This is a House/Ali story. She is 19, only a few months from 20 in this story, so she is legal. It came to me at the drop of a hat one day and i just had to write it. The story is not completed, but i do have some sixty pages written all in all, and i do write a couple of paragraphs every day (i try anyway. This is my first actual House MD fic (I posted a teaser for another story awhile back), so don't kill me if i get some of the dialogue from the differentials wrong.

Warnings; this is a mature story with mature content and themes, so no like, no read. There might be a hint of slash at places, but mostly emotional, no graphic, if so, i will post a separate warning at the beginning of the chapter it concerns. I have rated it T because there is next to no graphics in the story, at least for the sixty something pages i have written so far. AS i said, there will be a warning if something should pop up, so to speak.

I'm snatching cases and scenes from the Show at random points, as how i see fit they fit into the story. As it is, the story starts in the early summer, just after exams of 2008 and ill probably end around Christmas or new year of the same year. i hope you enjoy.

House frowned as he heard a sharp, but weak knock sounded on his front door. It was only a few hours until midnight, and he knew Wilson was with his wife, Julie at a family dinner with his in-laws so there was no way it was him - unless he was getting divorced again. It wasn't Cuddy, because she would have hammered his door down, yelling at him to open it and Cameron would just have walked in. Needless to say, both Chase and Foreman had enough sense of selfpreservation just to call him and leave a message as he rarely actually picked up.

Again a quiet knock echoed through his living room. Sighing in annoyance he grabbed his cane and pushed himself off his beloved couch and to his feet. If it was carol singers they were going to pay dearly, he thought grouchily. Walking slowly, as he was tired and his leg hurt, he made his way to the door and opened it. Well, he hadn't expected that. On his wet stone steps, sitting with her bare legs folded underneath her scantly clad body, was Ali Granger. He cocked his head to the side, gazing curiously at her while she struggled to stand on her feet. Very shaky, and bare feet, he noticed.

House and Ali were no longer doing their stalker/ruggedly handsome victim thing any more. She was just passed nineteen now. She had lived with her aunt in New York for nearly a year while her parent patched things up. Hell, House knew all about bad living conditions, and had found Ali on his steps more than once. What had not happened before was that she was almost naked, clad only in a pink satin nighty. As Ali stood up and the streetlights shone on her face, House could tell she had been crying heavily. Her eyes were red rimmed, her cheeks stained , the tip of her precious little nose was pink and her lips chewed raw from the abuse of her teeth. House was staring to see Wilson's attraction to women in need.

"Ali..."

He could see a bruise forming on her cheek, already deep red and soon it would be purple. She was soaking wet and her nighty didn't do a good job of covering her up. Her knees were skinned, fresh blood glinting in the light, old, dried blood nearly black against her pale skin.

Ali stumbled into his arms, her hands clutching his t-shirt tightly. Not really knowing what to do, he wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl, stroking her back. She was freezing -not that he actually needed to touch her to be able to tell that her blue-tinted skin was cold. House frowned, the he scowled. Why was she out in this weather, with no clothes and no shoes? Something had obviously happened. He freed himself of her clinging form and pulled her inside, into the warmth. There was no use in wrapping her up as she was soaked, bloodied and dirty.

"C'mon. you need a shower to warm you up," he said sternly and guided her towards the bathroom. Ali didn't question his command and followed him as best she could. As soon as they entered the bathroom House made short business of her nighty and just pulled it up over her head.

She hadn't said a word and seemed to be in some state of shock. He turned on the shower and decreased the heat until it was barely above lukewarm. He took the naked and shivering girl by her arm and pushed her under the steady stream of water. "It will sting a bit on your wounds," he said quietly, "Increase the heat gradually. You know where the towels are. Dry your hair so you don't get cold again...Wilson left his hairdryer here at some point..." he muttered, "Clothes are on the bed...I'll clean up your wounds...." he looked away and leaned on the sink, "I'll get yo some food." he added at last.

Ali just nodded, letting the soothing warmth of the water thaw the numbness from her skin.

~*~

House turned on the lights in his bedroom and opened the closet. Biting his lips for a moment, he pulled out a pair of warm sweats and a t-shirt and put them on the bed. He cocked his head, looking at the items on his unmade bed. She was cold and likely to get sick...turning around he pulled out his Hopkin's sweater and a pair of fluffy socks his mother had given him, but he had never used. He was a guy for God's sake! He didn't wear fluffy socks.

~*~

Ali winched as the hot soapy water touched the cuts on her knees. Having washed and conditioned her hair, she put some Baby shower oil on a sponge and rubbed her sore skin carefully. Avoiding the open cuts she washed herself squeaky clean. She didn't dare touch the wounds, because they hurt so much. She wasn't surprised of that House had both baby oil and conditioner. It was her fault after all. Her parents fought a lot and 221B had been her sanctuary at times. At one point, she had just left a bit of her stuff there. He had just rolled his eyes and let her have her way.

She smiled weakly through her tears. She didn't understand how so many people didn't like him. Then again, he probably wasn't very nice to those people. She felt the water cooling a slight touch and decided that she was warm enough. If she stayed any longer, she'd get cold again, and it wasn't worth the 'you're an idiot' looks House would give her, just because she was too tired to move. She turned off the water and reached for a towel. She wiped the mirror with her hand, wincing when she saw the red swelling of her cheek.

~*~

Half an hour later House heard another knock on his door. He winched, wondering why anyone would knock that hard. any harder and it would chip the paint! It was probably the food arriving. Hell, he hoped it was the food arriving, because he was starving. Ali should be finished in the shower soon. It would only be another fifteen minutes of hot water in the tank anyway, so he would have to fish her out before she got another frost bite. With a sigh he pushed himself up from his sofa and walked to the door for the second time that evening. He glanced towards his bedroom as he heard the shower being turned off. Good.

A/N; So what do you think? is it the food arriving, or someone else.

Next chapter; Ali's story.