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HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER.

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CHAPTER 11: Please read and comment.

That afternoon, Cuddy returned home, feeling great.

It was her first time going out by herself since she had been put on limited bed rest.

And for the first time since then, she felt human.

After stopping at Red Mango for frozen yogurt, she had stopped into an upscale baby boutique. After looking around at all the items, she couldn't wait to go onto her laptop and browse the internet for onesies with pictures of monster trucks on them.

She entered her home and headed into the kitchen with a smile on her face.

But when she did so, she stopped in her tracks, surprised to see House sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for her.

And he wasn't happy.

"You're late," he stated flatly.

"I am?" she asked with an arched eyebrow.

"You were supposed to be home a half- hour ago."

"I guess I lost track of time," she said with a dismissive shrug.

House watched her as she headed for the refrigerator. He kept an even gaze on her as she took a bottle of water out and twisted open the top.

"What were you doing?" he asked her calmly.

"I was getting yogurt," she replied, bringing the bottle up to her lips. "You know that."

"You forget about the baby boutique and the book store?" he asked in a somewhat accusing tone.

Cuddy's eyes widened as she somehow managed to swallow the water that was in her mouth.

"You were FOLLOWING me?" she asked, incredulous.

"Of course not. I sent WILSON to follow you," he replied.

Cuddy just stood there, stymied.

"I know. What can I say? I'm a caring guy—" House began with false modesty.

"Are you INSANE?!" she exclaimed.

"You had Wilson SPY on me?! I'm a grown woman! And I have a cell phone! You could've called me if you were worried about me!" she continued, angrily.

House just kept a placid gaze on her as she went on.

And as he did, she calmed down, immediately realizing House's motives.

"You didn't call me because you thought I'd LIE to you," she stated.

House didn't say anything, his calm stare remaining, causing her to laugh in disgust.

"You thought I'd tell you that I was stuck in traffic or something like that so I could stay out just a little longer like a teenage girl out past her curfew," she spat out.

"You're only supposed to be out for an hour—" he began.

"A half- hour isn't going to make a difference!" she argued.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!" he yelled, losing his patience, standing up from the table abruptly.

She flinched at his outburst, actually stepping back a tiny bit as he advanced towards her.

"When you miscarried the last time, there were NO SIGNS! It happened spontaneously! There was blood everywhere! You needed a D&C! Or did you forget already?" he demanded furiously, his face now inches from hers.

"…I didn't forget," she said softly, trembling slightly.

"Then unless you want to lose this baby too, you'd better get your head out of your ass!" he hollered at her.

She held still, struggling to keep her emotions in check. But her hormones were fighting against her.

And she was losing.

She pressed her lips together, ignoring the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I just… wanted to go out for a while," she managed to say.

She then left the kitchen, placing the water bottle on the table and headed down the hallway to the bedroom, leaving House alone in the kitchen.

Realizing what he had done, House ran his fingers through the front of his closely cropped hair, the guilt starting to rise inside him.

He hated guilt.

He had spent the better part of his adult life trying to suppress any feelings of guilt.

But he knew he couldn't avoid this.

He slowly made his way out of the kitchen and to their bedroom, finding Cuddy lying on her side, facing away from the door.

She was quiet, but he knew that she was crying.

House rubbed his forehead in aggravation before taking a seat next to her on the bed.

"You come in to insult me some more?" she asked with a sniff, her voice catching in her throat.

He tentatively placed a hand on her back, expecting her to shrug him off. But she didn't.

"…I'm sorry your hormones are making you so sensitive," he finally said.

She laughed curtly.

"You should write for Hallmark cards," she said with heavy sarcasm.

He drew in a breath, feeling even more frustrated. He knew that he sucked at being sympathetic.

But he also knew that he had to say something to her that wouldn't sound patronizing but yet caring at the same time.

"I'm not going to tell you that I understand what you're going through, because I don't," he began.

"But you've wanted a baby for so long. This is the furthest you've made it in any pregnancy. And I know you don't want to screw that up just for the chance to go shopping," he continued.

She sniffed again, nodding in agreement. She then rolled back towards him, wiping her eyes brusquely with the back of her hand.

"I know it's stupid. But when I went into that store… I felt like a normal pregnant woman," she confessed sadly.

"Have you been feeling depressed?" he asked her.

She shrugged, avoiding the clinical yet concerned look in his eyes.

Eyeing her latest romance novel on the night- stand, she sat up and opened to where she had flapped the page. Interpreting that as Cuddy's way of refusing to elaborate on her feelings, he nodded once.

"I'm going out for a while," he told her.

A short time later, House limped around to the backyard of Dr. Steven Sobol's large colonial home, finding Sobol doing laps in his back yard pool.

Upon reaching the deep end, Sobol, a man in his sixties and in excellent shape, executed a flawless flip turn and swam freestyle to the other end.

House met him on the shallow end of the pool. Aware of House's presence, Sobol stopped his stroke once he reached the end.

"Your wife told me where to find you," House said.

"Come to take a dip? I'm sure I've got a suit that fits you," Sobol said jovially.

"No thanks. The thought of guys sharing swim trunks gives me the willies," House said, taking a seat on a nearby lounge chair.

Sobol laughed as he stepped out of the pool, grabbing a towel and a nearby chair.

"So what's going on with Cuddy?" Sobol asked him, draping the towel around his neck, knowing that there would be no other reason for House to pay him a visit on a Saturday.

"She's depressed," House told him, appreciating that Sobol got right to the heart of the matter without wasting his time with small talk.

"That's common for women on bed rest," Sobol said, taking a seat next to House.

"Plenty of women bleed during pregnancy and they're not on bed rest," House pointed out.

Sobol gave him a closed lipped smile, saying nothing, realizing that House was trying to manipulate him into changing his medical opinion.

"And she's only lightly spotting. Her last exam was impeccable—" House continued.

"And we want things to STAY that way, right?" Sobol asked in his usual calm demeanor.

"You're a conservative practitioner. Sometimes too conservative," House told him.

"So I should be a maverick like you? I'd rather be conservative than play games with people's lives," Sobol answered him lightly.

"We both know that you're only keeping her on limited bed rest because she's your BOSS and that you're afraid of being sued, fired and eventually losing your practice," House told him, his eyes intent on the older doctor.

But Sobol refused to be intimidated.

"I think every doctor except for you has those same exact fears," he replied calmly.

House kept his gaze on Sobol, showing him that he wasn't about to let up. Sobol exhaled, sitting back in his chair.

"I completely respect the fact that you're concerned about her well being—" he began.

"She didn't argue with me," House interrupted flatly.

Sobol raised an eyebrow, not sure why House would point this out to him.

"She went out today for the first time by herself since she's been restricted. She came home a half- hour later than she was supposed to, I yelled at her right in her face for not following your orders and she didn't argue with me," House explained.

"She just gave up, went into the bedroom and cried," he added.

Sobol nodded in understanding, mulling over what House had just told him.

He had known Lisa Cuddy for a long time, and he had never known her to back away from a fight, especially if it was with House.

"…When's her next appointment?" Sobol finally asked him.

"Three weeks," House replied.

"Tell her to come in on Friday. If the spotting stays minimal during this entire week, I'll lessen her restrictions," Sobol told him.

"But I still can't let her go back to work," he added firmly.

"Ok," House agreed, satisfied with his response. The two men got up from their chairs.

"I suppose you want to know if I'm going to give you the green light for sex," Sobol mentioned.

"Nope," House told him.

He then turned around and left Sobol's backyard, leaving the older doctor quite surprised.

That evening, Chase and Sophie were standing in the lobby of Tre Piani, a chic Italian restaurant in downtown Princeton, waiting for Wilson, Ingrid and her parents to arrive.

"Do you want to sit?" Chase asked her.

"I'm fine," she assured him.

Chase smiled as he gave her a lingering once over. She was wearing a halter maxi dress with an empire waist and a subtle floral print with sling back heeled sandals. The style of the dress accented her voluptuous breasts and her slightly swollen belly, making her pregnancy noticeable for the first time.

"You look gorgeous," he murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist.

Sophie smiled at him, loving how handsome he looked in an off white linen button down shirt and slacks. "So do you."

"You're staring at it again," he teased.

"I am not," she protested.

Chase arched his eyebrow, not believing her for a minute.

"Ok, I am," she acquiesced, playfully tousling the front of his now drastically short hair.

After she had proposed to him on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art earlier that day, Chase decided to celebrate by stopping into a barber on the upper east side.

"You hate it, right?" he asked, running his fingers through the front, smoothing it down.

"I actually love it," she said, her eyes sparkling.

"You're not upset that I cut it so short?" he asked, pulling her closer and draping his arms loosely about her waist.

"I was at first…" she said, shrugging lightly, placing her arms around his neck.

"But I have to say, you look really hot with short hair," she admitted.

He gave her a sexy smile and brushed his lips against hers, a delicious tingle radiating through her at his kiss. She threaded her fingers through the back of his hair, which was now cropped neatly at the nape of his neck, his skin feeling so soft against her fingertips.

"I can't wait to be alone with you tonight," he murmured against her lips.

At this, her feeling of arousal quickly changed to anxiety as he continued to kiss her in the lobby of the restaurant.

She and Chase hadn't been intimate in months.

And she felt stupid admitting to him that she was scared of having sex while she was pregnant.

She had been rationalizing all afternoon that millions of women had sex during pregnancy. And if there were truly something to worry about, Chase would have told her.

"YOU CUT YOUR HAIR?!" a familiar male voice exclaimed behind Chase.

They broke off their kiss turning towards the sound. Sophie breathed a tiny sigh of relief upon seeing Wilson and Ingrid behind Chase. She kissed them both hello. Chase kissed Ingrid on the cheek and went to shake Wilson's hand.

But Wilson continued to stare at Chase in utter shock.

"Yes, I cut my hair," Chase said in exasperation. "Nice to see you, too," he added, deadpan.

"You look wonderful," Ingrid told him. "Very sexy."

"Told you," Sophie agreed with a grin, admiring how exotic and lovely Ingrid looked in a royal blue sundress that wrapped around her waist that showed off her curvy, yet athletic figure. Her bronze stiletto sandals elongated her legs, which were accented by the knee length hem on the dress.

"Are they here yet?" Wilson asked them, the anxiety evident in his voice as he looked around for his parents.

"No. And stop worrying," Sophie told him.

"He has been impossible all day," Ingrid complained jokingly, putting her arm around Wilson.

Sophie laughed. "That doesn't surprise me."

"So I hear that you proposed to him?" Ingrid asked enthusiastically.

"She even bought me a ring," Chase said, proudly showing her the Tioro male engagement band that Sophie had surprised him with earlier that day.

"This is beautiful," Ingrid said sincerely as she examined the ring on Chase's left ring finger. "Very masculine."

"My girl's got impeccable taste," Chase bragged with a dazzling smile.

Wilson felt like he was going to vomit.

"I'm never gonna hear the end of it tonight," he muttered.

"It is so romantic that you proposed to him," Ingrid continued, ignoring Wilson's whining.

"Well, to be fair, he proposed to me first," Sophie said all smiles as Chase pulled her close to his side and kissed her cheek.

"You're driving home, because I plan on having a few," Wilson told Ingrid.

At this, Ingrid, kissed Wilson gently on the lips.

"I will be right back, meu gato," she told him sweetly before excusing herself and heading to the ladies room.

Wilson smiled as he watched her leave, focusing on her perfectly sculpted ass. Chase shifted his gaze, watching her leave as well, trying not to make it too obvious that he was focusing on Ingrid's perfectly sculpted ass.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but she's wearing underwear," Sophie snarked, causing Chase to spin around, astonished.

"I wasn't looking—" Chase began in protest.

"I was," Sophie interrupted him with a smirk.

"Did you tell mom and dad that you two are back together?" Wilson asked, changing the subject.

Still thinking about what Sophie had just said, Chase slowly turned back to Wilson.

"…Not yet," Chase said, still distracted by the naughty images forming in his mind of Sophie and Ingrid.

"So you two are going to surprise them with the announcement of your renewed engagement at dinner, making me look even worse by comparison," Wilson concluded.

"Pretty much," Sophie agreed with an impish grin.

"I'm in hell," Wilson muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Oh stop bitching already," Sophie told him.

"Yeah. Seriously," Chase agreed, causing Sophie to laugh out loud.

Wilson shot a glare at Chase and then shrugged nonchalantly.

"S'ok. The odds'll be even once House sees you wearing that engagement ring on Monday," Wilson said to him lightly.

Chase arched his eyebrow, glancing at the ring Sophie bought him.

House's reaction to it had never occurred to him.

He cringed inwardly, imagining the torture he was going to undergo come Monday, already thinking of plausible excuses to give Sophie as to why he couldn't wear it to work.

"Your pregnant fiancée walked forty blocks to get you that ring. You're not taking it off," Sophie told him flatly, already knowing what he was thinking.

Wilson grinned, triumphant in the knowledge that House was going to make Chase miserable come Monday and that there was nothing he could do about it.

"There they are," Sophie said, waving her parents over as she spotted them entering the restaurant, earning a glare from Wilson.

Martin and Susan Wilson made their way through the lobby of the restaurant, greeting and kissing Wilson and Sophie hello.

"You cut your hair!" Susan Wilson said to Chase with a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah," he said with a friendly smile, accepting her hug and kiss on his cheek.

"It looks great!" she told him.

"Thank you," he replied, shaking Martin's hand.

"We're so glad you came tonight. We've really missed you," Susan told him.

Just then, Ingrid came out of the ladies room. Wilson felt a wave of anxiety as she walked towards them, forcing a smile.

Once she reached them, Wilson stood up a little straighter and put his arm around her.

"Mom, dad I'd like you to meet Ingrid Oliviera," Wilson told them.

"It is such a pleasure to meet you both," Ingrid said sweetly, extending her hand.

For a moment, both Martin and Susan just stared at her.

"… It's… a pleasure to meet you too," Martin finally said, shaking her hand.

Ingrid kept a confident smile on her face as she gave her hand to Susan, who shook it in kind.

"...Yes, a pleasure," Susan agreed, wondering why her son didn't bother to tell her that he was dating someone.

The six of them stood there in the lobby, saying nothing, an awkward silence developing between all of them.

"Wilson, party of 6?" the hostess called out.

"Yes, that's us!" Wilson immediately piped up.

"Please follow me," the hostess told them.

As the six of them followed the hostess to their table, Wilson could feel the anxiety start to bubble up his throat.

Ingrid squeezed his hand, hoping that he would grow a spine before they ordered their dinner.

TBC…