"Hey Rachel, you want to go to the carnival this weekend?" Cuddy asked on Friday morning while she was getting the girl ready for school.

"Yes mommy," Rachel replied, brushing the fur on her stuffed animal as Cuddy brushed her hair.

Neither Cuddy spoke as they continued their morning routine. The house was oddly quiet without House but it was nice when it was just Cuddy and Rachel. House had crashed at Wilson's after an exciting night of Poker. House and Wilson had started spending a little more time together outside of work, an attempt to maintain an actual friendship rather than this weird connection that Wilson kept claiming they had. House had explicitly asked for Cuddy's permission in case there were any issues with childcare or anything work-related. So Thursday night's had become Poker Night (unless House was working a case or was needed at home).

Rachel was ready for school and was playing with her toys in the sitting room as Cuddy finished packing her laptop plus files into their bags. Marina was doing school drop off this morning as Cuddy had an early meeting with a potential donor which she wasn't 100% prepared for but she'd been doing this job for fifteen years and she had her own book of tricks. Cuddy nearly dropped her laptop when Rachel spoke, "Is dad going to the carnival with us?"

Cuddy had to do a double-take in case she completely misheard what her daughter had said. "What did you say?" Cuddy asked, securing the laptop in its bag.

"Momma, I asked if dad was going to the carnival with us?" Rachel said again with her hands on her little hips.

"I'm not sure… I'll ask him when I see him later," Cuddy replied slowly, processing everything that just happened. Rachel had always called him "House" when Cuddy was around and it made Cuddy question what Rachel called House when it was just the two of them. Cuddy was pulled from her thoughts when Marina turned up. Cuddy said goodbye to her daughter and handed Rachel's things over. Rachel reminded Marina that she had a playdate this afternoon after school (which Cuddy had nearly forgotten about herself). Marina and Rachel left first and Cuddy followed shortly.

Throughout the meeting, the events of that morning played on loop in Cuddy's head. maybe she was overthinking it. maybe she wasn't. She was desperate to talk to House as this was another big step and she wanted to make sure that House was ready for it. He was living with her and just kept the apartment in case of any emergency or if he needed his own space. The meeting had been a success which was a relief and Cuddy felt less tense. The donor left and Cuddy hovered in the clinic until House arrived. She rode the elevator with him. No words were exchanged which was a clear signal to House that what Cuddy wanted to discuss was personal and most likely involved their daughter.

The office door closed with a "whoosh" behind House as he made over to his desk. This team were in the adjoining room invested in a game of paper football on the glass table and they paid no attention to House or Cuddy.

"I had a very interesting conversation with Rachel this morning," Cuddy said vaguely, pacing on the carpet in front of the desk.

"That's great but I'm not a mind reader so some context about this interesting conversation would be extremely helpful," House remarked earning him the typical Cuddy glare.

"I asked Rachel if she wanted to go to the carnival this weekend and she asked if you were coming with us." Again, another vague comment from Cuddy that only added to House's slight confusion and major intrigue

"What's so wrong with that? I live with you, I spend most of my time with you two and I love a carnival."

"What's wrong is that she called you 'dad' instead of 'House'" Cuddy replied, her voice raised which caught the immediate attention of House's team in the adjoining room. both House and Cuddy shot the team glares and they all quickly turned their attention back to their game with hushed whispers.

"So that's what's got your skimpy panties in a twist?" House said crudely, earning him an eye roll.

"It doesn't bother you that she referred to you as her 'father.' You aren't going to run and leave me to worry that you've gone and got drunk or started using again?" Cuddy asked and as she turned to House, who had a small smile plastered on his face. it didn't take Cuddy long to realise why House wasn't losing his cool.

"She's called you dad before, hasn't she?" it came out quieter than she expected but this whole situation was unexpected.

"Only once. Yesterday morning when I made her breakfast and you were in our room, on the phone with your mother. I promise I was going to mention it but then you argued with your mother, I had that case and we didn't really see each other throughout the day as we were both so busy." House replied sincerely, he got up from the chair and gestured for Cuddy to step into his open arms.

House's embrace was welcomed and Cuddy found herself melting into his touch like she always did.

"Thank you for being honest and listening to me." Cuddy said into his chest and his grip on her waist tightened for a mere second. House often showed his understanding and affection with little touches, gestures or looks. It was their language. It was their unspoken way of communicating that worked for them. They could ignore the world around them and just get lost in each other.

Cuddy looked up at House as she started rambling, "Are you sure that you're okay with Rachel referring to you as her father? it's another big change in such a short space of time and-" Cuddy was cut off by House pressing a sweet kiss to her lips. It took a second for her mind to catch up but she kissed him back with a smile.

"I'm okay with it even if it takes a little getting used to." House whispered against her lips before kissing her again.

-x-x-x-

Saturday, Carnival Day.

The carnival lasted all weekend, it was free entry but you had to purchase tokens for the rides and the game stalls. It was pretty busy even though it was early evening. There were families and couples taking in the lights, the sounds and the tastes. The food stalls were off to one side with some of the game stalls. House eyed the Ferris Wheel, Rachel was gleefully pointing out all the stuffed prizes that lined the stalls and Cuddy was worried about losing Rachel in the crowd. The music was loud but it was enjoyable. House headed towards the 'Hook the Duck' stall with the Cuddys hot on his heels. House passed over 2 tokens that he had purchased at the gate and turned his attention to Rachel, "Which prize do you want if I win?"

Rachel seriously pondered this question, her eyes scanning the varying in size toys until her eyes landed on a penguin. She pointed to the penguin with a large smile and House nodded. Because of Rachel's height, the stall owner passed Cuddy a little stool so Rachel could watch House try and hook a duck as they moved around the little pool. Ironically, the number on the duck was 69 which made Cuddy laugh childishly as House hooked it on his first attempt. The stall owner was surprised that House had already won and gave House his tokens back plus the penguin for Rachel.

Rachel jumped off the stool and wrapped her arms around House's leg. House ran his fingers through her hair and Cuddy pressed a kiss to his cheek. House smirked as he eyed the next game he would play. Before House got to play his next game, Rachel wanted something to eat and House convinced Cuddy to check out one of the food vendors. There was a large selection and they let Rachel pick what she wanted. She decided that she wanted something from the fish and chips bar. Cuddy ordered Rachel the kids fish and chips and a large cod and chips for her and House to share. House found them a spot in the picnic area, Rachel sat at the picnic table patiently and held a conversation with her penguin. Cuddy had found it endearing that Rachel had picked the penguin as it reminded her of the peace penguin that House had given her. Cuddy approached the table with a tray and a smile on her face.

The family ate and listened to Rachel talk about everything she wanted to do tonight. House ate more of the food than Cuddy did but Cuddy didn't mind. She caught House rubbing his thigh once or twice, but he didn't seem to be in too much pain. He seemed happy and carefree. She hadn't seen him smile this much in years. It meant so much to Cuddy that they were the reason for House's happiness because he deserved to be happy. He had worked his ass off to get clean and stay clean. He had been through a shit storm of emotions, pain and changes that he pulled him before. He would use Vicodin to relieve that pain but now he found other ways to cope. He kept his regular appointments with Doctor Nolan and he even tried a physiotherapist for his leg which had helped a bit.

Once Rachel was full, Cuddy took her to the bathroom and left House to get rid of their rubbish then queue up for whatever game he wanted to try out next. House stood in line for the bean bag toss and watched the other contestants fail miserably. He snickered to himself as he watched a young couple going against each other. The boyfriend lost and the girlfriend won. There was a family next, the mother was coaching the youngest child on while the father helped the oldest. The oldest intentionally missed so the youngest could win. The old House would find that kind of behaviour to be cliché but the 'new' House didn't view it as a cliché. He viewed it as simple and typical family behaviour. A tugging on his cane pulled him from his observation, if it had been any other kid pulling on his cane, he would've lost his temper but when he looked down, it was Rachel getting his attention. He just smiled at the young girl and stepped forward to hand over his tokens so he could play. He lifted Rachel onto the wooden stall next to him and she helped him toss the bean bags into the holes. Cuddy got the last bag to throw and she hit the jackpot. They all laughed in delight as the young lad behind the stall passed Cuddy a large bear. It was nearly the same size as Cuddy which House found highly assuming as she tried to carry around while holding Rachel's hand tightly.

"Why don't you take it back to the car? Me and the squirt will wait by the Ferris Wheel for you." House suggested as Rachel stopped to watch the Ferris Wheel turn.

"Do not let go of her hand," Cuddy said sternly, watching as House took Rachel's hand and then showed their joined hands to his concerned girlfriend.

"Do not run off, okay sweetie?" Cuddy said softly, bending down to Rachel's height and pressing a light kiss to her hair. Rachel nodded and turned her attention back to the lights of the Ferris wheel.

House found himself and Rachel a good vantage point to watch the Ferris wheel. It was a little hill away from the crowd and House made sure they were sat somewhere insight so Cuddy could see them as she worked her way through the crowd. There was a group of teenagers to House's left who were clearly drunk or high and they were being rude. House tried his best to ignore them and it was going well until one of the boys decided to make a crude remark about Cuddy as she walked towards House.

House shot the kid a glare which Cuddy caught wind off and House said something to the teenager. Rachel ran to Cuddy and attempted to tell her mother what was happening. The teenager was riling House up and his temper was fraying. He got up from his spot on the hill and he stepped forward to approach the teenager but Cuddy's hand on his arm pulled him back into his current reality. The group of teenagers snickered but Cuddy whispered into House's ear that she had an idea.

By the Ferris Wheel was the security guard station and earlier that night, Cuddy had seen that exact group of teenagers dealing drugs. Cuddy's revenge plan was to snitch and get them thrown out. House called Cuddy an 'evil and sexy genuis' before she sashayed her way to the security guards. House and Rachel were in line for the wheel and nearing the gate when Cuddy returned. The guards were plain-clothed which made the teenagers less suspicious. House and Cuddy watched the whole scenario unfold as they climbed into their cart on the wheel.

After their ride on the Ferris wheel, Rachel was starting to get tired but she was adamant about watching House play one more game. This time House picked the shooting gallery and it was a two-person match. Cuddy originally refused but she folded when House made a deal that was shared in a hushed tone away from little innocent ears. Cuddy had surprisingly good aim and won by one point. The prize she picked for House was a cat with a cigar which seemed fitting as House liked to occasionally smoke a cigar. A habit of House's that Cuddy had found surprisingly sexy.

They returned to Cuddy's car with a sleepy Rachel on Cuddy's hip and House lagging behind. Cuddy got Rachel secured into her seat and quietly closed the car door. House was settling into the passenger seat when Cuddy opened the driver's side. He was fiddling with his cane which was resting against the door. Cuddy didn't say anything as she lent over and pressed a kiss to House's cheek. They shared a brief smile before they started their journey home.