Disclaimer: See chapter 1

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has been reading this story, it really means a lot to me. Sorry I haven't been posting as regularly as I had planned to because things keep coming up. Also this chapter took a bit longer because I was out of the country and unfortunately did not take my laptop with me. But I started working on it as soon as I got back and here it is, just for you. Hope you guys enjoy it.

Chapter 10

Cameron had called her earlier that day, just to confirm their reservations and informed Cuddy at the same time that she didn't need to worry about formal clothing. The eating house they were going to was not some high class, over priced restaurant; instead it was a laid back, place where people could actually enjoy themselves, a place House would be comfortable in. It was almost time to leave and suddenly she had an uneasy feeling flow through her; what if House actually took Chase and Cameron up on the invitation and showed up for once, what would she then do.

Saturday evening came all too quickly for Cuddy and she wished that for some reason she could turn back time and change whatever it was that had screwed up her relationship with House. She had already told Chase and Cameron that she would be coming, with a partner, so there was no way she could back out now. She applied one last coat of lipstick, blotted her lips on a tissue and she was ready. Kutner had arrived an hour early and Cuddy was grateful because it gave her the extra time to get ready. She made her way to the living room and she heard Kutner suck in his breath as he looked up at her. Even in casual clothing she looked absolutely gorgeous.

Seth was seated on the couch trying, without success, to get Rachel to actually talk to him, when Cuddy saw him. She didn't miss the relived look on his face when she entered the room. It seemed Rachel just was not interested in that man, no matter how hard he tried. She handed Kutner a list of instructions he was to follow for the evening regarding Rachel's supper and bedtime, and warned him that if Rachel was not in bed by the time she returned, he would be doing clinic duty every day for the next six months. Cuddy then greeted her daughter good bye with a warning to behave while Dr Kutner was there, but she knew it was useless, because like House, when he actually did watch Rachel, Kutner indulged Rachel in anything and everything she wanted to do.

"You look amazing," Seth complimented her as soon as the doors to his Volvo were closed and he was out of earshot, it was not that he was shy to compliment Cuddy, but he didn't like the public displays of affection most other people seemed to like.

"You clean up well too," she replied as she took him in. He was dressed in black pants, black loafers, a charcoal long sleeved shirt with the top button undone, and a cool grey woollen jersey, over his shirt. His blue eyes were sparkling and his dimples were showing as he smiled. His hair was an arranged mess atop his head, which made him look younger than he actually was, and Cuddy thought this hairstyle suited him more than the usual side parted one. She made a mental note to tell him that when they got home after dinner…

The conversation on the ride to the eating house was relaxed and flirty but as they neared the place Cuddy felt the butterflies swirling in her belly. Her nervousness was allayed however when she didn't see either House's car or his motorcycle in the parking lot and she loosened up a bit. Seth parked the car in a spot near the entrance and they walked toward the restaurant, Cuddy's hand firmly grasped in his.

"Looking for someone in specific?" Seth asked as they walked into the restaurant, his hand now resting reassuringly on the small of her back. Wilson, Amber, Chase and Cameron were already seated at one of the table on the quieter side of the eating place, all of them deep in conversation. Cameron was the first to notice them; she walked over and led them to their table, moving over to make a space for them at the round table. Cuddy looked around the restaurant, taking in the easy and relaxed atmosphere, the friendly patrons and wait-staff and most importantly the lack of a formal dress code, which allowed her more peace of mind than she hoped.

The fact that the place was packed on a Saturday evening was not surprising to her, seeing as it was the only day most working people had to go out and enjoy themselves. Most of the diners were young adults either fresh from college or maybe their first two years of working in the real world and Cuddy was happy for them for the time they had set aside to have some form of a private life, a life beyond the doors of the work place.

They chatted for almost three quarters of an hour, with Wilson, Chase and Seth talking about cars, sports and the stock markets, while the women chatted about the men and their lack of interest in anything that didn't involve sports, cars and women. Cuddy was the first to notice the difference in the atmosphere a few minutes later, and she looked up, only to see House and his date for the evening walking toward their table, their fingers interlaced and House's free hand gripping his cane securely. It looked like they were having a very intimate conversation between them, with House's face very close to hers and smiling warmly at his companion; and Cuddy felt her chest tighten at the sight of House with another woman, and the fact that he had actually come out on a 'date' with her.

She kept her attention on the pair as they neared the table and saw as the woman placed her hand on House's chest in what looked like an attempt to calm him down. House leaned in to whisper something in her ear and the hot ball of jealousy shot up from her gut and she felt the insane urge to slap the pair. She tried to calm herself down by counting from one to ten in her head, but it was to no avail, and she was provoked more when the woman pulled up her chair and seated herself between Seth and House. This was not turning out to be the happy evening she hoped it would have been.

0 o 0 o 0

House had been unsuccessful in getting Maya to tell him where exactly she had got those bruises from and while he hated not knowing what the hell was going on with this mysterious woman who had entered his life so suddenly, he knew he had to be patient with her. They were sitting in his lounge watching a movie that neither of them was very interested in, both of them lost deep in thought and wondering just what exactly the future had in store for them. It was not like either of them believed in fate or destiny, both of them knowing equally well just how screwed up their lives were, without believing that some higher power was going to take them out of their miseries.

They were brought out of their thoughts by House's ringing phone, but House being his usual self didn't bother to answer it, instead he let whoever was calling him leave a message. He smiled when he heard Chase's Australian come through informing him that the dress code for the evening was casual and that he really did not have to wear the monkey suit Cameron insisted on the evening before. Also the reservation was for half past seven and if House would actually show up on time that would be great too. Maya glanced at the watch on the wall and noted that they had less than two hours to get ready.

"I should go and get ready," she said as she stood up from her seat, and House looked up at her, still not talking to her. He had refused to speak to her once she decided that her injuries were not his concern and how she got them was not up for discussion. "That is, if you still want me to be your date." She was not going to spend an evening in the company of people she barely knew, just because House had asked her two nights ago, and besides, she didn't see why she had to be there if the man in question was not even speaking to her.

It was the same thought that was running through House's mind and he knew he was being a jerk, she was right; it really was not any of his business what she did when she was away, and he didn't have any right to be angry with her for refusing to tell him. It was not like they were in a relationship or anything like it. He pondered over her statement and finally made up his mind that she was right, and he truly did not want to attend that dinner alone.

"See you in two hours then," he offered her a small smile, his blue eyes twinkling playfully and she knew that was his way of apologizing for his behaviour. She returned his smile and waltzed out of his apartment and to own, ready to take on whatever was going to be thrown her way. She had seen the way the five people in House's office had been staring at her, and she while she was not the least bit afraid, she would still need to be on high alert.

An hour and three quarters later when Maya returned to House's apartment, dressed and ready to go, House was still lounging around in a pair of track pants and a worn grey T-shirt. He still had yet to take a shower and pick out what he was going to wear for the evening. Yes, Chase had mentioned that the dress code was casual but that did not mean House could go there looking like a he just woke up. She opened the hot water in the shower and shooed him into it, not flinching at the glare he sent in her direction and closed the door behind her after she exited the bathroom. He emerged from the shower fifteen minutes later, with water dripping from his hair that was plastered to his face, and just a towel wrapped around his waist.

He heard her heave in a deep breath as he entered the lounge where she was seated and waiting for him to come out, fully dressed of course,

But he was House and House never stuck to the rules. If him dripping with water and almost naked was not a turn on for her, he had no idea what was, and if she was affected by the way he looked at the moment she clearly showed no sign of it, she had an excellent poker face.

"I don't have anything to wear," he whined, causing her to look up at him in surprise. If anything House had enough T-shirts to rival any teenager she knew, and he looked good in almost anything he wore. Still, she got up from the sofa and followed him into his bedroom where he stood in front of his open closet looking for some decent clothing he could wear tonight. She took a quick look at his numerous pairs of jeans and T-shirts and eventually settled on his attire for the evening. The diagnostician finally made his grand entrance into his lounge three quarters of an hour later, much to Maya's displeasure, but the fact that he had decided to actually wear the clothing she picked out for him, consoled her a bit.

The pair reached the restaurant half an hour later, and Maya scolded House on his understanding of being fashionably late, which according to his standards was at least an hour and a half late. She brought her car to a stop in a parking spot near the entrance of the eating house, she watched as House heaved in a deep breath, knowing he was bracing himself for the evening. He felt her place a hand on his arm and he turned to face her questioning gaze. He stayed silent though; he did not want to tell her that just maybe this was all a mistake and that he had only agreed to come to show her off, and now he wasn't so sure about the whole idea.

"It's only for a few hours, Greg, and if you still feel like leaving then I will make an excuse within an hour to leave, is that okay with you?" he nodded his head in approval of her plan but remained seated in his seat, he didn't even attempt to get out of the vehicle. Maya jumped out from the driver's side and walked over to his side; she opened the door and waited for him to step out, impatiently tapping her foot on the tarred ground.

They walked into the restaurant together, House threading his fingers through hers the minute they passed the entrance. He hated attending things like this, where he was somewhat forced to be someone he was not, and it made him very uncomfortable. He knew Maya had sensed his uneasiness as soon as he linked their hands, and she looked up at him, trying to assure him with just a look that she was not going to abandon him half way through the night. He felt her place her hand on his chest, and she murmured words of encouragement in his ear to calm him down, and she offered him a smile.

Maya spotted Chase and Wilson instantly, having seen the two of them on previous occasions, and led House toward the table where his colleagues were seated. She took a look around the place and assessed their surroundings while she pulled out two chairs for her and House to sit on, respectively. House watched as Maya seated herself between him and Seth, and offered the dimple faced man a warm smile, and House gripped the edge of the table harder in response to her action. House was also aware of the looks the male patrons of the restaurant were throwing in Maya's direction and he didn't like it one bit. If anything, he wished he had never asked her to come to this damn dinner in the first place.

Before any of them could introduce themselves, Maya had already greeted Chase and Wilson by name, and managed sneaking in a wink and a risqué smile in the blonde haired man's direction.

"You must be Cameron, and Amber," she continued and smiled at the two blonde women who were scowling slightly at the fact that their counterparts already had a meeting with the woman and had somewhat forgot to mention it, and House had to smile at the thought of Amber actually laying it on to Wilson for not telling her about Maya.

Cuddy had to smile slightly to herself when she saw both Cameron and Amber looking murderously at the counterparts when House's date greeted them personally by name, indicating she had already met them before tonight. Cameron looked like she was about ready to stick a fork into the girl's eye when she offered a smile and a wink in Chase's direction. The dean was aware of House's lingering presence behind the woman, and was mindful of his hand resting on her lower back, as a sign of possession, and just when she thought she couldn't take any more of it, the woman turned to face her, offering her a friendly smile that reached her eyes.

"Bambi," Maya stuck out her hand in Cuddy's direction and grinned widely, "and you must be Doctor Lisa Cuddy," she said and waited for the older woman's reaction. If it bothered her that the woman House had clearly paid to irritate her for the night was indeed a hooker, Cuddy gave no indication of it; she merely shook the younger woman's hand and instead glared at her employee, who she noted was taking much pleasure in her discomfort.

She was saved from doing something irrational when the waiter came up to them to take their orders for the main meal, and House being his usual pestering self had to complain that he was not offered any starters. Cuddy opened her mouth to scold him, as she did on so many other occasions when he behaved like a child, but she was beaten to it when she saw 'Bambi' turn to him and explain that it was his own fault he missed it because he wanted to fashionably late. To Cuddy's surprise House conceded and proceeded to order his drink and let his dinner companion order his meal for him. The rest of them placed their orders as well and once the waited departed the conversation started up again.

A while into the conversation Maya turned to face the good looking blue eyed, dimpled man sitting on the left of her. He looked like he was having a less than nice time and she for some reason felt sorry for him. Maya felt Cuddy's gaze on her, but it did not deter her from introducing herself to the man.

"Hi, I'm Maya Tyler."

"Seth Reid," he offered in response and kissed the back of her hand, making both House and Cuddy frown with displeasure at his action, but Maya paid no attention to it.

"I thought your name was Bambi," Cuddy asked, her cool grey eyes now focused on the woman still talking to Seth.

"No, I just thought it would be fun to see you reaction when I told you that," Maya admitted making Cuddy scowl even more.

"Actually my name is Maya Tyler, and I'd like to take the opportunity to let you know that despite my appearance today and two days ago, and despite what you would like to believe, I am not a hooker," she informed the rest of their tablemates. With that out of the way, she turned to face House, who looked at her with renewed interest. She never ceased to surprise him, with every day that passed, because there was always something new he discovered about her.

"Enjoying yourself, Greg?" she asked softly, her face was inches away from his, so she could feel his breath cascading down her neck. She slowly raised one hand and placed it on his cheek, running the pad of her thumb on the five 'o clock shadow she banned him from shaving off earlier that day, not that he was too keen on getting rid of it either. House stole a quick glance at his boss, and couldn't help the smirk that formed on his lips at her furrowed brow toward him.

"Yes, definitely for the moment, though I think it could get better," he replied just as softly, moving his face even closer to hers, taking Maya by surprise. House pinned his gaze on hers and he knew she knew exactly what thought process was going on in his head; the only problem was if she continued with his game, it would not end well for any of the people involved. The hushed silence that surrounded the table brought House and Maya out of their cocoon and House felt his neck and cheeks burning with heat. He looked up to see Wilson, Chase and Amber grinning at him, Cameron and Cuddy looking at him with extremely concerned expressions.

He was saved from commenting or defending his actions as the waiters arrived with their food and the rest of their drinks, and House dug in with gusto. The food was good even for vegetarian, he had to admit, and Cuddy caught him stealing a few spoonfuls of the stir fry from Maya's plate. The comfortable silence was broken when Maya suddenly looked up and directly in Cameron's direction. She assessed the blonde haired woman carefully taking in as much as she could before she got to know why exactly they had been invited for dinner.

"Cameron," the immunologist looked up at the sound of her name. "So how far along are you?" Maya asked, without thinking,

There was a moment of complete silence, followed by the nervous clearing of his throat by Chase and finally Cameron spoke up.

"Twenty two weeks," she said shyly.

They all looked incredulously at her, she hadn't picked up any weight at all, she hadn't been moody, Cuddy would have heard about it from the ER staff or patients, and her baby bump hadn't even made an appearance yet. Surely they could not have missed something as big as this. Wilson was the first to congratulate the expecting couple and it only made Cameron blush more that she already was. House was the last to offer his hand, his mind was more occupied with the thought that just from one glance at her, Maya had seen what they had missed for four entire months.

After the noise had died down Chase spoke up.

"Yes, we wanted to tell you all at once, and we wanted to inform House and Cuddy that we have chosen them to be Nathan's god parents."

"Seriously?" House could not believe his ears, clearly he was mistaken, he was in no way prepared to look after a kid and they knew that better than anyone. Cuddy looked up uncertainly at her employee who was clearly having as much trouble as she was taking in the news.

"You do realise House has no liking for people, let alone kids?" Wilson asked disbelievingly, though the sight of a sleeping House, holding securely onto Rachel a few weeks ago made its way to his mind, but he said nothing about it.

"We did take that into consideration and we still want House and Cuddy to be Nate's godparents," Chase repeated, his tone suggesting that nothing anyone said would make them change their mind.

Maya saw the flash in Seth's eyes and it confused her at first because from her initial assessment of the man, he didn't fit into the type that would get jealous or angered easily, maybe she was wrong, but her gut feeling told her she was not. She decided to play on what she saw, and she changed the subject immediately.

"So Seth, how long have you and Dr Cuddy been seeing each other?"

A little over a year, but we've been friends for a long time."

"Almost a decade right? You met her while she was in her final year in Med School and Michigan and you would come to campus to hang out with a few friends."

"Yeah," his tone held both awe and surprise that some neither he nor Cuddy had met before knew of their relationship and how far back it went.

"Was she a just as much of a buzz kill then as she is now?" House smiled at his boss.

"I wouldn't call it that, she was just more focused on getting her degree and getting out of there. But there were times she would party all night long, I could count the number of times we did that on one hand," Seth smiled at Cuddy, remembering the very few all night partied they attended together.

"Maybe it was the company she had," Maya offered and now it was Seth's turn be confused.

"Maybe she met someone before she met you, maybe she fell in love with him, but he left and broke her heart and maybe the only way she could forget about him was to distract herself with studying harder and working longer hours," Maya continued casually, while watching Cuddy's face for any sort of reaction that would give her an indication of how she felt.

House looked over at his boss and found that she could not meet his gaze, indicating that whatever Maya had just revealed was indeed the truth, but how the hell did she know about it; it was a closely guarded secret that only House and Cuddy shared, so just where and how did Maya find out about it?

"That must have been almost twenty years ago!" Wilson defended his boss.

"Yes it was," Maya confirmed.

"You say that like you think Cuddy is still in love with that man," even Cameron was confused.

"What I think doesn't matter does it? What matters is how Dr Cuddy feels."

"It was a teenage crush," the strong, unfaltering sound of Cuddy's voice surprised them all, but Maya could see from her body language that she was not as confident of her statement as she wanted them to believe.

"So what you're saying is that if he told you right here right now that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with you, you would walk away from him?"

"Yes," the word was whispered but everyone seated at the table heard it.

House felt Maya grasp his hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly, if only to make him feel better. Granted the conversation did not go the way she planned it but she had discovered more about the woman House was in love with than she had expected. She turned to face him, "Are you okay?" she asked him softly. He nodded his head, and she understood when she saw his jaw clench and felt him squeeze her hand harder than normal, he needed to get out of Cuddy's proximity as soon as possible. She rose from her seat and went to talk to who looked like the manager of the place and returned a few minutes later with a smile on her face.

The table was finally cleared of all dishes and Maya watched as the waiters converted the main part of the restaurant was turned into a dance floor. The slow, smooth music coming from the speakers was enough to get Maya off her chair and convince House to get onto the dance floor with her and a few other couples who were already swaying to the beat. Once they were away from the rest of the group House could relax for a few minutes. He pulled her closer to him and held onto her waist as securely as he could, seeing as he didn't want to be dancing with the help of his cane. House was the only one not aware of the pair of steel grey eyes, watching him from the far end of the room, while he swayed the night away with the beautiful woman in his arms. He would've danced all night long with her, but his thigh was beginning to ache and he knew he needed to rest it a bit before the pain became unbearable.

During their dance his phone had started to ring and he growled when he saw Kutner's name blinking furiously on the screen. Not wanting to talk to anyone at the time, he handed over his phone to Maya and heard the one sided conversation. After hanging up, Maya told him the reason for Kutner's call and House knew there was no decision to make, he was leaving now, whether they liked it or not.

Cuddy watched with a burning feeling in her chest, as the couple walked hand in hand, smiling happily at each other and disappeared into the night. She hadn't seen House smile as much as he did tonight and she was glad that he had found someone who would keep him happy for a long time, but she couldn't quell the feeling of unadulterated feeling of jealousy that took over her when she had watched them dancing earlier that evening. It was as though Maya knew what House was thinking and she made it look so effortless to dance with him.

0 o 0 o 0

Maya turned to face House who was, for once, sitting quietly in the passenger seat, his hands twirling and twisting a rubber band between his fingers, and his jaw clenching and unclenching as she drove toward their destination. They had already been on the road for ten minutes and House had yet to make a comment about well anything. She thought he would have already complained about Cuddy and Seth, or Cameron and Chase, but the diagnostician kept his gaze on the road ahead and his mouth shut as he processed the events of the evening in his mind. If she didn't know him any better, she was sure that he was somewhat angered by her actions, but there was no way she had planned what had happened earlier, and if she had seen it coming, she would have avoided the whole thing in the first place.

"Is there a specific reason you're ignoring me?" she asked after a few more minutes of tensed silence.

"No," he offered no other explanation and continued to stare into the darkness.

"You haven't said anything in the last ten minutes, and for you, that's a record," she joked but that still did not prompt a verbal response from him.

"Greg," she sighed tiredly hoping he would tell her what exactly he was upset about, it was not to be, as she pulled up into the driveway of the cream coloured house and switched off the engine.

House didn't even wait until the engine died; he simply pushed the door open and hurriedly exited the vehicle. He needed to be away from her, he needed to think, but that would happen later, he had more important things to deal with now. He limped up to the doorway and pulled out the spare key that was hidden under the pot plant, and fed it into the keyhole. A few seconds later he walked into the living room, to only to be met with his lackey, Kutner, covering his ears and squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to drown out the screaming that was coming out of the next room. House hit Kutner on the shins to alert him that he had arrived and that Kutner should follow him, quietly.

He made his way slowly to where the heart piercing screaming was coming from, not wanting to scare the little girl any more than she already was. He stopped at the doorway of Cuddy's bedroom, when he saw Rachel sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard, her little chest expanding and contracting violently as sobs wracked her body, and her cheeks stained with tears she had already shed. He felt his heart constrict at her pain and he wanted to just pull her into his arms and hold her close to his chest, but he was House and he didn't do things like that, so he stood rooted to the spot and waited for some sort of sign that would spur him on.

Maya watched as House stood still, fearing to go inside and actually calm the screaming child. She knew he wanted with all his heart to help her, but he was too stubborn to do it on his own, he needed help, and nothing else mattered now except for Rachel. She pushed Kutner aside gently and laid a hand on House's forearm, breaking his attention and he looked at her, his eyes pleading for advice.

"Go to her House, she wants you, no she needs you," she told him so softly not even Kutner who was standing three feet away could hear her. House looked at her uncertainly, but she nodded her head in encouragement and he took one careful step forward. Rachel looked warily at him as he made his way toward her, but she had stopped screaming at the top of her lungs and it prompted him to walk a bit faster. When he finally reached her, he held out his hands toward the kid, palms facing up, like he remembered Maya doing, and he didn't have to wait long before Rachel stood up and ran into his waiting embrace.

He quickly tuned around to see if his lackey had witnessed the action, but the only person standing in the passage was Maya; Kutner was nowhere to be seen. He felt her tiny hands clenching his shirt in her fist, and her face buried in the groove of his neck.

"Its okay kid, Daddy's here now," the words flowed out of his mouth and it was only when he saw Maya's smile did he realise what he has just said.

Kutner returned with a glass of warm milk and honey as Maya had asked him to bring, but Rachel was fast asleep in House's grasp. With Rachel in one hand and his cane in the other House made his way out of the bedroom and toward the front door. He heard Kutner saying something to him, but nothing registered, he was taking the sprog home with him, whether her mother liked it or not.

"Do not tell Cuddy that House has Rachel, if you can't think of anything lie to her, or get Wilson to help you," Maya said as she followed House out the door with Rachel's bag filled with a few clothes for the sleeping child.

"But," Kutner started to protest, but the scathing look he received from Maya was enough to tell him not to test her.

"If I find out anyone else knows about this I will kill you," it was not a threat; it was a promise and Kutner and no intention of messing with the woman standing in front of him.

Twenty minutes later, they were at House's apartment, Rachel laying on top of House's chest as he lay in bed, breathing deeply.

"Good night, Greg," Maya whispered to him, and placed a kiss in his forehead before she left his apartment.

So thats Chapter 10 for you. According to my plan I think there are only two more chapters left, but things and ideas keep changing so I might be wrong

Read and review please.

Oh yes just one question. for the end would you guys prefer an end with closure or a what-if? I have planned for both, but I want to know what you guys think

Thanks and enjoy the weekend