Author's Note: End of the end. Thanks again for sticking around to read. Be kind and click that friendly little button at the end. Go on. Click it.

Epilogue

Monday 6:40 pm

It was before seven o'clock and Lisa Cuddy was leaving the office. That alone meant that today had been a good day. She had a sneaking suspicion that this was due primarily to unusually low confrontation rate with the doctor that was currently sitting outside her office. "What are you doing House?"

"Reading 'Ten Things Men Want to Say to Woman but Don't'." he didn't look up from his issue of Cosmo. "Huh, I've said all of these…."

"Oh really? Is one of them 'I love you Dr. Cameron'?"

House turned the page and squinted. "No," he said, "I don't see that one here."

"Well I'll have to call Cosmo- they're going to need to fire their editor." House was still not protesting so she was either completely off base or right on the mark. "Why are you reading Cosmo outside my office two hours after you should have left?"

"Word on the street is that the principle wanted to see me in her office about my PDA violation."

"Well you should have waited for me to send your homeroom teacher a note, Cuddy said. "This is my hospital House, I heard about your prank."

House nodded once. "Good." No grinning, no preening.

"But you already knew that," she went on. "You're here to make sure I believe it was just a prank."

"Well as you keep reminding me you sign my paychecks and if you decide I'm violating the hospital's fraternization policy since I sign Cameron's checks and had breakfast with her at a diner then you'll stop signing mine and I'll have to stop signing hers. Then she'd probably take me to the cleaners for sexually harassing her all those times- because let's face it, no one's as nice as she pretends to be- and then I'd have to turn Steve McQueen out to live on the street and no one wants that." House was acting like House and talking like House but the fact remained that House was sitting outside her office at quarter to seven at night.

"Nice logic, House. Now you just need to find a bull and get him to shit all over your excuses. Why are you reading Cosmo outside my office two hours after you should have left?"

"You already asked that." He said.

"It was rhetorical this time. You're reading drivel. You read drivel when you need to think but you solved your case four hours ago- patient's on the rebound and you got Stephen Fry's autograph out of her. You show up at my office when you want drugs or you want to talk because you know I know you better than anyone in this hospital does expect Wilson- who you just pranked."

"Dr. Cuddy you should learn to quit when you're ahead," House said and stood up like he was going to leave, "you had it right the first time."

"Since when do you have to tell me when I'm right?" She wasn't done with him yet. "You think I might not believe this prank thing because I saw you at that diner with Cameron. I saw how you were acting." House was finally scowling. She was in. "Not that I needed to. I probably knew you had a thing for her before you did."

"Oh, like you-"

"House," She hated being interrupted when she was figuring out a puzzle, "I introduced to you Stacy. You remember Stacy don't you?"

"I never did thank you for that did I?"

She ignored his attempt at a guilt trip. "I think I'm well enough acquainted with the mating rituals of Greg House. So, House, why are you reading Cosmo outside my office two hours after you should have left?"

House's look clearly said that he did not appreciate her dramatic redundancy. "Because I've got a lot to think about Dr. Cuddy," he said grudgingly and sat down again.

"Mhm," Cuddy practically hummed. "I'll leave the light on." She walked away but turned back before she got to the elevator. "One more question. Was all this because Wilson invented that patient four years ago and had you going crazy trying to diagnose him?"

"He faked an entire chart and test results, he had the nurses in on it," House complained.

"Well if you'd actually see your patients…."

"Goodnight Dr. Cuddy."

When Cuddy got to her car she was still laughing to herself. She and Wilson should start billing him for therapy. But at least she wouldn't feel guilty covering for him this time if the board started asking questions.