Disclaimer: All rights belong to Fox and David Shore.
Author's Note: This chapter has been modified since its original publication. Special thanks to my beta TwiSagaAddict.
***
"I…we have a son?" House confusedly asked Cuddy.
"Mom, why was he trying to hurt you?"
"I wasn't trying to hurt her, you idiot. I was trying to stop her from screaming."
As both men impatiently waited for Cuddy to answer their questions, she franticly looked for a first aid kit to treat House's bloody face.
Lisa bit her lip and mumbled "well, this isn't exactly how I imagined introducing you to each other."
"Oh really? How many more years will it take for you to plan that perfect introduction?" House sarcastically countered.
Noticing how uncomfortable his Mom has become, Jake simply introduced himself to House.
"Hi, my name is Jacob Gregory Cuddy. Jake for short"
House nodded and replied "Greg House. I guess you not only got my good looks but my name too, huh?"
Jake blushed and his eyes widen upon the realization that he's related to THE DOCTOR GREGORY HOUSE.
Cuddy silently wiped the blood off House's face and applied the anti-septic on his bloodied lip.
House squirmed and yelled "ouch!"
Lisa glared at him and said "shut up so I can clean your wound properly"
Jake stammered his apologies again and said "I'm so sorry Dr. House; I hope I didn't break your jaw or anything"
"Stop apologizing. I'll be fine."
House quickly glanced over at Cuddy and said, "your Mom on the other hand is a different story."
An awkward silence suddenly filled the room.
"Mom, I think I should leave. You two have a few things to discuss."
Cuddy walked over to Jake and told him that to come back tomorrow for lunch.
Jake nodded and kissed his Mom goodbye. He waved goodbye to House, and got a grunt in return.
After Jake left, both Cuddy and House just stared silently with a "what now?" look on their faces.
Cuddy breaks the silence by saying "I know I should have told you about Jake, and I'm sorry…"
House heads over to Cuddy's bed and laid down.
Cuddy glares at him and asked, "what are you doing?"
"In case you forgot, I just literally and figuratively got hit in the face. I need to lie down before I pass out from this pounding headache"
"Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine, continue on with your heartfelt apologies" House sarcastically replied.
Cuddy simply nodded.
House asked, "when did you find out that you were pregnant with Jake?"
Cuddy recounted the story about learning about her pregnancy the day House got his acceptance letter. She told him the story about hiding her pregnancy while in Michigan, leaving Jake with her Mom three months after he was born, and juggling parenthood with her career.
House laid silently listening to Cuddy's every word. He would from time to time ask questions, but pretty much left her to recount the events of the last fifteen years.
***HUDDY***
The morning light crept into the room and its harshness woke Cuddy. She peeked at the alarm clock, but instead was distracted by the warm body beneath her. She noticed that she was resting her head on top of House's chest and felt their naked bodies underneath the sheets. Her first instinct was to bolt out of bed and scream, but quickly realized that's how it all started. The events of last night slowly began to come back to her and she remembered nursing House's bloodied face and having a serious discussion with him about their son. For the first time in a long time, she felt very relieve that she didn't need to keep a secret from him anymore. She secretly hoped that House would play a part in Jake's life, but knew that she was probably asking for a miracle.
"Hey" House greeted her groggily.
"Hey to you too" Cuddy looked up and smiled at him.
He lifted her face to give her a good morning kiss. And like last night, their lips just stayed a little longer than planned.
After a few minutes of exchanging passionate kisses, Cuddy pulled away and asked, "what time is it?"
House replied "we got plenty of time. Wanna pick up where we left off last night?"
Cuddy gave House another kiss, but untangled herself from his arms.
House frowned and inquired, "where are you going? The conference isn't starting until two this afternoon."
"I'm taking a shower; I promised Jake that I'd have lunch with him. You are welcome to join us."
House smugly grinned and asked "shower or lunch?"
She gave him a sultry look and replied "both."
In no time, House dry swallowed a couple of Vicodin and joined Cuddy in the shower.
***
At around noon, Jake knocked on his Mom's room. He was surprised to see House opening the door.
"Oh…good afternoon, Dr. House."
House nodded and informed him "your Mom is not yet ready. We'll go ahead and she'll meet us downstairs."
Jake said okay and waited for House to lock the door.
"By the way, stop calling me Dr. House. You can call me Greg or if you prefer…Dad"
"Okay…I think I'll call you DAD" emphasizing the word "Dad."
House found himself smiling at the realization that he was somebody's Dad.
Jake noticed the grin on his father's face and inquired, "how did last night go?"
House raised his eyebrows and replied "Good."
"Are you and Mom going to be okay?"
"Your Mom and I have a very complicated relationship. We've been through a lot and somehow we made it through okay. How about if we concentrate on you and me, kiddo? Is there anything you want to ask me?"
Jake nodded and asked, "do you like kids? How do you feel about me? I mean… finding out that you have a son?"
"Whatever happened to questions like, what's it like being a world renowned doctor?" House sighed as he sarcastically retorted to Jake's questions.
"I think you had me confused with your star-struck med students" Jake quickly replied with a grin.
House smiled and said "Very nice."
House quickly turned to a more serious expression as he addressed Jake's questions.
"Kid, I'm not really into these sharing my feelings crap so don't get used to me answering these types of questions. I don't like kids, heck I don't like people in general. I was initially shocked then, I was angry at your Mom for keeping you a secret from me. But considering what a mess my life was and still is; I think she made the right decision. You turned out okay; your Mom did a great job with you."
Jake couldn't believe his ears. House's reputation as a misanthropic SOB preceded him; hence, Jake was prepared for a few insults thrown his way. "Wow" was all he could say to House's response to his questions.
House nodded and asked Jake "what do you think of your old man? Were you disappointed that your father is a crippled misanthropic jerk?"
"I think it's cool that my Dad is a world-renowned doctor. I never had a Dad before, so I'm just really glad to have one now" Jake stated it in a matter of fact tone that reminded House of Cuddy's diplomatic skill.
Before Jake could ask another question, Cuddy joined them on the table.
"Did you guys order yet?" Cuddy inquired and both men shook their heads.