Thanks to all of you for the great reviews and the support you've shown this fic. It really is a labor of love for me so it's always nice to hear how much you are all enjoying the story:)

Chapter 37

House had grunted in pain when he bent his knees and twisted his right leg in order to catch Ruth as she fainted. Ignoring the searing sensation of hot poker being shoved into the small amount of tissue that remained in his right thigh in order to assure she would not suffering anymore injuries today.

"House….. hold on." Lisa said, positioning her own body directly behind her mother's in an effort to take some of Ruth's body weight from him as she saw the grimace of pain overtake his face.

"Watch your cast." House warned, cursing under his breath as the intensely painful spasm continued to radiate inside his thigh.

From behind them, the sound of the kitchen door opening drew both their gazes towards it.

"Hold on House, I'm coming!" Wilson exclaimed in an urgent tone, quickly make his way overt to them in a matter of seconds before scooping Ruth up into his arms.

House placed his hands on Lisa's shoulders, standing upright again with a wince as she held onto his hips. "Take Ruth into the living room," he then ordered Wilson, rubbing his thigh as Bill ran through the open door of the kitchen.

"Ruth!" Bill yelled before stopping dead in his tracks once he spotted them.

"Where in the hell have you been?!" House yelled back at Bill as they all made their way towards the hallway.

"House don't." Cuddy warned, giving him glare before reaching for Bill's hand and guiding him the rest of the way into the living room with them.

After reaching the sofa, Wilson gently placed Ruth down on top of it, grabbing some throw pillows and sticking them under her legs while Lisa sat down on the arm of the couch above Ruth's head.

"She's still breathing and her airway is clear," Wilson informed Cuddy after opening up Ruth's mouth.

"Pulse is good," Cuddy replied as her fingers rested on her mother's neck.

"Come on Ruth, wake up." Wilson said in a loud voice, rubbing her arm as Cuddy began to gently stroke her mother's cheek

"I should have never left her alone." Bill said softly with regret, looking down at Ruth's pale face as she remained unconscious.

"Saying that crap right now is not going to help anyone. So either make yourself useful and get the first aid kit inside the bathroom or stay out of the way," House remarked in a voice mixed with anger as well as the pain from his leg.

"House, knock it off!" Cuddy ordered, shooting him another glare before directing her gaze to Bill who was standing beside him, "Bill this is not you're fault," she added, trying to soother away some of the guilt he was feeling right now.

Ignoring the assurance Lisa was trying to give him, Bill turned to face House. "I'll get the first aid kit." He said solemnly, looking down at Ruth again before turning and leaving the room.

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On the waves of an endless sea, Ruth floated with the tide that was gently carrying her body away from the shore where the sunlight peaked over the waves of blue surrounding her.

She inhaled deeply through her nose which became filled with the scent of roses, trapped in an utter and complete serenity, hearing the soft murmuring of voices behind her as they came floating up to her in the ocean breeze.

"Ruth, come on….wake up."

Caring voice…. male voice……Wilson's voice, Ruth thought connecting the voice to the man as she continued to drift in the sea.

"Come on mom…wake up."

Lisa's voice….my child's voice. LISA NEEDS ME. She needs me to protect her from HIM..., Ruth thought as the tide started to carry her back towards the shore…

"Get out the way Wilson!"

Commanding and impatient male voice. Stubborn voice. House's voice. He needs to know about Jeff! I need to get back there! Ruth yelled inside her brain, gasping and opening her eyes as House rubbed his knuckles across her sternum.

"See. Now that's how you revive a person." House said triumphantly, looking down a Ruth while Bill, Wilson and Cuddy watched her join them in the conscious world once more.

"You were kissing her. You were kissing Lisa." Ruth said in a raspy voice as she looked up at House with wide eyes. The broken thought having moved past the more urgent ones in her brain to escape her lips first.

House nodded, "I knew finding out about us would be a shock to you.....just never thought you'd take it this hard," he responded before quickly looking up at Cuddy.

"House, I need to talk to you, Jeff told me about you and Lisa….." Ruth said in a hoarse voice as she tried to push herself up into a seated position, feeling a rush of dizziness hit her again.

"You saw Jeff?" House questioned, sure that her previous words to him out in the kitchen about Jeff were based upon her fears rather than actual events

"Mom, you need to lay down for a little bit first." Cuddy said softly from behind her, placing her hands gently on her mother's shoulders as she eased her back down on the couch before taking a seat beside House on the coffee table.

"Ok Lisa." Ruth replied closing her eyes for a moment to try and will away the diziness before opening them back upand continuing with her story, "I went into Princeton today to get a bouquet of flowers to put on the dinner table tonight. I wanted everything to be perfect and I had just walked into a flower shop to pick some out when Jeff came up from behind him and introduced himself to me."

Cuddy reached for her mother's battered right hand, "Did Jeff do this to you?" She asked with great concern.

Feeling herself becoming centered once more, Ruth gently squeezed her daughter's hand that was holding onto her own, "No honey….I did to myself... afterwards, on my way over here….I…." she started to say before pausing as a wave of shame washed over her.

"Ruth it's ok we're all here to help you." Bill said gently taking a step closer to the sofa until he was standing directly beside Wilson.

Ruth bit down on her bottom lip and focused her gaze on House, "Jeff told me you and Lisa went to see my sister Rachel, and when I told him I didn't believe him …..he showed me pictures of all of you at my sister's house. Jeff has been following Lisa just like you thought" she informed him with a slight tremor in her voice as her eyes moved over to her daughter, "Lisa, why didn't you tell me you went to see Rachel?" She then asked with an ache in her tone.

"Mom…..I'm sorry. We were all so worried about you and I thought that by going to see Aunt Rachel, it would help us to help you deal with the things you wer going through." Cuddy responded.

"So it was your idea to see Rachel?" Ruth questioned, a part of her needing to make sure Jeff's lies about House's control over her daughter were not true.

"House and I both made the decision after discussing the best way to help you." Cuddy answered, placing her hand on House's left thigh.

Ruth looked down at her daughter's hand as it rested comfortably against the denim of House's jeans, "Jeff told me the two of you have been dating for three months. Is that true?" She questioned, looking up to House for the answer.

"I'm afraid so. You see your daughter has a thing for manipulative bastards." House responded without missing a beat, receiving a whack in the arm from Cuddy for the remark as well as a glare from her grey eyes.

Ruth studied House's face for a few seconds, actually pleased that he was treating her no differently than before the panic attack he had just witnessed, finding some strange sense of comfort in his rude mannerism, "What did my sister tell you about Crane?" She then asked, needing to know the truth now more than ever.

"Mom we can talk about the later, you really should take it easy for a little while." Cuddy interrupted, not wanting to risk her mother being stressed into experiencing another attack.

"I'm fine Lisa and I want to know what Rachel said." Ruth insisted while keeping her eyes on House.

"Mom…-"

Before Cuddy could protest again House spoke up. "Your sister told us you ended up killing Crane when he tried raping you, and that you had a hard time dealing with all that happened to you down in that basement," he stated bluntly as Cuddy, Wilson and Bill all held their breath.

Ruth nodded, "I see." She responded.

Even though House's words did leave a bit of a sting with the direct honesty they possessed, they were nothing compared to the hell she had been through, "Anything else you think I should know about?" Ruth pushed, wanting no secrets kept from her now.

House rubbed his jaw and leaned forward on the coffee table, "When we went to see your sister……she gave Lisa something to take back with her," he informed her before getting up and walking over to the bookshelf on the opposite side of the room.

"House…..no." Cuddy warned, worried to death that the mere sight of the book would throw her mother back into the grips of fear and anxiety she had just escaped from.

"Your mom just can't hear part of the truth now Lisa. She needs to know everything so we know so we can try to prevent what happened to her today from happening again." House remarked back to Cuddy with an even tone as he pulled the red dairy down from where he had placed it earlier before walking back over to where Ruth was seated, placing the book in her hands as she sat up on the couch.

It took a moment for Ruth to realize what she was holding in her hands as the cobwebs surrounding the memory were cleared. Her expression changing in an instant to one that spoke of the long ago misery bound between the pages of her heartbreaking adolescent biography.

Moving her fingers with great care over the cover that held the history of the tortured and horribly lost little girl she had once been, Ruth cleared her throat. "So you all know then?" She questioned simply, looking up at all of them, the slight strain in her voice brought forth from the pain the revelation of the truth can sometimes bring.

"Yes." House answered for all of them as Bill stepped closer to the couch and sat down beside her.

"Ruth one thing you need to know is that we are all committed to see you through this, and that we were all amazed by the strength you showed all those years ago in dealing with everything that happened to you at such a young age. The same strength you're showing us all now." Bill told her softly as he took hold of her hand.

Ruth took in a breath and looked down at the book resting on her lap once more. The thought that had been pushed to the back of her mind now springing forward as she raised her eyes to look up at all of them again, "I know with all of your help I can make it through with what I'm dealing with," she informed them with a voice that found it's strength one more, "but…..before we concentrate on what I need to do for my own well being. I plan on making sure that Jeff Hansom is out of my daughter's life for good first," she concluded, locking eyes with Lisa and reaching inside the right pocket of her khaki pants and pulling out the business card Jeff had given to her in front of the flower shop.

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Cuddy asked as her mother handed her the business card.

"After Jeff told me about you going to see Rachel and the fact that House and you were more then friends," Ruth started to say as she turned her gaze towards House, letting him now with a brief raise of one of her eyebrows that she would be discuss that latter part of her statement with him some time in the very near future, "he told me to talk to all of you and find out the truth for myself. Then he gave me that card and said I should call him so that maybe he and I could try to stop House before he had a chance to hurt you anymore than he already had." She explained as he eyes moved back to her daughter's once more.

"Mom you are not going to meet with Jeff!" Lisa stated adamantly, knowing exactly what her mother was trying to purpose.

"It's a good plan." House interjected, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

"Absolutely not!" Lisa argued.

"House, think about what you're agreeing with." Wilson added glancing over at Bill for even more reinforcement to shoot down the idea before it had a chance to take flight.

Taking the cue, Bill placed his other hand on top of Ruth's, garnering her attention, "Ruth…….Jeff is a very dangerous man with an incredible amount of knowledge regarding you and your daughter. He purposely used the information he had on you to try and harm you with no remorse. God knows what he has planned for you if you agree to meet with him." he stressed to her, searching her eyes in the hopes that she would rethink her previous statement.

"Jeff Hansom is as arrogant as he is dangerous, and that's what's going to give us the upper hand." Ruth replied to Bill before continuing, "he thinks he's got all of us figured out," she added looking away from Bill as she glanced over at House, Wilson and Lisa, "Jeff thinks that by having his hench men following Lisa as well as digging up my past, he's kept himself ahead of the game he's playing with all of us…but…in doing so, Jeff's made a fatal error. By not keeping his eyes on all the players before he made his move on me today, we now have the advantage over him because based on his absolute arrogance in approaching me today I am positive Jeff has no idea Bill's been talking to Officer Fan, and if we set this up right we can finally have someone on the police force witness the what a monster Jeff Hansom truly is." she explained with a cool voice, focusing her gaze back on Bill.

"I think I'm really staring to like your mother." House whispered over to Lisa in a dry voice as he kept his eyes fixed on Ruth, the mental readiness in facing Crane that had saved Lisa's mother in the past reminded him once more how uniquely interesting the older woman sitting before him truly was.

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Later that evening after all of them had agreed that Ruth's plan with Fan's involvement could indeed provide the first step in getting Jeff Hansom out of all of their lives for good, Bill had reached for he cell phone and called the officer, setting up another meeting wth the cop in which Ruth would be accompanying him this time in order to go over the details of what Jeff had said and done to her while they hashed out a plan to have her contact Jeff in a few day to arrange a meeting between the two for them.

After the phone call, Bill had made his way out into the kitchen before heading out the back door and onto the patio as Lisa attended to the abrasions on her mother's right hand.

"Let me know if I'm hurting you." Lisa said softly as she began to expertly wipe the dried blood away from Ruth's knuckles with a damped washcloth.

Watching her daughter gently cleaning the tiny scraps Ruth spoke in a soft voice of her own, "Do you ever wish you could get back to doing this type of stuff instead of all the paperwork and meetings?" She asked.

Lisa looked up from her mother's hand, "I still do clinic duty, just on a more limited basis. Besides being in my position allows me help an even greater number of patients then I could ever do in a clinic setting," she answered with a small smile.

"As well as allowing you to spend more time with House." Ruth stated, studying her daughter's face.

"Yes, it does that too." Lisa acknowledged before diverting their conversation, "Can you flex your fingers like this?" She then asked her mother while making a fist before relaxing her fingers.

Ruth mimicked the gesture, "Does House know you want a baby?" Her mother asked keeping her gaze locked on Lisa brilliant grey eyes.

"What?" Lisa questioned, completed taken off guard by the question, expecting the more obvious 'Are you in love with House?' to be the first question asked by her mother.

"Does House know you want a baby?" Ruth pushed; knowing the wish to have a child was something Lisa had dreamed of for some time now.

"He knows." Lisa answered back simply.

Ruth studied her daughter's face carefully before he mouth opened, "Did you ask House to be a sperm donor last year when you were trying to get pregnant through In Vitro?" She questioned with shock.

"What? No! I...…I just asked House to help with me with the injections after he came into my office one day and told me he figured out what I was up to." Lisa stressed as she tripped over her words.

"But you wanted to ask him to be the donor," Ruth said with certainty after witnessing her daughter's fumbled response.

"House would have said no, that's why I didn't aske him." Lisa responded quickly, wanting to put an end to the unexpected direction their conversation was now taking.

Ruth shook her head, coming to the realization that the history between her daughter and House had been brewing on a very personal level for quite some time. "You know House would have said yes. You just weren't ready for him to say it back then…..otherwise you wouldn't be with him now," she stated plainly.

Lisa looked up from her mother's hand and nodded, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them back up, "We were both in different places back then and right now there's so much going on that having a baby is one of the last things on my mind….but I'm hoping when the time is right and all of this mess with Jeff and Tritter is past us…House will be open to me trying again," she confessed with the dream of having a child still resting deep within her heart.

Ruth carefully pulled Lisa into an embrace, "We'll get through this honey you just have to continue to be strong and once I meet with Jeff and Fan gets what he needs, you'll be able to put this all behind you and get on with your life," she assured her daughter, promising to herself silently that she would do whatever needed to be done in order to make sure Jeff would never bother Lisa again.

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In the heat of the summer air, Bill stood on the patio outside of Lisa's place with his back facing the house as he looked up into dusk of the summer sky that had just begun to show the twinkling of evening stars.

He had come out here for some air after speaking to Fan, his stomach still tied in knots after having walked into the kitchen and finding Ruth being carried in Wilson's arms out into the living room. The guilt he felt over the entire situation, including his agreement with the others to let Ruth meet with Jeff still eating away at him as he heard the backdoor open and close behind him.

"Don't feel guilty about what happened to me today Bill, I couldn't bare it if you did." Ruth whispered to him as she moved her arms around his waist from behind him, resting her head against his back in order to hear the steady beat of his heart.

Bill carefully removed Ruth's hands from him before tuning around to face her. "I let you down today Ruth, I should feel guilty." He said softly as he touched her cheek.

"You did not let me down Bill; if anything …staying with you has made me a stronger person than I have been in a very long time." Ruth insisted, staring up into his eyes that were filled with regret.

"I should have made you come here when I went to the diner to meet Fan instead of leaving you alone at my place." Bill argued, looking away from her, not willing to let go of the responsibility he felt for the latest panic attack she had suffered.

Ruth carefully placed both of her hands on Bill's face, gently turning it towards her so he would look into her eyes again. "Bill, can't you see that sometimes I have to take a few steps on my own without you holding my hand? That I need to be able to stand on my own two feet if I am ever going to get over all of the things that have kept me from living my life for all of these years." She explained, hoping he would understand.

"You could have wrecked your car. Jeff could have hurt you; he could have taken you away from me….away from all of us." Bill whispered in earnest as he felt his throat tighten.

"I know you're afraid for me Bill." Ruth began to say softly, moving her hands to his chest, "but having the panic attack today was exactly what I needed to happen because it showed me that I was strong enough to work through it without closing myself off to all of you…especially to Lisa. I found out that today that I was strong enough to fight against the things that have kept me living in fear for all of these years and that I'm strong enough to be the kind of woman who can hold your hand and help you take a few steps every now and then as well," she finished as the moon cast a soft glow on the timeless beauty of her face.

"You are truly amazing Ruth Cuddy," Bill whispered down to her in wonder as the summer breeze moved gently through the dark locks of her hair.

"You're not too bad yourself." Ruth teased before leaning in to kiss him.

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Meanwhile inside the kitchen Wilson, Cuddy and House had gathered around the sink, discussing Ruth's plans in greater detail to meet with Jeff.

"Here." Wilson said after they had finished their conversation, tapping House on the arm with the beer bottle he had just taken out of the fridge for him.

House looked away from Cuddy and turned around to reach for the beer but froze as his eyes widened at the sight just outside the kitchen window, "Wilson you gotta see this. Ruth is kissing Bill ....... it's like some kind of perverse geriatric soft porn." He whispered with a smirk.

Wilson quickly stepped over to the kitchen window to peek out at the older couple, standing on House's right side as Cuddy flanked his left side.

"Leave them alone, my mom deserves some privacy after the day she's had," Lisa protested with a small smile on her face, watching as her mother kissed Bill tenderly on the lips, "Oh……oh my!" She then exclaimed after her mother had moved her left hand around Bill's neck and deepening the kiss between them while pressed her body tightly against Bill's tall frame.

"Holy shit!" Wilson exclaimed before taking a swig of his beer and wiping his mouth with his sleeve.

"I can't watch this." Lisa said shocked, backing awayfrom teh window as Bill began to move his hand down onto the top curve of her mother's ass.

"I knew he the old horny bastard had it in him! Arthritis my ass! Look at him go!" House said with great amusement, laughing over at Wilson who offered him a high five.

"Cuddy…your mom is a really good kisser!" Wilson then joked with a smile, looking over at her before looking out of the window at Ruth and Bill again.

"Shut up Wilson!" Cuddy remarked as she leaned against the counter behind him and House.

"Now I know where youvget it from my little nympho." House teased as he turned around and moved towards her, trapping Cuddy against the counter by placing both of his hands on opposite sides of it as he looked down into her slate grey eyes with a smile.

Wilson cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head, "The two of you might want to hold off on the countertop sex considering Bill and Ruth are on their way back inside," he warned after seeing the intimate look the two of them were sharing.

House stayed where he was, continuing to look down at Lisa as Ruth and Bill walked into the kitchen.

"No."Cuddy whispered up to him, knowing exactly what was on his mind.

"Sorry babe…but now that Mommy knows about us there no need for us to hide our love from her any longer" House whispered down to her with a devilish smile before lowering his face towards hers, kissing her lips while gently stroking her jaw with his thumb as he pulled her closer with the arm he had wrapped around her waist.

Cuddy knew she had two choices right now, either push House off her or...... commit to the kiss knowing that her mother was witnessing it only a few short from feet from her, taking in a surprised breath as her body reacted enthusiastically on its own without her permission when House brushed his thumb over her pulse and placed his tongue inside her mouth.

Ruth had stopped dead in her tracks the minute she saw what was going on, watching closely now as Lisa's arms wrapped around House's neck, her daughter's body pressing into his as she willingly participated in the kiss House had initiated.

"Ahem." Bill said clearing his throat, wondering how the two of them stayed locked together in a kiss for so long without getting dizzy.

"Are you done now?" Ruth then asked House, arching an eyebrow at him after he pulled his lips away from Lisa and looked directly at her.

"Are you?" House questioned back to her, nodding his head towards the patio to let Ruth know that he had witnessed the kiss she had shared with Bill a few seconds earlier.