IT'S MONDAY! but before a much awaited new episode, here's a new chapter!

hope you'll enjoy it... I think, in a way, it should answer some of your latest requests about the sharing issue... :)

** CHAPTER 36 **

Days went by. And weeks and then more weeks. Just like that; without them even noticing. There was no routine at all, no plan, no big promises or anything. It was just time, passing between the two of them, quietly and serenely, building the need to be together as true evidence with each and every new day that went by.

Not that they were questioning that need or trying to acknowledge it, though. It was just there and that was all - as undeniable and strong as the need to breathe could be. Should it be at his place or hers, in nearly three months, they almost never spent a night away from each other. The only thing that could bring them apart when they were together was the sound of his beeper and the fact was, it didn't even ring that much. At some point, House had realized that, obviously, his team knew something and didn't want to bother him. He hadn't spoken about his doubts to Cuddy, neither had he talked to her about his conversation with Cameron. There was no need for that since things were just going on well between them. Except for some really complicated cases, the ducklings had been dealing with the patients' treatment on their own pretty successfully. And House didn't complain.

Most of the time, his mind was elsewhere. Perhaps he didn't realize it, but it was. Everyone that had known him long enough could easily see it: on a day to day basis, he appeared to be less ironic and cranky, more relax and in a good mood. He still had his bad days of course, like everyone else had. Or maybe, since he was not like everyone else, his bad days were still really bad ones, but force was to acknowledge that there were less of them than usual.

During their private moments together, House and Cuddy had started to talk to each other, about them. Of course they also had sex. Long and passionate nights of sex, without a sound except the one made by their longing and voluptuous sighs. But they also talked. That feeling was new for House: sharing with someone, again. That was something he hadn't experienced in a long time and, at first, he had been kind of reluctant to speak about himself. But Cuddy was patient. It had always struck him: how she was able to be there, just silently waiting, until he would feel ready. She was and always had been one of the only women he had trust enough to open up and he owed that to her: she was being careful not to push him, not to demand anything and that's how, little by little, she had tamed him.

They had spent most of their long nights together and, just like that, they'd built intimacy, talking, for long and long hours. They'd laughed and they'd stared at each other. Sometimes, they'd just looked away because of the heaviness of the words they'd said, but eventually they had shared. Not everything, though. Some subjects still remained taboo. They both knew which ones they were and they had respected that. House had barely talked about his father and shared very few words about Stacy. Cuddy had kept the deception of not being a mother to herself and had barely evoked the men she had considered as a potential genetic father for the child she'd wanted to conceive.

That "thing" they were having together was undeniably there but it was fragile and, unconsciously, they knew what they should avoid doing to preserve it. It was the same with what they were feeling for each other. It was there between them, conspicuous, and they perfectly knew its name… Yet, they never talked about it out loud, never named it or said the words… it was as if they were too scared that once they would say them, it would destroy that delicate and beautiful something they had. They were afraid it would break the spell because they were so amazed by that perfect connection they had that, sometimes, they simply couldn't believe it was actually true.

# # # # #

It was a Thursday, late in the afternoon. House was alone in his office, taking a nap. His team was taking care of the patient, a mid-thirty woman who probably had Myasthenia gravis. The diagnosis was made. All they had to do was wait for the lab to bring the test results to confirm and then, they'd be able to start the treatment.

He loved those moments when the tension was low and he could let his mind wander and muse about nothing in particular, feeling just lighthearted and carefree and knowing that he wouldn't be disturbed. His eyes were closed but he was thinking about her. Irrepressibly, a faint smile flickered across his lips at the image of her just standing in front of him, looking down at him.

"House, are you sleeping?"

It was incredible how vivid his dreams could be! It was as if he could actually hear her voice for real.

"House, I know you're not sleeping! You're smiling. You can't smile in your sleep."

"Actually, I can. Because I'm thinking about you," he answered without opening his eyes, beaming wider.

There was a short silence following his statement and he knew she was smiling, too. He opened his eyes and saw her standing in front of his ottoman, looking down at him with the exact same grin he had imagined she'd have.

"What are you doing here?" he teased. "Aren't you supposed to seduce some rich donors and convince them to give tons of dollars to this hospital so you can finally grant me a raise?"

She exhaled a quiet laugh but didn't even bother to comment.

"I wanted to see if everything was okay with your patient," she said wiggling a little and looking down at her feet so he wouldn't catch the slightly embarrassed look she had because of the lie she was telling.

Of course, he didn't buy it. He knew her too well. It was his turn to chuckle blissfully.

"Ooh you're such a liar! You're definitely not here for my patient. You already know about my patient. I told you last night it was Myasthenia gravis…"

"The tests haven't confirmed it yet!" she said to defend herself, albeit with a pout that betrayed how little she actually cared about his patient in that moment.

"Why can't you just say you wanted to see me?" he asked, intensely staring into her emerald gaze.

She sighed and felt unmasked. There was no point in struggling against it anyway. Yes, she'd come in his office to see him because days were long and even if she was busy and he was busy, the idea of him being in the same building just hit her sometimes and then, she felt the compelling urge to run to him.

"I wanted to see you," she finally confessed in a low voice as she came closer to the ottoman. "Move your feet," she commanded, bending to sit down.

He smiled and docilely complied. She sat down and they silently stared at each other for a while until, at some point, she had to grip the edge of the footstool not to yield to the irrepressible need to cuddle up against him inside the armchair.

"You want to kiss me," he said, tilting his head to the side.

"Not more than you do," she shot back, raising her chin defiantly.

"Maybe you're right," he admitted with a hoarse voice that sent a shiver down her spine.

They both sighed resignedly and unconsciously, she ran the tip of her tongue on her lower lip.

"You know, I think I wouldn't mind the glass walls if we actually had sex right now."

Her eyes widened in astonishment and her mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Hey, you cannot look at me with that face and expect me not to be turned on! I'm a man, after all. And you are an evil, sexy woman."

"I am not an-" she puffed, faking to be shocked but stopped mid-sentence, smiling instead when she registered the exaggeratedly aroused, boyish grin on his face.

"You better not finish late tonight!" he warned as he reached out his hand to touch hers.

She stared intensely at his hand covering hers and took a deep breath, closing her eyes to imprint the nude simplicity of this image in her mind.

"Things are going on pretty well between us, right?" she said out of the blue. "It's quite unexpected but… we get along, somehow, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" he questioned with a smile.

"I mean," she looked away and her voice suddenly sounded like a hushed whisper. "Why do you still want to be with me? Why are you with me?"

"I don't know," he replied with a gravelly voice.

She turned her head back to him and looked at him in puzzlement, even appearing a bit hurt.

"But I can tell you why I'm not with you for," he immediately added, locking eyes with her.

"Why then?"

For some reasons, he knew it was now. He wasn't really comfortable with the whole idea of 'labelling' the feeling but he couldn't lie to her anymore and keep pretending that what they had together was just something meaningless.

"I'm not with you for the sex," he said a little jittery. "I mean, don't get me wrong… sex with you? Wow, amazing! Really. But actually, what I mean is, I'm not with you just for that. If I were, I would have kept getting some with hookers."

Her mouth fell agape in bewilderment and she removed her hand out of his.

"Ok, so, correct me if I'm wrong, but sleeping with me is way more convenient for you because it's… free?"

"Oh-ho, don't underestimate you! You know, in your own way, you never miss an opportunity to make me pay for it every time you can," he answered with a flourish, trying to maintain a bantering tone.

"Wait a minute here! Are you saying that… I'm a hooker?"

"No. Actually what I'm saying is that you're not a hooker. What I'm saying is-" He sighed, searching for the right words. "You have other things to offer apart from the sex."

"Like what?"

"You've got beer in your fridge!"

"House, I'm serious."

"So am I! What do you think? Beer is a very serious thing, you know… I'm not joking with that."

She narrowed her eyes at him, challengingly, and he couldn't help but feel trapped by the irresistible power of her gaze on him. She had him wrapped around her finger, somehow, and there was nothing he could do about it. He stared back at her with a puppy face, silently begging her to stop but she had really decided not to let him get away with it.

"Are you saying you… like me, House?"

"Are you asking me to tell you I… like you?"

"Don't deflect, just answer my question."

He sighed heavily and suddenly pulled himself out of his chair. Once he stood in front of her, he peered at her with sorry eyes.

"Cuddyyyy," he beseeched. "I'm not good at this. Dammit, you know how I feel, you-"

"No, I don't," she steadfastly insisted.

She stood up, too, and came close to him. She stopped just an inch away from him and raised her lovely face to him. It only took one longing gaze from her and he knew he was defeated.

"Ok," he said, sighing. "I can write it on the whiteboard if you want."

She frowned, intrigued, and followed him in the conference room. He took the black marker and uncapped it. Holding it mid-air, he stared at her and smiled sheepishly.

"Well, let's see what we have here," he said turning his back to her to write on the whiteboard. "This is quite a complicated case… we have a patient… presented with long inherent…"

And he started writing. She read the first words and held her breath, feeling her heart speed up in her chest.

CYNISCISM

GRUMPINESS

LEG PAIN

PAIN MEDS ADDICTION

He held the marker up and stood in front of the board, hesitating. Then finally, he took a deep breath and added:

DAMAGED HEART

He turned around to face her and stared intensely at her, and she bit her lower lip feeling a pang of emotion tug at her heartstrings. House shot her a sheepish smile and turned around to face the whiteboard again.

"The fact is, that broken patient has been submitted to a highly pathogen strain for quite some years… I think it's called 'Dean of Medicine,'" he added, holding back a laugh.

He flashed a teasing glance at her above his shoulder and she rolled her eyes.

"All of this triggered a chain reaction, inevitable of course, because well, let's face it… that's what this dangerously toxic kind of poison does to him. The symptoms have been persistent for years but tend to show up randomly. We have,"

Quickly, he added a list of words on the whiteboard.

POWERGAMES

BANTER

SQUABBLING

SEXUAL INNUENDOS

"Leading to…"

NAUGHTY THOUGHTS

DESIRE

FANTASIES

"And finally, let's face it:"

SEX

"A lot of sex actually! And then-" He sighed and waited a moment in front of the whiteboard. He put the cap back on the marker and turned around to face her. "All of that finally led to unexpected feelings of relief for the patient's leg and chest pain."

House stared at her, looking touchingly self-conscious, like a shy college boy, and she stared back at him, her heart pounding inside her chest. She felt the need to be close to him and took the few steps that were keeping them apart.

"Symptoms are showing in an irrational pattern," he said in a hoarse voice. "So I don't really know what the diagnosis is. What do you think?"

"I'm a lousy doctor, remember?" she answered with a mischievous smile. "I can't figure this out alone. I need help from a brilliant diagnostician."

"Well, I'd say," he took a step forward and dived into her mesmerizing eyes, "it's probably a massive allergic reaction!"

"Sure! Never rule out the allergy option too quickly," she said grinning.

"Actually it's too soon to tell. But as long as we're not completely sure, we can't remove the patient from the source. Could be even riskier."

"Absolutely!" she said, nodding her approval. "We definitely can't do that. So what would you say if we'd try doubling the dose, starting… tonight?" she suggested coyly.

His eyebrows arched in mock surprise and he pulled her into his arms.

"Why not now?"

"Because we're in a hospital, in your office, surrounded with glass walls. People could come here any minute."

"There's no one here," he assessed, provoking her with an impish grin and groping her ass possessively.

"House stop!" she half squealed, pushing him away. "I've gotta go anyway. I have paperwork to do. Go home and I'll meet you there in two hours."

"Yes, mistress!" he groaned with a low voice.

She glowered at him and then gave a quick glance around her. There was indeed nobody around. She stood up on tiptoe and swiftly stole him a kiss before he could even realize she'd come near him. She took a step back and enjoyed the look of surprise on his face. Then, without a warning, she turned on her heel and walked towards the exit. When she was just about to pass the door, she stopped and turned around to face him again. He was still standing immobile in front of the whiteboard.

"You know," she said with a tender smile. "That allergy you've described… I think I have it, too."

And then she was out of the room. House watched her disappear towards the elevator, swinging her hips sensually and sighed heavily. Facing the whiteboard again, he took the pad and gave one last look to what was written on it before swabbing it clean in one wide movement of the arm.

A/N

THANK YOU SO MUCH for the kind answers you wrote for me yesterday.

I have to say I'm feeling a little dumb now because clearly... I still have readers, wonderful ones I shall say! but well, this is all the site's fault! I swear it told me this was a deserted place... but can I say that I'm glad it made some of you crawl out of their holes...

anyway, I hoped you liked this new chapter. I understand all of your comments about the fact that House and Cuddy should open-up to each other and say the "L" word... ahh, but this word is a very sacred word in the land of Huddy and the journey to that land is not over yet!...

thank you again. I loved and appreciated all your reactions!

have a wonderful monday night! ~ maya

ps: (to oc7ober) my life is currently busy like hell and I can't seem to find enough time to sit down and write (+ I write the Mayfield Healing Process fic too, and also, a weekly Huddy review of each new House's epi... available in GD on fox, in case it interests someone... but I promise the morning after involving the parents will come very SOON...)