then turned around to see what House was doing. She couldn’t hear through the glass of the lab, but she could see House giving the team hell for not knowing this. His hands were flailing and he was gesturing all over the place. After a moment he caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye watching him. He turned and sheepishly gave her a look of frustration. He walked out to the hall. “Ok, go get a liver function test and a blood sample to test for Q Fever.”

“I thought so too, especially after seeing on the board that he had gone to the rodeo.” She said as gently as possible to him but he wouldn’t make eye contact, “What’s going on Greg?”

He started to leave, “Maybe YOU should tell me.” She had no idea what he meant.

House correctly diagnosed Q Fever, which is transmitted from cattle, and started the patient on Vibramycin. After running the tests and confirming the diagnosis, Murphy went down to clinic and started to handle Cameron’s clinic hours. Cameron showed up a half an hour later.

“Murphy, why are you handling my clinic duties?”

“Because House told me to or don’t you remember?” Murphy said.

“That was before the diagnosis. I can handle them now.” Cameron took the file from Murphy’s hand.

“Cameron, do you know any reason that House is upset with me?”

“You need to talk to him about whatever is going on between you two.”

“Yes, you’re right.” She agreed.

Murphy and House left at 5:00 and the ride home was quiet. She went straight in and started the kettle for a cup of tea. House went through the mail and checked the phone messages.

“Boy, that took a lot out of me. I can’t tell you how exhausted I am after just one day.”

she looked at him hoping he would start talking.

He just raised a single eyebrow and then walked in and got a beer. She followed him into the kitchen. “I thought we made up last night? Am I crazy but didn’t you tell me you loved me?”

“Murphy, you need to ask yourself why I might be angry. Once you come clean, then we can talk. For right now let me just kick back and watch some television.”

She wanted to say something back but didn’t want to start crying. So she went in to start dinner. She reheated the spaghetti and left it on the stove for him to get a plate if he wanted some. She took a bowl of it and went into the bedroom to watch television by herself. Later, she came back out, rinsed her bowl, saw an dirty plate in the sink and looked to find that the spaghetti was gone. She went back to bed, started to watch some more television but was asleep by 8:00 p.m.

The next morning was a repeat of the night before. They rode into work quietly with the occasional exchange of necessary information. As they were pulling into the garage at work he said, “I have a dental appointment this afternoon so I’ll come back and get you when I’m done.”

She shook her head and then got out of the car. Since they didn’t have a patient Murphy went down to do her clinic hours. She was waiting in one of the offices when she looked up on the wall and saw the calendar photo of El Capitan in the afternoon sunlight. It’s golden granite was gleaming in the photo. She started to ache for California, for Yosemite, for Big Sur, for the Sequoias, for Torrey Pines, for Laguna Mountain, for Lake Cuyamaca. She decided that as soon as she had two weeks of leave saved up she would go home and do some back country hiking.

She looked at the calendar and realized for the first time that her birth control medication was way overdue. CRAP! It should have been changed out in January but with the move into the apartment and trying to get back into shape, she had just completely forgotten it. She called down to renew the prescription for the birth control ring and then she went into an empty exam room, drew some blood and sent it down for a pregnancy check, just to be safe.

The day was uneventful but that afternoon at five House didn’t show up outside. She called him but he wasn’t picking up. She went outside and looked around, it was starting to get dark. She waited in the little ante room near the exit. Around 7:00 p.m. she took a taxi home and was surprised to find him laying on the couch watching the Knicks play. When she walked through the door he looked at her and then his watch and said, “Ah crap. I forgot. I’m sorry. MY bad.” And then went back to watching the Knicks play. Murphy went back to the bedroom, sat on the bed and just stared into space wondering what was going on with him. She crawled up onto the bed and watched television until she fell asleep.

She tried to talk to him over the next few weeks but he wouldn’t tell her what was eating him. He did start to say more to her but on a superficial level. More importantly, they hadn’t had sex for the whole time he had been angry. She knew he was beating off because she walked in on him in the shower. Murphy was confused, she wish he would stop playing around and tell him what was pissing him off. She talked to Lisa and neither of them understood what was going on in his head.

Things were so strained around the apartment that Murphy was constantly stressed. Murphy started to go to the movies, the mall, rowing or just walking by herself to get out of the apartment. House assumed she was going out to meet up with Peter.

***

Murphy flew down to Washington D.C. a few days before the presentation at the White House at the request of the Navy. She took her dress blues and some civilian clothes. The Navy had her visiting various government buildings to meet with a handful of Senators, Congressmen and the entire Cabinet. They wanted to promote her war record and her visit to the White House so the press followed her all over D.C.

She was getting excited about the visit to the White House even though she tried to stay cool about it. She knew that her parents would have been so proud of her if they were still alive. It was nice that she could share it with Greg and the Houses. She met the Houses at Reagan International and drove them in her rental car to the hotel. The presentation at the White House was to be held the next day.

“Where’s Greg?”“

“ He’ll be here this evening.”

“You look tired, what’s wrong?”

“I’ve been running around all over D.C. trying to please everyone in the Navy or military by having my photo taken with them. My hand is red from shaking it so often.”

They had a great time at dinner and when Greg hadn’t shown up she called his cell phone. He immediately saw it was her on the caller i.d. He answered with a snarl. “Yeah.”

“Where are you? I thought you were going to drive down tonight?”

“I’m not coming.” He said bluntly. He had never intended to go. In fact, when she returned he would have her things packed and waiting for her. He was tired of the charade.

Her heart sank, “Is there a patient?”

“I need to go, my program’s on.” The phone went dead. She looked at her phone in shock. He hung up?

She told the Houses that Greg had a patient and couldn’t make it. But since they were going back to Princeton with her, they would still get to see him. The Houses could tell how disappointed Murphy was and how hard it was for her to put on a happy face.

They had all been asked to get to the White House two hours early for several ceremonial presentations and that the President would meet with her after those presentations were through. The next day it took half an hour to get through the White House security even though she and the Houses were on the schedule. They were led into the Blue Room where the brass was waiting for her. Over and over the admirals, generals, senators, congressmen all got up to take their picture with her. Some presented her with commendations, medals or plaques from their state or constituency. The press was there in droves and occasionally she answered a question posed by one of the presenters.

“Are these your parents in the front row?” One of the senators asked.

“My parents are dead but this is General and Mrs. House, they have taken me under their wing and treated me like their own.”

“Let’s bring them up and have a photo taken with you.”

The Houses joined Murphy and the press all took photos.

In the meantime, Foreman was checking his email when he received a patient notification for Murphy Morrighan. Since Foreman was her doctor of record, whenever a medical test came back on a patient the doctor of record would get notified of the result by email. Foreman clicked on the email and read the results. He started laughing. Murphy was pregnant.

“I thought that you were going down to Washington to see Murphy get the Silver Star?” Chased asked.

House looked up, “Obviously I’m not.”

“But she was looking forward to having you and your parents there, why didn’t you go?”

“Yeah, well boo hoo, I had other things to do.”

Foreman was sitting by the computer bursting at the seams. He wanted to tell House but it would have violated the patient’ confidentiality. “When is Murphy coming back into the office?”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” House said.

Foreman was surprised by his response. Everyone had noticed House’s treatment of Murphy was fairly callous lately. It had gone beyond the House quips and badgering. Something was wrong between them and maybe a baby wasn’t the best thing for their relationship.

Cuddy stuck her head in and had a scarf with her. She looked at House and asked, “What are you doing here? Aren’t you suppose to be in Washington D.C. with your girlfriend and your parents?”

“Christ everyone has their nose in my business. Do you have something to say or was this just a visit to rattle my cage.”

Cuddy held up the scarf, “I keep forgetting to give this back to Murphy. She left it when she spent the night at my house last month.”

“Last month? When last month?” House’s face went blank.

“The night she had dinner with the mathematician. You know you told her to sleep on the couch so she came over and stayed with me.” She watched as House looked away and started to stare, “House what’s up?” She asked cautiously.

He looked at her standing there in her Tahari suit, “Did she show you the ring?”

“Yes, it’s gorgeous isn’t it? You know she tried to give it back to him several times. She told me that they almost got into a fight over it the next morning when she saw him at breakfast. What’s going on? You look like you just thought of something.”

“I’ve got to fly down to Washington.” House said.

Chase said “It’s too late, turn on CSPAN.”

Lisa Cuddy motioned to House and he turned the tv on to CSPAN and saw a beautiful, but skinny Murphy standing to the side of the podium with the President of the United States as he pinned the Silver Star on her chest. His parents were being called up to the stage to stand with Murphy. The President read out a long list of Murphy’s accomplishments in Iraq and she began to blush. General House started smiling as he heard the President read paragraph after paragraph of her accomplishments. He felt like a Dad, he was very proud of her.

“Oh God, I’m in trouble.” House knew he had really hurt her by not going. She had spent all week packing his bag and deciding what suit he should wear. She had gotten his shoes out and shined them for him. Even though they were barely speaking, just about every other word out of her mouth had been about going to D.C. The whole time she was getting ready, getting excited and anticipating the trip, he had planned to crush her by telling her at the last minute he wasn’t going. House had accomplished what he had intended. The whole time Murphy was on the stage with the President she felt sad and distracted. This scene wasn’t what she had envisioned in her mind. She had always imagined that Greg would with her to crack jokes and make snide remarks to make her laugh.

Murphy went to the podium to speak. She was so distracted by Greg’s absence that she simply started to read her little 5 x 8 index cards. “I’d like to thank the President, Secretary of State, Admiral Cleary, the Navy, Senate and Congress for this honor. I would also like to thank Dr. Gregory House, General and Mrs. House for being here today.” Then it hit her that he wasn’t there, “I mean, General House and Mrs. House for being here today. Dr. House couldn’t make it. Uh...” Murphy started to sweat and then a tunnel of black caved in from the sides or her vision. Without any warning, Murphy fell like a lead weight to the floor. There was a huge commotion on the television.

House jumped out of his chair. “What the..” He said to the television. He watched as everyone went to Murphy’s aid except of course him because he wasn’t there.

Foreman realized that Murphy would be fine in a minute. Pregnant women frequently experienced dizziness or passed out in their first trimester. It was just a matter of her cardiovascular system undergoing some pretty dramatic changes. During pregnancy the heart rate goes up, the heart pumps more blood per minute, and the amount of blood in the body expands by 40 to 45 percent. The blood pressure gradually decreases in the beginning, reaching its lowest point in the middle of the pregnancy. It then begins to rise, returning to its regular level by the end of pregnancy. Most of the time, the cardiovascular and nervous systems are able to adjust to all these changes, but occasionally they don't, which can leave the pregnant woman feeling lightheaded, dizzy or as Murphy was, faint.

“She’ll be ok in a minute.” Foreman told House with some authority.

“How do you know?” House demanded.

“Just a hunch.”

House was now suspicious of Foreman. But he was too concerned about Murphy to do anything. He turned to Cuddy, “I need to know, did she sleep with this Peter guy?”

Cuddy was shocked and showed it, “Oh my God House, no. Is this why you’ve been treating her like crap lately? You think she had an affair with Peter Berkshire?” Cuddy could see from House’s refusal to make eye contact and the look on his face of a six year old with his hand in the cookie jar that he did, indeed, think she had been unfaithful. “I don’t believe you. If you had talked to her about this you would have straightened it out a long time ago. But no, you gave her the silent treatment and she’s been utterly miserable. Well done Dr. House, once again you figured a way to screw up a good thing.”

Foreman was shaking his head in disbelief. Chase gave House a look of contempt.

House threw his hands up in despair, “Yes, I’m an @ss.” Now he needed to figure a way to get back in her good graces.”

The CSPAN announcer interrupted, “Commander Morrighan apparently is fine. Apparently she had not eaten breakfast and has been exhausted from her duties here in Washington and, as a result fainted briefly. It certainly would make sense, the Commander is still getting over three gunshot wounds and a two month long coma. We’ll wait a minute and see if they are going to continue.”

Murphy did continue and she gave a beautiful speech about the United States, Abraham Lincoln and the Last Full Measure of Devotion. She honored those who had died with tears and her sincerity in calling them the true heros received a hearty applause from the audience. When it was over, Murphy could have been elected to Congress.

***

The next day the Houses and Murphy drove up to Princeton in her rental car. Murphy drove them straight to their hotel and made plans to meet them at six p.m. for dinner.

She dreaded going home. She knew now it was over and it was killing her, zapping her of her energy.

She walked in and House almost pounced on her. “I’m sorry for not making it. I was a jerk. I really am sorry.”

“You’re parents are here for three days and I plan to put on a good show for them. But after they’re gone, I’m moving out. It’s over Greg. I can’t stay on this roller coaster. I fainted in D.C. from the stress of wondering why you didn’t come.”

“I saw it on CSPAN. Murphy please, just listen to me. Cameron told me she saw you having breakfast at a hotel with Peter Berkshire and that he gave you a ring box. I came home and found this.” House pulled the ring box out of his pocket and showed it to her. “I thought that every time you went out on your own you were going to go meet him. I wanted you to tell me. I wanted to see if you were going to be honest with me. “

She sat down and put the puzzle together and realized what a FUBAR this was. “It doesn’t matter Greg, the problem isn’t what you thought happened. The problem is that you couldn’t just come and ask me or talk to me when you found the ring. Which, by the way, was an invasion of my privacy. We...no...you don’t communicate. It’s over Greg, let’s just salvage a friendship out of this so that we can work together.”

“No, I won’t accept that. Murphy, I love you. I want you to be around when I need diapers and false teeth. I want you to have our baby or, God forgive, babies...I want to marry you.”

“Don’t do this to me Greg. Please, don’t do this to me. I’ve had several weeks to think about it. Besides, have a baby with you? I’d never know one day to the other whether we were going to make it or not. I couldn’t bring a child into that.”

“Murphy, this was an honest mistake. Even you can see that your actions could have been interpreted as an affair. Why didn’t you show me the ring and tell me about it?”

“The ring meant nothing to me but I knew it would fuel the fire in you. I just thought it would be best if I kept it from you. I see that was a mistake, to keep it from you. But you were vicious the last few weeks, just vicious. You made my life stressful at work and at home. I didn’t have anywhere to go to get away from it except that bedroom. I felt so alone in that bed, even with you in it.”

House was sitting on the chair staring down at his feet and rubbing his forehead. He looked up at her and said, “Every time you walked out that door I thought you were going to him. I couldn’t stand the idea of having sex with you knowing you had been with him. I just wanted you to be miserable too. I wanted you to come to me, confess your sins and then I would forgive you like a priest. I F#cked up ...don’t leave.”

“Greg, let’s get through the next few days with your parents and then we can talk. Maybe if I move out we can date and see if we can be decent to each other. Maybe you can learn to talk to me, not try to manipulate me into some artificial response. I told your parents that we would pick them up for dinner at 6:00 p.m. It’s 3 p.m. now, I’m going to go lay day for awhile, I am exhausted.” Murphy took her bag and went into the bedroom. House followed her and sat on the edge of the bed as she took her dirty clothes out of the bag and put them in the hamper.

“Well, let me see it.” He said softly. She pulled it out of her bag and handed it to him. He opened the box and there it was. It was actually a five pointed gold star with a tiny silver star in the center surrounded by two olive branches. The star hung from a red white and blue striped ribbon. “Your speech was incredible. Really, even I was moved by it. I am really proud of you.”

She layed down on the bed and grabbed her throw. House pulled it up and over her. He crawled up into the middle of the bed and spooned her. She remembered how safe this made her feel and she wanted to feel that way again. But right now she was in so much pain and so tired that she just wanted to go to sleep.

At five Murphy got up and put on fresh clothes. House drove his car and Murphy drove the rental over and dropped it off. They picked up his parents at the hotel and went out to dinner. Murphy tried hard to pretend that everything was fine between her and House. Even House tried hard to be nice and pleasant to his folks and to Murphy.

The evening went well, his parents enjoyed their time with both Greg and Murphy. Blythe was surprised at how well Greg treated Murphy all night long. It was a first. He hadn’t been that attentive or kind to any of the women she had seen him with in the past, including Stacy. Murphy seemed a little anxious, but then a lot had happened to Murphy in the last year and she had a right to be a little anxious. When Murphy went to the restroom, his mother gave him the box and said, “I thought you should have this, you’d inherit it anyway. I hate to see it just go to waste.”

House dropped his parents off and then he and Murphy drove back to the apartment. She was looking forward to climbing into bed and sleeping in the next morning. She went into the bedroom and took off her clothes. House brought in a bottle of water for her and one for him. After getting into bed she turned out her lights and sank into a deep sleep. She woke up around 4 in the morning with Greg’s arm around her and his snoring in her ear. It was somehow very calming and relaxing. She went back to sleep. When she woke up Greg still had his arm around her but he was on his stomach and she was on her back. She got up and went into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and took a shower. He came in and took a leak while she was in the shower, brushed his teeth, trimmed his beard and then opened the shower door and got in with her.

“This isn’t kosher. Please get out of the shower while I’m in here. Greg, after tomorrow, I’m out of here.” She turned around and put her arms around her breasts. As usual, he didn’t listen. He just grabbed her and kissed her as the shower beat on her back and over his arms. She wanted so much to give in and enjoy the feel of him and explore his body. They hadn’t made love in several weeks and she desperately wanted to feel him inside of her. She pulled away and stepped out of the shower.

House was angry with himself and frustrated with the situation both mentally and sexually. He stood in the shower trying to decided what he should do next, besides finish washing his hair.

They dressed and went to pick up the Houses at the hotel. They all went down to Atlantic City and spent the day walking around, shopping and gambling. That night they went to a brasserie because John House felt like a good ol’ American steak. After everyone was done and they were enjoying their coffee House turned to Murphy, “Murphy,” he pulled out his mother’s engagement ring which she had given to him the night before, “I know I haven’t given you a good reason lately to say yes, but please marry me.”

Murphy jumped up in horror and almost choked. “This isn’t fair.” She ran to the front of the restaurant and out the door. The Houses looked at Greg for an explanation. “Let’s just say I knew this was a risk, I kind of screwed up this last month and she was going to leave me tomorrow.” He looked at them and then towards the front of the restaurant. He threw $200 down on the table. “Dad, that should pay the bill, I’m going to go try and find her.” They shook their heads in agreement.

“We’ll be back at the Casino around the slot machines.” John said.

House ran out the door as fast as his bad leg would let him. He looked up and down the road and didn’t see her. His leg had gotten a real work out around Atlantic City and now he had to run after her. His leg was giving him signals that this was going to be a painful night.

Murphy was feeling terrible. She didn’t want to disappoint the Houses, they were such good and caring people. She knew that they wanted more than anything for her to marry Greg and just one month ago she would have. But she didn’t know then just how cruel he could be. Or course it all came from hurt and anger over a mistake but it was still cruel. She loved Greg so much that the proposal had cut and sliced everything that was holding her together. She ached inside and just wanted to sleep. She was so tired.

Murphy looked around, she didn’t realize that she had walked so far. She turned around and started to go back. She was walking at a fast clip, looking at the ground and thinking when his hand came out of nowhere and grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Murphy, please stop, I really need to rest my leg, I’ve been walking all over looking for you.” She could tell from his face that he was in physical pain. He sat down on a nearby bus bench. “We need to get my parents back to Princeton so that they can get packed and ready to go home tomorrow.”

She looked at him in a daze and nodded yes. “Why did you do that in front of your parents? They must be terribly upset. They must think I’m horrible.”

“No, they don’t think you’re horrible, they’ll blame me. I explained why you reacted the way you did. They weren’t surprised, I’m not known for being an angel. I asked you in front of them in the hopes that you would find it harder to say no.”

“A cunning plan...where did you get the ring?” Murphy was curious.

“It’s my Mom’s engagement ring. She brought it out to Princeton and gave it to me last night. Dad gave her an anniversary ring several years ago and so the engagement ring just sat in her jewelry box.”

“It’s beautiful. Are you ok, can you walk back or do you want me to go get the car?”

“I’m ok, let’s go.”

They started walking past the various casinos and crowds. “That was a very mean thing to do. I can’t believe you did it even after I told you I was leaving you.”

“Murphy, you’re going to marry me eventually. Let’s just get past this. Let’s do what we have to do to move forward and get where we need to be.”

“I don’t know what to say to you Greg. I like that you’re being optimistic but I wouldn’t be.”

They all drove home to Princeton in silence. Murphy said her goodbyes and thanks to the Houses for coming out to the ceremony. They both kissed and hugged her and John said in her ear, “I understand why you don’t want to marry him, but I would have loved for you to be my daughter, legally.” She said her goodbyes and House drove her back to the apartment.

***

They went to bed and just like the night before he kept her close to him and she felt safe. House got up at 5:00 a.m. and took his parents to the Trenton airport to catch a Delta flight. He went from the airport to work at the hospital. He arrived at 7:00 a.m. and was surprised to see Chase already in running some tests on the new patient.

Murphy drove herself into the hospital and when she got into the office, House was sitting at his desk. He smiled at her when she walked in. Foreman jumped up and asked Murphy to take a walk with him.

House was already suspicious of Foreman’s comments the other day and wondered why Foreman wanted to talk to her. Murphy and Foreman were friendly but not the type to go off in a corner and gossip. House then realized that they shared another relationship, that of doctor/patient. He started typing away, trying to hack into Murphy’s medical file. Using Cuddy’s password, which he had discovered she kept taped underneath her top drawer on a piece of paper, he pulled up Murphy’s file. House took one look and jumped up and took off in the direction that Foreman and Murphy had gone.

Foreman and Murphy were in the presentation theater, they took seats in one of the aisles. “Apparently a few days ago you sent down a pregnancy test to the lab. It was positive. They notified me of the results. You fainted in D.C. not just because of the stress but also because you’re pregnant.”

At first she didn’t know what he was talking about but then she remembered the test she took a few weeks back. “Oh noooo. This can’t be happening to me. She bent over in her chair. Oh Foreman, if you only knew.”

“I think I do Murphy. You love him but you’re not sure you can stay with him.”

“Yep, that would just about sum it up. What would you do?”

“I wouldn’t have fallen in love with the bast@rd. I don’t know Murphy, you need to ask yourself if you want the baby. If you do, then you need to decide whether you want House to help you raise it.”

“You won’t tell him will you? I need time to sort this out. We’ve had a falling out and I’m going to start moving out over the next few days.”

“Where are you going?” Foreman was concerned, he really liked Murphy and thought that she was good for House.

“I don’t know. I have a storage unit, so I’m going to store most of my things and then get a room until I can find an apartment. Then, when my tenant’s lease is up, I’ll move back into my house.”

The door burst open and House came in, “I found you. So, what are you two doing here?”

“We needed to talk about my rehabilitation and what I should do next.”

“I suggest Folic Acid and a pelvic exam.” House smiled.

Murphy looked at Foreman in surprise. Foreman was just as surprised. She turned back to House, “You hacked into my records?”

“Were you going to tell me about the pregnancy?” the look on her face said no, “I thought not. Foreman, you can leave us, we need to talk.”

Foreman was no dummy, he wanted out of there as quick as possible. He left and then House turned to Murphy who was holding her head in her hands like she had a terrible headache.

“Are you ok?” House asked with sincere concern.

“I’m dizzy and my head hurts. Greg, this changes nothing.”

“Are you on crack? It changes everything.” He looked at her face and it registered some shame and guilt, “You aren’t thinking of an abortion?”

“I’m thinking about all my options. The one that seems least likely is me having the baby and marrying you.”

“Murphy, don’t be a fool. I love you, I have all my teeth, a regular job and I’ll behave. What more could you ask for in a father?”

“Greg, I’m really not ready to talk about this, I just learned about it myself. Please, just give me some time to absorb it.” She stood up quickly and then crumpled back down again. House caught her and gently sat her back down into the theater seat.

She came through almost as fast as she past out. “Whoa.”

“You stood up too fast, your blood pressure is too low to handle that. You need to remember that you’re pregnant. Just rest a minute and then we’ll leave.” He had his arm still around her shoulders and she leaned onto his chest. They sat in silence for a few minutes.

“I think I can get up now.” He kissed the side of her head and then helped her stand up. She was fine and started to leave.

As they walked down the corridor he looked at her, “Don’t move out just yet until we figure this out. Don’t make any quick decisions.”

“Just for a few days. I think I need time to think before I take on the challenge of finding an apartment.”

***

Murphy asked House if she could go into the lounge and lay down on the couch for a minute. He smiled and nodded yes. She took off down the corridor to go lay down, she still felt a little light headed.

House had a moment to think. Did he really want a baby? No, not really, but it was his only ticket to Murphy. It was the wild card that he could play. The baby would become his obsession and Murphy would have a hard time taking that away from him. He chuckled and pushed the door open into his office. Cameron was sitting at his desk opening mail.

He thought about Cameron and what she had told him about Murphy and Peter. He couldn’t fault her for what she saw, it was his interpretation of what she saw that had gotten him into trouble. Still, why did Cameron feel the need to “tattle” on Murphy? Sometimes Cameron’s righteous indignation was more than just a nuisance, sometimes it was a tragic flaw. He didn’t have enough digits to count the times she went running to Cuddy or Wilson to tattle. Even Cuddy was annoyed. But Cameron’s heart was in the right place, she just needed an outlet for it.

Foreman was in the presentation room. He looked at House and smiled one of those knowing smiles. Foreman knew things were going to get interesting, House was in battle mode. He was going to battle to keep Murphy with him.

“Where’s Murphy?” Chase asked innocently. He looked around. Chase liked Murphy and enjoyed her company. They had some great times together and she made him laugh. Plus, she did a mean imitation of House.

“She’s resting. Now, my minions, let’s start the differential. Murphy will catch up.”

“She’s staying in this department?” Cameron asked.

“Why wouldn’t she? She’s assigned to me.”

They conducted the differential and then Murphy joined them . She went with Chase to get a CSF and a liver panel. Chase looked at her, “Murphy, I just wanted to say that I was really proud of your speech. If I was allowed to vote over here I’d vote for you. But are you alright, why did you faint?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Chase’s eyes bugged out and he stopped in his tracks. “Oh no Murphy, not House.”

“Who else? What, you think I’m some tramp sleeping around?”

“I wish! Then I would have nailed you.”

She slugged his arm. “What would you do Chase?”

He looked at her as if she had just asked him to eat some poison. “If I was a fertile female, I wouldn’t have gotten within ten feet of House’s tackle...that’s for sure. But obviously you were a little closer. I don’t know Murphy, having a child with him means you will be forever connected, even when things go bad.”

“I know, it is scary. You know what’s scarier and makes me wonder about myself? Even though he screws me over, I keep going back to him. I feel like Cameron.”

Chase laughed. “Yeah, but when you go back you give him as much of a headache as he gives you. You should have seen him the other day when you were in D.C. and he thought he had lost you. I thought he was going to cry. He looked petrified. I don’t even think Stacy did that to him. For what it’s worth, whatever hold he has on you, you’ve got it on him too.”

“Chase, when did you get so wise?”

He laughed and they both entered the patient’s room.

At noon, House, Cuddy and Wilson went to lunch in the cafeteria. Murphy was already going through the lunch line with Chase, Foreman and Cameron. She was laughing at Foreman making fun of Chase. Murphy saw House out of the corner of her eye and turned to wave.

“Why doesn’t Murphy join us?” Cuddy asked.

“I don’t usually eat with the team and so she doesn’t want to be singled out.” House watched Murphy go down the line, he loved her little nose and ears and the way her mouth went up higher on the right side when she smiled or laughed. “Murphy.” House yelled down the line, “Honey, don’t forget lots of vegetables with folic acid for the baby.”

Murphy stopped and looked around at him. She noticed that the whole cafeteria was staring at her. Cuddy’s mouth was slightly open in shock. Murphy turned red and quickly shot him the finger. The whole cafeteria started laughing.

“Is she really pregnant or are you just making her life miserable?” Cuddy asked.

“I assure you, Murphy is pregnant and I am proud to say that I did the deed. See Cuddy, I told you my little men weren’t dead.”

“House, this is serious. What are you two going to do? She’s just about ready to leave you, what does this do to the equation?” Cuddy was worried.

Wilson looked back and forth at them, “Pregnant? Leave you? Where have I been? My God House, I can’t believe the havoc you can create in just a few days.”

They paid for their food and sat down. House smiled as he watched people going up to Murphy to congratulate her. Now the whole world knew, if she got an abortion now, she’d have to explain it to the whole hospital.

“I asked her to marry me.” House said casually.

Wilson threw up his hands in surprise and frustration, “I’m your best friend and you don’t even bother to tell me?”

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t mean that you and I are breaking up, I’ll still love you. Besides, she said no. But she’ll say yes, who can resist the charms and genealogy of Greg House? She’s lucky to have gotten my donation. That baby will be off the hook. How do you think I’ll look in one of those baby slings?”

Wilson looked at Cuddy who had the same look of disbelief. They all ate their lunches and pondered the idea of Gregory House being a father.

***

After lunch, Cameron and Murphy were alone in the presentation room. Murphy closed the drapes and sat down at the table across from Cameron.

“We need to talk.”

“About what?”

“Your meddling. You told Greg that I had breakfast with Peter Berkshire at a hotel, that he gave me a ring and that he kissed me.”

“It was all true, I thought House should know.”

“You knew that Greg would take it the wrong way so why tell him?”

“The wrong way? What’s the right way?”

“I did not have breakfast with Peter, I actually ran into him as I was leaving and the ring was a Christmas gift. You could have come to me and asked me what was going on. As it is, you may have destroyed my relationship with Greg.”

“Murphy, I did nothing but tell House what I saw.”

“I know that you only told him what you saw, but you knew the import of what you saw and you knew that Greg would interpret it to mean that I was having an affair. Anyone else would have come to me and asked me what was going on.” She paused as Cameron gave her a dirty look. “You know Cameron, I could make your life a living hell on earth. But I just realized I’m not even angry at you. I feel sorry for you, for your need to be the righteous crusader who has to fix everything. And that’s what it is, every time you snitch to Cuddy or House or anyone it’s because you want to be the catalyst of fixing the situation or the person. You want everything and everyone to be perfect. You know, the reason I’m with Greg instead of you is due to one thing, I don’t want to fix Greg. Frankly, I don’t think Greg can be fixed. For God’s sake, he’s 47 years old. That’s a lot of imprinting. I love him as he is, flawed, cynical, sarcastic and mean. The best one can hope to do is prove to him that you are trustworthy so that, on occasion, he’ll show you his other side. Cameron, I’m asking you as an adult, please stop interfering. If you do it again, I may just get angry and Cameron, I fight dirty.”

“Well Murphy, this is all great but how do you think I feel? For two years I was the target of his sexual innuendos, he little flirty looks and touches. I helped pick up the pieces when he was in rehab, I’ve patched him up and what do I get for it? I get ignored the minute you come into his life.”

“Oh Cameron, I am sorry but House doesn’t need a mother, he needs a woman, one who lives her own life and can take him head on. Anything less and he’ll eat you for lunch. I really hope you can find someone who can appreciate you and only needs to be fixed a little. I would like to see you happy.”

Murphy got up and went to the bathroom. Cameron started crying and wondering when it would be her turn to be happy?

When Murphy and House got home, House ordered takeout and propped her up on the couch with a juice and plate of Chinese. He handed her the remote and brought her the magazine she had been reading in bed.

“Oh, you are so funny. This special attention is funny coming from you. This is fun, but I don’t think I can take too much of the kinder, gentler Greg House.”

“Murphy, let’s start all over again. Let’s live together for awhile. If we make it for a few months without killing each other then maybe we can talk about getting married. Ok, one step at a time?”

“I need to know what you think about having a baby. I have to make my decision quickly or it will soon be too late.”

“I want that baby because it’s the best thing we’ve done together. It’s a piece of what’s good between us.”

“Sex?”

He pretended to laugh, “Ha, ha...no the intimacy we have. The intimacy I have with you that I don’t have with anyone else in my life. I want you to have the baby and if you don’t want it, I’ll raise it.”

She was insulted, “How could you think that I would just give up my baby to you?”

“Well, if you’re willing to kill it, abort it, I just assumed.”

She was taken back...she hadn’t thought of that and it stung. “It’s a fetus right now, not a full grown baby.”

“Yeah, I guess you want to hang with Roe v. Wade, just a itty bitty fetus...except that right now he has eyes, fingers, toes, a tongue, and his intestines are developing. He’s 1/5 of his way to being born.” House told her. From the look on her face he knew he had gotten to her.

“I liked it better when I just thought of it as a fetus...it was easier.”

“Yeah denial makes everything feel good.”

He let her think about it and sat back to watch television. When they went to bed he crawled in behind her and held her he whispered in her ear, “I want you and I want the baby. Turn over.”

She turned and looked at him. Her eyes were a little glassy. He kissed her forehead and then her lips while he fondled her breasts which were noticeably bigger. He pulled up her gown up and over her head. He kissed her breasts and her belly. He pulled her head up to him and kissed her deeply while his hand explored her body. She was warm and soft and he wanted her. He pulled her on top of him and she guided him into her. She looked down at him with her strawberry hair just below her ears and her breasts riding up and down. He reached up to cup them and she came down to kiss him. As she began to kiss him he could feel her own orgasm traveling through her and grabbing him with it. He opened his mouth as he reached his climax. She didn’t cry out but he did. It was so delicious, all of it, all of her. He grabbed her to stop. She collapsed onto him and then rolled to his left.

He knew at that moment that she was going to stay, that they were going to get through this. He needed her. No one had ever been able to give him a run for his money like she did.

After a few minutes he asked her, “So will the Navy kick you out?”

“They don’t do that anymore. Pregnancy isn’t an excuse to leave the Navy. They had too many women getting pregnant aboard the ships just to get out of the Navy and get shipped back home. Doesn’t happen now.”

“How many years do you have left?” He asked.

“In this enlistment or in the Navy?”

“What do you mean? After this enlistment, won’t you get out?”

“Why should I?”

“Answer my first question. Then we’ll talk about you getting out.”

“I have three years on this enlistment. At twenty I can go out on a retainer. It’s not officially a retirement, but I would get a monthly pension. You don’t officially retire until you hit your 30^th year. So they could call me up between the 20^th and 30^th year.”

“Assuming we are together, what do you plan on doing with me when you get stationed in Hawaii or San Diego or Naples or Iraq?”

“Cross that bridge when we got there. People face it all the time Greg. We can work it out.”

“Gee sports fans, that sounds like a big, ‘I DON’T KNOW what we’d do” to me.” But he did like the idea that she was talking in present terms.

“Which is why having a baby isn’t such a good idea. Maybe we can’t work this out.”

House back peddled, “Of course we’ll work it out, I’ll just grow a teat and I’ll breast feed the baby while you’re gone. We’ll work it out...we will work it out.”

“You’re scaring me, you’ve become so pollyannish.”

Murphy was still undecided what to do and House didn’t make it any easier. He spent every waking moment trying to make her pregnancy more comfortable and he even went out and bought a baby sling, which he tried on for her. He put a bag of sugar in it and stood smiling and patting the sugar bag like a baby. She had to laugh, he looked so silly. By March Murphy still hadn’t made a decision about the baby or House, but every day she stayed in the apartment, the harder it was to leave even though she knew he was putting on an act.

The first Monday in March at work they were diagnosing a patient when House realized that the patient had a viral or bacterial infection that was possibly lethal. He banned Murphy from the patient’s room. “We have three doctors in there already, it’s not like we need one more. You can run some of the labs, but only the ones that keep you at a distance from the bodily fluids.” There were no jokes, no snide remarks, nothing funny, he just said it and kept going. Murphy was going to protest but how could she argue with logic and a very serious House? Was he really taking the idea of being a father seriously?

***

Murphy and Lisa went out shopping on Saturday and while they were having lunch Murphy asked Lisa what she would do.

“Look, I know and like both of you. But Greg is a real steamroller, you won’t have a chance to think clearly if you stay in the apartment. Why don’t you give him something to think about and move in with me for awhile. I’m going to be gone for most of the next two weeks on training seminars and to get my continuing education credits, so you’ll have the run of the house.”

This was ideal. It let Murphy get away without making a commitment one way or another.

When she got home she sat House down. “I’m moving out for awhile. I don’t know if it is permanent but I need to think things through. I can’t think things through while you are holding me and kissing me. I’ll leave most of my stuff here until I make a permanent decision or if you want I can move them into storage.”

Greg’s mind was racing. He was upset that she was leaving but if he kept her things here she;d have to come here to get them. “You don’t have to leave to make up your mind. I hold you because I want you near me, always.”

“Greg, you sound so sweet it scares me. I feel like, no, I know that you are trying to manipulate me.”

“Well, if you do have to go, leave your things here and keep your keys.”

“Ok.”

Murphy moved into Lisa’s guest room the following night and enjoyed staying up with Lisa gossiping and giggling. On Monday they had lunch together and were eventually joined by the team and Wilson. When House finally made it to the cafeteria he hesitated to go and eat lunch with the team. But everyone else was at the table and they were laughing like mad. He sat down and they all looked at him.

“What?”

“Chase was just telling about us about his growing up in Australia and the Kangaroo races.” Murphy said to him.

“Did your Mom let you stay inside the pouch or did she make you get out to lighten the load.”

They all chuckled and House began to eat. The time at the hospital went quickly and when Murphy got home to Lisa’s house she realized then how quiet it was. In some ways it was nice to just have time to herself and not have to think about House. But it was also lonely in some respects.

House was bored without Murphy. He spent most of the days thinking about how to get her to move back into the apartment. On Thursday night he called her and asked her out on a date for Friday. She accepted the date and smiled to herself when she hung up. They had never really gone out on an official date. Murphy went shopping Thursday night and bought a new outfit to show off her new, enlarged, breasts and her still gorgeous legs. He put her hair up, put on some earrings and makeup.

He drove over to Cuddy’s and picked her up at 6:00 p.m. When she opened the door he looked at her with a very sly, sexy smile. She was lovely in a low cut wrap around dress that came to just above her knees. The dress had it’s own built in underwire bra that pushed her breasts up and together to give her lots of cleavage. He hoped that she would look this sexy after the baby was born.

She invited him in and he stepped forward, grabbed her and kissed her like he hadn’t seen her in months instead of two hours. She was surprised at how passionate the kiss had been. She gave him a look to acknowledge that it was a very special greeting and then grabbed her coat. The went to a new French Restaurant, “Le Aubergine.” They were sitting next to each other and House had his hand on her knee under the table. Every few minutes he would move it just slightly higher up her thigh and it was driving her crazy. House ordered wine for himself and water for Murphy. They talked about France and French wines, of which Murphy knew nothing. House eventually admitted that Stacy had been a fan of everything French and so they had spent a weekend in Napa learning the differences between Californian, French and German wines. He was very entertaining as he mimicked a French waiter.

“Did you two ever get to France?”

“No, I suspect Mark has taken her by now though.”

“Have you been to France?”

“When I was a teenager. I was there with my parents in between duty stations. I don’t remember much about it.”

“What about you?”

“My sister and I toured Europe for a month after I got out of Landstuhl the first time. I liked Italy much more than France. I think it was the waiters. They cracked us up and were always teasing us.”

“If we got married soon, we could go to Italy for our honeymoon.”

“Nice try. Tempting.”

His hand was rubbing the interior of her thigh just lightly and she was going to remove it but it felt so good and when she reached down to his thigh, she could feel that it was getting to him too. He had to remove his hand to eat. She could tell from his looks that he wanted the dinner over with so he could have her for desert.

His phone went off. He looked at it, shut it off and put it back in his pocked, ignoring it. Her phone went off. She looked at it, realized it was the hospital and shook her head at House.

“Just pretend you didn’t see or hear it.”

“I can’t, it’s my job. You can finish here, I’ll catch a cab to the hospital.” She answered the phone, told them she would be right in and looked at him.

“Aghh.” He groaned, “Ok, let me pay the bill and we’ll go.”

They arrived at the hospital and everyone gave Murphy a wolf whistle as she went through the corridors. One of the passing nurses said, “Lookin’ hot Dr. House.”

And Murphy agreed. He had worn his tailored dark blue suit with a medium blue shirt and a Jerry Garcia tie. He looked very hot.

When they walked into the office the guys smiled slightly. “Were you two on a date or something?”

House grimaced, “Obviously I’ll have to have my ‘or something’ later.

“Murphy, as beautiful as ever.” Chase said.

“Thanks.”

The case was that of a young woman who lost her ability to function at her job as an accountant. The tests had shown that she did not have dementia. She was admitted in emergency when she started to vomit blood.

Murphy did the initial examination and found that the liver and spleen were enlarged. House ordered a hepatitis test and CB3 and CB4. They showed that she had low platelet and white blood cell counts in the blood as well as high levels of amino acids, protein, uric acid, and carbohydrates in urine. Murphy looked at House who was giving her a look of disappointment.

House told Chase and Cameron to run the tests stat. He told Foreman to get an MRI.

He told Murphy to follow him. As they walked down the corridor House was looking in each of the windows of the doors and finally he looked in one, opened the door and dragged Murphy quickly inside. He pinned her up against the door itself and unwrapped the front of her dress putting his left hand on her breast and the right hand down the front of her panties giving her pleasure and bringing her close to climax. He grabbed her and bent her over the table, lifted the back of her dress and pushed it up onto her back, pulled down her panties and within minutes they both were exhausted from the spasms and sensations that went through their bodies at the same time.

“Ah, God...I needed that.” He pulled out of her and leaned forward onto her back as he rested for a minute. He straightened himself and Murphy pulled up her panties and closed up her dress. “I thought I was going to have to screw one of those nurses at the charge desk.”

“That...that was hot. I can still feel it.” She was breathing heavily. He pulled her to him and kissed the tops of her breasts and then her lips. She pulled away and straightened herself. They looked around the room to see if anything was out of place and the left. When they got to the presentation room they waited for the results to come back. The team came back with them and House began to review them.

“Murphy, if you weren’t the mother of my child I’d have to take you over my knee and spank you...oh, but then you like that. Well, Murphy what do you have to say for yourself?”

“I know, I screwed up the exam. I’m sorry, I’ll go back and look at her eyes again.”

Cameron gave a quizzical look but Foreman had figured it out. “It’s Wilsons, isn’t it?”

“Yep...” House said quickly.

Murphy took out a scope and looked into the cornea. It wasn’t very prominent yet but it was there. The patient had a rusty-green circle around her cornea which was an indicator for Wilson’s disease. Cameron was already walking in with the D-penicillamine to treat it.

“You two need to be more careful.”

“What?”

“I saw you two down in the little meeting room. That picture will be forever branded on my brain. It seems as if you two have sex at the drop of a hat.”

“More like the drop of his pants. Cameron, that wasn’t planned and I certainly didn’t choose the venue. But Greg likes, well...it doesn’t matter what he likes. You’re right, we should be more careful. Cameron, I wish we could be friends...or at the least, friendly. I actually like you a lot and respect you. Please, don’t say anything right now, just think about it.”

When House took Murphy home he laughed uncontrollably at the thought of Cameron snooping through the glass in the door.

“Well, maybe she picked up some pointers.”

“I don’t think it’s funny. We need to be more careful about that.”

“I tell you what, you stop looking hot and I’ll stop jumping you. Murphy, why don’t we just go back to the apartment for tonight. I want to practice being careful.”

“Greg, take me to Lisa’s. I need to think. I enjoyed the evening.”

                                                       ***

Murphy had one little habit, ok there were several, but this one in particular drove Greg crazy. She would walk half way across the Princeton campus to buy a smoothie. She could get one at PPTH, but they didn’t make the kind she liked, banana, peanut butter and chocolate with yogurt ice cream. Sometimes, rather than get lunch in the cafeteria, she would make a trek across campus for a smoothie at the student union. In fact, she was known to make the trek in the dead of winter when she got a craving for one. Since she had gotten pregnant the craving for a smoothies, her smoothie, were strong.

For Murphy it was more than just the smoothie, it was the walk and then the kicking back at the student union to enjoy it that gave her a reason to make the trek. Sometimes it was nice to have a little time off from PPTH and from House. He just didn’t understand the need to hoof it for miles just to get a smoothie.

It was a windy and rainy day in late March. Lisa had just come back from her trips and told Murphy to take as long as she needed to make a decision. But Murphy needed to make a decision soon, her first trimester was almost up. Murphy grabbed her rain slicker and bundled up, grabbed an umbrella and walked into House’s office. He gave her a look of disappointment and frustration, “Ohhh, Murphy, you aren’t going to go out in this weather for a smoothie?”

“Oh Greg, chill out. It’s only a mile there and a mile back. It’s good for me and the baby.”

“I’ll buy you lunch in the cafeteria if you don’t go out.”

She laughed, for Greg to volunteer to pay for food in the cafeteria, he was desperate for her to stay. “When you gotta have it, ya gotta have it...sorry.”

“Are we on for tonight?” he asked.

“You didn’t ask me. So no.”

“We go out every Friday and Saturday night, why would this one be different?”

“Because Peter Berkshire just called and asked if I would meet him for drinks.”

House gave her a very serious look. “Peter Berkshire is getting my Friday night?”

“He’s getting this Friday night. And don’t worry, I told him I was pregnant and that you had been the one to do it. We’re just going to catch up. He’s going back to England in a few months.”

“Not soon enough.”

“Why don’t you come over after your date with Peter?”

“It’s NOT a date.”

“Ok after your, ‘It’s Not a Date.’”

“I can’t promise, I get tired really easily.” she grabbed her purse.

“Well especially if you hike two miles in a gale.”

“House...why don’t you come?”

“In a gale?”

“No, tonight. I don’t think Peter would mind...you just have to promise to behave.”

House smiled mischievously and said, “Sounds good to me. What time and where?”

“7:30 at the Triumph.”

She turned and made her way out the door. As she walked along in the howling wind and rain she thought that it was whipping up a lot like it did aboard ship during a storm. She was enjoying it and when she finally got to the student union, she saw that her favorite clerk, Rodney, was making the smoothies. He always gave her extra banana.

“Dude.” She said with a straight face.

“Dudette.” He said back with an equally straight face. “Did you see it the other night?”

“God yes, I love the show, he really is a character. Lots of tragic flaws. I hope the cop gets a good tongue lashing by the court.” She gushed.

“You want a Black Captain Crunch?”

“Yeah baby, load me up.” She started digging out her money.

He put in the extra banana with a wink at her and then hit the blender. Within seconds she had her smoothie. She went over and sat down on one of the empty couches. There were several food vendors in the student union and so she wasn’t surprised when a guy sat down near her with a felafel sandwich. She tried not to watch him but there was something that seemed familiar about him.

“Hi.” he said with a nod.

“Hi.” She said back.

“I’m Jack.” He said with a smile as he licked the sauce that was running down his fingers.

“Murphy.” She decided he must be close to her age, maybe a little older and he was bald on top with black hair on the sides. He wasn’t bad looking, not handsome like House, but not ugly.

“Man, what a storm outside. I had a tree blow down on my street.”

“Yeah it is windy and wet.” she acknowledged.

“You don’t sound like you’re from the east coast.”

“I’m not, I’m from California. You?”

“Philadelphia.”

“Visiting family?” He asked her.

“No, I work at the hospital.” Murphy said.

“Which one, General or the teaching hospital?”

“PPTH.” Murphy was still sipping her smoothie.

“My wife was treated there almost two years ago for some weird disease.”

“Oh, well I hope they were able to help her.”

“Yeah, eventually, but she died a few months later.”

“Oh, I am sorry. That must have been horrible. Was it from the illness?”

“No, suicide. You know I’ve seen you in here before with one of those.”

“I confess, I’m hooked. They hit the spot. I’m pregnant and it seems I can’t get enough of them.”

“Congratulations! I bet your husband is happy.”

“My boyfriend is.”

“Well, I have to go. I’ll probably see you again because I eat in here a lot. Take care Murphy.”

“Bye Jack.”

Murphy got up, threw the smoothie container in the trash and jumped back out in the storm for her trip back to PPTH.

Murphy debated on what to wear that evening. She wanted to look attractive, but not so attractive that House would think she was coming on to Peter. She decided to wear a long sleeve sweater and some black jeans that had scrolling down the sides of them. She looked good, but not overtly sexy.

Murphy arrived and saw Peter at a booth in the bar. She walked up to him took off her rain coat and hung it up on the hook by the booth and stood so that Peter could give her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. She sat down and smiled broadly. “It’s so good to see you! How have you been?”

“Fine. So where’s House?” He looked around.

“How did you know he was coming?”

“Pregnant girlfriend having drinks with a single guy? I don’t think even I would be happy with that.”

“I don’t understand men, I mean, I’m pregnant, less likely to be out doing the deed if you know what I mean.” Murphy said.

“Still, it’s a territorial thing, protecting your young maybe. So, are you two going to get married?”

She looked frustrated and because she was. That question kept coming up and she was nowhere closer to answering it than when she was living with Greg, “Not sure yet.”

“That cad knocked you up and then would nott ask you to marry him?”

“Oh, no, no, no, he asks me every day of the week, sometimes every hour of every day of the week. I just feel like I have cotton balls in my head and can’t think straight. I invited another friend tonight, Lisa Cuddy, I hope you don’t mind. She’s Dean of Medicine at PPTH.”

“Is this a setup?”

“You’d be lucky if it was, but no, we had planned on going out tonight before you called.”

“Well good thing I got a booth.” he looked up at the door and in the best Austrian accent said, “I think that’s the Impregnator is here...”

House walked in scowling and wearing sunglasses and his motorcycle jacket. He looked sexy but oddly out of place and costumish.

Murphy waved at him and he came over and slid into the booth next to her. “Peter you remember Greg. “

“Good to see you again. Last time I saw you, you gave me a prostate exam.”

“Yeah, we were doing a special at PPTH, a free prostate exam for every bomb victim.” House smiled wickedly.

“What? When did this happen?”

“Don’t worry Murphy, it was fine. Greg was gentle.“ Peter patted her hand.

“Did I forget to tell you your prostate was fine, little, but fine?”

“Thank you. May I get you something to drink?” Peter asked Murphy and House.

“Virgin Mary for me.” Murphy said.

“Guinness.” House told him.

Lisa walked up to the table before Peter went to the bar. She looked great in her tight jeans and ribbed sweater. Her hair was pulled back and her makeup was subtle.

“Lisa!” Murphy smiled widely, “This is Peter Berkshire. Peter, this is Lisa Cuddy, my friend.”

They exchanged pleasantries and Peter asked her what she wanted from the bar. After everyone was settled. Peter began to ask Lisa a lot of questions. It was clear that he found her attractive. The conversation turned to House and his background. House mentioned that he was fired by three hospitals before coming to PPTH.

“Who at PPTH took a chance on you after being let go three times?”

“I hired House.”

“You? You hired Greg?” He wanted to ask why but shut his mouth quickly so as not to sound rude.

“You want to know why don’t you?” Lisa volunteered. “I get asked that question more than any other.”

“We slept together and I know where her G spot is. She likes me to be around.”

Murphy looked surprised at both House and Lisa. Lisa gave a sheepish look and Murphy realized that there was some kernel of truth in what Greg said or Lisa would have made a quick comeback Murphy filed the information away.

“The truth is that Greg was a legend at Michigan State and I was an undergrad. Despite his brilliant mind, he kept getting himself fired. I needed a hook at PPTH, someone to give us something different from other hospitals. I decided to build the Diagnostics department around House and publicize that we only handled the really hard cases. It worked. House doesn’t generate a lot of revenues in his department but he does generate buzz and people started looking at PPTH as a top notch hospital. Our revenues overall jumped 10% after Greg came on board. And his department has actually turned a corner and is making the hospital money. I think that has something to do with Murphy though because having her has generated a lot of good P.R.”

Murphy was fascinated by what Cuddy had said. House looked bored and Peter was enchanted. Lisa sounded intelligent and she was talking math to a mathematician. “That’s an incredible risk you took. Greg’s not exactly touchy feely so you’re not promoting him as a person but his skills.”

“Yoo hoo. I’m right here. I can hear everyone. PPTH is lucky to have me, I did have other offers but this one meant I would have my own department. Which reminds me, I want an LCD screen to run my Digital screenings on, a large LCD.”

Lisa just looked at him like she had heard this whine before.

“I like being the center of attention, but let’s find out a little about you. How long are you going to be in Princeton?”

“I have three months left on my contract.”

“Do you have your ticket home yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“It’s better to buy them early so that you get the best price. I could hook you up with my travel agent.”

“Dr. House, I assure you that I intend to leave when my time is up. Are you still worried that I might whisk Murphy away from you? Don’t you have any faith in her?”

“People do what is expedient and makes them feel good.” House said with no emotion.

“What is that suppose to mean? Are you insinuating that if I felt like screwing Peter I would do it without any thought about you because I could and it would feel good?”

“You do have flawed logic. First there is no evidence that you would enjoy screwing Peter. Nonetheless, if you thought it would make you feel good and it was convenient, I think you’d do it.”

Her mouth dropped open. “So we just walk around like animals, screwing when it is expedient and would feel good?”

“Pretty much.” He said quickly.

“Then it begs the question, when you are at these seminars and there are some “expedient women” around, you’re telling me you wouldn’t think twice about sleeping with them?”

House’s mouth went dry and he knew he better get himself out of this one. “Welllll...ok, I see your point. Honey, I wouldn’t dare, you’d have an RPG up my @ss.”

Everyone at the table laughed. Even Murphy relaxed. By the end of the night House was at east. It was clear that Peter had shifted his attentions to Lisa and everyone was having a good time (even Greg) talking and laughing about the antics of the Princeton Math department and PPTH faculty.

***

It was a slow day, they didn’t have a patient and as soon as clinic was done she grabbed her purse and a sweater and made her way over to the student union.

“Dude.”

“Dudette.”

“Black Captain Crunch?”

“You’re the man.”

She got her smoothie and sat down. She saw Jack and he waved at her. This was the fourth time they had met in the student union. He was really a funny guy and made her laugh a lot. He was working at a small software company just off campus. He usually ate on campus because it was cheap and filling.

She discovered that Jack’s wife had found out he had been involved with another woman and couldn’t take it. She was already depressed and that sent her over the edge. She took her life one sunny afternoon and it was Jack who found her. She could tell Jack was very broken up about it.

They talked about her being in the Navy and winning the Navy Cross, Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. “That’s a lot of weight on one little chest. It’s a shame your parents aren’t alive to see it.”

She agreed and they talked about loss. He seemed to really understand how much she missed her sister and her parents. They shared a lot about death and loss.

“What about your boyfriend? Is he supportive?”

“He’s an odd duck. Sometimes he’s very supportive and sometimes he tells me to get over it, that I can’t bring her back. And he’s right, I can’t.”

“He sounds a little prickly to me.”

“Yes, but he’s also good to me and now that I’m pregnant, he’s been incredibly good to me.”

“Does your boyfriend want the baby?”

“He seems to. Got to go...see you Jack.”

 Jack smiled and waved at her as she left. “Bye Murphy.”

Murphy had told Lisa that she had overstayed her welcome. She had been with Lisa for over a month now although Lisa had only been there the last two weeks. Lisa was having a blast with Murphy. Murphy was funny and cynical and easy to get along with. Lisa realized that House would be an idiot to lose Murphy.

“You don’t have to move out if you don’t want to.”

“I gave my tenants notice that I was moving back into the house. They’re going to let me buy out their lease, they want to get something closer to Trenton. If I give them $500 to help move then they’re gone and I can move back into my own house. I realized that I’m going to need a bigger place than Greg's anyway. I have decided that I am going to have the baby but I’m not making any decisions about Greg yet. I get to move in next weekend.”

“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that you’re going to have the baby. We all are curious as to what a House baby will be like. But I am so glad that you’ll be raising it and not me!”

“Gee thanks.” Murphy rolled her eyes.

“Has House gone with you to your appointments?”

“Not since the second one. I forget to tell him about them until it’s too late and he’s doing something already. I did put him on notice of the next one and hopefully he’ll show up.”

“Do his parents know?”

“I haven’t told them yet because of the uncertainty but we will soon, I think.”

When she saw Jack at the Student Union he was reading a newspaper. He mentioned that he had just bought a used truck.

“Oh, I could use a truck this weekend, I have a lot of stuff to move from storage to my house.”

“Won’t your boyfriend help you?”

“He’s got a bum leg and this weekend he’s going to a jazz festival with his buddy. I moved it by myself, I can move it back.”

“Does he know you’re doing this?”

“Nah, if I told him he would freak out and go ballistic.”

“Look I have something to do in the afternoon but I’ll help take a load or two over in the morning if you want me to.”

“Jack, that’s very nice but I hate to take advantage of your kindness.”

“Please, it’s just a couple of hours of my time.”

“Oh wow, great, if you could help me with the heavier stuff, I can get the smaller stuff by myself. “

“Fine, just tell me where and when.”

Murphy gave Jack the storage facility address and asked that he meet her there at 8:00 a.m. They parted and Murphy gave him a wave of thanks as she left the student union.”

On Saturday Murphy spent the night with Greg and packed him and Wilson off to the jazz festival at 7:00 a.m. The festival was three hours away and started at 9:00 a.m. It just so happened that one of Wilson’s favorite jazz trumpeters was going to sing at 10 a.m. After sending them on their way, Murphy grabbed some water and left for the storage facility.”

She was happy to see that Jack was already there ready to go. He brought her a smoothie and she was chuffed. He was funny as they were loading the truck and she thought she was going to pee her pants. He was making fun of some of her stuff and she had to admit she had an eclectic choice of junk in her life. There was a lifesized cardboard cutout of Jean Luc Piccard, given to her by some of the guys in Germany, a flock of pink plastic flamingos and a collection of Star Trek action figures.

When they got to her house, Jack helped her move in the chest of drawers, the bed and other heavier items. “I wish we had another strong back, I don’t like the idea of you moving heavy things while you are pregnant.” Jack told her.

“You’re doing the lion’s share of the work! It’s ok, after this piece the rest is easy.”

They got the last of the heavy things into the house and she handed Jack a beer. They talked for a few minutes and then he had to take off. Murphy moved the rest of her things into the house and then drove to House’s apartment to get the rest. She left some clothes and toiletries but got her pots and pans, uniforms and the pictures she had on the nightstand.

House got home late that night and looked in the bedroom but she wasn’t there. House was disappointed. He had hoped she’d be in the bed. He turned on the light and noticed that her photos were gone. He opened up the chest of drawers and noticed that most of the clothing was missing. He sat down on the bed and looked around and thought about it. She had mentioned briefly that the tenants were moving out of her house, but he hadn’t realized that what she meant was that she was moving into the house. He brushed his teeth, got undress and got into bed. He had trouble getting to sleep at first, he had really wanted to cuddle up to her, but eventually he went to sleep.

***

Murphy crashed, she was so tired. She knew it hadn’t registered with Greg that she was moving into her house. She felt a little sad for him when he came home and found that she had moved out.

The next day Murphy started unpacking and getting the house put together. She was in the living room when she heard the motorcycle pull up. He walked in and pulled his helmet off while looking around. “Please tell me you didn’t do all of this yourself.”

“No I had a friend help. How was the jazz festival?”

“You didn’t tell you were moving this weekend. I take it this means you aren’t moving back in with me.”

“I’m going to need the extra bedroom for the baby. I did decide to have the baby.”

“What about us?”

She sat down, exhaled and put her feet up. “Greg, sit down.”

She grabbed her key ring and took a key off and threw it at House. “That’s the key to my house.”

He put it on his key ring and then asked her,”Do you need any help?”

“Sure, I need someone to help unpack the kitchen stuff.” She got up and started to go into the kitchen. He followed her and then looked in the refrigerator, pulled out a beer and smiled. “Yeah, I got in some beer for you.”

“Thanks.”

“Want to tell me now about the festival?”

He went into details about the jazz festival and told her he bought her a cd but left it at the apartment. He reached around from behind and pulled Murphy to him. He hugged her and smelled her hair. She was starting to get round and bigger in her breasts, abdomen and thighs. He marveled at her body and the changes. Until now he had never really thought about the process a woman’s body went through to bring a baby into the world. He tried not to be romantic about it but he couldn’t help but love to feel her and watch her. She didn’t know it but she already stood differently and she snored a little when she slept. She got upset when her face broke out and she had to buy shoes in a bigger size. She slept more often and couldn’t go an hour without running into the bathroom. He had noticed all these things but hadn’t shared them with her. He didn’t know why but he thought if he articulated his true feelings then he would have to admit to himself that he was starting to like the idea of having a baby.

She leaned back into him and wondered why he wanted so hard to be so cold when he could be so sweet? He just held her and felt her tummy, she placed her hand over his and closed her eyes. After a moment she turned around gave him a quick kiss and got back to work.

“Who was the friend that helped you?”

“ A friend from the student union, you don’t know him. We talk when I go over for my smoothie. He’s a widower and really funny. We spent more time laughing than moving. You would really like him.”

“No thanks, I’ve already met one of your “boys on the side.”“

House ran as fast as he could with his cane to the elevator to stop the door from closing. He caught it with his cane and was relieved when the doors opened. He got in and pushed the buttons to go down but the elevator went up. He didn’t see the light on the outside indicating the elevator was going up. Ughhh, he was going to be late.

When he finally got to OB/GYN he saw immediately that she wasn’t in the waiting room. “Where’s Dr. Morrighan?” He asked the charge nurse. She pointed to the exam room down the hall. He ran in and both Murphy and Dr. Virtue looked at him. She was just about ready to put the fetal heart monitor on Murphy.

“Dr. House, glad you could join us. Would you like to hear your baby’s heartbeat?”

He said nothing but nodded affirmatively.

“This is where I usually cry.” Murphy said to House.

He snickered and came over to hold her hand. Dr. Virtue put the monitor on her and moved it around on her belly to find the heartbeat. She was having trouble finding it and Murphy was getting nervous. Finally she went lower and the gushing sound started flowing through the microphone in a fast monotonous rhythm. He started laughing to himself and Murphy started crying as usual. He squeezed her hand.

“Baby’s heartbeat sounds great. Looks like you are on track for an October 15^th delivery date. Greg, are you going to be in the delivery room with Murphy?”

“Of course.”

“Then you need to go to our birthing class.”

He gave them both a look of distaste, like he didn’t want anything to do with it. “I’m a doctor, I don’t need birthing classes. I’ve delivered babies.”

“Oooo, good for you. But you still need to go through the class if you are going to be in the delivery room.”

“Ahhh, we’ll talk about that later.”

The doctor talked to them about the baby’s development and laughed when House feigned concern that the big brain on the kid was going to give Murphy problems in the delivery room.

When Murphy and House left Murphy was excited and chattering away like mad. House couldn’t believe that anyone could talk that fast and still make sense. She was so happy and excited that she missed the office door because she was talking so much. House turned and went into his office as Murphy kept walking forward talking to thin air. He laughed as he watched her just carry on as if he was still walking next to her. Murphy turned around to hear House’s response to her question and realized he was no longer there.

She went running back to the office and stepped inside, looked at House and they both started laughing. “You are pathetic!” He said.

“I’m just excited.” House got up to go take a leak . Murphy reached out and grabbed his arm. He looked down at her hand on his arm and then up to her eyes. “Why don’t you move in with me? It wouldn’t work in your apartment, we need the extra bedroom.”

“I’d never be able to get my piano and half my stuff into your little house.”

She was devastated. It had taken a lot for her to admit to herself that, yes , she wanted him back in her life, in her bed, in her bathroom, living room...and he said no. He saw the look on her face and realized she thought he was dismissing her gesture. He had an alternative solution.

“Look, hold that thought, I really do have to pee. I’ll be right back.” He went to the restroom and came back. She was gone. He couldn’t find her, he looked around the entire hospital, called all of the desks and she wasn’t in.

She wanted to get out of the hospital, it was closing in. She could breathe again outside. She took off across campus to get a smoothie. When she got her smoothie she collapsed into the sofa, Jack wasn’t around and she wished he was. She could have used some cheering up. Just as she was done and ready to go back and face work again, Jack came in.

“Murphy, hey how’s the unpacking going?”

“Fine.”

“You don’t look too good. What’s up?”

“Oh Jack, it’s nothing.”

“Come on, what happened?”

“My boyfriend turned down my offer to move in together.”

“I’m confused, I thought he kept asking you to move in with him?” Jack was shaking his head.

“He can’t get all his things in my house.”

“Well, maybe he’s telling the truth. Maybe you two just need to find a bigger place.”

She looked at him like he was a Martian but then she realized that he was probably right. “You know, maybe you’re right, maybe he really did mean it was just a logistics problem. I’m going back to the hospital. Thanks Jack.”

When she got back he was really pissed at her and launched right in, “You couldn’t wait a friggin’ minute so I could go pee? You had to take off and leave me flapping in the wind? You moron, you just keep insisting that I’m the bad guy, I just want....ahh.” He stopped out of sheer frustration. “I can’t do anything right with you. I was going to suggest we find a bigger place.” He grabbed his helmet, his keys and his cane and walked as fast as he could out the door.

She ran out of the office and down the hall to the elevator and jumped into the elevator before it closed. “Ok, where are we going to look for this place? Plainsboro or Princeton?”

“I’m mad at you.” He said as he kept going.

“Boo hoo, get over yourself.” She said. House stopped in the middle of the hospital entryway, turned around and looked down at her. The side of his lip curled up. She asked him, “Are you trying to decide whether to slap me or kiss me? I’m voting for the kiss.”

He reached down and put his hand under her chin, lifted it and kissed her very gently. “You’ll get more when you apologize.”

“Who says I want more?” She said smiling. He grabbed her by the rear and pulled her into his groin and french kissed her. She started laughing and pulled away. “Ok, I’m sorry. Now should I bend over and let you punish me?”

“Not unless Cameron’s around to watch. Let’s get out of here.”

“I need to get my things.” She disappeared upstairs to the office and got her purse and jacket.

***

They left and drove to her house teasing each other with looks and touching. They were disrobing before they even got to the front door. They didn’t make it to the bedroom but they did make it to the sofa. It was fast, it was rough and it was over almost as quick as it started. They were both laughing and joking when Murphy collapsed on House. House was getting used to having Murphy around and worried about her and what would happen to them when her year was up.

“You’re butt and thighs are like tree trunks. It won’t be long and I won’t be able to get my arms around you with that belly.”

“Honey, you’re so romantic and irresistible when you flatter me.”

“You find a place, we’ll move in together.” He informed her

“Are we talking about buying or renting?” She asked.

“Since we’re getting married why don’t we buy?”

“Oh, now that was a leap.” She shook her finger at him.

That weekend House was at his apartment doing laundry while Murphy was looking for a house. Greg talked Murphy into buying a home and they decided that they would each put in the same amount for the deposit and mortgage. Together they had a nice sized budget.

Greg was folding his clothes when there was a knock on the door. He got up without his cane and hopped to the front door. There were two men, two Princeton detectives that House was very familiar with, Jefferson and White. Both had been assigned to try and catch Moriarty, the man who had shot him.

“Detectives, come on in.”

“Dr. House, we’ve got good and bad news and we’re afraid they’re both the same. We have word that Moriarty is back in Princeton which means we think we can get him this time, but that’s also the bad news, we don’t know why he’s here and if he is going to come after you. He's been sited by someonewho used to know him. It was only one siting but we also got wind that a man on a videotape in the airport in Phoenix looked a lot like him. The face recognition software gave it a 72% match and he was in the airport when three flights were taking off for the east coast. So be careful and if there is something out of the ordinary, call us.”

“Great, I’m expected to look over my shoulder wherever I go.” House was annoyed.

“Sorry, but we think he has been back for some time. Since he hasn’t gone after you, then maybe he hasn’t come back for you. We do know that his brother has terminal cancer, he may be back east for that.”

House said in a sarcastic voice “Thanks for your time. I need to get to KMart, there's a gun I have to purchase.”

They left and House poured himself a whiskey. When Wilson stopped by to bring him back his golf clubs, he was surprised to see House almost drunk at 4:00 in the afternoon.

“What’s wrong?” Wilson asked. House told him about Moriarty. “Are you going to tell Murphy?”

“No, why worry her?”

“Well, in case she sees something.”

“Let’s wait and see if they find out anything more.” House said.

“Yeah, let’s wait until he caps your @ss and she gets to bury you. Have you thought about changing your will and insurance beneficiaries? Your child is going to need it.”

“Great, you’ve got me dead and buried already.”

Wilson and House sat and started watching the Phillies. Wilson had brought tortilla strips and fire roasted salsa, their favorite. One of their rituals was to drink Samuel Adams, eat tortillas chips, watch the Phillies and have belching contests. It was their usual baseball Saturday.

House’s birthday was June 11th and it was the day of Murphy’s first sonogram. She had scheduled one earlier but they had a patient in House's department and Murphy had to cancel. The hospital only had one 4D sonogram and that’s what Murphy wanted. She was very excited about it. House was a little leery about it. Seeing the baby was just going to make it even more real to him. Fatherhood was rapidly approaching and life as he knew it would be over soon.

Dr. Virtue had decided to do the sonogram herself. She put the jelly on Murphy’s stomach and rubbed it around. House was sitting on a stool watching the screen and sucking on a See’s sucker. House's Mom always sent him See's candy and suckers as one of his birthday presents. As she prepared the test she lectured them, “The baby is probably close to a pound and very thin but very developed. The eyelids and eyebrows are now formed, and the brain is starting it’s rapid growth. If your baby is a boy, his testes have begun their descent from the pelvis to the scrotum.”

“That is if he has balls.” House said, “What if he’s gay?”

Murphy rolled her eyes. “Greg, button it.”

She started the machine and Murphy held her breath. She could see the side of the little face and the hair! Not much hair but some whisps. She looked at House who was watching her and she started crying again. “I can’t help it, I can’t help it.”

House started shaking his head and laughing at her. He looked back at the screen. The doctor continued, “Your baby looks healthy so far. Let’s see." She brought the scan around. she started talking to the baby, “Come on, move just a little and let’s see your tummy.Let’s show Mommy and Daddy what you’ve got.”

Murphy was getting anxious and wanted the baby to turn around. She poked her stomach and pushed it around. The baby started to move. Dr. Virtue nodded, “Here we go, that did the trick.” The baby moved and flailed it’s little arms and legs revealing the umbilical cord and to the surprise of everyone, a nice sized penis.

Murphy squealed, “Wow, hung just like his Dad.”

House had stopped sucking on the sucker and was just staring at the screen. A boy was difficult for him to swallow. For some reason he had always thought that it would be a girl. A boy meant he had to make sure he didn’t make the same mistakes his own father had, but how could he do that? His whole life had been based on those mistakes.

When they were done they were given a DVD of the sonogram and Murphy handed it to House, “Happy Birthday honey!”

House just smiled and said "Gosh just what I wanted, but the plot's a little thin."

They went back to the office and everyone wanted to know the sex. “Let me show you!” Murphy piped up. She popped the DVD into the machine and it appeared on the screen.

“Oh wow! Finger and toes...eyebrows. These 4D sonograms are awesome.” Chase said.

“I can’t believe the baby is so clear.” Cameron said.

“Now, watch as all is revealed.” They got to the point where the baby turned around and there was full frontal nudity.

“Ah! A boy. Congratulations House.” Foreman quipped, “Now you get your chance to screw up fatherhood.”

“Thanks.” House shook his head.

“I know today is your birthday. I have something for you.” Cameron reached into her satchel and brought out a present and shyly handed it to House in front of Murphy.

House opened it and it was a book on medical oddities along with a dvd that contained a narrative and photos of them. It was right up House's alley. House nodded at her, “Thanks.”

When they went into the House’s office, Murphy looked at House and shook her head, “House, do you know how hard it is for anyone to buy anything for you? You need to go in there and let Cameron know that you appreciate the effort and time she took to pick a gift that is perfect for you. You know you love that book. Now get your @ss in there and tell her.”

“No, she’d know that it was forced.”

“I don’t care if it is forced. You need to do this.”

“Are all big @ss women bossy or is it just big @ss pregnant women?”

“You better be careful, I have some quips I could make about someone’s thinning hair and leather skin. Ooooo, zing. And Happy Birthday you old fart.” He pretended to pout but he grabbed his cane and went into the next room.

“This book and dvd are awesome, incredible, marvelous, ingenious and the best damn present I’ve ever had except for that blow job Murphy gave me the other night.” Cameron was taken aback and didn’t know what to say. “Ok Murphy, have I used enough metaphors?”

“You, darling, will be lucky if you get any more blow jobs after that.”

“Hey, I complimented you and your prowess.”

That night Cuddy, Peter, Wilson and Murphy went to the Brewery to celebrate House’s birthday. They were watching him blow out the candle on a sundae as the waitresses all sang Happy Birthday. Murphy gave him his real present. It was a collection of Mose Allison’s best works. Allison was one of House’s favorite jazz pianist. House hugged her and kissed her.

“A son. I can’t believe that you are going to have a boy. Murphy, how are you going to handle a miniature House? And you? How are you going to keep from screwing with the kid’s mind? Calling an adult a moron and calling a child a moron are two different things.”

“What? Do you think I’m a moron?” House asked.

They all laughed. “How is the house hunting, no pun intended, coming?” Peter asked.

“I found a house and we’ve made an offer. We should hear back at the end of the week.”

“Details, details?” Cuddy begged.

“Princeton, four bedrooms, three baths, nice sized kitchen, big back yard. It’s really nice. The master bedroom is large and on the first floor.”

“Yeah, for the cripple.” He said seriously.

“House, what happened with Moriarty? The cops came to my office to warn us that he’s been seen around Princeton.”

Murphy’s face fell and she looked over at House. “When were you going to tell me?”

He himed and hawed, “Ahhhhh, didn’t think you needed to know. They weren’t sure if he was here or why.”

For the rest of the evening things were strained between them and when they got home, Murphy went straight into her bedroom closet, rummaged around and pulled out a gun. House, who was getting ready for bed took one look at her and said, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“Foreplay darling...it’s my service revolver and I’m getting it out to clean and load it.”

“Murphy, you aren’t going to need that, put it away and come to bed.”

“This guy walks in and shoots you in your carotid artery and colon without provocation and you don’t think there is anything to worry about?”

“Let me worry about it. You just come to bed.”

“No. I’m going to go clean and load my weapon.” She grabbed her cleaning kit and went into the dining room. As she was cleaning the revolver House came out and sat at the kitchen table.

“Hey, it’s my birthday, I want some sex. I have to admit this is kind of errotic...you cleaning the barrel out like that, but I’d rather be cleaning your barrel if you know what I mean.” he winked at her.

“Go to bed, I’ll be there in a minute.”

“I hate pregnant women with guns, they’re so b!tchy.” He went back to bed.

When she was done she brought the weapon in and placed it in the drawer next to her. She ducked under the blankets and gave him the best part of his birthday gift. After she was done he said, “Damn, that brought tears to my eyes.”

He closed his eyes as he recovered and Murphy got up to get a glass of water. House thought about Moriarty and the entire shooting incident played over in his head. By the time Murphy got back in bed he just wanted to hang on to her and not let go. Murphy was a little stunned at how tight House was holding her.

“Honey, are you ok?” She asked.

“Do you know how to shoot that thing?”

“We had target practice almost every day in Iraq for fun and on occasion I had to use my AK47, so don’t worry, I know how to shoot.”

“It’s just that most guns in the house get used by the attacker against the owner more than the other way around.”

“Not this one. Oh wow, the baby just gave me a flutter, he moved, right here, can you feel it?” She put his hand on her belly but he shook his head no. “Oh well, you go to sleep, you look a little out of it. Happy Birthday sweetie, I love you.”

"Thanks, I had a great time."

A few weeks later, after escrow closed, House was packing up and getting ready to move into the new house. Murphy was also packing at her place. Most of the furniture was going to be moved by paid movers but Murphy had asked Jack if she could borrow him and his truck to move the things she didn’t want the movers to touch. He had been a real sweetheart and agreed.

House was on the phone to Murphy, “Hey, I need a truck to move my musical instruments and some of my art. I’m going to go down and rent one. I’ll swing by and pick your stuff up too.”

“Oh wait.” Murphy put a hand over the receiver, “Honey, Jack is here and he said he would swing by there in a few minutes to pick your stuff up in his truck and then he’ll come back to get my stuff, ok?”

“Fine.” House hung up and went into the kitchen to get some water.

Within half an hour House heard a knock on the door. “Just a sec.” He yelled and then opened it, “Hey thanks....” House stopped in his tracks.

“Hello Dr. House, remember me?” Jack Moriarty stood at the front door with a gun in his hand. “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”

House said nothing but opened the door for him to come in and then Moriarty motioned for him to close it, which he did. House felt a cold sweat develop. His palms were clammy and his stomach was knotted. House assumed that this would be his last moments on earth. He sat down on the arm of the leather chair. “What do you want?”

“First things first. Sit down in that chair over there and stick your wrists out.” House got up and went to sit in the chair and then Moriarty tied his wrists together and then his legs. After that he tied House to the back of the chair.“I think you’re pretty secure.” Moriarty seemed pleased with himself.

“I take it by the fact that you’re tying me down that you aren’t going to shoot me?”

“No Dr. House, if I shoot you dead you won’t feel the pain that I do, the loss. I lost my wife, now you’re going to lose what’s most precious to you, Murphy. I don’t feel good about this, I really like your girlfriend. We’ve become friends over the last few months. She’s smart, funny and lovely. And she’s even more lovely pregnant. I hate to kill a pregnant woman, but maybe then, if you lose her and your boy, you’ll suffer like I did.”

“Look, you want me to suffer right? Then kill me or maim me, but Murphy has done nothing but good in this world. She doesn’t deserve to be a part of this. Besides, I don’t really love her, I’m just playing her for the sex. Hurting her won’t really do me any harm. Oh, I’ll feel bad about it at first, but it’s not like losing the love of your life...you know what I mean? She’s nice, but I won’t lose sleep over her or the baby a year from now.” House tried to sound nonchalant.

“Good speech, but I don’t buy it. I’ve been watching the two of you and I've seen how you look at her when she isn’t looking and I know that you value her more than your own life...sorry Dr. House, but your Achilles heel is Murphy. Gott a go. Murphy's expecting me back in a few minutes. Moriarty cranked up House’s stereo, smiled at House and left.

***

House was yelling for him to come back as he tried to rock the chair over to the phone. The chair fell over and a pain shot through his bad leg but he continued to rock the chair back and forth on it’s side to get to the phone. He was having no luck. He was screaming at the top of his lungs but the stereo was masking his voice. Finally there was a knock and then Wilson entered with a tray of coffee.

“House I got you....what the...??” He ran to House.

“Wilson call the police and tell them to get to Murphy’s house. 1245 Gulfstream Drive. NOW! Moriarty is going after her.” Wilson called as he tried to untie House. After he hung up he ran into the kitchen, grabbed the biggest knife he could, came out and cut the ropes.

“Let’s go for God’s Sake.” House grabbed Wilson’s keys from him.

Murphy was glad to see Jack’s truck pull back up, he walked up to the porch. She was about to go out to greet him when the phone rang. “Hello?” She held up a hand and signaled for Jack to come in while she answered the phone.

“Murphy this is Wilson.”

“Oh hi Wilson. What’s up?”

“Jack ...Jack Moriarty, is he there with you?” Murphy didn’t understand at first but then it registered and she was sure that she had lost all color in her face.

“Yeah, uh we’ll be done soon and you can come over ok?” She tried to remain cool so as not to alert Jack.

“The police are on their way and we’re only a few blocks from your house. Be careful Murphy, he wants to kill you and the baby.”

“Ok Wilson, I’ll see you tonight and tell that jerk when you see him that I love him.” She wanted House to know that she loved him, just in case they were her last words to him.

“Murphy, be careful.” He hung up and then held on as House did his ‘French Connection’ impression through the streets of Princeton.

Murphy turned to Jack, “Jack, I found the neatest photo of me in Iraq. I wanted to show it to you, it’s in my room, I’ll be right back.”

“Maybe next time Murphy, I really need to come in and get your stuff and get it moved over to the new place. I have some place to go.”

“It'll be quick and besides one of the boxes I need moved is in the hall by the bedroom.”

“Well, ok...where’s the box?” he asked.

“Over there...” she nodded to a box in the hall, “My photo is in the nightstand...just a sec and I’ll get it.”

Jack looked around to make sure there was no one else in the house and then he started for her bedroom. He felt a little sad because he had grown to really enjoy Murphy's company. Murphy was going to climb out the window but she knew the bedroom window was stuck and made a lot of noise when you tried to open it. So she walked to the drawer, reached in and felt the cold metal of the gun barrel. She grabbed the handle and tried to lift it without giving him reason to suspect. She started to turn around but stopped when she heard his voice in the doorway.

“Murphy, I really enjoy your company.” Jack said sincerely. He saw her pausing over the drawer and suspected that something was going on. He took his gun and aimed it at the back of her head.

***

Murphy’s service revolver rested in her hand but she couldn’t get the safety off without alerting Jack that she had the gun and that would give him the edge. There was a noise out in the living room and Jack turned and went to see what it was. Murphy, undid the safety, came around the bed and looked out the bedroom door. She could see that Jack was holding the gun on someone and she suspected it was House and Wilson.

Wilson had never been this close to death and he could understand how people claimed that their lives past before them. He was starting to mourn the fact that he had never found love, not real, lasting love. He felt this in the split of a second and then realized that it was silly to be thinking about love while looking down the barrel of a gun.

Murphy was quiet and as she got closer to Moriarty she picked up speed. He swung the gun around at her and she stopped in her tracks with her revolver aimed squarely at him. He backed up a couple of feet and then trained the gun back on House. He figured that she would be less likely to pull the trigger if it meant House might die. But when he took the gun off of Murphy, she put her gun to his temple and then cocked it.

“I’ll shoot your boyfriend before you can shoot me dead.” Jack said.

“Yeah, but you’ll be dead. Put the gun down.”

“You’d let me shoot Dr. House?”

“Considering your aim last time, you’re a lousy shot. I’m faster and better at killing..much more practiced at shooting people than you.”

Moriarty looked at House. “You don’t deserve to be happy. To have Murphy, the baby, a life. You made my wife so miserable she killed herself.” he paused and thought about Murphy. He had no doubt that she would take him out if he even flinched. “Ok, for now it’s over, but you wait Dr. House, I’ll spend my time in jail for shooting you and then I’ll be back.” He bent down and put the revolver on the floor. Murphy backed up about ten feet. They could hear the sirens getting closer.

“Murphy?” Wilson wasn’t sure what she was doing and he didn’t like the look in her eyes.

When Murphy started to talk the tenor of her voice scared both House and Wilson, “You hunted me down, you almost killed the man I love, you wanted to kill my baby and now you vow to come back for us?”

Jack was nervous, “I’m unarmed, if you pull that trigger it would be murder.” He said with the confidence that she would be sensible and not want to go to jail.

“Yeah? And you really think they’re going to send a pregnant Silver Star and Navy Cross decorated officer to jail for killing you? Sorry Jack, you played the wrong woman.”

She felt the trigger against her finger and pulled it the quarter inch that was the difference between life and death. The report of the gun was stunning. It was one bullet, between the eyes. Moriarty probably never felt it. Jack Moriarty collapsed lifeless to the floor with his eyes open in shock. She walked up and kicked his gun away from his body.

Wilson looked at her and then at House. Murphy knew that Wilson was the wild card. House would have no problem lying to the cops but if Wilson told them that Moriarty had put the gun down before she shot, they would probably charge her with manslaughter, maybe second degree murder.

The cops ran in and Murphy put her hands up and then then laid down her weapon on the table. Detective White looked around and then kicked Moriarty lightly with his foot to see if there was any reaction. There wasn’t, the guy was as dead as Ted Bundy.

“He was about to shoot Dr. House and me when Dr. Morrighan came out of her bedroom with the gun. He turned to shoot her but she shot him first.” Wilson was talking as fast as he could to the detectives and he could see immediately that they were buying it...because they wanted to buy it. The bad guy was dead and the pregnant woman was ok. It was a perfect ending to a bad story.

The detective turned to Murphy and said, “Great aim lady. You’re one helluva shot.”

House walked over to Murphy and held her to him and whispered in her ear. “I never, ever want you angry at me again.” He paused and then said, “I’m so sorry for bringing this into your life. Are you ok?”

She had started shaking. It always surprised her how steady and calm she was during a stressful situation but then she would turn to putty and melt when it was over. It was nice to melt into House’s arms. “You’re ok, the baby is ok and Wilson is ok...I’m ok.”

They were all separated and interviewed but the stories remained similar enough that the detectives recommended to the D.A. that it be ruled justifiable homicide. The case was wrapped up within forty-eight hours.

House was amazed at how calm Murphy had been. How she made the decision to end this once and for all and then executed it without blinking. It was a whole new side of her that he had never seen. It was a little scary, but also kind of an aphrodisiac...he was in love with a woman who could take out an opponent without batting an eye. That was hot.

Wilson was surprised with his own reaction. He was fine with what had transpired. After having a gun pointed at him and thinking these were his last minutes on earth, he wanted that son-of-a-b!tch dead and now he was. When she was standing there with the gun against Moriarty’s temple, Wilson had seen a look in Murphy’s eyes that was cold, calculating and without mercy. It was the look of a lioness protecting her family. He told Murphy later. “Thanks for saving my life, I owe you big time.”

“No Jim, by calling me and then you and House risking your lives by coming inside when you could have waited outside for the cops was what saved me, you distracted him long enough for me to be able to do what I did. You are my hero.”

***

The day they moved into the new Craftsman style house was Murphy’s birthday. She was excited and exhausted from the heat. It was sapping her energy and making her cranky. She turned on the a/c and stood in front of one of the vents. House was staying clear of her and hoping that his birthday present to her, which he had planned to give her that night, would soften her.

“FUBAR! Ow. Greg, where are you?” Murphy had sliced her finger on a piece of packing paper.

“Here.” House came out of the family room. “What can I do for you Mrs. Attila?”

“Just because your leg is screwed up and you’re in horrible pain doesn’t mean you can’t help...I need for you to unpack your books instead of laying on the floor listening to your IPOD. Think you can handle that assignment or should I tape instructions inside your Hustler Magazine?”

He rolled his eyes and gave her a look of disdain. He sulked as he walked back into the family room and began tearing open the boxes that had his handwriting on it. House started putting the books on the shelf. She walked in an hour later with a burrito and a beer for him. He turned around and looked at her. She was now in her seventh month and waddling yet she wasn’t that big and carried most of the baby up front. From the back you couldn’t tell she was pregnant. She sat down on his leather chair and watched him eat at the little table she had set up in the family room.

“You need to eat.” House said with a full mouth.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

He snickered and took a drink of his beer. He motioned for her to come over to him. She got up by pushing off the arm of the chair, her belly coming out of the chair first. She waddled over to him and he pulled up her top to expose her belly. House rubbed her belly and kissed it. “Is he moving?”

“When I move he tends to sleep. When I get quiet and I’m not rocking him in the womb, he kicks butt.”

“Hey dude, I know it’s nice and warm in there but don’t get comfortable, I have some leaves for you to rake when you get out of there.” House finished chewing his burrito, put the top down and looked up at Murphy, “Let’s make love in our new house before we go out tonight. We haven’t had sex in a week.”

“I had to go to Philly for my duty weekend, so three of those nights don’t count. If we’re going to do this, we better do it now...because the more work I do around this house, the less I feel like bending over.”

He got up and gave her a sweet kiss and then a great open mouth one. He felt her breast and pulled her into him with his hand on her butt. The belly got in the way but House was used to it by now.

“You’re lucky, I just made the bed up.” She smiled.

“Let’s do it in here.” House motioned to the floor.

“Yeah, dream on. I get down on this floor I won’t get up. You’re just going to have to have sex in a boring bed.”

They went to their new bedroom, which was as large as their two old bedrooms combined, and she sat on the edge of the bed undressing. He watched from the doorway as she took off her top, her shorts, her bra and then looked up at him.

“Well, am I doing this all by myself?” she asked.

“When are you going to marry me?”

She rolled her eyes and covered her breasts with her arms. “When do you want to get married?”

House took his fist and pulled it through the air in a show of victory, “YESSS. Tomorrow. I don’t care as long as it is soon.”

“We need a license. I want your folks to be here when we get married.”

“You know, sitting there like a naked Buddha, you re absolutely beautiful. I always thought that when they said pregnant women were beautiful it was a load of crap, but you really are.”

“Ok, we can go back in the family room and have sex on the floor. If you’re going to flatter me like that it’s the least I can do.”

He laughed, walked in and started taking off his shorts, t-shirt and boxers. They laid down looking at each other. He took his right hand and he slowly traced the curves of her skin, her breasts and her hips. They made love slowly and softly with Murphy on top.

 ***

When they walked into the restaurant Murphy just about had a heart attack. There in front of her were about two dozen people she knew from PPTH and the Navy. But the best part of House’s birthday present was standing in the corner. He had flown Pick out just for her birthday.

She ran for Pick and gave him a big bear hug. “Oh God I missed you!”

“Well you can get on a plane and come see me you know. San Diego is a beautiful city.”

“Yeah, don’t forget I was raised there. Wow, let me say hi to everyone and we’ll talk.”

Murphy went around and said hi to her guests. When she found out that House had made the arrangements for Pick to fly out she went over to him and gave him a big hug and kiss. “I really do love you even if you drive me insane most of the time.”

Later that evening the guests started hitting their water glasses and bottles of wine with their forks, demanding a speech from the guest of honor. Murphy stood up and looked around.

“I am a lucky woman. I live in a great country,” a big ‘hooh ah’ rang out from the sailors and Marines, she continued and as she spoke she looked straight at Cameron, “I have great friends, a challenging man, a lovely home and good health. I want each of you to know how much I appreciate and love you, ” she began to sit down when she popped back up, “Oh, and this afternoon I accepted a proposal of marriage.”

There was a great amount of laughter and shouting at this announcement. House grinned and Wilson, who already knew for once, patted his back. The biggest question of the night was “When?”

On the way home Murphy was really happy. She would get to see Pick tomorrow but then he had to get back to San Diego. House was tired from all the unpacking, sex and drinking. “You gave me the best day today. I am always amazed at how thoughtful you can be when you want to be..or when you want something. Thanks for today.”

He looked quickly over to her and gave her a brief smile. “When are we getting married?”

“It’s 8:30 a.m. in San Diego, let’s call your parents when we get home and tell them everything. They are going to be so excited. I feel guilty about not telling your Mom and Dad before this.”

House shrugged his shoulders. He knew that, until he told his parents, he wasn’t going to get married. House was sure that had he married Stacy, they would have tried harder in the end to make it work. He didn’t want that to happen with Murphy. He wanted her and, yes he hated to admit it, he wanted their baby in his life.

Murphy handed Greg the phone and he grimaced and dialed. “Mom?”

“Greg! Honey, it’s good to hear from you. John, Greg is on the phone. What’s up? How’s Murphy?”

“She’s here, but we have a lot to tell you and Dad. To start off with, it was my idea not to tell you until now, so don’t blame Murphy.”

“You two are getting married?”

Greg smiled to himself, his mother always had a second sense. “Yes Mom, and we’d like for you guys to come out for the wedding.”

“When is it?”

“September 22^nd. “

Murphy had the extension phone in her hand and walked out to House, put her hand over the mic and said to him, “IT IS???? You should have asked me.” she took her hand off the mic and said, “I guess it is the 22^nd. We’ve bought a house and we’d love for you to stay with us.”

House covered the mic, “You should have asked ME.”

Murphy just gave him a wicked smile.

“Oh, how wonderful for the two of you. John isn’t that great.”

“Yes, I’m very happy for both of you.”

The conversation went on for awhile but there was no mention of the baby. Murphy kept pointing to her bump and House kept ignoring her. When they were off the phone she asked him why he didn’t tell them.

“Let it be a surprise.”

Murphy was still unpacking and putting the house together and now she had to plan a wedding. She was stressing out and House could see it. Since he was her boss, he gave her light duty and let her leave early. Of course the other moaned and groaned but House pointed out that PPTH didn’t pay Murphy’s salary, the Navy did. So if they wanted to find someone to pay their salaries, then fine, he’d cut the some slack too.

The commercial places available with just two month’s notice weren’t very appealing to Murphy so it was decided that they would have a small intimate wedding at the military church on McGuire Air Force Base. They invited 50 friends and family to the wedding. There would be a reception at the house afterwards. Murphy found a caterer who didn’t bother her with any of the details, she told him what she liked and he went off and made it happen.

Murphy found a wedding dress and had it altered making sure it would accommodate a larger bulge and she asked Lisa to be her maid of honor. Lisa agreed as long as she got to pick out her dress. Murphy could care less what she picked as long as it wasn’t too frou-frou, she had never envisioned a matchy-matchy wedding anyway. Lisa picked out a lovely royal blue cocktail dress and Murphy was pleased with it. The Thursday before the wedding, the Houses flew in. Murphy and House met them at the airport. Murphy was eight months pregnant and uncomfortable standing very much.

The Houses made their way towards House and then saw Murphy push herself out of the airport seat to greet them. Blythe just about burst at the seams. John was a very shocked.

“You’re very pregnant! Oh my God, when are you due?” Blythe rubbed Murphy’s belly.

“October 15^th.”

John looked at House, “I’m hoping it’s yours.”

“Yep. My kid.”

“I am so excited! Do you know the sex?” Blythe was smiling and giggling.

Murphy looked at Greg and he told his Mom, “A boy.”

“Oh no Murphy, you’re going to have your hands full!” They were picking up the luggage at the baggage carousel. “As a baby, Greg insisted on being held and carried everywhere. We used to say that his middle name was “Entertain Me.” I was always jealous of those women that could put their babies down on a blanket and the babies would just smile and look around. Put Greg down and he howled.”

The Houses were genuinely pleased to be getting a daughter-in-law and a grandson all within a matter of weeks. Blythe offered to come out and help when Murphy had the baby and Murphy said, “I’m no fool, that’s the best offer I’ve had...except, of course, the offer to get married.”

***

The day of the wedding Murphy was experiencing Braxton-Hicks contractions and it was driving her nuts. She was just praying that during the ceremony she didn’t have one. She put her hair, which was a little longer than shoulder length into a chignon and the only thing on her head was a ring of little flowers. Her dress was a white empire with a deep v in the front and in the back. It had chiffon and lace straps about one inch wide going over her shoulders and the entire gown flowed gracefully, it wasn’t stiff at all, not like most wedding gowns.

House actually started to laugh as she walked up the aisle. He couldn’t help think that she looked like a very, very pregnant fairy princess, the operative word being very pregnant. The idea of a pregnant fairy just cracked him up. He tried not to laugh but the more he tried to contain it the more he laughed. Wilson didn’t have a clue what had gotten into him. At first Wilson tried to get him to behave but then it was obvious that House was trying desperately not to laugh and having no luck. The cause Wilson to start cracking up. Murphy, who had finished the walk down the aisle, had been presented to Greg by John House. Murphy was looking at House like her feelings were hurt. Greg was now doubled up and trying hard not to laugh but half the church was laughing too. He saw how hurt Murphy was and tried to get out the words, “You..oh God...you’re really ....you are really beautiful ah,ha, ha,ha....”

By now the entire church was laughing except Murphy. She felt like Carrie at the prom, she even looked up to make sure there wasn’t a bucket above her head. House saw her sad little face and reached out. She tried to pull away but he was too quick. He pulled her to him and hugged her. He said it loud enough for everyone to hear, “You are my little pregnant fairy princess and you are so beautiful...it’s just I haven’t ever seen a pregnant fairy before...” More waves of laughter. House wouldn’t let her go because he knew she’d probably kick him...with her right foot. He kissed her ear and said, “I love you so much. You are so lovely.” He started to get control over himself and then he motioned for the chaplain to go ahead. He wouldn’t let Murphy go though...he knew she might engage that foot. She was trying to pull away. The Chaplain decided that he better get on with it or Murphy might bolt. When they finally got to the part where they exchanged vows. House looked at Murphy as if to ask, “Can I let you go?” She exhaled and nodded yes. He let her go but as he did, he hopped backwards almost hitting Wilson. He was trying to avoid a kick in the groin, which Murphy never tried. Murphy was just standing there watching her betrothed laugh and jump around on the altar.

House walked cautiously back to Murphy’s side and the Chaplain had him place the ring on her finger. The Chaplain added, “Greg has written his own vows.”

Murphy blinked and was obviously in a state of shock. His own vows? Oh, no!!!

House began in his best Dr. Seuss voice:

“Yes, I'll love through good and bad,

Whether we're happy or sad,

Yes, I will have and I will hold

Just as I have already told,

Yes, I'll love her if we're rich,

And I will love her in a ditch,

I'll love her through good times and bad,

Whether we are happy or sad,

Yes, I will have, and I will hold

(I could have sworn this has been told!)

I promise to love all my life

This woman, as my lawful wife!

I'll love her when we're fit,

And when we're hurt, and when we're sick,

And I will love her when we're rich

And I will love her in a ditch

And I will love through good and bad,

And I will love when glad or sad,

And I will have, and I will hold

Ten years from now a thousandfold,

Yes, I will love for my whole life

This lovely woman as my wife!

Yes, I'll love with all my heart

From now until death do us part,

And I will love her when we're rich,

And when we're broke and in a ditch,

And when we're fit, and when we're sick,

(Oh, CAN'T we get this finished quick?)

And I will love through good and bad,

And I will love when glad or sad,

And I will have, and I will hold,

And if I might now be so bold,

I'll love her my entire life,

Yes, I WILL take her as my wife! “

When Greg was finished the entire chapel burst into applause. Even Murphy was laughing...it was so...so HOUSE.

The Chaplain turned to Murphy, “Murphy do you have anything you’d like to say?”

“I do?”

“I now pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss the bride.”

House looked at her and chuckled. She smiled back and they gave each other the sweetest of kisses, PG rated. They turned to the guests to be introduced and the chapel jumped to their feet in cheers and laughter. Even the Houses were roaring.

The wedding was a hit. Everyone who was there said it was the most humorous wedding they had ever attended. The reception started on a high note with everyone jovial and having a good time.

The food was delicious and the cake was Chocolate inside with fudge filling and a chocolate icing. “I hate white icing.” Murphy had told Lisa. “It’s chocolate or I’m not eating it.” House could care less.

There was dancing outside on the patio. Although it was warmer than usual for a September night, Murphy had hired several outdoor heaters and so a lot of the guests had chosen to stand or sit outside. House and Murphy had hired a DJ and he played, “I Fooled Around and Fell in Love” for their dance together. Neither of them had selected it, but it seemed appropriate enough. House wasn’t the best dancer with his leg, but Murphy could care less.

After the dance she went in the house to use the bathroom. Lisa was slightly drunk and grabbed her as she walked by. “I think Peter is going to ask me to marry him. What should I do? I mean, he’s not even circumcised! I’m a Jew and he’s...well, he’s not Kosher.”

“Lisa, this is the first guy in your life that you’ve really, really liked. He bright, he’s famous and he’s good looking. Is he willing to stay in Princeton?”

“Yes.”

“Then get your butt back in there and say yes when he asks you.”

Murphy went into their bedroom to use their bathroom. She had to pee so badly it was starting to hurt. As soon as she sat down she had a Braxton Hicks contraction. She felt something strange. When she got up she looked in the toilet and realized that she was staring at the “Show”, the mucous plug that helps keep everything inside the womb. She had to get House, the show meant her cervix was dialating and it wouldn’t be long now. She was worried, she was three weeks early.

She saw House in the family room making some cutting remark about the Navy v. the Marines. John House was laughing at his drunk son, who was standing up for the Marines. Murphy started to tug on Greg’s sleeve. He finally looked down at her worried face.

“What is it my pregnant fairy?” he asked.

“I....Oh God...” Murphy looked down and picked up the skirt of her gown to reveal a puddle of water all over the tile and her dress.

A very drunk House through his arms into the post position and yelled, “Goooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaal! Houston, we have lift off. I think I’m gonna be a Daddy soon.”

It was Blythe that got to Murphy’s side and started to help her to her bedroom to get out of her gown and into some clothes that were more comfortable.

Everyone stopped to look at House. “Hey...keep partying, it’s going to be awhile. But could someone help clean up this puddle?’

The caterer actually came over and mopped up the mess and House gave him a little salute. The rest of the crowd were having a good time and they kept on partying. Blythe and Murphy were in the bedroom and Murphy was getting out of her wedding dress. Lisa walked in and asked if she could help.

It was obvious that Lisa was tipsy too. “Don’t worry Lisa, we have it under control.” Blythe said. Lisa smiled and left.

“Blythe, I think we’re the only ones sober.”

“Sweetie, I think you may be right! Oh well, you have time before you have to worry about getting to the hospital.”

“Yeah, well I’m worried about my obstetrician. She’s the one in the family room that was yelling, “Tequila! Tequila for my friends.”

“Oh dear, we do have a problem then.”

At that moment Dr. Wilma Virtue came in and tried desperately to look sober. Murphy and Blythe looked wearily at each other. “Murphy? Your water broke?” Murphy nodded yes. “Then we’re f#cked.” She fell face down on the bed. Murphy and Blythe exchanged looks and started to laugh.

Murphy had on clean underwear and a loose fitting pair of sweats and a sweat shirt. House came in...and gave her a serious, but drunk, look. He sat on the edge of the bed and slapped Wilma Virtue on the butt. “I see you wanted a threesome.” He said to Murphy.

“GREG!” Blythe swatted her son’s shoulder.

“Owww, Mom!”

“Well, maybe I should go out and enjoy myself.” Murphy looked for approval from Blythe.

“You might as well, you aren’t going to need to get to the hospital for awhile. Hopefully your obstetrician here can sleep it off by then.”

“Just my luck that my obstetrician gets so drunk at my wedding she can’t deliver my baby.”

“Early days yet dear...she may make it, just wait.”

Murphy bent over with a contraction. “Ahhhh. That hurt...oh wow.”

“Have you been having contractions today?” Blythe asked her.

“Yes, but I thought they were Braxton Hicks contractions...do you think they were real and I was in labor? I’m new to this...ahhhhhhhhh.”

“Your contractions are coming closer together. Have you got a plastic sheet to put down on your bed? Just in case.”

“The mattress pad is waterproof and I do have some of those diaper changing pads for the baby. I’ll go get them......ahhhhh.”

“I’ll get them, you wait here.”

Blythe went out to the guests and started asking around, “Are you a doctor? Are you sober?”

Finally she found one sober doctor, Allison Cameron. “Could you come with me?”

Allison followed her into the master bedroom only to find Dr. Virtue passed out on one side of the bed and Murphy squatting by the side of the bed and panting.

“Ok,ok..MUrphy, let’s get you on the bed so I can check you. It’s probably fine and we’ll have time to get you to the hospital but let’s check first.

“Ahhhh.” Murphy was screaming her head off and trying to get up on the bed. “Have you delivered babies? Ahhhhhhhh.”

“Yep, I did two rotations in obstetrics...but I decided against it because I took it hard when one of them ...forget it. Let’s get you in bed.”

They got her into bed and Cameron asked her to bring her a spot lamp that she saw in the family room. Blythe ran to get it while Cameron helped a screaming Murphy get her sweats off. Murphy looked at Cameron, “Oh my God, I’m going to throw up.” Murphy turned and puked into the trash can next to her bed.

“Murphy, you just went through transition. We need to get you to the hospital. But first I better check you to see if you’ll make it.”

Blythe brought in and plugged in the spot lamp. They got Murphy’s underwear off and Cameron’s eyes bugged out. “Murphy, you’re over 7 centimeters dialated, 100% effaced and I think I see the baby’s head.”

“Blythe, I need towels, warm water and have someone call the hospital. Oh and you better get House in here or he’s going to miss the birth of his son.”

Blythe ran to the phone called the ambulance first. She grabbed the nice newly cleaned towels out of the linen closet and brought them in. Then she went into the kitchen and got a couple of pans of water heating.

She ran out to the family room and yelled at Greg. “Greg, Greg, GREGORY!” House stopped laughing and turned to his Mom. He saw that she was scared. He went over and smiled at her.

“It’s ok Mom, we were just joking.”

“Greg, Murphy is in labor in the bedroom.”

He was very tipsy, “Ah, well I know but she should chill out, first labors take forever.”

The music stopped and Blythe was yelling, “The baby is coming...right now, this minute. Get your butt into the bedroom or you’re going to miss out on the delivery of your son.”

House looked at his Mom, his face dropped and he said like a little boy, “Well you don’t have to shout.”

He went quickly into the bedroom and saw Cameron with towels ready to catch the baby. It went quiet in the house as everyone tried to hear what was going on.

“I’ll need scissors eventually.”

Blythe went out and found Chase and had him carry the pans of water into the bedroom. House sat down at the bottom of the bed where Cameron was standing. He was watching like it was a television program.

The contraction was horrible and the baby’s head was leaning on a nerve in her pelvic area. The pain was intense. There was a string of obscenities from Murphy’s mouth that could be heard all over the house.

John House looked at one of the Marines and said, “You can tell she’s a sailor.”

The baby’s head came out and Cameron checked to make sure that the cord wasn’t wrapped around his neck. He was pink and his face was scrunched up.”

House looked at him and said, “Ah so you’re what all the fuss is about. Hello, welcome to my world.”

Cameron chuckled and then told Murphy to really push the next time. Murphy’s contraction was hard and she pushed, the baby’s shoulders slipped through and Cameron caught him in the towel. She handed him to House while she checked the cord and constricted it to make sure the baby was getting oxygen before she cut the cord. He was and so she tied off the cord and let House do the cutting. Murphy was stretching her arms out for the baby.

“House let Murphy have the baby try and nurse so that she releases oxytocin to help expel the placenta.”

House handed the baby to Murphy who was crying her heart out. Blythe was also crying. The baby tried to nurse and within minutes the placenta and the paramedics had both arrived.

The paramedics wanted the baby so they could check it out, but House said, “You can have him after I do my Simba thing.”

Blythe looked at Cameron and mouthed, “Simba?”

House took the baby out to the living room and held him up and said, “Behold, my son. At least I hope he’s mine, I AM going to be paying for his education.”

There was a lot of laughter and cheering. House took him back to the paramedics and they looked the baby over but it was pretty clear to the sober doctors that the baby was scoring high on the Apgar scale...he was screaming his head off. Blythe put a little cap on his head and put him in a warm gown for the ride to the hospital. Murphy was exhausted but grateful that it was a short labor. She had heard a lot of nightmares about two day labors that ended in a C section.

As they were preparing her for the ride she kept saying over and over, “Thank you Allison, thank you...thank you.”

Cameron was a little overwhelmed. She hadn’t delivered a baby in a long time and had forgotten what a high it was. In addition, it had meant a lot to her to deliver this baby. She really did want to see House happy and he seemed genuinely happy, or as happy as he could get, with Murphy. She could see that Murphy didn’t cut him much slack and that House needed a woman who could push back like Murphy. “It was an honor Murphy. I was happy that I could do it.”

The ride to the hospital was entertaining too. House was regaling the paramedics with some bawdy English Rugby Songs. Murphy was just rolling her eyes and laughing at him. He leaned down at one point and said, “Don’t think you get extra privileges just because you managed to produce a healthy son. This doesn’t mean you can just lay back and think of England...if you know what I mean.” and he winked at her. The paramedic shook his head.

House let Murphy name the baby, he couldn’t be bothered until he found out what his son’s name was going to be.

“Maccoy Cornelius Morrighan-House? Oh God, you might as well tie a sign around his neck saying,”Beat me.’ Why?” He asked.

“Maccoy is my father’s name and Cornelius was your grandfather’s name. Maccoy is Irish Gaelic, Cornelius is Scottish Gaelic.”

“And what do they mean? Maccoy means, “Son of Hugh,” Cornelius means “horned. Don’t you know anything about your heritage?”

“Not a dead language.”

Allison visited Murphy in the hospital and then when they went home. She doted on the baby and between the two of them they had a good laugh over the events. Within weeks Cameron and Murphy had developed a solid friendship.

Cameron came to Murphy a month later with a serious face. “Murphy, I think I need to go back and do a residency in obstetrics. I wanted to be an obstetrician but I fell apart the first time a baby died in delivery. I’m older now and I think I could handle it. And it’s truly what I want to do. What do you think?”

“Cameron, you already have your answer. Whenever the words,” it’s truly what I want to do” come out of your mouth it’s a no brainer. You were so calm and patient during the labor, you would do well. I’d go to you!”

Within a month Cameron had transferred our of Diagnostics into a residency program at PPTH in obstetrics. House lambasted her, yelled, swore and even made fun of her but she stood her ground. It was what she really wanted to do. And while she was single and young she thought it was the best time for her to make the change. Murphy chewed House out and told him to get a life. Someone leaving his department isn’t a defection, it’s growing up.

House and Murphy were on pins and needles to find out where her next sea duty would be. She had one year and then she would get out with 20 in the Navy. The orders came back for Pensacola, Florida which was a relief for both of them. It meant a lot of flying between Princeton and Pensacola, but it was a fairly quick flight and they would be able to see other often. House drove down with Murphy and the baby to find her a house to rent and get her settled. On the day that he had to leave the two of them, Mac had just turned 9 months and he was just starting to get a personality. House had become very fond of him. He liked to torment the child with his goofy faces, but Mac took it in stride. Blythe was amazed, she said that Mac was curious like his Dad and sometimes easily frustrated but that he wasn’t in need of the attention that House demanded.

“You got lucky!” Blythe told Murphy.

Blythe frequently made trips to Florida to help Murphy and take care of the baby. When Blythe wasn’t staying with them, Murphy had a nanny come in. Occasionally, House would take some time off and come down and watch Mac. When Murphy had time, she’d fly with Mac up to Princeton. House brooded when Murphy and the baby were gone. He just wanted them to be back in Princeton for good.

Murphy never thought that she would hear herself say that she would be glad when she got out of the Navy, but it was true. She wanted so much just to be with Greg and Mac in their home and not have to fly back and forth. When it came time for her to get out she was given a small party and a pat on the back. She was sad but they all reminded her that she could get called back up for the next ten years.

When Murphy drove up to the driveway House came out to meet her. He went to the back seat where Mac was strapped in to his car seat. House unlatched him and balanced him on his hip, he grabbed the diaper bag in the back seat, put it over his shoulder and then grabbed his cane. He had learned how to balance everything with his bad leg. Mac was still asleep.

Murphy was tired and ready to collapse. House took Mac up and put him in his crib. He went into the kitchen and watched her get out a bottle of water and turn to face him. “I’m home for good.”

“Are you ok with it?”

“I’ll miss it, but I’m still in the reserves, I’ll get to go on kiddie cruises and play sailor once a month...it’s ok.”

House came over to her and gave her a hug. “You’ll always be my sea warrior.” He kissed her on the mouth and she hugged him back. She grabbed his hand and said, “I need a nap...ok maybe more than a nap. But let’s make hay while the Mac is asleep.”

They went into their bedroom, undressed each other and then pulled back the covers. They made love quickly, in the hopes that Mac wouldn’t start crying for them until they were done. House fell back on the pillow and looked over at Murphy who was breathing hard herself. They smiled at each other until a little cry came over the baby monitor. House got up, went upstairs and got his son, brought him down and put him in bed between them where they could play with him until it was time for dinner.

THE END

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