Chapter 25

Lisa Cuddy flipped on the switch, light filling her apartment. Her eyes washed over the empty room. Her heart felt just as solitary. Tossing down her keys onto the table, she headed towards the kitchen. Cuddy needed a beer. She had caused irrevocable damage and had no idea what to do about it. Wilson's face kept flashing through her mind. He looked so pained and devastated. Her soul cracked a little deeper every time she saw that face or heard his voice.

She unbuttoned and took off her suit jacket. Cuddy relished in the sound of the bottle cap snapping off. The silence entombing the room was suffocating her.

…………………………

House peeked into their bedroom. The television chattered softly while Cameron was lightly snoring. His grin at the scene was insuppressible. She looked so peaceful and without worry, which for Cameron, was a miracle.

He crept into the living room. Wilson was sprawled out on the couch, his beer still hanging loosely from his hand. House slid it from his grip and set it on the table. His bottom lip pushed out in thought. After Stacy, he never thought that he'd be watching over two people he dearly loved. House pushed people away to avoid pain. No one would have considered that he would end up with three children and their mother that he loved.

He loved Allison Cameron. House still could not believe it himself. The man had spent the last ten years cementing walls around his heart and it only took a naïve little atheist with a heart filled with puppies, clouds, and gold two years to break those barriers down. Picking up his car keys, he realized that he was afraid to think that she might be the love of his life. He and Wilson both had always thought that Stacy was the one, but now when he closed his eyes, Allison was the person he saw, smiling, kissing, loving him.

House left Cameron a note at the door and headed for the parking lot. He did not want to tell her, but he had never been more frightened than he was right now. Not even his infarction was as terrifying as the thought of having and raising children. His heart thrilled at the thought of Cameron having his children in her tummy, but he was worried that he could not actually take care of these two little lives.

Driving down the street, his thought turned to Micah. She was so amazingly beautiful. And bold. And strong. He could not have been more proud. Chase seemed to love her too. The pair fit together well, but he hoped that they did not get hurt.

He parked in front of the building and stepped out of the car. House knocked on the door and waited.

Cuddy rushed to the door, hoping that it was James. Her head fell onto the edge of the door when she saw that it was House. "What do you want, House?" she asked wearily, her throat raspy.

House tucked his head down as he paused before saying, "I'm here to get some of Wilson's stuff."

A tear slipped down her cheek as she let him in. "How is he?" she asked quietly.

House went into the bedroom. "He's peachy keen. Wilson's partying it up with the stripper neighbor next door," he called from the room.

She shut her eyes. "House," she pleaded. Cuddy followed him into the bedroom.

He turned around with a shirt in his hand. "Right now, he's broken," he told her. "What happened?"

She sifted her hands through her thick hair. "I needed a distraction from my meltdown. Reynolds was there and he wasn't…"

"He wasn't Wilson," House finished.

Cuddy sighed in relief. House understood. But that still didn't fix the situation. Covering her eyes with her hands, she cried, "I don't know what to do."

House limped over to her, wrapping his arms around her. Cuddy shook as she wept all of her pain out onto his chest. For once, he did not have an answer. House did not know what she should do either.

…………………………

It had been several days since Wilson had come to stay with House and Cameron. Micah would be returning to school in a few days. She would be given birth in just a few months. Cameron had yet to call her parents and even tell them that she was dating Greg House. She plopped eggs on to the plate as she thought of all the changes their lives were about to see.

She did not know how she planned to tell her mother and father. She had told Emily over the phone days ago, but her parents were upper-middle class Presbyterians from Vermont. Cameron had never even told them that she was an atheist. She wondered how she could be so honest with those around her but could not even tell her parents any details of her life.

Her stomach fluttered when her mind drifted to House. Cameron felt like giggling when she even thought of him, the way he touched her, his soft whisper in her ear while they laid together at night, the life inside her that he gave her. She never thought that he would open up to her after Stacy had come back with her husband, but he had and he loved her. She gasped at the thought of how much she loved him.

Wilson stepped into the kitchen, pulling her from her daydreams. "Are any of those eggs for me?" he asked as he sat down on the stool in front of her.

She smiled back at him. "Of course," she replied. House was still in the shower, so they both began eating in silence. Cameron twirled her fork in her hand for a few minutes until she finally asked, "How long are you going to wait before you forgive her?"

He glanced up. Quietly but sternly, he retorted, "I'm at least going to finish my eggs first."

Cameron's jaw stiffened. "You cheated on all three of your wives. Didn't you ever wish that they would have understood where you were coming from?"

Wilson did not like where this conversation was headed. "Yes," he almost whispered.

She leaned closer into him over the counter. "Well, now you have the advantage," she said. "You know what Cuddy was feeling."

Wilson pushed back his hair. "I wanted this relationship to be different."

"What we want is almost never what we get," she countered. "Now you'll be able to see how strong this relationship that you wanted so much really is."

TBC