I want to continue to thank all those who've reviewed…it seriously makes my day when I hear from you guys!! And I'm so excited that I got some new readers as well! Welcome to the story I really enjoyed writing chapter 8. I hope House didn't seem too OOC to anyone. In my opinion, he has the capacity within him to show his love to someone in that way because of the way he was with Stacy in the show. We saw his soft, vulnerable and romantic side. I have no doubt that he loves Cuddy more than he ever did Stacy so, why wouldn't he be that way with her? Anyway, that's just my opinion…I'll stop rambling and let you read the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!!

Chapter 9

8:30 AM

Cuddy had been smiling all morning. When she got home, she showered and got herself ready for the day, all with a smile on her face. She was so happy that she and House were able to work things out between them. Last night she was afraid that maybe he wouldn't want to continue their relationship. To be honest she wasn't sure she wanted to either, but she couldn't imagine going back after everything they've been through together all these years. In all the years that she's known him, right now was their time. It was now or it was never…and she couldn't imagine never.

Cuddy had made it to the hospital about 30 minutes late this morning. When she walked into her office and saw the pile of paperwork waiting for her she sighed, putting away her briefcase and removing her coat. Before she got started she wanted to go upstairs and check up on Bella. It had only been three days but she seemed to be doing well on the antibiotics she was given for her pneumonia. Meaning she could be released from the hospital in a few more days. It would break her heart to see Bella go, but she knew it was for the best.

After speaking with the nurses and getting an update on how Bella was doing, she slipped into her room as quietly as she could, not wanting to wake her. She checked Bella's chart, and walked over to check on her temperature. Satisfied, she turned around to walk out of the room when suddenly she heard Bella moan just before she gasped loudly and startled awake, causing her to have a coughing fit which made it difficult for her to breathe.

Cuddy walked back to her bedside quickly. "Bella, are you ok?" She asked with worry, helping her sit up so she could breathe easier. "Take deep breaths." She instructed. Bella tried to breathe deeply in between her coughs. When she was finally able to stop coughing and began breathing better she looked up at Cuddy. Cuddy noticed she looked confused and slightly disoriented. "Hey, are you ok? Do you know where you are?" Bella nodded. "What happened? Did you have a bad dream?"

Bella looked away as tears started forming in her eyes. She nodded and hugged Splat close to her chest. Cuddy sat down on the edge of the bed facing her and ran her fingers gently through Bella's hair. Setting Splat down on the bed, Bella leaned forward and carefully climbed onto Cuddy's lap, hugging her tightly as her tears escaped her eyes.

Cuddy was surprised at her gesture, but hugged her back, comforting her. "Shhh, you're ok now." Cuddy looked down at Bella's face. "Do you want to talk about it?" Cuddy whispered. She already knew the answer but she wanted Bella to know that she was there to listen if she did want to talk. To her surprise, Bella nodded.

"Ok, I'm going to turn on the light so you can tell me about it, alright?" Cuddy switched on the lamp next to the bed and handed Bella her notepad and pen. Splat had curled up on Bella's pillow as Cuddy cradled Bella on her lap, watching her write with shaky hands what she'd dreamt about.

'i dreemed about you and you died just like my mom.' She showed Cuddy what she'd written and as Cuddy read it, a single tear from Bella's eye fell onto the page. She heard Bella sniffle and lay her head on Cuddy's shoulder.

"Oh honey, I'm so sorry." Cuddy responded and held Bella tighter in her embrace. "I'm right here, ok? I'm safe." Cuddy felt Bella nod against her shoulder and Cuddy placed a kiss on her forehead. She held her for several minutes, hoping that Bella would feel comforted that Cuddy was indeed there and that her dream was just a dream. Cuddy hadn't expected any of this, and she knew that Bella telling her what had happened to her parents had triggered the nightmare.

As Cuddy held Bella, she heard a knock on the door. Kasey, the morning nurse walked in with Bella's breakfast. Cuddy smiled at her, silently thanking her for bringing it in.

"Bella, are you hungry? Nurse Kasey brought your breakfast." She spoke softly.

Bella shook her head. Her tears had dried up but Cuddy sensed that she still felt scared about her nightmare. "Do you want me to stay while you eat?"

Bella nodded.

"Ok. Come on, sit back down here on your bed, I'll wheel the tray over to you." Cuddy said, gently shifting Bella onto her bed once more. She stood up and moved the tray to Bella, removing the cover over her food. Bella watched intently, never taking her eyes off of Cuddy.

"Look, she even brought Splat some milk." Cuddy said with a smile, hoping to ease Bella's tension from her nightmare.

Bella smiled in response, picking Splat up and setting him down on her lap. Cuddy filled a small bowl with the milk, setting it down on the floor for Splat to drink. Bella handed him to Cuddy and they watched Splat for a moment as he enjoyed his milk.

"Ok, your turn…eat your pancakes." Cuddy said with a smile, pointing at Bella's food. Bella shifted her eyes to Cuddy and then down to her food. She slowly picked up one of her pancakes and began eating it dry.

"You don't like butter and syrup on your pancakes?" Cuddy asked, amused at her. She'd never seen a kid not like syrup on pancakes.

Bella shook her head. She picked up a second pancake and handed it to Cuddy.

"That's your breakfast, you need to eat it." Cuddy said, surprised once again at Bella's actions.

Bella shook her head, holding the pancake out for Cuddy. Cuddy took it from her. Bella placed the pancake she was eating back on her plate and wrote on her notepad.

'you need brekfust to.'

Cuddy chuckled and nodded at that. "Thank you." Watching Bella smile with satisfaction, Cuddy ate the pancake that was offered to her. After eating in silence together for a few minutes, Cuddy spoke up.

"Bella, you remember Dr. House, don't you?"

Bella nodded. 'greg?'

"Yeah, Greg." She smiled. For some reason she thought it was cute that House had introduced himself as Greg instead of House or Dr. House.

"He's going to keep you company today, would you like that?"

'what about you?'

"I have a lot of work to do today, so I won't be able to stay, but Greg will be with you."

Bella seemed a bit saddened by that but she nodded. 'you will be back later?'

Cuddy nodded. "As often as I can." She stood to leave. Noticing Splat across the room, she went to pick him up. Walking back to Bella, she took him and set him on the bed next to her. As Cuddy stood next to the bed, Bella reached her arms up to Cuddy for a hug. Cuddy smiled with genuine happiness and leaned down to accept Bella's hug. She held on tightly to her, enjoying the affection Bella was showing her.

"I'll see you later, ok? Have fun with Greg." Cuddy loosened her grip on Bella and kissed her cheek.

Bella nodded in response to Cuddy and smiled at her as she walked out of the room.

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9:45 AM

House walked into the hospital with an extra spring in his step. He wasn't smiling but he was definitely happy. Happiness was not a feeling he was used to, but he sort of liked it, as long as nothing screwed it up. As he walked by the reception desk in the lobby, he thought about turning and heading to Cuddy's office to see her but quickly changed his mind knowing that she would be dealing with his mess from yesterday. There was also a slight chance that she could be pissed at him because of it, so he decided to dodge a potential bullet and head upstairs to his office.

He walked into the conference room and saw Kutner and Taub sitting at the table.

"What the hell are you two doing in here, aren't you supposed to be down in the clinic?"

"We were hoping you'd walk in with a case." Kutner said.

"Nope." House replied. "You're stuck in the clinic again. Unless you want to go scrounge one up for us in the ER." He walked into his office, setting his bag down on his desk. Kutner and Taub followed him.

"What about you? You're not in the clinic today?" Taub asked.

"Babysitting." House responded with an exasperated tone. "The evil dictator of this fine establishment stuck me with Mary Poppins duty. That bitch." He added in mock bitterness.

Kutner and Taub grinned at his misfortune, but of course the joke was on them…as usual. They both walked out of House's office with smug looks on their faces. House smiled to himself when they were gone.

On his way up to pediatrics, House wondered what eight year olds found interesting these days. He brought his PSP with him but other than that he was at a loss. He knew Bella liked to draw, maybe that would keep her occupied. But he knew one thing for sure, he'd be damned if he was going to sit and play Barbie's with her.

When he finally got to her room, he noticed she was playing with that cat of hers. 'Oh good, something else to keep her busy.' He thought. He slid the door open and walked into the room.

"So…how is the little artful dodger today?" House exclaimed, walking over to the chair and sitting down.

Bella stopped playing with Splat and looked up at him with a smile, signing 'hello' to him.

House sat and stared at her for a moment before he looked at the cat and pointed.

"Did you steal that cat, kid?" House asked Bella, smirking at her.

Bella was petting Splat, who was still playing with the toy in her other hand. She looked up at him with a frown and shook her head. She signed her response to House.

"Riiiight…where?" He asked as if he didn't believe that she'd just found him.

She responded.

"You found that cat in an abandoned house?" He asked with a bit of disbelief in his voice. "Is that where you've been this whole time?"

Bella shook her head and looked down at Splat once more.

"What happened that made you leave the house?" House asked her.

Bella looked up at him and responded, her movements firm, as if she were upset.

"You got kicked out? By who?"

This time her response wasn't as firmly stated.

"Druggies? You want me to go kick their high and strung out asses?" House said with a smirk, making Bella smile. She shrugged her shoulders and continued petting Splat.

"Well you say the word, sister, and their ass is grass!" House exclaimed emphatically with a sarcastic smirk on his face, receiving stares from George just outside the room and a nurse that happened to pass by at that precise moment.

His statement caused Bella to laugh and nod her head at him.

House pulled out his PSP and held it up for Bella to see. "Wanna watch me kick some ass on this baby?"

Bella nodded enthusiastically.

After about an hour, House was still sitting in the chair beside Bella's bed playing his PSP as Bella watched him. She had a smile on her face as he made it to the next level on his game. After a few minutes on that level, House felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked at Bella and she signed, telling him something.

"You know where the bathroom is; did you want me to hold your hand?" House said with sarcasm, pointing to the bathroom so she could go pee.

Bella rolled her eyes and held up her hand, showing him her IV and pointing that she needed help with it.

"What am I, a nurse?" House asked. Receiving a glare from Bella, he sighed loudly. "Fine, come on."

House set down his game, and grabbed the stand, helping Bella off the bed. She took the stand in her hand, thanking him. Wheeling the stand with her as she walked to the bathroom alone. She went in and closed the door.

House looked up with a smirk when he heard the door to the bathroom close. He sat back down in his chair and resumed his game. He didn't want to treat Bella like she was a glass doll, in danger of breaking at any moment. Cuddy seemed to think that's what would happen if you so much as looked at her the wrong way. Bella had lived and survived on the streets; you had to be smart and you had to be tough to accomplish that. He had a certain admiration for her in that sense.

When she walked out, House was still playing his game. He glanced up at her as she walked back to her bed. Handing House the IV stand once more, she carefully climbed in and scooted over so she could watch him play that level. He thought she might be bored so House pressed pause and looked up at her. He held the PSP out to her.

"You want to play?"

Bella shook her head.

"What do you want to do then?" House asked.

She signed to him.

House nodded. "Hmmm, that is an excellent idea." House stood up and walked out of the room.

Bella smiled excitedly and sat up. A moment later House returned with a wheelchair. He pulled it up next to the bed.

"Your chariot, milady." He said with a British accent.

Bella got off the bed and sat in the wheelchair, bringing Splat with her. She looked up at House with a smile. House looked down at her with a mischievous smirk. He pointed down to the IV tubing connected to her hand. "Careful you don't tangle that." He grabbed the bag and hooked it onto the IV extension on the wheelchair.

"So, where to, madam?" He continued with the accent, drawing a chuckle from Bella. Bella signed.

"Sorry, kiddo…gotta stay inside." House shook his head. "Where else?"

Bella thought for a moment and then shrugged, not coming up with an idea. House raised his eyebrows and wheeled Bella toward the door. "Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride…I have an idea. But first we have to make a stop."

As House wheeled Bella out of the room, George, the security guard, stood up at seeing House walk out with Bella.

"Dr. House…"

"Stand down, Goliath, the missus left me in charge of the kid." House said, dismissing George with a wave of his hand.

"I know, sir, but I don't think she meant for her to leave." He followed after House.

"Oh relax, go take a coffee break. It's not like I'm kidnapping her or anything." House rolled his eyes as he continued wheeling Bella down the corridor.

At the end of the hall, House found what he was looking for; the children's lost and found closet. When they were finished getting what they needed in there, they headed to the elevators. Once inside, he pressed the button for the fourth floor.

They had the elevator to themselves and Bella turned around to look up at House. She signed something to him when he looked at her.

"We're going outside, but not outside." House responded.

Bella furrowed her brow at him, not understanding. "You'll like it, trust me." He assured her. Bella nodded and turned back to face the doors as they opened. House wheeled Bella down the hallway to his office. None of his fellows were in there due to them not having a case at the moment; they were undoubtedly down in the clinic. He opened the door to his balcony and parked the wheelchair.

Bella stood up and looked over the balcony. She smiled up at him and he returned it. "See, told ya."

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11:30 AM

Wilson was sitting at his desk working on a file when he heard a cat meowing outside his balcony door. He furrowed his brow and stood up from behind his desk. 'What the hell?' He thought, walking over to inspect. When he got to the door he saw House sitting on the bench on his balcony.

Wilson wandered outside, seeing the cat sitting on top of the dividing wall between his balcony and House's balcony. There was a little girl standing next to the wall on House's side. She looked up at him with trepidation and moved over next to House, taking the cat with her.

"House." Wilson called.

House looked up at him. "Wilson." Upon seeing him, House scowled. "What is up with that tie?"

Wilson looked down at his tie. "What's wrong with it?"

"What's right with it? Damn Wilson, that thing's hideous." House smirked.

"Hey, this tie was a gift, and besides the kids like it."

His tie was a multicolored monstrosity with the ugliest little designs he'd ever seen.

"Well, maybe you should give it back. Hey kid, do you like his tie?" House looked at Bella.

Bella nodded slowly; seemingly unsure of the man House was talking to. She had laid her hand on House's arm, grabbing hold of his coat sleeve as a sense of security. House noticed her insecurity but decided not to acknowledge it. He scowled at her, in response to her answer about the tie.

Wilson smiled. "See?"

"Do you really like it or are you just saying that?" House asked, narrowing his eyes.

Bella signed.

"Hmm, fine, I guess we're all entitled to our opinion…no matter how wrong it is." House replied.

"What'd she say?" Wilson asked curiously.

"Unfortunately, she likes your ugly tie. Thinks it's 'interesting.'" House stated.

As if just realizing, Wilson looked at him in disbelief. "You speak sign language?"

"What can I say…I'm an onion." House responded.

"You…make people cry?" Wilson asked with a scowl on his face, not understanding what that has to with anything.

House rolled his eyes. "I have layers, you idiot." He paused. "Although, I do make people cry a lot."

"There's an understatement." Wilson replied, rolling his eyes. "Is that Cuddy's patient?" He asked curiously.

"Yep. Wilson, Bella; Bella, Wilson." House introduced, still concentrating on his PSP game.

Bella brought her hand up and waved slowly at Wilson.

"Hi, Bella." He paused. "Uh, House, what are you doing out here with her."

"We're planning our escape route. I thought we could shimmy down the rain gutters, but she wants to take the fire escape. I don't know, we're currently engaged in some pretty tough negotiations at the moment." House replied with a smartass grin.

"Right…because taking the elevator and walking out the doors would just be silly." Wilson replied. "Does Cuddy know about this? Seriously House, what are you guys doing out of her room?"

"I told you…we're plan-" He started.

"Fine, don't tell me." Wilson sighed, rolling his eyes and returning to his office.

House smirked at Bella. "He is so easy."

Bella looked at him, confused. She shrugged her shoulders and continued playing with Splat.

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12:00 PM

Taking a break from her paperwork and phone calls, Cuddy decided to go have lunch with Bella. She missed seeing her, especially after this morning when they seemed to have bonded. She still felt a bit sad at what she'd learned last night and that it had caused her to have a nightmare, and she was hoping that House wasn't being too much of an ass to her today. As she walked up to Bella's room, she didn't see George sitting in his chair keeping an eye on Bella. Cuddy looked through the glass door and became alarmed. Bella wasn't in the room, and neither was House.

She pulled out her cell phone and dialed House's number. No answer. She turned around and walked to the nurse's station. 'Great, no one there; does anyone work here? Didn't I employ a whole gaggle of nurses in this department?' She thought with frustration.

Cuddy tried to call House again, but once more got no answer. She walked toward the elevators; she decided to try his office. When she got off the elevator on the fourth floor, Wilson was just exiting his office.

"Wilson, have you seen House and Bella?" Cuddy asked, hoping Wilson knew where they were.

"House's balcony." Wilson pointed.

Cuddy sighed in relief and thanked him. Doing a double take, Cuddy turned around to Wilson once more.

"Nice tie, Wilson." She commented with a smirk.

Wilson rolled his eyes. "The kids like it." He defended, before turning toward the elevator once more.

Cuddy chuckled as she made her way to House's office.

She could see Bella standing next to the wall that separated House's balcony from Wilson's. Cuddy opened the door to the balcony and saw House sitting on the bench playing his PSP. She rolled her eyes.

House and Bella looked up when they heard the door open. Bella ran over to Cuddy, giving her a hug, almost knocking her off balance. Cuddy returned her hug with a smile, feeling less upset at them for leaving the room. House saw Cuddy and he gave her a small smile, gazing at her lovingly with his blue eyes. Cuddy returned his gaze, feeling somewhat shy at his intense stare.

"House, what are you guys doing out here? I got worried when I didn't see you in the room." Cuddy asked them. Turning her attention to Bella, she noticed House had found some clothes for her in the lost and found closet. She wore a pair of gray sweat pants under her hospital gown that were a little too big for her and an orange puffy down winter jacket zipped up to her neck, some pink rain boots and a multi colored toboggan on her head. It would have been humorous if it weren't so cute.

House nodded toward Bella. "The kid wanted to be outside…this was the best I could do."

Cuddy shook her head, starting feel upset again. "House, she has pneumonia. She doesn't need to be outside. This is totally irresponsible."

House rolled his eyes.

"Oh calm down, she's bundled up from head to toe, I think she'll be ok." He pointed to Bella. "And besides, we haven't been out here that long."

Cuddy sighed and rubbed Bella's back as she continued to hug her. Cuddy looked down at Bella with a small smile. "Do you feel ok?" She asked softly, feeling her forehead to make sure she didn't have a fever.

Bella smiled and nodded her head, tightening her hold on Cuddy. Her actions made Cuddy smile again. "Ok, but we need to go back up to your room." She saw disappointment come over Bella's face. "Are you hungry, Bella? I thought we could have lunch together."

Bella nodded slowly and smiled. She released Cuddy from her hug, reaching out to House, grabbing his hand and yanking his arm for him to stand up.

"Hey, careful Xena, I only have three good limbs left." House complained as he stood up. A smirk spread across his face and he added, "well, four if you count Litt-…"

Cuddy eyes widened. "House, don't you dare finish that sentence."

House laughed.

Bella gave him another yank just before she bent down and grabbed Splat. She sat in the wheelchair and Cuddy wheeled her back into the office, followed by House. When they were out in the hallway, Bella set Splat on her lap and took House's left hand as he walked beside her. She looked up at him with a smile. Cuddy took notice of this and she smiled as well. She also noticed that House didn't pull his hand away.

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Bella liked Greg…he was funny. He acted all mean to people when really he was nice inside. And he didn't treat her like a kid, he treated her like everyone else…she liked that about him too. She remembered him from yesterday and how he could speak sign language with her.

Because of her nightmare this morning, she didn't want to be with anyone but Lisa today, afraid that something bad would happen to her and she'd never see her again. But Greg took her mind off of it as soon as he walked into her room. She was having a good time with him…especially when he let her leave her room. She was really tired of being cooped up in a hospital room for days. Bella was feeling better and she wanted to leave the hospital, but not to go back to that horrible place she was at a couple of years ago after her parents died. She still needed to figure a way out of here. Because she knew that soon, they'd be calling that place to have them come and take her away.

Leaving the room today gave her the idea to look for places she could hide when she tried to escape. It wouldn't be easy, but there were a lot of hiding places in the hospital. She would be sad having to leave Lisa and Greg behind, but she had no other choice. So she decided to enjoy her day with them.

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1:50 PM (40 minutes ago)

"If Cuddy sees us, she'll kill me and then I'm coming back to haunt your ass for the rest of your life, capiche?" House said, pointing down at Bella as she sat on her bed.

Bella nodded in understanding.

"Alright then, as long as we understand each other. And the cat stays here."

Bella nodded once more. She stood up on the bed and grabbed onto House's shoulders, hoisting herself up onto his back, piggyback-style and winding her arms around his neck.

"Hold on tight and for the love of God, do not bursts that thing all over me." House pointed at the bag of antibiotics attached to her IV. He placed the bag inside one of his blazer pockets and carefully moved towards the door of Bella's room.

George was relieved from guarding the door for the rest of the day since House was with Bella today. He glanced around the corner to make sure there was no one watching them. He slipped out of the room when he deemed it safe to leave. Limping down the corridor to the elevators, they got in and pressed the button for the lobby. There were two other people in the elevators with them staring at House and Bella, no doubt wondering what the crazy doctor was up to.

Once they reached the lobby area, House glanced around to make sure that Cuddy was nowhere in sight. He made his way to the clinic, peeking inside of Cuddy's office to see if she was there and if she was preoccupied. She was.

House walked over to the reception desk in the clinic, eyeing his target. Before he could make a move, he heard a voice behind him.

"Hey, House."

He turned around to see Kutner walk up beside him looking amused.

"Kutner." House stated. Kutner turned to face him.

"There's a child on your back." He said, almost laughing.

"What?" House said in astonishment, looking behind him. "Oh, her." He said looking relieved, causing Bella to laugh.

Kutner chuckled at the sight of them.

"Do me a favor and grab that bag under the counter, there. And don't let the nurses see you." House instructed.

Kutner quickly grabbed the bag and handed it to House. House took the bag.

"We were never here." House said.

He quickly and quietly limped away from the clinic, leaving Kutner behind with a smirk on his face.

House and Bella returned to the elevator and headed back up to her room.

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2:30 PM

After lunch, Cuddy had returned to her office to get some more work done. And after House and Bella's secret mission downstairs to the clinic, they now sat across from each other playing cards. They were playing two-man poker and House was winning, for the moment, but Bella seemed to be holding her own.

"Where the hell did you learn how to play poker?" House asked.

Bella signed her response.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa…you have a brother?" House asked, completely surprised by this.

Bella straightened her back and looked shocked that she had let that slip. She quickly shook her head no. House narrowed his eyes, obviously not believing her.

"Liar." He said. She simply stared at him, not willing to talk further about it.

"Fine, if you're not going to answer, I call." House stated. They laid their cards down and Bella smirked at him. "Damn it." House swore.

Bella collected the suckers that she'd won and placed them in her lap. House dealt another hand. As he was dealing, Bella looked at his left ring finger. She signed her question to him.

"Nope, not married." House responded. After dealing he picked up his cards, looking them over. He saw Bella sign something else, her cards still lying on the table. "No kids either." She asked another question. He sighed. "As a matter of fact, yes, I do have a girlfriend. Now, are we going to play or not?" He asked, getting impatient and finding her questions annoying. Bella signed again. "Why should I tell you her name, you didn't answer my question about your brother." House raised his eyebrows at her.

Pouting, Bella picked up her cards and signed her response. House's mouth fell open and he pointed his finger at her and narrowing his eyes. "You're lucky Cuddy can't read sign language or she'd kick your ass, potty mouth. Now stop sign swearing and make your first move."

Bella smirked at him and placed 4 red suckers on the table.

"Oh, well aren't you bold." House commented about her bet, placing 6 green suckers on the table.

As they were playing their game, suddenly Bella asked House a question.

"It's about time you asked me that question, I've only been waiting for it since we met…that's when most kids ask me, you know, if I haven't already scared them away by that point." House said sarcastically.

Bella rolled her eyes.

"Ok, listen up, I'm going to tell you a little story and when I'm finished it is never to be talked about again." House cleared his throat dramatically. "Once upon a time there was a totally hot guy, named Prince Gregory. He was the most attractive man in the entire kingdom of Princeton. One day he was having a wonderful time with his totally hot woman, Princess Stacy, when he suddenly felt a horrible pain in his leg and had to go to the hospital in the next kingdom over, Plainsboro. Four days later, it turned out that Princess Stacy wasn't such a princess and she decided to go behind Prince Gregory's back and have his leg muscle cut out by the queen of Plainsboro herself, Queen Lisa. Well, long story short, I use a cane because I have missing leg muscle and tons of pain. However, on the up side, Prince Gregory is now the King of the mega kingdom, Princeton-Plainsboro."

House punctuated the end of his story by placing his cards down on the table, revealing his hand. Bella did the same.

"Damn it!!" House yelled. Bella laughed smugly at him as she collected her suckers.

About two hours later, Bella was asleep in her bed and House was asleep in the chair with his feet propped up on Bella's bed and Splat sleeping on his stomach. Cuddy walked in the room, having finished with her paperwork for the day. She smiled at the picture they made. As she stepped further into the room, she noticed a huge pile of suckers on the bed beside Bella and another smaller pile on the bedside table next to House. She furrowed her brow, wondering where all the suckers came from.

Cuddy nudged House's shoulder to wake him up. He didn't wake up so she shook his shoulder. "House." She whispered. Still nothing. She shook his shoulder more forcefully and spoke louder. "House, wake up."

House startled awake and looked up at Cuddy, smiling at her. "Hey, sweet cheeks, wanna sit on my lap and make out?"

"Looks like there's no room." She said sarcastically, pointing down to where Splat was sleeping.

House looked down at his lap. "What the hell? How did that happen, last time I looked he was up there with her, sneaky little fur ball."

Cuddy laughed. "How'd it go?"

"Fine." House stood up slowly, placing Splat on the bed and rubbing his leg. He started gathering his cards and suckers, putting them in his jacket pockets.

"What's with all the suckers, did you go trick or treating?" Cuddy asked, as she stood there watching him.

House smirked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "We had to have something to bet in our poker game. Nurse Brenda is going to be so pissed when she sees that her suckers are missing." House chuckled as he unwrapped one and put it in his mouth.

"You stole the suckers from the clinic?" Cuddy glared at him. "And you taught Bella how to play poker? House, what the hell?" She said with disappointment.

Before she could rant any further, House butt in. "Hey, I didn't teach her anything…she spanked me at poker. And you better watch out for her, she's got a mouth like a sailor."

Cuddy raised her eyebrows at him in surprise. "She spoke to you?"

"No, she…sign swore at me." He gestured with his hands and shrugged his shoulders. "Same thing."

Cuddy sighed and looked over at Bella. "Did she tell you anything today?" She turned her gaze back to House, waiting for his answer.

House sighed quietly. "She mentioned a brother, but clammed up afterwards."

Cuddy dropped her jaw in surprise. "I wonder if he was in the accident with her parents." She shook her head. "Why wouldn't she mention it though?"

"I don't know…maybe something else happened." House replied. After a moment of silence between them, House limped over to the trashcan, throwing the sucker stem away and quietly shutting the blinds to Bella's room.

He returned to Cuddy's side, standing to her left, facing her. "Hey, come over tonight." He said softly into her ear, sneaking his left hand into hers, interlacing their fingers.

Cuddy looked up at him with a smile, squeezing his hand. "Ok. I just have a few more things to take care of first." She responded quietly. House leaned down, kissing her lips.

"House, not here." She looked behind her, surprised to see that the blinds were closed, she returned her gaze back up to him. "Well, aren't you sneaky." She chuckled.

Housed nodded and leaned down once more, capturing her lips with his. He released her hand, bringing it up to cup her jaw in his hand as he caressed her cheek with his thumb. She placed her left hand on his chest, as she kissed him back.

They pulled back when they heard Bella coughing. Cuddy looked at Bella, noticing she was still asleep. She looked back at House. "Do you mind if I spend some time with her tonight?" She asked him quietly.

House looked over at Bella and shook his head. He returned his gaze to Cuddy. "Just don't forget about me." He leaned down kissing her once more.

"I won't." She said with a smile.

"See ya, Cuddles." Kissing her cheek, he moved to the door, silently slipping out.

Review, my friends, review!!! Thanks again.