Chapter 96 Epilogue

Late Afternoon, Thursday Oct 30th, 2008

The team was relaxing in the conference room, as they didn't have a case at the moment. House and Issy had left for their Parisian honeymoon on Sunday afternoon. Everyone had finished his or her own clinic hours for the month, plus House's, so they were taking a well-deserved break from the action. Cameron and Chase had joined them, taking a break from their respective positions. They were swapping 'can you believe House did' stories when a tall, slender brunette walked into the room.

Three sets of jaws dropped at her appearance and the other three faces gazed questioningly at the stranger who had boldly strolled into the conference room and asked: "Where's Greg?"

Not 'Where's House?' Kutner noted; she was asking for Greg as if she knew the world famous diagnostician on a very intimate level. He also wondered about the daggers that were shooting out of Cameron's eyes towards the stranger.

Chase answered her question in a casual tone. "He's not here."

The woman rolled her eyes in a rather House-like manner. "I can see that, Dr. Chase; my question was: where is he?"

Replying in the same casual manner, Chase answered: "He's on his honeymoon."

The woman burst out laughing. "That's a joke! Greg House, married? Yeah, right. Seriously, where is he? I really need to talk to him."

Intrigued by the strange woman, Kutner answered this time. "Chase is telling the truth. He's in Paris on his honeymoon. By the way, who are you?"

Crossing his arms across his chest, Foreman answered: "That's Stacy Warner, House's ex."

Thirteen glanced at the woman and then back at Foreman. "The one who?"

Her voice trailed off but there was no need to finish that question. Foreman nodded his answer. "The one and the same."

The woman's face colored at the mention of that sensitive subject. "Thanks for introducing me to the whole group, Dr. Foreman. Now, again, I'm asking, where is Greg? I'm sure you can come up with something better than the honeymoon gag."

Six hands pulled six cell phones out of six pockets. Fingers quickly found photo files and flashed the pictures to the intruder. On every phone was a photo of a tux-clad House holding a bridal-gown-clad Issy in his arms.

When she was sure that Stacy had gotten a good look, Cameron asked: "Believe us now?"

The shock was evident on Stacy's face. She started to sputter out a reply, but was saved by the appearance of Wilson at the conference room door.

"Stacy. This is a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"I came here looking for Greg and they told me that he's on, he's on, his."

She couldn't say the word; she merely blinked her eyes as if in shock.

Cameron clearly enunciated the word for her. "Hon-ey-moon. He's on his honeymoon in Paris with his wife."

Stacy looked at Wilson for confirmation. He walked into the room and took her arm.

"Come to my office. We'll talk."

The buzz started as soon as they walked out of the door, but Stacy didn't let that deter her. She had to get to the bottom of this and James would tell her the truth.

Wilson didn't say a word until they had entered his office and the door was firmly shut behind them. He motioned her to one of the chairs in front of his desk while he took his own behind the desk. Once they were seated, he asked: "Why are you here?"

"I came to see Greg."

"Why?"

"I just, I just wanted to see him."

"Your husband sick with an undiagnosable illness again, or did you just want some curry?"

Stacy's jaw dropped. "He told you about that?"

Wilson nodded; Stacy blushed but gamely went on. "Sometimes I miss him. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is the pain that you could inflict on him by playing these games with him. But that won't matter any more. He is married now and he's happy. You could be standing there naked and he wouldn't give you a second glance."

Stacy gave him a disbelieving look. "Seriously? Greg House is married and happy? When did pigs start flying?"

For an answer, Wilson brought up his email and searched until he found the one that he wanted. He opened the attachment and started the slide show. Photo after photo showed a smiling House with his lovely bride, their bodies in constant contact. Their arms circling each other as they swayed to the music for their first dance. His hand covered hers as they cut the wedding cake together. They posed for photos with the guests, House's arm firmly around Issy's waist. Wilson stopped the slide show on his favorite photo; the one that had been taken right after the ceremony had ended. Issy had her hand on his cheek and House was bending down, about to kiss her again. They were both smiling and anyone with decent vision could see the love that those two people had for each other.

Wilson said: "Last Saturday."

A stunned Stacy looked away from the computer screen and stammered: "What?"

"Pigs started flying last Saturday; that's when the wedding took place."

She shook her head. "I can't believe it."

He pointed to the screen. "There's the proof. The team, Cuddy, we were all there. I got an email from them on their honeymoon. There are more pictures if you want to see them. The two of them in a café, in front of the Eiffel Tower."

Stacy quickly interrupted: "No, no. That's OK. It's just, I never, I just never thought."

"You never thought he'd find someone else, did you? You thought he'd always be there for you."

Her silence gave Wilson the affirmative answer that he expected.

In an unusually harsh tone, Wilson went on: "He's moved on. And you should too. If you want curry, Mehek is just up the road. Their lamb curry is to die for."

Stacy narrowed her eyes at the doctor. "Funny man. I moved on a long time ago, remember? I married years ago."

Wilson tilted his head and stared at her. "So you did. And yet, you keep coming back to Princeton. You just can't quite get House out of your system."

She glanced back at the computer screen. "He's a tough one to let go of. He can make you absolutely insane and yet he's so exciting at the same time."

"He's found happiness with a good woman; one who loves him for the man he is and doesn't try to change him into someone that he isn't. And one that doesn't run back to her husband when she tires of him."

Ignoring his comments, Stacy went on: "She looks rather young for him."

Wilson shrugged: "Age is just a number. Issy loves him and makes him happy."

"Issy?"

"Short for Isabelle. That's his wife's name."

"Ah."

Stacy stared at the screen for a few more minutes and then stood up. "I guess I should be going. I can't say it was a pleasure to see you, but at least I know the score now."

Just as Wilson opened the door to escort Stacy out, Natalie appeared, fist raised as if to knock on the door.

She smiled excitedly when she saw him. "Hi darlin'. I was just wondering if you were ready to leave for the day."

Then her eyes lit on Stacy and she said: "Oops. I'm sorry; I didn't realize that you had someone in the office."

Wilson kissed her cheek and said: "It's fine. She was just leaving."

With his arm around Natalie, he turned and said: "Sweetheart, this is Stacy Warner. Stacy, this is my girlfriend, Natalie Walsh."

Stacy smirked: "Someone else likes them young too."

Wilson replied calmly: "As I said before, age is just a number. What's important is what two people feel for each other."

Natalie scrutinized the other woman closely. "Stacy Warner? Are you House's ex-girlfriend? The one who let the doctors hack off his thigh muscle while he was in a medically induced coma?"

Stacy rolled her eyes.

Wilson smirked and answered: "Yes, she's the one."

Natalie's eyes widened: "Oh, boy, it's a good thing Issy's not here. She'd have some choice words for you."

Stacy frowned: "I'm sure she would and her husband too. Good-bye James. Enlightening to see you again. Don't bother to show me out. I know the way."

With that, Stacy stalked out of the office and headed towards the elevator. Wilson and Natalie stepped out into the hall to watch her retreat. Wilson noted that the team, still assembled in the conference room, was watching also.

Natalie said: "Wow. So that's the bitch who wrecked House's leg?"

"Yep, that's her."

"What was she doing here?"

"Checking up on House for old times' sake."

"Bet she was surprised to hear that he got married."

"Umm, I'd say 'shocked' is the more appropriate word."

"Are you going to tell House and Issy about this?"

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"It might be a humorous story to tell over dinner one night after they get back. And if we don't tell them, someone in that bunch will."

Natalie jerked her chin towards the conference room where it was obvious that the group of doctors were still talking about Stacy's appearance at PPTH.

Wilson nodded. "You're right. We'll take them out for curry when they get back and tell them all about it then."

Natalie replied: "Sounds like a plan to me."

"You said something about leaving for the day?"

"I'm ready if you are."

"Let me just grab my briefcase and jacket and we can go home."

"You mentioned curry. Do you want that for dinner tonight?"

"Naw, let's wait and have Indian when House and Issy get back. He's got a funny story about curry that he could tell over dinner."

The End

A/N: The image of all the Fellows flashing their cell phones at Stacy crept into my brain on little cat feet and wouldn't leave. Therefore my muse was forced to write an entire epilogue around that one image. I hope you enjoyed this little bit of silliness at the end of this long fic.

A MILLION thank you's to everyone who read, reviewed, faved and added me to your alert list. I tried to thank you all individually and hope that I didn't miss anyone. I am so touched that you enjoy my scribblings so much that you want more. Thank you, thank you, thank you. glennie