Author's Note: Hi all. Sorry it took me a while to get this chapter up. It was hard to write because I have a hard time hearing Cuddy in my head. Hope you all enjoy and please feel free to review. I appreciate all the wonderful comments I've gotten so far! Enjoy!

The world seemed to stop. Cuddy was frozen. Disbelief, anger, betrayal and shock flashed through her. She had know House for more than 20 years and he had a grown daughter she had never heard of. It was almost incomprehensible. She'd known that he didn't always tell her the truth about everything, especially his past but he'd told her the important things. Or so she assumed. When they'd started dating she hadn't expected to open up to her like he had. It hadn't been much at first but as the months passed he'd let her in to his world in ways she knew he hadn't let anyone before, not even Stacey. That he'd kept a secret this huge from her felt like a rejection of everything she thought they had.

Time seemed to start up again as the shock spread over her face. She wanted so badly to believe that this was another one of his tricks, just a ploy to get to her but from the intensity in his piercing blue eyes she could tell that her was serious. Without another word she turned on her heel and marched away.

House watched her until she disappeared around a corner, half hoping she would look back at him but she never so much as wavered in her forward march. He knew that this was going to end badly. She looked so hurt, so betrayed when he told her. He'd never seen that expression cross her face before and a small tingle of fear ran through him. He'd always known that he'd do something to screw up their relationship but a small part of him hoped that if she hadn't tossed him to the curb by now maybe she never would. A vain hope it seemed. He turned back into the room comforted by the sound of the slow, steady breathing of his daughter.

HHHHHHHHHH

Lisa Cuddy was rarely one to be at a loss. She was the person that everyone turned to when there was a problem to be solved or a crisis that needed averting but the situation with House had her beat. She wanted to yell, scream at him. She wanted to hit him over and over asking how he could keep something like this from her. She wanted cry and wallow in the hurt. But she did none of those things. Instead, she finished her budget reports, kept her appointments and attended a board meeting. She kept up the facade and managed to fool everyone into not noticing that she was falling apart.

Throughout the day she'd kept discreet tabs on House and on Anna. She knew that he'd talked to his team about their patient, that they'd finally come to a diagnosis, and he'd left Anna's room only twice. She also knew that Anna was doing much better. She'd woken up from the anesthesia a few hours after she'd visited House and that the surgeon was only going to keep her for a few days.

As it got closer to the time for her to leave, she wondered if House would come home for the night. He'd stayed at the hospital the last two nights with his team and with Anna and she knew that sleeping on chairs and couches like that was hard on his leg. He hadn't said sought her out after their confrontation outside of Anna's room and if she was honest with herself, she'd avoided him too, but home would be another story. They both lived there so there was only so much space they could give each other there.

His motorcycle was in the driveway when she pulled up at quarter to seven. She gathered her things and slowly walked to the door. She wasn't sure what kind of reception she would get when she went in and she still didn't know what to say to him. She was having a hard time sorting out her feelings even to herself and she had no idea where to begin with House.

The sight that greeted was not one she expected. House was sprawled out on the couch sound asleep, Rachel tucked into the crook of his arm. She had his shirt clenched tightly in one of her tiny fists and Cuddy could see where House's shirt was damp from Rachel's tears. She quietly set her keys and purse down and walked over the couch, marveling at how natural he looked with Rachel and a pang went through her. She wondered if he'd done this with Anna and it hurt her that she didn't know.

House slowly came back to consciousness. "What are you looking at?" he growled softly, not bothering to open his eyes.

"You," she replied. "Where's Maira?"

"Rachel had a rough day. I sent her home." His tone was still soft so as not to wake Rachel.

"Oh. Does she have a fever?" Cuddy asked, bushing the hair off Rachel's forehead.

"No. Maira said she just kept asking you and me all day. She was just being clingy I guess." He finally opened his eyes and sought hers. He could see the pain in them and a very small part of him felt bad.

"Oh. You eaten?" She asked, heading for the kitchen.

"Its killing you isn't it?" He watched her closely as she stopped but did not turn around.

She tried to control her breathing, hoping that would give her some control. Her voice was soft but she still didn't turn toward him. "Why aren't you at the hospital with her?"

"You didn't answer my question." He watched as she turned and her eyes finally met his.

"You didn't answer mine." She held his steady gaze.

"I asked you first." He watched as she broke eye contact.

"I'm not going to discuss this with you with Rachel here." She knew it was

a flimsy excuse even as she gave it but it was all she had.

He sat up slowly, carefully adjusting Rachel. He stood up, limped to Rachel's room laid her in her crib, and covered her with her favorite blanket. He brought the baby monitor back with him so that Cuddy couldn't use checking on Rachel as an excuse to stop the painful discussion he knew they had to have.

She hadn't left her spot in the doorway when he returned. He took his time getting comfortable on the couch, conscious of her eyes him. He sat back and held her gaze for a moment. "I'm not there because her boyfriend showed up and I wanted to sleep in a bed tonight."

"Tell me why," demanded. She didn't want to play cat and mouse, she just wanted answers.

He sighed. "Its a long story and not a pretty one."

"I need to hear it, House. You hurt me and I need to know why."

"I know you do," he said so softly that she almost didn't hear him. "I owe you that."

His words shocked her. House never admitted to anything, let alone an emotional responsibility. She could see the pain on his face. Whatever he was about to tell her was obviously deeply emotional. She sat next to him on the couch and touched his shoulder. "I'm ready, House. I want to hear it."

He let out a small bark of laughter. "I'm not. But I will tell you," he said, turning to her.