Summary: A bookstore was where it all began, from there, it lead to much more. He was her friend, confidante and love of her life. Gregory House was her everything, and she was his. It started out playful and unexpected, but there's one thing that can change everything. The island.

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Chapter Twenty-One

Cuddy rolled over, feeling the blankets tangle at her feet and she reached over, flicking on the bedside lamp. She gazed around the side of the room she was looking at and smiled to herself, remembering her and House's night before. Unconsciously, Cuddy placed a hand on her stomach, closing her eyes, remembering the light kisses House had covered her in a few hours earlier. Glancing on the other side of the bed, she was surprised to find it empty and she sat up, realizing that House had already gotten up.

Getting up herself, Cuddy dug through a pile of folded laundry on a chair and pulled on a t-shirt of House's, along with her underwear and jeans. She headed out of the room, leaving the bed unmade and went into the living room, looking for House.

"Looking for someone?" House asked, watching her from the doorway into the kitchen.

"Morning," Cuddy stopped in front of the couch and changed direction, heading towards him and kissing his lips gently.

"Good morning to you too," House held Cuddy in his arms, "Are you all right?" He rested his chin against Cuddy's forehead, "You seemed a little upset when you came in the living room."

"I didn't even say anything!" Cuddy laughed, "I'm fine, just a little surprised that you didn't wake me up."

"Sorry," House dropped his arms and headed into the kitchen, motioning for Cuddy to follow him. "I was making these pancakes, Wilson's more famous for them than I am, two each."

"Only two?" Cuddy pouted, "I want some more, I'm hungry."

"Oh please," House rolled his eyes at her, "You weren't the one who was doing all the hard work last night, all you were doing was laying there looking as beautiful as ever." He edged Cuddy towards the small card table and put three pancakes on a plate in front of her.

"I'm sorry that your handsome self couldn't resist me then," Cuddy smirked, pouring syrup onto the pancakes, "You know you can get help for that."

"I don't want help," House stole the syrup from her, "I love you and want to find you beautiful." He set the syrup between them before getting a mug of coffee for himself and a cup of herbal tea for Cuddy, which he set in front of her.

"You got herbal tea especially for me?" Cuddy asked, surprised that House even bought tea in the first place, not to mention the type that she liked.

"What kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't buy my crazy, health-freaked girlfriend her favorite tea?" House teased, kissing her forehead before sitting back down.

"Good point," Cuddy laughed, "I'm glad you did, it helps me relax."

"Relax from what?" House asked, biting into the pancakes, "Sex wasn't really that stressful was it?"

"No," Cuddy blushed, "Nothing wrong with the sex, it's just that I'm a little nervous about bringing you home for my mom to meet. She didn't seem to keen on me getting into a relationship this year, wanted me to focus more on the courses."

"Hey," House leaned back in his chair, "Are you saying that you're breaking the rules by being with me?"

"No," Cuddy smiled devilishly, "Only the fact that I did agree to not find any wild parties to go to, or have sex."

"You what?" House cried, "Then what was last night about?"

"Hey, chill," Cuddy laughed, "My parents meant that I shouldn't be having one night stands, they never said anything about my boyfriend."

"Oh, okay, good." House finished off the two pancakes he had, "I'm relieved."

"You'll probably get fired with every question known to mankind though," Cuddy smirked, "Including the ones about sex."

"Thanks for the warning," House picked up both his and Cuddy's dirty plates and headed to the sink to wash them off.

"No problem," Cuddy followed him, still carrying her tea.

"Oh, Lisa," House turned, filling the sink with suds, "You never answered me last night."

"About what?" Cuddy asked, hopping up onto the counter, flicking suds at House's shirt. "You seemed more interested in sex than questions last night."

"I asked you if it was your first time last night, was it?" House asked, flicking the suds back at her, watching her motions out of the corner of his eye.

"No," Cuddy admitted, "It wasn't."

"It wasn't?" House was shocked and he looked at her, "You and Luke had sex before?"

"Once," Cuddy replied, "It was when we were in eleventh grade, the usual, we were home alone at him place. He wanted to do it, I didn't really but I ended up agreeing with him because he wouldn't shut up."

"He's weird," House remarked, "You okay about it afterward?"

"The sex?" Cuddy asked, blushing slightly, "I guess so, I wasn't really looking for anything since I was more in shock about the fact that he pushed me."

"He did?" House asked, looking up again, "Why didn't you say anything to him after?"

"I tried to," Cuddy shrugged, "You probably know where I'm going with this story though, we were in love then. And at the time, we thought we were going to stay together through high school and into college."

"I know," House put his arms around Cuddy's waist and lifted her off the counter, "You aren't bothered by it at all?"

"I loved him Greg," Cuddy admitted, "I wouldn't have been bothered by something that he did that showed he loved me."

House shrugged, kissing Cuddy's forehead, "I'm sorry for prying Lise, just wanted to make sure that you were okay with it."

"I know," Cuddy glanced at the clock on the stove, "We should head over to my place, get my stuff ready – our place leaves in about two hours."

"Sure," House went back into the bedroom, collecting his own stuff and putting it into a backpack, along with some books and folders. Cuddy followed him, awkwardly picking up her clothes which she had left in his room from the night before. She pulled on her jacket over his shirt and stuffed the rest of her clothes into a duffel bag. The two of them headed out, making a stop at Cuddy's dorm, where she got her own suitcase, and some schoolwork, before making their way to Detroit's airport.

AN: Sorry, was loosing my inspiration for the chapter. Next chapter, Cuddy's mom meets House...

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