Hey everyone!

Updates may be coming at a slower rate because I have a huge band camp going on for the next few weeks. But I will try to update as much as I can!

It was three o'clock the next day, and Lisa Cuddy met House at Bradley Beach just as she had agreed. Dressed in a low cut white long sleeve shirt, a light black jacket, dark blue jeans that hugged her legs, and black boots, she emerged from her car. After looking around for a few seconds, she placed her sunglasses comfortably on top of her head when she spotted House. He was seated at the bar yet he wasn't enjoying a beverage. He was simply waiting, dressed casually in a white t-shirt, a dark green button down, dark blue jeans, and a pair of sneakers.

Cuddy offered him a smile and settled onto the bar stool next to him.

"Where's your phone?" House asked.

"In my pocket," She answered, confused.

"Is it on?"

"Of course."

He shook his head, "Turn it off, or either put it on silent."

"House," She pleaded.

"Nope. We've been through this once before, Cuddy. We have a lot to talk about and I don't want the hospital to interfere. This is too important," He explained.

She sighed and pulled out her phone. "Fine. It's on silent. Happy?"

"Happier...you want a drink?"

Cuddy shook her head, "No thanks. So...like you said, we have a lot to talk about."

"Right," He agreed. "So, during the last month or so of prison, I made many decisions about my life."

"I'm glad you were able to make those decisions...you seem happier."

"I'm happier...but I've still got a long way to go before I'm content with my life."

"Oh?" Cuddy asked, suddenly curious.

House nodded, "I need to fix things that I just left broken...like my friendships, my career, my assets...but I'm not fixing any of that until I fix things with you."

"House, don't," Cuddy started. "We had that talk over two years ago. I forgave you for what you did."

"No," He objected. "You forgave me, but that didn't fix everything. Now that more time is passed, I want us to really fix things, and talk...talk about what happened."

"I don't want to bring up the past...at least, not that part of it."

"We have to, Cuddy."

"Why can't we talk about the good things that happened?" She asked, trying to reason with him.

"We can...but we're talking about this first. Cuddy, you're the one that always wanted me to talk about all this important, emotional crap...now when I'm finally offering, you don't want me to. Make up your mind."

She shrugged, "I just thought that we got all the closure that we needed."

"Well maybe that's what you pretend to think, but I know you don't believe it…but I just want you to know that I'm sorry. Still. Not a day goes by that I don't think about what I did to you and Rachel. I was wrong. I let my twisted emotions take over and I ended up making the biggest mistake of my life."

Cuddy sighed, "I know you're sorry. But I was wrong too."

"Please, don't blame yourself," House pleaded. He was done playing the blame game. All he wanted was for everything to be settled.

"Why? I left you at your lowest…Looking back on it, I didn't even stop to consider that your fear of losing me had driven you to the Vicodin," Cuddy shook her head, disappointed in herself. "I just assumed you couldn't handle a crisis because you were too bottled up, and I gave up on you. And for that, I am truly sorry."

"Don't apologize to me. It's not your fault. I told you that."

"But it is. You don't think I'm even partially responsible?"

"You didn't do anything intentionally," House offered, shrugging. "You acted in a way that you believed was right for you and your daughter."

"I can't watch you take all the blame."

House shook his head in protest, "Well, better I take it all for once in my life."

"How about we agree to disagree?"

He locked his eyes with hers, almost as if he were trying to pierce through her very being, "You know that's never worked for us, Cuddy."

She did know. The two of them had always been a dysfunctional pair in any environment. They could barely ever agree on anything, and when they did, it was because one of them was usually holding back. Both House and Cuddy knew that no matter where the future took them, they would never be able to be a normal pair.

"Well, it's going to have to work," Cuddy stated. She held her tongue for a few minutes, then sighed, "Fine. We were both wrong. We both screwed up. But, what's done is done…we should try to move forward."

"Are you sure it's even worth it? You know how I am. You know what I'm capable of."

"That's just a risk I'm willing to take. House, you're in my life for a reason. Whatever the reason is, I don't know…but you're here," She paused, and allowed a smile to grow on her lips. "If you weren't meant to be in my life, you sure as hell wouldn't be."

"My history can't just erase itself over a course of two years."

"I don't expect it to, nor do I want it to. Just accept that you're supposed to be in my life."

"There's a difference between having to be in your life and you wanting me in your life," He reminded her, his tone growing low in warning.

"I never said I didn't want you in my life. For a while, I thought I didn't. But then I realized that I'm miserable without you. I…I can't help it," She paused again, knowing he would need an explanation as to how she could be miserable without the man who drove through her house. "Going to work everyday and not seeing you there…it just didn't make sense. Something felt wrong, out of balance, disconnected. I almost dreaded going to work because I knew you wouldn't come barging into my office requesting to do some insane procedure on a patient. I missed that."

"Do you mean that?"

"House, you know I'm not a fan of lying," Cuddy returned his icy gaze, and held it firmly. Her eyes were unwavering, and she was staring into the pit of him. "If there was ever a point in our lives where I wanted you to trust me the most, this would be it."

"Okay," He answered simply.

"We've been through so much. We've said and done things to each other that are unbelievable…but that's our history. Like it or not, this is the way it is. Our history has led us here for a reason…now we just have to find whatever that reason is."

House shook his head and turned his head, his eyes bouncing off every bottle of wine standing on the rack behind the bar. "I can't believe that after everything I've done that you're actually sitting here not wanting to rip me to shreds. I wouldn't blame you one bit."

"Stop being so hard on yourself, House," She nervously placed a shaking hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "What you did was very wrong, yes. But we are both at fault here." A few moments of silence passed before she spoke again, "Let's take a walk, okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

House pushed himself from the bar stool and grabbed his cane. Cuddy, too, stood, stretched out her back, then arrived at House's side. Together, the two of them started towards the sandy shores.

Cuddy appeared to be calm, but on the inside, her thoughts could not be slowed. She didn't know what would happen after this little get together, but her goal was to get to the bottom of this whole issue with House. Her only condition was that no matter what, he had to stay in her life somehow. She'd already lost him too many times and finally she realized that she couldn't let it happen again.