"One And Only" – A sequel to "Set Fire To The Rain"

I get that you guys really like this story! Thanks for all the reviews, PMs and tweets you sent me! I'm so happy you all want me to keep writing! :) Thanks to my beta partypantscuddy for taking time off to edit this and to Sheis1963 for uploading this for me.

P.S.: A big happy birthday wish to Christa_MD! Happy Birthday honey! *huggage*

Chapter 11

Come and give me the chance
To prove that I'm the one who can
Walk them miles until the air starts...

"House, we staying here now?" the kid asked again. "Only for this week, then we're going back home." Cuddy answered. House stared at her for a while, hoping that in the end he would decide to come back to Princeton and settle. Seeing Rachel frowning, Cuddy smiled. "We need to pack our things. We still have all our clothes and toys there. We can't live here without them, can we?" she added with a smile. This time House smiled at her and reached for her hand and shoved her against his chest, kissing the top of her head. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Never been so sure." She confirmed pecking his lips and tickling Rachel's belly. "Lisa Cuddy is coming back to Princeton." She concluded with a wide smile on her lips.

Almost a month later...

Moving from Michigan to Princeton had taken almost a month much to Rachel's dislike. She had missed her old house, the one in which she had spent the first three years of her life and now she wanted her pretty little sister to enjoy it too. Of course Emma, being only 4 months old didn't understand why her mother and father were frantically running up and down the hallway, moving from a room to the other, collecting stuffs and putting them into boxes. Thanks to Dr Smith's kindness and love for the two doctors, Wilson and House joined the Cuddy girls for their last weekend in the new house. They spent the whole Saturday packing the last items which were still adorning Cuddy's kitchen furniture, while on Sunday they decided to enjoy their last day in Michigan all together, Wilson included. On Monday morning the Oncologist left them to join a Medical Conference in Detroit, leaving them to deal with the movers.

When the mover's trucks arrived at about 10 AM, House had already moved Cuddy's and the girls' duffel bags, containing all the things they needed for the trip, into the car's trunk, and was soon followed by a very cheerful Rachel, who ran down the driveway to join her best friend/father. "We going now?" she asked with a smile. "In a couple hours. Maybe less. We need to wait till those men put all your things in their trucks." he explained. Rachel nodded and stared at the movers with a frown. "What's wrong Rachel?" he asked. "Do they have to take my Duckie too?" she asked pouting. House smirked. "Do you know where your duck is?" when Rachel nodded, House took hold of her small hand, following the toddler, who lead him into the house in a mission to save her big yellow Duckie. After "saving" the duck from the "bad and meanie" movers, Rachel found her place next to her sister's stroller, next to Cuddy.

Lisa had been on cloud nine since the moment she had told House she wanted to come back to Princeton, but right now she was nervous, which resulted in her freaking out for every little thing. Scolding the movers one more time, she reached for Emma's pacifier and handed it to the baby who was having a good time watching her sister playing with her tiny feet. Everyone, Cuddy included, would have expected Rachel to be jealous of the little girl, but she was handling the new member of the family wonderfully. The siblings have bonded since the beginning much to their mother's pleasure and when House came into the picture one more time, their relationship didn't change but became even better. Cuddy smiled when she felt two strong arms embracing her from behind, and her hands soon met his on her stomach. "Hi..." she said. House replied with a kiss on her neck. "I see you gave Rachel her duck. Thank you." she said, trying to keep a straight face, while he kept kissing her neck. "No biggie..." he replied. "I feel a little frisky. Care to have some last-time-in-this-house sex?" he proposed. Cuddy chuckled and shook her head. "No, House. The movers are almost done and we had sex two times last night and once this morning." she apologized, causing her boyfriend to sigh in disappointment. "Damn Wilson! We would have had sex two times this morning if he didn't walked in on us in the kitchen." he said with a smile.

"We're done here." said one of the movers, informing them they were about to close their trucks. After checking that there was nothing left, Cuddy followed House and the kids into the car. Seat belt on, everything else set, Cuddy sighed but smiled feeling House's hand reach for hers before driving down the driveway for the last time, leaving a few new memories to their experience in Michigan.

A week later...

Blythe strode along PPTH's hallway with the usual fierceness in her every steps. She stopped at the nurses' desk and glanced at her right where the Dean's office was. She froze lightly noticing that Dr Cuddy's name had been replaced with a different name; she would have to ask her son about it. She asked a nurse if Diagnostics was still on the fourth floor and after Nurse Brenda replied to her trying to make her change her mind about going up there, Blythe simply smiled at the younger woman and kept walking towards the elevator.

She reached the fourth floor in a matter of minutes, she smiled seeing that her son's office hadn't changed after all those years. She walked and entered from the bigger room, where Chase and Thirteen were having lunch together. "Need help?" Thirteen asked politely to the woman at the door. Chase turned around, mouth agape at the sight of his boss' mother. "Mrs. House, it's a pleasure to see you again." he greeted the woman interrupting the awkward silence. "Oh, you must be Dr Chase right? You finally decided to cut your air, you look prettier." she said with a smile. Thirteen sat there dumbfounded for a while, trying to find the right words. "And you must be new..." Blythe started. "Dr Hadley, nice to meet you Mrs. House." she replied standing up to shake the woman's hand. "So, where's my son?" she asked. Chase and Thirteen shared a look before turning to the old woman, who was looking at them with a smile.

House stormed into the Cafeteria with his usual carelessness, scaring the poor nurse who was about to exit from the room. After spotting a brunette sitting at a table, House walked to her and sat next to Cuddy before pecking her lips in a gentle kiss. "You're finally here, Smith is waiting for me." She said, before leaving him alone with the girls. Today she had set an appointment with Dr Smith to talk about her job. Of course the whole hospital hoped Dr Cuddy would re-become their Dean of Medicine but they knew Smith wouldn't leave his job for any reason. Rachel was coloring her book, contently chewing on some fries; while Emma was slowly falling asleep in her stroller but when she saw her father coming near her, she started babbling and demanding to be hold in his arms. House immediately scooted her up and tickled her belly, earning a few "awws" from the nearer nurses.

Less than twenty minutes later, Cuddy said her good-byes to Smith who kindly walked her out of his office, wishing to see her soon. She paced the clinic, smiling at the nurses and doctors who smiled back at her, enjoying her presence in the hospital. While making her way back to the Cafeteria, Cuddy was stopped by a female voice coming from the elevator. When Cuddy turned around she found herself face to face with Blythe House. Shocked, Cuddy's eyes widened but smiled friendly at the woman, who immediately hugged her and kissed her cheek. "Oh, Lisa! You get prettier every time I see you. How are you?" she asked. "Thank you Mrs. House. May I know why are you here?" Blythe laughed and squeezed the doctor's shoulders softly. "I'm here to see my son, of course. But now that I remember, I see that you're no more the Dean of Medicine, how come? You fought so hard to get that job" she asked interested. Cuddy sighed and nodded. "Lots of things have changed. I think your son and I have a lot of things to tell you." She said while walking past the woman, gesturing her to follow her to the Cafeteria. Blythe followed the younger woman till they reached the door, which Cuddy held open letting Mrs. House walk into the almost empty room, but stopped her. "Mrs. House, I think it's better if you let me to go him first." Cuddy pleaded her, Blythe merely nodded clearly confused by all this mystery.

Lisa walked as fast as she could towards House. "So, how did it go?" he asked seeing her shocked expression. "The meeting went perfectly fine. On the other end, I just met your mother. She's at the door right now." She informed him. House stiffened a little, his eyes widening in shock. "Why the hell is she here?" he asked in a whisper. "That's what I asked her. She wants to see you." She replied. "I think it's time to tell her everything" she concluded, glancing at the older woman who was looking around. "I guess we don't have any other solution." He said, before standing up and heading towards his mother. Rachel stared at her mother. "Mommy, you sad?" she asked. "No, baby. I'm just nervous."

Seeing her son walking towards her, Blythe smiled and immediately hugged him. "It's so nice to see you again, Greg." She said, still holding onto him. "Hi mom…" he greeted her awkwardly. He had missed his mother of course, but it wasn't the right moment for her to show up. "Dr Cuddy was so mysterious with me earlier. What's going on?" she asked puzzled. "Mom, if you promise me you will shut up and let us talk, then we're going to tell you everything." he explained to her, earning a single nod in return. House led her to their table. Upon seeing Cuddy and the two girls seated with her, Blythe gasped in surprise. "Greg…" she whispered, while sitting on the nearer chair.

"This is Rachel, I adopted her three years ago" Cuddy explained to the woman. "And this one, is Emma." House concluded. Blythe sat there, more surprised than shocked. "So, you have two daughters, Greg. And the mother is Lisa…" Mrs. House said, trying to come to term with the few information her son gave her. After nodding, he looked down at Rachel. "Rach…" the toddler looked up at her father before noticing the old woman standing few feet from her. "Hi…" she said waving her tiny hand. "Daddy, who is she?" she asked in a whisper but everyone at the table heard that, causing the adults to chuckle. "She's your grandmother…" he answered. Rachel frowned. "You silly, I already have a grandma!" she said in between giggles. "Well, grandma Cuddy is your mommy's mom. This one is your daddy's mom. Everyone gets to have two grandmothers to get more spoiled…" he said making Rachel laugh. "I get new toys and books?" she asked, eyes widening in excitement. "Of course, baby." Blythe answered. "But only if you come here and hug me" she concluded. Rachel looked at her father then at her mother trying to understand if she had to trust the old woman or not. When both her parents smiled and nodded, she slid down the couch and ran into the arms of her new grandma.

Cuddy smiled at the sight in front of her, but immediately turned around when she heard Emma starting to fuss in her stroller. "Hey... someone's a little jealous?" she said to her daughter, lifting her up. She kissed the baby's forehead before rocking her gently in her arms. Blythe watched as the baby girl cooed in her mother's arms, trying to reach for her long brown curls but Cuddy, knowing perfectly what Emma aimed to do, she tugged her hair behind her ears. Emma looked slightly disappointed by her mother's gestures and focused her deep blue eyes on the elder woman. Rachel was still sitting on her grandmother's lap, playing with her long blond hair when she spotted her sister. "Hey sis, we have a new grandma. She's our daddy's mom." she explained to her sister, who in return babbled contently and clapped her tiny little hands. House and Cuddy smiles softly, already used to Rachel's need to explain Emma whatever happened. On the other hand Blythe was mesmerized by her granddaughters' appearance and bond. "Can I hold her?" she asked nervously. Cuddy smiled and, after House took Rachel from Blythe's lap, handed her the baby. The little girl immediately tried to take a hold of her grandma's hair when the elder woman leaned down to kiss her forehead; but luckily her grandma's movements were quick enough not to let it happen.

"She has your eyes, Greg." she commented after a while. "I guess you two need to explain everything from the beginning..." she started and looked at House and Cuddy who nodded and started telling their story.

An hour later...

"That is a very interesting story, my dear... and I'm so happy that you two finally are together. I've always thought, you Lisa were the perfect woman for my son." Lisa blushed, while House rolled his eyes. "Greg, don't roll your eyes at me, I'm your mother." she scolded him. House apologized briefly, much to Cuddy's surprise. "So, Lisa... you just moved back to Princeton." Cuddy nodded. "I'm still on maternity leave but I'll soon come back to work here; not as the Dean though. When we met in the hallway, I was just done talking to Dr Smith, the man who's now head of the hospital, and he offered me a job." she informed both House and Blythe. "Endocrinology, with Bennett?" he asked. "Yes, I'll work in the mornings till Emma is at least one, so that I can spend time with both Rachel and Emma." she concluded. "Where are you leaving the girls in the morning?" Blythe asked. "Marina's the nanny I hired for Rachel. She's a very nice person, and very reliable. I trust her, she's very good at what she does." Blythe seemed content of her plans and nodded, smiling.

"I won't bother you anymore, I have a plane to catch tonight..." she said, standing up. "You're leaving tonight?" House asked. "Yes, Greg. I don't want to bother you. I still have a couple hours before going to the airport, I'll use a nice walk in the park." she said with a smile. "Mrs. House, why don't you leave tomorrow? I'd love to have dinner with you tonight." Cuddy offered. "Yes, mom. You've been here for only a couple hours. Stay for dinner at least." House repeated. Blythe smiled happily. "I'll stay if you make sure that adorable Oncologist comes too." she said. Cuddy laughed. "Wilson's in love with you, mom. I'm sure he'd dump his girlfriend and come running to you as soon as he sees you." House said with a smile. Blythe laughed, her smile was so contagious than even House laughed.

"Oh Greg, it's so good to see you happy and I have to thank Lisa and those beautiful little girls for this." his mother said out of the blue. House just nodded, while Cuddy scooted closer to him and kissed his cheek. "I guess it's time we go. Mrs. House would you come with us to the park?" Cuddy asked the elder woman. Blythe nodded and smiled. After saying their good-byes, House stopped Cuddy before she could reach the door. "Be careful, she'll try to convince you that we must get married to be a happy family..." he said. Cuddy chuckled and pressed her lips to his. "Don't worry, I know how to handle her. You don't realize how much you two look alike." she said before making her way out of the hospital, swinging her hips for his, and his only, pleasure.

I'm almost done with the next two chapters :) So, review and you'll get an update soon!