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Wilson finds House sitting on the floor of the living room, his face pressed into the cushion of the arm chair. He immediately assumes that whatever the reason he’s there, it can’t be good, so he pauses just behind the couch and says, “House.”
House just grunts in reply, not lifting his head, and Wilson frowns, “House.” he says again.
House lifts his head this time, turning it to face Wilson, scowling. His face is pale, the skin around his eyes red; there are two wet stains on the cushion.
Wilson immediately softens, “Greg.”
“Don’t.” House snaps, but his voice doesn’t have its usual bite to it.
Wilson comes closer and kneels down next to him, “What happened?”
“I fell.” House says, “Is that not obvious?”
Wilson sighs and helps him stand, but House refuses to let him help him all the way to the couch. Wilson watches him limp there himself, and then looks around the living room. He’s about to start asking follow up questions, when he notices the empty scotch glass on the mantle and House’s cane all the way on the other side of the room.
He sighs, electing to ignore the empty glass for now, and crosses the room to retrieve the cane, “Why is this all the way over here?”
“Do you have any deductive reasoning skills?” House asks.
Wilson picks the cane up and carries it over to the couch, leaning it against the arm and looking down at his husband, “Why were you trying to walk without your cane?”
House doesn’t look up at him. He doesn’t answer for a long time, and Wilson is about to ask again, when House says, “Stacy still has feelings for me.”
Wilson looks startled; he waits for House to continue, but when he doesn’t even look up at him, he says, “How do you know?”
“She told me.” House says bluntly, still not looking at him.
Wilson frowns, “So first you take Cameron on a date, and now you’re telling me that the woman you dated for upwards of five years still has feelings for you?”
“This has nothing to do with taking Cameron on a date.” House insists.
“Then what does it have to do with anything?” Wilson asks, “What does Stacy having feelings for you have to do with anything?”
“I think it has to do with a lot of things.” House says, “For one thing, Cuddy is offering her a job, so guess who we’re going to get to see a lot more of?”
“Have you told her yet?” Wilson demands, “Because she might be a little more reluctant to jump you, if she knew you were married !”
“ She’s married!” House snaps, “She’s married, I’m married, that’s not going to stop her!”
“And you’re just going to let it happen?!” Wilson exclaims.
“No!” House shouts, “I don’t want this to be happening! I don’t want any of this to be happening!”
“Then why are you worried about having sex with her, if you don’t want to have sex with her?!” Wilson argues.
“Because she won’t care!” House says angrily, startling him; House looks away immediately, resting his head in his hands, “She won’t care if I tell her I’m married. She won’t care if I tell her no. She’s going to do it anyways.”
Wilson hesitates, “Greg - ”
“ Stop .” House snaps.
“Why would you say that?” Wilson asks.
“Why do you think I was so quick,” House asks slowly, “to accept a relationship with you, so soon after she left?”
He looks up at Wilson, then, and much to his surprise he looks like he’s about to start crying again. Wilson sits down on the couch next to him; he’s quiet, curious. His eyes ask the question he doesn’t want to ask out loud.
House looks away again and continues, “If there was even a sliver of emotional intimacy left between me and Stacy before she decided it was her job to make my medical decisions for me…” House says, “It didn’t matter how hard she tried after the surgery. I didn't want to stop being mad at her. I was mad at her before the surgery, but it wasn’t for an acceptable reason, according to her. At least partially destroying my leg proved to be a good enough reason.”
Wilson hesitates, “I’m… not sure - ”
“Do you need me to spell it out for you?” House snaps, looking at him angrily, “I was not in love with Stacy for years. I was living with her, I was having sex with her - if you want to call it that - but she destroyed that relationship long before she destroyed my leg.”
Wilson is quiet for a moment, before he says gently, “Greg - ”
“Will you stop?” House snaps, trying to pull away from him, but he can’t very well stand since he’s not holding his cane.
Wilson grabs him by his arm and pulls him closer to him, “ Greg.” He says, and this time House doesn’t protest, “Just… tell me what happened.”
“She raped me.” House snaps, his voice low; Wilson’s breath hitches, but he doesn’t say anything, so House continues, “Several times. And maybe more, in the foreseeable future.”
“Why did you tell Cuddy yes?” Wilson asks.
House makes a face like he has a strong opinion about the question, but he can’t get the words out; finally, after a moment of struggling, he says, “I wanted… her to see me. I wanted her to see that I’m… fine. I’m not amazing but I have a husband and a job that I like and I just wanted her to know that she’s… not my entire world.”
They both sit in silence for a long moment, Wilson with his arms wrapped around House. Finally, Wilson, with his head rested on House’s shoulder, says, “I wish you had told me.”
House stares straight ahead, “What difference would it have made?”
“I wouldn’t have entertained Stacy.” Wilson says, “I wouldn’t have ditched you to go to dinner with her. I wouldn’t have stayed her friend all these years at all. I would have told Cuddy no, don’t hire her, she raped my husband.”
House winces, “Don’t say it.”
Wilson sighs, “Do you want to tell Cuddy? Or should I?”
“I was thinking maybe we could tell nobody?” House suggests.
“House.” Wilson says; he tries to look him in the eye, but House turns away, so he tilts his head back towards him with his finger, “I don’t care if you think it will be some fun social experiment to see what Stacy thinks of you. You’re nervous she’s going to rape you. Again . I don’t want her in the hospital. I don’t want to look at her. I don’t want her anywhere near either of us.”
House blinks slowly, and a tear escapes. He looks like he wants to wipe it away, erase any sign of weakness, but the way Wilson is holding him prevents him from doing so. Instead, he hesitates before he leans forward and kisses his husband gently, very uncharacteristically of him. It’s chaste, and he pulls away almost immediately.
“Don’t…” House starts slowly, and he cuts Wilson off as he starts to protest, “… tell Cuddy right away.”
Wilson gives him a curious look, so House continues, “I want to see the look on Stacy’s face when she figures out that we’re married.”
Wilson’s smile is barley present on his lips, “It took your team almost five months to figure out we were married.” he says, “I’m not sure I want her around that long.”
“I’ll wear my ring.” House promises, “And I’m not much for PDA, but I’d… really love to see the look on her face.”
“Greg.” Wilson says gently.
“James.” House returns, looking at him dully.
Wilson rubs his thumb on House’s shoulder, “You’re playing a dangerous game.”
“I know.” House says quietly, “For extremely petty reasons.” he looks Wilson in the eye, “Indulge me?”