In Vitro Equals Love

Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I own nothing House M.D.

Okay, here is the NEW Chapter Two. Sorry it took so long to get up, and complete, but life has been pretty crazy for me. So, here it is. Enjoy. And I'm working on Chapter Three, since I have a week off, so just bear with me. Oh, and review, please review!

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"Gregory House?" The doctor asks. House nods. "Come this way." The doctor says, and leads him to a room. He then proceeds to go through the procedure of usual questions. "Basically, seeing as you are a healthy male, we just need your sperm sample."

"Okay." House says.

"Just leave the sample in here when you're done." The doctor says, and exits, leaving House alone. He comes out fifteen minutes later and goes to work.

A few hours later….Cuddy is in her office, when her phone rings.

"Hello?"

Talking on the other line….

"Yes, thank you." She says, and hangs up. She stands up and goes to find House. He's standing at the nurses' station.

"House, step into my office please." Cuddy calls. He goes in.

"What is it, Cuddy?"

"The sample has been given." She says.

"That's great."

"Yeah, and I think I will go and get the injection this Friday."

"Really, that soon, it is Wednesday."

"Yeah, I'm not getting any younger. And since I'm….right now, might as well not wait."

"Yeah, I guess not. Well, I should get back to my patient."

"Yeah, okay. Bye, House."

"Bye Cuddy." He says, and leaves.

Friday…..

"House."

"Cuddy. Have you gone?"

"Yeah, just came back. Now, I'll just wait a month to find out."

"Are you nervous?"

"Well, yeah, but also hoping that it works."

"I bet. Cuddy, if you ever need anything, if it does work, let me know."

"Thanks, House, a lot." She says, and walks into her office.

A month later…House comes into Cuddy's office…..

"Good morning, Dr. Cuddy." He says, and glances in her trashcan.

"Only ate half of your breakfast? Felt kind of sick this morning?" He asked, grinning evilly.

"Well, in truth, yes, House." She said, looking up at him.

"Have you taken a test yet?"

"No."

"You should."

"I don't want to take a store-bought test. They can be wrong. And I have nobody to do the ultrasound."

"Do you want me to?" He asked.

"You would do that?"

"Yeah, I would."

"Okay. Well, let's do it now, before your ducklings come in."

"Okay." They walk out of her office together, and into an exam room. He sets up an ultrasound while she lies on her back on an exam table.

"Okay. Lift up your shirt."

"Okay." She says. He spreads the gel on, and turns on the machine.

"Congratulations, Cuddy. You're pregnant." He says, showing her the photo. She smiles. He wipes the gel off her abdomen and she rolls down her shirt.

"That's great. Thanks, House."

"You're welcome." He grunts and walks out.

"I will never understand that man." She whispers to herself, and goes back to her office.

A month later….Cuddy calls him…..

"Y'ello? Ken's Kentucky Fried Chicken. May I take your order?" He says into the phone.

"Do you always answer the phone that way?" Cuddy asks.

"Just for people I know."

"Oh. Well, can you come over?" Then, there is a sound of plastic hitting the floor. Cuddy had dropped the phone.

"Sure." He said, and hung up. He was over at her place in ten minutes. The front door was unlocked, so he went in, but locked it behind him. He walked towards where the bathroom is, and rapped on the doorframe with his cane. She looked up and weakly smiled, then was bent over the toilet again. He limped in and sat down next to her.

"It'll pass, Cuddy. It'll pass." He whispers. He sees what hell this is for her, so he starts slowly rubbing her back. A little while later, she sits up, flushes the toilet, and leans back, breathing heavily.

"Thanks for coming, House."

"No problem. I said I would help, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did. So, thanks."

"You're welcome. Better now?"

"Yeah, much better, thanks." There's an awkward silence between them, during which, while the other isn't looking, they steel glances. Finally, House speaks up.

"Look, Cuddy. I know we've worked together, even gone to school together, for a long time…." He says.

"House, stop, I know what you're going to say. And I feel the same way." She says, moving closer to him.

"You do?"

"Yes, now, House, before you say anything else-" She says, putting her hand up to stop him from speaking. "Kiss me." She finishes. He grins, and leans in. She leans in too. Their lips touch, and it's like a spark went off. In a split second, they are wrapped in each others arms, kissing fiercely. They both struggle up, kissing at the same time. They make their way to her bed, clothes flying off. They get beneath the covers, and make love for hours.

A few days later, Cameron is standing at the nurses' station, when a man in full army camouflage approaches her.

"Excuse me?" The man says.

"Yes?" Cameron says, turning to him.

"Do you know where I may find Gregory House?"

"Yes, I am one of his team. I will take you to him."

"Thank you. And you must be Cameron. The devoted and intelligent female duckling." The man says. Cameron just smiles. She goes into the conference room.

"House, there is a man here to see you." Cameron says. House turns around.

"Mike, is that really you?" House says, smiling, limping quickly over to him.

"Yeah, Greg, it is." He says, wrapping House into a tight and masculine hug.

"Thanks, Cameron." House says, as soon as they have stopped hugging. She nods and leaves.

"So, Greg, where is this "fabulous woman" you keep talking about? You in love, seriously, are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am. She's the one I think I will spend the rest of my life with." He says, smiling.

"Well, let's go and meet her." Mike says.

"Okay. Damn, Mike, it's so great to see you."

"You too, Greg, its been so long." Mike says, while they are walking. They are now outside Lisa's office. House opens the door and goes in.

"Hey Lisa, this is Mike." House says, walking over to her and kissing her hair.

"Hello Mike." Lisa says, smiling at Mike and standing up. She goes over and shakes his hand with a firm but warm grip.

"Greg, you were right. She is beautiful and has a great handshake." Mike says, grinning. "I'm his brother." Mike adds.

"Oh, that Mike. I've only heard good things." Lisa says, smiling.

"That's good to hear." Mike says. "So, Lisa, what do you know about hockey?"

"Mike, do you have to quiz her now?" House asks, rolling his eyes.

"Greg, it's okay." Lisa says. "Gretzky is the greatest player of all time, number ninety-nine. It is a more brutal game than football. Football is just a bunch of idiots running up and down a field, whereas hockey actually has some meat to it."

"I like this woman, a lot, Greg. She knows the truth about hockey, and it's not just a bunch of men or woman beating the shit out of each other." Mike says.

"You're right about that." House says. "Let's all go out for a drink."

"Okay." And they do, and have a great time. Lisa goes home later, and Greg and Mike sit on Greg's couch with some beers.

"So, Greg…."

"Yeah, Mike?"

"She's the one?"

"Yes."

"And, a brother's privilege to ask this, but….how's the sex?" Mike says, his eyes glinting.

"Dude, Mike, I don't kiss and tell."

"Oh, come off it, I know about all your other sexual experiences."

"Okay, okay. Honestly, it's freaking mind-blowing."

"Really, details, details, bro." Mike says, smiling.

"No, no details."

"Why?"

"Because, just no."

"Oh, come on, man. With a body like that, you can't deny a bro some details."

"No."

"Okay, okay. I'll let it go."

"Thank you."

"But it's that good? Like, where have you done it?" Mike asked.

"I said no details."

"Come on, that's not giving anything away about it, just the locations."

"Okay. Well, her bed, my bed, this couch, the floor of both our apartments, the shower in both our apartments, and the bathtub in her apartment."

"Okay, you could have just said on every surface of both your apartments."

"Yeah, I guess I could have."

"Well, I should go. I still have a lot of people to see. It was great to see you bro, and Lisa's a great woman. Stay with her."

"Don't worry, I will. See you, Mike."

"Same goes for you, Greg." They hug hard, and Mike leaves. He returns to duty a few days later.

Four months later….Greg goes out to get the mail, and gets a suspicious envelope. He pockets it, promising to open in later, alone. He goes back into his apartment.

"Is there anything good in the mail today?" Lisa asks, looking up at him from the couch.

"No. Just a lot of bills and other advertising crap. I'm going to go and take a shower."

"Okay." She says, and turns back to her program. He shuts himself in his bathroom and takes out the suspicious envelope and opens it. It reads:

This is to inform you of the funeral service of:

Michael Gregory House

On:

July 18, 2006 at 10am

Where:

Princeton Military Cemetery

Please attend to support his family and friends, and his life. He was killed in a land mine explosion in Saudi Arabia four days ago. Please, come to console his family, and to share their grief.

Greg just dropped the letter, staring into space.

"This can't be happening, it's not real." He whispers to himself. He turns on the shower water, gets in, and just stands there, not doing anything, letting the water fall around him. "It's tomorrow. I have to go." He washes his hair, gets dressed, and goes back out. Lisa's program is just ending.

"Have a good shower?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Well, I'm going to take one, then go to bed." She says, standing up.

"Okay, good night." House says. She kisses his cheek and disappears. He takes out the invitation, and sets it under a pile of magazines on the table. Then, he goes to bed.

The next morning, House is gone at 9am, just as Lisa is waking up. She decides to clean up the apartment, and starts in the living room, with the table. As she's picking up magazines, something falls out. She picks it up, takes it out of the envelope, and reads it. Tears brim at her eyes, and she looks at the clock.

"9:45. I will be a little late, but I will make it." She whispers. She goes into their bedroom, puts on all black maternity clothes, and dashes out the door. She takes the bus out to Princeton Military Cemetery. She makes it there by 10:15. She sees House's obvious form, and walks up to him. She slips her hand in his. He glances down at the sudden warmth, and looks down to see Lisa there. He weakly smiles at her, before turning back to the ceremony. He feels her squeeze his hand, and he feels comforted by her presence.

After the ceremony, there are the handshakes. Then, Greg turns to Lisa after everyone had left the cemetery.

"How did you know?"

"I found the invite while cleaning the living room table." She says, simply. "Do you want to go to the reception?"

He shakes his head. "No."

"Okay. Then we'll go home." She says, taking his hand and leading him to his car.

Once home, they sit on the couch in silence for awhile. House lays his head in her lap and starts crying. She strokes his hair. They sit like that for hours, before he finally sits up.

"Lisa?"

"Yes, Greg?"

"If this baby is a boy, can we name it Michael?" He whispers to her.

"Of course Greg, I have no objections. It'll be in memory of a wonderful person and would-be uncle to the baby."

"Yes." Greg whispers, placing his hand on her stomach.

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Okay, I will be working on Chapter Three tonight and tomorrow, and I'll try and have it up by tomorrow evening. Let me know what you think of the new chapter two. it's shorter, but i like it better...but let me know if you do like the old chapter two better...i won't be offended. Review, review, review. Keep 'em coming.