It's a miracle! I have a new chapter up and it's been less than a week!! WHAT?! Ok, well I hope you guys enjoy it.

Chapter 20

8:30 PM

Cuddy sat at her desk, reading over and signing the day's charts before she could go home for the day. It had been a very long day and she hadn't intended on staying so late, but after the day's events in the ER, she'd hardly had time to get everything else done.

She'd tried to call Bella this afternoon, but Emily said that she was napping and she didn't want to disturb her. Seeing the time, she thought she'd give it another try in hopes that Bella wasn't in bed yet. Cuddy picked up her phone and dialed the number. She heard the phone ringing and a voice pick up on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Hi Emily, it's Lisa. Is Bella in bed, I'd like to speak with her if she's still awake."

"Well, she's been in her room all day, I've hardly seen her. But, I'll go check." Emily replied.

Cuddy frowned, wondering if there was something wrong. Emily sounded as if she was upset at her. "Is everything ok, Emily?"

"Well, I assume you've been contacted by social services, am I right?"

"Yes, last night, my application was approved."

"And congratulations to you, but you realize that you're taking this little girl away from me, don't you? She has a great home here, I don't see why she has to be moved." Emily replied, irritated.

"Excuse me? Emily, you've been told this might happen, why do you all of sudden have a problem with this?" Cuddy asked, confusion and irritation evident in her voice as well.

"Maybe because I thought it would never happen. Lisa, you are a wonderful person, but to be a mother you have to be there for your child. You are a single woman, you run a hospital and work crazy hours everyday. Do you really think Bella needs to be raised by someone who will never be there for her?"

Cuddy was shocked into silence. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Before she could respond, Emily spoke again.

"I'm sorry, Lisa, she's already asleep. Please call back tomorrow."

Cuddy heard the click as Emily hung up the phone. She removed the handset from her ear and set it down, hanging it up. Cuddy stared across her office, not really seeing anything. She furrowed her brow, thinking that maybe Emily was right. What if Bella was better off there? A fleeting thought, quickly dismissed. "The hell she is." Cuddy said aloud in the quietness of her office. Cuddy stood up and started gathering her stuff, readying herself to go home for the night. She'd deal with this tomorrow.

Bella stepped through the doors of the hospital, looking around for Lisa. She walked around the lobby, trying to find her. She needed to see her.

"Lisa." She called out into the lobby full of people. "Lisa." She said again. No one turned around to help her. None of the people had faces; they were just blank, unknown people occupying the lobby. Except for one, she recognized Greg. Her eyes grew wide and she ran to him as he stood at the reception desk looking over a file.

She yanked on his sleeve, getting his attention. "Greg." She said, happily.

He looked at her with a blank expression, like he didn't recognize her.

"It's me, Bella." She said to him, patting her chest.

He shook his head, not remembering her.

"Bella." She repeated. "Don't you remember me?"

He shook his head, a scowl on his face.

Bella furrowed her brow. 'How could he not remember me?' She asked herself.

Bella was prepared to rattle off a list of things that they had done together, but before she could she caught a glimpse of Lisa coming out of the clinic doors. She grew very excited and ran over to her. "Lisa!" She exclaimed.

She stopped in front of Lisa, throwing her arms around her waist excitedly.

"What are you doing here?" Lisa asked her angrily.

Bella let go of her immediately, jumping at the anger in her voice.

"I asked you a question, now what are you doing here? I don't want you here. Get out of my hospital!" Lisa screamed at her.

Bella jumped back, frightened of Lisa's anger towards her. Bella didn't understand why she was yelling at her. What had she done?

Bella thought about it and remembered what had made Lisa mad at her. She'd broken a promise to her and ran away. Bella looked around the lobby. Everyone had stopped moving and if they had faces, they'd be staring at her. Bella looked back at Greg. He was staring at her, expressionless.

She turned her head to look back at Lisa, seeing anger in her eyes.

"Get out, I don't want you!!" She yelled again, pointing toward the door.

Bella felt tears streaming down her face. She turned and ran out the doors. She heard footsteps running behind her, and she turned her head to see who was running after her. It was Lisa, running and yelling. "I don't want you! Get out! I don't want you!"

Bella covered her ears as she ran away, trying to run as fast as she could but not able to outrun the sound of Lisa's voice in her ears.

Bella awoke, screaming, her hands covering her ears. She sat up in bed, screaming as loud as she could. "No!" She screamed. "Lisa!" Bella cried out into the darkness of her bedroom.

1:15 AM – 2 minutes ago

Emily lay awake in her bed, unable to sleep out of guilt for what she had done to Lisa earlier. When she called and wanted to speak to Bella, she was so upset that Lisa was taking Bella away from her that she had lied about Bella being asleep and unable to speak on the phone.

She really liked Lisa, she was a wonderful woman, but a single woman didn't need to be raising a child when she was so focused on her career. Bella deserved the best after everything she'd been through in her life and Emily didn't think she deserved to be neglected over a woman's career. She planned on telling a judge that when she called the Social Services office tomorrow to contest the adoption.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she suddenly heard Bella screaming in her room. Emily shot out of bed and made her way down the hall to Bella's room. She opened the door to see Bella sitting up in her bed with her ears covered, screaming bloody murder.

"Bella!" Emily yelled over her screams, fearful of what had her screaming so this badly.

"Lisa!!" She cried out. "I want…" She sobbed.

"Bella, honey, what's wrong?" Emily tried to ask her.

"I want Lisa!" She exclaimed loudly.

Emily sat on the bed facing Bella, holding her arms down as her husband rushed to her side.

"What happened to her?" He asked in a panic.

"She had another nightmare, I think."

Bella tried to squirm out of Emily's grasp, screaming and crying. "Lisa! I want Lisa!" She cried.

"Bella, talk to me, I can help you. Lisa's not here, I am." Emily told her.

"No, I want Lisa!" Bella cried out again. She twisted out of Emily's grasp and backed away from her. Emily tried to grab her arms again but Bella flinched and screamed. "No!" Emily put her hands down on her lap, hurt that Bella didn't want her help.

Emily watched as Bella continued crying, curling herself into a ball.

"What are you gonna do?"

"I should call Lisa, clearly that's who she wants." Emily told him, with sadness on her face and disappointment in her voice. Apparently she had underestimated how much Bella loved Lisa.

Emily made her way to the phone and dialed Lisa's number.

1:25 AM

Cuddy woke up to the sound of her cell phone ringing. She opened her eyes, squinting at the clock on House's nightstand. She groaned at the time displayed, reaching out for her phone.

"Hello?" She answered in a raspy voice.

"Lisa, it's Emily. Bella had a nightmare…and she's asking for you." She said softly.

Cuddy sat up in bed, the fogginess clearing away quickly at her words.

"Is she ok? Is she breathing ok?" Cuddy asked, alarmed.

"Yes, her breathing is fine, but she was screaming for you. I'd appreciate if you could come see her…she…she needs you." Emily told her. Cuddy noticed she sounded disappointed.

"I-I'll be right there."

Cuddy set her phone down and got out of bed, changing her clothes as quickly as she could. House rolled over and she looked up at him.

"Hey." She whispered. "I have to go, Bella had a nightmare."

"She ok?" He asked sleepily.

"I don't know, it sounded pretty bad."

House nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, it's ok, go back to sleep." She answered.

"You sure, Cuddy?"

She smiled at him, appreciating how much he was willing to be there for her and Bella. "Yeah, I'm sure." Cuddy sat down on the bed beside him, cupped his face in her hands and placed a sweet kiss on his lips. "I'll be back soon."

He nodded.

Thirty minutes later, Cuddy was pulling into the driveway. She got out of her car and made her way up to the door, knocking lightly. A moment later, Emily opened the door. She looked tired, but she gave her a small smile, motioning for her to enter.

"Thank you for coming." Emily said, softly.

"Of course, how is she?" She asked as they walked up the stairs towards Bella's bedroom.

"She cried for about 15 minutes and then she got quiet, I think she might've fallen back to sleep."

Cuddy shook her head lightly. "She didn't." She told Emily with certainty.

They reached Bella's bedroom and Cuddy reached for the door handle to go in, but Emily stopped her.

"Uh, Lisa…I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier. I was wrong; I think you'll be a great mom to Bella and she'll have a good home with you. She clearly loves you and wants you to be her mother. I was out of line and I apologize."

Cuddy smiled and nodded. "Thank you." She said gratefully.

Cuddy opened the door to Bella's room and stepped in, closing it behind her. She quietly walked over to her bed, seeing her curled up under her comforter.

"Bella?" She whispered. "Hey, it's Lisa."

Bella slowly turned her head. "Lisa?" She mumbled.

"Yeah, I'm here. Emily said you had a nightmare…are you ok, sweetie?" Cuddy asked, sitting down on the bed, facing Bella.

A sob escaped Bella's throat and she shook her head. "No." She sat up and threw her arms around Cuddy's neck. Cuddy hugged her tightly, closing her eyes as Bella cried. She simply held her and let her cry, having learned that it was the best thing for her to do when she had a bad nightmare. When she settled down after a few minutes, Cuddy loosened her hold on Bella.

"Is it Mattie?" She asked gently.

Bella shook her head.

"Then, what is it? Do you want to tell me about it?" Cuddy asked.

She slowly nodded her head, sitting back down on her bed. Bella looked down at her hands, avoiding eye contact. "Why don't you want me?" She asked quietly.

Cuddy furrowed her brow in confusion. "What? I do want you, why would you think that I don't want you, sweetheart?"

"Because I was bad and I broke my promise and ran away." She answered, tearfully. "And you didn't want to come see me yesterday, and I heard Emily say on the phone that they was taking me away again." She explained, through small sobs, her breath hitching in her throat. "And I dreamed that you was screaming at me that you didn't want me and to get away from you." She finished with another sob.

Cuddy's heart broke at Bella's words. She felt tears well up in her eyes and scooted closer to Bella.

"Sweetie, listen to me." She told her gently, lifting Bella's chin so she was looking into her eyes, wiping away her tears. "There is nothing you could ever do that would make me not want you, understand? I love you so much…more than I could ever say." She paused a moment. "Yesterday, I desperately wanted to come see you, but there was a big accident on the interstate and a lot of people got hurt so I had to stay at the hospital and help them. I was never mad at you…ok?"

Bella sniffed, and nodded her understanding. "But why are they taking me away?" She asked, still confused.

"They're not taking you away, I promise." Cuddy reassured her gently.

Bella furrowed her brow. "But I heard…on the phone, Emily said I wasn't gonna be here much longer." She explained.

"Not because they're taking you away, sweetie."

"Then…then where am I going?" She asked, with a bit of fear in her voice.

Cuddy smiled. "Well, I was going to wait to get you something and surprise you, but…the law said you could come live with me."

It took a second for the words to sink in, because Bella didn't react right away. But when she finally understood what Cuddy had said, her eyes grew wide in surprise and a huge smile broke out on her face.

"It did?" She asked, still sounding unsure. "It did?" She repeated, excitement beginning to show itself.

Cuddy laughed and nodded her head, her eyes welling up with happy tears.

"You will be my mom?" She asked, still not quite believing it.

Cuddy nodded once more, several tears spilling down her cheeks. "Yeah." She was so happy that Bella was excited and that Bella wanted her just as much as she wanted Bella.

Bella flung herself at Cuddy, throwing her arms around her neck, nearly knocking Cuddy off the bed. "Whoa." Cuddy exclaimed, with a laugh, steadying herself on the bed. Bella giggled, hugging Cuddy tighter.

After a moment, Bella let go and sat down on the bed again. "Are you taking me with you tonight?"

Cuddy's smile slowly fell from her face. "No, sweetie, you have to stay here for few more weeks until everything is finalized."

Her disappointment evident, Bella nodded. "Oh."

"If it's ok with Emily though, maybe you and I could do some shopping for your bedroom this weekend." Cuddy offered with a smile on her face, hoping it would help ease Bella's mind.

Bella smiled. "Yeah!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"Good." Cuddy smiled. "Feeling better?" She asked Bella.

Bella nodded happily. "Will you stay with me a little bit longer?" She asked, after a moment.

Cuddy grinned at her question. "Sure, I'll stay until you fall asleep, ok?"

Bella nodded, laying down on her bed and getting under the comforter. She lay on her side facing Cuddy and pulled the comforter back so she could get under them with her. Cuddy lay her head on Bella's pillow, lying on her side as well. Bella scooted in closer to Cuddy and closed her eyes. Cuddy ran her fingers through Bella's hair soothingly.

"My mom used to do that too." Bella whispered.

Cuddy stilled her movements and looked down at Bella with sorrow. "I'm sorry, I won't do it if you don't want me to." She whispered in response.

"No, I like it, it reminds me of her." Bella said, opening her eyes and looking at Cuddy.

"I don't want to make you sad."

"It don't make me sad." Bella reassured her.

"Ok." Cuddy responded, soothingly combing through her hair again.

Bella closed her eyes again, sighing softly. They were quiet for several minutes and Cuddy thought Bella had gone to sleep, but she spoke again.

"Lisa?" Bella whispered.

"Yeah." She whispered back.

"Um…am I supposed to call you mom, now?" She asked shyly, opening her eyes and looking up at Cuddy.

Cuddy was surprised by her question and she didn't quite know what to say. She was silent for a moment trying to think of what to tell her. Finally, she spoke softly in answer to her question.

"Bella, you don't have to call me that unless you're comfortable doing so. I honestly haven't thought about it. I will love being your mom, whether you call me that or not, ok?"

Bella nodded. "I want to…but I don't know if I can yet. I don't want to forget about my mom, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Cuddy responded, placing a kiss on her forehead. "When you're ready."

"Ok."

With that, Bella seemed to fall asleep immediately. Her breathing changed, and she relaxed her body, almost melting into Cuddy. Cuddy closed her eyes as she continued to comb her fingers through Bella's hair. She thought about Bella's question some more. Cuddy was telling the truth when she said she'd never thought about Bella calling her Mom. To be honest, she thought it might be a little strange to hear that right now. They needed time before that could happen, because they didn't know each other in that capacity yet. She didn't know how long it would take and she didn't care. Cuddy was just happy that she finally had a daughter.

4:38 AM

House was asleep in his bed, when he suddenly awoke to a pair of arms wrapping around his body from behind him. He turned his head to see Cuddy press her body close to him and place a light kiss on his neck.

"That was fast." He mumbled, groggily.

"I was gone for over 2 hours, House." She whispered to him, settling in behind him.

"Oh…are you sure? Seems like you just left."

He felt her smile into his neck. "I'm pretty sure, unless I was abducted by aliens and I'm experiencing missing time."

"That's not unlikely." He mumbled. "Did I miss a cat fight between you and Emily? Did you kick her ass?"

Cuddy chuckled. "You didn't miss anything…she actually apologized."

"Damn right she did, cuz she knew you'd kick her flabby stay-at-home-mom ass."

Cuddy laughed at him, tightening her arms around him.

"The kid ok?" House asked after a moment.

"She is now." Cuddy responded, sighing softly. "I told her." She whispered.

House scowled and opened his eyes. He turned around to face Cuddy. "Was that a good idea? I mean to tell her now and then make her wait for 3 weeks?" He asked.

Cuddy shrugged. "She needed to know…she thought I didn't want her anymore."

"Why the hell would she think that?" House asked, caressing his hand over her back.

"She thought I was mad that she ran away and the fact that I didn't go see her yesterday made her think that I didn't want to. Plus she overheard Emily's phone call from social services." Cuddy sighed and frowned, looking at House. "She thought they were taking her away again."

House nodded. "You're right, she needed to know, because her next step would've been to get the hell out of Dodge."

Cuddy nodded in agreement. A smile spread over her face, after a moment of silence between them. "We're going shopping on Saturday."

"Ohhh too bad, I have an appointment to have my brain sucked out by those aliens that abducted you earlier." He said with sarcasm.

"Not you and me, you idiot; me and Bella. I'm taking her shopping for her new bedroom." Cuddy replied around a chuckle and rolled her eyes.

"Oh good, I can cancel that appointment then." House replied. "I'm very fond of my brain."

"Well someone should be." Cuddy responded, with a smirk on her face.

"I knew you only wanted me for my body." He replied sarcastically, moving his hand down to her ass.

Cuddy chuckled and shrugged her shoulders. "I told you I was in this for the sex."

House gave her a smack on the ass. "Well then, who am I to disappoint?" He asked, leaning in and kissing her. He rolled her over onto her back, kissing her with passion. She kissed him back, placing her left hand on his head, her right moving over his back.

He pulled back, looking into her eyes. "Are you having sex with me so you can try and talk me into shopping with you two on Saturday?"

Cuddy raised her eyebrows at him. "No. I hear enough of your whining at work, I don't need to hear it on weekends too." She smirked.

"Good, glad we're on the same page." He agreed, kissing down her neck.

"But if the weather's nice, I think it'd be fun to have a picnic at the park over by my place. Bella would enjoy that." She added.

House had moved his hand under her sweater, making his way to her breast when he suddenly stopped his movements and lifted his head, frowning at her. "No thanks."

Cuddy moved her hand down to his crotch. "Are you sure?"

House gasped. "Ahhhh, yeah…I'm-I'm pretty sure."

"You don't sound too sure." She smirked, narrowing her eyes with doubt.

House closed his eyes. 'Damn her and her skilled hands.' He thought. He suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from his crotch, moving it above her head. He pinned her down to the mattress, smirking down at her. "That was mean."

Cuddy shrugged and chuckled at him. "You liked it, though."

"That's beside the point." He paused for a moment, a thought forming in his head. "I'll go if you give me back my remote."

She scowled at him. "What? What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

He shrugged. "I want my remote back."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Why, you have another one, what's so special about this one?"

"It has sentimental value…it belonged to my Great Great Great Great Granpa." He stated.

She laughed. "Before TV's, much less remote controls, were even invented?"

"Yes…he was ahead of his time." House leaned down, scrapping his stubbly chin over the ticklish part of her neck. It came in very handy and he used this method of torture to his advantage often, ever since he'd discovered this ticklish spot existed.

She laughed harder. "Stop…stop it." She said in between laughs.

"Are you going to give it back?" He asked, chuckling at her as she writhed under him, trying to get away.

She stopped laughing and took a breath, still grinning at him. "Tell me why you want it?"

"I could do this forever, you should just give in now." He leaned down, ready to go again. "Are you sure you want to keep this up?" He asked as his chin hovered above her neck, giving her a chance to give up.

"Does the remote have something to do with the trouble you've been causing in the hospital and why you looked so pleased with yourself yesterday?"

"Who said I've been causing trouble?" He asked, looking up with suspicion. 'Wilson better not have ratted him out or he'd find himself with a cane up his ass tomorrow'. He thought.

Cuddy raised her eyebrows at him. "So you have been causing trouble? What have you done?"

"Nothing…I just want to know who's been spreading dirty, filthy lies about me?"

She laughed again. "Like you care."

"True, I don't care. So what's it going to be? More tickle tickle or remote control?" He asked, threatening her by lowering his chin again.

"You'll meet us for lunch on Saturday?"

"We can still have sex?"

"Oh so you want your remote and sex?"

"Duh." He shrugged and scowled as if it were obvious.

Cuddy rolled her eyes. "This deal somehow doesn't seem fair…but fine, you can have your stupid remote control, but if I find out you've been up to something in the hospital, I'll have your ass…and not in the good way."

House smirked. "Don't worry, any way you have my ass is the good way."

Cuddy shook her head and grinned at him. "Say you'll meet us for lunch."

"I'll meet you for lunch."

"Promise me, you'll meet us for lunch on Saturday." She specified.

"I promise. Now will you give me my remote back?"

"It's in my bag." She stated, trying to point her finger but he still had her hands pinned to the mattress.

House looked down at her and narrowed his eyes, ready to protest, but he finally got up and went to scrounge in her bag to find his remote that she'd taken from him. She had taken the remote that controls all of the televisions in the entire hospital and he'd been trying to get it back all day but she had hidden it well. When he found it, he smiled. 'Victory.' He thought.

When he looked behind him at Cuddy, she had turned her back and had snuggled under the covers, like she was going back to sleep. House frowned.

"Hey, you promised me sex." He said, stashing his remote where she couldn't find it and making his way back to bed.

"No I didn't, I said you could have your remote back."

He climbed in bed, moving over to her. "Come on, you know you want to get with this sexy bod."

She chuckled. "Well, it is pretty sexy." She said, turning to face him.

"Damn right, it is." He said, kissing her.

8:00 AM – 2 Days Later

Cuddy pulled into the driveway at the James Residence to pick Bella up to go shopping. They had made plans to spend the day together and she was excited to be able to spend an entire day as opposed to the few hours a day she usually got to see her. Cuddy couldn't wait until Bella moved in with her so they could have as much time to spend with each other as they wanted.

It was a beautiful spring day and the temperature was perfect for what she had planned for the day. She had made House promise to meet them at the park near her house at lunchtime so they could have a picnic together. He wasn't thrilled, but he'd agreed, having gotten his precious remote control back. She really needed to find out what that was about.

Cuddy got out of the car and walked up to the door, ringing the doorbell. Bella answered the door with an excited smile on her face, carrying her backpack that she took with her everywhere she went. Emily came up behind her with a smile as well.

"Good morning." Cuddy said, smiling at Bella and Emily.

"Morning. Come on let's go!" Bella exclaimed, grabbing on to Cuddy's hand.

"Hold on, sweetie." She chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Emily, I'll have her back this evening." Cuddy said, looking up at Emily.

"Take your time…have fun, Bella."

"I will." She smiled up at Emily and waved. "Come on." Giving Cuddy's hand yank.

"Bye." Cuddy chuckled, shaking her head.

They walked to her car hand in hand and Cuddy unlocked the passenger side door in the back for Bella.

"Can't I sit in front with you?"

"Sorry, sweetie, it's safer for you in the back seat."

With disappointment, Bella got in and buckled her seatbelt. Cuddy made her way to the driver side and got settled, starting the engine. She turned her head to look at Bella.

"Ready?" She asked with an excited smile.

Bella nodded her head with a smile of her own. "Where are we going?"

"Well, I thought we could go look at some bedroom furniture first and you could pick out what color you want your bedroom to be so we could buy the bedding and some other things for your room. And later if you want we could pick out paint for your walls."

"I want blue…I like blue, it's my favorite." Bella told her excitedly.

"Ok, blue it is then." She smiled, pulling out of the driveway.

8:45 AM

Bella held on to Lisa's hand as they walked together into the furniture store. She felt a little intimidated by all of this because she didn't know what to expect and had never shopped for furniture before. Her parents had bought her furniture when she was really little, so she had never picked out her own stuff. When they walked in, she saw beds and dressers and other furniture spread out all over the store. Bella's eyes scanned the store, seeing all the different selections.

Lisa looked down at her with a smile.

"What do think?"

Bella raised her eyebrows. "It's a lot. Do I just pick one?"

Lisa's smile grew and she nodded. "Let's walk around first and if you see something you like we'll stop and talk about it."

Bella nodded.

They walked around for a few minutes and Bella pointed to a few that she liked but none that she loved. She didn't want to be too picky but Lisa kept telling her that she would have this for a long time so it had to be something she could live with for years. They walked around the whole store, but Bella didn't really love any of the ones she'd seen. She had a doubtful look on her face when Lisa asked her, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Bella shrugged.

"You don't have to choose from this store, honey, there are a lot of other places we can go, ok? You don't have to feel embarrassed or afraid to tell me you don't like something…I won't be mad. This is your day, I want you pick whatever you want."

Bella nodded. "I don't like none of those." She said quietly, with a crease in her brow.

"Ok, let's go. I know of another place you might like better." Lisa said, placing her arm around Bella's shoulder and leading her out of the store.

The next place they went was a million times better. As soon as they walked in, Bella's eyes went wide at all the different choices she had. This was a kid's only furniture store and she loved this place. When Bella first saw the name of the store, she didn't know why they were going in a place that sold pottery to look for furniture. On top of that, the place didn't look like no barn.

Bella looked up at Lisa. "I love this place but, how come it's called Pottery Barn?" She asked with an eye roll.

Lisa laughed. "I'm not sure."

Her excitement was growing as she scanned the store and already saw several different sets she liked. Bella grabbed Lisa's hand, leading her to one of them.

"This one's pretty."

"I like it. It will look good in a room with blue walls."

Bella nodded in agreement.

They looked at that set for a few minutes and moved on to others that Bella liked. They spent over an hour in that store, but ultimately, they decided to look in the catalogue for even more choices. Once they'd ordered the one she liked, they picked out accessories and other items Bella wanted for her bedroom. Lisa was good about not letting her pick things she didn't think she'd need, but she would occasionally let her have something just because she liked it. They didn't pick out any art for the walls because Lisa said she could make her own and Bella loved that idea.

The sales lady that was helping them was nice; she had called Bella Lisa's daughter several times and she found she really liked hearing it. She couldn't wait until she got to live with her forever.

Once they had everything they needed, they left the furniture store and went to pick out a few color swatches for the walls in her new bedroom. They spent another hour looking at paint samples. When they left the paint store, Lisa said she had a surprise for her.

"You got me more stuff?" Bella asked with surprised confusion.

"Well this is more like a person than a present." She explained.

Bella scowled, not understanding.

"How would feel about meeting House at the park for a picnic?" Lisa asked her.

Bella looked at Lisa with excitement. "Yeah!" She exclaimed, jumping up and down.

They returned to the car and were soon on their way to Lisa's house. A sudden thought popped into Bella's mind. 'It would soon be her house too.'

To Be Continued…

Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter! Don't forget to review this one.