A/N: We're baaaaaack. Did you miss us? We missed you, which is why we're posting this before the story is finished, but don't worry. It will have an ending. In the meantime, just sit back and chill :) This is a long one :)

And now for the formal garbage...

Disclaimer: Hughville and I don't own House or its characters. They belong to FOX. The other characters are ours, though. That is all.

Chapter One

The faint swish of a scrub brush against the floor was all she could hear. No bird song, neighborhood noises or traffic sounds intruded. The small, two bedroom house sat far back from the road in an empty field. The nearest neighbor was over a mile away.

"One more week," Ella Rogan thought as she scrubbed the kitchen floor. Unbeknownst to her husband Alec, she had been planning her escape for months. She had plenty of cash stored away in a shoe box hidden in her vegetable garden, as well as a Swiss bank account which held a healthy sum from an inheritance, and, more importantly, a plan.

Simply leaving Alec and filing for divorce wouldn't be enough. She needed to disappear so no one would think to look for her. She absolutely couldn't take a chance with that part of the plan.

When she first met Alec, he was charming, loving, and kind. His single-minded pursuit of her was flattering and within a matter of months they were married. However, a few months into the marriage, he began to mock and belittle her. He soon shut her off from all her family and friends and forced her to quit her job as a doctor, sell her beloved car and funneling all her money into his own bank account. He claimed it was for tax purposes and it would save them money. After all, he was the husband, and told her she didn't need to worry about such things, because he would take care of her. She soon found out that his brand of "taking care of her" was beating her into compliance.

The first time it happened she called the police. When they came out to investigate, Alec convinced them she fell. Since he was a Lieutenant on the police force, she soon learned they would do nothing to help her. Nobody questioned or stood up to Alec Rogan. He was the boss; at the precinct and at home.

A year went by, and then several before Ella realized that if she didn't get away from Alec, he'd kill her. While there were times she wished he would, she began to devise a plan. She knew from listening to Alec brag about his work that she needed an emergency cash fund that would be impossible to trace. After taking small amounts of cash from his wallet every so often, and getting cash back at the store when she'd buy the groceries, she soon had enough to make her escape.

Alec didn't know about the inheritance from her great aunt, Jessie. Ella hid the letter informing her of her beloved aunt's death and the large sum of money she left Ella. Aunt Jessie suspected something was off with Alec from the day she met him. Oh, how Ella wished she heeded her aunt's warnings! At the time, she was blinded by Alec's affections and attentiveness. Ella was under no illusions about her looks and personality. A man as powerful and charismatic as Alec never even glanced her way. She always wondered what he saw in her. She was average height with brown hair and brown eyes and she wore glasses that made her look owlish. She was also shy and quiet so most men overlooked her, but she somehow caught Alec's eye.

Now she realized he somehow knew he could control her. He sensed her low self esteem and desire to please people and took advantage of it.

Ella finished cleaning the kitchen and moved on to the living room. Alec would inspect the entire house when he came home. If there was even one small thing not to his liking, he would punish her, and his punishments were horrible. However, he was smart about it, and any bruises he inflicted on her were never visible and could always be covered up by clothing.

XXXX

"I have to leave on an undercover mission on Monday ," Alec told her as they ate dinner.

She could barely control her excitement but she merely looked at him. Finally! She'd be free of him and able to put the final touches on her escape plan.

"Oh? How long will you be away?" she asked as she pasted a frown on her face, but inside, her mind was racing.

"A month, maybe more."

"Oh, that sounds like it's going to be intense."

Alec scoffed. "Like you would know anything about what I do."

"I watch TV," she said, eyes cast downward.

"What I do and what you see on TV are not the same. Seriously Ella, you can't believe any of that shit you see on those true crime shows you watch. I don't get DNA results within an hour."

"I know," she nodded. "But it's still dangerous."

"It's what I do," he said as he puffed his chest out a little. "And I'm damn good at it. I'm the reason why the good citizens of Colorado Springs sleep well at night."

"I know. You're very good at your job." Just like I was at mine, she thought, sullenly.

"That's right. Anyway, like I was saying, I don't know how long I'm going to be away, so I asked Holly to stay and keep you company. She needs a break from that fawning pussy she married."

It suddenly felt like she was on a carousel spinning out of control and she closed her eyes. Alec's sister, Holly, was an entitled, spoiled brat who enjoyed nothing more than bullying Ella. Holly knew all Ella's weak spots and she took pleasure in poking at them with a sharp stick.

"What?" he demanded. "Is there a problem?"

"I can cope just fine on my own," she mumbled. "Holly doesn't need to come here."

"Well she is, so I don't want to hear another word about it. Someone needs to keep an eye on you so you don't do something stupid like burn the fucking house down." He looked at her suspiciously and Ella felt her heart begin to pound. "Don't you like Holly?"

Ella shrugged but kept her eyes downcast. He was baiting her, giving her a reason to talk back so he'd have an excuse to hit her. It was a game he liked to play and she wasn't going to engage. "She doesn't seem to like me."

"Of course she doesn't. She's beautiful, smart and can have any man she wants, unlike you. So you best be nice to her because if you're not, I'll hear about it."

"I'll bet," she mumbled. And what are you going to do then? Leave your sooooo important undercover mission to come and beat some sense into me? she thought to herself. Suddenly, Alec gripped her chin and jerked her head up so she was forced to look at him.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"What did you say?" he growled as he stood and loomed over her.

"Nothing."

She knew he didn't believe her, but he released her. "Clean this mess up. Holly will be here in the morning so clean up the guest room too. It's bad enough I have to live in filth. She shouldn't have to."

"Okay," she said as she got up and started to gather up the dirty plates. She knew what was coming later and she tried not to think about it. Sex with Alec was rough and painful; nothing like she read about in books. Of course she had no one to compare him to. She was a virgin on her wedding night and hadn't been with anyone but Alec. Still, she knew there had to be more to sex and lovemaking than the five minutes Alec believed it to be.

Starting on the dishes, she didn't have time to dwell on it. She took her time cleaning the guest bedroom and changed the sheets before she heard him calling her to bed.

Sighing, she resigned herself to sleeping with the enemy. It wouldn't be for much longer.

"Get undressed and get into bed," he ordered as he sat in bed and watched her. She quickly undressed and then he was on her. "Come on, Ella...get excited at least..."

Hard to get excited when there's no time to get excited, she thought as he rubbed his half-erect cock against her thigh like a dog in heat while he roughly caressed her breasts.

He started panting as he kept thrusting and came all over her leg. "Unnghh damnit!"

"It's okay," she said as she reached for some tissues.

"Oh fuck off," he snapped as he rolled away from her. "If you were sexier, then I'd be able to get harder. Why don't you make an effort? When Holly gets here she can give you some tips. She's never had any problem getting a man excited. Even if they are all pussies."

Ella was tempted to know how he knew that but she didn't dare ask. She wasn't sure she wanted to know.

XXX

In Princeton, New Jersey, Greg House sat on his couch, sipping a tumbler of scotch as he mulled over the events of the past couple of weeks. His ankle still ached from the tripwire the other day. Why Cuddy chose to even put one in the doorway of his office was a mystery, but she so loved her torments. She didn't need a reason to do most of the things she did, she did them because she could. The same went for putting Out of Order signs on the elevators so he'd have to take the stairs. Of course, taking his cane was probably the worst thing she did. He finally found it in a supply closet on the second floor. It was agony trying to walk until he found it, especially since she removed anything that he could use as a cane.

Their relationship started out with flirty banter. At least he thought it was flirty until Wilson commented that she seemed to be verbally abusing House. After the trip wire, Wilson finally went to the board of directors at the hospital with a long list of her abusiveness and reported Cuddy. After an investigation, they fired her and refused to give her a letter of recommendation. They wanted House to press criminal charges but he wasn't sure. Cuddy called him when they fired her and told him how much she loved him. When would he find someone to love him again? Cuddy was right. She did him a favor by hiring him and dating him because no one else wanted a miserable old cripple. Finally, WIlson convinced him and he pressed charges. He heard nothing more from Cuddy and figured she was in jail.

The phone rang and he considered ignoring it. When he heard Wilson's voice on the answering machine, he picked up the phone.

"What?" he asked. "I'm trying to get drunk."

"Well, don't," Wilson told him. "Get out of your apartment. Cuddy was seen buying jerry cans full of gasoline. The police think she may be coming after you. They're sending a cop over to wait at your place. You need to come out the back. I'm waiting for you."

"Seriously? She's a little high strung but she's not homicidal."

A knock sounded at the door and House slowly got up to answer it.

"Doctor House," the man said as he flashed his badge. "I'm Detective Frye. You need to leave. Now. Your friend is waiting out back for you."

House frowned. "Seriously?"

"Doctor Cuddy is on her way over here."

"Yeah, that's the word on the street. So now that you're here to protect me, I can stay."

Frye pushed past him and grabbed House's jacket and cane that were by the door. "Seriously, Dr. House. We have to go. Now."

House shrugged, took the cane and walked with Frye down the hallway to the back exit where Wilson was waiting for him. Frye got into his own car and they peeled away from the curb just as the perimeter of the apartment building went up in flames.