AN: Last chapter, thanks for all who read and took the time to review. I appreciate it. I hope I did them justice. Enjoy :)

Tears stream down your face when you lose something you can not replace.

Like a glass, standing near a heat source for too long, heating up, and finally bursting, everything Cuddy has been feeling for the past month, times 10, came rushing forward and leaped out of her tear ducts. She shook and hiccuped. Her breath caught in her throat and her face was streaked with tears. She couldn't hold it back, the last 24 hours broke her carefully structured survival armour.

House didn't have the faintest clue what to do when Cuddy started crying. He used to hold her and stroke her hair the few times it did happen during their relationship, and that's where his dilemma came in - they weren't in a relationship anymore. He tentatively reached out and put his hand on her shoulder. Every so often giving it a squeeze.

She looked up at him with her shiny eyes and he could sense what she was about to ask and he knew he didn't have the answer. He didn't know.

"What the hell are we doing, House?"

"Cuddy... I..."

He really didn't have anything else to say. He blanched. He just wanted to kiss her. Just, just, just, just. Everything these days were "just".

Before he could make the decision of taking her in his arms she made it for him by crashing into his chest with the force of a broken woman fighting back. Her hands pawed at his blazer and her cheeks transferring the tears onto his thin shirt.

He kissed the top of her head and whispered "I love you" over and over again. He kissed her temple and said "I'm sorry" into her ear. He pulled her closer to him, trying to get her to feel the way he was reacting to her. Heart, body, breath, everything. He needed her to understand his pain.

Tears stream down your face, I promise you I will learn from my mistakes. Tears stream down your face and I...

They stood there for eons. Her crying and him trying to calm her down, to make her feel better, she shouldn't be crying over him.

Eventually he took hold of her arms and stroked it up and down a couple of times.

"Cuddy, can I take you inside?"

She nodded and he did, he sat her down on the couch and looked at her until her eyes came up to meet his. He hesitated a few times, opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. Looked to the carpet, and the wall, and out the window. Finally his gaze travelled back to her, he expelled a breath and went for it.

"We need to get back together because clearly being apart is killing us, do you agree?"

She was momentarily silenced by that. It was very straightforward, true though, she knew she was too hard on him, and that she should give him a chance to be a better man for her. She couldn't drive to the hospital in separate cars for one more day. She looked down and nodded.

"And we'll be okay." He said while moving closer to her. He put his arms around her once more. "It's gonna be okay, yeah?"

She looked up at his face, the last tears spilling over. Her fingers tentatively reached out to his fuzz covered cheeks and held him. His eyes looked hurt and hopeful at the same time, she's seen that look too much in her life. Her left hand moved into his hair, pulling him closer until their foreheads touched.

"Yeah" she breathed with a smile.

THE END