Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: I had a lot of trouble writing this one simply because the character Seth is portrayed as is very different to the one I had in mind, so I am going to try and get him back on track. House might also be a bit out of character, but that is because I think interacting with kids allows him to be that way. Hope you guys enjoy… All mistakes belong to me...


Part 7

Cuddy was up at the crack of dawn on Friday morning, or well what was supposed to be the crack of dawn, but because of the cold, snowy, cloudy weather, the sun was still not out yet. She looked at the watch on the bed stand; it was half past five in the morning and now that she was awake, she needed something to do. She considered working on the proposition for the new neo natal ward that she wanted to set up, but changed her mind when she remembered that she had not brought all the paperwork needed for that specific proposal. There was nothing else that needed her immediate attention, and she sighed in frustration. How the hell was she supposed to spend four days away from her hospital or her daughter Rachel? She was going to go insane.

She attempted to get up from the bed but found that Seth's arm was draped lazily across her abdomen, and his face was nuzzled in the curve between her neck and shoulder. Cuddy gently lifted his arm from her body and crawled out of the bed, before she placed it back on the empty space, and made her way to bathroom to freshen up. She spotted her running shoes poking out of the zipper of her shoe bag and suddenly she knew what it would take to clear her head. She rummaged through both her bags until she found her thermal vest and leggings and her track suit, put them on and quietly exited the house after grabbing her IPod and earphones.

The sound of her thudding feet hitting the asphalt in rhythm with her heart was soothing to her ears and Cuddy couldn't help but smile at the feeling it gave her. She breathed in the cold air, allowing it to assault her nasal canal, somewhat clear her frontal sinuses and to finally settle in her lungs. She felt freer than she had in weeks, like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. She ran for almost an hour and a half, not worried about getting lost, since it was a gated community and there seemed to be only five houses in the entire complex, though there were many jogging and biking paths for runners and cyclists alike. The blood pounded in her ears in synch with the music focused her mind on nothing but being back at home with Rachel in a few days. While she had looked forward to a little time away from everything she soon found that there were some things or people she just couldn't do without and Rachel topped that list. She was the centre of Cuddy's life.

When she got back to Seth's little guest house two hours later, her body aching and sweaty but her mind clear and calm, he was already up and awaiting her arrival. The coffee was already brewing in the coffee machine and he had set out a few plates, one filled with fruit one with piping hot pancakes, and one with finger sandwiches all ready to be eaten. The smell of food reminded her just how hungry she was, so she made a quick trip to the bathroom to freshen up and then settled herself in the chair opposite Seth, who was already seated at the breakfast table.

"Did you make all this yourself?" she asked between bites,

"Well, when you live alone, you kinda need to learn how to fend for yourself," he shrugged shyly.

"Yeah, it's a jungle out there, who knows when you might your next meal," Cuddy smiled at him.

They finished the rest of their breakfast in relative silence, the only noise coming from the whirring of the refrigerator motor. After Cuddy had showered and freshened up Seth suggested they visited the shopping centre near his home. Most of the day passed in a blur of grocery and window shopping and two new pairs of thermal clothing for Cuddy. They shared a quiet and easy dinner at one of the more intimate restaurants which was owned by one of Seth's close friends and Cuddy got the feeling they were extremely impressed by the fact that Seth had actually brought a woman out for dinner. By the time they reached home, Cuddy was frozen to the bone, her teeth were chattering, Seth it seemed was quite used to the cold and wasn't affected by it as much as she was.

A long hot shower later, Cuddy was warmly dressed in a pair of track pants and a warm fleece sweater, her cheeks, lips and the tip of her nose pink with warmth. Her hair was frizzy from the steam that had engulfed the shower cubicle as she allowed the hot water to roll down her chilled body. Despite her early morning reservations about the whole situation she seemed so embroiled in, Cuddy found that spending the entire day out with Seth was not as awkward as she thought it would have been, after their second disastrous night together. There were, nevertheless, still two entire days left and she wasn't actually quite sure what to expect.

Seth was sitting in the lounge watching a series she somewhat recognised. His stance was relaxed and it looked like he was completely immersed in the plot. He surprised her, however, when he called out to her, but didn't even have to turn around to make sure she was standing in the doorway, contemplating on whether she should join him or call it an early night. She sat down next to him on the couch and pulled up the part of the blanket he was not using to cover herself, pulling it up just past her chin.

"What are we watching?" if she was going to spend the rest of the night watching TV it was only fair she knew what the movie was about.

"Maid of Honour," he replied, his cheeks reddening slightly.

"Judging from the name it sounds like a chick flick," Cuddy smiled at him.

"Well we have a choice of Maid of Honour, It, which is a horror movie about a clown or some factual war drama whose name escapes me at the moment," he informed her. "Unless you want to watch Girls of the Playboy Mansion. That could be interesting," he flashed a naughty smile at her and Cuddy felt her stomach flip.

"Maid of Honour it is then," she made herself comfortable on the couch and waited as the opening credits rolled.

The only thing Cuddy remembered about the movie the next morning was that it definitely clichéd. She couldn't believe that it took an entire two hours for the leading man to realise he was in love with his best friend and he couldn't stand the fact that she was getting married to another man. How the main character could not see that his best friend from college was actually in love with him, was way beyond her… Well then again he was a man so she shouldn't have expected any better.

Cuddy was dressed and ready to face the chilly breeze outside in exchange for a little fresh air. She poured herself a steaming mug of the bitter brown liquid into a jumbo sized mug and made her way to the balcony. The chilly air assaulted her nose and chest at once and while she felt like she needed to stand outside for a while, she knew bronchitis and pneumonia were not something she wanted to be suffering from. As she turned to head back into the house she caught a glimpse of Seth in his office, through the glass door. He was seated at his desk, a pen in his hand as he scribbled down notes, his forehead furrowed in concentration and his eyes focused solely on the piece of paper in front of him.

"I thought this was a no work weekend," she stood against the doorframe, smiling at him.

"It was, but there were a few things that needed my attention," he replied guiltily as he placed the phone back into its cradle and closed the open file that was lying on his desk.

"Its fine, take your time," Cuddy knew the feeling, it was exactly how she felt when there were still things to do at the hospital and she just couldn't put them on hold.

Much to Seth's dismay, he had spent almost the entire day working, and it had gone as far as being called into office which he calmly rejected doing. Still that did not stop the endless phone calls and emails about the most unnecessary things that could have waited until he got back to work on Monday morning. By the time he was done and disconnected both his cell phone and email at was already six o clock in the evening. He was so caught up in his work that he completely forgot about Lisa who was now sleeping on the couch in front of the TV with the heater right next to her.

Cuddy had spent the day looking around Seth's home, taking in everything around her. She had come across old photographs of him when he was younger, some with his parents and some she assumed were friends from college or work and a few other ones that she would later ask him about. After a long while she grew bored and sat down to watch TV. She woke up half an hour later to the intoxicatingly delicious smell of freshly baked bread and vegetable soup steaming on the stove. Seth had already set out the table for supper and was adding the final touches to the bread when Cuddy walked into the kitchen.

"Hey there sleeping beauty," Seth greeted without turning to look at her.

"Dinner will be served in a minute, you can have a seat." he informed her.

Cuddy seated herself in the chair Seth had pulled out for her and giggled at the fact that he was a perfect gentleman, and sat in the seat across her. He ladled out some of the vegetable soup in two bowls, cut the now warm bread and placed the plates and bowls in front of them. They made small talk, mostly about the inane questions Seth had to put up with that day. She watched him as he talked animatedly; at times waving his hands to make his point and Cuddy found herself smiling without meaning to.

They were sitting in front of the fireplace, the orange and red flames licking at the brown logs, and small lamp providing light from the far side of the room. Seth stood up to retrieve another log from the pile and placed in the flames, keeping the fire burning. Cuddy watched him intently as he took his seat next to her. His eyes were shining and he was smiling widely showing the dimples in both his cheeks. His hair was dishevelled from running his hands through it throughout the day. The blue woollen jersey he was wearing brought out his eyes and Cuddy couldn't help the flutter in her heart.

She leaned in to him, her hand finding its way to his face, her palm cupping his cheek. Her breathing escalated and she was the one who initiated the kiss. She fused her lips to his, sucking gently until he responded in kind, by opening his mouth and allowing his tongue to meet hers. The kiss deepened and soon enough Seth found himself laying on top her, his eyes screwed shut in pleasure, his mouth melded to hers, and his hands fisted in her hair, while hers traversed his back under his jersey.

"Lisa," Seth broke the kiss and the easy silence, "we need to talk."

A few minutes of silence ensued before she started up again. "Lisa, I can't keep doing this," he motioned between them with his fingers. "Because one minute you're pushing me away and the next you initiate the most passionate kiss I have ever experienced in a long time. We've been seeing each other for a long time and been friends for even longer, and I am ready to take this to the next level, but I'm not sure you're ready."

Cuddy couldn't meet his gaze, she knew he was right.

"The thing is Lisa, I don't know if I can spend the rest of my life waiting for you. I've already spent the last decade doing so, and I'm pretty certain you wouldn't want me spend the next one doing that same thing either."

"So you're leaving me?" she asked uncertainly but Seth smiled at her. "No I'm telling you where I stand; now you have to make a decision. But that doesn't mean I'm going to wait around forever." And with that he leaned into her and kissed her passionately before heading to bed and leaving her with her mind spinning. Well that didn't make her decision any easier.

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

Maya had left early that morning with a genuine thank you from House. Granted it was not a word she would associate with him, but she was sure he was grateful for her help for the second time that day. House fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillows, the strain evident in his body and his mind tired from being awake for such long periods of time.

Wilson quietly let himself into House's apartment at ten 'o clock later that morning, mentally preparing himself for the onslaught of torments, barbs and derogatory remarks from the diagnostician. He was met with silence, however, and he grew anxious knowing that leaving House and Rachel together for extended periods of time usually led to some trouble making scheme on their part, and usually him falling victim to that scheme, no matter how much his best friend claimed he had no feelings regarding their boss's demon spawn.

The curtains in House's bedroom were still obviously closed since the room was still dark although the door was wide open. Wilson made his way over to the room and risked a peek inside, knowing that if House caught him, he would never hear the end of it. He stepped lightly and poked his head through the open doorway, a smile gracing his features as he took in the scene before him. House was fast asleep his body sprawled out on the king sized bed, three of his limbs splayed in different directions and one arm curled protectively around the five year old, little girl currently using his chest as a pillow. Grinning to himself, Wilson entered the room and came to a stop on Rachel's side of the bed. He pulled out his cell phone and angled the camera so that he could get a full shot of House holding Rachel as she slept.

"If you make a noise and wake her up and I will kill you," Wilson jumped at the sound of his best friend's voice and he had to muffle a squeal that wanted to escape him. He looked up at House, expecting to see his cerulean blues pinned on him, but the diagnostician's eyes were still closed. He knew from House's tone that he was not joking, Wilson would be in some serious shit if he woke up the sprog. Wilson decidedly put his phone away, not wanting to be on the receiving end of one of House's pranks, he knew those always ended up with him being embarrassed about something or the other, even though it was not true. House had the innate capability of making something extremely ridiculous pass as credible and Wilson had experienced it on many occasions.

"I came to pick her up," Wilson whispered as softly as he could so House would hear him, but not loud enough to wake the slumbering child.

"It's a little late for that," House replied plainly, his voice tinged with fake annoyance and irritation.

"Oh come on House, it was an emergency," Wilson tried to justify his actions.

"Yeah, a man dying of stage four cancer was definitely an emergency," House shot back.

"Do we have to talk in here or can we at least go out into the living room? I don't want to risk waking Rachel up. And why is she not up yet by the way? Its way past ten already, you were supposed to stick to the routine Cuddy left." Wilson scolded the man still lying in bed.

"Really? I didn't bother to look, and she's five years old, what routine does she have?" House asked disapprovingly. "And no we can't move to the other room, because it'll allow you to raise your voice at me," he finished.

"Well I'm here to pick her up, so if you don't mind," Wilson bent down to free the little girl from House's grasp but the diagnostician was too quick for the oncologist. He pulled Rachel closer into him and tightened his grip around her back substantially.

"Uh, uh not so fast, since I had to watch her last night which in turn cased me to miss my session with the cute hooker because of her banshee like screeching, I'd say you owe me – big time starting today. And I say since I don't have an active case, but I do have twenty hours of clinic duty to complete before the end of this week…" he left the rest of his sentence incomplete knowing Wilson would know exactly what House wanted.

"And what about Rachel?" he asked.

"She's still asleep for now, I'll think of something to do when she wakes up," he informed his best friend plainly.

Wilson sighed in defeat; he knew he was fighting a losing battle, so he warned House about giving Rachel a sugar high, using bad language in her presence and keeping her out of trouble as he shook his head. He proceeded to leave two muffins and two doughnuts on the kitchen table, and packed away the groceries he had brought for House before he let himself out of House's apartment. He was not going to complain if House wanted to spend time with Rachel, in fact he couldn't have asked for a better decision from the diagnostician.

Rachel woke up well after midday and House was already dressed and watching TV when she walked into the living room. She looked around the room bleary eyed, no doubt looking for the lady with the dark and dark eyes and when she did not find her, Rachel went to sit next to House on the sofa. He offered her a sip of his coffee but she scrunched her nose at the smell of it and turned her head away.

"So kid, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" he turned to look at her, and found that Rachel's attention was centred on the TV screen.

They sat in silence watching TV for almost fifteen minutes before House decided he should at least feed the kid, lest she collapse with hunger. Wilson and Cuddy would get together and kill him; the former he could deal with, the latter was an entirely different matter. He was about to get up from his relaxed position on the sofa when his front door swung open and Maya swooped in bringing a gust of icy air with her. She eyed House carefully as he sat watching her, and then moved her gaze to the little girl. Rachel had the 'just woke up face' and Maya had to smile at just how similar Rachel's and House's expressions were. She walked further into the apartment and offered a soft hello to Rachel while she glared at House. He was about to ask her what she was so pissed off about, but she didn't even give him a chance to think of what wisecrack he would use on her.

"I can see you haven't fed the sprog yet," she offered him in greeting, taking in the muffin crumbs and half a glazed doughnut lying unwrapped on the kitchen table. One coffee cup was haphazardly thrown in the sink and she spotted the other in his hand. She went about looking for a small plate, placed the toasted cheese sandwich which she cut into four dainty squares on it and poured half a cup of orange juice and set it on the coffee table in the lounge for Rachel to eat.

"I didn't know I had bread."

"You didn't," she informed him, "your friend that came in this morning brought in a whole lot of groceries."

"Are you stalking me," House raised an eyebrow at her.

"No, but I saw him leave your apartment when I got home this morning."

"This is good," he told her, and she turned around to find him stealing a second square of toasted bread from Rachel's plate and the little girl looking disapprovingly at him, though not yet brave enough to say anything to her Uncle House.

"You could have just asked for one, you know, instead of stealing from a five year old." she scolded him, She made another toasted sandwich and just as before placed it in Rachel's plate, knowing House wouldn't eat it if she gave it to him in his own plate.

"I know, but I don't like special treatment," he replied sarcastically.

"That I know, is the understatement of the decade,"

She grabbed a scatter cushion in her hand and hit him with it as he leaned in to take a sip of Rachel's orange juice. He looked up with shock written all over his face, the cup untouched and a manic grin making its way to his lips. Rachel looked up at Maya, a stupid grin covering her face and picked up a pillow of her own and threw it at House. It landed in his lap, but he acted as though she had gravely injured him. He rubbed his thigh gently, his face mock screwed up in pain. Rachel's expression was concerned for a moment, but she was easily placated when she saw a smile tug at the corners of his mouth.

"Come on squirt," Maya addressed Rachel, "you should have a bath before we go out for the evening," she held her hand out for Rachel and they both proceeded to House's bathroom.

"What, am I suddenly invisible?"

"No, but I thought we'd do a girls night and you can get a bit of rest.'

"Yeah right, and then you'll kidnap the sprog from right under my nose. Not gonna happen. If she goes, I go," he stated. "And besides I wouldn't want to deal with the She-devil if the sprog goes missing, I value my life thank you very much."

"I am going to give Rachel a bath and you are going to clean this mess you made," she pointed at the juice and breadcrumbs sprinkled on his coffee table. "And if I think it's clean enough then you can come along," she added.

House mumbled something under his breath that sounded a bit like woman version of Hitler but Maya could've been mistaken. She smiled at him and went to check on his boss's daughter. Ten minutes later Rachel was bathed, and warmly dressed and ready to go. House had to admit she looked especially cute in her bootleg jeans, a warm red sweater with Goofy printed on the front and a matching red beanie covering her head. The drive to the mall was a short one, but Rachel was excited about finally doing something other that watching TV in House's apartment, and she couldn't stop talking, telling them about how her mom always promised to do things with her but how was always too busy with work to do so.

A section of the mall was cordoned off and turned into a play centre for kids while their parents shopped and Rachel's eyes lit up when she saw it. She looked at House, her expression pleading for him to let her go and play and the nod of his head and smile on his face was all the permission she needed from him. When he next looked up at her, she was surrounded by a group of kids who were sitting around her, looking at her in awe, and she appeared to be the ringleader of whatever it was they were about to do.

"It's weird how even when you act like you don't like people you have an impact on their lives even when you don't mean to," Maya said nonchalantly, her gaze fixed on Rachel. "Yes, learning to be a ringleader is a skill everyone is born with," she continued sarcastically.

"I am not a ringleader," he defended himself, though he had no idea why he had to defend himself against a woman he barely knew.

"I'll take your word for it. You up for a cup of coffee?" she asked rubbing her hands together to keep them warm.

"I'll get us two cups," he replied and stood up from the bench they were seated on.

She looked up to find a blonde man attention focused on her, while his girlfriend scanned the coffee menu. He had a quizzical look on his face and she had the instant urge to laugh at him, but she kept it in. He spoke to his friend for a few minutes and then began to make his way to where she was sitting. Maya eyed the blonde man from head to toe and noted as he looked lovingly at his other half.

"Are you a friend of House?" he asked sceptically and his accent surprising her a bit.

"Does it matter?"

"When it comes to House, not really I guess. However I have to admit you're very different from the others."

Maya raised her eyebrow in confusion but decided not to say anything. They both saw Cameron looking around and her eyes finally focusing on House who was talking to Rachel about something, if Maya was sure, he was telling her exactly how to play pranks on the other kids.

"Robert Chase, I work with Dr House," he held out his hand to Maya.

"I am just a friend helping him out with babysitting."

"I think you should meet my girlfriend, Cameron" Chase blurted without thinking.

"I think that's a bad idea," and this time it was Chase's turn to be confused.

"I mean would you rather spend the night hearing her go on about the new girl the guy she had a crush on might be going out with, or hearing how cute he looked looking after a kid and she can't wait to have kids with the man she's currently in love with. Personally I think the second option is the better one, but I mean it is your choice. It all comes down to whether you want to get laid tonight or not," Maya told him matter-of-factly and after a few minutes of deliberation Chase decided she was right. "See you soon," he waved at her.

He stood up from the bench and made his way back to Cameron who was now almost at the front of the line. Cameron was about to place her order when House pushed his way into the line, and standing in front of her.

"Sorry, cripples first," he said before she could yell at him, and placed his order with the lady behind the counter. He waited all of five minutes before his order was ready and made his way back to Maya, all the while his gaze focused on Rachel. It seemed weird that he wasn't at peace unless she was in his line of view. He handed one cup to his bench mate and took a sip from the other, allowing the burning liquid to race down his throat.

An hour and a half later, House was massaging his thigh roughly, the pain increasing with the cold. It had started almost ten minutes ago but he didn't say anything just to let Rachel play for a bit longer, but the pain was becoming unbearable and he had to do something. Maya saw him and immediately called for Rachel who came racing back, her cheeks and nose pink with cold, but her eyes shining excitedly.

"Sweetie, Uncle House isn't feeling too well, so we have to go home." Rachel nodded her head in understanding when she saw House's pained expression.

As soon as Rachel was secured in her car seat and she couldn't see him, House popped two Vicodin pills into his mouth and dry swallowed them. He was aware of Cuddy's disapproval of him taking pills on front of Rachel so he tried to avoid her seeing him do so. They were home fifteen minutes later and House just managed to make it to his bed before collapsing onto it, breathing heavily. Maya switched on the TV for Rachel and made sure she was comfortable before going to check on House. He was sprawled out on his bed, his eyes screwed shut and his breathing laboured, his hands clenched into fists.

"Greg, you need to take off your pants," she commanded.

"I knew you just wanted me for my body, but really now is not the time," he managed to quip.

"Come on," she held out her hand to him, and he grabbed onto it and stood up with great difficulty. He undid his belt buckle, unbuttoned his jeans and let it fall to the ground, though he left his boxers on. He sunk to the bed again and put both his feet up, trying to ease the pain in his right thigh. Then he felt her cool hands on his burning skin. Her hands were soft and smooth and so small, she was massaging his thigh gently, tracing the scar deftly as she eased the flashing pain in his leg. She massaged his leg from top to bottom for about twenty minutes before his breathing started to ease and he began to relax.

"Thank you," he whispered, his blue orbs fixed on her graphite ones.

"You're welcome," she made a move to stand up from the bed but he caught her wrist gently in his hand and kept her seated where she was. He rubbed the inside of her wrist and she felt her heart rate speed up tenfold.

This was so wrong, he was probably in love with another woman, possibly Rachel's mother, and yet here he was tempting her to do… something. He moved in closer to her, his eyes closed, his heart thudding his breath tingling on her lips…

"But Cuddy was seeing Seth so it was not like he was cheating on her," his mind fought back.

She pulled away from him, her mind quickly taking over her racing heart to make the decision. "I gotta go, make sure you feed the rugrat," she warned him as she walked out.

"I'll see you later Rachel," she kissed the little girl on her cheek and then left the apartment hurriedly.

God this was insane… she was only helping him out, not trying to get into his damn pants. Neither of them slept well that night, both of them thinking of what could've happened had she not chickened out at the last minute.


Reviews are like candy, the more you have the more you want…

Also I though adding other cast members would be fun and yes Chase and Cameron will make a longer second appearance in the next chapter. So will Amber because I thought her character was awesome. (Bearing in mind that I still haven't seen the last few eppies of Season 5. The last one I saw was The Softer Side)

Next chapter: coming soon