Hi all. Sorry for the long delay. It feels like it's been forever since I last wrote. I'm just getting over a massive case of writers block. I HATE when that happens. So, here's just a little something to hopefully get my mojo back. (hmmm. no matter what analogy I tried, they all sounded dirty.) Anyway, back to our story, already in progress.

Diagnosis: Engaged

House pushed through the doors of Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital like a gunslinger pushing his way into the corner saloon. Cuddy trailed in his wake, an amused smile on her face.

"'m here, don't panic," House bellowed to the room in general. No one seemed interested. Nurse Brenda looked up from her paperwork then looked back down at her paperwork. A few patients sat up hoping or dreading that the announcement had something to do with their condition. A pair of interns giggled their way through the hallway.

House rolled his eyes and headed for his patients room. Cuddy tried to make a turn at her office, but he grabbed her by the arm and dragged her along beside him. "Do I really have to be there for this?"

"I'm not announcing my engagement without a fiancé. People will think I'm making it up."

"Why would anyone think you were making up a fiancé?" Cuddy followed him down the hallway.

"Valentines Day, 1992."

Cuddy laughed. It echoed through the hallway.

"Shhh. They'll hear you." House silenced her with his hand. Putting the other around her waist, just because he could.

"Are we sneaking up on them?"

"We're making an entrance." House pushed the doors to room 185 open and strode in like a rock star about to be mobbed by his fans. His arms spread wide in front of him. "Don't panic. I'm here."

Hadley and Taub looked up. "You made it, finally." Hadley sighed with her usual annoyance.

House looked down at the bed. There were two bags of blood coursing into the girl laying there, pale as a ghost, while two buckets caught all the bandages that were getting soaked from the pin prick that was gushing on her arm.

"What the hell did you do to her?" House asked; his engagement announcement far from his mind at the moment.

Cuddy pushed her way past Hadley and grabbed the girl's chart. "You ran two neotoxic screening on her?"

"The first was inconclusive," Hadley said defensively.

"There's no such thing as an inconclusive neotoxic screening." Cuddy snarled.

"Where's the other one?" House nodded his head at Taub and Hadley.

"Dr. Kutner is in the lab, rechecking the test results," Hadley snipped.

House grumbled as he lifted the bandage and watched a stream of blood shoot into the air. "I was about to get my post proposal blow job and you had to go turn my patient into a human geyser. Thanks."

Cuddy glared at him. Hadley looked slightly shocked. Taub looked amused. At just that moment, Kutner pushed through the door. "The tests are still inconclusive."

"Give me that." House grabbed the papers from his hand and looked them over quickly. He shook his head in disgust. Kutner, meanwhile, looked at the odd assortment of expressions and realized he must have missed something interesting.

"What happened?" He looked first to Hadley, assuming she would fill him in. When she didn't he turned to Taub and shrugged his shoulders in the universal sign for 'help, I don't know what I missed'.

"I'll tell you what happened," House replied with thinly veiled anger. "You idiots gave her Betacetamin."

"You said to…"

"I SAID to run the tests, and if they were positive, give her Betacetamin. These tests aren't positive. And do you know why they're not positive? Anyone? Anyone?" He looked at Cuddy, whom he could tell was catching his drift. "I'll marry the first person who gives me the right answer."

Cuddy tried not to laugh. "She's allergic to the HB-EFG used in the neotoxic tests."

"We have a winner. Dr. Cuddy, will you marry me?" House looked at her and blinked his eyes.

"Sorry. Already engaged." She smiled.

"Do you mind?" Hadley interrupted. "Britney is still spewing blood faster than we can get it in her?"

"I'm not doing anything until Cuddy agrees to marry me."

"Dr. House! We don't have time for this!" Hadley was getting more and more annoyed and wondering why she fought for this job in the first place.

Cuddy was glaring at House. "I already said I would, but if you kill this patient, then I'm changing my mind."

"In that case..." House walked over and pulled the tube out of her arm. The girl's body convulsed for a moment. Taub went to settle her, but House held him back with his cane. "Wait for it." A moment later, the girl's body relaxed. House grinned. "It's a miracle!"

"What'd you do?" Hadley frowned.

"Her symptoms were not caused by a blow to the head. They were caused by saving her life."

"What?" Cuddy asked curiously.

House sighed and explained how the life saving techniques used by the EMT's had caused her to need an IV which caused an allergic reaction which caused her body to go haywire. The details are terribly complex but ultimately boring and not worth transcribing, so let's move on.

"So…" House looked at his slightly shell shocked young staff. "Congratulations are customary at a time like this."

"You expect us to congratulate you?" Hadley was incensed. "How long have you known about this?"

"Well, that's not really any of your business actually…"

"None of my business?" She was angry now. Taub and Kutner stepped away. "My patient almost died because you're too busy playing mind games…"

"You're patient?" House seemed mildly amused.

"Yes. And Kutner's patient, and Taub's patient." She motioned to Kutner and Taub who both shook their heads like they wanted nothing to do with it. "She's certainly not your patient."

"And yet I'm the one who saved her life." House leaned toward Cuddy. "I should get extra credit for that. Make a note of it in my file."

"Of course," Cuddy rolled her eyes and didn't make a mental note to make a note of House saving another of his patients.

Hadley looked from her boss to her bosses boss and realized this was a loosing battle.

"Now, if you're quite finished," House said calmly, "saving her life is not what I meant."

Hadley looked at him for a moment, but a smile of realization slowly spread across Taub's mouth. "Congratulations Dr. House." He came over and shook the man's hand. "Dr. Cuddy." He hesitated a moment, then shook hers as well.

"Wow! Really?" Kutner finally caught on and looked awestruck. "You and Dr. Cuddy?"

House looked at him. "Have you been living under a rock?"

Kutner blushed. "No, I, I knew you were, I didn't realize, congratulations." He moved in for a hug but quickly changed it to a hand shake when he feared House's eyes would burn a hole into his skull.

House took a step toward Hadley. "Aren't you going to congratulate me?"

Hadley took a step past House. "Dr. Cuddy, you have my sympathy." She turned and left the room. Cuddy smirked until House shot her a look.

"She really doesn't like you." Cuddy smiled.

"Can I trade her in for the bitch?"

Cuddy pretended to think about it. "No. I like that she doesn't like you."

"You are twisted."

"Can you take it outside, so we can go ahead and finish up here?" Kutner pushed House and Cuddy toward the door while Taub continued to check the girls vitals.