OK guys here's the next chapter. I will try my best to post another one on Friday…if I am not too tired from Christmas shopping!! Once again thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this latest chapter:)

Chapter 10

Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital….

The following week, Cuddy made her way to the elevator with her clipboard in hand, hoping she would not be too late for her meeting on the sixth floor, a slight smile on her face none the less despite her predicament, caused by the fact that she and Greg had not spent a night apart since the first time they had made love after the hospital fundraiser.

It was to say the least a total and yet welcome surprise for her how well the budding relationship they were sharing was quickly taking hold with roots stronger than any other before in her personal life.

Stepping inside the elevator and turning around, Lisa felt her smile begin to grown, biting down on her bottom lip to stop it's progress as the doors of the elevator which began to close were halted by a cane that was being pushed in between them.

"Excuse me cripple coming through!" House yelled, noticing the smile Lisa was trying to hide, brushing against her as he made his way to the back of the packed elevator, standing directly behind her.

Taking in the scent of his cologne, Lisa cleared her throat, maintaining her cool after noticing Greg was wearing his leather jacket and sunglasses that made him look sexy as hell.

Reaching inside his jacket, House placed the earbuds attached to his IPod inside his ears and pushed play while staring down at Lisa's ass with a smile on his face.

The hospital staff members inside the elevator with them, consisting of two nurses, one orderly, and one physician from endocrinology all of whom, gave each other knowing looks of displeasure after the newest passenger had joined them, hoping that the crabby doctor who seemed to thrive off of annoying the crap out of Doctor Lisa Cuddy would keep his big mouth shut for once.

Nodding his head to the music, House's eyes stayed glued on Lisa's gorgeous round ass as he turned up the volume in his headphones……and began to sing.

"Go and tell a brother no, with a ass so fat? Hey why wanna go and do that love huh? Hey why you wanna go and do that love, huh? Hey-Hey why you wanna go and do that, do that?"

Everyone inside the elevator turned around to look at him as well as Lisa, who gave him a glare as the rest of the passengers responded to him by either rolling their eyes or leaving out and exasperated sigh of disgust before turning back around to face the front of the elevator.

Smiling, House continued to bob his head to the music, looking down at Lisa ass again as the two nurses inside the elevator got off the on the third floor before the rest of the passengers exited the elevator on the fourth floor, leaving him alone with her and her tempting body.

Using his cane, House reached around Lisa and pushed the emergency stop button.

"What in the hell are you doing?" Lisa questioned as he leaned closer to her and began singing to her again with a devilish smile displayed on his face.

"I wanna kiss you everywhere between your knees and waist. Hear the sounds that you making, get your knees to shake."

Lisa's mouth dropped before another smile arose from her lips as House closed the gap between them, brushing her lips against hers while reaching behind her and grabbing her ass, giving it a good firm squeeze before he pushed the emergency button once more after the quick grope.

Standing side by side once more as the elevator doors opened, looking as innocent as they day they were born, Cuddy turned to face House.

"You know I'm going to hold you to that." She said in a seductive tone, referring to his last comment, giving him one last lingering look before she stepped off the elevator.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." House replied, watching her go and smiling widely as the elevator doors closed again

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At around one pm, Jeff Hansom walked into the lobby of the hospital, like a man on a mission, his eyes, focusing on the glass door on which the name of Doctor Lisa Cuddy was printed, his gait steady and confident, his mind, traveling so fast he felt slightly off balance by the thoughts that were running through it.

Pulling the door open to the outer office, Jeff noticed the pretty blonde receptionist seated behind her desk who greeted him with a pleasant grin.

This receptionist was a new addition to Lisa's staff and since she was the gatekeeper for Lisa's office, Jeff was going to make sure he made a good first impression on her.

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked, looking up at him.

"I'm here to see Doctor Cuddy." Jeff answered with a brilliant smile.

The receptionist looked in at her new boss through the glass doors that separated them, as her boss concentrated on the computer monitor in front of her before she turned back to face the handsome man standing before her.

"Doctor Cuddy doesn't have any meetings scheduled right now so I'm sure she won't mind you stop in." The woman told him, producing another smile.

"Thank you …Cindy." Jeff replied after spotting the nameplate on her desk.

"Your welcome." The reception responded with another smile, totally impressed by the polite and devastating handsome man.

Hearing her office door open, Lisa looked up from her computer, stunned for a moment when she saw Jeff closing the door.

"Jeff what are you doing here?" Lisa questioned gently.

"How long have you been screwing House?" Jeff demanded as he walked up to her desk, placing his hands firmly on the top it.

Lisa looked up at him dumbfounded for a few seconds, not believing the words he had just spoken to her.

"Jeff I don't know what you're thinking..but….." She began to say as she got up from her chair and made her way around the desk to stand next to him.

"I don't need to think, I KNOW. I saw House leaving your place this morning after you had gone to work and it's not the first time he's done that." Jeff responded as the tone of his voice grew colder.

"You've been watching my house?" Lisa asked him, feeling a nervous twitch in her stomach as she placed her hand on the desk in behind her for support.

"I want you to tell me how long this has been going on between the tow of you." Jeff demanded once more, leaning closer to her as he reached for her hand, holding onto her wrist tightly.

"Jeff you're hurting me." Lisa whispered in shock as she tried to pull her hand away from him, feeling a sharp pain shooting up to her elbow.

"Don't do this Lisa. Don't throw away what we have for him." Jeff told her, loosening his grip on her wrist while still holding onto it.

"Jeff, I want you to leave." Lisa said in a voice that was strong enough to conceal the rising panic within her.

"House is only going to hurt you. You know that as well as I do." Jeff replied, softening his tone, but ignoring her request just the same as he began to gently rub her wrist with his thumb.

"I asked you to leave Jeff.'" Lisa responded, with her tone remaining strong.

Jeff nodded in acknowledgement this time, removing his hand from around her wrist before leaning forward and kissing her on the forehead as he touched her cheek.

"House will never love you as much as I do, and when you realize that, I hope it won't be too late for us." He told her, staring into her eyes intently before turning and leaving her office without saying another word.

Lisa took in a sharp breath, rubbing her left wrist as she watched him go, looking down at the red circular mark his grasp had created, once he had reached the door to the outer office, her eyes growing wide with shock when she noticed how badly her hands were shaking.

From outside of Cuddy's office, Cindy Lark looked over at Jeff Hansom as he flashed her another brilliant smile before he left the outer office, unaware that she had witnessed the entire incident between him and Doctor Cuddy.

Still in shock, Cindy turned her gaze to Cuddy's office, looking in at the visibly shaken woman who was rubbing her wrist as she watched Jeff walking out into the hallway.

Feeling Cindy's eyes upon her, Lisa made eye contact with her, motioning for her to come into her office.

"Nobody needs to know about this, understand?" Lisa said, as soon as Cindy had closed the door behind her.

"But Doctor Cuddy, aren't you afraid that he'll come back?" Cindy questioned with concern.

"He won't come back." Lisa responded dismissively, trying to reassure the woman in front of her well as herself.

"Do you want me to call security so you can report the incident?" Cindy offered.

"I'll be fine." Lisa assured her again. "You can you back to desk now."

Cindy nodded, obeying her boss's requested by turning and leaving the office, closing the door behind her.

Watching her go, Lisa let out a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves before walking up to the doors of her office and drawing the blinds.

********************************************************

After leaving the hospital, Jeff Hansom had walked the city streets of Princeton, leaving his car behind in the hospital parking garage, his mind demanding that the restlessness inside of him be released by physical activity, his heart pumping wildly in his chest after his feet had traveled several blocks, where they led him to a small hole in the wall diner that boasted the best breakfast in town.

Sitting down in a corner booth inside the diner, Jeff felt the film of the both the place as well as the grease from the kitchen in the back trying to leave its mark upon him, trying to taint the things that were pure within him by covering him with its scum.

Reaching for the cup of coffee that had been placed before him a few minutes ago, Jeff brought the mug up to his lips, taking a sip of the brown putrid liquid and swallowing it while trying not to gag, forcing himself to take in some of the filth that was surrounded him so he could better understand it.

Walking up to him inside the crowded diner, a young waitress in her early twenties with auburn hair gave Jeff a warm smile, bringing him the piece of cherry pie he had ordered, making sure he got a good look at her cleavage as she placed the small plate down in front of him.

"Can I get you anything else?" She asked him sweetly as she flirted with him.

"No thanks, I think this should be good." Jeff replied, giving her a winning smile, knowing if he wanted to he could have sex with the girl standing in front of him with little or not effort all her, her tight body and full breasts just another part of the filth that lived here, which was cheap, easy and ready to serve.

"Well if you change your mind I'll be over at the counter." The young woman replied, flashing him another smile before she turned and left.

Leaning back in the booth, Jeff took another sip of his coffee; letting his taste buds linger in the bitterness that moved across his tongue before traveling down his throat as his thoughts once more returned to Lisa.

Unlike the waitress that approached him, Lisa Cuddy did not have the film of lower society scum covering her in its fine and pungent dust, she was fee from its hopeless greed and willingness to sell its soul for money and power, turning most of its inhabitants into nothing more than whores that could be bought easily at a very cheap price before being used up and discarded back into the filth in which the came from.

Shifting his gaze to the city street outside the diner window that was covered in lower class filth, Jeff though back to the first time he had met Lisa Cuddy, her very essence, pure from the slime that society tired to place upon her, a woman of power who used her brains to get where she was today, the sense in her to do right above all else, shielding her from its grasp, creating a light within her that outshone the lesser people of this world, stealing his heart right out from under him before he even knew it was missing.

But now her light was being threatened by someone who was so filled with the uncleanliness of the world he reeked of it.

A man who openly insulted people with no apologies or remorse.

A man who used drugs and alcohol to keep his mind pleasantly wallowing in the filth that surrounded him.

A man who had slept with the woman he loved.

Clenching his jaw in disgust, Jeff took another sip of the bitter coffee before him, resigning himself to the fact that Lisa may indeed have to wallow around in the filth for awhile before she realized what she had lost with him, coming to her senses when the slime covering her began to choke her with its putrid smell.

Of course that didn't mean Jeff was going to idly sit back and watch House try and destroy the light he saw within Lisa.

Oh no….not at all…..Jeff, was far from being a spectator in life especially when it came to the things he wanted in his own life, his ambition and need to control his environment and everything in it, turning him into a very cunning and skilled player in the game of life, a player who used his connections and resources to get what he wanted, a player who had already put a few pieces into play once he found out about House and Lisa before he had even gone and talked to her inside her office today, the part of him that thrived on winning, already taking a few head steps in the game they would all be playing.

"Can I get you another cup of coffee?" The pretty young waitress asked with smile, having walked up to his table again, pulling him away from his thoughts for the moment.

"Thanks. That would be great." Jeff answered with a smile of his own, watching her pour another dose of the brown liquid into his cup before she turned and walked away from him, moving her hips in a cheap and trashy manner.

Letting a soft chuckle escape his lips, Jeff was amused by the thought of how some people in this world really believed they stood a fighting chance at escaping from the filth the surrounded them, never realizing that that the scum that imbedded itself within them always remained attached to them no matter how far they succeeded in crawling out from under it.

**************************************************

Later that afternoon, House limped out of the elevator as it stopped on the first floor, headed for Cuddy's office.

It had been a slow week for him in the fact that he did not currently have a patient and because of that fact, plus the fact that Lisa had caught him once again in coma guy's room watching his soaps, he had been assigned five additional clinic hours, which of course meant it was time for him to try and weasel his way out of them by any means necessary.

As he rounded the corner and opened the first set of glass doors where Cuddy's newest administrative secretary sat behind her desk, he noticed the doors to Cuddy's office had the blinds drawn……causing him to pause before bursting in, looking over at Cuddy's secretary who was chewing on her bottom lip while typing on her computer.

Either the woman had just gotten yelled at by Cuddy or something else was going on that had upset the pretty and very busty blonde.

"Hey…are you ok?" House questioned, taking a step towards her as she sat behind the desk trying to look busy.

"I'm fine." Cindy answered back coolly, keeping her eyes focused on the computer screen in front of her.

"You don't look fine." House said in a voice so sincere that it caught her off guard.

Cindy looked up at the rough looking doctor suspiciously, as he in turn looked back at her with blue eyes and a gentle smile.

"Doctor House, I suggest that you come back later to see Doctor Cuddy." Cindy finally replied, remembering all to well the warnings she had received from her co-workers at the hospital when it came to him, keeping her guard up after a few trying first couple of hours on the job.

House noticed the inflection in her tone.

Something had happened involving Lisa, and he was bound and determined to find out as much about it as he could from her secretary before he headed into her office.

Thank god the busty blonde had a name plate on her desk otherwise he was sure that his next attempt to try and find out the truth from her would have surely failed.

"Listen Cindy, I know the people in this hospital probably told you some very horrible things about me and I'm sure some of them are actually true, but to be fair, at least give me a chance so you can make your own decisions about me." House stated movign closer to her.

Cindy took in a breath, studying the man before her closely while keeping her silence.

"Listen....I know when something is bothering me, I tend to feel a lot better when I talk about it, and even though we don't know each other very well. I am willing to listen." House offered leaning on his cane as he continued with his ruse.

Cindy knew she had promised Doctor Cuddy not to tell anyone about what had happened in her office earlier today with Jeff and after the warning she had received about House from her co-workers, he probably was the last person she tell, still….. there was something about the way he was looking at her now that tugged at internally to spill her secret.

"I really shouldn't be discussing this with you," Cindy began hesitantly.

"I promise you, your secret is safe with me." House stated, hoping that he still had her under his spell of sincerity.

Cindy let out another big breath.

"There was a man named Jeff Hansom who came to see Doctor Cuddy today, I think he was her boyfriend, or maybe ex boyfriend." Cindy started to explain.

The sound of Jeff's name being uttered by the secretary brought up the alarms inside House, causing him to grip his cane a little tighter.

"Go on." He coaxed her.

"Well they were in her office talking, I heard him raise his voice to her and the next thing I knew the guy had was holding onto Doctor Cuddy's wrist." Cindy continued.

House had heard enough and turned to enter into the office.

"Wait Doctor House. Please…. I promised Doctor Cuddy I wouldn't say anything." Cindy pleaded in a hushed and panicked tone.

House gave her a quick glance.

"I'm not going to say anything to her, but I do need to see Doctor Cuddy now about some hospital business and I'll be careful not to upset her." He lied before ducking inside the office and locking the door behind him.

Entering into Lisa's office, House found her sitting on the couch with her hands in her lap.

She had been staring at the bookcase across from her and when she turned to look at him he could see she was still recovering from whatever had happened between her and Jeff.

"Are you alright?" He asked, limping over to the couch before taking a seat next to her.

"I'm fine." Lisa answered, looking down at her hands and cursing herself for the tremor that was attached to her voice.

"You don't need to pretend with me, Susie out there spilled the beans. I know Jeff came to see you today.' House informed her.

"Her name is Cindy." Lisa corrected him, still keeping her gaze locked on her hands that rested in her lap.

House followed her gaze and saw the dark purple bruise that was beginning to form on her left wrist, the anger within him at seeing what the son of bitch had done to her, forming just as quickly.

"Let me see." He said reaching for her wrist, keeping his emotions in check for the time being.

"I told you I'm fine." Lisa repeated, as the conversation she had with Jeff earlier continued to replay itself within her thoughts.

House touched the side of her face before titling her chin up so she would have to look at him.

"You're not fine Lisa, now let me see." He told her in a soft but firm tone, knowing her mind was on overdrive right now, trying to sort through what had occurred between her and Jeff inside her office.

Lisa looked into his blue eyes and relented, holding out her hand in front of him.

House carefully applied gentle pressure to the area around the bruise.

"Does this hurt?" He asked with concern.

"A little." Lisa replied with a slight wince.

"You need to get an x-ray." House told her as the anger within him continued to simmer.

"I'm planning on going down to Radiology in a little while." Lisa answered.

"What happened?" House finally asked, resting her hand on his lap.

"Jeff came in here and told me he knew about us and the fact that you were staying over at my place, he was hurt and he overreacted, but I'm sure that once he realizes what he has done….." Lisa started to say.

"How did he know that I was staying at your place?" House questioned as an uneasy feeling crept into his stomach.

"Jeff said he saw you leaving from my house a couple of times." Lisa confessed watching the demeanor on his face change in an instant.

"I don't want you to go anywhere by yourself." House stated as Lisa looked back at him with shock.

"Greg….I think you're overreacting. Jeff was hurt and upset, but I'm sure once he has time to think about what he did….." Lisa started to say.

"Stop trying to rationalize the situation!" House warned her, getting to his feet as a bit of his anger broke free. "Jeff admitted to you that he was stalking you and then physically assaulted you in this office. He's not some lovesick teenager…. he's dangerous and you need to be concerned about this, instead of trying to make sense of his irrational actions."

Lisa looked back down at her hands resting her lap.

"I am concerned, but I don't want to be afraid of him, I don't want to give Jeff that type of power over me." She responded in earnest, getting up from the couch as well so she could stand before him.

"Being afraid has nothing to do with power. It's a part of all of us that's been programmed within our brains since we crawled out of the ocean. To warn us about danger headed our way." House replied back to her as the ringing inside of his head that had begun the minute he found out about Jeff coming to see her began to grow louder.