Disclaimer: House MD isn't mine nor ever will be mine. I just like playing with the characters.

Welcome back, this is the sequel to Amour Vincit Omnia. We are going to continue the trek of House and Cuddy as they have started their lives together. Hope y'all enjoy this story as much as the other one.

The Ultimate Bet

Cuddy moaned as her body woke up and she rolled over hoping to run into a warm body but was instead greeted by a cold emptiness. She opened her eyes and inwardly sighed. On any other day he would lay in bed all day if she didn't pry him out of it, but today he was up and nowhere to be found. With a sigh she climbed out of bed and put on her robe. Rachel was already up and trying to open the refrigerator.

Over a year had gone by and Rachel was walking, talking, and requiring all of her attention to keep track of her. "Honey, wait and I'll help you." Rachel stepped back and Cuddy got a look at what her daughter was wearing. "Who helped you dress?"

"House."

"Do you know where he went?" All she got was a head shake. "Did he say anything to you that you weren't supposed to tell me?" Rachel looked at the floor and turned to walk away. "Hold on there." Cuddy grabbed her daughter picking her up and setting her on her hip. "You're getting big. So, let's play the guessing game okay?" The toddler smiled and nodded brightly. "Okay. Did he leave the house?" Rachel nodded. "Did he leave in the loud truck?" Again a positive nod. "Was he alone?" This time Rachel shook her head. "Uncle James?" Rachel giggled and nodded. "Can I get any hints here?"

Rachel laughed. "That's not the game."

"You're right. Okay, I give up. How about some breakfast?" She asked and got an excited reaction from her daughter.

House maneuvered his truck into the driveway and parked it. He took several deep breaths. Wilson looked over at his friend. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Of course I do. I'm so sick and tired of climbing in and out of this thing. Besides, you know how I am." House climbed out.

"Yes, yes I do." Wilson replied and climbed out himself.

"Doctor House." And well-dressed man approached them. "I see you didn't waste any time."

"Are you kidding?"

Wilson looked around at the various cars at the dealership. "You've already made up your mind."

"This way please." The man escorted them to his desk. "Okay, with the thirty thousand down payment and order processing, and we've agreed to give you thirty for the Avalanche on trade in, that leaves you with a balance of five thousand two hundred fifty two dollars remaining. How would you like to cover that?"

"Check." House responded simply as Wilson sat next to him in udder shock. "What?"

"What did you buy for sixty five thousand dollars? Does Cuddy know?" Wilson questioned his friend's sanity once again.

"Pffft, of course she doesn't know. Why would I tell my girlfriend I'm buying a sports car?" House smiled and continued writing the check.

"Fast bikes and fast cars, why am I not surprised?" Wilson sat back as House finished signing the paperwork.

"Okay, she's been all cleaned up. Right this way." The sales man escorted them to a separate area of the garage. "There she is."

"Oh…my…God!" Both Wilson and House spoke at once.

House walked slowly up to the car as Wilson stood back and shook his head. "You're so dead."

"How can she not appreciate this? It's Camaro ZL1! This baby will do 200mph!" House explained.

"Yes, because that's so comforting." Wilson spoke sarcastically.

House opened the door and eased inside. His breathing was shallow as his hands slowly moved over the suede leather interior. "I love you." He said to the car. Wilson eventually moved to sit in the passenger seat. "She's amazing."

"You act like you just had an orgasm."

"I think I did." He said while smiling at his friend. Wilson rolled his eyes. House reached down and turned the key. The engine roared to life. "I'm gonna need a cigarette."

"Jesus…" Wilson shook his head.

House put the car into gear and released the emergency break. He eased out of the shop and parking lot, but once he was on open ground he stomped on it. Wilson was screaming at him to slow down but House was smiling ecstatically having too much fun. He raced the car down the streets until they reached the edge of town and he pushed the car harder. Wilson took deep breaths and tried not to panic or picture them trapped in twisted metal.

After several hours of cruising the back roads of New Jersey, House and Wilson eventually pulled up into the garage and parked next to Cuddy's BMW. House killed the engine but both men remained sitting in the car. His hands ran over the steering wheel as if he was petting the car. "So, how are you going to tell her?"

"I'm not thinking about that just yet." House responded.

Suddenly the door to the house opened and Cuddy stepped into the garage. Her mouth fell open at the sight before her. Wilson didn't waste any time and bailed out of the car and ran towards his car leaving his friend behind. "What in the hell is this?"

House climbed out. "It's a car."

"I can see that, but it's the type of car that has me shocked." She stepped towards the hood.

"That's such a lie. You're just pissed because I didn't tell you about it first." He shut the door and stepped closer to her.

"House, if we're going to keep this relationship going then we need to inform each other of big decisions. And this is a big decision." She pointed to the car.

"What about your car?" He countered.

Cuddy scoffed. "I only traded for one with less miles, not going all out and getting a…a…what is this?

"What is this?" House asked sarcastically. "This, this is the new Camaro ZL1. This is like the pinnacle of muscle cars!" She didn't respond to his comment and now it was his turn for his mouth to hang open.

She shook her head. "How much?"

"With or without a trade in?"

"House!"

"About sixty five."

"Sixty five thousand dollars!"

"Now hold on there pookie. I traded the truck, sold the gangster Vette leaving only five grand left." He tried to explain.

Cuddy covered her mouth in astonishment. "I still can't believe you made this big of a decision without my input."

"I already knew your input without asking and I wanted the car, so I just cut out the middle man." He held his ground and watched her body language.

She crossed her arms. Her mouth opened as if she was going to speak but Cuddy knew her concern would fall on deaf ears. So, she turned and walked back into the house shutting the door behind her leaving him standing alone in the garage.

He waited a moment before following her into the house. The instant his cane echoed on the hardwood floor Rachel hopped off the couch and ran towards him. House hung his cane on the door knob and managed to scoop her up before she crashed into him. "Did you keep the secret?" Rachel nodded her head. House held up right right hand and she gave him a high five. "Yeah."

Cuddy noticed the interaction between them and smiled. "Thanks for corrupting my daughter." She watched as he shrugged before picking up his cane and limping off towards the living room with Rachel. It was the one thing that she was thankful for. She never would have guessed in a million years that House would have ever accepted Rachel and she him, but in the past year they had formed a bond between them.

They had lunch together and sat in the living room watching television. House sat in the corner of the couch while Cuddy was lying with her head in his lap and Rachel sleeping on her abdomen. Occasionally a snore would escape House and as the two of them slept Cuddy even felt the pull of exhaustion.

An hour had passed before a strange noise filled the air. Cuddy opened her eyes and glanced over at the table. She noticed House's cell phone vibrating across the wooden surface near his leg. "House, your phone's ringing." He grunted softly ignoring her. "House." She poked his side causing him to move away from her as much as he could. "House, answer your phone."

"It's Saturday."

"You're a doctor."

"That's what ER's are for. Now leave me be woman." He settled deeper into the cushions as his phone went silent. "See, they decided 911 would answer quicker than me." Seconds later the phone began vibrating again. Cuddy reached over and managed to get ahold of the phone. He took it from her hands and answered without looking at the screen. "What?"

"You have a patient." Cameron announced.

"Correction, 'you' have a patient that you want me to look at."

"Yes, you're right."

"Well, unless you can't read a calendar, it's Saturday. I don't work on Saturday."

"Today you do." Cameron responded shortly and hung up on him.

House growled and tossed his phone on the table. "You break that phone and I'm not buying you a new one." Cuddy said. "Going to the hospital?"

"Nope." She tilted her head back and looked up at him. He could feel her stare and without looking at her he spoke. "What?"

"If you have a patient…"

"I don't have a patient."

"House." Her voice sounded sweet and innocent as she pleaded. "It's not like we're doing anything."

"I don't know about you but I'm sleeping."

She softly laughed and managed to sit up without waking her daughter. "Go." She stood cradling her sleeping toddler. "Call me if you're not coming home please."

Cuddy walked back to Rachel's room as House stretched and stood up. He pocketed his phone and slipped into his leather jacket before stepping out to the garage. The bike started easily as he pushed the automatic door opener. He slid his helmet on and eased out of the garage, but once he was on the street he sped off.

And we're off to a decent start. You know I like reviews and have quite a bit of this story in the can so I should keep caught up.

TDCSI