CHAPTER 11 - Hand in hand

They walked side by side down the hallway and sat in the waiting room.

House held his cane in his hands keeping to pass it nervously from hand to hand looking at a fixed point in front of him.

"House!" She said turning toward him and looking into his eyes

"What?" He said looking away from that fixed point and looking at her

"You're upsetting me ..." she said with a faint smile

House wanted to answer with a joke, but at that moment he couldn't think of anything smart to say. He simply stopped the compulsive movement of his cane and looked back at the door in front of him.

The door opened a few minutes later and Cuddy faced an attractive woman. She was more or less as old as her. Her long blond hair tied back in a ponytail. Big green eyes. She reminded her of Cameron, but at least ten years older.

"Greg!" she exclaimed as she saw him "I'm so glad to see you again" she said, embracing him affectionately.

Cuddy looked at them. House didn't ever let someone embrace him.

"Hi Jen! Meet Dr. Lisa Cuddy, Dean of Medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital"

"Nice to meet you, Dr. Cuddy." She said shaking her hand "I'm Dr. Jennifer Altman. Head of Prenatal Diagnostics."

"The pleasure's mine" ... Jen, Cuddy repeated in her mind.

"Please...come in" she said, leading them in her office.

"Greg mentioned something to me on the phone ... but I need some more information .." she said looking at Cuddy as they all sat down.

She handed to Dr. Altman her medical records.

"I'm 12-weeks pregnant. I'm 41 years old. I had a miscarriage a few years ago after my third attempt of in vitro. These, Dr. Altman, are the ultrasound results and my blood tests. They're not... encouraging ..." she said trying to sound as professional as possible

"Call me Jennifer, please" she said with the hint of a smile looking into her eyes before looking at House

"I agree with you, Greg." she said. Then she turned to look at Cuddy again. "You definitely need to do a CVS and a fetal echocardiography."

She kept to look at Cuddy

"Is there history in your family of genetic diseases or congenital heart defects?"

"No" she answered

"Good. And ... in the father's one?" she kept looking at Cuddy.

She hesitated. She was tempted to say no, but she wasn't sure... She and House had never talked about that ... And she didn't know if she had to turn and look at House or not ...

"No" House replied for her.

Cuddy felt a chill run down her back and bit her lip unconsciously.

"Fine" Dr. Altman said looking at House and again at Cuddy "And... Lisa ... did you take drugs or alcohol in the past weeks?"

"Yes. Unfortunately...I did" she said "I had a minor surgery for a renal oncocytoma... about three weeks before I knew about this pregnancy... It's all documented in my medical folder. I didn't take any drugs or alcohol since I know about my pregnancy..."

"Ok" she said "And...how is pregnancy going?"

"I'm pretty well ... I keep having nausea, but it's bearable ... I have low blood pressure and I had a lipothymic episode a few weeks ago. I never had abdominal pain or bleeding. "

"Fine" she said "Well, I'll do an ultrasound and the fetal echocardiography, first. It will take about an hour. Then I'll do the CVS. The procedure will last about fifteen minutes but after that you'll be here under observation for about two hours and then you will need full rest for at least a couple of days. We should have the test results in about 3 or 4 days."

Cuddy gave a nod with her head.

She got undressed and wore the hospital gown.

She felt uncomfortable. She felt vulnerable. She had no control on that situation and she wasn't used to that feeling. As Dean of Medicine she always knew how to handle any situation ... but not now ... now she was just a patient waiting for a response and for a diagnosis that could change her life ...

She caught House's look as she lay down on the medical bed and for a moment she had the sensation that he was feeling the same way.

And he felt the same way. Like her, he knew he had control on that situation.

He was prepared to see the image that suddenly appeared on the screen as soon as Dr. Altman put the ultrasound probe on Cuddy's lower abdomen ... but he wasn't prepared for the feeling he experienced. He had seen hundreds of it in his medical career. Healthy. Sick. Alive. Dead. But they were just fetuses. Small parasites unable to survive outside their mother's body.

He looked at that picture and looked at Cuddy. He loved that woman and that baby was part of her ... it wasn't rational but ... he couldn't love her without even love that part of her ... and of himself...

Cuddy's eyes looked at the monitor for a moment as that little tiny body appeared on it. It already looked like a baby. A little face in profile with a perfect little nose. Only 2 in (5 cm) in length, but you could clearly distinguish its legs, its arms, its feet, its hands and ... five tiny fingers in each hand and foot. And a little heart. House looked at Cuddy as she closed her eyes and turned her head in the opposite direction, not wanting to watch that monitor. She didn't want to see. She didn't want to look at it. She didn't want to become even more attached to that little human being knowing she could lose it.

He wanted to touch her. He wanted to get closer and take her hand. But he couldn't... He took a stool and sat down so he could clearly see the monitor.

No ... certainly that wasn't just a fetus. It was his. He had contribute to create that new life and this gave him a strange feeling of ... power.

The examination lasted less than expected.

"It's more collaborative than I expected. Certainly a quality that it took by its mother" Dr. Altman said with a wink to House to break the tension.

"I can see no major cardiac defects. I can't completely rule out a minor defect at this stage ... but there are no direct or indirect signs of stenosis of the aortic arch." She looked at House and Cuddy, who had reopened her eyes and was looking at the monitor failing to prevent her eyes from becoming teary.

"Can you see?" Dr. Altman said watching at House and pointing to a spot on the monitor "Its left ventricle... its interventricular septum ... its aortic arch ... in my opinion they're perfectly normal..." House nodded and looked back at Cuddy. She held his gaze biting her lip.

"And there are no indirect signs... in the aortic isthmic coartation the ventricle should be enlarged but it's not... and the same goes for the pulmonary artery... in my opinion it's all right" she smiled and looked at both House and Cuddy.

"I honestly don't know what Dr. Williams saw..." she said looking at the monitor again and shaking her head slightly, "... perhaps an artifact ... it can happen... and second level tests are for that" she said with a grin "If it's okay with you, Lisa, I begin to prepare the equipment for CVS."

"Sure" she said

Dr. Altman left them alone a few minutes as she went in another room to prepare the medical equipment for the villocentesis.

House looked at Cuddy.

"Are you OK?" he asked approaching her and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Yes ..." she replied "... thanks... for being here ..." she whispered closing her eyes. A tear escaped her control and slid down her cheek.

"I told you that Dr. Williams is a trained monkey!" he said with a smile "You should hire me as a consultant"

"I already did it" she said smiling back as Dr. Altman entered the room again.

This time House stood where he was and continued to keep his hand on Cuddy's shoulder.

"Ok, Lisa... it won't be painful but it will be annoying so... try to relax and breathe deeply"

She took a deep breath and felt the needle to penetrate the wall of her abdomen and her uterus to contract in response to that intrusion. It was like having a boulder compressing her abdomen.

"Oh my..." she whispered closing her eyes as her hand instinctively reached House's hand on her shoulder.

House took her hand and held it, keeping to watch the image on the monitor.

As a doctor he had done that exam many times ... but this time that needle moving so close to that fetus upset him. He heard Cuddy to hold her breath and stroked her hand with his thumb.

"It's over, Lisa. Please... breathe out slowly " she said removing the needle and delivering the samples to the nurse. "The results will be ready in three days, four at the most." She looked at her with a faint smile as she reopened her eyes "Are you okay?" she asked.

She nodded her head. "I'm fine, but ... I feel dizzy"

"It's normal... You can get up... but slowly. A nurse will accompany you in the ward and show you your room. I'll see you in a couple of hours." She said. She smiled at House and put her hand on his arm before leaving the room.

Cuddy noticed that so confidential gesture and felt uncomfortable. She had no right to be jealous ... but she couldn't remove that feeling.

She got up slowly and put her feet on the ground. Her head spun making her lose balance and she couldn't help but suddenly lean to House.

"Thank my reflexes, Cuddy! Or we both would be on the ground right now. You're too heavy for my leg." He smiled putting an arm around her waist and helped her to stand on her feet. He missed the feeling of her body against his ...

"I'm not too heavy!" She said hitting him lightly on the chest with a hand and resting her head on his shoulder as her head continued to spin. "And I never remember your leg complained about having to support me!" she said with a smile but without looking at his eyes.

House smiled mischievously. Certainly the fact that she weighed barely 110 pounds (50 Kg) helped ... but it was true ... he never had any problem to lift her in his arms... especially in the ardor of passion.

"You shouldn't feel forced to stay with me, House..." she said looking into his eyes "I'll have to stay here at least a couple of hours..."

"I have no other commitments" he said sitting in the chair next to her bed "Unless you're waiting for me to leave, Cuddy! I saw how that male-nurse looked at you a minute ago!" He raised an eyebrow glancing mischievously at her.

She held his gaze and couldn't suppress a smile.

"I knew you'd find it!" she said shaking her head

"He looks vaguely like Blue, the janitor" he laughed "Do you know what they say about short men, don't you?" he said raising an eyebrow

"His name is... Lue" she laughed in turn "And ... thanks House for the horrible image that has just appeared in my mind" she laughed again.

They went back to their hotel before dinner time and ordered dinner from room service.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked an hour after, sitting down on the sofa by the window and stretching his legs on the little table in front of him, as looking at her exiting the bathroom. That woman could be incredibly sexy even when she wore just a pair of shorts and a tank top, he thought. "I can sleep here, on the couch, for tonight if you don't want to be alone or if you need anything ..."

"Thanks" she said "... but I'm fine ... I don't need help. I'll just get under the covers and I'll watch something on TV... it has been a long day and I'm tired ... I think I'll fall asleep as soon as I'll touch the pillow ... "

House nodded his head.

"Fine then..." he said looking out of the window.

She looked at the serious look in his eyes as he watched the city nestled in the evening lights and felt uncomfortable ... did he really want to stay with her? And sleep on the couch? The House she knew wasn't the guy that used to be next to you holding your hand ... he wasn't a caring guy ... the House she knew had always tried to get into her bed ... He never did anything without he can profit from that... And yet ... now, he seemed not to want anything in return ... She felt disoriented ...

House phone vibrated and he reached into his pocket to read the SMS. He read the text and a slight smile appeared on his lips. He texted back shortly and turned to Cuddy.

"So... it's better for me to go, then. Try to rest, Cuddy. See you tomorrow"

Author's note: Dr. Jennifer Altman is a creation of my mind and I imagined her as a sort of hybrid between Allison Cameron (Jennifer Morrison) and Dr. Teddy Altman on Grey's Anatomy.

Thanks to you all who keep reading this story, and especially to my reviewers ... both the good ones and to the bad ones... Unfortunately I can't answer to your reviews if you are guests ... So...I want to say again, for the umpteenth time, that I found out that Dominika was not a prostitute only after beginning to write this story ... so ... I'm sorry if this bothers someone of my readers but I have to stress that, in MY story, she's a prostitute. In any case you won't see her again in this fanfic, so this doesn't matter anymore. For those who don't like Cuddy... I can just say...please stop reading and read something else... because this is a HUDDY story so ... I can't help it... I really love Lisa Cuddy. And I really love House and Cuddy together... so, sooner or later, you will see them together again. See you soon!