Reality

A/N: This must be what heaven is like. Thank you David Shore, thank you producers, thank you writers. Hugh Laurie, once again I profess my undying love.

This is an exploration of the Huddy relationship, set the morning after the S6 finale.

Disclaiming. Disclaimed.

He stared at the woman lying beside him, beams of morning light stealing through the blinds and tangling themselves through the soft curls framing her face. It felt strange to have a woman in his bed beside him, after all these years alone. It felt even more surreal to have it be Cuddy. He must be living in some wonderful dream.

This impression was further strengthened by the sounds of gurgling coming through the baby monitor beside the bed. The woman beside him opened her blue-grey eyes, eyes that never fail to stun him every single time. "Morning," she smiled.

"Morning," he said. The words falling from his lips sounded like it belonged to a stranger. How many times had he wanted to say it to her, in a context like this? But reality had never worked this way. Reality was supposed to be harsh, cold and cruel.

A soft kiss on the lips, and she was gone, padding across the room. "Wait," he said.

She turned back, a quizzical look on her face.

"I love you," he said. He was afraid if he didn't say it, she'd be gone forever. He needed something to pin her down.

He was rewarded with a radiant smile. "I love you too. Go shower."

.

As hot water pounded on his tired muscles and made his wounds sting anew, events of the previous night played in his mind like a movie reel. Her shouting at him, telling him he was alone. Hannah's lifeless form. Broken mirror. Insidious little white pills. Pain. These things were his reality. No matter how bad, how unbearable it became, he could always count on it being real.

And then she arrived like a saving angel, and his reality was shattered into pieces. He felt like a dying man in the desert who came upon an oasis, who, even as the cool water reached his burning lips, was still not sure if it was all just a mirage.

.

She returned as he stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his midriff. "Let me rebandage your shoulder," she said. He obediently stayed still as her soft hands worked quickly.

"Where's the kid?" he asked, examining her face in the mirror.

"Busy tossing Cheerios on the floor," she said, keeping her eyes on his shoulder.

He knew she was trying to figure out how to explain his presence and Lucas's absence to the little girl. Kids didn't take well to sudden changes. The gravity of it all hit him. He could not screw this up. Cuddy's kid deserved a stable childhood with a stable paternal figure. A year ago, the enormity of the responsibility would've sent him running for the hills. But now things are different. Cuddy had saved his life; the least he could do is to try for her.

"How's your pain?" she asked him.

"Manageable," he replied. Ibuprofen and happiness worked better than Vicodin ever could.

When Cuddy had ascertained that House was presentable, they went out together into the kitchen. The kid was kicking on a highchair and had upended the bowl of Cheerios, almost all of it scattered on the floor.

"Oh, Rach," Cuddy said. She went over to the little girl and picked her up. "Not hungry, are you?" She turned towards House. "Rachel, this is House."

Rachel looked at him curiously.

"Hi, kid," House said awkwardly.

"Say hi, Rach."

The little girl tucked into her mother. "Hi," she said shyly. She looked up at Cuddy. "Where Lucas?"

House saw guilt pass over Cuddy's face. Lucas had babysat Rachel often. She liked him. She was going to be upset when told that he was gone.

Cuddy had evidently opted to postphone the moment of revelation. "He's working." It was probably a frequently used excuse.

The doorbell rang. Cuddy went off to let Marina in. When she came back into the kitchen with her, her cheeks were slightly flushed but she was business-like. "Marina, this is Dr. House." She turned to him. "I'm going to shower and get dressed. There are some bagels in the pantry, and juice in the fridge. Get ready to leave soon." Then she handed Rachel off to Marina, effectively silencing any of the nanny's questions. House had to admire her nerve.

.

They were both in the car, on their way to Princeton-Plaincebro. House had rather enjoyed his breakfast, making himself completely at home and the nanny darting suspicious looks at him now and then.

"I hadn't told Marina about the engagement," Cuddy spoke quietly as she drove. "I was going to, yesterday, but the accident call came and I had no time."

House nodded.

"I'll explain it to her tonight," she continued determinedly.

He nodded again.

"What?" She said, catching his look of amusement in the review mirror.

"Nothing," he said, catching her free hand and squeezed it, relishing the feel of the absence of a ring.

.

Cuddy parked in her reserved spot, right in front of the hospital entrance. "Wow," House said. "It's even closer than my cripple one. No fair."

Cuddy surreptitiously scanned the parking lot through her mirrors. "Are we ready to do this?" she asked.

Last night, there had been no way she was going to leave him alone in his apartment after what had happened. But she had to go back to her child. It felt natural asking him to go home with her. She kind of knew then that they'd have to face this problem this morning, but it hadn't mattered at the time.

When the hospital found out that the Dean of Medicine had ditched her fiancé overnight for the cranky Head of Diagnostics, the uproar was going to be bigger than when Cameron left Chase.

She noticed House sitting back in his seat, completely relaxed and smirking at her paranoid behaviour. "What?" she asked, irritated. Of course he wasn't concerned. He wasn't above shouting that they'd had sex from the mezzanine balcony.

"The hospital is going to be swamped from yesterday's accident," he replied calmly. "I don't think anyone's going to notice if you and I happened to arrive at the same time. 'Course, it's a lot earlier than when I usually come to work, so I'm completely fine with hanging out somewhere else for a while." He raised an eyebrow.

She breathed. Of course he was right. "No," she smirked back at him. "You're going to be on time for once." She grew serious. "Is it okay if we break it to them slowly?" she asked.

"As long as I get to tell Wilson," House said.

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