I was going to hold off on writing this one, but I just couldn't. As mentioned in the summary, this is the sequel to Closing Time and The Waiting, picking up where The Waiting leaves off. I don't own House or any other House character, just Tricia.

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She opens her eyes the next morning, still finding herself curled into his chest where she had fallen asleep just a few short hours before. He is snoring loudly, typical for him. Normally she would be mildly irritated, but after the previous night's events, she welcomes the sound.

As she moves slightly, he shifts and snorts, pulling her in even closer as he does so. She places a kiss in the middle of his chest, taking in the scent of his soap and gently rubbing the small of his back.

He makes a small noise, and she can feel him press a kiss to the top of her head. "Morning." He mumbles.

"Morning." She answers.

They lay in silence for a few minutes before she squeezes him lightly. "Need to get up."

"Then get up." She spies a slight smile on his rough face. "I'm not stopping you."

"You're not helping me, either." She laughs in response, relieved that he seems not much the worse for wear from his night.

He sighs and releases her, rolling over onto his back and looking up at her. "Did you really say 'yes' last night?"

"I believe I did." She answers. "Why?"

He shrugs. "Thought maybe I was imagining it. It's happened before."

She knows he's referring to his delusions that had driven him to that institution almost a year ago. "No, you didn't imagine it." She leans down to give him a quick kiss. "I'm going to start coffee."

He takes her hand and brings it to his lips, placing a gentle kiss in the palm before releasing it. The move warms her, and she gives his hand a quick squeeze before moving off the bed and into the kitchen.

Her eyes are gritty after the late night, and she decides to make an extra strong pot of coffee this morning. Soft light is streaming through the window, and she can't help singing to herself. "I can see clearly now…the rain is gone…"

"I can see all the obstacles in my way…" His rumbling baritone joins in as she hears him step-thump into the kitchen.

She feels him place a hand at her waist and slide it around to rest on her stomach, pressing his lips to the top of her head with a soft sigh.

She squeezes his hand and starts the coffeemaker. "I thought you were going back to sleep."

"Couldn't." He mumbles.

She turns to face him, taking his hand in hers. "How are you feeling?"

He smirks. "Like a building fell on me."

She huffs and rolls her eyes. "Never mind."

He squeezes her hand and gives her a quick kiss. "I'm fine. Just sore. Nothing a hot bath won't fix."

She nods in response. "Coffee should be ready when you get out."

"Sounds good." He answers, releasing her hand and turning to leave. His step is much slower today, and she knows he's hurting much more than he lets on.

It's better for her to let it go. He'll take care of it in his own way, and hovering over him won't help. If anything, it irritates him further.

She moves to the refrigerator and searches for anything edible. As usual, there's not much here. It seems a quick trip across the hall is in order.

She opens the door to leave, startled by the man standing directly in front of it, apparently ready to knock. "Can I help you?"

The dark-skinned man's eyes go a little wide, apparently as surprised as she is. "Uh, yeah. I'm looking for House, but I think I have the wrong place."

"No, you have the right place." She smiles at his obvious discomfort.

A spark of recognition shows in the man's eyes. "I remember you. You cleaned up at the Vegas Night fundraiser. I guess I…just didn't make the connection."

"It's okay." She assures him. "Do you need him for something?"

The man shakes his head. "Just wanted to…you know, check on him. He…" He clamps his lips shut, as if he's revealing more than he should. Finally he speaks again. "Seemed like he was in bad shape when I saw him last."

She nods in understanding. "He's hurting this morning, but other than that, he seems okay."

"Good." The man looks visibly relieved. "I'm glad he wasn't alone. I was…concerned."

"I'll let him know you stopped by." She tells him.

"No need for that." He chuckles. "He'll just mock me anyway."

With that he leaves the building, and she continues to her own apartment in search of breakfast fixings. She settles on bagels, bacon, and eggs, collecting the items before making her way back to his place.

She has to admit that the whole back-and-forth thing is getting a little silly. Neither one of them is getting any younger, and things are going so well between them that it only makes sense to make it more permanent.

She smiles at the thought. Never in a million years did she think she would ever consider marriage again, not after everything she went through the first time around.

He's sitting at the piano when she enters, a cup of coffee on a coaster on top, and he's fiddling with something in his hand.

"What have you got there?" She asks lightly on her way across the living room.

He sets the object on top of the piano with a hard thump, and she turns her head at the sound. A pair of prescription bottles now sit next to the steaming cup of coffee.

She sets down the items on the coffee table and crosses over to the piano, puzzled. He glances up at her and takes a deep breath. "It's the last of my Vicodin stash. I kept it behind the bathroom mirror."

Something clutches at her at the revelation. "Are you sure that's it?"

He glares at her. "Why would I hide it from you?"

"I'm just asking." She assures him firmly. "Just in case there's some super secret hiding spot you forgot about."

He twists his mouth. "There…might be one more spot." He gestures toward the closet. "In the shoe rack. Blue Nikes."

She makes her way over to the closet, easily finding the prescription bottle. "Anywhere else?"

He shakes his head. "No, that's it. I mean it this time."

She sets the bottle next to the others and drapes her arms over his shoulders. "Any special reason you're doing your own personal drug sweep?"

He places his hands over hers. "Don't need them, don't want them around."

She laughs a little. "Aw…saved by a good woman's love. Oldest story in the book."

He snorts derisively in response before sighing slightly. "Maybe not saved, but…my life's a hell of a lot better with you in it. I want to keep it that way."

She squeezes him and drops a kiss on top of his head. "I like that plan."

He grabs her hand before she gets too far, pressing the bottles into her hand. She looks down at them, baffled. "I don't need these, either…"

He throws her an irritated look. "Get rid of them. I don't care how you do it."

She nods firmly, picking up the breakfast items and moving on to the kitchen, debating exactly how to get rid of the pills. Finally she remembers something she heard on a medical advice show once.

She finds a plastic bag and dumps that morning's coffee grounds into it, adding the three vials' worth of Vicodin before closing the bag and stuffing it in the trash. That task accomplished, she moves on to breakfast.

She hears him enter the kitchen and move toward the coffeemaker to refill his mug. As he does so, she hears his phone singing "Baby Got Back" in his pocket.

He seems to ignore it as he continues to prepare his coffee. The song continues playing, and he finally digs it out with a huff. "Yeah?"

He listens, occasionally rolling his eyes, punctuating it with an occasional "Uh-huh." Finally he nods firmly. "Thanks. You're too kind." He closes the phone with a snap and shoves it back into his pocket. "Damn right she's giving me the day off. It's the least she can do." He mutters as he stirs his coffee.

She smirks a little until she catches the thunderous expression on his face. "What's wrong?"

"My boss is evil incarnate." He tells her. "No different from any other day."

"If you say so."

"I do." He leans over and kisses her. "So…I did promise you some ring shopping today. Looks like I've got the day open."

"Good." She's allowing herself to get a little excited now. "Breakfast first, then shopping."

He nods, a slight smile gracing his rough features. "Given any thought to what kind of wedding you want?"

"Hmm…" She turns over the idea in her mind. "Well, we've been talking about going to Vegas anyway. Might as well tack on a wedding."

His eyebrows shoot up. "You sure?"

"Of course." She answers. "I've already done the big fancy princess wedding. No need to repeat the experience."

The smile grows wider, and he wraps his arms around her, setting his chin on top of her head. "Dragon Lady's going to shit bricks when I turn in another vacation slip."

She lets out a brief giggle. "Are you going to tell her where we're going?"

"Nope." He chuckles. "Think I'll surprise her when I come back with a ring on my finger."

She likes that idea a lot. "I think that would be a fantastic surprise."

"Yeah, me too." He drops a kiss on top of her head. "Hurry up with breakfast. I want to find you a rock so huge you'll be embarrassed to wear it."

She knows she's grinning like an idiot, but she doesn't care. Secretly, she likes the idea of showing off a big rock to his boss. She's met her a few times in passing, and they're perfectly civil to each other, but there always seems to be something bubbling just under the surface. A bit of jealousy, perhaps.

Part of her hopes so, and she's suddenly very much looking forward to the Vegas trip that they had only started to talk about. Now there would be much more to it, and she's thrilled.

She can hear him at the piano, the music drifting in through the entryway. His voice soon joins in, building volume until she can hear it clearly.

"Viva Las Vegas…Viva Las Vegas…"

She does burst out laughing at that. It's good to know that he's looking forward to this, too. They're moving forward, and it feels fantastic. It's a welcome change from the rough night, most definitely.

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