A/N: And here's the final chapter! Thanks as always to my good friends Hughville and PeppermintPatty for their insight and beta skills!

Chapter 21

Once everyone was gone, House sat down with a fresh beer and drank it down in minutes.

"Greg," Tory said as she sat down next to him on the couch.

"Yeah?"

"You are the most amazing man I've ever met."

"Wow. That's a lot to live up to," he told her.

"It is, but you earned it. I've never seen anyone give birth before except on TV."

"It's no pleasure cruise. That was a very easy birth. But they're not all like that."

"I'm sure."

He got up and went to the kitchen and she followed. "Where's that champagne?"

"In the fridge. I'll get the glasses," she said.

He found an empty wine bucket and filled it with ice for the bottle. Once it chilled, he popped the cork and poured them each a glass.

"We should probably get ready to leave," he said as they drank.

"Yeah. I have Chance's carrier all ready to go. The fires are close. Can't you smell it?"

"Yeah I can. It's stronger than it was this morning."

She sighed. "I don't want to leave. I don't want to lose this house. I love this house."

"I know. It's scary and depressing."

She went out onto the patio and saw the black smoke. "Jesus, Greg, come out here."

He came out and started coughing immediately. "Get back inside. It's not good to be out here. Close all the windows."

"But it's hot…"

"We're going to pack your stuff and go to my place so we can make a quick getaway if we have to. I'll get the cat and we'll meet down on the dock."

"Greg," she said, her lower lip trembled and she stayed where she was. He sighed and went over to her, wrapping his arms around her. She rested her head against his chest and cried softly.

"I know you're sad. But we don't have a choice. It's only a matter of time before they come and tell us we have to go. Look at the sky, it's dark with smoke. The fires could just be on the other side of the mountain for all we know."

"I haven't heard any loons calling all day," she sniffed.

"Animals are smart. They probably took off before the fires came. They'll come back when it's safe."

She looked up at him, tears still streaming down her cheeks and he wiped them away with his thumbs before kissing her softly, tasting the salt from her tears on her lips.

"Come on. Let's get out of here. We'll be safer at the lodge. We get better radio reception over there anyway. We can hear what's going on," he told her.

She nodded and went to get her things while House rounded up the cat, got him in the carrier and covered it with a towel so the smoke wouldn't bother him too much on the boat ride. She carried a big box to the dock and House started laughing.

"You're bringing the drum kit?"

"Well yeah. I like it and I don't want to see it incinerated. I'll bet you're bringing your instruments," she told him.

"Well yeah," he chuckled and helped her with it.

When they arrived at the lodge, Ron came down to the dock. "They just put the evacuation order in effect. We gotta go. Cops are on their way up to escort you to the highway and into town. You're gonna wanna go to Kamloops and get a hotel because parts of the highway are closed so you wouldn't be able to get home anyway."

"Okay, thanks, Ron," House said.

"No problem. Good luck, guys." He walked back up to the store.

"Go get your car and bring it around so we can load it up," House said.

"I wish I could bring the Harley."

"Yeah, so do I. But who knows, maybe it'll be ok."

"Maybe. But I'm not getting my hopes up."

They spent the next half hour loading their cars until they were sure they had everything, and the cops had started a convoy.

"Oh God, Greg. Look," Tory said and pointed down the lake. The whole mountainside was on fire and quickly spreading down. House promptly turned her around.

"Don't look," he told her. "Just get in and drive and don't look back. I'll be right behind you."

It was very hot and smoke filled the air.. They could hear the roar of the fire and the trees falling as they climbed into their cars. Tory's eyes stung with tears as she started the engine and got in behind the convoy of cars, with House directly behind her. Chance meowed in his carrier and she pulled the blanket off so he could see. "I know, lubbies. I'm sad, too."

House wasn't sure how they were going to get out of the area. It was so dark from the smoke he could hardly see. It seemed the fire was in spots all along Loon Lake Road and it felt like an eternity before they reached the main highway. He had no choice but to follow the convoy of cars into town, and then took the highway which would take them to Kamloops.

He followed Tory to a hotel in town and as luck would have it, they had one room left. It was a suite and pet friendly. As soon as they got to their room, Tory collapsed on the bed and sobbed into the pillows. House let Chance out of his carrier, gave him something to eat, and set up a small litter box in the bathroom.

Once the cat was taken care of, House went out, got something to eat from a fast food place across the street and brought it back. Tory was still curled up on the bed in the fetal position when he came back.

"Tory," he said as he sat on the edge of the bed and gently nudged her. "You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"Doctor's orders."

"Oh, so now you're a doctor again?" she sniffed.

"I am when needed. Come on, I got some A&W burgers."

"Where's Chance?" she asked as she wiped her eyes and sat up.

"He's fine. He's eating."

"Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Wheezing a little but that's to be expected with all the smoke in the air. You can always take him to the vet and have him checked out."

"Yeah I might."

"Good, so come on and eat, I've got the news on."

She reluctantly got up and went into the living area where he had dinner set out on a coffee table in front of the TV.

Once they finished eating, Tory began to doze off.

"Come on, it's late. Bedtime," House said gently.

She was too tired to argue. She changed into a T-shirt and pajama pants then climbed into bed without a word. House got into bed with her and she immediately snuggled up to him.

"This is like some kind of nightmare," she murmured as she clung to him. "When I wake up in the morning I just want it to be over."

House sighed as he gently stroked her arm. "We can only hope."

In the morning, Tory woke up with a start to find that the nightmare wasn't over. Chance was curled up on her side of the bed as usual and jumped when she did.

"Sorry lubbies," she whispered as she pet the cat's head, causing him to purr.

"Did you just call him Lubbies?" House murmured.

"Yeah."

"What the hell is a lubbies?"

"I dunno. It's a nickname that just popped into my head one day and it stuck. He seems to like it."

House rolled onto his back. "What time is it?"

"Just after seven."

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"A little. Want room service?"

"Sure. Although since we have a kitchen we should probably get some groceries at some point. Eating out all the time will cost a fortune. But we can do that later. There's something else I want first."

"Coffee?"

House shook his head, rolled over and placed a soft kiss on her cheek then the other before finally kissing her lips.

Tory let out a pleasurable sigh and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him on top of her. "Mhmm… I missed this. I really did."

"I know."

"I missed you, too. So much," she murmured against his lips as they rolled across the bed so she was on top of him.

He tugged her shirt off, then sat up so she could help him with his. "I've wanted to do this since I saw you in those Daisy Dukes."

Tory laughed. "And I would have let you but then we got a little sidetracked and you had to deliver a baby."

"All in a day's work."

"When was the last time you delivered a baby?" she asked as she stroked his chest.

"Umm...several years ago at least. And I didn't really deliver it. I was doing surgery on the mother and the fetus was still really tiny. I had to open the womb and as I was about to close it back up, its tiny hand reached out and latched onto my finger."
Tory's eyes widened. "Oh wow!"

"Yeah, it was pretty surreal. It stayed with me for weeks."

"Did the baby survive?"

"Oh yeah, as far as I know. Not too many kids can say they were born twice."

"That just goes to show what an amazing doctor you are. You were known as the most brilliant diagnostician in the world. That's no easy feat."

House shrugged. "Medicine is like a puzzle. I solve puzzles. If the cases weren't interesting enough, I didn't take them."

"What about the ones you didn't take?" she asked.

"I don't know. I guess they died. Can't save everyone. Anyway, enough about that, you're killing the mood. Your pussy needs attention and I'm not talking about Chance."

They shed the rest of their clothes and House moved over her.

"Mmmm, well when you put it that way, how can I say no?" she said with a sexy grin.

He pinned her hands down against the mattress. "You could, but do you want to?"

"God, no. I want you so bad right now, Greg."

"You can have me," he said as he rubbed himself against her. "I don't have any condoms…"

"It's okay. When I went home I got tested again. I'm all clear."

"Oh, well that's a relief."

"Yeah, and I trust you…" she whispered.

"You shouldn't trust anyone."

"True, but I trust you.'

"I'm glad. Because I really don't wanna run to the drug store right now."

Tory laughed and spread herself wider for him. "I don't want you to, either. I want you to make love to me, Greg. Like you were going to yesterday."

"I wasn't going to make love to you. I was going to fuck you good and proper right there in your kitchen and then I was going to take you to bed and make love to you soon after."

"We can still do that. Just in a different order."

"MMm sounds like a plan," he said and then tapped her pussy with his cock before sliding into her tight warm sheath. "Ohhh God…."

It was much better without the latex barrier between them. She was so warm, so wet that he knew he wouldn't last very long but he didn't care.

"Oh my God, Greg, yes!" she cried out as she wrapped her legs around him. "Deeper…"

He began with slow thrusts then grabbed her leg and lifted it higher so he could go as deep as possible.

"Harder," she gasped and arched her back under him. "Faster…."

"Bossy this morning," he teased as he smiled down at her.

"Yeah, and I want you to fuck me."

Far be it from him to deny her what she wanted. He pounded relentlessly into her as his lips came down hard on hers, kissing and nibbling before they moved down to her neck. Her nails raked down his back and she drew blood but he didn't care. He kept going until he felt her climax and heard her cry out. After a few more thrusts, he came hard and collapsed on top of her in a sweaty heap.

"Oh my God, that was intense," she groaned as he rolled off her.

"Yeah. So good."

"I told you I loved you right?" she panted.

"Not this morning," he grinned at her.

"Oh, well, I love you," she said as she leaned over and gave him a quick peck. "I'm gonna take a shower and then we can get something to eat."

"Sounds good. What do you want?"

"I'm easy."

"I know, but what do you want to eat?" he teased.

"Surprise me."

While she was in the shower, he checked out the room service menu. Chance started meowing so House got up and fed him before ordering breakfast. When Tory came out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel, House's cock sprang to attention and she laughed.

"You can't be serious!"

"Yep. Breakfast won't be here for at least half an hour…" he said as he stalked over to her and tugged at her towel. She laughed and surrendered herself to him once again. He gave her a playful shove onto the bed and ravaged her once more. It was quick and dirty but just as hot as the last time. Soon, there was a knock at the door. House grabbed a robe, pulled it on and went to answer the door. Tory went and quickly grabbed another robe from the bathroom and put it on.

"What are we having?" she asked as she sat down. House removed the silver dome from the plate to reveal her favorite scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and hashbrowns. "Still spoiling me, I see," she smiled at him.

"Who else am I going to spoil? The cat?"

"I'm sure he'd like that."

"Meh, he's spoiled enough."

They turned the TV on while they ate and watched the local news. There wasn't any information about Loon Lake, but then they didn't expect there would be.

"I wonder when we'll hear anything," she said with a sigh.

"I don't know. Probably not for awhile. It's hard for them to fight a fire that big, and I doubt there's anyone there to report. I think everyone left."

"So what do you want to do today?" House asked her.

"Other than get Chance checked at the vet and pick up some groceries? I have no idea," she shrugged.

"Hmm," he said. "I'm sure we could come up with something."

Tory glanced over at him and saw that he was leering at her. "What, are you on some mission to make up for lost time?"

"Something like that. Problem?"

"No, not at all. Once a horndog, always a horndog I guess."

He laughed and then pounced on her.

Over the next few days, they spent their time between the hotel and the meeting place for Loon Lake residents, which was in the middle of town. It didn't look hopeful for the resort, and it was confirmed that most of the homes on the water side of the lake were gone. Tory was inconsolable for the next few days and House couldn't do anything about it. After a couple of weeks, some of them were allowed back to the lake to survey the damage and House and Tory both volunteered for the clean up.

The fire station burned down, but the community hall was spared. The fire seemed to take a very random pattern. Some places were spared and others weren't. The lodge and two of the cabins next to it were lost, as were the boathouse and a Pontoon. The community shower and bathroom for the campsites were gone as well as some of the cabins up on the hill. All in all, it was devastating. Evergreen Resort lost some of its best cabins in the fire, yet the owner's homes and the store were spared. The only thing left of the lodge was the large stone fireplace. It stood defiantly by itself among the ruin and rubble, surrounded by burnt trees.

"This is all so depressing," Tory whispered as they walked along. "Think my Harley is okay?"

"Only one way to find out."

They walked up the hill to where she kept it parked in a shed. Oddly enough, the shed was intact, but the resort laundry facility was completely burned to the ground. The washer and dryer charred remains lay nearby.

"I don't believe it," Tory said as she unlocked the shed doors to reveal the bike, intact and unharmed, save for some smoke and ash.

"Wow," House said, clearly impressed and surprised the bike survived. Of course, her snowmobile would be lost, since she kept it parked near her place.

"Do you want to go see your place?" he asked her.

"You mean what's left of it?"

"You need to face it sooner or later."

She nodded and they went back to the store. Ron let them take a boat over and check things out.

As expected, there really wasn't anything left except charred remains. It was all such a mess. There were trees that had fallen down and the dock was charred, much like the lodge dock had been. All the trees on that side of the lake were scorched.

She sighed and looked completely deflated. House felt bad for her.

"You're insured, right?" he asked.

Tory shook her head. "Nope. Homes on this side of the lake can't be."

"Why not?"

"Because it's boat access only. Fire crews can't get to them. It's one of those things you don't think about happening. I don't think this lake has ever seen a forest fire."

"That sucks."

"Yeah, it does. I just gotta accept it and move on."

"Would you rebuild?" he asked.

"Not on that side again, but maybe down at the other end. I do love this lake. I can't imagine not coming back. But it won't be for awhile."

"What are you going to do now?"

"Well, I have to go back to my real life in Vancouver. I've lived as a hermit up here long enough. I need to get back to reality. What about you, Greg?" she asked as they headed back to the resort.

"I don't know. I haven't really given it much thought. I suppose it would make sense to just move on but I don't want to. I just don't know what I'd do if I stayed in Vancouver."

"I'm sure I could help you out there. I know some people. I've been examining your case. It's weak at best. That flood that caused the MRI room to collapse was hardly your doing."

"What do you mean?"

"From what I read, the plumbing was basically patched with chicken wire and bubblegum. If you didn't flush those tickets, something else would have caused that flood. Too much toilet paper, something stuck down a toilet, who knows? They just figured you were the culprit and because you were on probation, they decided it made sense to blame you for it, knowing your history with pranks."

"It sounds far fetched," he remarked skeptically.

"Maybe. But I'm willing to try and fight if you want me to because I know how much you miss medicine. Seeing you deliver that baby was the clincher. I saw how alive you became when you had that baby in your arms. I'd give anything to see that look on your face again. It won't be easy, but it'll be worth it. I guess it all comes down to whether or not you trust me. At the very least I can stop you from going back to prison. I have friends and connections in the states."

"What about fraud charges…" he asked.

"Let me worry about that. I want to do this for you. I've been thinking about it a lot since we've been in town. I've been able to do research on you and your case much more thoroughly, since there's a decent internet connection. I can tap into the US court databases and see information that most people can't see. I have a good feeling about this. I can't promise that you'll get your medical license back, but I can most certainly clear your name so you can stop living like a fugitive on the lam."

They pulled up to the dock and got out. Tory placed her hand on his arm. "Just think about it, Greg. In the end, it's really up to you."

The End

A/N: Thank you again for reading. Writing this story has been bittersweet for me. Normally I'd be getting ready for my trip up to Loon Lake in a couple of weeks but not this year, sadly. What you read in this chapter about the evacuation and the damage is all true, based on what I've learned from those who live up there and what it was like. It's a community like any other and we all know each other. I'll go up there eventually, but with the lodge now gone, I'm not sure where we'd stay. Anyway, I'm glad to be done posting this. Now I can move on. I have a couple of things in the works so stay tuned!