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  Nurse Kathleen 
 by gorblimey2	

 Nurse Kathleen

One of the best kept secrets in Southern California is the prevalence of
an organized crime syndicate in San Diego and Orange Counties made up
mostly of Irish descendants. This organized crime syndicate conducted it's
business below the radar of the FBI for years until a minor war erupted
between two branches of the organization. The Kirbey Brothers wanted part
of the meth turf established by Gerald Kelly in Lakeside, a suburb of San
Diego. Charles Fox, head of the Irish Council in San Diego, tried to
broker a deal between the two branches to keep the peace. But the Kirbey
Brothers were greedy and, rather than deal, they tried to take out Kelly.
On a day that Kelly was set to go downtown for another meeting, the Kirbey
Brothers had the brake lines on Kelly's car cut. What they didn't know is
that Kelly's why was going downtown to shop at Horton Plaza and gave her
husband a ride so that their son, Kieran, could use Kelly's car. Kieran's
car had thrown a rod the night before. It was Kelly's son who ended up
dead after getting in the car and driving it to the local Ralph's for
groceries only to lose the breaks on Avocado Road on the way home.

Within 24 hours of Kieran's death, it was no longer the Kirbey Brothers.
Terry Kirbey who buried his brother, Liam, after someone walked in on Liam
and shot him right between the eyes. After this retaliation, Charles Fox
came down hard on the two factions and the mini-war ended. But in the
meantime, what was below the radar became a blip.

The FBI was shocked into action. They tried infiltrating the group with
their own undercover agent but the Irish community was so tight in San
Diego that the agent didn't make it within the first circle of the
community let alone into the inner circles. The FBI wanted an insider and
they wanted someone close to the group. 

 ***

Gregory House and his team were working a case late into the night. They
were all a little on the touchy side since none of them had slept for 36
hours or more. The patient, a 4 year old female, was slipping into a coma
and the team was getting desperate. 

House walked into the patient's room to check the chart and the I.V.'s. He
wanted to insure that the nurses had given the right prescription to the
patient. It's no secret that prescription mistakes make up a large portion
of the reasons people die in hospitals. The prescriptions were correct and
the patient was still failing. He was tired and he needed some sleep, it
was getting too hard for him to concentrate. 

"Nurse, NURSE, can you get your @ss in here?"

"Yes, Doctor?"

Greg looked at the nurse. She was new and she was pretty. But he didn't
have time right now to take full measure of her, he needed her to do
something for him. "Change the IV from Ampicillin to Eurythromycin and
take her off the steroids."

"Yes Doctor..." She hesitated, "I'm sorry but I don't know your name?"

"House...Dr. House."

"Oh, you're Dr. House." The nurse seemed surprised.

"Yes, but don't believe the hype, I'm not into threesomes, unless I'm the
only male."

"Excuse me?"

"I take it the lights are on but nobody's home."

"Dr. House, I'm not following you."

"I can tell, dropped on your head as a baby?"

"I'll change out the IV." She seemed annoyed at him. Nothing new to House,
most people were annoyed at him. 

House went back to his office and stretched out on his chair and ottoman.
He fell asleep within minutes. Three hours later he felt a hand on his
shoulder shaking him awake. "Dr. House, I think she has developed
meningoencephalitis." the nurse was still shaking House awake.

He rubbed his face and said, "What, did you suddenly go to med school?
Everyone thinks they are a doctor." He got up and went to the patient's
room. Foreman was there. 

"I just got in here, looks like she has meningoencephalitis." Foreman was
checking vitals.

House looked at the new nurse, "Lucky guess. Get a Ct scan of the brain
and a spinal tap."

"Dr.House, can I take another lucky guess?"

"Oh my God, I can't stop you can I? Should I just give you my stethoscope
and prescription pad now?"

"Dr. House, I don't mean to step on your toes." She turned and started to
walk out.

"Ok, ok, I give up. I can't stand the pouting, what's your guess?"

"Chagras." She tossed the diagnosis at him and left the room.

He looked at her with curiosity and wondered why nurses always thought
they were smarter than doctors. Still, Chagras was an interesting
diagnosis and it fit the symptoms. Chase walked in and House barked at
him, "Do a blood analysis, use the Strout method and check for Chagras. In
the meantime, start her on benznidazole."

About an hour later the young girl was doing better and the test came back
positive for Chagras. House went in search of the new nurse, he wanted to
know how she figured it out before him.

"Where's that nurse that was here?" House demanded from the nurses at the
charge desk.

"Which nurse? The graveyard shift just went off duty." one of the senior
nurses told him.

"Alright, the graveyard nurse, the hot one. She's new, I haven't seen her
before."

"Well, the newest one we have is Kathleen Monaghan. Average height,
blonde, pert, very pretty." the nurse responded. 

"Nice breasts, tight @ss?" House added.

"Yes, that would be her. She starts at 6:00 p.m. and get's off at 5:00
a.m. She left an hour ago."

House turned around and went back to his office to pick up his backpack
and his helmet so that he could go home and get some sleep. He slipped his
back pack on and made his way to the elevator and down to the parking
garage. His orange motorcycle was parked in the handicap spot waiting
patiently for him to take it for a ride. He smiled to himself. He loved
the feel of freedom he experienced on the motorcycle and wished that he
could ride it all year long but it would soon be time to put it in the
garage and start using his car for the winter months.

 *** Kieran Kelly was 34 and had similar looks to Collin Farrell. He was
an engineer at Qualcomm. His father had made sure that his son did not
need to follow in his footsteps. The Kelly branch of the Irish Family was
one of the largest and there were plenty of Kellys to pick up the torch
when Cornelius Kelly died. Cornelius wanted Kieran to be free and clear of
the Kelly Family business. Cornelius had wished he had that option when he
was young and living in Boston.

Kieran Kelly drove home Tuesday night to the house he shared with his
fianc, in Banker's Hill. Banker's Hill sits just north of Downtown San
Diego and is probably best known for being the scene of the infamous
murders of Daniel and Linda Broderick by Dan's first wife, Betty
Broderick. Dan had been a member of the "Friendly Sons of St. Patricks"
and an active member in the Irish community. Kieran and Caitria Bronagh
lived two blocks from the scene of the murders in a small 1600 foot
Craftsman bungalow. Caitria was a surgeon with her own offices on Frost
Street in Kearny Mesa, across from Sharp Memorial Hospital, where she had
hospital privileges. Caitria and Kieran had grown up together. They were
forced into step- dancing lessons by their parents when they were five
years old. They took Gaelic lessons when they were six. They celebrated
St. Patrick's Day in Balboa Park at the St. Patrick's Day parade and
festival each year. In fact, each year they step-danced in the parade
dressed in their celtic outfits and teasing each other ruthlessly.

Kieran and Caitria didn't know that anyone else existed in high school and
it was always assumed that they would marry. Kieran and Caitria both went
to UCSD, Kieran studying electrical engineering, Caitria was pre-med.
After Kieran graduated and got his job at Qualcomm, he and Caitria moved
in together while she went to medical school at UCSD. She did her
internship and residency at Scripps and Balboa Naval Hospital (the Navy
had to hire civilian doctors because the shortage of doctors entering the
Navy.) They hadn't bothered to get married because it just didn't seem
necessary. But now they were talking about having kids so Kieran popped
the question at the Miss Colleen pageant and Caitria said yes. The wedding
was to take place the Saturday before the next St. Patrick's Day.

Caitria's family, the Bronaghs had been important henchmen in the Kelly
Family. Caitria's father had done the dirty work for the Family for years,
even in Boston. The typical enforcement within the Irish community wasn't
an execution, it was usually broken bones, missing fingers, things that
made a point but left the person able to function in their jobs. Rarely,
did the Irish resort to taking someone out. The Irish were more forgiving
than the Italians, Russians or Viet Namese families. 

The Irish had a stronghold on the meth distribution in the County but they
didn't enjoy it and there was a lot of friction over it. They preferred
the gambling book and the manipulation of construction contracts through
the local government. But there was no doubt that the big money came from
meth. 

Caitria's mother had divorced her father when Caitria was 3 years old. For
some "unknown reason" Caitria's father was given sole custody with limited
visitation by her mother. He moved when she was four to San Diego with the
Kelly Family. The move made it very difficult for Caitria's mother to
visit her. Caitria saw her mother three times in the last thirty years.
They sent each other cards at Christmas and exchanged birthday cards, and
Caitria sent her a Mother's Day Card, but Caitria did it because it was
expected by the chiefs in the Family. You always honored your mother, even
if you didn't know her. Mothers are big in the Irish community.

Kieran dashed into the house, "Damn the car is acting up. That piece of
junk is worthless. I'm going to need a ride out to Dad's to pick up his
car. He's going to let me use it for the rest of the week. He'll get a
ride with Mom or use his truck."

"I was just making dinner, can it wait until after dinner?" Caitria asked.

"Honey, I really need to get it now so that I can run a few errands. Come
on, dinner can wait, better yet, I'll take you out when I get home." he
had those dark Irish looks and the light always bounced off his deep brown
eyes. She shook her head and turned off the burner, put the food back into
the refrigerator and washed her hands. She grabbed her keys to her Mini
Cooper convertible and they locked the door.

"I'm having nightmares about out wedding. I keep imagining it's Father
Duncan that says the Mass and not Father McLoughlin. And he keeps
stuttering so much that we never get through the damn mass!" Caitria was
laughing.

Kieran started laughing too. "You've got to calm down. It's going to go
just fine. By the way, the Family wants to give us a honeymoon to anywhere
we want to go. So where do you want to go?"

"We've been to Europe, Asia and Africa. How about Machu Pichu? I've always
wanted to see it and the Amazon."

"Sounds great, I'll let them know." He looked down at his papers. He
needed to run by Big 5 Sports to pick them up new dry jackets for their
rafting trip. Big 5 had them on sale.

"This wedding is going to be the death of me and my pocketbook."

"You know Dad is going to pay for most of it, you just have to give me the
receipts. They're just so grateful that you said yes that they don't care
how much it costs."

"I know your family loves me but I still think your mother is worried that
I'm a little too wild and crazy for her engineer son."

"What does she know. I love you because you are so mad."

They arrived at the compound out in Avocado Estates in the east part of
the County. Avocado Estates has custom homes on large parcels of land. The
Kelly Compound consisted of 6 acres and two large homes. One belonging to
Cornelius Kelly, the other occupied by various Irish lackeys and some
Irish fresh of the boat from Northern Ireland. 

Caitria parked the car, ran in quickly to say hi to her future in-laws and
then gave Kieran a peck on the cheek and took off for home. It was last
time she would see Kieran alive. Two hours later Caitria received a knock
on the door. It was John Kelly, Cornelius's nephew. His eyes were red and
his lips were trembling. John was Kieran's best friend and cousin.

"John, what's wrong?"

"It's Kieran." He was talking as he entered the house. He turned and faced
her. He reminded Caitria of Kieran, they both had similar looks.

"What, WHAT??"

"He hit a telephone pole. He's dead."

"Nooooo. Noooo. God noooo. Please tell me you're lying..." But she could
tell he wasn't lying. Caitria fell into the chair and started to sob.

 *** Wilson and House were both tired. It had been a long day and it was
5:30 p.m. They were leaning over the rail watching the staff leave and the
night staff enter. Both Wilson and House took notice when she walked into
through the clinic doors. She was dressed in black leather. Tight black
leather pants, a matching black leather motorcycle jacket with a v-neck
black sweater underneath. She had black motorcycle boots on, black leather
gloves and a black helmet in her left hand. Her blonde hair fell just
below her shoulders in slight waves. She had on just enough makeup to
emphasize her eyes and small nose, but not enough to hide her freckles.
She had on ruby red lipstick.

She stopped at the charge desk at the front of the clinic to exchange
words with one of the nurses. They had a private laugh and she continued
to walk under House and Wilson towards the elevator. House recognized her
as the nurse who had diagnosed his patient two weeks earlier.

"Man, she looks like she just stepped out of a calendar. God, she's hot."
Wilson was shaking his head.

"She's a nurse and she thinks she's a doctor."

"Why do you say that?" House told him the story and Wilson started
laughing. "You're just pissed that a nurse beat you and your team to the
punch."

"Right...I just hate it when my patient lives."

"What's her name?"

"Kathleen Monaghan."

"She rides a motorcycle...that's hot." Wilson was still thinking about her
outfit.

"Does she or was she a passenger?" House asked.

"I don't know but I'm going home." Wilson sighed and walked back to his
office with House who suggested a drink before they went home. "Ok, but
just one."

Neither Wilson nor House saw Nurse Kathleen for several weeks and then she
appeared one day on the day shift on the oncology ward. House saw her as
he tried to hunt down Wilson for lunch. He walked over to her as she was
stocking the meds cart.

"I thought you worked graveyard?" he asked.

"I'm a floater, I cover for people on vacation. This week I'm on days on
the oncology ward. Why do you ask?"

He noticed that she had a California accent but there was strange cadence
to it and some of the words were different. "Where are you from?"

"Dr. House, why are you even interested in my shifts or where I'm from.
I'm just a nurse."

"You don't act like the other nurses. You have more confidence, more
attitude. Where are you from?"

"Chicago."

"No you're not. You were raised in California. Your accent tells me you're
from Southern California. So, once again, where are you from?"

"Chicago. My mother was from California."

He looked at her and squinted as if to say he was sizing up what she said.
Maybe it was her mother's accent mixed with Chicago that was giving her
the cadence and odd pronunciations, but he didn't think so. "You're
lying." he said and then went off to find Wilson.

Kathleen just stared as he limped off with his cane. "B@stard . Kathleen
went back to work and yet she couldn't help but think that Dr. House was
living up to his reputation. Some of the nurses had mentioned that they
thought he was hot. She couldn't see it, he didn't appeal to her at all.
But then Kathleen was attracted to men with a good sense of humor,
kindness in their eyes and nice smiles. Dr. House had none of these
attributes and so he was at the bottom of her list.

"Nurse Kathleen is working oncology this week." House announced to Wilson
as Wilson did an examination of a cancer patient on the ward. 

"Really? I haven't seen her yet. Mrs. Ketter the tumor is shrinking and
your lymph nodes aren't as swollen. I think we may be seeing some signs of
improvement here. I'll check back tomorrow after the blood tests are
back."

House and Wilson went out into the corridor and House motioned to Kathleen
as she continued to load the meds cart. "What did you say Wilson? Women in
leather make you hot?" He yelled so Kathleen could hear.

"House, come on. Stop being a jerk."

"Women on motorcycles make you even hotter? Wow, now I wonder who we could
set you up with?" Again he said it for Kathleen's entertainment. 

Kathleen looked up and saw Dr. Wilson staring at the floor and House
looking straight at her with those cruel eyes. Wilson looked up at her
with his liquid brown eyes, they were kind eyes and he smiled helplessly
as his friend, the @ss, continued to humiliate him. 

"So nurses in leather that ride motorcycles get you off?" He mocked
Wilson. Wilson walked off shaking his head.

Kathleen thought, "Who was that?"

Kathleen found out from the nurses that she had just had her first contact
with the handsome, kind and thrice divorced Dr. James Wilson. The odd
thing about Dr. Wilson wasn't his three marriages, but the fact that he
was the best and only friend of Gregory House. It was strange and Kathleen
couldn't understand why Dr. Wilson would put up with such abuse, but he
did. *** Kathleen continued to do her job. Ten hour shifts, four days a
week, three days off. Each week she received her assignment for a
different department. Sometimes she worked graveyard, sometimes swing and
of course her favorite, days. It was the luck of the draw. When Kathleen
was done she'd get on her Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle and go for long rides
throughout the surrounding towns and cities. It helped pass the time.
Since she had moved to Princeton she hadn't made any real friends yet. At
least not someone she'd like to share a confidence with. The staff at the
hospital had been kind and welcoming and since she was good at minding her
business, she was well liked. She was fairly sure that she would make
friends soon.

She was also talented. Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine, was getting feedback
from doctors and the head nurses alike that Kathleen was an incredible
nurse, extremely capable and very efficient. Lisa thought that when a day
shift position came up she would offer it to Kathleen. They needed a good
nurse during the days when it was busiest. Lisa had stopped to watch
Kathleen when she didn't know that she was being watched. Kathleen had an
air of confidence that Lisa admired. She was also quick, efficient and
vigilant. Lisa was a little jealous of Kathleen. She was thin but curvy
with long blonde hair that was kept up in a bun most of the time. She wore
little makeup, if any when she was on duty, but she was still pretty, very
pretty. With makeup, Lisa had no doubts that Kathleen was beautiful.

"Hello Kathleen, I'm Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine."

"Yes, of course, I'm glad to meet you. Is there something I can do for you
Dr. Cuddy?"

"I heard from some of the doctors that you diagnosed a patient before Dr.
House did."

"It was a lucky guess. The little girl's nanny was from South America and
Chagras is common down there. I think she got it from her."

"How did you know about Chagras?"

"We had a large population of South American immigrants where I worked in
Chicago."

"Oh, I see. Well, good work. Be careful though, Dr. House doesn't like it
when someone shows him up. Especially a nurse. He can get quite testy."

"So I've observed. Thanks for the warning. Is there anything else Dr.
Cuddy?"

"Not for now, it was nice meeting you Kathleen."

"Thanks." And Kathleen went back to her work.

Lisa liked Kathleen right away. She looked directly at you when she spoke
and she had sharp eyes that seemed to observe everything. It was a shame
Kathleen was a nurse, Lisa would have liked to have gotten to know her
better.

Kathleen and Robert Chase were on duty in the clinic the next week. Chase
was flirting with Kathleen at every opportunity but getting nowhere.
Kathleen was impervious to all of his attempts to get her attention.

"Nurse Monaghan, can you help me with a pap smear?" Chase asked.

It was hospital policy that any woman getting a pelvic always had a female
staff member present when it took place. 

"Yes doctor." Kathleen stepped inside the room and watched as Chase
performed the pelvic as detached as a doctor should be. He was a big flirt
but he was also a good doctor and the patients loved him.

"Now besides the pain in the abdomen, what problems are you having?" Chase
asked as he removed his gloves and indicated to the patient that she could
sit up.

"I feel bloated and tired all the time. I'm having trouble peeing. It
won't come out until I sit there for quite awhile." The young woman was
obviously fatigued.

Kathleen grabbed her file and looked through it.

"Well, it sounds like you might be anemic. We'll get a blood test."

"Dr. Chase, it appears that Ms. Rader has lost about fifteen pounds in the
last six months." Kathleen had noticed the weight on check in from a
previous exam compared to today's weight.

Chase turned and asked her, "Were you trying to lose weight?"

"Yes, but it came off a lot easier than it did before."

Chase looked at Kathleen as if to say, "Well, what am I suppose to do with
that?"

"Doctor, did you want to order a sonogram of the ovaries and a CA125 blood
test?"

Right away Chase realized she was suggesting ovarian cancer. But this girl
was young, not a likely candidate. 

"Ms. Rader, has anyone in your family had ovarian cancer?" Chase asked.

"My grandmother died from it."

Well, that was the nail in the coffin. Chase ordered the test just as a
precaution. He sent Tory Rader off to get her lab work and sonogram.

"I'm impressed. She probably doesn't have it but what made you think to
test for it?"

Chase didn't have hangups about nurses making suggestions to doctors, he
was young enough to appreciate any help.

"I have family members that went through it." She lied, but she didn't
want to tell him that the symptoms Tory had were all markers for ovarian
cancer. Ovarian cancer is a silent killer, not easy to diagnose. What few
symptoms show usually show when it is too late. The girl was only 29 but
still it was not unheard of for young women to have cancer.

Later in the day, Kathleen saw Ms. Rader back in the clinic which meant
that her results were back on the sonogram. She went up to Ms. Rader and
smiled, "I see you're back. Dr. Chase isn't on duty, but you'll be seeing
his boss, Dr. House."

"Oh, I really liked Dr. Chase."

"Dr. House isn't as...well, his bedside manners aren't as perfected as Dr.
Chase's but he is actually considered a genius in medicine. You couldn't
have a better doctor in this hospital."

Kathleen looked at the sonogram results and she felt sad. The sonogram
suggested the need for exploratory surgery. There was a good chance Tory
had ovarian cancer. When Ms. Rader was called she asked Kathleen to come
in with her. Kathleen agreed.

They were sitting in the exam room waiting for House and talking about
mundane things when House walked in and took one look at Kathleen. "I'm
not going to be needing you nurse."

"Dr. House the patient requested I stay. Dr. Chase and I had her this
morning."

"There's better things for you to do with your time."

"Dr. House, may I see you in the hallway?"

"WHY? Do you think you can talk your way into this?"

"Dr. House, please, the hallway." Kathleen left and kept the door open. 

House thought about it and decided to join her. "You do not order me to do
anything, do you hear?"

"Yes, doctor, but I wanted a chance to explain my behavior. Dr. Chase sent
her for a sonogram and it looks likely that she has ovarian cancer. Her
grandmother died from it. I understand that you don't have the finesse of
Dr. Wilson, so I thought I could give her the emotional support she's
going to need."

"First of all, you are not a doctor...reading sonograms is best left to
the professionals. Second, I'm not here to give emotional support, I'm
here to diagnose and cure patients. So I don't see the need for your
presence."

"Well, report me then. I'm staying." She was defiant and he could see she
wasn't going to budge.

They went back into the exam room. House took out the file, read through
it and then looked at the sonogram results. He looked at the floor and
then gave Kathleen a sheepish look indicating that she was right and it
looked like this 29 year old had ovarian cancer.

"Ms. Rader, the sonogram showed some indications of tumors on your
ovaries. Now they may be benign or they may be malignant, but you will
need exploratory surgery to make that determination. I'm giving you a
referral to Dr. James Wilson in oncology, he'll be taking over your case."


Kathleen thought that he had been neither cruel nor kind, just factual.
But Tory broke down crying. Kathleen put her arm around her and told her,
"If it is cancer, it's good that we found it the first time around. Your
odds improve the earlier we find it. We have a lot of new treatments for
ovarian cancer so don't get ahead of yourself. Now, who can I call to come
down and be with you?"

"My mom and sister."

Tory gave Kathleen their phone numbers and Kathleen called them from the
exam room while House wrote out the referral. After Kathleen was off the
phone, House picked it up and dialed Wilson. "I need a consult in exam
room B, possible ovarian cancer." He turned to Tory and Kathleen. "Instead
of making you wait, I'm going to have Dr. Wilson come down and speak with
you. Good luck." He grabbed the file to put in the holder outside the door
for Wilson. 

"Thank you Dr. House." Tory looked up from her tears and tried to smile at
him.

House didn't know what to say. This wasn't something he was used to
hearing so it took him off guard. "Don't thank me, it's my job." And then
he left. ***

The next morning House and the team were debating on whether to take in a
case that had been offered by a doctor at Sloan Kettering. After deciding
to take it, House looked over at Chase.

"That was a good call in the clinic yesterday. Not many would pick up on a
29 year old with ovarian cancer."

"I'd like to take credit but the nurse suggested I run a CA125 and
sonogram. It was only then that the symptoms fit together."

"You mean, Nurse Kathleen Monaghan diagnosed ovarian cancer?"

"I guess if you put it that way, yeah." Chase shrugged his shoulders.

He let out a deep breath. "She's going to get in trouble one of these days
playing doctor."

"Not if she's right all the time." Chase answered.

House looked at Chase like he was from Mars. Obviously, Chase was blinded
by her beauty and couldn't see that she was nothing more than a nurse. It
was important, the new patient was important.

Wilson and House went to The Triumph for drinks. House arrived a few
minutes after Wilson. Wilson quietly pointed to a corner and said to
House, "Isn't that your favorite nurse?"

Rather than be discreet. House turned abruptly and stared at Kathleen. But
Kathleen was staring at her drink, a Bushmills. She was oblivious to
House, Wilson and the world. The waitress brought her another and she
started to nurse it.

"Not a good sign, a lone drunk." House said.

"You don't know if she's drunk."

"She will be after that second whiskey. She doesn't have enough body
weight to absorb the alcohol. She has her helmet with her, it means she's
on her motorcycle. Bad choice after drinking."

"Then we'll have to offer her a ride home." Wilson suggested adamantly.

"Not a good idea. She's drinking...alone. Damaged goods Wilson. Let her
put herself out of her misery...a nice motorcycle accident and she won't
have to drink alone again."

"God House, you are insensitive. Did you ever think that she is alone
because she doesn't know anyone in town yet? She is new."

"Bartender. How often is she in here?" House asked the bartender.

"A couple of times a week." He said.

"Does she ever have company?" House asked.

"No, some guy always tries to pick her up but she rebuffs them. She has
two Bushmills and then she's out of here." 

"See Wilson...she drinks and drives. Not long for this earth on a
motorcycle." House suggested with an air of indifference.

Wilson grabbed his drink and went over to Kathleen. "Hi, remember, I'm Dr.
Wilson we met the other day in clinic, the ovarian cancer patient?"

Kathleen looked up and it was obvious that she was sad. "Yes, I'm
Kathleen. What can I do for you doctor?"

"May I sit down?"

Kathleen wanted to say no but Dr. Wilson was someone she liked at the
hospital and she needed to make friends, "Sure."

He sat down. When he did, Kathleen looked over and saw House at the bar
watching them. "Is Dr. House with you?"

"Yes, we met here for drinks."

"If you want to invite him over, please do. I don't mind." Again, it was a
lie, but Kathleen wanted to seem gracious and wanted to stay on the
neutral side of Dr. House. He already seemed suspicious.

Wilson motioned for House to come over and he did. "What do you want?"
House asked Wilson.

"Sit down and behave."

"I always do." He smiled like a small child.

Kathleen laughed at the remark and even House broke into a little chuckle.
House realized she was prettier than he had originally thought. When she
laughed she did so with her whole body. Her hair was long, wavy and
blonde. Her teeth were straight and white, her lips were not full, but
just right, her breasts very perky - probably a C cup, her hips round and
she had a petite bone structure. She was gorgeous. No wonder Wilson was
dogging her.

"How long have you been in Princeton?" Wilson was curious.

"Three months." She said.

"Why Princeton?" He asked.

"I wanted a change and Princeton offered me the job. So here I am."

"Where did you go to school?"

"Just outside of Chicago. I grew up there."

"You don't sound like you're from Chicago." House was serious.

"I am." she retorted.

They exchanged the basic information that most people do when they meet.
House learned that she had ridden motorcycles since she was a kid. While
they talked, she didn't have anymore alcohol but switched to Diet Coke.
She was pleasant and maybe just a little tipsy but he had to admit she
could hold her liquor.

"How long have you two known each other?" She asked Wilson.

"Too long. About twelve years now." He answered with a heavy exaggerated
sigh.

"You have been friends that long?"

"He didn't like me at first. It wasn't until we discovered we both liked
old movies and the some of the same television programs that we actually
started to talk."

"Well then, Dr. House, what's your favorite program?" She asked.

"Either the Sopranos or Nip/Tuck. Maybe 24. And you?"

"I like Nip Tuck, the Daily Show, the Colbert Report. 24 is good and I
like old movies. Dr. Wilson?"

"Sopranos. I like Jon Stewart too. I like the Shield."

She broke in, "Oh yeah, I forgot about the Shield...it's been really good
lately. OH, and Rescue Me!"

"Yeah, they're good too."

Wilson and House refreshed their drinks but Kathleen excused herself to
leave. Wilson put a hand on her wrist, "Why don't I drive you home and you
can pick up your motorcycle tomorrow."

"Thank you Dr. Wilson, I would take you up on that but I just live behind
the bar. I don't have to take any roads from here, just alleys. I'll be
ok. Thanks. Goodnight Dr. House, Dr. Wilson."

"Next time we meet outside the hospital, please call me Jim."

"You can call me House or Dr. House."

She giggled, "Ok, Jim and Dr. House." She picked up her helmet and smiled
at them, then started to walk out. Both House and Wilson watched her
leave. He was wearing jeans, her motorcycle jacket and a navy blue
turtleneck sweater. Her rear end was sweet, not big, but definitely not
flat or invisible. It swayed just ever so gently as she walked out the
door.

The boys looked at each other in appreciation of a thing of beauty. "Are
you going to try and nail that?" House asked.

"I don't know. She's pretty enough but I've been pretty beaten up lately
and was just starting to enjoy my time without women in my life. What
about you?"

"Not my type. Too nice."

"Excuse me, didn't you see that leather getup the other day?"

"Doesn't mean she's naughty, just well dressed for an outing on her bike."

"I think with Kathleen still waters run deep, every deep."

"You may be right but I like my girls a little on the dirty side."

"Like your hookers."

"No, like your Mom."

They sat for another hour and then called it a night. House wondered where
she lived if she was close enough to take alleys to get home. It was
chilly outside but he decided to take his bike and look around. He finally
saw her bike parked in the back of a large brick house with a guest house
in the back. He wondered if she lived in the main house or the guest
house. He revved his bike and went home.

 ***

Caitria was driven by John out to the compound where the lights were
blazing in both houses. Cars were parked all over the drive and lawn and
out the gates. He let her out and then went to park the car. Caitria was
welcomed in by Kieran's brother and sister. Cornelius was behind closed
doors with Charles Fox. Caitria went into the kitchen to grab a drink of
water and take a xanex or two. The back door to Cornelius's office was
open and she could hear the discussion. 

"Are you sure the brakes were cut?" She heard Cornelius ask. 

"Yes chief, they were cut and the brake fluid was gone...it had to be the
Kirbey Brothers. We need to get them back."

"Damn, this was meant for me. I never thought they'd do this, not in a
million years." Cornelius sounded incredibly sad, as if a weight were on
his chest.

"Cornelius, do not retaliate. I'll make sure that they suffer for this.
We'll cut them off at the balls economically."

"It had to be Liam, Terry's not that bright. He goes along with whatever
Liam says."

Caitria had heard enough. She couldn't believe that the Kirbeys had taken
her Kieran from her. She had risked everything to help them and all of the
Family. Anytime there was a gunshot wound, she cleaned it up and repaired
it in her office without notifying the cops. Most of their fights were
with other Families, like the Russians or Italians. They both liked to
shoot first, talk later. She had even stitched up Terry Kirbey a couple of
times. She started getting angry and crazy.

"John, I can't handle this right now. Please take me back to my house,
please."

"Ok Caitria, anything you say. I understand." He too was having a hard
time handling the crying and sad faces all around him. 

"Mum, I'll be back tomorrow, I just need time alone." Caitria hugged Maura
Kelly and left with John.

As soon as Caitria got home she went into the garage and got a ladder. She
brought it into the house, put it in the hall under the attic hatch. She
climbed up and pushed the hatch up and put it off to the side. She pulled
herself up into the attic. Her father had gone to prison for the murder of
a Russian hitman who had been trying to get Cornelius. He had died in
prison from pneumonia. But Caitria had his things in the attic. They took
up several boxes but she knew exactly where to look for what she wanted.
She found it in the false bottom of her Dad's trunk. There were several
guns, a couple of automatics, pistols and rifles, all of which had their
numbers filed down and were untraceable. She chose a Beretta M9A1 9MM w/15
Rd Mags and the accompanying silencer. She took the sniper rifle too. She
grabbed a box of ammunition for both guns and loaded them like a pro. She
was a pro. Her father had trained her to fire guns since she was very
young. Kieran always laughed when they went to the firing range because
Caitria was very steady, incredibly steady, like her father. The target
always came back with a nice tight pattern to the head. 

She grabbed a pair of gloves and she chose a pair of Kieran's tennis
shoes. She stuck socks in the toes and laced them as tight as she could.
She got In her car and drove to La Jolla. She drove up to the house and
checked out the security cameras. She went over to the neighbor's house.
There was no activity in the house, so it was doubtful anyone was home.
She was dressed in black with a black ski cap. She perched down and took
aim at the side camera. Plink, the glass and the camera exploded from the
round she fired. That was all she needed. The other cameras were focused
away from her path. She dropped the gun and left it. She grabbed the
Beretta and creeped quietly up the side drive to the back door. She peered
in. Liam was on the phone with someone. She couldn't see anyone else in
the house. She did see a light on upstairs. 

Caitria took the silencer out and put it on the Beretta. She checked the
side door, it was locked. She tried the slider to the little dining area
in the kitchen. It was unlocked. Caitria entered the house. The best thing
to do was to act quickly and decisively. She didn't care about the noise
she made because it would be over and she would be out quickly. She walked
into the living room behind Liam who was now dialing the phone. He turned,
she fired. One shot right between the eyes. It was over. She dropped the
gun and ran to the car. She took off quietly and without lights until she
reached the end of the block. When she got home she took off the clothes,
including the shoes and put them in a bag. Caitria drove down to the area
around St. Vincent de Pauls and threw the bag out onto the street. She was
confident that within minutes some of the homeless would pounce on it and
the clothes would be distributed among the homeless. She was right. When
she got home she grabbed the Bushmills and poured herself a drink. She
looked at her hand. It was steady. 

Caitria had no doubt that she would be steady. When she was a resident in
infectious diseases she and several other staff members of the hospital
were held by gunpoint during a robbery. Some idiots thought they could
steal a case of oxycontin from the hospital and get away with it. The
doctors being held included the head of surgery. He was shaking and
nervous throughout the whole ordeal but he noticed that Caitria was calm
and her hands were steady. When it was all over he came to her and told
her that he was offering her a residency in surgery, that she wasn't meant
to be in infectious diseases, she should be a surgeon. She thought long
and hard about it. She loved infectious diseases, but surgery would be a
challenge and she loved challenges. She accepted.

When Liam's wife came downstairs an hour later she found his body and
screamed. The police found both guns and realized this was a professional
hit. The sniper rifle and Beretta couldn't be traced. The shoes prints
were a size 10.5 men's Nike shoe. There were no hairs, no fingerprints, no
witnesses. Whoever did it was good.

Cornelius Kelly got the call from one of his guys he kept on the force.
The Kelly family would be suspect in the killing. Cornelius felt like
dancing, but who had done this? He went out to the living room and asked
his guys if they had done it. They all wished they had but had to tell him
no. Cornelius couldn't figure it out.

The next day, Caitria drove back out to the compound where the talk was
all about Liam Kelly's demise. Caitria feigned surprised. When the FBI
showed up they told her that she was a person on interest but in reality,
they didn't think she could do it. She was a well respected surgeon and
she didn't wear a 10.5 size men's shoe. But still, they thought there was
something odd about how controlled she seemed.

The investigation went nowhere. Even Cornelius was stumped. Then he heard
that the gun was a Beretta M9A1 9MM and he felt cold inside. It couldn't
be Caitria, could it? That was her father's favorite gun. He pushed the
thought out of his mind but it wouldn't stay down.

Four months later, the FBI had failed at inserting their agent. They
started to look around and they found Cora Thompson, assistant to Dr.
Caitria Monaghan. Cora had just been arrested for dealing meth in
Lakeside. They knew she had to have minor connections to the syndicate.

What they discovered wasn't her drug connections but something better. She
ratted on her boss. In exchange for probation so that she could keep her
kids, she told the Feds that Dr. Monaghan was the doctor for the Irish
Families. They came to her when they needed medical care without the
involvement of the police or officials. She described two incidents where
Dr. Monaghan removed bullets without reporting the patients to the police
as required. She also told the police that it was rumor that Caitria had
done the hit on Liam Kelly, although she had no proof of this. The Feds
were pleased, they now had their way in.

 *** House was bored, his last patient had left yesterday and they didn't
have one for today. Wilson was at a conference. He reluctantly did his
clinic duty and then started playing video games to keep himself occupied.
When he went to lunch he saw Kathleen eating by herself and reading a
newspaper. He took his sandwich and walked over to her table.

"Mind if I keep you company?" he asked.

"No, please do." she moved her drink for him to sit down. "Do you always
eat Rubens?"

"Most of the time. So where are you working this week?" House asked.

"Surgical ward." 

"They let you float to surgical?" He was surprised.

"I was a surgical nurse at the University of Chicago Hospital." She told
him with an emphasis on Chicago.

"Still drinking Bushmills at the Triumph?" he couldn't resist the dig.

She was a little miffed at this. Insinuating that she had a drinking
problem. "On occasion. Why do you ask?"

"What are you trying to forget?" he looked at her bugged eyed.

"Besides your rudeness? Nothing."

"I don't buy that. You seem pretty easy to get along with, I bet you had
friends, family...you know all that social network that binds us humans to
a place and yet you came here, alone. Something cries out that you were
running from something."

"Dr. House, the only thing I will be running from is you in a few minutes
unless you stop being such an @ss."

"Just observations." he emphasized.

"How about those Phillys?" She mused. 

House had to chuckle. She was rather entertaining. He kept the
conversation light and then they bussed their table. He followed her as
she tried to politely get away from him.

"I have to get back to the surgical ward." 

"I'm going there myself, I have a patient who just had surgery."

"Which one?"

"William Danson."

"Oh, he was doing well when I left. He's your patient?" She asked.

"Yes, I referred him for the repair of his heart valve. When he done we
have to figure out why his heart and other organs are failing. Gee, you
think you're a doctor, want to fathom a guess?"

"I haven't studied his chart." she said seriously.

"You really think you could diagnose it, don't you?" he shook his head in
dismay.

"Not necessarily. But I'm pretty good at it." she said with confidence.

"Do all the nurses in Chicago act like doctors?" 

"Not all, but some of us have been doing it awhile...we start picking up a
few things."

"You wear your scrubs to work most of the time but there was one day you
wore your leather, why?"

"I had just come from having lunch with an old friend." she lied. 

"In Princeton?" he was grilling her.

"Yes, boy you are a noisy bugger aren't you?"

"You looked hot." he said looking up at the floors going by above the
door.

"Should I be flattered?"

"Nah, I tell all women that. It helps me get laid a lot."

"I heard you pay for the tail you get." she zinged back at him.

"I like my tail with a little salt and pepper and I find most nurses are
one note lovers."

"They must not be from Chicago." The elevator opened and they both got out
on the surgical ward. Kathleen went back to work and House stood and
watched for a minute. then he went to join his team by the patient's bed.

Kathleen had made a new friend, Penelope Parsons or Penny as she
introduced herself. Penny was a nurse on the Peds ward and she had struck
up a conversation in the shower room with Kathleen. They found that they
had a lot in common. They both liked folk music, old movies, shopping and
dancing. Penny suggested they go out trolling for men that Friday.
Kathleen laughed to herself. It had been a long time since she had thought
about actually being with a man, but her body was sending her signals that
it was time.

Friday came and they stopped in for Happy Hour at the Triumph. A lot of
Princeton faculty frequented it and that made for a great gene pool.
Kathleen was wearing a jean skirt and brown high heeled boots, a low cut
sweater and a black jacket with fake fur collar. Penny had natural red
hair and green eyes. She was a stunner and she played up her face and hair
with just the right makeup. She was wearing a long sleeve dress that
looked great on her. She didn't have quite the body that Kathleen had, but
she certainly turned heads. Together they managed to steal the attention
of all the men when they walked into the bar.

They sat at a high table on high stools and began joking with each other
over their lack of sex in the last year. "Yeah well the best sex I've had
lately came with an extra set of batteries." Kathleen said while she was
looking around.

"I know the feeling...or maybe I DON'T know the feeling. I've never been
good at masturbation ...I like the real thing much better."

"Oh , Iike the real thing, but there's no one who knows how to get me off
better than me!!" Hey, do you know Dr. Wilson?"

"Oh, don't tell me you have a crush on him too?"

"What do you mean?"

"About half the nurses have dated him and the other half are waiting for
him to ask them out."

"Oh, I didn't know he had a fan club. What about you?"

"I'm waiting for House to ask me out....ha, ha."

"You are joking, right?" Kathleen was stunned.

"Yes and no. I love bad boys and boy is he a bad boy...but I know it would
last about five minutes and I'd be miserable. He just can't help himself.
I don't know how Stacy put up with him."

"Who's Stacy?"

For the next ten minutes Penny gave Kathleen the Reader's Digest Version
of the operation, the break up, the reunion, the affair and the rebuff
between House and Stacy Warner. 

"I didn't think he could maintain a relationship more than five minutes.
He is a piece of work."

"I've been around when he's had glimpses of being human. It's very
touching. Of course Dr. Cameron has the hots for him and even quit when he
wouldn't return her affection."

"That's not very politically correct. Quitting because you want your boss
to nail you?"

"She's young. She thinks she can change him or make him happy. Like I
said, she's young."

"Sounds very young to me. House is in his forties...he's not changing."

"Yeah, well it takes being in a relationship with someone like House to
appreciate that."

"Have you ever been married?"

"No. I lived with a guy for a few years, but we didn't get married."

"Did he leave or you?"

"He left me." Kathleen said sadly.

"Sounds like a fresh wound." Penny smiled sadly for her friend.

"Not to fresh but still not easy to discuss."

"Ok, let's talk about...oh no. Speak of the devils themselves." She looked
over Kathleen's shoulder at the front door.

Kathleen turned around and saw Lisa Cuddy, James Wilson and Gregory House.
She knew that Penny was going to be uneasy with them in the bar. "Do you
want to leave?"

"Ah, normally I would, but hey, maybe I can gave that five minutes with
House."

Kathleen laughed. "Hope springs eternal."

It took about half a minute for Wilson to discover the two of them at the
table. He waved and they waved back. The three of them walked over to the
two nurses. "Dr. Cuddy, Wilson, House, what would you like to drink?"
Kathleen asked.

"No, I'll get this, what would you like?" Wilson asked.

They gave him their drink order. Wilson went to the bar and placed the
order. Penny made sure she was next to House. Kathleen started talking to
Lisa Cuddy. 

"Dr. Cuddy, it's unusual for the Dean of Medicine to be a woman, how did
you do it? I mean, I am very impressed and rather happy to see it."

"Thanks. I spent a lot of time having to not just be as good as a man, but
better. It wasn't easy but I had a great mentor at Michigan University who
taught me a lot about politics and it helped. Unfortunately, growing up
women aren't really taught how to function as a man does...they learn
their politics by playing on team sports. I went back and spent a lot of
time playing sports to get an idea of how to make it work. Sounds nuts
doesn't it?"

"No, it sounds brilliant. Absolutely, f#cking brilliant."

Lisa laughed. "Thanks. What about you, what made you go into nursing?"

"I sort of fell into it. I had planned a career in something else, but my
life took a left turn and I ended up as a nurse. But, no complaints. I
feel lucky to be doing what I am doing. Can I ask a very strange
question?"

"Well you can ask...I don't know if I'll answer." Lisa was on guard.

Kathleen moved in closer to keep the question between them, "Why did you
hire Dr. House?"

Lisa broke down laughing and couldn't control herself. The whole table
looked at her, "That's the big mystery?" She continued to laugh and now
everyone was paying attention. Kathleen was a little embarrassed. "I ask
myself that every day."

"What do you ask every day?" Wilson was curious.

"Why I hired House." Lisa continued to laugh.

Wilson joined her in laughing and House began to smirk.

"Why did you hire me?" House really didn't care how she answered, it
didn't really make a difference to him.

"I thought he would be an asset to the hospital. It's no secret that he's
one of the best at what he does..."

"THEEE best. Not one of the best." House interrupted. 

"And as it turns out that he brings a certain notoriety to the hospital,
sometimes good, sometimes bad but I'm finding that all publicity is good."

"I see." Kathleen was a little embarrassed that House was now aware that
she had asked about him. She turned the conversation to other topics.

Again, Lisa had enjoyed her conversation with Kathleen. Lisa's job didn't
afford her much time with girlfriends and she often missed having a friend
to talk with and moan to about everything going on in her life. Sometimes
she felt lonely. 

House had been talking to Penny and Penny was rubbing his foot with hers.
House found this interesting. Penny was a knockout and it had been a long
time since he had been with a woman he hadn't ended up giving a couple of
Benjamins to at the end of the night. He was going to roll with this one.

Wilson was attracted to Kathleen and to Penny. He liked each one for
different reasons. Kathleen seemed a little more mysterious, like there
was something deep inside of her that she guarded. But she was also funny,
smart and nice. Penny was a firecracker and exciting. She was also funny
and gorgeous. But it looked like House was making a play for Penny.

Kathleen wasn't excited about having a relationship with anyone from work.
They could turn awkward if they didn't work out. She wasn't sure what she
would do if Wilson made a play for her. She decided to try and continue to
keep the conversation with Lisa going. It wasn't too hard. Lisa and
Kathleen had a lot in common. They both liked the same authors, the same
food, the same types of sports. Wilson was comfortable joining in their
conversation too. It ended up that the only two that connected were Penny
and House. They ended up leaving the restaurant together and going home in
House's car. It was early December and it was cold and icy outside.
Kathleen had switched from using her motorcycle to her car, a 1999 Toyota
Corolla. It was not pretty but it was reliable. She got in her car and
went home through the alleys to her apartment.

Penny called Kathleen and gushed to her. "Wow, that was some night. He's a
bad boy...the kind of bad boy you want in bed. He knows how to show you a
good time. I don't know if that was a one night stand but I'd be willing
to go back for more."

"How did it end? Did he say anything?"

"He said he'd give me a call...but you know how reliable that is. I don't
know if he meant it or not. But he gave me a ride back to my car and
that's how we left it."

"So you ended up at his place?" 

"Yeah, it's really a bachelor pad. Lots of instruments, piano, books,
nothing frilly whatsoever. Did you end up with Dr. Wilson?"

"No, I'm gun shy about getting involved with someone from work. If it gets
screwed up, it's hard to unscrew it, if you know what I mean." Kathleen
said.

"Yeah, but with House you can almost always expect to screw it up...so
your expectations are lowered from the start." They both started to laugh.

"Any emotional connection?"

"With House? No, it was fun and he was funny but it was mostly sex."

"Well, that can have it's advantages." Kathleen egged her on.

They continued to talk about the night and then Kathleen hung up. Kathleen
was on the second shift this week and so she had to get ready for work.
She was on the main ward which she was looking forward to since she hadn't
worked the area before.

 *** The FBI determined that Caitria was an important member of the Irish
Families. She was the fianc, of one of the victims, the doctor to the
Kirbey brothers and many others in the Irish Families and apparently
Cornelius Kelly considered her a daughter. If anyone could tell them the
structure of the families, it was Caitria. 

Caitria knew there was a problem as soon as she tried to call Cora. Cora
answered the phone but refused to talk to Caitria. "Cora, why haven't you
been to work? We need you? Cora? Cora?" She heard a click. Not a good sign
when someone you've known and trusted for the last five years refuses to
talk to you. Caitria had heard that Cora had been busted, this development
did not bode well for the Families. Caitria called Cornelius and told him.


"Not much we can do now but I'd be careful if I were you. Take
precautions."

Caitria did take precautions. She destroyed files, computers, and anything
in the office that dealt with the Irish Families or its members. Two days
later the FBI showed up in her office.

"We have a witness that says you have treated gunshot wounds without
notifying the police. This is a felony and could also be considered aiding
and abetting a crime or accessory after the fact. We're really concerned
about your dealings with several known criminals in the Irish community.
We also have evidence that you were involved in the murder of Liam
Kirbey." Agent Gustofson was telling a mixture of truths, lies and
suspicions. 

Caitria was calm and steady. "I guess if you really believe I've done
these things then you need to take me in and book me. If you aren't going
to do that, then get out of my office."

"Look, we'll have a warrant within the hour. Then we're going to tear this
place apart. But we have an offer. We want help in piecing together the
Irish criminal element in Southern California. We believe that you know
the who's who of the Families and you might even have evidence to put some
of them away. WE would be willing to give you a free pass if you help us."

Caitria started to laugh. "You mean I get to rat on my friends and family
and I walk away unscathed...oh except that every person in the Irish
community will be gunning for me. You must be joking. I'd be safer in
prison being some dyke's wife."

"We could give you protection."

"Yeah, for the rest of my life?"

"We can put you in the witness protection program."

"You mean a little Nip Tuck and I go live in Wisconsin?"

"No, you won't need any Nip Tuck...but we could relocate you, give you a
new identity. What do you say?"

"I think you better get your warrant. You've given me a lot to think
about."

But what she was really thinking was how to sink the Kirbey family for
good without hurting everyone else. She decided she had to talk to
Cornelius.

That afternoon the FBI executed their search warrant, virtually shutting
down her practice by taking the computers and files of her patients.
Caitria called her uncle, Brian Monaghan, one of the best lawyers in San
Diego. He came immediately and gave the FBI a lot of grief. Had she
wanted, he would have probably brought the FBI to their knees. Their
evidence was pretty flimsy against her and was based on a meth dealer. But
she knew that, despite her efforts to destroy anything that pointed to
her, there was evidence...it could be found in Terry Kirbey's body and the
body of a dozen other Irish patients that she had stitched up. Their
bullet scars would provide circumstantial evidence that Cora was telling
the truth. But she knew that Terry and the others would never say that she
had been the one to pull the bullet out of them.

Caitria went to see Cornelius. He greeted her with a hug and a kiss.
Cornelius loved Caitria like his own daughter. 

"Caitria, I have a bad feeling about Liam's death. It was executed like a
work of art. It reminded me of the work your Dad did for me. Should I be
worried about you?"

"The FBI is closing in on me. Cora ratted and told them I'm the Family
doctor. They're trying to get me for not reporting the bullet wounds,
aiding and abetting and accessory after the fact. They probably could
piece together a case for the accessory after the fact. It would end my
career as a surgeon."

"Christ. Isn't Brian working on this."

"Yeah, but Uncle Brian can only do so much. They've offered me a deal. I
rat and they let me go. They'll even give me a new identity."

"I'd let Brian do his magic."

"Normally I would agree. But I want to rat. I want to rat on the Kirbeys
for what they did to Kieran, I want to put the away and I have the
evidence to do it. I have a bullet I removed from Terry, it's got his
blood and DNA on it and it places him at the scene of a nasty shoot out.
He'd go down. I wouldn't rat on anyone else, just the Kirbeys."

"But the Kirbey family would come after you. I wouldn't be able to keep a
lid on it...it would take years before we could contain the damage."

"That's ok. They would give me a new life, a new identity. I could wait
and then when you got word to me, I could come back. Just like Al
Pacino..." They both laughed. 

"We may not be able to bring you back again, ever."

"Well then so be it. But I want the Kirbey Brothers. Liam's gone, now
Terry needs his hand spanked. But I want your permission, I want you to
know what I am doing and why."

They continued to discuss the pros and cons of what she was going to do.
She quit- claimed her house to Cornelius and Cornelius sold it to put
money in a Swiss account for Caitria to use. She liquidated everything
else and put it into the account as well. The FBI began the process of
obtaining a new identity for her.

She gave the FBI the bullet. Terry was arrested and after negotiations, he
was given 25 years to life for the second degree murder of a Russian
mobster. He would probably be out in 15 years. The Kirbey family was not
dead, a cousin stepped in to fill the void and he was out for Caitria. The
FBI place the entire Kirbey family on watch and foiled two attempts on
Caitria's life before they could move her into the witness protection
program.

Before she turned evidence she met with the agent processing her new life,
"You can't be a doctor without raising suspicion and having your
fingerprints on file. We need to find a new profession for you."

" I want to stay in the health field."

"Ok, any suggestions?"

"I qualify to be a nurse."

"Alright, I'll look into that. Have you thought of a name?"

"Caitria is Gaelic for Kathleen. So I was thinking Kathleen Monaghan, my
mother's maiden name."

"Normally we wouldn't let you have any connection to your old name but
you're not a major target. We think that in a few years it would probably
be safe for you to return to your old life which is why we are going to
keep your physician's license renewed. We know you've liquidated all of
your assets and have moved them to a Swiss account. So we will be
providing you with a job, but only $5,000 to start you out. You'll have to
pay a deposit and rent out of that and purchase your necessities to start
with until you start your job."

Caitria found out that her new identity was as Nurse Kathleen Monaghan,
from Chicago, Illinois. She had gone to school in Chicago, raised in a
suburb of Chicago and went to school in Chicago. She was an only child
with both parents dead as a result of a DUI. She had been a surgical nurse
at the Chicago University Hospital. There were other details but more
importantly, Caitria felt it was important to go to Chicago and stay there
for several weeks so that she could get the flavor of her past before she
left for her new life. 

In November she said goodbye to her family and friends. She made
arrangements with Cornelius for an email account that would allow them to
communicate. It was a blind account that couldn't be traced. Caitria gave
her car to John Kelly and flew back to Chicago where she bought a used
Toyota Corolla. She stayed two weeks in Chicago before driving down to
Princeton, N.J. to start her new life as Kathleen Monaghan, R.N. She felt
Kieran would be proud.

 *** The following Saturday, Penny and Kathleen went to DAK's on the
outskirts of Plainsboro to listen to a new band that everyone was raving
about. While there, Penny got a call from House. 

"What are you doing tonight?"

"We're at DAK's listening to the Bug Outs, that new band I told you
about."

"Want company?" he asked.

"Sure, come on down." 

House and Penny had actually had a real date the night before. They had
gone to a movie and then to Penny's for horizontal recreation. House
actually enjoyed Penny. She never talked about "their future" or them as a
couple or anything that gave the least hint that she wanted more. That
suited House just fine. Typically, the nurses he dated already had the
names for children picked out by the second date.

House arrived about forty-five minutes later. He gave Penny a kiss on her
neck and sat down. "Hello Kathleen."

"Hello Dr. House."

"You can call me Greg."

"Greg. Do you want something to drink?" Kathleen asked.

"I can get it." Greg used his cane to wave down the waitress and order a
single malt whiskey and drinks for Kathleen and Penny. He had his arm
around Penny and was listening to the band. A guy from another table came
over to ask Kathleen to dance. She accepted and went to the dance floor.
They got very close and danced holding on to each other even though the
music was somewhat fast. House kept an eye on Kathleen. There was still
something not quite right about her. Penny tried to distract House by
rubbing his thigh and french kissing him several times. House was becoming
aroused and suggested that they go back to his apartment.

"I can't tonight because I have friends arriving on the redeye from
Dallas. I have to pick them up at midnight. But maybe we can find
someplace around here to screw." House got up and they went to his car and
got into the back seat. House's car was an old model with a large
interior. He pushed the front seat forward and had Penny straddle him in
the back. Within seconds, Penny had managed to arouse House to a point
where he handed her a condom and she put it on him. The sex was quick but
a satisfying release for House. Penny wasn't worried about her own
pleasure, she'd make sure the next time he gave it to her double. The car
windows were all steamed up from the heat of their breath.

They got out of the back seat to go into the bar again only to find
Kathleen leaning up against the car waiting for them. "Kathleen, what are
you doing here?"

"I just wanted to tell you I was going home. It's almost midnight and I'm
tired. Goodnight Penny, goodnight Greg."

"Midnight? Oh my god, I have to get going too..." Penny ran to her car,
"Greg, call me!" Penny's car tore out of the parking lot. 

Greg House waved goodbye and then turned to Kathleen. He looked at her for
a few seconds, summing her up. Kathleen was steady, "Goodnight Greg."

Kathleen walked to her car, got in and started it. House had already
started his and was just waiting to make sure that Kathleen's car started
before he left. He pulled out of the parking lot and started down the road
towards Princeton. Kathleen was going in the same direction.

Greg wasn't sure he was seeing correctly but it looked like two cars off
the side of the road, one upside down. The other had it's airbag deployed
and the driver appeared stunned. He slowed down. There was no one else
around. Greg was tempted to keep driving but he saw Kathleen pull over and
jump out. "Damn, damn." Greg pulled over and got out. He went to his trunk
to get out his medical kit. He watched as Kathleen went in the direction
of the upside down car. He went over and checked the driver with the
deployed airbag, he had a stable pulse and appeared to have a superficial
head wound and a broken leg. He instructed the driver to stay inside for
now until paramedics arrived. Then he went over to help Kathleen. One
passenger had been thrown from the car, one was still strapped in the car
upside down.

Kathleen went to the one that had been thrown and discovered a chard of
glass through the chest and a wound that was bleeding. If the bleeding
wasn't stopped, the man was going to bleed out. Kathleen ran back to her
car and started to rummage through her trunk. She finally found it in one
of the duffel bags. It was her surgical kit. She grabbed it, her emergency
light, a box of bandages, a bottle of rubbing alcohol she kept for
emergencies and ran back. 

House undid the seat belt and eased the driver to the ground. The woman
was coherent and apparently fine except for some cuts and bruises. House
left her to go assist Kathleen. He was surprised to find Kathleen
unfolding a surgical kit. She immediately began to clean and then cut the
tissue away in the wound to get to the artery that was bleeding. Her cuts
were clean and swift, she obviously knew what she was doing. House kneeled
down opposite her. She handed House a clamp on the artery and he held it
while she stitched the artery. She poked around and discovered the colon
bleeding. She removed some embedded glass, stitched the damaged colon and
then began to put temporary stitches on the wound itself. House continued
to hand surgical instruments, hold clamps and mop the blood with a rag
soaked in alcohol. The bleeding was stopped. Now she turned to the chard.
She looked at it but in the background she heard the ambulance. She looked
at House and he said nothing at first. She continued to examine the chard.

"I think he'll be fine until he gets to the hospital. I don't need to do
anything to it."

"Come over to this side." They exchanged sides just before the police and
the paramedics arrived giving the appearance that House had performed the
surgery. The police and paramedics came over to them. "I'm doctor Greg
House and this is nurse Kathleen Monaghan. We work at Princeton-Plainsboro
and we were on our way home when we saw the accident. This is the most
critical patient. We've cleaned the wound, repaired the colon, artery and
wound. The chard should stay in tact until they get him to the hospital.
The other two are stable." The paramedics loaded the victims in the
ambulance and took them to Princeton-Plainsboro.

House picked up the surgical kit and his own medical kit and took them to
his car. He and Kathleen gave the police a statement and then they were
let go. House told Kathleen, "I'll meet you at your apartment. Are you in
the big house or the guest house?"

She was surprised that he knew where she lived, "The guest house."

She drove back wondering what he was going to say and do. Now she was
nervous. Not about the accident but nervous about House's silence at the
scene. She arrived home, turned on the light and waited. There was knock
on the door. She opened it up and House stepped in with her surigcal kit.

"May I clean up?" He asked. Kathleen pointed to the bathroom and House
went in to wash up. Kathleen washed up at the kitchen sink and then put
the kettle on. She turned around and saw House leaning on his cane
observing her. She turned off the kettle.

He tilted his head to the side, squinted and said, "You have a surgical
kit, you assessed a trauma scene, you immediately cut him open like a pro,
clean his wound, sew up the colon, the artery and the wound faster than
the best surgeon on our staff and the whole time you are as calm as can
be. No shaking, no hesitation. Where did you do your surgical residency?"

"Greg, I'm a surgical nurse, I've seen operations hundreds of time, I've
assisted doctors under numerous circumstances. I just acted fast."

He came up in her face and yelled firmly, "STOP LYING. WHERE DID YOU DO
YOUR RESIDENCY?"

She was calm on the exterior but inside she didn't know what to do. She
looked him in the eye and then reached out, grabbed the back of his head
and kissed him. He grabbed her and pulled her into him giving her an open
mouth kiss and feeling in her mouth with his tongue. He pulled her top up
in the back discovered that she wasn't wearing a bra. He brought his hand
around and fondled her breast while kissing her. Greg pushed her to the
table and raised her up onto it. He reached under her skirt and grabbed
her panties and in his attempt to pull them down they ripped off. She
started undoing his belt and he grabbed his shirt and t-shirt and pulled
it over his head. She unzipped his pants and he stepped out of them. He
pulled her to the edge of the table and entered her. She wrapped her legs
around him and rocked and pulled him down to her. The pace picked up. She
came quickly, the result of being celibate so long. When House climaxed he
held her close to him and moaned deeply and sensually. When they separated
he said, "Jesus Christ. I didn't see that coming."

"Neither did I." she said meekly. House was leaning on the table and
breathing heavily. He reached down and pulled up his boxers while Kathleen
pulled her skirt down. She was embarrassed. She didn't know what had come
over her or why she did it. But it felt great, it was a wonderful release.


House did up his pants and grabbed his t-shirt and shirt. After he was
dressed he looked at her. "I don't know what to say."

"Can I be alone? I'd like for you to leave." She looked at the floor.

He nodded yes, took one last look at her and left. 

 ***

House was as confused as Kathleen. He was happy with his setup with Penny.
Kathleen hadn't shown any interest in him at all and yet the minute they
were alone... It didn't make sense to him. She was an enigma. He was sure
she was a surgeon, her skills were exceptional, so why was she working as
a nurse? Why was she here in Princeton? What was she running from?

He opened the door to his apartment, grabbed a glass of water and went
into his bedroom. It was chilly in the apartment, he undressed, brushed
his teeth and climbed under the covers. He stared at the ceiling which was
barely lit by the new projection clock he had just bought. It was 1:56
a.m. A lot had happened in two hours. He had a hard time getting to sleep,
he kept thinking of her, her legs wrapped around him, her breath, her
sounds. She frightened him.

Kathleen needed a distraction. She took her surgical kit and began to
clean it, she scrubbed and scrubbed and then let it soak overnight in
alcohol. She would have to find an autoclave at work and sterilize the
equipment. She wiped her hands on a towel and looked at the clock, 3:44
a.m. She fell into bed, she had to be at work at 4:00 p.m. that afternoon.

 *** "Too much information...I didn't need to know this." Wilson shook his
head at House.

"I just thought that you could give me some insight. What happened? What
do you think happened?"

"You couldn't keep your pecker in your pants."

"She grabbed me, physically grabbed me...I just followed through. Believe
me, she wanted it as much as I did."

"Yeah, that's what they all say. I bet you're going to tell me next that
all women should be barefoot and pregnant."

"Shouldn't they?"

"I guess she gave into a moment of weakness...maybe she likes to have sex
after surgery...I don't know. But you're sure she is a surgeon?" Wilson
was waving his hands in the air, exasperated with House.

"Come with me." 

Wilson followed House up to the surgical ward where they found Dale
Wright, a 42 year old male. House pulled his chart. 

" Patient was admitted with lacerations to the colon, adjacent artery and
wound, all of which had been sutured in field by a surgeon.' Those are the
surgeon's notes after he was admitted. He was taken to surgery, they
opened the temporary sutures on the wound, took a look inside and did
nothing, NOTHING. If those sutures had looked amateurish, they would have
resutured him."

"House, House..." A male voice came from behind him. It was Dr. Caleb
Johnson, the head of surgery, "That was some fancy stitching you did in
the field. Where'd you learn to do that? It was quite impressive. Did you
do a residency in surgery?"

"No, I just focused. I also had a surgical nurse with me and she was very
helpful."

"Oh, which one?" He asked.

"Kathleen Monaghan,"

"I don't know her."

"She's a floater."

"I'll have to ask around. Anyway, good work. Nice stitches..." he smiled
at House and then left.

House turned to Wilson. Wilson threw his hands up, "Ok, it seems
strange...maybe she quit med school and became a nurse. I don't know."

"You up for lunch?" House suggested.

"Oh, so I can conveniently pay for you?"

"Come on, I feel like a cheeseburger today."

"So what about Penny? Are you going to toss her?" Wilson asked as they
made their way to the cafeteria.

"See a Penny pick her up, all the day you'll have good luck ...or good
sex...not sure which should be inserted in there. Not sure what to do. I
guess it will depend on whether Kathleen has a heart to heart with her."

"So, you're ok with taking up with Penny right where you left off? Sorry
Penny, screwed your friend just minutes after I had you in the back of my
car...but shucks, can't we still get naked?"

"You think she'd have a problem with that?"

"No, all girls like to share." Wilson shook his head.

"Your wife did."

"Get your cheeseburger." *** Kathleen spent the week avoiding Penny,
Wilson, Cuddy, House and anyone associated with House. She didn't know
whether to tell Penny or not. She wasn't even attracted to House. How
could this have happened? Still, at night, she replayed the scene over and
over, more for her sexual pleasure than as a chastisement. It had been
hot, he had been hot. He had acted on primal instincts, so had she. Kieran
had never been like that. Sex on a table wasn't an option. Kieran was a,
"Let's move this into the bedroom" kind of guy. Sex with Kieran had been
comfortable, pleasurable and a great release, but it had never been
impulsive, rough or hot.

It was her fourth day on and as soon as her shift was over, she would be
off for three days. When her shift was over at 2:00 a.m. she yawned,
grabbed her things and pressed the switch to take the elevator down. The
elevator stopped at the third floor and the doors opened. House stepped in
and smiled demonically. She immediately turned white.

"Whooa. You look like you've just been audited by the IRS. Are you that
afraid of me?"

"No, I just don't know what to say to you. What are you doing here so
late?"

"We just finished diagnosing a patient...he's dying. Nothing I can do, I'm
going home." 

The elevator opened on the first floor and they both crossed the clinic to
get to the bank of elevators for the parking garage. She hit P2. He didn't
hit anything. She knew his motorcycle was on P1 in the handicap parking.
Why was he coming to P2?

"Why are you following me?"

"I thought you wanted to talk to me about what happened?"

"I told you I don't know what to say. I don't know how it happened." They
got off on P2. "I'm not even attracted to you. It doesn't make sense to
me. All I can think is that the excitement of the accident and the
accusations, it just made me nervous."

"So you have sex when you're nervous? I hope you're nervous now."

"No, it was just the culmination of everything and maybe a little to do
with the fact that I hadn't had sex for over a year. I don't know." She
walked away from him and towards her car.

"You never answered my question." He called out to her.

She turned and looked at him. He looked around and then grabbed her wrist
and looked into her eyes. He pulled her over to her car which was parked
next to a concrete pillar. He pushed her up against the pillar. "Where did
you do your residency in surgery?"

She could feel his breath, he was so close. She closed her eyes and
concentrated on being calm. Her heart started to race. Images of sex on
her table kept flashing through and she was getting excited. She didn't
want him to know.

"I didn't do a residency. I used to do a lot of emergency room work in
Chicago. I learned to do things on my feet."

He leaned into her and looked at her when she opened her eyes, "I don't
believe you." His hand went down inside the back of her scrubs and he
pulled her into his groin. He started kissing and nibbling her ear. He
whispered, "I don't believe you when you say you aren't a doctor and I
don't believe you when you say you aren't attracted to me." He gave her an
open mouthed kiss and their tongues met. He pulled his hand out of her
panties and turned around and walked back to the elevator. He pressed the
button and turned around to give her one last look. She was still
supporting herself against the pillar. She couldn't move. He stepped into
the elevator and he was gone.

When she got home she went in and grabbed a glass, filled it with ice and
water and drank it. She kept going over everything in her mind...the whole
garage scene. His touch, his breath, his kiss...what was wrong with her?
He was a jerk, a narcistic @ss, a cruel, manipulative sh!t. Why then did
it take everything she had to keep from tearing his clothes off?

House had similar thoughts. He was restless now. It was hard to keep from
thinking about her smell, her skin the warmth coming off of her. Was it
because she was beautiful or a puzzle? Or, could it be that he found her
interesting, talented, intelligent, funny and charismatic? He let out a
sigh, went to take a shower and let Rosie Palm and her five sisters
entertain him. 

 *** It was Ronan Kelly that took it upon himself to take revenge for his
cousins. He wanted Caitria Bronagh's head on a plate. He didn't care how
long it took, that b!tch was going to be his, he would personally take
care of her. 

Ronan was the enforcer for the Kelly brothers. Since the Kelly brothers
were out of action, the Kelly family had come apart at the seam. Some of
the other Families had adopted a few of the Kelly's especially those that
had wives or other family connections to the other branches. Both there
were a few rogues like Ronan that no one wanted. He was left to work for
the Russians, something he hated. In his spare time, he tried to find
Caitria. The Russians had an informant in the FBI and Ronan tried to
cultivate his connections to the Russians in the hopes that one day, he
could get access to that informant. *** House was in his office when
Cameron came in obviously wanting to ask him something. He looked up, put
his pencil down and said, "Yes?"

"Christmas is in three days and I'm flying home tomorrow. I thought it
would be a good time to give you your gift." She put a small package on
his desk.

"Do you give Foreman or Chase Christmas gifts?"

"No."

"Then why do you give me one?"

"I think you know why."

"Lately women haven't been making sense to me. Do you really think that if
we ever got together I could make you happy or that it would last? Stacy
was older, wiser and a little more hardened than you and I managed to send
her running and screaming into the night. I am forty-seven and I am not
going to change. You may think you don't want me to change, but you do.
You want me to give up my drugs, my gambling, my drinking, my cruel
remarks, my prostitutes and just about anything that I do for fun. You
think, if he was happy with me he wouldn't need all that. Well, when I was
with Stacy the only thing I gave up were the prostitutes and not because I
didn't like the variety, but because I wanted to be faithful. But it was
because I WANTED to be faithful. It had nothing to do with what Stacy
wanted. Cameron, find someone who can appreciate you. I would for about
five minutes and then I'd ignore you."

"You don't think I could hold your interest?"

"Frankly, it takes a different kind of woman to hold my interest for long.
You're too good, too predictable."

"I can't help the way I feel. I keep trying to move on, but I find myself
attracted to you. It's sad, because I want to move on, I really do."

"No you don't. If you pine for me you don't have to put yourself out and
maybe get hurt by someone you really could fall in love with. Well, it's
time you put yourself out there and let yourself be vulnerable. Thanks for
the gift. Merry Christmas." He gave her a phoney smile.

She got up and looked sadly at him, "Merry Christmas."

The hospital was thinning out each day as people left for the holidays.
The next day there were only a dozen or so staff in the cafeteria at lunch
time. House sat down across from Wilson who was sitting with Penny. 

"Are you going away for Christmas?" Wilson asked her.

"Yes, I'm going to go home to New York and see my parents. What about you
two?" 

Wilson and House looked at each other, "We'll probably celebrate the same
way we always do, tv dinners in front of the Twilight Zone Marathon...or
whatever marathon we like best." Wilson said wistfully. 

"You're as bad as Kathleen. I asked her if she was going home to Chicago
and she said no, she was going to spend it here on duty until 6:00 p.m."
Penny remarked while she chased a french fry on her plate with a fork.

"That's because she's not from Chicago, she's from California." House said
inbetween chewing his Ruben.

"You don't know that House." Wilson chastised him.

"Yes, I do. That accent is California."

On December 24th the clinic was open until 2:00 p.m. Both House and
Kathleen were working the clinic but had not yet crossed paths. Kathleen
was at the desk when House came up to give her a chart. "I need a nurse in
C." She nodded and went with him. They didn't say anything.

When they got into the room the younger woman told House, "My mother is
bleeding from her privates." The woman spoke in a thick Irish brogue.

House looked at the age of the woman, 59. "How long has it been going on?"

The older woman answered, "2 days." 

"What medications are you on?"

"None except Vitamin B and Iron." The younger woman answered. Then the
older woman began to speak in a language that House didn't recognize. 

After a minute of the two arguing back and forth, House asked, "Is there
something you want to tell me?"

The younger one appeared to plead with the older one in their language.
But after a brief discussion she said, "No."

Kathleen spoke up and said in Gaelic, "You two better tell the doctor what
you just discussed or I will." Their eyes got as big as saucers. "Alright,
I'll tell him." Kathleen switched back to English. "The older woman was
raped two nights ago, the rapist used a pipe inside of her."

House did a double take. "Is this true?" He asked the elder woman. 

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me right away?" he asked. Kathleen looked at House
and shook her head as if to say, don't ask. House shrugged his shoulders,
took out a rape kit even though he knew any traces were long gone, and
proceeded with the exam. He called the police who came down and
interviewed the woman. The bleeding had come from damage to the uterus and
vagina by the pipe. House referred her to the on-call gynecologist and
looked at his watch. It was 2:20 p.m. and there were no more patients out
in the waiting room.

"Were you speaking Gaelic?" He asked Kathleen.

"Yes."

"Where did you learn Gaelic?" He was stunned. Gaelic was considered a dead
language.

"They still speak it in Ireland, especially on the West coast."

"But why learn it?" He asked.

"It's my heritage, I speak to my elders in Gaelic all the time."

"You are one strange woman."

"Thank you Dr. House."

That evening Kathleen did something she hadn't done in ten years, she got
out her violin and started to play. She was rusty, but she could still
play a tune. She hadn't picked up the violin for years because it requires
certain callouses and the callouses made it more difficult for her to feel
the nuances inside a body when she was doing surgery. Now that she didn't
have to worry about that, she decided she could play. After an hour she
put it away and promised herself that she would practice on a regular
basis.

On Christmas she woke up, got dressed and was in to work by 8:00 a.m. It
was a slow shift, not much happening because of the holiday. At 6:00 p.m.
she wished the swing staff a Merry Christmas and went back to her
apartment. She had laid down for a few minutes on the sofa when the front
doorbell rang.

She opened the door and there stood Wilson and House. "Merry Christmas."
They said in unison. She laughed. They both had on Christmas antlers made
out of felt.

"Merry Christmas. Come in." She opened the door.

"We've come to take you to dinner."

"Restaurants are open today?"

"Come on, no moaning, get ready and let's get going." House said.

"Can I grab a quick shower?"

"Sure." Wilson nodded.

She was ready in half and hour. She locked up and they went down to
Wilson's car. They drove to House's apartment and when she walked in she
could smell stuffing baking and a ham. "I take it that this is your
apartment?" She looked at House.

He shook his head yes and disappeared into the kitchen and Wilson
followed. "What would you like to drink?"

Kathleen walked into the kitchen, "Do you have Irish Creme?"

"Yes. Would you like a Bailey's and coffee or Bailey's and cream?"

"Bailey's and cream please. That smells great, did you guys cook this?"

"I did." Wilson bowed.

"Awesome...dude, you are talented!" She responded.

They set the table and out came a turkey breast, sausage stuffing, a small
ham, corn, mashed potatoes, gravy and Brussel sprouts. They ate heartily
and kept teasing Wilson. 

"Wilson, would you divorce House and marry me? I need someone who can cook
and take care of me when I get home?"

"I'm sorry, we're Catholic and divorce is out of the question." House said
sternly.

"Wilson, if you haven't consummated it, then we can still get the Pope to
annul it. Oh wait, I forgot, you've spent ten years with this guy...you
had to have been screwed." They all laughed.

"Alright you two, keep it up and you won't get any pudding." Wilson
warned.

House and Kathleen both said in unison, "How can you have any pudding if
you don't eat your meat?" There was more laughter.

They broke out the cards and started playing Spades. Kathleen was very
good at spades and was winning hands down. "Alright, we need to switch to
a game that we can win at..." Wilson started dealing out cards for poker.

House and Wilson had turned the tables and Kathleen was losing. They had
chips worth dimes because Kathleen said she couldn't play if they were
betting dollars. Kathleen was down to her last few chips but she had a
great hand, a full house. She went all in but House raised her. Wilson
folded. "I can't call so I guess I fold right?" She asked.

"Not necessarily, I can accept something in value in exchange for your
call."

She was suspicious. "What would you accept?"

"A date, your treat."

She blushed and shook her head no. "I don't think Penny would ever talk to
me again."

"Penny told me that she was going to see her old boyfriend when she was
home and that they might get back together." House said with conviction.

This sounded true because Penny always talked about him. She had dumped
him when she followed another guy to Princeton. The guy she followed
lasted two months. "I don't know. Where would I have to take you?"

"Whatever you come up with, but it has to qualify as a date." he said.

"No sex required?"

"Well, not required, but certainly optional." he smiled and then gave her
a devilish look. What are you worried about, if you have a good hand then
you'll probably win."

Kathleen looked at her hand. It was two queens and three fours. She was as
competitive as the next person and she had faith in what she was doing.
"Ok, I call."

Wilson said, "Let's see your hand." She put down the two queens and then
the three fours. "Full house, good hand. House?" 

He threw down six, a second six and a third. He paused and then drew out
the last six. "Sorry Kathleen, four of a kind beats a full house."

"Is Friday night free?" House asked.

"I have to work, but I do have Saturday off."

"Even better. So where are you taking me?" He smiled from ear to ear.

"It will be a surprise." She had no clue where to take him or what they
should do.

The rest of the evening was fun. They sat down to watch a movie,
"Airplane" and they all laughed at all the old punchlines. Wilson got up
after the movie and offered Kathleen a ride home. 

"Or you could stay overnight with me." House suggested.

"Ha,ha." Kathleen mocked him.

When Wilson and Kathleen was alone he couldn't help warning her, "Are you
falling for House? Because if you are, be careful."

"He's not really my type."

"Really?" Wilson asked surprised.

From the sound of his surprise Kathleen knew House had told him about the
night on the table. "No matter what he has told you, I find him rude,
arrogant, abrasive and self- absorbed."

"That about sums him up." Wilson agreed.

"I tend to like my men to at least be able to have some human compassion."

"Well the last woman who started out hating his guts lived with him for
five years. He rarely dates women. Oh he screws them, but he doesn't go
out with them."

"He took Penny out on a date." Kathleen argued.

"Penny probably thought it was a date, but to House it was foreplay."

"Wow, do you think that's what he is expecting from our bet?" She asked.

"Hard to say. I'm sure he'd like for it to end up at his apartment, but he
did say you could choose what to do. He likes control. I was surprised at
that."

"I haven't the faintest idea of what to do Saturday." She moaned.

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

 ***

Kathleen had called and told House that she was picking him up at 4:30
p.m. for his date and to be ready. When she got to his house he locked up
and followed her to her car. 

"1999 Toyota Corolla? And you look so hot on a motorcycle. I can't wait
for spring." He said mockingly.

"It gets me where I'm going."

She drove to a place near Plainsboro. When they arrived it was 5:15 p.m.
"Our appointment is for 5:30 p.m." She told him.

"Appointment for what? This is a spa...are we here for a manicure?"

"Better..."

When they got in they waited for a few minutes and then House was taken to
one side of the spa and Kathleen to the other. They were given
instructions and within minutes they stripped, wrapped themselves in large
bath towels and entered the room. There was a strip of cloth between the
two tables that blocked their view of each other. After they got onto the
tables and they were appropriately covered in the right places with a
towel the cloth was dropped.

House looked over at her laying on the table with her shoulders and legs
exposed and smiled. "This is unique. I think I'm going to enjoy it."

Over the next hour they received a Swedish massage and were bathed in
oils. Both were relaxed. They said very little to each other during the
massage. After the massage, House thought they were done. But the masseuse
instructed him not to put on his clothes, that his bath was ready. 

Again a strip of cloth blocked their view and they both climbed into two
separate deep jacuzzi baths with a little table inbetween them along with
a bottle of Mumms champagne. The cloth was dropped and Kathleen turned to
House and smiled. House was finding this all very erotic, the knowledge
that she was just a few feet away and naked inside the tub. He sat back
and looked up at the ceiling to center himself. They spent the next half
hour talking about Princeton, Greg's travels as a child, her childhood as
an Irish stepdancer and their love for crewing. House was relaxed and the
champagne was going right to his head on his empty stomach. She only had
one glass because she was driving. But even that glass made her a little
tipsy. When the half hour was up the cloth went back up and they exited to
their respective dressing rooms. When they came out, House gave her a
genuine smile of approval and walked up and hugged her. She didn't know if
she should hug him back so she just patted him on his back. 

They went out to the car and it was almost 7:30 p.m. They just made their
8:00 p.m. reservations at the new Italian restaurant. Greg ordered veal
parmigana and Kathleen ordered scampi. They shared their meals with each
other and when Greg spoke to the waiter in Italian, Kathleen joined him.
Italian was her favorite language. Greg spoke very well. Kathleen was a
little rusty but it was coming back quickly. They had a good laugh over
some of her improvisations in Italian.

At 10:00 p.m. Kathleen drove House home. "This had to be one of the best
dates I've ever been on. I've never been more relaxed. Why don't you come
in for a drink...a coke even."

"I don't think it is a good idea do you?" Kathleen said.

"If I didn't think it was a good idea I wouldn't ask you. I promise not to
jump you."

She hesitated and then said, "Ok, one coke."

She went in and sat on the couch. House brought her a coke and sat down
with a whiskey. He figures if he wasn't going to jump her then maybe they
should watch some television. He found an old SNL with Chevy Chase and
John Belushi. They started watching and she was laughing. Before long he
felt her head on his shoulder. She was asleep. He put his arm around her
and leaned back in the corner of the couch to support them. He grabbed the
afghan and put It around them and then he sat back to finish the show.

The next morning he actually woke up first and saw her head still on his
chest. He laughed and she woke up. She was groggy at first but then she
pulled back fast with her hands wiping her eyes. "What time is it?" She
asked.

"I think it's about 7:30 a.m."

"Oh my God, I've been asleep here all that time?" She asked. 

He shook his head yes. She got up and went to the bathroom, relieved
herself, splashed water on her face and cleaned up a little. She walked
back out. "I better go."

"I'll take you out to breakfast."

"I guess. Where?"

"Dante's."

"Sounds good." she grabbed her jacket and purse.

They went to Dante's and ordered. House had Eggs Benedict. Kathleen had
oatmeal and fruit. They talked about different bands they liked, music
they listened to, instruments they played. House played so many
instruments she asked him outloud why he didn't become a musician. 

"I wanted to be a doctor more."

"You play piano, drums, guitar, harmonica, banjo and ?"

"Keyboard. And you?"

"Just violin and mandolin."

"Violin? Impressive."

"Not really, I haven't played in ten years. I just took it out the other
day."

"Why not?"

"Oh, the callouses interfered with my surgery..."She realized that she had
slipped, "My ability to hand the instruments to the surgeon."

He chuckled. "The callouses interfered with your ability to feel things
when you conducting the surgeries...where did you do your residency?"

"Let's not play this game again, we were having so much fun."

"Today I'll let you have a pass, but not tomorrow."

"Deal." 

After breakfast Kathleen drove House back to the apartment and then said
goodbye. He gave her a peck on her cheek and said, "Thanks for a great
date.'

"I had a good time too." *** The next day House called her. "You want to
hang out today?"

"I can't, they're short on surgical nurses and Dr. Johnson called me in to
assist him today on his bypass surgery. I have to be in by 10:00 a.m."

"In surgery? Wow, they must really be short, you're assisting the head of
surgery."

"Is he head of the department?"

"Yep."

She went in and assisted him in the surgery. After the surgery was over
Caleb Johnson cornered Kathleen in the nurses lounge.

"Kathleen, can I speak with you?" He sounded serious.

"Yes doctor?" She was concerned. She thought the surgery went flawlessly
but had she missed something?

"I've never had a surgery go so smoothly or so efficiently. It was as if
you could anticipate everything I needed before I needed it. I don't know
how you do that but I'd like to offer you a permanent position as surgical
nurse on days. I want you to be my assisting nurse. My last one just
retired about three months ago."

Kathleen knew that not only did it mean she would be working Monday
through Fridays during days, but she would also get a huge raise.

"Dr. Johnson, I would be pleased to do it. Thanks, thanks a lot!"

"Great, I'll tell Lisa tomorrow. Great work. You'll probably start next
Monday, I'll send you our schedule by email."

"Thanks again."

Kathleen was excited and she really was happy. Dr. Caleb Johnson was
talented and handsome. He was recently divorced and he was maybe 40. He
was also very nice. Kathleen was developing a crush on the good doctor. 

Caleb Johnson was impressed with Kathleen, she was the best nurse he had
ever had in surgery and she was hot. He had to concentrate on her
attributes. That made him smile, her attributes...lots of them. 

When Kathleen got home she went on her computer to check the weather for
the next few days. She had an email...this scared her. The only person
with her blind email address was Cornelius.

"Caitria, Ronan is making it his job to find you. Be careful, keep
vigilant. We miss you. All our love, Cornelius."

She was scared, this wasn't good. Ronan was tenacious and he was a beast.
He had a terrible streak of evil running through him. Hopefully the FBI
had done its job to keep him safe, but she was worried that they might
have a leak. The Irish were everywhere. She decided to contact her
handler.

The next day Kathleen was asked to cover the clinic. She arrived at 8:00
a.m. and at 10:00 a.m. House walked in. He came up to her and asked for
the first chart. She handed it to him and he went into Exam room A. Over
the next hour House went through several patients. Kathleen was in
cleaning room B when the next patient was shown in followed by House.
Kathleen turned around and almost fainted. The patient was Brian Murphy,
Cornelius Kelly's nephew. He threw himself into Kathleen's arms, "Caitria,
my God, Caitria, it's so good to see you. We thought you had fallen off
the face of the earth. What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, you've confused me with someone else. My name is Kathleen
Monaghan." She broke into Gaelic. "Please call me Kathleen Monaghan for
now and we'll talk later, ok?" 

"Sure." He said in English.

"Foul. No fair. Gaelic is a dead language, how am I suppose to be able to
play this game if you communicate in a dead language?" House was giving
the time out signal. "So, he knows you and you've asked him to play
along." House watched as the young man looked at Kathleen confirming what
House had said was true. 

"Dr. House, I just told him that he had it wrong and that I was a nurse.
Nothing more."

"Oh GIVE ME A BREAK." He looked at the chart to get a name, "Brian. Where
are you from?" 

"San Diego." 

"California. You have a California accent, just like Nurse Kathleen here.
Now, Brian, how do you know the Caitria woman that you thought Nurse
Kathleen was?"

"Dr. House, I think we should figure out what is wrong with our patient
instead of twenty questions about this Caitria person. Mr. Murphy, what's
the problem?"

"Whoaa, I ask the questions. How do you know this Caitria person?"

"Uhh, she was like a member of our family?" Brian said.

"What was her profession?" House asked.

"She..." Brian could tell that Kathleen was nervous and wanted him to stop
talking. "I don't remember. Can I just tell you why I'm here?"

House gave Kathleen a knowing look, "Oh, you've gotten to him. Alright,
what seems to be the problem?"

"I have an earache. It's been hurting for the last three days, ever since
I got back from San Diego."

House looked in his ear. "Well, you have a fever of 100.5 F. I suspect you
have a virus. We'll take a specimen and see if it is viral or bacterial.
We'll start you on ampicillin. Are you allergic to penicillin?"

"No."

"Alright, here's your prescription. I'll leave you and Nurse Kathleen
alone so that you can get reacquainted. Good luck." He left the room. 

"What's going on?" Brian asked.

She started talking in Gaelic again. "We need to speak in Gaelic just in
case. I had to enter the witness protection program. I forgot that you had
applied to Princeton. You can't tell anyone you've seen me or know where I
am. It means my life. My name here is Kathleen Monaghan and I'm a nurse."

"Are you ever going to make it back to San Diego and the Family?"

"Hopefully one day, but it is hard right now. Here's my phone number at
the hospital if you need me."

"Thanks, it is good to see you again. We all missed you."

"I know sweetie, I've missed all of you too."

He left and she went back to the desk. House was leaning up against a
wall, waiting for her. "How touching. A family reunion. I'm getting close
to finding out what's going on."

She shook her head at him. "Boring."

Lisa Cuddy came down to talk to Kathleen about the new position. "He was
adamant that it be you." 

House came up to the charge desk to fill out a chart. He overheard Cuddy,
"Who was adamant?"

"Kathleen has been chosen by Dr. Johnson to be his personal surgical
nurse." Cuddy explained.

"Really? Well, isn't that special?"

"It's days and it's a pay raise. I think he likes you Kathleen. He asked
me if you were single or had a boyfriend and I told him single and no."

House looked at Kathleen who shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say, he
has good taste in women."

After Cuddy left, House asked Kathleen, "Are you available this weekend to
go see the new Bond movie?"

"Ummm...sure, Saturday?"

"I'll call you Saturday morning and let you know the time, ok?"

"Ok."

The other nurses all looked at her like she was crazy. "What?"

"You're dating House? Have you been sniffing glue?"

"Come on, he's not that bad."

"I give it one month." Nurse Brenda said.

"I give it two weeks." Said the charge nurse.

"Hey, I don't want to hear this." Kathleen said.

Saturday, House picked up Kathleen and they went to the Bond movie and
then to dinner. Kathleen was always surprised as to how easy it was to
talk to House when no one else was around. As soon as someone else was in
the picture, he got cocky and cynical. He took her home and he looked at
her as she took off her seatbelt. He reached over and grabbed her wrist to
prevent her from getting out. He reached over and gave her a deep kiss.

"I'm going to get going, I don't want to impose on you." He kissed her
again. "Goodnight."

"Are you sure you don't want to come in to have a drink?" She asked.

"I do want to come in because I want to have sex with you. If I come in
are we going to have sex?"

Her eyes flashed in shock. "I don't think so."

"Why not? We've had sex before."

"Yes, but I wasn't in control, I lost control."

"Don't you like losing control every once in awhile?" He asked.

"Not to you."

"Why not?"

"You scare me."

"Why do I scare you?"

"Because you don't play by the rules and I can't predict what you will do
or say."

"Do you always play by the rules?"

"No, not always but I try to."

"Then I won't come in."

She smiled, "You drive me nuts. I think everything is going well between
us and then you say something strange or ...just come in and have a cup of
tea or something."

"Where did you do your residency?"

"HOUSE...ok, don't come in." She jumped out slammed the door and ran
inside. 

He laughed to himself and drove home. She was going nuts with all the
games he played or was it the games she played? 

 ***

It was three weeks later that House's father called and told him that his
mother was in the hospital with pneumonia. She was not doing well and so
she was asking for Greg. Greg made arrangements to fly out to San Diego
where his parents had retired. He visited his Mom in Balboa Hospital in
Balboa Park. It was a Navy hospital with lots of young doctors roaming
around. Greg barked at all of them, demanding that they obtain a sputum
sample, get a CB3 and CB4, blah, blah, they all ran like mice. He stayed
with his Mom most of the time but occasionally he would roam around or sit
and read something. He was bored and had finished his Dick Francis novel.
He found an old San Diego Reader in which it had an article called, "Who
Killed Liam Kelly?"

He started to read it. On page four was a photo of a beautiful blonde.
"Dr. Caitria Bronagh gives evidence in Federal Court against Terry Kirbey
and the Irish Mafia." There was no mistaking that Caitria Bronagh was
Kathleen Monaghan. The article went on to describe turf wars between
branches of the Irish Families. The article gave three possibilities of
what happened to Liam Kirbey. He was either killed by an outside hit man,
by the Kelly family or by Caitria Bronagh. Caitria had been considered
because it was her fianc, who had been allegedly killed by the Kirbey
Brothers in an attempt to get to his father, Cornelius Kelly.

House was blown away. Caitria had given evidence against the Irish Mob and
now she was Kathleen Monaghan. Did she run or was she in the Witness
protection program? Now he understood why she didn't want to talk about
it.

Blythe House was released from the hospital four days later. She had
perked up considerably when her son arrived and had made a remarked
recovery from just a week before. House stayed and extra few days to make
sure his mother was on her way to being well and then grabbed a plane back
to Trenton. He couldn't wait to get away from his Dad, although this time
he had to admit his Dad hadn't annoyed him as much as usual.

When House returned to his apartment he went online and looked up Caitria
Bronagh through various medical websites. She was a well respected surgeon
in San Diego, California. She did her residencies in San Diego. She had
authored several interesting articles on new surgical procedures and the
articles had received good reviews. They were solid medicine.

When House got home his Team was working on a patient that required
surgery for a collapsed lung. House asked for a surgical consult and it
ended up that Caleb Johnson showed up on the ward. Caleb and House talked
about the patient while Caleb looked over the chart. Half the nurses were
drooling over the pair of them. Most of the nurses freely acknowledged
that House was good looking, although demonic. The rest felt that Caleb,
who resembled the actor Jeremy Northam, was incredibly handsome. House
noticed that Johnson looked up and over House's shoulder and smiled
broadly at whoever was coming up behind him. House turned and saw
Kathleen. She looked radiant. Her hair was upswept with tendrils stick out
in the back and front, her face was bright and her scrubs were the right
size for once. The steady day shift had obviously been good for her. She
was smiling back at Caleb. 

Kathleen approached House, "How's your mother?"

"She's fine, she's home. She was in Balboa Naval Hospital. Do you know
where that is?" House knew she had done one of her residencies at Balboa.

"I take it that it is San Diego." She looked him in the eye.

He chuckled to himself. Caleb showed Kathleen the file of the patient and
asked her sweetly if she would please set the surgery up for tomorrow.
House noticed that Caleb treated Kathleen like...like a girlfriend. What
had happened while he was gone? 

House observed the surgery and was amazed at how smooth and efficient it
went. The quicker a patient gets off the table, the better it is for the
patient and House's patient was done in record time. He wondered how hard
it was for Kathleen not to be the surgeon. Did it bother her? Was it a
relief? 

House tapped his grapevine and found out that Caleb had been gobsmacked
over Kathleen but they had not dated, not yet. He hadn't asked her because
of their relationship at work. But most of the staff felt it was just a
matter of time. Caleb had been smitten.

House remained incredibly busy for the next month. Mark Warner had
returned because of complications with his therapy. He was no longer
House's patient but it did mean that Stacy was around and House became
depressed seeing Stacy on a daily basis. Wilson and House were in the
cafeteria when Stacy came in for lunch. She waved at the two of them and
went through the line.

"You know she's going to come over here to eat." Wilson remarked.

"It's a free country, let her."

"You are a glutton for punishment. Why don't you just tell her it's too
hard to be around her?"

"Is it? I hadn't noticed."

Kathleen walked in a few minutes after Stacy. She immediately recognized
Stacy. The staff had pointed her out to Kathleen as the idiot lawyer who
once lived with House. She watched as Stacy went over to sit with Wilson
and House. House looked sad. This was obvious hard on him and she wondered
why Stacy would put House through it. Kathleen paid for her meal and took
her tray directly over to House's table.

"Hi guys, how are you?" She smiled. "Move over Greg." She made Greg move
his chair so that she could scoot one in between Greg and Wilson even
though there was a chair on the other side of the table.

Wilson spoke up as Kathleen sat down, "Kathleen, this is Stacy Warner.
Stacy, Kathleen Monaghan."

"Glad to meet you. Is that your husband we are operating on tomorrow?"

"Yes, are you a surgeon?"

"No, just a surgical nurse."

"The best in the hospital." House said solemnly.

"Greg, thank you! Oh by the way, the Princeton winter jazz festival is
next month, are we going to go?" She asked in a way that made it seem that
it was understood that they would be going.

"I haven't gotten tickets and it sells out quickly." House was perking up.
This was amusing.

"Don't worry, I picked them up." Actually she had bought them hoping to
ask Caleb but she hadn't asked him yet because she still felt unsure about
asking her boss out.

She reached over and grabbed a french fry from Houses's plate. An act that
marked territory. House was confused, what was she doing? Was she really
here to make a date or was this all a show for Stacy? Either way, House
had to admit he was glad she was there.

She ate her salad quickly because she was expecting to go into surgery
soon. Her pager went off. She reached down and put her hand on House's
left leg and then turned and looked at him, "Sorry, I have to go but I
should get out of surgery around 3:00 p.m. ok?" The whole time she spoke
to him she kept her hand visibly on his leg.

"Ok, 3:00, call me when you get out." He played along. 

"Nice meeting you Stacy." She looked over at a woman who's lips were
pursed and her body language tightly controlled. She was not a happy
camper. She looked at Wilson who was all smiles and he gave her a look of
thanks. She left.

"I see you've moved on." Stacy said. "How long have you two been seeing
each other?"

"Three months."

"She's beautiful...how old is she, 30?" Stacy was trying to imply that she
was a little young for House.

"She's 36. She does look young, doesn't she?"

Stacy closed her mouth and ate her sandwich. House looked at Wilson who
was still all smiles. House was wondering why Kathleen had made such a
show of things.

The surgery went a little longer than anticipated. Kathleen realized that
she was probably going to have to go with House to the jazz festival. It
was probably better that way. It would be wise if she let Caleb make the
first move when he came to terms with it. *** When Kathleen got out there
was a voicemail from House. "Meet me tonight at 6:00 p.m. at Triumph's, I
have something to give you."

Leave it House to just assume she would show and to forget about her car
at the Triumph. Kathleen got a ride from another nurse and then went home
and got cleaned up. She wore a shirtdress in dark olive green, put on a
little makeup, grabbed a coat and was out the door. She walked in and he
was sitting at the bar. When he saw her he moved to a table. She came over
and sat down.

"Well???" She asked.

"What went on this afternoon? Were you putting on a show for Stacy?"

"You looked pretty glum, I just thought you might appreciate it if I
spiced things up. So I did. Are you mad at me?"

"No, I found it quite amusing."

"I don't think Stacy found it so amusing, she looked pretty pissed when I
left." Kathleen remarked.

"I think she expects me to be pining for her for the rest of my life."

"Are you?" Kathleen was curious.

"A little part of me is."

Kathleen was struck my the honesty and vulnerability in his answer. She
became quiet.

"You don't need to waste your jazz tickets on me. I know that you probably
bought them for you and Johnson."

She couldn't stand how he could read her so well. "No, I asked you. I know
how much you like jazz and I thought you'd be fun to go with since you
know so much about the subject."

"You're not a big fan of jazz, why buy the tickets in the first place?"

"I'm bored...I usually go skiing in the winter, but I don't have anyone to
go with. It's not fun skiing alone."

"I used to go skiing in the winter too. I know what you mean."

Kathleen's face dropped, she realized that House couldn't ski, not with
his leg and here she was moaning about not going because she would be
alone. 

"You said you had something for me?"

He reached in his coat pocket and brought out the magazine clippings from
the Reader article and handed them to her. She started reading and turned
white. "Greg...I wish you hadn't found out. They want me dead...the more
people that know about this the more danger there is for that person and
for me." She looked at him with absolute fear in her eyes.

"Don't worry about me. It was pretty brave of you." House acknowledged.

"No it wasn't, I wanted to do it. I wanted Terry to suffer."

"You must have loved this Kieran a lot."

"I never knew any other man existed. We were inseparable from the age of
5. You are the only other man I've slept with...pretty funny huh?"

"No, it's amazing that you loved him from such an early age. He died
almost three years ago. How are you doing?"

"It's like Stacy, I still have moments when I don't think I can go on. But
you do. You go on, you find that you can create a new life. It's not easy,
but it's life." She looked at him with that glassy look of someone who is
just about ready to cry. She gave him a faint smile.

"Did you kill Liam Kirbey?"

"Do you think I could?" She was pretty sure he would react like everyone
else, Caitria Bronagh was too upstanding, too good to commit a cold
blooded murder.

"Do I think you could walk in, shoot someone right between the eyes, drop
the guy and leave without looking back?" He paused. "Hell yes."

She was surprised and she looked it. "Why?"

"I've never seen anyone as cool as steel under pressure than you. You are
an efficient machine when under stress. Now, did you do it?"

"Maybe...or maybe I paid to have it done...of maybe someone else did it."

He laughed to himself and she joined him. They looked at each other for a
long moment and in that one moment she felt vulnerable and she could see
he was vulnerable too. If he touched her, it would be "game, set, match."

House wanted to touch her hand, her face, her body. He grabbed her hand
and stood up, grabbed his cane and said, "Let's go." She followed like a
puppy. He opened the door for he, she got in and he went around to the
driver's side. It was freezing. He turned to her, kissed her and then
started the car. He didn't drive to her place or to his. He drove to The
Westin Hotel and checked them in, without luggage, and ordered champagne
and a bottle of single malt whiskey. They went into the elevator and
started kissing each other.

"If we don't get to that room soon, I'm going to have to take you here."

"I'd let you, so let's run."

***"Easier said than done..." But House did travel down the hall as fast
as he could. He opened the door and they both began taking their coats
off. She threw her shoes in the corner. He grabbed her and they fell on
the bed. He was trying to get her dress off, she was unbuttoning his
shirt. They were still kissing. Her dress came off and he looked at her as
he raised up to take off his shirt. She was laying there in a pink and
black polka dot bra with matching boy style panties. He had to shake his
head, if he didn't get his clothes off quick, he'd have to change his
underwear. As he pulled the shirt over his head and started taking off his
trousers, she took off her bra. It was the first time he had actually seen
her breasts. They rode high and round, with pink nipples, the breasts were
exquisite-almost too perfect. He had to look away because he was in
overdrive. He tried to think of medical journals to calm himself down. She
pulled her panties off and it was too much. He barely made it inside her
and he exploded. "Jesus Christ, damn, damn." He drew in his breath and
then let it out in short spurts. 

Caitria had her legs wrapped around him as they rocked together. She had
to smile, he was like a teenager. She knew that he was embarrassed by this
quick fumble of sex, but she was actually pleased to know that a man found
her that sexually stimulating. She also knew that he would be able to
concentrate on the act the next time around. When he rolled over onto his
back he shook his head in disbelief.

"God, I haven't done that since I was a teenager."

"We have time." She rolled over and looked at him, he was smiling and
still shaking his head in shock.

She pulled her body up to his and put her leg over his abdomen. They just
lay there until there was a knock on the door. He got up and put on a robe
and grabbed his wallet.

"Just a minute." He yelled through the door as he watched Kathleen
scramble to get under the covers. He opened the door, took the champagne,
whiskey and glasses and gave the young man a tip. 

He brought the champagne over and poured her a glass. Then he pulled back
the covers off of her. He just wanted to look at her, the perfect breasts,
the round hips, the gorgeous legs. He stroked her body as he looked at it.

Kieran had never looked at her this way. Oh he had admired her naked body
but he hadn't looked at every inch of her as if he was trying to memorize
every mound, every valley ever crevice in her skin.

House leaned down and kissed her breasts and then he kissed her mouth. He
whispered, "You are beautiful." Chills went down her as she felt his
breath on her neck. He handed her the glass of champagne and they drank.
He took off his robe and nodded for her to move over for him to get in.
She slid over to the middle and he climbed in and held her for what seemed
a very long time.

***He couldn't keep his hands off of her. He explored her body like
playing a piano, with a rhythm and pressure that was causing her entire
body to want him. He continued to increase and decrease the pressure with
his fingers until she was digging her nails into him. He entered her and
she finished with him inside her. She screamed and the pleasure rippled
through her several times until the pleasure became uncomfortable and she
closed her legs tightly around him to stop his movement. She quickly
recovered and then allowed him to finish. They were both spent and happy.

"You certainly made up for our first go around." She said.

"My reputation is intact?"

"Oh yeah." They both laughed.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"Famished. Room service?" She asked.

He turned over and grabbed the room menu and handed it to her. "I want the
steak salad and a diet coke to go with it." she said.

He called down and ordered her salad and a chicken salad for him along
with their drinks. They ate their dinner in bed in the nude. She had her
plate on the bed and was lying belly down on top of the covers watching 24
on the tv. He had his plate balanced on her rear and was propped up on
pillows against the headboard. 

"You're butt is too round, I can't get my plate to stay still."

"Funny. You can remove the plate now like a good boy."

He snickered and picked up the plate and slapped her butt. 

"Ow...you'll pay later buddy. Now watch Kiefer kick a few booties around."

After 24 was over she turned off the television and climbed back under the
covers. He pulled her over on top of him where he began to slap her butt.
She started to tickle him and to her delight, he was ticklish. "Greg House
is ticklish??? Oh MY GOD...I have a secret weapon now."

"Stop, stop, stop!!!" He was squirming and trying to grab her hands. He
finally did and pulled them out to her sides and away from his body. She
looked like an airplane laying on top of him. He started pulling her arms
up and down and making plane noises, "BZZZZ..."

She was laughing and trying to pull her arms in but he was much stronger
than her. He finally looked at her and said, "Give up? Promise to behave?"

"That's rich coming from you. Yes, I promise not to tickle you if you let
me go."

He let her go and she rolled off of him. After a few minutes she turned to
him, "Greg, why are you so pissy with everyone at work?"

"Because I can be. As long as I'm right when I'm needed...I get away with
it."

"But why do you want to do it?"

"I hate that people do things just to insure that no one gets mad at them.
They give meaningless compliments, go through the motions because it's
expected, hide what they really feel or think. I do and say what I mean
and a lot of the times I'm not a nice person."

"But when we go out you're nice to me...or is that because you want
something?"

"I genuinely enjoy being with you...and I don't tell you what you want to
hear, I tell you what I'm actually thinking. As a matter of fact, what's
going on between you and Johnson?"

"My boss? He's my boss...nothing's going on."

"Now see, that's what I mean. You're telling me what you think I want to
hear. What's going on...Caitria."

"Please don't call me that, you might forget in public." She thought a few
seconds, "Ok, the better question to ask is, what's going on here? Is this
just for fun or is it more? I can't tell and the HONEST truth is that I am
confused. You really aren't my type but the minute we're alone I have a
good time, I enjoy your company, I love the sex , but I'm not sure what
you are getting out of it." 

House looked at the ceiling as if he was disturbed by her question.

"Oh, I see, it's ok for you to ask questions about relationships, but I
can't ask about this one? Let me put you out of your misery. If this is
just about the sex and the fun, I'm okay with that. I'm a big girl." She
waited for several minutes for him to answer but he said nothing and did
nothing. "I guess that's my answer." She started to get up.

"No, wait. I had one really intense relationship that I screwed up because
of who I am. I hurt Stacy not just once, but twice when I foolishly let my
ego get in the way and I went after her even though she was married. I
don't want anyone to get hurt again, I don't want to be the cause of any
unhappiness."

She sat down on the bed and looked at House. "Greg, if you try to go
through life putting up barriers so that you are never unhappy, you never
find happiness. If you don't allow yourself to be vulnerable and get hurt,
then you don't allow happiness in either. I know that I can get hurt, I
accept that, but it's the price I pay to find some happiness."

"I seem to have given that same speech myself. Come on, get back in bed. I
don't want you to go. Please." he said it with an honest face.

She crawled back in bed and he kissed her. He wanted to wake up next to
her in the morning. He hated to admit it but he missed not having someone
around. She rolled onto her back and he put his head on her chest and
listened to her heart beat. She reached down and kissed the back of his
head. He fell asleep in her arms. 

She woke up at 6:30 a.m. and tried to move without waking Greg but he was
still laying on top of her chest. Her movement woke him. She smiled warmly
at him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but I was going to get up
and get a shower before I woke you." 

***He held onto her, keeping her from moving. He kissed her breasts, her
neck, and her mouth. When he turned she could feel his morning friend...
"Is this for me or just your morning buddy?"

"Want to find out?" 

"Do I have a choice? I have surgery at 8:00 a.m. and I have to get home to
change. So do you think we could make this a quickie?"

"I can do that!" He climbed on top and started kissing and touching her.
He reached one arm under her right knee and lifted it up. He was good on
his word. The sex was quick but sweet. Kathleen jumped out of bed and hit
the shower. House stayed in bed for a few more minutes and then got up and
joined her in the shower. She finished rinsing her hair and then jumped
out while he finished up. She grabbed the brush out of her purse and dried
her hair. They got dressed and managed to get her back to her house by
7:20 a.m. She dressed quickly and he drove her to the hospital.

"I can give you a ride back to your car after work."

She thought a minute and said, "That would be great. I'll come down and
get you when I'm done, ok?"

They got out of the car and walked towards the hospital. House stopped her
and put his arm around her waist. He kissed her and said, "I'm not just in
this for the sex." He was holding her and looking into her eyes as the
staff and patients went in and out of the hospital. He let her go and she
ran to surgery so that she wouldn't be late. *** It didn't take long for
the whole hospital to be talking about the scene outside the hospital
doors. No one could understand it. Kathleen was nice, beautiful and
intelligent, she could have any man she wanted, what was she doing with
House? Lisa Cuddy was by the charge desk when she heard.

"Guess who House was nuzzling and kissing in front of the hospital this
morning?" Nurse Brenda was bursting with the news.

From the way she was acting it had to be someone juicy. "Allison Cameron?"

"No. Kathleen Monaghan."

"Are you sure?" She was stunned.

"Saw it myself. He had his arms around her and she had hers around him and
then they kissed...a long involved kiss...not your aunt's kiss." She said.


"I'm having a hard time believing that she would fall for House."

"We all are." Brenda said.

House was twirling his cane in his office when Chase and Foreman came in
to give him an update of the lab work.

"You're smiling?" Foreman made an observation. "What's going on?"

"He got laid." Chase remarked. "I heard it was Nurse Kathleen."

"Alright you morons, let's set aside my sex life and discuss lab tests."

"His creatine levels are high and his CB4 is low." Chase advised.

"Do a kidney biopsy. Where's Cameron?" 

"Getting the vitals." Foreman told him. 

They left and House took a look at the tests online. He thought about it
and realized that the patient had Lupus. The ANA was negative, but then a
small percentage of lupus patients are negative. He paged the team. The
phone rang and it was Foreman, "It's lupus. Start him on steroids."

In the meantime surgery was very frosty. Caleb Johnson had heard all about
the kiss and he was upset. He realized he didn't have a right to be but he
still couldn't believe that Kathleen would hook up with a loser like
House. He couldn't bring himself to speak to her. 

Kathleen noticed that the friendly banter that usually went on in the
operating room was silent. She wasn't sure why so after surgery she went
into the office and asked Johnson, "Are you ok? You seemed preoccupied. Is
everything ok?"

"What are you doing with House?"

"Is this any of your business? You're my boss, not my Dad."

"I just can't believe you would be with that loser." He threw his surgical
gloves into the trash and let the trash can lid slam down.

"Ohhh...wait a minute. Greg isn't a loser. He's funny, intelligent, and
very kind to me."

"He's an addict, he's bitter, he takes whatever he wants and doesn't care
who he hurts to get it."

"Well, we disagree. Besides what is it to you?"

He looked down, "I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"How kind of you to worry about me, but I can take care of myself."
Kathleen walked off.

Kathleen took the elevator down and noticed that people were staring at
her. She got to the second floor and went to House's office. She went in
to his office and sat down in his chair and put her feet on the ottoman.
House came back to the adjacent office with the team and they wrote down
the symptoms of a new patient that had just been brought in...he saw Chase
looking over his shoulders. House turned around and saw her sleeping in
his chair, he smiled to himself and then turned serious and faced back
towards his Team. They were all trying to see who it was in his chair.

"Do you have a problem? It's a woman...you have seen women before?"

He turned around and gave them instructions and then he took his cane and
walked into his office. He picked up the cane and raised her scrubs top up
until he could see her midriff. The Team was watching him. Kathleen woke
up and grabbed the cane. "Naughty boy." She pulled him down with the cane
and they kissed. When they broke apart she noticed the Team watching them.
She turned bright red. He followed her gaze and saw the Team gawking...he
pointed to the exit and they all left to go do their tests.

"I think we are the talk of the hospital." Kathleen said as she got up.

"I don't doubt it. Did Johnson say anything?"

"He thinks ...oh, it doesn't matter."

"He thinks you're making a mistake and he really wants you for himself but
didn't make the move fast enough and so now he is taking it out on you."

"How do you know these things?"

"I have a canny ability."

"I need that ride to my car."

He shook his head yes, grabbed his jacket and keys and opened the door for
her. She grabbed her jacket and bag and they left. As they went through
the clinic Cuddy spotted them.

"I hear you two made a big scene this morning. Just don't let this
interfere with the hospital House."

"Oh, what about Kathleen...doesn't she get admonished?"

"Kathleen can control her actions, you, on the other hand, have problems
with all aspects of control."

"Next you'll be telling me we can't have sex in my office."

"You can't have sex in your office." Cuddy said sternly.

He started to walk off with Kathleen in tow,"Ok, we'll have it in yours." 

He disappeared onto the parking elevators as Cuddy yelled, "HOUSE."

House took Kathleen to get her car, she got out and he rolled down his
window, "Let's go out Friday night."

"Where are we going?" Kathleen asked.

"Anywhere you want." 

"I'd like a DVD and take-out...at my place." She told him.

"Do you want me to pick the DVD?"

"Hell no. I'll pick it out. You get the food and be at my place at 7:00
p.m., ok?"

"Give me a kiss." He leaned out his window. She came over to the window,
leaned down and gave him a kiss.

"Goodbye Greg."

"Goodbye Kathleen."

When Friday came they spent the night watching the Pirates of the
Carribean sequel. Kathleen told House it didn't hurt to have a little eye
candy like Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom running across the screen. Of
course he claimed that Keira Knightley was hot. "Okay then, I'll dream I'm
screwing Johnny and Orlando and you get Keira tonight."

"No way I want you all to myself."

She crawled up next to him and gave him a peck on the lips. He put his arm
around her and cuddled with her. After the movie she turned the channel to
watch, "Monty Python" on BBC America. 

"Kathleen, tell me about the Irish mafia."

"There is no such thing as the Irish Mafia."

"Not according to that article. You gave evidence in that trial and had to
go into the witness protection program. There must be some group that
wants you dead."

"Oh, that's overblown." "The government doesn't create a new identity
because you ran a red light. Who are you being protected from, this Kirbey
family?"

She looked at him and realized that he was going to hound her until she
told him. "Ronan Kirbey is now the chief of the Kirbey Family and he is
also their enforcer. He wants me dead because I turned evidence against
his cousin, Terry."

He was quiet. He looked at her and said, "Do you think he'll find you?"

"Maybe, FBI agents can be bought." 

He pulled her closer to him as if he could protect her. 

 *** Ronan hated doing enforcement jobs for the Russians, they were
brutes, no finesse. But they were trusting him more and more. He
discovered that the FBI agent on their payroll was in Los Angeles. 

He realized he had a chance to ask a favor when they approached him about
taking out a female council member in San Diego who was voting against the
adult industry stores that the Russians wanted to open in North County. 

"I'll do it and I'll do it for free if you'll do one thing for me."

Yuri Popov asked, "What is this favor you want?"

"I want your mole inside the FBI to find out where Caitria Bronagh is."

Yuri was not sure about this. They did not like to use their agent very
often, but this was an important hit and the Russians wanted to distance
themselves from it. It was the perfect assignment to have these Micks do. 

"You have a deal."

They discussed the details. Ronan went home and told his brother, Geordie
that it wouldn't be long now and they would have Caitria.

 ***

Caleb Johnson apologized to Kathleen at the end of February for his
remarks about House and asked her if she would like to go out. Kathleen
hesitated, she didn't know what to say. She and House had been dating
steadily. But there had been no discussion about it being exclusive.

"Can I get back to you?" Kathleen had always wanted to go out with Caleb
but House had beat him to the punch. She really enjoyed being with House,
he was good to her, he was fun in bed and she couldn't believe how bright
and articulate he was. But, was she just a distraction for him?

That night Kathleen was worried and House could tell. They were in bed at
his apartment reading like an old married couple. Kathleen was reading
medical journals on surgery updates and House was reading a novel by Terry
Pratchett. She put the journal down and asked him, "House, it's been two
months, are we seeing other people or are we exclusive?"

He looked at her curiously, "Why do you ask?"

"I was asked out today and it made me wonder about us."

"Did you want to see other people?"

"I've only dated two people in my 36 years on earth. Kieran and you. I
know I have feelings for you but I don't know if those feelings are
because you came along when I needed someone or if they are the real
thing. I know this sounds harsh, but it does make me wonder."

He was trying not to react. "So you want to date other men so you have a
comparison?"

"I don't know if I want to or not. But I do want to know what you think." 

"Well, we've only been seeing each other for two months. If you want a
break, we can take a break. I don't want you to feel that you missed out
on anything. You know, spring break, girls gone wild, whatever it is you
need to experience."

"I don't need a break, just maybe go out on a date or two with someone
else."

"I get it..sure...whatever you want."

She could tell he was getting defensive. She wished she had never brought
it up.

"Don't worry, I've got prospects...I won't be lonely." House went back to
his book.

Now she knew he was upset. Her stomach turned over. She tried to cuddle up
to him but he went stiff and made it clear he wanted to "read." She moved
over to her side of the bed and went to sleep.

The next day he remained in bed when she got up and got dressed. She went
out to the living room, made some tea and waited for him to wake up. At
11:30 a.m. she got up and left.

"Is that offer still on?" she asked.

"Saturday? Dinner at the Alchemist? I'll pick you up at 7:00 p.m." Caleb
was pleased.

"Ok. Sounds great. I have to say that I usually avoid going out with
people from work, but you and I have been dancing around this for so long
I thought I'd throw caution to the wind. But, if this doesn't work, are
you going to have a problem working with me?"

"I'm an adult. I can take rejection." *** From the ranting and raving,
Wilson could tell that House was angry at something or someone. "What's up
with you, did the dog eat your Vicodin?"

"I simply make a few insightful observations about the crappy protocols
around here and something' s wrong with me?"

"Yeah, well did you have a fight with Kathleen?" Wilson asked. House was
quiet. "Oh, so that's it...what happened? Did she finally turn over in
bed, meet Mr. Hyde and run screaming from your bedroom?"

He scrunched up his face, "She wanted to see other people."

"Wow, she dumped you."

"Welllll...not really. She didn't want to be exclusive. She's only had one
other boyfriend in her life and she was worried that her feelings for me
might be based on not having anything to compare it to...I told her to go
forth and multiply her experiences."

"So you two are still dating?"

"Technically, yes. But practically, no. I haven't seen her since I said it
was ok to date others."

"You mean you haven't called her because you're pissed at her for actually
taking you up on your word? And now you miss her. You idiot. So who is she
going out with?"

"I'm not sure but I suspect Johnson."

"Oh Doctor...you're in trouble. Half the female population of this
hospital have the hots for him."

"Thanks, I feel so much better."

Friday came and House hadn't called. She decided to take the girls up on
their offer for a night out. It was March and warm enough to ride her
bike. She put on her black leather pants, her black leather jacket, black
leather gloves and her black turtleneck with her black boots. She rode her
bike into work, parked and walked into the clinic. She took her helmet off
in the lobby, shook her hair and saw Caleb coming towards her. 

"Wow, you look fantastic. You ride a motorcycle?"

"Yep."

"Why don't we start that date early and we go out for a drink tonight?"

"I already have plans." she smiled and he smiled broadly back. She walked
forward and looked back at him and waved. She turned back around, looked
up and saw House watching her flirt with Caleb. He turned around and left
the balcony. All the levity she felt was gone.

Saturday came and she found herself excited. She dressed in a lovely
chiffon dress and high heels. He knocked on the door and she grabbed her
jacket and purse. 

"Hi."she smiled.

"You look great." he told her.

"Thanks."

Kathleen was having a good time. Caleb was funny, attentive and humble. He
asked lots of questions about her childhood, her family, her likes, her
dislikes. And then he asked, "I'm so glad that you stopped seeing that
loser. House is a crappy excuse for a human. He thinks of nothing but
himself."

Kathleen felt some anger and became defensive. "He's not a loser and I
haven't stopped seeing him. He's stopped seeing me. He dumped me. I'd
still be seeing him but he stopped calling. You know, we shouldn't talk
about him. We obviously know two different Greg Houses."

"You have feelings for him?"

"Would that surprise you?"

"It would disappoint me. I thought you had seen the true Greg House."

"I think I have. Can we change the subject?"

The rest of the evening was pleasant but the discussion of House had put a
damper on things. When they got to her door she asked if he wanted to come
in for a drink. He said yes.

They sat on the couch and he reached over and politely kissed her. It was
a sweet kiss. He pulled her in closer and gave her another kiss and then
put his hand on her thigh. "Would you like to move this into the bedroom?"

She started to giggle. There would be no table sex with Caleb. He was
gentle and slow in bed, making her the center of his attention. The sex
painfully reminded Kathleen of Kieran, comfortable, safe, satisfying.

In the morning she made him eggs, toast and fruit and brought it to him in
bed. He was very appreciative. They talked about her violin playing and
his med school experience. It was nice, it was sweet, it felt good.

Around ten Caleb got up to go home. He asked if he could see her again and
she said yes. They made tentative plans for Tuesday night. Kathleen opened
the front door for him and leaned on it. He gave her a kiss and started
down the sidewalk. As he walked away from the door, House walked up.
Johnson stopped, Kathleen froze.

"House, what are you doing here?" Johnson asked.

"Gee Johnson, it's my regular booty call. I see you've had yours. Get
along, your time is up."

"GREG." Kathleen yelled in disapproval. 

House looked down as if he had been spanked. He kept walking towards the
door. Johnson didn't know whether to leave or stay and make sure Kathleen
would be alright. Kathleen let House in and closed the door. Johnson had
his answer.

"What do you want Greg? I have to get ready for Mass."

Kathleen felt sheepish. House had caught her letting a man out of her
house at ten which could only mean that he had been an overnight guest.
House didn't bat an eye. "Just can't keep those legs crossed, huh? I
brought back your things." He threw a bag at her. "Don't worry, I'm not
staying."

She opened the bag and saw her books, toothbrush, underwear, change of
clothes and earrings. "I see, so I'm persona non gratis? I thought you
were okay with me dating others?"

He scrunched his face and said, "I am, it's just that if we're going to
date others, I don't want a woman's things around the apartment. It might
scare off my new friends." He winked at her. "I hope you understand."

She was seething. She ran out of the room and into the bathroom, grabbed
his toothbrush. She rummaged through the dirty clothes hamper and found
his shirts, trousers, underwear, grabbed up his magazines, his DVDs and
threw them at him. "Yeah, I understand...and I hope you understand, these
things might bother Caleb. Now get your ass out of here." She pointed to
the door. He left the stuff she had thrown at him and walked out the door.
Kathleen threw herself down on the couch and started shaking. She looked
at her hand and to her surprise, it was shaking too. 

 ***

House decided to target a nurse in oncology. Since Penny had stayed in New
York after her holiday vacation, she was no longer an option. The nurse,
Juliette, was in her twenties and very pretty. She had large brown eyes,
gorgeous brunette hair and she often flirted with House. House asked her
out for the upcoming Saturday evening. She was openly excited despite the
looks of disgust from some of the other nurses. 

House waited until lunchtime and watched as Johnson left his office. House
carried a chart of a patient that could possibly need surgery (although
doubtful) just in case someone stopped him. He walked into Johnson's
office and rummaged through his calendar. House looked around to make sure
he was alone. He opened the calendar...Saturday, 7:00 p.m. Ferryhouse.
House hobbled to the elevator and made his way down to the second floor
and his office.

Saturday night Kathleen wore a long sleeved dress made of black lace over
a nude slip lining. It was low cut and tight coming down to just above her
knee with a little kick pleat in the back. She work a black choker and
black earrings. Her hair was up in the back. She looked like a movie star.

They entered the Ferryhouse and were seated. Caleb was helping Kathleen
off with her coat when she saw them. House was sitting at a nearby table
with Juliette. He was dressed in a black shirt, gray slacks, black
herringbone jacket. Juliette was gorgeous. She had on a sheath dress with
a little bolero jacket. It complimented her figure perfectly. House smiled
at Kathleen and raised a glass. Caleb saw the horrified look on Kathleen
and looked over to see what she was looking at. He cussed under his
breath.

"Let's leave, there are lots of places in Princeton to eat. We don't need
to be here."

"Yes, I agree." She got up and he helped her with the coat. 

Caleb made excuses to the staff and they left the restaurant. Kathleen
wondered if it was a coincidence or if House had planned this. Kathleen
was a little jittery all night long. Juliette was definitely House's type,
dark and polished like Stacy. She tried to concentrate on Caleb but
House's sardonic smile kept coming back to her.

House found Juliette young and lacking in the ability to talk about things
he found interesting. But she was great eye candy and she had made an
impression on Kathleen, he could see that by her face and quick
disappearance. Kathleen had looked beautiful and House was envious of
Johnson. It would be Johnson who would have that gorgeous body next to his
tonight.

House didn't end up in bed alone. Juliette was more than willing to keep
him company but he didn't want to wake up with her so he got her a cab at
midnight to take her home. She was playful in bed but not inventive. 

In May Kathleen tried out for the PPTH Over 30 Crewing Team. She knew she
wasn't in the best shape for it but she managed to make the second string.
It would give her a great workout. Practice was often three or more days a
week for two hours each practice, sometimes twice a day. Caleb went on
vacation for two weeks at the end of May. It had been paid for before they
had started to date. He and his male buddies went deep sea diving in
Australia. 

With Caleb gone, Kathleen was assisting other surgeons but most of them
had their own assisting nurses. She spent a lot of her time doing
paperwork and assisting in the clinic. She did have the luxury of being
able to stroll in a few minutes late and not miss anything. 

It was the first Wednesday after Caleb left that she and another member of
the crew team, Mina, came in late from practice. The practice had gone on
an extra half hour because some of the team had been late. Because they
were running late they decided to go straight to the hospital and shower
there. They both walked through the clinic sweaty and wearing their
jerseys, shorts and carrying gym bags with a change of clothes. Kathleen
and Mina and got on the elevator. She saw the cane stop the doors from
closing all the way. They sprung open and House entered the elevator and
stepped to the back.

"Floor?" She asked him.

"Fourth." The same floor that she had pushed.

She turned and faced the front of the elevator. A few seconds later she
felt the cane tracing the inside of her leg and thigh. She turned quickly
and looked at him, "GREGGGG..."

"I love it when you say my name like that...especially when your panties
are down around your ankles."

Kathleen went red and she grabbed his cane and they both held on looking
at each other. The doors opened on the third floor and Mina scrambled out.
The doors closed and House stepped towards Kathleen. 

"This is a pretty immature way to get my attention Greg." She let go of
the cane. "Is there something you want to say to me?"

"Can I lick the sweat off your body?" He took his index finger and ran it
across her cheek and then stuck it in his mouth.

The door opened and she walked out and down the hall to the showers. House
stayed on the elevator and went down to the second floor. ***

There was nothing for Kathleen to do so she left early. As she went down
to the garage she was surprised to find House starting his motorcycle. He
looked over at her as she walked to her bike. House rode a big bike with a
lot of muscle. Kathleen's bike was not a big bike. She didn't have the
upper body strength necessary to pick up a large bike if she went down
even thought she was steadily building up her muscles from the crewing.
She rode a Kawasaki Ninja 450. She started her bike and noticed that House
was waiting at the garage door. She pulled up to him shook her head and
took off. He was behind her. She was very agile on her bike and was sure
she could shake him. She was on her way to another practice but it didn't
start for an hour. She gunned the motorcycle and took off for the back
roads. She banked several curves at a fast speed and saw that he was right
behind her. She slowed and let him catch up to her side. He lifted up his
visor and looked at her. She put on her brakes and he went past her, she
immediately made a u turn and took off. He made a u turn and sped off
after her. They played cat and mouse for over twenty miles. 

She didn't want to admit it, but she was having fun. That is until the
police pulled her over. She was over to the side when House passed her and
the cop. He made a u turn and watched as she took off her helmet, shook
her hair and pulled out her wallet and gave the cop her license. There was
some laughter and he watched as the cop handed back her license and went
back to his motorcycle. House smiled slyly to himself, she had gotten out
of the ticket. House made another U turn and waited until she caught up to
him. She pulled over and got off her bike. He got off his.

"I give up, why are you following me?"

"Do you want to go out this weekend?"

She threw her hands up in the air. "You chased me for twenty miles to ask
me out?"

"I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't taken off at the garage."

"I don't think it is a good idea for us to start going out again."

"Why not? I'm an adult, you're an adult, we both have our molars."

"I'm an adult Greg, you're just you. I don't know, you were pretty
spiteful the last time you were at my place. Let me think about it. I've
got to get to practice."

"What are you practicing?"

"Crewing."

"I love 8 sweaty women in a boat. Can I come and watch. I like to watch."

She started laughing. "It's not that exciting."

"Where do you practice?"

"Andrew Carnegie Boathouse, Carnegie Lake."

"I'm there." 

"I've got to go."

He followed her to practice and the nurses and staff asked her why House
was there. "He likes to watch."

"I bet he does." Mina said.

She was tired and sweaty after the practice. She walked over to House.
"Well are you happy now?"

"You guys need work."

"What do you think we're doing? We're the second string. I haven't crewed
for years so give me a break. I need a shower...take care Greg. I'll let
you know tomorrow."

She took off and started thinking about Greg. She started comparing him to
Caleb and Kieran. Whenever she did this exercise in her mind she got
frustrated. The fact that she thought about Greg whenever she made love
with Caleb was frustrating. She just wanted Caleb to make it a little more
exciting. It was never dull with Greg around.

She took her shower and turned off the water. As she was drying off she
heard movement in the living room. She slipped on a robe and went over to
her father's trunk. She pulled out the false bottom and grabbed a Glock
and a silencer. She loaded the Glock and went to the bedroom door. Someone
was sitting in her easy chair. She snuck up and put the gun to their
temple.

She immediately recognized House and put the gun down to her side.

"Cool a gun!!! Whoa...you are cold...I love dangerous women."

"I could have blown your fu#kin head off you dipSh!t. What the hell are
you doing sneaking into my house?"

"I knocked but you didn't answer so I Iet myself in...wow, a silencer
even...is that a Glock? Can I see it?"

"NO...Greg, this isn't a game. You know my situation...don't do this
again. I really could have shot first and ...oh, just don't do it again."

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the chair with him. He loved
women fresh out of the shower. He kissed her and then undid the tie on her
robe. She brought the gun back up to his head. "You don't want to do
that."

***"Oh yes I do." He continued by slipping his hand inside her robe and
running his hand down her body inside the terrycloth. She shivered and put
the gun down. He took it out of her hand, put the safety on and laid it
down next to the chair. 

She got up and the robe opened slightly. He saw enough to make him want
more. He got up as she was trying to tie the robe again.

"No, don't." he cautioned. He put both hands inside and pulled her to him.
She tried to push off of him.

"Don't make me hurt your leg...just let me go now."

"If you had wanted me to let go you would have run away five minutes ago."
He pushed her down onto the easy chair again and then kneeled in front of
her. By the time he was done she was a puddle, barely able to move. Then
Greg nuzzled Kathleen just below the belly button and pulled her head down
to kiss her. He stood up and pulled her to her feet. He sat back down on
the couch and yanked her towards him. He kicked his shoes off, undid his
trousers and pulled them down. Kathleen straddled him leaned forward and
he kissed her. She mounted him and he grabbed her to control the rhythm
and the angle of movement. He leaned back and closed his eyes as she
continued to move in circular movements, all to his pleasure. He grimaced
and then opened his eyes widely as his whole body thrusted up in sharp
movements until he stopped her from moving. He grabbed her around the
waist and pulled her to his chest to hold her.

"God I missed you." He said into her hair. He loved the smell of her, it
was feminine but mixed with sweat from the sex.

Kathleen just held on to him. "Why did you bring back my things and throw
them in my face? Why did you stop calling me?"

"Because I'm an @ss. I was afraid of losing you. It was easier for me to
push you away than to watch you slip away." 

"I just wanted a chance find out how real my feelings were for you."

"No, it was a reasonable request. I just didn't want to share. Now that
you've been with another man, what's the verdict?"

"I can't tell you."

"Why?"

"I can barely tolerate your ego as it is."

He chuckled and held her closer. "I don't want to share you anymore. I
want you to stop seeing Johnson."

"And you? You'll stop seeing the hookers and Juliette?"

"You wear me out...I'm 47, I don't think I could handle more women in my
life. One's plenty."

"That's a yes?"

"Yes." *** Monsignor Nolan was performing the Mass and Kathleen was having
a hard time following, her mind kept drifting to House and how to tell
Caleb she had gone back to House. He wasn' t going to understand, but then
no one was going to understand. Brian Murphy saw Kathleen and came up to
sit next to her. She was glad to see him and gave him a little hug.

After Mass Brian and Kathleen went for coffee and tea. "Caitria, my Dad is
worried. Apparently the rumor at home is that the Kirbeys know where you
are. He wants you to move, get out. If you won't move, he wants to send
John back to protect you."

"Oh, honey, I can't leave and I don't want John to disrupt his life to
come back and protect me."

"John volunteered. I think he has always had a crush on you. I think it
would be a good idea for him to come back."

"Tell your Dad that I got myself into this mess, I'll get myself out."

"Kathleen...please."

"Oh Brian, don't worry...I'll be ok."

She hugged him and they went their separate way. When she got home she
took out all her guns and cleaned them. She loaded some of the weapons and
placed her Glock under her pillow.

House came over Sunday afternoon after Mass. "Do you have one of those
Catholic Schoolgirl uniforms that you could wear to bed? There's something
incredibly sexy about a naughty Catholic Schoolgirl."

"I have one. I was one."

"Oh baby...we're going to have fun tonight."

They went out to crew practice and when they got back they ordered Pizza.
They talked all afternoon about religion, House's lack of belief and her
loose practice of Catholicism. 

"So every time we have sex you have to confess it to the priest?"

"Yep. We're having it out of wedlock. I have to confess it and then ask
for absolution from God."

"I'd like to see you in that uniform...is it handy?"

***She disappeared into her bedroom closet and pulled out the plaid skirt
and white shirt with the St. Rita's emblem. She put on some white thigh
stockings and put her hair in pigtails. She turned on "Fallin'" by Alicia
Keyes , House came into the bedroom and jumped on the bed, propped himself
up on pillows and watched. 

She started dancing to the music, doing a lot of dips and hip grinds. She
ran her hands up and down her body. She pulled up her skirt to show the
top of her stockings and then she pulled down her lace panties and threw
them in his face. He chuckled and drank his whiskey. She pulled up her
skirt to show him that she had no panties on and continued to rub her
thighs and then she played with her stomach. She undid the buttons on her
shirt. Kathleen took the shirt off and danced in her bra. She went over to
the edge of her bed and let House unhook the bra and take It off her. She
got onto the bed and he grabbed her and turned her around and raised her
skirt. His hands were all over her. 

"You are a naughty schoolgirl. You need to be paddled. But that will have
to wait. Right now we're going to have a lesson in sex education." He
pushed her legs open and they had sex.

 ****

A few weeks later, Brian was rushing to get to his Wednesday English
Literature class with Professor Davidson. Brian was trying to cross the
campus quickly to get there on time. He was about to cross the street when
he saw the car with three men. He was sure one was Ronan Kirbey. The other
was his brother and the third was someone he had seen only a few times, a
guy named Kevin. He ducked down behind a parked car and pulled out his
cell phone.

He dialed Caitria but he got her voicemail. He spoke to her in Gaelic,
"Caitria, Ronan, his brother and one other guy are here in town. I saw
them in a brown Ford Focus."

Kathleen was home taking a day off. She had worked Saturday and was given
the day off by Cuddy. She no longer worked for Caleb Johnson, he had been
upset over her returning to House and had suggested that she work for
another surgeon. Until she could be reassigned, Cuddy had her working in
the clinic.

Kathleen had gone to confession and had turned her cell phone off in the
church. When she got back to her house she turned it back on and saw the
voice mail light up. She dialed and heard Brian's message. Her heart
started to race. She immediately dialed Brian.

"Hello?"

She spoke in Gaelic, "It's Caitria. Honey, get to a hotel, check yourself
in and don't come out until your father calls you and says it is ok. Don't
go to your dorm, go straight to a motel. They may know you are here and
try to use you to get to me."

"Alright. I called my Dad and John and Morris are both flying out but they
won't be here until later tonight."

"It's ok sweetie. Just stay low."

Kathleen went in and grabbed a backpack and put her glock, silencer,
several rounds of ammunition and another semi-automatic gun with
ammunition. She knew they would go straight to the hospital in search of
her. She got on her motorcycle and took off. When she got to the clinic
she went straight to the nurses desk. 

"Has anyone been looking for me?"

"Why yes, three guys were here just five or ten minutes ago asking about
you."

"What did you tell them, exactly, word for word?" she made it clear that
she was serious.

"They asked where they could find you. I said I didn't know and they asked
if there was anyone who could help them locate you that they were family
and only in town for a short time. I told them to check with Dr. House.
They asked if he was your boss and I told them no, he was your boyfriend."

She went pale and her stomach turned. ***

Kathleen looked at the nurse and said, "I want you to call security and
tell them that Dr. House is being held hostage, that there are three armed
and dangerous men on the second floor and to try and evacuate everyone
from this wing. I'm going to try and distract them. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Yes, Kathleen. I understand." The nurse did as she was told.

Kathleen climbed the stairs and moved towards House's office. She kept
praying that House would be able to keep his mouth shut and not give them
any lip. But that would be difficult and it was possible House was already
dead. The thought sent chills down her spine and she choked up. She leaned
against the banister to focus and get the image of a dead House out of her
mind. Kathleen was about to turn the corner to House's office. She
remembered her father's admonition, "Move fast and decisively. Assess and
attack." 

She pulled her Glock with the silencer out and readied it. She turned the
corner and looked in the window. House was alive. Ronan was standing in
front of House talking to him. Ronan struck House in the mouth, obviously
not happy with the response from House. Geordie was off to the side and
the third gunman was standing behind House with the gun in his back.

She started walking fast towards the window, she took aim and shot. House
felt the spray of brain and blood before he heard the sound of the glass
shattering. Ronan and Geordie ducked as House fell to the ground.

Kathleen let Ronan see her and then took off for the stairwell. He started
running after her and Geordie followed. House waited until they were gone
and he crawled over to the third gunman and took his pulse, he was dead.
One bullet directly to the brain.

House grabbed the gunman's gun and his cane and walked towards the
elevator. Security scrambled up to the second floor, saw the dead man and
continued to evacuate the floor.

Kathleen was trying to get to the roof. When she got to the roof the door
was locked. She ran back down to the fourth floor. She opened the door and
told the first nurse she saw to inform the staff that there were armed men
in the stairwell and that they would be here soon. She saw Kathleen's gun
and took her seriously. She ran to the charge desk on the ward.

Kathleen looked for a strategic spot but saw none. It was too late to move
now, she would have to expose herself to take them down. She ducked into
the doorway of a patient's room and watched the door. Ronan opened the
door slowly. She thought, "Quickly and decisively." As soon as she saw
Ronan she shot. But he had just turned quickly and the bullet missed his
head and lodged in the wall. She got off a quick second shot and hit him
in the right side of his chest. He fell back against Geordie, giving her
time to run down the hall towards the bank of elevators. 

Ronan was badly injured. He was bleeding profusely. Geordie was like a
rabid dog. He put Ronan into a nearby wheelchair and ran down the hall
after Kathleen. Kathleen was waiting by a bank of elevators. She cussed to
herself as she saw Geordie round the corner but her shot was blocked by a
CNA who had just exited a patient's room. Geordie grabbed the CNA.
"Caitria...I'll shoot this woman in the head if you don't put down your
gun...NOW." 

Kathleen had her gun aimed directly at Geordie and if she could get a
clean shot she would take it. But he kept moving. If it hadn't been a life
and death situation it would have been comical. The woman was at least six
inches shorter than Geordie so he had to duck up and down to use the woman
as a shield.

Kathleen wouldn't put her gun down and so Geordie placed the gun behind
the fleshy part of the woman's upper arm and shot her. She screamed but he
kept her on her feet. The blood ran down her arm. "The next shot is her
right lung, the next after that her head."

Kathleen looked at the woman crying in pain and knew it was the wrong
thing to do but she sat her gun down. She thought if Geordie had her, he
would let the rest go. Geordie walked over, grabbed the gun off the floor
and threw the CNA off to the side. He put his gun directly under
Kathleen's chin. 

"Now, you're going to fix Ronan." He pulled her back down the hall to the
wheelchair where Ronan was going in and out of consciousness. "I want you
to wheel him to surgery and fix him...NOW."

She grabbed the wheelchair and started to roll the chair down the hall.
Geordie looked on the index and saw surgery was on the first floor. He hit
the elevator and when it arrived they got in the elevator and went down. 

"You b!tch. As soon as you patch him up I'm blowing your brains out...you
won't be messing with my family."

When they got to the first floor it was deserted and they could see police
lights outside. Geordie saw the signs pointing to surgery which was down a
long hall and into the next building. The second building hadn't been
secured. They got to one of the surgeries and Geordie saw people inside
performing an operation. He pushed her and the wheelchair into the
operating room.

"Hey, this room is sterile...get out." Caleb Johnson looked up and held up
his scalpel. Geordie didn't need another knife wielding surgeon. He took
aim and shot Caleb in the shoulder. Kathleen ran to Caleb.

"Leave him or I start taking out these nurses." The looks on everyone's
faces was absolute horror. Kathleen motioned for one of the nurses to look
at Caleb's wound.

"There's a patient on the table, what do you want me to do?" She looked at
the patient and was glad to see that they had been in the process of
finishing the surgery. The stitches weren't complete on the chest, but
they would hold if necessary.

"You, you..." He pointed to a nurse and the surgical intern. "Get him off
the table." They hesitated, Geordie shot the ceiling. "NOW."

They removed the patient and put him on the floor since there were no
gurneys. "Now, put my brother on the table." They grabbed him and put him
on the table. "Alright Caitria...fix him."

Kathleen looked around at all the faces staring at her. She stepped
forward and gave instructions for the Nurse and anesthesiologist to attach
the monitors to Ronan. She turned to the nurse and indicated that she
needed gloves. The nurse helped her into them. In the meantime, she
instructed the surgical nurse and the intern to hand her the necessary
instruments to begin. 

"Kathleen, let the intern do it and you assist...I can't move my shoulder
or I would." Caleb told her.

Kathleen took the scalpel and hesitated. She thought about just letting
Ronan bleed out. As she hesitated she manipulated the scalpel through her
fingers and over her knuckles back and forth like a magic trick. The
nurses looked around at each other. She stopped and then started cutting. 

"Suction, traction, give me some more light..." They all stared as
Kathleen efficiently performed the surgery. She made her cuts quickly,
accurately and deftly. Caleb's mouth was open. The intern was in shock and
barely able to assist. Caleb got up and went over to the opposite side and
helped with his left hand as much as he could. 

"He's lost a lot of blood, what type of blood is your brother?" She yelled
at Geordie.

"I don't know...I don't know."

"I need to send a nurse out to get some O negative blood and some plasma
or he'll die here on the table."

Kathleen was afraid that if she sent someone out the police wouldn't let
them back in but she had to take that chance. She needed the blood.

"Ok, but they better come back with the blood or I'll start shooting a few
of these nurses."

"The intern is useless to me, let him and the nurse take the patient out
with them."

Geordie nodded yes. The Intern and nurse picked up the patient and, with
great effort, got him out of surgery and onto a gurney outside. Caitria
continued to work her magic. She found the bullet and got it out. It had
shattered against his ribs as it pierced through his lung. She reached in
to feel around for pieces and to see if there were any other bleeders
inside. She could feel a hole in the opposite side of the lung. 

"I've got to stitch him up and turn him over, he's got a tear in his lung
on the posterior side. Caleb nodded an acknowledgment and helped as she
stitched Ronan closed. The door to the surgery opened and Geordie swung
around to shoot. It was the nurse with the blood. Geordie relaxed and
turned back around. What he didn't see was the fact that the door didn't
swing all the way close, there was a cane stuck in it.

The nurse hung the blood and started an IV into Ronan. The monitor showed
that Ronan's blood pressure was dropping. Kathleen ordered oxygen for
Ronan and they all came forward to turn Ronan over. Kathleen began to cut
through the skin on the back when she caught the flash of someone moving
very quickly behind and to the right of her. She didn't look at whoever it
was, if she did she would draw attention to them. But there was a noise
and Geordie turned to face the intruder. Shots were fired and Kathleen
turned around. 

There were screams all around and some of the nurses abandoned their
stations and ran. Kathleen turned white and looked him and the gun
straight in the eye. The very blue eyes. 

"What the hell do you think you are doing? Trying to be a hero?"

House reached down and checked Geordie but he knew there would be no
pulse. The Magnum contained 357s and there wasn't going to be much left of
a brain.

Kathleen turned back around to continue the surgery. 

"You're going to save this @sshole?" House asked.

"Of course I am. Caleb, get out and get some medical attention, send in
someone who can assist me."

"Kathleen, who are you?" Caleb asked.

"She's a mafia hit man...what do you think you moron? How many surgical
nurses can do what she's doing? She's a surgeon."

"Shut up you two and do what I say...Caleb get some help and send someone
in to assist.

The surgery was finished in half an hour. Geordie's body was removed and
Caleb had been patched up. Kathleen pulled off her gloves and walked out
into the hall. There was applause from the staff that stood around waiting
for her to finish. The FBI rushed to her and escorted her through the
crowd. Her hands were steady.

She was escorted into the doctor's lounge. "Are you ok?" Agent Clover
asked her. 

"No thanks to you...you guys have a leak in your department...you need to
plug it."

"How's the patient?" Clover asked.

"He'll live if he doesn't get an infection. But I suspect he's going to
get an infection. I wasn't scrubbed when I performed his surgery and the
room was no longer sterile. But then, surgery has been performed in worse
situations."

"What happened and what is a cripple doctor doing walking into a surgery
and blowing the head off of someone?" 

"I have the same question for him. I don't know, he must think he's Clint
Eastwood. I know he watches too much 24." Kathleen smiled.

"You haven't done so bad either. Where did you learn to shoot?"

"My Dad." she said seriously.

Clover knew her dad was an enforcer and his daughter had certainly
inherited his skill and calm. He looked at her. She had on a light peasant
blouse and jeans which were both soaked in blood and tissue. But she was
calm.

"I want to see my boyfriend please." She was starting to get emotional. It
was all starting to get to her. But no one would know that from the
outside, she seemed steady.

"Who is your boyfriend?" Clover asked. 

"The crippled doctor who took out the guy holding the gun to my head while
you guys were all playing with yourselves." She said.

"Oh the shoe falls...it makes sense now. We'll need to debrief you
tomorrow." He shook his head yes and opened the door for her. House was
sitting in the clinic area with Wilson and Cuddy and two agents. He was
leaning on his cane and rubbing his lip back and forth on it. His clothes
were bloody too.

He saw her racing across the hall to him. He stood up and opened his arms.
She almost knocked him back down as she grabbed onto him. He just held her
as he looked around at everyone watching them. Cuddy and Wilson stood up
too.

Cuddy put her hand on Kathleen's shoulder, "Are you ok?"

Kathleen nodded yes. "How is the CNA and Caleb?"

"They are both going to be fine. The CNA has already gone home, the bullet
went right through the fleshy part of her arm, didn't hit anything
important. Caleb's up in recovery."

"Let's get you home and cleaned up." House suggested. " Wilson, can you
drive us...we both have our motorcycles." 

"Of course."

Wilson drove them as they sat in the back seat and hugged each other. They
were quiet and so Wilson didn't disturb them. He let them out at
Kathleen's apartment. "Take care, if you need a ride to your motorcycles,
let me know. Bye House, bye Kathleen."

"James, call me Caitria. It's my real name." Caitria smiled.

"Bye Caitria." *** They cleaned up. Caitria threw House's clothes in the
washer. She threw hers away. He climbed into bed after the shower. Caitria
grabbed a couple of bottles of water and joined him. It was 5:58 p.m. on
the clock. 

"So you did kill Liam Kirbey."

"What makes you think I did?"

"You went straight for the head today and you were dead on..."

"Well, you got Geordie in the head, maybe you killed Liam."

"I was aiming for his heart." He was telling the truth. He was moving as
fast as he could and when Geordie had started to turn around House tried
aiming at his body so that he would hit something but he hit his head
instead. They started laughing..."You, on the other hand, were moving at a
very quick clip and you managed to take the guy out with a single shot.
You're good...you're scary good."

"Well in about two hours we are going to have two very agitated Irish guys
on our hands."

"What do you mean?"

"My Family is sending out two guys to protect me."

House started roaring with laughter and couldn't stop. "Protect YOU!"

"The Irish are very patriarchal. I need to make some calls." She grabbed
the phone.

Caitria called Brian first and told him it was ok for him to go back to
the dorm. "I'm watching it on television. Gee Caitria, you took them all
out? Why'd you let Ronan live?"

She spoke in Gaelic, "I'm a doctor, I had to operate. I'm not so sure
he'll live. He was pretty torn up inside. His lung is in bad shape. I have
to go, I need to call your Dad."

House was laying next to her in bed listening to the ease in which she
spoke Gaelic. The language sounded incredibly difficult to learn. She
dialed another number and he could tell from her voice that she was
talking to someone who she respected and loved. She switched between
Gaelic and English, sometimes within the same sentence, with ease. 

"Yes, Con, I know. I'm probably out of a job...I'll have to come
home...Las Vegas? I know, it will be good to see you too. Love you. Bye."

"Who was that?"

"Cornelius Kelly, my Godfather and head of the Kelly branch. He wants me
to come home. He's pretty sure I'm in the clear. The rest of the Kirbeys
don't care about Liam or Terry and they're happy with their current
positions. He thinks I'll be safe again." She yawned...she was so tired. 

"You're not going back to San Diego are you?"

"I have to go back and see everyone. They're all worried about me, they
want to know that I'm in one piece."

"But you won't stay...you're coming back." He said with a little bit of
anger in his voice.

"Do you think the Board of Directors is going to let me stay a nurse at
PPTH? Besides, I want to be a surgeon again. I'm not licensed here in New
Jersey."

"So get licensed." he told her.

"Just let me get through tonight and we can talk about all of this
tomorrow, ok?" 

She went to sleep and woke up to find House watching television in the
bedroom. The phone was ringing. 

"Hello?" She answered.

"Caitria, it's John." He switched to Gaelic. "Morris is with me, we're at
Avis. We'll be at your house in an hour."

"John! I'm so happy you're here! Great. See you soon." She hung up the
phone. She really was happy he was coming. She missed her Family.

House turned off the television and got up. He had already put his clothes
in the dryer. He took them out and got dressed. Most of the blood had
washed out. The rest was a faint brown on his collar. 

Caitria got up and got dressed. She seemed excited to House, like a little
girl waiting to go to Disneyland. She put on a t-shirt and jeans and then
went out to the kitchen to put on the kettle. She took some stew meat out
of the freezer and defrosted it in the microwave. House watched as she
pealed potatoes and onions and silently went through the motions of
cooking. 

"What are you making?" House asked.

"Irish stew...unfortunately, I won't have time to make soda bread. Regular
bread will have to do." She smiled with her whole body.

About an hour later she prepared a pot of tea. The doorbell rang and she
leaped across the living room, opened the door and jumped into the arms of
a very good looking Irish American male. Her voice was several octaves
higher than normal as she greeted the two men in Gaelic.

After the excitement died down she looked at House and realized that they
were talking in Gaelic and he had not been introduced. "Oh, John and
Morris, this is Dr. Gregory House."

John looked at her sharply, "House, isn't that an English surname?"

Caitria had never thought about that. "I don't know...but Greg is the
doctor who killed Geordie when he had the gun on me in surgery."

John's face lightened up, "Oh, in that case, thank you for saving our
sister."

"Sister? You didn't tell me you had a brother." House said.

"It's a term of endearment. We're not related by blood."

John asked Caitria in Gaelic, "So, who is this English guy to you?" 

She answered in Gaelic, "Be nice, he saved my life and he's my boyfriend
and speak English."

House was annoyed at the Gaelic but he bit his tongue. These weren't the
type of people you wanted to mess with. It was bad enough his girlfriend
was a hit-man.

"Are you guys hungry?"

"Yeah..." They both said in unison. 

"The stew will be done in half an hour." She had put the meat in a
pressure cooker to make it tender as quick as possible. She then took the
pressure lid off and let the potatoes, carrots, onions and string beans
cook with the meat. 

She brought out some crackers and cheese and some fruit for them to nibble
on. The conversation soon became a rehash of what had happened that
afternoon. John and Morris looked approvingly at House when Caitria
recounted his actions in surgery.

"Greg, that was pretty brave of you, where'd you get your balls?"

Caitria rolled her eyes.

"My Dad was a Marine fighter pilot. He taught me a few things."

They shook their heads in approval. Then they told Caitria about the new
problems in San Diego. Apparently Charles Fox was ill and looking for
someone to take over as Chief and President of the Irish Council. He
wanted Caitria to do it.

"The Families would never stand by and let a woman do it."

"Don't kid yourself. After Liam and Terry, and now Geordie, Ronan and
Kevin, you've got a lot of supporters."

House was shocked...little, tiny Caitria as a don? Don Bronagh? Hopefully
Caitria would turn it down. He wanted her to stay in Princeton, with him.
But the more they talked the more he felt her being pulled to San Diego.

"The Council is meeting in Las Vegas next week and they want you there.
They booked you a room at the Bellagio for Wednesday. I have your plane
ticket."

"I'll think about it. Let's eat."

She got out four bowls and ladled out the stew. She put a loaf of bread
and butter on the table. She got out three Guinness and opened them. John
and Morris tucked in and within seconds were asking for more. House ate
his with a little more restraint and Caitria barely touched her. She was
still a little upset from the afternoon events but she was happy to see
the boys eating. 

There was a knock and she opened the door. Brian walked in and wrapped his
arms around Caitria and then John, who had jumped up and crossed the room.
He sat down and Caitria fixed him a bowl and opened him a Guinness.

Caitria poured herself a Baileys over ice and sat down at the table. There
was so much banter back and forth she felt like she was home. They all
picked up their Guinness and held them up to Caitria to thank her for the
meal. House joined them. Caitria picked up her drink and looked at House:

"Here's to me, and here's to you, And here's to love and laughter- I'll be
true as long as you, And not one moment after."

John laughed and started quoting in an Irish lilt:

"When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we
fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. So,
let's all get drunk, and go to heaven!"

They all laughed. Brian raised his glass again,

Slainte go saol agat, Bean ar do mhian agat. Leanbh gach blian agat, is
solas na bhflaitheas tareis antsail seo agat.

He turned for House's benefit and said it in English:

"Health for life to you, A wife of your choice to you, Land without rent
to you, A child every year to you, And the light of heaven after this
world for you."

They all turned to House and raised their glass and said, "Slainte!"

House chuckled and drank with them. He raised his glass, "Gentlemen, start
your livers." 

They all laughed and took a drink. The toasts went on for quite awhile,
getting bawdier and more raucous. The guys switched to Bushmills and
Caitria switched to diet coke. The subject of House's ancestry came up and
he was quick to tell them that his mother was a Darby, which garnered a
lot of approval. But they still wanted the lineage on his father's side.
He told them his grandfather was a House from Surrey and his grandmother's
family were Laurie's from Cambridgeshire. 

"Laurie's a Scottish name. The Scots invaded Northern Ireland for the
British."

House was getting desperate. "My mother's Dad was a Darby traced back to
Gallway. My mother's mother was a Grogan, traced back to Killarney."

The boys relaxed. "Thank God you're half Irish or we'd have to put you out
of your bloody English misery."

After a few hours of drinking, she wasn't surprised to see House pass out
first. He started to say something, "I think I'll...ahgghhgggh...." BAM!
His head hit the table. John pulled his head up by his hair to look at his
face. 

"Caitria, he's a lightweight...you sure this one is the one for you?"

"Lightweight? He just drank two Guinness and eight Bushmills. Come on you
guys, help me carry him to bed."

"You're sleeping with this guy?" Brian asked.

"I wouldn't call it sleeping." She smiled at him. The boys all laughed.
Brian and Morris grabbed House and threw him in on the bed. Caitria pulled
off his shoes and John came in with the saran wrap.

"No you guys, nooooo."

"Caitria, you know the rules...first one to pass out has to face the
music."

She knew she wouldn't be able to stop them and so she sat back and watched
while they rolled House in Saran wrap and laid him on his back. He looked
like a plastic mummy. 

"Well, I'm going to bed. You guys try not to wreck my apartment. Here's
some blankets and pillows." She threw them out into the living room and
closed the door to the bedroom. She got in under the covers, took one look
at the now snoring House and turned out the light. 

She got up the next morning and put on some clothes, brushed her teeth and
hair and went out to start the tea and coffee. John had the couch, Morris
the chair and Brian was on the floor. She cleared off the empties and
spills. After she got the coffee started she went in and took the
requisite digital photo of House wrapped in saran wrap. Half an hour
later, as she sat at the kitchen table reading the newspaper accounting of
the shootings, she heard a knock on the door. It was Agent Clover and
another agent, Spencer. 

She let them in and pointed to the table. They stepped over Brian and sat
down at the table. 

"Should we go somewhere else so that we don't wake them?"

"Oh, you're not going to wake them...they are going to sleep most of the
day."

"That's John Kelly, isn't it?" Agent Clover recognized the second in
command of the Kelly family.

"Yes, it is."

"What is he doing here?"

"You mean, besides visiting me?"

"Yeah, besides visiting you."

"He flew back yesterday when they heard Ronan was in town."

"Oh, your protectors..."

"Yeah..."

"Have you seen Dr. House? We tried his apartment but he wasn't there."

"I think he's tied up at the moment. He might be available soon."

They started taking her statement and were almost through when they heard
yelling coming from the bedroom.

"JESUS H. CHRIST....what the f#ck! GET ME OUT OF
THIS...KATHLEEN...CAITRIA... get me out of this..."

The agents jumped up and ran into the bedroom. Caitria just sat drinking
her tea and reading the statement. The agents got to the door and looked
at each other and then started laughing. 

House yelled, "Alright you morons, you've had your laugh, now get me out
of this...come on, I've got to pee."

The agents were in the doorway, they turned and looked at Caitria. "Can we
let him loose?"

"The usual tradition of this is that he has to first wet his pants and
then we can disengage him. It's an Irish lesson in humility...for failing
to hold your liquor. But since he is half English, I suspect he's full of
piss and it will probably leak all over my bedspread. You can let him
out."

She got up and took them the scissors. The agents let House out of the
saran wrap and he hobbled quickly into the bathroom. They heard a loud
scream from the bathroom. The agents looked at Caitria, "Oh, I forgot to
warn him about the hot sauce they put on his hands last night."

"Ooooo." Both agents cringed and grimaced. 

There was the sound of a shower. The agents came back to the table and
finished Caitria's statement. They waited for House to show up. He came
out in his jeans and no shirt.

He looked at Caitria like he was going to throttle her. "What were you
thinking?"

"Greg, first one to pass out has to be taught a lesson...I'm afraid you
were initiated. Be grateful, the last guy was left in saran wrap for two
days while they funneled Guinness into him all day long. You got of light,
suck it up. The agents want to take your statement."

House looked around, obviously angry, but he held his tongue and sat down
at the table. She gave him a cup of coffee and thought he looked rather
handsome without a t-shirt on.

House called Wilson for a ride to his motorcycle. Wilson walked in and saw
all the bodies on the floor. "Wow, this looks like one hell of a party."

"Yeah it's just about wrapped up." House went over and kissed Caitria
goodbye. "I'll call you later." 

She nodded yes. As soon as he left, she got out the digital camera and
downloaded the saran wrapped House. She wrote in the caption, "One Way to
Control House." and emailed it to Wilson, Cuddy and the team. She knew
they would forward it and soon it would be all over the hospital and on
bulletin boards. It would be the last time he got so drunk he passed out
in the presence of the Irish.

 *** Caitria realized that the Family was going to give her grief because
House was half English. He could have been half Dutch, Russian, Persian,
Israeli and they would have let it slide. But being half English was a
problem even if House was about as English as french fries are French.
That was a bridge she'd have to build and cross when she got there. The
ticket was for Wednesday...she went online and bought Greg one too. 

Ronan had lived and was actually doing well in the jail's hospital where
he had been transferred. She had put the boys back on a plane a few days
after they arrived and then rode in to talk to Cuddy and the Board,
including Wilson.

They had in front of them her medical articles, her surgeon's certificates
and academic record. There were numerous letters from surgeons and the
administration of UCSD all praising her work and ethics.

"Kathleen, I mean Caitria, you have a remarkable background. The staff
here likes you and enjoys working with you, we'd like for you to apply to
the Medical Licensing Board for a license to practice in the state of New
Jersey. If you will, we would be willing to employ you as a surgeon. We'll
also pay your wages until you are licensed."

"How does Dr. Johnson feel about that?"

"One of these letters of recommendation is from him. Don't forget, he saw
you in action and says in his letter that he's never met anyone who
performed so well under pressure."

She was a little surprised. "Oh, well I have to go see my Family this
week, they're a little worried about me. Can I give you my decision the
following week?"

"Sure, take your time." Cuddy smiled at her.

House had moaned and griped a little over the saran wrap pictures on the
bulletin boards but he realized that he couldn't complain too much
considering everything he had done. Caitria felt a little bad when she saw
the irritation on his penis from the hot sauce. However, it went away and
they were able to resume having sex a few days later. He was pleased when
she said she was taking him to Las Vegas. He was hoping he could damper
their enthusiasm over recruiting her for San Diego.

They had a taxi take them to the airport in Trenton. Upon arrival at
McCarran airport they put their first quarters into slot machines while
waiting for their luggage. This made Caitria giggle because she received
six quarters back on her first try.

House was impressed with the suite at the Bellagio. It was huge and it was
decorated in a very sophisticated camel color. Caitria put her things down
and hung up her dresses. House sat on the kingsize bed and patted it for
her to come over. She went and sat down next to him and he kissed her.
They both laid back and looked into each other's eyes. House started to
fondle her breasts. The phone rang.

House gave her a look that said he was frustrated. She shrugged her
shoulders and answered the phone.

It was Cornelius. "Caitria, we're waiting for you. We're in suite 405.
Just you."

"Alright Con, I'll be there." She hung up the phone and looked at the
wilted House. "Sorry, have to go to a meeting. I'll call your cell phone
when we're done." She bent down and kissed him. He just laid there on the
bed for a minute. They called and she ran.

A couple of hours went by. House was playing black jack when she called.
"Hello?"

"I'm naked and I'm in your bed."

"Ten minutes." House hung up the phone and played out his hand. He cashed
out and took off for the elevator. He saw John Kelly talking to an older
man in his early 60's. They both looked in excellent health. Next to them
was a large man with a cane and oxygen canister. The man was dark haired
with a dark beard and mustache and he didn't look well. House figured the
man was dying.

House took out the card to enter the room and realized that he was still
excited every time he knew he was going to have sex with her. He opened
the door and she was laying on her side propped up on an elbow. She threw
back the sheets for him to get in next to her naked body. He was naked in
less than a minute and under the sheets. She was warm and she smelled so
good.

"Ugh...go take a shower...you smell like smoke. OH, God, it stinks. I
can't make love to you smelling like this. I want my sexy House smell...go
on, get out."

His enthusiasm evaporated. He got up and went into the large bathroom with
the double headed shower and large jacuzzi bathtub. He got into the shower
and started soaping up. He heard the shower door open behind him and she
got in. She rubbed her breasts up against his back and started to play
with his family jewels. It made it nearly impossible to keep shampooing
his hair. He turned around and rinsed his hair and then reached down to
kiss her. Five minutes later they were both taking a second shower.

"Want to try that again in bed?" He asked.

"We have to get dressed. We're having dinner with the family in half an
hour."

They went down to Senis, one of the restaurants in the hotel and there
they were, he guessed that there were at least three dozen men and women
seated together. They all looked up and started talking at once when
Caitria walked in. They seemed to all want her to sit next to them. She
chose two seats next to the man House saw in the lobby, the one that was
dying.

Before they sat down Caitria announced, "There's too many of you to
introduce individually right now, but I just wanted to introduce Dr.
Gregory House. Greg is my boyfriend. Greg, this is Charles Fox, the
President of the San Diego Irish Council."

Greg, who was dressed in a suit, tie and ironed shirt, shook Charles'
hand. Greg was amazed at the dark Irish, the red haired Irish, the blonde
Irish, the freckled Irish but definitely Irish crowd in front of him. 

The first thing out of Charles' mouth was, "Isn't House an English name?"
Everyone was listening.

It was John who spoke up. "Ah, but his mother was a Darby and a Grogan."
There were lots of ahhs in acceptance. Greg reached over and shook John's
hand. "Good to see you again."

There were a few toasts, "Slainte" and then everyone took a drink. House
could hear people speaking in Gaelic and English. It was amazing, just
like the Corleones. He heard Charles talking to Caitria.

"If you take the position, I'll retire in August. I know you can do it. WE
need you. Everyone respects and love you Caitria."

"I don't know Charles, it's a tough bill to fill. I'm a surgeon not a
business person."

"You'll learn the job."

House was nervous. Caitria was getting sucked into all of this. He was
losing her. There was only one thing to do.

When they got back to their room he asked, "Are we going to get any time
alone?"

"I have a meeting tomorrow morning but we'll be done by 2:00 p.m. The rest
of the day is ours and I'll let the Family know that we want to be alone."

"Great."

The next day Greg went shopping while Caitria was in her meeting. He made
reservations at the sea food restaurant, Aqua, and he arranged for a limo
to drive them.

When Caitria got back to the room Greg wasn't there. She took a nap. At
4:00p.m. House showed up. He had a dress bag and some other, smaller bags.


"What have you been up to?"

"All will be revealed."

There was a knock on the floor and the bell boy delivered Dom Perignon
1997 and Godiva chocolate dipped strawberries. He took her out to the
balcony overlooking the fountain and they watched the fountain show while
eating the strawberries and drinking the champagne. While standing behind
her House reached around and put his hands under her top on her belly and
hugged her. He nibbled her ear and kissed her neck several times. She
leaned back to kiss him on the lips and she smiled up. They went back into
the room and had sex. The got up and took a shower. Around 7:00 p.m. he
told her that they had reservations for dinner at 8:00 p.m.

He got up and opened the dress bag and pulled out a gorgeous strapless
white satin evening dress with a mermaid train and close fitting wrapped
bodice. She put her hair up in a chignon. She looked beautiful in it.
House pulled out a box and opened it. It was a sapphire and diamond choker
and earrings. He gave her a second box, it had beautiful silk gloves that
came up over her elbows. House took out a tux and got dressed.

"This is like a fairytale." She said.

"I want you to have a wonderful night. I want it to be one of the best in
your life and I want you to have it with me."

"So far, it's been perfect and you've been perfect."

They went down to the lobby and some of the Irish came up to cluck over
her dress. "You two look lovely."

The limo came and took them to the restaurant. House ordered another
bottle of Dom Perignon and poured a glass for Caitria. "We have a limo so
that we can both drink without guilt. After dinner, we're going to go for
a ride."

"Have you ever had sex in the back of a limo?" Caitria asked.

"Yes, I must admit I have."

"Oh no...you've got one up on me." She giggled. 

"Doesn't mean I wouldn't do it again...now that I've had practice."

She had lobster thermidor and he had scallops in a wine and creme sauce.
Both meals were delicious. House kept pouring the champagne and Caitria
was more than tipsy. When the meal was over they went down to the limo and
they started up the strip towards downtown. House poured another bottle of
champagne into two glasses.

"Should we have sex now?" She asked.

"Not yet, there's a couple of stops and then we'll have all the sex in the
back of a limo that you want."

When they pulled up to the tall nondescript building there were a couple
of other limos. The area was deserted except for the limos, the drivers
and the couples. He grabbed her hand and helped her out of the limousine.
She hugged him when they got out. "This is perfect Greg."

They went inside the building and stood in line. "Is this a nightclub?" 

"No, it's the registrar's office." House told her.

"What are we registering?" she asked.

"We're getting our marriage license." He said.

"Oh." She waited patiently while leaning on House. She was drunk.

They signed the papers and for once House was incredibly grateful for the
fact that Caitria was always so steady. Her hands didn't shake and the
clerk had no idea that she was drunk off her @ss. They got their license
and got back into the limousine and drove to the chapel. He had ordered
the "Romantic Wedding" package at the Chapel of the Flowers. The
minister's assistant gave her the bouquet and they marched together up the
aisle to the music. The ceremony took less than five minutes. House had
bought her a 1.8 carat emerald cut flawless diamond ring in platinum along
with the plain platinum band. The assistant took six photos of the wedding
and couple afterwards. They waited for the paperwork to be processed and
then they got back into the limousine. 

"Driver, drive around for an hour and then take us back to the Bellagio."

They had sex in the back of the limousine and House held her tight as they
rode through the streets of Las Vegas. They got dressed and arrived back
at the Bellagio around 1:00 a.m. House helped her out of her dress, hung
it up for her while she collapsed in bed in her stocking, bra, panties,
gloves and jewelry. House took a photo of her passed out and thought about
wrapping her in saran wrap but quickly dismissed it. He got out of the
tux, put all the accessories back in the bag ready to be returned to the
men's shop. Then he pulled back the sheets, put her under and crawled in
beside her. House looked down at the sleeping woman he had just married,
kissed her nose and then turned out the light. ***

The next morning Caitria could barely manage to open her eyes. Her head
hurt so much that she scrambled for the Naprosyn in her purse. She was
drinking the water from the bottle when she saw the glint of light from
her hand. She looked down and there it was, a huge diamond ring and band.
"Ahhhhhhhhh..." She screamed steadily.

House woke up and sat up in bed like a jack-in-the-box. He looked at her
while she continued to scream at her hand. "What the hell is this? What
happened last night? She looked over at him and then started to remember.
"Oh my God, oh my God, Oh my GOD!!! Oh, Jesus." She crossed herself and
sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You...you planned this, didn't you? We're married, aren't we?"

"I thought you wanted it. You were happy at the chapel and kept saying
this was a fairytale wedding. You signed for the license."

"I WAS DRUNK."

"You didn't seem drunk. You seemed very happy."

"Greg, I'm not ready to be married and especially to you. Maybe later, but
we don't exactly have the most stable of relationships, do we? We haven't
gotten through six months together without falling out. Why did you do
this? Was this a joke?" 

"He crawled across the bed and sat down by her. He looked directly into
her eyes and said, "I did it because I love you. I married you because I
love you."

She looked at him and he seemed sincere. She collapsed back onto the bed.
She put her arm over her eyes. She didn't want to see those blue eyes. He
knew better than to touch her, she would perceive that as being
manipulative. "Did we have sex in the back of the limo after the wedding?"

"Yes." He gave her a half smile.

She wondered if she could get an annulment. They had obviously consummated
the marriage...but if it had been done while she was drunk.

"Answer this one question." He turned and looked down on her. "Do you love
me?"

She closed her eyes. He waited for an answer. She took her arm away and
looked at him, tears were running down her cheeks. "Yes, I love you."

He didn't say anything more because he knew that once she admitted it to
herself she would find it difficult to end the marriage. He grabbed a
kleenex and dabbed the tears off of her cheek. 

The phone rang. House answered it and handed it to Caitria. "I'm not
feeling well, I'll try to make it this afternoon." 

She got up and went to the bathroom. She grabbed some clothes and got into
the jacuzzi tub. He came in and grabbed a washcloth and started to bathe
her. He washed her hair, chest, belly, legs and back. She was starting to
relax. "Why don't you get in?"

He took off his boxers and got into the tub behind her. She leaned back on
him and just relaxed. He kissed her neck. She picked up her left hand and
looked at her finger. "You have good taste in rings. It really is
beautiful."

"I thought so too. I wanted something beautiful for you."

They stayed in the tub until the water started to get cool. She got up and
got into a robe and then went into the bedroom and began watching a movie.
House ordered them breakfast and joined her in bed. They ate and then she
got dressed and went to her meeting.

She was leaving the meeting and went downstairs to the casino. She saw
House playing blackjack. He looked up and saw her. She smiled and waved at
him. He nodded and smiled. She went over to the Roulette table and began
to play. She was doing very well when he came up behind her. 

"Are you winning?"

"Yes. What about you?"

"He showed her a wad of money."

"My God, how much is that?"

"$32,300."

Her jaw dropped open. She cashed out and they walked to the elevators.
John Kelly grabbed them. "Hey, we're all in the bar over there. Come and
join us. Caitria looked at House and he turned to go over to the bar. They
sat down and ordered drinks. It was Kerry Kelly that noticed her ring. 

"Wow, now that's a diamond. Are you two engaged?" She asked.

House kept quiet. Caitria took a big deep breath, "We were married last
night."

The whole room went quiet. 

Charles Fox came over and looked at House. "What happened, you never
mentioned that you were engaged or going to be married? How does this
effect what we talked about?"

"I don't know yet."

"You seem sad. What's going on?" Charles asked.

"I'm not sad, I'm just overwhelmed by this meeting, the marriage, the
proposal."

That night when they got back to the bedroom House asked her, "What was
the proposal?"

"That I move back and take over the Council."

"What are you going to do?" He asked.

"Well, until last night I was going to do it. They had convinced me that I
was the person they needed to move the Family forward and to bring
everyone together. Would you be willing to move back to San Diego with
me?" She knew the answer already but had to ask.

"I'm not the easiest employee and Lisa Cuddy courageously puts up with me
despite me. I need to stay where I am, I have tenure, I am the department
head. I won't get that acceptance if I move. What are you going to do?"

"Well, I believe in marriage and I think I need to give this one a try
before I give up on it. So, I'll give it a go with the following
conditions. We don't tell anyone yet about our marriage when we get back
to New Jersey. I'll wear my ring around my neck on a chain until we're
ready to tell everyone. I'll store my furniture and move in with you, but
I have to come back in August to San Diego for a month to take care of
business and be with my family. Does this work for you?"

House was starting to feel guilty for once. He realized he was asking her
to give up her work, her home, her friends, her family for what he wanted.


"I'm fine with your conditions. You can go back to San Diego to visit
anytime you want. If you want to buy a condo or house there, let's do it.
Then you can stay in San Diego for awhile whenever you want."

"We'll see."

She had to face the Kellys and Charles. She called and asked to meet them
in Fox's suite. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. I hadn't planned on getting
married, it just happened."

"What do you mean, it just happened?" Con asked her.

"I was a little tipsy when it happened. Don't get me wrong, I love Greg
and we probably would have gotten married eventually, not just so soon. I
wanted to apologize for ruining everything we had just put into place. I
have to give my marriage priority right now. If it doesn't work, I can
probably get an annulment, but for now, I need to try and make it work."

"Did he trick you into marrying him?" John asked her.

She knew that if she said yes, Greg would suffer. "No, he was as drunk as
I was. We're both surprised by it."

"Well, you know you aren't really married until you get married in the
Church." Charles admonished.

"I know, but legally this is binding." She said.

"We'll keep the position open for a as long as I can function, just in
case you change your mind. In the meantime, we want you to help us pick
someone else."

"I'd be happy to do that." Caitria hated all the looks of disappointment.

As she was leaving, John pulled her over to the side. "I know what Greg is
capable of doing...if I find out he tricked you into this, he'll pay."

"He didn't. Bye sweetie." She gave John a kiss on the cheek.

They flew home to New Jersey. They stored her furniture and she finally
went in to see Cuddy about the offer. "I would love to take you up on your
offer."

"Our H.R. department will help you get together all the documentation that
you will need to submit for your license. It usually takes a couple of
months to get it all together."

"I'm going back to San Diego in August for a family wedding. I won't be
back until labor day. Is that going to be ok?"

"I don't see any problem with that. How are you doing?" Cuddy asked.

"I'm doing fine."

"Are you still seeing House?"

"Yes, we're still seeing each other."

"I give you credit. You must be a saint."

"Hardly. I just have a high tolerance for pain." 

In July Wilson and House went out after work to celebrate Wilson's
birthday. Since Wilson was so popular a huge crowd went with them,
including House's team and a lot of very single nurses. House had called
Caitria and asked her to come on down to the bar to celebrate. Caitria was
pissed that House hadn't told her it was Wilson's birthday so Caitria
hurried down to the mall to find him something. In the meantime, the boys
and girls were all getting drunk on jello shooters. They were having a
great time. House was relaxed and in a good mood. Juliette started teasing
him and downing shooters with him. He was joking with her and with
Cameron. Cameron was having a hard time believing that the man in front of
her was Gregory House. Chase was as drunk as House and Wilson, Cuddy was
trying to catch up.

Caitria bought Wilson a Bose speaker system for his IPOD. She had the guy
at Sharper Image wrap it with birthday paper she bought at the Hallmark
store. While he wrapped it for her, she filled out the birthday card. She
got in the car and drove down to the Triumph to join the party.

When Caitria walked in, there was Juliette sitting on House's lap drinking
jello shots with him. Wilson had his arm around Cuddy and was drinking
shots with her. Caitria walked up to the table. She bent down and kissed
Wilson on the cheek and handed him his gift. "Oh Caitria...how verrrryyy
thoughtful of you. You know, you are incredibly beautiful and thoughtful
and smart and stupid for being with House."

"Thank you James, I love you too." She looked across the table at House. 

"Hello honey...you remember Juliette."

"Yes, hello Juliette. How are you?" She asked.

"I'm hot. You wouldn't mind if I borrow Greg tonight." She was very drunk
and she was fondling House's genitals. He was enjoying it.

"You know Juliette, if he wants to go home with you, I think he should."

"Do you hear that sweetie, you can come home with me." Juliette started
kissing his ear and neck. 

It was just starting to dawn on House what was going on and that his wife
was standing across the table watching him. In one swift move, he pushed
away from the table and stood up. Juliette fell to the floor. House looked
absolutely scared to death. He grabbed his cane and walked over to
Caitria, grabbed her and kissed her passionately.

"Good save." Caitria said to him.

"Don't leave me alone with jello shooters again."

House sat down in a different chair and pulled Caitria onto his lap. 

"Didn't you have a brunette on your lap just a minute ago?" Chase said in
slurred voice.

"You must have me mistaken for Foreman."

"That's right, you two have the same fro'." Chase smiled.

They had a few drinks and then House started running his hand up Caitria's
skirt. She kept slapping it away. "Greg, now behave. Please honey."

"Have I ever told you that you are hot?"

"Thank you Greg, now are you ready to go?"

"Ok."

They got up and wished Wilson a Happy Birthday. "Jim, do you have a ride?"
Caitria asked.

"I'm taking a cab...don't worry." he held up another jello shooter.

"Ok, goodnight everyone, I'm taking Greg home and putting him to bed."

"Lucky House." Chase moaned. "Can you put me to bed too?"

"One drunk at a time....sorry." Caitria waved to everyone.

After they left Cuddy turned to Wilson, "How long do you think they'll
last?"

"I don't know, she's one tough cookie. She's as tough as he is an @ss."

Wilson started to notice that every time he came over to House's
apartment, Caitria was there. 

"Has she moved in?" Wilson asked when Caitria left with the dirty laundry.


He grimaced and tried to figure out what to say, "Kind of...she's leaving
next week for San Diego and didn't have anywhere to stay until then."

"Is she coming back?"

"I think so." ***

House drove Caitria to the airport in Trenton. "Have a good time and call
me. I love you. Have you got enough money?"

"Yes, I have enough money. Now you know the last week in August I'm going
to be backpacking in Yosemite. You won't be able to contact me during that
week, ok?"

"Who's going with you?"

"No one. I do this every few years. I back pack the five High Sierra camps
starting with Glen Aulen. Now give me a kiss." They kissed and he looked
very unhappy. "I love you too."

The first three weeks she was in San Diego she had a blast. The Family had
party after party. They went jet skiing on Mission Bay, kayaking San Diego
harbor, camping in Laguna Mountains and she went to so many barbeques she
was sick of potato chips. She went out dancing with John and his friends.
Everyone asked where Greg was, especially John who happened to think Greg
House was cool. John loved people who were irreverent and House was that.
She told everyone he had to work.

The head of the Council was still being kept open for Caitria for a little
while longer. But Caitria felt that if she didn't help Charles Fox choose
someone to take his place it was as good as admitting that the marriage
was doomed. They chose Patrick Fitzgerald from the Fitzgerald Family. He
was bright, had a finance degree from Berkeley and had a great
temperament. Charles was happy with the choice.

Caitria had stored her backpacking equipment at Con's house and so she
spent the Thursday before she left checking it out and getting food for
the trip. She packed up her rental car and took off on Friday. She called
House from Oakhurst, just outside of Yosemite. He wasn't home so she just
told him that she loved him and would see him in a week. She reminded him
of her flight number and time.

Caitria started her hike in Tuolumne Meadows, a gorgeous green meadow with
the Tuolumne river flowing through it. She stopped at the soda pots and
then kept going. On her way she passed hikers returning from day hikes and
from the High Sierra camps. She reached her favorite spot on the hike, it
was by the Tuolumne River as it turned the corner. Looking south you could
see the river, Cathedral peaks, meadows and forests. It had everything,
river, mountains, forests and grassy meadows. She took some photos and
then took off for the large granite slabs that dotted the Tuolumne river.
During the whole hike she kept thinking that Greg could handle this
portion of the trip. It wasn't a hard hike. When she crossed the bridge at
the top of the cascades she was in awe. It was incredibly beautiful. The
rushing water tumbling down the canyon was breathtaking. Greg would
probably enjoy it.

She reached Glen Aulin at the end of the day and had booked a cot in one
of the camp's tent cabins. She ate at the tent restaurant. The High Sierra
Camps were each a day hike apart. At each camp you could pitch your own
tent or you could rent a cot in one of the tent cabins. They also brought
in food by mule and horses for two meals, a breakfast and a dinner which
could be purchased for an ungodly sum...but it was worth it so that you
didn't have to pack your meals with you.

On the fourth day she was hiking from May Lake to Vogelsang when the first
snow storm of the season hit. She was prepared for cold weather but not
for the three feet that fell in two hours. She was wishing she had brought
some snow shoes. It ended up that the hike took an additional four more
hours than it should. Luckily, the camp cooks had set aside her dinner,
knowing that there would be stragglers who had gotten caught in the storm.
The food was cold, but it was food. She ate and then went straight to bed
and did what she had done each night, thought about her life. About
Kieran. About Greg. About the shootout. About marriage. But most of all
she thought about how much she missed Greg and would be glad to see him.
She wanted to go home to him.

She cut her hiking short and drove to Fresno to catch an early flight out
to Trenton. She called and left a message on House's voice mail and on the
answering machine at home telling him when the flight would get in to
Trenton.

When Caitria arrived she looked for him. She walked the entire length of
the airport. She grabbed her luggage and put it on a cart. She called
House on his cell phone and home phone. She called the office and no one
picked up so she left a message. Where was he?

She waited forty five minutes and then called a cab. When she got home,
she opened the door and was immediately struck by how stuffy it was in the
apartment. She looked around, the apartment was dark. Caitria opened the
refrigerator and the smell was horrible. There were things that were in
there since she left. She started to worry. House's motorcycle wasn't
there. She stayed up all night waiting for him. He didn't show.

Caitria got up at 7:30 a.m. and drove into the hospital. His motorcycle
was parked there. He must have a patient. She walked in and went into his
office, it was dark. The light was on in the next office where the Team
usually meets but no one was in the room.

She walked next door to find Wilson but he wasn't in his office either. It
was 8:30 a.m. Where was everyone? She went up to the third floor where
Greg's patients usually were sent. She asked at the charge desk. 

"Hildy, have you seen Greg?"

"Where have you been? House is in 322."

"I've been hiking in the Sierras."

"What's the story on his patient?"

"Patient? House doesn't have a patient, he is the patient."

Caitria ran down the hall and into room 322. "Oh my God...Jim, what's
going on?" She ran up to his bed, he was unconscious and hooked up to a
respirator. 

"He was trying to diagnose a man from Malaysia and the man sneezed on
House. It's a disease called Nipah. He started out with "flu-like"
symptoms, high fever and muscle pains. The disease progressed to
encephalitis with drowsiness, disorientation and convulsions. Then he
started having trouble breathing."

Caitria was by the head of the bed looking at the monitors. Cuddy and the
team came in. Her voice was agitated, "What's the treatment?"

Cuddy spoke up, "Ribavirin helps but only to keep the fever down.
Treatment is mainly palliative and supportive. His fever is down to 103,
which is a good sign."

"DOWN? What was it? How long has he been ill?

"He was at 105. He's been ill for about nine days." Cuddy told her.

She had only been in the Sierras for the last five days. Caitria started
crying. Everyone was shocked. No one expected the calm, cool Caitria to be
emotional. "Whyyy...didn't yooouu call meee or tryy to get in touch with
meee?

Cuddy went over to her and put her arm around her. "You aren't next of kin
or the emergency contact. We spent most of our time trying to get in touch
with his parents but apparently they are in Hong Kong."

Just then Stacy walked in. 

"What is she doing here?" Caitria asked.

Wilson said, "Stacy still has House's power of attorney from when they
were together."

"Oh no, no, no....I want her out of here. I'm making the decisions now.
What's the prognosis?"

Cuddy pulled her close to her, "Caitria, sweetie, I know you're upset but
you don't have the legal authority to make medical decisions for Greg,
Stacy does."

Caitria looked straight into Cuddy's eyes, "Of course I do, I'm his wife."

No one in the room made a sound or took a breath. Cuddy looked at Wilson
for verification. Wilson gave a shrug as if to say this was news to him.

"Caitria, when did you get married?" Cuddy asked.

"In Las Vegas." She pulled her wedding rings from around her neck and
showed them to everyone. "We had our reasons for not telling anyone. I'm
sorry Stacy, but I'd like you to leave now."

Stacy was standing with her cup of coffee. She was frozen. She looked at
Cuddy and then at Wilson. "How do you know she's telling the truth?" Stacy
was upset and angry. 

Cuddy looked around the room at everyone. No one said a word but she could
tell that they all shared the same thoughts. Cuddy told Stacy, "Caitria
wouldn't lie about this Stacy. I'm sure that she and House are married.
Thank you for coming, we really appreciate it. Please leave now."

Stacy looked around the room and then at Greg. No one would make eye
contact with her. She turned and left the room. 

"What's the prognosis?" Caitria asked.

Foreman came over to the edge of the bed, "50/50."

She drew in her breath sharply and said, "F#ck."

Wilson asked her, "Caitria, why didn't you tell us?"

"We wanted to see if it would work...it doesn't matter. I just want him to
get well. I came home to tell him that I ...Oh, God. I just wanted him to
know how much he means to me. Is there anything we can do?"

"We're doing what we can...but we're keeping a close watch on him." Chase
smiled at her. "Can I get you some coffee or tea?"

"Tea would be great, thanks Robert."

"Well, congratulations." Cuddy hugged her.

"Thanks."

They all left except for Cameron. "Allison, have you been here with him
all this time?"

She nodded yes.

"Didn't he tell you guys to call me?"

"He was in denial. He thought he just had the flu." She patted Caitria's
hand.

"You've always cared for him. Thanks for sticking by him. I know he's not
easy to be around sometimes." Caitria said to her.

"That's the understatement of the year. I think you've shocked all of us
today with your announcement. Who's idea was it to get married?"

"His, all his." Caitria grabbed Greg's hand and kissed it.

"I'll let you have some time alone with him. Welcome back." Cameron left
the room. "Thanks Allison."

She went into the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth and started washing
House with cool water. She bent over and said to him, "Greg, please,
you're scaring me. You've got to start coming out of this. I need you
back. Please Greg, you need to fight this."

 *** She kept washing him to get his fever down. All day and into the
night she washed him all over to cool him down. She needed to call Con to
let him know she was out of the Sierras and ok. She went down to Greg's
office and called Con. She told him she was ok and then told him about
Greg. He was worried about her. He had never heard her so upset, not even
at her father's funeral.

Caitria went through Greg's desk looking for anything with his parent's
phone number, maybe they were home. They needed to be informed. She pulled
a manilla folder from the bottom drawer. Inside were receipts for taxes
and thrown in the middle of the receipts was a photo. It was one of the
photos taken in Las Vegas of their wedding. The photo showed Caitria
looking up into the eyes of House. They both were smiling at each other.
She had to admit, she looked very pretty in the dress he had picked out
for her. He looked handsome. She took the photo up to the hospital room
and put it next to his bed.

The next day Chase brought her some food and tea. She was drinking her tea
when he noticed the photo.

"Wow, you look beautiful and House looks, he looks happy." Chase was
fascinated by the photo. It looked as if they were really happy and in
love. He didn't dare say it but he just couldn't figure out how she could
hook up with House. "I have clinic duty but page me if you need anything."

Wilson showed up a few minutes later. "Is this your wedding?"

"Yes."

"I wished I had been there."

"Don't feel bad, I don't remember much about it either."

"You were drunk when you married him?"

"Yes, we're going to have to get married in the church when he's well.
You'll be our best man."

 "Why did you agree to marry him?"

"I didn't, I told you, I was drunk. But I signed the license and I said
yes in front of the minister."

"You mean he actually planned it, got you drunk and lead you to the
slaughter?" He was surprised when she shook her head yes. "Why?"

"He didn't want me moving back to San Diego."

"That's pretty drastic. Why didn't you get it annulled?"

"I realized that, even if I didn't want to get married right then, I did
love him. I felt I owed it to both of us to try it out. Jim, is he going
to get better?"

"I think so. He's too onery to die."

"I can't take another man dying on me. So how long had Stacy been here?"

"Two days."

"I need to apologize to her. It was kind of her to come all this way to
take care of him. I wasn't very gracious."

"She's going home today but I think she wanted to stop in and see Greg one
more time."

"If you see her before I do, let her know it's ok to come in."

"I will." Jim left the room. 

Cameron and Cuddy came in together. They looked at the photo. "Wow, you
two look like the read deal." Cuddy shook her head in disbelief. "You
could have pushed me over with a feather yesterday."

Stacy stuck her head in, "May I come in?"

"Please." Caitria almost begged her to come in, "Please come in. I am so
sorry for the way I acted yesterday. Stacy, I am very grateful for what
you did for him. Please accept my apologies."

"No problem. Wow, is that your wedding?"

"Yes."

"You look beautiful and House looks...he looks happy. How did you get him
to marry you? He kept coming up with excuses when we were together."

"It was his idea to get married, not mine."

Cuddy, Cameron and Stacy all looked act each other with a shocked look.

"It was his last ditch effort to keep me from moving home to San Diego."

"At least that sounds like him." Cuddy said.

House's monitor showed an increase in heart rate and blood pressure,
actually a good sign since they had both been depressed. Cuddy went over
and took a penlight out and opened an eyelid, shone the light in and a
hand came up and knocked the light out of her hand. He opened his eyes. He
still had a mask on but you could see the panic in his eyes as he looked
and saw Caitria, Stacy, Cameron and Cuddy.

Through the respirator he asked, "Is this hell?"

"You jerk, you had everyone scared." Caitria was almost yelling at him.

He pointed to the respirator. Caitria looked at his monitors and oxygen
levels and took the respirator off. The monitors stayed stable. Caitria
felt his head and he still had a fever but it was down from last night.

"You still have a fever so behave." She admonished him.

"What happened and why is my life passing by me in a parade of estrogen?"

"You had Nipah. You still have a fever of 102 but I guess you're getting
better." Cuddy smiled.

House looked at Stacy, "Why are you here?"

"I had your power of attorney until your wife came back from the High
Sierras." Stacy smiled at him at the foot of his bed.

He looked over to Caitria and said with a shocked voice, "We're married?"

"Not if you keep scaring me like this. I can't take it." She bent down and
kissed his forehead. He reached down and grabbed her hand.

"Cameron, how's the Malaysian?" House asked.

"He died. There's not much you can do for Nipah, you either live or die."

"I'm fading, I think I need a nap. You go home and get some sleep, I'm
ok." He looked at Caitria.

"Like I'm going to sleep with you in the hospital?" Caitria shook her
head.

"You look tired, you look hungry and you look like you could collapse.
Please go home and get some sleep. I promise not to die while you're
gone."

"Don't even make kid about that."

"Go home. I love you, go home."

All the women looked at each other, House said, "I love you"' Stacy
remembered when he said it to her the last time.

"I'm going to get going, take care Greg and get well." Stacy patted his
foot.

"Thanks Stacy."

"Ok, I'll go get a shower, change of clothes and maybe a nap. I'll be back
later. I love you too." She bent down and kissed him on the lips.

When she got back that evening he was sitting up eating Jello and toast.
She came in and kissed him. Wilson was sitting scrunched down in a chair.

"Hi Jim." Caitria nodded at him.

"Hello Caitria, how are you?" Wilson asked. 

"Better. How are you Greg?" Caitria was putting down her things.

"My fever is down to 100...I'll probably get out of the hospital
tomorrow." He said a little weakly.

"It will be good to get you home." She kissed him on the forehead again.

House did get home the next day and slept through most of the afternoon.
Caitria cleaned the apartment and did the wash. She put on a roast ,
carrots and potatoes. 

Caitria called Cuddy. "Have you got a realtor that you like?"

"My friend is a realtor and she's good at it. Are you going to buy?"

"Yes, I want to buy...it's ridiculous renting. We could be getting the tax
benefit of buying and have a bigger place. I just have to convince Greg."

Cuddy was thinking to herself that House had certainly met his match.
Caitria was strong enough to ignore House when he started acting up,
something Cuddy had trouble doing. Cuddy gave Caitria her friend's
telephone number.

The next day House managed to make it out to the sofa. He started watching
soap operas. There was a knock on the door and Caitria opened it.

"Hello, I'm Janet Longstaten from Sotherby Realty."

"Hi, I'm Caitria Bronagh and this is my husband, Gregory House." House
popped his head up when she said, "husband."

"That's bizarre...husband? Can't you say, concubine, sex slave,
paramour...I'm just not use to the term..."

Caitria gave him a look that said "not now." She turned to Janet, "Ignore
him, he's an @ss."

She looked at the two of them. "Is this a going to be a purchase after a
divorce?"

"Divorce? We just got married."

"Really?" She seemed stunned.

"Why is a realtor here?" House asked.

"Because we're buying a house. I can't live in this small space with you."

"Is it the wanking off in the bedroom every morning or the nose hairs in
the sink?"

"It's your incessant need for sex in every crevice of this apartment...I
need a spot of real estate that hasn't been marked with testosterone." 

"Really, you two just got married?" she couldn't believe it.

"Yes." They answered in unison. 

"Well, I'd like to get your preferences. How many bedrooms do you want?"

Caitria said, "Three."

House said, "One."

"One? Where are we going to put the babies?" Caitria asked in earnest.

"What babies?" House replied in earnest.

"We're married, that's what you do, you have babies." she emphasized.

"Just so we're straight...there's no babies right now...right?' he was a
little worried.

"No...but there will be, right?"

"We never discussed this. You want kids?" He asked.

"You don't?" she retorted.

"You know, maybe I'll come back later." the realtor started to back out.

"Three bedrooms. Don't listen to him." Caitria said.

"Ok. How many bathrooms?" Janet asked.

"Two." Caitria said. "Or more."

"What do you want in the master bedroom?"

"A redhead and a bottle of whiskey." House piped up.

"Ensuite bathroom and preferably it be on the first floor, my husband is a
physical and emotional cripple." she gave House a stern look of
disapproval.

"Kitchen?" the realtor was writing. 

"Optional." House commented. 

Caitria shook her head at him, "I'd like an eat in breakfast bar and
island." 

"Location?"

House opened his mouth to speak and she hit him upside the head.

"Princeton."

"How much do you want to spend?"

"I've been saving change in a sock." House said.

She hit him upside the head again.

"OWW..."

"Up to $1.0 million." she told Janet.

"WHAT???" House sat up straight.

"We should be able to find something in that price range."

"Wait a minute, $1.0 million? Pesos I hope." House quipped.

"You two aren't in agreement on the price?"

"I am, he's just lagging behind. He will be."

"I'll run this through the MLS and get back to you with some listings.
Will you two have any time on Saturday to go look?" Janet asked.

"Sure we will. Thanks for coming." Caitria showed her out.

She walked over to the couch. "Move over." She crawled onto the couch next
to him and they laid there and watched a movie. After it was over she
turned and faced him.

He gave her a quizzical look. What did she want? She asked him, "You do
want babies, right?"

He wrinkled up his face, "Is there a right answer or should I just let you
hit me upside the head?"

"I want children. If you don't then this isn't going to work." She said
seriously.

"I think I know what the right answer is now. How many are we having?" 

"The Catholic Church frowns on birth control but not abstinence, so it
depends on the rhythm method and your ability to stay off of me."

"Now that's not the right answer. And what do you mean it frown's on birth
control?"

"If you're married then you are expected to be fruitful...no birth
control, except the rhythm method."

"So if we decide to have children, you'll go off birth control for good?"
he asked.

"Go off? I've been off since we got married." she looked at him as if he
knew.

House went ashen. "Shouldn't we have discussed this?"

"This is precisely what I was talking about. If you were Irish or
Catholic, you would have known this. How is this going to work out? Just
being in love doesn't mean it will work." she started crying.

"Whoa, whoa whoa..." He put his arms around her, "It's ok. It will work. I
can take precautions if you can't because of the Church." He held her to
his chest as she sobbed. "Come on, let's go back and take a nap. This talk
of kids has wiped me out." 

She stopped crying and got up and they went to the bedroom and laid down.
House was asleep within a few minutes. She looked at him sleeping so
peacefully and she felt calm. What was she crying about? She was really
tired, she fell asleep with her head on his pillow. *** When she woke up
she went out and started dinner. She brought his dinner into the bedroom
and he ate it on a tray. He went back to sleep right afterwards. His fever
was almost normal.

Caitria dragged House along Saturday to look at houses but he made it so
miserable for Caitria and Janet that she decided to go it alone from there
on out. If she found something, then she would show House. Janet was
grateful. House was a strange and miserable human being.

Caitria's license to practice came through in September and Cuddy gave her
a small party to congratulate her. She had invited eleven people, House,
Caitria, Wilson, Johnson, the surgical resident - Carrie Cole, and six
other surgeons and doctors. 

Cuddy was happy to see that Caitria and House were on time, something new
for House. "Hello! Congratulations Caitria. Let me take your sweater.
House, Wilson's in the kitchen helping if you want to go say hello." Cuddy
escorted Caitria into the living room to mingle with the other doctors.
"How's it going with House?"

"A challenge. But then he turns around and doesn't something pretty
miraculous for him, like give a compliment, and I feel like everything's
ok."

Caitria had discovered that living twenty-four hours with someone who was
mercurial and unpredictable was often stressful. Living with Kieran had
been predictable, easy, and enjoyable. House was like living in an
amusement park. Sometimes she was at incredible heights, other times she
would sink to horrible lows. She never knew from hour to hour what he
would say or do or if he would be mean or loving. 

The dinner was lively and pleasant. The topic of the discussion focused on
Caitria's background as a surgeon. The conversation was all about Caitria
and House was getting bored. He thought about going into the living room
and watching television, "Dirty Harry" was on tonight.

Johnson had been part of the committee that investigated Caitria's work
history, "Caitria, when we called UCSD they couldn't say enough nice
things about you. I thought you were going to be put up for sainthood."

"Except for that little incident." House said.

Johnson looked at House, not sure if he should bite, "What incident would
that be?"

"The bullet between Liam Kirbey's eyes... now that's a little slip of the
halo."

The table went quiet. Caitria looked down. Why would he do this to her?

"House, what do you mean?" Johnson was amused.

"HOUSE." Wilson was trying to get him to shut up.

"Haven't you morons ever wondered why three men would come all the way to
Princeton to kill a woman?"

Cuddy could see Caitria was embarrassed, "House, we know it was because
she gave evidence against Terry Kirbey."

"Right, send three guys to kill her over a guy who will be out of prison
in fifteen years. Come on...mobsters go to prison all the time. What about
the fact that Terry's brother was shot right between the eyes. A head
shot. Sound familiar? And this is the brother that killed our Saint
Caitria's fianc,."

"House, shut up." Wilson said.

Caitria got up from the table and looked at him, "Let's go." She turned to
Lisa, "I'm sorry Lisa, I'm not feeling very well. Please excuse me
everyone." 

She left the table to go get her sweater and purse. Everyone stared at
House. He looked guiltily at everyone and started to get up.

"You know House, you don't deserve her. One day, when she can't take your
cruelty anymore, she'll leave you and then you'll get your wish. You can
go back to being the same old lonely and bitter man that we've all come to
hate." Johnson said.

House paused and looked around the table, he heard the front door open and
close. He left the table and took off after Caitria. He saw her standing
next to the car with a kleenex in her hand dabbing her eyes and waiting
for him to unlock the door.

"Caitria, I'm sorry, it was just such a love fest...such ass kissing...I
couldn't..."

"What Greg? You couldn't stand ten people actually speaking nicely about
your wife? You needed to put doubts in their minds, dirty the water, soil
her reputation? Oh, I understand, why let your wife feel good about
herself when you can make her feel like crap. It sounds like love to me."

"Caitria, I do love you."

"No you don't Greg, that wasn't love in there. Now drive me back to the
apartment."

When they got inside the apartment, Caitria went straight for the bedroom
and got undressed. She got under the sheets and started to cry. She felt
so far away from home, so far away from her nice tidy life. 

House came in and sat on the edge of the bed. He heard her muffle her
crying. It made him angry. Damn it, she knew he loved her, why couldn't
she just chalk it up to him being him? He tried to put his hand on her arm
and she pulled it away.

"No Greg. I don't want you to touch me or talk to me or try to explain it
to me. I just want you to leave me alone." 

"Caitria, it's not that I don't think you're brilliant, but I hate when
people give compliments because they think they have to."

"Oh, so those people felt forced to have to say nice things about me, it
couldn't have come from them genuinely liking me."

"No, I didn't mean that. Damn it, don't make me the bad guy here. They
were the ones falling all over themselves to try and kiss up to you."

"So you teach them a lesson by ruining my reputation. F#ck you." She
jumped up, got dressed.

"Where are you going?" he was worried.

"I asked you to leave me alone, but you can't even do that for me, can
you?" She grabbed her purse and sweater and car keys and was out the door.

He ran out the door yelling at her, "I thought women liked to discuss
things. Don't be hypocritical...you did kill the guy. It wasn't like I was
lying. Caitria!!!"

She drove off. She didn't really know where to go. She didn't want to go
to a bar. She received a phone call and was surprised to see the caller
i.d. say that it was Wilson. "Hello?"

"Caitria, it's Wilson. I just thought I'd call to see if you were ok."

"I had to leave the apartment, he wouldn't leave me alone. I'm just
driving around."

"Why don't you come over to my place and I'll make you some hot
chocolate?"

"I don't want to impose."

"Come on, I'll see you in a few minutes."

She drove over to Wilson's little house. He had bought it about two months
after his divorce was final. She entered the house, gave him a peck on his
cheek and crawled into an easy chair. He handed her a mug of hot
chocolate."

"So what happened after we left?"

"In general the discussion centered around how long it would take before
you left him."

"I wonder that myself."

"Caitria, he does these things and you want to kill him, but I know he
loves you. "

"No he doesn't. Who does that to someone they love?"

"House."

"Then I'm married to the wrong person."

Wilson looked at the floor. He wanted to say the right things and it
wasn't coming out that way.

"He says these things, but not to hurt YOU. He thought they were all
trying to kiss your @ss, especially Johnson. He knows Johnson has the hots
for you and he wanted to take the wind out of his sails. He just did it in
such a way that it hurt you in the process. I swear House loves you."

"Did he do this to Stacy?"

"Not as much as he does to you. I think the more insecure he feels, the
more he fails to use his verbal regulator. He thinks you are going to
leave him and go to San Diego."

"He could be right if this keeps up."

"I know, he's frustrating. Just wait, he'll do something he thinks will
make it up to you."

They talked for another two hours and then Caitria began to yawn. It was
one in the morning. "You can sleep in my guestroom if you like."

"I think I'll take you up on that. I'm beat and if I go home now he'll
hound me until I talk to him."

She got up in the morning, had another mug of hot chocolate, hugged Wilson
with great affection and left. She opened the door of the apartment and
saw him sitting in the easy chair. He was still in the clothes from the
night before. She went into the kitchen to put on the kettle. He followed
her.

"Where have you been? You turned off your cell phone. Were you with
Johnson?"

She turned and gave him a painful look, "Why would you even say that to
me?" 

"I didn't mean it. Of course you weren't with him. Where were you? Did you
go to a hotel?"

"I went to Wilson's."

"Wilson's?"

"You know, you should do more for him. He has your back and you treat him
like crap."

House was thrown off by the discussion of Wilson. "We'll talk about Wilson
later. What have you been thinking about all night long?"

"About going home to San Diego and putting some distance between us. But
Wilson talked me out of it, for now. Greg, I am not Stacy. I'm not going
to keep letting you beat up my self esteem and take it. I love you for who
you are, but it may be that I can't live with who you are."

"You're going to let me make it up to you?"

"Let's just say, you're on probation."

He came forward and she quickly stepped back from him. She looked at his
face and he looked truly sorry. She took a half step forward indicating
that he could continue. He walked the next couple of steps and slowly put
his arms around her, almost as if she had a sunburn. Then he pulled her
close to him. He took a whiff of her and wondered if she and her delicious
smell would ever leave him.

She let him hold her and kiss her neck and hair. She reached over and
turned off the kettle. He gave her a kiss. He closed his eyes and let his
lips cover hers and his tongue find hers. He wanted her so badly he hurt
in his stomach.

She rubbed his back and he took her hand and led her down the hall. When
they had sex he was so gentle it touched her. He had never treated her in
bed as if she could splinter into pieces. They were in the missionary
position and he was trying to keep his weight off of her by transferring
it to his elbows. He could feel her Kegel muscles and when he concentrated
on the feeling he exploded. 

She kissed his head as he collapsed on top of her. He rolled off of her
and then reached down and made her climax. They didn't say anything to
each other. He put his head on her breast and his hand on her belly. She
was warm and felt so soft and smooth to his touch.

 *** Caitria started work the next Monday. Several of the staff still
called her Kathleen but she knew that this would die out as more people
used her real name. It was great to be back in surgery. She started out
assisting at first until she got her sea legs. Then Johnson started
handing her more and more of the surgeries. She was quickly becoming one
of the best in Princeton.

After the dinner incident Caitria put the house hunt on hold. She didn't
want to get into a huge commitment if the marriage was in trouble. There
was a new resident coming on board in House's department. A woman from New
York who was bringing a nice endowment with her. Her name was Sophia
Castiglione.

Cuddy introduced Sophia to House and the team. The men were very
attentive. Sophia was a beautiful Italian with large breasts, shapely
legs, beautiful full lips, green eyes and dark brown hair. She smiled
seductively at the men and gave Cameron a passing hello."

Two weeks later Caitria was in the cafeteria when Cameron came over to eat
with her. Cameron usually didn't eat in the cafeteria so Caitria knew
something was up.

"Have you met the new fellow, Sophia?" Cameron asked.

"No, House didn't say much about her except that she's Italian and she
from New York."

"She's gorgeous and her body language says that she's got the hots for
House."

"Greg? Sure it's not Chase or Foreman?"

"You have to see it to understand. Caitria, Chase and Foreman are falling
all over themselves to get her to go out with them but all she does is ask
questions about House. Whenever he comes in she pokes her breasts out,
preens her hair and smiles at him. He hasn't called her a moron yet and
it's been two weeks since she started."

Caitria was worried about this last remark. It meant that House was biting
his tongue and holding back for some reason.

That afternoon she decided to stroll down to the second floor. Wilson saw
her and smiled, "What are you doing slumming?"

"I hear there's an Italian olive that wants to get stuffed."

"Ohhhh...yeah. She's pretty hot."

"And??? Greg's having a hard time being a good boy isn't he?"

"He's behaving."

"Well, we'll see about that."

Caitria looked into his office. Sitting on the side of his desk, on the
side that Greg was sitting, was a dark haired woman that Caitria could
only see from the back. Greg was leaning back in his chair looking up at
her and talking. They were laughing. His body language was open and very
friendly. He caught a glimpse of Caitria just before the door opened. 

"Hello." Caitria said.

House jumped up from his chair and rubbed his eyebrow. "Uh, that will be
all, come back when you have the test results." 

She looked up confused at the abrupt treatment."Greg?" Sophia asked. "What
are you talking about?"

Caitria looked at him when she called him by his first name. "He's trying
to tell you that his wife is standing behind you."

Sophia looked at Caitria and then at House. She walked slowly past
Caitria. "I'll see you later Greg." 

House was feeling nervous. He had to admit it had been fun flirting with
Sophia over the last two weeks. He could see that Caitria wasn't amused.
"Do you need something?" 

"No, I just thought I'd come down and find out if you purchased those
tickets for the Casino Night?"

"Yes, I bought them." 

"Great. I'll see you at home tonight, GREG." She blew him a kiss and left.

House had a few beads of sweat on his brow. He sat down and put his feet
up. He was waiting for lab results. He started to daydream, it was his
favorite daydream of a threesome between him, Caitria and Sophia. He could
see them kissing and then both of them kissing House. He smiled to
himself. A boy can dream, can't he?

They were eating at home talking about the upcoming wedding of one of the
Kellys and Caitria mentioned that she and Greg weren't really married.
"What do you mean? I have a piece of paper that says we're married." Greg
looked at her like she was stupid.

"We're married in the eyes of the law, but not in the eyes of God."

He started laughing at her. "What do you mean? You don't think God
sanctions the Nevada state registrar's office?"

"We won't be officially married until we get married in Church in front of
a priest."

"And what does that do for us that the little piece of paper doesn't?"

"Well, right now if we get a divorce or annulment, the Church won't care
because it doesn't recognize the marriage anyway. If we get married in the
Church, then divorce is out of the question. We could get an annulment if
the Church sanctions it, but divorce is out of the question."

"I didn't realize you were so...so...Catholic." "Greg, are you joking? I
come from the biggest Irish community west of the Mississippi. I was
raised in the Church, taught Gaelic, taught stepdancing, taught how to
make soda bread, how to make Aryan sweaters, how to sing and play Celtic
songs...ok, so I don't agree with the Church on a lot of issues but I've
always been Catholic."

"It's just such an archaic and manipulative religion."

"Manipulative?"

"Obviously they don't want you using birth control so that there are more
Catholics born in the world and then more money in their coffers."

"Ok, we need to stop this discussion now or it could get bloody. Do you
want some more stroganoff before I put it away?"

He laughed, "You really can't stand any dissent on this issue can you?"

"It's because you have NO beliefs. If you believed in something then you
might be able to understand what my religion means to me, but you believe
in Greg House the almighty and that's it."

He said very softly, "I believe in you too. So when do we get married in
front of the priest?"

"I think we need to wait awhile."

"I see, you want to keep your options open so that you can get that
divorce if you need it? That's not much of a commitment to us, is it? If
you were really committed to this marriage we would be in front of a
priest tomorrow." He sounded hurt and angry.

She said nothing. He was right and she knew it. She loved him but she
wasn't sure it was going to be enough.

"I guess that's your answer." He got up, took his plate to the sink,
rinsed it and went into the living room to play the piano. She wanted to
hug him but she knew it would just piss him off. She got up and loaded the
dishwasher.

The Casino Night was an annual fund raiser for the hospital and everyone
was supposed to treat the night as if they were in Monte Carlo. Caitria
bought a new dress but wouldn't let House see it...she dressed in the
bedroom and put her coat on over her dress. 

When they arrived at Casino Night Caitria was pleased to see that Wilson
had a date, Mina. She thought they made a great couple. Mina was funny and
smart. As they entered, House looked around and saw Sophia coming towards
him. She looked incredible. Her dress hugged her ample curves and her
breasts were just covered, barely by the criss cross of the fabric of her
bodice. The dress was red. All of the males were keeping an eye on her as
she made her way towards House. House was nervous. It was going to be hard
to keep from staring at her tonight. Sophia was hot.

House stepped over to help Caitria with her coat. As he took it off her
back he saw that the dress virtually had no back. It dipped down almost to
the crack of her perfect @ss which was well defined by the silver satin
fabric. The dress had a small train in the back. Her hair was pinned up so
there was no obstruction of the back and you could see her spine and the
roundness of her hips as they curved in to form her waist. It was
incredibly sexy and House couldn't take his eyes off of his wife's very
sexy back, that is, until she turned around. The front of the dress
plunged to about four inches above her navel. Her breasts were round and
beautiful, her nipples just barely covered, the satin clinging enough to
define her nipples. She had on no jewelry except her wedding ring and two
matching emerald cut diamond studs. He wanted to put the coat back on her
and not share. 

Sophia stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Caitria. She looked around
and saw the men all staring at Caitria as Caitria glided through the room
saying hello to various people in the crowd. 

Chase had just gotten Cuddy a drink when Caitria showed up. He exhaled
loudly. 

Cuddy said, "Wow, now that's a dress."

Chase said, "No, that's a body. How does House rate? You know, good guys
do finish last."

"Lisa, how are you?"

"I was doing fine until you showed up in that dress. How am I suppose to
meet someone if they're looking at you? You look phenomenal."

"Thanks."

"House, you better not stray tonight or you might not see your wife
again."

House turned and bent down to kiss Caitria on the mouth, more to establish
territory than anything else. The party photographer caught the kiss from
behind Caitria. Sophia eventually came over to House as he was just about
to sit down to play Poker. 

"Hello Greg. Are you going to play Poker?" Sophia smiled sweetly.

"Yes, it's a tradition. Wilson and I always play Cuddy. Do you want to
play at our table?"

"I'd love to." She sat down next to Cuddy and across from House and Wilson
to give House a view of her ample bosom. House looked over at his wife and
wished that she would come over and play too. It was going to be
impossible to avoid admiring Sophia's body without a distraction.

The dealer started dealing and Cuddy was amused at the three males at the
table. They all kept stealing glances of Sophia's breasts. They were
pathetic. Cuddy looked over and saw that Caitria was surrounded by men,
including Caleb Johnson who was no escorting Caitria to the dance floor.
Alicia Keyes's "Fallin" was playing and Caleb had brought Caitria in to
dance close. His hands were on her bare back and he was holding her tight.
Cuddy watched House watch his wife and Johnson. House took a drink of
whiskey and then placed his bet. He kept watching her. Wilson followed
House's stare and saw Johnson running his hands up and down Caitria's back
slowly. House took another drink. The song was over and Caleb grabbed
Caitria's hand and took her towards the halls of the hospital. Caitria
laughed and broke free and came back to the dance floor.

House looked across at Sophia, "Sophia, you have beautiful breasts, if you
could just dip a little lower when you pull in your winnings it would be
really helpful."

"I'll see if I can accommodate you Greg, but you'll have to let me win."

House watched as Caleb Johnson grabbed Caitria and pulled her to him to
dance again. Again, he had his hands up and down her back and then he
slipped one inside her back . She quickly pulled away and took him by the
hand and sat him down. She sat down next to him. 

"I'm sitting the next one out, I think I'll get some air." House said.

After the next round Sophia excused herself to go to the restroom. She
went to look for House who had gone to the bathroom. She waited off to the
side. When he came out he saw her. He looked around and went over to her.

"Stalking?" he asked.

"Just admiring. Would you like to take a walk?"

"Take a walk where?"

"Oh, up to your office."

She was leaning back against the wall. She slipped around the corner out
of sight of people going to the restroom and she pulled him with her. He
asked, "Where are you going?"

"Oh, just over here, I don't like prying eyes. So do you want to go up to
your office?"

"I don't think that's a good idea. We better get back to the table."

She leaned forward and grabbed behind his neck and pulled him down to kiss
him. She slipped her tongue in his mouth. He pulled back and disengaged
her hands from around his neck. 

"I think you've had too much to drink. Let's get back to the table."

She walked with him back towards the table. Caitria had been looking for
House to get some money for a drink. She watched as House came from behind
a wall with Sophia. Sophia continued to walk back. As she did Sophia
straightened her hair and dress in front of Caitria. House walked up
smiling to Caitria. 

She took one look at him, dropped her smile and walked away. He went back
to the poker table where everyone stared at him. 

"Is my fly undone?"

"No, but that lipstick on your lips isn't Caitria's shade." Wilson shook
his head. 

House looked at Sophia, took his handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped
his mouth. Then he went looking for Caitria. He couldn't find her inside.
He went out side just in time to see her get into a taxi. He ran back in
and got his coat and left. When he got home she was taking her dress off.

"You're mad at me? You think I skulked off with Sophia. Don't be an
imbecile."

Caitria continued to put her clothes away. She turned and looked at him.
He could see she had been crying. 

"Crap. I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WITH HER. Besides, you were out there on the
dance floor letting Johnson feel you up. What was that about?"

"I see, so this isn't about you kissing and flirting with Sophia, it's
about Caleb dancing with me?"

"When he starts rubbing you and sticking his hand inside your dress you
bet it is."

She put on a gown and got in bed. He got undressed and slipped inside the
covers and saddled up next to her. Her body went rigid. You looked
gorgeous tonight. You were so hot that I couldn't concentrate on the
gambling. I kept watching you with all those men and I kept thinking, "I
don't believe that's my wife." You had every man in the room jealous of
me. I wouldn't do anything to screw with that."

He knew that if she let him slip his arm around her she had forgiven him.
He reached around and she didn't flinch or bat his arm away. Instead she
turned around and he reached up and felt her breasts through the gown. She
kissed him and they made love.

As they laid in each other's arms, "Everything sets me off these days. I'm
so stressed."

"I have that affect on women."

Monday morning House and Caitria rode into work together. Caitria
suggested to House that he get some breakfast while she had a talk with
Sophia. The look she gave him told him this wasn't a suggestion, this was
a command. House pretended to go to the cafeteria but he doubled back and
watched through the glass walls.

Caitria walked into the office adjacent to House's where the Team was
sitting. 

"Chase, Cameron, Foreman, please leave, I need to have a heart to heart
with Sophia." They all looked at each other and got up and left. They
didn't go far, they wanted to watch. They ran into House trying to hide
behind a pillar.

"Is she talking to her about the lipstick?" Chase asked House.

"No, she wants to know if Sophia has a cup of sugar she can borrow." House
rolled his eyes.

"Poor Sophia." Foreman said.

"What do you mean? Sophia's taller and bigger than Caitria?" Cameron said.

The men laughed.

Caitria went over to Sophia who was sitting in a rolling chair and she
rolled the chair with Sophia in it to the middle of the room. 

"What are you doing?" Sophia asked. She started to get up and Caitria
pushed the chair into the back of her knees and she fell back into the
chair again. Then she rolled the back off the chair up to the back of a
table. Caitria bent down with her hand on each side of the top of the
chair, pinning Sophia to the chair. Sophia was about eight inches from
Caitria's face.

"Sophia, you're Italian, you're from New York and you think you can get
away with anything. Let me tell you what happens to people who mess with
Irish women."

"Oh, go F#ck yourself...you may have everyone else believing you're some
kind of Irish mobster, but I'm not fooled. I'm not afraid of you."

"Ok, then before you leave just listen to what I have to say. You have two
younger brothers and an older sister. Your mother is a diabetic who takes
insulin every day. Your day is a truck driver in the teamsters. You've had
a lot of boyfriends, including one that lasted a year, Paul, until he left
you when he found out you were screwing his best friend. You've had at
least one abortion an you slept with your anatomy professor when you found
out you were getting a D in his class. You also gave your attending at St.
Mary's in New York genital warts. Do I have your attention?"

She was still and quiet.

"Now I obtained that information with just three phone calls. So if you
don't believe in the Irish mob, I understand...call it the Irish network,
the Irish friends and family, the Irish grapevine. Now the next three
phone calls I make could have a much bigger affect on you...so I suggest
you behave and if you talk to my husband you will refer to him as Dr.
House...not Greg...not even House. You will not look him in the eye when
you talk or I may just have to interpret that as flirting. And one more
thing, besides screwing with your future, I'll personally make sure that
if you go near my husband then the next time you look in the mirror you'll
wish Nip Tuck wasn't just a fictional show. Are we understanding each
other?"

She shook her head yes.

"Oh, Sophia, you aren't shaking your head big enough for our audience to
see it...now give me a big yes."

Sophia shook her head violently up and down in an exaggerated yes. 

"I'm glad we had this little talk. Now you can kiss my wedding ring." She
held out her hand and Sophia kissed her ring finger.

There was a big crowd outside the office and at this point they all
started laughing. Caitria walked out of the office and down the hall. The
whole hospital recounted what they could see through the window. Everyone,
especially House, wished they knew what Caitria said but he didn't dare
ask her. It was better to leave that horse dead. *** Two weeks later
Charles Fox died. Caitria had to ask Cuddy for some time off. She agreed
to work Christmas and New Year's eve and day if she could get a week off.
House, who had tenure and a month off each year, told Caitria that he
wanted to go too. The reality is that he just wanted to run interference
and keep everyone from convincing Caitria to stay in San Diego.

The Family was in chaos and Patrick Fitzgerald was waiting for Caitria to
arrive to put her stamp of approval on his succession. When she arrived on
Thursday, John was waiting for her and Greg at Lindburgh International
Airport. They drove back to the compound and their things were taken to a
guest room. There was a lot of crying and drinking. The wake was going to
be Saturday night. 

Thursday night Greg called his parents and asked if they were going to be
available Friday evening, he was in town. They were both excited to have
him come see them. House then told Caitria that he was going to go see his
parents Friday night and that he would like for her to come and meet his
parents. Caitria had so much to do with the Family that she almost backed
out. But then she realized that House's parents were her family too and
deserved the respect of a visit. 

Friday evening Caitria dressed in black slacks and a lime green sweater.
House and Caitria drove up to Oceanside, near Camp Pendleton Marine Corps
Base. They arrived at a very pleasant looking tract home in an older
neighborhood. Caitria had picked up a bouquet of flowers for her
mother-in-law. They rang the doorbell and a pleasant looking woman in her
late sixties answered the door.

"Greg." She reached up and gave him a kiss. House's father walked up
behind his mother. 

"Who's this?" House's dad reached out with his hand to shake Caitria's
hand.

"This is my wife, Caitria Bronagh. Caitria, this is my father, John and
mother, Blythe."

"They were in shock."

Caitria turned to Greg, "You never told them that we were married?"

"I just forgot with everything that was happening."

"I'm sorry Blythe, I would have called if I had known."

"Please come in and tell us about yourself."

For the next two hours Caitria, Blythe and John go to know each other.
Caitria got to see photos of House growing up all over the world. There
were rarely photos of House with any friends until he was older. Blythe
gave her a few of the photos and Caitria thanked her. 

When they were leaving Blythe looked sad and even House's father seemed to
be subdued. They obviously wanted to see more of House than they did.
"Well now that I have so many connections to San Diego, I'm sure we'll be
coming this way fairly often." Caitria smiled. That seemed to cheer them
up.

When they got into the car Caitria asked House, "Can you ever forgive your
Dad for his past digressions?"

"Can you forgive your mother?"

"You have me there. I won't say anymore."

"You were great with them. I think that they really like you." "Did they
like Stacy?"

"Yes, but they never sat her down and showed her my baby pictures."

The wake was going to be held at the Imperial House where the Council met.
The Mortuary delivered Charles's body to the room of the wake. The casket
was open. A jug of Irish whiskey was placed at the head of the casket. A
bottle of porter was placed at the bottom of the casket. Charles looked
tired...even dead he looked tired.

The families arrived. Approximately 400 people showed up for the wake. No
children were allowed and it was an open bar. House was fascinated by the
entire event. John grabbed him and started introducing him around. An hour
later Caitria walked into the room with Patrick. Everyone went quiet.

"Good evening everyone. I just met with Patrick and the heads of the
branches. It has been decided that Patrick will be appointed as President
of the Council. I'm sure we are all relieved to have such a talented and
thoughtful person taking Charles's position. Ladies and Gentlemen, Patrick
Fitzgerald."

Patrick spoke about his background, his love of Ireland and the Irish and
his devotion to the Family and all of the members of the Family. He then
told everyone that he considered his position temporary and that it would
always be open if Caitria decided to come home and take up the mantle.
There was a huge round of applause for this and some whooping. This made
House uneasy.

The rest of the evening was an emotional catharsis. Everyone had a story
about Charles, there was crying, fighting, moaning, toasts and songs.
Caitria was getting drunk with the rest of the chiefs. Greg was enjoying
it all. 

Half way through the night they all started asking Caitria to sing. Greg
was amused, he wondered if Caitria could sing?

She got up in front of the crowd and was handed a violin. Caragh Thompson
played the piano. They started the introduction and then Caitria began to
sing.

Come all ye young rebels, and list while I sing, For the love of one's
country is a terrible thing. It banishes fear with the speed of a flame,
And it makes us all part of the patriot game. 

My name is O'Hanlon, and I've just turned sixteen. My home is in Monaghan,
and where I was weaned I learned all my life cruel England's to blame, So
now I am part of the patriot game. 

This Ireland of ours has too long been half free. Six counties lie under
John Bull's tyranny. But still De Valera is greatly to blame For shirking
his part in the Patriot game. 

They told me how Connolly was shot in his chair, His wounds from the
fighting all bloody and bare. His fine body twisted, all battered and lame
They soon made me part of the patriot game. 

It's nearly two years since I wandered away With the local battalion of
the bold IRA, For I read of our heroes, and wanted the same To play out my
part in the patriot game. 

And now as I lie here, my body all holes I think of those traitors who
bargained in souls And I wish that my rifle had given the same To those
Quislings who sold out the patriot game.

House was amazed. Caitria had a very strong and clear soprano voice and
she sang the song with conviction. There were lots of tears in the room
and everyone had gone silent. Then there was a big cheer, "Salainte" and
every one drank and went back to their discussions.

The funeral mass was long and tedious and House almost fell asleep.
Afterwards they all traveled to Greenvalley Cemetery where he was buried
wit 600 of his closest friends on hand. *** For the next few days Caitria
and the other heads all met to smooth out some details on some problems
which had come up. House spent his time playing around San Diego and
taking his parents for lunch a couple of times.

Caitria was tired and wanted to get back to New Jersey just to get rested.
She had one last meeting, it was with what was left of the Kirbey family.
It was to be held at a public place so they had chosen an outside caf, in
Little Italy. John and Caitria arrived and parked the car. Caitria was
talking to John about the Charger's chances to go to the Superbowl when
John heard the sound. It was a familiar crack, the report of a rifle.

"Caitria, get down." He yelled to her on the other side of the car. But it
was too late. He didn't hear anything from her side of the car. He didn't
know where the sound was coming from. He looked up just in time to see a
glint of metal leave the top of the autobody roof kittycorner from them.
He climbed around the front of the car so that he couldn't be hit from the
autobody shop, just in case the guy decided to come back. The blood was
pouring out of Caitria and onto the asphalt in a dark pool. A reporter at
the San Diego Reader, located 40 feet from where Caitria was laying,
rushed out and photographed the scene and Caitria. John yelled at him to
stop or he'd break his neck. The guy moved back and kept out of John's
view.

"Christ." John crossed himself and then dialed 911. He could see she was
still breathing but it was labored. He could see a single hole through her
shirt. He turned her over and saw a much larger exit wound. She was making
gurgling sounds and she opened up her eyes. She looked at John, her eyes
big with fear. She couldn't talk. She closed her eyes.

"Caitria, I don't know what to do for you...Damn it." He tried putting his
hand on the exit wound to keep pressure but the blood just kept coming
out. The paramedics arrived and she was loaded into the ambulance. The
police gave John a ride to the hospital. Caitria was rushed into surgery.
A few minutes after the surgery started a nurse came out to where John was
giving the police a statement.

"Are you her husband?" The nurse asked John.

"No, her brother." It was easier to lie.

"Do you know if she is allergic to any medication?"

John knew this because he, Kieran and Caitria had done everything together
since they were kids. "Yes, she's allergic to Ibuprofen."

"Is she pregnant?"

"I don't know, but she's Irish, Catholic and married. You do the math."

The nurse nodded. It meant that they needed to assume she was pregnant
until they could get results back from a test."

"How is she?" John asked.

"We just got her into surgery...she's lost a lot of blood, a lot. We're
doing our best. We're trying to control the bleeding now. I have to get
back in there. Who's her husband and where is he?"

"Dr. Gregory House and I just left him a voice mail on his phone."

"Dr. Gregory House? Thee Gregory House?"

"I don't know what you mean...but they both work in Princeton. Caitria is
a surgeon."

The nurse scrubbed again and as she scrubbed she told the surgeon through
the intercom, "She's allergic to ibuprofen, she may be pregnant and her
husband is Dr. Gregory House."

The surgeon looked up at the nurse on the other side of the glass, then he
looked across at the assisting surgeon. "Sh!t."

The bullet had nicked the main pulmonary artery, making it difficult for
her to breathe. The assisting surgeon told him, "I worked with Caitria at
Sharp's. She's a first class surgeon and a really nice person."

"Yeah, I remember her...didn't she enter the witness protection program?
Looks like it didn't work."

Greg came out of the movie and turned his phone back on...a voice message
came up. He dialed the voice mail and John, in a very agitated voice, had
left a nervous message.

"Greg, Caitria's been shot, we're at Mercy Hospital and she's in surgery
right now. I'm pretty sure it was the Kirbeys. I guess as long as Charles
was around they behaved...she lost a lot of blood. I've got to go."

House didn't know where Mercy was. He was downtown at Horton Plaza because
he was going to meet up with Caitria and have dinner downtown after her
meeting. He started asking the shoppers going to their cars. Finally one
guy could see how frantic and distressed House was and offered to let him
follow him over to the hospital which was uptown. It was about ten minutes
from downtown. 

House entered the surgical wing, greeted John briefly and told the charge
nurse he wanted to observe the surgery, he was a doctor and the patient's
husband. She escorted him to the observatory and he looked down and saw
blood everywhere. They were just changing out an empty unit of blood for
another and he could see another empty in the trash. She was on her third
unit, that wasn't good.

House was detached as he watched the surgery. The surgeon wasn't that
great, he didn't have the grace and precise cuts that Caitria had. In
Greg's mind all he saw was a small woman's body turned over so that they
could work through the larger exit wound, blood soaking through everything
and two men desperately trying to dig into her chest and back to find all
of the bleeders.

"Christ, I patch one and another one pops up. That bullet must have
imploded inside of her. She's a F#cking mess in there." The other surgeon
gave him a look and nodded to the observatory. The surgeon looked up to
see a very somber Gregory House staring at him. He mumbled under his
breath, "Just what I need, that asshole looking over my shoulders." 

House heard it over the intercom but didn't react. He was used to all
kinds of pejoratives being aimed at him. He was watching as the monitor
showed her blood pressure dropping, her oxygen levels at 90 and her heart
rate at 60. 

"House, is your wife pregnant? I want to get a full set of x-rays to see
if there are any other fragments." The surgeon looked up as he asked him.

House didn't know. He felt a little embarrassed that he couldn't answer
the question. He pushed the intercom button, "I don't know but she wasn't
on birth control and we have sex...a lot." *** "Great. When will that test
be back?" The surgeon asked the nurse.

"They said less than an hour." The nurse answered.

That's when it hit Greg that this wasn't just a body down there. It was
his wife, his wife's blood, his wife's labored breathing. He felt faint
and had to sit down. He was helpless, there was nothing he could do for
her. Tears started falling down his cheeks. He wiped them away quickly. He
stood back up to get a better view.

"Ok, I think I got the last bleeder." 

The nurse answered the phone and nodded to the surgeon. "Well,
congratulations House, she's pregnant."

Greg sat down again. He couldn't even wrap his mind around being a father
right now. All he wanted was that Caitria come out of this, hopefully with
all her brain cells in tact.

The surgeon looked up at the gallery. "I would have like to have gotten a
full set but I'm just going to take two x-rays of her chest area. We'll
protect the abdomen the best we can, but I need to know if I got all of
the bullet out before I close her up."

House nodded yes. They brought over the portable x-ray machine and a lead
blanket which they placed on her lower back. A few minutes later they had
the films. 

"It looks like we got it all." He said to House. House pressed the button.
"Thank you." He left the observatory and went out to the waiting room. The
entire waiting room, halls and patio were filled with Irish, FBI agents,
police and press.

House looked at John and Cornelius. "She's out of surgery. She needed four
units of blood altogether and she'll probably need more if you can ask
everyone here to donate. The bullet fragmented inside of her so she won't
be out of danger for awhile. Time will tell if any other bleeders appear
or she gets an infection." The Irish all shook their heads silently and
somberly, "Oh, and she's pregnant."

There were lots of smiles and soft congratulations muttered as the word
spread down the corridor and out to the patio. Cornelius came up and
hugged House who stood paralyzed at this show of affection.
"Congratulations son. Now when are you two going to really get married?"

"Caitria calls the shots where that's concerned. I don't know, but I bet
soon."

"Great." Con said as he patted House on the back.

There were lots of whispers between the chiefs of the various branches.
There was no getting around it, the Kirbeys had orchestrated the shooting.
The chiefs found it amusing that three of the Kirbeys who had defected
after Liam's death all came forward and ratted on Joseph Kirbey as being
the one who arranged the hit. The surprising factor had been that the
hitman wasn't Irish. It had been a Russian. 

The FBI had also pegged the Kirbey family as the obvious choice. They
incorrectly thought that the other Irish branches would "declare war" on
the Kirbeys. But that wasn't what was done in the Irish Family. Only those
responsible for the offense would be punished. The FBI offered protection
to any of the Kirbeys from the rest of the Families provided that they
roll over on the rest of the Family. The Kirbeys knew that they didn't
need protection from the other Irish branches. They also knew that Joseph
wasn't long for this earth. Several of them agreed to roll, but just on
Joseph. The FBI accepted this as a substitute and once again another
Kirbey was in jail awaiting arraignment for conspiracy to commit murder,
attempted murder, mayhem and battery of Caitria Bronagh.

House called Cuddy and told her what had happened, but Cuddy had already
seen it on television. Some of the reporter's still photos were
circulating on television, at least the ones taken from a discreet
distance. The more lurid ones were posted on various blogs and websites
easily accessed through Google. Wilson had come into her office and the
two of them were looking at the more graphic photos. 

"That's a lot of blood. They must have used a pretty large caliber bullet.
They really wanted her dead." Wilson commented.

"I'm going to have to let her go, fire her. There's no way the Board will
take her back. Not if there are still people trying to kill her. She's a
walking liability. House must be worried about her. I got the feeling
there was something he wasn't telling me." Lisa commented.

"That's interesting." Wilson remarked.

"Well, if she can't be a surgeon here in New Jersey, we may be saying
goodbye to House too. She'll probably start up her private practice in San
Diego again."

"Or, she may take a different position altogether." Wilson said.

"You don't believe that she belongs to some Irish mafia, do you?"

Wilson raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders and then left the
office.

Caitria opened her eyes at 2:34 a.m. and looked around the next night. She
didn't have the strength to raise her head. Caitria had gone through a
second surgery, but one that wasn't as invasive. House had called in the
best plastic surgeon from the prestigious Thornton hospital to come back
and redo the stitching of the entrance and exit wound to minimize the
scaring. The surgeon who had done the original surgery wasn't that skilled
at his job and House knew that the best time to insure proper healing and
the least scaring is from the very start.

Caitria's bed was slightly elevated and she could see House in a chair
that made into a bed. He was snoring. She looked around and realized that
she had been shot and it must have been serious because they had a unit of
blood going into her. That meant that she needed blood during the surgery
and afterwards. She tried to move a little to get a better view of the
monitors but the pain seared through her. She let out a cry of pain which
woke the snoring House.

House rubbed his face and shook his head to wake up. He looked over at
Caitria, stood up and, without his cane, limped over to her bed. He smiled
down at her and she tried to smile back.

"It's good to see those eyes again." He said, petting her hair. "You've
been touch and go for the last 36 hours." 

"Pain, lots of pain." She managed to say.

"You're on minimal morphine because you're pregnant. They're trying you at
the lowest dose possible. If you can tolerate the pain then it will stay
at this level. If you can't then we can get them to up the dose."

"Pregnant?"

"You know, semen, sperm, egg, fertilization, gamete, zygote..."

She nodded yes with a smirk that said stop being facetious. She had a tear
coming down her cheek.

"Caitria, are you in pain, should I have them up the dose?"

"No..." She was breathing hard, "Just happy."

He smiled, he had thought the tears were from pain and instead they were
from being pregnant..he just couldn't figure women out."

"How long?"

"You're going to have to tell us, when was your last period?" She shrugged
her shoulders. Her mind felt like a huge cotton wad. She tried to think.

She was having a hard time talking through the pain, "Just spotted last
month...may have been pregnant then. Last real period was October 14th or
thereabouts."

"If that's the case then you should be due..." He looked up at the ceiling
as he calculated, "sometime at the end of July. But honey, you've had a
huge trauma, you might lose the baby...you've had five units of blood,
broad spectrum antibiotics and let's not forget the pain. Pain itself can
cause a miscarriage."

"We need to...get married." she grimaced in pain.

He looked at the ceiling again but this time in frustration, "We are
married...but you aren't the first to ask me when we are going to get
married, Cornelius makes it his duty to ask me every couple of hours. My
parents were here earlier, they left you some flowers." 

"I'm tired...need to sleep."

"Ok honey, I'll let you." He kissed her gently on the lips, tucked her in
and went back to his chair-bed. *** the morning John brought House a cup
of coffee and a donut. House scarfed both down. The nurses woke Caitria to
take her vitals and to see if they could rotate her so that she wouldn't
get ulcers. They brought her a tray of food and she ate a small portion of
it.

"You need to get food down you, you're in the middle of an important
growth spurt for the baby." House told her. 

She chuckled, "Yes Mom."

Caitria was released from the hospital one week later and she went home to
the compound to recuperate. House had to fly back to Princeton, he had two
patients and the Team was floundering. Lisa called Caitria to find out how
she was and Caitria was the one who brought up her position.

"Lisa, I'm not going to put you in the embarrassing position of having to
tell me that the Board would prefer that the walking target not work at
their hospital. Would the Board be willing to grant me privileges? That
way I can open my own practice."

"Caitria, I'm sure they would be happy to grant you privileges and thanks
for understanding. We were scheduled to discuss you at the next meeting."

"Well, I'm very grateful for everything you've done so far. But with the
baby coming I will probably cut back work for awhile anyway."

"Baby? You're pregnant?"

"I thought House told you?"

"No, he didn't, well congratulations. When are you coming back to
Princeton?"

"Not for awhile. I'm going to be planning our wedding."

"Your wedding? I thought you were already married?"

"Ah, you and Greg...I'm Catholic, until you've had the church service, you
haven't been married."

"Oh, I didn't know that. So will we be getting invitations?"

"Of course!"

Greg flew out a few days for Christmas. John and Caitria picked him up at
the airport. He wasn't happy and apparently things didn't go well in New
Jersey getting on the plane. He must have said something to security
because he received a full body search. John and Caitria tried not to
laugh but whenever House wasn't looking they busted up with each other.

While they waited for his luggage, House held Caitria. He had to admit
that it was good to hold and smell her and hear her laughter. John was
busting House's chops asking if they found anything when they told him
bend over...like a Gerbil?

Caitria had moved out of the compound and in with John at his two bedroom
condominium. She had asked House's approval first so just in case he felt
uncomfortable with her staying with a single guy. When she was at the
compound everyone who showed up had to stop in and see her. She was
getting no rest. NO ONE showed up at John's because he was almost always
at the compound. Caitria had gotten a lot of rest since moving.

John's condo was downtown near the water. It had a spectacular view of the
harbor, the bridge and Coronado. The apartment was well decorated, not too
masculine but absolutely not feminine. Caitria had insisted on a Christmas
tree and John had obliged. 

"I have to run out to the compound we're having problems with Patrick. I
don't know Caitria, I think Patrick is in over his head, he just doesn't
have the same pull that you do. We're trying to figure out who is going to
go after the Eastlake construction contracts. He keeps changing his mind.
I'm told him to run it by you, he'll listen to you.

He left and House sat down in the living room chair. He pulled Caitria
into his lap and gave her a deep kiss. "I was bored without you around.
When do you think you will be coming home?"

"After our wedding."

"When's our wedding?"

"March 17th"

"We're getting married on St. Patrick's Day?"

"I figure you will always remember your Anniversary."

"Are you sure?"

"I ordered the invitations, I have booked the reception room at the
Marriott and we're going to get married at Mission Basilica San Diego de
Alcala. Monsignor Duncanson is going to preside. We'll be sending out 200
invitations for the wedding, 400 for the reception. I went up and saw your
Mom and she gave me a list of family and friends but I still need your
list. I called Wilson and told him that I had booked him a room at the
Marriott from Wednesday night through Sunday. I did the same for Lisa.
Chase and Cameron indicated that they will be coming, Foreman has another
wedding that he's is one of the Groomsmen."

"I don't have to do any of this do I?"

"You seem to like China Patterns...so we will be picking one out."

"You can pick it out, I could care less."

"Greg, I'm doing everything, this is the least you can do."

"I'll do it if you get naked and let me have my way with you."

She grabbed his hand and took him into the bedroom. She started
undressing. When she took off her top, he undid her bra and then looked at
her back and the wound. It was a little red, but otherwise it was healing
well. He turned her around, smiled at the larger even rounder breasts and
looked at the entrance wound. It was healing very well, and would probably
not show. He kissed the wound. She reached up and they kissed. 

"I missed this too." He said. 

They made love and stayed in bed for most of the day, only getting up to
grab some snacks. House told her the latest gossip from the hospital, she
brought him up to date on everything going on in San Diego. She also told
him that she was enjoying her time with his parents, both of them.

They did find a pattern that they both liked, Haviland & Parlon,
"Cerisiers de Monet." They had started a registry at Macy's, Bed Bath &
Beyond and Target. House was finding all of her excitement rather
endearing. He didn't know that anyone could get excited over the
differences in Egyptian Cotton or Pima Cotton. He had discovered that if
he found a place to sit in the store, Caitria would bring the items she
wanted him to chose from to him. He also had to listen to her explain the
pros and cons of plasma over LCD televisions. He didn't know why they put
an LCD television on the registry, who was going to give them one? He was
wrong, they were given two. When he saw an everyday flatware pattern he
liked she refused to get it because the stainless steel didn't have enough
nickle content and would tarnish. He threw up his hands in frustration.

"Yeah, well you don't have to clean it. Suck it up."

He thought she looked happier than she had in a long time and that worried
him. Was it because she was back in San Diego? Away from him? Planning a
wedding? Or pregnant? 

"Caitria, You look great, is it because you don't have to live with me?"
He said it half joking, half serious.

She knew from the tone of his voice that he was feeling a little
vulnerable, "Oh Gregoroff, I have missed you so much. Come on, you know
you are an @ss. But you're also loveable in the same way a porcupine is
cute. I think I need my head examined but I don't want to be without you.
I'm doing well because this wedding is my commitment to you, our little
family and our life." She gave him a hug. 

He didn't want to admit it but she had said just the right thing. "Can I
put that on a t-shirt?"

"You can have it tattooed on your @ss as far as I'm concerned."

House was tired of shopping and refused to continue the next day. Instead,
he recruited his mother to go with Caitria and he stayed home to read a
book and watch television. John got up around noon and suggested they go
shopping. 

"Are you joking, I just spent a whole day picking out the right toilet
scrubber, dishtowels and bed ruffle."

"Ah, but did you get any Christmas gifts?"

"Gifts? I have a gift that I brought." House said.

"I bet it was jewelry." John said with a frown.

"Ok, I'll bite, how did you know?"

"Because Caitria told me the other day when she was wrapping your NUMEROUS
GIFTS, that you would show up with one gift, jewelry, because it would be
easy to pack."

House said nothing.

"So, do you want to go shopping?"

"I'll put some lipstick on and grab my purse." House said.

John took House to Horton Plaza since it was so convenient. House was so
"not into this." But John was having fun buying gifts for his family,
friends and new girlfriend. 

"I have to admit, the Irish just love Christmas. We tend to go overboard."

House could tell, they had to make several trips back to the car to
relieve themselves of all the packages. John convinced House to buy
Caitria a pashmina, an IPOD with Boseman speakers, noise cancelling
headphones, a cashmere sweater, a leather jacket, a Dooney Bourke purse,
Michael Jacobs perfume and most important, a maternity dress. House
thought he was done but then discovered he needed some smaller items to
fill a Christmas Stocking. 

"You have got to be joking."

"Your stocking, which Caitria had made for you, has Greg embroidered at
the top. Caitria's stocking is from her childhood, it has her name in
sequins. You need some nice things and some frivolous things for the
stocking. We need to get some See's suckers, maybe some socks, some fancy
tea...you know small but fun. How big is this jewelry box that you brought
with you?"

"It's a dinner ring, Tanzanite with diamonds"

"Wow! You should put that in the stocking. You always have to have a big
item in the stocking and that's perfect."

"Do I have to do this every Christmas?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

"I think I'm going to be sick."

When John and House got back to the apartment, John gave him Caitria's
stocking. They sat down and wrapped gifts and talked about music, rock
stars and the Sopranos. House was very interested in his take on the
Sopranos. House stuffed the stocking and John put all the packages and the
stocking in his bedroom closet. 

"If she has numerous gifts for me, where are they?"

"If you check under the bed, in the back of the closet and in some of the
kitchen cupboards, you'll find them. She'll bring the bigger ones over and
keep them in her trunk on Christmas Eve."

"You guys have this down to a science."

"Oh wait until the baby comes...Christmas takes on epic proportions then."

House had avoided Christmas like the plague. He hated the idea that he was
expected to give gifts. But then House hated any social event that forced
him to do anything. He was surprised with how comfortable John was with
the whole Christmas thing. He seemed to really enjoy it.

"You're so girlie when it comes to Christmas...where did you get this?"

"Don't let my family hear you say that. When it comes to the Irish
community, we're all a little girlie around Christmas. You wait."

Caitria came bouncing in happy and excited. "We found the most beautiful
bedspread and sheet set at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Your mother is a hoot. I
thought your father was funny, but she had so many funny stories about
you, I've been laughing all day. Oh, I invited them to the compound for
Christmas. I also invited them to the Del on Christmas eve."

"You invited my parents to the Irish mob's Christmas party? Oh, this is
going to be interesting."

"They don't know that we are part of a FAMILY not a MOB."

On Christmas Eve John, Theresa (O'Connell), Caitria and House drove over
to Coronado to the Hotel del Coronado. Every year there was a buffet in
the Crown Room for a mere $80 each. Thirty Kellys showed up along with
Caitria, House and his parents who arrived early to take a walk around the
"Del." 

The Crown room was beautiful, a huge cavern of a room with a rich paneled
ceiling and large crown fixtures installed by Thomas Edison. The buffet
had several tables, one consisting of lobster dishes, another sea food,
still another a high end meat and poultry table, and to top it off, a
desert table that would tempt an anorexic. 

Blythe House couldn't contain her enthusiasm, "We came down here once on
Christmas Eve and just looked through the window. We thought it was too
extravagant for just the two of us. But this is nice, being here with my
son and daughter-in-law and my future grandbaby. Thanks for bringing us."

"Well, we spend every Christmas Eve here." It was then that Caitria
realized that this would probably be her last Christmas with her family in
San Diego. It made her a little sad.

The evening was more fun than House expected. In fact, it was incredibly
entertaining. The Irish guys were irreverent and the teasing between all
of them reached a level of hilarity. House thought he could take lessons
from them on how to dish out insults. Even the Houses were laughing. 

Afterwards, House and Caitria gave Blythe and John House a hug and said
that they would see them at the compound tomorrow. They all drove home to
their respective homes.

House and Caitria were in bed and laughing about the night's events. There
was a moment of silence and House realized he was taking Caitria away from
all of this, from her family, her traditions, her friends. Caitria didn't
realize that House was weighing all of this in his head. She was still on
a high. She reached down and slipped her hand down his boxers. She
immediately had his attention.

House closed his eyes, "Now that's a Christmas present." She pulled down
his boxers and pulled up her nightgown, and rolled on top of him. As she
sat up she took off her nightgown and smiled at him. Her hips were rounder
too. It was interesting, watching a woman become a mother. Her body seem
to be transforming every minute.

Sometime during the night, Caitria put her gifts under the tree. She
wasn't surprised that there was one small box with her name on it with the
words, "Love, Greg." This charade was all John's idea...put out the bait
and draw her in..she would think House had only gotten her the one gift.
After Caitria was asleep John put out the gifts and the stocking fillers
that House had bought.

In the morning Caitria woke House. "Come on sleepy head, it's
Christmas!!!"

"Oh God, I can't handle that "princess in a fairytale voice" this early in
the morning."

"You're not going to put a damper on me..." She started tickling House.

"No...no, no. Ok, I'm up, I'm up."

House picked up his boxers and put on his jeans and a t-shirt. Caitria put
on panties, jeans and a t-shirt and started smiling from ear to ear. They
opened the door to go out to the living room John was already out in the
living room eating a bowl of cereal.

"My God John, you sure bought Theresa a lot of stuff." Caitria saw all the
presents under the tree and assumed they were John's.

"My gifts to Theresa are at her house under her tree, I'm just about ready
to go over there."

When Caitria heard that, she ran over to the tree, looked at the names on
the gift and screamed! "Oh my God! Greg, I don't believe it."

She ran over and hugged him. "Sit down, I'll play Santa."

"What?"

John said, "The person who plays Santa hands out the gifts for people to
open...that way everyone opens a gift in turn so that we can all ooooh and
ahhhhh." 

Over the next half an hour they opened their gifts. Caitria was impressed
with the thoughtfulness of the gifts. They got to their stockings. House's
was filled with candy, See's suckers, nuts and a Mont Blanc pen.

When Caitria opened the Tanzanite ring she screamed with happiness. "This
is gorgeous."

"I'm glad that the gifts make you happy."

"It's not the gifts themselves, it's that you got in the spirit and spent
time thinking of my happiness. It's so unHouse-like. I know this was
John's idea, but the fact that you went along with it, especially after I
dragged you shopping just a few days ago. I love you so much." She walked
over to him and kissed him.

They played with their gifts for awhile and then cleaned up to go to the
compound. When they arrived, House's parents were already there, always
being early was a product of being military. The place was hopping with
children, adults, two Christmas trees and Christmas music. Blythe and
Caitria went into the kitchen to perform some task to help put the meal on
the table. The men wandered into the patio room with the full length bar.
John welcomed them in and introduced them.

After dinner, House was surprised to discover that the men did the dishes
and cleaned the kitchen. He was one of the dish dryers. The older men were
excused and got to watch the bowl games. House wasn't upset with the
tasks, the men were once again taking the Mickey out of each other,
providing entertainment, and then they turned on House.

"Yeah, old Dr. Feelgood over here, with the sausage for a leg. How did you
get Caitria pregnant? Rub two canes together?" Colin asked.

House chuckled. "No, I laid back and thought of your wife."

"Ooooooo, zing." John said.

The teasing went on and on. House had been laughing so hard that his side
ached. House looked out in the family room as Caitria and his mother were
laughing about something. House was relieved that they had such a good
relationship. Stacy and his Mom were nice to each other, but there was no
real connection. 

Caitria had insisted that they get his parents separate gifts. They got
his Dad a collection of war movies like,"When We Were Soldiers," "Band of
Brothers," "Saving Private Ryan," and "Flags of Our Fathers." They also
got him a nice leather jacket. They gave his mother a certificate to a spa
and a new Gucci purse. They were both happy with their gifts. The Houses
gave their son and daughter-in-law a gift certificate for an on-line baby
store. Caitria had told them that she was worried about getting all the
stuff back to Princeton. The online certificate allowed House and Caitria
to ship the items directly to Princeton.

House left the next day and Caitria was moping. John told her to stop
moping and get on with the wedding plans. House flew back out in February
for a few days. He got off the plane and noticed that she had developed a
pooch. Most people wouldn't know she was pregnant unless they had see how
thin and shapely she was before. Now she had no waist.

House loved talking to the fetus growing inside Caitria, "Hey buddy, enjoy
it in there while you can, it's a cold cruel world out here and you won't
be hooked up to a constant snack bar. Don't worry, I've signed you up for
a newspaper route so that you can support your old Dad." The night before
he left to go back to Princeton he fell asleep with his head on her
stomach. 

On March 14th House and Wilson arrived in San Diego for the wedding. The
rehearsal dinner was fun with lots of lewd and crude jokes about House and
Caitria. Caitria had to have her wedding dress altered to accommodate her
enlarged breasts. House and Wilson had fun picking up their tuxes, they
both got top hats but Caitria nixed them.

The next day the Mission was packed with guests. The Houses had never been
through a Catholic Mass before and thought it was a little too long, but
interesting. Caitria was wearing an empire waist and so her pregnancy
wasn't that obvious. When House saw Caitria coming down the aisle on
Cornelius's arm he had to smile. She was more than beautiful, she was
ethereal, gliding and shining all the way down to him. 

The ceremony was long and House was not enjoying all the kneeling and
standing. He was glad when it was over. The reception was huge and it took
more than an hour for everyone to get through the reception line. When he
finally got to sit, it felt good. John had poured him a good stiff whiskey
and House was ready for it. Wilson was amazed at the number of people who
had shown up for their wedding. Everyone seemed genuinely pleased and
happy for the couple. Wilson wondered whether it was the constant sunny
weather but these Californians seemed to be incredibly optimistic,
peppy,and fun.

Chase, Cuddy and Cameron were taken in tow by two of the Kelly clan and
introduced around. House watched them as they were hugged, kissed and
pawed by just about everyone. The toast by Wilson was funny but tasteful.
The first dance was a little awkward but House gave it the good old
college try. The band then played Caleigh music. A Caleigh is the British
Isle's version of a square dance, usually danced in a circle. Wilson and
Caitria danced several Caleigh dances together. The reception was a
winner. Cuddy and Cameron were very popular and Cuddy found herself
flirting heavily with one of the McMurphy clan who was smitten by her blue
eyes and low cut dress.

The next day House and Caitria went out to the compound to open their
gifts which numbered over 500. Similar gifts were put in a pile and
several of the family offered to take some of the duplicates back. It was
overwhelming and House was getting bored. His mother had come down to
watch and was impressed with all the gifts.

"Your wife is incredibly popular." she said as she kissed her son on the
cheek.

"Tell me about it."

At the end of the week all the gifts had been packed up and shipped back
to Princeton. The thank you cards had been sent and Caitria was having a
hard time saying goodbye. At the airport a dozen people had come to see
them off, including the Houses. Caitria was very emotional and House was
hugging her as they got on the plane. When they arrived in Princeton it
was raining. House drove them home from Trenton and he actually did pick
her up and carry her over the threshold. He was a little unstable but
still romantic.

Caitria had her sonogram. When she and House were asked if they wanted to
know the sex she looked at House. She told the technician, "I think we can
both see it's a boy." The technician shook her head yes.

When they left the clinic they smiled at each other. The baby looked
healthy and she was feeling good. House was finally starting to realize he
was going to be a Dad.

"Are you ok with a boy?" He asked.

"Of course. As long as he has your blue eyes and my temperament." 

The delivery wasn't as successful as hoped. The baby was healthy but there
was some problems with the placenta separating. The obstetrician warned
them that Caitria should probably not get pregnant again. She was
devastated but House was secretly happy. They discussed birth control and
it was decided that House would have a vasectomy since he wasn't Catholic.
The day he got snipped he went home and kept ice on his privates for
several days. Caitria had her hands filled with the baby and the big baby.

Caitria and Michael Gregory House-Bronagh were a handful for House. They
were a constant source of entertainment and consternation for House. He
loved them both but never once thought he really understood either of
them. His son was too energetic for him to keep up with at times and he
was grateful that Caitria was a good mother. Caitria began her own
practice about six months after Mikey's birth. House surprised Caitria on
her 38th birthday with the deed to a condominium on the beach in San
Diego. She was so blown away by his thoughtfulness that she broke down and
cried. Mikey cried too.

Caitria frequently wanted to knock some sense into her husband but
realized that this wouldn't actually work. He was, after all, Gregory
House. The marriage wasn't perfect but occasionally, like on her birthday,
he would do something that made up for all the crap she put up with. And
she had to admit, he had given her the perfect child. Mikey was smart,
funny and just a little different than the other kids. He would frequently
sit back and watch before engaging with others, something that Greg's
mother said was pure Greg.

Mikey loved his Dad who would make funny faces and noises on his belly.
His mom was cool but she was the one who usually disciplined him. Dad
couldn't discipline his son because he was usually laughing too hard. He
found his son's bad behavior entertaining. There were days that Dad wasn't
so fun, but Mikey learned to go bother his mother on those days. In
general, life around the House household was good, no, it was great. The
End

  
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Legal Disclaimer: The authors published here make no claims on the
ownership of Dr. Gregory House and the other fictional residents of
Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Like the television show House
(and quite possibly Dr. Wilson's pocket protector), they are the property
of NBC/Universal, David Shore and undoubtedly other individuals of whom I
am only peripherally aware. The fan fiction authors published here receive
no monetary benefit from their work and intend no copyright infringement
nor slight to the actual owners. We love the characters and we love the
show, otherwise we wouldn't be here.