Chapter 35:

“Okay, you two,” Cuddy says and points at House and Addison when dinner is ready. “You two will sit as far away from each other as possible,” she tells them and they both smirk, remembering how they got on her nerves earlier that day.

Laurie smiles although she doesn't know what happened. It's just fun to watch them all.

“You two need some help?” Laurie asks when Lisa turns around.

“No dear,” she tells her. “You please have a look at them, so they'll still be alive when I return,” she says and laughs.

“Sure,” Laurie says and turn around with her chair to have them in sight. Stacy went to the kitchen with Bailey to help Lisa. And to talk of course.

They've been friends for a long time, and for some reason their friendship broke when she broke up with House and she's been really sorry about it on the long run.

“So,” Laurie says and exaggerates the word. “What's going on?”

“Your father is being an idiot,” Addison says, not very serious.

Laurie turns to face Greg.

“What do you have to say?” she asks him and pretends to sound professional, even though their attending couples council.

“She's consequently getting on my nerves since she's here.”

“I lived here,” she tells Laurie. “This was my house before I sold it to them.”

“Oh,” Laurie says.

“Yes, she probably put a course on the house,” he says and nods in her direction.

“That's lame,” Addison says and he laughs while Laurie rolls her eyes.

“Are you serious with the conversations or are you just bored?” Laurie asks. “I really hope it's the second thing.”

“What's it?” Lisa asks Stacy after she watches her for a moment. She seems to think about something since she's here.

“Excuse me?” Stacy says and steps aside because Bailey crawls through the kitchen.

“You look like something's distracting you,” Stacy says friendly.

“Oh,” Stacy says and feels caught. “Well, it's nothing,” she says and she actually decided to drop it but she knows that she'll have to say it out loud to know that she's okay with it.

“It doesn't look like nothing,” Lisa says and approaches.

“ I don't know how to say it. It's ridiculous,” she begins and Lisa follows her gaze when Stacy looks at her daughter.

“Is it because of her? Or better said me then?” Lisa asks surprised but Stacy is glad that the happy tone in her voice didn't fade.

Stacy struggles to find the right words. “I'm sorry, I don't know what to say. I told you it's ridiculous,” she says and smiles apologetically.

“There's no need to be,” Lisa says and lays her hands on Stacy's shoulder, looking straight at her. “Listen,” she begins. “There's no need to be sorry. I'm through with that chapter of my life since a few years and I'm happy for you, okay?” she says and Stacy knows that she's telling the truth with every word she says.

“Thank you,”Stacy says and Lisa pulls her in a soft hug. “Thank you so very much,” Stacy says, feeling finally relieved.

“I missed you,” Lisa says.

“I missed you too,” Stacy answers and laughs silently.

They get apart and Lisa takes the bread from the counter behind her.

“You're hungry?” she asks, but doesn't wait for an answer and leaves the kitchen. Stacy watches her leaving the room, taking a deep breath. Sometimes she still things that this just can't be happening. It suddenly seems to happen so fast.

A couple of weeks back, she thought she'd never see him again. And actually she didn't even think about him or Cuddy. And now she's standing in their kitchen, because they're about to have dinner together and she hopes that everything will turn out differently this time.

Cuddy's glad that she finds the three of them laughing when she comes back into the room and hopes that they decided to drop this ridiculous game for tonight.

Lisa sits down next to Greg and Stacy, who hold Bailey in her arms, Addison and Laurie sit at the opposite site.

“Okay, I'm gonna something,” Addison says when Lisa sits down and they all watch her.

“Thanks to you for this invitation, and special thanks to Greg of course,” she adds and he laughs, but then her voice turns a bit more serious.

“No, I mean it. Thank you guys. I'm glad you like this place and I love to see that there's finally a live in it,” she says and sips her glass. “It never had the time to come here and it's such a nice house and I hope you'll be happy here,” she says and Cuddy leans across the table to place a kiss on her friend's cheek.

“Women,” Greg whispers beside her, and she hits his arms softly when she sits down again.

Sometimes Stacy thought she would feel jealous to see Lisa and Greg together, but with pleasure she realizes that it's not the case.

She takes a deep breath, and knows that this chapter is finally over. Just like Lisa told her earlier in the kitchen.

That little piece of their common history is finished and the book is closed. Time to start a new one. And to watch them being so happy together is something she hardly imagined to happen, just like all the other things that turned her life upside down during the last weeks.

When Stacy looks across the table, she realizes that Laurie's watching her, but she turns her head away when their eyes lock for a second and a smile crosses her face which she tries to cover with sipping her drink.

“I never thought this could happen one day,” Stacy begins and laughs and looks at Lisa and Greg. “I mean having dinner together, you know?”

“What did you say in San Francisco?” he asks her. “We grew up,” House says.

“Exactly, and it was about time I guess,” Stacy agrees.

“As parents, I think we should,” House says and takes Lisa's hand under the table and she squeezes it gently.

Stacy wants to say something, but still struggles saying it out loud.

“It almost reminds me of some forgotten former times,” Lisa says and winks at the others.

“Except someone's missing,” House states dryly.

“Yeah,” Stacy agrees.

“Who's missing?” Addison wants to know.

“A...” Lisa begins, not sure what to say. Somehow the word “friend” seems to be so hard now.

“A friend,” Stacy finishes her sentence and Laurie realizes the bitterness in her voice.

“What about the other doctor?”Laurie wants to know. “The one that was with you all the time?”

“That's him.” House answers.

“What happened to him?” Laurie asks and Stacy looks up with a surprised look on her face, because no one told her the truth so far. She looks at Lisa and Greg, and they gave her an apologetic look.

After a while, they're about to finish dinner and Bailey fall asleep on her arms. Somehow, they always managed to talk around the truth during the last hour, but Stacy knows that they're walking on thin ice.

“You wanna lay her down on the bed?” Lisa asks and Stacy nods. She follows Lisa upstairs and puts the sleeping child gently on the bed to let her rest.

They let the door open, just for the case but before they walk down, Stacy takes Lisa by the wrist softly to hold her back.

“You didn't tell her?” she asks and hopes that she didn't sound reproachful.

“There... there wasn't the right moment,” Lisa tries to explain.

“The trial will take place soon. Do you want her to find that out in the court or do you wanna tell her yourselves?” Stacy asks. “I think it's better you do that.”

“You're right.”

“She will find out we all knew it before,” Stacy says and sighs.

“You two have to be honest with her,” Stacy reminds her.

“I know,” Lisa agrees. “I know.”

When they walk down the stairs, the first thing they realize is that something is wrong. They look at Laurie and Greg and by the look on Laurie's face, Stacy feels her heart shattering slowly. Something tells her that she knows the truth.

That it's too late to be honest with her.

Laurie shakes her head.

“You can't be serious,” she says calmly, but the hidden anger in her voice scares Stacy for a moment.

“Don't go,” Greg says and tries to calm her down. “Lets, lets talk about it!” he offers her but she already turned around.

“I'm going for a walk,” she says and walks through the back door, to the beach.

Without hesitating, Stacy walks through the room.

“I'll check on her,” she says and follows Laurie.

“She isn't stupid,” Greg says when Lisa looks at him with a questionable look on her face. “She figured it out somehow.”

Lisa walks through the room and leans against him softly. It's gonna be a long night.