Dear Readers, ...
House punched the radio button and a country station's music blared out of the speakers. Oh hell, no! House thought. The last thing he wanted to hear was some twangy cowboy crooning about how his woman dumped him or done him wrong. Hell, he was living that life. House quickly hit the scan button and searched for jazz. It took several attempts but he found something close enough to help take his mind off his thoughts. He turned up the volume, carefully put the car back in drive and edged out onto the highway. He had a mission for now and that included bringing Thirteen home.
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Cuddy raced out of the office just after 5 pm. She had managed to avoid lunch with Wilson, afraid she might blurt out the news of her pregnancy. She had blamed her deferred plans, claiming a mild headache and asked if they could postpone until tomorrow. Wilson let her off the hook but still managed to pass by her office and glance in, twice she caught him and waved with a little smile. He got the message.
Cuddy prepared for her sister Julia's reaction to the bump on her head which indeed had discolored to a pale purple and was clearly visible. Julia would freak out in typical Julia-fashion and Cuddy would have to calm her down. She just needed to keep her thoughts to herself until Julia and Marina left her alone with Rachel.
By dinner time, Cuddy was mentally planning her nightly routine to include a sleeping pill to help her get through the night as quickly as possible. She had been rattled by the thought of being pregnant and found herself panicking at both possible outcomes. At no time did she really feel she would be relieved if she wasn't pregnant. Knowing herself deep down, Cuddy was almost afraid to acknowledge she hoped she was.
It would be hours before she could use the test kits. Thankfully, Rachel had worn herself out with her Aunt Julia and gone to bed easily. Cuddy found herself sitting on her own bed for nearly an hour staring at the two little test kit boxes, one in each hand. She considered numerous options on how and when to use both, resisting the urge to use one test immediately.
Finally, Cuddy decided she would use both first thing in the morning. She went through her normal toiletry routine of washing her face, brushing her teeth and applying moisturizer around her eyes. She took her sleeping pill and went to bed with a biography book she'd been meaning to finish. That was pointless. No matter how many times she read the pages, nothing sunk in. Cuddy got out of bed, headed into the bathroom, opened both test kits and laid everything out on the side of the tub next to the toilet. She read and reread the instructions to make sure she knew exactly what to do. Sufficiently satisfied with her preparations, Cuddy mentally planned out her steps for the following morning. All she really had to do was pee on the tips of the test sticks and wait. Then she'd know.
Cuddy sighed heavily before turning out the bathroom lights and headed back to her bed. She had given up on the book, opened the drawer in her nightstand and grabbed a suduko puzzle book and a pen. Flipping to the back section where the hardest puzzles were, she selected a "highly difficult" page and concentrated on figuring out the solution. It was hard and that kept her attention until the sleeping pill kicked in.
The next morning, Cuddy's alarm woke her and she slammed the button to shut it off. Her eyes flew open as she realized it was TIME. She raced into the bathroom and hurried to the toilet. She was excited and yet dreading the inevitable results. Would she really, really be pregnant? She'd know in 6 minutes or less. Three test kits wouldn't lie!
Uncapping both test sticks, she carefully followed the instructions. Afterward, she placed both sticks on a neat pile of tissues and waited for the test windows to change in some way.
Cuddy knew sitting there and staring was only going to make time drag. She forced herself to go make her bed and open her curtains. That took three minutes. What to do for the next two minutes? She closed her eyes and did a little meditative breathing to relax her body and stop holding her breath without meaning to.
Cuddy closed the bathroom door and paced back and forth. One hand on her hip, the other covering her mouth preventatively as if she might scream. She stood still and counted to 60, eyes closed. Finally she had to look and confirm things one way or the other.
Cuddy put the toilet lid down and sat down. Inhaling a deep breath, she turned and faced the two sticks on the edge of her tub. Both had clear blue lines, two per stick. Cuddy was VERY pregnant! She felt a smile spread over her face. She was going to do everything in her power to have this baby!
Both hands embraced her abdomen and for the first time, Cuddy allowed herself to acknowledge the presence of the baby. "You were meant to be, baby," Cuddy said softly.
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Walking into the hospital lobby as casually as she could, Cuddy had to continually remind herself that no one could tell she was pregnant yet she couldn't help but feel it was written all over her smiling face.
"Good morning, Dr. Cuddy," Nurse Eva said as she handed a stack of messages to Cuddy.
"It is a good morning, isn't it!" Cuddy greeted her before thanking her for the messages.
"You look happy," Nurse Eva prodded.
"Actually, I am," Cuddy acknowledged still smiling.
Nurse Eva was a bit surprised. Everyone in the hospital by now was well aware of Cuddy and House's romance, make that former-romance and House's recent rebound wedding.
"Well, good for you!" The nurse said sweetly. She always liked the Dean of Medicine and couldn't help feeling like Cuddy had been run over twice by an out-of-control locomotive named House.
"Thanks!" Cuddy grinned and headed off to her office
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House and Thirteen had spent several days getting reacquainted and learning about each other's lives during the time they were apart.
Thirteen was somehow surprised but not shocked that House and Cuddy had become a couple. It was inevitable but still, House was House and if it didn't work with Cuddy, it wouldn't have worked with anyone. Thirteen filed that concern in the back of her head for later consult.
House realized how much Thirteen was hurting. Killing her brother was an act of kindness wrapped in the worst kind of guilt. Doing for him what he needed jeopardized her sanity and the guilty overwhelmed her. Jail time had done her good. Thirteen need to sort things out and had come to the realization what she had done for her brother had to be done. It was the ultimate request and the ultimate response.
House felt somehow very close to Thirteen in a fatherly way, a new sensation. Here he could comfort without judgment. Thirteen need this from someone who knew what was going on in her life and wouldn't judge her. In fact, House had listened, shocked and silenced but listening none the less, and then had moved forward as if what she had done was the most normal thing in the world.
By the end of their roadtrip, House had offered her the kindest possibility of friendship. He had offered to help her end her own life when she needed it to happen. House knew that dignity and self-reliance were key to Thirteen's view of life and knowing someone would be there for her to do the ultimate act of kindness at the expense of personal freedom couldn't be ignored. This was big.
House was offering to help her in a way no one had. Not Foreman, not anyone could have made her feel as safe about the ultimate end.
When House dropped her off in front of her home, Thirteen was wiped with appreciation. House had told her in no uncertain terms he'd be there if she needed him to help end her life. She was all in. Thirteen was hooked. Whatever House needed to make his life better, Thirteen would make sure it happened.
I don't know about you dear readers but I'm scared to death for the next few episodes of House before the season's finale. I can only hope certain things fall into place and if they don't well….then, they will here on . Thanks for reading and will try to update more often. Life's been busy!