Epilogue

Disclaimer: I do not own House or any other character that may or may not be mentioned.

House sat utterly lost in the music dancing beneath his fingertips. The piano's grace and seductive nature was all Gregory House had to deal with now. It had been three days since he had been sent home quite suddenly by Cuddy. He knew she was hurt and angry as they all were at his actions, including Wilson. The least that they did was to hand him a pager before booting him out the door in case he should need them, but it was doubtful and House knew it. Their diagnostic conclusion was accurate and the medicine did its job. The only thing House hadn't planned on was the cardiac arrest. Guess, you can't plan for everything, he thought.

Now that his mind was free of puzzles, riddles and sleepless nights he was finally at peace here at 1 a.m. No Wilson dealing him constant remarks on morals and ethics. No Cameron weeping at the sight of a dying person. No Chase…well…no Chase. Yes, House knew that he was inflicting sarcasm onto himself and that in this instance, even he didn't appreciate it. No, he thought, he hadn't been free of riddles, just the ones that mattered. Figuring out who may have slept with so and so on General Hospital wasn't exactly what he considered a challenge. He hadn't been sleeping and part of that reason was because he technically still worked at Princeton Plainsboro. He never officially retired. His sorry ass never made it to Cuddy's the next day as promised. He knew he had to do that soon. He was avoiding them all and he knew it. There was no Housism to disguise it into something it wasn't. His fingers stopped playing.

"I really should fill out that form," he said to himself. He looked at the bottle of Scotch on the piano and poured some more into his already heavily saturated glass. He was about to take a swig when he heard a loud knocking on his door. The old Edger Allen Poe poem came to mind. Death had claimed him once so who's to say he wouldn't try again? The rapping sound grew more insistent.

"Hold on, Death. I'm a cripple you know," he shouted.

God, who else would it be at one in the morning?

House sauntered over leaning heavily onto his cane. He unlocked the door to see his guest.

"Surprised?"

House just smiled.

Hope you all enjoyed part one. Part two will be coming soon. It is called Resolutions.

PS Don't own Edger Allen Poe either. Sad

First chapter: Who is House's guest? Will House really retire? Stay tuned?