Fanfiction: Make This Go on Forever
Title: Make This Go on Forever
Rating: PG
Characters: Lt. Connie Murphy, Dr. Greg House, mentions of Bree House.
Author's Note: After writing this snuggle fic for toomuchlikedad I started to think about how House would propose and why Murphy would say yes. And eventually, I came up with this. Based on Murphy's relationship with cant_have_any and posted with permission. Yay future!fic!
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Murphy had her feet up on the side table and was leaning back in the chair when the door opened. Looking over her shoulder she smiled briefly at House and went back to her crossword.
“How’d the conference go?” she asked, jotting down a four letter word for blunt medieval weapon.
“Where’s Bree?” he countered.
“All day spa thing with Joanie. Apparently the hotel’s mud baths are to die for.” She set the crossword down, dropped her feet to the ground and turned to face him. “You don’t want to talk about your big presentation on that undead guy?”
“I didn’t go.” He tossed his light jacket over the back of an arm chair after pulling out his Vicodin bottle.
“What?” She got up, “What do you mean you didn’t go?”
“I didn’t go. Seems a pretty easy concept to grasp.”
“The whole reason we’re all here is because of this conference.”
“Actually, the whole reason I’m here was a vacation on the hospital’s dollar. Bree’s here because it’s Spring Break and you’re here because you like having regular sex with me. Hard to do that if you’re in New Jersey and I’m in New York.”
She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the table. She should have figured that out, actually. He hated anything he considered vaguely political in medicine. That he invited her along should have also been a clue that he didn’t plan to work at all while he was here. Maybe in another year she’d have him figured out. It had only taken her close to five to get where she was now.
“Cuddy’s going to kill you, you know.”
He shrugged. “You’ll avenge my death won’t you?”
“With appropriate dramatic dialogue and clothes ripping, but moving on…”
“No, I want to hear more about the clothes ripping.”
“What did you do for the last three hours if you weren’t at the conference?”
He fiddled with his Vicodin bottle for a second before shoving it into his pocket. He crossed to her and leaned in close. She raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for the usual sexual joke or come on. He did neither. Instead, he took something out of his other pocket and set it down on the table next to her before walking over to the bed. He sat down without a word, working his cane between his hands.
She frowned at him, slightly confused by his uncharacteristic behavior before looking down to see what he’d left behind. Shock froze her in place for a few seconds before she reached out and picked up what looked suspiciously like a ring box. She looked back at him, but he was looking at the cane between his hands, avoiding her gaze. Her heart racing with trepidation she flipped the box open with her thumb.
“God, House…”
A silver engagement ring winked at her from the black velvet. It was a simple ring, plain silver with a single small diamond set recessed into the band. He could have afforded something bigger, flashier but he had picked out exactly what suited her.
“Are you serious?”
“It’s a little late for an April Fool’s joke and early for a Halloween prank,” he glanced at her before looking down again. “If you’re looking for me to get down on one knee…”
“No. I know you better.”
Or she thought she had. Now, she wasn’t so sure. She was holding a ring he’d bought for her and trying to come to terms with the fact that he wanted to get married. He had struggled against every step in their relationship. Hell, it had only been a few months now that he’d finally gotten comfortable admitting it was a relationship and living with her. Now she was holding a ring in her hands. Why couldn’t she get a handle on him?
“Look, if you don’t want it, just forget about it.” He got up and started towards her to take the ring back.
“No,” she said, taking the ring out of the box. “It’s mine now.”
He stopped in his tracks and watched her, his expression guarded, as she slid the ring onto her finger. It was even a perfect fit. It was sometimes scary how well he knew her. Thrilling, sometimes too, but mostly scary. They were never supposed to get to this point. They were supposed to have some good sex for awhile and then go their separate ways. They weren’t supposed to become friends, they weren’t supposed to have feelings for each other and they were certainly never supposed to fall in love. Not them, that’s not how they did things.
But she did love him. It was painful, frustrating, and all consuming at times but it was honest. Flaws and all, his and hers, she loved him. He didn’t say it much and wasn’t very good at expressing it, but she knew he loved her. Yet, even with all of that and everything they’d gone through wearing his ring felt surreal. This must have been how Wilson felt when she answered House’s door for the first time.
“We can’t tell Bree,” he said, breaking the intense silence.
“You don’t think she’d be happy?”
“It’s always been just the two of us,” he sat back down, rubbing at his thigh briefly. “Even if she’d be happy about this, until she moves out it’s going to stay just the two of us.”
She thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “You get to explain that to her when she does find out. I’m not taking the flack for this one.”
He scowled, “You’re okay with this? Hiding big, life changing decisions from my kid who trusts me implicitly?”
“House,” she shot him an annoyed glare, “You don’t think I know you by now? You wouldn’t have done this if you didn’t think I’d be okay with your conditions. If I wanted a guy who got down on one knee, I’d still be married to my ex.”
“Instead you’d rather marry someone like me.”
“No,” she went over and sat down next to him, “I’d rather marry you.”
“I’m not going to change.”
“I don’t want you to.”
He glanced at her, his guard down, letting her see all the things he couldn’t say. She saw the fear, right there in the forefront and under that just what this meant to him, what she meant to him. That’s why she didn’t need words, or romance. He would let her in like this, he’d let her see him.
She smiled, “You’re an ass.”
He dropped his head, chuckling slightly. It was her own way of telling him she loved him without having to say it. It was easier on the both of them.
“You’re an idiot,” he said then leaned over and kissed her softly. His own way of saying he loved her without having to say it.
“It’s a shame I can’t wear it now though,” she said when the kiss ended. “It’s perfect.”
“Sorry, next time I’ll get it wrong.”
“There won’t be a next time.”
“The divorce rate is higher than ever right now,” he pointed out. “And you’ve been divorced already. That ups your chances of having a second divorce…”
“You try to divorce me and I’ll kill you.” She cut him off, mostly kidding. Well, maybe only slightly kidding.
“You say the sweetest things.”
“Shut up.” She shoved at his shoulder, but he grabbed her wrist and dragged her closer. This time when he kissed her, it was harder, with more passion and need. She answered instantly with her own need, shifting to throw a leg over and straddle his lap. She knew it was coming before he even said it. The kiss turned just a bit more desperate and scared and his hands grabbed the back of her shirt just a bit tighter. He always had to build up his courage before he said it. She leaned in, coaxing and comforting with her lips and hands on his shoulders.
“I love you,” his voice was low, almost a whisper as if saying it like that wouldn’t ruin everything. Considering what had happened the first time she’d said it to him and who he was, she understood the wanting to be careful with the words. The honesty and rarity of them felt like a punch in the chest every time though, wonderfully painful and strong enough to make her heart skip a beat.
She took a second just the savor how that felt before she rested her forehead against his, staring into his eyes, “I love you too.”
She watched it hit him with the same power before he dragged her down into another desperate kiss and they celebrated their engagement in the most traditional manner.
Rating: PG
Characters: Lt. Connie Murphy, Dr. Greg House, mentions of Bree House.
Author's Note: After writing this snuggle fic for toomuchlikedad I started to think about how House would propose and why Murphy would say yes. And eventually, I came up with this. Based on Murphy's relationship with cant_have_any and posted with permission. Yay future!fic!
---
Murphy had her feet up on the side table and was leaning back in the chair when the door opened. Looking over her shoulder she smiled briefly at House and went back to her crossword.
“How’d the conference go?” she asked, jotting down a four letter word for blunt medieval weapon.
“Where’s Bree?” he countered.
“All day spa thing with Joanie. Apparently the hotel’s mud baths are to die for.” She set the crossword down, dropped her feet to the ground and turned to face him. “You don’t want to talk about your big presentation on that undead guy?”
“I didn’t go.” He tossed his light jacket over the back of an arm chair after pulling out his Vicodin bottle.
“What?” She got up, “What do you mean you didn’t go?”
“I didn’t go. Seems a pretty easy concept to grasp.”
“The whole reason we’re all here is because of this conference.”
“Actually, the whole reason I’m here was a vacation on the hospital’s dollar. Bree’s here because it’s Spring Break and you’re here because you like having regular sex with me. Hard to do that if you’re in New Jersey and I’m in New York.”
She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the table. She should have figured that out, actually. He hated anything he considered vaguely political in medicine. That he invited her along should have also been a clue that he didn’t plan to work at all while he was here. Maybe in another year she’d have him figured out. It had only taken her close to five to get where she was now.
“Cuddy’s going to kill you, you know.”
He shrugged. “You’ll avenge my death won’t you?”
“With appropriate dramatic dialogue and clothes ripping, but moving on…”
“No, I want to hear more about the clothes ripping.”
“What did you do for the last three hours if you weren’t at the conference?”
He fiddled with his Vicodin bottle for a second before shoving it into his pocket. He crossed to her and leaned in close. She raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for the usual sexual joke or come on. He did neither. Instead, he took something out of his other pocket and set it down on the table next to her before walking over to the bed. He sat down without a word, working his cane between his hands.
She frowned at him, slightly confused by his uncharacteristic behavior before looking down to see what he’d left behind. Shock froze her in place for a few seconds before she reached out and picked up what looked suspiciously like a ring box. She looked back at him, but he was looking at the cane between his hands, avoiding her gaze. Her heart racing with trepidation she flipped the box open with her thumb.
“God, House…”
A silver engagement ring winked at her from the black velvet. It was a simple ring, plain silver with a single small diamond set recessed into the band. He could have afforded something bigger, flashier but he had picked out exactly what suited her.
“Are you serious?”
“It’s a little late for an April Fool’s joke and early for a Halloween prank,” he glanced at her before looking down again. “If you’re looking for me to get down on one knee…”
“No. I know you better.”
Or she thought she had. Now, she wasn’t so sure. She was holding a ring he’d bought for her and trying to come to terms with the fact that he wanted to get married. He had struggled against every step in their relationship. Hell, it had only been a few months now that he’d finally gotten comfortable admitting it was a relationship and living with her. Now she was holding a ring in her hands. Why couldn’t she get a handle on him?
“Look, if you don’t want it, just forget about it.” He got up and started towards her to take the ring back.
“No,” she said, taking the ring out of the box. “It’s mine now.”
He stopped in his tracks and watched her, his expression guarded, as she slid the ring onto her finger. It was even a perfect fit. It was sometimes scary how well he knew her. Thrilling, sometimes too, but mostly scary. They were never supposed to get to this point. They were supposed to have some good sex for awhile and then go their separate ways. They weren’t supposed to become friends, they weren’t supposed to have feelings for each other and they were certainly never supposed to fall in love. Not them, that’s not how they did things.
But she did love him. It was painful, frustrating, and all consuming at times but it was honest. Flaws and all, his and hers, she loved him. He didn’t say it much and wasn’t very good at expressing it, but she knew he loved her. Yet, even with all of that and everything they’d gone through wearing his ring felt surreal. This must have been how Wilson felt when she answered House’s door for the first time.
“We can’t tell Bree,” he said, breaking the intense silence.
“You don’t think she’d be happy?”
“It’s always been just the two of us,” he sat back down, rubbing at his thigh briefly. “Even if she’d be happy about this, until she moves out it’s going to stay just the two of us.”
She thought about it for a second, then shrugged. “You get to explain that to her when she does find out. I’m not taking the flack for this one.”
He scowled, “You’re okay with this? Hiding big, life changing decisions from my kid who trusts me implicitly?”
“House,” she shot him an annoyed glare, “You don’t think I know you by now? You wouldn’t have done this if you didn’t think I’d be okay with your conditions. If I wanted a guy who got down on one knee, I’d still be married to my ex.”
“Instead you’d rather marry someone like me.”
“No,” she went over and sat down next to him, “I’d rather marry you.”
“I’m not going to change.”
“I don’t want you to.”
He glanced at her, his guard down, letting her see all the things he couldn’t say. She saw the fear, right there in the forefront and under that just what this meant to him, what she meant to him. That’s why she didn’t need words, or romance. He would let her in like this, he’d let her see him.
She smiled, “You’re an ass.”
He dropped his head, chuckling slightly. It was her own way of telling him she loved him without having to say it. It was easier on the both of them.
“You’re an idiot,” he said then leaned over and kissed her softly. His own way of saying he loved her without having to say it.
“It’s a shame I can’t wear it now though,” she said when the kiss ended. “It’s perfect.”
“Sorry, next time I’ll get it wrong.”
“There won’t be a next time.”
“The divorce rate is higher than ever right now,” he pointed out. “And you’ve been divorced already. That ups your chances of having a second divorce…”
“You try to divorce me and I’ll kill you.” She cut him off, mostly kidding. Well, maybe only slightly kidding.
“You say the sweetest things.”
“Shut up.” She shoved at his shoulder, but he grabbed her wrist and dragged her closer. This time when he kissed her, it was harder, with more passion and need. She answered instantly with her own need, shifting to throw a leg over and straddle his lap. She knew it was coming before he even said it. The kiss turned just a bit more desperate and scared and his hands grabbed the back of her shirt just a bit tighter. He always had to build up his courage before he said it. She leaned in, coaxing and comforting with her lips and hands on his shoulders.
“I love you,” his voice was low, almost a whisper as if saying it like that wouldn’t ruin everything. Considering what had happened the first time she’d said it to him and who he was, she understood the wanting to be careful with the words. The honesty and rarity of them felt like a punch in the chest every time though, wonderfully painful and strong enough to make her heart skip a beat.
She took a second just the savor how that felt before she rested her forehead against his, staring into his eyes, “I love you too.”
She watched it hit him with the same power before he dragged her down into another desperate kiss and they celebrated their engagement in the most traditional manner.