Haha, I am the cliffhanger QUEEN! *holds up Microsoft Word* And this is my minion! ._. Sorry, I had a moment there.

Cuddy didn't arrive home until late that night. She figured she'd spent an hour or two with the door locked, simply crying over the death of her daughter.

As she opened the door, she found Lucas sitting on the couch with a still little girl in his arms. He still didn't seem too depressed. She began to wonder if Lucas was putting on an act. Why would he do that? House would even show more sympathy than this. Maybe.

"Hey," Lucas said softly, looking down at Rachel.

She didn't reply. She simply walked over and scooped the girl up in her arms, tears blinding her eyes at the sight of her limp form.

"Lucas, do you mind.. leaving for a while? I need to be alone." She asked quietly.

"No problem," he stated simply, rising to his feet and giving Cuddy an absent kiss on the head before retreating out the door.

She sighed and sat down on the couch, gazing down at Rachel, her blue-gray eyes distant.

"When did she..?" Asked a voice that she knew all too well.

Cuddy gasped in surprise and shot her gaze up to the speaking figure, to find only House standing there.

"House, what are you doing here? How did you get in?" She snapped, her angry voice tinged with sadness.

"That's not important," he replied with a small shrug, limping over to sit next to her on the couch.

Cuddy sniffled. "I'd say it's kind of important…" She stated.

"If I was stalking you, I'd do it at the hospital. It's so much easier there." He replied.

"What are you doing here?" She demanded in a softer tone than she meant it to be.

"I thought you could use a friend. Sorry, you'll have to settle for me." He gazed at Rachel with a frown.

That earned the tiniest humored chuckle from Cuddy. "I really do suck as a mother. You were right, House." Cuddy sighed.

"You don't suck as a mother." He replied, looking up at her.

"If I didn't suck as a mother, I wouldn't have let her die," she snapped in reply. "Besides, you told me that yourself."

"You were just being overprotective. It's normal. And I took that back, remember? There was this whole…" He trailed off.

"If I had just let you look at her she might be alive right now. Yes, I remember. You don't need to go into detail." She replied.

"But she also might have had a worse death. You were right not to let me see her; I might have killed her. It's true." He argued.

She simply sighed and let another tear fall from her eye before looking up to hook her gaze onto his. "Thank you, House." She replied softly.

To his surprise, Cuddy leant up to give him a soft kiss on the lips.

Unfortunately, Lucas was standing there and had seen nothing but the kiss.

"Lisa, what are you doing?" He basically growled.

She pulled away automatically to look at Lucas. "Lucas.. I didn't hear you come in. What did you see of that..?" She asked.

"Enough of it. This is nothing but what I've always expected." He explained, glaring at House.

"Lucas, look, it was nothing." House spoke up.

It was Cuddy's turn to speak. "It was a thank you, Lucas. He actually wanted to help me, unlike you, who only dealt with Rachel to get closer to me." She stated firmly.

Lucas sighed. "You're right, Lisa. Honestly, I never liked kids. Sorry. But I guess you've found someone who does. So, goodbye." He turned and left with those words.

While House was a little amused at the 'someone who likes kids' comment, he was more worried about Cuddy; not that he'd show it much.

Cuddy was staring after him in disbelief. "What a jerk." She muttered, but the anger on her face was soon taken over by sadness as she looked back down at the dead little girl in her arms.

"You'll have more chances to become a mother." House tried incredibly hard not to make a prostitute joke out of those words.

"I don't know if I can handle another child, House. I can't handle losing another." Tears streaked softly down her face.

"Who says you're going to lose it?" He asked.

"House, this is the way my luck works. I'm not meant to be a mother." She argued.

"You see the way you're grieving over Rachel right now? The way you care about her? That's what it takes to be a mother. You care and you'd sacrifice yourself to save her. You're definitely mother material." He told her.

She didn't see any point in arguing any more. "Thanks, House." She thanked again.

He simply nodded, feeling a bit awkward actually being nice to someone for once, and wrapped his arm around her casually.

She looked up at him, but didn't hit him as she would've a few hours ago. He'd actually let his human side show for a brief moment, and that was all she ever wanted from him.