Hi everyone!

So… it's quite a surprise, at least for me, but here I am, back with a new story! Well, not really that "new" to be honest because, as it turns out, this story was lying, forgotten, in a dusty corner of my computer since AGES…. And when I say ages, I don't mean since last week. Actually, I'd started to write this story in Dec. 2009, which if you remember was just before the Christmas hiatus of season 6. Episode 6x10, "Wilson" had just aired. I had a very precise idea of what I wanted to do with it by the time, so I'd started writing it. The beginning of the first chapter was done, pretty fast, then I'd skipped all the less exciting, yet necessary, parts in between (which I had in my head anyway) to write the House/Cuddy tension coz it's the core of this fic. So, even though I had a big chunk of it ready, I couldn't post it since all I seemed to be able to write was everything at the end and not the rest of it! Ugh…

Anayway, Dec 2009… Lucas, if you remember, was still very much around. But I'd found a way to get rid of him…. Hehe. ;P

Then, as always, especially with me - those of you who read my other stories know how useless I am as a writer… *sigh* - time passed by. And I found myself writing "His Last Chance" first - *insert shameless plug here* :D - instead of continuing that one, then I posted for IYLM in priority, and so before I knew it, BAM! Season 6 was finished and "Help Me" aired.

I'm not pretending that what I had in mind for that story was anywhere near what "Help Me" offered us but, somehow, some key plots of my story were quite similar (and big ones…) so I thought there was no point at all anymore for me to try to propose a story that would follow a "similar" pattern after that. And I let it lie.

And then, more time passed and recently, I thought, WTH? Why would I bother? I usually hate, truly hate, when my timing sucks so bad that what I wanted to write happens, somehow, in the show but now, the show is over. What happened, happened and I realized it was stupid to leave something that I once found exciting just because the script of the show took a similar direction. Of course, if ONLY I had posted that one in December or even, just sometime in the next few months instead of being lazy, that'd have made me prouder… for sure. Coz, well, you'll see why, but damn… ;P

Anyway, lovely people, I hope you'll still like this story. GOOD NEWS is, unlike what I usually make you endure, this time I FINISHED the story before I decided to post it! Which means, you won't have to wait for weeks *cough* months *cough* to have it complete… That's a good thing, right?

And don't forget: it's season 6, post "Wilson," so Lucas is still there, BUT like all of my stories anyway, this is a HOUSE/CUDDY fanfiction. There'll be FOUR chapters. The first one has a small Huddy bit in it but focuses mostly on other things… But the rest of the fic is, I promise, 100% House/Cuddy… So hang in there!

And, if you want to leave me a little sign on your way out after you read, you're VERY welcome. Yes, very…

Also, when I first started to write this fic I'd promised a dear friend of mine that I'd do it for her. So, this fic is dedicated to Leesa…

Disclaimer: I don't own the show House. Duh. I only borrowed its original characters.

** REDEEM ME **

Chapter 1

"I don't understand why you're not angrier. I mean Jesus, Lise, they stole your dream!"

Cuddy slowly turned around, and leaning back against her kitchen counter, she smiled softly.

"That's kind of an overstatement, don't you think?" she said gently. "Don't get me wrong, I loved that loft, just as much as you did. But there're plenty of other condos out there… and we're not homeless," she added with a slight pout.

It'd been a few weeks actually, since Lucas had suddenly gotten obsessed with the idea of them moving in together into a new place and she was having mixed feelings about it. Of course it was great, to have him, to have a man, who cared; who wasn't afraid of assuming the responsibility of a child that was not his own. Yet, no matter how hard she would try to convince herself that the dream was just perfect, she still couldn't suppress the feeling of oddity that was oppressing her, and creating that lump in her throat sometimes.

She had a house; one that she'd bought herself, back to the time when she was alone. It meant something to her. She loved her house. She loved her garden, and her porch outside the front door. She loved the memories she had in that place. Rachel, for example, had spent her first night there. It meant something! And she'd also made her first steps, right in that kitchen, on an afternoon, not so long ago, when she'd spotted Lisa with a cookie in her hand and, not even realizing it, had gotten up and then stumbled a few inches just to grab the biscuit, before falling into her stunned mother's arms with a proud giggle.

Rachel. Her daughter was unquestionably her priority. So many things had changed in her life since her. Cuddy would never be able to express how grateful she was for whatever higher power or fateful irony had made that little girl cross her way. And now, she couldn't even begin to imagine how it would feel not to have her in her life anymore.

She remembered all too well how excruciating the pain of losing Joy had been; and how unexpected and confusing the consolation price had been too… He, showing up at her door, looking almost as much as a mess as she was herself. He, with this unforgettable panicked gaze, just before he'd leaned down to her face. He, giving her that passionate and incomprehensible kiss, almost with the energy of despair… Just before he'd left her there, crazed, forever changed and wondering…

"Hey! Where are you?" Lucas's voice asked, jolting her out of her mind numbness.

He'd come closer, without her noticing it and he grabbed her by the waist, pulling her into his arms. She stiffened, almost unnoticeably and then squirmed a little inside his embrace. Her eyes briefly met Lucas' inquiring gaze and she felt unmasked, as if she feared that her face could betray her thoughts.

But still, why would she? Why did she have to be so uncomfortable and guilty each time her mind drifted away and brought memories of him back in her mind? It meant nothing anyway, didn't it?

She wiggled to set herself free from Lucas' embrace and stepped away, laughing coyly to hide her embarrassment.

"I'm here, with you," she answered, a little breathlessly.

"Yes, I know but still, we could be in the loft right now if they hadn't-"

"Please, Lucas. Can we stop talking about this?" she pleaded, with a tired smile.

Lucas got close again and enfolded her in her arms.

"What are you ready to do in exchange for me not talking about it anymore?" he asked, with a teasing edge to his voice.

She started to giggle, as he determinedly pushed her out of the kitchen, and towards the bedroom, but half way along the hallway, she made him stop. Lucas straightened up and scrutinized her with a quizzical stare.

"I just put Rachel to bed," she explained.

"And?" Lucas answered, not buying her excuse and pushing her again.

Cuddy let him lead her to the bedroom but, deep within her, it was impossible not to register the slight reluctance she was feeling, almost in spite of herself. The few, rushed minutes it lasted didn't soothe her like she wanted to be, and right afterwards, she fell asleep, frustrated and with a feeling of odd uneasiness inside of her that she couldn't really define, or maybe refused to acknowledge…

#####

At first, Cuddy had felt a little bit angry about the loft, but she'd soon moved on and she really wanted Lucas to do the same. Somehow, even if it had annoyed her, more out of principle than anything else to be honest, she wasn't that excited about the idea of moving into a fancy place downtown, where she'd have lost her garden to the benefit of some hipster place she had never craved for real to begin with. Yet, the following days, Lucas had kept finding pretexts to mention it to her, always wanting to push her to admit that she should feel upset about something that, in truth, had become a secondary matter to her. It'd begun to unnerve her. She'd kept trying to reassure him about them not needing any loft of any sort just to be together but he would insist all the same, saying how infuriating it was to be "dispossessed" of something that was meant to belong to her.

Dispossessed. That's the word Lucas had used and it'd felt out of line to her. She couldn't understand what this obsession of his really was about and she'd started to feel uncomfortable whenever he would start bringing the subject up when they were together. She wanted her life to be quiet and simple and she didn't need that kind of stress at all. Not at all.

One evening, Lucas and she were in the living room, watching TV while Rachel was already asleep. She was lying on the couch, his arm around her shoulder and she was drifting into sleep, the movie they were watching another one of those teenagers' blockbusters Lucas was fond of but which didn't appeal to her.

"Just you know, I heard Wilson has moved into the loft," he suddenly said, out of the blue.

She stiffened in his arm, already bracing herself for another unpleasant conversation.

"Oh, really?" she said, trying to sound interested but visibly miserably failing to hide her annoyance.

Lucas straightened up to face her, heedless of the fact that it forced her to shift abruptly from her previous position to sit up as well. Cuddy sighed heavily hoping he'd make him notice, but he didn't even pay attention and frowned at her disapprovingly.

"Don't you feel at least a little bit upset about it?" he said, reproachfully.

"Why would I? It's done. There's nothing much we can do right now. Plus, moving in seems like the next logical step after buying a new place, don't you think? Why should it be a surprise?"

She sounded almost like a mother reassuring a pouting child to her ears and there was nothing she hated more than that. The last thing she wanted was to have to deal with Lucas' moody temper, when what she really needed in her life was a man who would take care of her, and her needs.

"But Lisa, come on. You wanted that loft-"

"Lucas, please, we've had that conversation, like, a million times already. I know you're upset. And I'm upset too-"

"Don't seem that upset to me."

"Maybe not as upset as you are but, that's because it's the reasonable thing to do. We'll find another place. There're plenty of apartments on sale. Some of which are lofts. Maybe even better than that one, who knows?" she said with a smile, trying to sound optimistic.

"Alright. Yeah, you're right," he caved, with a grumble. "You're just too conciliatory, you know. That's what angers me the most. It's like you didn't even care about losing that loft."

"I did," she cooed again. She raised her hand and caressed his cheek gently. Lucas smiled, appeased by her gesture.

He extended his arm again and she repositioned herself in his embrace, returning her attention towards the TV screen and inwardly sighing in relief that the conversation was finally over.

"House is moving there too, apparently," Lucas added after a few minutes. His tone was somewhat daring, even though it was obvious he wanted to make it sound offhand.

"Oh," she said, hoping he wouldn't register the surprise in her voice. "How do you know that?"

There was a beat, during which she felt Lucas' face slowly tilting down to look at her.

"I'm a P.I, remember?"

She swallowed, somewhat feeling uncomfortable, and lifted her face to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, I know that," she said smiling, "but… why is it relevant here? You're not investigating them, are you?"

"No, not investigating, just gathering information here and there," he said, sticking out his chest proudly.

Cuddy inhaled slowly, feeling a bit confused.

"So how did you do?" she asked casually, not wanting to let her interest show through too much.

"I hung out with that Aussie guy in the doctor lounge yesterday. We chatted a bit."

"Chase?"

"Yeah, the blond one."

"Oh," she said again, shifting ever so slightly inside his arm. "And, err… what did he say?"

"About what?" Lucas said, intrigued by her sudden curiosity.

"About, I don't know, about the whole thing."

"Thing?"

"Yeah, did House tell him he was moving there?" she clarified, instantly realizing that she was being stupidly too specific for Lucas not to notice.

And indeed, he did. He straightened up again and looked at her with a puzzled gaze.

"What's with you suddenly caring about that?" he asked, suspiciously.

"I'm not," she defended herself, maybe a bit too quickly. She blushed, in spite of herself, and lowered her gaze. "You're the one talking about it, I'm just… making conversation," she improvised, grabbing hold of herself again.

"I mentioned Wilson moving there earlier and you told me to forget about it. And now that I'm saying House is moving in too, suddenly you're interested in knowing all the details?"

She sighed, perfectly knowing where this was going and wanting really hard to avoid it as much as she could. Even she didn't really know what rational explanation she would give him. Yes, that was true. She didn't care about Wilson moving in. But, hearing that House was going to live there was different. She needed to know more about it, about him. She just couldn't help it. It was… different.

"I don't understand, Lisa," Lucas told her, his voice getting angrier. "I thought you and I agreed that House doesn't deserve your attention-"

"I know," she said apologetically, "I'm just… concerned about him."

"Why? He made your life miserable! Think about that time when he screamed embarrassing things from that balcony, in front of all your staff-"

"He was not himself then, you know that," she said, finding herself somehow defending House's side.

Lucas puffed, annoyed.

"So what? You're excusing him?"

"It's just not that simple," she elaborated, as the awful memory of that time when House had lost it in front of her came back unwanted in her mind. "House is one of my best assets. As the Dean of Medicine, it's my duty to make sure he gets better."

"And, you sure there's nothing else?" Lucas dared her.

Cuddy bit her lips, uneasy. Nothing else? Was there really no other reason why she would worry about him? She briefly closed her eyes to chase the topic out of her mind. She couldn't let her thoughts wander there. She was with Lucas now. She'd made a choice. House was no good for her. No good…

She propped herself up on her elbows and smiled seductively at Lucas, even adding an extra little pout to it to sell it for him once and for all.

"There's nothing else," she purred, and slid her hand on his thigh, wandering her slender fingers up distractively. "You sure you want to watch the end of that movie?" she asked, mischievously.

Lucas made a face, faking to be contemplating her offer seriously, but then laughed and grabbed the remote control, turning the TV off.

"No!" he said, cheerful again.

He stood up swiftly and grabbed her hand, walking out of the living room with her, feeling, in a way, childishly victorious about the whole situation. After all, he was the one taking her to her bedroom, not House.

#####

A few days went by. House was avoiding Cuddy in an almost painfully conspicuous way. On the very rare occasions when she got to talk to him, either in his office or somewhere in the hospital's hallways – he never came to her office anymore – their conversations were always short, professional and lifeless. He was being distant, only filling her in on the necessary details required by the case he was dealing with at the time. There was no deliberate provocation from him anymore, no teasing, no banter, no nothing. He was being just like another doctor, doing his job and leaving her alone most of the times. She knew she was the one who'd asked him to do exactly that but, she couldn't help but miss it somehow, miss him. She had demanded him to stay away from her but as he docilely did, she found herself missing his attention.

One evening, she was standing in the clinic at the nurse counter and she spotted him in the lobby, just outside the glass door. He had his jacket on, his backpack hung on his shoulder and he was filling some papers, leaning against the entry desk. She gave a quick instruction to her assistant, handed her some files and promptly walked out of the clinic to join him. He didn't notice her, or perfectly pretended he didn't, as she approached him slowly and stood awkwardly next to him.

"Hey," she said.

He jolted his head to the side, startled by her presence then sent her a cold look, but didn't answer, quickly returning to his papers instead.

"How are you?" she asked tentatively.

"Fine." He grumbled, without looking at her.

She touched his arms to force him to acknowledge her and stop avoiding her gaze. He turned abruptly to face her and glanced at her hand before returning to her eyes, sending her a glare. She promptly removed her hand from his arm, the casual gesture she'd done a million times before suddenly feeling horribly unseemly because of the way he'd just looked at her, a mix of hurt and anger.

"I'm done here," he snapped, "if you need anything, just go ask my team."

She bit her lips and played with a strand of her hair to hide her discomfort.

"So, you're moving in with Wilson?" she asked.

He sighed heavily, visibly annoyed and set his lips, as he studied her face with a look of pain.

"You'll find another place," he said bitterly.

"That's not what I'm saying," she started cautiously, reaching for his arm again. "House, I… err, I just hope things go well, for you… I mean-"

He puffed and looked away. Something towards the main door caught his attention and he stiffened under her touch then promptly gathered the paper inside the file before leaning over the desk to place it inside a compartment with patients' folders underneath the counter. Cuddy turned her head to the side in the direction where House had just glanced a second before and she saw Lucas entering the hospital lobby. She moved her hand away from him and House grabbed his cane then strode away without a comment. Cuddy watched him walk towards the exit door and pass by Lucas hurriedly.

"Hey House!" Lucas greeted him cheerfully.

"Hi," House answered through gritted teeth, without looking at him.

He conspicuously speeded up his pace before Lucas would say anything else and hurried out of the hospital with an accentuated limp, due to the effort he was making to walk faster.

Lucas approached Cuddy, who was still looking in House's direction, without even being aware of it. He startled her when he put his hand on her shoulder.

"Hi babe!" he said, pulling her to him.

She smiled, quickly shaking herself back to reality and let him peck her on the lips.

"Hi," she answered, trying to sound cheerful.

"What were you two talking about?" Lucas asked her, nonchalantly, wrapping his arms around her shoulders possessively and walking her back to her office proudly.

"Nothing. Just a patient," she lied.

"Go get your stuff, I'm taking you home," Lucas said, changing the subject. "I have a surprise for you."

"Really?" Cuddy said, as new-found enthusiasm lit up her face with a smile.

"Yeah, come on!" he prompted.

#####

It had all happened so fast...

They were having dinner, a nice, perfectly quiet evening with no drama, just like she needed. Her mother had taken Rachel for the night, thanks to Lucas who had arranged everything so that they'd be just the two of them. He'd cooked for her. Nothing extraordinary but something elaborated enough to make it look like a special occasion. A nice surprise, indeed, just like he'd promised her. There were candles on the table and crystal glasses. They'd eaten, exchanging gossips and meaningless anecdotes about their days. Cuddy had drunk some wine, not much, but enough to unwind her. She was beginning to forget about the odd, mixed feelings she'd had earlier with House at the hospital. It was all good. Lucas was smiling, confidently, taking care of everything. That's exactly what she needed. Not to have anything to do. Just relax, for once, and forget about her daily problems.

Around dessert, just completely out of nowhere, Lucas had stood up and, walking to the light switch, he'd turned the lights off, plunging the room in the dark except for the few candles on the table. Taken off guard, Cuddy had giggled, amused by all that sudden ceremonial over what she thought was just another dinner.

And then, Lucas had put his hand inside his pocket and retrieved a small, square, velvety box out of it…

And now, she was standing outside the loft's doorstep, nervous, but weirdly excited, like she hadn't felt in a long time. She closed her eyes briefly to gather up some courage and then knocked on the door.

"Wow! Took you less time than I th-"

Wilson froze upon seeing her, and instantly fell silent.

"Excuse me?" Cuddy said, confused about Wilson had just said.

"Err, nothing, I thought it was House…" Wilson mumbled as an explanation. "Cuddy, just let me say this: if you're here about the loft, I'm sorry it happened but you should know House has nothing to do with it. I swear. I'm the one who bought it, not-"

"House isn't here?" she cut him short, sounding disappointed.

"No. He's not here," Wilson confirmed, his tone upset. "What do you want from him?"

"I need to talk to him."

"It's…" he quickly glanced at his watch, "almost ten. Why would you need to talk to him now?"

"That's none of your business," she dismissed with a resolute tone.

Wilson glared at her, in a way that meant she wouldn't get away with it that way.

"It's important," she amended, without giving further details.

"Have you tried his cell?"

"No, I need to talk to him in person."

"At ten in the evening?" Wilson exclaimed. "What has he done this time?"

"Nothing."

"Then, if he's done nothing wrong, why can't it wait until tomorrow? It's been a rough time for him lately, in case you haven't noticed…"

"I know," Cuddy said, with her head low.

"And seeing you doesn't exactly make him feel better," Wilson went on, his voice reproachful.

Cuddy felt piqued in her pride and she straightened up, challenging Wilson with a glare.

"He hasn't exactly made my life better either," she defended herself.

Wilson huffed, stunned by her nerves.

"You actually dare to compare your life to what he's going through?"

Cuddy bit her bottom lip and sent him a guilty look.

"Wilson, I really need to talk to him."

"I'm not sure it'll do him any good," he replied, as if he were thinking out loud. "All you seem to cause him lately is more misery, each time you approach him. Cuddy, I'm sorry, but you really should cut him some slack, right now. Just go back to your boyfriend-"

Cuddy shook her head 'no' and looked down at her feet, suddenly looking like a lost, grounded child. Wilson couldn't miss that look. He frowned, intrigued.

"What do you mean 'no'?" he asked, cautiously.

Cuddy inhaled deeply and her lower lip started to tremble slightly. She tilted her head to the side and stared at the oncologist with sorry eyes. Wilson's jaw dropped in astonishment but he found himself unable to say a word.

"He's at his old apartment, packing stuff before he moves in here," he finally said after a beat.

Relief instantly spread on Cuddy's face.

"Thank you," she said before hastily turning on her heels and rushing away into the hallway.

"Hey, Cuddy!" Wilson called back. She stopped and turned around, reluctantly, as she obviously didn't want to waste any more time just being there. "House is my friend," he warned. "I don't want him to get hurt any more than he already is."

The two doctors stared at each other for a while longer and Cuddy imperceptibly nodded to acknowledge Wilson's concern.

"Are you really sure of what you're doing?" Wilson asked, skeptically.

"No!" Cuddy exclaimed in return, and she disappeared from sight.

A/N

Next chapter will be up very soon. Maybe tomorrow... depends on how much you want it! ;P

Oh, and for those of you who read IYLM, I just wanted to say, I haven't abandonned that story. But, as I feel awfully guilty, in hindsight, for being that disappointing, posting with SO MUCH TIME in between my chapters, I've decided I would start to post again when I'll have written it all. The end isn't far away anyway, so it means it won't require hundreds of chapters to get there... just some more time, if you bear with me...

Thank you for reading, have a nice day! ~ maya