HI EVERYONE!

SORRY FOR THE DELAY. RL HAS BEEN VERY BUSY.

BUT HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER...

WITH A LITTLE TWIST.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS AND ENJOY!! :D

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CHAPTER 28:

WEDNESDAY MORNING.

It was around 10 AM when Sophie was standing in the doorway of the NICU, watching Chase hard at work.

She smiled fondly at him as he stood over the bassinet of a preterm newborn, completely immersed in her chart and unaware that Sophie was watching him.

"Hey handsome," she finally said.

Chase looked up from his chart, a little caught off guard at the interruption.

But his reaction immediately changed upon seeing her. He smiled happily and crossed the room to her.

"Hey," he said tenderly, giving her a soft kiss.

Her eyes fluttered closed at the touch of his lips against hers. A tiny moan escaped her mouth as she felt the delightful haze she always did when he kissed her.

He smiled against her lips, loving how his kiss always affected her.

They were getting married in three days.

And he was so excited that he almost suggested three times that week that they elope.

"So?" he asked after reluctantly pulling his lips away from hers.

She dug into the pocket of her maternity Capri pants and produced a sheet of paper, handing it to him.

"Check it out," she told him.

Chase eagerly took the paper from her and grinned broadly as he read her program and schedule for her fourth year of medical school.

"I am once again officially a student at Princeton Plainsboro teaching hospital," she stated proudly.

"Congratulations," he said sexily, pulling her close to him once again.

"Thank you," she murmured.

He kissed her again, this time giving her ass a gentle squeeze as he did so. She felt a surge of arousal between her legs at his touch, wishing that they were somewhere more private.

"So what's your rotation schedule?" he breathed against her lips.

"Fall term… ER and Cardiac… spring term, NICU and OB/ Gyn," she replied, thinking of how far the NICU was from the sleep lab as they continued to kiss.

"NICU, huh?" he asked with a sly smile.

She shrugged with a smile of her own, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Rumor has it that the department head is a real hottie," she teased.

He laughed. "Feel like celebrating later?"

"Why not now?" she offered, taking his hand, which was still on her ass and lifting it up to her breast.

"Mmm," he said approvingly, fondling her over her t- shirt.

"Oh god," a male voice said in loud annoyance from the doorway.

Chase and Sophie immediately jumped apart, startled at the sound of the voice.

They both exhaled when they saw House standing in the doorway, watching them.

"And in front of the children? What is wrong with you people?!" House asked mockingly as he entered the NICU.

"What are you doing down here?" Chase asked, closing his lab coat over his scrubs, hoping that his almost full erection wasn't too obvious.

"I need you…" House began, taking a well- timed pause as he pointed at Sophie.

"…And I have a bone to pick with you," he finished flatly, facing Chase head on.

"What did I do?" Chase asked defensively.

"Why the hell did you make Wilson your best man?" House demanded.

Chase raised his eyebrows, surprised at the question.

"…He's… gonna be my brother-in-law," Chase replied.

"So what?" House asked in irritation, as if that was a ridiculous excuse.

Chase was truly confused at House's demeanor.

"You… actually wanted to be my best man?" he asked House.

"I asked you to be my best man at my wedding," House reminded him in an accusatory tone.

"That's because Wilson wasn't there and you didn't know anyone else," Chase reminded him.

"I was your boss for four years. I've saved your ass hundreds of times. And I planned your bachelor party!" House retorted.

"What exactly did you do for Chase's bachelor party except offer to audition strippers?" Sophie interrupted, folding her arms across her chest.

Chase pressed his lips together, trying desperately not to laugh out loud, knowing full well that Sophie did almost all of the work for his party.

"…All right. I'll give you that one," House conceded.

Sophie tilted her head and nodded with an arched eyebrow seemingly satisfied with that answer.

Chase was grinning broadly now, loving how Sophie was able to handle House so well.

But his smile instantly disappeared when House faced him again.

"I just thought our friendship meant something to you," House said glumly, his bright blue eyes full of sadness.

Chase exchanged a glance with Sophie, truly shocked that House was this hurt by his choice of Wilson as his best man for his wedding.

Sophie shrugged, just as surprised at House's demeanor, having no idea what to say.

"I'm sorry. I should've asked you," Chase told him sincerely.

"Yeah well, it's kinda late for 'should'ves,'" House said miserably.

"…Would you like to be an usher?" Chase suggested, feeling guilty for slighting his former boss and mentor.

"No," House said dejectedly.

"…Well…" Chase began.

"Go get your lab coat," House said to Sophie.

"...Why?" Sophie asked, completely confused at the randomness of House's order to her.

"Because Cuddy assigned me to the ER today," House told her.

At this, both Chase and Sophie furrowed their brows, bewildered.

"The ER is short staffed and Chase hurt my feelings way too much for me to do any charting," House explained overdramatically.

Chase's jaw dropped slightly and slowly, his brain gradually coming to the conclusion that House had just punked him.

But Sophie grinned.

"Nicely played," she said to him in appreciation.

"I can't believe he actually bought any of that crap," House remarked to Sophie, turning around to leave the NICU.

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PRINCETON PLAINSBORO EMERGENCY ROOM:

Around five minutes later, Sophie entered the crowded, bustling ER wearing her short lab coat.

She scanned the room for House, but couldn't see him.

"Sophie!" a male voice called out to her.

Sophie turned in the direction of the voice and saw Nurse Jeffrey standing by the triage station.

"They put you down here?" Sophie asked once she reached him, surprised to see Jeffrey anywhere else but the Clinic.

"Short staffed. Cuddy fired eight nurses last week," Jeffrey explained flatly.

At this, Sophie stayed silent. Very few people in the hospital knew about the fact that fifteen million dollars had been stolen from the hospital by her brother's ex.

And she wasn't about to betray Cuddy's trust in her.

"Have you seen House?" she asked instead.

"Over there," Jeffrey said, jutting his chin somewhat to the right towards a curtained off area of the room. "Bring some Purell."

"Why?"

"Patient looks like a real lowlife," Jeffrey replied, handing her a small bottle of hand sanitizer.

Her curiosity piqued, she took the bottle from him and headed over to the area that Jeffrey had indicated.

Not exactly sure what she was going to see behind the barrier, she slowly peeled back the curtain.

And her mouth gaped open.

Because in front of her was House sitting on a stool, holding their current patient's chart in his hand.

And on the hospital bed sat Joey, who was sporting a huge, ugly purplish- red bruise on his cheek, two black eyes, a bloody nose and a busted lip, holding an ice pack in his hand.

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WILSON'S OFFICE:

At around the same time, Wilson was on the phone in his office, wearing a weary and aggravated expression, when Cuddy knocked quietly on his door before letting herself in.

Wilson glanced up at her for a mere moment, holding one finger up before turning his attention back to his conversation.

"Again? Ingrid, you've been working late every night," Wilson said into the phone.

Cuddy remained silent as she closed the door behind her, wondering if she should just turn around and leave.

"…I understand that it's a new job, but I haven't seen you in two weeks," Wilson pointed out into the phone.

He paused again, listening to Ingrid tell him once again that she needed to make a good impression if she wanted to keep her job.

He exhaled deeply in frustration, growing tired of having the same argument with her.

"What time you think you're going to be home?" he asked.

Cuddy waited patiently by the door, feeling Wilson's disappointed reaction as he listened to Ingrid's reply on the other end.

"All right…" he said in a resigned tone.

"…Yes, I understand…" he continued, defeated.

"Bye," he finally said, placing the phone back in its cradle on his desk.

"Everything all right?" Cuddy asked.

"Ingrid canceled on me again," he mumbled.

Not wanting to make him any more upset, Cuddy held her tongue as she sat down on the leather couch against the wall, waiting for him to continue.

"I mean, I understand she's trying to make a good impression at her new job, but…" he began, cutting himself off.

"… I think she's avoiding me," he finally said.

Cuddy gave him a weak, sympathetic smile. She didn't have the heart to tell him that she agreed with him.

"I made a huge mistake. I should've asked you for her job back," he admitted.

"…Why didn't you?" she asked gently.

"Because I'm a wuss," he muttered in disgust.

She smiled again, agreeing with him silently once more.

"I started daing Amber because House fired her. And House never let me hear the end of it," Wilson told her.

Cuddy's smile faded at the mention of Amber, knowing how hard it was for Wilson to move on with his life after he lost her.

"And after this whole fiasco with Debbie…" he continued, trailing off.

"I just… wanted to avoid his abuse this time," he said, leaning back in his chair, gazing down into his lap.

"No you didn't," she said, causing him to meet her eyes.

She got up from the couch and walked over to his desk, taking a seat on the top of it.

"You need House as much as he needs you," she told him.

"That's not exactly comforting," he remarked.

"You value his opinion… and you didn't want his opinion to make you doubt yourself or your relationship because you're happy with Ingrid," Cuddy stated plainly.

He nodded glumly in agreement.

"I just wish she was happy with me," he said sadly.

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PRINCETON PLAINSBORO EMERGENCY ROOM:

Back down in the ER, House examined Joey's face with his fingertips while Sophie sat in a chair against the wall, waiting for House to tell her something that she could write.

She avoided looking at Joey, fighting feelings of concern that were surfacing for him.

His shoulders were slumped, making him look much shorter than he actually was.

She had seen him banged up plently of times.

But never this badly.

"Ow!" Joey winced, moving away from House's hand.

"I don't feel a break in your zygomatic bone," House declared.

"But your nose is definitely broken," House added, critically examining the purple rings under Joey's eyes and the crook in his nose.

Joey exhaled, wiping more dried blood off the bottom of his nose with the rag that the ER triage nurse had given him as Sophie diligently wrote House's assessment of Joeys condition in the chart.

"How did this happen?" House asked him.

"I walked into a door," Joey said tiredly.

"Really. Didn't realize that they made doors shaped like fists nowadays," House snarked.

Joey closed his eyes, not really having the energy to give him a clever comeback.

"Follow my finger," House ordered him, holding his index finger in front of Joey, slowly moving it from side to side.

Joey moved his emerald green eyes from side to side as House continued to examine him.

"Did the ER tell you that you have a concussion?" House asked.

"No."

"Are you having blurred vision or trouble seeing?" House asked him.

"No. Why?" Joey asked, losing patience with him.

"Because you haven't said one thing about your ex's big fat pregnant belly yet," House replied, putting his finger down.

Joey darted a glance at Sophie, who was now holding her forehead in her hand, rubbing it with aggravation, wishing that she could just disappear.

But Joey said nothing.

"Look. I've been waiting here for five hours. Can't you just give me something for the pain?" Joey begged wearily, turning his attention back to House.

"Sure," House replied.

"Thank you," Joey breathed in relief.

"But not until we get a CT scan for your face," House added.

Sophie raised her eyebrows in great surprise as Joey attempted to do the same. But the pain was making it difficult.

"You just said it's not broken," Joey reminded him.

"No, I said I don't feel a break. We need to be sure," House said.

"Go prep Mr. Wonderful for a CT scan," House ordered Sophie as he got up off the stool to head back to the triage station.

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PRINCETON PLAINSBORO RADIOLOGY DEPARTMENT:

Some time later, Joey was sitting on a cushioned, backless couch in Radiology, not even bothering to hold the now melted ice pack up to his cheek, waiting for a nurse to call his name.

He smiled a little when he saw Sophie approach him with a fresh ice pack and a bottle of ibuprofen and a paper cup of water.

"Put this on your face," she told him, handing him the ice.

He nodded, exhausted, taking the ice pack from her.

"And take these," she added, shaking out two pills into his other hand.

"Thanks," he replied, swallowing both pills and washing them down with the water she gave him.

She sat down next to him on the couch, her mouth turning down sadly at the sight of him.

Unable to stop herself any longer, she touched his face softly, probing his injured cheekbone as delicately as possible.

He closed his eyes at her gentle touch, a small smile forming on his bruised face.

"You're a lot more gentle than House was," Joey mumbled.

She breathed a tiny laugh, stroking his cheek just a little with her thumb.

"So you're pregnant," Joey commented.

"Looks that way," she quipped, a smile tugging at her lips.

"That's really great," he told her sincerely.

"Thanks," she replied warmly.

He gazed into her deep brown eyes, the bittersweet memories of when she had her miscarriage in her first year of medical school flooding back to him.

They had been broken up for a few years by then.

But when he heard her voice on the other end of the line and what had happened to her, he had immediately had dropped what he was doing and went to Boston to be with her during that horrible time.

"So who'd you piss off this time?" she joked, snapping him out of his thoughts of their past.

He felt his insides fill with dread at her question.

"…Someone I really shouldn't have," he said quietly after a pause.

Sophie felt her stomach rise up into her throat at his answer. Joey was a person who always chose his words carefully.

And she knew him way too well to dismiss his response as a flippant remark.

"I owe," he said simply.

She nodded somberly, understanding the weight and terror behind those two words.

"How much?" she asked in a raspy voice.

"…Thirty," he admitted.

"Joey…" she gasped, shocked that he had gotten in so deep that he owed thirty- thousand dollars to seedy loan sharks who preyed on career poker players who were either too stupid or too reckless to play conservatively.

His facial expression didn't change in the least at her reaction.

"...Do you have it?" she asked him, already knowing the answer.

He shook his head from side to side.

"They're giving me forty- eight hours to get it," he told her.

She drew in a breath, placing her hands on his.

"I've got fifteen that I can give you from my case money, and I know a few games where we can get the rest," she told him.

"Sophie, no," he stated flatly, shaking his head vehemently.

"We'll just do our thing. Nobody can outplay us if we work together," she continued.

"I can't let you do that," he insisted.

"If you don't come up with thirty grand in two days, they're gonna kill you," she said, her voice quavering.

He gazed down at her engagement ring on her finger and her swollen pregnant belly as every fiber in his being told him that there was no way that he could let Sophie round with him again to get him out of this mess.

But as he looked into her eyes once more, his resolve disappeared.

"What's Chase gonna say?" he asked, closing his eyes a little.

"Let me worry about that," she assured him.

TBC…