Occam's Razor - House M.D.

Part 26- I Think We're Alone Now

A week later, Madelyn found herself practically living at Princeton-Plainsboro; she had long hours on the diagnostics team, and she had begun her rehearsals with Wilson for the doctor's soiree. 

Still coming down from the initial euphoria, Madelyn found herself constantly zoning in and out. One moment she was agreeing with the team's ideas regarding making a diagnosis, and the next, she felt her hands sweating when she couldn't help imaging her boss without his clothes on. 

"Dr. Gilmore?" Foreman asked, 

"Yeah sorry, I'm right on it." Madelyn replied. Ten minutes later the same thing would happen, 

"Dr. Gilmore?" Chase asked,

"Sorry, I'm listening..." she would assure. 

The week had been jam-packed with in-home searches, labs, and consults, thus, Madelyn considered herself lucky to have teammates who were understanding, and patient. This week was also particularly different because House was primarily working in the clinic because of some bet he'd lost to Wilson. 

"Why? You miss him?" Taub laughed, unaware of their relationship status. Thirteen giggled and raised her eyebrows to Madelyn who giggled back. 

"Do you two know something we don't?" Foreman asked, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face. 

Thirteen and Madelyn looked at each other, 

"Nope" they said in unison. 

--

After hours, Wilson and Madelyn were spending a large part of their evening rehearsing for their upcoming performances. Wilson was experimenting with an acoustic guitar piece, and Madelyn would be singing. 

In light of their similar positive attitudes and affinity for creativity, it was no wonder that they inspired each other to work hard. While Wilson knew what instrument he wanted to perform with, he didn't exactly know what genre he was feeling. Likewise, Madelyn knew she wanted to sing, but she wasn't sure if it should be soulful and mellow, or theatrical and elaborate. 

Together, they worked out the creative kinks that inevitably came before they could begin truly rehearsing. But, it was plain to see that much more was going on. Whether they'd admit it, both Wilson and Madelyn felt a rekindling of the moments that led them to falling in love; moments where when they worked together, a fruitful, enlivening energy was created. 

Behind kind eyes, the two former lovers were reminded of how similar they've always been. And during these late nights, just the two of them, that energy returned.

"It's getting late..." Madelyn stated, stretching out of her curled-up position on Wilson's couch. Wilson looked over at her, 

"Crap, it's 8:30 already?" Wilson blurted, "I guess we've been at it for a while." 

"That's okay, we made a lot of progress, don't you think?" Madelyn smiled. 

Wilson immediately noticed the way Madelyn's pink lips glistened with the sparkles of moonlight that struck her lipgloss. He remembered the way her gloss tasted, too. 

"Absolutely," Wilson nodded. As Madelyn got up to gather her things, something inside Wilson forced him to stop her, 

"Madelyn?"

She turned herself around, "yeah?" 

"About that time... in my office.." Wilson stuttered, his voice unsteady. On one hand, Madelyn was relieved he'd finally brought it up, even though it took him awhile. However, on the other hand, she wanted to move past it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so... forward with you. I care about you, you know that right?"

"Implicitly. I care for you too, James." Madelyn consoled. Wilson smiled softly. "I care about you a lot, and yeah it caught me off guard." 

"Right, I'm sure. It was premature,"

"How so?", Madelyn asked looking concerned. Wilson stepped closer to her, close enough he could practically taste her lipgloss. 

"Wasn't the right time." He smirked, slipping into her dark eyes. 

Madelyn tilted her head curiously and pursed her lips, "Right time?". 

Wilson nodded in agreement, and leaned into her, tilting his head down, his eyelashes brushing her cheek the way a butterfly's wings flap against delicate flower petals. 

"This is..." He exhaled, his nose touching Madelyn's. 

"Wilson..." Madelyn breathed, feeling her heart rate steepen. She knew, on the surface, Wilson came off as a level-headed, easy-going man. But in this moment, Madelyn remembered how incredibly seductive and compelling he could be as a lover. 

Wilson stepped away, giving her space. He cleared his throat nervously, "What's wrong?" 

"I can't do this, James." 

"Are you... nervous?" Wilson massaged his forehead, frustrated. 

"No," Madelyn croaked, "I'm just tired, and I have more work to do back home." 

"I misread the signs again?" Wilson asked, scoffing trying to play it off cool. 

Madelyn shrugged, not wanting to say anything to make it more awkward. Instead, she went in to hug him to let him know she wasn't upset, or going to hold it against him for any reason. Wilson hugged her back, half hesitantly as he knew he'd have to grapple with wanting more. When he was holding her, however, he worried she could feel his heart bouncing inside his chest. 

The two of them said their goodbyes, and journeyed into the rest of the night where jumbled thoughts and anxieties stirred inside their minds. 

As surprising as the night had become for both Wilson and Madelyn, the next morning would rise, signifying the beginning of a new day that would come as an even bigger shock to some. 

--

At around 10a, Wilson decided to take a a break from reviewing a consultation. He'd been working on it for about two hours now, and realized he'd left his only clean-enough coffee mug in House's office. It certainly wasn't a big deal, but Wilson decided it was a good enough excuse to tear himself away from the computer. 

Wilson strode down the hall, noticing House's office was empty. Inside, the room was particularly dark with some of the blinds being shut which was unusual. Wilson located his mug giving it a quick rinse before heading back to his office. As he made his way to exit, Wilson saw House turning the corner, heading towards his office. But before Wilson managed to open the door, he noticed House turn back around, standing in place. 

Wilson furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation: 

what was he doing? he thought aloud in a hushed voice. 

Within a second, Wilson got his answer: House was not alone. 

House had his back turned, but he was obviously adjusting his upper body in a manner where his posture was looking down as if he were talking to somebody significantly shorter than him. Wilson, though, didn't have to guess who that person was. Standing across from House, Wilson deciphered, was Madelyn–identified by her unforgettable brunette locks. He watched as she blushed at House with her twinkling eyes that closed to kiss him. 

Dumbfounded, Wilson froze in place and before he could try to flee, House entered the room. House sat down at his desk, 

"Hey." House rasped, greeting Wilson who still wasn't moving much other than to look at House. 

As he stared at his friend more closely, House noticed Wilson looked unwell, or at least bothered. 

"Uh-oh," House sang, "Something happen?"

Wilson moved his hands to rest on his hips, "Oh yeah..." he sighed. Wilson could feel his veins charging with rage. But as slyly and subtly as he could express, Wilson said, "Don't worry about me, though..."