A/N: We're moving closer to the moment when House and Cuddy finally see each other for the first time in a long time. I appreciate you hanging in there with the pace. It is important to me not to rush or force it, but let it flow naturally. Don't let the slower pace turn you away from this story; otherwise you'll miss out on some great stuff. Both House and Cuddy are emotionally scarred people and they've got a lot of issues to work through but it seems no matter where they go or what they do, they are always drawn back together.

There's an extremely healthy dose of Arlene in this chapter and hey, who doesn't love Arlene Cuddy? What makes her even better is Candice Bergen!

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is a special treat, two chapters in one weekend because the next chapter will be House and Wilson on the road and headed to Boston!

On Wednesday morning Cuddy was busy cleaning her house from top to bottom. Though she only rented the three-bedroom immaculate brick home from an elderly couple who had moved to a cottage in Virginia Beach, where it was warmer and nearer to their children, she treated the house as if it was her own. Every few weeks she liked to do a thorough cleaning and with Rachel at school today she was able to complete her tasks at a steady pace, her only companion a classic rock station playing in the background.

Cuddy enjoyed cleaning because it helped her sort through things on her mind and put them in perspective. She smiled recalling how House used to tease her about it. He once told her that if world leaders took a cue from her and used cleaning as a means of working out their problems, the world would be a much safer place. She stopped scrubbing the stainless steel kitchen sink for a moment and looked out the kitchen window. She thought about the reason she was cleaning, the things that were on her mind, mostly related to House. He and Wilson would be arriving in Boston the next day and she wasn't quite prepared. Suddenly, she was pulled out of her thoughts by the ringing of her cell phone. She picked up without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?"

"Lisa dear, how are you?"

"Hi mom, I'm fine."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just doing some cleaning."

"You're home today? What's going on? You never take a day off during the week."

"Everything's fine, I just felt like taking a few days off to get some things done I've been neglecting."

Arlene laughed and said, "The Lisa Cuddy I know is a perfectionist, she never neglects anything. You sure that's it?"

"I just had lots of stuff to get done."

"I see,"Arlene replied, not sounding completely convinced.

Cuddy could tell from the tone of her mother's voice that she didn't believe her. Arlene Cuddy had a sixth sense when it came to her daughters, they could get very little, if anything, past her. Cuddy also became suspicious that in this case it wasn't her mother's sixth sense kicking in.

"Mom, have you been talking to Julia?"

"Given that I live in the same town I'd say that's obvious."

"No, I mean did you talk to Julia?"

"Oh, you mean about anything or rather anyone specific?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"Your sister and I might have had a talk that might have concerned you..." Arlene said, letting her words drift off.

Cuddy leaned her elbows on the counter and put her head in her hand. "Okay mom, spill it."

"Lisa I'm not prying into your private life."

"Seriously? Since when? I know Julia told you."

"Told me what dear?"

"Oh come on mom, cut the crap," Cuddy was tiring of the games with her mother.

"Okay, fine, and by the way that's no way to talk to your mother. So Julia might have let it slip…that a friend was visiting you this weekend."

"That's a nice way of putting it mom."

"Is there something you want to tell me, Lisa?"

"Oh for God's sake mom, you know Wilson is going to be in Boston for a conference and House is coming along with him." There, she'd said it, it was now out in the open. Cuddy prepared for her mother's wrath.

"Really? I had no idea," Arlene said as she feigned innocence.

Cuddy sighed and said, "Go ahead and lecture me now, let's get it over with. Tell me how crazy I am and that I should have my head examined."

They were both silent for a few moments and then Arlene spoke first.

"When I first met House I didn't like him. I thought he was an arrogant son of a bitch who desperately needed a shave, but eventually he grew on me. I suppose it was because I could see how much he loved you and I liked how he could go toe to toe with you. He made you crazy but you thrived on it. He challenged you and he called you out on your perfectionist, control freak ways. When we had dinner together the first time, you let me just walk all over you and your daughter, that's not the Lisa I raised. I knew House wanted to say something but he held back, for you. When I was sick in the hospital, you let me dictate everything until finally he convinced you to take control of the situation. I wasn't happy about what happened in the hospital but in the end, you did the right thing, thanks to House bringing you back to your senses. If you hadn't stood up to me, I'd be dead."

"Okay," Cuddy replied, slightly speechless at the moment.

Arlene continued, "I love you and if anything ever happened to you I don't know what I would do. That day when House rammed his damn car through your dining room, he could have killed both of my daughters, my son-in-law, and my granddaughter had she been there. He's goddamned lucky nobody was in that room. The only reason he's still alive is because one, nobody was hurt and two, I know you still love him and Rachel does too."

"Mom…"

"Lisa, stop…hear me out. I know you still love that crazy son of a bitch. Your sister and I have talked about this."

"You've talked about me...and House?"

"Well duh. Besides, Rachel draws pictures of him when she's here. You think I don't know who the lanky guy with uneven arms, a beard on his face and a cane in his hand is in her drawings? Anyway, I am still pissed off at what he did and there are times I want to rip his balls off and shoving them down his throat and don't tell me you wouldn't feel the same way if you and Rachel were in our shoes."

"You're right," Cuddy said.

"I have mixed feelings about House and someday he and I are going to talk about what he did. Look," she said gently. "I remember a few years ago when he called me out of the blue about your desk, he said he wanted to surprise you with it. He knew you loved that desk because your father built it for you and it obviously held memories for you from med school. Seems to me a guy just doesn't do something like that unless he's in love. I can't understand how that guy and the one who ran his car into your home could be one in the same."

"Yeah, me too. House is just a really complicated person. There's so many layers to him," Cuddy said with a sigh.

"I suppose," replied Arlene. After a pause, she continued, "How do you feel about seeing him again?" Arlene asked.

"I don't know. Nervous, maybe a little anxious."

Arlene was silent.

"Mom?"

"You'll be fine, you always are. For years you thought I didn't worry about how you lived your life because I didn't care. The truth is that I never worried about your decisions because I knew you were in control of your life. I knew that you could handle nearly every situation thrown at you. From an early age you had what it took to make it on your own. There may be times when it seemed like I doubted your ability to make the right choices but I promise you I very rarely, if ever, doubted you. You were different from your sister, she needed more guidance, but you...you were always the free spirited independent one. You never let anyone or anything get in your way. I've always been proud of you for that."

Tears formed in Cuddy's eyes as she absorbed her mother's words, "Wow, I don't know what to say."

"Lisa, you have lived your life for so long doing things the right way, by the book. You always had something to prove and you probably always will. You've always let your head rule your heart. And the son of a bitch he is...House seemed to bring out more of your heart. As crazy and messed up as your relationship was with him, you actually seemed happier than I'd seen you in years. I can't believe I'm saying this but House was actually good for you and you were good for him. Oh I know he put you through hell and you probably did the same to him. God how you two screwed things up."

"We did. Listen, I'm sorry for not telling you about all this but it's just that..."

"Don't apologize. If I were you I probably wouldn't have told me either."

"House wrote me a long letter apologizing for everything he did and for hurting me. When I read the letter, I knew he meant it. I felt such relief reading his words. When it was my turn, I told him how I felt and didn't hold back. It felt good to finally get it out after all that time. And since...well, we've talked on the phone. I just wish we'd communicated like this years ago," she said, sadly.

"Interesting," said Arlene.

"I expected more of a hard time from you about this."

"Lisa, I've always trusted your judgment when it counted. It's apparent the connection you two share goes deeper than anything the rest of us could possibly understand. I'm not sure what to think of this and I still plan to let him know someday how I feel about what he did but I can't tell you how to live your life. I'm sure that shocks you."

"A bit."

"I just want you to be happy. Do you remember when I tried to bring you and House back together with that lawsuit?"

Cuddy closed her eyes and shook her head remembering that awful ploy by her mother to reunite her and House. "Oy, don't remind me."

"Looking back, it was a bad idea but I had only your happiness in mind. Obviously, you and House were miserable. I figured my meddling couldn't make things worse."

"I know, mom and though your methods were rather sinister, I appreciate that you cared enough to try and get us back together. Honestly...I wish it had worked. If it had, things might be different."

"Lisa, I didn't want to spend this phone call lecturing you but let me give you a piece of advice."

"Okay."

"Your father was an eternal optimist and he believed there was a lesson to be learned in everything, that good could come out of bad. I didn't believe all that crap until my near death experience brought you and I closer. I suppose your father was right after all. You and House hurt each other but maybe there's something good that can come from it. You've changed. For your sake, I hope House has too."

"He has mom. He's more open and he's taking steps to make his life better. He's off Vicodin, seeing his psychiatrist again and even doing physical therapy. Seems like he's trying to do whatever he can to keep the pain under control without taking drugs."

"Well that's something. Lisa you know me, I'm not an optimist by nature. I don't know where this thing with House is going but maybe there's no way you two could have changed for the better if things hadn't happened the way they did. Don't go thinking that's a free pass on the two of you acting like a couple of schmucks either, I'm just saying sometimes it takes something bad happening to make people reevaluate their lives and their priorities."

"Okay...who are you and what have you done with my mother?" Cuddy asked.

"Don't worry, I'll go back to being an annoying meshuggener very soon," Arlene replied with a chuckle.

"Mom, thanks for trusting me and caring enough to tell me how you feel about this," Cuddy said sincerely.

"You're welcome dear, don't worry I'm sure you'll do something in the near future to cause me to have to nag you about your choices once again."

"Gee, thanks."

"What's a mother for if not to point out the error of your ways?" Arlene asked, laughing.

"I think I read that in a Hallmark card somewhere."

"Don't you have floors to clean and windows to wash?"

"Okay mom I get the hint. We'll talk soon okay?"

"Goodbye Lisa, I love you."

"Love you too, mom. Bye."

Cuddy hung up, shook her head and laughed out loud. Just when she thought she had her mother figured out, Arlene managed to surprise her yet again. As Cuddy thought back on their strange but refreshing conversation, she laughed again then picked up the scrub pad and began working once again on her stainless steel sink. One day till they arrive, she thought. Only one more day.