A/N: I would like to convey my deepest thanks and gratitude to everyone reading this story. I appreciate your patience. House and Cuddy are two very complicated and screwed-up individuals. For them, nothing worth having comes easy, it takes work. I suppose that's the way it is for all of us.

By the way there are some terrific House-Cuddy fics you should check out! Search FF and you shall find them!

House had left explicit instructions with Chase that he not be disturbed unless absolutely necessary. Despite his need to solve cases as a means of distraction, he actually wanted to spend some time with his mother. However, a case had presented itself around noon on Saturday and House had to go to the hospital. House invited his mother to tag along and see what happens in the "big bad world of diagnostics" as he called it.

Upon entering the Diagnostics conference room, House was met by his fellows. He introduced his mother to them and offered her a seat on the couch as they began.

"Mom? Are you sure you want to sit through this?" he asked.

"Of course Gregory, just pretend I'm not even here."

House turned to his team, "Okay have we got?"

Chase handed out copies of the patient file and began the discussion. "Two weeks ago, the patient, a forty-five year old Caucasian female showed up at Princeton General's clinic complaining of headache, nausea and vomiting. They did a physical exam and lab tests all within normal limits."

Taub continued, "She returned to the clinic for a second visit complaining of headaches and they sent her home telling her it was a migraine. On her third visit they sent diagnosed her with a tension headache, sinusitis and gave her a prescription for co-trimoxazole. On the fourth and final visit, she told them her headache had subsided but she was still vomiting at least twice a day. Clinic treated with OTC PPI for suspected gastro esophageal reflux and sent her home again."

"Four visits and they still didn't get that something was actually wrong with her?" House asked shaking his head in disgust.

"When the wife returned home from the fourth visit, she passed out on the floor. Her husband found her a few hours later, carried her into our ER," said Park.

House and the team worked through the DDX as he wrote symptoms on the white board. His mother was in awe watching the team in action. House ordered a number of tests and before they departed he made an announcement.

"Effective several days ago Chase is now the new me. Well he's not actually me, I'm better looking and he hasn't hit puberty yet, but you know what I mean." House looked over at Chase who rolled his eyes. Meanwhile Blythe couldn't help but laugh.

"Exactly what are you saying House?" asked Taub.

"Was I not clear small one? Chase is in charge when I'm not here."

"Why Chase?"

"Why not?"

"Does Foreman know about this?" asked Taub.

"Why would Foreman care?"

"Well he is your boss."

"Since when do I listen to my boss?"

"Good point," Taub replied.

"Go do the tests; I'll be here when you're done."

A few hours later, House had given his mother a tour of the hospital, introduced her to his favorite coma patients, and had lunch in the cafeteria. They returned to the conference room where the team was waiting for them.

"Patient has developed ataxia and diplopia and her headache has returned, worse than before," said Chase.

"What does the MRI show?" House asked him.

"Head scan shows increased signaling of the left temporal lobe, bilateral pontine areas, left peridentate nucleus and cervical spinal cord."

"So what are we thinking?"

"The MRI suggests an acute demyelinating process," said Adams.

"Possibly myasthenia gravis?" Park suggested.

"Administer a trial of pyridostigmine and keep an eye on her," said House.

"Uh...well…House we have a problem. Her husband won't let us treat her anymore unless he talks to you first," said Adams.

"Did you tell him I'm a very busy man?"

"Seriously?" she asked.

Blythe cleared her throat. House looked over at her while she gave him "the look" the one that made him realize he was about to something he didn't want to do.

"Whaaat?" he whined looking at his mother.

"I didn't say anything dear."

"You want to don't you?"

"No."

"Yes you do."

"No I don't."

"Yes you do. Now what is it?" House asked, noticing the team was watching them intently.

"The man is probably worried out of his mind because his wife sick. Maybe talking to the brilliant world-renowned diagnostician who is treating her would make him feel better."

The team was clearly enjoying the interaction between mother and son. Finally House relented. Looking at his team he yelled "Oh shut up all of you!" and he limped out of the room. His team laughed.

House entered the room of the patient whose name was Deborah Lancaster. He noticed the husband sitting by her bed and he rolled a stool over and sat across from him.

"Who are you?" asked the husband.

"I'm your wife's doctor."

"Oh yeah, the elusive Dr. House. My wife has been sick for two weeks. TWO WEEKS! Princeton General told us it was a migraine, then sinusitis and then acid reflux. Not knowing what the hell else to do, I bring her here to see the brilliant Dr. Gregory House and you still can't figure out what's wrong with her!" He was raising his voice now, "I've known my wife since she was five years old. I know everything about her and I know there is something wrong with her goddamnit and I want to know what YOU PEOPLE are going to do about it?"

As he listened to the husband yelling at him, House looked down at the woman in the bed. She was beautiful, dark curly hair, pale complexion, petite. She reminded him of someone else he once knew. He recalled when Cuddy was sick in the hospital and he thought he would lose her. He definitely understood what this man was going through.

As he thought about this, the husband was talking to him but House wasn't listening.

"Dr. House, do you hear me?"

"Dr. House!"

House was brought out of his thoughts when the patient's blood pressure began to rise rapidly. Adams and Park were nearby and ran into the room and House ordered Park to get the husband out while he and Adams worked on the patient.

Later that evening House and the team were still at the hospital. He'd called a cab hours earlier for his mother so she could do some shopping at the mall after which she'd decided to head back to House's apartment assuming he'd probably be working late on the case.

House was clearly frustrated at his team and himself for not yet finding a diagnosis. They continued throwing out ideas, including the neurological symptoms.

"What about the neuro exam?" asked House.

Taub read the results, "Unfortunately it shows decreased sensorium, hallucinations, decreased attention span and gait disturbance."

"Taub and Adams, do a lumbar puncture. Park, order us some Chinese."

"How am I supposed to pay for it?"

"Use your credit card."

"Mine?"

"Well duh, do you expect me to use mine?"

Park rolled her eyes, pulled out her phone and walked out. House yelled after her, "Make sure to get extra pancakes for me!"

"What about me?" asked Chase

"What about you?"

"Well what do you want me to do?"

"If you're going to be the boss Chase, you've got to learn to be a boss. You don't do anything. Just make sure the team doesn't kill anybody."

House looked at Chase as he left. Over the years he'd watched as the insecure boy grew into a man. At first he didn't like Chase, only hiring him because Chase's well-respected and world-renowned physician father asked him to do it as a favor. In the beginning he wasn't sure about Chase but over time he had proved himself worthy. Chase had matured into a great doctor and surgeon. Of course he'd never tell Chase lest the Aussie get a big head but he hoped by making him team leader, Chase understood that he did respect him and had confidence in his abilities. House often thought if anyone on his team were to take over the department someday it could very well be Chase.

House went into his office and relaxed in his Eames chair. He put his right leg up and rubbed it vigorously. It had been hurting for hours, getting worse as his patient's health declined. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. His thoughts drifted to a night similar to this with a lot of leg pain and a difficult diagnosis. He'd been at the hospital nearly two days straight working on the case of a pregnant woman showing severe symptoms they could not diagnose. The case had weighed heavily on him.

It was nine o'clock at night and House was in his Eames chair trying to get a few hours sleep. He'd already sent the team home as they had been up nearly eighteen hours. As he drifted off, his cell phone vibrated which meant he'd received a text. It was from Cuddy, she was in her office and needed him there as soon as possible. Wondering why on earth she was there so late, he grabbed his cane and took the elevator down to the first floor. The blinds were drawn in her office. As he walked in he noticed her standing there in yoga pants, a v-neck tee shirt and tennis shoes.

"Hi," she said.

"Hey," he replied, looking her up and down and approving of the way her body looked in her casual outfit.

"You okay?" She asked as she walked over to greet him.

"Tired. What are you doing here so late? Everything okay at home?"

"I wanted to check up on you. Haven't seen each other much these past few days and I missed you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." She replied softly. He noticed on the floor next to her desk was a cooler, a duffel bag and a blanket and pillow.

"What's all this?" He asked.

"I thought you could use a change of clothes and some toiletries. I also brought you some leftovers, iced tea, a blanket and extra pillow in case you needed it for your leg."

"Where's Rachel?"

"Wilson's with her. I called him and he didn't mind watching her this evening. I told him I wanted to come down here and check on you."

"Just check on me?"

"Well something like that." She smiled and winked at him.

"That Wilson's a nice guy isn't he?" he asked her, a slight twinkle in his tired eyes.

"The best," she replied.

House locked the door behind him, dimmed the lights and limped over to the couch. Cuddy noticed he was limping much more than the last time she saw him. He patted the cushion next to him and motioned for her to sit next to him. She sat on his right side and put her hands on his leg. She knew he was in pain and so she massaged his thigh for him. While she massaged his thigh firmly he remained quiet and fifteen minutes later, she could tell he was much more relaxed.

"Thanks," he said. He truly meant it. Her touch was always healing to him.

"I know this case is hard on you. Is there anything I can do?" She asked.

"We're doing our best. There's a lot of stuff we can't do because of the baby."

"Yeah, that makes it much more difficult doesn't it?"

"Yeah."

Cuddy could tell in his voice how exhausted he was. It wasn't often his patients included pregnant women but when they did, it always hit him hard for he had to struggle to save two lives instead of one.

"House, come here," she motioned for him to lean towards her. When he did she took his lips in hers and kissed him softly and tenderly. She ran her tongue along his lips and smiled as he gave her access to his mouth. They had missed this closeness during the time he'd been at the hospital. He pulled her over to straddle him and she did, mindful of his right thigh. As she moved over his lap their lips never left one another. Finally they pulled apart, breathing heavily.

"I missed this." He said as he ran his hands up the back of her shirt. He smiled as he noticed she was not wearing a bra.

"Me too," she replied. She noticed that he noticed she wasn't wearing a bra.

"So is Wilson staying at your house all night?" he asked as he ran his hands up and down her bare back and her sides, enjoying the warmth of her soft skin.

"Yep."She closed her eyes a moment allowing herself to indulge in the feeling of being held by him.

"What's for dinner?"

"Lasagna and warm rolls."

"Uggh vegetarian lasagna!" he whined as he rolled his eyes.

"No. Lasagna with meat sauce."

He looked surprised and said, "You don't eat meat."

"Yeah but you do." She poked his chest with her index finger and laughed. "I made two pans, one with meat and one with spinach and tofu."

"Really?"

"Really." She kissed him again. "Come on let's eat."

Using her desk as a table, the two ate in relative silence. Cuddy knew House was hungry and he devoured the two portions of lasagna she brought for him as well as three rolls and the thermos of sweet iced tea. Not many words passed between them, most of what they felt was conveyed through eye contact and body language.

About an hour later, after they had digested their dinner, Cuddy unpacked the duffel bag full of House's clothes and toiletries. She handed him his plaid pajama pants, tee shirt, underwear and things he'd need for the shower.

Pointing towards the bathroom in her office she said, "Go shower and I'll get the couch ready."

"Are you going to join me?"

"There's no room for two of us in there."

"We can make do."

"Go now!" she said and pointing towards the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, House exited the bathroom feeling much more relaxed after having showered, shaved and brushed his teeth. He noticed Cuddy had converted her fold-out couch into a bed. It wasn't very big, but it was big enough for the two of them.

"I'm feeling a bit spoiled here," he said smirking at her.

"Yeah? Don't get used to it," She replied.

He put his dirty clothes in the duffel bag and limped without his cane over to the fold-out couch. Cuddy turned out the lights and the room was suddenly bathed in the bright light of the full moon shining through the tall windows behind her desk.

"You think we should be doing this?"

"I'm the Dean of Medicine, I can do whatever I want. Besides the blinds are drawn and the door is locked. Brenda has the night shift, she knows we're here, nobody's going to disturb us, I promise."

"Good because you have a tendency to get loud," he said.

"House, we're sleeping, that's it."

"Aww come on mom, you can't feed me, clean me up and then deprive me of sex."

"I find it very disturbing that you use the words mom and sex in the same sentence."

"You're funny, now are you going to change?"

"No, I'm fine."

"You're wearing too many clothes."

"House."

"Oh come on woman, compromise! That's what relationships are all about."

"Fine,." she said, giving in and sliding off her yoga pants revealing lacy white panties. House licked his lips and Cuddy noticed immediately.

"Don't get any ideas."

Folding her yoga pants and placing them on the table next to the couch, she crawled under the covers with him. She cuddled up close and he wrapped his arms around her as she laid her head on his chest.

"This was such a good idea," she said with a sigh.

"Yeah I'm glad I thought of it," he replied.

"Shut up!" She smacked him in the chest.

"Oww that hurt."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Let me see what I can do about that." She leaned in and kissed him, holding his face in her hands, rubbing her fingers over the scruff on his face. She moaned at the feeling of his tongue exploring his mouth. It was an incredibly sensual kiss, the kind that usually led to much more and would have in this case if both of them had not been so tired.

"House?"

"Yeah?"

"I ove the way you kiss me."

"Well I'll just have to do more of that then won't I?" He smiled at her in the dark.

They lay there in the dark, under a blanket on the fold-out couch, holding each other and whispering, bantering and laughing between kisses. Feeling the most relaxed and at ease that he had in days, House drifted off to sleep spooning Cuddy, his right hand over her stomach, keeping her close to him. They slept soundly until the alarm on Cuddy's cell phone woke them at five o'clock the next morning.

House woke to the sound of his noisy fellows entering the conference room next door. He wondered how long he'd been asleep. Looking at his watch he realized it was only a few hours. As he limped into the conference room he smelled the Chinese food.

"Park, I thought I told you to order that hours ago."

"You were asleep, I didn't want to wake you."

"Next time, wake me. Where's my food? And what's the deal with our patient?" He asked grumpily.

Taub gave him the results, "We've got the results of the lumbar puncture. It shows increased opening pressure. Based on the radiographic, lab and clinical findings, we think it might be acute demyelinating encephalopathy."

"Could be infectious or toxic encephalitis or collagen vascular disease?" asked Adams.

"Give her plasmapheresis." House ordered and then retreated to his office to eat his dinner in peace.

After the team had done a follow up MRI they discovered plasmapheresis showed no improvement. House went to the patient's room and found her awake. Her husband was sleeping in the chair next to her.

"Dr. House?" She asked.

"The plasmapheresis isn't working. We're going to do another MRI." He told her.

"So you still don't know what's wrong with me?" the patient asked. She was groggy and somewhat disoriented.

"No."'

"Don't let me die. I have a daughter at home, she's eight years old and she needs me." By that time the patient was crying.

"We're working on it." was his only reply.

The husband heard his wife's sobs and woke immediately and directed his anger at House. "What the hell did you do to her?" he demanded.

"I told her we had to do more tests."

"More tests? What the fuck is wrong with you people? Two hospitals, dozens of tests and God knows how many thousands of dollars later and the best you can do is tell me you have to do more tests?"

House replied sarcastically, "You can either bitch about me not doing my job, which by the way I am doing, or you can sit there and console your wife. In case you haven't noticed she's crying."

The patient's husband pulled his fist back and was ready to hit House when his wife, who seemed barely coherent, pleaded with him. In a very soft voice she cried, "Chuck, don't. Please."

The patient's husband stopped, turned back to his wife, took her hands in his and closed his eyes, never looking at House when he said "Just do your goddamned tests."

"Okay," said House and he walked out of the room.

It was four o'clock in the morning when House stumbled into his apartment. The light in the hallway was on and his mother was on the couch sleeping. House threw down his keys, phone and jacket and limped into the kitchen as quietly as he could.

"Greg?"

House stopped in his tracks. "Sorry mom did I wake you?"

"No dear, I've been awake a few hours. I had hoped you'd be home sooner."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry."

House was in the kitchen pouring a glass of water when his mother sat up on the couch and watched him. He walked very slowly, his limp was more pronounced and he nearly stumbled twice. She got up and walked into the kitchen.

"Gregory, are you alright?"

With his back to her he said "I'm fine mom, go back to bed."

"Are you sure?" she asked. She could sense uneasiness in him.

"Yeah, I'm going to bed." Without looking at her, he made his way into his bedroom and closed the door. He sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. He hated losing a patient, it made him feel like a failure. The patient's husband had brought her to him expecting that his brilliance could save her and in the end he failed. He was haunted by the last words his patient said to him as he left her room:

"Don't let me die. I have a daughter at home, she's eight years old and she needs me."

Minutes later, House's cell phone vibrated on the table in the living room where he'd left it. Thinking it might be an important call from the hospital, Blythe quietly answered it. She was surprised to find it was Wilson.

"Blythe?"

"James? Do you need Greg?"

"I take it he's home?"

"Yes. Do you need him?"

"No, I just wanted to check on him. At least he made it home okay."

"What do you mean, what happened?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"No."

"His patient died two hours ago. He said he was going to a bar to forget about it. Chase tried to stop him but it was too late."

"Oh my."

"Yeah. He doesn't handle losing patients well."

"I'll take care of him James."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow. Call me if you need anything okay?"

"Thank you James, Goodnight."

Blythe ended the call and placed the phone back where she found it. She understood why her son had come home so upset and did not want to talk about it. She wasn't sure what she should do. Part of her wanted to console him and part of her knew he was not the consoling type. She made up her mind and quietly walked down the hallway towards his bedroom. As she raised her hand to tap on the door, she heard something on the other side. She put her ear to the door and suddenly tears came to her eyes when she realized she was listening to her son sobbing. Quickly she tiptoed back down the hallway, turning off the light and crawling under the covers. She did not want to leave him alone but she knew her son would want to deal with this in his own way for now. She would try and talk to him about it later. In the meantime she hoped all the progress he'd made in opening up to her the previous morning would not be undone.

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