Author's Note: I've seen in a few reviews that people are looking for more House/Cameron, and I just want to reinforce that in Part I (if you noticed, I labeled a part, not just chapters), I'm trying to resolve the House/Cuddy and Cameron/Chase relationships as well as House's mental illness. I like to follow the general plot of the show, so I didn't want to just leave those out. This story line seemed like the best way to do that. In Part II, we will see a dramatic shift towards the House/Cameron relationship, and that part will end with a big development. So far, I have 75 well-developed chapters planned out for this story, so don't think I won't include plenty of House/Cameron once these story lines are resolved. And, as was also a worry, I would just like to make it known that this story will NOT end up being a dream as I did in my last trilogy, and I will not in any way cheat readers out (to be honest, that was really more of a joke on my close friends than me trying to be mean). I assure you that everything that happens in this fiction is real (except for the occasional dream, but that will be apparent in individual chapters). So, just bear with me, guys. I really appreciate the patience. Chapter 17 will be the last chapter in Part I, and Chapter 18 will start the major House/Cameron developments. The rest of Part I is primarily dedicated to House's recovery and the resolution of the House/Cuddy relationship, and there is a little bit of Chase/Cameron towards the end as well. Thanks again to all of my readers. I really value your input, so let me know how you feel about this story, and leave me some comments!

Chapter 13

Several days after his visit with Wilson, House sat alone in his room with nothing more than his own thoughts—his own thoughts being Amber. Together they discussed the new developments that he had made with Ruby in his last session. As it turns out, Ruby withdrew her diagnosis of schizophrenia completely after finally hearing what House had to say of his vicodin habits, the deaths of Amber and Kutner, and his relationship with Wilson. She instead diagnosed him with PTSD and substance addiction. House's detox was nearly complete, and it wouldn't be long before he'd completely switched pain medications from vicodin to gabapentin, which would hopefully help with his nerve pain. He had a feeling that it wouldn't do much, but he also hoped that it would. He hoped that maybe one day he could function, though still in pain, and not have to worry about his addiction. He hoped that one day, this entire fiasco would be over and he could return to his normal life.

Nonetheless, despite all of these promising developments in his therapy, House couldn't help but feel some sense of despair. After all, he had finally confronted his issues, and yet Amber still haunted him. His nightmares were slowly subsiding and the pain in his leg was becoming tolerable despite the vicodin withdrawal, and yet he continued to hallucinate. He couldn't help but wonder why. Were there other issues that he wasn't aware of?

It suddenly occurred to House that his one (and thankfully only) delusion had involved him and Cuddy. In this delusion, Cuddy had helped him to finally detox, and then together they celebrated with a night of passion. Well, he had solved the obvious vicodin problem, so the only other possibility was that he still harbored some unresolved issue with Cuddy. Perhaps it was true that he was in love with her. Maybe he really did want to her to move in with him. Or maybe he just wanted to be happy, and he thought that she might be able to do that. He thought that maybe Cuddy could end his loneliness and bring much needed joy into his life, but he was wrong. In the end, she had only left him to his misery while she tended to her own daughter. And it was because of that disappointing event that he was beginning to feel even lonelier than he had before, as if he had missed his last chance at happiness. He considered the notion that perhaps that was why Amber had appeared to him: to make him aware of his own misery and loneliness in the hopes that maybe he could do something to end them. And maybe Amber remained with him still because he had done little to overcome that feat. If that was the case, though, he wasn't quite sure how to make Amber disappear. After all, he'd missed his chance with Cuddy, and now he remained clueless as to how he could possibly go about achieving true pleasure in life.

A glimmer of hope sparked in his heart, though, when the subject of his thoughts entered his room. She smiled at the sight of him, almost in relief that he seemed okay, and she took a seat in the armchair next to his bed.

"How are you doing?" was her first question.

House responded with a vague, "Fine," but she could sense that something was troubling him.

She had come here not only to console and comfort him, but also to confront him about the tension that now threatened their friendship. Her hopeful smile diminished, and she was left with an expression of either concern or guilt, or maybe both. "We need to talk," she stated.

House nodded, clearly aware of what she was about to say.

"I just wanted to apologize," she said. "I shouldn't have laughed at you or fired you." She paused momentarily. "I shouldn't have left you that night."

House shook his head. He knew that it was his fault—really, he did. He shouldn't have expected her help after saying such a mean thing about the one person that she cared about most in the world, her daughter. But he was in pain, and he couldn't help himself. On the other hand, the next day had brought delirious relief to his pain, both psychic and physical, and he had jumped to the conclusion that he loved her because of it. He shouldn't have. Honestly, he was only setting himself up for pain. But then again, how was he ever supposed to experience true happiness or love if he didn't risk such an embarrassment?

"Aren't you going to say something?" asked Cuddy.

House finally realized that he'd been dwelling in his own thoughts rather than conversing with her. "Why are you here?"

"I came here to apologize," she repeated before pausing for a moment. "And I came here to ask you… to ask you why you asked me that question." It felt too awkward for her to state out loud the nature of House's invitation.

House remained silent, not really sure of what to say. Should he tell her that he was delirious? She already knew that. Should he tell her that he would take it back if he could? She probably already knew that, too. But then what was she looking to hear from him?

"Did you mean it?"

Did he mean what? Did he actually intend for her to move in with him? "What do you mean?"

"I mean," she began, "did you really want me to move in with you?" She already knew the answer, though.

House shrugged. "I was out of my mind," he said simply, not really answering her question, although she assumed that it was a yes.

"What about now?" she asked in return. "Are you out of your mind right now?"

House thought about her question before finally responding in the negative.

"Good," she smiled with a single nod, and he smiled back.

"I don't want you to move in with me," he claimed. "I shouldn't have asked you to."

"To be fair, you were running on false pretenses." She chuckled, although the situation really wasn't that comical. She wasn't sure how to end the tension between them. She knew that he was under the delusion that they had slept together at the time, but she could only wonder why he would have imagined such a thing. Perhaps she should provide him with the opportunity to make things right or to admit his real feelings. She suspected that he would deny any feelings for her, but she felt that she ought to give him the chance anyways. "Is there anything you wanted to say?" she asked.

He knew what she was doing. She was giving him the chance to come clean about his feelings for her. He could already tell what answer she was hoping for, and so he gave it to her. "Nope," he said with a shake of the head. "Were you expecting me to say something?"

A feeling of relief swept over Cuddy even though she knew he was hiding some of his feelings. She would always hold some sexual desire to be with him, but he wasn't what she wanted at all. What she wanted was her daughter—a family even, someday. As much as she cherished his friendship, he couldn't offer her a family. She only hoped that he could find what he was looking for with another person. "Are we okay?" she asked.

House nodded, hoping that his response would be enough to convince her that he was fine not being with her, that he was content just having her as a friend. He would always be attracted to her, but he knew that he couldn't offer her what she wanted, and in the end, she probably couldn't offer him what he wanted either. They simply weren't meant to be.

Cuddy accepted his nod with the intention of them returning to the good friends that they once were. She truly hoped that their attraction to each other would never jeopardize their friendship—or his health—again.

Before Cuddy could thank him or respond in any way, there was a light knock on the door, and Ruby walked in. She greeted House's visitor, who she assumed was the Dr. Cuddy that both Cameron and Wilson had mentioned. "I'm sorry to interrupt," she apologized. "We have a session scheduled. You're welcome to join us, though, if you'd like."

Cuddy knew that House didn't want her to join them, though, and she was just happy that this entire ordeal between them was finally over. "No, that's alright," she replied. "I have to be getting home anyways. I told my sitter I'd be back soon." She stood up from her seat and walked toward the door. She paused for a moment and turned to House. "It was nice seeing you," she commented before leaving.

Ruby led House to her office, and once they were both seated, she asked him about his visit with Cuddy. She had been observing them for a short while and could tell that they were discussing something of real importance. Cuddy's bittersweet departure from the room led her to believe that the two had finally discussed his feelings for her.

"Are you still friends?" she inquired. Truthfully, she could have easily guessed the answer, but she wanted him to say it.

"What kind of a question is that?" asked House.

Ruby shrugged. "You didn't seem exactly happy when she left."

House thought about Ruby's observation before replying. "I'm happy," he said honestly. After all, he was happy that Cuddy could finally devote all of her loving attention to Rachel. He was happy that their friendship would go back to normal. He was even happy that their pseudo-relationship had come to a close, as odd as that sounded. She had finally given him the sense of closure that he needed. It was a definitive agreement that they could both move on with their lives and find happiness with the people who they were meant to be with, whoever they were.

"Good," stated Ruby simply. "If it's any consolation, I don't think she was the right one anyways." She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a little.

House looked at her questioningly. How could she possibly know who the right one was for him?

"From what she and Dr. Wilson have told me over the phone," she explained herself, "I think she's a little too normal for you."

"Too normal?" Normal was the last word House would use to describe Cuddy.

"You don't want a family," she observed. "You don't want the 2.5 kids and the white picket fence, and it's okay to not want those things, as long as you find someone else who also doesn't want them—someone else who does want the same things as you." She felt as if maybe she was pushing her boundary as his psychiatrist a little too far, but she sensed that he needed some advice or solace that he wasn't doomed to a life of loneliness after all.

House couldn't think of a single person who would want the same things as him, but something inside him thought that maybe one day he would find such a person.

"I don't think you really wanted her to move in with you," noted Ruby.

This comment piqued House's attention, and he looked at her curiously. How did she know about that?

"Dr. Wilson told me what you asked her that day," she answered his unasked question.

House rolled his eyes. Wilson could be such a blabber-mouth sometimes. "I asked her to move in with me… that kind of implies that I wanted her to live with me."

Ruby shook her head. "No, I mean I don't think you wanted her to move in with you; I think you just wanted someone to move in with you."

House continued to stare at her, wondering all the while if she could read his mind, and it was at that moment that he realized that Amber had refrained from interrupting his conversations with both Ruby and Cuddy. Sure, he still saw her when he looked for her, but she wasn't quite as vocal.

House's stare seemed to confirm her suspicions, but Ruby knew he would never say it out loud. So, she said it for him. "You're alone."

"Thanks for that insight."

"You don't have to be alone if you don't want to be," she commented. "I think you actually took a positive step in asking Cuddy to move in with you, although I must say that most people ask for a dinner before jumping to that step." Both House and Ruby snorted at that comment. "But hey," she shrugged, "whatever works for you." She could still see some sense of hopelessness and despair in House's eyes, though. "It's going to be okay," she stated with much confidence. She knew that he still feared a lonely life of misery, even if he was released from this hospital.

Much to House's surprise, he actually believed her.

Author's Note (again): Well, that was my attempt to end the House/Cuddy relationship and set them both up for future relationships with other people. How did I do?