Title: High Stakes
By: Tiffany F
Pairing: Horatio/House, House/Chase & Horatio/Speed
Fandom: CSI: Miami/House
Rating: AO
Warnings: character death
Disclaimers: I don't own anything you recognize and am only playing around.
Spoilers: Season 3 spoilers for House.
Summary: Dr. Gregory House takes a chance and tells Wilson something personal. When things don't go as he planned, he has to vanish. A phone call to an old lover takes care of that.

***

Chapter 1

House paused outside the wooden door and took a deep breath. He was nervous. If this went wrong, hell, he didn't even want to think about what he'd have to do if this went wrong. But he had to know. With Tritter flitting around the hospital all the time looking for various ways to do House in, things were getting strained. House knew that there was no way in hell he'd be going to jail or any of the other crap the obsessed detective had threatened him and his team with. But he couldn't tell anyone else about it because then he'd have to answer all kinds of awkward questions about how he knew and blah, blah, blah. Like it was his fault the detective got burned by someone who was an addict and was just looking for someone else to take the fall for what happened to him. House had already made some calls and soon Tritter wouldn't know what hit him.

But first he had to take care of this.

Wilson looked up at the sound of a soft knock on his door and frowned. It was after nine at night and no one knew he was still in his office. "Come in."

"Can we talk?" House asked leaning into the office.

"That's not a good idea," Wilson replied. "And since when do you knock?"

"I always knock," House said. He limped into the room and shut the door behind him. "You just don't hear me because you're too busy caring all the time."

"House, out," Wilson sighed. "Tritter has already frozen my bank accounts and I'm on the verge of losing my medical license and being thrown into jail."

"Is that what he told you?" House asked. "Geez, the lies are just getting bigger and bigger. Pretty soon he won't know what hit him."

Wilson laughed. "Oh yeah, you have so much power that you can just take down a detective who has proof that you're a lying, cheating, drug addicted doctor," he said. "What planet are you from, House? Do you enjoy seeing the careers of everyone around you ruined?"

"Sure, that's my one purpose in life," House said. "I live for hurting the people I care about."

"You don't care about anyone but yourself, House. And, somehow, I doubt you ever have. Is that the real reason Stacy left you like she did? She never told me, and heaven knows you don't like to talk about it."

"Stacy left because she couldn't handle the truth," House said quietly. "I've never met anyone who could, except you, James. There's something I need to tell you. Something important, but I can't until I try something. Those are the rules."

"You never care about the rules either," Wilson exclaimed. He stood up and stalked around his desk. "The only thing you care about is getting high and you don't give a damn who gets hurt in the process."

House moved in as quickly as he could with his bad leg, wrapped a hand behind Wilson's head and leaned in. "I love you," he whispered just before he pressed his lips against Wilson's.

Wilson heard the words but didn't believe them. Then, when his lips were covered, he panicked. All the anger, fear, and disbelief he'd been feeling for the past month welled up and manifested. He shoved House away and, while the other man was off balance, grabbed his cane so House crashed to the floor. "You think you can solve everything like this?" Wilson demanded. "Do you think that I'm so stupid that those words will make me write you a new script for Vicodin?"

"James," House said trying to push himself into a sitting position. He'd felt something in his right leg give when he hit the floor and it was on fire.

"No, I'm done, House," Wilson said. He flipped the cane around so the rubber end was in his hands and swung it as hard as he could, the handle slammed into House's scar. Wilson kept swinging until he was gasping for breath. "I'm so sick of you manipulating everyone and everything, you not caring about me or anything else around you. I'm done. Now get out of my office."
********************

House slowly uncurled from the ball he'd rolled into to protect his bad leg, making sure that Wilson had actually left the office before the door slammed rather than decoying him. His leg was throbbing and there was nothing he could do about it because there were no pain killers in either office. House wiped the tears out of his eyes and groped in his pocket for his cell phone. He hit one of the speed dials. "I'm going to need to be snatched tomorrow around nine in the morning. Yeah. I'll tell you about it when I'm safe. I need to get out of here. Be sure you send someone who won't be recognized."

The one relief he had was that the hallway between Wilson's office and his was completely deserted and dark so no one would see House as he crawled, slid really, out of Wilson's office and slowly down the hall. Every movement sent a new stab of pain through his leg and his eyes were watering with tear trails down his face by the time House pulled himself into his office. It took every inch of willpower to close the blinds and lock all doors but the one to the balcony he shared with Wilson. He'd dug through every trash bin he could to find the props he needed so House sat down at his desk and began to write two notes, allowing the tears to stain them both.
********************

No matter how hard he tried, Wilson couldn't get the expression on House's face as he fell to the ground and was struck out of his mind. He didn't know what had come over him in his office, but it hadn't felt good. Wilson felt like there was a lead weight in his chest moving down into his stomach. Finally he stopped the car in defeat and ran a hand over his face.

It didn't bother him that House loved him, or claimed to, or that he'd kissed him. Wilson just couldn't get the thought out of his mind that House was trying to use him again, manipulate his emotions to get what he wanted and then would push Wilson aside when he couldn't do any more good for the other man. Wilson hated himself for it, but he turned and started back towards the hospital. He needed to make sure that House was okay, that his leg was taken care of, because he knew that House didn't have any pain killers and Wilson had landed three sound blows on the scar before the other man managed to curl up and protect the injury. The rest of the blows had fallen on his side and back and it was possible that House had broken bones that needed tending. He hated that he was so weak. That House made him so weak.
********************

The hallway was completely dark and deserted when Wilson walked out of the elevator. He could see that the door to his office was open and knew that probably meant House was gone, but still turned on the light and looked anyway. The room was empty and Wilson noticed a small pool of blood on the carpet and suddenly felt nauseous. He sprinted down the hall to the dark diagnostics office and tried the door, finding it locked.

"House, open up," he called pounding on the glass door. "Come on, House, I know you're in there. I saw the bike in the garage. Look, you can torment me for this later, but I'm sorry, okay? Please let me in so I can take a look at you. There's blood in my office, House."

He could almost hear House's most mocking voice in his head. "Of course there is, Jimmy. You just beat me with my own cane. What were you expecting, roses and hot sex?"

Wilson ducked into the diagnostics conference room and tried the door there, finding it locked as well. "House, Greg, please don't be stubborn," he yelled. "I was wrong, okay? I shouldn't have done what I did, but you need help. I'll let you do whatever you want to me if you'll just let me in. Please, Greg. Please."

There was no answer and Wilson couldn't see any movement or shapes in the dark office. He hit the door again, considered breaking it – the only thing stopping him was the thought of the look on Cuddy's face if House was okay and messing with him. That left him with only one other option. He scrambled back out into the hall, down to his own office and out onto the balcony. Wilson hopped the divider, wondering at the ease House showed going over the thing, and ran to the door. His heart was pounding when he grasped the handle and pulled it open.

"House?" He asked as he stepped into the dark office. There was no reply which only made Wilson worry more. He clicked on the desk lamp and noticed a note on the desk in House's handwriting. Wilson picked it up and instantly noticed the tears that had dried on the page.

**I, Dr. Gregory House, stole the prescription pad from Dr. James Wilson and used it to forge prescriptions for the narcotic pain killer Vicodin. He was unaware of the theft and is only guilty of being a good friend. The blame lays fully on me.**

"Oh House," Wilson whispered. His heart plunged as he carefully set the note back on the desk and looked around the office again. He couldn't tell where House was, but knew he had to be in the office as there was no way the other man would have been able to make it over the wall and back out of Wilson's own office in the condition he'd been left in. Wilson walked carefully to the wall and flipped on the switch. As the office was flooded with light his eyes landed on the twisted body of his best friend lying on the floor in front of his desk. His eyes were open, as was his mouth, and he wasn't breathing.

"House," Wilson cried. "Don't do this to me, Greg. Please don't do this to me." He dropped to his knees next to House and reached out to straighten him so he was lying flat on his back. There were two bottles and a note on the ground next to him. Wilson reached out with a shaking hand and tried to find a pulse, noting that the skin was still warm but cooling. Frantically he tried everything he could before grabbing the phone and calling Cuddy.

"What is it, House?" she demanded.

"Lisa, its James. House has tried to kill himself and I need someone up here to help me," Wilson said. "I don't know how long he's been like this but he's not breathing and his heart is at least in V-fib. I can't find a pulse and I don't want to leave him to try and find help."

"I'll call someone," Cuddy said. "What the hell happened?"

"I, I'll tell you when you get here," Wilson sighed. "Just hurry, please. Oh, you'll have to have them break in. The door is locked."

"You're doing CPR?"

"As best I can one-handed," Wilson said. "Hurry."

He dropped the phone and kept working on House. "Greg, don't do this. I know you're still in there," he said panting as he kept up the chest compressions. "We can work this out, somehow, just don't leave me like this. Please come back."
********************

Once the emergency staff had wheeled House off to try and revive him, Wilson remembered the bottles and note on the floor. He sat back against House's desk and picked them all up. One was Vicodin, not a big surprise, but it wasn't a prescription bottle. It looked like it had come directly from supply. The other was an anti-nausea drug. Wilson snorted; House had known what he was doing, as much as it pained him to admit it. He just hoped that he'd been in time to save House's life as he didn't know how much Vicodin had been in the bottle. Wilson rubbed his eyes and turned to the note in his hand.

**James, I wasn't lying. I wasn't using you. I do love you. Maybe I could've picked a better time to tell you, but with my future so uncertain, I didn't want to leave without you knowing about it. I guess I should've kept my mouth shut and then, at least, I'd be able to die without seeing the look on your face. I never wanted to make you hate me. There's a confession on my desk which should be enough to save you from all legal persecution. Tritter won't be around much longer, anyway, and the case should be dropped completely. Maybe I'm a coward, but I can't stay knowing you hate me. Tonight was my last try. I'm tired, James. I'm so tired. Keep an eye on the three stooges for me, oh, and take care of Steve McQueen. You can't tell a rat that you're not coming home. My family will be around for everything else. I love you. Greg.**
********************

Cuddy was floored. She stood at the foot of the bed in the ER and stared at all that remained of one of the best and most frustrating doctors she had ever known. The ER doctors assured her that there was already too many drugs in House's system and there was nothing they could do to flush it out. Even a pacemaker had failed to do any good. She just couldn't wrap her mind around it. Greg House was dead. For some reason he had killed himself. And Wilson was nowhere to be found. Cuddy bit her lip in indecision for a moment, not knowing if she should call House's parents then or wait until morning, or go and find Wilson.

Curiosity finally won out, and maybe she'd know the reason for House's suicide before she called his parents, and made her way to the elevator. Her hospital had been on tender-hooks for the past few months because of a detective looking for revenge, and House's attitude. And now, no matter how hard the tried, things wouldn't ever be back to normal because there was no Greg House to terrorize everyone, insult patients, and come up with some of the wildest, most brilliant ideas she had ever seen.

The sight of Wilson sitting on the floor against House's desk, House's cane cradled in his hands stopped Cuddy in her tracks. "James?"

"He did this because of me," Wilson whispered.

"You don't know that," Cuddy replied. She sat down next to him.

"Yeah I do. House came to see me tonight after everyone was gone," Wilson said scrubbing at his eyes. "He wanted to talk to me and I wouldn't listen to him. House told me he loved and he kissed me, Lisa. Do you know how long I've been wanting to hear him say that and I accused him of using me to get more pills. I pushed him away and beat him with his own cane, aiming for his scar. I don't know what happened, but I left him there and started home. I was almost there before the guilt got me and I turned back. I guess it was enough time for him to OD."

"Where'd he get the pills?"

"I don't know, the bottle looks like it's from supply," Wilson said. "Or maybe the internet. All I know is that it didn't come from the clinic. And he took these too, so he wouldn't puke. I broke him, Lisa. After everything I've been through with Tritter, trying to help House, make him see what was going on with everyone, I broke him."

"You can't blame yourself for this, James."

"Look at these." Wilson handed the two notes over. "Is he still in the ER?"

"There was nothing they could do," Cuddy said with a small sigh. "He'll probably be down in the morgue by now. I'm going to order no autopsy unless his parents want one. We're pretty sure about COD."

Wilson rubbed his eyes again. "I don't know if I can stand to go down there and say good-bye," he said.

"Go shower and change your clothes," Cuddy said firmly. She tucked his note into her pocket and stood. "I'll go call Tritter and tell him to get his ass over here. With this note, he's going to have to stop harassing you and everyone else in this hospital, not to mention close the investigation."

"Where's mine?" Wilson asked looking around frantically.

"Shhh, I have it," Cuddy replied. "I'll keep it safe until you're ready to go home. Go on, James, go shower and then we'll go down to the morgue together, okay? I'll be in my office when you're ready."
********************

Wilson stood under the hot spray and let it pound down on his shoulders and upper back. He wondered if he would ever feel clean again. Doctors were supposed to be healers, help people live, not push them so hard that they died – and yet that was exactly what he had done. He couldn't pretend that he hadn't seen the dark circles growing under House's eyes every day. He'd just ignored them, almost happy that House was suffering some for what he was putting everyone else through. Wilson wondered at how certain House was that Tritter was going to be gone, that the man wouldn't be haunting the halls of the hospital any more, that they would all be okay. Sure House had admitted to his crime, but Wilson knew that wouldn't be enough to stop the detective.

"James?"

"Yeah?"

"Hey, I called the police department and Tritter has been suspended pending an internal investigation," Cuddy called from the locker room.

"What?" Wilson turned off the water and grabbed his towel.

"Yeah, it happened yesterday, which is why we didn't see him," Cuddy continued. "It seems that someone complained to the chief of police about Tritter's conduct in this, and other cases and had enough pull to get him taken off. From what the police chief told me, everything was going to be dropped in the morning. House's was the first case they looked into and they weren't too impressed at his interrogation techniques." She paused as he walked out of the showers. "It seems that half of the information he gathered on House was coerced as wouldn't be allowed in court anyway."

"So House was right," Wilson sighed. He sank down on the bench. "I killed him for nothing."

"He killed himself," Cuddy said firmly.

"No he didn't," Wilson whispered. "What happens now?"

"The police chief wasn't too clear, but it sounded like we'd all be compensated for what happened, the days we couldn't access our accounts," Cuddy replied. "Although where the money is coming from, I don't know. He promised to keep me updated about what's going on with Tritter, they might need us to come in and testify to what he did here at the hospital."

"How did House know?"

"How did House know anything?" Cuddy asked. "I'll let you get dressed, James. Then we'll go down and see him."

"I don't know if I can," Wilson replied shakily.

"You need to," Cuddy insisted. "I called his team and they'll be here soon. His parents will be here in a couple of days to pack up his office and apartment and take him home. They agreed on no autopsy."

Wilson rubbed his face. "How am I going to face them?" he asked.

"James, you're going to kill yourself if you don't stop blaming yourself for this," Cuddy said. "And I'll be honest here, we can't lose you too. If anything, I'm going to need you to help keep the others together until after the funeral."

"I'll do my best," Wilson sighed. "I'll be out in a few minutes."
********************

The morgue was, as always, cool and quiet. Chase had arrived first and was pacing back and forth, not sure what was going on, but not moving until he had some answers. Foreman and Cameron joined him as they arrived, none of them sure what was happening, but looking for answers.

"Dr. Wilson, are you okay?" Cameron asked as Wilson and Cuddy joined the small group.

"And why do you have House's cane?" Chase asked with a frown.

Cuddy sighed. "House is dead," she said bluntly, knowing there was no way to sugar-coat the news.

Chase slid to the floor in shock while the other two just stared at her. "What?" Foreman finally managed to ask.

"House killed himself over the mess with Tritter," Cuddy said with a look at Wilson. "Look, we don't know reasons, only that he left notes that cleared everyone of any wrong so you're all in the clear. He's inside if you want to go and tell him good-bye."

"How?" Chase asked.

"Drug overdose," Wilson replied softly. "I couldn't get to him in time."

Cuddy bit back another sigh, glad that Wilson wasn't going to claim responsibility around House's team. She didn't need any more tension around the hospital and an admission like that would definitely cause problems.

"I'm sure you did your best," Cameron said softly. "Do you want to go in and have some time alone with him?"

"No," Wilson said, "no, you three go ahead. I'm going to stay out here and work up the emotional will to go in."

Foreman pulled Chase up and the three went into the morgue. Wilson turned to Cuddy. "I used to be so good at lying to House, I never thought about it," he said softly. "And now I feel guilty about what I just did there."

"You needed to," Cuddy said. "They don't need to know everything and you're going to have to be able to work with them, James. House didn't blame you for any of this, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want you to blame yourself."

"Lisa, you need to get me new carpet for my office," Wilson said suddenly.

"What? Why?"

"Because House's blood is on there," Wilson said. "I can't work in there anymore. I need a new office."

"Okay, I'll work on it," Cuddy said patting his arm. "What about the cane?"

"I can't," Wilson said holding on tightly. "I can't."

"Okay."

"I need to get Steve McQueen too," Wilson said.

"Who?"

"House's rat."

"House has a rat?"

Wilson snorted softly. "He found him in Stacy's attic and made him a pet for some reason," he said. "Who can understand what goes through House's mind."

"You did," Cuddy said.

"No I didn't," Wilson said softly. "When it really counted, no I didn't."

***

Chapter 2

Wilson didn't remember the drive from the hospital to House's apartment. He walked into the apartment in a daze and sank down on what had become his end of the sofa and looked around. He hadn't been over since the whole mess with Tritter started and for some time before that. There really wasn't a good reason for him avoiding House, he'd just grown so tired of the other man's eccentricities and needed a break. But what Wilson had forgotten was that he was House's only friend, the only one House trusted enough to let into his personal space. So while Wilson had been able to fall back on some of his other friends, House had been left alone. He'd been alone as the ketamine treatment wore off and the pain returned to rule his life again. He'd opened the door for Wilson to come back and, rather recognizing that House really needed him, Wilson had turned his back and run as fast as he could in the other direction.

It was remarkable how trauma cleared the mind. Wilson could see every moment of the past few months, every time House had tried to ask for his help and how he always turned him away. It didn't matter what Cuddy said, Wilson knew that House's suicide was his fault, and he didn't know how he was going to be able to live with that knowledge and continue as a doctor.

Finally Wilson pushed himself up with a sigh and started searching for Steve McQueen's supplies. He honestly wasn't sure where House kept the food, treats and nesting material for his rat, but figured the kitchen was a good place to start.

He got his first shock when he started opening the kitchen cupboards. All of House's dishes were gone. Not just plates, but bowls, mugs and glasses – only a couple of cheap plastic things sitting in the dish drainer by the sink. As he kept looking, Wilson noticed that none of the picture frames had any glass in them, the paint on the guitars was chipped and scratched, and all the wires in the piano were cut. Puzzled, he looked at the books and realized they were horribly out of order, some bent and missing pages while the medical journals were scattered around the floor. The bath and bedroom showed the same level of destruction – destruction that had been put back together as best it could when the owner was crippled.

It was only when he found the search warrant that it all came together in Wilson's mind. Tritter had come in and completely trashed House's apartment and belongings – and House had never said a word about it. House had to have blamed Wilson for what happened and he hadn't said a thing to let Wilson know anything was wrong. And Wilson hadn't picked up on the fact. House had probably kept quiet because he knew Wilson would just turn the blame back on him and then leave rather than listening to what House wasn't saying. How long had it been since Wilson had even tried to see what House wasn't saying to him. The man never said what he meant, and Wilson had become very adept at reading between the lines and figuring out what was actually being said. Wilson was really the only person who did take the time to try and look beyond what House said to find the real meaning; he'd just gotten used to everything being hidden under layers of sarcasm and was able to talk through it to continue the conversation. Until the day he stopped, and Wilson wasn't even really sure when or why he'd stopped spending time with his best friend. House had offered to let Wilson move back in, yet Wilson moved into a hotel and, looking back on the conversation, House had been hopeful Wilson was going to come back.

While he was digging through the desk he came across an old leather bound book he'd never seen before. Wilson flipped it open and found some pages covered in House's neater handwriting, which meant at least half of it was written pre-med school. He sat down on the sofa and flipped it open to the first page.

**January 9th
Three feet of snow fell overnight. I accidently turned off my alarm this morning and overslept by half an hour. When my father came in to get me at 0430 he chased me outside and forced me to stand in the snow for half an hour. I suspect only the fact that I would be late for school made him let me back in the house. I almost lost two toes this time, only my socks saved me. Maybe it's a good thing I don't have any heat in my room and I sleep in so many layers. I'm going to start sleeping in my boots too, just in case.

**March 16th
I really hate this school and base. There's nothing to read that I haven't already memorized and my father won't let me go into town to the public library. One of the locals who works on base has offered to teach me to play both the guitar and piano, so maybe that will be something to do once I finish my chores. I hope we get transferred soon to someplace warmer. My punishments (beatings?) are always so much more creative at the warmer bases, but at least I don't have to worry about my fingers, toes and other very important things freezing off.

**August 10th
I snuck off base today and met the nicest man. He's here studying at the university and, not only did he offer to tutor me in more advanced classes, he's going to find books for me to read. I feel really drawn to him and I don't know why. I also don't know how severe my father will be when he finds out about this new arrangement. I wish he'd listen to my moron teachers when they tell him I'm smart and need to skip ahead to be challenged in school because, right now, classes are a joke. I could be teaching them, which definitely means I need something new to study. I really hate my parents – my father for being an abusive jackass and my mother for not stopping him.

**September 11th
He kissed me today!! We were reviewing a medical textbook from the early 1900s and he kissed me. Up until that moment I'd wondered why the thought of women didn't really get me excited, but now it makes sense. I'm gay. Now my father really has a reason to hate me. I asked my friend if there was anything I could read about gay sex and he promised to find me some magazines, but he cautioned that experience was the best way to learn. Just the feel and texture of his lips on mine was enough to make my whole body tingle, so I can't wait to feel what else he can teach me.

**September 19th
Our secret lessons have become dual-purposed. He's still teaching me various things from university, but he's also very slowly teaching me how to make my body come alive under my own touch – or his. Today he slowly stripped off my shirt and used his mouth to explore my neck, chest and stomach. I never knew a man's nipples could be so sensitive to touch, but the nerves seem to be linked directly to my cock. He didn't touch me there today, but stood behind me so he could rub against my ass as he helped guide my hand on my erection. He promised to teach me about oral sex next week. I'm getting hard just thinking about it.

**September 27th
My father followed me today and caught me with my friend. Fortunately we were still discussing a textbook about the Holocaust during the Second World War and all our clothes were still on. My father dragged me out of my friend's apartment and threw me down three flights of stairs. If it hadn't been for my friend, I'd be dead right now, but I'm never going home again. My friend is going to help me get all my stuff and we're going back to the US. He thinks he can get me into a pre-med program and I'm really excited about it.

**June 8th
It's been years since I felt any need to write in here. I met Dr. James Wilson today and fell as instantly in love as is possible. I've been alone for years and now I can feel my heart coming alive every moment I think about Wilson. I was so tempted to just go up and kiss him, but I wasn't ready and know it would just freak him out. Plus I think he's married. On another note, I'm having fun tormenting everyone at PPTH. So far no one has been willing to try and see beneath what I'm saying to what I mean – something my old lover was so good at doing – that it's almost too easy at times.

**September 22nd
I met a woman named Stacy today who was actually able to keep up with me and didn't back down. She's not my Wilson, but she'll do so I don't have to be alone. Keeping up the façade will be trying and I'll have to eat more, but that's not hard while I'm at work. And, maybe someday, I'll tell her the truth.

**April 1st
Stacy betrayed me. My right leg is ruined because of some idiots and her high-handedness that she always has to be right. She caught me with my guard down a few weeks ago and I had to explain everything to her, not that she'll remember any of this in another couple of days. I don't know where my Wilson was during all this, but I know he would've stopped Stacy and Cuddy from operating without my consent. Cuddy's lucky I haven't sued the damn hospital for this, even though I thought about it. I could use a new house in Miami. And my Wilson still hasn't been to see me. I seriously doubt Stacy went and told him the truth, she was too scared, but maybe she did. I'll have to mention it when my friend and old lover calls tonight. He'll know what to do. He always does.

**November 10th
Some stupid cop's got a grudge against addicts and has made me his next target. It seems he's already ruined two lives and he's going for three of three. What really hurts was finding out that Wilson talked to him. Like the cop is going to be able to do anything against my family. One phone call and his life is over. I probably should've made it before the creep got a bogus warrant and completely trashed my apartment. I tried to talk to Wilson twice, planning to ask for his help cleaning up my apartment, but he'll barely make eye contact, let alone hold an intelligent conversation with me. It pains me so much that he's being punished for trying to keep me safe, but he won't even hold still long enough for me to really talk to him. I know the cop is trying to set up Chase as the bad guy, but I know he's not that stupid. Not a second time.

**December 27th
Too many years and too months since I left my parents and I'm going to try and make my life better. I'm going to risk everything and tell Wilson how I feel about him. This could go really, really wrong and I spent three hours on the phone convincing my friend and old lover this was a good idea and that the time was right. I don't want to live without my Wilson in my life, the past few months have shown me that. I wish I could trust him enough to open up and tell him the truth about what my father did to me when I was growing up. But as Wilson's met my parents – and why they thought I'd want them back in my life is beyond even my ability to fathom – he probably wouldn't believe me.
So I think I have everything set up, everything in place to tell Wilson the truth. And I'm scared. The last time I allowed myself to love (Stacy) I ended up betrayed and crippled. Wilson's rejection would kill me, if that were physically possible, and at the very least I'd have to leave the area. I don't think I can keep working with him if he doesn't love me in return. If I'm completely wrong, well, my friend has instructions. One phone call to him is all it will take.

Wilson was stunned. So many things about House made sense now, including his almost pathological fear of allowing anyone to get too close to him. House's father had seemed strict, but nice and Wilson couldn't imagine him throwing his own child down the stairs. Granted, Wilson had often felt like hitting House when he got sarcastic, but he'd never actually done anything. Not until House had kissed him. He closed his eyes and pressed the heals of his hands against them, trying to erase the image of House's face as he fell to the ground and as Wilson took the first swing with the cane. All Wilson had wanted at the time was to get House to express some remorse for what had happened with Tritter, to acknowledge that Wilson had suffered as well. But he knew that he'd never be able to forget how House looked, broken on his office floor. Wilson knew he was never going to be able to set foot in that room again. He'd have to get someone to box up his things for him.

With a sigh, Wilson put the book back where he'd found it and went back to the kitchen to keep looking for Steve McQueen's things. He planned to spoil the rat rotten, maybe even get him a friend so he wouldn't be lonely while Wilson was at work. Wilson planned to read everything he could find on rats so he could be sure Steve McQueen was as healthy and happy as possible.

It was only as he was packing the rat treats that Wilson's mind processed everything he'd read. As far as he knew he was House's only friend. But even without years by the dates, it sounded like House was still in touch with his first lover. The man was never mentioned by name, but Wilson had some contacts and figured that if the mystery man really had helped get House into a medical program, his name would pop up. And if Wilson could find a name, maybe he could track down the mystery friend and explain everything. He knew he wasn't strong enough to talk with House's parents, and figured he'd probably hit the elder House if he ever saw him again anyway. But maybe the mystery friend could help him.

Wilson grabbed a couple of dirty t-shirts and a dirty sweatshirt – for Steve McQueen he told himself – and went out to his car with the cage and bag. He had just slid into the driver's seat when his cell phone rang.

"James, its Lisa; where are you?"

"I'm just leaving House's apartment," he replied. "I think I'm going to take a couple of days and find an apartment. I can't take Steve McQueen to the hotel."

"James, you need to get back here now. Bring the damn rat with you," Cuddy said. "House is gone."

"What do you mean, gone?"

"I mean after Dr. Chase left something went funny with the video cameras and by the time security got down to the morgue, House's body was gone. I've already called the police and they've alerted the media, but I need you here."

Wilson was stunned. "You mean someone was able to walk into our hospital and kidnap House?" he asked. He buckled his seatbelt and pulled out into traffic. "I thought we increased security after House was shot in his own conference room."

"We did, and technically he was snatched, not kidnapped," Cuddy said. "I'm trying to track Dr. Chase down, but he's vanished too."

"You don't think he had something to do with this, do you?" Wilson said.

"I don't know what to think. You saw his reaction when I told them House was dead," Cuddy sighed. "If I didn't know better, I'd say he was in love with House or something. And Cameron said he stayed behind when she and Foreman left."

"What would Chase do with House?" Wilson asked. "I really don't think he had anything to do with this."

"No one else knew House was dead though," Cuddy said. "He's never down in the ER so, remarkably, he didn't have any enemies there among the doctors and nurses. I really don't want to think this was a professional job."

"Well, it's not like House just got up on his own and walked out," Wilson said. "Although that would be the most logical answer."

"James, two ER doctors pronounced," Cuddy sighed. "He wasn't breathing and he was a flat line."

"Did they EEG him before they pronounced?"

"No."

"There are comas that mimic death. Maybe he made it that far with the drugs and then woke up in the morgue," Wilson said, hope blossoming in his chest. "Maybe House is alive and all we have to do is find him."

"What about the camera feeds?" Cuddy asked. "I don't think it's a coincidence they died just as House went missing."

"I'm in the lot, I'll be in your office in a minute," Wilson replied. "Maybe we can work this out."

"How are you doing?"

"I just murdered my best friend," Wilson said. He parked and reached over for Steve McQueen's cage. The food and things could stay in the car, but he didn't want the rat to freeze. "All he wanted to do was tell me the truth and I not only refused to listen to him, I beat him bloody with his own cane. Right now I don't think I'd trust my judgment to order dinner."

"James, you need to talk to someone about this," Cuddy said. "A professional, and I could make it a condition of you returning to work."

He opened the door to Cuddy's office and closed his phone. "I haven't taken any time off," he said.

"But you want to and I think it'd do you good to talk with someone about this," Cuddy said. "And I don't just mean House's suicide; I mean this whole mess with Tritter and what you've been through."

Wilson put Steve McQueen's cage on the table and uncovered it. "I screwed up, Lisa," he said. "I found a book or journal or something like that while I was at the apartment. Did you know House was abused growing up? I only skimmed it and his father made him stand outside in the snow for not getting up at four in the morning and threw him down the stairs for studying at the university level. Is it any wonder House hated letting people get close to him?"

"He let you in, and you always seemed to be able to understand and reach him," Cuddy said. "He trusted you."

"House loved me. Stacy was just a replacement for me," Wilson said. "And then I took all that love and trust and threw it back in his face. I did the same thing his father did and House killed himself because of it. That was the last entry in that book I found. He had everything planned out; if I had only rejected him, he was planning to quit and leave the hospital. But he said he had everything in place in case it went wrong. It means he didn't want to live if I hated him."

"Is there something you're not telling me?"

Wilson sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "I've been avoiding House away from work," he said. "I just kept telling him I was busy and didn't even have time for dinner. After a while he stopped asking. He even offered to let me move back in with him and I refused. I thought he wanted a cook and maid he could play pranks on. I never realized those pranks were a way of teasing me, that they were like a kid with his first crush. House had no clue how to tell or show me how he felt, so he did the only thing he could think of. And I filed his cane so it would break when he was walking. I just wanted him to stop. Now I'd give anything to see him steal my food and make fun of my hair."

Cuddy silently handed Wilson some tissues and sat down next to him. Even if she couldn't get him to a professional counselor, she could listen.

"I forgot I was his only friend and I guess I never realized exactly how much he relied on that friendship," Wilson continued, staring at Steve McQueen. "Because of me, Tritter got a search warrant for House's apartment. I'm only guessing, but it looks like Tritter completely trashed House's things while he was there. Every dish was smashed, all his picture frames were ruined, his piano was destroyed, so were his books and every other thing that was important to him. And House had to clean it all up by himself because I was too busy pretending to be busy to listen to him. There's no one else he could've asked for help."

"Tritter was obsessed," Cuddy agreed. "I probably shouldn't have forced House to work in the clinic, but I honestly thought it would make him more human."

"He hates people," Wilson said. "And we all have to do clinic hours; even you do them when things are busy. You shouldn't have made exceptions for House, no matter what happened. At least now we know why he was so confident nothing was going to happen with Tritter. I could kick myself, Lisa. My last words to House were 'I'm so sick of you manipulating everyone and everything, you not caring about me or anything else around you. I'm done. Now get out of my office' and this was after I beat him. All he wanted to do was love me and have me love him in return. And I couldn't even do that. I failed him so much. He was always there when I needed him and I abandoned him the minute things got rocky."

"You had to take care of yourself," Cuddy said. "You said it yourself, House took a lot of energy to deal with and even longer to recover from in some cases. There was only so much you could do."

"You're wrong," Wilson sighed. "What about Chase? We need to find House."

"I don't know how we can without the video surveillance," Cuddy said. "It wasn't just the morgue either; it was along the back hallway and into the parking lot. Someone was intentionally blocking the feeds. It's just that no one can figure out who or what."

"I have a couple of calls to make and maybe that'll help. In some of the entries I read, House referenced a friend who helped him get into college and pre-med. Maybe the friend knows more than we do. I'm going to track him down and demand some answers."

***

Chapter 3

"He's going to kill himself."

"You're kidding me. What the hell happened? I thought we managed to break that idiot detective in time."

"He was going to tell Wilson how he felt. And Greg didn't sound good when I talked to him. Get the team and get him out of there. Then we'll find out if we have to kill anyone."

"Where and when?"

"The hospital morgue and he said nine in the morning. If you leave now you'll be able to make it. Bring him home."

"You still love him, don't you?"

"I do, I do, but it's the love of the past. What I feel for you is the love of the present and the future. And you are all I could ever want."

"So having him here won't be awkward?"

"You haven't been around Greg enough, he lives to be awkward. But I have a feeling we're going to have to help Greg heal in more ways than one. His heart has been shattered and that will take a long time to heal."

"If you want to sleep with him to help with that, I'll let you. I know you're not going to leave me for any reason. Not with my blood in you and your blood in me. That's a bond that can never be broken."

"I'll keep that in mind if the situation arises. Now go get the team and get moving. He asked for someone who won't be noticed or remembered. You know what that means. Go get him and bring him home to me."

"We will. I love you."

"I love you too. Stay safe."

Cold blue eyes turned to study the ocean. Someone would pay for hurting Greg House. He put his hands on his hips and tapped his fingers on his belt. No one hurt his family and lived.
********************

Cuddy's words slammed into him and Chase sank numbly to the floor. He didn't want to believe that House was dead. The man had lived through so much, been too stubborn to die when his body betrayed him and again when he was shot. Chase's mind started racing, trying to figure out what had happened that could possibly have depressed House so much that House would want to take his own life.

He let Foreman pull him to his feet and followed the others into the morgue. Chase stayed back as Cameron and Foreman both said something that was muted by the dull roaring in his ears.

"Chase?" Cameron asked.

"I'm going to stay a bit longer," Chase replied softly.

"Okay, let me know if you need anything."

He nodded and moved closer to the table. At first glance House looked like he was asleep, but his color was off and he was cold to the touch. Chase reached under the sheet and took House's right hand in his own. "Maybe I should've been brave enough to say this before the whole mess with Tritter started, but I love you, Greg," Chase whispered. "And I think I have for a long time. I'm not going to second guess and think you wouldn't have done this if you had known, but maybe you wouldn't have felt so alone if you'd known. And I'm sure you know this too, but I never told Tritter anything. I learned my lesson and also that you'll always win in the end. I'm going to find out what happened to you, Greg. And if someone hurt you, I will make them suffer."

Chase leaned over and kissed House gently. Then he took a deep breath and lifted the sheet. His blue eyes widened when he saw the cane shaped bruises littering House's sides and leg – with the most trauma around the scar on his leg. "Oh, Greg," Chase whispered. He resettled the sheet and wiped his eyes. "I love you."
********************

"There's a possible ally."

"We just need to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. Frank, you grab him and take him to House's place. If it's secure, wait for us there. If its not, call and we'll meet up at the airport."

"You got it."

"All right, let's do this."

Two dark shadows flowed into the empty morgue. One went to shut down the security cameras and lock the doors while the other moved to the table. "Stop playing dead, Greg. It's time to go."

"That would take a medical miracle," House said. "What took you idiots so long?"

"You said nine and it's fifteen 'til now," Tim Speedle replied. "And what's with the whole playing dead routine anyway? You could've just quit, you know. You're not going to be able to stay hidden forever, you know."

House grimaced and held out his hand. "I'm assuming you were sent with Vicodin," he said. "I wanted to hurt Wilson as much as he hurt me."

"Normally I'd say you're a jerk, Greg, but I'll cut you some slack since you just died and all." Speed dropped some clothes on the table and handed over a pill bottle. "Get dressed and let's get you out of here."

"Are you here alone?" House swallowed two pills and pushed up into a sitting position.

"Eric is blocking security and Frank is taking care of that young man who was in here," Speed said. "The boss said you wanted people who wouldn't be remembered, although why you couldn't do that yourself, I don't know. Now tell me about the young man. Do you want him to know the truth?"

"That was Robert Chase, one of the doctors in my department. I had no clue how he felt about me until he came in here," House said.

"He's going to do something stupid, Greg," Speed sighed. "I have a feeling he knows what Wilson did to you and, if we don't stop him, he really might take action on his own."

"He doesn't have a back bone," House said. "It could be dangerous to tell him the truth."

"But he could help you heal," Speed pointed out. "We don't have a cane for you, I'm afraid, so you'll have to use my shoulder until we get to the car."

"What makes you think I want to heal?" House stood up and leaned heavily on Speed. "Let's get out of here. I'm so sick of this place, I can't wait to bail."

"You need to heal," Speed said. "I speak as someone who has been there, Greg. Look, I think Frank is taking Chase to your house. Think about it."

"And if I say no?"

"Then you don't have to see him. But I think you're an idiot if you don't."

House snorted. "I loved Wilson and look what happened. Why should Chase be any different?"

"You won't know until you try," Eric said as he joined the pair. "Come on, we need to move. Security is on its way down."

"They always have been slow," House snorted again.

"Frank called, we've got a green light," Eric said, ignoring House. "So we're good to go."

Speed nodded. "Then let's move."

"It's about time," House said.
********************

Chase was halfway to Dr. Wilson's office when a large man stepped in front of him. "You don't want to do that, sport. At least not yet."

"Who are you?" Chase asked. "And exactly what don't I want to do?"

"My name's Frank Tripp. I'm a friend of House's, well, a friend of a friend anyway. And I know you're on your way to talk to or beat the crap out of Dr. Wilson for what he did to House."

"How do you know that?"

"I know a bit more about this than you do," Frank said. "Give me an hour to explain things to you and then, if you still want to do it, I'll help you with Dr. Wilson."

"House doesn't have any friends, so why should I trust you?"

Tripp sighed. "Look sport, I know you don't have any reason to trust me other than my word," he said. "But I've got a very powerful friend who is awaiting a report on the situation up here. And if he doesn't like what he hears, that Wilson character is dead. So we could really use this help with this."

"Exactly who are you?" Chase asked.

"I told you, I'm a friend. Now come on, let's go to House's apartment. That's where we're all meeting."

"Okay, I guess," Chase said slowly. "But only because I really don't want to stay here right now."

"I don't blame you for that."
********************

Chase had never been to House's home before. He hadn't known that House played the piano or the guitar. He felt tears in his eyes as he ran a hand over the piano. "Life just isn't fair, is it?"

"How's that?" Frank asked from the kitchen where he was making coffee. He wasn't sure how he was going to serve it as there were no mugs or glasses anywhere to be found. At least the coffee pot was plastic.

"I fell in love with what I saw at work and now that Greg is dead I'm finding out he had more depth than I expected."

"That's life. Do me a favor, dig around and see if you can find a cane," Frank said.

"Wilson has it," Chase said.

"House doesn't have just one cane," Frank snorted. "I just don't know where he keeps them."

"Are we going to bury him with it? He hated using the thing."

"I need it to walk, moron."

Chase froze at the gravely insult. "I'm dreaming."

"No, if you were dreaming the rescue squad wouldn't be here," House said as he sank onto the sofa. "And we'd probably be a lot more naked and horizontal than we are. Turn around, Chase."

"I'm going to call home and update the boss," Speed said. "Especially as we were under orders to go in and get you out immediately. He's not going to be too happy about this new development."

"Tell him I'll blow him and that'll settle everything down," House said. "Yeah, yeah, I know; you're together, soul mates; make my stomach turn with all the sugary sap you put us through. Chase, come over here and sit."

"House, you're dead. I saw you in the morgue," Chase said. He sat down on the edge of the sofa, every fiber in his body poised to flee. "The doctors in the ER pronounced."

"Put your hand here," House said. He took Chase's hand in his and placed it over his heart. "I'm technically dead. I have been for years and the only reason I'm telling you any of this is because they think it's a good idea."

"Who are they, exactly?" Chase asked.

"My family, my real family anyway," House replied. "And speaking of family, Tripp, I'm hungry."

Tripp came out of the kitchen. "All right, you want to do it here and let the kid get an eyeful or back in the bedroom?"

"I don't eat in public," House said. "And someone find me a damn cane. I can't keep leaning on people to move around."

Chase looked up when a Styrofoam cup of coffee appeared in front of his face. "Thanks."

"No problem. I'm Eric Delko and the one on the phone is looking upset is Tim Speedle, call him Speed – everyone does. Look, we really weren't planning on this, but we overheard what you said to House in the morgue and, whether he admits it or not, he does need someone who loves him right now. You saw what he looks like, what was done to him. That's all because he told Wilson he loves him."

"Wait, please, I'm confused," Chase said. "If House has been dead the whole time he's been here, why didn't something register when he had the infarction? Or during one of his check-ups?"

"We can make our hearts beat; it just takes so much energy that we don't bother most of the time. It also ages us," Eric said. "And House's infarction isn't exactly what it says in his chart. There was a clot, but the cause was a bite from a dog."

"A dog bite doesn't cause clots," Chase said.

"Didn't you learn about hell hounds in seminary?" House asked as he limped back into the room.

"Yeah, and vampires too," Chase replied.

Speed raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think we're vampires?"

"You look too human to be zombies," Chase said.

"Actually, Frank is human," Eric commented.

"Food to go?"

House grabbed Chase and shook him. "Snap out of it, Chase. You're getting hysterical."

"Can you blame me? I just found out the man I love is technically dead, he loves someone else and he's leaving," Chase said trying to swallow back tears. "So why shouldn't I be allowed a few hysterics?"

"He's taking it better than you did," Speed muttered to Eric. "House's disappearing act is all over the news so we've got a choice – we're going to move fast or lay low until it blows over."

"And I can guess which option the boss is favoring," Eric replied with a small snort. "What about the kid?"

"We give him the option to come along or you get to fuzz him," Speed said.

House glanced over. "No one messes with the wombat but me," he said. "Chase, I'm making no promises as to what's going to happen between us. I opened up to Wilson and looked what happened. I opened to Stacy and she crippled me. But I will tell you this, and I will deny it if any of you ever mention it again; listening to what you said in the morgue and staying still was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do."

"So, what, you want me to leave with you?" Chase asked. "And what, exactly, does fuzz mean anyway?"

"Eric and I are a form of psychic vampire," House said. "We sill need blood to survive, but we can mess with people's minds, which is an added bonus. So it sounds like the boss has ordered Eric to alter your memory of me if you choose not to come. And I won't be able to stop him, no matter how much I might want to. The boss' word is law."

"What happens to you if I don't come along?"

"Oh, don't go all Cameron on me," House exclaimed. He stood up and only Speed's quick reflexes kept him off the floor. "I'll manage just fine on my own."

Speed shook his head. "For once, Greg, you have no clue what you're talking about," he said.

"Don't act so high and mighty, just because you're sleeping with the boss," House snapped. "I'm used to being alone and I like it."

"You like it so much that you're willing to let Eric erase all memory and love for you from Chase's mind?" Speed asked. "You're an idiot if you don't at least give this a chance, House."

"Greg, I'm willing to leave everything behind for you," Chase said.

"Call your boss and tell her you're taking a leave of absence to help House's family," Speed said. "Dr. Chase, while I can appreciate where you're coming from, you'll need to be able to start over in Miami and you can't do that if you just vanish up here."

"What about House?" Chase asked.

"Those idiots in the ER didn't do a brainwave check," House snorted. "So all we have to do is claim a paralytic coma with amnesia and I'll be able to come back to life for a few more years."

Chase was about to ask another question when he noticed all three vampires were frozen in place. "Greg?"

"Come here and stay completely still," House whispered. He settled his bad leg against the back of the sofa and pulled Chase in against him. He tried to ignore how naturally the younger man fit against him. House didn't want to love someone else – both times he'd tried he'd ended up horribly hurt. He didn't count his first lover in the mix because they both still loved each other, but had moved on. "Someone's outside and we don't know who it is."

Chase glanced around and noticed Speed and Eric were leaning against walls and Frank had ducked back into the kitchen. Then everything went fuzzy around him. The front door opened slowly and Tritter walked into the apartment. Eric and House glanced at each other and House nodded. He focused on keeping everyone hidden so Eric would be able to drop the mental smoke screen and move around. It had been a while since House had stretched those particular mental muscles and found it felt good. He'd been holding himself in check to appear more human at the hospital, a thought that would make anyone who knew him laugh.

Eric shut the door behind Tritter and locked it quickly. Then he and Frank moved at the same time, both appearing out of nowhere.

"Hey there sport, they teaching breaking and entering at the police academy these days?" Frank asked.

"Sure they are, along with revenge and stalking," Eric commented leaning against the door. "Not to mention fanaticism and harassment."

"Who the hell are you?" Tritter demanded.

"Friends," Frank said. "So where's the warrant?"

"What warrant?" Tritter asked.

"Okay, so you're in here illegally, for the second time," Eric said. "No wonder you're on probation pending an investigation. You just don't know when to quit. Maybe we can make you understand just how stupid you are."

"What are you going to do? That creep is dead and no one cares what happens now."

"Wrong answer," Frank growled. "Are you hungry, Eric?"

"Not really, how about you, Speed?"

Speed appeared and smirked. "I could eat," he said letting his fangs drop. "The boss'll be mad, but I'll deal with it when we get home."

"What the hell are you?" Tritter stuttered backing up against a wall.

"Would it be too cliché to say I'm your worst nightmare?" Speed asked. He licked his lips and fangs, moving forward. "It probably would, so let's just say I'm the last thing you're ever going to see."

"Close your eyes, Robert," House whispered. "Trust me when I say you don't want to see this."

Chase turned his head and closed his eyes. "Does it hurt?"

House let the smoke screen drop now that the danger was past. "It can, if we want it to," House said. "And I think Tim is angry enough that Tritter will really suffer for what he did."

"Are you going to want to do that with me?"

"Hurt you?"

"Bite me."

"That's the ultimate intimacy between couples," House said. He was focused on Speed as he drained the life from the detective who had made life such a hell for Wilson and the others. "And I don't know if I'll ever be at that point with you."

"So how do you eat?" Chase asked.

"We have donors with no emotional connection; like Frank and his wife, Calleigh," House replied. "We don't hurt them and they don't have to worry about illness or disease. Plus we protect them."

Chase moved so his mouth was right next to House's ear. "Are you going to protect me?" he whispered.

"Until you want to leave," House said. "And then the boss has the final say on what happens to you. And I won't challenge him."

"He'll be glad to hear that," Speed commented. He dropped Tritter's body and licked his lips again. "He needed to cut back on the nicotine gum."

"That's what I told him," House said. "So who is going to get rid of the body while the rest of us run away?"

"I'll deal with it," Frank said. "Eric, can you give me a hand?"

"Yeah, you got it," Eric grinned. "Dr. Chase, you want us to pick up some of your clothes while we're out or do you want to buy new things?"

"We're going to Miami," House said. "Let me up, Chase. I need to pack."

Speed looked around at the group and wondered, not for the first time, how his lover kept everyone in line. "We'll meet at the airport in an hour," he said. "Greg, you know the boss is going to want to talk to you."

"I imagine he'll want to talk with you more," House said. "Seeing as you just killed without his consent."

"I'll deal with it," Speed said. "Somehow I think he'll understand."

"Can I do anything to help, House?" Chase asked.

"Make your phone calls," House replied. "Speed can help me pack. I want to seal this place so only the family can get in. Cuddy probably called my parents and they're on their way to town. Wilson's already been through here once and that was on my request. I don't want him, or those monsters in here."

Speed snorted. "I thought I smelled a rat."

"Wilson?" Chase asked.

"Steve McQueen, my pet rat," House sighed. "I'm going to miss that little guy."

"That's life," Speed said. "Maybe if you're good we'll get you a rat in Miami. Come on, Greg, we need to get moving."

"Don't start nagging, that's the last thing the family needs – two mother hens."

"I'll tell him you called him that," Speed said.

"He already knows; I've known him for thirty years," House smirked. "Get a move on, Chase. That is if you really want to come along."

Chase stood up and pulled out his cell phone. "Just try and leave me behind."

***

Chapter 4

Speed shut the door to House's bedroom. "Set up a shield in here for a minute, will you?"

"What do you want to say that's so sacred?"

"Just do it."

"Fine, it's up and my suitcase is in the closet," House said. He sat on the bed and carefully started rubbing his leg. "I want to take jeans, t-shirts and three pairs of sneakers. But start with underwear; it's in the top drawer."

"Greg, I know you and the boss have been lovers on and off for more than thirty years," Speed said. He started packing House's clothes avoiding eye contact with the other vampire. "I already told him I don't mind if he gives you some more physical comfort while you're healing."

"I don't do threesomes."

"I'm not suggesting one. The boss was right, you really do live to be awkward and difficult. Its just that I know the two of you share a bond that runs almost as deep as my own bond with him."

House studied Speed for a long moment, blue eyes narrowed. "Aided greatly by the fact that he sired me," he finally said.

Speed glanced over from where he was folding shirts. "I don't think I've heard this particular story."

"For good reason, it makes him sound evil considering I was only fifteen the first time he kissed me."

"That doesn't sound like him."

"Oh please, what he shows to the people in Miami is just a put on," House said. "He's over a thousand years old; he only lets people see what they want to see. He's always been there for me when I needed him and when I didn't think I did, even when we'd fight. He didn't want me to tell Wilson the truth. I think he saw my future and had a vague feeling as to what would happen."

"It's so annoying when he does that," Speed agreed. "Especially when he's right."

"He told me its one reason he befriended me. Apparently the alternate future was for my parents to bury me after my father killed me and the boss just couldn't let that happen."

Speed closed the suitcase and handed House a cane he'd found in the closet. "You know you're going to have to explain the rules to Dr. Chase before we get to Miami and you'll have to go immediately into a meeting with the boss once we're there, right?"

"You explain the rules, I need to sleep."

"Whatever; are you going to seal this place up or not?"

House looked at him like he was an idiot. "We need to be outside for me to do that," he said. "And then yes, I will help Eric fuzz people until we're all home safe again."
********************

"Where are we going, Frank?" Eric asked. They were in a taxi and Eric had the driver believing that Tritter was extremely drunk.

"I thought back to his place to get his car and then we'll take him out into the woods," Frank replied. "The lack of blood is the trouble."

"We could burn him," Eric said as they pulled up to the curb. "I'll pay, Frank, if you want to start inside."

Frank nodded and opened his door. Tritter was larger than Eric and dead weight was harder to move. He also knew that Eric was making sure the driver didn't remember then, their conversation or the address. It would've been so much easier if Tritter had just driven to House's apartment in the first place.

"We've got a problem," Frank said as Eric joined him.

"No car," Eric sighed. "Damn, we know he arrived in a taxi, so where's his personal vehicle?"

"We don't have time to search," Frank said. "Come on, we'll set up something inside."
********************

Chase still wasn't sure what was going on or what had happened, but it was extremely hard not to believe that House was a vampire. Chase had seen him in the morgue and had been quite convinced that House was dead. And now the man was walking around like there was nothing wrong. "Cuddy, it's Chase; I'm sorry to do this on such short notice, but I need some time off."

"Chase, where the hell are you?" Cuddy demanded. "House's body was stolen from the morgue and the police want to talk to you."

"I'm done talking to the cops," Chase said trying to bite back the hysterical laughter that was threatening to escape. "I didn't see anything and I didn't take House. That's gross and I can't believe you'd even think I'd do something like that."

"What were we supposed to think? You're in the morgue with House and then you both vanish," Cuddy said. "And I know you loved him, your reactions proved it."

"So now I'm not allowed to be shocked when I find out a friend is dead?" Chase demanded. "I just have to be gay? I'll call you when I get home and let you know if I'm coming back or not."

"If you don't come back to the hospital immediately you won't have a job to come back to."

"Fine," Chase snapped. "I doubt I could work with Wilson anymore. Send my paycheck to my apartment." Chase closed his cell phone and rubbed his eyes.

"Rule one is watch what you say."

Chase jumped and turned around. Tim Speedle was leaning against the desk. "What?"

"There are rules to living with us," Speed said. "Because we have to appear as human as possible. You'll pick up on them fast enough, but you have to watch what you say to people."

"Did I say something I wasn't supposed to?"

"Just that you don't think you can work with Wilson again. But it's not a bad mistake because it's something you could've worked out on your own."

"Plus it'll make Wilson panic," House added as he joined them. "He's going to go mad wondering how much you know, and with his conscious it'll drive him crazy."

"You really are a jerk, Greg," Speed sighed. "Can you set up the shield and fuzz people at the same time or do Chase and I need to hide until you're ready to go?"

"We'll be fine. I've already fixed the back of the house, there's just this room and the overall left to set up and then I have to sleep. Tell me you have the jet."

"How else could we get here so fast?" Speed asked.

"Good, then I can finally get some sleep."
********************

Frank and Eric had finally resorted to just dumping Tritter's body in his living room and trashing the house. The lack of blood would be a problem, but they'd been seen weirder crime scenes and knew humans could explain away anything strange.

When they arrived at the airport and the private jet – Eric again fuzzing the taxi driver – they found the others were already on board and ready to go. "Where's House?" Eric asked looking around.

"Sleeping," Speed replied. "I called the boss and he's waiting for us."

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" Eric said.

"He won't tell me what," Speed sighed. "And I can't tell if it's something he's seen, the current situation or something else entirely."

Eric patted Speed's shoulder. "We'll be home soon enough and you can interrogate him then."

"That's if he tells me," Speed sighed. "It seems there's more to him than I knew. Anyway, I've been explaining the rules to Dr. Chase. Give me a hand with it, will you? It'll go faster and we'll have more time to answer his questions."
********************

After an hour of talking to Speed and Eric, Chase found his head swimming. He'd never realized exactly how complex it would be to be dead and still walking around. Finally he excused himself and went towards the back of the plane to check on House.

House was lying on his back under the covers, eyes closed and not breathing. "Greg!" Chase exclaimed hurrying over.

"What?" House grumbled.

"You, you weren't breathing," Chase said. He sank down on the bed across the aisle and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm dead you moron, of course I'm not breathing," House said. "Give me some Vicodin."

"I don't have any," Chase said. "And how, exactly, do the pain killers work when your blood isn't circulating anyway?"

"Why do you think I look like this?" House demanded. "I died when I was fifteen. Speed, get your ass in here and bring me some pills."

Speed appeared in the door. "Not until you eat again."

"And just how do you expect me to do that?" House asked. "I can't feed from Frank again for two days and I don't see any other live people around here."

"There's Dr. Chase," Speed pointed out.

"If you need blood, Greg, then I'll do whatever you need," Chase said standing up.

"You need to learn to ask questions and actually be afraid of what you don't understand," House snapped rolling over onto his side.

"House, don't be so damn stubborn," Speed growled.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Me biting and feeding from Chase like an idiot," House said not moving. "Then the bond between us would be started and nothing would ever be able to tear us apart. And then you wouldn't have to worry about me trying to steal the boss away from you. Don't worry about it, he's so head over heals for you it makes me sick to be around the pair of you."

"That's low, House," Speed said. He put a hand on the other vampire's shoulder. "I already told you what the boss and I talked about."

"Don't touch me." House shrugged off the hand. "And give me the damn pills."

"Not until you eat something," Speed insisted.

Chase stepped forward and put a hand on House's back, noticing the tensing in the muscles under his hand. "House, Greg, if my blood will help you get better then take it," he said. "We can deal with everything else later."

House rolled over so suddenly that Chase fell over in shock. He'd known on some level that House was a vampire, but seeing the sharp fangs and ice blue eyes still scared him.

"I said don't touch me, damn it. Are you all deaf? You think you know what I'm going through, so you can be just like Cuddy and Wilson; so high and mighty telling me how much pain I'm in and how much medicine I need to deal with the pain?" he snarled. "And you think you know what a hard life is, Chase? My father abused me for ten years until he finally killed me when I was fifteen. There is only one person on this stupid, stinking planet who understands, who loves me and even Alan left in the end." He rolled over again and curled into as much of a ball as possible. "Now either give me the damn pills or go away."

Speed took Chase's arm and helped him to his feet. "Come on, let's go join the others. There's no reasoning with him when he's in this type of mood."

"You try living with hot knives slicing into and through your flesh every second of every day and see how good a mood you're in," House growled. He grabbed a pillow and hugged it to his chest. "Leave me alone."

Chase stood and stared down at House. He wasn't sure, but it looked like House was crying and trying to hide it from him and Speed. He bit his lip in indecision for a moment and sat down on the bunk behind House. "I'm not letting you chase me away," he said softly. "You can yell at me, threaten to kill me and even threaten to toss me out of the plane and I'm still not leaving you like this."

"Your funeral," Speed muttered and left.

"Talk to me, Greg," Chase said softly. He curled up behind House and wrapped an arm around him. "Tell me about your father, or Alan. Just don't shut me out."

"When I was twenty, Alan and I had a fight and I stormed out of our apartment," House said. "I don't even remember what the fight was about, but most likely something about medical school and my applications. Alan was talking about settling down and starting a new career for himself and he wanted me with him. I wanted to go to the best school possible, to be the best doctor in the world."

"You managed it," Chase muttered.

"You think so?" House said bitterly.

"No matter what anyone says, Greg, you come up with some of the most amazing solutions to the most bizarre cases ever." Chase tightened his grip and moved closer.

House snorted and tried to curl up tighter. He knew he was acting like a child, but he couldn't bring himself to care. His body was on fire and no one was listening to him. No one wanted to give him the pills he needed to heal. "I know what every one thinks of me, Chase. I can read minds, remember? I know every single thing that every person around me is thinking. Even you, Chase. I know that you're scared to death right now, and only stayed because you think you have to. It's pathetic."

"What happened between you and Alan?" Chase asked, ignoring the insult with practiced ease.

"I got bit by a hell hound that night," House said. "The venom from the bite stayed dormant until my last year with Stacy. I fuzzed her for the first four years of our relationship so she wouldn't notice that I didn't breathe and that my heart didn't beat. But she started to fight it and found out the truth. I started my heart and you know the rest of the story."

Chase resisted the urge to kiss House's neck. "You're avoiding the question."

"You really are pathetic," House said. "Alan can see the future and came after me, but he was too late. He also gave me a choice that night. I could stay with him and bond, or I could go to the school I wanted and follow my dream. I knew he was going to Miami and there wasn't anything for me to do there. When I woke up the next morning, he was gone and so were all his things."

"Greg, did it ever occur to you that he wanted you to be the best doctor in the world and this was his way of making sure you followed your dream?"

House pushed Chase to the floor and sat up, eyes blazing. "Of course I know that you pathetic idiot," he shouted. "Alan befriended me when I needed him the most, he sired me after my father murdered me and he's been my lover for the past thirty years. But he dangled bonding in front of me, the one thing I craved more than anything and then took it away like it didn't matter to him. Like I didn't matter to him. And then he bonded with Speed and expected me to be happy for him too. The only person I had in my life threw it back in my face like I was nothing."

"I thought you loved Wilson," Chase managed, stunned at the rare show of emotion – and the fangs.

"Yeah, and look what good that did me," House said. "And you will hurt me, you idiot. I'm not going to say it again. Go away and leave me alone."

Chase pushed himself to his feet and looked down at House. "One of these days you'll look around and realize that you've pushed everyone away and you really are alone."
********************

Alan opened his blue eyes with a sigh. It was a talent he kept hidden from everyone, even Speed, but he was able to check on those he loved whenever he wanted. He wasn't a psychic vampire like House and Eric, he couldn't read minds – no matter what some people thought – and he'd never realized exactly how bitter House was about what had happened between them over twenty years ago.

He probably shouldn't have been too surprised. His vampire son had been abused for so many years before Alan got to him, and even then, in many ways, he'd often thought he was too late. House's father had done a lot of damage and Alan hadn't been able to undo some of it.

Alan remembered exactly what the argument with House had been about. He'd finished his own degree and was starting to think it was time to start yet another career – his tenth, but who was counting. House was starting to apply to various schools, but hadn't seemed nearly as happy or enthusiastic about it as he had been for the previous five years. It took some doing, but Alan was able to pull the story from House. His son and lover was being abused by a teacher at school.

Alan wanted to go to the school immediately and take care of the teacher for good. Greg accused him of being overly protective and stormed out of their apartment. Alan had searched for him frantically until he'd found House in the park and was chilled when he saw the hell hound bite. He knew that if his son ever made his heart beat again, the remaining poison could kill him – permanently. Alan asked House if he wanted to bond, to be together for eternity and he had honestly thought that House refused. That his lover didn't want to stay with him, so he left. And even over the years of their on and off relationship, House had never once let on how hurt he was by Alan's actions. And Alan hadn't lied, he did still love House, but he loved Speed with all his heart.

Now he really did have some work to do, not only did he have to help House heal from the mess with Wilson, he had to undo a thirty year old misunderstanding and then convince House to bond with that Chase boy. Alan knew that Chase would be good for House; he'd be able to teach him how to feel again, how to love and to trust.

With a sigh he picked up the phone and dialed. "Speed, it's me; give House the pills and stop fighting with him. You can't judge someone else's pain level and you shouldn't try. And you really shouldn't keep pain medication from a hell hound victim. I don't ever want to hear a hint of this again."
********************

Speed put his phone down and blinked at it a few times. He'd known that House was a jerk, but didn't think even he would stoop to such a low level. He stood and stormed into the bunk area. "Here, take the damn pills," he shouted throwing the bottle at House. "You didn't have to go whining to the boss about it."

"What are you talking about?" House asked as he swallowed four pills. "I don't even have my cell phone with me. I think I left it in my office."

"Then why did I just get a phone lecture from the boss about not giving you your stupid pills when you asked?"

"You're the one who bonded to a future vampire," House said. He rolled back on his side and curled around the pillow again.

Speed stared down at him. "You're really pathetic, you know that?"

"Yeah," House said. "Do you think I care if you stand there and call me bad names?"

"You should because right now those pills are running your life. And you're throwing away something special."

House held up a hand. "I've heard the lecture before, from the guy who just beat the shit out of me with my own cane," he said. "Until you get abandoned by your lover, bit by a hell hound, abused and murdered by your father, lose half your leg and live in chronic, blinding pain, don't you dare assume to lecture me because you have no clue what I'm going through."

"Don't you ever listen?"

"Only to Alan," House said. He could feel the Vicodin starting to work even without his blood flowing quickly or his heart beating. He hadn't mentioned the broken bones to anyone and didn't want to start his heart to heal them until he had Alan with him to monitor and help him. "Everyone else is just full of crap and not worth my time and energy."

"You'll only be able to push Chase away so many times and you can't have the boss," Speed said.

"Green isn't your color," House muttered. He hugged the pillow tighter and started to drift off. "But I won't stay if you're that nervous about it."

Speed resisted the urge to beat his head on the wall. His lover said that they all needed to work to help House heal and Speed was basically telling him to shove off. He just knew the boss would have something to say about that, and Speed had a nasty feeling that there wouldn't be sex for a few weeks. Why did House have to make everything so difficult?

"It's my defense mechanism," House said.

That was the other thing. At least Eric was human enough to stay out of their heads unless it was case related. It always seemed like House had no respect for those sorts of boundaries. Maybe the boss could talk to him about it. It was true that Alan really was the only one House ever listened to.

Speed wondered why that was, and exactly how much of their relationship he actually knew about. He had a horrible feeling they were hiding something from him.

***

Chapter 5

NOTE: PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS BACKSTORY. HOUSE IS 15 YEARS OLD IN THIS CHAPTER.

He had always been able to see the future, even prior to his death in 1000AD, or roughly there abouts, and his subsequent turning. It was a part of him he'd always kept hidden from everyone. He developed other talents as the years passed and he studied various old and outlawed books. He traveled the world, worked and learned; absorbing everything around him from language to culture to what others of his kind would consider trivialities of the human world.

And yet he never felt the urge to sire another vampire, no matter how close he allowed himself to get to the humans around him. He always managed to leave them behind when the time came. It did hurt, because he loved them in his own way, but he never once thought about having a child.

Until the break between his ninth and tenth lives, when he'd seen a young man standing in the deep snow slowly freezing to death. The next time he'd seen the same young man shot, then beaten, then stabbed. For over a month he was inundated by visions of the same young man dying – and always by his biological father's hand. The young man's intense blue eyes were always staring at him, through him, begging for his help.

He knew he had to act. He widened the scope of the visions and learned where he had to go. The fact that it was a US Military base didn't worry him, no one would be able to see him if he didn't want them to. And so he'd traveled to the town by the base and knew he'd arrived at the right time. The snow was only just starting to fall. He took an apartment and enrolled at the local university, some new classes there caught his eye. Learning was still his primary passion and he also had a feeling that the university library would be handy to meet the young man who had been haunting him.

Once he was settled and into a routine he made several visits to the base, learning the layout and also hunting down the house where his young man lived. He started witnessing the abuse and he burned to kidnap the boy, to run away with him to keep him safe, but knew he couldn't. The last thing he needed was cops trying to track him down and labeling him a child molester – and taking his young man back to the parents that abused him.

As he watched his boy – Greg House – he found that Greg had no friends on the base, no one he could talk to. The school classes were obviously easy for him, so it was no wonder he so often appeared bored or arrogant. Greg needed to be in college classes, he needed to be challenged and he needed to be safe.

It was the end of summer before he had a chance to meet his young man. He'd had a vision that told him Greg was planning to sneak off base to study at the university library. Feeling a bit like a stalker he went to the anatomy/biology section and started wandering the stacks.

Finally. Finally he was able to see his young man in person and he was struck breathless at the chiseled lines of his face and the intense depths of his blue eyes. He wanted to see those eyes flutter closed as he explored and taught Greg about his body. But he wanted so much more; he wanted to be his friend, teacher, protector, confidant, and lover.

He knew he had to be careful. Getting Greg to trust him would be a long exercise, one he just couldn't afford to screw up. "Are you in the class?" he asked as he sat down across from Greg at the table.

"What?"

"The anatomy class; I haven't seen you in there before," he said. "But it's a large class and I could've missed you."

"No, I'm not a student," House said. He closed the book quickly. "I'm still in high school."

"You must be intelligent to be studying anatomy on your own. My name is Alan Morris. I'm working on a masters in Criminology."

"I'm Greg House. I want to be a doctor, but my high school classes are jokes and my father won't let me take classes here until I'm older. I'm not even supposed to be here. I should go."

"Wait, Greg," Alan said, "I'd be happy to find you books to read and tutor you through some of the material you'll need."

House's blue eyes narrowed. "Why would you do something like that? You don't even know me."

"I can see you're smart, you just need a little structure to your studies," Alan replied mildly. "I've dedicated my life to learning and it's always a treat to share knowledge with another who not only shares a passion for learning, but is smart enough to appreciate it."

"You're serious," House said.

"Completely," Alan smiled. "But it's a big decision, if you want to talk it over with your parents first then I understand. I'm generally here around this time every day if you want to let me know."

"No, I want the lessons."

Alan nodded. "I'll have to bring some of my personal books for you to read," he said. "But, for a start, do you want to borrow that anatomy book? I'd be happy to check it out for you."

"I shouldn't," House said.

"Your father?"

"Yeah."

"Could you keep it hidden from him? In your bag maybe, or in your room?"

"I can try. I still don't know why you're doing this for me."

"Because I want to. Maybe I see a little of myself in your eyes, Greg. The next time you can sneak off, I'll be here. I promise you that."

House looked suspicious again. "How'd you know I snuck off base?" he asked.

"You said you weren't supposed to be here," Alan said. "That's almost the exact phrasing I used with one of my tutors when I snuck away from my father to study. When you feel more comfortable around me, I'll tell you about him. Come on; let's go check out that book for you."
********************

He wasn't sure exactly what it was about Greg House that called to him. Maybe it was the intense blue eyes, as deep blue as his own, but guarded. No one so young should look so scared at the prospect of human contact, at the simple thought of someone being nice to them. Alan was fighting the urge to go to Greg's home and get him to leave, to run away with him. But he knew that Greg was still flighty and wouldn't be willing to leave his house, no matter how bad his home life was, to go with a complete stranger. As much as it pained him, he'd have to just leave things alone and earn Greg's trust.

He settled on his bed and focused on Greg's face. He found his young man in his own bedroom studying the anatomy textbook. Alan smiled fondly at the look of intense concentration Greg was directing at the book; he was obviously working hard to memorize as much as he could. It was possible that everyone, even Alan, had underestimated exactly how intelligent Greg actually was. He only hoped that he'd be able to keep up with his young man.

Greg shifted on his bed and the fabric of his slacks pulled tight around his rear, and Alan moaned. Over the past nine lives he'd had both male and female lovers, but he always preferred the men. He knew that his young man was still a teenager, but most of him didn't care. Alan wouldn't touch him until Greg indicated he was interested and was of legal age. The wait would be painful, but Alan knew that the last thing Greg needed was an adult making love to him. It was painfully obvious that Greg had no idea how to relate to either adults or people his own age – and Alan needed to help him learn that first.

Alan banished the vision of Greg and settled in more comfortably on his bed. He made sure all his mental shields were in place and closed his eyes, mind working over a new fantasy. He pictured Greg lying on the bed in front of him, deep blue eyes gazing up at him with both love and trust shining there.

"I will always be there for you, Greg," Alan whispered. He slipped his shirt off and sat down on the bed next to his young man. "I will always love you. You are so perfect."

"Alan, please," Greg whispered. He reached out with a trembling hand and ran it down the pale skin, the texture of chest hair strange and foreign to him. "Tell me what to do."

"Do whatever you want," Alan replied with a gentle smile. "You won't be able to hurt me."

"I don't know what to do," Greg said.

Alan leaned in slowly and kissed Greg gently. He braced his weight on his far hand and ran the free one up under Greg's t-shirt. The young man whimpered and seemed unsure of what he should do with his hands. Alan smiled softly and opened his mouth, tracing Greg's lips with his tongue as Greg's hands finally settled on his chest. Alan wanted to be able to taste his young lover, but he wasn't going to push Greg into anything.

Greg's mouth fell open with a low moan and Alan darted his tongue out to map and taste. He used his tongue to coax Greg's into action and slowly teased it back into his own mouth. He moaned in the back of his throat as Greg's tongue stroked over his own.

Alan started moving his fingers slowly over Greg's still smooth chest, stroking and tracing random patters on the soft skin. He used his lips and tongue to teach Greg how to explore a partner's mouth. Greg moaned as Alan's fingers brushed over a nipple and the sensitive skin tightened under the knowing touch. Alan finally broke the kiss so his young lover could gasp for air and coaxed him out of his t-shirt.

"Will you still want me when I'm older?" Greg asked.

"I will always want you," Alan replied. "By rights I shouldn't even be touching you. I should wait until you're older, but I want to show you how special you are to me."

Alan opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He glanced down and found that his cock was still hard and he'd managed to completely strip off his clothes. But somehow his fantasy had morphed into a vision of the near future. He hadn't been planning to touch Greg for months, maybe even years, and yet it looked like something was going to happen to change his mind. It had been a few hundred years since he'd taken such a young lover – ever since kids were no longer seen as small adults – and he knew that it was wrong in society's eyes to make love to a teenager. But society didn't have to know about his real relationship with Greg.

Alan gave up on fantasies and wrapped his hand around his erection and started stroking. He was to the point that all he wanted was release and wasn't going to do anything fancy. His free hand pinched his nipples roughly as he twisted his hand as it moved up and down his cock. He could feel everything building up in him and his hand started moving faster. Finally everything came together and Alan's body seized up in a hard climax. He sighed and licked his hand clean, picturing Greg's tongue on his fingers.

He focused on Greg's face again and found that his boy was still studying the anatomy book. Alan smiled fondly and settled in to keep a watch over Greg through the night.
********************

Alan made it a point to be not only at the library but in the anatomy section every day after his first meeting with his boy. He wanted to prove to Greg that he was serious about not only teaching him, but being his friend as well. And Greg absorbed the lessons like a sponge. The younger man wasn't able to sneak away every day, no matter how much he obviously wanted to, and Alan would use the days in the library to work on his own thesis if Greg didn't show.

In his fifth life, one spent mainly in Rome, Alan had studied medicine. So while he wasn't exactly up to date on medical techniques, he brought in some of his old medical books to teach Greg the history of medicine. And Greg loved it. As Alan watched he slowly came out of his protective shell and was able to make eye contact with Alan. He loved having those intelligent sparkling blue eyes focused on him while they were talking. Slowly their meetings moved from the library to Alan's apartment where they didn't have to worry about how loudly they talked. Alan was thrilled that Greg trusted him enough to come into his home and made sure never to let on exactly how much he wanted his boy physically.

It had become a habit of Alan's to watch over Greg whenever they weren't together. It did nothing to help his own studies, but it gave him any number of insights into how best to help Greg. His father didn't seem to have a pattern to his abuse, and Alan didn't have a way to watch the elder House – his spy talent only worked on people he cared deeply for – but the creativity of the beatings and other abuse chilled Alan. Children were the most precious gift in the world and no one should be allowed to hurt them. Alan was surprised, and hurt, that Greg's mother didn't do anything to help her son. He's listened to Greg sobbing into his pillow, wondering why his parents didn't love him, and Alan couldn't help but cry along with his young man. He didn't have any answers for Greg, and that hurt him more than anything.

Alan felt his heart break even more when Greg arrived at his apartment in early September with his left eye swollen completely shut. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" he asked softly as he made up an ice pack.

"I, I can't," Greg whispered.

"When you can, I'll be here to listen," Alan said. He handed Greg the ice pack and sat down with him at the table where he had a couple of old medical texts open and waiting for them. "And I want you to know you can always com here no matter what, even if I'm not home."

"Thank you," Greg said softly. He settled the ice carefully against his eye. "Alan, as much as I want to read, I don't know how focused I'll be today."

"Do you want to just stay here a while and rest?" Alan asked. He reached over and ran a hand gently through Greg's hair. "I'll wake you up when you need to leave for supper."

"I feel safe here," Greg said out of the blue. His eye widened in shock and he looked down quickly.

Alan swallowed and lifted Greg's chin carefully. He stared into Greg's wide blue eye for a moment before leaning in slowly and just pressing his lips over Greg's own. As he felt Greg relax against him, Alan started moving his lips slowly, caressing Greg's and just enjoying the physical closeness between them. "Greg, tell me if you don't want this," he whispered.

"No one's ever kissed me before."

"By rights I shouldn't; society will want to keep me away from you."

"They've never cared about me before so they can just butt out now," Greg said. "Do you have anything I can read about this?"

"I've got some magazines and a book or two around here somewhere," Alan smiled. "But Greg, same sex relationships are not easy and are not accepted by society."

"I don't care," Greg said. He shifted the ice pack and leaned forward again. "Alan, women don't interest me at all, they haven't ever had an effect on me. What you just did sent a shock through me."

"Then I'll teach you. Like everything else in life, practical experience is the best way to learn," Alan said. "Go ahead and read the next chapter in here and I'll go dig around and see what I can find for you."

"Alan, will it hurt?" Greg asked. "I mean I really don't know what two men do together."

"I'd be worried if you did," Alan smiled. "All right, come on, you can sit on my bed and we can talk while I'm digging around."

He knew that this wasn't the moment he'd seen because Greg hadn't had a black eye when they were kissing in his bedroom. But at least he knew what made his resolve fade and why he touched his boy so soon.

"There are any number of things men can do to and with each other," Alan started as he opened his closet. "Starting with kissing and ending with full penetrative sex."

"How much can you show me?"

"How much do you know about your own body?"

Greg ducked his head and adjusted his ice pack again. "Nothing," he said. "I don't, I can't do anything."

"Then we'll start at the beginning," Alan said gently. He had to work to not show how surprised he was. It wasn't unheard of for parents to scare a child out of exploration – at least for a time – and it hurt that it had been done to his boy. Everyone should be allowed to explore their own body without fear. "We don't have enough time today, Greg, but we can start the next time you come over."

"Did you ever hate your life growing up?"

"Frequently," Alan smiled. He sat down on the bed next to Greg. "Here are a couple of gay porn magazines that'll at least let you find out what men do together. But I want a promise, Greg. If there is every anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or that you don't like, I want you to tell me, okay?"

"Yeah, and I should go. Will you kiss me again?"

Alan leaned in and took his boy's mouth in another gentle kiss, again just letting his lips dance softly over Greg's. He wanted more than ever to just keep Greg with him and was starting to see that it was an option that was going to force a decision in the near future. "Remember, you can come here whenever you want," Alan whispered. "I want this to be a home for you too, Greg."

"I still want to know why you're doing this," Greg said. He handed the damp ice pack back, took the magazines and left before Alan could say anything.

"Because I love you, my boy," Alan whispered. He sighed, went to clean up the apartment and work on his thesis for a while.
********************

That night Alan went to bed naked and focused on Greg's face. He found his boy in his own room, door closed with a chair propped under the door knob. "I will kill him for hurting you, my love," Alan whispered. He knew that his boy would likely never admit to what had happened to him, let alone want to press charges against his father. But Alan knew that, some day, the elder House would fell into a situation where he would be at Alan's mercy. Then the bully would find out exactly what abuse meant.

He could tell that Greg was reading one of the magazines he'd loaned him and grinned. Alan wrapped a slick hand around his hardening erection and decided to see if he could hold his vision of Greg while he got slowly lost in the pleasure of his own touch. He couldn't wait until he could feel his boy's touch on his body.

Greg was obviously absorbed in what he was reading and Alan narrowed his focus for a moment to see which story Greg was on. To his surprise it was one of the bondage stories and he winced. That would be the one thing Alan would never be able to do with his young man – he would never hurt Greg.

Even though Greg was under the covers, almost as if he was hiding, Alan could tell that his boy was turned on by what he was reading. He stroked himself for a few minutes wondering what Greg would look like when he was naked and aroused. Alan's mouth watered at the thought that he'd be the first one to touch Greg, the first one to see the light of arousal bloom in Greg's eyes, the first one to witness his climax. Alan moaned softly when he thought about how tight Greg's body would be and his cock jumped in his hand. He'd start Greg with a finger and work his way slowly over a few weeks until the muscle was trained and Alan could slide into Greg's body with the bare minimum of pain. He couldn't wait to feel the tightness of another man's body around him again.

He'd have to be careful not to bite Greg during climax. Alan didn't want his boy to learn about his true nature – hiding was still too deeply ingrained in him. He'd love to have his boy with him forever, to know that Greg wouldn't age and die, but Alan wasn't going to cross that line.

It was the way that Greg's eyes widened when he came across a picture of two men together – one riding the other – that sent Alan into his climax. The image of Greg in his bedroom blurred and waivered, but didn't fade. Alan grinned to himself and settled back against his pillows with a sigh. He planned to watch until Greg fell asleep and had a feeling there was at least one more orgasm for him that night. His innocent boy was much hotter than he knew – and Alan couldn't wait to get his hands on him.

***

Chapter 6

Wilson looked over at Cuddy. "Where is he?"

"He didn't say," Cuddy sighed. "But I don't think Chase had anything to do with this, James. He was really upset. I didn't mean to fire him; I don't know what's going on anymore."

"What else did he say?" Wilson put the now full food dish in the cage and closed the door again. "I'm going to get him a salad from the cafeteria, do you want anything?"

"James, it's a rat."

"He's all I have left of House."

"I think Chase knows what really happened," Cuddy said.

"What?"

"That's what else he said to me. Chase told me he couldn't work with you any more. Is there any way he could've worked out what happened between you and House?"

Wilson sank down in a chair and put his head in his hands. "I still don't know what happened between me and House," he said. "But its possible Chase saw the bruises on House's body and worked everything out."

"And I still think Chase was in love with House," Cuddy continued.

Before Wilson could say anything, Cuddy's phone rang. She sighed and moved to answer it, keeping one eye on Wilson who seemed to be growing even more depressed. "It's for you, James."

Wilson glanced up and took the receiver. "This is Dr. Wilson."

"Hey James, I was able to find the name you wanted along with some other contact information," one of his old friends said. "Do you want me to fax this stuff to you?"

"Please, that's great," Wilson replied. "I'll take you out to dinner the next time you're in town."

"James?" Cuddy asked.

"One of my friends came through," Wilson replied as he hung up, "and managed to find the name of the man who got House into college."

Cuddy sat down at her desk and rubbed her head. "James, you've met House's parents. Do you really believe his father abused him?"

"Why would House lie about something like this?" Wilson asked. "Especially as he never told anyone about it, only wrote it down in that journal. I don't see any reason he should lie to his diary."

"How well was it hidden?"

"Extremely; if I hadn't been digging around trying to find the rat treats I wouldn't have found it at all. House doesn't strike me as the type to keep a journal. It makes me wonder what else I didn't know about him."

"James, you do know House's parents will be here in a couple of days to pack up his things," Cuddy said. "I need to be sure that you're going to be nice to them. They just lost their son."

"I wish you hadn't called them," Wilson sighed. He looked up as the fax machine started. "As near as I can tell from the diary House never talked to them. And it really makes sense if you think about it; he never wanted to see them and went out of his way to avoid them."

"What was I supposed to do?" Cuddy asked. She handed over the fax. "He's their only child."

Wilson flipped through the fax and grinned. "Alan Morris," he said. "That's the name of the man who got House into school."

"So what are you going to do next?" Cuddy asked. She had the feeling that the focused, organized and dedicated doctor Wilson had been died along with House, and she was at a loss as to what she could do to help.

"There's an address and a phone number, so I guess I can call and see if he's willing to talk to me," Wilson said. He paused for a moment. "Lisa, did you know that House was only fifteen when he started college?"

Cuddy sat down in the chair next to Wilson. "What?"

"That's what it says here, he was only fifteen and he was granted entry to the program on a special waiver and test scores. It looks like this Alan Morris guy pulled some major strings to get House into school. I wonder how he managed to convince the school that he was House's guardian when House's parents were still alive."

"Do you think this is the same guy that got Tritter to back off?" Cuddy asked. "We were wondering about that and House was so positive that nothing was going to happen. Is it possible that this guy has enough power and connections to get House into such an elite program and control local police departments?"

"How much power would that take?"

"A lot. You might want to rethink talking with this guy, James. He might be able to take you out without breaking a sweat."

Wilson shook his head. "I need answers. I need to know if House is alive or not and I need to know what happened to him," he said. "I'm sure that House hated me after I left my office, left him so broken on the floor, but I need to know for sure."

"All right, I'm going to go check and see how everything is going, and I'll pick up a salad for that rat," Cuddy said. "You make your calls and then we can talk about a new office for you."

"Thank you." Wilson felt like an idiot for doing it, but he called House's cell phone. He wasn't surprised when it went directly to voicemail.

"This is Dr. Gregory House. I don't want to talk to you, or anyone, ever. Leave a message if you think you have to. I never check for them."

Wilson wiped his eyes. "Hey House, Greg. I'm not sure what's going on and I'm probably wasting my time, but I really just wanted to hear your voice," he said. "If, by some miracle you're alive and you get this, call me. I know you'll probably hate me forever, but I love you. God, Greg, I love you so much and I'm so sorry for what happened when you kissed me. I'm an idiot who doesn't deserve you. I have Steve McQueen and I swear I'll take good care of him. Bye, Greg. I love you."

He took a moment to calm down, get his breathing and voice under control before he called the number for Alan Morris. Wilson was shaking, he had no clue exactly who he was about to talk to, but he had a feeling that Cuddy was right – this was not a man he wanted to piss off.

"Yes?" a cool and in-control male voice answered.

"Is this Alan Morris?" Wilson asked.

"Who is this?"

"My name is James Wilson; I work with a friend of yours, Greg House."

"Ah yes, I do recognize the name," Alan said. "From when Greg called and told me he didn't want to live any more. Why, exactly, are you calling me?"

"Did you get Detective Tritter to back of and get his cases investigated?" Wilson asked.

"The man was a disgrace who didn't deserve to carry a badge," Alan said. "Yes, that was me, Dr. Wilson. I only wish I'd known sooner, because then you wouldn't have been able to hurt my boy so badly."

"I can't tell you how sorry I am for that."

"Yes, I imagine you are," Alan said. "Beating another doctor almost to death and driving them to suicide doesn't look good on a doctor's record, does it?"

Wilson was stung. "I don't give a damn about my record, my career or my reputation. I know I messed up, but you knew what he was planning and didn't do a thing to stop him. At least I tried to save him. You just sat by and let him kill himself."

"You, Dr. Wilson, don't know who you're talking to," Alan hissed. "I can break you with a single phone call."

"You're too late, I was broken the minute I found House dead in his office," Wilson said. "There's nothing you can do to me that will hurt."

"You're an idiot," Alan said. "Greg told me all about you, how you care about everyone, to the point of ruining three marriages. I warned him to stay away from you, but he wouldn't listen to me. He said you'd never hurt him and now he's dead. It's all your fault."

Wilson wiped his eyes. "I don't think Greg is dead."

"What?"

"There's too much that's not adding up for me," Wilson said. "I don't think House managed to kill himself and he's still alive."

There was silence from the other end of the phone. Wilson swallowed hard and continued. "I found his diary and know what his father did to him. I know that you saved his life and helped get him into med school."

"You don't know anything," Alan whispered, and somehow it was scarier than his hissed warning. "I will only tell you this once, Dr. Wilson. You are messing with something you don't understand and someone you do not want to piss off. Drop. This. Now."

"House's parents will be here soon," Wilson said trying to hide exactly how scared he was. "What should I tell them?"

"They've never given a damn about him before, so why should they start now?" Alan asked. "In fact, I think you won't be seeing them any time soon."

Before Wilson could ask what Alan was talking about, the line went dead. He put the phone down, rested his head on his arms and started crying.
********************

As Cuddy walked through the hospital she was stunned. With as many complaints as she had received against House, she was sure that everyone hated him. But everywhere Cuddy looked she saw people crying and, while she realized some of them were likely tears of joy, she wondered if House ever knew exactly how many lives he touched. She reasoned that he probably hadn't, because House didn't believe anyone was capable of telling the truth.

Cuddy wasn't sure what had happened between House and Wilson for everything to end up like it had. And, as much as she kept telling Wilson it wasn't his fault House was dead, Cuddy suspected that it probably was. House had just been House for all the problems with Tritter and had been positive that nothing was going to happen to him or anyone in the hospital. And then he was gone. She wondered how much House had loved Wilson to not want to live without him.

She paused in front of her office door. Wilson was sitting with his head down on her desk, his shoulders and back shaking. Cuddy sighed, she was positive of two things – Wilson loved House deeply and House's suicide had broken him.

"Do you think the rat wants fruit salad or regular salad?" Cuddy asked as she closed the door behind her.

"The fruit would be a nice treat for him," Wilson replied. "He's evil, Lisa."

She backed away from the cage. "Then you feed him."

Wilson lifted his head and wiped his eyes. "Not Steve McQueen, House's friend. You were right, I shouldn't have called him."

"What happened?"

"He threatened me and House's parents," Wilson said. "I'd be really surprised if they show up here. From the sound of things this Alan Morris has just been waiting for a chance to be alone with House's parents."

"What do you think is going to happen?"

Before Wilson could answer there was a knock and the door opened. "Cuddy, can we come in?" Cameron asked.

"Of course," Cuddy smiled. "How are you doing?"

"These were in our conference room when we got back from the morgue," Foreman said. He held up an envelope with his name on it. "There were ones for both of you and Chase as well. Where'd they come from and who left them?"

Wilson took the envelope with his name on it and opened it with shaking hands. "There has to be at least five thousand dollars in here," he said. "House." He remembered an argument that wasn't really an argument when he found out about House's experiment to measure their relationship in terms of money. The largest amount had been five thousand to buy the bike. Wilson knew that the money most likely came from Alan Morris, but he thought House likely had a hand in deciding the amounts they were each given. Leave it to House to remind him of happier times in their friendship.

"When I spoke with the chief of police about Tritter he said we'd all be compensated for what happened," Cuddy said. "So I imagine that's what this is. Ii don't know who left them, though. The city doesn't have that kind of money."

"It was Alan," Wilson said quietly. "And this is a message to all of us from House."

"How can you be so sure?" Cuddy asked.

"Because this is exactly how much House borrowed from me to buy his bike," Wilson replied. "He paid me back, but that has to be what this means."

"But House never borrowed money from the rest of us," Cameron said. "So that doesn't make any sense."

"And who the hell is Alan?" Foreman added with a frown.

Cuddy and Wilson looked at each other. Wilson sighed. "He's an old friend of House's," he said. "I didn't even know about him until after House, after House died."

Cameron was closest to the tissues and passed the box to Wilson. "I can't imagine how hard this is for you," she said softly.

"House lived to make things hard," Foreman snorted. "So what's going to happen to us?"

"Do you even care that your boss is dead?" Wilson demanded standing up.

"Why should I, he didn't give a damn about me," Foreman replied. "I'm lucky I still have my license and aren't in jail with some of the shit House made me do."

"He might not have been able to show it, but House cared about both of you," Wilson said. "You didn't see him when you were sick, Foreman. He went out of his way to cure you, to keep you alive. House was scared to death for you and now you're standing there and saying you don't care that he's dead. What kind of human being are you?"

"A practical one with bills to pay," Foreman said. "And House went out of his way to make me miserable the second I came back to work."

"Insults were how House showed love," Wilson yelled. "And if you couldn't see that then you're an idiot."

"James," Cuddy said softly putting a hand on his shoulder.

"No, I'm not going to stand here and listen to this," Wilson said. He shrugged off her hand and stormed out of Cuddy's office.

"He just watched his best friend die," Cameron exclaimed. "How can you be so insensitive?"

"Wilson brought this on himself by choosing to be friends with House in the first place," Foreman said. "Cuddy, what's going to happen to us?"

"For now you'll work in your fields," Cuddy replied with a small sigh. "I don't know if the board will want to keep diagnostics open without House here. Take a couple of days off while we get the schedules worked out. Cameron, can you stay a moment, please?"

"What's up?" Cameron asked once Foreman was gone.

"First off, let Foreman be," Cuddy replied. "You don't have to work with him directly and we really don't need any more drama around here."

"I know, but it's just so hard. I mean, how can anyone not care that a friend or co-worker is dead?"

"Some doctors are like that, they learn to close off their hearts so they don't get hurt when their patients die," Cuddy said. "I guess Foreman has done that, but he'll miss House in his own way. Now, I need a favor; you've been to Chase's apartment before, haven't you?"

"Once or twice."

"I need to know if he's home," Cuddy said. "There's something going on with him and I'm afraid I lost my temper and fired him."

"What?"

"I'm going to call him back and let him know that he still has a job," Cuddy said tiredly. "But I do need to know if he's home and I think he'll talk with you. Take the envelope and slip it under the door too. I just want to make sure he's okay."

"Sure, no problem."

Cuddy smiled. "Thanks, Cameron. Now I have to go and track Wilson down. I'm really worried about him." And yet, before she left her office, she took a minute and put some fruit in the cage for Steve McQueen.
********************

Wilson's feet carried him to the roof without any input from his brain. He couldn't count the number of times he'd had to track House down on the roof and he'd never really understood why House seemed to like the roof so much. But it was quiet and no one else was around.

As much as he hated to admit it, Wilson had a feeling that he wasn't going to be alive much longer. Wilson wondered if he should start putting his affairs in order. When he'd spoken with Alan he'd heard more than just their conversation; he'd heard the underlying menace in the voice and just a hint of his own mortality.

He wondered why House had never mentioned Alan before. It was obvious exactly how much Alan cared about House, and it was odd that the man hadn't done more to try and prevent House's suicide. Wilson just knew, somehow, House was still alive and he wanted to find him. Even if it ended with House punching Wilson, at least he'd know he hadn't killed his best friend. He very likely killed their friendship and any chance at a relationship, but Wilson would be able to live with himself if he just knew House was alive.

The problem was that Wilson had no clue where to start. He could find out exactly where Alan lived and go talk to him, but Wilson really didn't want to meet the other man. It felt a little too much like the lamb throwing himself to the lion, and even with as much pain as Wilson was in; he didn't want to die just yet. Maybe he could find something else at House's apartment, something like the diary that would give Wilson a hint into his friend's past.

Above all, Wilson wondered why House didn't trust him enough to tell him the truth. It had been impossible to keep any sort of secret from House, there was something about the blue gaze he would turn on you, but he always managed to keep everything about himself hidden. It hurt to know that House had parts of his life that he'd kept hidden from everyone at the hospital – and hadn't trusted Wilson enough to tell him. Wilson remembered House saying that he wanted to tell Wilson something, but couldn't until he tried something. He wondered if House had been planning to come clean about this secret life he was leading.

How could Wilson not have known about Alan?

"James, what are you doing up here?"

"House always came up here," Wilson replied. "I need answers, Lisa. I need to know what's going on."

"I asked Cameron to see if Chase was home," Cuddy said. "I really do think he knows more than he told me."

"He won't be there," Wilson said. "I don't know where he is, but he won't be there. Can I leave Steve McQueen in your office? I want to go back to House's place and see if I can find anything."

"I really think you should drop it," Cuddy said. "You said that Alan Morris is evil. Why do you want to get involved in his business anyway? He seems to be powerful enough to ruin you with one phone call."

Wilson sighed. "He could probably kill me with a single phone call," he said.

"So why even risk it? Why not just drop everything until we figure out what happened with House and Chase? James, we can't lose you too. We wouldn't survive that."

"You might not have a choice," Wilson said softly. "I think I'm already on Alan's hit list, likely right below House's parents. That's why I need to start as soon as possible."

"Do you really think House is alive?"

"I have to," Wilson said. "I have to believe he's alive because that's the only thought keeping me going. I have to believe it because otherwise I keep seeing House's face when I pushed him over and beat him. I can't forget the look in his eyes."

"This is why I want you to talk with someone," Cuddy said. "You can't carry this guilt around inside of you, it'll kill you."

He smiled sadly. "So it's a race between my own mind killing me and Alan doing it," he said. "In a way I hope Alan get to me quickly. At least the pain would end."

Cuddy was struck speechless. Wilson sighed again and pushed away from the wall. He shuffled back towards the door and Cuddy couldn't help but think that death would be the best thing for Wilson – and then hated herself for the thought.

***

Chapter 7

House felt a deep sense of relief wash through him as he stepped into Alan's house. He was home. He limped to the office and opened the door without knocking. His father, his sire, his lover and his friend was standing staring out the window at the wild ocean. "Hello, Greg."

"Alan," House said hating the way his voice broke.

Horatio Alan Caine turned from the window and pulled his son into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Greg," he whispered. "I never wanted to leave you. I never meant to hurt you so deeply, and I love you so very much."

"Don't let Speed hear you say that," House murmured. "He's scared that I'm going to steal you away from him. He doesn't want me around."

"Greg, what are you hiding?" Horatio asked.

"Wilson broke bones. I didn't want to start my heart without you to monitor me," House whispered. He buried his face against Horatio's neck to hide his tears. "You were right, Alan, I shouldn't have said anything. But I honestly thought Wilson was different. I was an idiot."

"You, my boy, you needed to take the chance," Horatio said as he carefully rubbed House's back. "Because you need to believe in love. I've seen happiness for you, Greg, but you need to heal first."

"How can I find happiness and love when no one but you wants me here?" House asked softly. "I can read their minds, Alan. Tim can't stand the sight of me, no matter how much he tries to hide it, Eric is following his friend's lead, and Chase is scared of me."

"If you hadn't shown your fangs, my love, he wouldn't be scared," Horatio said. He settled down on the couch carefully with House's weight on him. "But I also understand why you did. I've made so many mistakes with you, Greg. I never told you this, my boy, but I had to fight with myself not to kidnap you the first night I was in town."

"Why would you want to kidnap me?"

Horatio ran a hand through House's hair as he felt the other vampire's heart start beating. He knew that House would start hurting soon from the venom in his system – or worse. "Greg, I knew exactly what your father was doing to you and the only reason I didn't take you away was because I knew we'd be hunted down and then I wouldn't be able to help you."

"I don't blame you for that," House said. "You were exactly what I needed at the time and you have always been exactly what I needed when I needed you."

"Except one time," Horatio said softly. "The night I asked you to bond I meant the words with all my being. And I honestly believed you didn't want to bond with me. It's why I left and why I let our relationship evolve into what it's been for the past twenty years. I thought this is what you wanted."

"Why even bring this up?" House asked. He pushed up just enough so he could gaze into Horatio's blue eyes. "Alan, you're bonded to Speed and nothing will change that. I'm exactly what everyone thinks I am. I'm a broken, sarcastic bastard who will always be alone because no one wants to be around me. You're my father, my best friend and lover, and I doubt you'll be able to tolerate me for more than a few months."

"No, that's not true my love," Horatio said. "Greg, my boy, my love, I know what you've been through. I know it's changed you. I know that you think you're damaged, but under it all I also know you're still my boy. And even if you never show that side of yourself again, I will always love you. I will always want you at my side."

"What have you seen, Alan?" House asked. He settled back down and tried not to flinch as the pain started to spark through his body.

Horatio kissed his temple gently. "Let me know when you need a break," he said. "I've seen you here in Miami, happy, with Dr. Chase."

"I told Speed I wouldn't stay," House whispered.

"Why would you tell him something like that?"

"He wasn't censoring his thoughts," House said. "I'm sorry, Alan, I need a break."

"Rest, you can take as long as you need. What was Tim thinking, Greg?"

"I told you, he's afraid you'll leave him for me. He wants to know more about our relationship because then he'll know how to keep you with him."

Horatio sighed. "I'll talk with him," he said. "He should know that once a vampire bonds it can never be broken, no matter what."

"It can one way," House murmured. "Let me sleep, Alan. I'm so tired."

"That's your body telling you to eat and heal," Horatio said. "I'll see if I can get Calleigh or Alexx to stop by. Do you want to sleep in here?"

"Yeah, feels like you; feels safe."

Horatio closed his eyes for a moment. In some ways House was still the boy he'd saved from his abusive parents. He knew it would be hard on Speed, it would strain their relationship, but Horatio was going to insist that House stay with them until he was healed – both physically and mentally.

"I will always do my best to keep you safe, my love," Horatio whispered. He helped settle House on the sofa, covered him with a light blanket and went to find Speed. They needed to talk.
********************

Chase went out on the deck with Speed and Eric; Frank having gone home to check on his wife. "So what happens now?" Chase asked.

"You'll get to meet the boss and we'll find out what he wants to do next," Speed replied. "You'll find that most things around here revolve around what the boss says, but I'd expect he'll help you find a job here in Miami if you're really serious about staying with House."

"He needs me," Chase said. "I'm not going to let him run me off, no matter how much he wants to. Can this boss of yours really get me a job?"

"Yes," a soft voice said from behind them. "Welcome to Miami and to my home, Dr. Chase."

Chase turned around. There was a man standing there staring intently at him. He had bright red hair, soft blue eyes and an air around him that made Chase feel safe. "Are you Alan?"

"Greg is the only one who calls me that anymore," Horatio replied with a soft smile. "Even though it is a variation on my birth name. In this life, here in Miami, I'm known as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, a CSI with the Miami-Dade Crime lab. Will you do me a favor, Dr. Chase? Greg made his heart beat to heal some broken bones and the hell hound venom is back in his system. Would you be willing to give him a shot of morphine to east the pain a little? He's asleep in my office; I left the first aid kit next to the sofa."

"He never mentioned anything about broken bones," Speed exclaimed. "God he's stubborn."

"Tim," Horatio said softly.

"I'll go check on him," Chase said. "Although I still don't get it."

"I promise I'll explain everything," Horatio smiled. "Eric, will you show Dr. Chase to the office, please?"

"Yeah, you got it, H," Eric said.

Speed sighed and looked over at Horatio. "So what do you want to yell at me for first?" he asked.

"Why would you lie to me, Tim?"

"What?"

"You said that you didn't care if I slept with Greg to help him heal, and you do," Horatio said. "Did you only say that in the hope that I'd refuse and you could be extra sure of your place in my heart? Or were you only telling me what you thought I wanted to hear?"

"Why doesn't he stay out of our heads?" Speed demanded. "God, doesn't he understand personal boundaries?"

Horatio looked at Speed sadly. "Tim, to understand Greg you have to first understand yourself."

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

"Think about what you know of abused children, multiply that by ten and you might start to understand what Greg has gone through in his life. He reads minds to stay safe, and you can't block Greg like you can Eric. No one can, not even me. Greg is able to not only read minds, but also faces, bodies and mannerisms, just like anyone else who has been abused."

"You mean like you did to him?" Speed hissed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Was House lying when he said you started sleeping with him when he was fifteen?"

Horatio sighed. He hadn't exactly wanted Speed to find out about how long he'd been sleeping with his boy, but he wasn't ashamed of his relationship with Greg and he wasn't going to hide it. "You don't understand, Tim."

"Then it's true?"

"Yes, it's true. Greg has been my boy since I first saw him die in a vision," Horatio replied softly. "He's never been a child and neither of us has ever been ashamed of what we have between us. I kissed him for the first time when he was beaten by his biological father and we slowly became lovers." Horatio smiled softly, remembering exactly how House had come alive under his touch and been such an eager student. "And the only time I hurt him is when I left."

"Listen to yourself, you sound just like the scumbags we arrest for molesting children," Speed shouted. "The same people – no monsters – that we arrest and you are a hypocrite. You did the same thing they do and you don't see a thing wrong with sleeping with a child. What kind of creature are you? Is there anything else you've kept hidden from me?"

"Speed, I'm over one thousand years old and you've known me for six," Horatio said calmly. "I have lived through and done things that you cannot imagine and that I choose to keep to myself because they concern no one but me."

"We're bonded, that's not for you to decide!"

Horatio turned and looked out at the ocean. "It is for me to decide because it is my past," he said calmly. "I'm keeping you safe, Tim. As to Greg, he's always been old. His youth was stolen from him by the monster who murdered him."

"He was fifteen years old."

"And I was nine hundred and something," Horatio said. "What exactly is your point here, Speed? I'm nothing like those bastards we arrest. I'm from another age when Greg would've been considered an adult and, in all ways but one, he was. His blue eyes were ancient when I first met him, and so very haunted. Tell me you would've walked away from someone so obviously in pain."

"I wouldn't have abused and raped them!"

"Is that really what you believe, Tim?" Horatio asked sadly. "Is that what you think I'm capable of? That I would hurt a child?"

"A week ago I would've said no chance in hell, but I'm starting to think I don't know you at all," Speed spat.

"You're still so young, Speed," Horatio said. "Live a few centuries and see if you still have the same views. In a way we live outside society and don't have to abide by their rules. I chose to enforce the laws in this life because I thought it would be interesting and it has been. It also brought me you, Eric and Ryan. But it's also brought my boy back home to me and I'm not going to choose between you and Greg. And I refuse to let you put me in that position."

"H, we need you," Eric yelled from inside the house.

"Don't walk away from me," Speed hissed.

"Grow up, Tim, and go research hell hound bites," Horatio said. "We'll talk about you killing without permission later.

Horatio ran into the house and to his office. He had a feeling he knew what the problem was, and it wasn't good. "Eric, get Dr. Chase out of here, now," he snapped. "And keep everyone away until I say it's safe."

"What's wrong?" Chase asked as he was pulled from the room.

It was the hell hound venom. It had made its way into House's brain and was trying to take him over. To turn him into one of the monsters that Hollywood was so fond of. And there was no way in hell that Horatio was going to let that happen to his boy. He grabbed a bag from his desk and injected the antidote directly into House's heart. Horatio hated to force House's heart to start beating again, when it was so clear that the venom already had a hold of him, but it was the quickest way to solve the problem.

House arched off the sofa with a scream, his body spasming in pain, the morphine already in his system doing absolutely nothing for him. Horatio straddled House's hips and used his own body weight to hold his boy in place. And he started talking. "You'll never guess who found my phone number, Greg. It seems that James Wilson is smarter than either of us realized," Horatio said softly. He needed to keep House's focus on him to keep him human. "Wilson is convinced that not only are you still alive, but I know where you are and what happened to you. I think I managed to scare him into keeping his mouth shut for now, but we need to talk about what we're going to do about him. And I know it pains you to hear this, but I need your help with Tim. He's not taking it too well that we became lovers when you were still so young." He moved through another convulsion. "I know you're in there my boy, my love and I know that you are so much stronger than the venom."

"Alan," House whispered. "Hurts. Need rest."

"Not yet, Greg, not yet; you need to let the antidote work," Horatio said. "You've been through this before; I know you can do it. You were so smart to wait until you got here to start your heart so I could monitor you, so brave to last through so much pain until you got here. Just a little longer and you can rest. I'll even make you some soup for dinner, your favorite. How does that sound?"

"Good," House managed between his teeth.

Horatio smiled. "Why don't you come out with me and you can criticize my cooking skills and snark at everyone else," he suggested. "Do you remember when I taught you to make the soup? I think you were about seventeen and were too cool to cook."

"I remember," House said and bit his lip to keep from crying out as another spasm shot through his body.

"Greg, look at me," Horatio commanded.

House forced his eyes open and looked up at Horatio. The red head stared intently into House's pain filled; teary blue eyes and found them clear. He'd been in time. "You can stop, Greg," Horatio said. "You've won again, my boy."

"Hurts," House said as he went limp.

"I know it does, give me a second." Horatio moved to the floor and set up another morphine injection. "Come on, my boy, I want you where I can keep an eye on you. I'm not going to let the venom take you away from me."
********************

Eric watched as Dr. Chase paced back and forth on the deck. That scream they'd heard hadn't served to calm the young doctor down any. "I doubt that wearing a hole in the wood will do anything."

"It keeps me from thinking," Chase replied. "What's happening in there? Will Greg be okay?"

"I don't know, I've only been a vampire for a year," Eric said. "I was shot in the head and my boyfriend turned me. Horatio told me I was actually dead before Ryan got to me, but I managed to hang on, somehow."

"Do you have to be dying to be turned?" Chase asked with another nervous glance towards the house. He was really worried about House.

"I don't think so," Eric replied. He really wished Speed was around to answer questions, but the slightly older vampire was nowhere to be found. "I doubt it, but you'll have to ask H about that."

"I really don't want to bother him," Chase said. "It seems like he has his hands full at the moment. I really just want to make sure Greg is okay and take care of him."

"He'll be fine," Horatio said as he carried House out onto the deck. "Right now he needs to sleep and be monitored for a few hours. Hell hound venom is not something to mess around with."

Chase sat down next to House on the deck chair and took his hand. "What happened to him?"

"Vampires are inherently good," Horatio started. He leaned against the railing and rubbed his eyes. "But we're stalked by hell hounds, poisonous beasts that can turn us into the blood-lusting creatures you normally see in movies. While we live in groups we're generally safe, especially if we don't go out at night. But if a vampire is caught alone then they're in danger of being bitten."

"And that's what happened to Greg?" Chase asked.

"When he was in a park when he was twenty," Horatio nodded. "The venom won't actually hurt us until we make our hearts beat, which is something we all have to do at some point in our lives. Then it causes clots and all other sorts of problems." He moved across the deck and squatted down next to House. "And it will get to the brain and that's where it causes the most problems as it starts to turn the host into a monster. I do have an antidote, but it causes more problems than it cures and this is the second time I've had to use it on Greg."

"The infarction," Chase whispered.

"Exactly, and I was almost too late then," Horatio said. "Greg fuzzed everyone so they wouldn't remember me or what happened. He's an exceptionally strong vampire, almost equal to me in many ways, and he doesn't even realize it."

"So is he unconscious or just asleep?" Chase asked.

"He's drugged," Horatio said. "Eric, will you go to Alexx's please and let Tim know that I know exactly where he is and that he can only sulk for so long. Also, ask Alexx if she could stop by on her way to work, please."

Eric blinked. "Speed is sulking?"

"He's realized that he doesn't know me nearly as well as he thought he did and doesn't know how to work it into his worldview," Horatio sighed.

"You do tend to keep quiet about your life prior to Miami," Eric grinned.

"For good reason, Eric. I've done things I'm not proud of, and things society wouldn't accept no matter how I feel about the matter," Horatio said softly. "And that's where Speed is having trouble. Let him know he can come home when he's ready. I'm not going to force him."

"You got it, H," Eric said. "I'll see you soon, Dr. Chase."

"Um, Lieutenant," Chase said.

"Call me Horatio, please. What can I do for you?"

"What about Dr. Wilson?"

"What about him?"

"When Greg was in the morgue before I met all your friends, I took a look at him and it was obvious that Greg was beaten with his cane. Even before he confirmed it, I knew that Wilson was the only one that Greg would let close enough to him to get a hold of his cane. I can't live with the thought that Wilson will get away with this."

Horatio nodded. "I imagine Wilson is betting himself up over what's happened," he said. "But as he's also started poking around in my business, I've already decided to have a little talk with him."

"When?"

"As soon as I'm sure I can leave Greg without worrying about his health," Horatio said. "And Wilson isn't the only one I want to talk to, he let it slip that Greg's biological parents will be going to pack up his things. I'm going to see them as well."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Greg will need someone to stay with him while I'm gone and I can't leave him with anyone here," Horatio sighed. "No one is strong enough. If you would be willing to monitor him and help with the pain, then that would ease my mind."

Chase swallowed hard. "What about the venom?"

"He knows what happens with it," Horatio said. "And he knows I'm the only one strong enough to restrain him if it gets into his system. I can promise you that Greg will not start his heart unless I'm here to help him."

"Alan," House murmured and shifted.

Horatio shook his head. "That's one of the problems with our slow moving blood," he said. "Pain killers don't work nearly as well on us. Dr. Chase, I promised to make Greg dinner; will you sit out here with him and call me if anything changes? He'll drift in and out of consciousness, but he shouldn't wake up for an hour, maybe more."

"What about Speed? Shouldn't you go talk with him?"

"You have to give Speed space to think and come to terms with what he's learned," Horatio said. "If I went after him now it would just lead to another fight. He'll come back when he's ready and he's safe where he is."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I can see the future," Horatio said. "So I already know what's going to happen. You'll have happiness soon as well, Dr. Chase. You just have to have faith and be willing to work for it."

***

Chapter 8

He wasn't born on any special day, any festival that would explain his ability to see the future. His parents named him Allwyn and prayed that he would survive. They had already buried a son and a daughter. As he grew his parents realized how different he was and his father grew stricter, beating Allwyn if he was away from their farm. But even the threat of physical harm wasn't enough to keep Allwyn from sneaking away to visit with various clan's wise men – he was anxious to learn everything he could, and he was willing to pay whatever price his father demanded of him.

And he refused to marry. His younger siblings did and it only served to increase his parents' anger towards Allwyn. When he was twenty-five a strange man came to their clan and Allwyn was drawn to him. The man's name was Peter and Allwyn snuck away every day to be with him. It wasn't long before they were lovers and when Peter left to continue his travels, Allwyn went with him – never looking back.

He was turned by accident. He hadn't realized his lover's true nature and was stunned when Peter lost control one night and bit him as his thrusts grew wilder and the vampire climaxed with a groan. When Peter realized what he had done he quickly kissed Allwyn and let his young lover's blood pour back into his body, now mixed with Peter's saliva and venom. It was one of two ways to sire a vampire, one with no romantic bond between them.

And Allwyn took to the vampiric lifestyle as if he had been born to it. He was thirty when he was turned in 1000 AD and he moved from one life to the next with ease, developing his talents and absorbing all knowledge like a sponge. And it wasn't until his tenth life that he made his heart beat – when he took Greg House as his lover. By then Allwyn had become Alan and still appeared to be in his early thirties. There was no way for anyone to know he was over nine hundred years old, and he didn't plan to tell anyone either.
********************

After Alan kissed Greg for the first time he had doubts as to whether or not his boy would ever return to his apartment. He spent each night watching over Greg and enjoyed watching his boy read and reread the gay porn magazines he'd loaned him. He was so relieved when he realized that Greg was going to visit about a week later that he almost forgot to start his heart. Alan knew he had to appear completely human – as Peter had done so many years before – so he wouldn't lose his boy.

They spent the first hour finishing up one of the old medical texts Alan had from his life in Rome. Then Alan put their studies aside and took out the new magazines he'd bought just for his boy. He smiled at the way Greg's always haunted blue eyes lit up when he saw them.

"Do you have any questions for me, Greg?"

"How can it feel good?" Greg asked.

"Did you read anything about prostate stimulation?"

"Yeah."

"That's what makes it all worthwhile. The body has to be trained to open to penetration," Alan said. "If a lover doesn't take the time to teach or stretch the anal muscles then there is pain and bleeding and it can turn a man off the act forever."

Greg nodded seriously. "Are you going to train me?" he asked.

"Eventually, so you can experience everything," Alan replied. "But we'll be starting slowly and moving at your pace. What did you like best about the magazines?"

"The kindness, gentleness and care they showed each other," Greg said staring at the floor.

The answer didn't surprise Alan. "That is all you will ever receive from me, Greg," he said. "Come, my boy, let's go to my bedroom and I'll start your lessons."

Alan stood about six feet tall and, even at fifteen, Greg was almost equal to him in height, but lanky in such a way that showed the young man would hit at least one more growth spurt. Once they were in the bedroom Alan wrapped an arm around his boy and drew him into a loose hug. He felt Greg tense a little and stayed still, just letting his young man get used to being close to another human, one who didn't want to hurt him. He smiled as Greg relaxed against him, and Alan tightened his grip.

"The most important thing between lovers is trust," Alan whispered as he held Greg against him. "Love is a given, but even love will vanish without trust, my boy. I was older than you the first time I gave my body to another man, but I know what you're feeling. Today is about touch, Greg. I want to show you what your body is capable of."

"I'm scared," Greg admitted.

"I know you are and you don't have to do this," Alan said. "You'll still have a home here, even if you don't become my lover."

"No, I want to," Greg said quickly. "I feel drawn to you. I just, I can't."

Alan rubbed his back and moved them towards the bed. "I know, my boy, I know," he soothed. "You and I are more alike than you know, Greg."

Greg finally brought his arms up and he hugged Alan back. "That's why I think I can trust you." He didn't flinch as he was lowered onto the bed.

"I will always be there for you, Greg," Alan said as he slipped off his shirt and sat down on the bed next to his boy. "Even when you don't think you'll need me. I promise you that."

Greg reached out with a trembling hand and rested it over Alan's heart. "Tell me what to do," he whispered.

"Whatever you want, Greg; you won't be able to hurt me."

"I don't know what to do."

Alan smiled and leaned in, bracing his weight on his far hand – the one resting next to Greg's hip – and pressed his lips gently to his boy's. He ran his free hand up under Greg's t-shirt and rested it on his stomach. He slowly opened his mouth and used his tongue to trace Greg's lips.

Greg's mouth opened with a small moan and Alan dove inside. He licked the inside of Greg's lips and then moved farther in to lap and tease at the roof of his lover's mouth. Alan moaned when Greg's shy tongue slid against his own and he slowly coaxed his boy's tongue into his mouth and used noises to encourage his exploration.

They broke apart for air and Alan dropped kisses over Greg's face as he started teasing the smooth chest. Alan groaned softly when he traced over a nipple and it tightened under his touch. Greg gasped and arched up in surprise. Alan drew back with a smile. "So responsive," he murmured. "Let's get that shirt off, Greg, and we'll see what I can teach you."

Greg pushed himself up and pulled off his t-shirt before settling back down on the bed. Alan could tell that his boy was fighting the urge to cover himself up. He smiled softly and ran his hand over Greg's smooth chest, almost petting him. "How can you find me attractive?" Greg asked.

"Where do you want me to start?" Alan smiled. "Greg, you are my beautiful boy. Your eyes are such a crystal blue and I love to look at them as they scan a page or stare off into the distance as you memorize what you're learning." He leaned in and pressed a gentle kiss to each eye. Alan let his lips trail softly down from Greg's left eye, over his cheek and down to his mouth. Greg opened to him immediately and Alan kept the kiss slow as he tasted and learned his lover's mouth.

Greg whimpered as Alan left his mouth, trailing kisses to his chin, along the underside of his jaw to his right ear. Alan nibbled lightly at the ear lobe before taking it in his mouth and sucking gently. Greg arched up against him with a cry. Alan pulled back and looked at Greg.

"How are you doing?" he asked rubbing Greg's chest again.

"It hurts," Greg replied his hips shifting restlessly on the bed.

"I'm not going to be the one to touch you there today, Greg," Alan said. He moved down a little, lips skimming his boy's neck and the temptation flowing there, and started to kiss carefully along Greg's chest. "I want the first touch to your cock to be your own hand, so you can learn what to do, what you like, so you can start exploring more on your own."

Greg cried out, his hands moving on their own to Alan's red hair as his lover's mouth closed around a nipple and started sucking. "Alan, please, I need more."

Alan nipped carefully and pulled back. "Stand up, Greg," he said. "It'll be easier for you."

"What about you?" Greg asked as he forced his legs to work.

"I'll be right here." Alan wrapped his arms around his lover's waist and pulled him back against his body. "Can you feel that, Greg? That's what you do to me, my boy."

"Big," Greg whimpered at the feel of Alan's erection against his ass. "What should I do now?"

"Undo your pants and free your erection," Alan said. He pulled lube from his pocket and reached around his lover again. Alan moaned softly was Greg was slowly exposed to him. "Give me your right hand, Greg."

"What's this?"

"Lube, get it warm and then coat your cock with it," Alan said. "It'll make things easier for you, my boy. Then wrap your hand around yourself and start stroking up and down. Learn what feels good to you."

Greg let his head rest on Alan's shoulder as he timidly started to touch himself, and Alan had to bite his lip to keep from biting Greg's neck. For the first time in a long time Alan wondered how his sire, Peter, had the strength to avoid biting Alan for as long as he had. In his long life, his numerous relationships, Alan had never felt such an urge to bite a lover before. He contented himself with rubbing and thrusting against his young lover as Greg worked himself until they both came. Alan caught Greg as his legs gave out and managed to drop them both on his bed.

"Thank you," Greg panted.

Alan pulled Greg in tight and kissed him gently. "You're welcome," he whispered.
********************

He hadn't realized how hard it would be. After Greg left his bed, Alan was overcome with a vision of the future so strong that it felt like it was splitting his head open. It broke his heard when he realized what he was going to have to do, but he didn't see another way. The same vision repeated for days and he never saw another outcome. And he searched for one.

When Greg finally managed to sneak away a week after he first came to Alan's bed his step was lighter and his eyes a little less haunted. Alan gathered him in a hug and kissed him gently. His heart broke a little more when he realized it would be the last time his kissed his boy while he was alive. Alan would have done anything to keep Greg alive, and was already plotting his revenge.

"I thought we'd take a look at something a little more recent today," Alan said. He kissed Greg again and moved towards the table. "How much do you know about the Holocaust?"

"Not much, they won't teach it in school," Greg said. He sat down next to Alan and grabbed one of the books. "What part are we going to look at today?"

Alan couldn't help but smile at how much more relaxed and eager his boy was. He'd forgotten how strong a motivation sex was for teenagers. "We'll take a look at the death camps today," he said. "Those camps were primarily in Poland rather than Germany and were the machine of the Final Solution."

"So they didn't go into operation until after Germany invaded Poland," Greg said.

"That's right and there were two types," Alan said. "There was the combination concentration/death camp and three camps built specifically as death camps only. Now, because so much paperwork was destroyed in the last year of the war there's always been some debate about how many..." He broke off as the front door to his apartment was kicked in. "Greg, get behind me."

Alan turned, shielding his boy with his body as he got his first glimpse of the coward who had been abusing Greg. "You're breaking and entering."

"My son doesn't have permission to be off base," John House said. "And he doesn't have permission to be in a civilian's house."

"Greg is old enough to make his own choices," Alan said. He put his hands on his hips and stared at the intruder. "I suggest you leave, alone, before I call the police."

"No, I'll go with him," Greg said softly. "You don't have to do this, Alan."

"And you do not have to go with him, Greg," Alan replied. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

It all happened almost too fast for Alan to follow. As Greg stepped out from behind him, John House pulled a gun and aimed it at his son. Alan did the only thing he could think of and shoved his boy out of the way, the bullet slamming into his shoulder instead. The minute it took for Alan to get his bearings back was enough time for the elder House to hit Greg over the head, drag him out of the apartment and throw him down the stairwell.

"You're dead," Alan hissed, his deep blue eyes almost sapphire. "One day when you least expect it you will see me again and both you and your wife will die." He grabbed the gun and used it as a club, knocking the elder House unconscious.

Alan ran out of his apartment and leapt over the railing, praying he was in time. He hadn't seen this in his vision – Greg had been shot and died. "Greg," he whispered as he landed next to his boy, three flights down. He could tell just by looking that Greg was close to death, unconscious, body twisted. "Forgive me for this, my love, but I can't lose you." Taking a deep breath Alan leaned down and bit Greg's neck, quickly drinking what blood was left in Greg's body. He held it in his throat for a long moment before leaning back in and kissing his boy, letting the new mix pour back into Greg. "Please let me have been in time," he whispered as he gathered Greg in his arms and jumped back up to his apartment.

Alan carried Greg into the bedroom and tucked him into bed. "You rest my boy, my love," he said as he kissed Greg's forehead. "I'll deal with your father and then you have some choices to make."

John House was still in the living room and Alan considered him for a moment. It would be too suspicious if the man died the same day his son vanished so, as much as Alan wanted to kill him, it would have to wait. And he knew that the day would come when the man would walk willingly into his trap. And, for now, he could seriously embarrass the man and ruin his reputation for good. For now it would have to do.
********************

Greg was floating, not in blackness, but rather redness that echoed with the words my love, my boy and forgive me. He recognized both Alan's scent and voice and relaxed. Greg knew that his older lover would take care of him no matter what happened or how much he got hurt. The sharp pains that had been flooding his senses were starting to vanish, to be replaced with a not unpleasant coolness. He could tell that something was happening to his body, but he didn't understand exactly what it was.

He felt the surface he was resting on dip and he was carefully pulled against a firm chest that he recognized immediately as Alan's. Greg nuzzled in close, content to just drift on a sea of redness, truly trusting Alan for the first time.
********************

Alan smiled when his fledgling cuddled in against his chest. It hadn't quite sunk in that Alan now had a son that he was responsible for until Greg reached his majority or they bonded and became lovers for eternity. When Peter had explained things to Alan once the fuzziness from his turning had worn off, Alan had declined the bond. And it had worked out well for both of them as Peter had eventually bonded with a young German during the Second World War when they were all in a camp. Alan made a mental note to call his sire with the latest news once Greg was safe.

"Alan?" Greg murmured.

"Right here, are you hungry?"

"Yeah."

On his way home Alan had found and fed from two young college students, leaving both sated and blissed out on endorphins. He'd used the blood from the first to heal his shoulder, although he'd be tender for a couple of days, and held some of the blood in his throat for Greg – putting it in a mug as soon as he got home. It would be a couple of weeks before Greg was strong enough to feed on his own, so Alan got to be like a bat and bring home blood for his boy to drink. He had a small pouch in his throat for feeding his fledgling, although he'd never used it before. Alan couldn't let Greg feed from him because that would start the lifetime bond between them.

He sat up and carefully brought Greg into a sitting position leaning against his chest. "Drink this, my boy," Alan said holding the mug of blood to Greg's mouth. "I want to take you back to the states, my boy. I want to start you at university and pre-med as soon as possible so you'll have a challenge."

"What about my parents?" Greg asked.

"How much do you remember about today?"

Greg turned and cuddled up to Alan's chest. "My dad tried to kill me," he said. "I never told you about it because I was afraid of what he'd do."

"Greg, my love, he did kill you," Alan said sadly. He took Greg's hand and put it on the young man's chest. "And I was able to save you, but you're technically dead. I'm so sorry, Greg. I didn't want any of this for you, but I didn't want to go on without you either."

"How come we're both still here if we're dead?" Greg asked. "How could you get an erection if your heart doesn't beat?"

Alan smiled. He was expecting a little more panic at first, but questions he could deal with. It meant his boy was thinking. "We're vampires, Greg. Just like the old myths about the walking dead, only we're not evil. I would never have turned you if your father hadn't forced my hand today," Alan said. "This is not an easy life, there's a lot you'll have to learn, but you're like me; you'll pick it all up in no time. We can make our hearts beat if we have to, but it ages us a little every time we do. Even without the heart beating our blood still circulates slowly through our bodies."

"Do you have books?" Greg asked.

"At my home in England," Alan replied. "It's an out-of-the-way estate where no one notices that I never seem to age or die. A loyal family lives there and takes care of everything for me. I'll have them ship some things to us once we're settled in the states."

"Do I have to travel as your son?"

Alan tilted Greg's head up and kissed him gently. "You can travel as my lover if you want, but son would be safer given our relative ages. No one will ever take you away from me, Greg."

"What about all my stuff?"

"You know what; let me worry about that, okay?" Alan tucked Greg back into bed and kissed him again. "I'll go get it and some more blood for you. Rest and I'll be back soon."

"How do you get blood?" Greg asked.

"From anyone I can find," Alan said. "I don't kill them, Greg. They have a memory of mind-blowing sex and they aren't hurt by it. I'll teach you when you're stronger, my love."

"Alan, what about my father?"

"He will never hurt you again, Greg," Alan replied with a slightly evil smile. "But we do need to travel as soon as you're strong enough. Sleep now and I'll be back as soon as I can."

Alan had decided that Greg really didn't need to know what had been done with his father. Alan smirked as he thought about all the repercussions John House would suffer when he was found outside a gay brothel with a dildo in his ass and semen all over him. Since Alan couldn't take his life – not yet – he'd decided to take his reputation, dignity and career away instead. It would have to do until he could take his final revenge.

***

Chapter 9

Speed sat on the bed in Alexx's guest room, arms wrapped around his legs and thought. He didn't, or rather hadn't realized why he and Horatio had such a rocky relationship. He didn't blame Greg House; the man was a victim and had been abused for too many years to really know what was going on. Speed just didn't know how he could've dated and bonded with a man who could not only molest children, but lie about his past. He put his head down on his knees as he remembered the first time he'd ever seen Horatio Caine.

**FLASHBACK**

Megan Donner was in the lobby waiting for the young man she'd just recruited from the university to work in the lab. She was a little concerned about how the man would fit in with her co-workers, or rather one in particular. Lieutenant Horatio Caine was a strange one – he cared for everyone and yet held himself as such a distance that she wasn't sure what he was thinking most of the time.

She looked around when someone called her name. Tim Speedle was walking across the lobby and he was actually smiling. At that moment Megan felt old. But she smiled and took Speed in to meet his new co-workers.
********************

Speed was thrilled to have gotten a job with the Miami-Dade Crime Lab. He wasn't too sure about investigating crime scenes, but he knew that he would be right at home in the crime lab and working with trace evidence. He followed Megan through the lab, trying to memorize the layout and names when he spotted a red-haired man standing on an upper landing looking around the lab.

"Who's that?"

Megan looked around. "That's Horatio Caine, our lieutenant," she said. "He's former bomb squad and an expert with bombs and arson investigations."

"He looks serious," Speed commented.

"He does, at times, but he's dedicated and has a soft spot for victims," Megan replied. "He's in the middle of a case and it's a bad one, so I'll introduce you later."

Speed glanced back up and was startled to see that the lieutenant was gone. "Where'd he go?"

"Who knows?" Megan shrugged. "Come on, let's go and get you your lab coat."

**END FLAHSBACK**

Speed remembered how fascinated he'd been with Horatio from the first moment he'd seen him in the lab. Megan had left not long after that, leaving Speed without his mentor and friend. He'd been thrilled when Horatio stepped into the emptiness and had taken Speed under his wing. And yet there was always some sense of distance, of mystery around Horatio that Speed had never understood. Even now he didn't know that the bond he shared with Horatio had closed the distance between them.

Horatio could see the future so he must have known that Speed was going to learn of his relationship with Greg House, and he hadn't done anything to stop it. Did that mean that he wanted Speed to find out the truth? He groaned and rubbed his eyes. It was so hard to know exactly what Horatio knew, what he saw and what he didn't because he never talked about it. At least not until events were about to come to pass and, by then, it was usually too late to do anything.

Speed didn't really know Greg House. He'd spent a little time around him and found the older vampire to be a dark, sarcastic bastard and had often wondered what Horatio saw in him. It would be impossible to forget the first time Speed had found out that Horatio was gay – the first time he'd seen Greg House.

**FLASHBACK**

Speed had been watching Horatio every chance he got, trying not to be obvious about it, but there was something about the man that just called attention to him. He'd found that Megan was right, Horatio had a soft spot for victims and their families; he treated the members of his team as if they were his family and yet there was still something about him that Speed just couldn't work out. There were times when it seemed like Horatio knew what was going to happen before it happened. He also seemed to appear and disappear with a blink of an eye. It was stupid, but Speed really began to wonder if Horatio was human.

They had been working a case together and Speed was stuck. For some reason Horatio had taken off early and Speed made the decision to go find him. He grabbed the evidence notes folder, found Horatio's address and left the lab.

He parked across the street from Horatio's house and hurried to the front door. When his knocks didn't bring any results, Speed went around towards the beach. He paused in the shadow when he caught sight of Horatio sitting on the beach – under an umbrella – next to another man. Horatio was reclining against a back-bracer; the other man had shifted until his head was in Horatio's lap.

"I'm glad you've come home, my boy," Horatio said. "I only wish I could've gotten to you faster."

"You still made it," the other man said. "I was an idiot, Alan. I knew what would happen and I did it anyway. I didn't even really love her. I just didn't want to be alone again."

"Oh my boy, my love," Horatio said sadly, "you know you always have a home with me. I made you that promise all those years ago and I'm never going to go back on my word."

"I've changed too much, Alan, more than even you know and you wouldn't be able to stand me."

"Greg, you will always be my boy," Horatio said. "I don't care how sarcastic you are."

"I don't want to be proven right," Greg said. "I've got my work and I guess that'll have to be enough. It's not like I'm going to be able to make a move on Wilson. The man is a walking insecure commitment issue."

Horatio ran his fingers through Greg's hair. "Some people are just blind to what their hearts want. Shift off me for a second."

"Do you like sex on the beach?" Greg asked as he rolled onto his back, hands bracing his right leg – and Speed noticed a cane in the sand.

"I love sex with you any chance I get," Horatio said. "Do you remember the library?"

"Of course, but the reproduction section of the biology stacks was a little predictable and cliché," Greg replied. "The porn section would've been better."

"Your university didn't have a porn section in their library," Horatio said as he settled over Greg's chest.

"That's what you think," Greg smirked.

**END FLASHBACK**

Speed had watched in stunned amazement as Horatio slowly lowered his head and kissed Greg with such easy familiarity that Speed knew they were old lovers. And he couldn't deny that part of his heart hurt at the knowledge.

Knowing what he did now, Speed knew that both Horatio and House had known he was hiding in the shadows watching them. It had been right after House's infarction brought on by the hell hound venom that was normally dormant in his body.

It didn't bother Speed to hear Horatio call House his boy or his love – even though he'd never come up with a nickname for Speed – because that was what he'd always called him. It was rare to hear Horatio call House Greg unless he was upset at him. Speed had wondered why Horatio called House his boy when the other vampire looked to be about the same age as his sire.

And now he knew. Speed knew the awful truth that his lover had been hiding from him and wondered how Horatio could do something so disgusting. He remembered Horatio's comment that House had never been young and shuddered. It sounded far too much like what the monsters they arrested for molesting children said. And the look on Horatio's face when he was talking about his relationship with House made Speed's stomach clench. Speed knew that Horatio was reliving the moments of abuse and he'd looked like a cat in the cream.

A knock on the door made Speed flinch. "Go away, Delko."

"I can't," Eric said as he opened the door. "Horatio asked me to come see you."

"At least he didn't come himself."

"He can't; we almost lost House and Horatio is still taking care of him." Eric put a couple of books down on the bed and sat. "He said to take as long as you need; he's not going to force you to come home."

Speed sighed. "It just figures he knows where I am."

"Yeah, you know H."

"No, I don't."

"Tim, do you want to talk about it?" Eric asked. "I can tell that something is really bugging you."

"Do you know how old House was when he and Horatio became lovers?"

"Of course not, I didn't even know House, only what you guys have told me."

"He was fifteen," Speed exclaimed. "And Horatio sees absolutely nothing wrong with it. I just can't understand how he could keep something like this hidden from me."

It was Eric's turn to sigh. "Speed, as much as I hate to say it, I don't think Horatio did anything wrong. Maybe he could've waited a year or so, but I'm sure he had a good reason for doing what he did."

"Not you too!" Speed snarled. "Is Ryan going to take their side too?"

"I'm not taking sides, Speed," Eric said as calmly as he could. He knew exactly how pissy Speed could get at times and how quickly it could turn to anger. "I understand why you're so upset, but I really think you need to step back and look at this from a different standpoint."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Eric dodged the pillow aimed at his head. "Speed, you're an investigator trained to look at evidence from several different angles," he said. "Right now you've got tunnel vision so bad that you're hurting everyone, including yourself."

"You just don't get it, I've been sleeping with a child molester," Speed yelled. "A monster and now I feel sick!"

"So break the bond," Eric yelled back. "And run away like a spoiled brat, but quit hiding away like a little girl."

Speed jerked back as if Eric had slapped him. "What are you talking about?"

"House almost died today and you're sitting here acting like a five-year-old because you found out one thing about your partner," Eric snapped. "When was Horatio born, Tim?"

"Over a thousand years ago, but I don't know the exact date," Speed replied. "He's never told me. He's never really told me anything about himself, that's part of the problem. I don't really know him at all and I don't know what the hell I should do."

"You should talk with Horatio," Eric said. He pulled Speed into a hug. "I mean really talk with him, and don't get mad. If you keep getting mad at Horatio and running off then you'll never work through anything."

Speed snorted. "Maybe I should just sit next to House for ten minutes and let him tell Horatio everything I'm thinking."

"That's what I'm talking about," Eric sighed. "Speed, you've got to let up on House. I've never met a vampire other than Horatio that's as strong as House is. He blasted through my shields like they were nothing."

"That's one of the things that bugs me the most," Speed said getting angry again. "Why doesn't he just stay out of our heads?"

"He can't," Eric said wondering exactly when his friend had started suffering from mood swings. "And he has shields in place, Speed. He's not trying to get into your mind. It just happens."

"What do you mean it just happens?"

"House rivals the boss for power," Eric replied. "Speed, you know exactly how strong I am and how strong my mental shields are. House blasted through everything without even trying, and believe me; I can tell when someone is trying to get into my mind. But he didn't dig around, he was just there and it wasn't unpleasant. He respected my privacy as much as he could."

"You can't keep anything hidden from him," Speed protested. "And he told Horatio everything I was thinking."

"I bet it was because Horatio asked him," Eric said with a small sigh. "Speed, look at it this way – you knew Horatio had an old lover who was still in his life when you bonded, right? You shouldn't have lied to H about how you feel about House. And you should also trust Horatio enough to know he's not going to leave you."

Speed shook his head. "I just can't deal with the fact that Horatio lied to me," he said. "Eric, House was being abused by his parents. You know as well as I do that he'd latch onto the first person to show him affection of any kind. Horatio hurt him just as much if not more than his parents did."

"Do you know that for sure?"

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out," Speed snapped.

"I meant have you talked with House about what happened to him?" Eric asked as patiently as he could. Normally he was the hot-headed one with Speed trying to calm him down. "Or are you just making blind assumptions here."

"Eric, you know it's no good talking to abused kids about their abusers, especially if they've attached to them," Speed snapped. "It's like they're brainwashed to believe the abuser is the greatest person around."

Eric sighed. "Tim, as long as you keep to this attitude you're not going to get anywhere," he said. "Horatio asked me to bring you a couple of books on hell hound bites so you can figure out exactly why House did what he did. And Alexx is going over to see Horatio and wanted you to know they're ordering pizza tonight."

"I know about hell hounds."

"Hey, Speed, do me a favor," Eric said as he stood. "Grow up and act your age."
********************

Speed wanted to just drop the books on the floor to make a point, but he could tell they were old and he just couldn't bring himself to hurt them. So he moved them gently to the bedside table and curled up on the bed. No matter how much he wanted to, Speed just couldn't find it in him to hate Greg House. He could hate his attitude, his talents, his place in Horatio's life – but not the man himself. Speed had honestly never thought Horatio's old lover would be so much of an issue as Speed had known exactly where he stood in Horatio's life.

Or at least he thought he did.

Speed knew that Horatio hadn't slept with House since bonding with Speed, but he found himself wondering about before his death. Speed would've thought that Horatio wasn't the type to cheat, but he also never imagined that Horatio would turn out to be a child molester either.

Not really thinking about it, Speed pulled out his cell phone and dialed Horatio's number.

"Caine."

"How many, H?"

"Speed? How many what?"

"How many children have you slept with?"

Horatio growled. "I'm going to pretend you never asked me that question, Speedle."

"So there have been more."

"I will only say this one more time, Tim," Horatio said, the tone of his voice making it very clear that it was Alan talking. "I am over 1000 years old. I have lived through all the events you learned about in school, events that brought out the best and worst in mankind. And, until recently, the idea of children was very different from what it is today. I will not apologize to a pup of a vampire who can't realize that life hasn't always been the nice, neat little package he seems to think it is. I've seen two outcomes to this, Speed. I think you know what they are."

Speed flinched as Horatio hung up on him. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that the idea of childhood was – historically speaking – a fairly new idea and children as young as thirteen used to get married – especially young girls so they'd be able to have more children for their older husbands. But that was no excuse for taking a teen as a lover in the late 1900s after everything changed.

He was going around in circles and he knew it. Speed shook his head and thought about House, trying to remember if he'd ever seen any sign of abuse.

**FLASHBACK**

Speed closed the folder and stretched, happy to have that case out of the way. He didn't know how a father could murder his entire family, including the newborn, but Speed really felt like he needed a shower. He gathered up his things, grabbed the folder and trudged up the stairs to Horatio's office. He tapped on the door and pushed it open. "Hey H, here's my paperwork on..." Speed trailed off when he realized that Horatio wasn't alone.

Greg, the man from the beach, was sitting next to Horatio on the sofa in the far corner of the office and Speed could tell they'd been kissing. Piercing blue eyes fixed on him and Speed felt like he was being taken apart. Horatio just smiled and stood. "Thanks, Speed," he said. "Good work on this one."

"Thanks, H," Speed replied with a smile.

"Are you heading home?"

"Yeah, I'm off unless you need me for something else," Speed said. He wondered why Horatio didn't introduce the man on the sofa.

"You've more than earned your night off," Horatio said. "Have a good night, Speed."

"You too, H." Speed closed the office door behind him and stood outside it for a minute.

"So that's the speed freak," Greg said. "I saw his bike outside and it looks like it can move."

"It can," Horatio sighed.

"He wanted you to introduce me, Alan," Greg said.

There was the sound of a kiss. "I don't have to share my personal life if I don't want to," Horatio replied. "And you, my boy, are the most important part of my personal life. I don't ever want to share you."

"It wouldn't work, Alan," Greg sighed. "Not anymore, no matter how much we want to."

"I know," Horatio said, "but that doesn't mean I have to stop loving you."

"No, you don't, and I love you too."

**END FLASHBACK*

It was one thing that always puzzled Speed, that Horatio didn't insist on House calling him by the correct name – not that House struck him as the type of man to follow the rules in the first place. Until he'd been introduced to House he hadn't known that Horatio still went by his old name.

It was no good; House's face was completely expressionless unless he was messing around with someone's mind. There wasn't a way for Speed to figure out exactly how badly he'd been abused or how he felt now. He supposed he would just have to talk with House. Maybe he could make him see exactly how badly he'd been abused – not only by his parents, but also by Horatio.

Speed knew exactly which two choices Horatio was talking about. Speed could accept Horatio's relationship with House, apologize for what he'd said and life would move forward. Or Speed could break the bond with Horatio and leave, live by himself – putting himself at risk of a hell hound attack – until he met another vampire he could stand to live around.

Horatio had said that he'd seen two outcomes, but Speed could think of a couple of other options just off the top of his head. He could convince Eric and Ryan to leave Horatio's little clan, making the boss the lone vampire and then run him out of Miami. Or he could make House see exactly how sick Horatio was and make him break off all contact with the Miami clan.

Speed sighed and hid his head under the pillow. Who was he kidding? Maybe things would just look better after he slept for a few hours. He knew Alexx would wake him up for supper.

***

Chapter 10

House awoke to a hand carding through his hair and sighed. While he hated how much he regressed and relaxed around Alan, he felt so safe that he'd learned not to care. The older vampire was the only one he trusted enough to let all his guards down around. He hummed in the back of his throat and shifted carefully. His body still hurt.

"Careful, my boy," Horatio said. "You slept a lot longer than I thought you would. How are you feeling?"

"The bones have mended but I feel like I've been beaten by more than my cane," House replied. "I think my bruises have bruises and I'm not moving on my own any time soon."

"Alexx was here and left some blood for you," Horatio said. "And your soup is ready if you're hungry."

"Are we back to fledgling feeding?" House asked as he took the mug of blood.

"For now," Horatio replied. "Greg, I'm going to head north in the morning to deal with a few loose ends. Chase has agreed to stay here and help you. Do you want me to leave Wilson alive?"

House almost choked on the blood. "How much does he know?"

"He believes you're still alive and wants to find you," Horatio said. He started petting House again, knowing the motion soothed his boy. "How many people would he have told?"

"Just Cuddy, the other doctors on my team wouldn't want to listen to him," House sighed. "Half the time they didn't want to listen to me. Even after what he did to me, I still love him, Alan. I've loved him since the moment I saw him, but I never want to see him again."

"I'm going to take Eric and Ryan with me. If Eric can fuzz him, I'll just play with Wilson for a while and I'll let him live," Alan said, the Horatio mask dropping off. "He hurt you, my love, and that's not something I'll ever be able to forgive."

"What about Cuddy?"

"I'll have Eric deal with her. And Ryan will help me with your parents."

"Their time has run out then?"

"Does that bother you?" Alan asked.

"No, my mother knew what my father was doing," House replied. "You're the only one who ever cared enough to do something to help me."

Alan kissed House's forehead gently. "You're my boy, nothing will change that and I'm sorry if I ever let you think something could come between us."

"What about Speed? He's hurting pretty bad right now."

"You can still hear him?" Alan asked in surprise.

"He's important to you, Alan, so I made a connection to him," House replied. "He's too far away for me to pick up more than his overall emotions and thought pattern, but I can still hear him. I can also hear Eric, Ryan, Frank, Calleigh and Alexx."

"When did you figure out this new ability?"

"A while ago, I just hadn't had a reason to use it before now," House said. "Alan, I've accepted that you bonded with Speed and I know he makes you happy, probably happier than I could make you. If you're going to lose him because of me then kick me out."

"No," Alan growled. "I am never going to force you to leave your home and the one spot you've felt completely safe in your whole life. I will never hurt you like that again, my boy. I was the idiot who left last time when I shouldn't have and I'll never be able to make that up to you no matter what I do."

"Speed might feel different," House pointed out.

"He does; Speed is convinced I'm a monster because of how early I took you as my lover," Alan admitted. "He called me while I was making your soup and asked me how many other children I had slept with."

House looked up. "Did you tell him about Loren?"

"No, Speed doesn't need to know about my early life," Alan said. "And Loren wasn't the only one; he's just the one I remember most fondly. The world has changed so much and I'm happy that children are finally being protected like they deserve to be."

"And I know you'd kill anyone who even looked at a child the wrong way," House said. "If Speed comes home while you're gone, I'll talk with him and see if I can make him understand our relationship better."

As Chase joined them Alan faded into the background and the softer, gentler Horatio came to the fore. House wondered if his sire had ever let Speed see his true self – that of Allwyn – or if he stayed as Horatio all the time. He didn't really like Horatio all that much; House knew his sire too well to believe for a moment that the soft, smiling man who used body language to put people at ease was real.

"Maybe I should've waited to bond with Speed, but what's done is done," Horatio sighed. "Dr. Chase, I was thinking about leaving in the morning if you feel comfortable enough to keep an eye on Greg."

"Sure," Chase said.

House looked at him. "I won't bite you, Chase, so don't be an idiot. Alan, how will I feed while you're gone?"

"I'll get Calleigh to stop by tomorrow, Frank the next day and Alexx the next," Horatio said. "With the rest of us gone Speed can go to a club or get someone at work. I do not want you going out until I'm home again."

"I think I know how to take care of myself."

"You're dead, Greg, and I don't want reports of you walking around to be called into the department. There are new books in the library that just arrived from home."

House lit up a little at that. "How is Paula?"

"She's fine; her daughter and son-in-law are more or less running the estate now," Horatio said. "We'll have to go visit soon so you can see Paula again and meet the next generation."

"What?" Chase asked.

"I have an estate in England and Paula's family has been the caretakers for generations," Horatio replied. "As my son, if anything happens to me, the estate goes to Greg. Every so often I'll request books from my much larger library there and, like me, my boy is a bookworm."

"And he knows it'll keep me at home and probably in bed," House grumbled. "Alan, you mentioned my soup, but I haven't seen it yet."

"Brat," Horatio said fondly. "Dr. Chase, would you like some supper? I made chicken dumpling soup."

"Please," Chase said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"If you could help Greg sit up a little more," Horatio replied. "Be careful with him, he's still pretty beat up and sore."

"He's awake and right here," House grumbled.

"House, what's going to happen to Wilson?" Chase asked as he moved to help the vampire sit up.

"That depends on how Alan feels after playing with him for a while," House replied. He bit his lip as Chase moved him forward. "My guess is that Wilson will end up dead and everyone will believe it's because he's so depressed over my suicide."

"If I'm out of line, tell me, but why don't you call him Horatio?"

"Because he's not Horatio," House snorted. "The kindly lieutenant is just an act, Chase. My sire is a thousand plus year old vampire who is far darker and with more depth than you'd think just looking at him."

"And that's the problem," Horatio said as he came back onto the deck with a tray. "Speed is so caught up in my Horatio persona that he either doesn't want to look deeper or he can't."

House looked at his sire. "What have you seen?"

"This is one of the rare ones, my boy, and right now I can't tell you."

"What does that mean?" Chase asked.

"There's no set future at this point and things could go two ways," House said. "Alan, you know I don't like blood with my food."

"You need it and it's the last you'll have until tomorrow," Horatio said. "Don't make me force you."

"I thought the future was never fixed," Chase said trying to ignore the conversation about blood as food.

House studied him for a long moment and drank the blood, setting the mug out of sight. Horatio noticed the motion but didn't comment on it. "What I see is the most likely outcome, Dr. Chase," he said. "For example, when I saw my boy die for the first time he froze to death. Then, over the next month I saw him stabbed, shot, suffocated and any other number of ways to die. None of those events happened, but it was enough to draw me to his side."

"My final death was supposed to be a gun shot, but Alan prevented that one," House continued. "So that's why I was thrown down the stairs. I'd say Alan is right about events 99 percent of the time. It makes him insufferable at times and he cheats at cards."

"Oh, like you don't, my boy," Horatio said.

"So you knew Wilson was going to beat House?" Chase asked choking on a dumpling.

Horatio shook his head sadly. "No, that was one time when I didn't know exactly what would happen. I just knew that telling him wouldn't be a good idea."

"I wish I had listened," House sighed.

"You had to take a change, my boy, because we didn't know," Horatio said. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I need to make a phone call. Greg, I want you to tell me when you're ready to go to bed. I don't want you walking until tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah," House said.

Chase looked at House. "You seem a lot more relaxed than normal," he said. "Is it because you're with Horatio or because you're so drugged you can't move on your own?"

"This is normal for me, Chase," House said. "The snarky bastard doctor was all an act. I really am a jerk, but I worked to make it worse at the hospital because I didn't want others trying to get too close to me."

"Well it didn't work," Chase said. "Because I'm here with you and I'm staying no matter what."

House turned one of his penetrating blue stares on Chase who flinched but kept his own gaze as steady as he could. Finally House sighed. "Bobby, I don't know if I have another try in me."

"No one's ever called me that before," Chase said.

"I know."

"Do you ever not do that?"

"What, read minds? I can't shut it off. I can ignore what people are thinking if I want, like when I was in the clinic waiting room, but I get constant information." House sighed again and rubbed his eyes. "Its how I know patients are lying to me. And no, there's no way to block me out. Not even Alan can."

"Doesn't that give you a headache?" Chase asked. "It seems like the constant input would make your brain work overtime."

"Dead people don't feel pain," House said. "Unless the trauma is caused by a hell hound. Then there's nothing that can be done."

"So when you smashed your hand..."

"It was something to take my mind off the pain," House said. "Wilson didn't know that by tricking me off the pills the pain would double every twelve hours. I was able to fool him though; I had pills stashed at home so I only went off them at work."

"The hell hound venom made him sick enough during the day that it looked like he was detoxing," Horatio said as he rejoined them. "Everything is set, my boy. Will you be okay without me for a few days?"

"I think I'll manage," House replied with a smirk. "I'll have Chase to wait on me."

"There's a good chance that Speed will come home while I'm gone," Horatio said. "I know you said you'd talk to him, my love, just promise me you won't run off."

House sighed. "If I need to escape I'll just go home," he said. "And let Paula spoil me rotten for a while."

"Or you could go to Peter," Horatio said. "He's at his home in Italy currently between lives. I'm sure that he and Al would be glad to see you."

"Peter?" Chase asked.

"My sire," Horatio replied. "He turned and bonded with a young German in a camp during the Second World War. We were part of an underground network and were helping as many people escape as possible."

House smiled. "Peter's mate, Adolph, was actually a German whose parents were a part of the Reich, but fell out of favor after 1941."

"They were sent to a political concentration camp, where Peter and I started our journey," Horatio continued. "Once he had a fledgling to care for we split up – him to other concentration camps, me to the ghettos and death camps. It's not a time I care to remember."

"I can't imagine anyone would," Chase shuddered.

"You're down-playing how brave you were, Alan," House said. "He was actually in one of the gas chambers, Chase."

"How'd he escape that?"

"The guards weren't expecting a corpse to fight back," Alan answered coldly.

House put a hand on Horatio's arm. "I think I'm ready for bed, Alan," he said softly.

"Okay my love; do you want me to carry you?" Alan asked.

"No, but you will anyway so I don't know why you even bothered to ask."

Chase watched as House was carefully scooped up and carried off like he didn't weigh anything. Once he was alone he shuddered. At the end of the conversation there he'd realized what House had been talking about – Lieutenant Horatio Caine was a mask.
********************

House sighed as he was settled on the bed in what had become his room. "You scared him at the end there, Alan."

"I slipped," Alan sighed. He sat on the bed and started to unbutton House's shirt. "I don't know how or why Speed's never seen Alan, both Eric and Ryan have."

"Maybe you've just worked extra hard to keep Alan hidden from Speed because you're afraid of what he'd think," House commented as he lifted his hips so Horatio could slip off his slacks.

"Well the bat's out of the bag now," Horatio said.

"He'll come back to you, Alan," House said. "He isn't going to want to break the bond, if he even knows how."

"I wish I could be as sure of the future as you are, my love," Horatio said. "Because right now Speed is convinced I'm a monster and maybe he's right."

House grabbed Horatio's hand and pulled until he could kiss his old lover. "Would I want to do that to a monster that hurt children, Alan?" he whispered. "Would I, the one who lived with monsters for fifteen years, want you to bury yourself in my body and never leave again?"

"No," Horatio smiled. "You always have had a way with words, my love."

"Its one of my best features," House smiled. "Alan, I can hear what you're thinking and you need to stop it. The monsters are the ones who hurt children, not the ones who save them. If you hadn't bought Loren when you did he would've been burned at the stake with his family. And I know how much he loved you, even without meeting him, because his family is still taking care of your estate."

Horatio just stared down at his boy. "I forget how much you know, my love," he said. "Maybe I should've waited to bond with Speed until he knew me better."

"You never told me what happened," House said. He knew Horatio wouldn't do it, but he really wanted to sleep wrapped in his sire's arms again.

"When he got shot I turned him like I did you because I didn't want to force a bond," Horatio said. "Rather than sleeping while his body went through the changes Speed woke up almost wild and bit me before I knew what was happening. Then he went to sleep."

"Which completed the bond between you," House said. "I know you love him, Alan, and have since you met him, but maybe some time apart is what you need the most right now."

"You're probably right," Horatio said. "Now what about you, are you going to give Chase a fair go?"

House sighed. "I'd take him to my bed in a second," he said. "But I don't know if I'll ever love him, Alan. And I can't bond with anyone, so he'd have to choose to stay with me forever."

Horatio cursed softly under his breath. He'd forgotten about the hell hound venom in his boy's system. "We can make something work for you, Greg," he said. He settled on top of the covers and pulled his boy in against him. "I'll stay until you go to sleep."

"Alan?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you try to find out why he beat me all those years?" House asked softly. "That's the only think I want to know; why did he hate me so much?"

It was something Horatio wanted to know as well. "I'll make him tell me, my boy. And I'll find out why she never tried to stop him."

"I shielded my apartment so no one will hear anything," House said. "But it does mean you'll have to invite your victims inside."

"Very smart, my boy," Horatio smiled.

"Alan, I don't want to know what you're going to do to them," House murmured.

"Sorry," Horatio said. "I'll stop thinking about my revenge. What would you like me to think about instead?"

"The first time you slid into my body."

Horatio kissed House's forehead and let his mind drift back to the first time he'd slipped into his boy's body. It was one of his favorite memories.
********************

Chase stayed out on the deck and tried to come to terms with all the new information he'd learned and also what he'd seen at the end. Horatio was good at hiding his true nature from the people around him. Chase had been shocked and a little scared by what he'd seen on the red head's face and in his eyes.

Apparently he'd fallen into the same trap everyone else did and took Horatio at face value. It was almost impossible to reconcile the first impression he'd had of Lieutenant Caine with the brief glimpse he'd have of Alan. It really looked like House had been telling the truth; Horatio was just a mask – a good one – but a mask nonetheless.

Chase jumped when Horatio came back out on the deck and was shocked when he realized an hour had passed.

"I'm sorry I scared you, Dr. Chase," Horatio said.

"You did, but don't worry about it," Chase smiled. "Greg warned me you weren't all you seemed and I didn't believe him. Is he asleep?"

"For now; he'll probably have a rough night," Horatio sighed. "I'll set up a cot in his room for you while I'm gone because he'll need morphine at least twice a night, if not more."

"Can he really handle that much?"

"We can handle about four times what a living human can," Horatio replied. "Because our blood flows so slowly most of the drug is flushed out of our system. A vampire can't become addicted to any drug and we can't overdose. Doctoring a vampire is very different than working on a human, Dr. Chase. Basically you'll just have to do anything my boy tells you. You can ask him to explain it to you, but he knows what needs to be done."

"What if Speed comes back?" Chase asked.

"Let him be," Horatio said. "Greg will want to talk to him, but I don't know that Speed will be in any mood to listen. They might fight, but it won't get physical, so just leave them alone."

"Do you want me to call you for anything?"

"Not unless Speed hurts Greg physically," Horatio said. "I didn't want to tell him, but I'm flying blind here, Dr. Chase. For some reason I can't see exactly what's going to happen with Speed and it scares me."

Seeing the strong vampire scared scared Chase. "I'll do everything I can to keep Greg and Speed healthy until you're home again," he said.

"Thank you," Horatio sighed.

***

Chapter 11

His real name was actually Ryan. Unlike Alan Morris he chose to only change his last name as he moved from town to town and life to life. He wasn't nearly as old as Alan, but he had some years and experience.

He was born Ryan Vauxhill in a small town in California. His parents had come to the state to start a new life away from their families in Chicago. They never told him exactly what they were running from and he never thought to ask.

Ryan moved to San Francisco when he was fifteen and found work as a porter at a hotel on the sea front. And he died there in the Great San Francisco earthquake. His sire was a guest in the hotel who had taken a small liking to him, but didn't stay after explaining everything to Ryan. He never even learned his sire's name.

So the young vampire was left on his own. He traveled around for a few years, studying what he could until it finally got too difficult to move around. The government started taking an interest in child welfare in the later part of the 20th century and Ryan decided it was time to settle down. On a whim, and tired of the snow, he made his way to Miami and the police station claiming to have been abandoned by his parents – which was true, in a way.

The state took him in and Ryan suddenly found himself at the mercy of the public school system and hated every minute of it. But it made him work harder, mainly so he could escape that much faster and a bomb threat at school one day led him into not only a new life, but a future career as well.

It had taken some practice, but Ryan was able to tell if a person was alive or not. He didn't have a specific talent; he was just able to focus all his attention on a person until he could hear a heartbeat. In the years since his death he'd seen several other vampires, but no one he'd wanted to risk talking to.

The red head on the bomb squad changed his mind.

The school had been evacuated and Ryan was up a tree, mainly to get away from the idiots he was in class with, but also so he could see what was happening at the school. Most of the bomb squad went inside, but two men stayed out near the vans talking. Ryan felt something about the red head catch his attention and he focused in more closely.

He almost fell out of his tree when he realized the man was a vampire. Ryan had never realized that vampires could actually live lives like normal people. They didn't have to be drifters. At that moment he resolved to meet the other vampire and ask him some questions.

It took a week and some research – something Ryan was very good at – but he finally managed to track down the building and office for the bomb squad.

"I wondered how long it would take for you to show up," the red head commented when Ryan walked in. "I'm Horatio Caine."

"Ryan Wolfe, how'd you know I was going to come here?"

Horatio smiled. "We shouldn't talk here," he said. "I'm off shift in a few minutes, why don't you come over to my house and I'll answer what questions I can. My son is visiting and he was about your age when I turned him."

"I've been this age for almost a century," Ryan said.

"Who was your sire?" Horatio asked, puzzled. The boy should've aged a little through medical check-ups and other things that made it necessary for his heart to beat.

Ryan slid into the passenger seat of Horatio's car and shrugged. "He never told me his name, just the basics I needed to know to survive. And that's what I've been doing."

"How is it that no one has noticed you don't age?"

"This is the longest I've stayed in one place."

"What are you planning to do when you graduate from high school?"

"I'm going to college," Ryan replied with a proud smile. "I never bothered before because I thought we had to stay outside of society."

"We do, in a way," Horatio said. "At the same time we can join the general population for a time as well. This is my tenth life or incarnation and my boy's first. He's a doctor up in New Jersey."

"You've been alive for a thousand years?"

"I've been a vampire for nearly that long, I was turned in 1000 AD in Ireland," Horatio said. "Now that we're alone, my real name is Alan Morris. Horatio Caine is the name I've taken for this life."

"Do you have to change your name each time?"

"I find it easier, I always default back to my real name in-between lives," Horatio said. "It seems like there's a lot you weren't taught, Ryan. For your safety would you let me teach you the rest of what you need to know about the vampire world?"

"Sure," Ryan said with another shrug. He looked at the house. "Do cops make a lot of money?"

Horatio smiled. "Enough to live comfortably and save some, but I don't have to work if I don't want to. That's important. As you move from life to life invest and save because you never know what the future holds."

"Yes you do, Alan," a man in his twenties said. "Is this the young vampire you were telling me about?"

"Yep; Greg House this is Ryan Wolfe," Horatio said. He kissed Greg gently. "He came to the department today."

"Right on schedule," Greg sighed. "You're insufferable, Alan."

"But you love me anyway," Alan said. "Ryan, please come in and make yourself at home. I doubt that Greg cooked any supper for us, so we can order pizza if you'd like."

"You know I don't cook," Greg said.

Ryan looked between them obviously puzzled. Greg shook his head. "He's not my biological father, he's my sire. And yes, vampires can eat; we can do almost anything we did while we were alive."

"How?" Ryan asked.

"Come on, we might as well be comfortable for this," Alan said. He led the way into the living room. "Some vampires will develop talents or abilities that link to their time alive. I can see the future, which is how I knew you'd be coming to see me, and my boy is a mind reader."

"So if I haven't shown any ability before I won't now?" Ryan asked.

"It's unlikely," Alan replied. "Ryan, during my long life I've read a great deal about our people and our lifestyle. Its likely that I can answer any question you have."

Greg sighed. "He really wants to find out what pizza tastes like, Alan."

"You're the kid, my boy, go order us something."

"Slave driver." Greg kissed Alan's cheek and vanished into the back of the house.

"How big is the vampire world?" Ryan asked.

"Not huge; I only have contact with my sire and his mate, but I know that he knows other vampires," Alan said. "I'm curious as to why your sire chose to leave you like he did."

"It was after the earthquake in San Francisco," Ryan said. "He'd been a guest at the hotel where I worked and I guess he just needed to move on."

"It was irresponsible to say the least," Alan said. "Did he at least warn you about the hell hounds?"

Ryan looked blank and Alan shook his head. "Greg, when you come back, bring the lore book along with you."

"Bite me," Greg called back.

"Ignore him, he's always like that," Alan said with a fond smile. "Ryan, one thing you will have to do if you want to live a real life is allow your heart to beat from time to time so you'll age a little. Trust me when I say that people will notice if you stay as young as you are."

"How do you do that and why?" Ryan asked. He was starting to realize exactly how much he hadn't been told.

"Focus and willpower," Greg said. He put a large book on the coffee table and sat back down next to his sire.

"That's more or less it," Alan agreed. "For every hour your heart beats you'll age a month. But it takes a lot of energy to keep your heart beating and you'll have to feed more often."

"So it's something I should do over the next few years," Ryan said. "I honestly haven't thought much past college, but I probably should."

Alan flipped the book open and started flipping through it. "My suggestion would be to remain in Miami for a while," he said. "Get a feel for actually living within society with me around as a safety net. Ah, here it is. The hell hound."

He flipped the book around and Ryan found himself staring at what he considered a fanciful drawing of a large black dog with flames around each ankle. The dog's ears were pointed and sharp – more Doberman than German Shepherd – with glowing red eyes and a whip-like tail.

"That's what they really look like," Greg commented flatly.

"My boy was bitten by one years ago," Alan said. He put an arm around Greg's waist and pulled him in close. "Ryan, in a nutshell these dogs hunt down and attack vampires, primarily lone ones. The venom from their bite will stay in a vampire's body for the rest of their lives, but doesn't cause problems until the vampire makes their heart beat. When that happens the best that you can expect is blinding pain and blood clots. The worst is that the venom will make it as far as your brain. Once there it will destroy all the parts that make you who you are and turn you into one of the blood-lusting monsters you see in the movies."

"And one of these attacked you, Greg?" Ryan asked.

"I had a fight with Alan and went off on my own at night," Greg replied. "That's their prime hunting time and they caught me. I haven't tried to make my heart beat since."

"Its really remarkable how much people are willing to overlook," Alan said. "Breathing, for example. Because they expect everyone around them to be breathing they never comment if you're not."

Ryan looked between them. "I think I will stay for a while," he commented. "Because I can see that there's a lot I still need to learn."
********************

With Alan's help Ryan was eventually able to figure out not only who his sire was, but why his parents fled to California so many years ago. It turned out that Ryan's grandparents on both sides were fairly high ranking members of the Chicago mafia. As far as Alan was able to learn neither of Ryan's parents wanted anything to do with the family business and decided to just run away. Their parents let them go for a time as they were tied up trying to wrest control of another part of the city from a rival boss.

Around the time Ryan left the family home for San Francisco the grandparents decided that time had run out and sent a hit man to track down and eliminate the rogue branch of the family. Alan couldn't find out if the family knew their hit man was a vampire or not, but reasoned it was unlikely.

It took some extra effort on Alan – and Peter's – part, but they finally learned that Ryan's sire was a vampire known only as Tony who was originally from Italy. At the time he turned Ryan, Tony would have been about five hundred years old and Peter hazarded a guess that he was turned during the early years of the Spanish Inquisition. They weren't sure when he made his way to the states, the earliest report they could find of him was in Chicago in the late 1870s.

Tony called on Ryan's parents first and killed them, not before he learned where young Ryan was though. It didn't take him long to make his way to San Francisco and the hotel where Ryan was employed. But, for some unknown reason, he took a liking to Ryan and turned him after the earthquake rather than leaving him to die.

Alan and Peter reasoned that was the most likely answer to why Tony didn't stick around to raise his fledgling; he had to report back to the bosses in Chicago that his job was done – that everyone was dead. Which was true, in a way, he just didn't have to mention that Ryan was still walking around.

Ryan wasn't too heartbroken to learn that he didn't have any living relatives, in his mind he'd left his family long ago and really didn't see any reason to look back. He was actually happy in Miami for the first time he could really remember. He decided to count Miami as life one.
********************

College really wasn't much harder than high school for Ryan, even with the course load he carried. He double majored in Chemistry and History – the former so he could eventually work in the crime lab and the latter so he could know more about the world he lived in. Even after he graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA and Alan helped him get a job in patrol, Ryan kept taking classes. Alan often joked that Greg and Ryan should've been twins with him as their sire because all three of them loved books so much.

Life was so perfect that, of course, something had to go wrong. Ryan was on the job helping to guard the perimeter of a crime scene when Alan and another man arrived. Ryan made eye contact briefly with the strange CSI and felt like he'd been kicked in the chest. He bit back a curse and vowed to hunt Alan down after work.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ryan hissed once he and Alan were safely settled in Alan's living room.

"Tell you what?"

"That I'd see the man I want to bond with," Ryan replied. "Until today, Alan, I didn't even know I liked men."

"I didn't see anything," Alan said. "Who was it?"

"Whoever you had with you at the scene today," Ryan said. "It was all I could do not to jump him right there."

"Ryan, even I don't see everything," Alan sighed. "And I certainly didn't know about this. His name is Eric Delko and, in all honesty, I don't know if he's gay, bi or straight. From the rumors I've heard it sounds like he's always got a different woman every few weeks."

"That could be because he doesn't realize what's missing from his life," Ryan sighed. He rubbed his face. "So what should I do?"

"Be patient," Alan said. "Eric is still settling in at the lab and I get the feeling he'll run if anything spooks him. But I'll keep an eye on things for you, both in the lab and out, and I'll let you know the best moment to strike."

"You make me sound like a snake," Ryan grumbled.

Alan smiled. "You won't be in patrol forever, Ryan. I know you'll eventually be able to join me in the lab," he said. "And then you'll get to see Eric every day and you'll be able to work out the best plan."

"Ten centuries old and you can't come up with a better plan than that?" Ryan asked.

"You don't want Alan helping you plan anything," Greg commented as he joined them. "That's the last time I go shopping for you, Alan. Artie even had trouble keeping a straight face."

"It's a present," Alan protested.

"That's what I told him and he still thinks I'm going to be the one using it," Greg grumbled. "Who the hell are you going to give a leather whip to in the first place?"

"A friend of Peter's," Alan said. "Can we please get back at the task at hand before I smack you both and send you to bed without any supper?"

"Considering I don't know what's going on in the first place," Greg sniffed.

Ryan snickered and quickly outlined the day's events. "And all he can tell me to do is wait," he finished.

"I think after about five hundred years you start to get more patient," Greg sighed. "Ryan, I can't help you because I'm in the same boat and I still don't know what to do."

"You should have said something between wife one and two," Alan said. "Don't look at me like that. I only want you to be happy. Ryan, seriously, until you know if Eric even likes men the best thing you can do is wait."

"Do I have to like it?" Ryan asked.

"Of course not," Alan replied with a fond smile.
********************

It wasn't long after Speed was shot and turned that Ryan moved into the lab – first as a fill-in for Speed as he "recovered" and then permanently once one of the employees was revealed as a federal mole. The only reason Alan didn't kill her was the joy he got watching everyone who had been her friend reject her and then chase her from the lab.

Ryan knew that everyone – especially Eric – thought that he was the leak in the lab. Everyone but Alan, who knew exactly who the problem was, he just wanted the evidence to back up his case. Ryan went along with the plan because his pseudo-sire meant that much to him. But it hurt.

What hurt Ryan the most were the constant black looks he got from Eric. Alan had explained that Speed and Eric were best friends and Eric was pretty protective of those he considered family. And it seemed like he wasn't that great at handling change either as Ryan was only working trace until Speed was able to come back to the lab.

Frustration finally got the best of him and, after yet another stupid but heated argument with Eric, Ryan pushed him against the wall in the locker room and kissed him.

"Why are you so cold?" Eric asked when they broke apart.

Out of all the questions, all the reactions that wasn't the one Ryan had been expecting. He hadn't been expecting to touch anyone so he hadn't had his heart beating. He cursed silently and thought fast. "I was standing under an air vent," he said. "I guess I just haven't warmed up yet."

"Do you want me to help you with that?"

"Okay, now I'm confused," Ryan said. "You've been treating me like shit, going out of your way to start fights and now you want to sleep with me?"

Eric snickered. "Speed clued me in not long after he got back to work," he said. "He told me that you really wanted to ask me out, but didn't know how. By that time we were fighting constantly and I didn't know how to change things."

"Neither did I and I've been talking with Horatio since before I started at the lab, trying to figure out how to approach you," Ryan admitted. "I think that he and Speed got together and talked."

"You know they're dating," Eric said.

"Yep." Ryan had listened to Greg's many rants on the topic. "So, Eric, are you doing anything after work?"

Eric leaned down and kissed Ryan again. "I am now," he said. "But I'll have you know, Wolfe, that I don't fall into bed with anyone on the first date, no matter what the rumors around this place claim."

"What about the second date?" Ryan asked with a smile.

"That depends on the quality of chocolates you bring me," Eric joked.
********************

They didn't have an easy relationship, they were both stubborn and hard-headed, but they make a promise early on to always be willing to listen to the other. Ryan found it almost exhausting at times to keep his heart beating almost constantly – he was able to take a break at work – and he found he had to feed more often. Fortunately Eric loved going out to the clubs after work and Ryan was always able to find someone for his dinner.

Alan, Speed, Ryan and – over the phone – Greg debated about how smart it would be to tell Eric the truth about their nature. The main concern was about Eric's upbringing, that he might be afraid of vampires or consider them evil. Ryan was just worried that Eric was going to catch him feeding one night and that would be the end of the relationship.

But before they could reach a consensus on what to do, Greg, as always was the odd vampire out, it all became a moot point.

Eric was shot in the head and died on the table. Alan was just about to turn him when Ryan ran in wild-eyed and said that he'd do it. He wanted to at least start the bond between them. The older vampire agreed and withdrew to call Greg. They needed someone to fuzz the hospital staff so Eric would be able to come back to work.

It took some doing but eventually everyone at the hospital was taken care of and Eric was released to Ryan's care. He was still a little shocked at everything that had happened, but Eric knew one thing. He wanted to stay with Ryan forever.

And that suited Ryan just fine.

***

Chapter 12

House awoke to the sunshine streaming in the window, a bird singing and what looked like an overly cheerful Robert Chase standing next to the bed holding a breakfast tray. "What movie did I wake up in?" House asked as he shifted carefully on the bed. He was still stiff and sore, but he could also tell it was getting better.

"Is this some sort of metaphor I'm missing?" Chase asked. He set the tray on the small table Alan had put next to the bed and sat down.

"No, this is me waking up in a setting so cliché that it makes me want to puke," House replied. "I'm not made for mornings in the first place, but I really hate them when everyone's so bright and cheerful that even the scenery has to get involved."

Chase couldn't help but smile. That sounded more like the Greg House he knew. "Alan and the others left before the sun was up," he said. "And I've been left very specific instructions on how to take care of you."

"He didn't," House growled.

"He's your father, Greg," Chase said. He moved to help House sit up. "He's concerned about you and wanted to stay, but needed this taken care of as well."

"So you cooked my favorite breakfast, made me coffee and are planning a hot bath followed by a massage later," House said. He smirked at the shocked look on Chase's face. "This isn't the first time I've been sick like this, Bobby. I should point out that the massage usually leads to sex."

"If it helps you get better," Chase started.

"You'd do anything I said wouldn't you?" House demanded. "Grow a backbone, Chase, or people will take advantage of you far worse than I ever have."

"I find that hard to believe," Chase said. "Oh, and Calleigh is here."

House sighed. "I suppose I should eat before breakfast," he said. "She knows the way. I don't eat in front of anyone."

Chase just stared at him for a minute, almost as if he was expecting House to say something else. When he didn't Chase just shook his head and left. House wasn't sure what he wanted to do about Chase. He didn't know that he could just kill the kid and being turned was ten times more painful if you weren't dying already. He rubbed his eyes and sighed – maybe things would be clearer once House knew Wilson was dead.

"Hey Greg," Calleigh said as she walked into the room. "How are you doing this morning?"

"I'd be better if it was afternoon," House grumbled. "How have you been, Calleigh?"

"Oh, you know, same as always." She sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry about how things turned out with Wilson. I know how much you loved him."

"I don't think I believe in love anymore," House sighed. "If I ever did in the first place."

"You'll change your mind some day," Calleigh said with a smile. "That young man in the living room looks awful tasty."

House snorted. "You've been hanging out with the clanlings too much."

"I don't need Speed, Eric or Ryan to tell me when a guy is handsome," Calleigh replied. "Seriously, Greg, we all only want to see you happy. And to be happy you need to eat."

"I need to go back in time," House said cryptically as his fangs dropped. He braced Calleigh carefully and leaned in.

Calleigh closed her eyes at the first prickle of fangs against her neck and relaxed. She was startled when the vampire pulled back almost immediately and licked the wound closed. "Greg?"

"Quiet," House snapped.

"What's wrong?" Calleigh asked.

"I said quiet." House wasn't as good as Ryan at picking up heartbeats, but he had to try. He closed his eyes and focused on Calleigh's until hers was the only heart beat he could hear and then tightened his focus. It was there almost just out of his range, but it was still steady. Or rather they were still steady. He'd pulled back in time. "Calleigh, have you been feeling extra sleepy?" House asked as he grabbed her wrist. "Or sick in the mornings?"

"A little, but nothing severe," she replied. "Greg, tell me what's going on here. Why'd you pull away so suddenly?"

"You're pregnant," House said as he put a hand on her forehead. "Almost two months and its twins."

"What?" Calleigh swayed a little before bracing herself again. "But Frank and I use birth control."

"No method is perfect," House said. "Chase, bring me a glass of water."

Calleigh's mind was racing. "How?" was all she could manage.

"Your blood tastes different when you're pregnant," House said. He took the water from Chase and handed it to Calleigh. "And letting us feed when you're carrying babies can cause an abortion. That's why I pulled back so fast. I know its twins because I checked their hearts."

"What do I do now?" Calleigh asked weakly.

"Tell Frank," House said. "Or call him over here and I'll tell him. Then make an appointment with your doctor to get a check-up and do whatever they tell you. Just make sure to let Alan know because you're strictly off-limits to the clan for several years."

"It's all just so sudden," Calleigh said. "I don't even know if Frank wants more kids."

"You don't have much time to hide this from him," House said. "I'm serious, Calleigh, when was the last time anyone actually fed from you?"

She thought for a few minutes, sipping the water. "It's been more than two months," she finally said.

"Then the babies will be fine," House said. "Your pulse is good and you don't have a fever. Go to work and tell momma Alexx the good news and have her check you over if you want."

"Will you do it?" Calleigh asked.

House sighed. "The truth of it is, Calleigh, I can't get out of bed on my own, let alone stand long enough to exam you," he said. "I'll keep an eye on you, but you need a more official doctor."

"You must be serious, you're not being sarcastic." Calleigh kissed House's cheek. "I'll tell Frank tonight and let you answer all his questions when he comes over tomorrow."

"I'll see what I can do," House said.

"Thanks," Calleigh smiled. "Now, what about you? You still need blood today."

"I'll be fine; Alan was in full mother-hen sire mode," House lied.

"You're sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," House said. "Congratulations, Calleigh, I mean that."

She kissed him again. "I know you do, you big Grinch. Okay, bye then."

"What's your problem?" House asked when he and Chase were alone.

"I've never seen you nice before," Chase replied.

"Sarcasm and snark don't work on Calleigh," House sighed. "I tried and they just roll off her while she remains cheerful and optimistic about everything – including hurricanes. I don't stand a chance so I finally just gave up."

"How long have you known these people?" Chase asked honestly curious.

"Over ten years," House said. He shifted carefully and grabbed the orange juice. "Maybe fifteen in some cases. You're just having a hard time picturing me away from the hospital and my normal attitude towards people."

"Greg, I've never seen you act like that towards a patient," Chase said.

"Yes, I am sick," House sighed.

"Sorry, that just slipped through," Chase said with a smile. "Could you drink my blood from a mug?"

"How would your blood get in a mug in the first place?" House asked.

Chase scratched his head. "I hadn't really thought that far in advance," he said. "But I know you lied to Calleigh about needing blood. Would it really be so bad to drink from me?"

"Not it wouldn't, at this point it probably wouldn't cause any harm or start a bond between us regardless of how you feel about me," House said. "I really only made the comment to get Speed to back off because I couldn't start my heart without Alan to monitor me."

"How does this bond thing work anyway?" Chase moved the breakfast tray to the bed and sat down so he could lean against the wall near House's feet. "Get started on this."

"We have a chemical in our stomachs that turns whatever blood we drink into a synthetic clone of our own," House said. "That's why we don't worry about blood types when feeding. It's not our blood, there's no way to make it our own, but when this chemical bonds with it, it fools our bodies into believing it's our own."

"So what you're basically saying is that if you lost this chemical you'd die," Chase said. "Because you'd have to rob hospitals and blood banks to survive."

"Or go to blood clubs where everyone knows their type," House said. "The same chemical produces our venom."

Chase blinked. "You're poisonous?"

"No, you idiot," House said almost fondly. "Our fangs are sharp, but it would still hurt to bite all the way to the artery the way we do. The venom both numbs the bite and heals it when we're done. It also can make our victims so sexually blissed out that they won't be able to walk for hours. We only use that defense when we feed from strangers."

"So how does this all link to the bond?"

"You do know patience is a virtue?"

"Of course, but I didn't know that you know it."

"The bond, smartass, is formed when two vampires share a combination of blood and venom," House said. "When Alan turned me, rather than letting me feed directly from him, he brought blood home held in a pouch in his throat so it wouldn't mix with his stomach chemical. Its what we call fledgling feeding."

"So even though I love you, as long as I don't try to feed from you there shouldn't be a bond between us," Chase said. "Because I can't bite you back."

"Well, you could, but it wouldn't do anything other than turn me on a little," House smirked.

"What would happen if I bit hard enough to draw blood?" Chase asked. He shifted a little trying to hide exactly how much the conversation was affecting him.

House stared at Chase for a moment wishing that he didn't hurt as bad as he did because Chase was looking extremely tasty. He hadn't lied when he told Alan that he'd take the young man in a second. "I think that's physically impossible," he commented off-handedly.

Chase flushed bright red. "I keep forgetting you can read minds," he said. "Maybe a prostitute could get into that position."

"Nope," House commented. "And Chase, the little blood you'd get from a sex bite wouldn't do anything."

"How do you know they can't?" Chase asked. "Did you actually sleep with those girls you were always talking about?"

"Of course not," House replied. "I'm gay and they were supper. I'm also a doctor and know that the human body doesn't bend that way."

"Oh well, it was just a thought," Chase said. "So what happens now?"

"I suppose you're going to insist on being my second breakfast," House said. "You couldn't just let me go back to sleep for a few hours?"

"Not until you get some blood in you." Chase paused for a moment and thought about what he'd just said. "There's something I never thought I'd say to anyone."

"That's life," House smirked. He put the empty tray on the table and shifted again. "Bobby, listen to me. I love Alan and I always will. But I've accepted that he's bonded with Speed. I love Wilson, no matter what he did to me and I don't know that my feelings for him will ever change either. And, in my own way, I loved Stacy. I told you before that I don't know if I have another try in me. Alan tells me that I need to believe in love, but every single time I've allowed myself to love I've been horribly hurt."

Chase nodded. "And you're scared that I'm going to do the same thing."

"Do you blame me?"

"No," Chase said. "And I'm not stupid enough to try and promise that I won't hurt you. But we won't know unless we try."

"There's other stuff you need to know," House said.

"Like what?"

"Even if I did turn you, we could never bond," House said. "The hell hound venom in my system would transfer to you and I'm not going to risk your life like that."

"But we could still be together?" Chase asked.

"We could and you're attractive enough that I won't have a problem sleeping with you," House replied. "I just want you aware of my feelings before you make any decisions that could ruin your life for good."

"I've got so many questions running through my head right now it isn't even funny," Chase sighed. He moved up the bed and settled closer to House. "But you need blood to recover. If you're sure it won't cause problems, take it and then we can talk."

"Sexual release or no?"

"Whichever is easier for you."

House nodded and pulled Chase in towards him. "You need to relax," he said. He carefully braced Chase and let his fangs drop again. House let the tips of his fangs brush over Chase's neck and smirked at the shudder it produced. He knew that there were some people who became addicted to being food for a vampire and hoped Chase wasn't one of them. Mainly because he knew Alan killed the addicts more or less on sight so they wouldn't endanger the hidden vampire world.

He didn't do anything as cliché as moan or shiver at the first taste of Chase's blood because blood was just blood to a vampire. House was touched by the simple gesture Chase was making and decided to let the boy have some fun as well. He let his venom flow slowly back into Chase's body as he fed.

Chase moaned as he felt his body start to warm up, to tingle in all the right places, and really start to take notice of what was going on. He wanted to move, to be able to get some friction on his erection, but House had a strong hold on him and he couldn't move. It was like every part of him was focused on the sting in his neck and the growing pressure in his groin.

Everything exploded for Chase when House pulled back and licked the wound on his neck. His entire body spasmed, Chase cried out and fell on the bed – only just managing to miss House – as he shuddered and tried to keep breathing.

"Rest here a while, Bobby," House said. "It'll take a while for your body to recover."

But Chase was already asleep.
********************

House knew that Chase wouldn't be any good to anyone for at least two hours, if not more, so he was on his own. Not the best thought out plan in the world, really, because now he had to get to the bathroom on his own. He sighed and considered for a few minutes; he didn't think his legs would support him for long, not to mention he didn't think he could hold onto his cane.

That left crawling. House hated to drop down to that level, to be so helpless, but he really had no choice. He sighed again and flipped the covers back, burying Chase, and carefully slid down to the floor. House figured his only saving grace was that there wasn't anyone around to see what he was doing. In fact, the only person he wouldn't be embarrassed around was Alan, and he wouldn't have been crawling if Alan was home.

There were few things Greg House was sure of in life. One was that existing hurt. Another was that blood and chocolate didn't mix – no matter what. And he knew that his sire and grandsire loved him no matter what. House also knew that he didn't believe in love.
********************

Chase woke up and stretched. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so drained and relaxed at the same time. None of his previous lovers, not that there had been many in the first place, had made him feel like he did at that moment.

Then he realized he was alone in the bed. "Greg!" he yelled as he sat up and fought off the dizzy spell.

"I'm in the bathtub." House's short reply made Chase sigh with relief.

He climbed carefully out of bed and moved quickly to the bathroom. "What are you doing in here?" he asked, noting that House was taking a bubble bath.

House gave him his best 'you are an idiot' glare. It was only slightly less intense than his 'do what I tell you before I let you become intimate friends with my cane' glare, but Chase just shook his head.

"How do you feel?" House asked.

"I should be asking you that," Chase replied. He got another glare. "I'm light-headed but I'll live. Are you ready to get out and go back to bed?"

"I have a headache," House said.

"Fine, come back to bed and I'll give you some morphine and you can sleep until supper."

"Out," House said sharply. "No one sees me naked."

Chase took a deep breath. "I've seen naked men before, Greg, and I don't embarrass that easy."

The glare House directed at him wasn't one Chase had seen before and he actually took a step back. "I said no one sees me naked," House said in a cold voice. "That includes you, Chase. If you want me out of the tub then you're leaving this room now."

"What about Alan? Do you let him see you?"

"No, I don't," House replied sharply. He looked around for something heavy to throw, but didn't see anything. "Now get out of this room."

Chase looked hurt, but turned and left, shutting the door behind him. House sighed and started draining the water, turning on the shower so he could rinse off the bubbles. He guessed that Chase didn't understand what it was like to be ashamed of your body. House saw the scar on his leg as a constant reminder of exactly how stupid he actually was and he wouldn't let anyone else see it. Not even Alan or, if he had House didn't know about it. His sire always respected House's wishes and, when they had been together after the infarction, always made sure House's leg was covered.

It was only sheer willpower that got House dried off, into a clean pair of sleep pants and back into bed. As he limped across the room he was a little surprised Chase wasn't hovering to make sure he got back to bed okay.

House dropped back into bed and curled up under the covers. What little energy Chase's blood had given him was gone and House didn't know where Alan's morphine kit was. He knew he could live with the pain for a while though. It wasn't like he hadn't before.

He'd just started to doze off when the faint buzz of emotion along the link he had with Speed turned back into fully formed and coherent thoughts. Speed was home. He was pissed. House sighed and wondered if it was too late to visit Peter in Italy.

***

Chapter 13

When he bought the plane, Alan had a few special modifications made, one of them being sound-proofing in the bunk area. For the most part it was to let his family sleep while they were traveling on family business, but Alan used it for another reason. Leaving Eric and Ryan, he shut himself in his favorite bunk and took out his cell phone. It was hard for the old vampire to admit that he needed help and advice, but he also knew his sire wouldn't do anything but help him. Peter was ancient, even for a vampire, and had seen so much in his long life that he adored humanity. He wanted to ease their struggles and make the world a better place. Alan was his only child, and Peter loved him deeply. there was a bond between them, that of a scholar, that held them together through everything. Peter's bonded, Adolph, was amused by Alan and adored him as well. They were the shining example of how a family should interact, and Alan wasn't sure he would ever have something so perfect.

"Pere," Alan said when the phone was answered, "I need your advice, please. Events have grown beyond my control, and the things I've seen, I've lied about. I couldn't even bring myself to tell Greg."

Peter wasn't French by birth, he was Roman and had seen the rise and fall of the empire. He had just spent most of his long lives in France and loved the language. "Alan, mon petit, your heart, it sounds broken," Peter said. "It is Tim again, non?"

"He still refuses to learn, pere," Alan said. "He knows our laws and how to live, but he refuses to learn our history and lore. Or maybe it's that he has learned it and just refuses to acknowledge that he has. He called me a monster, pere, for my relationship with Greg."

"He fears my petit-fils, non? Greg, he was so old so young. The monsters you saved him from, they leeched his youth and came so near to destroying him forever." Peter sighed. "When shall you finally return the favor to them, Alan? By my count, they have lived far far too long. Them I would happily give to the camps of the War."

"They die tomorrow, pere," Alan said. "I'll finally have a chance to make it look like an accident. Greg asked only that I find out why. But I didn't want to leave him alone, not with what I've seen."

"This vision, it is set?"

"Yes. Tim will kill an innocent tonight."

Peter was silent for a long moment. "This death, there is nothing you could do to prevent it?" he finally asked.

"My presence only delays it," Alan admitted. "The one killed is someone Greg is at least fond of and I didn't want him to grow more attached than he already is. Pere, how many times can anyone be destroyed and return?"

"Our Greg, he is strong. Losing you, I think, would be the only thing to truly destroy him. He needs time and quiet, perhaps Italy, to heal his heart. But most of all, mon petit, it is you he needs."

"I've hurt him badly, pere."

"Yet he loves you still. The bond, it is not too late. The time may finally have come."

Alan sighed. "What am I going to do with Tim? He's about to break one of our strictest laws and I left him to do it. Doesn't that make me equally as guilty, pere? How am I going to resolve this mess I've landed in?"

"By allowing your pere and Adolph to help you. We are in Miami, mon petit. We came to ask your aid in something far worse than anything any of us have witnessed these many long years," Peter said. "I planned to ask you to break your unhealthy bond with Tim. Non, do not interrupt me. My researches have been continuing into both bonds and hell hounds. I find that when one forces the bond, when the fledgling awakens wild, the bond, she is one-sided and unhealthy. You do not drink from Tim, do you, mon petit?"

Alan was trying to work through the implications of what Peter was telling him. "No," he managed. "The idea makes me feel sick. I've pretended though."

"A sign of a sickly forced bond," Peter said. "Our blood in them, their blood in us, as the saying goes. That is the foundation of a true bond. The faint traces of Tim's blood that you would have swallowed were enough to create an illusion of a bond between you. And you, mon petit, would have not known the difference because you love Tim in your own way, non?"

"I thought I did," Alan said. "Pere, Greg is at my house and extremely weak. Will you go to him for me? Keep him safe until I can come home."

"But of course. I have missed my petit-fils greatly. But listen to me, Alan. You know what must happen with Tim. You have seen."

"I have, pere. I've seen more than I want to. He's been driven insane, hasn't he?"

"Ah, mon petit, I wish there was an easy answer, a way to ease your mind. I believe the reason he awakened as he did, to attempt to force the bond, it was jealousy. He witnessed you with Greg, saw your interactions and felt he had but one choice. He must steal you away, make you his. Only then would he feel safe. But this, it did not work, you remain in touch with your Greg no matter what Tim did. This threat, he has always felt, was very near."

Alan closed his eyes. "Tim's never been willing to give Greg a chance," he said. "Oh, my poor boy. Greg's probably never told me how bad it was."

"You and Greg, you are destined to be together. It was the time you were waiting to be right."

"Pere, Greg can't bond, the hell hound venom...."

"This is why I have come to Miami. Adolph and I have found, not a cure, but a negation to the venom," Peter said. "The shots and treatment, they are long and very painful. Yet Greg shall be free of the curse which has haunted him for oh so very long."

"You finally found it? How many years has it been?"

"Since I was forced to kill my sire in Greece," Peter said softly. "Since I watched helplessly as he turned into a monster before my very eyes. I have searched since that day, and suffered so many failures. Now, at least, i have won through. Two of my friends at home, they allowed me to use them as my living lab rats. They both are now cured."

"Pere."

"Non, mon petit, say nothing more. Focus on the tasks ahead of you, for they seem unpleasant enough. Adolph and I, we shall handle the problems here until your return. Then we must speak more seriously still, for a shadow looms dark in the future and only we know how to stop it."

"Thank you, pere," Alan said. He wiped his eyes. "I'll see you in a few days."

"Allwyn."

The use of his birth name made Alan focus quickly. "What is it?"

"Make them suffer for what they have done to our Greg. then we shall put him together, better than he has ever been."

"I swear it."

"Then that is good. I will see you soon."
***********

House picked up on Speed's intent just before he heard the front door open. "Tim, no!" he yelled. "Chase, run! Get out of the house now! Run and don't come back!" Cursing, he forced his body out of bed and started towards the kitchen, using the walls for support. Every jolt, every step sent knifing pain through every inch of his body and he knew he was going to be too late. Chase, the moron, had frozen at the screaming and Speed had caught him.

"Now you have to bond with him," Speed said when he caught sight of House. "He's dying."

"He's dead," House whispered, sliding to the floor. "I fed from him this morning. To bond, you have to return that blood mixed with your venom. Since you drained him, Tim, you didn't leave enough blood for anything. Not even his heart."

"There's another way, House. Give him your blood to revive him, like Ryan did for Eric. Then take him away and stay out of Horatio's life."

House gave a hollow laugh. "My blood? My blood is poison. I can't bond with anyone, ever. It would kill them, just like it's killing me." He battled with the blackness trying to overwhelm him. "You killed Chase for no reason, Tim. No reason." He thought he heard the door open as his vision faded out. "Alan."
***********

House knew he was back in bed before he was fully conscious. He almost wished Speed had killed him, put him out of his misery. The pain was...... House paused and forced his eyes open. "Pepere, the pain," he whispered.

"A new drug I've developed, mon petit-fils, one which blocks pain for hell hound victims," Peter replied. "We must speak on this more, you and I, but I must first apologize. Adolph and I, we tried to be here faster, to save your friend, yet the traffic, she was impossible. It blocked our way to you."

"Where is he?"

"Adolph, he took the boy Chase to Mere Alexx. She will care for him and no suspicion shall fall to any of us," Peter said. "The boy, he has family we must notify?"

"No, he's alone in the world," House said. "Bury him as one of our family. I wasn't in time to save him."

"You very nearly killed yourself attempting to get to him. Look, this is your fourth bag of blood since I arrive. You use yourself too freely, Greg."

House wanted to shake his head to clear it. He couldn't be hooked up to an IV, it wouldn't work unless his heart was beating. And there was no way his grandsire could be in Miami. "Am I dreaming?"

"So much easier if you were, non? Alas, Greg, this is reality. I came to Miami to speak seriously with Alan, and then I was to come see you. For you, mon petit-fils, which will make your life ever so much happier. My researches, they are complete."

"Pepere, you've created an antidote for the venom?"

"The road, she is long and painful, but in the end you will be free."

"When can we start?" House asked. He couldn't believe his grandsire had been successful. Everyone else who had tried decided it was impossible and gave up.

Peter smiled. "Tomorrow, when you are stronger," he said. "Today we will give you blood and feed you. Such cooking as you have not had since you were young, mon petit-fils. Adolph, he shall cook tonight and sit with you. Myself, I have an unpleasant task yet to deal with."

"Tim," House stated. "Pepere, Alan knew about this, didn't he?"

"He knew."

"I wish he had said something to me. I feel responsible. Chase loved me, that's the only reason he was down here in harm's way." House sighed. "I tried to warn him, pepere, but he didn't listen."

"Alan, he did not tell me everything, when has he ever? But he told me this vision, it was fixed. You know what that means as well as I."

"We could prolong Chase's life but never save it. Maybe it's better this way."

"How do you figure such a thing?"

"Chase was here because he loved me. He was also scared out of his mind at being the only alive person here and wanted to run. I wasn't going to turn him, pepere. I'm not even sure how I truly felt about him."

"This does not make you a bad person. You and Alan, you are meant to be together. These trials thrown at you, they were to make you stronger, not drive you apart. I will know more once I speak with Tim, but I suspect him to be insane. His jealousy of you has caused so very many problems. Now we start to correct them."

"How?"

"You by sleeping. Adolph will wake you for dinner. Me, I go to speak with Tim. And yes, Alan, he does know. We spoke earlier. My child has left everything here in my hands."

House nodded. "Then I know I'm safe."
**********

Adolph met Peter in the hallway. "Many times I wonder how my son can be so smart and yet so very stupid," Peter sighed.

"Both he and Greg are too stubborn for their own good," Adolph said. "Peter, will you really kill Tim?"

"The law he broke, mon amour, it was one of my own creations," Peter replied. "As is the penalty. What will it say to others should I choose not to enforce my laws? The very laws which hold the vampire world together."

"You're right. I'm sorry, I let my memories get the best of me."

"I would erase those memories were it in my power to do so." They paused by the door to Alan's office. "I do not know how long I shall be, mon amour. Make Greg a dinner such he has not had in years, and give him more blood. He must be made healthy with love before he undergoes the venom negation."

"He wants to then?"

"He does. We will explain it to him in detail, but he has endured much pain already. It is possible our treatment, it shall not hurt him as it did the others."

Adolph nodded. "Call if you need me."

"I shall, mon amour. Now show your talents in the kitchen. A good meal, it is half the cure, non?"

"Of course," Adolph smiled. "Now we work to cure our family."
**********

Speed was scared. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but when he heard House's words and watched Chase die, he realized he had violated one of the ultimate laws. He remembered when Horatio had first told him about the ultimate laws, the few laws that carried an immediate death sentence, and how much he admired the vampires who created those laws. Speed had remarked to Horatio that humans would do better if they had a few of those types of laws on the books. Horatio had just smiled softly and didn't comment on it.

His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and very dignified vampire walked in. "Peter."

"Why have you never accepted my offers to call me pere?" Peter asked as he shut the door behind him. "Non, do not answer, Tim, for I know you refuse to call me father because you feel you are better than the others in my family. You are with Alan, thus you feel you are the best." Peter shook his head and sighed. "Alas, that should be your undoing."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Where's Horatio?"

"My boy? Ah, I see you do not like that term. My boy is north taking care of some very long overdue business and shall not be home for many days." He sat down and looked at Speed. "Tell me something, Tim; when you saw Alan for himself, what did you do?

"What?"

"You know the case of which I speak. Alan called when it was over and told me all about it. How the family was slaughtered, the son who attempted to save his siblings, the father who did it all." Peter paused for a moment to bring his temper under control. "Alan and I detest those who harm children."

Speed snorted. "He's a monster himself, so why should he hurt those who..... Ouch!"

Peter rubbed his hand, staring down at Speed. "A monster? My Allwyn? Oh non, non! Raised by monsters, oh yes, he was, and I helped him to escape. We've batted them century by century, yet more appear each year. Where do we have to prune to straighten the tree from which humanity blooms? Alan has saved so many children, snatched one from the Spanish Inquisitors when the boy, he was already tied to a stake. So many he saved from the camps, innocents who would have died in the ovens, hate and fear as their killers. Genocide. And Greg." Peter's expression softened. "My special Greg. I knew the moment I saw him, how much he had suffered. How much was lost. Yet I could see also how much Alan put back."

"Put back? He raped him when he was fifteen!" Speed struggled against the bonds that were holding him to the chair. He needed to get loose or get Peter to pick up the chair. His hands were numb.

"Rape? Non! Greg was sixteen when they consummated their love for the first time," Peter said. "Of age for where they were living at the time, and they both wanted it oh so very much. You let your jealousy blind you, Tim. Your focus on a single goal was weakened everything and led to this. Such unhappiness. If only my researches had been faster, then perhaps I could have done something. Could have save Alan and Greg much heartache."

"Alan and Greg. Alan and Greg. I'm sick of hearing about Alan and Greg. I'm the one Horatio chose to bond with."

"He did not choose, you forced the bond upon him, Tim. A bond that is as as weak and one-sided as any I have ever seen. The events in the bank that day, non, a jewelry shop. The bank was in England and it was two young ladies we saved that day. The events in the jewelry shop would have led to an exchange of just enough blood for you to feel the bond. But until Alan drank fully from your veins, the full bond would not form."

"What the hell are you talking about? Horatio's bit me tons of times."

"Ah, my boy, he is a sneaky one. You have sired no one, correct? Ah, I thought so. There is a pouch in our throat to store blood for our fledglings. Alan, he would hold the blood there until he could dispose of it. My boy, he is always one to be clean. Always a shower or bath after intimacy. And a chance for him to rid himself of any blood he took from you. Such intelligence my boy has. Never has he liked to have his options taken from him, or choice made for him. Alan loves you enough to allow you to believe you were bonded while he watched and evaluated. As would any parents who wished to see how their child would be treated by another."

"What child? Greg was his lover! Am I the only one who sees a problem here? And would you pick me up? My hands are about to fall off."

"Mon dieu. Forgive me. I forget what wonderfully strong knots Adolph learned to tie in the camps." Peter righted the chair and patted Speed on the head. "You refuse to learn of our world and our customs, so of course you would not understand. Our children are our children because it is we who birth them into the world of the vampire. Yet our children can also be our lovers if the pull is there between sire and fledgling. Greg's brother, Ryan, he was turned and abandoned at so young an age. He survived his ordeal, yet I wonder how many do not. ryan was so lucky to find Alan, to find a sire who cared enough to teach and shelter him, even if there was not a true sire/fledgling link between them."

"I used to think Horatio was a great guy too, but then I found out he's raped children. He won't tell me how many, but people like that never just do it once. It's a sickness that festers in them. Killing them is the only way to get rid of the problem."

"Tim, how old is Alan?" Peter asked softly.

"Why does everyone keep asking me that like it excused him of some kind of wrong doing?" Speed demanded. "I don't care if he's as old as you are, Peter. It wasn't then when he did it, it was now."

Peter thought for a moment. "You were born in 1973, non?"

"What's that got to do with anything."

"Our Greg, he was killed in 1974. You are looking at these events as if they happened just yesterday," Peter said. "Alan and I would have handled the situation differently had Greg died just this week, or last year. Yet you forget that this was in 1974. They lived with me and the age of consent was 14. You judge him by your American standards, and judge him unfairly."

"I don't know why I'm even bothering to argue. I told you I'm the only one who sees a problem with this. I know what I did, Peter. Just lock me up until Horatio gets home."

"Non, non. I spoke with Alan and he left everything in my hands here," Peter said. "He knows what you have done, Tim. He knew before he left. He knows you shall be gone when he returns from this most recent trip."

Speed swallowed hard. He hadn't expected that. "If Horatio knew I was going to do this, he would have stopped me."

"I would explain, but I do not believe you care enough to learn," Peter said. "And the time, it would be wasted. This law, she is one of my own creations. I wrote it so very carefully to protect humans, and created the punishment as well. I gave this all a great deal of though. I know exactly what it is I must do this night."

"I didn't know that. How many of the ultimate laws did you write?

"All of them. I live to protect humans from themselves, and help vampires live healthier lives. It is not easy, non, but it is a life worthy of living. Who is to say the life you took this night would not be equally as worthy. Now you must suffer your punishment."
**********

House woke up to the smell of chicken and forced his eyes open. There was still no pain and he just enjoyed lying there for a moment. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt absolutely no pain. "Al, how have you been?

"Pretty good, Greg, how 'bout you?"

Blue eyes turned on the older vampire, who seemed to have realized what he said and was blushing. House could never snap at his pepere's mate. "Things have been bad, Al. But I don't want to talk about them right now. What smells so good?"

"Your dinner. I have to go shopping to create anything truly delicious, but for one as ill as you are, I think this will work."

"Can you help me sit up?" House wasn't sure how his body was going to function and wanted a safety net. He'd scared himself earlier in the day. "And then I'll do my best to eat."

"I don't recall you being this good of a patient," Adolph said. He set the tray he was carrying down on the table by the bed and moved to help his adopted child sit up. "You need more pillows, mon petit."

"I need to brush up on my French," House said. He leaned back and sighed. "I'll be okay, Al. This'll work just fine. I'm not bending my IV and I'm supported."

"Why do you need to brush up on your French?" Adolph set the tray on House's lap and lifted up the cover, revealing the original recipe chicken and dumpling soup.

House almost moaned when he saw it. He knew each dumpling would be stuffed with something either savory or mashed vegetable. He hadn't tasted the original in more years than he wanted to admit to. "Because I heard Peter muttering under his breath while I was waking up and I'm positive they were not good things."

"I'm sure they weren't. He's more vexed than I've seen him in a long time, Greg. I'm not even sure he's told me everything that's going on, and that's unusual. He just said that we need both of you for something important."

"And he needs me healthy. Is this treatment really as bad as I think it is?"

"Probably worse, but we'll talk about that tomorrow. Let's eat and then we can find something better to talk about, so our digestion won't be upset."

He was home. House smiled and picked up his spoon. The only person missing was Alan.

***

Chapter 14

When they landed in New Jersey, Alan sent Eric and Ryan to the hospital to find out how much damage control, if any, was going to be needed. He felt more at ease with being away from Miami knowing that Peter was there to take care of everyone. He hated to be away from Greg when he knew his boy was going to be starting some very painful treatments, but deep in his heart, Alan knew that what he was doing in New Jersey would help Greg heal as well.

He slipped easily past the shields Greg had placed around his apartment and froze just inside the doorway. The level of destruction to the apartment boiled his blood. If Tritter hadn't been killed already, Alan would have made him suffer for a long time for what he dared do to Greg and his belongings. He felt a flash of annoyance at Speed for taking that sport away from him. Tritter had died far too quickly.

A knock at the door pulled him from his dark musings. Alan took a deep breath and opened the door. "Can I help you?"

Wilson took a step back as if he hadn't been expecting anyone to be there. "Oh, hi, I'm James Wilson. I was supposed to meet John House and his wife here."

"They went to get boxes. I'm Horatio Caine, a friend of theirs who came along to help." He stepped back and to the side. "Greg's death was such a tragedy."

"Yeah, it really is." Wilson walked in and went right to the sofa as if he had every right to be there. "I'm the one who found House the night he. the night he killed himself. I tried my best, but there wasn't anything I could do."

"Does anyone, has anyone been able to figure out why Greg would have killed himself like this?" Alan asked. He moved to sit on the coffee table facing Wilson.

"He left a note, but I don't know if that was the real reason." Wilson looked up and saw both sadness and deep compassion in the blue eyes looking at him. He didn't understand it, but he felt like he could tell the stranger sitting across from him anything. He also realized just how dangerous that would be. "Who did you say you are again?"

"I'd say you know me already, Dr. Wilson," Alan said with a smile.

"You....... Alan."

"I am, and I must compliment you on coming to me. This saves us some time," Alan said. "Not to mention far less strain on your friends."

"What are you going to do to me?" Wilson asked, shrinking back against the cushions. "I wasn't lying. House's parents are on their way here."

Alan smiled. "I know John House all too well. He shot me the day he threw Greg down the stairs. I've waited for this moment for so long. So, why don't we move you to the bedroom for now and make sure you won't give the game away. You're a secondary concern right now, Dr. Wilson. I have many years of abuse to repay before I deal with you."
**********

"So, what do you think?" Eric asked after the pair finished their walk through the hospital.

"I don't think we need to worry about anyone here," Ryan replied. "They seem to all believe House is dead and I don't think the boss will want that changed. But we'll have to check with him to make sure."

"Can we grab the rat before we leave?"

"The rat, oh, you mean the one in Cuddy's office. Yeah, sure, I don't have a problem with that. But why do you want it?"

"It belongs to House and he really misses it," Eric said.

Ryan smiled. "Then we get the rat. We'll take it back to the plane and then go join up with the boss at House's apartment."

"You lead, I'm just here to fuzz people."

"I knew you'd see me as a leader one of these days, Delko."

Eric laughed. "You're impossible, Wolfe. Are we going to talk or are we going to do this?"

"Yeah, you're right. We can fight later. Let's go."
**********

Alan wasn't as adept at knots as Adolph, but he had learned a few things over the years and, when he was done, he was sure that Wilson wouldn't be going anywhere. He left the bound and gagged man in the bedroom and walked silently out into the living room. He would have a very delicate game to play with the monsters he had saved Greg from so many years ago. Alan hadn't aged much and knew it was possible that John House would remember him. All Alan had to go was get them into the apartment and they wouldn't be able to leave again. But would be be able to get them to take those so vital steps? He took a deep breath and relaxed. He had to trust that his memory of the man he wanted to rend apart was sound. John House seemed the type to ignore anyone he considered beneath him. He wasn't as worried about the woman; she had never seen him.

The door rattled suddenly, and if Alan hadn't been paying such close attention to his surroundings, he would have jumped. "The damn door's stuck," John House's muffled voice said. "Figures that idiot landlord couldn't be bothered to fix it."

Alan smirked and opened the door, wiping all expression from his face as he came into view. "I'm sorry about that, sir," he said. "It's on my list of things to fix today, but I got busy in the kitchen and lost track of time. Can I help you?"

"Who the hell are you?" John demanded. He pushed his way into the apartment and went straight into the kitchen.

"I'm one of the handymen on staff here," Alan replied. He smiled at Blythe and shut the door behind them. "I understand what a hard time this is for you, so please let me gather up my tools and I'll get out of your way."

"Why are you here today?" Blythe asked.

"There were some lights out that the landlord wanted to have fixed to make this as easy as such a task can possibly be," Alan said. "He didn't know what time you were coming, so as long as I was here, I decided to do a few other small things while I was waiting."

She nodded and wandered into the back of the apartment. John came out of the kitchen. "Where are all the dishes and things? How am I supposed to be able to drink anything?" he asked, as if Alan had hidden all the dishes on purpose. He finally paused and looked at the other man. "You look familiar."

"You've probably seen me around when you came to visit your son."

"John! Dr. Wilson is tied up back here," Blythe called.

Alan smirked. "Then again, maybe you remember me from the day your threw your child down the stairs?" he said. "You should, you shot me as well."

"You."

"And I've waited a very long time to see you again," Alan said. "Dr. Wilson is just a bonus today. Why don't we have a little talk?"
**********

Four long days later, Alan stood with his family and looked down a steep cliff. "That should take care of that," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "There are some advantages to our profession."

Ryan bit back a sigh and Eric just shook his head. The younger vampire had recognized the bomb that Alan had put in the back of the car to guarantee a very fiery explosion when the car landed at the bottom of the cliff. They'd had one down in Miami and Eric knew that Alan still felt that case very sharply. They never had been able to prove the man was guilty of killing his fiancee and their unborn child, although Eric knew that Horatio still sent pictures of what the young child would have looked like on each of what would have been her birthday. "What about Wilson?" Ryan asked. "Are we just going to leave him as he is?"

"I think so," Alan replied. "Eric's spent enough time with him that his memories seem to be confused well enough that we can leave him alive. I debated having him in the car when we pushed it over, but that would be a little harder to credit. There was no reason for Wilson to have been leaving with those monsters."

"But we'll keep an eye on him, right?" Ryan asked. He really didn't want anything to hurt his older brother again. "I mean, so he can't find where Greg is and hurt him anymore."

"From the sounds of things, Ryan, both Greg and I might be leaving the states here soon anyway, but yes. I will keep an eye on Wilson for as long as I think we need to. Come on, let's leave before the smoke attracts a crowd and there are some awkward questions to answer."
**********

The whole time Alan was in New Jersey, most of his focus was on his task of torturing John and Blythe House, although he did save most of his torments for John, he couldn't help but worry about Greg and what his boy was doing down in Miami. Alan didn't even question that Greg would want to start the treatments Peter had developed. He was so happy that his boy would be able to be healthy and lead a slightly more normal life, but he wanted to be there when Greg started them to try and help to ease his pain a little. But he hadn't forgotten the one thing that Greg wanted to know before the people who raised and abused him were killed. It had taken work and, in the end it was a threat to Wilson that broke Blythe's silence on the matter. Alan had answers for his boy.

When they got back to Miami, Eric and Ryan went back to the lab to see what was happening there and take care of everything they could for Alan to let him have another day or two off. Calleigh would have been leading the lab while they were gone and also taken care of paperwork for the shifts. Alan took Steve McQueen and went home.

"Mon petit."

"Pere." Alan put the cage down in the living room and hugged his sire tightly. "Thank you for giving my boy a chance at a pain-free life."

"Non, non, it is nothing," Peter said. He stepped back and looked up into Alan's blue eyes. "These past days, they have not been easy on you. We have dinner ready. Greg is awake and is anxious to see you. Go to him, mon petit, and we will bring you both food."

"How have the treatments been, pere?" Alan asked.

"Mon petit fils, he is strong. He does not cry out, yet he cries. They pain him, but the tears, I think they are tears of happiness."

"Are they working? How long does this take? When will we know for sure that they'll work for him?"

Peter smiled and put a finger over Alan's lips. "The treatments, they work," he said. "Go and see your child, mon petit. You will believe when you see with your own eyes the effects the treatments have on Greg."

"Thank you, pere," Alan said. He kissed his sire and picked up the cage to take it to Greg's room. He didn't know how he felt about having a pet rat in the house, but according to Eric, Greg had said he wanted to get his pet back and Alan would do anything that Greg wanted him to.

"Alan," House murmured when the older vampire opened the door. "I heard you coming. Are you okay?"

"I am now," Alan said. "I brought a friend to see you, Greg. Can you open your eyes a little and say hi?"

House rolled his head on the pillow and opened one eye. "You got Steve McQueen," he smiled. "How'd you know about him?"

"Eric told me." Alan set the rat cage down on the table by the closet and pulled a chair up next to the bed. "You look better, my love," he said after studying Greg's face for a few minutes. "I think the lack of pain has made you look younger."

"That's what pepere says," House said. "I'm sleeping most of the time. I just don't have the energy to do anything right now."

"Pere mentioned food. Are you going to be able to eat?"

"Yeah. They won't let me skip meals and pepere has been taking me to bathe every day. He says that I don't have to be ashamed of the scar anymore. But it's hard, Alan. So hard to relax."

Alan kissed House softly. "I know, my love, but you'll be able to some day. We've both made some bad choices, but we'll work past them. I promise I won't leave you alone again."

"Of course you won't. You boy, he is the one for you, and has always been the only one," Peter said as he and Adolph came into the room with trays. "Mon petit, you and I, we must talk while we enjoy our meal. Adolph will care for Greg until you can return."

"Whatever you need of me, pere," Alan said. He kissed House again. "I'll be back as soon as I can, my own."

"I know," House said.

Alan took one of the trays from Adolph and followed Peter out and into the home office. "Pere, he looks ten years younger already," Alan said. "Did the pain really age him so much?"

"Pain, it has an unusual effect on the body. It can age you without you realizing it, and not just physically. It has an effect on the mental processes as well. Mon petit fils, he will walk with a limp for several months because his mind, it will tell him it is what he must do." Peter sighed and uncovered his meal. "But in time, his body will learn that it needs to limp no longer and he will recover from the limp. Living without pain will be a delight to him, one has lived with such pain for so many years. He will be happy again, or as happy as he has ever been."

"I think there was a time when he was happy, pere," Alan said. "He just never learned how to show that he was happy."

"Answers, they will help him too," Peter said. "You talked with those monsters before you killed them, did you not? What did they tell you?"

"What you always suspected, pere. The wife had an affair and my boy is the result of it. She never told me why, but I suspect that she was abused too and Greg just never saw it, and that's why she never dared to try and stop her husband."

Peter was silent for a moment. "Or the abuse, it was the punishment for her unfaithfulness, non?" he asked softly. "Women, they will fight to protect their young. It is an instinct as deep as the one we feel to protect our fledglings, or so I am told. Me, I have no such instinct except for when my family is concerned."

"Yes you do, pere. Your work to help keep humans safe from vampires is inspired. I think you see them as children you need to keep safe."

"Humans, they are delicate and need to be kept safe," Peter said. "But I would not protect them as I do you, Adolph and Greg."

"I know what you mean, pere," Alan said. "Will you tell me what happened with Tim?"

"He maintained you were a monster for what you did in the past and would not listen to me when I told him this was not so. His mind, I think, was damaged when he died and no one knew of this. Or his jealousy was so great that we never noticed it, even when we should have. For this, I have no answer and he did not wish to give me one. He realized what he had done, yet he seemed to believe that he would be allowed to live until you returned to Miami."

Alan tilted his head to the side. "Why would he think there would be an exception to one of the ultimate laws?" he asked. "Even if there was a full bond between us, it's immediate death to one who violates those laws. No exceptions are ever made."

"It is my belief, a theory and nothing more, mon petit, that Tim, he believed that because he was with you, he was above a number of the rules and laws that our society hold to," Peter said. "But he met his death with a brave face on and I did not make him suffer for it. There is nothing in the laws that says the one who violates the ultimate laws must be made to suffer for their crime. His death, it was quick. Mere Alexx, she was not happy with me, but handled things well."

"Tim and Alexx were close," Alan said. "But having two bodies to explain away couldn't have been easy. I am sorry about Chase, but there wasn't anything I thought I could do. The vision was fixed and no matter how I studied it, I couldn't find a way out."

"Knowing the future, it is a burden you carry well, mon petit. You did even when you were young and still alive," Peter said. "I know you would have done everything in your power to keep the young man safe, and when you couldn't, you at least made it quick. Greg, he tells me that he believes Chase was happy when he died. This is something. To be happy is to be free. We can hope that his fear, it did not chase away the happiness."

"Yeah," Alan sighed. "Thank you again for all your help down here, pere. I wouldn't have been as at ease in New Jersey had you not been here, and I might have made a mistake that would have exposed us for what we are."

"You are careful and would never have made such a mistake," Peter said. "No matter how you yearned to be with you boy. It is why Adolph and I, we have come to ask your aid."

"Anything pere, you know that," Alan said.

"Even if it meant you dying and leaving behind this city you love so?"

"My death can be staged easily enough. Ryan and Eric will help with whatever we need," Alan said. "Give me the word and my life here is over, pere."

"My sources tell me that one we battled before has returned from the grave," Peter said. "How, I do not know. But Hitler walks in Europe once more."

***

Chapter 15

Alan stared at his sire in shock as the words sank in. He tried to rearrange them in his mind, to find a way to make the sentence mean something other than what it did, but he couldn't. "Pere, how do you know?" he finally asked.

"The signs, they are subtle, perhaps not visible to one who has lived only in these more modern times. Yet whispers have been coming to me, they say that Hitler is coming back into some sort of power, that he seeks to finish what he lost so many years ago."

"How could he even think he could get away with another holocaust?" Alan asked. "The world media alone is so much more alert to what happens in almost every country, and reports on it almost religiously, that anything resembling a ghetto or a death camp would be known around the world before an oven was ever turned on."

"Impossible, perhaps not, but I agree we are unlikely to see anything along the scale of the death camps again. Those it would be impossible to hide for long," Peter agreed. "But the situation, it is worse than people realize. Mon petit, you remember how it was watching the man's rise to power. Hitler, he was hypnotic, he used this power for his own ends and almost destroyed an ancient culture. The question of more importance, for me, is how is he back after so much time?"

Alan thought for a moment. "I was in Poland when the war ended, but I seem to recall reports that Hitler shot himself to avoid capture by the Russian army," he said. "Didn't they burn his body almost immediately?"

"That is what was reported, yes. The body burned and hidden, moved and hidden until some bones were burned and crushed and thrown into a river. My theory, mon petit, is there was a vampire with the Nazi Party, or perhaps with the Russians, who could not stand to watch Hitler die. And so he managed to bring Hitler over. Reports, they are confused from that time. Do not some people believe it was not Hitler the Russians found and burned? Is it not possible he was dead and sleeping through his change somewhere safe when Berlin fell?"

"We need to find out, don't we?" Alan asked. "That's the reason you need me and Greg to help. We're more at home in this age than you are."

"It is more than that, Allwyn. Hitler, he saw me several times," Peter said. "Will he recall my face, I do not know, but it is a chance I cannot take. To fight him, to end the threat of his shadow falling back over Europe, then I shall come out. But the initial investigation, for that I need you and Greg."

Alan nodded. "How long until Greg can travel?" he asked. "And what about Ryan and Eric?"

"The children we must leave here. They can join us, if they so wish, when our work is done and they choose to end their first lives," Peter said. "Mon petit fils, he has another ten days of intense treatments to keep him in bed, followed by a month of lighter treatments before we begin the year-long course of maintenance injections. But for travel, I should say that he can be moved on the first of the month."

"That'll be enough time for me to plan the murder of Horatio Caine," Alan said. "I'll have to update his will to make sure Calleigh and the others are cared for. I'll get everything taken care on my end, pere."

"As I knew you would, mon petit. Never have you disappointed me. Non, not even when you left Greg and fell in love with Tim. I told you that you had a path to walk, as did he, before you could be together."

"I hope you're right. Pere, if I sleep on the side away from the IV, would it be all right for me to sleep with Greg?" Alan asked. "All of this still seems unreal to me."

Peter smiled. "Greg, he has not had his nightly bath," he said. "Why do you not join him tonight? I believe it would be something for you both to enjoy. Just remember, mon petit, the IV must remain connected and dry, and Greg, he tires easily."

"You're the doctor. We'll try to behave ourselves."

"Mon dieu, such sarcasm from mon petit," Peter laughed. "Just for that, you go nowhere until you finish your supper."
**********

House woke up when he felt Alan's fingers running through his hair. "Hey."

"How do you feel, my boy?"

"I'll live."

"Is that your medical opinion or are you just humoring me?"

"Heart rate is slow and steady, no abnormalities, breathing is deep and regular. Apart from pain and slight irritation at the IV site, the patient is doing just fine."

Alan smiled. "It sounds like you talked this over in detail with Peter before you started the treatments. He gave you all the details?"

"It's one of the most advanced and complex treatments I've ever seen, Alan. So much of it depends on exact timing. The injections administered to a count so they don't destroy the body's systems." House yawned. "The heart barely beating to circulate the blood without aging the vampire as quickly. It's a balance of hundreds of different factors, and pepere manages it. The pain from the treatments is bad, but nothing I haven't lived with before."

"It's probably one of the most important discoveries for our people, maybe the most important ever," Alan said. "Peter says you can have a bath if you're careful. Do you mind if I join you?"

House smiled and closed his eyes. "The baths are one of pepere's ideas to help my blood circulate," he said sleepily. "I usually don't stay awake for them."

"So is that a no?"

"That's me saying you'll need help."

"Then I'll find Al," Alan said. "My love, open your eyes for a moment."

"What?"

"I just wanted to see them again. I've missed seeing you like this, Greg. I've missed you."

"We have to talk," House murmured, falling back asleep.

Alan sighed and kissed House's forehead. They did have to talk, they had so much to talk about, and he wasn't even sure where they should start.
**********

The household fell into a routine over the next week. Alan went to work and managed to start rumors of a high-placed gang leader who was out to get revenge on Horatio. With help from Eric, Ryan, Frank, Calleigh and a couple of informers who owed their lives to Horatio, near misses were staged where the lieutenant almost died. Each attack made the evening news, and added credit to Horatio's fears of impending death. He updated his will and made lists of where he wanted his things to go. Ryan was put in charge of Horatio's estate and left with instructions that Alan didn't dare write down.

Peter and Adolph took care of House, monitoring him closely and sleeping in shifts to ensure that the anti-venom treatments were successful. House spent most of his time asleep, his body working hard to eradicate the venom within it. Alan slept with him most nights, even though House wasn't aware of it, and spent as much free time with him as possible.

"Mon petit fils, he makes good progress," Peter said to Alan one night when they were sitting out on the deck. "I would like to see him more awake than he is, but I know there was other trauma to him before we started the treatment, and that might be an added factor."

"He's alert whenever he does wake up, and he remembers conversations from before he fell asleep," Alan said. "Pere, I think he's just taking the chance to sleep while he can. What's going to happen on Monday when you start the lighter treatments?"

"We'll be able to remove the IV and Greg, he shall be able to get out of bed if he wishes. He will be weak, but it will be time for him to start growing stronger. Greg, he sees this as a type of physical therapy and he plans for it. Mon petit fils, he must be a great doctor."

"Top of his fields, pere, even if he won't admit it himself," Alan said. "There have been days when I've wondered if he'll want to follow your lead and become a researcher buried away somewhere, or reinvent himself as a doctor following his own tradition."

"I suspect that he may not even know what it is he wishes to do in his next lie. That is one of the joys for the young, there are so many options open to them, so many paths for them to travel and wander along. Me, I yearn to be young again, yet I realize how much I would lose should that happen. We, humans and vampires, can only move forward and shape our places in the world."

Alan glanced over. "You really need to find some new books to read, pere. I know how much the books of your youth mean to you, but philosophy is being murdered by technology."

"Non, non, mon petit, it is philosophy which shall murder technology. When you spend all day typing up a long and detailed crime report only to have the computer crash and erase all your hard work, what then do you do?" Peter grinned. "Do you sit there and think of your other options or do you shoot the computer?"

"That makes absolutely no sense," Alan protested.

"But of course it does," Peter says.

"Peter, you've probably had enough wine," Adolph interrupted. "Alan, Greg's awake and asking for you."

Alan smiled. "Thank you." He leaned over and kissed his sire. "Night, pere."

"Bonne nuit, mon petit."

Alan shook his head with a fond smile and went back into the house. He wasn't sure what his boy needed from him, he was just happy that House was awake. "Hey."

"How do you feel about what happened with Tim?" House asked.

That was House, never any small talk when there was something on his mind. "Greg, do you know how Tim found out the truth about me?" Alan pulled the chair over and sat down. "Not that I loved him, he knew that when he died."

"Given how closely you hide your true nature, I would imagine that he had no clue you're a vampire," House said.

"He had no idea," Alan agreed. "Until he woke up and I had to explain what had happened, or at least what I understood of what happened. I had no plans to change him, Greg. He, I loved him. But I don't think it was a love that would have lasted for multiple lifetimes. Did Peter tell you that I never drank from Tim? I would take blood and hold it until I could get into the shower. There was so much that I saw that I didn't like. I was willing to give it my all, I believed we were bonded and that only one thing could ever tear us apart. I lied to him about things. I watched him and saw how he refused to learn history and lore. That can be deadly."

"His mind was always focused on you, Alan," House said. "What you wanted, what he thought you were thinking. How to make you happy so you'd want to be around him. But I never picked up on any signs of sickness or madness until the end. I don't know what happened to him, and neither does pepere."

Alan took House's free hand. "We've both had others we've loved, yet we keep turning back to each other, my boy," he said. "What does that tell you?"

"That we're really good at ignoring the obvious, even when it's right in front of us," House grumbled. He yawned. "And at lying to ourselves."

"We can't undo the past, Greg," Alan said. "But we can walk forward together and be stronger together. If you want me at your side, that is."

House turned his head and met his sire's blue eyes. "That's all I've ever wanted, Alan. I just tried to hide it from you because I didn't think that was what you wanted."

"Oh, my boy," Alan said. He shifted to sit on the bed and tightened his grip on House's hand. "I've failed you so badly in so many ways. I wish I could promise I won't do it again, but I think that would be stupid."

"To avoid that problem, you must talk," Peter said from the doorway. "You must be open with each other about everything, your problems you must not hide away to fester. Alan, I am sorry, but it's time for Greg's treatment."

"Your timing has not improved, pepere," Greg grumbled. "I'm ready to get out of this bed."

"Have the treatment, mon petit fils, and then you can have your bath."

House glared. "That's not what I meant and you know it."

***

Chapter 16

"It's about time you got home, Wolfe."

Ryan hung up his jacket and paused for a deep breath. Ever since Speed's death, Eric had been in a bad mood, but refused to talk about it with anyone. "You were still working that case, so I went to see pepere and Al," Ryan said. "Greg's going onto the second stage tomorrow, and it looks good, Eric. I think he's going to survive."

"That's more than Speed gets to do."

"Okay, Delko, enough. What the hell is your problem? I thought you like Greg."

"That was before he got my best friend killed."

"Greg didn't get anyone killed, Delko." Ryan stalked over and pushed Eric down on the sofa. "You listen to me and listen hard because I don't ever want you to make the same mistake Speed made. You remember the ultimate laws? The ones that have an immediate death sentence regardless of bond status? I've only told you about them like a hundred times."

"Yeah, they're kinda hard to forget, Wolfe."

"Speed attacked and drained Chase, Delko. He intentionally took enough blood to cause a human's heart to stop," Ryan said. "This is, technically, the second time, but we all overlooked the first because Tritter was marked for death anyway. But Chase was completely innocent. Greg almost killed himself trying to stop Speed. Get that into your thick skull. Greg knew and almost died trying to save Speed and Chase. He's a doctor. He acted on instinct, maybe, but he tried just the same. Pepere told me that Speed accepted his judgement and went to his death with what little honor he had left."

"So they just killed him without a trial? Horatio didn't try to do anything to save him?"

"You know what, get your coat, Delko. You need to talk with someone who knows the laws better than I do. Not to mention it's time you met Peter. We're going out."
**********

Ryan didn't even bother knocking when he and Eric got to Horatio's house, and that was the reason he walked into the door. "Pepere must have locked it," he grumbled, rubbing his nose.

Eric started snickering and had just raised his hand to ring the door bell when the door opened, revealing Alan lit by the hall light. "What's wrong, Ryan?" he asked. "Greg heard yo coming and said you're upset."

"Frustrated is more like it, Alan," Ryan replied. "Is pepere still awake?"

"Come in, both of you." Alan stepped back to let the younger vampires into the house. "Peter is in with Greg, but will be done in a few more minutes. Now, tell me what's wrong?"

"He's upset about Speed," Ryan said, when it became obvious that Eric wasn't going to say anything. "I thought he might as well talk with you and Peter, because I don't have all the answers to the questions he's asking."

Alan studied Eric for a long moment and sighed. "Ryan, it takes two of us to help Greg in the bath at night," he finally said. "Why don't you give Al a hand and ask Peter if he could join me in the living room?"

"Sure thing, Alan," Ryan said.

"H, I want you to know I don't hate you," Eric said.

Alan pulled him into a hug. "I know you don't, Eric, I know you don't," he said. "But you and Tim were best friends, and losing him like this has to bring up some painful questions for you."

"I just want to understand what happened," Eric said. He rested his head on the older vampire's shoulder. "I mean, I thought you and Speed would be together forever, H. That the two of you had a good thing going, and then he goes crazy."

"Ah, this must be Eric, the one Ryan likes to talk about so much," Peter said as he joined the group in the entry way.

Alan stepped back and turned Eric around. "Eric, this is my sire, Peter," he said. "You're right, pere; this is Ryan's bonded."

"Mon petit, it is not fair," Peter commented, turning Eric's face back and forth gently. "I do not understand why you get all the handsome young men around you. This one, he would have inspired Da Vinci."

"I guess I'm just lucky," Alan said, trying not to laugh and make Eric even more than he already was. "Pere, you're embarrassing him. Why don't we go sit down and talk?"

"Mon petit fils, he told me," Peter said. "Eric, you have questions that need answers to put your mind to peace. I have answers, that is true, but I am not sure how much peace they will bring you."

Eric wasn't sure what to think. No one had warned him that Peter was so..... he wasn't sure what the word he needed was, but it sure as hell wasn't normal. But he did want answers, so he followed the older vampires into the living room and sat down on the sofa. "I know I'm still young and I'm still learning," he said. "But I don't understand what happened with Speed."

"You know about the ultimate laws, Eric," Alan said. "I know that much because Ryan and I have both drilled you on them. Pere created those laws and the corresponding punishments before I was turned. They have been enforced faithfully for more than a thousand years."

"These laws, and others I created, they are to keep humans safe from our people," Peter said. "Had I not known that Alan marked the man Tritter for death, I would have insisted mon petit kill Tim immediately upon his return to Miami. There are not many vampires alive who may mark a human for death and not suffer an equal fate under the ultimate laws. Mon petit, he is one. Mon amour is another. But Tim, when he chose to drain Chase and end his life, he broke the law, and by the law, he must be punished."

Eric sighed. "But Horatio, Alan, god this is confusing," he exclaimed. "You can see the future and you still left Miami."

Alan smiled. "You can use Horatio for me, Eric; we all know who you're talking about."

"But you won't be Horatio much longer, so I need to get used to this."

"Whatever makes you most comfortable," Alan said. "I knew what Tim was planning, Eric. I knew that he was going to murder Chase while we were gone."

"So you set him up?" Eric exclaimed. "You wanted him to die so you could go back to House."

The red head's eyes went cold so fast that Eric shrank back into the sofa cushions trying to hide. "Non, non," Peter said, trying to break the tension. "Mon petit, go check on Greg for me. I'll make sure our youngest understands everything before we come to join you."

Alan nodded and left the room, not taking his eyes off Eric until the last minute. When he was gone, Eric let out a breath, even though he hadn't been breathing in the first place. "I guess I shouldn't have said that, huh?"

"Mon petit, he carries a horrible burden," Peter said. "Visions, they are hard enough to understand at the best of times, but knowing the future and choosing what to do, what to reveal, that is hard. So very hard, and mon petit does the best he can. But you, you should not have blamed him."

"Yeah, guess I should know better, huh?"

"Let us start at the most basic. There are types of visions, categories let us say, that differ greatly in what may or may not happen. Mon petit, when he first saw Greg, our precious young man, Greg froze to death. In the next vision, he was shot. The next, beaten. The next, stabbed. Mon petit witnessed no fewer than fifteen deaths for Greg, and not a one matched his death. All Alan knew for sure was that Greg was to die, and he tried to save him. Then there are visions that show options. They are more rare, but that is what Alan saw initially with Tim. For the longest time, he did not know what was to happen."

"That's why H always seems to know what's going on and where he should be," Eric said. "He's explained that much to me before. So why didn't he stay here and save Chase and Speed? How could he just leave like he did?"

"There is a third type of vision, one that Alan, he does not talk about. The set vision is rare, yes, very rare. There is no other option to this vision," Peter said. "No other outcome is possible, and when Alan saw Tim kill Chase, it was a set vision. There was nothing mon petit could do, other than prolong Chase's life."

"Then that's what he should have done," Eric exclaimed. "If we hadn't gone up to New Jersey, and what was up with that anyway, then Chase would still be alive. Maybe we could have figured out a way to save his life."

"I can see there are a number of questions that have you much disturbed; enough so that you would almost lie to mon petit. Let us start with the one most easily answered. Mon petit fils' parents, for too long have they been marked for death. We awaited only our opportunity to create a believable accident. We all wished to torture them, rend them to pieces, and then, when they were too broken to even scream, we would kill them. When finally the chance came, we had to take it."

"Okay, leaving the torture aside for a minute, why did it have to be then? Why did Horatio leave it like he did?"

Peter smiled. "The young, they are so impatient. Though you, mon petit, you were never so bad."

"It's a new age, pere," Alan said from across the room. "Al wants to know if he should take the IV out."

"Mon dieu, is that the time? Alan, you sit and try to explain your reasoning for the trip while I check on Greg."

"Thank you, pere," Alan said softly. "Eric, there was more wrong with Tim than any of us knew. You make it a point not to read anyone unless you have to, so you wouldn't have picked up on it. Greg and pere did. Tim was a danger to all of us because he thought, that as the one in my bed, he was above all our laws. Including the ultimate laws. He was slowly growing insane. Pere thinks the case was the bond between Tim and myself, but even he isn't too sure."

"That makes no sense at all," Eric exclaimed. "You don't see Ryan and me getting sick, do you?"

"That's because you have a healthy, well-formed bond. Tim biting me like he did crated what pere calls a forced bond. Tim had my blood in him, but I had none of his in me. The very thought of it made me sick. Greg tells me that I was the only thing Tim thought about, until the fixation drove him mad."

Eric rubbed his eyes and leaned forward. "Why didn't we know any of this?" he asked. "Why couldn't we save Speed?"

Alan noted the wording and filed it away for later consideration. He would have expected at least some mention of Chase's name as well. Leaving Miami was starting to look even more attractive. "There was one thing Tim wanted, one thing that I would never give him, no matter how much he wanted it," Alan said.

"What?"

"For Greg to be completely out of my life. Tim wanted me to sever all ties and connections with my child, the one person in this world who means everything to me. The one who depends on me for a safe home no matter what." Alan's eyes flashed. "That's what it means to be a sire, Eric. They are your child, as much as a biological child would be. And Tim didn't understand that. He didn't want to understand that."

"Did you ever give him a chance to?" Eric asked. "Because from what you just told me there, you'd rather have bonded with Greg."

"One of the greatest mistakes of my life, and one I will never repeat, was allowing Greg to slip away from me. I did love tim, in my own way, but I had no plans to turn him. If I had my way, Tim would never have known I am a vampire and that I have Greg."

Eric wanted to stand up and shout at the other vampire, but he had a feeling that it wasn't a really good idea when he was the youngest in the house. The last thing he needed were more comments on his age. He was about to say something when House's voice broke into the silence. "Alan, can I talk to you for a minute. Bring Eric."

"Come on," Alan said. "Keep in mind that he gets tired really easy, so if he falls asleep, do not wake him up. And pray you never have to undergo this series of treatments."

"I'm still not sure what's going on," Eric said. But he followed Alan down the hall to the guest room.

"That's what I'm going to tell you," House said. "Eric, you know what I am and how I work. I was able to tell exactly what Speed was thinking whenever he was close to me. He hated me. He wanted me gone, never to come back. Deep down, he hated me the first time he saw me because I had Alan's love and attention and he didn't. I want you to imagine what you would feel like if you loved Ryan and saw him with another man. What would you do?"

"I'd probably be upset and sulk, but I wouldn't kill over it," Eric said.

"Thanks," Ryan commented dryly. "Greg's trying to make a point here, Eric. The least you can do is try to understand what he's saying to you."

"Speed lied to Alan," House continued, trying to shift around a little. "Alan?"

Alan picked him up and moved him into a different position, being careful of the IV that was still attached. "Is that better, my boy?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, thanks," House replied. "I never told Alan everything that Speed said to me, but there were times when he would call me up and tell me that Alan never wanted to see me again. That I should just stay out of Miami and not ever call again. I usually called my brother and asked him what was going on, and Ryan would take care of things for me without Alan knowing. I did this because I thought that Speed was who Alan wanted to be with. But it grew worse once Speed was turned, so I finally called Alan one day when I knew I could catch him alone."

"He told me everything," Alan said. "I had known that Tim was lying to me, but I didn't know what all the lies were about. I knew that he wasn't studying like he was supposed to be to learn our laws and lore, but that was a secondary concern to finding out how he had been treating my child."

"Eric, look at it this way," Ryan said. "Speed was Greg's stepparent and he went out of his way to be an evil one so he could have Alan all to himself. He used us all."

Alan sighed. "I was willing to give it my all because I honestly thought the two of us were bonded, even if the thought of his blood made me ill," he said. "I was going to ask Peter for help and advice on what I should do, how I should handle the problems I was seeing, but things became complicated before I had a chance to."

"How could you just leave knowing what was going to happen?" Eric asked. "It still seems like you set Speed up."

"He made his choice," Alan said. "I wouldn't have been able to stop him. He wanted to be rid of Greg. That was the only thing he wanted."

"He knew that killing Chase was a way to get him turned into a vampire," House said. "Because it happened with you, Eric. But he hadn't done his studies on lore. Remember? You took books to him to read on hell hounds. My blood is poison. If I bond with anyone, it will transfer the venom to them, and that's a fate I refuse to allow anyone else to suffer. There was nothing I could do but try and stop him. I wasn't even able to do that."

"Mon petit fils, he was near death when I arrived," Peter said. "His blood was low, far lower than it should have been, and he used what energy he had to get to Tim."

"Eric, you have to understand one thing," House said. "This is not Horatio Caine, the sweet lieutenant you work with. This is Alan, a vampire who has lived through more lives than you can imagine, and done things that you can't imagine. He's learned to make hard choices for the greater good, something that everyone learns after a few lives. It isn't easy, but he does it well."

"Brat," Alan murmured fondly. "He's right, Eric. Besides, soon Horatio will be no more and I won't be here. If you still have problems with me and my methods, you'll have plenty of time to work through them before you and Ryan have to decide where you want to go for a while."

"Alan, I've been meaning to ask you about that," Ryan said. "Some of these directions you've left me don't make any sense."

"Later, Ryan. I won't leave you without answers, but now isn't a good time to go over them. Greg?"

"Eric's still confused," House said. "He wants to know why you can't change the outcome of a set vision, and why you had to kill my parents."

Alan growled at the mention of House's parents. "They were marked the first day they laid a hand on you, my boy," he said. "Eric, their time had come. There was nothing else we could do but go and eliminate them."

"Why couldn't it have waited?"

"Because that was the last chance we would have had at them," Alan said. "John House, after he lost his position with the military because of my creativity, because a little paranoid about leaving the house. There was no way I could kill them without risking others if they were in their house. I was not going to allow them to live."

"Yes, it was that bad," House said dryly. "You have no idea how bad it was, Eric. Pepere and Alan do, and they made the decisions that had to be made. You can like it or you can live with it, but I don't think questioning their decisions after they've taken so much time to talk to you about it is a good idea."

"Hush, my love," Alan said. "Eric's had a shock and needs some time to come to terms with what he's learned. Sarcasm won't help anything."

"It's never hurt before," House said. But he settled back against the pillows and shut his mouth.

Alan shook his head. "Eric, I suggest you go home and think through what we've told you. We have a week until Horatio dies. I'll be happy to talk to you again about anything still bothering you. But it's late and my boy and I need to get some sleep."

"I shall show them out, mon petit," Peter said. "You get Greg ready for bed and tomorrow we shall start phase two."

Ryan pressed a kiss to Greg's cheek. "I'll call you in a couple of days and see how you're doing."

"Night, Ryan," House said with a small smile. He loved his younger brother, even if they didn't have the same blood sire. "Eric, think over everything and don't get tunnel vision. You'll miss vital evidence that way."

Peter shook his head fondly and started down the hall. "Mon petit fils, he is powerful even when he is sick," he said to Ryan. "I do not agree in telling you everything before we leave, our mission, she is dangerous, but we will not leave without giving you the basics. Take care of your bonded, Ryan. Eric, he is confused. He needs you now more than ever."

"Thanks, pere," Ryan said. He kissed the older vampire. "Come on, Eric. Let's head home and we can talk if you want to."

***

Chapter 17

"I want to go outside," House said.

"It's raining," Peter replied. "You just finished a round of intense treatments, mon petit fils, treatments that would have killed a lesser vampire. The last thing you need to do is sit out in the rain."

"There's an umbrella, pepere," House said. "I can sit under it. This is Miami. It's a warm rain. It won't make me sick. I need fresh air. I need to be outside for a while."

"Sitting in the wet will make you sick," Peter said. "You can sit next to an open window for fresh air and warmth. But you may not go outside."

House sighed. He had been arguing with his grandsire for close onto two hours, and the older vampire was showing no signs of backing down. "Fine, then if I have to stay inside like this, pepere, the least we can do is start talking about what we're going to be doing in Europe."

"We shall travel to my home in Italy and figure out how you're going to move through eastern Germany," Peter said. "I need to check in with my informants to ensure that my information, it is current. Then we shall send you on your journey while Adolph and I start our own."

"I think Alan and I should go to his house first," House said. "Hear me out, pepere. Everyone here in Miami knows Horatio Caine. If we just get on a plane here, even our own planes, someone could see him and report that Horatio is still alive. I'm supposed to be dead as well. The house in England is remote enough that, if Alan and I can get there, we can hide out for a month and let the furor of our deaths die down. Then we can start our trip into Europe without worrying about anyone recognizing us. That would also let you check in with your people and gather some new information."

"What about your treatments?"

"They're shots. I can give them to myself," House said. "It's going to be awkward enough for Ryan to load the coffin onto the plane and get it out of Miami. I would guess there's a risk no matter where we fly out of, but less of one up to the north. We have to fly out of Boston or New York."

"New York won't work," Alan said. He sat down on the sofa next to House and kissed his cheek. "I have friends there. I doubt that any of them would be in the part of the airport we'd be using, but a coffin being left somewhere will draw attention to our movements. There are still things we have to work out, pere."

"Do you have to be seen to be dead, mon petit?" Peter asked. "Could not your ME aid us in some way? Then we could send you onto England, or to Italy to await us."

"I'd have to ask her about it, but it's possible," Alan replied. "We'll just have to make our plans work out, pere. There can't be any question that Horatio Caine has been murdered."

"Wax," Adolph said from the door. "We have a bust made of you, Alan. You go through with your plan, the bust can be put in the coffin here and buried and no one will be the wiser. Then you can take your plane to your house in England and wait for Peter to call."

"Mon amour, he is the smart one," Peter said. "That is what we shall do, non?"

"That's a perfect idea, Al, thank you," Alan said. He looked over at House. "How are you feeling today?"

"I want to go outside," House said.

"Non, Greg, I told you, not until you have more strength in your system. To gain strength, you must rest and feed. The window, we can open it. You can sit by the sliding door out onto the deck if you must, but you will not go outside until I say or we move from this city."

Alan smiled. "Pere's word is law, Greg. The rain is pouring down anyway, it's not really pleasant out there right now," he said. "I brought you some dinner."

"Where are you getting all this blood?" House asked. He took the bags and made a face. "I don't suppose you could heat it up for me, could you?"

"Alexx is helping me get these from a few different places," Alan said. He bit into one and swallowed only enough to get the blood into the pouch in his throat. "You need more blood than we can safely get from any of our donors on a daily basis."

House moaned softly when Alan's mouth covered his own and blood flowed back into his mouth. He swallowed until it was gone and then chased into Alan's mouth with his tongue in search of more. House was weak, but he could feel his body asking for something it hadn't wanted in weeks. "Alan," he whispered against his lover's lips.

"Eat the other two bags and then yes," Alan said. "I'll give you what you need, my own."

"What about pepere?"

"He can take care of himself."

Peter laughed. "Yes, for this you are strong enough," he said. He watched Alan drain the second bag. "A most creative way to warm the blood for your fledgeling, mon petit. I should have used the microwave."

"Where's the fun in that?" Alan repeated the feeding process slowly and ended up with House in his lap. "Pere, when can Greg and I bond?"

"When the treatments are done, mon petit," Peter said. "We must first kill the venom within his body. Then you can share of his blood with no concern for your own health. It will be a long wait, yes, but worth it for you both in the end. Take your child to bed, mon petit. Adolph and I, we shall go ensure the planes are ready to go and find some wax with which to sculpt your bust. Tomorrow we shall plan more. Tonight, you need this time together."

"Thank you, pepere," House said.

"Pere," Alan said with a smile, "thank you for bringing my boy back to me."

"You did that on your own, Allwyn. I only helped slightly."

Both Alan and House snorted, but didn't argue the point. Alan stood up with House cradled against his chest. "We'll see you both in the morning. Will Greg need another treatment tonight?"

"Oui, but he has the supplies, and the knowledge, to do it himself. Do not worry over that. He will be fine," Peter said. "Greg, I shall wake you for your morning treatment."

"I'll set the alarm to make sure I don't miss the one tonight," House said. "This is something that I don't dare unbalance."

"The alarm, it is good," Peter said. "Good night to you both."

Alan carried House back to the bedroom they'd been sharing, even though it was technically the guest room, and put him on the bed. "Set the alarm, my boy, while I go and get a few things that we'll need."

"Thank you, Alan."

"For what?"

"Not taking me into the room that you shared with Tim. It would be too much for my senses right now."

Alan kissed him softly. "I'm happy to be wherever you are, my own. This is our room and will be until we return to England. Paula will be so happy to see us in the same room again that she'll probably faint," he said. "Set the alarm. I'll be right back."

House checked the alarm clock against his watch and set the alarm on both. He wasn't sure where his cell phone was, but knew that the two alarms would be enough with both him and Alan in the room. Neither of them had ever slept through an alarm in their long lives, and weren't likely to start it now. He had a feeling he knew what Alan was getting from the other bedroom and smiled. He was going to be more flexible than he had been since he was first bitten, even if he was weak, and he was going to enjoy being claimed again. Alan was the only one he ever let inside his body, and that wasn't ever going to change.

"I could hear you coming," he said just before Alan appeared in the doorway. "When I'm feeling stronger, I want to strip you."

"When you're stronger, you can. I just thought I'd help you out a little tonight." Alan was naked and already hard. "Let's get you undressed and I'll see how many of your hot spots I can remember."

"Every one of them, I'm sure," House grumbled. He pushed the t-shirt he'd been wearing off and paused.

Alan sat down and pulled him into a hug. "I know you're ashamed of it, love, but I'm not. I don't think it makes you ugly or unloveable, or stupid. It's a part of who you are, but if it'll make you more comfortable, slide under the covers and we'll strip you under there. You don't have to show me more until you're ready."

"Thank you," House sighed. He let Alan help him under the blankets and then out of his sleep pants. He knew that the others had seen the scar when he was being bathed during the first round of the treatments, but this was different.

Alan joined him under the covers and rolled so he was facing his lover. "All those years ago, when I asked you to bond, this is what I dreamed of. Us, together, forever. To know that we finally have a chance to make that happen makes me very happy, Greg," he said. "To have you here makes me happier than I've been since our misunderstanding."

"We'll get better at communicating now," House said. He ran a finger along Alan's face. "We both have some age on us, something we probably needed more than each other back then. I think we have a better chance now than we did then."

"You're probably right. Are you ready for me, my love?"

"I have never let anyone else inside me, Alan. It's been years since anything other than my own fingers have been there. It's just for you."

Had Alan's heart been beating, it would have skipped a few times at those words. He hadn't known that about his boy, that Greg always topped in his relationships with others. He closed his eyes for a moment, and let the sensation of love and warmth flow through him, filling his body more than fresh blood ever did. "I love you, Greg."

"Love you too," House replied. He reached for Alan and pulled. "Want you up here now."

Alan moved carefully over House and settled down, letting their skin come into contact. "I think we'll both remember this night for a long time," he murmured, leaning down for another kiss. "This night and our bonding night."

"And every night in-between," House finished.

***

Chapter 18

"Mr. Wolfe," Horatio said as he walked through the halls of the lab.

Everyone flinched and went to find something to do so they wouldn't catch the attention of their boss. The danger towards him was growing daily and, earlier that day, the hit people had almost managed to kill not only him, but the child he was interviewing in the field. Ryan put down his clipboard and hurried to follow Horatio down the hallway towards the red-head's office. "H?"

"Where was Eric during that shootout, Ryan?" Horatio asked.

"He said he needed to check something inside," Ryan replied. "Eric said he was going to tell you before he went back into the building and that's the only reason I came back to the lab like I did."

Horatio studied him for a minute and sighed. "He's still mad, isn't he?"

"Yeah," Ryan said. He slumped back in his chair and looked at the man he considered his true sire. "I didn't realize how close he and Speed were, H. I also thought he knew enough of the laws to understand that pepere took action because he had to, not because of the faulty bond or to free you up for Greg."

"Ryan, you realize that when Greg and I leave, you and Eric will be on your own and at risk, don't you?" Horatio asked seriously.

"I do, H," Ryan said. "I wanted to follow you within the year, but Eric won't do that to his family. Do you think that pepere would be able to give us some hints or help to survive until we can remake our family unit?"

"He might," Horatio said. "You know you're welcome any time, Ryan. Just because Eric is having problems doesn't mean that you have to hide away from us. I've been thinking about upping the kill date. It's not fair to put this sort of stress on the lab and Greg needs to have a month or so of quiet before we begin our investigation, so we're going to my home in England first. You have the number there, Ryan."

"Yeah, I do, and pepere's too," Ryan said. "I'll use them if I have to, but I'm at a loss as to what else I can tell Eric. I've tried to talk to him, showed him the books again; nothing seems to be making an impact."

"It's possible he'll never forgive me for this, Ryan," Horatio said softly. "He believes that I set Speed up, that I don't hurt over what happened while we were up North. I don't know how to convince him that I miss Speed too. I miss his dark sense of humor, the man he was before he died. The man I would have happily spent a life with before moving on."

"Maybe time will help you there," Ryan said. "It's possible that not having you here every day, knowing that you're 'dead' and not about to pop out of the wood-work and kill him too is what Eric needs to get some perspective on this."

"We all forget how young he is," Horatio said. "He took to the world so easily, so happily that I forget he's still a baby in so many ways. Bring him over tonight, Ryan. I want him to talk with pere while you and I review what's to be done with my estate and how I want things handled after I die."

Ryan nodded. "Do you need us to bring anything with us?" he asked.

"Al's going to be cooking, so don't worry about that," Horatio replied. "Just bring anything you or Eric want to drink that I don't have. You've been through my kitchen enough to know what I keep stocked."

"Hey, I'm one of your bratty kids," Ryan grinned. "If I didn't give you a few gray hairs, I wouldn't be doing my job, now would I?"

"You wouldn't," Horatio said. "Ryan, you will be at more risk than you've ever been before. Make sure Calleigh keeps you on day shift and do not, under any circumstances, be outside after dark unless you absolutely have to be, and never go out alone. Understand? Just because pere has the anti-venom does not mean everyone can withstand the treatments."

"I understand," Ryan said. "Poor Eric, being made into an old man with a curfew. We'll be over for dinner, H. Now, I'd probably go let everyone know you haven't killed me."

"Thank you," Horatio smiled.
***

"Mon petit, the news, it was not good," Peter said when Horatio walked into the house that night.

Alan smiled. "I'm fine, pere," he said. "It'll take more than those idiots to kill me for good."

"The child, she is okay?"

"She's traumatized, but recovering," Alan said. "Where's Greg?"

"Asleep. The treatments, they still wear on his system. England, she is what he needs now. Time to rest and energize his mind away from a city full of people who know not how to think," Peter said. "Adolph, he is cooking. Supper shall be in an hour."

Alan nodded. "Ryan and Eric are joining us," he said. "Eric made a mistake at the crime scene today and I'm worried about him."

"Do you wish me to speak with him again?"

"I thought maybe Al could talk to him," Alan said. "Eric seemed to be nervous around you, and I know he's not listening to anything Greg or I have to say."

"Adolph, he is not so good with words," Peter said. "His speciality it in silence. He listens, he creates, and he puts up with me. I will ask him to speak with Eric tonight, mon petit. Go check on Greg, I know how you miss him while you are away."

"Thank you, pere," Alan said. He slipped down the hall and into the room where Greg was resting. Alan had no doubt Greg picked him up as soon as he pulled into the driveway.

"Hey."

"Hey, you are supposed to be asleep," Alan said. He draped his suit jacket over a chair and kicked off his shoes. "How was your day?"

"I came back to nap after pepere saw the news cast where people were shooting at you," Greg said. He rolled over and rested his head against Alan's chest when the older vampire joined him in the bed. "Is the girl okay?"

"She will be," Alan said. "I'm guessing pere didn't handle the shooting too well?"

"He didn't. I think maybe we need to get him a television or something so he can catch up on what the world is like these days," Greg said. He yawned. "He seemed way too shocked by the guns on the news."

Alan smiled and kissed the top of Greg's head. "Do we really want him watching bad dramas though?" he asked. "His sense of the dramatic is bad enough. I really don't want to get him addicted to Survivor, or one of those other shows."

"Yeah, good point," Greg said. "Forget I said anything. When will Ryan get here?"

"Most likely just as we're serving up supper. He's always had a talent for arriving just when there's food."

"True. I think I'll be able to eat at the table with everyone tonight, Alan. I'm feeling stronger that I did yesterday."

"Yesterday, my boy, you collapsed in the hallway," Alan said.

"I'll admit I was wrong that my cane is just as good as one of you guys if you let me come out and sit with everyone tonight," Greg said, smirking.

"Brat. Ask pere and see what he says."

"He'll say to do what I feel like and you know it," Greg said.

"I'm still going to ask him."

Greg just shook his head and laughed. "Overprotective as always," he said. "It's a good thing I love you, Alan. Otherwise I'd be worried I'm in for a life of lying in bed and having you wait on me hand and foot."

"You'd be bored in an hour, my boy," Alan said. "Rest until dinnertime and we'll go out together, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Greg agreed.
***

"I don't see why we have to go to dinner with Horatio," Eric said as Ryan pulled into the driveway.

"Because he's worried about you and what could happen once he's gone," Ryan said. "You can sit in the car and sulk all night, Delko, but I'm going in and eating whatever Al's come up with. He studied cooking in France over two different lifetimes and anything he makes is to die for. Now are you coming or not?"

"Just don't put me next to Greg," Eric said, climbing out of the car.

"Don't worry about that," Ryan said, "I'm sure he'll be between Alan and pepere." He pushed the door open. "We're here."

"Ryan, mon petit, how wonderful it is to see you again," Peter said, appearing out of the living room. "Eric, welcome, please come through, the both of you. We are eating in the living room tonight, watching some movie that mon petit fils wished to see. The plot, I do not understand, though the lead is very handsome."

"Food's in the kitchen," Alan called. "Help yourselves."

"Thanks," Ryan called back. "Come on, Eric, let's go get some grub and see what the hell Greg's convinced them to watch tonight. He's got really weird taste in movies. Here, hold these."

Eric took the plates Ryan held out and sighed. He still wasn't sure what he was doing there, but he had to admit that the house smelled wonderful. "What's for dinner?"

"I have no idea, so we'll have to ask," Ryan said. He spooned a little from every pan onto both plates and then moved across the kitchen to get forks for them. "What do you want to drink?"

"Beer's good if Horatio has any," Eric said.

"He should," Ryan said. "Yep, here we go. All right, ready for a movie and one of the best meals you've ever had?"

"I guess."

***

Chapter 19

"Hey Eric, can you help Al with the dishes?" Ryan asked when the movie was over and the food was gone. "Pepere is going to put Greg to bed and I need to talk with Alan about what we're doing once he's gone."

"Yeah, sure, no problem," Eric replied. He hadn't met Adolph before and wasn't sure how he felt about being in the kitchen with him, but Eric wasn't going to not do something to help out after he'd been invited to dinner.

"If you will wash while I take care of the leftovers," Al said with a smile. "Greg, mon petit, sleep well."

"Night Al, Eric," Greg said. "Ryan, come see me before you leave? I've got something to tell you."

"I'll be there," Ryan smiled.

Eric started to gather up the dishes and carried the first stack into the kitchen. He wasn't sure how the kitchen wasn't completely trashed after such an elaborate meal, but he was impressed. Maybe Al would have some hints for him on how to keep the kitchen clean.

"The trick is in balance," Al said, coming in behind Eric. "No, I'm not a mind-reader, but it's not hard to work out what you're thinking. Tonight's meal was simple, something hearty to tempt Greg to eat. He needs to put weight back on."

"I suppose they want you to talk to me about Speed," Eric said, moving to the sink. Horatio had a dish washer and Eric was going to use it for as many of the dishes as he could, though the pots would have to be washed by hand. "I don't know why they're having so much trouble understanding why I'm upset."

"Non, they did not ask me to speak with you," Al said. He moved to the stove and started to combine leftovers into Tupperware containers. "Though if you would like to speak with me, I will listen."

"Are you from France too, Al?"

"No, I'm German by birth," he replied. "Peter isn't French either, he just loves the language and people. We lived in France for a time after the war, and I know he'd lived there many times before."

"It's just weird hearing so many French terms being thrown around," Eric said.

Al smiled. "You should hear when Peter truly is mad. He uses a combination of French, English, Italian and Greek," he said. "The Greek so old, it shows his age. I can tell you're trying to understand, Eric, but what confuses you so? Why does your heart weep?"

"I lost my best friend," Eric said shortly.

"To lose a friend, especially one held close to the heart, it is devastating " Al agreed. "When I was young, I had many friends. Some of them were Jewish. When Hitler came to power, those friends, I lost them. Alan found two of them and rescued them from the ovens. To see them again, I was happy though they hated me. To them I was a symbol of all they lost. They did not know I kept watch from afar and aided as I could until they died. My best friend, the friend of my heart, he died in a camp. The guards, they wanted his younger sister at the train depot when they arrived. He tried to stop them. They shot him down and took the girl. So many horrors in war, Eric. So many lives lost."

"How do you handle it?" Eric asked.

"Ah, I cook and I paint," Al replied. "I sculpt. Peter and I, we plan our next life in Spain so I can take classes in art again. It is freeing to have a way to communicate emotions without having to talk."

"Yeah, well, I'm not too great at art," Eric said. "I just want Speed back, and I know that can't happen. I don't understand how they could set him up like they did."

Al reached over and took the glass out of Eric's hand. "You have the strength to break this, Eric. Take a deep breath so you do not hurt yourself," he said. "Here, come with me out to the beach. Let us talk of time and horizons."

Eric shrugged, not sure what the older vampire was talking about, but followed him out onto the beach. Al walked a few steps away from the deck and sat down. "Come, sit," he said. "We can see the waves from here, and that is good. You like the ocean, non?"

"Yeah, I do," Eric said, sinking down onto the still warm sand, "but I don't see how the ocean is going to tell me about Speed."

"An easy answer, that is impossible," Al said. "Consider this. When Alan first received a vision of Greg's death, he saw one option of many for how Greg could die. Nightly he witnessed Greg's death because John House was determined to kill the boy he knew to not be his son. Alan, he tried, but he could not change the course of events. Greg died, but in no manner seen before that night. The death, it was a fixed event. Do you follow?"

"I didn't realize Greg's father wasn't his father," Eric said. "Horatio's talked to me about fixed visions since Speed died. He says there's no way to change events and they have to happen, but I don't understand how that can be. People can always change what's going to happen. They didn't have to set Speed up like that."

"Eric, you say they set Speed up," Al said. "They did not. In his heart, Speed wished for Greg to be gone. From the first moment he saw Greg, Speed, he hated him. Say you had stayed in Miami and not gone north to finally take care of the monsters who hurt Greg so. What do you think would have happened then?"

"Speed would still be alive," Eric said. "Chase would be too."

"In his mind, Speed believed the best way to be rid of Greg would be to bond him to another. Speed, he had not read the books, he did not understand the taint in Greg's blood," Al said. "Chase escaped death that day, let us say, and continued to remain here at the house caring for Greg. Would it not have been possible for Speed to return, alone, and kill Chase to attempt to bond him to Greg?"

"Yeah, I guess, but Greg would have picked up on it and been able to tell someone," Eric said. "One of us could have gotten here in time to save Chase."

"Could we though?" Al asked. "Peter and I arrived not five minutes after Speed drained Chase. The boy, he was close to death and died in Peter's arms. Five minutes, Eric. Think. Were you at the lab or out working, could you have made it to this house in less than five minutes?"

Eric sighed. "No."

"Non, not unless you were already in the driveway and Speed, he was smart enough to not alert anyone to his plans. From you, he would have hidden this even if you were working with him," Al said. "You stay out of heads, yes?"

"Yeah. I guess Greg's the only one strong enough that he's hearing everything," Eric said. "I only go in if Horatio asks me to."

"So you know what a tangle minds can be," Al said. "Even with how well you knew Speed, could you have figured out his intent should you have ventured into his mind?"

"I don't know," Eric admitted. "I never realized how much he hated Greg. I mean, I don't really know Greg, but he and Ryan are really close so I've been trying to make an effort, but then everything happened and I just can't."

"Your family, we realize this," Al said. He put a hand on Eric's shoulder. "To leave Alan in danger at a crime scene, this we do not understand as well, but children, they will act out. You have many years to learn, Eric. We are your family, even if you do not come from our bloodline. Ryan, he is adopted, and his mate is our family as well. Alan, he understands your grief and plans to move up his death here. He and Greg will leave, giving you time to mourn your friend."

"Ryan's not going to handle this well," Eric admitted.

"Ryan, he does not blame you, I think," Al said. "He is frustrated that you do not open to him and allow him to share your burden, but blame, no, there is none. When you are alone in the city, there will be danger. You must be alert at all times, Eric. Listen to Ryan and do not question him. Your safety is more important than your work. Alan will ensure your safety as much as he can, but dead, there is little he can do."

Eric nodded. "Al, why did you bring me out onto the beach to talk about this?" he asked. "It seems like we could have stayed in the kitchen. I thought the waves or the ocean was a metaphor for what I'm going through."

"Non, they're just pleasant to listen to while talking," Al said. "Do you understand a little more now, Eric?"

"I think so. I'm just, it's not going to be that easy to let this go, you know?"

"I do, and so do the others," Al said. "Mon petit, he understands better than anyone. You could do worse than talk with him before he and Alan leave."

"I might do that," Eric said. "I just don't want to strain him."

"Mid morning is the best time to call if you wish to find him alert and able to talk," Al said. "This conversation, it would be good. I will keep Peter away if you wish."

"That would help. He actually makes me kinda nervous," Eric admitted.

"Peter, he is old, yet he understands people better than any I have met." Al smiled fondly. "He is also a flirt. I will keep him away for you. Come speak with mon petit and see what you can learn from him."

***

Chapter 20

"Ryan, you know that most of my funds are in accounts overseas under my true name," Alan said when he and the younger vampire were settled into his home office. "There's very little here that needs to be managed. You and Eric are welcome to move into the house if you wish, otherwise sell it and donate the money to the department's youth programs."

"Right, I've got this all written out at home," Ryan said. "I'll box up your things and send them to the house in England. I think Eric will be more comfortable where we are, but what about offering the house to Frank and Calleigh? It's bigger than where they are now, and with the babies on the way, they'll need more space."

"That's a good idea," Alan said. "Do that, and let them know it's my wish they have the house if they want it. For the bank account I have in Horatio's name, close it out and wire the money to Peter."

"Easy enough." Ryan made a note in the notebook he kept just for things like this. "You'll be taking all your books from England with you, right?"

Alan nodded. "I'll have everything loaded onto the plane before I die in the field," he said. "Now, to the part that's been bothering you. Al has sculpted a bust of me in wax and is in the process of coloring it. Alexx has agreed to make sure it ends up in the coffin so we don't have to worry about trying to transport my body out of the country. Greg and I will take the jet and travel directly home. You just have to make sure no one looks too closely at the body, okay?"

"I can have it be closed coffin if you want. We can make sure there's news footage of you dying in the field, pictures from your autopsy in the file for the media to find, with lots of damage to the face," Ryan said. "That way we can keep people from touching the bust at the funeral."

"My will, as Horatio, requests cremation. Once you have the pictures, you can dispose of the bust and cremate another body from the morgue. One of the John Does that come through. Make sure no one is going to be claiming him, Ryan. I don't want to take a loved one away from their family."

"Got it."

"Greg and I are planning to spend a month minimum in England and then we'll be traveling south to meet up with Peter and see what he needs us to do," Alan continued. "Ryan, it's not good. Somehow, according to pere's sources, Hitler is still alive and is trying to return to power. We need to figure out what he's doing, how he survived, if he is one of us, and take care of him if he is. It's going to be dangerous and you're too young to help."

Ryan blinked a couple of times. "I'm older than Greg," he pointed out.

"True, but Greg's had practice at this and he'll be with me," Alan said. "You have a very young mate who is having his first crisis as a vampire. I wish I could stay and help you with this, but I have to go."

"I know, Alan. When pepere calls, we go," Ryan said. "I'll manage with Eric. I think you're right. I think having some space between the two of you will be a good thing and will let him accept what's happened. I know how hard it is to lose people, I've had a few that I've been fond of that died before I moved on."

Alan smiled. "The last thing I need you to do is keep an ear on things up in New Jersey," he said. "James Wilson might start making noise about Greg being alive again, and I don't want to have to come back to the states for the next hundred years if I can avoid it. If he starts causing trouble, call me. Remember that you aren't able to mark people for death, Ryan. Make sure that you and Eric don't kill."

"I will," Ryan said. "I have pepere's number too. Alan, how have you managed to stay safe from hell hounds all these years? I know you've been alone more than you've been with other vampires."

"The best way is to stay inside at night, especially between the hours of eleven and two in the morning," Alan said. "Those are the prime hunting times. If you're out at night, stay in a heavily populated area. Hell hounds tend to stay away from human crowds. I'm not sure why, there may be some sort of musk or aura they put out that deflects the hell hounds from their hunts. The most important thing is to make sure that you and Eric are together whenever you go outside. I'll talk to Calleigh about that, making sure that you and Eric are a set team. If you see one, don't run. You won't be able to outrun them, Ryan. I don't know how you managed all those years on your own without seeing a hell hound, but I'm amazed that you did."

"What if Eric or I do get bit. What then?"

"Get to Peter," Alan said. "It didn't matter before, but now that he has the treatment perfected, it's possible he can keep it from spreading and cure you."

Ryan nodded, still making notes. "I know you and Greg aren't going to be coming back to the area, Alan, but how long do you think Eric and I can get away with staying?"

"I know he wants to stay close to his family," Alan said. "There are a lot of plastic surgeons in the area. I think you'll be safe for at least another ten to fifteen years as long as you're careful. You have my house in England and Peter's in Italy when you're ready to hide between lives, or we can help you find a place of your own if Eric doesn't want to stay with us. We have phones and email to stay in touch, Ryan. I know it seems like it, but you're not losing us."

"I know, I know that, but you're the closest thing I've ever had to a sire, Alan," Ryan said. "I'd hoped that we'd be able to leave together."

"Come here." Alan stood up and held out his arms. "I'm always going to be your sire, Ryan, even if you're not mine by blood." He wrapped Ryan in a tight hug. "We'll get through this, I promise you that. Greg and I won't be able to talk to you on the phone once we're into Europe hunting down Hitler, but either Peter or Al should be. If not, we'll get you a contact number for help."

"Okay." Ryan leaned against Alan. "How long before the kill day?"

"I'm thinking end of the week. Eric's so tense that I don't know how much longer he'll be able to stand having me around, and I want to get Greg home again," Alan said. "I'll talk with Calleigh tomorrow and let her know what to do with the lab. If there are problems with scheduling, if you believe you're going to be in danger, take Eric and run, Ryan. Don't let work endanger you more than normal. Do you understand me? If you end up apart for more than a couple of days or if you're regularly put on night shift, I don't care what Eric wants to do with his family, you run. Go to England and my house there."

"I understand, Alan. I've already got plans in place in case we need to vanish suddenly. I learned from the best, after all."

"Stay safe, Ryan. That's the last advice I can give you. Be smart and be safe."

"We will. I'd better go see what Greg needed before he falls asleep."

"Let him know I'll be there in a bit, please?"

"Yeah, no problem."
**

"Pepere, you're worried," Greg said.

"I am, yes. The world, she has changed so much, and yet a man such as Hitler is able to attempt a rise to power again," Peter said. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "Many times have I seen empires rise and fall, mon petit fils. Never before have I seen one that scared me as badly as the one Hitler attempted. Sending you and Allwyn into this, it is dangerous. I worry."

"We'll be okay," Greg said. "I know I've got to get my strength back, but I'll keep him safe."

"Yes, your ability, we will need it," Peter agreed. "What do you hear from the others tonight?"

"Al's actually talking," Greg grinned. "That's more than I've heard him say in months, but he's thinking twice as fast as he's talking. Eric's listening. Maybe Al was able to get through to him. Alan's just giving Ryan instructions and hints because they're going to be alone here once we're gone."

"To be alone, or with a mate, it is dangerous, yes," Peter agreed. "Yet not so dangerous it cannot be managed. My family, they are at peace?"

"As much as we can be, pepere," Greg said. "Ryan's on his way to talk to me, which means it must be close to bedtime."

Peter nodded. "Then I shall go check on mon petit," he said. "Rest, Greg. The plans, I believe they move quickly."

"They do," Greg agreed. "Hey Ryan."

"Hey, what's up?"

"I wanted to give you a hint I figured out when I was on my own up north," Greg said. "Hell hounds left me alone because they could smell I'd already been bitten and they won't attack a victim twice, for some reason. I noticed that they don't like UV light. Get a flashlight or carry the UV from your kit with you everywhere you go, especially at night. If you see a hell hound, shine that on them and they'll book."

"Really?" Ryan asked.

"At least long enough for you to get somewhere safe," Greg replied. "The last thing I want is for my brother to go through this hell."

Ryan sat down where Peter had been. "I'm gonna miss you," he said.

"Gonna miss you too," Greg said. "I think Eric's coming around, Ryan. Don't push him, let him think tonight. Be ready to answer his questions when he comes to you with them."

"Okay, easy enough." Ryan pulled Greg into a hug. "Alan's promised to keep in touch as much as he can. You do the same?"

"If I can, yes," Greg said. "He also talked to you about Wilson, didn't he?"

"Yeah."

House sighed against Ryan's shoulder. "Wilson has a strong mind. It's very possible he'll be able to break through whatever method Eric used to fuzz him," he said. "I'll talk to Alan about it, but let me see if I can sneak back in and wipe him before he's marked for death. I still love him, as best I can anyway."

"Easy enough, as long as Alan knows what we're doing," Ryan said. "He said to tell you he'll be along in a bit."

"Plans move forward," Greg said. "Go get some sleep, Ryan. This next week is going to be busy."

Ryan snorted. "Don't I know it."

Notes:

I'm going to end this here to allow me some research time. I'll write a sequel about their adventures in Europe and their bonding time at some point in the future.

***

Next story in series - Stakeout.

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