The work week felt endless. Foreman hated getting sucked into House's games, but no matter what he did, House had anticipated him, making him play a part whether he wanted to or not. And the last thing Foreman needed was to have Chase point that out to him.

On Thursday night, when the case was winding down, his father called and asked if he wasn't coming home for dinner. Foreman had to check a calendar before he realized he'd worked right through Thanksgiving. He'd had to apologize, endure his father's disappointed silence which seemed to line up every holiday he'd missed in a row and accuse him of not caring, and then promise to be there for Christmas dinner, whether "that boss of his" was on one of his tears or not. Foreman grimaced, infinitely relieved that no matter what was going on between him and House, House wouldn't be interested in showing up in Trenton on Christmas Eve to join his family, not even to screw with Foreman's head.