Hi everybody!

I wrote this one shot prompted by a very dear friend of mine who nagged me incessantly online until I caved and finally delivered… I know I have no will power! LOL

Anyway, she wanted me to imagine a sequel for "Small Sacrifices" and write something that would start the moment Cuddy shows at House's door – yeah, she's pretty specific in her demands… So well, I did what she asked and I also promised to instill some schtup in it but not only, because it's not just about sex, is it?.

As a result, I wrote this, where actually there will be a bit of schtup and more than a bit… plus some meaningful pillow talk, at least I hope you'll see it like that…

So, here it is. I hope you'll enjoy it.

This one shot is dedicated to Sophie. Blame her: she's the one responsible for it.

** A LEAP OF FAITH **

"God dammit Wilson! pleaaaase I told y…" House grunted and swung the door of his apartment open, but he instantly fell silent, mouth agape, as he came face to face with Cuddy standing at his threshold.

She shuffled about, and wriggled her shoulders slightly, smiling at him tentatively.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you. That's just me." She said with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

She bit her lips and House took an extra second to study her and drink in her gorgeous frame. An irrepressible gush of unfulfilled desire invaded his body flooding in his veins and making him shiver. He moved away from the door and let her in. She entered the apartment silently and started unbuttoning her coat. Without a word, he instinctively walked behind her and grabbed the lapels to help her slide it past her shoulders.

"Well, I guess I'll have to be content with it then!" He teased, walking to the closet and hanging the coat there.

Cuddy put her purse on the desk and walked to the couch. She dropped her shoes on the floor and sat, curling up comfortably and shifting her body to the side. House joined her and sat next to her, bending one leg underneath his lap, facing her. The need to touch her had already become too strong, so he extended his hand to grip her shoulder and dived almost right away to her face to kiss her; but as he came merely inches away from her lips, she imperceptibly draw back and gasped.

"Why did you think it was Wilson at your door? What about him?"

House closed his eyes and tilted his head back, heavily sighing in frustration.

"Noooo!" He groaned, "Do we really need to talk about Wilson now?"

She smiled.

"I don't know, probably not. But it looked like you were expecting him…" She had this innocent, albeit mesmerizing look of hers on her face, the one she usually had when she was acting as if she'd just asked an unimportant question but was clearly demanding it to be answered at the same time.

House frowned and stared at her, contemplating his options. He could either dismiss the problem, pretend nothing happened and risk her thinking he'd lied to her again, or he could explain, and pray for the discussion that would ensue to be brief so that they could move on to the part he'd been longing for since days.

"I was not expecting him. He showed up, not long before you arrived."

"What did he want?"

"Get drunk, lament, take root."

Cuddy tilted her head to the side and looked at him incredulously.

"Sam dumped him." House elaborated.

"What? Why?"

"Are we going to sit here all night and talk about Wilson's break-up instead of having sex?" House suddenly exclaimed, incapable of containing his irritation.

Cuddy widened her eyes and stared at him compellingly.

"OK, fine! But you are not going to like this conversation." House warned.

"Try me." She dared.

"Sam dumped Wilson because he was being too honest with her. The bitch didn't like it, so she left. End of story. There's nothing to add, nothing to do. Wilson's such a moron anyway. I told him he should have followed his own advice and…" House suddenly bit his lips and swallowed back his words, taking in a sharp breath.

"And what? What the hell are you talking about?" She gawked at him but he didn't say a word. "House, seriously…"

"Cuddyyyyyy" He whined theatrically, "can't we just grope each other now and start doing naughty things? I mean, isn't make up sex the purpose of reconciliation anyway?"

"I see. So that's the reason why you apologized? Because you wanted to have sex?" She shook her head, appalled.

"Not just have sex! Have sex with you!" He tried to cajole. She scowled and he rolled his eyes. "Come on! You make it sound like me apologizing was something insincere and Machiavellian…"

"And it wasn't?"

"Of course it wasn't! I didn't apologize to have sex! I mean yes, I did, in a way, but not just…" He stopped and sighed, feeling trapped. He leaned forward to come closer to her. Her lips were set and she was staring at him a bit challengingly, as if she was daring him to find a convincing way to get out of this. House seized her slender hand in his, delicately. "Cuddy," he said with a soft voice, and his thumb started to brush the silky skin of the back of her hand lightly. "I'm sorry. How many times do I need to say it?"

She stared at his hand stroking her hand with her head down for a moment then she lifted her enthralling eyes and pierced right through his with an intense gaze.

"You don't have to. I know what you did and I know why you did it."

House's eyebrows flew up and his fingers stopped their soft caressing movement on her hand.

"But this is a good thing, right?" He asked, his voice imperceptibly wobbling.

"You said Wilson should've followed his own advice, did you mean like, the one he probably gave you and that you chose to follow?"

"I don't get you." He removed his hand from her and straightened up intrigued.

"House, come on! You never wanted to apologize, did you?"

"But I did! I did apologize!"

She leaned forward, just faintly, and smiled fondly at him.

"I know. That's exactly what I'm saying. You didn't want to, but you apologized, even though you didn't believe what you told me."

"You're wrong," He denied with the energy of despair, "I believed… I said… I…"

She took his hand and interlaced her fingers with his.

"It's ok. It doesn't matter. I didn't believe it either."

"What? Are you telling me we're back to square one and my apologies didn't mean a thing?" His voice took on a slightly angry edge.

"No, on the contrary, I'm telling you your apologies meant a lot. I'm happy you told me what you told me."

"But, you just said I didn't believe in what I said."

"Yes, because you and I both know you're going to lie to me again, House."

He widened his eyes in shock and he stared at her astounded but at the same time almost entranced by the immense significance of her words. She knew; him and his white lies, but herself and her stubborn contradictions as well. There never was any disillusion in their deal, not any demand of unreasonable compromise between the two of them.

"All this time, you never really expected me to tell you I wouldn't lie to you again, did you?"

"I want you to respect me."

"I do. And I did, even when I had to lie to you, I wasn't being disrespectful to you."

Her eyes glistened in the smooth light of his living room. She slithered on the couch to come closer to him and heaved a deep, surrendering sigh.

"I know you can't promise me not to lie. But the fact that you said it anyway, means you thought you had to. That was you, giving me what I wanted to hear, selflessly, just to fix our dispute."

"Yeah, and how brilliant was that?" He said, waggling his eyebrows playfully, hiding the overwhelming feeling that was pervading him in that instant behind a joke.

"Very brilliant." She answered in a whisper, closing the distance between them. She lifted her hand slowly to his face and cupped his cheek in her palm, tenderly caressing his stubble. "Thank you, House" She carried on. "It means a lot to me that you could stop being stubborn about this and accept to see things from my point of view…"

"Yeah, must've been very gratifying indeed for your stubbornness!" He quipped.

Her mouth dropped open in astonishment but after a split second, she renounced to react to his remark and smiled instead.

They had made small sacrifices, to meet half way and be together again; to answer the urge of being reunited. There was no winner, no loser, just love evidence. And it was time to put it into practice.

"So we're good now?" He asked and she nodded silently. "Does that mean the talking part is over and we can finally move on to the next step?"

Her smile widened and without a warning, she suddenly jumped off the couch and started walking toward his kitchen.

"Absolutely!" She exclaimed, her voice filled with laughter.

He stood up and strode to catch up with her. At the threshold, just before she entered, he managed to seize her wrist and held her back.

"What are you doing?" He asked, yanking her in his arms and enclosing her in his embrace possessively.

"You said we could move on to the next step. That's what I'm doing."

He had his hands on the small on her back. He glided them lower to cover her ass cheeks and then pulled her against his hips assertively, making her very aware of the bulge that was there, conspicuous and hard.

"No. Cuz that, is the next step." He said, almost in a groan.

"I'm horny… no wait! I meant I'm hungry, hungry! Damn, that's what I meant!" She stuttered.

House burst into a spontaneous laughter and tightened his embrace ever so slightly.

"You so meant what you first said!"

"No, I meant I'm hungry."

"Ohh, I love your slips of the tongue… baby!" He leaned down to her neck and teasingly bit the tender flesh there.

She jumped and an involuntary moan squeezed in her throat.

"House, stop. I'm really hungry" she protested, so unconvincingly she sounded like she didn't even believe herself anymore already.

"Oh yes you are! But your brain has spoken for you: at least it knows how to prioritize your appetites properly..."

With that, he started to drag her with him in the hallway toward his bedroom. She resisted and tugged at his hand to yank him in the opposite direction. But it was just a game. There was no doubt about it. He saw it the second he turned around to look at her and she looked back at him with this tantalizing, playful, mind-blowing gaze of hers. He stopped pulling and took a step back in her direction: then he pushed her against the wall.

"You think you know what being hungry is" He blew into her ear, "Wait until I show you how I really feel."

She let out a throaty laugh and he licked her nape along the warm line of her carotid. With his hands, he searched for the hem of her purple top and jerked it out of her skirt impatiently. Immediately his fingers climbed underneath the cloth and claimed the territory of her midriff and hips with eagerness. Her breath speeded up very noticeably and she opened her mouth, panting. He took advantage of her losing it slightly to lift her off the wall and push her backward in his bedroom's direction again. This time she didn't even try to resist and stumbled there with him hurriedly. They were about to enter the room but he halted their progression at the doorstep for a brief moment.

"It's been more than a week since you and I have been together. How much longer do you really think you can make me wait?" He asked huskily.

"I don't know," she challenged, almost pushing herself over the edge of her own desire, "I thought you perfectly managed to deal with your sexual needs without me…"

His eyes widened at her sassiness and, his arms securely enfolding her petite frame against his body, he took the few steps that separated them from the foot of his bed. He stopped right there, standing by the brown leather bench.

"I've choked enough chickens already… Hell, I've probably choked the entire henhouse by now!" He told her. "And it can never measure up with that, you, and you know it, you bewitching sorceress!"

She smiled winningly at him and threw her head back. He dived into her cleavage and kissed her greedily, scraping his stubble against every exposed spot of her ivory skin, leaving red marks as proof of his manly, demanding craving. She cupped his jaws in her hands to lift him up to her face and they exchanged a burning gaze, not moving anymore, not kissing or stroking either, just intensely staring at each other and panting, awestruck. He saw the spark of victory in her eyes and it was more than he could take. Suddenly the lustful urgency of his desire became impossible to contain. Without a word of warning, he seized her by the waist and swung her around confidently so that she offered him her back and faced the foot of the bed. In a train of raw, demanding gestures, he seized the sides of her skirt next and hiked them up past her hips; then he compellingly pressed on the small of her back to make her bend over in front of him. She did and toppled forward a little, so she put her hands on bed frame not to fall. There, she was exactly like he wanted her to be.

"I've been thinking about doing that since I saw you in that red dress in your office the other day, leaning over your desk provokingly…"

"House…" She gasped.

"Don't say a word." He commanded.

He unceremoniously grabbed her panties and ripped them off of her restlessly. He knew he'd won when she didn't protest. With one hand he clasped her hip while at the same time he struggled to unbutton his jeans and unzip his fly. When he finally did, he hastily seized his hard, throbbing member in his hand and freed it out of his boxers. He brushed her slit and felt her wetness coat his fingers. She bucked her hips and arched her back and it left no doubt about the nature of her want anymore. She moaned eagerly and without wasting one more second he penetrated her, unhesitatingly, with a perfect firmness that caused them both to grunt simultaneously. She was tight and her inner walls clamped instantly around his hardness, imprisoning his member in a moistened heat that soon turned each one of his thrusts into a trip to heaven. He clawed at her flesh, increasing the power of his hammering shoves, pushing her forward and bringing her back against his groin, his hands forcefully griping her hips. She began to pant heavily underneath him and the vision of her arched, shaking, round bottom drove him totally crazy. He leaned forward to spoon her completely and wrapped his arms around her, circling her waist and stretching out the palms of his hands on her stomach.

"Cuddy… Cuddy…" He wheezed lustfully, the rhythm of his thrusts slowing down just a bit, while he was trying to catch his breath.

She shifted her weight on one arm and threw the other one behind her to seize his hip.

"Don't stop!" She demanded in a sigh, compellingly pushing her ass onto him harder.

With one mighty shove he indisputably let her know he had no intention to. Straightening up, he resumed his back and forth movements, harder, and faster, and in no time he knew he was about to lose it. He promptly slid his right hand around her hip and moved it down her slit. He felt her swollen clit, pulsating under his fingers and with his thumb he began to stroke it briskly, sending her over the edge with him in perfect synchronicity. She cried out his name and he came inside her, an incredible quiver running down his spine. The moment after, he grabbed her possessively by the waist and lowered her onto the bed where he collapsed on top of her, sweating and panting.

It took them several minutes to fully recover their senses during which, amazed and speechless, they remained clasped in each other embrace without saying a word. Then Cuddy started to wriggle under him and he propped himself up to allow her to roll to the side and free herself. She slithered to the edge of the bed and looked at him with a fulfilled beam.

"I'm gonna take a shower." She said.

She disappeared in the bathroom and he rolled on his back, looking at the ceiling and sighing blissfully. When he heard the sound of the water flowing, he sat up, got off the bed and left his bedroom to head to the kitchen.

# # # # #

A short while after, he heard the sound of her bare foot walking in the hallway and he turned around, just when she entered the room. She was wearing his bathrobe, her hair was wet and curly, and her beauty was absolutely breathtaking. He thought he could take her again, right there and then, and make love to her all night to catch up with the time they'd wasted because of their stubbornness and pride, but instead, he watched her come close to him and smiled at her, like a grateful child.

"What are you doing?" She asked with a sensual, throaty voice.

"I made that for you!" He answered, pointing toward the central counter where several covered plates were displayed.

She stared at him with her mouth agape, astonished.

"You cooked all that while I was under the shower?" She said incredulous.

"No, you silly! I made that before you arrived…"

"But earlier, I said I was hungry and…"

He flashed a roguish smile at her.

"I know. But I was hungry too… and that kind of hunger really couldn't wait."

She frowned reproachfully.

"Yeah. I think I got that." She pouted.

He widened his eyes and laughed.

"Oh come on! Don't try to fool me: you liked it just as much as I did!"

"Whatever!" She said and turned to the side, adorably trying to hide her flushed cheeks. "What's that?" she added, taking a peek at the plates on the counter.

"Antipasti. Wanna taste?"

"Sure! I'm starving."

He chose a poached quail egg stuffed with stewed tomatoes and brought it to her mouth, pushing it between her lips.

"Hmm." She moaned and tilted her head back a little when the delicate mix of savors spread inside her mouth.

"You like?"

"Yeah." She smiled.

He poured them both a glass of wine and she sat on the counter. He nested between her legs and they took a toast and drank, slowly, peering at each other in silent. House continued to pick up pieces of salted appetizers he'd cooked for her, feeding her with mini quiches and grilled peppers in olive oil marinade and taking pleasure in seeing her eat them gleefully. The plates were emptying, their glasses as well. They were feeling good, but good wasn't enough. House wanted to feel great.

"Do you have to go or are you staying over?" He suddenly asked, with a bit of worry in his voice.

"Why? Do you want me to go?"

"What do you think?" He dared.

"I don't know. You had sex, I had food. Do I really need to stay now that we're both fulfilled? She asked mischievously.

He shook his head, flabbergasted.

"I said it was antipasti, which merely can qualify as a whole meal. They're more like appetizers actually. Exactly as the sex was. Nothing like the real deal. So I'd say none of us is fulfilled just yet." He answered with a husky voice, somewhat stepping forward to come closer to her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I'm not saying the sex we just had wasn't good. Duh! cuz it was... but if you think that's all I'm interesting in, you're making a big mistake; you know that was just a raw outburst which lacked a lot… A lot of what I wanted to do to you and still do now…"

"Mhm, really?" She asked, biting her bottom lip tentatively, "Like what?"

He took the glass of wine she was holding from her hand and put it down on the counter next to her lap delicately. Then, he lifted his hands up and slid his long fingers in her hair, cupping her skull with his long palms.

"Like that." He whispered and he nuzzled her nape, leisurely kissing her behind the ear.

She took in a sharp breath and he rubbed her skin with his nose, filling his nostrils with her intoxicating body odor. She'd used his shower gel and she smelled a little like lemon and cedar oil but it was her scent, the very essence of her that he most recognized, almost instantly. God he'd missed that fragrance so much! Between the rubbings, he pressed soft kisses on her tender, velvety flesh down to the line of her collarbone.

"And… like that…" He repeated short of breath.

He removed his hands from her hair and put them down on her thighs, searching for her skin underneath the bathrobe. He grabbed the cloth and slowly spread the tails out. Then he stroked her, just brushing the length of her legs with his fingertips. His face was still buried in her neck and he sighed lustfully before lifting his head up to face her. She slightly opened her mouth and he stared down at her lips. She stretched her neck, bringing her face closer to his and he kissed her, softly, gently nibbling in the pulp of her lips.

"Or like that…" He blew into her mouth.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he put his hands on her waist to help her get off the counter, pulling her into him. She landed in his arms and they kept on kissing, more intensely, fighting for power with their tongues, sucking and nipping greedily. House drew apart and put his forehead on hers.

"Or like that?" She said in a gasp.

"So?" He asked with a low voice. "You haven't answered me yet."

"What?"

"Are you staying over?"

As an answer, she untied the bathrobe's belt knot and slid it off her shoulders, letting it fall offhandedly on the floor. Totally naked, incredibly comfortable with her body, she walked past him and out of the kitchen. His heart skipped a beat, winded by her beauty, as he admired her sashay away and he took a deep breath before following after her.

"I take that as a yes!" He said, walking behind her down the hallway to his bedroom.

# # # # #

She sprawled out on his bed and he undressed quickly, watching her lustfully, feeling overwhelmed by a second wave of desire already. But this time though, it was not just about having sex. He drank in her gorgeousness and was suddenly seized with an uncontrollable need to love her, attentively, passionately, carefully. He lied next to her and put his hand on her midriff, caressing her gently with his callous hand.

"You're beautiful." He whispered.

His hand slid from her abdomen higher to her chest and he cupped one of her breasts inside his palm.

"I don't want you to think I don't know you are or that I don't care." He leaned over and removed his hand from her breast to kiss her dark pink erect nipple and suck it in his mouth.

She moaned and arched up to meet his lips.

"I'm sure you do." She said, giggling.

He trailed a line of sensual kisses from her breast to the round shape of her shoulder, while his hands began to explore the lower part of her body, conquering the valley of her hips and the smoothness of her inner thighs. She held her breath and when he reached her sex, she squealed with delight. He felt all-powerful again. He removed his hand and propped himself up on one elbow to look at her.

"You know, I thought about you every night you forced me to spend away from you last week."

"I didn't force you…" She started to defend herself.

"No, you were subtler than that, you evil woman: you deprived me from the one thing you knew I couldn't live without." His hand was gently fondling her arm.

"Yeah, sex! How cunning was that?" She said smiling.

"I'm not talking about sex… I'm talking about you."

He fell silent and looked intensely into her eyes to study her reaction. She gaped, completely taken off guard by his confession, clearly incapable of finding anything adequate to answer. Smiling, he took advantage of this fleeting moment of surprise to position himself on top of her, spreading her legs open with his knee.

"However, of course, it's pretty obvious that I'm very much attached to the sex part too." He stated very solemnly, pushing his erection against her hips.

She burst into laughter and put her hands on his bottom, squeezing it possessively.

"Pretty obvious indeed!" She approved, and she pulled him into her.

He pushed his hard member inside of her slowly and adjusted his position until he found the right angle to penetrate her. When he filled her completely, she sighed and bent one leg, her foot pressing against his leg. She tilted her head back on the pillow and he stroked her hip, down her thigh and to the crook of her knee, then he leaned down to kiss her. His lips met her chin and he nibbled her teasingly to let her know he was there, claiming her mouth and waiting to taste her. She gave him her lips and they kissed, eyes wide open, staring at each other in awe. House rocked his hips back and forth without haste, taking his time to feel every inch of her heat envelop him. She arched the small of her back to meet his thrusts and they kept on swinging together, like entwined dancers, hypnotized by the same enthralling tempo.

"I missed you." House whispered into her ear and a long shiver ran down her spine.

She wound her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his hips and she surrendered to the power of their mutual desire. He slid his hand under her ass and hoisted her up changing the angle of his shoves, improving the depth of his penetrations and causing her to gasp loudly, faster and faster, as the rhythm of his hip sways began to increase gradually. He wanted to squash her against him, make her melt under his skin. He wanted her to become him, just as he was becoming her, feeling the power of her orgasm calling his. He enfolded her in his arms and held her tight, sheltering her petite frame underneath his strapping body, and he caressed her hair, her face, her thighs and her hips. And he kissed her shoulder, the hem of her plump breast, the crook of her neck. And he touched her, felt her, possessed her, entirely, shyly, demandingly and it made them lose the sense of reality completely, irrepressibly, and replaced it by dizzying, successive waves of pleasure, exploding inside them like fireworks and sending electric jolts through every parcel of their bodies. Panting, struggling to catch their breaths, they let the brimming flow of sensations subside, never letting go of each other's grip, and laughing, wonder-struck by the perfect symbiosis of their lovemaking.

Cuddy heaved a deep sigh of voluptuousness and stretched out in the bed like a cat stirring out of its slumber. House spread the sheets out and they slithered underneath, immediately huddling up together. She curled up in a ball, resting on her side and sliding her feet between his calves and, lying on his back, he wound one arm around her shoulders, pulling her close against him. She laid her hand on his chest and she absentmindedly drew small, ticklish circles with the tip of her fingers around his nipples and through his chest hair, while he softly caressed her back.

Long, quiet minutes of perfect fulfilling stillness passed by and Cuddy was almost drifting off, wrapped up in House's warmth and cradled by his delicate strokes.

"Did you call him Andy?" House's low voice suddenly broke the silence and the sound of it made Cuddy jumped in surprise.

Her hand on his chest froze almost instantly and her body stiffened along his.

"Wh… What?" She stammered.

"Andrew Tomkins. The guy you married; did you use to call him Andy?"

She puffed and straightened up a little to look at him.

"House, don't…" She tried to stop him.

"Why? I'm just curious, that's all. I'm not gonna lie to you now, am I? Cuz that's part of our deal, right? So truth is, I looked up in the University yearbook, but oddly, he doesn't appear anywhere. And now I'm intrigued cuz, he wasn't a student, was he?"

She bit her lips and a mingled expression of hurt and sorrow clouded her face over.

"No, he wasn't." She said, and she turned her back on him, rolling into a ball and lying opposite side to him in the bed.

House let the feeling of surprise sink in for a few seconds and then carefully came close to her and gently spooned her, laying a soft kiss on her shoulder. She shrank at first, but he didn't move and waited again until he felt her relax under his touch.

"Cuddy, I don't care that you were married before. I don't care that it probably was a huge mistake or that you'll look like a fool when you tell me who the guy was…"

"I'm not gonna tell you who he was…"

"Why? Because you're ashamed?"

"No, because it's pointless, and it means nothing."

He tugged at her arm a little to force her to roll on her back. She yielded and she turned around, meeting his questioning eyes. They stared at each other in silence for a while.

"1987. You were young. Very young." House finally said, "So what? You went to that party, got wasted and you met this mysterious guy there who looked like a bad boy… then in the middle of your drunken orgy, you decided to elope and got married, but you realized you'd done a huge mistake, and filed for divorce a few days after. Tsss! Big deal! People do that all the time! I would have done that myself a few times, I swear, if I didn't loathe weddings so much…"

"House! This is not a joke!" She snapped, "And… You're wrong. He was not a student, neither was he a bad guy or any kind of guy I'd have met in a party…"

"Ohh, I see."

"No, you don't."

"Let me try again then… So, you're almost 20, a Med student in this renowned university, destined to be a brilliant doctor… And you're pretty, very pretty I should say, since I had the unforgettable privilege to assess that stunning beauty myself a few months before…"

He saw tears well up in her eyes and she turned her head away as her whole body tensed again. Her emotional reaction started to baffle him and he looked at her puzzled and confused.

"Hey! That's ok…" He leaned down and laid a tender kiss on her temple, just under the hairline.

She gulped audibly and wriggled to find a better position to face him completely.

"In 1987, I'd quit Med-School, shortly after the end the first semester. You… I…" She closed her eyes and took a long wobbling voice.

"What?-" He started, but she put her finger on his lips to shush him.

"Please don't talk." She beseeched, "You wanted to know, so now don't interrupt me. Please."

He nodded and she removed her finger from his lips.

"When I enrolled Med-School, I was so self-confident, so sure I would succeed no matter what. I was going to make it and nothing and nobody would come in my way and stop me. I had unwavering faith in myself…"

She licked her bottom lip and raised her hand to his face, gently caressing him.

"And I met you…" House sucked in a sharp breath and opened his mouth but she silenced him with an intense stare. "I sure hadn't planned to... I mean I was… completely enraptured. I would never have admitted it to you though, should you have tortured me to confess but… I believed in you, in us. And…" She let her hand slide down from his face slowly, "You left."

Suddenly, looking her in the eyes while she was digging up a painful past he didn't know would affect him that much became almost too hard for him to bear, so he rolled on his back and lay in the bed, staring at the ceiling while she carried on with her confession.

"At first, it made me anger and bitter… and vindictive. Then, I lost interest. I lost faith. I hated people for not being even just half as interesting as you were. And I kept arguing with everybody… especially my mom who thought I was being a whimsical kid, rebelling without just cause only to ruin her life. Pff! Her life? as if I cared about her then… So I began to do stupid things... like quitting Med-School. To annoy her. To prove to myself I didn't care..."

She turned to the side to look at him but he was still obstinately staring at the ceiling, with his head tipped back on the pillow; and she could see his Adam's apple going up and down with each gulp. She glided closer and tentatively nuzzled his armpit, nudging at his side carefully to demand entrance in his arms. She rested her head on his chest and snuggled up against him leaving him no alternative. He swung his head to the side and glanced at her, then he wound his arm around her. She sighed and kissed him on his chest.

"Andrew was my father's financial advisor. He was 22 years older than me. I didn't love him but he, well, he was so obviously attracted to me. It was an easy way out… I married him because I knew my mother would hate it. I married him because I didn't want to be a doctor anymore. I married him because… It didn't matter anymore who I would marry…"

A heavy silence filled the room during which House didn't move a bit but only imperceptibly tightened his grasp on her shoulder and pressed her harder against him.

"Say something." She begged, uneasy.

"Mhm… I think I understand better now why your relationship with your mother is a bit complicated…" He said, and there was just this slight trace of banter in his tone.

"Yeah, you think I'm stupid. Say it!" She said sulkily.

"You, stupid? You're kiddin' me, right? You're the queen of wild, anti-conformist rebellion!"

"Very funny."

He squeezed her tight against him and let out a throaty laugh. Then he propped himself on his elbow and looked down at her with a tender gaze.

"So why only six days? Why not six months, or six years, if you really wanted to piss off your mom?"

She pouted and averted her eyes.

"Well, when she learned about our… wedding, my mother hired a lawyer and she threatened Andrew with fiscal procedures if he didn't file for divorce immediately…"

House puffed and made her look him in the eyes again.

"Oh My God!" He exclaimed gleefully, "He dumped you!"

"He didn't dump me!" She protested, "We both agreed it was a mistake and that it would be better anyway not to carry on with it…"

"You're my heroin!" He quipped. "Seriously..."

"Shut up, House!"

"So what happened next?" He asked her.

"Nothing. I went back to Michigan, enrolled Med-School again. I even persuaded the Dean to register me in second year, even though I hadn't completed my courses the year before. I passed all the exams, plus the ones I hadn't taken that year. And I passed them all brilliantly!" She held her chin up proudly and he smiled fondly at her.

"What made you decide to go back to Med-School in the end?"

She took a deep breath and put her hand on the side of his arm, enveloping his biceps with her slender fingers.

"I remembered one day you'd told me that when you really want to have something, you have to go get it, no matter how hard it is. And that, if you're lucky enough to know precisely what that thing you want is, then you have no right to give up. That you have to keep your faith…"

"Pfff, you sure I really said that?" He grunted uncomfortably.

She smiled and caressed the length of his arm softly.

"Yeah, I'm sure. You and I, we both wanted to be doctors. And there was nothing else more important than that, remember?"

He set his lips and peered intensely into her eyes.

"I realized that… even though I'd lost you, I had no right to give up. I had to carry on. Go get what I wanted… So I studied hard, real hard, and I never allowed myself to fail again, because I owed it to myself…"

He leaned down to her face, slowly and came just inches away from her lips, while his hand searched for her body under the sheets. He found her waist and he slid his habd lower to the round curve of her hip, digging his fingers into the tender flesh.

"I love you." He said huskily.

She heaved a deep sigh of relief and didn't even try to hide it.

"Kiss me." She demanded.

He took her mouth, tenderly, and he kissed her, languorously, nibbling her gently and thrusting his tongue between her teeth, licking the pulp of her lips. Her hands slid on his back and she started to caress him, stirring him into action again just with the power of her touch. Just before he dived into her and drowned himself in her lust, he stared at her glittering eyes and smiled.

"I promise to never let you marry me, even just to piss your mother off." He said.

And it made her laugh.

~ THE END ~

A/N

Faith, marriage, commitment, sacrifices… a lot of wonderful themes to explore and I hope you haven't found my take on them too inappropriate or unfitting…

Anyway, don't be shy, post your thoughts and let me know what you think!

Thank you! Happy holidays to you all! :)

Carpe Diem ~ maya