[A park in New Jersey, away from Princeton]

Sunlight bounced off of Cuddy's bare shoulder as she lounged in her sundress. House was lying down on the blanket on the grass, his button-up shirt discarded. His worn blue t-shirt and jeans contrasted with the red and white checkered pattern of the blanket beneath him. His stomach rose and fell with his breath as he quietly dozed. Cuddy watched him for a while and then placed her left hand gently on his stomach.

House squinted one eye open and looked at her. Cuddy rubbed her hand over his stomach.

"House," she said.

"Mmm?" House grunted, still half asleep.

Cuddy continued to rub his stomach slowly and then stopped, resting her hand firmly against him.

"We can't keep doing this."

"Doing what?" House said, opening both eyes.

Cuddy looked down into his eyes, which looked sky blue in the sunlight.

"This. Sneaking off for a weekend here and there, pretending that this is okay. We can't keep…We can't keep fucking all our worries away."

House looked at her for a moment, and then sat up, bringing Cuddy's hand to the center of his chest. He looked at her intensely for a second, then, as if changing his mind, he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"I thought all our fucking was mutually beneficial. It helps you relax, and it reminds me of why I put up with your annoying existence as hospital administrator."

"It does not help me relax. Well, okay, maybe it does. But only when we're together. When we're apart and back at work, away from your apartment, away from one of our getaways, I feel…I feel anxious. I feel like I'm being a bad mother to Rachel."

"Are you neglecting her?"

"No, but not telling her that I'm seeing you again makes me feel like I'm being dishonest with her, like I'm lying to her."

"She's three years old. I don't think she's gonna know or care that you're lying to her."

Cuddy sighed. "Maybe, but I'm setting a bad example just the same."

"Cuddy," House said, putting his hand over her hand, which still rested on his chest. He kissed her softly on the lips. "You know how I feel," he said against her lips.

Cuddy sighed and laughed lightly, but a little bitterly as well. "Hard, most of the time?" she said sarcastically.

House smiled with his lips and bit her lower lip gently, as if teasingly punishing her for her remark. He pulled away.

"Can we have this conversation after this weekend is over?" House asked, half playful and half serious.

Cuddy looked at him, running her eyes over his face. She reached down and laced her fingers with his. She kissed him softly, closing her eyes.

"Yes."

[A cabin near the park]

House had Cuddy gently up against the wall, kissing her languidly. Cuddy responded to his kisses, angling her head and tasting him with her tongue as he tasted her with his. He was kissing her like he was tasting her for the first time, not with his usual bruising strength, but soft kisses laced with little slips of the tongue that made her feel lightheaded and cherished.

He brought his lips to her neck as Cuddy closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the wall and sighed. House brought his lips back to hers and palmed her left breast in his hand, while he ran his fingers through her dark hair with his other hand. Cuddy slipped her tongue into his mouth and kissed him more deeply.

"I want you," House said, pulling away and kissing her temple, her cheeks, everywhere on her face. "Do you want me?"

Cuddy threw her arms around his neck and drew him closer to her, kissing him hard instead of answering him.

House came up for air after a while and nuzzled her, his nose moving gently against hers as his mouth hovered above hers. "Do you want me, Cuddy?" he breathed again.

Cuddy closed the distance between them and pressed her lips against his.

"I want you," she whispered against his lips. "I want you," she repeated, biting his lips gently.

House kissed her full on the mouth as he drew her arms from around his neck and placed them gently above her head, against the wall behind her. He kept them there with one hand while he placed the other on the small of her back, tugging her toward him so that her mid section and groin rested tight against his pelvis. He continued to kiss her as he ground gently into her, knowing that Cuddy could feel his growing erection. Cuddy whimpered slightly as she began to grind back into his pelvis. House licked her lips once before letting Cuddy go suddenly, looking into her eyes as he undid the belt and zipper on his jeans, pushing his pants and boxers down and away from him. He kicked away the clothes from his feet. He kissed Cuddy again as he backed her up firmly against the wall, encouraging her to spread her legs as he brought his hands under her dress and placed them on either side of her hips, right at her pantyline. He started to kiss her neck as he tore open her panties, him knowing that the thin material would rip easily, her not caring in her haze that House had ruined another set of underwear. House dipped his fingers right into her folds as he kissed her, getting harder as he felt her wet and tight against him. He moved his hands away from her folds and placed them behind, on her bottom. He bent his knees and lifted her off the ground, positioning her against the wall so that the head of his erection rested against her entrance. He shoved upwards into her, hard. Cuddy's breath hitched, and then she moaned softly.

Afterwards, when it was over, House's sweaty forehead rested against Cuddy's collarbone. He was still inside her, as they both stayed in position for a while, feeling the throbbing between them subside gradually. House took some deep breaths and then carefully pulled out of her, bringing her feet back onto the ground.

"Are you okay?" he asked, touching the back of her head.

"I think the question is, are you okay," Cuddy said, smiling, but they both knew what she wasn't adding onto the question.

House never discussed how much Vicodin he was exactly taking with her, and she never pressed him about how much we was taking ever since they had started this after their breakup. Whatever this was. House figured, as long as it doesn't interfere with their sex life, why bother talking about it.

He knew, though, that it bothered Cuddy. He could see it in the lingering way she sometimes gazed at the slight bulge in his jacket pocket, as if she were trying to x-ray how many pills he had left, how many he had taken without her knowing. He wouldn't admit it to her, but he sometimes wondered why she let him keep getting prescriptions for Vicodin. She had shut down all prescriptions for him at PPTH, but she could have easily notified pharmacies around the city to prevent him from getting his hands on it elsewhere, too. He wondered, but he never asked. If she wasn't going to ask or stop him, he wasn't going to answer or stop.

"Oh, I think I'm good," House said, arching an eyebrow. "In fact, I'd say I was pretty damn near awesome judging from all the moaning and gasping that I just heard."

"Shut up," Cuddy said, laughing as she helped him dress and then smoothed her dress back into place on her body. She eyed him quietly.

"We have to pack."

House nodded. "I know." He ran a hand down her back before walking towards the bedroom for his suitcase. Cuddy watched his limping gait as he walked away.