Welcome back y'all. I have finally begun the sequel to A Thanksgiving to Remember. There was a bit of background work I needed to do after my much needed vacation, but now I'm ready to go. This first chapter is just a tease, because I'm mean like that, but I hope to have more up tomorrow. Anyway, sit back, enjoy, and as always, your comments are always welcome.

Gathering the Pieces

House looked back and forth down the hall. No one was in sight. With surprising agility, he skulked down the hallway and stopped in front of a rather non-descript looking door. Who needed keys when some idiot on YouTube was more than happy to show the world how to pick the common lock?

He grinned as he heard the small click of the lock, then, with one last look up and down the hall he slipped into the small supply room. There had been many times when he'd picked on Cuddy for her anal organizational skills, but this wasn't one of them. He smiled happily as he looked at the rows of medical equipment, each section with a little label taped to the shelf below it.

In a few minutes he reemerged from the room with his arms full of goodies. He hurried back to his office and dropped them onto his desk.

"What's all that?" Wilson had snuck in behind him and looked at the assortment of medical equipment. "You and Cuddy going to play doctor later?"

House's eyes lit up. "Why didn't I think of that?"

Wilson smirked knowingly. "Because clearly you have a much more devious plan in mind for your ill gotten gains."

"Indeed I do." House pulled out some wrapping paper and handed it to Wilson. "Here, you wrap these while I explain."

Wilson took the paper and slowly began to wrap each strange implement while House prattled on about something that was clearly not an explanation.

"No, really House, what are you up to?" Wilson finally handed over the last gift, which House tagged with a sticky note that was branded with a perfectly written '3'.

"You don't want me to ruin the surprise do you?" House teased.

Wilson looked like he was about to burst. "YES!"

"Nah, you say that now, but if I tell you, you'll only start bitching about how I ruined the surprise, and I'll never hear the end of it." House locked the bottom drawer of his desk, which now held five rather odd wrapped packages, each with a sticky note with a number boldly written on it.

"I don't bitch!" Wilson protested.

"If you say so," House rolled his eyes and got up to leave.

"Where are you going?" Wilson hurried after him like a puppy.

"No where." House pushed open the door, walked through and tried to slam it in Wilson's face. Stupid hydraulic doors.

Wilson sidled through as the door slowly wooshed shut. "You never go no where."

"And it's about time I did." House replied quickly, leaving Wilson to work that out for a moment.

Wilson shook his head and hurried after House, who had tried to vanish around a corner. "Does this have something to do with the stuff you had me wrap?"

House stopped in his tracks, letting Wilson crash into him, then turned and put a finger to his lips. "Shhhhh. I told you, it's a secret."

"What is?" Wilson's curiosity was about to become too much for him, as House knew it would.

"If I tell you, I'll have to kill you, which would be a shame, you being my only friend and all. Then I'd have to go cultivate a new friendship, and I don't think anyone wants that, so stop asking." House pushed open the doors to the ladies room. There were a lot of places that Wilson would follow him, but his friend still had enough common decency not to barge into the ladies room, unlike House. "Hello ladies," House nodded politely as a couple nurses fled from the room.

House locked the door behind them, because he knew Wilson well enough to anticipate that the man had his hand perched on the doorknob, debating whether the coast was clear for entry. And then he waited, his back against the door, his ear inches from the hollow metal door.

He heard Wilson start to walk away and quickly opened the door, a thought knocking him upside the head. "And don't tell Cuddy!"

Wilson spun on his heels. "Don't tell Cuddy what? You haven't told me anything yet!"

"Don't tell her anything." House sighed and came out of the ladies room just as Nurse Brenda was thundering toward it. "I was paged and told my patient was dying in there." House made up a quick excuse. It was clear the nurses had ratted him out to Big Bad Brenda.

"You don't have a patient Dr. House," Brenda seethed.

"Well, not anymore," House tried to look sad, but he'd never had a puppy that died, so he wasn't sure how to go about it.

"I'm telling Dr. Cuddy about this," Brenda turned and stormed off.

"Send her my love," House called back jokingly.

"What?" Wilson turned to his friend, aghast. "She gets to tell Cuddy you've taken to hanging out in the ladies room but I can't tell her…whatever it is I can't tell her?"

"Exactly." House was glad Wilson had finally gotten caught up. And just in time. House hung his cane on the edge of the pharmacy window and looked at Wilson. "You have that prescription for Yodoxin?" He asked in a louder than normal voice.

"What pres…" Wilson felt something hard hit his shin. It was House's foot. He grabbed House by the arm and pulled him away from the window. "What do you need Yodoxin for? Do you have an intestinal infection?" Wilson whispered rather loudly.

"Do I look like I have an intestinal infection?" House waited for a reply for two seconds before continuing. "It's not for me."

"Who's it for?" Wilson was beyond frustrated with all the secrecy.

"Someone other than me." House stated matter of factly.

"And that someone would be?" Wilson probed.

"None of your concern." House pulled Wilson's prescription pad out of the pocket he always kept it in, and found a pen in his pocket protector. He handed both to Wilson. "That's Yodoxin. Y-O-…"

"I know how to spell it House." Wilson wrote up the prescription as he wondered where he'd left his backbone, and if he'd ever see it again. "Here." He sighed heavily as he handed House the piece of paper.

"Great!" House grabbed it and bounced over to the pharmacy window. He happily slid the paper to the skeptical looking pharmacist.

The pharmacist looked over House's shoulder, at Wilson. Wilson just nodded and grinned weakly so the pharmacist vanished into the back and returned with a small white pill bottle.

"It's been a pleasure doing business with you," House said sarcastically as he hobbled away from the window.

"You look pretty pleased with yourself." Wilson said, falling into line with House's long stride.

"I am." House held in his hand the last piece of his puzzle, and the hardest one at that. This was going to be a Hanukkah Cuddy would never forget. He started whistling as he strolled down the hall. The sound threw Wilson so much that he nearly crashed into an opening office door.