Almost 200 reviews! I can't believe it, thank you so much! I have a few more chapters left before the end...unless while writing I find something else to add...which has been known to happen to me. This chapter goes out to Eryngrace94 who asked me very nicely to post this tonight :)

Enjoy!

His gray blue eyes were focused to a spot on the desk in front of him. Glasses perched on his nose as he gazed absently at the paperwork he had zero interest in doing anytime soon. The pen in his hand remained poised, ready to pretend to make use out of it if anyone barged into his office.

"May Thirtieth?" His hand twitched into action from the predicted intrusion. Looking up into the face of a stunningly hostile looking love of his life standing in the doorway.

"What…I just scheduled it. How could you already-"

"-I have my ways." Her gray high heels carried her further into his office, coming to stand anxiously in front of his desk. "May Thirtieth is six weeks from now House."

"It is? Sorry guess my math was off today. It's the year two-thousand twenty right?"

"This isn't funny."

"Clearly not." He took off his reading glasses and leaned back in his chair.

"I agreed to a month. And that was two weeks ago-"

"I know. But I have a very good reason-"

"There isn't a reason big enough-"

"I have tickets to a concert."

Cuddy's hands flew up in the air, "My point exactly."

"To see Stevie Wonder." House was now leaning completely forward, elbows resting on the desk, knowing he might be able to dangle her favorite singer in front of her in order to negate the extreme frustration he had caused in her face. "I gather by your silence…there's a chance you are slightly less perturbed with me at the moment."

Her eyes squinted at him, "You can't just-hide behind Stevie."

"Oh I most certainly can…if you're nice-and wear something incredibly slutty I might just let you come with me."

"How can you be so cavalier—"

"-I'm not. But I am a doctor remember, I know my limits and a few more weeks will not make a difference here. My scans have shown no further growth…you know all this." He finished carefully, hoping she could move past this.

She shrugged and looked away, "Fine," she replied robotically, shifting her feet. The last thing she wanted was to fight with him, but her heart broke over the thought of prolonging his treatment even further…and she knew ultimately she could do nothing about it.

She turned to leave…

"Hey…don't just walk away like that. " House called out to her softly, causing her to halt her retreat. "Its two weeks difference, not ten."

"Right, and what about tomorrow when you push it too, I don't know, July?"

"I'm not going to do that." His voice was hushed, but dripping with authority. He saw some tension dissipate from her face as she tried to trust in him, something he had given her very little faith in for most of their relationship. "Look…I know that doesn't mean very much…coming from me-"

"You promise?" She asked, tentatively interrupting, her eyes connecting with his.

House held her gaze, her face filled with glimpses of hope mixed with utter despair. It was a powerful combination for him to witness, and all he wanted to do was make things better for her; he needed to commit to her now; it was all he had left to offer. "Yes."

Her face softened, her eyes blinked shut, sighing deeply. Her hand came up and worried her necklace between her fingers; he could feel her mind racing from a few feet away. "Okay." She whispered holding his intense stare for a moment longer before her heels poised to leave.

Reaching for his cane, he shifted quickly, rising up from behind his desk, "Wait." He moved to her side as her crystal blue eyes turned back to him. "Are we okay?" His hand came up and ran down the length of her arm.

"Yeah..." her eyes searched his. "But…if your next scans come back showing-"

"I know. If I have to push the date up…I will."

She gave him a slight nod and leaned into him, her forehead resting against his chest; the feeling of his warm hand weaving in her hair, cupping her head to him felt immensely powerful and she allowed his touch to wash away her frustration. A comforting gift he always had the power to make her feel whenever he made contact with her. It was only recently that she found herself finally getting better at accepting the sensation, instead of pushing it away like she had done with him before. Her head pulled back so she could see his face, his hand remained softly caressing her hair, his eyes smiled at her…

"So…does this mean you're willing to spend the evening with Stevie and I…and wear something wicked?"

"That depends on how good your seats are."

"It's at The Blue Note…a very intimate setting. Every seat is a good one."

She conjured up all her strength not to show how truly excited she was, "Hmmm…I guess that works for me." She faintly smiled, toying with the buttons on his shirt. "When is it?"

"Uh…May Twenty-Ninth." He answered carefully, his tone immediately changing as he revealed that this concert meant more than he had shared, in his marred and frightened mind he knew it could be the last night they had together for a long time…or ever…but he only thought the last in his darkest moments.

Cuddy watched his face change, understanding his expressions so distinctly; grabbing his face between her hands she placed a gentle kiss upon his lips, staying connected with him to ease his fear, her thumb running across his cheek. "I will make sure to buy something extra special for the occasion…you think a mini skirt and halter top would be too much?" Her eyes were wide with bemusement.

"Not if you pair it with those black hooker boots you hide in the back of your closet."

"I do not own hooker boots." She laughed.

"Just because you may not walk up and down dark streets trolling for horny freaks of the night doesn't mean they are not hooker boots."

"You don't forget anything do you?"

"Not slutty things, no."

"I got to go…disciplinary hearing…and interestingly enough you are not involved in any way."

"I've had a slow morning…the last couple weeks spent sexing up my boss sort of clouded my abilities to wreak havoc. I'll get it back after a decent lunch…don't you worry." His eyes lit up as he bent to kiss her one last time before he allowed her to leave.

"I'm looking forward to the turmoil." She arched her brow and placed her palm against his chest, leaning into him with a smile before she forced herself to break away, walking towards his office door. "I'll see you tonight?"

"Dinner at your place," he nodded. "Are you still positive you're ready to tell Rachel about us? It was only a couple weeks ago you wanted us to take things slow."

"I know…but two weeks spent sneaking around like Romeo and Juliet has lost its appeal. And honestly…I don't know what I was thinking…I love you…" her eyes gleamed tenderly back to him, pausing thoughtfully, "…which makes it hard to ever want to be apart from you…so…I give up."

"Quitter."

And with that she left…a brilliant smile engraved on her lips...

His face was only a perfect mirror of her own.

"Does I look pretty Mommy?" Rachel teetered out of her room, smacking right into Cuddy's leg as she maneuvered down her hallway.

"I was just coming to get you…and you always look pretty sweetie-but why are you wearing your Christmas dress and your high-top converse?"

"Cause um House is coming for dinnertime."

Cuddy brought her daughter by the hand and led her back to her bedroom. "Rachel all I said was to change out of your dirty school clothes. This room looks like the mall threw up in here." She lifted her daughter and placed her on the mound of clothes in the center of her bed so they were eye to eye. "What happened?"

"You said House is coming over. " The whine erupted immediately, her doe eyes already playing their part well.

"I understand. But you don't need to dress up for House. He's your friend, he likes anything you wear."

"But you's dress up. And you make your hair pretty, and your lips."

"And you want to do that too?" Cuddy asked, prying her daughters arms from the too tight Christmas dress she had manage to stuff her body into.

"Uh-huh."

"Okay. " The dress finally tugged free. "You can wear whatever you want, but let's pick a dress that's not suffocating you." She looked around her and rifled through her daughters destroyed wardrobe strewn at her feet, "How about your striped dress."

"Yep." Rachel smiled toothily and lifted her arms to put it on.

Cuddy smoothed down Rachel's hair and couldn't resist grabbing her face and planting a kiss on her tiny cheek, eliciting little squeals of delight from her daughter. "And you want to keep on your sneakers with that dress?"

"Um yeah because House wears his sneakers too." Rachel hopped off her bed and scooted to the bathroom, her mother close behind.

"You want me to do your hair?"

"And my lips too okay?"

Cuddy pulled out some colorless chapstick that was Rachel's favorite 'lip gloss.' "Here's your lip gloss. Now smush them together like this." They looked at each other through the bathroom mirror reflection, Rachel attempted to rub her lips together like her Mom was showcasing so perfectly back to her. "Good job. How do you want your hair?"

"A ponytail! With my Sponge Bob clippies!"

The brush went to work as Cuddy created her daughter's chosen look. Clippies placed on the sides of her hair holding back stray chocolate brown wisps. Looking the perfect picture of a four year old, that was allowed to dress herself, should appear. It was only the rapping of a cane on the door that finally triggered Rachel to move out of the bathroom and away from her admired appearance. "House!"

"Ask who it is first!" Cuddy called loudly after to her, checking her own reflection in the mirror once more before she went to help Rachel let in their very welcomed guest. She unlocked it, and allowed Rachel to turn the handle, swinging the door wide.

"Hi House!" Rachel squealed and bounced on her toes, her hand poised for a fist bump.

"Junior." His hand met hers, before he stepped over the threshold into the warmly lit home.

"What's in that bag?" Rachel peered to House's right side; a paper bag held folded in his hand.

"You really mean is it something for you?" He blinked down to her.

"Is it?" Her eyes grew even wider, a smile already on her face.

"Maybe…but only because you have good taste in sneakers." He pointed his cane at her feet, handing her the bag, as Rachel smiled knowingly up at her Mom.

Cuddy watched the exchange quietly, taking House's coat off his body and hanging it on the hook by the door. She noticed his eyes carefully observe as Rachel confusedly pulled out a movie that she did not recognize.

"What is it?" Rachel turned the movie around to look at the back cover.

"Yellow Submarine," House answered. "I heard a couple months ago some little bundle of lithium say she did not-" He looked towards Cuddy with a tilt of his head, "-know who The Beatles were."

"But why is there no beetles on the pictures ifs this movie has-has the beetles in it? " Cuddy stifled a grin, placing her hand over her mouth.

House bowed his head dramatically with a grumble, "Let the education…begin."

"After dinner." Cuddy added with amusement.

"After dinner." House nodded.

"Rachel can you please go and clean all the clothes off your floor and pile them on your bed while dinner is finishing."

"Can House help me?" Rachel grabbed a hold of his hand innocently.

Cuddy melted from the display of affection, but tried to remain neutral as she replied, "Did House help you make the mess?"

"No." Rachel confessed.

"Then I think you need to do it alone please. And I think you can at least put away your socks and underwear that were under your chair. You know where they go. I will do the rest tomorrow."

"Okay." She mumbled with a groan, and slowly retreated to her bedroom, the door slamming shut behind her.

Cuddy cringed by reflex as the sound vibrated down the hallway. She shook the noise away and turned back to the handsome man inching closer to her. Her hands wrapped around his neck in the same moment his hands enveloped her small waist.

"Good movie by the way." Her lips pressed against his neck as House clutched her in a languid embrace. Their bodies folding together from head to toe so perfectly, immediately relaxing into each other.

He pulled back and kissed her hello, tasting her fresh lipstick, finally allowing his eyes to roam over her without the interference of a little spy. "Next week it's Sergeant Pepper."

"Oh great. Because the acid trip during Lucy in the Sky is perfect for a four year old to watch."

"She won't even know what she's looking at…plus in the last couple decades our fine race has come up with a brilliant invention called the fast forward button."

"Uh-huh." She nodded slowly with a smirk. "You want to help me with dinner?"

"Uh-huh." House mimicked, openly staring at her backside as she walked towards the kitchen, following closely behind.

"Can we watch The Yellow Bum-or-um what's it called?" Rachel tilted her head in confusion, looking to House for help.

"Submarine."

"Yes! Sub-mo-rein beetles please?" She sprinted to the foyer, grabbing the movie from the paper bag by the door. "I got it!" She squealed proudly, holding it up to her Mom and House still seated at the dining table.

"I think the dishes can wait…we have some learning to do." House grabbed Cuddy's hand resting on the table and pulled her up to stand in front of him.

"It has been a very long time since I've seen that movie. Used to be one of my favorites." Cuddy conceded with a smile, continuing to hold House's hand as she tugged him toward the family room where Rachel was already trying to aggressively pry open the movie from the wrapping.

"Give it here destroyer." House reached out his hand to Rachel, pulling off the plastic swiftly and handing her back the disk. He limped over to the DVD player and opened it up, allowing her to place the movie in the slot; remembering from before that she loved to do that on her own.

Cuddy watched the two of them standing close to the television, both of them equally transfixed by the movie as the opening menu turned on in front of them. She sat back against the couch and stifled a laugh, "Um…are you two going to join me? Or burn your eyes by watching the movie from a foot away?" She grabbed the remote off the coffee table and observed them both take steps backward, eyes still glued as they blindly found their way to the couch.

"Press play Mommy!" Rachel jumped on the cushions and settled directly in between House and Cuddy with absolute excitement. The three of them sitting closely together.

The movie began with a click of a button, Rachel leaned forward in anticipation. House studied her jubilance, finding that her joy brought him a certain sense of accomplishment, and it was a feeling that was strangely satisfying to him.

Making her smile…made him smile in return.

He turned to his left, meeting Cuddy's sparkling watchful eyes. His hand moved to reach her, coming behind Rachel and finding the back of her head with his fingers, gently resting against her hair as she leaned closer to him.

"Whose is that?" Rachel pointed to the screen after a few minutes.

"The Blue Meanies." House answered.

"They is mean cause they are shooting at those music people?"

"Yep. Turning them into statues."

"Cool." Rachel never strayed from the television.

"What's that?" She asked after sometime.

"That…is the Yellow Submarine." House answered once more, "And you hear that song?"

"Yeah."

"Well that is The Beatles."

"They're a song?"

"No. They are a group of men that wrote some of the best music of all time."

"But it's' a cartoon. Cartoons are not real."

"You will see what they really look like at the end of the movie, but right now they're cartoon people and we get to listen to their music." Cuddy spoke and brought Rachel up on her lap. Adjusting her body so she could mold herself against House, his arm wrapped instantly around her frame, his feet plopping on the coffee table…and just like her daughter, his eyes remained locked to the movie…

It felt unconditionally perfect.

The cartoon Beatles emerged onto the screen, the four of them introduced each in their own unique way. Then the soft solemn melody of Eleanor Rigby began to filter through the television. "My favorite Beatles song." Cuddy's voice softly mumbled, speaking only to herself.

House turned his head, catching her words, "I know."

She subtly smiled without looking to him, "Of course you do." Her face turned to his, her hand came to rest on his thigh…

The movie continued; Rachel's questions became obsolete as she was swept away by the colors and the music. Cuddy could feel her grow tired, her body slackening on top of her lap.

House grabbed the pillow next to him placing it on his legs, sensing the same thing Cuddy felt, and reached his arm around Rachel carefully guiding her to lie down. Her tiny body laying across both of their laps willingly, curling herself into a ball.

"Thank you." Cuddy whispered in the darkening room, her head coming to rest on his shoulder. She could feel his warm lips placing a kiss against her hair, his breath tickling her scalp before he rested his head against hers.

"Is that the real beetles people?" Rachel lifted her head at the end of the movie, rubbing her eyes with her fists.

"Yep." House looked to her as she carefully scrutinized the television for some time.

"They look silly."

"Yes they do."

"I like Ringo the best. His cartoon was so funny."

"No one likes Ringo the best."

"I do! Can we watch it again?" She asked with her sweetest voice, stifling a yawn.

"No baby. It's time for bed."

"But Mom…"

"Rachel don't start. House bought you the movie. You can obsessively watch this cartoon for the rest of your life." Cuddy wrapped her arms around her daughter, feeling her instantly melt against her and place her head on her shoulder.

"I'll be right back." She mouthed quietly to House as she rose gingerly from the couch. The weight of her ever increasing daughter making it difficult to maneuver like she used too and she wobbled on her feet.

House saw her struggle and stood up to catch her balance. "You okay?"

"Yeah…just Rachel getting to big for me I guess." She replied, hiding the fact that she had felt incredibly dizzy for a moment there as well.

"Can House read me my book?" Rachel lifted her head off Cuddy's shoulder.

"Depends on what you're reading." He squinted at her.

"Rachel it's late. I think you need to go straight to bed tonight. We can read a short picture book instead."

"Mommy's reading um Peter Pan to me. It's a very big book." Rachel answered House's question, ignoring her Mother's objections.

"Yes but it's the actual Peter Pan novel. So the font is small and I don't think House brought his glasses…" Cuddy trailed off and turned to him as he hobbled silently over to his jacket in the foyer and retrieved his reading glasses.

"I used to bully a boy scout. Always come prepared." House looked to Cuddy. His eyes spoke to her that he was actually okay with fulfilling her daughter's request.

"Only a chapter Rachel okay." She couldn't help but smile at his sweet gesture.

"Okay." Rachel agreed.

"Let's go brush your teeth."

House watched them slip into the bathroom and he made his way down the hall to Rachel's bedroom. He saw the old leather bound book sitting on the dresser, a red bookmark was sticking out from somewhere in the center. He limped with it over to the chair next to the bed and sat down carefully.

"You ready?" Rachel came skipping into the bedroom, straight to House's side.

Cuddy closely followed, sifting through the pile of clothes on the once clean bed, hoisting the heap to the couch before she wordlessly began to change her daughter out of her dress and into the one pair of pajamas she managed to find.

"You haves to do all the voices too like Mommy okay?"

"Is she any good at them?" He opened the page to the place they last stopped.

"Um…"

"Um?" Cuddy placed her pink oversized pajama shirt on her body deflty and pulled down her comforter.

"Well you's is good Mommy. But you are a girl. And Peter Pan and Capitan Hook are boys so…um..." She trailed off as she crawled into her bed and grabbed her Housie and Lisa dolls by the heads, placing one on either side of her body.

"Nice save." House leaned in with a smirk only to Rachel.

Cuddy shook her head and placed kiss on top of her head. "Remember only one Chapter Rachel. Don't ask for more."

"Mommy you lay down with me okay."

"Uh…"

"Lay down." House agreed quietly. "No offense but you look sleepier than your mini duplicate over there."

"Thanks." Cuddy replied sarcastically, already shifting to lie down despite her furrowed brow. Her body closest to House, Rachel snuggling close into her side.

"Don't get used to this." He added only to Cuddy.

She turned her head and gazed at him, knowing he was full of it, and would have never agreed if he didn't find it an intriguing endeavor. "Sure." A small smile crept across her face as she watched him put on his dangerously handsome glasses.

And begin to read…

His voice was soothing, lulling, and so fantastically narrative that both Cuddy and Rachel were instantly tangled up in the story. Rachel loved his Capitan Hook, hanging on every word he spoke, interrupting him only briefly with compliments and giggles as she watched his face transform when he read through the different characters.

And while Rachel was absorbed with the story, Cuddy was focusing on the amazing man in front of her, his boldness, his sincerity. His unassuming love for her and her daughter. The way he could create a magical night out of a unique movie and finish it off with obliging a four year olds needs. It was so distinctly House, and so absolutely what she had been missing with every fiber of her soul.

She turned to her daughter then, seeing her face mirror her own. She was in awe of him. Smitten with the eccentric man before her, she was everything that Cuddy felt in that moment. And for the first time she realized that she was not the only one that needed House in her life anymore. Rachel needed him just as much…

"Hey…" A flutter of a breath tickled her ear, his voice quietly bringing her back from the sleep she fell into. "You still with me…" His eyes shimmered even through the darkness in the room as she opened her own to look into his face.

She turned her head to her passed out daughter, "How many chapters did you read?" She whispered, taking his outstretched hand to guide her from the small bed.

"A few." House confessed as they retreated quietly from the bedroom. He watched her yawn, her eyes still half-lidded. "You still okay with me staying the night?"

Cuddy brought her arms instantly around him, embracing his heated long body against her own, answering his question silently as she unraveled from him and took his hand. Leading him to her bedroom and shutting the door behind them both.

"I'll take this as a yes." House pulled her back into his arms, pressing her back against the door; kissing her lips without pause. He could feel her relax into him, humming in pleasure as he continued to place soft kisses against her mouth. "You know what sounds really good right now?" He mumbled into her lips, pulling back just barely to see her eyes.

"I have a few thoughts." She smirked as her hands lowered around his back, teasingly grabbing his ass in her hands.

"Taking a bath."

Her eyebrows arched at his unexpected response, "That…sounds amazing actually."

"Oh I meant alone…wasn't really inviting you." He replied with a straight face.

"Well alright then. Have fun." She let go of him and walked towards the bed, blatantly removing her shirt in front of him, and grabbed her pajamas to put on.

His eyes grew wide, "Forget what I said. Get that giant ass of yours in here." He jerked his head towards her bathroom as he began to walk towards the door. Stopping to stare at her longingly before he retreated to turn on the hot water.

The mirrors remained slightly fogged, the air around them was filled with moisture as they remained submerged together in the bathtub, while foamy bubbles covered most of their bodies. Her head rested back against the white porcelain, watching with sheer adoration as House traced patterns along her calf, moving to massage her foot in his hands. His legs stretched out around her, trapping her contentedly, "If we don't get out of here soon I might just fall asleep in here."

"You seem to be very tired tonight."

"I know…long week." She sighed, images of work she would rather forget floated in her head. "I think I'm going to dream of expense reports tonight."

"You sure know how to live it up."

"Yes I do. Oh God that feels good." Her body hummed impulsively as House's fingers kneaded the ball of her foot. She saw him smirk confidently before he resumed his work, reaching for her other foot beneath the water. "Speaking of living it up…are you finally going to allow me to acknowledge that your Birthday is next week…maybe we can celebrate somehow?" She bit her lip nervously, knowing full well House despised his Birthday and all mentioning of it.

"Didn't you receive my declaration about fifteen years ago stipulating that I do not participate in any Birthday fanfare that would be directed in my honor?"

"I believe there was a contract of some sort involved…yes."

"Alright then."

"Not so fast…I agreed to that pathetic excuse for avoidance of passage of time when we were merely friends and co-workers. I think there is a clause in there somewhere excluding girlfriends from abiding by the rules."

"Nope. Iron clad agreement."

"House…"

"Don't make doe eyes at me and pleadingly moan my name. Like that's going to work here. Who do you think you're dealing with?"

"Oh come on…what if I promised you a Birthday evening filled with anything your filthy mind could come up with? Would you at least let me buy you a card…and perhaps a cake?" She added quickly.

"No."

"Please…"

He dropped her foot and leaned his head back with a groan. "Why is this so important to you?"

"I…just think you have spent too many years depriving yourself of things that can actually be enjoyable experiences…if you allow them to be."

"And a paper card with stupid cliché's and a sugary mountain of fat is one of these enjoyable experiences?"

"Yes." She adjusted herself and slid her body in between his legs. Carefully wrapping herself around him in the warm water.

"You already think you won this discussion don't you?" He feebly tried to ignore her body teasingly resting against him, knowing she was manipulating him with her womanly charm to bend to her will.

"Did Wilson put you up to this?"

"We…might have talked about it…yes. But I went to him, not the other way around."

"And his advice to get me to cave was to bribe me with sexual favors?"

"No…he suggested I distracted you with my cleavage when I broached the topic."

"Well you failed. Your breasts are covered with bubbles."

"True. But I am completely naked right now and pressed up against you…that has to count for something. And it's not like I'm asking you to do something that bad here…it's just one day. Let me make it special."

"Fine…but for the record…it's only because I'm actually intrigued to cover your body with the cake, and then spend hours cleaning you up with my tongue."

"Sounds good to me." She smiled wide and brought her lips to his, kissing him slowly and seductively. Her way of thanking him for allowing her to actually get her way on this.

He pulled back slightly, his hands wrapped securely around her frame. "Besides, seeing you dressed up as Wonder Woman is totally worth it."

"What?"

"You said anything my filthy mind could come up with. You know you can't give me free reign like that without it coming back to bite you in the ass. And trust me when I say-there will be ass biting involved." He grinned wickedly; his hand slipped lower and cupped her from behind, pulling her hard against his very apparent need for her.

She gasped as he teased her entrance, "Fine." She moaned, knowing she had it coming when she promised him that, but thrilled that he actually gave into her this time. "Now let's get out of this tub. The water is cooling and my bed is a much larger space for me to have my way with you." She unwrapped herself from him and stood up quickly, grabbing a towel before she reached out her loving hand to him…

Little steps quietly scooted across the bedroom, pausing to stand inches from a snoring man resting amongst her Mother's blankets.

"House?" Rachel called out to him, her hand placed on his forearm, "House…wake up." She mumbled a little louder, her fingers clutching into his skin tight enough to finally rouse her friend from sleep.

"…What?" He grumbled sleepily, only one eye cracking in the dusk of the room. "If it's still dark outside then eyes need to remain closed. It's the law. Go back to sleep." He closed his eyes again only to feel her hand still grasping his arm.

"It is not the law." She whispered back.

"And how do you know that?" He still refused to open his eyes.

"Cause I do." Rachel sighed sleepily, "Can I sleep in here with you?"

"No."

"But…" Her voice cracked with emotion, causing him to finally look into her sad expression. "I hads a bad dream…and-and I'm too scared cause um the beetles sub-um submooreen was falling into the waters and then-" House held up his hand to cut her off, sighing deeply before he shifted and opened up the comforter for her to climb underneath.

The smile on her face was annoying, but also cute he thought to himself as he helped hoist her up by the back of her pajamas.

"What happened?" Cuddy mumbled in the dark, feeling the weight of someone else shuffling into her bed.

"House said I can sleep here." Rachel exclaimed much too loudly and climbed over House's body to settle between her Mom and him.

"And what con did you feed House to make him agree to that?" Cuddy spoke tiredly, shifting to place her arm around her daughter despite her frustrations at being interrupted from a cozy sleep next to House.

"I had a bad dream Mommy." Her whine came forth quickly. "And there was-"

"No need to tell the story again." House interrupted with a slur to his speech as he huddled under the covers. "I think sleeping without words is much nicer."

"Okay." Rachel yawned in response, her tiny body molding along Houses back.

Cuddy smiled despite her exhaustion. Watching as her daughters eyes closed immediately once she nestled against House. She reached her hand further over her daughter and shimmied her fingers under the fabric of House's t-shirt. Her hand making contact with his skin as she settled her palm just above his hip. Closing her eyes back again…the soft caress of his hand coming to rest on top of hers, lulled her back to sleep.