"You have got to be kidding me." Were the first words out of Julia Cuddy's mouth as he stood in the doorway, frozen. "You have got to be fucking kidding me." She repeated.

He couldn't find the words to respond.

"Where is she? I know she's not supposed to go back to work until Monday. Obviously I have to talk some sense into her seeing as for some odd reason, you're in her home. After what you did to her. You have somehow risen from the dead, and are now standing here in the doorstep of my little sister's home, after you destroyed her previous home…This has to be some sort of nightmare."

Not knowing what else to do, he stepped aside and let her in.

"I'm taking the dog for a walk." He said slowly, before quickly shutting the door behind him and following as the dog led him down the stairs and toward the usual route of his walk.

He honestly felt sick. He was moronic for the thought of her family appearing out of the blue never having crossed his mind. He followed as Jack led him to the park, before taking a moment and sitting at one of the benches after the dog had done his business.

House jumped when his cellphone went off, and he pulled it out of his pocket, bracing himself.

"Where are you?"

"Sitting in a bench at the park down the street with the dog."

"Stay there. I'm coming to get you…I can't believe this is happening…"

"Yeah, how do you think I feel?" He responded, swallowing hard.

"It gets worse…My mother is with her too…"

"What the hell?" He groaned.

"I know…I told my mom to come over for dinner on the first night of Chanukah, and apparently that's tonight, and as if I pay attention to when the fuck the Jewish calendar starts – I thought it would be closer to Christmas this year, not literally the first weekend of Decemeber and I didn't know we'd be…we again when I invited her over, I thought you'd be gone by then, I didn't even think she had even acknowledged it when I said it, she was half asleep, I - "

"Cuddy, can you not? You don't have control over other people's actions, there's nothing you could have done to avoid this..."

"I know, I just –"

"How about I just spend the night at a hotel – "

"NO! I'm not letting them run you out of my home…I'm a block away from the park, okay? I…I just don't want to do this alone."

House sighed into the phone as he spotted her car turn the corner of the street.

"I see you. There's an empty spot just a little more down the street. I'll be there in a second." He replied, putting his phone back into his pocket, and softly yanking on the dog's leash to get him out of the grassed area he was currently lying in. Once the dog had stood, they made their way to where Cuddy had parked. He opened the door to backseat of the car and let the dog in, shutting the door before getting into the passenger seat.

"What are we doing?" He asked, dropping his head into his hands.

"I don't know." She sighed beside him.

"No, I mean, what are we doing, what is this?" He snapped.

"I don't know!" She snapped back, and he watched as she pounded her fist against the steering wheel of her car. "Can we just get through whatever is about to happen with my mother and sister and have this discussion later? Now is not the time for this."

"If now isn't the time, it'll never be the time."

"I'm not discussing this now. This can wait." She responded, her tone biting and he watched her as she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to calm herself.

He could see that she was on the verge of breaking, and for her sake decided against continuing to push for the inevitable conversation to occur sooner, rather than later.

She wanted nothing more but to flee. Take Rachel and spend a night in a hotel with House, flee back to his apartment in Princeton; she wanted to be anywhere but in Manhattan.

When her sister had called her to inform her that she knew she was harboring a sociopath, she had felt so ill to her stomach that she had almost thrown up. She'd felt the blood drain from her face the moment Julia had mentioned House's name, and before she could stop herself she was taking not one, but two of her anti-anxiety pills, knowing that whatever was to come would cause her to breakdown completely, and considering the fact that she only had two days before she would be returning to work, that was the last thing she needed, or wanted in her life.

She pulled up in front of her house and sighed as she looked over at House, his expression stoic.

Cuddy took out her cellphone and quickly called Alicia, knowing that the situation with her mother and sister would not be resolved before Rachel would be brought home, and she wanted to spare her daughter from witnessing the argument that would surely ensue.

"Don't bring Rachel home I call you, alright? Take her to the movies or something, or the museum and then to grab a bite to eat, but I am begging you do not bring her home until I've told you to."

"What's going on?"

She could practically see Alicia quirking her eyebrow as the change of inflection in her friend's voice signified her confusion.

"I'll explain later." She responded, quickly hanging up before her friend could continue to question her.

She sighed again, just as she felt Jack's snout nuzzle her free hand, letting out a soft whine.

"I'm okay boy." She cooed, running her fingers against the top of his head.

"That dog is so connected to you it's creepy." House said suddenly, and despite the tension in the air.

"I guess." She replied opening her car door and getting out, watching as Jack ran out ahead of her and up the stairs to the front door of her home.

She could hear the tap of House's cane behind her as she turned her key, unlocking the door and letting them into the house.

"You have some serious explaining to do." She heard her sister state the moment she came within her view.

"In what world is it healthy, or even sane for you to have this MANIAC in your home? After what he did to you? He could have killed you, or me, or even worse, he could have killed Rachel! What makes this okay? What possessed you to allow this?"

Cuddy took a deep breath before replying.

"I know this is bizarre, but believe me, had I any clue you two would be showing up here without notice, this would have been avoided…First of all, you do know what a cellphone is right? It is a courtesy to call someone before showing up at their home, regardless of the fact of whether or not they invited you over, because I invited mom over for the first night of Chanukah almost a month ago, and didn't it occur to you that I'd like a heads up before you two made your way over here? Especially considering how much has been going on in my life these last few weeks? I don't know if you remember but one of my closest friends died from cancer a few weeks ago, a friend who had shown more caring for me than either of you combined; didn't it occur to you that it would have slipped my mind? Secondly…"

She took another deep breath, running a hand through her hair.

"What happened between House and I…is between House and I. He went to jail, he served his time. He's shown me that he is sorry…and I've chosen to forgive him. I know what I'm doing; I don't need your approval."

"I couldn't care less." Arlene replied from her position leaning against the railing of the stairs. "I told you morons that no one would ever be able to deal with either of you if not the other. Lisa, I know you're a grown woman, you can make your own decisions, granted, they are not always the best decisions, but as you've already said, you know what you're doing. I won't question you."

She was surprised at her mother's response, but simultaneously grateful for it. She and her mother had often clashed, but when she least expected it, her mother had a habit of showing that she did indeed care. This was one of those rare moments.

"Really, mom? You're just going to let her bring this psychopath back into your granddaughter's life? After he almost killed your daughters? After he could have killed your only granddaughter?"

"I'm not getting involved in this and neither should you. It's not your business."

"He could have killed me, of course it's my business!"

"It's my life!" Cuddy interrupted, rubbing her temples. "I am so sick of people telling me what I'm doing wrong with my life. If I'm happy, that's all that should matter to you. You're my sister. Mom apparently trusts me enough to know what I'm doing with my life, so why can't you? I know what he did is fucked up. Believe me. We're both still suffering over it. But we're trying to get past it."

"Isn't he supposed to be dead? How exactly are you going to be able to live with a dead man as your significant other? What happens if something happens to you? Who'll get guardianship of Rachel? Who has power of attorney? You can't be with a dead man."

"I'm going back to jail."

Cuddy froze as House spoke.

"When we know that this is going somewhere…I'll go back to jail if I have to. And if she wants to be with me, I'll do it to make her happy, because when you care about someone you do whatever it takes to make them happy, especially after fucking up as badly as I did."

There was an audible slap of as her sister lunged at House, punching him square in the nose.

"You son of a bitch, if you think you're absolved for what you did, you have another thing coming." Julia hissed.

"What the hell!" Cuddy shouted as she stood between the two, blocking her sister from taking another swing at him.

"Oy vey…" Arlene commented from the sideline where she was watching the situation unravel.

"Fuck, I think she broke it." House groaned from behind her and she turned to see him with his head tilted back, blood dripping down his chin.

"Go into the kitchen and wait for me there." She instructed before rounding on her sister.

"What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"What the hell is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you!? What you're doing isn't okay Lisa. This isn't healthy. You're only going to end up where you were two years ago. Do you really want to be at that place in your life again?"

"Why can't you just be okay with me being happy for once, no matter why? You've never approved of my relationship with House, no matter how well it was going when we were together the first time, you're supposed to support me in – "

"He isn't good for you! Driving his car through your dining room proves that! You're so stubborn that the only way for things to get through that thick skull of yours is by letting yourself get hurt again, and if that's what you want, then so be it. You're right, you're a grown woman, you can decide how to life your life yourself, but when it all goes to hell again – and it will, don't expect me to support you and pick up the pieces again. I'm done."

"Julia, you're being – "

"I'm not being anything. You've made your choice, and I don't agree with it. I love you, and I want what's best for you, but if you can't see that, there's nothing I can do for you. Mom, I'm leaving. Are you coming with me or what?"

"I'm not taking a two hour train back so I'll leave with you. Lisa, we've brought some presents for you and Rachel, and that friend of yours who's always here, the girl. They're on the counter in the kitchen. Open then tonight or on Christmas, I don't care. I'll see you…whenever dear."

She couldn't bring herself to say anything as she watched her mother and sister leave, shutting the door behind them. Taking a moment to herself, she sat at the bottom of the stairs, her head in her hands as she took a deep breath, processing everything that had just happened.

She gave herself a few minutes to compose herself before standing and heading into the kitchen, where House was standing near the sink, currently tending to his still bleeding nose.

"I'm so sorry." Cuddy murmured as she walked over to him, grabbing a clean dish rag and pressing it against his nose, applying pressure to the affected area.

"I had it coming." He replied through gritted teeth.

"No, you didn't."

"This is my fault. I shouldn't have agreed to come stay with you, I should have just up and left when I had the chance...I know you and your mom and sister don't always get along but they're your family…you can't just let them walk out of your life because of me."

"House, they won't stay away for too long. You heard my mother, she'll let me do what I want…Julia…she'll come around eventually. In the end she always does. It's okay, families fight all the time, we'll get over it."

"I shouldn't stick around anymore…My being here has just caused you more problems…More stress…This wasn't a good idea."

She ignored his comment, continuing to tend to his nose, noting that the bleeding had stopped, headed towards the refrigerator, pulling out an icepack. She stood on the tip of her toes and cupped his face in both of her hands, tenderly kissing his nose before applying the icepack to take care of the swelling.

"If you truly believe that, you know where the door is. I can't make you stay." She responded, biting her lower lip as she felt it begin to quiver.

He sighed as he took the icepack from her hand and set it aside, ignoring the throbbing pain in his nose as he ran a hand down her arm before he felt her rest her forehead against his chest.

"Do you want me here?" He asked, his hand moving to her back as he began to run it along her spine, his fingers feeling the ridges of her spine.

"If I didn't want you here, you wouldn't be here." She replied softly, pressing her small form against his as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Then I'll be here as long as you want me to be…I need to know, where do you see this going?"

"I don't know."

"Cuddy."

She pulled away from him, running a hand through her hair.

"I don't know the future, I don't know what it holds for us. All I know is that I can't be with a man who legally doesn't exist…"

"I'm going back to jail."

"And when the time comes for you to go back to jail, I'll be waiting when you get out."

He sighed again, rubbing his eyes.

"Cuddy…When I go back to jail, it'll be for over a year…Faking your death isn't punishable by law unless it was to avoid a responsibility, and I did it to avoid jail time…to spend time with Wilson before he died because if I hadn't, and he would have been dying alone. It would be the six months I had serve, and then whatever they would add to that sentence for avoiding arrest…and for changing the dental records from the actual body with mine…I committed fraud, we're looking at a minimum of four years…"

"I can wait a few years."

"And what if it's more than that? What if it's ten years? Or fifteen? Then what Cuddy? Are you really going to wait fifteen years for me? You'll find someone else –"

"Stop it. I will wait, for as long as I have to wait." She replied, cupping his face with her hands.

He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch.

"I just don't want to keep hurting you. I'd rather you be happy without me, than with me but miserable because you're waiting for me to get out of jail. You deserve better." He replied honestly, locking eyes with her.

"Listen to me, I don't care what you think I deserve…This is what I want...Please just accept that I want you in my life House…You not accepting that, that hurts me."

"It's not intentional." He replied and feeling a shot of pain run through his nose he grabbed the icepack he had abandoned and reapplied it to the affected area.

"I know it's not."

"It's just that, I still find it hard believe that I have you back in my life."

"Well you do…and eventually, when you see that I'm in this for the long run, you'll accept it."

"Why are you so sure of that?"

"Because for once, I'm the one who's right in this case."

He looked down at her and sighed, bringing a hand up to her cheek before pressing his lips against her forehead.

"I hope so. I really hope so."

I'll update again as soon as possible! Reviews are appreciated! :) I